LIBRARY UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA SAN DIEGO i = S|5=-SiJa?Si 3 ^065-9 , i! 5! H2! IjH 'I j ' Spp!i!jjl"lj 1! ' I i , *1*!I J M C !U-fjh = l ll filial "IJSI.iJ 2^! r ? riifflii i^'- 1 a i * HIS) iii il aisi ||- 3M by an eye-witness, and this article caused the Southern papers to comment on its importance as relieving Gen. Pryor from Southern suspicion regarding his loyalty to the Confederates. Thp question, "Who was the youngest officer in the war ?" is also estab- lished by interesting evidence within these pages. To the old soldier, and to the veteran of those exciting campaigns of thirty years ago, whether by land or by sea, in which they took so gallant a part, it is not necessary to recount the chronological sequence of the battles of the War of the Rebellion. To those who have come into being since the cross jack banner of secession was furled for all time at Appomattox, as well as to the youth of the rising generation, devoid of those memories, who is to be thrilled in the many after years to come by their relating, it is of interest to knuw that the opening gun of that great struggle was fired upon Fort Sumter, hi Charleston Harbor, in the early dawn of the 12th of April, 1861 ; that the flag of Sumter was lowered after high noon of the next day, and saluted by the devoted garrison. STORIES OF OUR SOLDIERS. How the patriotic impulses of the loyal North were stirred by that insult to tne nag or the Union of States and of liberty can never be forgotten by boy or man then living. It is to give some conception of the prevalent teeling of that epoch in the nation's life that the succeeding papers have been written. Following fast upon the fall of Sumter, came the departure of the troops ; the attack upon the Massachusetts Sixth in Baltimore; the opening of the door to Washington by General Butler and the Ei.'hth Massachusetts Regiment ; the saving of the Constitution and death of Colonel Elmer E. Ellsworth. These were but the preliminaries which paled in utter insignificance beside the momen- tous events of the years that were to come. There were, to be sure, some reconnoissances in force by Gen. Butler, to Great Bethel, where Theodore Winthrop fell ; by Col. Wallace, to Romney, where 500 rebels were put to flight; to Vienna and other points, while in the West the gallant Gen. Lyon fought quite a notable little battle at Booneville, and put to ignominious flight the forces of the arrogant Gov. Claiborne F. Jackson of Missouri. But the war was looked upon, in spite of all this, as a novel and romantic ninety days' picnic, until the eves of the North were rudely opened to its seriousness by the first really great battle at Bull Run, Virginia, fought upon Manassas Plains on Sunday, the 21st of July, 1861. Its serio-comic and tragic phases, as viewed by Carleton, an eye-witness upon the battlefield itself, are presented by him in his interesting way in a succeeding paper within these covers. Following Bull Run there ensued much minor fighting, both in Virginia and the West, with a general consolidation and reorganization of the army But the most striking battle of that fall, and one which for thirty years has been most inexplicable because of the tragic blunder demonstrated and sad disaster entailed, was that of Ball's Bluff Its mystery is now explained in this volume by General John W. Kimball, the present State Auditor, and at the time Major of the Fifteenth Massachusetts Regiment, the first battalion to develop the enemy and engage his fire on that October morning. The Sherman expedition to Port Royal, and the brilliant victory there achieved in November, materially relieved the gloom of the year. Hon. John C. Linehan's narrative, that of an interested participant, presents details not before given. In March, 1862, was fought that battle which established the supremacy of the iron-clad, and revolutionized the navies of the world when Greek met Greek in Hampton Roads. The battle of Antietam in September, '62, marked the turning back of the first Northern movement of Lee the cherished idea of the Confederates and Fredericksburg in Decem- ber, with its bloody sacrifice of heroic lives, roused the nation to the necessity of relegating the politician to the rear. This volume covers the striking events of special interest In these earlier years of the conflict. The history of the war is yet to be written. With the passions and prejudices of thirty years ago forever stilled with the fraternization of the blue and the gray we are even now but just opening its pages in their actual, truthful reality. Boston. February, 1893. CONTENTS. CARLETON'S WAR MEMORIES, BY HON. CHARLES CARLETON COFFIN. Paga PEN PICTURE OF CARLETON AT HOME (By John Stuart Barrows) 9 CARLETON'S NOTE BOOK.. BALL'S BLUFF 12 THE BATTLE OF BULI. RUN is ANTIETAM 27 A CAVALRY CHARGE 39 THE CROSSING AT FREDERICKSBURG 47 CHATS WITH THE VETERAN, BY CHARLES F. W. ARCHER. CAPTAIN MAGNITZKY 63 SERGEANT McGlNNIS 67 THE MA.fOR TELLS OF BALL'S BLUFF .. 73 AN UNKNOWN HERO OF THE WAR 77 THE CAPTAIN'S SIORY 79 CHRISTMAS IN CAMP 89 JOHN W. HUTCHINSON 96 STORIES OF WAR LIFE BY OFFICER AND PRIVATE. AT FIRST BULL RUN Captain Urban A. Woodhury 105 THE SHKKMAN EXPEDITION .Hon. John C. Linehan 111 A GREAT NAVAL BATTLE William H. Osborne 123 A BATTLE CRISIS General A. P. Martin 132 ANTIETAM Captain John P. Reynolds 139 INTO THE JAWS OF DEATH, FREDERICKSBURG Sergeant W. H. Spiller-145 AN AKMY SINGER Father Locke 156 FREiJERlCKSBURG Major E. W. Ev^rson 162 A WAR ANNIVERSARY George E. Jepson 168 A NIGHT ON PICKET Captain John G. Mudge-180 THE SIEGE OF CHARLESTON ..Colonel ElbriHgeJ. Copp 185 HERO OF FORT WAGNER. COLOR SERGEANT CARNEY Walter H. B. Remington 194 IN THE SOUTHWEST Colonel Dana W. King 205 DR GALLOUPE IN LIBBY PRISON ^ Surgeon Isaac F. Galloupe 214 MAINE'S HEROES General Robert McAllister 221 DR GKEEN'S NARRATIVE OF THE DESERTER Surgeon Samuel A. Green 229 A PRISONER'S U1ARY Lieutenant Hannibal A Johnson 235 RED RIVER EXPEDITION -Surgeon John Homans 245 MARTIN'S BATTERY AT GATNES'S MILL Sergeant J. D. Reed 135 THE FIFTH CORPS A!' GAINES'S MILL Corporal T. E. Chase 136 ANECDOTES OP GENERAL MARTIN Lieutenant E. L. Stirling 138 THE TWENTIETH CROSSED IN BOATS Sergeant J. F. Murphy 155 THE BRAVE TWENTY-EIGHTH MASSACHUSETTS , Captain Martin Binney 161 A LITTLE CAMP FUN Corporal Z. T. Haines 1 73 HEROIC MOTHER AND A HEROIC SON Captain W. H. H- Hinds=173 GENERAL MKAGHER'S ADDRESS AT FREDEK1CKSBURG.. Corporal P. P. Whitehouse 176 A MOST GALLANT FEAT .John G. Crawford 176 THE BURNING RAILROAD TRAIN .William H. Osborne 177 HOW A CORPORAL TURNED REPORTER P. P. Whitehouse-178 STORIES OF GENERAL GILMORE'S OPERATIONS Lieutenant S. P. Hubbard 192 ANECDOTES ABOUT A COLORED VETERAN Arthur F. Adams 198 HOW THE SECOND ARMY CORPS WAS CALLED H. F. Whitcomb 199 A CHRISTMAS IN SOUTH CAROL'NA Hon. John C. Linehan 199 CAPTURED A REBEL GENERAL BY MISTAKE Sergeant Leroy T. Carleton 203 MARCHING UNDER DIFFICULTIES Corporal P. P, Whitehouse 203 PATHETIC WAR MEMORIES E. F. Hodge 204 NONE TOO GOOD FOR < ULONEL KING'S BOYS Colonel Augustus C. Humlin 213 GENERAL MARTIN'S STORY OF THE SWORD General A. P. Martin 225 A TRICK OF THE REBELS ..Lieutenant Aaron Ring 225 BATTLE OF SAVAGE'S STATION J. A. Wriaht-226 WHY THEY DISLIKED GENERAL BUTLER Charles B. Walker 227 THE YOUNGEST OFFICER IN THE WAR Colonel Albert Clarke 228 McELHENNY'S COURT MARTIAL James L. Sherman 232 A CONFEDERATE'S STORY Major Lamar Fontaine 259 6 STORIES OF OUR SOLDIERS. FULL PAGE ILLUSTRATIONS. Page COLONEL E D. BAKER AND BALL'S BLUFF 15 THE VARIED UNIFORMS AT BULL RUN 21 WHERE THE TIDE TURNED AT BULL RUN 25 THE THIRTEENTH MASS ACHUSE I IS CHARGING DOWN THE HELL 29 CAKLETON ON THE SKi iMISH LINE AND ANTIETAM BRIDGE 35 THE CHARGE O^ THE EIGHTH NEW YORK CAVALRY 41 DEATH OF COLONEL GOVE AT GAINES'S MILL 45 CAPTAIN PET l IT OPENING FIRE ON THE ENEMY 49 OUR TROOPS IN THE STREETS OF FREDERICKSBURG 53 SERGEANT PLUNKETT AND THE COLORS 57 CAPTAIN W. A. McGINNIS, SERGEANT McGINNIS AND THE AXE BRIGADE _ 69 CHARGE OF THE FORLORN HOPE 83 HOW CAPTAIN MAHONEY ALMOST KILLED HIS LIEUTENANT , 87 CHRISTMAS LV WINTER QUARTERS 93 JOHN W. AND ABBV HUTCH1NSON 97 CAPTAIN U. A. WOODBURY PORTRAITS ......107 THE CHASE FOR THE FUGITIVE ANVIL 113 BOMBARDMENT OF FORT WALK 3 R 119 BATTLE OF .MONITOR AND MER.ilMAC .127 GRIFFIN'S AND MARTIN'S BAlTtiRlES AT GAiNES'S MILL 137 JUDGE O. W. HOLMES, JR.. AND LIEUTENANT O. W. HOLMES. JR 142 FREDER1CKSBURG AND ITS RUINED BRIDGE 146 NEW HAMPSHIRE THIRTEENTH CHARGING THE STONE WALL 152 FATHER LOCKE AND COLONEL JAMES L. BATES ..158 FIGHT IN THr; WOODS BEFORE FREDERICKSBURG 164. AMERICANS AND BROTHERS ..170 THE WOUNDED COMPANY WASH BASIN 174 DIAGRAM OF ASSAULT ON FORl' WAGNER 188 SERGEANT CARNEY ON THE RAMPARTS OF WAGNER 196 COOKING THE CHRISTMAS DINNER 200 COLONEL KING WOUNDED AT SABINE CROSS ROADS 208 LIBBVT PRISON IN WAR T.ME 216 MAINE BOYS RETAKING MARTIN'S BATTERY 222 RELIEVING THE YANKEE LIEUTENANT OF HIS SWORD 236 TRYiNwTO RALLY THE FUGITIVES 252 PORTRAITS. CARLETON IN WAR AND IN PEACE 11 CHARLES F. W. ARCHER 62 CAPTAIN GUSTAVE 1MAGNITZKY 65 MAJOR JOHN W. KtMBALL AND GENERAL KIMBALL 75 CAPTAIN WILLIAM A H LL IN WAR AN > IN PEACE 81 WILLIAM H. O-.BORNE TO-DAY AND IN WAR TIME ..125 GENERAL AUGUSTUS P. MARTIN TO-DAY AND IN WAR TIME 133 CAPTAIN JOHN P. REYNOLDS IN WAR AND IN PEACE ..140 CAPTA N .IOHN G. MUDGE POR I RAITS ..182 COLON X E. J. COPP IN WAR AND IN PEACE 186 COLONEL DANA W. KING TO-DAY AND IN WAR 206 DR. ISAAC F. GALLOUPE 214 DR. SAMUEL A. GREEN TO-DAY AND IN WAR TIME ' 230 LIEUiENANT H. A. JOHNSON 244 SURGEON JOHN HOMANS. 248 VIGNETTES. FALL INI 8 TiiE MARYE HOUSE, FREDERICKSBURG 55 CROSSING AT BALL'S BLUFF, VIRGINIA 78 HUTCHINSON CREST AND OR GINAL SINGERS ..102 HON. .IOHN C. LINEHAN 122 SAVING THE COLONS, MAR YE' S HEIGHTS 167 CORPORAL REPORTER 179 RU NS OF SUvlTER 184 SUMTER'S BATTERED WALL 193 ESCAPED FROM CAMP FORD 212 DOOM OF THE DESERTER. , 234 a.r.a FALL IN ! Xnirty years ago the readers ol The Boston Journal were enabled to follow the movements of the armies engaged in the Civil War by the vivid descriptions of rapidly- changing events, written over the signature " Carleton." Although the facilities for dispatching the news from the seat of war to The Journal were not like those of to-day, the letters followed each other with a rapidity that showed the agility and push of the correspondent. The man who so skillfully transferred the scenes of battle to words and sentences, and such sentences that gave the anxious reader a perfect pen picture of the scene, was Charles Carleton Coffin, who to-day walks the streets of Boston with the same elastic step with which 30 years ago he "followed the flag." In his home on Dartmouth street Mr. Coffin is to be found sitting at his study table, ready to chat about affairs politic, military or social, as the caller desires, for "Carleton" is as accom- plished a conversationalist as he is a writer. Mr. Coffin is now on the eve of three score and ten. am: the prospects are that the next decade will be one of labor, but yet not sorrow rather one of labor of love for to him has been granted an especial privilege in not only telling the war story in the heat of conflict to the men of the country but also as the years give a perspective to those stirring scenes, to relate them again to the children of those who kept the home safe and the country free. The burden of years rests on him light, and Mr. Coffin may well claim for himself to be '* seventy years young," for though the hair and beard are now whitening, he reminds one of the hills of his naiive "Granite State," that need just the color of the snow-cap to make them stand out against the blue above. His eye is bright, and as he sits talking it flashes with all its original flre; as he walks the streets he seems to be a living embodiment of the ideal "Patriot," as in truth he is, for to one who watched his country while in the throes of civil war and has lived both in its past and present, as he has. the impressions of its import ance and worth can not be slight. Mr. Coffin was born to his work, inheriting from his grandsires the blood of those whc made the colonies independent, and in his boy- hood he drank in with all a child's eagerness the stories of the old pensioners of '76. showine at an early age that ability to gather facts that marked him for his life work and too, who knows how much of the spirit he infused into "Old Times in the Colonies." and "Boys of "76." came from the memories of the fireside tales he hftard in his boyhood. But it is with Mr. Coffin as the war correspon- dent and historical writer that the country at large is best acquainted, and the mind's eye pictures him as in those days on horseback, field-glass in hand, watching the lines ol blue and gray. In recalling those days Mr. Coffin tells how he always wore a long blue overcoat, and with his slouch bat it was difficult to distinguish him from the line officers, and he tells with a twinkle in his eye that shows his appreciation of the humor of the situation, how. presuming 10 STORIES OF OUR SOLDIERS. on nis disguise, when he was about to cross the lines, the officer in command called. " Turn out the guard and salute the General," and he said, "Never mind the guard," and giving the salute would ride on unchallenged. Of all the war correspondents who went to the front at the beginning of the conflict, Mr. Coffin was the only one to remain to the close. This was possible from his strong constitution and careful habits, for while many others fell victims to the attacks of disease, or were killed in action, Mr. Coffin "was carried through," as he says, "on coffee" and the frequent rest days betook. Although during his campaigning he was often in danger, he never carried side arms, not even a revolver, for be says he felt the danger would be greater from his own weapons than from those of others. On one occasion, in the early part of the war, at Blackburn's Ford his excitement carried him so far into the thick of the fight that the General in command ordered him out and to the rear, which experience proved a good lesson. At the battle of Gettysburg, where the bullets were passing thickly about him not as in the case of Arte- mas Ward" in wagons on the way to the bat- tle field," but in the rain of death, he, with Whitelaw Reid, the Cincinnati Gazette corre- spondent, narrowly escaped death, and Mr. Reid was so impressed with Mr. Coffin's bravery and ability as a news gatherer that he paid his especial compliments in his letters to the Gazette. Although the most direct mail route from the seat of war to Boston was by way of Chicago. Mr. Coffin was not to be baffled, andhis letters were sent by any means possible that would in- sure their safe and speedy transportation to The Journal : often he left the field on the close of a battle and traveled as far as New York, writing as be went, and a number of times be even came the entire distance to Bos ton. An example of his omnipresence and rapidity of movement may be had in the fact that on Jan. 6, 1862, he wrote of the condition of affairs at St. Louis ; on the 8ih of the same month be was at Rolla, in Missouri ; three days later he was at Cairo with Commodore Foote's gunboats, and later from the Commodore he learned the tecta of the taking of Fort Henry, and knowing ao other correspondent bad heard the story he at once started northward by train, writing oat the account while traveling, and had the pleas- ant satisfaction in knowing The Journal was the first paper to publish the account, which was duly copied by the other papers of the country. Being his own master of action, Mr. Coffin was unhampered by or'lers from the office, and so was enabled to follow any line of work he chose, or. as he says, " When 1 saw a new campaign open I went for it," and he covered the country from the Potomac to the Missis- sippi. Not only as correspondent did Mr. Coffin take part in the campaigns, but many times he served as temporary aid, his coolness and expe- rience making him a valuable addition to a staff. While at Island No. 10 his early knowledge of engineering became of practical value, for he assisted Capt, Maynadier of the engineers in directing the fire of the mortar fleet, and while watching the bombardment from the roof of a corn crib the Confederate artillery fire demol- ished a building but a few feet distant; another time, at Memphis, he assisted at the taking of the Confederate ship Little Rebel, and helped to haul down the flag. The account of the Battle of Gettysburg from his pen was received as a most accurate de- scription of that great battle, and those letters in The Journal seem as full of life as when written so many years ago. So accurate was his account that it was copied not only by the American press, but even trans- lated by the French and German journals. Mr. Coffin entered Richmond close on the heels of the evacuating rebel force, and regis- tered his name at the Spottsville Hotel, the first Union man for a long time. He met Presi- dent Lincoln on his arrival there and escorted him and party to Gen. Weitzel's headquarters. With the close of the war Mr. Coffin's occupa- tion as an army correspondent ceased, but his work as an author and chronicler of events had but just begun ; had begun, I say, for he had found time while under the cloud of the war to write three volumes telling the story of the scenes in which he was living, in a way calcu- lated to attract juvenile readers; these were " Days and Nights on the Battle Field." " Fol- lowing the Flag," and - Winning His Way." These works were only the beginning, for he uas given to the young people of the country whom, in the generous benevolence of his mind, be felt should have some patriotic lesson* taught in an attractive war. "The Story of 12 STORIES OF OUR SOLDIERS. Liberty," " Old Times in the Colonies," " Build- ing the Nation," "The Drum Beat of the Nation." Marching to Victory," " Redeeming the Republic." " Freedom Triumphant," these letter four being a series tell ing the history of the war in a chronological order from the fall of Sumpter to Appomattox. He has also found time to write a life of Gar- field, and the "Life of Lincoln" has at this writing just appeared, and he is still busy; the results of his labors the future will reveal. Mr. Coffin is a busy man, he is in demand as a lecturer, and he labors daily on his books, work- ing steadily each morning till they are com- pleted. His home has many reminders in view of his army life, and his later tour around the world which followed his service as foreisrn war cor- respondent in 1866, and during the three years that followed in which he was engaged in travel, he wrote a weekly letter to The Journal. Mr. Coffin enjoys the distinction of belonging to The Journal family, and is a welcome visitor to the offic % for during the winter ot 1860 and '61 he occupied the position of night editor, leaving it for the more active and important duty on the battle fields. Mr. Coffin has received many honors at the hands of bis fellow citizens, but no more ex- pressive tribute can be paid him than to say "he loves his country and countrymen." JOHN STCART BABBOW& CARLETON'S NOTES OF BALLS BLUFF. Tbe note-books carried in my pocket during the four years of the war of the Rebellion are worn and fhded. No one, other than myself, would comprehend the pencilings made on the march, by the bivouac and on the Battlefield, but a flood of memories sweeps over me as I turn the time stained leaves. I see the serried ranks of the mighty army, hear the deep thun- der of the cannonade, the rattle of musketry, the wild hurrah of the charge, the wail of defeat, the shout of victory. Once more I am amid the dead and dying. Once more I stand upon the ruins of Sumter, where treason began the war, and meditate upon the power of a free people to suppress the most gigantic rebellion of all time. Again I walk the streets of Richmond with Abraham Lincoln and behold the city a sea of flame. Nearly a third of a century has passed since the outbreak of the rebellion. A generation has come upon the stage to whom the struggle for the maintenance of the government of the people is ancient history. Many thousands who inarched to the music of the fife and drum have passed on to the larger life. K early all the chief actors in the great drama have departed, but there are still many thousand veterans remaining who delight to recall the scenes and incidents of the war, who perchance will welcome the series of letters which I am about to write. To many whose memories do not go back to the war, the letters. I trust, will give some insight into the greatness of the struggle, heroism and patriotism of those who periled and who gave their lives that the Government of the people might not perish. During the war it was my duty to record pass- ing events without comment upon the action or inaction ot those in command of the armies. I had no moral right at that time to praise or blame, but now as a historian it is my privilege to express my own opinions upon the conduct of the war, and to make observations upon men and events. I shall endeavor to treat every sub- ject deliberately, and without partisan preju- dice. Thirty-one years have passed since the disas- ter to the Union troops at Ball's Bluff on the banks of the Potomac. After Bull Run it was the most prominent military event of the first year of the war. I recall a sweet, calm and rest- ful autumnal day. I was in Washington and knew that General McClellan had planned a reconnoissance by a portion of the troops at Poolsville across the Potomac in the vicinity of Leesburg. Just what he in- tended to accomplish by the movement never has been very clearly or satisfac- torily stated. The force selected was wholly inadequate to hold any position that might be gained on the Virginia side. So far as now can be seen nothing was to be gained by such a movement. During the afternoon I visited Gen. McClellan's headquarters, which were in a large brick building, one of the largest and best mansions in Washington. I could obtain no information. While waiting for an inter- view with McClellan. President Lincoln en- tered the room. I had made his acquaintance CARLETON'S NOTES OF BALL'S BLUFF. 13 in his Springfield home immediately after his nomination in 1860. He gave me a cordial greeting: A staff officer announced the pres- ence of the President to McClellan. I could hear the click of the telegraph within. Several minutes passed before the officer returned and invited the President to enter the inner room. While waiting Mr. Lincoln rested his head upon his hand and seemed lost in thought. There were lines of trouble on his sunken cheeks. He did not remain long with McClel- lan, out came out and with long strides moved toward the door. His head was bowed, and his hands were clasped upon his heart. He walked with tottering gait, reeling as if beneath a staggering blow. He stumbled upon the outer steps, but did not fall. He passed down the street towards the White House, carrying not only the burden of the na- tion upon his heart, but a heavy load of pri- vate grief, which with swiftness of a lightning flash had been hurled upon him. "What is it?" I asked of Gen. Mar cv. Chief of Staff. "There has been a disaster at Ball's Bluff; we have lost a large number of men, possioly fifteen hundred, and CoL Baker is killed." My acquaintance with Edward Dickenson Baker was that of a newspaper correspondent with public men. The present generation knows him only as a man. but he was a very remarkable man, one of the many remarkable men of the century. He was of English birth, born in London 1811. being two years younger than President Lincoln. His father emigrated to Philadelphia in 1815. Early in his boyhood young Baker was set to work in a woolen manufactory. He had a limited educa- tion in the public school. In 1825 the family moved to Illinois. The boy determined to make the most of himself, and studied law. At the age of 24 he opened an office at Spring- field. When Abraham Lincoln moved from New Salem to Springfield to become a lawyer, with all his worldly effects in his saddle bags, and became a lodger in a loft over Joshua P. Speed's store, he found Baker quite well established in the profession. A warm intimacy sprang up between them. They belonged to the same political partv, both being ardent Whigs. Both were elected to the Legislature in 1837. It was a legislative body containing men whose names are inseparably connected with the history of our country. Among others were Stephen A, Douglas, John J. ilardin, the latter prominent In the war with Mexico, James Shields. Major General during the war of the Rebellion, of whom I may have something to say in another letter, William A. Richardson, subsequently member of Congress, John A McClernand, Major General during the war, and Abraham Lincoln. In the Harrison campaign of 1340 Baker and Lincoln stumped the State together. Baker was the most popular orator of the two, and aroused wild enthusiasm by his impas- sioned eloquence. Lincoln amused people by his stories, and carried conviction by his argu- ment Baker was speaking one evening in the Court House at Springfield to a turbulent crowd composed largely of Democrats. His argument was aggressive and forcible, and greatly angered them. "Down with him! Put him out!" they cried. A gang of roughs rushed upon the platform, immediately over which was a scuttle in the ceiling opening to a cham- ber above, where Lincoln was lying at full length upon the floor listening to Baker. The next moment the audience saw a pair of long legs dangling from the scuttle, then the whole form of Lincoln as he let himself down upon the platform. He seized the stone water pitcher standing on the table, lifted it above his head, and shouted: "I will smash it over the head of the first man who lays his hands on Baker! Free speech, gentlemen. Let us not disgrace the age and the country in which we live. Baker has a right to speak and I am here to protect him. No man shall take him from this stand if I can prevent it" As once upon the Gallilean Lake the storm was hushed by One who said "Peace, be still." so was it there by the action of Abraham Lincoln, who was liked and respected by all parties, and Baker proceeded without further interruption. When the war with Mexico began Baker raised a regiment in Illinois, was commissioned Colonel, and joined the forces under Gen. Scott at Matamoras. He was made bearer of dis- patches to Washington. Being a member of the House, he made a forcible speech in Congress advocating the prosecution of the war, then re- signed his seat. He again joined the army and was at the siege of Vera Cruz. At Cerro Gordo, when Gen. Shields, commanding the brigade, was wounded. Baker became Commander, and rendered distinguished service to the close of the war. In 1852 he emigrated to California and in 1859 to Oregon, where he was elected to the United States Senate. Upon the outbreak of the war he went to Philadelphia, and by bis patriotism and eloquence raised a regiment con- STORIES OF CH'R SOLDIERS. taming 140O men, which, te the language ot William D. Kelley, were the "Flower of Phila- delphia." It was known as the California regi- ment President Lincoln tendered a commis- sion as Brigadier General to Baker, which was respectfully declined He preferred to remain with the men whom he had persuaded to enlist He still retained his seat as Senator. I recall him as I saw him in the Senate and also at the head of his regiment, tall and of commanding presence, the picture of robust health, affable. courteous, dignified, restless at times, in the Senate chamber frequently walking in rear of the chairs, seemingly lost in thought, yet doubt- less hearing every word spoken. It was on August 1. 1861, that he entered the Senate wearing his uniform. John C. Breckinridge, Vice President under Buchanan, Senator from Kentucky, was speaking upon the hill for the suppression of the rebellion. He was bitterly denouncing the war and opposing Its prosecution. He said: "War is separation; it is disunion, eternal disunion. We have sep- aration now ; it will be worse as the war goes on. In addition to the moans and cries of widows and oruhans you will hear the cries of distress for the wants and comforts of life. The Pacific slope is now devoted, doubtless, to the Union: but if you increase the burdens of taxation, will they remain? You already see New England and the great Northwest in a measure divided. Fight twelve months and yon will have three confederacies, fight a little longer and you will have four." Colonel Baker arose. "Mr. President," he said, "what words are these? What their meaning? Are they not words of brilliant, polished treason? What would nave been thought in another capital, another republic, in a yet more martial age, if a Senator as grave not more eloquent or dignified than the Senator from Kentucky, yet with the Roman purple flowing over his shoulders had risen in his place, surrounded by all the emblems of Roman glory, and declared that tne cause of advancing Hannibal was just, and that Car- thage ought to be dealt with in terms of peace? What would have been thought if, after the battle of Cannae, a Senator had then risen in his place and denounced every levy of the Roman people, every expenditure of its treasure, and every appeal to the old recollections an Bun, a brook flowing through a deep and nigged ravine, I stopped and surveyed the scene. A short distance north was a stream of fugitives crossing a rickety bridge, which a few moments later broke beneath its weight,preveut ing the batteries from crossing it. It was through the breaking flown of this bridge that the guns finally fell into the hands of the Confederates. Ascending the hill to Centre ville I came upon Blenker's Brig- ade, which had been held in reserve. There was no panic at this point The soldiers were in line and in good order. Much was writ- ten at the time about the Black Horse Confed- erate Cavalry as having cut the troops to pieces. JThe story is wholly fiction. A battalion of Con- federate cavalry made its appearance, but was quickly scattered by the artillery. The only guns lost on the nel-i were those of Griffin and Kickett.t. and at Cub Run. I have snoKen of the correspondent of the London Times. Mr. RusselL He was at Centre- ville in a great state of excitement, inquiring if any had seen "a British gentleman in a gig with a nigger." He had left Mr. Warre, an attache of the British legation, and a negro boy at Centreville. He bad ridden down the turnpike toward Stone Bridge, but had seen nothing of the battle. He was compelled to make his way to Washington on a hard riding pony, very much to his disgust. An amusing account of nis ride was given by Mr. Ray, editor of the Chicago Tribune. Mr. Russell vented his spleen in a letter to the London Times, and became so abusive of the Northern troops that his oass was subsequently revoked. He took his revenge by writing several pages of fiction which he pub- lished in a volume entitled "My Diary, North and South." Wa now know that the Confederate army, when the panic began, was in great disorder, and that fugitives were streaming to Manas- sas crying that the day was lost. In fact there was a panic in both armies. It was one of the strangest spectacles of the war. The panic was more among the teamsters than among the troops. Many of the regiments retired in good order. One of the soldiers of the- Second New Hamushire, Calvin M. buroank. from my native town, shouldered a wounded comrade and carried him a long distance to an ambulanca The Confederates made no pursuit; they were too demoralized to make the attempt The battle ot Bunker Hill was a defeat to the Americans, yet, when viewed in the light of history, it was a victory. And so with Bull Run. Had the Union army swept the Confe lerates from the field, the chances are that there might have been a compromise, and slavery remained unharmed. Out of the defeat came final vic- tory and the beginning of a new life for the nation. ANTIETAM. The battle of Antietam was fought Sept. 17, 1862. a little more than 30 years ago. Gen. Lee bad been appointed Comman ler-in-Chiet of the Confederate Army in the preceding May imme- diately after the battle of Fair Oaks. By his strategy in bringing Stonewall Jackson from the Shenandoah to the Peninsula, he had com- pelled Me Cl el Ian to change his base to James River. He then conceived the idea of menacing Washington and invading Mary- land. He had two objects in view, bringing: Maryland into the Confederacy and carrying the war, if possible, into Pennsylvania. By such a movement he would compel McClellan to hasten northward. The plan was carried out with great vigor and energy. The strategy was successful. Then came the series of battles in the vicinity of Manassas, the demoralization of the Union Army, its reorganization under Mc- Clellan, After the battle of Manassas General Lee crossed the Potomac at Edward's Ferry and vicinity, and moved to Fredericksburg with Longstreet's Corns, divided his army by sending Jackson to capture Harper's Ferry held by Gen. Miles with 10,000 men. It was a Tory bold and audacious movement. The Confeder- ate Army wan worn by hard marching a*l by its successive b*ulos. It was far from its bast of supplies, and must live in a large degree upon the surrounding country. It was reduced in numbers to less than 50,000. The troops under McClellan exceeded 100,000. The army had been transferred from the James to Alexandria on steamboats, and was not worn down by hard marching, and was. therefore, in excellent condition. Previous to the battle of Antietam I had been with the Western army, but returned East during the week of the Seven Day's battles in front of Richmond. I visited Washington, but the War Department would not permit me to join the army. When General Lee invaded Mary- land I hastened to Pennsylvania to be an ob- server of what might take place as the Con- federates advanced into Maryland. I was at Greencastle during the engagement at South Mountain, and could hear the cannonade, but was not near enough to see the battle. The Confederate cavalry were in Hagerstown, to which I hastened upon their departure. It is not often that a General commanding a great army comes into possession of a document revealing all the plans of his opponent, but such a paper fell into the hands of Gen. McClellan at Frederick. Immediately after Lee left that town the Union cavalry entered it A soldier picked up a paper in the house which Gen. D. H. Hill had occupied which proved to be a copy of i>ee's or iers. giving all the details of the pro- posed movements of the Confederate Army. A portion of Longstreet's troops would be at Hagerstown. a portion at South Mountain and Boonsbowo'. Jackson would be 30 miles distant M Harper's Ferry. The time had come for McClellan to matte a vigorous movement; but he did not avail himself of the grand opportunity to anni- hilate Longstreet before Jackson could capture Harper's Ferry and join him. Quickness an* resolute energy were all important considera- tions. Instead of celerity there was tardiness in moving and lack of vigor in action. The battle at South Mountain was fought Sunday, September 14. resulting in the defeat of the Confederates. General Franklin moved to Crampton's Gap farther south and easily de- feated the Confederate troops under Gen- eral McLaws at that point. The troops at Harper's Ferry could hear the 28 STORIES OF OUR SOLDIERS. cannon at Crampton's Gap. They knew that the Army of the Potomac was fighting its way to their relief, but at 8 o'clock on Monday morning. Sect 15, the pusillanimous com- mander. Miles, against the remonstrances of his officers and soldiers, raised a white flag in token of surrender. A moment later, he was mortally wounded. Thus, Harper's Ferry, with eleven thousand men and seventy-three can- non, through the incapacity of Miles and the tardiness of McClellan, was lost. Miles nad made verr little resistance. Some of his troops shed tears over the disgrace and hu- miliation. General Lee, after capturing Harper's Ferry, could have recrossecl the Potomac, but preferred to tight a battle in Maryland. He selected a field where it would be impossi- ble for McClellan to turn either flank, or get in his rear. It was a good position on the west bank of Antietam Creek, which rises north of Hagerstown. runs south and empties into the Potomac, three miles south of Sharpsburg. It can be lorded in many places. At daybreak. September 15, McClellan's troops were in possession of South Mountain, seven miles from Antietam, At that moment the Union cavalry under Pleasanton were dashing upon Lee's rear guard at Boonsboro', capturin? two cannon and 250 prisoners. At the same hour McClellan was issuing his orders for the army to move on; but it was half past twelve at noon before any of the troops had started Late in the afternoon Ricnardson's division of Sumner's Corps reached the eastern bank of the Antietam. In contrast to such slowness was the rapidity with which Stonewall Jackson moved his troops, Between tne morning of September 12 and the evening of September 16 a portion of Jackson's troops marched sixty miles and cap- tured eleven thousand Union troops. These preliminary remarks will enable as better to comprehend the battle of Antietam. Soon after my arrival in Hagerstown the Union cavalry which had escaped from Harper's Ferry crossed tne Potomac. They followed winding forest paths through the woods, avoid- in? the main roads, until north of Sharpsbure. While crossing the Williamsport and Hasers- town road they came upon Longstreet's am- munition train in the night. The officer com- manding the cavalry, riding up to the forward driver, said quietly: "You are on the wrong road. That is the road for you to take," pointing to the Hagers- town turnpike. The driver turned as directed, not knowing that the officer was a Yankee. "Hold on there! You are on the wrong road. Who told you to turn off here? " shouted the Confederate officer in charge of the train, dash- ing up on his horse. ' I gave the order, sir, and you are my pris- oner, said the Colonel of the Eighth New Jer- sey, presenting his revolver. One hundred wagons and 74 men were thus captured. At the head of the prisoners marched a man with downcast eyes, sun burned, dressed in gray, with a black feather in his hat Fiti-Hugh Miller, a Pennsylvanian. It was he who arrested Cook, one of John Brown's accomplices, in 1859, ana deliv- ered him to Governor Wise of Virginia. Cook was hung py the Virginians. When the war broke out Miller went South and was a Captain in Lee's army. When the people learned that he was a prisoner they became greatly excited. Some picked UP stones to hurl at him ; others shook their fists in his face, but the guards pro- tected him. He was taken to Chambersburg, where an attempt was made to hang him by the excited populace, but he was protected. What finally became of him I do not know. I passec tne nicrht of tne iBth in Hagerstown. Soon after daylight, on the morning of the 17th. I mounted my hqrsa The southwest breeze brought the booming of the cannonade at An- tietam the beginning of the battla The people of the town rushed into the streets, lis- tening to the reverberations rolling along the valley. It was a dull morning and the clouds were hanging low. I had a seven-mile ride before ine to reach the field. I half resolved to go down the turnpike to Sharpsburg, and, if possible, gain the rear of the Confederates and see the battle from the Confederate side. I was in citizen's dress, and thought it probable I might mingle with the citizens of Sharpsburg and not be detecteo. If 1 could accomplish my ob- ject it would be a journalistic feat which no other correspon !ent had undertaken. I turned down the turnpike with that purpose in view.but a short distance brought me to several men sit- ting on a rail fence listening to the uproar of the cannonade. I aske-l thorn if the 'oad would take me to the rear of the Confederates, Some thought it would, others mat it would not "If I were in ys will take you to Richmond" said one. I saw the matter in a new light and took the Boonsboro' road instead, winch took me to the right fiank of McClellan's army. A short ride brougut me to a Confeder- ate soldier lying under a tree by the road side. As I galloped toward him he partly rose and raised his hand as if to ask me not to shoot him. Seeing that I was a citizen and not a soldier, be wearily laid down again. He had broken down in the march and was unable to go any farther. His cheeks were hollow, his eyes sunken, his voice faint. He said he had lain beneath the oak a day and a niglit waiting death, expecting no help or mercy from any one. Two kind-hearted farmers came and took him into one of their houses. The unexpected kindness filled his eyes with tears. Galloping on I met several Union sol- diers, who inquired the road to Hagerstown, saving they nad been ordered to that place. I knew they were cowards, who had flecl from the battlefield. Having reached the flank of the army I tore down a gap in the fence, leaped my horse across it and ascended a hill on Mr. Hoffman's farm. The battle was raging fiercely. I came upon a pitiful sight tne field hospital, where the ground was literally covered with the wounded. STORIES OF OUR S had been torn from the fence, the rails thrown down and the garden trampled. It had been trodden by the Confederates in their retreat and by Hooker's men in their advance aud retreat. Riding down the turnpiKe southward I came upon a Union soldier crouching beneath the wall " Where are you going? " he inquired. "I thought I would go to the front." "The front 1 You have passed it, 1 am on the skirmish line : you had better get out or here mighty quick The rebs are in the corn right there." The advice was timely and 1 turned back none too soon, for a little later the artillery opened. Passing in rear of the batteries at Poftenburger's 1 came UDOU the Twelfth Corps, commanded by General Mansfield. I had made nis acquaintance earlv in the war at Washing- ton. He was advanced in years, white haired, thin and spare, but his eye was keen and he was active, brave and energetic. He had only two small divisions, and had deployed his line from Dr. Miller's house southward tbrou&rh a cornfield. A short time before my arrival he rode along the line, his long white hair streaming in the wind. The Confederate sharpshooters, crouching in tne corn west of the turnpike, from which 1 had turned back, singled him out a conspicuous ob- ject near the large oaK tree which 1 have men- tioned, where he fell mortally wounued. Gen. Williams succeeded to the command The divi- sion moved down the gentle slope, passed Miller's house, crossed the turnpike, drove the Confederate skirmishers from the cornfield be- yond and advanced to the woods near the Dunker Church, encountering Hood's division posted behind the limestone ledges and the rail lence. Stuart's artillery, on the hill behind the house of Mr. Nicodemus. was in a position to send an enfilading tire upon Mansfield's troops. There was a short and sharp contest, in which the corps suffered heavy loss. Having no sup- ports they fell back across the turnpike, leaving the ground strewn with killed and wounded. I have said nothing of Hooker's attack, as 1 did not witness it : it was over before I arrived upon the field. Hooker was wounded and hi! troops took no more part in the battle. He had two volunteer citizen aids in the battle, one the late Charles R. Train of Framinsham, who had a narrow escape from a shell which ex- ploded over his head; the other G. W. Smalley. correspondent of the New York Tribune, and at present located in London, whose horse was wounded. Two attempts had been made to carry the position at the Dunker Church, both ending in failure. Had they been made unitedly, it seems probable that Stuart's battery could have been driven from the hills west of the Nicodemus house and the flank of Jackson turned. The third attempt was made by Sedgwick's Di- vision of Sumner's Corps, 1 found it in the woods east of the Dunker Church. I came upon Gen. Howard, then commander of a brigade. I had made his acquaintance early in the war He gave me a hearty welcome, extending his left hand. He had lost his right arm at Will- iamsburg. Not having any pass he kindly wrote one for me while sitting in hi.s saddle. We had not much time for conversation. He hurriedly gave me the organization of the division. It was half-past seven in the morning when Sumner received his orders from McClellan to cross the Antietam. He had been in P9sition on the eastern batiks for 36 hours, and might have opened the attack before sunset on the 16th, but no orders had come to him Through the morning the troops had heard the deafening cannonade and rolls of musketry. When Sum- ner received his order he was more than two miles distant from the battlefield. The troops had made the march; had met stragglers and ambulances filled with wounded ; they knew that Hooker and Mansfield had been repulsed with heavy loss. The battle thus far has gone against the Union troops. Sumner forms the division in three lines, Gorman in front, then Dana and then Howard's brigades. It is a faulty formation. He does not throw out any flankers to guard him from a sMe at- tack, neither does he send a line of skirmishers in advance. One can hardly understand how a veteran officer could have I ormed hi.s troops in that order. Sumner had been educated as a cavalry commander Cavalry tactics form bodies in the mass rather than in deployed lines. It seems probable that in this formation he used the tactics of the cavalry instead of the infantry Possibly he may have concluded that French s division, which was to advance on his left, would protect Sedgwick. But French waa a mile away when Sedgwick advanced. The troops move out from the woods into the open field. Instantly the hill behind the house of Nicodemus burst into flame and the shell* explode amid the advancing lines. The Con- federate cannon by the church send a storm of solid shot and shells into the faces of the ad vaucing troops. But on. closing the traps, they advance to the turnpike, across it into the woods, up to the church, breasting the storm that burst upon them from the ledges and the rail fence, Sumner does not mistrust that there are ten Confederate brigades concealed in the hollow and behind the fences between the church and old Muma's honse, east of the turn- pike, ready to swing upon Sedgwick. Gor man's and Dana's brigades have crossed the turnpike and Howard's is in the field east of it, when the Confederates rise from the hollow, Sumner is talking with Colonel Kimbail, com manding the Fifteenth Massachusetts, when Major Philbrick of that regiment shouts' "See! The rebels." Sumner looks in the direction to which Philbrick points and exclaims; "My God I We must get out of this." He directs Howard to change front. Howard has been facing west, but must bring his troops to face the southeast, The resiment on his extreme left, the Seventy- second Pennsylvania, is the first to feel the blow. An overwhelming force is advancing rapidly Howard has not time to form a new ANTIETAM. 33 line. fli men are thrown Into confusion. Less than thirty minutes have passed since the division advanced across the field. Instead of continuing the battle, there is but one thing to be done aud that is to retreat. The troops can- not return to the woods from which they have emerged, but are compelled to retire northwara over the ground where Mansfield and Hooker have fought, toward Miller's and Poffeubur arer's houses. The struggle is brief, but the division suffers great loss. In less than twenty minutes more than 2000 are killed or wounded. The Nineteenth Massachusetts went into action with 606 officers and men. and lost 343. The Fifteenth Massachusetts faced about in a line perpendicular to the Hagerstowu pike, and fought gallautlv for a few minutes and held the Confederates in check. Portions of other regiments ralhe'l and contested the ground valiantly. But overborne and put- numbered, the entire command moved rapidly away. As soon as possible, without en i anger- ing tho retreating WOODS, the Union batteries opened fire upon the Confederates, who, in turn, were driven by the storm of canister buried upon them. The Confederate commander, Gen. Hood, in his account of the battle, sai i that the losses of the Confe lerates were very great in this short melee. His words are. " Here I wit- nessed the most terrible clash of arms, by far, that has occurred during the war." In my next letter 1 shall give an account of what I saw of the battle in the centre and on the left A little before noon General McClellan and staff crossed the Autietam and rode up to the woods from wnich Seilgwick had advanced. He looked over the field toward the Danker OtiaiOh, examined with his glass the Confed- erate position a few moments, role along the lines a short distance and returned to his head- quarters. I recall the advance of French's division across the field to the left of Sedgwick. It was advancing with brigade front. The sun at that moment burst through the clouds and "was reflected from gun arrel and bayonet. There was a light breeze from the southwest sufficient to display the flasrs in all their beauty. It was an inspiring spectacle. And yet as 1 be- held it i experienced a feeling of sadness, know- ing that before sundown many of those brave men would be killed or wounded. I followed McClellan back to his headquarters located at a large farmhouse. From that point, of view, with the telescopes belonging to the headquarters, the officers of his staff could see the battlefield from the Bunker CUurch, south- ward to Sharpsburg. McClellan was sitting upon the piazza, in conversation with Fitz- John Porter, whose corps was near at hand, numbering 12,000. It was secreted from the -enemy by a hill. Southward the cannon of Buruside were thundering to dislodge a bri- gade of Confederates secreted in a stone quarry overlooking the bri Ige which Burnside de- Sired to use in crossing the Antietam. After a short stay at the headquarters 1 rode forward toward the houses of Messrs. Muma and Rulet Tney are situated on the west bank of the Antietam, near the centre of McClellan's line of battle. They were held by the Confederates. Gen. French at the moment was preparing to advance toward Mania's bouse on the right. Half of his division was north of a little brook, wnich winds down from the hills, the other half south of it. He had three brigades Weber's, Kimball's and Morris's. The last named was composed of new troops, which never nad heard the roar of battle until that morning. i he hillside on the right suddenly burst into dame, the Union batteries began a cannonade, under cover of whiou French advanced. The white powder clouds floated uowu the ravine, and swept over the men. It was beautiful to see through its rifts the Stars and stripes waving in the sunlight. From the hill beyond Muma's house the Confederate artillery opened fire, a portion of the guns replying to the Union artillery, and another portion burling shells upon the advancing line. A short distance from Muma's house was a cemetery, Irom which came puffs oi smoke from mu.skets fired by men conceale i behind the wtiite marble headstones. Otuer sharpshooters fired from tne win tows. French's skirmishers crept along the fences and soon drove the Confederates from the cemetery and the house, which was set on tire either by the departing enemy or by a shell. The build- ings burned rapidly. If there can be grandeur in a battle scene, the scenery at this moment formed a grand picture, with the cannon of both armies naming, the buildings on fire, a dark pillar of cioud rising heavenward, 10,000 men advancing slowly across the green fields, their banners waving and bayonets gleaming in tlie sun- light Just beyond the house of Mr. Muma is a road leading from the Hagerstown turnpike, near the church, to the Boonsboro' turnpike. It is spoken of now as the "sunken" road. It formed a natural rifle-pit for the Confederate troops under D H. Hill. Beyond this way was a corn field, in which Hill sta- tioned his second line, with his artillery planted on a knoll higher up, near the Hagers- town turnpike. It is but a short distance south- ward from Muma's to Kulet's house. Beyond the latter the ground rises sharp and steep for a short distance, and then descends slightly toward the sunken road. The house and the large barn of Mr. Rulet, with the peach tree* and appie orchard immediately behind it. wa a conspicuous point French's division ex- tended to these uuildings. Immediately south of it Richardson's division was in line preparing to advance up tne steep slope upon the Confed- erates concealed in the sunken road The line of advance taken by French led Wooer's brigade directly against the smoking ruins of the building : Kimball's passed between the two houses. As Weber's troops moved across the field past the burial ground some of the skirmishers paused a moment, rested their rifles on the headstones and took a long shot at the second line of Confederates in the corn field. Kimball's brigade was divided by Rulet's buildings, but after passing them STORIES OF OUR SOLDIERS had been torn from the fence, the rails thrown down and the garden trampled. It had been trodden by the Confederates in their retreat and by Hooker's men iii their advance and retreat. Riding down the turnpifce southward I came upon a Union soldier crouching beneath the wall " Where are you going? " he inquired. "Ithought I would go to the front. "The front I You have passed it. 1 am on the skirmish line ; you had better get out of here mighty quick The rebs are in the corn right there." The advice was timely and 1 turned back none too soon, for a little later the artillery opened. Passing in rear of the batteries at Poffen burger's I came UDOU the Twelfth Corps, commanded by General Mansfield. I had made His acquaintance earlv in the war at Washing- ton. He was advanced in years, white haired, thin and spare, but bis Aye was keen and he was active, brave and energetic. He had only two small divisions, and had deployed his line from Dr. Miller's house southward through a cornfield. A short time before ray arrival he rode along the line, his long white hair streaming in the wind. The Confederate sharpshooters, crouching in the corn west of the turnpike, from which 1 had turned back, singled him out a conspicuous ob- ject near the large oak tree which 1 nave men- tioned, where he fell mortally wounded. Gen. Williams succeeded to the command The divi- sion moved down the gentle slope, passed Miller's house, crossed the turnpike, drove the Confederate skirmishers from the cornfield be- yond and advanced to the woods near the Dunker Church, encountering Hood's division posted behind the limestone ledges and the rail fence. Stuart's artillery, on the hill behind the house of Mr. Nicodemus. was in a position to Bend an enfilading tire upon Mansfield's troops. There was a short and sharp contest, in which the corps suffered heavy loss. Having no sup- ports they fell back across the turnpike, leaving the ground strewn with killed and wounded. I have said nothing of Hooker's attack, as 1 did not witness it: it was over before I arrived upon the field. Hooker was wounded and his troops took no more part in the battle. He had two volunteer citizen aids in the battle, one the late Charles R. Train of Fr, trainer ham, who had a narrow escape from a shell which ex- ploded over his head; the other G. W. Smalley. correspondent of the New York Tribune, and at present located in London, whose horse was wounded. Two attempts had been made to carry the position at the Dunker Church, both ending in failure. Had they been made unitedly, it seems probable that Stuart's battery could have been driven from the hills west of the Nicodemus house and the flank of Jackson turned. The third attempt was made by Sedgwick's Di- vision of Sumner's Corps. 1 found it in the woods east of the Dunker Church. I came upon Gen. Howard, then commander of a brigade. I had made his acquaintance early in the war He grave me a hearty welcome, extending his left hand. He had lost his right arm at Will- iamsburg. Not having any pass he kindly wrote one for me while sitting in his saddle. We had not much time for conversation. He hurriedly gave me the organization of the division. It was half-past seven in the morning when Sumner received his orders from McClellan to cross the Antietam. He had been in position on the eastern banks for 36 hours, and might have opened the attack before sunset on the 15th, but no orders had come to him Through the morning the troops had heard the deafening Cannonade and rolls of musketry. When Sum- ner received his order he was more than two miles distant from the battlefield. The troops had made the march ; had met stragglers and ambulances tilfed with wounded ; they knew that Hooker and Mansfield had been repulsed with heavy loss. The battle thus far has gone against the Union troops. Sumner forms the division in three lines, Gorman in front, then Dana and then Howard's brigades. It is a faulty formation. He does not throw out any flankers to guard him from a side at- tack, neither does he send a line of skirmishers in advance. One can hardly understand how a veteran officer could have I ormed bis trooos in that order. Sumner had been educated as a cavalry commander Cavalry tactics form bodies in the mass rather than in deployed lines. It seems probable that in this formation he used the tactics of the cavalry instead of the infantry Possibly he may have concluded that French s division, which was to advance on his left, would protect Sedgwicfc. But French was a mile away when Sedgwick advanced. The troops move out from the woods into the open field. Instantly the hill behind the house of Nicodemus burst into flame and the sheila explode amid the advancing lines. The Con- federate cannon by the church send a storm of solid shot and shells into the faces of the ad vaucing troops. But on, closing the gaps, they advance to the turnpike, across it into the woods, up to the church, breasting the storm that burst upon them from the ledges and the rail fence. Sumner does not mistrust that there are ten Confederate brigades concealed in the hollow and behind the fences between the church and old Muma's house, east of the turn- pike, ready to swing upon Sedgwick. Gor man's and Dana's brigades have crossed the turnpike and Howard's is in the field east of it, when the Confederates rise from the hollow, Sumner is talking with Colonel Kimbail, com manding the Fifteenth Massachusetts, when Major Philbrick of that regiment shouts' " See! The rebels." Sumner looks in the direction to which Philbrick points and exclaims: "My God I We must pet out of this." He directs Howard to change front. Howard has been facing west, but must bring his troops to face the southeast, The reiriment on his extreme left, the Seventy- second Pennsylvania, is the first to feel the blow. An overwhelming force is advancing rapidly Howard has not time to form a new AHTIETAM. 33 tine. His men are thrown Into confusion, Less than thirty minutes have passed since the division advanced across the field. Instead of continuing the battle, there is but one thing to be done and that is to retreat. The troops can- not return to the woods from which they have emerged, but are compelled to retire northward over the ground where Mansfield and Hooker have fought, toward Miller's and Poffeubur srer's houses. The struggle is brief, but the division suffers great loss. In less than twenty minutes more than 2000 are killed or wounded. The Nineteenth Massachusetts went into action with 606 officers and men, and lost 343. The Fifteenth Massachusetts faced about in a line perpendicular to the Hagerstown pike, and fought gallautlv for a few minutes and held the Confederates in check. Portions of other regiments rallied and contested the ground valiantly. But overborne and out- numuered, the entire command moved rapidly away. As soon as possible, without en tanger- ing tho retreating troops, the Union batteries opened fire upon the Confederates, who, in turn, were driven by the storm of canister buried upon them. The Confederate commander. Gen. Hood, in his account of the battle, sai I that the losses of the Confe lerates were very great in this short melee. His words are . " Here I wit- nessed the most terrible clash of arms, by far, that has occurred during the war." In my next letter 1 shall give an account of what I saw of the battle in the centre and on the left. A little before noon General McClellan and staff crossed the Autietam and rode up to the woods from wnich Sedgwick had advanced, tie looked over the field toward the Danker Caurch. examined with his glass the Confed- erate position a few moments, ro le along the lines a short distance and returned to his head- quarters. I recall the advance of French's division across the field to the left of Sedgwick. It was advancing with brigade front. The sun at that moment burst through the clouds and was reflected from gun arrel and bayonet. There was a light breeze from the southwest sufficient to display the flags in all their beauty. It was an inspiring spectacle. And yet as I be- held it I experienced a feeling of sadness, know- ing that before sundown many of those brave men would be killed or wounded. I followed McClellan back to his headquarters located at a large farmhouse. From that point of view, with the telescopes belonging to the headquarters, the officers of his staff could see the battlefield from the Bunker Church, south- war a to Sharpsburg. McClellan was sitting upon the piazza, in conversation with Fitz- John Porter, whose corps was near at hand, numbering 12,000. It was secreted from the enemy by a hill. Southward the cannon of Bumside were thundering to dislodge a bri- gade of Confederates secreted in a stone quarry overlooking the bri Ige which Burnside de- sired to use in crossing the Antietam. After a short stay at the headquarters I rode forward toward the houses of Messrs. Muma and Rulet. Tney are situated on the west bank of the Antietam, near the centre of MoClellau's line of battle. They were held by the Confederate! Gen. French at the moment was preparing to advance toward Muma's house on the right. Half of his division was north of a little brook. which winds aown from the hills, the other half south of it. He had three brigades Weber's. Kimball's and Morris's. The last named was composed of new troops, which never had heard the roar of battle until that morning. i he hillside on the right suddenly burst into ttame, the Union batteries began a cannonade, under cover of which French advanced. The white powder clouds floated aown the ravine, and swept over the men. It was beautiful to see through its rifts the Stars and stripes waving in the sunlight. From the hill beyond Muma's house the Confederate artillery opened fire, a portion of the guns replying to the Union artillery, and another portion burling shells upon the advancing line. A short distance from Muma's house was a cemetery, from which came puffs of smoke from muskets tired uy men conceale i behind the white marule headstones. Oiner sharpshooters fired from the win lows. French's skirmishers crept along the fences and soon drove the Confederates from the cemetery and the house, which was set on fireeitneroy the departing enemy or by a shell. The build- ings ourned rapidly. If there can be grandeur in a battle scene, the scenery at this moment formed a grand picture, with the cannon of both armies naming, the buildings on tire, a dark pillar of cioud rising heavenward, 10,000 men advancing slowly across the green fields, their banners waving and bayonets gleaming in the sun- light Just beyond the house of Mr. Muma is a road leading from the Hagerstown turnpike, near the church, to the Boonsboro' turnpike. It is spoken of now as the "sunken" road. It formed a natural rifle-pit for the Confederate troops under D H. Hill. Beyond this way was a corn field, in which Hill sta- tioned his second line, with his artillery planted on a knoll higher up, near the Hagers- town turnpike. It is but a short distance south- ward from Muma's to Kulet's house. Beyond the latter the ground rises sharp and steep for a short distance, and then descends slightly toward the sunken road. The house and the large barn of Mr. Rulet, with the peach trees and appie orchard immediately behind it, wa a conspicuous point. French's division ex- tended to these uuildings. Immediately south of it Richardson's division was in line preparing to advance up the steep slope upon the Confed- erates concealed in the sunken road The line of advance taken by French led Wooer's brigade directly against the smoking ruins of the building ; Kimball's passed between the two houses. As Weber's troops moved across the field past the burial ground some of the skirmishers paused a moment, rested their rifles on the headstones and took a long shot at the second line of Confederates in the corn field. Kimball's brigade was divided by Rulet's buildings, but after passing them 34 STORIES OF OUR SOLDIERS. was reunited under the apple trees. Under Cover of a vigorous artillery fire the troops broke into a quicker step and moved up the hilL They reached the crest and beheld a rail tence between them aud the sunken road. The next moment thousands of men seemed to rise from the ground. There came a flash and then a rattle oi musketry, but instea I of (mailing before it the line rushed forward up to the fence and fired directly in the faces of the Confederates, many of whom turned to floe, but by far the larger part were shot where they stood. Richardson advanced at the same moment and fire i into the faces of the Confed- erates in the road. The lines were not ten paces apart. Tue front dne of Confederates was nearly annihilated; the few officers and men who were left fled to the corn field beyond. French's men tore away the rails, leaped over the lences. and, unmindful of the dead and dy in.,', rushed upon the second line and scat- tered it in an instant. They had broken Lee's lines at its centre. It was a moment when Mc- Clellan shoul i have hurled Fitz John Porter's corps into the contest He made the great mis- take of his life in not improving the grand op- portunity. There can be no doubt that had he done so, Lee's army would nave been compelled to surrender or driven into the Potomac. In this brief narrative I do not intend to de- tract anything trom what was accomplished by Richardson, whose troops advanced in the same manner and scattered tlie Confederates in their front, it was here that Ricnardson received a wound, which ultimately proved mortal. I had made his acquaintance before the battle of Bull Run, and saw him as he was borne from the field, lie was fearless in battle, and had the faculty of inspiring his men. He was known as an admirable tactician The ground toward the Boonesboro' turnpike south of Kulet's house is very much broken. There are numerous hillocks, ravines, stone walls and fences. Under shelter of these Long- street's troops advanced to attack the right flank of Cald well's brigade in a cornfield west of the sunken road. Longstreet had attacked French's division near Rulet's house and had failed. Colonel Cross, commanding the Fifth New Hampshire, discovered the Confederates creeping along to gain a hill in the rear of Caldwell. Cross instantly changed his front and put his men upon the double quick toward the hill. It was an excit- ing spectacle. Union and Confederates within close musket range, both lines running, both determined to gain the position. Cross cheered his men and inspired them with his own tremendous enthusiasm. They reached the hill, and delivered a volley which checked the advance of the Confederates. The Eighty- first Pennsylvania came to the aid of Cross, and together they charged upon the Con- federates, captured a large numoer of prisoners and the colors of the Fourth North Carolina Regiment The movement had carried the line almost UP to the Hagerstowu turnpike and compelled Long- street to abandon his headquarters at Dr. Piper's house. It was about 1 o'clock; Lee had been pushed from his position of the morning on the right and at the centre. He still held the ledges in the woods behind the church, along the turnpike and at the lower bridge, where Burnside was endeavoring to cross the Antietam. It was about this time that Franklin's corps arrived noon the field. His troops had been marching all the morning from Cramp- ton's Pass, with Smith's division in advance, followed by Slocum's. The corps crossed the Antietam, following the line over which Sedg- wick had marched. Hancock had just been placed in command of Richardson's division. He sent to Franklin for help, and a battery and two regiments, one of whicn was the Seventh of Maine, commanded by Major Hyde, were sent to him. Hancock rode back to meet them and said: "The rebel skirmishers up there on that hill are picking off our gun- ners. I want them driven from that posi- tion." The two regiments advanced, fired a volley and marched on. The batteries on the hills heyond Dr. Piper's and others near the church opened a cross-fire upon them. Al- though men were dropping, the regiment came to a halt, fired a volley, and then, with a cheer, dashed up to a wall which sheltered the Con- federates, driving them back to the main line. Then, marching by flank, they reached the shelter of the hill. vVhile this was taking place south of Rulet's the contest was raging by Muma's house. French had been compelled alter driving the- Confederates from the sunken road to fall back into the shelter of a ravina His men were out of ammunition. It was at this moment that the remainder of Franklin's troops moved across the field northeast of Muma's, led by Irwin's brigade. It charged noon the Confederates and compelled them to retreat across the turnpike, but it received an enfilading fire and was obliged to fall back. General Franklin was arranging his troops for an assault, when Sumner said that he did not think it ad- visable to made an attack. It would seem that Sumner, although brave and energetic at times, fell into despondent moods. He had suffered great loss in the morning, and possi- bly may have felt that his tactics were faulty; be that as it may. Sedgwick had been driven and French and Richardson were- exhausted. There was a consultation between Sumner. Franklin. Smith, Slocum and New- ton, and also General Hunt, command- ing the artillery. Franklin wanted to- bring up fifty pieces of the reserve artillery and rain shell upon the enemy for half an. hour, then charge with two divisions and break their lines. Smith. Slocum and Newton agreed with him; Sumner alone op- posed the plan. A little later General McClellan arrived and directed the commanders to hold their positions but to make no attack. As I rode along the lines. I heard the soldiers and the line officers discussing affairs. There was a general expression that McClellan was making a mistake. The reserve \ - f CARLETON ON THE SKIRMISH LINE. ANTIETAM BRIDGE. ANTIETAM. artillery was close at band, and had taken no part in the battle. They believed that under a heavy artillery tire they could break the Confederate line at the centra Riding once more toward the right I came upon Gen. Howard and was talking with him, when an officer dashed up and said: "The rebels are advancing to attack us from the woods by the church." General Howard glanced across the field, winch had been trampled by the troops of Booker, Mansfield and Seder- wick. We could see in the woods and among the tasseled corn the Confederate line, seem- ingly about to advance. " Let them have the heaviest fire possible from the batteries," said Howard. A t>w minutes later the thirty cannon on the ridgo by Pof- fenberger's opened a terrific fire, and the Confederate line quickly disappeared. It was evident that the fighting for the day was over on the right and in the centre. It was at this moment that a tremendous cannonade opened on the extreme left. I could not go down the west bank of the Antietam, for such a movement would have taken me into the Confederate lines. But crossing the lines I reached McClellan's headquarters, saw once more the troops of Fitz John Porter where I saw them in the morning, and then rode on to learn what Burnside was doing. The plan of McClellan was for Burnside to cross the Arilietam by a stone bridge about one mile south of the Boonesboro' turnpike. The banks of the river at that point are steep and high. The road leading to the bridge winds down a narrow ravine. The bridge has three arches; it is 150 feet long and the roadway 12 feet wide. The western bank is very steep. Half-way up the hill is a limstone quarry, which gave shelter to a Confederate origade. At the top of the hill is a stone wall, which also afforde 1 shelter to the Confeder- ates. They had planted four pieces of artillery to sweep the bridge. 1 was not able at the time of the battle, nor have I since been able, to un- derstand the clan of McClellan in ordering Burnside to make the attack at that point, for the river was fordable in many places. And Burnside could have crossed either above or be- low the bridge. It seems that McClellan relied very much upon Burnside, but that officer did not receive his orders until past 10 o'clock in the morning. At that time. Hooker. Mansfield and Sedgwick had been repulsed- His orders directed him to carry the bridge, gain the height-) beyond and advance alone their crests to Sharps nurg and reach the rear of Lea He had less than 14,000 men. The task laid upon him was immeasurably greater and more difficult than that assigned to any other commander. He must carry the bridge, drive the Confederates from the hill and move over an open field to attack the heights. The troops formed on the farm of Mr. Rohrbach. Eiurht batteries, numbering forty- eight cannon opened fire upon the Confederates holding the hill opposite the bridga After a terrific cannona ie the Eleventh Connecticut, commanded by Colonel Kinarsbury. advanced as skirmishers, deploying in the fields, tiring from tbe fences. Crook's division followed, bat came to a halt and opened fire, the soldiers taking aim at the puffs of smoke in the stone quarry. Sturgis's division passed in their rear and reached the bridge. The Second Maryland and Sixth New Hamp- shire made a rush across it Instantly there were !>road sheets of flame from the quarry and from the wall at the top of the bilL Tbe head of the column melted in an instant. The troops fell back under the shelter of the ridge. This took place before I arrived upon the scene. An aide came from McClellan to Burnside with a message that the bridge must be carried at all hazards. Ferero's brigade, in which were the Thirty-fifth and Twenty-first Massacnusetts. advanced to make a second assault. The Eleventh Connecticut again acted as skirmishers. The troops fixed their bayonets and threw aside their knapsacks. The Elev- enth Connecticut dashed down to the river. Colonel Kings bury fell, mortally wounded. Though canister swept them down, those be- hind rushed on up to the bridge, and across it, men pitching headlong from the parapet into the water, shells exploding among them, but with a wild yell they reached the shelter of the western bank, reformed and moved UP the road. gaining the flank of the Confederates and driving them from the quarry and the wall. General Toomb of Georgia was in command of the Confederates at that point. Before the war he had boasted in Congress that the time would come when he would call the roll of his slaves on Bunker Hill, but at this moment he was retreating to the high land near Sharpsburgr. Some of the troops crossed the stream at the bridge, and a portion at one of the fonis, where the whole 14,000 might have crossed with far less loss of life than at the bridge. McClellan made no attempt to cross the Antietam on the Boonesooro' turnpike. The bridge there was commanded by Longstreet's cannon planted ou the hills east of the town. McClellan retained Porter's corps on the east bank of the river, fearing that Lee might throw forward his cen- tre and divide the Union army. McClellan had sreatly overestimated Lee's force. He believed he was confronted by more than 100,000 Con. federates, when in fact Lee had less than 60,000- I stood on the hill by the bridge and saw th close of the battle in the fields southeast of Sharps urg. It was very evi lent that Lee was weakening his left flank by the Dunker Church and hurrying his troops to resist Burnside. It was fully 3 o'clock before Bumside was in posi- tion to advance. His troops moved quickly to the attack and drove the first line of the Confederates. As the troops came into tno open field a destructive storm of shells was hurled upon them. They reached a fence, but could go no farther. Burnside sent a message to McClellan that he must have more troops, otherwise he could not hold his posi- tion. McClellan replied that he would send him a battery, but had no infantry to spare. He must hold his ground till dark ; and then, if he could not remain, he might fall back to tho STORIES OF OUR SOLDIERS. bridge, but be most hold that or all would be lost. I cannot go over the features of the battle of Antietam with much complacency toward Mc- Clellan. Porter had 12,000 men, Slocum's division of Franklin's cores numbered 6000. Smith's division had only made one gallant charge; his troops were not in any sense ex- hausted. McClellan had at that moment from 20,000 to 26,000 men and 100 guns which had taken no part in the battle. Burnside had all but turned the right flank of Lee. Wilcox's division was almost up to bharpsbnrg. There was evident commo- tion in Lee's lines. I could see officers going witL their horses upon the run. The time had come for McClellan to throw in all his available force to aid Burnside. Although the troops upon the right had fought in the morniuar they were in condition to make a clemonstrati9n to retain the Confederate troops in the vicinity of Dunker Church. Nothing was done. McClel- lan could send only one battery to help Burn- ride. It was a magnificent spectacle just before sun- set the hillsides all aflame with cannon and the long lines of light flashing from the troops of the two armies in the field southeast 01 the town. But gradually the thunder died away and silence came on, broken only by an occa- sional volley and single shots like the last drops after a shower. The army confidently expected a renewal of the battle on the next day. During the night two divisions, under Gen, Couch, had arrived, giving McClellan 85,000 fresh troops. He decided not to renew the attack, for the reason that if he were de- feated Lee could march on to Washington or Baltimore without an enemy to oppose him! Besides, he expected 14,000 more men. One can hardly un erstand the state of mind that led him to such a conclusion. He could see from the prisoners captured, many of them being barefoot, and their clothes in rags, that Lee was in no condition to make an offensive move ment He knew that Lee was short of supplies; that the Confederates had been living largely on green corn ; that Lee was far from his base of supplies; that ne had no reinforcements at hand ; that his troops were exhausted ; that he must be short of ammunition ; that he had suf- fered severely in battle; that in a retreat Lee must cross the Potomac ; but these considera- tions seemingly had no weight with McClellan. Early in the morning l rode to the right and Conversed with the troops, which were in posi- tion aad expecting orders. Rations had Deen served and everybody seemed cheerful CoL Andrews of the Massachusetts Second was commanding a brigade in the Twelfth Corpa I asked him how his men were: "All right They had a pretty hard time yesterday, but having had a good breakfast they feel well, was the reply. A flag of truce was displayed by the Confed- erates. Lee desired that the wounded should be cared for on the score of humanity. Ih* truce lasted till 1 o'clock. During the after- noon 1 rode to the summit of Elk Ridge, a lofty elevation on the east bank of the Antietam, overlooking the battlefield. Beyond Sharps- burg a cloud of dust filled the air, and baggage wagons were moving west. I thought it in- dicated retreat on the part of Lee. The day closed without any movement on the part of ucClel Ian. The morning of the 19th dawned and Lee was gone with all his artillery, except one iron gun and some broken down wagons. 1 ro.le over the field and saw many of the Confederate dead. In the field near the Dunker Church 1 came unon a Union soldier lying upon his ack. the ground around stained with his blood. In was a pleasant smile on his face. His Bible was open upon bis breast. Taking it UP I read : Ihe Lord is my shepherd; 1 shall not want He maketh me to lie down in green pastures; tie leadeth me beside the still waters. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow 01 death. 1 will fear no evil, for Thou art with me; Thy rod and Thy staff they comfort me. The slaughter had been terrible in the sunken road. I could have walked a long distance upon the bodies of dead Confederates, borne ol them were shot dead while climbing the fence, and their bodies were banging on the rails. One had been killed while tearing his cartridge with his teeth. He had died instantly and tne carV ridge was in his hand. An officer was still grasping his sword. He had fallen white cheering his men with all his muscles set his nerves under tension, the word ol command on his lips. It was as if m j7 mower had swept them down at a single stroke Riding up to the turnpike a short distanoa south of the Dunker Church I saw a dead Con- federate hanging across the limb of a cherry tree by the roadside. He ha I been a .sharp- shooter and had taken the position to pick off Union officers, but himself had been snot J afterward learned that several Union soldiers had seen puffs of smoke amid the foliage of the tree and had given return shots, on* of which had taken effect Riding down to Sharpsburg 1 found a large number of (on- federate wounded. I conversed with an ottcer of Gen. Walker's division. He said: I hare been in all the battles before Richmond and at Manassas, but I never experienced such a nre a you gave us vesterday. The slaughter at the sunken road was terrible. We couldn't keep our ranks closed, and if your troops had pressed on they might have broken through our line. We were all tired out We got up from Har- per's Ferry on the morning of the bat- tle: had no supper Tuesday: marched all night, had no breakfast and went right into the tight as soon as we reached the neld. We bad lived on green corn and apples half the time since we left Richmond. Half our troops were barefoot; we were in no condition to light A CAVALRY CHARGE. My note book opens to October an r l Novem- ber, 1862. I think I never saw a more lovely autumn. The days were bright and beautiful. Witn the exception of one or two light rains scarcely a cloud was seen in the sky. Six weeks had gone by since the battle of Antietam. The army of the Potomac was in Maryland in the vicinity of Harper's Ferry. Gen. McClellan's headquarters were in Pleasant Valley. At Antietam he had made the mistake of his life in not following up his advantage. The Con- federate army was at Winchester, in the valley of the Shenandoah, with the exception of the cavalry, which was east of the Blue Ridge. The Confederate General. Stuart, with 1800 men bad made a notable ride around McClellan, had destroyed a large amount of supplies at Chambersburg, seized hundreds of horses and rftcros.se I the Potomac at the mouth of the Monocacy. Stuart was justly proud of his achievement There can be no question that McClellan was greatly chagrined. Up to that time the Confederate cavalry had accomplished more than the Union cavalry. McClellan had employed this arm of the service in scouting. The regiments had been scattered here and there and never had acted as a unit Doubtless McClellan saw that he had made a mistake, for the regiments were now brigaded. Gen. Pli'Msanton, Stoneman and Averill were ap- pointed commanders. On the 26th of October pontoons were laid across the Potomac, and the army of 100,000 men. preceded by the cavalry, began to cross (he river. I open my note book to Nov. 1. Hearing the found of cannon, I mounted mv horse, crossed tile river and rode rapidly southward past the moving column. I noticed many of the soldiers had their pets, one a little dog which he had picked up on the way. As 1 passed a Pennsyl- vania regiment I noticed a gray-bearded soldier who had a young puppy, its eyes not yet open, A little boy in a Connecticut regiment had a little kitten on his shoulder. I passed through th little village of Purcellville and came upon the Tenth and Eleventh New Hampshire regiments. No correspond- ent ever had a heartier welcome that I had from Col. Donohoe of the Tenth and Col. Harriman of the Eleventh. It is a pleasure to know that the first named is still hale and vigorous; that he was able to act as Chief Mav- shal in the late Columbian parade in this city. Col. Harriman, several years ago, joined the great majority. I shall have occasion to sneak of him in another letter. A little farther on I came upon the Twenty-first Massachusetts. It had seen service under Burnside in North Ca Una, and uad dwindled to about 200. It was but a shadow of its former sell Ri ling on I came upon Gen. Pleasanton's command near the village of Philemont. The cavalry of the two armies had come in contact the previous day. There had been skinnisn- ing, in which there was a small loss on both sides. It was past noon when I reached the field. In the foreground the ar- tillery was sending shells across the field upon Stuart's line. Shells from Stuart's guns were screaming through the air. Under the white battle cloud in the distance I could see the Con- federates. A well-directed shot from one of the Union guns struck A Confederate caisson, and the battle cloud suddenly assumed larger proportions. UP to tbis time I had not seen a cavalry charge, and the one which I am about 40 STORIES OF OUR SOLDIERS. to describe was a very insignificant affair in comparison with what I afterward saw. I think it was the Eighth New York Regiment which made the movement. Imagine, if yon can, a body of horses in column, not in line. A column is cencentrated energy. Those in froiit are stimulated by those behind ; and those be- hind are eager to emulate those in advance. Yon hear the word of command: "Draw sabrel" "Charge!" You hear the bugle and are thrilled by its notes. The column breaks into a trot. The hoofs of the horses are like the distant rumbling of thunder. The trot becomes a gallop, and loader than the trampling of hoofs is the yell- ing of 500 men. It is not a hurrah, but a pro- longed yell, The horses seem to catch the en- thusiasm of the men. A dust cloud rises. Sabres flash and gleam in the sunlight. Can- non flame. Horses and riders go down, but the column goes on. The Confederate cannoniers suddenly limber up their pieces and disappear In the woods beyond. I felt the blood tingle to the tips of my fingers as I gazed upon the scene. At no previous time during the war had I BO longed to be in battle. My horse seemed to catch the enthusiasm. There is that in a cavalry charge which seems to transform a man into something more than a human being and a horse into something more than an animal I have sometimes wondered if after all, the fabled centaur was not in reality half man and half horse. True, thin was a small affair at Philemom. but it was my first lively ex- perience with the cavalry. The loss in killed and wounded on the Union side was leas than 100- During the engagement Doubleday's Di- vision of Infantry arrived. It was nearly dark when the Confederates abandoned their posi- tion and retreated toward Upperville. Soon after sunrise the next morning again I heard the sound of cannon. Stuart was retreat- ing toward Ashby's Gap. in the Blue Ridge. Following the cavalry I rode through the Gap and had a view of the valley of the Shenaudoah. The First Massachusetts Cavalry had followed the Confederates. While sitting on my horse, and looking clown toward the Shenancloan, I could see puffs of white smoke from Confeder- ate cannon, and then came a rattle of musketry. A few moments later I beheld he lifeless body of Oapt M. C. Pratt lying across his horse. Ten minutes before he had been in the full rigor of life, leading his men ; now tnere was only the limp and lifeless form. He had been shot through the heart. He was from Holyoke and had shown excellent ability as an officer. The advance of the army was sharply con- tested by the Confederate cavalry all the way down to Warrenton. It was the intention of Stuart to delay McClellan as much as possible till Lee could make his way across the Blue Ridge. On the 6th of November there was an other very sharp engagement at Barbee's Cross Roads. Stuart took a stand on a hill with his artillery and sharpshooters. It was about 9 o'clock when the engagement began, which lasted till past noon. The opposing lorces were not in compact bodies, and the engagement ex- tended over quite a large section of country. I could only see one phase of it, where, again, there was a charge resulting in the driv- ing of the enemy, who left their dead upon the field, with a large number of their wounded. I recall a Confederate officer belonging to a Vir- ginia regiment, with his leg badly shattered by a shell Tne Union surgeon amputated the limb and committed him to the care of a lady who was in sympathy with the South. During these engagements the Union cavalry began to manifest a superiority over the Confederates, which was maintained from that hour to the close of the war. UP to that time there had been mild days, but a snow then came on. The soldiers suffered exceedingly. Gen. McClellen had issued strict orders that no depredation of any kind should be permitted upon the property of citizens. The soldiers were not even allowed to take a fence rail to kindle their bivouac fires, but necessity compelled them to disobey the order. Neither were they allowed to take any provision. I recall a laughable incident near Upperville. In the edge of the evening I rode up to a farm- house to see if I could obtain accommodation for the nignt. As I approached the house I saw several colored boys driving a flock of sheep. Soldiers of the Ififth New Hampshire Regiment, which was in bivouac near by, joined them. " Getting up your sheep, are ye?" "Yes, boss." "Well, we'll help you." They yelled at the sheep, which, instead of moving quietly on toward the barnyard, the next moment were running belter skelter ovei the field. There was much running and shout- ing but the sheep did not enter the barnyard. The next morning I saw the ground in the Vicinity of a Pennsylvania regiment thickly A CAVALRY CHARGE. 43 covered with pelt* I visited Col. Cross, com- manding the Fifth New Hampshire. He had seen service in Mexico and was a very brave and able commander, and had rendered dis- tinguished service at Antietam. While talk- ing with him the farmer, with whom I had passed the niarht, made his appearance, saying that his sheep ha 1 been killed anu he had re- ceived permission from the commander of the brigade to go through the camp, to find out who had taken his mutton "Well, sir." said Col. Cross, "you can't go through my regiment. My soidlers are honest men. To allow you to do so would be an impu- tation upon their honesty. They come from the State of New Hampshire- It is a State which produces honest men and great men ; the State of Daniel Webster and President Pierce. No, sir. you cannot go through my regiment." The gentleman departed, but soon returned accompanied by Gen. Gorman, who com- manded the brigade. The gentleman appealed to me, and asked if I had not seen the sheep the previous evening near his house. I replied that I had. whereupon Gen. Gorman directed Quar- termaster Batchelder to make out a receipt for seventy sheep, which were to be accounted for by the United States, provided the owner proved his loyalty to the Union. Quartermaster Batch elder is at present the Chief Quartermaster of the United States Army Just before noon a delicious odor of roast mutton pervaded the camp of the Fifth New Hampshire, and I enjoyed a toothsomenneal of roast mutton with Col. Cross. The zest of the incident was the reprimand and punishment meted to a Penn- sylvania regiment in whose encampment the pelts had been found. Killing the sheep was an unwarranted act. The soldiers were not suffer- ing ior the want of food , they had an abundant supply But it WM a significant act; it was the beginning of a revolt against Gen. Mo- Clellan's stringent orders, that no harm should be done to the property of in- dividuals even though they might be Secessionists and in the Confederate army. On the Peninsula guards had protected the prop- erty of those who were in arms against the Government. In one of the battles before Rich- mond the surgeons were not allowed to set up their hospital tents in a grove near a house owned by a Confederate officer, but were com. polled to take an open neld in the glare of the sun The soldiers were becoming restless un der an order which forbade them from taking a fence rail for their bivouac tira On the evening of November 6 a messenger arrived from Washington with an order reliev- ing McClellan and appointing Burnsida as his successor It was a dramatic scene when Mc- Cleiiantook his departure. He rode along the lines, and was received with great enthusiasm by some of the troops and with indifference by others. Many who had been enthusiastic in his praise before the battle of Antietam had lost their faith in him as an aggressive com- mander. A collation was spread (or him by some of his admirers. It was a sombre occasion. Fitz John Porter could not conceal his emotion. Quito likely he was apprehensive that he. too. would be relieved of his command, to answer charges preferred by Gen. Pope for misconduct at Manassas. He was relieved a few days later. The Twenty-second Massachusetts Regiment was in Martindale's brigade, Porter's corps. It was a regiment raised by Senator Henry Wil- son, who came out from Washington to visit " his boys," as he called them. In this connec- tion memory goes back to the week following the first battle of Bull Run. 1861. I was con- versing with Senator Wilson at that time in regard to the prospects of the coun try. He said it was a time when every man must show his colors He said that be intended to go to Massachusetts and raise a regiment. It is a matter of history that between that moment and Oct. 8, about nine weeks, tne regiment was raised, equipped and on its way to Washington. I was warmly wel- comed by the officers and soldiers. 1 had seen them at Antietam standing all day long waitinz for orders to go into the battle. Many of them chafed as they saw French's and Richardson's divisions break the Confederate line and were not themselves permitted to take part at a moment when, had they been ordered in, Lee's army would have been divided at the cen- tre. Sitting down with the soldiers, they told of their experiences in the Seven Days' battles in front of Richmond, especially the battle at Gaines's Mills, where their beloved Colonel Jesse A. Gove, was killed. A few months ago I went over the ground near the farmhouse of Mr Watts, where Col. Gove fell. It was my pleasure to make his acquaintance about 1850. in Concord, N. H. Probably some of the elderly citizens of that city, who may read this article, wiil recall him as a Deputy Secretary of State from 1850- 65. He was a native of Weare in that State, and it may be that some citizens ol that town 44 STOHIES OF OUR SOLDIERS. may remember him as a member of the South Weare Band about 1836-37. He played the clarionet. He was educated at the Military Academy. Norwich. Vermont then under the direction of Col. Ransom, who commanded a brigade in the Mexican War. Col. Gove was at that time a Lieutenant and served under him. At the conclusion of that war he entered the office of Pierce & Minot in Concord as a student at law. I often saw him. and greatly admired his gentlemanly de- portment ami his acquirements. He was an ex- cellent botanist and mineralogist I presume it was through the influence of ex-President Pierce that he was appointed Captain in the Tenth United States Infantry about 1857. At the outbreak of the war he was in Utah, but returned East, and was selected by Senator Wilson to take command of his regiment He was an admirable disciplinarian. I doubt not some of the veterans of the regiment will remember June 27. 1862, when they stood in line of battle a abort distance north of the house of Mr. Watts, near Gaines's Mills. It was a hot, sultry day They will remember that a little past noon shells from Confederate cannon came crashing through the woods. It was a little past 3 o'clock before the Confederates advanced. The vet- erans will remember that General Porter's headquarters were beneath the trees surround- ing Mr. Watts's house. He had thirty thousand men against nearly 70.000 Confederates. He was to hold the line while McClellan was mak- ing preparations for a retreat to James River. The yeterans will remember bow the first crash of musketry in the battle was from Martindale's and Butterfield's and Griffin's Brigades noon Longstreet's. A. P Hill's and Whiting's Divi sionsof Confederates, which were advancing through the woods. It was just after the battle commenced that CoL Gove dismounted and called upon a young bugler to hold his horse. I think his name was Houghton He was but a boy. The soldiers called him '"Monkey." Though young in years he was very brave. In the retreat from Mechanicsville he had assisted a disabled soldier by carrying his gun. He had the gun in his hand when CoL Gove directed him to hold his horse and find Aelter behind a tree. The next instant there came a volley, the boy was wounded, a large number of the men killed, and among them CoL Gove. Though the regiment had lost their able commander it maintained its ground till nearly one-half were killed or wounded. The discipline of the fallen commander was mani- fest in this battle. Had he lived, doubtless he would have attained a Major Generalship. The soldiers of the Twenty-second looked up to Senator Wilson with reverence and affection. He shook hands with them, talked with them, learned their wants, gave them words of en- couragement He had been a volunteer aide on McClellan's staff. He was Chairman of the Mil- itary Committee of the Senate. Many of the officers in the army were indebted to him for their promotion. He was everywhere received with honor. Knowing there could be no movement for several days. I accompanied the Senator to Wash- ington. Before leaving I paid my respects to Gen. Burnside and his chief of staff. Gen. Parke. both of whom received me very court- eously. Burnside was very sober. A great re- sponsibility had been forced upon him. The Manassas Gap Railroad had just been opened. I think only one or two trains had passed over it There were only freight cars. It was nearly dark when we climbed into a freight car with some empty cracker boxes, which we were to ose for seats. We found one occupant in the car. Dr. Mary Walker. She was an aggressive woman, who went where she pleased regardless of Provost Marshals She was dressed in her peculiar costume, trousers and jacket She flitted here and there throughout the army hos- pitals, in Washington and at the front. Not only during the war. but since then she has kept herself at times in the public eye. I was in Paris in 1867. at a Fourth of July dinnei in the Grand Hotel, where she ma le herself con spicuous by appearing in a costume, made from the Stars and Stripes. The train made its way slowly over the uneven track at six or seven miles an hour. Dur- ing the ride Senator Wilson gave an account of the raising of his regiment and talked tenderly of CoL Gove and of his regi ment '*They are my boys." he said. " I love them. There are not many of them left It is terrible to think how many of them have been killed and how many more must be before slavery is swept from the land, and the country redeemed from its curse." From the beginning he had seen, better than most men. the magni- tude of the conflict. THE GROSSING AT FREDERICKSBURG. Thirty years ago this first week of December the Stafford hills, opposite Fredericksburg, were white with the tents of the Army of the Potomac. At night the fields where George Washington passed his youthful years were gleaming with thousands of bivouac fires. The army was waiting for orders to move. It ia not often that a man is forced to assume such responsibility as had suddenly been laid upon Ambrose E Burnside. The generation now upon the stage, the young people of the country, know him only by name, but he was an important actor in the great drama of the Rebellion. He was born in a log cabin in Indiana. He had the advan- tages of the common school. and afterwards of Miami University At the age of 17 he was apprenticed as a tailor at Centreville. Ind. When his apprenticeship was finished he went into a store, in which he slept upon a mattress laid upon the counter at night. Everybody liked him. he was so kind- hearted and affable. When 19 years old he received an appointment to West Point from whence he graduated in 1847. After several years' service in the army on the frontier he resigned his commission and en- gaged in private business. In 1854 he was ap- pointed Cashier of the Illinois Central Railroad by General McClellan, then connected with *,he road. In 1860 he was appointed Treasurer of the company in New York. On Monday morn- ing. April 15. 1861. he read the President's proclamation calling for 76,000 troops to suppress the Rebellion. Before night he received a telegram from Gov. Spragne of Rhode Island, asking how soon he could be in Providence to take command of a regiment He replied that he would be there at once. The next morning he was in that city super- vising the fitting out of the regiment, which a few days later he accompanied to Washington. He commanded a brigade and led the advance to Bull Run. When the North Carolina expedition was fitted out he was appointed to the command, and achieved suc- cess at Roanoake Island and Newborn. He led the advance at Salt Mountain and at Antietam held the left of the line. He was the only Gen- eral connected with the Eastern army who had won success. It was natural that the President should select him to succeed McClellan. He thought he was not qualified to assume com- mand of so large an army He knew the country demanded an aggressive movement. No commander during the war had a more difficult task to accomplish than he. or a prob- lem more perplexing. When he assumed com- mand of the army at Warrenton, General Lee with one-half of the Confederate Army con- fronted him on the headwaters of the Rappahanock. The other half under Jackson was stili in the Shenaudoah Valley. The Confederate Army numbered nearly eighty thousand, the Army of the Potomac one hun- dred and twenty-seven thousand. At the begin- 48 STORIES OF ODK SOLDIERS. mner of the war the cry had been "On to Rich- mond." The people did not see that the power of the Rebellion was in the Rebel army, and there could not be peace until that power was crushed. Gen. Burnside resolved to make a rapid march eastward across the Rappahannock at Fredericksburg. and march from thence to Richmond. The task before him was far greater than that before McClellan on the Upper Potomac. Then. Lee was receiving his supplies by wagon from Culpeper; now he was receiving them by rail Burnside submitted his plans to Halleck. Stanton and President Lincoln. They thought well of it It was neces- sary to have pontoons taken down the Potomac and up the Rappahannock to enable the army to cross the river. Halleck promised to have them there. The railroad from Aquia Creek was to be opened. Burnside reorganized the army into three grand divisions, each consisting: of two corps. The right wing was commanded by Gen. Sum- ner, the centre by Gen, Hooker and the left wing by Gen. Franklin. The march was made with great rapidity to Fal mouth on the north bank of the Rappahannock. The Con federate force in Fredericksburg con- sisted of four companies of infantry, a regiment of cavalry, and one battery. The Confederates were greatly surprised to see the Falmouth and Stafford Hills suddenly swarming with the 40,000 men composing Sum- ner's grand division The Confederate battery opened tire, but a moment later Captain Pettit opened with his 10-pounder Parrot guns, firing with such sure aim that it was quickly silenced. The pontoons had not arrived. The railroad to Aquia Creek had not been repaired. The part which Gen. Halleck was to perform had not been accomplished. It was the fatal mis- take of the campaign Had the pontoons been there, forty thousand men would have been across the Rappahanock before sunrise the fol- lowing morning. CoL Brooks, commanding a brigade, saw some cattle wade the stream He noticed that the water was not more than knee deep He sent a messenger to Sumner informing him of his dis- covery. Burnside had not arrived, Sumner sent a letter to him asking permission to cross the river and seize the hills behind the town. Burnside hastened tc Falmouth and decided that the risk was too grat; that he must wait for the pontoons The second great mistake had been made. Lee was between thirty and forty miles distant, Jackson sixty miles. Before Lee could arrive the entire Army 01 the Potomac could have been on the southern bank of the Rappahanock. There were enough skilled mechanics in the army to rebuild the burned bridges, the stone piers of which were standing. The army had provisions for several days. The first mistake was through the negli- gence of Halleck ; the second by Burnside. due to his caution. Twelve days passed, the army reposing the while on the Falmouth and Stafford Hills. Burnside visited Washington and consulted with Halleck and Stanton in regard to the situ ation. He desired to go into winter quarters, but was informed that the army must make a move. Probably the decision was made on political grounds: it was a terrible mistake on the part of the War Depart- ment. Burnside made another mistake in not demanding from Halleck a plan for the move ment which he insisted must be made. The original plan had been upset by Halleck's negli- gence, and the movement which that officer now demanded was against Burnside's judg- ment. Had the pontoons been at Freder- icksburg no battle would have been fought there during that week in Decem- ber. Lee would have been compelled to hasten towards the North Anna River to in- terpose his army between Burnside and Rich- mond. Burnside made no pretensions as a strat- egist, and he could devise no other plan than to lay several pontoon bridges across the Rapoa- banock and attack Lee in his strong entrench- ments upon the Fredericksburg Hills. During those December days I was accus- tomed to ride along the northern bank of the river from Falmouth to the birthplace of Wash- ing t n- "''e Confederate sentinels were pacing iheir j ong the river. It it a narrow stream iess than . *ee hundred feet wide. The Union pickets guarded the northern shore. " Say, Yank, when are ye gwine to Richmond?" the bail from a Confederate. "We'll get there. Johnny Eb. you betl" the reply* Then came a volley of epithets from the Fred- ericksburg side which do not look well in print, followed by another volley from the northern bank hurled across the stream The hard words hurt no one They were only explosions of the grim humor of the true American soldier. From Gen. Sumner's headquarters T have a wide sweep of country in view. On the right I see a steep bluff behind the town, a plateau at its base gently sloping toward the river. The CROSSING AT FREDERICKSUURG. 51 turnpike leading: west to Gordonsville is in plain view. At the top of the bluff I behold the house of Mr. Marye. with breastworks in front of it on the edge of the bluff. Half way down the street I see a line of yellow earth and a line of men behind it. I can see cannon peeping from embrasures. 1 do not know at that moment nor does any one in the army know that there is a sunken road running along the base of the bluff, and that a brigade of Confederates is lying there in the natural fortification. There are three lines of men securely entrenched. Since then I have stood upon the bluff with Gen. Longstreet. who kindly pointed the positions of his troops and of his cannon planted to sweep every rod of ground between the Dluff and the town. His Chief En- gineer after placing the cannon in position said : "General. I have still some guns left." "Can't you put them in somewhere? " "I don't need them; you couldn't rake tht> nola with a fine-tooth comb more completely than I can with my batteries." the Chief En arineer replied. Before engaging in journalism I had had some experience in civil engineering, and had been long enough with the army to comprehend mil- itary topography. My heart sank as I surveyed the ground and thought of the consequences that assuredly would follow any attempt to force the Confederates from that position. In a letter written to The Journal Dec. 9. 1862. 1 said : " I know there is a desire for an onward move ment, but I think that few men in the country after taking a look at the rebel position would like to lead in a movement across the stream." I believed that attempt to carry Marye's Heights would end in disastrous failure and great loss of life. The outlook was more hopeful for an advance across the plain east of the town, where Franklin had laid his pontoons. The railroad and the main traveled road between Fredericksburg and Richmond run across this, plain The bluff fades out in that direction. 1 could not think that General Burnside would at tempt anything more than a demonstration upon Marye's Heights, but would make his main attack at the crossing of the railroad and Rich- mond turnpike. There was no natural obstacle to prevent a flank movement in that direction. But such was not Burnside's plan; IE reality he had no plan other than to cross the river and make attacks at Hamilton's Crossing *nd Marye's Heights at the same time. The sun went down behind the western hor- izon December 10. With the coming of dark- ness there was great activity in the artillery corps. Gen. Hunt placed 147 cannon on the Falmouth and Stafford hills, to open fire if the crossing of the river and the laying of the pon- toons was contested. It was about five o'clock on the morning of the llth. when I heard the troops astir. A dense fog had settled over the valley. As I looked out at that hour I could see shadowy forms around the bivouac fires Some soldiers were boiling their cof- fee, others packing their blankets. I heard the rumble of wagons and a little later the pon- toon trains came winding down the declivity to the bank of the river. It was proposed to con- struct two bridges opposite the town, two more a third of a mile down stream, and two more a mile and a half farther down, near the house of Mr. Bernard. Sumner and Hooker were to use those opposite the town and Franklin those farther down Burnside had sent a summons across the river for the surrender of the town, which had been refused. The wagons bearing the pontoons are brought to the edge of the stream and the boats launched. The engineer cores place them in position and lay the timbers and planks. The bridge farthest OP stream is finished half way before the fog lifts sufficiently to allow the Confederate pick- ets to take aim at the men in blue. At first there is a pattering fire and then a volley of musketry, and the men laying the timbers drop help- lessly into the stream. Fresh men step for- ward to take the places of those who have fallen, to be shot in turn. For a while the attempt to lay the bridges is relinquished, except those farthest down the stream, where there is no opposition to their construction. At half-past nine Geu Franklin sends a message that nis bridge is finished and chat he is ready to cross. The forenoon passes, during which a half-dozen attempts are made to complete the upper brHge, but every man who walks out with a plank is killed or wounded by the Confederates lying in their rifle pits along the bank, or who are concealed in the houses. The annals of war do not furnish many more brilliant examples of bravery than that of Capt. Brainard of the Fiftieth New York. who. with eleven men, go out unon the run. Five fall at one volley and the wounded return Capt Per- kins of the same regiment leads another party, but falls, with half his men. It is a sacrifice of life with nothing gained. Gen. Burnside has no desire to injure the 52 STORIES OF OUR SOLDIERS. town, bat under the usages of war he has a right to bombard it "Bring all your Runs to bear upon the city and batter it down." is the order to Gen. Hunt A moment later 179 cannon are hurling solid shot and shell across the stream. The air is thick with murfcy clouds. The earth shakes beneath the cannonade. I hear the shells ex ploding in the houses. During the afternoon the cannon Same till more than 9000 missiles are sent across the river. The shells set fire to a block cf buildings, the burning of which adds terrible grandeur to the scene. In consequence of the formation of the ground, the Union can non cannot be sufficiently depressed to shell out the Mississiopians of Barksdale's brigade from the cellars of the houses. Barksdale is holding the line. He was a member of Con- gress before the war and a violent secessionist. The time has come for a bold movement Dur- ing the day Col. Hall's brigade of Sumner's' corps has been in position near the house cf Mr Lacy. "My soldiers are ready to cross the river In the boats and drive out the Confederates " was his message to Gen. Stunner. Permission is granted him. His own regi- ment, the Seventh Michigan, and the Nine- teenth Massachusetts, which was in the thick of the fight at Ball's Bluff, respond to the call for volunteers. At a signal Lieut Col. Baxter and the men from Michigan go down the bank upon the run, push the boats into the stream, leap into them and steer for the other shore. Baxter falls , a score of men go down, but the boats move on. A moment later, before the Confederates have time to reload their muskets, the men are jumping ashore, charging upon the rifle pits and capturing them. The Nineteenth Massachusetts is crossing a little farther up the stream. As the boats near the shore the soldiers leap into the water rush up the bank into the houses, smash in the windows, batter down the doors, capturing all within. Vividly has the poet Boker pictured the scene. I quote from his stanzas: They leaped into lae rocking shallops Ten offered where one could go; And the breeze was alive with laughter Till the boatmen began to row " And man; a brave, stout fellow Who sprang In the boats with mirth Ere they made that fatal crosstna Was only lifeless earth * Cheer after cheer we gent them As only armies can Cheers for old Massachusetts Cheers for young Michigan " They formed in line of battle ; Not a man was out of place. Then with level steel they hurled them straight In the rebel's face." The sun is going down, red and fiery, througn the battle clouds. From my position I can look straight up the street where the Nineteenth Massachusetts is making its way. The men In blue are nearest; beyon'l them I can see the men in gray, some of them in tne streets, others firing from doorways and windows. There is a humming in the air over my head, and a pattering of leaden rain in the river The officers are shouting their orders. One of my dear friends, Rev Arthur Buckminister Fuller. Chaplain of the Massachusetts Sixteenth, is in the thick of the fight. He is a brother of Margaret Fuller Ossoli, renowned in American literature He preached before the war to the seamen in Father Taylor's chapel at the north end of Boston , he also preached at Manchester N. H. He was preaching at Watertown at the outbreak of the war. and resigned his pastorate to become a chaplain. He has served the soldiers with untiring devotion. His health has failed and he has just taken his departure from the regiment to serve in one of the hospitals at Washington. He has seen the heroic devotion of those who have given their lives in the attempt to lay the pontoons. His blood is up. Seizing a musket from a soldier on the northern bank he has crossed the river as a volunteer. " I want to do something for my country Where shall I go?" he says to Capt. Dunn. II you wish to take part you can fall in on the left." was the reply of that officar. Chaplain Fuller deliberately loads his musket and takes his place on the left The company advances up the street. Suddenly muskets flash from doors and windows Chaplain Fuller fires, reloads and fires again. Not more than five minutes have passed since he utterea the words. "I want to do something for my coun- try " His work is done A bullet has pierced his heart A line of Confederates suddenly ap- pears in the street an 1 the advancing column is driven. A little later the Union troop advance once more, and tney discover that the pockets of Chaplain Fuller have been plundered and his body thrust through by the bayonets of the Mississippians. No scene of the war was more dramatic than the crossing at Fredericksburg. Thirty years have gone by, but I see as then the men in blue and gray confronting one another in the gathering darkness Some are loading their guns some taking deliberate aim Muskets flash rnen fall others take their places The flames of burning buildings light up the gather- ing gloom. Again I hear the confused hum of voices, the rattle of musketry, the singing of buliets in the air, the crash of shells, the thunder of the cannonade. The uproar grad- ually diminishes. The cannon cease their thunder and silence comes, broken only by the tramping of the regiments crossing the river. No pen picture can give the true significance of the scene, for with all this there is the neroism, devotion, the sacrifice of life, the pathos, which stirs my bloorl and brings tears to ray eyes as I think of those who so willingly laid down their lives that this government of the people might not perish from the earth. CROSSING AT FREDERICKSBURG. 55 T^P- Hever a man needed sympathy under trying circumstances it was General Burnside at Fredericks burg. During the night his army had crossed the Rappahannock to fight a great battle. The movement ha 1 been demanded by the loyal people of the North. He had coun- seled with the President and the military authorities at Washington, who said that he must make a movement. He was confronted by an army numbering nearly eighty thousand, in a very strong position. Through no fault of his own, his original plan had been unset Now he had no plan other than to advance with his whole army and attempt to carry the Confederate breastworks. He placed Gen. Sumner's grand division on the right. Hooker's in the centre, and Franklin's on the left. He did not know the qualities of these commanders only s they had been exhr ited at Antietam. Sumner was brave and energetic. He had been trained as a cavalry commander. He had rendered excellent service- on the Penin- sula, but at Antietam the formation of his trooDS had been very faulty. Hooker was bold, impulsive and aggressiva He was already known as " Fighting Joe." Franklin had not been in position to manifest his abilities, except in a small way at Crampton's Gap. Soon after davlieht 1 rode across the upper pontoon to Fredericksburg. The bodies of those killed the previous evening were lying where they fell some at the water's edge, others farther up the bank and in the streets. Strin- gent orders had been issued against committing depredation, but as the Confederates had fired from the houses the order became a dead letter. Doors had been battered down and windows smashed. Solid shot had crashed through the walls. There were great rents where the sides of the buildings had been shattered by the ex- plosion of shells'. After the fighting was over for the night the soldiers had made themselves at home in the deserted houses. They tumbied the furniture into the streets, brought out feather beds and mattresses, which the Sur-reons soon appropriated for the use of the wounded. Some were boiling: their coffee in the kitchens; others were cooking eg^rs or frying flapjacks from flour found in the pantries. They were rummaging closets and taking whatever pleased their fancy for the moment. Fancy runs wild at sucri a time. One soldier was strolling the streets, wearing an old-fash- ioned scoop bonnet ; another had on a chemisa over his uniform; a third was wearing a gown; a fourth had a mantie thrown over his shoul- ders; another appeared with a string of custard cups, which he was wearing as a necklace ; an- other had found an old-fashioned bell-crowned hat, in fashion 30 years before the war. It waa more like a masquera le than anything else. I came upon Gen. Oliver O. Howard, now a Major General of the army, and who had led the advance in the occupation of Fredericks- burg. He was seated in a chair upon the side- walk, with his staff around him, waiting for orders. I had a very pleasant cbat with him for a few moments in regard to the scenes of the 56 STORIES OF OUB SOLDIERS. night, and then rode through the street*, oat to the picket line. The density of the tog pre- vented my seeing the position of the Confed- erates, and I returned to Gen. Burnside's head- quarters on the northern bank ol the river. It was just half-past 9 o'clock in the morning when the roar of a cannon broke the stillness. It was fired by Captain Pelham, as we know, connected with the Confederate artillery at- tached to Stuart's cavalry, far down upon the left It was followed by several other peals. Comprehending that the battle was to begin in that direction Heaped into my saddle and rode along the bank of the river to Franklin's pon- toons. General Burnside expected that FranKlin would turn the flank of Jackson and secure the railroad leading to Richmond. The troops were moving across the plain toward Hamilton's Crossing. The fog had lifted sufficiently to en- able Stuart to open the battle. A few moments later I heard the pattering fire of the skirmish- ers. General Meade's division was in the ad- vance. After a rattling fire which lasted a few moments there came a volley of musketry, which indicated that the battle had begun in earnest. Just before reaching the pontoons, I met two soldiers bringing a third who had been wounded in one foot. They laid him on the ground a few moments. He was making sad lamentation that his foot was torn all to pieces. The bullet had entered at the toe of the boot I said to him that it would be well to take it off before the foot became swollen. One of the soldiers attempted to remove it. but the wounded man made bitter complaint. -Cut it off," he said. Neither of the soldiers had a knife, where- upon 1 dismounted and cut the boot open. Upon examining the wound I found the bullet imbeded in the flesh between his toes and picked it out with my fingers. "If that is all. we won't carry you any far- ther." said one of the soldiers, and left him. The fellow evidently was more soared than hurt. Crossing the river I came upon a brigade of cavalry. The soldiers had tethered their horses to the trees surrounding the house of Mr. Benard. Gen. Bayard, commanding tne brigade, was seated at the root of a tree filling his pipe for a smoke. Alter a few moments' conversa- tion witii him I passed on toward Meade's com- mand. A little later a cannon liall came whizzing across the field. It was a chance shot, but se- lected Gen. Bayard for its mark, instantly kill- ing him. Now, I could see Doubleday's division on my left, facing east, standing at a right angle with the river. The soldiers were in line, but not taking part in the battle. Beyond them I could see puffs of smoke from the skirmishers thrown out toward the Confederate cavalry. In the direction of Hamilton's crossing, the division under Gen. Meskle was hotly engaged. Gibbon's division was on Meade't rigu* Eighteen can- non on a knoll were sending their shells upon the Confederate lines. As Meade's troops moved on they came to a hollow, where they halted a moment and then advanced toward the railroad. There was nothing to obstruct my view. The railroad embankment was in sight behind where I could see the sunlight glistening on the bayonets of the Confederates belonging to Lane's and Archer's brigades of Jackson's di- vision. There was a gap between them into which Meade determined to force his way. He would use his troops as an entering wedge. The next moment 14 cannon in the woods tie- hind the Confederates opened fire and tne shells came thick and fast upon the advancing line. But, unmindful of the storm, the troops rushed on to the railroad, dashed into the gap and cap- tured about 20O prisoners and several standards. There was a confusion in the Confederate lines and a quick retreat to the woocia Meade's men rushed after them and the battle waxed hot and heavy in the edge of the forest Jackson ordered General Gregg's brigade to advance to the help of Archer and Lane. Swell's division, near the house of Mr. Hamil- ton, came upon the run, but before they arrived Gregg's South Carolina brigade was nearly cut to pieces. Gregg was wounded, but leaning against a tree urged on his men until he dropped unconscious to the ground. Of course 1 did not at the moment know this incident. I cannot say how long the contest went on. for on a bat- tlefield one usually takes little note of time, especially when bullets are humming through the air and shells exploding not far away. After a while the Union troops came in a flock from the woods. They had been attacked in flank, as we now know, by four Confederate brigades. Beside the killed and wounded left upon the ground in the edge of the woods, Meade lost several hundred who were taken prisoners. Gen. Gibbon had been directed to support Meade. He advanced to the railroad, where the embankment was somewhat higher than where Meade advanced. It was therefore a natural breastwork for the Confederates. Gibbon'* men came up to the embankment and fired in the faces of the men in gray, who stubbornly held their ground. Some oi Gibbon's regiments gave way. The Twelfth Massachusetts was in the second line, in the brigade commanded by CoL Lyle. I do not remember whether the Six- teenth Maine was in that brigade, but that regi- ment. I think, joined with the Twelfth in a charge upon the Confederates, which was so sudden and vigorous that about two hundred of the enemy gave themselves up as prisoners. The position which had been gained was held for some minutes, but no supports came and they were soon compelled to retreat They re- tired slowly and in good order. This is a very meagre account ot a conflict in which one hundred and five men, out of two SERGEANT I'LUNKETT AND THK COLORS. CROSSING AT FREDERICKSBURG. 59 nundred and fifty-eight, composing the Twelfth Regiment were killed or wounded. This regi- ment at the begining of the war was com- manded by Colonel Fletcher \Vebster, son of Daniel Webster, who was killed at Manassas. It was a pitiful sight the lines of men bearing stretchers and carrying the wounded to the rear and placing them in the ambulances piti- ful because nothing had been gained by the attack. When Meade and Gibbon retired the Confed- erates made the air ring witn their exultant cheers. Biruey's division advanced to meet them, and thirty cannon opened fire, compelling the Confederates in turn to fall back into the woods. Of more than forty thousand troops at his disposal Franklin had used only about fif- teen thousand. From the success attained by Meade it seems pro 'able that had Franklin sent in the remainder of his troops, Jackson would have been driven from his position, and Lee's right flank successfully turned. Seeing no disposition on the part of General Franklin to attack with vigor I determined to ride back to General Bur nside'a headquarters on thenorth bank of the Rappahannock to ascertain officially, if possible, what was going on. As I reached the bank of tne river a solid shot whizzed over my head and dropped into the water. The cavalry, which at the beginning of the battle had been tethered to the trees around Bernard's house, had been removed to a shelter beneath the bank. Upon reaching the head- quarters of Burnside I found that Sumner had been employed during the morning in getting his troops into position. Burnside had expected greater results from Franklin's movement, and had not ordered Sumner to advance until between 11 and 12 o'clock. Burnside did not know there was a canal in rear of the town, which the troops must cross in column before they could come into position for an attack. The canal ta&es the water from the Rappahanoek. opposite the village of Pal- mouth, to supply the Souring mills at the lower end of Fredencksburg. It was a very formid- able obstacle to Sumner's advance. The en- gineers, it seems, did not know of its existence, Blin-lly, and without any well-considered plan, an attempt was to be made to drive Longstreet from his formidable position. The attacking force must advance across a plateau, which could be swept by nearly one hundred Confed- erate cannon. At the base of the bluff was a sunken road, filled with Confederates. Half Way up was a trench, also filled with Confed- erates. At the top of the hill was a line of breastworks and the artillery. Sumner's troops through the morning had been standing in the streets ot the town. The Confederate cannon had been silent, but when the Eighth Ohio Regiment marched UD Hano- ver street, and the First Delaware Regiment ap- peared upon Princess Ann street, respectively leading the two columns, the storm burst forth. J ft was a little past 11 o'clock when 115 soldiers of the Ohio regiment advanced as skirmishers. of whom 48 were killed ana wounded in less than ten minutes, but they drove the Confeder- ate skirmishers from their positions and reached the bank on the west side of the ravine beyond the canal. General Nathan Kim ball, who once defeated Stonewall Jackson at Kearnstown in the Shenandoah Valley, formed his brigade in Caroline street. The moment the head of the column reached the open ground the Confeder- ate cannon opened fire. The next moment the thirty-pounders of the Union artillery on the northern bank of the Raopahannock sent their shells high above the heads of the Union soldiers into the Confederate lines. Briga !e after brigade passed across the canal and came into position under the shelter of the ravine. When all were ready, at a signal they climb the bank and rush across the open field. Suddenly Marye's Hights are aflame the sunken road at the base, the trench half way UP, the crest, all three are flashing and flaming. From my standpoint f can see shot and shells coming from the right, from the front, and from the left into the advancing lines a cross and direct fire. The lines are three or four deep. It is a blue wave advancing across the plateau. Men are dropping, the ground is thickly strown with prostrate forms. Hundreds are limping toward the rear, but on. UD almost to the sunken road the wave rolls on, then breaks and drifts back to the shelter of the ravine. Nearly ix thousand men have ad- vanced, but in this brief period nearly two thousand have been killed or wounded. General Sumner is not a man to give up a Contest after one repulse. He orders up How- ard's division. Again the dark mass advances over the plateau, but only to retire with dis- mantled ranks. Since the war 1 have walked over the field with General Ransom, a Confed- erate commander, who said he could but admire the bravery and determination of the Union troops, and that it pained him to see them slaughtered to terribly when there was no chance of their carrying the position. Thus far the attacks had been made by the troops of the Second Corps. Sumner now or- dered UD aturgis's division of the Ninth Corps, in which were the Sixth. Ninth and Eleventh New Hampshire, the Twenty-first and Thirty- flftn Massachusetts Regiments. The last named had been at Roanoke Island, South Mountain, Antietam and Chantilly. It was commanded br Col. Clark. When Sturgis advanced the regv ment went almost up to the sunken road, when Serg. Collins, carrying the flag of the Twenty-first, fell. The flag was instant- ly seized by Serg. Flunket He was born in Ireland, but came to this country when a boy. When 10 years of age he earned his living making shoes in West Boylston. He had distinguished himself in other battles by his coolness and i Ta very. As he picks up the flag his comrades hear him shout, "Come on!" The next instant a shell bursts in front of him and both hands are gone, but with his bleeding arms he clasps the flag to his neart. staining it with blood. To him 60 STORIES OF OUR SOLDIERS. there is nothing on earth so dear. Many who may read this letter will recall him as door- keeper at the coat room in the State House up to 1884. Many times 1 have felt something rise in my throat and the moisture slithering in my eyes as I saw him patiently sitting: there, with the two hooks at the ends of his arms, the only substitute for the hands which he had given to his country. He was ever an eloquent and pathetic testimonial to the power of the flag to transform citizens of other lands into true-hearted and patriotic citizens of the repub- lic. At the time of his death the Legislature, in a body, with the flag he carried at Fredericks- burs, attended his funeral. I have said that General Burnside had no other plan than to attack the enemy in his en- trenchments. Seemingly, for the moment, he lost his mental equipoise. No impression had been made upon the Confederates. He ordered Gen. Hooker to advance. That officer, after reconnoitering the ground, said that in his opinion the heights could not be carried. Burns i a e replied that the attempt must be made. Humphrey's division advanced, but the result ended in failure. The sun goes down with Marye's Heights aflame, the Confederate cannon pouring a destructive fire upon the Union troops. Although a third of a century hai passed away, memory recalls the terrible scene the clusters of Union troops trying to shelter themselves along the ravine, the ground thickly strewn with inanimate forms. Amid the thun ler ot the cannonade and the rattling of musketry, heart rending wails from the wounded and dy- ing fall upon my ears. Not till darkness covers the scene can the ambulances reach them. More than 12,000 Union soldiers have been killed or wounded, and a little more than 5000 Confederates. Although the result was so disastrous General Burnside determined to re- new the attempt in the morning with the Ninth Corps which he would lea i in person ; but Sum- ner, Hooker and Franklin unitedly remonstrate 1 and he yielded the point. Sunday morning dawns beautiful and clear. Burnside sees that the wounded must be cared for; humanity demands it. White flags are displayed. 1'he soldiers on both sides stack their guns, and the pickets talk familiarly of the battle. The Union troops srive the Confed- erates coffee, and receive tobacco in return. During the day burnside arrives at the con- clusion that the army must be withdrawn, and orders are issued for the movement to begin with the coming on of night. Little does Gen. Lee mistrust, as the suu goes down Sunday, that the Union artillerymen are winding wisps <>t straw around the wheels of the cannon so that they will make no rumbling as they cross the pontoons. The Union officers issue their orders in whispers. Fortunately tne wind is blowing from the south, and no sound of the departure reaches the Confederate ears. When Monday morning dawns Gen. Lee beholds with astonishment that the Union army is once more upon the northern bank of the river, and that the pontoons have been removed. The great battle has been fought, resulting in terrible slaughter, with nothing gained. It is the darkest period of the war. The morning after the return of the army to Stafford Hills I visited Col. Harriman ot the Eleventh New Hampshire. I had made his ac- quaintance several years before the outbreak of the Rebellion. He had been identified with the Democratic party in that state, but was loyal and true to tne Union. He ban been a popular speaker, had many friends and was influential in raising the regiment. This was his first battle. The regiment had suffered severely, I found him greatly depressed. 1 reproduce as nearly as possible our conversation: " Well. Carleton, we have been in battle, and have suffered a terrible defeat. We may just as well give up the fight now as to go on with it. I tell you, we can never conquer the rebels." " Well, Colonel, I do not wonder you feel so. This is your first battle and your regiment has suffered severely : you were exposed to a mur- derous fire. We have lost from 10.000 to 12,000 and nothing has been gained. You' say that we may as well give up now as ever : that we can never conquer the rebels. Permit me to say to you that this war is to go on until one or the other party is utterly exhausted. It is a conflict between freedom and slavery and one or the other will triumph. More men have sot to be killed, but freedom is to triumph in the end." Col. Harriman was silent for a few moments, and then said: " Well, I do not know but that you are right. So be it. I saw brave men die yesterday, giving their lives cheerfully for their country, and I am ready to give mine if need be. " Thirty years have passed since then, and it is a gratification to read once more the words written to The Journal just after my interview with Colonel Harriman : " It is no time to lose faith and hope. Now is the time to rally with all our strength to sustain the Government and the priceless cause in which we are engaged. Let every patriot stand like a rock. The world has seen many dark days. Right has seemed to have the worst of it in the long contest against wrong; but right was born among the externities and will lire beyond all time. It is not defined to let go of the Government not the time to sit disheart- ened and let the great cause perish by default." CHARLES F. W. ARCHER. 62 CAPTAIN MAGNITZKY. In a quiet office in Court street, up one flight, where the blazing cannel coal splutters and rackles socially in the wide, open fire place, its dancing, flickering light illumining the titles of many a staid volume of Metcalf or Gray, or Coke or Blackstone. the writer found an exceedingly interesting old soldier. There was no mistaking the erect, military car- riage, though the uniform was long since dis- carded. , Retired because of wounds, says the army register, and by no means an old man yet. Cap- tain Gustave Magnitzky is the name of this quiet gentleman. Sergeant Magnitzky it was, when more than thirty years ago, with his fellow German Turners of Company C, Twentieth, he scaled the height of Ball's Bluff, up the narrow foot path, where but one could go alone, with the possibility of a whizzing rifle bullet at any moment from the lofty crest above. "I suppose it was only eighty or ninety feet str? ight up, but I remember I thought it full two hundred when I came down over it that evening," said the Captain, with a laugh, in his pleasantly accentuated tones. " I will not forget that battle." he continue!, "for it was there that I was first laid out with the dead." In 1860 he came from Prussia to this country to escape a draft for the Prussian army, ar- riving here just in time to plunge into our four Tears' war. To-day he is tne only survivor of all the com- missioned officers of the Twentieth who went through the entire service of the regiment and was in every battle borne upon its tattered -colors save one "Ream's Station." Of 21 officers of the Twentieth who crossed the Rapidau on the 3d and 4th of May. 1864. three only crossed the James on the 17th of June, and Capt. Magnitzky was the only one left in the October following. For six weeks after Hatcher's Run he com- manded the Twentieth, all other officers above his rank being disabled, and in that engage- ment led his comrades in a daring charge, rout- ing out a nest of rebels. It was a fascination to sit in the tire light as the gloaming drew on and listen to the Captain's story of his first battle as he gives it below. Said the Captain : The Twentieth lacked the coherency of the other regiments sent forward at the time for this reason: Abraham Lincoln called for 75,- 000 men, and when that quota was filled there were here and there a number of scattered com- panies in excess of the call. These companies were kept together. Thn German Turnverein of Boston had voted to raise a company, but there were so many Turners who wanted to go that they easily filled two commands instead of one. The men were scholars as well as gymnasts. We had two companies of rough-and-ready fellows "Fort Hill boys" and "North Enders" but good lighters. Our men were scattered far and wide, from Nan tucket to Cambridge. But we had splendid officers from the start- most all Harvard men each one a gallant soldier. They proved their courage at Ball's Bluff. "We got to Washington on the 7th of Septem- t , witn 500 or 600 men, but our ranks were 64 STORIES OF OUR SOLDI KKS. subsequently filled up while at Camp Kalwama, On the 16th of September we pitched tents two miles from Poolosville, on the road to Edwards Ferry, a mile and a half below. With the Nine- teenth Massachusetts and Seventh Michigan, who joined as, we established Camp Benton, the headquarters of General Lander's Brigade in Stone's " Observation Corps" on the Upper Potomac. It was a beautiful situation naturally, but we had many alarms and occasional stray shoot- ing:. Most of the time we were on detached service. On the afternoon before Ball's Bluff four of our companies fell in with arms and knapsacks and marched out, leaving: the camp in charge of Lieutenant Colonel Palfrey. Our number was subsequently increased to seven companies. We were marched down to Edwards Ferry, then back up the left bank of the Potomac four or five miles till a halt was ordered. At about midnight our boys began embark- ing in scows and were ferried over to Harrison's Island. The Fifteenth Massachusetts preceded us and crossed to the Virginia shore soon after midnight, followed by I and D of the Twen- tieth. They were sent on a scout to develop the country and discover the hiding place of the rebels. It was a beautiful evening perfect Oc- tober weather. Our turn to go came in the early morning. All through the forenoon the scow made its tripa Once landed on the farther side, the sharp bluff towered sheer and steep above us. The top was only to be reached by a winding footpath, up which we scrambled one at a time. Had the rebels been on that crest, they might have easily picked us off oy detail, man by man, and not one of us could have reached tbe summit. Happily perhaps unhappily they were not there. Well, we assembled rapidly on the bluff, and formed two lines of battle not far from the edge with two mountain howitzers, and a rifled cannon from a Rhode Island battery. I think, in our front. 1 think it was 11 o' slock before we all got over. Companies A and G held the centre and the front line was in a very exposed position and Baxter's First Zouaves from Philadelphia were on our left We saw no enemy and we just laid down ana enjoyed ourselves wnile we were waiting. We decorated an apple tree on our right with our overcoats and extra accoutrements, hang- ing them in fantastic festoons. It WM quite a plcnio for a little while. True, there were dis- turbing shots from beyond those trees which bid the spires of Leesburz from us in the direc- tion the Fifteenth had gone. Toward non the firing was sharp and rapid, but our boys ap- peared to be holding them. The day was warm, the soft balmy air of the Indian summer was enticing, and so we lay in the shade of our oddly-hung tree and waited, little dreaming? how joyously "the Johnnies "were to appreciate our festoonery and take complete possession of it before nightfall. We left them the whole of it and glad enough were some of us to get off even so ligLtiy a that The shot sare coming nearer now. Attention 1 Every man grasos his Enfield. There is a succession of quick, light puffs above the trees, and of sharp reports in such rapid continuity as to give a ragged, rattling musketry fire. There they come the fellows of the Fifteenth out from under the white smoke cloud that veils the woods. They fall back steadily along the cart path to our position on the bluff. We had in front of us an ooen field, bounded upon its farther edge by a bit of woods which described the are of a circle from our extreme left round to the right It was not over 200 yards from where we stood ou the edge of the bluff to the belt of timber on the longest radios of the arc. In front of us was the short slope of brown grass, dotted here and there with the gay tinted leaves of autumn. Behind us, just over that edge, straight down ninety feet, was the river. The sun's rays were as warm as in midsummer making coats unbearable, and we stood shoulder to shoulder without them, the sloping visors of our caps pulled low over our eyes, as we anx- iously looked for the enemy. There was a slight lull as the Fifteenth came back to us and took position, 1 think, on our right. I remember Gen. Bafcer. He looked like a very pleasant old style of gentleman as he came no to Col. Lee and said ; " Colonel, vou have a fine line of battle here." He compliment ed the Twentieth on its good appearance. I guess it must have been 3 o'clock when the rebels opened a brisk fire on us from the woods and the battle was on. There were only two shots from our mountain howitzers before they were disabled. CAPTAIN GUSTAVE MAGN1TZKY. 66 STORIES OF OUR SOLDIERS. " I hare been in over 80 battles," bat I never knew such absolutely vicious firing: as that at Ball's Bluff. The air was just chock full of bul- lets. It seemed like hell let loose and there we stood, just simply targets for the rebel riflemen. The nearest approach that we ever had to that firing was at Gettysburg, but even tbat was nothing so vicious as this. I remember after Baker fell, when the order came to cease firing and retreat to the foot of the bluff to avoid further slaughter. There wasn't much retreat about it It was just a scramble any way to get down. "It was about 6 o'clock when I was wounded in the leg. I found 1 could move and I went right over the edge of the bluff. If it hadn't been for the hanging bushes there that 1 clung hold of going down, I would have come down pretty hard, I can tell you. 1 half slid and half fell till I reached the foot. I recall, as we scat- tered, one fellow who acted as though he was drunk. Somebody hit him in the head with a clubbed musket and he ran off. yelling that IM was killed. That was the last I saw of him." There was a great crowd of our fellows under the bluff, and the scow was just shoving off with a load. I managed to get into it in some way and they pushed us over the river to tho island. The rebels came up to the edge of the bluff and we could see them firing down upon our poor fellows. The scow went across again and there was a grand rush for it. Seventy or eighty men got in, and the old thing was overloa led. They pushed out into the stream, the rebels firmer at them, and ha I got some way from shore when all of a sudden I saw them all go over into the water. You see there was so much excitement, so much jumping about to escape being hit, that the men crowded too much to one side and careened the scow, which quickly filled and sank. Over they went into the river. I never saw anything like it before in my life, Itsenmed like a great rolling ball of humanity in mid stream. Each man held on to the other to save himself. They held together for a mo- ment and then gradually drifted apart, some individually succeeding in getting ashore and others going down the stream out of sight I saw Lieutenants Wesselhoeft and Babo di- vest themselves of their clothing on the turther side and jump in to swim the river In company. They had to stem a cold swift current, two hun- dred feet wide. All the time the rebels were cracking at them firing at every head they could see in the river. The Lieutenants got part way across and then, before anybody could get near them. I saw them throw up their hands and disappear beneath the surface. I remember how. in the middle of the night, Captain Crowninshield, with Lieutenants Hal- lowell and Charles A. Whittier, with Captain William F. Bartlett Frank, we always called aim who went through so much afterward and became a General, and Lieutenant Henry L. Abbott, afterward killed, came to us on the island. Captain Crowninshield stripped and swam tbe river, which appeared to have risen in some sort of freshet, for there were lots of logs and stumps which had been brought down and were left sticking up with their jagged points just above water, rendering it a very risky tiling to swim through them at 12 o'clock at night But that's what the Captain did, and some of the others with him. Captain Bartlett found a small skiff, and got quite a lot of the boys over in that, beside saving himself. The skiff had been sunk, and he got a negro to raise it for him and tip the water out The next funny thing that I remember was my fteing laid out with the dead. It happened in this way. After my wound was dressed, it coming on to rain, a rubber blanket was put over me and I was taken to a shanty where the wounded and dead were laid. 1 was completely done up and slept soundly. By mistake my bearers carried me too far over the line and deposited me with the dead. My fellow-sleepers gave no sound and 1 slept blissfully unconscious of my surroundings until there stole upon me an indistinct, confused sense that somebody was standing over me and talking. " 1 had a dim consciousness that some one was saying 'poor fellows, they will never wake again,' something like that, when the rubber blanket over my face was raised and I lookeu straight into the eyes of a man. I was broaU awake then, 1 can tell you. " Well, if you ever saw a man jump that lei- low did. He dropped the blanket on my face and ran off. Very soon he came back and brought another. They were soldiers, and my discoverer was so happy at finding me alive, that he forced me to take a great, bier, new plug of tobacco. " We were all sent back to the Maryland side that night. General Lander was wounded the uext day at Edwards's Ferry, and soon after, a whole division was thrown across and recap- tured a number of prisoners. It was perfectly easy lor us to have crossed at Conrad's Ferry. As to who was to blame, the matter has never been decided by an official court" SERGEANT H'GINNIS. Ah. those far-away gloaming hours when, with the fading of the aftermath we stood with faces flattened on the window pane peering down the dusky street for the first flash of the lamplight- er's cheery torch in the gathering gloom. The jolly, light-hearted fellow when was a lamplighter known to be anything else? What a fascination there was in his coming and going and with what dextrous twist the turn-cock sprung open and presto, the jet burst into flame. There is just the glimpse of a smiling f ace. a nod and he's gone, but he has left the quiet street the brighter for his coming. He is going fast like Tony Weller's post-boys in the ever increasing glare of the great arc light, but happily for the coming generation, the lamplighter has by no means survived his usefulness in Boston town. To find, therefore, after a long search for that gallant soldier, that Captain William A. Me Oinnis. the jolly Sergeant of the Fighting Nine teenth is to-day devoting his attention to bright, ening the many dark nooks and corners round old Fort Hill after nightfall, just as his merry, jocular spirit lightened the gloom of many a sad hour in stockade and hospital, struck the writer with singular appropriateness as he wended his way down toward India square in his search for the Captain. It was early candle light, but the evening was dark and rainy as the reporter turned into Batterymarcb street, after a fruitless quest through old Bread street, its numerous side lanes and by-ways, and was rewarded by a bright flash dead ahead. There was the Captain at last, sure enough. "Hi. Captain McGinuis!" "Aye, aye, sir, what's wanted? " was the cheerful reply to the reporter's hail. It was a sturdy figure of generous proportions that halted with soldierly promptness within the circle of light from the street lantern above him. "Can I tell you something of my experience tn the war? Well. I can." said he. "Will you?" "Ah! that I don't know." " Oh. come : a man like vou is always ready with a story," "But how shall 1 begin?' " Why. that's easy : where .do we find the next lamp?" And so threading our way in and out through the rain, back and forth criss-cross over the muddy streets, now down a deserted wharf among the shipping, and again in and out behind great silent warehouses we took a most fascinating ramble, the Captain leaving his cheerful light behind him as he went, and his companion enjoying to the full a round of yarn spinning from his fund of reminiscence. " I don't Know about Captain Jack Adams's Thanksgiving turuips, but 1 can tell you of what we had for a Fourth of July dinner down in Danville." " Let's begin with the axe-handle brigade,' Captain?" " Oh. yes, that's so. Well, to start with, you see I was born and brought up in Boston, living down on Fort Bill about all mv life before the war. " 1 just took a notion and went up and enlist- ed in Capt. Ansel D. Wass's Boston Tiger Fire Zouaves. Company K, Nineteenth Massachu- setts. We went into camp at Lynnfield. Our uniform was a regular zouave cap. jacket, sash 68 STORIES OF OUK SOLU1EUS. and trousers then, and we kept it for some little time: I wore it at Camp Benton, where I was a Sergeant "Yes, I had command of the axe-handle bri- gade. It was made up of a detail of ten men from each company, with a Corporal in charge Of each squad. I put the Corporals in as cap- tains, and Charlie Newhall of Saugus, he was my adjutant." * Was he a Sergeant, Captain? " "Oh.no. he was just one of the 'meres,'" with a laugh, "Mere what?' '* Mere private. 'You see we had a Second Lieutenant who felt pretty big over his new straps and nobby uniform. Oh, he was quite a swell. So one day he had visitors and one of the boys passed them. A lady asked him who the man was. "He; that lellpw?' says the Lieutenant, 'oh, he is a mere private, you know.' "Well, the boys caught on to it. and all high privates after that were ' meres.' " Devereux. the Colonel, was a great stickler for proprieties. ' He always addressed the Second 'Luffs' as Mr. so and so. And when I got into the woods I'd go round to all the chopping parties and address the Corporal like this : ' Mr. Hood, how are yon getting on to-day? ' " We had the best drilled regiment In the bri gade, and the boys all caught on to my 'axe- handle brigade.' They'd march in like veterans. Charlie Newhall would form the line, and then at the command 'present axes' every blade would come flashing up and be presented square to the front. Then I'd take command. " But as for the orders of the day ; some of 'em would hardly do in print. You see the officers are most all alive yet " It was while I was at Camp Benton that 1 saw General Lander wounded. "The regiment had been picketing the tow path of the canal along the Potomac River down to Edwards Ferry and Company K. Nineteenth, was detailed to guard the ferry. " Major Kice came down while we were there and said to Captain Wass. ' Captain, send Ser- geant McGinnis with three men down to Goose Creek on picket.' " Well. I went down with three of the boys till we came to the creek just a little stream making up from the Potomac. There was a covered bridge and we went over on it and up the hill on the other side. "There was a small little house there and we went into it. There was a man in there all doubled and twisted up with rheumatism. His hands were all curled up. There was an old man with him. He was awful scared. He said the women had all run away and the able-bodied men were all gone to Richmond. * Says I. ' Did you see any rebels about?' ' No. 1 didn't,' says he. but he was that fright- ened that he couldn't tell us much any way. ' So we went ouc and I was marching ahead along the road when all of a sudden I heard somebody say. " 'Who comes there?' " 1 wasn't looking for any rebels and so I straightened up, winked back at my three boys, and says I " ' W ho dares thus to accost Sergeant William A, McGinnis,' swelling up just like that "Begorra. the next minute I heard a cap snap and then another Then a gun went off. my three pickets flew for the woods, and I just dropped flat to the ground. The shots flew thick and fast over my head. 1 worked back down over the hill to where our troops were. I jumped a Virginia fence as the balls whizzed by spatting into it, splitting the wood and came full upon Lander. ' He said, ' Who are yon?' 'I told him my name and regiment ' Says he, ' Who are those over there? 1 ' Says I, ' fhat's the line of battle.' 'And he said. 'What are they doing there, they ought to come up here.' or something like that We were right between the two lines of battle, and zip! zip! how the bullets flew. A whole brigade was firing then. '* Just as Lander said that the men ought not to be where they were, a bullet struck him in the lesr. It seemed to me that I could hear it as it ' socked ' into the boot leather, carrying scrap and all with it " I said : ' General, can I be of any assistance to you?' He said: 'No. It is well enough:' something like that. His orderly came UP and helped him to the rear, and that was the wound from which General Lander died. He went to the rear bimselt with the assistance of his Orderly." Just then Captain McGinnis and I emerged upon Fort Hill square. "Hold on," said he, as the ready torch went UD to the waiting lantern overhead, "and I will show you how an Andrew sharoshooter popped a rebel in the eye." Down came the torch to the wire fence. "You see," said the Captain, " the sharpshooter had a telescope rifle. It weighed 80 pounds, and he rested it just like this on the Virginia fence, and says he to me, ' Do you see that reb over there? I'm going to hit him in the ee.' He fired, over went the reb. and when they went up to the ' Johnny ' afterward they found that the ball had cut the vizor of his cap and gone in just under the fellow's eye. fare enough." Happily for the brave fireman standing across the square, the Captain's torch was non-ex- plosive and carried no death dealing missile to him to complete the graphic recital "You were hit yourself, weren't you, Captain, once or twice," I asked. "Yes, I got it," with a shrug, indicating that it was quite a trifling matter. "1 was the right guide in Company K. made First Sergeant on the field. Our coys were in a little clearing in the woods like. I saw a man opposite me aiming right for me, so I took aim for him. I fired, and as the smoke cleared away I couldn't see that man anywhere, but at tbe CAPTAIN W. A. McGINNIS. SERGEANT McGINNIS. HIS AXE BRIGADE. SERGEANT M GINNIS. 71 same moment I felt a hall strike me in the left breast near tne shoulder. "I thought at first it was the arm itself that was struck at the time. " Well. I went back and met an officer that I knew right off was a Surgeon by his straps. 'Doctor,' *ays I. ' I've a bullet in me back. Just cut it out for me, will you? ' He directed me to the field hospital. anrder.' " He did so, repeating it about as I have said. The only way for us then to get out was by tne left flank down through the depression to the plateau beneath. I don't think there was any pell mell jumping over the edge of the bluff. If there had been it was so steep the casualties would have been far greater. " Colonel Devens was perfectly cool, and I think somewhat vexed, for he was very much opposed to the order. He encouraged pur boys, and the old Fifteenth fell back, fighting as it went, moving out by the left in good order. " When we got down on the plateau our Colonel wanted to rally, and said to me 'Let us reform and try to go back.' " But the rebels had then rushed to the edge of the bluff and were firing right down into us. It was impossible to rally the men. and then Colonel Devens shouted. Boys, throw your guns into the river and save yourselves." " With him 1 went down to the water. The only scow had sank. The river was full of struggling men. There was a metallic life- boat, but it was so riddled with shot as to be useless. "All the time the rebels kept up their murder- ous fire and men were dropping all round us. Capt Moses Gatchell was shot and killed while swimming the river, and so was Lieut Willie Grout of Worcester. " I never saw Gen. Devens more cool. Lieut C. H. Eager. Frederick H. Sibley, with W A. Eames, A. A. Simqnds and George L. Boss, all of Company B, had a branch of a tree, some 20 feet long, with an ordinary piece of scantline about 12 feet lone. AN UNKNOWN HERO OF THE WAR. 77 "They were supporting themselves upon them in the water, and called to us. ' Come. Colonel, come. Major, we will taKe you across.' Devens was an indifferent swimmer; some of the others could not swim. I was a good swimmer. When we not out in the stream we found our load too heavy, and I bade the boys good-by and struck out alone. Three times 1 went down. The shots were spatting the water all round me, and oh, how numi' I was! The water was icy Col' I and the current swift. ** The last time I went down my feet touched bottom, and I remember the supreme effort I made to rise above the surface. 1 came up beside an upturned stump about eight rods from the shore. From that I waded to land, the water being shallow. I met a soldier on Harrison's Island who immediately went to work on me to restore circulation. " As soon as my blood began to flow naturally I was all right, but I could not have gone much farther. Later 1 rejoined my comrades, who landed farther down stream than I did. " Fugitives were coming in from the Virginia shore for two, three or even four days after the battle. Capt. Simonds was reported killed, but after the battle, when the rebel pickets became more friendly, one of our fellows, talking across the river, learned that the Johnnies had cap- tured a long, lean Yankee Captain with a hand- kerchief tied round his head, and that he had gone to Richmond. " That identified the Captain, who had gone into the fight with an accidental sword cut back of his ear, and wound the handkerchief about it to stop the blood. He was afterward killed at Antietam. That's the true story of Ball's Bluff. for which Gen. Stone was unjustly imprisoned in Fort Lafayette ana refused a trial when he asked for it." AN UNKNOWN HERO OF THE WAR. i Colonel Norwood n aaiem. He was one of Devereux's famous Salem Zouaves, ape ciidly chosen by General Butler as drill master, for newly recruited companies arrlvin? at the front . and he was successively promoted as Second and as First Lieutenant. *nd as Captain in the Nineteenth Massachusetts. He was Adjutant of that regiment at Gettysburg, and participated in all the fighting at Frederlcksburg At present be lj CaatUer of the Edison Electric Company Boston ' A busy scurrying of orderlies in and out ol camp ! " An unusual stir at Headquarters 'The issuing of extra rations to the oien. the serving out of additional rounds of powder and ball, and, more than all. an unexpected and ex eeptional inspection of arms at 'retreat.' were pointers sufficient for any old soldier to read as plainly as though they formed a printed page in extra long primer type that the Second Corp? had marching orders that the boys would be on the move before daybreak "Togo where? ' A good soldier never asks questions. " It may be a long twenty miles march ovei touch Virginia roads. "It maybe the preface of his last day on earth. " The fact is that the army is at last about to break its long period of inaction since Antic tarn Burnside has yielded to the popular clamor, and against his better Judgment begins aimovement "And John Thompson was company cook, John, the dullard, the drill Sergeant's despair John, who always came to right face when he should have faced to the left, who never doubled up ' right according to Hardee and in variably broke UD his tile. John to whom. ' by the right or left flank.' was as the veriest Greek. 'John. ' the pot slower.' ' the coffee cooler,' as the boys affectionately called him at mess time -in a word, the company cook, oecause there seemed no other place to put him By gum. I'll do it.' said John comme 10 the position of the soldier with far better ' set up ' than he had ever achieved before in his whole military experience. Splash went the SOUD stick to the bottom ot the kettle, with a quick., responsive gevser of hot beef fat to sputter its wrath to the glowing embers of the fire beneath at such astonishing proceedings. "Straight up the company street went John 10 the line officers' quarters. Lieutenant?' and up came the hand to hi? cap vizor " 'Lieutenant?' said ha "'Well John,' said L 80 STORIES OF OUR SOLDIERS. The Doys are going into a fight to-morrow-' questioningly. ' ' It looks like it, John. "'Well. Lieutenant, please :ei me faille with them.' " " ' But John, you are doing such good work here I never could find another party to put in your place. Somebo ly must cook for the boys they will want something to eat. " ' I know, Lieutenant, but I want to show em the stuff I've got in me. Won't you let me go? 1 "Well, he begged so hard that 1 finally to^d him that if he'd get the word of Morrison, the chief cook that my boys shouldn't go hungry that I'd grant his request. " You never saw a man so pleased. Of? ie went, and was back with Morrison in a jiffy. " ' It'll be all right. Lieutenant.' said that good- natured chef. ' There's always plenty of dar kies lying round. We'll get along.' " I said, 'All right. John, you can go getyoui eun and fall in.' " He was the most grateful man. and as ha wv * though he were going to a dance. "The Nineteenth Massachusetts lay in camp at Fa 1 mouth. Right down below us was the river. The banks were sloping, perhaps forty or fifty feet high not [edgy but of the peculiar clayey soil of Virginia. " The Lacy house, a fine old Dominion manor, was but a short distance away. I remember it as a white mansion with the big portico in fk-ont, common to Virginia residences of its claM, and imposing gable " Right across the river was Fredericfcsburg. a typical southern city. "When assemoly sounded the first man in ine was John Thompson. " He crossed with us in the first boats that went over and took his place in the skirmish line. ' He had been firing a good while when he came up to me and asked if he might go a short distance to the rear and get the musket of a wounded man lying there, his own piece having fouled. " You see. the bullets in the cartridges they gave us were often no slushed with grease that in very rapid firing the barrel would gum up in a short time. " I said. ' All right. John, go get it. "He went back and met a Lieutenant, who sang out, ' Here ! where are you goinar. yon shirk? Go back to your comnany.' '" I'm no shirk and no coward,' says John. 'I got leave to get this man's gun,' stooping for the coveted rifle. ' ' Well, you can't have it, said the Lieuten ant, 'get out of here and go back to your com pany.' " We were getting a not fire then 'Well, of course I didn't know of what was going on in the rear, I wasn't watching John Thompson. I knew that a man that had asked to go into the fight did not require It. " The next that I saw of him wa when he pre- sented himself, panting, and smoke-grimed. He was actually so mad he could hardly speak He was holding on to his thigh and limping. "Said I, ' Are you wounded John?' " Then it poured forth 'Didn't you tell me. Lieutenant, I might have that man's gun?' "I did. ' ' Well, that back there.' mean- ing the Lieutenant, 'wouldn't let me have it, and. him, he ran me through the leg with his sword, said I was a shirk an I a cowara.' ' Wei'., well. John, said I. rather suprlsed. You're wounded go to the rear. " ' Not by a sight,' shouted he, fiercely. I will never forget his appearance as he stood before me. his face black with the smoke of battle and streaked with perspiration his expression intensely eager ' I came out here to fight and I'm not through ret,' and he sprang forward and left me. John was woundf-d after that, but the boys never taunted him again in the service, and he bade food-by to the kettles. That man had a splendid war record, ana before he got through was commissioned as Second and then as First Lieutenant He was killed in the trenches at Cold Harbor, June 3, 1864. '' So you never can tea, after ail, who will make a soldier." said Captain W. A. Hill, once of the fighting Nineteenth, thus opening hia treasure basket to bring back memories of the Rappahannock for the Journal readers "And what became of the blood-thirsty Lien- tenant. Captain?" " Oil. he was wounded, too. It he bad not been, I should surely have preferred charges against him. He was afterward promoted, and is dead since the war " The Captain was seated at his pleasant desk In his business office, off Tremont street, as he opened his port- folio of memory pictures of war-time days for his visitor's enjoyment The whirring of huge dynamos and intermittent electric flashes from the slowing incandescents in the great hall* around him gave a realistic setting to the stories he unfolded. One needed only the murky battle smoke to make.the men- tal portraiture comolete. " We had simply to go down to the river. It was no great distance." he continued, "and our brigade 'Hall's' just happened to lie at the Lacy house just prior to the crossing. " We left camp at Falmouth before daybreak. It was a December day, just like this, clear and with keen temperature, though I remember that there was a white bank of river log that hovered over the Rappahannock and veiled our movements. "At aoout daylight we pushed on down to the river bank, where we found the pontoon corps at work laying the bridge. As day dawned, the pontoniers were interrupted in their work, and the rebel sharpshooters on the opposite side of the river picked them off so rapidly that the bridge builders were compelled to desist The pontoon was then about two-thirds done. "Our artillery was posted upon the bank above us 60 to 76 guns, principally 12-pound Parrotts though there may have been some Na- 82 STORIES OF OUR SOLDIERS. poleqns among them. These pieces were soon shelling the town. "Flames burst fortn from several houses. The shells continued to i.e sent across until about 4 o'clock in the afternoon, when word came down the line for the troops in the neigh- borhood of the bridge head, which was near the Lacy house, to cross the river and dislodge the sharpshooters. " The nearest troops were tnose of the Nine- teenth Massachusetts and the Seventh Michi- gan. " We happened to be there, that was aiL know that they called us the 'Forlorn Hope.' and it was somewhat of an undertaking, but as far as volunteering that was u9t necessary, with the commanding General right close to us watching the opposite shore. He would give the order for us to cross when he decided that the time had arrived to make the movement, in any event " We were ordered to go. being the nearest trooos, and we went. There were a number of the flat pontoon boats lying along shore not used. We got into them and the boats wem poled across. The water was not very deep, not over four or five feet at the deepest part. " We were under fire the entire distance. Were any men killed, Captain? 'I dp not remember that there were any killed in the Nineteenth, though there were several men wounded, but I think some of the Seventh Michigan were killed, besides several wounded. "The crossing was effected. On the other side we were not especially under fire, for we were protected by the bank. " Our men were deployed as skirmishers and went up the bank into the town. There Was just a little narrow road, hardly a street, run nine along the bank. " We advanced as skirmishers straight up the main street running back from the Rappahan- nock, until we came to the first street running across our way, parallel with the river " This was Caroline street, and there we were met by a vigorous fire from what appeared to be a concentrated body of troops. If we had been in line of battle our boys would have been terribly out up. " The men who opposed us came from Barks dale's brigade, and they were posted in rifle pits across the street, on which were our skir- mishers. "1 remember that in this Sight Michael Red ding of Company D. Nineteenth, was wounded in the leg, and, when the fire became so hot that we were driven back, one of our fellows went up to Redding, who was sitting on a doorstep, and offered to take him back with us. "But he said, 'No: you'll be back again shortly, and I'll sit here and wait for you.' "The Nineteenth's skirmish line fell back to the river, fighting as it went When we got back there we found that the pontoon bridge was completed, "It had been finished under cover of our movement It was now growing Quite dark, and I remember seeing a body of troops just crossing on the bridge, in column by divisions that is two companies abreast and marching at half distance, or, m other words, almost closed in mass. It was a division of the Second Corps. " We had held the rebels at Caroline street long enough for the pontoniers to get the bridge in shape and establish communication. " i recall the Twentieth Massachusetts Regi- mem as it came along by us. " 1 thoueht then they were the first regiment to cross on the pontoon bridge They did not cross in the boats with us. 1 1 know that the Twentieth has had the credit of crossing in the boats with the Seventh Michigan, and improperly so. " General Couch made that statement that it was the Seventh Michigan and Twentieth Mas- sachusetts who went across in the boats, and some of our boys took the trouble to write to General Couch and have him correct it " They felt the Twentieth Massachusetts had glory enough out of this battle in the splendid way it stood up to the terrible fire poured into it at Caroline street It was a grand, good regi- ment, with an admirable record, and no man in the Nineteenth would say aught to detract from its laurels in any way Gen. Couch said in his reply, ' The article has gone, 1 didn't make it,' that a writer em- ployed by Scribner & Sons obtained an inter- view with him, and read it through to him, and Coucn signed it. As a matter of fact the Gen- eral said he did know that the Seventh Michi- gan crossed and some Massachusetts regiment, which he understood was the Twentieth. "I won't say," said Captain Hill, "that some men of the Twentieth did not cross in the boats with the Nineteenth and Seventh Michigan, but the regiment was not with us in a body " Carleton makes the same mistake in his book, ' Boys in Blue. ' in which he makes the same statement that it was the Seventh Michi- gan and Twentieth Massachusetts that crossed in the. boats." " But he gives you credit now, Captain. ' Oh yes, we've talked the thing up so much at our regimental reunions, and in other ways, that we have established the fact that it waa the Nineteenth Massachusetts that went over." " Well, now, Captain, Captain Magnitztey states that the 1 wentieth Massachusetts went over in boats, too that you went first because you were nearest, and that they followed ypu your regiments deploying and the Twentieth marching in column of companies into the town?" "As to their coming after us i won't say They might have done that, but the opinion has ob- tained with us that they were the first regiment to cross the pontoon bridga I know they went up into the town in column, as you say, and I know they suffered terrioiy and lost more than we did, because they stood up to that terribid fire at Caroline street so bravely," " You went up through the yards. Captain,. CHARGE OF THK FORLORN IIOPF. THE CAPTAIN S STORY. 85 didn't you, and were not so exposed as the Twentieth?" "Yes. that was true." " Did you find many in the yards?" " Well, we f oun i a few fellows, but not many, as we advanced. The yards were like those of all Southern cities. There was an air of neglect about them broken paiingi in the fences a general aspect 01 decay. " I remember, in trying to look into one house, we found the door locked and that a girl answered our demand for admittance. When she saw us, she said. 'On, do go away; there is really uouody in here but my poor old blind father.' " We took her word, and had just started on when there was a report of a gun, and we saw a puff of smoke coming from the cellar window of that house. "That didn't look much like a blind man. We made a rush inside, and down in the cellar we found a mean, cowering, sneaking reb. His gun was hot. " Well, tue boys snaked him out quick. The Twentieth was just going by, and we started that reb immediately in front of the leading files of that regiment. He was kept there, too. literally at the rifle muzzle, ana when the Twentieth reached Carolina street the miser- able fellow fell dead, killed at the first tire that broke upon Bartlett's Company from Barks- dale's Brigade. " When our boys got back to where we left poor Mike Redding to wait for us the doorstep was empty, and we came upon his dead body in the street, He had been bavonetted to death and thrust through in half a dozen different places. Redding hailed from Boston. "I remember that as we were crossing there was a rebel sharpshooter on the Frederieksburg side, who had annoyed us very mucu uy his pestiferous shots. " Naturally when we got on top the bank we ran up to look for this chap. "We came uuon a rebel lying there with his eyes closed, and just breathing. He had been disemboweled, apparently by a shell. And there was a hog. one of the wild kind common in the South, who had been sniffing round, a-id had began to eat him. " We forgot old scores in that sad sight, and. in the interest of humanity, one ot our boys shot the hog 'But perhaps the funniest features of that battle were the experiences of Captain Andrew Mahpney of Company E. " The Captain was a braw Irish lad with a good rich brogue, but 'all sojer.' A fine figure he had. and very particular was he as to order*- " Well, I was Lieutenant, commanding Com- pany F, and Lieut. Elisha W Hincks, a brother of the General, now down in Orrington, Me., was in command of Company B. "An order came for the three companies on the left to cross the street, surround a house there was there and to search it. "Captain Mahoney, as senior officer of the left flank company, which Included his own and those of Hincks and myself, took command. " Over we marched and soon had a cordon of men round tnat house. We three commanders marched up the steps to the entrance. 1 was on one side of the door and Hiucks on the other. The Captain stood between us, and pompously rapped on the fast closed door which was locked. "'Open the dure,' he thundered, giving it a tremendous rap. " No response from within. 1 Sargint, joost lave me your gun.' ' The man presented his musket to the Cap- tain. " ' Now will ye lave the dure be shut when I tells ye to open it' ' shouted that gallant officer, clubbing the piece and bringing the butt 01 the gun with a mighty swine down upon the offend- ing planks. Bang went the musket, and in went the door, just as the bullet from the in- verted guti went whizz through Elisha ilincks's long beard. ' The Lieutenant lumped as though he had been shot, and for a moment 1 thought he had been. The Captain was rather staggered and turned upon us with a ludicrous, startled ex- pression, which soon gave way to one of wrath. " For if ever a man was mad, it was Lieuten- ant Hincks, and he opened on the Captain with a vim. The air was blue for a time with the volley he gave him. It made no odds to him how many bars Mahoney wore on his straps. ' An' how dare ye. sorr.' roared the Captain, relieved to find Hincks was not actually shot by his carelessness 'how dare ye, sorr, address such language to your supayrior officer. I'll re- port ye, sorr.' ' Yes,' shouted Hincks, ' and I'll prefer charges against you, sir.' 80 they had it, to the delight of the men, who chuckled in the ranks. "After all. there wasn't a thing in that bouse, but for a time relations were strained on the color line between our Irish Captain and excitable Lieutenant, who passed each other with great dignity on all occasions. "Afterward, when the attack was made oa Marye's Heights, we were on the outskirts of the town, and received an order to move a lit- tle more to the left. To execute that movement it was necessary to get ou the other side of a fence, from which several palings were knocked off. " Captain Mahoney led the way, creeping through a convenient hole in the fence, with his entire company at his back. "Just as he was pushing through the cavity, pop came a ball wounding him in the leg. Down he went The sudden check was too much for his boys, who were hurrying behind him, and down they oame on top of him, burying the un- fortunate Captain under a confused heap of struggling men. " ' O'i'm a dead man! O'i'm a dead man I' he roared. " ' An' Missus Mahoney is a widderl' " ' Take me to the rear, and go back to your company,' he added with conscious dignity. "'I remember Mahomwr's famous orders/ 86 STORIES OF OUR SOLDIERS. broke in Capt. Reynolds. "They Were always given in one aspiration, with more or less sharp rising inflection at the end. according to the capacity of tue Captain's lungs. He used to shout oui "Head-and-eyes-square-to-the-front- asht-your-eye-now-and-thin-to-ihe-right-or-lifu to-see-where-you're-Koin'-forward ma-a-r-r-ch I" "I remember, too, at Antietam an Orderly came down to as with orders to instruct the men to keep their placet in line, and that a detail might be made to tret the necessary wood and water. " Capt. Mahoney delignted in nothing so much as in ' Orthers.' as he expressed it So he shouts: "'Attmtion there. Company I 1 "'Kignt dress 1' " ' The-orthers-from-headquarthers^is-for-every man-to-kape-in-the-same-place - in - line - do - you hear -that- McGib bon - an - if - anny - ma n - wan ts wood-and-wather-let-him-go-and-get-it- As -you werel' "tie was going to tight a duel once with Gap- tain Mel, Merritt of Lynn. We were ordered to form column of divisions. Company E was standing in some disorder. Captain Mahoney not having commanded attention. " 'You will dress your company. Captain Mer- ritt.' said the Adjutant, ' on Captain Mahoney's.' "Mel. looked over uis shoulder at Company E, ' What, on that mob,' said he. "Quick as a flash UD jumped Captain Maho- ney. 'Mob is its 1 said he. Attmtion, Com- pany . Caotaiu Merritt, I demand satisfac- tion, sorr,' and helactually challenged Captalu Mel to a duel at ten paces. "But .Mahoney was a good fellow. He could do more with his company than anybody else could, and he was a great fighter, lie was scarred all over with sabre cuts obtained in the Mexican War." Where is he now. Captain? I asked. " Oh, dead some years ago since the war. "The crowning incident of that battle of Fredericks burg was how Lieutenant Edgar M, Newcomb of Boston picked up our falling colors and saved the line just at the crucial point in the attack on Marye's Heights on the 13th of December." "Tell him about that, Cap," said Captain Rey- nolds. " Well," resumed Captain Hill. "Lieut New- comb was a Boston boy. a graduate just out of Harvard College. He was a man of slight physique, of almost girlish face, ami sucn su- perior culture and natural refinement that he seemeu strangely out of place when he came to us. In fact, he was about the last man you would naturally expect to see in the ranks among a regiment 01 rough m'en. He had trav- eled in Europe, too. "He was a man," said the Captain, "that I did not feel that i had really come to know until after his death. He was rery religious, with deep-seated convictions." "In fact a Christian soldier," said Captain Reynolds "The boys had not caught on, as we say now," said Captain Hill, "to the nobility of New- coinu's ctiaracter. They came to know him better when his splendid courage thrilled the whole regiment that day on Marye's Hill. " There was a tendency to scoff at his religious tendencies, and once he was insulted by the coarse vulgarity of a man who alter ward was obliged to quit the service. Newcomo got op and left the table, walking quietly away. " Well, he was made a Sergeant and Brigade Clerk to Gen. F. W. Lander. Then he came back to tne regiment as Sergeant Major and was Second Lieutenant in George Batcuelder's company, C, which had the colors. George was killed at Antietam, The night before JNew- coinb and he had shared the same blanket, and Newcomb read the JPsalma to him. The Captain took his last sleep on earth. He fell in the bat- tle of the following day, and Edgar Aewcouib was promoted to First Lieutenant and was in command of the colors on the day in the move- ment on Marye's Heights. The Nineteenth was in its place in line of battle in Hall's brigade when the order came to storm the enemy's lines " ' Suddenly flashed a sheet of flame From hidden wall and ambuscade; A moment more they say this is fame A thousand dead men on the grass were laid.' " We met a solid sheet ot lead, winged with name, ooured into our faces from the sunken road, and lost in that fight seven color bearers, Bbot down one right alter the other. "At one time both stands of colors national and State went down together. Then it was I saw Ei gar M. Newcomb jump right out in front of our quivering line, for the regiment was be- ginning to shaite. He grabbed both flags, one in each hand, and forward it was the men's nerves were attain as steel. "But the brave young fellow went down like a flash, shot through both legs, and begged of Jack Adams, to wuom he passed the flags, not to let them fall, He died from his wounds after the baUle. " It was one of the bravest things I saw a man do in the whole war." " Well, as for the movement. Captain?" "Oh, as to that, ' said he as his visitor rose to leave, "Burnside had no plan. It was just a move- ment he had to make. Nothing was accom- plished by it, but a loss of men and a waste of money, it was against Burnside's judgment, but a battle was demanded, and he yielded." *%&$* "W^ 3? CAPTAIN MA HONEY'S FANCY SHOT. CHRISTMAS IN GAMP. Along the beaten path I pace, Where white rags mark my sentry's track; In formless shrubs I seem to trace The foeman's form with bending back. 'Halt! who goes there?' My challenge cry. It rings along the watchful line; ' Relief ! ' I hear a voice reply ; ' Advance, and give the countersign I ' " The blue-coated sentry, with voluminous army cape, close twisted and snugly rolled about neck and throat on lonely picket in the ice keen blast that sweeps along the winding course of Bappahannock's bleak, forbidding shore- stands a stern and dimly-outlined figure in the mist of thirty years before his sleek, rotund and exceedingly comfortable later self this Christmas morning. The man of business dropping from dream- land shadows to the things that are. rolls Irom his warm, seductive couch, shuddering, yet fascinated, at his martial wraith of days long gone, and whispers to himself, " Ah, yes, that was myself. I stood there then for glory." But tonight, while yet tbe aftermath lights the western sky, from deep within the glowing ember caverns of the open fire, with well sharp- ened memory pencil, he will draw a fascinating back-log picture of Christmas tide in army days for his boys and girls. There he stands, again the stalwart young picket, with low drawn cap and shading vizor, and ready trusty rifle, half-cocked and capped, resting in the hollow of his arm. So as he stands, his gaze sweeps the further bank for any skulking foe, or stealthy skirmish line, and then 1m mental vision moves back- ward to the hearthstone, and forward, too. until perchance in ideal outline, dimly seen in futu- rity's roseate halo, he stands face to face with his very present and actual later self of 30 years thereafter. The crisp hard crusted snow cracks sharply, 'neath his steady tread in the chill and resonant air. Again we see the dreary picket pathway take shape before him beside the river bank, while to the rear there rises a picturesque encampment of white-capped huts, from whose odd chim- neys, curling lazily upward in tie silence of this gloaming hour of the short December day, rises the smoke of the camp-tire. "That winter camo at Fal mouth, with Hall's brigade before Fredericksburg. was about the most comfortable we ever had of its kind," re- marked the old Adjutant, knocking the ashes out of his pipe-bowl ready for a fresh charge, "though to be sure the country was dismal enough/' " Won't you give the Journal a picture of it 'Cap'?" said I. The veteran methodically rolled the moiat fragments of the well-shaved plug. Dressed them firmly home in the bowl, and as he watched the dying flame of the match upon the fast kindling tobacco, blew forth a huge cloud of fragrant smoke ami began: "You see the boys would chum together, usually four, sometimes two, but not often six They would co into the woods and cut down some good-sized young trees. " These were cut into logs, each of which wa neatly cleft in two. Then these logs were notched at the ends and placed one unon an- other, with the smooth side in. and the rounded, bark-covered portion out." "Something like a log cabin?" "Exactly 90 STORIES OF OUR SOLDIERS. "Well, the cracks between we plastered with Virginia clay. Falmonth was rich in that. "The logs were piled up about as high as the sides of a wall tent or a trifle higher. Then the four tent mates tooK their shelter tents. > ut- toned them together, and that made the too." "Wasn't it cold inside?" "Oh. no! Every 'stockade* had its fireplace and a pretty big one, too, plenty large sometimes for a good-sized stick. "The big cob chimney was the poetical feat- ure. It was built of short sticks, laid criss cross, 'cob' fashion, and to finish it, for a cap- piece, a barrel was stuck on top. "I never knew one of those chimneys to catch afire. The wood was green, and the blaze was not very lively, though plenty warm. '* ' Cept.' said the Adjutant, with a sudden strong pull at his dying pice, ' when some fel- low would come along, and gently drou a hand- ful of cartridges down the chimney, just to re- lieve tue monotony. ** Then, gee whizz, what a clatter; how every- thing would go up in smoke, and bang! down came our chimney top to roll down upon the Hurrying guard. * Who did that?' "* Pretty sharp. *"Tis the Officer of the Day." "Well, who did? You never saw such a cir- cle of blank faces, and half the regiment was there. "Must have been a comet straight from heaven, so far as any of that innocent crowd could telL '"Call the roll. Sergeant, and muster the men.' " Boys all fell in of course in the company street not a man absent on his life. " But it never was any use. and the Captain knew it. it was the most singular thing where those spare cartridge* did come from, and how that chimney came to bust. The old man would turn away with a wink in his eye. "And the fellows in the stockade never made any fuss. They knew better. But the beds. Oh, the beds of that camp were perfect poems. We would take one side of the stockade and make the frame. Then we cut (our pieces of timber for stringers. After that tree boughs were filled into the space and on them we put a row of barrel staves, topping off the whole with pine branches. Then you had a spring bed that couldn't be surpassed. "On those fragrant resinous conches we slept the sleep of the just "We had none of the domestic bedfellows that our good wife holds such mortal enmity for, but we did have another chap that would put any ordinary bug in the shade, and that was the woodtick. "The peculiarity of this vindictive little wretch is that he buries his entire head into i he flesh of his victim. " And unless a man pulls him out just so, that head is dead sure to break off under the skin ana stay there, in which event it makes about the worst kind of sore a man ever endured from anything so small. "Some of our boys became such experts in pulling out wood ticks that they were Profes- sionally consulted about every morning by their less skillful fellows. "Those were pleasant days until the order came from Fredericksburg, and we went across the river. "But as to Christmas, I do not remember any special observance of it in the old Nineteenth. Our big time in '61 was at Camp Benton on Thanksgiving Day, and in '62 our hearts were too sore for the brave fellows left on the slopes of Marye's Heights for any general holiday cele- bration. "Our companies were scattered in picketing the river, but I remember in '61 jolly trips to Darnestown to see the Captain and his merry First Sergeant. "We drank egg nogg. toasting old King Christmas with the wassail red while we sang "In his fine, honest pride, be scorns to hide One jot of his hard weather scars; They're no disgrace, for there's much the same trace On the cheeks of oar bravest tars. Then again I sing till the roof doth ring. And It echoes from wall to wall- To the stout old wight, fair welcome to-night, AS the king of the seasons all." "Oh yes," said Captain Mel. breaking out from a reverie, " I was Provost Marshal there." Darnestown was the natural gateway for the Montgomery County pike road through to Poolesville and Frederick and all those places. My headquarters were at Rockville and Bill P. was my Deputy. " You remember Bill? Major, you know tnat kept the hotel down in S . General Gorman commanded our brigade then, and Banks Nat. P. was our Division Commander. Gorman hailed from Minnesota. Senator he was since the war I think, and a dreadful pom- pous man was he. Ue used to swell round in citizens' clothes to catch the sentries. Well, one dav Bill brought him to a halt. " ' Can't pass here,' says he. "But I am Brigadier General Gorman.' "'Yes you are,' says Bill. "'\oung man. do you know who I am? I com- mand this brigade.' '"You be damned,' says Bill, in that polite way of his. 1 ' You shall pay for this, young man.' says, the General, half choking with wr ith. "'Oh yes I will: where s your pass?' *"1 aon't require one, sir; I issue the passes nsed on this line.' ' ' Well. then, vou produce one darn quick,' says my deputy. 'or the guard shall have you.' Well, he kept the General there_ for an hour storming and threatening and cajoling, to no purpose. "Finally he demanded the Provost. Down I went of course. 'Do you know me, sir?' says Gorman sternly. Bill gave me a quick shot from his eyes behind the General's back. Well,, of course, it wouldn't have done to have admit- CHRISTMAS IN CAMP. 91 ted too much, for that would put my deputy in a bad place.' " I was non-committal, ana after fully an hour's parley we allowed the General's orderly to be sent for "And then, oi course explanations were D refuse. " someol us looked for trouble, but Bill P was calm as a slock, and next day proved he had gauged the old man right, for Gorman actually complimented him in orders Perry Trail;, an old Secesh, the bitterest kind of "a sympathizer." Kept tne tavern. One morning about Christmas time one of my boys saw Perry give the stage driver a package.' 1 "Original package. Cap'n?" "No, documents, papers. '' ' The grocery store was a perfect hot-bed ol tiecesh. so mucti so that we kept one man among 'em all the time. They were plot- ting day and night. Well, when the stage came down that morn ing. we hauled it up and pulled that stage driver off. The package proved so valuable that we deemed it important to send a man with it and the coach driver to Washington. Moses F. Carr volunteered, and he was so eager that he actually "frogged it" all the way along the low-path. Mose was young then. ' That Christmas week we made a rich little haul of about one hundred stand of arms and 75.000 rounds of cartridges, that our Secesh friend" were keeping very choice up in a loft over the Free Mason's room. " Well, about the ' egg nogg. ' Cap? ' "Oh, yes. You see on Christmas Day some lew of the old residents kept open house. "We hadn't many friends, for with the excep- tion of ex-Seriator Bowie, who was a lawyer and Union man. about everybody else was Secesh. and would sling rebel talk right in our faces. " But Dr. Summers and Frank Biers kept open house for all our officers and men mighty fine set of fellows they were in A company, old Nineteenth. There were pine boughs and b illy ana egg nogg and flip till morning light ' And a ball. Cap?" 'Well, hardly that; for the women of the town were bitter secesh, and the very few belles were of the maroon variety, but tne boys made up for all deficiencies. "But we kem up the fun till morning." " And took good care of the dead ana wounded? " " Yes, surely. ' " Ah I " said the staff officer, how many good times there were round Washington in "61. when, after a night's romancing and a sweet leave taking on the wide old verandah : it was a quick mount and "Claah, clash goes tne sabre against my steed 9 aide Rllng, kllng go the rowels as onward I ride; And all my bright harness is living, and speaks, As under my horse shoes the frosty ground creaks I wave my buff glove to the girl whom I love, Theo Join my dark squadron and forward I move.' Those were merry Christmas times, indeed 'We were at Falmouth. too," said Comraac Dscar Schmidt of Blenker ? division. " 1 was only a little drummer boy then )uat 11 years old when I left New York in Company A cf the Twenty-ninth German Regiment. Capt Warnecke's company " Why, you must be the lone sought youngest soldier of the war, comrade?" "Ach nein." was the reply, with a srood humored simile. " There was little Lehmann in my regiment, too. who wasn't but nine years old. He w>s the youngest drummer we had." "And what became of him is he living?" " Dead, tie was killed at Chancellorsvillo. when they flanked us." "So that was too bad What a loss to tame." 'We were put into Steinwehr's brigade, (he Second Brigade of General Bleuker's Division. and our first work was building the forts round Washington, so we didn't have much time for Christmas," continued the pleasant-faced young German, for young he is still. "In '62 we went down to the Rappahannock. and there we cut down all the trees beautiful cedar trees, too. It seemed a pity " " Ah. then you were the fellows who made that country the barren waste that Hall's Brig ade found it?" "Ye. 1 suppose so. but we had 19 obey orders." and Comraue Schmidt smiled again. " In '62." he said, "our camp was at Hunter's Chapel. Virginia. I remember those huts. We bad the same. We could make tnem so hot in- side that you couldn't stay in them sometimes for long. " Well, at Christmas the huts would be dee- orated with evergreen and holly. Some o! onr boys for the regiment was most all young shavers would have boxes from home knick- kuacKs and Khein Wein. Vve little drummers would be off by ourselves up on the headquarter line, while the men played at ' Zweicken ' " "What's that, comrade? " Something that puts fan-tan into the shade. ' with a smile "Then the men would sing the old songs 'Was 1st das Deutsche Vateriaud,' and the drummer boys woulu follow it with 'Morten Koth" ('Morning Red*), their fresh young voices blending welL That was a boy choir for you! "Then the whoie regiment would join in with Wer da Will Unter die Soldaten?' r Who Would Go for a Soldier?'), and wind UP with ' Im Wald und der Heide" (" In the Woods and In the Desert ') that was because we had cut down all the fine young cedars. " See?" " ' Die Wacht am Rnein' hadn't come into being then, comrade? " " No. Germany wasn't then united. It was all separated That didn't come along till the Franco-Prussian war of 1870. 'Well, now and then for Christmas a soldier would have a tree in front of his hut. and we'd have the Christ Kindel (Christ child) for a few of us by one of our flaxen-haired drummers. " But that was only for our circle, you might y. 11 There was always plenty of evergreen, but most of tne men would rather sit round drink 92 STORIES OF OUR SOLDIERS. me iager and sznoXe der cieile. while they tola ttpries " " Was you ever hit, comrade? " "Twice. There's one place," showing a short- ened and long broken finger and then I was not through the thigh." "Youi place was with the ambulance corps and the stretchers, wasn't it, as a drummer? " "\es, we wore the red cross, and it was there that I got hit." It was on the second field of Bull Run. 1 hau oeen carrying the stretchers with the other drummers, and when the line fell back our hos pital was the last one that was taken. " Captain Dilke's battery came along, and he advised all that could walk to get out of there and to the rear as fast as they were able. " So we started, and I was going back with those that could walk, when the rebs opened fire right into us. and it was there 1 got this " show ing his maimed hand. "Thousands of our wounded fell into the hands of the enemy. " Our first fighting was at the First Battle of Bull Kun. We were in the reserve, but we had a little skirmish fighting with the Black Horse Cavalry We were at Strasburg, and marched through the Shenandoah Valley to effect the junction between McDowell and McClel'lan. Afterwards we were under Fremont in West Virginia." " Ever beat the charge, comrade? "Oh. yes they made r* do that, too." " Then there is some ground for the brave Color Sergeant and the little drummer leading the advancing line?" " Well, now, about that i don't know They used to put us with the colors to stir UP the men, but the drummer's place was with the o. fleers, just in the rear of the line of battle "Sometimes the line would get separated a lit- tle, ana then we boys were right in the face of the whole of it. as well as the men. That was the way little Lehmann was killed. "lie was beating the charge the call to the color on the flank at Chancellorsville. when they swept down on our line and turned it back. The boy fell, shot through. He was only nine years old, as I told you. " 1 had my experience with the colors at Cross Keys on the 8tb of June, '62. It was quite a little battle, too. " We were in the pioneer corps after Freder icksuurg and our men built the roads and cut out a passage* for the artillery. "Christmas then we passed mostly on out-post duty. "1 tell you what." said Corporal O Kaisy " ol the old Twelfth, "you fellows of the Nine- teenth might have had a comfortable camp at Falmouth, but is wasn't a circumstance to our Camp Hicks in '61 at Frederick. We had a regular cantonment a village, so to speak. Tne huts averaged 16 by 14, and were buiit of logs placed one above another to a height of, say, six feet. The roofs were ot rough boards "Each hut had a door and a window and tnen (here was a stove a rea. stove, with its pie sticking UD through the roof. "To be sure, the stove was capable of holding only a very small cord of wood. "There were three tiers of bunks in the hut for the men. "And in such calm, delightful repose we blos- somed forth a poet whose muse evolved : Here g to the Twelfth, wtc one ana all On far Potomac's wooded banks, Wait but the trumpet's thrilling cal' impatient at the interval To charge the foe with serriea ranns 'With more of equally spirited tcne. "I can't say much of the cold side cf King. Christmas." said Amos. " for down in Louisiana we found very little frost in him, I can tell you. and he met us only in his warmest mood. "That's the only kick 'Geranium' made. There was altogether too much July about Christmas that year in the Fiftietti to suit him. "He had a box come from home, and as usual only his chums were in it. "I was one of the outsiders. Well, i sauntered over to his tent just as 'Geranium' had the cover off and was pulling out three great long bologna sausages. 1 liked bologna first rate.especially after some weeks of army grub, but i knew there was no invitation for me in that crowd. "I shut one eye, opened the other, and saw my chance. Those bolognas were pretty near white. Perhaps you know their outside wrap will at timea in warm weather show mould. "The climate was so hot that they exhibited that peculiarity without at all affecting the in- terior. It is only necessary to say that we had had it very hot "I looked at those sausages very hard, and held up my hands. " 'Just like the womenfolks, 1 said, 'they don't know any better than that' What do you mean?' says he. turning over the bologna doubtfully. " 'What, voure' not going to eat those.' said I. with affected horror. " 'Certainly,' says Geranium, ' why not?' ''What, in this climate man?' " 'Why. ain't they all right? ' says ha ' 'Sure death,' said I. " 'But what'll I do with 'em? "'Carry them down behind the sinks and bury them.' said I. " 'Geranium' eyed me suspiciously, but I was as bland and childlike as I could look. Then he tried to play foxey. He was afraid to leave his box. . " ' You do IV savs he. All right, said I,' but i should trunk you might give a fellow a hunk of gingerbread for doing it. 1 He handed me out a good bit, and off I went with the sausages. " Frank and 1 just scraped off that mold and peeled off the skin, but it took us a couple of days to bury those bolognas, and when we got through with them he and I both agreed that they were the best sausages we ever ate, but w had to put up a bold front to ' Geranium ' when CHRISTMAS IN WINTER QUARTERS. CHRISTMAS IN CAMP. 95 tie spied some bologna skins one day under our tent guys. " Some time after that 'Geranium' bad another DOX and we couldn't get anywhere near it "There were five of us scapegraces in one tent, and we all drew lots to see who should go into 'Geranium's' after the box "It fell to me, having the shortest straw Over I went and reconnoitred. I found the men were all sleeping with their heads to the sides, feet to centre. We had it all fixed in case of via- covery. to loosen the tent guys and dowse the whole canvas " The pins were all pulled, and 1 walked into the tent at the time appointed, but as though the deuce were in it, I found, that it being a hot night, the men had changed position and their heads were in the centre 'The first thing that 1 knew I put one foot right down on ' Geranium's ' face. "My gracious!' he hollered, startinsr ap wildly. "Down came the tent upon the whole of us. and in the confusion I rolled out from under the canvas and escaped, but 'Geranium' had grabbed one foot, and I was obliged to leave with the loss of a shoe. "I jumped into Company B street and zot another very quickly. "When the guard came up all five of us fellows were snoring in our tent as innocently as lapbs, though they flashed the lantern over us. 'Next morning the company was mustered, and the Captain neld up my shoe. None of us owned it, and every man had his on his feet It was a close call, but we got out of it that time ' And then there was that Christmas on Folly island, with the Fortieth, on that maarninceni hard sand, where an entire battefy might ma- neuyro without leaving an imprint of wheel or hoof, with Charleston city dimly outlined far up the bay, and Sumter's grim and shell torn battlements at the apex of our triangle, the whole broad ocean before our sentries, and the jungle, with its tough, impenetrable roots and branches in our midst. ''Christmas under the giant cotton woods, with their hoary pen ii ant Southern moss sweeping the ground beneath their low branches "Christmas, too, in the hospitals at Georgetown and Baltimore iust after Fredricksburg and An tietam "Who ol those 60C wounded, scarred and maimed fellows at Stuart's, in Dunbarton street, and the old Methodist Church at Georgetown, can forget the dainty feast arranged for that merry Christmas by the tender hands cf those devoted, loving women. "Who that does not remember the impressive spectacle 01 those 200 heroes marching into dinner, when 'roast beef sounded lively on bugle and drum, brought them, between the green twined pillars, fragrant with the odor of the pine and beneath tue tastefully draped colors, marching as best they might to the strains oT Rany Round toe Flag Beys ' from the little Zouave band. Soldiers with but a single arm. soldiers whose crutches told a patbetic story, but all of them ready again to do and to dare for union and for liberty. "So to-day wo rejoice again with old Uncle Remus that de Lord mus' be on our side, for de turkies is roostin' pow'ful low dis yar winter " JOHN W. HUTCHINSON. "He bears the cross bravely" reads the crest of the first Hutchinson known to history Ber- nard of Cowan, in old York, living in the year 1282. the eighth of the reign of the first Edward 'Ye Longshanks ' Norman King. The terse Latin phrase happily typifies the striking characteristic of a brave race as traced from root to branch of the family tree. Nowhere is it more strongly exemplified than in the career of the loner time famous Hutchin- son family, without whom no anti-slavery group stands complete. The brave singers whose voices were first uplifted for liberty and universal freedom fully fifty years ago. Garrison, Phillips, May, Collins, Sumner and Hutchinson blend naturally together. "There were four Quartettes in that family, and each with a girl," wrote Mary Howitt Yet to-day there sings but one. But his voice has no quaver, and is as mellow, strong and true as though no seventy-second milestone of life's way lies abreast of him. He sits at his cherished organ, and his fingers lightly sweep the keys, as with face uplifted he sines again the dear old ma irigals and glees: "In the State of Massachusetts, In the grand old town of Lynn, There's a famous range of ledges As eye hath rarely seen. Two hundred feet, the highest point. Looms up this rugged block, And it's known throughout New England A 'Old High Rock.'^' Wednesday its loving owner was 72 years old. and but a few yesterdays since the writer climbed the old. steep stone steps, seemingly ohisiled into its sloping base, to reach the pretty tower cottage in which he dwells, to convey to him the best wishes of the Journal, and to hear from his lips the thrilling story of how he sang that grand hymn of Whittier's "A Consuming Fire is Our God" right on the borderland of slavery, Just in the shadow of that rugged old sentinel which his song immortalizes dwells this stirring singer of days lang syne. Standing on the crest of the rock itself, breath- less from the steep climb on the narrow iron stair that scales the sheer face of the perpendic- ular ledges, we throw back our shoulders, ex- pand the chest, and draw in, in grateful respira- tions, the enlivening oxygen of the keen frosty air the pure, bracing breath of the north wind. Then, when the grandeur of that wide ex- panse of glittering sea and shore from Magnolia and Kettle Cove to Boston light and far Nan tasket fills our soul, and we note below us tho bustling streets and hundreds of busy factories betokening the thrift and energy of a free peo- ple, how is it possible to wonder that John W. Hutchinson, for whom each morning sun has revealed this entrancing vision of God's country, should break forth into song, or that the broad spirit of universal liberty should pervade his whole life? We were so fortunate as to find Mr. Hutchin son at home, and he gave us most cordial greet ing. " I shall be only too glad." he said, "to give the Journal all T can about the Hutchinson fam- ily, though to tell all 1 know would fill a book as big as this. I fear," bringing his hand down upon the huge old family concordanca Mr. Hutchinson has a very strong individ-u- ality of his own. His aspect is most patriarchal. The long white hair, covering his head in pro- fusion, falls upon his shoulders, while his face is half concealed behind heavy gray moustache and flowing beard, almost as white as the hair itself. The expression of the face is kindly that of the eyes especially pleasant He is not above medium Height, out his personality is striking. JOHN W. HUTCHINSON. 99 He wore a loose sack coat when the writer called, and wide-brimmed soft black felt upon his head. Whether from old associations connected with his early singing: days, or from continuous habit, dating from even farther back, Mr. Hntchinson adouts the very wide white linen collar of Oli- ver Cromwell and the Puritan of olden time. This collar is attached to the vest. Yet it is in perfect keeping with the flowing: hair and beard. 'Tis as "Father Hutchinson" and "Uncle John" he is known to the younger tolk but Brother John it was in the dear old days of long ago. But one cannot in Mr. Hutchinson's presence feel that he is conversing with an old man. Far from it. His tone is sprightly, his steo energetic, his form erect, and his spirit as young as though his span of years were reduced ..y a full score al least Mr. Hutchinson's home is like himself modest, yet attractive in all its furnishings. There is a sunny double parlor, in the rear por- tion of which is his desk. A library table stands close beside, piled higli with all the newspapers of the day and recent magazines. The walls are covered with cherished relics of the master's varied experiences photos of the old Mill ord home ; a irroup of ten of the Hutch- inson brothers, including Mr. Hutchinson ; the Tribe of John himself, his wife, his much -cherished son Henry J. Hutchinson. now dead, and the latter's wife, Mrs. Lillie Hutchinson. si nee remarried. Then there is a portrait of the dear sister Abbie Mrs. Ludlow Patten who recently passed on. This picture was painted by Carpen- ter, the distinguished artist. Directly opposite it is the upright piano at which Mr. Hutchinson still spends many of his leisure moments. Mr. Hutchinson's household, besides himself, consists of his son Judson and his housekeeper. He has quite a little settlement about him on the foot slopes of the Rock, and his code of rules governing his tenants is clear, concise and unique. Tue having of intoxicating liquors in the house for a beverage is strictly forbidden, and the coming home intoxicated by the tenant is sufficient to break the contract and at once to terminate his occupancy of Mr. Hutchinson's property. Each lessee receives these rules plainly printed on a card with the key of the tenement he hires. He is expected to abide by them implicitly or vacate immediately. The old gentleman is kept quite busy looking after his various houses. " There," said he, inviting his caller to re- move his heavy coat, and opening a door into the front hall. " I wish I had that lighted for yon," pointing down to a huge back log and lore stick on the fire dogs in an attractive open fireplace bordered with old tiles illustrating the parable of the sower. " I sit here often in the veninsrs and enjoy my fire." he said. " Now. then, where shall I begin?" he contin- ued, lying back comfortably in his easy cnair. and closing his eyes. " There's so much, you know, to telL Well, let us see. Yes. We be- gan in Milford. N. EL. where we were born and where we lived." [ i his old house, in which 14 children of the Hutchinson family were born, still stands on the farm originally owned by Mr. Hutchinson's grandfather, Elisha Hutchinson. and afterward given to his two sons, Andrew and Jesse. The house is of the ordinary 2Va-story gable New England farmhouse type. This inscription is written by Mrs. Abby H. Patten on the bacK of the photograph of the house in Mr. Hutchin- son's possession. Elisha was born Dec. 6, 1751. and came to Amherst (N. H.) in 1779. He re- tained the Hutchinson arms, of which the crest is given above.] "And then he went on in deligntful rambling fashion to tell how they were all of the 'Tribe of Jesse' sixteen children altogether, of whom twelve were boys, and thirteen lived to grow up. Judsoo the oldest, and John and Asa and Abby, were the original Hutchinsons. Brother Josnua had been a teacher for more than 40 years in New Hampshire, and led the little Bap- tist choir in the home village. The entire fam- ily had a taste for music, but the quartette first named started to make it- their calling, and be- gan giving concerts in Milford in 1841. Brother Jesse was in Lynn selling the ffrst air-tight stoves from which he earned his sobri- quet of " Air-turht Hutchinson. " He was a bar- itpne singer, but so was Asa, and so he devoted himself to writing the songs for his brothers and sisters to sing. Mr. Hutchinson gave a most interesting account of how they started out in Lynn, Mid how the first week's singing netted the four but 12Va cents. They found they needed more culture, and so spent months of rehearsal in brother Andrew's hall, at the corner of Pearl and Purchase streets, in Boston. Andrew was a grocer, and was instrumental in starting a Universalist so- ciety in his hall. They would not join the Handel and Haydn Society, finding themselves overbalanced by too heavy sound. Mr. Hutchinson committed Henry Russell's "Maniac "to memory, and "lused to give it with a good deal of power, too," said he. They also learned pieces from the .SSolian Lyre, and finally went back to Lynn and gave their first concert in old Sagamore Hall, where Fabens Block now stands. So he continued, telling of their funny trips in their wagon from town to town, and brother Judson's arousing the musical sentiment of Kennebunk with a huge dinner beil when the family's bills had not been posted, as had been expected. Mr. Hutchinson has the queer little box melod^on, less than three feet long, which accompanied them on all their trips. It was made by Prince of Buffalo, 60 years ago. So they went all over the country, and were on the point of selling their outfit, being strand- ed in Albany, when a gentleman came to them and begged to know if they would sing in his church for $100. " Well, we looked at each other," said the old gentleman, "and we finally 100 STORIES OF OUR SOLDIERS. said we would. We actually received $30 over hat amount." He recalled a big man named Richardson, who weighed 300 pounds, and who came down upon them with great force for dariug to put their tickets at 50 cents each, as the Handel and Haydn did. " 'Corporeal ' Richardson, he was called," said the old gentleman. Abby was called home because mother could not bear to be cut off from her sixteenth child for so long a time just as they were going to the South, to New Orleans, and Judsou had left them with a note that he was going to Texas. The others came to Boston, and here they heard that there was a runaway slave here. Jesse formed a company to try to save him. They followed Jesse till they came to Man- boro' Chapel, back of the Marlboro' House. " We marched up the aisle, singinar as we went." said Mr. Hutchinson. "You may im- agine my feelings. There we bad just come from singing in popular concerts, and here we were singing in an anti-slavery meeting. "But I felt aa we all did that we must save that man. and it soon got abroad that we did Ing for freedom. "That slave was George Lattimer. and the money was raised with our help and his liberty paid for and given to him. "Do you know." said Mr. Hutchinson. 'that on the day of the Whittier memorial in Haver bill, the fact of this appeal in behalf of the slave was published in a Haverhill paper, and that very morning, after fifty years. I met George Lattimer himself, and we had a very pleasant meeting together, I assure you. going over that anti-slavery gathering In Marlboro* Chapel. He remembered it Oh. yes. "I told that story to Whittier, and he responded with his poem. ' Massachusetts to Virginia. ' "Then we sang in England in 1845 for eleven months, singing "The Slave's Appeal." with great effect. " Oh yes, indeed, they gave us trouble. We've stood, five to ten minutes at a time, to let our opponents get tired of hissing. That was in New York, and after they got through we would start up : " Ho, the car emancipation Hides majestic through our nation. Bearing in its train the story. Liberty our nation's glory. Roll it along! Roll it along I Through our nation Freedom's car emancipation." "At Philadelphia the Mayor of the city issued a notice to the lessee of the hall in which we sang that, unless trie police were allowed to do- tain the black man. who sat on the platform with us. at the door, he would not be responsi- ble for the perpetuity orsaiety of the hall. We left Philadelphia and came oack to our free woods in New Hampshire, holding our good name more precious than silver and jrold, though we lost thousands of dollars. "That black man was Robert Purvis, one of the noblest men in America." " Was he a slave? " "No, never!" ''You sang 'Eiu Feste Burg ist Unser Gott,* did you not, Mr. Hutchinson? T ' " Ah, yei indeed, we did," the old gentleman replied with kindling eye. "You are familiar with it? Then you remember this," and he sang those stirring lines of Whittier's : " What gives the wheat fields blades of steel? What points the rebel cannon? Wliat sets the warring rebel heel On the old Star-spangled pennon? What breaks the oath of the men of the South, What whet* the knife for the Union's life? Hark to the answer ' slavery. " "That was the furnace blast that we gave them on the Potomac. The original Tribe of Jesse had been dispersed Judson. with his two daughters, had gone off in one direction, and Asa, with his wife and children, in another, and my Tribe of John myself, my daughter Viola and my son Henry had started singing on our own account We had been giving many concerts in aid of the soldiers and their families, and we thought we would like to meet the soldier in the army and see what camp life was like. So we visited trie Capitol and secured through Salmon P. Chase. Secretary of the Treasury, a pass to visit the Grand Division of 30,000 men then en- camped along the Potomac. This pass was good for fifteen days, and was issued by the Sec- retary of War." "The elder Cameron?" "Yes. I think that was about his last official act, for he was' out next day and Stanton suc- ceeded him." " Well, we obtained the use of a good, large church on the Fairfax Seminary grounds and were giving two concerts a day, and we had upward of 2000 soldiers present at a time. " It was quite a good church belonging to the seminary, but I don't remember the denomina- tionPresbyterian possibly. " Well, on this particular occasion the house was packed witn soldiers. We started witb 'Cannon Balls May Aid tue Truth.' ana every- thing went well, until finally we canie to tnat srreat hymn of John G. WnUtier's. 'Tne Fur- nace Blast." which had been adapted to music. "I. sang the verses straight through till 1 came to the one which I've just recited to you, " I sang with strong feeling, for my whole soul was wrapt in the grand sentiment of the hymn. " I will never forget that crowded church ; that great throng of listening men, and the in- tense stillness that pervaded the entire house as my last lines rang out " WTiat whets the knife for the Union's liter* Hark to the answer ! ' Slavery !" "No sooner had that last word been sung with the most empha'.ic enunciation of which I was capable, than from one corner of the room came a solitary hiss so exactly like the siuillant JOHN W. HUTCHINSON. 101 serpent In the yet unbroken hash as to startle everybody. " Major Hatfield, who was the officer in com- mand of the regiment to which most of tne soldiers in the pews belonged, sprang upon one of the front benches, and in a voice stern with suppressed indignation, turned toward the place from whence came that hiss, shouted that if tne interruption was repeated the person who caused it should go out of the house. *' Back came the rejoinder from the man who hissed 'you had better come and put me out,' " The Major recognized his man, and knew also that before he ha<< come in he had threat- ened to do just what he had done. " ' I can put you out.' retorted Hatfield. and if 1 cannot I have a regiment of men that will doit.' " At that every man in the house sprang to his feet, and matters looked squally tor a time. There was great confusion and shouts of ' put him oat ' "iJut happily no force was used on the fellow, who cowered before the immense throng that surrounded him. " We quietly sang that beautiful song. No Tear in HeavenAand by degrees order was fully restored, the soldiers respectfully hushing their tumult that we might go on. " Chaplain Merwln. who had obtained for us the Seminary Church, also exerted himself to restore order. " After the concert certain persons who were present refused to mess with the Chaplain be- cause of what he did for us. Major Hatliold was afterward killed before Richmond in Me Clellan's campaign. "Well, a message came to Chaplain Merwin to appear i>e fore General Kearny "What. Phil Kearny? ''The same. He was afterward killed in battle. " The General demanded all tne details of the Concert and disturbance, and called for the singers to be brought before him with all their toon " There was very erreat excitement, and the Trustees took the keys of the church. "i'he Chaplain was very mucii troubled about it on our account. Well, the message came for us to wait on the General, and so through the rain and mud we all tramped to his head- quarters. "General Kearny reproved Chaplain and vocalists for singing within his lines without first submitting their programme and songs to him. and added that he could not allow the concerts to go on. "I said to him, General, 1 have a permit from the Secretary of War allowing me to sing, lam no stranger to the soldiers' (for a good many thousands of men knew of and had beard us). ' whatever the officers may think and feel on the subject.' "To this the General replied quickly, *1 reign supreme here. You are abolitionists. I think as much of a rebel as 1 do of an aoolition- tefc' " We left the General's quarters rather doubt- ful whether the concerts were to be allowed to continue or not, but soon after reaching oar quarters there came a fresh message irom toe General that we must forego all further singing in the camps. ".Not satisfied with this, the news was sent to General Franklin, and this order came back: ' HEADUI; AKTKits ALEXANDRIA DIVISION CAMP. January, 1862. "'Major BatfieM; "'Von will please send to Uiese headquarters as soon as possible, a copy of the songs sung by the Hutchinson Family last night in the Seminary Chapel. " By order of brigadiei General Franklin. JOSEPH C. JACKSON, &.. it, C.' 'After some hours of hanl work copies were taken and forwarded to General Franklin by the Chaplain. "The General took them and asked to have the objectionable song pointed out to him. He was referred to Whittier's ' Furnace Blast.' "' Why,' said he, '1 pronounce that incend- iary,' and then added 'if these people are al- loweltogoou they will demoralize the whole army.' " The Chaplain again retired very sad and de- pressed. Another concert had been advertised, and on announcing thai, it was forbidden the memuers of the regiment who were to have atteii'le i it expressed their regret. "Late on Saturday night(a concert having been given the previous Friday evening) this mes- sage was sent to Gen. Franklin, purporting to have emanated from Gen. McClellau. com- manding the army : " HlADViUAKTKRS ALEXANDRIA.* YlKGlNlA. Jane 18. 1862. f General Orders No. 3. ' By command of the Major (Jeneral Commanding, IT. 8. A., the permit given to the IJiilchinson Family to sing in the camps and their pass to cross the I'oiomac, ara hereby revoked, and they will not be allowed to sing to the troops. " By order of Brig. General Franklin. 'J. C. JACKSON, A. !>. O. rofflcial.) JAMBS Bl. WILSON, A. A. (i. Headquarters. First New Jersey Vola.' 'This, of course, was an effectual stopper to further proceedings. "At the same time 1 received a verbal message that myself and vocalists must leave oar quar- ters. "The hour beinur late and weather bad, Mr. Hutchinson obtained from General Franklin the privilege of remaining with his friends until the Monday morning following; the answer coining back, ' There is no objection to these people remaining, if they uehave them- selves properly.' "The next day being Sunday. Chaplain Yard obtained permission to use tho church, and a little plan was adopted in order that the hun- dreds of soldiers who desired to hear the Huichinsons sing should not be disappointed. " The Chaplain asked leave to have a choir, and at service time the Hulchiuson family offered themselves as that choir. "The Chaplain preached in the morning.and in the evenLuz Mr. Merwin cave a temperance lee- 102 STORIES OF OUR SOLDIERS. ture. 'We sang on both of these occasions. Mid Mr. Hutchinson, and on the following Monday morning daughter Viola received a $20 gold niece sent her by the soldiers. 1 sent a part of my company to Washington, intending to follow with my daughter, bat I was pre- vails 1 uoon by the Chaplain to remain over night, as he said he would take me to visit Farnsworth's regiment of cavalry the next morning. "They had a slight runaway accident, their carriage being broken against a tree, and on their return to quarters were informed that an officer had called in their absence to see if they bad gone, and intimated that 'it was just as well for them that they had gone off.' "Anxious to give the authorities no grounds for charging him with disobedience of orders. Mr. Hutchinson departed at once, calling on Gen. Montgomery at Alexandria, where they sunvr their songs and hymns at the General's own headquarters, and conjointly with the Pro vost Marshal, Gen. Montgomery arranged for a concert, which was given by the Hutchiusons. " 'On reaching Washington,' said Mr. Iluicn inson. 'I called immediately on Mr. Secretary Chase and told him the whole story of our trouble at Fairfax Church.' "At his request I gave him a copy of the pro- hibited sonsr. which he submitted to the Cabi- net. Of course the details of the sessions of that bo ly are noc public, but I was informed on the best of authority that I was exonerated from all blame and that the President expressed him self very strongly in my favor. " President Lincoln remarked that they were just the SOUKS he wanted his people to hear. ' In this as in all other instances Mr. Chase acted with the utmost kindness toward us. "I no longer hesitated to go to Alexandria and gave two concerts there, singing the pro- hibited as well as all the other radical songs. which were loudly called for 'John Brown's Body ' among the rest. "The General himself sat on the platform. We returned to Washington at the special re- quest of some officers of Gen. McClellan's bo ly guard, an 'I these gentlemen compensated us by selling large numbers of tickets for this concert, which was given in a church and at which the Provost Marshal was present. The radical songs were received with great applause, but the minister of the church, however, was so frightened lest his congregation be dispersed by the anti-slavery character of those songs that he would not let us have the church for another concert. We created a great sensation by our " Slave's Appeal.' " The old gentleman recalled with pleasure kindnesses shown him by Gen. J. C. Fremont and Jessie Fremont The colored people also opened their churche* when the doors of others were shut against them. The Tribe of John sang in Philadelphia and the West, and at Hutchinson, Minn., a town founded by the family. The old gentleman ut- tered what proved to be a piophetic warning against the comine of the Indians, The latter did come ; 300 people were obliged to flee for their lives a distance of 17 miles for refuge. and every house in the town was burned but two To-day Brother John is enjoying the gloaming of life with his remaining son. still singing, whenever his services are desired, the songs of olden time. THE HUTCHINSON CREST. ORIGINAL SINGERS. 103 AT FIRST BULL RUN. [Capt U. A. Woodbury of Burlington. Vt.. at the request of the Journal furnished a very graphic and thrilling story of his personal ex- periences at the first battle of Bull Run. where ho lost his right arm (being: the first emptv sleeve from Vermont) and was captured by the Confederates and subsequently confined in a rebel prison. Capt. Wood bury is a. native of El- more. Vt. . and enlistedMay 26. 1861 . He was mus tered in as Sergeant of Co. H. Second Vermont. uno 20. taken prisoner at Manassas, July 21. and paroled Oct. 6. He was discharged on ac- count of wounds received Oct. 16. He subse auently re enlisted as a private in Company D, Eleventh Vermont, ana was commissioned Captain Nov 16, 1862. Capt Woodbury served in the Veteran Reserve Corps until March, 1866 He was Chief of Staff to Gov Barslow In '84. Mayor of Burlington in 1884-5-6, Lieutenant Governor oi Vermont from 1888 to 1890. and was the last President of the Vermont Omcers' Reunion Society 1 I was First Sergeant ot Company E, Second Regiment. Vermont Volunteers. The regiment rendezvoused in Burlington the first part of June, 1801. being the first three-year troops sent from Vermont. The members of it came largely from rural communities there are but few other than rural in our State and they were as hardy a set of boys as ever assembled in a camp In those days "rasling' was the universal sport at every village and neighborhood gath- ering, and the regiment contained hundreds of athletes that would have been eagerly sought for by football enthusiasts, had that game been "on" in those days. They could outmarcb. outrun, outjump and "outrassle" all compet- itors. They were full of good humor, slow to wrath, bat they nad enlisted for a purpose, clearly defined in their minds, and no danger or deprivation moved them from it They were naturally. mentally as well as physically strong. We were mustered into the United States ser- vice June 20 by Lieutenant Colonel Rains. U. S. A., who shortly after resigned, went into the Confederate Army and was killed. We left Burlington June 24. and arrived in Washington the 26th. Went into Virginia the 10th of July and camped ac Brook Hill, a few miles from Alexandria. There we were bri gaded with the Third. Fourth and Fifth Maine, and placed under the command of Brigadier General O O Howard, who afterward distin guished himself in various commands, and is now the ranking Major General in the United States Army next to General Schofield. Henry Whiting was our Colonel. Geo J. Stannard afterward Brevet Major General. U. S. V . who distinguished himself at Gettysburg while in command of the Second Vermont Brigade was our Lieutenant Colonel. C. H. Joyce, after- ward M. C. from Vermont, was our Major. W. W Henry afterward Brigadier General, and the gallant Commander of the Tentn Ver- mont, which distinguished itself at the battle of Monocacy was a Lieutenant. And I now recall such persons as Colonels Tracey. Walbridge. Stone. Tyler. Johnson and Major DillinKham and many others, heroes every one. who distinguisned tnemselves on many a bloody field. The Captain of our company was an old militia officer of fine physique, and we thought we had a prize. But we soon found that he did not know enough to lead the company to mess, and he never learned. At Centreville our boys made it lively .for the honey, and the bees made it lively for the boys 106 STORIES OF OUR SOLDIERS. The pilferers often got badly stung, bat the simple partakers of the sweet luxury feastea with delight and safety While we were living at Cemreville a portion of the Union forces had a brisk little skirmish with the rebs at Black burn's Pord I witnessed some of the affair, ami then first saw an armed rebel and saw the first shotted gun fired. I began to think there was work ahead for us. The evening of the 20th brought us knowledge that a battle might be expected on the morrow. Gen. Howard had the brigade paraded and delivered us a patriotic address. Before daybreak July 21 we were astir, and after breakfast were put in marching order. Soon long lines of infantry, some batteries of artillery and some cavalry filed past us to take the positions assigned them by orders. It was a beautiful sight to see the long line of soldiers with their bright bayoneted guns glis- tening in the sunlight as they matched over the hill and into the depression beyond, the hamlet of Centreville. What a contrast between the confident, brave army at that hour and the dis- mayed, defeated and disorganized force that fled back over the same route a few hours later. The army was accompanied by a horde of civil- ians, among whom were many members of Con- gress who had joined the army so as to "do up " the rebels and end the war. Some of these gentle- men accompanied us to Richmond. 1 remem- ber that Congressman Ely of the Rochester. N. Y., District was in Libby when 1 was in the ad- joining building. Their capture created some merriment to others besides themselves, and many jokes were cracked at their expense. We were fully equipped. We nad dress coats, knapsacks filled to repletion, haversacks almost bursting, 40 rounds of cartridges, can- teens, etc., and smooth bore Springfield mus- kets. We had them all on, too. We soon fell into the line of march and passed along toward the right flank of our army, and were halted about three miles from Sudley Church, near a blacksmith shop. Here we remained several hours, greatly in- terested in the battle, which we could plainly hear, but could not see. When some louder discharge than usual was heard. Lieut. C. of my corn nan y would exclaim, much to our satis- faction, "Another rebel battery taken." He really thought so. He went down to Virginia to whip the rebels, and he had no idea but what it was being done as arranged. Our Captain, having tilled up to his usual limit when we were ordered to advance at the double quick at about 3 P. M. said: "I'll be d d if I came down here to make a race horse of myself. Lieutenant C. you may take charge the company." He went to the rear and I never saw him afterward. Just imagine men double quicking under a burning July sun in Virginia accoutred as we were. We thought we musfc not part with our knap- sacks, but it soon became apparent that we mould drop in our tracks if we were not re- lieved, and then we oegan to throw them off, and soon the line of march was covered with them. But, oh, wasn't it hot. Soon our thirst became almost unbearable. At Sudley Spring some of us filled our canteens with water and slaked our thirst, but we were needed at the front and we were hurried forward. Everyone seemed anxious to do his duty and but few straggled, unless absolutely unable to go on on account of exhaustion. As we passed Sudley Church we saw the first evidence of the battle. Ambulances were bringing the wounded to the church, where a hospital had been established. We saw the wounded being taken from the ambulances and tnen realized more than ever before the perils that awaiied us As we came nearer the field we saw the Sec- ond Rhode Island Regiment resting beside the road, with arms stacked. Some of their bovs called to us as we paise 1 them. " We have been in and had a hack at the Rebs and now it is your turn." At that place we left the road, which was bordered with irees, and emerged into the open field. We were soon discovered by the enemy, who opened fire upon us with solid shot and. as we advanced farther, with shell and musketry. I did not see a man of our regiment leave the ranks, though there was some ducking of heads when a shot or shell came unusually near. We were the extreme right of our army. We went on to the field by the right flank, march- ing at quick time, but as we came under a hot- ter fire our pace was quickened to the double quick. We soon began to descend the hill to the Warrenton pike, beyond which the enemy who were firing upon us were situated. Heavy firing was heard soon at the Henry house to our left and front. A portion at least of the Fourteenth Brooklyn was retiring to our left, and Ricketts's Battery was flying to the rear upon our right. The idea of retreat or defeat had not entered our min is at that time. We thought, I did, at least, that the re- tiring battery and troops were going back after more ammunition or to make room for fresh troops. While marching at double quick down the slope at trail arms, at the head of my company, which was next to the color guard. I was hit in the right arm, near tbe shoulder, by a piece of a shell, which passed across my breast and whirled around and fell to the ground. In the twinkling of an eye I was transformed from an athlete to a pensioner. Another piece from the same shell killed my file leader. Corporal Ben- jamin of Company C of Brattleboro . His life was the first laid upon the altar of his country in battle by a Vermonter. I was carrie_d to the rear by two comrades after my bleeding was partly stopped, placed in an ambulance, carried to a little old cooper's shop near the Sudley Church, placed upon a board upon the ground, and my arm, which was completely shattered and hanging together only by ihe skin and mus- cles, was amputated bv Surgeon Ballou of my AT FIRST BULL RUN. 109 regiment. 1 remember of seeing; him standing 1 over me as I was being etherized, and I did not see him afterward for 25 years, almost to a day, when I met him at the Van Ness House. The regiment continued on and soon became closely engaged with the enemy. They fought gallantly and only retired when peremptorily ordered to do so. They retreated in good order and formed a part of the rear guard, such as there was. Ttie service of the regiment there- after, as a part of the famous First Vermont Brigade, was brilliant and unexcelled by auy other organization in the Union Army. Soon after 1 recovered my consciousness I heard the cry; "The Black Horse Cavalry is coming." and soon a Major of rebel cavalry came into the shop and sternly informed us that we were prisoners. I had started out in the morning confident of victory and that the war would be ended and the Union preserved, and now tne conscious- ness that our forces were routed and tlying to the rear, and that I was a prisoner and maimed for life put me in an unhappy state of mind from which I did not entirely iecover until 1 left Dixie. My arm was laid tu>on a low bencn beside me. in my full view It was pale and useless then, and i told one of the boys the next morn ing to take it out and bury it. The shop was filled with our wounded, and it was interesting to note the effects of wounds upon different indi- viduals. I recollect a Zouave who was shot with a musket ball when his mouth was wide open presumably when shouting. The ball did not hit his teeth or any part of his mouth. It first struck the posterior pharynx and passed through his neck and out by the sid "f bis spinal column in the rear. He could not he down, but slept some sitting. He was very light-hearted and made a rapid recovery. By my side lay an apparently strong young man who had a simple flesh wound in one of his forearms. He was homesick and despondent, and inflammation set in. with ac- companying fever, and he died in a few days. The weather was hot and moist, and wounds did not do welL It was before the days of antiseptic surerery, the great boon of the sub- jects of the surgeon's knife. One week from the day of the battle we were taken to Manassas Junction, bound for Rich- mond, Va. We passed through the centre of the battle- field. Broken gun carriages, caissons, accoutre- ments and dead horses, from which a horriule stench arose, covered the ground in all direc- tions. We sat up in an old side-seat omnibus during the two hours' journey, and when we reached the junction we felt pretty well used up. We were put in an old tobacco shed for the night While there we were visited by many rebs. who taunted and threatened us. Though our prisoners were better treated at tnia time than later on, so far as food and care were con- cerned, tnere was a bitterer personal feeling by the common rebel soldier toward the Union soldier than after they got better acquainted. On the morning of July 29 we were loaded into some old freight cars, unprovided witb even traw to lie uuou. and starte 1 for the camta! of the Confederacy. What a terrible journey of 30 hours and 130 miles that was for the badly wounded. Unable to ait UD we lay upon the door of the car with, at the most, i>ut a blanket under us. Every time the car wheels struck the joints of the rails our arms and legs were thrown up a few inches into the air. to come down again at once with a thud on the floor. More dead than alive we reached Richmond. I was carried to the poor house, with some others of the badlv wounded, and was there visited and cared for by those ministering angels, the Sisters of Charity, who knew no difference between Union and rebel. They were doing the work of their Master who la no "respecter of persons." One of them gave me a few swallows of rum punch which revived me much. I am a tem- perate man, but I think that if a sister should offer me a rum punch now 1 should drink it. to see if it would taste as good as it did In Rich- mond over 31 years ago. Captain James B. Ricketts u. 8 A,, who com- manded Ricketts's Battery in the battle and who lost a leg. was a prisoner in the poor house with us. His devoted wife had braved the dangers incident to a journey through the linen, and was then ministering to her husband, Ricketts was afterward a Major General. While in this place occurred an incident which illustrated the mean side of human nature, very rare indeed in a Union soldier. Among the prisoners in an adjoining room to the one I was in was one Murphy, a member of a Brooklyn regiment. He had recovered rapidly from his wound and wanted to make his escape. We were not securely guarded and escape was feasible. He consulted me a out the matter and said he had no money to buy food, which was necessary. I had $1 left of $2 50 that I received from the sale of a watch to a negro. 1 gave him this, with wnich he supplied him- self with tne necessary food. I also exchanged witb him my only blanket for his overcoat, as he could not use the coat for fear of discovery by its color I helped lower him out of the win- dow to the ground late at nignt and bid him godspeed to freedom. T was soon transferred to a tobacco warehouse next to Libby Prison, after being in the poor house Soon after my aamiuance tnere a rebel guard, accompanied by a prisoner, came on to the floor where I was and asked for " Woodbury." When he found me, the prisoner, whom I recognized at once as Murphy, who had evi- dently been recaptured, approached me and de- manded his coat. I was indignant, and de- 110 STORIES OF OCR SOLDIERS. murred. and finally resisted, as it was the only Covering I had and it was precious to me. but his two hands were stronger than my one, and, be- sides, I did not dare make too much fuss over the matter for fear of exposure of my complicity in his escape, and he got the overcoat. At this late day I lose my composure when I think of Murphy. 1 have no expectation of meeting him in this world or wish of meeting him in the next. It is said that the maimed are made whole in the next world, and I therefore have the right to expect that my right arm will be restored to my shoulder. Should it be and it be as strong then as it was the morning of Julv 21, 1861. and should I meet that Irishman Murphy I would be tempted to thrash him until he wished he was in purgatory. I have spun tnis yarn out too long already, but will briefly say that our prison life was like others which has been so often describe* i, deprivation, filth, hunger and ill treatment In October the welcome news was received that those who were so badly wounded they would not probably be fit for service again would soon be paroled. At lasc the happy day came for about 80 of us and we were formally paroled. We were the first considerable numbers of prisoners paroled from Richmond. We went down the James River on a small rebel steamer and were met some 20 or 30 miles aoove Fortress Monroe by the Union steamsr Express. What a sorry spectacle those 80 men made. Men witn arms and legs gone, men shot in the head and through the bodies, and clad in all sorts of garments. I had on my gray uniform pants I have them now a knit jacket and a cap and shoes. But we were happy ; as we went upon the deck of the Union steamer and saw the old flag float- ing over us and realized that we were once more under its protecting folds cheer upon cheer broke from our lips, cans and crutches were thrown into the air and for the moment joy reigned supreme. For the moment we forgot that we were cripples, and that for the remainder of our lives would be deprived of a large share oltlie physical enjoyment that a complete healthy frame brings to one ; we were once more in the land of freedom; we had done wnat we had opportunity to do for the honor of the flag, we were soon to see our comrades and our loved ones at home. "We were young and looked on the bright side of life. We felt that a grateful people would appreciate our sacrifices and we were content. Coffee and food in abundance were ready fir us on the steamer, and we partook of the first square meal since we left Centreville a few months before. In due time we arrived at Fortress Monroe, from which place we went to- Baltimore, and there separated from each other to go to various hospitals, or our homes. URBAN A. WOODBUEY. THE SHERMAN EXPEDITION. w or reminiscences ? What can I give you? The subject has been pretty well used up, but there was one phase of the Rebellion that I have not yet seen in print the great storm which struck the Sherman expedition in Octo- ber. 1861. Those who were in it an 'I still sur- vive may like to near it described from the standpoint of another, and as thousands of those who experienced that terrible blow were read- ers of Tno .Journal, it cannot fail to interest them on account of the memories revived. Like the great majority of those who en- listed in 1861. I was but a boy. younger even in experience than in years. 1 was a member of the band of the Third New Hampshire Volun- teers, a regiment assigned to the expedition commanded by General T. W. Sherman to operate on the coast of South Carolina in No- vember, 1861. The field officers were CoL Enoch Q. Fellows of Sandwich, later Commander of the Ninth New Hampshire Volunteers, one of the best regimental commanders sent out by the State, and a graduate of West Point; Lieut. Col. John H. Jackson, afterward Colonel of the regiment, and for many years an officer in the Custom House. Boston ; Maj. John Bedell, bre- vetted a Brigadier General, both veterans of the Mexican War ; the Adjutant was Alfred J. Hill of Portsmouth, also a Mexican veteran. All but Colonel Fellows are dead. Among the line officers who were, or are wei: known in New England, was Capt J. H. Plympton, later laeutenat Colonel, killed in Virginia in 1864; Capt J. F Rand- lett, also Lieutenant Colonel, since the war in the regular service, at present in the Eighth Cavalry; Captain Michael T. Donoboe, later Colonel of the i'ench New Hamp- shire, and brevetted a Brigadier General ; Cap- tain Ralph Carleton. leader of the Farmington Band, a fine musician, killed on James Island in 1862; Adjutant Alvah Libbey, killed at Wagner; Captain William EL Maxwell of Man- chester; Captain Dick Ela, killed in Virginia in 1864:; Captain Henry H. Ayer of Penacook, killed in Virginia in 1864; Lieut John H. Thompson, who died of yellow fever at Hilton Head in 1862. the father of Major A. B. Thomp- son, for many years Secretary of State, and Captain Ciiarles S. Burnham, now of Waltham. Mass. Among the non-commissioned oih'cers who won their straps by honorable service and who are readers of The Journal are Major J. Homer Edgerly of Charlestown, Major W, H. Trickey, now a Universalist clergyman, Capt. Roger W. Wood bury of Denver, a wealthy banker, Capt. R. W. Houghtou of the same city. Capt. C. A. White, Mayor of Greelv, Col., Capt. Michael P. Donley of New Ipswich, Capt. David Wads- worth of Manchester. Adjt, Elbridge J. Copp of Nashua, Register of Probate for his "ounty. STORIES OF OUR SOLDIERS. who served three years, was severely wounded several times and was not old enough to vote on his return : Capt Dan Eldridge of the Co-oper- ative Bank on Bromfield street. Boston, and Capt. A. S. Atherton, a well-known grocer of "Wakefield. Mass. The other officers were not perhaps so well known outside of their own localities, but all were of a character to reflect honor ou both the regiment and State, for it is not too much to say that in this respect it was second to no regi- ment that left New Hampshire. We left Con- cord on Sept. 3, 1861, going to Hamptead, Long Island, where it was proposed to organize the expedition spoken of. Events in Washington, however, broke up this arrangement. The Third was ordered to Washington on the IGth, pitching its tents about a mile east of the Capi- tol, alongside of the Congressional Cemetery, and here occurred the incident which was the occasion of one of the best stories of the war, so good that it has been appropriated by scores of regiments from as many States. The Chaplain of the Third was a Methodist clergyman named Hill, a very good man. He was the regimental postmaster, and a man of a practical turn of mind. He desired to get uu a revival in the regiment, an old-fashioned one. The east branch of the Potomac was close by, furnishing the material in which to immerse the converts. McClellan had just assumed command of the army. Every one desire i to go to the city, but it was impossible lor any but commissioned officers to secure a pass ; even they had difficulty in get- ting the required permission. The regimental mail bag iiad to be sent to the city twice a day. The Chaplain saw his opportunity, and an- nounced a temporal as well as an eternal reward for those who heard his call, viz., the privilege of carrying the mail to and from the city for each new convert The scheme proved to be a great success ; the converts were numerous and the immersions frequent, each one fondly ex- pect ine that be was the one to carry the ban; Lieut John W. Hynes of Company A was an employe ot Col. John B. Clark when he enlisted, and was a regular correspondent of his old pa- per, the Manchester Mirror. His letters home were filled with glowing accounts of the great revival in the camp of the Third Regiment, which was pleasing news to Rev. Mr. Hill, but just the opposite to his min- isterial associate. Chaplain W illis of the Fourth New Hampshire, which, under command of Colonel Tom Whipple, was encamped near Bladensburg. He, good man, while pleased to read ol the great doings in the camp of the Third, felt his heart grow sad to think of the spiritual condition of the men un ler his charge, and not realizing the advantage of being so near the water, which was two miles from his camp, and not being cognizant of tne cunning mail i>ag arrangement made up his mind that the trouble was that Colonel Whipple did not take the interest in the spiritual affairs of his men that Colonel Fellows did in those under his command. The more he thought of it the more convinced was he that something must be done for tne sake of his own reputation. So he plucked un courage one morning and started for the Colonel's tent, a little faint-hearted, knowing full well the convivial habits of his com- mander, and dreading the result of the inter- view. Fighting Joe Hooker had just been ap- pointed commander of his well-known brigade, tne Second New Hampshire, Twenty-sixth Pennsylvania and tne Eleventh Massachusetts, all of whom were encamped a short distance from the Fourth New Hampshire. Only the night before he had a spread, at which Colonel Whipple was present, so his condition can be imagine I when the Chaplain approached. He began at once, growing earnest and eloquent as he proceeded. He told CoL Whipple that the columns of the Mirror were filled with glowing accounts of the great revival in the camp of the Third, which would, of course, redound to the credit of the Chaplain of that regiment, while not a word was said of the spiritual condition of those under bis com- mand; that he ha i given the subject prayerful consideration and that, he deemed it bis duty to come and tell him, the Colonel, that he did not take the interest in the religious welfare of his men that was taken by Col. Fellows of the Third, and the result was that he, the Chaplain, had to bear a responsibility which was unjust The subject fairly broached, the Colonel strode to the tent door and ba le the Orderly call the Adjutant. On his appearance, he said : "Adju- tant, detail 50 men to be baptized at once. By the Eternal, the Fourth won't play second fiddle to the Third in anything while 1 com man I it" Six years ago Corporal Tanner delivered the address at the Weirs reunion. I was the Presi- dent of the association at the time. When be commenced to speak he opened with an anec- dote, as is the custom with good speakers, and to my surprise it was the story of the detail for baptism, locating it in a New York regiment I stopped him just as be got fairly into it, apolo- gizing to him and the audience by saying that I could not allow it to be stolen from New Hamp- shire, especially when the hero of the story was on the platform, and introduced Col. Whipple, who came forward and gave his version ot the affair. A more enjoyable episode never oc- curred at Weirs; to none of whom it was more pleasing than to Tanner, who has ever since given proper credit to glorious old Tom Whipple, who received his final muster out only two vears ago. The regiment remained in Washington until the 4th of October, when it was ordered to An- napolis, where the Sherman expedition was being organized. While I was at the capital it was my good fortune to get a good view of President Lincoln, who was present in his car- riage one evening at a ilress parade of our regi- ment. I shall never torget how he appeared to my boyish eyes, the sad expression of his face, so often described, beinar apparent even to me. I also had an opportunity to witness the grand review of the entire strength of the Army of the Potomac on tbe fields east of the capital, con- sisting of the infantry, cavalry and artillery THE CHASE FOR THE FUGITIVE ANVIL. 113 SHERMAN EXPEDITION. 115 composed of the flower of the American youth, before bounty or reward of any kind had drawn a different class into the volunteers. Arriving at Annapolis, we found before us the Twenty-first Massachusetts, which was guard- ing the road between Annapolis and Washing- ton. The Third was quartered in the Naval Academy buildings, occupying five of them. Here we remained but a few days. The camp equipage arriving, we pitched our tents in rear of St. Johns College on the banks of the River Severn, and were drowned out oy a terrific thunderstorm the first night The expeditionary corps consisted ot 16.00O men, composed of New England, New York and Pennsylvania regiments, with one each from Michigan and several other States. Some of these regiments, notably the Third and Fourtn New Hampshire, the Third Rhode Island, the Sixth ami Seventh Connecticut, the Eighth and Ninth Maine and the Forty-sixth, Forty-seventh and Forty-eighth New York, served either in the same brigade, division or corps, to the end of the war. The troops commenced to embark on the 18th of October, and on the morning of the 21st weighed anchor anil headed for Fortress Mon- roe. It was the good fortune of the Ttiird to be assigned to the steamer Atlantic, side wheeler, of tne Collins Line, which was to be the head- quarters of Gen, Sherman and staff. It was commanded by Captain Oliver Eldridge of Massachusetts, a thorough sailor and a perfect gentleman. Not a soldier in the regiment from the drummer boy to the Chaplain but loved him, and this feeling was most cordially recip- rocated by him. The fact that we were twenty-one days on board the Atlantic will enable the reader to ap- preciate the situation and understand that noth- ing but kindness and consideration on his part could acquire the love and esteem of a thousand men, not one-tenth of whom had ever been on board a vessel before. Fortress Monroe was reached on the forenoon of the 22d, and a busier sight was rarely seen than was witnessed here up to the date of sailing. The surface of the water was covered with all kinds of craft, from the punt of the pie-seller to the stately dimensions of the \Yabash, the flag-shio of the fleet, for thus far this was the grandest aggregation of vessels ever seen on American waters. Side-wheel and screw ocean steamers, ships, brigs, barques anack was the grub. Steamed salt pork, hardtack and coffee was the regular fare three times a day. I never could eat pork. I cannot to-day : but the hardtack being sweet, the coffee good Uncle Sam always furnished the best and my teeth being in the best con- dition. I got along: tolerably well Once in awhile the thought would come, I wonder which of us will return, for danger there was on all sides, on ocean and shore. Two of the Forty-seventh New "York were drowned by the sinking of a leaky boat at Annapolis, and the sight of their bodies, stiff in death, with the features mutilated by the crabs, was a sigJit I can never iorget Even at Fortress Monroe, the day before wo left, one of two soldiers on a vessel near by, while fooling near the traff rail, lost his balance and fell overboard. A boat was lowered as quick as possible, but as the tide was going out toward the Rip Raps like mill race, only his hat was recovered. Scenes like these, before the realities of war had been met, proved how frail a hold one had on Ufa But all things have an end, and so in this case. Large as the fleet was. everything was ready, the last package of commissary stores, the last case of ammunition, the last piece of artillery, the last ton of coal and the last man was on boar u. and at 5 o'clock on Tuesday morning, Oct. 29. 1861. the signal gun gave notice to weigh anchor, and for seven long hours we. who were on the ueck of the At- lantic, saw them glide by us. the sailing vessels in tow of the steamers frigates, gunboats, transports, coal barges, ferry boats, etc. As the transports went by, a round of cheers went up from the decks 9! each vessel. It looked more like a huge picnic than a hostile expedition bound for an unknown point. Just 31 years ago, and yet the scene is as fresh in my mind as if it were but yesterday. Among the larger vessels of the fleet were the Vandorbilt. Ocean Queen, Ericsson, Empire City, Daniel Webster and Great Republic; but seven years before the latter had been used by (be British Government for the same purpose, carrying men and stores to the Crimea. Tbe men-of-war, in addition to the Wabash, were th Pawnee, Ottawa, Curlew, Isaac P. Smith, beiieca, Pembina. Unadilla, Penguin, Pocahontas and Yandalia. The appearance of this fleet of nearly ICO ail, the decks alive with men, was something never to be forgotten. How little the thousands on board realized what was before them in the long campaign beginning before Charleston and only ending when Sherman marched to the sea. The Atlantic had been selected as the headquarters of General Sherman and staff, but at the la^t moment ihe General changed ids quarters to the Wabu.su, the flagship of the fleet, leaving his staff on the lormer vessel. For this reason the Atlantic did not weigh anchor until the last of the squaaron sailed by. when in turn it took its place at noon, and after steaming vigorously for four hours, fell into line, directly in rear of the flagship. The scene was beautiful and inspiring, the ves- sels were arranged in three parallel lines, the transports and storeships in the centre and the men-of-war on the outside. Capes Henry and Charles once passed it was not long before land was lost sight of and we were sailing for where? No one could surmise. The air was warm and ielicious, the watez smooth as the surface of Lake \\mnipesaukee on a June day, and when the sun went down, followed by the shades of evening, a clear sky made it seem like a scene of enchantment ; the diamonds twinkling in the heavens being matched oy the variegated lanterns suspended from the mastheads of nearly a hundred crafts, the music from over a dozen bands attached to the different regiments, as well as the singing of the boys on tue many transports, made it seem anything but warlike, while the character of tiie songs denoted thoughts of home " My Country, 'Tis of Thee," " Greenville," " Old Grimes is Dead," "Down on the Swanec River," " Saw My Leg Off Short," etc. The hour was late when I turned in. down two stories, next to the temporary hospital, and were it not for the imperative call of Moruheus 1 believe I would have stayed on deck all nitrht. Some of the poor fellows by nay side were quite sick, one was already in a hiarh fever, at times out of his head, lie was only a boy of 17. and it was pitiful to hear him call in his delirium for his mother. At other times be would burst out singing the hymns he had so often sung at home. One in particular he was forever singing, "Ureenville," and I never hear it now but the whole scene, like a picture, is brought before my view the bunks, three high, ench having two occupants, with an alley be twee., and com- pletely tilling the space between decks, the dim lights, the foul air, the pitching of the vessel, the creaking of the timbers, the clank of the machinery, the chaffing and joking of the well, and tue complaints of the unfortunate seasick. or the moans of the poor fever-stricken boy in the hospital by my side. The cooks of the ship reaped a rich harvest for, afloat or ashore, t< ie soldier was beat, right and left. He was the prey for all who had any- thing to sell. So far as he was concerned, the rules of honesty in trade were laid aside. He paid in cash the highest price, while his credit was nil. and so it proved here. We paid 25 cents for a CUP of tea and 76 cents or $1 for a pie, all of which was the property of Uncle Sam, and supposed to be used only for his favored sons. The second day out and the second night following were of the same charac- ter as those preceding, but, although the dreaded Hatteras had been passed, there was a change on the evening of the third day; a terrible storm blew up. whose memories will never be SHERMAN EXPEDITION. 117 forgotten by those who were for three clays at its mercy. By mi Inight it was impossible to stand, sit or lie still. The whistling of the wind though the rig- ging, the creaking of the timbers, the pitching: and rolling of the heavily-laden steamer, the swasli of the waves asrainst the si !e of the ship and the constant clank, clank, clank, of the en- gines, as well as the (ears of what might hap- pen, kept us all awake; and. as if to make it more frightful, the poor fellow stricken with fever was singing at the top of his voice "Green- ville," his feelings seeming to be in harmony with the storm, which howled and screamed like a pack of demons. As if things were not bad enough, the regimental anvil got loose on the upper deck, and for over an hour glided from one side to the other like a thing of life, smash- ing everything in its course and endangering the lives or limbs of those of the crew, who finally succeed m head to foot he groped his way to the captain, who was ever at his post "Oh, captain," said he, "this is terrible; do you really believe we are going to pull through it?" The captain assured him in a soothing voice that we would, and told him not to be alarmed, for all would be right in the end. Feeling encouraged, he went back to his corner, only to return again to the captain, more alarmed than ever, for the vessel pitched fear- fully, and repeated the same question. This time the captain took his arm and escorted him to the forward part of the vessel, stooping at the forecastle, an make the main attack on this, but by no mean* SHERMAN EXPEDITION. 121 to neglect the other at Bay Point, directly oppo- site. The order of battle "comprised a main squadron ranged in a line ahead, and a flanking squadron which was to be thrown off on the northern section of the harbor to engage Tat- nal's flotilla and prevent them taking the rear ships of the main line when it turned to the southward, or cutting off a disabled vessel." The plan of attack was to pass up mi. i way be- tween Forts Walker and Beauregar I. wnich were about two miles apart, receiving ana re- turning the fire of both, and at the distance of two and a half miles northward of the latter, round by the west, and closing in with the for- mer, attack its weakest flank and enfilade its two water faces. The vessels were to pass abreast of the fort very slowly in the order of battle, and each avoid becoming a fixed mark for the Confederate guns. On reaching the shoal ground making off from the end of Hilton Head, the line was to the north Dy the east, and passing to the northward to engage Fort Walker, with the fort battery nearer than when first on the same course. These erolutions were to be repeated. The captains of the vessels were called on board the Wabash and fully instructed in the manner of proceeding, and this plan of pursuing a series of elliptical movements were strictly followed during the engagement. General Sherman had again change i his quarters to our vessel, the Atlantic, and. sur- rounded by the members of his staff and the officers of the Third, took position on too of the pilot house to observe the battle. The men-of- war began to move shortly after 8 o'clock, and, as the line slowly glided by, headed by the Wabash. we could see the men at the guns, with sleeves rolled up, ready for action. A more animated scene than that presented at the en- trance of Port Royal Harbor, on that November morning, was never witnessed on American waters. On the decks of the transports were 15,000 soldiers, young and enthusiastic, full of life, and eager to disembark and take part in the engagement. Every inch of available space, from the taffrail to the maintop, was occupied by soldiers or sailors, all burning to hear the first gun fired which they were sure would end in victory for Dupont's gallant tars. As vessel after vessel went by round after round of cheers went up from the boys on the transports, which must have had a good effect on the men-of-war. Eye and ear were strained to see and hear. Our vessel, on account of the presence of General Sherman, was a full mile nearer the scene of action than any of th^ other transports, so that we could see quite distinctly the flags flying from the staff in lort Walker. As our vessels advanced we could see Tatnali's fleet slowly receding in the uis- tance. The first gun was fired about half-past 9 from Fort Walker. Instantly it was followed by one from Fort Beauregard. and responded to by the Wabash and Susquehanna, which were between the forts. In less time than it takes to tell it, all the vessels were engaged, and for two hours a bom- bardment of shot an I shell took place, the like of which the country had not seen thus far. Vessels and fort were soon envelope I in im- penetrable smoke, from which belched out fire and destruction to those on shore. The blaze of the guns gave us an occasional glimpse of the ships as they sailed in the order described. The clouds of du^t on shore caused by the burst- ing shells, the deafening cannonading and tne thick sulphurous smoke which was lighte 1 up at intervals by the flash of the guns, as broad- side after broa iside was ooure 1 into the de- voted defenders of the Palmetto State, formed a vivid contrast to the scene outside, where the expectant thousands were looking on, under a clear sky and a bright sun. At last we could see that Fort Beauregard was let severely alone, the fleet confining its operations to Fort Walker on Hilton Head Island. About 11 o'clock there was a lull in the storm, and tne Wabash could be perceived slowly approaching tne fort, paying no at- tention to the rain of shot poured from the shore. The man with the lead in his hand we could see deliberately at his work taking soundings; the anchor was cast out, the vessel swung round with the tide, an i poured broadside after broad- side into the fort at short range. At half-past eleven the flag of Fort Walker was shot away, and from this time the fire of tbt> enemy grew weaker and weaker, the heavy guns of tne Wabash and the Susquehanna get- ting in their work effectually, and the shells from the smaller vessels tailing so thickly on the enfilading point that in a short time their guns ceased to reply. About 2 o'clock a boat could be seen leaving the side of one of the vessels. Every eye was strained, It touched land. Gen. Sherman was looking intently through a glass. All of a sudden he dropped the glass and cried out: " The fort is ours," taking off his cap and cheering; at the same time the band, which was in readiness, struck up the' " Star-spangled Banner." followed by "Yankee Doo ile.'' the soldiers cheering and yelling like madmen. Officers and privates were mixed up indiscriminately on the quarter deck, shaking hands, dancing, singing and cheering, and during all this every vessel in the fleet was moving in toward the fort The scenes on the deck of each were similar to those on board the Atlantic. It was quite a transformation in one short week from a strug- gle for life in an angry storm to a successful termination of tlie labors of the expedition. Just seven months from the time Fort Sumter was fired upon the authority of tne United States was re-established on the soil of South 122 STORIES OF OUR SOLDIERS. JOHN C. LINEHAN. Carolina, and here began the struggle Inaugu- rated at James Island in the early summer of 1862. with its sad memories of Morris Island and Wagner, that did not end until Sherman's march on Columbia hastened the fall of Charleston and broke the back of the Rebellion. JOHN C. LINEHAN. SKETCH OF J. C. LINEHAN. Hon. John C. Linehan of Penacook, N. EL, was born in County Cork, Ireland, on the banks of the historic River Lee. on Feb. 9. 1840. and nina years later came to the United States. At the breaking out of the War of the Rebellion he was foreman of the Rolfe Brothers' box shop in Penacook. After the war he was 25 years a merchant at Penacook, and in 1890 was ap- pointed state Insurance Commissioner of New Hampshire, which office he now holds. He was a member of Gov. Sawyer's Council in 1887 and 1888. and has served in both branches of the Concord Municipal Government, He is a Trus- tee of the New Hampshire Industrial School at Manchester. Comrade Linehan is Past Depart- ment Commander of New Hampshire, and Past Junior Vice Commander-in-Chief of the Gram) Army of the Republic, and ex-President of the New Hampshire Veterans' Association. In 1884 he was appointed a Director of the Gettysburg Battlefield Monument Association, which posi- tion he still fills. He is widely known as a pop- ular and eloquent public speaker. A GREAT NAVAL BATTLE. [The well-known Pension Agent for New England. Comrade and ex-Representative, William H. Osborne, enlisted In Company C, Twenty-ninth Massachu- setts Regiment, May 18, 1861, and was mustered into service at Fort Monroe, Va., May 22, 1861, for three years. His age was 21 years. He was a graduate of Bridge-water State Normal School, and at the time of his enlistment a teacher In the public schools of Plymouth county. He had prepared himself for admis- sion to Bowdoin College, Maine, and was about to enter that institution, but like thousands of other young men of his day was drawn away from his books and profession into the army by the then predominant sentiments of patriotism. He served In the department of Fort Monroe till J uue, 1862, when his regiment joined the Army of the Potomae, then besieging Richmond. He was engaged in a severe skirmish June 15 at Fair Oaks, and in the follow- ing battles: Gaines Mills, Peach Orchard, Savage's Sta- tion, White Oaks, Swamp Bridge, Charles City Cross Roads and Malvern Hill. At the latter battle he was twice wounded, the second time severely, in his left leg, was left on the field and fell into the hands of the enemy. After suffering intensely from his wounds and imprisonment he was finally re- leased and conveyed to a Government hospital, where he was under treatment for many months. After his dis- charge from the service he read law, and was admitted to the Plymouth Bar in 1864. In 1872, and again in 1884, he represented his district in the Massachusetts House of Representatives, the last time serving on the Judiciary Committee. He was appointed United States Pension Agent at Boston by President Harrison May 28, 1890, and assumed charge of the office July 1, 1890. He is the his- torian of his regiment. J During the winter and spring of 1862 my resriment the Twenty-ninth Massachusetts was stationed at Camp Butler. Newport News, on the right bank of the James River. The place was seized by Gen. Butler in May, 1861, and fortified in a strong manner. Its occupa- tion secured to the Government the unchecked navigation of a considerable portion, of the James, while as a post of observation it was of the first importance. The camp was on an elevated plateau of about two miles in length and half a mile wide, while the banks of the stream at this point rose to a height of 30 feet. The post was commanded at the time of which we are about to speak by Brigadier General Jo- seph K. F. Mansfield, an old officer of the regu- lar army, afterwards commander of the Twelfth Corps, and who while in command of that corps was killed at the battle of Antietam Sept. 17, 1862. The garrison at Camp Butler at this time con- sisted of about 4000 infantry. Capt. Howard's light battery and a small body of cavalry. To insure immunity from attack by water, the frigate Congress and the sloop-of-war Cumber- land were stationed in the river, the Cumber- land directly opposite our camp and about a half mile from it, and the Congress lower down the stream. The tragic event of the 8th and 9th of March, 1862, popularly known as the "Battle of the Mernmac and Monitor." were witnessed by me while one of this garrison, under exception- ally favorable circumstances, favorable so far as being in a position to observe what hap- pened, though in another sense unfavorable, because the garrison was under fire nearly the whole of both days. Saturday, the 8th of March was a calm, warm, cloudless day. The noon-day meal had been eaten, and as nothing unusual had happened up to that time the men were strolling about camp, smoking and enjoying the balmy, soft air. As 124 STORIES OF OUR SOLDIERS. tbe next day was tbe weekly inspection. I had taken a notion to prepare for it. I bad cleaned the brasses upon my equipment*, packed my knapsack, and. spreading: a blanket upon the floor of my barrack, had commenced cleaning my rifle. The barrel was out of the stock and the lock taken apart, which at that moment I was engaged in oiling. In this situation the long roil sounded with a fierceness of.alarm such as I had never heard before. I was in a siate of deplorable unreadi- ness. At first my hands shook, and It seemed an impossible task to gather up tbe scattered parts of my rifle and put them together. 1 did it. however, quickly, but how, 1 could never tell. In a few minutes the whole camp resounded with the shouts of the men and the commands of the officers Every soldier was running to his quarters to secure his arms and equipments, and naving put myself in readiness I stepped to my barrack door and looked toward the river. A single glance showed the cause of the alarm. Over toward the southerly shore, at the mouth of the .Elizabeth, was an immense float- ing structure haying the appearance of a house, with a large chimney in the centre, sending out dense volumes of pitchy black smoke. It was unlike anything I had ever before seen upon the water. In the nautical language of one of the sailors of the Cumberland, "A long- shore meeting house was steaming down the bay." It was accompanied by two small steamers, and all were making a straight wake for our camp. At this moment I chanced to look up the river and some five or six miles away were to be seen two large black-looking steamers and a small tug. The "'longshore meeting-house" was the Merrimac; her consorts were the Bean tort and Raleigh, while the other three were tbe James- town and Yorktown and the tug Teaser, the latter an old acauaintance of ours. It was evident that r>oth our camp and our vessels were to be attacked and that there was soon to burst upon us one of the wildest and most destructive storms of war. The drums of the Congress and Cumberland were heard beating their anxious crews to quar- ters. All the trooDS were soon under arms and in line by companies, but as there was nothing for the men to do. there being at that moment no indication of a land attack, it became an im- possible task to keep them in position. First one and then another would break and run towards the river to get a better view of the passing scene. In the course of 16 minutes it is safe to say that two-thirds of our regiment were clustered around the battery on the river bank, which was exclusively manned by members of the regiment. The battery men had their guns all loaded and shotted and stood ready to take a hand in the coming battle as soon as a chance should offer. By this time the Merrimac was passing the Congress and receiving her fire, only returning it with a single shot as she crossed her bows. The Cumberland was also firing, indeed she fired the first shot in the battle, and the .Merri- mac was steaming straight toward her, seeming to regard her from the first as the only foe worthy of her steeL In the course of a few minutes the Merrimac was close alongside, and then broadside fol- l9wed broadside, with a sharp roar, that was simplv deafening. The smoke rose rapidly, and soon nothing but the upper works of the two vessels could be seen by us. In this -ituatiou we could form no idea of how the battle was go- ing, for as a matter pi fact we baa at that moment no conception of the invulnerable character of our foe. The Cumberland was still at anchor with sails furled. Occasionally we could hear excited human voices. Suddenly the fire slackened, and a slight puit of wind drove the smoke away. Some one cried out that tbe Cumberland was sinking. I riv- eted my eyes upon her. and noticed she ha i assumed a rolling motion; finally her bows pitched downward, then it rose and her stern settled; a few more of these ominous move- ments and her bows made a sudden, deep plunge, her stern mounted high in the air. and with a roaring, rushing sound she disappeared beneath the dark waters of the stream. She never struck her flag, and just before she made her last plunge she discharged her for- ward pivot gun on the spar deck at the enemy. Now there was something for the soldiers to do. Many of the sailors had already jumped from her deck into the water and were striking for the shore. The water seemed full of bobbing heads. With one accord hundreds of the sol- diers rushed to the sand beach. Everything that would float was thrown into the water to aid the swimmers, and some running into the stream to theit armpits, seized the half-drowned sailors and dragged them to the land. About one hundred dead and wounded are said to have gone down with the ship. One of my townsmen was a sailor on the Cum- berland, and his i>rave young son was a mem- ber of my company. He stood beside me on the river bank watching the battle, and when the ship began to sink he could stand it no longer, but ran to the beach, jumped into a small boat and went paddling out among the struggling sailors in search of his father. He found him about half way to the shore and brought him to our company barrack, where we provided him with dry clothing. It was al- ways a wonder to me that the Merrimac did not fire at our men as they were huddled together on the shore. One or two charges of grape would have blown hundreds of them into eternity. As soon as the sailors were rescued, about 200 of them, there was a fight between the Merri- 126 STORIES OF OUR SOLDIERS. mac and our laud battery. The smoke had cleared away and there sne lay, broal side od, surveying us. Every one of our heavy guns were repeatedly trained on her and discharged, and every shot struck and glanced from her mailed side. Once or twice she replied, with shell, but they all struck the bank below the battery, and did as no harm. About this time there was a scene upon the deck of t ne ironclad that provoked the applause of our men. At the moment she was not only under the fire of all the (runs in oar battery. but of other guns in the camp. Finally her flagstaff came down, when, with the quicKness of a monkey, out ran a rebel sailor and laahed up the broken 1 staff. He ha i scarcely left it before it was prostrate again. Three times, with trie shot and shell striking and breaking all over the sides and deck of the vessel, this brave act was repeated, and each time was loudly cheered by our men on shore. The last time this rebel hero left the scene of his bravery he paused on the edge of the hatch- way, and, straightening: himself up, gave us a true military salute. It is impossible to relate within the compass of a newspaper article all the noteworthy events of that afternoon. After the lapse of about three-quarters of an hour the Merrimac steamed clown stream to complete the destruction of the Congress, which, by that time, had, with the aid of one of our tugs, oeen beached. Taking: up a posi- tion under the stern of the latter, she raked her repeatedly with her heavy guns. The most of the surviving crew of the Congress had already escaped through the bow ports and been res- cued by the garrison. An attempt by one of the smaller rebel steamers to capture the frigate and tow her off as a prize of war, was frustrated oy the soldiers of the Twentieth Indiana Kegi- ment, who showered well-aimed balls upon the decks of the steamer and drove her away. Nearly all the time that these events had been transpiring the rebel steamers Yorktown and Jamestown were shelling our camp, firing mostly percussion shell. Their gunnery was shockingly poor, not more than two or three of all the shells they fired striking within the limits of the camp. These vessels were finally driven away by Capt. Howard's battery. One or more of his shots penetrated the side of one of these steamers, and, showing signs 01 distress, she was towed out of range. Once during the shelling of our camp by these vessels, the garrison was in a roar of laughter. A soldier of the Eleventh New York was pacing his beat, about midway between the outer breastworks and the woods. A large percussion shell struck tne earth near him and buried itself in the ground, exploding as it did so. A frag- ment of turf about the size of one's head struck the soldier in his oack. Dropping his musket, he ran leg bail for his camp, shouting to the height of his voice that he was killed. Being soon convinced that he was unhurt, he meekly returned to his post and resumed his duties, though he kept a sham lookout at the hole in the ground, evidently supposing there was more trouble there in store for him. During the afternoon the steam frigates Min- nesota and St Lawrence left their anchorage in Hampton Roa is and attempted to come to the relief of our fleet in the James, but botli grounded at the mouth of the river, and as the tide was ebbing, all efforts to move them proved fruitless. After riddling the Congress with her shot, the Merrimac with all her consorts, started down stream to aestroy these two national ves- sels. A sharp battle occurred between them at somewhat long range :md continued till near nightfall, with no apparent serious effects on either s> de The withdrawal of the rebel fleet from the immediate vicinity of our camp gave us an op- portunity to take a somewhat calmer view of the wreck and ruin of the afternoon's battle. Boats were launched and the wounded and many of the dead sailors still remaining on the Con- gress were removed to the shore. The soldiers and the rescued sailors were gathered together in groups discussing the events of the day, thinking that our trouble for the time being was over, when looking down stream the Mer- rimac. to the horror of all, was again seen ap- proaching us. This time sue had taken the inner channel, and as she came along, her . immense smoke- stack towering up among the branches of th trees that overhung the river bank, belching forth volumes of smoke and sparks, her appear- ance was simply appalling. Arriving at a point where the channel winds in nearest to the snore, the camp was fairly within range of her bow gun. A sudden burst of light, a dismal, deateninir roar and the crash- ing of boards and timbers were heard almost simultaneously, The large shot passed entirely through the post hospital and the headquarters building of General Mansfield, tearing down the chimney of his house and nearly burying that venerable officer in the ruins. He was fortunately but lit- tle hart, and soon emerged from his quarters white with plaster. This ended the hostilities of the 8th of March. The Merrimac now with- drew, and darkness soon settled down unon both land and water. The night was one of great gloom and excite- ment in Camp Butler as well as all the Federal camps in_ the department. Mounted orderlies were riding in every direction, and rumors were rife of a land attack t>y the enemy's troops under Magruder. In anticipation of such an at- tack, the garrison was reinforced soon after dark by the Sixteenth Massachusetts and other troops from Camp Hamilton, near Fort Monroe. These troops broti^nt with them a report that a Federal ironclad steamer ha 1 arrived in A GKKAT NAVAL BATTLE. 129 Hamoton Roads late in the afternoon, and had gone to the relief of the Minnesota, then aground at the mouth of the James. Having: partaken of my supper, with one or more of my comrades I walked to the beach and started down where the Congress lay aground, a distance of perhaps half a mile. The night was very dark, and as soon as we had descended the bank and reached the shore we discovered that the Congress was afire between decks. All her ports were open, and the light of the fire shone oat upon the water. Some one suggested that possibly her guns were loaded and that we had better keeu out of ranvce of them. The words were scarcely spoken before one and then another of them discharged A shot from one of these guns, skimming the surface of the water, entered and sank a schooner lying at the wharf near the main camp. Seeking a place of safety we watched for the first time in our lives the spectacle of a burn- ing ship. The flames soon hurst out of the hatchways, communicating with the masts, rigging and sails, for they were all unfurled, and were leaping out at every port with angry tongues. Heaps of shell, which had been brought from the magazines for the afternoon's encounter, lay upon the gun-decks; these now began to explode, and ever and anon they would dart up out of the roaring, crackling mass high into the air and course in every direction through the heavens. At about 12 o'clock the magazines blew up with a terrific noise. This event had been anticipated by the garri- son, and the shores and adjacent camps were crowded with awestruck gazers. The whole upper works of the frigate had hours before been reduced to ashes by the devouring flames, the masts and spars, blackened and charred, had fallen into and across the burning hull; these were sent high into the air with other debris, and as blast succeeded blast were suddenly arrested in their descent and again sent skywarrl. The spectacle thus presented was awfully grand; a column of fire and sulphurous smoke fifty leet in diameter at its base and not less than two hun- dred feet high, dividing in its centre into thou- sands of smaller jets, and falling in myriads of bunches and grains of fire like the sprays of a gigantic fountain, lighted up the bay and the strand with a brightness rivaling that of the dav itself. The sides of the hapless Congress were thrown open by the last explosion, and then darkness almost palpable reigned supreme. "When the soldiers of Camp Butler turned away from that scene to retire to their quar- ters for a few hours of nee led sleep it was with heavy hearts. The recollection of the harrow- ing events of the afternoon was still fresh in their minds. They had now witnessed the total destruction of another vessel of our navy, the loss of which gave joy to the South, a new leasi; of life to the Rebellion, and operated to postpone the day when they would be permitted to doff the blue and return to their peaceful homes. I do not remember whether I dreamed that night of war or rumors of war. but I do remem- ber that before I retired I made arrangements with a comrade to start as soon as we awoke in the morning lor the point at the month of the river. We had each of us provided ourselves with a field glass, one of them quite powerful, and at about 6 o'clock at least as soon as we had answered roll call in the morning we were on our way toward the point This situation commanded an unobstructed view of Hampton Roads ana the broad estuary formed by the con- fluence of the James ana Elizabeth Rivers. The Minnesota was still aground, but her con- sort, the St Lawrence, had floated during the night and steamed down under the guns of the fort, where she was at anchor. By the aid of our glasses we could distinctly see the entire Confederate fleet lying at anchor near their land batteries at Sewall's Point, at the mouth of the Elizabeth. The day broke fair and warm, ami so calm andpeaceful was every- thing; upon both land and water that it seemed very like pareparation for the funeral of the 200 brave men who had tasted death ou the pre- ceding day. At the time we reached the point there were not above a dozen persons there, save the regular guard, hut in the course of 20 minutes General Mansfield and staff made their appear- ance, followed by several companies of infantry carrying pickaxes and shovels. These men immediately fell at work throwing up an intrenchment across the entire point and the spectators were ordered back to their re- spective commands. My desire to witness the movements upon the water, which had already com- menced by the Merrimac and her consorts leav- ing their moorings and steaming toward Fort Monroe, led me to disobey the orders of my commanding officer, and I skulked off toward the woods and climbed a tall cotton wood tree, where I had even a better view than at the point itself. Seating myself among the branches, with glass in hand, I surveyed the scene before me with an intensity of interest such as 1 can hardlv describe. I remained in my elevated perch Irom about 7 o'clock till near 1 in the afternoon, watching closely every occur- rence of that historic day The Merrimac nad not proceeded far toward Fort Monroe before she suddenly turned and steered toward the mouth of the James. I could plainly see a commotion unon the decKs of the Minnesota and distinctly hear her drums beat- ing the alarm. when the Merrimac had arrived within fair range she fired a shot from her bow gun. There- upon fire was opened by the frigate. I observed at that moment that certain liag signals were being made by the latter ship and soon 1 noticed a steam vessel leaving her side, which had previously been hidden from my view. It had every appearance of a raft with a tower in the centre. This was another revelation to me, and. re- 130 STORIES OF OUR SOLDIERS. membering the reports I had heard the night before, I concluded it was our ironclad. It was, indeed, the little David that had so opportunely come to contend with the Goliath of the enemy, the veritable and the historic Monitor. But, as I put my glass upon it and surveyed its propor- tions, and compared them with those of the huge monster, which had now nearly stopped as if to gaze, like myself, at this strange appear- ing craft, my heart fairly sank within me from despair. " How can such a little thing as that," thought I, "ever hope to contend successfully with such a gigantic foe. With apparent confidence in itself, however, it steamed directly toward the Merrimac, and when within about 100 yards opened fire. The report of that gun rang out so louil upon the still air of the morning as to fairly -tartle me. It seemed to be the most powerful nun I had ever heard discharged, and my hopes rose accor lingly. In loss tb.au hiteeu minutes from that time the two vessels were close alongside of each other engaged in a most terrific nattle. As on the das previous, the smoke at times obstructed my view of tiie contest, l>ut as the sun got higher a gentle reeze arose, and the smoke blw away frequently. As 1 watched them closely I could plainly observe the difference in the mo 10 and frequency of tiring of the two vessels. It seemed as thousrh the Merrimac, like a great bully that had previously ha I everything its own way, was stung by r.igo and chagrin. She fired rapidly, buc wildly first hot and then shell while the Monitor fired lowly and with evident precision. Soon, even when the vessels were hidden by the smoke, I could distinguish between the guns of the Monitor and those of the Merrimac by the sound alone. Another thing I observed was the dsfference in he speed of the two vessels. The Monitor moved with quickness and was rarely still, while the Merrimac was slow, very slow, some- times her motions being almost imperceptible. At one moment the Monitor would be under her stern, then across her bows, going com- pletely around her, as if to test the invulnera- bility of each and every part of her armor. Occasionally the two vessels would separate and a bri [ truce follow, at the close ot which they would again approach each other and an- other duel, fiercer and more desperate, if possi- ble, than tne BfUMdilMC one. would ensue. At one time during the battle one of the larger Confederate steamers ventured to interfere on the side of the Merrimac, but she receive a shot from the Monitor that apparently pierced her side and caused her to haul off out of range. Once in a while the garrison in Camp Butler were disagreeably reminded of what was going on by a huge shot from one or the other of the ves- sels missing its mark and reaching the land. Sev- eral of these huge missiles went bounding over the long plain, casting the dust high into the air and plowing up the earth in deep, irregular furrows. Several times, when the absence of smoke af- forded roe a good view of the Merrimac, I no- ticed that her smokestack was badly riddled, and somewhere about 10 o'clock it disappeared altogether and the smoke from her engines seemed to be coming out all over her deck. It never occurred to me at the time that the loss of her smokestack had crippled her, but in i act, it had. and we now know from the testimony of her officers that it was in consequence dim- cult for her engineers to keep up steam. About 12 o'clock the Monitor hauled off a dis- tance of a mile or more from her antagonist and her crew seemed to be at work upon her deck about her turret. 1 feared something serious had happened to her, and my fears were increased when I ob- served that the Merrimac had made a sudden movement toward the Minnesota, for the tide was now at its height. I knew well what the fate of the frigate would be if the rebel ironclad once struck her with her prow. The Minnesota had again opened fire, and the Merrimac was replying with her oow gun. By the time the Merrimac had fired her third shot, the Monitor bad reached the scene of action and immediately ran in between the two vessels, covering as far as possible by her turret the already badlv injured trig-ate. This movement of the Monitor caused the Merrimac to change her position, in doing which she grounded. Now there was another scene of terrific firing. Every available gun of our two vessels was brought to bear upon the shield of the Merri- mac,, and when the smoke lifted the latter was seen slowly retreating toward Sewall's Point, This part of the contest perhaps lasted tan minutes, but it seemed to me an hour. When I was tairly convinced that the rebel ironclad was retreating I concluded that sha had at last been seriously damaged and that th* Dattle was over. I scrutinized her carefully with my glao. and she seemed to me a veritable wreck. On* anchor was gone, her smokestack and steam pipes were shot away and there appeared to be a mass of wreckage hanging by her sides, bat exactly what it was I could not clearly mase out. When the Merrimac left the Minnesota the Monitor did likewise and steamed toward Fort Monroe. When the latter had proceeded about three miles on her course I observed that two of the rebel steamers that had been hovering about the mouth of the Elizabeth all the morning, keeping out of range of the Monitor's guns, were steaming quite rapidly toward our stranded frigate, and in a few minutes the Merrimac turned and ran in the same direction. Suddenly, as if by some preconcerted plan, they all three paused and headed toward Nor- folk, and the Monitor, to the unspeakable joy of the garrison, started in pursuit, continuing it till the rebel fleet had nearly passed out of sight behind Oranev Island. Then the Monitor was seen returning with A GREAT NAVAL BATTLE. 131 Che Stars and Stripes floating proudly above deck. She had come oat of a battle of nearly five hours' duration, victorious, in which the naval supremacy of the great powers of the world was suddenly stricken down, and the whole system of uaval archi- tecture revolutionized. Not only this, but by her achievements she had relieved the Government from a peril and a menacing danger, the extent of which even the most sagacious could not estimate. Some of the Confederate writers have treated tote contest as a drawn battle with the advantage on tne side of the Monitor, out it wan much more than this it was a pronounced victory for the latter, as is well attested by the fact that though frequent opportunities were afterward afforded the robel ironclad to again try conclu- sions with the Monitor she repeatedly declined them, and in May following, whan the Federal troops marched on Norfolk, she was deliberately blown up and sunk by her own people. WM. H. OSBORNH. FUNNEL OF THE VANQUISHED MERRIMAC. A BATTLE CRISIS. [Uea. A. P. Martin, wno glrea LUIS grannie accoount of the desperate fighting at Games'* HU1. u the bead of the present well-known Boston shoe firm o( Augustus P. Martin & Co. He bad been a member 01 ibe old Boston Militia Artillery known as Cook's Battery, tor seven yean before tbe war. ana nact been an officer, oat re- sponded to Gov Andrews 1 tamous order No. 4 upon the firing on Fort Snmter-m HIP ranks of the battery and went to tbe front M an enllsten man chief or No. 1 gun. Returning Irom me three months campaign he was commissioned Sept. 5. 61. as First Lieutenant of Major Dexter H. Pollen'* old Third Massachusetts Bat- tery, succeeding to its command NOT 28. 1861 He was made Chief or Artillery. First Division, Fifth Army Corps, by Gen Moreii. and when the artillery brigade was formed Gen. Meade appointed Gen Martin Chief of Ar tlilery for the entire corps which position be held t Set- tytbnrg. He was Mayot ot Boston ID 1884 " I think that was tbe hardest contested battle in my experience In tbe war- for tbe number ot troops engaged. " The speaker was General Augustus P. Martin. the former Chief of Artillery of the Fifth Army Corpa "And what battle was that. General? asked the Journal reoorier "The battle of Gaines's Mill, he replied. **We had only about 27.000 men to face and to hold from 50,000 to 70,000 of Stonewall Jack- son's men. who had effected a junction with the Army of Northern Virginia. " I've never seen a less estimate than 50.000, and I have seen it figured as high as 70,000 Con- federates, which I have no doubt was nearer the number. Lee was there and Jackson was relied upon to effect a junction with him. " It was noi; a surprise at Games's Mill, but the Crossing at Mechanicsville on tbe day before did come upon us as a surprise. "Our army lay upon the Chickahominy. which was so badly swollen by recent rains as to overflow the low grounds, rendering it well nigh impassable it had been considered im possible to effect a crossing. ' We had been up to Hanover Court House on the 27th of May and it had rained heavily on the 28th. 29th and 30th cf May submerging all the bridges, detaining us nearly a month. But Jackson crossed at Mecbanicsvtlle on the 26th of June and drove our troops. " Our corps Fitz John Porter s was hurried forward to meet them, and they made an attack upon us. or. rather a series of attacks, at Gaines's MilL " It was between 2 and 3 o'clock in the after noon, after our troops were in position, when the fighting began, and it continued up to 5 or 6 o'clock, when there was a lull for a time, occasioned by their forming a new line 3'. battle. " They fiercely attacked us with fresh troops and broKe through our line in several places. Stonewall Jackson had effected his junction, and it was his trooos that were in front of us. We were ordered to attack, were met by fresh troops, and our men were badly cut up. Our left was forced to retreat " My own position with the Third Massachu- setts Battery, of which I was in command, was on the right of the line, supported on my right by a brigade of regulars under Gen. Sykes. while on our left was the First Division of the Fifth Army Corps. "Gnmn's battery of regulars was also on the right "When the Confederates made that attack I have spoken of, they advanced on my battery and were going to carry it with cold steel. "Jackson had declared that his men would do it with the bayonet " We were in battery upon a slope, a little to the rear of a ridge which gave our men cover. 134 STORIES OF OUR SOLDIERS. Our guns were loaded with double-shotted canister. " The Confederates advanced in fine array, a lou--r line of jrrav. They came on rapidly, eager, confident, evidently assured that they were to sweep us trom the field, and firm in their pur- pose to capture our puns, as their leader had said he would do. with the cola steel " I have seen nothing like that charge except, of course, at Gettysburg. "Silently we waited (or them, every man in his position at the piece. They were within 100 yards when the command came, stern and low: " 'Fire by battery!' " Simultaneously the muzzles of our six Na- poleons tiained. Griffin's guns opened at the same instant. "The ground shook beneath the thunderous roar. " And that gray line " As the cannon smoke rolled away we saw its shattered remnant sent staggering back to the rear. " 1 could see great gaps where companies had stood. " It was as though they were mown down in swaths as by a mighty scytha " But they rallied and came for us again. "The desperation with which that attack was made surpassed anything I ever saw before or have seen since. " They came, but in single line of battle, but their advance more nearly resembled that of Fickett's division at Gettysburg than anything else. " They were a portion of Jackson's corps, and it was stated at the time that the charge was led by Jackson in person. " The firing was very effective. The Confed- erates fell back and reformed three times to ad- vance upon us. "Our loss in that battle was very heavy. We lost in the Fifth Army Corps one-half of the men engaged in the seven days' battle. " 1 never saw better fighting on any field, ana we ban to meet a very much larger force. "The left of our line ot troops was entirely driven from the field, and we on the right were ordered to limber up our batteries to move to the rear. " We saved our guns, with the exception of one piece, which we lost in crossing a little croek, but we lost no cannon on the field. "The attack upon and repulse from our guns, .just at the close of that battle, was about as spirited and heroic a thing as I ever saw. They came down upon us and upon Griffin's battery. NVe were obliged to remove the pins from the pintles, drop the trails of the pieces, and open again upon the advancing enemy. "They swept flown rignt atop of us with fixed bayonets. We were moving to the rear, mind you, and they were sharp after us. Our ammunition was running low. and the situa- tion was growing intensely exciting, not to say thrilling. " I had a number of spare sponge staffs, and so I told my boys to let those fly. vVe gave them a volley of sponges. Their execution was not as bloody as the double shotted canister. but they made up in noise what they lacked In other respects, and answered every purpose. " Some of our batteries on the left lost their nieces. I think some guns were taken from Allen's, afterward Phillips's Fifth Massachu- setts, and some from Whedon's Rhode Island Battery. I'm not sure that Battery B. Fifth Ar- tillery, lost any. "The Confederates turned these captured uns upon us. We were obliged to march to the left, and gained the rear by the left flank, com- ing under the direct fire of those guns as we passed out into the open, upon the low ground. "It was there that Lieutenant Caleb . C. Mortimer of Charlestown, of my battery. ws mortally wounded, struck by a minie bullet " I remember that General G. K. Warren's Zouaves layabout 200 yards in front of us, in a deep cut We were firing over their heads. "Our entire line of battle extended perhaps a mile from right to left The Zouaves were pur immediate support They held their position during the day. but were driven out at the close, when JacKson made his advance upon my battery to carry it with cold steel. "General Porter conducted the movements of our corps with very great ability and very great nerve. The Confederates advanced to find his line ready for them. "From my position with the battery I could see them forming in the woods seven or eight hundred yards in our front. At the same time we opened fire, our guns being loaded and fired by battery. "I remember the Eighteenth and Twenty- second Massachusetts Regiments in the line on our left. " I remember one rather singular circum- stance. An officer came to me and gave me an order to limber up my guns just before that last attack. " 1 rather hesitated about obeying such an order as that at such a time, as the officer was unknown to me, for, as I told you, we bad re- pulsed the rebels once and they were reform- ing. The officer declared that he came from Gen. Porter. " I then gave the order to limber to the rear, and it was while limbered up that they at- tacked us again with fixed bayonets, when we had such a close call. " I asked Porter afterward if he had sent such an order to me. and he said he had not I have always supposed that the officer who came to me must have been one from the Confederate side in our uniform. If so. he was a bold chap, but they did such things at that time. " When that last attack was made all the sup- port my battery had was from the Eleventh United States Infantry, regulars, on our right " When we were driven back wo took a posi- tion a mile to the rear, when French's and Meagher's Brigades crossed the river and checked the advance of the enemy, giving us a chance to get our troops in hand. " The correspondent of the New York World, writing from the field, gives this glowing ac- count of that Confederate attack and the re- pulse of Jackson's lines : " 'Griffin's and Martin's batteries did splendid MARTIN'S BATTERY AT GAINS'S MILL. 135 service in chucking the advance of the enemy, pouring canister into their ranks with terrible effect Probably the greatest carnage of this bloody day was produced by the incessant dis- charges of double-shotted canister from tbe brass Napoleons of Martin's battery. " * He had taken up a position in the hollow be- tween two small hills. The enemy advanced from the opposite side on the double-quick, not being able to see the battery until they reached the crest of the hill, within 100 yards of it. when artin opened on them, sweeping them from the field like chaff in the wind. " ' Twice again they formed and advanced, their officers behaving splendidly, but it was useless. Martin's tierce leaden rain being too terrible to withstand. "'The advance of the fresh troops having checked the enemy, and night coming on, the conflict ceased and both parties quietly lay upon their arms.'" MARTIN'S BATTERY AT GAINS'S MILL, [Historian J. D. Reed of the famous Martin's Battery had written for the Journal the following valuable article, which contains reference to the Martin Battery at Guinea's Mm, and interesting anecdotes of the old organization. Martin's battery participated in twenty-three of the great oattles of the Potomac army. In the first and second battles the battery's posi- tion was very unsatistactory, being placet at a great disadvantage. At the third battle, at Gaines's Mill, although placed in a very perilous position, it was satisfactory to the boys, as the lestructive discharges of canister from our six 12-oound Napoleon guns for three hours di- rectly in front of the massed position in the woods of Stonewall Jacuson's forces terribly avenged the death of Lord anil Lewis at York- town. April 6 the battery was in position three fourths of a mile from and in front of Fort Ma- gruder, among scattering trees that proved to have been used as targets bv the gunners in the fort. Charles L. Lord and Edward Lewis were killed. Their lives were very closely connected. They married sisters and lived in the same house in Charlestown, Mass., airt they both worked in the same gristmill, they enlisted in the Third Battery at the same time, were both in the same detachment Lord was No. 1 man un the sun, while Lewis drove the lead team. When the battle opened Lewis was dismounted and standing a few feet in the rear of the gun, holding his horses by the bridle. A shell from the fort burst close to him, one piece went through the neck of the horse he rode ; another piece struck Lewis in his side, nearly cutting him in two. Lord at that moment was sending a shell home in his guu. and cried out: 'Some one go and pick up Ned.' No one starting, Lord went, and just as he got to his friend he was hit much the same as Lewis had been bv a shell, and killed instantly. Two as good soldiers as 4rer went into tattle lay mangle 1 an i dead. Together they were buried in one grave, and af- terward were taken up and brought home to- gether. May 27, at the battle near Hanover Court House, one section of the battery under Lieu- tenant Dunn was in position, with the Second Maine on the right the Forty-fourth New York on the left. Soon after General Porter, with the main bodv of his troops, had moved in the direction of the Court House, the rebels threw a heavy force on the rear guard. The Forty-fourth was thrown into temporary confusion by the unexpected attack, and the Battery men, left without support, were forced to retire, with a loss of two men wounded, three horses killed and two disabled. The Forty-fourth soon rallied, and a detachment of the Second Maine, under Major Daniel Chaplin, volunteered to assist Lieutenant Dunn in recov- ering his pieces, and the guns were brought off with the prolongs. The section was under a murderous cross-tire, but the supporting regi- ments replied with so much spirit that the guns to use the words of Colonel Roberta's official report were not polluted by rebel hands. Major Chaplin was presented with a sword, as described by General Martin in these columns. The right wing of the Potomac army, Porter's corps, was situated on the southeast siae of the Chickahominy swamo and stream. Gen. Mo Clellan had taken the precaution to have con- structed the Woodbury bridge. The urand plan of the enemy, under Generals Davis, Lee and Jackson, was to throw a large force against the right wing and force it back beyond the bridge, thereby dividing McClellau's army, as the only other crossing of the swamp from there to the sea was the frail structure 10 miles below, called Bottom bridge. In the forenoon of June 27 Gen. Porter formed his advanced line of battle on a ridge in a cultivated field near a long belt of woods, his left resting on the Chickahominy, one-quarter of a mile from the coveted bridge, his right extending nearly two miles in the di- rection of White House Landing. The enemy, numbering between thirty and forty thousand, abont noon made a fierce at- tack. One plan of Gen. Porter's was to send the Eighteenth Massachusetts and a part of Stone- man's cavalry out on his right to olay 'possum with the enemy. The ruse worked well, as thousands of them were decoyed several miles towards the Wliite House. Orders were sent to the landing for the steamers there to be ready to take on board all detachments and convey them down York ttiver. For four hours the roar of battle was terrific. Thirty-eight cannon were captured by the enemy on the first line of battle, but the con- necting link the Woodbury bridge must be preserved at all hazards. Martin's batterv was in position on the left centre, about 140 yards from the woode < belt, the guns on the slope of the ridge near the lop, in front of the military road that had been used to haul supplies from the dispatch station. The enemy, moving 136 STORIES OF OUR SOLDIERS. from the right to the left, had to cross the road in good canister range. Three lines advanced to capture the battery, bat the canister stopped them. Near 5 o'clock in the afternopn our Hue of battle was forced back. Captain Martin seeing he could not retain his position without losing his guns, prolonge was attached, and they were drawn a few yards down the hill, tie ordered them double charged with canister. Three guns had their sponge staffs left in them. When the order was given to tire the rebels were masseattery " and re- mained there until all the artillery had crossed the mill stream, and destroyed the bridge. Cannonading and musketry commenced this morning at daylight The enemy's firing sounds nearer and nearer, and their battery of 32- pounders (across the Chickahominy) threw sev- eral shots at us. but made wild shots. Aftpr the bridge was destroyed we "limbered UD " and went about half a mile farther to the rear, and placed our guns " in battery " on the brow of a hill and changed our position several times on the same ground. The enemy gradu- ally advanced and drove In our skirmishers and charged on our front, and were at least three times repulsed. The infantry felled the trees in front of us to prevent the advance of the enemy's artillery and cavalry. Our infantry met and repulsed the enemy in the woods in front of us. The batteries from the forts of Gen. Smith's division shelled the enemy vigorously, and the enemy's shot and shell struck all around us, musk t balls whizzing like bees over and around us, and a spent ball hit my elbow. The left section advanced and fired canister Into the enemy when they made cheir second charge on our front About 6 P- M. the enemy again rallied and attacked us on the front and left An awful battle ensued. The infantry checked them for a while, and in the meantime the left and centre sections of our battery took a new position at the edge of the woods, behind the infantry, and commenced firing shrapnel at them with one-second fuse. At last the infantry In front of us began to yield to the enemy's mur- derous fire, and a general and most dis- ordered retreat commenced We poured the schrapnel into the enemy until they were almost upon us, then " limbered UD and drove off. The enemy closely followed up our retreating army, and kept up a most destructive musketry fire, which made great havoc with our troops ; horses and guns were left and the whole army were panic- stricken. Many of oar horses were shot '25) and (mi ] - ^rV** S w l -^r I ANECDOTES OF GENERAL MARTIN. 131) four RUDS loft on the field. These the enemy turned on us and threw cannist -r at us. Lieu* tenant Phillips's horse was shot from under him. The whole of the retreating army crossed a bridge and tragments of the different regiments ami batteries bivouacked near McClellan's headauarters on the south aide of the Chick- ahominy One of the caissons (Sergeant Smith's) broke down cm the march this morning and for the time being was left, bat was after war 1 lashed up and taken across the mill stream and placed with the others. All the teams and caissons were ordered across the Chickahominy this morning and were saved. Unhitched our remaining teams and were ready to rest about 8.30 P M. A hot day in every sense of the word. Slept under the ambulance with Sergeant Page and rested quite comfortably. June 28. A false alarm in camp this morning occasioned by the infantry discharging their cruns previous to cleaning them. Left camp about 12.30 P. M. with the re- mains of our battery and marched about eight miles toward the James River; at roll call this morning our loss appears at present to be three men killed. Corporal Milliken. C. M. Barnard and E. F. Gustine. Milliken and E. F. (Justine killed. Barnard wounded but afterward died. William Ray. seriously wounded : John Agen. slightly. Richard Hayes ami Edward Smith mis- sing. Wounded soldiers taken to Savage's Sta- tion this morning en route for the White House. We lost (our guns and twenty-five horses ; all the caissons saved. A heavy rain in the night Another alarm this night caused by some loose horses running into camp, and bugles were blown and the infantry ordered into line and some of the battery horses hitched up to repulse the supposed guerrillas; it proved false and soon all was quiet again. Slept very soundly. Martin's Third Massachusetts Battery lost two or three men and one piece. Wheaton's Fourth Rhode Island Battery lost several men and pieces. Thus closes my record of those three eventful days of " the seven days' battles." By the Adjutant General's report the Fifth Massachusetts Battery took part in eighteen engagements, lost nineteen men killed, thirty two wounded f E. CHASE. Dorchester. ANECDOTES OF GENERAL MARTIN. 1 feel very much obliged to General Martin lor remembering so pleasantly the Second Maine Regiment in the first battle it took part in, where we had the pleasure of sleeping on the battlefield, and the sad duty to perform the next day of burying the dead , having com- menced with the first Boll Kun, the regiment knew all about the other side of the story What I desire to say is this: I would like to ask Gen eral Martin if he remembers a little Inci- dent that took place the day on which the army arrived in front of Yorktown. When the Second Maine Regiment arrived where we could see what was going on, we found Martin's Battery in position firing on a rebel earthwork just across a field in the edge of the timber. Our regiment was Justin the skirt of the timber on our side of the field, but the batterv was out in the open field The firing from the fort and Martin's Battery was going on Quite briskly. My recollection of Capt Martin on that day, or any other day of the war time, I can never make tally with the now dignified ex-Mayor. That day he was riding about his guns with the most happy expression on his face imagina- ble. The blonde moustache of those days, with its long ends. never looked fierce. but he always looked as though he had just heard something that pleased him mightily While we were getting into line of battle to support the battery and as we supposed to charge on that particular earth- work whenever things were ready, a band of music appeared on the top of the rebel earthwork and began to play "Dixie." It sounded finely. Captain Martin rode UP to one of his guns, dis- mounted and sighted the gun. Ihe shell dropped right among the players . the music stopped instantly. When the dust and smoKe cleared away there was no band in sight and we had no more music that day. and then and there the siege of Yorktown commenced. We did not charge, but went to work in due time with oar picks and shovels. E. L. STIRLING .Arlington. Mass.. Second Lieutenant Company E, Second Regi- ment. Maine Volunteers. ANTIETAM, [Capt. John P. Reynolds of Salem, who contributes the following article, and who also furnished the Journal with an Interesting article on Ball's Bluff and Thanks- giving reminiscences at Camp Benton, originally served in the Salem Zouaves, Capt. A. F. Devereux, dating the first three months' campaign. He was one of five drill masters to the Nineteen ih Massachusetts Regiment at Lynnfleld, and was mustered In as Second Lieutenant, promoted to First Lieutenant, Adjutant and Captain, and was twice severely wounded in the battle of Antietam. He was subsequently commissioned by President Abraham Lincoln as Captain In the Veteran Reserve Corps, and was in command of the post of New Albany, Ind., during the troublous times with the " Peace organizations " and " Sons of Liberty," which so dis- turbed that State during Gen. A. P. Hovey's administra- tion of the District of Indiana, Northern Department, commanded by (len. Joseph Hooker In 1864-5. Capt. Reynolds is also the founder of the system of ex- pressing the military record of officers, soldiers and sailors upon the Army Regulation principle, which he established In 1868.] Carleton's graphic account of the battle of Antietam recalls to the mind of the writer many vivid recollections of that historic event When it was known that Lee had crossed the Potomac, the excitement was intense. His audacity was inspiring, and the army was rapidly out in mo- tion to intercept him. It was an exhilarat- ing change from the disastrous campaign of the Peninsula with its Chickahominy death swamp, its fruitless efforts, ending in "The Seven Day's Battles," and "change of base." We had met and fought the enemy at the second Ball Ran and Chautilly, during the latter of which I served on the staff of Colonel Hincks. temporarily commanding the brigade, and we were now after the Confederates on our own soil. The situation had materially change \ and the recall of McClellan once more to the command of the Army of the Potomac, follow- ing Pope's defeat at its head, contributed a healthy enthusiasm. Passing through the beantiful town of Fred- erick, which Whittier has since immortalized with the heroism of "Barbara Frietchie," we halted for a lime, drawn up in "close column by division," while an order was published (i. e., read by the Adjutant of our regiment), against foraging. While listen ing to tne order. I espied my own colored * boy, Haury, stalking triumphantly across a field to- ward us with an earthern pot of butter under each arm. fresn from the spring house or dairy. The effort to beckon him out of the way and evade our superior officers, wnile our mouths watered to spread it on our hard- tacks, was comical but strategic. Continuing our rapid march, we arrived in the vicinity of South Mountain at nightfall of the 14th. All the afternoon we had heard Hooker's guns, and we now could see their flashes high up on the mountain side, but could hear no reports. It was a veritable pyrotechnic display. We bivouacked at the base of the mountain, and before "turn- ing in." I sent Henry off again with 60 cents and two canteens to get something to eat He was most reliable on such trips, and had U2' STORIES OF OUR SOLDIEHS. acquired an enviable reputation in the regi- ment. He shortly returned with a loaf of bread under each arm. a canteen of milk over each shoulder, a tin pan of flour on his head, an earthen jug of peach preserves on too of that, and the 60 cents I sent him with. The next day we crossed the mountain. Evi- dences of the previous day's tight were visible on every hand. The Confederate dead lay mixed with our own. Under a fence by the wayside I was attracted by the soles of some shoes, too small for men's feet, sticking straight up in the air. six in a row. As I got nearer I noticed they were Confederate bodies, placed side by si le for burial, but evidently hastily left behind. Their bare ankles, dirty and sallow, showed below the blanket which covered their heads and which curiosity prompted me to lift A momentary glance satisfied. Three young, oeardless laces, ghastly in death, with turee pairs of glassy eyes, caused a shudder, and I was glath officers and men was verv severe in the Nineteenth Regiment, as it was in many others that terrible day. CoL Hlncks was wounded through the right arm and body. At the time his wounds were considered mortal, and his published obituary entertained him later. Lieutenant Colonel Devereux was also wounded. Capt Qeo. W. Batchelder re- ceived a shell wound which nearly wrenched his leg off and he fell into the Con- federates' hands as our line was pressed back. When the ground was reoccupied by the des- perate changes of fortune he was recovered, but was so weak from the loss of I'lood that his life soon went out By a strange fatality, his body arrived home simultaneously with that of his only brother. Lieut Charles J. Batchelder of the Third Massachu- setts Cavalry, who died in Louisiana, and both were buried from their father's home in Lynn the same day. Both had served in the Salem Zouaves, now Company H, Eighth Regiment M. V. M., during the three months' cam- paign, and both gave their lives to their country, on widely distant fields, but the mem- ory of the Batchelder boys will never dia NINETEENTH AT ANTIETAM. 145 Lieutenant Albert Thorndike received a wound through the abdomen, the ball entering at one Test pocket and passing oat at the other. The ball struck his watch chain, and the chain in turn split the ball, so that only one-half of it entered the body. But it carried into the wound a piece of the chain, which worked out at the farthest orifice during: tne process ol sup- peration. A day or two after the battle, while lying on the door of a building in Koedysville, used as a temporary hospital, a stranger entered with an anxious look, accompanied by an officer, who baa on a red cap and was understood at that time to be a member of Gen. McClellan's staff. The officer inquired if Capt Holmes of the Twentieth Massachusetts was in that room. The Captain (now Associate .lustice Holmes. Su- preme Judicial Court) had been wounded in the neck. No one answered the question, until I turned partially over, and shouted that I thought Capt. Holmes had been moved into the next building. The stranger was gone in an in- stant Shortly after this there appeared in the Atlantic Monthly the interesting story from the pen of Dr. Oliver Wendell Holmes, entitled "Howl found the Captain," with its quaint colloquy. "How are you, Cap?" "How are you. Dad? and I then learned for the first time who the stranger was. Capt Edmund Rice and Lieut. Elisha A. llmoks were also wounded in this battle. Capt Rice subsequently commanded the regiment in later campaigns, and is at present a Captain in the Fifth Infantry, U. S. A., and In charge of the Columbia Guard at the World's Fair at Chicago. Many gallant men of the regiment were either killed or wounded, among the lat- ter Sergeant Wm. A McGinnis, who with such fortitude had the ball cut from his shoulder without the aid of anesthetics, as narrated in his interesting reminiscences to the Journal a short time since. It has been truly said that the battle of Autietam was one ot the severest battles of the war. but it has been overshadowed and parti- ally lost sight of, as many other sanguinary fights have, by the greater battle of Gettys- burg, which in later years come very near focusing the war in itselt So far as the general public is concerned, severe as Antietam was in losses to both the Union and Confederate forces, it will always be ex- posed to unfavorable comment on the Union side. At no time does the engagement appear to have become "general," but disjointed masses entered the fight with a gallantry unsur- passed. They were unsupported and enfiladed and driven out as the rebel commanders, with characteristic sagacity, discovered the " holes" In our lines and crammed them full of their best battalions. The engagement of seda wick's Division was a battle in itself. They advanced nearly paral- lel to the Confederate line until they found themselves in acul de sac. under the fire of ten rebel brigades who were "rapidly working round their flank and rear." 'Hie Union troops were obliged to lie down and finally to get oat altogether to escape capture or annihilation. Still success perched upon the Union arms, and the Confederate leader was foiled in his attempt to transfer the scene of conflict and arouse the State of Maryland in behalf of the Confederacy. It is true he was allowed to get away instead of being driven into the Potomac, but he was se- verely punished and his scheme failed. But it was another day for laurels to the Second Army Corps, whose honors continued to pile up as the war went on, and whose historian has truly said of it: " Up to May. 1864. it had never lost a color oraanin." JOHN P. REYNOLDS. INTO THE JAWS OF DEATH. lr. W, H. Spiller ot North Cambridge was a member f Company C, Thirteenth New Hampshire Volunteers. lie was one of the very few men of tne Thirteenth New Ham pblitre Keglment who went with Gen. Ord'g ' Flying Troopo ' gent to head off Uen. Lee In the Appomattox Valley He saw the surrender and then went to lUob mood where he took up his quarters In Jefi Davts's bouse and slept on a mattress " for tho first time In three years, he tells his auditors, He was appointed by Col. trvens left general guide of the regiment, and was one of the two best drilled men In the body The articles published in the Century Masra rine the deaths of Generals Grant. McClellan and Hancock, and the general revival of inter- est in everything connected with the Rebellion, awakene ! many old memories that slumbered in my mind for over thirty years It seems queer to me now to think 1 should keep out of the Grand Army of the Republic for twenty Tears, and then join it with as much enthusiasm as I would have felt at the end of the war, but so it is. and I think I feel more interested in the G. A. R, now than I should have felt twenty years ago. for then I was tired and sick of war and soldiering but the cycle cf time has brought the old martial spirit around again and I feel impressed to record my memories These remembrances of long ago are very dear to mo. I would not exchange the fact of my having been a soldier in the Union army for the crown and sceptre of a Ring it Is the proud- est memory of my life, and fully repays me for all I was deprived of and suffered to acquire it. it is a pension that will not end with my life, but will be the proud heritage of my son. The tidal wave of patriotism which, in 1862. swept 300,000 more brave Northern hearts beat- ing over the breakwaters of South Mountain and Antietam. to be stopped nnallv bv the im- pregnaoie heights of Fredencksburg, took me along with it Not being of age, I obtained my father's consent by threatening to go without it. I enlisted in the Tnirteenth New Hampshire Volunteers, and went Into camp at Concord for a few weeks. A sister's tears and my father's "God bless you, my son," are fresh in my recollections of the last day in camp We left Concord Oct. 6. We received the usual ovation and many favors, in hand-shakes and kisses from the young ladies as we passed through Philadel- phia. Orders for Jeff Davis's head were numer- ous, and promises to bring it back ditto. i recollect that some of us were very indig- nant because we had to ride in cattle instead of palace cars. We marchel from Washington over the Long Bridge to Arlington Heights. And such a march the dust as fine and dry as pow- der ami about three inches deep, rising at every step from five to ten feet above our heads and nearly smothering us, but we got used to Vir- ginia dust, as well as mud, before many months Here we went into camp, near Fort Albany. We spent some time at Arlington drilling, etc. It was here that 1 first heard that phrase (which became stereotyped) " Going out to fignt mit Sigel." from the sturdy Pennsylvania Dutch- men on their way to the front. From Arlington Heights we moved down to Fairfax Seminary, opposite Alexandria, and from there we began our first lessons in picket duty. I well remem- ber my first night on picket for various reasons. The situation was a novel one. as all first expe- riences are. I remember that on that first night on the INTO THE JAWS OF DEATH. 149 picket line 1 fell as if the safety of the whole country depended on my vigi- lance, and my eyes and ears were trained to their utmost. The swaying of a limb, or the crackling of a twig, would bring my rifle to a ready in a twinkling:, and set my heart to beating a lively tattoo against my ribs. Then again, on this fir -t ni-cht. 1 c.ime within a hair's breadtn of shooting; one of my officers. It hap- pened this way : \\ e were posted in the woods, about 160 yards apart, with instructions to walk our beats one way until we met the next picket, challenge aim. get the countersign, then bacis until we met the one at the other end of the beat, challenging each time we met, and to hoot any one attempting to pass without the countersign. 1 had neen UP an 1 down my beat for over an hour, and had learned the location of every tree and bush near it, and everything had gone all right, but this time as I approached the spot where 1 usually met my comrade to the right of me, things didn't look just right, for where there should have been but one object, I saw two (the night was dark, and being in the woods made it worse). Five yards away you coul in't tell a man from a bush. 1 halted, took a good look at the objects be- fore me, which seemed to be a man standing with another man. or large black dog, I couldn't tell which, crouching beside him. I challenged, but got no reply challenged again with the same result. By this time I had become thoroughly frightened, and the thought flashed through my mind the rebels had capt- ured the post and were about to gobble me up. Just as 1 was challenging for the third time the crouching figure arose and took one step for- ward, and aa it was a man. fully confirming my fears as quick as a flash my Springfield came to my shoulder at a full cock, aime i point blank at his breast and my finger pressing the trigger when with a voice trembling with fear he cried out, "For God's sake don't shootl I am the Officer of the Day. * And such he proved to be, on his rounds to eo that the pickets were awake and vigilant He found them so much so that he went no farther that night, i>ut returned to camp con- sideranly wiser than he came out, for he had learned from that great teacher, experience, never to fool with a picket in the night time, and also that evn the Officer of the Day must give the countersign when challenged. As we stoo I there lacing each other and trembling with excitement, I suppose no two more fright- ened persons ever existed, he for his life and I from the double fear of capture and having so nearly shot him. The only thing that saved him was mv rifle being new. The trigger worked hard. 1 found out next day that my fear of capture was entirely groundless, for the rebels were 16 or 20 miles away, and the Army of the Potomac between them and us. We were all pretty green then, officers as well as men, but we were learning lessons that made us good soldiers afterward. While here or at Arlington I for- get which we occupied large Sibley tents, and eighteen or twenty ot as in a tent I well re- member how we used to "raise Ned " at night A jollier set than filled our tent nights could not be found, and long after taps a wilder burst of merriment than usual would bring the guard down our street on the double quick, only to find everything quiet, except the nard wreathing and fearful snoring in our tent, \\e had one comrade, by the name of Lamper. who was a notorious snorer. and he got kicks, cuffs and curses by the score every night. Well, one night long after taps, every one had simmered down (how easily this old slang comes back with the other memories), we had all be- come quiet and were trying to go to sleep, when Lamper set in with his double-breasted snore, with whistle attachment "Shut up. you fool," "Give that calf more rope" and other, some more profane than oolite, sentences were hurled at him with as little effect as a flv would nave on a mule Nudges from elbows and poses from hands would only vary the inflic- tion by making it spasmodic and irregular. Finally Wes Carter (the Diggest rogue we had in the company) saiu . " Leave him to me, boys. I'll fix him lor to-night, sure," and taking his rubber .rinking tube (such as we all had when we first went soldiering), he went to the water bucket filled his mouth full, then crawled over near Lamper, and taking one end of the tube in his mouth, put the other end to Lumper's mouth, which was wide open, and let drive. You can imagine the equal. Lamper. wild with rage, said. "The one wno did that had better prepare to diet" and, hearing a snicker from the opposite side of the tent, grabbed one of his boots from back of his head an . let drive, hitting Bob Flanders in the face and nearly dislocating his jaw. Bob was a fighter, and went for Lamper, but, hearing the guard coming, be was pu.led back and down by those near him. and by the time the guard reached our street all had become serene again. 11 Lamper snored again that night he waited until ail the rest had gone to sleep. From Alexandria. December i, we marched back over Long Bridge and down the Maryland side of the Potomac to opposite Acquia Creek. This march was the first one of any length that we had made, and it comes back to me quite vividly. Here we first began to rough it used shelter tents, got our own wood, uuiit little fires, cooked our coffee, broiled our slice of uork on a slick over the smoky fire and lived from our haversacks instead ot the cook house. Didn't we make the rail fences look sick, though. Our brigade left camp at Fairfax Seminary in a drizzling rain an . eucampea the first night a little beiow Washington city. For several days after this the weather was pleasant and we en- joyed the march very much, for it was a change from camp life, ot whicn we were becoming tired, and it seemed more in the line of soldier- ing. We moved along leisurely, over easy roads to a* a new country which, in comparison 150 STORIES OF OUR SOLDIERS. with the other side of the river, was quite rich and fertile. The farms we passed were well stocked with geese, ducks and chickens, and although foraging was lor bidden, we " uoys in bine" managed to add a feather to our cans now and then, and, if my memory serves me rightly, our officers didn't refuse to pick a bone with as occasionally auout break last time. Hoes and pigs roamed through the country at large with a freedom from restraint wnich we in the ranks truly envied. But at night, after pitching our shelters, cooking and eating sup- per, and getting fixed for the night Some of us used to Interfere with the freedom of the pigs, for we considered them contraband of wax and fit subjects for confiscation; HO as soon as it was dark we used to go hunting through the woods for them, and many a poor, siab-siued porker gave out his last grunt on the point of a Yankee bayonet. No wonder we never saw any shoulders or hams (but only sides of bacon) while we were in the army, for all the hoes that 1 ever saw down South were nothing but sides, auu so thin that you could almost see day light through them, and they had uardatime of it to keep the two si. . es from growing together. Not beme used to marching all day, we would get pretty tired along in the afternoon, and the regiment would ue strung along the road in not very close order. At such times Col. Stevens would order the band to play, and it was won- derful to see the change that would come over the boys. We would brace up and trudge along bravely for a mile or two further. I remember one comrade by the name of Ladd we used to call him " Rosy" on account of his red cheeks; he was quite fleshy and found it pretty hard to keep UD sometimes, but we used to encourage and help him all we could. Before he enlisted he had been an en- thusiastic member of the Concord Fire Depart- ment, and when he got to lagging too far be* hind some of the boys would sing out to him. Fire, Rosy, tire! which would brighten him up consideraoly. but one afternoon even that failed, for he said, " Let her burn, boys, I'm plaved out." On the afternoon of the fifth day from camp a severe rain storm came on, and we halted for the night in a pine grova The weather up to this time had been quite warm ana pleasant, and we had not been very particular about pitching our tents had stuck them up any way so that they would keep the dew off. But our lack of experience cost us dearly this nignt, for we had heaps of trouble getting our tents together and up, and keeping them there. They were anything but shelters that night. In the morning the ground was covered with snow to the depth of four inches, but the sun soon melted it away. On this, the sixth day from Fairfax Seminary, before noon, we reached the point on the river where we were to cross. Transportation not being ready for us, and the weather suddenly becoming very raw and cold, we built large camp fires and hugged them pretty closely all day. At that time we had the old-fashioned paper cartridges, and some of the boys standing back to the fire got too close, and their cartridge boxes began to curl, and finally bung! banxl went their cartridges, frightening them nearly out of their wits and coming very near injuring some of them. The transports were not re:\dy for us until after dark, and it was 9 o'clock in the evening before we landed at Acquia Creek Burnside's base of supply. We marched about a mile and camped for the night. Cold, that was no name for it! Why, the next morning the Potomac was frozen so hard that, the steamers could not get to the wharf. Our officers were in a terrible plight for they had neither tents nor blankets the baggaue having all been left on the Mary- land side of the river. Take it altogether it was the most disagreea- ble night our regiment ever passed. On the morning of tne eighth our brigade started for Falmouth, where we arrived on the ninth, and became part of that " glorious old Army of the Potomac," which, then under Burnside, was preparing to attack Lee in Fred- ericksbnrg. Our army lite now really began. Our regi- ment was here detached from Wright's brigade and assigned to tne First Brigade (Col. Haw- kins's), Third Division (Gen. Getty), Ninth Army Corps (Gen. Wilcox). Sumner's Grand Division. As near as I can rememuer. our brigade con- sisted ot six regiments, as follows: Tne Ninth New York (Hawkins's Zouaves). Twenty-fifth New Jersey. Tenth and Thirteenth New Hamp- shire. Eighty-ninth New York ana One Hun- dred and Third New York. Preparations were at once commenced for the impending battle. Eighty rounds of patent cartridges were issued to us 40 rounds were placed in our cartridge boxes, tne other 40 in our knapsacks. The cooks were kept busy dealing out our hard tack, coffee and sugar, and cooking our beel or salt horse, as we used to call it. Tne next day, the 10th. I got, leave to visit the Twelfth and Sixth New Hampshire, in both of which I had friends. I hunted them UD and found them all right 1 remember with what feelings of admiration, almost veneration, I looked upon the mem hers of the Sixth, for they were already veterans of five buttles viz. , Camden, Second Bull Run, Chan til ly, South Mountain and An tie tarn. They were veritable heroes in my eyes and I listened to their stories of the battles, told with that sangfroid peculiar to old soldiers and sailors, with as much wonder, as when a child I listened to the fairy tales of old. These veter- ans of McClellan and Burnside. Icoked upon us new men with a sort of contempt, mixed with pity for our lack of experience and service. But only a week or two later, after we had been , n rough the battle of Fredericksburg. and re- INTO THE JAWS OF DEATH. 151 calved our first baptism In blood, we had the same feeling toward raw recruits and new regiments. The following story was told me by a mend in the Sixth. Bill Homer, whom I had formerly known by sight, had an impediment in his speech, and stuttered fearfully. He was a rough and ready son. of a fellow, and rather profane. 1 will give the story as told me. One day Homer was on picket when the enemy was but a few miles away and strict orders had been given to allow no one to pass without the countersign, not even our own offi- cers; this order came direct from Gen. Burn- si(Je, his corps commander, whom Homer knew by sight as well as he did his own Captain. Well, some time the night previous to Homer's going on in the morning. Gen. Bnrnside, with a small escort of cavalry, had gone out through the picket line to reconnoitre his front by early daylight. The countersign had been changed thai morning, so when the General came back between 8 and 9 o'clock he was without it. As Gen. burnside rode up, he was halted by Hor- ner ; the General had one of his aids dismount an Main street a little way and turned to the left up a short street leading toward the front, and baited in a field in rear of some buildings that were being usert as hospitals. . Here we saw some, qt the norrors of war, for the wounded were being brought in every mo- ment ami carried into these hospitals, where arms, legs, feet and hands were being ampu- tated, and every little while an arm or leg would be dropped Irom a window to the ground below; and before we moved irom there there were three or four piles of different members of tbe human body, as large as bushel baskets. \nd all this within fifty feet of where we were sitting or lying around on the grass. Although this was our first experience in tue actual hor- rors ot battle, we soon became hardened. As I look back over those years that are gona, to that Decemuer afternoon when we sat there in those back yards of Fredericksburg, eating hard tack and "salt horse." with tne roar of that terrible battle ueforj us anu those hospitals back of us, 1 can bat won ler how we could have been so hea: tless as to have joked and laughed iu the presence of so much danger and suffering. War. thou art a great demoralizer. Just before dark our division was ordered into the fight. We had been lying around all day in suspense, and we fell in quickly and marched by column of fours out toward tue front The fury of the battle seemed to go down wita the sun, for at this time it was not raging near so hard as it had been during the day. But there was noise enough then to suit us, for the skirmishers up at the front were poo- ping away quite lively, and every few minutes a shell would explode a little way ahead of our column, and 1 now heard for the first time the hateiul humming of a spent Mime ball. We marched out through the fields, winding our way through the openings in the fences that had neen made by our troops earlier in the day. As we marched a>oug we met wounded men, stragglers and the usual number of bummers that are always dropping back to the rear ot all armies during a oattla And these were some of the encouraging remarks we heard from them: "Ot, you'll get all you want up there 1" " It's h up there -oysl" "Don't you wish you Hadn't enlisted? " " You'll not come back in such fine stylet" "The Johnnies will cook some of you before you get over that stonewall up yonder 1 " aud various other similar re- marks, having a tendency to depress rather than encourage us. I don't know now the rest of the boys felt, bat I do know that as we marched toward the irout an indescribable feeling came over me. a sort of depressing faintness, some such feeling as I imagine a pound of lead dropped into an empty stomach would causa I thought at the time it was tear, and think so still, out all the boys that I asKed how they felt " said they didn't feel a bit afraid, "only a little queer," and as that was about the way 1 telt. of course I was not scared either. We . orme i our line of battle benincl the railroad embankment, which covered us from the view of the enemy. By the time our line was formed it was nearly dark. The Ninth New YorK (Hawkins Zouaves) was in the front line, an > our regiment (Thirteenth New Hampshire) in the second just behind them. (Tne division was to charge in double line of battle.) Finally the order was given to " advance in line oi battle," but for some reason the front lii.e didn't move, and we couldn't, without Sring over or through them. Then Gen. awkins (Adjutant General) appeared on tba railroad, and very vehemently urged the Nintb New York to advance, but to no purpose, i ie INTO .THE JAWS OP DEATH. 155 pitched into them "up-hill and down," called them cowards, bat they would not budge an inch from their position. [In a subsequent letter to the Journal con- cerning this episode. Sergeant Soiller desires to make a correction. It was, he says, the 26th fiew Jersey, and not the 9th New Yorkj In the uisiory of the Tenth Mew Hampshire Adjutant General's reuort for 1866 it says: ' For some uu accountable reason the Hawkins Zouaves failed to advance." This officer, in nis harangue to the Ninth New York, meniioned our regiment, and supposing he included as in his list of cowards, a man in my company yelled out at him: " You're a iiarl We are no cowards." The Adjutant hearing it turned his attention to us, and ordered us 10 ad- vance. " Forward, Thirteenth Mew Hampshire. Charge over the cowardly dogs!" Being thor- oughly enraged at his taunts, which we sup- nosed he meant for the whole brigade, and in- dignant at what we considered the cowardice of the Ninth Mew York, we waited lor no second bidding, but with a cheer, and at a run. we went over them, up the embankment, across the rail- road, down the other side, over and through iitches, across fields, through hollows and over crests until we reached the ascent just below Marye's Heights, ana directly in front of the stone wall. As we came up over the last crest, and on to this sandy, smooth, though inclined plain, we were pretty well tuckered out, having gone nearly half a mile (I should judge), most of the way at a run, or double quick, and cheering and yelling at the top of our voices. Stopping here but a moment to straighten out oar line a little, the order was given : " Charge bayonets, forward, double-quick march," and forward we went at a ran. By this time it bad become quite dark, and all we could see ahead of us were the heights, looking black and formidable in the darkness. I noticed two or three lights on the heights they were probably near batteries. "We gave a rousing cheer as we started for the stone wall, but it was cat short most uncere- moniously, for at this moment the rebs opened upon us ; the next five minutes is better de- scribed in the words used by one of the wounded men we met a short time previous, who .said, "it's bell ap there boys." First a sheet of flame it seemed to me a mile long and right in our fac s then ten thousan I bumble bees and a thousand demons shrieking in our ears couldn't have made more noise than the thousands of ballets, grape and cannister, solid shot and shell did it was terrible but we kept on for a moment longer. Then there came tearing through our regi- ment, likf a drove of wild buffaloes, the Twenty -tilth New Jersey, scattering us and bayoneting some of our men. Bringing my gun to my shoulder I fired ap at the line ot flame in front of me. and bringing it down again to re- load. I discovered that I was alone. Turning quickly to ran back with the rest, my heel caught in the sand, I tripped and fell fall length on the ground, my gun falling about six feet from me. At this time the bullets were flying like hail- stones, and not daring to rise. I turned over on my back, and no woodchuck ever tried harder to get into his hole than I did to get into that sand. The air above me seemed filled with ail sorts of missiles of death, bat as I lay most of the shots went above me, but some of the bullets struck tne ground near enough to me to throw the sand into my ears and face. By working my head and shoulders. hii>s and heels, 1 managed to gel down into the sand a little, and I'll bet I wasn't over two inches thick. I even turned my feet over to each side so my toes would not stick up. I probably laid there 10 minutes (it seemed an hour), and during that time I thought of everything, of home, friends, and whether I should be killed, wounded or taken prisoner, for I never expected to get out 01 it aiivfl and whole. Finally the firing slackened np so much that I thought I might stand a chance of dodging the bullets, and. fearful of being taken prisoner, I took the chances of stray bullets and shell. Get* tine onto my hands and knees. I crawled around and found my gun, then jumping up I started at a run tor the city. Going a few rods I heard a voice to my left trying to rally some men. Thinking it might be my regiment I turned in that direction. The cries ot the wounded were heartrending. One poor fellow, whom on ac- couni of the darkness 1 couldn't see, was crying piteously for water. From his accent 1 knew he was an Irishman, belonging to the Tenth New Hampshire. " Watherl Watherl For the love of the Holy Virgin, give me some watherl" That voice haunts me now, and 1 have always wished that I bad hunted the poor fel- low up and given him a drink out of my can- teen ; but being anxious to find my regiment, and thinking that the next moment might bring the Johnnies down on me, I didn't think It prudent to stop. But the agonizing cries of the wounded were soon lost and for the moment forgotten, as I listened to the most eloquent appeal I ever heard. It was CoL Donahoe of the Tenth New Hampshire trying to rally the fragments of our brigade for another charge on that terrible wall. I stopped tor a few minutes and listened to his impassioned speech. But with the hun- dred or two men gathered there, I saw it was folly to attempt anything, so continued my way to the rear. But my admiration for Col. Michael Donaboe as a brave soldier dates from that night. After wandering around for an hour or two and inquiring of everyone I met for the Thir- teenth New Hampshire. I finally found what few of them had kept together in a ravine about half a mile back from the heights. Here 1 found CoL Stevens and many of oar 15G STORIES OF OUR SOLDIERS. men. covered with mua and weary and discour- aged. I was right glad to find so many ot my company unhurt, and they were pleased to see me in the same condition. After laying here awhile we were ordered back into Fredericks- bnrg, and stacked arms in the street in about the same location we had occupied the night before: here the company rolls were called, and a (rood many were missing, but some turned UP before moraine. I remember that night one man in my com- pany shot his forefinger off. He said accidental- ly, but as it was the forefinger of his right hand and our guns were all stacked, we were unchar- itable enough to think it was intentional. We spent a good part of that night talking over the events of the day and evening. It was the gen- eral opinion among us that the whole piece of business was a blunder, and the sending of our division in after dark, alone and without sup- port, as far as we could see, we thought was worse than a blunder. The fact was just this: The Third Division. Ninth Army Corps, under Gen. Getty, had been sent up after dark against those impregnable heights that had withstood the assaults of whole corps all day. For what? It has always been a conundrum to ma Another fact has always struck me as being very foolish, why we were taken up over that rough ground for about half a nile at a run, for we were about played out when we got there, and had we succeeded in getting over their works would have been in 110 condition to fight. The next day (the 14th) we spent in the city, expecting the battle would be renewed every minute, but, thank the Lord, wiser counsels pre- vailed and we were spared another trial in that slaughter pen. I visited some of the other New Hampshire regiments and found that some of my friends from Concord had been killed or wounded. Among those killed Maj. Sturtevant of the Fifth was the most prominent, he haying been Chief of Police of Concord for a long time. Daring the day 1 heard Col. Harriman of the Eleventh taking on quite badly about the Drave boys he had lost from his regiment. It was a sad Sunday for all; we felt very much dispir- ited. This being our first battle of course we felt as though we were invincible, and we ex- pected a far different termination. W. H. SPILLKR. THE TWENTIETH CROSSED IN BOATS. [Sergeant Josiah F. Murphy of Nantucket, a soldier of Company I, Twentieth Massachusetts, writes that ne was one of the men who helped pole the leading boat contain- ing hla company across the Rappahannock to Fredericks- burg. His letter will be read with interest as it clears away the controversy regarding the Massachusetts Twentieth crossing the river.] Capt W. A. Hill of the Nineteenth Massachu- setts Regiment, says that the Twentieth Massa- chusetts Regiment, at the battle of Fredericks* burg, did not cross over the river in ooats but were the first regiment to cross after the pon- toons were finished. Now, I will not say that the whole of the Twentieth Massachusetts crossed orer the river in boats at that battle, but 1 will say that Company I, the right flank company, did cross over in boats, ana I can furnish the proof right here in Nantucket. I myself pulled one of the two oars, or poles, that propelled our boat across the river. A man by the name of Thos. Russell of this town (since dead) had one of the oars, or poles, and was propelling the boat on one side ; the man on the opposite side was pulling him around and the boat was heading up stream toward Falmouth. when Lieut. Leander F. Alley, also of this town (who was killed on the 13th on Marye's Heights), said to me, " Murphy, take that oar from Rus- sell," which I did, and we soon had the boat on the opposite side, where she grounded a few feet from the shore. We all jumped out, and with the rest of the company, who had also come over in another boat, went under cover of the river bank, where we stayed until tne pon- toon was finished and other troops began to cross, when we moved forward up Fauqnier street. I think was the name, by company iront or platoons. The remainder of the regiment marched, I think, by the right flank, in column. It was then when we showed ourselves on the street that we received that terrible fire from the rebels, whereby we lost in killed and wounded 97 officers and men from our regiment in a space of about 60 yards, and I have good cause to remember it. for it was when we reached the corner of Caroline street that a rebel bullet plowed a furrow in the right side of my face, which brought me down, and from which I still bear the scar. I have always understood that the Seventh Michigan and Nineteenth Massachusetts crossed over first in boats, and deployed as skirmishers in the town, keeping the enemy back while the pontoon was being finished, and it was the boats they crossed in. which, on returning with a few rebel prisoners, we went over in. I do not for a moment think that Captain Hill would detract from our regiment any ot its glory, because there is certainly enough to go all around. J. F. MURPHY. Nantucket, Mass. AN ARMY SINGER. [Few civilians were so widely known in the Ann; of the Potomac and of the Cumberland as E. W Locke, known since the war as Father Locke, army poet and DalladUt. For some years before the war hts reputation as a song writer and public singer were such that at the great Republican ratification of Abraham Lincoln's noml nation, held In Faneull Hall, Governor Andrew sought him to ling some of Ills own songs, which, as many will remember, were received with great applause. When In August, 1860, 50,000 Republicans gathered at Lincoln's home In Springfield, 111., our singing poet had been invited to add Interest to the occasion. Then and there Mr. Lincoln became his friend; for he was a great lover of certain kinds of songs. In Feb- ruary, 1862, Mr. Locke called at the White House to we If the President had forgotten him. After a short Interview the President urged him to go to the army and alng his patriotic songs to the soldiers, as he sang them to patriotic masses of men and women In most of the North em States before the war. He thought to stay three weeks, bat remained three years. He assumed a three- fold mission, viz., singing his own songs, selling postage Stamps at cost, and working in field hospitals during and after battles. He told his experiences In a book of over 400 page*, entitled "Three Tears in r'amp and Hospital," tome 2O years ago, and though eight editions were printed, not one is for sale to-day. He Is now one of the substan- tial citizens of Chelsea, having laid by a moderate com petence from the sales of his songs and book, and, though 76 years old, la one of the cheeriest and most active men one meet* on the street, and is still a ureal. attraction at eampflres and reunions. But we will let bun tell his own tory of his work In the war. J My first effort as a war minstrel came very near being my last. I had crossed Long Bridge and was working my way to Arlington Heights. where the larger part of the Army of the Poto- mac was encamped, wlien 1 came upon a regi- ment from the city of New York, composed, as 1 soon learned from the Colonel, of young men from the very highest circles of the city. I showed this autocrat of a thousand men my pass, and asked permission to sing for his regi- ment The look of mingled amusement and " get out " he gave me was, withering. "Among my men." said he. " are more than a score of musicians qualified to play or sing in first-class opera, and they would laugh at your singing Go and do. re. mi to the country regiments and they will appreciate you. Nevertheless, vou may make a trial, but if you raise any commo- tion you must leave at once." Inviting the men to hear me, I was about to mount a broad stump for a platform, whon a Lieutenant, not as scru- pulous about tin- neatness of his uniform aa the other officers, addressed me in a tone be- fitting his language. " 1 say. old fellow, have you any soap to sell? " My answer was: " No. but if I had expected to meet as dirty a fellow as you, I would have boiurht two cakes at least." The shout that met this reply brought a crowd of kindly disposed men. I handed out a few copies of my song, then new, " We're Marching Down to Dixie's Land." and we had a grand chorus to even the first verse. Not only all the men, but all the officers came to the concert, and every one who could sing took part in the refrain, if nothing more. The Colonel invited me to make his regiment my headquarters as long as I pleased. But I did not feel that success was assured with onu trial- lotf S1OKIKS OF OITK SOLDIERS. i knew that tbe Sixth Maine was a short dis- tance above Chain Bridge, and 1 made way for that, for the Colonel, the Chaplain and many of the men had been my friends for years. Spending my first ni^ht in camp, sharing the cot of Chaulaiu Thompson, as soon aa morning icuard mounting was over I made my sec- ond -ffort as a war minstrel. It was a success, and from that day I felt 1 was part of the army to put down the rebellion. Shortly after McClellan advanced on Manassas. to tin>l it abandoned. 1 went with the New Eug land cavalry to Warrington Junction, where I found a brigade of five regiments, under com- mand of Gen. Abercrombia of the regular army. an elaerly. gentlemanly man, whose pleasant face a n. I gentle speech would never remind one of a warrior. One of these regiments was tbe Massachusetts Twelfth, CoL Fletcher Webster. In the book published by this regiment is a full narrative of the incident I am about to relate as briefly as possible. Thu morning after reaching the camp I was about to enter one of the Sibley tents of the Twelfth, wnen a man with a loud voice and commanding tone called to me. "Here, sirl thL-* way, sirl" Isaid: "Who are you. to ad dress me in such tones and manner? " " I am the Provost Marshal of this brigade, and 1 order you to report to me immediately 1 " was his an swer. tie was Capt. Bates, Company H of tbe Twelfth, and most admirably fitted for his posi tion. He took me at once for a spy. as he could see no reason why 1 should be 20 miles awav from the main army, liable to be shot or captured any minute, with nothing to sell but postage stamps at cost and a few sheets of music at five cents a copy. He tried in vain to frighten me. made an effort to purchase a few stamps above their face value, but at length took me before the General. Unfortunately my pass had been left in the hands of a Captain six miles away, and the General toll me that though f was surely a New England man and seemed like a gentle- man, he would have to detain me until I could send for my pass or he could communicate with the President. Isaid: "General, I am E. W. Locke of Portland, Ma, a well-known song writer and singer, a friend of President Lincoln, who urged me to come to the army and sing my patriotic songs in camp, and now. with your permission. I will sing one for you." " Let us hear it," said the General. I was not half through with tbe first stanza when Captain Bates interrupted by asking (or a copy of the song. He was a magnificent bass singer and the General's Adjutant was one of the sweetest of tenors, and soon that old Virginia log house had such music as never rang through its rooms before. We sang the last verse six times or more, and the last time I met General Bates, a year before he died (he commanded tne brigade a year or more before the war closed), he said: "I shall never forget that verse." 1 quote it: " March on, march on, our cause is just, To Dune's land, to Dixie's land. With loyal hearts and Ood our trust To put rebellion down 1 Tbe blood of martyred brothers cne From Dude's land, from Dixie's land. Avenge, avenge our sacrifice, And pat rebellion down! The trumpet sounds, the war cry rings. Throuxn Dune's land, through Dixie's land. With cUslilni: steel each brave bean iprtngl To put rebellion down." The chorus bad a ringing melody, the bands played it, and until Root gave us " Rally Round the Flag." and "Tramp, Tramp," this song and " We're Marching on to Richmond" were in a fair way to become national. It is perhaps needless to add that my songs and singing were as good as a pass in every pan of the Armv of tne Potomac. Tbe " Marching to Richmond " song was writ- ten and composed one night while lying in a dog tent of the Filth Maine in tne swamp of tbe Chickahominy. Here is the chorus* " Then tramp away while the bugle* play, We're marching on to Richmond, Otti Hag shall gleam In the morning beam From many a spire in Richmond." .Vbout the same time, when all the victories were on the wrong side, I wrote and composed 'We Must Not Fall Back Any More." 1 give one verse . We often go home in our dreams, boys, Ami sit by tbe old kitchen lire. And inll o'er the tales or our camps, boys. To UM'nero we never can tire; Hut just In our moment-* of buss, boys. When thinking our hardships axe o'er, The order come* round to turn out, boys, Kail in and tramp on a* before. This song w is changed by the author of 'Shall We Gather at the River?" and did service in the Suudav Schools for a number of years. When General Grant came to Brandy Station to take charge of the Army of the Potomac no troops were in line or high-grade officers were prevent to receive him. With his Adjutant and a colored boy to carry bis valis*. he started for General Mead's headquarters, three-quarters of a mile away, while I went to an empty tent to celebrate the occasion by writing a song to an old melody, that when h beard the boys singing it he might know some- body was glad he had come. Before night tbe song was completed, and before the next night half of the army Grant came to com- mand had beard it. It was soon in print, and a copy of it \t te many a soldier's home to-day. Here it is: We've sung the praise of many braves. While marching on to battle, Wliose words and deeds have nerved oar arms Amid the muskets' rattle; But now another leader comes. Who er'ry doubt dismisses. With shoot and song we welcome him. The nation's hope, Ulysses. CHOEUS Ulysses leads tne van. CBepeat) We'll ever dare to follow where Ulysses lead* the van. They tell of Vick*bnrg, where two yeaw The rebel flag was floating, How Uncle Sam was in a fix About his Western boating, Until he learned he bad a lad Whose rtfle never misses. AN ABMY SINGER. vjio K> to gave the ugly )ob To tut brave boy Ulysses. This plan tiad failed, and so bad that. And worthless were his ditches; So cnatter whal new scheme be tried It had some fatal hitches. At length he got the needed grip. Winch proved the legal tender. " Hold on ! " cried Pern, " I've got enough i I'm ready to surrender! " The war will soon be over, boys. And then. In countless numbers, We'll go where drum and bugle notes WU1 not disturb our slumbers; A.nd when our loved ones greet us home And give their long kept kisses, We'll ever tell ana sing the deeds Of modest, brave Ulysses. My principal songs, written in the Army ol the Cumberland, are "Old Rosy Is Oar Man," "Brother. When Will You Come Back?" " Brajrg-a- Boo " am) "Peter Butternut's La- ment." most of them to old melodies. I sold upward 9! $20.000 worth of stamps. This cart of my mission was quite hazardous, and in two nstancos placed me in great oeril. My stamps were carried in a large tin can. strapped to my uo;ly and swinging under my lelt arm. Its capacity was 8500 worth. It was > tempting article to rogues when full, and many were the plans to capture it, one of which was so nearly successful that it cost one high wayman his liberty for an indefinite time. After the defeat of Bragg's army, at Stone Kiver. I started from Murfreesboro' to replenish inv can. Arriving at the Post Ottice. in Nash vUlc, I learned that there was not a stamp in the office, but A military traiu being about to make the attempt to reach Louisville, I ob tainted a oass and transportation and pushed on 200 miles farther. But 20 miles beyond Elizabeth. K.y.. the roads were torn an and the train went back to Nash vtlle. while 1. on foot and alone, plodded on one nurht and a day toward Lebanon Junction, where 1 found the trains running as usual to 'Louisville. But unfortunately l fell into the hands ol a squati of Morgan's men, who robbed me of $18. all they could find about my body or in my satchel, but 1 fooled them on my stamp money, which in large bills was hidden under a nicely fitting wig. I knew the gang were in the neigh borliood ana prepared tor them. If the length of this sketch will admit, I think one incident of my field hospital experience will greatly interest many of the Journal read era in Maine. During the battle of Malvern Hills I had charge of tne hospital camp at Carter's Landing about two miles below the battle field. From 3 P. ML till oast 8 the roar of cannon, shells ami rifles was terrible to hear, to say nothing of the falling of those iu the fight. Before sundown amliulances and army wagons came pouring into the camp all laden with dying, dead or wounded men. On CoL Carter's plantation an immense field ol wheat lay in gavel just as it came from the cradle. With all the men I could secure well enough to carry a bundle of wheat I bejran making beds for the thousands who would need them before morning. By 7 o'clock in the morning the camp was abandoned for Harrison's Landing, two mile* farther down the river. 1 had just reached the place when 1 saw a very large man on a stretcher, covered with an army blanket Thinking it might be the l >ouy of one of my dead trieuds, I turned the blanket from the face, when I found it was my friend Capt. Robert Stevens of the Fifth Maine, with a bullet hole through his thigh. " What can I do for you. Capt. Stevens ? " " For God's satce send me home to die with my family," was his answer. " 1 will try." was all I could promise. A few rods from the Captain 1 found another friend, Lieutenant Colonel Marsh of the Six- teenth New York. Getting the same answer to my same Question and making the same promise. ( started to see what a man without shoulder straps, or even a Corporal's stripes, could do to send one man to Maine and another to Governeur, JN. . to di with their families. For a few minutes 1 was bewildered, not knowing what to do. Looking down the James Kiver 1 saw the gunboat Susan Small at anchoi, tnree-quarters of a mile away. 1 knew she was a hospital ship, for I had drawn supplies from her the night before at Carter's Lauding. I must board that ship at oncel But bow was it to be done? At the pier there were five huge boats ol a pattern I had never seen, with rowlocks for four oars, but only one oar to be found. I must have a helper to manage this kind of a craft. A dollar secured a strong negro for tb rest of the day. Julius could row, bat could not sculL As we had but one oar the boat must be moved by sculling. Luckily there was a groove in th stern, ana I shipped my oar to make any tirsi trial in this kind ol seamanship. I astonished myself, and Julius said. " You is a right smart sailor." But it was hard work, and the speed very slow Not a breath of wind moved the surface of to* James, and my hail of "Gunboat Susan Small, ahoy I was answered when 50 rods away. The officer answering my hail, finding I had no orders from a high officer, refused my re- quest to take these wounded men on board, but when his steward heard my name and told the officer that I was the man to whose order he issued supplies the previous nignt. he said: " Bring your men alongside an i we will take them." For two men to i ut a man on a stretcher on one of these boats was indeed a perilous undertaking, but we did iu Six times 1 sculled that huge boat three-quai- ters of a mile that afternoon with hands that were blistered, before reaching hailing distance the first time. The ship lelt for New York the next morning, but the Coiouei died before reaching port. The Captain was spared until the present year, dyins: ii> Biddeford, Me., much honored at death, as well as a hignly respected, crippled veteran for 30 years. E. W. LOCKK. Chelsea, Mass. 162 STORIES OF OUR SOLDIERS. THE BRAVE TWENTY-EIGHTH MASSACHUSETTS. The First Maine Cavalry, a most gallant, brave and efficient body of men, represent that they were in more fights daring the war than any other body of cavalry, if not of any organ- ization, and I think they claim that they lost as many men. There is another regiment, from Massachu- setts, which I think can claim as great a loss of officers and men as the First Maine Cavalry or any other body of troops. 1 refer to the gallant Twenty-eighth Massachusetts Volunteers, bet- ter known as the "Faugh-a-Ballaghs." They lost terribly in officers and men at James Island, and in the campaign of 1864 they were terribly decjmated. It was the only regiment in the "Irish Brigade" who were armed with the Enfield rifles, the other regiments of the brigade in 1864 the Sixty- ninth and Eighty-eighth New York being armed with the altered-over Springfield guns ie., changed from the old flintlocks to the percussion lock having the round bullet with three buckshot in the cartridge. When this regiment went into the Wilderness they had 385 men and 27 officers. They lost heavily in the tangled woods of the Wilderness. (Japt. Mclntyre. a young, gallant, brave and efficient officer, was killed in the woods on the first day. They went into the fight with H*noook'i Corps in his daylight charge upon the lines of the enemy, and lost heavily. This fight was called the "Hancock daylight charge" (at Spottsylva- via), which resulted in the capture of 3000 pris- oners and 22 pieces of artillery, including two general officers Generals Stewart and Wise. The gallant Gen. Francis C. Barlow com- manded the Jfirst Division, and after the cap- ture of the earthworks and guns, assisted in person to turn the captured guns upon the en- emy. Again, at Spottsyivania May 18 the Twenty- eighth Massachusetts made a charge ana cap- tured a line of earthworks and held it until obliged to tall back. At this fight the gallant "Dandy Lawler," Major Lawler and Cantain Magner and Captain Corcoran were all mor- tally wounded. These were valuable officers, whom the regiment or Government coul i ill afford to lose. Captain James Fleming, subse- quently Lieutenant Colonel of the regiment, was wouiule i. Captain.; Annand and Page were also wounded. Continuing on to Cold Harbor ou the 3d day of June, 1864, just 30 days from crossing the river on this campaign, the regiment was reduced to less than. 100 men and but three officers. Capt. Nolan, Capt. Noyse and myself being the only officers unhurt. At Cold Harbor we lost our Colonel, Byrnes, who had but just returned Irom recruiting service at Boston, and had assumed command of the brigade. Col, Byrnes was a Lieutenant of the United States army, detailed and made Colonel of the Twen- ty-eighth. At Cold ti arbor we also lost that gal- lant officer. Lieutenant West of Chelsea, who received a bullet wound in the abdomen and re- tired down the hill in a dying condition. He died before reaching hospital. I do not think there was another regiment which returned home at the end of the war with a less number of their original men than the celebrated " Faugh-a-Ballaiths." After Cold Harbor I was detached again upon the staff of the First Division, Second Corps, commanded by Major General F. C. Barlow, and subse- quently by the present Major General Nelson A. Miles. I shall try and give you some expe- riences from a staff officer's point of view up to tfie time of Ream's Station, Aug. 25. 1864, at which time I received a wound that prevented my following the army further. MARTIN BINNEY. Late Captain Twenty-eighth Regiment, Massa- chusetts Volunteers, A. D. C. First Division. Second Corps, Army of the Potomac. Somerville. FREDERICKSBURG. It has been often demonstrated in courts of justice and elsewhere that either of two persons viewing the same transaction may observe or be impressed differently. There could hardly be a better illustration of this fact than is found in the numerous differing accounts of events in the Civil War. And is it not natural enough that differences of statements occur when the variation of lo- cality in the line the lay of the land and of temperament are borne in mind? And do they not promise eventually a more complete his- tory? After a battle the report of a commander of an army must deal with the more important and consolidated subjects ; those of commanders of corps, divisions, brigades and separate troops are more particular in detail, and when ?he Colonel or other officer in charge of a regi- ment, battery, etc.. sends his summary to the Adjutant General of the State which his command represents, more concise and succinct records are made. But, after all, it seems to me, the many histories of separate organizations prepared by associations of tne survivors thereof, the writings relating to war- time life and events, and by no means least the valuable contributions of indefatigable and ulaauitous war correspondents like " Carleton," Reid and others, are the glossary the chinks and cement that explain and make whole erroneoui. incomplete and fragmentary ac- counts when from time to time furnished. Much has been said and written of the battle of Fredericks bure (Dec. 13, 1862. more particu- larly). The afternoon of that day. with its death sweep of iron and lead across the plain in front of Marye's Heights, furnished much to write of. As one of the participants in the onslaught there, my diaries and memory contribute the follow- ing mite, relating more particularly to the part taken by the Eighteenth Regiment of our Stata After partial recovery from a wound received in a charge made by the regiment not with* standing a certain school history book says none of the Fifth Army Corps was engaged 011 Aug. 30, 1862, at Groveton Station, or Gainesville. a< sometimes called, during the battle of second Bull Run. the writer rejoined his regiment Nov. 10 near Warren ton Junction. Va. On the way back my companions were two other wounded officers, Lieut. Pomeroy of tne regular infantry and Lieut Justin E. Dimick, Jr., of the United States artillery. The last named was a son of Colonel Justin E. Dimick. U. S. A. to whom our regiment the Third Massachusetts Militia, three months' 164 STORIES OF OUR SOLDIERS. men, reported at Fortress Monroe. "Va.. April 20, 1861. Lieutenant Dimick was killed on Jriay 3, 1863. directly in front, of our line (and regiment, the Eighteenth), near the road north of " Chancel lorsviile House," where the Fifth Corps, or most of it, was in close column eu masse supporting the batter- ie there collected to repel one of the enemy's atteJim.s to break through on that last day of hunting in that splendidly managed campaign at first, so badly " petered out " at last. We were informed at Alexandria that the army was at White Plains. We found upon our arrival there one army wagon and a car side- tracked (at Kectortowu), that was to carry General McClellan away from the Army of the .Potomac; an eve.it that caused a feeling, quite general, not compassed by the word "regret," lint nearer bordering on that of injustice. i he army was irom 25 to 30 miles away. As darkness was near we campeu beneath the army wagon. 'Twas cold. Frozen snow covered the ground. We had no rations, and all three i us had uuheuled wounds. The man fit for commissary proved to be Lieut. Pomeroy who fished out Irom a heap of broken Oozes and barrels some rice, about a quarter Of a pound of pork, and an old can- teen when split made two frying pans. The teamster showed up from somewhere, we never knew, next morning, and we were not long in finding out that neither of us oulu stand the jolting of the army wagon, and o " hoofed it " most of the way to our several commands. This little episode is noted here faray for the purpose of disabusing some minds, have heard expressed, of the notion that officers stayed at home, or in hospitals, as long as they could when wounded. Dimick's wound, as beiore stated, was uuhealed. as were ours, and very severe, being through the shoulaer. A letter just referred to (Feb. 1. I8ti3) is from a well-known lawyer in Boston, now a Justice of a District Court in one of the suburbs of the city, to the writer at the front, complaining: of his slow recovery from a severe Wound received at Fredericksburg preventing aim from resuming the command 01 his com- pany in the Eighteenth Massachusetts. Such manifestations of impatience to return were not exceptions, but the rule. During the preparations for the movement at Fredericksburg the Eighteenth Massachusetts lay in front of Faimouth, near Stoneuian's witch and adjacent to the bridge of the Acquia Creek Railroad. We were so crowded that ails place was (Designated as "Camp Smoke." Cov- ering against the ulasts of winter was scarce Owing to the disorganized condition of railroad transportation. The best the officers of the line could do was to coiurol the service of the small d'Aubre (shelter) tents, which were a part of the camp and garrison equipage accompanying the uniforms of the Chasseurs a Pied awarded the regiment just after the great review of the Army of the Po- tomac at Bailey's Cross Roads, Va.. on Jan. 16, 1862. The army which had recently marched from Warrenton Junction was stretched along the north banks of the Rappa- hannock from a point about eight miles out toward Hartwood Church. Its position gen- erally is more fully and accurately described by "Carleton." It was formed in three grand divisions; the only such lormation that my cir- cumscribed military reading brings to mind since King David, and his General-in-chief, Joab, tried it when fighting the Ammonites and the mercenary Syrians. The Fifth Corps, commanded by lien. " Dan " Butterfield, was in the centre grand divison, which was commanded by "Fighting" Joe Hooker. The Eighteenth Massachusetts had the right of the First Brigade of tne First Divi- sion ot the Fifth Corps, tue brigade under com- mand of Brig. Gen. James Barnes, who as Colonel took the Eighteenth to the tront; and the regiment under command of Colonel Jos- eph Hayes, formerly its Major. Regiments had become so reduced in numoer by casualties and sickness that the constructions of briga tea were materially changed. For instance, ours the First was comprised of the Eighteenth and Twentieth Regiments of Massachusetts. with the Second Company of Sharpshoot- ers from this State, the Thirteenth and Twenty-fifth New York Regiments, the One Hundred and Eighteenth Penn- sylvania, known as the " Corn Exchange " regiment, the First Michigan and the Second Maine Regiments. The loss in the brigade in the charge made was 500. 125 of which fell upon the Eighteenth Massachusetts, including two officers killed Captain Ruby, Acting Major that afternoon, and Lieut Hancock Captain Coliingwood was mortally wounded and six otner oftioers were wounded, i. e.. Captain Charles H. Drew, and Lieuts. Hemmeuway, Winsor, Hanley. Walker and the writer. About this time there was considerable feel- ing among the troops, not freely expressed pub- licly, because of the removal of McClellan and the proceedings again-4 Gan. Fitz John Porter, our corps commander, up to the time ot and a little after tue close of the Bull Run battles, when he was succee led by General Hooker. It was common rumor, too. that Gen. Burnside did not desire the command of the Army of the Potomac. Early in the movement out to the hills in front of Fredericksburg. it was current in our regiment that the First Division of our corps was to be held in reserve for use at the critical juncture and it c.tme. The efficiency in drill and discipline wasnever better than then. We were not sent across the river till late in the day. From our position on the north bank we had a view of operations over there in our immediate front, and partly of those to the right and left of the centre grand division, respectively under the man- FREDERICKSBURG . 187 agement ot Generals sumner ana rranklin. Here perhaps it may be excusable to interpolate an incident illustrative of a phase of army life. When the assembly was sounded for the brigade to "fall in," I was at the left of it conversing with Sergeant Orcutt of the Secon I Maine. We both hurried to our places, widely apart, the Eighteenth as state I being on the right. In the spring of 1864. when 1 was serving aa Adjutant of the Draft rendezvous for Delaware ana Maryland, Lafayette Barracks, Baltimore, a gentleman, a clerk in the War Department. walked into my quarters. It was Orcutt. When vening came the conversation naturally em- braced eacb other's "luck" after parting at Fredericksburg. lo my inquiry if he was wounded tbere, he took out one of his eyes and passed it to me. The member, and almost the other one. he had lost while passing through that awfnl hole, the railroad cut in rear of the city. The skillful substitution of a glass eye had escaped my notice during the day. Marye's Heights were crowned with artillery. There was also a heavy gun in a redoubt dia- gonally towards Sumner's front that worried as terribly when passing through the railroad out. Lower down the heights was a line of the enemy's infantry and some artillery, but we knew nothing of the division of the enemy in the sunk road behind a wall until a sheet of flame burst therefrom at short range. All but this we could see. It was and had been to us a fearful panorama. We had watched the advance and recoil of columns from our waiting spot on the other side; had beheld with mingled feelings of hope and tear the rolling smoke of battle above the woods away to the left, where Gan. Meade of Franklin's command was rolll*-*" ap the right flank of the enemy like a blaulet. only to be repulsed for want of support, while to our right, and partly within our range of vision, ftumner's artillery and infantry were keeping UP an incessant roar. Th assembly is sounded. Our time has coma Though late, the work will be speedy; bloody. Crossing the pontoon bridge at the lower end of the oity. death and desolation strikes the vis- ion in every direction. Dead men, rebel and Union, the skirt* ot their blouses thrown over their faces by some kindly hand in many in- stances, lay in doorways, yards and upon the sidewalks. We moved some distance westerly through the street, and then filed off to the left for the open in rear. When passing through the city there were in- cidents to be laughed at under ordinary circum- stances. Shot and shell from the reuel batteries cut queer capers. One goes through a house, and evidently a fl.>ur barrel, 100; and as it crosses the street a little in front of us it has, comet fashion, a nebuiae of flour for a tail. An old negro woman, a dog with his fore paws upon her shoulders. Is on a door-stoop singing and clapping her bonds as if the millennium had arrived. After passing through the city oar coarse was diagonally and westerly toward the front about 60 rods. 1 should judge toward the front of Gen. Sumner's division. In this move we were compelled to scramble through and over a boarded sluiceway, after passing which the brigade was halted, there being a rise of ground in our front of three or four feet. Soon the order was given to "charge!" The touch of the elbow was well maintained till on the ex- treme right the company to which the writer was assigned for that occasion only being the extreme right was confronted ny a substantial board fence, which was being made a " skim- mer " of ;> v rebel ballets. The boys ha 1 larger holes through it in less time than it takes to tell 01 it, but it split our company, Lieut. Win- sor, who was in command, having one part, and the writer the other, until after we had p issei a house standing alone farther oat in the field, and uehind which wounded men swarma i for such protection against the fearful cannonade and musketry fire as it might furnish. As this very circumstance has a bearing upon a con- troversy in other quarters, I dwell more minute- ly upon it It should for this purpose be remembered that the Eighteenth Massachusetts had the ex- treme right of the line in this charge, and the company to which the writer was attached was the right flank company of the regiment. Tha conformation of tne ground was such towards the left as to allow the Eighteenth to go con- si' lerably further before receiving the enemy's fire from behind the wall than regiments to the left of it. From my position 1 plainly saw from 30 to 50 rebels on the north side of the wall, just as if their line was straight and extended over a bend in the wall. Of this I am certain for just at the point of char-ring this squad Which was further to our right than our line, J was wounded. 1 believe tbe Corporal (Guild) Who was with me at this juncture is yet living and can verify the correctness, in the main features, of this statement. Wnen crawling from the field, ballets from somewhere came so near my head, throwing mud in my face even, 1 rolled over as if dead among a very well defined line of corpses. They were men of Meagher's brigade, and had the emblematic green trimmings on them. Finally I reached a point at the rear, near where we started to charge. The second brigade was in line there. And I would like to in ert here the inquiry as to who the officer of the Ninth Massachusetts was that seat two men over the slope who carried me behind a bricK kiln and "braced me up." 1 would like to meet him if he lived through ; and expect to if he's dead. 1 f,8 STORIES OF OUR SOLDIERS. The result ot this sanguinary charge was just boat what the men thought it would be. But they went in without a murmur. The following from the New York Herald refers to the oart taken by the Eighteenth: * * xhe Eighteenth Massachusetts ad- vanced gallantly under a terrific lire of two concentrating batteries, advancing some 200 Daces nearer the rebel batteries and line of battle tnan Meagher's Irish Brigade had been able to go. A second charge was also made, and when ordered to retire they brought back their wounded and also their tattered colors." Poor Lieutenant Walker. He has left us. Af- ter varying experiences he and I fetched up next day in a tent in the lee of a hill on the north side of the river, where they were cutting off lesrs and arms, etc. a temporary affair. We had brooms for crutches. The missile that nit him made an awful hole, so that he would hare been obliged to " stand up * at the dining table, if there were any such thereabouts, for some time co come. Walker insisted that the rebel who shot him must hare fired with the bullet the wormer. Our wounds had not received attention. The sheet-iron stove had attractions. The loss of blood and the heat combined took the remain- ing strength out of his legs, and over he went "all in a heap." I was leaning on some medi- cine chest*, whereon were the surgeon " tools" and medicines. Noticing a bottle of ammonia I grabbed it, forgot for the moment that I too had a " g ame " leg, and. white trying to stoop over to revive him, fell upon him, pouring the liquid into his mouth, eyes, ear* and nostrils. He revived 1 Was there scientific swearing in Flanders? You should have heard Lieutenant \Valker. K. W. EVERSON. LIEUTENANT NEWCOMB SAVING THE COLORS, MARYE's HEIGHTS. A WAR ANNIVERSARY. Thirty years ago, December 13, Burnside's army crossed the Rappahannock and brought on the battle of rredericksburg. Thirty years ago! What veteran can realize such a lapse of time since the occurrence of an event every incident of which to him who participated in it seems or so seems to the writer as iresh and vivid as though it all happened but yesterday I A re- markable battle it was in some features that distinguished it from battles in general. The tudden shock of hostile forces unexpect- edly meeting at the intersection of lines of march, as at Gettysburg; the rapid overtaking of the enemy, checking his advance and com- pelling him to turn at bay like a cornered rat, as at Antietam ; the halting of a flying army in full retreat and the tremendous impact of ad- vancing columns, as at Second Bull Run ; each event bringing on* the clash of arms with scarcely an interval for thought the serried ranks being precipitated upon each other in tho excitement and fervor of hot passion and under the spur of suddenly aroused comt>ativeness a slap in the face as it were, awaking ready re- sentment and quick reprisal all this was vastly different from lying for days, ingloriously inactive, awaiting* the means to cross a broad river, beyond whose watery barrier tantalizingly stretched an unob- structed path to the goal that had so often and so mockingly eluded, so to speak, our oersistent and bloody endeavors to attain it: beholding a position of incalculable importance invitinir peaceful occupancy, gradually being covered by a hostile army, while we. in enforced idle- ness, witnessed day by day the augmentation of the enemy'* forces and noted his busy toil and strenuous preparations to strengthen ami render impregnable a vantage ground formidable enough in its natural naked ruggedness. Such were the days of anxious an 1 harassing contemplation during thai interval '* between the enacting of a dreadful thing and the first motion," as the Federal army lay alon : the Stafford and Falmonth Heights waiting for the pontoon trains, which seemingly were never to arrive, and for the word to " forward " from its commander. But at last the pontoons came, the bridge - were laid, and on Friday, the 12th of December, the advance of the army proceeded to cross. My individual reminiscences are confined to the battle on the left, " part of which I was. and all of which I saw." Our regiment the Thir- 170 STORIES OF OUR SOLDIERS. teenth Massachusetts had from its organiza- tion developed an adaptability for light in i an try tactics second to none in the army, its effective- ness due partly to its personnel and largely to the fact that our Colonel (now General Samuel H. Leonard of Worcester) was one of the best and most indefatigable masters of drill in the service. So we were perfectly at home when, on reaching the southern ank of the river, we were deployed as skirmishers. Not an enemy was at first in sight, and. unliKe the experience of our comrades on the right, our crossing was unopposed. As the bugles sounded to advance, the long line of skirmishers stepped briskly forward, until passing over a rising ground the broad plain, whose present smiling an i peaceful aspect was in less than twenty-four hours to be disturbed by the horrid din and turmoil of con- tending armies, l.urst upon the view. Bisecting this plain could be seen a long row of evergreen trees planted at wide intervals apart on an embankment, indicating one of those beautiful roadways for which this section C the Old Dominion is justly celebrated. It was the famous Bowling Green or Richmond like. And now. midway of the plain and against this dark background, suddenly emerged into view an opposing line of gray-clad riflemen the enemy was before us, prepared, apparently, to dispute the right ot way. In appearance only, however, for as we ad- vanced the "Johnnies" slowly retreated and we wonderingly saw them clamber over the roadbank and disappear. Thus far not a shot bad oeen fired, which told to each side that the opposing force was composed of veteran troops with nerves top well schooled to lose self-con- trol, forget discipline and become "rattled " at tiie first sight of an enemy. Undoubtedly each man's pulse was a little quickened, as we drew nearer and nearer, at the seeming certainty that behind the frowning embankment hundreds of death-dealing tubes were leveled at us : but sounded the oucries, and on we went, mounted the bank and through the gaps in the cedars be- held our foe slowly retiring behind a ridge of land on the other side of the road and which ran for a long distance parallel with it. Once in the roadway the uugles signaled to bait, and the strain upon both moral and physi- cal powers was relaxed for the present at least. An incident, or rather a series of incidents, ot uncommon in similar situations later in the war. but oi which I believe this was among the first, marked our occupation of the Bowling Green road. It was apparent that the Con- federates had established theii outposts along the parallel ridge in front of us; and it soon be- came equally evident that the battle was not to bejoine I that dav. and that our skirmish line wan as far advanced as was practicable without precipitating an engagement. All remained quiet in our front: not a shot had been fired, and a mutual understanding not to begin hostilities appeared to have been es- tablished in some indefinable way between the two picket lines. Moreover, from time to time a Confederate would come out a few paces from tbe ridge and shout some good-natured badi- nage at us, to which we responded in a strain Ditched to the same tune. At length a "gravback" was seen to advance, waving a handkerchief and offering to meet one of "you-uns" halt way for a friendly confab. A ready response greeted the proposal, and one of the Thirteenth was soon sent forth with a well- filled naversack containing sugar, coffee, salt and hart tack, the joint contribution of his messmates. The advance of the friendly foes, deliberately, timed so that they would meet at a point equi- distant from either line, was eagerly and excit- edly watched by both sides. As the men neared each other they were seen to extend a welcom- ing hand, and then as the palms of "Johnnie" and "Yank" met in a fraternal grasp an elec- tric thrill went straight to the heart of every beholder. Such a wild, prolonged and hearty cheer, ach a blending of Yankee shout and rebel yell as swelled up irorn the opposing lines was neyer before heard even in battle 1 The contents of the haversack were soon transferred to the ad- venturous reb., who in turn loaded our man down with native tobacco and bacon. As the afternoon wore on numerous similar affairs occurred, the utmost good fellowship be- ing manifested. It was learned that our imme- diate opponents were the Nineteenth Georgia Regiment; they told us that they had tasted neither coffee, sugar nor salt for months. We were fated to meet a large part of this reg- iment later on the next day, but as prisoners and very cheerful ones, too taken at the first charge of our line. They were as fine a set of fellows, tor rebels, as we ever met during the war intelligent, in short, excellent specimens of American manhood, among them being a graduate of Harvard College, whose name I nave iorgoiten. All that night we remained on picket; no quieter night was ever passed in winter quar- ters. But at daylight the stir and bustle and hurried movements, the steady tramp of men. mingled with the vibrations of artillery wheels and rumbling of heavily loaded ammunition wagons, betokening an army on tbe march, were borne along on the morning breeza It was not far from 8 o'clock, I think, that the division of Pennsylvania Reserves came up, and immediately their pioneers attacked with axe, pick and shovel the road i>ank and soon a sufficient space was cut out for the passage of the troops and artillery. The impression will never leave me of the advance of the leading brigade as in close column it marched gallantly out upon the open plain. The movement was evidently a blander, for while they were still in motion Gen. Meade, at that time command- AMERICANS AND BROTHERS. 171 A WAR ANNIVERSARY. 173 i*K the division, attended by his staff, rode up to the Rao, pausing there to survey the field. As I stood at my elevated cost on the embank- ment 1 could have touched him by extending my arm. tie sat his horse for a moment, and then excitedly raising both hands, in a gesture f despair, cried: "Good Godl How came that brigade out Mere? No artillery no supports! They will fee cut to pieces I " And then he quickly dispatched an ai'le with some order to the imperiled troops, who were seen to h istily deploy, and another to hasten up a battery which soon came thundering through the gap and unlimhered just as a single shot aim: plunging along from the ooposite woods followed by crash aftnr crash from the rebel runs, an i the air was filled with the shrieks of flying shells and solid shot! The battle on the left baa begun. Our division Gibbon's was being formed to the right of Meade. and at this moment, and in die midst of this storm of shot and shell, we werehurriel in that direction and thrown out t cover the former's position. Meanwhile the rebels had withdrawn down the slope and along the railroa-i track, and the jldge just relinquished was now occupied by our skirmishers. The "picnic "of the day' before wan evidently not to be repeated; a bloody struggle was before us. 1 remember how fair a morning it was. how 'balmy, even though in the midst of December. was the air. and how cheerful the sunshine aa we moved out and took our station along the ridge, hearing at the same time the furious battle that was raging on the right, and eye wit- nesses of the obstinate and bloody tight that Meade was making on our left. But now our own part of the field was to be in- volved. On a rising ground at our rear Hall's Maine battery had gone into position, and now his guns began to play over our heads into the woo'ls that partially screened the Confederate works. "We were forced to lie down, for the Federal missiles came perilously low. Hall being com- pel leel lines. That was close shootinar, and we Northern veterans have good reason not to deny the abilities of "our mends the enemy " in that line. We nil re- member the characteristic story of the Northern traveler who witnessed the Kentucky lad snoot a squirrel dead with his pea-bore rifle and who began to blubber on examining his prize. "What's the matter, my boy? Why do you cry?" "Pap will give me a lickin r 'cause I didn't shoot the varmint through the head 1 " But now a sudden commotion In the rear, and the spun 1 of our bugles to fall back, told that our long, harassing and nerve-wearing duty was finished. Grandly came forward our line of battle, and the New York Ninth, whose front we had been covering the nonle. gallant, whole-souled i ors of Brooklyn and New York city, with whom w had fraternize I since the early days of '61, and between whom and the old Thirteenth a perfect Damon and Pythias tie subsisted opened its ranks to permit us to pass through, anse i t the rear. A minute, five minutes, perhaps more, per* haps less, tor who can measure time at such a moment? ana then a flame of tiro and a cloud of smoke shrouded them from our view, as volley after volley of musketry, punctuated by the deep diapason of cannon and bursting shell, thundered and echoe I over the plain. The advance and the retreat, the repeated charges and final bloody repulse, the brave, stand up fight our boys made, the useless, pur- poseless holocaust all this is history, engraven forever on tbe hearts of ttie American peopla And ao, for us of the Thirteenth, ended the battle on the left. GEORGE E. Jcrsoir. A LITTLE CAMP FUN. When the Fourth Battalion of Rifles was growing into the Thirteenth Infantry (GoL Leonard) at Fort Independence, ihe boys be- Kuiied the tedium of garrison duty and rill with some pronounce-1 horse play, of which some of the most popular comrades were vic- tims. Early one morning Capu Fox, atterwarct Mayor of Cambridge, was suddenly aroused from sleep by a deiuge of water which covered him and his bed. It was to be expected that the Captain would arise, shake himself and put, to blush the proiane army in Flanders, but the lurking witnesses of his discomfiture were dis- appointed. He only turned over and remarked to himself, sotto voce, and with characteristic deliberation: "Somebody, doubtless by acci 1 1 cm, has spilled some water." Lieut H. T. Kockwell. who chanced to hear the observation anil reported it with "ghoulish glee." might have been able to tell who spilled the water. The writer of this belonged to a regiment the members of which received a good many boxes of dainties from solicitous friends in Boston and vicinity, where they enlisted. Whether or not those dainties included some actual seed cakes, the Forty-fourth ere long acquired among, pos- sibly, envious comrades of other battalions. the ignominious cognomen of " Seed Cake Regi- ment." In one of Gen Butler's Gubernatorial campaigns he erroneously transferred this ap- peuation to the Forty-fifth, of which one of his political foes. CoL Codman. had ueen the gal- lant leader. The mistake. 1 think, was duly corrected before the end of the canvass, but it was probably never generally known that the title was the invention of a soldier of the Forty- fourth itself, the same incorrigible wag. in fact, who. while Newbern wasundersiejje, circulated the exclusive information amonz his comrades that the commander ot the rebel force bad noti- fied Gen. Fo>ter to remove the women and children and the Forty-fourth Regiment from the town, as he. the rebel comman .er. was about to make an assault. Notwithstanding all this and more, Dave Howard of Company D was not without warm friends and admirers IB the regiment of his lampoons. Z. T. HAIMKS HEROIC MOTHER AND A HEROIC SON. The first member to die of Company E of the Thirty-third was Private George Osborn of Manchester. Mass, he was the son of a widow. th last of a family of five boys. If 1 remember rightly all had died in the army. His mother learned he ha I enlisted in my company, and wrote me he was the last of her five boys. As he was young, she desired me to look after his welfare as much as possible. He was taken sick near Fairfax Court House and sent to the hos- pital thera A few days after the regiment was ordered to Thoroughfare Gap. When young Osborne heard the regiment had left. be. with some others, left the hospital and came on after, reaching the regiment late at night. I was in- formed of his arrival, aud went to his tent to see him. I toid him he should have remained in the hos- pital till he got stronger, but he said he thought he would be abe to keep with the company and had rather die with the regiment than be left in the hospital. No one who has noi Ueen in the army knows how bard it was for those young soldiers to be left in the hospital sicK among the sick and dying, with no friends to cheer them. While having our morning company drill the MEAGHER S ADDRESS AT FREDERIOKSBURG. 177 next morning word was brought me young Os- borne was dead, 1 was utterly astonished, hav- ing no idea tie was so low. He had used up all his strength to reach the regiment and just sank right away and die'l before morning. Orders reached us that morning to march back to Germantown, near Fairfax. Hastily we prepared his grave in a little hollow at the foot of a noble chestnut tree, on the right, just as you enter Thoroughfare Gap. We wrapped his blanket about him and fired the farewell salute as we replaced the turf on his lonely grave. He was the first of Company E to die. It was a na IL, who served in the war in the Second Michigan Regl ment under Phil Sheridan and other commanders, teiU vividly an anecdote ot a gallant charge at Freder lekgburg, made to dislodge rebel sharpshooters from houaes on the opposite bank of the Rappahannock, tie- dared by many the most gallant in the war.] I have been deeply interested in the depart- ment of the Journal devoted to the reminis eences of the war, and am conscious of the fact thai the soldiers of no one State did all the fighting that saved the Union. No true veteran would detract from the glorious record of those who went from the Bay State, While it was my fortune to serve in a Michigan regiment. I had two brothers who were members of Massa- chusetts regiments, one of whom gave his life to the Union ; the other, like Comrade Linehan, drove the enemy from ma -y a field by the dis- cordant notes of a regimental band. Carleton," in his description of the battle of Frederlcksburg. gives due credit to the Seventh Michigan. The story of that battle, the heroism displayed by the leaders of the forlorn hope, cannot be too often told The account givaii at the time, when every movement was fresh in the minds of those who described it, is as inter- esting and as inspiring as the glorious account by " Carleton." M:iny of your readers served in regiments from other States and tneir only desire is to let credit be given wherever it is due. Major Thomas H. Hunt, who commanded the Seventh Michigan after Lieutenant Colonel Baxter was wounded, in his report of the battle, said '' On the morni'ig of the llth we were in line at day- break and marched between three and four miles to the Lacey House, which stands on the bank of the Rappahaunock, directly opposite Fredericksburg. "On arriving there we found that the Engi- neer Corps, which had been laying the pontoon bridge during the night and had succeeded in getting it about two-thirds of the way across. 178 STORIES OF OUR SOLDIERS. bad since that time been continually fired noon by the rebel sharpshooters, who were concealed in the houses and cellars alone the opposite bank, and who killed and wounued o many of the workmen that they were forced to abandon the bridge. At this Juncture we were ordered to deploy a* skirmishers along the edge of the bank and b- low the bridge. This we did. and opene i fire at will against the enemy on the opposite tide. Out under the protection of briok houses, cellar* and ride pits ha coull laugh at us with impun- . ity One hundred and forty Dieces of artillery were then opened upon tins part of the town but could not dislodge them. The attempt was agam made to put down the bridge but again failed. General Buruside then proposed that a party of volunteers be made up to cross iu the boats ami dislodge them. Our Colonel (Hall), now commanding brigade, tol i General Buruside that he had a regiment that would volunteer to cross, and made u* the offer which was promptly accepted. Arrange- ments were made that the men of the Engineer Corps should man tue ' boats and row us over. We placed our men along the banks of tue river at proper intervals, so that they could take the boats qnickiy when all was ready, and after waning about naif an hour we were told that the offi- cers of the Engineer Corps could by no means induce their men to undertake the job. The proposition was then made that we man the uoats ourselves. This prooosition we also ac- cepied. and at a given signal the men rushed t* the boats, carried them to the water, jumpa4 into them, ana pushed gallantly out into th stream amidst a shower of bullet* from the enemy which killed and wounded a great num- ber of our men. Among the latter was Lieut. Col. Baxter, and here the command devolved upon me. The regiment charged gallantly up the ascent, taking possession of the ride pits ant buildings, also capturing 35 prisoners. During this affair we lost five killed and 16 wounded It was said by the many thousands who wit- nessed this teat that it was the most gallant of the war, and I feel that our State should have the credit due her. I should not close without stating that the Nineteenth and Twentieth Massachusetts came to our support as soon as they oossibly could and we held the ground un- til the pontoon uri ige was finished and this wing of the army crossed, and did not ourselves recross again until the night of the 15th iust." Gen. Thomas F. Mea^her, in his report, said: "A few moments after 4 o'clock F. M. wort was conveyed to me that a gallant body of vol- unteers had crossed the river in boaU and take* possession of FredericKsburg. The State C Michigan fairly reserves to herself the Urgut measure of pride justified by this achievement." JOHN G. CRAWFORD, Manchester. N. H.. late of the Second MicbfeaB. THE BURNING RAILROAD TRAIN. (The story of a burning railroad train, whlcto coonM fermany a mile with It* load of flr and exploding am munition, U told by Pension Agent Osborne. ) The following incident occurre i on Sunday. June 29, 1862, wiiile the Army of the Polemic was falling back from its lines in front of Rich mem I, on its route to Harrison's Landing on the James River. The day broke exceedingly warm and sultry. Early in the morning my brigade (the Irish BrUade of Gen. Meagher) started up the tracks of the York and Richmond Railroad to reconnoitre in the vicinity of Fair Oaks. In going and returning we observed that ex- tensive preparations were being made to de- stroy large quantities of army stores that had 'accumulated at this point during the siege, and which we were unat>le to remove in the wagons during the time afforded us. Enormous fires were Kindled, and into them were thrown boxes of hard bread, bales of clothing, cases of shoes, blankets, fragments of cars, cents, hospital stores, barrels of whisky and turpentine, and many other articles that go to ma&e ut> Quar- termaster's supplies. The whole combined made a tire covering nearly two acres. This destruction of stores, says the Count of Paris, " was a sort of holocaust offered to the god of war," and such indeed it seemed to be. While this was talcing place, the troops were hurrying to and fro. taking UP the various DOS! tions assigned them on the hill opposite Sav age's Station, preparing to meet the enemy, who was momentarily expected. The impressive nature of these scenes *t be adequately portiayed by human lanuuaff*. An army of probably 60.000 men were muster- ing tor battle; the rumbling of the artillery as ft went from point to point over the field, the ex- cited commands ot hundreds of officers, to* neighing of horses, an I the roar of th flames. made up the wildest of all the wild somites of war. 1'he noise and tumult were, however, of short duration. It was not long before everything nad changed. Bv two o'clock ihe lines were forme I, the artillery had unlimbered and taken position, ana then could have been seen under the cloudless sky of that June day the corps of Heimzelman, Franklin and Sumiier, with their numerous starry dags, quietly and calmly wait- ing for the storm of battle to burst upon them. Another, ami if possible, a stranger and more unusual scene was to be witnessed beiore the serious work of fighting was to uegin. My bri- gade was iu position near the crown of the hill overlooking the ravine through which ran the railroad. On the track near Fair Oaks station stood a. train of nearly fittv baggage cars with a powerful locomotive attached to it. Into the cars had been put hundreds of kegs of powder, shells, cartridges, and oJier material of a highly combustible character. At a little after 2 o'clock the cars had been well loaded with their dangerous freight, and when this waa done A CORPORAL TURNED REPORTER. 179 car was set on fire, the engineer opened vride th throttle of his engine, jumped from it. ana left the tram to plunge forward on its fiery course alone. In full view of the waiting army the burning train swept past Savage's station with the soeed of lightning. The grade from this point to the Chickahom- my was descending, greatly increasing (tie velocity of ihe cars; every revolution of the wheels increased the volume of tire, BO that now the form of the cars was scarcely visiule it was nothing short of one long chain of fire I The distance from Savage's station to Meadow Bridge, winch had already been burned, on tlie Chickahominy is not far Irom two and a half miles. Wnen the train had reached the deep torest beyond the station a deafening explosion in re i upon our ears. The tire had reached tne ammunition and now in quick succession be- gan to burst the shells. The noise thus produced was simply terrific; fir-it the loud, sullen sound of a huge shell rent the air. echoing far and wid through the deep recesses of the forest ; now oame the explostoa of smaller ammunition, sounding like the rattle of musketry. The scene of war seemed trans f erred to the upper regions; the shrieking, hls*- ing missiles were coursing in all direction* through the clear sky. far above the tops of the tallest trees; OMVMM of white smoke were shooting up in gracefully tapering cone* toward the zenith; beautiful circles, well de- fined, marked tlie explosion of shells. The rattle and roar of the train were distinct- ly hear i tor some minutes, ending at last in* succession of crashing sounds. 1 had the misfortune to ba wounded at the i attle of Malvern Hill two days later and to fall into the nands of the enemy, and while a pnsoner in their line* I chanced to fall In with a North Carolina officer who had visited the scene where the burning train leaped into the Chickaliominy. lie told me that by actual measurement the engine and tender jumped full 20 feet when it left the end of the rails and lodged on the too of a tall pier in the oed of the treamt WM. H. OsBOBNB. HOW A CORPORAL TURNED REPORTER. .Mr. Fhineas P. Whltehonse, wag a member of Company . Sixth Mew Hampshire Volunteers. I During the war I wrote letters to local home papers, and although this fact was known to a few comrades. I think that very few, if any, soldiers outside of my own company looked upon me as a writer for the press. I was there- fore not a little surprised at the beginning of the battles of the Wilderness in 1864. when the Adjutant of my regiment called me out from the ranks and detailed me for snecial service as a reporter of the great battles that that officer said were to follow. 1 be skirmishing had already begun, at least along our part of the line, and stray shots whizxed through the woods and stopped fright- fully near us at time*. I carried a musket, and marched in the front rank with my comrades. We also had with us our knaosacks containing our cloning, blanket, shelter, etc.. our haver sack, canteen, belt and cartridge box. I was not personally acquainted with the Ad jutant. I bad snokca with him. as had scores of others, as occasion demanded in line of duty, but 1 did not suppose he knew me, except in a very indefinite manner, from a hundred other members of the regiment. 'ihe Adjutant rode up to me where 1 stood in the line, and as nearly as I can remember ad dressed me in the following words: " Corporal, we are going to have a great bat- tle. I want you to come with me to m ike a re- port of it" The Captain of my company, if he noticed the incident at all, thought nothing of the fact that a man should be detailed from his company for some special service, and. without attracting the attention of any one in particu lar, I left my place in the line and found a slightly retired place a few rods in the rear. tooK out my pencil and paper and began to write. It soon began to rain, and 1 put up my shelter on sticks or the branches of trees so as to keep off the wet, as it was not yery convenient to write with the rain drops falling on my papei. The Adjutant rode away and left me to myself. but I think I had not written more than a page before he returned to see how 1 was progressing with my account. I think I read him what 1 had written, and he expressed himself satisfied with my work. "I want you to come with me now." said he. and he rode off toward the lett of the line, I follow* ing as best I could on foot. Of eourse, the Ad- jutant went faster on his horse than I could walk, but he role up to another regiment and waited for my arrival. Asking the name of tbe regiment he turned to me and instructed me te make a memorandum of it, and then started off still farther to the left. Tbe engagement was not general, still there was occasional tiring. and deadly missiles would now and then come in our path. The Adjutant's horse was a good one. and be got over the ground at a lively pace I, on foot, could progress but slowly in comparison. We came to a battery, after traveling over not a little uneven ground, somewhat more open than where my regiment lay. when the Adjutant asked its name, and 1 made noie of it :ts beiore. 1 his performance was repeated till 1 found mvself quite a distance away from my comrades, and the officer whose instructions I had been endeavoring to follow gave me oer- mission to return to my retreat and continue my account of the movements of our regiment. Our lines and those of the enemy were quite near, and the scattering shots which came from tbe Confederates were decidedly unfavorable to a very fitting choice of words in my description of the events then transpiring. I did not know what disposition the Adjutant intended to make 180 STORIES OF OUR SOLDIERS. ot my report. That was none ol my business My duty was to obey the orders of my superiors, and in this instance I did my best work under ihe circumstances. My musket lay id.e beside me, while for the time I took up the pencil. There lie on the desk before me as I write twc Boiled sheets of note paper on which are six quite closely written pages, the result of my work as regimental reporter at that time I had written but three words on the seventh cage of my notepaper when I saw the Colonel ap- proaching my retreat. He looked at my musket, knapsack and other trappings at my side, and i c >en at the owner busy with pencil and i>a;>i'r never forget the puzzled ICCK ot the Colonel when he asked: " Corporal, what are vou doing hero? * " The Adjutant has detailed me to write an account of tiie baule," 1 replied. " Well." said he, "you may go to youi com- pany. The A'ljutant isn't Just right" Ot course I immediately obeyed, leaving my literary task unfinished, now realizing that I had been under the direction of an officer labor- ing under aberration of mind. P P WHITBHOUS* South Hamilton. N. H. CORPORAL REPORTER. A NIGHT ON PICKET. (TIM foUnwtng prutbnmotu paper vu written oy CapU Jofen u Mude of Pvtonhain. who served in the Depart- nt of (Itr < tiUf und*r Genera; Banks. The ttprlnit ol 183 found me enrolled as a soldier In the Grand Army of the Union.' Tli- rudiment to which I iiad the honor to be- Ion* wa- assigned for duty in the "Department of i he Gulf " wuose headquarters were at New Or i* AIIS In i.'if mor.tr, of Apr:, tne wnoie army, some 16 OOP strong, started for a campaign through t);*- western part of the State Our march lay through the parishes of St Mary St Martin and Si I -an. ire. what i.s calie I the " Feche Country" die very garden of the State We .anded from New Orleans by rail at Bemick Bay where we commenced our march. We felt our way along carefully often march insr all day in line of battle." At Paltemu Tille we had onr first fight our baptism of fire captured Fort Bisland and drove the rabs ' toward Alexandria The army pushed on in pursuit rapidly nnd in high spirits marching from 20 to 30 miles per day We reached New Iberia near nigne alter a march of some 30 miles At this place, on the outskirts of the village, our advance had had a "skirmish 1 with the rebs and some half a dozen of the .alter lay dead by the roael newspaper in one hand, his hat in the other, shouting at the top of his voice: "Vicksburg cauturedl Big victory at Gettysburg!" and. in his wild enthusiasm, grasped me around the neck, lifting me from the ground in a way that, having escaped the shot and shell of the enemy, I was sure I was to die oi strangulation. Added to our own victory and in the act of following up a retreating enemy the enthusiasm of men knew no uouud, an i, with wild hurrahs and vociierous yells, we followed up the panic- stricken forces of Beauregard. firing into tuem as opportunity offered, till they reached their stronghold tort Wagner. Here the advance was checked uy a vigorous fire from tbeir in- fantry and the guns of Wagner. Sumter Wag- ner two miles and Sumter tnree miles away and other reuel torts in the harbor, they having got range of our troops. Upon the approach of our boats to the shore many of our men jumped too quick. General Strong was among tiie tirst tojump, went into the water all over, lost his boots in the mud. his hat floating off with the tide, and when I saw the General he was leading his brigade in the ad- vance up the beach, bootless and hatless, mounted upon a uiminutive mule, or jack, cap- tured from the enemy. It was now 9 o'clock. The torrid heat of the sun upon the glaring sands, with the intense ex- citement of the morning had added greatly to the casualties of battle. Manv of oar men were lying dead and wounded In front of the rifle pits and all along the line of march many were prostrated by the intense heat. Pickets were thrown oat and tbe troops wer* glad to seek protection behind the sand bills of the isiaud and get needeu rest and rations. The tiring from Wagner had now become continuous, and occasional shots from Fort buinter and from Fun Johnson on Jam^s Isiaud can e plowing along the broad beach and ricocheting over the sand bills down among our mou. A group oi officers, mvself among the number, were sitting under the protection of one 01 those treacherous sand hills, a pail of butter, whicn had been found in a rebel tent, between us, ana we were enjoying the luxury o hardtack and butter when an unexplode . bheli came plowing over tne sands, noun ling and striking within a few leet of us, nearly uurying the whole party with dirt, and demolishing our pail oi butter, striking Coiouel Bedel upon the leg as ho sat upon the ground, wheeling him around and over and over, like a ten-pin. The Colonel was soon on his feet again, how- ever, covered with uirt, his eyes, nose and mouth full of ic, but yelling with a vigor char- acteristic of the man and with language more forceful than elegant, "Where in n is our buiter? Where's our butter?" the next in- stant picking up the sheil a few rods away with the i use still burning, threw it down tbe beach into the water. As the snot and shell from Sumter and Wag- ner came tearing down tne beach and over th sand, our men found sport in dodging the mis- siles; a dangerous, giiastly sport it proved in some cases. A Whitworth suot came from Sumter a Whitworth shot, by the way, is of peculiar shape and proportions, being a hexa- gon or octagon, some two to three feet in length, by four to six. inches. One of these snots from Sumter came shriek- ing through tne air like a liend incarnate, passed between Col. Jackson and myself, stand- ing within a few leet of eaca other, striding one ot our men, severing his uody liKe a stroke of a guillotine. Another man. Corporal McCoy of Company F, had thrown himself to tne earth to escape A shot or sheil he saw coming, but he was directly in its path. The ball striking the ground, bound- ing a hundred feet or more, struck the Corporal in the back, killing him instantly. We had gained a lootnoiq upon the island, but now long we could hold it. or what further advance could be made, was uncertain. Fort Wagner, the strongest earth work uuon the coast, Stood between us an i Charleston, and must be reduced before further progress could be made. An assault upo . the works mi.de the following morning, tbe llth of July, met witu disastrous failure, and demonstrated the fact that a much larger force would be necessary to make further advance. Troops were hurrie > over from r'olly Island and from other points in the department, BO that in a few days more than 10,000 men were encamped on Morris Island. General Gilt- more established his heauquariers well back near Luruthouse Inlet, and was personally di- 192 STORIES OF OUR SOLDIERS. reeling operations. Breastworks wore hastily constructed, reaching across the island, grans an i war material were landed by shiploads and placed in position as rapidly as possible for de- fence, and also preliminary to another assault upon Fort Wagner. The 18th of July was faxed unon for the assault. After a terrific bombardment of ten or twelve hours from the guns of our land batter- ies aud navy the assault was made after night- fall. The genius of a Dante could but faintly portray the horrors of that night attack, the charge across the narrow neck of the island in front of the fort, the murderous tire of the enemy's infantry an I of snell and grape and canister into the crowded, confused mas- of our troops, and of the struggle 10 hold the works after saining a foothold. The brave Col Put- nam of the Seventh New Hampshire Regiment, standing on the parapet of Wagner, with sword aloft, with voice above the din of the battle, calling upon his brave men to follow him, fell by rebel bullets. That brave leader of the charging column, General Strong, had already fallen inside the enemy's works, and our own Adjutant LJbby, true to his chief, was with him in death. Co onel Shaw of the Fifty-fourth Massachusetts colored troops, with hundreds ot his brave men, had vindicated the right of liberty to all men. He fell and was literally buried under the bodies of his followers. Colonel Bedel was taken a prisoner by the enemy while leading where his men did not follow, owing to tiie contusion of orders and the blackness of the night. Thousands of other brave men on that fearful night were alike martyrs in the cause of humanity ana victims of an incompetent leader Dack in the camp of Morris Island. The charge upon Wagner takes rank with the hottest battles of the war, and, indeed, of history, tne loss over 33 per cent of the num- bers engaged being very rarely exceeded, but, like many other hard-fought battles, being shorn of a victory alruo-t within our grasp by the woeful failure of the support to come up at the critical moment. By all known rules of war the failure to capture Fort Wagner, the movement against Charleston by this line of operations would end. out not so with General Gil, more. A few months previous to this time he had made a world-wide reputation as a most, skillful engineer by the re iuction and capture of Fort Pulaski at the mouth of the Savannah River with bis siege guns and mortars upon Tibee Island, more than a mile away. In the emer- gency that now confronted him the name tac- tics were at his command, and how skillfully made use of the world already knows. Fort Sumter lay two miles and more from our nearest guns on Morris Island, and the reduc- tion of Sumter over the heads of the garrison and guns of Fort Wagner has not ceased to be a marvel. At the end of the bombardment it lay a ma>s of rubuish, every gun dismounted, and ever after served only am a bomb proof for its garrison. Why the navy aid not sail up to the wharves of the city ot Charleston after the capture of Morris Island and alter ihe guns of Sumter were silenced, history does noi, tell us. During the wnold time of the >inge the troops not on duty in the trenches were spectators of the grandest spectacular exhibition the world, ever saw. Tne sauu hills, uactc out of range of the guns of the enemy, altliougu an occasional shot did reach us, were covered with men watching the tiring of our own guns and mor- tars and tho.ie of the enemy. Hundreds of guns of all calibre, from thirty pounds to three hundred pounaers, were con- tinually belching forth, as irom the depths of regions internal, tire and destruction. The sight was grandeur in its highest exeiHolitioa- tion, particularly at night; the air tilled with shot and shell, describing with tueir fuses trains oi tire in all directions through the heavens, the trembling ot the earth beneath us as by the Almighty's hand, with the deaieuing roar and thunuering 01 the guns, vieiug with and exceeding the most terrific of heavens' artillery, was a fascination that held me spell- bound, knowing with each explosion in the treiicnes of our works that lay before us a life was the forfeit or the wounded boay of some of our boys was the accomplished fiendish work. Lieut. \Vadleigh of our regiment and a no more stalwart, loval and brav soldier ever went irom .New Hampshire was detailed for special duty in the Engineer Corps, and was in immediate command ot the fatigue party that mounted the celebrated gun sw,.mp angel. It will be remembered that this gun reached Charleston with its shell, loaded with Greek fire, and set on fire and destroyed a portion of the city, but alter some 30 rounds the uuu ex- ploded. This is the gun that Col. Serreil of the En- gineer Corps declared could not be mounted in the piace indicated by Gen. Gill more without the authorities .urnished him 50 men, 18 feet tall, to erect a battery in swamps 1 5 feet deep, and for which he made requisition in due form. After the reuuctiou of Fort, Wagner and Bat- tery (jtregcort tiiey rode up to the front. The firing upon Charleston had not wholly ceased, ana wuile the ladies were there tne officer in command, much against the protest*- GENERAL GILMORE's OPERATIONS. 193 tion of the ladies, continued his firing upon the eity. They declared it most cruel- They soon became interested, however, in the artillerist's scientific explanation of the work- ing of ihe gun. its elevation ami amount of pow- der, and as to distance, etc., etc. Finally one of the ladies in her enthusiasm s -ized the lanyard and with an exclamation "Oh I how cruel!" discharge'! the gun. sending its iron message into Charleston. In front of Fort Wasjner was a long, low morass, which, at higii tide, was nearly covered with water. It was over this treacherous ground that Gen. Gillrnore constructed his ap- proaches to the fort. 'ihe immensity of the work and the obstacles overcome were something new in the history of siege operations. The construction of parallel lines in the operation of napping and mining in an approach to the enemy's works is a hazard- ous operation under the most favorable con- ditions, but when it is known that for a mile or more the entire mass of sand and other ma trrial for the construction of the immense earthworks with their bomb-proofs, was car- ried forward upon the backs of men in sand haars and otherwise, the wonderful genius of Gillmore and the courage and endurance of our soldiers can be better understood, an'l this, too. under a constant fire ol the enemy from Fort Wagner and other forts in Cnarleston Harbor. The alert sharpshooter was also getting in his deadly work. The last parallel was run into the ditch of Fort Wagner, the enemy still hold- ing the fort. Morris Island, in common with many of thj islands upon the Southern coahot and shell they pushed their way, reached the for,, dashed through the ditches, gained the parapet and engaged in a hand-to- hand tight with the enemy, and, for nearly half an hour, held their ground, and aid not fall back until every commissioned officer was shot down. These brave men were exposed to a most galling fire of grape an 1 canister from the howitzers, raking the ditches, from bas- tions of the fort, from hand grenades aud from almost every modern implement of war- fare." Gallantly did Sergeant Carney conduct him- self during this terrible blast, which seemed like an outpour from the very gates of hull. But let him tell his story in his own modest way: " On the 18th of July, 1863, about noon, wo commenced to draw near this great fort under 9 196 STORIES OF OUR SOLDIERS. tremendous cannonading: from the fleet directly noon the fort. When we were within probably ft thousand yards of the fort we baited and lay flat uoon the ground, waiting for the order to charge. The brave CoL Shaw and Hi* Adjutant, in company with General Strong, came forward and addressed the regiment with encouraging words. Gen. Strong said to the regiment. ' Men of Massachusetts, are you ready to take that fort to-night?' And the regiment simultaneously answered 'Yes.' Then followed three cheers, proposed by General Strong, for the regiment, three cheers for Col. Shaw, three cheers for Governor Andrew and Massachusetts, and three cheers fer General Strong. ''We were all ready for the charge, and the regiment started. We had got but a short dis tance when we were opened upon with mus- ketry, shell, grape and canister, which mowed down our men right and left "As the color-liearer became disabled I threw away my gun and making my way to the head of the column, but before I reached there the line had descended the embankment into the ditch and was mak ing its way upon Wagner itself. "While going down the embankment our column was stanch and full. As we ascended the breastworKs the volleys of grapeshot which came from right and left, and of musketry in front, mowed the men down as a scytne would mow the thick grass. In less than twenty minutes I found myself alone, struggling upon the ramparts, while all around me were the dead and wounded, lying one upon another. Here I said, ' I cannot go into the fort alone,' and so I halted and knelt down, holding the flag in rnv hand. " While tnere me musket Dans ana grapeshot were flying all around me, and as they struck the sand would fly in my lace. I knew my posi tion was a critical one. and 1 began to watch to see if I would be let alone. Discovering that the forces had renewed their attack further to the right, and the enemy's attention being drawn thither. I turned_ and discovered a battalion of men coming toward me on the ramparts of Wagner. Thev proceeded until they were in front of me, and I raised my flag and started to join them, when from the light of the cannon discharged on the fort I 1 wound the colors around the staff and made my way down the parapet into the ditch, which was without water when 1 crossed it before, but was now tilled with water that came up to my waist. "Out of tne number that came up with me there was no man moving erect save myself, although they were not all dead, but wounded. "In rising to see if I could determine my course to the rear, the bullet I now carry in my body came whizzing like a mosquito. " I was shot. Not being prostrated by the snot 1 continued my coarse, yet had not gone far before I was struck by a second shot " Soon after 1 saw a man coming toward me, and when within halting distance I asked him who he was. He replied : ' I belong to the One Hundredth New York.' and then inquired if I were wounded. Upon my replying in the affirmative, he came to my assistance and helped me to the rear. 'Now. then.' said he. 'lei me take the colors and carry them for you.' "My reply was that I would not give them w> any man unless he belonged to the Fifty-fourth Regiment. "So we pressed on. but did not go far before 1 was wounded in the head. We came at length within hailing distance of the rear guard, who caused us to halt, and, upon asking us who we were and finding I was wounded, took us to the rear and through the guard. An officer came, and after taking my name and regiment, put us in charge of the hospital corps, telling them to find my regiment. " When we finally reached the latter the men cheered me and the flag. My reply was, ' Boys, the old flag The Sergeant's eyes onghten as ne tells the story, his closely-knit form straightens and the blood courses through his veins with the vigor of youih. as the memory of that glorious expe- rience returns. ''The truest courage and de- termination were manifested on both sides on that day at Fort Wagner." tie continues. "There was no longer a question as to the valor of Northern negroes, ihe assault on Fort Wagner completely removed all prejudices in the de- partment. "General Gillmore issued an order forbidding all distinction to ue made among the troops in his commau I, so that, while we lost hundreds of our numbers, we nevertheless were equal in all things save the pay. " However, while the Government refused to pay us equally, we continued to tight for the free- dom of the enslaved and for the restoration of our country. We did this, not only at Wagner, but also in the battles on James Island. Money Hill. Olustee and at Boykiu's Mill." Probably the occasion which will live longest in Sergeant Carney's memory, next to the Bat- tle of Fort Wagner, is the visit of Gen. Russell A. Alger to New Bedford in January. 1890. The Sergeant made a speech at. the dinner given in the General's honor, and after the tumultuous applause which followed had subsided, Com- mander Aiger (he was ^National Commander of the Grand Army at that time) arose Ironi his place at the head of the table and marched dowu to where the hero of Fort Wagner was seated. Grasping his hand and pointing to a gold medal upon the colored soldier's breast, a me lal awarded by Congress for bravery Gen Alger said to the Sergeant. "I want to congratulate you. I would rather carry that badge thai; to receive any office in the gift of the people of the United Slates." WALTER H. B REMINGTON. SERGEANT CARNEY ON THE RAMPARTS OF WAGNER. 197 ANECDOTES OF A COLORED VETERAN. 199 ANECDOTES ABOUT A COLORED VETERAN. 1 have read with a great deal of interest the aeries of war articles which you are pu-llsliing V\ your valuable paper. Though not an old "vet" myselt, nor yet a soldiers son, yet 1 think 1 take as much interest in the stories of the great war as ttie mail who fought in it My father lost a dearly oeloved brother, wtio left his young bride of a few weeks and marched away 10 the battlefield, only to fall by a rebel bullet in almost the first engagement. As 1 was reading an account in the Journal the other day I tnougnt that perhaps some ot the readers of the uaper would like to hear the narrative of an old colored soldier who followed the tlag for more than two years, who was at Fort Pillow, and was with Siierman in his famous march to to the sea, and who was never tired of singing the praises of "Ole Uncle billy." 1 spent some lime at Westneid three years ago. and while there, one day, as I was goiiiK down the steps of the house. I heard the sound of some one sawing wood, and uoiug around the corner of tiie house I saw this old colored man working away as if his life depended on his jretiiug all that coru of wood done before night. I got to talking witu the old man. and soon found out that he was an old Union soldier, and that he had a store of tales, all very interesting. About the men and events, as he had seen them. in the late "wan." One day he told about his marvelous escaue from Fort Pillow, an i i will try and mvo it as he told me. in his quaint, old darky dialect. lie sail I that in the early part of the fight he was struck "all in a heap," as he expressed it. by a spent ball, and when he came to his senses the "rebs" were all around him. lie saw more than one deed that was worthy of barbarians done by thoso men in gras\ He said. "Dero was Tom Jolmsiu-r. my friend with whom I was ju>t done talking with dai morning, an' a big reel stick he bay'nad cause he had to gibe in to a ' niggar.' but dere is something kinder convincing about a musket barrel pinted at your head, whedder dere is a white man behind it or a black man, an' so he say he gibe in, and I tote him to the rear, an* dat end my first battle." As I stated before, the old man dad been with Sherman in his march to the sea, and 1 guess from some of the tales he told me that he was the Grand Marshal of the "Bum- mers." He said: "One day I was coming back to de regiment just after a raid on de nearest plantation. I had about t'ree chickens in my han'. two hams strung aroun' my neck, a big jug ob Masses under my arm, an' I was a eatin" a nice piece ob hoe cake when who should I run attainst but 'Uncle Billy.' He stop he horse an' he look at me. an' den he laff like as though he would sulit Den he say. 'Well, my man, I guess you won't go to bed hungry." Den he laff again an' ride away. 1 tell you he was de liestest General in de war, an' he was de finest man I eber seed. Dar was a powerful good maa left dis earth when 'Ol Uncle Billy ' went to bis long rest." said the old man reflectively, as he raised his old battered straw hat from his head, arid brushed the moisture from his eyes with an old red bandana handkerchief. I spent many a day after that listening to the old man's stories, and although once in a while ha was apt to draw the long bow a little, like his tale of canturing " Seben rebels when dey was all powerful drunk on peach brandy " and taking the whole lot into camo, or the time when he "Seed a cannon ball coming close along the groun'. an' I junrio right up in de air an' it go right under me;" still, he was very interesting, and seemed to remember every- thing that had happened to him. He was also on the Red River expedition, at least so he said, and some other time, if I can remember it. 1 will tell you some more about him. ARTHUR F. ADAMS. Boston, Mass., Jan. 200 STORIES OF OUR SOLDIERS. HOW THE SECOND ARMY CORPS WAS CALLED. Capt Murray of the Fifth New Hampshire Regiment, an old soldier and a veteran of the Mexican War, came into the possession of an Id cavalry bor.se, who had beeu condemned and turned loose to hunt his own living. He was used on the march to carry the innumera- ble small things belonging to a company In active service. The old animal was stone ulind, but vt-ry intelligent; he knew the bugle calls and woul go through the cavalry drill when he heard them soun led. He would KO through the maneuvres anywhere he chance I to be; he msc'i to charge into a group of men or a tent or anywhere, as he could not see a parti Cle. The old horse was christened Beaure gard by the men, and was maie a pet of by '-he company Everyone was expected to r' Aim something goou to eat a biscuit or a Tew potatoes and such like and Beauregard could munch " hardtack " like a veteran. The or ps was encamped on boliver Heights, and WHS expecting an attack from Mosby, the guer- rilla, who was reported as being near by. and strong uicket lines were mainiamed i.oih day and night. The Seventh New York, a German acunent, was in camp next to the Fifth. Som e of the boys ot the latter re . ..-.- ... some of them, from Lancaster, ttioufh'. they would have a> little sport wuh the Dutchman. So they too c a cavalry uniform and sewed It together, stuffed it, tied on a pair of boots. made a head and fas- tened on a cap; then thev whittled out a wooden sword, and then hunted up old Beaure -rar ; and mounted the stuff ed man on his back, fixed him UP with the sword hand and reins tied around him. Then they took him over near the New York regiment, where they gave him a prod behind with a bayonet, and away lie went down one of the company streets, over everything he met. Tents were overturns 1. men knocked down amid cries of "Mine Gotti Moshbyl Moshbyl! MoshbylM" The long roll was beat an i men rusued to arms, and in a few minutes the wuole Second Corps were in readi- ness to resist an attack. Old Beauregar 1 had done the job intended thorougnlv. He was. found the Seventy-ninth Highlanders looke i as they trod gayly on like school uoys on a day's ou.mg in the woods. Thirty-one year-, have passed since that beau- rilui December morning, but its memories will live lorever The iou*r tramp tnrougb the woods under the shaae of live oaks festooned wiib grav streamers of moss was not in the least wearisome, and the hearts of many, light as they seemed, must uave carried tnem oaoK to the banks of the Lee. the Snaunon and the Boyne. when, as children, they walked beside their father or motuer to mass on a Christmas moruiiirf On, may God bless the boys who novr iorgot tue old home, and who have re- mained true to the teaching received at their motners' knee, who have kept the faith despite the scoffs and sueers of those uefore whom they kave bad the courage to practice it. who have ever been ashamed of their name or origin, but stood up like men in Defence of both, ana whose patriotism u volunteering and bravery ID action proved them all the better Ameri- And a truer representative of this class was .oi in tbe service than the American born son f honest Owen Donohoe ol Lowell, who so ayiy marched at the head of his company, handsome aud genial, with a pleasant word tor each one under hU command, officer and pri- vate, aud beloved by all, from little Edoie Quinn, his orderly, who fell by his side at Seces- sion villa to the tcrim commander -jf the depart- ment. General Sherman. Beside him, free and easy, his First Lieutenant, "Bob " Allen, Protestant as he was, kept in hue with his men, for he. too, had some lender recollections ol the old land ; and keep- ing step with him was sedate, resolute Walter Cody, Second Lieutenant, who six mot. ths later, on James Island, was crippled ior life. '1 he thoughts of all were on the present; none dreamed what was in store for them: the stern realities of war had not yet set in, ana no vision of Morris Island and the long siege of Charles- ton disturbed their happy thoughts. The well- known airs their mothers danced after, or their fathers sang. "St. Patrick's Day." "The Sprig of Shilallagh." ' Thr Girl 1 Left Behind Me." "Th^ Wind That Shook the Barley." 'The Connaught Man's Rambles." "Tbe Bold Soger Boy,' 1 etc.. were played in the most lively man- ner by Tom McHenrv. the fifer, accompanied on the drum by uapper little Mike Galvin. And how they chaffed each other, aud laughed and sang, either keeping time to the music or changing to rout step, while the pioer was rest- ing the chanter, and how tickled the contra- bands were, who came out of the woods attract- ed by the music "How. wah. golly. Massa. dat's nice." Poor souls, to them, pouring in every day from. "Biufton on the main, sab." the Yankees were gloririe I beings, almost angels, and their daily prayer was. "God bress Massa Linkuinand the Yankee sogers." And how they sang, "Glorious Mawnin. Glorious Mawnin. Ji-sus rose from the dead Sunday Mawnin." Such voices and. such harmony, rich and melodious, and over all a clear, .-unny sky. the air as warm and balmy as a June atmo phere in New England, the sombre live oaks drawn up on each side. ho;irv and aged looking, with their gray mossy beards, pro ending arras seemingly, as the exiles of Erin marched by in review. Now a grove of pines is struck, an I the air is redolent with tbe delicious aroma, only toun d in such forests, while ihe ground is thickly car- peted with the cast-off garments of a dead year: occasionally a palmetto tree steps out to view the parade, but not often ; the presence of in- vaders is a disagreeable reminder of its bygone glory, and it sen Is the grave old live oak and the sighing pine to sing a dirge over its dying hopea But the m-trch is over, Seabrook is reached, and Colonel White of tbe Fifty-fifth extends a hear'v welcome to his guests AD aitar had been erected in the open air, and in a few minutes all are on their knees, and the voice of the priest is heard, as he offers up the holy sacrifice of the mass. What a scene for an artistl The altar under the shade of the trees, the uplifted arms of the celebrant, the bowed beads and bended knees of the soldiers, the dip- ping of the colors, the roll oi the drum and the "present arms" of the guard at the elevation, and. mjre than all this, the wondering, rever- ential dark laces which, like a blacK frinee. en- circled the kneeling battalion. Ah! God pity the poor soulsl Did they realize that this was a reminder of the awful sacrifice on Calvary's Mount ages ago? But now the service is over. mass is finished, and as tbe men stand in tneir places, the priest slowly turns and faces them. He folds his arms and for a moment is still. 204 STORIES OF OUR SOLD1KK; looking over the upturned respectful counte- nances of his congregation, and casting; a sur- prised glance at the crowd of interested dark faces which had collected, unknown to him, during the service. It is five months since thev had left their homes, and how glad tbe men are to hear attain the voice of their own " So^garth Aroon," atul that voice having just the faintest flavor of their own delicious brogue; and how feelingly he addressed them, and what good ad vice he gave them, to be true 10 their God and their country, and their duty would be well performed; and that even the head of the ohurcli, always on the alert for the welfare of his flock, had issued a circular letter, absolving them lr<>ni all fasts wmie serving in the armies Of their country, and asking them tokneei.he gave them his benediction, and the services were finished. A. couple of hours' fraternization between the men of the different reeriments closed with a drum call. and. a little later, the battalion was on its way back to camp after a day well spent, nearly a third of a century ago; but the recol- lections 01 that Christmas are as clear as il on yesterday, though few 01 the actors survive. Many of them found unknown graves on James Island, on Morris Island, at Wagner, on Folly Island, *t Drewry's Bluff, at Cold Harbor, at Deep Bottom, or have died since their return of wounds or disease. Their gallant com- mander, genial Michael T. Donohoe. went in at the beginning ana stayed to the end. Because he was always true to his Goa, to his country ana to his friends, may he and his have peace to the end of their days; and no matter where the mortal remains rest of the hoys 01 Companies C an i G of the two regiments, the recording angel will have them creoited for the day's service in December. 1861. JOHN C. CAPTURED A REBEL GENERAL BY MISTAKE. Reading the intensely interesting war stories in the Journal has called to my mind an inci- dent 1 have never seen published. It was some time in the fall of 1865. I was a mere boy. a Sergeant in Company E. Thirty- aecqnd Maine Regiment, Second Brigade, Second Division, Ninth Army Coros, in front of Peters- burg. There had been an understanding be- tween the picket lines of the contending armies for some time for no tiring ana all daylong the Blue and the Gray were plainly visible to each other and in close proximity. Jokes were frequently passed back and lortii, and it was not uncommon for two or three of each side to meet mi i way between the lines and swap for johnny hoe cuko. A Massachusetts Captain who had thus gone between the lines Was one day "gobbled up" taken pris- oner when orders were issued to stop this proceeding. One cold, drizzly Sun- day not long after I was on the picket line, and a New Hampshire Captain was Officer of the Guard. In the afternoon we saw down at the left a rebel move a paper; not receiving an answer he moved up in front of our picket post and moved his paper. Our Captain of the guard moved a pacer in return, whereupon the rebel commenced to advance toward our post. Our Captain said he would bring him in or die in the attempt, and started to meet him. They m -t about midway, .shook hands and our Cap- tain did not let go his grasp, drew his revolver ana brought him into our lines. The Johnny was very mad and swore roun ily. calling it a d d Yankee trick. He had on a tine steel gray uniform and silver spurs and said he was an orderly to Gen. Lee. He was taken to General Griffin's headquar- ters (the General was brigade commander) and from thence to General Potter's headquarters. General Potter was our division commander. There my duty ceased. We learned soon after- ward that our prisoner was no less a personage than Major General Ko,'er A. Pryor. now a famous lawyer in New York city and one of the counsel for Mr. Til ton In his famous suit against Henry Ward Beecher. If tuis sketch is read by any one who was on the picket line that day and saw this occurrence I would like to have them write me. LEEOY T. CARL ETON, Winthrop, Me. Company E. Thirty-second Maine. MARCHING UNDER DIFFICULTIES. Going to the scene of war as a volunteer re- cruit in September. 1862, and joining a New Hamnsbire regiment just after the battle of Amietam, my first hard march was over the mountains near the Potomac River in western Maryland. It was a hot day, ami my load was heavy indeed. How heavy that knapsack after a few miles of marcningl Tbe haversack, the canteen, the cartridge pox. the mu-ket how they weigned me down as I climued up, and up, and up the mountain side. How lon^r could I keen up the march with such ;i load? At every step the bur len grows heavier. The bright sun nd the charming cenery would be aelightful if one could sit idly and enjoy them. Bui 1 can only wonder how I am to keep in the column and not fall by the wayl \Vhy not rest, and go on by-and-by. That will not do, as long as 1 can put one foot in advance of the other. I must wait till the bugle sounds a rest. But there is a man resting by the wayside; why may not I? He will not rest there long, for he has no permit. An officer rides back on a horse and talks to him. 1 am near enough to hear some of the conversation. " Move on,* says tne officer, in a stern voice, "or I will order you shot" Officers do not stop to argue much at such a time. Men do. and often must, fall out on a march, but it is not allowable for a sol lier to stop and rest because he is tired. If it were, all would be halting too frequently. The man who was spoken to was evidently one who wa^ accus- tomed to "fall oak" And then A speech liKe PATHETIC WAR MEMORIKS. 205 that is sometimes a lesson to others who may be halt' inclined to give up the march. When the bugle blows for rest what a de- light tul sound is that to my ear. Bow quickly I drop by the roadside and rest my weary limbs. How I wish those few minutes could be length- ened to an hour. Did I ever know so fully what rest meant before ? Why cannot we stay longer and be in better con litiou to continue our journey ? It is not for us to ask such ques- tions, ana the bugle sounds for "lor ward I" an I we are again on our way. My canteen is erupts, and thirst is now added to 01 her discomforts. 1 must keep my place in the moving column till another halt, and even longer, unless water is near at hand. There is little lime to atten.l to personal wants. To do my duty 1 must keep moving, march away, plod along, climb the mountain, jump ditches, wade through streams, smile at the burning an. At last the mountain is climbed, the column descends on the other side, a task scarcely less fatiguing than the climbing; we march through woods and lowlands, over rough ground and along stony tracks till, as the sun nears its set- ting, we drag our weary feet toward a field where we are to bivouac for the night N friends have a hot supper awaiting us; no com- fortable beds are placed at our disposal; we must prepare our own food, and be thankful for the hard ground on which to repose. But, even under such conditions, it seems that I am not to be allowed a night's rest. It is my turn to go on guard. The camp must be protected, and I must be one to assist in that dutv. Was there ever a longer night? Two hours on and (our off. How long seemed each two. how short the four I How drowsy 1 am a* I walk my lonely beatl How often I have to pinch myself to keep from sleeping, as to and fro 1 tramp witli my musket on my shoulder. At last the morning dawns, and I rjoice a* never before to see the rising sun. P. P. WUITEHOITBB South Hampton, N. H. PATHETIC WAR MEMORIES. I have been reading the war-stories in the Bos- ton Journal, written by Carleton and others, and liave been very much interested in them, and how that the regiments stood up so man- fully before the shot and shell of the enemy. I thought that I would write a few lines in re- gard to the First Massachusetts Heavy Artil- lery. We left the forts around Washington the same time that the First Maine and the First New York Heavy Artillery Regiments did, and we mar cued down to Alexandria and took the boat lor Belle Plain, where we disembarked and marched from there up to General Grant's headquarters. On the 18tn of May we marched up the road about two miles, where we went in the woods and camped for the night, and it was one of the most beautiful nights that I ever saw. It was clear and the moon was full, and not even a leaf seemed to move, when some of the boys on our left commence 1 to sing, and they sang a few pieces and one of the nieces ended with " Uncle Abe, iiully for you." The boys in Company F commenced to sing some of tue war songs. And it seemed as though I never heard music sound so sweet in my life as it did there that night. I read the piece about the Captain who, after being relieved from picket, went up to a house and found some eggs and boilel them, They tasted so good that after he came home he tried them in the same way. but they did not taste the same. And it has been the same way with me in reeard to the singing. For 1 have heard some of the same pieces since 1 came home, which have been sung well. but it did not have the s.irne charm to me that it did down in those woods near the Fredericks buriar road, and it was the last song that some of them ever sang. For one of tnem was killed before the next night, shot through the head (Corporal Washburn). We left the woods in the afternoon and marched about two miles up the road and formed in line of battle, when Companies F and JD were ordered out as skirmishers, and while we were_ going 1 looked back and saw the rest of the regiment going double-quick off toward the right, and in a few moments they were fighting hard. Companies F and D stood waiting at the edge of the woods for orders, as there seemed to be some mistake in sending us out there. But in a lew momenta we had orders to forward double quick, and we came in line of battle on the left and ue^an to fire, and soon were engaged with the rest, and we kept up the firing until about 10 o'clock, when it cease i. with only now and then a volley. We lay down until morning, when we found that K well's corps had gone, and w had saved the supply train that they were after. Our regiment lost in that engagement 50 killed, 312 wounded and 28 missing; total, 390. That was thinning out some, I thought, for one tight. I went out on the battlefield the next morning, where they were gathering the dead, and what a sight to see men who but a few hours before were ia healtn and strength now stiff in death y the enemy's bullets, to say nothing of the sufferings of those who were wounded 1 And let us just stop and thiuK of the homes that it made va- cant, and the hearts that it seemed to crush, and sometimes 1 have thought if some of the people of the North coul i have looked upon such scenes as those thev would not slur out against a pension. For 1 believe that everyone who went through that awful ordeal from 1861 to to 1865 should be rewarded. For no pen can write, no picture can be painted that can ex- press anything those boys went through on the march, tne picket, the bloody tielu ot battle or those prison pens in the sioutn. And as we look at the old comrades to-day we see how some are suffering from wounds that have never healed ana others their bodies shattered by disease from the effect of that terrible strife K. F. HODGE, Co F, First Mass. H. A. Post 14. Hopkinton. Mass. IN THE SOUTHWEST. OoL King Is natlre of Alstead, K. H., and at the breaking out of the war of the Rebellion he was In tha employ of the Nashua Manufacturing Company of that place. He was one of the first to respond to President Lincoln's call to arms In April, 1861, enlisting as a pri- rate in the First New Hampshire Volunteers, serving his enlistment and returning home as a Corporal. He then Misted in raising a company for the Eighth Xew Hampshire Regiment and was commissioned M Second Lieutenant. He accompanied the regi- ment to Ship Island with Butler's expedition, and for Ibis admirable efficiency as an officer he was promoted to First Lieutenant in July, 1362, and to Captain in Novem- ber, 1363. He served for a year with abilit r and gallantry n the staffs of Generals Paine and McMilui n as Adjutant General and Assistant Inspector General. On the ad- vance of the Bed River expedition he was second in com- mand under Major Connelly, who commanded the right wing. After brave service and great suffering as a prisoner he was given the command of the Eighth Regiment, which position he filled until November, 1305, when he was mot- tared out after four and one-half years' service. He was ommisaioned as Lieutenant Colonel by Governor Smyth, and from that official, as well as from Adjutant General Head, he received the nigh encomium of having the best disciplined regiment they had reviewed. Only one, the Second New Hampshire, continued In service when the lighth was mastered oak Of the original 87 officers, Col. King was the only one left at the mastering oat, a fact which occurred In no other New Hampshire regiment. Tor nearly 26 years Col. King has been continuous in Office as Register of Deeds In Hfllsborough county, New Hampshire, and Is now discharging the dalles of that po- sition with rare fidelity and success. His many elections are proof alike of valued services and well-earned popu- larity. Col. King has erected a beautiful home for him- self and family on one of the most attractive avenues In Nashua, and to that home, with its elegant furnishings and many mementoes of the war, his army comrades, as well as all other friends, are always welcome. As Is well known, from his return from the service until tha present time CoU King has been a great sufferer from wounds received In the service, and which suffering he expects to carry to the grave. Like Capt Magnitzky of the Twentieth Mas- sachusetts, I was the only one of the ori^iuAt officers of the Eighth New Hampshire who was "in at the death." I entered as Seconi Lien- tenant and came home in comman 1 of th > rem- nant ot the regiment in November, 1865, tha number being less than 200 men, oat of a total of about 1900 who had been borne UDOII oar rolls. This small number shows the decimat- ing effects of the climate of Louisiana, with its vast areas of swamp and canebrake. muck of it only fit for its present denizens, alligators and moccasins. Four years which the regiment spent tkare made havoc with our members hardly equaled by any organization in the service. The regi- ment was organized in the autumn of 1881 and camped in the open flel 1 at Manchester until January, 1862, when it was moved to Fort Independence, Boston Harbor, where, after a short stay, it boar led two sailing ships for Shin Island, off the coast of Mississippi, in the Gait of Mexico, being part of Butler's expedition for the capture of New Orleans. Col. Hawkes Fearing, Jr., now of Hi n? ham. Mass.. commanded the regiment, and with fix companies sailed on the shio E. Wilder Farley. The other four companies took ship Eliza and Ella under Lieutenant Colonel O. W. Lull, who was afterward killed while leading an assault on Port Hudson. I was in the latter vessel, and, owing to storms, we were 41 days miking the trip. Wood and water ran short, and we put into Nassau, in the Bahama Isl ands, in distress, and replenished. The port was full of blockade runners, though supposed to be neutral, being under the English flag. We landed at Ship Island shortly after 208 STORIES OF OUR SOLDIERS. Butler's arrival, anky the pnly blanket. We wished ourselves out of the jail, where the numbers were so large we could not all lie down :it the same time, i>ut many times later, when in the stockade at Camp Ford, in Tyler, yearne I to get anywhere under cover again. The march to Tyler was a foot- sore one. and we were " played out.'' We found here the officers of a detachment of the Forty-secon 1 Massachusetts, who were cap- tured at Galveston after a most gallant defence. some months before. General Isaac 3. Burrell, Capt. Alfred N. Proctor, whom I had known in boyhood ; Cant Sherive. now deaa : Lieuts. Newcomb, Eddy, Cowden, (afterwards killed at a fire on Blackstone street, Boston), White and others were good Samaritans to us, and I quar- tered with them till their exchange in Jaly. Corn meal, of old-time, ground with the cobs, with an occasional niece of blue beef and a few STORIKS OF OUR SOLDIEHS. cow pears, constituted our rations. How we missed "Lincoln coffee!" CoL A. J. H. Duganne. the poet and novelist, was among our numoer. which at one time aggregated 4600. He had a handful of coffee, which he baa boiled three times and again dried, and which he was saving For the Fourth of Julv. He sometimes let us smell of the rag in which it was tie i up as a special treat and a reminder of "God's country." Escapes were planned and tunnels dux, but almost invariably exposed to the guards, by some one inside, be- fore completion. Suspicion pointed to one Bridges, I think from Connecticut, as the traitor. Anyway he had bis parole to go outside, and I am told that after my exchange a tunnel was specially dug for him, he was inveigled into it, and is there vet. One day I got a chance to help carry out the dead for burial in a pit outside. The pit had long been in use and had on it a rank growth of "pusley." It occurred to me that 1 had heard of its being used for "greens." and 1 carried back an armful, and Miller, a chum, contracted to cook it "at the halves." 1 skirmished all over tue stockade for salt, but not an ounce was inside that day. The greens were cooked to a salvy condition and we made such a meal as only starving men can maka Humanity was knocke i out of us. and we decline I to share our prize with our comuanion>. Unlucky greed 1 An hour sufficed to show two men sick nign unto death. The human stomach must have the organ of memory, as to this day the thought of that dinner of pusley " sometimes nauseates me. Exchange failing, four 01 us. Captain Dill of the One Hun red and Seventy-third New York, Lieutenant Miller of the Fifth Kansas Cavalry, Ensign Loan of the navy, and mvself, lai 1 a plan of escape. Our method is only known to Ourselves. The scheme was to steer for Little Kock. Arkansas, nearly three hundred miles in an air-line. Let me say at the outset, that of all the sufferings during four years of service, this discounts the whole. We knew that every man's hand on our line of travel was raised against us, and we decided to avoid the roads and keep entirely in the forest and fields. We started with little food, meal browned in a kettle and tied in a rag. and which was soured by a rain on the night of our escape. Thus equipped, barefoot and bareheaded, with no compass and not even a solitary match, we plunged into the jungle and darkness. At daylight we came across a party who had made their exit piior to ours, but who were be* fogged, and were going back toward the stock- ade. We gave them their course towards Shreve- port and parted. Scarcely had we done this when the dogs were heard coming to- war .s us. A little phial of turpentine which Loan bad provided was quickly uncorked, and the soles of our feet rubbed to throw the hounds off the scent. We always thought this ruse succeeded, as the doge apparently followed the Shreveport party, and we escaped them. Capt. Dill could not swim, but we had promised to get him safely across such streams as came in our way, among which were the Sabine and Red Rivers. The latter we approached just at daylight, after traveling all night, which was our rule, biding in the day time to lessen the chances of discovery. We found the stream a raging torrent from re- cent rains, and sought for a suitable point to cross, but without success. Finding we were near some negroes hoeing cotton we concluded to wait till nearly night and then seek tneir assistance. Tue day was spent in picking thorns from our feet and in sleep. Night approaching, 1 hailed a hand nearest us, who at iirst was scared at the apnarition. Finally he came to me and I told him of our party, and that we were on our way to Gen. Steele in Arkansas, to get him with his army to come down to Texas and liberate the slaves. The nait took and he promised to bring us food at dark, an i showed us where we could cross the river. True to his word he. and his fellow blacks, brought us two pones of corn bread, and about two quarts of sour milk which we de- voured with gusto, having eaten nothing for more than a nay. One of them guided us to the only available crossing, some six miles Distant, and left us. It was very dark and we dared not cross without our comrade who coul 1 not swim, so we got into the top ol an unused sawmill and slept till daylight We were prisoners here until night eame again, as some men came early and spent the day in fiShinur. At sundown they were gone, and we crosse 1 in safety, landing some hall a mile below our starting point, owing to the rapid current, and to the log ou which Dill was toted over. A huge alligator went into the water from the bank as we went out. Steering by the north star, our only guide, we soon came to a body of water, which nonplusse i us. It was running to our left, and it was r. oalluiipe joined the army August SI, 1861, lea-Tina for Washington two days later. Next March he was sent with Burnslde's expedition to Newborn, N. C. April 4 he was commissioned Acting Brigade Surgeon of the First Brigade, First Division, Ninth Armv Corps. On the 3d of May he became the Division Surgeon and Medical Director on the staff of MaJ. lien. J. Q. Foster. He had charge of jails and prisons containing prisoners of war, being present at 31 engagements In North Carolina. He was in charge of the Foster (U. S.) Hospital at Mewbera, and afterward became the Post Surgeon at .Newbern. This was in 1863. At the battle of Bacheller's Creek he was taken prisoner and confined at Kinston and at Richmond, Va, On the first of the following March he was exchanged, and re- turned to Newbern. where he resumed his duties. He was mustered out Aug. 10, 1864. Dr. Galloupe Is now Presi- dent of the Board of United States Examining Surgeons, residing In Boston. His former home was Lynn. In regard to the ancestry of Dr. Oalloupe the following may Interest: John Gallop came from England In 1630, In UM solo Mary and John. According to Cooper's .Naval History, he fought the first naval battle In this country. He was the owner of a portion of Long Island, of Gal- loupe's Island and Nix's Mate. The latter was granted him by the State for some service, and Is now washed awaj His son, John Gallop, was one of nine Cap. tains killed In the noted "Swamp Fight " at Narragansett Both grandfathers were soldiers In the Revolutionary Army. The father was enrolled In the war of 1812. The son of the subject of this sketch Is Surgeon of the Eighth Massachusetts Regiment, ready to respond when called. On the 1st of February. 1864, while stationed at Newbern, N. C., as Acting Brigade Surgeon. I was awakened at 4 o'clock in the morning by the sound of heavy, distant firing. At that time and place cannonading meant no boys' play. Upon inquiring at headquarters I found that an outpost at Bacheller's Creek. 13 miles distant, defended by a regiment of in- fantry and a few pieces of artillery in a block house, had been vigorously attacked, and that the Commandant had sent word that he did not need assistance. I said to the Gen- eral that "where there was so much firing somebody must get hurt." and asked "if I had 216 STORIES OF OUR SOLDIERS. not oetter go out there:' ne saia No. we may want you here '' I went out and listened to the booming which was now continuous and feel ing uneasy mounted icy horse and rode toward the point of attack Seeing a movement in tne camp ct the Seven lee nth Massachusetts (my regiment and hear ing that it was ordered to the front. I gave ot ders to the stewarl to load a wagon with bos pital supplies take two ambulances and a stretcher corps and follow vV e soon arrived on the field, and alter dear ing some negro huts found there for a hospital the stretcher men started to search for the wounded We were, however, too near as the shells fell ail around us. Just then one of our batteries Hew by in a direction away trom the battlefield I mounted my horse and galloped up to one of the officers, and asked him. 'What is up?' He replied We are licked to ii 1 " Of course we were not long in following him. Our forces were in full retreat, going slowly and in good or ler , artillery in the rear retarding the enemy by constant tiring soon menaced with aeath trom ibis source: fragments of shell were flying all about as. I got behind a log house for protection but the flying splinters of wood were more dan^erou* than the shells, sc I returned to the open fleiil I saw man? rebels wounded and two or three killed The shabby condition cl the reoe.* surprised me. No two were dressed alike. One-tourth were dressed, in part in captured United states clothing ami nearly all the remainder in but- ternut homespun evidently cut by a woman tailor they were without overcoats and hun- dreds ot them barefooted, and this in mid- winter They seemd half -starved, and at once commenced searching for food, quickly devour- ng my hospital supplies. A small-oqx hospital outside the lines was raided and all the food and clothing eagerly taken. Their guns were rusty ana accoutrements shabby but serviceable ! talked with many of them, and found them thoroughly sick of the war the first word in almost every case being the question. When do you think this war will end?" My reply was, " When you are com oletely ueaten. and that will be soon." Alter retreating about eight miles, being then four miles from Newborn I found that one of the wounded, Lieut. II. A. Oheever. Adjutant of the Seventeenth Massachusetts, was apparently dying and hoping that there would be time enough to attend to him, had him taken from the ambulance for that purpose. I found him in a state of col lapse from a gunshot wound of the chest, after removing the ball he rallied and was re- placed in the ambulance the rest of the am tulauce train had. in the mean time passed on. No sooner had we made ready to start than we were, in a flash, surrounded by rebel cavalry coming as it were, from the clouds horses panting men with flushed and excited faces. pointing their carbines t our little hospital squad calling cut " Surrender' i held out my hands to show that we were unarmed when they lowered their guns without firing I have since won dered that some of them did not shoot while under such great excitement Nc one saw them comine the first w? knew we were sur rounded. The sensation caused by our capture can be neither imagined nor described, A few moments before we were among hundreds and thousands of comrades, all working together, then, sud- denly, tney had completely vanished, and we were in the midst of the enemy, cut off from all knowledge of and communication with the world as effectually as if we had passed the .River Jordan This feeling of isolation from friends, home and "God's country" was deeply impressive; to add to the distress of this novel and unwelcome condition, we were completely at the mercy of the enemies of our country. Our retreating army continued artillery firing, and we were A was soon ordered to fall in ' with other prisoners to be sent to the rear but begged to be allowed to remain in charge of the wounded officer before named, as he was suffering much from his wound . this I was allowed to do. & parole l>eing given me in writing for myself and horse by Gen. Walter Harrison, Inspector Gen era! on the staff of Gen. fickett, whom I now found was in command of this army In a few minutes a staff officer mounted my horse and when I remonstrated and showed my parole he replied that 'the General wanted the horse for the charge on our works to-morrow Gen. Harrison 'had a few words " with him. Tae horse was a splendid animal, and had carried me through many tight places during the past fear I never saw him again At this time I was interviewed by Dr. Hines and Dr Lewis of the staff of Gen. Pickett The former was as courteous and respectful as any friend could be. but the latter was less so he took a great fancy to my rubber coat, and offered me two of my hospital blankets for it I de- clined, but the trade was nevertheless made. I had heretofore supposed that it "took two to make a bargain.' but I found that 1 had been mistaken. He told me that his sister was the wife of Rev Dr James Freeman Clarke of Boston, but "on account of the abolition senti- ments of the latter he had to be ignored." [This statement is erroneous T may have misunder stood him Gen Pickett established his headquarters within one hundred feet of the negro hut where I was attending to my wounded men. 80 far as I could see. the rebel army remained quiet, hut there was occasional firing from our forts through the day In the evening one of Gen, Pickett's staff informed me that their plan was to surprise and capture our gunboats, by an ex- pedition down the Neuse River, and then charge v> DR. GALLOUPE IN LIBBY PRISON. 219 on our works and take Newbern. While he was telling me this brisk tirin ' was beard, which he staled was from the attack on the gunboats and ibai. tn an hour our whole fleet would be in their possession As a matter of fact the attack wa really a failure , they did capture one boat, ttib Underwriter. i>ut were onliffdd to get away with but a few prisoners, in their small boats, the firing from our forts being too much for them. At this time another staff officer told me that General Pickett had sent for me. I found him lying 011 the ground, in common with the whole army having "retired* for the night. He told me to lie down by his side, and imme- diately hegan to question me anout the cou .i- tion of our defences an 1 forces I answered all his questions with apparent simplicity but 1 fear tii.it the information was somewhat misleading. After remaining with him aoout half an hour I ventured to inform him thai I had left a wounded man who was suffering much, and requested th it I might return to bim . to this he readily assented. Tlie next day I was surprised that no attack teas made y the rebels. They remained, as far as aa 1 could see. quiet all day. At about 5 P M. I was ordered to ' fall in" with other prison TS. to be sent to the rear. The prisoners first taken had been hurried off immediately the day before. Out cl 115 men of my regiment engaged, b5 had been captured , of these, three only ever returned. The rest died at Anderson ville I The rebels captured two fine two-horse ambulances, an i it was provoking to see our wounded carted off in their wagons, without springs. After about an hour spent in getting us together we were started off four abreast, the officers, of whom th TB were auout a dozen, in front , there were nearly 300 in all. The road was sandy and whoiiy through woods. Occasionally we came to a house, where the column was halted, and ar officer called out the women 'there were no men) who inspected each prisoner. 1 did not learn the object of this until the next day. when 1 foun , that among the prisoners were some wno had de.serteu troni them an i enlisted in the Union army and this way was taken to identify them. At about 9 o'clock we were turned into a field by the side of the road to bivouac for the night I had two light blankets but gave one to Capi. tfailev. who had none. I took off my boots for a pillow and tried to get some sleep. i>ut did not succeed. The ground was cold and uneven, I had on thin flannel clothing and a thin overcoat, without lining, and shivered all night- The guard made small fires on the ground, and 1 could see them passing their bare feet through tue flames to warm them. At 2 o clock I began to hear troops passing to the rear there were cavalry artillery pon toons siege guns, and all the trappings oi a large army by this I knew that the attack on Newbt-rn nad been abandoned. Oi course this was good news for us, as. in my opinion, an at- tac& might have been successful, aa a large part of our army at Nflwuarn had recently been seat to remlorce the Army of the Potomac. At 5 o'clock A. M. we were again started on the move, halting at each house as betore In the afternoon one of the men. identified as a deserter broke through the guard and rushed into tne woous the guard took deliberate aim and fired one alter another, but the trees stopped the bails, and he was not shot. Some oi me guard then gave chase, and. ot course, ha was soon overtaken by their builets. Alter that ail the suspected men were brought to the front, and the guard strengthened. 1 asked one ol the reuei oth'cers ' way tue man took such a risk?" He replied, because he knew he would be hung lo-uiorrow Now and then an exhauster prisoner would tail out . when that happened he would be left in the woods with a so.dier to guard him. How these men fared 1 never knew I tried my best to keep up with the column, but could not I gradually te.l behind until I reached the rear guard, when I would start in 'douule quick" until 1 gained the front again, but in doing this I fell down many times. 1 had on heavy riding boots, the roads were sandy and my feet sank three inches at each step At 5 o'clock P H. we reached Kingston, hay- ing marched forty miles in twenty-four hours. Here we were met by a small crowd of men. whose object was to exchange their Confederate money tor watches, or anything else that we would part with. They kept crossing in front ot us, shouting. " Has any gentleman got a gola watch to sell'' 'Has any geiit>eman got ,<. silver watch to sell? 'Has any gentleman got a knife to sell? " etc., etc. \\ e were ail turned into the Court House, the men into the body of the house and the officers into a Mnall gallery tilling it full . those in the rear were obliged to sit or lie down as ihe ceil- ing was too low for them to stand. The house presented an animated scene trading was go* ing 011 at a great rate, our men selling every- thing that they could do without Tne noise and com usion were very great, rest and sleep were out of the question. 1 crawled under a settee to avoid being stepped on and pulled off my boots the next morning mv feet were so inflamed, blistered and swollen that 1 could cot put them on, and 1 never got them on again. That night, passed under the settee, was the most agonizing that I have ever endured. The next morning at 10 o'clock a soldier ap- peared with a greasy haversack full of corn meal, shouting ''Gentlemen gruo,' and dealt out to each officer a pint of it. We hired him to cock it for us. and paid him $16 for his services. He took it out oi doors, mixed it with water, and baked it in tin plates over a lire on the ground. I could not eat it. but gave it to who- ever would take it. This was the first time that food bad been served out to us. This was Thursday morning; my last meal was on the previous Sun ay night, and I do not remember that I had eaten anything in the meantime. Soon after this T was allowed to so to the hos 220 STORIES OF OUR SOLDIERS. pita), and attended the wounded, whom I found in a oarn, and store-house; Union men and Con- federates in the same room. The surgeon in charge Dr Holt, was more than kind to me; furnished me with food, obtained for me a pair of second hand shoes, made of canvas (new ones there were none; large enough for my swollen feet, and di : l all he could for me, including mak- ing an application to Gen Pickett for my re- lease but in this, without success. He told me that he had receipted for me. and I could go where J pleased. As I wore a gray military overcoat and hat. like those worn by the rebels. I was not recognized as a " Yankee." and so mingled among them with freedom. The contrast between the condition of their army and ours astonished me Their food, clothing, and supplies were as meagre as they could tie; they admitted that there was only one thing that they had enough of, and that was to- bacco; that they could beat us in that, and in nothing elsa Some of the ladies looked in upon as at the hospital, partly from curiosity to see the Yankees, and partly to sympathize with their sick soldiers. They were Creased in faded cal- ico, iiut were nitrii heade I and haughty Tney aske I me many questions, but did not come within 10 feei. of ma In reply to a Questioner I tol her 1 came irotn the good old State of Massachusetts. Ah." said she. "if it wasn't for M.issai husHtts "'6 should not be where we an now ' I said very true.' On the next day PV,L>. 4. I noticed that the w ,oi>- .irmy wait getting into line, as If fora PIT . I inquired ol one of the officers what tin- r asori . i this was, an I was told " there was v: :n-r to < a k ilin-r " and was asked if I " would lik i.>~HAit?" lie sail that some 20 to 25 pi i on rs ha I ttfien tried as deserters from their ar ny .tn i were now to be hunt;, and that the \\ LOU? rmy was to be paraded to witness the execution. 1 he preparation* were visible, and the th<'u.riits of the thing were more than enough for me At this time I conversed with or rather lis- tened to. the conversation of a number of offi- cers Irom Virginia, whose pomposity, egotism and ignorance of the character of the Northern people amazed me One the 7th of February the wounded were sent to Gouldsboro' by rail and i went with them but was not allowed to enter the hospital By tbe kindness of Dr. Holt I was provided with lodging in a private house , the next morning breakfasted at a large hotel, the meal consisting of rice coffee, in a cup without a saucer, and a piece of corn Dread in a broken plate Price $5 In the afternoon I was started for Richmond in charge of an officer. The cars were over-crowded with soldiers ami people of all sorts except ne- eroes, and moved at the rate of ten miles an hour. I sat on the floor mixed up with soldiers in gray, and was taken for one or their number. It became known, however, that a Union sur- sreou was on board and loud calls for him were made. One of the most boisterous ot them sat next to me ; we talked together, and shared the contents of our haversacks, but he did not tind me out. We arrived in Richmond the next morning. Here I found a city betokening civilization. an* 1 said to myself, it could not ue possible that here, in a city like this, prisoners could be treated with such cruelty as had been reported. But 1 had to change my mind , I found that the sufferings of our men were far greater than had been tola, and that language was made quate to describe them. My canvas shoes were now falling apart, and. by the counety of the officer in charge of me, I was allowed to visit the shoe stores and hotels, in search of a pair of slippers. Out none could be found. Being now exhausted 1 requested to be turned ov r to the authorities, and was im- mediately taken to the office of the Provost Marsaal. Gen. VViuuer who sent me to Libuy Prison, ihe walls of the pris9ti office were hung with our handsome regimental flags, union down, the sight of wnicb caused a feel ing of exasperation to come over me that 1 could not control. Still, it was a relief to be once more among Union men. even if it was in Libby Prison. I had become heartily disgusted with tne ever- lasting butternut Being lame and sick 1 was placed in what was called (by courtesy) the hospital, a room on the lower floor, containing about 50 sick and wounded officers. There were in all 1100 Union officer-, in the building. The prisoners seemed to be very calm, but tbe guanl were in a state ot great excitement. A large uumuer were patroling the bull ling, examining the doors, ceiling, chimney, stairs. &c- punching every spot with their muskets. It hai just been ,is- covere i that 109 men had escaped through the famous tunnel, and they were in searc.i ot the place of egre>s. There wns a flight 01 stairs leading to the next floor above the opening to wnich had been floored over a guard was placed here, with orders to shoot any man who should attempt to steo upon them. It was also known that Gen. Butler was at Deep Bottom, 12 miles off, and it was feared that he would pay Richmond a visit. 1 took off my overcoat and sat down upon iu A prisoner stepped up and aske 1 me my name, where 1 was captured, and a lew more similar questions, and tnen moved on. Others di uy we were uained to see many of the escape 1 prisoners returned, many sick or wounded, and all in an exuausted condition Tue diet of the prisoners has been often de- scribe I. Finding my->eli losing strength for waut ot foo i. 1 gave one of the guard $13 with with which to buy me something to eat. In two or three days 1 received 13 cookies that looked and tasted like the New England article, and which had been obtained from a "confiscated box " from the North. 1 placed them under my head at night, resolving to eat but one each iay. and thus have sometniug in reserve. During the night rats maue an attack on them, and, while trying to find a safer place for them. I concluded to allow myseli to eat one, but, alas. the temptation was too great to be resisted: the whole thirteen disappeared, an 1 1 di i not feel that 1 had eaten too much. In the morning I found that the rats had eaten away the shoulder of my coat, leaving a hole six inches in dia- meter, and that a considerable portion of the cape of my overcoat was gone. At this time "boxes" trom home were not delivered to the prisoners (although 6000 were stored in a building near by) except a few to prisoners in hospital : these were not delivered entire; the contents of a box were tumble I into a dirty blanket; butter, doughnuts and many other things mixed promiscuously together. All cans were opened ana contents spilled among the other articles. In this condition they were dumped upon the floor and the owner's name called. At the same time the men in charge of this much needed food lived like " fighting cocks." at least so they said. The keenness with which the prisoners eluded the rules of the orison seemed almost super- human. One rule was that there should be no communication between the different rooms of the bull ling: nevertheless, messages, both written and verbal, were constantly passing to ana fro. On waking from a nap one day I found a not<' directed to me from Capt. F. R Josselyn of a Massachusetts regiment, who was a prisoner on the floor above Mv friend, the Michigan Lieutenant, could not tell me how it got there, but said that my answer would be forwarded at once, and it was, I never knew how. Freauently the method of communication would be dis- covered and aholishi-d, nut in a few minutes a new route would be established. Several of the men seemed to have plenty of flour, which they made into griddle cakes, and fried upon a small stove in their possession. On being naked where they obtained the flour, they replied: "The Rebs furnish if' A lot of floor was stored under the building, and they some- how got at it in the night, even while the guard were watching them, and they kept up the practice several weeks before they were discov- ered. On the arrival of a flag of truce boat at City Point a vigorous shout of " Boat up, boat up," would be heard all over the building, and that before the prison officials were aware of the boat's arrival. According to the cartel, I was entitled to be released by tne first flag of truce. As this was not done. 1 wrote a note to the Commissioner of Exchange. Robert Auld, calling his attention to the omission, but without result. At last, on the 27th of February, I was out on board the rebel flag of truce boat, with IS others, civilians, from Castle 1'hunder, one of whom, a correspondent of the New York Trib- une, had been a pri-oner for a year. Another was a woman, who had been captured as a soldier in uniform. The ever-prominent food question induced me to ask the officer in charge of us for " some* thing to eat." His reply was: " You will be on board the City of New York in two hours, where you will get something a d d sight better than we can give you." We were all put into the hoi i of the vessel, under guard, to prevent our seeing their defences on the river banks. At last our eyes and hearts were gladdened by the sjyht of our flag of truce boat, with the glorious Stars and Stripes floating at the mast- head. Oh! how grand and beautiful was that sight! ami what a thrilling and happy sensation we felt on stepping upon the deck under that flag. ISAAC F. GALLOUPE. Late Surgeon Seventeenth Massachusetts, Brevet Lieut. Col. U. 8. V. MAINE'S HEROES. Among the most famous of all the regiments in the late war was one known first as the Eighteenth Maine, ana later as the First Maine Heavy Artillery. For bravery, exposure and " hard lack," as the survivors are wont to ex- press it. few regiments in any war of modern times can snow a record equaling it The nu- cleus of it arrived in Bangor July 24. 1862. be- ing a company of farmers, woodsmen and river drivers Irom the back settlements of Penobscot county. August 4. teams from Houlton, 110 miles away, brought in the second company. Aug. 16, the regiment was filled, and Col. Chaplin applied for orders to join the army. It was mustered into service by Capt. Bartlett of the Twelfth United States Infantry, and Sun- day, Aug. 21, left in 20 cars for Washington. It performed garrison duty for five months on the Virginia side of the Potomac, when, by order of the War Department, it became known as the First Maine Heavy Artillery. The regiment retained its rifles as at first, with both light and heavy ordnance in forts and batteries. Eight companies were stationed at Fort Alexander, under the immediate com- mand of Col. Chaplin: Company E at Batteries 7ermont and Mattox, with Company K at Bat- teries Cameron and Parrot Here it remained the entire year of 1863, and in March the Third Battery was added, and was known as Company M, In February, 1864, it had 1800 men. On May 15 of that year the War Department ordered it to the Army of the Potomac, and it debarked later at Belle Plain Landing. On the 19th it was put into a figtit against the enemy, who had made an advance and captured a tram of supplies. It won s victory in two hours and a half, losing six commissioned officers killed, six commissioned officers wounded. 76 enlisted men killed and 388 enlisted men wounded; total, 476 men On the 18th of June it advanced on the enemy's lines in the vicinity of the O'Haire House, and carried them. That evening it aerain advanced upon works extending from 600 to 700 yards in front of its position, so ar- ranged as to sweep by direct and enfilade fires each toot of the intervening plain. The first battalion was swept away while going the first 100 yards ; whole companies reeled before the shock, yet on went the rest toward death. They were repulsed. It lost in 20 minutes 7 commis- sioned officers killed, 25 wounded, 108 men Killed and 464 wounded ; total. 504 men. July 14 the regiment arrived at the north side of Deep Bottom, and on the morning of the 18th a sharpshooter Killed CoL Chaplin. A New York regiment had been ordered to advance out did not follow. Therefore Col. Chaplin's last words, as he was taken from the field, were sug- gested by the action of the New York troops. He said: "Tell the boys to obev orders and never flinch." CoL Chaplin had entered the service May 28. 1861. He was then Captain in the Second Maine. In September of that year he was Riven the rank of Major, and was made a Colonel July 11, 1862. At the battle of Hanover Court House, Gen. A. P. Martin of Boston, then in command of " Mar* tin's Battery." lost his guns to the enemy. Ma- jor Chaplin, seeing this, started to ro-caoture them, leading in person a portion of the Second Maine. On the first advance the enemy opened fire and Chapiiu fell back. In the assault* MAINE S HEROES. 225- ritle ball struck the scabbard of Chaplin, bend- ing ii so the sword could not be drawn. Seeing this. Gen Martin drew his own sword and aare ii to Chaplin The latter charged again, took the battery and turned it ovur to its commander. Gen. Martin afterwards wrote a ban .some letter of thanks to Col. Chaplin, re fusing to lake bacK the sword. Though Col. Chaplin was a much taller man than Gen. Martin, and his disabled blade was two inches longer than the one Gen. Martin bad given him. he said tae latter was better balanced, aud cariied it until, one pay-day, the privates and non-commissioned officers contributed $1000 and bought Col. Chaplin a new blade. The widow of Col. Chaplin lias the disableu blade in her home in Bangor ; her son has tbe Martin swortl in St. Louis, while the $1000 weapon is in a bangor bank vault. Tho charge and terrible death roll of the First Maine Heavy Artillery on June 18 have always been fruitful sources of discussion in G. A. H. circles. It was for years a disputed ques tion as to who ordered iu The following letter written Major Low of Bangor. and ot the ro/i men i, by Gen. Kobert McAllister, freely explains the matter ALLENTOWN. Pa,. Jan. 14. 1871. Maj. Fred C. Low . Dear Sir In all of my army experience no scene of carnage aud suffering is so impressnd on my mind as that fatal charge made uy your regiment on June 18, 1864. Tbe history of that charge, as well as the one preceding it, is very familiar to me. 1 took part in the tirst. I was in command of the Second Brigade of the division. On tne morning of tlie 18th we moved forward on tne enemy's works, carried the first line without much difficulty, as the enemy were about leaving this line for a stronger one in the rear of iu Arriving iu front of tlr.it, we found it manned by a strong force ol artillery and in- fantry. Alter delaying a little I was ordered to advance on the enemy's works. We went for ward. They ooured on my brigade a terrific storm of shot, shell and musketry, and my men fell like forest leaves in a nail storm. Seeing the utter impossibility of advancing further we dropped down, planted our standard along tbe line and kept up the fire. I sent a report back to division Headquarters asking what I was to da Orders came to retire from my position. In doing this I lost heavily. On reporting to Gen. Mott for orders 1 was ordered to place my brigade on the reserve ready for action. I asked : \Vhere is my old brigade?" Gen Mott replied : "Just going in where you came out." 1 exclaimed, "God help them!" He a>ked " Why?" I answered . "They cannot advance on these works they cannot live the enfilade fire will cut them down." Just as 1 sal I this, an aid from head- quarters rode up and said to the General . "Order the advance at once." It was dona Your brigade moved off, your fine regiment handsomely in the front. You went gallantly, but not to meet success. This was impossible you were a forlorn hope. In a few minutes, out of your regiment which advanced 900 strong. 632 lay low on the battlefield. Darkness soon overspread the field, and I was very anxious that my wounded men who had fallen in tbe previous charge and lay between the enemys lines ami ours should be brought off, as well as those of your brigade an I regiment, some of whom had advanced still farther than mine. I sent men out; the enemy discovered them and opened fire The onoortunity was thus lost All that night we could distinctly hear the groans of tbe wounded and their cries for help;, but no succor could be sent them on account of tbe constant fire. My brigade worked all night long to push our works forward so that we might rescue them That terriole night at last broke into another day. the 19th, the battle con tinued with increasing furv 1 The sun uoured down on the dying aud wounded anu amid the rattle of musketry and roaring of cannon we heard the cries of our comrades for water ! water I When the long, terrible dav was over and night again threw tier dark mantle over the contending forces, and the fire slackened. 1 pushed my brigade forward and built new breastworks, the line ot which ran through where your men lay thickest, and most of your dea I and wounded, as well as mine, were brought off That line was never pushed farther, but remained as our advanced outpost until the end of that great and terrible struggle before Petersburg Whether History will do you justice or not. permit me to say that no language can be too strong in its praise of your gallant regiment in that splendid, noble, heroic charge when al- most three- fourths of your number fell fight ing for their country This, then, my dear Major, Is wny I regard Artillery as a grand regiment ly I regard the First Maine Heavy 1 am yours very truly. ROBERT MCALLISTER. Late Brevet Major General U. S. A. Volunteer- 226 STORIES OF OUR SOLDIERS. GENERAL MARTIN'S STORY. "At 3 o clock on the morning of the 27th ot j. 1862. we took up the line of march from Gaines's Mills to Hanover Court House, where it was supposed the Fifth Army Corp? was to effect a junction with Gen. McDowell's corps. then at Fredericksburg. and was to have come down to the Hanover Court House to join the Fifth Corps in an advance on Richmond, sep arate from the main army " Arriving at the intersection of roads on the way to Hanover Court House, when it was sup- posed that reinforcements might be sent, the Forty-fourth New York. Second Maine and two guns of my battery I was then a Captain were left under command of General Martindale to guard that position, while the main body of the corps, under General Fitz John Porter, ad vanced still further on towards Hanover Court House, ** Before reaching there, however, sounds of musketry and artillery tiring were heard in the rear, where an engagement had been com menced between Gen. Branch's North Carolina troops and Gen. Martindale's brigade. At this time Gen. Martindale was forced back and the two guns of my battery were temporarily in the hands of the enemy. "But General Martindale rallied and made a splendid attack, routing the enemy and recapturing the two guns. In this batwe the Second Maine Regiment fought gallantly, and in recognition of the great service rendered by the officers and men of this regi ment, I presented Major Chaplin with a sword (I had two) to replace one that had been broken by a mmie bullet during the conflict. " Before the main body of the Fifth Corps reached the point of engagement between Gen. Mariindale's brigade and the rebels under Gen. Branch, the enemy had been completely routed and driven to the rear " I would like to say that no troops ever fought better, more gallantly, or achieved a more de- cisive victory than Gen. Martmdale's brigade at the Hanover Court House. "Col. Ro erts and Lieut. Col. Varney were equally entitled to praise and recognition with Col. Chaplin for courage and ability that they displayed on the battlefield. The sword pre- sented to Col. Chaplin was intended to be as much of a compliment to the whole command as to any one member of it GEN. A. P. MABTHI." A TRICK OF THE REBELS. [First Lieutenant Aaron Ring, Q. M. and A. C. S. of tbe Thirteenth Regiment of Maine'* Infantry, was Post Quar- termaster and A. C. S. at Forts Jackson, St. Philip and tbe Quarantine Station daring the time ot thi interesting Incident.] At the time the Thirteenth Regiment of Maine Volunteers were doing garrison dutv at Forts Jackson, St. Philip and at quarantine there was a Confederaterecruuing camp a short distance from Pass a 1'Outre on the main land, very short of rations; they had their friends at New Or- leans watching chances to send them food. The Quartermaster of the torts visited New Orleans about this time for army stores. After making requisition for about $10.000 worth he called on the Quartermaster of tbe Department of the Gulf for transportation of the goods from New Or- leans to the forts. The steamer Fox, a small side-wheeler, the one Slideli and Mason went to Cuba in, was turned over to him with a crew ci sixteen men and a captain, all supposed to t>e Confederate neutrals. Dr. Gor.lon, now in Portland, Me., being Assistant Surgeon of the Thirteenth Regiment and in New Orleans, asked for passage to the forts in the Fox. He and the Quartermaster of the forts were the only ones with Yankee blood in them. The Fox lei t the city about 3 o'clock P. M., and paddled gently down the river with the current, passed quarantine station about dark: as the steamer turned the bend in the river near the signal station and about two miles to Fort St. Pnilin. they ignored the signal gun from the fort, and paid no regard to the boat in the river with red lights, which immediately threw up red rockets. The garrison of the fort were called to quarters and opened on the Fox with shot and shell. The Quartermaster walked around on the guard, saw the lights were out, and only one mm on deck, and he at the wheel. He then nvvle up his miii i they were trving to steal the Fox and all on board, knowing the way these fellows would attempt it. They draw lots to see who shall steer the boat throueh: the one the lot falls on goes to the wneel, the rest go down into the well-room below the water-line, out OS! rage of direct shot and shelL The Quartermaster told Surgeon Gordon who), he thought was UP, an I if the doctor would stand near him with revolver and shoot down any man who attempted to knife him, he would BATTLE OF SAVAGE'S STATION. 227 do the rest at the proper time. The Quarter- master an-1 his friend waited under tire to the music of shot and shell in the wood piles on liore and the beating to quarters in Fort Jackson, and saw them throw UP white lights, which seemed to float in the air several minutes, giving light all around. When they went out it was like Egyptian darkness; you could feel it! Soon as thev turned the second bend in the river near Fort St. Philip, Fort Jackson opened on them. When the steamer had gone far enough to rouivi up good at tiie fort, the Quartermaster stepped to the wheel house and told the man to put the boat itito Fort Jackson. The man said the ropo was broken from the wheel , she would not mind her helm. He told him to give ihe wheel a turn " We'll see." Holding his re- volver close to the man's head and watching him, he saw that the s earner came around , ike a bird and beaded towards the wharf at Fort Jackson ! All this time the forts were trying to strike them, nut the fear of the forts was nothing com- pared to the seventeen desperate fellows within "trikiug distance. The stores were landed in the fort that night and the captain and offi- cers of the boat put under guar 1 till morning. At the hearing next, morning the captain of the Fox showed what purported to be an order Irom tne Quartermaster of the Depart- ment of the Gulf to go down to the Belize and I'ring up any vessel with goods on for the United States Government. Upon his showing this the Colonel com maiming the post allowed him to go, an I quietly turned the laugh on the Quartermaster of the post. Two days later the Quartermaster received a telegram asking where the Fox was. This was shown to the Colonel, and he ex- plained, and trot an answer back, that the pe.r- mit to go to the Belize was a forgery no such order or permit was given. Then the laugh was on the Colonel of the oost. Little more than a week later we heard v way of a gunboat that chased the Fox ttom Pass a I'Ouire over to the rebel ca'np, and saw the man set her on tire, and aro on shore and up into the camp the gun- boat remaining to see the Fox burn to the water's e>ige. AARON RING. Hyde Park. 114 Gordon avenue. BATTLE OF SAVAGE'S STATION. 1 have been an interested reader of the many Well-written articles in the Journal's war-time recollections. The Journal found a rich vein when it opened its columns to these publica- tions. I hope it finds them profitable to itself, as well as interesting to its readers. Some of the stories told come very near us. We belonged to the "Corps of Observation," at Poolesville, Md. ; and we were "in it" at Fredericksburg. We must have been very Close to Pension Agent Osborne that day at Savage's Station. We distinctly remember the incident of the burn- Ing train. The grand spectacle it presented as it disappeared around the curve, the explo- sion, and the cone-shaped cloud of steam that rose above the trees, and, gradually expanding, floated away a trembling mass of white vapor. That same 29th day of June. 1862 one of the eventful " Seven Days "was pretty well filled with stirring events. It was in the dim light an i fog of its early morning that we abandoned the works we had built with so much labor and care. Retreating toward White Oak Swamp, we halted twice to repel the attacks of the pursuing enemy, reaching Savage's Station about noon, I think, though I have no means of recalling the exact time. I write of Savage's Station, since Comrade Osborne calls up the memory, because in the fire of this battle was forged one of the links in the David and Jo .athan chain of friendship that the war wrought between the Fifteenth Massachusetts and First Minnesota. We had oeen brought together by the "fortunes "or. rather, misfortunes of war on the upper Potomac in 1861. We had suffered a terrible "baptism of fire" at Bull Run, ami they had been equally unfor- tunate at Ball's Bluff. Our mutual adversities may have attracted us to each other. Be ttiat as it may we had "summered and wintered " together, been tried with one another on the march and in the tire of battle. Our experi- ences had brought mutual respect and confi- dence, and each faced the drea 1 ordeal of battle more confidently if the other was .supporting or covered a Sank. Our division, the Second. Secona Corps, was massed in the open around atSavage's Sta ion when the "Johnnies" "stirred us up with a couple of shells. We supposed Heintzelman's troops were in that direction, but this undeceived us. Burns' s briga ie was sent to meet the attack, deploying a regiment to the from at double quick in fine style, under a sharp artillery fire. I have rarely seen skirmishers taKe position with more regularity and promptness. When Burns neared the wood it was found he could not cover the allotte i space an 1 the First Minnesota was ordered UP to piece out the line. To reach our desired position we haved at double ouick. exposed to a hot tire from the rebel batteries, and a couple of our own batteries firing over our heads at an elevation calculated to just clear them. How those shells did screech as they hus- tled past us. They seemed hot enough to scorch. It was very trying to the nerves. Cross- 228 STORIES OF OUR SOLDIERS. ag the field and a hollow at a ran, we " came up standing" at the edge of the woods. Some of the boys indulged in a yell. " just to clear their throats." ami were answered by tne rebels, who were advancing through the wood. The skirinisners wer * pushed into the woods, but ha THE YOUNGEST OFFICER IN THE WAR. 229 buttons and epaulets, weighing nearly three pounds adorned these coats, bat our bear skin caps bad been sent home. Our muskets and equipments, of which we were very i-roud, were in the best condition. Much of The work of polishing was done, like some of Mark Tw. tin's work, by an "agent," saH agent toeing some private amonsr the "regulars ' who for $1 polished our belongings, so that we passed first-class "inspection. With our gay aniiorms and shining Springfield muskets we were drawn up in line on the parade ground, ordered to "stack arms, right flank, right face. forwari 1 ' On we moved, never again to see those beloved "Soringtields," which we hoped to have mounted in gold and silver, suit- ably inscribed and keut for our grand-children. We marched to a remote part of the fortress, where we were armed with old. dull, bine Kn- fieid rides to carry on our triumphant march home L)o you think we cherished those rides? Can you not believe every man abased his gan and left it on the ground to rust? Can you wonder that we hated "Old But- ler?' Most of us lived to be older and better sol- diers realizing that those old blue rides were good enou-cn for militia men to march home with, and the Springfield* were nee led by those who came to fill our place. For one I forgave the General years ago. CHARLES B WALKER. Brandon, V- THE YOUNGEST OFFICER IN THE WAR. [Hie statement prefacing Ills very Interesting paper upon the Siege of Charleston by CoL Elbridge J. Copp ( f the Third New Hampshire Volunteers, which declares that he was the youngest commissioned officer in the ser- vice, because of his receiving his first commission as Ad- jutant of ins regiment in 1863 at the age of 18, aroused Col. Gardner C. Hawkins, of the old Third and Fourth Vermont Regiments, to ask for specific data, his own record being so nearly parallel. Colonel Hawkins wrote : " I was 18 years old, Feb. 11, '64. I was commissioned Second Lieutenant, Third Vermont Volunteers, Oct. 18, '64, ana while awaiting muster was at once ordered to duty, and about one month after receiving my commission I was transferred to the Fourth Vermont Volunteers as Adjutant, and remained there through subsequent promotions until I was wounded, April 2, '65. "It is acknowledged by the Adjutant General of Ver- mont that I am the youngest officer who ever served in Vermont troops. 1 have never claimed to be the youngest In the entire army, but have always felt that perhaps I was ' very near it.' " Whereupon Colonel Albert Clarke, the well-known Bostonian and Secretary of the Home Market Club, set all claims at rest in the following letter, by citing Lieuten- ant Charles W. Randall of the Vermont line as having been still younger than either of the prior claimants, be- ing but 16 when first commissioned. Col. Hawkins at once replied, gracefully yielding any claim he might have bad with pride, however, that so far as Vermont was con- cerned it was to one of her sons. He declared that after reading the article of Col. Clarke it would seem that CoL Copp and myself must now limit our claims as to which Is the youngest 'surviv- ing 'officer, unless the Journal, In the great and good work that it is doing by these war articles, shall bring out another deserving claimant for this honor." As Randall is dead, the claim of the youngest living commissioned officer is open.] Without wishing to detract in the least from the honor claimed respectively by CoL E. J. CODD of NPW Hampshire and Col. Gardner C. Hawkins of Boston of having been the youngest commissioned officer in the United States Army during tbe Civil War. 1 yet wish to lo justice to a gailant young man who was long since trans- ferred to tne army over the river. I refer to Lieutenant Charles W. Randall, son of Colonel Francis V. Randall, of the Thirteenth and Seventeenth Vermont Regiments oi infantry. Colonel Hawkins says he was commissioned when he was 18, and he thinks he was younger than Colonel Copp. Bat young Randall was commissioned Second Lieutenant of Comoanv G. Thirteenth Vermont, when lie was only 16, and he made a good officer. Let me relate an incident in proof. At Gettysburg, near night of the second day, when uis company, with others, was charging to retake a batiery. Lieutenant Randall asked permission of his company commander to go to nis father, wiio appeared to have neen shot The leave was granted, and he started on a run, but in a moment came back almost breathless as he overtook the line, but smiling, and said it was not the Colone , but his horse, that was shot, and in a moment more the Colonel himself, who had cut loo-e from his fallen horse, overtook the line and placed him- self in front of the colors The success of that charge is a matter of history, likewise the one of the next day in repulsing Pickett. in which also botn the fathe.. and son bore a gailant part. Subsequently, when young Randall was a Lieutenant in the Seventeenth Vermont, his health became permanently impaired uy small- pox, which it was believed he took from In looted clothing, having pur- chased in Washington some undergarm Mits at a store which afterward came under suspicion as a place of consignment under the infection erter* from the rebel army to any place in the North, where they wishe 1 to go. and he intended to avail himself Of the offer. If he had come into our lines on either of the two preceding days, or on either of the two followin-t. he would not have been recog- nized by any old comrade, as the Twenty- fourth Regiment went on picket duty only once in three days. If he' had come into our lines ten minutes later the Twenty- fourth would have > een relieved, an I another regiment stationed in its placa Even on the day when he deserted Irom the rebels, if he had escaped to any other post, he would have gone among strangers and would have passed unrecognized. As it was, along a picket line of nearly 36 miles, where there were many hun- dred costs, he siruc < the identical post manned by his old company, which ten minutes later was manned by soMiers from another regi- ment, and took the one day in three when that combination of circumstances was possible. In the doctrine of chances every- thing was in his favor, ami yet he lost. It seems as if keen-eyed justice on that occasion had landed on the ooiir of a needle. It belonged to me. in an official capacity, to be present at his execution ; and I pitied the poor wretch from the bottom of my heart. As he stood near his coffin by the open grave, just ready to receive it. he nodded to me very familiarly, as if we were soon going to meet again, althougQ he was then tottering on the verge of eternity. In colloquial language, he died "game," but for all that he was utterly unfit to enter that awful presence about which we know uoihiuar except through faith. He never knew and for that matter, no one else in the camp that in the forenoon of that warm day (Monday, Aug. 8.) 1 rode seven miles to the Point of Rocks, where were the headquarters of Gen. Butier. then in command of the Army of the James, in order to intercede for him and secure a commutation of his sentence; but the effort was of no avail. This is a simple statement of the episode, so far as I now recollect it, correct iu the main, but perhaps inaccurate in the details, as 1 depend upon my memory for the facts. SAMUEL A. GREEN. Formerly Surgeon Twenty-fourth Massachusetts Volunteers. MCELHENNY'S COURT MARTIAL. 233 McELHENNY'S COURT MARTIAL. On Jane 3, 1864, I was with my regiment, the old Twenty-thir i Massachusetts, and of the vet- eran "Re. I Star Brigade." in that terrible battle of Cold Harbor, Va., where I received injuries which caused my neinsr sent to the hospital at Fortress Monroe. Va. Not being in a condition fit for active duty with my regiment, but able to 'o item work, I was detailed for duty as & member of a gener U court-martial. The following officers were detailed for the court: Brig. Gen. Ed war! W. Hinks. Col. A. A. Rand, Major I). J. Preston, Capt. Samuel Haz- ard, Capt Wm. N. Rogers, First Lieut. G A. Cook, First Lieut. F. H. Gould. First Lieut. J. L. Sherman. Second Lieut Rufus E. Gales, Second Lieut. Amos L. Keables. Major J. L. Stackpole was Judge Advocate. On the day designated the members of the court assembled in Carroll Hall. Fortress Mon- roe, it being the room where Jefferson Davis, President of the defunct Confederacy, was confined while held as a prisoner of war. Col. Horace Sanders of the Nineteenth Wisconsin Volunteers reported in nlace of Brig. Gen. Hincks. and Capt. Daniel S. Griffin of the One Hundred and Forty-second New York Volun- teers was also a member. Col. Sanders being the senior officer, was President of the court, and acted as such until about AUK. 15. when he retired from the court, having receive 1 from Gen. Butler an appointment as Provost Marshal of Norfolk, Va. On the retirement of Colonel Sanders. Col. A. A. Rand oi the Fourth Massa- chusetts Cavalry became the Presi lent. Well do I remember the case of that poor unfortunate boy, Frank McElhenny. Company F, Twenty- fourtli Massachusetts. Dr. Green I well remember. He was loved and honored, not only by the members of his own regiment, but by all of those who ever met him. Such men as Dr. Green, Dr Rice of the Twenty-fifth Massachusetts, Dr. Otis of the Twenty-seventh Massachu- setts and our own surgeon, father as he was to us all. Dr. Derby of the Twenty-third Massachu- setts, will ever be remembere i by the bovs of the Burnside Expedition as men skilled in their profession, kind in their every act, even anxi- ous to relieve the suffering of tho.*e wnocnme under their charge and truly loyal to their Country. Dr. Green has told a truthful story of the life of McElhenny while in the army. I think it was on Kriday, Aug. 5, 1864, toe court-martial assembled, and this poor boy was brought be- fore us for his trial for desertion to the enemy. The orders from General Butler were to try Frank McElhenny and return him to the front Without delav. His trial was a siiort one. The evidence against him was too strong to be doubted. He was bound to die "game," ana when asked if he had anything to say he replied: "No, do what you can with me." He was found guilty and sentenced by the court to be shot He was returned to the front (Ber- muda Hundred) the next day. and on Monday, August 8. 1884. he gave up his young life, shot by a detail from his old regiment and his early comrades. Sad indeed was his end. The last case that I remember that came before our court was that ot a rebel officer who ha I been captured inside the Union lines. It was by an order from Gen. Butler tnat he was to be tried as a spy oy our court. I think the trial was on or about August 15, 1864. Col, Sanders was the President of the court We heard the evidence presented, found ihe pris- oner guilty and sentenced him to ue hanged 07 the neck until dead. Before taking the vote, Col. Sanders had much to say relative to our rights to try the case. The particular grouud which be assumed I cannot remember, but 1 do rememoer that there was no member ot the court that agreed with him. Now comes the funny part of all. Whatever became oi that "reu" 1 do not know, but 1 do know that our term of service as members of that court-martial was cut mighty short. The first business that was brought before us by tbe Judge Advocate when the court met the next day was bis statement that after tbe adjourn* ment of the court the day be lore Col. Sanders, a member and Pn-si tent of the court, handed to him a written document, which contained the opinion wliicn he hau stated to the court while it was in secret session, and requested him to put it with the records of the trial of the rebel officer and have the same sent to Gen, Butler. This re- quest of CoL Sanders was refused by the Judge Advocate, and he laid the matter before the court for their action. This ac. ion on tue part of a member of a court-martial was in direct violation of the 69th Article of War, whereby every member of a court-martial, before the trial of each case, has administered to him the folio wing oath: " You, A. B., do swear that you will well and truly try and determine, according to evidence. the matter now nefore you, between the United States of America and the prisoner to De tried, and that you will e with, and we awaited the result with anxious hearts. After the court had adjourned, I went with other officers to Norfolk to spend the night, as we had done many time- aurio; the se siou of the court. I hid just come from mv supper at tne National Hotel when 1 was met ny an officer, who informed me that an officer of Gen. Butler's staff was in the city for the pur- pose of placing under arrest the members of the court-martial, and that if I hao you consider, sir, mat a First Lieutenant is to command a dajor General of tne army, or that a i\t;.jor General ol the army is to command a First Lieutenant? " "Genera:," 1 answered, "it is according to circumstances, in thi-. case 1 uelieved it would be a violation of my oatli as a member of tue court martial to vote to obey your order." i he General was very pleasant in his talk with me; perhaps he considere I my youtiu Alter telling uie a tunny story about a cat, he let me out, and one after another were called before him until lie nad he >r i the plea of alL Thus ended th - tight on the skirmish hue. The remainder of the dav was passed in such amusements as we could find, and at "taps" we retired to our tents to sleep, or, perhaps, to wonder wnat tlie morrow would bring forth. Early the next morning we were ordered to appear ueiore the General. On entering his tent we formed a semi-circle about him and awaited the shots which ne was to tire at us, little knowing if we were to be kil.ed or wounded. The General opened by saying: "Gentlemen, ihave heard each of you teilyour excuses, and. as a result, have or>lere i my Ad- jutant General to issue an order releasing you from arrest, and ordering you to return to your regimonis immediately for duty ; also that you be Misqualined from sitting uoon any court-mar- tial, military commission, or any detail wnatso- ever, so long as you are in my department." Capt. Hazard asked the General it: he issued the order as a punishment. "1 do, >ir," replied tue General. CoL Rand then -aid: " General, in your orders to us you gave us no chance for explanation. MCELHENNY'S COURT MARTIAL. 235 You ordered us to obey your order, without comment and to refuse at our peril." " 1 hat is false, sir, 1 never issued such an Order." said the General. Col. Rand iok the order from his pocket, he banded it to the Generil, who. after reading it, Bai I in a most a i rry manner: "Strange, atrang . 1 never ordere 1 such an order to be issued. Gentlemen, I will give you one hour to make a written statement of this matter; go to my tne-s tent and tnepare it." We now felt a litte more easy. Out we were still ail of one miu i, and that was never to sub- mit to be punished fordoing our duty, and we knew we were safe under the 65th article of war, which says; "Wnenevera general officer Commanding an army shall be the accuser or pro-iecutor of any offloar in the army 01 the Unite'i States, under his command, the general court-martial for the trial of such officer shall be appointed uy tne President of the United btates." General Butler had not the power to punish us. All he could do would be to Keep us under arrest and present charges ag tin-it us The written statement was made in lull an I sent to the General. In the afternoon General Butler was seen to leave his camp, an I it was reported to us that he ha 1 been ordered to Gen ral Grant's headquarters, whether on our account we know not, but we do know tnat we won the battle. Early next morning we each re- ceived a copy of an order which released us from arrest and giving us until August 26 to report to our regiments. L,ieur. Cook an I myself imme li- ately returned to Fortress Monroe, when we obtained Irom Major Stackpole, trie Juct-re A 1- vocale. vouciiers for extra oay due u^ for 51 days as nvm 'er-< of the court-martial, which we sold to a sutler for $60 each. Th -n w went over to Norfolk, an I ait r nhanvrin^ my best uniform for my tield clothes, ireturnel to my regimeut one day later. JAMES L. SHERMAN. DOOM OF THE DESERTEK. A PRISONER'S DIARY. [The -writer of this and the two following articles, First Lieutenant Hannibal A. Johnson, Company B, Third Maine Infantry, at the beginning of the war was a dry goods salesman in his native city of liallowell. Scarcely had the sound of the guns from Fort Sumter died away, before this loyal son of the Pine Tree State was making strenuous efforts to enlist in his country's cause. As we have before mentioned, his first attempts were fruitless, and it at last became necessary for an official letter to be dictated from the Adjutant General of the State to Captain Staples, the recruiting officer, before the appli- cant would be received. A boy in years and in physique, these were the reasons given for hesitating to enroll him among the seemingly stronger and willingly acce pted ma- terial from the Kennebec Valler. But April 27, 1801, finds him a regularly enlisted soldier in the first three years regiment from the Dlrlgo State. By slow promo- tion, as advancement had to be earned In this gallant reg- iment, originally commanded by Oliver O. Howard, this young soldier passed through all the non-commissioned grades of his company, and, as Sergeant, was given the Kearny Cross by his Division General for faithful and meritorious service after 20 months' duty in the field. When First Sergeant of his company, at Gettysburg, he was captured by the enemy. This captivity on Belle Island was of short duration, seven weeks only. He was then paroled, and shortly after joined his regiment on the field. In December, 1863, he w.ig commissioned as Sec- ond Lieutenant of his company, and at the Battle of the Wilderness, while acting as Adjutant of the regiment, he was again taken prisoner in this manner. While the brig- ade, to which the Third Maine was a part, was fiercely engaged with the Confederates, a report of fearful signifi- cance, if true, was brought to Col. Moses B. Lakeman, the commander, from Gen. Ward, by the General's Chief of Staff, Capt. Nash. The Colonel was ordered to select a suitable staff officer to accompany Hash, and ascertain the truth of the report, and to this day the report has not been made, as both officers were captured in trying to faithfully carry out the orders or their superior officers. The manner of their capture will be given later by the Confederates whom these Federal officers struck, and as it reflect* nothing but credit upon both " Tank " and " J ohn- nie," the entire correspondence will shortly follow by per- mtaion of Lieut. Johnson, who has been honored by his captors by the return of his sword taken by them to bat tie. Twenty-nine days after the capture of Lieut. Johnson the Third Maine, then at Cold Harbor, left for home, their three years' service having expired. Nine mouths later Lieut. Johnson, after passing this time in Southern prisons, successfully escaped, entered the Union lines Hundreds of miles from his prison, and at last was mustered out of ser- vice, Jan. 29. 1864. From his long service In the field, and harder service in rebel prisons, he had earned a needed rest from military service, But this was not the material the boy soldier is made of, for after regaining his lost strength and flesh, the last of March, 1865, found him again at the State Capitol asking for a position at the front. The Governor immediately gr ve him a position in a battalion of four companies, um. sr command of Lieutenant Colonel Calvin 8. Brown, who were just starting for the front, as First Lieutenant and Acting Adjutant, and thus he passed another twelve months In his country's service. This last term of service will be referred to In the diary of the escaped Union pris- oner. Lieut. Johnson is a member of Post 10, G. A. R., and was a member of Post 5 for many years. He is also a companion of the Military Order of the Loyal Legion of Massachusetts, a member of the Society of the Army of the Potomac, a Royal Arch Mason, and a partner in the successful dry goods house of J. H. Clarke & Co. of Worcester, where he now lives.] After two years of war and battles, com- mencing with first Bull Run (July 21, 18bl), I with my regiment. Third Maine Infantry, find ourselves June. 1863, on our way with the Army of the Potomac to the field of Gettysburg. The interval between these two dates had not been uneventful or inactive on the oart of our command. I enlisted at the a?e of 19 from the city of Ausrusta, being rejected without examination by my own brother, who was a commissioned and recruiting officer at the city of Hallowell (our home), he fonninsr a company for the Third Infantry. I was refused enlistment sim- ply for this reason I was physically unfit lot RELIEVING THE YANKEE LIEUTENANT OF HIS SWORD. A PRISONER'S DIARY. 239 the life of a soldier, and as at that period (April . '61) there were plenty of men only too anxious to enlist they could choose their material, which later in the war could not have been done. I was at work in a dry goods store at this time, when the first gun was fired on Sumter, weighed 112 pounds, and dia not look a very promising suoject for Uncle Sam's uniform, but I w .nto'i to enlist just as badly as my big brother of 176 pounds. My first application at Auarusta was to Capt. Staples, Company B, but there met with the same reply did not want ma At this time, instead of being discouraged. I was determine^ to enlist, and in the Third Maine also, as the regiment was to be formed from companies from the Kenneoec Valley. So I applied 10 the Adjutant General of the State, and even he tried to discourage me, but at last gave me a written permit lor Capt. Staples to enroll me among his men. Witn this document I did not apply in vain, but was at once en- listed as a high private in Company B. We shall hear from this brother of mine before I get out of the army, for after he recovered his health he was commissioned in the United States navy, where he served until the end of the war. After the death of Reynolds the command de- Tolved on Major General O. O. Howard, who. by the way, was our first Colonel of the Third Maine and fought with us at first Bull Run, but was goon after rapidly promoted and is to-day the second ranking officer in the United States army. These two small corps of the Federal army, not numbering more than 10,000 men. were pitted against the divisions of Heth. Rhodes Early and Fender, full 40,000 men. and the remainder of the Confederate army in sup- porting distance. During the night before my first capture both armies received heavy reinforce- ments, and as the Third (Sickles'*) Corps was on the extreme left of the Union lines and sup- posed to be facing the right of the Confederate army, it was of the utmost importance to locate the Confederate position. Our regiment was poste 1 in the then unknown to history Peach Orchard, when on the early morning of July 2 our command, numbering only 196 rifles, with 10O Unite I States sharpshooters, all under com- mand of Gen. Berdan, was ordered by Gen. Sickles to make a reeonnoissance of the posi- tion, to feel for and find the enemy. At the word " forward" we advanced, and for half a mile outside our lines pierced the enemy's territory, when a dense wood obstruct- ed our front. We then advanced a quarter of a mile through these woods, wnen our skirmish- er-^ became hotlv engaged, driving the enemy's skirmishers and pickets before us. We soon en- gaged the enemy in force, and they commenced to take us on the flank as well as front. attempt- Ing to cut us off from our line of retreat. We engaged tbls body of rebels for thirty minutes, though the odds were thousands, and when the bugle called the retreat we fought our way back foot by foot. We had nearly reached the open ground, fighting step by step, when one of my men, who had fought by my side for two long years, fell, with a musket ball through his hips, and as he fell said, "Sergeant, don't desert ma Help me out of these woods." Another one of my company, noble fellow that he was, came to my assistance, and with his help 1 seated Call, the wounded man. across a musket, and. with his arms around our necks, with the bullets flying around us, and with these exultant rebs at our heels twenty to one. were making slow but sure progress, when Jones dropped his end of the musket and fell dead, shot through the head. Before I coulc) recover, get Call's arms from around me and escape, for I coul i not think of trying to assist him farther alone, the Johnnies were on top and around us and we all three were prisoners. But a dead and wounded man were of no use to them, so I, with a few equally unfortunate, were secured. I touud that my captors were Wilcock's Bri- gade of Alabama regiments, a portion of A. P. Hill's Corps, and how a single one of our little command had ever escaped is strange. As it was. we lost 48 men in killed and wounded in this single half hour; but we had our fighting Colonel with us, Moses B. Lakeman, who could get more workout of a small command than any army officer I ever saw. Like all prisoners of war, we were taken to the rear far enough to be out of range of the guns of either army, but near enough to hear hundreds of cannons and thousands of rifles engaged in deadly conflict throughout that day and the following. July 3. We remained on or near the field until the night of July 4, when, with the beaten and re- treating army of Gen. Lee, we took up our line of march to the Potomac, which we crossed July 10. Could the victorious army of Meade only have been informed of the condition of the Confederate army nothing could have pre- vented their surrender or destruction, for they were discouraged, weary and beaten, out of ammunition, quartermaster's and commissary stores, and when we arrived at the banks of the swollen Potomac at Point of Rocks they found that the pontoons by which we were to cross the river had been swept away by the sudden rise of water in the upper Potomac, as it had rained every day since leaving the battlefield. Now for our Ions tramp down the Shenandoah Valley to Staunton, Va., more than a hundred miles away. We had about 5000 prisoners in our column, and were guarded by the remainder of Picket's Division, the few that were left after their brave but unsuccessful charge on our cen- tre on July 3. After being searched at Staunton, and having our blankets and everything of value taken from us, we were put in , ox cars, 60 to a car, and started for the rebel capital, and en- tered the city of Richmond July 21, '63. iust two years to a day from the date of the battle of th First Bull Run. We prisoners, who were mad* UP of all grades of commissioned, non-commis- sioued officers and privates, were all at first put 240 STORIES OF OUR SOLDIERS. in Libby Prison, but soon the enlisted men, which, of course, tooKall warrant officers, were taken from Libby and put uuo'i Belle Island, a small, sandy tract of land in the James River. just above but in close proximity and in sight of.Kichmond. Here we soon l>egan to feel ail the horrors of prison life, for our island was fear- fully crowded: we had poor and insufficient food and water, only a few condemned army tents in cover the thousand* that were crowded on this small sand bar. and we daily receiving new prisoners from different points throughout the Confederacy. Our rations were not enough to keep body and soul together, and I think that many would have died who did not but for the hope of home and our lines and trust in our future deliverance. After my release from my first rebel prison I arrived at Annapolis parole camp. Maryland. 1 was at once taken to the hospital, and when I ha>l recovered sufficiently had a short furlough homa I remained there some ten days when an order was issued from the War Department declaring all parole*! prisoners of war legally exchanged, and those that were able to report for ciuiy to their regiments at one*-. Oct. 16 I joine inv regiment in the field at Brandy Sta- tion, Va.. glad to be with the old Third again and fikf in for and under the dag I had learned to love so well. 1 fought, with our division, the battles of Mine Run an-1 Orange Qrove, engagements of small consequence, and -uring this time had been commissioned by the Governor of Maine Lieutenant of my company. May 4, under General Grant the Armv of the Potomac com- menced its onward march toward the rebel capital, and the night of this date finds our livisn on the battlefield of Chance lorsville of 12 months before, and the following day finds us hotly engaged in the battle of the Wilder- ness During this engagement, and while oar brigade and regiment were having a most des- perate struggle with the enemy, a report came to our Colonel that there was a rebel line in our rear, or. in other words, we wer flanked ; also instruction-" that he, our Colonel, should fur- nish an officer to accompany General Ward's Chief of Staff and find out the truth of the reuort. My Colonel said I was the party selected to accompany Captain Nash, and to lose no time in reporting the truth, or otherwise, of this startling rumor. So we started to the rear on the run, as we did not consider it necessary to use much caution in going in this direction. Less than three minutes' time found us in the midst of a rebel line of infantry, lying down as close. to the earth as was possible; so close that we mistook them, in the imperfect light of the woods at that time, as the ground itself, and, before we had time to change our course they were on their feet and around us. I grasped the terriMe situation, and turned to run for life and the front; but a hundre I men were on their feet In a secon 1 of lime. Nasii. who had never been a prisoner of war, had surrendered, as he saw resistance was useless, worse than folly; but I, with my seven weeks of horrible prison Mfe just passed, and all its terrible leatures still fresh in my mind, thought that life again in a Southern prison was not worth saving. So I ma ore this date our camp was honored by the presence of Gen. Stoneman ot cavalry fame, who was captured with a portion of bill command outside the city, while trying to HD- erate us prisoners from our captivity. About this date, Au-r 16. 800 officers. 1 among the num- ber, were put on the cars, but for what purpose or what destination we knew not: we knew it was to tie a free ride; as to the Direction we were not consulted, but our final stopping place wa| Charleston. S. C. , and were at oncu distributed among the different buildings prepared for our reception, viz: Kooer and Marine Hospitals, Work douse and City Jail, the latter being my stopping place; but 1 had learned not to be par- ticular in my hotels, so said nothing when I was put in a seven by nine ceil. At that time the city of Charleston was under a state of seige from the water side, as Gen. Fos- ter was daily and nightly throwing the largest kind of shell from the uattenes on Morris Island, Battery Greegaud the Swamp Augel. right into the heart of tiie city, and we had been taken to this place and put in the most exposed location! A PRISONER S DIARY. 241 co prevent, II possible, the bombardment of this rebel stronghold. Our Government was notified of what the Con- federate authorities had done, out it bein* an inhuman and uii warranted act, ana a violation of any previous articles 01 honorable warfare to put prisoners uuder tbe fire of their own guns, Foster paid not tne sligutest attention iotue de- maud to cease firing uuou the city 011 account of our exposed position, but it anything increased the severity 01 the siege. As tne casualties among the prisoners irom this ariil.ery duel were very sinail, we being so well sheltered in these uuilduirfs, we rather eujoyeu this change in our prison lite: iiked to watch the ef- fects of these 3uu pound shell irom guns lour miles away, to bear tuoui come tearing into the city, see them strike buildings, see them crum- ble, and alter a while be uestroyeu uy these ter- ribie engines oi war. One oi the strangest parts of tins duel was that my brother, wlio resigned from me army auu my regiment 16 moutns be- fore on the Fenmsula, on account oi severe and prolonged sickness, uaa recoverea, was commis- sioned in ihe United Estates Navy, and was tak- ing a part in Charleston Harbor at the siege on this Southern city, and was not only showing his brotherly feeling uy this red hot reception in the way of shell ana solid shot, but sent irom the deet wnile 1 was confined in Charleston a box oi everything that would have made our beans and stomachs glad, could it have been re- ceived. 1 learned of my brother's location off Charleston by ihe cauture ol one 01 his brother officers attached to the same ship, who was Caught while doing picknt uuty under tue walls Of oumter, br the Rebels. My diary commences at this date. Sept 17, as follows: ahlis irom our guns caused a large tire last night, destroying 29 Buildings, several hells striding our prison uut not doing much injury. tteuu 20. Gave draft on rebel broker for $100 in gold, receiving $1UOO in Conlederte money in exchange, but as this broker uas got to inn the blockade to present these uraits for pay- ment m ihe North, there is uot much chance of tiunr ever being honored aud pal i. (.but umor- tun.iteiy tuey were, and when the premium on goid was at 236. so 1 fouu-i to my di.^ coin mure when 1 nnaliy got North.) yept. 26. Two-hundred officers leftourprison for exchange, Happy lew. Naval officers re- ceivea money and uoxes from fleet, but most of the contents 01 boxes uaa been taken, \\rote home. Letter examiuea by rebel official before Allowed to be lor warded. ttepu 28. More sueiiing to-day than any 24 hours since being iu Charleston. Foster throw- ing 90 very heavy shell rixht into the upper part ol the towu. Sept. 3U Naval officers left for Richmond and exchange. Oct. 1. Firing on the city continues very heavy. Eigm.y-.our shell turowu during the past 24 a ours. Oct. 2. Shelling of the city unusu illy severe, 170 heavy shells having left Four's guns for Charleston during the past 12 hours. Oct. 17. We had an election to-day in our oamp for President, and out of tbe 1161 vote* cast. Lincoln received 889 of those polled. Mo- Clellan stock being very unpopular. This re- sult was very much of a surprise to the prison authorities, wuo supposed the camu was stro .2 McCleilau, aud said before we had bal oted, they would print in tbo Columbia papers the vote as it was cast; but wneii they learned the result, refused to have anything to do with it. Oct. 19. Camp alarmed; guards fir>ug all along the line, on account of some of our men trying to escape, nouuds put on their irack and tney were soon recaptured and brought back to camn. Oct. 21. Lieut. Yoang, Fourth Pennsylvania Cavalry, accidentally snot bv some of the new issue ; died at once. Oct. 20. Some of our officers in attempting to escape last night, were tired on by tne guard, doing them no injury, but on tne contrary shot one of their own men dead on his l.eat. ;ioje to take this chance myself before long. Migtn as well be shot in attempting an escape as to die from exposure and lack of sufficient food. One of our officers shot fatally while attempting to escape last night. Nov. 7. Thirteen officers brought inio camo to-day, having some days before succeeded m getting by the guard at night, but were re- capture I, as every white man in the county is hunting rebel deserters or escaping Yankee prisoners. Nov. 9. Twenty-one officers recaptured and brought back to camp, but believe if i once get outsi.m the rebel guard will be successful in reaching our lines, either at the coast or at Kuoxville. Teun.. 60<) miles distant. Nov. 12. Received box from home, but most of its contents had been confiscated by tne prison authorities before it was delivered to me. Nov. 20. Another one of our men shot last night while trying to run by the guard. Nov. 21- Having been removed to Columbia Prison, last night three officers, Lieuts. An ler- son and Giiman of my regiment, and Lieut Guilds of the Sixteenth .aiiie. also myself, made a break for liberty and God s century by running down the guard. Had him helpleM and at our mercy. The balance of the guard fired upon us. i.ut in the darkness and confusion of the moment did not do us any t>o lily harm, we running for the woods is soon as possible. Have had nothing to eat but dry corn which we found in the fields, for the oast 24 hours. Dec. 4. Early this morning the slaves brought us a nice breakfast. The >iay uein-r Sunday, the family are going to church, and the Brooks' house servant, who has een in the woo is to see us, has promised, after the family are out of the house, she will show us the identical cane that Brooks usod upon the uncovered and defenceless heal of our Senator. After the family were out of the house this woman brought a wash leather sack into the thicket tor our examination. 242 STORIES OF OUR SOLDIERS. The cane originally was a larsre rosewood sticK with a massive gold head, and on its face this inscription: " Hon. P. S. Brooks from B. IX Vick." Must have been a presentation cane from some admirer of this Southern bully. The stick was totally destroyed, broken in three pieces, used up on the head of Sumner, from the effects of which he never fully recov- ered. My great desire was to to take this cane away with me, and I so expressed myself, but the servant protested with so much earnest- ness that I gave up the idea, for she said the house was left in her charge, and if this cane was missed, which it certainly would be, she would be called upon to produce it, or satisfac- torily explain its absence. Dec. 9. We were then hidden in the woods when it soon commenced snowing, the first of the season, when soon our guide came for us, and hid us for the day in a negro cabin. Dec. 10. This morning two poor runaway slaves, brother anil sister, came to see us. They are living in the woods to keep put of the way of their master, an , are suffering much from exposure this cold and wet weather, and th -y think because we are from the North we can help them ; but we are in as bad if not worse shape than themselves, for we are liable to cap- ture in any unguarded moment. The slightest carelessness or accident may throw us into the hands of the enemy, which is every white face in the South. So, although we sympathize with them in their terrible situation, yet we can do nothing to rliva them Fortunately we later struck the cabin of a Union woman bv the name of Prince, and she proved a prince to us, who fed and warmed us, for we were wet, hungry ana cold. After this woman was convinced that we were escaped Union prisoners of war, she opened her heart to us; told us that her husband was a Union man but ban been obliged to go Into the rebel army, where he was shot and died She also told us that 10 miles from her house up in the mountains, there was a camp of Out Liers made up of rebel deserters ami Union men who had never been in the Conlederate army, who were living in caves in the mountains to avoid being captured and shot or taken into the army by a company of Rangers who were in the Confederate service, employed to capture or shoot the^e men. These Out Liers had told this Union woman, Mrs. Prince, that if she ever came across any Yankee prisoners that were making for our lines to bring them to their camp, and they would go through the moun- tains with them and ioin the Federal army. After hearing tnis, to us weicouie news, set- tins dry and rested, we then at about mid- night, with this Union woman for a guide. Started for this Out Liers' camp, which we readied ju t before daylight, for it was ten long miles, and in a mountainous country; and a rougher looking set of men I never saw, all armed to the teeth with knives, revolvers, mus- kets, rifles or axes, and at first we did not know but what this woman had betrayed us to a pack of bushwhackers. Dec. 15. This camp consisted of about 16 men, whose homes were scattered through the mountains, who go home occasionally to get food or a change of clothing, or else their fami- lies come into the mountains to see them, and living such a life as they do, are willing and anxious to go through to Tennessee with us, and we are very glad of their company, lor they are familiar with all the passes in the moun- tains. Dec. 19. To-night we start for Knoxville in earnest, for our party now numbers 46 men, quite a strong partv for the rangers to strike. Crossed the first range of the Blue Kidge. and the mountains we have crossed during the day have been covered with snow and ice, and as cold on their top as in Maine in winter. Dec. 23. Yesterday we ma le 20 miles, and at night encamped at the foot of Hoe Back Moun- tain. Dec. 24. This morning 14 of our party started back for Sputh Georgia. Got frightened at the prospect oi meeting Indians some 30 miles in advance of us; also are afraid of .the snow and cold we are encountering in these fearful moun- tains ; say they had rather be shot at their own doors by the rangers and be buried by their fam- ilies than ,ie of cold and starvation so far away from home. Do not blame them any, but we have no choice left us; must press through, al- though the prosuect is a very gloomy one. A mistake taking this fearful course in midwin- ter through these mountains that are full of snow, and we dressed in summer clothing, uo underclothes, stockings worn out days since shoes al 1 to pieces and clothing in rags irom rough usage in the mountains, as we slip and fall every dozen steps, and this adds to the many rends and rags on our Bodies. Got a guide from this section who says he wlil go through with us. as our present South Carolina friends are no good to us; are so far away from home that they know no more of the passes in the mountains ahead oi us than we Yankees. Crossed Tennessee Mountains to-day. the highest range we have yet struck, being three miles to its top. Made 15 miles to-day. Deo. 25. Early to-day crossed a very high peak known as the Balsam Mountain. 3Va miles to the summit, and, being covereri vacated. Jan. 5. Came into the Union lines at noon to- day, meeting a sauadof tne Tenth Michigan Cava ry who were out fornging. or. rather, get- ting lodder elow Alexandria, with its gar- rison of 300 men and 10 guns, and whi.e at Alexandria, to keep his hand in, Gen. Mower ha i surprised and captured without the loss of a man or the tiring of a gun the rebel Col. Vin- cent at Henderson's Hill, 25 miles eyond Alex- andria, on the way to bhreveport. The prisoners amounted to 275 men, with 60 horses and four guns. These captures occurred i>etore Gen. Banks's arrival. At this time Charles Le Doux Elgee, of the class of 1856, at Harvard, an at I on Gen. Dick Taylor's staff, rode into the camp at Henderson's Hill, not knowing it had changed owners, and was oautured. Mr. Rooes will remember Elgee as a popular man in college ana a first-rate fellow (Vol. XXXI V., Series 1, Part 1. p. 167.) 248 STORIES OF OUR SOLDIERS. Th- naval forces under the command ol Ad- mi. Porter consisted of 19 ironclads. mounting 16 guns and carrying, 1 suppose, about. 15OO men. (jeuwral Smith and Admiral Porter left Vicks- burg on tne lOih of March, on the 14ta Smith captured Fort lie Ku.ssy. and arrived vMth Aumirul Porter at Au-xan ria on tne 18th of Ala re n, one day ahead ot me appointed time of rendezvous. Br.gadier General Lee. with tue cavalry 01 B miss's army, arrived on tne 19th, anu the infantry on the 25th an 1 2t>tii. Althou.cn General banks was late iu arriving at Alexandria, yet this ioss 01 time was of no couseaueuce, for the water in tue river rose so slowly that It was not till April 3, fifteen days after the appointed time, that the last of the twelve gunuoais and tneir transport^ pa-sea the rapids above Alexandria. Several of the large transports drew too much water, and these, witli a few gunboats, remained at Alex- andria below the falis. All the -.u .plies had to be landed, loaded into wagons, hauled around the falis and reshipoed, so that depots nad to be established in tue town as well as above the falls, and urover's division of the Nineteenth Corps, 4OOO strong, were ;e.t to protect the tore* and the Garry. (History of the Nine- teenth Army Corps by Irwin. While here one of tho>e amusing affairs which showed the want ol ready co-operat.on ami iriundhueas oeiween Porter aud Bangs oc- curred. As the stores ot penshaulo article!) were landed. Gen. Grover saw lUat they must be put unier cover or they might be spoiled. lie found a large convenient s orenouse on the levee, but it was more or lean occupied by several stallions. He turned out the stallions and put, in his stores. Ihe stal- lions belonged to Admiral Porter, and he sent a orce 01 sailors, who put out the tores and put back tue stal.ions. General Grover then sent a squad of soldiers, who, in turn, put out the stallions. I'uen Admiral Porter sent some marines with a howitzer, and put the horses iu a^ain- Grover then sent a company of infantry to replace his stores, and itseeme I as if all tne troops would ultimately brcoino engaged. Tne matter was liualiy re- ferred to Gen. banks, who arranged it in some way which probably suite i neither party. Sieele left Little Koek on Marcn 23 with about 10.00O men to meet ban IKS at Stireveoort, winch is a point, as 1 have said, wumu the enemy's country and held uy the euemv. Gen. Banks, on whose staff I was an Assistant Medical Director, had come by water from Now Or eans to Alexandria, wnere he had arrived on March 24. A. J. Smith's command had been lent to Ban KS lor 30 days. His time would expire on the It), h of April, and it was not until the third Of the month that the water was huh enough lor the navy to procne I. Gen. Grant wa.-. will- ing to extend Gen. Smith's time by 16 days, bat If Shreveport was not taken, certainly by the 26: n of April, A. J. Smith was to be sent back, if the expedition had to be abandoned. 1 have already read to you Gen. Grant's order on this subject. This was, as Irwin expresses it in his history of the Nineteenth Army Corps, putting the expedition "in irons," for not only was there the treacherous river to contend with, which might run dry at any moment and leave the vessel stranded, but th re was the semi-control of Gen. Smith's lorces and the fact that they might leave at a critical moment. General banks had protested against the expedition ana aid not beiieve In it, but he had practically been told that the troops woul I march, and that he could go with them or remain at Mew Orleans. Here be was at Alexandria with a naval commander who did not amnatn with him. and with a part ol his command hardly recognizing his author- ity and threatening to leave at any moment. However, he decided to go ahead. The troops under Franklin went by land, and General Banks and staff went by water in the steam r Black Hawk to Grand Ecore, 60 miles from Alexandria. Gen. Banks you all know. Of ereat personal bravery, he rarely succeeded in actual combat in equaling his enemies iu point of numbers, as at Cedar Mountain, in the Shenan loan Valley. and at Sa ine Cross Koads. Admiral Porter co- operated better with Generals Grant ana Slier- man than he did with Generals from civil life, like banks and Butler. Major General A, J. Smith fought whenever he ha I a chance, and was one of the best fighters it was my fortune to see during the war. He was ably seconded by Major General Mower, who had risen iroin the ranks. Gen. Kmorv, who commanded the Nineteenth Corps, in actual combat was excellent, but he was rather prone to ti-rnt his battles beforehand ami sometimes tired his troops with too much precaution. Gen. Dwight, who now commando 1 a brigade, but was later Chief of Staff, was a brother of Major Wilder Dwight, killed at Antietam. He had been lor two years at Wst Point in the same class with Gen. Sheridan. He was a fas- cinating romnanion in conversation and the troops be commanded were always steady and never retired. 1 remember how well his divi- soin stoo i at the battle of Winchester, Sept. 19. 1864, where the line of dead bodies, along a fence they hell, attested iheir stead- fastness. On General Banks's staff in this expedition were Gen. Charles P. Sto.ie, Chief of Staff when the expedition starte I. a gentleman, and one who had already suffered hard and un- deserve treatment from Secretary Stan ton during the war, ami was destined to suffer still more; Major George B. Drake. Adjutant Gen- eral; Major Lie er. Judge Advocate, (now Judge A ivocate General of the Army); Lieut C. S. Sar-reut. now the head of the U. S. Forest- try Commission and ol the Arnold Aboretum; SURGEON JOHN ROMANS. 250 STORIES OF OUR SOLDIERS. Cantaln Schuyler Crosby, Gen. John C. Palfrey. Chief Engineer: Lieut. Beebe of the Ordinance, a very gallant officer, were some of those that I remember very distinctly. Colonel Clark, senior aid, always appeared with a map of tue ground immediately after an action : two other ai ;s were German officers who spoke the English language with difficulty. From Grand Ecore Gen. Banks went with the troops of the first division Nineteenth Army Corps and the cavalry under Gen. Lee, with de- tachments of the Thirteenth Corps under Gen. Ransom, all under the immediate command of Gen. FrankJin. With Gen- Banks's troops marched Gen. A. J. Smith, from Sherman's army, with Gen. Mower's division, and with Admiral Sorter by water went Gen. Kiroy Smith on transports with a part of A. J. Smith's command. On April 3 the army left Grand Ecore on its march to Shreveport, with the cavalry and mounted infantry in the advance. Gen. Banks and staff left Grand Ecore on the afternoon of the 7th and arrived at the camp of the head- quarters of the Nineteenth Corus, near Pleas- ant Hill, in the evening, after an uninterrupted ride of 36 miles. 1 remember that Gen. Banks's horse was the only one tnat fell down on the road. All the trains had started and our head- quarter wagons left at the same time that we did, and, as we went at a gallop and they at a walk, we never saw them again until we met them on our retreats and we were dependent on the bounty or others for our food and lo Igine, but, as we were in the saddle day and night for the next three days, we did not need any lodging. As I had not i>een on horseback for ten years, I was pretty stiff after this long:, straight ride of 35 miles, uut I went supperless to bed and slept splendidly, and was surpised to find that I was not sore when I mounted my horse the next day. The first thing to be done by me on April 8 was to bet; some break fast, and I got a first-rate one from General JJwighu The roa i by which we were marching leaves the river at Grand Ecore and soon plunges into dense woods. It was the regular most traveled route. How this paper came to be written ia best explained In the following letter: Dear Doctor I write at the organ of the Executive Committee of the Military Historical Society to ask yon to give us a paper on the Bed River expedition. I want 1C to be chiefly a personal narrative, at least (hat seems to us to be the most attractive form in which It could pos- sibly be out. Your recollection of men and things is so vivid and your descriptions are so graphic that we feel we should be very fortunate in having snch a pauer. Could you have this ready for as the first Tuesday in January? Sincerely Yours, JOHN C. ROPBS. Dr. John Iloraana was graduated from Harvard la 1858, and received the title of M. D. In 1862. January 14 of the same year he was made an Assistant Surgeon of Uie United States Navy and was ordered to the U. 8. S. Aroostook. After a short cruise in search of, the disabled U. S. 8. Vermont he was engaged on the Vir- ginia rivers, from May to August; he participated in the battle of Fort Darling, Va., and later co-operated with the army at the battle of Malvern Hill, In the same State. His resignation was offered September 16. November 22 the future famous Surgeon was made an Assistant in the army. He sailed from New York for New Orleans in the following February, was assigned for duty In St. James Hospital, and In the autumn was given charge of the hospital. He was on Gen. Banks's staff In the Red River expedi- tion, and participated in the Battles of Sablne Cross Roads and Pleasant HilL Temporarily he waa Medical Director of the army engaged in this expedition. In May Dr. Homans returned to N'ew Orleans and two months later was ordered North, arriving at Washington. In the army of the Shenandoah his position was Surgeon in-Chief of the flrat division, Nineteenth Army Corps, and in the Shenandoah Valley engaged in the conflict with Early's army. Dr. Homans was at the battles of Win- chester, Va., and Cedar Creek. After that he was medical inspector of the middle military division on the staff of General Sheridan in November, and afterwards became the acting medical director of the army of the Shenan- doah, finally resigning the 28th of May, 1866. Hla career since the war and the great fame he has achieved as a surgeon need not be more than briefly men- tioned here. After returning from the War Surgeon Homans went to Europe for three years, returning to Boston to the prac- tice of his profession. He was Surgeon at the Boston Dis- pensary, the Children's Hospital and the Carney Hospital, and Is now a visiting surgeon of the Massachusetts General Hospital. He is a lecturer In Harvard University. For the last 18 years his name has been especially associated with abdominal surgery. He Is a member of the Boston Society for Meout 18.OOO men to oppose over 30,000, and if we had kept the troops together we should hare been invinciole, ana could nave gone anywhere. At RED RIVER EXPEDITION. 251 ne head of the column wa> Gen. Lee, command- ing the cavalry of 4000 men, half of which were mounted infantry. Next came a long cavalry wagon train, then some artillery, and then, sev- eral miles behind these wagons, came the Thir- teenth cor pa of about 5000 men, commanded by Gen. Kausom; then more commissary and ord- nance wagons, then the First Division of the Nineteenth Corps, about 10,000 men; then its train of wagons and artillery; then Gen. Smith's troops, 10,000 men, and behind them the Corps d'Afrique. There was a distance of about nine miles between the cavalry anil the Ninteeuiii Corps, more than thU distance be- tween that corps and Gen. Smith, with the in- tervals tilled with wagons and artillery. All this in a narrow, sunken road through a pine forest, called in the rebel reports "a howling wilderness "a road more like a broad, deep, red-colored ditch tliau anything else, and one where it was impossible to turn a wagon around, except at intervals of several miles where there might happen to be a clear- ins. Gen. Lee protested at having the train pushed up in front, but Gen. Franklin kept sending orders to shove it ahead and sret it out of his way, and it was shovea ahead. In order to exonerate Gen. Lee, who has been blamed for having his trains in the advance. I will read from his report (War Records, vol. xxxiv.. pan 1, DP. 468-464). "In view of the loss of the train of my com- mand, a loss which has provoked some criti- cism, I desire in explanation of its presence, and continued presence, to call attention to the order of General Franklin cited in this ra- port, and received by me at 5 P. M. on the preceding day, directing me to proceed as far as possible with my train to give the infantry room on the following day. I will state also that I had frequently requested that my train or the Dulk of it. might be left with the advance train of the infantry, as 1 found it a great charge and incumbrance in con- ducting the advance. Such permission had never Deen granted. On the nigiit of the 7th in my dispatch of 9 P. M. I again indicated such wish, but without eliciting reply. My own dis- patches cited in report could hardly fail to represent the current con lition of affairs to my superiors, and under such explicit instructions ana orders I can see little room left me, as a -soldier, for the exercise of personal judgment. "About 10 A, M. of the 8th my train was at the creek at Carroll's Mills, five or six miles from the battlefield. While a halt was being made in constructing a I ridge General Banks and staff and General Franklin and staff came up a_nd observed its construction. General Frank- nn directed the Quartermaster of the Fourth Brieade to keep the train well closed. At the point of its capture during the progress of the battle, this QamrtflrnuMtor asked Lieut. <->ol. Chandler, Chief Quartermaster of the army, if he had not better move his train back. He replied. 'No; you must not turn a single wagon; if you lose your wagons, lose them fac- ing the enemy,' " Cavalry Quartermaster Captain Whittiers re- port confirms this statement of Gen. Lee, and in the latter part of his report he says (War Records, vol. xxxiv., part 1. P. 464): 'I remained with the train in the position I described until the rout be- came general, when t received an or- der from Major Howe, Acting Assistant Adjutant General, to remove my train to the rear, which order I commenced to execute, when I found the road in my rear, at a point near a slough, blockaded by capsized and stalled teams belonging to another brigade, which made it wholly impossible to carry out the order further. In this position the entire train was captured, f would further state that previous to the instructions I receive ! from Lieut. Col. Chandler. Capt. Hoge, Division Mas- ter, told me that the instructions were positive not to remove the train to the rear. I am. Colonel, very respectfully. F. H. WHITTIER." General Lee was especially earnest and active in pressing on. He drove the enemy before him to Sabine Cross-roads, within four miles of Mansfield, a town about 35 miles this side of Shreveport. Lee. finding himself hard pressed, sent back to Franklin for a brigade of infantry. This Franklin was un- willing to send, because he feared their presence woul'l precipitate a battle before we were closed up and ready, ami he refused Gen. Lee's reauest, but Gen. Banks gave a peremptory order and a brigade was sent from the Thirteenth Corps, and later another one. when the first was found unequal to sustaining the rebel attack. On the morning of the 8th of April I rode up to the front from the Nineteenth Army Corps headquar- ters and I passed nine miles of wagons in my ride. I found General banks and Major Drake in some open woods through which the uullets were flying. Colonel Clark, our senior aid. was standing with the left leg of his trousers rolled up, and comparing a scar he had with the le of a soldier who had just been shot in the same place. He asked me to look at the two wounds and say if they were not very much alike. It seemed to me queer, and 1 did not pay much attention to him. The firing became so hot and approached so near and the men were streaming by so fast that 1 turned round, hardly expecting to see Gen. Banks again. After riding back a little way I thought I would try to rally some of the fugitives. As soon as I turned round my knees were knocked black ana blue by the men running against them and by the knees of mounted fugitives, and I could do nothing. But at length I found a string of men tailed out behind the trunk of a tree, one behind the other, to es- cape the bullets which came, however, not 252 STORIES OF OUR SOLDIERS. only from the rear, but from both sides. I ap- pealed to a Sergeant aud asked him if he and I could not tret some men togeiuer and make a siany the First Division in irvmg to make prisoners in the darK and in this they were quite successful. At length in the course of the evening and night all the troops got on the road. Gen. Dwuat with his brigade ringing up the rear and making his prounecv coiuulete. At Pieasant riiii on our retreat we found Gen. A. J. Smith, with his coin.n.tuJ. Tae next day, the 9th, was spent in realms and in gelling into position to tigut the re..eis if they should attack as. uid it seemed absolutely certain that they would. in ..he afternoon they came on. an 1 were at first somewhat success ml, but a regiment in their rear and charge by Blowers division started them, and all i.ands drove them from the tieid. two or three miles on their Way b.ioii to Sabuie Cross Roads. I saw this charge of Mower's as plainly as if I were standing on the hill on the Common in lios ton an i the rival lorces were charging on the parade ground. Mower's men were lying down: the rebels came out of the woods, formed in line and charged bayonets. Mower's men rose up, delivered their tire and charged against them. Nearer ana nearer they came. 1 sai i to the omcer next to m -. "I am told th it bayonet charge* never meet, Which line is going to turn, the gray or the blue? If the blue turns we are gone up." Suddenly the gray line wavered, turned and ran. Everybody cheered and advanced. I set to work attending to the wounded, who were numerous, because we ha i the rebel as well as our own wounded to care for. Late in the evening an or ler was brought to me saying thai the army was going to fall back to Grand Ecore. 1 said, " Why retire? We have whipped the enemy, taken their artillery, and we hold the field with the wounde 1 of both sides, and have driven the reiis many miles." 1 was answered that we re- tired because of the scarcity of water, but said 1, "The wounded won't have any more water if you leave them. Let me go to Grand Ecore and turn back the ambulances and empty wagons we sent off this morniuvr, and we can transport all the wounded." Again 1 was asked if it was any of my business. I said "No.' Gen. A. J Smith aske i to be allowed to remain through the next day to bury his dead and collect his wounded, but his request was not granted Why we lost the battle of Sabine Cross Roads, or Mansfield, as the Confederates call it. is plain enough. The country was not one to maneuvre in. Our cavalry had no business in front. They had to ride along a sunken road in a pine forest, dismount, drive the enemy, oome back for iheir horses, mount again and soon fight again as tooi-solaiers. ihey were practi- cal, y inlautry. with inferior arms, and both- ered by their horses. Then the train of wagons was a source of embarrassment, and being in the way and occupying the only road, it preveute i us from bringing off any guns when we were repulsed. In sucn a country the advancing army had ail the work to do and the retiring party could choose iis own time, place and method of attack. Cavalry were out ol place, they coul not be used. Then again our army was strung out over thirty miles of road, no two detachments being in support- ing distance of each other. The only way would have been to have got all the troops together (as we did on the way down where we were uniformly victorious in every engagement) and to have advanced with infan- try sKirmishers in trout, \\ e should have ueen irresistible, but werhaps it was fated that we should not get to Snreveport. In these two days we lost 1792 killed and wounded and 1805 missing. The rebels, according to Gen. Kirby Smith s report, lost some 2000 killed and wounded. In officers kille 1 and wounded the Con- federate loss was especially heavy. Gen. Monton was killed at Sauine Cross Roads and Colonels Beard, Noble, Armant, Tavior, Buohel and many others. In prisoners we lost 1800; the Confederates lost about 9ou h \ /. % r / v I H ' I ilC / ^--" TRYING TO RALLY THE FUGITIVES. 2o:5 RED RIVER EXPEDITION. 255 In wagons we lost 156 loaded with torage and food and 800 mules. In cannon we lost about 15 and the rebels 5. Our army was not really much hurt by ttie.se two battles; it was only hammered together, amalgamated, as it were, if Gen. Banks had advanced the day after Pleasant Hill be could have gone to Shreveport or anywhere we^t of ii without much molestation. The Confederate troops were used up by their two days' fighting and the losses they had sus- tained. I do not see wh:t would have been gaine I by occupying Shreveport, and it would have been a difficult place to hold if General Banks was to be on the o her side of the Mississippi River, ready to attack Mobile on the 1st 01 May. However, if General Banks's an I General Steele's campaigns lia I both succeeded. I suppose that Gen. Steele and the navy could have hel i Shreveport. To sliow that we could have irone on after Pleasant Hill. I will reai Irom General Kirby Smith's report made at that tinn, also from an article 01 his written in 1888 an i published in the Century War Book, Vol. iv. p. 372. many years later, and Irom an intercepted letter written soon alter the battle by one ot General Smith's staff officers to his father in Richmond. (Vol. xxxiv., Part 1, p. 485.) "The next morning (i. e. after the battle of Sabine Cross Road-0 our whole army advanced and found the enemy in position at Pleasant HilL Our troop-i attacked with vigor, and at first with success, but l>y superiority of numbers were finally repulsed and thrown into confusion. The Missouri and Ar- kansas troops, with a brigade 01 Walker's division, were broken and scatters I. The enemy recovered cannon which we had captured an i two of our piece-, were left in his hau Is. To my great relief 1 found in the morning 1 that the enemy had fallen back during tne nignt. He continued nis retreat to Grand Ecore. where he intrenched himself, ami re- mained until the return of his tieet and its passage over the bars, made especially difficult this season by the unusual fall of the river. "The question mav be asked why the enemy was noi pursued at once. I answer because our troops were completely paralyze i by the n p i.se at Pleasant Hill, and the cavalry, worn out i>y the long march from Texas, uad been constantly engaged for three days almost without food or forasre. Before wecould reorganize at Alanslitdd and get into con dtion to a ivance over the 55 miles of the wilderness which separated the armies, the enemy was reinforced ana intrenched at Grand 1 core, I we coul i not whip hitn at Pleasant Hill in a lair fuht, it would have l>een mad ness to have attacked him at Grand Ecore in his intrenchments supported by a formidable float of gunboats. No sustained operations for dislodging him could be under- taken, because it was imuossnde to transport supplies for the entire army from Snreve- port, distant 100 miles. The enemy had possession of the river until he evacu- ated Grand Ecore. A large steamboat, which had been sunk in the narrowest part of the channel for the purpose of obstructing the pas- sage upward, and this fleet, had to be removed before the river could again tie used." (Article 1888. Century War Book. voL iv.. p. 372.) "Our repulse at Pleasant Hill was so complete and our command was so disorganized that had Banks followed up his success vigorously he would have met with but teeble opposition to his advance on Shreveport. Poliguac's (previously Mouton's) Division of Louisiana Infantry was all that was intact ot Taylor's lorce. Our troops were completely paralyzed and disorganized by the repulse at Pleasant Hill." Karrative of Lieut. Edward Cunningham. Aide de Camp and Chief ot Artillery. After giving an account of t.io battles of Sabine Cross Roads and Pleasant Hill, and a very Clear description ot the campaign against Steele. he says: " I do not think Gen. Smith's late campaign admits a well-grounded criticism. Ah turns upon a comparison of the oojects to be gained bv operating against Banks or Steele after Pleasant HilL That it was impossible for us to pursue Banks imme lately, under four or five days, cannot be gainsaid. It was imoossiule, because we did no have transportation for sup- plies; and impossible, because we had been beaten, demoralized, paralyzed in the tight of the 9th." Vol. xxxiv.. Series I.. Part L I think these quotations from Confederate sources make it clear that our army couid have advanced to Shreveport, and certainly a force minht have remained to bring off the woun .ed and bury the dead, and tnere was no need of Buch precipitation in retreat. Here was a curi- ous spectacle: i wo armies running away from each oilier, both retreating, nut the victor must BO. The next day, the 10th of April, our .sur- grous had to march beyond the battlefield to deliver their me ic.il stores. We marched all the mght of the 9th. leaving Peas- ant Hill ami all the wounded be- hind us, without being pursued, most of the enemy having retired six nines neyond or behind the baitlotiel i of the previous day. I reineimier tnat, as Gen. Banks and staff well Along the next morning by the column of in- fantry on the road to Grand Ecore, the soldiers sang in unison. On the lOih 01 April, '04, eta, and tnen all in unison shouted " Napoleon P. Bank*." It seemed at the lime as if this shout was raihcr in ridicule than i praise, and rather sarcastic than applauding. We re- mained at Gr.md Ecore a loriuignt, till April 2f>th, an I .hen retired to Alexandria. Our losses were more t.ian made up soon after- wards, for at Alexandria we iound Grover's division of the Nineteenth Corps, and omer 256 STORIES OF OUK SOLDIERS. troops from New Orleans and Texas. On April SO we had 4000 men more than we had on March 31. before we started from Alexandria, the return for March 31 present for duty being 36,847. and for April 30, after all fighting and retreating: and losses in prisoners, present for duty, 39,041, without counting the sailors or marines. I went to see General Mower in his tent at Grand Ecore, and he actually sned tears because he had been compelled to retreat after Pleasant Hill. He said he was not used to such campaigning; that when he bad whipped the enemy he had always pursued him, and he could not understand the good of coming ui> here and lighting and beating the rebels, and then running away, and much more in the same strain. He could not be reconciled to our retreating:. How fared it with General Kilby Smith's command, which went up the river on transports to meet us at Mansfield? They started from Grand Ecore on April 7, 14 trans- ports, containing troops and stores, escorted by the naval vessels; 7 more transports followed later. On April 10 they arrived at Logsry Bayou, 110 miles from Grand Ecore, and landed troops to take and hold the bridge at Bayou Pierre, and to hold the town of Springfield. They had received news of the battle between Banks and Kirby Smith, the tenor of hich was that the Confederates were in full retreat, but, just as the troops were starting on their reconnaisance toward Bayou Pierre, an order from General Banks was received direct- ing the return of the command to Grand Ecore. The only losses of the command were two killed and seventeen wounded, and the iron clad Eastport. a powerful and valuable vessel, and the boats reached Grand Ecore on the 15th ol April On the way they had been attacked by the rebels under General Green and General Liddell with cannon and musketry. General Green was killed by a shell, which took off his head, and his command suffered considerably. We remained at Grand Ecore from April 11 till the 21st, ten days, and then marched to Alex- andria, where we arrived on the 25th. (See Irwin's History, Nineteenth Army Corps.) "Banks's relations with General Stone had been strained, and Banks had determined on a change, when on April 16 an order was re- ceived from the War Office bearing: date of March 28, whereby Stone was relieved trom duty in the Department of the Gulf, deprived of his rank and ordered to Cairo, 111., thence to report by letter to the Adjutant General of the army. For this action neither cause nor occa- sion had ever been made known. Banks pub- lished this order, and on the following day anade Dwight Chief of Staff." On the way down one oi those incidents oc- curred which illustrated General Banks's per- onal bravery v and perhaps also his want of judgment. We came to the crossing ol Cane Kiver, which empties into the Red River at Monett's Bluff. The rebel General Bee. with a large force of infantry atid artillery, held the bluff, which commanded the river crossing. General Birge with his brigade and Cameron's Division of the Thirteenth Corp* carried the hill by assault and cleared the way. In this action General Fessenden of Maine was severely wounded and afterward lost his leg, as did also Gen. Paine of Wisconsin. Before Gen. Birge grot into action Gen. Banks rode up toward Monett's Bluff, from which the enemy were shelling the road. We halted in the road with our escort headauarter flags, orderlies, etc., making quite a large crowd, and the rebels began practicing on us. At length they got the range, but Gen. Banks did not move and the rest of us had to stay with him. The shells burst closer and closer. At length one burst directly over our heads and the fragments fell upon and among us. One piece struck Gen. Banks on his boot and then fell to the ground. "Hand me that piece of iron, if you please." said the General. I made believe that my horse was restive and spurred along the road toward the bluff, for it seemed to me that the nearer 1 got to the ene- my's batterv the less likely I was to be hit. Somewhere on the road between Nachitochtes and Alexandria I left the troops and went on hoard a transport loaded with wounded, and gave directions about their cara This delayed me, and when I arrived at our headquarters I found Gen. Banks and the staff, together with Generals \. J. Smith and Mower, seated at a magnificent banquet. General Dwight had sent his aid, Lieutenant Daniel Payne (who was a classmate of mine at Harvard in the class of 1858), to New Orleans. Now the New Orleans restaurants, the French ones, were as good as those in Paris, and Paine had sent up a magnificent dinner, with plenty of champagne. I found the dinner considerably advanced, but I made up in haste for what I had lost in time, and we had a very jolly feast I was very fond of Gen. A J. Smith, with whom I used to ride whenever I coul lack on the piazza, introduced myself to Mrs. Eigee and gave my messages. The husband and wife never met again. Elgee died of typhoid fever in prison in New Orleans. The sick and wounded gradually became so RED RIVER EXPEDITION. 257 numerous that I needed another and a larger steamer to put them in, and as General A. J. Smith bad all the larger steamers I went to him, armed with a request irom General Dwigiit, and askuhing the work an 1 hardly slept. Almost all the work was done by the troops and the dam was finished in a week, but only four of the gunboats were ready with steam up, the Lex- ington, the Osage, Neosho and Fort Hindman. These went over, but suddenly the dam gave way and the water fell. Bailey, however, was equal to the emergency, and a second dam, with wing dams above, was built higher UP the river in three days' time, and soon a sufficient depth of water was o >tained to float the boats over the rocks. As soon as Bailey reported that the water was deep enough, one of the vessels was sent over the falls; a-; she disappeared and dived head downward, and her smoke stack reeled over, we felt that perhaps she had struck on the rocks and would never rise, but when she glided out of the foam and rough water into the smooth stretch below "a shout that rent the firmament from all that crowd arose." The other vessels Waiting above the falls were all brought over In safety. While we were at Alexandria no at- tempt was made to capture the rebel army, nor to seriously attack it. though the enemy marched i>y us and gave us their flank and we had plenty 01 iroops, 39.0OO men. Rebel authorities think we might have done so. (War records Vol. XXXIV.. Series 1, p. 668. Part 1 Lieut. Cunningham s account) "The enemy showed less enterprise than I have ever known them evince. Once or twice while he was at Alexandria the posture of our force was such that by a short an i compara- tively safe movement 01 10.000 men he might have insured beyond perau venture the capture of Foligu.ic's division, and must have ueen, in the main, aware of the position and strength of our force. "Along with the hope of accomplishing his main purpose he seems to have given up his de- sire to acquit himself with any credit." What was Steele doing all this time ? As we hare said. Gen. Steele left Little HOCK March 23. He readied Arkadelpnia on the 29th. His line of march was harassed on tiie front, rear and flank*. Geu. 1'hayer irorn Fort Smith ioiue.i him, and together they proceeded over feanul roads, through swamps and marshes to Camdeu, wnicu they reached on the loth of April. All this time Sieele's foraging parties were attacke i, his long line of transportation, over 100 miles, to Little Rock freuuentiy in- terrupted, and, as ne expressed it, he was " bush w Hacked and attacked, fro.it, rear and flank, y Price's cavalry. " Hi* spies and mes- sengers sent to Banks were iuterceoied, until, on or about the 17th, one more fortunate than the rest came in. confirming the reports of Banks's retirement to Grand Ecore. Steee founu Camaeu lortitied strongly, the works having been careiully built the year before by the Confederates, ihose worKs were unoccu- pied, and Sieele took possession, lie could have maintained himself there indefinitely, as he speaks in high praise of the fortifications, but he could not maintain liis long line of com- munication with Little Rock, bis base of sup- plies. The country was impoverished; the ex- pedition had come to uaugat; now that Banks had retired, he could not contend successfully against Kirby Smith, and Price reinforced irom Shreveport; his foraging parties and supply trains were being captured, and his sup- plies of food and forage were low, tie retired from Camden on April 23, using his pontoon bridge to cross the Wasbita River. Later on, at Jenkins's Ferry, on the Saline River, he laid his pontoon bri ige again for the last time, crossed over his cavalry and most of his sick and wounded, and then turned and fought the pursuing enemy, who attacked with great desperation. The Comed erates were lefeatel with great slaughter The co ored troops fought particularly well, the Second Kansas Colored capturing two guns. After pursuing the enemy about a mile. Gen. Steele turned back and cros^e i the river, leaving several Surgeons with the wounded he could not transport, and saving all tue wagons he could haul. Many of Ue 258 STORIES OF OUR SOLDIERS. animals were so weak that they could not, even uunar.iessed, drag tnem.ielves through tiie mu.i. Steeie now destroya I his pontoon bridge, wuich nal twice saved liis uruiy bee. iuse lie could not transport it, having not enough animals to haul the artillery and the rations, ihe rebels bai been 100 much hurt to puisue. The effect of the action at Juufc-iu->'s Ferry on ihe Sabiue, and mat at Pleasant Hill uu.ier Bauits, were inucn the Same n iheir effect on the re els. In bOt,h the enemy wa.-> wniupedaud so much hurl as to ue nuaoie to renew tlie attaCR. (Rebellion Records. Series. Vol. XXX1V..P. 547.) Gen, Richard Taylor, wlio had been very mucu incensed against Kiroy smith, and was \vn.m-: most insuuordiuate an i insulting let- Urs. says in one of them, " At Jenkins's ferry you lost, mor ; heaviiy m kille i an wounded than tue enemy. i'his appears .rom in,; oth'cial report of bteeie, confirmed by our officers who were present. You los. two pieces 01 artillery. w..icn ihe enemy did not carry off because he bad previously been deprived of moans of transportation by Maxey and Fagau. lie turner nis poiuoon for the same reason, and because after crossing the Sauine he had no lurtuer use lor it. Heuiarcned to Little Rock after the tight entirely uuuio- le.->ted. lie would unquestioua dy nave gone there had tiie ughl never occurred. We do not to-day hold one loot more oi Arkansas than it Jenkins's Ferry ha i never ueen, and we have a jade. i army aim 1000 iess solaiers. In iruiti, the Campaign (in Arkansas) ha i oeeu a ludicrous fanure. IbeiruitsOi Maustield (Sabiuu Cross Roads) have been turned to dust and asues." .Steele reached Little Rock on May 3. tie had accomplished nothing, fiad failed to reach Shivveport, ana baa been much more punished than ttauks. His losses were enormous, par- ticularly in material of war wagons, 636; mutes, 2500. O.i April 15 there were 8UO wagons and 12,ooo puoiic animals at Camden, mor,- than an average 01 one animal 10 every soidicr, including officers and non-combatants, team.ttcrs, etc. it was not unnatural that forage lor thi- great number oi animals should oe difficult to procure. Waat an enormous loss of material of war, to say nothing of men, was sustaine i in tbese two camp .igus 01 Generals Sieele and banks, without any successes to counterbalance them. Jus i think. 360O mules alone, ana Major Liver- more tola us the other iiignt that Napoleon had only 300 mules wnen he began tne Italian campaign. We were directed to leave Alexandria very quietly and were to be particularly careful to set no fires and to keep perfect silence, so as to give no notice to the Confederates that we were leaving. Our nor es were saddled all day long, and at lengtn, about midnight, on the 13th of May we left Alexandria, in wbat. as I recol- lect, was a perfect pandemonium of noise, and vita the sky illuminated all night by the buru- ng houses and burning cotton set on fire by the troops. As far as our staff was concerned the march was a very pleasant one. Gen. Dwigut. wuo ha i succeeded Gen. a. one as Cu.ei of Staff. I at i e;v-.t saw but little ol ; he was very bu.>y. aud maae Lieuu Charles S. Sargent and tne otuer men on tne Staff worn pretty ..ard in < xamin- iug civilians wuo were arrested, wrought to headquarter-i and pumped for inioiuiaaon about ihe enemy. Surttent tnotuht it pretty liar 1 to ride all day and be Kept up all ni-fiii examining civilians arrested on the march. 1 uelieve the threat Isapoleon pursued this practice: wheiner ha learned more taau Sargent did, 1 do not know. While we were at Alexandria the rebels marcued arouuu us and tooK possession of the Red Kiver oeiow u* at Davia's Ferry, jut.6 aoove Fort Ue Russy. Troops na.i been c'linmg to us in transport steamers Irom New Oneaufl ana . rom me coast of iexas. the remainder of the Ihirieenth Corps, with Gen. .vicCIeruand, their commander. Mo>t of tne transports got througn to Alexandria all rUht, uut for some time communication with New Orleans was cutoff and Gen. John C. fallrev and Colonel Aicxan .er, ou. Aieuical Director, coula not return to us, and 1 was appointed Acting Medi- cal Director 01 tne expedition. The rebels look possession ot the bank and captured on the 5th ol May th>; steamer^ Emma, City iiell aud Warner, an 1 destroyed me Unite i States sun- boats Covm^tou an i Signal. About 4OO of our men were made prisoners from the Fiity-sixth and One iiuuured and Twentieth Onio l.ifantry. Descending from Alexandria the roa i follows the right bank of tne Red River, ihe day fol- lowin-r our departure we caun; in the course oi the morning to a place where the levee was gone, on our side of the river, and about 60 rebel riflemen ou the other bank had the range of the gap. When we came to ibis place I noticed that the teamsters got off their horses, and hid behind tneir wagons, crouching down. Everybody on toot stooped uown ana those on horsebacK ran their horses swiftly by, or else dismounted and kept out of sight, but Gen. Banks went at a walk, his horse curveting about, and most of the staff Kept behind him. Some of the regular officers, however, galloped ahead out of tire, in irout of me was one ot our German AHs or engineers. He rode a little white horsa Ail of a sudden we got a volley and the German's white horse dropped dead, shot through the neck. "My horse he shoot. Gott damn," said the Lieutenant When we erot beyond the gap I dismounted to attend to one of the escort, who had teen hit. and the Lieutenant came up to me arH said: 'This soldier vill not do vat I tell him. What do you want him to do?" "I tell him to get mv saddle and bridle from my dead horsa" I asked the man if be had refused to get the sad- dle and he said he had. I said : " Lieutenant, I BED RIVEE EXPEDITION. 259 l>^ 1700 for duty 600 of them, which include he whole of the Thir- teenth Mississippi aim Uie artillery, did not fire a musket or gun al) day long, but marched and countermarched in and around Fort Evans dur- ing the whole of the fight. This left us but 1100 muskets, and from 11 A. M. till 8 P M. we kept up a steady fire of musketry not a single cannon shot was tired alone our lines. We captured the Federal guns at the very beginning. We killed General Baker, and 900 of his men lay dead in the field. There were killed 717 by jumping over a bluff; 128 were captured and sent to Richmond, The opposite banK of the river was lined with their wounded, under tents, for a lone wav. Ana we fished up out of the river 2200 dead bodies, and aided the Federals in burying them all. and I am satisfied that we did not get all of the bodies out of the river, as many floated off. Now, their loss, not counting a single wounded man, was 4545, Do any of the historians say anything of this? They merely say: "CoL Stone crossed the Potomac and made a reconnoissance near Lees- burg with a small body of Federals, but was met by an overwhelming body of Confederates under Gen. Evans, and was driven uack with great slaughter." Does this come any where near the truth? It only leaves the mind of the youthful reader with the impression that the Confe crates were there with a much greater force than the Fed- erals, and hence CoL Stone had to retreat, and in doing so the Confederates fell upon them in great numbers and slaughtered them ; while the plain truth is: the Federals, some 10,000 in all. were already in positions on our side of the river, when we discovered them, whicn was late in the day. When we attacked them they had ample men to have laid down their arms and tied us. hanu and foot, i>ut they were afraid to try it, and the treachery of one of their regi- ments caused us to lose more of our men than we otherwise would have dona Among those whose death was caused by their treachery Was a son of Gov. John J. Pettus of Mississippi. and also the Colonel of the Eighteenth Missis- sippi. E. R. Burt The circumstances were these : We came upon them suddenly, and, taken by surprise, they hoisted a white flag at our de- mand to surrender, and reversed their arms and surrendered. At this moment another regi- ment appeared on our right front and poured a deadly volley into us. We obliqued our guns and returned their fire. As soon as we did so. and while the men were loading, the surrendered regiment, within a lew feet ol us, raised their guns and gave us a deadly volley. We charged at once, without orders, and with bayonets and clubbed guns we gutted and brained the most of them, for their treachery and cowardly act almost made demons of us for the time being. The first regiment that had fired on us re- treated to their main line and took position on the slope of the hill, with a thicket of laurel in their front. Our skirmish line advanced to the foot of this hill and took position in a small drain. I was in the drain and our line of battle was some 6O- yards in our rear, in a small skirt of timber on the brow of the hill. The first line of the Fed- erals was about 60 yards in front of our skirmish Una About 12 o'clock M. the firing began, and for eight hours it was steady, neither party giving back. Our skirmish line held its position in the drain, as it was below or under the line of tire, and in no danger from our own men. After a few volleys had passed the skirmish line find- ing they were in no danger from friends- opened a steady and deadly fira The laurel thicket disappears, cut down and blown away by the hurricane of bullets that swept the field. I fired some 300 rounds that day, and, after the first two or three shots. I cooled down and IOOR rest and tire ! coolly an 1 deliberately at the uckle of a man in front of me, and I could hear the bullets of our men as they at each volley crawled among the olue- coats, ten lines deep in our front, with a dull, heavy thud. I often thought of my friend Moore, so ruth- lessly shot on the picket line a short time be- fore in violation of the contract between the Confederate and Fe leral troops, and likewise of his wife and little ones, as my eye glanced along the barrel of my rifle, and my arm would be more firm and steady. Our men on the hill could look back and see the ladies of Leesburg crowding the housetops to waich the progress of the tight, and some had wives and sweethearts there, and tney could see them waving handkerchiefs and flags to encourage them. And the sight nerved their army and made them determined to do or die. About four or five o'clock the Federal lines were pushed forward a few yards, and our skir- mish line lost two or three men. As soon as it was dark the flash from the Fed- eral muskets would almost throw their sparks upon us. At about 8 o'clock I heard the voice of our commander ring out loud and clear in these words : " Attention all I Drive them into the Potomac or into h 1 1 D n them, charge them 1 ! I" Our men gave a yell. 1 sprang as if touched by an electric shock and darted forward and sighted out a big lager beer bloated Dutchman, and though I wa as fleet-footed as most men, he outran me and plunged headlong over a bluff some 50 feet high, and, with many others, lit upon the rocks below, a quivering mass. Many of our men came very near going over. too. in the darkness. A large canal boat was leaving the shore, loaded with fugitives. We poured a volley into one end of it, and the human freight rolled 262 STORIES OF OUR SOLDIERS. from it like turtles from a log. It plunged for- ward, went under, and we saw it no more. The river was covered with a mass of strug- gling beings trying to reach the opposite shore, and we k-i>t up a steady tire upon them as long as the faintest ripple could be seen- A deep silence then rested upon the field, and it was "all quiet along the Potomac." Not a groan was heard. I sank upon ihe n'eld among my comrades, exhausted, to sleep, and did not wake till the sun was high in the heavens the next day, when I awoke and gazed around me. home of my comrades were standing around, and they looked dazed. Thrir faces were swollen and ulack wi'.h burnt powder, an I their hair and whiskers scorched and singed from the flashes of their muskets. My limbs were so stiff and sore that I could hardly mqv<\ We soon learned that all tho live Federals on our side of the river were prisoners. But few, il any, of all ihose who attempted to swim the river that memorable night to escape our fire ever did so. I aided in ourying their dead for several davs, and we of the burying oarty kept a strict account of all tho bodies. This is a truthful account of the battle of Leesburg, trom my standpoint as a soldier, and told just as 1 saw it. and is a copy from my diary written at the time, and 1 can vouch for it. T.AMAR FONTAINE, Late Major Fourth Confederate States Cavalry. Shaw. Miss. MAJOR LAMAR FONTAINE. ERRATUM. 263 ERRATUM. On page 163, in list of organizations of General Dan Butterfield's oth Corps, First Brigade, First Division, for " Twentieth Massa- chusetts," read "Twenty-second Massachusetts Regiment." The 20th was not in the 5th Corps. THE JOURNAL'S WAR ARTICLES. The following are a few from the scores of unsought testimonials to the Journal in praise of its war series and of voluntary descriptions ot the interest the series arouses: THE LOYAL LEGION DISCUSSES OUR ARTICLES. Yon have no idea what an amount of inter- est among old soldiers the Journal war papers are creating. Tour paper is presenting chap- ters of unwritten history. It is reaching men who have never spoken before, and thus ob- taining much that is entirely new. and there- fore of the deepest interest, especially among old veterans. We were discussing the matter np at the Loyal Legion the other night and the Journal reminiscences were highly praised. fou've got the boys to talking, and you will find plenty of matter. JOHN Q. B. ADAMS. Formerly Captain in the Nineteenth Massa- chusetts and now Sergeant-at-Arms of the -Massachusetts Legislature, "A BIG HIT." The Journal has made a big hit by its war ar- ticles. They are very interesting and the young as well as the ol J can profit greatly by reading them. The Journal has made solendid progress during the past year, both in circulation and in business. It is a fine newspaper, too, and every department is strong. [Banker Hill Times, Cnarlestown. "NEW FRIENDS EVERY DAY." The Boston Journal's war sketches are among the most interesting contributions to the news- paper pre