3 1822 01086 0617 LIBRARY UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA SAN DIEGO tit POPULAR "WORKS OF anfaift iHtll&rii 1 1* y 4 1* 1 1 1 111 *** ** THE SOLDIEK- AUTHOR. I. Soldiers of the Saddle. il. Capture, Prison-Pen, and Escape. III. Battles for the Union. IV. Heroes of Three Wars. V. Peculiarities of American Cities. Captain Glazier's works are growing more and more popular every day. Their delineations of military life, constantly varying scenes, and deeply interesting stories, combine to place their writer in the front rauk of Amer- ican authors. SOLD ONLY BY SUBSCRIPTION. PIRSONS DESIRING AGENCIES FOR ANY OF CAPTAIN QLAZIER'S BOOKS SHOULD ADDRESS COMPRISING A. Series of Biographical Sketches of the most Distinguished Soldiers of the War of the Revolution, the War with Mexico, and the War for the Union, who have contributed by their valor to establish and perpetuate the Republic of the United States. CAPTAIN WILLARD GLAZIER, AUTMOH OF "SOLDIERS OF THE SADDLE, CAPTURE, PRISON -Pilf} AND ESCAPE," IES OF AMERICAN CITIES," ETC., ITO. PHILADELPHIA : HUBBARD BROTHERS, PUBLISHERS, 1882. Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1878, bj WILLARD GLAZIER, ,, In the Office of th Librarian of Congress, at Washington, D. 0. TO GENERAL WILLIAM TECUMSEH SHERMAN, HERO OF THREE WARS, WHOSE GRANDEST CAMPAIGN, HIS MARCH THROUGH GEORGIA, AND THE CAROLINA* OPENED AN AVENUE OF ESCAPE FOR THOUSANDS OF CAPTIVES JN REBEL STOCKADES, AND AMONG THEM THE AUTHOR, WHO IN ADMIRATION OF A VALIANT SOLDIER, AND IN GRATITUDE TO THE STKONQ ARM THAT LED THE BOYS IN BLUE FROM, ATLANTA TO THE SEA, DEDICATES (&f)ts foolume At a Tribute to his Genius and Patriotism. WILLAXD GLAZIER. PAOI PORTRAIT OF THE AUTHOR (STEEL) FRONTISPIECE. HEROES OF THE REVOLUTION 20 WASHINGTON CROSSING THE DELAWARE 37 PUTNAM RESCUED BY MOLANG 77 FIGHT SERAPIS AND BON HOMME RICHARD 129 HEROES OF THE MEXICAN WAR 171 HOUSTON CATCHING THE SOUND OF BATTLE 221 MAY'S CHARGE AT RESACA DE LA PALMA 233 HEROES OF THE REBELLION 243 SCENE AT THE SIEGE OF VICKSBURG 255 SHERMAN'S MARCH THROUGH GEORGIA 271 GENERAL THOMAS AT CHICKAMAUGA 309 DEATH OF GENERAL McPHERSON 343 FARRAGUT LASHED TO THE MAST AT MOBILE. 366 CUSTER'S LAST BATTLE 415 (6) PREFACE. IF the genius and valor of Washington and his com- patriots gave us a Republic, the hero of Chippewa not less nobly accomplished the second conquest of Mexico. General Scott and his invincible army, the heroes of Monterey, Cerro Gordo, Palo Alto and Buena Vista, displayed all the best qualities of commanders and soldiers. Sieges were conducted and cities cap- tured which were considered impregnable, with a force apparently inadequate for a forlorn hope. They fought pitched battles and won them, opposing fresh recruits to veteran troops. They accomplished marches over routes before considered utterly impassable ; captured fortresses bristling with cannon by means of the rifle and bayonet, and planted the Star Spangled Banner upon the proud " Halls of Montezuma." In the great war for the preservation of the Union, Grant, Sherman, Sheridan, Thomas, Meade, and the grand galaxy of brave hearts that rallied around their standards, gloriously vindicated the cause of freedom on the battle-fields of the Rebellion. Washington, Scott and Grant are names that will live forever in our history ; not because they were the subjects of a blind adulation, but because their worth was properly estimated, and their deeds truthfully re- corded. The time for deifying men has long since passed ; we prefer to see them as they are though great, still human, and surrounded with human infirm- (7) 8 PREFACE. ities; worthy of immortal renown, not because they are unlike us, but because they excel us and have per- formed a work which entitles them to the lasting gratitude of their countrymen. Another object of this book is to group around these three generals those officers and men who climbed to immortality by their side, shared their fortunes, helped to win their victories, and remained with them to the end. Many brave and worthy officers and soldiers might be added to the list I have selected, but the introduc- tion of every meritorious soldier would make the work too cumbersome for my purpose, unless the biographies were reduced to mere encyclopedia articles. Much pains has been taken to have these sketches complete without being heavy, to give the leading qualities, peculiar traits and distinguishing character- istics of the subjects presented. Biographies possess but little value unless they give living portraits, so that each man stands out clear and distinct in his true character and proportions. A care- ful study of the wars herein discussed leads me to feel that I can place my effort before the public without the fear of being charged with egotism. Whatever the verdict may be, the gallant heroes embraced in these pages " deserve well of their country," and richly merit all the honor they have so nobly won. WILLARD GLAZIER, PHILADELPHIA, JUKI 24th, 1878. CONTENTS. CHAPTER I. , * GEORGE WASHINGTON. Ancestral Lines. Saxon Origin of Name. Family Coat of Arms. < Emigration to Virginia. Birth and Childhood. School Life. The Young Surveyor. Commissioned Major. A Six-Hundred- Mile Journey. Battle at Fort Necessity. Braddock's Defeat and Death. Falling in Love. Marriage with the Widow Custis. Opening Scenes in the Revolution. Appointed Commander in- Chief. Meeting the Army at Cambridge. The Declaration. The Long, Long War. Retreat Through the Jerseys. Crossing the Delaware. Battle of Princeton. Monmouth. Close of the Revo- lution. Farewell to Companions-in-Arms. As President of the United States 21 CHAPTER II. JOSEPH WARREN. Birthplace of Warren. School Days. Graduation at Harvard. Studying Medicine. Warren as a Physician. The " Sons of Liberty." Warren's Activity in Politics. Boston Massacre. Oration at the Old South Church. Liberty's Advocate. The Tea Party. Fanenil Hall Meeting. Fourth Anniversary of Bos- ton Massacre. Second Oration. Fears of Assassination. The Crisis Met. Paul Revere's Ride. Warren's Presentiment. Battle of Bunker Hill. Death of Warren. "'Tis Sweet for One's Country to Die." Honors to his Memory. Bunker Hill Monument 43 CHAPTER III. NATHANIEL GREENE. Birthplace and Ancestry. Work at the Plough and the Anvil. Studying Euclid over the Forge. Education under Disadvantages. Lindley Murray and Dr. Styles. Loveof the Dance. Ingenious Shingle Device. Marriage. On the Road to Lexington. Made a (ix) x CONTENTS. Major-General. Expelled from the Quakers. Sick in Camp. At Trenton. The Brandywine. Greene's Bravery. Gerraantown. The Fight through the Fog. Valley Forge and Monmouth. The Army of the South. The Long Chase of Cornwallis. Siege of Ninety-six. Eetirement 54 CHAPTER IV. LAFAYETTE. Noble Lineage of the Marquis. Early Surroundings. A Member of the King's Regiment. Commissioned at Fifteen. Marriage. The Dinner at Metz. Noble Resolve. Preparations to Sail for America. Obstacles Everywhere. Voyage of the " Victory." Arrival. Home of Benjamin Huger. Journey to Philadelphia. Fighting for Liberty. Battle of Brandywine. Services in the Revolution. Arnold and Lafayette. Return to France. Visit to the United States. Terrors of the French Revolution. Flight and Imprisonment. The Magdeburg Dungeon. Liberated by Napoleon. Visit to the United States in 1824. Joyful Welcome. The Citizen King of the French. Last Days of Lafayette. 61 CHAPTER V. ISRAEL PUTNAM. Ancestry of Putnam. Boyhood Days. Marriage. Removal to Pomfret. Adventure with the Wolf. Seven Years' War. Put- nam in Command of a Company. Adventures along the Hudson. Surprised by Indians. Down the Rapids. Indian Superstition. Putnam at the Stake. The Rescue. The Guns of Lexington. The Plow Exchanged for the Sword. Murray Hill and the Quakeress. Putnam's Rapid Rise in the Army. Ruse at Prince- ton. Escape at Horseneck. Paralysis. The Last of Earth. Eulogiums 74 CHAPTER VI. Birthplace of Allen. The New Hampshire Grants. The Green Mountain Boys. Ethan Allen a Leader. Price on his Head. Allen's Fearlessness. The Revolution. Capture of Ticonderoga. Benedict Arnold's Part in the Affair. Allen in Canada. The Army of Invasion. Plans for the Capture of Montreal. The Fatal Snare. Allen a Prisoner. Brutal Treatment by British Officers. In Falmouth, England. The Gentlemen of Cork. Exchanged. Liberty and the Green Mountains Once More. Joyful Welcome. Allen Again Fighting the Battles of Young Vermont. Review of his Character 87 CONTENTS. xi CHAPTER VII. FRANCIS MARION. The Huguenot Blood of Marion. Boyhood Days. Early Adven- tures. The Shipwreck. Battle with Cherokee Indians. Marion Leads the Forlorn Hope. The Bloody Pass. He Leaves Con- gress for the Army. Fame of Marion's Men. Battle around Savannah. The Williamsburg Band. Marion's Brigade. The Camp in the Swamp. Successful Surprises. The Dinner in the Woods. Tarleton and the Swamp-Fox. Song of Marion's Men. Fighting for Liberty without Clothes or Food. Marriage, Closing Scenes 106 CHAPTER VIII. JOHN PAUL JONES. The Sailor-Boy of Sol way Frith. Ancestry. Boyish Pursuits. His First Voyage. Rapid Rise in the Marine Service. In Virginia. America his Adopted Country. Created an Officer of the United States. Adventures on the Sea. The Terror of the Eng- lish. Action of the "Bon Hornme Richard" and "Serapis." Glorious Generalship. Surrender of the English Ship. Fame of the Chevalier Paul Jones. The Gold Sword and the Cross of Merit. American Prisoners Liberated. At the Courts of Den- mark and Russia. Last Days of the Hero 118 CHAPTER IX. THADDEUS KOSCIUSZKO. Early History of Kosciuszko. Education in the Art of War. An Affair of the Heart. Exile. Position on Washington's Staff! Siege of Ninety-Six. Service in Poland. Dictator and General- issimo. Battle of Raczlawice. Victory Followed by Defeat. Decisive Battle of Maciejowice. Overwhelmed by Superior Numbers. " Finis Polonse ! " Imprisonment. Freedom Re- gained. Retirement at Fonlainebleau. The Fall from the Preci- pice. Closing Scenes 140 CHAPTER X. HUGH MERCER. The Moors of Culloden. The Assistant-Surgeon of the Highland Army. Emigration to Pennsylvania. Indian Wars. Wounded and Alone. -Outbreak of the Revolution. The Fredericksburg Home. Farewells. Days of '76. First Campaign. A Gloomy Time. Influence of Washington. Across the Delaware. Affairs in Philadelphia. Putnam's Order. Hasty Adjournment of Con- gress. Change of Policy. Attack on Trenton. Victory. The Night March on Princeton. Desperate Fighting. Ten to One. Mercer Mortally Wounded. The Farm-House Scene. Last Moments. Victory and Death 145 X ji CONTENTS. CHAPTER XI. ANTHONY WAYNE. Birth and Ancestry. Youthful Bent Towards Military Studies.-* Marriage. Beginning of Public Life. In the Legislature. Commissioned as Colonel. Expedition to Canada. At Brandy- wine. Engagement of Germantown. Service at Valley Forge. Monmouth. Storming of Stony Point. Splendid Victory. Revolt of the Pennsylvania Line. Investment of Yorktown. War with the Indians. Peace Commissioner. Death at Presqne Isle. Monument of the Cincinnati 153 uvairons Dnaracter ot otarK. mcmem 01 dinner run. r>mn- place and Early Life. The Young Hunter. On a Trapping Excursion. Captured by the Indians. On the Way to St. Fran- cis. Running the Gauntlet. Admiration of the Tribe for the CHAPTER XII. JOHN STARK. Chivalrous Character of Stark. Incident of Bunker Hill. Birth- l! EJ cis. Running White Hunter. He is made a Chief. Seven Years' War. New Hampshire Rangers. Rattle in the Snow. Brilliant Fighting of Stark. Promoted. The Guns of Lexington. The Muster at Medford. Advance on Trenton. Princeton. Re-enlistment. Popularity of Stark. Under a Cloud. Defence of Vermont. Battle of Bennington. Close of the War. 1812. The Warrior's Last Sleep 160 CHAPTER XIII. WINFIELD SCOTT. Lineage and Early Life. A Captain cf Artillery. Court-Mar- tialled. Queenstown Heights. Tomahawks. Fort George. Battle of Chippewa. Lundy's Lane. Wounded. Public En- thusiasm. Through a Score of Years. War in Mexico. Vera Cruz. "Don't Expose Yourselves, Men!" Cerro Gordo. At Puebla. Churubusco. Contreras. Chapultepec. Molino del Rev. City of Mexico Taken. Grand Plaza Scene. Results. "Hail to the Chief!" 173 CHAPTER XIV. ZACHARY TAYLOR. His Characteristics. Duty, his Constant Watchword. Lineage.' Early Plantation Life. Indian Foes. Lieutenant in the United States Army. At Fort Harrison. Battle with Tecumseh. Brevet Major. The Florida War. Okeechobee. Ordered to Corpus Christi. Palo Alto. Resaca de la Palma. Promoted to Major-General. At Monterey. Bloody Buena Vista. Colonel Marshall's Opinion. General Taylor's Dislike for a Uniform. Ovations on his Return. Elected President. Stern Death. Last Scenes. Universal Sorrow 188 CONTENTS. liil CHAPTER XV. WILLIAM JENKINS WORTH. Early Life. The War of 1812. At West Point. The Seminole Wur. With Taylor in Mexico. At Monterey. Given an Inde- pendent Command. Description of the Assault. His General- shin. Storming of Federacion Hill. Conducting the Capitula- tion. At Vera Cruz. Perote and Puebla. Capture of El Molino del Key. Storming of Chapultepec. Brevetted Major- General. Monument in Madison Square 203 CHAPTER XVI. JOHN E. WOOL. War of 1812. Wool's Volunteer Corps. Captaincy in the Thir- teenth. Bravery at Queenstown. Death of General Brock. Battle of Plattsburg. Promoted for Gallantry. Letter from President Madison. Another Promotion. Mexican War. The March to Monclova. Capture of Parras. The Mission of Mercy. Buena Vista. Wool Entrusted with the Details. Birthplace. Where he Died. Fortress Monroe. Hie Jacet. The Chief's War Horse. Military Funeral 209 CHAPTER XVII. SAM HOUSTON. Early History. Scotch Ancestry. Birthplace. School Days in the Forest. Hard Work on the Farm. Homer's Iliad. Off to the Woods. Among the Cherokees. Military Service. The Soldier under Jackson. Battle of the Horse-Shoe. Desperate Bravery. Wounded. Promotion. Role as a Lawyer. Rises Rapidly to Distinction. The Domestic Cloud. Return to the Forest. Emigration to Texas. Houston as General. Massacre of the Alamo. Battle of San Jacinto. The Young Republic and her President. Annexation. In the United States Senate. Houston as Governor. Last Days 212 CHAPTER XVIII. JAMES SHIELDS. The Land of his Nativity. First Army Experience. The Mexi- can War-cloud. Promotion. The March through Mexico. At Cerro Gordo. Brilliant Achievement. Wounded unto Death. The Storming of Contreras. Aid to Smith. A Generous Piece of Conduct. Chapultepec. Under a Galling Fire. Refuses to Leave the Field though Wounded. His Return to the United States. The War of Rebellion. The Spring of '62. Defeat of "Stonewall" Jackson. Leaving the Army 227 X 1V CONTENTS. CHAPTER XIX. CHARLES MAY. Colonel May a Native of Washington. Commissioned a Lieutenant by President Jackson. Ordered to Florida. Participates in th Capture of the Indian Chief Philip. Opening of the Mexican War. Joins General Taylor. Co-operates with Captain Walker. Famous Charge at Resaca de la Palma. Gallant Conduct at Buena Vista. Returns to the United States 230 CHAPTER XX. ULYSSES S. GRANT. The Grants of the Early Scotch Monarchy. Family Crests. Direct Ancestry. Boyhood. Feats of Horsemanship. Loading Wood. Old ""Dave" and Young Ulysses. At West Point- Experience in Mexican War. Marriage. Resigns His Com- mission. In the Leather Business. Beginning of Last War. Recruiting a Company. Battle of Belmont. Cairo Expedition. Fort Donelson. Shiloh. Vicksburg. Chattanooga. Mis- sionary Ridge and Lookout Mountain. Opinions of a Sachem. The Last Campaign. Lee's Surrender. Elected and Re- elected President 245 CHAPTER XXI. WILLIAM TECUMSEH SHERMAN. Distinguishing Characteristic of Political Revolutions. Birth of General Sherman. Suddenly Left an Orphan. Adopted by Hon. Thomas Ewing. Sent to West Point. Ordered to Califor- nia. Becomes a Banker. Is Made President of the Louisiana Military Academy. Opposed to Secession. Tenders his Resig- nation. Assists in Organizing Troops for the Suppression of the Rebellion. At Bull Run. At Shiloh, Pittsburgh Landing, Chat- tanooga and Missionary Ridge. Defeats Hood. From Atlanta to the Sea, Campaign of the Carolinas. Receives the Surrender of Johnston. Enthusiastic Reception at Washington. . . 263 CHAPTER XXII. PHILIP HENRY SHERIDAN. Impetuosity of Character. A Poor Irish Boy. At West Point- Wild Conduct. Graduation. Service in Western Territories. Captain of the Thirteenth Infantry. Quarter-master under Hal- leek. As a Cavalry Officer. Battle of Booneville. Promotiob to Brigadier-General. Murfreesboro'. At Chickamauga and Missionary Ridge. In Pursuit of Early. Cedar Creek. Sheri- dan's Ride. The Victory. At Five Forks and Appomattox. After the War. , 27S CONTENTS. CHAPTER XXIII. GEORGE BKINTON Birth and Education. In the Mexican War. Services in Survey! of Railroad Routes. A Model Report. Sent to the Crimea. Superintendent of the Illinois Central.-r-Response to Governor Dennison. Over the Department of the Ohio. Virginia Cam- paigns. In Command of the Army of the Potomac. Movement to the Peninsula. Siege of Yorktown. Army Withdrawn. MeClellan's Letter. Again in Command of the Potomac Army. South Mountain and Antietam. Relieved of his Command at Warrenton. Nominated for the Presidency. In Europe. Gov- ernor of New Jersey .............. 287 CHAPTER XXIV. AMBROSE EVERETT BURNSIDE. His Scotch Blood. Graduates at West Point. In New Mexico. As an Inventor. Marching to the Front. At Bull Run. Pro- motion. In Command of the North Carolina Expedition." Capture of Newbern, Fort Macon and Beaufort. At Antietam. Slaughter at Fredericksburg. Tenders his Resignation. Brilliant Capture of East Tennessee. Before Petersburg. Elected Governor of Rhode Island. In Congress. . . . 298 CHAPTER XXV. GEORGE HENRY THOMAS. A Second Washington. Birth and Education. Promotion for Bravery. In Mexico. Prompt Response at the Outbreak of Civil War. The Battle of Mill Spring. Declines to Supersede Buell. At Murfreesboro'. Chickamauga. Position of Troops Under Thomas. Their Firm Stand. "The Rock of Chick a- mauga." At Chattanooga. The Atlanta Campaign. Grant's Telegram. Battle of Nashville. Thanks of Congress and Gold Medal. End of the War. Goes to the Pacific Coast. . . 304 CHAPTER XXVI. JOSEPH HOOKER. Lookout Mountain. The Battle Above the Clouds. The Splendor of Victory. The Strange Thanksgiving Day. Taylor's Descrip- tion. The Old Flag at the Top. General Howard in Lookout Valley. Hooker at Chattanooga. The Peninsular Campaign. "Fighting Joe." Wounded. Chief in Command. Chancellors- ville. The Atlanta Campaign. Promotion of Howard. Hooker Resigns in Consequence. Mustered out of Service. . . . 314 xv i CONTENTS. CHAPTER XXVII. GEORGE GORDON MEADE. Ancestry. A Fragment of Eventful History. Birth in Spain. At West' Point. In the Florida War. In the Mexican War. Hi I art in the Peninsular Campaign. At Antietam. In Command of the Army of the Potomac. A Remarkable Order. At Get- tysburg. The Desperate Last Effort. His Report. Congrat- ulatory Address. Thanks of Congress. Advance to the Rappa- hannock. Close Friendship between Meade and Grant. Over the Atlantic Department. Death in Philadelphia, . . . 326 CHAPTER XXVIII. HENRY WARNER SLOCUM. Birth and Education. A Lawyer in Syracuse. On the War-Path. In the Chickahominy. At Antietam, South Mountain and Chancellorsville. The Field of Gettysburg. The Repulse of Ewell's Troops. In Tennessee. Commanding the Vicksburg District. The Georgia Campaign. Marching through the Enemy's Country. Battle of Bentonville. A Splendid Fight. Gei.ius of Slocum ............... 332 CHAPTER XXIX. JAMES BIRDSEYE His Ability. Ancestry and Early Life. Superior Scholarship at West Point. In New York Harbor. On the Pacific Coast. Sent to Boston Harbor. Slow Promotion. On Halleck's Staff. Services at Forts Henry and Donelson. Engineering Work at Corinth. His First Independent Command. Vicksbii'g. Grant's Endorsement. With Sherman. In Command of the Army of the Tennessee. Postponement of Marriage. March to the Sea. Battle with Hood. His Death. Grant's Letter. 337 CHAPTER XXX. WINFIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. ^he Brilliant Charge at Williamsburg. Popular Favor. Birth and Early Training. In the Mexican War. The Florida Cam- paign. Ordered to Washington. At Antietam. Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville. His Stand at Gettysburg. Cemetery Hill. Wounded. In the Last Grant Campaign. Battle at Ely's Ford. Assault of May Twelfth. Capture of Stuart. "I Decline to Take Your Hand." In Charge of the Veteran First Corps In the Sheuandoah Valley. Characteristics. ..... <*47 CONTENTS. CHAPTER XXXI. JOHN CHARLES FREMONT. Ths Hundred Days in Missouri. Birth and Early Life. On Board the " Natchez." Beginning to be an Explorer. Marriage with Jessie Benton. Westward Ho ! Discoveries. Conquest of Cali- fornia. Across the Continent. Senator 'from California. In Command of the Western Department. Causes of Removal. Presidential Candidate. An Extraordinary Bide. What He Achieved 352 CHAPTER XXXII. OLIVER OTIS HOWARD. The Christian Soldier. Early Life. OS to the Wars. Bravery in Battle. Loss of an Arm. Antietam. Fredericksburg. Chan- cellorsville. Gettysburg. The Atlanta Campaign. Chief of the Arnty of the Tennessee. Convalescence. His Religious Con- victions. Story of a Wagon-Master. In Charge of the Freed- man's Bureau. Sherman's Letter 357 CHAPTER XXXIII. DAVID GLASCOE FARRAGTJT. The Power of the Navy. Early Years of Farragut. Remarkable Instance of Boyish Bravery. Forty-eight Years of Quiet Life. Union Sentiments. Extract from Private Letter. Castilian Ancestry. Naval Combats on the Mississippi. Capture of New Orleans. The Bay Fight at Mobile. Lashed to the Mast in the "Hartford." Official Tour of European Ports. Personal Habits of Farragut 361 CHAPTER XXXIV. FRANZ SIGEL. Early Military Education and Career. Espousal of the Cause of the Revolutionists. Exiled. Arrival in the United States. Life Previous to the War. A Volunteer in the Union Army. His Military Ability. At Wilson's Creek. The Battle of Pea Ridge. Fighting Against Enormous Odds. Splendid Skill Ex- hibited by Sigel. Difficulties with Halleck. New York Indig- nation Meeting. In Command at Harper's Ferry. Battle of Newmarket. Close of Military Career. ....... 368 CHAPTER XXXV. HUGH JUDSON KILPATRICK. Born for the Cavalry. Romance of Early Life. Married on the Eve of Going to the Front. Her Name on his Banner. Big Bethel. Wounded. To the Front again. Falmouth Heights.- CONTENTS, Kilpatrick's First Famous Raid. Brandy Station." Men ot Maine, Follow Me ! " Aldie. Gettysburg. Night Battle at Monterey. New Baltimore. Attempt to Rescue Prisoners. Atlanta Campaign. Resaca. Wounded. Georgia Campaign. Waynesboro'. At Savannah. Sherman's Letter. Promotio_n. In the Carolinas. Close of the War ........ 375 CHAPTER XXXVI. PHILIP KEARNY. Birthplace. Where Educated. In Europe. Fighting Abroad. Honors. Participates in the Mexican War. Loss of an Arm. In Europe Again. At Magenta and Solferino. At the Front in our Last War. Bravery at Williamsburg. Promotion. Kear- ny's Power over his Men. The Battle of Chantilly. Death's Sad Eclipse." Lay Him Low." 387 CHAPTER XXXVII. NATHANIEL LYON. Of Soldier Ancestry. Early Childhood. Graduates at West Point In the Mexican War. On the Frontier. Rescue of the St. Louis Arsenal. Given the Chief Command in Missouri. At Wilson's Creek. Fighting Against Terrible Odds. Twice Wounded. The Last Charge. Lyon's Fall. His Civilian's Dress. Funeral Honors. The Sorrowful Multitudes. Funeral Oration at Eastford. Resolutions of Respect 391 CHAPTER XXXVIII. ELMER EPHRAIM ELLSWORTH. ** How Knightly looked he as he rode to Hounds ! " Character. An Enthusiast in Military Science. The French Zouave Tac- tics. A Noble Ambition. Early Struggles. The Chicago Zouaves. Their Perfection of Drill and Character. A Tour of Triumph. In New York. A Favorite of Lincoln. The War Clarion. New York Fire Zouaves. Sword Presentations. In the South. Last Night at Alexandria. Letter Home. The Dread Tragedy. Universal Grief. Lincoln's Sorrow. The Genius of Ellsworth 39ti CHAPTER XXXIX EDWARD DICKINSON BAKER. The English Boy on American Shores. Early Struggles. Off for the West. Efforts as a Young Lawyer in Springfield. Congres- sional Honors. Leadership on the Forum. In the Mexican War. Removal to the Pacific Coast. Popularity as an Advocate. -Oration over Broderick. Sent to the United S'tates Senate from CONTENTS. x i x Oregon. Union Square Speech. Organization of the California Regiment. To the Front. Ball's BiufL Last Scenes. . 407 CHAPTER XL. GEORGE ARMSTRONG CUSTER. Early Life of General Ouster. School Experience* First Love. Sent to West Point. Trials of a Plebe. The Attack on Fort Sumter. Graduates and Goes to Washington. Ordered to join his Regiment. Incidents of the Battle of Bull Run. Describes his First Emotions. On Staff Duty. The Peninsula Campaign. Ouster's First Charge. Winning the Bars. General McClellan Relieved. Custer at Monroe. The Course of True Love. Bat- tle of Aldie. Made a General. Battle of Gettysburg. The Last Raid. Appomattox Court House. The Seventh Cavalry. Life on the Plains. Battle of the Washita. Rain-in-the-face, Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse. The Last Battle. 415 She PART FIKST. flf the SUBJECTS: Chapter Pa L GEORGE WASHINGTON 21 II. JOSEPH WARREN 43 III. NATHANIEL GREENE 54 IV. GILBERT MOTTIER LAFAYETTE 61 V. ISRAEL PUTNAM 74 VI. ETHAN ALLEN 87 VII. FRANCIS MARION 106 VIII. JOHN PAUL JONES 118 IX. THADDEUS KOSCIUSZKO 140 X. HUGH MERCER 146 XL ANTHONY WAYNE , 153 XII. JOHN STARK 160 (20) HEROES OF THREE WARS. CHAPTER I. GEORGE WASHINGTON. Ancestral Lines. Saxon Origin of Name. Family Coat of Arms. Emigration to Virginia. Birth and Childhood. School Life.- 1 - The Young Surveyor. Commissioned Major. A Six-Hundred- Mile Journey. Battle at Fort Necessity. Braddock's Defeat and Death. Falling in Love. Marriage with the Widow Custis. Opening Scenes in the Revolution. Appointed Comrnander-in- Chief. Meeting the Army at Cambridge. The Declaration. The Long, Long War. Retreat Through the Jerseys. Crossing the Delaware. Battle of Princeton. Monmouth. Close of the Revo- lution. Farewell to Companions-in-Arms. As President of the United States. THIS wonderful Life is enveloped in the pure rays of a fame which can find no equal : .in which Justice became embodied as a noble passion united to a nobler fortitude : the channel of whose genius was world-wide like the ocean, touching all shores: every- where the liberator and firm champion of duty, which, to him, was the only gateway to glory : standing fearlessly in the breach, in defence of young Liberty, when the despotism of decay and king-craft attempted its destruction : the wise architect of a nation's destiny, laying deep its foundations in universal law as the expression of universal right: whom Honor crowned with her most blazing star, and who remained unspoiled, though on him " affluent Fortune emptied (21) 22 HEROES OF THREE WARS. all her horn:" the adulation of millions could not divest him of his gentle humility. He was the incar- nate spirit of the New-World Thermopylae, hurling back to their Upas soil the swarming desecrators of freedom. America yet feels his breath upon her, nor could she, without him, have risen to her present state. The rays of such a glorious sun must still continue to illumine her future as they have gilded the past and enriched the present with an ever-accumulating wealth of light ! There is a singular unanimity of opinion in ascribing to George Washington an exceptional character. It was certainly one of peculiar symmetry, in which a happy combination of qualities, moral, social and in- tellectual, were guided to appropriate action by a re- markable power of clear judgment. It was just the combination calculated to lead a spirited and brave people through such a trying crisis as the American Revolution. His star was not dark and bright by turns did not reveal itself in uncertain and fitful glimmerings but shone with a full and steady lumi- nosity across the troubled night of a nation's beginning. Under these broad and beneficent rays the Ship of State was guided, through a sea of chaos, to safe an- chorage. The voyage across those seven, eventful years was one that tried men's souls. Often, appalling dangers threatened. Wreck on the rocks of disunion, engulfment in the mountain waves of opposition, starvation and doubt and mutiny on shipboard these were a few of the perils which beset their course. But a royal-souled Commander stood at the helm, and dis- cerned, afar off, the green shores of Liberty. On this GEORGE WASHINGTON. 23 land the sunshine fell with fruitful power. The air was sweet with the songs of birds. Contentment, peace, prosperity, reigned. Great possibilities were shadowed forth within its boundaries, and a young nation, grow- ing rapidly towards a splendid era of enlightenment, was foreseen as a product of the near future. It took a man with deep faith in the ultimate rule of right and in humanity to occupy that position ; a man with large heart, with unselfish aims, with prophetic instincts, with clear and equalized brain. George Washington possessed all of these qualities and more. It is difficult to estimate what might have been the destiny of America with this man's influence left out. No one can well calculate how much he had to do with the formative stages of American Independence. The masses may become agitated with germinal ideas, may seethe with internal fires; but it takes the mind of the leader to crystallize those ideas into form to convert floating material into use. This was the mis- sion of Washington, and nobly did he fulfil the sacred trust. His life naturally divides itself into three parts: First, that of the youthful soldier ; Second, the commander ; Third, the nation's beloved champion and ruler. There is ever a questioning gaze, a kind of loving curiosity, turned towards the streams of birth and ancestry of the world's great leaders of men who have won imperishable renown in the service of their coun- try, and a quiet satisfaction fills us if we discover that such lineage flows back to a beginning of noble men and women. The origin of the name of Washington, the far- away springs of blood which coursed through the "eins of those who bore the manorial title, cannot fail 24 HEROES OF THREE WARS. to be of interest to the reader. "We learn of them first in the "Bolden Book," a record of all lands contained in a certain diocese in the county of Durham, England, in 1183. One William De Hertburn, during this time of the Conquest, held the village of De Hertburn in knight's fee ; probably the same now called Hart- burn, on the banks of the Tees. It is stated in the "Bolden Book" that this gentleman exchanged his village of Hertburn for the manor and village of Wessyngton, in the same diocese engaging to pay the bishop a quit-rent of four pounds and to attend him with two greyhounds in grand hunts, and furnish a man-at-arms whenever military aid should be required of the palatinate. With a change of estate came a change of surname, and from that time the family took the title of De Wyssington. The name is supposed to be of Saxon origin, and existed in England prior to the Conquest. The village of Wassengtone is mentioned in a Saxon charter granted by King Edgar, in 973, to Thorney Abbey. From the ancient De Wyssington we have the modern Washington. Laurence Washington, of "Gray's Inn," was for some time Mayor of Northampton, and on the dissolu- tion of the priories by Henry the Eighth, received a grant of the Manor of Sulgrave. This was in 1538. The grandson of this first lord of Sulgrave had many children. Two of them John and Laurence Wash- ington emigrated to Virginia about the year 1657, and settled at Bridges Creek, Westmoreland County, on the Potomac River. Here they bought lands and became successful planters. The sou of John, one of these boys, married Mildred Warner, of Gloucester GEORGE WASHINGTON. 25 County, and from this union came Augustine, the father of our illustrious General. The mother of the Wash- ington boys, who emigrated to Virginia in the seven- teenth century, was Eleanor Hastings, daughter and heiress of John Hastings, who was grandson to Francis, second Earl of Huntingdon. Through Lady Hun- tingdon she was the descendant of George, Duke of Clarence, brother to King Edward the Fourth and King Richard Third by Isabel Nevil, daughter and heiress of Richard, Earl of Warwick, the king-maker. It has been affirmed that the pedigree of the Hastings branch goes back to the great Danish sea-king, whose sails were long the terror of both coasts of the British Channel. One branch wore, in the fourteenth cen- tury, the coronet of Pembroke. From another branch sprang Chamberlain, the faithful adherent of the White Rose. The Earldom of Huntingdon was received by this family from the Tudors, which, after a long dispossession, has been quite recently regained. If this lineage is correct, Washington was entitled to quarter, on his escutcheon, the arms of Hastings, Pole, Earl of Salisbury, Plantagenet, Scotland, Mortimer, Earl of March, Nevil, Montagu, Beauchamp and Devereaux. But his brightest armorial blazonry, his chiefest patents of nobility, were his unpreten- tious virtues, his humility, his probity ; whereby a nation was led through many struggles to a free exist- ence. These are insignia of rank which cannot bs taken from him. First, then, we are to speak of him as the boy-man. In the year 1732 there stood on the banks of Bridges Creek one of those primitive farm-houses of Virginia, with roof steep and .sloping down into low, 26 HEROES OF THESE WARS. projecting eaves, which was then iu the prevailing style. It had four rooms on the ground-floor, other rooms in the attic, and an immense chimney at each end. The site commanded a magnificent view over many miles of the Potomac and the opposite Maryland shore. Here lived the family of Augustine Washing- ton, and here, in the forenoon of February twenty- second, was born the infant boy who was destined, in his single person, to reflect more glory on his name than the whole line, for ten generations back, had conferred on him. The record, still preserved in the family Bible, says that he " was baptized the third of April fol- lowing," and that " Mr. Beverly Whiting and Captain Christopher Brooks " acted as godfathers, and " Mrs. Mildred Gregory" as godmother. Not long after this event his father moved from the ancestral acres to the banks of the Rappahannock, nearly opposite what is now Fredericksburg. History tells us that from infancy this boy developed a noble character. His childhood if it could be called such was happy; his youth looking back on it from this distance seemed a training school, especially adapted to his future career. He was said to have been handsome in features, with well-proportioned physique and gen- tle manners. He had great moral courage, frankness, integrity, and a keen sense of honor. In brief, the boy was father to the man. At twelve years of age he was left without a father. At fifteen and a-half he had finished school. His bent was towards mathe- matical and scientific pursuits, and he therefore fitted himself for the profession of a civil engineer. At thirteen he had made a manuscript collection of sixty- nine rules for the government of conduct, which might GEORGE WASHINGTON. 27 be said to constitute of themselves a code of moral philosophy. When he had just passed sixteen, in March of the year 1748, he was engaged by Lord Fairfax to survey his immense possessions of land just purchased in that then wild region. With an Indian guide and a few woodsmen, the fearless boy set out on this hardy mission. It occupied the year. In per- forming it, he faced all the difficulties, dangers and hardships of the explorer sleeping at night on a bear- skin or some straw before the fire, and, for months, not taking off his clothes. At nineteen, he had so grown in the regard of Virginians that he was ap- pointed major over one of the military districts, into which the province was divided for defence against the Indians. Then began the bloody struggle between England and France for the possession of America. A com- missioner was to be sent across the Alleghenies on a perilous, six-hundred-mile journey, bearing remon- stances from Great Britain to one of the French posts there stationed. Who, in all the colony, was there to undertake this daring enterprise? The Scotch Gov- ernor Dinwiddie looked around him inquiringly. George Washington, twenty years old, volunteered his services. This was regarded by all, as heroic to a high degree. He started from AVilliamsburg, Virginia, November fourteenth, 1753, with eight men, including two Indian guides. They went to the headwaters of the Monongahela, from there to the Ohio, and in birch canoes, paddled down that stream for nearly three hundred miles, to the point now occupied by Pitts- burg. The party reached the end of their journey in forty-one days. The mission was performed, and 28 HEROES OF THREE WARS. through many perils by flood and field, the returning party reached Williamsburg again the sixteenth of January, 1754. Washington made his report to the governor, which was published and read eagerly in the colonies and England, and established the fact that the French meant to defend their rights of discovery, and that they had the hearty co-operation of the Indians. The Legislature of Virginia was then in session, and Washington one day mingled with the crowd in the gallery to witness the proceedings of the House. The speaker saw him, and rose from his chair. " I propose," said he, " that the thanks of this House be given to Major Washington, who now sits in the gallery, for the gallant manner in which he has executed the important trust lately reposed in him by his Excellency, the Governor." The applause and enthusiasm was universal. Every one rose to do him homage, and Washington was con- ducted, blushing, to the speaker's desk. Then a hushed silence fell on the waiting crowd to hear what might fall from his lips. But the young Major, thus taken by surprise, was speechless. The speaker saw the situ- ation and hastened to his relief. Directing him to a chair, he said : " Sit down, Major Washington, sit down ! Your modesty is alone equal to your merit." An army of four hundred men was raised by com- mand of Governor Dinwiddie, and Washington was appointed colonel of the regiment. The avowed object was to subjugate the French and compel recog- nition of the right of the British Crown to this conti- nent. When the little band was within a few days' march of Fort Du Quesne (the site of Pittsburg), they were GEORGE WASHINGTON. 29 thrown into consternation by learning the superior force and position of the French. M. De Villiers, who had been thoroughly posted on the movements of the English from the outset, sent a peace commission of thirty-four men, under Jumonville, a civilian, to advise Colonel Washington to return. Learning of the approach of this party, Washington, with a strong detachment commanded by himself, on a night of Egyptian darkness, surprised the sleeping camp, killed Jumonville and ten men and captured the remainder. It is generally agreed that Washington supposed this party intended to attack him, though their small numbers would seem to contradict the theory. Be this as it may, the result proved a firebrand which kindled the flames of war between France and England. A battle immediately followed, at a place named Fort Necessity, on the banks of the Monongahela, in which the little army had no choice but to surrender to the French commander at Fort Du Quesne. It is unnecessary to give, in detail, a description of the long war for mastery between the French and Eng- lish powers. Our aim is not that of the historian, but rather the artist, who uses events as the back- ground against which character reveals itself, in more or less striking outlines. England sent to these shores, as commander of her army, General Braddock, a man conspicuously unfitted for the work committed to his care. Colonial affairs were treated with contempt by court and cabinet. Governor Dinwiddie reduced Washington to the rank of captain, placing over him officers whom he had com- manded. Washington immediately resigned, but Hccepted a position as aide on Braddock's staff, which 30 HEROES OF THESE WARS. was then offered him, with his former rank. The march of Braddock's army into the valley of death despite the warnings and advice of Washington, their bloody annihilation, the death of their leader, the march back with the remnant of British soldiers that escaped these all followed in rapid sequence. Then we see the young colonel at the head of seven hundred men, raised by Virginia, for frontier defence. In 1756 he was called to Boston, and travelled the entire five hundred miles on horseback, with two aides and black servants in livery. After his return to Winchester, where a central fort was established, he was so assailed and thwarted in his plans that "nothing" he said, "but the imminent danger of the times prevented him from resigning his command." People everywhere looked to Washington to protect them. They came to him with supplications women with children men from the halls of legislation. All this touched him deeply. In 1758 an expedition was organized to march against Fort Du Quesne, under command of General Forbes. Two thousand men raised by Virginia were commanded by Washington. They set out early iu July. The whole force consisted of six thousand men. When the " provincials," as they were called, gathered at Winchester, it was found that they were in need of everything necessary to such an exploit: arms, ammu- nition, field-equipage, etc. Washington went at once to Williamsburg to ask aid of the Council. While on this journey, just after crossing the Pamunky river, he met at the house of a wealthy Vir- ginia gentleman the beautiful young widow, Martha Custis. He seems to have been fascinated by her from the first moment of meeting, and when, on the following GEORGE WASHINGTON. 31 morning;, he left the house of his host, his troth was plighted to this charming lady and he had received hers in return. They were to be married at the termination of the Fort Du Quesne campaign. On the march thitherward a similar fate to that of Braddock's army met some of the commands. They were hemmed in by narrow ravines, surprised by the superior strategy of Indians, and killed remorselessly. But the Virginia troops, led by Washington, reached the fort only to find it a smouldering heap of ashes. For, on the previous night, the French commander had blown up the magazine, burned the defences, and embarked his troops five hundred in number on the Ohio. The English victories in Canada had cut off reinforcements and supplies to the lonely fort, and left them unpre- pared to meet their opponents. They had, therefore, no choice but retreat. Another fort was erected on the site of the ancient Du Quesne and named Fort Pitt. Washington returned to Virginia, and on the sixth of January was married to Mrs. Custis at the " White House," the home of the beautiful and wealthy bride. This place was not far from Williamsburg, in New Kent County. He remained here for three months, and then took his seat in the House of Burgesses at Williamsburg. At the close of the session he removed, with his family, to Mount Vernon, and believed him- self, as he expressed it, " fixed for life." During these halcyon days we have a pleasant little picture of his domestic life as it passed on this princely estate a picture in happy contrast with the dark scenes of war which had shadowed his previous ex- perience, and which were to be a part of his future. He rose at five o'clock in the morning, read or wrote 32 HEROES OF THREE WARS. until seven, breakfasted on two small cups of tea and gome hoe-cake, and afterwards mounted one of hi? superb horses and made the " rounds " of his broad acres. He dined at two o'clock, retired at about nine; was fond of athletic sports and the hunt. A lovely barge on the Potomac, manned by six negroes in uni- form, was one of his possessions. He dispensed a large hospitality, his house being frequented by troops of guests. Meanwhile, he was appointed Judge of the County Court and had undertaken a project to explore the Dismal Swamp. In 17G3 the peace of Fontainebleau was signed. The French had been driven from these shores and England sheathed the sword of conquest. The passage of the "Stamp Act" in 1764 incensed the people and called forth that patriotic burst of eloquence from Patrick Henry which afterwards be- came so renowned. Washington felt the approach of the gathering war-cloud, and returned to Mount Ver- non from the House of Burgesses filled with gloomy forebodings. The British government became alarmed at the temper of America, and, as a matter of concilia- tion, repealed the "Stamp Act." This was in March, 17GG. But the tax on tea and other merchandise fol- lowed, and two regiments of English regulars were sent across the water to intimidate the colonists. This was adding insult to injury. The Virginia Assembly denounced Parliament for imposing taxes without allowing representation, and bold resolves were made, declaring that the taxing power should be vested alone \n the colonists. Lord Botetort, the new governor, who had set up his court in great splendor in Virginia, GEORGE nASIIIXGTON. 33 heard of these daring denunciations. He summoned the council to his audience chamber, and, in a haughty manner, dissolved the State Assembly. They then convened in a private dwelling, and at this meeting Washington presented a "draft of an association to dis- countenance the use of all British merchandise taxed by Parliament to raise a revenue in America." Every member signed it, and a printed copy of the draft was scattered broadcast over the country. It was every- where applauded. "Non-Importation Associations" sprang up in all the colonies. British commerce felt this action, and petitions from British merchants, for the repeal of the taxes, poured into Parliament. Lord North, at this time England's prime minister, removed the importation duties on all articles except tea. That, he said, must be continued, in order to establish "the authority of the mother country." In vain did earnest and eloquent men in the English Parliament plead for the rights of the colonists. In vain were petitions in vain remonstrances. Every one who dared to make an appeal to British power, in favor of justice, fell at once into disfavor. George the Third and his court were deaf to all save selfish considerations. Thus events drifted forward, bringing in their wake the birth-throes of a great nation. The Boston Tea Party, disguised as Indians, boarded the English ships at night and emptied the tea-chests into Boston haj'bor. In return, insulting decrees were fulminated from the throne, declaring that Massachusetts should no longer have a voice in the selection of her rulers, and that the port at Boston should be closed. In Virginia, the House of Burgesses was broken up by Lord Dupmore, 34 UEBOES OF THREE WAES. tho colonial governor appointed by the crown. Public indignation against these tyrannies flamed forth every- where. Letters came from Boston to Williamsburg recommending a Jeague of the colonies and the suspen- ftiou of trade with England. The day on which the "Boston Port Bill" was to be enforced was observed with fasting and prayer. Flags were at half-mast and funeral bells were tolled. The colonists became rap- idly convinced that nothing would satisfy the cruel despotism of George the Third save their slavish sub- mission. This could not be given. And so the war crisis approached nearer and more near. Patriot brows grew thoughtful and patriot hearts resolute as the danger defined itself. The first Con- tinental Congress met in Philadelphia, September fifth, 1774, and Washington was a delegate from Virginia, lie had come there on horseback from Mount Vernou in company with Patrick Henry and Edmund Pendle- ton. In that time of sublime fusion of souls, when all were drawn into concerted action by a common, heroic purpose, no one, among that distinguished assembly of great minds, exhibited a loftier patriotism, a nobler enthusiasm, or more self-sacrificing spirit than the country's future beloved General. He who had said to the Virginia Assembly when Boston was menaced, " I am ready to raise one thousand men, subsist them at my own expense, and march at their head to the relief of Boston," could not certainly be accused of sel- fish or mercenary motives. When, after a session of fifty-one days, Congress disbanded, Patrick Henry said of him, "If you speak of solid information, and sound judgment, Colonel Washington is unquestionably the greatest man on that floor." GEORGE WASHINGTON. 35 " It is useless," said this prince of orators afterwards, at the Richmond convention, "to address further peti- tions to the British government, or to await the effect of those already addressed to the throne. We must fight ! I repeat it, we must fight ! An appeal to arms and to the God of hosts is all that is left us." In April, 1775, the first patriot blood was spilled at Lexington and all the country was stung to indignation. " To arms ! " was the cry which echoed from colony to colony. The second Congress met in May, 1775, and formed a military confederacy vested with legislative powers for their own defence. Washington was appointed chairman of committee on military affairs. The question which now swept Congress and hov- ered with anxious portent on all lips was, " Who shall be commander-in-chief of the united armies?" John Adams had the honor to first propose George Washington for this position. "A gentleman," he said, " whose skill and experience as an officer, whose inde- pendent fortune, great talents and excellent universal character would command the approbation of all Amer- ica, and unite the cordial exertions of all the colonies, better than any other person in the Union." The vote, which was given by ballot, was found to be unanimous for Washington. , Congress, therefore, on May fifteenth, adopted the "Continental Army" and fixed the pay of the Com- mander-in-chief at five hundred dollars per month. This salary Washington declined, asking only that Congress defray his expenses. He received his commission on the 20th of June, arid the next day set out from Philadelphia for th 30 HEROES OF THREE WAKS. army. He was accompanied by Generals Lee and Schuylcr and an escort of Philadelphia troops. Twenty miles outside the city they were met by a flying courier with news of the battle of Bunker Hill. Anxiously, every particular of the action was gleaned. Washing- ton listened breathlessly, and when told of the heroic behavior of the Americans, exclaimed, with emotion, " The liberties of our country are safe ! " As he journeyed onward towards Cambridge, vol- unteer escorts of citizens and soldiers went with him from town to town. Every one was anxious to see- him, and everywhere he produced the same favorable effect on the minds of the people. On the third of July, the army, drawn up on Cambridge common, formally received its commander, and his presence imparted to it a wonderful access of enthusiasm. From this time onward, for eight long, suffering years, until April, 1783, the war of the American Revolution dragged its slow length along; and the. history of General "Washington is so interwoven with the struggle, that one could not be written without the other. Space can be given to only a few striking illus- trations of this great man's generalship. The manner in which the siege of Boston was con- ducted, terminating in Howe's precipitate retreat, has been regarded by military judges as a masterly achieve- ment. On the fourth of July, 1776, the great Decla- rcilo;i was adopted, and the army received it with wild demonstrations of joy. Y/ashb^ton's retreat through the Jerseys was un- questionably a piece of splendid generals!) i p. " With a lucre handful of freezing, starving, ragged men, ho retreated more tliau a hundred miles before a powerful GEORGE WASHINGTON. SO foe flushed with victory and strengthened with abund- ance. He baffled all their endeavors to cut him ofF, preserved all his field-piece?, ammunition, and nearly all his stores. There was grandeur in this achieve- ment which far surpassed any ordinary victory." After crossing the Delaware, he stationed his troops on the western hank, with the broad river flowing between him and his foe. The forces of Cornwallis faced the American lines on the other side. On Christ- mas night, when the German soldiers were indulging in their convivial holiday customs, Washington, with twenty-five hundred of his best troops and twenty pieces of artillery, made the passage of the Delaware, through floating blocks of ice. He effected a landing nine miles above Trenton, and advanced in two divi- sions upon the town. Their attack was simultaneous, and the result was a surprise and a victory. It was more: for this piece of military strategy turned the war current in their favor and swept them towards success. Panic seized the British troops and they fled, dismayed. Such superior generalship was not looked for. Arms and stores were captured, besides a thou- sand prisoners. Washington, took his army back over the Delaware on the same day, and after a brief rest, re-crossed it on the twenty-ninth. The enemy were concentrating at Princeton. Corn- wall is, to whose relief General Howe was marching, supposed he had the American army entrapped, since it was impossible for them to retreat with the Delaware in their rear. But once more Washington rose superior to the occasion, and executed a marvellous feat of skil- ful daring. On that night the American watch-fires were piled high; bands of sappers and miners were 40 heard noisily at work, and sentinels went their ac- customed rounds. But a rapid and circuitous march round the British encampment was conducted in the silence of the night, and morning revealed the unwel- come truth to Cornwallis that he had been again put- generalled. The American army had slipped from his grasp. They had reached Princeton without discovery, and, attacking the three British regiments stationed there, put them to flight, and won a decisive victory. The capture of Burgoyne, the battie at Germantown, and the winter at Valley Forge only served to illustrate one of the most illustrious of commanders. The evacu- ation of Philadelphia by the British was followed, June twenty-eighth, 1779, by the brilliant battle of Mon- mouth, N. J. The tired soldiers slept upon the field, and Washington, wrapped in his cloak, slept in their midst, with the young French Marquis De Lafayette by his side. During the summer of this campaign occurred the savage massacres of Cherry Valley and Wyoming horrible blots on the page of history, which can be charged to British instigation. With a skill and judgment which amounted to inspiration, Wash- ington held the fleets and armies of England at bay, baffled the efforts of their ablest leaders, and closed tho year's campaign, if not a victor, yet not vanquished. The surrender of Yorktown in October, 1781 the news of which was shouted in the streets of Philadel-. phia at midnight echoed over the continent, and awoke the responsive enthusiasm of a liberated people. This culminated, at length, in the treaty of peace, signed at Paris in April, 1783. December fourth, Washing- ton took leave of his brother officers. His eyes were full of tears, and his voice trembling with emotion as GEORGE WASHINGTON. 41 the words of affectionate farewell were spoken. " With a heart full of love and gratitude," he said, "I now take leave of you. I most devoutly wish that your latter days may be as prosperous and happy as your former have been glorious and honorable. I cannot come to you to take my leave, but shall be obliged if each of you will come and take me by the hand." Tears choked his utterance. Without a spoken word in silence more eloquent than any speech, each of them grasped the hand of the man they so loved and venerated. The scene is described as affecting in the extreme. December twenty-third, he resigned his commission to the Continental Congress at Annapolis. A convention, held soon after, at Philadelphia, fused the Confederacy of States into a nation, and created its constitution. The choice of the new nation was unanimous for Washington as its first President, and his installation took place April thirtieth, 1789. How he guided the affairs of state into peaceful and wise and successful channels, for two terms of four years each, history records. How America loved him as its father, history records. He retired, a conqueror : not alone on the battle-field and in the chair of state, but in the wide realm of a grateful people's affection. His conquests were more glorious than those of Cassar, 'more grand in their resultsthan those of Napoleon. It is questionable whether Napoleon I. or any of the world's military leaders have displayed rarer general- ship or greater military genius. More dazzling and meteoric they certainly have been, but hardly more able. Nor have they exhibited sublimer heroism. Nor has any life ever radiated a purer patriotism. He rose 42 HEROES OF THREE WARS. beyond the General, and became merged in the Ruler. " He gained the independence of his country by \var maintained it by peace established it as a free govern- ment in the name of order, and law, and justice" two of the greatest things, says Guizot, which, in politics, man can have the privilege of attempting. Such laurels as he won, crown only the brows of those heroes sent of Heaven to be the special saviours of special epochs, and to lead the nations and peoples of earth up to higher levels of thought and action. CHAPTER II. JOSKPH WARREN. Birthplace of Warren. School Days. Graduation at Harvard. Studying Medicine. Warren as a Physician. The "Sons of Liberty." Warren's Activity in Polities. Boston Massacre. Oration at the Old South Church. Liberty's Advt.cate. The Tea Party. Faneuil Hall Meeting. Fourth Anniversary of Eos- ton Massacre. Second Oration. Fears of Assassination. The Crisis Met. Paul Revere's Ride. Warren's Presentiment. Battle of Bunker Hill. Death of Warren. "'Tis Sweet for One's Country to Die." Honors to his Memory. Bunker Hill Monument. NO brighter name illumines our country's Roll of Honor than that of Joseph Warren, the hero of Bunker Hill. When the heel of British tyranny would have crushed to earth the sacred liberties of the American people, this young patriot, distinguished already in the councils of state, sprang to the defence of his country, and willingly laid down his life for the principles he had so fearlessly advocated. The Tree of Liberty grew apace, watered by such martyr- blood as that of Warren, and a grateful people hold his name in immortal memory. When a man thus makes himself the exponent of an idea, when life itself becomes a secondary considera- tion to justice and to right, the world always a hero- worshipper is anxious to learn every detail cf that life, to penetrate, if possible, the hidden springs of its action, and discover, if it may, out cf what soil tho hero took his growth. (43) 44 HEROES OF THREE WARS. Joseph Warren was born in Roxbury, Massachu- setts, in 1740, but the accounts we have of his childhood days are too meagre to furnish any hint of the boy that was "father to the man." It is supposed that he attended the grammar school of Master Lovell, where our forefathers received the training which prepared them for Harvard. When only fifteen years old lie entered college, and graduated with honor in 1759. During his university days he was looked upon as a boy of talent, and also acquired the reputation of great personal bravery. After leaving college young Warren began the study of medicine, and soon became distinguished in his profession. He was especially active during the year 1764, when the small-pox spread throughout Boston. At this time he is de- scribed as an accomplished gentleman, of fine presence and engaging address, winning favor alike from the learned and the humble. But his energies were not confined to the limits of his profession. He soon be- came known as a fine writer and an eloquent speaker. From the year of the Stamp Act to the final breaking out of hostilities between the colonies and Great Britain, he did not cease to advocate by pen and voice the rights of the colonies fearlessly con- demning taxation as tyranny, and openly advocating resistance to it. During these years, when the seeds of the Revolu- tion were being sown, a secret society, called the "Sons of Liberty," flourished in Boston, which wielded a powerful influence in politics. From the year 1768 Dr. Warren was among its principal members, and there formed an intimacy with Samuel Adams, which was almost romantic in its strength. " Many of the JOSEPH WA EREN. 45 members of this club filled public offices, and few in the outside world knew from whence the public meas- ures of resistance to British tyranny originated." In 1772 their numbers were increased, and they met in a house near the "North Battery/' where over sixty persons were present at their first meeting. Dr. Warren drew up the society regulations, and it is recorded that " no important measures were taken without first consulting him and his particular friends." Here were matured those plans of defence, which saw their first fulfilment at Lexington and Bunker Hill. After the tea was destroyed in Boston Harbor, the meetings of this society were no longer secret, but their place of rendezvous was changed in the spring of 1775 from the "North Battery" to the "Green Dragon." No member of this organization was more zealous than Dr. Warren, no one more active in patriotic measures. After the bloody scenes of the Boston Massacre, he was a prominent leader in the efforts made by the town to effect the removal of the troops, nnd was appointed by the town one of a com- mittee ol three to prepare an account of the affair, "that a full and just representation may be made thereof." The account was published, and sent to England in a vessel chartered especially for that purpose. Dr. Warren was elected member of the State Legis- lature from Boston for the term of 1770, and his name figures conspi niously in the controversies of the times, and on committees appointed to draft important state papers. In 177;> he was re-elected, and served his term with distinguished success. In March of the year previous he delivered the anniversary oration on 40 HEROES OF THREE WARS. the Boston Massacre of 1770, to a large audience in the Old South Church. It was delivered on invita- tion of the town committee, and was said to l>e a brilliant effort. In this address he feailes-sly charged Great Britain with an invasion of colonial rights, and called on his hearers to resist the torrent of oppression which was being poured upon them. In the course of his oration he gave utterance to the following mem- orable words : " The voice of your fathers' blood cries to yon from the ground, 'My sons, scorn to be slaves! In vain we met the frowns of tyrants in vain we crossed the boisterous ocean, found a new world, and prepared it for the happy residence of Liberty in vain we toiled in vain we fought we bled in vain if you, our offspring, want valor to repel the assaults of her invaders!" The address was printed and widely distributed, and a duly appointed committee returned the thanks of the town to the speaker. During the exciting years of 1772, 1773 and 1774, Warren seems to have been foremost in every move- ment looking towards the liberties of the colonies. Then, as now, there was a conservative party in poli- tics, which was afraid to offend the British lion, and which desired reconciliation nt almost any price. But if the minions of royalty cried " peace, peace! " War- ren told them there was no peace. His voice rung out everywhere, counselling opposition to unjust law?, encouraging the weak, and winning, by force of logic, the faltering. In 1772 he was one of the celebrated Committee of Correspondence which, November twentieth, handed in its famous report of grievances. This important JOSEPH WARREN. 47 document was arranged under three heads: First, "A Statement of the Rights of the Colonists;" Second, "A List of the Infringements of those Rights;" and Third, "A Letter of Correspondence with other Towns." Dr. Warren was the author of the second paper, and Mr. Barry sums up the " formidable array of complaint*" as follows: "The assumption of absolute legislative powers; the imposition of taxes without the consent of the people; the appointment of officers unknown to the charter, supported by income derived from such taxes; tlio investing these officers with unconstitutional powers, especially the 'Commissioners of his Majesty's Cus- toms;' the annulment of laws enacted by the court after the time limited for their rejection had expired ; the introduction of fleets and armies into the colonies; the support of the executive and the judiciary inde- pendently of the people; the oppressive instructions sent to the governor ; the extension of the powers of the Court of Vice-Admiralty ; the restriction of manu- factures; the act relating to dock -yards and stores which deprived the people of the right of trial by peers in their own vicinage; the attempt to establish the American episcopate; and the alteration of the bounds of colonies by decisions before the King and Council." The paper was a masterly production, and its statements ^vere clear and forcible. Thus the march of events went forward until a crisis was precipitated on the colonies by the arrival of the celebrated tea in Boston Harbor. Immediately, the country was filled with excitement. "The Committee cf Correspondence; and the select rnc:i of the towns summoned meetings ; and every friend of his country 48 HELOES OF THREE WARS. was urged to make a united and successful resistance to this ' hist, worst, and most destructive measure of the administration.' J] November twenty-ninth, 1773, a meeting was held at Faneuil Hull which, for want of room, adjourned to the Old South Church, where Warren and John Hancock and others were the leading spirits of the occasion. Of this meeting was born the Boston Tea Party, the first Congress, and, eventually, American inde- pendence. In 1774 Dr. Warren was chosen a delegate from Suffolk County to the General Assembly of Massachu- setts, and became thenceforward the leading man of the province. At this time John Hancock was President of the Provincial Congress, but when he went to the Continental Congress at Philadelphia, Warren wag elected to fill his place. Meantime, the fourth anni- versary of the Boston Massacre was at hand, and some of the British officers had threatened that " they would take the life of any man who should dare to speak on that occasion." Warren, hearing of the threat, solicited the privilege of delivering the anniversary address. On the day appointed, the Old South Church was filled with an expectant throng. Large numbers of British soldiers crowded the aisles, stairways, and even the pulpit. An ominous silence reigned throughout the vast multitude as they waited the arrival of War- ren. At last he came, entering the church through a window back of the pulpit His friends were on the gui vive of alarm fearing his assassination. Though standing ready to avenge such a cowardly act, would JOSEPH WARREN. 49 that atone for the murder of their beloved Warren / But the crisis passed as \Varren, commencing his speech in a firm voice, waxed eloquent as he went on. He pictured the wrongs of the colonies ; he proclaimed the corner-stone of his faith " Resistance to tyrants is obedience to God " he painted the scenes of the Bos- ton Massacre iu such colors, and with such pathos of appeal, that the soldiery who had come there to awe him by their presence, shed tears at the sad picture. To the relief of the friends of Warren, no outbreak occurred during the address, though it was frequently interrupted by the groans and hisses of the tories, and the applause of the patriots. This speech aroused the enthusiasm of the country to the highest pitch, and all hearts beat with the com- mon sentiment which he had proclaimed " Resistance to tyrants is obedience to God." One of Warren's biographers, speaking of this time, says : " Such another hour has seldom appeared in the history of man, and is not surpassed in the records of nations. The thunders of Demosthenes rolled at a distance from Philip and his host ; and Tully poured the fiercest torrent of his invectives when Cataline was at a distance, and his dagger no longer to be feared ; but Warren's speech was made to proud oppressors, resting on their arms, whose errand it was to overawe, and whose business it was to fight. If the deed of Brutus deserves to be commemorated, should not this instance of patriotism and bravery be held in lasting remembrance ? " Samuel Adams was moderator of this meeting, and notwithstanding come disturbance at the close of llic oration, succeeded in finishing the business on hand aud dispersing the audience peaceably. 50 HEROES OF THREE WARS. On (he fifteenth of April the Provincial Congress adjourned warned probably of tho approach of General Gage with an armed force. Hancock and Adams, who remained at Lexington, were, it seems, the special objects of British ha:red, and a plot was concocted for their seizure. That their lives were saved at this time is no doubt due to the efforts of Dr. Warren. Paul Revere says that "on the evening of April eighteenth, 1775, he was sent for in great haste by Dr. Warren, who begged that he would immediately sci off for Lexington and acquaint Adams and Han- cock of their danger." But when the impetuous Revere arrived at Warren's house, he found that an express had already preceded him. It is said that Dr. Warren participated in the battle of the next day April nineteenth when the first blood was shed iu behalf of American independence, and that a ball took off part of his ear-lock. Warren was a member of the Committee of Safety, and on May nineteenth this committee was delegated full powers by the Provincial Congress to manage the military force of the province. Everywhere, men were flocking around the standard of liberty, and the war of the Revolution was now fully inaugurated. Warren was commissioned major-general four days previous to the battle of Bunker Hill, but did not r.ssuiMC command on that historic day, choosing rather to fight as a volunteer. Tne day before the battle, in. a conversation with Mr. Gerry, at Cambridge, he dis- cussed <: thc determination of Congress to take posses- sion of Bunker Hill." He said, that for himself he had been opposed to it, but that the majority had determined upon it, and he would hazard his life to JOSEPH WARREN. 51 carry that determination into effect. Mr. Gerry ex- pressed his disapprobation of the measure, as he con- sidered it impossible to hold, adding, "but if it must be so, it is not worth while for you to be present ; it will be madness for you to expose yourself where your destruction will be almost inevitable." " I know it," he answered, "but I live within the sound of their cannon ; how could I hear their roaring in so glorious a cause and not be there ? " Again Mr. Gerry remonstrated, and concluded with saying, "As sure as you go there, you will be slain ! " General Warren replied enthusiastically, "It is sweet to die for one's country! " That night he was busily engaged with public affairs at Watertown, and did not reach Cambridge until five o'clock next morning. Throwing himself on a bed, he slept until nearly noon, when he was aroused with the news of the approaching battle at Charlestown. Hastily rising, he mounted his horse and rode to the scene of action reaching Breed's Hill a short time before the opening of the battle. Colonel Prescott rode forward to resign his command and report for orders, but War- ren did not choose to take the position at that time, saying that he considered it honor enough to fight under so brave an officer. He borrowed a musket and a cartridge-box, and rushing into the hottest of the fray, encouraged the men by his brave words and braver example. Three times the British charged the redoubt on the hill, and were twice driven back. At the third charge, when the ammunition of the Provin- cials gave out, and when a terrible enfilading fire swept the inner line of the redoubt, they were obliged to fall back. Warren was killed after the retreat began one 52 HEROES OF THREE WARS. of the last to leave the redoubt. The fatal bullet pierced his brain, producing almost iustant death. He was buried on the spot where he fell. "And thus Warren fell happy death, noble fall, To perish for country at liberty's call ! " His presentiment had been fulfilled. His life had been freely given for the cause he held dearer than life. In April of the following year, after the British troops had left Boston, the "remains were disinterred and borne in solemn procession from the Representatives' Chamber to King's Chapel, and buried with full military and Ma- sonic honors. Perez Morton, one of the most impres- sive orators of his time, pronounced an oration on the occasion, and the patriot divine, Dr. Samuel Cooper, conducted the funeral services. The orphan children of Warren and his aged mother were there, and the sad silence was broken by her sobs. His remains have since been removed by his family from King's Chapel to St. Paul's Church." In 1794 a monument was raised to his memory by the Masonic lodge of Charlestown. " It consisted of a brick pedestal, eight feet square, rising ten feet from the ground, and supporting a Tuscan pillar of wood, eighteen feet high. This was surmounted by a gilt urn, bearing the inscription: *J. W., aged 35.' The simple epitaph was entwined with Masonic emblems." After standing forty years, the monument gave place to the present granite obelisk, which rises to the height of one hundred and fifty feet above the historic hill, and in which is enclosed a statue of General Warren. In 1777 a resolution was passed by Congress to erect JOSEPH WARREN. 5-] a monument to Warren in the town of Boston, bearing this inscription : " In Honor of JOSEPH WARREN, Major-General of Massachusetts Bay. He devoted his life to the liberties of his country ; And in bravely defending them, fell an early victim, In the Battle of Bunker Hill, June 17, 1775. Tlio Congress of the United States Ao an acknowledgment of his services, Have erected this monument To his memory." But the patriotic order was never executed. His truest monument is in the hearts of his countrymen, where, after the lapse of a century, the glory that crowns his name shines as brightly as on the day of his heroic death. CHAPTER III. NATHANIEL GREENE. Birthplace and Ancestry. Work at the Plough and the Anvil. Studying Euclid over the Forge. Education under Disadvantages. Lindley Murray and Dr. Styles. Love of the Dance. Ingenious Shingle Device. Marriage. On the Road to Lexington. Made a Major-General. Expelled from the Quakers. Sick in Camp. At Trenton. The Brandywine. Greene's Bravery. Germantown. The Fight through the Fog. Valley Forge and Monmouth. The Army of the South. The Long Chase of Cornwallis. Siege of Ninety-six. Retirement THIS scion of a Quaker stock was one of the strongest characters brought out by the Revolu- tion. His moral worth, sound mind and good gener- alship were second only to those of Washington, and side by side with that great patriot he breasted the wave of tyranny which rolled over from the mother country. On the twenty-seventh of May, 1742, in Warwick, Rhode Island, Nathaniel Greene first saw the light. His remote ancestors were English, his father a strict Quaker preacher. The paternal purse not being filled to overflowing, the boyhood of young Nathaniel was one of almost constant toil. But his energies could not be confined to the work of the anvil or the plough, and he found his way to books despite every obstacle. IJe became acquainted with Lindley Murray and Dr. Styles, and made them contributors to his stock of knowledge. He read Horace and Cassar, worked the (51) NATHASIZL GREENE. 53 problems of Euclid over his forge, dipped into meta- physics and logic, and even Blackstone and law diction- aries did not escape his craving mind. He was also fond of field sports and other kinds of exhilarating exercise, and, contrary to the strictures of his Quaker father, indulged a very un-Quakerlike love for the mazy dance. Discovered in the indulgence of this species of amuse- ment, he prepared for the expected horsewhipping by lining his jacket with strips of shingle, and thus escaped unhurt from the parental flagellation. At twenty he was vigorous in body, bold in mind, and took an active part in the political discussions of the day. The passage of the Stamp Act decided his course of action, and at once he was enrolled among the patriot band of the Revolution. In 1770 he was elected to the General Assembly of the colony, and four years later his marriage with Miss Littlefield took place. In the spring of 1775 he was on his way to Lexington, and with the rank of major-general, was placed in command of sixteen hundred Rhode Island men. His love for the military brought down on him the displeasure of the Quakers, and he was formally expelled from that society during this same eventful year. Greene entered upon the duties of the drill with vigor, and had soon put his Rhode Island troops in good condition for the field. After the battle of Bunker Hill his command was removed to Cambridge, and here he gained the lasting esteem and confidence of Washington. After the evacuation of Boston by the British, Greena was placed in command of Long Island, at which point 5G HEROES OF THREE WARS. nn attnck was hourly anticipated. His head-quarters were established at Brooklyn, and the surrounding woods and roads were explored and guarded at all points of access. Every precaution was taken to insure success to the patriot band. But while this defensive work went forward, Greene was seized with fever, and for days lay hovering between life and death. While in this helpless condition, the cannon of the enemy thundered in his front, and defeat to the American arms followed. This disaster was a source of bitter grief to General Greene, and the result was no doubt due to his absence from the field. As soon as he was able to ride, his troops were summoned to the defence of New York, which was threatened by the enemy. At Harlem a stand was made and a brilliant fight ensued, General Greene behaving with great bravery in this his first battle. When the enemy pushed forward from Fort Washing- ton on Staten Island towards Fort Lee, Greene, who had been stationed at that point, succeeded by superior strategy in cutting off their retreat to the Hackensack. He threw himself across their track and kept them at bay until Washington came to his relief. In the retreat through the Jerseys, Greene was the companion of Washington, and shared his glory and his vicissitudes. The brilliant surprise of Trenton was planned in part by his strategy, and the night of its caputre he com- manded the division with which Washington marched iu person. In the winter of 1777 Greene was in command of a division stationed at Baskingridge, New Jersey, where a series of skirmishes occupied the winter. To aid in the reorganization of the army for the next cam- paign and hasten the action of Congress iu the matter, NATHANIEL GREENE. 57 Greene was despatched to Philadelphia as the fittest person for such a mission, and the one most likely to succeed in influencing that body towards a favorable result. On the tenth of September of that year the Ameri- cans were encamped on the banks of the Brandy wine, and the next day witnessed the battle which made this ground historic. The Americans were massed at the ford, and stubbornly contested the enemy's advance. But a heavy force under Howe and Coruwallis had crossed the river by a circuitous route and were rap- idly marching upon the American rear. At this un- expected manoeuvre the patriot ranks were thrown into confusion and were flying in disorder, when Greene with two fresh brigades came to their rescue. His field-pieces were planted in the path of the enemy, and by their well-directed fire arrested the headlong ad- vance of the British. The flight which had begun in panic was now converted into a well-ordered retreat, and, halting in a narrow defile, Greene drew up his troops in line of battle. This gave them the advantage of position, and they awaited the onset of the foe. The British came on in a wild charge, only to be hurled back by the death-dealing fire of the patriot troops. Again and again did the enemy endeavor to take this strong position, but without avail. Greene and his invincible men held their ground without wavering until night brought the conflict to a close. The enemy then retired, leaving the American forces in victorious possession of the field. When Howe occupied Philadelphia, and Washing- ton had determined upon making an attack on the enemy at Germantown, Greene was intrusted with the 58 HEROES OF THREE WARS. command of the left wing of the American army. The battle commenced at daybreak on the fourth of October, and the contending armies were veiled from each other's view by a thick fog. The long blaze of musketry fire flashing out from the gloom was the only guide which directed the aim of the patriot forces. But they rushed forward into the village driving the enemy before them, when suddenly, in the confusion and gloom of the morning, the division of Stevens be- came panic-stricken, and Cornwallis arriving with fresh troops, the patriot forces were compelled to fall back. General Greene conducted this retreat in a masterly manner. A running fight was kept up for five miles, and the day closed in disappointment to the Americans. But reverses sometimes only serve to give greater strength, and the lessons of this day were neither lost nor fruitless. During the winter at Valley Forge, Greene was of great service in reorganizing the army, especially in the quarter-master and commissary departments, which it seems were sadly in need of a wholesome change. At the urgent desire of Washington and Congress, he had accepted the position of quarter- master-general, and the result proved the wisdom of their choice, as an immediate reform in those depart- ments amply demonstrated. Greene stood with Washington in counselling the battle of Monmouth, while a majority of officers opposed it, and to his services on that field the victory was largely due. After twenty-four hours of fighting and constant exercise and anxiety, discharging the double duties of his two offices, he was at last enabled to throw himself down at the foot of a tree, wrapped iu his cloak, to snatch a few hours of needed rest. NATHANIEL GREENE. , 59 Afterwards, when the attack on Newport, Rhode Island, was planned, Greene's command constituted a portion of the force under Sullivan, which was marched northward for that purpose. The misfortune which rendered powerless the aid of D'Estaing's fleet, defeated their well-laid plans, and a retreat was rendered neces- sary. Greene's "coolness and judgment" ou this occasion were conspicuous. After the burning of .Elizabethtown by Clinton, an interval of inaction and inactivity followed. The slow current of affairs was suddenly broken by the treason of Arnold and the arrest of Andre. Greene presided over the court of inquiry which convicted that brave young officer; but neither his sympathies nor his regrets were allowed to interfere with the solemn execution of his duty in this important trust. After- wards he was appointed to the command of the armies of the South, and his presence and good generalship revealed themselves in the most encouraging results, Marion, Sumter, Pickens, Morgan, Howard, Lee and Carrington were the leaders under his command, and with such brave material, his achievements were brilliant in the extreme. The superior strategy of Greene and his fine tact were illustrated during his campaign in the South by the sorry chase he led Corn- wallis. For nearly a month that general kept up his pursuit of Greene without being able to entrap him or out-general his masterly manoeuvres, and the retreat ended only when the Americans were landed safely on the northern banks of the River Dan. In the subse-r quent battle of Guilford Court-House, Greene took an active part, as also in the field at Camden, and the sharply contested siege of Fort Ninety-Six. GO HEROES OF THREE WARS. The execution by the British of Colonel Hayne in Charleston as a spy, greatly exasperated Greene, who threatened retaliation a promise likely enough to have been fulfilled had the war continued. At the battle of Eutaw Springs, Greene's losses were severe, though in this engagement he took five hundred prisoners. The campaign of 1781 closed, leaving South Caro- lina again in possession of its rightful owners. The State Assembly, in 178, voted General Greene an address of thanks for his distinguished services, to which was added a gift of ten thousand guineas. After the evacuation of Charleston, Greene made a trium- phal entry into that city on the fourteenth of Decem- ber, accompanied by a civil and military escort, the governor riding by his side. After the war he removed to a plantation at Mulberry Grove, on the Savannah River, in Georgia, where he lived until his death. At the age of forty-four his life was cut short by an unhappy exposure to the rays of a southern sun. On June nineteenth, 1786, he breathed his last and received his promotion to a higher sphere. His memory lives, entwined with that of Washington and all the patriot dead whose precious services gave to us a country and with it transmitted the sacred heritage of freedom. CHAPTER IV. LAFAYETTE. Noble Lineage of the Marquis. Early Surroundings. A Member of the King's Regiment. Commissioned at Fifteen. Marriage. The Dinner at Metz. Noble Resolve. Preparations to Sail for America. Obstacles Everywhere. Voyage of the "Victory." Arrival. Home of Benjamin Pliiger. Journey to Philadelphia. Fighting for Liberty. Battle of Brandywine. Services in the Revolution. Arnold and Lafayette. Return to France. Visit to the United States. Terrors of the French Revolution. Flight and Imprisonment. The Magdeburg Dungeon. Liberated by Napoleon. Visit to the United States in 1824. Joyful Wtleome. The Citizen King of the French. Last Days of Lafayette. THE Marquis dc Lafayette, of glorious memory, was descended from a long line of noble ancestry. His father, also a marquis and a chevalier of the order of St. Louis, bravely fought and fell on the field of Minden, Germany, under the leadership of the Duke de Broglie, two months before Lafayette was born. His mother came of the noble house of Lusignan. At the family chateau of the ancient line, in Cha- vagniac, province of Auvergne, France, on September sixth, 1757, Lafayette was born. All the luxury that wealth could give, all the advantages which titled rank could confer, awaited him. His childhood was a pathway of flowers. No adverse circumstances arose like mountains, in the road down which he was to walk- Not then, nor afterwards, until he deliberately chose the rugged way, because liberty was found in it, and he preferred hardship with liberty to luxury without it. (01) 62 HEROES OF THREE WAItS. When he had arrived at the age of twelve, he was sent to the Plessis college at Paris, where he became a favorite at the royal court of Louis the Grand, and received the appointment of one of the queen's pages. Having also joined the king's regiment of musketeers, the queen obtained for him a commission when he wa? only fifteen years old. At sixteen he was married to k daughter of the Duke D'Ayen, a young lady fourteen years old; and though the alliance was favored and promoted by relatives on both sides, it was said to be purely a love-affuir between the young marquis and his girlish bride. For once, at least, the old adage was contradicted, and the course of true love seemed to run smooth. After his marriage the new relatives of Lafay- ette endeavored to obtain a position in the establish- ment of the king, for the marquis, but their plans were defeated by Lafayette himself, who had no relish for the favors of royalty. The negotiations regarding the matter were pending a long time, and before they were concluded an event occurred which changed the whole current of Lafayette's life, and gave him to future fame as the champion of American liberty. Near the close of the year 1776, about two years afler his marriage, Lafayette, who was at that time an officer in the French army stationed at Metz, met the Duke of Gloucester, brother of King George the Third, at the head-quarters of the commandant of the place. A dinner was given to the distinguished guest, and Lafayette was among the number invited to be present. At table the leading topic of conversation was thq struggle then going on in America, and there was at least one deeply interested listener. Many of the details of the contest across the water, Lafayette now LAFA YETTE. G3 heard for the first time, and he took part in the conver- sation with great earnestness. He seemed to compre- hend the situation at a glance, and saw that the cause of the American colonies was the cause of "justice, of liberty, of heaven." Before he rose from the table his resolution was taken. Plenceforward he would identify himself with the strugo-lin^ colonists on the soil of the new world. oo o Speaking of this time he says : "When I first learned the subject of this quarrel ray heart espoused warmly the cause of liberty, and I thought of nothing but adding also the aid of my banner. .... Such a glo- rious cause had never before attracted the attention of mankind." With Lafayette, to resolve was to act, and he made preparations at oiice to go to America. His friends and relatives strongly opposed him in the step he was about to take, and discouragements sprang up in his path everywhere. But his young enthusiasm and dauntless courage were not to be thus overcome. End- less difficulties confronted him before he could leave the ports of France on his outward-bound voyage, and at last he was driven to the extreme of purchasing a ship of his own, since all other means of transportation had been denied him. With sublime courage he con- quered every obstacle which stood between him and the achievement of his glorious purpose to enroll him- self among the defenders of American liberty. At last, after having run the gauntlet of exposure a long time, he set sail for the shores of the new world. His ship was named the "Victory." As soon as it was known that he had gone, the French court despatched orders to the West Indies to arrest his progress, as it 64 UEROES OF THREE WARS. was customary for all French cruisers to take that route. But Lafayette, anticipating pursuit, sailed di- rectly for an American port, and after a tedious vcyage of seven weeks lauded on the South Carolina coast, near Georgetown, at the mouth of the Pedee River. "Entering the river about dark, they went ashore with their boats, and attracted by a light approached the house of Major Benjamin Huger. The furious bark- ing of the dogs promised them anything but a warm reception." The family of Mr. Hugcr at first sup- posed them to bo a marauding party, but when their character was made known by Baron DeKalb, who was with them and acted as interpreter, they were received with cordial welcome. With the hospitality character- istic of the South, everything was provided for the comfort of the generous foreigners who had come to aid them in their struggle for liberty. Lafayette was agreeably impressed with the new country and with the unaffected simplicity of the inhabitants, and his zeal for the cause he had espoused continued unabated. Writing from Charleston on the nineteenth of June, he says : "The country and its inhabitants are as agree- able as my enthusiasm had led me to imagine. Sim- plicity of manner, kindness of heart, Jove of country and of liberty, and a delightful state of equality are met with universally." At Charleston he received the resj)ect and attention due his high standing and his noble devotion to principle. He had left that city by carriage for Philadelphia, where Congress was then assembled, to ask the privilege of joining the American army. He had before him a journey of nine hundred miles over rough roads, the greater part of which was accomplished on horseback. He was a month on the LAFAYETTE. 65 road; but bo arrived at last at Philadelphia, while Washington was encamped at Germantown, ten miies from the city, after having made his historic passng. Eulogiums. ISRAEL PUTNAM was one of the most gallant and daring officers of the revolutionary war. He was renowned for his keen strategy and intrepid brav- ery, which served him many a good turn in the adverse fortunes of war, and certainly no more skilful or patri- otic general ever served his country under the glorious leadership of Washington. The boy Putnam first saw the light in Salem, Mas- sachusetts, and was ushered into the affairs of this world just seven days after the new year of 1718 had spoken once and parted forever with the old year of 1717. His paternal grandfather was one of the Pil- grims who came over in the "Mayflower" and landed at Plymouth Rock. The name of this ancestor was John Putnam, who with two brothers emigrated from the south of England and settled in Salem. Of the early days of Putnam there are few incidents to relate. He was a plain farmer's boy, full of sturdy health and brought up in the simple, industrious habits (74) ISRAEL PUTNAM. 75 of the times. When he had arrived at the age of twenty-one he married a girl of Sulem, and the next year 1740 removed to the town of Pomfret, in Con- necticut, where he settled down into the steady life of ft farmer. It is of these days that the well-known etory of Putnam's adventure with the wolf is told a story which lias been disputed in some particulars by several writers on the subject. During the fifteen years which succeeded his removal to Pomfret, he was occupied exclusively with his farm and accumulated a handsome property. Then came the Seven Years' War between England and France, and Putnam was placed in command of a company in a regiment of Connecticut Provincials. The vast continent of North America was the rich prize con- tended for, and the long war was inaugurated by Brad- dock's expedition against Fort Du Quesne, while the battles at Fort Niagara and Fort Edward were enacted in the early part of the same campaign. In this expedition Captain Putnam and his company performed the duty of rangers and were sent on special and perilous service, reconnoitering the enemy's camp and capturing their outposts and supplies. It was during this first campaign that Captain Putnam saved the life of Major Rogers of New Hampshire. At the close of the campaign Captain Putnam re- turned to his home, but re-entered the service the next year 1750 having had his commission as captain renewed. An incident illustrating his bravery and bold spirit ij told, respecting his recapture of provisions taken by the enemy. They had been captured at Halfway Brook, between Fort Edward and Lake George, by a 76 HEROES OF THREE WARS. force six hundred strong. Putnam and Rogers went in pursuit, having about one hundred men in boats and two "wall-pieces and two blunderbusses." They proceeded down the lake and took a line across the land to the narrows, in order to cut off any possible retreat. " They succeeded in reaching the spot before the French with their bateau, now laden with plunder, had gained it. Unexpectedly they opened a tremendous fire upon them, killed many of the boatmen and sank several of the boats. The rest by a strong wind were swept into South Bay, and thus escaped to bear the news to Ticonderoga. Anticipating their return with reinforcements, Putnam and Rogers hastened to their boats, and at Sabbath'-day Point they found their expectations had not deceived them, for the French, about three hundred strong, were approaching on the lake. When the enemy had come within pistol-shot, the wall-pieces and blunderbusses were unmasked and opened upon them, aided by musketry, producing the most dreadful carnage, and leaving the further retreat of the rangers unmolested." ' It was such adventure as this that gave to Putnam a wide reputation for bravery and strategic skill, and in 1757 the Legislature of Connecticut conferred on him a major's commission. If there was a hazardous enterprise to be performed, or a difficult feat to be ac- complished, Putnam was the man selected to do it. Once, while lying on the Hudson in his bateau, near the rapids at Fort Miller, he was surprised by the sudden appearance of a party of Indians on the bank. Putnam had with him only five men, and to land would have been certain destruction. His decision was in- stantly taken, and wheeling his boat amid stream he PUTNAM RESCUED BY MOLANG. ISRAEL PUTNAM. 79 glided swiftly towards the rapids. The dusky sons of the forest watched him in amazement from the shore as his boat swept down the dangerous rapids, making the passage safely and gliding out into the smooth waters below. The red men thought him favored of the Great Spirit. Once, however, his guiding star of good fortune seemed to have forsaken him. While reconnoitering the enemy's position at Ticonderoga, he was surprised and captured by a detachment of Indians under the leadership of the French officer Molang. He was tied to a tree and forced to remain there while a hot struggle ensued between the provincials and the French allies, leaving the provincials in possession of the field. In their retreat the Indians took their prisoner with them. "He was dragged onward by his foes, who stripped him of his clothes, his shoes and hat, and forced him to bear the most cruel burdens, while his flesh was incessantly lacerated by the thorns and briers of the woods. One of these savages had struck him with the but-end of his musket and fractured his jaw, causing excruciating pain, and another had wounded him with a tomahawk in the neck. His sufferings were not ended with this treatment. He had been destined to perish at the stake, and the brutal conquerors had already determined upon inflicting the most cruel tor- ture to add to the bitterness of death. They bound their victim to a tree, naked and covered with wounds, and had already lighted the fagots that were to con- sume him, when one of them, more humane than the rest, informed Molang of his danger, and this officer rushed to his reseue. . . . Putnam was carried to Ticonderoga, where he was made known to Montcalm, 80 HEROES OF THREE WARS. who had him transferred to Montreal. In this city there were several American prisoners, and among them Colonel Peter Schuyler. This gallant officer was very much overcome" on seeing Putnam stripped of his clothing, and exhibiting marks of such cruel treatment, and succeeded in getting him exchanged with others, when the transfer of prisoners took place. In 1759 Putnam received the rank of lieutenant- colonel, and in 1762, when war broke out between England and Spain, he went to Cuba in command of a Connecticut regiment. After contributing to the success of the English in subduing Havana, he returned to his home in Connecticut. Ten years of his life had thus far been spent in war- fare, and with the respite of another decade, the war of the Revolution furnished an opportunity for the continuance of his military career. When the guns of Lexington, on the memorable nineteenth of April, 1775, announced the contest for liberty on the soil of the New World begun, Putnam was at his plow in the field. When the news readied him, he mounted his horse and galloped to the scene of action. On the twenty-first a council of war was held at which Putnam was present, and the Assembly of Connecticut conferred upon him the commission of brigad ier-general. During the month of May, General Putnam assisted by Warren succeeded in removing the cattle from the islands in Boston Harbor, thus cutting off the supplies of the 3iiemy. General Putnam also accompanied the detach itient of one thousand men that on the night of O the sixteenth of June took possession of the heights of Bunker Hill and Breed's Hill. The history of tho ISRAEL PUTNAM. 81 next day's battle is too well known to need recital here. While Warren was bravely fighting behind the redoubt on Breed's Hill, Putnam was also leading his men in the action with his customary fearlessness. " On the evacuation of Boston by the British, Putnam was placed in command of the city, where he remained until the twenty-ninth of March of the next year, when he was ordered to take command of New York, and to complete the defences of the city commenced by General Lee." On August twenty-third Putnam re- ceived the chief command, and on September twelfth New York was evacuated by our forces. " Soon after this, some British ships ascended the Hudson as far as Bloomingdale, while Sir Henry Clinton landed four thousand troops on the eastern side of the island at Kij'p's Bay." If these two forces should effect a junc- tion, across the island, Putnam saw that his division wo'ild be entrapped, and set himself to work to escape tbn enclosing meshes before his retreat could be cut off. .A3 the enemy were obliged to pass under Murray Hill, where resided a patriotic Quakeress, Putnam despatched his aide to the lady, requesting her to offer refreshments to the army of Sir Henry Clinton, and to detain them as long as possible. It proved a very successful piece of strategy. One hour of precious time was lost to the enemy and gained by the forces under Putnam. AVhen the British general resumed his march, he saw to his surprise that Putnam had escaped him and was advancing into the Bloomingdale plains. In December, 1776, when Washington had crossed the Delaware to prevent the enemy from entering Philadelphia, Putnam was placed in command at that post. This was a high compliment to his generalship, 82 HEROES OF THREE WARS. as Philadelphia was considered a point of vital impor- tance to hold. In 1777 he received orders to go to New Jersey, where the enemy were occupying winter quarters at New Brunswick and Amboy. His object having been accomplished of forcing a concentration of the enemy's forces, he went to Princeton, where he spent the remainder of the winter. At this time he had but a handful of troops to oppose to the British legions, his whole command numbering only a few hundred men. Great strategy and skill was therefore required to conceal his scarcity of troops from the enemy. An incident occurred which taxed his powers in this direc- tion to the utmost. A Scotch captain, wounded at the battle of Princeton, was lying at the point of death in his camp, and asked permission to " send for a friend in the British army at Brunswick, that some testamen- tary matters of great importance might be confided to him." It was cruel to refuse, it was dangerous to grant the request. In this dilemma Putnam finally consented that the Scotchman might receive his friend from the British army if he would come at night. "An officer was despatched to Brunswick to conduct him to McPherson's chamber. It was after dark before they reached Princeton. General Putnam had the College hall and all vacant houses lighted up, and while the two friends were closeted had his men marched rapidly before the house and around the quarters of the captain with great pomp and bustle, repeating the manoeuvre several times to give an impression of a strong force." The ruse succeeded, and the Scotchman's friend, when he went back, reported a large force at Putnam's camp. After this Putnam was ordered to the Highlands, and made his head-quarters at Peekskill from the month of May until October. ISRAEL PUTNAM. 83 During the winter of 1778 Putnam was busily engaged rebuilding the demolished forts in the High- lands, and made the selection of West Point for the site of a fortification, which was begun in January of that year. The celebrated escape at Horseneck is also chronicled of this year. Some writers record this event as occurring in the winter, others make the time in July. Rogers, who was with Putnam, says it was July, and it is natural to suppose that his authority is the best. General Putnam, it seems, was visiting one of his outposts at West Greenwich, against which Gov- ernor Try on was marching with a force of fifteen hun- dred men. Putnam with his small force made a stand near a church which stood on the edge of a precipitous hill, and sent a volley from his artillery into the ranks of the advancing foe. But the British cavalry was forming for a charge, and Putnam, knowing the hope- lessness of resistance by his little company of fifty men, ordered a retreat to a swamp behind the hill inac- cessible to cavalry, while he urged his own horse directly down the steep face of the hill. His pursuers galloped to the edge of the bluff, and paused in amaze- ment, not daring to follow such a breakiw/k plunge down the rocks. A volley was fired after Putnam, but the shot passed harmlessly over his head. The perilous descent was safely made, and after obtaining reinforcements, Putnam returned in pursuit of Gov- ernor Tryon. The fortifications in the Highlands occupied General Putnam until the winter of 1 779, when on returning from a visit to his family he was attacked with paraly- sis, from which he never recovered, though his death did not take place until May of 1790. The manner of 84 HEROES OF THREE WARS. his attack is related. He had started on a journey to Morristown in the month of December. While on the road between Pomfret and Hartford, he felt the stealthy approach of the paralytic stroke. A gradual numbness crept through his right hand and foot until he was deprived in a great measure of the use of his litnbs on that side. He reached the house of his friend, Colonel Wadsworth, with difficulty. He did not recover, as he expected, but remained in this half- paralytic condition, though enabled to walk and ride moderately, until the seventeenth of May, 1790, when he was violently attacked with an inflammatory disease, and two days later the patriotic life went out, to be rekindled no more on earth. The farewell volleys of the infantry were discharged over the hero's grave, and the minute guns of the artillery sounded like signals of distress. The Grenadiers of the Eleventh Regiment, a corps of artillerists and various military companies of the neigh- borhood, besides the Masonic fraternity, moved in the sad funeral cortege. Dr. Waldo pronounced the following eulogium over his grave : " Those venerable relics once delighted in the endear- in^ domestic virtues which constitute the excellent o neighbor, husband, parent and worthy brother! Lib- eral and substantial in his friendship, unsuspicious, open and generous, just and sincere in dealing, a benevolent citizen of the world he concentrated iu his bosom the noble qualities of an HONEST MAST. " Born a hero, whom nature taught and cherished in the lap of innumerable toils and dangers, he was terri- ble in battle ! But, from the amiableuess of his heart, ISRAEL PUTNAM. 85 when carnage ceased his humanity spread over the field like the refreshing zephyrs of a summer's evening. The prisoner, the wounded, the sick, the forlorn ex- perienced the delicate sympathy of this soldier's pillow. The poor and the needy of every description received the charitable bounties of this CIIEISTIAN SOLDIER. "He pitied littleness, loved goodness, admired great- ness, a:>a ever aspired to its glorious summit! The friend, the servant, and almost unparalleled lover of his country, worn with age and the former trials of war, PUTNAM rests from his labors, "Till mouldering worlds and tumbling Rystems burst When Ui3 last trump shall renovate his dust; Still by the mandate of eternal truth His soul will flourLli in immortal youth 1' "This, all who knew him know, this, all who loved him tell." Rev. Dr. Dvright, President of Yale College, an intimate friend of Putnam, wrote the following in- scription, which was engraven on his tomb: " Sacred be this Monument to the memory of ISRAEL PUTNAM, ESQUIRE, Senior Major-General iu the Armies of The United States of America, who was born at Salem, in the Province of Massachusetts, on the seventh day of January, A. D. 1718, and died on the nineteenth day of May, A. D. 1790. 86 HEROES OF THREE WARS. Passenger, if thou art a Soldier, drop a tear over the dust of a Hero, who, ever attentive to the lives and happiness of his men, dared to lead where any dared to follow : if a Patriot, remember the distinguished and gallant services rendered thy country by the Patriot who sleeps beneath this mar! 20 \ if thou art honest, generous and worth] tender a cheerful tribute of respect to a man whose generosity was singular, whose honesty was proverbial, who riised himself to universal esteem and offices of eminent distinction by personal worth and a awful life." CHAPTER VI. ETHAN ALLEN. Birthplace of Allen. The New Hampshire Grants. The Green Mountain Boys. Ethan Allen a Leader. Price on his Head. Allen's Fearlessness. Tne Revolution. Capture of Ticondcroga. Benedict Arnold's Part in the Affair. Allen in Canada. The Army of Invasion. Plans for the Capture of Montreal. The Fatal Snare. Allen a Prisoner. Brutal Treatment by British Officers. In Falmouth, England. The Gentlemen of Cork. Exchanged. Liberty and the Green Mountains Once More. Joyful Welcome. Allen Again Fighting the Battles of Young Vermont. He view of his Character. IT lias been said that no one man contributed more, by his personal efforts, to the independence of onr country than did that bold knight of Liberty, Ethan Allen. He first comes to our notice as the leader of the renowned Green Mountain Boys, in the troublous times when the land-owners of Vermont, under the New Hampshire Grants, defended their homesteads and property against the false claims of the British Gov- ernor Tryon of the New York Colony. Ethan Allen was born in Litchfield, Connecticut, January tenth, 1737. His father, Joseph Allen, was a native of Coventry, of the same State, from whence he emigrated to Litchfield, and afterwards to Cornwall, where he raised a large family of children. Four or five of the boys settled in the land west of the Green Mountains, and did much towards shaping the destiny (87) 88 HEROES OF THREE WARS. of tlie infant State, Vermont. The passion for liberty seems to have been inborn with the whole family, and though none of them became so distinguished as Ethan, they were all staunch pioneers in freedom's cause, and battled nobly against injustice and op- pression. About the year 1772 the hero of Ticondcroga re- moved to Bennington, Vermont, and it is from this date that we begin to hear of him as a conspicuous leader among the bold mountaineers of the Green Mountains. A difficulty arose between the States of New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts and New Hampshire, owing to conflicting boundary lines as granted by the charters of the several States, or colonies. The original grant of King Charles the Second to the Duke of York, his brother, made the Connecticut River the eastern boun- dary line of the Colony of New York, which interfered directly with the Massachusetts and Connecticut char- ters. A compromise of claims, however, was settled upon between the three States of Massachusetts, Con- necticut and New York, and all remained in a condi- tion of comparative quiet until Benning Wentworth became Governor of New Hampshire, with authority from the king to " issue patents for unimproved lauds within the limits of his province." Application being made for grants west of the Connecticut Ilivcr, nnd even beyond the Green Mountains, Governor Wcnt- worth gave a patent fjr a township six miles square, near the northwest boundary of Massachusetts, which \vn.s named Bennington. A remonstrance went up from New York against this measure, that colony claiming for itself the territory north of Massachusetts ETHAN ALLEN. 89 and east of the Connecticut River. But Governor "\Vent\vorth, by all accounts, ignored the claims of New York, and went steadily forward in the work of grant- ing patents, until in four years' time he had issued patents for one hundred and thirty-eight townships. This territory was known by the name of the " New Hampshire Grants," and did not take its present name, Vermont, until the breaking out of the Revolution. The government of New York appealed to the arbitra- tion of the Crown, and a royal decree was issued, stat- ing that the Connecticut River was the dividing line between New York and New Hampshire. This decree, according to New York jurisprudence, forced the set- tlers under the New Hampshire Grants to purchase their lands over again or submit to writs of ejectment in favor of newer claimants who had obtained grants of the New York government. Ethan Allen, who was already a leader among the sturdy yeomanry of the Green Mountains, became noted for his zeal in oppos- ing this injustice, and was chosen to represent their claims at the Albany courts. The trial was little more than a farce, and the case, as might have been expected, was decided against Allen's constituency. He went home and reported the condition of affairs to the excited and indignant mountain pioneers, and a meeting was immediately held by the people of Ben- nington, at which a formal determination was expressed to defend their property by force. They agreed to unite in resisting all encroachments on lands purchased from the government of New Hampshire. Open war was now inaugurated between the Green Mountain Boys and the officers who came to enforce the king's de- cision. Forces of armed men successfully drove away 90 HEROES OF THREE WARS. sheriffs and their posse coming to serve writs of eject- ment on the settlers, and in some instances the intruders were caught and administered a whipping with the "twigs of tlie wilderness." Ethan Allen was the head and front of this resistance in the name of justice: the chief leader and adviser of the Green Mountain faction. The force thus taking the law into their own hands was regularly organized, and Ethan Allen was apjiointed colonel commanding, with several captains under him, chief among whom were Seth Warner and Remember Baker. " Com- mittees of safety were likewise chosen, and intrusted with powers for regulating social affairs. Conventions of delegates representing the people assembled from time to time, and passed resolves and adopted measures which tended to harmonize their sentiments and con- centrate their efforts." In this manner affairs went on until Governor Tryon issued a proclamation offering a reward of one hundred and fifty pounds for the cap- ture of Allen, and fifty pounds each for the capture of Seth Warner and five others. Not recognizing the authority of New York in this matter, Allen and his friends sent out a counter-proclamation, offering a reward of five pounds to any person who would take and deliver the Attorney-General of the Colony of New York to any officer in the military association of the Green Mountain Boys. That gentleman had been particularly active in the warfare against them, and was in consequence an object of special dislike. Allen, seeing only his duty in thus setting at defiance the authority of New York, went forward perfectly regardless of threats and faithful in the execution of the trust reposed in him by his brother pioneers. The ETHAN ALLEN. 91 settlers acted strictly on the defensive, but, nevertheless, commotions, mobs and riots were the order of the day. Manifestoes were published defending the outlaws and condemning the New York proclamation. Thus the course of events went on from bad to worse, the hos- tilities growing more determined, the enmity deeper. How long this state of things would have continued, or to what pitch it would have been carried, no one can tell, had not a common cause united the people in resistance to a common enemy. The smaller feud was eclipsed by the greater. Ominous clouds of tyranny on one hand and opposition tg it on the other were slowly gathering in the political horizon of the young colonies, and the battle of Lexington announced the first thunder-burst of the Revolution. Vermont, now recognized as an independent State, boldly stepped to the front in the contest for liberty, and Ethan Allen was her standard-bearer. Eight days after the battle of Lexington a plan was on foot for the capture of Fort Ticonderoga, on Lake George, and the seizure of its cannon for the Provin- cial army at Boston. This fort, together with Crown Point, constituted the key of all communication be- tween New York and Canada, and was consequently a point of great strategic importance. The scheme for its capture was a private one, although it originated with several members of the Assembly then in session at Hartford, Connecticut. A committee, at the head of which was Edward Mott and Noah Phelps, went through the frontier towns raising men for the project, and a thousand dol- lars was loaned from the treasury of the State to cany the plan into execution. 92 HEROES OF THREE WARS. Sixteen men were collected in Connecticut, and in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, Colonel Easton added some of his militia to the force, enlisting volunteers as he went forward. About fifty of these reached Benning- ton, where a council of war was immediately held, and parties were sent to secure the roads to the northward, thus preventing intelligence of their approach from reaching the enemy. Colonel Allen and his Green Mountain Boys joined the force here, and the whole party reached Castleton on the evening of the seventh of May. " Here a second council of war was held, at which Allen was appointed commander of the expedition, James Easton the second in command, and Seth Warner the third." The force now consisted of over two hundred men, and they marched directly to a place called Shoreham, on the bank of the lake opposite Ticonderoga. It now became necessary to have a guide wlro was familiar with the fort and its places of access. Accordingly, Nathan Beman, a young boy, whose father lived near the shore of the lake, was induced to lend his services to the occasion. The number of boats being exceedingly deficient, only eighty-three men had crossed when the day began to dawn. The moment was critical. The fort, if taken at all, must be surprised before daybreak. There was no time to be lost. In this dilemma Colonel Allen re- solved to march on the fort at once, without waiting for the rear-guard to cross the lake. Accordingly, Colonel Allen drew up his mountaineers in three ranks and first made a little speech to them, reminding them that they hud come to fight iu the cause of lib- ETHAN ALLEN. 03 erty, and offering any who chose to avail themselves of it an opportunity to retire. No one retired. The order to advance was then given, and the force marched in silence up the heights to the fort. They passed the sentinels, one of whom retreated to his bomb-proof after discharging his piece, and another contented him- self with wounding an officer in the head. The men, after forming inside the fort, gave vent to loud huzzas, which startled the sleeping inmates of the barracks. Colonel Allen then demanded to be shown the apart- ment of Captain Delaplace, the officer commanding, and, mounting the steps leading to the officer's room, ordered him, in a voice of thunder, to come forth instantly or the whole garrison would be sacrificed. Captain Delaplace, startled from sleep by the unex- pected summons, sprang to the door with his pants in his hand, and his pretty wife peering over his shoal- der behind him. There stood Ethan Allen, like another Ajax, stern and thunderous, and demanded the immediate surren- der of the fort. "By what authority," asked Captain Delaplace, "do you presume to make such a demand?" " In the name of the Great Jehovah and the Con- tinental Congress!" thundered Allen, in return. The authority of the Continental Congress not being exactly clear to Delaplace, he began speaking in reply. But his speech was cut short by the uplifted sword of Allen, as the demand for immediate surrender was sternly reiterated. Thinking further parley of no avail, Delaplace surrendered the garrison, ordering his men to parade without arms, and Allen with his brave boys took possession of the captured fort. Wheu the 94 HEROES OF THREE WARS. day dawned on that immortal tenth of May, it seemed to flood the earth with unusual splendor so wrote Ethan Allen in his autobiography concerning this eventful time. Perhaps the beauty of the morn- ing took a shade of brightness from the rosy flush of the victory he had just achieved. One hundred and twenty pieces of cannon, besides swivels, mortars, small arms and stores, were captured with the fort. In a few days after the seizure of Ticonderoga, Col- onel Allen sent Captain Seth Warner to Crown Point with a detachment of men, and the surrender of the garrison at that post followed. Captain Remember Baker on his way to Ticonderoga reached Crown Point just in time to join Warner in taking possession. Benedict Arnold had arrived from Massachusetts just before the expedition for Ticonderoga set out, commissioned by the Committee of Safety of that col- ony to raise men for the same purpose. Finding an organization already under way, having in view the same object, he endeavored to assume command, and lead them to the fortress himself. But the Green Mountain Boys would not permit their beloved com- mander to be supplanted by a stranger, and to prevent disturbance Arnold submitted to the dictation of the majority, and went as a volunteer. His conduct on the occasion was brave. He had marched by the side of Allen, and entered the fort with him. After the surrender he again attempted to assume command, but his orders were not obeyed, and he was once more obliged to look to Allen as his ranking officer. A scheme was entered into at this time between Allen and Arnold for the purpose of seizing the garri- Bon at St. Johns, and taking possession of a royal sloop ETHAN ALLEN. 95 which lay thsre. The beginning of the enterprise was successful, but reinforcements arriving for the enemy from Montreal, Allen was attacked, and driven to his boats. After this adventure he remained at Ticonder- oga as commander-in-chief, while Arnold held Crown Point. Meantime, Colonel Allen was busy planning new successes, and on June second, 1775, he addressed Congress a long letter asking permission to make an advance into Canada with a force of two or three thou- sand men, confidently asserting his power to conquer this province of Britain. He said that with fifteen hundred men he could take Montreal. This project met with little favor from Congress at the time, that body having resolved only the day before the date of Allen's letter that no invasion of Canada ought to be countenanced. Three months later an expedition into Canada, sec- onded by the voice of the whole nation, met with dis- astrous results. Had Congress listened to Allen when he first proposed his plan, there is little doubt that the invasion would have been successful. Allen was now relieved of his command at Ticon- deroga, Colonel Hinman with his Connecticut troops having arrived from that State. The majority of Allen's men returned to their homes, their term of service having expired. Afterwards, Colonel Allen and Seth Warner went to the Continental Congress to procure pay for the soldiers who had served under them, and also to obtain permission to raise a new regiment in the New Hampshire Grants. They succeeded in both objects. When the new regiment was raised, Seth Warner was chosen its lieutenant-colonel, and Samuel Safford, major. It is not clear why Colonel 9G HEROES OF THREE WARS. Allen \vas not connected with this organization in an offi -ial rapacity, but in a few days afterwards he joined General Schuyler as a volunteer, and that officer sent him on a mission to Canada to ascertain the temper of the people there on the question of uniting with Ameri- cans in shaking off the shackles of British rule, and achieving for themselves the enjoyments of freedom, lie was the bearer of an address to the people of Canada from General Schuyler, then at Isle-anx-Nolx, which was intended to convince them that the invasion was not against the rights of the citizens of Canada, but against British tyranny exclusively. Allen went first to Chamblee on his dangerous mission, and found many citizens friendly to the American cause. He was attended by an armed escort, furnished by the citizens, which accompanied him constantly in his journeys throngh the woods. For eight days he was traversing the country on this mission, at the end of which time he returned to General Schuyler's army at Isle-aux-Noix. General Montgomery was in command of the Canada expedition, and was at this time besieging the garrison at St. Johns. Colonel Allen was immediately sent Lack to raise as large a force as he could to unite with the American army at that place. In a week there- after he wrote to General Montgomery from the parish of St. Ours, saying that he had two hundred and fifty Canadians under arms, and that in three days lie intended to be at St. Johns with five hundred Canadian volunteers. But unfortunately Colonel Allen was led t.) change his plans, and a long array of evils followed in natural sequence. When nearly opposite Montreal, on his way to St ETHAN ALLEN. 97 Johns, he fell in with Major Brown, who was at the head of an advance party of Americans and Canadians. This officer represented the defenceless condition of Montreal, and proposed a joint attack to take the city by surprise. A plan was entered into at once, by which a simultaneous assault was to be made by the two parties at opposite points. On the evening of the twenty-fourth of September, Allen crossed the river with eighty Canadians and thirty Americans, and landed them undiscovered before dawn, where ho waited the signal of Major Brown. Daylight came but Major Brown did not, and it was now too late to retreat. Soon, about forty British regulars and two or three hundred Canadians advanced to attack the hand- ful of men tinder Colonel Allen, and after a skirmish of an hour and three-quarters Allen agreed to surrender upon promise of honorable terms. He was conducted to the presence of Colonel Prcscott in Montreal. Y/as this the same Allen who had taken Fort Ticonderoga? that officer inquired. It was. Then the valiant Colonel Prcscott burst into a tow- ering passion, threatened Allen with a halter :;t Tyburn, and ordered him to be bound hand and foot on board the " Gaspce," schooner of war. Allen wrote a letter to Prcscott, protesting against tins inhuman treatment. His only reply was a continuation of the brutality meted out to the worst criminals instead of to honorable prisoners of war. Allen's cornpanions-!:>arms suffered a like fate with their brave leader. During. Bever:;l consecutive months Allen was transferred from or.c vessel to another, where the decree of kindness or ' O cruelty with which he was treated depended on tho disposition of the captain of the. craft. At last he was. 98 HEROES OF THREE WARS. taken to England, where he was regarded as quite an object of interest. The fame of his Ticonderoga *f exploit had preceded him there, and many came to see the distinguished prisoner. He was confined at Fal- niotith. His dress at this time consisted of a short fawn-skin double-breasted jacket, a vest and breeches of sagathy, worsted stockings, a plain shirt and a red worsted cap, materials which had been gathered during his Canada invasion. Though in bondage he did not cease to advocate the claims of his country, or to grow eloquent on the theme of liberty. At last his exchange was ordered, and in company with his fellow r prisoners, he w T as conducted on board the " Solebay," a ship in the harbor of Cork. "When it was known in Cork that Colonel Allen and the American prisoners were on board the " Solebay," sev- eral gentlemen of the city sent to them generous gifts in the shape of clothes, choice food and money, to the indignant disgust of the captain commanding the vessel. After many wanderings and much adventure, Colonel Allen arrived off State n Island, and was conducted to a sloop in the harbor, where he awaited the arrival of Lieutenant-Colonel Campbell, for whom he was to be exchanged. The two prisoners met on the fifth of May, 1778, and drank a glass of wine together in celebration of their mutual happiness. Colonel Allen had been a prisoner of war for two years and seven months. After his release he at once reported to Washington at Valley Forge before turning his face towards home in the Green Mountains. His welcome home was an ovation. Cannon were fired in honor of ETHAN ALLEN. 99 the event, and demonstrations of joy were universal. After his return Congress conferred on him the commission of brevet-colonel in the Continental army, and it was voted that he should receive the pay of a lieutenant-colonel during the time of his imprisonment. The controversy for the independence of Vermont was renewed on Allen's return, and he entered into it with all his wonted spirit. Young Vermont, in grati- tude for past services, appointed him general and commander of the State militia. No stronger proof of their confidence in hirn could have been given at this time by the hardy yeomanry of the Green Moun- tains. During the progress of the disputes there was an attempt made to gain Allen's influence in a project to unite Vermont with the British provinces in Canada. As might be supposed, this attempt was a total failure. At last the difficulties were settled, and Vermont, chiefly through the efforts of Allen, was accorded the place of independence she claimed. At the next election after his return from captivity, General Allen was chosen a representative to the Assembly of his State, and after the restoration of peace he devoted himself to the pursuit of agriculture. At this time his thoughts seemed to set in a new channel, and he wrote a book entitled "Reason the only Oracle of Man, or a Compendious System of Natural Religion." It was published at Bennington in the year 1784. A good many stories are told of Allen which are characteristic of the man, and throw out in bold relief the strong points of his nature. Perhaps these inci- dents are more indicative of character than anything else. At one time during Allen's imprisonment he was released on parole in New York. An incident is 100 HEROES OF THREE WARS. tol 1779. The desperate conflict was witnessed by thou- sands of spectators along the English coast off Flam- borough Head, near Scarboro, and the light of a beautiful harvest moon shed its peaceful radiance across the waters in striking contrast to the bloody scene going on below. At about noon of thai historic day, Captain Jones discovered a fleet of forty-one sail rounding Flamborough Head, and immediately hoisted the signal for a general chase. The fleet was protected by two ships of war, the "Serapis" and the " Countess of Scarborough." When the merchant vessels discovered the squadron of Cantain Jones bearing down upon them they JOHN PAUL JONES. 131 "crowded sail towards shore" and thus escaped. The Chevalier Jones was unable to come up with the fleet until seven o'clock in the evening, and when he had approached to within pistol-shot of the " Serapis," Captain Pearson, commanding, demanded : "What ship is that?" He was answered with, "I can't hear what you RftV " bciy. The " Serapis " asked again, " What ship is that ? Answer immediately or I shall be under the necessity of firing into you." The answer was a broadside. Thus the famous battle began, and for between three and four hours it raged with uninterrupted fury. The two ships closed like men in mortal combat, their death-dealing guns touching each other's sides, and their rigging becoming entangled. As the jib-boom of the "Serapis" ran into the mizzen-rigging of the " Bon Homme Richard " they were made fast by Captain Jones, with a hawser, which afterwards prevented an attempt of the " Serapis " to escape. The batteries of the "Bon Homme Richard" became disabled, until only two nine-pounders were left which could be used, but her brave commander , never thought of surrender. With the gallant craft cut entirely to pieces between decks from the foremast to the stern, with the rudder gone, with five feet of water in her hold and her rig- ging on fire in several places, she still fought valiantly on, in the face of terrible odds, until the captain of the "Serapis" with his own hand struck the flag of England to the free Stars and Stripes of young America. 132 HEROES OF THREE WARS. The scene of carnage, wreck and ruin on board the two ships surpassed all power of description. Some of the hand-grenades thrown from the " Bon Horn me Richard" fell among the powder scattered on the deck of the "Serapis" which had been emptied from broken cartridges, and produced an explosion which was de- scribed as awful. More than twenty of the enemy were blown to pieces, and many stood with only the collars of their shirts upon their bodies. In less than an hour afterwards, the surrender of the "Serapis" took place. Captain Pearson struck the flag which was nailed to the mast with his own hand, because none of his men dared venture aloft on this duty. Several times during the conflict the flames on the "Bon Homme Richard" were within a few inches of the magazine, and the men were frequently under the necessity of suspending the combat in order to extinguish the fire. One of the escaped prisoners on board the " Bon Homme Richard " passed through the port to the "Serapis," and informed Captain Pearson that if he would hold out a little longer the American ship would either strike or sink, and that the prisoners had been released to save their lives. Of course the "Serapis" renewed the battle with added ardor after receiving this piece of intelligence, but it availed them nothing. The Chevalier Paul was not to be thus conquered. And to him alone redounds all the glory of this brilliant action. The "Bon Homme Richard" fought single-handed, receiving no help from the remaining vessels of the squadron. The "Countess of Scarborough," the other British ship of war in company with the " Serapis/' JOHN PAUL JONES. 133 was engaged by one of Captain Jones' fleet, and that, also, surrendered. "From the commencement to the termination of the action there was not a man on board the ' Bon Homme Richard' ignorant of the superiority of the 'Serapis,' both in weight of metal and in the qualities of the crews. The crew of the ' Serapis ' were picked seamen, and the ship itself had been only a few months off the stocks ; whereas the crew of the ' Bon Homme Richard' consisted of part American, Eng- lish and French, and in part of Maltese, Portuguese and Malays ; these latter contributing by their want of naval skill and knowledge of the English language," to lessen the chances of success. Neither the consider- ation of the relative force of the ships, nor the blow- ing-up of the gun-deck above them, by the bursting of two of the eighteen-pounders, nor the alarm that the ship was sinking, could depress the ardor or change the determination of the heroic Captain Jones to conquer at all hazards. Once, during the action, the enemy attempted to board the "Bon Homme Richard," but on finding Captain Jones in the gang- way with a pike in his hand ready to receive them, they retreated, supposing a large force in reserve. It was a fortunate mistake for the brave John Paul, as the reserve force consisted entirely and only of himself. During this engagement, the heroic Captain Jones not only commanded the "Bon Homme Richard" and its men, directing the skilful strategy which secured his splendid victory, but also worked as a common sailor. With his own hands he lashed the ships together, met the enemy when they attempted to 134 HEROES OF THREE WARS. board his vessel, and worked the guns himself when only two remained that were serviceable. He did not escape without wounds. It would have been little less than a miracle otherwise. Of course this sea-battle created a vast excitement on both continents, and the name of Paul Jones wa on every tongue. The press of the day overflowed with accounts of it, and the chevalier was the hero c( the hour. The London Chronicle, of October sevevi teenth, 1779, published the following communicative, from Amsterdam. It is dated October seventh : " Last Tuesday, Paul Jones, with the prizes, the 'Serapis' and 'Scarboro'/ entered the Texel, and this day he appeared on the Exchange, where business gave way to curiosity. The crowd pressing upon him by whom he was styled the terror of the English, he withdrew to a room fronting the public square, where Monsieur Donneville, the French agent, and the Americans, paid him such a volley of compliments and such homage as he could only answer with a bow. He was dressed in the American uniform, with a Scotch bonnet edged with gold, is of a middling stature, stern countenance and swarthy complexion. It was sup- posed he was going to Paris to receive the congratu- lations of the Grand Monarque and Dr. Franklin ; but I am now informed he is gone to the Hague, to solicit by the French ambassador the repair of his shipping, which, if he should succeed in, he will prob- ably elude the vigilance of a seventy-four gun-ship waiting before the Texel." A story is told of Captain Jcnes, who was in Paris a short time after this battle. He was informed that Captain Pearson, of the "Serapis," had been knighted. JOHN PAUL JONES. 135 " Well," said he, " he deserves it, and if I fall in with him again, I will make a lord of him." The " Bon Homme Richard " was so disabled, that, despite every effort to tow her into port, she went down on the next day but one after the battle. In a letter of Dr. Franklin to Jones, written October fifteenth, in reply to despatches from Jones, he says : " I am uneasy about your prisoners, five hundred and four in number. I wish they were safe in France. You will then have completed the glorious work of giving liberty to all the Americans that have so long languished for it in British prisons." That grand object was at last accomplished, and the Chevalier Jones was the chief instrument in bringing it about. On the first of January, 1780, he escaped from the Texel road, where, for three months, he had been blockaded by the British fleets. Three days after- wards we find him writing poetry to a young lady at the Hague, who had penned a metrical effusion to the chevalier. He cherished a romantic regard for women, and was ever the incarnation of gallantry to them. During the year 1780, Captain Jones was in France, and his correspondence of that time is voluminous. In one of these letters he says : "As an American officer and as a man I affection- ately love and respect the character and nation of France, and hope the alliance with America may last forever. I owe the greatest obligation to the generous praises of the French nation on my past conduct, and I shall be happy to merit future favor." While the chevalier remained in Paris he was lion- ized to an unlimited extent. Everywhere he was 9 136 HEROES OF THREE WARS. greeted with the homage accorded a hero. Men chanted his praises. Women smiled upon him. Court and community united to do him honor. In a brief notice of him published in the Edinburgh Encyclopedia, it wa. said that he spoke several European languages, was a lover ot music ana poetry, played on different musical instruments, and used to write verses for the amusement of the Parisian ladies. Of his public reception it was said that he received at Paris and other parts of the kingdom the most flattering applause and public approbation whenever he appeared. Both the great and learned sought his acquaintance in private life, and honored him with particular marks of friendship. At court he was always received with great kindness. His rank at this time was that of commodore, and the French king ordered a gold sword to be presented him, and also the cross of military merit conferred only on those who had distinguished themselves in the service of France. From Dr. Franklin also he received an honorable testimonial of his bravery and conduct. On the eighteenth of February, 1781, Captain Jones arrived at Philadelphia, having been absent from America three years and three months. On the twenty -seventh, Congress, at that time assembled in Philadelphia, passed resolutions commending Captain Jones for his distinguished bravery and military con- duct, and endorsing the action of the King of France in bestowing upon him the cross of merit. The great object of the brave John Paul had been to effect the liberty and exchange of American citizens confined in the dungeons of England, and this noble purpose, after herculean efforts, had been accom- plished. JOHN PAUL JONES. 137 Having won the admiration of two continents, the gallant chevalier rested for a time from his labors. He afterwards went to Portsmouth to take command of the "America," but on arriving at that place he found the ship unfinished, and was necessitated to remain and superintend its construction. On his way thither he visited Washington and Count Roch am beau at White Plains, wearing on that occasion his cross as Chevalier of the Order of Merit. After long delays the "America" was at last launched, displaying the stars and stripes and the flag of France at her masthead. The chevalier was the chief actor in the ceremony attending the launch- ing, and after the affair was over, he delivered her to the Chevalier De Martigne and returned to Phila- delphia. Captain Jones afterwards wrote to the minister of the marine, requesting that, unless Congress had some service of greater consequence for him, he might be ordered back to Boston to embark as a volunteer in pursuit of military marine knowledge, to enable him to better serve his country when America should increase her navy. The chevalier never married, notwithstanding his extravagant admiration for women. Some of his letters reveal the fact that he sometimes indulged in dreams of domestic happiness, which were never realized. He wrote to a friend in the United States just before the close of the war that "if peace should be concluded he wished to establish himself on a place of his own, and offer his hand to some fair daughter of liberty." But this dream was destined to remain only a dream. 138 HEROES OF THREE WARS. The chevalier went to Philadelphia soon after peace was restored, remaining from May until Novem- ber, when he again sailed for France. Meantime, in addition to the gold sword and cross of the French King Louis, he had been presented with a gold medal from Congress. Loaded with honors and in the height of his popularity he went to Denmark and Russia, and was received at the royal courts of these countries with great distinction. He afterwards entered into the Russian service, and the queen con- ferred on him the grade of rear admiral. In a letter to Lafayette at this time, Jones said he was detained a fortnight against his will, and continually feasted in court and the first society. He was lionized at St. Petersburg as he had been at Paris. A St. Petersburg letter of this date chronicles his arrival, and says that "he was presented to the sovereign by the French ambassador, and immediately promoted to the rank of admiral. He is to take command of a squadron in the Black Sea. . . . He wears the French uniform with the cross of St. Louis, and a Danish order which he received at Copenhagen, where he had the honor to dine with the king. He has also received since he came here one of the first orders of merit in this country." His visit to the court of Denmark was of a political nature. During all these years of adventure and daring service on the high seas, he kept a detailed account of his doings in an elegantly bound journal. At last we find him again in Paris, where on the eighteenth of July, 1792, he died of dropsy. His health had been gradually failing for a long time previous, and at length his heroic soul passed to the spirit land. He JOHN PAUL JONES. 139 was surrounded by friends to the end. His funeral discourse was pronounced by Mr. Marron, a Protestant clergyman of the city which had heaped upon him such honors. Noble in his courage, princely in his liberality, and grandest of all in his tender humanity, Paul Jones was every inch a hero. The beloved flag of America had no braver defender during the long struggle for independence in the days of the Revolution, nor had liberty a more ardent lover. He was the champion of justice and right the world over, but America was the country of his affections. His chiefest glory as he often declared was to be a citizen of the United States. CHAPTER IX. THADDEUS KOSCIUSZKO. Early History of Kosciuszko. Education in the Art of War. An Affair of the Heart. Exile. Position on Washington's Stafl! Siege of Ninety -Six. Service in Poland. Dictator and General- issimo. Battle of Raczlawice. Victory Followed by Defeat. Decisive Battle of Maciejowice. Overwhelmed by Superior Numbers. " Finis Polonae ! " Imprisonment. Freedom Re- gained. Retirement at Fontainebleau. The Fall from the Preci- pice. Closing Scenes. DURING the struggle of the infant colonies for liberty in the days of the Revolution, the young Polish nobleman, Thaclcleus Kosciuszko, was an acces- sion of value to our array and to the staff of Wash- ington. He was born February twelfth, 1756, and was educated in the military school at Warsaw. His family was both ancient and noble, and he proved him- self a worthy scion of so honorable a house. At an early age he seems to have enlisted the sym- pathies of one of the princes of the reigning house, who conferred on him the rank of lieutenant of cadets and sent him to France to further his military educa- tion. On his return to his native country he received a captaincy and was on the high road to promotion, when an unhappy affair of the heart put an end to his fair prospects. He dared to cherish a love for a lady whom Prince Lubomirski also loved, and this was his offence. For such a piece of presumption he was obliged to fly from his native land, and on the arena of (140) THADDEUS KOSCIUSZKO. 141 the New World, where liberty was struggling for an existence, he sought a field for action. Here he won the lasting renown which is always accorded noble daring. But change of scene did not quench the ardor of his attachment. With beautiful fidelity, through all the eventful years of his life, he remained true to the lady for whose sake he had suffered banishment. No other woman ever took her place. He came to America with the highest credentials and offered his life and services in the cause of liberty. Washington, with keen appreciation, gave him the position of aid on his staff and Kosciuszko did honor to the choice. His conduct in the many engagements in which he partici- pated was always distinguished by a spirited bravery. He received the rank of brigadier, and was on duty as principal engineer of the army. At the siege of Ninety- six all the approaches and besieging operations were planned by him. He behaved with cool indifference under fire, and at the close of the war left America for Europe with the rank of general and as a member of the American order of Cincinnati. In 1786, he returned to his native land, and the next j-ear received the appointment of major-general. In 1791, he went into service under Prince Joseph Ponia- towski, and at the battle of Dubienka repulsed a force of eighteen thousand Russians with less than a quarter of that number. When Poland yielded allegiance to Catherine of Russia, Kosciuszko left the army and went to Leipsic, where he became a naturalized citizen of France. But the Poles did not easily submit to the domination of a foreign power, and rebellion and war were again inau- gurated. When the liberties of his country stood im- 142 HEROES OF THREE WARS. perilled, Kosciuszko could not longer remain away, and went to Cracow to draw his sword in her behalf. The crisis found him ready to meet it, and on the twenty- fourth of March, 1794, he was proclaimed Dictator and Generalissimo. His rule began with victory. The Russians were driven from Cracow, and the constitution of the Polish people was restored. On April fourth, the battle of Raczlawice was fought; and Kosciuszko, at the head of four thousand men, met and repulsed twelve thousand Russians. The conflict was desperate and bloody, and three thousand of the enemy's dead were left upon the field. The Polish patriots were encouraged, and Poland once more stood upright with the shackles of slavery shaken from her feet. Law and order were again restored, and Kosci- uszko was on the pinnacle of fame and greatness. Up V) this time his course had been marked by nothing but victory^ ^ut *he shadow of defeat was yet to fall upon his future. The patriot band he had gathered around him was confronted by the combined armies of Russia and Prussia, and after bravely contesting the ground he was obliged to retire to his defences before Warsaw. Cracow fell and Warsaw was besieged by sixty thousand men. Two months of daily battle at last brought on a general assault, and the allied armies were ingloriously defeated by a force of only ten thou- sand men. The siege was raised, and on the bright banner of fame the name of Kosciuszko was immor- talized forever. "With an army of but twenty thou- sand regular troops and twice that number of peas- ants he had maintained himself successfully through the campaign against four hostile armies, numberi?ig altogether one hundred and fifty thousand men." The THADDEUS KOSCIUSZKO 143 hearts of the people were with him and he belonged most truly to the people. With no other object in life, he lived only for his country. Order and peace were restored for the time, and Kosciuszko gave back to the national council the power delegated to him as Dictator. But the invaders, confident in the ultimate success of their overwhelming numbers, renewed the conflict with an army of over sixty thousand. Kosciuszko had only twenty-one thousand. The battle-ground was at a place named Maciejowice, about fifty miles from Warsaw, and it occurred on October tenth, 1794. The fight was desperate. Three violent assaults were made on the Polish lines without effect, but at the fourth charge the patriot ranks gave way and the brave and valiant and noble Kosciuszko fell from his horse, pierced with wounds. "This is the last of Poland!" he exclaimed, as he was borne a prisoner to the enemy's camp. His words bore the spell of prophecy, and Poland was indeed lost to him and his countrymen as an independent nation. The successor of Catherine of Russia liberated the captives whom she had imprisoned, and Kosciuszko received many marks of favor and esteem. The em- peror even presented his sword to the Polish chieftain an honor which Kosciuszko declined, saying that "he who no longer had a country, no longer had need of a weapon." Other gifts were offered him by the emperor, but Kosciuszko declined them all. He again visited France and England last of all America. In this country he was received with the honor due to one of the heroes of the Revolution and the bosom-friend 144 HEROES OF THREE WARS. of Washington. In 1798, he again went to France from America. His countrymen in the army of Na- poleon presented him with the sword of John Sobieski, and Napoletxn endeavored to interest him in his? own ambitious schemes by promises of freedom for Poland. But he was not to be deceived by such illusive hopes. Never afterwards did he wear a sword. He bought an estate near Fontainebleau, and lived in seclusion for many years. In 1814, he made an appeal to the Em- peror Alexander to give a free constitution to Poland and to grant amnesty to his countrymen in foreign lands. The next year he travelled in Italy, and the year after settled at Soleur, Switzerland. Here lie lived in quiet retirement until his death, which took place on October sixteenth, 1817. This event was brought about by a fall from his horse over a precipice near Vevay. In 1818, his body was deposited in the tombs of the kings at Cracow, at the request of the Senate. Thus passed into death's dark eclipse one of the bravest spirits that ever suffered exile and martyrdom for liberty. Personal ambition and selfish indulgence were alike forgotten in a grand and absorbing love for country, and through all time the name of this noble patriot will shine bright and clear on the world's roll of honor. CHAPTER X. HUCH MERCER. The Moors of Culloden. The Assistant-Surgeon of the Highland Army. Emigration to Pennsylvania. Indian Wars. Wounded and Alone. Outbreak of the Revolution. The Fredericksburg Home. Farewells. Days of '76. First Campaign. A Gloomy Time. Influence of Washington. Across the Delaware. Affairs in Philadelphia. Putnam's Order. Hasty Adjournment of Con- gress. Change of Policy. Attack on Trenton. Victory. The Night March on Princeton. Desperate Fighting. Ten to One. Mercer Mortally Wounded. The Farm-Hotise Scene. Last Moments. Victory and Death, HUGH MERCER first appears among the dra- matis personse of history, fighting under the standard of the Scottish prince, Charles Edward, on the moors of Culloden. Colonel Wolfe, of Quebec fame, fought in the English ranks against him, and Fraser, afterwards major-general, was also there. The bloody defeat of that day, April sixteenth, 1746, is known to history. Of the exiled prince and his band of devoted followers, it concerns us to trace the career of only one of them, the young assistant-surgeon of the Highland army, who afterwards crossed the ocean and identified himself with the patriot ranks struggling for liberty. After emigrating to Pennsylvania, and making a home on what was then the lonely, western frontier, he became captain in the Provincial army at the outbreak of the Indian wars of 1755. He fought under the leadership of that brave old Scotch Cove- nanter, Colonel John Armstrong, whose son afterwarda (145) 146 HEROES OF THREE WARS. bore him mortally hurt from the battle-field of Prince- ton. At the assault on Kittanning, an Indian strong- hold, which was successfully carried, Mercer received a severe wound, and in the confusion of the fight, got separated from his company and was reported " miss- ing." Alone, with his shattered arm, he wandered through the forest for weeks, living on roots and berries, until at last he reached Fort Cumberland exhausted. In 1758, Mercer, as lieutenant-colonel, was left in charge of Fort Du Quesne, after its reduction by the army of General Forbes, a post which it was con- sidered important to hold. During this time he be- came acquainted with young Colonel Washington, from Virginia, and a warm friendship sprang up between them. During the succeeding contest for colonial inde- pendence, Hugh Mercer was foremost among the de- fenders of American rights. A few months after George Washington was chosen commander-in-chief of our armies, Mercer was honored by Congress with a commission as brigadier-general. Soon afterwards he left his home in Fredericksburg, Virginia, and joined the Continental forces at New York. The farewells uttered at this time to his wife and little ones were final farewells, though he knew it not. He never again returned to the Virginia home where he had planted his roof-tree. His life had been risked for the defence of the country of his adoption, and the noble sacrifice was made on the field of Princeton. General Mercer's first campaign was crowded with events which were of vital interest to the country. " The battle on Long Island, the retreat to New York, HUGH MERCER. 147 the evacuation of that city contrary to the advice of Mercer, who was perhaps wisely overruled, and of Greene, whose bold counsel it was to burn the city to the ground, the battle of White Plains, the fall of Fort Washington, the projected attack on Staten Island con- fided to Mercer, and the retreat through New Jersey, were the prominent incidents of this eventful period. Throughout it all, Mercer was in active service under the immediate orders of the commander-in-chief, to whose ejections he was closely endeared." In the early part of December, 1776, the banks of the Delaware were reached by our dispirited army, pursued by the well-regulated troops of the British. A cloud of gloom seemed to hover over the country which pervaded alike the army and Congress, then on the point of leaving Philadelphia for a safer retreat at Baltimore. This was the darkest period of the Revo- lution, and the influence of Washington, at this time, is said to have been sublimely felt. He was a pillar of flame by night, and a pillar of cloud by day, to the desponding hopes of the patriot army, and the anxious, waiting hearts at home. Calmly resolute, he went forward, Congress having put upon him the entire responsibility of the issue at stake. The trust was grandly executed, as history knows, and Fame, in gratitude, encircled his brow with her purest rays of light. In a letter written by Washington, General Lee, at Basken Ridge, was implored to come at once, and unite his forces with the main army, but just as the letter reached him, Lee was made a prisoner by a party of British dragoons, and that hope was cut off. With large bodies of Hessian and British troops within a 148 HEROES OF THREE WARS. few miles of Philadelphia, and with a British frigate and sloop of war lying at anchor in the Delaware, the state of affairs in the Quaker city may be imagined. The effect is described by one who witnessed it at the time. " It was just dark," he says, " when we entered Front street, and it appeared as if we were riding through a city of the dead. Such was the silence and stillness which prevailed that the dropping of a stone would have been heard for several squares, and the hoofs of our horses resounded in all directions." But General Putnam, the lion-hearted Richard of our Revolution, held the command of the city, and that of itself was an element of success. The following order, issued by him, vividly portrays the unsettled and threatening state of affairs at the time: "The late advances of the enemy oblige the general to request the inhabitants of this city not to appear in the streets after ten o'clock at night, as he has given orders to the picket-guard to arrest and confine all persons who may be found in the streets after that hour. Physicians and others, having essential business after that hour, are directed to call at head-quarters for passes. "The general has been informed that some weak or wicked men have maliciously reported that it is the design and vyish of the officers and men in the Con tinental army to burn and destroy the city of Philadel- phia. To counteract such a false and scandalous report, he thinks it necessary to inform the inhabitants who propose to remain in the city, that he has received positive orders from the honorable Continental Con- gress, and from his excellency, General Washington, to secure and protect the city of Philadelphia against all HUGH MERCER. 149 invaders and enemies. The general will consider any jit tempt to burn the city as a crime of the blackest dye, and will, without ceremony, punish capitally anj) incendiary who shall have the hardiness and cru- elty to attempt it. The general commands all able- bodied men who are not conscientiously scrupulous about bearing arms, and who have not been known heretofore to have entertained such scruples, to appear in the State House yard, at ten o'clock, with their arms and accoutrements. This order must be complied with, the general being resolutely determined that no person shall remain in the city an idle spectator of the present contest who has it in his power to injure the American cause, or who may refuse to lend his aid in support of it; persons under conscientious scruples alone excepted." On the eleventh of December, Congress passed a resolution denouncing a current rumor that they in- tended to leave Philadelphia, and on the very next day they hastily adjourned to Baltimore, leaving Washington with carte-blanche orders as to the con- duct of the war. But his faith in the right and in the belief that liberty would triumph, remained unshaken, though the means of attaining this end seemed shrouded in gloom. At this crisis a suggestion was made to change the war policy from defensive to offensive operations, and attack the enemy's outposts through New Jersey. General Mercer seems to have been among the first to propose this offensive movement, and it was decided between himself and his aid, Mayor Armstrong, to speak of the subject in turn to the com- mander-in-chief. The suggestion met with the cordial support of such men as Greene, among others of Wash- 150 HEROES OF THREE WARS. ington's most valued advisers, and a plan of attack on Trenton was quickly arranged. The troops were to cross the Delaware in two places, and attack the enemy from two points at once. With Washington's small and illy-equipped force the move was a desperate one, and the fate of a nation trembled on the issue. " For God's sake, hurry on the clothing to my suffering men," he wrote to Robert Morris, two days previous to the attack. " Leave no arms or valuable papers in the city, for sure I am that the enemy wait for two events alone to begin their operations on Phila- delphia ice for a passage over the Delaware, and the dissolution of the poor remains of my debilitated army." In the winter darkness of that Christmas night, an hour before dawn, the momentous attack was made, and the tide of reverse and disaster was turned by the splendid victory which followed. Mercer led the column of attack on the main street coming in from Princeton, and effectually cut off the enemy's retreat. After this glorious achievement the American forces recrossed the Delaware and waited until the last of the month before resuming offensive operations. On the night of January second, 1777, the patriot camp in New Jersey held a council of war, at which Mercer proposed the bold idea of a night attack on Princeton, for the purpose of capturing two regiments of the enemy stationed at that point, and then continuing the advance to Brunswick to destroy the magazines there. The proposition was at once agreed to by all present, and before dawn the movement was put into execu- tion. They had pitched their tents that night not far HUGH MERCER. 151 from the British camp a small stream flowing between the two hostile armies. An attack was to have been made on the Americans next morning, by the enemy, but Lord Cornwallis woke to find his intended victims flown. The thunder of the guns at Princeton, heard in the distance, first announced to him the fact that the foe no longer confronted him, and that the British forces at Princeton were being attacked. Mercer, at the head of his brigade, threw himself between the main body of the enemy and their reserves, thus precipitating a general action. Colonel Hazlet fell, mortally hurt, and Mercer's horse was shot under him. Disdaining to fly or to surrender in the con- fusion which this occasioned, he fought dismounted single-handed and alone against the on-rushing hordes of the enemy. But the terrible* odds were too great and he was trampled to the earth, pierced by the bayonets of overwhelming numbers. The struggle was sharp and bloody, the victory glorious, but what brave blood consecrated the sacrifice! What heroic lives went out that liberty might live! Major Armstrong found his general lying insensible on the field and carried him to a neighboring farm- house, where he lingered a few days in mortal agony before the expiring flame of life went out. He died in the arms of Major George Lewis a nephew of \Vushington with a prayer on his lips for his father- loss family and his suffering country. This last sad scene in the drama of Hugh Mercer's life was not unrelieved by the presence of woman. The two who lived under that humble roof did not fly from the rain of leaden death which fell around them, 10 152 HEROES OF THREE WARS. while the duty of watching by the bedside of this dying soldier claimed their service. As woman alone could, they soothed his last moments, and their tears fell over his pallid form as the spirit took its final flight. Let us draw the curtain gently over this sorrowful picture, and stand with hushed pulses in the presence of the memory of this soldier of the Revolu- tion, who died in defence of liberty. CHAPTER XI. ANTHONY WAYNE. Birth and Ancestry. Youthful Bent Towards Military Studies. Marriage. Beginning of Public Life. In the Legislature. Commissioned as Colonel. Expedition to Canada. At Brandy- wine. Engagement of Germantown. Service at Valley Forge. Monmouth. Storming of Stony Point. Splendid Victory. Revolt of the Pennsylvania Line. Investment of Yorktown. War with the Indians. Peace Commissioner. Death at Presque Isle. Monument of the Cincinnati. A NTHONY WAYNE was a son of Pennsylvania, -L\- of whom that State is justly proud and whose glorious career adds a lustre to her history. He and the new year of 1745 were born together, and he proved to be a valuable New Year's gift to the young Ameri- can nation which afterwards emerged from the dark- ness of servile subjection to the English crown, into the light of independence. His father belonged to Erin's green isle the land of poetry and song, of gen- erous impulses and Irish wit, the land of Moore and Emmet. As a boy, young Wayne is said to have displayed a taste for military studies. The Revolution gave this faculty its direction. Otherwise, perhaps, he might never have been known to the world or to these pages. But when a great crisis convulses a nation, the leading spirits rise to the top of the tide of events and take their places. Anthony Wayne was one of these. His boyhood, uneventful, save in the routine of daily toil, (153) 154 HEROES OF THREE WARS. merged slowly into manhood, and at twenty-two lie was married. This was in 1767, and for the succeeding two years he was occupied as a farmer and land-sur- veyor in his native county of Chester. In 1774, he was elected a member of the Pennsylvania Legislature, and in 1775, was on the Committee of Public Safety. He now began a course of military study in anticipa- tion of approaching events, and in September resigned his seat in the Legislature to raise a regiment of volun- teers. On January third, 1776, he received from Con- gress the commission of colonel, and at the beginning of the campaign of that year was ordered to the field of operations in New York and Canada. His regi- ment was with General Sullivan at the defeat of Three Rivers, in Canada, and during the well-ordered retreat which he conducted at that place, he received his first wound in the cause of freedom. From Canada he went to take charge of Fort Ticon- deroga for a time, and afterwards, in May, 1777, joined the army of Washington in New Jersey. In February previous, Congress had conferred on him the rank of brigadier-general, and the commander-in-chief had also testified to his distinguished bravery and skill. At the famous battle of Brandy wine, the brigade of Wayne was one of the most conspicuous on the field and covered itself with glory and fame. At Germantown he was in command of one of the divisions on the right, taking the Chestnut-Hill road. They advanced with fixed bayonets and the action soon became general. Every student of history knows the unhappy termination of this action and the lamentable mistakes caused by the fog of that October morning, roan horse of General Wayne was shot dead under ANTHONY WAYNE. 155 him within a few yards of the enemy's front, and him- self received several slight wounds. In a letter written at the time concerning the engagement he says : "Upon the whole, it was a glorious day. Our men are in high spirits, and I am confident we shall give them a total defeat the next action, which is at no great distance." In this battle General Wayne covered the retreat of the American army, compelling the enemy to give up pursuit by the very effective fire of a battery planted on an eminence which commanded their line of ad- vance. During the severe winter at Valley Forge in 1777, when the patriot ranks were suffering from want of proper clothing and food, General Wayne was ap- pointed commander of a foraging expedition, whose efforts were soon apparent in hundreds of fat cattle, horses and rations. It was a grateful relief to the starved and shivering army in their huts at Valley Forge, and furnished the solution to a most important problem. Of General Wayne's part in the battle of Monmouth, Washington, in his official report to Congress, says : "The catalogue of those who distinguished themselves is too long to admit of particularizing individuals. I cannot, however, forbear to mention Brigadier-General Wayne, whose good conduct and bravery throughout the action deserves particular commendation." At the storming of Stony Point, Wayne especially distinguished himself. This bold and brilliant enter- prise one of the most hazardous of the Revolution was confided entirely to the generalship of the brave Pennsylvanian, and the trust was nobly executed. 156 HEROES OF THREE WARS. Stony Point was a stroftgly fortified post on the Hud- son River, commanding King's Ferry, the principal avenue of communication between the Eastern and Middle States. Through this point the enemy could easily strike the Highlands, should that be desired, and it was therefore of great strategic importance. Sur- rounded by the river on two sides and a deep morass on the third, it was made still more difficult of access by two rows of abatis besides the usual breastworks and artillery, covering the summit of the hill. It was garrisoned by six hundred men under Lieutenant-Col- onel Johnson, and was regarded as impregnable. General Wayne set himself to the task of taking this nearly inaccessible post, with undaunted courage. His troops started from Sandy Beach, fourteen miles away, on July fifteenth, 1779, and reached the vicinity of the fort in the evening of that day. As they came up they were formed into two columns, headed by a forlorn hope of twenty men each, under Lieutenant Gibbon of the sixth, and Lieutenant Knox of the ninth Pennsylvania regiments. At twenty minutes after midnight the assault was made. The advance guard rushed forward up the hill with bristling bayonets, un- deterred by a galling fire of grape and musketry which was poured into their ranks from the enemy. But they succeeded in gaining the crest despite the formidable array of obstructions placed in their way, and the two columns met in the centre of the works. It was a splendid victory, eliciting the thanks of Congress and the praise of the people. The attacking party lost only about one hundred men in the assault, including killed and wounded. During the action General Wayne fell to the earth, ANTHONY WAYNE. 157 stunned by a wound in the head^but speedily recover- ing, he led his troops into the fort. Letters of con- gratulation were received by him from civilians and army officers alike, and his name was on the lips of the people as one of its saviors. When the "Pennsylvania Line" came back to duty after their unhappy revolt, they put themselves under General Wayne's command, and offered to repel the troops of Sir Henry Clinton, which had been sent out to give them the assistance they had demanded of their own country. They had suffered wrongs which were unredressed, but it was not their patriotism that gave way in this stress of events, as the sequel proved. When their country's enemy offered them all they asked if they would come over to him, the proposi- tion was indignantly repelled ; and then it was that the old Pennsylvania Line put itself under the leader- ship of its beloved general, to drive out the troops of Clinton, who had been sent to receive them. Congress at last listened to their complaints, and by according them the long-delayed justice they sought, put an end to the unhappy mutiny. At the investment and capture of Yorktown, Gen- eral Wayne was actively engaged the attacks of his brave troops contributing effectively to the work. Afterwards . he was sent to the aid of General Greene, in Georgia, where his services were of the most im- portant character. "He brought back to their alle- giance many of the disaffected, made Whigs of Tories, and contrived to produce a spirit of discontent, which extended to the British army itself." He defeated the efforts of the British general to use Indian troops against him capturing and repulsing large bodies of 158 HEROES OF THREE WARS. Creek and Choctaw warriors, on their way to join the enemy. Their savage leader was slain and the force dispersed. Charlestown was evacuated by the British and taken possession of by Wayne on December fourteenth, 1782, and this was his last military service in the Revolution. In July of 1783, he returned to civil life in his native State. The next year he was elected to the General Assembly from Chester county, and served two sessions. But General Wayne's military life was not yet at an end. In the Indian war which followed the war for Independence, he was appointed by Washington to the command of the armies of the United States, and executed his high trust with such masterly skill that the contest was concluded by the Treaty of Greeueville, and a long peace with the red men of America ensued. General Wayne was afterwards appointed commis- sioner to treat with the Indians of the north-west, and while on his way down Lake Erie from Detroit, died from an attack of gout. The melancholy event took place at Presque Isle, December fifteenth, 1796. He was buried on the shore of the lake, but his remains were afterwards taken to his native county, where the State Society of Cincinnati erected a monument to his memory. One of the inscriptions on the commemorative mar- ble was as follows : Major-General ANTHONY WAYNE, Was born at Waynesborough, in Chester county, State of Pennsylvania, A. D. 1745. ANTHONY WAYNE, 159 After a life of honor and usefulness he died in December, 1796, at a military post on the shores of Lake Erie, Commander-in-Chief of the army of the United States. His military achievements are consecrated in the history of his country, and in the hearts of his countrymen. His remains are here deposited. Men who have freely bestowed their services in glorious and unselfish causes, as did this noble patriot, must live while heroes are remembered or their Uave deeds emulated. CHAPTER XII. JOHN STARK. Chiralrona Character of Stark. Incident of Bunker Hill. Birth- place and Early Life. The Young Hunter. On a Trapping Excursion. Captured by the Indians. On the Way to St. Fran- cis. Running the Gauntlet. Admiration of the Tribe for the White Hunter. He is made a Chief. Seven Years' War.- -New Hampshire Rangers. Battle in the Snow. Brilliant Fighting of Stark. Promoted. The Guns of Lexington. The Muster at Medford. Advance on Trenton. Princeton. Re-enlistment. Popularity of Stark. Under a Cloud. Defence of Vermont. Battle of Bennington. Close of War. 1812. The Warrior'* Last Sleep. FTHHERE is a peculiar kind of heroism about the JL character of John Stark as it is handed down to us by the historian. A dash of romance interth reads it which suggests the noble pioneers of Cooper's stories. It is the heroism of a strongly-marked individuality of a gentle nature covered over by a rough exterior. There is a kind of latter-day chivalry enveloping the accounts we have of him, which, in the times of tour- nament and spear, would have passed current as the true gold of knighthood. Had he lived in the days of English King Alfred, he would have been num- bered among the band of the Round Table, beside such stars as Sir Launcelot, the brave, and Sir Galahad, the pure. But no knight of ancient or modern days ever drew lance or sword in nobler cause than did John Stark, and the grandeur of it filled him in- spired him, as one incident related of him alone will (160) JOHN STARK. 161 testify: At the battle of Bunker Hill, a courier in haste came to him with the news (afterwards discov- ered to be false) that his son had fallen on the field. The Spartan reply was: "Is this a time for private grief with the foe in our face?" and the courier was ordered back to duty. Not until he had reached his twenty-fifth year did John Stark appear as an actor on the public stage. He had previously lived the simple, sturdy life of a New England pioneer farmer, having been born in Londonderry, New Hampshire, August twenty-eighth, 1728. He was descended from Scotcli ancestry. His avocations besides that of tilling the glebe were hunting and trapping, and for these last adventurous pursuits he held the true frontiersman's love. During this period, in company with three others, he went on a hunting excursion into the almost unexplored wilder- ness of the northwestern portion of the State. The tract was known to be infested with wild beasts and hostile tribes of Indians, but neither the one nor the other deterred the young woodsman from setting out on his perilous journey. After being out two days the party struck an Indian trail which they were bold enough to follow. Stark was somewhat in advance of his companions for the purpose of collecting traps, and was the first victim of the St. Francis Indians, who seized him and demanded the whereabouts of his companions. Stark pointed in the opposite direction, but the others were soon overtaken just as they were getting into a boat on Baker's River. The young trapper called to his companions to pull for the opposite shore, and, as the savages drew their pieces to fire on them, he struck the weapons out of his 162 HEROES OF THREE WARS. captors' hands. This boldness in their white victim excited the admiration of the Indians, although they chastised young Stark severely for his temerity. Hia skill in hunting and trapping was put to the test at once, and, becoming of use to them, he thus made another long stride in their favor. He was taken with the tribe on their way to St. Francis, and was allowed the rights of property in the capture of game. After his arrival at St. Francis, he was condemned to run the gauntlet a ceremony in vogue among them which is administered as a species of training to their young warriors in order to test and discipline their courage. It consisted of passing through the centre of two lines of armed savages, who delivered each a blow to the flying novice as he rushed down the gauntlet thus formed. Young Stark went through this ordeal in a manner which astonished his red captors, and won their unbounded admiration. As he sprang down the line he seized the club of the foremost among them, and, swinging it vigorously aloft, scattered his foes right and left, leaving them baffled and subdued. Loud was their praise in honor of this act of daring. Afterwards when Stark was set to hoe corn, he tossed his hoe into the river with con- tempt, saying it was "work for squaws, not warriors." What more did these Indians need to convince them of his entire worthiness to become a brave among their braves? A council was called at once, and Stark was formally created a chief of the tribe. For many moons he 'remained among these St. Francis people, and ever afterwards declared that he received more real kindness at their hands than he ever knew prisoners of war to receive from civilized JOHN STARK. 163 nations. At last he was ransomed by the commis- sioners of Massachusetts for one hundred and three dollars, though his companion captured at the same time was only valued at sixty dollars. During the seven years French and Indian war which preceded the Revolution, John Stark was no idle spectator. A corps of Rangers under Robert Rogers was recruited for service, and in this organization Stark received his first commission. He was ever active in recruiting, scouting, and exploring during the pauses in the heat of the long contest. In the middle of January, 1757, on an extremely cold day, with the snow and sleet nearly blinding the eyes of the Rangers, the enemy was encountered midway between Ticon- deroga and Crown Point, and a battle ensued. Rogers was wounded, their lieutenant killed, and Stark fougnt desperately on almost the only officer left unhurt. At last the lock of his gun was broken, and springing forward he seized a weapon from the grasp of a pros- trate Frenchman and continued the fight, exciting his men to action. When a retreat was suggested he declared he would shoot the first man who attempted to fly. The fight was kept up from two o'clock in the afternoon until night compelled a cessation of hostilities, when in the cold and snow they commenced a retreat to Fort William Henry, their only succor, forty miles away. Their wounded were soon compelled to halt, unable to continue the difficult march. In this crisis, John Stark and two others set out on snow-shoes to the fort to bring help and relief to their disabled and dying. The long distance was traversed and the return journey made before Stark allowed himself to think of sleep. This battle was the means of pro- moting him to the rank of captain. 164 HEROES OF THREE WARS. At the downfall of Ticonderoga, the New Hampshire Rangers, foremost in danger and in the brunt of battle, won an enviable reputation for bravery and daring, and afterwards during this protracted struggle, many were the battles fought in which they bore a con- spicuous part, and of which history took little note. At the end of the French and Indian war the "Rangers" of Major Rogers and Captain Stark yere disbanded, and Stark returned once more to thfe pur- suits of a peaceful life. This interval of peace lasted about twelve years before the guns of Lexington awoke the country with their echoes, and the sons of the soil rushed to her rescue. It is said that within ten minutes after the tidings of the fight at Lexington had reached him, Stark was on his way to the scene of action, armed and equipped for battle. As he went, he called on all lovers of country and liberty to meet him at Medford, and twelve hundred men responded to this alarum call. With these brave boys he was in the hottest of the fight at Bunker Hill, and not only sustained the reputation he had previously won, but added fresh laurels to his chaplet of fame. As the great wave of the Revolution swept on, Stark was ever found promptly at his post, fearless of danger, alert for the foe. Before, or about the time the policy of the war had changed from one of defence to an aggressive advance, Stark was prompt with his advice on the subject, even though he counselled so great a general as Washington, himself. " You must teach your men to rely upon their fire- arms instead of their pickaxes, if you ever mean to establish the independence of the United States," he JOHN STARK 165 wrote to the commander-in-chief, and that general responded quickly enough. " This is what we have agreed upon. We are to march to-morrow upon Trenton. You are to command the right wing of the advance-guard, and General Greene the left." . . . . The victory of Trenton followed, and that of Princeton tripped closely on its heels. Despair was turned into joy, and the country began to see that her precious blood had not been spilled in vain. Just at this juncture of affairs, when it was necessary to follow up the tide of victory with vigorous work, the term of enlistment of most of the men expired, and the personal popularity and influence of their leaders was thus put to the test. Would the men go, or could they be induced to stay through another term of enlist- ment before seeking the respite they desired at their homes? John Stark made an appeal to his regiment not in vain, and every man, without exception, re- enlisted for six weeks longer under the banner of their beloved leader. Then he went to New Hampshire for recruits, and scores flocked around his standard. But at this time there transpired an act of injustice to the heroic Stark, which the faithful chronicler records with a sense of shame. Through some un- accountable stupidity on the part of those in authority, he was superseded in the command of his regiment by novices in war and in years. Against this insult to his patriotic services his pro- test was entered in vain. His high spirit could not brook a subordinate position so undeserved, and there was nothing left for him to do but to resign his com- mission. This he did, and then returned to hi.s New Hampshire farm, to the labor of the furrow and the scythe. He indulged in no petty or personal spite. 166 HEROES OF THREE WARS. Though he suffered under the wrong inflicted on him- self, he loved his country and her cause too well not to lend it his hearty support. All, therefore, whom he could influence, were urged to go to the front. His four sons were sent to battle while he stayed behind to work on the farm. When General Schuyler urged him to remain in the service, he replied, that "an officer who could not maintain his own rank and assert his own rights, could not be trusted to vindicate those of his country." But circumstances did not long permit the veteran soldier to remain merely a spectator of the ever-memor- able scenes of the Revolution. The New Hampshire Grants, as Vermont was then called, were threatened by the invading foe who was approaching through the region of Lake Champlain and Ticonderoga. The speaker of the House at Exeter, in the face of the imminent danger which hung over the homes of Ver- mont, rose in his seat and pledged his money, his plate and his possessions to the support of the contest. He then proposed Stark as the man who should lead the State forces to check the advance of Burgoyne, and protect their beloved boundaries. Thus, once more was the veteran hero forced into the field, and nobly did he execute the trust reposed in hjm. The battle of Bennington followed. Colonel Gregg had been ordered to the defence of the town, and Stark went to his support. It was a hot day in August when the battle was fought, and the action lasted for two hours, continuously. Stark said it was the sharpest engage- ment in which he ever participated, and the result, as every student of history knows, was a complete victory. Burgoyne's men and their Indian allies were sent flying iu disorderly retreat, and the pursuit was kept up by JOHN STARK. 167 Stark until night interposed its darkness between the victorious Vermont boys and the routed foe. Seven hundred prisoners were captured by our forces, besides many hundred stands of arms and other military accoutrements. A vote of thanks was tendered by Congress to Stark for this brilliant achievement, and he was immediately invested with the rank of brigadier-general in the American army. It was at the battle of Bennington that Stark pre- faced the action with the famous words : "We must conquer to-day, my boys, or to-night Molly Stark's a widow !" After this engagement he joined the army under General Gates at head-quarters, and subsequently was stationed at West Point, where he participated in the trial of Andre. After the surrender of Cornwallis, General Stark returned once more to his home and farm. He had served his country long and faithfully, and retired from his protracted period of active service beloved by the people and full of honors. He lived to be ninety-four years old and consequently witnessed the war of 1812. Pie sleeps upon the banks of the Merrimac, nor heeds the noisy rush of the river as it speeds on its mission to the sea. No clash of musketry, no roar of cannon will ever waken him more from this last, deep repose. Men call it death, but if it be death, it is that of the body only, for his memory still lives and speaks to us across the years. It bids us be noble and unselfish, and high of purpose and grand of aim. Will the on- coming generations, who con the story of his life, listen to the preaching of such an example in vain? 11 PABT SECOND. SUBJECTS: Chapter Pag XIII. WINFIELD SCOTT 173 XIV. ZACHARY TAYLOR 188 XV. WILLIAM JENKINS WORTH 203 XVI. JOHN E. WOOL 209 XVII. SAM HOUSTON 212 XVni. JAMES SHIELDS 227 XIX. CHARLES MAY 230 (169) CHAPTER XIII. WINFIELD SCOTT. Lineage and Early Life. A Captain of Artillery.- -Court-Mar- tialled. Qneenstown Heights. Tomahawks. Fort George. Battle of Chippewa. Lundy's Lane. Wounded. Public En- thusiasm. Through a Score of Years. War in Mexico. Vera Cruz. " Don't Expose Yourselves, Men ! " Cerro Gordo. At Puebla. Churubusco. Contreras. Chapultepec. Molino del Key. City of Mexico Taken. Grand Plaza Scene. Eesults. "Hail to the Chief!" IN the unsettled period of civil affairs which suc- ceeded the dawn of American Independence, there were many whom the force of circumstances, united to their own strength of character, brought prominently forward as champions of the nation's honor against foreign insult. Among this distinguished group the striking figure of Winfield Scott occupies a command- ing position. Of Scottish descent, he was a Virginian hy birth, and made his first entry on this world's cal- endar at Petersburg, June thirteenth, 1786. Between this date and his seventeenth year, old Father Time was kind to the growing boy, and with busy power developed the superb physique for which the future general was noted. Orphaned at seventeen, he studied law, and in 1806 was admitted to the bar. He practised his profession for two terms in Virginia, and the next year went to South Carolina. It is doubtful whether nature ever intended him for a lawyer : but if she gave a hint in (173) 174 HEROES OF THREE WARS. tfiat direction, contrary currents of circumstance un- shipped the design. For when in 1807-8 Congress enlarged the array, Scott applied for a commission, and through the influence of an Honorable friend, was ap- pointed a captain of light artillery. He was now afloat on the military channel and drifted steadily towards the great ocean of events which surged threat- eningly around the young nation. In 1809, Scott was ordered to New Orleans, and during the public agita- tion occasioned by the Burr intrigue and trial, expressed his mind freely concerning General Wilkinson, whose conduct in connection therewith he regarded as traitor- ous. For this indiscretion and through the machina- tions of Wilkinson, he was court-martialled and sen- tenced to suspension from service for a year. The affair seems to have created rather a favorable effect than otherwise, since he was soon after "complimented by a public dinner, given by many officers and citizens of the neighborhood." During the year of his i ^pension he was diligent in the pursuit of military studies, and in July, 1812, a month after war was formally declared with Great Britain, he received the appointment of lieutenant- colonel in the Second Artillery. Immediately after- wards he set out for the Niagara frontier and estab- lished his post at Black Rock. The battle of Queenstown Heights occurred on the thirteenth of October, and though unfortunate in its principal results, it exerted a beneficial effect on the country. The daring of many of the officers rose to the pitch of heroism, and the courage, skill and effective- ness of Colonel Scott were especially conspicuous. The people saw that they had meu among them who were fully qualified to lead them to ultimate victory. WINFIELD SCOTT. 177 While lodged as a prisoner of war, after this action, at a small hotel in the village of Niagara, Scott came near losing his life at the hands of a couple of brawny savages who sent in a message that they wished to see the " tall American." Not knowing who his strange visitors might be, he went into the entry without sus- picion. After a moment of parley the Indians drew their knives and tomahawks, declaring they would kill him. Scott snatched up a long sabre from a pile lying in the corner, and for some uncertain seconds, held the red athletes at bay in their desperate endeavors to close in on him together. Nobody, it seems, was within call ; but just at this critical instant, a British officer entered from the street, saw the situation, shouted " The guard ! " and the sentinels entering, put an end to the treacherous affair. The campaign of 1813, which opened brilliantly with the capture of York, the capital of Upper Canada, closed in disaster with the abandonment of the expedi- tion down the St. Lawrence. This was brought about by the unexplainable blunders and delays of some of those in command conspicuously so in the case of General Wilkinson, who refused to descend the river because General Hampton had refused to join him. But Scott had distinguished himself at the battle and capture of Fort George, the key to the peninsula on the British side of Niagara, tearing down the flag of Britain with his own hands, and also in numerous small actions which reflected great credit on his skilful handling of material as well as his power of grasping situations and making the most of them. In July, he had been promoted to the command of a double regiment, and on March ninth, 1814, he received the 178 HEROES OF THREE WAES. appointment of brigadier-general. Immediately after- wards he set out for the Niagara frontier from Albany, joining Major-Gen era 1 Brown. A camp of instruction was established at Sackett's Harbor under Scott, the effectiveness of whose discipline was afterwards amply illustrated on the battle-fields which burst from the storm of war that swept the shores of Niagara. On the morning of July fourth, Scott's brigade was on the march towards Chippewa, and for sixteen miles a running fight was kept up with the British One Hun- dredth Regiment, under Marquis Tweedale. At night- fall they were driven across Chippewa River, and the next day the famous battle of that name was fought on the plain between this stream and Street's Creek. The American troops were manoeuvred with splendid ability t they fought with great bravery, and the rout of the enemy was complete. The best soldiery of Britain marched over Chippewa bridge that day to meet oa the battle-plain the regiments of America, and though the latter were numerically inferior, they proved con- clusively that they were " the same sort of men as those who captured whole armies under Burgoyne and Cornwallis." A writer in an English periodical of that day says : " Numerous as were the battles of Napoleon and brave as were his soldiers, I do not believe that even he, the greatest warrior that ever lived, can produce an instance of a contest so well maintained, or, in proportion to the numbers engaged, so bloody as that of Chippewa." General Brown, in his official report of the battle, says: "Brigadier-General Scott is entitled to the highest praise our country can bestow : to him more than any other man am I indebted for the victory of W1NFIELD SCOTT. 179 the fifth of July. His brigade covered itself with glory." Scott was, indeed, the actual commander in this action, and justice awards him the chief laurel won on that far distant day. On the twenty-fifth of the same month, a little below that sublime spot where the wide waste of waters which rush over the falls of Niagara roar and thunder into the gulf below, and where Lundy's Lane meets the rapid river at right angles, was enacted the scene of conflict which took its name from the locality, and is variously called the battle of " Lundy's Lane," or "Niagara." The action began forty minutes before sunset, and it is recorded that the head of the American column, as it advanced, was encircled by a rainbow one which is often seen there, formed from the rising spray. The happy omen faithfully prefigured the result ; for when, under the cloudy sky of midnight, the battle at length terminated, the Americans were in possession of the field and also the enemy's cannon, which had rained such deadly death into their ranks. In this action General Scott had two horses killed under him, and about eleven o'clock at night he was disabled by a musket-ball wound through the left shoulder. He had previously been wounded, and at this juncture was borne from the fray. He had piloted Miller's regiment through the darkness to the height on Lundy's Lane where the enemy's batteries were posted, and upon which the grand charge was made that decided the battle. Throughout the action he was the leading spirit of the occasion, giving personal direction to the movements of his men, and lending the inspiration of his presence to all parts of the field. The plaudits which press and people afterwards showered on him were certainly well deserved. ISO HEROES OF THREE WARS. His recovery from the dangerous wounds inflicted at Niagara was slow and painful, and when, months afterwards, ho journeyed by easy stages, to Philadel- phia for treatment, he was greeted along the route by public demonstrations of enthusiasm. At Princeton, particularly, the pale and wounded soldier, with his arm in a sling, was especially honored, and the trustees of New Jersey College conferred on him the honorary degree of Master of Arts. Six months after the battle of Niagara peace was declared and Scott was ordered to Europe, both for the restoration of his health and also as the confidential diplomatic agent of government. On his return in, 1816, he was assigned to the command of the sea- board, with head-quarters at New York. In March, 1817, he married Miss Maria Mayo, of Richmond, Virginia, a lady of reputed beauty and culture. Near the close of the war of 1812, Congress passed a vote of thanks in which General Scott was complimented, not only for his part in the actions of Chippewa and Lundy's Lane, but " for his universal good conduct throughout the war," a higher meed of praise than was paid, by that body, to any other officer. For the succeeding twenty years General Scott retained the same command, and during that time resided at New York and Elizabethtown, New Jersey. Much concerning the occurrences of these years, as connected with him, must be passed over which it were pleasant to relate; events which were full of public interest at the time, but which our space excludes. Such was the Black Hawk war, and such the mournful interest attached to Scott in connection WINFIELD SCOTT. 181 with the Asiatic cholera, which broke out with sq 6'idden a terror among the troops in 1832, mid- summer, after having travelled all over Europe. The ravages of this dread destroyer were more appalling than those of the sword, and the panic produced by if proportionately greater. More than half the troojtf embarked at Buffalo for Illinois, took their eternzL flight to the world of spirits, through this silent but powerful foe. Scott's humane conduct during this crisis, exhibited him, says an eye-witness, " not only as the hero of battles but as the hero of humanity." We pass rapidly in review the Nullification schemes in South Carolina which almost resulted in open war and the careful and wise conduct of Scott in the midst of this agitation ; the " Compromise Act," and then the Seminole war in Florida; also, the trouble which again broke out on the Niagara frontier, the Cherokee controversy, his noble address to those Indians, his call once more to the Northern frontier between Vermont and Canada, where hostile feeling rode rampant over disputed boundary lines, the tranquillizing result of his visit, his reputation as a pacificator, his prospects for the Presidency in 1839, and last, but not least, his entrance upon the theatre of the Mexican war in 1846. General Scott reached the Rio Grande about the first of January, 1847, and on the seventh of March, em- barked his forces, twelve thousand strong, on trans- ports bound for Vera Cruz, at which point they effected a brilliant landing, without accident or loss, a little before sunset on the same day. The entire army occupied its assigned positions by the twelfth, and the investment of the city was complete. The guns 182 HEROES OF THREE WARS. of Vera Cruz and the famous castle of San Juan d'UH,oa kept up a constant firing, but without injury to the American troops. For fifteen days the be- leaguered city was a theatre of terrible activity. The screech of shells, the roar of cannon, the explosion of phot reverberated through its streets, and poured their fire on the castle. General Landero, commanding the Mexican forces, at last made overtures of surrender, and on the twenty-seventh, articles of capitulation were signed. Five thousand prisoners surrendered on parole and nearly five hundred pieces of artillery were captured. The environment had been skilful in plan and decisive in strength. On the morning of the twenty-ninth, America's flag, blown by the winds of the gulf, floated from the renowned castle of d'Ulloa, land of the Aztecs ! It is said that, during this siege, when Scott was once walking along the trenches, he observed that the soldiers would frequently rise up and look over the parapet. " Down, down, men ! " he cried, " don't expose yourselves ! " " But, general," said one, "you are exposed." "Oh," replied Scott, " generals, now-a-days, can be made out of anybody, but men can't be had." Ten days after the surrender of Vera Cruz, the division of Twiggs, which had been detached from Taylor's command, was marching towards the mountain heights of Cerro Gordo, defended by Santa Anna with fifteen thousand men. Scott, with skilful foresight, after inspecting the position, ordered a road to be cut to the left of the Cerro Gordo crest, which by winding around the base of the mountain, would ascend in rear of the Mexican forts and behind the entire Mexican position. " The labor, the courage of American sol- WINFIELD SCOTT. 183 diers accomplished it." Nor did the Mexicans dis- cover it for three days. , On the seventeenth, Twiggs, under fire of grape and musketry, had carried the hill below Oerro Gordo, above the new road. Ou that day, too, the prophetic order of Scott was issued, containing the movements of attack, battle and victory, as, with one exception, they were the next day carried out. " The enemy's position, on the night of the seventeenth, seemed im- pregnable. On their right, rolled a deep river. From its sides rose a chain of mountains one thousand feet high, crowned with heavy batteries, and over all, the tower of Cerro Gordo." Behind these fortressed ram- parts fifteen thousand troops were in waiting to defend the position. Under cover of darkness, one thousand men from the brave division of Twiggs, divided into relief-parties of five hundred each, dragged by hand, a battery up the steep sides of the captured hill below Cerro Gordo, a position commanding every defence of the enemy except the fortress of Cerro Gordo itself. That must be stormed. And the next morning, in the teeth of its belching guns, the gallant Harney led the storming party. Nor stopped, though the front ranks sank under a withering blaze, until with shouts that echoed from the mountain sides, those heroic men entered the citadel, tore down the Mexican banner and reqlaced it with their own conquering ensign. The army of Santa Anna were flying in all directions and the pursuit was kept up until noon. That general made his escape by way of the Jalapa road. " Three thousand prisoners, forty-three pieces of bronze artil- lery, five thousand stand of arms and five generals, with the munitions and materials of war " were cap- 184 HEROES OF THREE WARS. tured in this single battle. The masterly manner in which the strength and defences of the enemy's posi- tion were overcome, reflects undying lustre on the generalship of Scott; but not more than does his humane treatment of and sympathy with his wounded soldiery, after the battle. He visited them in person and saw that they had the best attendance. " From the field of Cerro Gordo, the rout of the Mexican army was complete." The city of Jalapa was taken, the town of Perote captured and Puebla occupied. From the shores of the Mexican Gulf, the invading army had marched two hundred miles into the heart of the Aztec land. On the tenth of August, the American forces set out on their advance from Puebla to the city of Mexico. They followed the stage route through and over the Cordilleras, leading down into the far-famed and beautiful valley of Mexico. On the eighteenth, they were concentrated in that valley and Scott had established his head-quarters at San Augustine. The crisis of the campaign the capture of the city of the Montezumas was now the problem presented. Santa Anna was there with a well-appointed army and two strong lines of defences. Near the city was Omrw&wsco, with its intrenchments and garrisoned stone houses. To the left rose the fortified hill of Contreras. Nearer yet loomed Chapultepec, also a strongly fortified hill, and at its foot, Molino del Rey (the King's Mill), and a fortified stone wall. " These defences covered every practicable road to the city," and, as Scott had fore- seen, must be taken before Mexico could be entered. At three o'clock on the morning of the twentieth, decisive action began, and before the sun sank from WINFIELD SCOTT. 185 sight that day, all these formidable works had been brilliantly stormed and taken three battles being in progress at once! Scott might have crowned these results by marching victoriously into the city itself on the same day: but wishing to "conquer a peace" as he expressed it, and avoid any unnecessary shedding of blood, he halted his army at its gates; and on the twenty-second, commissioners to treat of peace were appointed on both sides. But Santa Anna violated the armistice, and on the seventh of September it was terminated and the victorious army resumed its trium- phant advance. On the eighth, the immediate defences of the city were taken ; and on the fourteenth, after surmounting almost interminable difficulties, the army marched into the Grand Plaza of Mexico. The stars and stripes were given to the breeze, and, just at this moment, Scott, in full uniform, rode through the column to the Plaza. "A tremendous hurrah" broke from the ranks. The old chieftain, waving his cap, while tears ran down his cheeks, exclaimed : " My heart is with you ! " It was nine o'clock in the morning, and the Second Dragoons played " Yankee Doodle," as he made his way to the National Palace. "Wherever Scott moved among the soldiers he greeted them with warm affection. . . . These short but emphatic addresses had a profound effect on the men. As he passed a portion of the Rifle Regiment, he returned their salute, saying with em- phasis: ' Brave Rifles! Veterans! You have been baptized in fire and blood and have come out steel ! ' ' ; History will place its greenest chaplet on the brow of this war-worn hero when "it will be remembered 186 HEROES OF THREE WARS. that he was not only made illustrious by battles, but was also graced by humanity to a fallen foe, and a generous gratitude to his companioiis-in-arms." This wonderful Mexican campaign, which terminated on the seventeenth of September, speaks for itself in the "eight battles gloriously won; two cities besieged and taken; two castles and numerous strongholds, with thousands of prisoners and an immense quantity of all the munitions of war." The ultimate re- sults were more than a "conquered peace." Mexico was restored to order. California, Utah and New Mexico were added to our possessions for the peaceful entry of freedom and thrift. New enterprises awoke. The gold mines of Sierra Nevada gave us their wealth, and the Pacific coast was ours, whence com- mercial intercourse with Eastern nations could be maintained. In this campaign, Scott demonstrated the splendor of his military genius, his energy, his executive power. He made sure aim at the high mark of success and achieved it. His victories were brilliant and to his eternal credit be it spoken their harsher features were softened by his humanitarian conduct. What need we say more of the war-begrimed and splendid old soldier? His magnificent reception in the city of New York, on his return to the United States, the steady course of subsequent events these require no mention here. Civic wreath and song are his, and "Hail to the Chief," his most appropriate requiem. We see his tall figure looming for the instant athwart the horizon of public affairs, as the thunders of civil strife first break over Charleston Harbor in 1861, and then it disappears forever. We WINFIELD SCOTT. 187 prefer rather to remember him as he reined his war- horse on the Grand Plaza of the City of Mexico, surrounded by the tried ranks of veteran soldiery, and framed in by the ancient halls of the Montezumas. The fruits of victory which there culminated, are his best eulogy, and nnnronriately transmit to posterity his honored name and fame. CHAPTER XIV. ZACHARY TAYLOR. His Characteristics. Duty, his Constant Watchword. Lineage. Early Plantation Life. Indian Foes. Lieutenant in the United States Army. At Fort Harrison. Battle with Tecumseh. Brevet Major. The Florida War. Okeechobee. Ordered to Corpus Christi. Palo Alto. Resara de la Palraa. Promoted to Major-General. At Montery. Bloody Buena Vista. Colonel Marshall's Opinion. General Taylor's Dislike for a Uniform. Ovations on his Return. Elected President. Stern Death. Last Scenes. Universal Sorrow. THE blaze of glory which is concentrated upon the name and life of Zachary Taylor, reveals a hero as true in metal, as sterling in virtue, as intrepid in action and tender of heart, as ever lifted sword in the cause of honor or country. On him has fallen that most sacred mantle of renown woven from the fabric of a people's confidence, and lovingly bestowed not as upon a being of superior race to be worshipped, but because he was a leader from among themselves truly of the people. He was honored with their fullest trust in his integ- rity, and with their largest faith in his uprightness aa a man. As Mr. Webster truly said, the best days of the Roman republic afforded no brighter example of a man, who, receiving the plaudits of a grateful nation and clothed in the highest authority of State, reached that pinnacle by more honest means ; who could not be accused of the smallest intrigue or of pursuing any (188) ZACHART TAYLOR. 189 devious ways to political emolument in order to gratify personal ambition. All the circumstances of his rise and popularity, from the beginning of his career, when, amid blood and smoke, he made the heroic defence of Fort Harrison, to the wonderful 'battles of Palo Alto, Resaca, and Buena Vista, and at' last the attainment of the President's chair all repel the slightest suspicion of sinister motive or a wish for individual aggrandize- ment. The unwavering rule of his life his guide in every action, was the simple watchword, "duty." As to his qualities of leadership, they shone out in high relief, from first to last. In the war of 1812, he was only a captain, yet at Fort Harrison he inspired the scanty garrison with a belief in his power and they gave him their devoted support. In the Florida cam- paign he commanded only a brigade, yet he seemed to infuse into every soldier the most courageous bravery. In the beginning of the war with Mexico he marched into action at the head of a single division. And when this force afterwards swelled into an army, it did not prove too much for the resources of its commanding general. The frowning heights and barricaded streets of Monterey, bristling with ten thousand Mexicans, did not daunt him. What though he had only six thousand men with which to hold them in siege? The assault was fearlessly made, the streets were stormed, the heights were carried, the city was won and kept. The brilliant victory of Buena Vista, where five thousand Americans hurled back and repulsed a tumultuous Mexican horde of twenty thousand, only reiterates the same marvellous story of superior leader- ship. " Every rank was steadied, every eye kindled to enthusiasm by the presence of this man, beloved of 190 HEROES OF THREE WARS. his soldiers, whose resolution never faltered, whose spirit rose highest where perils swarmed thickest." Fresh from these splendid achievements, he received the nomination for president over the names of Henry Clay, Daniel Webster, and General Scott. It was a spontaneous expression of the people's confidence, unheralded and unsought. And when he was trium- phantly elected over the democratic and free-soil can- didates General Cass, Martin Van Buren and Charles Francis Adams he accepted the high office in a spirit of humility and simple compliance with duty. Descended from a distinguished English family which emigrated to Virginia in 1692, his family name is closely interwoven with the history and growth of that State. His father, Colonel Richard Taylor, was a companion- in-arms of Washington, and served throughout the Revolution, an active participant in its principal battles. Zachary was his third son, and a year after his birth he removed to a large Kentucky plantation near Louis- ville. Here, amid farm life and labor, passed the boy- hood of Zachary, and in attendance at such a school as the times and country afforded. But even this life was Dot altogether tranquil : for Indian depredations and massacres in the neighborhood were of frequent occur- rence, and the road between his father's plantation and the school-house was a journey full of hazard. But the ever-watchful and over-guarding Fates preserved the life of the noble boy for his future high destiny, and thus, in hardy sports, in hunting through the trackless forest and in marshalling mimic soldiery, the first eighteen years of his life fled swiftly by. Then occurred the death of his brother Hancock, who was a heutenant in the United States army. Zachary applied ZACHAEY TAYLOR. 191 to Mr. Jefferson for the vacant commission and received it. He was therefore only eighteen years old when, on May third, 1808, he was appointed first lieutenant in the Seventh Regiment. At this time the war excite- ment preceding the outbreak of 1812 had risen to great height on account of the seizure of the United States frigate "Chesapeake" on the high seas, by the British frigate "Leopard." Young Lieutenant Taylor partook of the prevailing excitement; but from this period until war was openly declared in 1812, there is little to record in his history. A few weeks previous to this date he had been placed in command of Fort Harrison, a block-house and stockade on the Wabasb, about fifty miles above Vincennes, which had been built by General Harrison, Governor of the Northwest Territory, for frontier defence. A captain's commis- sion from President Madison accompanied his appoint- ment as commander of the fort, and as this was one of the most advanced posts on the outskirts of the Indian territory, the young captain was thus thrown into the front of hostilities. Tecumseh had selected this as a point of attack, and on September fifth, 1812, after making an ineffec- tual attempt to get possession of the fort by strategy, he led a furious assault on the works at the head of four hundred Indians. That night, at about eleven o'clock, the sharp report of a sentry's rifle cut the air, and a moment after, an alarm of fire was given. The lower block-house was in flames, and for a few despair- ing moments the little garrison of fifty men, two-thirds of whom were disabled from sickness, were thrown into the wildest confusion. Between the terror of fire and the tomahawk, they thought death certain. 192 HEROES OF THREE WARS. But the young commander had grasped the situation and saw that by throwing off part of the roof where the buildings joined, the fire could be stopped and breastworks thrown up in the breach. Orders to this end were instantly given, and " never," said Captain Taylor, in his official report, "did men act with more firmness or desperation." For seven hours the con- flict raged with undiminished fury, but the defence was conducted with such skill and determined resist- ance that at six o'clock the savage foe retired from the fort repulsed, having suffered severely from the well- directed fire of the brave little band. The fame of this noble conduct at Fort Harrison spread throughout the west, and did not pass unnoticed by government. The young commander received official thanks for his services, and President Madison conferred on him the rank of major by brevet the first instance of the kind given in this country. His services between this period and the Florida war furnished no opportunity for the display of his special talents. In 1814, he commanded an expedi- tion against the British and Indians on Rock River. In 1815, when peace was declared and the army reduced, he was returned to his former rank of cap- tain ; whereupon he immediately resigned and retired to his Louisville plantation. In 1816, his former rank of major having been restored, he was ordered to Green Bay, Wisconsin. Three years later he went to New Orleans on military duty, and in 1819 was commissioned lieu- tenant-colonel. In 1832, he was promoted to the rank of colonel. Then followed an expedition against Black Hawk, which took him to Fort Crawford at Prairie du Chien. In 1837, he was ordered to the seat ZACHARY TAYLOR. 193 of the Seminole war in Florida and- placed in command of the United States forces operating against Osceola, their principal chief. Marching from Fort Gardner for the everglades, with a force of eleven hundred men, he encountered all the obstacles presented by cypress swamps, marshy thickets, and a wet, yielding soil. On the twenty-fifth of December, they came upon the edge of a dense swamp near Lake Okeechobee, where the Indians were gathered in force, and after halting, to form line of battle, charged their unseen foe across the sedgy morass, into which they sank knee-deep at every step. When half way across the slough, the Indians opened fire upon them and the brave troops were mowed down by scores. Yet, undismayed, they struggled on. Against their solid ranks the Seminoles broke in disorder, rallied, were broken again, and again gathered themselves together for a last vain resistance. Nothing could stand before the advance of that unflinching column. The Indians were driven from their position, and the renowned victory of Okeechobee had become history. After this battle, Taylor was promoted to the rank of brevet brigadier-general and given the chief com- mand in Florida. In 1840, he was placed over the first military department of the southwest, and remained at Forts Jessup and Gibson until the beginning of the Mexican war. On March first, 1845, Congress passed the resolu- tion admitting Texas into the Union, claiming the Rio Grande as her southwestern boundary. Mexico dis- puted the claim beyond the Neuces, and prepared to defend the disputed territory or perhaps re-conquer the entire lost province of Texas. 194 HEROES OF THREE WARS. General Taylor was ordered to Corpus Christi in November, occupying that place with an army of four thousand men. On March eighth, 1846, he advanced in the direction of the Rio Grande and built Fort Brown, opposite the port of Metamoras. The Mexi- can General Ampudia demanded that he should retire across the Neuces while negotiations were pending ; but General Taylor replied that his instructions did not permit his compliance with the demand. Where- upon, General Arista, who succeeded Ampudia, crossed the Rio Grande with a force of six thousand. General Taylor had twenty-three hundred men with which to meet them. On the evening of May seventh, General Taylor and his little army set out on their return march from Point Isabel to Metamoras, and the next morning, when within a few miles of that place, on reaching a level plateau bordered with trees, called Palo Alto, they encountered the Mexicans under General Arista, drawn up in battle array across the road. When within sight of the enemy, General Taylor halted his men, gave them an hour's rest and then formed them in order of battle. When within a few hundred yards of the Mexicans, a heavy artillery fire was opened upon them, which was returned. The oppasing columns began to waver, when General Arista ordered a cavalry charge. But a steady fire of artillery from Major Ringgold and Ridgeley's batteries continued to pour destruction into their ranks, opening great gaps in the advancing line of horsemen, until they staggered and reeled and at last fled in precipitate haste. For a short time after this the battle raged furiously, ZACHARY TAYLOR. 195 until one of Captain Duncan's pieces ignited the prairie grass. Clouds of smoke rolled up from the ground, obscuring friend and foe. Both armies re- formed their battle-line, and when the smoke dis- persed, the Mexican infantry made a second advance. T>ut their ranks were mowed down as before, und soon both infantry and cavalry were flying in disorder. Kind night, which often puts an end to strife, inter- posed between vanquished and victor, and forbade pur- suit. Six hundred dead and wounded Mexicans left oil the field, emphasized this victory. But the next day, May ninth, at three o'clock in the afternoon, the contest was continued at Resaca de la Palma, a deep ravine in an open strip of land crossed by the road leading to Metamoras. The Mexicans had entrenched themselves in this ditch, which gave them a position of great natural strength. The battle was again opened by the artil- lery. The American batteries were pushed close to the enemy's line, and the havoc was awful the ground being literally heaped with dead and wounded. The Mexicans were forced across the ravine, but their artillery was so well posted in the gullies, that Captain May was ordered to charge the guns with his dragoons. With resistless bravery, May and his men swept down upon the gunners, and after a fearful struggle, at last carried the batteries. The Tampico battalion were the last to yield. Their standard-bearer tore the flag from its staff, and was flying with the precious possession, when he and his trophy were both captured. The rout was complete. Arista's head-quarters, his plate and private property, arms, ammunition, pack 196 HEROES OF THREE WARS. Baddies all fell into the hands of the Americans, Seventeen hundred men under General Taylcr had on this field repulsed and put to flight six thousand Mexicans. The enemy's loss was one thousand, the American one hundred and ten. In June, Congress promoted General Taylor to the full rank of rnajor-general, and throughout the Union he was voted testimonials of gratitude for his heroic services. In September, he marched against Monterey with six thousand six hundred and twenty-five men. and after ten days' siege and three days' desperate fighting, Ampudia capitulated, and the fortressed town was entered and occupied by American troops. General Taylor now established his head-quartan at Monterey, but on the twentieth of December, took up his march for Victoria. General Quit man entered that place without opposition on the twenty-ninth, and on January fourth, General Taylor arrived with Twiggs' division. News was received that Santa Anna, who had been placed in command of the Mexi- can forces, designed making an advance in force, and it was at this inopportune time that General Scott withdrew the greater portion of the troops under General Taylor, to aid in his operations on the Gulf. On learning of the approach of Santa Anna, he advanced to Agua Nueva from Monterey, where he had again taken up his head-quarters. He remained at Agua Nueva, twenty miles south of Saltillo, until the twenty-first of February. On that day intelli- gence was received of Santa Anna's approach at the head of his entire army. Believing that the mountain pass of Buena Vista, eleven miles to the rear, would ZACHARY TAYLOR. 197 be a much more desirable point from which to con- front the overwhelming numbers of the enemy, he fell back to that place, took a strong position, and calmly awaited the onset of Santa Anna's hosts. The road here narrows into a defile, with a deep ravine on the right, and on the left, the mountain ranges of the Sierra Madre, towering two thousand feet high. The American troops were disposed along a spur of foot hills, running from the mountain nearly to the ravine, the space of ground between the hills and ravine being occupied by five pieces of light artillery under Captain Washington. Wide ravines were between the two armies. The nature of the ground was such as to render almost useless the artillery and cavalry of the enemy. In the choice of this position, General Taylor ex- hibited the same masterly forethought which had distinguished his previous military operations. Some hours elapsed after these dispositions had been made, before the battle commenced. It was about four o'clock in the afternoon of the twenty-second of February, when the clouds of dust rolling up from the direction of Agua Nueva, announced the ap- proach of the enemy. Two thousand lancers, Avith weopons glinting in the sunlight, composed the lead- ing division. And what seemed an immense host, followed. The Kentucky cavalry and Arkansas troops, posted near the mountain as skirmishers, brought on the Action, engaging fifteen hundred of the enemy's light troops, deployed on the mountain top. Then followed the brilliant but deadly conflict, in which skill and generalship proved their superiority to numbers. The 198 2IF.ROES OF THREE WARS. battle raged until night, and on the morning of th* twenty-third, was renewed with added desperation. The history of that day was a succession of advances and retreats. The enemy moved in three heavy columns upon the American lines, turning their left. But the centre and right stood like rocks, repelled the battle-wave, and at length, drove the enemy back. The Mexican infantry on the right were driven from the field and two cavalry charges were gallantly repulsed. At this stage in the action, Santa Anna massed his entire army into one column and threw them with almost irresistible force upon the American front. It felt the shock severely, wavered and fell back for a short distance, when the artillery came gallantly to the rescue and saved the day. On the evening of the twenty-third, the opposing armies occupied nearly the same relative position as in the morning. But the Americans had won a splendid victory, and during the night the Mexicans retreated. They had lost two thousand men in this desperate conflict. The American loss was placed at seven hundred and forty-six. General Taylor, during this battle, seemed to be "everywhere at the same time, animating, ordering and persuading his men to remember the day and their country and strike home for both!" When the breast of his coat was pierced by a canister-shot, he coolly remarked, " These balls are growing excited." " Throughout the action, he was where the shot fell hottest and thickest, and constantly evinced the greatest quickness of conception, fertility of resource, and a cool, unerring judgment not to be baffled." Deprived of the greater portion of his troops ZACHARY TAYLOR. 199 previous to the action, surrounded by an army four times larger than his own, and in the heart of the enemy's country, he was probably the only man, says the Baltimore American, who would have fought the battle of Buena Vista ; the only man probably who could have won it. His humanity and kindness of heart were as pro- nounced as his military genius. Perhaps one of the best sketches extant of this hero's character was given by Colonel Humphrey Marshall, of Kentucky, in a speech at a barbecue, tendered to the Kentucky volun- teers. " If I tried to express," he said, " in the fewest words, what manner of man General Taylor is, I should say that in his manners and appearance, he is one of the common people of this country. Pie might be transferred from his tent at Monterey to this assem- bly and he would not be remarked among this crowd of respectable old farmers, as a man at all distinguished from those around him. Perfectly temperate in his habits ; perfectly plain in his dress ; entirely unassum- ing in his manners, he appears to be an old gentleman in fine health, whose thoughts are not turned upon personal appearance and who has no point about him to attract particular attention. In his intercourse with men he is free, frank and manly. He plays off none of the airs of some great men whom I have met, who try to preserve their reputation by studied gravity ; ai who should say : "'I am Sir Oracle: When I ope my mouth let no dog bark ! ' He is an honest man. I do not mean by that merely that he does not cheat nor lie. I mean that 200 HEROES OF THREE WARS. he is a man who never dissembles and who scorns all disguises. He neither acts a part among his friends nor assumes to be what he is not. . . . He is a man of rare good judgment. . . . He is a firm man and possessed of great energy of character. . . . He is a benevolent man. . . . No one who had seen him after the battle of Buena Vista, as he ordered the wagons to bring in the wounded from the battle- field, and heard him as he cautioned his own men that the wounded of the enemy were to be treated with mercy, could doubt that he was alive to all the kinder impulses of our nature. . . . He was about five feet six inches high, very thick-set and slightly stoop-shouldered ; . . . had remarkably short legs in proportion to the length of his body, . . . a fine head, high forehead, keen penetrating eye and firm, compressed lips ; . . . his face was almost always lit up by a benevolent smile; . . . was extremely fond of a joke and ever ready with a witty repartee, or a kind word for all who addressed him. . . . He had an unconquerable dislike for a uniform, and was generally seen in warm weather with a linen round- about, cotton pantaloons, straw hat, and the celebrated brown overcoat that protected him during his Florida campaigns in cold or rainy seasons. . . . The most remarkable traits of General Taylor's character were the wisdom and foresight with which he laid his plans, the energy and promptness with which he executed them, and his firmness, decision and self-pos- session in the hour of trial. No emergency, however sudden, no danger, however threatening, and no con- tingency of whatever nature, were ever able to throvi him off his guard." ZACHARY TAYLOR. 201 And thus is faintly drawn the portrait of the brave and simple general whom his soldiers loved as few commanders have been loved, and who was lifted on a vast tidal wave of popular enthusiasm into the nation's chair of State. After Buena Vista, he retired to Monterey, where he remained until November, 1847, when, growing tired of a forced inactivity, he asked permission of the government to return to the United States. He reached his home in Baton Rouge towards the last of that month. His arrival in the United States was the occasion of the wildest demonstrations of joy and enthusiasm from the people. Assembled multitudes greeted him everywhere with warm welcome. Invita- tions poured in upon him from town, city and State, and New Orleans honored him with bonfires and a public procession. Before his return from Mexico, after the battles of Palo Alto and Resaca, his name had been proposed as a presidential nominee; and after the added renown gained by Monterey and Buena Vista, he became at once the most popular candidate. Newark, New Jersey, first set the example of a formal nomination at a meeting which convened irrespective of party prefer- ences. These meetings soon became general through the United States, and the nominations tendered were without discrimination from Whigs, Democrats and Independents alike. " There seemed, indeed, to be almost one universal voice from one end of the Union to the other, in favor of his nomination." With this state of sentiment, so widespread, his triumphant election was a matter of course. He was inaugurated President on Monday, March fifth, 1849, and his 02 HEROES OF THREE WARS. opening address was in keeping with the man ; full of strength, simplicity and manly avowal of principle. But his reign, though full of honor, was brief. On July ninth, 1850, it was ended by the stern arbitrament of death, just as political entanglements of a serious nature began to manifest themselves. The deep grief of the heart-stricken group which gathered around the dying hero's bed, was only less poignant than that which communicated itself to the nation at large: for never, between the days of Washington and Lincoln, has there passed one so universally and sincerely mourned. Just before dissolution he was asked if he was com- fortable. "Very," he replied; "but the storm, in passing, has swept away the trunk." His last words were, " I have endeavored to do my duty : I am prepared to die. My only regret is in leaving behind me the friends I love." This utterance, sublime in its simplicity, the outspoken consciousness of a pure and upright life, gave token of his devotion to principle to the last, and was worthy the closing moments of this patriot chief. A people's mourning lamentations swept after him as his brave spirit parted company with earth. "Thus, clothed with many scars, Bursting these prison bare, Up to his native stars His soul ascended ! " He sleeps on the immortal couch of the hero, draped in the beloved flag of country, beneath whose starry folds he fought so gloriously. In imitation of another, let us reverently pronounce the parting words, Glo- rious leader ! intrepid soul ! great heart ! hail and fare- well! CHAPTER XV. WILLIAM JENKINS WORTH. Early Life. The War of 1812. At West Point. The Seminole War. With Taylor in Mexico. At Monterey. Given an Inde- pendent Command. Description of the Assault. His General- ship. Storming of Federacion Hill. Conducting the Capitula- tion. At Vera Cruz. Perote and Pucbla. Capture of El Molino del Rev. Storming of Chapultepec. Brevetted Major- General. Sword Presentations. Monument in Madison Square. fllHE famous battles of Chippewa and Niagara in J- the war of 1812, first gave to the outside world a hint of the fine military qualities of William Jenkins Worth. He was born in Hudson, on the Hudson River, of an old English family, and though only eighteen when the war broke out, decided with- out hesitation, to enter the army. He became private secretary to Major-General Lewis, who recommended him to General Scott, and he was thereupon immedi- ately appointed aide on that officer's staff. In the official report of Niagara, he received honor- able mention for his bravery, and in August, 1814, became a captain. When the war, at length, ended, he was stationed at West Point for several years, as instructor of tactics. He afterwards received the appointment of colonel of the Eighth Regiment, and on the outbreak of the Seminole war, was ordered to Florida. His operations in connection with the red warriors of Osceola were so satisfactory and termi- nated so successfully, that at the close of the war, 13 (203) 5"i HEROES OF THREE WARS. government conferred on him the rank of brevet brigadier-general. When, in 1846, Taylor was ordered to Mexico, with his "Army of Occupation," General '"Worth joined him as second in command. While opposite Meta- moras on the Ilio Grande, a dispute, regarding mili- tary etiquette, arose between Worth and Colonel Twiggs, in consequence of which Worth resigned his commission and went to Washington. On arriving there and learning that Taylor's army was in great danger on the Rio Grande, he immediately asked per- mission to withdraw his resignation and return to his troops. His request being complied with, he retraced his steps and reported at General Taylor's head quarters, reaching the Rio Grande just previous to the taking of Metamoras. At the siege and storming of Monterey, he was as- signed an independent command. The difficult task was given him of storming the chain of batteries on Federacion and Independence Hills, which he did under a terrific fire it being impossible, as he said, to mask the movements of the storming party. An eye-witness of the scene thus speaks of it: "The position General Worth then occupied might have ~een considered as critical as it was dangerous. Sepa- rated from the main body of the army, his communica- tion cut off and no possible route less than. eight miles to retain it, with scanty supplies of provisions for four days, surrounded by gorges and passes of the moun- tains, from whose summits belched forth shot, shell and grape, he was liable at any moment to be attacked by an overwhelming force in the direction of Saltillo, which had been reported to be daily expected WILLIAM JENKINS WORTH. 05 It was feared, too, from his impetuous nature, that lie would rush his command into unnecessary danger by some rash and desperate attempt. But it was not so. He was collected, calm and cool, and bore himself with that proud, resolute and commanding mien which in- spired men and officers alike with confidence. He never appeared better than on that day ; and all felt that with Worth, they were sure of victory. He knew that General Taylor had staked the issue of the battle on him, and he felt the responsibility that rested on the course he should pursue. "As he surveyed with his glass the enemy's works, he seemed to feel that not a moment was to be lost. He saw, at once, that it would be necessary to carry by storm the battery on Federacion Hill, us well as the fort called Soldada as these two batteries com- manded the approaches from the Saltillo road. . . . It was now about twelve o'clock, and the meridian sun poured down its hottest rays. Before us stood the Bteep and rugged hill about three hundred and eighty feet high, whose slopes were covered with thick and thorny chapparal. A swarm of Mexicans crowned the height, while its cannon looked down at us in defiance; . . . the men looked forward to meet death calmly in the face. . . . General Worth rode up as the command moved off, and, pointing to the height, said: 'Men, you are to take that hill and I know you will do it!' With one response they replied, ' We will.' . . '. The words of Worth had nerved every arm, and hearts swelled with that proud feeling of enthusiasm which makes men indomitable before the foe." The streets of Monterey were heavily barricaded 206 HEROES OF THREE WARS. with masonry, and the Mexican troops fought frora the tops of houses, sheltered behind parapets, piled with sand-begs. During a cessation of hostilities previous to the surrender, Ampudia met General Taylor at "Worth's head-quarters, and Worth was appointed principal of the delegation to negotiate the capitulation. It is said he contributed more than any other man to a final settlement of the pending issues. General Taylor, in his report of the victory, expresses his obligation for the efficient aid rendered by Worth at this momentous siege. General Worth subsequently took possession of Saltillo, where he remained until the middle of January, when he was ordered to join Scott at Vera Cruz. An eye-witness of the brilliant landing of our army on the Mexican coast says: "General Worth, certainly the most useful man in command here, had a smart brush with a body of Mexicans last night (March twelfth) and this morning, in which they were beaten. A cemetery, about one mi la from the city, was taken possession of and fortified by General W r orth." He "received the commendations of General Scott and was appointed to negotiate the terms of sur- render of Vera Cruz." He was also appointed military governor of the city, but shortly aftcrwarbs led his army on its march to the capital. At Cerro Gordo, he supported General Twiggs in his attack, and in conjunction with him, captured the redoubt. On April twenty-second he marched upon and captured the town of Perote, and after chasing Santa Anna with fifteen hundred lancers across the plains of Amasoca, entered and took possession of Puebla, WILLIAM JENKINS WORTH. 207 On the seventeenth of August, General Worth left Puebla and renewed his march to the capital. He established himself at the hacienda of Bnvera, where the enemy's batteries opened upon him with a hot fire. On the twentieth he was ordered to aid in the attack on Valencia, and subsequently he captured San .Antonia. Following close on these victories came the brilliant capture of El Molino de! Hey, an apparently impreg- nable position, directly under the guns and (astle of Chapultopec. It was composed of a group of strong stone buildings adjoining the grove at the foot of the hill, on whose summit Chapultcpec stood. This battle was fought and won on the eighth of September, 1847, under the immediate command of Major-General Worth. The enemy was driven from these strong works by five hundred picked men and officers, constituting an assaulting party. The slaughter was terrible. But no higher exhibition of courage could be presented, than was furnished at this desperate assault, by both men and their commanders. A par- ticipator in the action says: "General Worth com- menced the attack at early daylight, and in less than two hours every point was carried, all the cannon of the enemy were in our possession, an immense quantity of ammunition captured, and nearly one thousand men, among them fifty-three officers, taken prisoners. " For more than an hour the battle raged with a violence not surpassed since the Mexican war com- menced, and so great was the odds opposed, that for some time the result was doubtful. The force of the enemy has been estimated at from twelve to fifteen thousand, strongly posted behind breastworks, and to 208 HEROES OF THREE WARS. attack them onr small force of scarcely eight thousand was obliged to approach on an open plain and without the least cover; but their dauntless courage carried them over every obstacle, and notwithstanding the Mexicans fought with a valor rare for them, they were finally routed from one point after another until all were driven and dispersed. The defeat was total." On the thirteenth Chapultepec was stormed and taken with equal bravery, General Worth and his command rendering distinguished service in its reduc- tion ; thereby contributing largely to the victorious result which placed in our hands the ancient city of the Montezumas. For his services in the Mexican war, Worth was brevetted major-general and received swords from C'ongress, from the State of Xew York, and from his native county. After the war he was placed in command of the "department of the south- west," which he retained until his death in 1849. A monument was erected to his memory by the city of New York, in Madison Square, where it yet pro- claims the esteem in which he was held by the great metropolis. CHAPTER XVI. JOHN E. WOOL. War of 1812. Wool's Volunteer Corps. Captaincy in the Thir- teenth. Bravery at Queenstown. Death of General Brock. Battle of Plattsburg. Promoted for Giilliintry. Letter from President Madison. Another Promotion. Mexican War. The March to Monclova. Capture of Parras. The Mission of Mercy. Buena Vista. Wool Entrusted with the Details. Birthplace. Where he Died. Fortress Monroe. Hie Jacet, The Chief's War Horse. Military Funeral. WHEN the first wave of the war of 1812 surged over the land, John E. Wool was found in the patriot ranks, assisting in raising and organizing a volunteer corps. Soon afterwards, his efforts were rewarded by a captaincy in the Thirteenth Infantry. At Queenstown, in the face of a terrible fire, he charged and took a battery that was playing havoc among our ranks, and when the British General Brock attempted to retake it, Captain Wool tore down a white flag raised by one of his men, and a second time charged and defeated their advancing ranks with conspicuous success. In this charge, General ...Srock fell a sacrifice to the fortunes of war. During the campaign of 1813, Wool's gallantry was so marked as to win for him the rank of major. At the battle of Plattsburg, Major Wool so stubbornly contested the enemy's advance on the Beek man town road, and won such encomiums for his behavior on the field, that he was b re vetted lieutenant-colonel. A very complimentary letter from President Madison accom- (209) 210 HEROES OF THREE WARS. panied the announcement, stating that the rank was conferred on account of bravery at Plattsburg. After the close of the war, he continued in the military profession, doing service in a variety of ways, and in June, 1841, was com missioned brigadier-general. In the war with Mexico, he was entrusted with the command of an expedition against the provinces, and marched his army over the country to the city of Monclova. Here he was met by the governor, who surrendered the place without parley. Soon afterwards General Taylor ordered him to move upon the city of Parras, which he reached on the sixth of December, 1846. The people of this place became so much attached to him, that on his march to Saltillo, the ladies offered their services if he would leave his sick in their care an offer which they afterwards made good. At Buena Vista, General Wool was placed in imme- diate command of the troops, the details of action having been committed to him by General Taylor. During the progress of the battle, when Santa Anna sent a message to Taylor desiring to know what he wanted, General Wool was despatched to the Mexican chief with the reply, and afterwards when the army encamped at Walnut Springs, three miles from Mon- terey, Taylor gave the command over to General Wool, while he made a visit to his family in the United States. The greatest confidence seems to have been reposed in him, and he was always spoken of by his chief in complimentary terms. Wool was born in Orange county, New York, and resided in the city of Troy, in that State, from 18 1 2, or earlier, until his death, which took place at the close JOHN E. WOOL. 211 of the last war. At its outbreak he was placer! in command of Fortress Monroe, soon after Major An- derson retired from Su inter. In the subsequent rush of greater events, his star was eclipsed in the splendor of other names which loomed above the horizon of war, and left behind a path of glory. The zenith of his day had past and little more was heard of him in public life until the " hie jacet " was placed above the mound of earth beneath which he now sleeps. A story is told of the war horse which General Wool brought home from his Mexican campaigning} and which died in Troy. The beating of drums or firing of cannon always filled the animal with excite- ment. Pie would prance and snort as if he snuffed afar the tide of coming battle, and was anxious to meet it. At his death the Trojans gave this modern Bucephalus a military funeral with all the pomp of procession, and the last mournful volleys fired above his grave. In the busy rush and whirl of to-day, with new generations constantly pressing upon and obliter- ating old scenes, both horse and rider are fast becoming only a shadowy remembrance of the past. CHAPTER XVTT. SAM HOUSTON. Early History. Scotch Ancestry. Birthplace. School Days in the Forest. Hard Work on the Farm. Homer's Iliad. Off to the Woods. Among the Cherokee*. Military Service. The Soldier under Jackson. Battle of the Horse-Shoe. Desperate Bravery. Wounded. Promotion. Role as a Lawyer. Rises Rapidly to Distinction. The Domestic Cloud. Return to the Forest. Emigration to Texas. Houston as General. Massacre of the Alamo. Pattle of San Jacinto. The Young Republic and her President. Annexation. In the United States Senate. Houston as Governor. Last Days. DURING the troublous transition times when Mexican perfidy, trampling upon every sacred and sworn obligation, had steeped the Texan plains in blood, Sam Houston, stalwart and strong, stood by the side of the young Texan Republic, her shield of defence. His sword flashed vengeance on her oppressors, and through her he struck brave blows for liberty every- where. His name became her rallying cry. He was her hero, whom she followed with an enthusiasm truly French her ruler whom she elected by acclama- tion. His early history was as striking and romantic as his after life. It is the history of the mountain stream which begins alone among isolated peaks, and gather- ing strength as it rushes onward to the vast ocean- basin, at last becomes the mighty and resistless river. The mountain current of Houston's blood began in a Scotch ancestry among the followers of John Knox. Driven from the Scottish Highlands to the north of (212) HOUSTON. 213 Irelanc] this congregation of families emigrated to Pennsylvania during the siege of Derry, and after-- wards the parents of Houston settled and married in Virginia. Timber Ridge Church, seven miles east of Lexington in Rock bridge county, was the birthplace of the future hero, and time marked the calendar of the auspicious event at March second, 1793. His father fought in the Revolution and held the post of inspector of Gen- eral Moore's Brigade until he died an event which took place in 1807. The death of the father changed the fortunes of the family, and the brave and bereaved mother herself noble in her intellectual and moral strength emigrated with her growing family of boys and girls to the frontier, on the banks of the Tennessee River, then the boundary line between aggressive whites and the Cherokee race of Indians. The location of this forest home, the nursery of the future hero, was not far from Marysville. As for the wisdom of the schools beyond the rudiments of reading, writing and ciphering young Houston acquired very little of it before he left Vir- ginia, and in his new and wild home the facilities for an education were about as meagre. It was said he never entered a school-house before he was eight years old, and afterwards, if he evinced any literary taste, it thowed itself only in peculiar directions, and his efforts to obtain the instruction he craved suffered total defeat. During the most of those young years he was kept hard at work, and after the death of the father his portion of labor became still heavier, in breaking and tilling the virgin land of his pioneer home. 214 HEROES OF THREE WARS. About this time an academy was established in East Tennessee near his mother's farm, which for a while he attended. In some way he obtained possession of two or three books Homer's Iliad among the number which lie read constantly, with a keen thirst for Knowledge born of long abstinence. Indeed, it was said he could repeat the entire translation of the Iliad from beginning to end. A desire to obtain some knowledge of the primitive languages in which these were written led him to ask the master's permission to study Latin and Greek. He was refused for what reason we know not. The refusal so incensed him that he declared he would never recite another lesson while he lived, and for ought that can be gleaned of his history, it seems very probable he kept his word. During these boyish years, his elder brothers tyran- nized over him to the extent of at last compelling him to enter a country dry-goods store, and take his place behind the counter as clerk. But this was the feather which broke the camel's back, and the young and high-blooded boy was suddenly missing from his place. For several weeks he was nowhere to be found. The truth was he had crossed the Tennessee and gone to live among the Indians, and when at last they found him and asked him the reason of his sudden and strange departure, he replied that he "preferred measuring deer-tracks to tape, that the wild liberty of the red man was more to his liking than the tyranny of his brothers, and that if he could not study Latin in the Academy, he at least could read a translation from Greek in the woods/' and with this message he sent them back. "\Vhen at length, after a prolonged absence. SAM HOUSTON. 215 he appeared before his mother's door, slic received him kindly, and his worn-out clothes were replaced by new ones. For a time everything went smoothly, but the first act of tyranny on the part of his brothers drove him again to his wild life iu the woods, from whence ~ ' he returned after that, only once or twice a year to be re-fitted with the needed new clothes. This wild life went on until he was eighteen years old, when by dint of perseverance he obtained a school among his pale brethren which he taught for the purpose of paying some odds and ends of debt. These had been con- tracted by purchasing presents for the Indians during his semi-occasional visits to the white settlements. After the debt was paid he shut up his school and went back to his old master with Euclid in his hands. But the war on the high seas with Great Britain came on apace, and in 1813, a United States recruiting-party came to Maryville. Of course, as might be supposed, this young son of the forest and of freedom enlisted. His mother did not withhold her consent. "There, my son, take this musket," said she, as she gave him the weapon, "and never disgrace it; for remember I had rather all my sons should fill one honorable grave, than that one of them should turn his back to save his life." Perhaps it is not a matter of wonder that such a woman should be mother to such a son. Thus he entered on his career as soldier, and marched to Fort Hampton, in Alabama. He was soon promoted to sergeant, and after that to ensign, and shortly became the best drill in the regiment. Returning to Knoxville, he assisted in drilling and organizing the Eastern Battalion of the Thirty-ninth 216 HEROES OF THREE WARS. Regiment of Infantry, and taking up liis line of ma* oh for the Ten Islands, remained at that encampment some time. The regiment then went to Fort Williams, and descended the river Coosa to To-ho-pe-ka, where General Jackson fought the celebrated battle of the Horse-Shoe, and where young Houston so covered himself with glory and with wounds. The Horse- Shoe or Tohopeka, was formed by a bend of the Talla- poosa River, and here, on the twenty -seventh of March, a thousand Creek Indian warriors had assembled, determined to stake all on this last desperate struggle for existence. General Jackson's army of two thou- sand men confronted them, and the battle was stub- bornly fought. Here young Houston found his first opportunity, and from that bloody conflict he emerged a hero. He scaled the breastworks unmindful of the storm of barbed arrows falling about him or the rat- tling musketry. Right and left he cut his way among the savages, leading in the terrible onset. An arrow pierced his thigh which was pulled out after several unsuccessful efforts, and a stream of blood followed. AY hen the wound was dressed, General Jackson ordered him not to re-cross the breastworks to the front. But this was an order which the impetuous young ensign could not obey, and when his general called for a body of men to lead a forlorn hope and make a last des- perate charge on a concealed party of red warriors, Houston, waiting a moment for some captain to lead forth his company and waiting in vain, rushed forward, calling on his platoon to follow him, though he had to charge the very port-holes bristling with a deadly array of rifles and arrows! AYhen rallying his men within five yards of the port-holes, two rifle-balls SAM HOUSTON. 217 received in his right shoulder struck his arm powerless to his side and lie sank to the earth. He could do no more. The Indians were at last dislodged and the battle was won. The sun of the Creek Nation had set in ruin and above it gleamed tiie rising star of young Houston. The army rang with his praises. He had been tried in the hour of peril and had not been found wanting. It was a long time before he recovered from his dangerous wounds, and when at last peace was pro- claimed, he was retained in the army as first lieutenant, being detailed on duty in the adjutant's office stationed at Nashville, from January first, 1817. Here he remained until the following November, when he was sent by Jackson as Indian agent among the Cherokees. During the winter he conducted a delegation of Indians to Washington, and found that attempts had been made to injure him with the government, for having pre- vented the smuggling of negroes into the Western States. He vindicated himself, but thought the gov- ernment gave a cold recognition of his services. He returned from Washington, resigned his commission and went to Nashville to study law. This role as civilian and lawyer was begun in June, 1818, in the office of Hon. James Trimble. He advanced rapidly, completed his studies and was admitted to the bar in a third of the time usually prescribed. Establishing himself in Lebanon, thirty miles from Nashville, soon afterwards, he was appointed adjutant-general of the State with the rank of colonel. His genius conquered everything, and with such giant strides did he go for- ward that in October he was elected district-attorney of the Davidson District. 218 UEROES OF THREE WARS. A second time he took up his residence in Nashville. In the practice of his profession he rose to great and sudden distinction. In 1821, he was elected major- general by the field officers of the Sttte, and in 1823, was a candidate for Congress, being elected without opposition. In the National Legislature he was re- turned by his constituency the second time by an almost unanimous vote. In 1827 he was elected governor of lha State of Tennessee by a majority of over twelve thousand. Honors fell thick upon him, and his per- sonal popularity was almost unlimited. In January, 1829, he married a young lady of respectable family and gentle character, and in less than three months afterwards society was thrown into a tumult of excite- ment by the announcement of their separation. Con- cerning the causes of this unhappy affair, Houston maintained tho strictest silence. To the questioning of friends and enemies alike, he had but one reply: "This is a painful but it is a private affair," he said. "I do not recognize the right of the public to interfere in it, and I shall treat the public as though it had never happened. ... If my character cannot stand the shock, let me lose it." But the public would not let the matter rest, and taking up arms for and against Governor Houston, party spirit ran high and no cal- umny too vile could be heaped upon his name by the pseudo-friends of the lady. Through it all, Houston remained firm in his silence, ignoring all aspersions on himself and never permitting a breath of reproach in his presence against the character of her, whom he Lad once called wife. But at last he sought escape from the arrows of slander, and resigning his office of governor, went into voluntary exile among his old SAM HOUSTON. 219 friends, the children of the forest. The King of the Cherokees had long ago adopted Houston as his son, and now the man who had been elected to his high office by acclamation who had received a people's ap- plause, laid down the sceptre and sought the wigwam of his adopted Indian sire. His friends parted from him in sorrow, but they felt that this was only an eclipse of name and fame from which he would emerge brighter than ever. The journey of the self-exiled governor was a long one. Four hundred miles to the northwest where the Falls of the Arkansas resound, near the mouth of the Illinois, the old chief's ample wigwam awaited the return of his wandering son, and the welcome given him was said to have been touching in the extreme. Eleven winters had passed since last they met. For three years was the future hero of San Jacinto lost to the world, living his wild forest life. Three years ! But he was learning the wrongs suffered by his red brethren, the frauds of Indian agents who cheated them, and he was preparing to be their future champion. We must hurry over the intervening period between this life and the life of his future fame as the great liberator of Texas the staunch champion around whom her well-nigh despairing sons rallied on a last, desperate issue. For a year he came forth from his seclusion and boldly advocated the rights of the cheated red men, at the Nation's gates achieved much, suf- fered the slings and arrows of slander aimed at his lion heart, and when at last his foes retired from the contest covered with defeat, he again sought the seclu- Bion of the forest. Proffered places of honor, even U 220 HEROES OF THREE WARS. though held out by General Jackson, no longer allured him. The returning current of jtrni.se which followed the ebb-tide of abuse, could not keep him from his firm purpose to pursue a quiet life on the free prairies. He went to Texas with the .irtention of becoming a herdsman. But the people among whom he came urged him at once t> become their leader in the coun- cil* of S ate, and a strange fate made this gateway the road to Texas free. His emigration to the Lone Star State took place in 183J. ^ e pass in rapid review the rights of Texas trodden down the iron heel of Santa Anna determined on establishing a military despotism the uprising of the people their unanimous election of Houston as eom- mander-in- chief of their armies their declaration of independence, March second, 183G and then the opening career of the general on his great mission infusing strength and courage into the handful of men gathered around him into the convention held at the Beat of government, trembling lest they should be swept out of existence by Santa Anna sweeping towards them on his dire purpose of extermination. Then follows the woeful slaughter of the Alamo, and the horrible massacre of Colonel Fannin's regiment of seven hundred men at Goli:ul, who, had he obeyed the orders of his general, would have been saved. After this the thrilling tragedy of San Jacinto opens, in which Houston achieved by one mighty stroke th independence of Texas, and hurled forever to its eter- nal doom Mexican oppression and Mexican rule. It was miraculous that Houston's men, numbering less than half as many as Santa Anna's, should not only overwhelm them with one of the most crushing defeats SAM HOUSTON. 22tS in the history of battles, but that bringing such havoc and slaughter to the ranks of the foe, themselves escaped with the loss of only seven men killed and thirty wounded. It seems incredible, yet it was true. Eight hundred prisoners had been taken over six hundred of the enemy had been left dead on the field the river of San Jaeiuto was choked with the fleeing and drowning ranks of the enemy, and multitudes had met their fa to in the morass and bayous. Besides two hundred and eighty of the enemy's wound.xl, only seven are known to have escaped from the field ! But the Texans rushed to their work with a desperation which brooked no resistance. They fought for their homes, their liberties, and to avenga the murder of their dead companions. Before the battle came on, Houston had addressed them eloquently, and had given them a war cry which fired them to the highest pitch of des- peration. He had charged them to remember the Alamo, and with that cry on their lips they rushed to battle. A victory scarcely without parallel in history followed. Santa Anna was captured, and thus almost at one stroke the chains were stricken from bleeding Texas her freedom was achieved and Houston was the man who had done it. Jt passed into a proverb that "Houston was the only man that could have kept the army in subjection, or achieved the independence of Texas, or preserved it after it was won." He had come out of the battle of San Jacinto with a shuttered ankle, and the wounded limb took him to death's door. Not able to obtain the necessary medical assistance in Texas, lie was obliged to be taked to New Orleans before help could be given him. He M'as re- ceived there with crowds and music, though they cat*- 224 HEROES OF THREE WARS. riecl him on a litter from the pier. After his recovery, lie returned once more to his wilderness home and found the infant Republic turbulent as a wild sea, with party faction. It was universally conceded that Hous- ton was the only man in all Texas who could quell it. lit' allowed his name to be placed before the people as a candidate for the Presidency only twelve days before the elections, and he was accorded that high place by acclamation. The turbulence of party everywhere yielded to national enthusiasm, and the hero of San Jacinto v?as placed at the helm on the Ship of State. He was inaugurated October twenty-second, 183G, and his administration was a marvel of success. Out of chaos he brought order, and the majesty of law took the place of misrule. He conciliated the Indians and by his wise forecast prevented another Mexican invasion. In no portion of the world had civil government ever been established in so short a space of time. His term closed December twelfth, 1838, and by the pro- visions of the constitution he could not be elected for a second consecutive term. The law and order and credit which he had established, and the peaceful rela- tions which he was fast bringing about, were all ruth- lessly trampled upon by his successor. Anarchy and confusion took the place of firm rule, and the work of Houston's administration was well-nigh undone. Bu( in December, 1841, he again took the Presidential chair and once more the people had a government One of his first measures was to despatch a minister to Washington to open negotiations for the annexation of Texas, and it was almost entirely through his wise policy that the young Republic was at length welcomed among SAM HOUSTON. 225 the band of sUter States and invited to take her seat in the councils of the Nation. England and France were looking towards a foot- hold on this continent, and it is believed that had a man less patriotic or less noble than Houston been at the head of government, Texas would never have held the place she now does in our constellation of free States. ' After the event of annexation, Houston was sent to the Senate at Washington to represent his State, and held that honorable position with such marked ability as to reflect Itonor. on the nation and add glory to his own noble fame. He proved himself the states- man as well as the general. His speeches were noted for an earnest force a clear logic and pointedness which ever won the rapt attention of the auditor. He remained in the Senate from 184G to 1859, and was Governor of Texas from that time until 1861. He opposed the secession movement and resisted the clamor for an extra session of the Legislature. At last, he retired from office rather than take the oath required by the State convention. He went to his home at Independence, Texas, full of honors and surrounded by a halo of victory. His private character as husband and father is quite as captivating as his public career. He might have grown rich, had he gathered into his hands the vast domains which fell into the possession of others less honest than himself. He might have amassed wealth through Texas liabilities, as did many others but he would not. Thomas H. Benton spoke of him in the Senate as "frank, generous, brave; ready to do or to suffer whatever the obligations of civil or military duty imposed, and always prompt to answer the call of honor, 226 HEROES OF THREE WARS. patriotism or friendship." He was the founder of a Republic and twice its President. He defeated the trained armies of an ancient empire, captured its leader and paralyzed his power. He was the champion of temperance the hero whose blood was spilled in the cause of two Republics a truly great man of the nation, who rose above party faction and saw only country and the liberties of a people. CHAPTER XVIII. JAMES SHIELDS. The Land of his Nativity. First Army Experience. The Mexi- can War-cloud. E'minotioti. The March through Mexico. At (..Vrro GoHo. Brilliant Achievement Wounded unto Death. Tiie Storming of (Jontreras. Aid to Smith. V Generous Piece of Conduct. Chapultepec. Under a Gulling Fire. Refuses to Leave the Field though Wounded. His Return to the United States. The War of Rebellion. The Spring of '62. Defeat of "Stonewall" Jackson. Leaving the Army. GENERAL JAMES SHIELDS was a son of Erin's green island the land of the harp and the sword, of oppression arid martyrdom, the land that has given to the world so many noble patriots and illustrious men. After making this country the home of his adoption in early life, we first hear of him in a military capacity during the last war with Great Britain. He entered the American army as second lieutenant of the Eleventh Infantry and served with credit throughout the contest. After the war he seems to have dropped out of sight, but suddenly merged into view again when the Mexican difficulty obscured our national horizon and operations had commenced on the Rio Grande. Here he received the appoint- ment of brigadier-general. He joined the division of General Wool and made the march through the country to Monclova, where lie was detached to reinforce the army of General Scott. His bravery at Vera Cruz, exposed to the heaviest belching of the cannons' thunder, was only surpassed by the skill he displayed (227) 228 HEROES OF THREE WARS. at Cerro Gordo, which won praises from General Scott and his associate officers. On the enemy's left, on the Jalapa road, he succeeded in cutting off their retreat and engaging them in such a way as to contribute largely to the victory of that day. In this engage- ment, while attacking a battery of five pieces, sup- ported by a heavy force of cavalry and infantry, Shields fell dangerously wounded, with a ball through his lungs. He was borne from the field, and Colonel Baker, of Illinois, succeeded to the command, and led liis troops forward in the successful attack. At Contreras, Shields was sent to a village near by to support Smith's brigade. In the night and the darkness he was obliged to conduct his troops through a rugged ravine, difficult of passage. Posting a strong picket guard he ordered his main force to lie upon their arms until midnight. The pickets encountered and drove back a body of Mexican infantry who were approaching the city, and Shields reached the encamp- ment of Smith without accident. Smith had pre- viously matured his plans for the capture of the posi- tion, which afterwards proved so brilliant. Shields, however, as superior officer, arriving on the ground, could have assumed command and reaped the fame of the subsequent victory. But with a rare magnanimity he refused to do so. He intercepted and cut off the retreat of the enemy on the main road, and so effectively disposed his forces in the stubborn fight, charged the Mexican ranks with such intrepidity and success as to put them to utter rout. The flying foe was pursued to the very gates of the city. On the tenth of September, Shields was ordered to the vicinity of Chapultepec, where a heavy cannonading JAMES SHIELDS. 229 was kept up for several days until he advanced to the assault. Although severely wounded in the arm he refused to leave the field, and fought valiantly on in the face of the most galling fire. The Mexican fortifica- tions, one after another, fell into our hands, until at length the stars and stripes waved from the gateways of Chapul tepee in triumph. General Shields was carried from the field exhausted, and suffering severely from his wound. But owing to a good constitution his recovery was speedy. When his Mexican campaign terminated, he returned to the United States, and did not again appear on the stage of public life until called fjrth by the war of Rebellion. In the spring of 1 862 he distinguished himself by de- feating the famous Confederate general, Stonewall Jack- son, at the little village of Kernstown near Winchester. Shields marched his soldiers up from the Shenandoah to Fredericksbnrg, where General Angur was at that time stationed, and, hearing that Jackson was in the valley, he faced about and marched Lack again to meet the veteran rebel hero. It was Jackson's first defeat, and notwithstanding the fact that his force was double that of Shields, he was for once handsomely whipped, and went flying before our pursuing troops. But Shields followed Jackson too far and rashly placed his army in jeopardy. For this he received severe censure, and after that memorable day seems to have disap- peared almost mysteriously from the public gaze and the army. CHAPTER XIX. CHARLES MAY. Colonel May a Native of Washington. Commissioned a Licntrn.int by President Jackson. Ordered to Florida. Participates in the Capture of the Indian Chief Philip. Opening of the Mexican War. Joins General Taylor. Co-operates with Captain Walkt r. Famous Charge at Resnca de la Pal ma. Gallant Conduit at Buena Vista. Returns to the United States. name of Colonel Charles May .vill ever he J- associated with the gallant heroes who under the leadership of Scott and Taylor won undying laurels on the plains of Mexico. For conra;^. intrepidity and impetuosity in battle no man in the American anny was superior to Colonel May. His dragoon lights along the Rio Grande, his charge at Resnea de la P&lma, and his heroic conduct at Buenu. Vista have rarely been surpassed, and have won for him a reputa- tion as brilliant as any that adorn the pages of Spartan warfare. But little is known of May's early life except that he was a native of the city of Washington, and son of Dr. May. He was commissioned second lieutenant in the Second Regiment of Dragoons by President Jack- son, and ordered to Florida. His duties were most arduous in these campaigns against the red men of the everglades, and it is recorded that he was fore- most among those who captured the famous Indian chief Philip. When General Taylor marched into Texas with his army of observation, and matters were wearing a CHARLES MAY. 231 hostile appearance, Captain May joined him with a company of dragoons and aided in the defence of Point Isabel. Co-operating with the gallant Captain Walker, he was stationed between that place and Taylor's advance camp with instructions to keep the communi- cation open if possible. This service was perilous; but May's bravery and rapid movements overcame all obstacles. On the twenty-eighth of April, 1846, he ascertained that a large force of Mexicans intended to surround General Taylor's camp, and at once set out with his dragoons to communicate with the general. After proceeding twelve miles, he encountered fifteen hun- dred of the enemy under the immediate command of Santa Anna. Most of his men being inexperienced, fell back at the appearance of such an overwhelming opposition. The few that remained around their bold commander firmly received the attack of the Mexicans, and gave them battle for upwards of half an hour. They then retreated, and were pursued to within a mile of Point Isabel. It was reported that May was slain, but at night he came into the fort, and with that indomitable spirit for which he was distinguished, at once offered to communicate with General Taylor, provided he could have four men as his companions. This proposition, under such circumstances, with the enemy in force, and lurking in every path and thicket, was considered rash. But six Texans volunteered, and after several bold adventures, in one of which they charged through a large body of Mexican lancers, they reached the camp of General Taylor on the thirtieth. In consequence of the information thus received, General Taylor marched from camp on the first of 232 HEROES OF THREE WARS. May, and readied Point Isabel the day after. On th\ third, the Mexicans commenced a bombardment of the river fort. Anxious to know how Major Brown sustained this attack, the general despatched Captain May, with one hundred dragoons, assisted by Captain Walker and six rangers, for the purpose of opening communications. At two o'clock in the afternoon, May started, and just after night-fall came in sight of Arista's camp-fires. Though the whole Mexican army was before him he manoeuvred so skilfully as to escape observation, pass around its front, and find ambush in some thick chaparral a few miles from the fort. Captain Walker was then sent forward to the fort, with instructions to note particularly any force he might observe along the road. He reached his destination without accident, while May and his troops remained waiting in their saddles. Owing to several unforeseen causes, Walker was unable to rejoin May that night, and daylight approaching, the latter returned to Point Isabel. The victory achieved by General Taylor at Resaoa de la Pal ma, was perhaps more largely due to the part performed by Captain May than that of any other officer. The battle had continued for some time with- out any decided advantage to the Americans, and General Taylor perceived that the enemy could not be driven from his position until his artillery was silenced. He therefore ordered Captain May, who was stationed in the rear, to report himself for duty. May soon appeared with his dragoons, and was directed to charge and capture the Mexican batteries at what- ever sacrifice. After exhorting his men to remember their regiment, the captain pointed towards the bat- CHARLES MAT. 235 feries and bade them follow. Striking spurs into his horse, he dashed forward, followed by his command in column of fours. On arriving at the post occupied by Ridgcly and his brave cannoneers, May halted to learn tho position of the Mexican batteries. Knowing the danger at- tending a charge upon their pieces when loaded, Ridgely desired him to wait until he drew the fire of their batteries. He suddenly applied the match, and before the reverberation of his pieces had died away, the enemy replied, their shot sweeping like hail through his ranks. Instantly the squadron of dragoons sprung forward, May in the advance, with his long hair streaming behind like the rays of a comet. The earth shook beneath the iron hoofs of their chargers, and the rays of the tropical sun flashed back in flame from their burnished sabres as they swept along, cheered by a shout of exultation from the artillerists and infantry. "Still foremost, May reached at length the batteries in the road, and upon the right of it; and as his steed rose upon the Mexican breastworks, he turned to wave on his men to the charge. Closely pressing upon him was Lieutenant Inge, who answered to the challenge with a shout, and turned in like manner to encourage his platoon, when a terrible discharge of grape and canister from the upper battery swept down upon them, and dashed to the earth, in mangled and bloody masses, eighteen horses and seven men ; among them the gallant Inge and his charger. Mny's steed at a bound cleared the batteries, followed by Lieutenant Stevens, and the survivors of the First and Second platoons- Their impetus carried them through and beyond the 23G HEROES OF THREE WARS. batteries, \vho:i charging back, they drove the en >my from the guns and silenced their fire. Captain ( !-ra- ham, and Lieutenants Winship and Pleasanton, with the Third and Fourth platoons, in the meantime s\;ept to the left of tlie road, and at the point of the sv/ord carried the battery situated there. " Perceiving the small force by which thev 'A'ere assailed, the Mexicans recovered from their panic, and rushing back to the batteries, prepared to fire t.iem. Gathering around him a few followers, May charged upon them with irresistible force, while the terror- stricken enemy shrunk back from the blows of hi.-, sword, which descended with a flash and forca like that of lightning. An intrepid officer, however, kept his place, and endeavored to rally his men. With his own hands he seized a match and was about to apply it, when he was ordered by Captain May to surrend -r. Finding himself without support, he acknowledged himself a prisoner, and handed his sword to hi:-', gallant captor. It was General Vega, a brave and accom- plished officer. " The fire of the enemy's batteries was silenced, but a terrib'e struggle now eommewed for their possession. The Fifth Infantry, under the brave Lieutenant -Col- onel Mclntosh, though separated into detachments by the chaparral, rushed on through a sweeping (ire of musketry, and at length crossed bayoneU with the army over the cannon-muzzles." At B i Mia Vista, Colonel May was associated with Captain Pike's squadron of Arkansas cavalry, and rendered good service in holding the e.ier.iy in check, a ad covering batteries ut several points Extracts fro b| his report will show the nature cf the^ duties. CHARLES MAY. 2.37 " Before the squadron of the First Dragoons could he recalled, it had gone so far up the ravine as to he in close range of the enemy's artillery. It was thus, for a short time, exposed to a severe fire, which resulted in the loss of a few men. The other two squadrons and thescct'on of artillery were in the meantime placed in motion for Buena Vista, where a portion of our supplies were stored, and against which the enemy was directing his movements. Lieutenant Rucker joined me near the rancho, and in time to assist me in check- ing the heavy cavalry force, which was then very near and immediately in our front. A portion of the enemy's cavalry, amounting, perhaps, to two hundred men, not perceiving my command, crossed the main road near to the rancho, and received a destructive firo from a numher of volunteers assemhled there. The remaining heavy column was immediately checked, and retired in great disorder towards the mountains on our left, before, however, I could place my command in position to charge. Being unable, from the heavy clouds of dust, to observe immediately the movements of the body of cavalry which had passed the rancho, I followed it up, and found it had crossed the deep and marshy ravine on the right of the road, and was attempting to gain the mountains on the right. I immediately ordered Lieutenant Reynolds to bring his section into battery, which he did promptly, and bv a few well-directed shots, dispersed and drove the enemy in confusion over the mountains. I next directed my attention to the annoying column which had occupied so strong a position on our left flank and rear during the whole day, and immediately moved my command to a position whence I could uso my artillery on the 238 HEROES OF THREE WARS. masses crowded in the ravines and gorges of the monn- tains. As I was leaving the rancho. I was joined by about two hundred foot volunteers, under Major Gorman, and a detachment of Arkansas mounted volunteers, under Lieutenant-Colonel Roane. Believ- ing my command now sufficiently strong for any con- tingency which might arise, I advanced it steadily towards the foot of the mountains, and to within a few hundred yards of the position occupied by the enemy. I then directed Lieutenant Reynolds to bring his section again into batlery ; and in the course of half an hour, by the steady and destructive fire of his artillery, the enemy was forced to fall back. This advantage I followed up; in doing which I was joined by a section of artillery under Captain Bragg. My command still continued to advance, and the enemy to retire. We BOOH gained a position where we were able to deliver a destructive fire, which caused the enemy to retreat in confusion. While the artillery was thus engaged, by order of General Wool, I steadily advanced the cavalry; but owing to the deep ravines which separated my command from the enemy, I was unable to gain (rround on him. The enemy having been thus forced to abandon his position on our left and rear, I was again directed to assume a position in supporting dis- tance of Captain Sherman's battery, which occupied its former position, and against which the enemy seemed to be concentrating his forces. After having occupied th!s position some time, the general-in-chief directed me to move my command up the ravine towards the enemy's batteries, and to prevent any further advance on that fianlc. This position was occupied until the close of the battle, the enemy never again daring to CHARLES MAY. 239 attempt any movement towards our rear. The cavalry, except Captain Pike's squadron, which was detached for picket service on the right of the road, occupied, during the night of the twenty-third, the ground near where I was directed last to take my position before the close of the battle. Finding on the morning of the twenty -fourth, that the enemy had retreated, I was joined by Captain Pike's squadron, and ordered in pursuit." Colonel May returned to the United States soon after the battle of Buena Vista, where he remained several weeks. The fame of his daring achievements had preceded him, and he was everywhere welcomed as a representative of the gallant ones with whom he had battled in Mexico. 15 PART THIRD. ar far tlu SUBJECTS: Eiupter Pnif XX. TJT.-mSES S. GRANT 245 XXL WILLIAM TECUMSEH SHERMAN 263 XXII. PHILIP HENRY SHERIDAN 278 XXIII. GEORGE BRINTON McCLELLAN 287 XXIV. AMBROSE EVERETT BURNSIDE 298 XXV. GEORGE HENRY THOMAS 304 XXVI. JOSEPH HOOKER 314 XXVII. GEORGE GORDON MEADE 326 XXVIII. HENRY WARNER SLOCUM 332 XXIX. JAMES BIRDSEYE McPHERSON 337 XXX. WINFIELD SCOTT HANCOCK 347 XXXI. JOHN CHARLES FREMONT 352 XXXII. OLIVER OTIS HOWARD 357 XXXIII. DAVID GLASCOE* FARRAGUT 361 XXXIV. FRANZ SIGEL 368 XXXV. HUGH JUDSON KILPATRICK 375 XXXVI. PHILIP KEARNY 387 XXXVII. NATHANIEL LYON 391 XXXVIII. ELMER EPHRAIM ELLSWORTH 39fl XXXIX. EDWARD DICKINSON BAKER 407 XL. GEORGE ARMSTRONG CUSTER 4 17 (241) CHAPTER XX. ULYSSES S. GRANT. The Grants of the Early Scotch Monarchy. Family Crests. Direct Ancestry. Boyhood. Feats of Horsemanship. Loading Wood. Old "Dave" and Young Ulysses. At West Point. Experience in Mexican War. Marriage. Resigns His Com- mission. In the Leather Business. Beginning of Last War. Kecruiting a Company. Battle of Belmont. Cairo Expedition. Fort Donelson. Shiloh. Vicksburg. Chattanooga. Mis- sionary Ridge and Lookout Mountain. Opinions of a Sachem. The Last Campaign. Lee's Surrender. Elected and Re- elected President. occasion often creates the man, but the man JL who masters the occasion is born, not made. Many are pushed to the surface momentarily, by the pressure of events, and then subside into common levels; but he is the true commander during a crisis, who can wield the waves of difficulty to advantage and be a sure pilot amid the on-rush of events, when they thicken and deepen into a prolonged struggle. When, during the late war, our country needed a leader to face and quell the threatened danger of dis- union and conduct her armies to successful issues, and when government intrusted those momentous issues to Ulysses S. Grant, "the man and the moment had met" the occasion had found its master. Napoleon said that the most desirable quality of a good general was that his judgment should be in equilibrium with his courage. To no commander of (245) 246 HEROES OF THREE WARS. modern times could this rule apply with more fbrce than to Grant. A man of no outward clamor of character no hint of bluster or dash quiet-voiced, self-controlled, but not self-asserting, he yet displayed vast power as an organizer, as a tactician, and in mas- terly combinations of large forces so as to produce the most telling effects. It has been truly said of him that no general ever stamped his own peculiar character upon an army more emphatically than did Grant upon the Army of the Tennessee. It was the only large organization which, as a whole, never suffered a defeat during the war. It was noted for its marvellous per- sistence its determined fighting qualities and had the reputation of being sure to win any battle that lasted over a day, no matter what the odds against it. It was at Grant's recommendation that a united com- mand was concentrated in the Mississippi Valley which concentration has since been acknowledged to be the basis of all our subsequent victories. Generosity, mildness, and kind-heartedness shone as conspicuously in Grant's character as his firmness and great generalship. Simplicity of manner and kindness of heart are always characteristic of the true hero. " The bravest are the tenderest, The loving are the daring." The rapid and bold descent upon Fort Donelson, the unconquerable determination exhibited at Shiloh, the brilliant capture of Vicksburrj and the high military science displayed at Chattanooga Valley, Lookout Mountain, and Missionary Ridge these have never been surpassed in military history, in splendor of exe- cution, or judiciousness of combination. ULYSSES & GRANT. 247 It is not known with certainty whether the family of Grants originated in Scotland, Denmark, or France. The balance of evidence, however, goes to show that they were Norman and came over with William the Conqueror in 1066. In the early days of the Scotch monarchy, they became noted as a powerful clan. Gregory Grant was "SheriiF Principal" of Inverness, between 1214 and 1249. At "Halidoun Hill," 1333, John Grant commanded the right wing of the Scotch army. They came, originally, from the Strathspey country, noted for its forests of fir and lovely scenery. A certain Lieutenant-General Francis Grant was buried in Hampshire, England, December second, 1781. On his monument was carved the family crest, representing a mountain peak burning. It bore the motto, " Stead- fast." Another crest of the Grants had foub burning peaks and the mottos, " Stand sure ; stand fast ; Craig Ellachie." On yet another one, an oak was sprouting under the full blaze of the sun. Its accompanying motto was, "Wise and harmless." The crest of Grant of Leith was a rock: motto, "Immobile." Grant of Grant had the burning mount and the motto "Stand sure." During the Sepoy rebellion in India, there was a Highland regiment composed almost entirely of Grants, whose colors bore the ancient motto, "Stand fast, Craig Ellachie." These legends are supposed to express a leading characteristic of the clan, and their resem- blance to some of the traits of our latter day Ulysses ia somewhat striking when looked at in the light of heredity. The great-grandfather of Ulysses was Captain Noah Grant, who was killed at the battle of White Plains, during the French and Indian wars, in 1776. His 248 HEROES OF THREE WARS. grandfather, Noah Grant, Jr., fought at Lexington a lieutenant of militia, and afterwards, during the Revo- lution. His father, Jesse, emigrated from Pennsylva- nia to Ohio, and was married at Point Pleasant, Ohio, June, 1821, to Hannah Simpson, whose father was also from the Keystone State. Ulysses was born the fol- lowing year, April twenty-seventh, 1822. There was something of a contest over his baptismal name; one suggested Theodore; his young mother preferred Albert; his grandfather thought Hiram would be the proper cognomen, but his step-grand- mother a great reader and admirer of the Homeric Ulysses triumphed with the name of the Grecian hero, little dreaming that it would one day also become the name of an American hero, scarcely less illustrious. His earliest feats were connected with horsemanship. At six years of age he was a good rider, at ten a skilful driver, doing full work in hauling wood, carrying loads of leather to Cincinnati from his father's tannery and bringing passengers back to Georgetown, where the family then lived. At twelve, he rode horses at full speed, standing upon their backs and balancing himself by the bridle reins. An incident is related of these early years in connection with a trained circus pony, which the young Ulysses was invited to ride by the facetious clown, in the full expectation that he would be thrown. But in spite. of every effort to dismount him, by both pony and clown, the boy rode on ; as a last resort, a trained monkey was let loose upon his shoulders, but without effect : the boy continued to ride, quietly victorious, wearing the same undisturbed expression for which he was afterwards noted in battle. He was always of a peaceable and even disposition, ULYSSES S. GRANT. 249 evinced great calmness and presence of mind, and was full of quiet resolution and persistence. From childhood, he developed rare judgment and was decidedly a boy of resources. In illustration of this, a story is told of his loading a wagon with logs, any one of which would have been a heavy lift for twenty men. He accomplished the unusual feat by the aid of a big horse called "Dave," and a tree which had fallen across a stump, with one end resting on the ground. Ulysses had hitched his horse to the logs, pulled the ends over the fallen tree, and after backing the wagon under them, used "Dave," on the lever prin- ciple, to haul them one at a time, on the wagon. Here was a hint of the engineering brain which afterwards compassed such well-laid plans for the direction and movements of a vast army. And here, also, we find another illustration of the rule that " the boy is father to the man." At eighteen, Ulysses obtained an appoint- ment as cadet at the West Point Military Academy through Mr. Hamer, who, knowing that his mother's name was Simpson, sent in his application as Ulj/wes S. Grant. This accounts for the superfluous middle Jetter which his fellow-students construed into "Sam/' mak- ing, with his first initial letter, the nick-name, " Uncle Sam," by which he was familiarly known. He graduated in 1843, ranking twenty-firs* in a class of thirty-nine. He could easily have taken a higher grade, had he thought it worth the extra trou- ble. He excelled in mathematics and all military exercises, and surpassed nearly all his classmates in horsemanship and cavalry drill. He never viokted rules, submitted readily to discipline, never was in- duced to taste liquor of any sort, was noted for his 250 HEROES OF THREE WAR'?. gentleness of disposition united to great firmness, and was reputed to be " tender-hearted " to a rare degree. In 1845, when Taylor was sent to Mexico, Grant, as second lieutenant in the Fourth Regular Infantry, accompanied the "army of occupation." He fought in the battles of Resaca, Palo Alto and Monterey: was transferred to Scott's army, and participated in the brilliant campaign beginning with Vera Cruz and ending with the City of Mexico. At the storming of Chapultepec he took command of a mountain howitzer with such decided skill, and otherwise so distinguished himself that he was brevetted captain. In 1848, he married Julia T. Dent, of St. Louis, Missouri, sister of one of his classmates. He was soon after stationed at Detroit, from whence he was transferred to Sackett's Harbor, and in 1852, accompanied an expedition to Oregon, where he received his full captain's commis- sion. In 1853, he resigned and took up his residence on a small farm near St. Louis. About this time he received a proposition from his father to become a partner in his leather business, and went at once to Galen^ Illinois, where the firm of "Grant and Son, Leather Dealers," was established. This was in 1859. Two years later, when the guns of Fort Sumter echoed over the nation, he dropped everything, at once re- cruited a company, and tendered it to the governor. He assisted in organizing the State quota, but when Governor Yates proposed to send his name to Wash- ington for a brigadier-generalship, Grant declined the doubtful honor, saying he " did not ask promotion he wanted to earn it." In June he received the appoint- ment of colonel to the Twenty-first regiment, and was vrdered to Missouri. In August, being made brigadier- ULYSSES S. GRANT. 251 general, he was assigned to the Cairo district. Taking possession of Paducah, which he regarded as a strong strategic point for future movements, he issued a pro- clamation to the citizens in which he said: "I have nothing to do with opinions, and shall deal only with armed rebellion and its aiders and abettors." Deter- mined to break up the enemy's camp opposite Columbus, he projected an expedition down the river, and, as a result, on the seventh of November the battle of Bel- mont was fought. In a congratulatory order to his troops after the battle, he said it " had been his fortune to have been in all the battles fought in Mexico by Generals Scott and Taylor except Buena Vista, and he never saw one more hotly contested, or where troops behaved with more gallantry." Following Belmont was the "Cairo expedition" a venture comparatively barren of results. An order issued about this time to the troops composing the expedition, throws a strong ray of light on the char- acter of its commanding general, in which his high moral ground and firm stand against vandalism shine out in prominent relief. The order commands " that the severest punishment be inflicted upon every soldier who is guilty of taking or destroying private property, and any commissioned officer guilty of like conduct, or of countenancing it, shall be deprived of his sword and expelled from the army, not to be permitted to return." On the sixth of February the brilliant reduction of Fort Henry, on the Tennessee, was accomplished by Foote, and Fort Donelson, twelve miles distant, was next in line. Grant and Foote were co-operating by land and water; but Foote did not meet here with the 252 HEROES OF THREE WARS. same success that attended him at Fort Henry. It was the fifteenth of February, and Grant had spent tw.o or three days in making an investment of the high and wooded bluff from which frowned the guns of Donelson. Before daybreak, on the fifteenth, he had gone on board the flagship of Foote, in consultation as to the time and manner of attack, when the enemy swept from their works and fell upon the Union lines with tremendous force. The fighting became furious at once, and for some time the battle-line swayed to and fro, between victory and defeat. It was desperate work; brigades and regiments were repulsed and by turns advanced the brave commands disputing every inch of the rocky and difficult battle-field. When Grant reached the scene it was " to find his right thrown far back, ammunition exhausted and the ranks in confusion." With quick inspiration he took in the situation at a glance, comprehended that the enemy had exhausted his greatest strength, and ordered an immediate attack by the left on the Con- federate \\orks in front. General Smith was in com- mand of this portion of the army, and had not actively participated in the conflict. He therefore brought fresh troops to the assault. McClernand was also ordered to reform his shattered ranks and advance. The combined forces charged with splendid valor up the rocky steeps, in the blaze of a withering fire poured down upon them from the fort. They did not falter for a single instant, but reaching the summit, swept over and into the Confederate works with ringing cheers. On the next morning a white flag was seen flying from the fort, and under its protection proposal! for an armistice were sent in. Grant replied that ULYSSES S. GRANT. 253 unconditional surrender, and that immediately, must be made or he would move on their works at once. Thereupon, Buckner, who was in command, surren- dered the fort with its thirteen thousand men. This splendid victory blazoned the name of Grant all over the country, and he immediately became the people's hero. But at this stage of his ascending career, envy hurled its poisoned shaft of slander against him and willing believers petitioned for his removal. But Lincoln stood firm, the slanders fell short of their mark, Grant was created major-general, and his district enlarged into that of the West Ten- nessee. His second campaign was under Hal leek. A concerted attack on the Confederate forces under Beauregard and Johnston, at Corinth, was planned for Buell and Grant. They were to meet at Pitts- burgh Landing, one going down the Tennessee, the other across the country from Nashville. The Con- federate general had become aware of the plan, and before Buell's army could arrive, Johnston swept down upon the unprepared Union forces with terrible power. Our troops were thrown into disorder at the very com- mencement of battle, and though they fought gallantly, there was a lack of concerted strength or well-ordered nohesiveness which lost the first day of Shiloh, and piled the field with dead. The next morning Buell arrived and the fighting continued. The enemy was forced back over the ground he had conquered the previous day, our artillery was recovered and the lost field won. But the human sacrifice on this altar of blood was appalling, and the news of victory carried with it an exceedingly heavy ground-swell of grief. The adverse criticism of Grant which followed 254 HEROES OF THREE WARS. Shiloh, did not weaken either his prospects or hia position. His next achievement, the capture of Vicksburg, was wonderful indeed. Its natural strength of posi- tion on a high bluff, one hundred feet above the water- level, added to the formidable array of defences which bristled defiance to all foes, made Vicksburg a very citadel of power, and the fifty thousand men stationed there under Pemberton and Price, did not lessen the difficulties to be overcome. A fort, mounting eight guns, sentineled the approach to the city from beneath, while the heights above were guarded by a three- banked battery. Eight miles of batteries lined the shore above and below Vicksburg. Grant made several fruitless attempts to get to the rear of the city by digging canals across the strip of land on which it stood, and making an inland route; but each one, after Herculean labor, had been abandoned. He now decided on the bold enterprise of running the gauntlet of these batteries with his transports. This desperate feat was successfully accomplished ; but before he could land his troops at Grand Gulf, which he had selected as his starting point, it was necessary to run its bat- teries as he had those of Vicksburg, land his troops farther down the river, and capture the place by hard fighting. He waited for nothing. Hurrying forward the moment he touched land, his object was to take Grand Gulf before the enemy could reinforce it. " He saw that it must be swift marching, quick fighting, sudden and constant victories, or the storm would gather so heavily about him that his advance would be stopped. He ordered as little baggage to be taken aa possible and set the example himself. Congressiuau ULYSSES S. GRANT. 257 f t Washburn accompanied the expedition, and says that Grant took with him ' neither a horse nor an orderly, nor a camp-chest, nor an overcoat, nor a blanket, nor even a clean shirt. His entire baggage for six days was a tooth-brush. He fared like the commonest soldier in his command, partaking of his rations and sleeping upon the ground, with no covering but the canopy of heaven.' " After conquering Grand Gulf, where he expected Banks to join him, he was confronted with the refusal of that general to co-operate with him. In this dilemma nothing but a master-stroke of genius could wring success from the materials of defeat. He saw what was before him, and with true inspiration became the master of circumstances. At the head of his brave command he pushed inland, aiming to crush the enemy "in detail before he could concentrate his forces." By a rap'i series of brilliant marches, battles, victories, Grant had, at last, on the nineteenth of May, succeeded in completely investing Vicksburg. The whole plan from its outset was brilliant to an extra- ordinary degree, and the tireless persistence and energy shown in its accomplishment, stamped this man as a Very Gibraltar of military genius. An assault on the enemy's works at first, had proven a failure, and now the wonderful siege began. For forty-six days the digging and mining went patiently forward, while screaming shells and booming shot produced a reign of terror in the city, until at last, Pemberton could hold out no longer and surrendered his starving garrison to the superior prowess and strategy of Grant. It was the morning of the fourth of July, when our troops took possession of Vicksburg 258 HEROES OF THREE WARS. and run up the stars and stripes from the top of the Court House. The soldiers, standing beneath it, sang " Rally round the Flag," and Grant became more than ever the popular hero. On the thirteenth of July, Lincoln wrote him a letter of " grateful acknowledg- ment for the almost inestimable service" he had rendered the country. In September, he was placed in command of the "Departments of the Ohio, of the Cumberland and of the Tennessee, constituting the military division of the Mississippi." Grant was now ordered to Chattanooga, where Rose- crans had been penned up, to unravel the desperate state of affairs drawn around our army at that point. Bragg's lines extended along Missionary Ridge to Lookout Mountain south, and to the river north of Chattanooga, cutting of communications so nearly that "all supplies had to be dragged for sixty miles across the country over abominable roads." There was mo- mentary danger of losing this strong strategic point, and the troops shut up there with it. The clear-headed, prophetic planning, the far-reaching judgment, the unremitting effort, the persistent fighting which Grant applied to this problem, demonstrated his vast resources as a general, and placed him where none can stand above him in military genius. The concerted action between Hooker sweeping down from Lookout Moun- tain, Sherman on the left, and Thomas and Grant in the centre, was grand in the extreme. As the brave divisions cleared the rifle pits at the base of Missionary Ridge, and mounted the " rocky hill four hundred feet high," in an awful blaze of artillery and musketry fire, it seemed impossible that they could ever reach the top But at sunset the herculean feat was accomplished, the ULYSSES S. GEANT. 259 Union banners fluttered from the heights, and a tremendous shout of victory came down the mountain sides to the anxious watchers below. Bragg was in full retreat, and over seven thousand prisoners had been taken. Immediately President Lincoln issued a proclamation for a day of thanksgiving over these great successes, and sent Grant the following letter : " MAJOR-GENERAL, GRANT: " Understanding that your lodgment at Chattanooga and Knox- ville is now secure, I wish to tender yon and all your command, my more than thanks my profoundest gratitude for the skill, courage and perseverance with which you and they over so great difficulties have effected that important object. God bless you all. "A. LINCOLN." In the congratulatory order which Grant, issued to his army, he said : "The general commanding thanks you individually and collectively. The loyal people of the United States thank and bless you. Their hopes and prayers for your success against this unholy rebellion are with you daily. Their faith in you will not be in vain. Their hopes will not be blasted. Their prayers to Almighty God will be answered. You will yet go to other fields of strife, and with the invincible bravery and unflinching loyalty to justice and right which have characterized you in the past, you will prove that no enemy can withstand you, and that no defence, however formidable, can check your onward march." Congress created the rank of lieutenant-general, and bestowed it on Grant in answer to a unanimous demand from the entire people that he should be chief of our armies. An Indian sachem who was on Grant's staff at the Iti 260 HEROES OF THREE WARS. battle of Chattanooga says : " It has been a matter of universal wonder that General Grant was not killed, for he was always in front, and perfectly heedless of the storm of hissing bullets and screaming shells flying around him Roads are almost useless to him, for he takes short cuts through fields and woods, and will swim his horse through almost any stream that obstructs his way. Nor does it make any difference to him whether he has daylight for his movements, for he will ride from breakfast until two o'clock next morning, and that too without eating. The next day he will repeat the same until he has finished the work." Grant assumed the duties of his high office without flourish of any sort, and proceeded to inaugurate the successive steps of his last great campaign. Sherman was placed in command of the vast Western army "with Atlanta as his objective point," while "six hun- dred vessels of war hung like full charged thunder- clouds around the Confederate fortifications." The military resources which centered in the hands of Grant were stupendous, but had they fallen under the control of a man less great than he, their very immen- sity would have rendered them powerless. The splendid army of the Potomac was on the move by May third, and the last march to Richmond had begun. Then came the three-days' battle of the Wil- derness on the south bank of the Rapidan, bloody and terrible and strange, during which some of our troops were fighting continuously for forty-eight hours ; and following close after came also Spottsylvania, which was the result of an endeavor to cut off Lee's retreat. This, too, was a desperate conflict, where precious blood flowed in rivers- Then followed the race between the ULYSSES & GRANT. 261 * two opposing armies, for the North Anna. After cross- ing this river, and finding the Confederates occupying a fortified position on the South Anna, Grant "swung his army around to the Pamunky, and pitched his head- quarters at Hanover Court House." These masterly flank movements, in which he manoeuvred his vast army with such ease, exhibited his marvellous genius, in stronger light than ever before. From the Pamunky he advanced to the Chicka* hominy, and, after the battle of Cold Harbor, made a rapid but quiet change of front on the night of the twelfth of June, and two days afterwards crossed the James and advanced against Petersburg. The attack, at first a success, failed through a blunder, not Grant's ; and then began the long siege which ended at last in the evacuation of Petersburg and Richmond. Nowhere was the joy more heartfelt over these results than among the released captives of Libby Prison. Lee made a desperate endeavor to escape the " mani- fest destiny" that pursued him, and led his army a " race for life." But Grant, close on his track, environed him on all sides, and the surrender at Appomattox became inevitable. When, at the final scene, Lee pre- sented his sword to Grant, the great General handed it back to him, saying, "it could not be worn by a braver man." Grant now became universally beloved, universally lionized everywhere an object of hero-worship. He was looked upon in a sense as the savior of the nation. It is not strange that, at the next election, he was placed in the Presidential chair, almost by popular acclaim. At the close of his term, the further compliment of a re-election was paid him, and after eight years of 2G2 HEROES OF THREE WARS. public service as President of the United States, he went abroad. The splendid ovations and public dem- onstrations which have greeted him all over England and Europe the greatest ever accorded any public person from America evince the respect and admira- tion in which he is held by foreign nations. Nothing, however, seems to disturb the calm equipoise of his temperament. He preserves always the same impassive exterior, the same simplicity of manner for which he has been noted from early youth. It is said by those who know, that he was never heard to utter a rude word or vulgar jest: that no unfeeling speech, no ill- natured criticism, nor oaths, nor imprecations ever escaped him ; that though slow to anger, he cannot tolerate injustice, inhumanity or brutality. And though so taciturn in public, yet with his intimate friends he talks fluently and with charming ease, upon all sub- jects. His memory is retentive, he is a deep student of human nature, is full of personal reminiscence con- cerning men and manners in all parts of the country is a true friend, a magnanimous enemy, and in personal habits and tastes, is extremely simple. In brief, under all the strange variety of circumstances through which he has passed, he exhibits the unostentatious bearing, the gentleness, self-poise and kindness of heart belong- ing to true manhood. CHAPTER XXI. WILLIAM TECUMSEH SHERMAN. Distinguishing Characteristic of Political Revolutions. Birth of General Sherman. Suddenly Left an Orphan. Adopted by Hon. Thomas Ewing. Sent to West Point. Ordered to Califor- nia. Becomes a Banker. Is Made President of the Louisiana Military Academy. Opposed to Secession. Tenders his Resig- nation. Assists in Organizing Troops for the Suppression of the Rebellion. At Bull Run. At Sliiloh, Pittsburgh Landing, Chat- tanooga and Missionary Ridge. Defeats Hood. From Atlanta to the Sea. Campaign of the Carolinas. Receives the Surrender of Johnston. Enthusiastic Reception at Washington. GREAT revolutions are distinguished by the appearance of new men emerging from obscur- ity. Opportunity invites the development of talents, and the field of strife and danger is soon crowded with aspirants to fame and fortune who were before un- known. The English Revolution in the seventeenth century and the French Revolution in the succeeding century each furnished a brilliant array of statesmen and soldiers, who then first became historical arbiters of peace and war, and architects of empire. The American Revolution, by which the independ- ence of the United States was established, was not less fertile in the production of distinguished characters. A host of statesmen and soldiers, whose names were previously known only in limited circles, soon became illustrious throughout the civilized world. Our recent civil war, and the social and constitu- tional changes which it produced, may well be said to (263) 264 HEROES OF THREE WARS. constitute a second American Revolution. In its progress, as in other revolutions, there suddenly sprang from comparative obscurity many, both in civil and military life, whose names will be remembered in history. Lieutenants, captains and colonels at the beginning of the struggle became on one side and the other, brigadier, major and lieutenant-generals. Some of these sudden elevations only developed incapacity, while others revealed abilities of the highest order. Among the most conspicuous of those who achieved an enviable distinction on the battle-fields of the Rebel- lion, and who deserve well of their country, is the illustrious soldier whose life forms the subject of this sketch. William Tecumseh Sherman was born in Lancaster, Fairfield County, Ohio, on the eighth day of February, 1820. At the age of nine years he was suddenly thrown upon the world through the death of his father, who died of cholera while away from home in the dis- charge of his duty as Judge of the Superior Court. Soon after Judge Sherman's death, one of his most inti- mate friends, the Hon. Thomas Ewing, adopted William as his son, and placed him in the academy at Lancaster. He kept him in this school until his sixteenth year, when he sent him to the West Point Military Acad- emy. He graduated four years later, the sixth of his class, and entered the service as second lieutenant of the Third Artillery. For services rendered in the Florida war he was promoted to a first lieutenancy, and afterward stationed at Fort Moultrie, South Caro- lina. At the opening of the Mexican war in 1846, Lieutenant Sherman was ordered to California, where WILLIAM TECUMSEII SHERMAN. 265 he shared the fortunes and glories of those remarkable campaigns. Returning from the shores of the Pacific with the rank of captain, which had been given him for meritorious services, he was married in 1850, to the eldest daughter of his benefactor, Thomas Evving. The old attachment of his school-boy days was rekin- dled on meeting the estimable young lady who had first awakened in his bosom emotions of love. Three years after his marriage in 1853, becoming tired of the monotony of a profession which consisted chiefly of the stereotyped round of camp and garrison duties, he resigned his commission, and was made president of a banking-house in San Francisco. Captain Sherman continued in the role of banker until 1860, when he was tendered and accepted the presidency of the Lou- isiana State Military Academy at Alexandria, which position he promptly resigned when he saw that the champions of slavery were determined upon Secession, and that war was inevitable. The closing sentence of the letter, tendering his resignation, was the key-note of his subsequent career, and nobler words were never committed to paper. They are worthy of being in- scribed in gold on the front of the National Capitol. He says to the board of supervisors : " I beg you to take immediate steps to relieve me as superintendent the moment the State determines to secede ; for on no earthly account will I do any act or think any thought hostile to or in defiance of the old Government of the United States." His resignation being accepted, Sherman went to St. Louis, and from thence to Washington just prior to the attack on Fort Sumter. He laid before the President and Secretary of War his views concerning 266 HEROES OF THREE WARS. the attitude of the South in the impending crisis. President Lincoln was unwilling to believe that the people of the South were really determined to inau- gurate a civil war; he still clung to the delusive idea to which he gave utterance while on his way to Wash- ington to be inaugurated, that it was an artificial excitement, and said, jocularly, in response to Sher- man's earnest representations : " We shan't need many men like you : the whole affair will soon blow o^er." With a penetration which is allotted to but few mortals, he discerned the approach of a conflict the like of which the world had never seen, and was astonished at the apparent ignorance and incredulity of the Government as to the true condition of affairs. Entertaining such views and alarmed at the apathy around him, he wrote Secretary Cameron, saying that as he was educated at the expense of the United States and owed everything to his country, he had come on to tender his military services, and declared in em- phatic terms that a conflict was inevitable, and that the administration was unprepared for it. The bombardment of Fort Sumter ultimately con- vinced the authorities at Washington that the South not only talked war, but actually meant it, and a call for seventy-five thousand men was immediately issued. Sherman was now urged to go home to Ohio and superintend the organization of troops there enlisting under the call of the President. He rejected the proposition with scorn. When interrogated as to what steps should be taken to suppress the Rebellion, he replied: "Organize for a gigantic war at once; call out the whole military power of the country, and with an overwhelming, irresistible force strangle secession in ite very birth." WILLIAM TECUMSEH SHERMAN. 267 When it was decided to attack the enemy at Ma- nassas, McDowell was desirous of giving him an important command, and he was immediately com- missioned colonel and assigned to the Thirteenth Infantry. At the battle of Bull Run, which soon followed, Colonel Sherman commanded the Third Brigade of Tyler's division, and gallantly performed the part assigned him in that disastrous struggle, Taking position in front of the Stone Bridge, he co- operated for a time with Hunter and Heintzleman. When those generals came down the further bank of Bull Run Creek opposite his brigade, he crossed over and united with the division under Hunter. His timely arrival at this juncture of the battle prevented the rout, if not the annihilation, of Hunter's command, for as his four regiments came upon the scene, he saw that Burnside's brigade was nearly overpowered by the Confederates. Pressing swiftly forward he poured in upon the exultant foe a withering, destructive fire, and then, pushing on at double-quick with the bay- onet, checked, routed and won a victory over the Con- federates on this part of the field at least. How Sher- man and his brave men fought in this first great battle of the Rebellion, may be inferred from the fact that two-thirds of the casualties in the division fell on his single brigade, the loss being over a fifth of that sustained by the entire army. Leaving the field of Bull Run, we pass hurriedly to Fort Donelson, and from thence to the bloody battle of Pittsburgh Landing, where under Grant he com- manded the Fifth Division. It is said of him by another, that in this action " he rose at once to the peril of the occasion, and all day long moved like a fabled 268 HEROES OF THREE WARS. god over that disastrous field. Clinging to his posU tion till the last moment, fighting as he retired, his orders flying like lightning in every direction, and he himself galloping incessantly through the hottest fire; now rallying his men, now planting a battery, he seemed omnipresent and to bear a charmed life. Horse after horse sunk under him; he himself was struck again and again; and yet he not only kept the field, but blazed like a meteor over it. At noon of that Sabbath day, he was dismounted, his hand in a sling and bleeding, giving directions to his chief of artillery, while it was one incessant crash and roar all around him. Suddenly he saw to the right his men giving way before a cloud of rebels. ' I was looking for that/ he exclaimed. The next moment the bat- tery he had been placing in position opened, sending death and destruction into the close- packed ranks. The rebel commander glancing at the battery, ordered the cavalry to charge it. Seeing them coming down, Sherman quickly ordered up two companies of in- fantry, which, pouring in a deadly volley, sent them to the right about with empty saddles. The onset was arrested, and our troops rallied with renewed courage." Thus he acted all that fearful Sabbath day. As Sheridan was the rock that saved Rosecrans at Stone River, and Thomas the one that saved him at Chickaraatiga, so Sherman was the rock that saved Grant at Shiloh. At its close his old legion met him, and sent up three cheers at the sight of his well- remembered form. Rousseau in speaking of his con- duct in this battle said: "No man living could sur- pass him." General Nelson a few days before his death remarked : " During eight hours the fate of the WILLIAM TECUMSEH SHERMAN. 269 array on the field of Shiloh depended on the life of one man : if General Sherman had fallen, the army would have been captured or destroyed." Grant said : "To his individual efforts I am indebted for the suc- cess of this battle;" and Halleck in his despatch bore this unqualified testimony : " It is the unanimous opinion here, that Brigadier-General W. T. Sherman saved the fortunes of the day on the sixth of April." " He was a strong man in the high places of the field, and hope shone in him like a pillar of fire when it had gone out in all other men." The next day, when Buell's fresh battalions took the field, Sherman again led his battered regiments into the fight, and enacted over again the heroic deeds of the day before ; for as Rousseau said, he " fights by the week." Untiring to the last, he pushed out the third day after the victory and whipped the enemy's cavalry, taking a large supply of ammunition. In the subsequent advance to Corinth, his division bore the most conspicuous part, and was the first to enter the deserted works of the enemy. In the mean- time he had been promoted to major-general of volunteers. The limits of this chapter will not allow us to follow General Sherman in the details of his grand move- ments ; but, glancing at the siege of Vicksburg, the operations around Chattanooga and Missionary Ridge, the masterly maneuvering that led to the defeat of Hood, and the capture of Atlanta, we come to the crowning glory of his military career the march to the sea. This magnificent campaign from Chattanooga to Atlanta, and from Atlanta to the sea, was so unliko 270 HEROES OF THREE WARS. anything that preceded it in war history that it is called " the great march," to distinguish it from all other inarches ancient or modern. He could never have accomplished the wide results obtained by it, had he undertaken to do so by direct assault against fortressed cities, well-chosen positions, and an opposing army of sixty thousand infantry, and ten thousand horse. Strategy by flanking movements constituted the key- note to his operations, and thenceforward lie became known as " the great flanker." Predictions were not wanting on all sides that such a march through an enemy's country could not be per- formed and yet preserve the lines of commuuiuatiou and supply with so i'ar distant a base. It never had been done, and that fact to the minds of many, seemed a potent reason why it could not be successfully under^ taken by Sherman. But the possibilities which would have appalled a smaller genius, only served, with the invincible Sherman, as a tonic influence by which hitherto undreamed-of achievements became splendid realities. The first battle and victory of the great march took place at Resaca, where Johnston, having been compelled to abandon a position of great strength near Dal ton, met the troops of McPherson, which had come up eighteen miles in his rear. The fighting continued several days, and about one thousand prisoners were captured. At Marietta, an important railroad junction was seized by Hooker ; and the great game of move, and counter-move, and feints, by which the enemy's force was focussed in directions away from the point of march, bejjan. Threatenings in front, flank and rear first ,,,.. .>.! ,, nf j f ],,,., maddened the foe. The only mis- WILLIAM TECUMSEH SHERMAN. 273 take of the great campaign, apparently, was the mur- derous battle of Kenesaw Mountain. The fruitlessness of direct attack on so impregnable a height was de- monstrated at the cost of immense slaughter. After this experience, Sherman again resorted to his old mode of flanking, and, crossing the Chattahoochie, forced Johnston back into Atlanta. The road from Chatta- nooga to this point had been one long battle-field, and now the Gate City saw the conquering hosts of Sher- man at her very portals. A fight and siege followed. But neither siege nor battle availed to unlock the situation. The bold design was then formed of cutting Atlanta from her base of supplies, by occupying the Macon road. This difficult task was given to Kilpat- rick and his gallant cavalry, and brought to successful issue. The march of the several infantry chiefs pro- ceeded with perfect concert of action, with Howard on the right, Thomas in the centre and Schofield on the left. On the first of September, the three wings were close on Atlanta and compelled a battle, in which the enemy were assaulted and defeated. Hood then evac- uated Atlanta, burning the stores he was obliged to leave behind. The skies at night became lurid with the red glare of blazing cotton bales, a hundred cars, six engines and other supplies. Lighted by this funeral pyre of lost hopes, Hood conducted his depleted ranks towards Macon. The marvellous foresight and genius exhibited in this campaign can hardly be over-rated. Every diffi- culty and their name was legion was overcome, and every contingency provided for. A new departure from military science had been taken, and old rules laughed down the wind. 274 HEROES OF THREE WARS. The great victory was thundered in salute from hundreds of guns at the North, and the magic word "Atlanta" inscribed on the banners of the conquering host. But greater things were to follow. From At- lanta, Sherman beheld Savannah by the sea, and, to the surprise of North and South and the astonishment of England, reached forth and grasped that prize. By the aid of his secondary base at the mountain pass of Allatoona (made efficient in its moment of peril by the heroism of Corse, who "held the fort" against awful odds till Sherman came), with the co-operation of the great Thomas, the intrepid McPherson, and Slocum, and Schofield, and the invaluable services rendered by Kilpatrick and his fiery dragoons, concealing from the enemy the real objects of Sherman with these superb supports, the grand journey from Atlanta to the sea was accomplished. And while every one else looked on in doubt, mystified and not knowing how it would all end or where he would strike, Sherman himself, with the sublime confidence born of genius, never for a moment doubted his success. On the fifteenth of November, the army swept sea- ward. The goal in the distance faintly loomed, nearly three hundred miles away. Village, town and planta- tion were rapidly passed en route. A halt of a few days was made at Milledgeville for rest, and at Macon, the capital, the soldiers took posses- sion of the legislative halls, from whence the Confed- erates had fled in confusion, and held mock sessions of State. Sherman also had the honor of sleeping on the floor of the deserted executive mansion. At Millen, another halt was made. On the second of December, the several columns marched out of this WILLIAM TECUMSEH SHERMAN. 275 place and on six different roads continued the advance to the sea. Vast tracks of pine forest lay in their line of march, and the scenery grew poetic and picturesque. Cities and villages, the open country and the Geor- gian pines were rapidly left behind. At last thej reached Fort McAllister, at the mouth of the Ogeechee River, a few miles south of Savannah. Here the gallant and desperate assault by Hazen'a division carried the works against well-nigh overwhelm- ing odds. Sherman watched the proceedings from the roof of a rice mill on the other side of the Ogee- chee. His excitement, intense but controlled, found vent in half exclamations. Howard stood beside him, and their respective staffs were grouped around. Sherman gazed on the assault, through his glass, with breathless interest. "See that flag in the advance, Howard!" he says. " How steadly it moves ! not a man falters ! There they go still ! Grand ! Grand ! " Then a momen- tary pause falls between the sentences. " That flag still goes forward ! There is no flinching there ! Look ! it has halted ! They waver no, it's the parapet ! There they go again now they reach it some are over ! Look there ! a flag on the works ! Another ; Another! It's ours the fort is ours !" He turns to his aid with face aglow. " Captain, have a boat ready. I am going down to the fleet." Then a hurried de- spatch is written to Washington, telling of victory. In a few days from the fall of Fort McAllister, Savannah surrendered, and the grand and triumphant march to the sea was accomplished. In the casualties of march and battle, it had not cost over a thousand men. Sherman telegraphed the President as follows : 276 HEROES OF THREE WARS. " I beg to present you as a Christmas gift the city of Savannah, with one hundred and fifty guns and plenty of ammunition, and about twenty-five thousand bales of cotton." The joy which Sherman's invasion of Georgia car- ried to thousands of hearts waiting for their prison doors to open, is fully appreciated by the author, then an escaped prisoner, lying in cypress swamps by day and travelling through an unknown country by night. Coming, as we did one day, unexpectedly upon the trail of the great army, with its scattered debris, was like signalling liberty from the gloomy gulfs of de- spair; and no music ever sounded sweeter than the booming of Sherman's guns in distant battle. After reaching Savannah the army rested, gaining strength for its next equally bold campaign through the Carolinas to Goldsboro' and Raleigh. The dis- tance to be traversed was five hundred miles; the diffi- culties, as before, innumerable. Rivers and swamps must be bridged, railroads rebuilt, highways cleared. The swift magic with which these obstacles were over- come was due to the perfect working of the Construc- tion Corps. It seemed as magical as the work of the Cinderella fairy, who turned pumpkins into carriages and " rats to horses fine." Sherman had the most abso- lute faith in his plans, and never for a moment hesitated iu their execution. He completely baffled the enemy as to his designs, and went straight through, without a break in the connection of his work, from Savannah to Columbia, from Columbia to Waynesboro', then to Fayetteville, Goldsboro' and Raleigh. At Goldsboro' he heard of the fall of Petersburg and Richmond, and as he entered Raleigh the news of Lee's surrender WILLIAM TECUMSEH SHERMAN. 277 reached him. Here, of course, ended his war career. At Washington and at the North he was received with acclamations and enthusiasm wherever he went. As a military man, Sherman showed himself to be g tremendous power. The boldness and originality of his achievements put old maxims and previous stand- ards to the blush. He became a "law unto himself" in matters of war, and was successful in the face of all adverse prediction. If he who peruses these pages is a friend of the Union, his heart will beat with admiration and pride for the invincible Sherman who pushed forward day by day, bearing grandly at the head of his resistless columns the Stars and Stripes, until over hill and plain, through the smoke of victorious battles, the national standard waved in triumph over the rebel cities of the sea, over beautiful Savannah and the long- vaunted "impregnable" Charleston. 17 CHAPTER XXII. PHILIP HENRY SHERIDAN. Impetuosity of Character. A Poor Irish Boy. At West Point. Wild Conduct. Graduation. Service in Western Territories. Captain of the Thirteenth Infantry. Quartermaster under Hal- leek. As a Cavalry Officer. Battle of Booneville. Promotion to Brigadier-General. Murfreesboro'. At Chickamauga and Missionary Ridge. In Pursuit of Early. Cedar Creek. Sheri- dan's Ride. The Victory. At Five Forks and Apponiattox. After the War. SHERIDAN is probably the most intense type of "soldiership" brought to light by the last war. Nor can any other war furnish an individual example that will surpass him in fiery concentration. In battle, he is the very soul of vehement action the incarnate wrath of the storm. No historian can ever portray the man so truly as did the remarkable victory of Cedar Creek a result solely of his extraordinary power. The marvellous will-force with which he could hurl himself in the front of battle, and infuse his own spirit of unconquerable daring into the ranks, is phenomenal to say the least. An Irish lad, and poor, he was born at Somerset, Perry county, Ohio, March sixth, 1831. No especial account is given of him until he went to West Point in 1848. He was then seventeen, and had managed to attract the notice of the Congressman from his dis- trict, who secured him the appointment. He proved (278) PHILIP HENRY SHERIDAN. 279 an apt and energetic student, but in other respects his life at West Point was a continual succession of quar- rels and fights in which he became involved through O O his quick temper. He graduated, however, in 1853, escaping failure only by five points. After leaving West Point, he served in Texas and on the Pacific coast until May fourteenth, 1861, when he was made captain of the Thirteenth Infantry. While in those far western territories he had become inured to hardship and perils, and on one or two oc- casions had so far distinguished himself that he was complimented by General Scott and honorably men- tioned in general orders. After his appointment to a captaincy, he joined his command at Jefferson Barracks, Mo., and was made chief quartermaster of the army at that point. In March, 1862, after Halleck had taken command in the west, he was made chief quarter-master of the Western Department, ranking as major. But Halleck seems to have discovered his special value as a cavalry officer, and in May, 1862, made him colonel of the Second Michigan Cavalry. The battle of Booneville, conducted by Sheridan on July first, was such a bril- liant piece of strategy, where wit outgeneralled num- bers, that he was recommended by Grant for promo- tion and received the appointment of brigadier-general of volunteers, dating from that battle. In the fight at Murfreesboro', Sheridan's splendid qualities of generalship shone pre-eminently. On that field, he was in command 'of the left division of the right wing of our army, and by the firm stand he made after the other two divisions were surprised into rout, saved the day to Rosecrans. That general, in his 280 HEROES OF THREE WARS, report of the battle, said of Sheridan : "The constancy and steadfastness of his troops enabled the reserve to reach the right of our army in time to turn the tide of battle, and changed a threatened rout into a victory. -He has fairly won promotion." This praise was fully deserved, and " Little Phil." was consequently given a major-generalship. He fought with characteristic bravery at the bloody battle of Chickamauga, though without avail ; and at Missionary Ridge, he was in the thickest of the fray. His dauntless leadership contributed not a little to the successful results of that day. When Grant became lieutenant-general, Sheridan was given the command of the cavalry of the Army of the Potomac, and all his subsequent movements evinced wonderful daring, skill and energy. No trust committed to his charge was ever misplaced, no matter what its magnitude or importance. When the Confederate Generals Ewell and Early were sent into the Shenandoah Valley, and went so far north as to threaten Washington, Grant consolidated the four military divisions of the Susquehanna, Wash- ington, Monongahela and West Virginia into the "Army of the Shenandoah," and placed Sheridan in command. He defeated Early at Opequan, September nineteenth for which he was made brigadier-general of the United States army; defeated him again at Fisher's Hill, on the twenty-second, and on October nineteenth occurred the battle of Cedar Creek. The position of Sheridan's army at this time was along the crest of three hills, "each one a little back of the other.'' The Army of West Virginia, under Crook, held the first hill ; the second was occupied by the Nineteenth Corps under Emory, and the Sixth PHILIP HENRY SHERIDAN. 281 Corps, with Torbet's cavalry covering its right flank, held the third elevation. Early, inarching his army in five columns, crossed the mountains and forded the north branch of the Shenandoah River, at midnight, on the eighteenth. He knew that Sheridan had gone up to Washington, and wanted to take advantage of his absence to surprise the unsuspecting camp. The march was conducted so noiselessly that though he skirted the borders of our position for miles, nothing came to the ears of our pickets, save in a few instances, where a heavy, muffled tramp was heard, but disre- garded as of no consequence. The gray gloom of early morning hovered over the camp, when a reconnoitring force from Crook's army was preparing to go out. Suddenly a wild yell burst through the fog, which hid from view the Confederate army. A withering musketry fire and the clash of arms quickly followed. Before our surprised and panic-stricken troops could be formed in battle-Array, the enemy were upon them, and after a short and sharp encounter, the Army of Western Virginia was thrown into utter rout a mass of fugitives flying before the pursuing foe back towards the second hill where the Nineteenth Corps was encamped. The few regiments of Crook's force which endeav- ored to make a stand were swept back before the swelling tide of fugitives in full and disordered retreat. The Nineteenth Corps attempted to arrest the Con- federate advance, but the enemy getting in our rear and enfilading us with our captured batteries, the troops broke rank and fell back in confusion towards the encampment of the Sixth Corps on the third hilJ in the rear. 282 HEROES OF THREE WARS. A new line of battle was formed by Wright, wha was making desperate attempts to stay the onward tide of fugitives which steadily poured to the rear. Early's hungry troops now began to leave their ranks in large numbers to plunder the two deserted camps of their rich booty. Had Wright been aware of this fact, per- haps lie could have successfully resisted the Confeder- ate advance. As it was, after having hurled back a fierce onset of the enemy and covered the retreat of the disordered crowd in his rear, he began to fear that his communications might be endangered and therefore fell back towards Middletown. Wright had thus hero- ically interposed himself and his command between cur army and its threatened destruction. Merritt and Custer, with two divisions of cavalry, were ordered to our left, to check the murderous fire assailing it, and a severe fight ensued in the fields of Middletown. A concentrated fire from the heights, where Early had planted his batteries, was poured upon the Union left, compelling it to retreat. Sheridan, meantime, was at Winchester, where he had arrived the night before, intending to go on to Cedar Creek the next morning. As he sipped his coffee at breakfast, he did not, for an instant, dream of the terrible rout and disaster hovering, at that mo- ment, over his army. When he rode out of Winches- ter, the vibrations of the ground under the heavy dis- charges of artillery in the distance, gave the first inti- mations of danger. But he was not yet alarmed, knowing the security of his position. As he went on- ward, however, the thunder of the cannon deepened, and then the terrible truth flashed upon him. He dashed spurs into his horse and was soon tearing madly along the road, far ahead of his escort. PHILIP HENRY SHERIDAN. 283 For five anxious hours the desperate struggle had gone on when Sheridan arrived on the field, encounter- ing first, the stream of fugitives surging northward. They turned about as they saw their invincible leader flying towards the front, and even the wounded along the roadside cheered him as he passed. Swinging his cap over his head, he shouted: "Face the other way, boys ! face the other way ! We are going back to our cflmps ! We are going to lick them out of their boots!" It was about ten o'clock when, with his horse cov- ered with foam, he galloped up to the front. Imme- diately, under his quick commands, the broken ranks were reformed and when the Confederates made their next grand charge across the fields, the terrific repulse that met and hurled them back, showed the turn of the tide and compelled them to relinquish the offensive. For two hours Sheridan rode back and forth along the line, seeming to be everywhere at once, infusing into the men his own daring courage and enthusiasm. Shouts and cheers followed him ; and though the tired soldiers had been fighting for five long hours and had eaten nothing since the night before, his presence was both food and inspiration, and everything seemed to be for- gotten in an all-controlling impulse to follow their glorious leader to victory. Early retired his troops a short distance after their repulse, and began throwing up breastworks. But the intrepid Sheridan, had no notion of allowing him to retain that position. He meant to regain Cedar Creek and rout the enemy. At half-past three a bold charge was made. An awful musketry and artillery fire was poured into the advancing Union columns, and, at 284 HEROES OF THREE WARS. first, the lines broke and fell back ; but Sheridan at once to the needs of the crisis, and with superhuman efforts restored order and resumed the advance. Then came " the long-drawn yell of our charge," and " every- thing on the first line, the stone walls, the tangled wood, the advanced crest and half-finished breastworks, had been carried." The panic-stricken enemy was sent flying in utter rout on through Middletown, through Strasburg, through Fisher's Hill, and to Woodstock, sixteen miles beyond. Early was thus effectually driven out of the Shenandoah Valley, and permanently crippled. This wonderful victory, due to Sheridan's personal presence alone, put a crown on his head which few warriors could pluck from the heights of Fame. The story, as set to verse by Mr. Read, has all tha ipirited ardor of the headlong and impatient rider, " Up from the South at break of day, Bringing to Winchester fresh dismay, The affrighted air with a shudder bore, Like a herald in haste, to the chieftain's door, The terrible grumble, and rumble, and roar, Telling the battle was on once more, And Sheridan twenty miles away. "And wider still those billows of war Thundered along the horizon's bar ; And louder yet into Winchester rolled The roar of that red sea uncontrolled, Making the blood of the listener cold, As he thought of the stake in that fiery fray, And Sheridan twenty miles away. " But there is a road from Winchester town, A good, broad highway leading down ; And there through the flush of the morning light A steed as black as the steeds of night Wa> seen to pass as with eagle flight ; PHILIP HENRY SHERIDAN. As if he knew the terrible need He stretched away with his utmost speed. Hills rose and fell ; but his heart was gay, "With Sheridan fifteen miles away. " Still sprung from those swift hoofs thundering south, The dust, like smoke from the cannon's mouth, Or the trail of a comet sweeping faster and faster, Foreboding to traitors the doom of disaster. The heart of the steed and the heart of the master Were beating like prisoners assaulting their walls, Impatient to be where the battle-field calls; Every nerve of the charger was strained to full play, With Sheridan only ten miles away. "Under his spurning feet, the road Like an arrowy Alpine river flowed, And the landscape sped away behind, Like an ocean flying before the wind ; And the steed like a bark fed with furnace ire, Swept on with his wild eye full of fire. But lo ! he is nearing his heart's desire, He is snuffing the smoke of the roaring fray With Sheridan only five miles away. "The first that the general saw, were the groups Of stragglers, and then the retreating troops ; What was done? what to do ? a glance told him both, Then, striking his spurs, with a terrible oath, He dashed down the line 'mid a storm of huzzas, And the wave of retreat checked its course there, because The sight of the master compelled it to pause. "With foam and with dust the black charger was gray; By the flash of his eye, and the red nostril's play, He seemed to the whole great army to say, 'I have brought you Sheridan all the way From Winchester down, to save the day." " ' Hurrah ! hurrah for Sheridan ! Hurrah ! hurrah for horse and man ! And when their statues are placed on high, Under the dooe of the Union sky, 286 HEROES OF THREE WARS, The American soldier's Temple of Fame, There, with the glorious General's name, Be it said in letters both bold and bright: ' Here is the steed that saved the day By carrying Sheridan into the fight From Winchester twenty miles away.' " Sheridan's next promotion to rnajor-general in the regular army occurred soon after the battle of Cedar Creek; and on April first, 1865, he gained the battle of Five Forks, thus insuring the abandonment of Petersburg and Richmond. He also aided materially in the environment of Lee's army which brought about the surrender at Appomattox Court House. After the war, July seventeenth, 1866, he was appointed to the command of the Gulf military divi- sion, and in March, 1867, of the fifth military district, including Louisiana and Texas. On September twelfth, he was placed over the department of the Missouri, with head-quarters at Fort Leavenworth, and on March fourth, 1869, received the promotion of lieutenant- general, and was appointed to the command of the division of the Missouri, of the Platte, and of Texas, with head-quarters at Chicago, where he still remains. CHAPTER XXIII. Birth and Education. In the Mexican War. Services in Surveys of Railroad Routes. A Model Report. Sent to the Crimea. Superintendent of the Illinois Central. Response to Governor Deniiison. Over the Department of the Ohio. Virginia Cam- paigns. In Command of the Army of the Potomac. Movement to the Peninsula. Siege of Yorktown. Army Withdrawn. McClellan's Letter. Again in Command of the Potomac Army. South Mountain and Antietam. Relieved of his Command at Warrenton. Nominated for the Presidency. In Europe. Gov- ernor of New Jersey. third day of December, 1826, is duly vouched JL for as the birth-date of McClellan. His father was a physician of Philadelphia, and in that city of brotherly love, the subject of this chapter was born. His youthful life ran in peaceful channels and shel tered nooks, under the guiding rays of kindly home influences and the protecting aegis of his father's roof. In 1846, he graduated at West Point, second in his class, and was ordered at once to Mexico, after having received the brevet of second lieutenant. He went to Mexico full of enthusiasm for the cause, and, once among his soldiers, soon became the object of their devoted love. That strong personal magnetism which afterwards so won his followers on the Peninsula, here first indicated itself. He distinguished himself in the Mexican war at Vera Cruz, Monterey, Molino del Hey and Cerro Gordo, being especially noted for coolness (287) 288 HEROES OF THREE WARS. under fire. At Cerro Gordo it was he who had charge of the difficult task of dragging those heavy howitzers up the rocky steep on the night preceding that won- derful battle, where from the summit they blazed vic- torious thunder into the astonished Mexican ranks. At Chapultepec he was commended for "gallant and meritorious conduct/' and received promotion in con- sequence. Between the Mexican war and 1861, there is a long hiatus in, the military experience of McClellan. But during that period he was appointed by the Secretary of War to the joint command of an expedition having for its principal object "the discovery and survey of a railroad route from the Pacific ocean to the Mississippi river across the Cascade Range." The successful exe- cution of this mission was especially commended. In 1851, he had been ordered to Fort Delaware to superintend its construction, and the next year accom- panied Captain Randolph B. Marcy in an exploration of Red River. Afterwards he went with General P. F. Smith to Texas, to survey the rivers and harbors of that State. On his return from Oregon he was ordered by gov- ernment to investigate the entire railroad system of the United States, " with a view to obtain all necessary data on construction, equipment and management for the successful operation of the Pacific railroad." This report, which was considered a model of clearness and strength, became the leading authority on that subject and was the means afterwards of making him Superin- tendent of the Illinois Central line. In 1854-5 McClellan was sent on a secret mission to the West Indies, and subsequently he was one of a GEORGE SRINTON McCLELLAN. 289 commission of three army officers despatched to the Crimea to study the organization of European armies. The results of these labors were published by order of Congress, March second, 1861. The use of earth for- tifications, rifled arms, railroads as. utilized for pur- poses of war, the adaptation of iron-plated vessels, the employment of steam transports, the balloon telegraph, the floating ram, the sanitary commission, the im- proved hospital and other improvements in the art of war, we owe, it is said, to the labors of this com- mission. In 1857, McClellan became general superintendent of the Illinois Central Railroad, and subsequently, also, its vice-president. Then came the troubled wave of civil war, and on the twenty-third of April, 1861, he was appointed by Governor Dennison, of Ohio, to organize the mass of unarmed men collected in that State, in response to the first call of the President. On the thirteenth of May, he was assigned to the command of the Depart- ment of the Ohio. Then followed the two campaigns in Western Virginia, with the battles of Grafton, Rich Mountain and Laurel Hill, whose results gave us en- tire control of all that part of the State north of the Great Kanawha, including the contiguous eastern passes. For these brilliant operations McClellan re- ceived the thanks of Congress. On the twenty -second of July, 1861, while at Bev- erly, conducting affairs for the relief of the Upper Kanawha Valley, he was telegraphed from Washing- ton to turn over his command to Brigadier-General Rosecrans and go at once to the capital. Here he was assigned to the command of the Army of the Potomac, 290 HEROES OF THREE WARS. and immediately began the organization of that in- coherent congregation of volunteers which soon as- sumed shape under the effects of his superior discipline, and gained a reputation as a magnificent body of soldiery. The North Carolina expedition was begun, and operations south and west were now set in motion. He had been placed in command of the army six days after the battle of Bull Run, and some correspondence ensued between President Lincoln and himself rela- tive to proposed plans for the capture of Richmond, and offensive movements in general. It is freely accorded by all that in McClellan's de- fensive operations about Washington in the wonder- ful transformation which he wrought with the dis- ordered mass of raw recruits constituting the Army of the Potomac in his work on Maryland soil and the restoration of West Virginia to the Union, he displayed rare genius and great qualities as a general. It is the Peninsular campaign which now followed that set in motion such contrary currents of opinions. When the movement to the Peninsula began, a large force from the Army of the Potomac was retained in Washington for its defence, and the day after McClel- lau reached his base of operations, ten thousand men under General Wool were also detached from his com- mand. The naval armament, too, was withdrawn, and when he was about " turning Yorktown by West Point," the First Corps of sixty thousand men, under McDowell, was suddenly sent to Harper's Ferry by order of the President, instead of being allowed to join him as he expected. In his report McClellan says: "It was now, of GEORGE BRINTON M^CLELLAN. 291 course, out of my power to turn Yorktown by Wesl Point. I had, therefore, no choice left but to attack it directly in front as I best could with the force at my command." Then followed the siege of that place, which lasted until May fifth, and finally resulted in the disastrous retreat to the James, at Harrison's Landing July fourth and fifth, 1862 famous at the time as the great " change of base." In the following month the army was withdrawn to the relief of Pope in Eastern Virginia, and McClellan was left for a brief time without any separate command. "While in this anomalous condition he wrote the fol- lowing letter to Washington : "ALEXANDKIA, VA., August 30th, 1862. ************* " I cannot express to you the pain and mortification I have experienced to-day in listening to the distant sound of the firing of my men. As I can be of no further use here, I respectfully ask that if there is a probability of the conflict being renewed to-morrow, I may be permitted to go to the scene of battle with my staff, merely to be with my own men, if nothing more ; they will fight none the worse for my being with them. If it is not deemed best to intrust me with the com- mand even of my own army, I simply ask to be per- mitted to share their fate on the field of battle. * * * "I have been engaged for the last few hours, in doing what I can to make arrangements for the woundad. I have started out all the ambulances now landed. "As I have sent my escort to the front, I would be 292 HEROES OF THREE WARS. glad to takv some of Gregg's cavalry with me, if allowed to go." But this was not permitted. In September, after Pope's disasters, he was once more placed over the forces defending Washington, and from thence followed Lee into Maryland, where the battles of South Moun- tain and Antietam were fought September fourteenth and seventeenth. But the delay which followed these movements created intense dissatisfaction at Washington. On the seventh of November, therefore, while at Warrenton, Virginia, with a plan of advance about to be put in operation which augured the fairest results, he wad relieved of his command, Burnside was substituted in his place, and the military career of McClellan,, with reference to the civil war, ended. He immediately retired to New Jersey, and on August thirty-first, 1864, received the Democratic nomination for the presidency. Lincoln, however, was re-elected by an overwhelming majority, and the only States which gave their votes to McClellan were Kentucky, New Jersey, and Delaware* He resigned his commission as major-general on election day, and in the spring of 1865, embarked for Europe. On his return to this country, in 1868, he was appointed superintendent of the construction of Stevens' battery and also of the railroad bridge across the Hudson. In 1870, he was made chief engineer of the department of docks in New York city, a position which he resigned in 1872. He is the author of several military reports, text- books, and manuals, which take high rank in their GEORGE BRINTON McCLELLAN. 293 school. He was elected governor of New Jersey in 1877, a station which he occupies at the present time. Partisan opinions are, of course, rife regarding the conduct of what is known as the Peninsular campaign ; those who sustain McClellan, believing with him, that all that was needed to strike the final blow and secure Richmond after the seven-days' battles, was to form a junction with McDowell and his sixty thousand men ; and that the suspension of this movement by order of the President, precipitated the disaster of continued war and doomed McClellan. There seems, however, to be abundant evidence which goes to show that inefficiency of management was the dominant cause of failure and disaster in the miasmatic swamps of the Chickahominy, and afterwards. No satisfactory reason has ever been given for the five months of inaction succeeding December, 1861, under which our army of one hundred thousand finely disciplined troops was obscured, while the Potomac was blockaded, and an enemy, inferior in numbers, equipment, and organization, was within twenty miles of the Union lines. No satisfactory reason has ever been given, why the advance upon Richmond, when it at last began, was so exceedingly slow, allowing the enemy plenty of time to make effective preparations for their reception. Four weeks were occupied in the siege of York town, when, in the opinion of able military authority, it might have been taken by assault at once. The battle of Williamsburg was said to have been fought without any concert of action, and won by the heroism of divi- sion commanders and the bravery of their soldiers. Fourteen days were occupied in marching between 18 294 HEROES OF THREE WARS. Williamsburg and Bottom's Bridge, on the Chicka- hominy, a distance of forty miles, and an average of three miles a day. The battle of Williamsburg was fought on the fifth of May : had the approach to James River been seized upon at once, and the co-operation of the navy thus secured, those historic seven days of subsequent battle might have been avoided. But the brave army was doomed. According to some statements, sixty thousand of them found graves in the Peninsula. Once having decided on the retreat from the Chicka- hominy to the James, as a " change of base," that most difficult of all military operations, a flank march in the presence of a flushed and exultant foe of largely supe- rior numbers, was undertaken. There is no doubt that this retreat was conducted with great skill and con- summate generalship. The dissatisfaction did not rest there, but with previous movements which rendered it necessary. The tragedies of Games' Mill, Savage Station, White Oak Swamp, Seven Pines, Chickahominy, Charles' City, and Malvern Hill, were heroically enacted, and the devoted army at length reached rest and safety on the banks of -the James. Those days were, indeed, as the general, who conducted the seven battles, says, "classical in American history; in which the noble soldiers fought an overwhelming enemy by day and retreated from successive victories by night, through a week of battle, closing the terrible scenes of conflict with the ever memorable victory at Malvern, where they drove back, beaten and shattered, the entire east- ern army of the Confederacy." On the fourth of July, *fter they had reached Harrison's Landing, McClellan GEORGE BEINTON McCLELLAN. 295 reviewed the troops, and was received with irrepressi- ble enthusiasm, storms of cheers following him from line to line. The Peninsular campaign, like other campaigns that succeeded it, is freighted with individual instances of heroism and of dramatic situations of peril and pathos. After the battle of Savage Station, Dr. Marks, chap- lain of the Sixty-third Pennsylvania Regiment, rode to that place to see what could be done towards removing the thousands of sick and wounded men collected there. General Heintzleman said nothing could be done that the ambulances must depart empty. It was deemed a necessity to leave the wounded in the enemy's hands. A colonel rode into the hospital grounds to withdraw the pickets, announcing that the rebels would be there in a half hour. Every patient who could leave his cot, now endeavored to escape. "I beheld," says Dr. Marks, "a long, staggering line of the patients, some carrying their guns and supporting a companion on an arm, others tottering feebly over a staff which they appeared scarcely to have strength to lift. One was borne on the shoulders of two of his companions, in the hope that when he had gone a little distance he might be able to walk. One had alreacly sat down, fainting. Some had risen from the first rest and fell in the road, but after a few moments in the open air and stimulated by the fear of the enemy, they could walk more strongly. Never have I beheld a spectacle more touching and more sad." The battle of Gaines' Mill is described as especially picturesque. The plain was broken into heavily- wooded crests. The sunlight of a June day reflected the weapons of over a hundred thousand combatants. 296 HEROES OF THREE WARS. The infantry were defiling in the open spaces or climb- ing the hills or charging with headlong fury on the foe. Cavalry squadrons swept in swift curves around the crests, and flying artillery dashed from ridge to ridge, while batteries thundered, and mounted lancers with "fluttering pennons" waited, in reserve, along the edge of the ravine, the order to rush to battle. " By Heaven ! it was a splendid sight to see, For one who had no friend or brother there ! " Rev. William Dickson, chaplain of the Twelfth Pennsylvania Reserves, was in a hospital in this ravine when an alarm came that the enemy were upon them. He ran up the side of the ravine and saw the foe at hand. . At the same moment some one shouted from a patriot battery in rear of him : "Lie down ! You are right in our way ! " He fell on his face while a screaming shell went over his head. Knowing that the guns were fired in line and that his only retreat lay along that line, he sprang up, ran a few steps and again threw himself thus running the gauntlet of two batteries in full play. The men at the guns shouted: "Out of the way, or you'll be shot!" He shouted back : " Fire away ! I'll take care of myself!" And he did. Skilful retreats from peril have contributed as much to military renown as campaigns conducted by direct assault; they afford an opportunity for even greater generalship ; and probably no portion of the record of our civil war is brighter with splendid achievement and valorous daring than that which relates the actions of those seven days on the Peninsula. But McClellan was censured by press and people ; everywhere indeed, GEORGE BRINTON McCLELLAN. 297 except in the army which seemed to idolize him blindly he was charged with the defeat of that army and the terrible results of leading it into the Chicka- hominy trap. A committee of investigation, ordered by Congress, made a report which was the means of deposing him from his command. The facts of the case, in all their bearings, are before the public, and McClellan's own report is very voluminous. The public can judge whether he was rightly or wrongly condemned for inefficiency. We leave that judgment with them and with posterity. I CHAPTER XXIV. AMBROSE EVERETT BURNSIDE. His Scotch Blood. Graduates at West Point. In New Mexico. An an Inventor. Marching to the Front. At Bull Run. Pro- motion. In Command of the North Carolina Expedition. Capture of Newbern, Fort Macon and Beaufort. At Antietam. Slaughter at Fredericksburg. Tenders his Resignation. Brilliant Capture of East Tennessee. Before Petersburg. Elected Governor of Rhode Island. In Congress. TflHE career of Burnside as a military leader during JL the last war seems to be pretty evenly sand- wiched between great disaster and brilliant success. For his victories in East Tennessee he received the thanks of Congress. His utter failure before Peters- burg called forth the severest censure. These extremes go far towards illustrating the character of his lead- ership. He comes of Scotch ancestry, and was born at Lib- erty, Indiana, May twenty-third, 1824. He attended the school at West Point and graduated in 1847. He was in New Mexico, in command of a squadron of cavalry, and acted as quarter-master in the boundary commission of 1851. From New Mexico he was sent to Washington as bearer of despatches, and in Decem- ber, 1852, was made first lieutenant. About this time he invented a breech-loading rifle and made extensive arrangements for its manufacture, resigning his com- mission on that account. But the contract for selling large quantities to the government fell through and his (298) AMBROSE EVERETT BURNSIDE. 299 project proved a failure. Afterwards he became treas- urer of the Illinois Central Railroad at the company's office in New York city. The war spirit which flamed over the land in 1861 found an immediate response in him, and in four days after the President's call for troops, he was marching to Washington as colonel of the First Regiment of Rhode Island Volunteers. At Bull Run he commanded a brigade, and was complimented by McDowell for the courageous part he took in that battle. He was afterwards promoted to a brigadier-generalship. t In the month of January, 1862, he commanded an expedition to North Carolina for the capture of New- bern and Roanoke. These were important military positions, and the expedition was planned to operate in concert with McClellan and the Potomac army in their advance to Richmond. The fleet consisted of twenty- three gunboats and transports, carrying fifteen thou- sand men. In his journey from Hampton Roads he encountered storm and misfortune, but at length, after surmounting many difficulties, he had conquered the coast as far as Newbern, against which he prepared to move on the night of March twelfth. Everything being in readiness, the appointed signal was given, and the fleet sailed southward from Hatteras, down Pam- lico sound, entered the mouth of the Neuse, and anchored within a few miles of Newbern. A line of water-batteries commanded the river, and field forti- fications reached inland, connected with them to pre- vent the enemy from advancing by shore. Six miles down the river the guns of the lower fort threat- ened the daring intruder, and from that point back to 300 HEROES OF THREE WARS. the city there extended a continuous chain of forts and batteries. Near the city, a fort mounting thirteen heavy guns and bomb-proof, was so arranged as to command both the water and the only land approaches on that side. In fact, the entire area for several miles before the city, was filled with forts, earthworks, ditches, rifle-pits, and all the other mechanical appli- ances of warfare. On the morning of the thirteenth the troops were landed at a point called Slocum's Creek, sixteen miles below Newbern. Four hours of battle followed. Then a daring assault was made which swept everything before it. The contest was severe, the fighting desper- ate, the victory that followed brilliant in the extreme. It blazoned the name of Burnside far and wide, and in four days afterwards he was made major-general. The city was put under military rule at once, and order and quietness prevailed. The capture of Newbern made the final reduction of Beaufort and Fort Macon sure, and eventually placed Burnside in command of the Army of the Potomac. Burnside immediately invested Fort Macon and Beaufort, and after much skilful planning and an immense amount of labor, compelled their surrender. When McClellan retreated from the Chickahominy, he took his army to Newport News, and soon after was ordered to Fredericksburg. He took part in the battle of South Mountain, and also in bloody Antietam, where he commanded the left wing of McClellan's army, and from some unexplained cause failed in the part assigned him. McClellan attributed his own failure to overthrow Lee at this point to Buruside's lack of co-operation. AMBROSE EVERETT SURNSIDE. 301 Soon after the battle of Antietam, McClellan was removed and Buruside put in his place. He accepted his new position with great reluctance, unfeigned self- distrust, and only as a matter of obedience to prders. The battle of Fredericksburg was fought on the thir- teenth of December following an action precipitated, it has been thought, by the force of public sentiment at the north, which demanded a decisive forward move- ment, the key-note of which was heard in the news- paper cry of " On to Richmond!" But whatever in- fluence brought on the final catastrophe, it was a battle without apparent results a grand carnival of slaughter, where the bravest of troops marched to their bloody doom, a useless sacrifice, except in the terrible lesson learned. Burnside's purpose was to get in the rear of Lee's army, but failing in this, he marched boldly up to the lion's mouth, attacking the enemy in his intrench rnents. Crossing the Rappahannock, the needless butchery was enacted on its south bank, and the depleted Union ranks re-crossed to the northern shore without result of any kind except the sad record of twenty thousand dead and wounded left on the field. Another attempt to cross the Rappahannock in Jan- uary, met with failure on account of heavy rains which transformed the solid land into liquid mud, and rendered the transit of an army next to an im- possibility. Between these failures and the violent criticism which they evoked, Burnside resigned, and Hooker succeeded him as chief in command. He next figured in the Department of the Ohio, over which he was placed, having his head-quarters at 302 HEROES OF THREE WARS. Cincinnati. Here he succeeded in calling out a storm of opposition, by prohibiting the circulation of the New York World and the Chicago Times, to suppress, as he said, all open hostility to government. But excite- ment ran so high in consequence, that the order re- specting the Chicago Times was revoked. Then followed the expedition into East Tennessee, co-operating with Rosecraus. He made a brilliant entry into Knoxville, and by skilful movements and rapid marches, surprised and cut off a force of two thousand at Cumberland Gap, captured them and with them fourteen pieces of artillery. The loyal East Tennesseeaus received him with the wildest demon- strations of joy. On the line of his march between Kingston and Knoxville, " sixty women and girls stood by the roadside, waving Union flags and shout- ing, 'Hurrah for the Union !' Old ladies rushed out of their houses who wanted to see General Burnside and shake hands with him, and cried, ' Welcome! wel- come, General Burnside, to East Tennessee!" A public meeting was also called, which he addressed. Burnside successfully resisted the desperate assault on Knoxville by Longstreet's army, which afterwards besieged the place until Sherman's too near approach alarmed them into retreat. Burnside's military record between this date and Petersburg is a record of bravery and sound judgment, and for what he did in East Tennessee he received the thanks of Congress. For a month and more he sat down before one of the principal redoubts at Petersburg, busy with the work of excavation and running a secret mine under the hostile lines. At the proper moment the mine was AMBROSE EVERETT BURNSIDE. 3Q3 fired and the assaulting column rushed in. But not at once nor in time. When they did, it was too late to be victorious. The enemy had had time to recover, closed around the Union troops, and hacked and slew without mercy. The mine proved a success for the Confederates rather than the troops of Burnside. Of course this failure brought down on his head a storm of censure, and an investigation was ordered, in which " confusion became worse confounded." His resignation was immediately proffered, but the Presi- dent refused to accept it. He was, however, granted a leave of absence, and finally resigned, April fifteenth, 1865. In 1866, he was elected Governor of Rhode Island, and re-elected the succeeding two years. In 1870, he went to Europe, and while there endeavored to mediate between the German and French belligerents, though without success. He has since gained an enviable reputation in Congress as a faithful represent- ative, and in private life is a man of fine character and high social standing. Little Rhode Island has re- peatedly given him her enthusiastic endorsement as a leader of sterling qualities. CHAPTER XXV. GEORGE HENRY THOMAS. A Second Washington. Birth and Education. Promotion foi Bravery. In Mexico. Prompt Response at the Outbreak of Civil War. The Battle of Mill Spring. Declines to Supersede Buell. At Murfreesboro'. Chickamauga. Position of Troops Under Thomas. Their Firm Stand. "The Rock of Chicka- mauga." At Chattanooga. The Atlanta Campaign. Grant's Telegram. Battle of Nashville. Thanks of Congress and Gold Medal. End of the War. Goes to the Pacific Coast. FT^HOMAS had so much grandeur of character, both .1- in his military and private life so much equi- poise of temperament, so much ability and so much modesty, that he has been called the Washington of the last war. He was a tower of strength on the bat- tle-field, and a tower of wisdom in council. He had immense reserve power, great repose in action, and great comprehensiveness of mind. He was endowed, also, with pronounced ability to focalize all the energies of battle upon a given point like many streams con- verging to make a mighty river, which then sweeps everything before its resistless rush. This was illus- trated forcibly at Nashville, and at Chattanooga if, as is claimed, the plan of action at Missionary Uidge was his. When given the responsibility of an independent command, he never went into battle until his methods were fully ripened, even though ordered to do so by his superiors in rank. The reply to such an order in- (304) GEORGE HENRY THOMAS. 305 variably was, that if dissatisfaction with his course existed, he would cheerfully act as subordinate to whoso- ever might be put in his place, but that if he were held responsible, he could not move until his judgment dic- tated such a step. This maturity of action was, per- haps, one of the secrets of his great success. His clear foresight and skill in direction won him the reputation of being "the brains of the army." Thomas was born on July thirty-first, 1816, in Southampton County, Virginia, and through his mother came of French Huguenot blood. Reared in wealth, he was educated for the law; but his decided inclina- tion for a military life led him to seek admittance at West Point. He graduated from that school in 1840, ranking twelfth in a class of forty-five. In a few months afterwards he went to Florida as second lieu- tnknt in the Third Artillery, and while there was brevetted first lieutenant for gallant conduct. "In January, 1842, his regiment was ordered to the New Orleans barracks, but in June was transferred to Fort Moultrie, in Charleston harbor. The next December he was sent to Fort McHenry, Maryland, where, in May, he was promoted to first lieutenant of artillery. The next spring he returned to Fort Moultrie, where he remained until the war with Mexico." After joining General Taylor, he was among the brave little garrison which defended Fort Brown on the Ilio Grande, against such overwhelming odds. At Monterey he was brevetted captain, and at Buena Vista major, for bravery on the field. The fortunes of a soldier shifted him from Mexico to Texas in August, 1848, from thence to Fort Adams, Rhode Island, in December, then to Florida again, and 306 HEROES OF THREE WARS. then, in 1851, to Boston harbor. Three months after- wards lie was occupying the post of instructor of ar- tillery and cavalry at "West Point. During the four years of his life here, he met and married Miss Kel- logg, of Troy, New York. The outbreak of the last war found him in Texas, but he immediately reported for duty and was ordered to Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania, to "remount his old cavalry regiment." In May, he was promoted to the rank of colonel and commanded a brigade in Northern Virginia under Patterson. Created a briga- dier-general of volunteers in August, he first distin- guished himself at the battle of Mill Spring, on the Cumberland River, in Kentucky, where the Confeder- ate General Zollicoifer met his death. He joined Grant's army just after the battle of Shiloh, and par- ticipated in the succeeding campaign, during which he held the rank of major-general of volunteers in the army of the Tennessee. Transferred to the Army of the Ohio in June, on September eighth he was placed in command of the post at Nashville. When he fell back to Louisville at the close of the month, a telegram was received from Washington removing Buell and appointing Thomas to the vacancy. But Thomas sent a despatch in reply, declining the position and urging the claims of Buell to be retained. His earnestness prevailed for the time, with government authorities, and Buell was kept at his post. When Rosecrans afterwards succeeded Buell in the chief command, his most faithful adviser and the one on whom he most relied, was Thomas. At Murfreesboro', Thomas at the head of the Four- teenth Corps, held the centre firm and fought on alone , GEOEGE HENRY THOMAS. 307 when the right had been compelled to give way and the enemy were swarming on all sides of him. Rose- crans might well give him the generous praise bestowed in his official report of the battle. The next field of distinction where Thomas won immortal laurels was at Chickamanga. The battle of Chickamauga, fought on the nineteenth and twentieth of September, 1863, was the result of an attempt by Bragg, to regain possession of Chattanooga and the roads leading to it, which he had been compelled to abandon in order to prevent his reinforcements from being hopelessly cut off. In this battle, Thomas held the left, and the slight rise of ground on which his troops were posted, af- forded the key to the position. During the night they had built a rude breastwork of logs and rails for their protection. Soon after the opening of battle on the second day, a furious fight was raging around the Union left, between the veteran troops of Thomas and the attacking lines. Again and again the Confederates charged the ranks of Thomas, behind their breastwork of logs and rails, with impetuous fury : but, as often as they charged, they were hurled back, repulsed. At eleven o'clock, Longstreet brought his troops to the attack. The encounter \vas desperate on both sides, but Longstreet made a steady advance. The Confed- erate General Walker had ordered forward Buckner's battery of twelve pieces, which caused a fatal break in the battle line where the divisions of Van Cleve and Palmer were forced to give way in confusion, and gave deadly aid to the enemy's onset. The Union army was now cut in two, and the rout of the right and centre complete. This result was, doubtless, due largely to the terrible work of Buckner's battery. 308 HEROES OF THREE WARS. Thomas had formed his line of battle in a sorni-oir- cular position, with the right at the Gap, as the arc of the circle, and a hill near its centre forming the key to the position. His left rested on the Lafayette road. At this point the troops which had hurled back the rebel right in the morning, were rallied, together with portions of Sheridan's and other divisions. Longstreet, sweeping onward with a career unchecked during the day, now hurled his battalions against this position. But Thomas, intrenched behind his earth- works, held the Ridge securely against every assault of the enemy and sent him back with terrible repulse. About mid-afternoon, the Confederate columns began pouring through a-- break in the Union right flank, but Granger with his reserves reaching the field at this time, succeeded in pushing them back. The storm of battle now broke over Thomas and his stalwart men on Missionary Ridge with greater fury than before. His troops, formed in two battle-lines, advanced to the crest of the Ridge and delivered their volleys in rotation. As the deadly rifle-blast of one line blazed out on the air with terrible accuracy, the men, falling back a little, dropped on the ground to re-load, while the second line marched to the crest and discharged their fire into the ranks of the enemy. With desperate valor the Confederates came forward again and again to take by assault this strong position ; but their efforts were in vain. The division of Preston succeeded in partly ascending the hill, but was swept back as the previous attacking divisions had been, with repulse and loss. At last, as twilight darkened the bloody field, the enemy retired beyond the range of our artillery, and Thomas was master of the situation. GEORGE HENRY THOMAS. 31 1 The grand courage here displayed, the unshaken firmness and dauntless valor, won for the noble com- mander of the left, the title of the "Rock of Chicka- mauga." . At Chattanooga, Thomas commanded the centre, on which rested the issue of battle, and occupied Orchard Knob, overlooking the Confederate rifle-pits. Here he waited with suppressed excitement, while the thunder of battle broke on his right and left, until the signal cannon-shots told him he might bid his army move. The three conquering divisions then poured across Chattanooga Creek, swept up the steep face of Missionary Ridge and grasped victory at its top. They dealt the finishing blow in the fight. Thomas remained at Chattanooga for the winter, and when Sherman made his grand march to the sea, the brave "Army of the Cumberland" and its heroic commander were his main reliance. They were con- stantly engaged during this campaign, and the battle with Hood on the Macon road, which cut off his sup- plies and forced him to retreat, settled the fate of Atlanta. It was previous to the battle of Nashville, December fifteenth and sixteenth, 1864, that Grant, wondering at the delay, telegraphed Thomas to move at once upon the enemy. The answer came quick from Thomas that he was not ready to move ; whereupon Grant sent back word that he had more confidence in him than any other man, and requested him to take his time. Thomas did take his time, and the result was a splendid victory. The two-days' battle at Nashville was complete, in plan, in execution, in every detail. It revealed the fine generalship possessed Id 312 HEROES OF THREE WARS. by Thomas and gave him a still higher place in the estimation of the people and their government. During these two days of battle he had taken " eight thousand prisoners, between fifty and sixty pieces of artillery, one major-general, three brigadier-generals, and more than two hundred commissioned officers." The grand charge of the second day was spoken of by a captured brigadier-general in the following fashion : " Why, sir, it was the most wonderful thing I ever witnessed. I saw your men coming and held my fire, a full brigade, too, until they were in close range, could almost see the whites of their eyes, and then poured my volley right into their faces. I supposed, of course, that when the smoke lifted, your line would be broken and your men gone. But it is surprising, sir, it never even staggered them. Why, they did not even come forward on a run. But right along, cool as fate, your line swung up the hill, and your men walked right up to and over my works and around my brigade before we knew that they were upon us. It was astonishing, sir, such fighting." This battle won Thomas the promotion of major- general in the regular army, and on March third, 186S, he received the thanks of Congress in consequence. On the first anniversary of the victory, the State of Tennessee presented him with a gold medal, in com- memoration of that brilliant day. The stroke here administered, so effectually finished the enemy that little remained to be done. The troops of Thomas participated in the closing scenes of the war, and from June, 1865, to March, 1867, he was in com- mand of the Department of the Tennessee. After- wards he was assigned to the third military district, GEORGE HENRY THOMAS. 313 comprising Georgia, Alabama, and Florida, and then to the command of the "Cumberland." In 1868 he was placed over the fourth military divi- sion, which included Alaska and the territory on the Pacific slope. He declined accepting the rank of lieutenant-general, on the ground that he had done nothing since the war to entitle him to promotion. Certainly, such modesty is rare. He died in San Francisco, March twenty-eighth, 1870, leaving behind him a glorious record, a stainless reputation, and the memory of that true nobility of character which con- fers on its possessor a rank far higher than riches or aught else on earth. CHAPTER XXVI. JOSEPH HOOKER. Lookout Mountain. The Battle Above the Clouds. The Splendor of Victory. The Strange Thanksgiving Day. Taylor's Descrip- tion. The Old Flag at the Top. General Howard in Lookout Valley. Hooker at Chattanooga. The Peninsular Campaign. "Fighting Joe." Wounded. Chief in Command. Chancellore- ville. The Atlanta Campaign. Promotion of Howard. Hooker Resigns in Consequence. Mustered out of Service. THE "battle above the clouds," on Lookout Mountain, and the fame of Joseph Hooker are inseparably wedded. They will go down the sound- ing corridors of the Future together, each reflecting glory on the other. All the surroundings of the action imparted to it the utmost dramatic strength. It is not often that such a battle-field is out-wrought on the map of war. It is infrequent for men to take the honor of leadership from the hands of their officers in such desperate hazards. But so it was at Lookout on that Thanksgiving day. For nobody thought of or- dering a charge up the bold and rocky steep, until the enthusiasm of the men overleaped all bounds, and they attempted what seemed the impossible. Then it was that, seeing the spirit of the men, the order rang down the lines, " forward ! " It added the last drop of en- thusiasm to the souls of the valiant ranks. They rushed up that steep and wild battle-ground, over ravines, felled trees, rough boulders, and the abatis (314) JOSEPH HOOKER. 315 of the foe, in the very teeth of the enemy's batteries planted on its top. Wrapped round with clouds, so that the straining eyes at Chattanooga could not see them, save through an occasional rift in the mist, these noble sons fought on, climbed the steep, gained the summit, drove the foe before them, and unfurled the old flag on the highest peak of Lookout Mountain, overlooking the Tennessee, fifteen hundred feet below ! Poetry and art have breathed their immortal breath upon the picture, and will transmit its living colors to the future. The ever-to-be-remembered day was November twenty-fourth, 1863. Benjamin F. Taylor has told his experience in that action, and told it so well, that it will bear repetition here. " Perhaps it was eleven o'clock on Tuesday morning when the rumble of artillery came in gusts from the valley to the west of Lookout. Climbing Signal Hill, I could see the volumes of smoke rolling to and fro, like clouds from a boiling caldron. The mad surges of the tumult lashed the hills till they cried aloud, and roared through the gorges till you might have fancied all the thunders of a long summer tumbled into that valley together, and yet the battle was unseen." And then is detailed " Hooker's admirable design. His force consisted of two brigades of the Fourth Corps, under the command of General Cruft; the first division of the Twelfth Corps, under General Geary ; and Osterhaus' division, Fifteenth Corps, in reserve. It was a formidable business they had in hand ; to carry a mountain and scale a precipice two thousand feet- high in the teeth of a battery and force of intrenched brigades. 316 HEROES OF THREE WARS. " Hooker thundered and the enemy came down liks the Assyrian, while Cruft on the right and Geary's command on the left, having moved out from Wau- hatchie, some five miles from the mountain, at five in the morning, pushed up to Lookout Creek, threw over it a bridge, made for Lookout Point, and there formed, the right under the shelf of Lookout Mountain, the left resting on the creek. And then the play began : the enemy's camps were seized, his pickets were surprised and captured, the strong works on the point taken, and the Federal front moved on. And there they stood 'twixt heaven and Chattanooga. But above them, grand and sullen, lifted the precipice, and they were men and not eagles. The way was strewn with natural fortifications, and from behind rocks and trees they delivered their fire, contesting inch by inch the upward way. The sound of the battle rose and fell; now fiercely renewed, and now dying away. And Hooker thundered on in the valley, and the echo of his howitzers bounded about the mountains like volleys of musketry. That curtain of cloud was hung around the mountain by the God of battles. It was the veil of the temple that could not be rent. A captured colonel declared that had the day been clear, their sharpshooters would have riddled our advance and left the command with- out a leader ; but friend and foe were wrapped in a seamless mantle. "And now, returning to my point of observation, I was waiting in painful suspense to see what would come out of the roaring caldron in the valley, when something was born out of the mist I cannot better convey the idea and appeared on the shorn side of the mountain below, and to the west of the white house. JOSEPH HOOKER. 317 It was the head of the Federal column ! And there it held, as if it were riveted to the rock, and the line of blue swung slowly around from the left like the index of a mighty dial, and swept up the brown face of the mountain. The bugles of this city of camps were sounding high noon, when in two parallel columns the troops moved up the mountain, in the rear of the enemy's rifle-pits, which they swept at every fire. And there in the centre of the column fluttered the blessed flag ! ' My God ! what flag is that?' men cried. And up steadily it moved. I could think of nothing but a gallant ship-of-the-line grandly lifting upon the bil- lows and riding out the storm. It was a scene never to fade out. Volleys of musketry and crashes of can- non, and then those lulls in a battle even more terrible than the tempest. At four o'clock an aide came straight down the mountain into the city; the first Federal by that route in many a day. Their ammu- nition ran low they wanted powder upon the moun- tain ! He had been two hours in descending, and how much longer the return ! u Night was closing rapidly in and the scene was growing sublime. The battery at Moccasin Point was sweeping the road to the mountain. The brave little fort at its left was playing like a heart in a fever. The cannon on the top of Lookout were pounding away at their lowest depression. The flash of the guns fairly burned through the clouds ; there was an instance of silence here, there, yonder, and the tardy thunder leaped out after the light. For the first time, perhaps, since that mountain began to burn beneath the gold and crimson sandals of the sun, it was in eclipse. The cloud of the summit and the smoke of the battle 318 HEROES OF THREE WARS. met half way and mingled. Here was Chattanooga, but Lookout had vanished ! Then the storm ceased e and occasional dropping shots tolled off' the evening till half-past nine, and then a crashing volley and a rebel yell and a desperate charge. It was their good- night to our boys good-night to the mountain. "At ten o'clock a glowing line of lights glittered obliquely across the breast of Lookout. It was the Federal autograph scored along the mountain. They were our camp-fires. Our wounded lay there through all the dreary nights of rain, unrepining and content. Our unharmed heroes lay there upon their arms. Oui dead lay there, ' and surely they slept Avell.' "One thing more, and all I shall try to give of the stirring story will have been told. Just as the sun was touching up the old Department of the Cumberland, Captain Wilson and fifteen of the Eighth Kentucky, near where the guns had crouched and growled at all the land, waved the regimental flag in sight of Ten- nessee, Alabama, Georgia, the old North State, and South Carolina, waved it there, and the right of the Federal front, lying far beneath, caught a glimpse of its flutter, and a cheer rose to the top of the mountain and ran from regiment to regiment, through whole brigades and broad divisions, till the boys away around in the face of Mission Ridge passed it along the line of battle. 'What is it? Our flag? Did I help to put it there?' murmured a poor wounded fel- low, and died without the sight. " The Stars and Stripes floated from Lookout on Wed- nesday at sunrise. At twelve on that day something with the cry of a loon was making its way up the river. Screaming through the mountains it emerged at last JOSEPH HOOKER. 319 into Chattanooga, and its looks were a match for its lungs an ugly little craft, more like a backwoods cabin adrift than a steamer. It was the sweetest-voiced and prettiest piece of naval architecture that ever floated upon the Tennessee. The flag on the crest and the boat on the stream were part of the same story. . . Never did result crowd more closely on the heels of action." General O. O. Howard, in his account of the march of the Eleventh and Twelfth Corps to the relief of Chattanooga, says : " I shall never forget General Hooker's first visit to my camp at Bridgeport. It was, perhaps, the fourth or fifth of October. The air was damp, but sharp and penetrating. You could see every breath you exhaled. The Confederates had left be- hind plenty of camp rubbish and filth of all kinds in every direction. There were no buildings except the old mill and the rough quarter- master shanties for tem- porary messing and cover. General Hooker looked around and was not a little disgusted at the general appearance of the region, as I also had been ; but when we came to the river his whole face lighted, and he exclaimed, ' Grand ! grand ! Is it not?' So broad, so rapid, so full was its flow at that point, that the sight filled you with those indefinable emotions which strong and active life-power is calculated to inspire." Speaking of the battle of Lookout Valley, he says : "General Hooker left Geary at Wauhatchie, probably three miles from our position an important point for securing the valley. . . . Perhaps an hour after mid- night, in that country as yet all new to us, we were aroused by heavy artillery firing; soon the noise of musketry, with its unmistakable rattle, was mingling 320 HEROES OF THREE WARS. with the roaring cannon. Those ominous sounds seemed to come from the direction of Geary. I was hardly on my feet before Hooker's message came, 1 Hurry, or you cannot save Geary. He has been attacked.' Steinwehr was urged to hasten, but Schurz' division being nearest and first under arms, was pushed forward toward the sound, followed by the other divi- sion. As soon as the troops were in motion I went forward to General Hooker's position, at a turn of the road a half-mile nearer Geary. Hooker and General Butterfield, who was then his chief-of-staff, were sitting on the slope of a hill with a camp-fire just starting. The night was chilly. Hooker seemed quite anxious, as might be expected. The issues of a night engage- ment under the best of circumstances are more than ordinarily uncertain, and our ignorance of the situation of the country and of the enemy's position, taken up since nightfall, added to the uncertainty. The general was of opinion that we should secure the ridge of hills that ran along on our side of Lookout Creek as we moved toward Geary's position. To this end orders were given. Then I said to General Hooker, 'With your approval, I will take the two companies of cav- alry and push through to Wauhatchie/ He replied, 'All right, Howard; I shall be here to attend to this part of the field.' .... "After leaving General Hooker, with the two com- panies of horsemen, skirting the Raccoon side of the rough valley, I reached General Geary at Wauhatchie by three or three and a half in the morning. There was then light enough (it may have been only starlight) to see squads of men moving about in the compara- tively oi>en space just north of Wauhatchie. This we JOSEPH HOOKER. 321 observed as we emerged from the bushes. The firing was all over and quiet reigned. "I called out to the strangers so dimly seen, 'Who goes there?' 'We are Steven's men/ was the answer. Perceiving that they belonged to the enemy I said, 'All right: have you whipped the Yankees?' The same voice replied, ' We were on their flank, but our men in front have gone, and we cannot find our way.' My men then gradually approached, revealed them- selves and took them prisoners, there being probably as many of them as of us. " I passed into the thicket and came first upon the tent of General George S. Green, then a brigade com- mander. He was sadly wounded in the face. After a moment's delay for inquiry and sympathy, his officers conducted me to Geary, who was glad enough to see me. He had repulsed the enemy's attack handsomely, using infantry and artillery. This was the place where the mules broke loose and in terror ran in squads through the enemy's lines, and gave rise to the story told in verse, entitled 'The Charge of the Mule Bri- gade.' Geary's hand trembled, and his tall, strong frame shook with emotion, as he held me by the hand and spoke of the death of his son, during that fearful night. This son was Lieutenant Edward R. Geary, Battery F, Pennsylvania Light Artillery, killed at his battery during the action. In this way the soldier remembers that the exhilaration of victory was very often softened, or entirely quenched, by real grief over its cost, a cost that cannot be estimated !" General George H. Thomas, in a complimentary notice directed to General Hooker, congratulated him and the troops under his command, on their brilliant 322 HEROES OF THREE WARS. success, and said that the bayonet charge of Howard's troops and tne repulse by Geary's division of greatly superior numbers, who attempted to surprise him, would rank among the most distinguished feats of arms of this war. "Chattanooga sent Northward a cry of distress, For the men of the Cumberland, famished and gaunt, IVorn with fighting and vigils and tattered in dress, Manned their guns in the trenches in peril and want' For the foe closely pressed them in hostile array, And their guns shrieked and thundered in demon-like glee, While Old Lookout's rock front, lined with soldiers in gray, Threw its shadows of death o'er the blue Tennessee. "But on wings of the lightning that cry for help flew, To Sherman, to Meade, and from captain to man; And from Vicksburg marched Sherman's long columns in blue t And grim Hooker's tried corps, from the swift Rapidan, Came with bread for the famished, with lead for the foe, Gleamed Wauhatchie's sweet vale with their bayonets bright; Torn and bleeding, the Ferry guards reeled at their blow, And dismayed, up the mountain fide fled in affright." And so, in song and story, "the Lookout Mountain fight is fought again by the ghosts of the fallen," and the "chivalrous figure of fighting Joe Hooker," sur- rounded by his staff, is the most striking portrait in the imposing spectacle. Hooker was born in Had ley, Massachusetts, in 1819, and graduated at West Point in 1837. He served in the Florida war, and during the war with Mexico was brevetted captain, for gallant services at Monterey, re- ceiving the promotion successively of major and lieu- tenant-colonel for similar conduct at the National Bridge and famous Chapultepec. In 1853, he resigned his commission and became a farmer in California, but JOSEPH HOOKER. 323 re-entered the service in 1861, and in May was made a brigadier-general of volunteers. A year later he commanded a division of the Army of the Potomac, and in the following May was promoted to the rank of major-general. During the Peninsular campaign, he made himself conspicuous for bravery, dash and daring at Williams- burg, Fair Oaks, Frazier's Farm, and Malvern Hill. It was during this campaign that he acquired the appellation of " Fighting Joe." At the battle of Groveton, Hooker's division especially distinguished itself. During the succeeding Maryland campaign, he was assigned to the First Army Corps and gained a splen- did victory at South Mountain. He also participated actively in the actions of Bristoe, the second Bull Run, and Chantilly. At Antietam, his great resources as a commander were exhibited in bold relief. On this field his white horse became too conspicuous a mark for the enemy, and while making a bold reconnoissance he received a wound which compelled him to retire from the field. On September twentieth he was made brigadier-gen- eral in the United States army, and at Fredericksburg commanded a grand division under Burnside. On January twenty-sixth, 1863, he superseded that general as chief in command of the Army of the Potomac, and in May the disastrous and bloody battle of Chancel lors- ville blocked the wheels of fate in his upward career. It would seem, in this action, as if General Hooker had overlooked the fact that his army had but eight days' supplies at hand ; that a treacherous river flowed between him and his depots ; that he was surrounded 324 HEROES OF THREE WARS. by a labyrinth of forests, traversed in every direction by narrow roads and paths, all well known to the enemy, but unknown even to most of his guides; and that many of his guns of heaviest calibre, and most needed in a deadly strife, were oil the other side of the river. The congratulatory order which he issued afterwards, if not perfectly satisfactory to the country and to the authorities, was generally hailed with applause by the army, which recognized in its sagacious rendering of our difficulties and humiliations the meed of praise awarded where it was due. It was oil this field that the famous Confederate General Stonewall Jackson met his death. On June twenty-seventh Hooker resigned his com- mand and was superseded by Meade. But in the fol- lowing September, he was placed over the Eleventh and Twelfth Corps, went down to the relief of Rose- crans at Chattanooga "that curious place, lying against a concave bend of the Tennessee and walled in by Lookout Mountain below and Missionary Ridge above" and shortly after occurred the glorious "bat- tle above the clouds," which wreathed his name with fresher laurels and gave him the brevet of major-gen- eral in the regular army. In Sherman's march to the sea, Hooker's Corps became a portion of the Army of the Cumberland, under Thomas, during which his leadership lost none of its pronounced daring. At the terrible assault on Thomas by Hood, near Peach Tree Creek, July twen- tieth, "Hooker bore the bruut of the shock," display- ing the utmost heroism. It was the last great conflict in which he participated. In August, 1864, Howard, JOSEPH HOOKER. 325 his inferior in rank, was promoted over him to the command of the Eleventh Corps, and this caused Hooker to resign. In September he was placed over the Northern De- partment, in 1865 over the Department of the East, and in 1866 over the Department of the Lakes. He was mustered out of the volunteer service in September of that year, and in October, 1868, brevetted Major- Geueral in the United States army, after which he retired to the seclusion of a private citizen. CHAPTER XXVII. GEORGE GORDON MEADE. Ancestry. A Fragment of Eventful History. Birth in Spain. At West Point. In the Florida War. In the Mexican War. Hii Part in the Peninsular Campaign. At Antietam. In Command of the Army of the Potomac. A Remarkable Order. At Get- tysburg. The Desperate Last Effort. His Report. Congrat- ulatory Address. Thanks of Congress. Advance to the Rappa- hannock. Close Friendship between Meade and Grant. Over the Atlantic Department. Death in Philadelphia. ENERAL MEADE came of a family which had an eventful history. His father, having incurred the ill-will of certain members of the council of war, in Spain, was imprisoned for two years in the castle of Santa Catalina, being re- leased only at the demand of the United States Gov- ernment. In 1819, he was awarded a certificate of debt amounting to nearly two hundred thousand dol- lars, for losses incurred at that time; but the fund was distributed before the original vouchers could be pro- cured. Such lawyers as Webster, Clay and Choate afterwards endeavored in vain to obtain it. He was reputed to have possessed the finest private gallery of paintings and statuary in tlve country, and owned the only bust of Washington taken from life. The grand- father of General Meade was a merchant in Philadel- phia and made the continental government a present of ten thousand dollars in gold. George Gordon was born in Cadiz, Spain^ in 1816. (326) GEORGE GORDON MEADE. 327 He graduated at West Point in 1839, served in the Florida war, and a year after its termination resigned his lieutenant's commission. In 1842, he re-entered the army as second lieutenant of topographical engineers. In the Mexican war he was on the staff of both General Taylor and Scott, and distinguished himself at Palo Alto, Resaca and Monterey. He was brevetted first lieutenant for his services, and on his return home, the city of Philadelphia presented him with a sword. In August, 1851, he was given a full lieutenancy, and ten years later, during the epoch of the civil war, in August, 1861, he was promoted to the rank of brig- adier-general of volunteers. This was after the battle of Bull Run. During the Peninsular campaign he fought bravely was badly wounded at Glendale, and when McClellan went to Maryland, commanded a di- vision in Hooker's Corps. At Antietam, he held the centre and led a desperate charge against the enemy at the beginning of the action. In this engagement he had two horses shot under him, and was himself wounded. After the battle of Chancellorsville, when Hooker resigned the chief command of the Army of the Potomac, Meade to the surprise of the country at large was elevated to the position. His order, on assuming command, was so remarkable for modesty and a certain reserve strength, that to give it, is to illustrate his character as a general. By direction of the President of the United States, I hereby assume command of the Army of the Potomac. As a soldier in obeying this order, an order totally unexpected and unsolicited, 1 have no promises or pledge to make. The country looks to this army to relieve it from the devastation and disgrace of a hostile 20 328 HEROES OF THREE WARS. invasion. Whatever fatigues and sacrifices we may be called upon to undergo, let us have in view constantly the magnitude of the interests involved, and let each man determine to do his duty, leav- ing to an all-controlling Providence the decision of the contest. It is with just diffidence that I relieve in command of this army an eminent and accomplished solditr, whose name must ever be con- spicuous in the history of its achievements ; but I rely upon the hearty support of my companions in arms, to assist me in the dis- charge of the duties of the important trust which has been confided to me. The desperate, three-days' battle of Gettysburg soon followed, and here the noble commander won an en- during fame. The culminating action, on the third day, under the blaze of a hot July sun, was ushered in by one of the most terrific cannonades on record. The Confederates seemed to have gathered up all their strength to hurl it in one last, fierce, desperate effort on our resisting ranks. The flower of Lee's army swept grandly up, like a vast tidal wave, only to be crushed and torn and broken by our enfilading fires "from half a score of crests," and hurled in scattered fragments back. Thus environed by a blazing semi-circle of deadly fire, they could not escape, and especially on the centre and left an immense number of prisoners were captured, during the last half hour. But the Second Corps, under Hancock, bore the brunt of the battle-shock. There it surged most heav- ily against our lines became almost resistless and at times threatened to break and dash in pieces the brave front opposed by Hancock and his grand Second Corps. Our rifle-pits were barricaded with fence rails, and the Confederates under Pickett, Longstreet and A. P. Hill swept up with splendid front, reserving their fire until they reached the Emmitsburg road. Then came GEORGE GORDON MEADE. 329 a crash from the rifles and a thunder blast from the artillery. Hancock was carried from the field wounded. The command then devolved upon Gibbon, who rose to the fearful crisis. He ordered the men to reserve their fire until the enemy were at short range. Then the guns belched forth in sudden flame and the enemy's advance line withered before it. The second line, un- dismayed, rushed on, over the bodies of their slain comrades, up to the barricaded pits, and were upon our gunners at their pieces. But at this fatal moment, a storm of grape from the enfilading guns on Cemetery Hill, cut down their advance, and the line "reeled back," crushed into fragments. Our troops behind the guns rushed forward and made captures by the hun- dreds and thousands. "An entire regiment threw down its arms, and Gibbon's old division took fifteen stand of colors." "What was left of the broken attacking lines now fell back. They gathered themselves together "and slowly marched away. It was not a rout : it was a bitter, crushing defeat." On the evening of July third, 1863, General Meade penned the following despatch from army head- quarters : "To MAJOR-GENERAL HALLECK, GENERAL-IN-CHIEF: " The enemy opened at one o'clock in the afternoon, from about one hundred and fifty guns. They concentrated upon my left cen- tre, continuing without intermission for about three hours, at the expiration of which time he assaulted my left centre twice, being, upon both occasions, handsomely repulsed with severe loss to them, leaving in our hands nearly three thousand prisoners. Among the prisoners are Major-General Armistead, and many colonels and officers of lesser note. The enemy left many dead upon the field, and a large number of wounded in our hands. The loss upon out side has been considerable. Major-General Hancock and Brigadier General Gibbon were wounded. 330 HEROES OF THREE WARS. "After the repelling of the assault, indications leading to the belief that the enemy might be withdrawing, an armed reconnois- lance was pushed forward from the left, and the enemy found to be in force. At the present hour all is quiet. " The New York cavalry have been engaged all day on both flanks of the enemy, harassing and vigorously attacking him with great success, notwithstanding they encountered superior numbers, both of cavalry and artillery. The army is in fine spirits. "GEORGE G. MEADE, Major- General Commanding." On the fourth of July morning he also issued a congratulatory address to the army, thanking thern^ for the " glorious result of the recent operations." He says : "Our enemy, superior in numbers and flushed with the pride of a successful invasion, attempted to over- come or destroy this army. Utterly baffled and defeated, he has now withdrawn from the contest. " The privations and fatigues the army has endured, and the heroic courage and gallantry it has displayed, will be matters of history to be ever remembered. "Our task is not yet accomplished, and the com- manding general looks to the army for greater efforts to drive from our soil every vestige of the presence of the invader." President Lincoln made a brief yet comprehensive announcement to the country on the same day, in which he said that the army at Gettysburg had covered itself with the " highest honor," and requested that the day should be remembered with thanksgiving. The victories of Gettysburg and Vicksburg occurred on the same date, and the destinies of the two generals who led in these actions were afterwards, during the war, strangely mingled. In January, 1866, General Meade received the thanks of Congress " for the skill and heroic valor with GEORGE GORDON MEADE. 331 which, at Gettysburg, he repulsed, defeated, and drove back, broken and dispirited, the veteran Army of Kebellion." Meade's advance to the Rappahannock afterwards was marked by the battles of Bristoe, Brandy Station, New Baltimore, Robertson's River, Kelly's Ford, and Rappahannock Bridge; but no general engagement took place until the next spring. He remained at the head of the Army of the Potomac, but acted in such close conjunction with Grant, who had been made lieutenant-general, that his movements after that period must be attributed to the united counsel of both. Grant exhibited the greatest possible confidence in him, and he always proved equal to the grand military achievements committed to his charge. At the close of the war he was placed over the entire Atlantic Department. He died in Philadelphia, on November sixth, 1872, in a house which his countrymen had presented to his wife. A fund of one hundred thousand dollars was afterwards subscribed for his family. The military as well as private character of General Meade was full of caution, full of reliability, full of goodness and rare modesty. No breath of detraction obscured his fair fame, nor envy marked him for its poisoned arrows. The heroic memories of the field of Gettysburg will enfold his noble dust in a cloud of perpetual incense, and transmit to posterity his best eulogy. CHAPTER XXVIII. HENRY WARNER SLOCUM. Birth and Education. A Lawyer in Syracuse. On the War-Path. In the Chickahoniiny. At Antictam, South Mountain and Chancellonville. The Field of Gettysburg. The Repulse of Ewell's Troops. In Tennessee. Commanding the Vicksburg District. The Georgia Campaign. Marching through the Enemy's Country. Battle of Bentonville. A Splendid Fight. Genius of Slocum. THIS brave and noble general must have been born under auspicious planetary combinations to have won the reputation of never failing in any enterprise he undertook, and to unite in his individual person so many rare qualifications as a man and a soldier. He was born in the Empire State, at Delphi, Onon- daga County, September twenty-fourth, 1827. Like so many others of our successful war generals, he received his military education at West Point, from whence he graduated in 1852. Then he went to Florida as second lieutenant in the First artillery, and was subsequently sent to Charleston Harbor, and promoted to first lieu- tenant. At length he grew tired of garrison life, and in 1857 resigned his commission and took up his abode in Syracuse, New York, where he began the practice of law. But when, in 1861, the tocsin blast of war sounded through our country, and the safety of the Union was menaced, Slocum responded at once to the call and joined the great army of patriots marching to the (332) HENRY WARNER SLOCUM. 333 front. He led the "gallant Twenty-seventh Regi- ment" at Manassas, and received his first badge of honor in the cause a wound in the thigh. In August he was made brigadier-general and placed over a brigade in Franklin's division, and afterwards, on promotion of Franklin, was put in command of the division. He took part in the seven days' battles of theChick- ahominy, and on July fourth of that year, just after the tired army had reached the banks of the James, he was promoted to the rank of major-general. He com- manded a division under McClellan at Antietam and South Mountain, and distinguished himself in both those battles. At Chancellorsville he had charge of the Fifth, Eleventh and Twelfth Corps, and sustained his part in tiiat disaster with more than heroic bravery. On the field of Gettysburg his conduct shone out with special lustre, even when heroism was the rule, and other leaders won deathless distinction for their leader- ship. On the second day of that awful fight, Slocura was in command of the right, and had under him the Twelfth Corps and a portion of the Second and Sixth. He held a strong position ; but the left wing being heavily pressed, reinforcements from his command were repeatedly sent them, leaving a very much weakened force to defend his own ground. The enemy, having failed to make an impression on the Union left, threw the whole force of his battalions on the thin opposing line of Slocum. Slocum made a splendid stand, but could not be reinforced fast enough to maintain his ground, and at last fell back a short distance. Ewell endeavored to press his advantage, and his troops came 334 HEROES OF THREE WARS. on with wild yells in vain. The dauntless band stood firm. At dawn, on the following morning, Slocum drew his army up for an attack, determined to win back the strong position he had yielded on the previous evening. He was met half way by a reckless charge from Ewell's men. It was indeed "desperation against courage." Slocum's line held their ground without flinching. Volley after volley flashed out from their ranks, and the firing became so rapid that a cloud of smoke enveloped them during the entire action, which raged without cessation for six hours. Ewell hurled his men against this wall of smoke and fire again and again, only to be sent back with awful repulse. The troops in gray fought like demons. " It wai hard to believe such desperation voluntary. It was harder to believe that the army which withstood and defeated it was mortal." After Chickamauga, Slocum was sent to Tennessee to guard the line of communication between Nashville and Chattanooga, and when the Atlanta campaign was organized, and the Eleventh and Twelfth Corps were consolidated into the Twentieth and given to Hooker, Slocum was put in command of the "Vicksburg dis- trict. From this point he destroyed the railroad bridges at Jackson, over Pearl River, and while re- turning from this expedition, a heavy force of the enemy concentrated in his rear, with the object of severing him from his base. But the brave com- mander was equal to this desperate emergency, and after a severe battle, cleared his way to Vicksburg. In a few days afterwards he took a force to Port Gibson to prevent reinforcements from reaching Hood, and had a battle near Grand Gulf a night attack by the enemy, whom he signally repulsed. HENRY WARNER SLOCUM. 335 Slocum took Hooker's place over the old Twentieth Corps when that general was relieved, and guarded the Chattahoochie. In Sherman's Georgia campaign, he had charge of the left wing and marched eastward along the line of the Atlanta and Augusta railroad, which he destroyed as he went. He made a successful march to Milledgeville, the capital of the State. " The mayor and officers of the city met him," as he entered it, " formally tendering its surrender, and begging that private property might be saved from destruction, and the people from violence. Slocum curtly replied that he did not command a band of desperadoes and cut- throats." At Milledgeville the two wings of the army united and marched into Savannah together. After a month's rest they were again on the march northward. Slocum, with the left wing, was sent up the Savannah River to threaten Augusta. He found the country flooded from the swollen river which had overflowed its banks, owing to a heavy rainfall. But his noble troops bravely breasted the floods, rebridged the streams and cleared the roads, which had been obstructed by felled trees and other debris. Having drawn the enemy's forces into Augusta from his near approach to that place, he turned about and crossed the upper portion of the State. The two wings then marched towards Columbia, and from Columbia Slocum made a feint in the direction of Charlotte, while his real destination was Fayetteville. When Sherman went from Fayetteville to Goldsboro', Slocum was despatched to threaten Raleigh. At Bentonville, he came unexpectedly upon the combined forces of Johnston, Hardee, and Hoke ; and with half the number to oppose them, he made a 336 HEROES OF THREE WARS. perilous but successful fight. The onset was of the most desperate character, for the enemy expected to overpower him by mere weight of numbers, and prob- ably would have done so with a less able general in command than Slocnm. One after another the Con- federate columns were hurled forward and as often were sent, broken and bleeding, back. Six successive assaults were thus made within an hour, and the last desperate charge caused a momentary break in Slocum's line; but, quickly recovering, his troops repelled as before the shock of onset. The battle of Bentonville was fought on the nine- teenth of March, and proved, as every preceding action had done in which he was engaged, the great general- ship of Slocum. His entire career during the war was one of unequivocal success. Sherman's victorious marches might not have proven BO victorious without the disciplined and able concert of action afforded by Thomas and Slocum, command- ing the two wings of the conquering host. The Twentieth Corps, under Slocum's effective dis- cipline, gained a splendid reputation for its invincible qualities, and never failed in an emergency. General Slocum won the reputation of coolness in danger, of being always able to meet that danger, how- ever unexpected and threatening, and of a comprehen- sive grasp of mind which could seize upon and master the er>rjlications of a battle-field at once. He never ;hiled jff anything.. His war record, from beginning IQ end, '( one of rare achievement and a glorious adhe- rence- *ff jpatriotic duty. Aft/j* the war, he was placed in command of the Department of the Mississippi. CHAPTER XXIX. J^MES BIRDSEYE McPHERSON. His Ability. Ancestry and Early Life. Superior Scholarship at West Point. In New York Harbor. On the Pacific Coast. Sent to Boston Harbor. Slow Promotion. On Halleck's Staff. Services at Forts Henry and Donelson. Engineering Work at Corinth. His First Independent Command. Vicksburg. Grant's Endorsement. With Sherman. In Command of the Army of the Tennessee. Postponement of Marriage. March to the Sea. Battle with Hood. His Death. Grant's Letter. THE military genius of MePherson was of a high order. Comprehensive in his grasp of situations, he seemed always to know just the right combination necessary to achieve success. He never lost a battle. His character as a soldier and man was both noble and knightly. Perhaps no officer in the last war better exemplified the definition of a hero. He could com- mand not only the respect but the love of those around him. In order to do this a general must be endowed with something more than soldierly qualities he must have essential goodness of heart. Grant and Sherman both cherished for McPherson a deep and warm regard, and when the news of his death reached the commander-in-chief of our armies, he burst into tears. Sherman, too, gave way to deep grief when the body of McPherson, pallid in death, was brought to his head-quarters. It was at the cost of such precious lives as these that the country struggled through its four years' baptism of war. (337) 338 HEROES OF THREE WARS. McPherson was born in Sandusky County, Ohio, on November fourteenth, 1828, and as his name indicates, was of Scotch extraction. He entered West Point when twenty-one years old and at once gained recog- nition for superior scholarship and ability. He grad- uated at the head of his class in 1853, was made second lieutenant of engineers by brevet, and appointed to the post of Assistant Instructor of Practical Engineering at the Academy "a compliment never before or since awarded to so young an officer." A year afterwards he was made Assistant Engineer on the defences of New York Harbor, and in the Hudson River improvements below Albany. From the Hudson he went to Fort Delaware, and from there to California, where he had charge of the works on Alcatras Island, in San Francisco bay. While on the Pacific coast, in 1858, he was promoted to the rank of first lieutenant, and his pronounced engineering skill received some recognition. When the war broke out he was sent to take charge of the Boston Harbor for- tifications, being created, meantime, junior captain of his company. The fairy of good luck or the presiding spirit of in- scrutable fate now touched the current of affairs in his life, and gave him what all must have who win the silver stars of fame opportunity. For, on the acces- sion of Halleck over the Western Department, Mc- Pherson became his aide, with the rank of lieutenant- colonel. Busy with engineering duty in Missouri, no hint of his greatness appeared until he was made chief engineer in Grant's movements against Forts Henry and Donelson. For these services he received the rank of brevet-major of engineers, and after Pittsburgh Land' JAMES BIEDSEYE McPHERSON. 339 ing the promotion of brevet lieutenant-colonel was conferred on him. He did not become colonel until the following May. After his splendid engineering work against Corinth, under Halleck, he was made brigadier-general of vol- unteers, and his promotion thenceforward went on more in accord with his deserts than it had previously done. When Grant became commander in the West, McPherson was appointed superintendent of all United States military railroads in the Department of Western Tennessee; and after the repulse of the enemy at Corinth by Rosecrans, he was placed in charge of the pursuit and received the rank of major-general of vol- unteers, dating from October eighth. The first battle in which he held undisturbed com- mand was fought within a mile of Lamar, about eight miles from Lagrange, where his head-quarters had been established. Grant, under whose direction he acted, considered this reconnoissauce one of especial impor- tance. At the point named, McPherson confronted a force greatly outnumbering his own, and by sending his cav- alry in a wide detour to the enemy's left, made a simul- taneous attack in the rear and flank. The ruse was eminently successful and the Confederate forces under Price fled panic-stricken to Holly Springs, spreading the report that Grant's entire army was in pursuit. The manner in which this fight was conducted gave evidence of marked genius in leadership, and won for its general, proper recognition. In the operations now inaugurated against Vicks- burg, McPherson bore a conspicuous part. He par- ticipated in the battle of Port Gibson, and the brilliant 340 HEROES OF THREE WARS. victories at Jackson ami Champion Hill were gained under his immediate generalship. During the siege of Vicksburg, his corps, the brave and renowned Seventeenth, held the centre and made itself exceedingly effective. After the occupation of Vicksburg, the endorsement given him by Grant, in recommending him for promotion, was emphatic to an unusual degree. "He has been with me," said that General, "in every battle since the commencement of the rebellion, except Belmout. At Forts Henry and Donelson, Shiloh and the siege of Corinth, as a staff officer and engineer, his services were conspicuous and highly meritorious. At the second battle of Corinth, his skill as a soldier was displayed in successfully car- rying reinforcements to the besieged garrison, when the enemy was between him and the point to be readied. In the advance through central Mississippi, General McPherson commanded one wing of the army, with all the ability possible to show, having the lead in the advance and the rear in retiring. "In the campaign and siege terminating with th% fall of Vicksburg, General McPherson has filled a con- spicuous part. At the battle of Port Gibson it was under his direction that the enemy was driven late in the afternoon from a position that they had succeeded in holding all day against an obstinate attack. His corps, the advance always under his immediate eye, were the pioneers in the movements from Port Gibson to Hankinson's Ferry. From the north fork of the Bayou Pierre to Black River, it was a constant skir- mish, the whole skilfully managed. The enemy was so closely pursued as to be unable to destroy their bridge of boats after them. From Haakiusou's Ferry JAMES BIRDSEYE McPHERSON 34} to Jackson, the Seventeenth Corps marched over roads not travelled by other troops, fighting the entire battle of Raymond alone ; and the bulk of Johnston's army was fought by this corps, entirely under the manage- ment of General McPherson. At Champion's Hill the Seventeenth Corps and General McPherson were conspicuous. All that could be termed a battle there was fought by the divisions of General McPherson's Corps and General Hovey's division of the Thirteenth Corps. In the assault of the twenty-second of May on the fortifications of Vicksburg, and during the entire siege, General McPherson and his command took un- fading laurels. He is one of the ablest engineers and most skilful generals. I would respectfully but ur- gently recommend his promotion to the position of brigadier-general in the regular army." In February, 1864, McPherson joined Sherman in his raid to Meridian, and when Sherman became com- mander of the Department of the Mississippi, he wns placed over the Army of the Tennessee. The appoint- ment reached him just as he was about taking leave of absence to fulfil a marriage engagement with a young lady in Baltimore. The marriage was deferred in consequence of the approaching Atlanta campaign, and the brave commander turned from the flowery pathway of love, and heroically took up his march to the sea, amid the besetting dangers of an enemy's country. After the repulse of Hood by Thomas, near Peach Tree Creek, that Confederate general reorganized his shattered ranks and hurled them with terrible fury on McPherson, who was approaching Atlanta from the direction of Decatur. The onset of the enemy was 342 HEROES OF ^IIREE WARS. desperate, and at times it seemed as if they would suc- ceed in breaking McPherson's lines. There came, at length, a lull in battle, and the general availed him- self of this opportunity to close a gap between the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Corps anticipating an at- tack at that point. A strip of forest, with a road run- ning through it, constituted the space which McPherson ordered closed up at once with a brigade. To give the needed direction it was necessary for him to cross this wooded strip. He halted a moment before entering the road, and then, with but one orderly, dashed boldly forward. But his hour of fate had come. All unseen, death and the foe lurked within the shadowy forest. The skirmish line of the enemy had taken possession of this road, and before he was fully aware of his posi- tion, the foe surrounded him. He reined his black charger back suddenly, for one surprised instant, lifted his cap in salute, and then with a bound cleared the road. In vain ! The volley that blazed after him had fatal aim, and he fell from his saddle, never again to rise. The well-known black horse, emerging from the woods, wounded and riderless, told the sad story to his devoted soldiers who now came up. Private George Reynolds, though wounded severely through the left arm, was among the sorrowful group which searched for the body of their beloved General and conveyed it to Sherman's head-quarters. Grant's exclamation on hearing the sad news, " The country has lost one of its best soldiers, and I have lost my best friend!" emphasized by his tears, gave evidence of a rare regard. Among his soldiers there was universal grief, and "McPhersou and revenge!" became their war-cry JAMES BIEDSEYE McPHERSON. 345 during the continuation of that bloody battle. Every- where lamented, the nation mourned his loss as of a son ; but the blow fell with withering stroke on the heart of his affianced bride widowed ere yet a wife, A guard accompanied his remains to Sandusky County, Ohio, where they " were conducted to the very parlor," wrote his grandmother, "in which he spent a cheerful evening in 1861, with his widowed mother, two brothers, and an only sister and his aged grandmother, who is now trying to write. His funeral services were attended in his mother's orchard, where his youthful feet had often pressed the soil to gather the falling fruit, and his remains are resting in the silent grave, scarce half a mile from the place of his birth." In his reply to this letter, Grant says : " MRS. LYDIA SLOCUM : "My Dear Madam : Your very welcome letter of the third in- Ptant hac reached me. I am glad to know that the relatives of the lamented Major-General McPherson are aware of the more than friendship existing between him and myself. A nation grieves at the loss of on so dear to our nation's cause. It is a selfish grief, because the nation had more to expect from him than from almost any one living. I join in this selfish grief, and add the grief of personal love for the departed. He formed, for some time, one of my military family. I knew him well: to know him was to love. It may be omc consolation to you, his aged grandmother, to know that every officer and every soldier who served under your grand- eon felt the highest reverence for his patriotism, his zeal, his great, almost unequalled ability, his amiability, and all the manly virtues that can adorn a commander. Your bereavement is great, but can- not exceed mine." McPherson distinguished himself, in addition toother services, at Resaca, Dallas, Allatoona, Kulp House and Keuesaw. He always reconnoitred in person, and his bravery was of that extreme type which verged on 21 346 HEROES OF THREE WARS. recklessness. He was of superb physique, and held that personal sway over the minds and hearts of his soldiers which only needed his presence to awaken their enthusiasm. His lofty courage, tireless energy, sublime patriotism and stainless private record shine like jewels in the crown of his fame, and by the strength of this light many a youth will be incited to nobler endeavor and more courageous soldiership in the long battle of life. CHAPTER XXX. WIN FIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. The Brilliant Charge at Williamsburg. Popular Favor. Birth and Early Training. In the Mexican War. The Florida Cam- paign. Ordered to Washington. At Antietarn. Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville. His Stand at Gettysburg. Cemetery Hill. Wounded. In the Last Grant Campaign. Battle at Ely's Ford. Assault of May Twelfth. Capture of Stuart. " I Decline to Take Your Hand." In Charge of the Veteran First Corps. In the Shenandoah Valley. Characteristics. fTHHE brilliant charge of Hancock's brigade at the JL battle of Williamsburg, first brought the name of this eminent soldier prominently before the country. It was such a charge as had not been previously made during the war, and the mode in which it was conducted reflected great credit on the skill of its commanding officer. Hancock and his "immortal brigade" in that action were on the left of the enemy's line. When he saw that by taking a certain position his guns could command the Confederate rear, he sent for reinforce- ments. But, on account of a fear of weakening the centre, they were denied him. He therefore met an overwhelming force of the enemy alone, and fought a desperate battle. As he slowly fell back, with unbroken front, the Confederates mistook the movement for a retreat and rushed on with shouts and cheers, in an endeavor to break his lines. Hancock's eagle eye was watching every movement, and when they had reached a point within forty yards of him, near the top of the (347) 348 HEROES OF THREE WARS. rising ground over which he was advancing, he halted his brigade, gave the order to "fire!" and poured a withering musketry blaze into their ranks. Then the whole brigade swept down the slope in a grand charge which put the enemy to rout and completely turned their position. This splendid piece of skill immediately lifted Han- cock into national popularity, and his name has ever since been a synonym of valor and success. He is a native of Pennsylvania, having been born in Montgomery County, on February fourteenth, 1824. He graduated at West Point when only twenty years old, and was sent to the Indian Territory as second lieutenant in the Sixth Infantry. He rendered distin- guished services in the Mexican war, and received the brevet of first lieutenant for brave conduct at Churu- busco. He was afterwards stationed in Missouri, and during the Florida war served as captain in the quar- ter-master's department. He joined the Utah expedi- tion under General Harney, and when the last war broke out, was stationed at Los Angeles, California. The War Department ordered him to report at Wash- ington, and in September, 1861, he was made brigadier- general of volunteers. After Williamsburg, he figured conspicuously at Gaines' Mill, and "fought side by side with Sedgwick" at Glendale, Malvern Hill, Fair Oaks and Savage Station. He was iu the campaign under Pope, and the subse- quent one under McClellan. At Antietam, he rode in the front of battle, the very incarnation of bravery, the embodiment of noble valor. The command of Richardson's division devolved on him, and the mar- WINFIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 349 vellous skill with which he handled his troops, exposed to a trying enfilading fire, stamped him a general of great qualities. He was with Burnside when the heights of Freder- icksburg were stormed, and like a true soldier, obeying orders unquestioned though he knew the madness of the attempt, bore his part in the useless and bloody slaughter. He also shared in the Chancellorsville dis- aster, and when Meade was placed in command of the Army of the Potomac, Hancock had charge of the Second Corps. At Gettysburg, he is given the credit of having chosen the almost impregnable position of the Union, troops, which certainly entered largely into the deciding issues of that battle. After the death of Reynolds, General Meade sent Hancock to "represent him on tht, field" surely no doubtful praise. During the first day of the momentous conflict, he commanded the left centre on Cemetery Hill, firmly holding his position, besides sending relief to the Third Corps. About one o'clock in the afternoon of the second day, a terrific cannonade was opened upon him which continued, without interruption, for two hours and more. At mid-afternoon a desperate charge was made by the enemy on Hancock's position. They came for- ward "forty-five thousand strong and three columns deep." It was a tremendous shock, and superhuman efforts were required to break the devouring human wave which threatened their extinction. Hancock opened a heavy artillery fire, and then, as the enemy came up, swept them with his musketry. He rode along his lines, amid the sheeted flame, inspiring the troops to heroic attempts. And not in vain. When, 350 HEROES OF THREE WARS. at last, the enemy's advance had been repulsed and the splendid victory gained, Hancock was carried Weeding from the field, with a bullet-wound in his thigh. This hurt disabled him for a long time. But he had proven himself a hero in the best sense of the term, and from all quarters praises and admiration were lavished upon him. In Grant's last campaign he had the left wing of the army, and at Ely's Ford, on the Rapidan, made a glo- rious fight. He crossed the Po River near Spottsyl- vania Court House, and after taking forcible possession of the Block House Road, worked on through the night with pick and spade to complete two lines of breastworks for its defence. "The lanterns of the workmen hanging to the blossoming cherry trees and picturesque groups of soldiers digging and erecting the works, while batteries stood harnessed up, their can- noniers lying on the ground around the carriages in wait for any emergency," added a dash of pleasant picturing to the dark front of war. On May twelfth, Hancock made a desperate assault on the intrenchments of the enemy on the southern bank of Po River. The battle lasted for fourteen hours, and the place became "a perfect Golgotha." He captured " an entire division, four thousand strong, and thirty guns." Stuart was one of the Confederate generals taken prisoner, and in the spirit of kindness which belongs to true chivalry, Hancock offered him his hand. Stuart drew himself up with hauteur, as he said, "I am General Stuart of the Confederate army, and under present circumstances I decline to take your hand!" Hancock's reply is worthy of record : "And under any other circumstances, General, I should have declined it ! " WINFIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 35] In the subsequent operations of the army, Hancock played a conspicuous part, and at Petersburg, in con- junction with Baldy Smith, " he carried the outer works." At Hatcher's Run, the Second Corps was saved from more than a partial reverse by the skill of its commander. It now became apparent that Hancock must retire from active fighting on account of his old wound which had not entirely healed when he took the field in the Grant campaign. He was consequently relieved from the command of the Second Corps at his own re- quest, being afterwards placed in charge of the Veteran First Corps, with head-quarters at Washington. He established recruiting-stations, and soldiers flocked around his standard. After Sheridan had made his raid to the James River and joined Grant, Hancock was placed in command of the Shenandoah Valley, "where he remained until the close of the war." He was after- wards appointed to take charge of the Middle Depart- ment of the Military Division of the Atlantic. The people of New York testified their love for him by presenting him with an elegant barouche, just pre- vious to his last campaign, to ride at the head of his corps ; but he preferred an army ambulance. Hancock always displayed the characteristics of a true and chivalrous manhood. Gracious to a conquered enemy, generous in all his instincts, incapable of petti- ness, never revengeful, splendid in military qualities, he was such a general as would fitly adorn the annals of any age, however glorious. The student of human nature takes courage in contemplating such a character, and believes afresh in the possibility of the loftiest types of manhood. CHAPTER XXXI. JOHN CHARLES FREMONT. The Hundred Days in Missouri. Birth and Early Life. On Board the "Natchez." Beginning to be an Explorer. Marriage with Jessie Benton. Westward Ho ! Discoveries. Conquest of Cali- fornia. Across the Continent. Senator from California. In Command of the Western Department. Causes of Removal. Presidential Candidate. An Extraordinary Ride. What He Achieved. IT is impossible to base any jnst estimate of Fre- mont's generalship on the one hundred days of his war career during the last civil conflict. He had but just begun his campaigning when Hunter super- seded him in command, and the advantages gained by Fremont were allowed to slip back without further result. But as having compassed heroic achievement in the field of exploration and being closely identified with the political and war history of the Union, he is entitled to the vantage ground of prominence. Fremont was born in Savannah, Georgia, January twenty-first, 1813. He is of French ancestry, having descended from one of the same name who came to the United States at the time of the French Revolution. His mother was Anne Beverly, daughter of Colonel Thomas Whiting, of Virginia reputed to be at that time one of the most beautiful women in the State. For several years the parents of Fremont travelled with their own carriage and servants, in the Southern States, and it was during one of their temporary halts (352) JOHN CHARLES FREMONT. 353 that John Charles was born. He received his educa- tion in South Carolina, and became proficient in mathe- matics and engineering his genius for these studies being very pronounced. In 1833, when the sloop-of-war "Natchez" entered Charleston Harbor to enforce General Jackson's procla- mation against Nullification, Fremont obtained through the Secretary of the Navy the appointment of teacher of mathematics on board that vessel, and made a cruise of between two and three years, first going to South America. He was afterwards appointed Professor of Mathematics on board the frigate "Independence." Subsequently, he was made assistant engineer and sent to explore the mountain pass between South Caro- lina and Tennessee. He then went with Captain Williams on a military survey of Georgia, North Caro- lina and Tennessee, and from thence to the Upper Mississippi under command of the Frenchman, J. N. Nicollet. The years of 1838 and 1839 were occupied with exploring the region lying between the British line and the Missouri and northern rivers. About this time he became acquainted with the family of Mr. Benton, senator from Missouri, and a strong attach- ment was formed between Jessie, the second daughter, then fifteen years old, and the young explorer. In the summer of 1841, he was ordered to make an examina- tion of the Des Moines River Iowa at that time being a frontier region. After finishing the duty he returned to Washington, and on October nineteenth, consum- mated his marriage with Jessie Benton. In 1842, he made a tour of exploration to the Rocky Mountain region and penetrated the South Pass. Fol- lowing this, he planned another expedition to Oregon 554 HEROES OF THREE WARS. and went by a new route joining the Wilkes Explora- tion party. Subsequently, he became guide to a third expedition westward, during which he discovered the Fremont Basin, the Sierra Nevada, the San Joaquin and Sacramento Valleys, and determined much of the geography of that country. In 1845, Fremont was again on the trail towards the Pacific Slope, and the work he then performed gave California to the United States. In the conquest of Upper California he bore a conspicuous part, but owing to a quarrel with some officers, he was deprived of his command. He de- clined the President's offer which was afterwards made to reinstate him. His next work was the survey of a route from the Mississippi to San Francisco, during which he pene- trated to the Apache country. In one hundred days after leaving Santa Fe', this bold land navigator of trackless wilds stood by the waters of the Sacramento. In 1849-51, Fremont was sent as one of the first United States Senators from California, and in 1856 was the first Republican candidate for President running in opposition to Buchanan. It was a very close contest, and Fremont might be said to have been as much the choice of the people as the elected candidate. In 1846, Fremont had commanded a battalion in the Mexican war, and when the last war broke out, although he was in Paris at the time, he immediately purchased a large quantity of arms for government, and in June landed on his native shores. In July he received the commission of major-general, and took command of the Western Department a short time previous to the bat- tle of Wilson's Creek. After the death of Lyon, the weight of responsibility as well as of active duty in the field, rested on Fremont. JOHN CHARLES FREMONT. 355 A- proclamation which he issued about this time cre- ated some excitement. He declared Missouri under martial law, and ordered every one found with arms to be tried by court-martial. This step was certainly justified by the exigencies of the times. Fremont arrived in Springfield on the twenty-sev- enth of October, and the succeeding hundred days em- braced his last military record. Just after the Lex- ington affair, when he was about to put in operation some well-laid plans, orders for his removal arrived and he was superseded by Hunter, who let slip the sheaves of victorious work harvested by his predecessor. Fremont was afterwards exonerated from all blame for not keeping Price out of Lexington. It was shown that as soon as he fitted his men for the field, they were ordered to the Army of the Potomac. "Five thou- sand men ready to support Mulligan in his defence of Lexington were, at the very moment of their depar- ture, counter-ordered to the East." Fremont's removal from command just at that crisis was afterwards con- ceded to have been a great military blunder. It broke up his famous "Body Guard," under command of Major Zagonyi an organization whose personal at- tachment to their leader was so strong, that when he was suspended and after their brilliant and wonderful charge into Springfield through the enemy's lines, they resolved they would not come together again until they could fight under their old commander. Notwithstanding the Lexington defeat and Fre- mont's consequent removal, he had set in motion a current of enthusiasm in the west which would not subside. In 1864 his name was again placed in nomi- nation for the presidency, but he withdrew from the contest. 356 HEROES OF THREE WARS. Since the war he has been associated with a trans- continental railroad. Fremont's fourth expedition in 1848 was under- taken at his own expense, in quest of a home in the " new State which he had emancipated." It was during the month of March in the previous year that he made his extraordinary ride of nine hundred and sixty miles in seven days, through a rough and dangerous country, from Los Angeles to Monterey and back. He under- took this desperate mission to carry the news to General Kearney of an impending insurrection in Lower Cali- fornia. The name of Fremont is imperishably written in the " historical, geographical, scientific and political history" of this country. What greater fame need any ambition crave? That he " missed world's honors and world's plaudits" when his voice was ever quick with its "Oh, list!" when the angel of duty spake, is far better than to have won those honors at the sacrifice of an untarnished conscience. Though he missed the presidential chair, his name crowns the loftiest peak of the longest chain of mountains in North America, as its first explorer. He is canonized as the savior of California from Mexican misrule, and as a geographer his fine genius received recognition from Humboldt and the scientific world at large. The court-martial which he underwent in 1848, was so palpably the re- sult of rivalry between Commodore Stockton and Gen- eral Kearney, that the testimony only served to reveal Fremont in a higher light than ever, as the fearless server of duty in preference to any lesser bidding. The verdict given was one of pure technique. It did not pluck one laurel from his well-earned chaplet, nor take from him the loving esteem of his fellow-citizen* CHAPTER XXXII. OLIVER OTIS HOWARD. The Christian Soldier. Early Life. Off to the Wars. Bravery in Battle. Loss of an Arm. Antietam. Fredericksburg. Chan- cellorsville. Gettysburg. The Atlanta Campaign. Chief of the Army of the Tennessee. Convalescence. His Religious Con^ victions. Story of a Wagon-Master. In Charge of the Freed- man's Bureau. Sherman's Letter. OLIVER OTIS HOWARD distinguished as the "Christian Soldier" was born on November eighth, 1830, in Leeds, Maine. When he was ten years old his father died, and he was taken in charge by an uncle who sent him to Bowdoin College. After grad- uating at that school he went to West Point, and com- pleted the military course in 1854. In 1856, he acted as chief-of-ord nance officer in the Florida campaign. The opening of the last war found him installed as professor of mathematics at West Point. In May, 1861, he was appointed colonel of the Third Maine Volunteer's, by the governor of that State. On the field of Bull Run he led a brigade into the thick battle action with so much bravery and good general- ship, that, in September, he was promoted to brigadier- general of volunteers. In December, he occupied a place in General Sumner's command. In September, 1863, in charge of the Eleventh Army Corps, he went with Slocum to reinforce the army at Chattanooga. At Fair Oaks, he lost his right arm, and in the bat- tles of Antietam, Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville (357) 358 HEROES OF THREE WARS. his gallant conduct and well-directed fighting won golden opinions. In the Gettysburg conflict, his position was on Cem- etery Hill the key to the battle-field. Here he dis- played such coolness under fire and exposed himself to the hurtling shot and shell so freely, that it might be taken for rashness if one did not know it sprang from the highest kind of bravery. During the Atlanta campaign, Howard commanded the Fourth Army Corps, and succeeded to McPherson's position as commander of the Army of the Tennessee, after that heroic general's death. In the " great march " from Atlanta to the sea, he held the right wing ; and Sherman's confidence in him was absolute. After the loss of his arm, he went back to his native State, and, during convalescence, the pale and wounded soldier became a recruiting officer and addressed crowds of his fellow-citizens in various parts of the State, ap- pealing to their patriotism in sustaining the war power at Washington. As a /esult of these efforts, recruits by the hundred responded to his earnest appeals. "Modesty, sincerity and earnestness characterized his addresses," and gave evidence of his strong devotion to duty. Howard's religious convictions were well known and universally respected by brother officers from highest to lowest ; and whoever shared his mess, or partook of the hospitality of his table, always waited for a blessing to be invoked. General Grant said of him : "In Gen- eral Howard throughout, I found a polished and Chris- tian gentleman, exhibiting the highest and most chiv- alrous traits of the soldier." The kind way in which he administered rebuke is OLIVER OTIS HOWARD. 359 well illustrated in the following story : "On one occa- sion, a wagon-master, whose teams were floundering through the bottomless mud of a Georgia swamp, be- came exasperated at the unavoidable delay, and indulged in such a torrent of profanity as can only be heard in the array or among men of his class. General Howard quietly approached, unperceived by the offender, and was an unwilling listener to the blasphemous words. The wagon-master, on turning around, saw his general in close proximity and made haste to apologize for his profane outburst by saying, 'Excuse me, General, I did not know you were here/ The General, looking a reprimand, replied, *I would prefer that you abstain from swearing from a higher and better motive than because of my presence.' " After the war, in 1865, General Howard was placed at the head of the Freedman's Bureau a position which abounded in difficulties, but which he filled most acceptably. There was not, probably, another man in the entire country whose nature and noble purposes and aims were so much in harmony with the peculiar and benevolent work of the Freedman's Bureau as How- ard's. On his acceptance of this new post of honor, General Sherman wrote him as follows: "I hardly know whether to congratulate you or not, but of one thing you may rest assured, that you possess my entire confidence, and I cannot imagine that matters that may involve the future of four millions of souls could be put in more charitable and more conscientious hands. So far as man can do, I believe you will, but I fear you have a Herculean task ; . . . though in the kindness of your heart you would alleviate all the ills of hu- manity, it is not in your power. . . . Yet you can and 360 HEROES OF THREE WARS. will do all the good one man may, and that is all you are called on as a man and a Christian to do; and to that extent count on me as a friend and fellow-soldier for counsel and assistance." The traits of General Howard's character always shone conspicuous in the loftiest range of human mo- tive. As a general, he was not great, like Grant, nor brilliant, like Sherman. But, without being a colossus in military genius, he performed his duty as a soldier and citizen faithfully, won golden approval from Presi- dent, press and people, and deserves an especial niche in the temple of Memory as one who endeavored to soften the rigors of war with the balm of a gentle nature and the outstretched hand of humanitarian kindness. CHAPTER XXXIII. DAVID GLASCOE FARRAGUT. The Power of the Navy. Early Years of Farragut. Remarkable Instance of Boyish Bravery. Forty-eight Years of Quiet Life. Union Sentiments. Extract from Private Letter. Castiliau Ancestry. Naval Combats on the Mississippi. Capture of New Orleans. The Bay Fight at Mobile. rLashed to the Mast in the "Hartford." Official Tour of European Ports. Personal Habits of Farragut. DURING our last war, the United States Navy became a powerful instrumentality in upholding the glory and unity of the Republic. It maintained the most difficult and stupendous blockade known to history. Six hundred ships garrisoned the coast of the United States, and fifty-one thousand soldiers of the sea garrisoned the ships. This fleet on the sea, dazzled, with its splendor of action, nations afar off and com- pelled not only the admiration, but the respect of Old- World principalities and powers. In the midst of that invincible New- World armada we can see, even yet, the stalwart figure of Admiral Farragut, shining in bold prominence, as King of the Fleet, by the divine legacy of genius. This remarkable soldier was born in 1801, at Camp- bell's Station, in East Tennessee. His first baptism of warfare was received when only nine years old, on board Commodore Porter's ship, the "Essex," in its combat with the English sloop-of-war "Alert," April thirteenth, 1812. It took just eight minutes for the 22 (361) 362 HEROES OF THREE WARS. "Alert" to strike her colors, with seven feet of water in her hold. Porter was a friend of Farragut's father and had given the boy a midshipman's berth. The brave lad was wounded in this first, brief but bloody battle, and bore himself so nobly, that in Porter's re- port he was honorably mentioned, with the added regret that he was "too young for promotion." After 1812, Farragut received a general education, added to some instructions in military tactics, and then, in obedience to a pronounced inclination, followed the sea. For forty-eight years his record ran from lieu- tenant in 1825, to commander in 1811, and captain in 1851. He had voyaged up and down the world, in quiet seas, hither and thither, unknown to fortune and to fame. But the last civil war gave him the key to both golden opportunity. On account of Farragut's southern nativity and southern family ties, it was supposed he would go with the seceding South. His residence was at Norfolk, and when he boldly avowed his Union sentiments, it was intimated that a further residence among the people there might not be pleasant. "Very well," he replied, "I will go where I can live, with such sentiments." He moved to Tarrytown, on the Hudson River, and received his first appointment as commander of the naval expedition to New Orleans, January twentieth, 1862. On February third he set out from Hampton Roads, in the flag-ship "Hartford." ... In a private letter from Farragut, written in response to an inquiry as to his ancestry by one who had discovered that the French Charlemagne's physi- cian bore the name Farraguth, the Admiral said : "My own name is probably Castiliau. My grand- DAVID GLASCOE FAREAGUT. 363 father came from Ciudadela, in the island of Minorca. I know nothing of the history of my family before they came to this country and settled in Florida. You may remember that in the seventeenth century, a colony settled there, and among them, I believe, was my grandfather. My father served through the war of Independence, and was at the battle of the Cow- pens. Judge Anderson, formerly Comptroller of the Treasury, has frequently told me that my father re- ceived his majority from George Washington on the same day with himself; and his children have always supposed that this promotion was for his good conduct in that fight. Notwithstanding this statement . . . I have never been able to find my father's name in any list of the officers of the Revolution. " With two men, Ogden and McKee, he was after- wards one of the early settlers of Tennessee. Mr. McKee was a member of Congress from Alabama, and once stopped in Norfolk, where I was then residing, on purpose, as he said, to see me, as the son of his early friend. He said he had heard that I was 'a chip of the old block' what sort of a block it was I know not. This was thirty years ago. My father settled twelve miles from Knoxville, at a place called Camp- bell's Station, on the river where Burnside had his fight. Thence we moved to the South, about the time of the Wilkinson and Blennerhassett trouble. My father was then appointed a master in the navy, and sent to New Orleans in command of one of the gun- boats. Hence the impression that I am a native of New Orleans. But all my father's children were born in Tennessee, and as I have said in answer to inquiries on this subject, we only moved South to crush out a couple of rebellions. 364 HEROES OF THREE WARS. "My mother died of yellow fever the first summer in New Orleans, and my father settled at Pascagoula, in Mississippi. He continued to serve throughout the ' last war,' and was at the battle of New Orleans, under Commodore Patterson, though very infirm at that time. He died the following year, and my brothers and sisters married in and about New Orleans, where their descend- ants still remain. "As to the name, General Goicouria, a Spanish hidalgo from Cuba, tells me it is Castilian, and is spelled in the same way as the old physician's Far- raguth." The wonderful series of movements and naval com- bats on the Mississippi, in which the gauntlet of miles of forts was run, resulting in the capture of New Or- leans and the opening of the river, is a feat unparal- leled in history. Genius, generalship, patience a hundred rare qualifications were needed to bring such an attempt to successful fruition. Wise forecast, quickness of inventive faculty to meet sudden crises, untiring labor, and the highest kind of courage were required ; but Farragut showed himself royal in the possession of all kingly qualities of resource and com- mand. "The 'Bay Fight' at Mobile, and the resulting cap- ture of Forts Powell and Gninos, was another scene as terrible as New Orleans, and .still more splendidly illuminated by the perfect personal courage of the Admiral, ... as he stood lashed in the rigging of the old 'Hartford,' clear above the smoke of the battle, and, even when he saw the monitor 'Tecumseh' sunk the ship he had been waiting for, for months yet ordered his wooden fleet straight forward, despite forts, FARRAGUT AT MOBILE. DAVID GLASCOE FARRAGUT. 357 gunboats, ram and torpedoes, and won a second victor} of that most glorious sort only possible to the high, clear and intelligent courage of a leader who is both truly heroic and truly wise." After the war, while in Europe as a representative of the United States navy, he received enthusiastic testimonials to his genius and his individual standing as a man of lofty character and aims, aside from the mere deference paid to his official position. Farragut's personal habits were ever strictly tem- perate, and as a consequence, he enjoyed vigorous health. A story is told regarding him, of a bishop with whom he once dined, who, after the repast was concluded, offered him a cigar. "No, Bishop," said the Admiral, with a quizzical glance, "I don't smoke I swear a little, sometimes" Not only has the muse of History baptized Farragut, and the breath of Art breathed upon him as he swung aloft in the "Hartford," lashed to the mast, but he has gone into poetry, in whose immortal music he will live forever. Few heroes as grand have ever been illumined by the blaze of Fame few types of manhood as noble, have thrilled to strains as lofty the harp of human life. CHAPTER XXXIV. FRANZ SIGEL. Early Military Education and Career. Espousal of the Cause f the Revolutionists. Exiled. Arrival in the United States. Life Previous to the War. A Volunteer in the Union Army. His Military Ability. At Wilson's Creek. The Battle of Pea Ridge. Fighting Against Enormous Odds. Splendid Skill Ex- hibited by Sigel. Difficulties with Halleck. New York Indig- nation Meeting. In Command at Harper's Ferry. Battle of Newmarket. Close of Military Career. THE German general Franz Sigel was born at Zinsheirn, Baden, November eighteenth, 1824. He was educated for the military profession and at- tained distinction in his native country. But during the German revolution of 1848, his sympathies were so thoroughly and strongly republican, that he resigned his adjutant-general's commission and became a leader in the liberal movement. After the defeat of the revo- lutionists he was exiled from his country on account of the dangerous influence he exerted as a liberalist. He came to the United States in 1850, and between that period and 1858 he taught school in New York and St. Louis. On the outbreak of civil war he entered the volun- teer service and was placed at the head of the Third Missouri Regiment, as its colonel. He went to Spring- field, Missouri, in June, and from that point was sent to hold Price and Jackson in check. He came upon their united forces near Carthage, July sixth, where a (368) FRANZ SIGEL. 369 severe battle ensued. When he discovered that the enemy, greatly outnumbering him, were trying to get between, him and his trains, he ordered a retreat. The ability which he displayed in cutting his way through Carthage and back to his trains, lifted him at once into fame, and the name of Sigel became a war cry among his countrymen. At Wilson's Creek he made a tremendous blunder by mistaking the enemy's troops for Lyon's men, and therefore failed to bring on a concerted attack in the Confederate rear while Lyon assaulted their front. Owing to the gloom of the morning and the absence of all uniform, this mistake is easily accounted for. When the soldiers of Sigel's command waved their flags in welcome to their supposed comrades in arms, a destructive fire burst upon them which covered the ground with the dead and the dying, and at the same moment a Confederate battery opened upon them from the hill. Utter confusion and rout resulted. Colonel Sigel, in his efforts to arrest the disorderly retreat, nar- rowly escaped capture. In this action he lost about one thousand men and five guns. In August, he was made brigadier-general and placed over a division in Fremont's army, and in the following October was sent in search of Price. At the battle of Pea Ridge, Sigel showed himself so conspicuously capable and exhibited such a high order }f warlike skill, that his name at once blazed into national repute and gave promise of shining bright among the brightest. This famous action occurred on the seventh and eighth of March, 1862, and was fought under the shadow of the Boston Mountains, in northwestern Ar- 370 HEROES OF THREE WARS. kansas. Price and McCulloch had been driven to this point from Sugar Creek, fifty miles away, and were there reinforced by Earl Van Dorn's troops, which included a large band of Indians. The hostile array, confronting the Union generals, was made up of nine thousand Missouri troops, six Arkansas regiments, five Texan regiments and three thousand dusky Indians, making an aggregate of twenty-five thousand men. General Curtis awaited the onset of this force a short distance south of Pea Ridge, preparing himself for the coming battle. Meantime, on March fifth, Sigel, then at Benton- ville, ten miles away, received orders to join Curtis at Pea Ridge, and on the next day the command was promptly executed. But it was a hazardous and difficult achievement. Four Confederate regiments attacked his rear-guard, which consisted of the Thirty- sixth Illinois and Second Missouri. But the attack was useless, for these brave men cut their way through the solid living wall of rebel soldiery, and rejoined their comrades, though with a loss of twenty-eight killed and wounded, and a number of prisoners. For the entire distance of ten miles Sigel contested every step of his advance. Supported by the infantry, his guns were halted, and the advancing rebel ranks, un- able to stand before the discharges of grape and shell from the effective aim of our artillerymen, broke and fled in confusion. Before the scattered ranks of the enemy could reform, the guns of Sigel were limbered and the troops fell back into position behind another battery planted at the next turn in the road. This programme was continuously enacted for the entire distance of ten miles between Bentonville and Pea FRANZ SIGEL. 371 Ridge. At last Sigel arrived at the west end of Pea Ridge, where he formed a junction with the divisions of Generals Carr and Davis. The Union position was on the main road leading from Springfield to Fayetteville. The first two divi- sions of the Union troops were commanded by Sigel, and when the intention of the enemy to attack his right and rear became apparent, General Curtis changed front and Sigel had the left wing. The line stretched across Pea Ridge. The battle opened on the morning of the seventh, and soon raged with fury along the whole line. During the afternoon, McCulloch, on the left wing, endeavored to form a junction with the troops of Van Dorn and Price, thus surrounding the Union army on three sides, and cutting off their retreat. But the quick eyes of Sigel detecting the movement, he or- dered forward three pieces of flying artillery and a force of cavalry to take a commanding position and delay the movements of the enemy until our infantry could be brought up in position for an attack. But these pieces had hardly been placed in position when an overwhelming force of the enemy's cavalry swept down upon them, capturing their artillery and driving the horsemen. A desperate fight at this point then took place, and just as the ranks of the Union cavalry were broken and victory seemed to hover on the enemy's banners, Osterhaus and his Indiana regiments came up on the double-quick, and sending a murderous fire into the enemy's ranks, charged immediately after with the bayonet. This bold charge put to rout the Indians and Texans, and the three captured field- pieces were recovered. The command was then re- 372 HEROES OF THREE WARS. inforced by General Sigel, and the action re-com- menced with greater fury than before. The heavy guns of the enemy were brought into position, and an artillery battle took place which re- sulted in the retirement of the enemy in confusion, leaving the Union troops masters of this part of the bloody field. Night let fall her intervening curtain of darkness between the contending armies, with Union success on the left, defeat on the right, and the battle yet unfinished. At dark the firing ceased from all quarters, and the exhausted soldiers slept upon their arms. Carr's division now occupied the centre, with Davis on the right, and Sigel still holding the left. Near the position occupied by our forces a hill rose abruptly to the height of two hundred feet, very pre- cipitous in our front, but sloping gradually to the northward. On this eminence the enemy during the night had planted batteries which commanded our forces, and also at the right base of this hill, batteries and large bodies of infantry were posted. At the edge of some timber to the left, supports of infantry were disposed, while beyond the road, to the extreme left, were posted their cavalry and infantry. At sunrise our right and centre, with their batteries, opened fire upon the enemy, while Sigel, having learned the exact position of the enemy's batteries, advanced with the left wing to take the hill, forming his line of battle by changing front so as to face the fight flank of the enemy. Sigel then ordered the Twenty-fifth Illinois into >osition along a fence in open view of the Confeder- te batteries, which immediately opened fire upon One of our batteries, consisting of six or seveii FRANZ S1GEL. 373 guns, several of which were rifled twelve-pounders, was at once thrown into line one hundred paces to the rear of our advanced infantry, on a rise of ground. The Twelfth Missouri then wheeled into line with the Twenty-fifth Illinois on their left, and another battery of guns similarly arranged a short distance behind them. But the crushing array was not yet complete, for still another regiment and another bat- tery wheeled into position, until thirty pieces of artillery, fifteen or twenty paces distant from each other, formed one unbroken line, with the infantry lying down in front. As each piece circled into posi- tion, its fire was discharged at the enemy, and the fire of the entire line was so effective as to silence every Confederate battery, one by one. For two hours and over this terrible rain of fire continued. It would have required more than human bravery to withstand it. The ranks of the foe withered under it by the hundreds, yet they stood fast. Sigel and his awful guns drew nearer and nearer, until the shortness of range grew more deadly. " No charge of theirs could face that iron hail or dare to venture on that compact line of bayonets. They turned and fled. The centre and right were ordered forward, the right turning the left of the enemy, and cross-firing on his centre. This final position of the enemy was in the arc of a circle. A charge of infantry by the whole line completely routed them, and they retreated through the deep, impassable defiles of Cross Timber, towards the Boston Mountains, closely pursued by the cavalry." Not long after the battle of Pea Ridge, Sigel re- signed his commission on account of alleged ill-treat- 374 HEROES OF THREE WARS. ment from Halleck. An indignation meeting was called in New York, " to express dissatisfaction with the course pursued towards him," and when brought to the notice of the President, he promised to see that justice was accorded him. Sigel was, therefore, pro- moted to major-general in the following summer, and put in command of Harper's Ferry. He subsequently commanded the division of Fremont ou Fremont's resignation. At the battle of Manassas or the Second Bull Run, General Sigel figured boldly and well. During the first day of action until mid-afternoon, he fought the battle alone, and succeeded in driving the enemy. On the day following, also, he bore his part gallantly, re- tiring afterwards with the army to the vicinity of Washington. On the fourteenth of September he was placed over the Eleventh Corps, and in November was stationed in the gaps of the Blue Ridge. Soon after, he again marched towards Washington, and established his head-quarters at Fairfax Court-House. In the Richmond campaign Grant gave him a sepa- rate command in the Valley of the Shenandoah, "to protect his flank." But in a battle near Newmarket he was overwhelmingly defeated by Breckenridge, losing five guns and nearly seven hundred men. On account of the dissatisfaction which this defeat caused at government head-quarters, he was relieved of hi command and superseded by Hunter. His war career ended during the last invasion of Early. At this time he was in Harper's Ferry, which he evacuated. He subsequently resigned his commis- sion, and became the editor of a German paper in Baltimore. CHAPTER XXXV. HUGH JUDSON KILPATRTCK. Born for the Cavalry. Eomance of Early Life. Married on th Eve of Going to the Front. Her Name on his Banner. Big Bethel. Wounded. To the Front again. Falmouth Heights. Kilpatrick's First Famous Raid. Brandy Station. " Men of Maine, Follow Me!" Aldie. Gettysburg. Night Battle at Monterey. New Baltimore. Attempt to Rescue Prisoners. Atlanta Campaign. Resaca. Wounded. Georgia Campaign. Waynesboro'. At Savannah. Sherman's Letter. Promotion. In the Carolinas. Close of the War. LIKE the French Murat, Kilpatrick seems to have been born to become a very demi-god of cavalry. Daringly heroic on the field, he displayed a supreme genius for war, especially for that department of the service whose alarum cry is " To horse ! " and whose sweeping squadrons, with wild clatter of hoofs, seem to the 'fervid imagination to be making a race for glory, even though it be through the gates of death. It is quite in keeping with everything about Kil- patrick that he should choose the cavalry as a vehicle for his high ambition and noble patriotism. Such energies as his could scarcely be content with less dash or less brilliance of action. The beginning of his war career was one of romance, and his previous life indicated an unusual range of abilities. He first figures as the boy orator, speaking in favor of a congressional candidate, with all the fresh warmth and enthusiasm of his young nature. Then we see him (375) 376 HEROES OF THREE WARS. as cadet at West Point, from which he graduate* fifteenth in his class, and is given the honor of valedic- torian. The day of graduation is hastened a few months by the startling guns of Sumter, which pro- claim treason rampant and fire all loyal breasts \vitli a desire to rush to the rescue of their country's be- loved flag. The impatience and enthusiasm of Kil- patrick could not be restrained, and through his influ- ence a petition was signed by thirty-seven of his class to be allowed to graduate at once and go to the front. The request was granted, and that day was one of especial significance at West Point. It was also one of equal significance in his life; for the little chapel where had rung out the words of his farewell address, also witnessed the sacred ceremony of his marriage with the lady of his love, and on that evening the young soldier and his bride took the train for Wash- ington and the front. We know little of the bride except that she was enshrined in her husband's love, and that her name "Alice" was inscribed on the silken banner under which he fought and so gloriously led his troopers to victory and renown. No one can tell how much that name may have had to do with his future marvellous success. To natures like his, the magic of a name thus loved, fluttering aloft in the smoke of battle, becomes talismanic, and inspirei almost supernatural heroism. Kilpatrick's first battle was fought at Big Bethel on June eleventh, 1861, where, in command of a portion of Duryea's Zouaves, he led the advance, and in the first charge received a grape-shot wound in hie thigh ; but though covered with blood, he led IKS men in neveral subsequent charges, and was finally h<>rnft from HUGH JUDSON KILPATRICK. 377 the field fainting from exhaustion. After this engage- ment he returned to New York, and was not able to take the field again before September. During-that month he went to Washington, received the rank of lieutenant-colonel in the Harris Light Cav- alry, and began preparations for the front. He had also received the promotion of first lieutenant in the First Artillery in the regular army. In addition to this he became inspector-general of McDowell's division, and was also on the board for examining cavalry officers of the volunteer service. In the grand movement on Manassas, March eighth, 1862, Kilpatrick's cavalry had the advance, and drove the rear-guard of Lee's army from that place. He advanced to Catlett's Station on the next day, where he remained until April. When McDowell marched to Falmouth, he was once more at the front, and in conjunction with Colonel Bayard and the First Pennsylvania Cavalry, made a brilliant night attack on Falmouth Heights, routing Lee's cavalry and capturing the place. For this dash- ing achievement Kilpatrick received the thanks of the commanding general. Afterwards, under Pope's com- mand, he made his first famous raid in breaking up Stonewall Jackson's line of communication with Rich- mond from Gordonsville in the Shenandoah Valley, over the Virginia Central Railroad. At Beaver Dam, Frederick's Hall and Hanover Junction, he burned the stations, destroyed the tracks, and daringly attacked the enemy wherever he could find him. These events took place during July and August, 1862, and the boldness of the operations in the very heart of the enemy's country, filled the north with Kilpatrick's fame. 378 HEROES OF THREE WARS. In Pope's disastrous campaigning, Kilpatrick's regi- ment was with Bayard's cavalry protecting the rear of the army on its march to Washington. When Hooker was placed at the head of the Army of the Potomac, the cavalry was reorganized under Stoneman as chief, and that general, in the following campaign assigned to Kilpatrick the work of destroying the rail- road and bridges over the Chickahominy. Four hun- dred and fifty men were given him for the work ; but with this small force he brought to the difficult mis- sion his usual skill, and, avoiding large forces of the enemy, raided to within two miles of Richmond, where he captured " Lieutenant Brown, aide-de-camp to General Winder, and eleven men within the fortifi- cations." He says : " I then passed down to the left to the Meadow Bridge on the Chickahominy, which I burned, ran a train of cars into the river, retired to Hanovertown on the Peninsula, crossed just in time to check the advance of a pursuing cavalry force, burned a train of thirty wagons loaded with bacon, captured thirteen prisoners, and encamped for the night five miles from the river." This \vas the manner of his conquering quest, until on the seventh, he again struck the Union lines at Gloucester Point, having made a march of about "two hundred miles in leas than five days, and captured and paroled over eight hundred prisoners." In the accomplishment of this splendid feat he lost only one officer and thirty-seven men. After Chancellorsville, when Lee came into Mary- land and massed his cavalry at Beverly Ford, Pleasan- ton was sent forward on a reconnoissance and met the enemy in battle at Brandy Station. This is renowned *s the greatest cavalry battle of the war. General HUGH JUDSON KILPATRICK. 379 Gregg arrived upon the field at half-past ten in the morning, and though his noble squadrons fought well and bravely, their columns were rolled back, and for a moment all seemed lost and overwhelmed by the supe- rior numbers of the foe. But at this crisis, Kilpatrick, posted on a slight rise of ground, unrolled his battle- flag to the breeze, and his bugles sounded the charge. He had under his command the Harris Light, Tenth New York, and First Maine. The formation for an onset was quickly made, and the disciplined squadrons of these three regiments were hurled upon the enemy. But the Tenth New York recoiled before the murder- ous fire of the enemy's carbines. So did the Harris Light. Kilpatrick was maddened at the sight. He rushed to the head of the First Maine Regiment, shouting, " Men of Maine, you must save the day ! Follow me!" Under the impulse of this enthusiasm, they became altogether resistless, and in conjunction with the reformed squadrons of the other two regi- ments, swept the enemy before them, and plucked vic- tory with glorious valor from the very jaws of defeat. On the next day Kilpatrick was made brigadier- general, and the battle of Aldie was fought soon after. At Aldie he came upon the advance guard of Fitz- hugh Lee. This place is in a gap of the Bull Run Mountains, and lay in the direct line of Kilpatriek's reconnoissance southward. The encounter here was unexpected, but Kilpatrick, equal to the moment, dashed to the front, made a rapid survey of the situa- tion, and then sounded the charge. Fitzhugh Lee was at first taken by surprise, and did not oppose the head- long advance, but afterwards rallied and fought des- perately for twp, hours. He occupied a strong position 380 HEROES OF THREE WARS. on the crest of a hill behind a barricade of rails and haystacks, and made a bold stand. Kilpatrick ordered forward a battalion of the Harris Light, pointed to the field of haystacks, and said to Major Irvin command- ing, " Major, there is the opportunity you have asked for. Go, take that position." This was an allusion to a request made by the regi- ment on the morning of that day to " retrieve their reputation," knowing that they had failed to meet Kil- patrick's expectations at Brandy Station. It is almost needless to say that the position was gallantly taken. But the enemy rallied again for a last desperate at- tempt, and success for the Union arms now seemed wa- vering. Kilpatrick rushed to the rescue, and at the head of the First Maine swept down upon the advan- cing Confederate ranks with such fury that they reeled and broke in confusion. They were driven as far as Middleburg, and night alone saved the remnant of the command. An incident occurred during this fight, which is worth mentioning: "Colonel Cesnola, of the Fourth New York Cavalry, had that morning, through mis- take, been placed under arrest, and his sword being taken from him was without arms. But in one of these wild charges, made early in the contest, his regiment hesitated. Forgetting that he was under arrest, and without command, he flew to the head of his regiment, reassured his men, and, without a weapon to give or ward a blow, led them to the charge. This gallant act was seen by his general, who, meeting him on his return, said : 'Colonel, you are a brave man ; you are released from arrest;' and, taking his own sword from his side, handed it to the colonel, saying: 'Here is my sword ; HUGH JUDSON KILPATRICK. 381 wear it in honor of this day!' In the next charge Colonel Cesnola fell, desperately wounded, and was taken prisoner." On June twenty-first, Kilpatrick charged the town of Upperville with sabres alone and drove the enemy through Ash by 's Gap. Soon after this he was placed in charge of over five thousand cavalrymen vice Major-General Stahel, re- lieved the entire cavalry force now consisting of three grand divisions, commanded by Buford, Gregg, and Kilpatrick. Just previous to the Gettysburg battle, Kilpatrick had a desperate engagement with Stuart's cavalry at the town of Hanover. For hours the fight raged fu- riously, but at four o'clock in the afternoon the Fifth and Seventh Michigan regiments came on the field fresh, and their weight in the scales gave victory to the Union arms. While at the little town of Abbottsville, where the worn-out battalions were resting after their severe fighting, Kilpatrick heard, on the morning of July second, the thunder of guns at Gettysburg. At once his bugles sounded "To horse! "and the splendid command dashed away towards the scene of conflict. Arrived on the field, he saw at once where he was most needed, and without waiting for orders, moved to the right and engaged the left of Lee's line at Hunterstown. Late that evening, long after the clangor of contest had ceased between the infantry lines, the shout of Kilpatrick's galloping squadrons on the right, told that the battle there went well. At daybreak, on the third, Kilpatrick having marched most of the night, occupied a position near S82 HEROES OF THREE WARS. Little Round Top, on the extreme left. Skirmishing had begun at about ten o'clock in the morning, and by afternoon Kilpatrick was "far in upon the enemy's flank and rear." At four o'clock a heavy force of Con- federate infantry endeavored to turn the position at Little Round Top, by a grand charge of Longstreet's entire corj>s. If they succeeded, the day was lost. But Kilpatrick comprehended the situation, and having under him the Regular Brigade and General Farns- worth with the First Virginia, Eighteenth Pennsyl- vania and Fifth New York regiments, a counter-charge on the enemy's flank and left was ordered which broke their lines, and, with the aid of the artillery fire that now rained upon them, produced terrible confusion. It was a grand but dearly bought victory when such generals as Farnsworth baptized the soil with their precious blood. But the country rung with well- deserved plaudits for the cavalry. At daybreak, on the fourth, Kilpatrick's columns were in motion, marching for the nearest point on the Gettysburg and Hagerstown road, crossing the moun- tains at Monterey, with orders to intercept the enemy ftnd harass his retreat in all possible ways. When near the mountain top, in a long, narrow, winding road, with bluffs on one side and a ravine on the other, the enemy's artillery and musketry sud- denly blazed out upon them in the midnight gloom. It was raining in torrents and the darkness was so great that friend and foe were alike indistinguishable. It did, indeed, require more than ordinary courage and generalship to prevent panic and compass victory. But as on many a previous occasion, Kilpatrick was equal to this. The recoil of his troops was only mo- HUGH JUDSON KILPATRICK. 383 mentary. Riding at their head, he led the attack with such skill and impetuous onset that the enemy fled, leaving in the victorious raider's hands "their gnus, a battle flag and four hundred prisoners." He was now in advance of the retreating Confederate army, and on the following day "captured eighteen hundred and sixty prisoners, including many officers of rank, and destroyed Ewell's immense wagon train nine miles long." At four o'clock he met and defeated Stuart in an engagement at Smithburg, and then moved to Boons- boro'. The battle at that place followed on July eighth. It was a brilliant affair in which Kilpatrick and Buford shared equal glory. On the thirteenth, Kilpatrick came upon the enemy's infantry, under Gen- eral Pettigrew, one mile from Falling Waters, and brought on an engagement in which that general was killed in a sabre charge by the Sixth Michigan Regi- ment. From the battle at Hanover Farm until this period, Kilpatrick had conquered fifteen splendid victories in as many days, had driven the enemy from northern soil and was almost constantly in the saddle riding hundreds of miles. "His division at the outset con- sisted of five thousand men, and 1 at the end of the cam- paign he reported the capture of four thousand five hundred prisoners, nine guns and eleven battle-flags." Unable longer to hold out against this terrible strain on his energies, he obtained leave of absence and went to his home on the Hudson, where he remained until September. During that month he rejoined his command at War- renton, and was received with unbounded joy. In the general advance of the army which followed, Kilpatrick 384 HEROES OF THREE WARS. crossed the Rappahannock at Kelly's Ford, and on the old battle-ground of Brandy Station, where Gregg and Buford were hard pressed, again decided the issues of conflict. The last fight during October, on these famous plains, in which the great cavalry chiefs of the war distin- guished themselves the severe engagement at New Baltimore the noble attempt made by Kilpatrick to /escue the Belle Isle and Libby prisoners in February of 1864 the death of his wife "Alice" these events marked his record until he was needed in the great Atlanta campaign and summoned to join Sherman at Nashville, Tennessee. When the grand armies moved, Kilpatrick led the advance, and in the wild and victorious charge at Re- saca, reeled from the saddle and was borne from the field desperately wounded by a rifle ball. Through the long months of illness which followed, he was nursed into convalescence at his home on the Hudson, and when the news came that Atlanta must fall in a few days, nothing could restrain him from going at once to the front. He joined his command at Carters- ville, and, not yet able to ride on horseback, went to the front in a carriage. In the daring raid now performed by Kilpatrick on the enemy's flank, by means of which Sherman was enabled to get in rear of the Confederate army and take Atlanta, some of the most brilliant movements were executed, and no peril of any kind seemed too great to baffle his genius. Then followed his ride through the heart of Georgia. On the fourteenth day of November, 1864, the long PMrch from Marietta to Savannah began Kilpatrick's HUGH JUDSON K1LPATR1CK. 385 command consisting of two brigades of twenty-five hundred men each. The plan of march was to sweep across the country in seven days by way of Atlanta to Milledgeville, thence to Milieu and Waynesboro' then to the sea. At Waynesboro' a hard battle was fought, and the enemy under Wheeler routed. On December twenty-first, a triumphant entry into Savannah was made. Since November fourteenth they had " three times crossed from left to right, and right to left, in front of the arrny, and had marched over five hundred and forty-one miles." A letter from Sherman, December twenty-ninth, in the field before Savannah, shows the high value he placed upon Kil- patrick's services : " But the fact that to you, in a great measure, we owe the march of four strong infantry columns, with heavy trains and wagons, over three hundred miles through an enemy's country, without the loss of a single wagon and without the annoyance of cavalry dashes on our flanks, is honor enough for any cavalry commander." The valiant chief was promoted to the rank of major-general at Savannah, on January fourteenth, 1865. In the great campaign in the Carolinas, rapid marches, feints and fighting were the order of the day, which at last resulted in the fall of Columbia, in the occupancy of Fayetteville, and the fight at Averys- boro', where KHpatrick made a stand on a battle- ground with a ravine in his rear to prevent the enemy from securincr it. In this action, which occurred on March sixteenth, the cavalry and infantry fought side by side, mounted and dismounted, and behaved most 386 HEROES OF THREE WARS. gallantly. This action ended, the cavalry command went into camp at Mount Olive, on the Wilmington military road, and rested from its labors, after having endured marvellous hardships and rendered invaluable services. In a circular issued to his troops on March twenty-second, Kilpatrick said : " Soldiers, be proud ! Of all the brave men of this great army, you have a right to be. You have won the admiration of our infantry, fighting on foot and mounted, and you will receive the outspoken words of praise from the great Sherman himself. .... With the old laurels of Georgia, entwine those won in the Carol inas, and proudly wear them !" General Kilpatrick was born in New Jersey in 1838, and since the war has been appointed to high civic positions. Of him and the brave troopers with whom he nobly battled for country and the freedom of its in% titutions, let it be said : " Honor the brave and bold ! Long shall the tale be told, Yea, when our babes are old, How they rode on ward I" CHAPTER XXXVI. PHILIP KEARNY. Birthplace. Where Educated. In Europe. Fighting Abroad. Honors. Participates in the Mexican War. Loss of an Arm.- In Europe Again. At Magenta and Solferino. At the Front in our Last War. Bravery at Williamsburg. Promotion. Kear- ny'b Power over his Men. The Battle of Chantilly. Death's Sad Eclipse." Lay Him Low." THIS gallant, impetuous, headlong fighter a veri- table son of Mars was born in New York on June second, 1815. He received his education at Co- lumbia College, and afterwards studied law. In 1837, he became a lieutenant in the First Dragoons, of which his uncle, Stephen Watts Kearny, was colonel. Soon after receiving this appointment, he was ordered by Gov- ernment to visit Europe, to report upon the tactics of the French cavalry service. While there, he made himself proficient in the Polytechnic School at Saumur, and subsequently joined the Chasseurs d'Afrique in Algeria, in which his gallantry won him the decora- tion of the " Cross of the Legion of Honor." In 1840, Kearny came back to his native shores, and when the Mexican war broke out, served on the etaff of General Scott. In 1846, he was made a captain of dragoons, and received the brevet of major for bravery at Contrera? and Churubusco. At the San Antonia Gate of the ancient city of Mex- ico, during the last assault, he lost an arm. (387) 383 HEROES OF THREE WARS. After the return of peace to that chaotic country, he was again on the war path in the far west, against the Indians on the Columbia River and in California. In 1851, he went to Europe to continue his military studies, and during this sojourn in foreign parts he became volunteer aide to General Maurier, of the French array, who was engaged in the Italian war of 1859. For bravery at Magenta and Solferino, Kearny re- ceived a second time the decoration of the " Cross of the Legion of Honor." The outbreak of our last war brought him quickly home, and his patriot blade was goon unsheathed at the front. Government at once gave him the appointment of brigadier-general of volunteers. During the Pen- insular campaign he commanded a division, and dis- tinguished himself especially at Williamsburg and Fair Oaks. At Williamsburg, *vhen he came to the relief of Hooker, Kearny performed a feat of daring which made him the idol of his division. Wishing to dis- close the enemy's concealed position to his command, lie called the officers of his staff together, dashed out into the open field and rode leisurely along the entire line. Five thousand guns belched forth their death- dealing missiles, bullets fell around them like hail, two of his aids and three orderlies fell dead at his side, and before he reached the end of his perilous ride, he found himself almost alone. By this exploit he was enabled to accomplish his object of discovering the strength of the enemy; then riding back to his division, he shouted, "You see, my boys, where to fire !" Kearny now held his own until General Hancock came up and by a flank movement forced the enemy to retire to his fortifications. PHILIP KEARNY. 389 At Harrison's Landing he was promoted to major- general of volunteers, dating from July fourth, 1862, and in the second battle of Bull Run he was again conspicuous for gallant conduct. An eye-witness, who saw Kcarny in the last action which preceded Malvern Hill, said that besides seem- ing to be omnipresent on the field, he gave "electric strength to his men wherever he appeared. Waving his brave one arm, more to be dreaded than two, and saying, with a smile into the eyes of every man, ' Gayly, my boys, go in gayly ! ' he drew them on into the thickest fight with an abandon which must have been seen to be realized. " General Kearny possessed that rarest gift of intuitive anticipation of the enemy's plans that sure instinct of the nearest danger which is almost a battle second sight and which would have made him, had he lived, one of our most famous generals." On the first of September, 1862, at sunset, Stonewall Jackson made a sudden descent on the Union forces at Chantilly, under Reno. A furious thunder storm was raging in the sky above, while the battle raged on the plain below. The enemy was driven back at all points. But when General Stevens fell at the head of his com- mand while leading a charge, confusion ensued and the first division of Reno, which it uncovered, also became demoralized. It was at this critical juncture of affairs that General Kearny, leading one of Heintzleman's divisions, advanced to the rescue and with a terrific charge drove the Confederates from the field. The victory was complete, but Kearny 's life paid the forfeit. Amid the clash of battle and the crash of warring elements his life went out in a blaze of glory, leaving unly the bleeding and inanimate clay behind. 390 HEROES OF THREE WARS. "Flowers of red shot, red lightnings strewed his bier, And night, black night, the mourner." His soldierly impetuosity, never outdone in deeds of bravery, won him the admiration, the respect, the lov of all ; and that peculiar homage is his which we give to leaders who fall in the brunt of battle, while fight- ing in a glorious cause. "Close his eyes, his work is done, What to him is friend or foeman, Rise of morn or set of sun, Hand of man or kiss of woman? Lay him low, lay him low, In the clover or the snow, What cares he ? he cannot know- Lay him low. "Fold him in his country's stars, Roll the drum and fire the vollej. What to him are all our wars, What but death bemocking folly? Lay him low, lay him low, In the clover or the snow, What cares he ? he cannot know r Lay him low." CHAPTER XXXVII. NATHANIEL LYON. Of Soldier Ancestry. Early Childhood. Graduates at West Point In the Mexican War.. On the Frontier. Rescue of the Sk Louis Arsenal. Given the Chief Command in Missouri. At Wilson's Creek. Fighting Against Terrible Odds. Twice Wounded. The Last Charge. Lyon's Fall. His Civilian's Dress. Funeral Honors. The Sorrowful Multitudes. Funeral Oration at Eastford. Resolutions of Respect. > Y the red torch of battle, lighted at Wilson's Creek, the warrior soul of Lyon was sent on its unre- turning journey across the Stygian river, to the misty land of the Hereafter. He fell, deeply lamented by his country, sincerely mourned by thousands. No officer had been killed in battle previous to that date whose loss was felt to be so personal a sorrow. The shrouded form of the dead hero, touched by the strange magic of death, was borne from the field to his home in the east, amid a spon- taneous outburst of sorrow from gathered multitudes all along the route. And in that last tearful incense of public bereavement his name still burns "a name immortal, won by deeds immortal." Lyon was born in 1821, at Eastford, Windham County, Connecticut, and from childhood listened with rapt interest to the recital of deeds of daring per- formed by brave ancestors in the Revolutionary war. It is not strange that his young and enthusiastic heart was fired by these oft-repeated tales, or that his choice (391) 392 HEROES OF THREE WARS. of vocation was thereby the more strongly drawn to- wards a military life. His paternal grandfather served in both the French and Revolutionary wars, and his mother's father ren- dered himself prominent and fought tnc fight of liberty at White Plains and Bunker Hill. Young Lyon graduated from West Point in 1841, with the rank of second lieutenant of the Second In- fantry, and performed his maiden service in Florida. Subsequently, he went on duty in the frontier terri- tories. In the Mexican war, he participated in every battle under Scott, from Vera Cruz to the City of the Mon- tezumas, receiving promotions for gallant conduct. In June, 1851, he was given a captain's commission. "After the conclusion of peace with Mexico, he was ordered to Jefferson Barracks, Missouri, preparatory to a contemplated march overland to California. By a change of orders from the War Department, his regi- ment was despatched by ship via Cape Horn, and reached California soon after its acquisition by the United States. His stay in California was prolonged beyond that of most of his fellow-officers, and his time unceasingly employed in operating among the Indians, subjected to long and tedious marches, constant alarms, and frequent skirmishes, living a large portion of the time in tents, and subject to the fatigues and privations incident to a campaign in that new and hitherto un- known country, so far removed from the comforts of civilization." At the end of his California service, Lyon went again to the frontier, doing duty principally in Kansas and Nebraska. On the outbreak of die Kansas NATHANIEL LYON. 393 troubles, he was sent to the head-quarters of the De- partment of the West, at St. Louis. Here, by a bold and dashing stroke of genius, he rescued the St. Louis arsenal from the hands of his country's enemies. When General Harney relinquished the chief com- mand of this department, Captain Lyon, after having been chosen general by the Missouri volunteers, re- ceived the appointment of brigadier-general, and was given the chief command in Missouri. This he re- tained until Fremont was placed at the head of the Department of the Mississippi, on July ninth. The sword, instead of the pen, has written at Wil- son's Creek the remaining chapter of Lyon's life. The fatal engagement was the result of his choice between dishonorable retreat and an encounter with overwhelm- ing numbers of the enemy. He did not for an in- stant hesitate in that choice, though fully realizing the dangers to be met. His plan of action was mas- terly, and if Sigel's forces had not mistaken the foe for Lyon's troops, it seems probable that the entire Confederate army under Price would have been routed. Lyon, with intrepid leadership, fought in the thickest of the fray, inspiring his men by voice and example. A short time previous to his fall, he " had received two wounds, and had his fine dappled gray shot under him, which is sufficient evidence that he had sought no place of safety for himself while he placed his men in dan- ger. Indeed, he had already unwisely exposed him- self. Seeing blood upon his hat, one who was with him inquired, 'General, are you badly hurt?' to whicb he replied, ' I think not seriously.' He had mounted another horse and was as busily engaged as ever." Lyon was filled with admiration at the bravery o/ 394 HEROES OF THREE WARS. his men, and "praised their behavior in glowing terms with almost his last breath." He wanted a bayonet charge made, and three companies of lowans at once offered to go. They asked for a leader. No time could be lost to select one, for the enemy was rushing to a fresh attack. At this juncture Lyon exclaimed : "I will lead you! Come on, brave men!" The charge was made, and the Confederates recoiled before their wild onset; but when the smoke lifted a little, the fearless lowans were without their great leader. The noble heart had throbbed its last Lyon was dead. He had gone into battle in civilian's dress, with the exception of a military coat. " He wore a soft hat of an ashen hue, with long fur and a very broad brim, turned up on three sides. He had been wearing it for a month ; there was only one like it in the command, and it would have individualized the wearer among fitly thousand men. His peculiar dress and personal ap- pearance were well known through the enemy's camps. He received a new and elegant uniform just before the battle, but never wore it until his remains were arrayed in it, after his brave spirit had fled." There is no doubt that Lyon made this attack fully comprehending that the "odds were fearfully against him, and that little short of a miracle could enable him to come off victorious. But he felt that the cause demanded it; that for him to abandon Springfield with- out a battle would demoralize and dishearten the Union men of southwest Missouri, and pain every loyal breast in the nation. . . . He had no alternative but to fall back to Holla, or to attack the enemy. He obeyed the voice of patriotism and went out to danger and to death tn that summer morning, as a man goes to his bridal. NATHANIEL LYON. 395 Twice wounded, he was still undaunted, and refused to ... seek a less exposed position. Even after he believed the day lost, he sprang eagerly from his dead horse into a fresh saddle, at the head of a forlorn hope, riashed into the thick of the fight, and died like a true soldier." A guard of honor, chosen from among his brother officers and the St. Louis Home-Guards, escorted the loved remains to his home in Connecticut. After arriving at the village of Eastford, the body was con- signed to its last resting-place, and the funeral oration pronounced by the Honorable Galusha A. Grow. One of the resolutions adopted at a meeting of the citizens of Eastford, convened at that time, was as follows: "Resolved, That as his fellow-townsmen, while we mourn our loss, we rejoice that we have his birth-spot among us to cheer us in steadfast devotion to our coun- try ; and we trust his grave among us will be the spot where future generations will gather, and be inspired with a noble emulation of his virtues, and the virtues of Sherman, Trumbull, Putnam, and others who have arisen in this State, defenders of their country's flag, and supporters of its government." A great historian has said of Lyon : "His military services were beyond all praise ; his character was beau- tifully earnest ; and his sad death reflects infinite honor on his own memory, and I fear shame on those who let him fall a martyr to his duty, his patriotism, his zeal and the natural self-sacrificing element of his character." " Roll, stirring drum, still roll, Not a sign, not a sound of woe, That a grand and a glorious ROU! Hath gone where the brave must go." M CHAPTER XXXVIII. ELMER EPHRAIM ELLSWORTH "How Knightly looked he aa he rode to Hounds!" Character. An Enthusiast in Military Science. The French Zouave T. i- tics. A Noble Ambition. Early Struggles. The Chica;:-; Zouaves. Their Perfection of Drill and Character. A Tour of Triumph. In New York. A Favorite of Lincoln. The AV;ir Clarion. New York Fire Zouaves. Sword Presentations. In the South. Last Night at Alexandria. Letter Home. Tlie Dread Tragedy. Universal Grief. Lincoln's Sorrow. Tiie Genius of Ellsworth. WE love the memory of Ellsworth as that of our most chivalrous ideal of the young and glorious and knightly soldier. His pictured face wears a look prophetic of some high and unusual destiny. The eyes contain much of soul, and are of that kind which Emerson would designate as " full of fate." He is described as having been strikingly prepossessing in appearance, and his voice, which was " deep and musical, and instantly attracted attention," chorded well with so splendid a presence. " His form, though slight, was very compact and commanding: the heud Btatnesquely poised and crowned with a luxuriance cf curling black hair; a hazel eye, bright though serene, the eye of a gentleman as well as a soldier; a nose such as you see on Roman medals ; a light moustache just shading the lips that were continually curving into the sunniest smiles." His tread was full of elastic ;race, and gave to his figure its commanding ease oi 1396) ELMER EPHRAIM ELLSWORTH. 397 attitude. "No one ever possessed greater power of enforcing the respect and fastening the affections of men. Strangers soon recognized and acknowledged this power ; while to his friends he always seemed like a Paladin or Cavalier of the dead days of romance and beauty." Every one with whom he came in contact was impressed with his intense vitality and the strength and warmth of his nature. All this graciousness of physique did not belie the man. He was the soul of honor, the embodiment of high desires, and "amiable words and courtliness and love of truth, and all that makes a man." He might have belonged to Arthur's court, the stainless English king, and been numbered among those ancient and proud knights of the Round Table, " who reverenced their conscience as their king; whose glory was redress- ing human wrong; who spoke no slander, no, nor listened to it ; who loved one only and who clave to her, and worshipped her by years of noble deeds," and worthily lived, " wearing the white flower of a blame- less life." By some prophetic forecast or singular chance, he had, for several years previous to the opening of our last war, been an enthusiast in military science, and was the first one who introduced into this country the French Zouave system of tactics. He amended both the French and Hardee, so that the movements in hia manual of arms were each natural sequences of the Dthers. " He studied the science of fence so that he xiould hold a rapier with De Villiers, the most dashing of the Algerine swordsmen. He always had a hand as true as steel and an eye like a ger-falcon. He used to amuse himself by shooting ventilation holes through 398 HEROES OF THREE WARS. his window panes. Standing ten paces from the win- dow, he could fire the seven shots from his revolver and not shiver the glass beyond the circumference of a half dollar." "A photograph of his arm taken at this time shows a knotted coil of sinews like a magnificent exaggeration of antique sculpture." His great aim was to reorganize the United States militia, which his keen eye saw to be full of defects. He went about this work in a clear and practical way, which won admiration from those in authority. There was to be an initial experiment an operative demon- stration of his theories ; and consequently, on the fourth of May, 1859, he organized the United States Zouave Cadets of Chicago. Previous to this date his life had been full of the tonic of untoward circumstance. Born at Mechanics- ville, New York, April twenty-third, 1836, he acquired readily the common school education afforded by his native place, and thirsted for more. The limited means of his parents did not permit an outlay in that direction. The successive steps of his effort during this emerging period were from a printing office to New York city, from New York to Boston, from Bos- ton a year after to Chicago, in 1857. Here he em- barked in business only to be wrecked by the dishonesty of an agent. This rude blast of fortune he met un- complainingly. The next year was occupied in read- ing law with determined application. He earned a meagre living, meantime, by copying outside of study hours. With delicate sensitiveness he concealed from every one his struggle with poverty. "During all that time he never slept in a bed never ate with friends at a ELMER EPHRAIM ELLSWORTH. 399 social board. So acute was his sense of honor, and his ideas of propriety, that, although the most generous of men, he never would accept from acquaintances the slightest favors or courtesies which he might be unablo to return." On one occasion, he accompanied a friend to a restau- rant for conversation, but refused to dine with him, though the aroma of the repast was well-nigh madden- ing to his half-famished stomach. "His hearty good humor never gave way. His sense of honor, which was sometimes even fantastic in its delicacy, freed him from the very temptation to wrong. He knew there was a better time coming for him. Conscious of great mental and bodily strength, with that bright lookout that industry and honor always give a man, he was perfectly secure of ultimate success." One of his dreams was the intellectual and commer- cial conquest of Mexico, with a grand centre of opera- tions at Guaymas, from whence the tonic influence of American progress was to arrest and rejuvenate the decay of Mexican nationality. He saw "annexation" as the end of this scheme, but not through warfare and bloodshed. It was rather the vision of one who should bear "the standard of the peoples, plunging through the thunder storms, till the war-drums throbbed no longer and the battle-flags were furled," and the seas should "fill with commerce argosies of magic sails- pilots of the purple twilight, dropping down with costly bales." And thus, under the warm rays of a genius like this, the Chicago Zouaves sprang into existence. Ellsworth threw aside together, old uniforms and old ideas. He taught his men a simpler manual of arms. The new 400 HEROES OF THREE WARS. uniform was his invention and left the wearer per- fectly free in every movement. "He drilled these young men for about a year, at short intervals. His discipline was very severe and rigid. . . . The slightest exhibition of intemperance or licentiousness was punished by instant degradation and expulsion. He struck from the rolls at one time twelve of his best men, for breaking the rule of total abstinence. His moral power over them was perfect and absolute. . . . Any one of them would have died for him!" In several other towns in Illinois and Wisconsin he had companies under drill. In Springfield and Rock- ford he was especially appreciated. At Rockford he formed an acquaintance with a young lady, which re- sulted in betrothal and gave to the tragedy of subse- quent events a touch of subdued romance. "His company took the premium colors at the United States Agricultural Fair, and Ellsworth thought it was time to show the people some fruit of his drill. They issued their soldierly defi and started on their march of triumph. . . . Hardly had they left the sub- urbs of Chicago, when the murmur of applause began. New York, secure in the championship of half a cen- tury, listened with quiet, metropolitan scorn to the noise of the shouting provinces; but when the crimson phantasms marched out of the Park on the evening of the fifteenth of July, New York, with metropolitan magnanimity, confessed herself utterly vanquished. . . . There was no resisting the Zouaves." At an exhibition given at the Academy of Music, that hall was filled to overflowing, by the elite of the eity, and on their departure, they were "magnificently ELMER EPHRAIM ELLSWORTH. 4Q1 entertained at the St. Nicholas Hotel, by the Second Company, National Guard." "At Boston, Philadelphia, Washington and the other cities visited they were re- ceived with marked favor," and the Ellsworth Zouaves were rapidly acquiring an enviable repute. After the completion of their journey, Ellsworth entered the law office of Lincoln, at Springfield, Illi- nois, and in the ensuing campaign became a popular partisan of that presidential candidate. In the heat of the canvass, his law studies could not receive undi- vided attention, and when the newly-elected President went to the capitol for inauguration, Ellsworth was one of the chosen few forming the presidential escort. "On that journey he was the life and spirit of the party." Encouraged by Lincoln, he endeavored to perfect his schemes for military reform through the War De- partment ; but just as he became disgusted with the office-hunting and abasement of principle rife at Washington, Sumter was attacked and at once he sprang to action. That action thrilled the nation. The lieutenant's commission, which he had received from Lincoln in the hope of forwarding his plans, he now returned to the War Department, and was soon en route for New York to raise a regiment among the New York firemen. This was accomplished with mar- vellous celerity. In two days after he went to th chief of the fire department and issued his call for vol- nnteers, twelve hundred recruits had enrolled their names. Selecting ten companies, he went to Fort Hamilton to drill. He labored there with enthusiasm, night and day, and in less than three weeks took his regiment to Washington. New York was enthusiastic 402 HEROES OF THREE WARS. over her Fire Zouaves, and three stands of colors wer& presented to them. The first was the gift of the city; the second was from Mrs. Augusta Astor, presented by Hon. John A. Dix, and the third was presented b^ Mr. Stetson in the name of the ladies of the Astor House. Ellsworth "divided his regiment, according to his own original idea, into groups of four comrades each, for the campaign. He exercised a personal supervision over the most important and most trivial minutia? of the regimental business. The quick sympathy of the public still followed him. He became the idol of the Bowery and the pet of the Avenue. Yet not one in- stant did he waste in recreation or lionizing. Indulgent to all others, he was merciless to himself. He worked day and night, like an incarnation of energy. When he arrived with his men in Washington, he was thin, hoarse, flushed, but entirely contented and happy, be- cause busy and useful." The succeeding weeks were filled with continued and unceasing industry. Everything went well in the hopeful, brave-spirited Zouave camp. On the fateful night of the twenty-third of May, Ellsworth called his men together and addressed them in a brief, stir- ring speech announcing their orders to advance on Alexandria. When silence again hovered over the camp, he completed the business arrangements of the regiment, and at midnight, in his tent by the Potomac, wrote two letters; one to his parents, in which he com- municated the impending advance and the possibilities of personal injury. "Whatever may happen," he con- cludes, "cherish the consolation that I was engaged in the performance of a sacred duty; and to-night, think- ELMER EPHRAIM ELLSWORTH. 4Q3 ing over the probabilities of to-morrow, and the occur- rences of the past, I am perfectly content to accept whatever my fortune may be, confident that Pie who noteth even the fall of a sparrow, will have some pur- pose, even in the fate of one like me. "My darling and ever-loved parents, good-bye. God bless, protect and care for you. " ELMER." The other letter was written to his beloved, and the tender message is forever veiled from all eyes save those for whom it was written. The dread tragedy that followed was sad without relief. Ellsworth's regiment crossed the river in steam- boats that night, and on learning that the place had surrendered without resistance to the terms proposed by the Pawnee, then anchored in the Potomac off Alex- andria, Ellsworth proceeded, with a detachment of the first company, to take possession of the telegraph and stop railroad communication. While on this mission, the flag floating from the Marshall House arrested his attention. He entered with his party and asked what flag it was of a man whom he met in his shirt and pantaloons. This was James T. Jackson, the pro- prietor. The man professed to know nothing of it. Ellsworth ran up-stairs to the roof, cut down the flag, and was descending the narrow stairway again, when some one it proved to be Jackson sprang from a dark corner and discharged a double-barrelled fowling- piece full into his breast. The shot drove into hia heart a gold circlet one of his presentations inscribed with the legend, " Non nobis, sed pro patria." One who was with him at that fatal moment says : " The first thing to be done was to look to our dead 404 HEROES OF THREE WARS. leader. . . . The chaplain turned him gently over, and I sloopwi nnd called his name aloud, at which I thought that he murmured inarticulately. I presume I wag mistaken, and I am not sure that he spoke a word after being struck. Winser and I lifted the body with all care, and laid it upon a bed in a room near by. The rebel flag, stained with his blood, we laid about his feet. . . . His expression in death was beautifully natural. . . . Excepting the pallor, there was nothing different in his countenance now from what all his friends had so lately been accustomed to gladly recog- nize." His assassin met almost instant death at the hands of private Brownell, who was coming down the stairway in front of Ellsworth. When the remainder of the party came up, a litter of muskets was made, and the soldiers bore their beloved leader sorrowfully to the steamer. After reaching the Navy Yard, his body was taken to the engine-house, which was draped in mourning. But President Lincoln had him removed to the East Room of the White House, and there, on the twenty-fifth of May, the funeral obsequies were pronounced. The remains were borne to the depot, followed by the President and his cabinet, amid the tolling of bells and universal grief. At New York he lay in state in the governor's room, and a funeral procession of immense length threaded its way through crowds that almost defied computa- tion, to the steamer that was to bear him to his early home. At Albany, a similar testimonial of grief took expression, and while he lay within the shadow of the capitol, an organization called "The Ellsworth Aven- gers," rapidly formed itself. Arrived at Mechanics- ELMER EPHRAIM ELLSWORTH. vllle, at last, the martyred dead was given to his agonized parents, and, amid the fury of a raging storm which beat into his open grave as if the very elements wept their wild sorrow the body was committed to its long resting-place. The excitement which followed the tragedy was very great, throughout the country, and his name became a rallying cry for thousands. The grief of the Presi- dent, who was tenderly attached to Ellsworth, was touching in the extreme. A gentleman, in company with Senator Wilson, who called to see Lincoln on the morning of the shooting, found him "standing before a window, looking out across the Potomac. He did not move till they approached very closely, when he turned round abruptly and advanced towards them, extending his hand. 'Excuse me,' he said, 'but I cannot talk.' He burst into tears and concealed his face in his handkerchief. Then, for some moments, he walked up and down the room, and they stepped aside in silence, not a little moved at such an unusual spec- tacle, in such a man, in such a place." A New York city paper spoke of him as follows : "It is about a month since a young man of soldierly bearing, of an unusually fine physique, of frank and attractive manners, and of great intelligence, called on us on the day of his arrival from Washington, to state his wishes and purposes in relation to raising a regi- ment among the New York firemen. A fortnight later we saw him on his way to embark for Washing- ton at the head of his men, and escorted by the most imposing procession this city has ever witnessed. This man was Colonel Ellsworth, of the Firemen Zouaves. ' I want/ he said, ' the New York firemen ; for there 406 HEROES OF THREE WARS. are no more effective men in the country, and non with whom I can do so much. They are sleeping on a volcano at Washington/ he added, 'and I want meu who can go into a fight wow.' The impression he made upon us was that of a fearless, gallant and energetic man, one of those possessed of ... powers that es- pecially fit them to be leaders among men. In him we tiiink the country has lost a very valuable life." Ellsworth was, in all respects, remarkable : not only in his genius as a soldier and reformer of military ethics, but in his beautiful symmetry of character. The light which he transmits is not merely the burning halo surrounding the brow of the hero, but that of a pure and complete manhood in which are clustered all the virtues, added to a sublime scorn of everything ignoble. We approach the unforgotten altar of his memory as would those who draw near a sacred shrine to lay upon it the mute worship of their odorous flow- ers; and we accord him the chivalrous love due a true knight of truth a love akin to that which worsen lavish upon their bravest ideals. To us he can neecame uneasy at his long stay, and when he returned, both went at once to headquarters. The subordinate was ignored, but it came out that Barnard had not made the exploration himself, and the General wished to see the young officer who had. He came dirty, muddy, pantaloons worn by the saddle, head unkempt, and in some con- fusion. After a few moments' conversation the General said, "You are just the kind of a young man I want. How would you like to come on my staff?" This was just the thing for Custer, who was glad of such good fortune, and was always attached to the General after this. Said he: "I could have died for him." The first colors taken by the Army of the Potomac were captured by Custer from the Louisiana Tigers in the manner following: Custer begged General McClel- lan to allow him to capture the picket-post on the other side of the river, obtained his consent, and pre- pared for the attack at dawn, with two companiea of ravalry and one of infantry. He explored the river> personally, and finding it favorable, rode down with the appointed detail. Anxious about the enterprise he did not closely scrutinize the troops with him, till the ford was reached. Then, being seen in clearer light, animated cries of recognition greeted him : "Why, it's Armstrong!" "How are you, Armstrong?" "Give us your fist, Armstrong ! " Sure enough, it was his old school-friends from Monroe. He spoke to them kindly, said he was now busy, could not talk to them then except to say : "All Monroe boys follow me ; stick to me and I'll stick to you Come ! " GEORGE ARMSTRONG CUSTER. 43! The river was forded by the brave band ; the enemy surprised, the Louisiana Tigers shot, stampeded, cap- tured with arms and the colors, and our hero, Captain Ouster, covered with glory, returned to his chief triumphant. It is not our province to tell of the dis- astrous campaign on the Peninsula, and Ouster's new- won rank was not yet settled when a lowering cloud hung over the renown of McClellan. The " On to Richmond" cry sounded. Ouster shared all the glory and ignominy of his chief in the " Seven Days' Fight," but he and Bowen once more shone conspicuous in a brilliant dash at Malvern Hill. On one occasion these cavaliers compelled the surrender of seven men, too near to the enemy to bring off, but they captured their arms and returned amid " inextinguishable laughter," each with an armful of sabres, carbines, revolvers and belts, while both armies were spectators. Soon after, Ouster made a brilliant dash into the enemy's lines. He had another series of heroic adven- tures in White Oak Swamp, during which he was separated from his regiment. The bugler-boy cried, "Captain! Captain! here are two Secesh after me!" He compelled the surrender of one, and sent him off with a guard. With another he had a wild, exciting race; he shot him, as he would not surrender, and captured a fine, beautiful bay horse, with splendid saddle and all the trappings. Captain Ouster, during the Antietam campaign, attended as personal aide to McClellan, accompanied him everywhere, and, when- ever the advance struck the enemy, was at the front. General Hooker collected and organized the cavalry into three divisions under Pleasanton, Gregg and Averill. The battle of Chancellorsville had been 432 HEROES OF THREE WARS. fought, and an insolent enemy invaded the North. Hooker sent out the cavalry, and a brisk engagement took place at Beverly Ford, in which Custer distin- guished himself. He was now on Pleasauton's staff, and displayed his peculiar dash and energy at Brandy Station, where the Federal cavalry on a fair field proved their superiority to the Southern chivalry. June sixteenth, 1863, the Federal cavalry, under Kilpatrick, had a desperate encounter with Stuart's cavalry at Aldie. It was a trying time. Kilpatrick and Colonel Douty, with our hero, Custer, contended with a courage worthy the knights of chivalry. In the turmoil the orders of the leaders could not be heard. A young captain in a straw hat, his white curls flow- ing over his shoulder, and shabby uniform, attracted general attention. He waved his sabre, pointed at the enemy, and dashed upon them alone. Looking back, he waved his sword, and, with Kilpatrick and Douty, led his men to the charge. A dreadful fire met them, but the free use of the sabre, relied on in this battle, drove them in flight toward Ashby's Gap. The young captain shone out as a guiding star upon the field, and the men followed him. Kilpatrick's horse was shot under him. Douty was killed, but a charmed life seemed to belong to our young hero. He rode his favorite horse Harry, and bore the Toledo blade he had won in battle. A trooper turned round, fired and missed him ; Custer almost severed his arm. Another opposed him in the same way, with the sabre this time. Then a wild race ensued. Suddenly Custer checked his horse, and met his enemy in front before he could stop. A few powerful blows with the weighty sword clove his enemy's skull, and he fell prostrate to the GEORGE ARMSTRONG OUSTER. 433 ground. He had won his star, and was made a Briga- dier-General for his bravery on this well-fought field the battle of Aldie. To follow him on the path of glory in an indepen- dent command would far exceed our limits. He became commander of the Michigan brigade, and selected his staff from his old Monroe friends. He rendered the greatest service to Kilpatrick at Han- over, when Wade Hampton pressed on his rear. At the battle of Gettysburg he led a company in person, and repulsed the enemy. On the third day of that bloody field he displayed great abilities as a leader, while the services of his men went far to gain the day. At Falling Waters he displayed all the coolness, cour- age and tact which so eminently distinguished him. In all the raids of Sheridan, and the historical fields on which renown was reaped by daring and effectual raids, he had no superior. He never failed. He gained great renown at Five Forks, and, when Gen- eral Lee surrendered, he preferred to send in the first flag of truce to Custer, promoted to Brevet-Major- General. There was a great parade before the army broke up ; and Custer was sent to contend with the difficulties and discontents of the volunteers in Texas. In the changed circumstances of the army, in which regulars now filled the place of volunteers, and many anomalies were got rid of, a reduction of rank was inevitable. The Seventh cavalry was formed, and Major-General Custer became Lieutenant-Colonel of that regiment. While mustered out as General, he negotiated with the Mexican government to become chief of cavalry to Juarez against Maximilian, but the leave of absence 434 HEROES OF THREE WARS. for this purpose was not granted. While waiting fot it, he returned to Monroe, where Judge Bacon was dying, and that good man expired in Ouster's arms. About this time he accompanied President Johnson, who was sicinging round the circle. Mrs. Ouster was with her husband, and the young couple found the jaunt a pleasure-trip without its expense. The move- ment was political, and Ouster grew tired and departed. He was ordered, soon, to Fort Riley, Kansas, and became a " mighty hunter," possessing numerous dogs, guns, etc. The Seventh cavalry was first mounted, armed and sent to the plains, in the spring of 1867. Here Ouster began a new experience, and found himself often at fault. About this period the Hancock Expedition took place, organized and led by that general in per- son. The "Indian Ring" were bitter against Han- cock for bringing on, as they said, an Indian war. Eight troops of cavalry, seven companies of infantry, and a battery of light artillery made up the force to about 1,400 men. The Indians had robbed and murdered during the preceding summer, the Oheyennes and Sioux being the chief offenders. An expedition to check them was required. Appointments being made to come to a council, the Indians did not appear, and the chiefs made excuses, and, when the troops marched towards their village, they were found in imposing battle-array and mostly mounted. They were bedecked in their brightest colors, wore the brilliant war-bonnet, with the crimson pennant on their lances, strung bows and quivers full of barked arrows. They bore breech- loaders and revolvers, with the tomahawk and hunting- knife. GEORGE ARMSTRONG OUSTER 43* A conference ensued, and the Indians professed to be peaceful. This was a pretense, and, when the vil- lage was entered, they had decamped. Pursuit was made, but they were beyond reach. On this march Ouster had his first buffalo adventure. The war was begun, and Ouster left Fort Hayes on the first of June with 350 men of the Seventh cavalry and twenty wagons, proceeding toward Fort McPhersou, oil the Platte, two hundred and fifty miles away. On this, his first Indian scout, Ouster sent a train of wagons to Fort Wallace, to obtain supplies. Colonel West, with a cavalry squadron, was sent as escort half- way, while Lieutenant Robbins with one company was to proceed and return with the train, which was under the command of Colonel Cook. In the absence pf the two detachments, the Indians made a sudcten attack on the camp, near daylight. The report of a carbine roused Ouster, and soon all were in arms to repel a whole swarm of Indians rushing on to stampede the horses and kill the men. The attempt was a failure. The Indians made an attack on the train, but were severely punished, with great loss, by the bravery of the men, led on by their officers in gallant style. Lieutenant Ridder and ten men, sent with despatches from Sherman to Ouster, were massacred in the most barbarous manner by the Indians, and their bodies left nude, pierced often with fifty arrows. Strange fatality ! that a man like Ouster should have enemies; but few had more, or more malignant. He applied for and received authority to visit Fort Riley, about ninety miles east of Harker by rail, where his family then were; and then was court-martial led, and sentenced suspended from pay for an entire year. Into these 436 HEROES OF THREE WARS. matters it is needless now to enter ; certain parties re- gretted it, and Custer was magnanimous. Those who succeeded him failed; the summer campaign was abortive ; he was invited back by Sheridan and the officers of the Seventh cavalry, and on his way was over- taken by a telegram from the War Department order- ing him to report to Sheridan, now at Fort Leaven worth. After remaining a day, and receiving his instructions, he arrived at the main camp of the regiment, thirty miles southeast from Fort Dodge, and resumed com- mand. The Indians had become so bold as to fire fre- quently at the pickets, which state of things he soon ended by sending out scouts. At this time he ap- pointed California Joe chief of scouts. Shortly after en- sued THE BATTLE OF THE WASHITA. The plan of a winter campaign against the Indians, begun by Sheridan, met Ouster's hearty co-operation. The regiment left Fort Dodge with some Osage Indians, November twelfth. A train of wagons and infantry guard were to accompany the regiment to the edge of the Indian country, make a depot of supplies, from which the men could march out for three days or more, and fall back on it as a base, from whence it got the name of Camp Supply. General Sully was in command, and Custer but partially so. However, hi: made such arrangements as were needed, and, on ar- rival of Sheridan at Camp Supply, was freed from Sully's control. The cold was intense, snow fell to the depth of one foot during the night, and at four o'clock the bugle sounded to hoi>e amid a raging storm. "Prepare to mount!" "Mount!" then the signal to advance put the column in motion. The march began in a blinding storm ; the guides, in a few GEORGE ARMSTRONG OUSTER. 437 miles, lost their way, and could not discover the place where it was intended to encamp. The undaunted Ouster was not a man to be intimidated by obstacles and, taking out his pocket-compass, became his own guide to the destined place. Crossing the Canadian River no Indians were found, and the storrn ; if an obstruction to the soldiers, was no less so to the savages. When the last wagon had crossed, a courier reported to Custer the trail of a fresh war party, a hundred and fifty strong, apparently the last of the war party of the season, returning disgusted with the winter campaign, for they did not like the cold and absence of all forage for their beasts. Custer, in inarching through the cold and blinding wintry storm, would have considerable trouble in finding the village. The forces were united, eight hundred strong ; they had already reached the Washita Valley and were in close proximity to their enemies. Mounting at ten o'clock, four abreast, they crept on silently as the panther upon his prey. No whisper was heard, no match fora pipe. Treading lightly they moved on till the sagacity of an Osage guide perceived the smell of fire, and breathless excitement was pro- duced by the discovery of a few coals. They were found to be the remains of a fire made by Indian boys to warm them as they herded. Advancing, and peering over a hill, the guide remarked, as pointing to the place, "plenty of Indians there." The bark of a dog was heard and through the chilling air was borne the cry of an infant. At the midnight hour, Custer assem- bled his officers and laid the plan to ascertain the position and where the village lay. They put aside 438 HEROES OF THREE WARS. their sabres, sought the crest, and with their eyea scrutinized in the darkness the valley beyond. Crouch- ing together in deep silence, broken only by the whispers of Custer explaining the situation, the motion was made to resume their sabres. On the frozen pnow-*crust the attack was explained, and each one's part assigned. The village was to be compassed ere day, and at dawning, when just enough light appeared, the attack was to be made in four detacliments. In terrible cold Custer and his men passed the weary hours of the night discussing the probabilities of the coming fight, or muffled in their cloaks lying on the cold ground in deep slumber. It was silence all, and the sleepless thought on what the fate of to-morrow might be. At dawn the sharp clear crack of a single rifle rang out from the far side of the village, and turning to the band leader, he ordered him to strike up, "Garry Owen." The inspiring notes resounded through the valley, cheer on cheer arose from the men of other detachments, ready for the attack. The bugle sounded the charge, and the whole command dashed rapidly in to the village. The Indians fought with desperate courage, but a few moments made Custer master of the village, from which the inhabitants rushed and fought bravely under shelter of the trees, and wading the stream that divided it,some fought from the bank as a breastwork. A large portion of the command were ordered to fight on foot ; and one party encountered an old squaw who murdered a captive child when no hope of escape remained. In a moment a bullet avenged her victim. Custer sent Romeo, the interpreter, to tell the women GEORGE ARMSTRONG OUSTER. 439 and children in the lodges that they would be safe and cared for. California Joe brought in three hun- dred ponies, assisted by two old squaws whom he rendered useful. ' Ten o'clock A. M. the battle was raging, and to Ouster's surprise, about a mile from the village a small party of Indians were collected on a knoll, who soon numbered one hundred. These by accessions became numerous, and to solve the question Custer interrogated an old squaw, who informed him that a succession of winter villages contained all the hostiles of the southern plains, Arapahoes, Kiowas, Comauches, Cheyennes and Apaches, all within ten miles, the nearest within two. An attack in great force was to be expected, and Custer, when the firing had partially ceased, collected and reformed his men. An hospital was established in the centre of the village, the wounded cared for, and surgical assistance rendered. The loss was severe. Several brave officers were killed, and one missing. The numerous body of Indians now surrounded the command, but the quarter-master brought up a season- able supply of ammunition. The line had become a circle, with the village for a centre. The Indians fought with great prudence, but betrayed a lack of confidence. The attempt to draw the troops from the village failed. The lodges were pulled down and the captured property piled up and burned, and the village was but a heap of ashes. This brought on a general attack ; but they were handsomely repulsed at all points. The Indians had now suffered a telling defeat, and to guard against the capture by them of the wagon train, Custer determined to kill the seven hundred 440 HEROES OF THREE WARS. ponies that were an impediment and could not well b retained. A suitable number were preserved to carry off the prisoners on the march. Thus a large force of the Cheyeunes and other Indians under the great chief Black Kettle were defeated by Custer, involving a loss in killed of one hundred and three, including Black Kettle; the capture of fifty-three squaws and children, a large quantity of property, destruction of the village, and almost total annihilation of this Indian band. Sheridan's report is a fine eulogium on Custer ; and this great battle was followed by an imposing re- view, which Sheridan regarded as a scene "one of the most beautiful t and highly interesting he ever wit- nessed." The closing operations consisted in the pacification and restoration of the Kiowas, Cheyennes, and Arapahoes to their reservations. The first of these was effected by Ous- ter's capture of the two Kiowa chiefs, Satanta and Lone Wolf, and their detention as hostages, with the assurance that if their bands were not in camp next day at sun- set, both chiefs would be hung at that hour, and troops sent after the Kiowas. To bring in the Arapahoes re- quired either hard fighting and marching or great finesse, and Custer, who was allowed his own way in the matter, displayed great decision of character. Under the guidance of Little Robe and Yellow Bear, friendly chiefs, he marched with some forty picked men to their camp, and ended the dangerous enterprise by quietly locating the entire tribe under the guns of the fort. The Cheyennes were pacificated by an expedition lie made from near Fort Cobb to the North Fork of Red River, in which he rescued two female captives from GEOROE ARMSTRONG OUSTER. 441 the Dog Soldiers, the worst and most bloodthirsty savages of the plains. He had ended the work in the south-west, and proved himself one of the greatest Indian fighters of his time. The Seventh regiment was soon broken into detach- ments, and Caster was sent to Louisville, Kentucky, with two companies. It was during his residence at Louisville in the winter of 1872 that he hunted the buffalo on the plains with the Grand Duke Alexis. The Sioux were on the war-path at this time, and Ouster was called to the Yellowstone, where he had a brisk encounter with the savages. He afterwards made a complete exploration of the Black Hills, starting from Fort Lincoln in July, 1874. Raia-in-the-Face,oneofthebravestof the Indian war- riors, being convicted of the murder of two white men during the Yellowstone expedition and who was under sentence of death, escaped from prison and vowed the death of Ouster. The most redoubtable chief of all was Sitting Bull, whose resources were great, and who had under him all the tribes within the semi-circle formed by the Little Missouri. Crazy Horse \vas another powerful chief, and against him an expedition was sent under Generals Terry and Crook. They last encountered him on the Powder River, but with little success, and the battle there was little less than a defeat. When Sheridan and Sherman planned Sitting Bull's destruction, it was ordered that the Dakota col- umn should be commanded by Custer, for the simple reason, " Custer had never yet met with a single dis- aster while in command of an important expedition, and he had been blessed with more complete success in his Indian expeditions than any other officer in the regular army." , 442 HEROES OF THREE WARS. The plan was interrupted by Hon. Heister Clyraer, chairman of a Congressional Committee, in the inves- tigation of irregularities in the War Department, involving the Secretary, General Belknap, who s<>n after resigned. Belknap was a friend of President Grant, and Custer was summoned before the committee to testify what he knew. He went reluctantly, had little to say, but incurred the hot resentment of the President. Calling at the White House three different times to explain, the President refused to see him, and the result was, that the Dakota column would not be in command of Custer. He was finally permitted to proceed under General Terry, as a subordinate in charge of the Seventh cavalry. He won the friendship and confidence of Terry, and a total force of twenty-seven hundred armed men started west from Fort Lincoln against the Sioux. This was Terry's column, while that of Crook left Fort Fetter- man on the twenty-ninth of May, and the latter's part in the great expedition brought neither glory nor advantage. Sitting Bull had the better of it, and Crook's battle on the seventeenth of June began with his being " unsaddled in camp," and the fact of a real defeat cannot be concealed. Generals Terry and Gibbon, on June first, were in communication near where the Tongue joins the Yel- lowstone, and it was found that eighteen miles from the latter, and on the opposite bank, a heavy force of Indians had concentrated, and Indian pickets had stood in front of Gibbon's videttes for fourteen days. It was discovered that after scouring the Yellowstone as far as the mouth of the Big Horn no Indians had crossed it, and Terry at once began to seek them on the Powder, GEORGE ARMSTRONG CUSTEE. 443. Tongue, Rosebud, Little Horn and Big Horn rivers. Major Reno, of the Seventh cavalry, was sent with six companies a hundred and fifty miles, to look for Indians. Having reached the mouth of the Little Powder none were found. On his return he discovered a large Indian trail on the Rosebud, and it was now known that there were no Indians on Tongue or Pow- der rivers and the circle had untracted to Rosebud, Little Horn and Big Horn rivers. Terry and Ouster were waiting on the steamer " Far West," at the mouth of the Tongue, and on receiving Reno's report, Custer was sent up the south bank of the Yellowstone to a point opposite General Gibbon on the northern bank. Terry pushed up the Yellowstone and kept abreast of Ouster's column. After consultation with Gibbon and Custer, Terry adopted a definite plan of action. The Indians were thought to be at the head of the Rosebud or on the Little Great Horn, a divide of fifteen miles only separating these rivers ; and Terry announced that Custer would strike the blow. " Ouster," says he, in his despatch to Sheridan, " will go up the Rosebud to-morrow with his whole regiment and thence to the head- waters of the Little Horn, thence down the Little Horn." In his orders to Custer, General Terry says: "The column of Colonel Gibbon is now in motion for the mouth of the Big Horn. As soon as it reaches that point it will cross the Yellowstone and move up at least as far as the parks of the Big and Little Horn. . . . It is hoped that the Indians, if upon the Little Big Horn, may be so nearly inclosed by the two columns that their escape will be impossible." 444 HEROES OF THREE WARS. We come now to Ouster's last battle, fought on the right bank of the Little Big Horn, June twenty-fifth, 1876. The regiment left camp at the mouth of the Rosebud on the afternoon of June twenty-second, and marched up the Rosebud twelve miles and again en- camped. On the twenty-third they continued the inarch for thirty-three miles, passing many old Indian villages and following a large but not fresh pole trail. Next day on the march fresher signs appeared every mile till an encampment was made at the end of twenty- eight, that of the preceding day having been thirty- three miles. Custer, at 9.25 P. M., informed the officers that without doubt the village was in the valley of the Little Big Horn, and that to reach it the divide must be crossed between the Rosebud and Little Big Horn rivers, which could not be done in the day-time without discovery. At 11 P. M. they took up a line of march, turning to the right from the Rosebud up one of its branches which led near the summit of the divide. The scouts told Custer about 2 A. M. that the divide could not be crossed before daylight. They then made coffee and rested for three hours, resumed their march, and crossed the divide at about 8 A. M. When they were in the valley of one of the branches of the Little Big Horn, Indians had been seen, and as they could not be surprised, it was resolved at once to attack. The command moved down the creek toward the Lit- tle Big Horn Valley, Custer on the right bank with five companies, and Major Reno on the left bank with three. Further on to the left and out of sight was Captain Benteen also with three companies. As they came near a deserted village in which stood GEORGE ARMSTRONG OUSTER. 445 one tepee at 11 A. M., Custer motioned Reno to cross to him, and he moved nearer to his column till half-past twelve, when the adjutant came and told him the vil- lage was only two miles off and running away. He ordered him to move forward rapidly, and then charge, when the whole column would support him. He reached the ford of the river at a trot, crossed, halted ten minutes, and informed Custer he had every- thing in front of him, and they were strong. He drove the Indians over two miles down the river, grew uneasy in the absence of Custer, suspected a trap, dis- mounted and fought on foot near the edge of a point of woods. With the loss of three officers and twenty-nine enlisted men killed, and seven men wounded, he reached the summit of a bluff and was joined by Cap- tain Benteen, when their united forces were three hun- dred and eighty men. From the incompetency of this officer, and the disobedience of Benteen, Custer was left to contend with the swarms of Indians that assailed him without the help of his subordinates who heard his guns. The rest is soon told. The trail showed that Custer came down to the river, and was driven back at the ford, from whence, in his line of retreat, he made several stands in suc- cession, on the higher ground. Captain Calhoun with his company lay as they fell, all at their posts where they had been placed to check the assaults of the savages. A mile beyond this, lay Keogh and his company in position, their right resting on the hill where Custer fell. Custer, on the highest point of the ridge, made his last desperate stand, fighting heroically with Captain 446 HEROES OF THREE WAhS. Yates, Colonel Cook, Captain Custer, Lieutenant Riley and thirty-two others, till all were killed, him- self the last, and by Rain-in-the-Faee, in fulfilment of his vow. Here was another Thermopylae. No Spar- tan bravery exceeded this, and Custer, with his noble band of heroes, will live in the remembrance of the latest posterity. In the flash of his fame he died as he had lived for his country. The offering was doubtless a glad one. He desired no better fate than such a death ; he could leave no richer inheritance than such an exam- ple. While we feel as if destiny had robbed the future of the fame which such a nature must have won,we dare not regret that his career has been closed in its morning with this sunburst of glory. His memory will be gratefully cherished so long as honor has a victory, freedom a hero, or his country a name. "The neighing troop, the flashing blade, The bugle's stirring blast, The charge, the dreadful cannonade, The din and shout are past. No war's wild notes nor glory's peal Shall thrill with fierce delight The breast, that never more may feel The raptures of the fight." TESTIMONIALS. EXTRACTS FROM NOTICES OF THE PRESS. Boston Traveller. " Heroes of Three Wars," by the author of " Battles for the Union," and othef works, is an Intensely interesting volume, and will be welcomed by the reading public as a most valuable contribution to the military history of our country. Philadelphia Times. The soldier-author does his work in an "artless, patriotic, beautiful style, and gives to his readers a real and not an imaginary Mea of army life in all its lights and shades. Captain Glazier has laid his countrymen under lasting obligations to him, especially in his new book, " Heroes of Three Wars." Washington Chronicle. " Heroes of Three Wars " is written in a graphic style, and its thrilling delinea- tions of many of the most important events of the Revolution, and our great strug- gle for the preservation of the Union, cannot fail to interest those who love their country, and glory in the achievements of its brave and victorious defenders. Norriitown Herald. It is just the book for a winter evening. It inspires a spirit of patriotism, and gives a due appreciation of the labors and sufferings and sometimes the more cheerful and fun-provoking experiences of those who engaged in the great strug- gles for the nation's life and honor. New York Herald. Captain Qlazier is one of the most pleasing writers who has added a contribution to our war literature. He takes you through the vividness of his descriptions into the very scenes which he portrays. " Heroes of Three Wars " cannot fail to inter- est every reader, and we predict for its sale a success unprecedented in the book trade. Pittsburgh Gazette. The nature of this book is very forcibly expressed in the title pag. The writf wields a graphic pen. In the statement of facts he is painstaking and conscientious. Commencing with Washington, forty subjects are presented. The writer has th vivacity which is so essential in the composition of a work of this character. On* la often thrilled as the panorama of war passe* before his mind. (447) 448 TESTIMONIALS. Harrisburg Patriot. In his new book the soldier-author introduces forty of the most illustrious namet In the history of our country. The work is in fact a record of the privations, heroi< dee buried in the oblivion of the past. Boston Transcript. The bivouac, the inarch, the hand-to-hand^conflict with bristling steel, the head- long charge, the ignominious retreat, and the battie-field after the bloody assault, with its dead and wounded heioes, are all excellently portrayed, and with an ease and vigor of style that lend a peculiar charm to the book and rivet the attention of the reader from cover to cover. It is really refreshing to meet with such a work as this in these degenerate days of namby-pamby novels, so enervating to mind and morals. Captain Glazier's work elevates the ideas, and infuses a spirit of commend' able patriotism into the young mind, by showing the youth of the country how nobly men could die for the principles they cherished and the laud they loved. Worcester Spy. "Heroes of Three Wars" is a graphically written volume by no new candidate for public favor, but one who has already won the appreciative admiration of thou Captain Glazier was an active participant in the War for the Union, and followed the lead of Bayard, Stoneinan, Pleasanton, Gregg, Custer and Kilpatrick. He por- trays the dating deeds and glorious achievements of his heroes with an enthusiasm which fairly enchains the reader, and makes him feel for the time that he is either fighting his battles over again, or standing an awe-bound spectator of the clash of armor and fall of noble steeds and their brave riders. Chicago Inter-Ocean. It is correct in facts, graphic in its delineations, and in all its make-up is a most admirable volume. It will do the young men, and even those older, good to glance at these pages and read anew the perils and hardships and sacrifices which have been made by the loyal men who met and overthrew in battle the nation's enemies. The book is of absorbing interest as a record of brave deeds by ;is brave and heroic men as ever answered a bugle's call. The author writes no fancy sketch. He has the smoke and scars of battle in every sentence. He answered r> >ll-call and mingled amid the exciting events he relates. No writer, even the most praised correspond- ents of the foreign journals, have given more vivid descriptions, soul-stirring ia their simple truthfulness, than Captain Glazier in his " Heroes of Three Wart." 450 TESTIMONIALS. Philadelphia Enquirer. In Part Third of " Heroes of Three Wars," every man who participated In tu Rebellion can live over again the days of his soldier life; can fight side by side tvith his old comrades ; can charge again at the command of his old commander. And here it may be said that the way in which the old familiar names ring out throughout the book is truly Inspiring. The work will doubtless be warmly greeted by one and all, but more especially will it be welcomed by the thousands Of Isolated farm-houses, scattered all over the land, from whom went out a son to fight for his country, tt will muke delightful reading for the long winter even- ings o i>on to be here. Moreover, it is a work that will not prow old. It will nt change, like the majority of books, with the fashion. Its subject is one that cannot be encroached upon. New Tork Tribune. Captain Glazier's preceding works have gained him a wide fame, and in tht present volume he has certainly lit none of the vigor, strength and power which characterizes his former writings. His style is easy and natural, and yet thrilling and graphic in the extreme. As he writes in Part Third of the new work, he wit- nesses again the scenes through which he passed with his famous subjects during the Rebellion, and his facile pen at once and with peculiar fidelity transfers the mental picture to the page before him. It is a wonderful power, and one which few men possess, to be able to carry with them through life the scenes of former years, and reproduce them at will for the pleasure of their readers. Captain Glazier demonstrates this fine gift with admirable force, and the fascinating pages before ui are a moving, breathing panorama of the great struggles and heroic sacrifice! tut the preservation f the Union. 27593 UC SOUTHERN REGIONAL LIBRARY FACILITY AA 000858734 7