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FOUR  YEARS 

WITH  THE 

ARMY  OF  THE  POTOMAC. 


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FOUR    YEARS 


WITH    THE 


ARMY  OF  THE  POTOMAC 


iM^ 


REGIS   DE   TROBRIAND 

BREVET   MAJOR-GENERAL,    U.    S.    VOLS. 


TRANSLATED     BY 


GEORGE    K.    DAUCHY 

LATE    LIEUTENANT   COMMANDING    TWELFTH    NEW   YORK 
BATTERY    LIGHT   ARTILLERY,    U.    S.    VOLS. 


ttfj  Portrait  anti  ilHaps 


OCT  22 m^^)^ 

•'•'/iEHiNGTO^' 


BOSTON 

TICKNOR    AND    COMPANY 

211  ^Trcmont  ^trrct 


Wtuxl- 


Copyright,  1888, 
By  George  K.  Dauchy. 


Electrotyped  by 

C.  J.  Peters  &  Son,  Boston, 

U.  S.  A. 


PREFACE   OF  TRANSLATOR. 


In  preparing  this  version  of  General  de  Trobriand's 
"  Four  Years  with  the  Army  of  the  Potomac,"  the 
translator  has  endeavored,  so  far  as  possible,  faithfully 
to  preserve  the  sentiments  of  the  author,  and  the 
very  force  of  the  French   idioms  themselves. 

The  story  was  written  soon  after  the  war,  from  notes 
and  a  diary,  and  the  lifelike  manner  in  which  are 
therein  told  incidents  of  army  life,  of  the  bivouac  and 
of  the  battle,  of  the  camp  and  of  the  field,  renews  to  an 
old  soldier  of  the  East  the  many  weary  marches  in  the 
time  of  rain  and  in  the  time  of  hot  sun,  through  the 
mud  and  dust  of  Virginia. 

It  brings  to  his  mind  the  weeks  pleasantly  spent 
along  the  banks  of  the  Rappahannock,  and  near  Brandy 
Station,  both  in  summer  and  in  winter,  —  the  many 
awful  and  deadly  combats  through  the  Wilderness, 
along  the  rivers  Po,  North  Anna,  and  James,  around 
Petersburg,  —  and,  finally,  the  fierce  rush  of  the  last 
campaign,  ending  at  Appomattox. 

It  brings  back  to  him  the  grim  face  of  that  indomi- 
table soldier.  Grant,  the  clear-sighted  and  tireless 
Sheridan,  the  resolute  and  cautious  Meade,  the  brill- 
iant Hancock,  Reynolds,  "  Uncle  John "  Sedgwick, 
Humphreys,  and  hosts  of  able  and  devoted  command- 
ers of  all  ranks.  And,  finally,  it  cannot  fail  to  sadden 
him    as    he    thinks     of  the    many    friends    loved    and 

iii 


IV  PREFACE    OF    TRANSLATOR. 

cherished,  heroic  and  patriotic,  left  behind  on  those 
blood-stained  fields,  with  hasty  sepulture,  with  hardly 
time  to  think  of  their  loss,  much  less  to  shed  a  tear  to 
their  memory,  never  again  to  meet  them  in  this  world. 

As  we  look  back,  in  these  days  of  peace,  upon  the 
years  which  have  passed,  we  can  with  difficulty  realize 
that  those  stirring  times,  which  appear  to  us  as  of  yes- 
terday, are  so  far  away  ;  and  as  we  see  those  who  were 
actors  in  the  drama  so  rapidly  "  going  over  to  the 
majority,"  we  feel  that  soon  the  survivors  of  those 
great  scenes   will    be  few  indeed. 

If  this  work  is  one-half  as  interesting  to  my  old  com- 
rades of  the  Army  of  the  Potomac,  and  especially  those 
of  the  Third  and  Second  Corps,  as  it  has  been  to  me,  I 
shall  be  amply  repaid  for  putting  it  before  them  in  an 
English  dress. 


i 


PREFACE. 


In  France,  the  facts  in  regard  to  the  late  war  in 
America  are  very  little  known.  Errors  industriously 
disseminated,  political  prejudices  ably  worked  upon, 
have  cooperated  to  disguise  its  origin,  its  character,  and 
its  results. 

We  are  surprised  that  public  opinion  has  been  so 
greatly  controlled  by  these  influences,  considering  the 
opportunities  it  has  had  to  be  better  informed.  But 
amongst  people  with  traditional  ideas,  and  under  a 
great  governmental  mechanism,  a  party  determined  to 
adhere  to  opinions  already  formed  closes  its  eyes  to 
the  light. 

This  is  what  has  happened  when  eminent  men,  who 
have  made  a  study  of  the  great  republic  of  the  New 
World,  have  clearly  portrayed  the  true  character  of  the 
gigantic  struggle  from  which  the  American  democracy 
has  just  emerged  triumphant. 

However,  the  world  advances  ;  principles  are  cleared 
from  their  surroundings,  prejudices  become  feeble,  pas- 
sions subside,  and  time,  that  great  enlightener,  rapidly 
develops  results  which  must  necessarily  assure  the  tri- 
umph of  the  truth. 

Meanwhile,  it  has  appeared  to  me  that  a  narration  of 
those  events  of  that  war  in  which  I  have  taken  some 
share  might  be  interesting  and  useful. 

This  book,  then,  is  a  narrative,  and  this  narrative,  as 
indicated  by  the  title,  embraces  only  the  operations  of 

V 


VI  PREFACE. 

the  Army  of  the  Potomac.  I  have  not  treated  /;/  extenso 
of  the  operations  of  the  other  armies. 

I  have  thus  limited  myself  to  those  things  which  I 
have  seen,  qiKzqjie  ipse  vidi.  I  relate  them,  not  as  a 
Frenchman  who  has  taken  part  in  a  foreign  war,  but  as 
an  American  who  has  fought  for  the  country  of  his 
adoption  and  for  the  institutions  of  his  choice. 

My  judgments  are  derived  from  convictions  which  I 
have  reached  by  a  long  road,  and  by  successive  stages, 
through  the  teachings  of  a  somewhat  wandering  life  on 
both  sides  of  the  Atlantic.  Whatever  value  the  reader 
may  attach  to  these  convictions,  I  ask  him  to  believe 
in  the  sincerity  of  my  judgments  and  in  the  scrupulous 
exactness  of  my  narration  of  facts. 

I  tell  of  events  as  they  have  passed  under  my  eyes, 
and  as  I  wrote  them  down  day  by  day,  in  a  journal  kept 
without  interruption  from  my  entrance  into  service 
until  the  disbanding  of  the  last  of  my  regiments. 

Evervthing  I  have  here  related,  which  I  have  not 
myself  seen,  I  have  from  the  evidence  of  the  actors 
themselves,  and  by  a  minute  comparison  with  official 
documents  and  depositions  /;/  extenso  taken  before  the 
congressional  committee  on  the  conduct  of  the  war. 
I  have  deemed  it  my  duty  to  avoid  as  untrustworthy  all 
information  derived  from  individuals,  the  exactness  of 
which  I  have  not  been  able  to  verify. 

The  reader,  then,  can  follow  me  in  perfect  security. 
He  will  live  the  life  of  the  camp  ;  he  will  be  present  at 
the  organization  of  the  Army  of  the  Potomac,  at  its 
apprenticeship,  at  its  first  efforts  ;  he  will  follow  it  in 
its  marches  and  in  its  combats,  in  the  bivouac  and  on 
the  field  of  battle  ;  he  will  accompany  it  in  its  work, 
in  its  privations,  in  its  successes  and  in  its  reverses. 
In  fine,  he  will  take  part  in  the  war,  —  the  war  itself, 
with  all  its  realities,  terrible  or  glorious. 


PRE  FATE.  \1I 

This  will  not  prevent  us  from  following  the  march  of 
events  outside  of  the  army.  Together  we  will  \Tsit 
Xew  York  and  Washington,  when  the  course  of  events 
calls  us  there,  and  there  we  shall  meet  men  great  in 
the  political  field,  as  in  the  camp  we  shall  meet  men 
great  in  militarj-  life. 

Is  it  necessary'  for  me  to  add  that  this  book  is  written 
for  ever)-  one,  and  that  I  have  abstained  from  every- 
thing which  might  give  it  a  special  character  ? 

If  it  pleases,  I  shall  be  glad  ;  if  it  is  interesting,  I 
shall  be  happy  ;  —  and  if  it  be  useful,  I  shall  have 
attained  the  object  which  I  set  before  myself  in 
writing  it. 

>lAY,  1S67. 


CORRESPONDENCE. 


Chicago,  December  4,  1886. 
Maj.  Gen.  RfeGis  de  Trobkiand,  Washington,  D.C. 

General,  — Having  read  and  enjoyed  very  much  your  "  Quatre  ans  a  I'Arm^e 
du  Potomac,"  I  thought  it  might  be  a  pleasure  to  soldiers,  especially  of  our  old 
corps,  to  read  it.  I  have  accordingly  translated  it,  — but  before  revising  it  I  wish 
to  ask  your  consent  to  its  publication.  Trusting  your  favorable  consideration, 
I  am,  Very  truly  yours, 

GEO.  K.  DAUCHY, 
Late  Commanding  Twelfth  N.  Y.  Battery,  Third  and  Second  Army  Corps. 


New  Orleans,  La.,  December  14,  1886. 
Mr.  George  K.  Dauchy,  Chicago. 

Dear  Sir,  — 1  feel  much  gratified  with  your  favorable  appreciation  of  my 
"  Quatre  ansde  Compagnes  a  I'Armee  du  Potomac,"  as  shown  by  your  translation 
of  the  work,  in  view  of  the  pleasure  which  the  old  comrades  of  the  Third  and 
the  Second  Corps  who  don't  read  French  may  find  in  reading  it  in  English. 

Your  asking  my  consent  to  its  publication  is  an  act  of  courtesy  which  I  duly 
appreciate,  and  to  which  I  can  answer  only  by  my  thanks  and  full  authorization. 

There  are  two  things  only  to  which  I  beg  leave  to  call  your  attention :  — 
1st.  To  try  and  keep  as  mucli  as  possible  the  color  and  form  of  the  style  of  the 
original,  by  using  the  equivalent  in  preference  to  the  literal  "  mot  a  mot." 
2d.  To  leave  intact,  without  modification  or  extenuation,  my  judgments  upon 
men  and  things  — for,  whatever  may  be  otherwise  their  value,  they  have  at  least 
the  recommendation  in  their  favor  that  they  are  the  honest  expression  of 
seasoned  convictions  based  upon  facts,  and  which  I  did  not  find  cause  to  modify 
since  the  book  was  published. 

I  need  not  point  out  to  you  the  many  misprints  in  the  French  edition, 
especially  in  the  spelling  of  the  English  names.  It  was  published  in  Paris  while 
I  was  in  command  in  Dakota,  which  made  it  Impossible  for  me  to  revise  the 
proofs,  so  was  it  that  some  letter  or  speech  of  Mr.  Lincoln,  which  I  had  called 
"  modere,"  appeared  in  print  as  "  mediocre,"  quite  another  thing. 

With  hope  that  your  publication  will  be  successful  in  every  respect,  and  that 
I  will  hear  from  you  again, 

I  remain,  my  dear  sir. 

Very  truly  yours, 

R.  DE  TROBRIAND. 

ix 


CONTEXTS. 


CHAPTER    I. 

THE   CAUSE   OF   THE   WAR. 

The  question  of  slaver}-  —  The  Missouri  Compromise  —  First  attempt 
at  secession  by  South  Carolina  —  Abolition  of  slavery-  in  the  Eng- 
lish colonies  —  Its  effect  in  the  United  States — First  Abolition 
candidate  for  the  Presidency-  —  Annexation  of  Texas  —  War  with 
Mexico  —  Increased  agitation  —  Wilmot  Proviso  —  Van  Buren,  the 
anti-slavery  candidate  —  Disorganization  of  the  Whig  party-  — 
Compromise  of  1850  —  Fugitive  Slave  Law  —  Kansas-Nebraska 
bill — Civil  war  in  Kansas  —  Birth  of  the  Republican  party  —  Elec- 
tion of  Buchanan  —  Affair  of  Harper's  Terry  —  The  irrepressible 
conflict I 

CHAPTER   n. 
THE   MAXXER   OF    SECESSION. 

Electoral  campaign  of  i860  —  Direct  menaces  of  secession  —  Violent 
scenes  in  Congress  —  Charleston  convention  —  Baltimore  conven- 
tion —  Chicago  convention  —  Second  Baltimore  convention  —  Elec- 
tion of  Lincoln  to  the  Presidency-  —  T^e  Southern  States  take  up 
arms —  Passive  complicity-  of  Buchanan —  Treason  in  the  Cabinet  — 
Secession  of  South  Carolina  —  Last  attempts  at  compromise  —  Se- 
cession of  Mississippi  —  Of  Florida  —  Of  Alabama  —  Of  Louisiana 
—  Of  Georgia  —  The  first  shot  —  Organization  of  the  Southern 
Confederacy- — Inauguration  of  President  Lincoln 31 

CHAPTER    HI. 

THE   CALL  TO   ARMS. 

Capitulation  of  Fort  Sumter  —  Call  for  seventj-five  thousand  men  — 
Four  States  refuse  to  furnish  their  quota  —  First  regiment  en  rauU 
for  Washington  —  Bloody  riot  in  Baltimore  —  No  news  —  Secession 
of  Virginia  —  New  call  for  eighty-three  thousand  volunteers  —  Seces* 


Xll  CONTENTS. 

sion  of  Arkansas  —  Occupation  of  Alexandria  by  the  Federals  — 
Men,  but  no  army  —  School  of  the  battalion — First  successes  in 
Western  Virginia  —  General  G.  B.  McClellan  —  Battle  of  Buh 
Run S3 

CHAPTER    IV. 

FROM  NEW  YORK  TO  WASHINGTON. 
The  Guard  Lafayette,  Fifty-fifth  New  York  militia  —  Camp  at  Staten 
Island  —  Departure  for  Washington  —  Collision  —  At  Philadelphia  — 
Through  Baltimore  —  Arrival  at  the  capital  —  Five  hundred 
thousand  men  and  five  hundred  million  dollars  —  Tents  —  Organiza- 
tion of  regiments  of  infantry  —  Composition  of  the  Fifty-fifth  —  The 
insignia  of  rank,  and  the  uniforms  in  the  American  army  ...       70 

CHAPTER   V. 

THE  FORMATION   OF  THE  ARMY   OF   THE   POTOMAC. 

The  brigade  of  General  Peck  —  Surroundings  at  Washington  —  Regi- 
ments of  cavalry  —  Batteries  of  artillery  —  Grand  review  —  The 
Orleans  princes — Lincoln  and  McClellan — Summer  storm  —  Gen- 
eral Buell  —  Inspections  —  The  defences  to  the  south  of  the  Potomac 

—  Arlington,  and  the  Lee  family  —  General  Wadsworth  at  Upton 
Hill  —  Blenker's  division  —  Movements  of  the  enemy  upon  the  upper 
Potomac ,     .     .     .       84 

CHAPTER   VI. 

WINTER   QUARTERS. 

Settled  down  at  Tenallytown — Moonlight — Pay-day  —  A  case  of  de- 
lirium tremens — Court-martial — General  Keyes  —  Unfortunate  af- 
fair of  Ball's  Bluff — Arrangements  for  winter  —  Ofiicers'  mess  — 
Flag  presentation  —  President  Lincoln  at  the  table  of  the   Fift\--fifth 

—  Effects  of  the  war  around  Washington 109 

CHAPTER   VII. 

MEN   AND   THINGS   AT  WASHINGTON. 

Congress  —  The  population  of  Washington  —  The  lobby  and  the  specta- 
tors —  The  contractors  for  the  army  —  The  faint-hearted  —  The  gen- 
eral-in-chief  —  General  Seth  Williams  —  The  Count  de  Paris  —  The 
Duke  de  Chartres  —  The  diplomatic  corps.  —  Its  partiality  for  the 
South — Why? — Receptions    at   the    White    House — Mr.    Stanton 

—  Mr.  Seward  —  President  Lincoln 133 


CONTENTS.  XIU 

CHAPTER    VIII. 

COMMENCEMENT   OF   THE   CAMPAIGN. 

Opening  of  the  campaign  of  1862  —  Disagreements  at  Washington  — 
Adoption  of  McClellan's  plan  —  Militan,-  excursion  in  Virginia  — 
Organization  of  army  corps  —  Embarking  for  Fortress  Monroe 
— Fight  of  the  Monitor  and  the  Merrimac  —  Disembarking  at  Hampton 

—  The  surrounding  countrj'  —  Newport  News  —  March  upon  York- 
town  —  The  beseeching  Virginians 1 52 

CHAPTER  IX. 
APPRENTICESHIP  OF  THE  WAR. 
Siege  of  Yorktown  —  Attack  on  Lee's  mill  —  The  Harwood  farm  — 
Amongst  the  sharpshooters  —  The  man  hunt  —  Visit  of  the  general- 
in-chief  —  Faults  of  administration  —  A  black  snake  mayonnaise  — 
Marching-out  of  the  Confederate  troops  —  The  enemy  abandons  his 
positions  —  Evacuation  of  Yorktown 174 

CHAPTER   X. 

THE   FIRST   BATTLE  — WILLIAMSBURG. 

Pursuit —  The  enemy  attacked  at  Williamsburg —  He  attacks  Hooker's 
division —  Peck's  brigade  the  first  to  receive  it —  The  Fifty-fifth  under 
fire  —  Critical  moment  —  Attack  repulsed  —  Reenforcements  arrive  — 
Engagement  of  General  Hancock  —  General  McClellan's  report  — 
Advice  of  General  Couch  —  A  walk  on  the  field  of  battle — Burial  of 
the  dead  —  Visit  to  the  wounded  —  The  amputated  —  The  prediction 
of  a  Georgia  captain 190 

CHAPTER   XI. 
DAYS   OF   SUFFERING. 

Forwara  march  —  Engagement  at  West  Point  —  Subject  for  discontent 

—  Dinner  at  Headquarters  —  Fight  of  a  new  kind  —  The  bull  and  the 
Newfoundland  dog  —  The  death  of  Bianco  —  Virginia  plantations  — 
Marsh  fever — The  Turner  house — Delirium  —  Manna  in  the  desert 

—  Anxieties  —  Battle  of  Fair  Oaks — First  days  of  convalescence  — 
Departure  for  the  North 213 

CHAPTER    XII. 

THE   SANITARY   COMMISSION. 

The  victims  of  the  Chickahominy  —  The  army  railroad  —  Peregrinations 
of  a  friend  in  search  of  me  —  Hospital  tents  —  Agreeable  surprise  — 


XIV  CONTEXTS. 

Origin  of  the  Sanitary  Commission  —  Difficulties  thrown  in  the  way 

—  Services  rendered  —  The  commission  transports  —  Herculean  la- 
bors —  Strifes  —  The  loads  of  sick  humanity  —  Horrible  realities  — 
The  miracles  of  charity 235 

CHAPTER   XIII. 

THE  SEVEN  DAYS'  BATTLE. 

Contrasts  —  New  York  —  The  Newport  steamer  —  Boston  —  Success  of 
Stonewall  Jackson  —  Stuart's  raid  —  Return  to  Fortress  Monroe  — 
Interview  with  General  Dix  —  Evacuation  of  West  Point  —  Arrival 
at  Harrison's  Landing  —  The  work  of  McClellan  —  A  characteristic 
despatch  —  Battle  of  Mechanicsville — of  Gaines'  Mill — of  Savage 
Station — of  ^Vhite  Oak  Swamp  —  of  Glendale  —  of  Malvern  Hill  — 
The  port  of  refuge 261 

CHAPTER   XIV. 

FROM   CHARYBDIS   TO   SCYLLA. 

Miserable  condition  of  the  army  —  Desertions  —  Military  bravado  and 
political  manifesto  of  McClellan  —  Reconnoissances — Order  to  evac- 
uate the  Peninsula — Delay  after  delay — Pope  on  the  Rappahan- 
nock — ■  Delay  at  Alexandria  —  Night  march  —  Fairfax  Court  House 

—  Death  of  Kearney  —  Retreat  on  Washington  —  Pope  and  Mc- 
Clellan   283 

CHAPTER   XV. 
BETTER  TIMES. 

Invasion  of  Marj'land  by  the  Confederates  —  Passage  of  the  FiftT,--fifth 
through  Tenallytown  —  Advance  posts  on  the  Monocacy  —  Transfer 
to  the  Third  Corps  —  Appearance  of  Washington  —  A  legacy  from 
Kearney  —  General  Birney  —  How  Harper's  Ferr\'  surrendered  to 
the  enemy  —  Battles  on  South  Mountain  —  Condition  of  the  two 
armies  —  Battle  of  Antietam — Attacks  in  detail  —  Incomplete  Re- 
sult—  McClellan's  hesitations  —  Lee  returns  to  Virginia    .     .     .     308 

CHAPTER   XVI. 

INTERLUDE. 

General  Berry  —  Volunteer  recruiting  —  Antipathy  of  the  people  to  the 
conscription  —  New  regiments  —  Three  hundred  thousand  men  raised 
for  nine  months  —  The  Fifty-fifth   reorganized   in    seven   companies 

—  Raid   of   General    Stuart   into   Marjland  —  The   Third   Corps   at 


CONTEXTS.  XV 

Edwards  Fern,-  —  General  Stoneman  —  Colonel  Duffie — General  Mc- 
Clellan's  inacrion — Correspondence  with  the  President  —  The  army 
returns  to  Virginia —  The  different  classes  of  farmers — Forward  march 

—  General  McClellan  relieved  of  his  command 328 

CHAPTER   XVII. 

FREDERICKSBURG. 

Ambrose  Bumside,  general  commanding  —  Organization  of  grand  di- 
visions—  Mrs.  L.'s  honey — State  elections — General  Bumside's 
plan  —  The  delay  -of  the  pontoons  —  Effect  of  snow  —  Passage  of  the 
Rappahannock — Doctor  C.'s  ner\-es  —  Battle  of  Fredericksburg  — 
Attack  of  the  enemy's  positions  on  the  left — Tragical  episode  — 
Whose  fault  was  it  ?  —  Disasters  on  the  right  —  General  Bumside's 
obstinacy  —  Dead  and  wounded  —  Return  to  our  camp      .     .     .    351 

CHAPTER  XVIII. 
EMAXCIPATIOX. 

Military-  balance-sheet  for  the  year  1S62  —  The  emancipation  question 

—  The  inaugural  address  of  Mr.  Lincoln  —  Reserve  of  the  President 
and  of  Congress  —  General  Fremont  —  Abolition  of  slavery  in  the 
District  of  Columbia — Proposition  for  gradual  emancipation  —  Gen- 
eral Hunter  —  Confiscation  act  —  Progress  of  emancipation  —  Letter 
of  Mr.  Lincoln  —  Religious  deputation  —  Last  scruples  —  Prepara- 
tory dispositions  —  Definite  proclamation  of  emancipation     .     .     3S0 

CHAPTER   XIX. 
LAST  EFFORTS  OF  BURXSIDE. 

The  Fift\--fifth  Xew  York  consolidated  with  the  ThirtT,--eighth  —  Xew 
Year's  day  in  camp  —  Abuse  of  strong  liquor  in  the  army  —  X'ew 
projects  of  General  Bumside  —  Plan  of  a  cavalry  expedition  by  Gen- 
eral Averill  —  Intervention  of  the  President  —  Bumside  at  \Vashing- 
ton  —  General  X'ewton  and  General  Cochrane  —  Complications  — 
The  army  in  motion  —  A  gloomy  night  —  The  army  buried  in  the  mud 

—  Return  to  camp  —  General  order  Xo.  S  —  How  General  Bumside 
came  to  be  relieved  of  the  command  of  the  army 397 

CHAPTER   XX. 

HOOKER   COMMAXDIXG   THE   ARMY. 

General  Hooker's  character  —  Improvements  in  the  army  —  How  pro- 
motions were  made  —  Intrigues  and  rivalries  —  Political  preferences 


XVI  CONTENTS. 

—  Brigadier-generals' report  —  Special  marks  to  designate  the  differ- 
ent army  corps — Poverty  of  Virginia  country  people  — A  pastor  with- 
out a  flock  —  Marriage  under  a  tent  —  Camp  fetes  —  Preparations  for 
moving  —  Combined  march  on  Chancellorsville  —  Brilliant  commence- 
ment of  a  brilliant  conception 413 

CHAPTER   XXI. 

CHANCELLORSVILLE. 

First  encounter  with  the  enemy  —  Capital  fault  —  Defensive  position  of  the 
army  —  Advance  position  of  the  Third  Corps — Engagement  of  Bir- 
ney's  division  — Jackson's  attack  on  the  right  —  Rout  of  the  Eleventh 
Corps — Counter  charge  of  Berry's  division  —  Death  of  Major  Kee- 
nan  —  Artillery  saved  by  General  Pleasonton  —  Night  encounter  — 
Episodes  —  Death  of  Stonewall  Jackson — Renewal  of  the  battle  — 
Accident  to  General  Hooker — Remarks  on  the  position  —  Bayonet 
charge  —  Movement  backward  —  Sedgwick  carries  Fredericksburg 
Heights  —  Combat  at  Salem — The  Sixth  Corps  at  Banks  Ford  — 
General  retreat 435 

CHAPTER   XXn. 

INVASION  OF  PENNSYLVANIA. 

Position  of  Hooker  after  Chancellorsville — The  President's  letter  — 
Lee's  army  in  motion  —  March  on  Manassas  and  Centreville  —  Gue- 
rillas —  Cavalry  engagements  —  Entrance  into  Maryland  —  Welcome 
by  the  people — The  enemy  in  Pennsylvania — Hooker  relieved  of 
his  command  —  Meade  appointed  general  commanding — Convent 
of  St.  Joseph  at  Emmittsburg — Bloody  contest  near  Gettysburg  — 
Death  of  General  Reynolds  —  Report  of  General  Hancock  —  Concen- 
tration of  the  two  armies 471 

CHAPTER   XXIII. 

GETTYSBURG. 

Position  of  the  two  armies  —  Dangerous  advance  of  the  Third  Corps  — 
First  attack  on  the  extreme  left  —  The  fight  of  the  Third  Brigade  — 
Double  assault  on  the  summit  of  Little  Round  Top  —  Caldwell's 
division  in  line  —  The  enemy  driven  back — Graham  in  the  peach 
orchard  —  General  Humphreys  —  The  left  line  driven  in  from  one 
end  to  the  other — Offensive  return — The  position  recovered  — 
Ewell's  attack  on  the  extreme  right — Night  spent  in  position  — 
Renewal  of  the  battle  at  Gulp  Hill  —  Interval  —  The  scene  of  the 
action — Everything  staked  on  one  blow  by  the  rebels  —  Account 
taken — Trophies  of  the  Second  Corps 49- 


CONTENTS.  XVll 

CHAPTER   XXIV. 

THE   PURSUIT. 

The  field  of  battle  by  moonlight  —  The  wounded  and  the  dead  —  Pursuit 
of  the  enemy  —  French's  division  added  to  the  Third  Corps  —  Politi- 
cal intrusions — Difficult  position  of  General  Meade  —  Council  of 
^,ar_  General  disappointment  — The  war  carried  again  into  Virginia 
—  Battle  of  Manassas  Gap  — Lost  opportunity  —  General  French  — 
Once  more  on  the  Rappahannock 5'- 

CHAPTER   XXV. 

OPERATIONS   DURING   THE   LATTER   PART   OF   1863. 

White  Sulphur  Springs  — The  Vallandigham  affair  —  Plots  of  the  Cop- 
perheads —  Bloody  riots  in  New  York  —  Attitude  of  Governor 
Horatio  Seymour  —  Western  regiments  sent  to  enforce  the  law  — 
Reenforcements  hurried  to  Tennessee  —  Advance  on  Culpeper  — 
The  Sharpshooters  —  Movement  to  the  rear  — The  engagement  at 
Auburn  —  Battle  of  Bristoe  Station  —  Remarks  —  Visit  of  General 
Sickles— Battle  at  Rappahannock  Station  —  Engagement  at  Kelly's 
Ford  — March  in  line  of  battle  —  Mr.  John  Minor  Botts  between 
two  racks  — Mine  Run  affair— Death  labels  — Raid  on  Rich- 
mond      53- 

CHAPTER   XXVI. 

ULYSSES   S.   GRANT,   LIEUTENANT-GENERAL. 

Condition  of  the  rebellion  at  the  beginning  of  1864  — General  Grant  in 
the  West  — The  capture  of  Vicksburg  — Capitulation  of  Port  Hud- 
son—  Victory  of  Missionary  Ridge  —  Grant  appointed  lieutenant- 
general— His  portrait  — His  stay  at  Washington  — Reorganization 
of  the  Army  of  the  Potomac  — Official  statement  of  the  land  forces 
of  the  United  States— How  I  came  to  be  appointed  to  the  com- 
mand of  the  garrison  and  defences  of  New  York 557 

CHAPTER   XXVII. 
BATTLE   AFTER  BATTLE. 

Battle  of  the  Wilderness  —  Volleys  d  otitrance  in  the  thickets  —The 
diverse  fortunes  —  Death  of  General  Wadsworth  — Fight  in  the 
midst  of  the  flames— Result  — Battle  of  Spottsylvania  — Death  of 
General  Sedgwick  —  Attack  on  the  intrenchments  — Success  of  the 
Second  Corps  — Twenty  hours  of  conflict  — Night  movements  — 
Continued  battles  —  Engagement  on  the  North  Anna  — Cavalry 
expedition  —  Sheridan    under    the   walls    of   Richmond  —  Death   of 


XVill  CONTENTS. 

General  Stuart  —  Battle  of  Cold  Harbor  —  Account  rendered  of  one 
month  of  campaign 570 

CHAPTER   XXVIII. 

IN   FRONT   OF   PETERSBURG. 

Passage  of  the  James  —  First  attack  on  Petersburg  —  My  return  to  the 
army  —  City  Point  —  General  Ingalls — A  night  at  headquarters  — 
General  Hancock  —  Losses  of  my  brigade  during  two  months'  cam- 
paign—  Losses  of  the  Second  Corps  —  Fortnight  of  extra  duty  —  The 
colored  troops — Early's  expedition  against  Washington  —  Between 
the  cup  and  the  lip  there  is  room  for :  a  hanging  —  First  Deep 
Bottom  expedition — Hurried  return 589 

CHAPTER   XXIX. 

THE    iVIINE. 

Universality  of  Yankee  genius  — The  mine  dug  by  Colonel  Pleasants  — 
Project  of  assault  —  General  Burnside's  plan  —  Unfortunate  modifica- 
tions —  Lots  drawn  —  Last  preparations  — The  match  goes  out  —  The 
exi^losion  —  The  crater  —  Terrible  fiasco  —  The  double  investiga- 
tion—  Different  conclusions  —  The  true  cause  of  the  want  of  suc- 
cess   608 

CHAPTER   XXX. 

SUMMER   HARVESTS. 

General  theory  of  the  siege  of  Petersburg  —  The  pick  and  the  musket  — 
Second  expedition  to  Deep  Bottom  —  Death  of  Colonel  Chaplain  — 
The  trials  of  a  regiment  —  The  mark  of  death — Presentiments  — 
Return  to  the  trenches  —  Contest  for  the  Weldon  railroad — General 
Warren's  success  —  Unfortunate  affair  of  General  Hancock  at  Ream's 
Station  —  Fort  Hell —  Origin  of  the  name  —  Nocturnal  coup  de  main 
—  Muskets,  cannons,  and  mortars  —  Southern  deserters  —  Victories  of 
Sheridan,  Sherman,  and  Farragut 635 

CHAPTER   XXXI. 

OCTOBER   VINTAGE. 

General  Butler's  success  north  of  the  James  —  Line  advanced  to  the 
Peeble's  house — Return  to  Fort  Hell — Misfortunes  of  a  Virginian 
family  —  General  Birney's  death —  Arrival  of  recruits  at  the  army  — 
Dearth  of  officers  —  Political  prejudices  —  Too  free  talk — Expedi- 
tion to  Hatcher's  Run  —  Battle  of  October  27  —  Line  broken  — 
How  the  break  was  repaired  —  Cavalry  on  foot — Night  retreat  — 
The  wounded  —  General  Hancock  leaves  the  army 650 


CONTENTS.  XIX 

CHAPTER   XXXII. 

THE   BEGINNING    OF  THE   END. 

Presidential  campaign  of  1864  —  Cleveland  convention  —  Baltimore 
convention  —  Platforms  —  Nomination  of  Mr.  Lincoln  —  Chicago 
convention  —  Democratic  profession  of  faith  —  The  question  of  pris- 
oners of  war  —  Barbarities  of  the  rebel  government  —  Nomination  of 
General  McClellan  —  Desperate  manoeuvres  —  Election  —  The  army 
vote  —  Counter-stroke  by  the  Confederates  —  Thanksgiving.     .     671 

CHAPTER  XXXIII. 
THE  LAST  WINTER. 
General  Humphreys  — A  raid  to  the  south  of  Virginia  —  Cloth  pontoons — 
How  a  railroad  is  destroyed — A  winter's  night — Exodus  of  negroes  — 
Murder  punished  by  fire  —  Military  executions  —  Renewed  operations 
on  Hatcher's  Run — Last  extension  of  our  lines — General  Grant's 
chessboard  —  Sherman's  march  —  Victories  in  Tennessee  —  Cavalry 
raids  —  Capture  of  Fort  Fisher — Schofield  in  North  Carolina  — 
Sherman's  arrival  at  Goldsborough  —  Sheridan  at  work  —  His  return 
to  the  Army  of  the  Potomac 687 

CHAPTER  XXXIV. 

THE  GREAT  STROKE. 
Capture  and  recapture  of  Fort  Steadman — Desperate  combats  along  the 
lines  of  rifle-pits — General  MacAllister —  The  conscripts  under  fire  — 
The  One  Hundred  and  Twenty-fourth  New  York  and  the  Fifty-ninth 
Alabama  —  General  Lee's  plans  —  General  Grant's  instructions  — 
Opinions  in  the  army  —  First  movements — The  battle  of  White  Oak 
road  —  The  battle  of  Five  Forks — Warren  and  Sheridan  —  Anight 
of  engagements  —  The  last  assaults  —  Meeting  General  Grant — Death 
of  General  A.  P.  Hill. —  Venit  sn7nma  dies         705 

CHAPTER  XXXV. 
THE  DENOUEMENT. 
Evacuation  of .  Petersburg  and  Richmond  —  The  pursuit  —  Arrival  at 
Jetersville  —  The  Confederates  at  Amelia  Court  House  —  Engage- 
ments of  the  rearguard — Fight  at  Deatonsville — Captures  and 
trophies  —  A  great  cast  of  the  net  —  Death  of  General  Read  —  Opin- 
ion of  a  Confederate  sergeant  —  The  baggage  —  Meeting  General 
Sheridan — High  Bridge  —  The  last  battle  of  the  Second  Corps  — 
Communications  between  Grant  and  Lee  —  The  coup  de  grace — The 
Confederate  army  lays  down  its  arms —  Final  tableau   ....     731 

Chapter   XXXVI  —  Conclusion 754 


LIST   OF   MAPS. 


Pagb 

Williamsburg 200 

Fredericksburg 360 

Chancellorsville 440 

Gettysburg 500 

BoYDTON  Road 660 

General  Map  of  Virginia     .     .     .     At  the  end  of  the  text. 


FOUR  YEMS IITH  THE  ARMY  OF  THE  POTOMAC, 


CHAPTER    I. 

THE   CAUSE   OF   THE   WAR. 

The  question  of  slavery  —  The  Missouri  Compromise  —  First  attempt  at 
secession  by  South  Carolina  —  Abolition  of  slavery  in  the  English 
colonies  —  Its  effect  in  the  United  States  —  First  Abolition  candi- 
date for  the  Presidency  —  Annexation  of  Texas  —  War  with  Mexico 
—  Increased  agitation  —  Wilmot  Proviso  —  Van  Buren,  the  anti- 
slavery  candidate  —  Disorganization  of  the  Whig  party  —  Com- 
promise of  1850  —  Fugitive  Slave  Law  —  Kansas-Nebraska  bill  — 
Civil  war  in  Kansas  —  Birth  of  the  Republican  party  —  Election  of 
Buchanan  —  Affair  of  Harper's  Ferry  —  The  irrepressible  conflict. 

The  great  American  rebellion  of  1861  had  for  its 
cause  the  maintenance  and  the  perpetuation  of  slavery. 
From  whatever  point  of  view  we  study  the  develop- 
ment of  the  facts  and  the  march  of  events  which  cul- 
minated in  this  great  conflict,  we  find  at  bottom  the 
question  of  slavery  ;  all  else  is  merely  subsidiary. 

This  question,  pregnant  with  storms,  dated  from  the 
very  establishment  of  the  Republic.  The  wise  men 
who  drew  up  the  Constitution  were,  in  principle,  op- 
posed to  slavery,  and  could  not  logically  sanction  a 
right  of  property  of  man  over  man,  when  they  proclaimed 
"  Equality  and  the  inalienable  right  to  liberty  "  of  all  mem- 
bers of  the  human  family.  In  their  minds,  slavery  was 
condemned  ;  but,  constrained  to  respect  great  interests, 
they  left  to  time,  and  to  the  progressive  march  of  civil- 
ization, the  care  of  adjusting  these  transitory  interests 
to  permanent  principles. 


2  FOUR   YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

Antagonism  between  freedom  and  slavery  was  devel- 
oped rapidly  by  the  voluntary  extinction  of  slavery  in 
the  New  England  States,  in  New  York,  and  in  Pennsyl- 
vania. The  opposing  forces  beginning  at  that  time  to 
be  equalized,  an  active  struggle  began  when  the  crea- 
tion of  new  States  and  the  expansion  of  free  labor 
tended  to  cause  the  balance  to  fall  on  the  side  of 
emancipation. 

The  whole  political  history  of  the  United  States 
turns  upon  this  strife,  in  which  the  statesmen  of  the 
country,  for  a  half-century,  expended  their  strength  in 
vain.  Their  mistak-e  consisted  in  believing  in  the  effi- 
cacy of  compromises,  a  poor  expedient  to  reconcile  irrec- 
oncilable differences  ;  puerile  efforts,  which,  in  pres- 
ence of  the  results,  inevitably  call  to  mind  the  image 
of  the  dikes  of  sand  which  children  sometimes,  for  their 
amusement,  raise  along  the  shore,  to  stop  the  rising 
tide. 

The  most  astonishing  of  these  childish  freaks  was 
the  invention  of  an  imaginary  line  across  the  American 
continent,  to  limit  forever  the  domain  of  liberty  and  the 
domain  of  slavery,  to  give  to  each  its  part  :  this  to  civ- 
ilization, that  to  barbarism. 

This  compromise  line  was,  as  is  well  known,  the-  re- 
sult of  the  first  great  battle  fought  by  the  democratic 
and  emancipating  spirit  of  the  North,  against  the  oli- 
garchic and  pro-slavery  principles  of  the  South. 

During  the  session  of  Congress  in  1818  to  18 19, 
Missouri  had  asked  admission  into  the  Union,  but  the 
House  of  Representatives  attached  to  this  admission 
the  condition  that  slavery  should  cease  to  exist  in  the 
new  State.  The  Senate  refused  to  sanction  this  con- 
dition, and  the  unsettled  question  was  reserved  for  the 
decision  of  the  next  Congress.  By  both  sides,  advan- 
tage was  taken  of  this  delay,  to  inflame  the  passions 


THE    CAUSE    OF    THE    WAR.  3 

and  envenom  the  strife.  The  agitation,  deep  and  vio- 
lent, developed  a  startling  difference  between  the 
North,  which  ardently  sustained  the  condition  im- 
posed by  the  House  of  Representatives,  and  the 
South,  w^hich  obstinately  declared   it  unconstitutional. 

Matters  had  come  to  such  a  pass  that  Congress  was 
frightened  at  probable  consequences,  and  drew  back 
before  the  responsibility  of  a  solution  by  force  of  arms, 
in  case  a  solution  was  not  reached  by  ballot.  Could 
the  young  Republic,  which  had  existed  less  than  half  a 
century,  stand  the  terrible  ordeal  of  a  civil  war,  and 
would  not  the  dismemberment  of  the  Union  lead  to 
such  results  that  both  parties  would  be  engulfed  in 
one  common  ruin  .'' 

Such  was,  in  fact,  the  determining  cause  of  the 
"  Missouri  Compromise,"  which  was  not,  nor  could  be, 
a  solution.  The  danger  was  postponed,  slavery  had  ob- 
tained a  respite  ;  the  respite  of  the  condemned. 

It  is  difficult  to  suppose  that  the  statesmen  of  that 
period  could  really  have  trusted  in  the  permanency  of 
their  dike  of  sand,  and  that  the  American  people  could 
in  good  faith  have  believed  in  the  efficacy  of  a  geo- 
graphic fiction  to  stop  indefinitely  the  advance  of  lib- 
erty. But  the  hostile  parties  accepted  the  compromise 
as  a  truce  by  which  each  might  profit  in  recuperating 
its  strength  and  in  subsequently  resuming  the  contest 
with  greater  advantage.  As  for  the  mass  of  the  peo- 
ple, preoccupied  by  their  material  interests,  absorbed 
in  business,  they  would  naturally  favor  every  respite 
from  those  exciting  agitations,  which,  to  the  loss  of  im- 
mediate profit,  interrupted  them  in  their  commercial, 
industrial,  and  agricultural  enterprises. 

In  democratic  governments,  the  active  minorities 
have,  in  all  times,  led  in  their  train  the  passive  majori- 
ties.    So,  in  the  "sphere  militant  "  of  the  slavery  ques- 


4  FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

tion,  from  the  instant  the  vanguard  laid  down  its  arms, 
the  great  bulk  of  the  army  celebrated  the  peace  of  the 
day,  without  troubling  itself  as  to  whether  the  war  would 
not  break  out  more  furiously  on  the  morrow.  Thus 
slavery  was  tolerated  in  the  new  State,  but  forever  for- 
bidden north  of  the  line  of  36°  30'  north  latitude,  — 
and  quiet  was  restored  throughout  the  whole  country 
by  the  adoption  of  the  Missouri  Compromise. 

For  ten  years,  nothing  occurred  to  trouble  this  peace- 
ful quiet  except  the  temporary  excitement  incident  to  the 
two  elections,  which  raised  John  Quincy  Adams  and 
Andrew  Jackson  to  the  Presidency.  The  question  of 
slavery  was  not  brought  forward,  and  it  still  slept  when, 
in  1830,  South  Carolina  began  to  prepare  for  its  awak- 
ening by  a  first  aggression  against  the  Federal  Union. 

Ever  since  the  establishment  of  the  Republic,  the 
prosperous  development  of  the  Northern  States,  their 
rapid  increase  of  population,  their  marvellous  advance 
in  the  paths  of  commerce,  of  industry,  of  agriculture,  left 
the  Southern  States  more  and  more  in  the  rear.  The 
cause  lay  simply  in  the  relative  merits  of  free  and  slave 
labor.  But  the  planters  of  the  South  would  not  see  it, 
and  their  discontent  sought  for  grievances  in  the  tariff 

of   1828. 

When  a  law  wounds  any  one's  prejudices,  or  con- 
flicts with  his  interests,  the  most  specious  pretext  with 
which  to  combat  it  is  to  represent  it  as  unconstitutional. 
On  this  occasion.  South  Carolina  did  not  fail  in  this 
particular.  She  found  in  Mr.  Hayne,  one  of  her  rep- 
resentatives in  the  United  States  Senate,  a  strong  and 
eloquent  interpreter,  and  for  the  first  time  a  voice  was 
raised  in  Congress  to  proclaim  the  doctrine  of  Seces- 
sion, to  which  Daniel  Webster's  political  abilities  and 
oratorical  power  soon  rendered  befitting  justice. 

The  history  of  this  dangerous  conflict  is  well  known. 


THE    CAUSE    OF   THE   WAR.  5 

Beaten  in  the  arena  of  discussion,  South  Carolina  wished 
to  pass  from  theory  to  practice.  In  a  convention  as- 
sembled at  Columbia,  in  November,  1832,  she  adopted 
and  promulgated  an  act  declaring  null  and  void  all  the 
acts  of  Congress  imposing  duties  on  foreign  importa- 
tions, rejected  the  jurisdiction  of  the  Supreme  Court 
upon  the  constitutionality  of  these  acts,  and  proclaimed 
that  in  case  of  an  attempt  at  coercion,  on  the  part  of 
the  United  States,  the  State  would  withdraw  from  the 
Union  and  form  an  independent  government. 

This  act  was  the  supreme  effort  of  the  spirit  of  re- 
bellion. President  Jackson  had  just  been  reelected. 
He  replied  to  the  ordinance  of  nullification,  as  it  was 
called,  by  a  proclamation  which  left  no  doubt  as  to  his 
determination  to  resort  to  force  if  the  rebels  did  not 
return  promptly  to  duty.  South  Carolina,  isolated  in 
her  attempt  at  revolt,  opened  her  eyes  at  last  to  the 
urgent  necessity  of  submission.  Upon  the  proposition 
of  Henry  Clay,  Congress  adopted  a  modification  of  the 
tariff  of  1828,  and  it  was  this  plank  of  safety  of  which 
the  rebellious  State  took  advantage  to  repass  its 
Rubicon. 

But  if  the  irritating  question  of  slavery  remained  thus 
ostensibly  foreign  to  the  abortive  attempt  of  South 
Carolina,  on  the  other  hand,  the  cause  of  emancipation, 
at  precisely  this  epoch,  made  rapid  progress  in  Virginia. 
After  a  general  agitation  amongst  the  people  of  the 
State,  the  question  was  brought  out  and  spiritedly' dis- 
cussed in  the  Legislature.  The  measures  proposed  for 
arriving  at  the  gradual  abolition  of  slavery  failed  only 
by  a  trifling  majority  ;  a  fatal  check,  which,  thirty  years 
later,  was  to  precipitate  the  State  into  an  abyss,  from 
which  the  change  of  a  few  votes  at  that  time  would 
have  sufficed  to  preserve  her. 

In  1834,  England  abolished  slavery  in  its  West  Indian 


6  FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

colonies  ;  and  immediately  the  reaction  was  felt  in 
the  United  States,  by  a  redoubling  of  agitation  on 
the  same  subject.  A  propaganda  more  active  than 
ever  was  organized,  and  went  to  work  with  a  persistent 
energy,  to  sow  abroad  everywhere  the  idea  of  liberty, 
to  secretly  spread  upon  the  plantations  abolition  appeals 
in  every  form,  and  to  facilitate  the  flight  of  slaves  by 
all  means. 

The  South  was  excited,  not  without  reason,  and  car- 
ried the  question  to  Congress,  where  Mr.  Calhoun  pro- 
posed a  penal  law  against  postmasters  who,  in  the  slave 
States,  should  transport  or  distribute  through  the  mails 
printed  matter,  illustrations,  or  other  incendiary  arti- 
cles. The  North  protested  against  the  ridiculous  pre- 
tence of  submitting  the  mails  to  the  investigations  of 
postal  employes,  who  thereafter  were  to  be  held  respon- 
sible for  the  circulation  of  such  material. 

Immediately  and  simultaneously  appeared,  from  nearly 
every  one  of  the  free  States,  petitions  to  Congress  in 
favor  of  the  abolition  of  slavery  in  the  District  of  Co- 
lumbia. In  vain  did  the  representatives  of  the  South 
oppose  the  reading  of  these  petitions,  the  style  of 
which  was  in  their  eyes  a  public  insult  to  their  con- 
stituents, as  well  as  to  themselves.  Respect  for  the 
right  of  petition  prevails,  and  if  the  measure  asked  for 
does  not  pass,  it  at  least  obtains  a  foothold  within  the 
field  of  discussion,  and  henceforth  will  never  depart, 
until  its  accomplishment  shall  be  the  signal  for  the 
abolition  of  slavery  in  the  United  States. 

From  this  time,  able  men  could  foresee  the  inevitable 
consequences  of  this  strife  — in  a  future  for  which  the 
people  of  the  South  were  preparing  themselves,  but  to 
which  the  people  of  the  North  were  blind  even  to  the 
last  moment. 

"  Let  the  abolitionists,"  said  Henry  Clay,  in  the  Sen- 


THE    CAUSE    OF   THE    WAR.  7 

ate,  "  succeed  in  their  efforts  to  unite  the  inhabitants 
of  the  free  States,  as  one  man,  against  the  inhabitants 
of  the  slave  States,  then  the  union  of  one  side  will 
engender  the  union  of  the  other,  and  this  process  of 
reciprocal  consolidation  will  be  accompanied  by  all  the 
violent  prejudices,  by  all  the  envenomed  passions,  by 
all  the  implacable  animosities  which  have  ever  de- 
graded or  deformed  human  nature.  A  virtual  disso- 
lution of  the  Union  will  have  already  taken  place, 
while  the  forms  still  remain.  The  most  precious 
elements  of  union,  mutual  good-will,  sentiments  of 
sympathy,  the  bonds  of  fraternity  which  happily  unite 
us  to-day,  will  have  forever  ceased  to  exist.  One  sec- 
tion will  hold  itself  in  an  attitude  of  menace  and  hos- 
tility to  the  other,  and  the  conflict  of  opinions  will  be 
promptly  followed  by  the  shock  of  arms." 

These  words  of  a  great  statesman  and  a  great  orator 
were  a  prophecy,  since  realized,  point  by  point,  in  the 
march  of  events.  But  where  he  saw  only  the  dan- 
gerous intrigues  of  a  party,  by  viewing  from  a  higher 
standpoint,  he  could  have  recognized  the  marks  of 
eternal  Providence,  and  the  unfailing  development  of 
human  progress. 

The  great  financial  questions  which  in  1836  served 
to  raise  Mr.  Van  Buren  to  the  presidential  chair,  as 
successor  to  General  Jackson  ;  the  reaction,  which  in 
1840  brought  the  Whig  party  to  power,  by  the  election 
of  its  candidate.  General  Harrison  ;  the  premature 
death  of  the  latter,  calling  Mr.  Tyler  to  the  White 
House,  —  who,  vacillating  from  one  party  to  the  other, 
succeeded  only  in  displeasing  Whigs  and  Democrats 
alike  ;  the  boundary  question,  at  this  time  sharply  con- 
tested with  England  ;  the  complications  brought  on  by 
the  Canadian  rebellion,  which  threatened  to  bring  on 
war  between  the  United  States  and  Great  Britain,  were 


8  FOUR   YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

issues  powerful  enough  to  cause  the  question  of  slavery 
to  be  left  out  of  the  field  of  political  agitation  for  sev- 
eral years.  The  presidential  election  of  1844  brought 
it  to  the  front  again,  and,  from  that  time,  it  not  only 
did  not  retire  again  to  the  background,  but  advanced 
with  the  step  of  a  giant,  and,  in  a  few  years,  came  to 
control  all  others. 

In  1844,  for  ^^16  first  time,  the  abolitionists  had  a 
separate  candidate,  James  G.  Birney,  whose  adherents, 
in  separating  from  the  Whig  party,  took  away  from 
Henry  Clay  enough  votes  to  insure  his  defeat.  They 
thus  contributed  effectually  to  the  election  of  Mr. 
Polk,  the  consequences  of  which  were,  as  is  well 
known,  the  annexation  of  Texas,  and  the  war  with 
Mexico,  with  the  conquest  of  new  territory,  all  which 
ought  apparently  to  have  strengthened  the  cause  of 
slavery  by  extending  its  domain.  But  "  Man  proposes 
and  God  disposes."  The  supposed  reenforcement  to 
the  Southern  States  was  a  fatal  blow  to  them,  from 
the  enormous  impulse  it  gave  to  the  development  of 
abolitionism  in  the  North,  and  precisely  from  the 
annexation  of  Texas  dates  the  last  phase  of  the  con- 
flict, which,  in  a  few  years,  was  about  to  end  in 
the  grand  rebellion,  the  means  terrible,  but  necessary 
in  the  ways  of  Providence,  to  cut  in  a  single  day  the 
Gordian  knot  of  slavery,  which  the  weak  hands  of  poli- 
ticians would  with  difficulty  have  untied  in  a  century. 

In  1846,  referring  to  the  negotiations  to  conclude 
peace  with  Mexico,  Mr.  Wilmot,  a  member  of  Con- 
gress from  Pennsylvania,  proposed  to  pass  the  bill, 
putting  two  millions  of  dollars  at  the  disposal  of  the 
President,  but  upon  the  express  and  fundamental  condi- 
tion "that  neither  slavery  nor  involuntary  servitude 
should  ever  exist  in  any  part  of  any  territory  which 
might    be   acquired    from     Mexico,   in    virtue    of    any 


THE    CAUSE    OF   THE   WAR.  9 

treaty."  Such  was,  in  substance,  the  famous  Wilmot 
Proviso,  which  for  a  time  agitated  the  country  so  vio- 
lently. In  the  House  of  Representatives,  it  passed  by 
a  strong  majority,  all  the  Northern  members  —  except 
two  —  having  voted  in  its  favor,  whichever  party  they 
belonged  to.  In  the  Senate,  the  session  came  to  an 
end  while  the  debate  on  the  question  was  pending,  and 
before  it  came  to  a  vote,  and  the  result  was  the  same 
in  the  following  session.  It  is  well  to  remark  that  the 
discussion,  at  that  time,  had  to  do  not  with  the  mainte- 
nance of  slavery  where  it  then  existed,  but  only  with 
its  possible  establishment  where  it  did  not  exist.  The 
cause  of  liberty  was  still  on  the  defensive. 

In  1848,  Ex-President  Van  Buren  was  the  anti- 
slavery  candidate.  This  fact  alone  is  enough  to  show 
the  great  progress  in  public  opinion  during  the  admin- 
istration of  Mr.  Polk.  General  Taylor  was  elected,  it 
is  true,  but  the  large  number  of  votes  cast  for  Mr.  Van 
Buren  gave  to  the  party  he  represented  an  importance, 
which,  increasing  from  day  to  day,  already  presaged 
the  part  it  would  play  in  the  near  future. 

President  Taylor  died  only  a  few  months  after  his 
inauguration,  and  the  elevation  of  Mr.  Fillmore  to  the 
supreme  magistracy  necessitated  immediately  a  recon- 
struction of  the  Cabinet.  From  that  time  began  diver- 
gences, intrigues,  discontentments,  numerous  defections 
in  the  Whig  party,  whose  rapid  disorganization  went  to 
furnish  a  new  element  of  power  to  the  adversaries  of 
slavery. 

The  introduction  of  this  system  in  the  free  Territories, 
demanded  by  the  South  and  resisted  by  the  North,  was 
the  ground  upon  which  the  contest  was  begun  with 
fierce  ardor  on  both  sides.  The  question  arose  from 
the  necessity  of  organizing  governments  in  the  territo- 
ries recently  conquered  from  Mexico,  whose  permanent 


lO  FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOIVIAC    ARMY. 

possession  had  just  been  assured  by  the  treaty  of 
peace.  It  was  henceforth  no  longer  a  question  of  spec- 
ulative theories  ;  the  country  found  itself  in  the  face 
of  pressing  realities.  The  conflict  entered  forcibly  into 
practical  politics.  Hence,  the  great  interest  in  the 
subject,  which  in  a  short  space  of  time  transformed 
opinions  into  enthusiasm,  sentiments  into  passions ; 
which  on  one  side  gave  to  the  general  agitation  the 
character  of  a  crusade  against  the  extension  of  slavery 
in  the  Territories,  and  which,  on  the  other,  provoked 
significant  measures,  such  as  the  manifesto  signed  by 
forty-eight  members  of  Congress,  the  convention  of  the 
South  at  Nashville,  and  the  menace  of  secession,  for- 
mulated under  every  form  of  defiance.  Everything 
appeared  to  lead  to  a  decisive  crisis,  and  Mr.  Calhoun, 
the  chief  of  the  pro-slavery  party,  believed  he  could 
virtually  announce  from  that  time,  in  a  discourse  full  of 
prophetic  previsions  before  the  Senate,  that  the  Union 
was  approaching  its  end.  But,  far  from  seeking  to 
conjure  away  the  storm,  he  desired  rather  to  precipitate 
the  explosion.  The  dissolution  of  the  Union  appearing 
to  him  inevitable  in  a  short  time,  his  opinion  was  that 
the  South  should  hasten  the  separation  before  the 
gigantic  and  incessant  progress  of  the  North  had  de- 
stroyed all  equilibrium  between  the  two  sections,  and 
put  in  the  balance  an  overwhelming  preponderance  in 
its  favor. 

The  reckoning  was  correct.  If  there  must  be  neces- 
sarily an  appeal  to  arms,  every  delay  tended  to  the  ad- 
vantage of  the  North,  and  it  cannot  be  doubted  that  the 
South  had,  at  that  time,  better  material  chances  to 
establish  its  independence  than  when  it  resolved  to 
make  tj:ie  effort,  in  1861.  But,  at  that  period,  the 
Northern  people  did  not  believe  in  what  was  a  logical 
necessity.     Blinded  by  its  faith  in  its  institutions,  and 


THE    CAUSE    OF   THE    WAR.  I  I 

by  its  veneration  for  its  government,  it  never  consid- 
ered secession  possible  until  the  moment  when  the 
cannon  peal  at  Fort  Sumter  awakened  it  from  its  illu- 
sion. 

In  1850,  as  in  1820,  the  only  thought  was  to  find  a 
compromise,  which  should  forever  terminate  the  agita- 
tion of  the  question  of  slavery  in  the  United  States.  A 
people  which  believes  in  the  perpetuity  of  its  constitu- 
tion, and  in  the  unlimited  continuance  of  its  govern- 
ment, may  easily  confound  a  temporary  delay  with  a 
definite  solution. 

California,  upon  demanding  its  admission  into  the 
Union  as  a  free  State,  appeared  to  open  the  way  to  the 
compromise  so  eagerly  sought  for.  Mr.  Clay  was 
charged  to  formulate  the  terms,  of  which  the  principal 
ones  were  :  The  admission  of  California  with  the  con- 
stitution which  she  had  adopted  ;  the  organization  of 
territorial  governments  for  the  conquered  country,  with- 
out the  intervention  of  Congress  either  for  or  against 
slavery ;  the  maintenance  of  slavery  in  the  District 
of  Columbia,  but  the  abolition  of  the  slave  trade  in 
negroes  brought  within  its  limits ;  the  adoption  of 
legislation  more  efificacious  for  the  arrest  and  return  of 
fugitive  slaves  who  had  sought  refuge  in  the  free 
States  or  Territories  ;  finally,  the  declaration  that 
Congress  had  not  the  power  to  prohibit  or  hinder  the 
slave  trade  between  the  slave  States. 

This  new  compromise  gave  rise  to  memorable  and 
prolonged  debates,  during  which  Daniel  Webster  and 
Henry  Clay  soared  to  the  greatest  heights  of  parlia- 
mentary eloquence.  They  succeeded,  at  last,  in  having 
the  compromise  adopted  by  Congress,  as  the  anchor  of 
safety,  which  would  save  the  ship  of  State  from  the 
rock  of  disunion.  The  illusion  was  of  short  duration. 
At    the    adoption    of    the    compromise,    there    arose 


r 


12  FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    P(^T()MAC    ARMY, 

amongst  the  people  of  the  free  States  a  great  cry 
of  protestation  against  the  measures  assuring  the 
restitution  of  fugitive  slaves.  In  changing  its  ground  the 
agitation  only  became  the  more  intense,  and  the  oppo- 
sition the  more  violent.  In  fact,  it  was  no  longer  the 
question  of  deciding  upon  the  condition  of  the  distant 
and  almost  desert  Territories  :  henceforth  the  jurisdic- 
tion of  the  free  States  themselves  even  in  their  own 
limits  was  called  in  question.  They  were  compelled 
to  submit  in  their  own  boundaries  to  the  application  of 
a  right  of  property  which  they  did  not  recognize  as 
property,  which  their  laws  proscribed,  and  against 
which  the  public  conscience  revolted. 

The  law  was  not  new,  it  is  true,  since  it  dated  back 
to  1793.  But  its  action  had  been  restricted  more  and 
more,  as  slavery  disappeared  successively  from  the 
Northern  States,  and  it  had  become  a  dead  letter, 
not  less  by  the  reprobation  of  the  people  than  by 
the  acts  of  the  Legislatures.  Its  revival,  in  order  to 
make  it  obligatory,  was  to  pour  oil  upon  a  fire  under 
pretence  of  extinguishing  it. 

It  became  necessary  to  recognize  this  fact,  when,  an 
occasion  of  applying  the  law  having  occurred,  the  peo- 
ple of  Massachusetts  were  seen  to  rise  against  even  the 
decision  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  State,  and,  every 
recourse  of  legal  procedure  being  exhausted,  to  resist 
violently  the  reclaiming  of  a  fugitive  slave  by  his  old 
master.  Blood  flowed,  and  the  federal  officers  were  as- 
sailed and  given  up  to  popular  execration,  and  never 
after  were  able,  except  on  peril  of  their  lives,  to  attempt 
to  return  a  slave  to  servitude.  The  last  attempt  of  this 
kind  was  sufficient  to  set  the  whole  North  on  fire 
against  the  "  Southern  aggressions,"  rallying  words  of 
all  the  opponents  of  slavery. 

Thus    the    waves   of   abolitionism   rose    higher    and 


THE    CAUSE    OF   THE    WAR.  1 3 

higher  in  proportion  as  the  effort  was  made  to  oppose 
new  dikes  against  them. 

From  this  time  the  popularity  of  Mr.  Webster  was 
engulfed.  It  foundered  under  the  weight  of  the  con- 
demnation of  the  very  State  he  represented,  and  of  the 
censures  which  were  poured  out  upon  his  head  from 
the  whole  North.  Mr.  Calhoun  died  before  the  end 
of  the  session,  as  if  crushed  by  the  powerlessness  of 
his  efforts  for  the  cause  of  the  South.  Mr.  Clay  and 
Mr.  Webster  were  destined  to  follow  him  within  two 
years.  Thus,  those  three  statesmen,  rivals  in  eloquence 
and  in  popularity,  were  about  to  disappear  from  the 
scene,  their  eyes  already  opened  to  the  weakness  of 
their  work  of  compromise. 

Nevertheless,  in  1852,  the  two  great  political  parties 
into  which  the  country  was  divided  still  existed,  and  for 
the  last  time  the  contest  in  the  presidential  election  was 
between  the  Whig  and  the  Democratic  parties. 

The  question  of  slavery,  however,  was  no  longer 
pushed  to  one  side  in  their  platforms.  On  the  con- 
trary, it  was  given  great  prominence  in  the  electoral 
campaign,  and,  though  ostensibly  the  compromise  of 
1850  was  approved  in  both  platforms,  in  reality  General 
Scott,  put  in  nomination  by  the  Whig  party,  was  the 
anti-slavery  candidate,  to  whom  rallied  the  abolition 
forces.  The  Democratic  party,  on  the  contrary,  placed 
itself  squarely  in  favor  of  slavery,  and,  by  uniting  upon 
this  ground  the  whole  South  and  a  portion  of  the 
North,  it  assured  the  success  of  General  Pierce ;  a 
sterile  triumph,  which  was  destined  rather  to  hasten 
than  retard  the  march  of  events.  The  first  session  of 
Congress  under  the  new  administration  had  hardly 
opened  when  Mr.  Douglas  proposed  the  repeal  of  the 
Missouri  Compromise,  under  the  form  of  a  bill  since 
become    famous    under    the    name    of    the   "  Kansas- 


14  FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

Nebraska  bill."  It  must  be  remembered  that  the 
Missouri  Compromise  had  in  1820  established  a  geo- 
graphic line  separating  foj-cver  the  territorial  division 
assigned  on  one  side  to  free  labor  and  on  the  other  side 
to  slave  labor.  The  work,  which  was  to  have  been  per- 
manent, lasted  thirty-two  years,  and  it  was  about  to  be 
destroved  by  the  very  party  w^hom  it  was  designed  to 
protect.  Blinded  by  the  deceitful  brilliancy  of  the 
electoral  victory  it  had  just  achieved,  the  South  saw 
in  the  barrier  which  defended  its  favorite  institution 
only  an  obstacle  to  its  expansion.  It  undertook  to 
overthrow   it,  and   it   did   overthrow   it. 

Kansas  and  Nebraska  lie  to  the  north  of  the  line  36° 
30'  of  north  latitude,  and  consequently  slavery  was 
therein  prohibited  by  the  compromise  of  1820.  In 
presenting  the  new^  bill,  as  chairman  of  the  committee 
on  Territories  in  the  Senate,  Mr.  Douglas  proposed  only 
to  establish  the  principle  that  to  the  population  alone 
belonged  the  right  to  choose  their  local  institutions, 
and  of  deciding  sovereignly  upon  the  question  of  free 
or  slave  labor  in  the  State  constitution  requisite  for 
their  admission  into  the  Union.  In  supporting  the 
bill  with  all  its  forces,  the  South  wished  for  much 
more. 

It  was  resolved  to  secure  to  itself  those  rich  coun- 
tries towards  which  already  a  current  of  emigration 
began  to  flow.  It  succeeded  only  in  breaking  the 
clasp  of  the  box  of  Pandora,  and  in  putting  itself  in 
the  wrong  by  a  flagrant  aggression  against  the  North, 
and  carried  the  contest  to  a  field  upon  which,  for  the 
first  time  in  the  history  of  the  United  States,  the  oppo- 
nents, henceforth  become  enemies,  were  to  meet  each 
other  with  arms  in  their  hands. 

The  States  which  had  remained  stationary  in  the  em- 
brace of  slavery  perceived  with  anger  that  they  were 


THE    CAUSE    OF    THE    WAR.  1 5 

becoming  diminished  in  comparative  importance,  and 
passed  by  in  the  marvellous  progress  made  by  the 
States'  growing  in  number  and  increasing  in  population 
under  the  regivie  of  libert}-.  This  led  them  to  the  sys- 
tem of  provocations,  which  could  tend  only  to  inflame 
the  discussions  and  intensify  the  strife.  The  return 
of  fugitive  slaves  had  already  aroused  the  resentment 
of  the  North,  and  raised  a  riot  in  the  streets  of  Boston. 
The  repeal  of  the  compromise  of  1820  was  now  about 
to  inaugurate  the  era  of  civil  war  in  Kansas. 

This  Territor}-,  connected  with  the  free  States  by  way 
of  Nebraska,  almost  uninhabited,  and  the  State  of 
Iowa,  very  thinly  peopled,  appeared  to  be  an  easy  prey 
to  the  South.  Slavery  could  be  introduced  without 
effort  from  all  parts  of  the  western  portion  of  Missouri, 
which  State,  moreover,  interposed  its  whole  breadth  as 
an  insurmountable  bulwark  to  the  free  emigration  from 
Illinois.  But,  however  disadvantageous  the  conditions 
of  the  strife  were  for  the  free  States,  they  were  not 
enough  to  discourage  their  energy.  ^Massachusetts, 
vigilant  and  indefatigable  enemy  of  slavery,  set  to  work 
the  first  to  organize  an  emigration  society  for  Kansas  ; 
the  other  States  of  New  England  followed  her  example  ; 
the  movement  extended  to  the  States  of  the  Northwest, 
and,  in  spite  of  the  vast  distances  to  be  traversed,  there 
were  soon  seen  trains  of  colonists  marching  from  all 
points  towards  the  contested  territory.  To  that  emi- 
gration of  free  men  the  South  could  not  oppose  a  pro- 
slavery  emigration  equal  either  in  numbers  or  in  value. 
As  to  number,  its  population  was  comparatively  too 
restricted  ;  as  to  value,  in  lieu  of  agricultural  colonists, 
workingmen,  merchants,  it  could  only  send  to  Kansas 
people  of  the  lowest  class,  called  white  trash,  who, 
under  the  planters'  oligarchy,  vegetated  in  degrading 
misery  and  abject   ignorance.     Ferocious  by  instinct, 


1 6  FOUR    YEARS    WITH     THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

disdaining  all  work,  strange  to  every  idea  of  civilization, 
this  class  was  fit  only  for  brigandage,  and  amongst 
them,  in  fact,  were  recruited  the  Border  Ruffians,  who, 
during  some  years,  brought  upon  Kansas  rapine,  murder, 
and  fire,  to  the  great  shame  of  the  federal  executive, 
who,  it  must  be  acknowledged,  covered  them  for  a  long 
time  with  a  protection  either  imbecile  or  criminal. 

In  1854,  an  association  organized  in  the  county  of 
Platte  assembled  publicly  at  Weston,  Missouri,  and 
adopted  some  resolutions,  by  which  it  declared  itself 
ready,  at  the  first  call,  to  expel  from  Kansas  all  the 
colonists  who  had  settled  there  under  the  auspices  of 
the  emigration  societies  of  the  North.  This  time,  the 
aggression  was  formulated  by  an  explicit  declaration  of 
war. 

The  act  followed  closely  after  the  menace. 

At  the  first  election  of  a  territorial  delegate  to  Con- 
gress, armed  bands  of  ^lissourians  took  possession  of 
the  polls,  driving  from  them  the  partisans  of  free  labor, 
and  of  2871  votes  deposited  in  the  ballot  boxes  1729 
were  illegal.  Some  months  after  (March,  1855).  when 
the  election  of  members  of  the  Legislature  occurred, 
the  same  armed  invasion  returned,  and  this  time  of  6218 
votes  cast  only  i3iowere  legal.  And  of  these  1310 
votes,  in  spite  of  all  these  acts  of  violence,  791  were 
cast  for  the  anti-slavery  candidates*'  ^ 

Governor  Reeder  could  not  sanction  these  monstrous 
frauds.  He  ordered  new  elections  in  six  districts,  five 
of  which  elected  anti-slaver)^'  representatives,  —  the 
sixth  district  (Leavenworth)  remaining,  in  spite  of  the 
Governor,  in  the  hands  of  the  Missourians.  But  the 
first  act  of  the  Legislature  was  to  expel  the  five  mem- 
bers, the  only  real  representatives  of  the  inhabitants  of 

*  See  the  official  report  of  the  committee  of  inquirj-,  appointed  at  a 
late  date  bv  Congress. 


TEE    CAUSE    OF   THE   WAR.  1 7 

the  TerritxHy,  and  to  gire  their  seats  to  tiiose  ^ected  bj 
fraud  and  vk^ence;  wbo  had  been  rejected  br  the 
Governor,  who  lost  his  position  bj  this  i^fateoos  act. 
So  completelj  prqMmdeiant  vere  the  interests  of  tke 
South  at  the  White  House  ! 

Freed  in  this  manner  from  all  oppositk»,  the  usurp- 
ers of  l^islative  power  gave  thexnsdres  full  swing. 
The  aiding  c^  a  slave  to  esc^ie,  wh^her  to  a  point 
within  or  without  the  Tenitmy,  was  declared  a  capital 
crime ;  giving  them  asylum,  or  denying  the  right  <^ 
holding  slaves  in  Kansas,  (mt  ev^i  circulating  anti-sla- 
ver)' publications,  became  a  crime,  punishable  by  from 
two  to  five  years'  hard  labor;  to  the  eicercise  of  the 
right  to  vote  was  attadied  the  ccmditimi  o€  agre^ng  un- 
der oath  to  sustain  the  fugitive-slaTe  law ;  and  finally 
the  laws  of  Missouri  were  nt  wiasst  made  a^[^^caUe  to 
the  Territory  of  Kansas^ 

WTiat  did  the  great  majority  of  the  inhalntants,  im- 
migrants from  the  free  States,  do  ?  To  su|^pose  that 
they  bowed  the  head  humbly  under  the  t\Tanny  of  the 
bcun^-knife  and  the  revolver  would  be  to  misconceive 
the  courageous  energy-  with  which  the  cause  erf  liberty 
always  inspires  its  defenders.  They  assembled  in  con- 
vention to  protest  against  the  acts  of  the  Legislature, 
appointed  ex-Governor  Reeder  delegate  to  Congress, 
and  finaU}-  framed  at  Topeka  Ji  S:i:e  constitution  for- 
bidding slaver\'.  Resis:.  r  -.  ever\-\vhere  in  pro- 
portion to  the  aggress;  ::  .::.  provoked  hatred; 
murder  responded  to  murder ;  and  violence  reached  the 
point  that  the  citii"  of  Lawrence  was  obliged  to  arm  and 
prepare  to  defend  itself  against  an  imminent  attack. 
For  several  davs  the  place  was  \-irtuaIly  in  a  state  erf 
siege.  But  its  resolute  attitude  compelled  the  Missou- 
rians,  assembled  to  sack  the  citv\  to  refrain,  and  on  this 
occasion  they  repassed  the  frontier  without  deliA'ering 


1 8  FOL'R    ^TIARS    WITH    THE    POTO>L\C    ARMY. 

battle.  The  Topeka  constitution  was  afterwards  sub- 
mitted to  the  vote  of  the  people  and  adopted  unani- 
mously, with  the  exception  of  forty-five  votes,  —  if  we 
except  Leavenworth,  the  headquarters  of  the  bandits  of 
the  frontier.  The  State  officers  and  the  State  Legisla- 
ture were  elected  in  consequence,  and  Charles  Robinson 
was  inaugurated  Governor  the  4th  of  March,  1856. 

Rightfully  the  question  was  settled.  The  emigration 
from  the  free  States  had  taken  legitimate  possession  of 
Kansas,  and  had  pronounced  unanimously  against 
slavery.  This  logical  solution  would,  perhaps,  have 
been  accepted  from  that  time,  as  it  was  necessarily 
somewhat  later  by  the  South,  if  the  election  of  Mr. 
James  Buchanan  to  the  Presidency  had  not  directly 
encouraged  them  to  redouble  their  efforts  to  stifle  right 
by  force. 

The  desperate  strife  which  was  prevailing  in  Kansas 
had  from  its  commencement  excited  the  most  intense 
feeling  throughout  the  countr}'.  From  this  open  fire  the 
discord  spread  to  all  the  States,  and  each  new  incident 
produced  its  corresponding  effect,  as  well  at  the  North 
as  at  the  South.  Passions  were  at  fever  heat  every- 
where, in  Congress  as  in  the  State  Legislatures.  The 
ver\-  floor  of  the  Senate  was  the  scene  of  a  brutal 
attempt  upon  the  life  of  Mr.  Sumner,  senator  from 
Massachusetts,  in  consequence  of  an  ardent  philippic 
which  he  had  pronounced  against  the  South  and 
against  slavery,  in  reference  to  affairs  in  Kansas. 

The  press,  as  may  be  conceived,  was  no  less  active 
than  the  tribune.  The  least  event  took  on  exaggerated 
proportions  in  coming  to  public  notice  through  the 
journals,  and  the  imiversal  excitement  was  supported 
by  books,  by  pamphlets,  by  writings  of  every  kind,  put 
forth  continually  to  increase  the  flame. 

The  old  Whig  party  disappeared  in  the  tumult.     The 


THE   CAUSE   OF   THE    WAR.  1 9 

new  American,  or  KniKi*-\ofAiM^  party,  founded  upon 
the  principle  of  opposition  to  the  increasing  influence 
of  naturalized  citizens,  had  a  verj-  short  life.  The 
spirit  of  hostility  to  slaver}-  and  of  resistance  to  the 
aggressions  of  the  South  had  thoroughly  penetrated  all 
the  free  States.  It  dominated  everything,  and  imperi- 
ouslv  demanded  a  new  organization  upon  that  platform. 
The  Republican  party  was  bom. 

The  time  had  passed  when  the  adversaries  of  slavery 
served  only  to  make  up  a  deficiency  or  an  addition  to 
the  parties  who  disputed  among  themselves  the  political 
power.  In  the  presidential  campaign  of  1S56  they 
entered  the  lists,  as  the  only  champions  of  the  North, 
bearing  on  their  banners  the  name  of  John  C.  Fremont. 
The  contest  henceforth  took  on  the  character  well 
denned  by  Mr.  Seward.  It  A\-as  an  **  irrepressible  con- 
flict "  between  the  North  and  the  South,  between  free 
labor  and  slave  labor.  Even,-  other  question  had  irrevo- 
cably fallen  to  a  relative  insignificance. 

The  popularity  of  Mr.  Fremont  was  due  much  more 
to  his  venturesome  explorations  in  the  Rocky  Moun- 
tains and  in  California  than  to  any  political  prominence. 
That  \\-as  precisely  what  determined  the  choice  of  the 
Republican  party,  too  young  as  yet  to  burn  its  vessels 
by  putting  forvs-ard  any  of  its  chiefs  noted  for  radical 
abolitionism. 

To  the  **  Pathfinder "  of  liberty,  the  defenders  of 
slaver}'  opposed  a  political  hack  grown  old  under  the 
harness  of  the  Democratic  party,  "a  Northern  man 
with  Southern  principles,"'  according  to  the  expression 
first  applied  to  the  successor  of  President  Jackson. 
The  savoir^ijire'  of  Mr.  Buchanan  was  considerovl 
preferable  to  the  ser\-ile  compliance  of  Mr.  l^erce.  or 
the  ambition,  more  ardent  than  prudent,  of  Mr.  Doug- 
las, —  and,  after  an   electoral  campaign  conductcvl   on 


20  FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

both  sides  with  a  Yehemence  without  precedent,  the 
last  of  the  pro-slaYery  Presidents  was  raised  to  the 
chief  magistracy  of  the  United  States  by  the  vote  of 
nineteen  States.  The  six  New  England  States,  New 
York,  Ohio,  Michigan,  Iowa,  and  Wisconsin  cast  their 
votes  for  Mr.  Fremont,  —  Maryland  voted  for  Mr. 
Fillmore.'  Pennsylv^ania  (the  State  of  Mr.  Buchanan), 
Indiana,  Illinois,  and  New  Jersey  decided  the  election 
by  voting  with  the  South  ;  —  an  unnatural  alliance  for 
a  lease  of  the  White  House  for  four  years. 

The  South  could  not  misunderstand  the  significance 
of  the  figures.  From  that  time  she  prepared  actively 
for  the  great  rebellion  for  which  the  ne.xt  election 
would  furnish  the  pretext.  Nevertheless,  as  always  on 
the  morrow  after  great  commotions,  there  came  a  time 
of  respite  to  the  universal  agitation.  The  combatants 
took  breath,  and  Mr.  Buchanan,  profiting  by  the  time 
preceding  his  inauguration,  promised  an  administration 
equally  opposed  to  all  sectional  politics,  pledging  him- 
self in  advance  to  repress  every  aggression,  whether  it 
came  from  the  North  or  the  South,  taking  for  a  task 
for  his  Presidency  the  reestablishment  of  good  feeling 
and  of  good  sentiments  amongst  all  the  States,  and  the 
inauguration  of  a  new  era  of  harmonious  prosperity. 
Promises  and  engagements  cost  little  in  such  a  situa- 
tion. The  emission  of  that  kind  of  political  paper 
money  is  made,  unhappily,  without  guaranty,  and  its 
real  value  is  established  only  when  the  bills  become 
due.  Thus  this  issue  was  not  generally  taken  for  ready 
money. 

Mr.  Buchanan  had  hardly  taken  his  seat  in  the  presi- 
dential chair  when  Congress  sent  to  Kansas  a  special 
committee  of  investigation,  ordered  to  find  out  the  real 

'  The  popular  vote  was  as  follows:  Buchanan,  1,838,232;  Fremont, 
1,341,154;  Fillmore,  SS4,  707. 


THE    CAUSE   OF   THE   WAR-  21 

condition  of  the  Territon,-.  In  the  official  report  which 
was  the  result  or  their  inquiry.-,  rhey  say  :  "  All  :'- e 
elections  have  been  conrrollec,  no.  by  the  2.;:ui^ 
inhabitants,  but  by  citizens  of  Missouri  ;  consequentlv. 
all  the  officials  of  the  Territory.-,  from  constable  to  legis- 
lators, except  those  appointed  by  the  President,  owe 
their  position  to  the  votes  of  non-residents.  Xot  one 
of  them  has  been  elected  by  the  inhabitants,  and 
committee  has  been  unable  to  discover  any  pc_:--^ 
power,  however  small  in  importance,  which  has  been 
exercised  by  the  people  of  the  Territory.'"  Here  was  a 
good  opportunity  for  the  President  to  show  the  imparti- 
ality which  he  had  promised.  This  is  what  happened  :  a 
considerable  band  of  armed  men,  coming  from  different 
Southern  States,  had  invaded  Kansas,  under  the  com- 
mand of  Major  Boford.  The  United  States  marshal 
took  them  into  his  pay,  and  furnished  them  with  gov- 
ernment muskets.  Lawrence  was  beseged  again,  an-d, 
when  the  defenders  had  surrendered  ther  arms  to  the 
sherrfE,  receiving  in  return  a  solemn  promise  of 
security  for  persons  and  procectioQ  for  pcopety,  it 
was  to  see  their  hotel  and  ^Mr.  Robmsoci's  house 
delivered  to  the  flames,  their  stores  to  pillage,  ?.id 
their  two  printing-hcuses  to  a  complete  destrtiction- 
The  principal  adversaries  of  slavery  were  already 
in  flight  under  an  accusation  of  high  treason,  and  the 
Governor-elect.  Robinson,  was  a  prisoner  in  the  r..'~'fs 
of  the  invaders.  In  dne.  when,  in  the  rnonth  or  J'tly. 
the  liheral  Legislature  assembled  at  Toteka.  the  troops 
of  rhe  United  States  dispersed  it  bv  rorce.  ilr. 
Fujtanm  had  tiken  ot±  the  mask.  Creature  of  the 
Sou:h.  which  had  elected  Htttt  to  t*e  Presicencv.  m 
return  he  emtloved  in  its  favor  the  whole  execttrre 
power    :f   the    government.     Assailed   bv  the   So'tth. 


2  2  FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

constitutional  protection,  what  remained  to  the  people 
of  Kansas  by  which  to  defend  themselves  ?  The  re- 
course to  arms.  There  had  already  been  an  engage- 
ment at  Pottawatomie  and  at  Black  Jack,  where  a 
Captain  Pate  of  South  Carolina  had  been  taken  pris- 
oner, with  thirty  of  his  men  ;  now  a  fortified  camp  near 
Lecompton  was  attacked  and  carried,  and  a  band  of 
pro-slavery  men,  commanded  by  Colonel  Titus,  was 
captured  or  dispersed.  Governor  Shannon,  having 
then  purchased  the  liberty  of  Titus  and  his  men,  in 
exchange  for  a  cannon  taken  at  Lawrence,  was  re- 
moved by  the  President  and  replaced  by  Mr.  Geary  of 
Pennsylvania.  The  Territory  was  declared  in  a  state 
of  rebellion.  The  Missourians,  under  the  command  of 
Mr.  Atchison,  formerly  a  United  States  senator,  took 
possession  of  Pottawatomie  after  a  vigorous  resistance, 
invaded  Leavenworth  on  the  day  of  the  municipal  elec- 
tion, killed  and  wounded  a  number  of  the  inhabitants, 
burned  their  houses,  and  forced  a  hundred  and  fifty 
of  them  to  leave  the  Territory.  But  nothing  could 
weaken  the  vigorous  resistance  of  that  population  of 
free  men,  to  the  aid  of  whom,  moreover,  the  North  came 
with  reenforcements  of  men,  and  with  shipments  of 
arms  and  of  munitions  of  war.  For  the  second  time, 
the  Legislature  elected  in  accordance  with  the  Topeka 
constitution  assembled  and  attempted  to  organize. 
Again  the  marshal  of  the  United  States  dispersed  it, 
besides  arresting  the  president  of  the  Senate,  the 
speaker  of  the  House,  and  a  dozen  of  the  most  influen- 
tial of  the  members,  whom  he  conducted  as  prisoners 
to  Tecumseh.  Immediately  the  pro-slavery  Legislature, 
proceeding  from  a  fraudulent  election,  in  which  the 
inhabitants  had  taken  no  part,  assembled  at  Lecomp- 
ton, and  convoked  a  convention  to  patch  up  a  State 
constitution,  by  the  same  means  to  which  it  owed  its 


THE    CAUSE    OF   THE    WAR.  23 

own  existence.  At  last  the  patience  of  the  House  of 
Representatives  at  Washington  was  tired  of  the  com- 
plicity of  the  President  in  that  illegal  and  violent 
oppression.  It  passed  a  bill  declaring  the  acts  of  the 
territorial  Legislature  null  and  void,  as  "  cruel  and 
oppressive,  and  emanating  from  a  legislative  body 
which  had  not  been  elected  by  the  legitimate  electors 
of  Kansas,  but  which  had  been  imposed  upon  them  by 
force  and  by  non-residents."  Unhappily,  the  Senate 
refused  to  adopt  this  bill,  as  also  to  confirm  Mr.  Har- 
rison, nominated  judge  of  the  Federal  District  Court, 
at  the  urgent  request  of  the  Governor,  in  place  of  a 
pro-slavery  betrayer  of  his  trust,  who  had  made  use  of 
his  power  otily  to  assure  impunity  to  the  ruffians  of  the 
frontier.  Thereupon  Governor  Geary  sent  in  his  res- 
ignation, and  was  replaced  by  Robert  J.  Walker  of 
Mississippi. 

When  the  election  to  the  convention  ordered  by  the 
territorial  Legislature  took  place,  the  people  who  did 
not  recognize  its  usurped  authority  refused  to  take 
part  in  it,  and  all  the  efforts  of  the  Missourians  could 
hardly  bring  forth  the  vote  of  a  fifth  part  of  the  regis- 
tered electors. 

When,  on  the  other  hand,  the  election  of  territorial 
officers  occurred,  the  inhabitants,  flocking  to  the  polls, 
elected  Mr.  Parrot  their  delegate  to  Congress  by  an 
enormous  majority,  and  twenty-seven  representatives  to 
the  Legislature  out  of  thirty-nine.  On  this  occasion,  a 
characteristic  incident  was  brought  to  light.  The  elec- 
tion returns  of  a  village  of  eleven  houses,  called  Oxford, 
showed  a  vote  of  1624  for  the  pro-slavery  candidates. 
At  the  investigation  it  was  discovered  that  this  pre- 
tended roll  of  votes  was  only  a  list  of  names  copied 
alphabetically  from  a  Cincinnati  directory. 

Nevertheless,  the  South  did  not  abandon  its  purpose. 


24  FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

The  delegates  of  its  two  thousand  voters  drew  up  a 
State  constitution,  declaring  slavery  an  indefeasible 
right  in  Kansas,  and  prohibiting  any  emancipation  act 
by  the  Legislature.  The  Governor  protested  earnestly 
against  the  imposition,  and  departed  for  Washington  to 
prevent  its  acceptance.  He  arrived  too  late.  Mr. 
Buchanan  had  already  made  haste  to  approve  it  offi- 
cially. Like  Mr.  Geary,  Mr.  Walker  sent  in  his  resig- 
nation, and  Mr.  Denver  of  California  was  appointed  to 
succeed  him.  Lost  trouble  !  This  pro-slavery  consti- 
tution, known  by  the  name  of  the  Lecompton  constitu- 
tion, had  to  be  submitted  to  the  vote  of  the  people. 
It  was  rejected  by  a  majority  of  10,226  votes.  A  sec- 
ond submittal,  under  an  order  of  Congress  in  August, 
1858,  had  the  same  result.  Then  only  the  pro-slavery 
Legislature,  conquered  at  last,  submitted  to  the  people 
the  question  of  calling  a  new  convention.  The  vote 
was  in  the  afBrmative,  the  election  of  delegates  took 
place,  and  the  convention  assembled  at  Wyandotte,  July 
5,  1859,  ^"<^  submitted  a  constitution  which,  like  that  of 
Topeka,  prohibited  slavery.  It  was  accepted  by  popu- 
lar vote  on  the  4th  of  October  following,  and  at  last  the 
conquest  was  decided  for  liberty.  The  State  of  Kan- 
sas was  to  enter  the  Union  saved  from  the  stain  of 
slavery. 

The  strife  a  outvance,  of  which  I  have  thus  given 
briefly  the  principal  episodes,  did  not  cease  for  five 
years  to  excite  the  whole  Union  to  the  highest  pitch. 
From  the  banks  of  the  St.  Lawrence  to  those  of  the 
Rio  Grande,  the  noise  of  the  strife  had  filled  the  land 
without  intermission.  What  was  it,  in  reality,  but  the 
prelude  to  that  gigantic  war  for  which  the  South  was 
preparing,  and  in  which  the  North  would  not  yet  be- 
lieve '^.  In  reality,  the  skirmishers  of  the  two  armies 
had  met  together  upon  the  contested  territory.      There 


THE    CAUSE    OF    THE    WAR.  2$ 

they  had  fought  desperately,  supported  on  both  sides  by 
reenforcements  more  numerous  on  the  part  of  the 
North,  more  desperate  on  the  part  of  the  South.  And 
when  at  last  the  victory  was  assured  to  the  defenders  of 
right  and  to  the  cause  of  civilization,  as  if  the  events  in 
Kansas  were  not  enough  to  render  the  animosities  irrec- 
oncilable and  the  supreme  shock  inevitable,  a  new 
cause  of  discord  arose  suddenly  on  the  borders  of  Vir- 
ginia ;  a  fact  as  significant  as  it  was  strange. 

At  the  confluence  of  the  Shenandoah  and  the  upper 
Potomac,  at  the  point  where  the  water  has  forced  its 
passage  through  the  mountains  known  by  the  name  of 
Blue  Ridge,  is  situated  on  the  Virginia  side  the  small 
city  of  Harper's  Ferry,  connected  with  Maryland  by  a 
very  fine  bridge.  In  1859  it  had  about  seven  thousand 
inhabitants.  The  United  States  government  had  an 
arsenal  there,  with  arms  enough  to  equip  ninety  thou- 
sand men,  and  an  armory  employing  two  hundred  and 
fifty  workmen,  capable  of  manufacturing  twenty-five 
thousand  muskets  a  year. 

Now,  on  the  17th  of  October  of  that  year,  thirteen 
days  after  the  acceptance  of  the  Wyandotte  constitution 
by  the  people  of  Kansas,  the  telegraph  suddenly  an- 
nounced everywhere  the  astonishing  news  that  Harper's 
Ferry  had  been  invaded  by  an  armed  band,  which  had 
taken  possession  of  the  arsenal.  Where  did  it  come 
from  .''  What  was  its  force  ?  With  what  object  was  this 
incredible  attack  made  .-*  That  was  unknown,  but  it  was 
generally  believed  that  there  was  an  outbreak  of  the 
workingmen,  but  on  the  next  day  it  was  learned  with 
astonishment  that  it  was  an  invasion  of  Abolitionists 
calling  the  slaves  to  liberty.  Incredible  as  it  appeared, 
and  extraordinarv  as  were  the  circumstances,  the  news 
was  not  less  true.  There  were  twenty-two  men,  —  sev- 
enteen white  and  five  black,  —  who  had  undertaken  to 


26  FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

arm  all  the  slaves  whom  they  could  collect,  and  to  cut  a 
passage  with  them  across  Maryland  into  Pennsylvania, 
where  they  would  disperse  in  order  to  escape  pursuit. 
The  author  and  chief  of  the  enterprise  was  John  Brown, 
a  man  sixty  years  of  age,  but  still  of  youthful  vigor, 
a  character  imbued  with  radical  abolitionism,  and  exas- 
perated to  fanaticism  by  the  persecutions  of  which  he 
had  been  the  victim  in  Kansas.  Two  years  before  he 
had  been  compelled  to  abandon  with  his  family  the 
village  of  Ossawatomie,  where  he  lived  and  where  he 
was  remarkable  as  one  of  the  most  intrepid  champions 
of  free  labor.  Burning  with  implacable  resentment 
against  the  pro-slavery  oligarchy,  with  the  idea  of  strik- 
ing at  its  heart,  he  had  exhausted  his  means  in  vain 
efforts,  when  at  last,  tired  of  projects  impossible  to  be 
carried  out,  he  resolved  to  attempt  a  stroke  hazardous 
even  to  folly. 

Perhaps  he  was  not  entirely  mistaken  as  to  the  re- 
sults. Perhaps  this  inflexible  old  man  believed  that 
the  blood  of  martyrs  fertilized  the  soil  of  revolutions  ; 
perhaps,  in  sacrificing  his  own  life  and  that  of  his  three 
sons,  he  saw  in  the  near  future  the  day  when  our  liber- 
ating regiments  would  march  to  the  conflict,  singing  :  — 

John  Brown's  body  lies  mouldering  in  the  grave, 
But  his  soul  is  marching  on  —  ' 

However  that  may  be,  he  had  rented  a  small  farm 
eight  miles  from  Harper's  Ferry.  There  he  had  se- 
cretly provided  the  necessary  arms  and  munitions,  and 
from  there  he  started,  at  nightfall  on  Sunday,  to  attack, 
with  his  twenty-one  men,  the  government  of  the  United 
States  and  the  State  of  Virginia. 

The  onset  was  so  unexpected  that  at  first   he  was 

'  Le  corps  de  John  Brown  git  pourrissant  dans  la  poussiere,  mais  son 
ame  marche  en  avant  — 


THE    CAUSE    OF   THE    WAR. 


7 


successful.  About  ten  o'clock  in  the  evening,  the 
city  was  invaded,  the  arsenal  captured  without  resist- 
ance, and  a  score  of  employes  and  workingmen  were 
made  prisoners,  together  with  some  prominent  citizens, 
intended,  doubtless,  to  serve  as  hostages. 

Day  appeared,  but  the  slaves  did  not  move.  Instead 
of  that,  the  first  one  on  whom  they  laid  their  hands 
thought  only  of  flying,  and  was  killed  by  a  gunshot. 

Sentinels  had  been  posted  at  the  principal  doors. 
The  first  white  man  who  appeared  outside  was  armed 
with  a  rifle.  To  the  call,  "  Who  comes  there  .''  "  he  re- 
plied by  firing,  and  fell  dead,  struck  by  several  balls. 
A  former  officer  in  the  army  and  the  mayor  of  the  city, 
having  afterwards  advanced  to  find  out  the  character 
and  force  of  the  invaders,  met  with  the  same  fate. 
There  were  no  more  precautions  to  take.  A  company 
of  militia  assembled  in  haste,  attacked  and  carried  by 
assault  a  building  defended  by  five  men,  four  of  whom 
were  killed  on  the  spot,  and  the  fifth  was  taken  prisoner. 
Four  of  the  conspirators,  seeing  things  turning  for  the 
worse,  had  fled  at  daybreak,  and  had  regained  the  moun- 
tains. There  remained  with  John  Brown  only  twelve 
men. 

At  their  head  he  fought  as  did  Charles  XII.  at  Ben- 
der. Barricaded,  with  his  prisoners  and  a  few  negroes, 
in  the  fire-engine  room  of  the  arsenal,  he  was  attacked 
there  by  the  railroad  workmen,  who  burst  in  the  door 
and  killed  two  men,  but  were  repulsed  with  a  loss  of 
seven  wounded.  The  small  band  found  itself  reduced 
to  eleven  combatants. 

During  the  day  a  thousand  armed  men  had  arrived  at 
Harper's  Ferry ;  but  they  hesitated  before  a  determined 
assault,  through  fear  of  compromising  the  lives  of  the 
prisoners.  The  besieged  then  endeavored  to  send  out 
two  men  with  a  flag  of  truce  ;  one  of  them  was  badly 


28  FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

wounded,  the  other  was  taken  prisoner.  There  re- 
mained  nine. 

In  the  evening,  a  hundred  marines  arrived  from 
Washington  with  two  pieces  of  artillery.  On  Tues- 
day, at  daybreak,  the  garrison  was  summoned  to  sur- 
render. They  refused.  If  they  must  die,  the  bayonet 
was  better  than  hanging.  The  marines  then  threw 
themselves  against  the  door  and  broke  it  in  by  a 
heavy  ladder ;  the  first  who  entered  fell  dead  near 
the  threshold.  John  Brown  was  struck  down  by  a 
sabre  stroke  on  the  head  and  wounded  with  three 
bayonet  thrusts.  His  companions  fell  around  him, 
killed  or  wounded,  except  two  negroes,  who  were  made 
prisoners  unhurt.  The  survivors,  even  those  who  had 
escaped  the  evening  before,  were  taken  and  were  all 
executed. 

John  Brown  lost  the  game  ;  he  paid  the  forfeit  with- 
out a  murmur.  He  was  brought  before  the  judge,  with 
his  head  and  body  swathed  in  bandages,  upon  a  bloody 
mattress.  He  passed  through  his  trial  without  boast- 
ing or  feebleness,  and  on  December  2  went  to  his 
death,  with  a  calm  eye  and  a  smiling  face.  This  was 
in  1859.  I"  1865,  when  I  was  shown  the  place  where 
the  forlorn  sentinel  of  abolitionism  had  been  hanged, 
there  remained  no  longer  a  single  slave  on  the  Ameri- 
can continent. 

Although  this  attempt  was  inspired  by  abolition  doc- 
trines, and  was,  thus  far,  connected  with  events  in 
Kansas,  in  which,  besides,  its  chief  actor  had  taken 
part,  the  insane  attack  on  Harper's  Ferry  was,  in 
reality,  an  individual  and  isolated  event.  But  it  was 
immediately  made  the  most  of,  throughout  the  South, 
as  a  flagrant  aggression  on  the  part  of  the  North.  On 
the  other  hand,  the  abolitionist  societies  redoubled 
their  activity  and  their  energy,  and  drew  the  Repub- 


THE    CAUSE    OF   THE   WAR.  29 

lican  party  more  and  more  to  their  views.  The  irri- 
tation reached  the  point  that  Mr.  Seward,  its  principal 
teacher  at  this  time,  stated,  in  a  powerful  speech,  the 
following  dilemma  :  "  Either  the  cotton  and  rice  fields 
of  South  Carolina  and  the  sugar  plantations  of  Louisi- 
ana will  finally  be  cultivated  by  free  labor,  and  Charles- 
ton and  New  Orleans  will  become  markets  open  only  to 
legitimate  merchandise  ;  or  the  rye  and  wheat  fields 
of  Massachusetts  and  New  York  will  be  surrendered 
to  slave  culture  and  to  the  production  of  slaves,  and 
Boston  and  New  York  will  become  markets  delivered 
over  to  the  traflfic  in  the  bodies  and  souls  of  men." 
The  position  could  not  be  more  clearly  stated  ;  but 
it  must  be  borne  in  mind  that,  as  yet,  the  North 
wished  only  to  conquer  constitutionally  the  place  in 
the  Union  to  which  its  preponderance  in  population 
clearly  gave  it  the  right  in  a  democratic  government, 
while  the  South,  from  this  time  on,  marched  openly 
towards  secession. 

The  pro-slavery  leaders  played  an  open  game.  One 
of  them  said  to  me,  at  this  time,  "  If  the  Republican  can- 
didate is  elected,  we  will  leave  the  Union,  we  will  estab- 
lish a  confederation  of  the  South  with  a  government  to 
our  liking  ;  we  will  place  a  cordon  of  troops   upon   the 

frontier,  and  will  hang  all  d d  abolitionists  who  may 

put  foot  upon  our  soil.  Then  we  will  have  peace  at 
home."  "  Then  you  will  have  war,"  I  replied.  "  War  ! 
You  do  not  know  this  race  of  traders.  Their  sole  idea 
is  to  make  money  and  to  humbug  the  people,  at  whose 
expense  they  get  rich.  War  will  touch  them  on  the 
place  they  hold  most  dear,  their  purse.  They  will  not 
fight."  In  vain  I  tried  to  make  him  see  his  error  on 
this  point.  "  You  are  a  Frenchman  by  birth,  and  the 
French  fight  for  much  less  than  that ;  but  you  cannot 
comprehend  the  nature  of  this  people.     The  Yankees 


30  FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

will  let  us  go,  and  will  not  fight."  The  Northern  men, 
to  whom  I  predicted  civil  war  as  the  inevitable  conse- 
quence of  the  slavery  question,  said  to  me  precisely  the 
contrary.  "  Civil  war  .-*  Impossible  !  "  they  replied, 
"  The  fire-eaters  are  agitators,  who  make  more  noise 
than  there  is  any  call  for.  For  years  they  have  cried 
secession  ;  but  when  it  comes  to  seriously  breaking  up 
the  Union,  that  is  a  different  matter.  They  will  not 
dare  attempt  it." 

Is  it  not  curious  that,  in  the  midst  of  their  political 
furor  upon  the  slavery  question,  the  Americans  of  the 
North,  fascinated  by  the  patriotic  worship  of  their 
institutions,  would  not  see  whither  they  were  tend- 
ing .-*  Always  Fenelon's  saying :  "  Man  acts,  but  God 
leads  him." 


CHAPTER   II. 

«  THE   MANNER   OF    SECESSION. 

Electoral  campaign  of  i860  —  Direct  menaces  of  secession  —  Violent 
scenes  in  Congress  —  Charleston  convention  —  Baltimore  conven- 
tion—  Chicago  convention  —  Second  Baltimore  convention — Elec- 
tion of  Lincoln  to  the  Presidency  —  The  Southern  States  take  up 
arms — Passive  complicity  of  Buchanan — Treason  in  the  Cabinet  — 
Secession  of  South  Carolina  —  Last  attempts  at  compromise  —  Se- 
cession of  Mississippi  —  Of  Florida  —  Of  Alabama  —  Of  Louisiana 
—  Of  Georgia  —  The  first  shot — Organization  of  the  Southern 
Confederacy —  Inauguration  of  President  Lincoln. 

The  question  of  slavery  in  the  United  States-?'  of  which 
I  have  indicated  the  successive  phases  and  irresistible 
developments  during  forty  years,  was  the  only  question 
at  issue  in  the  presidential  campaign  of  i860.  For  or 
against  slavery  —  that  was  the  dilemma  —  the  rest 
was  nothing.  The  preludes  to  the  strife  were  stormy 
in  the  extreme,  sometimes  even  bloody,  as  at  Baltimore, 
where  in  the  local  elections  several  citizens  lost  their 
lives.  The  first  official  menace  of  secession  came  from 
Louisiana.  In  the  month  of  January  the  Legislature  of 
the  State  adopted  resolutions  declaring  that  the  election 
of  a  Black-Republican  to  the  Presidency  of  the  United 
States  would  be  a  sufficient  cause  for  the  dissolution  of 
the  Union,  and  for  the  calling  of  a  convention  of  the 
Southern  States,  to  which  Louisiana  fixed  in  advance 
the  number  of  its  representatives  at  six  delegates.  The 
country,  however,  was  not  as  yet  stirred  by  that  decla- 
ration. The  more  immediate  interest  was  concentrated 
at  that  time  upon  the  contest  in  which  the  election  of 
Speaker   of   the    House    of    Representatives   was    con- 

31 


o- 


FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMV 


cerned.  The  parties  were  divided  so  equally  as  to  pro- 
long the  contest  for  more  than  eight  weeks  —  from 
December  5  to  February  i.  But  the  Republicans 
finally  prevailed,  and  their  candidate,  Mr.  Pennington, 
was  chosen  on  the  forty-fifth  ballot. 

As  an  encouragement  to  the  adv^ersaries  of  slavery, 
this  victory  had  the  effect  of  stimulating  their  Efforts. 
For  the  first  time  Mr.  Lincoln  appeared  in  New  York. 
He  was  known  there  only  by  the  report  of  his  cele- 
brated debate  with  Mr.  Douglas,  with  whom  he 
had  contended,  in  Illinois,  for  a  seat  in  the  United 
States  Senate. 

A  vast  meeting  was  organized  to  hear  him,  and 
there  the  platform  of  the  party  was  expounded  and  dis- 
cussed by  him  with  a  success  which  commanded  atten- 
tion, but  yet  without  menace  as  regarded  the  slave 
States.  On  that  side,  however,  the  horizon  grew 
darker  and  darker,  and  the  Legislature  of  South  Caro- 
lina, following  the  example  of  Louisiana,  recommended 
the  appointment  of  delegates  to  a  Southern  con- 
vention. 

Then  it  was  that  Mr.  Seward,  to  calm  the  uneasiness 
of  feeling  which  was  manifesting  itself  in  public  opinion, 
delivered  before  the  Senate  an  oration  which  did  more 
honor  to  his  imagination  than  to  his  foresight.  Accord- 
ing to  him,  there  was  no  reason  to  apprehend  any 
actual  result  from  the  menaces  of  disunion  so  many 
times  insinuated,  formulated,  repeated.  It  was  a  scare- 
crow designed  simply  to  influence  the  elections,  etc. 
Was  Mr.  Seward  in  reality  as  optimistic  as  he  wished 
to  appear  ?  Was  he  not  working  somewhat  for  his  own 
interest .'  The  result  would  appear  to  indicate  it,  since, 
adopting  his  \-iews,  public  opinion  considered  him  from 
that  time  the  destined  candidate  of  the  Republican 
party  for  the  Presidency.     The  threatening  declarations 


THE    ^L\NXER    OF    SECESSIOX,  ^; 

of  the  Southern  States  thus  remained  without  efiect 
upon  the  ideas  and  actions  of  the  Xorthem  States, 
where  the  adversaries  of  slavery  triumphed  everj'where 
in  the  spring  elections. 

Grave  symptoms  of  hostility  appeared  under  the 
form  of  conflicts  of  jurisdiction  between  the  federal 
government  and  some  of  the  free  States.  Thus,  in 
Massachusetts,  a  refractor}-  witness  in  the  affair  of 
Harper's  Fern,-,  arrested  by  order  of  the  Senate  at  his 
residence  in  Concord,  was  immediately  set  at  liberty  bv 
the  interA-ention  of  the  local  justice,  supported  by  the 
people. 

And  again  at  Racine,  in  Wisconsin,  a  man  arrested 
for  having  aided  in  the  escape  of  a  slave  was  taken  bv 
the  people,  out  of  the  hands  of  the  federal  officials, 
powerless  to  execute  their  orders.  In  the  Northwest, 
as  in  the  Northeast,  the  hatred  of  slavers*  was  the 
same,  and  produced  the  same  resistance.  It  occasioned 
violent  outbursts  even  wathin  the  halls  of  Congress. 

On  the  5th  of  April,  in  the  House  of  Representa- 
tives, Mr.  Lovejoy  of  Illinois  became  its  interpreter  to 
the  House  of  Representatives.  "  Slavery,"  cried  he, 
''has  been  justly  called  the  source  of  all  crimes.  Put 
in  a  moral  crucible  all  the  crimes,  all  the  vices  of  human 
nature,  and  the  result  will  be  slaver}'.  It  exhibits  the 
violence  of  robber}',  the  sanguinar}'  fury  of  piracy, 
the  brutal  lust  of  polygamy,"  etc.  One  can  imagine 
the  immediate  effect  of  this  furious  outburst.  A 
Southern  representative  rushes  out  with  a  cane  to 
chastise  the  orator ;  Northern  representatives  hurr\' 
forward  to  protect  him.  A  member  from  Kentucky, 
armed  with  a  long  bowie-knife,  ostentatiously  cleans  his 
nails  with  it,  watching  for  the  moment  to  use  it  for 
some  other  purpose.  Curses,  threats  are  heard  on  all 
sides  ;  and  the  presiding  officer,  powerless  to  calm  the 


34  FOUR   YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

tempest,  can  only  declare  the  sitting  adjourned,  in  the 
midst  of  frightful  confusion. 

In  the  heat  of  this  universal  excitement,  in  the  North 
as  well  as  South,  in  Congress  as  well  as  amongst  the 
people,  in  the  press  as  well  as  on  the  rostrum,  the  pres- 
idential campaign  was  opened  by  the  Democratic  con- 
vention assembled  at  Charleston  in  the  latter  part  of 
April.  Its  object  was  to  formulate  a  declaration  of 
principles  and  to  nominate  a  candidate  for  the  Pres- 
idenc}i\ 

Upon  these  two  points  a  divergence  of  opinion  was 
manifested  from  the  first  —  a  result  nearly  inevitable 
from  the  diverse  elements  which  composed  the  conven- 
tion, and  from  their  disproportion  to  the  interests  they 
represented.     Let  me  explain. 

All  the  States  in  the  Union,  North  as  well  as  South, 
were  represented  at  Charleston  in  proportion  to  their 
respective  population,  and  consequently  by  the  number 
of  their  representatives  in  Congress.  Now,  the  free 
States,  being  nearly  all  assured  to  the  Republican  can- 
didate, could  furnish  few  electoral  votes  to  the  Dem- 
ocratic party ;  nevertheless,  they  had  366  out  of  604 
delegates  to  Charleston,  while  the  Southern  States, 
which,  on  the  contrary,  would  give  their  suffrages 
nearly  unanimously  to  the  part)-,  had  only  238  members. 
A  radical  fault.  The  majority  belonged  to  those  who 
could  do  nothing  for  the  success  of  the  ticket,  certain 
beforehand  of  a  defeat  in  the  States  which  they  were 
chosen  to  represent. 

Another  cause  of  division  —  the  candidate  proposed 
by  the  Democrats  of  the  North  was  ilr.  Douglas,  more 
than  distasteful  to  the  Democrats  of  the  South  by  his 
doctrines  in  favor  of  leaving  to  the  inhabitants  of  the 
Territories  the  liberty  of  choosing  their  local  institu- 
tions, without  interference   on   the  part   of  Congress. 


THE    MAXXER   OF    5Z  ,^::SSIOX.  5^ 

bv  zz±  S :.::"::.  However.  Mr.  Dcii^Lis  was  the  dnlj- 
n.^--n   -s"]i :         , "  '    yei   mm   the   issue  in  favor  o»t   rise 

party.      :r :ie   be    nominal ed    ai    Charleslo-n,  the 

chances  of  rbe  contesr  might  yet  be  favorabie.  Bat 
inat  was  precisely  what  the  separatists  did  not  desire. 
Determined  to  attempt  secession,  prepared  already  to 
support  it  by  arms,  they  were  resolved  to  reject  every 
overture  toward  conciliation,  which  in  their  eyes  ^as 
onlv  a  temporarv  deiav.  prejudicial  to  their  cause. 

The  election  of  a  Republican  candidate  to  the  Pres- 
idency would  furnish  them  the  occasion  or  rather  the 
pretext  desired.  They  concluded  then  to  hasten  the 
issue  by  the  defeat  of  Mr.  Douglas. 

For  form's  sake,  they  submitted  to  the  constitutiorLal 
trial  of  a  vote ;  in  reality-  they  were  arming  themselves 
for  the  revolutionary"  trial  of  rebellion.  They  consented 
10  play  the  game,  but  with  the  reservation  that  if  ihey 
lost  they  would  not  pay  the  stake. 

Their  first  work  in  the  Charleston  convention  was 
consequently  the  presentation  of  a  political"pn>gramme  in 
formal  opposition  to  the  system  of  Mr.  Douglas.  In  it 
rhey  demanded  the  direct  intervention  of  Congress  in 
:he  government  of  the  Territories,  to  protect  and  sup- 
port the  importation  of  slaves,  the  rigorous  execu- 
tion of  the  law  in  reference  to  fugitive  slaves,  in  spite 
of  all  opposition  of  the  State  Legislature,  etc.  The 
glove  was  thus  thrown  down  to  the  Northern  fraction 
of  the  Democracy,  which  took  it  up.  and.  being  in  a 
majority,  substituted  for  it  a  decLiration  by  which  the 
party  simply  left  ever\-thing  in  reference  to  the  con- 
tested subjects  to  the  decision  of  the  Supreme  Court 
of  the  United  States.  Thereupon  the  delegations  of 
seven  Southern  States  withdrew  with  much  parade,  re- 


36  FOUR    YE-VRS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

fusing  anv  longer  to  take  part  in  the  acts  of  the  con- 
rention. 

This  withdrawal  was  with  the  eWdent  object  of 
vitiating  the  nomination  of  Mr.  Douglas,  which  ap- 
peared to  be  assured.  The  two-thirds  necessan'  for  a 
nomination  was  thus  reduced  to  165  votes.  But,  to 
parrv  the  blow,  the  convention  decided  that  the  num- 
ber necesss."  -  :'i  remain  the  same  as  if  there  had 
been  no  w.:  .  that  is  to  say,  202.     This  decision 

rendered  any  nomination  impossible.  Mr.  Douglas 
obtain-  -eii  and  fift\'  votes,  and  after  fifty- 

five  b£-  r.vention  adjourned   to   assemble   at 

Baltimore  on  the  i8th  of  June  following.  About  six 
weeks  were  left  to  the  Democrac}'  of  the  North  and 
the  Democracy  of  the  South  in  which  to  reconcile  their 
irreconcilable  differences. 

However,  the  moderate  men  who  had  foreseen  these 
differences  and  had  no  faith  in  their  adjustment  had 
been  at  work  for  se%'eral  months  to  build  up  a  mixed 
partv,  a  sort  of  juste  milieti  between  the  two  ex- 
tremes, neither  flesh  nor  fish,  being  careful  neither 
to  walk  upon  'the  burning  soil  of  abolitionism  nor  to 
swim  in  the  boiling  springs  of  slaverv',  content  to  fly 
the  banner,  already  somewhat  torn,  of  the  Union  for 
itself 

The  unionist  party  assembled  in  convention  at 
Baltimore  on  the  9th  of  >Iay.  Its  platform  was 
ra.o*t  honrjrable,  but  of  the  vaguest  sort.  It  was 
limited  to  this  laconic  formula,  "The  Union,  the 
GMJstitution,  and  the  enforcement  of  the  laws." 
There  were  only  two  quiet  sessions  needed  to  put 
forth  the  following  preiidentia.1  ticket :  For  Presi- 
d^esiL,  John  Bell  of  Tenne*%ee ;  for  Vice-President, 
•  '  '  .-rett  of  Massachusetts,  The  c/  '  '.on- 
'.  i-^^^r^-ted  '[foubtless  with  the       .        ,ive 


""BL^"  .  ^Mi.      u   y.ii'w^g,   J~  'v^    '  <»' '  'j-*  '      '*»i^:t"f'*-' 


3:  ~a 


Ttge-  "BHfiTir.    "wmr-^zr 


■rr  3t  ■2aE-  -rsrrnsircs  lar 


Mpe^esg   ratsg,   rise  ssacnsie  jt   zrat 


38  FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

Senate  Mr.  Pugh  of  Ohio,  replying  to  an  attack  by 
Mr.  Benjamin  of  Louisiana,  against  Mr.  Douglas,  had 
declared,  without  paraphrase,  that  the  North  would 
not  submit  to  the  dictation  of  the  South,  in  regard 
to  its  principles  or  its  candidates, —  an  explicit  dec- 
laration which  foretold  clearly  the  fate  of  the  sec- 
ond Democratic  convention  at  Baltimore.  It  assem- 
bled, in  fact,  on  the  day  appointed,  and  the  first 
question  was  that  of  the  rival  claims  of  disputed 
delegations    from    the    South. 

It  will  be  remembered  that  at  Charleston  the  del- 
egations of  seven  Southern  States  withdrew  from 
the  convention,  on  account  of  the  adoption  of  a 
platform  contrary  to  their  views.  These  delegations 
presented  themselves  again  at  Baltimore.  But  dur- 
ing the  interval  other  delegations  had  been  appointed, 
with  titles  more  or  less  doubtful,  from  the  same 
States,  and  demanded  the  exclusive  right  to  repre- 
sent them  in  the  convention.  A  new  cause  of  divis- 
ion. The  convention,  which  bore  ill-will  to  the  dis- 
turbers of  Charleston,  pronounced  against  them  and 
admitted  their  competitors.  Now  the  dissension  was 
worse  than  ever.  A  second  convention  met  and 
organized  in  opposition  to  the  first  one.  One  rep- 
resented the  Northern  fraction  and  the  other  the 
Southern  fraction,  and  from  this  irreconcilable  antag- 
onism two  tickets  were  immediately  put  in  the  field. 
One  put  forth  for  popular  suffrage,  for  President, 
Stephen  A.  Douglas  of  Illinois  ;  for  Vice-President, 
Herschel  V.  Johnson  of  Georgia.  The  other  an- 
nounced as  candidates, — for  President,  John  C. 
Breckenridge  of  Kentucky ;  for  Vice-President,  Jo- 
seph Lane  of  Oregon.  Twenty-five  States,  mostly 
Republican,  were  represented  in  the  first ;  eighteen 
States,   nearly   all  pro-slaver)%   Democratic,  assembled 


THE    MANNER    OF    SECESSION.  39 

in  the  second,  expressed  much  more  fully  their  con- 
victions   and    their   tendencies. 

Thus  the  secessionists  of  the  South  accomplished 
their  object.  In  thus  irrevocably  cutting  the  Dem- 
ocratic party  in  two,  and  separating  from  their 
Northern  allies,  they  had  deliberately  assured  the 
triumph  of  the  anti-slavery  candidate.  Certain  hence- 
forth of  the  result,  they  awaited  with  impatience  the 
signal  of  open  rebellion,  hastening  besides  to  com- 
plete the  preparations  for  it  with  a  redoubled  ac- 
tivity. 

The  party  leaders  set  to  work  ever)'where  to 
preach  secession  with  an  indefatigable  ardor,  and  to 
use  every  effort  to  excite  hatred  against  the  North. 
Frequent  and  unaccounted-for  incendiar}-  fires  occurred 
in  Texas.  They  were  represented  as  the  work  of  abo- 
litionists sent  from  New  England.  Were  adulterated 
liquors  introduced  clandestinely  by  innkeepers,  on  being 
discovered  and  seized,  they  were  transformed  in  the 
journals  to  bottles  of  str)-chnine,  sent  to  the  slaves 
to  poison   the  whites  en  masse. 

At  the  North,  the  attempts  at  accommodation  ended 
in  nothing,  antagonized  as  they  were  by  their  own 
rivalries.  Mr.  Breckenridge  attacked  Mr.  Douglas 
in  Kentucky,  and  he,  on  the  other  hand,  denounced 
his  adversan,-  wherever  he  conducted  his  electoral  cam- 
paign throughout  the  North,  and  also  in  the  South. 
Amongst  the  Republicans,  on  the  contrary,  there  were 
neither  dix-isions  nor  clashing.  Mr.  Seward  went 
through  the  Western  States,  supporting  with  every 
effort  of  his  eloquence  the  candidacy  of  Mr.  Lincoln. 
In  the  political  meetings  the  violent  language  of  the 
second-rate  speakers  aroused,  here  and  there,  serious 
tumults.  At  Philadelphia  a  "unionist"  meeting  was 
attacked  by  the  Republicans  ;  at  Hannibal,  in  Missouri, 


40  FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

on  the  contrary,  the  Republicans  were  attacked  by  the 
Democrats.  Even  in  New  York,  there  was  ahnost  a 
riot  at  the  passage  of  a  procession  of  "  Wide  Awakes," 
a  Republican  association,  before  the  New  York  Hotel, 
the  Democratic  headquarters. 

In  the  month  of  October  the  agitation  was  at  its 
height,  when  some  of  the  local  elections  took  place  in 
parts  of  the  Northern  States.  The  results  of  these 
elections  had,  for  a  long  time,  been  recognized  as  pres- 
aging the  result  of  the  presidential  election.  On  this 
occasion,  the  victory  of  the  Republicans  was  complete, 
and  Pennsylvania,  formerly  Democratic,  ranged  itself 
decidedly  under  the  Republican  banner. 

When  every  illusion  was  thus  dissipated  before  the 
evidence,  three  distinct  plans  of  secession  were  for- 
mulated and  discussed  publicly  in  the  South  :  — 

1.  On  the  morrow  after  the  election  of  Mr.  Lincoln, 
the  Legislature  of  South  Carolina,  called  together  in 
special  session,  should  pass  an  act,  in  the  name  of  the 
sovereign  State,  dismissing  the  federal  officers,  direct- 
ing the  seizure  of  the  money  in  the  federal  sub-treas- 
ury, etc.  In  case  of  an  attempt  at  coercion,  the  assist- 
ance of  the  other  States  would  be  invoked. 

2.  The  Governors  of  the  States  should  call  together 
their  Legislatures  by  proclamation,  as  soon  as  the  elec- 
tion of  Mr.  Lincoln  should  be  assured  ;  they  should 
declare  the  Union  dissolved,  and  proclaim  Mr.  Breck- 
enridge  President  of  the  Southern  Confederation. 

3.  They  must  await  the  inauguration  of  l\Ir.  Lincoln 
without  opposition,  and  the  proposition  in  Congress  for 
the  abolition  of  slavery  in  the  District  of  Columbia 
would  be  for  the  representatives  of  fifteen  Southern 
States  the  signal  to  retire  en  masse  and  proclaim  se- 
cession. It  will  be  seen  that  the  question  of  separation 
was  no  longer  even  considered  doubtful,  the  discussion 


THE    MANNER    OF    SECESSION.  4 1 

bore  simply  upon  the  manner  of  proceeding.  This  is 
so  true  that  at  this  epoch  overtures  were  made  to  the 
French  government  in  the  name  of  the  future  confed- 
eration. 

The  great  day  at  last  arrived,  —  the  day  of  the  pres- 
idential election  —  Tuesday,  the  6th  of  November, 
i860,  —  date  forever  memorable,  not  only  in  the  history 
of  the  United  States,  but  also  in  the  history  of  the 
civilized  world.  The  vote  was  cast  everywhere  with  a 
calm  that  was  solemn,  —  the  momentary  calm  which 
in  the  moral  as  in  the  physical  world  often  precedes 
the  immediate  unchaining  of  the  tempest.  On  the 
evening  of  the  day  of  election,  it  was  known  that  the 
State  of  New  York,  the  last  hope  of  the  pro-slavery 
men,  had  given  a  majority  of  more  than  forty  thousand 
for  Abraham  Lincoln.  The  result  was  as  follows  :  Lin- 
coln and  Hamlin,  180  electoral  votes  ;  Breckenridge  and 
Lane,  seventy-two  electoral  votes ;  Bell  and  Everett, 
thirty-nine  electoral  votes ;  Douglas  and  Johnson, 
twelve  electoral  votes. 

Lincoln's  majority  over  all  his  rivals  was  sixty-seven 
electoral  votes.  On  the  popular  vote,  he  had  five 
hundred  thousand  more  than  the  highest  of  any  of  his 
competitors. 

Immediately  upon  the  election  of  Mr.  Lincoln,  action 
took  the  place  of  menace.  On  the  next  morning 
(November  7),  the  Legislature  of  South  Carolina 
passed  resolutions  to  call  a  State  convention  ;  then  it 
voted  the  immediate  arming  of  the  people,  and  the 
raising  of  a  million  of  dollars,  and  different  war  meas- 
ures. 

At  the  same  time,  military  organizations  were  formed 
on  all  sides.  Secession  meetings  succeeded  each  other 
everywhere.  The  fever  for  separation  seized  all  the 
cotton    States,  and   even   in  Virginia  the  militia   were 


42  FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

furnished  with  arms.  The  flag  of  the  Union  disap- 
peared —  to  give  place  in  South  Carolina  to  the  palmetto, 
in  Georgia  to  the  old  federal  standard.  In  fine,  as  if 
to  complicate  matters  still  more,  new  troubles  broke 
out  in  Kansas,  on  account  of  the  delay  made  by  Con- 
gress in  the  formal  admission  of  the  new  State. 

To  these  direct  and  multiplied  attacks  against  the 
federal  government,  Mr.  Buchanan  opposed  only  the 
inertia  of  a  senile  imbecility,  or  the  hypocrisy  of  latent 
treason.  At  the  opening"  of  the  Thirty-sixth  Congress, 
which  took  place  on  the  3d  of  December,  his  presiden- 
tial message  was  without  force,  without  inspiration,  and 
did  not  rise  above  the  narrow  and  shuffling  forms  of  a 
technical  discussion.  Mr.  Buchanan  had  formerly  said 
of  Mr.  Webster,  "  He  is  a  remarkable  statesman,  but 
he  is  no  politician."  To  which  Mr.  Webster  had 
replied,  "  Mr.  Buchanan  is  a  good  politician,  but  he  will 
never  be  a  statesman."  The  last  acts  of  his  political 
career  proved  that  he  fell  even  much  below  that  appre- 
ciation. 

One  word  of  Mr.  Seward  characterizes  perfectly  the 
wretched  document  addressed  to  Congress.  "  The 
President,"  said  the  senator  from  New  York,  "has 
demonstrated  two  things  :  i.  That  no  State  has  the 
right  to  withdraw  from  the  Union,  unless  it  desires  so 
to  do.  2.  That  it  is  the  duty  of  the  President  to  en- 
force the  laws,  unless  somebody  opposes  it." 

In  addition,  treason  sat  in  the  very  councils  of  the 
small-minded  President.  Mr.  Cobb,  Secretary  of  the 
Treasury;  Mr.  Thompson,  Secretary  of  the  Interior; 
Mr.  Floyd,  Secretary  of  War,  belonged  to  the  South, 
and  actively  favored  secession.  In  order  to  drive  them 
out  of  their  influential  positions  in  the  administration 
which  they  defiled,  the  discovery  of  gigantic  thefts  in  the 
Department    of   the  Interior  was  necessary,  thefts    in 


THE    MANNER    OF    SECESSION.  43 

which  Mr.  Floyd  was  found  to  be  directly  implicated,  by 
his  signature  placed  upon  fraudulent  Indian  boiiJs.  This 
was  not,  hov/ever,  before  the  powers  of  the  Secretary  of 
"War  had  been  used  to  expedite  to  the  South,  under  vari- 
ous pretexts,  considerable  quantities  of  arms,  which  must 
aid  the  rebellion.  Mr,  Buchanan  himself  did  not  clear 
himself  from  all  suspicion  of  complicity  in  these  ship- 
ments, as  shown  when  a  popular  riot  in  Pittsburg  had 
stopped  the  despatch  to  the  South  of  guns  and  artillery 
equipments  which  had  been  hurried  forward  by  his 
orders.  See  into  what  hands  the  government  of  the  Re- 
public had  fallen,  and  to  what  men  the  care  for  its  safety 
must  remain  intrusted  for  yet  some  months.  Isolated 
from  the  nation  by  general  distrust,  they  had  around 
them  only  a  group  of  intriguers,  sharp  for  the  spoils, 
even  to  the  end,  hurrying  to  get  the  last  favors  from 
the  power  still  remaining,  et  quasi apnd senemfestiiiaiitcs. 
On  December  20,  South  Carolina  assembled  in  con- 
vention, declared  the  Union  dissolved,  and  resolved  it- 
self into  an  independent  republic.  The  scene  was  sol- 
emn. The  delegates,  each  in  his  turn,  gave  in  their 
votes  as  their  names  were  called.  They  were  169. 
There  was  not  one  who  pronounced  against  that  revo- 
lutionary measure.  An  ordinance  prescribed  the  turn- 
ing of  the  custom  revenue  into  the  State  treasury ;  the 
Governor  was  invested  with  all  the  powers  formerly 
exercised  by  the  President,  and  an  executive  council  of 
four  members  was  appointed  to  assist  him.  Secession 
was  henceforth  an  accomplished  fact  in  South  Carolina. 
A  fatal  example,  which  could  not  fail  to  be  promptly  fol- 
lowed, especially  in  presence  of  the  persistent  inertia  of 
the  federal  government.  Already,  in  fact,  the  conven- 
tions of  five  other  States  were  called  for  the  month  of 
January,  and  the  armament  of  volunteers  proceeded  un- 
ceasingly. 


44  FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

To  conjure  away  the  evil,  Mr,  Buchanan  could  not 
think  of  anything  better  than  to  appoint  a  day  of  public 
prayers.  Not  knowing  what  saint  to  invoke,  he  issued 
a  proclamation  in  form  of  an  order,  to  invoke  the  inter- 
vention of  Providence,  at  the  special  date  of  January  4, 
1 861.  The  inspiration  did  not  appear  to  be  that  of  the 
Holy  Spirit,  to  a  people  whose  practical  maxim  in  mat- 
ters of  religion  is,  "  Help  thyself  and  Heaven  will  help 
thee."  And  it  does  not  appear  that  the  Orate  fratrcs  of 
the  Rev.  James  Buchanan  had  any  greater  success  with 
Providence,  for  whom  secession  was  the  means  to  ac- 
complish the  final  and  radical  abolition  of  slavery. 

In  Congress,  the  Southern  representatives  claimed 
boldly  the  right  of  separation,  which  the  Northern  rep- 
resentatives absolutely  denied.  Vain  discussion,  it 
seems  to  me.  Of  what  avail  is  right  without  force  ? 
A  fiction.  In  the  circumstances  in  which  the  United 
States  found  themselves,  what  was  absolute  right  } 
Where  could  it  be  found .-'  Arguments  were  not  want- 
ing on  either  side.  It  was  with  the.  Constitution  in  poli- 
tics as  it  is  with  the  Bible  in  religion  :  every  one  inter- 
preted it  to  suit  himself,  and  everybody  found  there 
what  suited  him.  The  Constitution,  said  the  South, 
recognizes  slavery,  which  is  the  base  of  our  social  and 
political  organization.  You  do  violence  to  the  Constitu- 
tion in  attacking  our  peculiar  institution.  —  No,  cried 
the  North,  the  Constitution,  it  is  true,  tolerates  slavery 
and  we  tolerate  it  in  the  States  where  it  exists  ;  but  we 
contend  against  introducing  it  in  the  Territories  which 
are  free,  and  which  will  remain  free  in  virtue  of  the 
powers  granted  to  Congress  by  the  Constitution. —  The 
federal  agreement  being  violated,  said  the  South,  it 
ceases  to  be  obligatory.  Our  fathers  founded  a  Union 
of  sovereign  States,  based  upon  the  fundamental  prin- 
ciple of  self-government,  upon  the  equality  of  rights  in 


THE    MANNER    OF   SECESSION.  45 

common  interests,  and  upon  the  equal  division  of  influ- 
ence in  the  central  power.  To-day  the  interests  have 
become  incompatible,  the  equality  of  power  illusory, 
and,  in  virtue  of  the  same  principle  of  self-government, 
we  make  use  of  our  right,  and  we  dissolve  the  Union. 
—  The  federal  agreement  is  not  violated,- replied  the 
North,  and  remains  obligatory.  The  Union  founded  by 
our  fathers  is  based  upon  the  formal  and  perpetual 
renunciation  by  the  States  of  certain  rights  of  sover- 
eignty. The  common  interest  governs  and  prevails  over 
whatever  local  interests  come  in  conflict  with  it  ;  the 
division  of  power  is  in  proportion  to  the  number  of  the 
governed,  a  logical  sequence  in  democratic  institutions. 
You  have  no  right  to  dissolve  the  Union.  —  Above  all, 
proclaimed  the  South,  we  owe  allegiance  to  the  sover- 
eignty of  our  respective  States.  — Above  all,  proclaimed 
the  North,  we  owe  allegiance  to  the  sovereignty  of  the 
federal  government.  Such  were,  upon  the  whole,  the 
questions  debated  at  great  oratorical  length. 

Let  us  come  to  the  root  of  the  matter,  and  see  what 
there  was  real  under  this  tumultuous  flood  of  argument. 
For  me,  who  at  that  time  watched  the  working  of  af- 
fairs behind  the  curtain  of  journalism,  I  could  find  only 
this  :  in  spite  of  the  increasing  preponderance  of  the 
North,  the  South,  by  its  unity  of  action  and  the  supe- 
riority of  its  political  men,  had  governed  the  Union  up 
to  that  time.  From  the  moment  when  the  power  was 
taken  away  from  it,  it  fell  to  a  relative  inferiority,  which 
was  without  remedy.  Unhappily  for  the  South,  the 
disproportion  created  by  its  state  of  comparative  stagna- 
tion, in  contrast  with  the  gigantic  progress  of  the  North, 
was  due  to  a  cause  which,  outside  of  the  development 
of  material  interests,  had  dug  between  them  an  abyss 
which  nothing  could  fill.  I  speak  of  slavery.  The 
question  always  returns  to  that.     The  spirit  of  liberty. 


46  FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

which  produced  such  marvels  in  the  North,  could  no 
longer  act  in  harmony  with  the  old  institutions,  which, 
in  its  progressive  march,  interdicted  its  access  to  those 
rich  countries,  to  that  fine  climate  reserved  to  the 
forced  labor  of  the  blacks.  In  the  free  States  the  hatred 
to  slavery  had  increased  with  the  development  of  civil- 
ization. Thence  came  that  strife  of  more  than  forty 
years'  duration,  which  had  morally  cut  the  Union  in 
two,  and  which  could  end  only  in  war,  that  decisive 
and  irrefutable  argument. 

In  such  a  case,  why  these  long  discussions .'  The 
men  of  the  South  gave  themselves  up  to  them  only  to 
gain  time,  and  to  secure  to  themselves  the  best  possi- 
ble chance  in  the  trial  by  battle.  But  th'e  time  which 
thev  so  well  employed  was  by  the  North,  on  the  con- 
trarv,  onlv  frittered  away  in  puerile  attempts  at 
reconciliation. 

Mr.  Crittenden,  the  Nestor  of  the  old  Whig  party, 
the  colleague  of  the  Clays  and  the  Websters,  believed 
that  the  Union  could  still  be  saved  by  a  return,  pure 
and  simple,  to  the  Missouri  Compromise.  A  few  of  the 
representatives  of  the  frontier  States  grouped  around 
him  ;  but.  to  realize  his  proposition,  two-thirds  of  Con- 
gress would  have  been  necessary,  and  the  House  of 
Representatives  refused  even  to  hear  it  read.  The 
committees  appointed  in  the  Senate  and  the  House  of 
Representatives  for  the  especial  consideration  of  the 
state  of  the  Union  proposed  nothing.  In  despair  as 
to  how  matters  were  tending,  a  general  "  Peace  "  con- 
vention was  called  at  Washington,  upon  the  initiative 
of  Virginia,  yet  undecided  and  unquiet  at  finding  herself 
between  the  hammer  and  the  anvil.  But  thirteen  States 
—  seven  free  and  six  slave  —  were  represented  in  it.  It 
is  useless  to  add  that  the  peace  conferences  in  which  the 
central  States  alone  took  part  accomplished  nothing. 


THE    M-\XXER    OF    SECESSION'.  47 

While  they  were  talking  in  the  North,  what  had 
been  done  in  the  South  ? 

The  month  of  Jannar)-  had  witnessed  the  secession, 
successively,  of  five  States  —  Mississippi,  Florida,  Ala- 
bama,  Louisiana,  and   Georgia. 

Mississippi  transformed  the  federal  post  of  Vicks- 
burg  into  a  fortress,  commanding  the  navigation  of  the 
river.  Florida  seized  Pensacola,  Georgia  seized  Forts 
Pulaski  and  Jackson  and  the  arsenals  of  Savannah  and 
Augusta  ;  Louisiana,  all  the  forts  and  arsenals  in  the 
State  ;  Alabama,  the  same. 

Outside  of  the  States  formally  separated.  North  Car- 
olina had  acted  beforehand  in  occuppng  the  fortifica- 
tions of  Beaufort  and  Wilmington,  and  the  arsenal  of 
Fayette\-iile ;  Arkansas  taking  possession  of  Little  Rock, 
containing  nine  thousand  muskets  and  forty  pieces  of 
artiller}- ;  finally,  Tennessee  fortified  Memphis,  and  the 
treason  of  General  Twiggs  delivered  to  the  enemy  the 
forts,  the  war  material,  and  part  of  the  troops  which 
were  in  Texas.  The  first  cannon  shot  had  even  been 
fired  in  South  Carolina,  always  eager  to  push  matters 
to  the  extreme. 

WTien,  in  December,  the  South  Carolina  convention 
had  passed  the  act  of  secession,  the  Lnited  States 
government  had  at  Charleston  only  about  a  hundred 
soldiers,  quartered  at  Fon  Moultrie,  under  the  com- 
mand of  Major  Anderson.  This  officer,  of  memorable 
loyalty,  understood  immediately  that,  with  his  handful 
of  men,  he  was  there  at  the  mercy  of  the  enemy.  Fort 
Sumter,  surrounded  by  water  at  the  entrance  of  the 
bay  which  it  commanded,  offered  to  him  a  post  much 
more  advantageous.  He  hastened  to  transfer  his  com- 
mand to  it.  There,  at  least,  he  was  protected  against  a 
coup  de  viain.  But  his  position  was  not  less  precari- 
ous.    The  Carolinians  occupied  all  the  forts  around  the 


48  FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

bay,  which  they  proceeded  to  arm,  with  great  activity, 
and,  in  addition,  they  built  on  several  points  new  bat- 
teries, whose  lines  of  fire  converged  upon  Fort  Sumter. 
Major  Anderson  reported  to  the  War  Department  the 
progress  of  these  menacing  works.  Fort  Sumter  was 
not,  in  point  of  fact,  in  a  proper  state  of  repair.  It 
was  short  of  men,  short  of  munitions  of  war,  short  of 
provisions.  It  was  urgent  to  revictual  it  and  to  reen- 
force  the  garrison.  After  weary  delays  and  hesitations, 
it  was  determined,  at  last,  to  send  the  steamer  Star 
of  the  West,  carrying  two  hundred  and  fifty  men,  and 
provisions.  It  was  already  too  late.  The  transport, 
arriving  in  the  bay,  with  flag  flying,  was  there  received 
by  cannon  shot,  fired  from  a  battery  on  Morris  Island. 
The  vessel  was  a  merchant  ship  hired  by  government. 
She  had  to  retire  without  accomplishing  her  mission. 
Anderson  and  his  little  faithful  troop  were  left,  aban- 
doned to  their  fate,  and,  under  the  effect  of  such  an 
insult  to  the  national  flag,  Mr.  Buchanan  humiliated 
himself  to  promise  to  send  no  more  men  nor  munitions 
of  war  nor  provisions  to  that  handful  of  brave  men, 
who  had  displayed  and  defended  the  flag  of  the 
United  States,  in  face  of  the  rebels  of  South  Carolina. 
If  that  is  gentleness  only,  what,  then,  is  cowardice  .'' 

The  national  pride  was  indignant  at  such  shameful 
feebleness,  but  the  people  resigned  itself  to  wait  pa- 
tiently. The  debased  administration  had  but  a  few 
weeks  more  of  existence.  Public  opinion  found  at 
least  some  consolation  in  the  knowledge  that  there 
was  one  man  in  the  Cabinet  whose  heart  showed 
neither  treason  nor  feebleness,  when  General  Dix,  the 
new  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  sent  to  the  commander 
of  one  of  the  custom  house  vessels  the  peremptory 
order,  "  If  ajiy  man  attempt  to  haul  dozvn  the  American 
fla.g,  shoot  him  on  the  spot." 


THE    MANNER    OF    SECESSION.  49 

He  was  the  only  member  of  this  emasculated  govern- 
ment who  gave  any  sign  of  virility.  The  general-in- 
chief,  Winfield  Scott,  was  no  longer  equal  to  the 
occasion.  His  glorious  reputation  belonged  to  the 
past.  'Enfeebled  morally  and  physically  by  years,  the 
old  candidate  for  the  Presidency  saw  but  one  issue  to 
the  strife  already  entered  on,  the  division  of  the  Union 
into  four  confederations.  —  The  conqueror  of  Mexico 
could  no  longer  organize  or  lead  an  army.  And,  in  the 
meanwhile,  the  capital  began  to  be  menaced,  and, 
with  its  population  impregnated  with  the  Southern 
sentiment,  some  adventurer  might  attempt  to  take  it 
by  a  co7ip  de  main. 

In  the  beginning  of  February,  disdaining  even  to 
assist  the  inauguration  of  the  President-elect,  and  prof- 
iting by  the  passive  complicity  of  the  President  still 
in  office,  the  six  seceding  States  organized  a  provis- 
ional government  at  Montgomery,  Alabama.  Mr. 
Jefferson  Davis  of  Mississippi  was  designated  as  Presi- 
dent, and  Mr.  Alexander  Stephens  of  Georgia,  Vice- 
President.  The  constitution  of  the  new  confederation 
was  copied  from  that  of  the  United  States,  except  a  few 
variations  to  agree  with  circumstances. 

Mr.  Davis  was  known  as  one  of  the  extreme  chiefs  of 
the  secession  movement.  Born  in  Kentucky,  in  1806, 
he  was  at  that  time  fifty-five  years  old.  An  old  gradu- 
ate of  West  Point,  he  had  followed  the  military  career 
for  some  time,  and  had  distinguished  himself  in  the 
Indian  wars.  Retired  upon  a  plantation  in  1835,  where 
he  devoted  himself  for  some  years  to  the  cotton  cult- 
ure, he  had  taken  up  arms  again  in  1846  to  fight  in 
Mexico,  as  colonel  of  a  regiment  of  Mississippi  volun- 
teers. Peace  having  restored  him  to  civil  life,  he  had 
been  elected  senator,  had  occupied  the  position  of 
Secretary  of  War  during  the  Presidency  of  Mr.  Pierce, 


i^O  FOUR    YEARS    Willi     11  IE    rOl'OMAC    ARMY. 

and  had  afterward  retaken  his  seat  in  the  Senate, 
which  the  secession  of  the  State  which  he  represented 
caused  him  to  abandon.  In  spite  of  his  education,  he 
was  more  statesman  than  soldier ;  with  a  firm  will, 
an  indefatigable  energy,  he  marched  toward  his  goal 
with  the  persistence  of  absolute  conYiction  or  of  an 
ambition  without  scruple. 

Mr.  Stephens,  on  the  contrary,  had  been  one  of  the 
last  Unionists  of  Georgia.  He  had  at  first  resisted  the 
revolutionary  movement,  and  risked  his  popularity  by 
exposing  the  dangers,  the  obstacles,  and  the  catastro- 
phes inseparable  from  the  sundering  of  the  Union,  with 
a  broadness  of  view  and  a  justness  of  observation  which 
were  remarkable.  But,  this  duty  accomplished,  he  had 
accepted  his  part  of  the  calamities  foreseen,  and  fol- 
lowed the  fortunes  of  his  State,  which,  in  his  opinion, 
had  greater  right  to  his  allegiance  than  the  federal  gov- 
ernment. In  giving  to  him  the  second  place  of  impor- 
tance in  the  Confederacy,  the  convention  had  acted 
wisely.  It  assured  to  itself  the  active  cooperation  of 
an  eminent  statesman,  whose  influence  must  rally 
around  it  many  undecided  consciences  and  wavering 
characters. 

When,  then,  Mr.  Lincoln  came  to  power,  he  found 
confronting  him  a  confederation  organized  in  the  South, 
and  already  on  a  war  footing.  From  Springfield  to 
Washington  his  journey  through  a  part  of  the  free 
States  had  been  marked  by  a  series  of  ovations  ;  but  in 
order  to  reach  the  capital  he  must  pass  through  Mary- 
land, a  slave  State,  which,  with  the  South,  had  voted 
against  him.  Information  well  authenticated  had  been 
received  of  a  plot  against  his  life,  so  that  he  was  com- 
pelled to  separate  from  his  suite  at  Harrisburg,  and, 
passing  through  Baltimore  under  the  strictest  incognito, 
he  reached  the  end  of  his  journey.     He  was  inaugurated 


THE    MLOTN'Ei    1?    -BTE^rlCy.  5 1 

oa  the  4th  of  ilarcl-i.  the  dare  iSiirr.ec-  His  ina^i^-.Til 
address  was  spaim^  in  pledgee,  txtrzzz  :>-—  — er^ies, 
bat  firBi  and  expiicrt:  i^mms  ooiS  z.>',.:l%  irie  ~ -Ltv  jr  z-cc'j'*- 
ering  bjr  force  all  tlie  federal  propertj  tsken  froci  the 
govemment  bjr  tbe  Scares  in  rebellion,  and  his  deter- 
mmatioQ  to  accomplish  it.  Tbe  time  of  oowsrdlj  sxxb- 
terf  age  vas  past,  tbe  bocir  ot  actioQ  had  suired. 

For  that  terrible  tiia!,  in  wbidi  tbe  rare  of  tbe 
Rep'iblic  was  to  be  determined  tipoo  the  field  ol 
battle,  Mr.  Lincoln  suirocinded  himself  immediareiy 
with  men  devoted  to  tbe  natiooal  caose^  and  reso-ved  to 
give  force  to  the  wiH  of  tbe  peop£&  They  were :  i£r- 
Seward  of  New  York,  designated  be£oreband  for  Secre- 
tary' of  State ;  Salmon  P.  Ciiase  of  Ohio,  Secretary  of 
the  Treasury ;  Simon  Cameron  of  Pennsylvania,  Secre- 
tary of  War ;  Gideon  WeBes  of  Connecticxit.  Secretary 
erf  the  Xavy  ;  Caleb  B.  Smith,  Secretary  of  the  Interior, 
etc.  Bat  everything  was  to  be  don^  everything  to  be 
created. 

On  relinquishing  power  to  steal  away  from  poMic  con- 
tempt into  tbe  obscorir.'  of  pnvate  life,  Mr.  Bocbanan 
Idt  to  his  soccessor  the  Union  disnembered,  a  rd>el 
confederation  of  six  States,  to  which  was  about  to  be 
added  in  a  few  days  a  seventh,  Texas,  six  other 
States  in  revest  against  tbe  federal  anthority,  and 
realty  belonging  already  to  tbe  Sootbam  OKifedaacy. 
Against  this  formidaHe  rising  diere  was  no  army; 
653  men,  including  officers,  in  the  capital;  emptj 
arsenals ;  forts  withoot  garrison  and  witboat  arma- 
ment ;  a  navy  scattered  about,  hardly  sufficing  for  the 
protection  ci  commore  in  time  oi.  peace:  a  treasaij 
nearly  empty ;  —  in  fine,  the  Xorth  yet  inert,  distracted 
in  its  immobility  by  differences  of  opinicm,  betrayed  by 
personal  interests,  sending  to  tbe  Sooth  clandestinely 
the  ix-odoct  ci  individaal  manofactcKies  at  armsu 


52  FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

Such  was  the  situation.  Many  considered  it  desper- 
ate, but  they  did  not  know  the  immense  resources  a 
free  people  can  find  in  the  outpouring  of  its  patriotism, 
and  what  prodigies  it  can  accomplish  to  save  at  the 
same  time  its  existence  and  its  institutions.  America 
was  about  to  present  this  grand  spectacle  to  the  world. 
She  awaited  only  the  signal  of  the  cannon  of  Fort  Sum- 
ter, and  she  had  not  long  to  wait. 


CHAPTER    III. 

THE   CALL   TO   ARMS. 

Capitulation  of  Fort  Sumter  —  Call  for  seventy-five  thousand  men  — 
Four  States  refuse  to  furnish  their  quota  —  First  regiment  en  route 
for  Washington  —  Bloody  riot  in  Baltimore — No  news  —  Secession 
of  Virginia  —  New  call  for  eight}-three  thousand  volunteers  —  Seces- 
sion of  Arkansas  —  Occupation  of  Alexandria  by  the  Federals  — 
Men,  but  no  army  -^  School  of  the  battalion  —  First  successes  in 
Western  Virginia  —  General  G.  B.  McClellan  —  Banle  of  Bull 
Run. 

The  month  of  March  was  devoted  to  organizing  the 
new  administration,  and  preparing  the  succor  necessary 
for  the  few  forts  in  the  South  still  preserved  to  the 
federal  government  by  the  fidelity  of  their  command- 
ants. The  first  fleet  was  despatched  from  New  York 
on  the  7th  of  April.  It  was  composed  of  eighteen  ves- 
sels of  different  sizes,  and  six  transports.  Its  destina- 
tion was  kept  secret,  but  it  had  scarcely  got  to  sea 
when  General  Beauregard,  commanding  at  Charleston, 
notified  Major  Anderson,  shut  up  in  Fort  Sumter,  that 
all  communication  with  the  city  was  thereafter  forbid- 
den to  him.  That  meant  the  cutting  off  of  supplies 
from  the  little  garrison,  which,  up  to  that  time,  had 
been  able  to  subsist  from  dav  to  day.  in  \-irtue  of  ar- 
rangements made  bv  the  commandant  under  his  per- 
sonal responsibility.  On  the  nth,  Anderson  was  sum- 
moned to  surrender  the  fort.  He  refused.  "  I  shall 
wait  for  the  first  cannon  shot,"  he  wrote.  "  If  you  do 
not  reduce  the  fort,  we  shall  be  compelled  by  famine  to 
surrender  in  a  few  days."  That  was  no  news  to  the 
cncmv.  but  it  mii^-ht  induce  him  to  delav  the  attack,  and 


54  FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

the  chance  of  receiving  aid  in  time  might  thus  be  pro- 
longed. Such,  however,  was  not  the  case.  On  the 
next  morning,  —  Friday,  April  12,  —  at  four  o'clock,  all 
the  rebel  batteries  opened  fire.  The  fort  held  a  garri- 
son of  only  eighty-one  men,  and  was  in  no  state  for 
defence.  In  the  casemates,  about  forty  embrasures,  in 
course  of  construction,  presented  to  the  view  only  a 
gaping  void,  scarcely  disguised  by  curtains  of  planks  a 
few  inches  thick.  Nevertheless,  they  replied  as  well  as 
they  could  to  the  hail  of  projectiles,  which  did  not  cease 
during  the  day.  Red-hot  shot  set  fire  to  the  barracks 
built  inside  the  fort.  The  garrison  had  to  abandon  the 
service  of  the  guns  to  put  out  the  fire,  which,  notwith- 
standing, destroyed  the  buildings.  A  few  ships  were  in 
view,  in  the  offing ;  but  it  was  soon  seen  that  one  of 
them  had  grounded  on  the  bar,  and  that  the  others  could 
not  follow  the  channel  with  any  chance  of  reaching  the 
fort.  The  commandant  could  hold  out  but  two  days 
longer  with  what  remained  to  him  of  provisions  in  the 
storehouse.  He  preferred  to  spare  the  lives  of  his  men, 
by  shortening  a  useless  resistance,  and  he  capitulated 
on  Saturday,  in  the  afternoon.  The  defenders  of  Fort 
Sumter  were  treated  with  the  honors  of  war,  and  allowed 
to  set  sail  for  the  North,  where,  a  few  days  later,  they 
must  have  been  agreeably  surprised  to  see  themselves 
transformed  into  heroes. 

They  had  done  their  duty,  nothing  more.  Left  to 
themselves,  in  a  hopeless  position,  they  had  undergone 
a  bombardment  of  two  days,  which  injured  only  the 
walls,  though  they  wished  it  to  be  well  understood 
that  they  yielded  to  force  only  ;  after  which,  they  had 
packed  their  baggage  and  surrendered  the  place.  With 
the  best  will  in  the  world,  it  seemed  impossible  to  find 
anything  heroic  in  it.  And  yet,  to  see  the  ovations 
given   to  them,  to   read  the   dithyrambs   composed  in 


THE    CALL    TO    ARMS.  55 

their  honor,  it  would  appear  that  Anderson  and  his 
eighty  men  had  renewed  for  America,  at  Fort  Sumter, 
what,  in  ancient  times,  Leonidas  and  his  three  hundred 
had  done  for  Greece,  at  Thermopylce.  The  reason  was 
that  in  those  few  days  everything  had  changed  its  ap- 
pearance in  the  free  States.  Slow  as  they  had  been 
heretofore  in  preparing  for  war,  so  much  the  more 
ready  were  thev  now  to  rush  to  arms.  The  last  illu- 
sion was  dissipated  with  the  smoke  of  the  cannon  of 
South  Carolina. 

On  the  15th  of  April,  two  days  after  the  surrender 
of  Fort  .Sumter,  the  President  issued  a  proclamation 
calling  for  seventy-five  thousand  men  for  three  months' 
service.  The  number  was  entirely  insufficient,  and 
could  not  be  considered  a  remedy  proportioned  to  the 
evil  ;  but,  at  least,  it  had  the  good  result  to  stir  up 
the  blood  of  the  men  of  the  North  and  to  kindle  in  their 
breasts  the  battle  fever.  Nothing  which  could  con- 
tribute effectually  to  this  end  was  neglected,  and  so 
the  defence  of  Fort  Sumter,  insignificant,  considered 
by  itself,  \N*as  exalted  to  the  proportions  of  an  exploit, 
as  much  to  stimulate  popular  enthusiasm  as  to  honor 
faithful  loyalty,  at  the  time  when  defections  were  dis- 
honoring the  roll  of  officers  of  the  army,  and  turning 
against  the  government  the  services  of  nearly  all  the 
officers  coming  from  the  South. 

After  the  popular  ovations  came  the  promotions  for 
these  happy  defeated,  whom  defeat  profited  more  than 
any  victory.  The  title  of  hero  was  at  that  time  easily 
obtained,  and  the  American  press  long  held  it  very 
cheaply,  before  the  correct  value  was  established  by  the 
trial  of  blood  and  fire. 

North  Carolina.  Kentucky,  Missouri,  and  Tennessee 
refused  to  furnish  their  quota  to  repress  the  rebellion. 
This  \s*as  virtual  separation  from  the  Union.     In  return. 


50  FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC  ARMY. 

most  of  the  free  States  offered  many  more  men  than 
the  number  asked  for.  Pennsylvania  and  Massachu- 
setts each  offered  a  hundred  thousand  volunteers.  The 
Governor  of  New  York,  a  practical  man  and  not  in- 
clined to  exaggeration,  promised  thirty  thousand  men, 
armed  and  equipped,  and  set  himself  immediately  at 
work  to  make  good  his  word. 

Whoever  saw  New  York  in  those  days  of  patriotic 
infection  can  never  forget  the  grandeur  and  the  strange- 
ness of  the  sight  :  the  feverish  excitement  of  the  peo- 
ple, the  busy  swarming  at  the  approaches  to  the  militia 
armories,  the  stream  of  humanity  crowding  1;he  streets 
toward  the  recruiting  offices,  the  immense  meetings 
where  the  people,  coming  together  eii  masse,  were 
tossed  about  like  angry  waves  under  the  passionate 
speech  of  an  improvised  orator.  An  inspiration  of  fire 
had  passed  over  the  multitude,  carrying  along  every- 
thing in  its  course — everything,  even  to  the  allies  of 
the  South,  who  for  a  few  days  renounced  publicly  their 
known  sympathies,  or  at  least  covered  them  hypocriti- 
cally with  the  mantle  of  an  affected  patriotism. 

It  was  not,  however,  the  Empire  State  which,  in  the 
midst  of  the  universal  outburst,  had  the  honor  first 
to  reply  to  the  call  of  the  threatened  government.  She 
was  preceded  by  Massachusetts,  to  whom  only  forty- 
eight  hours  were  necessary,  after  the  proclamation  of 
the  President,  to  forward  six  hundred  and  forty  men  by 
sea  to  Fortress  Monroe,  and  a  regiment  of  eight  hundred 
men  by  land,  destined  for  Washington.  On  the  i8th 
of  April,  the  Sixth  Massachusetts  passed  through  New 
York,  drums  beating,  flags  flying,  in  the  midst  of  accla- 
mations of  the  population  assembled  to  greet  on  its 
passage  through  the  city  the  advance  guard  of  the 
national  army. 

Mingled  with  the  crowd,  I  admired  the  fine  bearing 


I 


THE   CALL   TO   ARMS. 


0/ 


of  the  volunteers,  studied  the  double  character  of  bra- 
ver}' and  intelligence  imprinted  upon  their  faces,  and 
clapped  my  hands  to  the  last  company.  Supernumera- 
ries, without  arms  and  without  uniforms,  would  not  be 
left  behind,  and  followed  the  regiment,  ready  to  take 
the  place  of  the  killed,  and  to  relieve  the  wounded  in 
the  front  Their  light  baggage,  wrapped  in  handker- 
chiefs, hung  from  their  shoulders  like  haversacks,  and 
they  marched  to  glorv  or  death,  sure  in  either  case  of 
ha%Tng  done  their  duty  as  citizens  and  as  soldiers. 

And  I  thought,  in  spite  of  myself,  of  the  familiar  spec- 
tacles of  mv  early  childhood,  when  the  French  battal- 
ions denied  before  the  starr\-  epaulets  of  my  father ; 
and  I  asked  myself  vaguelv  if  the  destiny  which  had 
deprived  me  in  France  of  the  heritage  of  his  sword 
had  not  in  reser\'e  for  me  in  America  some  compensa- 
tion, in  the  ranks  of  these  volunteers,  marching  to  fight 
for  a  cause  which  had  immortalized  Lafayette. 

The  Sixth  Massachusetts  was  followed  almost  im- 
mediately by  the  Eighth  and  by  the  First  of  Rhode 
Island.  Their  passage  through  the  city  roused  the  emu- 
lation of  the  Xew  Yorkers,  and  hastened  the  departure 
of  the  Seventh,  the  finest  of  their  militia  regiments, 
which  followed'  after  an  interval  of  twenty-four  hours. 
These  twenty-four  hours  were  marked  by  an  event 
which  carried  the  excitement  to  its  height.  The  rail- 
road did  not  at  this  time  furnish  a  continuous  line  from 
Xew  York  to  Washington.  Both  at  Philadelphia  and 
Baltimore,  one  was  compelled  to  cross  the  city  either  in 
a  carriage  or  in  wagons  drawn  by  horses,  in  passing 
from  one  station  to  the  other.  At  Philadelphia,  the 
passage  of  the  Sixth  Massachusetts  was  marked  by  the 
acclamations  of  the  people.  At  Baltimore,  a  city  de- 
voted to  the  Southern  cause,  the  people  raised  a  riot  to 
stop  the  passage  of  the  Yankee  regimenL      It  went 


58  FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC   ARMY. 

through,  notwithstanding,  but  at  the  cost  of  a  bloody 
combat,  in  which  several  lives  were  lost  on  both  sides. 
Some  Philadelphia  volunteers  who  were  on  the  way 
toward  the  cai)ital,  poorly  armed  and  equipped,  were 
compelled  to  turn  back. 

This  was  an  event  of  great  importance,  for  the  reason 
that  it  directly  menaced  the  communications  with  the 
free  States  of  the  federal  capital  enclosed  within  Mary- 
land. The  peril  was  greater  because  it  was  unex- 
pected ;  it  must  be  averted  at  whatever  cost.  The 
Seventh  New  York  departed  immediately,  greeted  at  its 
departure  with  the  enthusiastic  plaudits  of  the  imperial 
city.  It  was  quickly  followed  by  the  Twelfth,  the  Sev- 
enty-first, the  Eighth,  the  Sixty-ninth,  and  others,  the 
list  of  which  would  be  too  long. 

They  departed  ;  but  days  and  nights  of  an.xiety 
passed  before  any  news  could  be  received  of  them. 
The  telegraph  wires  had  been  cut  on  all  sides  in  Mary- 
land, and  it  was  difficult  even  to  follow  the  movements 
of  the  troops  as  far  as  lialtiniore.  Beyond  that  every- 
thing was  uncertain.  In  the  absence  of  facts,  rumors 
had  free  course,  and  they  were  generally  of  a  sinister 
character.  People  ran  together  in  the  streets,  and 
called  from  house  to  house,  to  relate  what  they  heard 
here  and  there.  For  nearly  everything  resolved  itself 
into  rumor.  The  morning  papers,  whose  extras  were 
eagerly  sought  for  until  noon,  the  evening  journals, 
whose  successive  editions  were  exhausted  as  soon  as 
they  appeared,  published  everything,  all  the  information 
they  could  get,  without  certifying  to  its  correctness  : 
unless,  however,  some  bold  correspondent,  who  had 
been  able  to  cross  the  zone  of  isolation  around  Wash- 
ington, brought  his  precious  information  to  the  extreme 
point  of  open  communication.  New  York  breathed 
again  on  learnintr  from  authentic  sources  that  its  regi- 


THE    CALL    TO   ARMS.  59 

ments  had  not  been  cut  to  pieces,  that  the  President 
had  not  been  assassinated,  that  Washington  had  not 
been  delivered  to  the  flames,  as  Southern  sjTnpathizers 
reported  twenty  times  a  day. 

There  was  a  telegraph  station  in  the  Fifth  Avenue 
Hotel.  Even,-  evening  the  spacious  hall  was  in\-aded 
by  a  compact  multitude  of  the  inhabitants  of  that  ele- 
gant quarter.  They  conversed  together  with  great 
animation  while  waiting  for  the  news.  As  soon  as  a 
despatch  arrived,  an  operator,  mounted  upon  a  table, 
read  it  in  a  loud  voice,  before  hanging  it  up  on  the 
bulletin  beard,  open  to  even.-  one's  inspection.  Dur- 
ing the  inter\'al,  speakers  addressed  the  audience,  if  the 
absence  of  news  caused  the  conversation  to  languish, 
and  the  crowd  dispersed  only  when  the  late  hour  of  the 
night  promised  to  add  nothing  more  to  the  information 
awaited  with  so  much  anxiety  in  the  family  circle. 

The  day  at  last  came  when  General  Butler  occupied 
Baltimore.  Communications  were  reestablished-  The 
situation  could  be  understood.  Really  it  offered  noth- 
ing ven.-  encouraging,  but,  at  least,  one  knew  what  to 
believe.  That  was  a  great  gain.  Harper's  Fern,-  and 
its  manufactor}-  of  arms  had  fallen  into  the  power  of 
the  Virginians,  who  had  likewise  taken  possession  of 
Norfolk,  where  the  nsLvy  yard  had  been  delivered  to 
the  flames.  At  Richmond  the  custom  house  and  postal 
sen-ice  had  been  taken  possession  of  by  the  rebel 
authorities,  proceedings  which  promptly  followed  the 
formal  secession  of  the  State.  In  consequence,  the 
ports  of  Virginia  and  of  North  Carolina  were  de- 
clared blockaded.  That  was  all  that  could  be  done  for 
the  raomenL 

Virginia  was  ver}-  much  behind  the  extreme  South. 
At  the  bottom  she  w-as  opposed  to  separation,  and  until 
the  last  moment  had  made  ever}-  etEort  for  a  peaceful 


6o  FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

compromise.  At  the  presidential  election  she  had 
voted  for  Bell  and  Everett,  the  Union  candidates.  She 
had  afterwards  taken  the  initiative  in  the  peace  conven- 
tion at  Washington  to  rally  the  central  States  around 
Mr.  Crittenden  in  a  conservative  resistance  to  the 
passions  of  the  extreme  parties.  The  interests  of  the 
cotton  States  were  not  the  same  as  hers.  Slavery  had 
no  hold  in  all  the  mountainous  portion  of  her  territory, 
to  the  west  of  the  Shenandoah  ;  on  the  contrary,  devo- 
tion to  the  Union  flourished  there  with  energetic 
vitality.  Even  in  the  eastern  portion  of  the  State, 
servile  labor  was  only  an  obstacle  to  the  prosperity  of 
the  country,  whose  climate,  soil,  methods  of  culture,  and 
industry  had  everything  to  gain  from  free  labor.  On 
that  account,  there  was  a  general  tendency  towards 
emancipation,  against  which  the  planters  had  to  strive  in 
order  to  protect  a  shameful  kind  of  speculation,  which 
enriched  them  while  it  impoverished  the  State.  I  speak 
of  the  raising  of  human  cattle  and  the  breeding  of 
negroes  for  the  consumption  of  the  cotton  States.  To 
meet  the  wants  of  this  trade,  the  common  practice 
upon  the  Virginia  plantations  was  to  keep  up  an  estab- 
lishment in  the  manner  most  calculated  to  increase  the 
product  as  much  as  possible.  This  was  the  only  interest 
the  State  had  in  the  question  of  slavery.  The  oligarchy 
of  slaveholders  monopolized  the  profits,  but  the  poorer 
class  did  not  profit  by  it  either  directly  or  indirectly. 
Something  besides  the  interest  of  the  slave-breeders  was 
necessary  then  to  lead  Virginia  into  the  perilous  paths  of 
secession.  A  bait  to  her  vanity  accomplished  the  task. 
Richmond,  the  capital  of  the  Southern  Confederacy,  — 
that  was  the  will-o'-the-wisp  which  was  put  before  her 
eyes.     She  followed  it,  and  was  lost  in  the  quagmires. 

How  true  it  is  that  man  is  led  not  by  reason,  as  the 
philosophers   pretend,  but   by  the  passions   which  the 


THE    CALL    TO    ARMS.  6 1 

politicians  employ.  Becoming  a  participator  in  the 
rebellion,  Virginia  became  necessarily  the  great  battle- 
field of  the  war.  In  every  way,  and  at  all  points,  she 
was  about  to  be  trampled  over,  pillaged,  ruined  by  the 
hostile  armies,  and,  however  the  war  should  end,  she 
was  devoted  to  fire  and  sword.  Faithful  to  the  Union, 
on  the  contrary,  she  would  have  been  covered  by  the 
protecting"  arm  of  the  federal  soldiers,  whose  oper- 
ations, in  that  event,  would  have  been  carried  on  in 
North  Carolina.  There  would  have  been  the  shock  of 
battalions,  there  would  the  war  have  made  its  terrible 
devastations,  and  the  fate  of  Virginia  would  have  been 
that  of  Maryland,  which,  on  account  of  having  remained 
in  the  Union,  suffered  only  the  ravages  of  a  few  skir- 
mishes and  the  shock  of  one  battle  upon  the  verge  of 
her  territory,  fought  almost  immediately  after  inva- 
sion. Virginia  proved  in  this  circumstance  that,  if, 
according  to  Mr.  Thiers'  definition,  "  a  free  nation  is  a 
being  which  is  obliged  to  reflect  before  acting,"  her 
reflections  only  led  her  to  commit  the  greatest  follies. 
She  did  not  appear  to  understand  that,  in  alluring  her 
by  the  perfidious  bait,  the  extreme  South  sacrificed  her 
deliberately  to  its  own  security.  The  object  was,  above 
all,  to  confine  hostilities  to  the  Border  States,  that  is,  to 
the  country  bordering  on  the  free  States.  Behind  this 
bulwark,  the  heart  of  the  Confederacy  believed  itself 
safe  from  attack,  but  it  was  counting  without  Grant  and 
Sherman. 

The  federal  government,  however,  could  no  longer 
deceive  itself  as  to  the  greatness  of  the  task  which 
devolved  upon  it.  The  call  for  seventy-five  thousand 
militia  was  like  calling  for  a  pail  of  water  to  put  out  a  fire. 
The  l^resident  made  a  new  call  for  eighty-three  thousand 
men,  namely  forty  thousand  volunteers  for  three  years, 
twenty-five  thousand  men  for  the  regular  army  for  five 


62  FOUR   YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

years,  and  eighteen  thousand  sailors.  The  total  of  the 
two  calls  was  thus  raised  to  one  hundred  and  fifty-eight 
thousand  men  ;  but  seventy-five  thousand  would  return 
home  at  the  end  of  three  months.  They  were,  there- 
fore, not  to  be  taken  into  account. 

On  the  other  side,  the  Confederacy  was  in  motion. 
Reenforced  by  the  secession  of  Arkansas,  and  by  strong 
contingents  from  Kentucky  and  Tennessee,  her  forces 
were  actually  in  Virginia.  Her  skirmishers  were  seen 
upon  the  right  bank  of  the  Potomac,  even  in  sight  of 
the  dome  of  the  Capitol.  At  any  moment  they  could 
possess  themselves  of  Alexandria,  nearly  in  front  of 
Washington.  It  was  determined  to  forestall  them. 
On  the  24th  of  May,  the  city  was  occupied,  and  put  as 
quickly  as  possible  in  a  state  of  defence  by  six  regi- 
ments of  New  York  troops,  a  brigade  from  New  Jersey, 
and  one  from  Michigan.  It  was  in  this  advance  move- 
ment that  Colonel  Ellsworth,  commanding  a  regiment 
of  Zouaves,  was  assassinated,  at  the  moment  when  he 
had  himself  hauled  down  the  rebel  flag,  floating  over 
the  principal  hotel  of  the  city.  His  death,  avenged  on 
the  spot,  made  a  great  sensation.  He  was  the  first 
officer  killed.  They  were  not  as  yet  accustomed  to 
see  colonels  fall  by  the  dozen  at  a  time.  / 

The  Confederate  army  was  distant  only  twenty  miles, 
established  at  Manassas,  in  a  well  chosen  position.  Its 
front  was  covered  with  field  works  along  the  crest  of 
steep  banks,  following  the  windings  of  a  water-course, 
before  unknown,  since  celebrated  —  Bull  Run.  Thither 
flocked  the  Southern  recruits,  as  the  Northern  to 
Washington. 

About  the  ist  of  June,  the  forces  assembled  around 
the  capital  amounted  to  no  more  than  thirty-four 
thousand  men,  of  whom  twenty-one  thousand  were 
near  the  city,  and  thirteen  thousand  on  the  other  side 


THE    CALL    TO    ARMS.  63 

of  the  Potomac.  But  an  average  of  about  a  thousand 
arrived  ever}-  day. 

The  eagerness  for  enlisting  continued.  Men  were 
abundant  ;  but  they  must  be  armed  and  equipped,  and, 
in  the  absence  of  armories  made  ready  beforehand, 
the  State  had  everything  to  create.  Private  industry, 
to  which  it  was  necessar)-  to  have  recourse,  sufficed  but 
imperfectly  to  fill  orders.  \\*hile  awaiting  the  arms, 
usually  inferior,  which  the  government  had  purchased 
in  Europe,  and  those  which  the  American  factories 
could  deliver  only  at  times  more  or  less  distant,  uni- 
forms, shoes,  equipments  were  manufactured  in  haste, 
nearly  ever}thing  of  detestable  quality,  although  paid 
for  ver}-  dearly.  In  order  to  encourage  enlistment, 
each  new  militar}-  organization  was  at  liberty  to  choose 
its  uniform,  and  it  may  be  imagined  what  latitude  was 
taken.  The  Zouaves  were  the  most  in  favor  ;  but  what 
Zouaves  I 

Each  regiment  in  course  of  formation  had  its  sep- 
arate camp.  The  outskirts  of  the  cities  were  cov- 
ered with  them  ;  I  might  say  infested,  for  discipline  did 
not  as  yet  repress  the  turbulent  and  pillaging  instincts 
of  those  rude  novices,  as  little  accustomed  to  obedi- 
ence as  were  their  officers  to  command.  The  latter,  in 
military  matters,  were  as  ignorant  as  the  rest.  The 
Governors  had  no  choice,  gi^'ing  the  commissions  to 
those  who  brought  the  men.  On  this  account,  old 
soldiers  were  verv  much  sought  after,  for  they  alone 
knew  how  to  act  as  instructors,  and  to*  teach  the 
recruits,  after  a  fashion,  how  to  march,  and  to  load  and 
tire  a  gun.  They  were  appointed  sergeants  without  dis- 
pute, and  if  they  could  instruct  in  the  movements  of 
the  platoon  thev  were  almost  assured  of  the  rank  of 
commissioned  officer. 

Besides  the  ordinary  enlistments,  open  to  every  one. 


64  FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

there  were  organized  in  New  York  a  few  "  schools  of 
the  battalion,"  whose  members  paid  their  own  expenses 
for  uniform,  instruction,  and  so  forth.  The  organization 
was  composed  only  of  persons  in  easy  circumstances, 
generally  educated  men.  Such  was  the  regiment  of 
"  New  York  Rifles."  The  day  was  always  devoted  to 
business,  but  every  night,  after  dinner,  we  assembled  at 
the  armory,  to  devote  ourselves,  until  a  late  hour  of  the 
night,  with  the  greatest  ardor,  to  the  "  school  of  the 
soldier,"  and  the  "  school  of  the  platoon."  When  the 
weather  was  fine,  we  marched  out  with  beating  drums, 
to  practise  the  school  of  the  battalion,  in  some  one  of 
the  large  squares  of  New  York,  where,  if  we  had  no 
moonlight,  the  gas  was  enough  to  light  us  in  our 
evolutions. 

These  schools  of  instruction  furnished  a  certain 
number  of  capable  officers  to  the  army,  but  at  first 
the  greatest  number  came  from  the  nursery  of  the 
militia  regiments.  Thus  the  Seventh  New  York,  which 
returned  June  i,  after  a  campaign  of  forty  days,  if 
not  bloody,  at  least  harassing,  could  count  in  a  few 
months  more  than  three  hundred  officers  of  volunteers 
coming  from  its  ranks.  One  of  them,  Major  Winthrop, 
aid  of  General  Butler,  was  the  first  superior  officer 
killed  on  the  field  of  battle,  in  the  unfortunate  affair 
of  Big  Bethel. 

In  this  manner  the  month  of  June  passed  on  both 
sides,  collecting  together  the  armies,  and  organizing 
them  as  much  as  possible.  There  were  only  a  few 
skirmishes  without  consequence  at  Fairfax  Court 
House,  at  Bayley's  Crossroads,  and  on  the  Arlington 
Heights,  that  is  to  say,  on  the  line  of  defence,  where 
they  began  to  cover  Washington  by  a  line  of  detached 
forts.  The  only  movement  of  any  importance  was  an 
advance    of    General    McClellan    in   Western  Virginia, 


THE    CALL    TO    ARMS.  65 

which,  in  connection  with  the  presence  of  a  body  of 
troops  of  Pennsylvanians  at  Chambersburg,  under  the 
orders  of  General  Patterson,  had  for  result  the  evacua- 
tion of  Harper's  Ferry  by  the  Confederates,  who  fell 
back  to  Winchester.  For  the  Confederates,  in  fact,  the 
fidelity  to  the  Union  of  the  inhabitants  of  these  parts 
added  sensibly  to  the  risk  of  a  position  too  advanced.  A 
regiment  of  federal  volunteers  raised  at  Wheeling  had 
already  gone  out  to  Grafton  to  meet  General  McClellan, 
and  there  the  loyal  manifestations  of  the  Virginians  of 
the  West  could  not  be  restrained.  On  the  i8th  of  June, 
they  assembled  in  convention  at  Wheeling,  to  declare 
null  and  void  all  the  ordinances  and  measures  voted  by 
the  Richmond  convention.  This  done,  they  proceeded 
to  the  organization  of  a  provisional  government,  from 
which  came  the  constitution  of  a  new  State,  sanctioned 
at  a  later  date  by  Congress  in  a  formal  manner. 

The  month  of  July,  great  in  events,  was  at  first 
marked  only  by  the  assembling  of  the  Thirty-seventh 
Congress  in  extra  session,  and  by  a  first  victory  of 
General  ]\IcClellan  at  Laurel  Hill.  As  this  successful 
contest  was  the  immediate  cause  of  his  surprising  fort- 
une, it  will  be  interesting  to  pause  an  instant  and  relate 
the  incident. 

General  McClellan,  born  at  Philadelphia  in  1826, 
was  a  West  Point  scholar,  from  which  .he  graduated  in 
1846,  standing  second  in  his  class.  He  was  immedi- 
ately sent  as  second  lieutenant  of  engineers  to  Mexico, 
where  his  brilliant  services  procured  for  him  succes- 
sively the  commissions  of  first  lieutenant  and  captain. 
In  1852  he  took  part  in  an  exploring  expedition  along 
the  Red  River,  and  was  afterwards  sent  as  hydrograph- 
ical  engineer  to  Texas.  The  work  of  exploring  the 
route  for  the  railroad  to  the  Pacific,  across  the  western 
deserts,  was  intrusted  to  him,  and  procured  for  him  the 


66  FOUR    YE-\KS    WITH    THE    IVTX^MAC    AKMY. 

oiftcial  conix-^^t Illations  of  Mr.  Jefferson  Davis,  then 
Secretary  of  War.  In  1^55  we  tind  him  studying, 
along  with  Maiors  Delaiield  and  Mordecai.  the  organ- 
ir.\::on  of  the  European  armies,  and  present  at  a  part 
c:  :he  operations  of  the  Crimean  war.  That  part  of 
the  report  which  was  drawn  up  by  him,  published  sep- 
--•  .:e!v  at  F    '  '.a,  did  credit  to  his  military  knowl- 

.-.^e  and  to  :-  .  .  .\"ation  of  his  mind.  However,  the 
milirary-  career  in  the  United  States  promised  to  be 
verv  unsatisfactor\-  to  his  ambition.  Promotion  by  sen- 
iority only  was  desperately  slow,  and  active  service  in 
time  of  peace  was  limited  to  distant  explorations 
through  deserts,  or  the  life  of  a  sa\-age  in  the  scattered 
V  5:s  of  the  new  Territories.  Captain  McClellan  did  as 
.;.-!  so  many  others.  In  1S57  he  left  the  service  for 
the  more  agreeable  and  more  lucratiye  position  of  gen- 
--  '   >.  ent  of   the  Ohio   &    Mississippi    Rail- 

r:.!-.  .u-^  client  of  the  eastern  part  of  that  line. 

In  1S61  the  war  recalled  him  under  the  flag.  The 
Goyemor  of  Ohio  had  at  first  intrusted  to  him  the 
command  of  the  State  troops ;  but  soon  the  federal 
government  extended  his  command  to  that  of  the  mili- 
tary department  composed  of  Ohio,  Indiana,  Illinois, 
and  a  part  of  Pennsyl\-ania  and  Mrginia.  His  troops 
entered  upon  the  campaign  June  i.  On  the  3d,  the 
head  of  the  column  surprised  and  oyerthrew  a  detach- 
ment of  rebels  at  PhilippL  McClellan  was  still  at 
Cincinnati  He  joined  his  little  army  on  the  iSth,  at 
GraftOEL  3-ii  a  month  rolled  away  before  the  re- 
sumption oi  operations,  which  had  begun  in  so  encour- 
aging a  manner.  At  last,  in  the  middle  of  July,  he 
deiermined  to  send  forward  General  Rosecrans,  at  the 
head  of  four  regiments,  three  from  Indiana  and  one 
from  Ohio.  Rosecrans  encountered  in  the  mountains 
the  armv  commanded  bv  Colonel  Pegram.    He  attacked 


^'     aJ-3FL  ^ 


res-                                             -    i    iini-  :n. 

"w:: .^    .'_: ^_    __._    il  s.  jil^_    ..    .    -^ 

P-szram  -■  ■zrije^  in*ia:  Be-"  -  :^r^  ae 

'  -  :--rrf  ie  1".  -    .    -  - _-  2C-J»'i[   IE  xIMirT.:  '     _  .  _::rfs:3ji 

'    :—--'-- — -^ 

' '  -  ~  .    -j^ 

■    ■  --    i^-.r  s: 

T-  ^   — ---iEaaoL  Terr  '»e2  contiiocSEiL  i_    _  __  .-al  Hc- 
■»ia  r-TTt^.    iisi  -p-L^rias.  2.  wnmHiTfr  ac  T^-f?ri:.r-  anf  sonae 

•^.       il    s   TSTT  "W^r    *  miwi'r    /jjc  "wisE  T7i~rra=-  ""riat 
"STsS  II:   TTTT    5.I»rnL    rl,~-^        Tie    :rTM'HK'»fr::?r--    rSSlflt 

V  _r  -jj  rree  'TirT  ^sn  2C  lie  nunrrj  it  iZI  r=Tie'  -Tir-y^ 

It    lie   X:ini   ins   irsc  "Svii   rr-:-  '^ 

'  '    I  m  r  .mi^Tr  scCJHnixZltlTl:-        _  ^  .  _      .1  ims  "w'Sr  r        "  -  ^  -I. 

-  - :  _  ..iT'T^erp  J2i£  2C7"lt! "ec  a'CT  2.  js**  imi^srLc  TnrTr.  saat 
■w^rrEJi  !2^:zceir  5:  icx  line  r^sc  ic  ~t«t  Sis:^-     Ajai  •jik 


Geieril  Lmiliai  McDcw'^L  "wtw  camncHnasf  lie- 
denscs.      ii:s   Ttrniiir.  fr'c    efrn'  _  -    _ 


68  FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

France,  and  completed  at  West  Point.  He  had  been 
through  the  Mexican  war,  on  the  staff  of  General  Wool, 
and  had  been  a  professor  at  the  military  academy.  He 
was  a  well  informed  and  experienced  officer,  who  knew 
much  better  than  the  journalists  and  politicians  what 
were  the  risks  of  an  attack  made  with  recruits  hardly 
organized,  against  a  numerous  enemy  fortified  in  a 
strong  position.  In  reality,  his  army  was  not  an  army. 
The  regiments  of  which  it  was  composed  had  nothing 
of  the  soldier  as  yet,  but  the  arms  and  the  uniforms. 
However  brave  the  men  might  be,  they  had  had  no 
discipline,  nor  had  they  been  exercised  in  the  most 
elementary  manoeuvres.  The  officers  were  nearly  all 
incompetent.  A  regiment  which  had  had  any  practice 
in  firing  was  an  exception,  as  was  a  colonel  knowing 
how  to  command.  As  to  evolutions  in  line,  they  were 
not  so  much  as  thought  of.  But  upon  the  news  of 
McClellan's  success  any  longer  delay  became  impossi- 
ble, and  the  order  was  given  for  a  general  movement  in 
advance. 

The  defeat  of  Bull  Run  had  the  effect  only  of  giving 
to  the  strife  more  formidable  proportions.  That  defeat 
was  not  surprising.  The  attack  was  badly  executed, 
because,  with  an  army  such  as  I  have  described,  it  was 
impossible  for  troops  to  act  together  or  to  move  with 
any  precision.  Some  regiments  fought  well,  others 
fought  very  little,  others  did  not  fight  at  all.  The 
Confederates  had  every  advantage.  Strongly  estab- 
lished in  a  good  position,  protected  by  complete  lines 
of  works,  they  had  only  to  defend  themselves  with  vigor, 
which  they  did.  They  had  the  good  fortune,  moreover, 
of  being  strongly  reenforced  at  the  commencement  of 
the  battle  by  the  army  of  General  Johnston,  whom  the 
deplorable  inaction  of  General  Patterson  permitted  to 
hasten  from  Winchester  without  opposition. 


THE    CAUL   TO    ARMS.  69 

With  troops  without  discipline  and  without  experi- 
ence, an  unsuccessful  attack  is  easily  changed  into  a 
rout.  In  this  case  the  overthrow  was  complete.  The 
soldiers  fled,  throwing  down  their  arras,  teamsters  leav- 
ing their  wagons,  and  cannoneers  their  guns.  The 
draught  animals  served  only  to  hasten  the  flight  of  those 
who  could  get  hold  of  them,  and  the  spectator  who  had 
come  from  Washington  to  witness  the  v-ictory  thought 
himself  very  fortunate  if  he  lost  only  his  carriage  in  his 
flight.  Thus  that  horde  of  men  and  animals  fled  far 
from  the  field  of  battle  in  the  greatest  confusion. 

They  stopped  only  in  Washington,  after  having  put 
the  Potomac  between  themselves  and  the  enemy,  who 
did  not  pursue.  The  Confederates  lost  there  their  fin- 
est opportunity.  If  they  had  followed  up  the  fugitives, 
they  might  have  entered  Washington  at  their  heels,  and 
probably  without  striking  a  blow.  In  war,  a  lost  oppor- 
tunity rarely  presents  itself  over  again.  This  was  no 
exception  to  the  rule. 

The  battle  was  fought  on  Sunday,  July  21.  On 
the  22d,  General  McClellan  was  called  to  the  command 
of  the  army  in  place  of  General  McDowell. 


CHAPTER   IV. 

FROM  NEW  YORK  TO  WASHINGTON. 

The  Guard  Lafayette,  Fifty-fifth  New  York  militia  —  Camp  at  Staten 
Island  —  Departure  for  Washington  —  Collision  —  At  Philadelphia  — 
Through  Baltimore  —  Arrival  at  the  capital  —  Five  hundred 
thousand  men  and  five  hundred  million  dollars  —  Tents —  Organiza- 
tion of  regiments  of  infantry  —  Composition  of  the  Fifty-fifth  —  The 
insignia  of  rank,  and  the  uniforms  in  the  American  army. 

The  Fifty-fifth  New  York  militia,  more  generally 
known  then  as  the  Guard  Lafayette,  was  a  French 
regiment.  It  wore  as  a  distinguishing  costume  the  red 
pantaloon  and  cap.  It  was  small  in  numbers,  scarcely 
exceeding  three  hundred  and  twenty  men,  the  mini- 
mvmi  required  for  a  militia  regiment.  It  was  not  on 
war  footing  —  far  from  it;  but  the  number  sufficed  for 
parade,  marchings,  and  funerals,  nearly  the  only  re- 
quirements of  service  in  time  of  peace. 

When,  in  the  month  of  April,  the  President  made  his 
first  call  for  seventy-five  thousand  men,  nobody  in  New 
York  doubted  but  that  the  Fifty-fifth  would  be  one  of 
the  first  to  respond.  There  was  to  be  fighting,  how 
could  a  French  regiment  fail  to  be  on  hand  .-*  Volun- 
teers hurried  in  multitudes  to  enroll  themselves  in  the 
ranks  ;  the  companies  were  filled  up  rapidly,  bringing 
their  effective  force  up  to  a  hundred  men  each.  A 
subscription,  opened  among  the  French  residents,  to 
arm  and  equip  the  new  regiments  without  delay,  had 
been  immediately  covered  with  signatures,  and  had  pro- 
vided abundantly  for  the  military  chest.  —  And  yet,  in 
spite  of  all  that,  the  Fifty-fifth  did  not  start. 

70 


FROM    NEW   YORK    TO    WASHINGTON.  7 1 

One  day,  the  regiment  had  received  an  order  to  en- 
camp on  the  Battery,  a  public  park  along  the  bay,  at 
the  point  of  junction  of  the  East  and  North  Rivers. 
Two  companies  reported  there,  but  the  next  day  a 
counter-order  relieved  them,  to  give  place  to  another 
regiment.  Public  opinion  was  astonished  at  these 
marchings  to  and  fro  without  result,  and  at  these 
delays  without  satisfactory  explanations.  The  colonel 
threw  the  responsibility  upon  higher  authorities  ;  but 
the  officers  attributed  the  fault  directly  to  the  colonel, 
who,  they  said,  endeavored,  with  all  his  power,  to  dis- 
courage enlistments  and  impede  the  departure  of  the 
regiment.  Weary  of  these  goings-on,  and  of  the  re- 
criminations, the  volunteers  went  away  as  fast  as  they 
had  come.  Some  formed  a  company  in  the  Sixty-sec- 
ond New  York  (Anderson  Zouaves)  ;  others  in  one  of 
the  regiments  of  General  Sickles'  brigade  (Excelsior 
Brigade).  One  day,  a  whole  company  had  marched 
over,  with  drums  beating,  and  joined  the  Fourteenth  of 
Brooklyn.  Lastly,  a  large  part  of  the  Lafayette 
Guards  had  connected  themselves  singly  in  different 
military  organizations,  where  they  found  compatriots 
and  friends.  The  officers  of  the  Fifty-fifth,  who  wished 
to  fight,  and  saw  their  recruits  leaving  them,  were  an- 
noyed at  the  false  position  in  which  they  were  placed, 
and  at  the  remarks,  far  from  flattering,  which  were 
made  about  them  in  public.  To  get  out  of  the  dilemma, 
they  had  recourse  to  a  united  demand  that  the  colonel 
should  substitute,  in  place  of  a  short  leave  of  absence, 
for  which  he  had  asked,  a  final  resignation,  which  was 
accepted. 

Several  weeks  passed  away  in  the  search  for  a  new 
commander,  without  success,  when  my  name  was  pre- 
sented, for  the  first  time,  by  a  lieutenant,  who  had 
served  in  France,  and  the  only  one  of  the  officers  who 


72  FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

was  personally  known  to  me.  Some  days  after,  a  com- 
mittee, composed  of  the  major  and  three  captains, 
came  to  see  me  on  the  matter.  It  was  not  difficult  for 
us  to  agree.  The  condition  made  to  me,  as  a  candi- 
date, was  that  I  should  lead  the  regiment  to  the  front. 
The  condition  I  made,  on  accepting  the  command,  was 
that  the  regiment  should  follow  me  to  the  front.  The 
officers  were  called  together  to  choose  a  colonel  on  the 
2 1st  of  July,  the  evening  before  the  battle  of  Bull  Run. 
I  was  elected  unanimously. 

On  the  23d,  the  morning  of  the  battle,  a  telegraphic 
despatch  from  the  War  Department  announced  to  me 
that  the  services  of  my  regiment  were  accepted,  and, 
one  week  after,  we  were  encamped  on  Staten  Island, 
across  the  bay  from  New  York,  —  the  men  in  barracks, 
the  staff  only  in  tents. 

The  first  business  was  to  recruit,  and  fill  up  the 
ranks,  depleted  during  the  two  months  that  had 
elapsed.  A  recruiting  office  was  opened  immediately, 
at  the  regimental  armory.  Those  of  the  old  members 
who  had  not  made  engagements  elsewhere  returned  to 
us.  New  recruits  came  in  squads  to  our  camp  ;  in 
four  weeks  our  effective  force  was  increased  by  more 
than  four  hundred  men. 

It  was  no  longer  the  time  when  the  crowd  flowed 
towards  Lafayette  Hall.  Three  months  of  continual 
recruiting  had  absorbed  already  a  great  deal  of  the  food 
for  powder.  But  the  hour  of  the  mercenary  had  not 
yet  arrived.  All  the  enlistments  were  without  bounty, 
and,  on  leaving  for  the  array,  I  was  proud  at  leading 
only  unbought  volunteers.  Not  one  of  my  men  had 
received  a  bounty. 

On  the  28th  of  August  the  regiment  had  become 
strong  enough  to  enter  upon  the  campaign.  It  was 
fully  armed   and   equipped,   and   better    drilled    in   the 


FROM    NEW    YORK   TO    WASHINGTON.  73 

manual  exercise  than  most  of  the  other  regiments  of 
volunteers.  The  officers  were  all  acquainted  with  this 
duty,  which  was  strictly  performed.  Among  them  and 
among  the  sergeants  were  found  a  number  of  old 
soldiers,  good  instructors  to  form  the  recruits.  Some 
had  seen  service  in  Algiers,  others  in  the  Crimea  or  in 
Italy,  and  duty  in  the  field  was  familiar  to  them.  Each 
one,  besides,  had  his  heart  in  the  work.  The  long  sum- 
mer days  were  devoted  to  the  drill,  and  a  part  of  the 
nights  to  the  theoretical  study.  The  French  regi- 
ment must  make  a  good  appearance  on  arriving  at 
Washington. 

Before  departing,  some  vacancies  were  filled  for  the 
last  time  by  election  in  the  companies,  a  system  tolera- 
ble in  the  militia  in  time  of  peace,  but  inadmissible  for 
volunteers  in  time  of  war,  and  the  Fifty-fifth  militia 
was  about  to  be  transformed  into  the  Fifty-fifth  volun- 
teers. It  was  thenceforth  enrolled  in  the  service  of 
the  United  States  for  three  years,  or  during  the  war,  if 
the  war  lasted  less  than  three  years,  which  appeared  to 
be  beyond  question. 

On  the  morning  of  the  31st  of  August,  the  regiment 
formed  in  line  of  battle,  knapsacks  strapped,  and  at 
order  arms.  I  took  a  long  look  at  that  double  line  of 
brave  men,  gayly  marching  to  meet  the  hazards  of  the 
field  of  battle,  where  many  must  shed  their  blood  and 
many  lose  their  lives,  of  which  not  one  of  them 
appeared  to  think  for  a  moment.  At  the  command, 
Forward  !  March !  the  noise  of  the  drums  was  for  an 
instant  drowned  by  a  rousing  hurrah  !  The  die  was 
cast,  the  Fifty-fifth  was  on  the  road  to  the  front. 

I  took  with  me  nine  companies  only,  the  tenth  was  to 
join  us  later  at  Washington. 

A  railroad  train  stopping  at  a  short  distance  from 
camp  was  in  waiting  to  take  us  to  the  steamer,  which 


74  FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

should  carry  us  to  Amboy.  The  steamer  was  not 
ready.  Arms  were  stacked  upon  the  quay.  The  men 
had  two  hours  more  time  to  prolong  their  adieux  with 
New  York  friends.  The  embarking  on  board  the  Paul 
Potter  was  done  in  good  order  and  in  military  style. 
When  the  ropes  were  cast  off,  there  was  a  long  ex- 
change of  hurrahs  between  the  shore  and  the  steamer, 
which  threw  her  flags  and  streamers  to  the  breeze.  On 
the  quay  the  sun  glistened  upon  a  multitude  of  hats 
thrown  in  the  air,  of  handkerchiefs  waved  continu- 
ously, of  ladies'  dresses  shaken  by  the  wind.  Soon  the 
hurrahs  ceased,  objects  disappeared  in  the  distance. 
Would  we  ever  meet  again  .-'  Adieu  !  "  The  common 
port  is  eternity,"  said  Chateaubriand. 

At  Amboy  we  took  the  railroad  again ;  we  had 
advanced  but  a  few  miles  when  the  train  stopped  with 
a  violent  shock.  It  was  a  collision.  A  freight  train, 
fortunately  nearly  empty,  was  coming  towards  us,  con- 
cealed by  the  bends  of  the  road.  When  seen,  it  was 
too  late  to  prevent  a  collision.  Two  engines  disabled, 
a  few  cars  broken  up.  It  is  a  frequent  occurrence  in 
the  United  States.  Only  in  this  instance  superstitious 
minds  might  be  affected  by  it  as  a  baleful  presage. 
But  as  our  train  was  heavier,  and  was  moving  with  the 
greater  velocity,  and  the  train  coming  from  the  south 
suffered  nearly  all  the  damage,  the  favorable  interpreta- 
tion prevailed,  and  it  was  considered  as  foreshown  that 
the  only  prophetic  signification  of  the  accident  was 
the  triumph  of  the  North  and  the  discomfiture  of  the 
South.  Nevertheless,  it  was  necessary  to  return  to 
Amboy,  by  the  aid  of  a  fresh  locomotive,  to  wait  until 
evening,  while  the  road  was  being  cleared.  At  day- 
light the  regiment  reached  Philadelphia. 

In  those  days  of  patriotic  enthusiasm,  the  great 
cities  of  the  North  made  it  a  duty  to  come  to  the  aid 


FROM    NEW    YORK    TO    WASHINGTON.  75 

of  the  government  in  every  possible  manner.  So  that 
those  cities  which  were  on  the  route  usually  taken  by 
the  troops  going  to  Washington  had  organized  immense 
free  eating-houses,  where  the  regiments  were  served  on 
their  way.  Philadelphia  had  one  of  the  best  organized 
establishments  of  this  kind.  The  Fifty-fifth  there 
received  a  generous  hospitality.  Nothing  was  want- 
ing. Abundance  of  provisions  for  the  men  ;  separate 
table,  well  supplied,  for  the  officers.  Then  en  route  for 
Baltimore. 

There  the  scene  changed.  We  entered  an  enemy's 
country.  No  more  welcomes,  no  more  acclamations,  no 
handkerchiefs  in  the  air,  with  "  God  bless  you  !  "  as  in 
Philadelphia ;  but  a  sad  silence,  hostile  looks,  murmurs 
scarcely  repressed.  It  was  well  to  take  a  few  precau- 
tions. Before  reaching  there  each  man  received  a  dozen 
cartridges.  It  was  the  Sabbath  ;  the  sun  was  warm, 
the  weather  superb.  The  women  showed  themselves 
at  the  doors  and  at  the  windows  ;  the  men  thronged  the 
streets.  At  the  news  of  the  arrival  of  the  French 
regiment  from  New  York,  the  people  crowded  around 
the  station,  and  along  the  road  usually  taken  from  one 
railroad  to  the  other  through  the  centre  of  the  city. 
We  evidently  called  forth  more  curiosity  than  sympathy. 

The  regiment  had  scarcely  formed  in  line,  after  dis- 
embarking from  the  cars,  than  the  first  command  was 
to  load,  the  second  to  fix  bayonets,  which  was  done  in  a 
manner  that  no  one  could  fail  to  see.  Then  the  regi- 
ment moved  at  the  sound  of  the  drums  vigorously  beat- 
ing the  French  march.  No  one  followed  us.  Every 
one  looked  on  as  we  passed.  Here  and  there  a  few 
remarks  were  made  in  French  :  "  What  are  you  going 
to  do  in  Washington  .-'  —  The  war  does  not  concern 
you!  —  You  had  better  remain  at  home. — You  are 
going   to    get    killed  for  the  Americans! — Merci  !  — 


76  FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    AK^rV. 

What  have  the  people  of  the  South  done  to  you  ? " 
The  men  did  not  reply ;  discipline  forbids  talking 
while  in  the  ranks.  They  recompensed  themselves 
by  mocking  airs  and  gestures  more  expressive  than 
polite.  The  march  was  finished  without  other  dem- 
onstration, and  that  evening,  at  nightfall,  we  were  in 
Washington. 

Everything  there  breathed  war.  Fortifications  com- 
menced showed  here  and  there  their  broken  profiles  ; 
the  fires  in  every  direction  marked  the  places  of  the 
camps,' and  along  the  railroad  the  sentinels,  posted  for 
the  night,  leaning  on  their  arms,  watched  us  passing. 
Near  the  station  the  massive  Capitol,  surmounted  by  an 
immense  dome,  stretched  towards  heaven,  gloomy,  dark, 
and  silent.  Soldiers  at  the  station,  soldiers  in  the 
streets,  soldiers  everywhere.  The  train  stopped  in 
front  of  a  barrack,  constructed  to  shelter  temporarily 
the  regiments  on  their  arrival.  That  was  our  lodging- 
place  for  the  night.  The  vast  room  was  floored  with 
boards.  We  slept  there,  covered  with  our  blankets,  — 
after  receiving  a  Spartan  supper,  composed  of  a  piece 
of  bread,  a  slice  of  salt  pork,  and  a  cup  of  water,  more 
or  less  clear.  The  volunteers  were  not  treated  at 
Washington  as  at  Philadelphia.  There  generous  hos- 
pitality ;  here  the  regular  commissar}-  fare. 

Every  one,  to-day,  knows  what  Washington  is.  An 
imposing  city,  as  yet  in  a  state  of  expectation  :  a  magnifi- 
cent plan  marked  out  on  unoccupied  land  ;  in  reality,  a 
monumental  \-illage,  of  which  Pennsylvania  Avenue  is 
the  principal  artery,  with  straight  streets  and  broad 
avenues  running  through  fields  within  a  few  steps  of 
this  inhabited  line  connecting  the  Capitol  with  the 
White  House.  A  port  without  wharves  and  without 
ships,  formed  by  the  widening  of  the  Potomac,  and  ter- 
minated by  a  bridge  remarkable  for  nothing  but   its 


length.  —  a  mile  and 
other.     Nature  appear 
thing  necessary  for  i 
The  fomiders  of  the 
believed  that  tbe  poli: 
to  the  Ca{Mtol  a  flov. 
portion  to  the  imiv': 
case:     In  a  coontry 
thdr  intoests  call  : 
are  determined  by  t'- 
the  develc^ment  of 
tmral   riches.     There: 
are  the  great  cities  of  : 
New  Orleans,  Bostor 
nari,  St.  Louis,  Chi ;    - 
vantages    are    not    ' 
expected  population 
mained  vacant,  and    ^ 
bv  the  government   : : " 
were  grouped  only  : 
than  Inxnrions,  of  th  . 
son,  the  hotds  freqcr 
ticiansi,  and   the   shi: 
business  <rf  evoy  kinc  s  _ 
The  active  season  in  Wi 
by  the  sessions  <rf  Congres 
years  of  a  feverish  vitality 
extinct  with  it. 

In  the  month  <rf  Septeni't-er 
half  city  and  half  camp.     7 
lots,  where  scarcely  a  ho.: r  ~ 
pied  by  the  tents  of  the 
outer  girdle  upon  all  the  ne  . 
was  artillery  everywhere.     T. 
centrated  within  a  smaller  r 


T 

- 

T  "  T 

-.   --  -  _ 

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:.    :    : '.  e 

-  ' 

-        - "     - 

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_  '  ;  ! 

■  - '  -  -         - 

X 

e-sT  Y 

-  -■-    - 

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:-e 

- 

,r 

r  ■ 

-  . 

_  Tated 

— 

if     — t 

:   cr:  I  -    ' 

:    r  f  ve 

M--  - 

r. 

:Sf:. 

:.^ 

-    .  _ 

■_. 

78  FOUR   \'EARS    ^^^TH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

Commissar}'  Department  had  its  quarters  in  the  cen- 
tre of  the  city,  where  the  uniform  was  supreme. 

The  extra  session  of  Congress,  commencing  July  5, 
had  closed  August  5.  Its  principal  results  were  to 
give  to  the  President  live  hundred  thousand  men  and 
five  hundred  million  dollars,  and  to  authorize  the  issue 
of  bonds  to  the  amount  of  tw^o  hundred  and  fifty  million 
dollars.  The  strength  of  the  regular  army  was  raised 
to  fort}'  thousand  men.  Without  serious  opposition, 
the  tariff  had  been  raised  in  rates,  direct  tax  voted, 
and  the  confiscation  of  the  property  of  the  insurgents, 
including  slaves.  The  power  of  the  executive  had  been 
increased.  Finally,  ever)'thing  had  been  provided,  that 
the  President  might  act  without  hindrance  in  the  re- 
pression of  the  rebellion,  until  the  ne.xt  session  of  Con- 
gress, in  the  early  days  of  December. 

The  army  then  was  supreme  in  Washington,  so  much 
the  more  that  the  sound  of  the  enemy's  cannon  could 
be  distinctly  heard  there,  and  that  from  the  top  of  the 
dome  of  the  Capitol  the  rebel  flag  could  be  seen  float- 
ing from  Munson's  HilL 

The  morning  after  our  arrival,  an  officer  was  sent 
from  the  War  Department  to  conduct  us  to  the  place 
of  our  temporary  encampment.  A  recent  order  had 
been  issued,  that  the  regiments  should  march  directly 
to  their  camping  grounds,  without  passing  along  Penn- 
sylvania Avenue,  where  the  continuous  and  dail)'  march- 
ing of  troops  had  at  last  become  tiresome.  However, 
the  fine  bearing  of  the  Fifty-fifth  procured  it  the  honor 
of  an  exception,  and  it  took  the  via  sacra  on  its  route 
to  Meridian  Hill,  where  suitable  camping  ground  was 
still  unoccupied. 

The  administration  of  the  war  was  not  yet  well  enough 
organized  successfully  to  attend  to  the  great  increase 
of  labor  which  the  concentration  of  a  powerful  army  at 


FROM    NEW    YORK    TO    WASHINGTON.  79 


Washington  imposed  upon  iL  It  is  not  ver\- 
ing,  then,  that  we  were  left  at  Meridian  Hiil  cwenty-ioiir 
hours  without  rations,  without  tents,  aBd  without  wood. 
Happily  for  us,  we  had  still  with  us  some  rations, 
brought  from  New  York.  Besides,  the  weather  w-as 
warm,  and  that  first  night  passed  away  easily  enough, 
a  la  ht-ilr  etoiU.  The  following  day  the  rents  and 
provisions  came  to  hand. 

The  government  gave  out  tents  with  a  profusion  im- 
possible during  a  campaign,  as  we  shall  see  later  on. 
They  were  of  two  kinds ;  for  the  officers,  wall  tents, 
ten  feet  square,  with  perpendicular  side  walls  three  feet 
high,  ha\-ing  the  form  of  a  little  hoiise ;  for  the  non- 
commissioned officers  and  men,  wedge  tents,  six  feet 
deep  by  six  feet  front  on  the  ground,  issued  in  the  pro- 
portion of  one  for  four  men  ;  so  that  for  a  regiment  of 
one  thousand  men  there  were  two  tents  for  the  colo- 
nel, two  for  the  lieutenant-colonel,  two  for  the  major, 
two  for  the  adjutant  and  his  office,  two  for  the  two 
surgeons,  one  for  each  captain,  one  for  the  two  lieu- 
tenants of  each  company  ;  total,  thirty-two  wall  tents 
and  two  hundred  and  fifty  wedge  tents,  besides  two 
hospital  tents,  fourteen  feet  by  fifteen. 

However,  the  style  was  not  uniform,  and  a  number 
of  the  regiments  were  furnished  with  Sibley  tents,  so 
called  from  the  inventor,  who  had  procured  their  adop- 
tion for  the  regular  arm  v.  They  were  great  cloth  cones, 
capped  by  a  mo\"able  cape,  raised  up  to  air  the  interior, 
and  to  let  out  the  smoke  from  a  stove  during  the  winter. 
Sixteen  men  could  sleep  in  one  with  their  heads  against 
the  w-alls,  and  their  feet  converging  to  the  centre.  They 
were  never  used  during  a  campaign.  The  only  tent 
which  took  the  place  of  all  others,  and  was  used  uni- 
formly by  the  soldiers  during  the  u-ar,  was  the  shelter 
tent,  whose  model  we  have  seen  in  France, 


8o  FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

The  regim-ent  of  American  infantry  differing  entirely 
from  the  French  regiment,  it  may  be  well  to  give  in  a 
few  words  its  organization  as  it  was  fixed  by  an  act  of 
Congress,  dated  July  22,  1861,  and  unchanged  during 
the  war. 

The  regiment  is,  really,  merely  a  battalion  of  ten  com- 
panies. The  staff  is  composed  of  a  colonel,  a  lieutenant- 
colonel,  a  major,  an  adjutant,  a  quartermaster,  two  sur- 
geons, with  the  right  to  add  a  chaplain.  The  major  is 
not,  as  he  is  in  France,  an  administrative  ofBcer,  he  is 
the  deputy  of  the  lieutenant-colonel,  as  the  latter  is  the 
deputy  of  the  colonel.  Whether  at  drill  or  under  fire, 
he  more  specially  has  charge  of  the  left  of  the  regiment, 
as  the  lieutenant-colonel  has  of  the  right,  both  looking 
out  for  the  prompt  execution  of  orders. 

The  adjutant  keeps  the  regimental  books,  prepares 
the  reports,  files  away  the  orders  of  the  superior  offi- 
cers, countersigns  those  of  the  colonel,  and  receives  the 
official  communications  of  the  subaltern  officers,  which 
must  be  addressed  to  him.  In  the  military  hierarchy, 
it  is  the  rule  that  every  communication  of  an  inferior  to 
a  superior  must  pass  through  the  hands  of  the  ad- 
jutant. 

The  quartermaster  has  charge  of  the  transportation, 
the  camp  equipage,  and  furniture  and  requirements,  of 
which  he  keeps  the  accounts  and  makes  the  reports. 
Under  him  the  administration  of  the  subsistence  is 
represented  in  the  regiment  by  a  commissary  sergeant. 
He  is,  moreover,  assisted  by  a  quartermaster  sergeant, 
as  the  adjutant  is  by  the  sergeant-major. 

Each  company  is  composed  of  one  captain,  one  first 
lieutenant,  one  second  lieutenant,  five  sergeants,  eight 
corporals,  two  drummers  or  fifers,  one  teamster,  and 
from  sixty-four  to  eighty-two  privates.  The  whole  num- 
ber of  men  in  a  regiment  is,  therefore  :  officers,  thirty- 


FROM    NEW    YORK    TO    WASHINGTON.  8 1 

seven  ;    non-commissioned   officers   and    soldiers,   from 
805  (minimum)  to  985  (maximum). 

This  was  the  organization  of  the  Fifty-fifth  New 
York.  Its  composition  was  of  a  very  mixed  kind.  The 
recruiting  had  opened  its  ranks  to  men  of  all  nationali- 
ties. The  French  were  a  majority  in  six  companies. 
The  sojourn  in  a  strange  land  had  not  altered  their 
character.  Their  merits  and  their  defects  were  the 
same  in  America  as  in  France.  Only  they  were  less 
subject  to  discipline,  and  the  performance  of  what 
was  required  of  them  in  service  depended  less  upon 
their  sense  of  duty  than  upon  the  national  vanity  which 
led  them  to  exalt  themselves  and  to  underrate  others. 
In  reviews  and  in  brigade  drills,  where  they  attracted 
attention,  they  made  a  fine  appearance,  and  manoeuvred 
together  and  with  precision.  Under  fire,  where  nobody 
saw  them,  they  did  neither  better  nor  worse  than  the 
others. 

After  the  French,  the  Germans  were  the  more  nu- 
merous in  the  Fifty-fifth.  Nearly  all  the  companies  had 
more  or  less  of  them  in  their  ranks.  Company  H  was 
entirely  composed  of  them.  Good  soldiers,  prompt  in 
obedience,  animated  with  good-will,  and  conspicuous 
for  their  fine  bearing,  they  always  did  their  duty  well 
upon  the  field  of  battle  as  in  camp. 

Company  K  was  composed  entirely  of  Irishmen,  com- 
manded by  three  American  officers,  drawn  from  the 
nursery  of  the  Seventh  New  York  militia.  The  Irish 
have  two  prevailing  faults,  uncleanliness  and  a  tendency 
to  drunkenness.  On  inspection,  their  uniforms  were 
seldom  without  spots  or  their  bearing  without  fault. 
When  whiskey  was  introduced  into  the  camp  clandes- 
tinely, it  was  in  the  Irish  quarter  that  the  officer  of  the 
guard  first  found  it.  The  most  severe  punishments 
availed  nothing.     But,  on  the  other  hand,  they  were 


82  FOUR    YEARS    WITIi    THE    P(3T0MAC    ARMY. 

fine  fighters.  When  they  were  under  fire,  the  spots  on 
their  uniforms  disappeared  under  powder  or  blood  ;  — 
good  fellows,  after  all,  indefatigable,  enthusiastic,  and 
always  ready  for  a  joke  or  a  fight. 

I  had,  besides,  in  my  regiment  a  small  number  of 
Spaniards,  young  men,  intelligent,  sober,  reserved,  of 
fine  bearing  and  of  good  conduct ;  and  a  few  Italians, 
poor  soldiers. 

Finally,  the  tenth  company,  which  had  not  yet  joined 
us,  was  composed  of  Americans.  Recruited  at  random, 
poorly  commanded,  not  disciplined,  very  little  drilled, 
we  found  it  much  behind  the  others.  We  had  to  fur- 
nish it  with  instructors  ;  both  officers  and  non-commis- 
sioned officers  needed  instructors  as  much  as  the 
soldiers,  and  the  company  never  emerged  from  its  rela- 
tive inferiority.  This  is,  however,  a  special  instance, 
which  is  of  no  value  for  judging  the  American  sol- 
dier. Experience  has  proved  that  he  was  not  infe- 
rior to  any  other,  and  in  certain  respects  he  has  shown 
himself  superior  to  many,  having  accomplished  the 
greatest  results,  without  enjoying  the  adv^antages  which 
are  reserved  to  military  nations,  to  whom  peace  never 
ceases  to  be  a  preparation  for  war.  If  the  United 
States  had  had  in  i860  a  regular  army  of  one  hundred 
and  fifty  thousand  men,  the  rebellion  would  not  prob- 
ably have  lasted  six  months. 

To  complete  the  sketch  of  the  Fifty-fifth,  I  must  men- 
tion here  an  anomaly,  which  had  come  to  us  from  the 
militia  service,  and  from  which  we  could  not  be  freed 
until  after  a  campaign.  I  mean  a  company  of  Zouaves  in 
the  regiment.  Their  uniform  was  precisely  that  of  the 
French  Zouaves,  and  of  which  they  presented  besides 
all  the  characteristics.  I  do  not  know  whether  I  should 
attribute  this  peculiarity  to  the  soldierly  traditions 
which  had  crossed  the  Atlantic  during  the  Crimean  and 


FROM  NZ-    v::j:  t:    -v.\>Hrs"Giox.  S3 


non-commiss:      r     .—.:.:   :.:...  _  r 

Crimea,  and        . 

as  instructor.  ^  . _~  .  _ 

The  Zouaves  of  the  Fi;:r  .     1 

ing  the  life  of  one  uniform,  thi:    -  :    r  r    .:r  :: 
paign.     The  State  had  fumif  r 

laced  jackets,  their  close  vest:  ,  f . 

their  leather  shoes,   and    the   re_  r 

blue  waistbands.     When   the  - 

newed,  the  government  verr  _     .- 

tion  uniform.     It  was  the   ^  e 

red  pantaloons,  and  the  bl  _  r  .  ^  vcor 

the  Fifty-fifth  had  to  wear  ::; 

The  regulation  uniform  W2.r  e 

army,  with  the  insignia  tc  _  :  -7;    .   ..     .s 

of  the  service,  and  the  ran^ 

The  great  ^•ariet}-  of  uniforms  which  marks  the  Euro- 
pean armies  is  really  more  pleasant  to  look  at  than  it  is 
useful  It  pleases  the  eye,  and  adds  to  the  brilliancy 
of  public  ceremonies  in  time  of  peace,  but  in  time  of 
war  of  what  use  is  it  ?  The  time  will  come  when  the 
militar}-  authorities  will  free  themselves  from  all  that 
medley  and  economize  on  the  expense. 

In  the  United  States  we  have  carried  on  an  arduous 
war  without  shakos,  without  helmets,  without  bearskin 
hats,  without  breastplates,  without  lace,  and  it  seems  to 
me  that  we  have  nevertheless  succeeded. 


CHAPTER  V. 

THE  FORMATION  OF  THE  ARMY  OF  THE  POTOMAC. 

The  brigade  of  General  Peck — Surroundings  at  Washington — Regi- 
ments of  cavalry  —  Batteries  of  artillery  —  Grand  review  —  The 
Orleans  princes  —  Lincoln  and  McClellan — Summer  storm  —  Gen- 
eral Buell  —  Inspections  —  The  defences  to  the  south  of  the  Potomac 
—  Arlington,  and  the  Lee  family  —  General  Wadsworth  at  Upton 
Hill  —  Blenker's  division  —  Movements  of  the  enemy  upon  the  upper 
Potomac. 

The  regiments,  which  were  arriving  continually  at 
Washington,  were  not  yet  in  condition  to  put  into  the 
field  against  the  enemy.  They  might  do  very  well  for 
defending  the  capital  behind  intrenchments,  but  a  very 
small  part  of  them  were  fit  to  enter  at  once  upon  a 
campaign.  Recruited  in  haste,  dressed  in  the  same 
way,  they  were  hurried  on  as  soon  as  they  reached  the 
regimental  number.  They  had  everything  to  learn, 
drill,  marchings,  service,  discipline,  and  very  few  non- 
commissioned officers  to  instruct  them,  even  supposing 
the  officers  capable  of  doing  it,  which  was  rarely  the 
case.  Such  was  the  principal  cause  of  the  inaction  in 
which  the  months  of  autumn  and  winter  passed  away. 
There  were  a  great  many  men,  but  few  soldiers.  The 
affair  of  Bull  Run  had  served  as  a  lesson.  Before  re- 
suming offensive  operations,  a  real  army  must  be  formed. 
That,  in  fact,  was  what  we  endeavored  to  do. 

We  were  not  far  from  the  enemy.  The  stimulant 
was  not  wanting,  and  we  were  continually  on  the  alert. 

The  regimental  camp  was  scarcely  formed,  and  camp 
duty  commenced,  than  we  had  a  night  alarm.  Every 
©ne  was  asleep,  except  the  guard  and  the  sentinels, 


FORMATION    OF   THE    POTOMAC   ARMY.  85 

when  suddenly  the  long  roll,  the  American  alarm,  was 
heard  at  a  distance.  This  alarm  signal,  promptly  re- 
peated, came  nearer  and  nearer.  In  a  moment  we 
were  under  arms,  the  regiment  in  line  of  battle  in 
front  of  the  flag,  the  first  sergeants  lantern  in  hand, 
the  officers  with  revolver  in  belt.  We  were  conscious, 
in  the  silence,  that  there  was  a  great  swarming  of  men  ; 
ligfhts  moved  about  in  the  darkness,  and  we  heard  the 
hurried  gallop  of  the  orderlies  as  they  passed  and  re- 
passed over  the  road.  We  awaited  orders  ;  time  went 
on,  and  the  orders  did  not  come.  Finally,  we  learned 
the  cause  of  all  the  stir.  Two  Wisconsin  regiments, 
encamped  in  the  neighborhood,  had  just  been  sent  to 
Chain  Bridge,  a  bridge  crossing  the  Potomac  above 
Georgetown,  where  some  reports  had  been  received  of 
the  concentration  of  the  enemy.  That  did  not  concern 
us  ;  we  returned  to  our  tents  to  resume  our  broken 
sleep.  These  alarms  were  renewed  from  time  to  time, 
showing  more  zeal  than  experience. 

A  few  days  after  the  incident  above  mentioned,  we 
were  attached  to  a  brigade  organized  under  the  com- 
mand of  General  Peck.  It  was  composed  of  four  regi- 
ments, —  the  Fifty-fifth  and  Sixty-second  New  York, 
the  Sixth  New  Jersey,  and  the  Thirteenth  Pennsyl- 
vania, —  forming  a  force  of  about  three  thousand  five 
hundred  men. 

General  Peck  had  served  in  the  Mexican  War  as 
an  officer,  after  which  he  had  abandoned  a  military 
career,  to  follow  a  business  and  political  life.  This 
was  the  case  as  to  the  greater  part  of  our  generals. 
On  putting  on  the  uniform  again,  he  found  it  necessary 
to  brush  up  his  military  knowledge.  A  capable  com- 
mander, and,  moreover,  a  conscientious  man,  so  en- 
tirely free  from  all  pretence  that  when  he  came  for 
the  first  time  to  assist  at  the  drilling  of  my  regiment 


86  FOLTl   \"EARS    VnTH    THE    P<3T0MAC    ARMY. 

he  himself  wished  to  wait  a  little,  "  to  pick  himself 
up,"  he  said,  adding  in  a  loud  voice,  before  the  men, 
that  he  had  not  given  a  command  for  more  than  ten 
vears.  ^Most  men  would  have  thought  the  disclosure 
undesirable. 

The  colonel  commanding  the  Sixty-second  was  a 
New  York  lawj^er  without  any  idea  of  the  duties  of 
his  new  position.  He  was  lacking  in  the  most  ele- 
mentary' knowledge  of  them,  and  he  did  not  seem  to 
take  the  trouble  to  acquire  them.  His  regiment  was 
encamped  on  the  grounds  of  an  elegant  villa,  where  he 
had  installed  himself  unceremoniously.  He  was  a  hand- 
some man,  and  passed  the  most  of  his  time  at  Wash- 
ington, where  his  tall  figure  displayed  well  his  uniform 
and  the  spread  eagles  of  his  shoulder-straps.  He  left 
the  care  of  drill  to  a  special  instructor.  As  to  disci- 
pline, he  bad  ideas  quite  peculiar,  declaring  himself,  on 
principle,  opposed  to  punishment,  because,  said  he, 
"  punishment   degrades  a  soldier." 

One  can  easily  imagine  the  result  of  such  a  system. 
Insubordination  reigned  amongst  the  men,  discord 
amongst  the  officers,  the  regimental  government  was 
full  of  intriguing,  and  the  regiment,  which,  in  other 
hands,  would  have  been  as  good  as  any,  was  left  to 
look  out  for  itsel£  A  bad  neighborhood,  which  sub- 
jected our  sentinels,  more  than  once,  to  insults  which 
it  was  ^necessary  to  punish  ourselves,  or  see  them  go 
unpunished.  I  cite  these  facts,  to  show  what  obsta- 
cles had  to  be  surmounted  to  reach  a  good  organi- 
zation of  the  army.  We  reached  that  point,  but  it 
took  time. 

The  Thirteenth  Pennsylvania  had  more  than  the 
maximum  number  of  men,  so  that  it  was  deprived  of 
two  supplementary'  companies.  It  was  in  good  relative 
condition,  under  the  command  of  an  influential  politi- 


P?K3L\TIOX   OF   THE    PjTOMAC   ARM^".  J>7 

cian  of  Pittsburg,  a  boon  companion,  rojr.i-:i.^ei  and 
large  in  girth,  who  had  no  objection  to  expos:::ig  himself 
to  fire,  but  who  was  not  yet  ashamed  to  protect  him- 
self from  the  showers  from  heaven,  by  an  umbrella, 
under  which  I  found  him,  one  day,  going  around  camp, 
caring  nothing  for  what  any  one  might  say. 

The  Sixth  New  Jersey  did  not  remain  in  the  brigade, 
its  place  being  taken  by  the  Xinet\*-third  Penn5yl\-ania. 

The  first  care  of  General  Peck,  on  taking  comniand. 
was  to  establish  uniformity-  of  drill,  and  to  fix  the 
time  at  six  hours  a  day  :  in  the  morning  the  company 
and  the  platoon  drill  ;  in  the  afternoon  battalion  drill 
and  field  duty.  This  was  nothing  new  to  the  FiftA-fifth, 
but  it  \\-as  very  different  A\ith  the  other  re^ments,  A 
French  lieutenant,  belonging  to  a  Wisconsin  regiment, 
told  me  that  they  had  not  a  captain  capable  of  com- 
manding a  company,  and  that  the  colonel  looked  on 
nar\'ely  at  the  platoon  drill,  book  in  hand,  in  order  to 
understand  the  meaning  of  the  commands.  This  did 
not  prevent  his  being  sent  across  the  Potomac,  a  few 
days  later.  The  question  was  asked  what  could  he  do 
in  face  of  the  enemy.  Moreover,  we  were  not  so  far 
away  at  Meridian  Hill  that  we  could  not  hear  dis- 
tinctly the  sound  of  the  cannon.  Ver}-  often  we  were 
drilling  to  the  sound  of  the  artillery. 

This  proximity  to  the  enemy  could  not  fail  to  cause 
those  who  remarked  it  to  see  in  wh.U  a  strange  man- 
ner camp  duty  was  performed,  or.  rather,  was  not  per- 
formed.    One  incident  will  give  a  good  idea  of  it. 

On  September  20,  the  command  of  the  grand  guard 
of  the  brigade  devolved  upon  the  major  of  the  Fifty- 
fifth,  an  officer  zealous  in  all  the  details  of  the 
service,  which  he  had  learned  in  the  ranks  of  the  X,a- 
tional  Guard  at  Stnisbourg.  The  lieutenant  of  the 
company  of  Zouaves  was  sent,  during   the  night,   to 


SS  FOUR   YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

make  the  grand  rounds,  and  he  stated  in  his  report,  the 
next  morning,  that  he  had  entered  the  camps  of  twelve 
regiments,  without  being  stopped,  or  even  challenged, 
walking  around  freely  everywhere  with  his  men.  In 
the  SLxty-second  New  York,  he  had  found  seven  senti- 
nels asleep,  rolled  up  in  their  blankets.  Finally,  what 
seems  hardly  credible,  he  went  into  the  deserted  tent 
of  the  colonel  of  the  Nineteenth  Indiana,  whence  he 
carried  off  the  flag  of  the  regiment,  without  any  one's 
being  present  to  oppose  it.  The  flag  was  sent  to  Gen- 
eral Peck,  to  be  returned  to  the  regiment,  which,  per- 
haps, had  not  noticed  its  absence.  I  trust  matters  went 
on  differently  on  the  other  side  of  the  Potomac.  If  not, 
it  must  be  acknowledged  that  at  that  period  the  secu- 
rity of  the  capital  depended  less  upon  the  protection 
of  its  defenders  than  upon  the  unskilfulness  of  the 
assailants. 

On  our  side  of  the  river,  near  the  camp  covering 
Georgetown  and  Washington,  not  an  enemy  was  seen. 
This  portion  of  the  country  is  the  most  picturesque 
that  one  can  imagine.  The  landscape  is  charming, 
full  of  variety,  abounding  in  agreeable  surprises.  Great 
woods  crown  the  summits  of  steep  slopes,  concealing 
the  ravines  under  their  thick  shade,  leaning  over  the 
brawling  waters  of  Rock  Creek,  which  falls  into  the 
Potomac,  a  little  farther  down.  Here  a  mill,  con- 
cealed in  a  narrow  valley,  there  a  bridge  thrown  boldly 
across  the  torrent  from  one  rock  to  another.  Farther 
along,  a  farm,  with  its  fowls  cackling,  its  fields  of  maize 
yellow  in  the  sunlight ;  or  a  villa,  with  its  green  lawn, 
its  orchards  full  of  fruit,  its  gardens  full  of  flowers. 
Everywhere,  nature  fruitful,  calm,  smiling,  in  full  sight 
of  camps  formed  for  destruction,  noisy,  menacing.  A 
thrilling  contrast,  an  elegant  protest  of  peace  against 
the  war  so  roughly  invading  its  domain. 


FORMATIOX    C»F    THE    POTO^L\C    ARM\-.  S9 

Under  the  great  trees  along  the  roads,  the  white 
tents  showed  the  cavalr}'  camps,  with  wider  inter\"als 
than  those  of  the  infantn,-,  and  distributed  over  a 
greater  extent  of  country.  Most  of  the  regiments 
were  yet  in  process  of  formation.  The  men,  who  were 
to  be  armed,  equipped,  and  mounted  at  Washington,  ar- 
rived there,  sometimes,  without  even  uniforms.  It  is 
e\-ident  that  the  greater  portion  of  them  were  not 
horsemen,  and  knew  nothing  about  taking  care  of  a 
horse.  Many  of  their  officers  knew  scarcely  more. 
They  had  obtained  their  commission  by  contributing 
freely  from  their  purses  for  the  recruiting  of  their 
companies.  That  was  a  good  enough  title.  Xoihing 
more  could  be  asked. 

I  knew  a  retired  merchant  of  New  York,  filled  with 
the  vanity  of  wearing  the  uniform,  who  spent  twenty 
thousand  dollars  to  raise  a  regiment  of  cavalry,  of 
which  he  was,  of  course,  commissioned  colonel.  His 
camp  was  near  us  ;  he  was  never  there.  On  the  other 
hand,  he  displayed  his  uniform  continually  on  the 
sidewalks  of  Pennsylvania  Avenue  and  in  the  bar- 
rooms of  the  great  hotels.  He  was  present  at  all  the 
receptions  at  the  White  House,  at  all  the  evening  par- 
ties of  the  ministers,  always  most  attentive  to  the 
wives  of  the  high  officials  and  of  the  senators.  Radi- 
cally incapable  of  commanding  his  regiment,  much  less 
of  leading  it  into  battle,  but  sustained  by  the  double 
power  of  money  and  of  political  influence,  he  was  nom- 
inated brigadier-general,  and  appointed  afterwards  to 
guard  some  empty  barracks,  in  a  post  evacuated  by  the 
enemy.  This  was  his  share  of  glorv,  and,  without  ever 
having  drawn  his  sabre  from  the  scabbard,  he  returned 
home,  to  enjoy  in  peace  the  delight  of  being  able  to 
write  the  title  of  "  General "  upon  his  visiting-cards. 

These  pasteboard  colonels  generally  took  good  care 


90  FOUR   YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

to  have  a  real  lieutenant-colonel,  to  whom,  in  fact,  fell 
the  command  of  the  regiment,  and  if  the  major  was 
also  a  capable  officer  there  was  not  much  to  complain 
of.  But,  if  a  regiment  of  infantry  can  be  quickly  pre- 
pared for  the  field,  it  is  far  otherwise  with  the  cavalry. 
Cavalry  cannot  be  improvised.  Our  experience  already 
proved  that.  In  the  very  beginning  of  the  war,  the 
organization  of  that  arm  met  with  a  serious  obstacle  in 
the  marked  desire  of  General  Scott  to  do  without  it. 
The  commander-in-chief,  who  could  no  longer  mount  a 
horse,  and  who  at  that  time  arranged  everything  in  his 
cabinet,  had  formed  his  own  theory  in  that  respect. 
Injurious  delays  arose  from  that  cause. 

The  enemy,  on  the  contrary,  favored  in  every  way 
the  formation  of  bodies  of  cavalry.  The  rich  young 
men  of  the  South  themselves  provided  the  expense  of 
their  equipments.  They  brought  to  the  army  excellent 
horses,  which  they  already  knew  how  to  manage,  and 
they  did  not  disdain  to  enter  the  ranks,  followed  often 
by  a  negro  servant,  who  took  his  master's  place  in  the 
disagreeable  duties  of  the  business. 

These  detachments,  well  mounted  and  equipped, 
composed  of  young  men  alert  and  brave,  were  very  use- 
ful to  the  Confederate  army.  They  acted  as  advance 
parties  and  scouts,  and  gathered  exact  information  as 
to  our  movements.  They  protected  their  convoys,  and 
carried  off  our  wagons.  They  covered  their  own  lines, 
and  captured  our  pickets,  appearing  where  they  were 
least  expected,  disappearing  before  their  retreat  could 
be  cut  off,  seldom  returning  without  booty  or  without 
prisoners.  It  is  well  known  what  good  service  the 
enemy's  cavalry  rendered  him  in  more  important  oper- 
ations, in  the  bold  raids  which  gave  renown  to  the 
name  of  Stuart  and  others.  This  superiority  lasted 
nearly  two  years,  —  as  long  as  the  men  and  the  horses 


FORMATION    OF   THE    POTOMAC    ARMY.  9 1 

—  and  until  the  clay  when  our  horsemen,  inured  to 
war,  and  better  commanded,  were  able  to  conquer 
where  the  chances  were  equal,  and,  as  veterans,  to 
defeat  everywhere  the  adversaries  against  whom,  as 
novices,  they  had  not  been  able  to  hold  their 
ground. 

The  cavalry  regiments  consisted  of  four  or  six  squad- 
rons. Each  squadron  consisted  of  two  companies, 
each  having  three  officers  and  ninety-two  non-commis- 
sioned officers  and  men. 

Besides  the  drill,  a  certain  number  of  infantry  regi- 
ments were  employed  in  constructing  detached  re- 
doubts, the  system  of  fortification  adopted  to  defend 
the  federal  capital,  especially  to  the  north  of  the  Po- 
tomac, where  the  enemy  could  with  difficulty  find  his 
way.  Under  the  direction  of  engineer  officers,  the  men 
performed  this  duty  very  well. 

The  first  occasion  which  was  offered  to  me  to 
appreciate,  with  any  correctness,  what  progress  the 
organization  of  the  army  had  already  made,  was  a 
grand  review  of  cavalry  and  artillery,  by  General 
JMcClellan.  It  took  place  on  the  24th  of  September, 
in  the  field  east  of  Washington,  behind  the  Capitol. 
At  that  time  we  were  not  yet  blase  on  military  parades, 
which  became  more  and  more  frequent  as  the  troops 
became  better  prepared  to  figure  in  them  to  advantage, 
by  their  bearing  and  by  their  instruction  in  the  evolu- 
tions of  the  line.  For  the  present,  manoeuvring  was 
not  yet  on  the  programme.  The  movements  were  con- 
fined to  passing  in  review  and  defiling. 

The  weather  was  magnificent.  The  people  thronged 
upon  the  drill  grounds,  and  admired,  without  reserve, 
nine  batteries  of  artillery,  each  having  six  pieces,  fifty- 
four  guns  of  different  models,  mostly  new,  everything 
in  perfect  order.     The  men    appeared  as  well  as    the 


92  FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

"material,"  each    one    at    his    post,    irreproachable    in 
bearing. 

Three  thousand  cavalry  were  in  line,  well  dressed, 
not  so  well  mounted,  betraying  their  inexperience  in 
the  formation  in  column,  and  defiling. 

Quite  a  large  number  of  superior  oflficers  had  ob- 
tained permission  to  witness  the  review,  and  received 
invitations  to  join  the  staff  of  the  general-in-chief. 
Amidst  these  uniforms  without  embroidery,  but  se- 
verely military,  three  horsemen  in  civil  dress  naturally 
drew  to  themselves  the  attention  of  all.  These  three 
privileged  citizens,  whose  names  were  asked,  were  the 
Prince  de  Joinville  and  his  two  nephews,  the  Count  de 
Paris  and  the  Duke  de  Chartres,  scions  of  a  dethroned 
royalty.  The  young  princes  came  to  offer  their  ser- 
vices to  the  federal  government,  and  to  follow  in  a 
republican  army  the  career  of  arms  which  had  already 
led  one  of  them  to  the  field  of  battle  in  Italy.  The 
calling  of  a  soldier  is  the  inalienable  apanage  of  French 
princes,  the  only  one  of  which  revolutions  cannot  de- 
prive them. 

The  men  of  my  generation  who  have  roamed  about 
the  world  have  witnessed  strange  reverses  of  fortune. 
As  a  child  I  was  rocked  to  sleep  to  the  recital  of  the 
great  imperial  epic ;  I  had  seen  Charles  X.  in  all  the 
splendor  of  royalty,  of  divine  right ;  the  Duchess  of 
Angouleme,  whose  sad  features  appeared  to  bear  the 
indelible  imprint  of  the  misfortunes  of  her  infancy  ;  the 
Duchess  de  Berry,  the  youth  and  joy  of  that  aging 
court  ;  and  the  Duke  of  Bordeaux,  the  hope  of  the  dy- 
nasty, to  whom  I  had  been  presented  in  the  midst  of 
his  playthings,  as  a  future  defender  of  his  throne.  But 
the  throne  had  crumbled  away  before  I  was  old  enough 
to  hold  a  sword. 

As  a  young  man  I  had  seen  the  king,  Louis  Philippe, 


FORMATION    OF    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY.  93 

the  crowned  choice  of  the  bourgeoisie,  pass  in  review 
the  national  guard  of  his  good  city  of  Paris,  surrounded 
by  a  family  numerous  and  brilliant,  destined,  as  it 
seemed  then,  to  protect  and  perpetuate  the  new  mon- 
archy. But  a  stroke  of  the  paw  of  the  lion  populace 
had  precipitated  the  citizen  king  into  exile,  as  it  had 
done  before  the  legitimate  king. 

One  day,  passing  along  the  foot  of  the  walls  of  the 
castle  of  Ham,  I  sought  to  discover  upon  the  walls  the 
silhouette  of  Prince  Louis  Napoleon  Bonaparte,  who 
was  then  a  captive  within.  "  A  head  without  a  brain," 
the  wise  ones  of  that  time  said. 

A  man  grown,  I  witnessed  during  the  space  of  three 
months  the  melodrama  played  in  France  in  1848,  hiss- 
ing the  bad  actors,  who  struggled  upon  the  shaking 
boards  of  power  until  the  curtain  fell  upon  a  bloody 
ending,  to  rise  upon  a  parody  of  military  dictatorship. 

From  that  abortive  dictatorship  I  had  witnessed  the 
birth  of  the  empire,  and  the  captive  of  Ham,  crowned 
by  universal  suffrage,  seat  himself  in  triumph  upon  the 
throne  once  more  restored. 

All  those  great  shipwrecks  have  scattered  their  d/- 
bris  throughout  the  world.  I  have  met  many  of  them 
in  my  wandering  life.  I  have  deciphered  the  epitaph 
of  Charles  X.  upon  an  obscure  flagstone  in  a  Francis- 
can convent  in  Goritz.  I  have  paid  homage  to  the  ill- 
fortune  of  the  Count  de  Chambord,  the  disinherited 
heir  of  the  kings  of  France,  in  that  old  castle  of 
Frohsdorff,  where  the  daughter  of  Louis  XVI.  con- 
tinued to  seek  in  prayer  a  relief  to  the  bitterness  of 
undeser\-ed  sorrow.  I  have  been  the  guest  of  the 
Duchess  de  Berry,  that  princess  with  heroic  inspira- 
tions, the  woman  with  charming  disposition,  whose 
quiet  serenity  neither  age  nor  misfortunes  ever  altered. 
And  near  her,  have  I  not  seen  at  Venice  that  Arch- 


94  FOUR   YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

duchess  of  Austria  who  was  the  mother  of  the  king  of 
Rome,  and  who  had  shared  the  finest  throne  in  the 
world  with  the  greatest  captain  of  the  century,  still 
peevishly  complaining  at  her  ill-fortune.  In  England  I 
have  been  received  by  the  prince  who  would  have  been 
regent  of  France,  under  the  roof  where  Louis  Philippe 
died. 

Amongst  these  great  waifs  of  the  revolutions,  how 
many  celebrities  eclipsed,  how  many  powerful  fallen 
ones  have  I  met,  ^^  eating  the  bitter  bread  of  the 
stranger!''  And  now,  in  this  distant  land  where  the 
Duke  of  Orleans  had  wandered  a  proscribed  man,  I 
found  again  his  grandsons,  proscribed  as  he  had  been. 
In  former  days  I  had  been  presented  to  the  Prince  de 
Joinville,  at  the  time  when  he  visited  New  York  on  the 
Belle  Poule,  which  he  commanded.  We  were  young 
then.  Teinpora  vmtantnr.  — The  times  change,  and  we 
change  with  them. 

At  this  review,  where  I  saw  for  the  first  time  the 
young  prince,  there  was  seen  a  very  simple  open  car- 
riage, mingling  on  terms  of  democratic  equality  with 
the  other  carriages  loaded  with  spectators.  And  yet  it 
carried  Mr.  Lincoln  and  his  family.  It  was  to  be  ob- 
served that  the  eyes  of  the  people  were  not  upon  the 
President  of  the  Republic.  The  man  upon  whom  more 
than  upon  any  other  depended  the  safety  or  the  ruin  of 
the  country  at  that  hour  of  supreme  peril,  upon  whom 
weighed  the  highest  responsibility,  remained  unnoticed 
in  the  crowd,  except  by  those  in  his  immediate  vicinity, 
without  guard  and  without  attendants.  All  the  atten- 
tion was  turned  upon  that  young  general,  with  the  calm 
eye,  with  the  satisfied  air,  who  moved  around,  followed 
by  an  immense  staff,  to  the  clanking  of  sabres  and  the 
acclamations  of  the  spectators. 

Oh,  the  vanity  of  popular  enthusiasm !     On  account 


FORMATION    OF   THE    POTOMAC    ARMY.  95 

of  one  fortunate  battle,  fought  at  the  head  of  a  few 
thousand  men,  General  McClellan  was  raised  to  the 
highest  position.  He  was  the  idol  of  the  moment. 
The  popular  voice  called  him  the  second  Napoleon. 
He  who  by  his  political  falterings  and  his  military  inca- 
pacity was  destined  to  aggravate  the  dangers,  prolong 
the  trials,  make  heavy  the  sacrifices  of  the  burdened 
country,  —  to  him  was  decreed  in  advance  an  apotheo- 
sis. To  him  who  was  destined  to  lead  the  nation  to 
its  triumph  with  an  immovable  patriotism,  with  unwav- 
ering devotion  to  the  best  interests  of  the  Union,  — 
who,  his  task  accomplished,  was  to  give  his  life  to  his 
country  and  die  a  martyr  to  liberty,  —  to  him  the 
passer-by  forgot  to  raise  his  hat  in  salute. 

On  the  morning  of  the  26th  of  September  the  regiment 
broke  camp  in  obedience  to  an  order  received  the  even- 
ing before.  The  brigade  was  sent  three  or  four  miles  to 
the  front,  in  the  neighborhood  of  Tenallytown.  The 
road  was  good  and  pleasant.  It  followed  the  meander- 
ings  of  Rock  Creek,  in  the  shade  of  the  willows  and 
poplars,  then  passed  through  the  forest  to  reach  Swartz' 
farm,  where  we  pitched  our  new  camp.  The  men  kept 
step,  while  singing  the  Marseillaise,  or  the  Chant  des 
Girondins,  hymns  unknown  to  the  echoes  of  those 
parts,  which  repeated  them  for  the  first  time,  and  prob- 
ably for  the  last. 

Our  camping-ground  was  not  so  good  as  that  at 
Meridian  Hill.  The  ground  was  hilly,  uneven,  with 
abrupt  slopes.  We  made  the  best  arrangements  pos- 
sible, and  the  camp  was  established  before  night.  It 
was  well  for  us  that  we  did  so. 

The  sun  had  set  behind  a  curtain  of  black  clouds 
slowly  creeping  over  the  horizon.  On  the  extinction 
of  the  fires,  and  when  the  lights  were  put  out  in  camp, 
the  lightning  flashed   out  in    the  heavens ;   when  the 


96  FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

drums  became  silent  the  thunder  began  to  roll.  The 
days  directly  after  the  equinox  had  passed,  but  we 
lost  nothing  by  waiting.  The  first  messengers  of  the 
storm  were  sudden  gusts  of  wind,  sweeping  impetuously 
through  the  ravines,  bounding  along  the  hills,  threaten- 
ing to  uproot  the  trees  and  to  carry  away  our  tents. 
Those  asleep  were  quickly  awakened.  To  the  roar- 
ings which  filled  the  air,  to  the  tearful  moanings 
of  the  forest,  to  the  snapping  of  the  tent  flies,  the 
clear  sound  of  the  picket  pins,  struck  with  hurried 
blows  to  strengthen  our  frail  shelter  of  cloth,  replied 
promptly. 

We  hurried  still  more  eagerly  to  the  task,  when  the 
heavens  appeared  to  burst  over  our  heads,  as  if  the 
bottom  of  a  vast  reservoir  had  suddenly  given  way, 
A  perfect  sheet  of  water  fell  upon  us.  Every  one  dis- 
appeared immediately  under  his  tent.  The  sentinels 
alone  continued  upon  their  beats,  regarding  the 
heavens,  contemplating  the  storm,  and  directing  their 
attention  to  protecting  the  locks  of  their  guns  with  the 
skirts  of  their  cloaks.  We  had,  as  yet,  but  uncertain 
notions  as  to  the  strength  of  the  tents,  and  each  one 
asked  himself  if  they  would  be  thrown  to  the  ground 
under  the  weight  of  the  deluge,  or  be  driven  away  by 
the  force  of  the  wind. 

I  said  that  the  ground  was  uneven  and  hilly.  In  a 
few  minutes  the  streams  began  to  run  in  all  directions, 
increasing,  as  we  looked  at  them,  and  rushing  in  small 
torrents  through  all  the  windings  and  upon  all  the 
slopes  of  the  ground.  The  tempest,  which  had  threat- 
ened our  tents  from  the  top  only,  now  invaded  them 
from  beneath.  Every  one  was  compelled  to  defend 
himself  the  best  he  could  against  this  new  form  of 
attack.  There  were  dikes  raised  by  hand,  in  default 
of  spades,  and  ditches  dug  with  the  bayonet,  instead  of 


FORMATION    OF   THE    POTOMAC    ARMY.  97 

with  the  pick.  Thus,  by  the  flashes  of  the  lightning, 
the  workmen  appeared  one  by  one  or  two  by  two, 
according  to  the  urgency  of  the  case,  but  this  time 
with  naked  feet,  stripped  to  the  waist,  and  consoling 
themselves,  over  a  forced  bath,  by  defying  the  storm  to 
reach  their  garments. 

The  night  was  rough,  but  left  us  nearly  unharmed, 
with  the  exception,  however,  of  the  second  surgeon  of 
the  regiment.  The  whirlwind  appeared  to  be  particu- 
larly directed  towards  his  tent.  He  defended  it  ob- 
stinately, stopping  up  all  the  openings,  repairing  the 
breaches,  tightening  the  cords,  striving  with  the  energy 
of  one  who  fights  pro  aris  et  focis.  Unhappily,  the 
rain  soaked  the  earth,  and  the  picket  pins,  shaken  fu- 
riously without  any  intermission,  were  moved  further 
and  further  in  their  sockets  of  mud.  The  moment 
came  when  everything  gave  way.  The  doctor  was 
conquered,  but  exasperated.  He  had  not  been  able 
to  keep  his  tent  standing,  he  resolved  to  defend  it 
fallen.  He  could  be  perceived,  by  the  flash  of  the 
lightning,  with  uncovered  head,  hair  streaming,  dis- 
daining to  call  for  reenforcements,  plunging  into  the 
cloth,  like  a  sailor  taking  a  reef  in  his  sail,  covering 
his  trunk  and  his  camp-bed,  holding  it  there  with  both 
feet  and  hands,  and  defying  the  heavens,  which,  doubt- 
less, to  render  homage  to  so  heroic  a  resistance,  closed 
at  last  their  sluice-gates,  and  calmed  the  unchained 
winds. 

The  sun  shone  brightly  the  next  morning,  and  the 
atmosphere  was  clear.  But,  instructed  by  experience, 
the  soldiers  nevertheless  finished  carefully  the  works 
begun  during  the  night  for  the  protection  of  the 
camp. 

At  Camp  Holt  (the  name  given  to  the  new  encamp- 
ment of  the  brigade,  I  do  not   know  why),  the   service 


gS  FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTO^^IAC    ARMY. 

began  to  be  performed  with  more  uniformity  and  regu- 
larity. We  were  there  connected  with  two  other  bri- 
gades to  form  a  division  under  the  command  of  General 
Buell,  who  was  soon  after  appointed  to  command  an 
army  in  Kentucky,  and,  in  the  month  of  April  follow- 
ing, to  play  at  Shiloh,  in  favor  of  Grant,  the  part  that 
Bliicher  played  at  Waterloo,  in  favor  of  Wellington. 
In  September,  1861,  he  was  yet  only  a  brigadier-gen- 
eral of  volunteers.  In  the  regular  army  he  held  the 
rank  of  major,  and,  before  the  war,  performed  the  duties 
of  assistant  adjutant-general.  He  was  a  valuable  officer 
for  the  government  in  the  present  circumstances. 
Perfectly  conversant  with  all  the  details  of  the  ser- 
vice, very  strict  in  discipline,  he  caused  the  organiza- 
tion of  the  new  troops  and  the  instruction  of  the  soldier 
to  advance  with  rapid  steps.  He  established  his  head- 
quarters a  little  apart,  in  the  midst  of  a  field  surrounded 
by  woods.  He  slept  there  under  a  tent,  giving  his  offi- 
cers the  example  of  habits  of  activity  and  frugality, 
most  suitable  to  a  soldier's  life.  As  he  liked  to  look 
out  for  everything  for  himself,  it  was  not  unusual  to  see 
him  coming  unexpectedly  into  our  regiments,  followed 
by  an  orderly  only,  seeing  whether  every  one  did  his 
duty  and  whether  his  orders  were  strictly  obeyed.  No 
negligence  escaped  his  inquisitive  eye,  and  everything 
was  required  to  be  done  according  to  orders.  Cleanli- 
ness of  camp  was  as  necessary  as  punctuality  on  drill, 
the  bearing  of  the  officers  was  considered  as  well  as  the 
vigilance  of  the  sentinels. 

The  division  of  Buell  was  covered  by  a  line  of  pickets 
whose  duty  was  performed  as  if  with  the  enemy  in 
front.  The  picket  line  described  an  irregular  curve 
through  the  woods  and  fields,  across  the  roads  and 
the  water-courses,  in  the  midst  of  a  picturesque  coun- 
try, of  which  those  who  have   seen   only  that   part   of 


PORMATIOX    OF   -'ziZ.    I    71:1..:    .-^17:  z/g 

pretty  coantiy-boases,  scatterel  ever  the  --^'s  Tsried 
the  landscape.     Bat  they  al'  t  desened. 

The  disagreeable  proxiiE-t.  ivs  bring- 

ing with-  it   some   rob'i     .  gardens, 

and  exciting  exagger  :ae  inhabi- 

tants awa\-.      '^^'r—-  -_--__; 

generaily  De_ 

tore.     In  the  neics,  we  r.  t  z  -. 

posts,  who  added  very  l.ii.r  : 
landscape.     The  vedettes  passe  _ 

their  guns  on  their  shoulders.     The  rest  rrs 

slept,  or  conversed  tranquilly  ar;  -ip-rti.  to 

provide  which  they  had  pient*.-  .    :  it  bini. 

Others,   smoking    sflently,  — ::    v.-i:     —     f 

their   families,   c :.::"t"  .^ 

them  again,  of  thr  .  ;:  _  _._ 

tion.     But  this  was  :be   smi  :er      The 

soldier  is  no  dreamer.  T-"e  activity  oi  iiis  life  does 
not  leave  him  the  time.  The  sensibilit\"  is  quickly 
dulled  in  a  life  left  to  chance,  day  by  day,  and  where 
the  evening,  often,  has  no  morrow.  His  unconcern 
arises  from  the  uselessness  of  foresight  He  knows 
not  his  fate,  and  so  enjoys  the  present,  as  well  as 
possible,  not  disquieting  himself  as  to  the  hour  to 
come. 

Near  our  camp,  back  of  the  Swartz  farm,  some  forti- 
tications  had  been  commenced,  which  we  supposed  we 
were  to  finish.  But  it  was  not  to  be.  The  usual  drills 
were  suspended  only  for  re\4ews,  and  inspections  be- 
came more  and  more  frequent.  One  of  them  was  the 
occasion  of  a  ven.^  flattering  mention  of  the  FiftA^-fifth. 

Colonel  Marcy,  chief  of  staff  of  the  general-in-chief, 
had  been  ordered  to  inspect  all  the  volunteer  forces 


lOO       FOUR   YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

encamped  north  of  the  Potomac.  The  Count  de  Paris 
and  the  Duke  de  Chartres,  attached  as  captains  to  the 
staff  of  General  McClellan,  accompanied  him.  Their 
national  amour  propre  did  not  suffer  on  account  of  the 
appearance  of  the  French  regiment.  "  The  regiment," 
say  the  journals,  quoting  the  report  of  the  inspection, 
"  deserves  a  special  mention.  Nearly  all  the  officers  are 
French.  Many  have  served  in  Europe.  The  men  are 
principally  French,  and,  in  bearing  and  instruction,  as 
in  discipline,  have  no  superiors,  even  amongst  our  regu- 
lar troops." 

After  the  inspection  and  the  review,  which  is  the 
usual  conclusion,  General  Peck,  Colonel  Marcy,  and  the 
princes  assembled  under  my  tent,  where  champagne 
prolonged  the  visit.  At  that  time,  a  basket  of  cham- 
pagne might  yet  be  found  under  the  camp-bed  of  a 
colonel. 

Our  proximity  to  Washington,  the  good  condition  of 
the  roads,  the  beauty  of  the  landscape  caused  our  camp 
to  be  the  favorite  resort  of  visitors.  So  we  did  not  want 
for  company.  There  were  high  officials,  politicians, 
members  of  Congress  or  of  the  diplomatic  corps,  for- 
eign officers  come  to  offer  their  services  or  simply  to 
study  the  formation  of  our  army,  newspaper  corre- 
spondents, and  all  of  them  not  infrequently  accompanied 
by  ladies  curious  to  witness  our  drills  or  our  reviews. 

It  was  altogether  different  to  the  south  of  the  Po- 
tomac, where  the  enemy  was  found.  The  bridges 
were  guarded,  and  no  one  could  cross  them  without  a 
special  permit.  On  that  side,  our  line  of  defence 
formed  an  arc  of  a  circle,  resting  its  two  extremities 
upon  the  river  ;  one  extremity  at  Alexandria,  a  few 
miles  below  Washington,  the  other  covering  Chain 
Bridge,  a  few  miles  abote.  It  was  composed  of  a  chain 
of  detached   works,  more  important   and  better  armed 


FORMATION    OF   THE    POTOMAC    ARMY.  ID  I 

than  the  redoubts  raised  on  the  northern  side  of  the 
riv'er.  These  forts  were  on  the  summits  of  a  series  of 
heights  presenting  great  natural  advantages.  A  few 
months  before,  they  were  generally  covered  with  mag- 
nificent forests,  of  which  the  axe  had  already  made 
immense  abatis,  a  very  efficacious  breakwater  against 
the  human  wave  of  a  regular  attack.  Within  a  nearer 
radius,  other  works  were  thrown  up,  defending  the 
heights  of  Arlington,  opposite  the  city,  and  covering 
the  bridge-head  which  protected  Long  Bridge. 

The  estate  of  Arlington,  at  that  time,  belonged 
to  General  Robert  E.  Lee,  of  the  Confederate  army. 
The  Lee  family  is  historical  in  the  United  States,  and 
was  not  without  distinction  in  England.  The  first 
of  the  name  who  went  to  America  was  Richard  Lee, 
who  emigrated  in  the  time  of  Charles  I.,  a  strong  par- 
tisan, and  devoted  to  the  Stuarts,  like  the  greater 
part  of  the  Virginians  of  his  time,  and  against  whom 
Cromwell  had  to  send  an  expedition,  which  did  not 
reduce  the  royalist  colony  to  submission.  The  de- 
scendants of  Richard  Lee,  who  had  preserved  after 
him  an  influential  position,  played  an  important  part  in 
the  War  of  the  Revolution,  and  brought  to  their  name  a 
consideration  higher  than  ever  in  the  American  Repub- 
lic, although  the  instincts  of  their  race  were  much 
more  aristocratic  than  democratic. 

In  1861,  Robert  E.  Lee  was  a  colonel  in  the  regular 
army  of  the  United  States.  A  son  of  General  Henry 
Lee,  he  was  attached  to  the  engineers,  on  graduating 
from  West  Point,  and  had  served  in  the  Mexican  War 
with  a  distinction  rewarded  by  several  promotions. 
Afterwards  he  was  put  in  command  of  the  military 
school.  Finally,  in  the  month  of  April,  1861,  he  had 
resigned  to  attach  himself  to  the  fortunes  of  the  South- 
ern Confederacy. 


I02       FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

Arlington,  where  he  usually  resided,  has  a  lordly 
appearance.  A  great  park,  shaded  by  magnificent 
trees,  surrounded  the  residence,  whose  style  of  archi- 
tecture had  a  prestige  of  age,  much  respected  in 
America,  where  it  is  so  rarely  found.  Each  one  of  the 
two  fronts  is  adorned  with  a  wide  veranda,  whose 
high  columns  support  the  projecting  roof.  From  the 
northern  one  the  view  is  admirable.  The  majestic 
course  of  the  Potomac  through  the  plain  is  lost  from 
view  in  the  gray  horizon  of  Alexandria ;  then,  the 
whole  city  of  Washington,  with  its  great  monuments 
and  its  small  houses  ;  Georgetown,  rising  toward  the 
left,  like  an  amphitheatre  ;  lastly,  as  a  frame  to  the 
panorama,  the  line  of  blue  hills  cut  through  at  the 
right  by  the  immense  dome  of  the  Capitol,  raising 
toward  heaven  the  statue  of  armed  Liberty. 

On  September  29,  when  I  visited  Arlington  for  the 
first  time,  the  imprint  of  the  war  had  already  altered 
its  aspect.  The  dwelling  of  Lee  had  become  the  head- 
quarters of  General  McDowell,  now  commanding  a 
division  in  the  army  of  which  he  had  been  general-in- 
chief,  the  army  corps  not  being  yet  organized.  The 
horses  of  the  mounted  orderlies,  saddled  and  bridled, 
impatiently  pawed  the  ground  around  the  trees  to 
which  they  were  hitched.  The  tents  of  the  guard  and 
of  the  servants  of  the  staff  were  set  up  in  the  gardens, 
trampled  over  everywhere  by  men  and  animals.  The 
park  roads  were  deeply  furrowed  by  the  continual  pas- 
sage of  artillery  and  ammunition  wagons.  Through 
the  broken-down  fences,  the  hedges  dug  up  in  the 
fields,  in  the  woods,  and  upon  the  turf,  a  number  of 
abandoned  camps,  where  the  fires  still  smoked,  showed 
by  a  thousand  remains  the  place  where  the  regiments 
had  been,  and  which  they  had  left  early  in  the 
morning. 


FORMATIOX    OF   THE    POTOMAC    ARMY.  IO3 

A  Strong  division  of  twelve  thousand  men  had  in  fact 
moved  in  advance,  in  consequence  of  a  retrograde 
movement  of  the  enemy,  who  had  the  evening  before 
evacuated  his  advanced  positions  at  Upton  Hill  and 
Munson  Hill.  It  did  not  take  us  long  to  reach  the 
principal  column.  It  followed  a  narrow  and  hilly  road, 
sometimes  sunk  between  high  slopes,  sometimes  cross- 
ing swampy  places  on  an  embankment.  The  artillery 
wagons  at  times  encumbered  the  road,  stopped  by  some 
obstacle  or  by  some  accident.  The  men  marched  on 
the  sides  of  the  roads,  hurrying  to  close  up  the  inter- 
vals in  the  ranks. 

A  squadron  of  cavalry  halted  in  a  field  marked  the 
place  where  General  Keyes  had  established  his  head- 
quarters in  a  covered  cart,  from  which  he  sent  his  or- 
ders and  watched  the  movements  of  his  troops.  Every 
one  was  in  good  spirits  ;  no  one  remained  behind. 

When  I  reached  Upton  Hill,  the  brigade  of  General 
Wadsworth  had  already  taken  possession.  General 
Wadsworth  did  not  belong  to  the  regular  army.  He 
had  not  served  before,  except  on  the  staff  of  General 
McDowell,  during  the  three  months'  campaign,  so  un- 
happily terminated  by  the  disaster  of  Bull  Run.  He 
had  a  very  large  property  in  the  State  of  New  York, 
where  his  family  was  highly  respected.  When,  at  the 
commencement  of  the  war,  communication  with  Wash- 
ington was  interrupted,  he  had  hired  a  vessel,  and  loaded 
it  with  provisions  at  his  own  expense,  and  went  with  it 
himself,  to  better  assure  its  arrival  at  Annapolis.  This 
generous  devotion  to  the  cause  of  the  Union  recom- 
mended him  to  the  favor  of  the  government,  for  which, 
besides  thus  using  his  fortune,  he  was  destined  at  a 
later  day  to  lay  down  his  life. 

I  found  General  Wadsworth  under  the  roof  of  the 
pillaged   farmhouse.      He  was   at   that   time  fifty-four 


I04       FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

years  old,  but  the  ardor  of  his  patriotism  serYed  instead 
of  youthful  Yigor,  and  his  moral  energy  supported  with- 
out weakness  the  contrast  between  the  rude  camp  life 
and  the  luxurious  existence  which  had,  up  to  that  time, 
been  his  portion.  A  few  broken  stools  were  all  there 
was  left  of  the  furniture.  Some  doors  taken  off  their 
hinges  served  for  tables  ;  some  boards  picked  up  in  the 
garden  answered  for  benches.  The  Confederates,  who 
occupied  the  house  the  evening  before,  had  written 
their  names  with  charcoal  upon  the  defaced  walls  of  all 
the  rooms.  They  had  added,  as  soldiers  usually  do, 
rough  sketches,  among  which  the  most  frequent  was 
the  hanging  of  ^Ir.  Lincoln.  The  legend  was  easily 
altered  to  make  the  representation  that  of  the  hanging 
of  Mr.  Jefferson  Davis,  which  our  soldiers  did  not  fail 
to  do. 

The  house  was  surmounted  by  a  cupola,  the  view 
from  which  was  of  the  most  varied  character.  In  the 
gardens  the  stacks  of  arms  were  surrounded  by  soldiers 
lying  on  the  ground  or  digging  in  the  vegetable  garden  ; 
regiments  were  successively  taking  their  positions  in 
line  ;  a  dozen  cannon  were  in  battery,  the  cannoneers  in 
their  places  overlooking  the  valley,  the  officers  examin- 
ing with  their  field  glasses,  the  horizon  covered  with 
forests,  the  caissons  in  the  rear,  the  teams  on  the  inner 
slopes  of  the  hill.  In  front  the  Leesburg  road,  upon 
which  galloped  here  and  there  some  staff  officers  fol- 
lowed by  their  orderlies,  and  the  isolated  hillock  of 
INIunson  Hill,  from  the  top  of  which  already  floated  the 
federal  flag.  When  we  arrived  there,  our  men  began 
their  installation  behind  a  circular  line  of  intrenchments 
left  unfinished  by  the  enemy,  by  burning  the  half-rot- 
ten straw  upon  which  the  first  occupants  had  slept. 
From  this  hill  the  rebels  had  been  able  to  contemplate 
at  their  ease  the  dome  of  the  Capitol,  the  object    of 


FORiL\TION    OF    THE    POTOilAC    ARMY.  IO5 

their  desire  in  the  land  of  Canaan  which  it  was  given ' 
thera  to  have  a  sight  of,  but  which  they  never  entered. 

At  Bailey's  Crossroads  were  massed  several  regi- 
ments, among  which  was  the  "  Garibaldi  Guard,"  hav- 
ing in  it  as  many  nationalities  as  companies  ;  a  regiment 
poorly  commanded  by  a  Hungarian  colonel,  whose  sus- 
picious career  was  destined  to  end  in  the  penitentiary 
of  Sing  Sing.  The  French  company  wished  to  be  trans 
ferred  to  the  Fifty-fifth.  The  captain  commanding  it 
came  himself  to  see  me  about  it ;  but  it  was  too  late. 
The  War  Department,  fearing  to  open  the  door  to  new 
abuses,  denied  all  requests  of  this  kind,  whether  pre- 
sented by  individuals  or  by  bodies  of  men.  This  was 
the  fate  of  a  petition  signed  by  twenty  Anderson 
Zouaves,  and  presented  by  the  Count  de  Paris  to  Gen- 
eral McClellan. 

From  Bailey's  Crossroads  to  the  Seminar^',  a  large 
building  for  educational  purposes,  built  upon  the  high- 
est point  of  the  hills  which  surround  Alexandria,  nearly 
all  the  countr)'  traversed  by  the  road  w-as  covered  by 
abatis.  A  few  fortified  points  were  \-isible  at  long  dis- 
tances apart  in  front  of  the  strongest  works,  of  which 
I  have  already  spoken-  But  the  pickets,  with  their  re- 
seni'es,  lined  the  road  the  whole  distance.  On  this  side 
the  movement  was  limited  to  connecting  the  ad\-ance 
positions  with  the  right,  by  way  of  Munson  Hill. 

The  camps  which  we  visited  on  our  return  were  gen- 
erally well  kept  and  in  good  order.  We  found  there 
the  German  division  of  General  Blenker,  all  covered 
with  leaves,  surrounded  by  little  gardens  with  k^s, 
where  the  remembrances  of  VaUrland Vt^v^  abundantly 
watered  with  lager  beer. 

The  general  had  served  in  Europe.  He  had  sen,-ed  in 
Greece,  in  the  Bavarian  Legion,  and  later,  in  1849,  ^^ 
commanded  a  body  of  revolutionar)"  troops  in  Germany. 


rob       FOUR    \~EARS    WITH    THE    R>TOMaC    AKMV, 

He  received  us  under  a  great  tent,  which  had  e^•i- 
dently  been  designed  for  hospital  service.  It  was 
double,  of  a  bluish  stuff,  pleasant  to  the  eye,  and  hav- 
ing a  wall  tent  in  front  as  a  vestibule.  There  was  the 
aid  on  dut\\  near  whom  was  collected  a  numerous  staff, 
composed  of  foreign  officers,  nearly  all  Germans. 

The  demonstrative  courtesy  of  General  Blenker  con- 
trasted singularly  with  the  reserved  manners  of  the 
American  officers  ol  his  rank.  I  saw  him  then  for 
the  first  time,  and  it  would  have  seemed  that  I 
was  one  of  his  most  intimate  friends.  It  was  con- 
tinaally,  "My  dear  colonrf, — my  good  comrade, — 
what  a  pleasure  to  see  you  here^"  etc.  His  band,  which 
was  esrellent,  regaled  us  with  some  choice  selections 
from  the  Italian  ripertaire.  Some  real  champagne  was 
served  to  usy  upon  a  table  loaded  with  fruit  and  delicious 
cake ;  we  witnessed  afterwards  the  parade  of  a  regiment 
of  fine  appearance,  and  apparently  well  instructed ;  after 
which  we  took  our  leave,  with  many  compliments  and 
hand-shakings. 

The  career  of  Blenker  ^<±  not  correspond  with  the 
brilliancy  of  its  commencement.  He  was  not  with 
the  Armv  of  the  Potomac  on  the  Peninsula,  was  relieved 
from  Ms  ccMomand  for  acting  according  to  his  own  will, 
in  coettempt  q£  military  discipline  prejudicial  to  the 
gO'Vemment,  in  porticMis  of  Mrginia,  where  it  was  de- 
sired to  conciliate  the  pec^e:  He  died  in  the  humble 
poi^tioct  from  whic^  the  war  had  raised  him,  r^retting 
a  forttme  lost  by  allowing  himself  to  be  dazzled  by  its 
briTIgncy,  —  hurried,  perhaps,  to  the  tomb  by  the  worst 
of  griefs,  acoMding  to  the  po^ :  "  II  ricordarsi  del 
tempo  felice^  nrfia  misena.*^ 

In  fine  that  pcwtion  o£  the  Army  of  the  Potomac  had 
at  that  tirae  ^se  advantage  ov^er  us  <^  having  beoi 
under  fire.     A  few  skirmishes,  of  little  importancev  but 


Tjie  *T?ffii   c3Diniir.!nriiiLffyr   :                  r^r:'  "•^^^fsrs.  "siren. 
T-TTir?'  -T-  tiiQ£  serrace  "wss  i.:  -:..:--  _      ^  r -  r  taae  tig.  it 

Cm  mt  renmrm  to  c  15  isrre  reafx 


"3t  -"rzirjfn:  rcacnrt:  :_ia.     Tie 

:rLr3c  "Bras  £  "  T-fif   eneirr^ 

"srr^iri    Isac    .-...-_    -  _ .    _..-_" ire    'nr  sia: 

-■sagTDes  frC'tEU  ici.  Tae  Tit=°r-  52t  psssed  in.  exuecnaiiaiL 
In  tike  evem^m:^.  ^jieinsc".  ?  rcsjs^tiijer 

22.  1115  te^-t  Ii  "BTSia  ".-.  r-_  „  ^:_^.  •■  _  -._:  ._^i!':  ri^it- 
sLZii  T:  1zz.rier21.es  'w-ese  st  Gresr  FiHsw  ijr»3Ei  "ifoe  H'lxtln. 
tJEELit  oc  tbe  rrreE.  W  TTr''n  xh&  Tmfgpg;  t*sroire  iesw  liie  nrri~s57- 
bLbrtj  i^f  thieir  rmitancaonns  "stes  -riscTssez..  —  ^  zzr  trie 
chaDces  "trere  of  an  straci.  st  lisTbrex^.  —  :.zr  D<e5C 
laeaiis  oc  cieiesice.    Bfimt  it  SiBesnneG.  to  nnie  t'1n:^!t  uo  QsninLiite 

.    "- ;  rrted  pilan  had  been  drs-Brz  -p.     I-     .  _  ; .-    z 

readnkess,  "WaS  ai>3zrr  all  tfaie  OTQers  aESCTniniited  to.  TSiis 
•was  stiictvv    conf n'mei   to..       Ti  t    ^     '  -.  -  f  -srere   reem- 

torced.  stncx  mstniictaoiiis  "were  z"-"  -— zx  toe  "wioi-ie 

lin-e.      "E.ach  man   received  a  ii"2sdred   camidiges^  anc 

ilevc  in  Lis  ciotbes,  not  kao'^wrni:  "srhetiiier  be  iro«iijd  be 

a"«"akeii'ed  hx  the  soimd  oif  tri>e  tmrnpet  or  of  the  £rini:- 

I  remember  trtar  th^e  nigtii  "sras  fine  amd  caTm.      Tbe 


I08       FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC   ARMY. 

Stars  shone  in  the  heavens,  in  an  atmosphere  clear  but 
not  cold.  The  Great  Bear  descended  slowly  to  the 
horizon.  On  looking  carefully  at  it,  I  was  surprised  to 
count  an  eighth  star,  more  brilliant  than  the  others. 
An  examination  with  a  field  glass  soon  showed  that  the 
supplementary  star  was  a  small  fire  balloon,  sent  up, 
doubtless,  by  the  enemy  as  a  signal.  Innumerable  fire- 
flies sparkled  in  the  grass,  as  if  the  earth  wished  to 
reflect  the  scintillations  of  the  stars.  Nothing  dis- 
turbed the  silence,  except  a  few  distant  gunshots,  fired 
by  some  vedettes  too  easily  alarmed.  At  daybreak  it 
was  seen  that  the  enemy's  column  had  retired  as  it  had 
come,  and  everything  returned  to  the  usual  order. 


CHAPTER   VI. 

WINTER   QUARTERS. 

Settled  down  at  Tenallytown — Moonlight — Pay-day — A  case  of  de- 
lirium tremens — Court-martial — General  Keyes  —  Unfortunate  af- 
fair of  Ball's  Bluff — Arrangements  for  winter  —  Otificers'  mess  — 
Flag  presentation  —  President  Lincoln  at  the  table  of  the  Fifty-fifth 
—  Effects  of  the  war  around  Washington. 

On  October  9,  McCall's  division,  about  twelve  thousand 
strong,  crossed  the  Potomac  to  establish  itself  a  few 
miles  above  Chain  Bridge,  in  the  direction  of  Leesburg. 
As  a  consequence  of  this  movement,  Peck's  brigade 
was  thrown  out  to  occupy  Tenallytown,  an  important 
position,  which  covers  Georgetown,  on  the  border  of  the 
District  of  Columbia. 

The  village  is  built  on  a  hill  where  five  roads  con- 
verge, three  of  which  are  highways.  To  the  right, 
on  the  highest  point.  Fort  Pennsylvania  commands 
the  plain.  It  was  garrisoned  by  the  Thirteenth  Penn- 
sylvania. The  Ninety-third  Pennsylvania  and  the  Six- 
ty-second New  York  had  their  camp  further  out,  along 
the  Rockville  road.  The  Fifty-fifth  was  sent  one  mile 
to  the  left,  near  a  strong  demi-lune,  armed  with  four 
thirty-two-pounders,  and  enclosed  by  a  high  palisade 
pierced  for  musketry.  This  work,  built  with  care  in 
a  well  chosen  position,  bore  the  name  of  Fort  Gaines. 
Each  one  of  my  companies  was  sent  successively  to 
occupy  this  fort  and  become  familiar  with  the  use  of 
artillery. 

Behind  the  camp  were  great  forests,  along  which 
ran  the  road  from  Tenallytown  to  Chain  Bridge.     In 

109 


IIO       FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

front,  the  view  extended  a  great  distance.  The  eye 
could  follow,  over  the  woods  which  at  that  time  beau- 
tified the  valley,  the  course  of  the  Potomac,  whose 
waters  were  visible  at  various  points.  Beyond  could 
be  distinguished  the  movements  of  our  most  advanced 
forces,  and  in  the  distance  the  indistinct  lines  of  the 
enemy  were  lost  in  the  horizon.  In  front  of  us,  be- 
tween the  river  and  the  Rockville  road,  arose,  on  the 
other  side  of  the  valley,  a  wooded  hill,  whose  trees 
were  fast  disappearing.  Three  redoubts  were  built 
there,  which,  later  on,  were  connected  and  formed 
one  of  the  most  important  forts  in  the  defence  of  the 
capital. 

It  appeared,  at  first,  as  if  we  were  not  to  remain 
long  in  that  position.  We  had  scarcely  formed  our 
camp  when  one  evening  an  order  came  to  hold  our- 
selves ready  to  move  at  a  moment's  notice.  The 
drums,  which  were  at  that  moment  beating  the  retreat, 
changed  their  tone.  The  men  responded  by  hurrahs, 
and  in  a  few  minutes  the  companies  were  drawn  up  in 
position  on  the  color  line,  when  a  counter-order  was 
received.  We  were  not  to  march  till  daylight.  Every 
one  returned  to  his  tent  under  a  rolling  fire  of  pleas- 
antries. At  half-past  nine  came  a  new  order,  to  go 
without  delay  to  Chain  Bridge.  Again  the  drums 
began  to  beat.  Ten  minutes  later,  a  new  counter- 
order  by  telegraph.  Renewal  of  jokes  in  the  ranks. 
At  ten  o'clock,  a  third  order,  this  time  not  counter- 
manded, with  instructions  to  leave  only  a  dozen  men 
with  a  sergeant  to  guard  the  camp,  to  take  with  us  the 
two  surgeons,  leaving  the  care  of  the  hospital  to  the 
hospital  steward,  and  to  take  the  four  ambulances. 

At  half-past  ten  we  were  on  the  road.  It  was  our 
first  night-march,  and  the  orders  appeared  to  indicate 
that  it  was  not  to  be  a  simple  military  promenade.     The 


WINTER    QUARTERS.  Ill 

morale  of  the  men  appeared  to  be  excellent,  and  they 
would  have  cheerfully  begun  the  march  singing  by 
the  way,  if  orders  had  not  been  given  to  preserve 
strict  silence  in  the  ranks.  We  followed  a  crossroad, 
here  plunging  into  the  woods,  there  out  again  through 
the  fields.  Long  streamers  of  clouds  were  covering  the 
heavens,  like  the  shreds  of  an  immense  torn  curtain. 
Sometimes  the  moon  appeared  in  the  openings,  her 
light  glancing  with  thousands  of  reflections  from  the 
edges  of  the  bayonets.  Sometimes  she  disappeared, 
leaving  in  obscurity  the  regiment  stretching  out  along 
the  windings  of  the  road  like  a  fantastic  serpent  with 
blue  scales.     At  midnight  we  halted  near  Chain  Bridge. 

I  do  not  know  how  this  bridge  derived  its  name.  It 
has  no  chains  about  it,  but  is  a  wooden  bridge  on  stone 
abutments.  In  front  of  Georgetown,  the  Potomac  nar- 
rows suddenly  and  ceases  to  be  navigable.  The  greater 
part  of  its  bed  is  filled  with  sand  covered  by  stones  and 
rocks,  dry  during  summer  but  over  which  the  water 
rolls  noisily  in  the  winter.  During  the  greater  part 
of  the  year,  the  current,  deep  and  rapid,  is  enclosed  in 
the  narrow  channel  it  has  worn  on  the  Virginia  side, 
under  the  last  arch  of  the  bridge.  The  Washington 
canal  follows  the  Maryland  bank  upon  a  slope  some- 
what elevated.  The  banks  on  both  sides  of  the  river 
rise  into  high  hills,  abrupt  and  rocky,  generally  cov- 
ered with  thick  woods.  Some  fortifications  hastily 
built,  but  quite  strong,  defended  the  approaches  along 
the  Virginia  heights.  If  they  were  taken  the  bridge 
itself  was  protected  by  a  battery  of  heavy  guns,  half- 
way up  the  hill,  and  by  two  field  pieces  placed  to  sweep 
the  bridge  the  whole  length. 

The  night  passed  without  incident  to  us  around  the 
bivouac  fires.  Day  broke  in  the  midst  of  perfect  tran- 
quillity, and  the  first  order  we  received  in  the  morning 


I  1 2       FOUR   YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

was  to  return  to  camp,  which  we  did,  much  disappointed. 
We  were  impatient  at  not  yet  being  led  under  fire.  If  we 
had  been  able  to  look  but  a  few  months  into  the  future, 
it  is  probable  we  would  have  accepted  our  lot  much 
more  cheerfully. 

Commencing  from  our  arrival  at  Tenallytown,  the 
line  evolutions  formed  a  part  of  the  brigade  drill,  which 
we  practised  every  day  when  the  weather  permitted. 
We  had  a  large  field  in  which  to  manoeuvre,  where  our 
four  regiments  could  deploy  in  every  direction,  leaving 
out  the  companies  detached  idr  service  in  the  forts  and 
for  advance  posts.  But,  as  the  season  advanced,  the 
weather  became  more  and  more  uncertain.  After  the 
end  of  October  cold  and  steady  rains  began  to  announce 
the  approach  of  winter,  and  the  service  became  more 
and  more  unpleasant.  Nevertheless,  the  last  fine  days 
were  put  to  good  use,  and  General  Buell  was  able  to 
command  the  manoeuvres  himself  without  correcting 
anything  except   errors   of  detail. 

On  October  31,  the  regiment  was  vmstered  for  pay. 
The  expression  has  no  equivalent  in  French,  because 
the  thing  itself  does  not  exist  in  France.  In  the 
United  States  the  system  of  paying  the  army  is  very 
defective.  Neither  the  soldier  nor  the  officer  is  paid 
except  every  two  months,  supposing  payment  is  made 
regularly,  which  is  not  often  the  case  during  a  cam- 
paign. The  muster  takes  place  the  last  day  of  the 
second  month.  It  is  as  follows  :  After  the  inspection 
in  detail  of  the  companies,  the  mustering  officer,  who 
should  be  an  inspector  on  the  staff  of  one  of  the  colo- 
nels or  regimental  commanders  of  the  brigades,  pro- 
ceeds himself  with  the  roll-call,  with  open  ranks, 
officers  at  their  posts,  non-commissioned  officers  and 
soldiers  with  arms  at  support.  Each  one  answers  to 
his  name,  and  passes  without  command  to  order  arms 


WINTER    QUARTERS.  II3 

and  arms  at  ease,  so  that  it  may  be  seen  that  all  the 
men  present  are  upon  the  roll.  Return  is  made  on 
the  roll  of  all  men  absent  by  desertion,  temporary 
leave,  or  other  cause,  and  the  mustering  officer  after- 
wards himself  makes  sure  of  the  presence  of  the  men 
noted  as  forming  the  guard,  or  in  the  regimental  hospi- 
tal. The  rolls,  being  duly  signed  and  certified  to  by  the 
commanders  of  companies,  are  sent  to  him  to  be  signed 
in  his  turn,  after  adding  to  the  report  a  summary  upon 
the  condition  of  the  men,  their  bearing,  their  discipline, 
etc.  These  rolls,  made  in  quadruplicate,  are  disposed 
of  as  follows  :  one  to  the  adjutant-general  at  Washing- 
ton, two  to  the  paymaster-general,  the  fourth  is  kept 
with  the  regiment.  There  is  the  same  disposition  of 
the  separate  roll  of  the  staff.  In  the  staffs  of  the  gen- 
erals the  rolls  are  individual.  The  paymaster  having 
charge  of  the  brigade  makes  a  calculation  of  the  sum 
due  to  each  one  upon  a  column  left  for  that  purpose, 
and  when  he  receives  the  necessary  funds  he  proceeds 
to  the  camp  to  make  the  payment,  after  which  he  re- 
turns immediately  to  Washington. 

Is  it  necessary  to  point  out  the  inconvenience  of 
such  a  system  ?  The  American  soldier,  whose  pay  is 
thirteen  dollars  a  month,  never  receives  less  than 
twenty-six  dollars  at  once,  that  is  to  say  one  hundred 
and  thirty  francs,  a  sum  too  large  not  to  expose  him  to 
dangerous  temptations.  I  know  that  they  send  a  por- 
tion to  their  families,  but  all  soldiers  do  not  have  fami- 
lies to  provide  for,  and  amongst  those  who  have  all  do 
not  perform  this  duty  with  the  same  scrupulous  care. 
There  are  always  some,  too,  who  are  not  present  to 
receive  their  pay.  In  that  case  they  must  wait  two 
months  longer,  and  then  the  amount  they  will  receive 
will  be  fifty-two  dollars.  And  we  do  not  think  this 
very  exceptional. 


114       FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY, 

The  enormous  expense  of  the  war,  the  robbery  of  the 
government  in  all  manner  of  ways,  or  even  the  delay 
incident  to  a  new  issue  of  paper  money,  have  often 
rendered  it  impossible  for  the  treasury  to  fill  its  en- 
gagements on  the  day  appointed.  In  that  case  the 
army  and  navy  are  regarded  as  best  able  to  wait.  Be- 
fore Fredericksburg  our  regiment  received  six  months' 
back  pay  at  once.  This  amounted  to  seventy-eight 
dollars  to  each  man  ;  to  the  sergeants,  more  in  propor- 
tion. 

From  these  figures  there  is  nothing  to  deduct,  for 
the  difference  in  value  between  gold  and  paper  money 
was  compensated  to  the  soldiers  by  an  act  of  Congress, 
which  raised  their  pay  to  sixteen  dollars  a  month,  an 
increase  maintained  a  long  while  after  the  war. 

The  soldier  is  not  a  hoarder,  especially  while  on  a 
campaign,  where  balls  and  bullets  are  considered  by 
him  in  all  his  reckonings  of  the  future.  What  is  he  to 
do,  then,  with  any  considerable  sum  .''  Let  himself  be 
robbed  in  play,  at  the  risk  of  punishment  if  he  is  caught ; 
procure  at  an  exorbitant  price  a  few  bottles  of  poor 
whiskey,  with  which  he  may  intoxicate  himself  and  his 
comrades,  however  grave  may  be  the  consequences. 
If  he  is  desirous  of  deserting,  the  money  will  make  it 
much  easier.  Perhaps  he  would  not  have  thought  of 
it  otherwise,  but,  feeling  his  pocket  full,  his  head  heated 
by  drink,  it  is  not  impossible  that  he  may  die,  shot  on 
the  same  spot  where  he  received  his  fatal  pay. 

For  the  absent,  sent  on  detached  service,  or  kept  in 
some  distant  hospital,  arise  long  complications  from 
descriptive  lists  being  incorrect,  forgotten,  or  lost.  All 
regimental  commanders  know  to  what  interminable 
objections  payment  of  men  in  hospital  often  gives  rise, 
and  how  many  patients  have  often  been  detained  there 
an  indefinite  time  as  servants,  for  the  sole  reason  that 


WINTER    QUARTERS.  II5 

they  could  not  get  their  back  pay.  Some  little  infor- 
mality, an  almost  inevitable  result  of  the  accidents  of 
war,  was  thus  sufficient  to  retain  in  a  disagreeable  ser- 
vice men  whose  honorable  wounds  gave  them  a  right 
to  a  positive  leave  of  absence. 

The  interest  of  the  soldier,  as  well  as  that  of  disci- 
pline, demand  in  this  respect  a  reformation.  The 
government  and  the  army  of  the  United  States  have 
everything  to  gain  by  the  adoption  of  a  system  of  pay 
at  short  intervals,  and  by  the  change  in  the  organiza- 
tion of  the  pay  service  which  would  be  the  result. 

I  have  just  stated  what  was  the  pay  of  the  infantry 
soldier.  The  sergeant  had  seventeen  dollars  a  month  ; 
the  first  sergeant,  twenty  dollars  ;  the  sergeant-major, 
the  commissary-sergeant,  the  quartermaster-sergeant, 
and  the  drum-major,  twenty-one  dollars  ;  the  hospital 
steward,  thirty  dollars. 

The  monthly  pay  of  the  officers  was  as  follows  :  colo- 
nel, ;^I94;  lieutenant-colonel,  $170;  major,  $151  ;  cap- 
tain, $118;  first  lieutenant,  $108  ;  second  lieutenant, 
$103.  To  this  must  be  added  ten  dollars  per  month  to 
every  officer  commanding  a  company,  in  consideration 
of  his  responsibility  for  uniforms,  arms,  and  accoutre- 
ments, etc. 

In  time  of  war,  forage  is  furnished  in  kind  to  mounted 
officers,  in  proportion  to  the  number  of  horses  allowed 
them. 

The  pay  is  somewhat  higher  in  the  engineer  corps, 
the  cavalry,  artillery,  and  staff. 

A  brigadier-general  receives  three  hundred  dollars  a 
month,  and  forage  for  four  horses  ;  a  major-general, 
$445.,  and  forage  for  five  horses.  Finally,  the  lieu- 
tenant-general commanding-in-chief,  $720,  and  whatever 
forage  he  requires. 

The  month  of  November  began  sadly  enough  for  us. 


Il6       FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

A  continual  rain,  accompanied  by  violent  storms,  dark- 
ened the  day  of  All  Saints,  and  the  next  day  we  had  to 
record  the  first  death  in  the  regiment.  A  soldier  of  the 
company  of  Zouaves  had  died  after  a  few  days'  sickness, 
without  our  being  able  to  send  him  to  Washington.  In 
default  of  the  honor  of  falling  upon  the  field  of  battle, 
he  had  at  least  the  advantage  of  funeral  services, 
accompanied  by  a  certain  military  pomp.  The  body, 
clothed  in  full  uniform,  remained  for  twenty-four  hours 
under  a  tent,  covered  with  the  flag  and  guarded  by  sen- 
tinels of  the  company,  which  not  only  volunteered  this 
additional  service,  but  also  contributed  to  buy  a  good 
coffin  and  send  the  body  home  to  the  friends.  Every 
one  visited  the  tent.  It  was  a  new  sight.  But  the 
coffin  removed  left  no  apparent  void  in  the  camp. 

"  Mieux  vaut  goujat  debout  que  Zouave  enterre."  ' 

This  was  the  only  man  we  lost  by  sickness  before 
leaving  for  the  Peninsula  the  following  spring.  The 
health  of  the  men  remained  in  the  most  satisfactory 
condition  during  the  whole  winter.  We  seldom  had  to 
send  a  man  to  the  hospital,  and  then  it  was  rather  to 
prevent  serious  illness  than  to  cure  one  already  serious. 
The  only  case  except  ordinary  indispositions  was  that  of 
a  recruit,  arriving  at  camp  about  that  time. 

This  was  a  young  Swiss,  who  had  received  an  educa- 
tion enabling  him  to  be  attached  to  the  editorial  staff 
of  a  French  journal  in  New  York.  Of  a  very  ner- 
vous temperament,  he  had  ruined  his  health  by  his 
unfortunate  habit  of  intemperance.  The  immoder- 
ate use  of  strong  liquors  had  resulted  in  bringing  upon 
him  the  symptoms  of  dcliriuvi  tremens,  the  result  of 
which  was  that  he  lost  his  place.  His  only  resource 
then  was  to  enlist.     He   was  near-sighted,  and   with  a 

^  "  A  living  dog  is  better  than  a  dead  lion." 


WINTER    QUARTERS.  II7 

feeble  constitution,  evidently  unfit  for  the  service  ;  but 
they  did  not  examine  very  closely  at  that  time,  and  he 
was  sent  to  the  Fifty-fifth.  To  put  him  in  the  ranks 
would  have  been  to  kill  him  certainly.  I  placed  him 
on  duty  at  the  hospital,  where  he  could  be  made 
useful  without  danger  to  his  shattered  constitution. 
Everything  went  well  at  first,  but  the  fearful  malady 
had   not  lost  its  hold  on  him. 

One  night  mournful  bowlings  resounded  suddenly 
through  the  camp,  followed  immediately  by  a  tumult- 
uous running,  which  awakened  the  sleepers  with  a 
start.  The  guard  pursued  a  sort  of  a  phantom  half- 
naked,  which  fled  uttering  cries  of  distress  :  "  For  the 
love  of  God,  do  not  kill  me  !  Is  it  not  enough  to  have 
burned  my  tent  .-•  Ah  !  they  are  going  to  shoot  me ! " 
And  wild  shrieks  to  the  colonel  to  save  his  life.  The 
tumult  soon  quieted  down,  and  the  noise  ceased  in  the 
guard-house.     Immediately  the  adjutant  reported  to  me 

that  Mr.  ,  the  hospital  steward's    assistant,   in   an 

attack  of  deliriui)i  tremens,  had  been  arrested  by  the 
guard,  and  left  in  charge  of  the  surgeons. 

The  next  day  I   sent*  for  Mr.  ,  returned  to  his 

natural  state.  The  recital  which  he  gave  me  of  his 
hallucinations   made  so  strong  an  impression  upon  me 

that  I  can  yet  relate  it  in  its  strange  details.     Mr.  

had  passed  the  evening,  as  usual,  in  the  little  tent  which 
he  had  to  himself.  His  writing  finished,  he  lay  down 
shortly  after  the  fires  were  out,  and  went  to  sleep  with 
no  apparent  ill-feeling.  About  one  o'clock  in  the  morn- 
ing, he  was  awakened  by  a  sensation  of  burning  heat. 
He  opened  his  eyes,  and  saw  with  fright  that  his  tent 
was  on  fire.  It  was  filled  with  a  thick  smoke,  which  suf- 
focated him,  and  the  flames,  piercing  the  cloth  at  vari- 
ous points,  burned  up  the  walls,  and  extended  in  all 
directions  with  a  dazzlinsf  clearness. 


Il8       FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

He  was  about  to  rush  out  when  he  distinctly  heard 
some  officers,  whose  names  he  gave  me,  outside  his 
tent,  speaking  in  a  low  voice,  and  saying  amongst  them- 
selves :  "  Wait  a  little  while ;  the  fire  will  force  him 
to  come  out,  and  we  will  shoot  him.  He  is  good  for 
nothing.  Government  cannot  continue  to  feed  such 
useless  mouths  in  the  army." 

The  poor  wretch,  alarmed  at  these  frightful  words, 
covered  his  head,  endeavoring  to  escape  the  attack  of 
the  flames.  But  in  vain  ;  the  heat  became  more  and 
more  unbearable ;  tongues  of  fire  crept  under  the  cover 
and  scorched  his  face.  He  felt  himself  burning  alive. 
Frantic,  he  rushed  out  of  the  tent,  astonished  at  not 
falling  dead,  and,  not  even  hearing  the  discharge  of  the 
revolvers,  he  stopped  and  looked  around  him.  The  moon 
shone  in  the  heavens  with  a  peaceful  serenity.  The  hos- 
pital tent  stood  within  a  few  feet  of  him  ;  two  firebrands, 
not  yet  entirely  extinct,  were  still  smoking  in  the  open- 
air  kitchen  of  the  hospital.  In  the  rear,  the  ambulances 
were  in  their  place  ;  the  horses  motionless  at  their 
pickets,  or  searching  out  a  few  grains  of  oats  scat- 
tered on  the  ground.  The  murderers  had  disappeared. 
Everywhere  calm  and  silence. 

Mr.  closely  observed  all  these  details,  in  order 

to  convince  himself  that  he  was  really  awake.  He  re- 
garded attentively  the  stars,  the  trees,  the  tents,  and 
even  the  stones  on  the  ground,  with  which  he  was 
familiar,  when,  having  advanced  a  few  steps  towards  an 
open  space,  he  saw  the  regiment  drawn  up  in  line,  the 
arms  at  a  ready,  the  officers  in  rear,  as  when  firing  is 
about  to  commence.  Nothing  stirred  in  the  ranks,  but 
a  little  farther  off  the  sentinels  were  walking  their  usual 
beats.  Then  the  colonel  leaned  forward  on  his  horse 
and  said  :  "  Are  the  guns  loaded  with  ball  .-* "  The 
adjutant,  who  was  on  foot,  replied:   "Yes,  colonel." 


WINTER    QUARTERS.  II9 

At   these  words,  everything  appeared   plain   to   the 

wretched   Mr.  .     The   regiment  was    under   arms 

at  that  unusual  hour  for  the  purpose  of  shooting  him. 
Wild  with  terror,  he  fled,  giving  utterance  to  the  shrieks 
which  had  startled  the  whole  camp.  The  guard,  coming 
up,  pursued  him,  and,  confounding  the  reality  more  and 
more  with  his  hallucinations,  the  fugitive  was  absolutely 
bereft  of  his  senses  when  he  was  caught  and  brought  to 
the  guard-room. 

He  related  these  details  to  me  with  perfect  clearness 
of  mind,  but  occasionally  an  expression  of  pain  passed 
over  his  features.  His  eyes  then  examined  the  objects 
which  surrounded  him,  and  he  touched  with  his  hand 
those  which  were  within  his  reach,  as  if  he  sought  in 
the  certainty  of  natural  objects  a  necessary  protection 
against  the  return  of  the  phantoms. 

Mr.  did   not   accompany  the   regiment  on    the 

campaign.  He  was  sent  to  the  military  hospital  at 
Philadelphia,  where,  shortly  after,  he  received  his  dis- 
charge. 

During  the  three  months  that  the  army  had  remained 
concentrated  around  Washington,  although  inactive  as 
regards  operations  against  the  enemy,  it  had,  neverthe- 
less, employed  the  time  profitably.  Great  progress  had 
been  made  in  instruction,  in  discipline,  and  in  organi- 
zation in  all  branches  of  the  service.  The  troops  had 
exercised  without  intermission,  in  battalion  and  brigade 
drill,  and  occasionally  in  drill  by  division.  At  Tenally- 
town,  the  troops  were  frequently  drilled  in  firing,  espe- 
cially at  a  mark,  in  which  the  soldiers  showed  much 
emulation. 

General  courts-martial  were  held  in  each  brigade. 
They  are  composed  of  twelve  officers  chosen  in  equal 
numbers  from  each  regiment,  namely  :  one  colonel, 
three  majors,  six  captains,  and  two  lieutenants.     Their 


I20       FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

jurisdiction  embraces  all  crimes  and  offences  the  pen- 
alty for  which  exceeds  the  loss  of  one  month's  pay  and 
condemnation  to  one  month's  imprisonment  or  hard 
labor,  the  limit  assigned  to  the  sentences  of  regimental 
courts-martial,  which  are  composed  of  only  three  officers, 
and  can  try  only  non-commissioned  officers  and  soldiers. 
The  sentences  of  general  courts-martial,  comprising  the 
punishment  of  death,  hard  labor,  ball  and  chain,  impris- 
onment, military  degradation,  etc.,  are  subject  only  to 
the  revision  and  approval  of  the  general-in-chief  before 
being  carried  into  effect. 

The  punishment  of  whipping  was  abolished  in  1812, 
was  reestablished  in  1832  for  the  single  case  of  deser- 
tion in  time  of  peace,  and  finally  abolished  in  1861. 

The  articles  of  war  in  the  United  States  are  nearly 
the  same  as  in  Europe,  except  that  a  duel  is  punished 
by  disgraceful  dismissal  from  the  service,  not  only  for 
the  combatants,  but  also  for  the  witnesses,  and  for 
every  officer  who  may  have  taken  any  part,  either  in 
the  sending  or  receiving  of  a  challenge,  or  who  even  has 
abstained  from  preventing  the  combat.  As,  however, 
the  duel  had  disappeared  from  the  customs  of  the 
Northern  States,  those  repressive  measures  required 
no  application  in  the  army.  During  the  whole  course 
of  the  war  I  knew  but  two  cases  where  the  fact  of 
sending  a  challenge  had  been  the  cause  of  the  dismissal 
of  the  officers  who  had  braved  the  risks. 

Besides  courts-martial,  wise  measures  were  taken  to 
free  the  service  from  incapable  officers.  Examining 
committees  were  appointed,  before  whom  the  colonels 
could  send  those  from  whom  nothing  was  to  be  expected 
satisfactory  to  the  service.  This  measure  had  the  good 
result  of  stimulating  generally  the  lazy,  and  of  sending 
home  a  quantity  of  incorrigible  nobodies,  who  could  not 
pass   the   examinations.     Only   it   was    not   sufficiently 


WINTER    QUARTERS.  121 

general.  It  would  have  been  well  to  have  extended 
it,  also,  so  as  to  have  included  the  colonels. 

On  the  whole,  everything  took  on  a  better  military- 
appearance  in  the  army,  which  General  McClellan  was 
never  weary  of  passing  in  review  by  divisions. 

Our  time  came,  November  8.  The  three  brigades 
proceeded  early  in  the  day  to  the  Kolorama  fields,  near 
the  place  where  we  had  encamped  first  on  arriving  at 
Washington.  The  march  for  us  was  about  five  miles  ; 
but  the  weather  was  favorable,  the  roads  in  good  condi- 
tion, and  the  new  red  pantaloons,  received  a  few  days 
before  from  New  York,  did  not  suffer.  As  usual,  there 
was  a  crowd  at  the  review,  which  was  followed  by 
grand  evolutions  commanded  by  General  Buell.  The 
general-in-chief  appeared  well  pleased,  and  the  spec- 
tators returned  to  Washington  persuaded  that,  with 
such  troops,  it  was  necessary  only  to  begin  the 
march  to  go  straight  to  Richmond.  If,  however, 
they  had  travelled  over  the  road  to  Tenallytown 
that  evening,  their  confidence,  perhaps,  would  have 
been  a  little  shaken,  on  seeing  how  many  stragglers 
a  marching  column  could  leave  behind  it  after  one 
day  of  fatigue. 

That  review  was  the  farewell  of  General  Buell  to  his 
division.  A  few  days  after,  he  left  us,  to  command  the 
Department  of  the  Cumberland,  with  headquarters  at 
Louisville,  Ky.  He  was  equally  regretted  by  both  offi- 
cers and  men,  in  spite  of  his  severity  in  the  details  of 
the  service.  Every  one  had  confidence  in  his  military 
ability,  and  the  soldier  attaches  himself  preferably  to 
leaders  whose  merit  justifies  their  authority  and  is  a 
guarantee  that  his  life  will  not  be  sacrificed  uselessly 
and  unprofitably  on  the  field  of  battle. 

General  Buell  was  succeeded  by  General  Keyes,  an 
officer  grown  old  in  the  service,  which  does  not  mean 


122       FOUR   YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

that  he  had  the  abrupt  manners  of  a  givgnard.  He 
was,  on  the  contrary,  a  man  of  amiable  manners,  hav- 
ing found  in  California  the  opportunity,  rare  for  military 
men,  of  making  a  considerable  fortune.  Thus  his  resi- 
dence in  San  Francisco  had  left  much  stronger  marks 
on  him  than  his  former  expeditions  against  the  Indians 
of  the  Northwest.  Little  desirous  of  imitating  the 
Spartan  habits  of  his  predecessor,  he  decidedly  pre- 
ferred a  comfortable  house  in  Washington  to  a  tent  in 
the  open  air.  Accordingly,  he  made  his  headquarters 
there,  without  troubling  himself  too  much  about  the 
inconvenience  to  the  service  which  might  result  there- 
from. For  the  rest,  although  not  a  strict  disciplinarian 
like  Buell,  Keyes  was,  nevertheless,  a  capable  com- 
mander. His  conduct  at  the  battle  of  Bull  Run  was 
spoken  of  in  high  terms,  and  his  affability  soon  gained 
him  the  warm  regards  of  his  inferiors,  and  he  rarely 
lost  the  opportunity  of  addressing  a  compliment  to 
them. 

It  was  a  matter  of  course  that  General  Keyes,  in  his 
turn,  manoeuvred  his  division  under  the  eyes  of  the 
commander-in-chief.  This  second  review,  at  an  inter- 
val of  a  month  from  the  first  one,  was  decidedly  more 
satisfactory,  and  served  to  note  the  progress  the  army 
continued  to  make  from  day  to  day.  But  the  season 
was  already  too  far  advanced  to  employ  them  against 
the  enemy.  Nor  did  the  unfortunate  affair  of  Ball's 
Bluff,  still  quite  recent,  encourage  haste.  The  affair 
was  as  follows  :  — 

On  October  20,  General  Stone,  whose  division 
guarded  the  line  of  the  upper  Potomac,  about  thirty 
miles  above  Washington,  gave  an  order  to  Colonel 
Devens,  commanding  the  Fifteenth  Massachusetts,  to 
cross  the  river  during  the  night,  attack  and  destroy  an 
encampment  of  the  enemy  which,  according  to  the  re- 


WINTER    QUARTERS.  I  23 

port  of  an  officer  sent  on  a  reconnoissance,  was  a  short 
distance  off.  On  the  21st,  at  daylight,  Colonel  Devens, 
on  arriving  at  the  place  indicated,  found,  instead  of  the 
pretended  camp,  an  apple  orchard  planted  on  a  hill, 
which,  in  the  doubtful  light  of  the  moon,  had  taken  on, 
in  the  eyes  of  the  scouts,  the  appearance  of  tents  sym- 
metrically aligned.  He  immediately  made  his  report, 
without  abandoning  his  advanced  position,  where  the 
presence  of  the  regiment  was  known  to  the  enemy. 
From  this  first  report,  it  was  concluded  much  too 
quickly  that  it  was  possible  to  make  a  favorable  attack 
on  Leesburg,  and  the  Twentieth  Massachusetts,  a  Cali- 
fornia regiment,  and  one  New  York  regiment  received 
orders  to  cross  the  river  with  them.  For  that  purpose 
there  were  but  two  flat-boats,  capable  of  carrying  forty 
men,  and  an  iron  rowboat  ;  —  means  so  much  the  more 
insufficient  in  that  they  were  obliged  to  land  on  and 
cross  over  a  long  and  narrow  island,  and  then  reembark 
on  the  other  side. 

Slowly  and  painfully  they  thus  finally  succeeded  in 
transporting  to  the  Virginia  bank  a  thousand  men, 
and  one  rifled  and  two  smooth-bore  guns.  As  if  to  com- 
plicate affairs,  the  command  had  fallen  upon  Colonel 
Baker,  ex-senator  from  Oregon,  a  brave  but  unskilled 
officer,  although  he  had  served  in  the  Mexican  War. 
General  Stone  committed  the  fault  of  leaving  the  con- 
duct of  the  expedition  to  his  discretion.  So  that  when 
Colonel  Devens,  pressed  by  superior  forces,  and  having 
the  enemy  on  his  heels,  fell  back  in  good  order  upon 
the  point  where  he  must  repass  the  river,  he  found  a 
line  of  battle  unskilfully  posted  across  the  only  open 
ground  in  the  midst  of  woods.  Still  more  unskilfully, 
the  pieces  of  artillery  were  placed  in  advance,  and  so 
exposed  that  they  hardly  began  to  use  them  before  the 
cannoneers  were  killed  or  wounded  by  the  concentrated 


124       FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

fire  of  the  enemy's  sharpshooters.  And,  finally,  the 
position  assigned  to  the  Fifteenth  Massachusetts  was 
so  badly  chosen  that  half  its  fire  was  useless. 

The  troops  fought  bravely,  —  admirably  even  for  men 
who  had  never  been  under  fire,  who  felt  that  they  were 
badly  commanded,  and  fighting  an  enemy  double  their 
number.  Grouped  upon  the  bluff,  they  defended  them- 
selves as  well  as  they  could  until  nightfall,  but  were 
finally  crushed.  The  first  who  threw  themselves  into 
the  only  flat-boat  within  reach  caused  it  to  sink  under 
their  weight.  Then  all  who  could  swim  threw  them- 
selves into  the  water.  The  rest  fell  into  the  hands  of 
the  enemy,  with  the  cannon  and  the  wounded,  whose 
number  was  quite  large.  We  must  except,  however, 
about  one  hundred  and  fifty  men,  saved  by  the  ener- 
getic coolness  of  a  captain  of  the  Twentieth  Massachu- 
setts, Frank  Bartlett,  since  made  a  general.  This  young 
officer,  having  discovered  a  boat  concealed  along  the 
bank,  sent  over  successively  the  soldiers  who  had  fol- 
lowed him,  going  over  himself  with  the  last.  Colonel 
Baker  was  killed,  thus  paying  with  his  life  for  whatever 
errors  were  committed.  Of  the  sixteen  hundred  men 
thus  thrown  heedlessly  across  the  Potomac,  scarcely 
one-half  escaped. 

This  unfortunate  engagement  terminated  the  cam- 
paign of  1 86 1  as  it  had  commenced,  with  a  rout.  It 
was  made  the  subject  of  a  minute  inquiry  by  the  com- 
mittee of  Congress  upon  the  conduct  of  the  war.  Gen- 
eral Stone  threw  all  the  responsibility  upon  Colonel 
Baker,  who  was  not  there  to  reply.  But  it  was  not 
shown  that  the  latter  would  have  risked  three  regiments 
of  his  brigade  without  orders,  in  a  position  where  retreat 
was  impossible  in  case  of  a  reverse.  Besides,  whatever 
his  errors  and  faults  in  the  disposition  of  his  troops  dur- 
ing the  engagement,  they  would  have  simply  been  re- 


WINTER    QUARTERS.  I  25 

pulsed,  and  not  destroyed,  if  the  means  of  returning 
had  not  been  wanting. 

Public  opinion  was  much  more  affected  by  that  heed- 
less affair,  in  that  it  believed  it  discovered  indications 
of  treason.  Some  depositions  taken  .by  the  committee, 
in  fact,  brought  suspicions  of  connivance  with  the  Con- 
federates upon  General  Stone,  —  suspicions  which  must 
have  been  serious,  to  lead  to  his  imprisonment  in  Fort 
Lafayette.  However,  as  no  proof  came  to  hand  to  cor- 
roborate these  imputations,  which  his  loyal  character 
and  former  services  rendered  improbable,  he  was  re- 
stored to  liberty,  without,  however,  obtaining  the  privi- 
lege of  a  court-martial,  from  which  he  expected  restora- 
tion to  rank.  It  was  only  toward  the  end  of  the  war 
that  his  return  to  active  duty  was  the  tardy  reparation 
of  an  injustice  from  which  his  honor  had  so  cruelly 
suffered. 

The  natural  conclusion  to  be  drawn  from  the  affair 
of  Ball's  Bluff  was  that,  in  general,  the  men  were  more 
capable  of  good  fighting  than  the  leaders  were  of  com- 
manding. 

The  season  grew  more  and  more  unfavorable  for 
active  operations.  December  arrived  with  its  accom- 
paniments of  rain  and  frosts.  The  horrible  roads  of 
Virginia  had  become  mud  holes,  impracticable  for  ar- 
tillery and  wagon  trains.  The  army  was  compelled  to 
enter  into  winter  quarters.  Nothing  was  changed  in 
the  position  of  the  troops,  but  measures  were  taken  to 
better  protect  them  against  the  storms.  The  tents 
in  bad  order  were  renewed,  leaving  to  the  different 
brigades  every  latitude  in  laying  out  and  making  com- 
fortable their  encampments  in  a  manner  the  most 
advantageous  for  the  well-being  of  the  soldier. 

The  system  adopted  for  the  regiment  was  that  of 
log  cabins,  square  huts  made  of  round  logs,  generally 


126       FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

split  in  two  and  plastered  with  mud,  which  closed  the 
cracks.  Upon  these  walls,  three  or  four  feet  high,  the 
tent  was  placed  for  a  roof.  A  door  made  of  boards,  or 
a  rubber  blanket,  opened  to  the  interior.  The  inven- 
tive mind  of  the  soldier  was  shown  in  ingenious  con- 
trivances to  increase  the  furniture  and  economize  the 
space  of  six  square  feet.  The  problem  was  to  make  it 
hold  two  beds,  one  table,  a  rack  for  arms,  a  valise  for 
the  clothes,  a  California  fireplace  —  the  California 
fireplace  is  dug  in  the  ground  and  covered  over  to 
the  level  of  the  floor  by  large  fiat  stones,  under  which 
a  current  of  air,  skilfully  arranged,  keeps  the  fire  alive 
and  carries  off  the  smoke  outside  by  a  narrow  channel 
on  the  side  opposite  the  entrance  —  or  a  little  sheet- 
iron  stove,  and  a  stool.  The  problem  is  nearly  always 
victoriously  solved,  sometimes  even  with  other  small  ad- 
ditions to  comfort. 

The  surrounding  woods  furnished  materials  in  abun- 
dance, and  the  daily  drills  were  suspended  during  the 
few  days  necessary  for  the  men  to  construct  their  win- 
ter mansions. 

The  officers  took  advantage  of  the  situation  to  organ- 
ize their  mess  in  a  dining-hall,  which  they  bought  ready- 
made  in  Washington.  American  ingenuity,  always 
ready  to  take  advantage  of  circumstances,  found  in  the 
vvar  new  sources  of  profit.  Among  other  inventions, 
board  houses  of  all  dimensions  were  built,  perfectly 
constructed,  furnished  with  doors  and  windows,  and 
capable  of  being  easily  put  together  and  taken  apart. 
That  of  the  officers  of  the  Fifty-fifth  was  long  enough 
to  set  a  table  with  forty  covers,  a  precious  resource  for 
winter  evenings. 

The  mess  is  the  table  for  the  officers  of  a  regiment, 
provided  for  at  the  common  expense.  In  England  it  is 
a  permanent  institution.     The  officers  pass  away,  the 


WINTER    QUARTERS.  I  27 

mess  remains.  It  has  a  stock  of  silver,  often  very  fine, 
a  complete  service  of  linen,  porcelain,  and  glass,  a  stock 
of  fine  wines,  etc.  In  a  country  where  the  commis- 
sions are  bought  and  where  a  fortune  is  a  condition 
almost  indispensable  for  entering  the  army,  it  is  natu- 
ral enough  that  the  boarding  of  the  officers  should  take 
the  character  of  a  club.  Outside  of  the  service,  each 
one  is  2,  gejitleinan  in  uniform.  The  grades  of  the  mili- 
tary service  give  way  to  an  epicurean  sociability,  which 
unites  all  at  the  same  table,  from  the  colonel  to  the  last 
second  lieutenant,  especially  as  the  second  lieutenant 
might  be  the  heir  presumptive  of  some  great  territorial 
magnate,  and  the  colonel  but  a  well-to-do  citizen  when 
out  of  his  uniform. 

In  France,  where  the  greater  part  of  the  officers  have 
only  their  modest  pay  on  which  to  live,  and  rely  on  their 
merit  as  soldiers  for  promotion,  the  difference  in  pay 
and  the  military  rank  are  in  accord,  in  maintaining  a 
separate  table  for  the  lieutenants,  one  for  the  captains, 
and  one  for  the  superior  officers. 

In  America,  a  country  of  democratic  liberty  and  of 
individual  independence,  each  one  arranges  his  affairs 
to  suit  himself.  In  the  Fifty-fifth,  composed  of  mingled 
elements,  we  had  adopted  still  a  different  method,  in  es- 
tablishing two  messes,  that  of  the  staff  and  that  of  the 
company  officers. 

No  event  of  military  importance  marked  the  four 
months  which  we  passed  in  winter  quarters.  The 
monotonous  regularity  of  our  camp  life  was  enlivened 
only  by  a  few  matters  of  regimental  interest,  such  as 
the  presentation  of  a  fine  war  horse,  which  was  given 
to  me,  in  a  formal  manner,  by  the  officers  of  my  regi- 
ment. Unfortunately,  the  war  horse  would  not  answer 
me  even  for  parade  service.  It  was  a  black  stallion  of 
splendid  appearance,  but,  like  most  stallions,  very  skit- 


128       FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY, 

tish  and  intractable.  He  could  never  get  accustomed  to 
fire,  and,  after  interminable  strifes  to  familiarize  him 
with  drill,  I  had  to  use  him  solely  as  a  horse  for  parade. 
He  was  captured  by  the  Confederates  at  Fredericks- 
burg. I  was  consoled  by  thinking  that  he  was  of  no 
more  use  to  them  than  to  me. 

I  recall  to  my  memory  the  traditional  keeping  of 
Christmas,  the  serenades  interchanged  between  the 
regiments  of  the  brigade  on  New  Year's  eve,  —  ser- 
enades of  bands,  of  drums,  of  bugles,  varied  by  Eng- 
lish, French,  and  German  choruses.  The  most  mem- 
orable day  of  the  winter  was  that  when  the  President 
of  the  United  States  sat  at  our  table  with  a  large  and 
brilliant  company.     The  occasion  was  as  follows  :  — 

One  of  the  officers  of  the  Zouave  company  had  nu- 
merous friends  in  New  York  who  agreed  together  to 
offer  two  splendid  fiags  to  the  regiment,  one  the  Amer- 
ican colors,  and  the  other  the  French.  The  presenta- 
tion was  arranged  beforehand  in  a  formal  manner,  and 
the  day  set  was  the  8th  of  January,  anniversary  of  the 
battle  of  New  Orleans. 

The  weather  was  favorable  ;  a  sharp  frost  had  hard- 
ened the  drill  ground,  which  was  covered  with  a  light 
fall  of  show.  The  effect  of  the  Zouave  pantaloons  and 
the  blue  caps  was  picturesque ;  the  spectators  had  a 
good  view,  while  the  principal  actors  had  a  fine  place, 
carefully  swept,  reserved  for  them.  Although  this  sort 
of  ceremony  was  not  new,  the  number  of  carriages  and 
of  horsemen  and  horsewomen  was  large  for  the  season. 
The  open  barouche  of  the  President  contained  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Lincoln,  General  Shields,  and  Mr.  N.  P.  Willis,  an 
elegant  writer,  whose  works  have  a  popularity  both  in 
England  and  in  America. 

Mr.  Frederick  A.  Conklin,  a  member  of  Congress 
from  one  of  the  New  York  City  districts,  delivered  an 


WINTER    QUARTERS.  1 29 

eloquent  speech,  to  which  I  repHed  —  what  one  does 
reply  on  such  an  occasion.  The  drums  beat,  the  bugles 
sounded,  the  flag  guard  returned  to  the  ranks,  and  the 
marching-by  terminated  the  military  ceremony,  but  not 
the  celebration. 

The  programme  embraced  in  addition  a  collation  pre- 
pared in  the  dining-hall,  whose  inner  wails  were,  for  the 
occasion,  hung  with  flags  adorned  with  garlands,  and 
all  the  military  tokens  that  the  soldiers  understand 
so  well  how  to  arrange.  The  President,  the  generals, 
the  ladies,  and  a  few  guests  of  distinction  took  the 
places  of  honor  at  the  table,  where  it  was  the  pride  of 
the  regiment  to  serve  nothing  which  had  not  been  pre- 
pared by  its  culinary  artists. 

The  triumph  of  the  latter  was  complete  but  costly, 
in  the  sense  that  the  cooks,  having  given  too  good  proof 
of  talent,  were  very  soon  carried  off  by  the  generals, 
who  had  them  detailed  to  their  quarters.  I  thus  lost  a 
half-dozen  fighting  men,  whom  the  fires  of  the  kitchen 
saved  from  the  fire  of  the  enemy. 

The  President  did  honor  to  the  collation.  Never, 
said  he,  had  he  so  well  dined  since  his  entry  to  the 
White  House.  He  tried  everything,  and  the  gayety  of 
his  humor  showed  how  well  he  appreciated  that  momen- 
tary diversion  from  the  grave  cares  which  weighed  upon 
him  at  this  time.  He  could  not,  however,  escape  the 
toast,  which  it  was  my  duty  to  propose:  "The  health 
and  the  prosperity  of  the  President  of  the  Republic. 
May  he  quickly  see  the  Union  reestablished  under  his 
administration  ;  but  not  so  soon,  however,  but  that  the 
Fifty-fifth  may  have  an  opportunity  to  contribute  to  it 
on  some  field  of  battle." 

The  President  replied  with  a  few  words  of  thanks, 
which  he  closed  as  follows  :  "  All  that  I  can  say  is, 
that,  if  you  fight  as  well  as  you  treat  your  guests,  vie- 


130       FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

tory  is  assured  to  us.  And,  since  the  Union  may  not 
be  reestablished  before  the  Fifty-fifth  has  had  its  bat- 
tle, I  drink  to  the  battle  of  the  Fifty-fifth,  and  I  wish 
it  may  be  fought  as  soon  as  possible." 

On  his  departure  from  the  dining-hall,  he  was  re- 
ceived with  enthusiastic  cries  by  the  soldiers,  who 
crowded  around  his  carriage  and  formed  in  line  on 
both  sides,  to  salute  successively  the  guests  as  they 
passed. 

The  visit  of  President  Lincoln  was  the  first  notable 
incident  in  the  remembrance  of  the  regiment.  The 
two  flags  which  recall  the  day  had  very  different  fates. 
One,  the  French-  tricolor,  left  Tenallytown  only  to  re- 
turn to  New  York,  where  it  still  occasionally  appears 
to  adorn  the  parades  of  the  new  Fifty-fifth,  which  has 
taken  our  place  in  the  militia.  The  other,  the  national 
flag,  received  its  baptism  of  fire  at  Williamsburg,  and, 
riddled  with  balls  and  torn  by  canister,  left  its  pieces  at 
Fair  Oaks  and  at  Malvern  Hill,  until  there  remained  no 
more  than  the  staff  and  a  shred  of  the  fringe  at  Fred- 
ericksburg, where  its  glorious  career  ended. 

But  at  Tenallytown  we  knew  nothing  of  war  except 
the  roses,  although  around  us  many  had  already  been 
pricked  by  the  thorns.  The  placing  of  camps  in  all 
directions  around  Washington  could  not  be  done  ex- 
cept at  the  expense  of  the  property  which  the  govern- 
ment •  of  necessity  occupied.  Forts  were  constructed, 
troops  were  encamped,  woods  were  cut  down,  and  the 
earth  upturned.  The  soldiers,  with  little  discipline  in 
the  greater  part  of  the  regiments,  committed  depreda-. 
tions  difficult  to  prevent,  especially  in  the  orchards  and 
vegetable  gardens.  Agricultural  work  was  suspended. 
Of  what  use  to  work  the  ground  or  sow  the  seed  where 
the  harvest  could  not  be  gathered  .-*  And,  besides,  the 
negroes  employed  heretofore   in  the  fields  were  want- 


WINTER    QUARTERS.  I3I 

ing.  They  left  their  masters  everywhere,  encouraged 
and  aided  by  the  Northern  troops,  who  were  filled  with 
hatred  of  slavery,  and  who  almost  believed  themselves 
in  an  enemy's  country,  because  they  found  themselves 
in  a  country  with  slavery.  Land-owners,  thus  deprived 
of  their  income,  were  already  on  the  road  to  ruin. 

The  land  occupied  by  the  Fifty-fifth   formed   part  of 

a  large  property  belonging  to  Mr.  L ,  whose  house 

was  separated  from  the  camp  only  by  a  field,  set  aside 
for  drill.  It  was  a  fine  house,  surrounded  by  trees  and 
turf,  with  a  broad  avenue  leading  to  the  highway,  with 
gardens,  and  all  buildings  necessary  for  farm  work,  — 
everything  which  tends  to  the  enjoyment  of  a  fortune 

in  a  country  life.     Mr.  L was  one  of  the  best  men 

whom  I  ever  knew,  joining  simplicity  of  heart  with  the 
fine  manners  of  a  gentleman,  judging  things  without 
passion  or  prejudice,  faithfully  attached  to  the  Union, 
and  prepared  for  sacrifices  by  the  sincerity  of  his  re- 
ligious sentiments.  Before  the  war  he  lived  happily, 
surrounded  by  a  charming  family,  for  whom  the  future 
appeared  to  have  smiles  only,  without  frowns.  One 
year  had  changed  the  whole  aspect.  One  of  his  two 
sons  had  gone  to  California,  the  other  had  joined  the 
rebel  army.  Madame  L and  her  two  young  daugh- 
ters alone  remained  at  Grassland,  to  sustain  and  console 
the  aged  man  in  his  terrible  trials. 

Besides  Grassland,  Mr.  L owned  another  estate 

a  few  miles  out,  on  the  Rockville  road.  That  had  been 
plundered  by  passing  troops,  who  found  it  abandoned. 
There  remained  only  a  dismantled  mill,  a  deserted 
house,  and  some  uncultivated  ground,  of  which  the 
fences  served  to  feed  the  picket  fires.  And  yet  the 
hospitable  habits  of  the  family  survived  the  shipwreck 
of  its  fortunes.  Those  of  my  officers  whom  I  introduced 
were  received  with  an  unfeigned  politeness,  and  often  I 


t^ 


132       FOUR   YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

sat  at  the  family  dinner,  which  was  offered  me  with  the 
same  cordiality  which  presided  there  in  better  days. 

During  that  winter  the  good-nature  of  the  soldiers, 
as  much  as  their  obedience  to  discipline,  assured  com- 
plete   security  to   Mrs.   L 's  gardens  and  domestic 

fowls.  But  after  our  departure  the  state  of  affairs  was 
much  changed,  and  when  the  fortunes  of  war  brought 
me  again  into  that  neighborhood,  during  the  first  inva- 
sion of  Maryland,  I  found  this  family,  formerly  so  well 
situated,  compelled  by  daily  necessities  to  make  their 
livelihood  by  boarding  officers  stationed  in  the  vicinity. 

Such  was  the  effect  of  the  war  in  the  immediate 
neighborhood  of  the  capital.  What  would  it  be  when 
we  entered  the  enemy's  country  .'' 


CHAPTER   VII. 

MEN   AND   THINGS   AT  WASHINGTON. 

Congress  —  The  population  of  Washington  —  The  lobby  and  the  specta- 
tors —  The  contractors  for  the  army  —  The  faint-hearted  —  The  gen- 
eral-in-chief  —  General  Seth  Williams  —  The  Count  de  Paris  —  The 
Duke  de  Chartres  —  The  diplomatic  corps.  —  Its  partiality  for  the 
South — Why?  —  Receptions  at  the  White  House  —  Mr.  Stanton 
—  Mr.  Seward  —  President  Lincoln. 

So  the  days  passed  on,  one  like  another,  in  camp  life. 
In  order  to  vary  the  uniformity,  we  had  occasionally 
permission  to  pass  twelve  or  twenty-four  hours  in  Wash- 
ington. It  afforded  one  an  opportunity  to  keep  informed 
on  those  matters  which  the  papers  did  not  publish,  and 
to  study  the  curious  spectacle  presented  by  the  capital 
at  that  time. 

Congress  had  commenced  its  session  in  the  beginning 
of  December.  It  entered  with  unanimity  on  an  ener- 
getic course,  freed  from  factious  opposition  by  the 
absence  of  Southern  representatives,  and  by  the  assist- 
ance of  the  Northern  Democrats,  who  had  united  with 
the  Republicans,  to  pursue  the  war  with  vigor.  There 
were  a  very  few  discordant  voices,  who,  under  the 
cloak  of  a  false  patriotism,  made  vain  attacks  against 
the  national  cause,  and  hypocritical  excuses  in  favor  of 
secession.  —  Rari  iiantes  —  an  occasional  remnant  of 
the  shipwrecked  party  in  the  vast  current  of  public 
opinion. 

Outside  of  the  Confederate  States,  the  country  was  a 
unit  for  repressing  the  rebell'ion,  at  any  cost,  if  we  ex- 
cept Maryland,  where  the  opposition  became  the  subject 


134       FOUR    y^\Rs    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

of  ridicule,  by  being  reduced  to  the  puerile  affectations 
of  the  women  of  Baltimore  ;  the  little  State  of  Dela- 
ware, whose  insignificance  made  it  hardly  worth  while 
to  take  it  into  account ;  and  Kentucky,  whose  pro- 
slavery  interests  were  not  sufficient  to  wrench  it  from 
the  federal  power.  Nevertheless,  there  were  not  want- 
ing at  Washington  birds  of  evil  augury,  affirming  the 
oselessness  of  the  war,  foreseeing  only  disasters,  and 
predicting  the  ruin  of  the  Union,  by  the  certain  estab- 
lishment of  the  Southern  Confederacy. 

It  must  be  remembered  that  Washington  was  a 
Southern  city.  Since  the  verj'  beginning  of  the  Repub- 
lic the  Southern  men  had  carried  things  there  with 
a  high  hand.  They  had  there  carefully  preserv'ed  their 
sacred  institution.  They  had  diligently  maintained 
their  ideas  and  principles,  by  means  of  the  preponder- 
ating influence  which  they  exercised  in  the  different 
branches  of  the  government.  Thus  they  were  there  af 
hmnc  where  the  Northern  men  felt  that  they  were  stran- 
gers, in  that  common  capital,  which  the  representatives  of 
the  free  States  could  not  reach  without  passing  over 
pro-slaver\'  territory,  and  where  all  domestic  service  was 
rendered  by  slaves. 

This  state  of  affairs  had  left  deep  traces  in  the  papu- 
lation, which  remained  faithful  to  the  worship  of  the 
I>ast,  without,  however,  disdaining  to  make  all  possible 
profit  from  the  present  condition.  Never,  indeed,  had 
there  been  seen,  such  a  concourse  of  people  at  W^ash- 
ington.  The  concentration  of  more  than  a  hundred 
and  fifty  thousand  men  around  the  city  developed  there 
an  industrial  and  commercial  activity  without  a  prece- 
dent. It  was  like  a  population  quadrupled  in  a  few 
months,  three-quarters  of  whom  consumed  without 
producing  anything. 

But,  besides  the   army   formed    to   act   against   the 


MEN    AND    THINGS    AT    WASHINCiTON.  1 35 

enemy,  there  was  another  army  —  of  lobbyists,  contrac- 
tors, speculators,  which  was  continually  renewed  and 
never  exhausted.  These  hurried  to  the  assault  on  the 
treasury,  like  a  cloud  of  locusts  alighting  down  upon  the 
capital  to  devour  the  substance  of  the  country.  They 
were  everywhere ;  in  the  streets,  in  the  hotels,  in  the 
offices,  at  the  Capitol,  and  in  the  White  House.  They 
contmually  besieged  the  bureaus  of  administration,  the 
doors  of  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives, 
wherever  there  was  a  chance  to  gain  something. 

Government,  obliged  to  ask  the  aid  of  private  industry, 
for  every  kind  of  supply  that  the  army  and  navy  must 
have  without  delay,  was  really  at  the  mercy  of  these 
hungry  spoilers,  who  combined  with  one  another  to 
make  the  law  for  the  government.  From  this  arose 
contracts  exceedingly  burdensome,  which  impoverished 
the  treasury,  to  enrich  a  few  individuals. 

As  a  matter  of  course,  these  latter  classes,  strangers 
to  every  patriotic  impulse,  saw  in  the  war  only  an 
extraordinary  opportunity  of  making  a  fortune.  Everv 
means  for  obtaining  it  was  a  good  one  to  them  ;  so  that 
corruption  played  a  great  part  in  the  business  of  con- 
tracting. Political  protection  was  purchased  by  giving 
an  interest  in  the  contracts  obtained.  Now,  as  these 
contracts  must  be  increased  or  renewed,  according  to 
the  duration  of  the  war,  its  prolongation  became  a 
direct  advantage  to  a  certain  class  of  people  disposing 
of  large  capital  and  of  extended  influence.  What  was 
the  effect  on  events  ?  It  would  be  difficult  to  state  pre- 
cisely. But,  in  any  case,  this  was  evidently  one  of  the 
causes  which  embarrassed  the  course  of  affairs,  and 
delayed,  more  or  less,  the  reestablishment  of  the 
Union. 

The  government  —  that  is,  the  people,  who,  in  the 
end,  support  the  weight  of  public  expenses  —  was,  then. 


136       FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

fleeced  by  the  more  moderate  and  robbed  by  the  more 
covetous.  The  army  suffered  from  it  directly,  as  the 
supplies,  which  were  furnished  at  a  price  which  was 
much  above  their  value  if  they  had  been  of  a  good 
quality,  were  nearly  all  of  a  fraudulent  inferiority.  For 
example,  instead  of  heavy  woollen  blankets,  the  recruits 
received,  at  this  time,  light,  open  fabrics,  made  I  do  not 
know  of  what  different  substances,  which  protected 
them  against  neither  the  cold  nor  the  rain.  A  very 
short  wear  changed  a  large  part  of  the  uniform  to  rags, 
and  during  the  winter  spent  at  Tenallytown  the  ordi- 
nary duration  of  a  pair  of  shoes  was  not  longer  than 
twenty  or  thirty  days. 

This  last  fact,  well  attested  in  my  regiment,  was  fol- 
lowed by  energetic  remonstrances,  on  account  of  which 
the  general  commanding  the  brigade  appointed,  ac- 
cording to  the  regulations,  a  special  Board  of  Inspec- 
tion, with  the  object  of  obtaining  the  condemnation  of 
the  defective  articles.  Amongst  the  members  of  the 
board  was  an  officer  expert  in  these  matters,  having 
been  employed,  before  the  war,  in  one  of  the  great 
shoe  factories  of  Massachusetts.  The  report  was  very 
precise.  It  showed  that  the  shoes  were  made  of  poor 
leather,  not  having  been  properly  tanned,  that  the  in- 
side of  the  soles  was  filled  with  gray  paper,  and  that 
the  heels  were  so  poorly  fastened  that  it  needed  only 
a  little  dry  weather  following  a  few  days  of  rain  to  have 
them  drop  from  the  shoes.  In  fine,  the  fraud  was 
flagrant  in  every  way. 

The  report  was  duly  forwarded  to  the  superior  au- 
thorities. Did  it  have  any  consideration  }  I  never 
knew.  However,  it  was  necessary  to  exhaust  the 
stock  in  hand  before  obtaining  a  new  supply,  and 
the  price  charged  the  soldier  was  not  altered. 

Let  us  return  to  Washington. 


MEN    AND    THINGS    AT    WASHINGTON.  1 37 

The  general  impression  was  not  favorable  to  the  suc- 
cess of  the  government  in  the  war.  No  one  had  fore- 
seen its  formidable  proportions,  so  that,  as  the  real 
situation  became  manifest,  many  were  frightened  at 
the  magnitude  of  the  sacrifices  demanded,  and  the 
uncertainty  of  the  results.  In  calculating  what  great 
efforts  must  be  made,  what  expenses  incurred,  what  sac- 
rifices endured,  to  reestablish  the  P'ederal  Union,  timid 
spirits  asked  if  it  would  not  be  wise  to  accept  accom- 
plished facts  and  be  satisfied  with  a  Republic  of  twenty 
free  States,  infinitely  more  powerful  and  more  prosper- 
ous than  had  ever  been  the  thirteen  States  which 
originally  founded  the  great  American  nation.  Thus 
they  concurred  in  the  opinion  of  certain  Northern  mer- 
chants, whose  Southern  trade  was  injured,  and  of  cer- 
tain politicians  disappointed  in  their  devotion  to  the 
cause  of  slavery.  All  would  have  blindly  sacrificed 
their  country  to  their  cowardice,  their  interest,  or  their 
ambition. 

But  the  government  and  the  people  were  capable  of 
judging  affairs  more  soundly.  They  comprehended 
that  the  strife  entered  upon  was  a  question  of  life 
or  death.  The  only  chance  of  safety  rested  upon  the 
maintaining  of  the  great  principle  of  cohesion,  the  fun- 
damental base  and  guaranty  of  the  union  of  the  States 
in  one  people.  To  concede  the  right  of  secession  was 
to  loosen  forever  the  link,  and  deliver  the  country  up 
to  an  endless  division,  from  which  could  come  only 
common  ruin,  with  interminable  conflicts,  of  which 
the  history  of  the  Spanish  republics  of  the  new  world 
had  given  so  many  examples  and  shown  the  'conse- 
quences. 

If,  taking  "  things  at  their  worst,  the  Confederacy 
of  the  South  succeeded  in  establishing  its  indepen- 
dence after  a  long  and   desperate    war,  the    principle 


138       FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

would  remain  safe  and  strong.  Force  only  could  break 
up  the  Union,  which  is  the  fact  in  regard  to  all  prin- 
ciples of  government  confronted  by  revolutions.  No 
new  secession  could  quote  the  rebellion  as  a  precedent, 
and  no  attempt  would  be  made  a  second  time  with  the 
expectation  of  succeeding  except  by  force  subject  to  be 
repressed  by  arms.  Now,  that  is  a  trial  to  be  made 
only  at  the  last  extremity,  and  which  will  be  much  less 
liable  to  be  attempted  when  it  is  seen  through  what 
dangers  and  sacrifices  it  leads.  Every  idea  of  compro- 
mise then  was  illusory,  and  yet  it  appears  that  there 
were,  at  that  time,  minds  so  little  clairvoyant  as  to 
believe  it  possible.  In  a  secret  assemblage,  which  met 
at  Baltimore,  in  June,  a  few  Democrats  of  the  North  and 
of  the  South  discussed  seriously  the  problem  of  the  re- 
establishment  of  the  Union  to  the  advantage  of  slavery, 
and  for  the  exclusion  of  New  England  !  It  was  re- 
ported that,  to  prepare  the  way,  every  influence  of 
this  singular  assemblage  was  used  to  assure  to  Gen- 
eral McClellan  the  command-in-chief  of  the  army,  to 
which  he  was,  in  fact,  promoted  a  month  later.  In  this 
respect,  the  rumors  appear  to  have  arisen  from  the  polit- 
ical conduct  of  the  general  at  different  times,  and  es- 
pecially during  the  presidential  campaign  of  1864,  when 
he  was  the  unhappy  candidate  of  the  deplorable  party 
of  peace  and  compromise. 

However  that  may  be,  during  the  winter  of  1861-62, 
General  McClellan  was  the  one  on  whom  the  great 
hopes  for  the  success  of  the  war  rested.  His  popu- 
larity, though  based  rather  upon  anticipations  as  to 
what  he  was  going  to  do,  than  upon  any  substantial 
reason,  made  him,  nevertheless,  the  greatest  power  of  the 
time.  By  singing  his  praises  daily,  the  press  had  made 
him  a  sort  of  savior  for  the  people  and  an  irrresistible 
conqueror  for  the  army.     Up  to  that  time,  however,  the 


MEN    AND    THINGS    AT   WASHINGTON.  1 39 

part  of  the  idol  had  consisted  simply  in  letting  him- 
self be  adored. 

General  McClellan  resided  in  Washington,  in  an 
elegant  house,  where  he  held  his  court.  There  he 
received  the  homage  which  always  bows  before  power, 
there  he  welcomed  the  officers  who  flocked  around 
him  to  ask  from  favor  what  their  merit  did  not  de- 
serve. To  the  remainder  of  the  army  he  showed  him- 
self only  during  grand  reviews.  Never  did  he  visit  our 
camps.  Never,  in  my  knowledge,  did  he  seek  to  find 
out  for  himself  what  was  the  state  of  discipline,  of  in- 
struction, or  the  condition  of  the  troops  which  he  was 
to  lead  against  the  enemy.  In  that  respect,  the  offi- 
cial reports  were  sufficient  for  him. 

On  the  other  hand,  when  any  military  business  took 
us  to  headquarters,  we  never  failed  to  find  there  an 
officer  who,  perhaps,  did  more  than  any  other  for 
the  organization  of  the  Army  of  the  Potomac.  I 
mean  Seth  Williams,  major  in  the  regular  army  and 
assistant  adjutant-general,  —  duties  which  he  performed 
as  brigadier-general  of  volunteers  until  the  end  of  the 
war,  so  valuable  were  his  services  to  the  different  gen- 
erals who  succeeded  in  the  command.  Seth  Williams 
was  a  man,  simple,  modest,  and  devoted  to  his  duty  ! 
An  indefatigable  worker,  nothing  seemed  to  him  un- 
worthy of  his  attention.  He  applied  himself  equally  to 
general  affairs  and  to  the  minute  details,  —  multiplying 
thus  his  labors,  to  obviate  the  defects  of  intermediate 
machinery  in  the  vast  organization  of  the  army,  where 
it  was  as  necessary  to  create  as  it  was  to  bring  matters 
into  proper  order. 

The  Count  de  Paris  and  the  Duke  de  Chartres  were, 
as  I  have  said,  attached  to  the  staff  of  General  McClel- 
lan. They,  with  the  Duke  de  Joinville,  occupied  a 
house  where  the  French  were  always  welcome. 


140       FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

The  position  occupied  by  the  Count  de  Paris  im- 
poses upon  me  a  reserve,  which  every  one  will 
understand. 

I  can  at  least,  without  a  political  bearing,  render 
justice  here  to  the  amiability  of  his  manners,  to  the 
wisdom  and  moderation  of  his  views,  as  well  as  to  the 
general  correctness  of  his  ideas.  As  to  their  par- 
ticular application  to  France,  either  as  regards  govern- 
ment or  politics,  that  is  a  subject  upon  which  I  have 
never  had  any  conversation  with  the  prince.  Whether 
in  free  intercourse  at  his  table,  where  I  have  some- 
times had  an  opportunity  to  partake  of  his  hospi- 
tality, or  in  conversation  in  my  tent,  where  he  has  done 
me  the  honor  to  visit  me,  he  has  seemed  to  me 
to  avoid  with  care  anything  which  could  appear  like 
the  role  of  a  pretender.  But  he  spoke  freely  and  sen- 
sibly on  general  subjects,  and  judged  correctly  the 
situation  in  America. 

As  to  the  Duke  de  Chartres,  he  fully  enjoyed  the 
privilege  of  not  being  the  heir  presumptive  to  any 
crown.  His  active,  gay,  and  lively  nature  just  suited 
the  uniform  of  Captain  Robert  d'Orleans.  His  ad- 
dress was  frank,  his  conversation  easy.  He  enjoyed 
a  well  told  anecdote,  and  a  trooper's  joke  was  not  dis- 
pleasing to  him.  War  seemed  to  be  his  element,  so 
jovial  did  he  appear.  Whatever  happens,  his  dignity 
will   not  prevent  him  from  taking  his  part. 

The  last  of  the  Stuarts  died  at  Rome,  wretched  in  a 
cardinal's  robe.  The  Orleans  family  will  never  end  in 
that  manner,  if  the  last  of  the  race  resemble  in  the 
least  the  Duke  de  Chartres. 

One  day  in  January,  the  prince,  who  never  missed 
an  occasion  to  mount  his  horse,  was  sent  to  make  the 
roimd  of  our  picket  line  along  the  Potomac,  as  far  as 
Great    Falls.      He    stopped   a    moment    at    our   camp, 


MEN    AND    THINGS    AT   WASHINGTON.  141 

which  was  on  his  road.  I  had  my  horse  saddled  to 
accompany  him,  and  we  started. 

From  Tenallytown  to  Great  Falls  is  about  twelve 
miles,  and  the  road  was  far  from  being  good,  or  the 
weather  agreeable.  In  order  to  visit  the  posts,  we  had 
to  climb  hills,  to  descend  steep  slopes,  to  pass  through 
thickets,  to  wade  through  mud.  Captain  d'Orleans  ap- 
peared scarcely  to  notice  it.  He  did  his  duty  conscien- 
tiously, without  allowing  himself  to  be  turned  aside  by 
the  difficulties. 

We  reached,  after  a  time,  a  point  where  we  must 
cross  the  canal  ;  the  ferry-boat  was  on  the  other  side, 
and  the  ferry-man  some  distance  off.  While  we  were 
waiting  for  him  we  dismounted,  holding"  our  horses  by 
the  bridle. 

Life  brings  us  to  some  singular  encounters.  I  have 
witnessed  too  many  to  be  much  astonished  at  them, 
but  a  strong  impression  remains  with  me  of  that  ride 
in  the  woods  of  the  new  world,  with  the  grandson  of 
the  last  king  of  France,  wearing  the  uniform  of  the 
Republic. 

At  sunset,  we  separated  at  the  forks  of  a  road 
which  would  take  me  back  to  camp.  The  prince  scru- 
pulously continued  his  rounds  to  Great  Falls,  where  he 
did  not  arrive  until  after  nightfall,  —  which  did  not 
prevent  his  returning  that  night  to  headquarters. 

Amongst  the  visits  which  I  made  from  time  to  time 
to  Washington,  I  could  not  forget  those  which  made 
me  directly  acquainted  with  the  opinions  of  the  diplo- 
matic corps  upon  the  great  American  crisis.  I  must  say 
that  upon  this  subject  the  representatives  of  the  Euro- 
pean powers  showed  a  remarkable  lack  of  perspicacity 
in  their  judgments.  In  their  opinion,  the  Union  was 
doomed.  It  could  never  be  reestablished,  and  it  was 
infinitely  better,  by  accepting  the  separation,  to  avoid 


T42       FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

a  disastrous  war,  whose  sole  result  would  be  to  ruin 
the  country,  without  any  imaginable  compensation. 

What  struck  me  the  most  in  these  conversations 
was  less  the  errors  of  judgment  than  the  flagrant  par- 
tiality of  the  argument. 

Certainly,  the  foreign  ministers  residing  at  Wash- 
ington had  every  means  of  being  well  informed.  And 
yet  they  saw  things  entirely  different  from  what  they 
were.  The  obstacles,  the  abuses,  the  embarrassments 
which  I  have  noted,  took  in  their  eyes  such  proportions 
that  they  appeared  to  have  looked  upon  them  through 
the  magnifying  glass  of  a  moral  microscope,  while 
the  enthusiastic  resolution  of  the  people,  its  prompt 
readiness  to  make  all  necessary  sacrifices,  the  immense 
material  resources  of  the  country,  the  power  of  a  great 
national  idea,  the  inspiration  of  a  cause  ennobled  by 
civilization  and  liberty,  all  these  escaped  their  eyes,  or 
were  without  sensible  v/eight  in  the  balance  of  their 
judgments. 

On  the  contrary,  if  they  considered  the  case  of  the 
Confederates,  they  reasoned  quite  otherwise.  They 
saw  everything  to  their  advantage.  Their  relative 
poverty  became  inexhaustible  riches.  Their  inferiority 
as  to  population  would  be  more  than  compensated 
by  the  conscrij^tion,  and,  if  necessary,  by  a  levy  en 
masse.  Their  crop  of  cotton  alone  was  worth  armies. 
All  the  good  generals  fought  in  their  ranks ;  all 
the  great  statesmen  were  on  their  side.  The  thinly 
settled  territory  was  inaccessible  to  our  columns,  and, 
if  we  beat  them  on  the  frontier,  they  would  be  uncon- 
querable in  the  heart  of  the  Confederacy.  Finally,  tired 
of  war,  it  would  be  necessary  for  us  to  yield,  only  too 
happy  if  the  will  of  the  conqueror  was  not  imposed 
upon   us   in  Washington   itself. 

The    ministers   of    Prussia  and   Italy  were  the   only 


MEN    AND    THINGS    AT   WASHINGTON.  1 43 

ones,  in  my  knowledge,  who  did  not  look  on  affairs  in 
this  manner,  and  who  were  fully  convinced  of  the  final 
and  complete  triumph  of  our  arms. 

The  blindness  of  the  diplomatic  corps  came  in  part 
from  the  former  relations  of  the  most  of  its  members 
with  the  Southern  men.  Before  the  war,  they  asso- 
ciated preferably  with  those  Americans  who,  in  their 
manners,  their  education,  and  their  habits,  were  closer 
to  the  elegant  usages  of  European  society.  In  this  re- 
spect, the  superiority  was  on  the  side  of  the  South. 
Their  representatives  at  Washington,  whether  in  the 
government,  in  Congress,  or  in  society,  belonged  gener- 
ally to  the  class  of  rich  planters,  in  which  the  aristocra- 
tic traditions  were  preserved,  not  less  in  their  manner 
of  living  than  in  their  principles.  Many  had  visited 
Europe.  They  could  talk  of  it  from  their  personal  ob- 
servations, sometimes  as  well  in  French  as  in  English. 
Some  kept  house  in  the  capital,  where  their  receptions 
and  their  parties  were  very  elegant.  On  account  of  this 
intimate  intercourse  with  the  diplomatic  corps,  they,  at 
the  table,  in  the  intervals  of  their  games  of  whist,  ex- 
plained the  enigmas  of  home  politics  from  their  point 
of  view,  and  demonstrated  the  infallible  success  of 
their   plan   of    secession. 

The  Northern  men  had  not  the  same  advantages.  In 
the  first  place,  their  ideas  were  much  less  in  accord 
with  the  European  ideas,  and  their  manners  were  not, 
in  general,  those  of  a  refined  society ;  even  amongst 
those  who  occupied  high  stations  in  political  life,  there 
were  many  self-made  men,  whose  early  education  had 
been  much  neglected  and  whose  habits  showed  the 
humbleness  of  their  origin.  The  latter  kept  aloof 
from  the  embassies,  where  their  rare  appearance 
on  reception  days  was  known  by  their  dirty  boots, 
their   neglect    of    dress,    and    their    plebeian    appetite 


144       FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY, 

at  the  supper  table,  —  things  which  are  important,  in 
diplomacy. 

Without  doubt,  the  North  also  sent  to  Washington 
men  with  polite  manners,  distinguished  gentlemen,  and 
even  learned  men.  But  they  were  in  the  minority. 
Besides,  their  democratic  republicanism  could  not  be 
expected  to  inspire  confidence  or  sympathy  in  the 
representatives  of  an  order  of  things  diametrically 
opposite. 

The  cause  of  this  difference  between  the  South  and 
the  North  at  the  seat  of  government  was  that  at  the 
South  a  political  career  was  considered  as  the  natural 
vocation  of,  and  belonging  to  men  of  the  highest  stand- 
ing. At  the  North,  on  the  contrary,  it  was  generally 
abandoned  to  men  of  a  secondary  position,  as  men  of 
the  highest  culture  had  withdrawn  from  the  race  to 
escape  the  obligation  of  courting  the  multitude  and  of 
lending  themselves  to  electoral  transactions  repugnant 
to  their  conscience  or  their  dignity. 

Thus  it  was  easy  to  explain  the  partiality  of  the  for- 
eign embassies  for  the  cause  of  the  South,  by  their 
liking  for  the  Southern  men.  But  also  it  is  not  difficult 
to  perceive  in  this  preference  a  reflection  of  the  distrust 
inspired  in  the  European  monarchies  by  the  Grand 
Republic. 

For  centuries,  the  people  of  the  old  world  have  been 
taught  to  believe  that  a  republican  government  was 
impossible  on  a  large  scale,  and  that  only  small  com- 
munities, like  the  Swiss,  could  be  governed  in  that 
manner.  Against  that  theory  was  the  fact  of  the 
United  States  of  America,  whose  very  existence  led  to 
quite  opposite  conclusions.  Arguments  availed  nothing, 
for  there  is  not  in  politics,  as  in  religion,  a  divine  reve- 
lation to  invoke,  in  order  to  substitute  faith  for  reason 
and  to  make  absurdity  itself  evidence,  "quia  absurdum." 


MEN    AND    THINGS    AT   WASHINGTON.  1 45 

General  Bonaparte  said  :  "  The  French  RepubHc  is 
like  the  sun  :  it  is  only  the  blind  who  do  not  see  it." 
It  is  the  same  to-day  with  the  American  Republic. 
The  people  are  not  so  blind  as  not  to  see  it. 

When  America  was  still  very  young,  Joseph  de 
Maistre,  the  great  apostle  of  the  throne  and  the  altar, 
found  nothing  to  say  against  her  but  that  fact  :  "  They 
cite  to  us  America.  I  know  nothing  more  provoking 
than  the  praises  given  to  that  infant  in  swaddling 
clothes.  Wait  until  it  has  grown."  Since  then  the 
infant  has  grown  exceedingly.  She  has  become  a  giant. 
Her  birth  contradicted  even  then  the  theory  of  impos- 
sibility. Her  grandeur,  her  prosperity,  her  power  have 
completed  the  refutation. 

Not  that  I  would  conclude  from  this  that  the  re- 
publican form  of  government  would  be,  at  present,  the 
best  for  all  people.  On  the  contrary,  I  do  not  think 
so.  All  governments  are  good  which  conform  to  the 
temperaments  of  the  governed,  to  their  advance  in 
civilization,  and  to  the  particular  conditions  in  which 
they  are  placed.  All  governments  are  bad  which  do 
not  respond  to  the  demands  of  public  sentiment,  to  the 
needs  of  the  general  welfare,  and  to  that  long  educa- 
tion of  the  people  by  which  the  development  of  progress 
is  regulated.  The  best  form  of  government  may  be- 
come the  worst  in  certain  times  and  certain  countries 
where  it  may  be  applied.  Nothing  is  absolute  in  this 
world. 

Unhappily,  rational  philosophy  does  not  regulate  the 
intercourse  of  governments  with  each  other.  Their  in- 
tercourse depends  upon  the  natural  or  dynastic  interests, 
and  the  diplomats  are  sent  out  to  reconnoitre  and  pre- 
pare the  way.  Now,  for  the  monarchies  of  Europe 
there  was  a  moral  interest  in  the  shipwreck  of  the  great 
republican  experiment.     For  some  of  them  there  was  a 


146       FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

natural  interest  in  the  dismemberment  of  the  Union. 
Their  representatives  at  Washington  so  understood  it, 
and  allowed  their  judgment  to  be  too  easily  influenced 
by  tlieir  desires. 

In  searching  through  the  archives  of  foreign  affairs 
at  Paris,  in  the  diplomatic  reports  and  correspondence 
from  Washington  during  the  war,  there  would  be  found 
a  curious  chapter  of  erroneous  judgments  and  false  pre- 
dictions. Who  knows  if  there  would  not  be  found  the 
real  cause  of  certain  enterprises  which  would  not  have 
been  entered  upon,  of  certain  complications  arising  in 
the  political  world,  which  would  not  have  occurred  if 
the  government  had  been  more  correctly  informed  upon 
the  true  state  of  affairs  in  America  ? 

In  the  midst  of  these  busy  agitations,  disinterested 
visitors  also  flocked  to  the  capital,  to  look  upon  the 
unaccustomed  sights  offered  to  their  curiosity.  A  trip 
to  Washington  was  a  pleasure  excursion,  very  much  in 
fashion,  especially  for  the  New  York  ladies,  coming  to 
see  and  to  be  seen.  The  hotels  were  full  of  brilliant 
company.  There  they  danced,  there  they  amused  them- 
selves without  a  thought  of  the  enemy,  who  yet  was 
but  a  few  miles  distant.  Uniforms  were  very  abundant 
at  these  parties,  where  trips  to  the  various  camps  were 
arranged,  and  sometimes  horseback  rides  to  the  ad- 
vanced posts. 

Never  did  a  more  elegant  multitude  crowd  to  the 
receptions  at  the  White  House.  Every  one  knows  that 
on  these  occasions  the  democratic  usage  opens  the 
doors  to  whosoever  wishes  to  enter.  A  cruel  trial  for 
the  President,  forced,  for  an  entire  evening,  to  a  painful 
hand-shaking  with  a  multitude,  not  one  of  whom  is 
sympathetic. 

Mr.  Lincoln,  instantly  recognized  from  his  tall  and 
spare  form,  stood   near  the  entrance   door  of  the  first 


MEN    AND  THINGS    AT   WASHINGTON.  1 47 

parlor,  his  two  secretaries  by  his  side,  who  gave  him 
the  names  of  the  callers,  which  he  repeated  as  well  as 
possible  in  the  inevitable  form  of  salutation,  when  he 
thought  he  had  heard  correctly.  In  vain  would  one,  on 
these  occasions,  look  on  his  bony  face  for  a  trace  of  the 
humor  so  well  known  by  numerous  anecdotes  and  say- 
ings. One  saw  there  only  the  strain  of  absorbing 
thought,  struggling  with  a  vulgar  ceremony.  Inwardly 
a  prey  to  the  heaviest  cares,  bending  under  the  burden 
of  a  formidable  responsibility,  he  must  smile  on  all 
as  if  he  had  really  been  "charmed  to  see  you." 

The  task  imposed  on  Mrs.  Lincoln  was  much  easier. 
Always  dressed  with  elegance,  a  thing  she  enjoyed, 
surrounded  by  feminine  attentions,  she  escaped  the 
crowding  of  the  multitude,  sheltered  by  the  trains  of 
the  dresses  of  her  entourage.  The  presence  of  a  certain 
number  of  generals  in  uniform  was,  besides,  a  diversion 
in  her  favor,  as  the  callers  wished  to  lose  nothing  that 
there  was  to  be  seen. 

The  members  of  the  Cabinet  did  not  appear  very 
often  at  these  receptions.  They  had  more  important 
duties.  Occasionally,  however,  the  broad  shoulders 
and  massive  head  of  Mr.  Stanton,  who  had  just  taken 
the  place  of  Mr.  Cameron,  in  the  Department  of  War, 
was  seen  there,  or  the  tall,  venerably  insignificant 
form  of  Mr.  Welles,  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy,  of 
whom  so  much  ill  has  been  spoken,  —  much  more,  I 
think,  than  he  deserves. 

Mr.  Stanton  was  a  prodigious  worker,  devoted  above 
all  things  to  the  Union,  which  he  had  served  already 
with  all  his  power,  as  attorney-general,  in  the  Cabinet 
of  the  preceding  administration.  Determined  to  have 
it  triumph  at  the  price  of  every  sacrifice,  he  displayed, 
in  his  new  position,  a  vigorous  capacity,  which  marked 
him  as  the  American  Carnot.      As  he  would  not  be  the 


148       FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

docile  instrument  of  any  party  or  coterie,  he  was  often 
made  the  target  of  very  severe  attacks.  Perhaps  a 
few  instances  of  personal  favor  badly  bestowed  might 
be  found.  But  the  attacks  of  his  enemies  —  who  were 
not  generally  the  friends  of  the  government  —  could 
not  shake  him  in  his  position,  where,  on  the  contrary, 
he  became  very  strong  by  his  important  services.  He 
was  able,  therefore,  to  fulfil  his  task,  even  to  the  end, 
and,  by  his  energetic  work,  his  enlightened  devotion, 
be  reckoned  amongst  the  men  who  contributed  most 
efficaciously  to  save  the  Republic  from  the  greatest 
dangers  it  could  incur. 

Mr.  Seward  was  the  one  amongst  the  Cabinet  min- 
isters who  appeared  to  bear  the  weight  of  affairs  with 
the  greatest  ease.  His  part  was  not,  however,  the 
less  arduous.  The  management  of  foreign  relations, 
amid  complications  so  delicate  and  continuall}  arising, 
demanded  from  him  a  combination  of  the  high  quali- 
ties which  constitute  the  statesman.  He  had  to  con- 
tend with  difficulties  of  different  kinds.  On  one  side, 
he  must  take  care  not  to  irritate  the  pride  of  a  de- 
mocracy quick  to  take  offence.  On  the  other  hand, 
he  had  to  conciliate  minds  of  doubtful  friendship,  if 
not  to  conjure  away  hostile  dispositions,  which,  if  they 
became  enemies,  could  throw  themselves  with  a  decisive 
weight  into  the  balance  of  the  war.  The  Confederacy 
was  working  with  all  its  might  to  bring  about  this 
result.  It  had  agents  abroad,  very  active,  very  cun- 
ning, and  not  at  all  scrupulous,  who  applied  themselves 
without  rest  to  influence  opinion  in  favor  of  the  South, 
—  in  official  circles  by  continual  personal  efforts,  in 
the  public  through  the  journals,  which  they  furnished 
with  false  information  and  erroneous  conclusions. 

Mr.  Seward  could  not  always  meet  this  danger  with 
equal  arms.     At  Paris,  for  example,  while  the  l^onfed- 


MEN    AND    THINGS    AT   WASHINGTON.  1 49 

erates'  agents  showed  themselves  everywhere,  put 
themselves  in  connection  with  influential  men,  worked 
the  press,  and  operated  on  the  Bourse,  —  the  United 
States  legation,  where  French  was  not  spoken,  was  con- 
fined to  its  official  functions,  and  had  no  influence, 
outside  of  that,  which  could  counterbalance  the  ma- 
noeuvres of  its  adversaries. 

In  spite  of  all,  Mr.  Seward,  with  his  pliant  and  ener- 
getic nature,  the  clearness  of  his  mind,  the  surety  of 
his  judgment,  his  long  experience  in  public  affairs,  all 
moderated  by  the  effect  which  the  exercise  of  public 
opinion  always  has  upon  the  ardor  of  party  chiefs, 
was  successful  against  all  dangers  from  abroad,  and 
baffled  the  intrigues  of  the  Confederates.  In  the  midst 
of  these  labors  and  responsibilities,  Mr.  Seward,  on  all 
occasions,  preserved  his  amiable  manners  and  his 
sparkling  humor.  There  was  in  him  a  moral  and  spir- 
itual vigor  equal  to  every  trial. 

In  1865,  while  the  Army  of  the  Potomac,  returning 
triumphant  from  its  last  campaign,  awaited  its  disband- 
ing around  Washington,  I  was  passing  one  day  near 
the  President's  house,  when  my  attention  was  drawn  to 
a  pedestrian,  who  crossed  the  road  a  few  steps  from 
me.  A  broad  Panama  hat  covered  a  head  confined 
in  a  surgical  contrivance,  two  flexible  stems  of  which, 
passing  around  his  face,  supported  his  jaw,  and  termi- 
nated in  his  mouth.  As  I  walked  more  slowly#to  look 
at  him,  he  turned  towards  me  and  saluted  me  with  his 
hand.     I  recognized  Mr.  Seward. 

It  was  the  first  time  I  had  seen  him  since  a  South- 
ern assassin  had  pierced  him  with  the  poniard  on  that 
fatal  night  when  President  Lincoln  fell,  struck  by 
another  desperado  of  the  same  cause.  Such  as  I  had 
known  Mr.  Seward  before,  such  I  found  him  still,  under 
that  sinister  envelopment  of  his  head,  from  which  it 


150       FOUR   YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

was  some  time  before  he  was  relieved.  His  elastic 
vitality  was  proof  against  both  work  and  wounds. 

It  was  otherwise  with  the  President,  who,  in  the  dark 
hours  of  his  first  year  of  trial,  sometimes  bent  under 
the  burden.  In  January,  1862,  I  had  the  honor  to  dine 
at  the  White  House,  where  twenty  guests  were  as- 
sembled. The  conversation  was  varied  by  the  observa- 
tions of  men  who  had  had  different  careers,  and  who 
had  passed  through  different  vicissitudes.  Mr.  Lincoln 
took  no  part  in  it.  Neither  the  lively  sallies  of  Mr.  X. 
P.  Willis  nor  the  inciting  remarks  of  some  of  the 
ladies  could  distract  him  from  his  interior  reflections, 
or  lighten  the  moral  and  physical  fatigue  to  which  he 
\nsibly  yielded. 

It  was  at  the  time  when  public  opinion,  tired  of  the 
long  inaction  of  the  Army  of  the  Potomac,  began 
loudlv  to  demand  some  revenge  for  the  check  of  Ball's 
Bluff,  and  that  measures  be  taken  to  reestablish  the 
navigation  of  the  river,  impudenth'  interrupted  by  the 
batteries  of  the  enemy.  With  this  object,  a  direct 
pressure  was  made  upon  the  President,  Avhose  anxiety 
was  increased  by  the  illness  of  General  IMcClellan,  with 
whom  he  could  not  come  to  an  understanding  in  this 
respect.  It  was  necessary  for  him  to  consult  those 
generals  in  whom  he  had  the  most  confidence,  and 
debate  with  them  the  military  questions,  of  which  he 
was  not  a  competent  judge,  and  which,  notwithstand- 
ing, he  was  called  on  to  decide,  on  account  of  his  supe- 
rior authority ;  a  new  source  of  terrible  perplexity  to 
add  to  the  dreadful  political  responsibilities  which  over- 
whelmed him. 

These  occasional  fits  of  despondency,  however,  had 
no  influence  upon  the  devotion  of  the  President  to  his 
dutv.  He  did  not  fail  in  the  accomplishment  of  the 
great  task  which  had  devolved  upon  him.     Animated 


MEN    AND    THINGS    AT    WASHINGTON.  I5I 

by  the  most  sincere  patriotism,  enlightened  by  a  cer- 
tain political  sagacity,  guided  in  his  views  and  in  his 
ambitions  by  an  irreproachable  honesty,  sustained  by 
the  people,  of  whom  he  was  less  the  directing  chief 
than  the  faithful  servant,  he  followed  the  straight  path, 
regulating  his  steps  by  the  march  of  events,  without 
seeking  to  hasten  or  delay  the  demands  of  the  hour. 
He  thus  had  a  career  more  useful  than  brilliant  during 
his  life,  but  immortalized  in  his  last  hour  by  the  conse- 
cration of  success  and  the  sanctification  of  martyrdom. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

COMMENCEMENT   OF  THE   CAMPAIGN. 

Opening  of  the  campaign  of  1862  —  Disagreements  at  Washington  — 
Adoption  of  McClellan's  plan  —  Military  excursion  in  Virginia  — 
Organization  of  army  corps  —  Embarking  for  Fortress  Monroe 
— Fight  of  the  Monitor  and  the  Merrimac  —  Disembarking  at  Hampton 
—  The  surrounding  country  —  Newport  News — March  upon  York- 
town —  The  beseeching  Virginians. 

The  campaign  of  1862  was  first  opened  in  the  West, 
in  the  month  of  February,  by  the  capture  of  Fort 
Henry  and  of  the  fortified  camp  of  Donelson.  The 
former  surrendered  on  the  6th,  to  Commodore  Foote, 
after  a  few  hours*  bombardment  ;  the  latter,  on  the 
15th,  to  General  Grant,  after  three  days  of  fighting. 
This  double  success  gave  the  victors  sixteen  thou- 
sand prisoners,  fifty  pieces  of  artillery,  and  quantities 
of  small  arms,  munitions  of  war,  and  provisions  of 
all  kinds.  But  its  most  important  result  was  to  break 
the  line  of  defence  of  the  enemy  on  the  borders  of 
Kentucky  and  Tennessee,  and  to  cut  his  communica- 
tions from  the  East  to  the  West,  in  capturing  from  him 
the  only  railroad  which  he  could  use  for  that  purpose. 
Thus  he  was  obliged  immediately  to  evacuate  Nashville 
and  Columbus. 

At  the  same  time.  General  Burnside,  landing  in  North 
Carolina,  at  the  head  of  a  large  expedition,  established 
himself  firmly  on  Roanoke  Island,  after  capturing  some 
strong  fortifications,  a  large  number  of  cannon,  and 
more  than  three  thousand  prisoners. 

The  Army  of  the  Potomac  received   all   this    good 

152 


COMMENCEMENT    OF   THE    CAMPAIGN.  1 53 

news  in  its  winter  quarters,  where  the  hesitations  of 
the  general-in-chief  and  the  irresolution  of  the  Presi- 
dent, relative  to  the  final  adoption  of  a  plan  of  cam- 
paign, continued  to  hold  it.  The  great  question  was,  to 
know  if  the  enemy  should  be  attacked  from  the  front, 
as  Mr  Lincoln  evidently  thought,  or  if  their  position 
should  be  turned,  by  means  of  Chesapeake  Bay,  to 
throw  upon  their  rear  all  the  forces  which  were  not 
absolutely  necessary  for  the  security  of  Washington,  as 
was  proposed  by  General  McClellan.  The  difference 
of  opinion  was  so  great  that  the  secret  was  soon  known 
through  the  army.  Thus  it  was  known  that  the  Presi- 
dent had  given  an  order  for  a  general  movement  of  the 
forces,  both  on  land  and  sea,  on  the  22d  of  February, 
with  the  peremptory  order,  "  that  the  chiefs  of  Depart- 
ments, and  especially  the  Secretaries  of  War  and  of 
the  Navy,  with  all  their  subordinates,  and  the  general- 
in-chief  as  well  as  all  the  other  commanders  and  subor- 
dinates, in  command  of  both  land  and  naval  forces, 
will  be  held,  each  in  his  own  sphere,  to  a  strict  account- 
ability for  the  prompt  execution  of  this  order." 

The  idea  of  such  an  order  was  not  happy,  and  its 
execution  subject  to  so  many  plausible  objections  that 
General  McClellan  had  no  trouble  in  getting  it  revoked. 
The  22d  of  February  passed  by  without  any  other 
demonstration  than  the  salvos  of  artillery  in  commem- 
oration of  the  birthday  of  Washington.  But,  right- 
fully or  wrongfully,  the  impression  remained  that  the 
President  had  been  compelled  to  exercise  his  authority, 
to  force  the  general-in-chief  from  his  inaction. 

So,  also,  the  creation  of  army  corps  was  strongly 
recommended,  as  a  necessary  measure  in  the  organiza- 
tion of  an  army  of  a  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  men. 
General  McClellan  was  opposed  to  it.  Without  deny- 
ing  its   advantages    in    a   military    point    of   view,^  he 


154       FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

wanted,  it  was  said,  to  take  the  time  to  choose  the 
generals  the  most  capable  of  taking  command,  accord- 
ing to  their  merits.  But,  as  his  choice  had  not  been 
made  at  the  time  of  commencing  active  operations,  the 
President  took  the  affair  in  his  own  hands,  and,  by  an 
order  dated  March  8,  divided  the  Army  of  the  Potomac 
into  four  corps,  and  himself  appointed  the  commanders. 

The  same  day,  a  council  of  war  of  twelve  generals 
of  division  was  called  by  the  President  to  pronounce 
between  the  two  plans  of  campaign  under  discussion. 
The  commander-in-chief  had  also,  on  his  own  account, 
to  explain  his  plans  to  his  subordinates  and  submit  them 
to  their  judgment.  Nothing  could  have  been  better,  if 
he  had  taken  the  initiative,  for  in  such  a  case,  in  asking 
their  advice,  he  would,  nevertheless,  have  remained  the 
judge  in  the  last  resort,  and  free,  consequently,  to  act 
as  he  pleased.  But  here  he  was  placed  in  the  false 
position  of  pleading  his  cause  before  his  inferiors.  If 
they  preferred  other  plans  than  his,  it  would  have  been 
necessary  for  him  to  resign  his  command,  for  it  does 
not  comport  with  the  dignity  of  a  general-in-chief  to 
charge  himself  with  the  execution  of  a  plan  which  he 
disapproves,  when,  above  all,  it  has  been  dictated  to  him 
in  that  manner.  I  do  not  know  if  General  McClellan 
looked  upon  it  in  this  way ;  but,  in  any  case,  he  was  put 
to  the  trial.  Eight  generals  were  in  favor  of  his  plan 
of  campaign,  only  four  were  in  favor  of  a  different 
one. 

At  this  time,  a  singular  coincidence  gave  rise  to  many 
comments.  The  decision  to  open  the  campaign  in  the 
rear  of  the  enemy's  line  was  taken  in  secret  council  on 
the  8th  of  March  —  on  the  9th,  the  Confederates  had 
disappeared  from  Manassas. 

Where  had  they  gone  to  ?  They  had  fallen  back  up- 
on a  safer  position,  in  rear  of  the  line  of  the  Rappa- 


COMMENCEMENT    OF   THE    CAMPAIGN.  1 55 

hannock,  thus  baffling  the  strategic  combination  which 
General  McClellan  had  announced  the  evening  before 
for  the  first  time. 

Whatever  was  the  cause  of  that  sudden  retreat,  its 
effect  was  to  produce  an  immediate  general  movement 
in  the  Army  of  the  Potomac.  The  following  night, 
Keyes'  division  received  the  order  to  move  out  on  the 
Leesburg  road,  and  on  the  morning  of  the  loth  we 
were  01  route  by  the  way  of  Chain  Bridge,  at  last  bid- 
ding adieu  to  our  winter  quarters. 

One  would  have  said  we  were  going  to  a  fete.  Offi- 
cers and  soldiers,  equally  tired  of  camp  life,  wished 
nothing  better  than  to  march  upon  the  enemy,  and 
when  they  debouched  from  the  bridge,  upon  the  saered 
soil  of  Virginia,  as  the  V^irginians  proudly  designated 
their  fields,  it  was  in  the  midst  of  hurrahs  for  General 
Peck,  who  at  this  moment  rejoined  the  head  of  the 
column.  General  Keyes  had  his  share,  when  he  over- 
took us  at  the  first  halting-place,  galloping  and  saluting 
like  the  bronze  caricature  of  Jackson  on  the  public  square. 

We  stopped  on  the  road,  to  let  pass  McCall's  division, 
which  had  just  left  its  camp.  Nothing  could  be  more 
dreary  than  these  ruined  huts,  on  a  field  dry  and  bare. 
If  we  were  happy  in  leaving  Tenallytown,  how  much 
more  joyful  must  the  regiments  have  been  who  had 
passed  the  winter  in  this  desolate  place. 

At  four  o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  we  reached  a  high 
hill,  which,  from  the  extensive  view  it  commanded,  was 
called  Prospect  Hill.  The  enemy  had  just  evacuated 
the  position  where  the  division  established  its  bivouac 
across  the  Leesburg  road,  the  right  resting  on  the  Poto- 
mac, the  artillery  in  the  centre,  and  the  left  covered  by 
a  regiment  of  cavalry.  The  pickets  being  posted,  and 
the  fires  lighted,  every  one  supped  gayly  and  slept 
soundly  till  morning. 


156       FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

Three  whole  days  were  spent  there  waiting  orders, 
which  did  not  reach  us  till  the  evening  of  the  13th, 
when  we  returned  to  the  neighborhood  of  Chain  Bridge, 
where  we  had  to  wait  two  more  days,  and,  above  all, 
two  nights,  hard  to  forget. 

On  the  14th  it  began  to  rain  ;  as  we  had  no  tents, 
the  men  endeavored  to  construct  shelter  for  them- 
selves, of  branches  which  they  cut  in  the  surrounding 
woods.  But  the  rain  passed  through  them,  and  so  thor- 
oughly soaked  the  ground  that  it  was  soon  a  vast  field 
of  mud.  Not  being  able  to  lie  on  the  ground,  we  had 
to  pass  the  night  standing,  or  seated  upon  logs  around 
the  fires,  kept  burning  with  difficulty. 

As  for  myself,  it  happened  that  I  was  field  officer  of 
the  day  of  the  division,  so  that  I  had  to  visit  the 
camps  of  three  brigades,  then  the  advanced  posts  and 
pickets.  The  night  was  so  dark  that  one  could  not 
see  six  paces  from  him.  The  rain  fell  without  cessa- 
tion, and  the  country  was  absolutely  unknown  to  me. 
The  service  being,  as  yet,  very  imperfectly  organized,  I 
received  from  headquarters,  with  my  instructions,  only 
approximate  information  as  to  the  position  of  the  troops. 
No  orderly  was,  at  that  time,  to  be  had  ;  the  night  ad- 
vanced ;  I  must  set  out  on  my  nightly  round  without  a 
guide. 

So  long  as  I  had  only  to  look  up  the  guard  duty  in 
the  regiments,  it  was  easy  enough  to  find  my  direction 
by  the  fires,  which  blazed  up  everywhere ;  but  when  I 
had  to  leave  the  neighborhood  of  these  bright  firesides, 
to  follow  the  uncertain  picket  line,  the  task  became 
more  and  more  difficult.  The  withdrawal  of  the  enemy, 
the  bad  weather,  and  the  negligence  of  several  subaltern 
officers  had  caused  great  irregularity  in  the  placing  of 
the  advance  posts.  In  reality  there  was  no  line. 
Only  disconnected  pieces,  disposed  without  any  regard 


COMMENCEMENT    OF   THE    CAMPAIGN.  1 57 

to  each  other.  Their  fires  were  usually  concealed  by 
the  unevenness  of  the  ground,  or  by  the  thick  woods. 
Twice  I  was  completely  lost  in  looking  for  them,  having 
neither  star,  compass,  nor  roads  to  guide  me  in  the 
darkness.  In  the  woods  I  ran  against  trees,  or  invisible 
branches  whipped  me  in  the  face  and  tore  my  clothes. 
In  the  fields,  sometimes  my  horse  sank  in  the  mud  to 
the  fetlocks,  sometimes  he  slipped  on  the  wet  stones, 
sometimes  he  stopped  short  before  some  obstacle  that 
my  eyes  could  scarcely  see.  At  one  time  I  thought  I 
had  found  a  road.  It  appeared  to  be  a  few  feet  in  front 
of  me ;  happily  the  instinct  of  the  horse  was  superior 
to  the  judgment  of  the  man.  He  refused  obstinately 
to  advance  a  step,  throwing  himself  one  side,  and  pro- 
testing, by  groaning,  against  the  injustice  of  the  spur. 
I  concluded  that  my  horse  must  have  some  grave  reason 
for  conduct  so  different  from  his  usual  disciplined  habits, 
and  we  took  another  direction,  without  further  contest. 
The  fact  was  that  what  I  had  taken  for  a  road  was  but 
the  slope  of  a  sandbank,  of  twelve  or  fifteen  feet.  If 
the  horse  had  yielded,  we  would  have  rolled  together 
to  the  bottom  of  the  ditch,  where  it  is  hard  telling  in 
what  condition  we  would  have  been  found  in  the 
morning. 

At  last,  with  great  troubl©,  I  finished  my  rounds,  and 
returned  to  my  regiment  before  daybreak,  where  my 
quartermaster  had  succeeded  in  getting  a  wedge-tent, 
under  shelter  of  which  I  was  able  to  draw  up  my  report 
in  writing.  The  report  was  that  the  service  was  dan- 
gerously insufificient  in  front  of  the  enemy  ;  that  the 
camps  were  poorly  guarded,  or  not  guarded  at  all  ;  that 
the  pickets  were  placed  without  any  regard  to  connect- 
ing ;  and  that  the  posts  were  so  separated,  one  from 
another,  that  they  could  be  carried  off  by  the  enemy 
before    any  one   knew  of   his  approach.     This  was  an 


158       FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY, 

evil,  to  which  it  was  necessary  to  apply  a  remedy. 
The  trouble  arose  from  a  want  of  discipline  amongst 
the  volunteers,  who  thought  strict  obedience  unneces- 
sary if  there  was  no  actual  danger.  The  remedy  was 
experience,  and  service  in  front  of  the  enemy. 

The  rain  continued  to  fall  all  the  following  day. 
What  made  it  worse  was  that  from  the  hills,  where  we 
received  the  storm  on  our  backs,  we  could  see  our  camp 
at  Tenallytown  still  standing. 

"  Since  the  enemy  has  left,  and  we  do  not  follow," 
said  the  soldiers,  "  what  good  is  it  to  remain  here  and 
be  soaked,  when  we  could  so  soon  dry  ourselves  in  our 
vacant  tents  .-*" 

"  Bah  !  "  replied  the  old  soldier  of  the  Crimea  and 
Algiers,  "  it  is  to  season  the  conscripts.  We  will  see 
many  worse  days  than  this." 

As  if  to  cut  short  this  punishment  of  Tantalus,  the 
quartermaster  received  an  order  to  take  down  the  cov- 
eted tents,  which  were  to  be  stored  in  Washington. 
This  was  done  in  the  afternoon,  and  we  had  nothing  to 
excite  our  envy  on  that  side,  when,  after  a  second  night 
as  bad  as  the  first,  we  had  an  order  to  return  to  our 
camp. 

An  hour  after  we  were  there,  to  find  only  that  every- 
thing which  did  not  belong  to  government  had  been 
pillaged,  in  spite  of  a  guard  of  twenty  or  thirty  lame 
men,  left  behind.  A  band  of  second-hand  dealers  had 
knocked  down  everything,  and  had  left  none  of  our 
winter  comforts.  Notwithstanding  all  this,  we  were 
better  there  than  in  our  bivouac,  while  waiting  the 
order  to  leave  finally,  and  to  receive  our  rubber  shelter- 
tents,  which  were  at  last  distributed  to  us. 

The  waiting  lasted  eight  long  days,  during  which, 
conformably  to  the  President's  orders,  the  Army  of  the 
Potomac  was  organized  in  five  army  corps,  as  follows  :  — 


COMMENCEMENT    OF    THE    CAMPAIGN.  1 59 

First  Corps  —  Major-General,  I.  McDowell;  com- 
posed of  Franklin's,  McCall's,  and  King's  divisions. 

Second  Corps  —  Brigadier-General,  E.  V.  Sumner  ; 
composed  of  Richardson's,  Blenker's,  and  Sedgwick's 
divisions. 

Third  Corps  —  Brigadier-General,  P.  Heintzelraan  ; 
composed  of  Porter's,  Hooker's,  and  Hamilton's  di- 
visions. 

Fourth  Corps  —  Brigadier-General,  E.  D.  Keyes  ;  com- 
posed of  Couch's,  Smith's,  and  Casey's  divisions. 

Fifth  Corps  —  Major-General,  N.  P.  Banks  ;  composed 
of  Williams'  and  Shield's  divisions. 

So  that  each  corps  was  composed  of  three  divisions, 
as  each  division  of  three  brigades. 

The  cavalry  regiments  remained  provisionally  at- 
tached to  their  respective  divisions. 

Orders  and  counter-orders  succeeded  each  other 
incessantly  during  that  week.  One  day  we  were  to  go 
to  Alexandria,  to  embark  ;  the  next  day,  the  transports 
were  coming  to  Georgetown  to  take  us.  Then  the 
vessels  were  delayed  ;  then  they  were  out  of  coal.  At 
last  we  sailed. 

It  was  the  26th  of  March.  The  five  regiments  of 
the  brigade  embarked  in  the  evening,  on  six  steam- 
boats, which  descended  the  river  together  to  Alex- 
andria, where  they  stopped  to  wait  for  the  two  other 
brigades  of  Couch's  division,  and  took  in  tow  some 
schooners,  loaded  with  horses,  forage,  and  artillery. 

Never  had  that  small  inland  port  seen  such  a  sight. 
The  river  was  crowded  with  vessels  of  every  kind  and 
size.  The  wharves  were  covered  with  troops,  waiting 
their  turn  to  embark  as  soon  as  the  steamboats  came 
alongside  the  docks  to  receive  them.  The  little  tugboats 
furrowed  the  waves  in  every  direction,  leaving  in  the  air 
their  long  plumes  of  smoke.     Night  even  did  not  sus- 


l6o       FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

pend  the  work.  The  embarking  was  continued  by  the 
light  of  fires  kindled  along  the  banks,  in  the  midst 
of  signals  exchanged  between  the  vessels.  As  soon 
as  they  were  loaded,  the  steamers  anchored  in  the 
stream,  in  the  position  assigned  to  the  command  of 
which  they  formed  a  part. 

The  sun  of  the  27th  rose  in  a  cloudless  sky,  and 
found  the  whole  division  embarked.  At  a  signal  from 
the  Daniel  Webster,  on  which  was  General  Couch,  the 
boats  containing  the  first  brigade  moved  out.  Our 
orders  were  to  proceed  to  Fortress  Monroe,  where  the 
Fifth  Corps  had  preceded  us,  moving  as  fast  as  we 
could,  without  regard  to  other  vessels.  It  happened 
that  the  Croton  of  New  York,  on  which  I  had  em- 
barked with  eight  of  my  companies,  was  the  best 
sailer.  She  gained  on  the  rest  of  the  division  so. fast 
as  to  be  out  of  sight  before  reaching  that  long  arm  of 
an  inner  sea,  called  the  Chesapeake  Bay. 

The  garrison  of  Fort  Washington  saluted  our  pas- 
sage with  hurrahs  ;  Mount  Vernon,  the  mansion  of  the 
father  of  his  country,  appeared  to  us  an  instant,  amidst 
its  dense  shade  ;  the  rebel  batteries,  now  abandoned, 
which  had  interrupted  the  navigation  of  the  river, 
looked  on  us  silently  as  we  passed. 

Then,  little  by  little  the  river  widened,  the  hills  be- 
came lower,  and  night  descended  upon  us. 

At  daylight  we  were  at  Fortress  Monroe,  and  awaited 
at  anchor  the  rest  of  the  brigade,  which  soon  re- 
joined us. 

Fortress  Monroe  is  a  work  of  the  first  order,  con- 
structed in  accordance  with  the  best  military  rules. 
Situated  at  the  point  of  a  tongue  of  land  forming  one 
of  the  sides  of  Hampton  Bay,  it  commanded  the  mouth 
of  the  James  River,  in  the  middle  of  which  is  a  group 
of  rocks,  called  the  Ripraps.     Since  that  time  a  new 


COMMENCEMENT    OF   THE    CAMPAIGN.  l6l 

fort  has  been  built  on  them,  under  whose  guns  is  the 
outer  channel. 

There,  as  at  Alexandria,  the  river  was  covered  with 
vessels.  But  one  alone  drew  all  eyes  and  absorbed  all 
attention  ;  this  vessel  resembled  nothing  that  had,  up 
to  that  time,  ever  been  seen  on  the  water.  If  one 
figures  to  himself  a  flat  rape-seed  at  the  level  of  the 
water,  without  bulwarks  or  rigging,  recalling  the  little 
narrow  boards,  sharpened  at  the  ends,  that  the  children 
sail  in  the  streams,  and  carrying  in  the  centre  a  tower 
broader  than  it  is  high,  then  one  can  form  an  idea  of 
what  the  Monitor  was. 

This  little  vessel,  so  inoffensive  in  appearance,  was 
the  most  recent  and  the  most  terrible  engine  of  war 
devised  by  Yankee  ingenuity. 

Twenty  days  before  there  had  sailed  out  of  Norfolk 
another  formidable  invention,  with  which  the  enemy 
thought  himself  certain  to  destroy  both  our  vessels  of 
war  and  our  merchantmen.  It  was  like  an  enormous 
tortoise,  carrying  under  his  bullet-proof  shell  immense 
cannon,  and  at  his  bow  a  long  spur.  This  floating  bat- 
tery was  the  transformed  hull  of  the  frigate  Merrimac, 
which  had  fallen  into  the  hands  of  the  Confederates  at 
the  taking  of  Norfolk. 

On  coming  out  into  Hampton  Roads,  the  Merrimac 
sailed  directly  for  the  United  States  frigate  Cumber- 
land, and,  paying  no  attention  to  a  broadside,  which 
rebounded  from  her  sides  like  a  handful  of  dry  peas, 
struck  her  twice  midships,  stove  in  her  quarter,  and 
the  frigate  sank.  She  returned  then  towards  the  frigate 
Congress,  which,  seeing  herself  powerless  to  avoid 
certain  destruction,  struck  her  flag,  after  having  run 
aground  near  the  shore,  which  did  not  save  her. 
This  was  the  work  of  the  first  day,  interrupted  by 
the  nisrht. 


1 62       FOUE.   YILAJtS    WITH    THE    PjTOiL^C   ARMY. 

It  appeared  as  tho^ugh  the  fate  of  all  the  vesseLs 
aroand  Fortress  Monroe,  and  of  many  others,  was  cer- 
tainly settl-ed  The  nert  morning,  the  Merrim.ac,  which 
had  withdrawn  during  the  night,  mider  cover  of  Sewell's 
Point,  m'Oved  o^  to  finish  a  third  frigate,  the  ^Nlinne- 
sota,  which  had  nm  aground  the  evening  before,  near 
Newport  News,  when  there  appeared  in  the  distance 
an  objiect  of  a  singular  shape,  whose  character  was 
betrayed  only  by  a  long  trail  of  smoke,  indicating  a 
steamer.  It  passed  in  front  of  the  fort  without  stop- 
ping, and  steamed  toward  the  Merrimac 

From  all  the  vessels,  and  from  all  points  of  the  river 
banks  where  an  eye  regarded  them,  her  approach  was 
anxiously  watched.  As  she  came  nearer,  the  form  of 
a  fiat  vessel  could  be  distingushed,  and  tbe  cylindrical 
shape  of  a  small  tower,  and  the  starry  banner  fioating 
at  the  end  of  a  sbort  mast ;  but  no  human  form  ap- 
peared on  the  deck  washed  by  the  waves. 

A  strange  enigma.  Tbe  rebels  said,  laughing :  "  What 
is  that  great  cheese-box  set  on  a  raft  ?  Do  the  Yankees 
intend  to  supply  us  with  cheese  ?  " 

But  the  little  Monitor  still  came  nearer. 

All  at  o-nce,  from  the  side  of  that  machine,  which 
so  excited  the  hnmor  of  the  Confederates,  burst  forth  a 
white  cloud,  accompanied  by  a  flash  of  lightning  ;  a 
dap  of  thunder  shook  the  atmosphere,  and  a  hea\T 
mass  of  iron,  weighing  i6S  potinds,  bounded  on  the 
shell  of  the  MerriTaac.  The  tower  did  not  so  much 
resemble  a  ch-eese  now. 

The  combat  lasted  three  hours,  during  which  the 
two  adversaries  bombarded  each  other  a  outrance,  and 
nearly  at  a  muzzle  length.  The  armam^ent  of  the  iler- 
rimac  was  composed  of  eight  eight-inch  guns  and  two 
Armstrong  hundred-pounders    in  broadside.*     But  the 

^  S5x  majt-isxh  JJaMs^ta.  gTunts  amid  two  tkirTj-cwo-poaiiwder  Eirooke  ruffles 
^TT,  --'^-.  -i;  aaiud  seTrea-iniida  Brooike  rifle*  or;  ':■  -^.'-  '  V;tp  s^--:  t:tern. 


[ 


tower  of  tlie  MtnuitxHr  toonied  id^mmd  kseili,  £xid  iss  rw>p 

eiex>ie3HEnc3i  gnnais  : 

vnlDerabiiitj'  oftb^.".:       .;_..- 

jjectiles  mjioned  notMiag  esrcepi  tine      ■    , 

Tlie  Menimac,  more  diffiacijk  to  imaEi.i,-  -...  -  _.-    ...   - 

TolaenLbille  cm  aoccwmt  of  oipem  pofin-ijole?  in  ijer  r.r- 

injured  th^i  £  na|:bMii  w:as  mecessEry  ro  ^ssas;  iii:  -v- 
retnam  to  Norfolk,  irbeuce  s^e  asever  vesriTr^i?  omt  iw» 
S;g55i  .amowiier  aattHe. 

WheB  ve  £mve><2  mi  F.>rtr^ess  Mr>r.-\x..  .  "'? 
Monitor,  ar  ancljor,  bict  i-«r£y$  jQBuaicir  stc-  ^ .  ., 
-Bratcbed.  nigiit  aad  oay,  tor  a  possabHie  sorcae  <M  tlie 
Merriiaac, — like  a  Ja^itsar  watchimg  tbe  sonac  <o4  a 
\roTi3DQed  bttJI 

In  the  iDamiQ|[,  tie  bir%a«3e  reoetved  oinfcrs:  to  iaiad 
ii  Hjtmptoin,  where  we  inived  betcwe  nooa.  Tfee  sa33»e 
trani  of  cargamisainloin,  ol  whicli  we  had  aSready  ieik  tise 
eifects  in  more  than  one  instance,  kepa  ^s  tJse-Te  the 
whole  day.  There  was  no  order  at  the  diser: 
no  superior  amthoriiy  directevi  the  detjailis  o:  - 
»ppT>c»ach  to  the  landing  was  obstracttvi  bv  sisips  p::>  v 
ini;,  without  any  oraex.  into  the  narrow  pass  by  whuch 
the  wharf  must  be  reached.  The  lar.  •^.:  - -;<  accoim- 
p3ished  ven'  slowly,  in  the  mids:  oJ  the  .  .     assd  xS? 

transports,  when  dischar^iiis^i.  co^jd  with  dinicoity  r.  ..k.^ 
thedr  way  oiit  through  ihe  compact  r^ass  of  vess^^js 
seeking  lo  take  their  places^ 

Hour  after  hour,  the  Cxoton  waited  its  turn  and  vlid 
not  get  any  nearer,  passed  by  : 
the  more  skilful.     I  sent  K\^ 

which  ddayed  roe,  and  receix^  simply  the  teply  t»  d* 
niY  best-     ''Profit  by  the  firs:  ,  "  an  ai     - 

me.     "T\->h  on/"   said   the  c  >::v  v^t 


164       FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

gade.  I  saw  General  Couch  and  General  Peck  going  off 
on  horseback,  without  appearing  to  trouble  themselves 
about  our  landing.  Upon  which  I  decided  to  do  mv 
best,  and,  since  it  was  "  every  one  for  himself,"  to  force 
my  way  to  the  wharf  by  main  strength.  We  succeeded, 
thanks  to  our  powerful  engines,  and  thus  our  disera- 
barkment  on  the  Peninsula  was  effected. 

The  first  sight  presented  to  our  eyes  was  that  of  the 
ruins  of  Hampton.  Hampton  was,  before  the  war,  a 
charming  little  town,  at  the  head  of  the  bay  bearing  its 
name.  It  had  its  churches,  its  banks,  its  hotels,  its 
villas,  its  shady  gardens.  Southern  families  flocked 
there  during  the  summer,  to  take  sea  baths  and  enjoy 
gayly  the  other  pleasures  of  the  season.  Of  all  that, 
nothing  now  remained,  —  nothing  but  masses  of  ruins 
lying  on  the  ground,  skirts  of  walls  blackened  by  the 
fire,  broken  columns  marking  the  fagade  of  some  public 
building,  and  a  few  straggling  bushes  of  the  devastated 
gardens  surviving  here  and  there.  Forced  to  evacuate 
the  place,  the  Confederates,  under  the  inspiration  of 
some  barbarous  boast,  or  obeying  the  drunken  notion 
of  some  of  their  generals,  had  burned  the  village  and 
ruined  the  whole  population,  thus  dispersed  and  left 
shelterless. 

The  sun  was  setting  on  that  scene  of  desolation 
when  the  regiment  began  to  march.  The  country  was 
fiat,  with  no  hills,  and  of  a  character  entirely  new  to  us. 
The  vegetation  was  ver}'  vigorous,  judging  by  the  great 
forests,  under  which  the  road  soon  plunged.  Above 
all,  the  immense  pines,  arising  to  a  great  height  without 
branches,  and  then  spreading  out  like  parasols.  There 
were  no  low  branches  to  intercept  the  view  of  that  vast 
dome  of  verdure  supported  by  gigantic  pillars,  and 
shaken  by  the  breeze  with  sonorous  rustlings,  and  which 
the  moon  lighted  up  with  silvery  rays. 


COMMENCEMENT    OF   THE    CAMPAIGN.        •     1 65 

Sometimes  the  road  passed  along  on  an  embankment 
and  crossed  over  swamps  with  flowery  borders,  where 
the  vines  twined  around  the  great  trees  and  hunsr  down 
in  arches  of  verdure  over  the  marshes,  like  a  trap  set 
by  nature  for  man. 

The  march  appeared  short  to  us  in  the  midst  of  these 
novel  sights,  until  we  reached  our  camping  ground  near 
Newport  News.  There  we  were  to  wait  the  two  divis- 
ions of  the  Fourth  Corps.  The  division  of  General  Smith 
arrived  about  the  same  time  that  we  did,  that  of  Gen- 
eral Casey  joined  us  April  2. 

In  the  interval,  I  took  occasion  to  visit  Newport 
News,  where  the  brigade  of  General  Mansfield  occupied 
a  well  appointed  camp  on  the  banks  of  the  James. 
The  troops  composing  it  were  in  good  condition,  and 
showed  in  their  drill  efficiency  quite  enough  to  enable 
them  to  meet  the  enemy.  But  they  w^ere  not  put  in 
action  until  after  the  battle  of  Fair  Oaks. 

Up  to  that  time,  they  had  not  fired  a  shot,  except 
against  the  Merrimac.  It  was,  in  fact,  directly  in  front 
of  Newport  News,  and  hardly  a  cable's  length  from  the 
shore,  that  the  ]\Ierriraac  had  attacked  and  sunk  the 
Cumberland,  whose  mast  and  rigging  still  showed  above 
the  water.  The  brigade  was  in  the  best  position  to 
follow  all  the  incidents  of  the  combat.  It  had  even  the 
honor  of  participating  in  it.  If  its  field-pieces  were 
without  effect  upon  the  ironclad  vessel,  the  bullets  from 
its  muskets  could,  at  least,  penetrate  its  port-holes. 
The  shore  was,  consequently,  covered  with  sharp- 
shooters. 

When  the  Congress  ran  aground  within  short  range, 
and  struck  her  flag,  the  two  Confederate  steamers 
Yorktown  and  Jamestown  endeavored  to  take  possession 
of  her.  But  the  sharpshooters  covered  the  frigate  with 
a  fire  so  strong  and  well  directed  that  it  was  impossi- 


1 66   .  FOUR   YEARS   WITH    THE    POTOMAC    AKSTi. 

ble  for  them  to  do  so.  The  Merrimac  then  set  her  on 
fire,  and  a  part  of  the  crew  perished  in  her.  It  was,  it 
appears,  one  of  the  sharpshooters  of  the  Mansfield 
Ivigade  who  wounded  Captain  Buchanan  of  the  ^Slerri- 
mar,  at  the  moment  when  he  was  looking  out  of  the 
port-hole. 

General  McClellan  arrived  April  2.  He  had  under 
his  hand,  at  that  time,  two  army  corps,  the  artiller>' 
belonging  to  them,  and  a  few  regiments  of  cavalr>- ;  that 
is  to  say,  more  than  sixty  thousand  men  for  duty.  It 
was  more  than  snflScient  to  drive  back  the  enemy.  The 
forward  movement  began  on  the  4th,  the  Third  Corps 
taking  the  right,  toward  Yorktown,  the  First  the  left, 
toward  Warwick  Court  House. 

The  roads  were  narrow  and  muddy,  and  the  two  col- 
umns stretched  along  almost  interminably,  each  regi- 
ment marching  by  the  flank,  one  after  another,  with 
the  artillery  in  the  intervals  of  the  brigades,  the  wagons 
and  ambnknces  between  the  divisions.  —  the  whole 
covered  by  a  line  of  flankers. 

This  order  ci  march,  which,  in  any  other  region, 
would  have  been  exceedingly  dangerous,  was  the  only 
one  that  the  cbaizcta:  of  the  coontry  permitted.  It  is 
certain  that,  if  the  enemy  could  have,  by  any  possi- 
bility, attacked  in  force  any  point  whatever  in  that 
long  line,  it  would  have  been  thrown  in  disorder  and 
part  (rf  it  destroyed  before  any  aid  could  have  arrived. 
But  the  same  natural  obstacles  which  imposed  on  us 
the  necessity  of  marching  in  that  manner  prevented 
the  Confederates  from  moving  in  any  other  way.  This 
e^)]ains  why  this  method  of  moving,  entirely  wrong  on 
general  prindi^es,  could  be  used  without  any  unfortu- 
nate results. 

In  our  advance  upon  Yorktown,  we  marched  ven,- 
The  country  was  little  ~      " 


COMMEN'CEMENT    OF    THE    CAMPAIGN.  1 67 

formation  as  to  the  position  and  strength  of  the  force 
we  had  in  front  of  us  was  very  unreliable.  When  the 
head  of  the  column  reached  the  point  where  the  Big 
Bethel  road  branches  off,  it  was  thought  possible  that 
the  enemy  was  still  behind  the  intrenchments  which  he 
had  there  raised.  Consequently,  I  was  ordered  to  guard 
against  an  attack  from  that  direction,  with  my  regiment 
and  four  rifled  guns,  until  the  division  and  its  train  had 
passed  safely  by,  which  took  all  the  afternoon,  and 
compelled  me  to  remain  there  till  the  next  morning. 
However,  the  enemy  had  evacuated  Big  Bethel  a  long 
time  before,  when  the  skirmishers  of  Heintzelman  had 
appeared.  They  were  the  only  ones  who  could  have 
approached  us  from  that  direction. 

Nevertheless,  we  passed  the  night  under  arms, 
without  having  to  contend  with  any  other  enemy 
than  some  troops  of  hogs,  half  wild  and  complete 
rebels,  who  furnished  a  welcome  addition  to  the 
soldiers'   supper. 

In  the  morning,  we  rejoined  the  brigade  a  few  miles 
from  there.  The  small  number  of  houses,  poor  or  fine, 
which  were  on  the  line  of  our  march,  were  all  aban- 
doned.    Their  occupants  had  left  on  our  approach. 

I  remember,  where  the  road  enters  a  pine  wood,  near 
a  deserted  hut,  we  met  four  children  crouched  at  the 
side  of  the  road.  The  oldest  was  no  more  than  twelve. 
A  few  rags  scarcely  covered  their  feeble  bodies.  Their 
hollow  eyes,  their  pale  faces,  eloquently  told  of  what 
they  had  already  suffered.  Their  mother  was  dead, 
and  their  father  had  abandoned  them.  They  wept, 
while  asking  for  something  to  eat.  The  soldiers  im- 
mediately gave  them  enough  provisions  to  last  them 
several  days.  Blankets  were  not  wanting  for  the  little 
ones.  The  weather  was  warm,  and  the  sides  of  the 
road  were  lined  with  them.     But  what  became  of  these 


1 68       FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

children  ?  One  does  not  like  to  think  about  such  things. 
This  is  the  horrible  side  of  war. 

That  day  we  passed  by  the  Young  mill,  a  good  posi- 
tion and  well  fortified,  and  where  the  enemy  might  have 
given  us  much  trouble  if  he  had  defended  it.  But  he 
had  left  it  on  our  approach,  and  we  found  there  only 
some  tents,  where  a  few  regiments  had  passed  the  win- 
ter. They  served  us  as  a  shelter  against  a  pouring  ram, 
during  the  short  halt  we  made  there.  It  was,  however, 
only  a  passing  storm.  It  lasted  but  a  short  time,  and 
the  sun  shone  out  only  the  warmer  for  it,  when  we  ar- 
rived at  the  Young  plantation. 

This  Young,  who  was  then  serving  in  the  rebel  army 
as  quartermaster,  was  a  sort  of  lord  in  that  part  of  the 
country.  The  house  was  his  ;  the  farm  and  mill  were 
his  ;  the  fields  and  the  forests  were  his  ;  his  were  the 
cattle  and  the  slaves.  It  seemed  as  though  we  could 
not  get  out  of  his  domain.  But  we  had  no  time  to 
delay.  A  sharp  cannonade  told  us  that  Smith's  divis- 
ion had  met  the  enemy  it  had  been  looking  for.  We 
hastened  our  advance  until  we  were  a  half  a  mile  from 
Warwick  Court  House,  where  we  halted  near  some 
artillery,  until  the  firing,  becoming  more  and  more 
distant,  had  informed  us  that  General  Smith  continued 
his  march  in  pursuit  of  the  retreating  Confederates. 

Warwick  Court  House  is,  as  its  name  indicates,  the 
seat  of  justice  of  the  county  ;  the  county  seat  is  uni- 
formly located  at  some  central  point  where  several 
roads  converge.  Their  occupation  is  therefore  of  a 
certain  importance  from  a  military  point  of  view.  The 
criminal  and  civil  cases  which  are  tried  there  during 
the  sessions  bring  there  firstly  the  interested  parties, 
and  along  with  them  a  goodly  number  of  business  men 
and  men  of  leisure,  which  makes  it  the  principal  centre 
of  reunion   amongst  these   sparsely  settled    countries, 


COMMENXEMENT    OF    THE    CAMPAIGN.  1 69 

which  are  connected  only  by  a  few  roads,  bad  at  all 
times  of  the  year,  and  nearly  impassable  in  the  winter. 

Nevertheless,  the  "Court  House"  is  seldom  larger 
than  a  little  village.  Two  or  three  houses  of  residents  ; 
a  general  country  store,  whose  counter  answers  for  a 
postoffice ;  a  tavern,  with  two  or  three  whitewashed 
rooms,  serves  for  a  stopping-place  for  as  many  trav- 
ellers as  the  beds  in  common  will  hold  ;  some  huts  and 
some  kitchen  gardens,  perhaps  a  church.  Such  is  gen- 
erally the  collection  grouped  around  the  brick  building 
where  Justice  gives  her  decisions. 

I  had  not  the  time  to  visit  Warwick  Court  House. 
The  regiment  had  scarcely  stacked  arms  when  contin- 
ued firing  was  heard  on  the  picket  line,  where  two  of 
my  companies  were  detached.  Some  aids  started  on 
a  gallop  to  find  out  the  cause,  and  they  soon  returned 
with  the  report  that  a  few  armed  marauders  had,  with 
a  zeal  indicative  of  a  thorough  lack  of  discipline,  en- 
gaged in  the  chase  of  a  boar,  supposed  to  be  wild, 
because  he  ran  loose  in  the  woods,  as  was  the  common 
custom  everywhere  on  the  Peninsula.  It  is  needless 
to  .say  that  this  was  directly  in  violation  of  orders, 
which  forbade  the  discharge  of  a  gun  anywhere  unless 
aimed  at  the  enemy. 

All  the  colonels  were  ordered  to  send  an  officer  to 
put  a  stop  to  the  noise  and  arrest  the  delinquents.  It 
was  thought  doubtful,  and  with  good  reason,  whether 
the  soldiers  would  obey  any  officers  other  than  those  of 
their  respective  regiments.  Remembering  the  manner 
in  which  the  service  of  advance  posts  had  been  neg- 
lected at  Chain  Bridge,  I  preferred  to  assure  myself 
with  my  own  eyes  of  the  state  of  affairs  in  my  two 
companies. 

I  had  the  satisfaction  of  finding  everything  in  order 
in  that  part  of  the  line.     Not  but  that  there  might  have 


170       FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

been  some  of  the  red  kepis  amongst  the  hog-hunters  ; 
but  as  the  regiment  was  armed  with  rifled  muskets  of  a 
French  model,  and  the  stacks  of  arms  were  strictly 
guarded,  they  had  only  their  sabre-bayonets,  so  that 
they  could  attack  the  porcine  genus  only  with  their 
side-arms,  inside  of  the  picket  line,  to  cross  which  was 
more  dangerous  to  the  hunters  than  to  the  hunted. 

The  detachment  of  the  Fifty-fifth  formed  the  left  of 
the  line  resting  on  the  marshes  bordering  the  James. 
One  company  was  deployed,  the  other  in  reserve  near 
a  large  sawmill,  which  a  few  months  before  had  em- 
ployed numerous  workmen.  All  were  gone,  led  away, 
willingly  or  unwillingly,  by  the  Confederate  troops. 
But  the  women  and  children  were  left  behind. 

In  front  of  the  mill —  noiseless,  motionless,  lifeless  — 
appeared  a  dozen  wretched  huts,  grouped  together  on 
a  small  rise  of  ground.  Several  women  came  quickly 
out,  when  I  stopped  my  horse  in  front  of  the  abandoned 
building,  to  see  what  use  could  be  made  of  it  in  case  of 
an  attack.  They  had  recognized  in  me  a  superior 
officer,  and  had  hastened  to  meet  me,  some  alone, 
others  leading  a  child  by  the  hand,  and  one  with  a  baby 
in  her  arms.  They  soon  surrounded  me,  asking  me, 
with  an  air  at  once  fearful  and  suppliant,  to  protect 
them  against  the  marauders,  from  whom  they  had  al- 
ready received  an  insolent  visit. 

I  looked  through  their  poor  dwellings,  which  con- 
sisted of  a  single  room,  answering  at  the  same  time  for 
a  kitchen  and  for  a  bedchamber.  Only  one  of  them 
had  a  partition  and  a  certain  air  of  cleanliness  which 
attracted  my  attention.  It  was  occupied  by  a  Northern 
woman,  blonde,  still  young,  the  same  one  who  had  met 
me  with  a  baby  in  her  arms.  She  told  me  that  she  and 
her  husband  were  from  Vermont.  As  he  was  a  good 
mechanic    he    had  received   favorable    propositions    to 


COMMENCEMENT   OF   THE    CAMPAIGN.  I7I 

work  in  Virginia,  and,  eighteen  months  before,  they  had 
come  there  to  live.  Everything  went  well  at  first  ;  but 
soon  the  imminence  of  war  threw  all  in  disorder 
throughout  the  South.  The  sawmill  did  little  work  ; 
then  the  workmen  were  no  longer  paid.  The  Ver- 
monter  wished  to  return  North  with  his  family  ;  never- 
theless, the  hope  of  receiving  what  was  due  him  kept 
him  from  week  to  week.  When,  at  last,  he  saw  that 
he  must  lose  his  money,  it  was  too  late.  His  savings 
were  exhausted,  and  the  authorities  were  opposed  to  his 
departure.  He  was  forced  to  remain  at  the  moment 
when,  after  long  privations  and  trouble  of  every  kind, 
the  approach  of  our  troops  promised  to  give  them  a 
chance  to  return  home ;  the  rebels  had  enrolled  him 
in  their  ranks  by  force. 

This  tale,  related  with  tears,  had  all  the  air  of 
truth,  and  was  confirmed,  besides,  by  the  evidence  of 
the  other  forsaken  ones. 

All  of  these  did  not  belong  to  the  little  colony.  A 
part  of  them  had  come  there  to  take  refuge  from  their 
lonely  houses,  where  they  did  not  dare  to  remain  on  our 
approach.  With  minds  terrified  by  the  absurd  tales 
designedly  spread  by  the  rebels  against  us,  they  had 
fled  with  their  children,  leaving  everything  they  had, 
rather  than  fall  into  the  hands  of  men  who  were  de- 
picted to  them  as  bandits  without  faith  or  law,  ready 
to  commit  violence,  murder,  or  pillage.  The  women  at 
the  sawmill  had  shared  their  beds  and  their  provisions 
with  them,  and  they  were  all  together,  trembling,  fear- 
ful, and  not  daring  to  believe  they  would  receive  the 
protection  they  implored. 

One  only,  more  resolute,  did  not  give  way  to  these 
exaggerated  terrors.  She  was  a  Virginian.  Misery 
had  changed,  but  not  destroyed,  her  beauty,  the  char- 
acter of  which  was  shown  in  her  large  black  eyes,  her 


172        FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

regular  features,  and  in  her  abundant  hair,  to  which  the 
want  of  care  gave  naturally  that  negligent  appearance 
which  has  since  become  a  work  of  art  on  the  heads  of 
our  ladies  a  la  mode.  Her  spareness  was  draped  with 
a  certain  air,  in  the  folds  of  a  dress  of  plain  wool. 

"  I  do  not  suppose,"  she  said  to  me,  "  that  you  have 
come  to  make  war  on  women  and  children.  However, 
some  of  your  men  came  here  a  few  hours  ago,  when 
the  cannon  were  firing  on  the  other  side  of  Warwick. 
They  penetrated  everywhere,  and  carried  off  whatever 
suited  them.  We  have  nothing  left  to  keep  soul  and 
body  together,  except  a  few  chickens,  a  little  flour,  and 
a  little  corn  ;  to  take  that  away  from  us  is  to  condemn 
us  and  our  children  to  die  of  hunger.  Is  that  vi^hat  you 
wish  to  do  .''  " 

"No,"  I  said,  "we  wish  simply  to  punish  the  guilty 
and  protect  the  innocent." 

"  I  do  not  know,"  replied  she,  "  whom  you  call  the 
guilty  ;  my  husband  went  away  with  our  army." 

The  other  women  looked  with  some  uneasiness  upon 
the  turn  the  conversation  had  taken.  At  the  last  words 
of  the  Virginian,  one  of  them  pulled  her  dress  quietly, 
and  whispered  some  words  in  her  ear,  which  I  did  not 
hear,  but  the  sense  of  which  it  was  not  difficult  to 
guess. 

"  Why  not !  "  replied  the  one  speaking  to  me,  look- 
ing firmly  at  me.  "  My  husband  has  done  Ids  duty,  as 
this  one  has  done  his  own.  If  he  is  a  gentleman,  he 
will  understand  that." 

She  was  silent,  appearing  to  wait  a  reply. 

"  I  am  not  here,"  I  told  her,  "to  enter  into  the  ques- 
tion whether  your  husband  did  his  duty,  or  was  a  traitor 
in  abandoning  you,  —  but  to  alleviate  as  much  as  I 
can  the  evils  which  those  whom  he  has  followed  have 
brought  upon  your  heads." 


COMMENCEMENT    OF    THE    CAMPAIGN.  1 73 

"  Yes,  yes,"  cried  the  others,  with  eagerness.  "  The 
colonel  is  right.  He  will  protect  us.  —  Will  you  not, 
sir,  prevent  your  soldiers  from  taking  the  bread  out  of 
our  mouths  .■'  " 

"  Certainly,"  I  replied.  "  But  you  must  understand 
that  it  is  not  the  soldiers  who  are  disposed  to  injure 
you.  On  the  contrary,  they  will  protect  you  against 
the  rascals  whose  depredations  are  forbidden  and  pun- 
ished in  our  army." 

I  rejoined  the  reserve  company  posted  on  the  other 
side  of  the  ravine  and  ordered  the  captain  to  send  two 
men  as  guard  to  keep  off  marauders  from  those  un- 
happy women,  who  were,  at  least,  able  to  sleep  peace- 
fully the  following  night.  The  next  morning  the  regi- 
ment departed  to  relieve  the  Second  Rhode  Island  on 
the  banks  of  the  Warwick  River. 


^  CHAPTER   IX. 

APPRENTICESHIP    OF   THE   WAR. 

Siege  of  Yorktown  —  Attack  on  Lee's  mill  —  The  Harwood  farm  — 
Amongst  the  sharpshooters — The  man  hunt  —  Visit  of  the  general- 
in-chief  —  Faults  of  administration  —  A  black  snake  mayonnaise  — 
Marching-out  of  the  Confederate  troops  —  The  enemy  abandons  his 
positions  —  Evacuation  of  Yorktown. 

The  Virginian  peninsula,  as  is  well  known,  is  formed 
by  the  course,  nearly  parallel,  of  the  James  and  York 
rivers,  which   both    empty  into  the   Chesapeake.     Ten 
miles  above   the  mouth  of  the  York,  upon  the  right 
hand,  is  situated  the  small  fortified  town  of  Yorktown, 
which  owes   its   first    celebrity  to    the    capitulation    of 
Lord  Cornwallis,  in    1781,  after  a  siege  in  which  Mar- 
quis Lafayette  took  a  brilliant  part.     In  the  month  of 
April,  1862,  the  Confederates   had   extended   and   com- 
pleted the  defences  so  as  to  command  with  their  artil- 
lery the  ground  between  the  town  and  the  small  river 
called  the  Warwick.     The  latter  rises  about  a  mile  and 
a  half  from  Yorktown  towards  the  south,  emptying  into 
the  James,  thus  crossing  the  peninsula,  whose  breadth 
at  that  point  is  only  ten  or  twelve  miles.     This  was  a 
natural  obstacle,  which  the  enemy  had  already  improved 
by  raising  the  water  at  the  fords,  by  means  of  dams,  and 
covering  the  more  exposed  positions  by  protected  bat- 
teries.    At  the  time  of  our  arrival,  Magruder's   Corps, 
which  opposed  us,  had,  at  the  most,  ten  thousand  men. 
If  a  vigorous  attack  had  been  made  at  the  time  of 
our   first   approach,  nothing   could  have  prevented   our 
forcing   a  passage  at   some  point.      Broken  anywhere, 
the  line  could  not  have  been  held  an  instant,  and  York- 

174 


I 


APPRENTICESHIP    OF   THE   WAR.  1 75 

town,  pressed  on  all  sides,  would  have  been  ours  in  a 
few  days.  Unhappily,  only  a  too  long  delayed,  feeble, 
and  isolated  attack  was  made.  Too  long  delayed, 
because  it  was  not  made  till  the  i6th,  eleven  days  after 
our  arrival  ;  isolated,  because  only  a  few  companies  of 
Vermont  troops  were  used  ;  unskilful,  because  the  point 
chosen  for  assault  was  precisely  the  one  most  strongly 
fortified,  the  one  which  offered  the  most  difficulties, 
and  consequently  the  least  chances  of  success.  The 
result  was  that  our  force  fought  bravely,  but  uselessly, 
for  more  than  an  hour,  in  the  rifle-pits  captured  from 
the  enemy,  and  that  it  ended  in  being  driven  back  to 
the  river  with  considerable  loss. 

The  companies  sacrificed  in  that  unfortunate  affair 
belonged  to  the  division  of  General  W.  F.  Smith,  who 
acted  on  direct  orders  from  General  McClellan.  Gen- 
eral Keyes  disclaimed  any  responsibility  for  it,  saying 
openly  that  he  had  not  even  been  informed  of  it  before- 
hand, although  the  troops  engaged  belonged  to  his 
corps. 

From  the  very  first,  the  majority  of  the  generals  had 
advised  forcing  the  Warwick  lines  without  delay.  The 
commander-in-chief,  engineer  officer  in  all  his  instincts, 
preferred  digging  ditches,  opening  parallels,  and  placing 
batteries  around  Yorktown.  The  former  asked  simply 
to  beat  the  enemy  by  the  power  of  an  irresistible  supe- 
riority ;  the  latter  wished  to  reduce  the  place  by  the 
scientific  method,  so  dear  to  special  schools.  Such 
being  the  fact,  is  it  far  out  of  the  way  to  suspect  that 
he  ordered  the  attack  of  Lee's  mill  less  with  the  reso- 
lution to  make  it  successful  than  with  the  thought  of 
demonstrating,  by  its  want  of  success,  the  superiority 
of  his  other  plans  ?     Quod  erat  demonstranduvi. 

However  that  might  have  been,  the  siege  was  re- 
solved upon  ;  the  army  sat  down  accordingly,  and  Magru- 


176       FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

der  was  able  to  await  without  danger,  and  receive 
without  hurry,  the  reenforcements  he  needed. 

Peck's  brigade  was  on  the  extreme  left  of  the  army, 
near  the  mouth  of  the  river,  opposite  Mulberry  Island, 
where  the  enemy  had  quite  a  strong  garrison.  The 
Warwick,  before  emptying  into  the  James,  describes  at 
this  point  a  sharp  turn,  around  a  point  of  land  which, 
from  its  shape,  made  a  salient  angle  in  the  enemy's 
defensive  line.  This  position  was  assigned  to  the  Fifty- 
fifth. 

On  our  side,  the  bank  was  higher,  which  gave  our 
sharpshooters  some  advantage.  On  the  other  hand, 
the  enemy  had  two  batteries,  which  commanded  all  the 
ground  which  we  occupied,  and  whose  fire  would  have 
troubled  us  very  much  if  it  had  not  been  for  large 
woods  which  hid  our  tents  from  the  eyes  of  the  Con- 
federates. These  woods  extended  along  the  water,  and 
covered  the  point  of  the  triangle,  leaving  some  culti- 
vated land  at  its  base  only,  in  the  midst  of  which  was 
the  Harwood  farm.  An  excellent  position  to  accustom 
our  men  to  fire.  It  was  in  our  examination  of  this 
ground  that  we  first  heard  the  enemy's  balls  whistle, 
and  on  the  establishment  of  our  pickets  that  we  first 
fired  on  the  enemy. 

At  nightfall,  the  rations  having  been  two  days  behind, 
I  sent  twenty-five  men,  under  command  of  a  lieutenant, 
to  the  farm  buildings,  with  an  order  to  bring  away  every 
suspicious  person  they  found  there,  and  also  to  report 
if  they  found  anything  which  could  answer  the  place  of 
our  missing  rations  and  forage.  They  found  the  house 
completely  abandoned,  but  abundantly  provided  with 
provisions.  The  farmer,  it  appeared,  kept  a  country 
store.  He  had  left  there  a  large  amount  of  excellent 
salt  provisions,  flour,  cheese,  sugar,  etc.  He  had  corn 
in   his   barns,   cattle  in   his  stables,  fowls   in  his  barn- 


APPRENTICESHIP    OF   THE   WAR.  £77 

yard.  The  detachment  returned  loaded  with  the  booty, 
which  was  distributed  equally  amongst  the  companies, 
and  for  several  days  the  regiment,  independent  of  the 
commissary,  lived  as  in  the  land  of  cocagne,  in  the  midst 
of  abundance  and  table  delicacies  such  as  were  never 
seen  in  camp  before,  and  such  as  we  never  saw  again. 

Unfortunately,  this  godsend  lasted  but  a  very  short 
time.  The  next  morning  the  news  was  spread  through 
the  neighboring  regiments,  and  in  the  afternoon  a  large 
number  of  visitors  was  attracted  to  the  store.  The 
first  comers  crept  towards  it  stealthily ;  then,  as  the 
battery  of  Mulberry  Island  showed  no  signs  of  life,  those 
coming  afterward  boldly  crossed  the  field  without  any 
precaution,  until  the  house  was  full  from  cellar  to  garret. 
That,  it  appeared,  was  what  the  enemy  was  waiting  for. 

All  at  once,  the  battery  was  crowned  with  smoke  ; 
the  cannon  thundered.  A  first  shot  made  a  hole  in  the 
roof,  another  went  completely  through  the  house,  at  the 
third  shot  the  house  was  vacant.  It  was  amusing  to 
see  how  quickly  this  was  accomplished.  The  intruders 
rushed  out  crowding  together,  some  by  the  door,  some 
out  of  the  windows,  bounding  over  the  sills,  leaping  fences 
and  ditches,  —  all  hurrying  towards  the  woods,  with  a 
celerity  hastened  by  the  shells,  which  happily  made 
more  noise  than  they  did  damage. 

It  was  probably  one  of  these  disappointed  foragers 
who,  to  revenge  himself  for  the  fright  he  had  had,  set 
fire  to  the  building  that  same  evening.  At  midnight 
there  was  left  but  a  pile  of  smoking  ruins. 

During  that  time,  along  the  bank  of  the  river,  the 
musket  firing  was  kept  up.  Six  companies  were  dis- 
posed in  the  woods,  each  one  furnishing  the  pickets  to 
cover  its  front.  The  four  others,  held  in  reserve,  sent 
out  during  the  night  the  number  of  men  necessary  to 
guard  the  open  field  and  to  make  the  rounds. 


1 78       FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

Between  us  and  the  enemy  the  river  was  only  forty  to 
fifty  yards  wide.  As  I  have  said,  on  our  side  the  bank 
was  abrupt  and  wooded,  except  on  the  road  to  a  bridge, 
which  was  destroyed,  and  of  which  there  remained  only 
a  few  piles.  On  the  enemy's  side  the  land  was  flat  and 
marshy  to  the  foot  of  a  little  hill,  which  rose  a  short 
distance  back,  where  we  could  see  some  earthworks  be- 
hind an  abatis  of  large  trees. 

During  the  night  the  fire  ceased  on  both  sides,  and 
the  skirmishers  were  relieved  under  cover  of  the  dark- 
ness. Nothing  could  be  seen,  but  conversation  was 
carried  on  between  the  two  lines,  very  rarely  with  any- 
thing abusive  in  it.  It  was  for  the  most  part  an 
exchange  of  soldiers'  banter.  Bull  Run  and  Ball's  Bluff 
were  the  subject  on  the  part  of  the  rebels,  to  which  our 
side  replied.  Laurel  Hill,  Donelson,  Roanoke,  Newburn. 

To  these  federal  victories  there  were  soon  added 
others  of  more  importance,  for  during  the  month  of 
April  the  Confederates  were  beaten  at  Shiloh,  in  Ten- 
nessee, after  a  bloody  battle  of  two  days,  where  their 
general,  A.  S.  Johnston,  was  killed  ;  and  New  Orleans 
was  surrendered  to  Admiral  Farragut,  after  a  naval 
battle  in  which  he  had  forced  the  passage  of  the  lower 
Mississippi,  destroyed  the  enemy's  flotilla,  and  com- 
pelled Forts  Jackson  and  St.  Philip  to  surrender. 

When  the  news  of  these  successes  arrived  at  the 
camp  before  Yorktown,  chance  brought  in  front  of 
the  Fifty-fifth  New  York  the  Fifth  Louisiana,  which 
called  itself  "The  Louisiana  Tigers,"  so  that  French- 
men were  firing  at  each  other  from  across  the  river, 
and  each  evening,  at  the  same  hour,  the  retreat  that 
the  Parisians  heard  upon  the  Place  Vendome  was  heard 
on  the  banks  of  the  Warwick,  in  the  opposing  lines. 
Of  course  the  nightly  colloquies  were  in  French.  The 
capture  of  New  Orleans  and  of  Baton  Rouge,  the  capi- 


APPRENTICESHIP    OF   THE    WAR.  1 79 

tal  of  the  State,  put  a  damper  on  the  spirits  of  the 
"  Louisiana  Tigers,"  and  they  thereafter  replied  to 
banter  only  by  gunshots. 

In  the  night  the  enemy  crossed  the  swamps,  to  come 
and  crouch  near  the  water  in  the  high  grass  behind 
some  dead  trees  or  some  hillocks  where  they  remained 
concealed  during  the  day.  With  us,  the  men  chose  the 
best  positions,  sheltered  by  great  roots,  or  behind 
stones,  which  permitted  them  to  see  without  being 
seen. 

When  the  day  broke,  everything  was  quiet  and  mo- 
tionless on  both  banks,  where  nothing  betrayed  the 
presence  of  man.  It  was,  however,  the  hour  when  the 
eyes,  sharpened  by  the  hunter's  instinct,  examined 
the  smallest  inequalities  of  the  land,  and  carefully 
searched  the  grass  and  bushes  for  a  mark. 

On  both  sides  the  game  was  played  with  patience 
and  a  rare  cunning,  in  the  first  place  to  find  out  the 
precise  point  where  the  adversary  was  concealed,  and 
afterwards  to  put  a  ball  through  him.  The  most  inge- 
nious stratagems  were  resorted  to  in  order  to  draw  the 
fire  of  the  opponent  upon  some  false  appearance,  and, 
at  the  same  time,  compel  the  man  firing  to  show  him- 
self. Two  rapid  discharges  were  heard  ;  two  puffs  of 
white  smoke  appeared  and  disappeared  in  a  moment  ; 
but  nothing  was  visible,  only  perhaps  a  wounded  man 
dragged  himself  into  the  bushes,  calling  for  aid,  or  a 
dead  body  was  growing  cold  in  a  pool  of  blood. 

Of  all  known  kinds  of  hunting,  that  of  man  by  man  is 
certainly  the  most  exciting.  It  is  superior  to  all  others, 
in  being  a  strife  between  intelligences  of  the  same 
nature,  with  equal  arms  and  equal  dangers.  Thus  the 
powers  both  of  mind  and  body  are  put  in  play,  and  are 
developed  with  an  ardor  curious  to  study. 

One  morning  I   went  out   to  one  of   our  advanced 


l8o       FOUR   YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

rifle-pits  to  try  and  examine  the  nature  of  the  works  on 
which  the  enemy  had  been  industriously  laboring  the 
whole  preceding  night.  A  few  steps  from  there  I  saw 
a  young  soldier  lying  motionless,  flat  on  the  ground,  a 
man  of  a  mild  and  inoffensive  nature.  His  disposition 
was  in  accordance  with  his  physical  appearance,  and  he 
would  have  been  averse  to  killing  even  a  sheep.  But  the 
man  chase  had  transformed  him.  With  his  head  cov- 
ered with  leaves,  and  at  the  level  of  the  earth,  he 
had  crept  out  there  with  his  eyes  intently  fixed  upon  a 
single  point  of  the  swamp,  watching  as  a  wild  beast  of 
prey  watches  for  his  concealed  victim.  His  loaded  gun 
was  pushed  out  in  front  of  him,  looking  like  a  stick  lying 
on  the  stones,  but  really  directed  under  his  hand,  upon 
the  bunch  of  rushes  which  absorbed  his  attention. 

He  heard  my  step,  and,  without  changing  his  posi- 
tion or  turning  his  head,  he  simply  made  a  motion  with 
his  hand,  which  said  distinctly  :  "Do  not  come  up  be- 
hind me  ;  you  will  give  him  the  alarm."  I  left  him  in 
that  position,  where  he  remained,  I  think,  two  or  three 
hours,  never  tiring  of  his  watch,  never  discouraged  at 
waiting.  At  last  the  bunch  of  rushes  moved ;  a  shot 
was  fired  from  it  ;  but  the  marksman  had  shown  him- 
self. Almost  immediately  he  bounded  backwards  and 
fell  writhing  in  the  high  grass,  while  the  other  one 
leaped  lightly  into  the  rifle-pit,  crying  out  with  an  air  of 
triumph,  "  I  hit  him  !  "  "  Bravo  !  well  done  !  "  said  his 
comrades,  somewhat  jealous  of  so  good  a  shot. 

Whatever  may  be  said,  war  responds  to  an  instinct 
which  nature  has  put  into  the  heart  of  man.  Instead 
of  being  a  violation  of  an  order  of  things  divinely  estab- 
lished, it  is  much  rather  the  normal  obedience  to  one 
of  the  mysterious  laws  which  govern  humanity,  and 
preside  fatally  over  the  development  of  its  destiny. 
Explain   the    fact    as   you    will,  the   human    race,  ever 


APPRENTICESHIP    OF    THE    WAR.  l8l 

since  it  has  existed,  has  never  ceased  to  have  its  inter- 
necine combats,  and  has  never  ceased  to  multiply.  The 
shedding  of  blood  must  be  then  a  necessary  condition 
of  equilibrium  in  its  propagation.  And  my  good  young 
man,  who  would  not  have  given  a  fillip  to  a  child,  was, 
in  killing  his  fellow-man  con  ainorc,  only  the  humble 
but  striking  manifestation  of  what  are  called  the 
"working    ways    of    Providence." 

This  kind  of  drill  in  firing,  whose  usefulness  I  have 
heard  discussed  often,  has  incontestable  advantages. 
Better  than  any  other,  it  perfects  the  soldier  in  the 
use  of  arms  of  precision  ;  it  familiarizes  him  readily 
and  without  effort  to  danger,  and  finally  it  gives  a 
tone  to  his  character  by  the  habitual  application  of 
his  individual  faculties  to  the  common  work :  that  is, 
to  do  the  greatest  possible  amount  of  damage  to  the 
enemy,  with  the  least  sacrifice  to  ourselves.  On  this 
account  I  encouraged  my  men,  although  others  did 
differently. 

On  the  front  of  the  neighboring  brigade,  they 
watched  each  other  peacefully  across  the  river.  They 
lay  around  in  the  shade,  or  in  the  sunshine ;  going 
and  coming  in  perfect  security.  Those  who  liked  fish- 
ing threw  their  lines  in  the  stream,  and,  instead  of 
being  man-hunters,  became  fishermen.  On  that  part 
of  the  lines,  the  service  of  advanced  posts  was  an 
eclogue  in  action. 

On  the  other  hand,  along  our  part  of  the  line,  the 
artillery  was  soon  put  into  play.  The  enemy  brought 
into  action  some  rifled  guns,  whose  conical  projectiles 
burst  in  the  pines  around  my  last  company.  To  guard 
against  these,  a  sentinel  was  posted  specially  to  watch 
that  battery.  At  every  shot  fired,  as  soon  as  he  saw 
the  smoke,  he  cried.  Look  out!  and  the  men  hid  be- 
hind the  trees  until  the  shell  burst.     In  that  way  the 


1 82       FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC   ARMY, 

enemy  burnt    a    great    deal    of    powder   for    nothing. 
However,  they  very  nearly  gave  us  a  hard  blow. 

The  general-in-chief  having  expressed  his  intention 
of  examining  for  himself  the  position  occupied  by  the 
Fifty-fifth,  his  visit  was  announced  to  me  by  a  staff 
officer,  and  the  companies  were  promptly  put  under 
arms.  Soon,  indeed,  General  McClellan  came  through 
the  forest,  accompanied  by  Generals  Keyes  and  Peck, 
and  followed  by  a  numerous  staff.  They  stopped  first 
near  the  Zouaves,  who  were  the  farthest  to  the  rear, 
and,  tempted  by  the  opportunity  for  observation  offered 
by  the  open  fields,  they  advanced  a  few  steps  out  of  the 
woods.  The  enemy,  who  was  always  on  the  lookout 
for  our  movements,  saw  that  it  was  evidently  a  group 
of  superior  officers.  He  pointed  his  rifled  guns  with  a 
great  deal  of  care  and  fired.  Two  shells  came  one 
after  another,  whistling  a  well  known  air,  and  burst 
with  a  remarkable  precision  over  our  visitors,  who  re- 
entered the  woods  without  going  farther  along  the  line, 
putting  off  the  promised  visit  to  another  day,  which 
never  came. 

I  regretted  this  contretemps.  I  would  not  have  been 
sorry  to  have  had  the  general-in-chief  see  with  his  own 
eyes  what  we  had  to  endure  from  the  negligence  or  in- 
capacity of  the  quartermasters.  Not  an  officer  in  the 
Fifty-fifth  had  a  tent.  For  my  part,  I  slept  on  the 
ground,  at  the  foot  of  a  tree,  under  the  doubtful  shel- 
ter of  a  double  rubber  blanket  stretched  upon  a  stick, 
and  fastened  down  at  the  four  corners  by  stakes. 
Worse  yet,  all  my  baggage  had  been  left  at  Newport 
News,  and,  though  we  were  only  twelve  or  fifteen  miles 
from  there,  we  waited  for  it  in  vain  day  after  day. 
More  than  two  weeks  passed  before  it  was  sent  to  us. 

Rations  were  distributed  to  the  soldiers  very  irregu- 
larly.    The  means  of  transportation,  they  told  us,  were 


APPRENTICESHIP    OF    THE   WAR.  1 83 

wanting,  and  the  roads  were  abominable.  However, 
they  had  no  great  distance  to  go.  The  general  depot 
was  but  a  few  miles  back  of  our  lines,  on  the  navisfa- 
ble  head  of  the  Poquosin,  where  the  transports  could 
come  without  difficulty.  As  to  the  bad  roads,  that  was 
provided  for  everywhere  by  corduroy. 

The  corduroy  is  a  sort  of  rough  floor,  formed  by 
small  sticks  resting  on  sleepers,  and  covered  over  with 
a  light  layer  of  leaves,  mixed  with  earth.  In  a  for- 
est country,  this  is  a  quick  and  easy  way  to  establish 
good  means  of  communication  for  the  artillery  and 
wagons.  Wherever  we  stopped  during  the  war,  we 
constructed  stretches  of  this  kind  of  road.  They  last 
a  long  time,  require  very  little  repair,  and  are  of  con- 
tinual utility,  especially  in  a  rainy  season. 

In  front  of  Yorktown,  what  we  were  most  in  want 
of  was  much  less  the  material  than  proper  administra- 
tion. The  quartermasters  and  commissaries  wanted 
experience,  instruction,  and  too  often  honesty.  As  to 
staff  officers,  properly  so  called,  they  were  not  equal 
to  the  performance  of  their  duties.  They  were  gen- 
erally young  men  recommended  to  the  generals,  to 
whom  they  were  attached  more  by  their  family  con- 
nections and  their  position  in  life  than  by  their  ability. 
If  they  had  been  drawn  from  the  regular  army,  the 
service  would  have  been  much  the  gainer,  but  the  offi- 
cers of  the  regular  army  who  could  be  spared  from 
their  regiments  were  employed  in  the  engineer  service, 
or  held  higher  commands  among  the  volunteers. 

On  the  i6th  of  April  I  sent  a  report  to  headquarters 
of  the  division,  to  recommend  the  placing  of  a  battery 
on  a  point  which  commanded  the  course  of  the  river, 
and  which  would  be  very  useful  to  facilitate  the  cross- 
ing, or  to  repel  an  attack,  in  case  the  enemy  should 
attempt  an  offensive  movement  against  the  left  of  our 


184       FOUR   YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

line.  General  Couch  came  himself  to  examine  the 
position.  The  plan  was  approved  by  the  chief  of  artil- 
lery, and  orders  given  in  consonance.  But  the  works 
proceeded  so  slowly,  for  want  of  proper  supervision, 
that  they  were  not  yet  finished  when  the  Confederates 
evacuated  Yorktown.  One  day  the  tools  were  want- 
ing, and  the  men  were  sent  back  to  their  quarters  ;  the 
next  day  it  had  been  forgotten  to  detail  the  men,  after 
the  tools  were  sent.  These  shortcomings  of  the  staff 
gave  rise  to  frequent  complaints ;  but  it  seemed  as 
though  no  one  knew  how  to  remedy  the  evil. 

The  siege,  however,  took  its  course,  and  the  cannon- 
ade became  more  and  more  continuous  along  the  Third 
Corps  front.  In  our  front  hostilities  were  limited  to  the 
exchange  of  shots  between  the  picket  lines.  A  few 
pieces  of  field  artillery  had  been  put  in  position  behind 
the  parapets  ;  but  with  the  injunction  to  use  them  only 
in  case  of  an  attack  by  the  enemy,  who  profited  by  it 
to  collect  the  provisions  and  forage  stored  in  some  farm 
buildings  which  we  could  have  destroyed  in  a  quarter  of 
an  hour. 

At  this  time  a  great  deal  of  consideration  was  shown 
for  the  Confederates,  which  was  the  more  singular  in 
that  they  showed  very  little  for  us.  The  smoke  of  our 
fires  no  sooner  showed  where  our  tents  were  pitched 
than  immediately  a  few  shells  were  thrown  at  the  place, 
which  compelled  the  men  to  withdraw  one  or  two  hun- 
dred yards  back,  in  the  midst  of  the  woods,  to  cook  their 
meals.  But  in  our  front,  out  of  rifle  shot,  the  officers 
of  the  enemy  collected  openly,  in  a  small  farmhouse, 
which  answered  them  for  an  observatory.  We  saw 
them  from  morning  to  night,  nonchalantly  smoking 
their  cigars  on  the  piazza  and  attending  to  business 
without  being  disturbed.  I  could  never  get  the  use  of 
a  couple  of  cannon  to  knock  down  that  country  seat. 


APPRENTICESHIP    OF   THE    WAR.  1 85 

The  latter  half  of  April  passed  away  without  other 
incident  than  that  of  sending  a  few  wounded  men  to 
the  hospital.  I  had  no  other  occupation  than  the  daily 
routine  of  the  service,  and  no  other  distraction  than 
the  visits,  which  were  quite  numerous  on  account  of  the 
position  the  regiment  occupied.  I  thus  had  the  oppor- 
tunity to  accompany  General  Sumner  to  our  advanced 
posts.  His  corps  brought  our  force  up  to  more  than  a 
hundred  thousand  men. 

A  few  of  our  visitors  were  glad  to  take  the  chances 
of  a  dinner  with  us,  allured  by  the  reputation  of  French 
cookery,  which,  in  fact,  increased  our  culinary  resources, 
and  provided  for  our  guests  some  surprises  entirely 
unlooked-for.  I  do  not  speak  now  of  the  immense  bull- 
frogs, whose  legs  were  as  large  as  and  more  delicate 
than  the  leg  of  a  chicken.  We  had  something  better, 
or  at  least  more  rare  than  that,  as  doubtless  Count  de 

V ,  a  French  officer  attached  at  the  time  to  the  staff 

of  General  Keyes,  will  remember. 

One  day  he  was  served  at  our  open-air  table  with 
an  exquisite  mayonnaise,  — so  he  called  it  after  tasting- 
it.  He  partook  a  second  time  with  pleasure.  "  But 
what  is  that  mayonnaise  made  of  .■*  What  is  the 
secret  ?"  He  could  not  guess  and  was  very  much  per- 
plexed about  it. 

"  Eat  what  you  want  first,  and  afterwards  we  will 
give  you  the  recipe." 

"  And  I  will  take  it  to  France,"  added  the  captain, 
"  that  it  may  take  its  place  above  the  Parmentier 
potato,  and  by  the  side  of  the  wild  turkey  of  Brillat- 
Savarin." 

The  meal  finished,  the  secret  was  revealed.  The 
mayonnaise  was  of  the  black  snake,  whose  nutritious 
qualities  my  Zouaves  had  discovered.  We  had  eaten 
of  it  without  troubling  ourselves,  knowing  what  it  was 


1 86       FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY, 

made  of.  But  see  the  power  of  imagination.  The  word 
"  black  snake  "  was  a  shot  in  the  stomach  of  our  guest. 
He  had  found  the  dish  excellent  ;  the  name  struck  him 
with  horror.  White  as  his  plate  he  rose,  his  smile  had 
disappeared.  —  I  regret  to  add,  in  conclusion,  that  he 
never  appeared  again  at  our  table,  and  I  have  every  rea- 
son to  think  that  he  did  not  make  known  in  France  the 
savory  qualities  of  the  black  snake  —  in  a  mayonnaise. 

During  the  last  days  of  the  month  the  enemy  ap- 
peared to  strip  his  works  of  men  and  guns.  To  feel 
of  him,  we  sent  him  a  dozen  shots,  to  which  he  did  not 
reply.  During  the  night  of  the  29th,  he  withdrew  his 
advanced  posts  in  front  of  Smith's  division.  On  the 
30th  he  unmasked  quite  an  important  movement  of 
troops  on  Mulberry  Island. 

In  the  afternoon,  a  column  composed  of  three  regi- 
ments of  infantry,  a  regiment  of  cavalry,  and  a  battery 
of  artillery,  commenced  to  march  along  the  edge  of  the 
woods  which  border  the  James,  and  finished  by  crossing 
the  flat  open  land  in  front  of  the  Harwood  farm,  five  or 
six  hundred  yards  from  a  small  work,  where  we  had  two 
pieces  of  artillery.  The  route  they  followed  made  a 
bend  around  a  house,  which  was  the  nearest  point  to 
us.  Twenty  horsemen  came  there  first,  as  if  to  recon- 
noitre our  position,  and,  seeing  we  remained  motionless, 
they  dismounted  and  were  soon  joined  by  a  group  of 
officers,  who  installed  themselves  in  the  farmhouse, 
while  the  infantry  continued  defiling  peacefully  under 
our  noses. 

During  this  time  I  sent  message  after  message  to 
General  Peck  asking  permission  to  open  fire,  of  which 
the  lieutenant  commanding  the  artillery  did  not  dare  to 
take  the  responsibility,  in  view  of  the  positive  orders  he 
had  received  to  reply  only  to  an  attack.  General  Peck 
referred    the   matter   to    General    Couch.     Some   aids 


APPRENTICESHIP    OF   THE    WAR.  1 87 

came  by  turns  to  see  what  was  passing,  and  returned 
to  make  their  report.  Meanwhile,  time  was  going  on, 
and  the  enemy  continued  his  march  without  being  in- 
terrupted. 

He  could  not  have  had  any  choice  of  roads,  whatever 
was  the  object  of  his  movement,  or  he  would  not  have 
thus  openly  exposed  his  troops  ;  for  our  two  guns  were 
enough  to  break  up  his  column,  without  counting  the 
artillery,  which  could  have  been  sent  in  a  few  minutes 
to  stop  his  advance  entirely,  and  throw  him  back  into 
the  woods  and  swamps,  from  which  he  had  emerged. 
But  no.  The  only  order  I  received  was  to  double  my 
pickets,  at  the  very  time  when  the  enemy  was  with- 
drawing his. 

The  troops  which  we  had  so  benevolently  allowed  to 
pass  established  themselves  a  little  further  off,  in  a 
large  wood,  where,  when  night  came  on,  they  troubled 
themselves  no  more  about  lighting  their  fires  than  if 
we  had  been  at  Tenallytown.  Then  only  was  it  decided 
to  give  them  a  few  shots,  and  then  their  fires  were  ex- 
tinguished. During  the  night  they  embarked  on  some 
boats  sent  to  receive  them.  In  the  morning  they  had 
disappeared. 

Thus  the  enemy  retired  from  Mulberry  Island.  This 
was  an  indication  at  least  :  but  it  did  not  appear  that 
any  importance  was  attached  to  this  fact  at  headquar- 
ters. The  next  morning,  the  ist  of  May,  everything 
remained  as  before. 

The  2d  of  May,  in  the  morning,  the  regiment  received 
its  pay  for  the  months  of  January  and  February,  when 
a  negro,  having  swum  across  the  river,  came  to  confirm 
to  us  the  report  of  the  evacuation  by  the  enemy  of  all 
that  portion  of  his  line  which  was  in  front  of  us.  I 
sent  him  immediately  to  General  Peck,  but  heard 
nothing  more  from  it. 


1 88       P'OUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

1  State  this  fact,  which  is  not  without  some  impor- 
tance, to  prove  that  upon  the  left  of  our  lines  we  had 
been  held  motionless  two  days  before  abandoned  posi- 
tions and  works  evacuated  by  the  enemy.  If  Couch's 
division  and  after  him  Smith's  had  been  thrown  across 
the  Warwick,  whose  crossing  by  us  was  no  longer  dis- 
puted, we  would  most  probably  have  succeeded  in  cut- 
ting off  the  retreat  of  the  garrison  of  Yorktown,  and  in 
capturing  a  part  of  the  force  which  still  showed  itself 
in  front  of  the  Third  Corps. 

Success  would  then  have  had  a  very  different  mean- 
ing, for  a  city  captured  is  a  victory,  a  city  evacuated 
a  deception. 

I  have  never  known  if  the  information  reached  head- 
quarters of  the  general-in-chief.  It  might  not  be  im- 
possible that  during  these  two  days  the  fugitive  who 
brought  it  to  us  did  not  get  any  farther  than  the  head- 
quarters of  the  Fourth  Corps.  All  I  have  ever  learned 
about  it  is  that,  before  the  Congressional  committee 
on  the  conduct  of  the  war.  General  Keyes  alluded  to  it 
in  very  vague  terms.  "The  enemy,"  he  said,  "had  for 
a  day  or  two  made  preparations  to  retreat,  as  I  learned 
from  a  negro,  withdrawing"  his  artillery  from  Griffen's 
Landing  on  the  James,  and,  as  I  think,  from  other  points 
on  the  Yorktown  side."  Not  a  word  about  the  brigade 
which  we  had  seen  depart  on  April  30,  nor  of  sending 
the  negro  to  army  headquarters. 

On  the  3d  of  May,  in  the  evening,  the  enemy  opened 
a  violent  fire  on  the  right  of  our  lines,  which  he  con- 
tinued without  intermission  the  greater  part  of  the 
night.  This  was  to  deceive  us  as  to  his  movements, 
and  he  succeeded  so  well  that  our  batteries  were  for- 
bidden to  reply  for  fear  of  spoiling  a  formidable  bombard- 
ment, which  was  about  to  be  opened  on  the  6th.  Labor 
in  vain.    After  so  much  work  and  so  long  preparations, 


APPRENTICESHIP    OF    THE    WAR,  1 89 

the  rebels,  whom  we  thought  we  held  tight,  slipped 
between  our  fingers.  The  morning  of  the  4th,  they  left 
Yorktown  without  hindrance,  leaving  behind  them  only 
some  empty  tents  and  seventy  guns  of  large  calibre, 
which  they  had  not  been  able  to  carry  away. 


CHAPTER  X. 

THE   FIRST   BATTLE  — WILLIAMSBURG. 

Pursuit —  The  enemy  attacked  at  Williamsburg —  He  attacks  Hooker's 
division —  Peck's  brigade  the  first  to  receive  it — The  Fifty-fifth  under 
fire  —  Critical  moment  —  Attack  repulsed  —  Reenforcements  arrive  — 
Engagement  of  General  Hancock  —  General  McClellan's  report  — 
Advice  of  General  Couch  —  A  walk  on  the  field  of  battle — Burial  of 
the  dead  —  Visit  to  the  wounded  —  The  amputated  —  The  prediction 
of  a  Georgia  captain. 

The  pursuit  began  at  once.  General  Stoneman  was 
sent  with  the  cavalry  to  put  to  flight  the  enemy,  whose 
rearguard  he  came  up  with  in  the  afternoon  before 
Williamsburg.  But  there  he  ran  against  a  series  of 
redoubts  which  barred  the  road,  and  he  was  compelled 
to  halt  and  await  the  arrival  of  the  infantry. 

The  latter  had  also  been  put  in  motion  in  the  morning, 
the  Third  Corps  by  the  Yorktown  road,  and  the  Fourth 
by  the  Warwick,  the  two  roads  coming  together  before 
reaching  Williamsburg.  At  the  point  of  juncture  the 
enemy  had  thrown  up  a  bastioned  work  called  Fort 
Magruder. 

Couch's  division  crossed  the  river  at  Lee's  mill,  where 
for  the  first  time  we  comprehended  with  what  deadly 
hatred  towards  us  the  Confederates  were  filled. 

The  road  we  followed  was  sown  with  murderous 
snares.  There  were  cylindrical  bombs,  with  percussion 
fuses  carefully  concealed,  buried  so  as  to  leave  the  cap- 
sule level  with  the  ground.  The  step  of  a  man  or  horse 
upon  it  was  sufficient  to  explode  it,  and  it  was  always 
fatal.  Sometimes  the  bomb  was  covered  by  a  piece  of 
board,  inviting  the  tired  soldier  to  sit  down.     Whoever 

190 


THE    FIRST    BATTLE.  I9I 

yielded  to  the  temptation  never  rose  again.  A  few 
bodies,  torn  and  blackened  with  powder,  showed  us  the 
result  of  that  invention  of  the  South.  But  as  soon  as 
we  were  on  our  guard  it  ceased  to  be  destructive,  and 
the  greater  part  of  the  projectiles,  dug  up,  went  to  in- 
crease our  stock  of  artillery  ammunition.  We  continued 
the  march,  almost  without  intermission,  nearly  all  the 
afternoon,  meeting  nothing  but  abandoned  camps. 
The  few  tents  we  found  still  standing  were  slashed 
with  the  sabre,  so  that  they  might  be  of  no  use  to  us. 
Tired,  footsore,  hungry,  we  reached  our  camping  ground 
late,  where  the  rain  prevented  us  from  having  a  night 
of  rest. 

In  the  morning,  May  5,  at  seven  o'clock,  we  re- 
newed our  march  forward.  The  rain  had  not  stopped 
during  the  night,  and  it  continued  to  pour  down  all  day. 
The  heavens  were  hid  by  one  of  those  thick  curtains  of 
gray  clouds,  behind  which  it  seemed  as  if  the  sun  were 
forever  extinguished.  The  roads  were  horrible,  if  we 
could  call  roads  the  great  mud-holes  where  the  teams 
struggled,  and  the  cannon  and  caissons,  buried  up  to  the 
a.xles,  were  with  difficulty  drawn  out  of  one  deep  rut, 
only  to  fall  immediately  into  another. 

However,  the  cannon  were  heard  firing  uninter- 
ruptedly at  Williamsburg,  indicating  a  serious  engage- 
ment. The  advance  had  evidently  met  with  a  vigorous 
resistance.  They  might  need  reenforcements,  we  must 
hurry  forward.  And  we  pushed  on  the  best  we  could, 
through  an  ocean  of  mud,  amongst  the  mired  teams,  in 
the  midst  of  an  inevitable  disorder,  which  left  behind 
many  stragglers.  As  each  one  took  his  way  by  the 
road  the  least  impracticable,  it  ended  by  the  regiments, 
the  brigades,  and  even  the  divisions  becoming  mingled 
in  inevitable  confusion.  Whenever  I  reached  a  favor- 
able place,    I    made  a  short  halt  of  a  few  minutes,  to 


192       FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

rally  my  scattered  companies  and  give  the  laggards 
time  to  rejoin  us.  Then  we  again  started  on,  following 
the  route  of  the  One  Hundred  and  Second  Pennsylvania, 
with  which  General  Peck  had  taken  the  advance. 

Behind  us  marched  General  Kearney,  leading  the 
head  of  his  division,  which  came  from  Yorktown.  His 
ardor  had  found  means  of  passing  all  the-troops  which 
were  ahead  of  him.  He  urged  on  our  stragglers,  and 
told  me  that  Hooker's  division,  having  marched  during 
the  night  to  join  Stoneman,  must  have  had  the  whole 
rearguard  of  the  enemy  on  his  hands. 

Soon  an  aid  of  General  Peck  brought  me  the  order 
to  pass  by  Casey's  division,  which  had  halted,  I  do  not 
know  why,  in  a  large  open  field,  near  a  brick  church. 
The  sound  of  the  cannonade  did  not  diminish.  At  this 
point,  Kearney's  division  turned  to  the  left  to  come 
into  line  by  a  crossroad  less  encumbered. 

A  little  further  along,  I  met  Captain  Leavit-Hunt, 
aid  of  General  Heintzelman,  who  had  been  ordered  to 
hurry  forward  reenforcements.  He  informed  me  that 
the  conjectures  of  Kearney,  as  to  Hooker,  were  correct ; 
that  Hooker,  strongly  opposed  by  superior  forces,  had 
lost  ground,  after  a  desperate  contest  of  more  than  four 
hours,  during  which  no  assistance  had  been  sent  to  him. 

The  Prince  de  Joinville,  in  his  turn,  passed  by  me 
without  stopping,  urging  me  to  hurry  forward.  He  was 
mounted  on  an  English  horse  and  covered  with  mud 
from  head  to  foot.  He  was  hurrying  to  Yorktown  to 
endeavor  to  bring  up  General  McClellan,  who,  ignorant 
of  what  was  passing  at  Williamsburg,  had  not  yet 
started. 

In  the  absence  of  the  general-in-chief.  General  Sum- 
ner and  General  Keyes  lost  time  in  consulting  as  to 
what  was  to  be  done.  The  former  was  senior  in  rank, 
but   the  latter  alone  had  any  troops  within  reach,  and. 


THE    FIRST    BATTLE.  1 93 

between   the   two,  no  measure  was  taken,  and  Hooker 
lost  not  only  his  position  but  some  of  his  guns. 

When  I  led  my  troops  out  on  the  farm  where  that 
idle  conference  was  going  on,  the  Count  de  Paris  and 
the  Duke  de  Chartres,  recognizing  the  uniform  of  the 
regiment,  came  on  foot  to  meet  me.  I  did  not  have 
time  either  to  stop  or  to  dismount  ;  they  did  me  the 
honor  of  accompanying  me  in  this  manner  for  several 
minutes  across  the  furrows,  to  explain  to  me  the  posi- 
tion of  affairs,  and  to  wish  me  success. 

"  Everything  is  going  to  the  devil,"  said  the  Duke  de 
Chartres  to  me.  "  There  is  nobody  here  capable  of 
commanding,  and  McClellan  is  at  Yorktown.  As 
several  aids  have  not  been  able  to  induce  him  to  come, 
my  uncle  has  gone  himself  to  look  for  him,  knowing  well 
that  without  him  nothing  will  be  done  as  it  should  be." 

General  Peck  was  on  the  edge  of  a  strip  of  woods, 
which  was  all  that  separated  us  from  the  enemy. 
Learning  that,  on  account  of  our  hurried  march,  and 
the  difficulties  of  the  road,  I  had  left  behind  me  half  of 
my  men,  he  ordered  a  halt  of  ten  minutes,  to  rest  those 
who  had  come  up,  and  to  give  the  others  a  chance  to 
join  us.  In  fact,  the  greater  part  of  the  regiment  were 
in  the  ranks  before  it  went  into  action.  It  was  then 
about  one  o'clock  in  the  afternoon. 

The  road  on  which  we  were  left  the  woods  in  front  of 
Fort  Magruder  in  the  midst  of  an  oblong  plain,  which 
the  enemy  had  fortified  with  a  series  of  redoubts.  As 
this  was  the  narrowest  point  of  the  peninsula,  the  posi-. 
tion  would  have  been  a  good  defensive  one,  if  one  were 
master  of  the  two  rivers.  But  the  evacuation  of  York- 
town  had  opened  one  of  them  to  our  gunboats,  and  the 
other  had  been  defended  only  by  the  Merrimac,  whose 
destruction  would  in  a  few  days  be  involved  in  the  tak- 
ing of  Norfolk.     The  Williamsburg  line,  then,  was  not 


194       FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

tenable  by  the  Confederates.  They  thought  so  little  of 
opposing  us  there  that  the  greater  part  of  their  army 
had  already  passed  on,  when  the  attack  of  Stoneman 
compelled  them  to  return,  in  order  to  delay  our  pursuit, 
and  cover  their  rearguard.  The  fortified  works  proved 
to  be  very  fortunately  placed  for  them,  so  they  occupied 
a  part  of  them,  and  made  particularly  good  use  of  Fort 
Magruder. 

Peck's  brigade,  the  first  to  come  to  the  aid  of  Gen- 
eral Hooker,  was  promptly  deployed  along  the  edge  of 
the  wood  facing  the  enemy.  The  Fifty-fifth  was  on 
the  left,  resting  its  right  on  the  road,  on  the  other 
side  of  which  the  One  Hundred  and  Second  Pennsylva- 
nia formed  the  centre,  and  the  Ninety-eighth  a  little 
further  on  the  right.  The  Ninety-third  was  in  the 
second  line,  and  the  Sixty-second  New  York  was  held 
in  reserve  on  the  other  side  of  the  woods. 

In  front  of  us  stretched  an  abatis  of  trees  twenty  to 
twenty-five  yards  deep,  then  a  broad,  open  field,  crossed 
parallel  to  our  front  by  another  road,  which  ours  joined 
in  front  of  Fort  Magruder.  On  the  other  side  of  the 
crossroad  the  fields  were  bordered,  at  a  distance  of 
two  or  three  hundred  yards,  by  a  wood,  from  which 
Hooker's  left  had  been  dislodged  after  a  long  and 
deadly  conflict,  and  from  which  the  enemy,  encouraged 
by  a  first  success,  was  reforming  for  a  new  attack, 
whose  shock  we  were  about  to  receive. 

My  orders  were  to  support  the  right  of  General 
Hooker ;  but  it  had  fallen  back  into  the  interior  of  the 
woods,  taking  us,  I  suppose,  for  a  brigade  of  Kearney's 
division,  expected  every  moment  to  relieve  it.  I  had 
also  to  cover  a  battery  of  artillery  advanced  into  the 
field,  where,  in  fact,  we  found  it,  but  abandoned  in  a 
mud-hole,  where  the  horses  had  been  killed  or  drowned 
in  their  harness. 


THE    FIRST   BATTLE.  1 95 

We  had  hardly  time  to  notice  these  details,  when,  at 
the  signal  of  a  group  of  officers  emerging  at  a  gallop 
from  Fort  Magruder,  the  enemy's  line  started  out  of 
the  woods  with  loud  yells,  and  marched  straight  for  us. 
When  they  had  ad\-anced  half-way  T  opened  upon  rhem 
a  fire  by  file,  which  promised  well,  while  the  One  Hun- 
dred and  Second  fired  a  volley  with  its  entire  second 
rank.  I  do  not  know  what  harm  we  did  them,  but  they 
continued  to  advance  rapidly,  with  increased  cries. 

There  was  in  front  of  my  left  a  natural  opening  in 
the  abatis,  toward  which  two  battalions  of  the  enemy 
directed  their  course,  with  the  evident  intention  of 
making  it  their  especial  point  of  attack.  Unhappily,  the 
company  which  was  posted  in  front  of  that  point  was 
the  worst  commanded,  and  the  one  on  which  I  could 
the  least  depend.  I  had  my  eyes  on  it  when  it  received 
its  first  volley.  Alas  !  it  did  not  even  wait  for  a  second 
A  man  in  the  rear  rank  turned  and  started  toward  me. 
And,  like  a  flock  of  sheep  after  the  leader,  the  rest  fol- 
lowed in  the  twinkling  of  an  eye.  Almost  immediately 
the  next  companv  gave  way.  then  the  third.  The 
Zouaves,  thus  finding  themselves  left  alone,  broke  in 
their  turn,  and  fell  back  :  and,  what  is  most  shameful, 
some  officers  ran  awav  with  their  men  and  even  without 
them.  The  Xinety-third,  in  forming  the  second  line, 
could  not  stop  the  runaways.  They  broke  through  the 
ranks  and  disapp>eared  in  the  woods  —  the  cursed 
woods,  which  tempted  the  cowards  by  an  easy  refuge, 
and  upon  which,  instead  of  rain,  I  wished  at  that 
moment  to  see  fall  fire  from  heaven. 

However,  in  the  breaking  of  the  left,  a  handful  of 
brave  men,  non-commissioned  officers  and  soldiers, 
remained  immo\-able-  Posted  behind  the  trees,  they 
held  firm,  and  endeavored  to  cover  the  opening  by  a 
rapid   and   well   directed   fire,  under   the  command  of 


196       FOUR    YEARS   WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMV. 

Major  Yehl,  who  gave  them  the  example  of  a  coura- 
geous coolness.  Some  officers,  taken  by  surprise  and 
led  away  by  the  current,  stopped  of  their  own  accord, 
or  retired  slowly,  rather  hesitating  than  frightened, 
and  as  if  seeking  to  find  out  what  the}'  ought  to  do.  In 
spite  of  the  density  of  the  thicket,  where  my  horse 
advanced  with  difficulty,  I  was  soon  amongst  them.  At 
my  voice  they  stopped  and  formed  around  me.  I 
gathered  in  this  way  a  hundred,  and  led  them  quickly 
into  line.  But  at  the  moment  when  I  reformed  them 
in  front  of  the  fatal  opening,  a  strong  volley  broke 
them  a  second  time. 

The  enemy  had  then  advanced  to  the  end  of  the  abatis, 
and  rushed  into  the  passage  which  he  thought  open  to 
him.  In  the  midst  of  the  smoke  I  saw  six  or  eight 
gray-jackets  advance  to  within  a  few  steps  of  us.  Are 
we  about  to  be  swept  away.'  No.  This  time  the  men 
whom  I  had  led  back  under  fire  had  not  fled.  The 
most  of  them  had  only  taken  shelter  behind  the  neigh- 
boring trees,  and  from  there  directed  a  well  sustained 
fire  upon  the  assailants,  whom  the  fire  of  my  centre 
companies  struck  obliquely.  Those  nearest  to  us  were 
killed  or  wounded,  and  the  others  fell  back  in  front  of 
the  abatis. 

My  right  had  not  yielded.  On  that  side  Lieutenant- 
Colonel  Thourout,  an  old  lieutenant  of  the  French 
army,  passed  back  and  forth  encouraging  the  men. 
Captains  Four,  Battais,  Demazure,  Meyer,  were  brave 
officers,  who  kept  their  men  in  position  without  effort, 
for,  when  the  officers  set  the  example,  the  soldiers,  sus- 
tained by  confidence  in  their  superiors  and  spurred  on 
by  pride,  fight  well.  So  it  can  be  truly  said  that  sol- 
diers are  what  their  officers  make  theni. 

Four,  who  commanded  the  first  company,  had  learned 
war  in  the  Chasseurs  of  Vincennes.      Standing  on  the 


tnoik  Qt  2.  irse.  ~e  directed  the  ~e  oc  his  mea  :irca 
eaccL  ponit  winere  tiie  eietnr  penen-ired  rde  ibaifs. 
Baitais.  abandoned,  hf  'zls  zvc'  detirensji-s  T-tr  i  dc^ea. 
men  wiio  Iiad  ioDiowed  ties,  coiiriiiiied  arderri^  is  it 
on.  drill,  widi  the  tenadtv  cat  a  ^^reton.  Tae  Irisi, 
compsnv  foii|:tLt  msder  tie  coramanri  of  its  senS^r  5<ar- 
gesrt.  "wiidocr  troabirng  itseit  aixjot  the  absence  of  13 
ofccers-  The  Zodaves.  naviag  rallied  now.  did  tiieir 
d"atv.  with  ideir  first  liesteiiaat.  St.  James*  at  his  rest 
Finallv,  the  retrains  of  the  three  brokea  compiries 
grotrped  cpc-n  the  left  had  amongst  them  a  second 
It  named  Prosz.     This  brave  Tnar?,  baviiig  seoi 

;    -  -  _  : rg  arocnd  hrm  Sedng.  disdained  to  leave,  and 

rerrained  at  his  post  until  the  last,  althoogh  he  hii  bat 
a  dozen  men  left  nim  to  command. 

When  I  cocld  see  clearij  for  myself  how  markers 
stood,  throogh  the  smoke  which  noated  over  ihe  whole 
line,  in  the  midst  of  the  rolling  oi  the  small  arms  and 
the  bcrsting  of  the'  shells  among  the  trees.  I  breathed 
as  a  man  wocid  breathe  rescued  from  the  water  where 
he  was  drowning.  The  fi,ag  oi  the  regiment  had  not 
receded.     Our  honor  was  safe  :  the  rest  was  nothing. 

Perhaps  it  is  too  much  to  say  it  was  nothing.  For  if 
we  had  succeeded  in  holding  the  enemy  on  the  edge  of 
the  abatis  and  p-r    :        "  his  passing  at  t~ -,  . -e 

he  had  twice,  ur_. ^-  -\  attempted  it.  r , :  i...  ..  ~-  _i 

my  left  rest  in  the  air.  Let  the  enemy  try  to  pass  one 
or  two  hundred  \"ards  farther  along  and  there  was  noth- 
ing to  prevent  his  entering  the  woods  and  striking  me 
in  the  fl^^tiV  and  rear,  in  which  event  my  only  chance  was 
in  a  change  of  front  to  the  rear.  —  a  man<eu\Tre  alwa>-s 
delicate  but  nearly  impracticable  in  the  forest,  espe- 
cially with  troops  who  fought  in  line  for  the  first  time. 
So  I  kept  going  to  the  leit  to  examine,  with  an  intent- 
ness  mingled  with  anjdet].-,  that  part  of  the  deep  and 


198       FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

silent  wood  where  nothing  could  be  seen,  neither 
friends  nor  enemies.  The  question  was :  "  Which 
will   show   themselves   first  ?  " 

What  a  tumult !  The  whole  edge  of  the  woods  on 
fire ;  the  musketry  rolling  uninterruptedly  from  one 
end  of  the  line  to  the  other,  the  balls  striking  the 
trees  like  hail  and  bounding  amongst  the  branches  ; 
two  batteries  of  artillery  firing  as  fast  as  possible ; 
the  shells  tearing  the  branches  of  the  trees  and  fill- 
ing the  woods  with  their  explosions  ;  shrapnel  burst- 
ing in  the  air  like  petards  ;  —  such  were  the  instruments 
of  the  diabolical  concert. 

If  all  these  had  done  as  much  damage  as  they  made 
noise,  the  affair  would  have  been  quickly  decided  ;  hap- 
pily, it  was  quite  otherwise.  The  reality  was  much  less 
terrible  than  the  appearance.  It  is  true  that  some  men 
fell  here  and  there,  not  to  rise  again  ;  that  others,  cov- 
ered with  blood,  limped  or  were  carried  back  a  short 
distance  to  the  foot  of  a  tree,  where  the  two  surgeons 
dressed  their  wounds  temporarily.  But,  after  all,  the 
number  was  quite  small.  The  missiles  of  the  enemy, 
directed  upon  the  interior  of  the  woods,  which  they  prob- 
ably supposed  to  be  full  of  troops,  passed  over  our  heads 
without  doing  us  any  harm.  As  to  the  infantry,  troubled 
by  the  abatis  which  covered  us,  they  fired  too  high. 

When  the  boldest  of  the  enemy  sprang  forward 
amongst  the  fallen  trees  and  tried  to  get  through  them 
to  reach  us,  impeded  in  their  movements,  held  in  a  net- 
work of  branches,  they  furnished  a  good  mark  for  our 
men  and  soon  disappeared.  A  large  number  entered 
there  never  to  go  out  again. 

On  the  other  side  of  the  road,  the  abatis,  not  so  thick 
or  broad,  rendered  the  attack  apparently  easier.  The 
road  itself  forked  to  pass  around  a  clump  of  trees.  The 
principal  attack  was  made  there  after  the  first  shock 


THE    FIRST    BATTLE.  1 99 

which  broke  my  left.  It  there  struck  the  Ninety-third 
Pennsylvania  (Colonel  MacCarter),  posted  on  both  sides 
of  the  road  and  the  One  Hundred  and  Second  Pennsyl- 
vania (Colonel  Rawlins),  entirely  to  the  right  of  the 
road.  The  welcome  received  was  the  warmest.  A 
terrible  fire,  at  a  distance  of  fifty  feet,  broke  the  ene- 
my's ranks  and  compelled  him  to  fall  back  in  disorder. 

The  engagement  lasted  about  an  hour,  when,  for  the 
first  time,  firing  was  heard  on  my  left.  I  could  perceive 
nothing  yet,  but  the  fire  became  more  and  more  vigorous 
in  that  part  of  the  woods.  No  more  doubt.  Kearney 
had  arrived.     Hurrah  for  Kearney  ! 

His  division,  after  leaving  us  near  the  brick  church 
where  Casey's  division  was  calmly  taking  its  coffee,  had 
followed  a  road  less  obstructed  but  much  longer  than 
the  direct  one  by  which  we  had  come.  Berry's  brigade 
now  came  into  line.  Colonel  Poe  of  the  Second  Mich- 
igan had  come  through  the  woods  to  see  for  himself 
who  we  were  and  where  we  were.  He  had  no  difficulty 
in  recognizing  the  red  kepis,  and  advanced  his  regiment 
on  our  left.  One  may  imagine  if  Berry's  brigade  was 
welcome.  It  could  not  have  been  more  so  even  if  I 
could  have  foreseen  that  it  would  be  the  first  brigade  I 
would  be  called  on  to  command. 

From  that  time  the  enemy  could  do  nothing  more 
than  keep  up  his  fire,  which  he  did  until  twilight. 
Between  four  and  five  o'clock  more  reenforcements 
reached  us.  Devens'  brigade  took  position  in  our  rear, 
followed  by  Casey's  division,  which  General  Keyes  had 
finally  gone  himself  to  find.  When  my  ammunition  was 
exhausted  the  Sixty-second  New  York  relieved  me.  At 
ten  minutes  past  five  o'clock  by  the  watch,  the  last  gun 
was  fired  from  Fort  Magruder.  A  little  later  the  mus- 
ketry fire  ceased  with  the  day,  and  the  rain  only  con- 
tinued to  fall  on  the  living  and  on  the  dead. 


200       FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

While  on  the  left  we  thus  stopped  the  offensive 
return  of  the  enemy,  the  following  is  what  happened 
on  the  right.  On  that  side  the  rebels  had  not  occupied 
the  redoubts  thrown  up  east  of  Fort  Magruder  length- 
wise of  the  narrow  plain,  protected  at  that  point  by  a 
marshy  creek  running  through  thick  woods.  At  its 
extremity,  the  plain  terminated  in  a  steep  bank,  at  the 
foot  of  which  a  long  road  transformed  the  creek  into  a 
pond.  There  was  a  formidable  redoubt  at  that  point. 
As  it  swept  the  road  for  its  whole  length,  a  regiment 
with  a  few  guns  would  have  sufficed  to  stop  an  army 
corps.  But  the  enemy  had  put  there  neither  a  gun 
nor  a  man. 

Hooker  had  sent  a  reconnoissance  in  that  direction 
in  the  morning.  The  colonel  commanding,  meeting  no 
enemy  anywhere,  informed  General  Hancock,  who  com- 
manded a  brigade  in  Smith's  division,  of  that  fact.  On 
Jihat  information  Sumner  decided  in  the  afternoon  to 
send  forward  some  force  in  that  direction,  and  Hancock, 
passing  rapidly  over  the  road,  ascended  the  hill  at  the 
foot  of  the  vacant  battery  and  advanced  into  the  plain 
unexpectedly.  Two  redoubts,  both  unoccupied,  were 
near  by.  He  put  a  force  in  them,  and,  as  he  had  taken 
a  battery  with  him,  he  put  two  guns  in  the  nearest  and 
took  two  with  him  to  the  edge  of  the  woods,  with 
which  he  drove  out,  without  trouble,  the  feeble  garri- 
son from  a  third  work. 

This  attack  gave  the  alarm  to  the  Confederates,  who, 
not  expecting  us  from  that  direction,  had  given  General 
Hancock  plenty  of  time  to  make  his  dispositions. 

When  they  recognized  the  danger.  Early  was 
promptly  detached  to  retake  the  redoubts  and  throw 
us  back  into  the  swamp.  But  Hancock  was  ready  to 
receive  him.  He  allowed  them  first  to  advance  in  line 
of  battle,  behind  a  swell  of  the  ground.     When   they 


THE    FIRST    BATTLE.  20I 

were  well  uncovered,  he  welcomed  them  with  a  deadly 
fire  at  short  range  ;  then,  at  the  moment  when  he  saw 
their  line  shaken,  he  charged  them  vigorously,  and  re- 
mained master  of  the  field  of  battle,  which  in  their 
flight  they  abandoned  to  him,  covered  with  dead  and 
wounded.  The  night  coming  on  prevented  Hancock 
from  pursuing  further  the  advantage  of  this  short  but 
brilliant  engagement. 

What  was  General  McClellan  doing  in  the  mean- 
while ?  He  had  finally  decided  to  leave  Yorktown,  at 
the  urgent  solicitation  of  Governor  Sprague  and  the 
Prince  de  Joinville,  and  had  reached  Williamsburg  — 
when  everything  was  over.  One  need  not  be  very 
much  surprised,  then,  that,  knowing  nothing  himself  of 
what  had  happened,  but  in  a  hurry  to  give  an  account 
of  the  battle,  he  had  sent  a  despatch  at  ten  o'clock  in  the 
evening,  the  errors  of  which  bordered  on  the  ridiculous. 

At  the  very  instant  when  the  enemy,  abandoning  his 
position,  hastily  resumed  his  retreat  toward  Richmond, 
he  wrote  :  "  I  have  Joe  Johnston  in  front  of  me  with  a 
large  force,  probably  niuch  greater  than  mine,  and  very 
strongly  intrencJied.  I  will,  at  least,  try  to  hold  them 
in  check  here.  The  total  of  my  force  is,  without  any 
doubt,  inferior  to  that  of  the  rebels,  who  still  fight  well ; 
but  I  will  do  all  I  can  with  the  troops  I  have  at  my 
disposal." 

Now,  what  was  the  number  of  the  troops  which  Gen- 
eral McClellan  had  under  his  orders  .''  One  hundred 
and  twelve  thousand  three  hundred  and  ninety-two 
(113,392)  mtn  present  for  duty,  —  so  it  appears  in  the 
official  report,  signed  by  his  own  hand,  sixteen  days  be- 
fore. At  Williamsburg,  the  Third  and  Fourth  Corps 
together  amounted  to  sixty-eight  thousand  two  hun- 
dred and  nineteen  (68,219)  men.  The  Confederates  had 
not  one-half  that  number  in  front  of  us. 


202       FOUR   YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

The  next  morning,  the  enemy  having  disappeared, 
the  general  celebrated  our  success  in  a  very  different 
tone.  Now,  "  the  victory  is  complete."  Only,  it  is 
Hancock  who  has  gained  it.  "  He  took  two  redoubts." 
In  his  delight,  the  general-in-chief  forgets  that  they 
were  not  defended.  "He  repulsed  Early's  brigade  in 
a  real  bayonet  charge.  He  took  a  colonel  and  one  hun- 
dred and  fifty  prisoners,  killing  at  least  two  colonels, 
as  many  lieutenant-colonels,  and  many  soldiers.  The 
brilliant  fight  of  Hancock  resulted  in  turning  the  left 
of  the  enemy's  works,  who  abandoned  his  position  dur- 
ing the  night,  leaving  all  his  sick  and  wounded  in  our 
hands.  Hancock's  success  was  gained  with  a  loss  not 
exceeding  twenty,  killed  and  wounded." 

This  was  an  error.  Hancock  had  lost  more.  But 
would  it  not  appear  from  this  report  that  Hancock  was 
the  only  one  who  had  been  engaged .''  As  to  Hooker, 
he  hardly  mentioned  him.  "  I  do  not  know  exactly 
what  our  loss  is  ;  but  I  fear  Hooker  lost  considerable 
on  our  left."  This  is  all.  Not  a  word  about  Kearney, 
nor  of  Peck.  And  yet  Hooker's  division  had  fought 
for  six  hours  with  a  desperation,  shown  by  a  loss 
of  about  seventeen  hundred  men.  Peck's  brigade, 
the  first  to  arrest  the  enemy's  success,  had  lost  124 
men,  and  Kearney's  division  about  three  hundred. 
Was  the  general-in-chief  ignorant  of  this .-'  Or  were 
those  accessories  invisible  to  him,  on  account  of 
the  brilliant  achievement  of  the  capture  of  two  un- 
occupied redoubts,  and  of  a  real  charge  —  with  the 
bayonet  .-* 

The  regiment  passed  the  night  in  a  field  of  mud  — a 
miserable  night.  Since  the  second  day  before,  we  had 
made  a  hard  march,  fought  fairly,  eaten  little,  and  slept 
not  at  all.  Fires  were  kindled,  which  were  kept  up 
with  difficulty  on  account  of  the  rain,  and  around  which 


THE    FIRST    BATTLE.  203 

we  endeavored  to  pass  the  time  by  detailed  accounts  of 
all  the  incidents  of  the  day. 

At  two  o'clock  in  the  morning,  General  Couch  had  the 
kindness  to  come  in  person  and  compliment  me  on  the 
part  we  had  taken  in  the  battle.  I  was  not  disposed 
to  accept  more  than  what  rightfully  belonged  to  us. 

"  General,"  I  said,  "  I  thank  you  for  the  praises  you 
have  been  so  kind  to  express  to  me  for  the  brave  men, 
officers  and  soldiers,  who  surround  me.  They  deserve 
them.  But  here  is  but  two-thirds  of  my  regiment. 
The  remainder  ran  away  at  the  first  fire,  and  I  do  not 
know  what  has  become  of  them.  Among  these  last 
are  eight  or  ten  officers  who  have  acted  like  cowards  ; 
I  wish  to  get  rid  of  them  as  soon  as  possible,  and  I 
propose  to  ask  to-day  for  a  court-martial,  that  justice 
may  be  done." 

The  general  drew  me  aside  to  reply  to  me.  Smiling, 
he  said  :  "  My  dear  colonel,  you  take  the  matter  too 
much  to  heart.  It  is  not  at  all  surprising  ;  and  what 
has  happened  to  you  has  happened  to  others  I  could 
cite  to  you,  but  who  will  say  nothing  about  it.  Do  as 
they  do  ;  believe  me,  it  is  best.  A  court-martial  is  not 
possible  at  this  moment,  and,  if  it  were,  I  would  per- 
suade you  not  to  ask  for  one.  The  first  fire  has  an 
unlooked-for  effect  on  the  nerves  of  many  men,  against 
which  their  inexperience  is  futile  to  fortify  them.  Sur- 
prised at  the  first  encounter,  they  will  be  prepared  at 
the  second  and  will  come  out  of  the  action  as 
brave  as  any  others.  It  is  right  to  give  those  who 
have  failed  to-day  an  opportunity  to  repair  their  fault 
on  the  next  occasion.  If  the  thing  occurs  a  second 
time,  I  will  be  the  first  to  ask  you  to  take  severe 
measures.  Until  then,  let  us  keep  our  family  secrets 
and  do  our  best." 

General  Couch  was  right.     He  judged  wisely,  as  the 


204       FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

conduct  of  the  whole  regiment  soon  proved,  at  the 
battle  of  Fair  Oaks. 

The  enemy  retreated  quietly,  without  being  pursued. 
The  roads  were  in  such  a  horrible  condition  that  he 
had  to  abandon  five  pieces  of  artillery  and  several 
wagons  in  the  mud-holes.  What  would  have  been  the 
result,  then,  if  we  had  followed  him  up  closely  ?  But 
General  McClellan  showed  himself  in  no  more  hurry  to 
take  Richmond  than  he  had  been  to  take  Yorktown  ; 
and  as  he  had  allowed  IMagruder's  division  to  fortify 
and  receive  reenforcements  on  the  Warwick  where  he 
could  have  easily  captured  it,  so  now  he  allowed  John- 
ston's army  to  go  and  prepare  for  the  defence  of  the 
Confederate  capital  without  even  attacking  his  rear- 
guard. Thus  we  had  three  entire  days  of  leisure  at 
Williamsburg  to  lie  around  in  the  sun  and  brush  up  our 
arms  to  the  sound  of  military  music,  which  celebrated 
our  indolent  glory  by  playing  from  morning  till  night 
"  Yankee  Doodle,"  "  Hail,  Columbia,"  and  other  patriotic 
airs. 

I  profited  by  the  delay  to  visit  the  field  of  battle, 
where  several  detachments  passed  the  day  of  the  6th 
in  burying  the  dead.  Not  an  exhilarating  spectacle. 
And  yet,  to  be  sincere,  I  could  not  help  feeling  a  little 
disappointed  in  finding  only  fifteen  dead  in  the  abatis 
behind  which  we  had  fought.  Three  hours  of  firing 
and  sixteen  thousand  cartridges  expended  to  kill  fifteen 
men  and  put  perhaps  a  hundred  and  fifty  Jiors  dc  com- 
bat !  But  the  rebels  had  found  even  that  loss  too 
much,  and  so  that  must  console  us  for  not  having  done 
more. 

Where  Hooker's  division  had  fought  our  loss  was 
much  greater  than  theirs.  On  the  open  ground,  and 
especially  on  the  sides  of  the  road,  lay  many  of  the 
dead  from  Sickles'   New  York  brigade.      Further  along 


THE    FIRST    BATTLE.  205 

in  the  wood,  where  the  attack  had  begun,  the  New 
Jersey  brigade  had  left  the  thicket  full  of  dead. 

Everywhere  those  who  had  been  killed  outright  had 
retained,  when  fallen,  the  position  in  which  death  had 
struck  them  standing. 

During  the  battle.  Captain  Titus,  brigade  quarter- 
master, having  gone  forward  to  the  right  of  the  Fifty- 
fifth,  saw  a  Confederate  soldier  crawling  into  the 
abatis.  He  picked  up  a  musket,  fallen  from  the  hands 
of  a  man  killed  or  wounded,  and  shot  him  just  as  he 
was  taking  aim  at  one  of  our  men.  The  next  morning 
we  found  him  stretched  out  on  his  back  with  both  arms 
in  the  position  of  taking  aim.  The  captain's  ball  had 
passed  through  his  heart. 

The  cannon  which  the  enemy  had  not  been  able  to 
carry  off  were  buried  in  the  mud  to  the  axles.  The 
two  wheel  horses  were  literally  drowned  in  the  liquid 
mud,  their  heads  half  buried.  The  others,  killed  by 
balls,  mingled  their  blood  with  that  of  some  artillery- 
men who  had  endeavored  to  release  them  by  cutting 
the  harness. 

Human  remains  frightfully  mutilated  gave  evidence 
here  and  there  that  the  cannon  had  also  done  its  part 
in  the  bloody  work.  One  of  these  lay  at  the  foot  of  a 
fence  with  nothing  of  the  head  left,  but  the  face  like  a 
grinning  mask.  The  remainder,  crushed  by  a  ball, 
adhered  to  the  rails  in  bloody  blotches.  Strange  curi- 
osity, which  by  a  natural  impulse  leads  us  toward  the 
horrible —  which  led  me  there  upon  the  field  of  battle, 
and  which  attracts  you,  also,  you  who  read  these  lines, 
since  your  imagination  completes  the  picture  of  which 
this  is  a  sketch. 

You  will  not  hesitate,  no  more  than  I  did,  to  step  on 
the  edge  of  these  broad  trenches,  carelessly  dug  to-day 
by  those  for  whom  others  will  dig  trenches  elsewhere, 


206       FOUR   YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

perhaps  in  a  year,  perhaps  in  a  month,  perhaps  to-mor- 
row. The  first  to  depart  on  the  long  journey  lie 
stretched  out  before  us,  side  by  side,  with  marble 
features,  glassy  eyes,  and  in  their  torn  and  bloody 
uniforms.  The  comrades  who  will  follow  them  hasten 
to  finish  their  duty  without  philosophizing  on  the  skull 
of  poor  Yorick,  whose  infinite  witticisms  but  yesterday 
enlivened  the  bivouac.  A  layer  of  men  and  a  layer  of 
earth.  The  ditch  filled,  it  is  covered  over  with  a  little 
hillock,  to  provide  for  settling.  Then  they  depart, 
leaving  to  a  few  friendly  hands  the  pious  care  of  mark- 
ing a  name  and  a  date  on  small  boards  aligned  at  the 
head    of  the   dead,  where    no    one  will    come    to    read 

them. 

I  found  my  wounded  in  a  neighboring  farmhouse 
transformed  into  a  hospital,  where  those  of  the  brigade 
had  been  carried.  The  farm  buildings  were  full.  The 
patients  were  laid  on  the  ground,  on  beds  of  straw. 
Those  who  could  walk  went  and  came  with  the  head 
bandaged  or  the  arm  in  a  sling,  helping  to  take  care  of 
the  others.  All  showed  a  remarkable  courage  and  bore 
their  sufferings  with  a  tranquil  resignation.  The  most 
boastful  were  even  laughing,  and  spoke  of  soon  retak- 
ing their  places  in  the  ranks.  A  few  only,  feeling  that 
they  were  mortally  wounded,  groaned  aloud  with  grief, 
or  shed  silent  tears  while  thinking  of  those  they  would 
never  see  again. 

Amongst  the  latter  was  a  young  married  German,  and 
having,  f  think,  a  child.  The  ball  which  had  wounded 
him  had  passed  through  the  head  of  the  man  in  front, 
and,  striking  him  over  the  left  eye,  had  traced  a  furrow 
around  his  head,  coming  out  behind  the  ear.  The  sur- 
geons declared  the  wound  less  dangerous  in  reality 
than  in  appearance.  But  the  poor  boy  was  struck  in  his 
imagination.       He  thought  he  had  the  ball  in  his  head. 


THE    FIRST    BATTLE. 


207 


"  I  feel  it,"  he  said  to  me,  "  it  is  heavy  and  hurts  me  ; 
I  am  a  dead  man." 

Nothing  could  convince  him  to  the  contrary.  He 
died  at  the  end  of  a  fortnight,  not  by  a  ball,  but  by 
an  idea  in  his  head. 

Such  was  not  the  case  with  the  big  strapping  Irish- 
man whom  I  found  smoking  his  pipe  at  the  door  of  the 
hall. 

"  Well,"  said  I  to  him,  "  how  do  you  find  yourself  ? " 

"Perfectly,  colonel.     Never  better  in  my  life." 

"  Why,  then,  have  you  got  your  face  half  covered 
with  bandages  ?  " 

"  Oh  !  a  mere  nothing  ;  a  scratch.  I  will  show  it  to 
you." 

"  No,  I  thank  you." 

"  Yes,  yes  ;  you  will  see  what  it  is." 

And,  raising  up  compresses  and  bandages,  in  spite  of 
my  protestations,  he  showed  me  a  gaping  wound  in  the 
place  of  the  eyebrows  carried  away. 

"  I  see,"  said  I,  "  your  wound  has  not  been  dressed 
this  morning." 

"  No ;  the  doctor  put  on  this  yesterday  for  the  first 
time.  But  to-day  he  is  so  busy  with  the  others,  who 
need  his  help  more  than  I,  that  I  did  not  wish  to 
bother  him." 

"  And  your  eye,"  I  replied. 

"  Gone.  But  you  see,  colonel,  it  is  only  the  left  eye, 
and  that  will  save  me  the  trouble  of  closing  it  while 
taking  aim,  which  always  did  bother  me.  In  a  fort- 
night I  will  be  back  with  the  regiment,  and  may  I  be 

d^ -d  if  I  do  not  bring  down  plenty  of  Johnny   Rebs 

yet." 

I  had  to  use  my  authority  to  have  him  consent  to  the 
dressing  of  the  wound.  I  left  him  in  the  hands  of  the 
surgeon,  who  let  me  know  by  signs  that  the  wound  was 


208       FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

a  bad  one.  In  fact,  the  poor  fellow  never  returned  to 
the  regiment. 

As  I  walked  toward  the  door,  a  soldier,  who  did  not 
belong  to  my  regiment,  raised  himself  painfully  on  his 
seat  and  called  me  with  some  hesitation. 

"  What  is  it  ?"    said  I. 

"  Colonel,  I  would  like  to  shake  hands  with  you." 

"  All  right,  my  boy  ;  where  are  you  wounded  .''  " 

"  No  matter  about  my  wound.  I  wished  only  to  shake 
your  hand,  because  you  are  a  man.  After  the  fight  you 
do  not  forget  those  who  have  had  their  bones  broken 
under  your  orders.     I  wish  I  belonged  to  the  Fifty-fifth." 

The  least  attention  of  this  kind  goes  to  the  heart  of 
a  wounded  soldier.  A  visit  and  a  few  words  of  encour- 
agement from  a  superior  officer,  which  he  would  think 
nothing  of  in  his  tent,  are  sufficient,  at  the  hospital,  to 
fill  him  with  gratitude  ;  simply  because  it  proves  to  him 
that  he  is  not  forgotten.  In  our  hours  of  suffering 
the  bitterest  pang  is  caused  by  thinking  ourselves 
forgotten. 

Behind  the  camp  assigned  to  the  regiment  near  Fort 
Magruder  was  a  house  in  which  the  Confederates  had 
left  a  number  of  their  men  too  badly  wounded  to  be 
taken  with  them. 

When  I  went  to  the  house  a  little  stream  of  coagu- 
lated blood  reddened  the  steps  coming  from  the  half- 
opened  door.  On  pushing  it,  to  enter,  I  felt  a  resistance, 
the  cause  of  which  I  soon  recognized.  It  was  a  pile 
of  amputated  legs  and  arms,  thrown  into  a  corner  of 
the  room,  waiting  the  coming  of  a  negro  to  take  them 
out  and  bury  them  in  the  garden,  in  a  hole  which  he 
had  dug  for  the  purpose. 

Limbs,  vigorous  or  slight,  all  shattered  beneath  the 
remnant  of  bloody  flesh.  I  remember  that  near  the 
pile  there  lay  by  itself  a  leg  white  and  slender,  termina- 


THE    FIRST    BATTLE.  2O9 

ting  in  a  foot  almost  as  small  as  that  of  a  child.     The 
knee  had  been  shattered  by  a  ball. 

"  You  see  we  have  had  some  work  to  do,"  said  a  sur- 
geon to  me.     "  Come  in,  colonel." 

Around  the  room,  in  which  I  entered,  the  amputated 
were  on  the  floor,  in  rows,  with  the  head  to  the  wall. 
All  these  mutilated  creatures  turned  their  eyes,  hollow 
with  suffering,  towards  me,  the  greater  part  of  them 
listless  but  a  few  with  an  air  having  a  shade  of  defiance. 
I  lookec!  for  the  one  to  whom  the  leg  with  a  child's  foot 
had  belonged.  I  had  no  trouble  in  recognizing  him. 
He  was,  really,  almost  a  child,  with  blue  eyes,  long 
blond  hair,  and  with  emaciated  features. 

"  How  old  are  you  .-'  "  I  asked  him. 

"  Seventeen  years." 

"  So  young  and  already  a  soldier  ?  " 

"  I  enlisted  of  my  own  accord." 

"  What  to  do  ?  " 

"  To  defend  my  State  against  her  enemies." 

"  Say  to  break  up  the  Union  to  the  profit  of  your 
slaveholders." 

"  I  do  not  think  so." 

"  Have  you  any  relations  .''  a  father  or  a  mother  }  " 

*'  Yes,"  said  he,  with  a  voice  evidently  moved. 

"  Why  did  you  not  remain  by  her  side .''  see  what 
your  condition  is  now." 

"  I  did  my  duty.     That  satisfies  me." 

I  went  into  the  next  room.     The  same  sight. 

"  Water,"  cried  several  feeble  voices. 

"Wait  a  minute,  boys,"  said  the  doctor,  in  a  fatherly 
tone.  "  The  deuce  !  Haven't  you  any  patience.  Sam 
is  busy  just  at  this  instant.  As  soon  as  he  is  disen- 
gaged he  will  bring  you  some." 

Sam  was  the  negro  ordered  to  bury  the  amputated 
limbs. 


2  10       FOUR    VKAKS    \VI  I'll     lllE    1\^T0MAC    AR:\IV. 

"  Think  ot  it,  colonel,"  began  the  doctor  ai;ain,  "  we 
found  here  only  an  old  black  man  to  help  us  take  care 
of  these  poor  creatures,  a  good  enough  old  fellow,  but 
not  as  active  as  he  might  be,  and  who  is  hardly  enough 
to  attend  to  everything." 

On  the  stairs  I  met  my  second  surgeon,  eating,  with  a 
good  appetite,  a  piece  of  biscuit  and  some  cheese. 

"The  surgeon-in-chief  detailed  me  here  yesterdav," 
said  he,  "and  I  assure  you.  colonel,  it  is  no  sinecure. 
This  is  the  first  morsel  I  have  eaten  since  I  left  the 
brigade  hospital." 

And,  continuing  his  hasty  repast,  he  introduced  me 
to  a  room  where  a  dozen  patients  waited  their  turn. 
One  of  them,  whose  leg  had  been  amputated  only  the 
previous  evening,  had  been  left  there  on  a  straw  mat- 
tress, a  privilege  accorded  to  him  on  account  of  his  rank 
as  captain.  He  was  a  robust  Georgian,  with  black 
hair  and  beard,  sunburned  skin,  a  real  ''  dur-a-ciiire" 
whose  morale  had  not  been  affected  by  the  loss  of  a  leg. 
We  entered  readily  into  conversation,  and  what  he 
said  to  me  has  remained  graven  on  my  mind.  It  was  a 
prediction,  which  after  events  have  not  allowed  me  to 
forget. 

"  Do  not  be  in  a  hurry,"  he  said,  "to  cry  victory! 
and  to  regard  that  as  a  great  success  which  is  really 
onlv  the  execution  of  our  own  plans.  What  we  wanted 
at  Yorktown  was  simply  to  delay  your  arrival  before 
Richmond  until  the  summer  heat.  We  have  succeeded. 
We  kept  you  there,  throwing  up  earth,  digging  ditches, 
erecting  batteries  for  a  whole  month,  although  we  had 
but  one  against  ten  when  you  came.  McClellan  having 
thro\vn  up  his  mountain  to  crush  our  shed,  w^e  gave 
him  the  slip  without  his  even  knowing  it.  You  did  not 
take  Yorktown  ;  we  made  you  a  present  of  it,  when  it 
was  no  longer  of  use  to   us.     You  caught    up   with  us 


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1^  Tr2.T. 


2  12       FOUR   YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

An  arm,  taken  off  at  the  shoulder  joint,  rolled  under 
the  table  more  bloody  than  any  of  the  rest.  The  table 
of  torture.  A  young  man  lay  there  unconscious,  from 
whom  that  arm  had  been  taken. 

Under  the  influence  of  chloroform,  he  appeared  not 
to  suffer  ;  but  from  time  to  time  a  sad  smile  passed 
over  his  countenance. 

I  did  not  wait  his  revival.  I  had  had  enough  of  it. 
The  surgeon  told  me  that  it  was  doubtful  if  the  patient 
survived  the  operation.  He  died  the  following  night. 
When  I  went  out  of  the  house,  Sam  came  in,  having 
finished  his  work  of  gravedigger.  He  bowed  very  low 
several  times.  "  Sam,"  said  I,  "  if  you  are  a  good  man, 
go  immediately  to  the  well  and  get  some  water  for  the 
wounded,  who  are  very  thirsty." 

That  was  all  I  could  do  for  them. 


CHAPTER    XI. 

DAYS   OF   SUFFERING. 

Forward  march  —  Engagement  at  West  Point  —  Subject  for  discontent  — 
Dinner  at  headquarters — Fight  of  a  new  kind  —  The  bull  and  the 
Newfoundland  dog  —  The  death  of  Bianco  —  Virginia  plantations  — 
Marsh  fever  —  The  Turner  house  —  Delirium  —  Manna  in  the  desert 
—  Anxieties  —  Battle  of  Fair  Oaks  —  First  days  of  convalescence  — 
Departure  for  the  North. 

On  Friday,  May  9,  the  Fourth  Corps  at  last  moved, 
followed  by  the  Third.  The  Second,  having  remained 
at  Yorktown,  embarked  there  for  West  Point,  at  the 
place  where  the  Pamunkey  and  the  Mattapony  unite 
to  form  the  York  River.  One  would  naturally  suppose 
that  the  last  three  days  had  been  actively  employed  in 
arranging"  an  advantageous  concentration  of  the  army, 
in  getting  together  and  completing  the  material  for 
transportation,  in  assuring  the  regular  service  of  the 
supply  department, — in  fine,  in  taking  every  possible 
measure  to  repair  the  lost  time  by  a  rapid  advance. 
The  days  were  long,  the  sun  hot,  the  roads  dried  while 
you  were  looking  at  them.  But  nothing  could  hasten 
the  methodical  slowness  of  the  general-in-chief,  and  our 
daily  marches  were  those  of  the  tortoise.  We  did  not 
reach  New  Kent  Court  House  until  Tuesday  the  13th, 
the  fifth  day  after  starting,  and  we  did  not  leave  there 
till  the  i6th,  two  days  later.  The  distance  is  twenty- 
eight  miles,  two  ordinary  marches. 

The  enemy  was  not  the  cause  of  these  delays.  He 
thought  only  of  continuing  his  retreat ;  we  did  not 
come  across  him,  keeping  ourselves  at  a  respectful  dis- 
tance from  his  rearguard. 

213 


2  14       FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

General  Franklin  alone,  ha\4ng  arrived  at  West  Point 
on  the  7th  by  transport,  and  thus  threatening  with  his 
division  the  flank  of  the  Confederates,  who  were  march- 
ing by  at  a  distance  of  two  or  three  miles,  had  an  en- 
gagement with  them,  the  importance  of  which  was 
much  exaggerated  by  the  imagination  of  General  Mc- 
Clellan.  The  most  advanced  regiments  were  thrown 
back  and  kept  near  the  river,  and  Johnston  continued 
his  march  without  being  further  troubled. 

When  it  was  known  in  the  army  of  what  little  im- 
portance was  the  pretended  battle  of  West  Point,  it 
began  to  be  perceived  what  partialities  the  general-in- 
chief  would  show  towards  his  particular  friends.  He 
had  already  cut  out  new  commands  for  them  by  reduc- 
ing the  army  corps  to  two  divisions  each.  Great  dis- 
content was  manifested.  Not  that  the  army  took  to 
heart  the  transfer  of  such  or  such  a  division  from  one 
command  to  another.  That  was  an  affair  for  the  gen- 
erals. But  Hooker's  division  was  deeply  wounded 
by  the  injustice  of  which  it  had  been  a  victim  in 
the  telegraphic  bulletins  upon  the  Williamsburg  fight. 
The  same  sentiment  prevailed  in  Kearney's  division 
and  in  Peck's  brigade.  Personally,  Hooker  was  in- 
censed ;  Kearney  protested  vigorously  ;  Peck  com- 
plained against  the  injustice.  As  to  the  subaltern 
oflBcers  and  soldiers,  their  discontent  found  vent  in 
murmurs  and  epigrams. 

Another  grievance,  more  generally  felt  because  it 
directly  touched  the  soldier,  was  the  excess  of  precau- 
tion and  the  severity  of  orders  to  preserve  from  injury 
any  object,  even  the  smallest,  belonging  to  the  rebels. 
Not  a  farmhouse,  not  a  cottage,  not  a  negro,  but  was 
furnished  with  a  guard  on  our  approach,  by  the  troops 
of  General  x\ndrew  Porter,  especially  ordered,  not  to 
protect  the  persons  and  the  furniture,  which  ran  no 


riUnaS:  irjr  trrg'    T>ffJ»i',    uJi*  lOL  ArxlMi   jIE    2SI    M.'jn"-^'    iliiiMfipi   tBgjIjS 
rI2mS£  trirkf'   sunaDLT   (EC  "iKaQSr   mr  i  ^TSDiSl   TiaumiiTw 

iiiiijI^-LC.  be  ii^iTiiriiiirinifrirMgnTti      I  usssis  msuryi  sssn  —ti'?'^  ujiimsdis^ 

-'  ;     vmT    ^aOT'eiME:  r    r-5iii!i!;  ■  -- 

:.:  __!_:  _    _1    iniS  £?3DEE2ir-311IrC^   ^   _    _  111   M.M!  !l.ltlT~ :  __     i5- 

wiilLaL   ~TiiF-    rt^ivry   TTgJi.yg  (BE    (nUTT  TiPIIiHE  TlOiadti  ■WSSIS'  Try^Ttr  :5(- 

r-r't   ni;:  .iili  ^°a~  "ie  imss  ic  lis-  ^t_,-.-.    -  „_i  I*?-  icss- 

t:   -      -.J   r^nregT   wiLh  ^trLnr  mr  irii;:ir}"  wars:  r-rtm 

trees-  sjsm  tssss:  idae  g;iresE  "ww^c^  o^bm  w<  nscnni*.  aiwc  m:  it® 
~T"  rims-fi^f  ^^.  xSH's.  iarfl  ~    " ~  ~~  r —  j  ~  "  ^  '     ^  -  rrfiea. 

~jnz  ^:  XL  EST  uD'i  le  inr.-.^  :-:r:"rf£ 

wjiiji!  siiaCiii  ■t;;^"tf*'!at'  cDiJsi^eirazKfBnL  ■wssr?  aat  iJbC'  Jfi2St  ^ 
fid  iar  i£L    TbeT  -      -  ■rr«ooaa>r-_r-i 

iiEir^i  2|:Eziis:  us  ■    .  _     -      ■  amsaihpes  rue 

ir^rtxibtie  rr^'  asssemiiuw     Xije  -onMaiE  somoesniaiisss 

eTeE  'lake  acTEnrsiST?   ii   li-  ."■£©'  fe»o®sr   re 

lieir   f-T^TTTiitj,     laaej  urer^   <-    - -_--iS.  ■tK^JMOt;  "w^ 

-w-ere  g-Gsrdiiiai;-  ET^HnstMiiai:  iriaer  Saeama.  eTcrrciiim^ 
rbey  r~>iLii   rrei   ■^mt    'si  mmx  ^mte-  iras  nry  - ; 

enemT  25.  S':>rai  as  pcsssaBiiie.  Tlae  ixorseSv  ,_.-,.-  -.-.^.s. 
TR-bich  "we  iBPerTe  sn?  scmpiOiiCTmsrr  irc«iia|'ie3Ii©a  ti^  nespeiaL, 
Ttrere  semi  <m  i5»e  tersi  c»ocasa:«i  ^it-  tiae  CzwiifCJ^eraitcs,  s© 
lisr  line  Yajnkees  umipiii  la^rc  rcrmt  by  tiieaiL 

Wlaein  tSae  armT  "wrss  iiies^ire  K.3ciiinj<wnid„  Hesters  cc 
lisese  enennaes,  wbotra  ■we  iTeJstesi  as  ti>ea»ds»  "weare  iintier- 
cepted.-.  Taey  were  h£l  ce  exari  s3af«HTn»itiwtt  :as  !>;> 
tbe  kcaiioia  ol  our  pickets  j^iad  ibe  i^;^«dsatKiii  loi  cvor 


2l6       FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

forces.  They  designated  also  the  farms  where,  under 
our  safeguard,  provisions  were  reserved  for  the  Con- 
federates, as  soon  as  they  could  send  for  them.  It  is 
true  that  the  Richmond  papers,  which  were  filled  every 
day  with  invectives  against  us,  showed  themselves  more 
courteous  towards  our  general,  whom  they  called  "  the 
only  gentleman  in  his  army."  It  can  be  seen  that  they 
had  very  good  reason  to  feel  so. 

So  the  soldier  lived  poorly,  having  no  way  to  add  to 
the  insufBcient  rations,  which  were  furnished  quite 
irregularly.  On  two  occasions  the  coffee  failed  us, 
which,  of  all  privations,  is  the  one  the  soldier  feels  the 
most.  The  means  of  transportation  are  still  incom- 
plete, it  was  said.  And  the  quartermasters  incompe- 
tent, might  have  been  added  without  injustice. 

On  the  general's  staff  they  possibly  were  ignorant  of' 
these  things,  for  evidently  they  did  not  suffer  from  the 
want  of  anything.  Near  New  Kent  Court  House,  my 
bivouac  being  near  the  army  headquarters,  I  profited 
by  it  to  make  a  call  on  two  of  my  friends,  who  kept  me 
to  dinner.  It  was  an  excellent  dinner ;  certainly  they 
were  not  in  want  of  the  means  of  transportation.  The 
fare  was  of  the  best,  and  we  had  a  certain  mixture  of 
Bordeaux  and  iced  champagne,  which  still  lingers  in  my 
grateful  memory. 

I  finished  my  evening  in  the  tent  of  the  Orleans 
princes,  who,  influenced  by  their  surroundings,  ap- 
peared to  me  to  see  things  somewhat  differently  from 
what  they  really  were.  At  headquarters  they  had  but 
one  bell,  and  consequently  only  one  sound  was  heard  — 
praises  of  McClellan. 

It  was  near  New  Kent  Court  House  that  the  brigade 
had  a  fight  of  a  new  kind,  from  which  it  did  not  come 
out  without  disorder.  The  people  of  a  neighboring 
farm,  who  had  taken  care  to   house  their  cattle  at  our 


DAYS    OF    SUFFERING.  217 

approach,  had  thought  fit  to  leave  an  ill-tempered  bull 
in  the  field  where  we  must  camp.  The  animal  appeared 
at  first  to  be  indifferent  to  our  movements,  but  when 
the  arms  were  stacked  and  the  men  scattered  on  all 
sides  in  search  of  wood  and  water,  this  unusual  stir 
began  to  excite  him.  He  commenced  to  paw  the 
ground  and  to  bellow,  showing  his  anger. 

At  this  provocation,  the  dogs  of  the  regiment 
pricked  up  their  ears  and  replied  by  barkings,  which  in 
their  language  must  have  had  a  definite  signification, 
for  immediately  every  one  of  them  started  like  an  arrow 
in  the  direction  of  the  bull.  The  bull  waited  for  them 
at  first  without  moving,  and,  when  he  had  five  or  six  in 
front  of  him,  charged  resolutely  at  them,  irritated  more 
and  more  by  their  barking  and  his  powerlessness  to 
reach  his  adversaries. 

Attracted  by  the  noise,  the  men  ran  from  all  sides  to 
enjoy  the  spectacle.  As  soon  as  the  animal  saw  that 
he  had  enemies  more  worthy  of  his  notice,  he  fell  upon 
the  nearest.  They,  having  no  other  arms  than  their 
canteens  or  tin  cups,  ran  away  as  fast  as  possible,  in 
every  direction.  The  rest,  seeing  that  the  sport  was 
becoming  serious,  made  for  the  fence  with  great  strides, 
in  the  midst  of  cries,  oaths,  and  laughter,  the  noise  of 
which  came  nearer  and  nearer. 

Blinded  by  rage,  worried  by  the  dogs,  the  bull  in  a 
few  bounds  was  at  the  front  of  the  regiment.  The 
lieutenant-colonel  was  there  at  that  moment,  giving 
orders,  when  twenty  voices  at  once  cried  out  to  him  to 
"  look  out."  He  turned  his  head  ;  the  animal  was  almost 
upon  him,  foaming  at  the  mouth,  fire  in  his  eyes,  with 
horns  lowered.  With  one  bound,  he  jumped  to  one  side, 
his  foot  slipped  and  he  fell  in  a  furrow.  Happily  for 
him,  the  brute  was  under  so  much  headway  that  he 
could   neither   stop  nor  even  turn   before  striking  our 


2lS       FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    IWrOMAC    ARMY. 

Stacks  of  arms  with  his  lowered  head.  He  knocked 
over  two  or  three  of  these,  threw  himself  on  the  line  of 
the  Sixty-second,  overturning  everything  in  his  passage, 
and  returned  towards  us  with  great  bounds,  in  the  midst 
of  a  general  rout. 

On  our  right  was  the  Seventh  Massachusetts,  belong- 
ing to  another  brigade.  One  of  their  wagons  had 
stopped  near  the  road,  and  behind  this  wagon  was 
chained  a  fine  Newfoundland  dog,  the  favorite  of  the 
regiment.  The  courageous  animal  made  desperate  efforts 
to  break  his  chain,  and  by  his  barkings  asked  to  take 
part  in  the  combat.  On  the  other  side,  his  master  did 
not  seem  disposed  to  give  him  his  liberty,  fearing  he 
might  be  disembowelled  by  the  bull.  However,  from 
every  side  the  cry  was  raised,  "  Unchain  the  dog !  Un- 
chain the  dog  !  "  The  dog  was  loosed.  He  bounded 
across  the  road  and  rushed  upon  the  enemy,  whom  no 
one  knew  how  to  fight.  A  few  men,  indeed,  had  seized 
their  guns,  but  they  could  not  use  them  for  fear  of  kill- 
ing or  wounding  some  one.  As  to  playing  the  role  of 
picador  with  the  bayonet,  it  was  so  dangerous  that  no 
one  was  willing  to  try  it.  When  the  Newfoundland 
entered  the  lists  everything  was  changed. 

As,  when  two  of  Homer's  heroes  meet  in  the  field  of 
battle  they  stop  to  look  each  other  over  and  challenge 
each  other  to  single  combat,  around  them  the  common 
arms  are  lowered  and  the  common  soldiers  stop  their 
fighting  to  watch  from  the  pit  the  spectacle  which  the 
gods  themselves  witness  from  the  first  boxes,  —  so  the 
bull  and  the  Newfoundland  stopped  for  a  moment  in 
front  of  each  other,  while  a  large  circle  of  federal  war- 
riors was  formed  around  them.  The  common  animals 
even  ceased  their  noises. 

The  tactics  of  our  champion  were  evidently  to  take  a 
position  on  one  or  the  other  flank  of  the  enemy,  but  he 


DAYS    OF    SUFFERING. 


219 


changed  front  rapidly  to  correspond  with  the  move- 
ments of  his  adversary.  This  manoeuvre  was  kept  up 
for  a  few  moments,  when  the  dog  made  a  feint,  turned 
sharply  back,  and,  springing  at  the  head  of  the  bull, 
remained  fastened  to  his  ear.  Remember  that  it  was 
not  a  question  of  a  bulldog,  of  little  weight,  but  of  a 
Newfoundland,  who  did  not  weigh  less  than  sixty  or 
eighty  pounds. 

The  bull,  having  attempted  in  vain  to  free  himself  by 
throwing  the  dog  in  the  air,  then  endeavored  to  crush 
him  under  his  fore  feet.  A  dangerous  attempt,  but 
against  which  the  dog  guarded  himself  with  remark- 
able address,  using  his  hind  feet.  Then,  mad  with 
pain  and  rage,  the  bull  began  to  run  at  a  venture,  bel- 
lowing fearfully  and  carrying  the  huge  dog  fastened  like 
a  vise  to  his  ear. 

At  this  instant  the  commissary  sergeant  of  the  regi- 
ment, who  was  a  butcher  by  profession,  came  up.  He. 
armed  himself  with  a  hatchet,  and  one  vigorous  blow 
upon  the  backbone  of  the  bull  put  an  end  to  the  com- 
bat. The  conqueror  then  let  go  his  hold,  to  receive 
with  an  intelligent  dignity  the  caresses  and  congratula- 
tions which  were  given  him,  while  the  conquered  one, 
quickly  cut  up,  furnished  an  addition  to  the  regular 
rations,  of  which  no  account  was  rendered. 

Thus,  in  this  inhospitable  country,  even  the  animals 
took  part  in  the  contest  against  us. 

I  had  brought  a  bulldog  along  from  Washington, 
whose  former  masters  had  filed  down  his  dog-teeth  to 
make  a  more  peaceable  animal  out  of  him  than  bulldogs 
usually  are.  Bianco  (for  that  was  his  name)  lived  on 
good  terms  with  every  one,  man  and  beast,  in  the  loyal 
States.  But  from  the  moment  of  disembarking  on  the 
Peninsula  it  was  only  a  continued  combat  with  the 
Confederate  dogs.     A  large  mastiff,  driven  away  from 


2  20       FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

the  Harwood  farm  by  the  fire,  had  followed  the  regi- 
ment. He  was  valued  for  his  ability  to  catch  the  wild 
hogs  wandering  through  the  woods.  Between  the  bull- 
dog and  him  there  was  the  hatred  of  the  Guelph  for 
the  Ghibeline.  One  day,  taking  advantage  of  a  moment 
when  the  regiment,  being  in  motion,  could  not  interfere, 
they  went  off  the  road  to  settle  their  differences.  The 
new  dog  remained  there.  Bianco  had  strength  enough 
left  to  rejoin  me  on  the  plantation  of  ex-President  Tyler, 
where  we  went  into  camp.  His  victory  having  been 
duly  reported,  he  lay  down  in  a  ditch  to  die  on  his 
laurels.  The  soldiers,  whom  he  had  accompanied 
under  fire  at  Williamsburg,  decided  that  he  had  died 
gloriously,  and  my  groom  swore  over  his  remains  a  war 
of  extermination  against  all  the  Confederate  dogs. 

The  residence  of  Mr.  Tyler  resembled  a  great  many 
others  in  Virginia,  of  which  one  can  say,  as  of  the  float- 
ing staff  of  the  fable,  —  "  From  a  distance,  it  is  impos- 
ing ;   near  by,  it  is  nothing." 

These  residences  are  generally  built  on  a  pleasant 
site,  in  the  midst  of  rich  fields.  Shaded  by  great  trees, 
surrounded  by  farm  buildings  and  negro  huts,  they 
have  an  air  of  importance  when  seen  from  a  distance. 
Regard  them  close  at  hand  and  with  a  view  of  the 
whole  building,  and  the  house  loses  in  its  proportions. 
Enter  the  house,  and  you  are  surprised  to  find  nothing 
there  which  bears  the  marks  of  elegant  comfort. 
The  walls  are  whitewashed  ;  the  floors  covered  with 
common  matting,  often  badly  worn  ;  you  will  find  calico 
curtains,  beds  and  cupboards  painted  with  a  poor  imi- 
tation of  mahogany,  chairs  with  seats  of  straw  or 
braided  rushes.  A  map,  yellow  with  age,  will  hang  on 
the  wall  in  the  vestibule  ;  a  few  colored  prints  of 
women  with  mouths  in  the  shape  of  hearts,  and  a  rose 
in  the  hand,  will  pass  for  parlor  ornaments,  while  one  or 


DAYS    OF   SUFFERING.  22  1 

two  plaster  parrots  and  a  Yankee  clock,  worth  a  dollar, 
will  probably  furnish  the  mantel  ornaments. 

You  think  you  are  in  the  house  of  some  poor  farmer 
who  is  living  by  the  sweat  of  his  brow.  Not  at  all. 
Count  the  horses  in  the  stable,  the  slaves  in  the  cabins, 
the  cattle  in  the  fields.  You  are  in  the  house  of  some 
great  planter,  a  breeder  of  negroes,  an  influential  poli- 
tician, who,  away  from  home,  will  spend  money  by  the 
handfuls,  in  the  hotels  of  Washington  or  New  York,  or 
at  the  Northern  seaside  watering-places,  where,  per- 
haps, he  passes  all  his  summers.  There  his  ostentation 
takes  no  account  of  the  expense.  But  at  home,  where  he 
lives  only  eji  famillc,  economy  governs  his  habits.  He 
leads  two  entirely  different  lives.  In  one  the  luxuries 
are  considered  as  necessary,  in  the  other  common 
necessaries   figure  as   luxuries. 

It  was  on  the  grounds  of  Mr.  Tyler  that  I  felt  the 
first  symptoms  of  a  sickness  that  showed  its  full 
strength  a  few  days  later.  The  regiment  passed  the 
night  near  a  thicket  which  was  interspersed  with 
stagnant  pools.  I  slept  quite  poorly,  on  some  wooden 
rails,  to  protect  me  from  the  dampness  of  the  ground, 
near  a  campfire  of  my  first  company.  The  next 
morning  I  awoke  with  my  head  heavy  and  my  body 
shaken  by  aguish  feelings,  which  did  not  leave  me 
during  the  day's  march.  The  second  day  after.  May  i8, 
was  a  day  of  rest.  I  took  advantage  of  it  to  consult  the 
surgeon.  His  remedies  did  not  stop  the  illness,  which 
continued  to  grow  worse. 

On  the  20th,  the  division  arrived  at  a  brick  building- 
called  Providence  Church,  not  far  from  the  swamps  in 
the  midst  of  which  flowed  the  Chickahominy.  The 
weather  was  rainy,  the  ground  soaked.  I  had  taken 
hardly  any  nourishment  for  three  days  ;  on  dismounting 
from   my  horse  I  felt  that   I  was  failing,  and  that  if  I 


22  2       FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY, 

passed  the  night  in  that  mud  I  should  be  unable  to 
rise  in  the  morning. 

There  was,  close  by,  a  dilapidated  barn,  where  a  few 
men,  weakened  by  fever  or  worn  out  by  the  march,  had 
obtained  shelter.  I  thought  myself  happy  to  be  able  to 
lie  down  on  a  pile  of  corn  stalks,  sometimes  shivering 
and  sometimes  stifled  under  my  blankets.  I  thought 
of  the  sinister  predictions  of  the  Georgia  captain. 

I  had  turned  over  the  command  of  the  regiment  for 
the  night  to  the  lieutenant-colonel.  In  the  morning, 
when  I  learned  that  the  brigade  was  ordered  on  a  recon- 
noissance  toward  Bottom's  Bridge,  in  the  direction  of 
Richmond,  I  made  a  last  effort  and  left  on  horseback  at 
the  head  of  my  regiment.  A  few  hours  later  I  returned 
under  the  charge  of  the  regimental  surgeon,  stricken 
down  by  the  terrible  malady  which  was  soon  to  make 
such  ravages  in  our  ranks. 

Much  was  said  at  that  time  of  the  "fine  organiza- 
tion" of  the  Army  of  the  Potomac.  Things  should  be 
seen  from  a  near  point  of  view  to  know  the  truth.  We 
have  already  seen  how  the  commissary  and  quarter- 
master service  was  performed.  I  had  to  make  trial,  in 
my  own  person,  of  the  ambulance  service.  In  the 
whole  division  there  could  not  be  found  one  available 
to  transport  a  colonel  to  a  hospital. 

I  was  no  longer  able  to  keep  in  the  saddle.  Shelter 
must  be  sought  somewhere  for  me.  That  shelter  was 
a  miserable  little  house  inhabited  by  some  poor  people 
named  Turner.  The  husband  and  his  wife  composed 
the  whole  family.  The  ground  floor  was  divided  into 
two  small  rooms,  the  kitchen,  in  which  they  slept,  and  a 
vestibule,  to  which  an  old  leather  sofa  furnished  a  pre- 
tense to  call  it  a  parlor.  From  the  vestibule,  a  stair- 
way like  a  ladder  led  directly  to  a  garret,  with  sloping 
ceiling,  where  there  was  a  bed.      I  should  have  said  a 


DAYS    OF    SUFFERING.  223 

cot.  But,  under  the  circumstances,  it  seemed  like  a 
gift  from  heaven.     It  actually  had  sheets. 

My  orderly  was  left  with  me  as  nurse.  He  was  a 
Zouave  named  Shedel,  a  careful  and  steady  man,  who 
was  of  great  service  to  me.  He  found  in  the  hut  room 
enough  to  stretch  his  blankets  near  my  bed.  My  two 
servants  put  rip  their  shelter  tent  near  the  door  ;  my 
horses  were  hitched  to  a  fence,  and  my  installation  was 
complete.  A  sorry  installation.  I  was  abandoned 
there  like  an  estray  from  the  vast  current  of  men  advan- 
cing toward  Richmond. 

My  first  night  was  miserable.  An  intense  fever  con- 
sumed me,  and  an  intolerable  headache  deprived  me  of 
all  sleep.  These  continual  pains  nearly  drove  me  mad. 
I  had  great  trouble  to  keep  from  delirium.  It  was  only 
by  a  constant  effort  of  will,  and  by  determinedly  keep- 
ing my  eyes  open,  that  I  was  able  to  prevail  against  the 
hallucinations  of  the  fever.  From  the  instant  that  they 
closed,  weighed  down  by  fatigue,  the  phantoms  took 
hold  on  my  brain  and  added  imaginary  tortures  to  my 
real  sufferings.  My  head  rolled  before  me  as  if  carried 
away  by  a  cannon  shot.  I  ran  after  it  to  pick  it  up,  and 
my  intestines  stretched  out  on  the  ground  behind  me. 
This  sensation  was  continually  renewed,  filling  the  long 
hours  of  the  night  with  anguish. 

During  the  course  of  the  ne.xt  day  my  first  surgeon 
succeeded  in  making  me  a  visit.  Foreseeing  that  it 
would  be  the  last,  he  had  carefully  made  his  prescrip- 
tions, and,  handing  to  Shedel  a  few  medicines  prepared 
beforehand,  accompanied  by  detailed  instructions,  he 
remounted  his  horse  and  left  me  to  the  care  of  God. 

The  following  days  have  left  but  a  confused  trace  in 
my  memory.  I  vaguely  remember  persons  coming  in 
and  going  out  of  the  house,  officers  speaking  in  a  low 
tone  of   voice  near  my  bed,  and  red  lights  illuminat- 


2  24       FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

ing  my  window,  in  the  midst  of  a  great  murmur  outside. 
I  knew  afterwards  that  the  rear  divisions  of  the  army 
had  camped  over  night  around  the  house  and  had  de- 
parted at  daybreak. 

The  critical  period  lasted  three  days.  The  disease 
began  to  abate  on  the  fourth,  and  on  the  fifth  the  fever 
left  me  in  a  state  of  prostration  which  it  is  difficult  to 
imagine.  Life  returned  to  me  without  pain.  Except 
that,  neither  power  nor  will.  The  moral  spring  ap- 
peared to  be  broken  as  well  as  physical  power.  If  I 
had  known  that  the  guerillas  were  coming  to  cut  my 
throat  and  that  I  must  get  out  of  bed  to  escape  them, 
I  would  have  said,  "  Let  them  come,"  and  would  not 
have  stirred.  In  the  utter  exhaustion  of  nature,  every- 
thing had  become  totally  indifferent  to  me.  Life  and 
death  might  have  been  weighing  in  the  balance  and  I 
would  not  have  put  a  grain  of  sand  in  either  scale. 

The  first  incident  which  served  to  shake  off  my  tor- 
por was  the  visit  of  two  surgeons,  who,  passing  near 
and  hearing  of  a  colonel  dangerously  ill  at  the  Turners', 
had  the  house  pointed  out  to  them,  and  came  to  see  me, 
in  the  hope  that  they  might  be  of  some  service  to  me. 
They  both  declared  me  to  be  out  of  immediate  danger, 
telling  me  that  I  had  had  a  narrow  escape,  of  which  I 
did  not  have  the  slightest  doubt.  They  advised  quiet, 
patience,  and  no  excitement,  which  was  not  difficult  for 
me,  and  put  me  especially  on  guard  against  the  least 
imprudence  which  might  bring  on  a  relapse,  for,  said 
one  of  them  to  me  with  emphasis,  —  "A  relapse,  in  your 
condition,  means  death  in  eight  hours.''  I  did  not  like 
the  idea  of  being  condemned  to  death,  even  conditionally, 
on  so  short  notice,  and  decided  for  myself  that  I  would 
live.     This  was  the  beginning  of  my  convalescence. 

At  this  time,  my  second  surgeon,  having  been  de- 
tailed to  a  hospital  distant  a  few  miles,  was  able  to  get 


DAYS    OF    SUFFERING.  225 

away  and  see  me.  He  brought  me  some  medicines ; 
but  his  prescription  was  in  substance  the  same  as  that 
of  the  other  physicians  —  repose,  calmness,  patience. 
This  wearied  me  a  little,  which  was  a  good  symptom. 
I  began  to  feel  myself  reviving  by  a  vague  disposition 
to  get  angry,  if  I  had  been  strong  enough.  But  how  to 
regain  strength  .-*  I  had  nothing  to  eat.  Where  could 
I  find  anything  to  help  nature  .-' 

My  servants  mounted  on  horseback  and  scoured  the 
country,  going  from  farm  to  farm,  which  were  poor  and 
far  apart,  endeavoring  to  purchase  —  money  in  one 
hand,  revolver  in  the  other  —  food  for  their  sick  colonel. 
The  result  of  these  expeditions  for  two  weeks  was  — 
two  skinny  chickens  and  a  mess  of  small  fish.  On 
passing  by,  the  Confederates  had  not  left  anything  for 
General  Porter  to  protect. 

My  foragers  themselves  escaped  starving  only  thanks 
to  the  hard  biscuit  they  had  been  able  to  pick  up  in  the 
abandoned  camps,  where  rations  had  been  distributed, 
and  to  some  salt  provisions  obtained  with  great  trouble 
from  the  commissary  sergeant.  As  to  my  hosts,  all 
they  had  left  to  keep  them  from  starvation  was  a  quar- 
ter of  pork  and  a  sack  of  corn  meal.  They  had  had  a 
cow,  but  her  carcass  was  rotting  at  the  back  of  the 
garden  ;  a  dozen  sheep,  which  they  were  always  hoping 
to  see  return  from  the  woods,  into  which  they  had  fled, 
but  they  never  returned ;  some  fowls,  which  the  Con- 
federates had  not  wished  to  leave  for  the  Yankees. 
They  still  had  left  with  them  a  little  negro  boy,  half 
naked,  who  thought  only  of  running  away,  and  whom 
Madame  Turner  did  not  encourage  to  remain,  by  box- 
ing his  ears  continually, — doubtless  as  a  relief  to  her 
feelings. 

One  day,  my  groom,  who  had  gone  out  early  in  the 
morning  in  search  of  provisions,  did  not   return   at   the 


2  26       FOUR   YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

usual  hour.  He  was  an  old  cavalry  soldier,  formerly 
bugler  in  the  New  York  militia,  whose  uniform  he  still 
wore,  and  particularly  inclined  to  show  his  skill  in  the 
handling  of  the  sabre.  Add  to  that,  of  a  quarrelsome 
disposition  and  contemptuous  bearing  toward  the  people 
of  the  country.  His  absence  gave  me  considerable 
uneasiness  for  him,  and  for  the  horse  which  he  had 
ridden.  In  the  isolated  farms  where  he  must  go,  and 
in  the  deserted  woods  which  he  must  traverse,  there 
were  not  wanting  people  who  would  think  it  a  meritori- 
ous act  to  strike  down  a  Yankee,  if  the  opportunity 
occurred,  with  a  fair  chance  of  escaping  with  impunity. 

The  afternoon  passed  without  news  and  without 
provisions.  But,  at  the  approach  of  darkness,  Shedel, 
posted  near  the  window,  said  :  — 

"There  is  Schmidt  coming  back." 

He  then  descended  the  stairs  quickly. 

In  a  few  minutes  they  made  a  triumphal  entry  to  my 
room,  —  Shedel  with  his  hands  full  of  oranges  and 
lemons  ;  Schmidt  holding  a  bottle  in  each  hand. 

"  Colonel,"  said  Schmidt,  giving  a  military  salute 
without  putting  down  the  bottles,  "  Madame  G.  sends 
you  her  compliments.  She  is  very  sorry  to  hear  that 
you  are  ill,  but  hopes  that  you  will  soon  recover,  and 
meanwhile  "  (putting  the  things  on  a  chair  answering 
for  a  table)  "  here  is  a  bottle  of  good  bouillon  and  a 
bottle  of  old  Sherry  wine,  besides  some  oranges  and 
lemons,  which  she  directed  me  to  bring  you." 

I  rose  to  assure  myself  that  the  bugler  had  not  found 
all  those  things  at  the  bottom  of  a  whiskey  flask.  But 
no ;  Schmidt  stood  up  as  straight  as  an  arrow,  and  the 
things  spoken  of  were  there  before  my  eyes. 

"  Ah  yes  !  I  see  the  oranges  and  the  bottles  ;  but 
what  has  Madame  G.  to  do  with  all  that .''  " 

"  Really,  colonel,  she  has  everything  to  do  with  it, 


DAYS    OF    SUFFERING.  22/ 

since  it  is  slie  who  has  sent  them  to  you.  A  very  lovely 
lady  indeed,  blonde,  with  blue  eyes,  and  a  black  dress, 
as  though  she  were  a  young  widow.  And  she  gave  me 
my  dinner,  with  a  glass  of  good  wine.  She  said,  '  That 
poor  colonel  !  how  sorry  I  am  for  him  ! '  There  were 
also  some  other  ladies  there,  from  New  York." 

"  There  !  —  where  .-'  "  interrupting  him,  for  I  under- 
stood nothing  of  his  strange  story. 

"  Where  .■"     At  White  House  Landing." 

"  Have  you  been  to  White  House  .-'  " 

"  Yes,  indeed.  Seeing  that  I  could  find  nothing 
amongst  these  countrymen,  I  said  to  myself,  '  Schmidt, 
why  not  go  to  White  House  .''  The  supply  base  of  the 
army  is  established  there.  You  will  be  sure  to  bring 
back  something.'  Then  I  found  out  the  road,  and,  as 
Turco  is  hardy,  I  was  able  to  go  and  return  without 
using  him  up." 

"  And  you  found  Madame  G.  there  ? " 

"  Yes,  colonel.  I  met  an  Alsatian,  a  countryman  of 
mine,  who  was  detailed  to  the  commissary  department. 
He  said  to  me  :  '  Do  you  see  that  great  steamer  ?  That 
belongs  to  the  Sanitary  Commission.  Go  on  board 
while  I  hold  your  horse.  You  will  get  everything  you 
need  there  ;  ladies  who  will  give  you  everything  you 
wish  for  your  colonel.'     And  I  found  it  to  be  true." 

This  is  how  Schmidt  after  a  day's  absence  had  re- 
turned with  full  saddle-bags. 

These  delicacies  were  like  manna  in  the  desert,  to 
me.  The  sherry  especially,  which  came  from  a  noted 
stock,  the  0/d  Harmony,  seemed  to  me  more  than  wine. 
It  was  renewed  life  that  Mrs.  G.  had  sent  to  me,  — con- 
solatrix  afflictoruni. 

My  quartermaster  came  the  next  day  to  give  me  the 
news  of  the  regiment  and  bring  me  some  letters.  How 
far  were  the  writers,  when  sending  them,  from  foresee- 


2  28       FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

ing  where  I  would  receive  them,  and  in  what  condition 
I  would  be  when  I  read  them.  They  were  very  gay  in 
New  York.  War  had  put  no  stop  to  their  pleasures. 
They  congratulated  me  on  our  forward  march.  They 
were  still  ignorant  of  the  part  taken  in  the  battle  of 
Williamsburg  by  Peck's  brigade,  but  they  felicitated  me 
on  my  good  health.     Life  is  full  of  these  mockeries. 

Although  for  more  than  a  week  I  had  drunk  deeply 
of  the  bitter  cup,  it  was  not  yet  exhausted.  On  the 
30th,  in  the  night,  a  furious  storm  shook  the  Turner 
hut,  and  left  me  very  little  rest  in  my  cot,  poorly  shel- 
tered from  the  rain.  During  the  31st  it  was  still  worse. 
The  sound  of  the  cannon  took  the  place  of  the  thunder, 
and  I  could  not  doubt  that  a  bloody  battle  was  being 
fought  before  Richmond.  Sickness  had  doubtless 
developed  in  me  an  unusual  acuteness  of  hearing ;  for 
from  my  bed  and  through  my  open  window  I  could  not 
only  hear  the  incessant  detonation  of  the  artillery,  but 
even  distinguish  the  musketry  fire,  although  I  was  dis- 
tant six  miles  in  a  direct  line  from  the  field  of  battle. 
That  was  not  all.  The  direction  of  the  sounds  revealed 
clearly  to  me  that  the  enemy  was  gaining  ground,  and 
driving  our  troops  back. 

In  the  afternoon,  Schmidt,  who  had  gone  to  find  out 
the  news,  met  a  teamster,  who  told  him  that,  at  the 
moment  when  he  left  the  brigade,  the  Fifty-fifth  was 
going  forward,  without  knapsacks,  and  at  double  quick, 
to  charge  the  enemy.  One  can  guess  what  a  dreadful 
day  I  passed.  My  head  began  to  throb.  I  could  not 
keep  quiet.  I  pictured  to  myself  the  left  routed,  the 
right  cut  to  pieces,  the  flag  lost  perhaps.  I  wished  to 
rise,  but  fell  back  upon  my  pillow,  overwhelmed  by  the 
thought  of  my  powerlessness,  and  by  the  first  symptoms 
of  the  fever,  which  began  its  attacks  upon  me  anew. 
Shedel  endeavored  to  calm  me.     "Do  not  be  uneasy," 


DAYS    OF    SUFFERING.  229 

said  he,  "all  will  go  well."  And  he  told  me  everything 
that  he  could  remember  or  imagine,  to  demonstrate  to 
me  that  the  regiment  was  composed  entirely  of  heroes, 
and  that  those  who  had  run  at  Williamsburg  were  still 
more  determined  than  the  others  to  repair  an  hour  of 
feebleness  by  deeds  without  number. 

"  Wait  until  to-morrow,  colonel,  and  you  will  see." 

The  waiting  appeared  long,  terribly  long,  during 
that  night  of  fever  and  anxiety,  during  which  I  could 
have  heard  every  hour  strike,  if  in  that  solitude  the 
hours  had  had  a  voice  to  measure  the  silence. 

At  last  we  heard  some  news,  at  first  fragmentary,  in- 
complete, and  hardly  intelligible,  excepting  in  one  point, 
on  which  all  agreed  :  Tlie  regiment  had  done  gloriously. 
Soon  the  lieutenant-colonel,  thinking  how  I  must  suffer 
from  uncertainties,  sent  me  by  messenger  a  pencil  note, 
which  dissipated  all  my  fears  —  and  my  fever  along  with 
them. 

Everybody,  at  this  day,  knows  the  history  of  the 
battle  of  Fair  Oaks,  which  was  fought  more  at  Seven 
Pines,  where  the  Fourth  Corps  was  encamped,  than  at 
Fair  Oaks.  Our  army  was  unfortunately  placed  on 
both  sides  of  the  Chickahominy,  the  three  corps  of 
Sumner,  Fitz-John  Porter,  and  Franklin  on  the  left 
bank,  forming  altogether  an  effective  force  of  sixty 
thousand  men.  On  the  right  bank,  the  two  corps  of 
Heintzelman  and  Keyes,  reduced  to  four  divisions, 
amounted  to  scarcely  thirty  thousand  men,  badly  placed. 

Casey's  division  had  been  thrown  forward  three- 
quarters  of  a  mile  from  Seven  Pines,  where  Couch's 
division  was  placed.  The  Third  Corps  was  much 
farther  back  on  the  Williamsburg  road.  In  front,  this 
left  wing  of  the  army  was  almost  without  communica- 
tion with  the  centre  and  the  right  wing.  Bottom's 
Bridge  and  the  railroad  bridge  were  so  situated  as  to 


230       FOUR   YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

make  them  unavailable  for  the  purpose  of  sending  over 
reenforcements,  and,  of  the  two  bridges  thrown  across 
the  river  by  Sumner,  one  had  just  been  carried  away 
by  the  rise  of  the  water,  and  the  other  was  in  momen- 
tary danger  of  breaking  when  the  Confederates  made 
their  attack. 

General  Keyes  had  several  times  called  attention  to 
the  danger  of  his  position,  but  without  success.  Gen- 
eral Heintzelman,  who  commanded  the  left  wing,  could 
only  obey  the  directions  of  the  general-in-chief.  To 
the  reiterated  objections  of  General  Keyes,  he  replied, 
on  the  29th  of  May,  the  day  before  the  battle  :  "  The 
position  of  our  corps  was  selected  by  General  Barnard 
and  Lieutenant  Comstock  of  the  Engineers,  and  the 
instructions  to  occupy  them  came  from  Major-General 
McClellan.  The  commander-in-chief  also  ordered  that 
the  Third  Corps  should  not  be  thrown  forward,  except 
to  prevent  yours  from  being  driven  back  by  the 
enemy."  If  General  McClellan  had  wished  to  deliver 
up  his  left  to  the  enemy,  he  could  not  have  better  taken 
his  measures. 

Invited  in  this  manner  to  destroy  the  Fourth  Corps, 
General  Johnston  did  not  wait  to  be  urged.  May  31, 
about  eleven  o'clock  in  the  morning,  he  fell  like  an  ava- 
lanche on  Casey's  division,  which  defended  itself  as 
well  as  possible,  but  was  quickly  overwhelmed.  Eight 
of  his  guns  were  about  to  be  captured  when  General 
Keyes  ran  himself  to  send  in  the  Fifty-fifth  to  save 
them.  The  regiment  went  in  on  a  run,  led  by  General 
Nagley,  who  put  it  in  position.  Deployed  rapidly  be- 
tween the  enemy  and  the  threatened  pieces,  it  sustained 
the  attack  of  a  brigade  without  wavering,  and  the 
enemy  was  forced  to  stop  before  its  obstinate  resistance. 
For  a  whole  hour  it  remained  there,  unshaken  by  every 
attack,  and  fell  back  only,  its  object  accomplished,  to 


DAYS    OF    SUFFERING.  23  I 

renew  its  exhausted  ammunition,  and  render  still 
further  services.  On  that  day  it  saved  the  guns,  but 
lost  more  than  a  fourth  of  its  effective  strength, 
amongst  them  a  large  number  of  officers  wounded. 

Couch's  division  fought  with  a  tenacity  shown  by  the 
list  of  its  losses,  and  especially  by  those  of  the  enemy, 
who,  although  in  overwhelming  force,  did  not  succeed 
in  his  object  before  two  brigades  of  Kearney's  division 
had  arrived  to  support  Couch.  Nevertheless,  in  spite 
of  this  reenforcement,  after  having  reformed  its  broken 
lines  three  times,  it  would  probably  have  been  de- 
stroyed if,  towards  the  close  of  the  day,  the  appear- 
ance of  Sumner  on  his  right  had  not  changed  the  face 
of  things,  who,  profiting  by  the  only  bridge  which  was 
left  to  him  by  which  to  cross  the  river,  hastened 
to  the  sound  of  the  cannon.  The  promptness  and 
vigor  with  which  he  entered  into  line  at  Fair  Oaks 
decided  the  fortunes  of  the  day.  The  dearly  bought 
successes  of  the  enemy  stopped  at  that  point,  and  the 
next  day  were  turned  into  defeat,  when  he  was  easily 
thrown  back  into  his  lines  from  the  ground  which  he 
had  taken  the  first  day,  at  the  price  of  seven  thousand 
men. 

Ours  did  not  exceed  five  thousand.  But  the  loss  of 
the  Fourth  Corps  was  two-fifths  of  the  whole.  Of  its 
nine  generals  eight  were  wounded,  or  had  their  horses 
killed  under  them  ;  General  Peck  was  amongst  the 
latter. 

Four  regiments  of  the  brigade  were  engaged  (the 
Ninth  Pennsylvania  was  on  detached  service).  Of 
the  four  commanders,  one,  Colonel  Riker  of  the  Sixty- 
second  New  York,  was  killed  ;  MacCarter  and  Rawley  of 
the  Ninety-third  and  One  Hundred  and  Second  Penn- 
sylvania were  wounded.  The  fourth,  who  was  my 
lieutenant-colonel,  had  his  horse  killed  under  him.    The 


232       FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

loss  amongst  the  other  officers  \va#  proportionately 
great.     These  figures  have  a  significant  eloquence. 

General  McClellan  remained  as  inactive  at  the  battle 
of  Fair  Oaks  as  he  had  been  at  that  of  Williamsburg. 
At  the  sound  of  the  musketry  he  contented  himself  by 
sending  an  order  to  General  Sumner,  which  the  latter 
had  already  anticipated  by  putting  his  two  divisions  in 
motion,  and  he  remained  in  his  tent,  not  feeling  very 
well,  as  he  explained  afterwards  before  the  Congres- 
sional committee.  The  next  morning  he  finally  con- 
cluded to  mount  his  horse  and  cross  the  Chickahominy, 
when  everything  was  over,  to  order  back  Hooker,  who, 
with  his  division,  had  advanced  within  four  miles  of 
Richmond  without  meeting  any  opposition.  The 
greater  part  of  our  generals  —  Heintzelman,  Keyes, 
Casey,  Hooker,  and  many  others  with  them  —  thought 
then,  and  think  yet,  that  after  the  battle  of  Fair  Oaks 
the  Confederate  capital  was  at  our  mercy  if  the  army 
had  advanced  on  the  heels  of  the  retreating  enemy. 
But  the  army  did  not  stir. 

Of  course,  I  was  ignorant  then  of  all  these  details  ;  at 
the  time  of  the  battle  I  knew  only  one  thing,  the  good 
conduct  of  the  regiment.  The  newspapers  did  not 
reach  my  hut  ;  all  the  noise,  all  the  movement  between 
the  army  and  its  base  of  supplies  at  White  House  were 
for  me  as  if  they  did  not  exist. 

Around  the  house  was  a  large  abandoned  field,  sur- 
rounded by  great  woods.  On  all  sides  the  ground  was 
covered  by  the  thousand  remains  that  soldiers  leave 
behind  them  in  abandoned  camps  :  poles  stuck  in  the 
ground,  withered  branches,  broken  cracker  boxes,  empty 
pork  barrels,  extinguished  fires,  ashes  soaked  by  the 
rain,  pieces  of  uniform,  worn-out  shoes,  bloody  remains 
of  slaughtered  beeves,  heads  with  horns  on,  stiff  hides, 
decavins:    entrails.     What    a    refreshing   si£:ht   for  the 


BAIS    O'F   SOTEILniiG.  233 

eres  of  a  co^rrvslsscsmt  I     Amid  vet  tiiat  was  tiie   : 
vTiSfw  I  Iiaid  ircEiu  nnrr  wimidiO'w ;  ^-mirf  it  -was  fn  '~  -    " 

by  littLe,  nny  weataaed  f  oroes. 

TTiiese  dars  were  dreaxv  amd  btner.  Mt  rLic>SL5  ■were 
distressiiir-T  i^BtoraiEL  Xfaier  fciaew  miotiiiiiig'  aLoMt  sjtt- 
th TTi  g"  .  ^tir  existensoe  was  miereiT  ve^etataoia  om  tw^o 
teeL  i  nerc  was  no  opp<c>rtiiiviitT  for  even,  a  siiadow  oc  a 
conTersariiQiiL  The  wQ-imin  spent  hex  life  dressnnig-  iuer 
hnSibaad,  foe  wfaiocn  stue  carded,  '^[jiniw.^  amid  wo>*'e  tTnip-  wool 
and  cut  and  sewed  tbe  garnnjetLts.  Old  Ttumiier,  mot  be- 
ing able  to  dig'  in  the  gronmid  any  lionger.  djd  ncBt  know 
wnat  to  do  witb  bT";  great  bodr.  He  went  OTHt.  ramniie-  nn-y 
stretched  himself  on  a  chair,  or  sat  do^wn  on  the  door- 
sin,  a.s.Vfng  himself  why  his  sheep  biarf  not  yet  rernnaed. 
A  true  spedmen  of  tbatt  rT:a:g;'.«;.^  interm^ediate  between 
the  pianter  and  the  sLare,  which  the  oiIigarchT  of  the 
S'Ccth  kent  in  snbi'ection  bv  raeans  of  his  ignoirance 
a~i  nis  poTerty,  and  froim  which,  at  this  tune,  it  drew 
its  ample  supply  of  food  foT  po>wdier. 

Tum'Sr,  however,  was  not  without  some  Iitti'e  :ze5.  :c 
hist-OTT.  He  ^..^iri  heard  from  the  old  men — as  he  in- 
form'ed  me  —  that  Amierica  b^ar?  been  discovered  by  a 
great  misn  bv  the  name  of  Was-hington,  who  had  driven 
awaj  the  British  wiih  the  aid  of  a  famoius  French  genr 
eral  caHed  Bo^naparte-  He  had  never  heard  of  an 
empeTtwr  by  the   name  c£  Napoleon. 

However,  the  quartermaster  and  the  second  surgeom 
of  the  regiment  b:a.ri  co^me  to  see  m^e,  and  found  that,  for 
want  of  suitable  nourishmient,  I  couM  not  recover  my 
strength.  They  urged  me  to  ask  for  a  leave  of  absence 
for  two  or  three  weeks,  whi'Ch  I  decidedly  refused  to  do 
as  my  regiment  was  still  in  front  of  the  enemy.  Thev 
consulted  togeth^er  in  regard  to  b-ringing  my  oo'odition 
to  the  knowledge  of  General   Keyes,  who   batd   oftoi 


234       FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

inquired  about  me.  The  doctor  drew  up  a  statement 
giving  the  reasons  why  a  leave  of  absence  was  absolutely 
necessary  to  my  recovery.  The  quartermaster  took  it 
to  the  general  himself,  adding  personal  explanations, 
and  in  a  few  days  he  returned  to  hand  me  special  order 
No.  64  from  the  headquarters  of  the  Fourth  Corps,  which 
granted  me  fifteen  days'  leave  of  absence,  to  go  North, 
that  I  might  recruit  my  health,  broken  by  sickness. 

On  June  9,  I  bade  adieu  to  the  Turners,  who,  although 
rebels,  did  not  hesitate  to  take  the  pay  for  their  hospi- 
tality in  grccjibacks.  I  climbed,  with  great  exertion,  on 
my  horse,  my  head  a  little  flighty,  my  heart  somewhat 
weak,  and  departed,  followed  by  my  little  caravan. 


CHAPTER    XII. 

THE   SANITARY   COMMISSION. 

The  victims  of  the  Chickahominy  —  The  army  railroad  —  Peregrinations 
of  a  friend  in  search  of  me  —  Hospital  tents — Agreeable  surprise  — 
Origin  of  the  Sanitary  Commission  —  Difficulties  thrown  in  the  way 
—  Services  rendered  —  The  commission  transports  —  Herculean  la- 
bors —  Strifes  —  The  loads  of  sick  humanity  —  Horrible  realities  — 
The  miracles  of  charity. 

The  nearest  point  where  I  could  reach  the  railroad  was 
Despatch  Station.  Our  road  to  that  point  was  one  long 
series  of  mud-holes  which  we  had  to  avoid  by  taking 
paths  scarcely  marked  out.  We  proceeded  slowly  ;  but 
the  air  was  sweet  and  we  were  in  no  hurry,  so  that,  be- 
fore the  passage  of  the  train,  I  had  plenty  of  time  to  call 
at  the  house  where  Dr.  Arthaud  had  his  patients, — all 
sick,  the  wounded  having  been  sent  directly  to  White 
House. 

On  dismounting,  the  first  person  I  met  was  General 
Nagley,  who,  under  orders  of  General  Keyes,  had  led 
the  Fifty-fifth  into  action  at  Seven  Pines.  He  congratu- 
lated me  on  the  good  conduct  of  my  men,  adding  that 
they  had  done  more  than  had  been  asked  of  them,  — 
"  for,"  said  he,  "  an  hour  after  having  left  them,  long 
after  the  guns  had  been  saved,  I  still  found  them  in  the 
same  place,  obstinately  maintaining  their  position,  from 
which  they  did  not  fall  back  until  ordered." 

The  surgeon  led  me  to  a  room  on  the  ground  floor, 
where  he  had  collected  the  sick  belonging  to  my  com- 
mand. It  was  a  sad  sight.  These  men,  whom  I  had 
left  twenty  days  before  full  of  life  and  health,  lay  there, 
wan,  emaciated,  on  a  bit  of  straw  where  sickness  held 

23s 


236       FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

them ;  some  attacked  by  the  terrible  marsh  fever, 
others  tortured  by  rheumatism,  others  again  exhausted 
by  dysentery. 

When  I  advanced  into  the  room,  these  brave  men, 
forgetting  their  own  sufferings,  appeared  to  think  only 
of  those  of  which  I  bore  the  evident  marks.  And  yet 
what  had  they  not  endured  .-*  On  May  31,  while  they 
were  lighting  in  the  position  assigned  to  them,  their 
camp  had  fallen  into  the  hands  of  the  enemy.  They 
had  lost  everything  there  :  tents,  knapsacks,  provi- 
sions, blankets.  Since  then,  without  shelter  from  the 
burning  heat  of  the  day,  without  protection  against 
the  heavy  dews  of  the  night,  breathing  an  air 
infected  by  foul  exhalations,  drinking  the  marshy 
water  poisoned  by  dead  bodies,  they  daily  saw  their 
ranks  diminished  by  a  new  consignment  to  the 
hospital. 

This  is  where  General  McClellan  had  led  his  army. 
Not  to  Richmond,  where  it  might  and  should  have  been 
at  that  hour ;  but  in  the  swamps  of  the  Chickahominy, 
where  the  fire  of  the  enemy  was  less  to  be  feared  than 
the  ravages  of  a  deadly  climate. 

My  quartermaster  had  his  quarters  near  Despatch 
Station.  I  left  my  servants  and  my  horses  in  his 
charge,  and  took  my  seat  in  the  train  which  was  to 
carry  me  to  White  House. 

The  train  was  made  up  of  freight  cars.  There  were 
no  others  on  the  line  designed  especially  to  provision 
the  army.  In  case  of  necessity  they  could  be  used  to 
transport  the  troops,  the  wounded,  and  the  sick.  Those 
who  were  travelling  by  themselves,  officers  and  soldiers, 
stowed  themselves  away  as  best  they  could,  without 
regard  to  rank,  amongst  the  boxes  and  barrels,  the 
sacks  of  oats  and  bundles  of  hay.  As,  after  having 
unloaded  its  cargo,  the  train  returned  empty,  we  were 


THE    SANITARY    COMMISSION.  237 

more  favored  as  to  room  than  as  to  cleanliness.  But, 
amongst  us,  —  all  wounded  or  sick,  —  nobody  troubled 
himself  about  so  little  a  thing.  It  was  a  great  priv- 
ilege to  be  able  to  stretch  one's  self  on  a  dusty  floor,  or 
sit  down  on  a  small  valise. 

The  locomotive  advanced  with  an  exasperating  slow- 
ness. The  train  stopped  every  few  moments,  for  one 
cause  or  another,  where  the  detachments  guarding  the 
road  were  posted.  About  noon,  the  engine  left  the 
cars  on  a  side  track.  We  had  arrived.  Arrived  where  ? 
On  the  edge  of  a  muddy  plain,  which  stretched  far 
away,  and  at  the  end  of  which  we  could  see  in  the  dis- 
tance a  collection  of  tents  amongst  the  trees,  and  masts 
of  ships.  There  was  White  House  Landing.  The  dif- 
ficulty was  to  reach  it.  Not  a  vehicle  was  in  sight ; 
not  one  was  expected.  Every  one  then  made  his  way 
to  the  riverside  in  the  best  way  he  could. 

I  would  have  done  as  the  others  did  ;  my  legs  might 
be  just  able  to  carry  me  there.  But  what  should  I  do 
with  my  valise .-'  However  light  it  might  be,  it  was  still 
too  heavy  for  my  emaciated  limbs,  on  which  my  uni- 
form fitted  about  as  well  as  an  old  coat  hung  on  a  stick 
for  a  scarecrow.  A  sergeant  came  along,  with  his  arm 
in  a  sling.  He  was  searching  for  his  wounded  captain, 
whom  the  train  should  have  brought,  but  who  was  not 
among  the  passengers.  I  asked  him  when  the  steamer 
left  for  Fortress  Monroe.  "To-morrow  morning,  at 
eight  o'clock."  "Is  there  any  place  between  here  and 
the  landing  where  one  can  get  something  to  eat  and 
can  sleep  .^  "  Not  to  his  knowledge.  "Is  the  steamer 
which  leaves  in  the  morning  at  the  landing.^"  "It 
will  not  come  until  half  after  eight  this  evening." 
"  Can  one  sleep  on  the  vessel .''  "  "  Not  unless  you 
have  special  permission  .-• "  "  Where  can  I  find  the 
steamer  of   the  Sanitary  Commission  ? "     There  were 


238       FOUR   YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

several  of  them,  but  they  had  all  gone  north,  loaded 
with  wounded  after  the  battle  of  Fair  Oaks. 

While  this  discouraging  conversation  was  going  on, 
a  small  black  boy  came  along,  looking  for  an  opportu- 
nity to  earn  a  little  something.  He  took  my  valise 
and  followed  me  towards  the  river.  That  was  the  best 
I  could  do  to  find  out  where  I  must  go.  After  stop- 
ping two  or  three  times  to  rest  and  take  my  breath,  I 
finally  reached  the  river,  painfully  dragging  along  my 
boots  heavy  with  mud. 

I  found  there  a  fleet  of  transports,  of  every  size  and 
every  kind,  steamers,  sailing  vessels,  barges  without 
sails  or  steam  ;  and  along  the  bank,  shaded  by  great 
trees,  stretched  a  village  of  tents,  of  every  size,  in- 
habited by  quartermasters,  commissaries,  sutlers,  sol- 
diers, and  workingmen,  black  and  white.  Artillery 
wagons,  drawn  by  six  mules  each  and  driven  by 
negroes,  were  travelling  ab(Jut  in  every  direction  ;  the 
wagon  masters,  on  horseback,  were  coming  and  going ; 
workmen  were  unloading  the  ships  ;  steam  whistles 
were  signalling  each  other.  Everything  was  in  motion 
in  that  human  ant-hill. 

Leaning  against  a  rail  put  up  for  holding  horses,  I 
looked  on  passively  at  this  spectacle,  humiliated  to  feel 
that  the  fatigue  of  a  short  walk,  the  gnawings  of  an 
empty  stomach,  and  bodily  feebleness  could  produce 
such  confusion  in  my  ideas  and  disturbance  in  the 
exercise  of  my  mental  faculties.  At  this  moment  a 
friendly  face  appeared,  and  immediately  Frederic  L. 
Olmsted  warmly  shook  my  hand.  "At  last  we  have 
you !  We  have  had  trouble  enough  to  find  you  !  Do 
you  know  that  we  were  very  vmeasy  on  your  account  ? 
But  come  on.  Here  are  some  friends,  who  will  be  happy 
to  see  you  again  alive."  And,  passing  his  arm  under 
mine,   he    led    me    toward    a    small    steamboat    of    the 


THE    SANITARY    COMMISSION.  239 

Sanitary  Commission,  of  which  he  was  chief  secretary. 
I  was  beside  myself  with  inner  joy,  in  feeUng  that  I 
had  reached  the  end  of  my  trials,  and  the  satisfaction 
of  knowing  that  I  had  not  been  forgotten  during  my 
days  of  illness,  although,  to  tell  the  truth,  I  did  not 
understand  who  had  been  looking  for  me,  nor  why  I 
had  been  expected. 

The  enigma  was  soon  explained.  The  New  York 
newspapers  had  done  me  the  honor  to  concern  them- 
selves about  me.  They  had  announced  that  I  had 
been  left  dying  in  a  little  farmhouse  on  the  Peninsula, 
the  precise  locality  of  which  they  could  not  state.  The 
arrival  of  my  servant  on  board  the  Sanitary  Commis- 
sion steamer  led  them  to  suppose  I  could  not  be  far 
away ;  but,  as  he  did  not  come  back  again,  the  lack  of 
news  led  them  to  suppose  the  worst.  Upon  which  a 
medical  student,  who  was  closely  related  to  me  by 
marriage,  had  taken  a  horse  and  searched  the  whole 
surrounding  country  to  bring  me  back,  dead  or  alive. 
A  first  unsuccessful  trip  had  not  discouraged  him,  and 
when  I  reached  White  House  he  had  been  gone  two 
days  on  another  trip.  He  received  news  of  me  only 
on  seeing  me  the  evening  of  his  return,  surrounded  by 
such  kind  attention  as  almost  to  give  one  a  desire  to 
be  sick,  in  order  to  receive  such  a  welcome. 

I  will  not  publish  the  names  of  the  American  ladies 
who,  in  the  performance  of  a  great  patriotic  work,  wel- 
comed me  on  board  the  Wilson  Small.  I  respect  too 
highly  their  modesty,  that  virtue  whose  charm  adds  a 
peculiar  grace  to  the  merits  of  womanly  devotion.  But, 
if  I  do  not  publish  their  names  here,  they  are  not  the 
less  graven  on  the  thankful  hearts  of  many  more  than 
will  be  found  readers  of  this  book. 

Dr.  Haight,  the  young  surgeon,  was  not  the  only  one 
who  had  set  out  in  search  of  me.     There  was  a  family 


240       FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

from  Tours  living  in  New  York,  two  members  of  which, 
young  women,  had  accompanied  my  family  to  America, 
in  1847,  when  I  was  arrested  in  France  on  my  return 
from  Italy.  Their  affairs  had  prospered  greatly  in  the 
new  world,  where,  in  the  course  of  a  few  years,  they  had 
brought  over  to  their  American  home  their  aged  father 
and  the  orphan  children  of  a  sister  who  had  died  young. 
One  of  them  had  married  that  officer  of  the  Fifty-fifth 
militia  who  had  proposed  and  made  successful  my  can- 
didacy for  the  command  of  the  regiment.  On  entering 
the  family,  he  had  adopted  their  feelings  of  affection  for 
me  and  mine.  So  that,  when  the  news  of  my  condition 
reached  them,  Ferran  took  his  carpet-bag,  and,  leaving 
the  charge  of  his  business  to  a  clerk,  set  out  for  Balti- 
more. He  had  served  seven  years  in  Africa,  and  there- 
fore knew  what  he  had  undertaken  to  do.  But  he  was 
not  the  man  to  be  rebuffed  by  difficulties. 

At  Baltimore,  he  had  to  go  the  rounds  of  the  offices, 
in  order  to  obtain  a  permit  for  passage  to  Fortress  Mon- 
roe. The  object  of  his  journey  being  stated,  the  pass 
was  given  to  him,  and  the  next  morning,  debarking  on 
the  encumbered  wharf,  he  sought  the  hotel,  bag  in  hand. 
Two-thirds  of  the  rooms  were  taken  by  the  govern- 
ment, for  the  medical  service,  and  the  remainder  con- 
sisted of  but  a  few  rooms,  more  than  full,  always 
engaged  in  advance.  But  one  could  sleep  on  the  floor 
of  the  dining-room,  trusting  his  bag  to  the  baggage 
man.      Ferran  did  not  ask  for  anything  better. 

He  went  to  headquarters  for  information.  I  was 
acquainted  with  several  officers  there  ;  but  none  of  them 
knew  anything  of  my  whereabouts,  and  they  advised 
him  to  see  the  surgeon-in-chief,  director  of  the  hospi- 
tals, which  stretched  in  the  distance  towards  Hampton. 
Ferran  started  for  the  hospitals. 

Doctor    Cuyler    received    him    pleasantly,   was    very 


THE    SANITARY    COMMISSION.  24 1 

obliging,  had  the  registers  and  reports  searched,  but, 
finding  there  no  trace  of  my  presence,  advised  him  to 
visit  the  different  sections,  where  he  would  probably 
come  across  some  of  the  wounded  of  the  Fifty-fifth, 
and  perhaps  learn  from  them  where  to  find  me.  Fer- 
ran  commenced  his  rounds. 

During  the  entire  day  he  went  from  tent  to  tent,  and 
from'  bed  to  bed,  seeing  the  sick  and  wounded,  asking 
the  surgeons,  talking  with  the  men,  and  learned  nothing 
more  than  he  knew  already,  that  I  had  been  left  some- 
where, in  a  condition  from  which  the  worst  might  be 
feared.  The  third  day,  at  the  end  of  his  search,  he 
returned  to  find  Dr.  Cuyler  and  ask  his  advice. — "In 
your  place,"  said  the  doctor  to  him,  "  I  would  go  to 
White  House.  There  are  a  large  number  of  hospitals 
there,  and  it  is  quite  probable  that  the  colonel  might 
be  found  in  one  of  them." 

Ferran  returned  to  headquarters,  obtained  a  pass  for 
White  House,  left  his  valise  at  the  hotel,  and  started 
that  night  on  the  mail-boat,  determined,  if  it  was  neces- 
sary, to  go  even  to  the  regiment.  To  his  great  satisfac- 
tion, he  met  on  the  boat  a  New  York  merchant  of  his 
acquaintance.  Mr.  Meeks  had  two  sons  in  the  service. 
One,  my  quartermaster,  attacked  by  typhoid  fever  on 
the  Warwick,  was  then  at  home,  where  he  was  slowly 
regaining  his  health.  The  other  had  been  wounded  — 
some  said  killed  —  at  Fair  Oaks.  In  the  absence  of 
positive  news,  the  father  had  started  for  the  army,  not 
knowing  whether  he  would  take  his  son  home  living  or 
dead.  Mr.  Meeks  and  Ferran  felt  themselves  naturally 
drawn  together  by  the  similarity  of  the  object  of  their 
journey.  They  agreed  to  act  together  in  their  efforts 
when  they  landed  at  White  House,  asking  where  they 
could  find  supper,  or,  at  least,  a  place  to  lodge  during 
the  night. 


242       FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

That  day  had  not  been  one  of  repose  for  me.  My 
moral  force  strengthened  by  the  hospitality  of  the 
Sanitary  Commission,  and  my  physical  by  the  first 
substantial  meal  I  had  eaten  for  more  than  a  month,  I 
had  gone  off  the  steamer,  attracted  by  a  red  kepi  that 
I  perceived  near  a  sutler's  tent.  It  was,  in  fact,  one 
of  my  men,  who,  wounded  in  the  head,  had  come  there 
from  the  hospital  to  see  what  he  could  see.  When  he 
had  replied  to  my  questions,  — 

"Colonel,"  said  he,  "our  men  who  are  at  the  hospital 
would  be  very  glad  to  see  you.  Can  you  not  give  them 
the  pleasure .'' " 

I  wished  nothing  better,  but  I  was  afraid  of  my 
strength. 

"  Is  it  very  far  .'' "  I  asked. 

"Not  very  far.  We  follow  the  road  to  the  trees  you 
see  there.  Then  we  turn  to  the  right,  across  the  fields, 
for  a  short  distance." 

If  I  had  been  alone,  I  doubt  whether  I  would  have 
tried  it.  But  the  honest  lad  insisted  with  so  much 
earnestness  on  the  pleasure  the  visit  would  give  to  the 
wounded,  that  I  started  with  him. 

Half-way  to  the  hospital,  we  sat  down  on  a  fallen 
tree,  before  crossing  a  wide  field,  on  the  other  side  of 
which  the  white  tents  of  the  hospital  glistened  in  the 
sun.  My  guide  was  more  active  than  I  ;  he  laughed 
occasionally,  under  the  bandages  with  which  his  head 
was  enveloped,  thinking  of  the  agreeable  surprise  which 
he  was  about  to  give  his  comrades,  in  bringing  them 
their  colonel.  For  my  part,  I  forgot  my  fatigue  when 
I  found  myself  amongst  them.  The  hospital  was  in 
fine  condition,  and  they  were  well  cared  for.  I  listened 
to  their  stories  of  the  battle  of  Seven  Pines,  I  encour- 
aged them  in  their  hopes  of  soon  rejoining  the  regi- 
ment, and  finally  left  them,  thinking  of  the  different 


THE    SANITARY    COMMISSION.  243 

effect  which  wounds  and  sickness  have  on  the  morale 
of  men.  Wounds  appear  to  affect  only  the  physical 
constitution  ;  the  moral  force  remains  intact  and  pre- 
serves all  its  vigor.  They  still  exulted  in  the  remem- 
brances of  the  fight.  —  How  they  had  rolled  up  those 
Johnny  rebs  !  They  had  poured  into  them  such  a  fire 
as  if  Heaven  itself  had  taken  up  arms  against  them. 
The  faster  the  rebels  came  on,  the  more  they  covered 
the  ground  with  them. 

"  Ah,  colonel  !  What  a  pity  you  were  not  there  ! 
That  is  what  you  may  call  a  battle.  Williamsburg  was 
all  well  enough  to  commence  with.  But,  in  comparison 
with  Seven  Pines,  it  was  only  small  beer.  And  yet, 
after  all  that,  the  army  did  not  go  into  Richmond ! 
Well,  we  must  have  patience  ;  it  will  not  be  long.  I 
hope  we  will  be  able  to  return  before  the  grand  final 
tableau ! " 

So  spoke  the  wounded  men.  What  a  contrast  with 
the  sick,  whom  I  visited  at  Despatch  Station.  The 
latter  had  lost,  with  their  physical  power,  all  their 
moral  courage.  Discouraged  and  disgusted  with  every- 
thing, insensible  to  hope  and  even  desires,  they  asked 
from  life  but  one  thing,  relief  from  suffering.  The 
full  activity  of  the  faculties  of  the  mind  are  then 
dependent  on  the  action  of  the  bodily  organs.  When 
the  latter  suffer  certain  material  disorders,  the  mind 
becomes  paralyzed  in  its  immateriality.  A  condition 
not  flattering  to  human  vanity,  but  the  fact  of  which  I 
less  than  any  one  can  call  in  doubt. 

I  returned  to  the  steamer  so  tired,  both  in  body  and 
mind,  that  I  could  only  receive  with  the  humility  of 
a  guilty  conscience  the  reproofs  for  my  imprudence. 
They  made  for  me  a  camp  bed,  in  a  place  where  I  could 
be  watched  and  where  I  soon  fell  into  a  deep  sleep. 

When    I    awoke,    it   was    night.       The    lamps    were 


244       FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

lig'hted  in  the  cabin,  but  the  one  on  the  table  near  me 
was  so  shaded  by  a  screen  interposed  as  not  to  inter- 
rupt my  sleep.  The  sound  of  a  voice  in  the  room  had 
recalled  me  from  the  land  of  dreams.  I  opened  my 
eyes,  and  saw  a  person  unknown  to  me,  on  the  last  step 
of  the  stairs,  who,  hat  in  hand,  was  asking  the  doctor  a 
number  of  questions,  to  which  I  paid  little  attention. 
All  that  I  caught  was  that  he  was  inquiring  with  much 
solicitude  about  some  friend  or  relative,  who  was 
wounded.  Behind  him,  in  the  shade,  stood  a  second 
figure,  motionless  and  as  if  waiting  his  turn,  who  from 
the  first  took  all  my  attention.  Well,  thought  I,  there 
is  a  man  who  bears  a  striking  resemblance  to  Ferran. 
I  then  turned  on  my  hed,  tq  go  to  sleep  again. 

The  conversation  continued.  I  thought  of  the  feat- 
ures of  the  stranger.  I  wished  to  examine  them  further, 
and  rose  up  softly  on  my  elbow.  I  had  never  seen 
so  extraordinary  a  resemblance.  But  it  was  absurd  to 
suppose  it  could  be  Ferran.  What  reason  in  the  world 
could  bring  him  from  New  York  to  White  House  .-*  I 
began  to  fear  that  it  was  an  illusion  of  my  brain,  tired 
by  exertion,  and,  resting  on  my  pillow,  I  tried  to  think 
no  more  about  it.  Then  it  seemed  to  me  that  the  con- 
versation ceased,  and  the  two  inquirers  started  to  depart. 
I  wished  to  be  sure.  If  it  is  he,  I  said  to  myself,  he 
will  recognize  his  own  name.  I  called,  "  Ferran,"  in  a 
low  voice. 

On  hearing  that  word,  Ferran  sprang  into  the  middle 
of  the  room,  as  if  sent  by  a  spring.  "  Colonel !  my  good 
colonel,  where  are  you  .^ "  "Here,  my  friend,  here." 
He  followed  the  sound  and  seized  the  hand  I  extended 
to  him  "  Thank  God  !  "  he  cried,  "  I  will  lead  you  back 
to  life." 

The  Sanitary  Commission,  which  sheltered  me,  was 
an  admirable  institution,  brought  forth  by  the  war.     By 


THE    SANITARY    COMMISSION.  245 

the  immense  service  it  rendered,  it  well  illustrated  the 
old  proverb,  whicli  might  serve  as  a  device  :  "  A?ix 
grand niaux  Ics  grands  remcdcs.''  (For  great  evils,  great 
remedies.)  As  Minerva  sprang,  full-armed,  from  the 
brain  of  Jupiter,  the  commission  sprang,  fully  organized, 
from  the  brain  of  Rev.  Dr.  Bellows,  a  Unitarian  clergy- 
man of  New  York.  Animated  by  a  true  philanthropy, 
endowed  with  a  highly  practical  mind,  with  an  indefat- 
igable activity.  Dr.  Bellows  conceived  the  first  idea  of 
concentrating  into  a  vast  unity  of  administration  and 
action  the  scattered  associations  spontaneously  organ- 
ized to  aid  the  medical  service  of  the  army,  but  the 
isolated  efforts  of  which  rather  showed  good  intentions 
than  led  to  any  great  results. 

To  unite  under  a  common  direction  all  these  patriotic 
good-wills,  to  arrange  systematically  their  spheres  of 
activity  with  the  disposition  of  the  vast  voluntary  con- 
tributions to  be  drawn  from  the  liberality  of  the  people 
of  the  loyal  States,  and,  finally,  to  place  the  management 
of  the  great  work  under  the  patronage  and  control  of 
the  federal  government,  without  asking  from  it  the 
help  of  a  man  or  a  dollar,  —  such  was  the  plan  conceived 
and  realized. 

It  is  only  necessary  to  mention  the  amount  contrib- 
uted, to  show  the  generosity  of  the  people  and  the 
zeal  of  the  commission.  During  the  war,  the  Sanitary 
Commission  collected  and  distributed  to  the  armies 
tiuenty  inillions  of  dollars,  having  received  five  millions 
in  money  and  fifteen  millions  in  supplies. 

But,  before  reaching  any  results,  it  had  to  meet  with 
many  difficulties  and  surmount  many  obstacles.  It  was 
necessary  to  humor  the  official  susceptibility,  quick  to 
take  alarm  at  any  appearance  of  rivalry ;  it  had  to  strive 
against  the  spirit  of  the  bureau,  narrow  and  devoted  to 
routine,  always  opposed   to   innovations.      It   was   also 


246       FOUR   YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

necessary  to  demonstrate  the  practicability  of  the 
undertaking,  to  the  sceptical  spirits,  who,  as  one  of  the 
commission  explained  to  me,  saw  only,  in  the  plan  pro- 
posed, a  sentimental  theory,  lacking  practical  sense, 
conceived  by  tender-hearted  women,  charitable  clergy- 
men, and  philanthropic  physicians,  deserving  only  the 
consideration  due  to  the  earnestness  and  respectable 
character  of  its  advocates.  President  Lincoln  himself 
frankly  told  Dr.  Bellows  that  he  feared  the  commission 
would  be  a  fiftJi  wheel  to  a  coach,  more  embarrassing 
than  useful. 

However,  the  committee  on  organization  had  modestly 
formulated  its  views  in  a  manner  not  to  give  umbrage 
to  any  one.  "  The  object  of  the  organization,"  it  had 
declared  publicly,  "will  be  to  collect  and  distribute  in- 
formation obtained  from  ofificial  sources  concerning  the 
present  and  probable  needs  of  the  army  ;  to  form  a 
connection  with  the  medical  corps  of  the  army  and  of  the 
States,  and  to  assist  their  efforts  as  auxiliaries  ;  to  con- 
nect itself  with  the  New  York  medical  association  for 
the  supply  of  lint,  bandages,  etc.  ;  to  provide  a  depot  of 
supplies  ;  to  solicit  the  aid  of  all  local  associations,  here 
and  elsewhere,  who  desire  the  assistance  of  this  society, 
and  especially  to  open  an  office  for  the  examination  and 
registration  of  candidates  for  the  medical  instruction  of 
the  nurses  ;  and,  finally,  to  take  measures  to  furnish  a 
number  of  good  nurses  sufficient  for  all  possible  needs 
of  the  war." 

This  programme  was,  as  will  be  seen,  only  as  the 
acorn  to  the  oak ;  but  still  it  took  more  than  six  weeks 
of  journeys  back  and  forth,  of  explanations,  of  strife 
even,  in  order  to  make  a  start.  Finally,  June  13,  1861, 
the  President,  on  the  proposal  of  the  Secretary  of  War, 
approved  the  establishment  of  a  Commission  of  Inquiry 
and  Advice,  in  respect  to  the  sanitary  interests  of  the 


THE    SANITARY    COMMISSION.  247 

United  States'  forces,  without  remuneration  from  the 
government.  The  commission  was  composed  at  that 
time  of  nine  members,  under  the  presidency  of  Dr. 
Bellows,  and,  in  cooperation  with  a  military  surgeon 
detailed  for  that  purpose,  immediately  set  to  work. 

In  the  first  place,  it  completed  its  organization  by 
the  addition  of  new  members,  the  appointment  of  a 
treasurer,  chief  secretary,  the  formation  of  sub-commit- 
tees in  the  East  and  in  the  West,  the  despatch  of 
sanitary  inspectors  to  the  armies  and  of  agents  to  the 
different  States.  Finally,  such  was  its  activity  and 
the  rapidity  of  its  progress  that,  even  before  the  first 
shock  of  arms,  it  was  ready  to  aid  our  sick  and  wounded 
after  having  taken  the  initiative  in  many  salutary 
measures  for  the  health  and  well-being  of  our  soldiers. 
Since  then,  and  up  to  the  end  of  the  war,  with  no  other 
resources  than  the  liberality  of  the  people,  with  no 
other  assistance  than  that  of  its  employes,  the  commis- 
sion pursued  its  work  of  patriotic  charity  on  a  scale 
corresponding  to  the  great  proportions  of  the  conflict. 
Wherever  our  armies  fought,  wherever  there  were  any 
sufferings  to  assuage  or  sick  to  relieve,  upon  the  field 
of  battle  or  in  the  hospital,  amongst  the  camps  and  in 
the  garrisons,  for  the  men  assembled  under  the  flag 
and  for  those  whom  sickness  or  wounds  sent  singly  to 
their  homes,  the  Sanitary  Commission  was  always 
there,  as  indefatigable  in  its  devotion  as  it  was  inex- 
haustible in  its  assistance. 

The  medical  service  of  the  army  was  so  poorly 
organized,  so  entirely  insufficient  to  provide  for  the 
most  pressing  necessities,  that,  during  the  first  year  of 
the  war,  a  large  part  of  its  functions  fell  upon  the  Sani- 
tary Commission.  It  was  the  commission,  for  instance, 
which  had  to  take  charge  of  the  transportation  to  the 
North  of  the  greater  part  of  the  sick  and  wounded  of 


/ 


248       FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

the  Army  of  the  Potomac  during  the  campaign  of  the 
Peninsula.  Without  it  a  large  number  of  the  unfort- 
unates whom  it  nursed  and  took  care  of  before  their 
embarkation  and  during  the  trip  would  never  have  seen 
their  families  again  or  reappeared  in  the  ranks.  And 
this  was  only  a  part  of  the  services  of  a  branch  of  the 
Aid  Department,  at  a  time  when  the  average  of  the  sick 
in  the  federal  armies  had  reached  the  proportion  of 
one-seventh  of  the  whole  number,  and  when  the  perma- 
nent and  temporary  hospitals  had  to  provide  for  a  hun- 
dred thousand  sick  and  wounded. 

In  the  service  of  the  hospital  transports,  so  necessary 
to  the  Army  of  the  Potomac,  the  government  furnished 
only  the  vessels.  They  were  great  steamers  engaged 
for  the  transport  of  the  troops,  and  which,  when  the 
troops  had  debarked  on  the  Peninsula,  were  without 
immediate  work,  although  they  were  costing  the  gov- 
ernment six  and  eight  hundred,  and  even  as  high  as 
a  thousand  dollars  a  day.  Eight  or  ten  were  succes- 
sively transferred  to  the  commission  in  the  condition  in 
which  they  were  found.  It  was  first  necessary  to  clean 
them  from  one  end  to  the  other.  Then  the  interior 
arrangement  had  to  be  changed  to  serve  the  needs  of 
their  new  duties.  The  commission  put  on  board  the 
necessary  employes,  and  provided  everything  requi- 
site for  the  use  of  the  sick  and  wounded,  —  food  and 
drink,  mattresses,  blankets,  linen,  etc. 

The  first  vessel  used  by  the  commission,  the  Daniel 
Webster,  arrived  at  the  end  of  April  at  the  depot, 
when  the  army  was  before  Yorktown,  with  a  service 
perfectly  organized,  of  six  medical  students,  twenty 
nurses  (all  volunteers  without  pay),  four  surgeons,  four 
associate  ladies,  twelve  freedmen,  three  carpenters, 
and  a  half-dozen  boys  for  common  service.  I  state 
thus  exactlv,  in  order  to  give  an  insight  into  the. personal 


THE    SANITARY    GOMMISSiOX.  249 

put  on  bc^rd  hy  the  comxnissioxi  under  ordiiiaiy  arcmii- 
siaiices.  In  time  of  mvent  need  nHrKt-innail  aid  vas 
sent,  in  accordance  with  the  necessities  of  the  serwice. 

Mar  I,  two  vessels,  loaded  with  prorisioiis.  arrrred  si 
the  depot,  wLere  ibe  commission  had,  besides,  a  si^sll 
steamer,  the  \Mlson  Small,  intended  to  be  tssed  to 
ascend  the  rivers,  to  a  point  where  tner  became  shallow, 
to  bring  down  the  sick  and  wounded.  Tbere  the  com- 
mittee established  its  headquarters. 

On  the  next  day  everybody  was  at  work.  Tbe  Wil- 
son Small  brought  back  from  its  first  trip  thiny-nve 
sick.  The  ladies  went  through  the  hospital  teats, 
taking  with  them  spirit  lamps,  bowls  of  graeL  lemons, 
brand}-,  and  clean  linen ;  while  on  board  the  Web- 
ster, already  hs'fjpll  of  patients,  other  provisions 
were  distributed  on  the  requisition  of  the  surgeons, 
some  of  whom  came  for  miles  through  the  swamps  and 
mud-holes  to  get  them. 

Bur  what  was  thai  ?  Ba:  an  insignificant  pre!  jde  to 
the  labors  soon  to  become  necessan. 

On  the  4th  of  May,  when  the  army  moved  suiiez.y, 
as  a  result  of  the  evacuation  ot  Yorktown  by  the 
enemv,  all  the  sick  were  necessaril\-  left  behind.  The 
surgeons,  not  wishing  to  prolong  their  stay  in  the  abai^- 
doned  lines,  and  in  a  hurn^  to  rejoin  their  regiments, 
made  haste  to  get  rid  of  their  patients  by  sending  them 
as  quicklv  as  possible  either  to  Yorktown  or  to  Chees- 
man  Creek,  where,  after  ha\Tng  been  piled  into  ambu- 
lances and  jolted  over  the  roads,  the  unfortunates  were 
abandoned  to  the  Sanitan*  Commission,  which,  it  was 
said,  had  taken  uoon  itself  the  duly  of  caring  for  them. 
As  it  happened  at  this  time,  the  commission  had  not  a 
transport  at  its  disposal.  The  Daniel  Webster  had 
de-Darted  for  the  Xorth,  with  a  full  load  of  sick,  and 
the  Ocean  Oueeh,  designed  to  take  her  place,  arrived. 


250       FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

it  is  true,  but  empty,  without  any  preparation  or  pro- 
visioning of  any  kind,  without  an  employe  of  the 
commission,  which,  indeed,  had  not  yet  taken  possession 
of  her.  No  matter  ;  as  soon  as  she  appeared,  two 
barges  overloaded  with  sick  came  alongside,  and,  in 
spite  of  all  remonstrances,  without  an  hour  of  delay  for 
the  most  necessary  preparations,  their  loads  of  suffering 
humanity  were  poured  into  her.  Other  loads  followed 
in  turn.  Those  who  were  able  to  stand  were  pushed 
upon  the  deck :  the  others,  carried  on  board  in  the 
arms  of  the  bearers,  were  laid  down  exhausted,  dying. 
Among  them  were  many  attacked  with  typhoid  fever ; 
some  delirious,  and  all  put  down  in  the  first  vacant 
place  which  could  be  found. 

Fortunately,  a  reenforcement  of  surgeons,  nurses, 
and  assisting  ladies  had  come  on  from  Baltimore. 
Negroes  were  not  difficult  to  find.  Supplies  soon  ar- 
rived from  the  depot  —  provisions,  mattresses,  and  blank- 
ets. Little  by  little  order  was  established,  and  towards 
midnight  the  living  were  attended  to  ;  in  the  morning, 
a  half-dozen  dead  were  to  be  buried.  But  the  next 
morning  new  arrivals  filled  up  the  boat,  until  it  was 
absolutely  loaded  down.  And  yet,  when  the  anchoi* 
was  raised,  the  patients  were  distributed  according  to 
their  diseases,  and  the  service  was  completely  organ- 
ized.    All  that  in  two  days. 

Some  hundreds  of  sick  yet  remained,  brought  to 
Yorktown  in  wagons  from  the  different  abandoned 
camps  on  the  Warwick  line.  These  poor  fellows  were 
tumbled  into  the  mud  while  the  tents  were  being  put 
up  to  receive  them.  The  committee  supplied  them  with 
provisions  from  its  magazines,  and  hastened  to  reach 
West  Point,  where  the  battle  of  Williamsburg  had  just 
cut  out  an  abundance  of  work  for  it. 

They  sent    back    as    many  wounded   as    the  Wilson 


I 


SmaZL  crjiTrH"  csmc.  siiZ  eausea:  lt^iel  i^i^  agtrergst  ris^ 
g^^t-±nir!Tgft:  scssmas-   wiEisinn:  set  -nrt»"i~rr   saaccii^ 

TTjcrsS:  Tr>r^  -^nrgy?^  .fruii  iBuvr- 1^  nigjilir       B:  TKas  itt^t.'i;  nrV  not: 

SOT  .».T.;f~  '3r  cjCM'scjei  caca.     '*  .     ^       ""-Tt^  boan^''    wr^rci 

ant  L^Ttg-  jioper  fjngy^,  sffi  tiTin^  is  mnSer  cji'Br'er  bona;:  'jc»ra:- 
p  -  -  ^       "  i.  2S  aZ  jcnr  IrfJe  scack  ^jc 

~  ■ :  :  _    :  .   :nr  lie  saiBsr^rSi.  "we  i^a:  tsar 

po£C i._  _ :  ;:s:l  brers.      Ir  Tsrs3  i:   :..  -^   :._.3e  ifsii:  liie 

trsjiiC":'-^    zcr   sazk   zz>i  vrcsaed  tc?  t&e  Soci^aciis  at 


sigbi  £-t£  fax ;  Trbir  rarrs  rskem  ;»  feare  mse  vjcue  Tier- 
C2re£-f:r  1-  ■  ■  j-eir  -srrck  eic  :^sss33SBce  fcsr  iZ.  latui 
cf  ssIiTiii : :_  :  rri^iriT  1     Whajeresr  m'^s.  neetaeii  was 

pr:c:rre£  xr  2nj  rc5oe :   Tsrbi.i   oisaiM  ebqc  be  i^fecsMied. 

Eizisc;  re  rrscic:.     Ii  iresb  acDesx;  "wnss  ■wxaasiai^  alter  tfee 

candie  s::nr3yeii  ia  tie  w«m£&  II  a  oew  ^essstier  ^sas  ancsr 
oooAdB^  appSaaces  sB&gxm.  &»r  a  cxit^  c£  iKV)ta»^^ 
tbe  I^ibAs  of  ToridbmnL  i&e  ab££»ii£»Bed  cuoips.  id&e  Sffit- 
less'  dJEsraantHed  e^ab&siaMAts  aore  SQurciiied  tkro^agk. 
to  see  viaat  cam  be  foaad  tfaadt  viH  aasvertlte  p«a!r|!<9se. 
One  n^t  Hie  steauner  K]ik:iesboci:eT  is  nade  leadf 
to  take  a  load  of  sick  ayod  wwaaded.     An  oroer  cones 


252       FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

from  the  quartermaster-general,  who,  in  a  hurry,  has 
forgotten  that  the  steamer  had  been  transferred  to  the 
commission.  No  matter ;  it  is  an  order ;  it  must  be 
obeyed  ;  and  immediately  the  Knickerbocker  is  under 
way,  carrying  off,  on  a  purely  military  errand,  the 
sanitary  employes  and  the  ladies  in  charge.  In  the 
morning,  the  committee  find  that  their  boat  is  gone. 
They  go  everywhere  for  information.  Finally,  the 
mistake  is  acknowledged.  The  steamer  will  return ; 
but  it  is  a  day  lost. 

The  next  day,  a  telegram  from  the  medical  director 
at  Williamsburg  wishes  a  steamer  in  two  hours,  to  take 
on  board  two  hundred  wounded  from  Queen's  Creek. 
Other  arrangements  had  been  made,  but  they  were 
immediately  changed,  and  the  boat  arrived  at  the  point 
designated.  No  wounded  there.  The  medical  director, 
not  counting  on  such  punctuality,  had  not  yet  sent  his 
convoy.  More  delays.  The  loading  was  not  made 
until  early  in  the  following  day.  Then  it  is  a  brigade 
surgeon,  who,  having  the  convoy  in  his  charge,  and  not 
understanding  the  limits  of  his  authority,  assumes  to 
exercise  on  board  the  vessel  the  same  power  as  in  his 
hospital  tents.  Protest  is  made  by  the  general  sec- 
retary, who,  in  order  to  secure  the  powers  of  the  com- 
mission and  to  maintain  its  arrangements,  is  compelled 
to  go  to  Williamsburg  on  a  wagon  loaded  with  forage. 
The  surgeon  is  finally  brought  back  to  his  proper 
sphere  by  an  order  in  correct  form,  while  the  hundreds 
of  wounded,  eaten  up  with  flies  and  mosquitoes,  wait 
on  the  river  bank,  with  an  impatience  easy  to  under- 
stand. 

In  the  evening,  while  the  work  of  putting  them  on 
board  was  being  completed,  Mr.  Olmsted  went  up  the 
river  in  the  yawl,  to  be  certain  that  no  one  was  left 
behind,    and    four   miles    from    all    assistance,   without 


THE    SANITARY    COMMISSION.  253 

help  or  nourishment,  he  found  eight  unfortunates,  on 
the  borders  of  a  wood,  where,  the  night  before,  two 
wagoners  had  been  assassinated  by  the  people  of  the 
neighborhood.  These  poor  fellows,  stricken  down  by 
the  fever,  and  incapable  of  following  the  marching 
column,  had  wandered  around  at  random,  refused  by 
the  hospitals  because  they  did  not  have  their  papers 
from  their  captains  or  the  surgeons  of  their  regiments. 
One  of  them  died  as  they  were  putting  him  on  board 
the  steamer. 

At  this  moment  an  officer  arrived,  requesting  that  a 
steamer  be  sent  as  soon  as  possible  to  Bigelow's  Land- 
ing, where,  according  to  the  report  of  the  ambulance 
wagon  master,  "  a  hundred  poor  soldiers  had  been  left 
to  die  without  shelter,  in  a  driving  storm,  without  help 
or  provisions."    En  route  then  for  Bigelow's  Landing. 

But  at  the  moment  when  the  anchor  is  being  raised 
a  small  steamboat  hails  her,  and  the  surgeon  in  charge 
comes  on  board  and  asks  that  the  commission  should 
immediately  take  a  hundred  and  fifty  patients,  collected 
that  morning  at  West  Point,  and  who  have  remained  the 
whole  day  without  the  least  nourishment.  "  The  weather 
was  rainy  and  cold,"  said  Mr.  Olmsted.  "I  hesitated 
at  first,  on  account  of  the  greater  urgency  which 
called  us  to  Bigelow's  Landing.  But,  the  surgeon  hav- 
ing induced  me  to  glance  into  the  interior  of  the  cabin, 
I  changed  my  mind.  The  narrow  room  was  as  full  and 
crowded  as  it  could  be  with  sick  soldiers,  sitting  on 
the  floor.  There  was  not  room  for  them  to  lie  down. 
Only  two  or  three  were  stretched  out  at  full  length. 
One  of  them  was  dying,  —  was  dead  when  my  eyes 
rested  on  him  a  second  time.  Everything  terribly 
dirty,  and  the  air  suffocating.  We  began  immediately 
to  take  them  on  board  the  Knickerbocker." 

It  was  midnight  when  the  transfer  was  finished.     At 


254       FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

nine  o'clock  two  other  boats  had  left  for  Bigelow's 
Landing.  There  were  always  several  of  the  commis- 
sion ladies  along.  They  were  present  everywhere. 
Nothing  repelled  them,  nothing  discouraged  them, 
nothing  frightened  them.  Their  untiring  devotion  did 
not  hesitate  before  anything  which  could  relieve  our 
sick  and  wounded,  either  in  their  reception  on  board 
the  transports,  or  during  the  trip  by  sea.  They  were 
ready  for  any  emergency,  with  a  marvellous  intelligence, 
never  shrinking  before  loss  of  sleep,  fatigue,  or  even 
danger. 

To  reach  Bigelow's  Landing,  it  was  necessary  to  use 
lighters  and  tow  a  barge,  on  which  the  sick  were 
obliged  to  remain,  exposed  to  a  beating  rain,  until  they 
had  picked  up  eight  or  ten  dying  men,  incapable  of 
moving  from  the  places  here  and  there  on  the  bank 
where  they  were  lying.  Twenty-four  hours  later,  how 
many  more  would  have  been  dead  men  .-' 

Such  were,  at  a  glance,  the  first  labors  of  the  Sani- 
tary Commission  on  the  Peninsula,  after  the  evacuation 
of  Yorktown  and  the  battle  of  Williamsburg.  Each 
one  of  these  vessels  having  carried  North  from  three 
hundred  to  five  hundred  sick  or  wounded  on  each  trip, 
it  might  have  been  hoped  that  the  army  hospitals,  re- 
lieved to  so  great  an  extent,  would  be  able,  in  a  meas- 
ure, to  care  for  new  contingencies.  But  such  was  not 
the  case.  From  the  time  when  the  troops  were  estab- 
lished on  the  marshy  borders  of  the  Chickahominy,  their 
sanitary  condition  became  worse  from  day  to  day,  so 
that  soon  all  the  resources  of  the  medical  department 
became  insufficient  for  the  terrible  quota  of  sick  men 
drawn  every  morning  from  our  decimated  regiments. 
The  supply  of  tents  sent  from  Washington  was  not 
enough  even  to  shelter  all  the  patients  whom  the  rail- 
roads brought  to  White  House.     The  suro:eons  hastened 


THE    SANITARY    COMMISSION.  255 

to  send  off  on  the  commission  transports  all  that  they 
could  carry.  But  these  transports,  though  making  con- 
tinual trips,  were  not  able  to  take  away  the  sick  as  fast 
as  they  arrived.  There  always  remained  some  without 
shelter  or  care,  exposed  to  all  extremes  of  a  deadly 
climate,  and  whom  it  was  necessary  to  look  after 
here  and  there,  where  they  had  been  dropped.  And 
always  some  died  before  it  was  possible  to  embark 
them. 

Such  was  the  state  of  affairs  when  the  battle  of  Fair 
Oaks  came  to  put  to  a  supreme  trial  the  devotion  and 
the  resources  of  the  commission. 

The  first  train  of  wounded  arrived  at  White  House  in 
the  night  of  May  31,  after  the  battle  of  Seven  Pines. 
Others  followed  without  interruption,  as  fast  as  the 
railroad  could  bring  them.  There  ensued,  during  two 
or  three  days,  a  frightful  confusion,  a  heaping-up  of 
suffering  and  misery,  more  hideous  in  its  reality  than 
Dante's  hell  in  his  imaginary  circles.  All  the  hospitals 
were  overflowing  with  the  sick,  and  it  became  necessary 
by  every  possible  conveyance  to  place  the  unfortunate 
wounded  at  Yorktown  and  Fortress  Monroe,  while 
awaiting  an  opportunity  to  send  them  North.  The 
steamers  of  the  commission  being  far  from  sufficient, 
the  quartermaster  department  furnished  all  the  avail- 
able transportation  it  had  ;  but  these  vessels  were  with- 
out accommodations  of  any  sort,  and  without  any  nurses 
to  take  care  of  the  sick  piled  into  them  hurriedly,  with- 
out order,  without  system,  in  the  necessity  of  disposing 
of  them  in  the  quickest  possible  manner.  Happy 
indeed  were  those  whose  good  fortune  it  was  to  be 
sent  aboard  the  vessels  of  the  commission.  There 
were  eighteen  hundred  who  there  first  received  the 
needed  relief.  To  appreciate  the  importance  and 
extent   of  its  services   in  these  terrible  circumstances, 


256       FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

I  cannot  do  better  than  to  make  a  few  extracts  from  its 
correspondence. 

"The  commission  transports,"  wrote  one  of  the 
ladies  in  charge,  "  were  loaded  first,  and  departed  with 
usual  promptness  and  good  order.  Afterwards  other 
vessels  arrived,  assigned  by  the  government  to  the  hos- 
pital service.  These  boats  were  not  under  the  control 
of  the  commission.  No  one  was  there  to  take  charge 
of  them  ;  no  one  to  receive  the  wounded  at  the  landing, 
no  one  to  properly  put  them  on  board,  no  one  to  see  if 
the  boat  was  provided  with  necessary  supplies.  As  a 
matter  of  course,  the  commission  did  everything  it 
could  in  the  emergency  ;  but  it  was  there  without  au- 
thority, and  had  no  rights  except  those  of  charity.  It 
could  neither  control  nor  stop  the  frightful  confusion 
resulting  from  the  arrival  of  trains,  one  after  another, 
and  the  heaping-up  of  the  wounded  on  board  the 
different  vessels.  But  it  did  all  that  could  be  done. 
Night  and  day,  its  members  worked  to  make  the  best 
of  untoward  circumstances.  Three,  at  least,  of  the 
government  vessels  were  without  a  particle  of  food 
for  the  wounded  passengers,  —  and,  if  there  had  been, 
there  was  not  a  pail  or  a  utensil  in  which  to  distrib- 
ute it. 

"  Our  supply  boat,  the  Elizabeth,  arrived,  and  we 
went  on  board  the  Vanderbilt.  May  I  never  see  again 
a  similar  scene  to  that  of  which  I  was  a  witness,  and  in 
the  midst  of  which  I  have  lived  for  two  days.  Men  in 
a  horrible  condition,  mutilated,  shattered,  crying,  were 
brought  in  on  litters  by  negroes,  who  unloaded  them 
wherever  they  could,  knocking  against  doors,  against 
pillars,  and  treading  without  mercy  on  those  who  were 
stretched  out  in  their  way.  Imagine  a  great  steamer, 
whose  every  deck,  every  bed,  every  square  inch  is  cov- 
ered with  wounded,  where  everything,  even  to  the  stair- 


THE    SANITARY    COMMISSION.  257 

way  of  ladders,  is  covered  with  men  less  grievously 
wounded  than  the  others,  — and  litters  still  coming  on 
board,  one  after  another,  with  the  hope  of  finding  some 
vacant  corner. 

"  It  rained  in  torrents.  Two  transports  were  already 
full.  We  returned  on  shore,  where  the  same  thing  was 
repeated,  to  embark  one  hundred  and  fifty  wounded  on 
board  the  Kennebec,  except  a  few  so  dreadfully  wounded 
that  they  could  not  be  moved  in  the  darkness  of  the 
night  and  under  the  rain,  and  who  were,  for  the  time 
being,  left  in  the  wagons.  We  distributed  refresh- 
ments to  all.  —  At  daylight,  we  took  some  repose  and 
at  half-past  six  in  the  morning  we  were  on  the  Daniel 
Webster  No.  2.  At  noon,  we  had  given  breakfast 
to  six  hundred  wounded,  before  having  taken  our 
own." 

We  will  now  let  Mr.  Olmsted,  the  chief  secretary 
of  the  commission,  speak  :  — 

"  In  the  afternoon  of  June  2,  the  wounded  continued 
to  arrive  by  all  the  trains  without  any  assistance.  They 
were  loaded  into  the  freight  cars  as  closely  as  possible, 
without  arrangement,  without  beds,  without  straw,  a 
few  having,  at  the  most,  a  handful  of  hay  under  their 
heads.  Many  of  the  lightly  wounded  were  brought 
along  on  the  tops  of  the  cars.  They  came  in  this  way, 
dead  and  living  mingled  together  in  the  same  narrow 
box,  numbers  of  them  with  horrible  wounds  full  of  mat- 
ter, swarming  with  worms.  Remember  that  it  was  a 
summer  day  in  Virginia,  clear  and  calm.  The  stench 
was  so  strong  that  it  caused  vomiting  even  amongst  our 
sturdy  employes,  accustomed  to  care  for  the  sick. 

"  Is  it  necessary  to  tell  you  that  our  ladies  are  always 
ready  to  hurry  to  these  dreadful  places,  in  torrents  of 
rain,  by  the  dim  light  of  a  lantern,  at  any  hour  of  the 
night,  carrying  with  them  spirits  and  ice-water,  bringing 


258       FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

back  to  life  those  whose  exhaustion  alone  made  them 
despair,  or  receiving  for  a  mother  or  wife  the  last  words 
of  the  dying. 

"  The  trains  of  wounded  and  sick  arrive  at  every  hour 
of  the  night.  As  soon  as  the  whistle  is  heard,  Dr. 
Ware  hurries  to  his  place  and  the  ladies  are  at  their 
posts  in  their  tents.  The  fires  blaze  under  a  row  of 
saucepans,  the  lamps  are  lighted  near  savory  provisions, 
piles  of  bread  and  cups  of  coffee.  — Then  come  first  in 
line  those  who  are  slightly  wounded.  In  going  on 
board  the  boat  they  stop  before  the  tent  and  receive 
a  cup  of  hot  coffee,  with  as  much  condensed  milk  as 
they  wish.  Then  comes  the  slow  defiling  of  the  litters, 
the  unfortunate  occupants  of  which  are  comforted  with 
brandy,  wine,  or  iced  lemonade.  A  minute  suffices  to 
pour  something  into  their  throats,  to  thrust  some 
oranges  in  their  hands,  to  save  them  from  exhaus- 
tion and  thirst  until  a  meal,  prepared  with  care,  can 
be  served  to  them  on  board  the  vessel.  Those  who  are 
to  remain  on  shore  are  put  under  the"  twenty  Sibley 
tents  set  up  by  the  commission  along  the  railroad. 
There  is  where  each  one  of  our  squad  of  five  goes  every 
night  to  feed  from  a  hundred  to  a  hundred  and  fifty 
wounded." 

A  notable  fact  is  that  among  these  wounded  were 
many  Confederates,  who  were  cared  for  the  same  as  our 
own  men,  with  the  difference  only  that  they  were 
guarded  as  prisoners.  They  were  not  less  surprised 
than  grateful,  their  barbarous  customs  not  having 
prepared  them  for  the  generosity  arising  from  our 
civilization. 

So,  thanks  to  the  Sanitary  Commission,  order  was 
in  a  few  days  restored  to  that  chaos,  the  relief  became 
equal  to  the  demands  made  upon  it,  and  the  regular 
action  of  the  service  had  succeeded  to  the  utter  dis- 


THE    SANITARY    COMMISSION.  259 

order  resulting  from  an  avalanche  of  suffering  to  be 
assuaged  at  once. 

This  unhappy  experience  was  not,  however,  without 
producing  fortunate  results.  Important  improvements 
were  introduced  into  the  organization  of  the  medical 
department  ;  more  efficient  measures  were  taken  to 
repair  omissions,  to  fill  up  gaps,  to  provide  against 
insufficiencies,  and,  finally,  to  prevent  the  return  of 
such  a  catastrophe.  In  this  branch,  as  in  the  others, 
the  general  administration  of  the  army  learned,  in  the 
hard  lessons  of  experience,  to  follow  the  path  of  prog- 
ress. We  must  remember  that  the  United  States 
were  not  a  military  nation  ;  that  for  them  everything 
was  new  in  the  organization,  the  maintenance,  and  the 
movements  of  great  armies  in  a  campaign,  and  we  will 
be  less  surprised  at  the  effects  of  their  inexperience 
than  at  the  promptness  with  which  they  caused  them 
to  disappear. 

I  was  welcomed  on  board  the  Wilson  Small,  the 
eighth  day  after  the  battle  of  Fair  Oaks,  and  all 
traces  of  encumbrance  had  already  disappeared  from 
the  hospitals.  The  transports  of  the  commission  car- 
ried away,  in  their  regular  turn,  the  patients  committed 
to  the  care  of  a  more  numerous  corps  of  assistants. 
The  additional  steamers  again  took  their  places  in  the 
quartermaster  department,  and  the  assisting  ladies  were 
able  to  take  some  rest,  in  the  performance  of  their  regu- 
lar duties,  from  the  harassing  fatigues  undergone  with 
the  heroism  of  charitable  devotion.  During  the  even- 
ing of  repose  and  comfort  for  which  I  am  indebted  to 
the  care  of  those  noble  women,  no  one  of  them  once 
thought  of  rehearsing  to  me  those  details  which  I  have 
related  in  their  honor.  No  more  than  these  ladies  did 
the  other  members  of  the  commission  appear  to  think 
they  had  done  more  than  perform  the  simplest  of  duties. 


2  60       FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

This  war  was  fruitful  in  great  sacrifices.  Some  gave 
their  blood,  others  their  wealth.  And  none  the  less 
deserving  at  the  hands  of  the  Republic  were  the  lat- 
ter, who  consecrated  their  efforts  to  the  relief  and  com- 
fort of  her  defenders. 


I 


CHAPTER    XIII. 

THE  SEVEN  DAYS'  BATTLE. 

Contrasts  —  New  York  —  The  Newport  steamer  —  Boston  —  Success  of 
Stonewall  Jackson  —  Stuart's  raid  —  Return  to  Fortress  Monroe  — 
Interview  with  General  Dix  —  Evacuaton  of  West  Point  —  Arrival 
at  Harrison's  Landing  —  The  work  of  McClellan  —  A  characteristic 
despatch  —  Battle  of  Mechanicsville — of  Gaines'  Mill — of  Savage 
Station  —  of  White  Oak  Swamp  —  of  Glendale  —  of  Malvern  Hill  — 
The  port  of  refuge. 

On  the  morning  of  June  lo,  I  embarked  with  my  fel- 
low-traveller on  the  mail  steamer,  which  carried 
scarcely  any  but  sick  and  wounded.  The  cabin  re- 
served for  officers  had  the  sad  look  of  an  infirmary. 
No  life,  no  animation.  The  passengers,  stretched  out 
in  their  blankets  or  their  overcoats  on  the  sofas  or  on 
the  floor,  exchanged  few  words.  Those  suffering  the 
least,  seated  on  chairs,  appeared  plunged  in  sleepy 
meditation.  Each  one  thought  silently  of  the  hard 
realities  of  war,  as  it  were,  the  scoriae  soiled  by  the 
blood  and  grime  of  that  volcano  of  which  from  afar  we 
see  but  the  fiery  plume,  —  of  the  miseries  endured,  of 
friends  dead,  of  present  burdens,  of  the  future  uncertain- 
ties. All  that  could  be  read  in  those  pale  faces,  in 
those  languid  looks,  wherein  the  joyous  reflections  of 
life  had  given  place  to  mournful  shadows.  But  I  said 
to  myself :  "  Let  but  health  come  again  and  all  this  will 
be  forgotten.  In  a  month's  time  we  shall  nearly  all  be 
back  at  our  posts,  joyous  as  people  who  have  awakened 
from  an  evil  dream." 

In   the   afternoon   we  were  at   Fortress   Monroe,  in 
time  to  take  the  steamer  to  Baltimore,  where  we  arrived 

261 


262       FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

early  the  next  morning".  A  breakfast  to  refresh  us  and 
we  were  off  for  New  York  by  the  railroad. 

How  beautiful  is  all  that  country !  How  rich  and 
well  cultivated  !  I  saw  everywhere  things  to  which  on 
other  occasions  I  had  given  no  attention.  Extensive 
farms  where  breathed  abundant  life,  fields  where  the 
harvests  ripened  in  the  sun  in  full  security  ;  herds  of  cat- 
tle peacefully  grazed  in  the  fertile  meadows,  and  every- 
where the  fences  were  standing  undisturbed.  No 
picket  fires  smoking  along  the  edge  of  the  woods  ;  no 
camps  whitening  the  hillsides  ;  no  heavy  wagons  jolt- 
ing along  the  roads  ;  no  cannon,  no  stacks  of  arms,  no 
soldiers. 

Good  people  standing  joyfully  on  your  doorsills,  you 
who  see  from  a  distance  the  trains  passing  along  the 
railroad,  and  you  who  ask  what  is  the  news  from  the 
seat  of  war,  take  care  how  you  complain  about  an 
increase  of  taxes  which  may  cut  a  little  into  your  reve- 
nues. Rather  thank  Heaven  that  the  tide  of  armed 
men  has  not  taken  its  course  across  your  fields.  If  it 
had  so  passed,  of  everything  which  now  makes  your 
happiness  and  your  riches  there  would  remain  to-day 
nothing  but  ruins. 

New  York  presented  its  usual  appearance,  except, 
perhaps,  a  noticeable  increase  of  mercantile  activity 
and  obtrusive  luxury.  The  war  had  opened  new 
sources  of  speculation,  which  had  been  pursued  with 
more  activity  than  conscience,  and  the  newly  enriched 
were  in  great  haste  to  display  to  all  eyes  the  material 
proofs  of  their  good  fortune.  One  would  hardly  have 
been  conscious  that  there  was  a  war,  if  it  had  not  been 
for  the  presence  in  the  street  of  so  many  sick  and 
wounded  in  uniform. 

I  stopped  only  one  day  in  New  York,  long  enough  to 
convince   my  friends  that    I   had   not  died  of  disease, 


THE    SEVEN    DAYS'    BATTLE.  263 

been  strangled  by  the  guerillas,  or  poisoned  by  the 
farmers,  as  rumor  had  declared.  I  was  not  yet  in  con- 
dition to  meet  an  assault  of  mothers,  wives,  sisters,  and 
weeping  lovers,  who,  without  counting  the  male  rela- 
tives or  the  friends  of  both  sexes,  would  probably  come 
to  ask  me  for  news  as  to  the  killed  and  wounded  of  the 
Fifty-fifth,  in  whom  their  hearts  had  a  particular  inter- 
est, and  even  about  the  well  who  had  neglected  to 
write  after  the  battle  of  Fair  Oaks.  Strengthened 
already,  by  a  diet  quite  different  from  that  of  the  army, 
I  hurried  on  to  Boston  by  the  Fall  River  Line. 

The  fine  equipment  of  this  line  of  steamers  is  well 
known.  The  watering  season  was  about  to  open,  and 
promised  to  be  brilliant. 

The  steamer  was  filled  with  a  fashionable  crowd 
leaving  the  city  to  breathe  the  Atlantic  air  in  their 
sumptuous  villas,  which  have  made  the  pretty  port  of 
Rhode  Island  the  paradise  of  earth  for  summer  days. 
There  were  on  board  horses,  carriages,  servants,  and 
great  trunks  without  number,  reminding  me  of  the 
modest  valise,  weighing  thirty  pounds,  which  the  regu- 
lations allowed  me  in  the  army. 

All  this  fine  world  went  and  came,  jested  and  laughed, 
and  was  interested  in  the  war,  as  in  an  exciting  novel, 
which  is  read  in  instalments.  I  was  somewhat  startled 
at  the  violent  contrast  between  this  superb  steamer 
full  of  beautiful  toilets,  of  refined  elegance,  of  gay  con- 
verse, in  which  a  happy  life  was  shown  by  a  thousand 
joyous  remarks,  and  that  poor  steamer  where,  but  two 
days  before,  I  was  surrounded  with  soiled  uniforms  and 
pitiful  wrecks  of  men,  and  where  the  suffering  and  pri- 
vations were  shown  by  a  mournful  silence.  Did  I  dream 
then,  or  do  I  dream  now  ?  Neither  the  one  nor  the 
other.  Such  contrasts  as  these  are  continually  occur- 
ring around  us  in  reality,  as  much  as,  or  more  than,  in 


264       FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

fiction.  Riches  jostle  misery,  virtue  vice,  happiness 
adversity,  and  all  the  flowers  of  life  open  out  to  the 
sunlight  upon  some  miry  bank. 

I  always  liked  Boston;  —  perhaps  because  I  have 
never  lived  there,  as  unprejudiced  Bostonians  have  as- 
sured me.  If  it  is  true  that  this  great  city  has  preserved 
many  of  the  petty  traditions  and  narrow  ways  of  small 
villages,  I  can  only  say  I  have  never  perceived  them. 
During  the  short  sojourns  which  I  have  made  there,  at 
different  times,  I  have  always  received  a  hospitable 
welcome  and  the  most  polite  attention,  which  is  gener- 
ally the  case  with  strangers  passing  through.  I  have 
me#there  men  of  great  minds,  celebrities  learned  and 
literary,  great  political  characters,  in  the  midst  of  a 
society  truly  distinguished  and  of  a  people  deeply 
patriotic.  On  this  occasion,  I  was  going  to  find  there, 
what  I  was  in  search  of  above  all  things,  —  health. 

How  unjust  the  world  is  as  regards  the  climate  of 
Boston !  Under  the  pretext  that  it  makes  the  men 
grumblers  and  the  women  nervous,  there  is  nothing  too 
bad  to  say  about  that  good  east  wind,  which  blows  from 
the  Atlantic.  But  for  a  sick  man,  struck  down  by  the 
heavy  and  poison-laden  atmosphere  of  the  Virginia 
Peninsula,  it  was  like  a  breeze  from  Paradise.  I  shall 
never  forget  with  what  delight  I  drank  in,  with  long 
inspirations,  both  physical  and  mental  vigor,  and  how, 
each  day,  the  friends  who  had  welcomed  me  aided  my 
convalescence  by  drives  through  the  suburbs,  the  most 
charming,  and  inhabited  by  the  most  refined  population, 
of  any  city  in  the  world. 

The  patriotic  heart  beat  vigorously  in  modern  Athens. 
It  had  not,  as  in  some  other  cities  of  the  North,  been 
subjected  to  enthusiastic  exaggerations  or  the  reactions 
of  discouragement.  It  had  rather  shown  itself  by  a 
vigorous  and  persistent  determination,  whether  in  sue- 


THE  SEVEN  DAYS'  BATTLE.         265 

cesses  or  in  reverses.  This  was  logical.  No  State  of 
the  North  has,  I  believe,  better  understood  and  more 
determinedly  accepted  the  necessity  for  the  war  than 
Massachusetts.  It  has  been  made  a  reproach  to  her 
that  she  had  forwarded  the  strife,  by  the  aggressive 
propaganda  of  her  abolitionism  ;  but  must  the  struggle 
of  liberty  against  slavery  remain  forever  in  the  domain 
of  theory .''  Must  it  not  come  to  the  decisive  trial  by 
battle  .''  By  having  stirred  up  the  movement  of  minds, 
and  hurried  on  the  march  of  events  towards  the  practi- 
cal solution  of  the  problem,  Massachusetts  has  simply 
added  another  glorious  title  to  all  those  which  she 
shared  in  common  with  the  other  free  States  of  the 
Union. 

During  the  month  of  Jun'e,  1862,  every  one  followed 
.with  an  uneasy  eye  the  developments  of  the  peninsular 
campaign,  and  it  was  already  feared  that  the  result 
might  be  unfortunate.  Public  opinion  began  to  be 
suspicious  of  General  McClellan  ;  the  people  prepared 
for  new  sacrifices,  for  which  it  foresaw  the  near  neces- 
sity, without,  however,  being  alarmed. 

Army  news,  in  fact,  was  very  discouraging.  Jackson 
had  had  his  own  way  in  the  Shenandoah  valley,  where 
our  forces  were  scattered  and  unskilfully  posted.  He 
had  beaten  Banks  at  Winchester,  and  driven  him  rapidly 
back  across  the  Potomac  ;  —  he  had  repulsed  Fremont 
at  Cross  Keys ;  —  he  had  badly  handled  Shields  at 
Port  Republic  ;  and,  finally,  had  escaped  uninjured  from 
McDowell,  and  carried  off  a  large  booty,  a  great  num- 
ber of  prisoners,  a  quantity  of  arms,  and  several  pieces 
of  artillery. 

In  addition,  information  came  that  General  Stuart,  with 
a  force  of  fifteen  hundred  cavalry,  had,  with  a  success 
equal  to  its  boldness,  gone  around  the  Army  of  the  Poto- 
mac, cut  the  railroad,  destroyed  a  great  quantity  of  sup- 


266       FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

plies,  picked  up  a  considerable  number  of  prisoners,  and 
returned  to  Richmond,  witliout  meeting  with  any  one  to 
bar  his  passage.  If  he  did  not  destroy  the  depot  at 
White  House,  it  was  because  he  did  not  attempt  it, 
fearing  to  meet  forces  which  were  not  there.  Besides 
the  damage  to  material,  by  this  reconnoissance,  he  had 
learned  all  he  wished  to  know  in  regard  to  the  disposi- 
tion of  our  forces  and  the  vulnerability  of  our  line  of 
supplies. 

It  was  very  fortunate  for  me  that  I  was  no  longer  at 
Turner's.  I  would  have  shared  the  fate  of  my  quarter- 
master, who  was  carried  off  from  that  neighborhood 
with  twenty  empty  wagons. 

The  good  air  and  the  life  in  Boston  soon  strengthened 
me  so  that  I  believed  I  wtls  in  condition  to  return  to 
the  army.  This  was  not,  however,  the  opinion  of  the 
physicians.  But  I  had  greater  confidence  in  nature  to 
fully  restore  me  than  they  had.  And,  besides,  —  I  must 
own  it,  —  I  was  hurried  by  the  fear  of  not  arriving  in 
time  for  the  capture  of  Richmond.  Alas  !  how  much 
further  we  were  from  it  than  I  supposed,  when  on  the 
29th,  in  the  morning,  the  Baltimore  steamer  left  me  at 
Fortress  Monroe. 

For  two  days  they  had  been  without  news  from  the 
army.  The  latest  information  received  was  of  a  bloody 
battle  on  the  right  of  our  lines,  at  Mechanicsville,  where 
the  enemy  had  been  repulsed  on  the  26th,  with  great 
loss.  Since  then,  there  had  been  only  rumors  and  con- 
jectures, with  no  official  report.  The  government  was 
silent,  and  with  good  reason,  —  it  heard  nothing.  The 
press  was  no  better  informed.  This  silence  was  inter- 
preted as  inauspicious,  every  one  thinking  it  to  be  the 
indication  of  some  disaster. 

The  first  positive  fact  that  I  learned,  on  landing  on 
the  wharf,  was  the  interruption  of  the  daily  communi- 


THE    SEVEN    DAYS'    BATTLE.  267 

cation  with  White  House,  and  the  arrival  of  trans- 
ports since  the  night  before  indicated  the  precipitate 
evacuation  of  the  depots  and  hospitals  on  the  Pa- 
munkey.  I  hurried  to  the  fort,  where  I  was  received 
by  General  Dix,  whorp  I  had  known  personally  for 
a  long  time.  I  presented  to  him  my  leave  of  ab- 
sence, which  expired  the  next  day,  and  asked  him  to 
furnish  me  with  transportation  to  rejoin  my  regiment 
immediately. 

General  Dix  shook  his  head,  and  contented  himself 
by  replying,  "  It  is  impossible." 

I  persisted  in  urging  my  request. 

"  But,  general,"  I  replied,  "  I  have  been  already  only 
too  long  absent.  If  there  is  a  battle  going  on  at  this 
time,  it  is  only  so  much  greater  reason  why  I  should 
rejoin  my  regiment  without  delay." 

"  It  is  impossible,"  repeated  the  general,  laconically, 
without  replying  to  my  remark.  "  The  best  I  can  do 
is  to  promise  you  an  order  for  passage  on  the  first  boat 
sent  to  the  army.  In  any  event,  that  will  not  be  before 
to-morrow." 

The  general  closed  this  short  interview  by  an  invi- 
tation to  breakfast  with  his  family  and  the  principal 
officers  of  his  staff.  At  the  table,  it  seemed  as  though 
every  one  was  preoccupied.  The  conversation  was  with- 
out life,  and  was  limited  to  unimportant  subjects.  Not 
a  word  was  said  which  bore  upon  what  was  passing  on 
the  Chickahominy. 

.  On  leaving  the  general's  quarters,  I  stopped  at  the 
telegraph  office  to  send  to  New  York  a  simple  message 
of  a  few  words  :  "  Arrived  safely  ;  kept  here  to-day ; 
to-morrow  with  the  army,"  and  my  signature.  The 
employe  politely  returned  me  the  paper.  There  was  a 
formal  order  to  send  no  message,  no  matter  what,  com- 
ing from  a  private  source.     Decidedly,  something  very 


268       FOUR   YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

grave  must  have  happened  ;  but,  still,  what  was  it  ?    No 
one  could  tell  me. 

It  was  Sunday.  The  hours  passed  slowly  and  heavily, 
when  in  the  afternoon,  returning  to  the  landing,  I  saw 
the  Wilson  Small  at  anchor  in  the  bay.  There  is  my 
lodging-place  for  the  night,  I  thought.  I  went  imme- 
diately on  board,  where  I  learned,  at  last,  something 
positive.  The  enemy  had  turned  our  right  to  the  north 
of  the  Chickahominy,  and  beaten  it,  cut  off  our  com- 
munication with  our  base  of  supplies,  and  thrown  back 
the  greater  part  of  our  army  in  retreat  towards  the 
James.  On  the  26th,  an  order  had  been  received  at 
White  House,  to  evacuate  the  hospitals  without  losing 
an  instant,  to  load  everything  on  the  transports  for 
which  room  could  be  found,  and  to  burn  everything 
which  must  be  left  behind.  This  was  promptly  done. 
In  two  days,  fifteen  hundred  sick,  all  the  employes  of 
the  government,  the  garrison,  and  the  greater  part  of 
the  provisions  were  taken  away.  There  was  even  found 
place  on  the  forage  barges  for  an  exodus  of  negroes, 
men,  women,  and  children,  abandoning  the  land  of 
slavery.  The  Wilson  Small  was  the  last  to  leave, 
lighted  by  the  blaze  which  devoured  everything  that 
could  not  be  brought  away. 

The  next  morning,  the  30th,  I  went  to  headquarters 
at  an  early  hour.  Not  a  despatch  from  the  army,  from 
which,  evidently,  nothing  had  been  received  for  three 
days.  Official  reticence  in  this  instance  was  not  volun- 
tary, but  forced.  They  said  nothing  because  they  knew 
nothing.  Chance  gave  me  that  day  a  proof  of  this  fact, 
as  curious  as  it  was  irrefutable. 

Mr.  B.  of  Philadelphia,  who  loved  to  devote  his  time 
and  part  of  his  income  to  different  philanthropic  objects, 
had  just  arrived  at  Fortress  Monroe  in  search  of  infor- 
mation and  of  occasions  to  make  himself  useful.     In  the 


THE    SEVEN    DAYS'    BATTLE.  269 

course  of  a  private  conversation,  which  our  friendly- 
relations  of  several  years  justified,  he  showed  me  the 
following  telegram,  which  he  had  just  received  and 
which  I  transcribe  literally  :  "  Is  the  enemy  at  White 
House  ?  And,  if  not,  ivJierc  is  he  ?  "  signed,  Stantoi. 
The  Secretary  of  War  himself  knew  no  more  than 
anybody  else. 

Two  great  steamers  soon  came  up  to  the  wharf 
reserved  for  the  service  of  the  fort,  to  take  in  coal. 
One  was  the  Vanderbilt,  which,  having  taken  a  load 
of  sick  from  White  House,  was  getting  ready  to  ascend 
the  James  in  order  to  visit  the  army  wherever  it  might 
be.  I  received  an  order  to  go  on  board  of  her,  but  her 
departure  was  delayed  until  the  next  day  morning,  July 
I,  in  order  to  take  on  board  the  Eighteenth  Massachu- 
setts, and  the  officers  and  soldiers  on  the  way  to  rejoin 
their  regiments.  At  sunrise  we  started  for  our  uncer- 
tain destination. 

Silence  and  solitude  reigned  on  both  banks  of  the 
river.  The  presence  of  man  was  evidenced  by  ruins 
only.  At  Newport  News  the  rigging  of  the  sunken 
Cumberland  appeared  above  the  water  in  front  of  the 
abandoned  camps.  Farther  on,  the  wharves  were  every- 
where burned,  and  occasionally  a  few  brick  walls,  yet 
erect  in  the  midst  of  the  ruins,  were  the  only  indica- 
tion of  inhabitants  and  of  farms,  formerly  covered  with 
harvests,  to-day  abandoned  to  weeds.  Finally,  about 
midday,  near  Harrison's  Landing,  we  perceived  the 
first   signs  of  the  Army  of  the   Potomac. 

These  were  fires  lighted  along  the  river  banks  ;  artil- 
lery wagons,  whose  white  covers  were  visible  through 
the  curtain  of  trees  ;  drivers,  with  their  teams  worn  out 
and  covered  with  mud  ;  infantrymen  of  the  escort, 
advance  guard  of  cavalry,  artillerymen  without  guns, 
soldiers  without  muskets,  and  those  stragglers  who,  as 


270       FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

they  are  always  in  the  rear  when  the  army  is  advancing, 
on  the  other  hand  are  found  in  advance  when  the  army 
is  retreating.  From  them  we  learned  that  the  army  was 
near  at  hand,  after  seven  days  of  fighting  and  seven 
nights  of  marching  before  an  enemy  eager  in  the  pursuit. 

A  small  steam  gunboat,  near  by,  prevented  our  mount- 
ing the  river  any  higher.  At  that  very  time,  a  battle 
was  being  fought  on  Malvern  Hills,  six  or  seven  miles 
distant,  which,  in  all  probability,  would  decide  the  safety 
or  destruction  of  the  army. 

However,  the  number  of  arrivals  increased  hourly 
around  the  Harrison  House.  The  field,  with  the  har- 
vest half  gathered,  was  soon  covered  with  teams  and 
overrun  with  bands  of  men  marching,  mingled  with  the 
trains.  Some  were  sick  or  wounded,  others  separated 
from  their  regiments  unwillingly.  Many  had  left  the 
ranks  tired  of  fighting  with  no  hope  of  victory,  demor- 
alized by  defeat,  fatigue,  and  hunger. 

In  the  evening,  the  news  was  spread  that  the  battle 
of  Malvern  Hills  was  gained  ;  that  the  enemy  had  been 
everywhere  repulsed,  and  so  badly  treated  that  he  had 
fallen  back  in  disorder  on  his  capital.  But  it  did  not 
appear  that  the  victory,  gained,  had  transformed  us  into 
pursuers  instead  of  the  pursued,  for  during  the  whole 
night  retreat  was  continued  from  Malvern  Hills  to  Har- 
rison's Landing.  And  what  a  retreat  !  The  rain,  fall- 
ing in  torrents,  rendered  the  roads  impracticable,  and 
multiplied  the  obstacles  to  the  moving  of  the  trains  and 
the  artillery.  The  infantry,  broken  up  by  that  last 
night  of  retreat  succeeding  a  day  of  battle,  was  moving 
without  order,  men  separated  from  their  commands, 
regiments  mingled  together,  brigades  without  connec- 
tion, divisions  scattered  everywhere  and  assembled  no- 
where. And  this  after  a  victory  !  What  would  it  have 
been  after  a  defeat  .'' 


THE    SEVEN    DAYS     BATTLE.  27 1 

Within  the  lines,  where  the  army  was  about  to  in- 
trench itself,  staff  officers  and  mounted  orderlies  were 
posted  at  intervals,  calling  out  in  the  obscurity :  —  "  Such 
a  division  to  the  right !  —  Such  a  division  to  the  left  !  " 
And  the  men  belonging  to  the  divisions  named  turned 
in  the  direction  indicated,  finding,  further  on,  other  offi- 
cers and  horsemen  calling  out  :  —  "  Such  a  brigade  this 
way  !  —  Siu:h  a  brigade  that  way  !  " 

In  this  manner,  little  by  little,  the  different  corps 
were  reassembled,  and,  after  one  night  of  frightful  con- 
fusion, each  was  found  on  the  following  day  in  its 
proper  place,  in  a  position  of  defence  against  an  attack, 
which  fortunately  did  not  take  place.  The  two  armies 
were  equally  exhausted,  equally  powerless  to  undertake 
anything  ;  both  out  of  provisions  and  short  of  ammu- 
nition. Arrived  near  Harrison's  Landing,  the  Confed- 
erates stopped  only  long  enough  to  take  breath,  and 
then  quickly  returned  to  Richmond. 

And  the  grand  Army  of  the  Potomac  was  stranded  on 
the  banks  of  the  James  River,  fainting,  exhausted  by 
its  efforts,  reduced  by  sickness  yet  more  than  by  fire 
and  steel  ;  —  an  inert  mass  of  men,  heaped  together  in 
a  narrow  space,  where  they  had  henceforth  only  to 
ruminate  on  their  deceived  hopes  and  their  devotion 
without  result,  while  waiting  the  final  abandonment  of 
the  Peninsula. 

The  overthrow  of  the  Seven  Days  was  the  logical 
sequel  to  that  sad  campaign,  which  will  bear  eternal 
witness  against  the  military  incapacity,  the  political 
blindness,  and  the  deficiencies  of  all  kinds  of  General 
McClelkn.  In  that  series  of  adversities,  nothing  could 
be  attributed  to  chance,  nothing  to  any  one  of  those 
fortuitous  circumstances  which  may  defeat  the  best 
combined  plans,  —  nothing  to  such  a  disproportion  of 
forces  as  must  necessarily  overbear  resistance.     The 


272       FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

general-in-chief  alone  is  and  will  forever  remain  re- 
sponsible for  the  reverses. 

We  ought  to  have  been  victorious.  Any  general  of 
ordinary  capacity,  in  command  of  the  army,  would 
have  led  us  into  Richmond,  and  the  anniversary  of 
national  independence  would  have  been  celebrated  in 
the  rebel  capital,  conquered  by  our  arms.  To  that  end, 
what  was  necessary  .''  To  profit  by  our  advantages  for 
acting  promptly  and  with  vigor  ;  to  attack  the  enemy 
resolutely,  to  overwhelm  him  by  our  numerical  superi- 
ority, to  follow  him  up  untiringly,  sword  in  hand  ;  and 
we  would  not  have  been  compelled  to  thrust  the  sword 
to  the  hilt,  to  drive  out  his  government,  which,  at  the 
mere  news  of  our  victory  at  Williamsburg,  had  already 
begun  to  make  preparations  to  move.  But  McClellan 
had  neither  vigor  nor  readiness.  In  his  timid  brain, 
haunted  by  phantoms,  our  advantages  were  transformed 
into  disadvantages.  His  troubled  eye  never  saw  the 
enemy  except  with  fantastic  exaggerations,  nor  his  own 
army  except  as  largely  reduced  in  numbers.  Far 
from  attacking,  he  did  not  know  even  how  to  defend 
himself. 

In  place  of  overwhelming  the  enemy,  he  fought  him 
only  with  isolated  corps,  and  when,  in  spite  of  every- 
thing, at  Fair  Oaks,  as  at  Williamsburg,  the  tenacity 
of  some  of  the  generals  and  the  obstinate  valor  of  our 
soldiers  had  wrested  victory  from  the  hands  of  the 
Confederates,  and  turned  the  tide  of  battle  against 
them,  he  finally  did  appear  on  the  field  of  battle  ;  it  was 
when  there  was  no  danger,  and  then  only  to  render 
the  victory  sterile  by  stopping  the  pursuit,  and  reim- 
prisoning,  in  the  fever-laden  swamps,  the  army  of 
which  he  had  made  himself  the  gravedigger-in-chief. 

From  the  very  opening  of  the  campaign,  this  cow- 
ardly spirit  was    a    prey  to   a   persistent  hallucination, 


THE  SEVEN  DAYS  BATTLE,  273 

which  always  and  everywhere  made  the  enemy  appear 
to  him  as  greatly  superior  in  force,  even  on  the  banks 
of  the  Warwick,  where  we  were  eight  to  one.  Under 
this  imaginary  impression,  he  never  ceased  to  ask  a 
cor  et  a  cri  for  reenforcements,  without  which,  he 
said,  he  could  do  nothing.  From  the  month  of  April 
it  was  the  corps  of  McDowell  which  was  indispensable 
to  enable  him  to  take  Yorktown.  Then  he  would 
content  himself  with  the  two  divisions  of  Franklin  and 
McCall.  At  the  end,  Yorktown  was  taken  without 
the  aid  of  Franklin  or  McCall. 

The  President  did  not  like  to  strip  Washington  of 
the  troops  left  for  its  protection.  Wanting  military 
experience,  he  endeavored  to  take  good-sense  for 
his  guide,  refusing  to  leave  the  capital  exposed  with- 
out defence  to  the  first  coup  de  main  of  the  Con- 
federates, to  satisfy  the  timorous  fantasies  of  a  general 
in  whom  he  could  have  but  limited  confidence.  There- 
upon McClellan  broke  out  in  puerile  complaints  and 
pitiful  insistence.  Reenforcements  were  sent  to  him, 
but  as  soon  as  they  arrived  he  demanded  more.  After 
the  arrival  of  Franklin  and  his  division  on  the  last  of 
April,  he  had  in  the  fore  part  of  June  the  whole  corps 
of  troops  at  Fortress  Monroe,  under  the  command  of 
General  Wool.  After  that  he  announced  that  he 
required  nothing  more,  except  the  arrival  of  McCall, 
to  take  Richmond.  McCall  arrived  on  the  nth  of 
June.  Then  there  was  something  else.  The  Chicka- 
hominy  had  overflowed  its  banks.  When  it  had  re- 
turned to  its  bed,  the  roads  were  still  too  bad  for  artil- 
lery ;  but  finally  the  general-in-chief  asked  for  nothing 
more  "  only  a  little  fine  weather  in  order  to  report 
progress,"  The  fine  weather  dried  up  the  roads  ;  what 
will  he  contrive  now  to  excuse  further  delay }  He 
wishes   to  know   whether    McDowell  will    come   from 


2  74       FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

Fredericksburg  by  land  or  by  water,  and  in  what  rela- 
tion of  subordination.  "  Meanwhile,"  he  added,  "  I 
shall  be  very  glad  to  receive  all  the  troops  which  can 
be  sent  to  me." 

At  last,  on  the  i8th  of  June  he  is  ready  :  "  A  general 
engagement  may  take  place  at  any  moment,"  he  writes. 
"  An  advance  movement  on  our  part  is  a  battle  more 
or  less  decisive.  The  enemy  shows  himself  ready  to 
receive* us  everywhere.  He  has  certainly  a  very  large 
force  and  extensive  works.  After  to-morrow  we  will 
fight  the  rebel  army  as  soon  as  Providence  will  permit. 
We  have  nothing  more  to  wait  for  but  a  favorable  con- 
"dition  of  earth  and  of  sky,  and  the  finishing  of  a  few 
indispensable  preliminaries." 

Well,  Providence  is  favorable,  the  condition  of  ground 
and  weather  all  that  can  be  asked  ;  the  indispensable 
preliminaries  are  disposed  of.  He  has  received  nearly 
forty  thousand  reenforcements,  thirty-three  thousand 
of  whom  in  the  ranks  bring  the  number  of  our  effec- 
tive force  up  to  a  hundred  and  fifteen  thousand,  making 
deduction  for  the  sick  and  absent.  Finally  he  learns 
that  the  defence  of  Richmond  has  been  weakened  by 
at  least  twelve  thousand  men  sent  to  reenforce  Jack- 
son. Now  or  never  is  the  time  to  strike  the  great  blow 
so  long  promised,  which  will  destroy  the  head  of  the 
rebellion.  But  no  ;  McClellan  is  not  one  of  those  who 
dare  to  strike  blows.  He  will  wait  for  them.  He  has 
resigned  himself  to  this,  when,  on  the  24th,  a  deserter 
informs  him  that  Jackson,  reenforced,  is  advancing 
from  Gordonsville  with  the  intention  of  attacking  our 
right,  on  the  28th,  and  trying  to  take  us  in  the  rear. 

McClellan  had  four  days  before  him.  He  knew 
whence  the  attack  was  to  come.  Consequently  he 
could  take  his  measures  accordingly,  and  confound  all 
the    calculations    of    the    enemy  by  concentrating    his 


THE  SEVEN  DAYS  BATTLE.         275 

whole  army  on  either  one  or  the  other  bank  of  the 
Chickahominy.  On  the  north  side  he  could  first  crush 
Jackson,  and  then  return  and  finish  Lee,  if  he  had  fol- 
lowed up  the  movement.  On  the  south  side  he  could  do 
better  still  ;  overwhelm  Magruder  and  follow  him  into 
Richmond  before  Lee  and  Jackson  could  find  out  that 
they  had  lost  the  substance  for  the  shadow.  But 
McClellan  did  neither  the  one  nor  the  other.  Unde- 
cided, irresolute,  as  incapable  of  forming  a  new  plan  as 
of  executing  it  in  the  face  of  dangers  which  paralyzed 
him,  he  could -only  leave  matters  as  they  were.  And, 
as  at  Seven  Pines  he  had  given  over  his  left  isolated, 
now  at  Gaines'  Mill  he  leaves  his  right  to  receive  the 
attack  without  support. 

He  is  beaten  before  the  battle  is  fought.  He  fore- 
sees only  defeat ;  he  dreams  only  of  the  excuses 
necessary  to  throw  *the  responsibility  on  some  one 
else  ;  and,  on  the  25th,  he  addressed  to  Mr.  Stanton, 
Secretary  of  War,  that  despatch,  inspired  by  fear  and 
dictated  by  a  troubled  conscience,  which  succeeded 
neither  in  deceiving  himself  nor  in  deceiving  others  :  — 

"  I  have  just  returned  from  our  line,  and  find  your 
despatch  in  regard  to  Jackson.  Several  contrabands, 
just  arrived,  confirm  by  their  information  the  supposi- 
tion that  Jackson's  advance  is  at  Hanover  Court  House, 
or  in  that  vicinity,  and  that  Beauregard  arrived  at 
Richmond  yesterday  with  considerable  reenforcements- 
I  think  Jackson  will  attack  my  right  and  rear.  The 
rebel  forces  are  estimated  at  two  hundred  thousand 
men,  including  Jackson  and  Beauregard.  I  must  fight 
against  vastly  superior  forces,  if  these  reports  are  true  ; 
but  this  army  will  do  everything  that  is  humanly  possi- 
ble to  maintain  its  position  and  repel  every  attack.  I 
regret  my  great  inferiority  in  numbers  ;  but  I  feel  that 
I  am  in  no  way  responsible  for  it,  not  having  failed  to 


276       FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

represent  on  numerous  occasions  the  necessity  for 
reenforcements  ;  that  this  was  the  decisive  point  ;  and 
that  the  whole  available  resources  of  the  government 
should  be  concentrated  here. 

"  I  will  do  all  that  a  general  can  do  with  the  magnifi- 
cent army  which  I  have  the  honor  to  command,  and,  if 
it  is  destroyed  by  an  overwhelming  superiority  of  num- 
bers, I  can  at  least  die  with  it  and  share  its  fortunes. 
But,  if  the  result  of  the  action,  which  will  probably 
take  place  to-morrow  or  very  shortly  after,  is  a  disaster, 
the  responsibility  cannot  be  thrown  on  my  shoulders. 
It  must  rest  where  it  belongs." 

And  he  finished  by  returning  to  his  fixed  idea  :  "  I 
feel  that  it  is  useless  to  again  demand  reenforcements," 
Thus  the  general-in-chief  devoted  his  army  in  ad- 
vance to  destruction,  or  at  least  to  an  irremediable  dis- 
aster. Not  having  found  any  Jilan  to  escape  it,  but 
with  his  head  full  of  terrifying  fantasies,  he  held  himself 
ready  to  depart  at  the  first  firing  of  the  cannon,  and 
precede  in  the  retreat  those  whom  he  abandoned  in 
danger. 

Since  the  battle  of  Fair  Oaks  the  Second  Corps 
(Sumner)  had  remained  on  the  right  bank  of  the  Chick- 
ahominy,  where  it  had  been  followed  in  the  month  of 
June  by  the  Sixth  Corps  (Franklin),  So  that  only  the 
Fifth  Corps  (Porter)  remained  on  the  left  bank,  re- 
cently reenforced  by  McCall's  division.  All  the  efforts 
of  the  enemy  were  made  there,  and  there  the  great 
seven  days'  contest  commenced. 

On  the  26th  of  June,  A.  P.  Hill,  preceding  Jackson 
by  twenty-four  hours,  endeavored  to  force  the  passage 
of  Beaver  Dam  Creek,  defended  by  the  Pennsylvanians 
under  McCall.  He  was  repulsed  with  considerable  loss 
on  the  Mechanicsville  road.  But,  during  the  night, 
Porter  was  compelled  to  fall  back  to  a  position  more 


THE  SEVEN  DAYS  BATTLE.         277 

tenable  against  a  force  become  much  superior  to  his 
own,  Jackson  and  Longstreet  having  united  against  his 
lines.  On  the  27th,  then,  the  Fifth  Corps,  with  about 
twenty-five  thousand  men,  was  assailed  by  seventy 
thousand  Confederates  on  Gaines'  Mill  Heights,  and 
defended  itself  there  obstinately,  until  our  own  cavalry 
came  fatally  to  the  enemy's  aid.  Unskilfully  handled 
and  roughly  repulsed,  it  fell  back  in  disorder  on  our 
lines,  where  it  put  everything  into  confusion,  artil- 
lery and  infantry.  The  Confederates,  coming  on  at  the 
charge,  finished  the  overthrow,  and  the  Fifth  Corps 
would  have  been  destroyed  if  the  coming  of  the  night 
had  not  enabled  our  decimated  troops  to  cross  to  the 
right  bank  of  the  Chickahominy,  destroying  the  bridges 
behind  them. 

It  cannot  but  be  remarked  that  these  same  troops, 
which  rejoined  the  main  body  of  the  army,  worn  out 
and  cruelly  maltreated  by  a  contest  so  disproportioned, 
might  have  been  rallied,  without  loss  or  fatigue,  from 
the  advanced  position  which  it  was  known  beforehand 
that  they  could  not  hold.  In  that  case,  their  move- 
ment would  have  been  the  signal  for  a  brilliant 
advance.  Now,  it  was  only  the  signal  for  a  disastrous 
retreat.  It  is  deplorable  for  General  McClellan  that 
he  is  thus  found  always  playing  the  enemy's  game,  and 
doing  everything  the  most  effectual  for  their  safety  and 
our  ruin  that  his  adversaries  could  have  suggested. 

As  soon  as  Porter  had  crossed  safely  on  the  28th, 
the  general  retreat  commenced.  Keyes  crossed  White 
Oak  swamp  first,  and  took  position  to  protect  the  pas- 
sage of  the  immense  army  trains  and  the  great  herds 
of  cattle.  Then,  on  the  29th,  after  having  repulsed  a 
cavalry  attack,  he  continued  his  way  towards  the  James, 
where  he  arrived  on  the  30th,  at  the  same  time  that 
Porter  reached  Haxall's  Landing.      Much  less  favored, 


278       FOUR   YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

the  three  other  corps  suspended  their  march  only  to 
fight  and  ceased  to  fight  only  to  march.  But  all  this 
was  done  without  any  general  system,  in  the  absence 
of  superior  supervision,  and  of  orders  in  accordance 
with  circumstances. 

On  the  29th  the  enemy  crossed  the  Chickahominy 
to  unite  all  his  force  on  the  right  bank ;  Franklin 
advised  Sumner,  and  the  two,  acting  together,  fell  back 
on  Savage  Station,  where  they  took  up  position,  with 
the  intention,  aided  by  Heintzelman,  of  repelling  the 
dangerous  attack  which  menaced  them.  But  Heint- 
zelman, adhering  to  his  general  instructions,  after 
destroying  the  material  of  the  railroad,  the  provisions, 
munitions  of  war,  arms  and  baggage  that  there  was 
neither  time  nor  means  of  carrying  away,  hastened  to 
cross  White  Oak  swamp,  uncovering  Sumner's  left. 
The  latter  learned  of  the  retreat  of  the  Third  Corps 
only  from  a  furious  attack  by  the  enemy  on  the  very 
side  which  he  believed  protected  by  Heintzelman,  He 
did  not  the  less  sustain  the  shock  with  an  unshakable 
solidity,  and  fought  all  the  afternoon  with  four  divis- 
ions without  being  broken  at  any  point.  The  enemy, 
worn  out  by  the  useless  attacks,  retired  at  nightfall. 
Then  only  did  he  receive  any  news  from  McClellan, 
under  the  form  of  an  order  to  Sumner,  to  fall  back 
along  with  Franklin,  to  the  other  side  of  White  Oak 
swamp,  abandoning  our  general  hospitals  at  Savage 
Station,  and  the  twenty-five  hundred  sick  and  wounded 
in  them. 

On  the  morning  of  the  30th,  Jackson  presented 
himself,  to  cross  the  swamp  after  us.  He  found  the 
bridge  destroyed,  and  endeavored  to  force  a  passage  at 
several  points.  He  was  everywhere  repulsed  and  kept 
in  check  the  whole  day  by  the  obstinate  resistance  of 
Franklin,  while  farther  on,  towards  the  James,  Long- 


THE  SEVEN  DAYS  BATTLE.         279 

Street  was  held  by  Heintzelman  and  McCall,  who  pre- 
vented him  from  cutting  our  army  in  two  at  Glendale. 

This  was  not  done  without  hard  fighting.  The  Con- 
federates, arriving  by  the  New  Market  road  at  a  right 
angle  to  the  Quaker  road,  which  was  our  line  of  march, 
struck,  in  the  first  place,  the  Pennsylvanian  reserves, 
broke  their  line,  outflanking  it  on  the  right  and  on  the 
left,  captured  a  battery  of  artillery,  and  pushed  reso- 
lutely on  through  that  dangerous  breach.  They  then 
struck  Hooker's  division,  which  threw  them  obliquely 
on  Sumner's  Corps.  Soon  afterward,  Kearney  occu- 
pied the  vacant  space,  and,  as  on  the  evening  before, 
the  sun  set  with  the  rebels  unsuccessful. 

But,  the  same  evening,  Franklin,  left  without  orders, 
and  seeing  his  position  was  becoming  more  and  more 
dangerous,  abandoned  White  Oak  swamp  and  fell  back 
towards  the  James.  At  that  news,  which  was  prompt- 
ly sent  to  him  from  several  directions,  Heintzelman 
sent  in  vain  to  headquarters,  to  ask  for  instructions. 
Left  to  his  own  devices,  he  concluded  that  the  wisest 
course  was  to  follow  the  retrograde  movement,  and 
retreated  with  his  corps. 

Sumner  still  remained,  and,  seeing  himself  left  alone 
and  without  support,  he  decided,  in  his  turn,  to  do  as 
the  others  had  done.  On  the  morning  of  the  31st, 
he  arrived  on  the  Malvern  Heights,  where  the  three 
corps,  the  Second,  Third,  and  Sixth,  found  themselves 
united,  not,  as  has  been  benevolently  said,  by  the  wise 
combinations  of  General  McClellan,  but  by  the  fortu- 
nate inspiration  of  the  commanders,  who  had  received 
no  orders  to  that  effect.  "At  daylight,"  said  General 
Sumner,  in  his  testimony  before  the  Congressional 
committee,  "  I  called  on  General  McClellan,  on  the 
banks  of  the  James.  He  told  vie  that  he  had  intended 
that  the  army  should  hold  the  position  it  had  the  night 


28o       FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

before,  and  that  no  order  for  retreat  had  been  sent ;  but 
that,  since  the  rest  of  the  army  had  fallen  back,  he  was 
glad  that  I  had  done  the  same." 

It  was  found  that  the  plateau  of  Malvern  Hill  was 
admirably  formed  for  a  defensive  position.  General 
Humphreys,  of  the  corps  of  topographical  engineers, 
was  ordered  to  examine  the  position,  and  he  traced  a 
formidable  line  with  the  left  resting  at  Haxall's  Land- 
ing on  the  James,  where  it  was  protected  by  the  gun- 
boats, while  the  right  was  thrown  back  on  some  fields 
covered  with  thick  woods,  and  cut  up  by  marshy 
streams.  The  summits  and  slopes  of  the  plateau  were 
bristling  with  cannon,  sweeping  the  plain  over  the 
heads  of  our  infantry  deployed  in  front  of  them.  In 
that  position,  the  army  awaited  a  last  attack. 

The  enemy  played  there  his  last  card,  and  lost  the 
game.  It  was  perhaps  imprudent,  but  he  had  been  vic- 
torious at  Gaines'  Mill,  and  since  then,  although  repulsed 
with  loss  at  Savage  Station,  at  White  Oak  swamp,  and 
at  Glendale,  after  each  of  these  engagements  he  had 
taken  up  his  march  in  advance,  as  we  had  resumed  our 
march  in  retreat.  Whatever  might  be  the  material 
losses  on  either  side,  the  moral  effect  remained  in  their 
favor,  for  in  that  sad  week  our  men,  falling  back  after 
every  fight,  believed  themselves  always  defeated,  even 
when  they  were  the  victors  ;  and  they  were  proportion- 
ally demoralized.  For  the  same  reason,  the  Confed- 
erates, convinced  that  they  had  beaten  us  constantly 
since  the  26th,  pursued  us  with  the  vigorous  and  confi- 
dent spirit  which  is  given  by  victory. 

And,  really,  was  it  not  a  victory  for  them  }  What  if 
they  had  been  repulsed  at  Savage  Station  and  at  Glen- 
dale, and  stopped  at  White  Oak  swamp  }  what  was  it  but 
a  delay  of  a  few  hours  .''  And,  if  their  losses  had  been 
greater  than  ours,  was  not  the  difference  in  the  loss  in 


THE  SEVEN  DAYS  BATTLE.         251 

dead  and  wounded  more  than  compensated,  in  a  reverse 
sense,  by  the  moral  condition  of  the  survivors  ?  To  tell 
the  fact,  our  advantages  during  the  last  days  were  lim- 
ited to  saving  our  transportation,  by  giving  it  time  to 
take  the  advance.  But  when  General  Lee  led  his  whole 
force  against  the  Malvern  Heights  it  was  a  victorious 
though  diminished  army  which  he  hurled  to  the  attack, 
to  give  the  coup  dc  grace  to  the  army  of  McClellan,  — 
of  McClellan,  who,  at  that  very  time,  had  retired  on 
board  the  gunboat  Galena. 

Lee  had  to  hasten.  Every  step  forward  took  him 
further  from  his  supplies,  and  brought  us  nearer  ours. 
Behind  us,  the  roads,  broken  up,  became  more  and  more 
impracticable,  the  difficulties  became  greater  from  hour 
to  hour.  Such  being  the  case,  Lee  did  not  have  time 
to  wait  until  his  adversary  evacuated  his  present  posi- 
tion, in  order  to  try  and  force  his  lines  in  some  other, 
which  might  not  perhaps  offer  any  better  opportunity 
for  attack.  He  tried  his  fortune  and  gave  battle  July  i. 
On  every  point  his  columns  were  thrown  back  in  dis- 
order, crushed  in  every  attack  by  the  double  fire  of  ar- 
tillery and  infantry.  Dash  was  not  enough  now.  On 
this  occasion,  the  enemy  was  compelled  to  acknowledge 
himself  beaten  and  incapable  of  pursuing  us  any  fur- 
ther. 

But  our  men  were  slow  to  believe  in  success.  On 
receiving  the  order,  a  few  hours  later,  after  night  had 
put  an  end  to  the  contest,  to  retire  to  Harrison's  Land- 
ing, they  naturally  concluded  that  we  were  not  strong 
enough  to  hold  out  long  against  the  enemy,  and  that, 
while  Couch  and  Porter  had  victoriously  held  their  lines 
unbroken,  some  ill  fortune  must  have  come  upon  us  at 
another  point,  compromising  our  position,  and  thus 
compelling  us  to  a  precipitate  retreat.  Worn  out  by  fa- 
tigue and  fighting,  exhausted  by  privations  and  by  vigils, 


282       FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

discouraged,  and  suspecting  that  it  was  not  fortune 
alone  that  had  betrayed  them,  they  dragged  themselves 
along,  without  order,  towards  the  designated  point,  dur- 
ing that  last  night  march,  which  had  all  the  character 
of  a  rout. 

The  next  day,  at  last,  they  were  able  to  take  some 
rest,  and  understand  that  the  end  of  their  trials  and 
immediate  dangers  had  arrived,  seeing  that  their  gen- 
eral had  stopped  with  them.  His  headquarters  were 
established  at  Harrison's  plantation,  on  the  banks  of 
the  James,  and  under  the  cannon  of  the  gunboats. 

It  was  there  that,  like  a  shipwrecked  crew,  this  army 
rallied,  after  securing  its  own  safety  in  spite  of  every- 
thing, —  fighting  with  equal  firmness,  both  against  men 
and  against  circumstances,  and  not  allowing  itself  to  be 
destroyed  by  Robert  E.  Lee,  nor  by  George  B.  Mc- 
Clellan. 


CHAPTER    XIV. 

FROM   CHARYBDIS   TO   SCYLLA. 

Miserable  condition  of  the  army  —  Desertions  —  Military  bravado  and 
political  manifesto  of  McClellan  —  Reconnoissances — Order  to  evac- 
uate the  Peninsula —  Delay  after  delay —  Pope  on  the  Rappahannock 
—  Delay  at  Alexandria  —  Night  march  —  Fairfax  Court  House  — 
Death  of  Kearney  —  Retreat  on  Washington  —  Pope  and  McClellan. 

The  Vanderbilt,  which  had  brought  me  on  the  ist  of 
July  to  Harrison's  Landing,  took  me  back,  on  the 
second  day  after,  to  Fortress  Monroe,  in  company  with 
six  hundred  and  fifty  wounded.  Bad  weather  and  poor 
food  had  proved  the  doctors  right,  and  brought  on  a 
relapse,  which  put  me  in  a  condition  unfit  to  be  disem- 
barked. It  was  not  until  a  week  later,  July  lo,  that 
I  could  resume  command  of  my  regiment,  reduced  then 
to  less  than  four  hundred  men.  The  remainder,  except 
a  few  deserters,  were  sleeping  upon  four  fields  of  battle, 
shut  up  in  the  Richmond  prisons,  or  lying  in  the  hos- 
pitals. 

Officers  and  soldiers  were  in  a  sad  plight.  The 
greater  part  without  tents,  many  without  blankets, 
some  almost  without  uniforms.  And  they  had  been 
in  that  condition  since  the  battle  of  Fair  Oaks,  where, 
as  will  be  recollected,  the  camp  of  the  Fifty-fifth,  and 
everything  it  contained,  was  lost.  Through  one  cause 
or  another  the  loss  had  not  been  made  good.  The  little 
that  the  men  now  possessed  they  had  picked  up  here 
and  there  during  the  fights  or  on  the  march.  They 
were  the  spoils  of  the  dead  and  wounded.  The  ofiicers 
were  no  better  provided  for  ;  their  baggage  had  been 

283 


284       FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

burnt  at  Savage  Station,  in  consequence  of  an  order, 
given  too  hurriedly,  by  an  inexperienced  quarter- 
master. 

Happily  for  me,  the  lieutenant-colonel  had  procured 
an  old,  worn-out  tent,  which  I  could  occupy  with  him 
while  awaiting  something  better, — a  wretched  shelter, 
under  which  I  heard  the  relation  of  the  sufferings 
endured,  the  perils  braved,  the  privations  undergone, 
during  the  terrible  seven  days. 

Now,  our  pressing  need  was  to  recruit  physically  and 
morally.  The  first  was  easier  than  the  last.  In  the 
repose  which  we  enjoyed  under  the  protection  of  our 
retrenchments,  the  necessary  material  soon  arrived,  and 
the  regiment  could  be  newly  fitted  out  in  a  few  days. 
But  the  morale  of  soldiers  is  not  restored  with  the  put- 
ting-on  of  new  uniforms,  and  that  of  the  army  was  terri- 
bly shattered  ;  —  so  much  so  that,  on  arriving  at  Harri- 
son's Landing,  favored  by  the  universal  confusion, 
desertions  took  place  by  thousands  amongst  the  men, 
and  by  hundreds  amongst  the  subaltern  officers.  To 
such  an  extent  did  the  disorganization  reign  in  the  dif- 
ferent branches  of  the  service  that  deserters  had  been 
able  to  go  on  board  the  transports  with  the  sick  and 
wounded,  and  thus  abandon  the  army. 

In  a  letter  to  General  McClellan,  dated  July  13,  the 
President,  with  the  reports  in  his  hands,  showed  the 
unexplained  absence  of  forty-five  thousand  men  from 
the  Army  of  the  Potomac.  Now,  the  official  reports  of 
July  20  bring  the  total  number  up  to  158,314,  and  the 
loss  during  the  fatal  retreat  was  15,249.  On  the  8th 
of  July,  when  Mr.  Lincoln  himself  came  to  visit  the 
army,  but  eighty-six  thousand  could  be  shown  to  him 
under  arms. 

In  his  reply,  General  McClellan  alleged  that  38,250 
men  had  received  temporary  furloughs.     The  number 


FROM    CHARYBDIS    TO    SCYLLA.  285 

still  left  to  be  accounted  for  by  desertion  is  very  large, 
as  will  be  seen.  But  it  seems  impossible  not  to  ask  the 
question,  how  the  general-in-chief  could  authorize  such 
an  enormous  number  of  furloughs  at  the  very  time  that 
he  was  complaining  of  the  want  of  troops.  For  if  he  had, 
before  the  late  reverses,  asked  and  asked  again  to  satiety 
for  reenforcements,  it  may  well  be  believed  that  he  did 
not  change  his  cry  after  having  been  driven  back  some 
twenty  miles.  The  day  after  the  battle  of  Malvern 
Hills  he  had  asked  for  fifty  thousand  men,  that  is  to 
say,  all  who  remained  to  cover  the  capital.  The  day 
after,  we  are  told,  he  asked  for  a  hundred  thousand 
men,  rather  for  more  than  less,  "  to  take  Richmond." 

Take  Richmond  with  an  army  commanded  by  Gen- 
eral McClellan  ?  There  was  no  one  who  did  not  know 
what  interpretation  to  put  upon  this  cruel  pleasantry. 
So  that,  when  the  general-in-chief  thought  it  necessary 
to  issue,  from  Harrison's  Landing,  an  order  of  the  day, 
in  which  he  notified  the  enemy  that  before  long  he  was 
going  to  take  his  capital,  no  one  could  help  shrugging 
his  shoulders  at  such  ridiculous  gasconade.  The 
American  soldier  is  too  intelligent  to  be  influenced  by 
high-sounding  but  empty  words.  He  judges  things 
from  the  facts,  and  not  by  the  false  colors  under  which 
they  may  be  presented  to  him. 

McClellan  understood  it,  probably,  from  the  effect 
produced  in  the  army  by  his  bravado,  and  from  the 
impression  made  throughout  the  country  by  his  deplo- 
rable campaign.  One  is  compelled  to  believe  that  he 
wished  to  create  a  diversion,  and  escape  a  part,  at  least, 
of  his  military  responsibility,  by  evoking  the  political 
passions. 

On  July  7,  — five  days  after  his  arrival  at  Harrison's 
Landing,  —  he  wrote  to  the  President  of  the  Republic 
a  letter  in  which  he  undertook,  disregarding  alike  both 


2  86       FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

propriety  and  courtesy,  to  dictate  to  him  the  course  of 
policy  which  the  government  ought  to  pursue.  In  this 
letter  he  declared  that  in  no  case  should  the  war  be 
carried  on  with  the  object  of  subjugating  the  people  of 
any  State;  —  that  neither  the  confiscation  of  property, 
nor  political  executions,  nor  the  territorial  organization 
of  a  State,  nox  forced  abolition  of  slavery  should  be  for 
an  instant  thought  of.  That  the  military  power  should 
not  be  permitted  to  interfere  in  the  relations  of  servi- 
tude, whether  for  or  against  the  authority  of  the  master, 
except  to  repress  all  disorders,  as  in  every  other  case ; 
—  that,  on  appropriating  in  any  permanent  manner  the 
labor  of  the  slave,  the  government  must  recognize  the 
right  of  the  master  to  an  indemnity;  —  that  the  decla- 
ration of  radical  views,  especially  in  reference  to  slavery, 
would  rapidly  disorganize  our  armies.  Finally,  to  give 
effect  to  this  political  manifesto,  General  McClellan 
recommended  to  the  President  to  appoint  a  generalis- 
simo, who  possessed  his  confidence,  to  execute  his 
orders.  That  is  to  say  that,  without  positively  asking 
that  position  for  himself,  he  offered  himself  virtually  to 
conduct  the  war  against  the  rebellion,  being  careful  in 
all  ways  of  injuring  the  rebels,  and,  above  all,  protect- 
ing for  them  the  institution  of  slavery,  the  direct  cause 
of  the  conflict,  the  incontestable  source  of  the  present 
ills,  but  for  him  the  holy  ark  which  it  was  not  permitted 
to  touch. 

This  manifesto  gives  the  key  to  the  ideas  and  con- 
duct of  the  general,  his  hesitations,  his  slowness,  his 
tender  regard  for  the  enemy,  and  perhaps  to  some 
awkward  things,  until  then  inexplicable.  It  was,  in  any 
case,  a  direct  appeal  to  the  party  suspected  of  sympathy 
with  the  rebellion,  an  appeal  which  encouraged  its  op- 
position to  the  policy  of  the  government,  becoming  daily 
more  and  more  pronounced.      In  this  letter  was  already 


FROM    CHARYBDIS    TO    SCYLLA.  287 

made  manifest  the  policy  of  compromise  adopted  at  a 
later  day  by  the  Democratic  convention  at  Chicago. 

In  this  instance,  the  President  was  wanting  in  deci- 
sion. The  moment  was  opportune  to  retire  from  the 
command  of  the  Army  of  the  Potomac  a  general  who, 
as  a  soldier,  had  caused  the  campaign  to  fail  from  his 
incompetence,  and  in  political  matters  had  separated 
himself  so  pointedly  from  the  line  of  conduct  marked 
out  by  Congress  and  adopted  by  the  government.  But 
whether  the  administration  recoiled  from  an  open  rup- 
ture with  the  Democratic  party,  or  whether  it  did  not 
feel  itself  sufficiently  clear  as  to  the  merits  of  the  gen- 
erals to  designate  the  one  most  worthy  of  succession 
to  a  position  so  important,  matters  were  left  as  they 
were.  Only  the  isolated  corps  of  McDowell,  Banks, 
and  Fremont  were  united  and  put  under  one  command, 
that  of  General  Pope,  in  order  to  protect  Washington 
more  effectually. 

Our  situation  at  Harrison's  Landing  was  neither 
pleasant  nor  encouraging.  We  found  ourselves  in  a 
position  from  which  we  could  not  withdraw  except 
backwards.  Alone,  we  could  attempt  nothing  against 
Richmond  of  any  avail,  and  our  junction  with  Pope's 
army,  which  covered  Washington  from  its  position  at 
Culpeper  Court  House,  had  become  impracticable  since 
we  had  been  thrown  back  to  the  banks  of  the  James. 
We  waited  passively  the  solution  of  the  questions  which 
were  discussed  between  headquarters  and  the  govern- 
ment. 

It  was  a  painful  waiting  of  more  than  a  month.  We 
were  crowded  together  behind  our  intrenchments, 
where  the  want  of  room  was  as  prejudicial  to  the  clean- 
liness as  to  the  well-being  of  the  soldier.  Our  camps 
were  unhealthy.  The  water  was  of  bad  quality.  The 
frightful  heat  of  the  month  of  July  was  scarcely  tem- 


288       FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

pered  by  the  dreadful  storms  which  came  upon  us  so 
often  in  the  afternoon.  If  the  skies  remained  clear,  a 
torrid  sun  cracked  the  earth  in  every  direction,  and  from 
the  openings  exhaled  fever-laden  miasmas.  In  spite  of 
the  care  taken  to  bury  each  day  the  animal  matter  of 
all  kinds,  an  unhealthy  odor  infected  the  air  around  the 
tents,  too  thickly  placed,  and  in  which  the  heat,  the 
vermin,  and  the  flies  left  very  little  repose  to  the 
soldier.  These  flies  are  a  veritable  plague.  They  mul- 
tiplied to  an  infinite  extent,  and  their  sharp  stings  tor- 
mented the  men  and  covered  the  horses,  who  were 
powerless  to  defend  themselves.  Night  alone  brought 
any  relief  from  their  persecutions. 

Such  was  our  condition  at  Harrison's  Landing.  The 
enemy  left  us  alone,  without  troubling  himself  to  dis- 
turb us  in  our  inoffensive  idleness.  He  was  preparing 
for  more  important  operations.  Once  only,  on  the  ist 
of  August,  between  midnight  and  one  o'clock  in  the 
morning,  he  opened  an  unexpected  cannonade  on  our 
transports.  To  this  end  he  had  sent  a  few  batteries  on 
the  right  bank  of  the  James  ;  but  they  were  promptly 
reduced  to  silence,  and  retired  at  daylight  without 
doing  us  any  particular  damage.  Coggin's  Point,  of 
which  they  had  made  use,  was  occupied  by  our  troops 
and  fortified,  and  the  enemy  did  not  trouble  us  from 
that  point  any  more. 

On  the  5th  of  August,  Hooker  made  a  reconnoissance 
towards  Malvern  Hill.  He  encountered  nobody,  and 
returned  as  he  had  gone. 

On  the  6th  it  was  our  time  to  march  out  to  Haxall's 
Landing.  After  the  battle  of  Fair  Oaks,  General  Peck 
had  been  promoted  to  the  command  of  a  division,  and 
had  been  replaced  in  the  command  of  the  brigade  by  a 
captain  of  artillery,  promoted  to  brigadier-general  in 
the   volunteer    service.       So    that   General    Albion    P. 


FROM    CHARYBDIS    TO    SCYLLA.  289 

Howe  was  more  familiar  with  the  command  of  a  bat- 
tery than  with  the  infantry  service.  This  was  well 
exemplified  at  the  time.  Departing  at  sundown,  the 
brigade  did  not  reach  Haxall's  Farm  until  one  o'clock  in 
the  morning.  The  distance  is  three  or  four  miles,  and 
could  easily  have  been  made  in  less  than  two  hours. 
But  wandering  around  in  different  paths,  under  the 
brilliant  light  of  the  moon,  the  general  did  not  appear 
to  think  that  men  should  have,  now  and  then,  a  few 
minutes  of  rest.  Thus,  from  not  having  regard  to  the 
fatigue  of  his  men,  he  left  behind  him  a  large  number 
of  stragglers,  and  reached  his  goal  with  a  command 
reduced  by  a  third,  and  so  tired  that  if  we  had  met  the 
enemy  we  were  in  a  condition  not  at  all  favorable  for 
an  attack,  or  even  for  properly  defending  ourselves. 
Happily,  Haxall's  was  abandoned,  as  was  Malvern  Hill, 
and,  after  a  day  spent  in  manoeuvres,  poorly  conceived 
in  case  of  an  attack,  the  division  returned  the  following 
night,  this  time  by  the  straight  road,  and  without  hav- 
ing burned  a  grain  of  powder. 

On  the  second  day  after,  August  10,  the  first  order 
for  departure  arrived.  The  hospitals  were  vacated  and 
the  baggage  shipped  on  the  transports,  even  the  knap- 
sacks, leaving  the  soldiers  only  their  arms,  their  blank- 
ets, and  their  haversacks.  The  heavy  artillery  was  also 
embarked.  All  that  took  several  days,  during  which 
the  army,  from  universal  joy,  appeared  to  be  trans- 
formed. We  were  at  last  about  to  leave  that  odious 
peninsula,  where  we  had  found  only  reverses  and  false 
hopes.  We  would,  without  doubt,  leave  there  the  bad 
fortune  against  which  we  had  fought,  and  matters 
would  take  a  more  favorable  turn  for  us  on  new  battle- 
fields. Bonfires  were  made  of  everything  combustible 
which  we  did  not  wish  to  take  with  us.  Joy  shone  on 
all  faces  ;  the  morale  became  higher  in  every  heart.      It 


290       FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

would  not  have  been  well  for  the  enemy  to  try  to  bar 
our  retreat.  We  would  have  passed  over  him  with  an 
irresistible  force. 

But  the  enemy  had  no  such  idea.  His  eyes  were 
fixed  on  another  point,  and  his  efforts  were  turned  in 
another  direction,  to  crush  Pope  before  we  had  time  to 
come  to  his  aid.  This  was  precisely  what  the  govern- 
ment at  Washington,  as  well  as  General  Halleck,  — 
recently  called  to  the  command-in-chief  of  the  armies, 
—  and  the  greater  part  of  the  corps  commanders  of  the 
Army  of  the  Potomac,  had  foreseen.  The  latter  had  so 
expressed  themselves  in  July,  when  the  President  and 
afterwards  General  Halleck  had  visited  the  army. 

The  project  of  evacuating  the  Peninsula  dated  from 
the  President's  visit  on  July  8,  and  since  then  General 
McClellan  had  not  ceased  to  oppose  it  in  every  way 
and  under  all  possible  pretexts.  It  was  the  better  to 
inform  himself  of  the  value  of  that  opposition  that,  on 
July  25,  General  Halleck  had  made  his  visit  to  Harri- 
son's Landing.  There  he  was  able  to  see  for  himself  the 
real  condition  of  the  army,  to  get  direct  information 
and  the  opinions  of  the  generals,  a  majority  of  whom 
advised  the  immediate  evacuation  of  the  Peninsula. 
He  returned  to  Washington  fully  satisfied  of  the  neces- 
sity of  that  measure,  and  on  the  30th  addressed  to 
McClellan  the  order  to  send  away  promptly  all  his 
sick,  in  order  to  break  camp.  On  the  2d  of  August  he 
had  received  no  reply.  A  new  order  was  given,  con- 
firming the  first.  On  the  3d  McClellan  replies  that  he 
cannot  decide  which  of  the  sick  to  send  away  until  he 
knows  what  the  army  is  to  do.  Immediately  he  is 
informed  that  the  army  is  to  be  transported  from  the 
Peninsula  to  Acquia  Creek.  On  the  4th,  instead  of 
obeying,  he  protests  vigorously  against  the  order  given, 
and  asks  that  it  may  be  withdrawn.      On  the  same  day 


FROM    CHARYBDIS    TO    SCYLLA.  29 1 

came  a  third  order  to  General  McClellan,  to  hasten  the 
departure  of  the  sick,  without  waiting  for  a  communi- 
cation as  to  what  were  or  were  not  the  intentions  of  the 
government  relative  to  future  operations. 

The  reasons  for  that  determination  are  very  clearly 
expressed  in  a  despatch  of  General  Halleck,  dated 
August  6. 

"...  In  our  last  interview,"  he  writes  to  General 
McClellan,  "  you  and  your  officers  estimated  the  forces 
of  the  enemy  around  Richmond  at  two  hundred  thou- 
sand men.  Since  that  time,  you  and  the  others  report 
that  these  forces  have  received,  and  are  yet  receiving, 
considerable  reenforcements  from  the  South.  General 
Pope's  army,  covering  Washington,  is  only  about  forty 
thousand  strong.  Your  effective  force  does  not  exceed 
ninety  thousand.  You  are  thirty  miles  from  Rich- 
mond, and  General  Pope  eighty  or  ninety,  ivith  the 
enemy  directly  between  yon,  ready  with  his  snperior 
force  to  fall  on  one  or  the  other  of  yon  as  he  may  elect. 
In  such  an  event  neither  of  you  can  reenforce  the 
other. 

"  If  General  Pope's  army  were  diminished,  to  reen- 
force you,  Washington,  Maryland,  and  Pennsylvania 
would  be  left  uncovered  and  exposed.  If  your  forces 
were  reduced  to  reenforce  Pope,  you  would  become  too 
feeble  even  to  maintain  the  position  you  now  occupy,  if 
the  enemy  should  turn  against  you,  and  attack  you  with 
all  his  force. 

"In  other  words,  the  old  Army  of  the  Potomac  is 
divided  into  two  parts,  with  the  enemy  directly  between 
them.  They  cannot  be  united  by  land  without  expos- 
ing both  to  destruction,  and  yet  they  must  be  united. 
To  send  Pope's  army  by  water  to  the  Peninsula  is, 
under  present  circumstances,  a  military  impossibility. 
The  only   alternative    left  is   to  send    the   forces  now 


292       FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

on  the  Peninsula  to  some  point  by  water,  say  Fredericks- 
burg, where  the  two  armies  can  be  united." 

In  opposition  to  these  decisive  reasons,  the  theory  of 
General  McClellan  amounted  simply  to  this  :  That 
Washington  was  best  protected  by  a  menace  against 
Richmond  ;  that,  consequently,  all  the  disposable  troops 
around  the  capital  and  elsewhere  should  be  sent  to  the 
army,  to  enable  it  to  take  the  offensive,  and  to  recom- 
mence its  operations  against  Richmond.  This  was 
untenable,  in  the  present  state  of  affairs.  For,  taking 
his  own  figures,  if  it  were  true  that  the  Confederates 
had  more  than  two  hundred  thousand  men,  half  of  them 
were  enough  to  hold  in  check  McClellan  and  Pope 
united  on  the  Peninsula,  while  with  the  other  half  they 
had  only  to  march  directly  on  Washington,  left  without 
protection,  and  take  possession  without  striking  a  blow  ; 
which  they  certainly  would  not  have  failed  to  do. 

At  last,  General  ]\IcClellan,  constrained  to  obey,  re- 
signed himself  to  it  with  very  bad  grace  and  very 
slowly.  On  August  7,  eight  days  after  the  reception 
of  the  first  order,  he  had  embarked  less  than  four 
thousand  sick,  and  there  were  still  six  thousand  in  the 
hospitals.  In  vain,  from  the  9th,  General  Halleck 
telegraphed  to  him  that  the  enemy  was  massing  his 
troops  in  front  of  Pope  to  crush  him  and  march  on 
Washington.  McClellan  replied  tranquilly  that  he 
would  put  his  army  in  motion  as  soon  as  he  had  sent 
off  his  sick.  In  vain,  on  the  next  day,  the  lOth  of 
August,  General  Halleck  informed  him  that  the  enemy 
had  crossed  the  Rapidan  in  considerable  force,  and 
attacked  Banks  at  Cedar  Mountain.  It  was  not  until 
the  14th  that  our  first  division  was  put  in  motion,  and 
not  until  the  23d  did  McClellan  embark  for  Acquia 
Creek,  where  he  arrived  on  the  24th. 

Now,  during  these  fatal  delays,  after  the   iSth,  Pope, 


FROM    CHARYBDIS    TO    SCYLLA.  293 

having  on  his  hands  the  mass  of  the  Confederate 
forces,  had  been  compelled  to  fall  back  behind  the 
Rappahannock,  where,  while  he  was  holding  out  against 
Lee,  Jackson  turned  his  right,  by  a  great  flank  move- 
ment, and  took  position  in  his  rear  at  Bristoe  Station, 
on  the  Orange  &  Alexandria  Railroad,  thus  cutting  off 
his  communication  with  Washington. 

At  this  critical  time,  the  corps  of  Porter  and  Heint- 
zelman,  arrived  at  last  from  the  Peninsula,  came  into 
line.  The  annihilation  of  Jackson  should  have  ensued 
from  their  cooperation  in  the  dangerous  position  where 
he  had  risked  himself.  The  latter,  nevertheless,  suc- 
ceeded in  rejoining  Lee,  and  then  commenced  a  series 
of  desperate  contests,  in  which  Pope,  overwhelmed  by 
numbers,  found  himself,  in  spite  of  partial  advantages, 
thrown  back  to  Manassas,  and  finally  beaten  in  a  last 
battle,  at  the  same  place  where  fortune  had  before  been 
so  adverse  to  us. 

While  these  things  were  happening  in  the  north  of 
Virginia,  that  is  to  say,  from  the  20th  to  the  30th  of 
August,  the  Fourth  Corps  remained  camped  between 
Yorktown  and  Fortress  Monroe,  waiting  its  turn  to 
embark,  which  never  came.  Leaving  Harrison's  Land- 
ing on  the  morning  of  the  6th,  we  had  arrived  by  short 
stages  on  the  banks  of  the  York  River,  where  we  en- 
camped on  the  20th.  It  was  not  until  after  nine  days 
of  waiting  that  Couch's  division  alone  received  orders 
to  proceed  to  Alexandria.  Peck's  division  was  sent 
later  on  to  North  Carolina,  whence  Burnside's  corps 
had  been  recalled,  and  General  Keyes  remained  at 
Yorktown  with  but  one  division.  The  Fourth  Corps 
henceforth  did  not  exist. 

Transports  were  sent  to  take  us.  The  Fifty-fifth 
and  the  Sixty-second  New  York,  placed  temporarily 
under   my   command,   were  crowded  on  board  of  one 


294       FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

of  them.  On  the  30th  we  started,  and  on  the  31st,  in 
the  evening,  cast  anchor  before  Alexandria.  A  sad 
return,  after  the  defeat,  to  the  same  point  from  which 
we  had  departed  five  months  before,  confident  of  vic^ 
tory. 

The  boat  which  carried  us  was  a  large  sailing  vessel, 
which  it  was  necessary  to  tow,  so  that  the  others 
arrived  before  us.  During  the  night  a  steamer  was 
sent  to  take  us  ashore.  The  darkness  was  profound  ; 
we  had  no  lanterns,  and  the  transportation  of  baggage 
and  of  men  was  made  by  groping  our  way.  However, 
at  daylight,  we  landed  on  the  wharf  of  Alexandria. 

The  news  which  awaited  us  there  was  disastrous.  A 
thousand  rumors  circulated,  each  more  discouraging  than 
the  one  before.  As  usual  in  great  reverses,  the  word 
treason  was  freely  used.  The  beaten  soldier  always 
likes  to  say  that  he  is  betrayed  by  some  one.  Perhaps 
in  this  case  there  might  have  been  a  certain  degree  of 
truth  in  it ;  but  certainly  not  as  regards  those  against 
whom  the  blind  accusations  were  made.  At  this  time, 
at  Alexandria,  the  hero  of  the  day  was  Siegel,  and 
the  scapegoat  McDowell.  Why  this  double  absurd- 
ity .''  This  it  Is  impossible  to  explain,  especially  since 
tardy  justice  has  brought  out  the  facts,  and  shown  who 
did  their  duty  nobly,  and  who  betrayed  their  trust. 

But,  however  that  might  have  been,  through  all  the 
sinister  exaggerations,  the  one  undeniable  fact  of  a 
defeat  was  plainly  evident.  Beaten  for  the  second  time 
at  Manassas,  the  army  had  retreated  across  Bull  Run 
and  taken  position  at  Centreville,  where  the  corps  of 
Sumner  and  Franklin  furnished  too  late  a  reenforce- 
ment  of  about  forty  thousand  fresh  troops. 

At  three  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  I  received  the 
order  to  join  the  rest  of  the  brigade,  which  had  pre- 
ceded  us  to   Fairfax  Court    House,  with  my  two  regi- 


FROM    CHARYBDIS    TO    SCYLLA.  295 

ments.  We  departed  immediately.  Some  regiments, 
more  fortunate  than  we,  were  taken  by  rail ;  but,  the 
number  of  cars  not  being  sufficient  for  all,  we  were 
obliged  to  g-o  to  our  destination  on  foot. 

The  heat  was  frightful.  Toward  sunset,  dense 
masses  of  dark  clouds  commenced  to  pile  up  on  the 
horizon,  and  soon  the  heavens  resounded  with  the 
deep,  rolling  thunder  which  threatened  us  with  a  storm. 
And  now  a  premature  darkness  enveloped  us  in  its 
heavy  atmosphere.  Night  came  on  before  its  time, 
and  almost  immediately  the  rain  poured  down  upon  us 
in  torrents. 

The  severity  of  the  storm  caused  us  to  hope  that  it 
would  be  of  short  duration  ;  but  it  was  not  so,  for  the 
rain  continued  to  fall,  with  more  or  less  violence,  until 
after  midnight.  Soon  the  road  became  a  mud-hole, 
in  which  one  could  with  difficulty  direct  his  steps  by 
the  flashes  of  lightning.  Disorder  began  to  affect  the 
ranks.  The  soldiers  advanced  painfully  through  the 
sticky  earth,  from  which  they  could  hardly  lift  their 
feet.  The  middle  of  the  road  was  soon  monopolized  by 
an  interminable  file  of  wagons  retreating  towards  Alex- 
andria. Mingled  with  them  were  batteries  of  artillery, 
which,  endeavoring  to  pass  by  the  wagons,  blocked  the 
road.  The  orders  of  officers,  the  cries  of  the  team- 
sters, the  oaths  of  the  soldiers  were  mingled  with  the 
peals  of  thunder.  All  this  produced  a  deafening  tu- 
mult, in  the  midst  of  which  it  was  difficult  to  recog- 
nize each  other,  and  from  the  confusion  of  which  we 
could  not  free  ourselves  without  leaving  behind  us  a 
large  number  of  stragglers.  The  farther  we  advanced, 
the  greater  the  number  became.  In  the  woods  which 
we  had  to  pass  through,  the  great  trees  on  all  sides 
invited  the  tired  men  to  a  few  moments  of  repose. 
Many   yielded    to   the    temptation,  thinking    to    rejoin 


296       FOUR   YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

their  battalion  at  the  first  halt.  But  in  that  dark 
night,  in  the  midst  of  a  current  of  wagons  and  cannon, 
of  men  and  beasts  marching  in  the  other  direction,  how 
could  they  make  up  for  lost  time,  and  regain  the  regi- 
ment ?  The  officers  could  do  nothing.  The  compa- 
nies were  mixed  together,  and,  in  the  obscurity,  no 
watch  could  be  kept.  The  Sixty-second  dropped  off 
almost  entirely  along  the  road.  In  the  Fifty-fifth  not 
an  officer  remained  behind  (I  had  but  sixteen)  ;  but 
two-thirds  of  the  men  were  missing  at  roll-call,  when, 
towards  eleven  o'clock  in  the  evening,  we  halted  at  the 
outskirts  of  the  village  of  Fairfax. 

There  everything  was  in  terrible  confusion.  By  the 
light  of  the  fires  kindled  all  round  in  the  streets,  in 
the  yards,  in  the  fields,  one  could  see  a  confused  mass 
of  wagons,  ambulances,  caissons,  around  which  thou- 
sands of  men  invaded  the  houses,  filled  up  the  barns, 
broke  down  the  fences,  dug  up  the  gardens,  cooked 
their  suppers,  smoked,  or  slept  in  the  rain.  These  men 
belonged  to  different  corps.  They  were  neither  sick 
nor  wounded  ;  but,  favored  by  the  disorder  inseparable 
from  a  defeat,  they  had  left  their  regiments  at  Centre- 
ville,  to  mingle  with  the  train  escorts,  or  had  come 
away,  each  by  himself,  hurried  on  by  the  fear  of  new 
combats ;  stragglers  and  marauders,  a  contemptible 
multitude,  whose  sole  desire  was  to  flee  from  danger. 

None  of  them  could  give  any  information  as  to  the 
position  of  the  division.  The  officers  whom  I  had  sent 
for  information  returned  without  having  found  out 
anything.  We  were  compelled  to  bivouac  where  we 
were  and  wait  for  daylight. 

The  village  of  Fairfax  was  small,  surrounded  by  gar- 
dens and  barnyards.  Near  a  board  fence,  already  half 
destroyed,  and  which  served  to  keep  up  our  fires,  we 
seated  ourselves  upon  some  stones  to  dry  our  soaked 


FROM    CHARYBDIS    TO    SCYLLA.  297 

garments  and  warm  our  benumbed  limbs.  The  rain 
was  still  falling,  but  we  could  see  that  it  was  nearly 
over.  The  men  promptly  rolled  themselves  in  their 
blankets  and  slept  around  their  stacked  arms,  without 
troubling  themselves  about  the  mud.  A  few  officers 
went  to  find  out  the  news.  All  was  of  the  most  dis- 
couraging character.  Beaten  at  Manassas,  the  army 
had  with  difficulty  rallied  at  Centreville,  and  continued 
its  retreat  towards  Washington. 

Among  all  the  reports,  true  or  false,  which  were  told 
me  during  that  ill-omened  night,  there  is  one  the  sad 
impression  of  which  has  never  left  me  :  Kearney  had 
been  killed  that  evening.  This  was  not  only  a  sorrow 
for  his  friends  ;  it  was  a  great  loss  for  the  army  and  for 
the  country. 

Philip  Kearney  belonged  to  a  highly  esteemed  family, 
one  which  had  already  furnished  a  general  to  the  United 
States.  None  possessed  to  a  greater  degree  the  tastes 
and  the  qualities  of  a  soldier.  To  these  natural  gifts, 
and  to  a  military  education  which  he  had  received  at 
West  Point,  he  had  joined,  besides,  an  experience  which 
very  few  of  the  officers  of  our  army  had  received. 
Thus,  sent  on  a  mission  to  France,  to  study  especially 
the  organization  of  the  cavalry,  instead  of  contenting 
himself  with  the  information  given  him  by  the  War 
Department,  and  with  the  study  of  the  regiments  in  the 
Paris  garrison,  he  had  courageously  subjected  himself 
to  all  the  exercises  of  the  school  at  Saumur,  where  he 
had  passed  two  years.  He  afterwards  visited  Algiers, 
where  he  accompanied  the  Duke  of  Orleans  as  honor- 
ary aid  during  the  campaign  of  Portes  de  Fer.  He 
obtained  there  the  only  distinction  in  his  power  to 
obtain,  the  cross  of  the  Legion  of  Honor.  He  after- 
wards was  offered  a  command  in  the  French  service,  in 
the    Foreign    Legion ;  but   he  preferred    to    return    to 


298       FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

America,  where  the  Mexican  War  soon  furnished  him 
an  opportunity  to  distinguish  himself.  After  having 
signalized  himself  in  many  engagements,  he  lost  an  arm, 
and  attained  the  rank  of  major  at  the  attack  on  Mexico. 

Later  on,  he  left  the  service  to  enjoy  his  large  fort- 
une. In  1 86 1  he  resided  at  Paris,  where,  at  his  house, 
his  friends  and  countrymen  always  found  a  cordial  wel- 
come and  an  elegant  hospitality.  Politics  interested 
him  very  little,  and  he  received  with  an  equal  cordiality 
his  old  comrades  of  the  army,  whether  they  were  from 
the  North  or  from  the  South.  But  when  the  war  broke 
out  between  the  two  sections  of  the  country  he  did  not 
hesitate  in  the  fulfilment  of  his  duty.  At  the  first 
sound  of  the  cannon,  renouncing  family  joys  and  the 
tranquil  comforts  of  the  rich  man,  he  left  immediately 
to  ask  employment  from  the  federal  government.  Soon 
after  his  arrival  he  was  appointed  brigadier-general  of 
volunteers. 

On  the  Peninsula  he  commanded  a  division  which 
shone  amongst  all  by  its  bearing  and  its  discipline,  its 
dash  in  attack  and  its  obstinacy  in  defence.  The  soul 
of  Kearney  was  in  it  and  animated  it,  even  to  the  end, 
after  it  had  lost  its  chief,  whose  memory  always  re- 
mained in  its  ranks  like  a  living  presence. 

Kearney  was  appointed  major-general  at  Harrison's 
Landing.  This  promotion,  merited  twice  over,  lost 
much  of  its  value  in  his  eyes  because  it  was  included 
in  a  batch  made  up  without  discrimination  on  the  Fourth 
of  July,  the  anniversary  of  national  independence.  All 
the  brigadier-generals  who,  during  a  campaign,  had 
commanded  a  division,  well  or  poorly,  were  promoted 
at  the  same  time,  and  all  the  colonels  who  were  com- 
manding brigades  received  equally  the  star  of  brigadier- 
general.  Deplorable  system,  which  contributed  not  a 
little  to  prolong  the  period  of  our  reverses. 


FROM    CHARYBDIS    TO    SCYLLA.  299 

Kearney  played  an  active  and  brilliant  part  in  the 
series  of  combats  which  Pope  had  to  fight.  At  Manas- 
sas he  attacked  the  enemy  so  vigorously  that  he  drove 
him  beyond  the  railroad  which  covered  him.  This  par- 
tial success  ought  to  have  given  us  a  victory.  In  fact, 
Kearney's  attack  should  have  coincided  with  an  attack 
by  Porter's  corps  against  the  right  of  the  Confederates. 
But  Porter  did  not  come  into  action,  and  left  the  enemy 
at  liberty  to  send  reenforcements  to  his  outflanked  wing. 
Kearney  was  compelled  to  abandon  the  ground  he  had 
gained,  and  fortune  turned  against  us. 

On  September  i,  Lee,  pursuing  our  retreating  forces, 
came  up  to  our  right  near  Chantilly.  General  Stevens 
having  been  killed,  his  division,  short  of  ammunition, 
fell  back  in  disorder.  Kearney  hurried  forward  Birney's 
brigade  to  maintain  our  line,  and  supported  it  by  a  bat- 
tery of  artillery,  which  he  put  in  position  himself.  How- 
ever, a  gap  still  remained  open.  In  order  to  know  what 
was  the  length  of  the  opening,  and  its  perils,  he  rode 
alone  in  that  direction,  leaving  his  staff  officers  and 
orderlies,  in  order  not  to  attract  attention. — The  lat- 
ter waited  his  return  in  vain  ;  he  never  came  back.  — 
Carried  away  by  his  ardor,  he  had  advanced,  without 
perceiving  it,  to  the  line  of  the  enemy's  skirmishers, 
concealed  along  the  edge  of  a  wood.  When  he  was 
but  a  few  paces  distant,  the  one  nearest  cried  out  to 
him  to  surrender.  For  answer,  "he  faced  about,  and, 
lying  down  on  his  horse's  neck,  set  out  at  a  gallop. 
The  balls  flew  more  quickly  than  he.  One  struck  him 
above  the  hip  and  passed  through  his  body.  He  fell, 
and  died  in  a  few  minutes. 

The  Confederate  generals,  whose  comrade  and  friend 
he  had  been  before  becoming  one  of  their  most  formi- 
dable adversaries,  wished,  on  this  occasion,  to  show  in 
what  esteem  they  held  him.     By  order  of  General  Lee, 


300       FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

the  body  of  General  Kearney,  his  horse,  equipments, 
and  arms  were  delivered  to  us,  without  the  loss  of  any- 
thing. A  fiery  spirit  and  noble  heart,  he,  in  this  man- 
ner, commanded  the  sympathy  and  admiration  even  of 
the  enemies  whom  he  was  fighting. 

This  fatal  death  brought  to  my  mind  the  last  words 
which  he  had  spoken  to  me  in  my  tent,  where  he  some- 
times came  to  talk  of  France,  of  Paris,  of  our  mutual 
friends  in  New  York,  and  of  the  thousand  things  which 
always  interested  him,  as  a  man  of  the  world,  in  the 
midst  of  his  duties  as  a  soldier.  As  I  remarked  to  him 
that  now  he  was  engaged  in  a  path  which  might  lead 
to  everything,  — 

"  Oh  !  "  said  he,  "  do  not  exaggerate.  Doubtless,  I 
could  command  a  corps  with  some  distinction  ;  but  a 
higher  position  would  probably  be  beyond  my  ability,  and 
I  do  not  think  of  the  position  of  a  commander-in-chief. 
—  '  Such  a  one  shines  as  a  commander  of  the  second 
rank,'  you  know  the  phrase.  So  I  have  not  the  am- 
bition for  myself  that  my  friends  have  for  me.  Let  the 
war  be  finished  in  whatever  way  and  I  will  return  imme- 
diately to  take  up  my  family  life  in  Paris,  satisfied  with 
having  done  my  duty  and  with  having  done  nothing 
with  which  to  reproach  myself." 

Thus  we  plan.  He  had  counted  without  regard  to 
death,  which  awaited  him  in  twenty  days  from  that 
time.  The  public  grief  was  great,  especially  at  New 
York,  where  the  funeral  ceremonies  were  imposing. 
But  nowhere  was  his  loss  so  deeply  felt  as  in  the  Army 
of  the  Potomac,  of  which  he  had  been  one  of  the  chief 
glories,  and  where  the  thousand  tales  told  at  the  camp- 
fires  finished  by  giving  to  his  memory  the  proportions 
of  a  legendary  hero. 

During  the  night  that  we  passed  at  Fairfax  Court 
House,  very  few  of  the  men  rejoined  the  regiment,  on 


FROM    CHARYBDIS    TO    SCYLLA.  3OI 

account  of  the  thousand  difficulties  resulting  from  the 
general  confusion.  The  greater  number  of  those  whom 
we  had  left  behind  had  gathered  in  squads,  remain- 
ing alongside  the  road  to  wait  our  return.  At  daylight 
most  of  the  stragglers,  assembled  around  the  village, 
had  taken  up  their  way  for  Alexandria.  To  all  ques- 
tions, they  replied,  invariably,  that  the  whole  army  was 
following  in  retreat  and  that  those  who  wished  to  rejoin 
their  regiments  could  do  no  better  than  to  wait  until 
they  came  along.  And,  in  fact,  the  army  trains  rolled 
unceasingly  along  the  road,  soon  followed  by  the  artillery 
and  infantry. 

Having  heard,  by  report,  as  to  the  position  of  the 
division,  I  joined  as  the  extreme  rearguard,  following 
back  along  the  vast  human  current,  and  crossing  two 
lines  of  battle,  which  proved  to  me  that,  at  least,  the 
retreat  was  not  being  conducted  entirely  without  order. 
I  had  unfortunately  with  me  but  a  handful  of  men,  but 
everything  was  precious  then.  We  were  immediately 
sent  out  on  picket,  on  the  Centreville  road,  where  the 
enemy  was  expected  to  appear  every  minute.  The 
Tenth  Massachusetts  and  the  Twenty-ninth  New  York 
were  with  us.  Here  a  few  of  those  who  had  been  sep- 
arated from  us  involuntarily  the  night  before  rejoined 
us. 

In  the  afternoon  came  our  turn  to  fall  back,  which 
we  did  without  the  cavalry  vedettes,  who  covered  us, 
discovering  the  enemy.  He  had,  in  fact,  given  up  fur- 
ther pursuit.  The  retrograde  movement  had  continued 
the  whole  day  without  hindrance  or  disorder.  But, 
when  night  came  on,  matters  took  on  another  aspect. 

Those  who  for  eight  days  had  done  nothing  but 
march  and  fight  were  worn  out  with  fatigue.  Every 
one  knew  that  the  enemy  was  no  longer  at  our  heels. 
No  salutary  fear  kept  them  in   the    ranks,  and    many 


302       FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARJVIY. 

gave  way  to  the  temptation  to  take  a  few  hours'  rest. 
They  lighted  great  fires,  whose  number  became  greater 
and  greater,  so  that  at  a  few  leagues  from  Alexandria 
the  whole  country  appeared  to  be  illuminated. 

There  was  everywhere  along  the  road  the  greatest 
confusion.  Infantry  and  cavalry,  artillery  and  wagons, 
all  hurried  on  pell-mell,  in  the  midst  of  rallying  cries  of 
the  officers  and  calls  and  oaths  of  the  men. 

I  remember  that  our  brigade  was  cut  in  two  by  a 
convoy  of  horses  belonging  to  Banks'  corps.  Being 
fastened  two  by  two  to  a  long  rope,  and  throwing  them- 
selves to  the  right  and  left,  they  created  everywhere 
the  greatest  confusion.  Without  news  or  orders  from 
General  Howe,  whose  staff  officers  were  invisible  dur- 
ing the  whole  night,  I  devoted  myself  especially  to 
keeping  the  battalion  together,  a  task  rendered  less 
difficult  by  the  reduction,  since  the  evening,  of  the  men 
remaining  around  the  flag. 

In  this  manner,  each  regiment  arrived  separately  in 
the  line  of  fortifications  which  covered  Alexandria. 
There  a  staff  officer  of  the  division  directed  us,  by  a 
crossroad,  upon  a  field  near  the  seminary.  A  few 
twigs,  picked  up  here  and  there,  enabled  us  to  light  two 
or  three  poor  fires,  around  which  we  went  to  sleep, 
without  any  supper.     Our  haversacks  were  empty. 

The  next  day  all  the  newspapers  announced,  with  a 
tone  of  exultation,  that  the  army  was  safe  in  the  Wash- 
ington intrenchments.  This  ivas  something  to  boast 
of,  indeed  ! 

The  unfortunate  campaign  of  Pope  was  immediately 
the  object  of  the  most  violent  censures.  McClellan's 
friends  filled  the  air  with  their  cries.  According  to 
their  account,  the  Army  of  the  Potomac  had  been  sacri- 
ficed by  the  presumption  of  an  unskilful  general,  who 
had  lost  his  head  in  the  presence  of  the  enemy.     The 


FROM    CHARYBDIS    TO    SCYLLA.  303 

newspapers  of  the  party  to  which  McClellan  had  joined 
himself  without  reserve,  by  his  famous  letter  of  July  7, 
were  full  of  recriminations,  whose  object  was  not  diffi- 
cult to  perceive.  — "  See  what  is  the  result  of  the 
ridiculous  rodomontade  of  Pope  !  Was  it  worth  the 
while  to  bring  an  ignorant  and  incapable  general  from 
the  West,  solely  because  he  was  the  personal  friend  of 
the  President !  Such  was  the  result  of  favoritism.  If 
McClellan  had  been  heeded,  Richmond  would  perhaps 
now  be  in  our  power.  But,  in  order  to  abase  the  only 
general  capable  of  finishing  the  rebellion,  the  only  one 
who  understood  the  true  character  of  the  war  and  the 
manifest  will  of  the  people,  the  fruit  of  a  whole  year  of 
efforts  and  sacrifices  had  been  lost  ! "  etc. 

In  all  these  tirades  there  was  much  more  of  passion 
than  of  reason.  Above  all  things,  the  question  was  to 
reinstate  McClellan.  To  accomplish  this  end,  the 
defeat  of  Pope  offered  a  means,  which  was  worked  to 
its  utmost  possible  extent,  and  it  succeeded.  At  a 
later  date,  the  truth,  which,  in  the  stress  of  circum- 
stances at  the  time,  could  not  be  investigated,  has  be- 
come known.  To-day  the  records  in  the  case  are  open 
to  the  examination  of  every  one,  and  allow  an  impartial 
judgment  to  be  formed. 

As  for  myself,  in  this  matter,  I  can  well  apply  the 
saying  of  Tacitus  in  reference  to  Otho,  Galba,  and 
Vitellius  :  MiJii  ncc  benejicio  ncc  injuria  cogniti. 
McClellan  and  Pope  have  neither  of  them  ever  done 
me  a  favor  or  an  injury.  To  the  former  I  have  never 
addressed  a  word,  except  to  thank  him  for  a  compliment 
addressed  to  my  regiment,  and  I  have  never  been  near 
or  seen  the  latter  in  my  life. 

That  Pope  did  not  show  himself  equal  to  the  high 
position  in  which  he  was  placed,  that  he  did  not  accom- 
plish what  was  expected  of    him,  —  this  is,  I  think,  a 


304       FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

fact  that  no  one  will  contest.  But  justice  demands,  in 
his  favor,  that  the  many  extenuating  circumstances  be 
considered.  In  the  first  place,  his  task  was  Herculean  ; 
and,  in  order  to  accomplish  it,  he  must  have  been  a 
great  captain,  and  great  captains  are  very  rare.  In 
the  next  place,  the  reenforcements  and  aid  on  which 
he  had  a  right  to  rely  failed  him  in  a  great  part, 
which  kept  him  constantly  in  a  disadvantageous  posi- 
tion in  front  of  the  enemy.  Finally,  the  ill-will  and 
disobedience  of  at  least  one  of  his  corps  commanders 
contributed  sensibly  to  defeat  his  plans  and  paralyze 
his  efforts. 

Let  us  recall  the  facts  :  — 

On  July  20,  when  Pope,  having  on  his  hands  the 
whole  Confederate  army,  took  position  behind  the 
Rappahannock,  he  had  not  yet  received  a  single  man  of 
those  whom  for  more  than  a  week  McClellan  had  had 
a  formal  order  to  send  to  him.  Nevertheless,  a  first 
attempt  of  Jackson  to  turn  his  right  at  Sulphur  Springs 
was  vigorously  repulsed  on  the  22d. 

Then  Jackson,  making  a  long  circuit  with  forced 
marches,  on  the  26th  reached  Bristoe  Station,  in  Pope's 
rear,  and  broke  his  communications  with  Washington, 
by  destroying  the  railroad.  This  bold  movement 
should  have  been  coincident  with  an  attack  in  front. 
Lee,  with  the  bulk  of  his  forces,  should  have  dis- 
lodged Pope  from  his  position  on  the  Rappahannock, 
while  Jackson  struck  him  in  the  rear;  in  this  manner 
routing  him,  and  leading  perhaps  to  the  destruction 
of  his  force.  Otherwise,  Jackson's  march  was  a  grave 
fault,  and  exposed  himself  to  the  danger  of  being 
crushed.  It  came  very  near  resulting  in  this  way,  for 
Pope,  preventing  Lee's  attack,  and  being  reenforced 
on  the  way  by  the  two  corps  of  Heintzelman  and  Por- 
ter,  arrived  at   last  from    the    Peninsula,   hastened  to 


FROM    CHARYBDIS    TO    SCYLLA.  305 

manoeuvre  so  as  to  surround  Jackson  at  Manassas, 
where  he  had  retreated. 

It  was  in  the  execution  of  this  capital  combination 
that  the  ill-will  from  which  Pope  was  to  suffer  so  much 
began  to  be  manifest.  On  the  27th,  Hooker  had  met 
and  driven  in  the  rearguard  of  Jackson  at  Bristoe. 
Porter,  the  close  friend  and  favorite  of  McClellan, 
ought  to  have  been  there  at  daylight  on  the  28th,  to 
make  a  success  of  this  first  advantage.  He  did  not 
appear  until  about  ten  o'clock,  and  every  one  can  well 
see  what  a  delay  of  six  or  seven  hours  means  in  such 
a  case. 

Jackson  slipped  through  his  adversary's  fingers,  and 
succeeded  in  rejoining  Lee.  It  was  very  ably  done  by 
him,  but  one  must  admit  that  he  would  not  have  suc- 
ceeded if  Pope,  even  without  Porter's  cooperation,  had 
taken  his  measures  better. 

However,  nothing  material  even  yet  was  lost,  pro- 
vided that  the  corps  of  Sumner  and  Franklin  should 
appear  on  the  field  of  action.  Unhappily,  McClellan 
had  arrived  at  Alexandria,  and,  on  the  27th,  had  re- 
ceived orders  to  take  entire  direction  of  the  despatch 
of  troops  to  the  rival  whose  success  would  be  his  own 
condemnation.  From  that  moment,  of  the  forty  thou- 
sand men  he  had  present  under  his  command,  not  a 
man  joined  Pope.  Why }  This  is  what  McClellan 
himself  explains  clearly  to  us,  in  a  despatch  addressed 
to  Mr.  Lincoln,  on  August  29,  at  forty-five  minutes  past 
two  in  the  afternoon. 

"  It  is  evident  to  me,"  he  writes  to  the  President, 
"that  one  or  the  other  of  these  propositions  should  be 
adopted  :  —  First,  concentrate  all  our  disposable  forces, 
to  open  covimunication  zvith  Popey  (Not,  take  notice, 
to  reenforce  Pope,  for  which  he  had  received  the  formal 
order,   twenty  times    repeated  from    day   to   day,    and 


306       FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

almost  from  hour  to  hour,  but  simply  to  facilitate  his 
retiring  within  the  fortified  lines.)  "  Secondly,  to  let 
Pope  get  out  of  his  scrape  as  he  best  can,  and  employ  all 
our  resources  to  put  the   capital   in  perfect  safety." 

Let  Pope  get  otit  of  his  scrape  as  he  best  caji  !  In  that 
phrase  his  motive  is  betrayed.  Commentary  is  unnec- 
essary. 

Franklin  and  Sumner  were  kept  inactive  by  all  kinds 
of  idle  pretexts,  the  puerile  character  and  contradictions 
of  which  one  cannot  imagine  without  reading  them  in 
detail  in  the  official  documents  published  on  this  sub- 
ject by  Congress,  notably  in  the  series  of  telegrams 
exchanged  between  General  McClellan  and  General 
Halleck,  and  serving  as  an  appendix  to  the  deposition 
of  the  latter  before  the  committee  on  the  conduct  of 
the  war. 

In  regard  to  Porter's  conduct,  military  justice  has 
pronounced.  He  was  cashiered,  dismissed  from  the 
army,  and  declared  incapable  of  occupying  any  position 
of  confidence,  honor,  or  profit  under  the  government  of 
the  United  States. 

Thus,  the  absence  of  two  corps  looked  for  in  vain  ; 
the  failure  of  opportune  cooperation  of  a  third  corps  by 
the  default  of  its  commander ;  the  errors  of  some 
division  commander ;  some  orders  badly  given  or 
badly  executed,  —  everything  turned  against  Pope. 
The  result  was  a  fatal  want  of  united  action  in  the  con- 
centration of  his  forces  and  in  the  different  fights,  which 
ended  in  the  defeat  of  Manassas. 

Since  that  time,  the  country  has  allotted  to  each  one 
his  share  in  these  reverses,  and  weighed  in  the  balance 
the  responsibility  of  Pope  and  of  McClellan.  But  what 
was  understood  at  the  time .''  The  soldier,  so  much 
the  more  irritated  at  his  defeat  because  he  had  fought 
well,  was  ready  to  put  the  blame  on  whosoever  was 


FROM    CHARYBDIS    TO    SCYLLA.  307 

pointed  out  to  him  as  being  in  fault.  Outside  of  the 
army,  public  opinion,  at  first  undecided,  was  soon  di- 
rected in  the  way  that  appearances,  unscrupulously  ex- 
aggerated, seemed  to  point.  Government  itself  had  its 
hand  forced. 

Pope  disappeared  from  the  scene  to  guard  the  dis- 
tant frontiers  of  the  Northwest,  while  McClellan,  rein- 
stated in  an  unmerited  popularity,  united  under  his 
command  the  Army  of  the  Potomac,  that  of  Virginia, 
and  the  troops  brought  by  Burnside  from  North  Caro- 
lina. 

McDowell  was  sacrificed.  It  was  his  ill-luck  always 
to  be  the  scapegoat  for  others.  On  the  other  hand, 
Hooker  was  promoted  to  the  command  of  the  First 
Corps.     This,  at  least,  was  an  act  of  justice. 

In  the  midst  of  the  wild  rumors  and  false  reports 
which  were  day  after  day  brought  to  the  capital,  and  by 
which  sometimes  a  general,  sometimes  an  army  corps, 
was  held  up  for  reprobation,  the  glorious  reputation  of 
the  Third  Corps  (Heintzelman)  remained  above  all  sus- 
picion. In  Northern  Virginia,  as  on  the  Peninsula,  its 
two  generals  of  division,  Kearney  and  Hooker,  had  vied 
with  each  other  in  their  eagerness  to  obey,  and  in  their 
ardor  for  battle.  It  was  impossible  not  to  recognize 
the  superior  merit  shown  by  both  in  their  commands. 
Kearney  was  dead ;  but  Hooker  survived,  reserved 
by  fortune  for  more  difficult  trials  and  more  brilliant 
services. 


CHAPTER   XV. 

BETTER  TIMES. 

Invasion  of  Maryland  by  the  Confederates  —  Passage  of  the  Fifty-fifth 
through  Tenallytown  —  Advance  posts  on  the  Monocacy  —  Transfer 
to  the  Third  Corps  —  Appearance  of  Washington  —  A  legacy  from 
Kearney  —  General  Birney  —  How  Harper's  Ferry  surrendered  to 
the  enemy  —  Battles  on  South  Mountain  —  Condition  of  the  two 
armies  —  Battle  of  Antietam  —  Attacks  in  detail  —  Incomplete  Re- 
sult—  McClellan's  hesitations  —  Lee  returns  to  Virginia. 

When  General  Lee  had  given  up  the  pursuit  of  our 
army  retreating  upon  Washington,  it  was  not  simply  to 
sleep  on  his  victory,  or  to  put  himself  in  position  to 
protect  that  portion  of  Virginia  which  he  had  retaken 
from  us.  He  had  higher  aims,  and,  encouraged  by  his 
success,  had  resolved  to  "fight  the  Romans  in  Rome." 
This  was  why,  leaving  us  to  return  to  Alexandria  in 
the  condition  we  have  seen,  he  marched  straight  for 
Leesburg,  crossed  the  upper  Potomac,  and  invaded 
Maryland  without  opposition.  From  September  7,  he 
had  camped  with  his  whole  army  around  Frederick, 

At  this  news,  General  McClellan,  in  his  turn,  began 
to  move  to  meet  his  adversary.  He  took  with  him  the 
P^irst  and  Ninth  Corps  (Hooker  and  Reno),  under  the 
command  of  Burnside ;  the  Second  Corps,  to  which 
was  added  the  Twelfth  (Mansfield),  both  under  the 
command  of  Sumner  ;  the  Sixth  Corps  (Franklin),  reen- 
forced  by  Couch's  division ;  and  the  P'ifth  Corps,  still 
commanded  by  Porter, — the  whole  forming  an  effec- 
tive force  of  ninety  thousand  men,  including  the  re- 
serve artillery  and  Pleasonton's  cavalry. 

308 


BETIER   TIMES.  3O9 

The  force  of  the  Confederate  army  was  nearly  the 
same,  although  its  generals  have  represented  that  it 
was  much  less. 

Our  halt  near  Washington  did  not  last  long,  but  was 
sufficient  to  bring  back  all  the  stragglers  to  the  ranks. 
The  horses  and  baggage  left  behind  at  Yorktown  did 
not  reach  us  until  later. 

On  the  4th,  the  regiment  camped  on  high  ground, 
near  Chain  Bridge,  which  was  so  familiar  to  us.  On 
the  5th  we  crossed  the  bridge,  and  by  a  well  known 
road  reached  Tenallytown,  passing  by  our  old  camp, 
now  occupied  by  others,  and  near  which  our  friends  of 
the  preceding  winter  were  assembled  along  the  road- 
side to  greet  us  by  voice  and  gesture. 

This  short  interview  was  full  of  mournful  recollec- 
tions. What  a  contrast  between  the  departure  and  the 
return  !  We  had  started  out  in  the  spring  gay,  smart, 
well  provided  with  everything.  The  drums  beat,  the 
bugles  sounded  ;  the  flag,  with  its  folds  of  immaculate 
silk,  glistened  in  the  sunshine.  And  we  were  return- 
ing before  the  autnmn,  sad,  weary,  covered  with  mud, 
with  uniforms  in  rags.  Now  the  drummers  carried 
their  cracked  drums  on  their  backs,  the  buglers  were 
bent  over  and  silent ;  the  flag,  riddled  by  the  balls,  torn 
by  shrapnel,  discolored  by  the  rain,  hung  sadly  upon 
the  staff,  without  cover. 

Where  were  the  red  pantaloons  ?  Where  were  the 
Zouave  jackets  ?  And,  above  all,  those  who  had  worn 
them,  and  whom  we  looked  in  vain  along  the  ranks  to 
find,  what  had  become  of  them  ?  Killed  at  Williams- 
burg, killed  at  Fair  Oaks,  killed  at  Glendale,  killed  at 
Malvern  Hill ;  wounded  or  sick  in  the  hospitals  ;  pris- 
oners at  Richmond  ;  deserters,  we  knew  not  where. 
And,  to  make  the  story  short,  scarcely  three  hundred 
revisited  Tenallytown  and  Fort  Gaines   on  their  way 


3IO       FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

to  fight  in  upper  Maryland.  This  was  not  very  cheer- 
ful, but  nimporte !  Should  we  all  fall  there,  even  to 
the  last  one,  the  rebel  flag  should  never  float  over 
Washington  ! 

The  army  advanced  slowly  and  with  caution.  In 
this  General  McClellan  did  not  depart  from  his  usual 
habits,  but  here  the  circumstances  demanded  prudence. 
The  Confederates  menaced  Baltimore  as  well  as  Wash- 
ington. While  endeavoring  to  divine  their  intentions, 
it  was  necessary  for  him  to  cover  the  two  cities,  and  to 
guard  against  making  any  movement  so  marked  as  to 
give  passage  to  his  adversary  on  one  side  or  the  other. 
Thus,  we  did  not  reach  Poolesville  until  the  afternoon 
of  the  loth,  having  taken  five  days  to  march  the  dis- 
tance ordinarily  made  in  two.  Poolesville  is  an  insig- 
nificant village,  but  its  position  gives  it  a  real  military 
importance.  It  is,  in  fact,  situated  at  the  centre  of  a 
segment  of  a  circle,  formed  by  the  Potomac,  and  at  a 
short  and  equal  distance  from  three  fords,  by  which  the 
river  can  easily  be  passed. 

We  had  hardly  stacked  arms  when  General  Couch 
sent  for  me.  I  found  him  in  his  tent,  preoccupied  and 
concerned. 

"  I  have  sent  for  you,"  said  he  to  me,  "  to  send  you 
on  a  mission  which  is  not  without  danger  nor  unim- 
portant. Some  reports  have  come  to  us,  which  make 
us  fear  that  the  enemy  meditates  the  destruction  of 
the  aqueduct  on  which  the  Chesapeake  &  Ohio  Canal 
crosses  the  Monocacy,  at  the  point  where  it  empties 
into  the  Potomac.  It  must  be  prevented.  The  aque- 
duct is  six  miles  from  here.  You  will  go  there  with 
your  regiment  immediately.  A  guide  will  show  you 
the  way.  You  will  take  the  best  measures  of  defence 
which  the  topography  of  the  country  will  allow.  In 
that  respect  I  rely  entirely  on  your  judgment.     Unfor- 


BETTER    TIMES.  3II 

tunately,  I  have  neither  artillery  nor  reserve  to  give 
you,  so  that  you  must  depend  solely  upon  yourself,  in 
case  of  an  attack.  However,  I  will  keep  open  commu- 
nication with  you,  with  a  few  horsemen  that  I  have. 
As  long  as  you  can  hold  your  position,  hold  it.  As 
long  as  you  can  fight,  fight.  But  if  you  are  dis- 
lodged by  a  superior  force,  your  line  of  retreat  is  that 
by  which  you  are  to  advance.  The  best  road  will  be 
the  one  by  which  you  will  have  the  chance  of  meeting 
the  small  reenforcement  that  I  can  send  you  in  such 
case,  whether  to  enable  you  to  retake  the  offensive  or 
to  protect  your  return  to  our  lines." 

"General,"  I  said,  "I  will  do  my  best." 

And,  as  I  was  about  to  go  out,  he  added,  with  a  cer- 
tain solemnity,  which  was  not  habitual  to  him  :  — 

"The  time  has  come  when  every  one  must  do  his 
duty,  and  more  than  his  duty,  for  never  has  the  Repub- 
lic been  in  greater  danger." 

This  reflection  struck  me  as  the  expression  of  a 
sentiment  which  animated  the  army  at  that  time.  The 
confidence  in  McClellan  had  been  restored,  and  the  late 
reverses  had  much  less  beaten  down  the  courage  of  the 
soldier  than  excited  in  his  heart  the  resolution  to  have 
his  revenge.  Every  one  then  was  ready  to  do  his  duty, 
and  more  than  his  duty.  This  was  well  manifested  in 
a  few  days. 

We  were  en  route  in  a  quarter  of  an  hour. 

We  reached  the  aqueduct  before  sundown.  The 
position  was  very  good  and  favorable  for  defence.  The 
bank  where  we  were  was  wooded.  By  its  elevation  it 
completely  commanded  the  opposite  bank,  which  was 
level  and  bordered  by  large  fields  entirely  without 
cover.  Near  the  canal,  too,  rose  a  hill,  from  which  one 
could  see  a  long  distance,  with  nothing  to  break  the 
view,  and,  lastly,  a  regiment  of  Massachusetts  cavalry 


312       FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

was  in  our  immediate  neighborhood.  Decidedly,  the 
mission  on  which  we  were  sent  was  not  as  dangerous 
as  the  general  thought  it  to  be.  I  did  not  the  less 
take  all  requisite  precaution  in  the  disposition  of  my 
little  force.  I  established  a  line  of  advanced  sentinels 
in  the  plain,  to  prevent  all  surprise  ;  I  had  fires  lighted 
and  tents  pitched  on  the  hill,  so  that  the  aqueduct  might 
appear  to  be  protected  by  a  larger  force  than  that 
which  I  had  at  my  disposal;  —  and,  that  done,  I  went 
to  sleep  on  the  doorsill  of  a  hut  abandoned  but  left 
locked.  In  Maryland,  we  were  no  longer  in  an  enemy's 
country.  The  property  of  individuals  was  respected  as 
scrupulously  as  possible. 

The  night  passed  without  an  alarm,  and  the  day 
broke  without  any  threatening  signs.  In  the  morning, 
a  hundred  men  crossed  the  Potomac,  a  mile  away  from 
us.  They  were  stragglers,  who  were  rejoining  the  Con- 
federate army  in  little  squads,  and  marauders,  whom 
Lee's  cavalry  was  taking  back  to  their  regiments. 
With  these  exceptions,  there  was  no  appearance  of  any 
force  of  the  enemy  in  front  of  our  position. 

Towards  noon  the  Twenty-third  Pennsylvania  came 
to  relieve  us.  It  was  accompanied  by  a  regiment  of 
cavalry  and  two  pieces  of  artillery. 

We  rejoined  the  division  at  Poolesville,  to  learn  that 
we  were  no  longer  to  form  part  of  it.  We  were  re- 
placed by  a  newly  raised  regiment,  composed  of  recruits 
who  had  never  been  under  fire.  But  in  the  eyes  of 
General  Howe  it  had  one  great  merit,  that  of  adding 
seven  hundred  men  to  his  brigade, 

In  other  circumstances,  this  measure  would  have 
been  very  agreeable  to  me.  General  Albion  P.  Howe, 
whose  unsociable  disposition  had  formerly  been  the 
cause  of  his  being  put  in  quarantine  by  his  fellow- 
officers   of  the   regular    army,   was  not    a  commander 


BETTER    TIMES.  313 

under  whom  one  would  desire  very  ardently  to  serve. 
Our  intercourse  had  been  purely  official,  and  very  cool, 
since,  at  the  time  of  the  reconnoissance  at  Haxall's  Land- 
ing, I  had  taken  the  liberty  to  remark  to  him  that  there 
was  some  difference  between  an  infantry  soldier  and  an 
artillery  horse.  That  since  that  time  he  had  labored  to 
have  me  replaced  in  his  brigade,  I  could  not  help  but 
know.  But  to  gain  his  object,  since  our  march  from 
Alexandria  to  Fairfax,  on  that  tempestuous  night,  when 
so  many  men  fell  behind;  he  had  been  pleased  to  repre- 
sent that  the  regiment  had  become  demoralized  by  the 
extent  of  its  losses,  and  incapable  of  doing  good  service 
until  it  had  been  reestablished,  both  morally  and  mate- 
rially. The  transfer  order  was  consequently  made, 
ostensibly  for  that  reason. 

In  the  evening,  on  taking  leave  of  General  Couch,  I 
protested  earnestly  against  the  order  which  sent  me  to 
Washington  on  the  eve  of  a  battle,  and  against  the  in- 
justice of  the  allegation,  which  besides  was  contradicted 
by  the  post  of  honor  assigned  to  the  regiment  that  very 
evening.  But  there  was  nothing  to  do  but  to  obey.  I 
gave  the  order,  to  depart  at  sunrise  the  next  morning. 
—  I  will  add  here  that  Couch's  division  was  not  en- 
gaged at  Antietam,  which  relieved  me  from  the  only 
regret  I  might  have  had  on  account  of  leaving  before  a 
battle. 

On  arriving  at  Washington,  I  went,  conformably  to 
orders  I  had  received,  to  present  myself  to  General 
Banks,  who,  at  that  time,  commanded  the  defences  of 
the  capital.  In  the  meantime  I  halted  the  regiment  at 
Tenallytown,  so  as  to  be  able  to  cross  the  Potomac  at 
Chain  Bridge,  if  I  should  be  sent  in  that  direction, 
which  was  the  case  as  it  happened. 

The  appearance  of  Washington  was  much  changed. 
Congress  was  not  in  session  ;    nearly  all  the  members 


314       FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

were  absent.  With  them  had  disappeared  the  swarm 
of  office-seekers.  On  the  other  hand,  the  members  of 
the  diplomatic  corps  were  absent  on  their  summer 
vacations,  which  the  passage  of  an  army  through  the 
capital  would  not  induce  them  to  shorten.  No  stran- 
gers were  to  be  seen.  The  resident  population  alone 
remaining  appeared  a  prey  to  the  greatest  anxiety. 
The  Northern  sympathizers  feared  for  their  safety ;  the 
Southerners  dreaded  a  defeat  for  the  Confederate  army 
in  consequence  of  the  attitude,  passive  if  not  hostile,  of 
upper  Maryland,  which  had  not  risen  in  insurrection 
as  they  had  expected.  Lee's  proclamations,  calling  on 
the  inhabitants  to  join  him,  had  been  without  response. 
The  ground  threatened  to  give  way  under  his  feet  to 
the  north  of  the  Potomac,  and  the  new  Antaeus  lost 
his  strength  on  leaving  the  ground  of  Virginia,  his 
mother.  Lastly,  the  certainty  of  a  battle,  and  one 
which  might  be  decisive,  put  every  one  in  a  fever  of 
excitement,  and  left  no  room  for  any  other  thought. 

The  military  administration  itself  felt  the  effects  of 
it,  and  was  not  exempt  from  confusion.  For  instance, 
on  the  1 6th  I  was  assigned  to  Kearney's  old  division, 
the  command  of  which  had  just  been  given  to  General 
Stoneman.  But  where  was  General  Stoneman  .''  It 
was  not  known  at  headquarters,  only  his  division  must 
be  somewhere  south  of  the  river.  I  was  consequently 
compelled  to  telegraph  General  Heintzelman,  the  com- 
mander of  that  part  of  the  defences.  The  latter  knew 
no  more  of  its  whereabouts  than  General  Banks,  so  that 
we  were  compelled  to  start  out  and  find  it. 

We  crossed  Chain  Bridge,  and,  after  having  passed 
by  Arlington,  went  into  camp  near  Fort  Albany,  in  front 
of  Long  Bridge.  That  evening,  in  searching  for  infor- 
mation, I  finally  ran  across  General  Robinson,  whose 
brigade  formed  part  of  the  command  to  which  I  was 


BETTER   TIMES.  315 

attached.  He  informed  me  that  General  Stoneman 
was  absent  with  one  of  the  brigades,  but  that,  in  his 
absence,  the  remainder  of  the  division  was  commanded 
by  General  Birney,  whom  I  would  find  three  miles  fur- 
ther on,  by  the  Seminary. 

The  division  headquarters  were,  in  fact,  at  the  country 
house  of  the  bishop,  who  had  not  thought  best  to  remain 
there.  When  I  presented  myself  the  next  morning,  the 
first  officer  whom  I  met  was  one  of  my  New  York 
friends,  Major  Brevoort,  of  whose  connection  with  the 
army  I  was  ignorant.  He  had  just  arrived,  under  cir- 
cumstances quite  curious  and  worthy  of  being  reported. 

A  few  days  before  leaving  the  Peninsula,  Kearney 
was  in  search  of  an  assistant  adjutant-general.  Cer- 
tainly there  was  no  lack  of  officers  around  him  brave 
and  capable  of  fully  performing  the  duties,  but  he 
wanted  more.  What  he  was  seeking  for  was  a  man 
of  the  world,  speaking  several  languages,  who  had  trav- 
elled and  lived  in  society,  both  in  America  and  abroad. 
The  difficulty  was  to  find  an  officer  who  would  fill  both 
parts  of  the  programme.  He  came  to  me  to  let  me 
know  of  his  embarrassment  and  to  ask  me  if  I  could 
assist  him  in  finding  this  Phoenix. 

"  Such  a  person  is  very  difficult  to  find,"  I  said. 
"  You  will  probably  find  a  good  officer  who  will  be  not 
in  the  least  a  man  of  the  world,  or  a  brilliant  man  of 
the  world  who  will  be  a  poor  officer." 

It  was  then  he  spoke  to  me  of  Brevoort,  of  whom  he 
had  thought. 

"Brevoort,"  I  said,  "will  suit  perfectly  the  condi- 
tions requisite ;  but  I  very  much  doubt  whether  he  will 
be  equally  capable  as  a  soldier." 

"  Pshaw  !  "  replied  Kearney  ;  "  as  to  that,  I  charge 
myself  to  make  him  efficient.  For  the  office  work 
which  I  require,  all  that  is  wanting  is  willingness  and 


o 


1 6       FOUR   YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 


intelligence.  Brevoort  is  abundantly  capable  in  these 
respects,  and  in  a  few  weeks  I  will  have  him  well  taught. 
It  will  put  a  good  deal  of  work  on  me  at  first,  but  after- 
wards I  will  have  gained  an  agreeable  companion  for 
the  days  and  hours  off  duty." 

Henry  Brevoort  was  not  less  surprised  than  flattered 
when  he  received  word  that  he  had  been  appointed 
major  of  volunteers  and  assistant  adjutant-general  on 
the  staff  of  General  Kearney,  who  had  then  joined  Pope. 
He  equipped  himself  hastily  and  started  ;  but  he  arrived 
too  late.  Kearney  had  just  been  killed  at  Chantilly. 
Nevertheless,  Birney  accepted  the  legacy  from  his 
predecessor,  and  Brevoort  had  entered  on  his  duties 
when  I  presented  myself  at  the  bishop's  house. 

The  man  of  war  received  me  in  the  office  of  the 
churchman.  It  was  elegant  and  comfortable,  and  I  saw 
nothing  there  which  reminded 'me  of  the  austere  con- 
templation of  prayer  or  the  pious  meditations  of  a  shep- 
herd of  souls.  Let  them  say  what  they  will,  the  path 
strewn  with  thorns  is  not  the  only  road  to  paradise. 
There  are  also  roads  perfectly  macadamized,  which  are 
followed  by  the  bishops,  whether  Protestants  or  Cath- 
olics. 

General  David  Birney  was  a  man  of  ability  and  edu- 
cation, a  gentleman  of  excellent  manners,  as  well  as  a 
distinguished  officer.  His  family  had  formerly  lived  in 
Alabama,  then  in  Michigan,  where  his  father,  James  G. 
Birney,  had  been,  in  1844,  the  first  abolition  candidate 
for  the  presidency,  as  he  had  been  the  first  planter  to 
sacrifice  his  interests  to  his  principles  by  emancipating 
his  slaves.  David  Birney  had  inherited  the  patriotism 
of  his  father,  but  not  his  political  radicalism.  His  opin- 
ions were  moderate.  Although  condemning  the  institu- 
tion of  slavery,  he  rather  asked  for  gradual  emancipa- 
tion than  immediate  abolition.     The  war  gave  him  an 


BETTER    TIMES. 


317 


opportunity  to  gratify  his  military  tastes,  poorly  satisfied 
by  the  easy  honors  of  the  militia.  Leaving  in  the  hands 
of  his  partner  his  interests  in  a  profitable  practice  of  the 
law  in  Philadelphia,  he  recruited  and  organized  the 
Twenty-third  Pennsylvania  regiment,  at  the  head  of 
which  he  joined  the  army.  Raised  to  the  grade  of 
brigadier-general  on  the  Peninsula,  he  commanded,  for 
the  time  being,  the  division  in  which  he  had  highly  dis- 
tinguished himself  under  the  orders  of  Kearney. 

Our  first  interview  was  very  pleasant.  The  plain 
manner  in  which  I  explained  to  him  the  real  reason 
for  my  transfer  to  his  division  appeared  to  satisfy  him 
much  better  than  the  reasons  indicated  in  the  order  of 
transfer,  the  form  of  which  I  did  not  like.  He  oblig- 
ingly assured  me  that  he  knew  too  well  my  services  to 
attach  any  importance  to  this  detail,  and  that  he  was 
too  happy  to  have  me  under  his  orders  to  trouble  him- 
self about  the  form  of  the  transfer.  He  spoke  with 
much  praise  of  General  Berry,  under  whose  orders  I 
was  to  serve.  Then,  after  having  spoken  of  other  mat- 
ters, he  ended  by  inviting  me  to  come  and  see  him  as 
often  as  my  duties  would  permit. 

Poor  Birney  !  Between  us  this  was  the  beginning 
of  a  friendship  which  lasted,  without  a  break,  until 
the  day  of  his  death.  But  how  many  were  already 
dead,  and  how  many  were  to  die  before  him  !  And,  at 
the  very  hour  when  we  were  conversing  together  for 
the  first  time,  twelve  of  my  friends,  more  or  less 
intimate,  were  lying  lifeless  on  the  battle-field  at 
Antietam. 

When  the  Confederates  invaded  Maryland,  their  line 
of  retreat  and  their  base  of  supplies  were  necessarily 
transferred  to  the  valley  of  the  Shenandoah.  At  the 
point  where  that  river  empties  into  the  Potomac,  we 
had,  at  Harper's  Ferry,  a  corps  of  nine  thousand  men. 


3  1 8       FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

commanded  by  Colonel  D.  H.  Miles  of  the  regular 
army,  and  a  brigade  of  two  thousand  men  at  Martins- 
burg  and  Winchester,  under  the  command  of  General 
White  of  the  volunteer  service.  These  troops  barred 
the  way  from  the  valley.  If  General  Lee  had  neg- 
lected to  dislodge  them  by  main  force,  it  was  because 
he  thought  it  sufificient  to  cut  them  off  from  Washing- 
ton, which  accomplished  the  same  result.  General 
McClellan  recommended,  in  fact,  the  evacuation,  but 
General  Halleck  was  opposed  to  it,  in  view  of  the  im- 
portance of  that  position,  to  prevent,  or  at  least  delay, 
the  operations  of  Lee  in  upper  Maryland.  The  latter 
then  found  it  necessary,  contrary  to  his  first  intentions, 
to  detach  a  considerable  portion  of  his  force  to  reduce 
Harper's  Ferry. 

The  attack  was  foreseen  ;  Colonel  Miles  was  ordered 
to  hold  his  position,  but  Harper's  Ferry  itself  was  not 
tenable.  It  lies  at  the  bottom  of  a  sort  of  funnel,  com- 
manded by  two  mountains  and  a  high  hill,  from  the 
summit  of  which  the  village  could  be  instantly  de- 
stroyed. Evidently,  the  order  was  to  defend  the  posi- 
tion, and  from  the  point  where  it  was  defensible  ;  that  is 
to  say,  on  what  are  called  Maryland  Heights,  a  crowning 
position,  protected  on  one  side  by  a  steep  precipice, 
and  offering  on  the  other  every  opportunity  for  an  easy 
defence.  If  Colonel  Miles  had  established  himself 
there  resolutely,  Lee  would  never  have  been  able  to 
force  him  from  it  before  having  the  army  of  McClellan 
on  his  back,  and  the  position  of  the  Confederates 
would  have  been  a  very  embarrassing  one  in  which  to 
give  battle.  But,  with  a  folly  inexplicable  in  an  officer 
of  his  rank.  Miles  stupidly  shut  himself  up  in  this 
funnel,  where  White,  falling  back  before  Jackson,  soon 
came  to  join  him.  A  mere  detachment  had  been  sent 
to    the    Maryland   Heights,  from    which    it    was  easily 


BETFER    TIMES.  3I9 

driven  by  a  Confederate  division,  while  a  second  took 
position  on  Loudon  Heights,  and  a  third  cut  off  all 
retreat  by  Bolivar  Hill. 

It  was  September  13.  The  next  day  the  prepara- 
tions for  attack  were  completed,  and  on  the  second 
day  the  artillery  of  three  divisions  opened  fire,  and  in 
two  hours  Miles  surrendered,  with  nearly  twelve  thou- 
sand men,  delivering  to  the  enemy  seventy-three  pieces 
of  artillery !  He  was  killed  by  a  last  shot,  at  the 
instant  when  he  had  just  hauled  down  the  flag  which 
he  had  not  known  how  to  defend.  A  prompt  but  use- 
less expiation  of  a  fault  whose  consequences  were  not 
the  less  disastrous. 

However,  McClellan,  on  arriving  at  Frederick,  had 
come  to  the  knowledge  of  the  movements  of  his  adver- 
sary by  a  happy  chance,  which  had  delivered  into  his 
hands  a  copy  of  a  despatch  addressed  to  the  generals  of 
his  enemy.  He  knew  then  that  Lee  was  weakened  by 
the  absence  of  three  divisions,  and  that  he  had  retired 
behind  Antietam  Creek,  to  await  there  the  result  of 
the  operations  against  Harper's  Ferry.  The  occasion 
was  offered  to  him  to  strike  a  grand  blow. 

Between  the  two  armies  there  was  a  chain  of  moun- 
tains, known  as  South  Mountain.  There  were  two 
passes  by  which  to  cross  them,  about  six  miles  apart. 
Both  were  forced,  notwithstanding  an  energetic  resist- 
ance, thanks  to  the  accessible  nature  of  the  surround- 
ing heights.  Turner's  Gap  was  carried  by  Hooker  and 
Reno,  the  latter  of  whom  was,  unhappily,  killed  there. 
We  lost  there  fifteen  hundred  men,  the  enemy  three 
thousand,  fifteen  hundred  of  whom  were  left  prisoners  in 
our  hands.  Crampton's  Gap  did  not  cost  us  so  dearly. 
Franklin  forced  it  with  the  loss  of  five  hundred  men, 
killed  and  wounded,  inflicting  on  the  enemy  a  loss  much 
greater,  and  taking  four  hundred  prisoners. 


322       FOUR   YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

cflers  and  marauders  who  had  remained  behind.  The 
Confederate  generals  should  be  heard  on  this  head. 
General  J.  R.  Jones,  who  commanded  an  elite  body  of 
troops,  the  old  division  of  Stonewall  Jackson,  says  in 
his  report  :  "  My  division  was  reduced  to  the  effective 
force  of  a  feeble  brigade,  and  did  not  number  more  than 
sixteen  hundred  men." 

General  Hill  cried  out  with  anger  :  "  Thousands  of 
craven-hearted  thieves  were  absent  from  pure  cowardice. 
The  straggler  is  generally  a  thief  and  always  a  coward, 
insensible  to  every  sentiment  of  shame.  He  can  only 
be  kept  in  the  ranks  by  a  strict  and  bloody  discipline." 
And  General  Lee  himself  makes  the  same  complaints, 
with  more  moderation,  but  not  without  bitterness : 
"  Our  ranks  were  greatly  reduced  by  the  arduous  service 
to  which  the  army  had  been  forced,  by  their  great  want  of 
rest  and  food,  and  by  their  long  marches  without  shoes, 
in  the  mountains.  Thousands  of  brave  men  had  in  this 
way  been  compelled  to  leave  the  ranks,  while  many 
more  had  done  the  same  from  unworthy  motives." 

These  were  the  circumstances,  on  both  sides,  when 
the  battle  was  fought. 

The  Confederate  right  rested  on  Antietam  Creek, 
whose  course  protected  their  entire  centre,  drawn  up  in 
front  of  Sharpsburg.  Their  left,  thrown  back,  was  con- 
nected with  the  Potomac  by  their  cavalry.  This  was 
the  side  where  McClellan  made  his  attack.  In  the 
afternoon  (September  i6),  Hooker  advanced  up  Antie- 
tam Creek,  crossed  it  by  a  ford,  and  at  nightfall  took 
position  in  front  of  the  left  wing  of  the  enemy.  The 
lateness  of  the  hour  did  not  allow  of  opening  the  fight, 
so  that  Lee  had  the  whole  night  in  which  to  get  ready. 
Nevertheless,  at  daylight,  Hooker  attacked  the  Confed- 
erates so  vigorously  that  he  threw  them  in  disorder 
beyond  the  Hagerstown  road.     But  the  First  Corps  had 


BETTER    TIMES.  323 

attacked  all  alone.  After  terrible  losses,  it  was  soon 
stopped  by  new  troops  sent  against  it,  and  forced  to  fall 
back  in  confusion,  while  Hooker,  severely  wounded,  was 
carried  off  the  field  of  battle. 

Mansfield,  who  had  crossed  the  Antietam  during  the 
night,  advanced,  in  his  turn,  at  the  head  of  the  Twelfth 
Corps.  At  the  beginning  of  the  engagement  he  fell, 
mortally  wounded.  The  enemy  was,  not  the  less, 
driven  back  a  second  time,  to  the  other  side  of  the  road. 
But  there,  again  reenforced,  he  returned  to  the  charge, 
and  had  retaken  the  position  twice  lost,  when  he  found 
Sumner,  with  the  Second  Corps,  in  front  of  him.  Sum- 
ner threw  his  troops  on  the  Confederate  divisions,  which, 
much  reduced  and  worn  out  with  fatigue,  were  rapidly, 
for  the  third  time,  driven  back  upon  their  shaken  centre. 

At  this  time,  a  decisive  victory  appeared  to  be  assured 
to  us.  Lee's  left  was  swept  away,  his  centre  reduced, 
and  his  reserve  enfeebled.  Provided  his  right  was  en- 
gaged, he  had  nothing  with  which  to  stop  Sumner,  and 
after  him  Franklin,  —  without  reckoning  Porter,  held  in 
reserve.  Unfortunately,  the  greater  part  of  the  enemy's 
right,  composed  of  Longstreet's  corps,  remained  dis- 
posable. In  order  to  attack,  Burnside  had,  in  the  first 
place,  to  carry  a  narrow  stone  bridge,  under  the  fire 
from  a  steep  hill  crowned  with  artillery,  well  covered 
by  infantry.  His  first  attempt,  begun  too  late  and  con- 
ducted too  slowly,  had  been  repulsed  so  easily  that 
Longstreet  could  hold  him  in  check  with  a  single  divis- 
ion. The  two  others  (one  of  which  had  returned  the 
evening  before  from  Maryland  Heights)  were  sent  to 
aid  the  routed  left  wing. 

On  their  arrival,  they  effected  an  entrance  into  Sum- 
ner's line,  through  a  gap  left  between  the  divisions  of 
French  and  Sedgwick,  thus  separating  the  latter,  who 
was  at  our  extreme  right,  and,  concentrating  their  effort 


324       FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

against  it,  drove   it  back   roughly  to  the  point   where 
Hooker,  in  the  morning,  had  opened  his  first  attack. 

By  reason  of  this  vigorous  offensive  return,  the 
enemy  rallied,  and  his  reenforced  centre,  in  its  turn, 
bore  bravely  against  the  two  divisions  of  French  and 
Richardson.  They  held  their  ground.  However,  it  is 
quite  possible  that  they  would  have  been  compelled  to 
fall  back  in  their  turn  if  Franklin  had  not  come  to  their 
aid.  His  arrival  enabled  us  to  retain  the  advantage 
we  had  so  dearly  bought  at  the  price  of  seven  hours  of 
deadly  fighting.  It  was  at  this  time  that  Sumner,  tired 
of  waiting  in  vain  for  a  serious  diversion  from  Burnside, 
took  upon  himself  to  stop  Franklin,  at  the  instant  when 
he  was  getting  ready  to  follow  up  his  success.  The 
exhausted  enemy  asked  for  nothing  better.  The  fire 
ceased  on  both  sides,  and  the  afternoon  passed  away 
with  no  more  fighting  on  this  part  of  the  field. 

It  was  only  then  that  the  contest,  ceasing  on  the  right 
wing,  took  on  the  character  of  a  battle  on  the  left. 
The  bridge  was  carried,  and  the  force  which  defended 
it  driven  back  on  Sharpsburg.  But  it  was  fated  that 
on  this  day  we  could  not  make  an  advance  of  two  steps 
without  falling  back  at  least  one.  At  the  moment 
when  the  threatened  capture  of  the  village  was  about 
to  bring  certain  defeat  to  the  Confederates,  A,  P.  Hill 
appeared,  bringing  up  the  last  of  the  three  divisions 
sent  to  Harper's  Ferry.  This  reenforcement  was  suffi- 
cient to  change  the  face  of  affairs,  and  drive  back  the 
Ninth  Corps  to  the  crest  of  the  hill,  which  commanded 
the  course  of  the  creek.  Here  the  varying  positions 
and  changing  fortunes  of  this  bloody  day  came  to  a- 
close. 

Was  it  a  victory  .-*  Not  as  yet.  We  had  been  suc- 
cessful to  a  certain  extent,  it  is  true,  since  we  had 
crossed  the  Antietam,  and  carried  the  advanced  posi- 


BETTER   TIMES.  325 

tions  of  the  enemy.  But,  far  from  having  abandoned 
the  field  of  battle  to  us,  he  held  his  line  firmly  at  all 
points.  Compelled  to  fight  no  longer  either  to  rouse 
Maryland  or  to  gain  Baltimore  or  Washington,  but  only 
to  assure  his  own  safety,  he  had  from  the  very  danger 
itself  drawn  a  redoubled  energy,  and  fought  with  a 
tenacity  which  had  caused  us  great  losses.  In  spite  of 
everything,  however,  his  position  was  almost  desperate. 
The  day's  battle  had  cost  him  ten  thousand  men.  All 
his  troops  had  been  in  action.  The  greater  part  had 
met  with  terrible  losses.  They  were  worn  out  by  their 
efforts  and  discouraged  by  their  want  of  success.  On 
our  side  we  had  lost  about  thirteen  thousand,  but, 
although  our  loss  had  been  the  greater,  we  were  not  so 
seriously  affected  by  it,  on  account  of  our  numerical 
superiority.  We  had,  besides,  a  reserve  of  four  divisions 
(Porter's  corps  and  Couch's  division)  which  had  not  fired 
a  shot.  Finally,  our  position  was  much  more  favorable 
than  the  night  before,  no  natural  obstacle  existing 
between  us  and  the  enemy  which  it  was  necessary  to 
surmount. 

Every  one  slept  that  night,  convinced  that  the  next 
day's  sun  would  witness  the  destruction  of  Lee's  army  by 
a  united  attack,  and  that  what  remained  would  be  driven 
into  the  Potomac,  captured,  or  dispersed.  The  generals 
took  their  measures  accordingly.  Burnside  asked  for 
five  thousand  reenforcements  to  destroy  everything  in 
front  of  him.  Franklin,  who  had  with  impatience  seen 
his  action  suspended  in  the  middle  of  the  day,  would 
finish  it  so  much  easier  on  the  morrow,  in  that  he  would 
then  have  his  third  division  (Couch)  with  him.  Sumner 
was  well  prepared  to  take  his  revenge  for  the  mishap  of 
one  of  his  divisions.  And,  finally,  it  was  probable  that 
Porter  was  anxious  to  make  up  for  the  complete  inac- 
tion in  which  he  had  been  kept  up  to  this  time. 


326       FOUR   YEARS   WITH    THE    POTOMAC   ARMY. 

McClellan  had  only  to  say  the  word.  —  But  that  word 
he  did  not  say.  It  was  still  the  McClellan  of  the  Pen- 
insula, faint-hearted  and  irresolute,  not  daring  to  follow 
up  a  success  or  parry  a  reverse  ;  incapable,  on  every 
occasion,  of  handling  an  army  in  the  face  of  the 
enemy. 

On  September  17,  he  held  Lee  in  his  hands,  as  it 
were.  The  plan  that  he  had  conceived  was  incontest- 
ably  good  ;  the  execution  of  it  had  been  most  unskilful. 
In  place  of  acting  against  the  enemy's  left  with  three 
army  corps  together,  he  had  sent  each  corps  in  by 
itself  and  at  too  long  intervals  for  one  to  be  able  to 
profit  by  the  advantage  gained  by  the  other.  Thus  the 
First  and  the  Twelfth  had  successively  seen  their  first 
success  changed  to  a  reverse.  The  Second  came  very 
nearly  meeting  the  same  fate.  Instead  of  attacking  the 
right  of  the  enemy  simultaneously,  which  would  have 
prevented  the  sending  of  reenforcements  to  Jackson 
against  Sumner,  the  general-in-chief  had  contented  him- 
self by  sending  late  orders  to  Burnside,  which  the 
latter  had  not  executed  until  still  later.  The  battle  of 
Antietam  had  been  fought  disconnectedly,  without 
agreement  or  concordance  in  its  different  parts.  The 
relative  success  gained  there  was  entirely  due  to  the 
obstinate  courage  of  the  soldiers  and  of  the  inferior 
ofificers.     Nothing  else. 

I  have  vainly  sought  in  all  the  documents,  and  in  all 
the  accounts  of  the  battle  which  I  have  seen,  an  indi- 
cation of  the  presence  of  the  general-in-chief  at  any 
point  where  he  could  attend  to  the  execution  of  his 
orders,  or  see  for  himself  how  things  were  going  during 
battle.  But  in  the  afternoon,  after  the  fight  had  ceased 
on  our  right,  he  went  there  to  approve  the  order  which 
General  Sumner  had  taken  the  responsibility  of  giving, 
and  prevent  Franklin  from  renewing  the  contest  with 


I 


BETTER    TIMES.  327 

Smith's  division,  which  had  been  only  partially  engaged, 
and  SlocLim's  division,  which  had  not  been  engaged  at 
all. 

Thus  the  whole  of  the  i8th  passed  away,  and 
McClellan  was  unable  to  come  to  the  resolution  to 
profit  by  this  last  opportunity  offered  him  by  fortune. 
He  had  asked  for  fifteen  thousand  men  from  Washing- 
ton, and  he  was  waiting  for  them !  Always  reenforce- 
ments  ;  reenforcements  quand  meine  ! 

It  has  been  said  that  he  proposed  to  renew  the  attack 
on  the  19th.  But  why  on  the  19th  and  not  on  the  i8th  .'' 
Was  it  to  give  Lee  time  to  escape  .-"  However  that 
might  be,  Lee  was  not  slow  to  profit  by  it.  On  the 
morning  of  the  19th,  without  being  disturbed,  he  had 
put  the  Potomac  between  the  remnant  of  his  army  and 
his  obliging  adversary,  who,  it  may  well  be  thought, 
had  no  idea  of  pursuing  him  into  Virginia. 

Thus  ended  the  first  invasion  of  Maryland  by  the 
Confederates. 


CHAPTER   XVI. 

INTERLUDE. 

General  Berry  —  Volunteer  recruiting  —  Antipathy  of  the  people  to  the 
conscription  —  New  regiments  —  Three  hundred  thousand  men  raised 
for  nine  months  —  The   Fifty-fifth   reorganized   in    seven   companies 

—  Raid  of  General  Stuart  into  Maryland  —  The  Third  Corps  at 
Edwards  Ferry  —  General  Stoneman  —  Colonel  Duffie — General  Mc- 
Clellan's  inaction — Correspondence  with  the  President  —  The  army 
returns  to  Virginia —  The  different  classes  of  farmers — Forward  march 

—  General  McClellan  relieved  of  his  command. 

The  retreat  of  the  enemy  to  Virginia,  while  depriving 
us  of  the  most  important  fruits  of  the  battle,  left  us 
incontestably  with  the  honor  of  victory.  I  called  on 
General  Berry  with  the  order  assigning  the  Fifty-fifth 
to  his  command.  He  was  a  plain  straightforward  man, 
tall  and  broad-shouldered.  His  blue  flannel  blouse  and 
his  whole  dress  gave  him  very  little  of  a  military  air. 
But  whoever  judged  him  from  his  appearance  would 
have  judged  badly,  for,  although  he  had  rather  the  ap- 
pearance of  an  honest  farmer  than  that  of  a  brigadier- 
general,  he  was  not  the  less  a  good  ofificer,  as  faithful 
to  his  duty  as  he  was  devoted  to  his  soldiers.  He 
belonged  to  that  fine  race  of  woodsmen  from  the  State 
of  Maine,  who,  in  spite  of  the  appearance  of  great  phys- 
ical vigor,  were  yet  unable  to  endure  the  fatigues  and 
privations  of  the  war  as  well  as  others  not  so  well  pro- 
vided for  as  to  stature  and  muscular  strength.  In  fact, 
experience  has  proved  that,  in  conditions  of  good  health, 
men  rather  meagre  than  fat,  rather  small  in  size  than  of 
tall  stature,  make  more  hardy  soldiers.     In  the  case  of 

328 


INTERLUDE.  329 

the  woodsmen  of  Maine,  the  fact  appears  much  more 
surprising,  in  that  they  had  been  accustomed  from  in- 
fancy to  open-air  work  and  camping  in  the  forests 
where  they  carried  on  their  labor.  I  note  the  fact,  and 
leave  to  others  the  explanation. 

The  Peninsular  campaign,  and  that  of  the  north  of 
Virginia,  had  already  sensibly  affected  the  health  of 
General  Berry.  But  in  him  the  moral  energy  strove 
against  physical  weakness,  and  it  was  only  when  it 
could  not  be  avoided  that  he  consented  to  take  a  leave 
of  absence,  to  reestablish  his  exhausted  strength. 

His  brigade  was  composed  of  six  regiments  :  three 
of  New  York  —  the  First,  the  Thirty-seventh,  and  the 
Fifty-fifth  ;  and  three  of  Michigan  —  the  Second,  the 
Third,  and  the  Fifth.  All  of  them  had  lost  more  than 
half  of  their  effective  force,  and  averaged  but  about  four 
hundred  men  in  each  regiment.  Hooker's  old  division 
was  in  the  same  condition.  This  was  why  the  Third 
Corps  had  been  left  at  Washington  to  rest  and  recruit 
its  exhausted  ranks. 

To  rest  —  that  was  well  said.  But  recruiting  was  a 
very  different  matter.  The  time  had  passed  when  vol- 
unteers poured  into  the  ranks  of  their  own  accord.  The 
severe  trials  which  the  army  had  undergone,  the  battles, 
its  reverses,  and  the  prospect  of  a  long  and  hard-fought 
war,  had  considerably  cooled  the  military  enthusiasm. 
It  had  become  necessary  to  have  recourse  to  bounties. 
Small  at  first,  these  bounties  gradually  became  greater 
as  circumstances  became  less  and  less  encouraging,  and 
ended  by  reaching  a  very  high  figure.  The  federal 
government  gave  one.  In  order  to  fill  up  its  quota, 
each  State  gave  another.  For  the  same  reason,  the 
districts  had  to  furnish  a  third.  So  that  the  price  of 
a  soldier  arose,  later  on,  to  eight  hundred  dollars  in 
greenbacks,  which  represented,  according  to  the  fluctua- 


330       FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

tions  of  the  gold  board,  from  fifteen  hundred  to  two 
thousand  francs  in  gold. 

Thus  the  people  voluntarily  imposed  on  themselves 
the  most  heavy  pecuniary  sacrifices  to  avoid  the  con- 
scription, against  which  they  always  showed  a  profound 
antipathy. 

Nothing  in  the  world  can  be  more  illogical  than  this 
sentiment.  For,  in  a  democratic  government,  the  very 
fact  that  the  government  is  only  the  agent  of  the  people, 
sprung  from  it,  and  being  one  with  it,  makes  it  incum- 
bent on  the  people  to  defend  it  with  all  its  power. 
There  is  no  ground  for  distinction.  The  cause,  the 
interest  are  the  same.  Whoever  says  government 
says  people.  The  correlation  of  rights  and  duties  is 
absolute,  and  every  citizen  enjoying  the  first  in  all  their 
plenitude  is  bound  to  fulfil  the  second  to  their  whole 
extent.  So  that,  in  the  United  States,  the  conscription 
is  not  a  tribute  of  blood  imposed  on  the  people,  it  is 
simply  the  duty  imposed  by  the  institutions  which  it 
has  itself  formed,  and  which  it  would  maintain  at  all 
hazards. 

However,  the  feeling  in  this  respect,  although  illogi- 
cal, is  not  inexplicable.  It  has  its  origin  in  the  distrust 
of  military  institutions,  whose  too  great  development 
has  always  been  fatal  to  liberty.  If  the  conscription 
became  an  established  thing,  was  it  not  to  be  feared 
that  after  the  war  it  might  give  birth  to  a  military 
power,  useless  for  the  exterior  protection  of  the  coun- 
try, and  dangerous,  perhaps,  to  its  internal  security  ? 
Much  individual  apprehension  came  in  aid  of  these 
general  considerations,  to  induce  the  people  to  pay 
large  bounties,  in  order  to  defer  the  necessity  of  resort- 
ing to  the  draft  to  fill  up  the  ranks  of  the  defenders  of 
the  Republic.  But  it  was  henceforth  a  mere  euphe- 
mism to  call  the  new  levies  volunteers.    The  greater  part 


INTERLUDE.  33 1 

of  them  were  really  mercenaries.  Our  veterans  of  the 
Peninsula,  who  had  neither  asked  nor  received  anything 
for  taking  up  arms  for  their  country,  called  them 
bounty  men. 

If  they  had  even  been  sent  to  us  by  squads  or  com- 
panies to  fill  up  our  depleted  ranks,  we  would  have  quick- 
ly made  them  serviceable  soldiers.  Intermingled  with 
tried  men,  placed  under  the  orders  of  experienced  offi- 
cers, they  would  have  soon  conformed  to  discipline  and 
been  efficient  in  drill.  They  would  have  quickly  learned 
their  trade,  and  marched  under  fire  with  the  confidence 
which  the  example  and  support  of  soldiers  give  to  new- 
comers. 

Generals  and  colonels  asked  with  equal  urgency  that 
the  vacant  ranks  of  their  regiments  be  filled  up.  But 
other  considerations  prevailed  with  the  Governors  of 
the  States.  The  thing  most  desired  by  them  was  to 
furnish  the  number  of  men  called  for,  and  the  most 
efficient  way  of  so  doing  was  to  form  new  regiments. 
For  these  reasons  :  — 

All  the  volunteer  officers  beneath  the  grade  of  briga- 
dier-general were,  as  I  have  explained  elsewhere, 
appointed  by  the  Governors  of  the  States.  Now,  as  the 
commission  of  captain  was  assured  in  advance  to  who- 
ever should  raise  a  company,  many  young  men  went  to 
work  with  that  object.  Each  one  was  assisted  by  two 
others,  who  would  receive  the  rank  of  first  and  second 
lieutenant  ;  and  all  these  used  their  influence,  their 
money,  and  their  friends'  money.  Independent  contri- 
butions, sometimes  of  quite  large  amounts,  were 
added  to  the  bounties  offered. 

The  selection  of  the  staff  was  generally  influenced 
by  the  same  reasons,  and  there  were  very  few  colonels, 
lieutenant-colonels,  majors,  or  quartermasters  who  did 
not  owe  their  commissions  to  the  more  or  less  important 


332       FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

part  which  they  had  taken  in  the  recruiting  of  the  new 
regiments  ;  unless,  however,  their  political  influence 
was  considered  as  an  equivalent ;  or  unless,  through 
their  friends  or  acquaintances,  they  were  in  a  position 
to  ask  a  favor  which  would  not  be  without  return  to  the 
appointing  power. 

Besides,  it  was  generally  supposed  that  these  regi- 
ments, by  reason  of  their  want  of  instruction  and  their 
inexperience,  would  be  kept  around  Washington,  and 
for  guard  duty  of  towns  and  depots  ;  and  this  idea,  it 
cannot  be  denied,  operated  in  favor  of  new  organiza- 
tions, and  gave  them  a  marked  preference  in  the  eyes 
of  those  enlisting. 

And,  finally,  the  amour propre  of  each  State  was  stim- 
ulated as  to  the  number  of  regiments  furnished  by  each 
to  the  federal  service.  This  rivalry  had  been  carried 
to  such  an  extent  that,  to  reach  a  figure  more  apparent 
than  real,  a  new  number  was  given  to  the  regiments 
which,  originally  enlisted  for  three  months,  had  after- 
wards reenlisted  for  three  years,  or  during  the  war  ! 
So  that,  for  example,  the  Thirteenth  Pennsylvania 
became  the  One  Hundred  and  Second.  Really,  it  was 
one  and  the  same  regiment.  But  it  counted  double  in 
the  account  of  the  force  furnished  by  Pennsylvania,  and 
the  patriotism  of  Pennsylvania  took  on  an  additional 
lustre. 

To  this  combination  of  individual  ambitions,  of  col- 
lective vanities,  and  political  expedients  we  in  the  army 
could  only  oppose  the  public  welfare,  and  it  was  not  a 
sufficient  counterpoise.  If,  in  fact,  the  recruits  had 
been  sent  directly  to  us,  the  State  furnishing  the  troops 
would  have  lost  the  cooperation  of  those  who  wished  to 
obtam  commissions  on  the  start ;  the  number  of  regi- 
ments furnished  by  each  State  would  have  been  dimin- 
ished ;  and   the  enrolment   would   have  been   so   much 


INTERLUDE.  333 

slower  that  there  would  have  been  less  chance  of  being 
stationed  where  they  would  not  be  under  fire. 

To  all  this  there  was  a  remedy — the  conscription. 
But  the  government  did  not  wish  to  have  recourse  to 
this  except  in  case  of  absolute  necessity.  It  was  evi- 
dently fear  of  the  unpopularity  of  the  measure,  which 
induced  it  to  resort  to  expedients  to  avoid  the  necessity. 

An  act  of  Congress,  dated  July  17,  had  authorized 
the  President  to  accept  for  nine  vwntJis  the  service  of 
one  hundred  thousand  volunteers  in  addition  to  the  five 
hundred  thousand  who  were  already  under  arms.  The 
volunteers  not  coming  forward  fast  enough,  in  the 
emergency,  three  hundred  thousand  militia  were  called 
for,  also  for  nine  months.  An  order  from  the  War 
Department  announced,  August  4,  the  apportionment 
amongst  the  different  States.  Those  of  them  whose 
quota  was  not  full  by  the  15th  of  the  same  month 
must  fill  up  the  number  lacking  by  a  special  draft. 

Now,  as  it  was  impossible  to  choose  which  regiment 
must  go,  a  sufficient  number  of  volunteers  must  be 
found  in  their  ranks,  —  which  was  more  than  improba- 
ble, —  or  resort  must  be  had  to  lot  to  furnish  the 
contingent.  It  was  really  a  conscription,  but  a  con- 
scription attenuated,  disguised,  and  only  for  the  period 
of  nine  months,  and  for  that  reason  necessitating  the 
organizing  of  new  regiments. 

The  States  immediately  strove,  by  exertions  and 
bounties,  to  gather  in  volunteers,  and  when  they  pro- 
ceeded to  the  draft  the  demand  for  substitutes  took  in 
all  the  disposable  men  who  had  been  reserved  for  that 
speculation. 

Thus  three  hundred  thousand  men  were  called  out 
under  the  flag,  who  were  good  for  nothing  but  garrison 
duty,  and  whom  it  was  necessary  to  send  back  to  their 
homes  when  they  had  become  capable  of  service  in  the 


334       FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

field,  at  the  very  time,  perhaps,  when  there  would  be 
the  most  use  for  them.  For  there  was  no  probability 
of  finishing  the  war  in  nine  jiionths. 

From  that  time  there  was  no  possibility  of  recruiting 
for  our  old  regiments,  whose  ranks  remained  half  full. 
In  the  end,  it  was  necessary,  as  we  shall  see,  to  con- 
solidate the  regiments,  in  order  to  make  them  efficient 
for  service  in  the  field. 

The  latter  part  of  September  and  the  beginning  of 
October  passed  by  in  this  way,  while  we  waited  for  the 
recruits  who  did  not  come.  Happily,  besides  the  con- 
scription of  the  militia,  there  were  some  regiments  of 
volunteers,  that  had  been  organized  for  some  little  time, 
which  were  sent  to  us.  Our  brigade  was  thus  reen- 
forced  by  the  Seventeenth  Maine.  The  willingness  and 
zeal  of  this  regiment  soon  made  good  the  deficiencies 
arising  from  its  inexperience.  The  daily  drill  dc  ri- 
gneur  in  the  camp,  the  field  duty,  which  was  performed 
as  if  in  the  face  of  the  enemy,  were  the  best  prepara- 
tions for  the  rough  trials  from  which  it  would  afterwards 
come  forth  with  honor. 

A  few  changes  took  place  in  the  disposition  of  the 
troops.  Our  brigade  was  sent  to  Upton  Hill,  to  relieve 
a  division  of  Sigel's  corps,  sent  to  Centreville.  There 
my  regiment  was  reorganized  in  seven  companies,  in 
order  to  make  room  for  three  new  companies  promised 
from  New  York,  but  which  never  came.  This  consolida- 
tion furnished  occasion  for  a  certain  number  of  promo- 
tions. The  losses,  in  fact,  were  not  less  amongst  the 
officers  than  amongst  the  men.  My  lieutenant-colonel 
had  resigned  at  Harrison's  Landing,  in  consequence  of 
his  slight  knowledge  of  the  English  language  and  his 
entire  want  of  education  suitable  to  so  high  a  rank.  I 
did  not  think  I  ought  to  ask  for  a  successor.  It  would 
have  been  a  useless  expense  for  the  government,  in  a 


INTERLUDE.  335 

regiment  so  much  reduced  in  its  effective  force.  Two 
captains  had  been  obhged  to  leave  the  service  because 
of  disability  ;  a  third,  after  having  deserted,  procured  a 
discharge,  I  do  not  know  how.  Amongst  the  lieuten- 
ants, one  had  been  condemned  to  death  for  cowardice 
in  face  of  the  enemy,  three  had  been  dismissed  from 
the  army  by  sentence  of  court-martial.  Others  had 
been  retired  on  account  of  wounds  or  sickness.  To 
sum  up,  of  thirty-three  officers  whom  I  had  taken  on 
the  Peninsula,  I  had  but  fourteen  on  my  return  before 
Washington. 

The  duties  of  presiding  officer  of  a  court-martial, 
which  I  had  performed  the  winter  before  at  Tenally- 
town,  occupied  me  almost  entirely  at  Upton  Hill. 

It  was  the  nth  of  October  when  the  division  left 
camp  to  rejoin  the  army,  according  to  orders  received 
the  evening  before.  The  Confederate  General  Stuart 
had  reentered  Maryland,  at  the  head  of  fifteen  hundred 
cavalrymen,  and  renewed  his  exploit  of  the  Peninsula 
by  playing  the  d — 1  around  the  camps.  He  had  pene- 
trated as  far  as  Chambersburg,  in  Pennsylvania,  and, 
pursued  by  General  Pleasonton,  who  had,  however,  but 
eight  hundred  men,  he  was  approaching  the  Potomac  to 
return  to  Virginia.  As  our  line  was  along  the  river,  in 
the  part  of  the  country  towards  which  Stuart  was  aim- 
ing with  his  spoils,  we  hoped  that  we  could  bar  his  pas- 
sage, but  that  good  fortune  was  not  given  to  us.  It  fell 
to  the  Second  Brigade,  which,  unhappily,  could  not  profit 
by  it.  That  brigade  had  been  in  advance  of  the  two 
others  for  some  time.  It  had  accompanied  General 
Stoneman  to  Poolesville,  where  it  was  stationed  when 
the  enemy  appeared  in  the  neighborhood.  The  colonel 
who  commanded  it  ad  interim  in  the  absence  of  General 
H.  Ward,  recently  promoted,  had  gone  out  with  two  or 
three  regiments  of  infantry  and  a  squadron  of  cavalry 


336       FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

on  the  aqueduct  road  near  the  Monocacy  River.  There 
he  found  himself  in  the  presence  of  the  enemy,  who  oc- 
cupied a  wood  parallel  to  the  road  and  separated  from 
it  by  some  open  fields.  At  this  moment  General  Ward 
came  on  the  field.  Colonel  Stoepel  hastened  to  turn 
over  the  command  to  him.  The  general,  who  did  not 
know  exactly  where  the  rest  of  his  brigade  was,  and 
doubtless  had  no  knowledge  of  the  measures  taken  to 
stop  the  enemy,  took  advantage  of  the  terms  of  his 
leave  of  absence,  whose  expiration  he  had  anticipated 
by  twenty-four  hours.  He  refused  on  so  sudden  a  call 
to  accept  a  responsibility  for  which  he  was  not  pre- 
pared. Both  parties  insisted:  —  "The  command  be- 
longs rightfully  to  you."  —  "  Excuse  me  ;  the  command 
is,  in  fact,  in  your  hands."  —  "As  you  are  present,  I 
have  no  right  to  retain  it."  —  "I  am  absent  ;  here  is 
my  leave."  I  shorten  the  story.  Time  passed,  and 
nothing  was  decided  on. 

The  result  was  —  I  had  it  from  a  number  of  eye- 
witnesses —  that  the  enemy,  seeing  the  indecision,  fed 
his  horses  under  the  eyes  of  our  furious  soldiers,  and 
afterwards  quietly  crossed  the  Potomac  a  short  distance 
from  there.  He  had  reached  the  Virginia  bank  when 
Pleasonton  came  up  too  late,  having  made,  in  the  pur- 
suit of  the  raiders,  seventy-eight  miles  in  twenty-four 
hours. 

This  unfortunate  incident  left  a  long  and  bitter  re- 
membrance in  the  Second  Brigade.  General  Ward  was 
shortly  after  summoned  to  Washington,  where  he  must 
have  made  satisfactory  explanations,  since  he  returned 
upheld  in  his  command,  while  Colonel  Stoepel  left  the 
army,  his  resignation  being  accepted. 

During  this  time,  our  brigade,  after  having  taken 
position  on  Seneca  Creek  on  the  morning  of  the  12th, 
had  been  sent  the  same  day,  by  a  rapid  march,  to  Ed- 


INTERLUDE.  337 

ward's  Ferry.  We  arrived  there  in  the  night,  in  a  driv- 
ing rain.  The  next  morning,  the  tempest  having  abated 
a  little  and  Stuart  having  succeeded  in  escaping,  we 
went  into  camp  half  a  mile  from  there,  on  some 
ground  not  so  muddy  and  better  situated. 

It  was  a  fine  country  ;  —  great  woods  interspersed 
with  broad  meadows  and  cultivated  fields,  in  the  centre 
of  which  arose  farmhouses  of  fine  appearance.  The 
opinions  of  the  inhabitants  favored  the  South,  and  more 
than  one  young  man  from  the  families  around  was  in 
the  Confederate  army.  Nevertheless,  we  were  politely 
received,  since  we  took  nothing  which  was  not  paid  for 
in  ready  money,  and  the  requisitions  for  wood  and  forage 
were  under  the  orders  of  the  quartermaster's  depart- 
ment. 

The  older  people  were  very  reserved  on  the  subject 
of  politics.  The  young  girls,  only,  gave  free  license  to 
their  tongues,  excited  by  our  officers,  who  were  the  more 
amused  by  this  frankness  as  the  expression  was  more 
animated,  and  in  that  the  grandparents  showed  them- 
selves much  disturbed  by  it.  It  was  not  our  place,  de- 
fenders of  every  liberty,  to  find  fault  with  free  speech 
even  in  the  mouths  of  our  enemies.  We  granted  it  to 
others  as  much  as  we  asked  it  for  ourselves. 

General  Stoneman  had  his  headquarters  at  Pooles- 
ville,  where  I  saw  him  for  the  first  time.  His  polite 
but  reserved  manners  were  those  of  a  gentleman. 
Nothing  in  his  appearance  betrayed  the  energy,  active 
and  somewhat  blustering,  which  one  expects  in  a  cavalry 
general.  The  poor  state  of  his  health,  which  was  the 
cause  of  his  assignment  to  an  infantry  command,  was, 
besides,  enough  to  explain  his  somewhat  sleepy  ap- 
pearance. 

Near  his  headquarters  was  camped  a  regiment  of 
New  England  cavalry,  so  called  because  it  had    been 


338       FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

recruited  from  the  New  England  States,  though  the 
greater  part  of  its  force  came  from  Rhode  Island. 
This  regiment  was  commanded  by  a  Frenchman, 
Colonel  Duffie,  who  had  found  it  in  a  truly  pitiful 
condition.  A  few  months  had  sufficed  to  transform  his 
command  and  put  it  on  such  a  footing  that  the  First 
New  England  Cavalry  was  already  regarded  rightfully 
as  one  of  the  best  regiments,  and  one  of  those  on  which 
reliance  could  be  placed. 

When  I  visited  Colonel  Duffie,  I  found  him  under  his 
tent,  surrounded  by  his  officers,  to  whom  he  was  him- 
self giving  a  lesson  in  tactics.  We  visited  his  camp 
together,  where  everything  breathed  the  air  of  order 
and  cleanliness,  and  a  care  for  the  least  details  of  the 
service.  The  horses  were  in  good  condition,  the  men 
appeared  finely,  and  the  equipments  were  irreproach- 
able. 

In  this  manner  our  cavalry  was  becoming  better  and 
better.  The  ignorant  or  incapable  officers  had  given 
place  to  others,  better  instructed  and  more  skilful. 
The  cavalrymen,  novices  at  the  beginning  of  the  war, 
had  better  learned  their  trade,  and  made  war  under 
the  curb  of  a  more  severe  discipline.  The  time  was 
approaching  when  the  superiority  of  the  enemy  as  to 
cavalry  was  soon  to  disappear,  both  as  to  quality  and  to 
number,  and  ere  long  to  be  changed  to  inferiority. 

Nothing  marked  our  stay  near  Edward's  Ferry, 
except  the  strong  feeling  caused  by  an  order  of  the 
Secretary  of  War,  authorizing  the  transfer  to  the  regu- 
lars of  any  volunteers  who  should  make  the  request,  — 
and  that  either  with  or  without  the  approval  of  their 
officers. 

This  deplorable  measure  had  been  inspired  solely  by 
the  desire  to  fill  up  the  ranks  of  the  regular  army. 
But    evidently    the    consequences    had    not    been    con- 


INTERLUDE.  339 

sidered.  They  had  not  thought  that  it  effected  not 
only  the  further  reduction  of  the  regiments  of  volun- 
teers already  so  terribly  reduced,  but  also  the  total 
subversion  of  discipline  in  their  ranks.  The  soldier 
could  henceforth  set  his  superiors  at  defiance.  He  was 
at  liberty  to  pass  to  the  regulars.  If  he  should  be 
punished,  however  he  might  have  deserved  it,  "  All 
right,"  said  he,  "  I  will  be  transferred  to  the  regulars." 
If  he  found  the  chevrons  of  a  corporal  were  too  long  in 
coming,  "Well,  I  will  try  the  regulars."  The  desire 
of  change  would  be  sufficient  to  cause  him  to  ask  for  a 
transfer. 

So,  as  though  it  were  not  enough  for  us  to  be  unable 
to  replace  the  men  we  had  lost,  a  part  of  those  who 
were  left  were  to  be  taken  from  us,  and  the  rest  de- 
moralized in  consequence.  And  for  what  reason  .-'  To 
recruit  a  corps  of  troops  who  were  neither  better  nor 
worse  than  the  others,  and  who  formed  an  insignificant 
portion  in  the  composition  of  our  armies.  I  have  never 
heard  whether  there  were  any  regulars  in  the  Western 
armies  or  not ;  in  the  Army  of  the  Potomac  there  was 
but  one  division.  Was  it  worth  the  while  to  concern 
themselves  so  much  about  it .'' 

From  all  quarters,  the  strongest  remonstrances  were 
made  to  this  order.  Then  the  number  of  transfers 
authorized  was  reduced  to  ten  men  from  a  company. 
It  was  forgotten  that  a  large  proportion  of  the  com- 
panie-s  had  not  more  than  thirty  men  in  their  ranks, 
and  many  even  less.  Then  a  pro-rata  was  established 
according  to  the  effective  force  in  the  regiments,  com- 
pared to  the  number  of  men  asked  for  on  a  prepared 
list.  Finally,  the  measure  was  not  carried  out.  It 
ended  by  being  revoked,  and  the  volunteer  service  lost 
only  a  few  men  who  were  absolutely  necessary  to  man 
the  batteries. 


340       FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

The  time  passed  away.  The  fine  days  of  October, 
the  finest  weather  of  the  pleasantest  season  in  the  Uni- 
ted States,  slipped  away  without  any  indication  on  the 
part  of  General  McClellan  of  any  intention  to  profit  by 
them.  More  than  a  month  had  passed  since  the  battle 
of  Antietam,  and  the  army  was  immovable.  It  was 
impatient  at  this  long  inaction.  The  country  was  as- 
tonished at  it.  Everywhere,  it  was  asked,  "  What  is 
McClellan  doing  ? " 

What  was  he  doing  ?  Nothing.  What  did  he  wish 
to  do  .'*  Keep  us  in  Maryland,  perhaps  winter  there  ; 
who  knows .''  Ever  since  the  23d  of  September,  he  had 
recommenced  his  eternal  refrain,  by  demanding  reen- 
forcements,  and  four  days  later  more  reenforcements ! 
While  waiting  for  them,  he  announced  his  intention 
of  remaining  where  he  was,  in  order  to  attack  the  enemy 
in  case  he  shoiild  again  cross  the  Potomac.  One  would 
naturally  think  this  was  a  pleasantry,  but  nothing  is 
more  serious  or  true. 

October  1,  the  President  visited  the  army.  Without 
doubt,  he  returned  to  Washington  convinced  of  the 
necessity  of  issuing  positive  orders  to  overcome  the 
persistent  inertia  of  the  general,  for  on  the  6th  he  sent 
him  a  formal  order,  "to  cross  the  Potomac  and  give 
battle  to  the  enemy,  or  drive  him  South."  Without 
prescribing  to  him  a  line  of  operations,  he  stated  simply 
that  McClellan  could  have  thirty  thousand  reenforce- 
ments, by  advancing  in  such  a  way  as  to  place  himself 
between  the  enemy  and  Washington  while  twelve 
thousand  only  could  join  him  if  he  operated  in  the 
Shenandoah  valley,  much  more  distant  from  the  capital. 

The  reply  was  that  the  army  could  not  be  moved  in 
the  condition  in  which  it  was.  It  needed  so  many  tents, 
so  many  shoes,  so  many  uniforms,  such  and  such  sup- 
plies and  equipments,  etc.      And  twenty  other  pretexts. 


INTERLUDE.  34 I 

The  President  replied  to  the  general's  objections 
with  rare  good-sense.     He  wrote  to  him  October  13  :  — 

..."  As  I  understand,  you  telegraphed  General 
Halleck  that  you  cannot  subsist  your  army  at  Winches- 
ter unless  the  railroad  from  Harper's  Ferry  to  that 
point  is  put  in  working  order.  But  the  enemy  does 
now  subsist  his  army  at  Winchester,  at  a  distance 
nearly  twice  as  great  from  railroad  transportation  as 
you  would  have  to  do  without  the  railroad  last  named. 
He  now  wagons  from  Culpepper  Court  House,  which  is 
just  about  twice  as  far  as  you  would  have  to  do  from 
Harper's  Ferry.  He  is  certainly  not  more  than  half  as 
well  provided  with  wagons  as  you  are.  I  certainly 
should  be  well  pleased  for  you  to  have  the  advantage  of 
the  railroad  from  Harper's  Ferry  to  Winchester  ;  but 
it  wastes  all  the  remainder  of  the  autumn  to  give  it  to 
you,  and,  in  fact,  ignores  the  question  of  time,  which 
cannot  and  must  not  be  ignored. 

"  Again,  one  of  the  standard  maxims  of  war,  as  you 
know,  is  to  operate  upon  the  enemy's  communications 
as  much  as  possible  without  exposing  your  own.  You 
seem  to  act  as  if ,  this  applies  against  you,  but  can- 
not apply  in  your  favor.  Change  positions  with  the 
enemy,  and  think  you  not  he  would  break  your  commu- 
nications with  Richmond  within  the  next  twenty-four 
hours  } 

"  You  dread  his  going  into  Pennsylvania.  But  if  he 
does  so  in  full  force,  he  gives  up  his  communications  to 
you  absolutely,  and  you  have  nothing  to  do  but  to  fol- 
low and  ruin  him.  If  he  does  so  with  less  than  full 
force,  fall  upon  and  beat  what  is  left  behind,  all  the 
easier," 

Nothing  was  done.  One  pretext  disposed  of,  Mc- 
Clellan  found  another.  And  so  the  days  ran  on,  and 
the  army  did  not  move. 


342       FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

Sometimes  the  impatience  of  the  President  was 
expressed  in  biting  irony.  Here  is  one  of  his  de- 
spatches dated  October  25  :  — 

"  I  have  just  read  your  despatch  about  sore  tongues 
and  fatigued  horses.  Will  you  pardon  me  for  asking 
what  the  horses  of  your  army  have  done  since  the  bat- 
tle of  Antietam  that  fatigues  anything  ?  " 

And  then  McClellan  complained  that  the  services  of 
his  cavalry  had  been  disparaged.  Afterwards  he  wished 
to  know  what  should  be  done  to  protect  Maryland  when 
he  went  into  Virginia.  He  advised  this,  he  objected  to 
that,  and,  once  under  way,  he  arrived  (on  paper)  at 
Bragg's  army.  Upon  which  General  Halleck  very  sen- 
sibly remarked  to  him  that  Bragg's  army  was  four 
hundred  miles  away,  while  Lee's  army  was  but  twenty. 
As  a  last  resort,  McClellan  discovered  that  it  was 
necessary  to  fill  up  the  old  regiments  before  putting 
them  in  the  field. 

If  the  matters  concerned  had  not  been  so  grave,  it 
would  have  been  equal  to  any  comedy.  But  the  coun- 
try was  not  in  the  humor  to  laugh  at  jokes,  especially 
when  it  did  not  understand  them.  It  saw  only  the 
incomprehensible  inaction  of  the  Army  of  the  Potomac, 
and  was  indignant  at  it.  McClellan's  friends  endeav- 
ored to  throw  the  responsibility  on  the  President,  on 
General  Halleck,  on  the  Secretary  of  War.  The  parti- 
sans of  the  government  saw  only  in  the  delay  the  action 
of  McClellan  conformable  to  his  antecedents.  It  was 
full  time  to  put  an  end  to  the  false  situation  ;  the 
patience  of  every  one  was  exhausted. 

On  October  27  the  President  wrote  categorically  to 
the  recalcitrant  general  :  "  And  now  I  ask  a  distinct 
answer  to  the  question  —  Is  it  your  purpose  not  to  go 
into  action  again  till  the  men  now  being  drafted  in  the 
States   are  incorporated  in  the  old  regiments  ? "     On 


INTERLUDE.  343 

this  occasion  the  general  replied  in  the  negative, 
announcing  at  last  that  he  was  about  to  move. 

The  next  day,  the  28th,  we  broke  camp.  General 
Berry  being  absent  on  account  of  sickness,  the  com- 
mand of  the  brigade  devolved  upon  me.  The  effective 
force  of  the  seven  regiments  composing  the  brigade  was 
about  three  thousand  four  hundred  men.  The  same 
day  we  crossed  the  Potomac,  at  White's  Ford,  between 
Conrad's  Ferry  and  the  Monocacy.  The  troops  were 
full  of  ardor  and  good  spirits.  The  water  was  cold  and 
the  atmosphere  was  not  warm,  but  the  comical  inci- 
dents of  the  passage  spread  good  humor  over  all,  and 
gave  rise  to  a  great  deal  of  laughter.  Moreover,  we 
stopped  near  the  ford,  and  the  campfires  quickly  dried 
the  shoes  and  wet  trousers.  The  baggage  reached  us 
the  next  day. 

My  headquarters  were  on  a  rich  farm,  whose  owner, 
Alfred  Belt,  an  old  Whig,  had  become  a  secessionist 
with  all  his  family.  The  good  man  grumbled  from 
morning  until  night  about  the  soldiers,  who,  however, 
respected  his  barnyard  and  paid  large  prices  for  the 
milk,  bread,  and  cakes  which  his  daughter  sold  them. 
But  he  took  to  heart  the  loss  of  his  fences,  which,  in 
the  evening,  made  magnificent  fires.  He  could  not 
refrain  from  going  continually,  with  a  mournful  air, 
to  the  windows,  to  see  them  blaze  up.  Then  he  would 
return  to  the  chimney  corner  and  seat  himself  in  his 
old  armchair,  to  curse  the  war,  deplore  the  extinction 
of  the  Whig  party,  and  demonstrate  to  us  that  Henry 
Clay  would  have  saved  the  Union  if  he  had  been 
living. 

He  had,  under  various  pretexts,  asked  of  me  the  per- 
mission to  send  some  of  his  people  beyond  the  line  of 
our  pickets,  which  I  had  refused,  knowing  him  to  be  a 
man    who    would    send    exact    information    as    to    the 


344       FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

strength  and  position  of  the  division.  Several  women 
who  had  come  to  see  him  had  been  sent  back  to  where 
they  had  come  from.  So  the  old  secessionist  had  but 
a  very  mild  regard  for  me. 

He  had  in  the  woods  a  valuable  colt,  on  account  of 
which  he  was  very  much  troubled,  not  being  able  to 
send  out  to  look  for  him.  The  second  night,  one  of  the 
advanced  sentinels  heard  a  movement  of  branches  in 
the  thicket,  and  a  step  as  of  some  one  approaching 
cautiously.  "Halt!  who  goes  there.''"  cried  the  sen- 
tinel. No  reply  ;  then  a  shadow  was  seen  a  short 
distance  away.  "  Who  goes  there  .■* "  called  our  man 
for  the  second  time,  taking  aim.  And  as  the  shadow 
approached  without  reply,  he  fired.  The  guard  ran 
up  and  found  the  unfortunate  colt  dying,  a  victim 
to  his  ignorance  of  the  usages  of  war.  Imagine  the 
feelings  of  the  old  man  Belt,  on  hearing  this  news  in 
the  morning.  He  would  have  been  glad  to  have  per- 
suaded me  that  the  government  of  the  United  States 
ought  to  pay  him  the  value  of  the  animal.  But  I  suc- 
ceeded in  convincing  him  that  he  would  have  to  resign 
himself  to  pass  the  account  of  the  colt  to  the  balance 
against  the  horses  that  his  grandson,  then  in  the  Con- 
federate army,  must  have  carried  away  in  Maryland, 
during  his  Antietam  excursion.  So  that  we  parted 
poor  friends. 

On  October  31,  we  took  the  road  to  Leesburg.  We 
supposed  that  the  whole  army  must  have  crossed  the 
Potomac.  It  was  a  mistake.  With  his  accustomed 
slowness,  McClellan  took  five  days  for  that  operation, 
which  was  accomplished  only  on  the  2d  of  November. 
So  the  march  of  the  division  was  of  the  slowest.  We 
had  to  wait  for  the  other  corps,  which,  coming  from 
beyond  Harper's  Ferry,  had  a  longer  distance  to  travel. 

The  1st  of  November  we  spent  near  Leesburg,  on  the 


INTERLUDE.  345 

Snickersville  road,  where  we  had  camped  the  night 
before.  The  good  people  who  received  me  in  their 
little  farmhouse  troubled  themselves  as  little  as  possi- 
ble about  politics.  Their  house,  though  poor,  was  happy 
and  joyous.  The  husband  had  so  far  escaped  the 
Southern  conscription.  The  children  were  delightful 
to  see,  running  after  their  mother,  who  was  back  and 
forth  laughing  and  blushing  (for  me,  I  suppose)  to  hear 
me  speaking  English  with  a  French  accent.  I  hope  the 
war  bore  lightly  on  them,  even  to  the  end. 

The  next  morning,  we  marched  towards  the  firing  of 
the  cannon,  whose  threatening  voice  was  heard  in  the 
distance.  The  enemy,  it  was  said,  had  assembled  a 
considerable  force  five  or  six  miles  away.  The  First 
and  Ninth  Corps  were  with  us,  one  commanded  by 
General  Reynolds,  the  other  by  General  Burnside, 
under  whose  orders  our  division  was  placed.  At  night- 
fall we  stopped  at  Mount  Gilliat,  in  a  good  position,  in 
the  midst  of  a  superb  country,  but  suffering  from  the 
cold  which  was  so  much  more  piercing  in  that  the  fall- 
ing of  the  temperature  had  been  sudden. 

The  next  day's  march  took  us  to  Millville,  where  I  was 
to  come  across  the  lowest  class  of  the  white  inhabitants. 
Chance  served  me  well  in  this  respect.  On  entering 
again  into  Virginia,  I  had  met  a  type  of  the  rich  farmer, 
selfish,  egotistic,  politician  on  occasions,  more  Virginian 
than  American,  detesting  the  Northern  democracy 
because  he  was  himself  an  aspirant  to  aristocracy  in 
the  country  where  the  vicinity  of  the  free  States  had 
driven  away  the  planters. 

Near  Leesburg  I  had  found  shelter  in  the  house  of  a 
small  farmer,  living  rather  by  his  own  labor  than  by 
•that  of  others,  caring  little  for  politics  because  he  had 
no  ambition  ;  a  philosopher  without  knowing  it,  extend- 
ing neither  his  activity  nor  his  aspirations  beyond  his 


346       FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

house,  and  asking  of  God  only  to  live,  and  to  enable  his 
family  to  live  in  a  little  comfort. 

At  Millville,  my  shelter  for  the  night  was  the  dilapi- 
dated hut  of  one  of  the  poor  devils  whom  public  con- 
tempt in  the  South  designates  as  White  Trash.  This 
one  bore  the  name  of  Hospital  ;  are  there  predestined 
names  ?  Everything  about  him  breathed  misery  and 
slovenliness :  the  walls,  the  furniture,  the  garments. 
What  furniture  !  and  what  garments  !  The  moral 
qualities  of  my  hosts  were  plainly  on  a  par  with  their 
physical.  Their  ignorance  was  on  a  level  with  their 
poverty.  Possessing  nothing,  they  knew  nothing. 
They  lived  an  animal  life,  poorly  supported  by  day's 
work  on  the  farms,  without  appearing  to  imagine  that 
there  could  be  for  them  any  other  existence. 

These  three  classes  were  equally  carried  away  in  the 
whirlwind  of  the  war.  In  the  first  class  were  found  the 
instigators  and  ringleaders  who  deceived  the  others, 
without  foreseeing  themselves  where  they  were  tend- 
ing ;  the  second  class  furnished  the  defenders  of  the 
soil,  dupes  of  political  theories  which  they  did  not 
understand  ;  the  third  class,  the  "  common  herd,"  fur- 
nished the  food  for  powder. 

On  the  5th  we  passed  through  Middletown  and  White 
Plains,  to  camp  near  Salem,  and  on  the  6th  we  arrived 
a  few  miles  from  Waterloo  —  name  of  sad  memory. 

This  march  was  laborious.  The  roads  were  horrible, 
for  the  weather  had  changed  very  much  since  we  had 
returned  to  Virginia.  It  was  now  piercing  cold,  from 
which  the  men  had  hard  work  to  protect  themselves,  as 
their  clothing  was  in  poor  condition,  and  insufificient  for 
the  winter  temperature.  In  spite  of  our  prolonged  stay 
in  Maryland,  the  army  was  far  from  having  received  all 
the  supplies  it  needed.  The  want  of  shoes  was  espe- 
cially felt,  and  during  the  last  days  T  had  seen  many  of 


INTERLUDE.  347 

the  soldiers  marching  along  laboriously  in  the  mud,  with 
remnants  of  shoes  worn  down  at  the  heels,  cracked 
open,  and  almost  soleless.  Some  were  barefooted ; 
but  they  marched  on,  endeavoring  not  to  be  left 
behind. 

The  night  was  really  glacial.  Happily,  fuel  was  plen- 
tiful. The  great  fires  lighted  on  all  sides  continued  to 
blaze  until  morning.  Then  the  snow  began  to  fall,  at 
first  in  light  flakes  and  soon  in  a  thick  whirlwind, 
whipped  by  continual  squalls.  The  trees  groaned,  the 
ground  trembled,  and  the  men  shivered.  In  the  midst 
of  the  storm.  General  Stoneman  sent  for  me,  and,  look- 
ing like  a  snow  man,  I  entered  the  country  church 
where  he  was  quite  comfortably  installed  with  his  staff. 
When  I  had  warmed  myself  a  little,  he  told  me  that 
the  first  two  brigades  of  the  division  were  camped  in  a 
forest  of  tall  pines,  which  the  road  passed  through  a 
short  distance  away. 

"  You  can  also  go  there  and  choose  a  place  for  your 
regiments,"  he  added.  "  They  will  be  better  protected 
than  in  this  position,  where  you  are  now." 

I  mounted  my  horse,  accompanied  by  an  officer  of  my 
staff,  and  we  found,  without  much  trouble,  a  place  with 
the  desired  conditions.  But  the  snowstorm  did  not 
abate,  and,  the  day  being  nearly  spent,  I  concluded  to 
see  the  general  again  on  my  return,  to  ask  him  to  let 
me  put  off  the  changing  of  camp  for  my  brigade  until 
morning. 

He  consented  immediately,  with  an  air  which  made 
me  think  that  our  advance  movement  was  suspended. 
Why  .'*  I  could  not  imagine  ;  but  there  was  something 
new  in  the  air,  and  something  indefinable  in  the  manner 
of  the  general  and  his  staff,  which  struck  me. 

The  enigma  was  explained  the  next  morning,  when, 
while  laying  out  our  new  camp,  the  news  came  :  McClel- 


348       FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

Ian  had  been  relieved  from  command,  and  replaced  by 
Burnside. 

At  first  we  could  hardly  believe  it.  We  had  so  many 
times  received  news  as  true  one  day,  only  to  be  denied 
the  next !  But  for  once  the  rumor  was  true.  The 
evening  before,  a  general  officer  had  brought  from 
Washington  the  following  order,  dated  November  5  :  — 

"  It  is  ordered  by  the  President  of  the  United  States  that  Major- 
General  McClellan  be  relieved  from  the  command  of  the  Army  of  the 
Potomac,  and  that  Major-General  Burnside  take  command  of  that  army." 

It  was  finished.  The  military  career  of  General 
McClellan  had  come  to  an  end. 

We  may  well  believe  that  this  removal  was  deserved. 
But,  to  tell  the  truth,  although  too  late,  it  was  not  op- 
portune. Really  it  is  not  always  enough  to  do  a  thing 
good  in  itself,  it  should  also  be  done  at  the  proper  time. 
Now,  the  suitable  occasion  for  removing  General 
McClellan  from  the  command  of  the  army  had  twice 
presented  itself  :  the  first,  in  the  month  of  July,  after 
the  disastrous  failure  of  his  campaign  against  Richmond, 
and  the  sending  of  an  unbecoming  communication  to 
the  President  on  the  general  policy  of  the  government ; 
the  second,  in  the  month  of  October,  in  view  of  his 
manifest  ill-will,  when  he  refused  to  move  his  army, 
disobeying  positive  orders.  Now  that  he  had  started 
to  execute  his  plans,  whatever  they  were,  the  time  was 
badly  chosen  to  supersede  him,  —  unless  the  army  was 
in  danger  of  being  compromised,  which  was  not  the  case. 

This  was  the  general  judgment.  The  Copperheads  of 
the  North,  it  is  true,  made  great  hue  and  cry,  but  on 
the  other  hand  the  Southern  rebels  poorly  disguised 
their  vexation  at  a  change  which  might  be  ruinous  to 
them.  As  to  the  army,  sentiments  and  opinions  were 
divided.  McClellan  had  there  a  great  number  of  par- 
tisans,   who  were   still    ignorant    of    his    share    of    the 


INTERLUDE.  349 

responsibility  for  the  defeat  of  Pope,  and  his  refusal  to 
pursue  and  finish  up  Lee  after  the  bavtle  of  Antietam. 
And  they  did  not  hesitate  to  express  their  disappoint- 
ment. This,  without  doubt,  is  what  has  given  rise  to 
the  too  generally  received  idea  that  McClellan  was  the 
idol  of  his  army,  and  that  his  dismissal  had  given  a 
great  blow  to  the  confidence  and  energy  of  his  soldiers. 

This  may  have  been  true  as  to  some  generals  and  a 
few  officers  whose  promotion  was  more  dependent  upon 
the  favor  of  the  general-in-chief  than  upon  their  own 
merits.  But  this  idea  was  very  incorrect  as  to  the  great 
body  of  the  army,  in  which  the  popularity  of  McClellan, 
great  in  the  beginning,  was  dimmed  before  Richmond, 
eclipsed  after  the  retreat  of  the  seven  days,  was  only 
regained  afterwards  by  the  counteraction  of  Pope's 
misfortunes,  and  had  blazed  up  at  Antietam  only  to 
become  clouded  over  during  the  long  inaction  which 
followed  that  victory. 

The  Army  of  the  Potomac,  animated  by  a  better 
spirit,  did  not  make  its  patriotism  depend  on  the  retain- 
ing of  a  chief  who  had  contributed  to  its  reverses  more 
than  to  its  successes.  The  truth  is  that,  with  some 
grumbling,  interested  mostly,  the  army  accepted  the 
change  as  a  man  does  a  wife  :  "  for  better  or  for  worse." 

Thus  the  general  who  had  up  to  this  time  played  the 
first  role  disappeared  from  the  scene.  His  misfortune 
and  that  of  the  country  was  his  sudden  elevation  to  a 
position  to  which  his  ability  was  not  equal.  If  he  had 
remained  at  a  post  in  accordance  with  his  military 
abilities,  for  instance  the  command  of  the  defences  of 
Washington,  it  is  probable  that  he  would  have  filled  the 
place  with  honor.  As  he  was  essentially  an  officer  of 
engineers,  he  would  have  found  there  the  best  field  for 
his  special  talents.  But  the  success  of  a  small  affair 
well  carried  out,  at  Laurel  Hill,  was  the  means  of  bring- 


350       FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC   ARMY. 

ing  to  him  such  high  fortune  that  he  was  dazzled,  and, 
as  it  were,  overwhelmed  by  it.  So  great  is  the  distance 
between  the  command  of  a  small  body  of  troops,  and 
that  of  a  great  army. 

Aside  from  his  military  ability,  McClellan  had  not 
the  burning  ardor  which  was  necessary  to  put  an  end 
to  the  rebellion.  He  wanted  zeal  and  conviction  in  the 
strife.  His  ultra  conservative  opinions  were  full  of 
sentimentality  toward  the  erring  brothers. 

The  enemy  was  to  him  only  an  enemy  in  the  military 
acceptance  of  the  term.  Aside  from  that,  he  appeared, 
in  combating  the  rebellion,  to  be  always  afraid  of  hurt- 
ing the  rebels  too  much,  while  they,  for  their  part, 
thought  they  never  could  injure  us  enough.  Thus  he 
showed  himself  overflowing  with  consideration  for  them, 
even  to  the  point  of  professing  a  respect,  badly  timed, 
for  slavery,  which  had  in  his  eyes  the  character  of  an 
inviolable  institution.  We  are  forced  to  believe  that 
he  deceived  himself,  even  to  the  point  of  hoping  to 
bring  them  back  to  the  Federal  Union  by  mild  meas- 
ures ;  but,  with  that  system,  the  war  would  still  be 
unfinished,  or  the  Confederation  would  be  definitely 
established  at  this  time. 

Aside  from  his  military  and  political  role,  the  ex- 
commander  of  the  Army  of  the  Potomac  is  a  gentleman, 
courteous  in  his  manners,  dignified  in  his  bearing,  and 
reserved  in  speech.  For  those  who,  at  a  later  date, 
supported  him  for  the  Presidency,  in  order  to  have  in 
the  White  House  an  accomplished  gentleman,  he  filled, 
without  doubt,  that  part  of  the  programme.  But  the 
people,  who  wished,  above  all  things,  the  safety  of  the 
Republic  and  the  triumph  of  the  government,  demanded 
at  the  head  of  the  army  a  general  who  had  higher 
merits  than  the  quahties  of  a  gentleman  and  the  talents 
of  an  eng-ineer. 


CHAPTER    XVII. 

FREDERICKSBURG. 

Ambrose  Burnside,  general  commanding  —  Organization  of  grand  di- 
visions—  Mrs.  L.'s  honey  —  State  elections — General  Burnside's 
plan  —  The  delay  of  the  pontoons  —  Effect  of  snow  —  Passage  of  the 
Rappahannock — Doctor  C.'s  nerves  —  Battle  of  Fredericksburg  — 
Attack  of  the  enemy's  positions  on  the  left — Tragical  episode  — 
Whose  fault  was  it? — Disasters  on  the  right  —  General  Burnside's 
obstinacy  —  Dead  and  wounded  —  Return  to  our  camp. 

General  Ambrose  Burnside  was  but  little  known  by 
the  army  the  command  of  which  had  devolved  upon 
him.  He  had  achieved  his  reputation  as  commander 
of  a  fortunate  expedition  on  the  coast  of  North  Caro- 
lina, where  he  had  remained  during  our  entire  Penin- 
sular campaign.  When  Pope,  menaced  by  the  greater 
part  of  the  Confederate  army,  awaited  the  reenforce- 
ments  which  McClellan  delayed  sending  him  day  after 
day,  it  was  Burnside  who  was  the  first  to  hasten  to 
Alexandria,  at  the  head  of  the  Ninth  Corps,  to  his 
assistance,  and  who  immediately  sent  Reno's  division 
to  the  banks  of  the  Rapidan.  So  that  he  had  belonged 
to  the  Army  of  the  Potomac  but  two  months,  during 
which,  as  we  have  seen,  he  had  commanded  the  right 
wing  at  South  Mountain,  and  the  left  wing  at  Antie- 
tam.  He  was  a  man  of  fine  character,  honest,  upright, 
full  of  patriotism,  incapable  of  stooping  to  any  intrigue, 
and  always  subordinating  his  ambition  to  his  duty  ;  but 
too  much  inclined  to  be  obstinate. 

A  friend  of  McClellan,  not  only  had  he  done  nothing 
to  supersede  him,  but  he  had  already  twice  refused  the 
honor  which  had  just  been  conferred  upon  him  rather 

351 


352       FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

against  his  wishes.  Far  from  presuming  too  much 
on  his  own  ability,  he  was  afraid  of  not  being  equal 
to  the  responsibility  which  devolved  upon  him  ;  but 
duty  called,  and  he  believed  that  he  had  no  right  to 
longer  withhold  the  services  which  government  de- 
manded of  him.  To  a  formal  order  he  yielded  a  ready 
obedience,  and  thought  only  of  doing  his  best. 

In  order  to  inform  himself  of  the  position  and 
strength  of  the  different  corps,  the  resources  upon 
which  he  could  rely,  the  necessities  against  which  he 
must  provide,  —  in  a  word,  to  put  himself  ati  coiirant 
with  the  workings  of  so  vast  a  machine  as  an 
army  of  a  hundred  thousand  men,  the  new  gen- 
eral-in-chief  required  a  few  days,  during  which  the 
movements  then  under  way  were  suspended.  His 
intention  was  to  substitute  a  new  plan  for  that  of  his 
predecessor.  To  the  line  from  Culpeper  to  Gordons- 
ville,  which  took  us  further  and  further  into  the  inte- 
rior, he  preferred  that  of  Fredericksburg,  which  offered 
greater  facilities  for  supplying  the  army  and  had  the 
advantage  of  being  more  direct,  calling  Richmond  our 
objective  point.  His  reasons,  submitted  to  the  Pres- 
ident and  General  Halleck,  were  approved.  So  when 
the  army  moved  it  was  to  march  to  Fredericksburg. 

However,  before  giving  the  order,  General  Burnside 
made  a  change  in  the  organization  of  the  army,  form- 
ing what  he  called  grand  divisions.  Each  of  these 
grand  divisions  comprised  two  army  corps.  There 
were  three  of  these,  called  the  right,  centre,  and  left 
grand  divisions  :  the  right  was  composed  of  the  Sec- 
ond and  Ninth  Corps,  under  command  of  General  Sum- 
ner ;  the  centre  of  the  Third  and  Fifth  Corps, 
commanded  by  General  Hooker ;  and  the  left  of  the 
First  and  Sixth  Corps,  commanded  by  General  Franklin, 
There   followed  a  complete    change  in   the  command- 


FREDERICKSBURG.  353 

ers  of  the  different  corps,  which  were  now  as  follows  : 
Second  Corps,  General  Couch  ;  Ninth  Corps,  General 
Wilcox  ;  Third  Corps,  General  Stoneman  ;  Fifth  Corps, 
General  Butterfield  ;  First  Corps,  General  Reynolds  ; 
Sixth  Corps,  General  W.  F.  Smith. 

The  formation  of  the  grand  divisions  appears  to  have 
been,  for  General  Burnside,  a  means  of  diminishing  both 
his  responsibility  and  the  work  of  his  staff,  at  the  same 
time  giving  a  higher  position  to  the  three  principal 
corps  commanders,  whose  services  might,  eventually, 
put  them  on  the  road  to  the  command  of  the  army. 
But  it  was  a  complication,  the  positive  inconveniences 
of  which  much  exceeded  the  doubtful  advantages.  So 
that  the  innovation  did  not  survive  the  originator. 
The  grand  divisions  were  abandoned  when  Burnside 
gave  up  the  command  of  the  army  to  one  of  the  gener- 
als for  whom  he  had  created  them. 

The  consequences  of  these  changes  even  reached  me. 
General  Berry,  though  still  ailing,  having  courageously 
resumed  his  post,  and  General  Birney  being  perma- 
nently assigned  to  the  command  of  the  division,  T  was 
transferred,  with  my  regiment,  to  the  Second  Brigade, 
where  I  replaced  him  with  a  provisional  rank.  My 
new  comman^  was  composed,  like  the  first,  of  seven 
regiments  :  three  New  York,  the  Fifty-fifth,  the  For- 
tieth, and  the  Thirty-eighth ;  two  Pennsylvania,  the 
Fifty-seventh  and  the  Ninety-ninth  ;  two  Maine,  the 
Third  and  the  Fourth.  They  were  in  the  some  condi- 
tion as  the  others.  One-half  of  the  men  lacked  over- 
coats, or  blankets,  or  shoes.  Their  incomplete  uni- 
forms bore  but  too  strong  evidence  of  the  hard  labors 
of  the  summer.  It  must  be  believed  that  all  the 
government  storehouses  were  empty  at  that  time,  since 
every  effort  to  supply  our  needs  before  commencing 
our  march  was  useless. 


354       FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

What  made  the  soldier  most  angry  was  not  the  fact 
of  having  to  undergo  privations,  to  which  he  was  more 
or  less  hardened,  but  to  read  every  day  in  the  journals 
that  the  army  was  abundantly  provided  with  every- 
thing, living  in  a  comfort  which  left  nothing  to  be 
desired.  If  the  optimistic  writers  who  composed  these 
fancy  pictures  had  been  put  for  a  moment  on  our  regi- 
men, they  would  very  soon  have  changed  their  tone. 
Without  speaking  of  the  worn-out  condition  of  the 
uniforms,  they  might  have  related  that,  on  account  of 
not  finding  at  White  Plains  the  rations  which  were  to 
have  been  there,  our  wagons  had  been  compelled  to  go 
as  far  as  Conrad  Ferry  for  them  ;  and  that  during 
these  delays  the  soldiers  had  to  go  without  their 
rations,  to  the  great  sorrow  of  the  neighboring  farmers, 
whose  barnyards  were  very  rapidly  depopulated.  Un- 
happily for  them,  the  inflexible  Andrew  Porter  was 
no  longer  there  to  let  them  enjoy  a  happy  inviolability, 
and  the  provost  guards  were  no  longer  put  exclusively 
to  their  service. 

Nevertheless,  as  the  order  to  respect  property  as 
much  as  possible  was  still  in  force,  the  Virginians,  even 
the  most  hostile,  took  advantage  of  the  least  pretext  to 
demand  indemnity,  out  of  all  proportion  to  the  losses 
they  had  or  had  not  received. 

I  remember  that  at  Oakwood  the  provost  of  the 
Third  Brigade,  which  I  commanded  at  that  time,  re- 
ported to  me  that  the  soldiers  belonging  to  the  division 
had  carried  off  a  few  bee-hives  from  some  houses  close 
by ;  he  had  driven  off  the  marauders,  and  placed  two 
guards  to  protect  the  farm  from  any  further  depreda- 
tions. The  next  morning,  as  I  started  off  at  the  head 
of  my  brigade,  a  countryman  stopped  me  on  the  road, 
to  present  me  with  a  bill  of  damage,  which  I  refused  to 
approve,  for  the  simple  reason  that  the  complainant  could 


FREDERICKSBURG.  355 

not  point  out  to  which  brigade  or  regiment  the  depre- 
dators belonged,  and  besides  I  had  neither  the  time 
nor  means  to  verify  his  account. 

Eight  months  after,  on  our  return  from  Gettysburg,  the 
War  Department  sent  me  a  voluminous  claim  addressed 
to  it,  in  which  the  bee-hives  were  estimated  at  some- 
thing like  thirty  or  forty  times  their  value.  A  report 
on  the  subject  was  asked  for  from  me. 

I  concluded  as  follows  :  — 

"  I  have  no  way  now  of  ascertaining  the  amount  of  dam- 
age, but  I  consider  the  claim  as  an  enormous  exaggera- 
tion. And  on  this  point  I  have  the  honor  to  call  the 
attention  of  the  War  Department  to  the  fact  that,  while 
our  enemies  are  fighting  the  government  of  the  United 
States,  their  families  (whom  we  have  constantly  en- 
deavored to  protect  against  wanton  depredations)  pursue 
a  war  of  speculation  against  the  United  States  treasury, 
under  all  kinds  of  pretexts.  Hardly  one  can  be  found 
who,  having  lost  a  bundle  of  hay  or  a  panel  of  fence, 
does  not  try  to  get  twenty  times  its  value,  from  the 
very  government  they  are  endeavoring  to  destroy. 

"  As  to  a  search,  to  discover  the  guilty  persons  in  the 
special  case  referred  to  me,  —  in  order  to  show  its  im- 
possibility, it  suffices  to  say  that  the  brigade  which  I 
then  and  still  have  the  honor  to  command  numbered 
at  that  time  more  than  three  thousand  men  in  its  ranks, 
while  to-day  it  can  hardly  put  twelve  hundred  in  line. 
The  remainder  is  either  in  the  hospital,  disabled,  or 
buried  on  the  battle-fields  of  Fredericksburg,  Chancel- 
lorsville,  or  Gettysburg.  Let  us,  then,  charge  up  the 
honey  to  the  account  of  the  glorious  dead,  and  let  their 
loyal  blood  wash  out  the  trace  of  Mrs.  L.'s  rebel 
honey. 

"  I  have  the  honor  to  recommend  that  the  claim  be 
disallowed." 


356       FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

How  much  money  the  government  of  the  United 
States  has  thus  too  generously  paid  to  its  enemies! 

We  were  still  near  Waterloo  when  the  papers  brought 
the  news  more  discouraging  to  the  army  than  all  the 
privations  it  had  been  compelled  to  undergo.  The 
pseudo-democratic  party  had  prevailed  in  the  elections 
in  several  States.  By  force  of  agitating,  of  intriguing, 
and  inveighing  against  all  the  measures  taken  by  gov- 
ernment, and,  above  all.  by  hypocritically  complaining 
that  the  war  was  not  conducted  with  sufificient  vigor, 
the  Coppcr/icads]\3.d.  succeeded  in  deceiving  the  people, 
and  getting  hold  of  the  power  in  New  York  and  several 
other  States. 

The  Governor-elect  of  the  Empire  State  was  Horatio 
Seymour,  an  old  political  stager  worn  in  the  party  har- 
ness. His  accession  to  power  would  be  marked  only  by 
the  evil  which  he  would  do,  or  would  attempt  to  do, 
while  infusing  into  the  administration  of  the  State  a 
fault-finding  opposition  to  the  federal  government,  — 
an  opposition  soon  to  result  in  bloody  riots.  Already, 
as  soon  as  the  election  was  over,  the  party  hacks  had 
thrown  off  the  mask  and  uncovered  their  batteries. 
Men  of  tainted  character,  men  of  disappointed  ambi- 
tions, paid  speakers,  hastened,  in  assemblies,  to  mark 
out  most  alarming  programmes.  Many  loyal  men  said 
at  the  time,  on  reading  their  audacious  plans,  that  the 
Republic  was  lost,  and  that  the  war  would  end  only  in 
a  shameful  compromise,  or  even  in  a  peace  which  would 
be  that  of  dismemberment.  They  were  wrong.  Varro 
did  not  despair  of  the  safety  of  the  Roman  Republic, 
and  the  American  Republic  had  not  had  its  battle  of 
Cannae. 

The  plan  of  General  Burnside  has  been  more  severely 
criticised  than  faithfully  explained.  If  it  failed,  it  was 
not  because  it  was  poorly  conceived,  but  because  it  was 


FREDERICKSBURG.  357 

poorly  carried  out,  as  will  be  seen.  In  the  first  place, 
the  Fredericksburg  line  offered  such  manifest  advan- 
tages over  that  of  Gordonsville  that  all  the  corps  com- 
manders were  unanimous  on  this  point.  The  latter 
route  was  impossible.  The  further  one  advanced  in 
that  direction,  the  greater  the  difficulties  which  would 
accumulate  against  us  ;  the  Confederates,  menacing  our 
too  extended  line  of  supplies,  would  have  been  able  to 
break  it  at  some  point,  to  carry  away  or  destroy  some 
trains,  and  intercept  our  communications  vi^ith  Wash- 
ington, or  fully  one-half  of  the  army  would  have  been 
employed  to  assure  the  subsistence  of  the  other  half, 
paralyzed  in  its  offensive  movements  by  that  fact.  One 
is  led  to  ask  how  the  same  general  who  refused  to 
cross  the  Potomac,  because  he  could  not  supply  his 
army  at  Winchester,  pretended  afterwards  that  he 
could  subsist  it  at  Gordonsville.  No  ;  if  McClellan 
had  led  us  to  that  point,  we  would  have  returned  much 
more  quickly  than  we  had  advanced. 

By  way  of  Fredericksburg,  our  base  of  operations  at 
Acquia  Creek  was  much  more  accessible,  besides  being 
easier  to  guard.  On  the  other  hand,  our  line  of  opera- 
tions was  more  direct,  and  permitted  a  more  rapid 
advance  on  Richmond,  while  offering  facilities  for 
supply  by  water,  such  as  could  not  be  found  on  the 
Gordonsville  line. 

It  has  been  stated,  in  favor  of  the  latter  line,  that 
McClellan  expected  to  surprise  the  scattered  forces  of 
Lee,  cut  them  in  two,  and  fight  them  in  detail.  This 
is  easier  to  say  than  to  do.  I,  for  my  part,  do  not  think 
General  Lee  was  the  man  to  allow  himself  to  be  taken 
unawares  in  this  manner.  At  all  events,  it  was  cer- 
tainly easier  for  him  to  concentrate  his  forces  at  Cul- 
peper  than  at  Fredericksburg.  Jackson,  who  was  still 
in    the    Shenandoah    valley,    would    have    joined    him 


35^       FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

promptly  behind  the  Rapiclan,  where  we  could  be  held 
in  check,  without  very  much  trouble,  even  by  troops 
inferior  in  number. 

From  Warrenton,  where  our  army  lay,  we  could  reach 
P"redericksburg  before  the  enemy  and  get  possession, 
without  a  battle,  of  the  city  and  the  heights,  which  a 
month  later  were  so  fatal  to  us.  And  if  Longstreet 
hurried  from  Culpeper,  to  put  himself  across  our  road, 
he  could  easily  be  crushed  before  Jackson  could  have 
had  the  necessary  time  to  come  to  his  assistance. 

The  objection  that  all  that  was  necessary  for  Lee  to 
do,  to  force  us  to  retire,  was  to  march  on  Warrenton,  is 
no  more  conclusive.  In  fact,  if  it  had  been  so,  why  did 
he  not  do  it .-'  Because,  in  the  condition  in  which  he 
found  his  army,  it  was  absolutely  impossible  for  him  to 
attempt  any  new  offensive  operations  against  Washing- 
ton, and  Burnside  knew  it  very  well.  Besides  his  ad- 
versary was  too  cunning  to  risk  his  army  in  a  simple 
demonstration,  which  would  have  left  open  to  us  the 
road  to  Richmond. 

Everything,  then,  was  well  considered  in  the  plan  of 
General  Burnside,  everything  except  that  which  caused 
its  failure,  —  a  fatal  delay  in  the  arrival  of  the  pon- 
toons.. 

I  have  no  charges  to  make  against  any  one,  in  inquir- 
ing upon  whom  the  responsibility  for  these  fatal  delays 
ought  to  fall.  It  is  sufficient  to  state  that  General 
Sumner  was  at  Falmouth,  opposite  Fredericksburg,  on 
the  17th,  and  that  the  first  shipment  of  pontoons  did 
not  arrive  until  the  24th.  Seven  days  left  to  the  enemy 
to  concentrate  his  forces  and  prepare  his  defences  ! 
One  may  imagine  how  well  he  profited  by  the  delay. 
Never  was  a  week  better  taken  advantage  of.  Not  only 
did  the  enemy  mass  his  forces  in  our  front,  but  he  began 
to  cover  with  a  double  and  triple  line  of  intrenchments 


FRED  ERICKSBURG.  359 

those  heights  which  we  might  have  occupied  without 
resistance,  and  which  now  stopped  our  way. 

Sumner,  who,  on  his  arrival,  had  found  in  front  of  him 
only  a  squadron  of  cavalr}'  and  a  battery  which  he 
promptly  reduced  to  silence,  had  proposed  to  seize  the 
position,  by  crossing  at  a  ford  which  he  knew  of.  But 
a  single  rainy  night  was  enough  to  render  the  ford  im- 
passable, and  the  general-in-chief  had  wisely  refused  to 
expose  one  part  of  his  army,  without  the  means,  in  case 
of  necessity,  of  sustaining  it  with  the  remainder.  The 
double  experience  of  Fair  Oaks  and  Gaines'  Mill  would, 
in  that  respect,  ser\-e  as  a  warning  to  him. 

In  addition,  the  expected  supplies  were  no  less  de- 
layed than  the  bridge  equipage.  General  Burnside 
wrote  in  a  despatch  to  General  Halleck,  dated  the  22d  : 
—  "  Another  very  important  part  of  the  plan  proposed 
by  me  was  that  all  the  disposable  wagons  at  Washing- 
ton should  be  loaded  with  bread  and  light  rations,  and 
sent  immediately  here,  so  as  to  furnish  to  the  army 
from  five  to  sLx  days'  rations.  These  trains  could  have 
marched  in  perfect  security,  protected  as  they  would  be 
by  the  ver}-  movement  of  the  army." 

And,  after  explaining  to  him  to  how  great  an  extent 
his  plans  were  compromised  by  these  divers  mishaps, 
he  added  :  — 

"  You  can  easily  see  that  much  delay  in  the  general 
movement  must  result,  and  I  think  it  my  duty,  in  sub- 
mitting the  facts  to  you,  to  say  that  I  can  no  longer 
promise  a  probable  success,  with  the  same  confidence 
that  I  had  when  I  supposed  that  all  parts  of  my  plan 
would  be  promptly  executed."  — The  problem  was,  in 
fact,  an  entirely  different  one.  The  question  now  was 
to  force  the  passage  of  the  river  under  the  enemy's  fire, 
and  to  carrv'  by  assault  the  formidable  position  in  which 
he  was  intrenched. 


360       FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

The  little  city  of  Fredericksburg  is  situated  on  the 
banks  of  the  Rappahannock,  in  a  plain  extending  to  a 
line  of  hills,  which  close  in  to  the  river,  a  short  distance 
above  the  village  of  Falmouth,  lying  on  the  opposite 
bank.  Below  the  city,  these  hills,  deeply  cut  by  a  broad 
ravine,  make  a  wide  curve  away  from  the  river,  to  a 
point  where  they  terminate  abruptly  to  give  passage  to 
Massaponax  Creek,  a  stream  which  crosses  the  plain  at 
its  widest  point,  to  empty  into  the  Rappahannock. 

The  north  bank  of  the  river,  behind  which  our  army 
had  camped  since  the  22d  of  November,  by  its  height 
commanded  completely  the  city  and  the  plain.  The 
city  was  thus  placed  between  the  two  armies,  and  could 
be  destroyed  by  the  artillery  fire  of  either.  The  enemy 
had  also  posted  several  regiments  of  sharpshooters  in 
the  houses  and  along  the  bank  of  the  river,  to  oppose 
as  much  as  possible  the  laying  of  bridges. 

General  Burnside's  first  plan  had  been  to  force  a  pas- 
sage several  miles  below.  With  this  object,  a  number 
of  regiments  had  been  sent  to  open  roads  through  the 
woods  to  Skenker's  Neck.  The  enemy  got  wind  of  it, 
and  immediately  sent  the  division  of  General  D.  H. 
Hill  to  oppose  it.  As  the  river  was  quite  broad  at  that 
point,  and  presented  much  greater  difficulties  in  pres- 
ence of  a  force  disputing  the  passage,  the  project  was 
abandoned,  and  Burnside  resolved  to  meet  in  front  the 
obstacle  which  he  could  not  turn. 

During  the  preparations  made  necessary  by  this 
dangerous  determination,  the  return  of  General  Ward, 
retained  in  the  command  of  the  brigade,  sent  me  back 
to  the  head  of  my  regiment.  General  Hooker,  under 
whose  orders  the  Third  and  Fifth  Corps  were  placed, 
had  asked  for  me  the  grade  of  brigadier-general.  But 
military  services  did  not,  at  that  time,  suffice  to  deter- 
mine promotions.     Political  intrigues  had  much  greater 


FREDERICKSBURG.  36 1 

weight,  and  the  recommendations  of  a  few  members  of 
Congress  had  much  more  influence  than  that  of  the 
generals. 

The  weather  was  very  unfavorable  for  a  winter  cam- 
paign. The  cold  was  severe,  and  the  necessary  clothing 
arrived  but  slowly,  and  in  insufficient  quantities.  A 
few  recruits  also  came  to  us  ;  but  what  were  twenty 
new-comers  to  a  battalion  which  lacked  five  or  six  hun- 
dred men  .-* 

On  December  5,  the  snow  fell  the  whole  day.  The 
ground  was  soon  covered  to  a  depth  of  several  inches. 
The  pine  trees,  where  my  regiment  was  camped,  bent 
under  the  weight.  The  young  trees,  curving  over, 
formed  arcades  above  the  tents  where  the  men  were 
lying  silently,  rolled  in  their  blankets.  The  fires  were 
extinguished.  Under  the  mantle  of  snow,  shaken 
off  from  time  to  time,  the  sentinels  looked  like  plaster 
statues  half  confounded  with  the  tree  trunks.  One 
would  have  said  that  Death,  not  satisfied  with  the 
bloody  part  reserved  to  him,  wished  to  bury  us  all 
under  the  same  winding-sheet. 

Thus,  no  trial  was  wanting  to  us  :  the  heat  of  the 
torrid  zone  on  the  Peninsula  ;  arctic  cold  in  the 
north  of  Virginia.  We  tried  to  console  ourselves 
with  the  thought  that  on  the  hills  across  the  river 
our  enemies,  coming  from  the  South,  suffered  more 
than  we. 

On  the  7th,  the  cold  still  continued  sharp  and  biting. 
The  snow,  with  an  icy  crust,  sparkled  in  the  sunlight 
like  diamond  dust.  The  two  following  days  all  drill 
was  suspended,  to  enable  the  men  to  install  themselves 
more  comfortably.  They  began  immediately  to  build 
little  huts,  saying  perhaps  they  were  going  into  winter 
quarters.  But  on  the  evening  of  the  loth  the  order 
arrived  to  hold  ourselves  ready  to  march  the  next  morn- 


362       FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

ing.  "This  time,"  it  was  said,  "the  ball  is  going  to 
begin." 

The  night  was  full  of  suppressed  agitation,  and  of 
those  distant  rumors  which  denote  preparations  for 
battle.  The  fires  remained  burning  longer  than 
usual.  In  different  directions  was  heard  the  rolling 
of  wagons  going  to  the  rear,  and  cannon  going  to 
the  front.  Confused  noises  indicated  the  march 
of  regiments  changing  position.  Their  bayonets 
flashed  through  the  obscurity,  lighted  up  by  the 
bivouac  fires. 

We  were  awakened  at  daybreak  by  the  sound  of  the 
cannon.  Every  one  was  quickly  on  foot.  The  men 
said,  while  putting  on  their  haversacks,  "  Well,  the 
fight  will  come  off  to-day."  And  they  hastened  to 
swallow  their  hot  coffee. 

At  half-past  seven  our  division  drew  near  the  river 
and  was  held  in  reserve  behind  the  Stafford  Hills, 
which  were  crowned  by  a  hundred  and  forty-five  pieces 
of  artillery.  Under  their  protection  and  favored  by 
a  thick  fog,  three  bridges  were  commenced  in  front 
of  the  city,  and  two  more  one  or  two  miles  further 
down.  The  latter,  intended  for  the  left  grand  divis- 
ion, were  finished  without  much  opposition.  But  work 
on  the  others  was  stopped  by  the  deadly  fire  of  the 
Mississippi  sharpshooters.  The  artillery  not  being 
able  to  dislodge  them  from  the  houses,  although  the 
bombardment  began  to  burn  the  city,  two  Massachu- 
setts regiments  and  one  Michigan,  who  had  volun- 
teered for  the  dangerous  work,  were  sent  over  in  the 
pontoon  boats.  In  spite  of  a  terrible  fire,  they  suc- 
ceeded in  landing  on  the  opposite  bank,  and  soon  swept 
before  them  the  Mississippians,  part  of  whom  were 
taken  prisoners.  These  bridges  were  then  finished 
without  hindrance,  and  our  heads  of  columns  began  to 


FREDERICKSBURG.  363 

occupy  the  city,  and  debouch  on  the  plain,  though  too 
late  to  push  the  operations  further  that  day. 

On  the  1 2th  the  different  corps  continued  to  cross 
the  Rappahannock,  Sumner  on  the  right,  Franklin  on 
the  left.  The  two  corps  commanded  by  Hooker,  form- 
ing the  centre,  were  the  last  to  cross.  On  both  sides 
the  sharpshooters  were  exchanging  fires,  and  the  artil- 
lery duel  continued;  no  serious  action  occurred. 

At  four  o'clock  in  the  evening,  the  Third  Corps  hav- 
ing received  an  order  to  reenforce  the  left  wing,  we 
went  to  join  General  Franklin,  under  whose  orders  we 
were  temporarily  placed.  We  reached  a  little  valley 
ending  at  the  bridge  we  were  about  to  cross,  and 
halted  there  for  the  night,  in  a  thick  pine  wood,  which 
the  axe  soon  cleared  out.  Such  was  the  skill  of  our 
men,  and  especially  of  the  lumbermen  who  abounded  in 
the  Maine  regiments,  that  the  trees  invariably  fell  in 
the  desired  direction,  and  that,  although  we  were 
formed  in  column  by  battalions,  with  but  fifteen  feet 
interval,  not  a  stack  of  muskets  was  struck  by  the  fall 
of  these  giants  of  the  forest  near  the  fires  they  were 
destined  to  feed. 

On  that  day  I  witnessed  a  very  curious  example  of 
the  effect  that  cannon  fire  can  produce  on  a  nervous 
temperament  and  a  diseased  imagination.  Shortly 
before  there  had  come  to  the  regiment  a  civil  surgeon, 
whom  the  attraction  of  a  fixed  salary,  in  want  of  a 
profitable  practice,  had,  doubtless,  led  to  accept  a  mili- 
tary  commission.      Dr.    C was  married,    and   the 

father  of  a  family.  He  had,  it  seemed,  but  a  very 
vague  idea  of  what  he  was  undertaking,  for,  on  arriving 
at  the  camp,  he  found  himself  living  without  fire,  in  a 
tent  covered  with  snow ;  where,  to  make  himself  com- 
fortable, he  had  but  a  wood  fire  in  the  open  air,  by 
which  he   roasted  on    one  side    while  freezing  on  the 


364       FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

Other ;  and  where,  shivering  and  hungry,  he  had  to 
content  himself  with  a  meagre  pittance,  less  refreshing 
than  repugnant  to  his  disordered  stomach.  So  the 
goodman  got  to  thinking  with  bitterness  of  the  de- 
lights of  the  domestic  hearth,  too  lightly  abandoned  ; 
of  the  rocking-chair  near  the  fireside  ;  of  his  soft  bed  ; 
of  the  breakfast-table,  where,  in  the  morning,  the  buck- 
wheat cakes  smoked.  These  bitter  regrets  troubled 
his  sleep  and  his  appetite  ;  but  it  was  far  worse  when 
the  roaring  of  the  cannon  announced  the  prelude  of 
a  battle. 

The  bombardment  of  Fredericksburg  had  made  for 
some  hours  a  great  racket  ;  but  our  division  was  in  re- 
serve, and  not  a  shot  had  fallen  near  us.  The  poor 
doctor  was  not  the  less  in  a  pitiable  condition.  Livid 
as  a  dying  person,  trembling  like  a  leaf,  he  shook  at 
each  detonation,  as  if  his  long  legs  were  about  to  give 
way  under  him.  *'  Colonel,"  said  he,  with  a  wild  air, 
"  I  must  go  away,  or  I  am  a  dead  man  ! "  Insensible 
to  reason  as  to  raillery,  hardly  knowing  what  he  said, 
he  repeated  incessantly  :  "  I  am  a  dead  man  ;  I  am  a 
dead  man."  I  never  saw  such  utter  demoralization. 
At  last,  being  able  to  get  nothing  from  him  but  this 
mournful  refrain,  I  sent  him  to  some 'hospital  in  the 
rear,  where,  shortly  after,  he  received  his  discharge,  for 
physical  disability. 

The  13th  of  December,  1862,  was  a  day  as  radiant  as 
a  fete  day.  The  air  was  soft,  not  a  cloud  in  the  sky. 
The  sun  did  not  trouble  himself  with  our  affairs.  He 
rose  in  all  his  glory,  lighting  up  with  superb  indiffer- 
ence the  two  armies  in  battle  array. 

Our  brigade  was  already  massed  on  the  summit  of  the 
hill,  arms  stacked,  awaitifig  its  turn  to  cross  the  river. 
The  men  filled  their  canteens  at  a  brook  running  to  our 
right.      Some  of  them,  careless  of  the  great  slaughter 


FREDERICKSBURG.  365 

preparing  for  them,  with  loud  cries,  were  chasing  the 
frightened  rabbits  through  the  bushes.  ^ 

From  this  point  the  view  was  splendid.  At  our  feet, 
the  river  was  spanned  by  two  bridges  of  boats,  across 
which  defiled,  on  one  the  infantry,  and  on  the  other  the 
cavalry  and  the  artillery.  We  looked  at  the  regiments, 
as  they  marched  out  on  the  plain  to  take  their  place  in 
order  of  battle  in  front  of  the  enemy's  positions,  which 
arose  by  steps,  at  the  back  of  the  picture.  On  the  left, 
the  view  extended  without  hindrance  to  the  horizon, 
hidden  in  the  luminous  vapor  of  the  rising  sun,  and 
spotted  with  little  white  clouds,  the  nature  of  which 
we  well  knew.  It  was  Franklin,  who  was  feeling  the 
enemy,  and  throwing  some  shells  at  Stuart's  cavalry. 
In  the  clearness  of  the  morning,  we  could  easily  dis- 
tinguish in  that  direction  the  crackling  of  the  skir- 
mishers' shots,  emphasized  by  the  firing  of  the  cannon. 
And  on  the  right,  a  projecting  hill  concealing  Fred- 
ericksburg from  our  view,  we  were  able  to  see  only  the 
steeples.  But  further  on  clearly  appeared  above  the 
fog  a  line  of  heights,  covered  with  retrenchments,  and 
bristling  with  cannon. 

I  confess  it  ;  after  having  long  examined  with  the 
aid  of  a  field  glass  that  formidable  arc,  of  which  the 
river  formed  the  chord,  and  where  the  army  was  enter- 
ing so  audaciously  into  battle  ;  when  to  us,  in  our 
turn,  came  the  order  to  descend  into  the  arena,  I 
thought  involuntarily  of  the  gladiators  of  old,  entering 
into  the  amphitheatre.  Ave,  CcBsar !  Moritnri  te  sa- 
lutant !  If  we  had  had  there  our  Caesar,  we  also  would 
have  been  able  to  exclaim  :  "Those  about  to  die  salute 
thee  !  " 

On  clearing  the  bridge,  we  turned  immediately  to 
the  left,  marching  obliquely  towards  the  old  Richmond 
road,  which  cuts  the  plain  in  two  in   its  length,  and   is 


366       FOUR    YEARS    WI'l'II    THE    PUTOMAC    ARMY. 

itself  cut  at  a  right  angle  by  a  crossroad.  This  road 
led  directly  from  the  Smithfield  farm,  situated  on  the 
bank  of  the  river,  to  that  portion  of  the  heights  com- 
prised between  the  ravine  of  which  I  have  spoken  and 
the  point  at  whose  foot  runs  the  Massaponax.  It  was 
about  noon  when  we  crossed  the  intersection  of  the 
two  roads,  to  deploy  in  line  of  battle  in  a  large  field 
lying  in  front  of  the  main  road,  and  to  the  left  of  the 
crossroad.  Hooker's  old  division,  commanded  now  by 
General  Sickles,  did  not  follow  ours.  It  was  to  rejoin 
us  later  on. 

This  deploying  appeared  to  me  to  be  done  with  more 
ostentation  than  ability.  But,  perhaps,  it  was  specially 
desired  to  draw  the  enemy's  attention  on  us,  who  were 
only  in  the  second  line,  and  thus  divert  it  from  the 
attacking  column,  composed  of  Meade's  division  of  the 
First  Corps.  In  that  case  we  undoubtedly  succeeded, 
judging  by  the  quantity  of  projectiles  we  received  there, 
standing  with  arms  at  rest.  The  fire  was  then  very 
lively  at  our  extreme  left,  in  the  direction  of  the  Mas- 
saponax. From  that  side,  an  attack  had  been  made 
against  us,  which  Doubleday's  division  was  occupied 
in  repelling.  We  awaited  the  result,  before  attacking 
the  intrenchments  in  our  front. 

Soon  our  guns,  put  in  position  in  open  view  on  a 
slight  undulation  of  the  ground,  begin  to  thunder. 
The  shells  fall  with  great  noise  in  the  Confederate 
lines,  among  the  trees,  which  are  torn  by  the  bul- 
lets. Several  batteries  are  posted  there,  which  hasten 
to  reply  in  the  same  manner,  one  especially,  the 
strongest  and  the  most  dangerous  for  our  column  to 
attack.  It  is  important  to  silence  it.  So  it  becomes 
the  principal  target  for  our  guns.  A  veritable  ava- 
lanche of  iron  whistles,  shrieks,  bursts,  and  seems  to 
be  about  to  destroy  everything  at  that  point.     Yet  the 


FREDERICKSBURG.  367 

battery  keeps  on  replying  behind  a  curtain  of  smoke, 
crossed  by  flashes  which  follow  one  another  without 
slackening.  All  at  once,  a  column  of  fire  springs  into 
the  air,  and  spreads  out  like  a  sheaf,  white  and  red 
above  the  trees.  A  violent  detonation  shakes  the 
ground.  Hurrah  !  Whether  magazine  or  caisson,  the 
ammunition  of  the  battery  has  blown  up.  Its  fire 
grows  languid  and  ceases.      Now,  forward  the  infantry ! 

At  this  moment,  the  order  was  given  us  to  pile  our 
knapsacks  on  the  other  side  of  the  main  road.  It 
would  have  been  much  better  to  have  done  that  where 
we  were.  We  would  not  have  been  obliged  to  retire  at 
the  very  time  when  we  should  have  advanced.  In  fact, 
we  had  scarcely  left  our  position,  when  a  fierce  mus- 
ketr}-  fire  burst  forth  from  the  railroad,  which  ran  along 
the  foot  of  the  hill,  and  where  the  enemy  had  formed 
his  first  line  of  intrenchments.  The  attack  had  com- 
menced. 

Meade's  division  was  composed  exclusively  of  Penn- 
sylvania regiments.  It  advanced  on  a  point  of  woods, 
which  extended  in  front  of  the  line,  entered  into  it  with- 
out stopping,  and,  in  an  instant,  swept  away  everything 
that  it  found  there.  The  First  Brigade,  which  was  in 
front,  advanced  then  upon  the  railroad,  gallantly  carried 
it,  drove  back  a  few  of  the  enemy's  regiments,  who  fled 
in  disorder,  and  ascended  the  wooded  slope  at  their 
heels,  and  reached  the  crest  over  a  second  line  of  works, 
where  the  question  now  was  to  establish  themselves 
firmly.  But  there  it  found  itself  in  front  of  an  open 
space  where  General  Jackson  had  massed  his  reserve. 
Welcomed  by  a  terrible  infantry  fire  in  front  and  a 
cross  fire  of  case  shot  from  a  battery,  it  was  forced  to 
halt  and  soon  to  fall  back  precipitately.  The  Second 
Brigade,  attacked  on  both  flanks,  advanced  with  dil^- 
culty.     The  First  carried  it  with  it  on  its  retreat.     The 


368       FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

Third,  which  had  scarcely  crossed  the  railroad,  did  not 
hold  long,  and  the  whole  column  fell  back  pell-mell  out 
of  the  woods  into  which  it  had  advanced  with  so  firm  a 
step. 

During  this  time  our  division  had  taken  its  formQ|" 
position.  We  heard  the  rolling  fire  in  the  woods ;  we 
saw  the  white  smoke  rising  above  the  trees,  but  we  did 
not  know  what  was  happening  behind  the  curtain, 
when  I  received  an  order  to  take  three  regiments  to 
the  other  side  of  the  crossroad.  There  we  found,  un- 
supported, a  battery  which  we  must  defend.  The 
Ninety-ninth  Pennsylvania  was  placed  between  the 
road  and  the  guns,  the  Third  Maine  to  the  right  of 
these  last,  and  the  Fifty-fifth  New  York  a  little  further 
along. 

Our  line,  thus  formed  in  open  field,  three  or  four  hun- 
dred yards  from  the  enemy,  rested  its  left  on  the  road 
which  separated  it  from  the  remainder  of  the  division. 
Its  right  was  completely  in  the  air,  and  halted  in  the 
position  vacated  by  Gibbon's  division  of  the  First  Corps. 
The  latter  had  advanced  to  attack  the  enemy  at  the 
same  time  with  Meade.  But  the  attack  had  been  made 
too  slowly ;  instead  of  rushing  upon  the  railroad  as  the 
Pennsylvanians  had  done,  the  First  Brigade  had  stopped 
a  short  distance  away  to  reply,  by  a  useless  fire,  to  the 
deadly  volleys  of  the  Confederates.  The  Second  stopped 
in  the  same  manner.  The  Third,  however,  advancing 
in  column  to  the  right  of  the  two  others,  charged  the 
works  with  the  bayonet  and  carried  them,  after  a  short 
but  sharp  resistance.  —  It  went  no  further.  It  had  lost 
precious  time,  and  Meade's  advance  was  already  driven 
back  from  the  summit  of  the  hill. 

When  we  came  to  take  position  in  line  with  the  bat- 
tery, a  few  regiments  of  Gibbon's  division  still  held  on 
near  the  railroad,  but,  it  was  plainly  seen,  without  any 


FREDERICKSBURG.  369 

advantage.  Under  these  circumstances,  the  general 
himself  being  wounded,  the  line  began  to  melt  away, 
and  ended  by  breaking.  It  was  a  singular  sight,  though 
not  encouraging.  The  soldiers  who  were  retiring  from 
the  fight  crossed  the  plain  to  our  right  singly  or  in 
groups.  It  did  not  in  the  least  resemble  a  flight.  They 
marched  deliberately,  with  their  guns  on  their  shoulders, 
quickening  the  step,  but  not  running,  to  get  out  of 
reach  of  the  balls.  Convinced  of  the  uselessness  of 
longer  effort,  and  seeing  that  the  attack  had  failed, 
they  retired  so  as  not  to  sacrifice  their  lives  uselessly. 
In  one  word,  they  had  had  enough  of  it. 

Apparently,  there  was  nothing  to  do  but  to  get  ready 
for  the  counter-stroke.  A  rebel  battalion  having  ad- 
vanced in  front  of  us,  for  an  instant  I  thought  it  was 
about  to  attack  my  three  regiments.  But  it  was  merely 
a  demonstration,  which  the  fire  of  my  skirmishers  was 
enough  to  check.  It  was  a  little  further  along  that  the 
effort  of  the  enemy  was  really  made  against  our  centre. 
In  the  position  I  occupied  I  was  admirably  placed  to 
observe  all  the  incidents  above  the  two  long  hedges 
which  lined  the  road. 

Meade's  division  had  scarcely  returned,  running  like 
a  herd  of  buffalo,  when  behind  it  Early's  (Confederate) 
division  came  out  of  the  woods  like  a  band  of  wolves. 
They  had  descended  the  slope  at  a  rapid  pace,  and  ad- 
vanced in  a  confused  mass  without  troubling  themselves 
to  reform  their  ranks.  Among  the  first  I  still  see  an 
officer  on  horseback,  shaking  his  hat  at  arm's  length  and 
crying  in  a  harsh  voice  :  "  Forward  !  Forward  !  " 

Immediately,  no  longer  paying  attention  to  the  ene- 
my's batteries,  which  were  pouring  on  them  a  shower  of 
projectiles,  our  artillerymen  turned  their  guns  on  the 
charging  mass,  upon  whom  the  balls  ricocheted,  the 
shells  burst,  and  the  canister  poured.     Their  elan  was 


370       FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

weakened,  but  they  still  advanced,  hoping  to  capture  the 
guns.  At  this  time  an  infantry  fire  opened  on  them, 
before  which  they  hesitated.  At  this  instant,  Birney 
threw  upon  them  the  four  regiments  of  the  brigade 
Ward  had  kept  with  him,  the  Thirty-eighth  and  the 
Fortieth  New  York,  the  Fifty-seventh  Pennsylvania 
and  the  Fourth  Maine,  supported  by  the  brigades  of 
Berry  and  Robinson.  From  the  style  of  their  charge 
Kearney's  men  were  recognized. 

On  seeing  them  advance  with  closed  ranks,  the  ene- 
my halted,  endeavoring  to  correct  his  line  to  receive 
them.  But,  being  in  the  open  field,  the  advantage  of 
his  intrenchments  was  lost.  He  had  already  paid  so 
dearly  for  having  left  them  that  the  temptation  to 
return  was  too  strong  to  be  resisted.  He  fell  back 
without  waiting  the  shock,  and  the  men,  turning  their 
backs  on  us,  ran  to  find  their  first  position. 
•  On  our  side,  we  should  have  been  satisfied  to  rest 
there,  the  object  of  the  charge  having  been  fully  accom- 
plished. But  the  regiments  were  already  in  motion. 
They  wished  to  obtain  a  more  decisive  success,  by 
getting  possession  of  the  railroad.  While  the  right 
pursued  the  flying  enemy  into  the  woods  where  they 
had  disappeared,  the  left  found  itself  suddenly  halted  by 
a  deep  ditch,  concealed  by  the  high  grass.  An  increase 
of  the  fire  proved  immediately  that  the  enemy  awaited 
them  there.  Meanwhile,  our  men,  not  being  able  to 
pass  the  ditch  by  a  leap,  hesitated.  Some  jumped  into 
it,  and  stopped  there  to  take  breath  ;  others  fell  killed 
or  wounded,  while  endeavoring  to  get  out  of  it.  The 
officers  on  horseback  galloped  right  and  left  encourag- 
ing their  men,  and  looking  for  a  crossing  which  did  not 
exist. 

Of  course,  the  enemy  had,  in  his  turn,  concentrated 
the   fire   of  his  artillery  on   this  point.      The  place  was 


FREDERICKSBURG.  37 1 

not  tenable.  In  a  very  short  time  everything  which 
was  not  in  the  ditch  would  be  swept  away.  They  must 
get  back  in  any  way  possible,  by  parts  of  regiments  and 
by  companies.  The  right  did  the  same,  having  fared 
no  better  in  the  woods. 

Two-thirds  of  those  who  had  made  the  charge  in  the 
four  regiments  of  our  brigade  did  not  answer  to  roll- 
call.  How  many  remained  in  the  ditch  watching  for  a 
chance  to  escape,  we  did  not  know.  What  we  did  know 
was  that  we  had  left  a  great  many  wounded  or  dead  in 
the  dry  grass.  Amongst  the  wounded,  we  counted 
Colonel  Campbell  of  the  Fifty-seventh  Pennsylvania 
(he  was  supposed  to  be  mortally  wounded,  but  he  re- 
covered) ;  Lieutenant-Colonel  Gessner,  commanding  the 
Fortieth  New  York  ;  Colonel  Leidy  of  the  Ninety- 
ninth  Pennsylvania  ;  — among  the  dead  :  General  Jack- 
son of  the  Pennsylvania  Division  ;  Colonel  Gilluly  of 
the  Fifth  Michigan ;  Major  Patcher  of  the  Fourth 
Maine.  The  major  of  the  Seventeenth  Maine  must  be 
included  in  the  list,  having  succumbed  later  under  the 
amputation  of  the  hip  joint.  And  how  many  more, 
captains  and  lieutenants  ! 

At  the  moment  when  these  remnants  of  regiments 
reformed  behind  the  batteries,  a  horrible  thing  happened 
on  the  very  field  of  battle,  where  there  were  already 
horrors  enough.  The  cannonade  had  set  the  high  grass 
on  fire  at  several  points,  and  the  flame,  quickened  by 
light  currents  of  air,  extended  rapidly  on  all  sides. 
Despairing  cries  were  heard.  They  were  the  uJnfortu- 
nate  wounded  left  lying  on  the  ground  and  caught  by 
the  flames.  Through  the  smoke,  they  were  seen  exert- 
ing themselves  in  vain  efforts  to  flee,  half  rising  up, 
falling  back  overcome  by  pain,  rolling  on  their  broken 
limbs,  grasping  around  them  at  the  grass  red  with  their 
blood,   and  at  times  perishing  in   the  embrace  of  the 


3/2       FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

flames.  They  were  between  the  lines,  which  would 
perhaps  soon  close  in  action,  and  no  one  could  help 
them. 

This  was  the  last  episode  of  that  bloody  day.  It  is 
not  difficult  to  see  that  it  might  have  been  better  man- 
aged. To  dislodge  the  enemy  from  his  positions,  an 
attack  en  masse  would  not  have  been  too  much  ;  a 
partial  attack  was  not  enough.  The  fault  was,  after 
having  put  fifty  thousand  men  under  the  command  of 
Franklin,  that  is  about  half  the  army,  to  restrict  his 
action  to  one  single  attempt,  for  carrying  out  which 
the  means  were  out  of  all  proportion  to  the  result  ex- 
pected. 

The  instructions  sent  to  him  on  the  morning  of  the 
battle  were — "The  general  commanding  directs  that 
you  keep  your  whole  command  in  position  for  a  rapid 
movement  down  the  old  Richmond  road,  and  you  will 
send  out  at  once  a  division,  at  least,  to  pass  below 
Smithfield,  to  seize,  if  possible,  the  heights  near  Cap- 
tain Hamilton's  farm  on  this  side  of  the  Massaponax ; 
taking  care  to  keep  it  well  supported,  its  line  of  retreat 
open." 

On  one  hand,  "  to  hold  three  army  corps  ready  for  a 
turning  movement  on  the  enemy's  right  ;  "  on  the  other, 
"to  send  against  the  front  of  the  enemy  at  least  one  or 
two  divisions ;  " — ^what  was  it,  if  not  a  decisive  manoeuvre 
prepared  for  by  a  false  attack  .'*  General  Franklin  so 
understood  it.  Any  other  general  would  have  done  the 
same.  And  yet  he  was  blamed,  at  a  later  date,  for  not 
having  ordered  his  troops  forward  en  masse  to  carry  the 
heights,  as  if  he  had  not  obeyed  literally  the  orders  that 
he  had  received.  The  responsibility  for  the  want  of 
success  of  the  left  wing  does  not  rest  on  him. 

It  was  much  worse  with  the  right  wing.  On  that 
side,  the  heights  were  free  from  trees  ;  everything  that 


FREDERICKSBURG.  373 

passed  there  was  open  to  view.  There  could  be  clearly 
distinguished,  first,  a  heavy  wall,  that  appeared  to  be 
supported  by  an  interior  slope,  and  behind  which  was 
seen  a  continuous  row  of  gun  barrels  ;  a  little  higher 
up,  a  line  of  rifle-pits  shown  by  its  covering  of  earth 
half  way  up  the  hill  ;  finally  a  third  line  of  defence 
on  the  top  of  the  hill,  and  in  all  the  lines,  numerous 
batteries  where  the  mouths  of  the  guns  were  seen  in 
the  embrasures.  The  crest  projecting  furthest  into  the 
plain  was  directly  in  front  of  Fredericksburg,  at  the 
end  of  a  broad  road,  in  a  straight  line  with  which  and 
closing  the  perspective  was  an  imposing  mansion  with 
a  Greek  facade.  It  was  the  Marie  house,  which,  from 
its  advanced  position,  commanded  a  view  of  the  defences, 
of  which  it  formed  the  centre.  A  perilous  advantage, 
which  on  that  day  was  the  cause  of  its  destruction, 
lictween  the  line  of  hills  and  the  city  there  was  noth- 
ing on  the  plain  but  a  few  small  huts. 

If  there  were  ever  a  position  which  could  be  con- 
sidered impregnable,  this  was  certainly  the  one.  And 
yet  this  was  the  very  point  where  General  Burn  side 
had  decided  to  make  his  principal  attack.  Fatal  rash- 
ness, whose  consequences  could  be  only  disaster.  For 
when  the  left  wing  was  unsuccessful  in  carrying  a  dififi- 
cult  position,  what  could  the  right  do  against  impossi- 
bilities .■* 

No  general  deliberately  and  with  cold  blood  sends  his 
troops  to  a  useless  slaughter.  We  must  believe,  then, 
that  the  commander-in-chief  did  not  know  the  actual 
state  of  affairs.  Otherwise,  he  would  have  taken  differ- 
ent measures,  the  simplest  of  which  appeared  to  be  to 
cross  the  Rappahannock  a  short  distance  above  Freder- 
icksburg, when  it  was  evident  that  the  enemy  was  there 
too  strongly  fortified.  The  mere  fact  of  our  presence 
on  his   left  would  have  been  enough   to   cause   him   to 


374       FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

abandon  immediately  a  position  threatened  in  reverse  — 
as  happened  at  the  opening  of  the  following  campaign. 
But  the  determination  was  taken.  What  we  could  have 
gained  by  manoeuvring,  we  were  about  to  attempt  to 
carry  by  main  force. 

General  Sumner  was  ordered  to  make  the  attempt. 
His  instructions  were  to  attack  as  strongly  as  possible, 
but  with  part  of  his  force.  He  was  directed  "  to  push 
a  column  of  a  division  or  more  along  the  plank  and 
telegraph  roads  between  Fredericksburg  and  the  Marie 
house,  in  order  to  seize  the  heights  in  rear  of  the  town." 
Sumner  sent  forward  his  two  divisions  in  accordance 
with  his  orders  ;  French's  and  Hancock's,  both  belong- 
ing to  the  Second  Corps. 

At  a  later  date,  before  the  committee  on  the  conduct 
of  the  war,  he  testified  as  follows  :  "  There  was  line 
upon  line  of  the  fortifications  in  two  or  three  tiers.  If 
we  had  carried  the  first  line,  we  could  not  have  held  it, 
because  the  second  line  was  much  stronger  and  com- 
manded it.  Behind  that  there  were,  between  the  hill 
tops,  great  masses  of  infantry,  and  if  we  had  reached 
the  summit  we  would  have  been  obliged  to  fight  these 
masses  of  fresh  troops  and  their  batteries."  But  an 
order  is  an  order,  and  must  be  obeyed. 

Let  us  hurry  on  to  the  catastrophe. 

French's  division  charged  first.  Scarcely  had  it  ap- 
peared above  the  rise  of  land  behind  which  it  had 
formed  in  column  of  attack,  when  it  was  cut  to  pieces 
by  a  hail  of  shell  and  shrapnel  from  all  directions.  It 
advanced,  notwithstanding,  leaving  the  ground  covered 
with  the  dead  and  wounded.  Reaching  a  point  near 
the  stone  wall,  a  murderous  musketry  fire  struck  it  and 
threw  it  back  mutilated,  cut  to  pieces,  destroyed. 

Hancock's  division  advanced  in  its  turn.  The  same 
carnage  from  the  artillery,  the  same  destruction  from 


FREDERICKSBURG.  375 

the  musketry  fire,  the  same  negative  result.  The  first 
line  of  intrenchments  had  not  been  attained.  The  dead 
bodies  of  our  men,  twenty  or  thirty  paces  from  the 
stone  wall,  marked  the  extreme  point  reached.  The 
result :  four  thousand  men  lying  on  the  field. 

The  trial  was  conclusive.  Four  thousand  men  struck 
down  in  a  quarter  of  an  hour  was  mournful  testimony 
to  that  effect.  Was  it  not  full  time  to  stop  the 
slaughter.''  Unhappily,  the  want  of  success  in  the 
attack,  instead  of  leading  the  general-in-chief  to  wise 
reflections, -excited  in  him  only  a  blind  rage,  similar  to 
that  which  leads  the  enraged  bull  to  attack  the  locomo- 
tive. An  eye-witness,  Mr.  Swinton,  at  that  time  cor- 
respondent of  the  New  York  Times,  relates  that  Gen- 
eral Burnside,  walking  back  and  forth  along  the  high 
bank  of  the  Rappahannock,  and  looking  out  upon  the 
opposite  heights,  cried  out  vehemently  :  "Those  heights 
must  be  carried  to-night ! "  And  Hooker,  held  in  re- 
serve till  then  with  the  Fifth  Corps,  received  the  order 
to  attack  in  his  turn. 

He  had  left  there  with  him,  of  his  two  corps,  but  two 
divisions  of  the  Fifth  Corps.  Two  had  been  sent  the 
evening  before  to  reenforce  Franklin.  "These,"  he 
said  in  making  his  report  of  this  battle,  "  were  my 
favorite  divisions,  for  one  of  them  I  had  formed  myself, 
and  the  other  had  been  commanded  by  Kearney.  I 
knew  them  better  than  any  others  in  my  command." 
Looked  at  prosaically,  this  favorable  opinion  on  the  part 
of  the  general  would  have  brought  us  that  day  more 
honor  than  profit  if  we  had  been  with  him.  A  third  of 
his  divisions  had  gone  to  relieve  General  Howard  above 
Fredericksburg.  A  fourth  was  on  the  road  to  reenforce 
General  Sturgis.  The  last  two  immediately  crossed  the 
river  and  passed  through  the  city. 

General  Hooker  was  a  fighter,  as  every  one  knows. 


3/6       FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

He  went  in  gladly  where  there  were  blows  to  receive, 
provided  lie  was  able  to  return  them.  But,  when  he 
saw  with  his  own  eyes  the  character  of  the  enterprise 
intrusted  to  Tiini,  he  understood  quickly  how  it  would 
infallibly  result.  He  took  upon  himself  to  suspend  the 
attack,  and  sent  one  of  his  aids, to  ask  that  it  should  not 
be  made  at  that  point.  The  reply  was  given,  to  attack 
in  the  same  place.  Still  hoping  that  the  gencral-in-chief 
would  yield  to  evidence,  and  desiring,  above  all  things, 
to  save  the  lives  of  so  many  brave  men,  which  would 
be  so  uselessly  sacrificed,  Hooker  himself  hurried  with 
the  utmost  speed  to  Burnside  ;  but  nothing  could  affect 
the  obstinate  irritation  of  the  latter. 

Let  us  now  give  the  words  of  General  Hooker.  "  I 
then  returned  and  sent  in  advance  all  the  disposable 
artillery  I  could  find  in  the  city,  to  demolish  the 
enemy's  works.  I  proceeded  as  I  would  have  done 
against  fortifications,  and  endeavored  to  make  a  breach 
large  enough  to  give  passage  to  a  forlorn  hope.  It 
seemed  to  me  that  before  that  the  attack  had  been 
made  on  a  too  extended  line,  and  not  enough  concen- 
trated. I  sent  two  batteries  to  the  left  of  the  road,  at 
a  distance  of  four  hundred  yards  from  the  point  I  was 
to  attack,  and  on  the  right  I  placed  some  sections  of 
batteries,  at  a  distance  of  five  or  si.x  hundred  yards 
from  the  same  point.  All  these  pieces  were  fired  with 
rapidity  until  sundown,  but  without  apparent  effect 
upon  the  rebels  or  their  works. 

"  During  the  latter  part  of  the  cannonade,  I  had  given 
the  order  to  General  Humphreys  to  form  his  division 
as  an  assaulting  column,  under  the  shelter  of  a  roll  of 
the  ground.  When  the  artillery  fire  ceased,  I  gave  the 
signal  to  attack.  General  Humphreys'  men  took  off 
their  knapsacks,  their  haversacks,  and  their  overcoats. 
They  received  the  order  to  advance  with  unloaded  mus- 


FREDERICKSBURG.  377 

kets,  for  they  had  not  time  either  to  load  or  fire.  At 
the  command,  they  charged  with  the  greatest  impetu- 
osity. They  ran  hurrahing,  and  I  felt  encouraged  by 
the  great  ardor  with  which  they  were  animated. 

"  The  head  of  General  Humphreys'  column  reached 
a  point  about  fifteen  or  twenty  paces  from  the  stone 
wall  which  formed  the  advance  line  of  the  rebels,  and 
was  then  driven  back  as  quickly  as  it  had  come.  The 
time  taken  was  probably  not  fifteen  minutes,  and  it  left 
behind  seventeen  hundred  and  sixty  men  out  of  four 
thousand." 

Was  that  enough  .'*  No.  General  Burnside  had 
butted  against  the  obstacle.  He  even  yet  thought  only 
of  either  breaking  it  in  pieces  or  being  utterly  broken 
by  it  himself.  In  the  evening  he  passed  along  our 
position  on  the  right  (he  relates  this  himself).  He 
mingled  with  the  ofificers  and  soldiers,  and  recognized 
amongst  them  a  decided  opposition  to  the  renewal  of 
the  attack  the  next  morning.  He  returned  a  kittle 
before  daybreak  to  his  headquarters,  and  gave  the 
order  to  General  Sumner  to  form  the  Ninth  Corps  in 
columns  by  regiments.  These  regiments,  advancing 
rapidly,  one  after  the  other,  must  carry  the  stone  wall 
and  the  lower  batteries,  throw  the  enemy  back  into  his 
second  line,  etc.  The  order  was  carried  out,  but  at 
the  hour  when  the  signal  should  have  been  given  Sum- 
ner reported  at  headquarters.  "  I  come  here,"  said  he 
to  the  general-in-chief,  "  to  ask  you  to  give  up  this 
attack.  I  do  not  know  a  single  general  officer  who 
approves  of  it,  and  I  think  it  would  be  disastrous  to  the 
army."  It  must  be  understood  .  that  Sumner  was  an 
old  fighter,  always  full  of  juvenile  ardor. 

For  the  first  time,  Burnside  hesitated  in  his  obsti- 
nacy. However,  he  did  not  countermand  his  order. 
He  called  a  council  of  the  corps  and  division  generals. 


2,7^       FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

They  voted  unanimously  against  the  proposed  attack. 
Not  yet  yielding,  he  crossed  the  river,  to  see  if  the 
other  officers  were  of  the  same  opinion.  Not  one 
favored  a  renewed  assault.  Finally,  he  sent  for  Gen- 
eral Franklin,  who,  like  everybody  else,  pronounced 
against  the  proposed  attempt.  Then  only  did  General 
Burnside,  having  exhausted  all  means  of  getting  a  fa- 
vorable opinion,  revoke  the  order  for  a  renewed  attack, 
and  the  battle  of  Fredericksburg  was  over.  It  cost  us 
thirteen  thousand  men.  The  enemy  did  not  lose  more 
than  six  thousand. 

We  displayed  a  bold  front  to  the  end.  During  two 
days  we  kept  our  position  in  line  of  battle,  in  front  of 
our  adversaries,  who  made  no  movement  to  take  the 
offensive.  Only  during  the  night,  as  both  sides  ex- 
pected an  attack,  the  picket  lines  being  close  together, 
the  firing  of  the  skirmishers  caused  frequent  alarms. 
They  were  usually  brought  on  by  the  marauders  seek- 
ing to  strip  the  dead,  or  by  some  brave  men,  who, 
under  cover  of  the  darkness,  ventured  outside  of  the 
lines  to  give  water  to  the  wounded  and  bring  them  in 
on  their  backs. 

The  unfortunate  wounded  remained  thus,  without 
assistance,  during  forty-eight  mortal  hours  —  mortal, 
indeed,  to  many  of  them.  Finally,  in  the  afternoon  of 
the  15th,  I  was  in  the  front  line,  with  two  regiments, 
when  a  suspension  of  hostilities  was  concluded  for  two 
hours.  Officers,  with  details  of  men  without  arms,  car- 
rying litters,  were  sent  immediately  upon  the  ground 
between  the  lines.  In  my  front  only  I  counted  ninety- 
two  dead  and  twenty-six  wounded. 

I  will  never  forget  the  joy  of  the  wounded  when  they 
were  brought  into  our  lines.  One  of  them  cried  out, 
trying  to  raise  himself  on  his  litter  :  "  A/l  rigJit  notv  !  T 
sJiall  not  die  like  a  dog,  in  iJie  ditch.''       Another  said  to 


FREDERICKSBURG.  379 

the  men  carrying  him,  while  two  great  tears  ran  down 
his  hollow  cheeks  :  "  Thanks,  my  friends.  Thanks  to 
you,  I  shall  see  my  mother  again." 

The  dead  were  hideous  :  black,  swollen,  covered  with 
clotted  blood,  riddled  with  balls,  torn  by  shells.  The 
rebels,  poorly  clothed,  had  left  them  neither  shoes,  nor 
trousers,  nor  overcoats.  Among  them  I  had  the  oppor- 
tunity to  recognize  the  body  of  young  Dekone,  aid  to 
General  Meade.  His  remains,  at  least,  could  be  sent 
to  his  sorrowing  family. 

At  nine  o'clock  in  the  evening  the  order  came  to  fall 
back  in  silence  to  the  bridges  ;  during  the  night  the 
whole  army  repassed  the  Rappahannock  without  the 
enemy  finding  out  the  movement,  and  the  next  day  we 
returned  to  our  old  camps  with  the  hope  of  not  leaving 
them  ao:ain  durins:  the  winter. 


CHAPTER   XVIII. 

EMANCIPATION. 

Military  balance-sheet  for  the  year  1862  —  The  emancipation  question 
—  The  inaugural  address  of  Mr.  Lincoln  —  Reserve  of  the  President 
and  of  Congress  —  General  Fremont  —  Abolition  of  slavery  in  the 
District  of  Columbia  —  Proposition  for  gradual  emancipation  —  Gen- 
eral Hunter  —  Confiscation  act —  Progress  of  emancipation  —  Letter 
of  Mr.  Lincoln  —  Religious  deputation  —  Last  scruples  —  Prepara- 
tory dispositions  —  Definite  proclamation  of  emancipation. 

The  battle  of  Fredericksburg  closed  the  year  1862  by 
a  defeat.  The  Army  of  the  Potomac  was  not  fortu- 
nate. However,  its  reverses  were  due  solely  to  the 
want  of  ability  of  the  generals  who  had  commanded  it. 
Neither  of  them  had  possessed  the  high  military  quali- 
ties required  to  command  successfully  an  army  of  a 
hundred  thousand  men.  Thus,  the  only  two  offensive 
battles  which  they  had  fought  (Antietam  and  Fredericks- 
burg) were  reduced  to  partial  and  successive  attacks. 
I  do  not  cite  Williamsburg,  which  was  an  accidental 
victory  of  a  few  divisions,  without  the  participation  of 
and  unforeseen  by  the  general-in-chief.  On  the  defen- 
sive the  same  lack  of  ability  had  caused  the  rout  of  the 
Fourth  Corps  at  Seven  Pines,  and  that  of  the  Fifth 
Corps  at  Gaines'  Mill.  It  might  have  resulted  in  the 
complete  destruction  of  the  army  if  it  had  not  been  for 
the  vigorous  energy  of  Sumner  at  Savage  Station,  of 
Franklin  at  White  Oak  Swamp,  of  Hooker  at  Glendale. 
The  same  remark  will  apply  to  the  campaign  of  Pope, 
who,  however,  did  not  belong  to  the  Army  of  the  Poto- 
mac, since  the  latter  only  appeared  therein  in  part  and 
as  reenforcements. 

380 


EMANCIPATION.  351 

In  the  conduct  of  a  battle,  observe  the  disposition  of 
the  movements  in  bodies  and  you  will  know  the  worth 
of  the  general-in-chief. 

The  proximity  to  Washington  on  one  side  and  to 
Richmond  on  the  other  made  Virginia  the  principal 
theatre  of  the  war.  There,  between  the  two  capitals, 
the  greatest  efforts  were  concentrated.  There  the 
enemy  opposed  to  us  the  "  flower  of  his  chivalry  ;  "  and 
we  brought  against  him  the  best  contingents  of  all  the 
Eastern  States,  reenforced  by  good  troops  from  the 
Northwest.  It  was  seen  on  both  sides  that  the  Gordian 
knot  of  the  war  would  be  cut  there,  which  explains  the 
great  importance  attached  to  successes  or  reverses  on 
this  theatre. 

But  the  war  was  being  carried  on  in  other  parts  of 
the  country  with  not  less  vigor,  and  more  success.  On 
the  Atlantic  coast,  we  were  solidly  established  in  North 
Carolina  and  at  some  points  of  South  Carolina  and 
Florida.  In  the  south  of  Virginia,  we  had  retaken 
Norfolk,  the  maritime  arsenal  of  the  rebels,  and  in 
Georgia,  Fort  Pulaski,  which  commanded  the  mouth  of 
the  Savannah.  The  mouths  of  the  Mississippi  had  been 
forced,  the  works  which  defended  them  captured,  and 
we  occupied  New  Orleans  and  a  part  of  Louisiana. 

In  the  West,  we  have  seen  that  the  spring  cam- 
paign had  opened  by  the  capture  of  Fort  Henry,  on  the 
Tennessee,  and  of  the  intrenched  camp  of  Fort  Donel- 
son,  on  the  Cumberland.  This  double  victory  carried 
with  it  the  fall  of  Nashville  and  Columbus.  Missouri 
and  a  part  of  Arkansas  were  swept  clean  of  rebel  troops. 
Island  No.  lo,  which  the  enemy  had  covered  with  defen- 
sive works  to  bar  the  Mississippi  against  us,  had  been 
gloriously  reduced.  Going  from  victory  to  victory,  to 
recover  the  navigation  of  the  river  which  divided  the 
Southern  Confederacy  in  two  parts,  we  had  taken  from 


382       FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

the  enemy  the  city  of  Memphis  and  Forts  Pillow  and 
Randolph,  which  are  on  the  river.  To  drive  him  from 
Kentucky  and  Tennessee,  the  possession  of  which  he 
obstinately  disputed  with  us,  we  had  fought  in  the 
spring  at  Shiloh,  and  in  the  autumn  at  Corinth  and 
Perryville.  Finally,  in  the  West  the  year  closed  by 
the  victory,  on  December  31,  of  Murfreesborough,  which 
threw  the  Confederate  forces  nearly  out  of  Tennessee. 

It  will  be  seen  that,  if  we  had  fallen  back  in  the  East, 
on  the  other  hand,  we  had  made  large  advances  in  the 
West,  and  that,  on  the  whole,  the  campaigns  of  1862 
left  a  large  balance  in  our  favor.  But  the  birth  of  the 
year  1863  was  to  be  marked  in  America  by  a  conquest 
more  important  in  itself  than  any  military  success. 

On  January  i,  emancipation  was  proclaimed  by  the 
President. 

To  understand  the  character  and  bearing  of  that  great 
measure,  we  must  take  up  the  question  from  the  com- 
mencement of  the  war,  where  we  had  left  it. 

The  Republican  party,  which  had  elected  Mr.  Lincoln 
to  the  Presidency,  was  opposed  to  slavery  in  principle, 
but  in  practice  it  recognized  the  exclusive  right  of  the 
States  to  control  their  domestic  institutions.  It  re- 
spected slavery  where  it  existed  in  fact.  Even  more, 
it  conceded  the  constitutional  obligation  of  the  free 
States  to  deliver  up  fugitive  slaves  in  the  manner  pre- 
scribed by  the  law.  The  only  thing  it  demanded  was 
the  interdiction  of  the  encroachment  of  slavery  in  the 
new  territories. 

The  inaugural  address  of  President  Lincoln,  the  most 
solemn  of  manifestoes,  was  very  explicit  on  these  points 
(4th  of  March,  1861). 

"  I  have  no  purpose  directly  or  indirectly,"  said  he, 
"  to  interfere  with  the  institution  of  slavery  in  the  States 
where  it  exists.     I  believe  I  have  no  lawful  right  to  do 


EMANCIPATION.  383 

SO,  and  I  have  not  the  inclination.  Those  who  nomi- 
nated and  elected  me  did  so  with  the  full  knowledge 
that  I  had  many  times  repeated  this  declaration,  and 
had  never  recanted  it.  And,  more  than  this,  they 
placed  in  the  platform  for  my  acceptance,  and  as  a  law 
to  themselves  and  to  me,  the  clear  and  emphatic  reso- 
lution which  I  now  read  :  — 

"  '  Resolved,  That  the  maintenance  inviolate  of  the 
rights  of  each  State  to  order  and  control  its  own  domes- 
tic institutions  according  to  its  own  judgment  exclu- 
sively is  essential  to  the  balance  of  power  on  which  the 
perfection  and  endurance  of  our  political  fabric  depend, 
and  we  denounce  the  lawless  invasion  by  armed  force 
of  the  soil  of  any  State  or  Territory,  no  matter  under 
what  pretext,  as  among  the  gravest  of  crimes.' 

"  I  now  reiterate  these  sentiments,  and,  in  so  doing,  I 
only  press  upon  the  public  attention  the  most  conclu- 
sive evidence  of  which  the  case  is  susceptible,  that  the 
property,  peace,  and  security  of  no  section  are  to  be  in 
any  wise  endangered  by  the  now  incoming  administra- 
tion. I  add,  too,  that  all  the  protection  which,  consist- 
ently with  the  Constitution  and  the  laws,  can  be  given, 
will  be  cheerfully  given  to  all  the  States,  when  lawfully 
demanded,  for  whatever  cause,  as  cheerfully  to  one  sec- 
tion as  to  another. 

"  There  is  much  controversy  about  the  delivering  up 
of  fugitives  from  service  or  labor.  The  clause  I  now 
read  is  as  plainly  written  in  the  Constitution  as  any 
other  of  its  provisions  :  — 

"  '  No  person  held  to  service  or  labor  in  one  State, 
under  the  laws  thereof,  escaping  into  another,  shall,  in 
consequence  of  any  law  or  regulation  therein,  be  dis- 
charged from  such  service  or  labor,  but  shall  be  deliv- 
ered up  on  claim  of  the  party  to  whom  such  service  or 
labor  may  be  due.' 


3^4       FOUR    YEARS    \V1  ril     IHE    IWRm.U"    ARMY. 

"  It  is  scarcelv  questioned  that  this  provision  was  in- 
tended by  those  who  made  it  for  the  reclaiming  of  what 
we  call  fugitive  slaves  —  and  the  intention  of  the  law- 
giv^er  is  the  law." 

This  was  the  departing  point.  Neither  aggression, 
nor  hostility,  nor  denial  of  justice  from  the  new  admin- 
istration to  the  Southern  States,  already  in  arms  against 
it,  even  before  it  was  inaugurated.  But  in  taking  the 
initiative  of  the  war  they  necessarily  accepted  the  con- 
sequences of  the  war.  And  by  violently  separating 
themselves  from  the  government  of  the  United  States 
they  rejected  the  protection  with  which  the  Union  cov- 
ered their  domestic  institutions  ;  by  destroying  the  federal 
constitution,  they  renounced  the  right  to  invoke  its  pro- 
tection. The  logical  consequences  were  about  to  develop 
slowly  but  surely.     We  will  follow  them  step  by  step. 

On  the  call  of  the  President,  Congress  assembled  in 
extra  session  July  4,  1861.  The  message  was  silent  on 
the  question  of  slavery.  It  w^as  devoted  to  events  hap- 
pening and  measures  taken  since  the  inauguration.  It 
discussed  especially,  with  great  elevation  of  view,  and 
great  power  of  argument,  the  question  of  the  right  of 
secession,  in  the  following  language  :  — 

"  This  issue  embraces  more  than  the  fate  of  these 
United  States.  It  presents  to  the  whole  family  of  man 
the  question  whether  a  constitutional  republic  or  democ- 
racy—  a  government  of  the  people  by  the  same  peo- 
ple—  can  or  can  not  maintain  its  territorial  integrity 
against  its  own  domestic  foes.  It  presents  the  ques- 
tion whether  discontented  individuals,  too  few  in  num- 
bers to  control  administration  according  to  organic  law, 
in  any  case,  can  always,  upon  the  pretences  made  in 
this  case,  or  on  any  other  pretences,  or  arbitrarily,  with- 
out anv  pretence,  break  up  their  government  and 
thus  practically  put  an  end  to  free  government   upon 


EMANCIPATION.  385 

the  earth.  It  forces  us  to  ask,  '  Is  there,  in  all  repub- 
lics, this  inherent  and  fatal  weakness  ? '  '  Must  a  gov- 
ernment, of  necessity,  be  too  strong  for  the  liberties 
of  its  own  people,  or  too  weak  to  maintain  its  own 
existence  ? '  " 

Congress,  which  is  the  soul  of  the  people,  could  not 
be  silent  on  the  question  of  slavery.  It  first  passed  a 
resolution  declaring  that  it  was  not  the  duty  of  the 
United  States  soldiers  to  return  fugitive  slaves.  A 
self-evident  truth,  and  which  it  would  not  have  been 
necessary  to  affirm  in  that  manner  if  some  over-scru- 
pulous generals  had  not  had  the  inhumanity  to  return  to 
their  masters  some  unfortunate  slaves  who  had  sought 
refuge  in  our  lines. 

A  general  discussion  followed,  from  which  it  appeared 
that  Congress  had  no  more  than  the  administration 
any  idea  of  abolishing  slavery  where  it  existed.  The 
future  course  of  events  was  indicated  by  Mr,  Dixon, 
senator  from  Connecticut,  when  he  said  that,  if  the  war 
were  prolonged  and  it  came  to  the  point  that  the  gov- 
ernment or  slavery  must  perish,  the  conservative  people 
of  the  North  would  declare,  "  Let  slavery  perish  rather 
than  the  government !  "  For  the  present,  a  resolution 
proposed  by  Mr.  Crittenden  was  adopted,  assigning  as 
the  sole  object  of  the  war  the  defence  and  mainte- 
nance of  the  supremacy  of  the  constitution  and  the 
preservation  of  the  Union,  with  the  dignity,  equality, 
and  rights  of  the  different  States  unaltered. 

Certainly  it  was  impossible  to  show  more  moderation. 
The  authorities  were  still  so  conservative  as  to  every- 
thing which  regarded  slavery  that  the  only  fugitive 
slaves  who  at  that  time  were  protected  against  legal 
reclamation  were  those  whom  their  masters  had  em- 
ployed on  some  military  work  against  the  government 
and  authority  of  the  United  States. 


3S6   FOUR  ^'EARS  WITH  THE  R^^TOMAC  ARMY. 

The  abolitionist  party  and  the  impatient  part  of  the 
Republican  party  were  irritated  by  this  conservative 
aspect  as  to  slavery  ;  but  the  President  continued  faith- 
fully in  the  line  of  conduct  which  he  had  determined  on 
—  to  ad^'ance  with  the  people,  and  even  to  follow  rather 
than  precede.  Thus,  when,  in  the  month  of  August, 
General  Fremont,  at  that  time  commanding  in  Mis- 
souri, proclaimed  martial  law  in  that  State,  and  confis- 
cated the  property,  real  and  personal,  of  the  citizens  in 
arms  against  the  government,  which  included  the  liber- 
ation of  their  slaves,  he  was  immediately  rebuked 
and  ordered  peremptorily  to  recall  that  premature 
measure. 

Congress  reassembled  December  2.  The  President 
perceived  the  necessity  of  stronger  action,  but  still 
contented  himself  with  recommending  that  they  should 
not  act  with  too  much  haste.  Now  the  House  of  Rep- 
resentatives took  the  initiative.  The  extreme  considera- 
tion shown  towards  slaver}'  had  remained  without  effect 
to  bring  back  the  rebels,  and  abroad  had  only  cooled  the 
S}Tnpathy  of  the  liberals  for  our  cause.  It  was  time  to 
take  a  more  pronounced  course. 

The  first  propositions  were  to  request  the  President 
to  emancipate  the  slaves  as  soon  as  that  measure  should 
be  considered  opportune  to  aid  in  beating  down  the 
rebellion.  They  were  not  adopted,  it  is  true  ;  but  the 
first  blow  was  struck  by  the  abolition  of  slaver}-  in 
the  District  of  Columbia,  with  pecuniar}^  compensation, 
and  by  its  prohibition  in  all  the  territories  belonging  to 
the  United  States. 

At  that  time,  the  President,  perceiving  the  mounting 
tide,  thought  to  open  the  way  before  the  dikes  were 
carried  away.  On  March  6,  he  sent  to  Congress  a  spe- 
cial message,  recommending  the  adoption  of  the  fol- 
lowing resolution  :  — 


"  "SLssfivJ^  T!iat  the  Umced  Stscss.  in.  irier  j3  c^- 
iperats  witii  arty  State  wincit  maar  adorrc  zraduaL  sbaur- 

tir, '  -    :-  be 

:ife;-  .     .--  :     -^    —    — - ......^^  it 

Tfjt  tie  an.  :'ce,  puisixc  ir  p±7at2,  ancucsa.  W 

Hick  cnan^'i  '>l  •^v«snL  ' 

Taere  wss  sdlL  tie  r^cr^gmnan  i£  tiie  crmstnnrniiiai 
rigat  of  the  iScatss  t::;  ieccrre  the  cEuesricrL  ir  "^em- 
seiTes^  at  the  same  time  lEeriii^  to  asKst  r^t«n  hy  peca- 
n^rr  osmpenssricii  in  :  r!iL 

It  ina^  be  rsnarxes:  a  ":»as  accptad 

lymj  agsmst  the  oppcsiricii  hoth  at  those  hi  s^Tnroathv 
with  the  r^X)J.'OTL   -  crash  it:,  'w^sx 

hi  haste  t;v  bring  t„:  ii  :„  .i:  j.r2surzs  t3  b^ir 
aaahist  itL     Oa  both  sdes  the^  msoted  ever.' thing  <h: 

prsserr^  ~7   zm^:  the 

,--    ;   .— -..  ^ ^  ..  .-   .  i_  _  3c   ^;ne  rsallj  iiad  ixr 

great  canwdencs  m.  its  pacinc  Times, 

The  President,  in  Tain.  :iaed  everv  efort  to  Tnatg?^  :he 
measare  xtsGuL  He  addressed  himself  -nrecti?  is  tiie 
Rgpresaitarives  ot  the  border  States  :  he  seit  t::  C.:jni- 
greas  a  project  reJatrre  tc  the  atlotmait  ot  the  scan 
esdmated  as   eventnaTT  _t    rnrrcse. 

His  Toice  was  not  sec  i  3iet  vxh 

no  response.  We  must  recognize  that  the  reople  had 
lost  its  patieice.  The  Nrrti  sbrwed  itself  as  tired  <i£ 
ottering  comprcmises  as  the  Sr^rtii  -xns  rcifnnars  m. 
repellfng  them, 

Nevertheless.  Mr.  Lincoin  ^r^ced  zz-  cr?".i:i?e  everr 
Tnf^T?>t  General  H":srter.  wire  ^cmmanded  the  depart- 
ment of  the  South  composed  of  the  parts  -vrtirh  we 
occnpied  in  South  Carolina,  Gecrzia,  and  Florida,  si- 
dearrored  to  iorce  his  hand.  Scrsigthening  himselt  cnr 
tiie  incompatiljilitj  of  mar^a.  law  and  Skarrerv  in  a  tree 
cotratry,  he  declared  the  Carres  lorever  tree  in  tiiDse 


388       FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

three  States,  The  President  immediately  issued  a  proc- 
lamation annulling  that  declaration  as  an  encroach- 
ment on  the  power  reserved  to  him,  and  which  he  could 
in  no  case  abandon  to  the  generals  in  the  field.  He 
then  called  attention  to  the  resolution  adopted  by  Con- 
gress, "  An  offer  authentic  and  a  definite  and  solemn 
proposal  of  the  nation  to  the  States  and  their  citizens 
the  most  interested  on  the  subject."  He  adjured  them 
again  to  take  it  into  serious  consideration,  and  "  not 
to  be  blind  as  to  the  signs  of  the  times,"  but  to  profit 
by  the  privilege  that  Divine  Providence  had  given  them 
to  make  much  greater  efforts  than  any  they  had  made 
in  the  past.  "  So  that,"  said  he,  in  finishing,  "  you  may 
not  in  the  future  have  to  deplore  having  neglected  your 
opportunity." 

This  eloquent  appeal  did  not  obtain  the  affranchise- 
ment of  a  single  slave  ;  and  the  abolition  wave  mounted 
higher  and  higher. 

In  an  act  of  Congress,  known  by  the  name  of  the 
"  Confiscation  Bill,"  and  approved  July  17,  by  the 
President  :  The  slaves  of  every  person  convicted  of 
the  crime  of  treason  against  the  United  States,  or  de- 
clared guilty  of  having  aided  or  assisted  the  rebellion 
by  any  act,  or  of  having  taken  part  therein  ;  —  slaves 
of  every  person  engaged  in  rebellion  or  aiding  it,  who 
took  refuge  within  our  lines,  who  might  be  captured,  or 
found  afterwards  in  any  place  occupied  by  the  United 
States  forces,  after  having  been  occupied  by  the  rebel 
forces,  were  declared  free.  —  The  military  authorities 
were  forbidden,  under  pain  of  dismissal  from  the  army, 
to  assist  in  any  reclamation  of  a  fugitive  slave,  in  what- 
ever State  or  Territory  it  might  be.  —  Authority  was 
given  to  the  President  to  employ  as  many  men  of  Afri- 
can blood  as  he  should  judge  necessary  or  expedient 
for  the  suppression  of  the  rebellion,  and  to  organize  and 


EMANCIPATION.  389 

employ  them  in  any  manner  which  he  might  consider 
for  the  best  interests  of  the  country. 

Thus,  among  the  different  measures  combined  in  this 
bill  were  to  be  found  side  by  side  the  confiscation  for 
life  of  the  property  of  the  rebels  and  the  emancipation 
of  their  slaves,  and  by  the  side  of  a  project  for  coloni- 
zing the  blacks  in  some  foreign  country  the  authoriza- 
tion to  form  regiments  to  actively  aid  in  the  war,  the 
first  cause  of  which  had  been  their  former  condition. 

Another  act  of  Congress,  approved  at  the  same  time, 
went  still  farther  on  the  road  to  emancipation.  It  ex- 
tended the  benefit  to  the  mother,  to  the  wife,  and  to 
the  children  of  every  negro  employed  by  the  govern- 
ment in  military  labor,  at  the  fixed  price  of  ten  dollars 
a  month,  provided  that  the  mothers,  wives,  and  children 
did  not  belong  to  a  master  who  had  remained  faithful 
to  the  Union. 

Matters  had  arrived  at  a  point  where  they  could  not 
stop.  These  distinctions  between  slaves,  these  dis- 
criminations giving,  liberty  to  some  and  keeping  the 
others  in  slavery,  had  an  unjust  and  odious  appearance. 
Whit !  If  we  free  the  slaves,  is  it  not  for  the  sake  of 
humanity,  of  civilization,  of  eternal  justice!  Is  it  not 
for  the  honor  of  the  United  States  !  This  great  re- 
demption from  a  stain  which  has  existed  too  long  is 
reduced  to  the  proportion  of  an  expedient  to  strike  the 
authors  and  plotters  of  the  rebellion,  and  punish  them 
in  their  material  interests.  Such  was  the  effect  of  this 
political  trick  that  the  right  to  liberty  was  denied  to 
the  unfortunates  who  were  found  to  be  the  property  of 
the  partisans  of  a  liberating  government,  or  of  the  un- 
decided, and  conceded  to  the  slaves  whom  a  happy 
chance  had  made  the  property  of  its  enemies. 

There  was  something  revolting  in  all  this,  which  did 
not   fail  to  have   its   effect   on   the  public  conscience. 


390       FOUR   YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

The  extra  session  of  Congress  had  hardly  closed  when 
popular  feeling  began  to  bear  directly  on  the  President. 
From  all  sides,  absolute  and  immediate  emancipation 
was  demanded  from  him.  He,  however,  declined  to 
act,  fearing  to  be  in  too  great  haste. 

On  the  23d  of  August,  he  thus  defined  his  rule  of  con- 
duct, in  a  letter  which  made  a  great  sensation  :  — 

"  I  would  save  the  Union.  I  would  save  it  in  the 
shortest  way  under  the  Constitution. 

"The  sooner  the  national  authority  can  be  restored, 
the  nearer  the  Union  will  be  —  the  Union  as  it  was. 

"  If  there  be  those  who  would  not  save  the  Union 
unless  they  could  at  the  same  time  save  slavery,  I  do 
not  agree  with  them. 

"  If  there  be  those  who  would  not  save  the  Union 
unless  they  could  at  the  same  time  destroy  slavery,  I 
do  not  agree  with  them. 

"My  paramount  object  is  to  save  the  Union,  and  not 
either  to  save  or  to  destroy  slavery. 

"  If  I  could  save  the  Union  without  freeing  any  slave, 
I  would  do  it.  If  I  could  save  it  by  freeing  all  the 
slaves,  I  would  do  it,  —  and  if  I  could  do  it  by  freeing 
some  and  leaving  others  alone,  I  would  also  do  that. 

"  What  I  do  about  slavery  and  the  colored  race,  I  do 
because  I  believe  it  helps  to  save  this  Union  ;  and  what 
I  forbear,  I  forbear  because  I  do  not  believe  it  would 
help  to  save  the  Union. 

"  I  shall  do  less  whenever  I  shall  believe  what  I  am 
doing  hurts  the  cause,  and  I  shall  do  more  whenever 
I  believe  doing  more  will  help  the  cause. 

"  I  shall  try  to  correct  errors  when  shown  to  be 
errors,  and  I  shall  adopt  new  views  so  fast  as  they 
shall  appear  to  be  true  views." 

Mr.  Lincoln  was  a  man  of  perfect  honesty  and  of  rare 
good-sense.     It  could  not  be  said  of  him  that  he  was 


EMA^-CI  PATION.  3  9 1 

a  great  philosopher  or  a  great  statesman.  But  good- 
sense  has  the  excellent  quality  that  it  arrives  at  the  goal 
surely,  although  it  takes  its  own  time,  while  genius 
sometimes  fails  to  reach  it,  from  trying  to  grasp  it  by 
too  eager  an  effort.  In  this  case,  the  fear  of  being  in 
advance  of  public  opinion  put  the  President  behind  it, 
and  made  him  hesitate  before  the  "signs  of  the  times," 
which  he  had,  however,  perceived.  For  him,  the  hour 
had  not  yet  come. 

On  one  point  he  was  mistaken.  It  was  no  longer  a 
question  of  the  Union  as  it  was,  that  was  to  be  reestab- 
lished ;  it  was  the  Union  as  it  should  be,  that  is  to  say, 
washed  clean  from  its  original  sin,  regenerated  on  the 
baptismal  font  of  liberty  for  all. 

Unless  with  that  object,  why  this  war,  these  immense 
sacrifices  of  every  kind,  these  enormous  immolations  of 
men  .'  To  build  up  the  crumbling  edifice  with  the  same 
stones  which  could  not  sustain  it  before  '^.  To  renew 
the  impossible  endeavor  to  suppress  the  effect,  while 
retaining  the  cause  }  But  that  was  no  solution  ;  it  was 
a  putting-off.  It  was  no  reconstruction  ;  it  was  a  plas- 
tering-up. 

Matters  being  in  the  same  state  as  before,  how  could 
the  future  prevent  that  which  the  past  had  not  been 
able  to  prevent .''  We  would  have  proved  ourselves  the 
stronger  ;  but  it  would  be  necessary  for  us  to  prove  the 
same  thing  to-morrow,  the  day  after  to-morrow,  in  five 
years,  in  ten  years.  The  strife  would  have  been  eter- 
nally renewed,  as  long  as  the  two  incompatible  and 
antagonistic  elements,  free  labor  and  slave  labor,  ex- 
isted together  in  the  Republic.  And  we  would  have 
dragged  behind  us  the  heavy  ball  of  slavery,  which 
made  us  limp  on  the  way  of  progress,  and  made  us  re- 
semble rather  the  condemned  criminals  of  civilization 
than  its  pioneers. 


392       FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

Happily,  Providence  had  other  designs.  It  would  not 
allow  the  seed  which  it  had  caused  to  germinate  to  be 
scattered  to  the  winds,  nor  the  harvest  to  be  trampled 
under  foot.  The  logical  outcome  must  be  accom- 
plished. It  was  of  little  importance  whether  the  watch 
of  the  President  was  too  slow.  The  hour  had  sounded 
on  the  people's  clock. 

On  the  13th  of  September,  as  if  God  himself  wished 
to  speak  by  the  voice  of  those  who  were  regarded  as 
being  nearer  him,  a  deputation  of  clergymen  of  all  the 
different  denominations,  coming  from  Chicago,  was  re- 
ceived at  the  White  House.  They  came,  in  their  turn, 
to  ask  of  the  President  the  proclamation  of  universal 
emancipation. 

Mr.  Lincoln  replied  at  first  in  a  tone  half  joking, 
half  serious,  putting  into  his  answer  a  few  words  on  the 
divine  Will,  which  every  one  believed  he  was  capable  of 
interpreting,  even  those  with  opinions  the  most  diverse 
and  opposite.  He  hoped  that  there  was  no  irreverence 
in  supposing  that  upon  a  point  so  closely  connected 
with  his  duty  God  would  reveal  himself  directly  to  him. 
However,  as  the  day  of  miracles  had  passsed,  they  could 
certainly  believe  that  he  had  not  that  expectation.  He 
limited  himself  then  to  studying  simply  the  material 
facts  of  the  case,  in  order  to  deduce  from  them  what 
might  be  just  and  wise. 

The  President  entered  into  an  explanation  of  the  con- 
sideration and  of  the  difficulties  which  had  heretofore 
held  him  back.  The  delegates  insisted,  and  gave  all  the 
considerations,  moral  and  material,  which  bore  in  favor 
of  the  measure.  Pressed  closely,  Mr.  Lincoln  had  to 
admit  that  slavery  was  the  cause  of  the  rebellion,  with- 
out which  it  would  not  have  been  ;  that  emancipation 
would  aid  us  in  Europe  and  in  America ;  and  that  it 
would    weaken    the    rebels.     Evidently    his    objections 


EMANCIPATION.  393 

were  scarcely  without  exception  dilatory,  a  scruple 
already  shaken.  He  declared,  in  conclusion,  that  he 
had  not  decided  against  a  proclamation,  but  that  he  had 
the  subject  in  his  mind,  deliberating  upon  it  day  and 
night  more  than  any  other.  His  last  words  were, 
"Whatever  shall  appear  to  be  God's  will  I  will  do." 
Judgment  was  not  entered  up,  but  the  suit  was  won. 

Nine  days  after,  September  22,  appeared  a  prepara- 
tory proclamation,  in  which  it  was  declared  that  on  the 
ist  of  January  following  the  executive  power  would 
designate  the  States  and  portions  of  States  which  were 
in  rebellion  against  the  United  States,  and  that,  at  that 
date,  every  person  held  in  slavery  in  these  States  or 
portions  of  States  would  be,  from  and  after  that  date, 
forever  free. 

And,  in  fact,  at  the  opening  of  the  year  1863  the 
definite  proclamation  of  emancipation  was  made  :  — 

"  Whereas  on  the  22d  of  September,  in  the  year  of 
our  Lord  1862,  a  proclamation  was  issued  by  the  Presi- 
dent of  the  United  States,  containing,  among  other 
things,  etc. 

"  Now,  therefore,  I,  Abraham  Lincoln,  President  of 
the  United  States,  by  virtue  of  the  power  in  me  vested 
as  commander-in-chief  of  the  Army  and  Navy  of  the 
United  States,  in  time  of  actual  armed  rebellion  against 
the  authority  and  government  of  the  United  States,  and 
as  a  fit  and  necessary  war  measure  for  suppressing  said 
rebellion,  do,  on  this  first  day  of  January  in  the  year  of 
our  Lord  one  thousand  eight  hundred  and  sixty  three, 
and  in  accordance  with  my  purpose  so  to  do,  publicly 
proclaim  for  the  full  period  of  one  hundred  days  from 
the  day  first  above  mentioned,  order  and  designate,  as 
the  States  and  parts  of  States  wherein'  the  people 
thereof  respectively  are  this  day  in  rebellion  against  the 
United  States,  the  following,  viz.  :  — 


394       FOUR   YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

"Arkansas,  Texas,  Louisiana  (except  the  parishes  of 
St.  Bernard,  Plaquemines,  Jefferson,  St.  John,  St. 
Charles,  St.  James,  Ascension,  Assumption,  Terre 
Bonne,  Lafourche,  Ste.  Marie,  St.  Martin,  and  Orleans, 
including  the  city  of  New  Orleans),  Mississippi,  Ala- 
bama, Florida,  Georgia,  South  Carolina,  North  Carolina, 
and  Virginia  (except  the  forty-eight  counties  designated 
as  West  Virginia,  and  also  the  counties  of  Berkeley, 
Accomac,  Northampton,  Elizabeth  City,  York,  Princess 
Anne,  and  Norfolk,  including  the  cities  of  Norfolk  and 
Portsmouth),  and  which  excepted  parts  are  for  the 
present  left  precisely  as  if  this  proclamation  were  not 
issued. 

"  And  by  virtue  of  the  power  and  for  the  purpose 
aforesaid,  I  do  order  and  declare  that  all  persons  held 
as  Slavics  within  said  designated  States  and  parts  of 
States  are,  and  henceforward  shall  be,  free  ;  and  that  the 
Executive  Government  of  the  United  States,  including 
the  military  and  naval  authorities  thereof,  will  recognize 
and  maintain  the  freedom  of  said  persons. 

"And  I  hereby  enjoin  upon  the  people  so  declared  to 
be  free  to  abstain  from  all  violence,  unless  in  necessary 
self-defence  ;  and  I  recommend  to  them  that,  in  all  cases 
when  allowed,  they  labor  faithfully  for  reasonable  wages. 

"  And  I  further  declare  and  make  known  that  such 
persons,  of  suitable  condition,  will  be  received  into  the 
armed  service  of  the  United  States,  to  garrison  forts, 
positions,  stations,  and  other  places,  and  to  man  vessels 
of  all  sorts  in  said  service. 

"  And  upon  this  act,  sincerely  believed  to  be  an  act 
of  justice,  warranted  by  the  Constitution  upon  military 
necessity,  I  invoke  the  considerate  judgment  of  man- 
kind and  the  gracious  favor  of  Almighty  God. 

"  In  testimony  whereof,  I  have  hereunto  set  my  name, 
and  caused  the  seal  of  the  United  States  to  be  affixed," 
etc. 


EMANCIPATION.  395 

It  will  be  understood  that  the  reservations  made  in 
the  proclamation  were  only  a  matter  of  form.  In  the 
portions  of  the  States  expressly  excepted,  and  in  the 
States  which  were  not  mentioned,  because  they  had 
not  separated  themselves  from  the  Union,  —  Missouri, 
Kentucky,  Tennessee,  Maryland,  and  Delaware,  — 
slavery  existed  only  in  name.  In  fact,  the  slaves  either 
had  been  taken  or  sent  South  by  their  masters,  and 
were  rightfully  free,  as  belonging  to  owners  participat- 
ing in  or  aiding  the  rebellion  ;  or  they  had  been  left 
upon  the  plantations,  and  were  therefore  free  in  point 
of  fact,  doing  as  they  pleased  and  able  to  go  away  when 
they  pleased,  without  fear  of  being  apprehended  and 
returned  to  their  masters.  The  military  authorities 
were  formally  forbidden  to  interfere,  and  nobody  dared 
reclaim  the  fugitives  before  the  civil  magistrate. 

The  war  at  last  assumed  its  true  character  :  a  war  for 
liberty,  against  slavery.  The  time  for  disguise  had 
passed.  Congress  in  its  acts  and  the  President  in  his 
proclamation  had  in  vain  and  repeatedly  declared  that 
the  only  objects  of  the  war  were  "the  restoration  of  the 
Union,  the  maintenance  of  the  supremacy  of  the  fed- 
eral government,  and  the  reestablishment  of  constitu- 
tional relations  between  the  United  States  and  the 
States  in  which  these  relations  were  suspended  or  dis- 
turbed." Congress  and  the  President  could  not  at  first 
comprehend  in  its  full  extent  the  civilizing  work  of 
which  they  were  the  instruments,  — or,  which  is  more 
probable,  for  political  reasons  they  preferred  not  to 
proclaim  them  in  advance.  But,  in  any  case,  they 
could  not  have  things  any  different  from  what  they 
were. 

Congress  and  the  President  were  only  the  agents  of 
the  people.  To  the  people  they  left  the  duty  of  direct- 
ing the  march,  limiting  themselves,  so  to  say,  to  mark 


396       FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

out  the  road  travelled.  Thus  the  government  and  the 
nation  took  the  same  step,  and,  as  they  marched  to- 
gether, they  must  reach  the  goal  together. 

And  they  attained  the  goal.  The  question  was  de- 
cided. Between  the  Republic  and  the  accursed  institu- 
tion there  was  henceforth  war  to  the  death.  The 
triumphs  of  the  one  led  necessarily  to  the  destruction 
of  the  other.  And  it  was  not  the  Republic  which  was 
destined  to  perish. 

Now,  we  could  march  with  a  prouder  step,  and  fight 
with  more  confidence.  We  were  no  longer  merely  the 
soldiers  of  a  political  controversy,  to  be  decided  by  the 
fate  of  arms.  We  were  now  the  missionaries  of  a  great 
work  of  redemption,  the  armed  liberators  of  millions  of 
men  bent  beneath  the  brutalizing  yoke  of  slavery.  The 
war  was  ennobled  ;  the  object  was  higher.  While 
meriting  well  from  the  country,  we  deserved  well  from 
humanity. 


CHAPTER    XIX. 

LAST  EFFORTS  OF  BURNSIDE. 

The  Fifty-fifth  New  York  consolidated  with  the  Thirty-eighth  —  New 
Year's  day  in  camp  —  Abuse  of  strong  liquor  in  the  army  —  New 
projects  of  General  Burnside  —  Plan  of  a  cavalry  expedition  by  Gen- 
eral Averill  —  Intervention  of  the  President  —  Burnside  at  Washing- 
ton—  General  Newton  and  General  Cochrane  —  Complications  — 
The  army  in  motion  —  A  gloomy  night  —  The  army  buried  in  the  mud 
—  Return  to  camp  —  General  order  No.  8 —  How  General  Burnside 
came  to  be  relieved  of  the  command  of  the  army. 

The  career  of  the  Fifty-fifth  New  York  ended  with  the 
year  1862.  At  the  battle  of  Fredericksburg,  it  could 
put  but  two  hundred  and  ten  men  in  line,  and,  although 
on  that  occasion  it  lost  only  a  dozen  men,  nevertheless 
it  was  one  of  the  regiments  the  most  reduced  in  num- 
bers. Now,  in  the  impossibility  of  filling  the  vacant 
ranks  by  recruiting,  the  War  Department  adopted  the 
only  alternative  remaining  to  make  the  force  effective, 
—  that  of  taking  the  feeble  regiments  to  fill  up  the 
stronger,  provided  the  latter  were  old  organizations 
and  from  the  same  State.  The  Fifty-fifth  was  thus 
absorbed  in  the  Thirty-eighth  New  York,  forming  the 
four  left  companies,  and  I  was  called  to  this  new  com- 
mand, which  numbered  804  men,  of  whom  about  five 
hundred  were  present  in  the  ranks.  In  reality  it  was  a 
small  regiment  ;  comparatively  it  was  large. 

The  Thirty-eighth  was  a  good  regiment,  steady 
under  fire,  and  asking  only  to  be  led  by  a  firm  hand,  by 
a  commander  knowing  how  to  use  it.  This  point  once 
established  between  us,  everything  went  on  well,  and  I 

397 


398       FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOIMAC    ARMY. 

had  only  to  praise  its  bearing  and  conduct  during  the 
five  months  that  it  was  under  my  command. 

New  Year's  day  passed  more  gayly  than  could  have 
been  expected.  General  Ward,  who  was  well  fittecl  for 
all  such  details,  organized  diversions  in  the  brigade, 
which  met  with  great  success  :  foot-races,  mule-races, 
sack-races,  greased  pole  ;  burlesque  procession  ;  comic 
interludes,  — nothing  was  lacking  to  the  fete,  in  which 
the  division  joyfully  participated. 

The  higher  officers  paid  their  visits  to  the  tents  of 
the  generals,  where  the  inevitable  drink  watered  the 
day's  greetings.  General  Sickles,  who,  at  that  time, 
commanded  Hooker's  old  division,  did  things  in  grand 
style.  During  the  whole  day  he  kept  open  house  at 
his  headquarters.  The  collation,  which  he  had  ordered 
from  Washington,  was  abundant  and  choice.  The 
champagne  and  whiskey  ran  in  streams.  I  wish  I  could 
add  that  they  were  used  in  moderation  ;  but  the  truth 
is  that  the  subaltern  officers,  attracted  by  the  good 
cheer,  partook  of  them  so  freely  that  it  was  not  to 
the  honor  of  the  uniform  nor  to  the  profit  of  discipline. 
Amicus  Sickles,  sed  magis  arnica  Veritas. 

Drunkenness  is,  as  all  know,  the  dominant  vice  of 
the  Celts  and  Anglo-Saxons.  To  keep  the  army  from 
being  overcome  with  it,  prevention  was  much  more  effi- 
cient than  repression.  So  that,  while  offences  proceed- 
ing from  that  source  were  punished  as  the  regulations 
demanded,  the  sale  of  wine  and  liquors  to  the  soldiers 
and  purveyors  for  staffs  was  expressly  forbidden.  That 
the  desire  for  enormous  profit  led,  sometimes,  to  the 
secret  violation  of  this  order  was  the  exception,  and  did 
not  invalidate  the  general  good  effect  of  the  regulation. 
But  it  would  have  added  much  if  the  officers  had  given 
the  good  example  of  sobriety.  Unhappily,  this  was  not 
the  case,  and  it  happened  too  often  for  some  of  them 


LAST   EFFORTS    OF    BURNSIDE.  399 

that  the  privilege  of  providing  themselves  with  liquors 
only  offered  facilities  for  indulging  in  habits  of  gross 
intemperance.  When  they  were  on  duty  they  were 
liable  to  be  court-martialled,  and,  if  convicted,  dismissed 
from  the  army.  So  it  was  generally  in  the  evening,  in 
their  tents,  that  they  indulged  their  ignoble  appetites. 
Impunity  was  assured  them  if  the  colonel  would  close 
his  eyes.  And  there  were  cases  where  the  colonel  did 
worse  than  that,  and  joined  himself  in  nightly  orgies. 
I  knew  such  a  regiment,  where,  during  that  winter,  the 
soldiers  were  often  disturbed  in  their  sleep  by  the 
obscene  refrains  and  drunken  cries  from  the  tent  of 
the  commanding  officer.  One  can  judge  of  the  deplo- 
rable effect. 

Such  matters  depend  upon  the  officers  commanding. 
If  certain  regimental  commanders  indulged  with  impu- 
nity in  such  license,  it  was  because  there  was  culpable 
tolerance  on  the  part  of  the  generals  under  whose 
orders  they  were  serving.  This  excessive  indulgence 
had  its  origin  in  a  false  manner  of  looking  at  things, 
much  too  prevalent,  especially  amongst  those  whose 
younger  years  had  not  been  shaped  by  a  healthy  family 
influence,  or  by  the  feelings  in  the  heart  of  a  gentle- 
man. In  their  eyes,  drunkenness  was  less  a  degrada- 
tion than  a  subject  for  pleasantry.  The  officer  who 
exhibited  himself  in  that  state  exposed  himself  to  ridi- 
cule, but  not  to  contempt.  A  remonstrance  might 
follow  sometimes,  after  repeated  instances  ;  a  punish- 
ment only  as  a  last  resort. 

In  such  a  case  these  generals  were  the  really  guilty. 
They  extended  the  evil  instead  of  stopping  it,  and  were 
so  much  the  more  culpable  that,  to  banish  the  evil  from 
their  staffs,  all  that  was  necessary  was  to  show  their 
disgust,  and  announce  the  determination  to  send  to  his 
regiment  every  officer  who  should  be  intoxicated. 


400       FOUR   YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

Therefore  it  was  necessary  for  the  highest  authorities 
to  take  measures  to  reform  these  abuses.  The  few 
generals  who  happened  to  be  themselves  inclined  to  the 
immoderate  use  of  intoxicatiug  liquors  were,  at  a  later 
date,  relieved  from  their  commands.  More  severe  orders 
were  made  to  regulate  the  sale  of  such  articles  to  the 
officers.  Each  one  of  them  was  required  to  designate 
on  the  regimental  order  book  the  kind  and  the  quantity 
of  liquors  required  for  his  personal  use,  which  was 
allowed  to  him  within  certain  limits.  This  requisition, 
subject  to  the  approval  of  both  the  colonel  and  the 
general  commanding  the  brigade,  required  the  signature 
of  the  provost-general,  to  become  effective,  and  the 
sutlers  authorized  to  furnish  it  could  in  no  case  exceed 
it,  under  pain  of  expulsion  from  the  army  and  confisca- 
tion of  their  goods.  The  same  regulation  applied  to  the 
staff  officers,  and  the  generals  themselves,  although  not 
restricted  as  to  quantity,  had  not  the  less  to  sign  the 
orders  given  their  purveyors.  In  this  way  the  evil  was 
attacked  at  its  root  by  the  impossibility  of  introducing 
in  the  camps  an  excess  of  intoxicating  liquors,  and,  as 
the  courts-martial  acted  with  vigor  against  the  delin- 
quents who  were  brought  before  them,  it  came  to  pass 
that  drunkenness  became  an  exception  in  the  army, 
where  it  had  threatened  to  become  a  universal  habit. 

The  army,  duly  installed  in  winter  quarters,  did  not 
suspect  how  uncertain  was  that  installation.  Behind 
the  curtain  of  the  monotonous  camp  life  at  this  time, 
movements  were  projected  which  might  any  day  change 
the  face  of  affairs. 

Since  the  battle  of  Fredericksburg,  the  troops  had 
lost  their  confidence  in  the  general-in-chief.  That  pre- 
cious element  of  success  no  longer  existed  for  us.  A 
common  sentiment  of  distrust  showed  itself  everywhere, 
aggravated  by  the  deep  sense  of  injury  in  the  divisions 


LAST    EFFORTS    OF    BURNSIDE.  4OI 

which,  having  suffered  the  most,  complained  of  having 
been  uselessly  sacrificed.  Their  complaints  and  accu- 
sations against  General  Burnside  were  repeated  in 
sympathetic  echoes  in  the  other  corps  as  well  under 
the  officers'  tents  as  around  the  bivouac  fires.  These 
complaints  became  discouragements  among  the  lighter 
minds  and  feebler  characters,  and  the  number  of  deser- 
tions, a  sure  indicator  of  the  moral  condition  of  armies, 
mounted  up  from  day  to  day  to  unexampled  proportions. 

It  would  be  difficult  to  admit  that  the  general-in-chief 
did  not  know  it,  for  the  generals  understood  perfectly 
well  the  disposition  of  the  army.  Much  more,  the 
larger  part  of  them  were  as  distrustful' as  their  troops, 
and  would  have  regarded  with  great  reluctance  any  re- 
newed attempt  to  force  the  line  of  the  Rappahannock. 

However,  General  Burnside  was  not  of  a  character  to 
regard  himself  as  beaten.  His  plan  once  determined 
on,  he  pursued  it  a  oiitrance,  sustained  by  the  honesty 
of  his  intentions,  by  devoted  patriotism,  and  by  what  we 
might  call  obstinate  devotion  to  duty.  So  that  his  first 
thought,  after  the  want  of  success  at  Fredericksburg, 
had  been  again  to  try  fortune  to  obtain  his  revenge. 
Keeping  to  himself  his  secret  designs,  while  the  army 
was  working  like  beavers,  he  had  without  noise  got 
ready  for  a  new  advance  movement.  This  time,  he 
intended  to  cross  the  river  six  or  seven  miles  below 
Fredericksburg,  and  strike  a  decisive  blow,  by  surpris- 
ing the  army  of  the  enemy  in  the  rear  of  its  intrench- 
ments. 

At  the  same  time,  a  select  body  of  cavalry  was  to  be 
sent  to  southern  Virginia.  This  enterprise  had  been 
planned  and  worked  out  by  General  Averill.  His  pro- 
posed route  was,  to  cross  the  Rappahannock  at  Kelly's 
Ford,  the  Rapidan  at  Raccoon  Ford,  the  James  thirty 
miles  above   Richmond,  pass  around  the  city  at  a  dis- 


402       FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

tance,  going  south  of  Petersburg,  and  join  the  troops 
of  General  Peck  at  Suffolk.  His  design  was  to  cut  all 
the  communications  of  the  Confederate  capital  with  the 
South  and  West,  where  they  were  then  fighting  at  Mur- 
freesborough,  and  with  that  object  to  destroy  the  James 
River  canal,  blowing  up  the  locks  ;  to  burn  the  viaduct 
of  the  Richmond  &  Danville  Railroad  across  the  Appo- 
mattox, and  the  bridge  at  Flat  Creek  a  little  further 
down ;  to  demolish  the  railroad  from  Petersburg  to 
Lynchburg  at  the  point  where  it  crosses  the  tributaries 
of  the  Nottoway,  and  the  bridges  at  that  point  ;  to  burn 
the  trestle  work  of  the  railroad  from  Petersburg  to 
Weldon  on  the  Nottoway  and  the  bordering  swamps ; 
and,  finally,  to  cut  the  telegraphic  wires  wherever  they 
were  found ;  to  destroy  everything  in  the  nature  of 
public  property ;  in  a  word,  to  do  all  possible  injury  to 
the  enemy. 

The  plan  drew  out  all  these  operations  in  detail,  and 
contained  besides  the  dispositions  necessary  to  make 
sure  the  start. 

The  raiding  column  consisted  of  a  thousand  selected 
men  with  their  mounts,  four  field  pieces,  each  drawn  by 
eight  selected  horses,  and  of  twenty  mounted  soldiers  of 
the  engineer  corps,  under  the  command  of  an  officer  of 
that  arm,  with  the  materials  necessary  to  burn  the 
bridges,  to  destroy  the  railroads,  to  blow  up  all  construc- 
tions of  stone,  etc. 

On  December  30  everything  was  ready.  Roads  lead- 
ing to  the  Seddon  House,  whfere  the  army  was  to  cross 
the  river,  were  opened  in  the  woods,  and  corduroyed  for 
the  passage  of  the  artillery  and  the  wagons.  The  de- 
tachments of  cavalry,  destined  to  mask  the  principal 
movement  by  false  attacks  on  Warrenton,  Culpeper,  and 
other  points,  were  already  at  their  posts.  A  brigade  of 
infantry  had  even  made  a  demonstration  on  the  right 


LAST    EFFORTS    OF    BURNSIDE.  403 

bank  of  the  Rappahannock,  Finally,  General  Averill 
himself  was  at  Kelly's  Ford,  at  the  head  of  his  column, 
when  everything  was  stopped  by  an  unforeseen  counter- 
order. 

General  Burnside  had  just  received  a  telegraphic  de- 
spatch, in  which  the  President  forbade  him  undertaking 
any  general  movement,  without  first  advising  him.  The 
more  surprised  at  such  a  communication  inasmuch  as 
he  had  confided  the  secret  of  his  design  to  no  one,  the 
general  went  immediately  to  Washington  to  discover 
the  cause.  There  he  learned  that  two  of  the  generals 
under  his  orders  had  come  directly  to  the  President,  to 
represent  to  him  that  the  army  was  in  a  state  of  de- 
moralization, resulting  from  its  want  of  confidence  in  its 
general-in-chief ;  that  the  latter,  judging  by  certain 
orders  relative  to  rations  and  ammunition,  was  on  the 
eve  of  commencing  operations,  and,  in  the  opinion  of  all 
the  generals,  this  was  to  run  to  certain  disaster. 

General  Halleck  and  Mr.  Stanton,  Secretary  of  War, 
were  called  in.  Neither  of  them  knew  anything  of  the 
information  and  advice  given  the  President,  nor  of  the 
telegram  sent  in  consequence  of  it.  In  their  presence, 
General  Burnside  unfolded  his  plans,  which  were  dis- 
cussed. He  insisted  on  the  reasons  which  made  prompt 
movement  desirable.  General  Halleck  said  nothing; 
the  President  asked  time  for  consideration,  and  Burn- 
side returned  to  his  post,  nothing  being  decided. 

The  two  generals  who  were  the  informants  of  the 
President  were  :  Newton,  commanding  the  Third  Divis- 
ion of  the  Sixth  Corps,  and  Cochrane,  commanding  the 
First  Brigade  of  the  same  division.  Although  Mr.  Lin- 
coln had  refused  to  name  them,  the  mystery  was  not 
difficult  to  penetrate  ;  but  it  was  not  so  easy  to  discover 
whether,  as  they  afterwards  testified  before  the  Con- 
gressional committee,  they  had  really  acted   on   their 


404       FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

own  motion,  or  whether  they  had  been  urged  on  by 
others  to  bell  the  cat.  We  will  soon  see  that  General 
Burnside  believed  that  he  had  grounds  for  the  latter 
opinion. 

However  it  might  be,  the  projected  movement  was 
definitely  abandoned  as  having  become  known,  and  the 
cavalry  raid  was  put  off  indefinitely,  the  plan  having 
been  divulged,  in  some  way  or  other,  to  some  people  in 
Washington  known  as  Southern  partisans.  The  enemy 
was  always  well  served  by  the  spies  whom  he  kept  in 
our  midst. 

But,  although  abandoning  one  plan,  Burnside  had  not 
given  up  the  idea  of  trying  another.  It  was  his  dispo- 
sition to  strive  against  difificulties  rather  than  yield  to 
them.  He  had  not  been  able  to  cross  the  Rappahan- 
nock below  Fredericksburg.  He  would  cross  it  above. 
For  that  he  only  asked  a  formal  approval  of  the  Presi- 
dent and  General  Halleck,  in  order  to  blot  out  the 
influence  of  the  late  telegram  and  silence  the  nearly 
unanimous  opposition  of  the  generals  of  his  army  to  an 
operation  of  that  kind. 

The  President  had  already  enough  upon  his  hands, 
especially  since  the  partial  triumph  of  the  Democrats  in 
the  autumnal  elections,  and  in  presence  of  the  anger 
excited  amongst  them  by  the  proclamation  of  emanci- 
pation. The  risk  of  creating  new  embarrassments  he 
w^ould  not  incur  ;  and,  besides,  as  to  military  operations, 
he  could  not  use  his  own  judgment,  but  must  rely  on 
that  of  his  counsellors.  As  to  General  Halleck,  he  was 
much  more  ready  to  take  the  negative  responsibility  of 
his  position  than  to  assume  the  positive  responsibility 
of  his  orders,  —  on  account  of  which  it  was  commonly 
said  that  his  position  of  general  of  the  armies  was  like 
that  of  a  fifth  wheel  to  a  coach.  On  this  occasion,  he 
did   not   depart   from    his    usual    role.     He    replied    in 


I 


LAST    EFFORTS    OF    BURNSIDE.  405 

general  terms,  that  he  had  always  been  in  favor  of  a 
forward  movement  of  the  army,  but  that  he  could  not 
take  the  responsibility  of  prescribing  when  or  how  that 
movement  should  be  executed.  He  finished  with  a  few 
military  commonplaces  on  the  management  of  armies 
in  the  field.  This  non-committal  letter  had  the  approv- 
ing indorsement  of  the  President. 

If  they  had  reckoned  that  the  resolution  of  Burnside 
would  become  lukewarm  on  receiving  such  vague  en- 
couragement, they  were  deceived.  He  asked  nothing 
more,  and  set  to  work  immediately  with  an  ardor  and  a 
promptness  which  showed  he  had  infinitely  less  hesita- 
tion before  the  risks  of  the  enterprise  than  fear  of 
being  again  stopped  in  its  execution.  He  went  himself 
to  carefully  reconnoitre  the  banks  of  the  Rappahannock 
above  Falmouth,  and  completed  his  preparations  to 
cross  all  his  forces  at  Banks  and  United  States  fords, 
—  fords  which  were  not  passable  at  that  season  of  the 
year ;  but,  this  time,  the  pontoons  could  not  be  too 
late  ;  he  had  them  with  him. 

There  was,  however,  a  delay  caused  by  some  unac- 
countable movements  of  the  enemy.  He  had  to  send 
to  the  other  side  of  the  river  for  explanation,  on  two 
successive  nights.  On  the  third  day,  the  reports  being 
satisfactory,  the  whole  army  received  the  final  order  to 
march  the  next  day,  January  20. 

The  first  preparatory  order  had  been  issued  on  the 
i6th  ;  we  did  not  expect  it.  What  likelihood,  in  fact, 
was  there  that  one  would  think  of  commencing  active 
operations  in  the  middle  of  the  winter .'  We  knew 
nothing,  at  that  time,  of  the  visit  of  Newton  and  Coch- 
rane to  Washington,  nor  of  the  telegram  of  the  Presi- 
dent, nor  of  the  project  stopped  on  the  eve  of  its 
execution.  Still  less  did  we  know  what  was  passing  in 
the   head    of   the   general-in-chief.      It   was   said    that 


406       FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

Hooker  had  been  in  Washington  ;  that  he  was  to  be 
placed  at  the  head  of  the  army,  or  that  an  independent 
command  would  be  cut  out  for  him,  of  which  the  Third 
Corps  would  certainly  form  part ;  but  nothing  of  all 
this  talk  indicated  any  immediate  or  even  probable 
movement. 

A  few  indications,  significant  in  appearance,  rather 
denoted  the  contrary.  For  instance,  the  ladies  were 
allowed  passes  to  visit  the  army,  which  was  only  per- 
mitted in  winter  quarters,  when  active  hostilities  were 
suspended  for  some  time.  General  Birney  had  been 
allowed,  without  objection,  to  go  to  Washington  to  meet 
Mrs.  Birney,  who  was  accompanied  by  quite  a  party  of 
Philadelphians,  ladies,  sisters  or  relatives  of  officers  of 
his  staff.  They  arrived  at  his  headquarters  on  the 
13th,  where  everything  was  ready  to  receive  them,  and 
for  three  days  there  was  nothing  but  gayety,  rides  on 
horseback  and  drives  in  carriages,  collations,  reviews, 
music,  and  improvised  dances  by  moonlight.  But  here 
comes  a  fatal  order.  Immediately  our  visitors  fly  to 
the  Acquia  Creek  Railroad,  like  a  flock  of  frightened 
grasshoppers.  The  parting  greeting  was  an  revoir ! 
But  how  many  would  ever  see  each  other  again  } 

On  the  17th  the  weather  turned  cold  in  spite  of  the 
brio;ht  sunshine.  On  the  i8th  it  froze  hard.  We  were  to 
break  camp  in  the  afternoon.  The  prospect  was  not 
encouraging.  In  spite  of  himself,  one  thought  of  the 
amount  of  suffering  such  weather  would  entail ;  of  the 
cold  nights  in  the  snow,  and  the  terrible  effect  of  frost 
on  the  wounded.  It  was  a  relief  to  receive  the  news 
that  the  departure  was  delayed  twenty-four  hours.  We 
concluded  from  that  that  the  movement  was  given  up 
until  the  weather  moderated.  The  inconveniences 
arising  from  a  thaw  were  doubtless  great,  but  on  the 
whole  preferable.    Of  the  two  evils,  that  was  the  lesser. 


LAST    EFFORTS    OF    BURNSIDE.  407 

On  the  20th  the  division  started,  at  noon.  The 
atmosphere  was  filled  with  moisture.  The  lowering 
heavens  were  without  sunshine  and  without  warmth. 
Over  the  roads  still  hard,  through  the  fields,  and  under 
the  forests,  our  long  columns  of  infantry  marched  till 
night,  mingled  with  batteries  of  artillery,  ammunition 
trains,  and  wagons  carrying  the  pontoons. 

In  the  evening  we  arrived  in  rear  of  Banks  Ford, 
in  some  woods  composed  of  young  pines  with  bushy 
tops,  where  the  regiments  which  were  to  force  the 
passage  at  daylight  in  the  morning  were  crowded 
together.  This  glorious  task  was  assigned  to  Ward's 
division,  and  my  regiment  was  awarded  the  place  of 
honor,  the  advance.  But,  at  the  very  time  when  we 
stacked  arms,  the  fog,  becoming  more  and  more  dense, 
turned  to  rain,  which  continued  to  fall  cold,  heavy, 
incessant.  The  dull  daylight  was  soon  gone  in  the 
darkness  of  night,  darker  still  amongst  the  pines.  We 
were  forbidden  to  light  any  fires  or  make  any  noise  that 
might  put  the  enemy  on  the  alert.  One  saw  nothing 
except  here  and  there  the  dim  light  of  a  lantern. 
Nothing  was  heard  but  the  monotonous  dropping  of  the 
rain  and  the  murmurs  of  conversations  carried  on  in  a 
low  voice. 

It  was  a  dismal  night ;  one  of  those  sleepless  nights 
when  everything  has  a  funereal  aspect,  in  which  the 
enthusiasm  is  extinguished  ;  in  which  courage  is  worn 
out,  the  will  enfeebled,  and  the  mind  stupefied.  Under 
such  circumstances,  inaction  is  the  worst  of  trials. 
Those  who  had  to  pass  the  hours  in  pushing  on  the 
cannon  wheels,  in  drawing  the  pontoons  by  hand  to  the 
edge  of  the  river,  in  filling  up  mud-holes,  in  contending 
against  obstacles  of  every  kind,  which  increased  at  every 
instant,  were  better  employed. 

When  the  day  began  to  show  its  gray  light  through 


408       FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY, 

a  confused  mass  of  vapors,  the  rain  had  been  falling  for 
twelve  hours,  and  there  were  no  indications  of  any  ces- 
sation. The  wind,  which  had  risen  toward  the  end  of 
the  night,  ran  through  the  trees  with  a  roaring  sound. 
At  each  gust,  the  water  came  down  in  showers  from  the 
branches,  on  the  soaked  soil,  where  the  men  were  tramp- 
ing around  in  the  mud. 

No  order  reached  us.  A  few  fires  were  tolerated 
at  first,  then  authorized.  The  soldier,  benumbed  with 
frost,  soaked  from  head  to  foot,  could,  at  least,  prepare 
his  coffee,  and  warm  his  stomach  if  not  his  limbs. 
Every  one  understood  that  the  expedition  and  the  pas- 
sage of  the  river  were  out  of  the  question  ;  but,  at  all 
hazards,  the  arms  were  furbished,  and  the  cartridges 
protected  against  the  dampness. 

The  hours  passed  on  without  bringing  us  any  news. 
Nothing  reached  us  in  the  midst  of  the  woods  ;  nothing 
could  pass  along  the  roads,  transformed  into  impassable 
mud-holes.  The  general  officers  around  us  were  no 
more  favored.  Their  baggage  and  their  provisions 
were  left  on  the  road  somewhere  in  the  rear.  In  the 
afternoon  I  sent  my  servants  to  hunt  them  up,  and, 
while  awaiting  the  absent  dinner,  after  a  breakfast  made 
up  of  a  dry  biscuit  and  a  cup  of  black  coffee,  I  went 
to  sleep  under  the  slender  protection  of  a  shelter  tent. 
There  is  a  proverb  which  says,  "  He  who  sleeps  dines." 
It  is  a  falsehood.     I  slept,  but  I  did  not  dine. 

The  rain  lasted  thirty  hours  without  cessation.  To 
understand  the  effect,  one  must  have  lived  in  Virginia 
through  a  winter.  The  roads  are  nothing  but  dirt 
roads.  The  mud  is  not  simply  on  the  surface,  but 
penetrates  the  ground  to  a  great  depth.  It  appears  as 
though  the  water,  after  passing  through  a  first  bed  of 
clay,  soaked  into  some  kind  of  earth  without  any  con- 
sistency.    As  soon  as  the  hardened  crust  on  the  surface 


LAST    EFFORTS    OF    BURNSIDE.  409 

is  softened,  everything  is  buried  in  a  sticky  paste  mixed 
with  liquid  mud,  in  which,  with  my  own  eyes,  I  have 
seen  teams  of  mules  buried.  That  was  our  condition 
on  the  2 1st  of  January,  1863. 

The  earth  gave  way  under  our  feet,  and  especially 
under  the  wheels  of  the  wagons  and  artillery  carriages. 
The  great  efforts  and  herculean  work  of  the  precedino- 
night  had  succeeded  in  bringing  a  few  pontoons  near 
the  river,  and  in  placing  a  few  pieces  in  battery.  But 
everything  else  was  buried  in  the  slough.  All  the 
teams  had,  as  it  were,  given  out  under  the  crushing 
weight  of  a  superhuman  power,  which  forbade  their 
going  farther. 

In  vain  had  efforts  been  made  to  fill  up  the  mud-holes 
or  open  new  side  roads ;  in  vain  had  whole  companies 
dragged  at  the  cannon,  the  caissons,  the  wagons  carrying 
ammunition, — all  was  useless.  The  powers  of  heaven 
and  earth  were  against  us.  We  must  wait  until  we 
were  permitted  to  take  back  to  camp  the  whole  war 
equipment,  so  unfortunately  put  in  motion. 

The  second  day,  the  rain  having  at  last  stopped,  I 
owed  to  the  hospitality  of  General  Ward  the  first  good 
meal  I  had  eaten  for  two  days.  A  slice  of  ham  is 
under  such  circumstances  a  good  fortune. 

On  all  sides  the  men  set  to  work.  By  digging, 
pushing,  drawing,  and  corduroying,  the  cannon  and 
caissons  were  finally  extricated.  The  wagons  which 
had  overturned  were  again  righted,  and  finally,  on  the 
23d,  we  reentered  our  camp,  leaving  no  traces  of  our 
"  mud  march "  except  extinguished  fires,  fallen  trees, 
and  dead  animals  lying  by  the  side  of  the  buried 
road. 

It  might  be  imagined  that  this  new  failure  was  far 
from  making  General  Burnside  any  more  good-tempered 
than  before.     The  army  had  done  its  duty  without  hesi- 


4IO       FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

tation  ;  but,  on  its  return  to  camp,  had  allowed  its  dis- 
content to  giv^e  vent  in  criticisms  and  murmurs.  The 
general  commanding  {tenaceni  propositi  virum)  resolved 
then  to  turn  against  his  critics  the  blows  which  he  had 
not  been  able  to  deal  upon  the  enemy.  He  drew  up 
the  General  Order  No.  8,  which,  though  never  issued, 
was  not  the  less  known  to  everybody.  This  order,  a 
little  military  coup  d'etat,  dismissed  from  the  United 
States'  service  Generals  Hooker,  Brooks,  Newton,  and 
Cochrane,  and  relieved  from  their  commands  in  the 
Army  of  the  Potomac,  Generals  Franklin,  W.  F.  Smith, 
Hurgis,  Ferrero,  and  Colonel  Taylor.  But  this  order 
could  not  be  carried  out  without  the  approbation  of  the 
President.  Consequently,  the  general  left  for  Washing- 
ton with  the  order  and  with  his  written  resignation,  de- 
termined to  have  one  or  the  other  accepted  by  Mr. 
Lincoln. 

In  the  alternative,  thus  categorically  placed  before 
him,  the  President  was  very  much  embarrassed.  He 
did  not  wish  to  deprive  the  country  of  the  services  of 
the  general  officers  designated  in  Order  No.  8,  nor  of 
those  of  General  Burnside  himself.  In  order  to  delay 
matters,  he  put  off  his  reply  until  the  next  day,  to  take 
time,  he  said,  to  consult  the  Secretary  of  War  and  Gen- 
eral Halleck.  The  next  day,  in  fact,  the  reply  was 
ready.  When  the  general  presented  himself,  the  Presi- 
dent announced  to  him  his  decision  to  relieve  him  from 
the  command  of  the  Army  of  the  Potomac  and  nom- 
inate in  his  stead  General  Hooker, 

General  Burnside  accepted  this  conclusion  with  the 
noble  dignity  and  unshakable  patriotism  which  formed 
one  of  the  fine  sides  of  his  character.  Nobody,  not  the 
President  or  General  Hooker  himself,  would  have  re- 
joiced more  than  he  if  his  successor  had  been  victorious. 
Then,  after  having  approved  some  other  steps  on  which 


LAST    EFFORTS    OF    BURNSIDE.  411 

the  President  desired  his  advice,  he  spoke  of  his  resio-na- 
tion  as  being  a  matter  of  course. 

"  General,"  interrupted  Mr.  Lincohi,  "  I  cannot  ac- 
cept it.  We  need  your  services  too  much.  You  can 
take  all  the  time  you  wish  to  arrange  your  private  af- 
fairs which  demand  your  attention  ;  but,  as  to  your 
resignation,  we  will  not  accept  it." 

"  Mr.  President,"  said  Burnside,  bowing,  "  it  is  for 
you  to  decide  whether  I  do  or  do  not  remain  in  the  ser- 
vice, but  if  I  remain  it  is  on  the  condition  that  I  am 
employed.  And  I  will  take  the  liberty  of  adding  that 
if  all  the  officers  whom  it  will  be  found  necessary  to  re- 
lieve from  their  commands  would  give  in  their  resigna- 
tions it  would  be  very  much  better  for  you,  as  you 
would  thus  be  relieved  of  the  solicitations  of  their 
friends." 

"  It  is  quite  possible,"  replied  the  President,  "  but  as 
to  your  resignation  we  cannot  accept  it." 

On  leaving  the  President,  the  general  went  to  the 
War  Office,  to  write  a  request  for  a  leave  of  absence  for 
thirty  days.  He  found  there  the  order  which  relieved 
him  from  the  command  of  the  Army  of  the  Potomac  at 
his  own  request.  This  was  not  exactly  the  case.  He 
asked  that  the  formula  might  be  modified,  in  order,  he 
said,  not  to  appear  before  the  country  as  a  man  giving 
up  his  command  without  some  reason.  He  wished  to 
retain  the  reputation  of  having  remained  at  his  post  as 
long  as  it  was  thought  desirable  for  him  to  retain  it ;  — 
which  did  not  belong  to  him  to  determine.  General 
Halleck  washed  his  hands  of  it.  (He  must  have  had 
very  clean  hands  if  we  consider  what  frequent  habit  he 
had  of  resorting  to  that  expedient.)  Mr.  Stanton  took 
the  better  course,  appealing  to  General  Burnside's 
patriotism  and  eloquently  representing  to  him  the 
wrong:  that  his  resignation  or  his  acknowledged  disa- 


412       FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

greement  with  the  government  would  do  the  common 
cause.  The  heart  of  Burnside  could  not  resist  that 
argument.  "  Well !  "  said  he,  "  draw  up  the  order  as 
you  please.  I  will  take  my  leave  for  thirty  days,  and 
on  my  return  I  will  go  where  you  wish,  even  if  it  is  to 
retake  the  command  of  my  old  corps  or  even  to  serve 
under  the  orders  of  General  Hooker,  if  you  so  desire." 
This  incident  depicts  the  man.  In  fact,  he  took  com- 
mand again  of  the  Ninth  Corps,  but  to  operate  in  an 
independent  field,  in  Tennessee,  of  which  he  acquitted 
himself  with  success.  We  will  find  him  later  on  in  the 
Army  of  the  Potomac,  wiping  out  by  good  and  loyal 
service,  as  corps  commander,  his  lamented  errors  as 
commander-in-chief. 


CHAPTER   XX. 

HOOKER   COMMANDING  THE   ARMY. 

General  Hooker's  character  —  Improvements  in  the  army  —  How  pro- 
motions were  made  —  Intrigues  and  rivalries  —  Political  preferences 
—  Brigadier-generals'  report  —  Special  marks  to  designate  the  differ- 
ent army  corps  — Poverty  of  Virginia  country  people  —  A  pastor  with- 
out a  flock  —  Marriage  under  a  tent  —  Camp  fetes  —  Preparations  for 
moving —  Combined  march  on  Chancellorsville  —  Brilliant  commence- 
ment of  a  brilliant  conception. 

The  selection  of  General  Hooker  as  commander-in- 
chief  was  received  with  favor  in  the  ranks  of  the  army, 
where  he  already  enjoyed  an  extended  popularity.  His 
brilliant  services  as  general  of  division,  the  part  he  had 
played  at  Antietam  as  corps  commander,  the  wound  he 
had  received  there,  finally,  the  efforts  he  had  made  to 
prevent  the  useless  butchery  attending  the  attack  on 
the  Fredericksburg  heights,  were  so  many  recommenda- 
tions to  the  favor  and  the  confidence  of  the  soldier. 
He  exercised  a  direct  influence  on  the  troops  of  his  old 
commands,  by  his  open  manners,  his  military  bearing, 
and  by  his  intrepidity  under  fire,  which  had  given  him 
the  name  of  "  Fighting  Joe  Hooker." 

Towards  the  officers  his  manners  were  generally 
pleasant,  familiar  even  to  taking  a  glass  of  whiskey  with 
those  whom  he  liked.  In  the  high  position  in  which 
he  was  placed,  a  little  more  reserve  would  not  have 
been  out  of  place. 

He  was  an  easy  talker,  and  was  accustomed  to  criti- 
cise freely,  with  more  sharpness  than  discretion,  even 
in  the  presence  of  his  inferiors,  the  conduct  and  acts 

413 


414       FOUR   YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

of  his  superiors.  On  the  other  hand,  when  it  con- 
cerned himself,  he  indulged  in  boastings,  that  one  hear- 
ing could  not  accept  as  gospel  truth,  or  reckon  modesty 
in  the  number  of  his  virtues. 

Kind  to  his  subordinates,  his  kindness  would  have 
been  worth  more  if  he  had  not  extended  it  too  indis- 
criminately to  everybody.  Prodigal  of  promises,  his 
promises  would  have  inspired  more  confidence  if,  after 
having  made  them,  he  had  not  often  deprived  himself 
of  the  power  to  fulfil  them. 

He  had  not  acquired  the  cordial  feeling  of  the  gen- 
erals as  much  as  that  of  the  troops.  He  had  wounded 
some  by  openly  criticising  them  ;  he  had  alienated 
others  by  putting  himself  forward  at  their  expense. 
The  friends  of  McClellan  did  not  love  him.  They  had 
against  him  the  double  grievance  of  his  military  judg- 
ments and  of  his  political  opinions,  both  equally  opposed 
to  those  of  their  old  idol,  to  whose  overthrow  he  had 
contributed  so  much. 

The  first  effect  of  his  promotion  was  to  take  from 
the  army  General  Sumner,  on  account  of  his  higher 
rank,  and  General  Franklin,  who  was  obliged  to  justify 
himself  as  to  the  responsibility  for  the  defeat  at  Fred- 
ericksburg, which  was  attributed  to  him.  Hooker,  in 
the  first  place,  suppressed  the  grand  divisions.  He 
applied  himself  immediately  to  raise  the  morale  of  the 
army,  and  to  perfect  its  organization  in  the  different 
branches  of  the  service  by  a  series  of  well  considered 
measures,  the  effect  of  which  proved  the  excellence  of 
his  judgment  in  such  matters.  He  therein  gained  the 
incontestable  honor  of  being  the  first  who  had  raised 
the  Army  of  the  Potomac  to  the  level  of  the  regular 
armies  of  the  old  world,  and  above  the  other  armies  of 
the  American  continent,  in  the  first  place  by  the  perfec- 
tion of  its  discipline  and  instruction,  and  in  the  second 


HOOKER  COMMANDING  THE  ARMY. 


415 


by  the  reform  of  abuses  and  the  improvement  of  its 
regulations. 

"  At  the  time  when  the  command  was  given  to  me," 
said  he,  in  giving  account  of  those  improvements,  "  the 
condition  of  the  army  was  deplorable.  The  desertions 
had  reached  an  average  of  two  hundred  a  day.  The 
express  offices  were  full  of  packages  containing  citizen's 
clothing,  intended  for  the  deserters,  so  eager  were  the 
parents,  wives,  brothers,  and  sisters  to  assist  the  flight 
of  their  relatives.  I  can  show  that,  when  I  took  com- 
mand, the  number  of  absent  from  the  army  had  reached 
the  figures  of  2922  officers,  and  81,964  non-commis- 
sioned officers  and  soldiers.  They  were  scattered  all 
over  the  country,  and  the  greater  part  were  absent 
without  known  cause. 

"  My  first  object  was  to  prevent  desertions.  When  I 
had  succeeded  in  that,  I  turned  my  attention  to  the 
means  necessary  to  bring  back  the  absent,  and  to 
make  the  men  present  as  comfortable  and  contented  as 
circumstances  would  permit.  I  made  regulations  as  to 
furloughs  and  leaves  of  absence,  so  that  every  one  could 
be  away  a  few  days  in  the  course  of  the  winter.  Dis- 
loyal officers  were  dismissed  the  service  as  soon  as  the 
proof  of  their  disloyalty  was  brought  to  my  knowledge. 

"  Important  changes  were  introduced  in  the  different 
departments  of  the  staff,  especially  in  that  of  inspec- 
tions, which  was  completely  organized  and  intrusted  to 
the  most  competent  officers  I  could  find.  Convinced 
that  idleness  was  the  great  evil  in  all  armies,  I  made 
every  effort  to  keep  the  troops  busy,  particularly  at 
drill  and  manoeuvres,  as  often  as  the  weather  per- 
mitted. 

"  The  cavalry  was  consolidated  in  a  separate  corps, 
and  put  in  the  best  condition  ever  known  in  our  service. 
Whenever  the  state  of  the  roads  and  of  the  river  per- 


41 6       FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

mitted,  expeditions  were  started  out  to  attack  the 
pickets  and  advance  posts  of  the  enemy,  and  to  forage 
in  the  country  he  occupied.  My  object  was  to  encour- 
age the  men,  to  incite  in  their  hearts,  by  successes, 
however  unimportant  they  might  be,  a  sentiment  of 
superiority  over  their  adversaries.  In  that  object,  we 
succeeded  in  a  remarkable  manner. 

"  During  this  period  of  preparation,  the  army  made 
rapid  progress,  and,  at  the  beginning  of  April,  justified 
the  highest  hopes.  Everybody  was  full  of  confidence 
and  devotion  to  the  cause,  and  I  saw  that  it  was  a  liv- 
ing army,  an  army  truly  worthy  of  the  Republic." 

The  picture  is  not  too  strongly  colored ;  it  gives  an 
exact  idea  of  the  transformation  which  was  brought 
about  during  the  months  of  February  and  March.  Let 
us  add  that,  in  the  matter  of  desertions,  the  President 
came  to  General  Hooker's  assistance  by  issuing,  on  the 
loth  of  March,  a  proclamation  which  offered  pardon 
free  from  all  punishment  (except  the  loss  of  pay)  to  all 
soldiers  then  absent  without  permission,  provided  that 
before  April  i  they  had  rejoined  their  regiments,  or 
presented  themselves  at  the  rendezvous  provided  for 
that  purpose  in  the  different  States.  The  measure  had 
good  results ;  but  to  put  an  end  to  desertions  there  is 
only  one  way,  to  shoot  the  deserters.  Now,  that  could 
not  be  done  without  first  submitting  the  verdict  of 
death  to  the  President,  who,  in  the  goodness  of  his 
heart,  approved  the  proceedings,  but  always  modified 
the  sentence.  The  army  commanders,  then,  must  be 
invested  with  the  necessary  power  to  carry  out  the  sen- 
tences of  the  courts-martial.  From  this  time,  military 
executions  took  place,  and  desertions  became  as  rare  as 
before  they  had  been  frequent. 

This  period  of  repose  for  the  army  in  general  was,  on 
the    contrary,    a   time    of    great    movement    amongst 


HOOKER  COMMANDING  THE  ARMY.      417 

the  colonels  and  brigadier-generals.  It  was  the  time 
of  year  for  promotions,  and,  since  the  ist  of  January, 
the  publication  of  the  list  sent  in  for  confirmation  by 
the  Senate  was  looked  for  with  anxiety.  When  at  last 
it  reached  us,  on  the  25th,  it  was  a  cruel  disappoint- 
ment for  those  who  should  have  appeared  in  it,  on 
account  of  their  services,  but  whose  names  had  been 
put  to  one  side  in  favor  of  political  intruders. 

In  this  appeared,  again,  one  of  the  most  flagrant 
vices  of  the  system  applied  to  army  affairs.  The  list 
for  promotion  did  not  come  from  military  recommenda- 
tion. Services  rendered,  proved  capacity,  acquired 
rights  appeared  in  the  list  only  in  a  small  proportion. 
The  greater  part  were  put  there  from  outside  recom- 
mendation, and,  above  all,  by  political  influence. 

The  Army  of  the  Potomac  had  to  suffer  from  this 
more  than  any  other  ;  for  the  Army  of  the  Potomac 
was  the  army  of  the  President,  the  army  of  the  Senate, 
the  army  of  the  House  of  Representatives,  the  army  of 
the  press  and  of  the  tribune,  somewhat  the  army  of 
every  one. 

Everybody  meddled  in  its  affairs,  blamed  this  one, 
praised  that  one,  exalted  such  a  one,  abased  such  a  one, 
gave  his  opinion  on  everything  which  concerned  it, 
and  labored  for  his  friepds  who  happened  to  form  a 
part  of  it. 

However,  the  superior  ofificers,  whose  promotion  de- 
pended on  the  President,  were  far  from  having  clean 
hands  as  regards  this  state  of  affairs.  While  openly 
complaining  of  it,  they  neglected  nothing  which  would 
enable  them  to  profit  by  it.  Every  permission  to  be 
absent  was,  for  them,  an  opportunity  to  visit  Washing- 
ton, in  order  to  put  in  play,  per  fas  et  nefas,  what  influ- 
ence they  could  bring  to  bear  on  the  President,  in 
favor  of  their  promotion.     These  efforts,  when  opposed, 


41 8       FOUR   YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

too  often  degenerated  into  intrigues,  in  which  the 
baseness  of  the  means  employed  was  added  to  ardor 
of  soHcitation.  Example  is  not  wanting  of  a  calumny- 
being  the  weapon  pfcked  out  of  the  slime  to  injure  a 
rival.  Finally,  the  number  and  importunity  of  the 
solicitors  became  so  great  that  the  War  Department 
had  to  limit  the  stay  of  officers  on  leave  in  the  capital 
to  twenty-four  hours,  unless  their  families  were  there, 
or  they  resided  there. 

Fortunate  were  those  who  had  friends  or  protectors 
among  the  influential  members  of  Congress,  especially 
in  the  Senate.  If  their  record  of  service  was  good, 
justice  was  done  them  ;  if  it  was  not,  favor  took  the 
place  of  it.  The  most  important  thing  was  to  bring 
direct  pressure  to  bear  on  the  President,  and  this  press- 
ure could  not  come  from  the  military  authorities.  They 
were  not  the  ones  who  voted  the  budget,  made  the 
laws,  directed  the  people,  and  guided  the  government. 
With  the  best  intentions,  Mr.  Lincoln  could  not  resist 
certain  influences,  which  he  managed  less  for  himself 
than  for  the  good  of  the  country. 

Nevertheless,  there  was  no  such  thing  as  corruption 
in  this  intervention  of  the  members  of  Congress.  In 
exerting  themselves  actively  for  their  friends,  or  for 
the  officers  who  were  particularly  recommended  by 
them,  they  generally  believed  they  were  doing  an  act 
of  justice.  Abused  by  false  representations,  they  were 
not  far  from  considering  their  proteges  as  unappreci- 
ated heroes,  especially  when  those  proteges  belonged 
to  influential  families,  and  had  numerous  friends  in  their 
electoral  districts. 

What,  then,  became  of  the  officers  truly  meritorious, 
who  had  only  the  recommendations  of  their  superior 
officers  to  plead  their  rights  .'*  They  were  left  outside, 
mortified,  discouraged    with  well-doing,   and    champing 


HOOKER    COMMANDING    THE    ARMY. 


419 


the  bit,  until,  better  informed,  they  obtained  also,  by 
political  influence,  the  recompense  which  would  not  be 
accorded  to  their  military  merits. 

General  Hooker,  who  had  undertaken  and  carried 
out  many  improvements,  was  not  strong  enough  to  put 
his  hand  on  these  abuses.  His  most  urgent  and  well 
founded  recommendations  could  not  strive  against  the 
contrary  currents,  and  in  the  pell-mell  of  incongruous 
promotions  one  can  see  the  names  of  lawyer  politicians, 
entire  strangers  to  the  military  career.  These  gentle- 
men were  ambitious  of  the  privilege  of  promenading 
up  and  down  the  streets  with  their  shoulders  adorned 
with  the  star.  For  this  reward,  their  patriotism  on  sale, 
they  consented  to  rally  around  the  government  policy 
and  the  war  for  emancipation. 

An  order  from  the  War  Department,  dated  August 
18,  1862,  well  directed  that  "henceforth,  no  nomina- 
tion for  major  or  brigadier  general  will  be  made,  except 
to  officers  of  the  regular  army,  for  meritorious  and  dis- 
tinguished services  during  the  war,  or  to  volunteer 
officers  who  have  given  evidence  in  the  field  of  the  mili- 
tary talents  requisite  for  the  functions  of  a  general 
officer."  But  the  orders  of  the  Secretary  of  War  were 
not  obligatory  on  the  President,  and  the  senators 
showed  in  this  case  that  they  cared  nothing  for  the 
order. 

However,  when  the  mass  of  promotions  submitted  to 
the  Senate  for  confirmation,  in  a  lump,  reached  it,  the 
Senate  collectively  refused  to  sanction  what  each  one  of 
its  members  had  contributed  to  individually.  The  list 
was  returned  to  the  President  as  much  exceeding  the 
number  of  forty  major-generals  and  two  hundred  briga- 
dier-generals fixed  by  law.  All  beyond  that  number 
must  be  cut  out.  The  reader  can  imagine  what  stren 
uous  efforts  were  made  for  friends. 


420       FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

The  President  was  besieged,  pursued,  persecuted  on 
all  sides.  Everybody  had  the  better  right  to  be  re- 
tained on  the  chosen  list,  nobody  admitted  the  possi- 
bility of  being  rightfully  among  those  to  be  dropped. 
Mr.  Lincoln  lost  his  time  and  trouble,  and,  in  despair, 
asked  Congress  to  free  him  from  his  embarrassment  by 
passing  a  law  adding  to  the  number  of  general  officers. 

Congress  willingly  assented  to  this  and  authorized 
the  supplementary  creation  of  thirty  major-generals  and 
seventy-five  brigadier-generals,  "provided,"  it  was  added, 
"  that  the  officers  promoted  by  virtue  of  this  act  shall 
be  chosen  from  amongst  those  who  have  distinguished 
themselves  by  valorous  and  meritorious  conduct  in  their 
duties."  The  condition  was  an  excellent  one  in  itself. 
It  pacified  the  conscience  of  Congress,  but  it  must 
have  greatly  troubled  that  of  "  Honest  Abe,"  for  it  was 
not  possible  for  him  to  follow  the  prescription. 

In  this  desperate  strife  for  stars,  General  Halleck 
preserved  the  immobility  of  a  DetLs  Tominns.  Mr. 
Stanton  supported  the  recommendation  sent  from  the 
army  and  General  Hooker  went  to  Washington  several 
times  to  urge  its  retention.  Unhappily,  the  list  agreed 
on  at  the  War  Department  had  to  pass  through  the 
White  House  in  order  to  reach  the  Senate,  a  danger- 
ous passage,  sown  with  pitfalls  and  traps.  In  that  pas- 
sage, my  name,  as  well  as  others,  disappeared  twice,  to 
give  room,  without  doubt,  for  that  of  some  political 
favorite  whose  name  had  never  been  mentioned  in  the 
army. 

During  this  time  we  were  blockaded  in  our  tents  by 
the  rain,  the  mud,  and  the  snow.  When  the  sun  shone 
again,  we  mounted  our  horses  and  rode  from  camp  to 
camp,  to  learn  and  comment  on  the  news,  discuss  our 
hopes,  or  give  vent  to  our  discontent.  Changes  suc- 
ceeded each  other  in  the  different  commands.     In  the 


HOOKER  COMMANDING  THE  ARMY.      J.2 1 

Third  Corps,  Stoneman  returned  to  the  cavalry,  Sickles 
succeeded  him  temporarily  while  awaiting  his  confirma- 
tion as  major-general.  Berry,  also  promoted,  passed  to 
Hooker's  old  division.  Birney  kept  the  command  of 
Kearney's  old  division  as  brigadier-general.  He  was 
among  those  dropped  out,  and  was  irritated,  not  with- 
out reason,  at  seeing  an  officer  commanding  a  brigade 
under  his  orders  pass  over  him  to  a  higher  rank. 

March  4,  the  day  fixed  for  the  adjournment  of  Con- 
gress, arrived  and  the  famous  list  was  not  yet  confirmed. 
Now,  on  that  day  the  promotions  made  by  the  Presi- 
dent in  the  interval  between  the  two  preceding  sessions 
became  void  for  want  of  confirmation.  For  the  major- 
generals,  the  commands  might  remain  the  same  by  vir- 
tue of  their  commissions  as  brigadier-generals,  which 
emanated  from  the  President.  But  the  case  of  the 
brigadier-generals  was  very  different.  Their  commis- 
sions as  colonels  of  volunteers,  coming  from  the  Gov- 
ernors of  the  States,  had  terminated  by  the  fact  of 
their  promotion.  They  were  no  longer  on  the  muster- 
rolls  of  their  old  regiments,  where  they  had  been 
replaced,  and,  not  being  colonels,  ceasing  to  be  gen- 
erals, they  no  longer  belonged  to  the  United  States' 
service.  Those  of  them  who  had  been  officers  in  the 
regular  army  retook  their  grades. 

The  President  had  to  call  the  Senate  in  extra  session 
to  remedy  this  state  of  affairs,  and,  after  several  days, 
the  generals  on  foot  were  again  in  the  saddle. 

All  this  excitement  did  not  lessen  the  fruitful  activity 
which  General  Hooker  had  impressed  on  the  improve- 
ment of  the  army.  This  progress  extended  even  to  the 
smallest  details  of  the  service.  Nothing  escaped  his 
solicitude.  Thus,  during  the  campaign  of  the  Penin- 
sula, Kearney  had  contrived  to  render  all  the  men  of 
his  division  recognizable  by  a  little  piece  of  red  cloth 


422       FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

sewed  on  their  caps.  He  had  in  this  way  developed  in 
them  an  esprit  dc  corps,  encouraged  their  amour proprc, 
and  controlled  the  stragglers  or  cowards,  who  could  not 
stray  from  the  ranks  or  mingle  with  the  other  troops 
without  being  instantly  recognized.  Hooker  took  up 
the  idea  and  extended  it  to  all  the  troops  in  his  com- 
mand. Each  corps  had  its  particular  badge.  The  First 
Corps,  the  disc  ;  the  Second,  the  trefoil  ;  the  Third,  the 
diamond  ;  the  Fifth,  the  Maltese  cross  ;  the  Sixth,  the 
Greek  cross  ;  the  Ninth,  the  shield  ;  the  Eleventh, 
the  crescent  ;  the  Twelfth,  the  star.  Each  of  these 
badges  was  red  for  the  first  division,  white  for  the 
second,  and  blue  for'  the  third.  Each  staff  also  re- 
ceived a  special  flag  with  its  badge  and  distinctive 
color.  It  was  square  for  the  corps,  oblong  for  the 
division,  triangular  for  the  brigade.  In  this  way, 
whether  on  the  march  or  in  action,  the  generals  were 
always  easy  to  find. 

The  military  tribunals  did  not  remain  idle.  During 
February,  I  formed  part  of  a  commission,  presided  over 
by  General  Howard,  to  try  several  inhabitants  of  the 
country,  charged  with  having  aided  the  flight  of  our 
deserters  by  selling  them  clothing.  One  of  them  was 
also  accused  of  brigandage. 

The  creation  of  the  commission  was  connected,  as 
will  be  seen,  with  the  measures  taken  by  General 
Hooker  to  stop  desertion.  Those  found  guilty  were 
condemned  to  severe  punishments.  The  one  charged 
with  brigandage  escaped  a  verdict  of  death  only  from 
the  insufficiency  of  proof.  Another,  who  had  made  his 
house  a  sort  of  clandestine  rendezvous  for  concealing 
and  assisting  deserters,  was  condemned  to  six  months 
of  hard  labor  and  to  have  his  house  razed  to  the  level 
of  the  ground. 

If    the    commission    showed    itself    more    indulgent 


HOOKER  COMMANDING  THE  ARMY. 


423 


toward  the  others,  it  was  in  consideration  for  the  fright- 
ful misery  in  which  the  war  had  plunged  those  unfortu- 
nates. Robbed  by  the  marauders  from  both  armies, 
they  lived  from  day  to  day  on  what  they  could  pick  up 
here  and  there.  When  deserters  presented  themselves 
and  offered  them  money  for  some  old  clothes  hanging 
in  a  corner,  the  temptation  was  irresistible,  for  with 
that  money  they  could  procure  the  food  wanting  in 
their  houses.  And,  besides,  if  they  refused  to  sell  the 
clothing,  how  could  they  prevent  the  deserters  from 
taking  it  by  force  '>  These  searched  the  house  from 
cellar  to  garret  and  appropriated  whatever  pleased 
them.  If  they  consented  to  give  a  few  dollars  in  ex- 
change, how  could  the  money  be  refused  .'  How  could 
they  reject  the  bread  which,  for  some  days  at  least, 
assured  the  existence  of  the  family  } 

Those  who  lived  within  our  lines  had  much  less  to 
complain  of.  Instead  of  plundering  them,  the  soldiers 
often  supported  them  ;  what  little  they  had,  at  least, 
was  secured  to  them.  However,  there  were  very  few 
remaining  in  the  country  except  the  poor,  in  their  huts. 
The  country  houses  of  any  importance  were  nearly 
always  abandoned  ;  the  negro  quarters  were  deserted, 
and  in  such  cases  everything  was  invariably  pillaged. 

Our  pickets  extended  to  a  long  distance.  The  ser- 
vice was  done  by  brigades.  Each  corps  furnished  a 
brigade,  and  relieved  it  every  three  days.  Along  the 
part  of  the  line  guarded  by  the  Third  Corps  were  two 
inhabited  dwellings,  one  occupied  by  a  Protestant  min- 
ister, the  other  by  a  Fredericksburg  lawyer.  The  cler- 
gyman was  from  Baltimore.  He  was  living  peaceably 
and  comfortably  in  that  city,  when  he  had  the  unfor- 
tunate inspiration  to  accept  the  charge  of  two  churches 
near  Falmouth.  Mark  that  this  was  in  1862,  when  the 
expedition  was  preparing  against  Richmond.     But  such 


424       FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

was  the  blindness  of  Southern  men  that  they  fully  be- 
lieved Fredericksburg  beyond  all  danger  from  the  rav- 
ages of  war,  sheltered,  as  it  was,  behind  the  rebel  army, 
which  was  still  occupying  the  Manassas  lines.  The 
Northern  army,  they  said,  could  never  penetrate 
beyond  that. 

Reasoning  in  this  manner,  the  reverend  gentleman 
came  with  his  wife  and  daughter,  bringing  also  his 
slaves.  They  found  a  pleasant  country  house  for  rent, 
in  the  vicinity  of  the  two  churches,  and  established 
themselves  there,  without  troubling  themselves  about 
the  future.  But  suddenly  the  Confederate  army  fell 
back  on  Richmond,  leaving  the  country  exposed  to  all 
manner  of  incursions.  Immediately  the  slaves  de- 
camped. Soon  the  armies,  passing  and  repassing 
through  the  country,  devour  everything  on  their  pas- 
sage. The  flocks  are  dispersed,  and  disappear  ;  one  of 
the  two  churches  is  burned,  the  other  is  pillaged,  and, 
instead  of  there  being  two  parishes  without  a  pastor, 
there  is  one  parish  without  parishioners.  As  a  matter 
of  course,  there  was  no  longer  a  question  as  to  receiving 
a  salary,  but,  on  the  other  hand,  there  was  no  rent  to 
pay.  The  poor  man  was  ruined.  Qit  ^tait-il  alle  faire 
dans  cette  inandite  gaUre  ? 

I  found  him  there  during  the  winter,  looking  with  an 
indifferent  eye  on  the  falling  of  the  finest  trees  in  the 
world,  under  the  axe  of  our  pioneers.  His  philosophical 
calmness  showed  that  they  did  not  belong  to  him.  His 
table  was  supplied  by  the  general  stationed  there  ;  his 
wife,  troubled  with  deafness,  busied  herself  silently 
with  the  household  duties  ;  his  daughter  sang  minstrel 
songs  in  the  parlor,  souvenirs  of  Baltimore,  and  in  the 
kitchen  the  starved  cow  chewed  her  cud. 

One  can  hardly  form  an  idea  of  the  rapidity  with 
which  the  forests  disappear  around  an  army  in  winter 


HOOKER    COMMANDING    THE    ARMY. 


425 


quarters.  When  we  arrived  before  Fredericksburg,  at 
the  end  of  November,  the  country  surrounding  the  city 
was  covered  with  great  woods  of  oaks  and  pines.  At 
the  end  of  February  everything  was  cleared  off,  not 
only  around  our  camps,  but  even  at  a  considerable  dis- 
tance. The  country,  so  picturesque  a  few  months  be- 
fore, now  had  the  dull  aspect  of  a  vast  and  muddy 
desert,  where  nothing  gave  relief  to  the  eye,  save  a  few 
trees,  spared  here  and  there,  because  they  sheltered  the 
hut  or  the  tent  of  a  general. 

In  the  first  days  of  March,  we  had  to  go  so  far  to  get 
the  daily  supplies  of  wood  to  burn,  and  the  transport 
was  so  slow  and  painful  for  the  men,  and  fatiguing  for 
the  animals,  that  the  most  of  the  camps  had  to  be  re- 
moved. Our  division  moved  back  near  the  railroad  to 
Acquia  Creek,  on  the  shore  of  a  deep  bay  of  the  Poto- 
mac, in  which  the  small  transports  unloaded  their  car- 
goes at  the  wharf  of  Belle  Plain.  There  we  camped 
literally  in  the  midst  of  a  wood  on  the  summits  of  lit- 
tle stony  hills,  favorable  to  the  draining-off  of  the  water, 
and  drier  at  all  times  than  the  muddy  plain  from  which 
we  had  come.  The  roads,  laid  out  usually  in  the  hol- 
lows, were,  it  is  true,  in  a  horrible  condition  ;  but  we 
soon  opened  others. 

Soon  the  weather  began  to  improve ;  the  sun  became 
warmer  ;  fine  days  were  more  frequent,  and  more  fre- 
quent also  became  drills  and  reviews.  Fetes  of  different 
kinds  enlivened  the  camp  life.  There  was  a  marriage  in 
Berry's  division,  under  a  tent,  accompanied  by  every 
kind  of  festivity.  The  bride  had  brought  with  her 
from  Washington  an  escort  of  ten  groomsmen  and  ten 
bridesmaids.  The  groom  was  a  captain  in  the  Seventh 
New  Jersey.  If  he  had  been  colonel,  he  could  not  have 
had  more  pompous  nuptials.  Generals  were  present 
in  an  imposing  number.     There  was  dancing,  drinking. 


426       FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

banqueting.  The  commanding  general  himself  was 
present,  full  of  gayety  and  life.  Then  succeeded  a 
ball,  given  by  General  Sickles  at  his  headquarters, 
where,  as  usual,  there  was  feasting  to  the  heart's 
content. 

Sickles  was  one  of  the  striking  figures  of  this  war. 
More  as  a  man  than  as  a  general  officer;  in  many  ways 
a  typical  American.  He  was  gifted  in  a  high  degree 
with  that  multiplicity  of  faculties  which  has  given  rise 
to  the  saying  that  a  Yankee  is  ready  for  everything. 
Still  young,  he  has  tried  many  things,  and  always  with 
success.  At  the  bar,  in  politics,  in  diplomacy,  in  the 
legislature,  in  arms.  He  has  been  a  lawyer  and  poli- 
tician in  New  York,  Secretary  of  Legation  in  London, 
member  of  the  Legislature  in  Albany,  representative  in 
the  House  of  Representatives  at  Washington,  general 
in  Virginia,  envoy  extraordinary  to  Bogota.  And  in  all 
these  positions  he  has  acquitted  himself  well. 

He  has  a  quick  perception,  an  energetic  will,  prompt 
and  supple  intelligence,  an  active  temperament.  Natu- 
rally ambitious,  he  brings  to  the  service  of  his  ambition 
a  clear  view,  a  practical  judgment,  and  a  deep  knowl- 
edge of  political  tactics.  When  he  has  determined  on 
anything,  he  prepares  the  way,  assembles  his  forces, 
and  marches  directly  to  the  assault.  Obstacles  do  not 
discourage  him,  but  he  never  attempts  the  impossible, 
and  as  he  has  many  strings  to  his  bow,  if  one  breaks, 
he  will  replace  it  by  another. 

In  him,  ability  does  not  exclude  frankness.  He  likes, 
on  the  contrary,  to  play  with  the  cards  on  the  table  with 
his  friends  and  against  his  enemies.  As  much  attached 
to  the  former  as  hostile  to  the  latter,  he  will  be  as 
eager  to  serve  the  former  as  to  combat  the  latter. 
But  let  a  friend  deceive  him,  or  an  enemy  cease  to 
oppose  him;  then   both   become  equally  indifferent  to 


HOOKER  COMMANDING  THE  ARMY. 


427 


him,  and  he  goes  on  his  way,  troubling  himself  no 
further  about  them. 

Gay,  prepossessing,  spirituel,  he  rarely  fails  to  make 
a  good  impression,  even  upon  those  who  may  be  the 
least  prepossessed  in  his  favor.  Pleasonton,  an  old 
West-Pointer,  regular  army  ofificer,  and  known  as  given 
to  criticism,  said  of  him  :  "  I  never  met  a  general  who 
cooperated  more  harmoniously  on  the  field  of  battle,  nor 
one  who  more  promptly  seized  a  suggestion  from  an- 
other person." 

When  the  war  broke  out,  Sickles  was  in  the  ranks  of 
the  Democratic  party,  to  which  he  had  always  belonged. 
During  the  time  of  discussion  he  had  been  among  those 
most  conciliatory  in  regard  to  the  pretensions  and  ag- 
gressions of  the  South.  But  when  the  sword  was 
drawn  he  was  one  of  those  most  ready  to  throw  away 
the  scabbard,  saying  that  he  considered  himself  by  so 
much  the  more  obliged  to  fight  the  rebellion  as  a  sol- 
dier that  he  had  been  ready  to  make  the  greatest  con- 
cessions as  Congressman.  Disgusted  with  the  bad 
faith  of  his  old  allies,  and  irritated  at  the  false  position 
in  which  they  had  put  the  Democrats  of  the  North,  he 
considered  his  party  as  in  duty  bound,  more  than  any 
other,  to  carry  on  the  war  d,  ojttrajice,  unto  the  complete 
triumph  of  the  national  government. 

Imbued  with  these  ideas,  he  raised  in  New  York  a 
brigade  of  volunteers,  to  which  he  gave  the  name  which 
serves  for  the  device  of  the  Imperial  State.  The  Ex- 
celsior brigade  was  attached,  from  the  beginning,  to 
Hooker's  division,  in  which  Sickles  continued  to  serve 
until  he  came  to  the  command  of  it.  Promoted  major- 
general,  and  confirmed  by  the  Senate,  he  was  assigned 
by  the  President  to  the  command  of  the  Third  Corps, 
where  he  soon  attained  great  popularity. 

Nor  did  General  Birney  wish  to  be  behind  in  merry- 


428       FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

making.  He  gave,  in  his  turn,  a  fete,  which  made  an 
epoch  in  the  remembrances  of  the  division.  There 
were  races,  with  and  without  hurdles,  on  the  drill- 
ground.  Colonel  Prince  Salm-Salm  came  near  break- 
ing his  neck.  Some  of  the  other  officers  had  fine  tum- 
bles in  the  mud.  But  generally  these  falls  were  more 
comical  than  dangerous.  After  returning,  there  was  a 
collation  at  headquarters,  we  had  illuminations,  fire- 
works, and  a  representation  of  negro  minstrels  in  a 
theatre  put  up  for  that  purpose.  Nothing  was  want- 
ing for  the  success  of  the  entertainment,  at  which  the 
whole  army  was  present. 

Finally,  at  the  beginning  of  April,  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Lincoln  came  to  visit  the  Army  of  the  Potomac.  On 
the  6th,  there  was  a  review  of  all  the  cavalry  com- 
manded by  General  Stoneman ;  on  the  7th,  a  walk 
through  the  camps  of  several  divisions,  and  a  collation 
at  Sickles'  headquarters  ;  the  8th,  another  review,  of 
four  army  corps  at  once,  the  Second,  the  Third,  the 
Fifth,  and  the  Sixth.  On  the  9th,  the  presidential  ex- 
cursion ended  by  a  visit  to  the  Eleventh  and  Twelfth 
Corps,  near  Acquia  Creek,  where  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Lincoln 
embarked  to  return  to  Washington. 

As  soon  as  the  President  had  left,  there  was  a  redoub- 
ling of  activity  everywhere.  On  the  second  day  after, 
an  order  was  issued  to  consolidate  into  five  companies 
of  infantry,  or  six  of  cavalry,  every  regiment  of  volun- 
teers reduced  below  half  the  regulation  maximum.  The 
same  measure  was  applied  to  the  batteries  of  artillery. 
Its  objects  were  :  to  facilitate  the  consolidation  of  regi- 
ments; to  reestablish  the  normal  proportion  between  the 
number  of  soldiers  and  ofificers,  and,  finally,  to  relieve 
the  treasury  of  a  large  and  useless  expense. 

On  the  13th,  the  movement  commenced  by  the  de- 
parture of  the  cavalry.     At  the  same  time,  our  men 


HOOKER    COMMANDlNCx    THE   ARMY.  429 

received  eight  days'  marching  rations  (biscuit,  coffee, 
sugar,  and  salt),  three  days'  rations  of  salt  pork,  leaving 
room  in  their  knapsacks  but  for  one  shirt,  one  pair  of 
drawers,  and  one  pair  of  stockings.  Everything  else 
was  to  be  left  behind,  in  charge  of  the  quartermasters. 

We  were  ordered  to  be  ready  to  march  that  same 
night,  but  the  heavens  always  reserved  their  right  to 
interpose  their  veto,  and  on  this  occasion  did  not  fail  to 
use  it  by  sending  us  rain  in  torrents,  which  put  our  de- 
parture, for  the  time,  out  of  the  question.  Operations 
already  begun  were  necessarily  suspended,  to  the  great 
disappointment  of  General  Hooker,  who  wished  to  begin 
the  campaign  before  losing  a  certain  number  of  regi- 
ments, whose  time  was  about  to  expire. 

These  regiments  were  divided  into  two  classes.  The 
first  contained  those  who  had  enlisted  for  two  years  at 
the  outbreak  of  the  war.  There  were  forty  of  these 
regiments  in  the  Army  of  the  Potomac,  and,  making 
deductions  for  the  three -year  men  found  in  their 
ranks,  the  total  amounted  to  16,472  officers  and  men 
who  would  be  discharged  during  the  months  of  March, 
April,  May,  and  June. 

The  second  list  was  cornposed  of  the  nine-month 
regiments,  who  were  called  out  under  an  unfortunate 
resort  to  expedients,  at  the  time  of  the  defeats  of 
McClellan  and  Pope.  The  fatal  consequences,  to  which 
the  authorities  had  closed  their  eyes  at  that  time,  were 
developed  now  without  possible  remedy.  These  men, 
who  had  taken  up  arms  having  had  no  opportunity 
to  use  them,  who  had  learned  their  trade  in  the  camps 
during  the  winter,  were  now  to  be  sent  home  at  the 
very  time  when  their  services,  become  really  efficient, 
w^ould  be  most  useful  to  the  army.  There  were  eight 
Pennsylvania  regiments  in  this  list,  amounting  to  6421 
men. 


430       FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

This  made  more  than  twenty-two  thousand  muskets 
to  be  withdrawn  from  our  ranks  at  the  opening  of  the 
campaign  ;  to  which  were  to  be  added  nineteen  other 
regiments  whose  time  would  expire  in  the  months  of 
August,  September,  and  October,  forming  a  total  of 
11,097  men.  Thus,  during  the  year,  and  in  the  Army 
of  the  Potomac  alone,  thirty-four  thousand  men  would 
leave  us.  It  was,  then,  not  without  reason  that  Gen- 
eral Hooker  was  in  a  hurry  to  begin  operations.  He 
wished  to  strike  a  blow  while  he  had  his  whole  force. 

We  have  seen  what  the  position  of  the  Confederates 
was  on  the  other  side  of  the  Rappahannock.  It  had  not 
changed  since  the  battle  of  Fredericksburg.  As  then, 
they  occupied  at  the  end  of  April  the  line  of  fortified 
heights  extending  from  Skenker's  Creek  to  the  point 
where  they  touched  the  river  above  Falmouth.  On 
this  side,  however,  they  had  extended  their  lines  by 
covering,  with  fortifications  occupied  with  troops,  the 
only  two  feasible  crossings  between  Falmouth  and  the 
point  where  the  Rapidan  empties  into  the  Rappahan- 
nock :  Banks  and  United  States  fords.  And  these  two 
fords  were  passable  only  in  the  summer.  Everywhere 
else  the  steep  and  wooded  banks  of  the  two  rivers  pre- 
sented a  barrier  which  could  not  be  passed.  It  was  a 
stretch  of  twenty  to  twenty-five  miles  to  defend,  but 
such  was  his  confidence,  inspired  by  the  defensive  ad- 
vantages of  the  ground,  that  Lee  thought  he  could 
.safely  send  Longstreet's  corps  to  operate  on  the  south 
of  the  James,  against  Peck,  who  occupied  Suffolk  with 
a  small  force.  The  rebel  army,  then,  did  not  number 
more  than  sixty  thousand  in  front  of  Hooker,  when,  on 
April  27,  the  latter  began  his  movement  on  Chancel- 
lorsville,  at  the  head  of  more  than  a  hundred  thousand 
men. 

Chancellorsville  is  not  a  city,   a  village,  or  even  a 


HOOKER  COMMANDING  THE  ARMY.      43  I 

hamlet.  It  is  a  solitary  house  in  the  midst  of  a  culti- 
vated clearing,  surrounded  on  all  sides  by  woods,  which 
have  given  that  region  the  name  of  Wilderness.  A 
veritable  solitude,  impenetrable  for  the  deploying  or 
quick  manoeuvring  of  an  army.  So  that  it  was  not 
there  that  Hooker  had  planned  to  give  battle.  But 
it  was  a  well  chosen  point  for  concentrating  his  forces, 
three  or  four  miles  southeast  of  United  States  Ford. 
F'rom  that  point  he  could  strike  the  enemy,  taken  in 
reverse,  or,  at  least,  force  him  to  come  out  of  his  posi- 
tion, as  weak  from  the  rear  as  it  was  strong  from  the 
front.  If  the  Confederate  army  fell  back  on  Richmond, 
it  presented  its  flank  to  our  attack,  and,  if  he  were 
stopped  or  delayed  by  some  obstacle  and  pursued  at  the 
same  time  by  a  force  stfong  enough  to  vigorously  press 
his  rearguard,  his  retreat  might  be  changed  to  a  rout. 
If,  on  the  contrary,  he  marched  towards  Chancellors- 
ville  to  meet  us,  he  was  forced  to  accept  battle  in  the 
open  field,  in  unforeseen  conditions,  exposed  to  attack 
by  a  pursuing  army  as  much  as  on  the  Richmond  road. 
Attacked  at  the  same  time  both  in  front  and  rear,  Lee 
ran  the  chance  of  being  cut  in  pieces,  and  would  be  very 
fortunate  if  he  saved  the  remnant  of  his  forces. 

Such  was  Hooker's  well  concerted  plan,  the  secret 
of  which  was  confided  to  no  one,  not  even  to  his  most 
intimate  friends  amongst  the  officers. 

The  point  on  which  everything  depended  for  success 
was  to  be  able  to  assemble  the  army  at  Chancellorsville 
before  the  enemy  could  oppose  him  at  that  point.  This 
part  of  the  plan  was  as  admirably  executed  as  it  had 
been  ably  conceived,  and  it  can  be  truly  said  that  up 
to  that  point  General  Hooker  showed  himself  to  be  an 
able  tactician. 

In  the  first  place,  he  detached  all  his  cavalry,  under 
the  orders  of  General  Stoneman,  to  cut  the  enemy's 


432       FOUR   YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

lines  of  communication  with  Richmond.  The  under- 
taking was  not  very  dangerous,  for  Stoneman  took  with 
him  more  than  ten  thousand  horse,  who  could  meet  with 
no  serious  resistance.  Under  his  instructions,  after 
crossing  the  Rappahannock,  he  was  to  divide  his  force 
into  two  columns  :  one,  under  command  of  General 
Averill,  was  to  threaten  the  force  the  enemy  might 
have  at  Culpeper  and  Gordonsville,  while  the  other,  led 
by  Stoneman  himself,  would  attempt  to  accomplish  the 
main  object  of  the  expedition.  Both  columns  were  to 
come  together  at  a  given  point,  to  attack  the  enemy  in 
case  he  retreated  directly  towards  Richmond,  and  to 
harass  him  if  he  took  the  road  to  Gordonsville. 

At  the  same  time  that  the  cavalry  started,  the  Elev- 
enth and  Twelfth  Corps  (Howard  and  Slocum)  marched 
for  Kelly's  Ford,  above  the  mouth  of  the  Rapidan  and 
twenty-seven  miles  distant  from  Fredericksburg.  There, 
on  the  28th,  they  were  met  by  Meade's  corps  (the 
Fifth),  which  was  to  join  them.  The  passage  of  the 
Rappahannock  was  made  that  night  without  opposition. 
On  the  29th,  that  of  the  Rapidan  was  effected  happily, 
in  two  columns,  and,  the  movement  continuing  with  a 
promptness  of  good  augury,  the  three  corps  arrived  at 
Chancellorsville  on  the  afternoon  of  the  30th.  Their 
advance  opened  United  States- Ford,  behind  which  the 
Second  Corps  (Couch)  was  waiting,  in  order  to  throw 
across  a  pontoon  bridge  and  join  the  other  corps,  which 
was  done  before  night.  Hooker  himself  arrived  at  the 
appointed  rendezvous,  to  finish  up  the  work  he  had  so 
brilliantly  commenced. 

While  these  important  movements  were  being  accom- 
plished on  one  side,  the  attention  of  the  enemy  was 
concentrated  in  the  opposite  direction,  towards  what 
seemed  to  him  to  be  a  prelude  to  an  attack  in  force. 
In  fact,  on  the  29th,  at  daybreak,  while  our  right,  hav- 


HOOKER    COMMANDING    THE    ARMY.  433 

ing  already  crossed  the  Rappahannock,  was  advancino- 
towards  the  Rapidan,  a  bridge  of  boats  was  established 
by  force  at  the  same  point  where,  on  the  13th  of  Decem- 
ber preceding,  Franklin  had  passed  the  river,  and  the 
Sixth  Corps  (Sedgwick),  after  having  driven  back  the 
enemy's  sharpshooters,  advanced  into  the  plain  below 
Fredericksburg.  A  little  further  down,  the  First  Corps 
(Reynolds)  did  the  same  thing,  and,  finally,  the  Third 
Corps  (Sickles)  took  position  in  reserve,  ready  to  cross 
over  in  its  turn  if  necessary.  This  was  the  force  de- 
signed to  hold  the  enemy  in  his  intrenchments  by  the 
menace  of  an  immediate  attack,  or  to  pursue  him,  if, 
discovering  the  danger  which  threatened  him,  he  should 
abandon  his  position. 

During  that  day  the  demonstration  succeeded  to  our 
best  wishes.  The  enemy  appeared  only  to  prepare  his 
defence  on  the  side  where  it  was  not  intended  to  attack 
him. 

The  next  day,  the  30th,  the  Confederates  not  stirring, 
Hooker  called  the  Third  Corps  to  Chancellorsville. 
We  started  immediately,  making  a  forced  march  in 
order  to  arrive  in  time  for  the  decisive  attack.  That 
night  we  made  our  fires  at  a  short  distance  from  the 
bridge  across  which  the  Second  Corps  had  marched  in 
the  morning. 

So  there,  on  the  30th,  at  night,  the  Confederates, 
still  motionless  in  their  positions  in  rear  of  Fredericks- 
burg, prepared  for  an  attack  on  their  right,  indicated 
by  the  movements  of  the  two  corps  of  Sedgwick  and 
Reynolds,  while  in  rear  of  their  left  four  other  corps 
were  already  united,  and  about  to  be  joined  by  a  fifth. 
On  one  side,  Sedgwick,  with  forty  thousand  men,  includ- 
ing Gibbon's  division  of  the  Second  Corps,  which,  hav- 
ing its  camp  in  full  view  of  the  enemy,  had  not  yet 
moved  ;  on  the  other.  Hooker,  with  about  seventy  thou- 


434       FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

sand  men  in  a  position  which  seemed  an  assurance,  in 
advance,  of  a  victory.  "  Now,"  said  he,  in  an  order  of 
the  day  to  the  army,  "  the  enemy  must  flee  shamefully 
or  come  out  of  his  defences  to  accept  a  battle  on  our 
ground,  where  he  is  doomed  to  certain  destruction  !  " 
And  every  one  repeated,  "  He  is  in  our  power  ! " 
Nobody  doubted  that,  before  two  days,  all  our  past  re- 
verses would  be  effaced  by  the  annihilation  of  Lee's 
army. 


CHAPTER   XXI. 

CHANCELLORSVILLE. 

First  encounter  with  the  enemy  —  Capital  fault  —  Defensive  position  of  the 
army  —  Advance  position  of  the  Third  Corps  —  Engagement  of  Bir- 
ney's  division  — Jackson's  attack  on  the  right  —  Rout  of  the  Eleventh 
Corps  —  Counter  charge  of  Berry's  division  —  Death  of  Major  Kee- 
nan  —  Artillery  saved  by  General  Pleasonton  —  Night  encounter  — 

Episodes  —  Death  of  Stonewall  Jackson  —  Renewal  of  the  battle 

Accident  to  General  Hooker — Remarks  on  the  position  —  Bayonet 
charge  —  Movement  backward  —  Sedgwick  carries  Fredericksburg 
Heights  —  Combat  at  Salem— The  Sixth  Corps  at  Banks  Ford  — 
General  retreat. 

What  Hooker  called  "  our  ground  "  to  give  battle  on 
was  about  half-way  from  Chancellorsville  to  Fredericks- 
burg, outside  of  that  region  covered  with  almost 
impenetrable  woods,  where  we  were  at  that  time.  On 
that  side  the  country  was  open  and  favorable  for  the 
manoeuvring  of  an  army.  It  was  then  important  to  get 
there  at  the  earliest  possible  moment.  Two  broad 
roads  led  to  it,  coming  together  near  a  church  called 
Tabernacle,  while  a  third  road,  running  near  the  river, 
led  to  Banks  Ford.  By  these  three  roads.  Hooker  re- 
newed his  movement  in  advance,  on  Friday  morning, 
May  I.  Slocum,  with  the  Twelfth  Corps,  held  the  right 
by  the  plank  road  ;  Sykes,  with  a  division  of  the  Fifth 
Corps,  supported  by  Hancock's  division  of  the  Second 
Corps,  advanced  in  the  centre,  along  the  principal  road, 
called  the  Macadamized  road  (although  it  was  not)  ; 
and  Meade  led  the  column  composed  of  Humphreys' 
and  Griffin's  divisions  along  the  road  near  the  river. 
The  three  other  corps,  the  Second,  the  Third,  and  the 
Eleventh,  were  to  follow  the  movement,  so  as  to  come 

435 


438       FOUR   YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

remain'fed  in  reserve  between  Chancellorsville  and  the 
river,  received  orders  to  advance.  In  the  woods,  on  the 
right  and  left  we  passed  a  great  number  of  troops, 
massed  without  apparent  order  and  filling  all  the  small 
clearings.  Soon  we  came  out  on  the  Fredericksburg 
road,  in  front  of  which  stretched  our  line  of  battle. 
Berry's  division,  which  had  preceded  ours,  deployed  in 
the  open  ground  around  the  farm.  As  we  turned  to 
the  right,  to  take  position  further  on,  the  skirmishing 
fire  told  us  that  the  enemy  extended  along  our  front, 
on  the  other  side  of  some  great  woods,  which  concealed 
his  movements  from  us.  He  had  his  batteries  already 
in  position  on  that  side,  for  the  shells  and  balls  reached 
the  troops  while  they  were  deploying.  One  struck  a 
colonel  of  the  Excelsior  Brigade.  We  saw  him  fall  from 
his  horse,  without  letting  go  his  bridle  rein,  although 
he  was  dead.  His  men  hastened  to  him  and  carried  off 
his  body. 

To  discover  the  enemy's  movements,  five  or  six  dar- 
ing men  had  climbed  to  the  top  of  the  highest  trees, 
from  which  they  had  a  view  over  the  surrounding 
woods.  The  position  was  very  dangerous,  for  they 
might  become  targets  for  the  rebel  sharpshooters.  In 
order  to  guard  against  it  as  much  as  possible,  they 
kept  up  a  continual  shaking  of  the  trees  in  which  they 
were ;  they  could  be  seen  thus  balancing  in  the  air 
more  than  a  hundred  feet  above  the  ground,  braving 
the  double  danger  of  the  enemy's  bullets  and  a  fall  — 
death  in  either  event. 

Firing  ceased  a  little  after  dark.  The  moon  rose 
calm  and  smiling,  and  nothing  troubled  the  tranquillity 
of  the  night. 

The  next  morning,  May  2,  an  order  was  sent  to  the 
First  Corps,  to  join  us.  Sedgwick  then  remained  alone 
below  Fredericksburg  with  the  Sixth  Corps  and  Gib- 


CHANCELLORSVILLE. 


439 


bon's  division  of  the  Second  ;  twenty-six  to  twenty-seven 
thousand  men  in  all. 

At  Chancellorsville  our  line  was  disposed  in  the  fol- 
lowing order:  —  On  the  left,  the  Fifth  Corps  and  Han- 
cock's division  extended  from  the  vicinity  of  the  river 
to  the  turnpike,  facing  towards  Fredericksburg  ;  in  the 
centre,  the  Twelfth  Corps,  forming  an  obtuse  angle  with 
the  left,  and  covering  the  road  in  front  and  parallel  to 
which  it  stretched  ;  then,  in  the  same  direction,  Bir- 
ney's  division  of  the  Third  Corps  ;  finally,  the  Elev- 
enth Corps  on  the  right.  Two  divisions  of  the  Third 
Corps  (Berry  and  Whipple)  and  one  division  of  the 
Second  Corps  (French)  were  held  in  reserve. 

In  the  morning,  the  enemy  contenting  himself  with 
attacking  Hancock's  pickets,  without  approaching  his 
line,  Hooker  began  to  be  troubled  about  what  was  pass- 
ing in  our  front,  beyond  the  curtain  of  woods,  which 
limited  our  view  in  that  direction.  He  sent  forward 
the  troops  of  the  Twelfth  Corps,  who,  being  received 
by  a  deadly  fire,  could  not  force  their  way,  and  were 
compelled  to  fall  back,  leaving  the  general  commanding 
in  the  same  uncertainty  as  before.  But  almost  imme- 
diately, through  an  opening  in  the  woods  before  the 
Twelfth  Corps,  there  appeared  a  column  of  rebels  march- 
ing rapidly  from  the  left  to  the  right,  and  which  conse- 
quently presented  its  flank  to  our  whole  line  of  battle. 

This  movement  threatened  our  right,  which  appeared 
to  be  unprepared  for  it.  As  it  was  the  opposite  side 
from  that  by  which  the  enemy  had  advanced  from 
Fredericksburg,  less  disposition  was  made  against  an 
attack  there  than  elsewhere.  The  whole  Eleventh 
Corps  prolonged  the  general  line  parallel  to  the  road. 
But  a  small  brigade  thrown  back  barred  this  road  with 
two  guns,  resting  on  nothing,  leaving  our  extreme  right 
completely  in  the  air. 


440       FOUR   \'EARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

General  Hooker  had  -visited  that  part  of  the  line  in 
good  season,  without  prescribing  any  change.  Only, 
when  the  movement  of  the  enemy  revealed  to  him  the 
possibility  of  an  attack  from  that  direction,  he  sent 
some  additional  instructions  to  General  Howard,  which 
had  no  other  effect  than  to  cause  an  advance  of  the 
pickets.  There  was  no  change  made  in  the  disposition 
of  the  troops.  The  fact  is  that  General  Hooker  did 
not  believe  in  the  danger  of  such  an  attack,  and  that  he 
preferred  to  regard  the  movement  as  a  retreat  of  the 
army  of  Lee  on  Gordonsville.  Otherwise  he  would  not 
have  telegraphed  a  few  hours  later  to  General  Sedg- 
wick :  — "  Take  Fredericksburg  and  everything  you 
find  there,  and  pursue  the  enemy  vigorously.  IVe  know 
that  he  is  in  full  retreat,  endeavoring  to  save  his  trains. 
Two  of  Sickles'  division  are  upon  him." 

General  Slocum  was  far  from  sharing  that  confidence. 
Towards  noon  I  met  him  visiting  our  front  to  see  how 
we  were  placed,  and  examining  attentively  the  position 
of  the  Eleventh  Corps. 

"  Let  me  recommend  you  to  fortify  yourself  as  well 
as  possible,"  he  said  to  me.  "The  enemy  is  massing  a 
considerable  force  on  our  right.  In  two  or  three  hours 
he  will  fall  on  Howard,  and  you  will  have  him  upon 
you  in  strong  force.  You  had  better  protect  yourself 
as  well  as  possible,  at  least  by  an  abatis  on  your 
front." 

I  was  about  to  follow  his  advice  when  the  division 
received  orders  to  advance.  We  moved  forward  out  of 
the  woods,  and  crossed  the  open  ground  which  ex- 
tended in  our  front.  It  was  an  effort  to  cut  in  two  the 
column  of  the  enemy,  which  continued  to  defile  before 
us,  and  to  sweep  away  what  must  be  his  rearguard. 

Our  advance  was  delayed  in  the  woods.  We  had  to 
build  or  rebuild  some  bridges  over  some  brooks.     We 


C.r.ancelicws4'ill;te„  IWIia«.  2„  1IS53. 


COBSOHJULTE 


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Frttm  CiiL  JXwJ^s  '-.i  Sar^S'-enf  Tbm-  mT  tmr  CSkS  WSw," 


CHANCELLORSVILLE.  44 1 

had  to  cut  our  way  painfully  through  the  thick  under- 
brush, a  network  of  branches  and  briars.  But  these 
detentions  afforded  the  Second  Division  time  to  support 
us.  Finally,  by  main  force,  our  first  regiments  reached 
the  crossroads  on  which  the  rear  of  the  enemy's 
column  was  marching.  A  brisk  fire  was  opened  imme- 
diately ;  our  men  charged  upon  the  enemy  surprised  at 
seeing  an  attack  made  upon  them  from  a  thicket  which 
they  thought  absolutely  impenetrable.  They  fell  into 
confusion.  Some  fled,  others  surrendered  ;  the  Twen- 
ty-seventh Georgia  resisted  stoutly  ;  but  it  was  soon 
surrounded  and  compelled  to  lay  down  its  arms.  More 
than  five  hundred  prisoners  remained  in  our  hands,  and 
were  immediately  sent  to  the  rear. 

We  had  in  this  way,  continually  on  the  run,  reached 
some  abandoned  furnaces.  Birney  had  just  formed  the 
division  in  a  square  across  the  road  by  which  the 
enemy  had  disappeared,  and  he  waited  the  .arrival  of 
the  Second  Division,  reenforced  by  two  brigades,  one 
from  the  Eleventh  and  one  from  the  Twelfth  Corps. 
The  men  took  breath,  laid  off  their  knapsacks,  and  re- 
loaded their  pieces.  The  officers  laughed  and  con- 
versed together,  relating  the  different  episodes  of  the 
combat. 

Suddenly  the  noise  of  a  distant  firing  came  through 
the  air.  Our  ranks  became  silent,  as  if  by  magic. 
Each  one  listened,  and  turned  his  head  towards  Chan- 
cellorsville.  There  is  no  more  doubt  ;  there  is  where 
the  fight  will  be  made.  The  musketry  fire  increases 
and  rolls  uninterruptedly.  Soon  the  roar  of  cannon 
breaks  out  like  a  clap  of  thunder,  at  first  by  a  volley  of 
batteries,  then  by  shots  hurried,  furious,  as  in  combat 
d  oiitrance. 

In  a  moment  the  aids  passed  at  a  gallop  along  the 
front  of  our  regiments.     The  command  rang  out,  from 


442       FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

one  end  of  the  division  to  the  other,  Forward !  Double 
quick  !  March  !  And  we  were  soon  swiftly  returning  on 
the  run  by  the  road  over  which  we  had  just  come. 
Hurry  up !  Jackson  has  crushed  our  right ;  the  Elev- 
enth Corps  is  in  an  utter  rout.  Hurry  up  !  Quick  !  or 
we  will  be  cut  off ! 

Harassed  and  out  of  breath,  yet  in  good  order,  we 
finally  reached  the  edge  of  the  open  ground  that  we  had 
first  crossed  on  leaving  our  lines.  Our  artillery  was 
still  there,  but  turned  against  the  same  woods  we  had 
occupied  a  few  hours  before.  Firing  had  ceased. 
Jackson's  troops  filled  the  intrenchments  which  the 
Eleventh  Corps  had  raised,  and  the  rebel  flag  floated 
behind  the  abatis  which,  in  the  morning,  had  protected 
the  front  of  our  division.  Evening  had  come.  We 
silently  formed  in  line  of  battle  near  the  artillery,  and 
awaited  the  fate  which  the  night  had  in  store  for  us. 

We  theji  heard  a  detailed  account  of  what  had  hap- 
pened in  our  absence. 

General  Lee,  having  found  our  lines  too  strong  to  be 
carried  on  our  left  or  centre,  had  agreed  to  Stonewall 
Jackson's  proposition  to  lead  an  attack  on  our  extreme 
right.  The  movement  was  not  without  risk,  for,  in  order 
to  do  it,  it  was  necessary  to  march  on  one  single  road,  at 
a  short  distance  from  our  front,  a  long  column  of  twenty- 
five  thousand  men,  and  to  divide  in  two  parts  an  army 
which,  altogether,  was  yet  inferior  in  number  to  ours. 
But  the  position  taken  since  the  evening  by  General 
Hooker  was  so  absolutely  defensive,  the  difficulty  of 
moving  so  as  to  get  out  of  it  so  manifest,  that  the 
general  commanding  the  enemy  thought  that  a  few 
demonstrations  would  suffice  to  keep  him  on  the  de- 
fensive. Jackson  commenced  his  movement  early  in 
the  morning,  and,  although  the  head  of  his  column 
had    been   noticed    between   nine    and  ten  o'clock,    he 


CHANCELLORSVILLE.  443 

continued  to  march  with  impunity  along  our  front  the 
greater  part  of  the  day.  When,  at  last,  in  the  after- 
noon, our  division  was  sent  to  cut  him  in  two,  we  were 
only  able  to  reach  his  rearguard,  which  merely  has- 
tened his  march. 

Jackson,  having  gone  beyond  the  point  where  our 
lines  extended,  turned  to  the  right,  by  a  road  which  led 
into  the  turnpike,  near  an  inn  known  as  Old  Wilder- 
ness Tavern,  and  massed  his  forces  there  for  one  of 
those  terrible  attacks  which  have  rendered  his  name 
celebrated  in  this  war.  This  movement  was  made 
known  to  General  Devens,  who  commanded  the  last 
division  in  that  direction,  and  to  General  Howard,  his 
corps  commander,  by  two  soldiers  sent  out  to  recon- 
noitre. Several  times  a  brisk  fire  was  opened  upon 
the  line  of  pickets  of  the  Eleventh  Corps,  showing  the 
presence  of  the  enemy's  skirmishers.  Yet,  notwith- 
standing all  that,  no  new  measure  was  taken,  and  the 
small  brigade  across  the  road  remained  alone,  with  two 
regiments  in  reserve,  to  meet  an  attack  against  our 
right,  already  turned. 

About  five  o'clock,  the  picket  firing  was  suddenly 
renewed,  then  redoubled,  and  came  nearer.  Soon  the 
men  appeared  falling  back  hurriedly  on  both  sides  of 
the  road.  A  moment  more,  and  the  enemy,  emerging 
from  the  woods  in  deep  masses,  with  the  rebel  yell, 
threw  himself  upon  the  few  regiments  which  were  op- 
posing him.  The  latter  endeavored  to  resist,  but  they 
were  quickly  swept  away  and  beaten  down.  The 
remainder  of  the  division,  taken  in  flank,  melted 
away,  was  broken,  and  rolled  upon  the  next  division, 
which  it  carried  with  it  ;  while  along  the  road,  in  the 
midst  of  the  fleeing  multitude,  the  wagons,  the  ambu- 
lances, horses  and  mules,  which  had  been  impru- 
dently left  in  that  part  of  the  field,  were  precipitated 


444       FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

pell-mell.  In  vain,  a  few  superior  officers  endeavored 
to  stop  the  flight.  In  order  to  meet  the  attack  it  was 
necessary  to  change  front  to  the  rear,  and,  during  this 
movement,  their  ranks  were  broken  and  carried  along 
with  the  torrent.  It  was  not  an  engagement,  it  was  a 
rout,  in  the  midst  of  which  a  few  regiments,  keeping 
their  order,  endeavored  to  hold  together.  Two  brigade 
commanders,  Schimmelpfennig  of  Schultz's  division, 
and  Bushbeck  of  Steinwehr's  division,  succeeded  in 
effecting  their  change  of  front,  and  fought  until,  over- 
whelmed and  carried  away  by  numbers,  they  were  com- 
pelled to  fall  back  on  the  Twelfth  Corps.  All  the  rest 
went  on  in  the  greatest  confusion  towards  Chancellors- 
ville  and  the  road  to  the  Rappahannock. 

In  the  midst  of  the  rout  and  tumult,  Hooker  hurried 
up.  Very  fortunately,  he  found  at  hand,  back  of  the 
road  on  which  the  enemy  was  sweeping  everything 
before  him,  Berry's  division,  the  one  which  he  had  so 
long  commanded.  "  Forward  !  "  he  cried,  "  with  the 
bayonet  !  "  The  division,  supported  by  Hay's  brigade 
of  the  Second  Corps,  advanced,  with  a  firm  and  steady 
step,  cleaving  the  multitude  of  disbanded  men  as  the 
bow  of  a  vessel  cleaves  the  waves  of  the  sea.  It  struck 
the  advance  of  the  Confederates  obliquely,  and  stopped 
it  with  the  aid  of  the  Twelfth  Corps  artillery. 

Jackson's  attack,  arrested  on  the  left  and  in  front, 
was  thrown  towards  the  right,  that  is  to  say,  into  the 
woods  between  the  road  and  the  intrenchments  aban- 
doned by  the  Eleventh  Corps.  It  was  drawing  near 
the  position  that  Birney  had  occupied  in  the  morning, 
and  thus  a  new,  terrible,  and  imminent  danger  pre- 
sented itself  to  us.  In  the  open  ground,  and  in  front 
of  the  woods,  and  two  or  three  hundred  yards  from  the 
intrenchment,  the  division  had  left  its  artillery  without 
protection,  while  advancing  towards  the  furnaces.     The 


CHANCELLORSVILLE.  445 

guns  were  there  on  low  ground,  in  full  view,  under  the 
guard  of  the  cannoneers  only.  Multitudes  of  flying 
men  had  taken  this  direction,  to  escape  more  quickly, 
and  wagons,  ambulances,  and  pieces  of  artillery  rolled 
at  a  gallop  across  the  field,  in  the  hope  of  finding, 
further  on,  an  opportunity  to  get  back  into  our  lines. 
The  moment  was  most  critical.  Who  should  save  the 
guns  from  almost  certain  capture  ? 

At  this  instant.  General  Pleasonton,  who  had  accom- 
panied us  in  our  forward  movement,  returned  with  two 
regiments  of  cavalry,  which  he  had  found  it  impossible 
to  use  to  advantage  in  the  midst  of  the  thickets. 
While  marching,  one  of  his  aids,  who  had  gone  on  in 
advance,  came  back  in  haste  to  announce  that  the 
Eleventh  Corps  was  fleeing  in  disorder,  and  that  cav- 
alry was  necessary  to  stop  it.  Pleasonton  put  his  col- 
umns at  a  gallop,  and,  on  arriving,  recognized  at  a 
glance  the  imminence  of  the  peril.  Then,  consulting 
only  his  inspiration  in  the  responsibility  he  was  about 
to  take,  he  assumed  the  direct  command  of  the  artil- 
lery at  that  point. 

To  put  it  in  position,  he  must  have  at  least  ten  or 
twelve  minutes,  minutes  more  than  precious  in  such  a 
case.  He  called  Major  Keenan  of  the  Eighth  Pennsyl- 
vania, and  said  to  him  :  "Major,  charge  into  the  woods 
with  your  regiment  and  hold  the  rebels  in  check  until  I 
can  get  these  pieces  into  position.  It  must  be  done  at 
all  hazards." 

"General,  I  will  do  it,"  simply  replied  Major 
Keenan, 

It  was  nearly  certain  death.  He  knew  it  ;  but  the 
honor  of  the  duty  assigned,  and  the  importance  of  the 
service  to  be  done,  lighted  up  his  features  with  a  noble 
smile.  He  had  but  four  or  five  hundred  men.  Riding 
at  their  head,  he  charged  furiously  at  the  enemy,  ad- 


446       FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

vancing  victoriously,  and  fell  lifeless  on  the  line  whose 
advance  he  seemed  to  still  bar  with  his  dead  body. 
This  intrepid  charge  caused  the  attack  to  hesitate  for  a 
short  time,  and  Pleasonton  gained  the  ten  minutes 
which  he  required. 

All  he  had  to  do  more  was  to  clear  the  ground  of 
stragglers  and  vehicles,  and  to  put  in  position,  near  the 
two  batteries  of  the  division,  the  one  he  had  brought 
with  him,  and  a  few  pieces  of  the  Eleventh  Corps, 
which  had  retired  in  that  direction.  When  the  remains 
of  the  Eighth  Pennsylvania  cavalry  had  fallen  back  to 
the  right  and  left,  Pleasonton  had  twenty-two  guns  in 
line,  loaded  with  double  charges  of  canister,  and  ready 
to  open  fire.  In  the  rear,  the  Seventeenth  Penn- 
sylvania, half  concealed  by  a  roll  of  the  ground, 
awaited  the  moment  to  charge  in  its  turn,  in  case  of 
necessity. 

Soon  the  wood  was  full  of  rebels.  A  moment  later, 
their  flags  appeared  behind  the  intrenchment  ;  a  volley 
of  musketry  lighted  up  the  top  of  the  works,  and  a  mass 
of  men  bounded  over  with  a  fierce  yell.  Now  was  the 
time.  The  twenty-two  pieces  made  but  one  detonation, 
followed  by  a  deep  silence.  When  the  smoke  rose, 
everything  had  disappeared.  The  mass  of  men  had 
been  swept  away  at  a  stroke,  and,  as  it  were,  anni- 
hilated. 

This  lightning  stroke  marked  the  limit  of  Stonewall 
Jackson's  success.  The  firing  still  continued  behind 
the  cover  of  the  intrenchments,  and  some  attempts 
were  even  made  to  renew  the  charge  against  the  guns  ; 
but  the  crushing  power  of  their  fire,  and,  probably,  also 
the  uncertainty  as  to  what  might  be  concealed  by  the 
swell  of  the  ground  where  were  the  cavalry  and  the 
teams,  prevented  the  enemy  from  advancing  out  of 
the  woods.     Sickles  soon  arrived,  followed  by  Whipple's 


CHANCELLORSVILLE. 


447 


division,  Birney's  division  came  back  in  its  turn,  and 
the  contest  ceased  on  both  sides. 

All  was  not  over,  however,  for  the  day.  It  was  to 
be  closed  by  the  fifth  act  of  the  drama,  in  which  Bir- 
ney's division  was  to  play  the  principal  role. 

It  was  ten  o'clock  at  night.  The  moon,  high  in 
the  heavens,  gave  but  an  uncertain  light  through  the 
vapors  floating  in  the  atmosphere.  No  fire  was  lighted 
in  the  woods  or  on  the  plain.  Federals  and  Confed- 
erates concealed  in  the  shadows  the  secret  of  their 
respective  positions. 

The  brigade  commanders  were  called  to  General  Bir- 
ney  to  receive  their  instructions.  When  Ward  returned, 
the  colonels  assembled  around  him.  We  learned  that 
a  night  attack  had  been  determined  on.  The  plan  was 
to  charge  into  the  woods  with  the  bayonet,  striking 
down  the  enemy  where  we  found  him,  and,  marching 
right  before  us,  to  join  Berry's  division  on  the  turnpike. 
The  troops  were  disposed  as  follows  :  Ward's  brigade 
deployed  in  the  first  line  without  intervals  between  the 
regiments  ;  Graham  and  Hayman's  brigades  in  the  sec- 
ond line,  breaking  by  the  right  of  companies  in  advance. 
It  was  expressly  forbidden  to  reload  the  muskets  after 
the  first  fire. 

The  colonels  communicated  their  orders  in  a  low 
voice  to  their  company  officers,  the  latter  to  the  ser- 
geants, and  on  to  the  soldiers.  The  preliminary  disposi- 
tions were  made  without  noise.  The  higher  officers 
were  on  foot  behind  the  file-closers.  When  everything 
was  ready  and  nothing  was  stirring  along  the  line,  the 
signal  was  awaited  in  a  silence  so  profound  that  one 
could  have  heard  the  flight  of  a  night-hawk.  The  moon 
looked  on  with  its  usual  serenity. 

After  a  few  minutes  of  waiting  which  appeared  long 
a  movement  ran  along  the  line.     General  Ward  had,  in 


448       FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

a  Steady  and  measured  tone,  ordered,  Forzvard  !  which. 
was  repeated  in  low  murmurs  from  one  to  another.  We 
started  at  a  quick  step,  gun  on  shoulder,  neither  hurried 
nor  loitering. 

There  were  perhaps  two  hundred  yards  to  pass  over 
before  reaching  the  woods,  whose  dark  line  appeared  in 
front  of  us.  All  eyes  vainly  sought  to  penetrate  the 
silent  obscurity.  Every  one  instinctively  hurried  his 
step,  and  we  could  soon  distinguish  the  outline  of  the 
intrenchments  sketched  out  by  us  in  the  morning.  Each 
one  said  to  himself  :  "  They  are  there,  taking  aim,  with 
the  finger  on  the  trigger.  They  are  letting  us  come 
near,  to  be  the  more  sure  of  their  fire.  At  twenty  paces 
they  will  fire  their  volley.  But  those  of  us  not  struck 
down  will  be  upon  them  before  they  can  reload  their 
guns,  and  then  —  " 

The  nearer  we  approached,  the  lower  dropped  the 
point  of  the  bayonets  of  the  front  rank. 

At  a  distance  of  twenty  steps  there  was  no  sign  of 
movement.  Well,  it  was  said,  the  contest  will  be  at 
bayonets'  point  ;  so  much  the  better. 

In  such  moments  one  has  an  excessive  delicacy  of 
hearing.  A  cracking  of  branches  and  a  footstep  on  the 
dead  leaves  were  heard  on  our  right.  It  was  the  Ninety- 
ninth  Pennsylvania,  which  was  advancing  into  the 
woods  without  encountering  any  one.  In  an  instant, 
we  were  there  in  our  turn.  The  enemy  —  I  do  not 
know  why,  even  now  —  had  neglected  to  occupy  the 
border  of  the  woods.  He  was  farther  back,  in  a  line  of 
intrenchments  more  complete  and  on  higher  ground. 
Perhaps,  also,  we  surprised  him  in  the  midst  of 
some  movement  preparatory  for  the  next  day's  battle. 
However  that  might  have  been,  profiting  by  the  fortu- 
nate accident,  without  seeking  the  cause,  we  continued 
to  advance  through  the  thicket,  but  not  in  as  good  order. 


CHANCELLORSVILLE.  449 

We  had  moved  forward  about  fifty  yards,  and  my 
regiment  was  crossing  a  rough  and  muddy  ravine,  when 
a  voice  cried  out,  "  Halt  !  who  goes  there  ? "  Nearly 
at  the  same  time  one  shot,  then  ten,  twenty,  a  hundred  ; 
the  word  Forward !  was  heard  on  all  sides ;  a  loud  hur- 
rah responded,  and  the  bloody  contest  commenced. 

The  ground  on  which  we  found  ourselves  was  not 
only  very  wooded,  but  also  very  rough.  There  were 
unequal  little  hillocks  and  small  winding  ravines,  at  the 
bottom  of  which  crept  or  stagnated  the  water  from 
springs  or  from  rainfall.  The  trees  grew  very  irregu- 
larly, scattered,  here  high,  there  bushy,  and  covered  with 
thorns.  The  line  of  the  brigade  was  broken  in  an 
instant  :  the  regiments  obliqued  to  the  right  or  the 
left,  led  astray  by  the  slope  of  the  ground.  The  com- 
panies were  mingled  together  while  crossing  the  obsta- 
cles ;  the  left  of  the  Ninety-ninth  Pennsylvania  was 
thrown  over  into  my  right.  The  Third  Maine,  on  the 
other  hand,  was  separated  from  my  left.  My  regiment 
itself  was  divided  into  two  parts.  We  ran  to  one  side 
to  reestablish  order,  and  on  the  other  the  companies 
dashed  forward  on  the  run.  Some  carried  the  in- 
trenchments  before  them  without  firing  a  shot  ;  others 
recoiled  before  a  deadly  fire.  The  defence  was  as  con- 
fused as  the  attack.  Terrible  at  some  points,  at  others 
it  was  a  mere  nothing.  But,  instead  of  ceasing,  the  fire 
redoubled  on  our  side.  In  spite  of  orders,  the  men  re- 
loaded their  pieces,  some  while  marching,  others  posted 
behind  trees. 

The  second  line,  entering  in  its  turn  into  the  woods, 
carried  away  by  the  noise  of  the  firing,  began  to  fire 
also.  A  hundred  voices  were  immediately  raised  above 
the  noise  of  the  tumult :  "  Stop  firing  there  below  ! 
You  are  firing  on  us  !  "  A  few  men  fell,  struck  from 
the  rear.     Then  all  dashed  forward,  pell-mell,  as  they 


450     F(jur  years  with  the  pot(3mac  army. 

were  able.  The  enemy,  broken  already  at  several 
points,  did  not  await  the  shock.  They  disappeared, 
running,  leaving  not  a  man  in  the  intrenchments. 

The  confusion  was  extreme.  I  had  around  me  about 
a  hundred  men  of  the  Thirty-eighth,  mingled  with 
others  of  different  regiments.  They  were  brave  men. 
They  marched  with  mine,  without  thinking  of  profiting 
by  the  opportunity  to  slip  away.  For  the  rest,  I  did 
not  trouble  myself  about  the  companies  out  of  my 
sight.  I  knew  they  were  well  commanded,  and  all 
inflamed  with  honorable  rivalry  between  those  of  the 
right,  belonging  to  the  old  Thirty-eighth,  and  those  of 
the  left,  belonging  to  the  old  Fifty-fifth.  I  had  but 
one  thing  to  fear,  which  was  that  the  desire  of  each 
to  surpass  the  others  might  carry  them  too  far. 

However,  the  repeated  hurrahs  showed  clearly  that 
the  Third  Maine  had  advanced  farther  than  we  had. 
We  hurried  forward  to  rejoin  them,  the  more  eagerly 
inasmuch  as  four  of  my  companies  would  be  with  it. 
The  ranks  being  reformed  as  well  as  possible,  we  again 
took  up  our  march,  crossing  obliquely  a  second  hollow. 
We  had  scarcely  commenced  to  ascend  the  opposite 
slope,  when,  at  a  distance  of  fifty  yards,  the  crest  burst 
into  a  flame  like  a  volcano,  and  sent  us  a  hail  of  bullets. 
Happily  for  us,  the  enemy,  deceived  by  the  darkness, 
had  fired  too  soon.  The  avalanche  of  lead  passed, 
whistling,  over  our  heads.  Hardly  a  man  was  hit.  We 
fell  back  towards  the  left,  to  turn  the  position,  follow- 
ing the  curve  of  the  ravine,  and  there  we  found  a  fire 
by  file  from  the  same  quarter  where  the  Third  Maine 
must  have  passed.  Where  was  the  enemy  ?  Where 
were  our  men  ?  We  could  not  tell  anything  about  it. 
In  this  obscure  labyrinth  of  ravines  and  hillocks,  of 
dwarfed  thickets  and  giant  trees,  we  had  lost  our  direc- 
tion. 


CHANCELLORSVILLE.  45 1 

How  could  we  find  it  again  ?  We  were  fired  on  from 
all  sides  ;  from  the  front,  from  the  right,  from  the  left, 
and  even  from  the  rear,  where  the  fragments  of  the 
second  line,  scattered  like  ours,  marched  at  hazard,  and 
fired  in  the  same  manner.  The  moon  was  hidden  ;  we 
could  not  see  ten  steps.  Around  me,  men  fell  or  disap- 
peared. The  part  of  the  wood  where  we  were  had  be- 
come the  focus  to  which  all  the  firing  converged.  The 
bullets  struck  the  trees  all  around  us ;  shells  crossed 
their  sparks  from  all  directions,  and  filled  the  air  with 
the  noise  and  flash  of  their  bursting.  The  groans  of  the 
wounded,  the  orders  of  the  officers,  the  oaths  of  the  sol- 
diers, the  whistling  of  the  balls,  the  roaring  of  the 
conical  projectiles,  the  crackling  of  the  branches,  the 
rolling  of  the  fusillade,  the  thunder  of  the  artillery, 
—  everything  united  in  a  concert  infernal. 

I  was  there  joined  by  Colonel  Pierson,  of  the  First 
New  York,  He  belonged  to  the  second  line,  and  had 
hardly  twenty  men  with  him.  He  endeavored  to  lead 
forward  those  who  were  giving  way.  Half  a  dozen  of 
the  latter  had  taken  refuge  behind  an  epaulement, 
where  they  were  cowering.  We  tried  to  make  them 
march ;  but  it  was  of  no  use,  and  I  had  no  time  to 
lose. 

With  a  handful  of  men,  who  still  followed  me, 
I  turned  my  steps  towards  a  point  where  the  firing 
seemed  to  have  ceased.  All  at  once,  I  felt  the  ground 
moving  under  my  feet,  and  cries  issuing  from  it.  It 
was  a  square  hole,  from  which  the  dirt  had  been  taken 
out,  without  doubt,  for  the  intrenchments.  Five  or 
six  poltroons  had  lain  down  there  flat  on  the  ground, 
literally  packed  like  sardines  in  a  box.  We  passed 
over  them,  and  continued  our  advance. 

In  the  midst  of  a  clearing,  there  was  growing  a  great 
tree.     Around  its  trunk  five  men  were  crowded,  think- 


452       FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

ing  they  were  protected  from  the  fire.  There  were 
two  on  one  side,  and  three  on  the  other.  The  precau- 
tion was  of  little  use,  where  the  balls  came  from  all 
quarters. 

A  few  steps  further  on  I  met  an  officer,  going  in  the 
opposite  direction.  He  was  alone,  and  appeared  to  be 
looking  for  his  company. 

"  Have  you  seen  any  men  of  the  Thirty-eighth  .■' "  I 
asked  him. 

"  I  do  not  know  ;  I  saw  some  troops  in  that  direc- 
tion ;  but  they  belonged  to  the  Twelfth  Corps,  and  we 
were  fired  upon.  A  nice  mess  !  "  grumbled  he.  "  The 
devil  himself  would  not  know  where  he  was." 

Nevertheless,  the  information  was  useful  to  me.  It 
served  to  set  me  right.  Knowing  the  position  occupied 
by  General  Slocum,  I  turned  immediately  to  the  left, 
I  walked  as  fast  as  possible,  putting  aside  the  small 
branches  with  the  point  of  my  sabre.  I  thought  I 
recognized  a  path  which  must  lead  to  the  turnpike.  I 
immediately  took  it,  hoping  to  find  my  lost  companies 
there. 

Passing  around  a  thick  bush,  a  man  ran  against  me. 
He  wore  a  light  blue  jacket  (color  of  the  uniform  of 
the  old  Fifty-fifth),  trimmed  with  black  on  the  sleeves. 
The  man  recognized  me  immediately. 

"  Don't  go  that  way,  colonel,"  said  he  to  me.  "  The 
rebels  are  in  force  a  few  steps  away.  They  hold  the 
line  of  the  road  by  which  we  advanced  out  of  the 
woods  this  morning,  and  are  picking  up  all  who  pass. 
They  have  taken  a  good  many  prisoners  from  us,  and  I 
came  near  being  gobbled  up  myself.  A  wounded  man 
warned  me  in  time,  and  told  me  that  General  Ward 
had  been  taken,  with  two  or  three  officers  of  his  staff." 

While  listening  to  him  I  had  turned  about  to  retrace 
my  steps.     I  saw  that  I  was  alone  with  my  informant. 


CHANCELLORSVILLE. 


453 


The  last  men  who  had  followed  me  had  taken  a  differ- 
ent direction. 

It  appeared  quite  improbable  to  me  that  General 
Ward  had  been  taken  prisoner  at  the  extreme  left  of 
his  brigade,  in  the  very  direction  where,  as  he  well 
knew,  the  greater  part  of  the  force  of  the  enemy  was. 
But,  if  the  report  were  true,  the  command  devolved 
upon  me,  and,  without  believing  it,  I  resolved  to  find 
out  about  it.  The  melee  had  finished,  evidently  to  our 
advantage.  The  two  lines  of  rifle-pits  taken  from  the 
enemy  were  vacant.  To  the  continual  fusillade  had 
succeeded  the  occasional  shot,  and  the  shells  burst  only 
at  intervals.  Soldiers  were  going  back  and  forth  look- 
ing for  their  regiments,  or  helping  the  wounded.  The 
dead  were  lying  alongside  of  the  living. 

On  returning  towards  the  edge  of  the  woods,  I  recog- 
nized my  lieutenant-colonel  walking  behind  me. 

"  Colonel  Allason,"  I  said  to  him,  immediately, 
"  where  are  our  men  .''  " 

"  All  around,  colonel ;  at  least,  I  suppose  so.  The 
companies  of  the  right  have  just  gone  out  of  the  woods, 
where  the  Fourth  Maine  occupies  a  part  of  the  in- 
trenchments  taken  from  the  enemy.  Two  or  three 
other  regiments  have  the  same  orders  that  we  have,  to 
reform  near  the  guns.  But  five  companies  are  lacking, 
of  whom  I  have  no  news  since  the  commencement  of 
the  action.     Were  you  with  them  .-*  " 

"No,"  I  told  him.  "They  took  the  lead  from  the 
beginning,  and  must  have  reached  the  main  road  where 
Berry's  division  is." 

On  the  open  ground  we  found,  in  fact,  one  half  of 
the  regiment,  around  which  rallied,  from  time  to  time, 
the  men  strayed  away  during  the  contest.  General 
Ward  was  near  there,  inquiet  about  two  officers  of  his 
staff  who  were  missing.     We  did  not  know  whether 


454       FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

they  were  dead  or  prisoners.  The  latter  supposition 
was  the  true  one.  This  was,  without  doubt,  what  had 
given  rise  to  the  report  I  had  heard. 

By  inquiring  of  every  one,  and  sending  out  in  search 
of  them,  I  finally  found  out  what  had  become  of  my 
missing  companies. 

Three  of  them,  belonging  to  the  old  Fifty-fifth,  find- 
ing the  ground  easier  than  elsewhere,  had  advanced 
under  the  command  of  Captains  Williams  and  Dema- 
sure  and  Lieutenant  Suraud.  But  they  had  not  ad- 
vanced faster  than  the  company  of  the  Thirty-eighth, 
commanded  by  Captain  Brady.  They  charged  the 
intrenchments  together,  overcame  the  force  they  found 
there,  and,  after  a  moment's  halt,  saw  a  short  distance 
away  the  flashing  of  the  fire  from  a  battery  of  artillery. 
The  idea  of  carrying  the  battery  came  to  them  imme- 
diately, and,  with  one  accord,  they  took  that  direction. 
We  must  believe  that,  in  the  tumult,  the  cannoneers  did 
not  hear  them  approach,  or  that,  if  they  were  seen,  the 
direction  from  which  they  came  caused  the  gunners  to 
hesitate.  However  that  may  be,  they  advanced  right 
up  to  the  mouths  of  the  guns. 

One  of  the  first  to  leap  into  the  battery  was  a  great 
German,  nearly  six  feet  high,  named  Johann.  He  wore 
in  the  front  of  his  cap  a  red  lozenge,  the  distinguishing 
mark  of  the  First  Division,  Third  Corps. 

"  Hello  !  who  are  you  ?"  cried  one  of  the  cannoneers. 

"  Thirty-eighth  New  York,"  cried  Johann,  brandish- 
ing his  bayonet. 

"Hold  on!  don't  fire!"  cried  a  score  of  voices  at 
once.     "This  is  the  Twelfth  Corps,  General  Slocum." 

And  my  men,  completely  mystified,  recognized  Gen- 
eral Slocum  himself,  in  the  midst  of  the  artillerymen, 
revolver  in  hand,  ready  to  be  slain  at  his  pieces  rather 
than  not  defend  them  at  all  risks.     The  g-eneral  com- 


CHANCELLORSVILLE. 


455 


plimented  the  officers  on  the  vigor  with  which  they  had 
led  the  charge,  and  the  four  companies  were  put  in 
line  to  defend  the  artillery  they  had  so  nearly  attacked. 

The  last  company  to  hear  from  was  one  belonging  to 
the  old  Thirty-eighth,  commanded  by  Captain  Alt- 
house.  The  captain,  without  troubling  himself  about 
what  was  going  on  elsewhere,  or  turning  to  right  or 
left,  had  marched  straight  ahead,  with  well  closed  ranks. 
He  fortunately  crossed  the  two  intrenched  lines,  and 
continued  his  march  without  stopping.  Reaching  a 
piece  of  woods  thicker  than  the  rest,  he  saw  himself 
surrounded  and  summoned  to  surrender.  All  resist- 
ance was  useless.  He  had  advanced  directly  into  what 
appeared  to  be  the  enemy's  lines.  The  captain,  with 
chagrin,  was  about  to  surrender  his  sabre  when  a  joy- 
ous voice  called  out,  in  a  shout  of  laughter,  "  Well, 
that  is  a  good  joke  !     This  is  the  First  Division." 

The  company  was  in  the  midst  of  a  brigade  of  Berry's 
division.  It  was  the  only  one,  to  my  knowledge,  which 
arrived  at  its  destination. 

At  that  time  we  were  still  ignorant  of  the  most 
important  event  of  that  nocturnal  combat.  We  had 
taken  two  rows  of  rifle-pits  from  some  of  the  enemy's 
regiments,  but  at  a  very  heavy  cost  to  us.  But  what 
gave  the  engagement  the  importance  of  a  victory  gained 
for  us  was  the  fact  that  Stonewall  Jackson,  the  most  to 
be  dreaded  of  our  adversaries  after  Lee,  had  fallen, 
mortally  wounded,  a  few  steps  from  us  in  the  same 
woods,  a  witness  of  a  melee  as  bloody  as  it  was  confused. 

Encouraged  by  the  day's  success,  full  of  confidence 
in  the  fortunes  of  the  morrow,  Jackson  had  made  his 
disposition  to  throw  himself  on  our  rear,  and  cut  off 
our  line  of  retreat  to  United  States  Ford.  After  having 
himself  overlooked  some  changes  in  the  disposition  of 
his  troops,  he  had  advanced  out  of  his  lines,  with  a  few 


456       FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

officers  of  his  staff,  in  order  to  see  himself  the  exact 
position  we  occupied.  In  this  way  he  reached  the 
turnpike,  where  he  had  before  him  Berry's  division, 
where  the  attack  commenced  against  the  most  advanced 
of  his  regiments  in  the  woods.  In  an  instant  he  recog- 
nized that  it  was  something  more  serious  than  a  skir- 
misher's alarm.  He  turned  his  horse  to  reenter  his 
lines,  and  took  the  most  direct  road.  His  troops  were 
under  arms,  eyes  and  ears  open,  as  may  be  imagined. 
At  the  noise  of  horses  galloping,  they  thought  it  was  a 
charge  of  cavalry,  and  fired.  Jackson  fell,  struck  by 
several  bullets,  one  of  which  broke  his  arm.  Two  or 
three  of  his  ofificers  were  killed  or  wounded.  The 
others  made  themselves  known.  A  litter  was  has- 
tily brought.  The  general  was  placed  thereon,  and 
they  hurried  to  get  him  into  his  own  lines.  They  had 
scarcely  started  when  one  of  the  bearers  fell,  struck  by 
a  ball  or  by  a  piece  of  shell.  The  general  was  roughly 
thrown  to  the  ground.  The  fall  aggravated  his  wound, 
and  doubled  his  suffering.  He  survived  several  days, 
and  succumbed  under  an  amputation. 

General  Jackson,  without  being  a  great  general  of  an 
army,  was  an  admirable  corps  commander.  He  ex- 
celled above  all  in  the  conduct  of  detached  operations 
which  were  trusted  to  him,  and  in  the  spirit  he  knew 
how  to  impart  to  the  important  attacks  which  made 
his  reputation.  An  old  West-Pointer,  he  loved  the 
profession  of  arms,  and  had  studied  the  science  thor- 
oughly. He  had  entire  confidence  in  the  success  of 
the  cause  to  which  he  was  devoted.  Austere  in  relig- 
ion, he  was  not  far  from  believing  himself  one  of  the 
instruments  chosen  by  the  God  of  Israel  to  deliver  his 
new  people  from  another  Egyptian  servitude.  He  died, 
then,  in  the  fulness  of  his  illusions,  consoled  in  his  death 
by  the  victory  for  his  side. 


CHANCEIXORSVILLE. 


-57 


Thus  ended  the  second  day  of  May,  1863. 

We  had  about  two  hours  of  repose.  Before  day- 
break the  brigade  was  assembled,  and  we  received  an 
order  to  form  line  behind  the  artillery,  in  the  field 
which  extended  between  the  Chancellorsville  house 
and  the  woods  which  we  had  swept  clean  of  living- 
rebels,  while  leaving  there  a  large  number  of  our  own 
dead.  It  was  on  that  side  a  renewed  attack  was 
expected.  By  leaving  Birney's  division  where  it  was, 
along  with  Whipple's,  we  would  have  had  an  excellent 
defensive  position  at  that  point,  for  we  should  have 
taken  the  enemy  between  two  fires,  both  in  front  and 
in  flank.  It  was  deemed  preferable  to  draw  back  the 
whole  Third  Corps  between  the  house  and  the  woods, 
perpendicular  to  the  main  road.  The  result  was  that 
the  enemy,  finding  the  ground  free,  which  we  had  just 
quitted,  promptly  took  possession  of  it,  and  placed  his 
artillery  there,  giving  him  a  converging  fire,  without 
hindrance,  upon  the  centre  of  our  position.  And  yet 
the  retreat  of  our  corps  was  not  made  without  difificulty. 
Although  the  day  had  hardly  broken,  the  brigade  which 
brought  up  the  rear  was  attacked  as  soon  as  it  was  put 
in  motion.  But  General  Graham,  who  commanded  it, 
held  back  forces  much  superior  to  his  own,  and  ef- 
fected a  retreat  in  good  order,  without  breaking. 

Then  began  a  desperate  battle,  the  brunt  of  which 
the  Third  Corps  had  still  to  bear.  The  enemy  ad- 
vanced in  three  lines  sustained  by  strong  reserves, 
between  the  main  road  and  the  ground  where  his  guns 
replaced  those  which  Pleasonton  had  so  well  defended. 
The  movement  then  was  simply  the  continuation  of  that 
which,  the  evening  before,  had  swept  away  the  Eleventh 
Corps.  The  resistance  was  terrible  as  the  attack  was 
desperate.  The  musketry  and  artillery  fire  mowed 
down   the  Confederate  ranks  ;  but  the  more  they  fell 


458       FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

the  more  came  on,  and  they  continued  to  advance,  cry- 
ing :  "Remember  Jackson!"  They  were  furious  on 
account  of  the  death  of  their  general,  and  eager  to 
avenge  him. 

During  this  time  Ward's  brigade  vi^as  receiving  blows 
without  being  able  to  return  them.  The  bullets 
ricocheted  in  our  ranks,  shells  burst  around  us,  and  the 
balls  which  passed  over  the  first  line  found  a  mark  in 
the  second.  As  we  were  without  cover,  we  had  caused 
the  men  to  lie  down,  to  avoid  useless  losses  ;  the  officers 
alone  remaining  standing.  In  spite  of  this  precaution, 
the  number  of  wounded  increased  more  and  more, 
when  we  received  an  order  to  throw  ourselves  rapidly 
on  the  other  side  of  the  road,  where  a  violent  fire  had 
broken  out,  and  extended  into  the  thicket. 

In  order  not  to  return  to  the  first  phase  of  the  day's 
action,  I  will  say  that,  up  to  this  time,  the  troops  of  the 
Third  Corps  had  to  sustain  alone  the  furious  attack  of 
which  we  have  just  spoken.  They  defended  the  ground 
foot  by  foot,  until  they  had  fired  their  last  cartridge, 
and  were  compelled  to  fall  back  to  the  rest  of  the  army, 
saving  their  artillery,  but  abandoning  that  part  of  the 
plateau  of  Chancellorsville  to  the  enemy. 

During  the  fight,  General  Hooker  had  been  wounded 
on  the  threshold  of  the  Chancellorsville  house.  He 
was  standing  under  a  verandah,,  watching  the  approach 
of  the  Confederates,  when  he  was  violently  knocked 
down  by  one  of  the  columns  sustaining  the  roof,  which 
had  been  struck  by  a  cannon  ball.  The  shock  was  so 
great  that  he  remained  unconscious  during  the  most  of 
the  battle,  and  did  not  appear  to  have  recovered  his 
faculties  during  the  rest  of  the  day,  —  which,  I  think, 
explains  many  things,  and  especially  why  the  Third 
Corps  received  neither  support  nor  reenforcements  at 
the  time  when  it  had  the  most  urcrent  need  of  them. 


CHANCELLORSVILLE. 


459 


Let  us  return  now  to  the  woods  where  our  brio-ade 
had  just  disappeared. 

Generally,  on  reading  the  description  of  a  battle,  one 
witnesses,  as  it  were,  from  the  upper  air,  as  formerly 
the  Olympian  divinities  witnessed  the  heroic  combats 
of  the  Greeks  and  Trojans.  We  see  the  movement  of 
the  right,  the  left,  and  the  centre  of  each  army;  we  see 
the  reenforcements  arrive,  the  reserves  put  in  action, 
and  in  that  view  of  the  whole,  well  pictured,  the  details 
are  of  little  account.  But  to  a  colonel  who  is  in  the 
action  matters  are  presented  under  an  entirely  different 
aspect.  Of  the  general  field  he  sees  nothing ;  of  the 
details  very  little.  Unless  good  fortune  gives  him 
an  exceptional  position,  his  visual  horizon  does  not 
extend  beyond  his  brigade,  and  is  often  bounded  by  the 
line  of  his  regiment.  Where  he  receives  the  order  to 
go,  there  he  goes  ;  forward,  backward,  to  the  right,  to 
the  left.  His  sphere  of  action  is  limited  to  take  his 
regiment  in  on  a  charge  ;  to  hold  it  steady  on  a  re- 
treat ;  in  every  event  to  execute  rapidly  and  correctly 
the  changes  of  position  which  he  is  directed  to  make. 
Aside  from  that,  the  battle  may  be  won  or  lost ;  he 
knows  nothing  about  it.  He  will  learn  that  later. 
What  happens  elsewhere  is  none  of  his  business. 

As  an  example,  here  is  a  copy  of  my  pencil  notes, 
May  3,  during  the  battle  of  Chancellorsville,  from  the 
time  when  I  left  off  my  story :  — 

"  Being  able  to  penetrate  the  thicket  only  on  foot,  I 
turned  my  horse  over  to  Couillou  (a  sapper),  with  orders 
to  bring  him  to  me  by  a  detour,  to  a  clearing  towards 
which  we  were  going.  Arriving  there,  neither  man 
nor  horse  was  to  be  seen.  The  fire  continued  with  ex- 
treme violence.  It  must  be  Berry's  division  which 
stops  the  enemy's  movements  on  this  side.  They  are 
firing    through    the    thickets,    without    being    able    to 


460       FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

charge.  Our  men  hold  firm.  No  hurrahs,  but  a  deaf- 
ening noise  of  musketry.  What  the  devil  has  become 
of  Couillou  .-* ' 

"The  firing  came  nearer  and  stronger  at  the  centre. 
Clearly  the  enemy  was  driving  us  back  at  that 
point. 

"  We  are  now  on  the  left  centre,  near  the  Twelfth 
Corps.  We  have  hurried  forward  with  our  utmost 
ability.  It  seems  that  the  time  is  critical.  We  formed 
our  line  twenty  or  thirty  paces  from  the  first,  which, 
after  all,  had  not  given  way.  In  this  direction,  the 
rebels  are  giving  voice  to  their  sharp  yell,  and  our  men 
reply  by  distinct  hurrahs,  as  if  there  were  not  enough 
noise  without  that !  As  we  had  a  great  number  of 
wounded,  we  were  made  to  fall  back  to  the  edge  of  a 
road,  where  the  men  can  at  least  lie  down  in  the  ditch. 
The  bullets  do  us  much  less  injury ;  the  shells  continue 
to  trouble  us.  A  great  column  of  black  smoke  towards 
our  left,  then  sheets  of  flame ;  the  Chancellorsville 
house  is  burning.  At  the  rate  they  are  going  on  in 
our  front,  they  will  soon  use  up  all  their  ammunition, 
and  it  will  be  our  turn  to  take  their  place.  The 
wounded  are  continually  passing  through  our  lines. 
One  of  them,  half  naked,  is  as  black  as  a  negro.  He 
runs  shrieking  towards  the  ambulances.  It  is  an  artil- 
leryman, wounded  by  the  explosion  of  a  caisson.  Couch 
passes  by  at  a  light  trot,  a  little  switch  in  his  hand,  as 
usual.  Sickles  goes  by  in  his  turn  at  a  walk,  with  a 
smiling  air,  smoking  a  cigar.  '  Everything  is  going 
well,'  said  he,  in  a  loud  voice,  intended  to  be  heard. 
Then,  in  a  lower  tone,  giving  me  his  hand,  he  whis- 
pered in  my  ear  a  congratulation   and   a   promise.      It 

'  On  leaving  me,  Couillou  had  been  struck  on  the  head  with  a  piece 
of  shell.  A  drummer  caught  my  horse,  and  led  him  to  the  baggage  in 
the  rear,  saying  1  had  been  killed  or  wounded. 


CHANCELLORSVILLE. 


461 


would  appear  that  I  won  a  star  in  the  fight  by  moon- 
light, the  night  before. 

"We  returned  to  the  right,  always  on  the  double 
quick.  The  enemy's  artillery  rains  projectiles  upon  us. 
Our  lot  for  to-day  is  to  receive  blows  from  all  sides, 
without  being  able  to  return  them.  A  lieutenant  of 
the  Third  Maine  is  cut  in  two  by  a  shell  bursting  in  his 
body ;  legs  thrown  to  one  side,  the  trunk  to  the  other. 
One  of  our  batteries  has  silenced  the  one  which 
troubled  us  so  much.  General  Berry  has  just  been 
killed  near  us.  An  excellent  man  and  a  brave  soldier. 
An  hour  of  respite.  It  is  as  hot  as  summer ;  my  cloak 
oppresses  me,  and  I  have  no  horse !  Nothing  in  my 
stomach  for  twenty-four  hours,  but  a  cup  of  black 
coffee  and  a  big  swallow  of  whiskey,  which  a  staff 
ofificer  gave  me  a  short  time  ago. 

"  Fifth  change  of  position  to  the  rear.  Interval  em- 
ployed in  covering  ourselves  with  light  intrenchments. 
This  time,  we  are  in  the  front  line.  The  two  other 
brigades  of  the  division  return  at  last  to  join  us.  Gen- 
eral Mott  is  wounded.  Colonel  MacKnight,  of  the  One 
Hundred  and  Fifth  Pennsylvania,  is  killed  ;  also  Col- 
onel Shylock,  of  the  Fifth  Michigan,  In  General 
Birney's  staff,  two  officers  are  wounded,  Clarke  and 
Walker.  The  latter,  division  inspector,  belongs  to  my 
regiment.     He  is  said  to  be  maimed  for  life. 

"  Two  batteries  have  just  come  into  position  on  our 
line.  At  half  after  four,  the  firing  recommences,  and 
stops  at  five  o'clock. 

"  We  learn  that  the  First  Corps  arrived  last  night, 
coming  from  Fredericksburg,  and  that  the  Sixth  car- 
ried the  heights  above  the  city  this  morning." 

One  can  judge  by  this  extract  how  much  a  colonel 
sees  and  knows  about  a  battle  in  which  he  has  all  the 
time  manoeuvred  his  regiment.  Here,  now,  is  what 
occurred  :  — 


462       FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

Every  effort  of  the  enemy  was  against  the  Third 
Corps.  When  that  corps,  out  of  ammunition,  began 
to  fall  back  to  the  rear,  from  the  right  to  the  other  side 
of  the  road,  Stuart,  who  succeeded  Jackson,  extended 
his  attack  on  his  left,  hoping  to  take  us  in  reverse,  and 
reach  our  line  of  retreat  towards  the  Rappahannock. 
There  he  struck  French's  division  of  the  Second  Corps, 
which  not  only  held  its  ground,  but  even  compelled  its 
assailants  to  fall  back.  It  was  to  sustain  him  that 
Ward's  brigade  had  been  ordered  into  the  woods. 

In  this  part  of  the  field,  our  right  was  facing  to  the 
west,  while  our  centre  looked  south,  and  our  left  east. 

In  the  meanwhile,  Lee,  having  learned  of  the  success 
of  Stuart  on  our  right,  and  seeing  us  all  engaged  in 
that  direction,  attacked  our  left  centre  vigorously,  so 
that  for  a  moment  it  was  in  danger  of  being  broken. 
Upon  which  our  brigade  was  hurried  over  to  reenforce 
the  Twelfth  Corps. 

The  danger  past,  Stuart  returned  to  the  charge, 
reenforced  by  new  troops,  and  now  forced  French  to 
retire.  This  was  the  reason  for  our  precipitate  return 
near  the  clearing  where  we  had  first  taken  position. 

But  our  comrades  of  the  Third  Corps  were  not  yet 
out  of  the  difficulty,  notwithstanding  their  having  fallen 
back  and  changed  front.  The  enemy,  who  had  just 
effected  a  junction  of  his  two  wings  on  the  plateau  of 
Chancellorsville,  and  who  had  not  been  able  to  force,  at 
the  angle  to  our  left,  the  intrenched  line  of  our  advanced 
posts  admirably  defended  by  Colonel  Nelson  A.  Miles, 
now  commenced  again  the  attack  against  Sickles  with 
renewed  vigor.  Our  men,  short  of  ammunition,  had  no 
other  resource  than  the  bayonet.  They  availed  them- 
selves of  it  brilliantly  and  with  great  success.  The 
New  Jersey  brigade,  amongst  others,  commanded  by 
General  Mott,  broke  the  first  line  of  the  Confederates, 


CHANCELLORSVILLE.  463 

and,  advancing,  took  flags  and  trophies  from  their  sec- 
ond line. 

General  Hooker,  recovering  from  his  unconsciousness, 
although  still  feeling  the  effects  of  the  accident,  had  re- 
sumed the  command  of  the  army,  left  for  some  hours  to 
General  Couch.  He  gave  the  order  to  retire  to  a 
stronger  line  of  defence  which  he  had  had  traced  out 
the  night  before  by  the  engineer  officers.  There  the 
other  two  brigades  of  the  division  came  to  join  us. 

Thus  ended  the  third  day  of  May,  1863. 

Our  new  position  rested,  at  one  end,  on  the  Rappa- 
hannock, the  other  on  the  Rapidan.  On  the  left  it 
faced  southeast,  on  the  right  southwest,  making  a  very 
open  angle,  at  whose  apex,  opposite  the  enemy's  centre, 
was  formed  a  great  trilateral  work.  This  was  the  point 
occupied  by  the  Third  Corps.  As  the  army  made  no 
further  movement  until  it  repassed  the  river,  we  can 
leave  it  behind  its  breastworks  and  join  the  corps  at 
Fredericksburg. 

On  the  afternoon  of  the  2d,  Hooker,  seeing  his  right 
broken  in,  and  the  Third  Corps  compromised  by  Jack- 
son's attack,  had  thought  immediately  of  making  a  di- 
version from  the  other  side,  which  would  turn  Lee.  He 
sent  an  order  to  General  Sedgwick  to  cross  the  Rappa- 
hannock as  quickly  as  possible,  and  march  out  on  the 
Chancellorsville  road,  attacking  and  destroying  what- 
ever force  might  bar  his  way.  Sedgwick  received  the 
despatch  about  midnight,  having  already  crossed  the 
river  by  virtue  of  a  preceding  order  directing  him  to 
take  the  BowHng  Green  road  and  "  any  other."  He 
immediately  changed  his  dispositions,  and  marched  on 
Fredericksburg  without  loss  of  time.  His  instructions 
were :  "  You  will  leave  your  train  behind  you,  except 
the  mules  carrying  ammunition,  and  will  march  so  as  to 
be  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  general  in  command  at 


464       FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

daylight.  You  will  probably  strike  the  rear  of  the  forces 
commanded  by  General  Lee,  and,  between  you  and  the 
major-general  commanding,  the  latter  hopes  to  make  a 
finish  of  his  adversary." 

The  silence  as  to  the  fortified  heights  seemed  to  im- 
ply that  the  general-in-chief  supposed  that  they  had 
been  stripped  of  troops  since  the  morning  ;  without 
that,  the  contest  to  be  entered  on  at  that  position 
should  have  entered  explicitly  into  the  calculation  in 
reference  to  the  time  allowed  to  Sedgwick  to  reach  the 
neighborhood  of  Chancellorsville.  Now,  not  a  company 
had  been  withdrawn  by  the  enemy  from  that  strong 
position,  which  was  still  defended  by  Early's  division, 
reenforced  by  a  brigade. 

The  Sixth  Corps  was  surrounded  by  a  cordon  of  rebel 
pickets,  whose  firing  gave  warning  of  the  march  as  soon 
as  it  began.  Early,  forewarned,  prepared  for  an  attack. 
Immediately,  on  entering  Fredericksburg,  Sedgwick 
sent  four  regiments  to  try  the  heights ;  they  were 
received  with  a  deadly  fire,  and  were  compelled  to  re- 
tire. The  preparations  for  a  final  assault  occupied  the 
last  hours  of  the  night.  It  would  appear  that  they  were 
not  moved  with  the  promptness  which  circumstances 
demanded,  for  it  was  not  till  eleven  o'clock  in  the  morn- 
ing that  the  two  columns  of  attack  charged  the  in- 
trenchments.  Colonel  Spear  of  the  Sixty-first  Penn- 
sylvania, who  led  the  right,  was  killed.  Colonel  Johns 
of  the  Seventh  Massachusetts,  commanding  the  left, 
was  severely  wounded  ;  but,  in  spite  of  the  vigor  of 
the  defence,  Marie's  Heights  were  carried  by  main  force. 
At  the  same  time  Howe's  division  carried  the  enemy's 
position  on  the  left,  and  the  whole  line  was  ours, 
with  a  part  of  the  artillery  and  a  large  number  of 
prisoners. 

Without  loss  of  time,  the  troops  reformed,  and  the 


CHANCELLORSVILLE.  465 

Sixth  Corps  advanced  on  the  Chancellorsville  road, 
leaving  Gibbon's  division  of  the  Second  Corps  at  Fred- 
ericksburg, as  the  order  of  General  Hooker  had  directed. 
Those  of  the  enemy  who  had  retired  in  that  direction 
were  driven  back  without  stopping  to  Salem  Heights,  in 
front  of  Banks  Ford.  There  Brooks'  division,  which 
had  the  advance,  met  with  a  determined  resistance.  It 
was  then  about  four  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  (Sunday, 
May  3).  We  note  the  hour,  for  at  this  moment  the 
army  under  the  immediate  command  of  Hooker  was 
already  inclosed  behind  the  second  intrenched  line, 
and  the  battle  there  was  virtually  finished,  entirely  to 
the  advantage  of  Lee. 

Leaving  in  front  of  us  what  troops  were  necessary  to 
hold  us  in  our  lines,  in  the  cramped  position  which  we 
occupied,  hardly  able  to  move,  Lee  sent  MacLaws'  di- 
vision, strengthened  by  Mahone's  brigade,  against  Sedg- 
wick. These  forces  reached  Salem  in  time  to  reenforce 
Wilcox's  brigade,  which,  abandoning  the  guard  of  Banks 
Ford,  had  hurried  on  to  bar  the  road  against  the 
Sixth  Corps.  The  enemy  was,  at  first,  driven  back 
from  the  heights  he  occupied,  but,  when  his  reenforce- 
ments  reached  him,  he  retook  them,  notwithstanding 
an  obstinate  resistance,  forcing  Brooks  and  Newton  to 
fall  back.  Sedgwick's  advance  was  arrested,  when 
night   came  to   put   an   end   to  the  engagement. 

Behold  us  now,  on  Monday,  May  4.  What  has 
become  of  the  plan  so  ably  conceived,  so  happily 
executed  in  the  beginning.?  That  plan  which  would 
leave  to  Lee's  army  only  the  alternative  of  a  shameful 
flight  or  certain  destruction  ?  Hooker  lost  the  benefit 
of  everything  he  had  done  up  to  that  time  when,  on 
the  1st  of  May,  he  had  abruptly  stopped  a  series  of 
fine  offensive  manoeuvres,  to  take  up  a  purely  defen- 
sive attitude  on  his  first   meeting  the  enemy.     From 


466       FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

that  moment  he  no  longer  attacked.     He  simply  stood 
on  the  defensive,  and  he  defended  himself  badly. 

On  the  2d  his  right  was  swept  away.  That  the 
Eleventh  Corps,  composing  the  right,  had  fought 
poorly  or  not  at  all  ;  that  some  regiments  had  fled, 
leaving  their  arms  stacked,  or  throwing  them  away  so 
as  to  run  faster,  is  a  fact  that  must  unfortunately  be 
acknowledged.  But  would  all  this  have  happened  if 
the  Eleventh  Corps  had  been  prepared  to  receive  the 
attack  from  the  side  on  which  it  was  absolutely  defence- 
less .■*  We  must  judge  matters  coolly.  The  facts 
prove  that  the  attack  had  not  been  foreseen  either  by 
General  Howard  or  by  General  Hooker.  The  latter 
visits  and  examines  that  part  of  the  line  in  the  morn- 
ing, and  when  General  Howard  asks  him  if  the  disposi- 
tions made  are  satisfactory  he  replies  in  the  affirmative, 
in  the  presence  of  General  Devens,  commanding  the 
division  placed  on  the  extreme  right.  Only,  on  his 
return  to  headquarters,  he  sent  a  note  to  the  command- 
ers of  the  Eleventh  and  Twelfth  Corps  to  direct  them 
to  "  examine  the  ground  and  decide  what  positions  they 
must  take  in  the  eventuality  of  an  attack  on  the  flank, 
in  order  to  be  prepared  to  receive  the  enemy  from  what- 
ever direction  he  might  present  himself."  That  done, 
as  if  to  clear  his  conscience,  and  without  assuring  him- 
self that  any  modification  was  made  of  the  defective 
dispositions  of  the  Eleventh  Corps,  he  stripped  his 
lines  himself  by  sending  Sickles  with  two  divisions  to 
run  after  the  tail  of  the  enemy's  column,  when  it  had 
nearly  all  passed  by.  To  support  it,  he  detached  a 
brigade  from  Slocum's  command,  another  from  that  of 
Howard  ;  then  he  ordered  General  Pleasonton  to  follow 
with  his  cavalry,  and  do  the  enemy,  "  who  was  march- 
ing in  the  direction  of  Gordonsville,"  all  the  injury  he 
could.     We  know  the  result  of  it. 


CHANCELLORSVILLE.  467 

The  following  night  is  devoted  partly  to  firing  on 
ourselves.  It  might  have  been  more  profitably  em- 
ployed. 

On  the  3d  the  enemy  continued  to  force  back  our 
right,  and  to  press  us  strongly  on  our  centre.  He 
found  before  him  only  the  Third  and  Twelfth  Corps, 
each  supported  by  a  division  of  the  Second.  No  com- 
binations, no  manoeuvres.  Each  one  defends  himself 
as  best  he  can,  and  in  the  position  he  is  occupying, 
some  by  firing,  others  by  the  bayonet.  And,  all  this 
time,  one  half  the  army  remains  inactive  in  the  rear. 
The  First,  the  Fifth,  and  the  Eleventh  (which  must 
have  been  eager  to  make  amends  for  the  evening 
before)  move  only  to  fall  back  when  the  whole  line 
retires  to  a  position  more  crowded,  and  still  more  on 
the  defensive. 

Thus  we  find  the  army  paralyzed  at  the  very  time 
when  the  capture  of  Fredericksburg  Heights  by  Sedg- 
wick, and  his  approach  to  the  rear  of  Lee,  should  have 
been  the  signal  to  us  for  a  redoubling  of  efforts,  the 
decisive  moment  to  throw  the  First  Corps  on  the  flank 
of  Stuart,  with  the  Fifth  and  the  Eleventh  Corps  strike 
the  centre  of  Lee,  weakened  by  the  loss  of  the  troops  he 
had  been  compelled  to  send  against  the  Sixth  Corps, 
and  crush  these  forces  between  the  two  mills  of  iron  and 
fire.  Everything  could  yet  have  been  saved  ;  but  all 
was  lost.  Hooker  was  no  longer  Hooker.  The  blow 
of  the  miserable  piece  of  wood  which  had  stretched  him 
senseless  across  the  sill  of  the  Chancellorsville  house 
had  left  him  completely  shattered,  and  as  though  there 
was  a  cloud  over  his  faculties. 

When  General  Warren,  arriving  from  Salem,  where 
he  had  assisted  in  the  fight,  came  to  report  to  Hooker, 
and  asked  him  if  there  were  any  instructions  to  send  to 
Sedgwick,  Hooker  replied,  "  None." 


468       FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

However,  the  Sixth  Corps  could  not  be  left  there  in 
danger  of  being  cut  in  pieces  without  a  knowledge  of 
the  state  of  affairs.  Warren  took  upon  himself  to 
write  to  Sedgwick  :  "  We  have  drawn  our  lines  in  some- 
what, and  repulsed  the  last  assault  easily.  General 
Hooker  wishes  that  the  Confederates  would  attack  him 
to-morrow,  if  they  so  desire.  He  does  not  wish  you  to 
attack  them  as  yet  in  force,  unless  he  attacks  at  the 
same  time.  He  says  that  you  are  too  far  from  him  for 
him  to  direct  your  movements.  Look  well  to  the 
safety  of  your  corps,  and  keep  your  communications 
open  with  General  Benham  at  Banks  Ford,  and  with 
Fredericksburg.  You  may  retire  on  either  point,  if 
you  think  it  better  to  cross  the  river.  Banks  Ford 
would  bring  you  within  supporting  distance  of  the  rest 
of  the  army,  and  would  be  preferable  to  a  retreat  on 
Fredericksburg." 

But  when  Sedgwick  received  that  despatch  (on  the 
4th)  he  had  no  longer  any  choice.  Early  advanced 
from  the  direction  of  Fredericksburg,  reenforced  by  the 
troops  which  Lee,  left  free  by  Hooker's  inaction,  had 
sent  to  envelop  the  Sixth  Corps.  Threatened  from  two 
sides  at  once,  Sedgwick  was  compelled  to  fight  in  a 
disadvantageous  position.  Howe's  division,  attacked 
from  the  direction  of  the  river,  defends  itself  vigo- 
rously, facing  to  the  rear.  After  giving  way  a  moment 
on  the  left,  it  gains  the  advantage,  and  ends  by  de- 
cidedly repelling  the  enemy,  while,  from  the  direction 
of  the  road,  Brooks  holds  his  position  without  much 
difificulty. 

And,  during  that  whole  afternoon,  we  heard  the 
cannon  roaring  without  stirring  ourselves,  or  even  mak- 
ing any  pretence  of  moving.  Did  Hooker,  with  six 
army  corps,  expect  that  Sedgwick,  with  seventeen  or 
eighteen   thousand    men,    was    coming    to  deliver  him 


CHANCELLORSVILLE.  469 

from  the  false  position  in  which  he  had  placed  himself? 
Or,  rather,  did  he  have  any  other  idea  than  that  of  re- 
crossing  the  Rappahannock  without  further  fighting-? 

As  soon  as  night  came  on,  Sedgwick  took  advantage 
of  it  to  draw  back  his  three  divisions  on  Banks  Ford,  and 
the  morning's  sun  found  the  Sixth  Corps  safe  and 
sound  on  the  left  bank  of  the  river.  Perhaps  Lee, 
freed  from  all  embarrassment  in  that  direction,  would 
have  tried  a  general  attack  on  us,  with  his  whole  force, 
if  a  rain  in  torrents,  which  came  on  in  the  afternoon, 
had  not  forcibly  delayed  his  preparations  until  the 
following  day.  But  Hooker  did  not  wait  for  the  attack 
which  he  had  desired  the  evening  before.  In  the  night 
of  the  5th  the  whole  army  recrossed  the  river,  without 
hindrance,  and,  for  the  second  time  in  five  months, 
returned  beaten  to  its  encampment. 

The  victory  cost  the  enemy  only  thirteen  thousand 
men  ;  defeat  cost  us  seventeen  thousand.  The  Third 
Corps  and  the  Sixth,  together,  bore  half  the  loss.  The 
other  half  vi^as  shared  principally  between  the  Second, 
the  Eleventh,  and  the  Twelfth.  As  to  the  First  and 
Fifth,  they  lost  enough  only  to  mention  it. 

Except  the  small  force  commanded  by  General 
Pleasonton,  the  cavalry  had  poorly  performed  its  mis- 
sion. Stoneman  had  scattered  his  column  in  every 
direction,  without  any  appreciable  result,  except  a  lively 
alarm  in  the  neighborhood  of  Richmond.  Averill  had 
not  led  his  troops  further  than  the  Rapidan. 

So  that  we  were  completely  beaten — beaten  on 
account  of  the  general-in-chief,  who,  after  having  pre- 
pared for  his  army  the  best  opportunity  for  being 
victorious  which  it  had  ever  had,  threw  to  the  winds  all 
his  advantage.  For  one  moment  he  had  held  the  enemy 
in  his  hand;  he  had  only,  so  to  speak,  to  stretch  it 
forth,  to  crush  him  ;  and  he  had  not  only  allowed  the 


470       FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

enemy  to  escape,  but  had  delivered  himself  up  to  him, 
by  falling  backward  in  such  a  manner  as  to  paralyze  his 
own  movements.  By  one  fault  after  another,  and  one 
error  after  another,  he  lost  the  opportunity  to  repossess 
himself  of  fortune's  favors,  and  condemned  one-half  of 
his  army  to  a  fatal  inaction,  even  to  the  humiliating  ex- 
tremity of  escaping  by  night  from  a  position  yet  for- 
midable, before  forces  decidedly  inferior  to  his  own. 

"  Heu  nihil  invitis  fas  quemquam  fidere  divis  ! " 


CHAPTER   XXII. 

INVASION  OF  PENNSYLVANIA. 

Position  of  Hooker  after  Chancellorsville  —  The  Presideni's  letter  — 
Lee's  army  in  motion  —  March  on  Manassas  and  Centreville  —  Gue- 
rillas —  Cavalry  engagements  —  Entrance  into  Maryland  —  Welcome 
by  the  people — The  enemy  in  Pennsylvania — Hooker  relieved  of 
his  command — Meade  appointed  general  commanding — Convent 
of  St.  Joseph  at  Emmittsburg — Bloody  contest  near  Gettysburg  — 
Death  of  General  Reynolds  —  Report  of  General  Hancock  —  Concen- 
tration of  the  two  armies. 

After  the  battle  of  Chancellorsville,  the  position  of 
General  Hooker  became  very  difficult.  Already  re- 
duced by  seventeen  thousand  men,  his  army  lost, 
besides,  the  regiments  whose  terms  expired  at  that  time. 
At  the  end  of  the  month  he  had  only  about  eighty 
thousand  men  in  his  command.  The  enemy,  on  the 
contrary,  was  strongly  reenforced.  The  corps  of  Long- 
street  had  returned  from  the  south  of  Virginia,  and  new 
troops  had  been  sent  to  Lee,  who  now  found  his  forces 
superior  or  at  least  equal  to  those  of  his  adversary. 

The  same  change  had  been  wrought  in  the  morale  of 
the  two  armies.  The  Confederates,  exalted  by  victory, 
full  of  confidence  in  themselves  and  in  their  generals, 
were  ready  to  march  to  new  triumphs  with  an  enthusiasm 
which  corresponded  with  the  unanimity  of  opinions  in 
the  South.  Our  soldiers,  humiliated  by  defeat,  shaken 
in  their  confidence  in  themselves  and  in  their  com- 
mander, were  depressed  by  the  divisions  they  suspected 
to  exist  amongst  their  generals,  and  by  those  which  the 
Copperhead  party  fomented  with  zeal  in  the  Northern 
States. 

471 


472       FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

The  good  feeling  between  the  different  corps  was 
sensibly  weakened.  The  Eleventh  was  the  object  of  a 
general  hue  and  cry,  nobody  stopping  to  ask  if  the  con- 
dition in  which  Jackson's  attack  had  surprised  them 
did  not  offer  some  extenuating  circumstances  in  its 
favor.  Those  who  had  suffered  the  most  were  not  far 
from  reproaching  the  others  for  the  inaction  to  which 
they  had  been  condemned  ;  so  quickly  does  injustice 
germinate  in  adversity.  Finally,  the  Sixth  Corps  was 
keenly  wounded  in  seeing  its  fine  conduct  and  its  rough 
battles  of  two  days'  duration  systematically  depreciated, 
with  the  object  of  throwing  upon  its  commander  the 
responsibility  of  a  defeat  which  was  not  his  work. 

Materially,  numerous  details  of  reorganization  had  to 
be  effected.  The  artillery  was  found  to  be  out  of  all 
proportion  with  the  infantry  ;  the  cavalry,  on  the  con- 
trary, had  lost  more  than  half  its  effective  force,  without 
profit  and  without  glory.  Pleasonton,  who  replaced 
Stoneman  in  the  command,  could  not  find  five  thousand 
men  fit  for  service.  To  sum  up,  Hooker  was  in  no  con- 
dition to  undertake  anything,  at  least  for  some  time. 
His  position  was  perfectly  characterized  in  a  despatch 
of  the  President,  dated  May  14  :  — 

"  When  I  wrote  you  on  the  7th,  I  was  under  the  im- 
pression that  perhaps  by  a  prompt  movement  you 
might  be  able  to  draw  some  advantage  from  the  sup- 
posed state  of  affairs  ;  that  the  communications  of  the 
enemy  were  broken,  and  that  his  position  would  be 
found  somewhat  injured.  Now,  that  idea  has  vanished 
since  the  enemy  has  reestablished  his  communications, 
retaken  his  position,  and  received  reenforcements.  It 
no  longer  appears  probable  to  me  that  you  can  gain 
anything  by  renewing  the  attempt  to  cross  the  Rappa- 
hannock. I  will  make  no  complaint  if  for  some  time 
you  do  nothing  more  than  hold  the  enemy  in  check  by 


INVASION    OF    PENNSYLVANIA.  473 

demonstrations,  and  occasionally  by  some  cavalry  ex- 
peditions, if  they  are  practicable,  while  you  are  getting 
your  army  in  good  condition. 

"  However,  if  you  clearly  think  that  you  can  renew 
the  attack  with  success,  I  will  not  hinder  you.  On 
this  point,  I  ought  to  tell  you  that  I  have  received, 
with  much  regret,  information  that  many  of  your  corps 
and  division  commanders  do  not  give  you  their  entire 
confidence.  This  would  be  ruinous,  if  true,  and  you 
ought,  above  everything,  to  assure  yourself  how  this  is, 
so  as  to  have  no  doubt  on  the  subject." 

Reviews  began  again.  In  our  division  a  solemn  dis- 
tribution of  the  Kearney  cross  was  made  to  the  soldiers 
and  non-commissioned  officers  who  had  distinguished 
themselves  the  most  during  the  war,  in  remembrance 
of  the  general  whose  name  Jiad  remained  the  most  pop- 
ular in  our  ranks.  Many  regiments  received  new  flags 
from  their  States  ;  but  nothing  of  all  this  effaced  the 
grievous  memory  of  an  inexcusable  defeat.  What  the 
army  needed  to  renew  its  moral  vigor  and  its  material 
power  was  neither  vain  orders  of  the  day,  where,  through 
the  empty  sounding  phrases,  it  clearly  distinguished  the 
entire  want  of  exactness  in  the  allegations  ;  nor  useless 
reviews,  where  it  noted  principally  the  vacancies  made 
in  its  ranks  at  Chancellorsville  ;  nor  sterile  demonstra- 
tions below  Fredericksburg,  where  the  renewed  passage 
of  the  river  by  the  Sixth  Corps  seemed  a  pleasantry 
much  too  prolonged.  The  remedy  necessary  to  restore 
its  tone  was  a  direct  offensive  taken  by  the  enemy, 
above  all  an  invasion  of  Maryland,  menacing  Washing- 
ton and  transferring  operations  to  the  soil  of  the  free 
States.  This  was  the  method  by  which  Lee,  rather 
than  Hooker,  succeeded  in  restoring  to  us  our  morale. 

On  the  2d  of  June,  the  Thirty-eighth,  having  reached 
the  term  of  its  engagement,  left  the  army,  to  return  to 


474       FOUR   YEARS    WITH    THE    ROTOMAC   ARMY. 

New  York,  where  it  would  be  discharged.  The  men 
coming  from  the  Fifty-fifth  were  transferred  to  the 
Fortieth,  and  I  was  definitely  assigned  to  the  command 
of  the  Third  Brigade,  the  one  I  had  commanded  for  a 
short  time,  six  months  before.  It  had  but  four  regi- 
ments :  the  Third  and  Fifth  Michigan,  the  Seventeenth 
Maine,  and  the  Fortieth  New  York.  The  latter, 
formed  of  the  remains  of  six  different  organizations, 
reached  at  least  the  maximum  of  the  regimental 
strength.  Whipple's  division  had  lost  its  general, 
killed  at  Chancellorsville  ;  and,  being  greatly  reduced 
in  strength,  was  consolidated  with  the  two  others.  I 
thus  received  the  addition  of  the  One  Hundred  and 
Tenth  Pennsylvania  to  my  brigade.  For  the  campaign 
then  commencing,  the  Third  Corps  had  but  two  divis- 
ions :  the  first  commanded  by  General  Birney  ;  the 
second  by  General  Humphreys. 

It  was  one  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  of  June  1 1  that 
the  Third  Corps  received  the  order  to  march  at  once. 
At  two  o'clock  we  were  under  way. 

The  general  commanding  was  henceforth  relieved 
from  all  uncertainty.  The  evening  before,  our  cavalry, 
having  crossed  the  Rappahannock,  had  encountered 
the  enemy's  cavalry.  A  very  lively  engagement  had  en- 
sued, the  result  of  which  had  been  to  reveal  to  us  Lee's 
presence  at  Culpeper  with  Longstreet's  corps.  That 
of  Jackson,  now  commanded  by  General  Ewell,  had 
taken  the  advance  towards  the  Shenandoah  valley. 
There  remained  at  Fredericksburg  only  Hill's  corps, 
waiting  to  move  in  its  turn,  when  the  Army  of  the 
Potomac  had  left  its  position  to  oppose  the  menacing 
movements  which  were  developing  elsewhere.  He 
did  not  have  to  wait  long. 

Hooker's  first  duty,  in  fact  the  only  imperative 
instruction  which  he  had   received  from  the  President 


INVASION    OF    PENNSYLVANIA.  475 

and  from  General  Halleck,  was,  above  all,  to  cover 
Washington  and  to  protect  Harper's  Ferry.  With 
this  end  he  put  a  part  of  his  forces  in  echelon  to  guard 
the  line  of  the  Rappahannock,  and  defend  the  fords, 
while  with  the  rest  he  fell  back  on  Manassas,  along  the 
Orange  &  Alexandria  Railroad.  But  the  enemy  did 
not  care  to  cross  the  Rappahannock.  He  continued 
his  march  towards  the  northwest,  by  way  of  the  Shen- 
andoah valley.  Covering  his  right  flank  by  the  Blue 
Ridge,  whose  passes  he  occupied  by  his  cavalry,  he 
did  not  delay  his  advance  on  Winchester,  where  the 
garrison  commanded  by  General  Milroy  made  very 
slight  opposition  to  his  movements.  A  large  part  of 
them  were  left  prisoners  in  his  hands.  Seven  hundred 
men  detached  to  Berryville  had  the  same  fate  ;  the 
troops  occupying  Martinsburg  fell  back  in  haste  on 
Harper's  Ferry,  and  nothing  was  left  to  oppose  the 
entrance  of  the  Confederates  into  Maryland. 

While  these  things  were  going  on,  Hooker  regulated 
his  movements  by  those  of  Lee.  The  long,  fine  days 
had  returned.  We  passed  through  a  country  ruined  by 
the  war,  devastated  by  the  hand  of  man,  but  to  which 
the  springtime  brought  back  life  and  youth.  If  we 
halted  near  any  house,  generally  on  the  rounded  sum- 
mit of  a  hill,  we  found  the  dwelling  abandoned  and 
sacked.  No  doors,  no  windows,  no  furniture  ;  the 
lawns  cut  to  pieces  by  the  wheels  of  the  trains  or  of 
the  artillery  ;  the  flower-beds  polluted  by  dirty  refuse  ; 
remnants  of  the  huts  which  had  been  used  for  tent 
supports  ;  but  everywhere  eternal  Nature,  smiling  in 
her  new  dress,  sowed  the  ruins  with  flowers,  always 
ready  to  repair  the  evil,  in  the  inexhaustible  fertility  of 
her  transformations. 

If  we  had  now  to  suffer,  it  was  no  longer  from  the 
cold  or  the  mud,  but  from  the  heat  and  the  dust.      We 


4/6       FOUR   YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

left  the  banks  of  the  Rappahannock  to  follow  the  rail- 
road by  the  stations  of  Bealton  and  Catlett,  where  we 
camped.  On  the  15th,  we  marched  by  Manassas.  It 
was  a  terrible  day,  under  a  burning  sun,  through  a 
choking  dust.  We  passed  through  great  plains,  sprin- 
kled here  and  there  with  low  thickets.  Not  a  tree  to 
shade  us  ;  and  when  we  halted  to  allow  the  men  in  the 
ranks  to  take  breath,  and  the  stragglers  to  catch  up,  it 
was  in  open  sunshine,  and  near  some  small  brooklet 
with  water  warm  and  muddy. 

Sunstrokes  were  numerous  ;  suffocations  more  numer- 
ous yet.  There  were  not  enough  ambulances  to  pick 
up  those  dropping  along  the  road  behind  our  columns, 
poor  fellows  struck  down  by  these  first  summer  heats. 
Nevertheless,  we  had  to  march.  At  Bristoe  Station, 
at  last,  we  found  shade  and  water,  on  the  banks  of 
Broad  Run.  A  part  of  those  who  had  fallen  behind 
came  up  to  us  there,  and,  rested  and  refreshed,  we 
joined  the  Sixth  Corps  at  Manassas  Junction,  about 
four  o'clock  in  the  afternoon. 

At  nine  o'clock  at  night  I  received  orders  to  march 
with  my  brigade  to  Bull  Run,  at  the  point  where  the 
railroad  bridge  had  long  before  been  burnt.  The  night 
was  dark,  but  the  position  was  recognized  without  dif- 
ficulty, by  the  earthworks  which  still  remained,  by  the 
burnt  piles  which  yet  appeared  above  the  water,  and  by 
the  line  of  intrenchments,  behind  which  I  disposed  my 
regiments.  This  was  the  position  in  which,  on  the 
2 1  St  of  July,  1 86 1,  the  right  of  Beauregard's  army  had 
awaited  the  attack  of  McDowell  on  that  Sunday  which 
was  made  memorable  by  the  first  disaster  of  the  Army 
of  the  Potomac. 

The  next  day  was  passed  in  that  charming  spot, 
which  I  recommend  to  all  artists  in  search  of  a  fine 
object  for  study.     The  little  river,  at  that  point,  curves 


INVASION    OF    PENNSYLVANIA. 


477 


around  a  steep  slope.  In  that  space,  shaded  by  mag- 
nificent trees,  covered  with  wild  vines,  carpeted  with 
thick  turf,  the  most  picturesque  subjects  are  to  be 
found  on  all  sides.  The  light  played  through  the  foli- 
age ;  the  shade  was  strongly  marked  ;  the  heavens  and 
the  trees  were  reflected  in  the  transparent  water.  In 
contact  with  that  delightful  nature  one  would  prefer 
having,  at  least,  only  a  palette  and  brush  ;  guns  sketch 
only  in  red. 

On  the  17th  we  camped  on  the  plain  before  Centre- 
ville.  From  that  point  we  drew  near  the  mountains 
which  separated  us  from  the  enemy.  Near  Gum 
Spring,  where  we  remained  five  days,  the  country  is 
very  fine,  and  particularly  favorable  to  the  raising  of 
horses  and  cattle.  Here  we  found  no  longer  pines,  but 
great  oaks  and  verdant  meadows,  watered  by  brooks 
running  in  the  hollows. 

What  spoiled  the  beauty  of  the  landscape  for  us  was 
the  abundance  of  guerillas,  who  swarmed  through  the 
whole  country.  It  was  not  possible  to  forage  for  pro- 
visions of  any  kind  except  by  armed  squads.  Quite  a 
number  of  soldiers  and  two  officers  were  carried  off 
while  wandering  around  alone.  A  party  of  these  ma- 
rauders even  had  the  impudence  to  attack  our  wagons 
within  two  or  three  miles  of  camp,  much  to  their  dis- 
comfiture, however.  They  were  immediately  charged 
upon,  pursued,  and  dispersed  by  a  detachment  of  cav- 
alry. This  was  not  enough.  We  ought  to  have  hanged 
all  of  them  who  fell  into  our  hands. 

On  the  2 1  St,  there  was  an  engagement  at  Aldie,  in 
our  vicinity.  We  heard  the  cannon  thundering  away 
during  part  of  the  day,  without  knowing  what  was  going 
on. 

It  was  Pleasonton,  who,  for  the  second  time  in  three 
days,  whipped  the  enemy's  cavalry.     Already,  on  the 


478       FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

19th,  General  Gregg,  commanding  a  brigade,  had  dis- 
lodged the  advanced  forces  of  Stuart  from  their  posi- 
tion at  Aldie  and  forced  them  to  fall  back  beyond 
Middleburg.  But  the  first  engagement  had  only  shown 
what  Lee's  movements  were  ;  a  second  might,  perhaps, 
produce  more  important  results.  A  division  of  the 
Fifth  Corps  was  put  under  General  Pleasonton's  orders, 
who,  leaving  two  brigades  at  Middleburg,  took  with  him 
only  the  third  to  support  and  reenforce  his  cavalry.  On 
the  2 1st,  the  enemy  was  attacked  with  great  vigor, 
beaten,  and  pursued  through  Upperville  to  Ashby's 
Gap  in  the  Blue  Ridge.  There  our  force  had  to  stop 
the  pursuit  before  the  artillery  and  intrenchments 
which   defended  the   pass. 

In  that  brilliant  affair  Pleasonton  captured  two  guns, 
three  caissons,  and  a  number  of  rebel  cavalry,  among 
them  eight  or  ten  officers.  Stuart's  loss,  besides,  was 
considerable  in  killed  and  wounded  left  by  him  on  the 
ground  at  Upperville.  We  thus  learned  that  the  ene- 
my had  only  cavalry  in  Loudon  valley.  His  infantry 
continued  its  march  on  the  other  side  of  the  mountains 
towards  Maryland. 

On  the  25th,  the  two  corps  of  Hill  and  Longstreet 
crossed  the  Potomac  at  Williamsport.  Ewell's  corps 
had  crossed  before  them,  and,  preceded  by  Imboden's 
cavalry,  had  pushed  on  to  Chambersburg  in  Pennsyl- 
vania. The  same  day,  our  army,  by  a  parallel  move- 
ment, crossed  to  the  left  bank  of  the  Potomac  at  Ed- 
ward's Ferry.  The  field  of  hostilities  was  thus,  for  the 
second  time,  transferred  to  the  free  States.  The  Antie- 
tam  trial  was  to  be  made  over  again  ;  but  this  time  it 
was  to  be  much  more  decisive. 

Fourteen  hours  of  forced  march  brought  us  to  the 
Monocacy  River,  where,  without  shelter,  without  supper, 
in  a  driving  rain,  we  slept  in  the  mud  that  sound  sleep 


INVASION    OF    PENNSYLVANIA.  479 

which  is  known  only  to  soldiers  worn  with  fatio-ue. 
Near  us  was  the  same  aqueduct  which  I  had  been 
ordered  to  defend  with  the  Fifty-fifth  during  the  first 
invasion  of  Maryland.  We  crossed  it  the  next  morn- 
ing on  the  footpath,  which  runs  along  the  canal  without 
any  protecting  rail,  while  the  artillery  and  the  wagons 
passed  over  the  river  at  a  ford  below  us.  We  marched 
towards  the  enemy  at  Point  of  Rocks,  Jefferson,  and 
Middletown,  where  we  arrived  on  the  evening  of  the 
27th.  From  there  we  turned  back  at  a  sharp  angle  to 
reach  Frederick,  and  thence  north  to  Taneytown. 

In  these  small  villages  we  marched  by  columns  of 
companies,  music  at  the  head  and  flags  flying.  The 
national  colors  were  in  all  the  windows  ;  cheers  saluted 
our  passage.  This  part  of  upper  Maryland  was  loyally 
faithful  to  the  cause  of  the  Union,  differing  in  that  from 
the  rest  of  the  State,  which  remained  with  it  only  from 
necessity.  In  Baltimore  they  regarded  us  as  enemies  ; 
here  we  were  welcomed  as  liberators.  At  Frederick 
our  march  was  almost  triumphal.  All  the  houses  were 
draped  ;  all  the  women  were  at  the  windows,  waving 
their  handkerchiefs  ;  all  the  men  were  at  their  doors, 
waving  their  hats. 

In  the  middle  of  the  principal  street  a  pretty  child, 
ten  or  twelve  years  of  age,  left  a  group  collected  on  the 
sill  of  a  house  of  modest  appearance.  Her  mother  had 
just  given  her  a  large  bouquet,  pointing  me  out  with 
her  hand.  The  little  girl  came  bravely  forward  in  front 
of  the  horses,  holding  towards  me  her  little  arms,  full  of 
flowers.  I  leaned  from  my  saddle  to  receive  the  fra- 
grant present.  And  she  said,  with  a  rosy  smile  : 
"  Good  luck  to  you,  general !  "  I  thanked  her  to  the 
best  of  my  ability.  I  would  have  liked  to  have  em- 
braced the  little  messenger  with  her  happy  wishes  ; 
but  the  march  could  not  halt  for  so  small  an   affair. 


480       FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

When  she  rejoined  her  family,  running  along,  I  turned 
to  kiss  my  hand  to  her  in  adieu.  She  nodded  her  head, 
and,  blushing,  hid  it  in  her  mother's  bosom.  "  Well  !  " 
said  I,  riding  on,  "  that  little  girl  ought  to  bring  me 
good  fortune." 

These  encouragements  cheered  our  hearts.  They 
were  as  the  voice  of  our  country,  of  our  common 
mother  calling  on  us  to  defend  her.  Here  we  were 
amongst  our  own  people.  In  talking  of  the  Confeder- 
ates, the  inhabitants  said,  "the  enemy,"  or  "the  rebels." 
It  was  not  as  in  Virginia,  where  they  said,  "our  men," 
"  our  army,"  thus  identifying  themselves  with  our 
adversaries.  So  that,  on  crossing  the  Potomac,  the 
army  appeared  to  be  morally  transformed.  A  generous 
indignation  caused  all  patriotic  chords  to  vibrate.  What ! 
Had  the  troopers  of  a  Jenkins  penetrated  into  Pennsyl- 
vania, entered  Chambersburg,  and  levied  contributions 
on  the  country,  picking  up  all  the  horses  and  all  the 
cattle  that  they  could  find  !  And  the  cowardly  farm- 
ers, the  timorous  militia,  instead  of  defending  them- 
selves, could  do  no  better  than  run  away,  like  a  flock 
of  sheep  before  a  band  of  wolves.  Ours  the  duty  to  do 
justice  to  these  hordes  of  gray-jackets  ;  ours  the  task 
to  drive  them  back  into  their  land  of  slaves  :  — 

"  Qu'un  sang  impur  abreuve  nos  sillons  !  " 

Such  were  the  feelings  of  the  army.  We  were  no 
longer  the  defeated  of  yesterday;  we  felt  ourselves 
predestined  conquerors  of  the  morrow.  We  were  on 
the  road  to  Gettysburg. 

At  Frederick,  General  Sickles  rejoined  us,  and 
resumed  command  of  the  Third  Corps,  left,  in  his 
absence,  to  General  Birney. 

The  country  was  of  a  splendid  richness.  What  a 
contrast  to  the  one  we  had  just  left!     The   crops  were 


INVASION    OF    PENNSYLVANIA.  48 1 

ripening  in  the  sunshine,  covering  the  fields  with  their 
golden  ears.  The  fences  were  still  standing  around 
the  yellow  wheat  and  the  green  clover.  We  left  them 
standing,  except  on  the  borders  of  the  woods  or  on  the 
edge  of  the  uncultivated  fields.  The  roads  were  gen- 
erally in  good  condition,  excellent  compared  to  the 
Virginia  mud-holes. 

But,  while  we  were  marching  on  pleasant  and  flow- 
ery roads,  the  general  commanding  found  under  his 
feet  a  thorny  path.  From  the  time  when  he  had  put 
his  army  in  motion.  Hooker  had  clashed  continually 
with  headquarters,  Halleck  and  he  had  never  been  on 
very  good  terms,  so  that,  when  he  took  the  command 
of  the  Army  of  the  Potomac,  he  had  asked  the  Presi- 
dent to  interpose  to  sustain  him  against  a  hostility 
which  had  been  manifested  on  two  occasions  before,  in 
reference  to  his  nomination.  Things  went  along  in 
this  way  as  best  they  could,  until  the  battle  of  Chancel- 
lorsville,  although  at  army  headquarters  they  had  the 
idea  that  it  was  enough  for  Hooker  to  recommend  a 
measure  for  Halleck  to  oppose  it.  A  victory  would 
have  given  the  predominance  to  the  first  ;  a  defeat 
turned  the  balance  in  favor  of  the  second. 

From  this  time  on,  their  respective  communications 
showed  the  existing  antagonism,  which  the  sharpness 
of  style  did  not  tend  to  diminish.  Hooker  corre- 
sponded directly  with  the  President  and  the  Secretary 
of  War.  Halleck  took  offence  at  this,  and  the  quarrel 
became  more  envenomed  on  all  questions  :  in  respect 
to  instructions  solicited  from  the  President  in  regard  to 
military  operations ;  in  reference  to  engineer  officers 
withdrawn  from  the  Army  of  the  Potomac,  to  be  sent 
elsewhere  ;  in  reference  to  reenforcements  of  cavalry 
asked  for  and  refused  ;  in  reference  to  infantry  cooper- 
ations thought  necessary  on  one  side  and  useless  or  im- 


482       FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

practicable  on  the  other  ;  and,  above  all,  in  reference 
to  the  defence  of  Harper's  Ferry,  which  in  Halleck's 
eyes  was  a  point  of  vital  interest  to  protect,  while  in 
Hooker's  opinion  it  was  a  position  to  be  evacuated  as 
of  small  importance. 

Between  the  one  pulling  one  way  and  the  other 
pulling  the  other,  the  President  finally  found  the  task 
too  hard  to  endure,  and  on  the  i6th  of  June  he  wrote 
to  General  Hooker:  — 

"  In  order  to  prevent  all  misunderstanding,  I  now 
place  you,  in  regard  to  General  Halleck,  in  the  strict 
military  relation  of  a  commander  of  one  of  the  armies 
towards  the  commander-in-chief  of  all  the  armies.  I 
never  had  any  other  intention  ;  but,  as  it  seems  that  the 
matter  has  been  understood  differently,  I  enjoin  as 
follows  :  It  is  his  duty  to  give  orders,  and  yours  to 
obey  them." 

Hooker  had  lost  the  game.  On  the  26th,  in  the 
morning,  he  wrote  to  General  Halleck  to  ask  authority 
to  withdraw  the  troops  stationed  on  Maryland  Heights, 
above  Harper's  Ferry,  who  could  be  much  more  use- 
fully employed  in  his  army.  The  reply  was,  as  might 
have  been  expected,  that  Maryland  Heights  had  always 
been  regarded  as  a  point  important  to  our  side  to 
retain  ;  that  great  expense  had  been  incurred  and  great 
works  made  to  fortify  them  ;  and  that  the  commander- 
in-chief  (Halleck)  could  not  consent  to  abandon  them 
except  in  case  of  absolute  necessity. 

The  next  day,  Hooker,  pushed  to  the  wall,  spoke  out 
plainly.      He  wrote:  — 

"  I  received  your  telegram  in  regard  to  Harper's 
Ferry.  I  find  there  ten  thousand  men  fit  for  duty. 
There  they  are  of  no  use.  They  cannot  defend  the 
river  ford,  and,  as  far  as  concerns  Harper's  Ferry,  they 
are  worse  than  useless.     As  to  the  fortifications  made 


INVASION    OF    PENNSYLVANIA.  483 

by  the  troops,  they  will  remain  where  they  are  if  the 
troops  are  withdrawn.  No  enemy  will  take  possession 
of  them  for  themselves.  Such  is  my  opinion.  All  the 
public  property  could  have  been  brought  away  to-night, 
and  the  garrison  taken  where  it  could  render  some 
service.  Now  it  is  only  a  mouthful  for  the  enemy  if 
they  return.  I  ask  that  this  despatch  may  be  shown  to 
the  Secretary  of  War  and  to  the  President." 

Then,  a  few  hours  later  :  — 

"  My  first  instructions  order  me  to  cover  Harper's 
Ferry  and  Washington.  Now  the  additional  duty  is 
imposed  upon  me  to  fight  an  enemy  whose  forces  on 
my  front  are  superior  to  mine.  I  respectfully  but 
firmly  ask  that  it  may  be  understood  that  I  am  not 
able  to  fulfil  that  condition  with  the  means  at  my  dis- 
posal, and  I  ask  to  be  instantly  relieved  from  the  posi- 
tion I  am  occupying." 

General  Hooker  was  taken  at  his  word,  and  the 
next  morning,  June  28,  the  order  was  received  which 
appointed  General  George  G.  Meade  general  command- 
ing in  his  place. 

What  struck  the  army  the  most  in  this  sudden  meas- 
ure was  its  inopportuneness,  in  the  midst  of  decisive 
operations,  and  on  the  eve  of  a  battle  whose  result 
would  probably  determine  that  of  the  war.  Every  one 
was  astonished  that,  for  the  second  time,  the  govern- 
ment was  so  completely  wanting  in  what  was  suitable  or 
advisable  in  an  act  of  such  importance,  and  what  was 
said  relative  to  McClellan  was  repeated  as  to  Hooker. 
However,  this  time  there  was  no  delay  or  halt.  No 
order  was  countermanded,  no  movement  suspended. 
Each  corps  continued  its  march  as  if  nothing  new  had 
occurred  at  headquarters.  The  army  had  changed  its 
chief  as  a  train  on  a  railroad  changes  its  conductor 
—  while  on  the  road. 


4S4   FOUR  YEARS  WITH  THE  RHOMAC  ARMY. 

One  remark,  however.  As  soon  as  Meade  had  taken 
the  command,  the  ten  thousand  men  stationed  at  Har- 
per's Ferry,  and  peremptorily  refused  to  Hooker,  were 
promptly  put  under  the  orders  of  his  successor.  It  was 
impossible  for  General  Halleck  to  proclaim  more  for- 
cibly the  personal  motives  which  had  dictated  his  action 
in  this  affair. 

On  the  29th,  we  passed  through  Middleburg,  where 
the  army  headquarters  were  at  that  time,  and  Taney- 
town,  where  we  turned  to  the  left,  to  camp  on  the  road 
to  Emmittsburg,  a  small  village  near  which  we  passed 
the  night  of  the  next  day. 

Now  we  come  to  the  ist  of  July.  We  started  out  on 
our  march  early  in  the  morning,  but  there  was  a  delay 
of  some  hours.  Then  it  was  announced  that  we  were 
about  to  fall  back  on  Middleburg,  and  the  troops  began 
to  move  in  that  direction  when  the  movement  was  sud- 
denly stopped  by  the  arrival  of  a  despatch.  General 
Howard  sent  from  Gettysburg  the  information  that  the 
First  and  the  Eleventh  Corps  had  been  severely  en- 
gaged since  morning,  against  superior  forces ;  that 
General  Reynolds,  commanding  the  left  wing,  had  been 
killed,  and  it  was  of  the  greatest  importance  that  Gen- 
eral Sickles  should  bring  forward,  as  quickly  as  possible, 
whatever  troops  he  had  available.  The  appeal  was  so 
pressing  that  the  submitting  it  to  the  decision  of  the 
commanding  general  was  not  to  be  thought  of.  It  was 
a  responsibility  to  be  taken  immediately.  Sickles  did 
not  hesitate.  Leaving  two  brigades  and  two  batteries 
at  Emmittsburg,  he  departed  with  his  two  di\'isions  for 
Gettvsburg.  The  brigades  left  behind  were  mine  and 
the  New  Jersey  brigade,  commanded  by  Colonel  Bur- 
Hng,  in  the  absence  of  General  Mott,  wounded  at  Chan- 
cellorsville. 

Burlins:  was  at  one  side  of  the  village,  and  I  at  the 


iiiiWHWifffTEgnns  im  t&ne  (Srectacm.  (st  t^ae  eniHiDm     Oaar  mim^ :  imr- 
tnons  "were  t©  laoiM  t-ltrig-iiy   jit  2ZI  iszxrfs.  xJ2z    ' 
CfOTT  t  mil'  iiiimm^  Tmii(!)HkH."iimig°mtf  axjT''.TS.r   tifS   ~r'i^'~    tt   \_  -^    _       •; 

CQEps  aRganmnMtai  ait  Genrrsbicr^-  1^^.~^  rme  {^s^Dn-sei  imis 
ly^iiiHK'anits  acccr::^"  :  -  r.  rn  c^s-t         - 

iiiiiiiaTili riling  cbl    tile    T"  -     .: ._-.    lie    c: 

iipaB  vne  fey  Turtiie  cc  seni'irirr-  C-cwic  t    2  ./    ;  _ 

to  cODBSOnQt   urtTT    ~  .  '1    sH  tsae   g'r:)imr;.iT7i;^-'tr>iT:»r::ie'>    L'J   a? 

pffTwified:  2gii--" 

lircr^  IS  i  — .   .  .   .  :  in  r- ..i im  i nm' '  ^I'^CTTT^,  in'ilti  tt  : 

2$  coELnaTDsd  i  5C2j:*:i.  :rrr  jT>Tr"!g  la.-fftes.  -w^ari  ly;?^  2.  r?r- 

iiiir  ■^''  i-irrr    aCt^THZHO:   irr7>'X:£~i  TCI   ISr    XT"  ":"      ~";':" 

Sane.     I  liesve-  at  :.  pess  5:  ■    :  . 

Biiot  cscntesi.  Gnt  =■: .     _      _-   rms  >    .       _    -      . ' 

..  ^__  ever  inrixi —  —  - -    ._  — :  —     :.:'. 

"W^asi  I  5xrfvsii  22  s.  ^  i^^v^  211  xtvEIj';  ic  tSa?  inm  _■  .  .^ 
door,  tbe  0':^  '  ^    wiiC'  ^ad  T-siarnred  x   : ; 

cwnt^oe.  oncii- -  5.  iier  Bg^a.::.      Le  3aesr  tr__.  _ ..  

canme  mesr  "fc^ac  r~s3r.rue-i  imaer  lOPC  t^  tSae  ijrrses-  're 
ETT  *j-»iff,  -TftiHff  ssse  Tt'isc  iEi^  tsism  fiar  tie  ihrrses  <:£ 
tbe ---- -■~'— - ;  —  ■■  - -f-fd.  tiisre  STf  r~"  — --'-^  - -r-e 
Apcc-  -  ■"  ick;^  set?.  .  r 

tfee  ocniiuan;  "WTitlDi  "wtiiOTn:  I  sskei  lir  spesj:  ri:  ruae  rsL" . ;  r 

CBSBBBC  dc'^m  C2J3ni  23—   -    ^  ~    ~  .  "  -------.--- 

Sucre  iier-     Her  'r^ETz:  - 

ercm    inqnEoeriDae-      S&e   r^eclrectlT  cs^mpsnesaeaaa'^c.  taie 

Ejecesstaes  rd  "<rxr-     V~  _     "  sesmd  mr?  :it 

to  tbe  be!£rT.  rrciemi  "wrr  -  -  :2n!fircs'c::r:"_- 

"■"^s  Ti^Kie,  sise  seaat  &c  tnae  - :  --u-  '^caeresi  Mine 
to  act  2:5  mtr  gTimda, 


i06       FJCE.  YEAIS   WTTH   THE    POTOMLiC   ARMY. 

Toe  cha'pl'ifTni  was  an  Iranian  priest,  or,  at  least,  erf 
TtalTaTi  orfgrn,  wfeo)  diM  mot  sacrifice  to  tlie  graces,  and 
irnose  senn  ^  t^er  have  set  tbe  Hudson  on 

ire.     He  Le; :.-- -  the  dormitories  and  the  class- 

rDoms  o£  the  boarding-school,  at  that  moment  deserted, 
tfie  sapiOTor  having  very  wisely  sent  all  th.e  scholars  to 
thefr  rdarrres.  There  remained  bttt  five  or  six,  belong- 
ing to.  Southern  families,  who  had  not  heard  from  their 
firiejudft  rm  a.  long  tfrne. 

We  reached  the  belfry  by  a  narrow  and  winding 
staircase.  I  went  first.  At  the  noise  of  my  boots 
seninding  on  the  steps,  a  rostling;  of  dresses  and  mnr- 
nsn-  '     oices  were  heard  above  my  head.     There 

wer^  ._  _.  jr  ten  yoong  nans,  who  had  mounted  up 
there  to  enjoy  the  extraordinary  spectacle  of  guns  in 
battery,  of  stacked  muskets,  of  sentin^  walking  back 
and  forth  with  their  arms  in  hand,  of  soldiers  making 
coffee  in  the  gardens,  of  horses  ready  saddled  eating 
their  oat^  under  the  apple  trees  ;  —  all  things  of  which, 
they  had  not  the  Least  idea-  We  had  cut  o€  their  re- 
treat, and  they  were  crowded  against  the  windows,  like 
fri^lhtened  birds,  asking  Heaven  to  send  them  wings 
wit'      '     '■  to  fiy  away. 

.-ers,"  I  said  to  them,  "  I  catch  you  in  the 
very  act  of  cxarimitf.  After  aH,  Jt  is  a  very  venial  sim, 
and  Is-  '.  the  rereroiid  father  here  present 

will  fre-i-^.  ^^..  -.  .  .  ^  abaoiutwwji  therefor," 

The  poor  giris^  tnucii  ctriiljarrassed,  looked  at  each 
oth^^,  not  knowing  what  to  reply.  The  least  tiraid 
venturai  a  smtle.  In  their  heart?,  they  were  thinking 
of  bijt  one  thing:  to  escape  as  sooti  as  the  oflScers 
accompanying  rne  k&  the  way  clear, 

"  Permit  me,"  I  saM,  "  to  make  one  request  of  yo€L 
Ask  St.  Joseph  to  keep  the  rebeL-%  away  from  here ;  for, 
if  they  come  before  I  get  away,  f  do  not  know  what 
will  becorrie  of  yoar  beautiful  convent," 


ixv"AsrO!5r  or  PES5i5TLT.A2irEA-  487 

Tbej  JirmmifyimtHT  (Ssappeared,  no'Mt^iTnTm.g^  prsirh  otiuer 
aioE:^  tine  staircase.     I  Inave  nncver  reSrr~^  ;  .  ^     Z  . . 
bKjirg  ;  bum  it  woifflid.  astomisli  msc  tstt  -  -  .. : 

tbe  two  ansiies  iiad.  gpime  to  Gtllj'sibHM  ^  to  figfet,  can. 
accoTCQl  of  me  niirsidie  perfoi— '  "  "  ?e  Jos^ii,  imta-- 
ceding  in  lavor  cf  liicse  rti'jiT2::r  .  -  r 

Tne  TTiii'g^it  was  qtiie'L  Secwesn  two  ^miri  tiiree  o'clioci. 
in  tiiie  imooiiiuig.  liie  orcjer  cs-r: ;  ;„  m_v  ines  -  '  r 

for  T3S  to   jom   ogt    corps  irzin; :;__"  21    G::i_  -.  .    _ 

We  wis^  soom  ifw   rmt££.     Tine  msSajDce  was  ser^"    . ' 

cigill    TTn.if^        It     rn-Jhi'T     rsioiecU     ^Tntrl    tilie    rOSCL    Wis 

Tlae  New  Ta"5ev  bngade  oarciiDed  in  adTrsiiuce.  :::_:_; 
foUowimg;  aad  we  nTJunied  aJoEig.,  ioreseeiiiig  ttpa.T  2.  gresit 
baltlie  was  iTnimi'-nTiieTit  Haif-way  w-e  Eaet  GeEueral  Gra^ 
kam  seaiLt  to  nmieei  tis,  to  lead  ins  to  o«3ir  posinniosiL  TiLe 
wnoUe  arimv  was.  in  fact,  asseimbied  at  Gettjsbisrg'.. 
except  the  Sistk  Corps,  wnoicn  baid  moc  vet  aniTed. 

There  I  leajTjjed  diar  toe  day  bsore  (J"3ily  i  i 
Lrnn.'g-  anid  biioodr  battle  bad  beem  toagtit  nsortawest  o£ 
the  dtT,  om  a  rTiain  cc  3aeigbi3  wbida  bore  tbe  najsie  oi 
Senmrnary  HULs.  GrenersJ  ~  -  -"  ■wbo,  in  that  direc- 
tTifMin^  covered  with  bis   cs.   .  -  r    Lnajimb«ersibs!i^  and 

"M lu .tm rraa.'sihin-nr  roads*  was  Exst  attacked  there  by  PEUs 
corpsL     Dinring  that  attaics,  ^  ■ 

ky  aTTur?  vigor.  Reyaoids  anrrr^    _    -:_    ,. 
Pirst  and  the  Eleventh  Corps.     Wadswortii''s  di:Tt3^  :r 
whiidh  came  into  line    nrst,  iocmd   itseiii   iim~  - 

eogasi^d.     It  was  coasapotsed  01  bitat  two  bog:i_--- 

was  opposed  to  Hetb's  drvisaoio.  wbicb  was  cooiii,pc«sed  o£ 
fo'Ur  ;  bsat  their  valor  sarppkied  the  lack  oc  nmnnibers.  an<d 
it  not  oclv  raaintarned  its  posadjoci,  bsct  by  two  charges 
Tigoro«islT  executed  drove  the  eneamy  back  to  the  other 
sade  of  \ViIIoe;gh.by  Rmi.  ca.pr£ra2g:  nearly  aH  tbose  wbo 
b:_:  r-ed  that    brook.     Meredith's   brigade 

b:  :  .  -        ed  its  name   o£  "  Itqe.  Bffigade,"  ajid 


488       FOUR   YEARS    WITH    THE    1X:>T0MAC    ARMY. 

counted  General  Archer  amongst  its  prisoners.  Cut- 
ler's brigade,  on  its  side,  surrounded  two  Mississippi 
regiments,  and  compelled  them  to  surrender  with  their 
flags. 

It  was  in  this  engagement,  which  he  himself  directed 
and  arranged,  that  General  Reynolds  fell  mortally 
wounded.  This  was  a  great  loss  to  the  army,  which 
the  circumstances  made  it  particularly  difficult  to 
replace. 

The  two  other  divisions  of  the  First  Corps  then 
arrived,  and  General  Doubleday,  on  whom  the  com- 
mand devolved,  formed  his  line  of  battle  on  a  greater 
scale.  At  the  same  time,  the  Confederates  were  again 
reenforced  by  the  addition  of  Ewell's  corps  to  that  of 
Hill,  while,  on  our  side,  the  Eleventh  Corps  took  posi- 
tion on  the  right  of  the  First.  Thus,  from  hour  to 
hour,  and  almost  from  minute  to  minute,  the  battle 
assumed  greater  proportions,  and  extended  along  the 
line  of  the  hills  disputed  so  desperately.  But  the  con- 
test was  not  equal  The  two  corps  of  the  enemy 
amounted  in  all  to  about  sixty  thousand  men,  while 
ours  amounted  to  not  even  a  third  of  that  number. 

General  Howard,  to  whom  the  command  fell  by 
right  of  seniority,  was  not  able  to  direct  the  battle  as  a 
whole.  He  simply  ordered  General  Doubleday  to 
fight  on  the  left,  while  he  (Howard)  fought  on  the 
right,  recommending  him,  at  the  same  time,  to  en- 
deavor to  maintain  himself  at  the  Seminar}'.  To  Gen- 
eral Wadsworth,  whose  di\-ision  was  the  most  advanced, 
he  gave  instructions  to  hold  on  as  long  as  possible,  and 
afterwards  retire.  The  fighting  was,  then,  very  discon- 
nected after  Reynolds'  death,  owing  to  the  want  of 
direction.  The  two  corps  were  separated  by  an  inter- 
val which  Doubleday  in  vain  endeavored  to  fill.  The 
reserve  division  was  not   enouo:h.     The  enemv  broke 


I3»\'ASI03f   OF   FENX5YLVA5M.  4.S9 

tbrcKigb  that  opening,  and  witii  the  less  difficalty  that 
the  Eierenth  Corps  did  not  hold  on  long,  bat  broke 
witiMynt  great  resistance. 

The  First  Corps  did  not  fall  back  until  it  saw  itself 
nearly  enveloped  by  the  enemy,  who  were  continually 
increasing  in  numbers.  The  losses  were  enormoo*. 
According  to  General  Dotibleday  s  report,  of  eighty-two 
hundred  men,  after  sir  hours  of  fighting,  there  re- 
mained bat  tw-:  -  '  -riand  fifty.  More  than 
twevthirds  wer .-  ^  ,  • ,  .-call !  Still,  the  remain- 
ing third  effected  its  retreat  in  good  order,  eren  throogh 
the  streets  of  Gettysburg,  which  the  troops  of  Howard 
blodced  op  in  terrible  confusion.  Early,  profiting  by 
the  disorder,  picked  up  thousands  ot  prisoners.  De- 
cidedly, the  Eleventh  Corps  was  very  unfortunate.  It 
seemed  as  though  the  enemy  had  only  to  cast  his  net 
tcyvards  it,  to  fish  out  a  stock  of  prisoners. 

Sickles,  answering  the  3.yip€2l  which  had  been  made 
to  him,  arrived  too  late  to  take  part  in  the  action.  He 
foraid  the  First  and  Eleventh  Corps,  or  what  remained 
of  it,  assembled  in  a  strong  position,  on  a  height  facing 
the  hills  on  the  other  side  of  Gettysburg  fro.v 
the  day's  action  had  been  fought.  General  >!  -  , 
had  arrived,  sen:  by  General  Meade,  to  see  how  mat- 
ters were,  and  to  take  :emporar}.-  command  of  the  three 
corps.  He  established  them  nrmly,  examined  the 
nature  of  the  grcmnd,  and  the  suitability  of  the  positioa 
for  accepting  battle,  and  sent  a  report  on  the  subject  to 
the  general  commanding,  as  directed.  When  General 
Slocum  arrived  in  his  turn  with  the  Twelfth  Corps,  he 
turned  the  command  over  to  him,  as  he  had  been 
ordered  to  do,  and  rettLmed  to  headquarters,  which 
were  at  Tane^town. 

The  friends  of  General  Hancock  have  represented 
his  report  as  the  determining  cause  which  had  over- 


490       FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

come  the  hesitations  of  General  Meade,  and  that  which 
induced  him  to  accept  battle  at  Gettysburg.  This  is 
an  error.  This  report  was  only  a  brief  note  on  the 
position  of  the  troops,  and  led  to  nothing  conclusive. 
It  was  worded  as  follows  :  "  We  occupy  a  position  in 
the  cemetery  which  cannot  be  easily  taken.  However, 
it  is  a  position  easy  to  turn.  When  night  comes,  we 
can  better  determine  what  it  is  best  to  do.  I  think  we 
can  retire  ;  if  not,  we  can  fight  here,  for  the  ground 
appears  to  be  not  unfavorable  with  good  troops."  The 
despatch  did  not  contain  a  word  more  on  that 
subject. 

The  truth  is  that  General  Meade  did  not  have  an  in- 
tention of  giving  battle  at  Gettysburg  rather  than  else- 
where. In  this  respect  he  held  himself  ready  to  act 
according  to  circumstances.  The  only  plan  which  he 
had  drawn  up  was  the  one  of  taking  a  defensive  posi- 
tion on  Pipe  Creek,  a  stream  which  runs  about  twelve 
miles  back  of  Gettysburg,  and  passes  through  Middle- 
burg  before  emptying  into  the  Monocacy.  This  line 
appeared  to  him  to  be  advantageous,  and,  on  the  report 
of  the  engineer  officers  sent  to  examine  it,  he  had 
already  drawn  up  an  order  addressed  to  the  different 
corps  commanders  to  fall  back  there.  But  when  Rey- 
nolds' engagement  on  the  Seminary  Heights  had 
brought  on  the  accidental  concentration  of  four  army 
corps  at  Gettysburg,  in  front  of  two-thirds  of  the  Con- 
federate army.  General  Meade  did  not  hesitate  to 
abandon  his  first  design.  Orders  were  hurried  for- 
ward to  all  the  forces  not  already  at  Gettysburg  to 
report  there  as  soon  as  possible.  We  have  seen  that 
the  two  brigades  left  at  Emmittsburg  were  not  for- 
gotten. 

General  Lee,  on  his  side,  found  himself  constrained 
to   take    the    same    measures ;  and,    during    the   whole 


INVASION    OF    PENNSYLVANIA. 


491 


night,  on  every  road,  the  cannon  rolled  on,  and  the 
troops  marched,  converging  towards  that  point  in  Penn- 
sylvania unknown  the  day  before,  on  the  morrow  re- 
nowned, where  the  fortune  of  the  war  was  about  to  be 
decided  in  the  most  terrible  battle  which  the  New 
World  had  ever  seen. 


CHAPTER   XXIII. 

GETTYSBURG. 

Position  of  the  two  armies — Dangerous  advance  of  the  Third  Corps  — 
First  attack  on  the  extreme  left  —  The  fight  of  the  Third  Brigade  — 
Double  assault  on  the  summit  of  Little  Round  Top  —  Caldwell's 
division  in  line  —  The  enemy  driven  back  —  Graham  in  the  peach 
orchard  —  General  Humphreys  —  The  left  line  driven  in  from  one 
end  to  the  other — Offensive  return  —  The  position  recovered  — 
Ewell's  attack  on  the  extreme  right  —  Night  spent  in  position  — 
Renewal  of  the  battle  at  Gulp  Hill — Interval  —  The  scene  of  the 
action  —  Everything  staked  on  one  blow  by  the  rebels  —  Account 
taken  —  Trophies  of  the  Second  Corps. 

Ten  roads  and  one  railroad  lead  to  Gettysburg.  From 
the  west,  the  Millerstown  and  Chambersburg ;  from 
the  north,  the  Mummasburg,  the  Carlisle,  and  the  Har- 
risburg  (the  State  capital)  ;  from  the  east,  the  York  and 
the  Bosmantown  ;  from  the  south,  the  Baltimore,  the 
Taneytown,  and  Emmittsburg.  This  concentration  of 
roads  made  the  place  important  strategically,  in  regard 
to  which  General  Lee  was  not  mistaken.  He  would 
have  established  himself  there,  without  striking  a  blow, 
if  Buford  with  his  cavalry  had  not  opposed  an  obstinate 
resistance  to  Hill's  column,  advancing  by  the  Cham- 
bersburg road,  and  if  Reynolds,  without  doubt  in  order 
to  give  time  to  General  Meade  to  arrive,  had  not 
endeavored  to  defend  the  Seminary  Heights  against 
the  superior  forces  of  the  enemy. 

This  chain  of  hills,  situated  to  the  west  of  Gettys- 
burg, runs  from  the  north  to  the  south.  Forced  at  this 
point,  and  on  the  isolated  hills  which  rise  to  the  north, 
the  First  and  the  Eleventh  Corps  must  fall  back  to  the 

492 


GETTYSBURG. 


49: 


south,  on  the  Cemetery  Hill,  which  they  did.  These 
heights  rise  gradually  from  the  city.  On  the  right, 
they  turn  backwards  to  end  by  a  steep  slope,  known  by 
the  name  of  Gulp  Hill.  This  was  our  extreme  right, 
occupied  by  Howard's  corps  and  Wadsworth's  division. 
On  the  left,  the  line  turned  to  the  south,  and,  falling 
off  towards  the  centre,  again  rose,  to  end  in  a  steeper 
and  more  abrupt  crest,  known  as  Little  Round  Top, 
which  formed  our  extreme  left.  Along  this  line  our 
forces  were  disposed  as  follows  :  Robinson's  and  Doub- 
leday's  divisions  of  the  First  Corps  ;  the  Second 
Corps,  commanded  by  Hancock  ;  and  the  Third,  by 
Sickles.  Behind  the  latter,  the  Fifth  Corps,  com- 
manded by  Sykes,  had  not  yet  taken  position  in  line. 
The  Sixth  Corps,  led  by  Sedgwick,  having  the  longest 
distance  to  travel,  could  not  join  us  until  afternoon. 

Thus  our  front,  with  a  development  three  miles  in 
length,  had  exactly  the  form  of  a  fish-hook,  the  point 
formed  by  Culp  Hill,  the  curve  by  the  cemetery,  and 
the  shank  by  the  chain  of  hills  ending  in  Little  Round 
Top.  The  enemy  deployed  his  forces  parallel  to  ours, 
on  the  Seminary  Hills.  Longstreet  formed  his  right, 
Hill  the  centre,  while  on  his  left  Ewell,  occupying  the 
city,  turned  around  beyond  it  in  front  of  both  the 
cemetery  and  Culp's  Hill.  Such  was  the  position  of 
the  two  armies  when,  on  the  morning  of  July  2,  Colo- 
nel Burling's  and  my  brigade  arrived  from  Emmitts- 
burg. 

The  road  which  we  followed  runs  along  on  the  crest 
of  a  swell  of  ground  between  the  two  lines  of  hills,  but 
not  at  an  equal  distance  from  both.  We  had  to  pass, 
at  first,  a  few  hundred  yards  along  the  right  of  Long- 
street's  front,  as  far  as  a  house  surrounded  by  a  peach 
orchard,  where  the  road  obliques  to  the  right,  and, 
further  on,  passes  the  foot  of  the  cemetery.      We  did 


494       FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

well  to  hurry  along.  We  were  still  able  to  find  the 
road  free,  except  a  few  shots  fired  at  us  by  the  enemy's 
sharpshooters. 

A  crossroad  to  the  right  led  us  to  the  position  occu- 
pied by  the  Third  Corps,  on  the  rocky  slope  of  a  hill, 
where  it  was  much  to  be  desired  that  the  Confederates 
should  come  to  attack  us.  Except  the  railroad  with 
shelving  banks,  which  did  not  exist  here,  our  line  re- 
called the  one  which  the  enemy  occupied  at  Freder- 
icksburg. It  was  not,  then,  without  regret  that  about 
two  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  we  received  the  order  to 
advance  across  the  low,  half-wooded  ground,  to  the  edge 
of  a  tall  clump  of  trees,  which  presented  to  us  none  of 
the  favorable  conditions  of  defence  of  the  position  we 
abandoned.  Our  halt,  besides,  was  not  of  long  dura- 
tion. Humphreys'  division  soon  advanced  its  line 
along  the  Emmittsburg  road ;  Graham's  brigade  of  our 
division  followed  the  movement,  and  took  position  on 
Humphreys'  left,  in  the  peach  orchard,  which  was  to 
play  so  large  a  part  among  the  incidents  of  the  battle. 
My  brigade  and  Ward's  turned  to  the  left,  on  a  line 
which  extended  from  the  peach  orchard  nearly  to  Little 
Round  Top,  facing  the  south,  and  forming,  en  potence, 
the  extreme  left  of  the  army. 

General  Sickles  had  taken  the  responsibility  of  this 
change  of  position,  without  the  authority  of  the  general 
commanding.  His  object  was  to  be  able  to  oppose  a 
front  of  two  brigades  to  a  turning  movement  which  the 
enemy  had  already  begun.  But  this  inspiration  showed 
more  ardor  to  advance  to  meet  the  fight  than  a  nice 
appreciation  of  the  best  means  to  sustain  it.  The  new 
disposition  of  the  Third  Corps  offered  some  great 
inconveniences  and  some  great  dangers.  In  the  first 
place,  it  found  itself  isolated  in  advance  of  the  battle 
front  ;  for  the  Second  Corps,  which    had   no  order  to 


GETTYSBURG. 


495 


follow  the  movement,  remained  behind,  with  an  interval 
of  about  five  hundred  yards  from  Humphreys'  right. 
Towards  the  left,  the  line  forming  a  salient  angle  at 
the  peach  orchard  became  much  thinner,  in  that  it  had 
been  so  much  extended  along  the  two  faces.  On  this 
account,  Ward's  brigade  and  mine  were  not  enough  to 
connect,  by  a  continuous  line,  the  Emmittsburg  road 
to  Little  Round  Top.  The  space  left  open  between 
Graham  and  me  was  occupied  only  by  the  Third  Michi- 
gan, deployed  as  skirmishers,  under  the  command  of 
Colonel  B,  R.  Pierce.  On  this  side,  Ward  had  not  been 
able  to  extend  to  the  steep  hills  where  our  extreme  left 
was  to  rest.  He  had  been  compelled  to  rest  his  line 
on  a  rocky  height,  where  his  last  regiment  was  sepa- 
rated from  Little  Round  Top  by  an  open  interval.  On 
the  left,  as  on  the  right,  the  Third  Corps  was  found 
thus  in  the  air.  At  the  centre,  thrown  forward  as  we 
have  seen,  it  was  necessarily  feeble,  like  all  salient 
angles  presented  to  an  attack,  and  received  no  strength 
from  the  shape  of  the  ground. 

Sickles  had  sent  to  ask  the  general-in-chief  to  come 
and  examine  for  himself  the  new  disposition.  The  lat- 
ter, being  very  busy  elsewhere,  had  been  delayed  in 
coming.  When  he  arrived  on  the  ground,  it  was 
already  too  late  to  change  anything.  The  enemy  was 
upon  us.  The  only  resource  remaining  was  to  take 
the  necessary  measures,  as  soon  as  possible,  to  draw 
from  the  Second  and  Fifth  Corps  the  reenforcements 
which  we  would  stand  in  need  of. 

As  regards  my  brigade,  the  position  was  good.  Two 
of  my  regiments,  the  Fifth  Michigan  and  the  One  Hun- 
dred and  Tenth  Pennsylvania,  were  deployed  on  a  hill- 
top sparsely  covered  with  trees  and  rocks,  at  the  foot 
of  which  ran  a  brook  in  a  little  muddy  ravine.  This 
ravine  forked  to  my  left  on  the  edge  of  a  wheat  field. 


4^6       FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

the  narrow  extremity  of  which  separated  me  from  the 
Second  Brigade.  In  the  woods  behind  my  line,  I  held 
two  regiments  in  reserve,  the  Seventeenth  Maine  and 
the  Fortieth  New  York,  ready  to  throw  them  on  the 
side  of  the  wheat  field,  if  the  enemy  endeavored  to 
penetrate  through  there,  or  towards  the  peach  orchard, 
if  the  Third  Michigan  could  not  maintain  connection 
with  the  First  Brigade. 

Longstreet's  Confederate  corps,  after  having  crossed 
the  Emmittsburg  road,  advanced  towards  Little  Round 
Top,  with  the  evident  intention  of  turning  our  left. 
The  firing  of  his  skirmishers  marked  out  to  us  the  route 
of  his  column,  upon  which  two  batteries  of  artillery 
placed  behind  the  peach  orchard  opened  with  shell. 
We  had  not  long  to  wait  for  a  reply,  and,  as  usual,  the 
ball  was  opened  on  both  sides  by  the  cannon.  We  were 
very  attentive  to  discover  on  what  point  the  storm  was 
to  break. 

Ward  received  the  first  shock.  A  burst  of  cheering, 
followed  immediately  by  a  violent  musketry  fire,  told  us 
that  the  rebels  were  charging  across  the  ravine.  The 
trees  prevented  us  from  seeing  anything  of  the  engage- 
ment, but  the  deafening  noise  of  the  firing  told  us  well 
that  it  was  an  attack  with  the  whole  power  of  the 
enemy,  and  that  our  turn  would  not  be  long  in  coming. 
Soon  an  aid  of  General  Birney  brought  me  the  order  to 
send  a  regiment  from  the  other  side  of  the  wheat  field. 
The  Seventeenth  Maine  hurried  forward  on  the  run,  and 
took  position  behind  a  stone  wall  breast-high,  so  that 
the  enemy  would  be  subjected  to  an  oblique  fire,  if 
Ward's  line  was  threatened 

A  few  minutes  afterward,  the  Fortieth  was  sent  in 
haste  to  oppose  an  attack,  which  was  turning  the  left 
of  the  Second  Brigade,  and  penetrating  between  it  and 
Little  Round  Toq.      The  greatest  danger  of  the  moment 


GETTYSBURG. 


497 


was  there.  I  had  then  but  two  regiments  in  line  of 
battle,  and  a  third  prolonging  my  line  as  skirmishers, 
when  the  avalanche  rolled  upon  me.  Hold  on  there, 
hard  and  firm  !     There  is  no  reserve. 

It  was  a  hard  fight.  The  Confederates  appeared  to 
have  the  devil  in  them.  They  had  been  told  that  they 
had  before  them  nothing  but  militia  assembled  in  haste. 
If  that  had  been  true,  without  disparaging  the  militia,  I 
believe,  from  the  manner  in  which  the  rebels  rushed 
upon  us,  they  would  have  been  swept  away  in  the 
twinkling  of  an  eye.  But,  when  they  met  us  face  to 
face,  they  quickly  recognized  the  old  troops  of  Hooker 
and  Kearney,  which  was  a  very  different  affair.  I  must 
say,  however,  that  they  did  not  put  any  less  spirit  in 
their  attack.  Quite  the  contrary.  On  the  other  side, 
my  men  did  not  flinch.  Like  veterans,  accustomed  to 
make  the  best  of  every  resource,  they  had  sheltered 
themselves  behind  the  rocks  and  trunks  of  trees  which 
were  on  the  line,  and  when  their  assailants  descended 
into  the  ravine  and  crossed  the  creek  they  were  received, 
at  a  distance  of  twenty  yards,  with  a  deadly  volley, 
every  shot  of  which  was  effective.  The  assault  broken, 
those  who  were  on  the  opposite  slope  began  a  rapid  fire 
at  a  range  still  very  short.  On  both  sides,  each  one 
aimed  at  his  man,  and,  notwithstanding  every  protection 
from  the  ground,  men  fell  dead  and  wounded  with  fright- 
ful rapidity. 

An  aid  came  through  a  hail  of  bullets  to  ask  another 
regiment  from  me.  "Tell  General  Birney,"  I  replied 
to  him,  showing  him  my  line,  "  that  I  have  not  a  man 
left  who  has  not  upon  his  hands  all  that  he  can  do,  and 
tell  him  that,  far  from  being  able  to  furnish  reenforce- 
ments  to  any  one,  I  shall  be  in  need  of  them  myself  in 
less  than  a  quarter  of  an  hour." 

In  fact,  the  persistent  pressure  of  the  attack  showed 


49^       FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

clearly  that  we  had  a  contest  with  superior  forces.  If 
they  had  attacked  us  entirely  with  the  bayonet,  we 
would  have  been  swept  away.  Happily,  the  nature  of 
the  ground  broke  their  lines,  and  enabled  us  to  hold 
them  at  a  distance  by  the  rapidity  and  precision  of  our 
fire.  I  had  never  seen  any  men  fight  with  equal  ob- 
stinacy. One  would  have  said  that  each  believed  the 
destiny  of  the  Republic  was  attached  to  the  desperate 
vigor  of  his  efforts.  So  that  we  maintained  our  hold  ; 
but  my  line  was  melting  away  in  its  position.  It  seemed 
to  me  that  nearly  half  were  struck  down.  It  remained 
to  be  seen  how  long  the  other  half  would  hold  out. 

At  this  moment,  Lieutenant  Houghton,  one  of  my 
aids,  told  me  that  a  brigade  of  the  Fifth  Corps  was 
lying  in  two  lines  behind  us,  awaiting  the  time  to  come 
into  action.  This  was  good  news.  But,  as  I  went  to 
assure  myself  of  its  accuracy,  I  saw  these  troops  rise  up 
and  fall  back  hurriedly  at  the  command  of  their  officers. 
I  galloped  forward  towards  the  nearest  of  them,  and 
asked  them,  —  "  Where  are  you  going  ?  "  —  "  We  do 
not  know."  —  "Who  has  given  you  orders  to  retire.-'" 
—  "We  do  not  know."  They  then  filed  out  of  the 
woods,  towards  the  crossroad  which  led  into  the  Em- 
mittsburg  pike.  These  regiments  belonged  to  General 
Barnes'  division.  They  were  going  with  their  brigade 
to  fill  the  interval  between  our  right  and  Graham's  left. 

I  returned  immediately  to  my  men,  advancing  to  the 
line  of  the  Fifth  Michigan,  knowing  well  that  nothing 
encourages  soldiers  as  much  as  the  presence  of  their 
superior  officers  in  their  midst.  The  position  was 
becoming  desperate.  Ward's  left  had  been  broken  in. 
The  Fortieth  New  York,  sent  to  its  aid,  had  in  vain 
charged  the  enemy  vigorously,  coming  to  bayonet's 
point ;  the  Second  Brigade  had  been  forced  to  retire. 
The  Seventeenth   Maine,  expected  to  stop  the  advance 


GETTYSBURG. 


499 


of  the  enemy  in  that  direction,  had  not  been  able  to 
keep  its  position  along  the  wall  where  it  presented 
its  flank  to  the  troops  attacking  us.  The  latter,  enfi- 
lading his  right,  compelled  it  to  fall  back  to  the  other 
side  of  the  wheat  field.  The  One  Hundred  and  Tenth 
Pennsylvania  was  holding  on  only  in  fragments. 
Major  Jones,  who  commanded  it,  had  just  had  his  leg 
broken.  The  Fifth  Michigan  was  much  shaken  by  its 
enormous  losses. 

As  I  arrived  near  the  colors,  the  color-bearer  stag- 
gered, and  fell  back  several  paces.  I  called  out, 
"  Steady  !  "  "I  am  wounded,"  he  said,  with  a  choking 
voice.  —  "  Where  .-'  "  —  "  In  the  throat."  I  leaned  over 
my  horse  and  put  my  hand  on  his  shoulder:  "It  is 
nothing,"  said  I,  "  I  see  no  blood."  He  immediately 
retook  his  place,  raising  up  the  flag.  The  ball,  which 
had  really  struck  him  in  the  neck,  had  bounded  off  his 
leather  collar,  and  the  shock  had  choked  him  for  a 
moment. 

Colonel  Pulford,  seeing  the  movement,  darted  to  our 
side.  He  was  on  foot,  and  held  a  revolver  in  his  hand. 
It  was  broken  between  his  fingers  without  doing  him 
any  injury  except  a  slight  scratch. 

At  this  moment,  an  increase  of  the  musketry  fire 
announced  the  arrival  of  reenforcements  from  the 
other  side  of  the  wheat  field.  Captain  Smith,  inspector 
of  my  brigade,  advanced  to  the  edge  of  the  woods  to 
assure  himself  of  it.  He  had  made  but  a  few  steps 
when  his  horse  turned  on  his  hind  legs,  as  if  ready  to 
fall.  A  ball  had  passed  through  the  shoulder  of  the 
animal,  and  the  leg  of  the  rider.  The  latter,  turning 
towards  me,  showed  me,  on  the  front  of  his  boot,  a 
round  hole,  from  which  the  blood  was  running  freely. 
"  Go  to  the  ambulance  as  quickly  as  possible,"  I  told 
him.     "  Your  horse  is   still  able  to  take  you  there." 


500       FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

Captain  Smith  saluted  me  with  perfect  coolness,  ex- 
pressed to  me  the  regret  he  felt  in  not  being  able  to  be 
of  further  service  to  me,  and  went  off  without  hurrying. 

I  should  have  had  near  me  at  this  time  only  my  two 
aids,  Lieutenants  Houghton  and  Waldron,  if,  at  this 
moment.  Captain  Piatt,  my  assistant  adjutant-general, 
had  not  come  to  rejoin  me.  He  had  accompanied 
the  Fortieth  to  the  left  of  Ward's  brigade,  had  charged 
with  the  regiment,  and  had  had  his  horse  killed  under 
him.  Affected  by  organic  weakness  in  one  leg,  he  ran 
great  risk  of  remaining  where  he  had  been  thrown,  if 
he  had  not  found  very  d  propos  the  horse  of  Major 
Warner,  who  had  just  been  severely  wounded.  He 
found  his  way  thus  to  me,  suffering  in  body,  his  clothes 
spotted  with  mud,  but  whole,  except  his  boot  heel, 
which  had  been  carried  away  by  a  piece  of  shell. 

Our  position  was  no  longer  tenable  ;  our  ammunition 
was  nearly  exhausted,  and  already  some  of  the  men 
were  searching  the  cartridge  boxes  of  the  dead  for 
ammunition,  when,  at  last,  a  brigade  of  the  Second 
Corps  came  to  relieve  us.  TJiey  did  not  lie  down 
behind  us.  They  advanced  in  good  order  and  with  a 
resolute  step.  I  had  only  to  show  them  my  line,  three- 
quarters  demolished.  They  rushed  forward.  I  learned 
afterward  that  it  was  the  brigade  of  General  Zook,  who 
was  killed  among  the  first  at  the  place  where  he  re- 
lieved me. 

However,  the  enemy,  profiting  by  our  movement  in 
retreat,  had  advanced  into  the  wheat  field,  on  the  edge 
of  which  I  rallied  what  remained  to  me  of  the  Fifth 
Michigan  and  the  One  Hundred  and  Tenth  Pennsylva- 
nia. General  Birney,  who  was  near,  immediately 
brought  into  line  of  battle  the  Seventeenth  Maine  and 
a  New  Jersey  regiment  of  Burling's  brigade.  I  has- 
tened to  complete  the   line  with  what  troops  I  had  at 


^    i^  ^    "^ 


S 


Fold-out 
Placeholder 


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GETTYSBURG. 


501 


hand,  and  we  charged  through  the  wheat  field,  drivin"- 
the  rebels  back  to  the  other  side  of  the  stone  wall.  It 
was  the  first  charge  of  the  day  on  that  ground  which 
saw  so  many  more  before  night.  It  was  also  the  last 
effort  of  my  brigade.  After  the  offensive  return,  I  re- 
ceived orders  to  fall  back,  and  during  that  movement  I 
understood  in  what  a  hazardous  position  I  had  been 
placed  without  knowing  it.  My  front,  defended  now  by 
Zook's  brigade,  was  outflanked  on  the  left  from  the 
further  side  of  the  wheat  field,  and  on  the  right  by  the 
way  of  the  peach  orchard.  The  fire  of  the  enemy,  com- 
ing from  these  two  directions,  was  crossed  behind  us, 
almost  in  one  line,  where  I  lost  another  score  of  men. 
The  Third  Michigan  had  not  yet  rejoined  me.  It  was 
in  bringing  it  past  that  place  that  Colonel  Pierce,  hav- 
ing thus  far  escaped,  was  struck  by  a  ball  and  seriously 
wounded. 

Let  us  now  look  at  some  other  episodes  of  the 
battle. 

When  the  enemy  had  turned  Ward's  left,  that  was 
but  the  first  step  towards  getting  possession  of  Little 
Round  Top.  He  pushed  his  forces  on  rapidly  from 
that  point,  and  began  to  climb  the  steep  hill  with  so 
much  the  greater  impunity  that  the  summit  had  not 
as  yet  been  occupied  by  us  except  by  a  squad  of  the 
signal  service.  Fortune  willed,  at  that  moment,  that 
Warren,  chief  engineer  on  the  staff,  should  arrive  on 
this  point,  whence  the  view  embraced  the  attack  in  its 
whole  extent.  A  glance  told  him  the  imminence  of  the 
danger,  and  he  ran  to  Barnes'  division  of  the  Fifth 
Corps,  on  its  way  to  reenforce  us.  He  took  upon  him- 
self to  detach  from  it  a  brigade  commanded  by  Colonel 
Vincent,  and  to  hurry  it,  on  the  run,  to  the  summit  of 
Little  Round  Top,  which  Hood's  Texans  were  also 
endeavoring  to  reach  from   the  other  side. 


502       FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

Both  the  parties  arrived  at  the  crest  at  nearly  the 
same  time.  They  both  understood  the  vital  impor- 
tance of  the  position.  So,  without  stopping  to  fire, 
they  rushed  upon  each  other  with  the  bayonet.  In 
that  hand-to-hand  contest,  with  equal  courage,  the  solid 
muscles  of  the  North  prevailed  over  the  hot  blood  of 
the  South,  Our  men  were  victorious,  and  the  position 
was  saved  ;  not  without,  however,  a  continuation  of  a 
deadly  fire  from  the  assailants  against  General  Weed's 
brigade,  which  had  joined  that  of  Colonel  Vincent,  and 
on  Hazlitt's  battery,  which  the  men  had  succeeded,  with 
unheard-of  efforts,  in  dragging  up  to  the  top,  through 
woods  and  over  rocks.  Finally,  a  bayonet  charge  of 
the  Twentieth  Maine,  under  the  lead  of  Colonel  Cham- 
berlain, swept  the  ground  of  the  enemy.  The  posses- 
sion of  Little  Round  Top  cost  us  dearly.  Weed, 
Vincent,  and  Hazlitt  paid  their  lives  for  it.  And 
how    many  more  ! 

The  battle  rolled  back  thus  upon  the  position  occu- 
pied at  first  by  Ward's  brigade,  and  where  Caldwell's 
division  of  the  Second  Corps  met  the  rebels  in  the 
woods  and  in  the  wheat  field.  Colonel  Cross,  who  com- 
manded the  left  brigade,  was  killed  there.  Colonel 
Brook,  commanding  the  centre,  was  wounded.  We  have 
already  seen  that  General  Zook  had  just  been  killed, 
while  leading  the  right.  Nevertheless,  Caldwell's  di- 
vision drove  the  enemy  back  of  the  ravine  where  the 
attack  had  commenced,  and  two  brigades  of  regulars  of 
Ayres'  division  of  the  Fifth  Corps  completed  the  line  to 
Little  Round  Top,  thus  closing  the  interval  by  which 
General  Hood  had  profited  to  turn  the  left  of  our 
division.  The  ground  lost  on  this  side  was  thus  re- 
covered when  another  change  came  upon  the  face  of 
affairs. 

When    Hood  had    pushed    his    right    against    Little 


GETTYSBURG. 


503 


Round  Top,  MacLaws,  who  followed  him  closely,  had 
reenforced  the  attack,  which  I  had  to  sustain,  and  dur- 
ing which  the  two  brigades  of  Tilton  and  Sweitzer  of 
the  Fifth  Corps  had  come  up  to  take  position  on  my 
right.  As  soon  as  the  action  had  begun  on  this  side, 
the  enemy,  who  only  waited  for  this,  charged  upon  the 
peach  orchard,  where  Graham  occupied  with  his  brigade 
the  point  of  the  angle  of  which  I  have  already  spoken. 
On  the  right  of  Graham,  General  Humphreys  had  only 
two  weak  brigades,  the  third  having  been  sent  to  re- 
enforce  the  left. 

The  resistance  was  stubborn  ;  but  the  position  was 
poor.  What  could  one  brigade  do  against  MacLaws'  left 
and  Hill's  right,  which  were  attacking  it  at  the  same 
time  .''  He  had  to  give  way.  While  disputing  the 
ground  foot  by  foot.  General  Graham  fell,  struck  by  a 
bullet  and  a  piece  of  shell.  He  could  not  be  carried 
off  and  remained  a  prisoner  in  the  enemy's  hands. 

In  this  critical  moment.  General  Sickles  had  his  leg 
carried  away.  He  dismounted  from  his  horse,  had  his 
leg  bound  above  the  knee  with  a  handkerchief,  and  left 
the  field  of  battle  on  a  litter,  leaving  the  command  to 
General  Birney. 

The  position  of  General  Humphreys  was  gravely 
compromised.  The  rebels,  on  dislodging  Graham  from 
the  peach  orchard,  had  outflanked  his  left,  and  they  were 
moving-  a2:ainst  him  to  attack  him  in  front  at  the  same 
time.  Then,  with  splendid  coolness  and  under  a  terri- 
ble fire,  he  effected  a  change  of  front  to  the  rear,  with- 
out ceasing  to  carry  on  the  combat.  His  right  held  on 
to  the  Emmittsburg  road  ;  his  left  extended  towards  Lit- 
tle Round  Top,  in  the  direction  where  Birney  wished  to 
form  a  new  line.  This  dangerous  movement  could  not 
have  been  carried  out  except  with  troops  extremely  firm 
and  at  the  cost  of  great  sacrifices.     Humphreys  effected 


504       FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

it  without  confusion,  but  nearly  one-half  of  his  men  re- 
mained on  the  field.  His  right  was  protected  by  two 
regiments  of  Gibbon's  division,  which  prevented  the 
enemy  from  penetrating  from  that  direction. 

The  idea  of  forming  a  second  line  was  not  practi- 
cable. Birney  had  neither  the  time  nor  the  means  with 
the  remains  of  his  two  torn  divisions.  The  enemy,  in 
breaking  through  at  the  peach  orchard,  had  completely 
destroyed  the  salient  angle  of  the  general  line.  While 
continuing  the  terrible  fight  against  Humphreys,  he 
took  the  two  brigades  of  Tilton  and  Sweitzer  in  flank 
and  rear,  and  they  were  immediately  obliged  to  retire. 
Their  falling  back  compelled  that  of  Caldwell's  division, 
which,  in  its  turn,  left  uncovered  the  right  of  Ayres' 
two  brigades.  Thus  everything  gave  way  on  the  double 
line  where  Sickles  forced  the  battle.  Carried  away  at 
first  on  the  left,  afterward  regained,  now  lost  in  its 
whole  length,  it  was  not  destined  to  remain  in  the 
enemy's  hands. 

The  losses  of  the  Confederates  were,  at  least,  equal  to 
ours  ;  but  the  battle  had  been  conducted  on  their  side 
with  much  more  harmony.  Hence  the  advantage 
gained  by  them.  When,  however,  towards  sundown, 
they  advanced  to  throw  themselves  against  the  line 
of  the  Cemetery  Heights,  they  were  not  only  re- 
pulsed, but  also  driven  out  of  the  ground  which  they 
had  already  gained,  on  one  side  by  General  Crawford,  at 
the  head  of  the  Pennsylvania  reserves,  and  on  the  other 
by  General  Hancock,  reenforced  by  the  troops  of  the 
First  and  Twelfth  Corps. 

This  was  not,  however,  the  last  combat  of  that  bloody 
day.  So  many  troops  had  been  drawn  from  the  right 
to  reenforce  the  left  that  from  the  cemetery  to  Gulp's 
Hill  several  points  were  found  to  be  completely 
stripped.      Evvell,  profiting  by  this,  endeavored  to  carry 


GETTYSBURG.  505 

the  position  with  the  divisions  of  Early  and  Johnson. 
And  he  came  very  near  succeeding.  At  the  cemetery 
he  had  before  him  only  the  Eleventh  Corps,  which  could 
not  prevent  the  assailants  from  coming  up  to  the  line 
of  the  guns.  Happily,  Hancock  had  hurriedly  sent  for- 
ward Carroll's  brigade,  which  came  up  in  time  to  repulse 
the  attack  at  the  instant  when  the  artillerymen  were 
about  to  be  cut  dovv^n  at  their  guns.  At  Culp's  Hill 
there  was  left  only  Wadsworth's  division,  much  used  up 
by  the  attack  of  the  night  before,  and  a  brigade  of  the 
Twelfth  Corps,  commanded  by  General  Greene. .  They 
were  not  able  to  cover  the  whole  ground,  and  General 
Johnson  succeeded  in  getting  a  hold,  for  that  night,  in 
some  works  thrown  up  at  our  extreme  right. 

On  withdrawing  from  the  battle  by  detachments,  our 
division  had  assembled  in  a  field  near  the  Taneytown 
road.  The  ammunition  wagons  came  up  promptly,  and, 
before  doing  anything  else,  the  cartridge  boxes  were 
filled.  Then,  at  the  close  of  the  day,  fires  were  lighted, 
so  that  the  men  could  get  something  to  eat.  We  were 
still  ignorant  of  the  day's  result,  but  we  well  knew 
what  it  had  cost  us.  There  remained  only  to  find 
out  how  many  of  the  missing  would  rejoin  us  during 
the  night. 

General  Birney  was  with  us.  He  had  had  a  horse 
killed  under  him,  and,  in  a  moment  of  despondency,  he 
said  to  me,  in  a  low  voice,  that  he  wished  he  had 
shared  the  fate  of  his  horse.  He  believed  the  day  lost ; 
he  counted  up  his  friends,  dead  and  wounded ;  he  saw 
his  command  half  destroyed,  and,  thinking  of  the 
Republic,  he  trembled  for  it,  if  the  army  were  beaten. 
These  dark  thoughts  were  dispersed  when  his  young 
brother,  Fitz-Hugh  Birney,  who  was  serving  on  his 
staff,  came  to  bring  him  the  news  of  the  last  success  of 
Hancock  and  Crawford.     Then  they  made  a  list  of  the 


506       FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

officers  who  had  been  unfortunate  in  the  lottery  of 
battle.  The  list  was  long.  In  the  Second  Brigade 
Colonel  Wheeler  of  the  Twentieth  Indiana  had  been 
killed.  In  another  regiment,  I  regret  not  to  find  which 
in  my  memoranda,  Colonel  Ellis,  the  lieutenant-colonel, 
and  the  major  had  all  met  the  same  fate. 

Lieutenant  Raphall,  aid  to  Ward,  lost  his  right  arm. 
He  was  a  young  man  from  New  York,  as  jovial  as  he 
was  brave.  One  of  his  comrades  went  to  visit  him  at 
the  ambulance,  with  a  full  heart  and  with  tears  in  his 
eyes.  He  found  Raphall,  who  had  just  undergone  am- 
putation, philosophically  smoking  his  pipe,  and  telling 
stories  to  his  fellow-sufferers  to  make  a  dead  man 
laugh. 

This  recalls  to  me  that  General  Howard,  having  lost 
his  left  arm  at  the  battle  of  Fair  Oaks,  was  waiting  in 
the  ambulance  his  turn  for  amputation  when  he  met 
Kearney,  who,  some  years  before,  had  lost  his  right 
arm  in  Mexico.  The  latter,  to  comfort  his  wounded 
friend,  could  think  of  nothing  better  than  to  propose  a 
bargain  with  him.  "My  dear  Howard,"  said  he,  "if 
you  will  agree  to  it,  we  can  save  some  money  here- 
after. We  will  buy  our  gloves  together,  and  the  right 
of  each  pair  shall  be  yours,  and  the  left  mine."  But 
before  Howard  was  well  enough  to  wear  his  glove,  poor 
Kearney  was  no  longer  in  need  of  any. 

When  each  one  of  us  had  related  what  he  knew  of 
the  occurrences  of  the  day,  I  looked  around  amongst 
ray  regiments.  The  Fifth  Michigan  had  suffered  the 
most.  It  had  lost  six  more  than  half  of  the  number  it 
had  in  action.  The  Third  Michigan,  which  had  fought 
only  as  skirmishers,  was  naturally  the  one  which  came 
out  the  least  injured  of  any.  In  fine,  a  clear  third  of 
my  brigade  was  lost. 

And  probably  we  would  have  to  renew  the  battle  on 


GETTYSBURG. 


507 


the  morrow,  for  it  still  remained  indecisive.  All  the 
efforts  of  the  day  were  concentrated  on  one  object  : 
on  one  side,  to  carry  the  advanced  position  where 
Sickles  had  placed  the  Third  Corps  ;  on  the  other,  to 
hold  it.  To  lose  it  and  retake  it  twice  was  well 
enough  while  the  battle  lasted.  But  to  remain  there,  in 
order  to  renew  the  trial  the  dangers  of  which  had  been 
demonstrated,  would  have  been  a  grave  fault.  General 
Meade  did  not  commit  that  fault.  He  brought  the 
army  back  to  the  position  where  he  had  intended  to 
await  the  attack  of  the  Confederates,  and  the  morning: 
of  the  3d  of  July  found  us  disposed  in  regular  line  on 
the  Cemetery  Heights.  The  arrival  of  the  Sixth  Corps 
had  even  promised  to  extend  our  front  to  Round  Top, 
a  hill  lying  on  the  prolongation  of  the  line  of  Little 
Round  Top,  which  it  commands. 

This  time  the  action  commenced  on  the  extreme 
right.  We  have  seen  that  Ewell  had  succeeded  in 
effecting  a  lodgement  in  our  lines  at  Culp's  Hill.  The 
most  pressing  duty  was  to  dislodge  him  from  that  posi- 
tion before  he  had  time  to  establish  himself  there  more 
solidly.  At  d,aylight  some  new  batteries  which  Meade 
had  caused  to  be  put  in  position  opened  a  very  sharp 
fire  on  the  intruders.  Then  Williams'  and  Geary's 
divisions  of  the  Twelfth  Corps  charged  the  position. 
It  was  retaken  after  a  sharp  fight,  in  which  Shaler's 
brigade  of  the  Sixth  Corps  also  took  part.  That  done, 
the  retrenchments  at  this  point  were  reformed,  and  we 
waited  for  the  grand  effort,  the  final  act. 

At  one  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  a  fierce  cannonade 
broke  forth  without  any  warning  along  the  whole  Con- 
federate line,  which  appeared  to  be  overstocked  with 
artillery.  They  had,  in  fact,  put  in  line  in  front  of  the 
Seminary  Heights  from  a  hundred  and  thirty  to  a  hun- 
dred and  forty  pieces.     On  our  side  we  had  eighty  to 


508       FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

reply  to  them,  the  disposition  of  our  Hnes  not  leaving 
us  room  in  which  to  put  more.  There  were  thus  more 
than  two  hundred  guns  which  from  both  heights  were 
sending  balls  and  shells  with  dreadful  explosions 
through  the  thick  clouds  of  white  smoke  floating  in  the 
breeze.  We  had,  of  course,  many  times  heard  the 
thunder  of  artillery,  but  never  with  a  noise  so  deafen- 
ing. It  was  as  though  the  great  voice  of  the  two 
armies  was  bursting  forth  in  violent  defiance,  in  furious 
anger.  And  our  men  were  thinking  :  "  Well !  we  are 
going  to  have  it  out  to-day !  " 

This  lasted  about  two  hours,  two  hours  during  which 
the  iron  hail  did  not  cease  to  fall  in  the  centre  of  our 
line,  occupied  by  Hays',  Gibbon's,  Doubleday's,  and  Bir- 
ney's  divisions.  All  our  men  were  lying  down,  which, 
nevertheless,  did  not  prevent  the  hellish  cannonade 
from  doing  us  a  great  deal  of  damage.  I  lost  seventy- 
six  men  from  my  command,  and  the  battery  near  which 
I  was  had  eighteen  horses  killed. 

Towards  three  o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  the  firing 
relaxed  sensibly  on  our  side,  General  Hunt,  command- 
ing the  artillery,  thinking  that  the  advantage  gained  did 
not  compensate  for  such  a  prodigal  expenditure  of  am- 
munition. The  enemy  supposed  he  had  silenced  or  dis- 
mounted a  part  of  our  pieces.  The  moment  had  come. 
He  came  out  from  the  woods  where  he  had  formed  for 
the  attack,  and  debouched  openly  on  the  plain. 

It  was  a  splendid  sight.  The  skirmishers,  at  regular 
intervals,  advanced  first,  covering  the  whole  front  of  the 
attacking  body.  Behind  them,  Pickett's  division  formed 
in  two  lines,  having  on  his  left  Heth's  division,  and  on 
his  right  W^ilcox's  Brigade  in  column  of  regiments. 
They  were  fully  fifteen  to  eighteen  thousand  men. 
They  advanced  towards  us,  and  our  men  awaited  their 
approach. 


GETTYSBURG. 


509 


When  they  were  in  easy  reach  of  case  shot,  our  artil- 
lery opened  on  them  a  crushing  fire,  which  mowed  down 
their  ranks,  but  did  not  stop  them.  On  the  contrary, 
they  came  on  the  faster,  only  obliquing  to  the  left, 
under  the  fierce  play  of  projectiles  on  their  right  by 
eight  batteries,  under  the  direction  of  Major  MacGil- 
vray.  And  our  men  still  looked  on  them  advancing, 
counting  the  gaps  made  in  their  ranks,  and  feeling  that 
they  were  getting  full  revenge  for  Fredericksburg. 

The  first  line  had  arrived  at  about  one  hundred  and 
fifty  yards  from  the  line  of  the  Second  Corps,  when  the 
front  of  Hays'  and  Gibbon's  divisions  burst  into  a  sheet 
of  flame,  and  redoubled  the  carnage  by  a  rolling  fire, 
which  was  the  signal  for  the  Confederates  to  charge. 
Everything  rushed  forward.  The  ranks  were  melted 
together  and  formed  thenceforth  but  a  raging  mass  of 
men  running,  rolling,  and  tumbling  forward,  and  through 
which  the  cannon  opened  great  lanes.  The  officers, 
swords  uplifted,  marched  in  the  front  ranks  ;  the  colonels 
guided  to  the  front  their  regiments  torn  by  canister. 
Their  yells  were  heard  above  the  noise  of  the  artillery 
and  musketry  ;  and  they  came  on  like  waves  against  a 
rocky  shore.     It  was  their  last  effort. 

They  struck  first  on  two  regiments  of  Webb's  brigade, 
covered  by  a  light  stone  wall.  They  threw  themselves 
against  the  obstacle  with  impetuosity,  beating  down  the 
troops  which  defended  it,  and  with  a  few  bounds  were 
amongst  the  guns.  Our  men,  dislodged  from  the  first 
line,  ran  to  join  the  regiments  of  the  second  line,  and 
turned  together  against  the  assailants.  During  some 
minutes  they  fought  there  over  the  pieces,  with  gun- 
shots, with  bayonet,  with  buts  of  muskets,  with  ramrods, 
and  the  ground  was  literally  covered  with  dead  and 
wounded. 

To   the  left   of  the  point   of   attack,    Stannard  was 


5IO       FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

placed  with  a  brigade  of  Doubleday's  division.  Profit- 
ing by  his  position,  which  was  the  most  saHent  on  that 
part  of  the  line,  he  changed  front  forward,  and  opened 
a  deadly  fire  on  the  right  flank  of  the  assailants. 
Almost  immediately,  the  left  of  Gibbon  made  a  similar 
movement.  Then,  under  the  direction  of  General  Han- 
cock, present  in  the  action,  the  whole  force  threw  itself 
on  the  enemy's  column.  It  was  the  coup  de  grace. 
Attacked  in  their  turn  on  one  side,  turned  on  the  other, 
almost  surrounded,  the  remnant  of  Pickett's  division 
threw  down  their  arms  and  surrendered. 

Heth's  division  had  not  been  able  to  break  the  right 
of  the  Second  Corps.  It  had  been  itself  broken  against 
the  resistance  of  Hays,  and  also  left  a  multitude  of  pris- 
oners in  our  hands. 

All  who  thought  that  they  could  get  away  took  the 
backward  course  through  a  fire  of  canister,  which  again 
brought  down  the  half  of  them  to  the  ground.  I  *saw 
places  where,  being  crushed  together,  the  dead  were 
absolutely  left  piled  one  upon  the  other. 

Wilcox's  Confederate  brigade,  which  seemed  to  be 
held  in  reserve  on  the  right  of  Pickett's  division,  then 
advanced  in  its  turn,  perhaps  to  protect  the  fugitives 
by  a  diversion.  But  the  artillery  fire  was  enough  to 
stop  it,  and  a  last  charge  of  two  regiments  of  Stannard 
sufficed  to  disperse  it  and  take  from  it  a  goodly  number 
of  prisoners. 

Thus  was  ended  the  battle  of  Gettysburg,  the  partial 
engagement  of  July  i  to  our  disadvantage,  continued  with 
desperate  fighting  on  the  2d,  without  definite  result, 
and  finished  on  the  3d  by  a  decisive  victory.  During 
these  three  days,  our  loss  was,  in  round  numbers,  twenty- 
three  thousand  men,  of  whom  six  thousand  six  hundred 
were  prisoners  or  missing.  That  of  the  enemy  was 
about  thirty  thousand  men,  more  than  thirteen  thou- 


GETTYSBURG.  5  1 1 

sand  of  whom  were  prisoners.  In  killed  and  wounded 
the  loss  was  about  equal,  between  sixteen  and  seventeen 
thousand  on  each  side. 

Proportionately  to  the  number  engaged,  our  total  loss 
was  more  than  a  third,  the  Sixth  Corps  not  being  en- 
gaged. The  loss  of  the  Confederates,  all  of  whose  three 
corps  took  part  in  the  battle,  must  have  been  three- 
sevenths  of  their  army. 

In  the  great  charge  of  the  last  day,  three  Confeder- 
ate generals  were  killed  :  Armistead,  Barksdale,  and 
Garnett.  A  fourth,  Kemper,  was  severely  wounded. 
On  our  side,  Hancock  and  Gibbon  were  wounded.  But 
they  had  the  moral  balm  of  a  victory  to  hasten  the 
healing  of  their  wounds.  In  the  victory  which  threw 
the  rebels  back  into  Virginia,  more  than  four  thousand 
prisoners  and  twenty-seven  flags  remained  in  the  hands 
of  the  Second  Corps. 


CHAPTER   XXIV. 

THE   PURSUIT. 

The  field  of  battle  by  moonlight  —  The  wounded  and  the  dead  —  Pursuit 
of  the  enemy  —  French's  division  added  to  the  Third  Corps  —  Politi- 
cal intrusions — Difficult  position  of  General  Meade- — Council  of 
war  —  General  disappointment — The  war  carried  again  into  Virginia 
—  Battle  of  Manassas  Gap — Lost  opportunity  —  General  French  — 
Once  more  on  the  Rappahannock. 

Between  eight  and  nine  o'clock  in  the  evening,  as  the 
last  glimmers  of  daylight  disappeared  behind  us,  I 
received  an  order  to  go  down  into  the  flat,  and  occupy 
the  field  of  battle  with  two  brigades  in  line.  That  of 
Colonel  Madill  was  added  to  mine  for  that  purpose. 
General  Ward,  who  temporarily  commanded  the  divis- 
ion, remained  in  reserve  with  the  third. 

The  most  profound  calm  reigned  now,  where  a  few 
hours  before  so  furious  a  tempest  had  raged.  The 
moon,  with  her  smiling  face,  mounted  up  in  the  starry 
heavens,  as  at  Chancellorsville.  Her  pale  light  shone 
equally  upon  the  living  and  the  dead,  the  little  flowers 
blooming  in  the  grass  as  well  as  upon  the  torn  bodies 
lying  in  the  pools  of  clotted  blood.  Dead  bodies  were 
everywhere.  On  no  field  of  battle  have  I  ever  seen 
them  in  such  numbers.  The  greater  part  of  my  line 
was  strewn  with  them,  and,  when  the  arms  were  stacked 
and  the  men  asleep,  one  was  unable  to  say,  in  that 
mingling  of  living  and  dead,  which  would  awake  the 
next  morning  and  which  would  not. 

Beyond  the  line  of  the  advanced  sentinels,  the 
wounded   still    lay  where  they  had  fallen,    calling  for 


THE    PURSUIT. 


513 


assistance  or  asking  for  water.  Their  cries  died  away 
without  any  reply  in  the  silence  of  the  night,  for  the 
enemy  was  close  by,  and  it  was  a  dangerous  undertak- 
ing to  risk  advancing  into  the  space  which  separated 
us.  In  making  an  attempt,  an  officer  of  my  staff  drew 
three  shots,  which  whistled  unpleasantly  near  his  ears. 
All  labors  of  charity  were  necessarily  put  off  till  the 
next  morning.  It  is  sad  to  think  that  this  was  a  sen- 
tence of  death  to  numbers  of  the  unfortunate.  Mourn- 
ful thoughts  did  not  hinder  the  tired  soldiers  from 
sleeping.  Everything  was  soon  forgotten  in  a  dream- 
less slumber. 

At  dawn  of  day,  when  I  awakened,  the  first  object 
which  struck  my  eyes  was  a  young  sergeant  stretched 
out  on  his  back,  his  head  resting  on  a  flat  stone,  serv- 
ing for  a  pillow.  His  position  was  natural,  even  grace- 
ful. One  knee  lightly  raised,  his  hands  crossed  on  his 
breast,  a  smile  on  his  lips,  his  eyes  closed,  he  appeared 
to  sleep,  and  dream,  perhaps,  of  her  who  awaited  his 
return  in  the  distant  Green  Mountains.  —  He  was  dead. 
Wounded,  he  had  sought  out  this  spot  in  which  to  die. 
His  haversack  was  near  him.  He  had  taken  out  of  it  a 
little  book,  on  which  his  last  looks  had  been  cast,  for  the 
book  was  still  open  in  his  stiffened  fingers.  It  was  the 
New  Testament  ;  on  the  first  leaf,  a  light  hand  had 
traced,  in  pencil,  some  letters,  rubbed  out,  which  one 
might  think  were  a  name.  I  have  kept  the  volume,  and, 
on  the  white  page,  to  the  unknown  name  I  have  added, 
"Died  at  Gettysburg,  July  3,  1863." 

During  the  night,  the  enemy  had  drawn  back  his 
pickets  to  the  other  side  of  the  Emmittsburg  road,  and 
left  us  free  to  assist  the  wounded.  The  appearance  of 
litters  and  ambulance  wagons  strengthened  them,  by 
giving  them  hope.  They  related  their  engagements  of 
the    evening   before,   and   their    sufferings   during  the 


514       FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

night.  One  of  them,  pointing  out  the  dead  lying 
around  him,  said  :  "  This  one  lived  only  till  sundown  ; 
—  that  one  lasted  until  about  midnight.  —  There  is  one 
who  was  still  groaning  but  an  hour  ago." 

The  gray-jackets  abounded  on  one  side  ;  the  boys  in 
blue,  more  numerous,  on  the  other,  indicating  the  move- 
ments of  the  troops  during  the  battle.  There  where 
they  were  mingled  together,  all  enmity  had  ceased 
when  the  contest  was  over,  and  the  canteen  passed  im- 
partially to  all  lips. 

The  greater  part  of  the  dead  were  terribly  lacerated, 
for  it  was  here  particularly  that  the  artillery  had  done 
its  dreadful  work.  There  were  the  dead,  with  heads 
carried  away,  breasts  torn  open,  limbs  gone,  entrails 
protruding  on  the  ground. 

Continuing  my  walk,  I  came  near  a  large,  isolated 
rock.  It  might  have  been  eight  or  ten  feet  high,  and 
fifteen  or  twenty  feet  broad.  Rounding  on  the  side 
towards  the  enemy,  but  flat  as  a  wall  on  the  opposite 
side,  it  had  served  as  an  advanced  post  for  one  of  our 
companies,  probably  belonging  to  Stannard's  brigade. 
What  had  happened  there  .-*  Had  they  been  surprised 
by  the  rapid  advance  of  the  enemy  ?  Had  they  tried 
to  shelter  themselves  behind  that  stone  during  the 
fight  .?  Had  the  firing  of  canister  by  our  guns  rendered 
retreat  impossible  .-•  Had  they  refused  to  surrender } 
No  one,  to  my  knowledge,  escaped  to  tell.  Whatever 
was  the  cause,  there  were  twenty  lying  there  cut  down 
by  lead  and  steel,  and  amongst  the  pile  I  recog- 
nized the  uniform  of  an  officer  and  the  chevrons  of  a 
sergeant. 

When  I  returned  to  the  centre  of  my  line,  the  ambu- 
lances were  at  work,  and  squads  detailed  from  each 
regiment  picked  up  the  arms  which  were  scattered  by 
thousands  over  the  field.     A  little  later,  my  command 


THE    PURSUIT. 


515 


was  relieved,  and  again  took  its  position  of  the  evening 
before. 

Some  reconnoissances  sent  out  to  look  for  the  enemy 
had  not  far  to  go  to  find  him.  His  pickets  were  still  on 
the  edge  of  the  woods  in  front  of  the  Seminary  Heights, 
We  afterwards  learned  that  he  expected,  during  the 
whole  day,  that  we  would  attack  him,  hoping  to  get  his 
revenge.  But  General  Meade,  content  with  his  victory, 
would  not  take  the  risk  of  compromising  it  by  leaving 
his  position  before  Lee  had  abandoned  his,  in  which  he 
acted  wisely,  whatever  may  have  been  said  to  the  con- 
trary. 

The  afternoon  was  thus  spent  in  first  picking  up  our 
wounded  and  afterwards  those  of  the  enemy.  The 
ambulance  wagons  were  hardly  enough  for  the  work. 
The  litter-bearers  placed  the  wounded  along  on  our 
lines,  where  they  had  to  await  their  turn  to  be  taken  to 
the  rear.  We  did  what  we  could  to  make  the  delay  as 
short  as  possible,  for  many  of  them  were  brave  South- 
ern boys,  some  having  enlisted  because  they  honestly 
believed  it  was  their  duty,  others  torn  by  force  from 
their  families,  to  be  embodied  in  the  rebel  army  by  the 
inexorable  conscription.  After  the  defeat,  they  were 
resigned,  without  boasting,  and  expressed  but  one 
wish  :  that  the  war  should  terminate  as  soon  as  possi- 
ble, since  the  triumph  of  the  North  appeared  to  be 
but  a  question  of  time. 

I  recall  to  mind  a  young  man  from  Florida,  who  told 
me  his  history.  His  name  was  Perkins,  and  he  was 
scarcely  twenty  years  old.  The  only  son  of  aged  par- 
ents, he  had  in  vain  endeavored  to  escape  service. 
Tracked  everywhere  by  the  agents  of  the  Richmond 
government,  he  had  been  forced  to  take  up  the  musket, 
and  had  done  his  duty  so  well  that  he  had  been  rapidly 
promoted  to  sergeant.     In  the  last  charge  of  the  day 


5l6       FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

before,  he  had  had  his  left  heel  carried  away  by  a  piece 
of  shell,  and  his  right  hand  shattered  by  a  canister 
shot.  One  amputation,  at  least,  probably  two,  was 
what  he  had  to  expect  ;  and  yet  he  did  not  complain. 
But  when  he  spoke  of  his  aged  parents  awaiting  his  re- 
turn, and  of  the  sad  condition  in  which  he  would  reen- 
ter the  paternal  home,  his  smile  was  more  heart-breaking 
than  any  complaint.  In  order  that  his  wounds  might 
be  sooner  dressed,  one  of  my  aids,  Lieutenant  Hough- 
ton, let  him  have  his  horse,  at  the  risk  of  marching  on 
foot  if  we  moved  before  the  animal  was  returned. 

The  next  night  we  passed  in  the  rain.  It  always 
rains  on  the  day  after  a  great  battle.  On  the  morning 
following  we  discovered  the  enemy  to  be  in  full  retreat. 
Seeing  that  the  attack  he  expected  did  not  come  off, 
and  fearing  for  the  safety  of  his  communications  with 
the  Potomac,  General  Lee  could  do  nothing  else  but 
retire  through  the  mountains,  which  he  did,  during  the 
night  of  the  4th  and  5th  of  July.  Then  only  began 
that  disorder  in  his  columns,  and  that  confusion,  the 
picture  of  which  has  been  somewhat  exaggerated  ;  an 
almost  inevitable  consequence,  besides,  to  that  kind  of 
movement.  Our  cavalry  began  to  harass  him  on  his 
flanks,  while  the  Sixth  Corps,  having  remained  intact, 
pressed  on  his  rearguard. 

The  difficulties  that  General  Sedgwick  met  in  the 
pass  of  Fairfield,  where  the  enemy  had  intrenched, 
probably  made  General  Meade  fear  that  a  direct  pur- 
suit would  entail  too  great  a  loss  of  time  in  the  moun- 
tains. So,  instead  of  following  Lee  in  the  valley  of  the 
Cumberland,  he  decided  to  march  on  a  parallel  line,  to 
the  east  of  the  South  Mountains.  He  thus  continued 
to  keep  between  Washington  and  the  Confederate  army  ; 
but  the  road  was  much  longer,  and  it  was  very  doubt- 
ful whether  he  could  overtake  his  adversary  before  the 


THE    PURSUIT, 


517 


latter  had  repassed  the  Potomac.  In  any  event,  in 
order  to  hold  him  back,  General  French,  who  was  at 
Frederick  with  a  part  of  the  garrison  of  Harper's  Ferry, 
received  orders  to  send  a  force  of  cavalry  to  destroy 
the  bridge  of  boats  which  the  Confederates  had  left  at 
Williamsport.  The  different  army  corps  were  only 
moved  out  in  succession.  The  last  of  them  left  Gettys- 
burg on  the  7th,  after  having  buried  the  dead. 

On  the  8th  we  passed  through  Frederick,  occupied 
by  the  Seventh  New  York  militia.  The  march  of  the 
9th  brought  us  to  Turner's  Gap,  where  the  fight  of 
South  Mountain  had  served  as  a  prelude  to  the  battle 
of  Antietam.  There,  French's  division  was  assigned 
to  the  Third  Corps,  which,  since  the  late  battle,  had 
counted  no  more  than  six  or  seven  thousand  men. 
They  were  troops  new  to  the  Army  of  the  Potomac. 
While  we  were  fighting  in  Virginia,  they  had  guarded 
the  railroads,  and  garrisoned  Harper's  Ferry,  Winches- 
ter, and  Martinsburg,  where  they  had  made  but  a  poor 
show,  when  Ewell  had  presented  himself.  Amongst  us 
they  took  the  place  of  those  whom  we  had  left  on  the  field 
of  battle  of  Chancellorsville  and  Gettysburg  ;  but  they 
did  not  replace  those.  What  the  Third  Corps  gained 
in  numbers  it  lost  in  homogeneity.  On  this  account 
the  new-comers  were  never  fully  naturalized  in  the 
corps.  The  veterans  of  Sickles,  refractory  to  the 
union,  maintained  their  autonomy  by  the  designation 
universally  adopted  amongst  them  :  "  The  Third  Corps 
as  we  understand  it." 

General  French  took  command  by  right  of  seniority. 
He  was  no  stranger  to  us,  having  already  served  in  our 
army.  But  the  manner  in  which  he  exercised  his  new 
authority  was  not  calculated  to  render  him  popular. 
On  the  other  hand,  at  this  time,  generals  were  sent  to 
us   whose  choice  was    as   unjust   as  it  was  maladroit. 


5l8       FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

Was  this  the  time  to  send  hurriedly  to  the  army,  with 
the  stars  of  brigadier-generals,  men  utter  strangers  to 
the  military  career,  men  whose  overweening  vanity  had 
led  them  to  seek  for  duties  of  which  they  had  not  the 
most  rudimentary  notions  ?  When  we  had  just  saved 
the  country,  by  a  sacrifice  of  one-third  of  our  number, 
the  glorious  vacancies  left  in  our  ranks,  instead  of 
being  filled  by  officers  who  for  two  years  had  not 
ceased  to  suffer  and  to  fight,  who  had  offered  their 
lives  on  so  many  battlefields,  who  a  hundred  times 
had  given  proof  of  courage  and  capacity,  —  was  it  just, 
was  it  honorable,  to  reserve  a  part  of  these  vacancies  to 
favor  or  to  corruption,  and  to  bring  forth  from  the  bar- 
rooms of  New  York  some  political  intriguer  to  com- 
mand heroic  soldiers  ?  The  plague  of  politics  was 
again  manifested,  and  the  government  displayed  its  fee- 
bleness before  the  eyes  of  the  whole  world,  by  sacri- 
ficing to  political  influence  those  who  had  earned  their 
grades  by  services  in  the  field. 

It  appeared  as  though  on  the  morrow  after  Gettys- 
burg General  Meade  was  strong  enough  to  maintain 
the  rights  of  those  to  whom  he  owed  the  honor  of  the 
victory  and  the  prestige  of  success.  But  General 
Meade  was  himself  struggling  with  difficulties,  which 
absorbed  all  his  attention.  His  promotion  to  the  com- 
mand of  the  army  was  not  made  without  creating  jeal- 
ousies, more  or  less  secret,  amongst  the  corps  com- 
manders, his  colleagues  of  yesterday,  his  subordinates 
to-day.  He  was  not  one  of  those  formed  to  take  the 
ascendancy  over  men  by  that  greatness  of  character  for 
whom  power  is  an  easy  instrument,  and  who  appear 
born  to  command.  On  the  other  hand,  although  his 
personal  valor  and  his  military  capacity  were  incon- 
testable, his  services  had  not  been  so  brilliant  as  to 
eclipse    those    of   his    rivals.     He    was,    besides,   more 


THE    PURSUIT. 


519 


reserved  than  audacious,  more  modest  than  presumptu- 
ous, on  which  account  he  treated  his  corps  commanders 
rather  as  friends  than  as  inferiors. 

In  taking  command  of  the  army,  he  had  been  able  to 
say,  in  all  sincerity,  that  he  had  not  expected  it  or 
sought  for  it  ;  that  he  took  it  with  a  distrust  in  his  own 
ability,  but  that  he  relied  on  the  cordial  assistance  of 
his  companions  in  arms  to  aid  him  in  fulfilling  all  the 
duties  of  the  important  trust  confided  to  him.  Ani- 
mated by  these  sentiments,  in  the  night  of  the  2d  and 
3d,  and  in  that  of  the  3d  and  4th  of  July,  that  is  to 
say,  during  and  after  the  battle  of  Gettysburg,  he  had 
consulted  his  generals  as  to  what  appeared  to  them  the 
best  course  to  pursue.  This  he  did  also  on  the  12th, 
when  we  found  ourselves  facing  the  Confederates  near 
Williamsport. 

They  had  reached  that  point  long  before  us,  and, 
although  their  bridge  of  boats  had  been  destroyed,  they 
would  have  passed  the  Potomac  at  the  ford  without 
difificulty  if  the  heavy  rains  had  not  raised  the  river  too 
high.  This  mishap  held  them  three  days.  If  it 
allowed  us  to  overtake  them,  it  also  gave  them  time  to 
intrench  in.  a  strong  position.  General  Meade  made 
the  dispositions  to  attack  the  enemy  in  his  works. 
Personally,  he  would  have  desired  to  finish  his  work, 
and  complete  his  victory,  by  destroying  the  army  of 
Lee.  The  President  encouraged  him  therein  through 
General  Halleck,  who,  on  his  side,  pushed  forward  all 
the  reenforcements  he  had  at  his  disposal.  Only  these 
reenforcements  were  purely  illusory.  They  were  New 
York  militia,  who,  according  to  General  Couch's  report, 
"  marched  as  though  they  were  ready  to  stop  at  the 
least  appearance  of  danger  before  them,"  or  Pennsylva- 
nia militia,  who,  after  the  enemy  had  left,  refused  to  go 
further  than  the  State  line,  or,  again,  the  nine-months 


520       FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

men,  commanded  by  a  lawyer,  and  who  demanded 
before  marching  that  they  should  be  put  under  the 
command  of  a  soldier. 

It  was  not  on  such  reenforcements  that  Meade  could 
rely.  Reduced  to  its  own  numbers,  would  the  Army 
of  the  Potomac  be  sufficient  for  the  task  ?  This  was 
the  question.  On  one  side  it  was  argued  that  the 
enemy,  demoralized  by  his  defeat,  and  short  of  ammu- 
nition, was  incapable  of  offering  a  prolonged  resistance. 
But  these  were  conjectures  rather  than  facts.  Where 
our  cavalry  had  attacked  him,  he  had  received  it  in  a 
manner  to  relieve  it  from  the  desire  of  persisting  in  the 
attempt.  And,  then,  he  was  behind  intrenchments 
difficult  to  approach,  which  rendered  the  issue  of  an 
assault  very  doubtful. 

But,  however  that  might  have  been,  I  think  it  would 
have  been  better  to  have  attacked.  Our  men  were  full 
of  ardor,  and  asked  only  to  make  a  finish  of  it.  That 
fact  made  it  worth  the  trouble  to  make  a  strong  effort, 
and  to  take  a  new  risk.  In  any  event,  there  was  every- 
thing to  gain  and  nothing  to  lose.  If  we  succeeded,  the 
road  to  Richmond  was  opened  before  us  ;  if  we  failed, 
the  road  to  Washington  was  still  closed  to  them.  Even 
putting  the  worst  face  on  matters,  we  could  have  fallen 
back  to  South  Mountain,  and  they  never  could  have 
forced  the  defiles,  should  they  make  the  effort,  which 
would  be  very  doubtful.  The  most  probable  result 
would  have  been  that,  content  with  having  repulsed 
our  last  attack,  the  advantage  they  would  have  from 
being  able  to  cross  the  river  in  entire  security  would 
have  satisfied  them. 

General  Meade  must  have  come  to  this  conclusion  in 
the  morning  of  the  12th  of  July,  for  at  an  early  hour  a 
circular  sent  out  from  headquarters  ordered  the  army 
to  get  ready  to  attack.     At  nine  o'clock  the  movement 


THE    PURSUIT. 


521 


began.  At  eleven  we  drew  near  the  enemy's  lines. 
Our  forces  were  drawn  up  in  line  of  battle  and  in  col- 
umns, with  artillery  in  the  intervals.  But  a  few  troops 
remained  to  be  put  in  position.  There  followed  a 
delay,  during  which  the  rain  began  to  fall,  and  did  not 
cease  during  the  rest  of  the  day.  In  fine,  the  attack 
was  put  off  till  the  morrow. 

During  the  night  the  general  commanding,  oppressed 
with  the  weight  of  the  responsibility  bearing  upon 
him,  convoked  his  corps  commanders  in  a  council  of 
war.  There  were  present  Sedgwick,  Slocum,  Sykes, 
French,  Pleasonton,  and  Warren  (commanding  the 
engineers).  Hays  represented  the  Second  Corps,  in  the 
absence  of  Hancock  and  Gibbon,  both  wounded  ;  Wads- 
worth  the  First  Corps,  in  place  of  Newton,  sick. 

General  Meade  briefly  laid  before  them  the  state  of 
affairs,  and  what  he  knew  of  the  condition  of  the 
enemy's  forces  ;  and  then  he  asked  them  to  give  him 
their  opinion  as  to  the  advisability  of  attacking  the 
ne.xt  morning.  Five  of  them  advised  clearly  against 
it ;  the  other  four  in  favor  of  it.  It  must  be  re- 
marked, on  this  point,  that  of  the  five  negative  votes 
four  were  from  the  generals  holding  the  highest  posi- 
tions in  service  and  by  rank,  that  is  to  say,  of  those  to 
whom  the  faults  and  the  eventual  retirement  of  Meade 
offered  some  chance  of  profit.  I  state  the  fact,  without 
drawing  any  conclusions,  though  really  one  might  ask 
if  it  is  not  inherent  in  our  poor  human  nature  to  in- 
stinctively lean  towards  the  side  where  our  interests  lie. 

The  generals  wishing  to  fight  had  nothing  person- 
ally to  gain  in  the  question.  The  opinion  of  Howard 
was  without  weight,  because  the  behavior  of  his  troops 
at  Gettysburg  had  not  been  such  as  to  regain  the  con- 
fidence which  they  had  lost  at  Chancellorsville.  Wads- 
worth,  who  was  only  there  to  take  the  place  of  another, 


522       FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

could  not  exert  a  sensible  influence  on  the  deliberation. 
Pleasonton  was  as  yet  assigned  only  temporarily  to  the 
command  of  the  cavalry.  Warren,  as  chief  of  engineers, 
had  but  a  consulting  voice.  So  that  the  discussion  was 
rather  hurried  than  full.  Sedgwick,  Slocum,  Sykes,  and 
French  relied  more  on  the  preponderance  of  their  votes 
than  on  the  strength  of  their  arguments.  They  stated 
in  general  terms  that  we  had  gained  a  great  victory, 
and  that  we  ought  not  to  run  the  risk  of  compromising 
the  results  ;  that,  if  our  army  was  routed,  there  was 
nothing  behind  it  to  cover  Washington  and  Baltimore. 
One  of  them  even  advanced  the  opinion  that  the  enemy 
would  attack  us,  if  we  did  not  attack  him,  and  that  we 
would,  in  that  case,  have  the  advantage  of  the  de- 
fensive. 

This,  as  will  be  seen,  was  not  conclusive.  Warren 
easily  demonstrated  that  an  attack,  if  repulsed,  would 
not  result  at  all  in  the  destruction  of  our  army  ;  while 
a  victorious  attack  would  necessarily  bring  on  the  de- 
struction of  Lee's  army.  The  advantage  remained  with 
us  to  act  on  the  defensive,  in  any  event,  whether  behind 
Antietam  Creek  or  in  the  passes  of  South  Mountain. 
As  to  the  idea  that  Lee,  beaten,  driven  back  to  the 
Potomac,  and  only  seeking  the  opportunity  to  return  to 
Virginia,  might  come  out  and  attack  us  if  we  left  him 
alone,  there  was  really  no  occasion  to  waste  time  in 
arguing  that  point.  General  Meade  closed  the  discus- 
sion, by  declaring  that  he  was  in  favor  of  attacking ; 
that  he  had  come  to  Williamsport  to  fight  the  enemy, 
and  that  he  saw  no  convincing  reason  to  do  differently  ; 
that,  however,  in  face  of  the  formal  opposition  of  his 
chiefs  of  corps,  he  would  not  assume  the  exclusive 
responsibility  of  giving  battle. 

There  was  one  point  to  which  I  do  not  see  that  any 
allusion  was  made.     I  mean  the  possibility  of  turning 


THE    PURSUIT.  523 

the  enemy's  position.  Pleasonton  must  have  known 
something  about  it.  In  his  "  History  of  the  Campaigns 
of  the  Army  of  the  Potomac,"  Swinton  says,  positively, 
that  the  position  of  Lee  along  Marsh  Creek  might  have 
been  turned.  "  By  throwing  his  right  forward  on  the 
Conecocheague,  Meade  would  have  drawn  his  army  out 
of  that  difficult  region  of  woods  and  hills  where  he  found 
himself,  and  where  all  the  advantages  of  position  were 
greatly  in  favor  of  the  Confederates,  and  would  have 
placed  himself  on  ground  where  he  would  have  occu- 
pied the  heights  commanding  the  river.  Then  he 
would  have  extended  beyond  the  Confederate  left, 
zvhich  tvas  in  the  air.  In  that  position,  Meade  would 
have  attacked  with  the  advantages  as  much  in  his  favor 
as  in  the  other  position  they  were  against  him."  But 
it  does  not  appear  that  this  very  important  question  was 
taken  into  consideration.' 

The  next  day  passed  away  without  anything  new 
occurring.  However,  although  Meade  had  followed  the 
opinions  of  his  corps  commanders,  he  had  not  definitely 
abandoned  his  project.  He  had  only  put  off  its  execu- 
tion for  one  day,  in  hopes  of  seeing  the  arrival  of  the 
fantastical  reenforcements,  which  the  telegraph  an- 
nounced to  him,  almost  from  hour  to  hour.  The  night 
having  come  without  their  appearance,  he  returned  to  his 
first  determination,  and  issued  all  the  orders  necessary 
for  a  ge-neral  attack  at  daylight.  Accordingly,  on  the 
14th,  at  sunrise,  we  marched  against  the  enemy's  in- 
trenchments.  They  were  vacant.  The  enemy  had 
succeeded  in  reestablishing  his  bridgeof  boats,  and  Hill's 
and  Longstreet's  corps  had  crossed  over  under  cover 
of  the  night.  Ewell's  corps  had  crossed  at  a  ford,  a 
little  higher  up. 

The  cavalry,  thrown  forward  immediately,  was  in 
time  to  capture  two  thousand  prisoners,  two  guns,  a  few 


524       FOUR   YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

flags,  and  a  quantity  of  arms.  General  Pettigrew,  who 
commanded  the  rearguard  of  the  Confederates,  was 
killed  in  the  fight.  This  was  all  remaining  in  our 
hands  of  that  Virginia  army  which  we  had  thought 
utterly  in  our  power. 

If  our  disappointment  was  great,  that  of  the  country 
was  greater  still.  During  several  days,  the  public  feel- 
ing had  been  very  much  excited  by  a  triumphal  series 
of  great  news.  On  the  3d,  the  victory  of  Gettysburg 
had  put  an  end  to  the  invasion  of  Pennsylvania ;  on  the 
4th,  the  anniversary  day  of  national  independence, 
Vicksburg,  the  citadel  of  the  South  on  the  Mississippi, 
had  fallen  under  the  blows  of  General  Grant,  and  on 
the  8th  Port  Hudson  had  surrendered  to  Banks.  The 
navigation  of  the  "  Father  of  Waters  "  was  at  last  re- 
opened to  us  throughout  its  entire  length,  and  the  rebel 
Confederacy  found  itself  cut  in  twain.  What  news  was 
there  left  to  hear  .''  The  destruction  of  Lee's  forces. 
They  counted  upon  it ;  they  considered  it  certain  ;  and 
behold,  suddenly  the  news  broke  upon  them  that  the 
rebel  army  had  escaped,  for  the  second  time,  from  the 
soil  which  ought  to  have  swallowed  it  up. 

On  the  7th,  the  President  had  written  this  note  to 
General  Halleck :  "Vicksburg  surrendered  to  General 
Grant  on  the  4th  of  July.  Now,  if  General  Meade  can 
complete  the  work  so  gloriously  carried  on  so  far,  by 
the  literal  and  complete  destruction  of  Lee's  army,  the 
rebellion  is  finished."  And  on  the  same  day  Meade 
received  his  appointment  as  brigadier-general  in  the 
regular  army.  Then  came  successively  a  series  of 
telegrams  from  General  Halleck,  concluding  thus, 
"  Make  a  finish  of  the  enemy  before  he  crosses  the 
Potomac  ;  do  not  let  him  escape  ! " 

On  the  14th,  the  tenor  of  the  despatch  was  completely 
changed  :  "  I  hardly  need  say  to  you  that  the  escape  of 


THE    RURSUIT. 


525 


Lee's  army  without  another  battle  has  greatly  dis- 
pleased the  President,  and  you  must  make  an  active 
and  energetic  pursuit,  to  do  away  with  the  impression 
that  he  has  not  been  sufficiently  pressed  up  to  this 
time." 

General  Meade  replied  immediately,  "Having  done 
my  duty  conscientiously,  and  to  the  best  of  my  ability, 
the  censure  of  the  President,  conveyed  in  your  despatch 
of  to-day,  is,  in  my  judgment,  so  undeserved  that  I  feel 
compelled  to  respectfully  ask  to  be  immediately  relieved 
from  the  command  of  the  army." 

As  a  matter  of  course,  this  request  was  not  granted. 
The  victor  of  Gettysburg  could  not  thus  be  put  aside 
on  the  very  morrow  of  his  triumph,  and  generals  capa- 
ble of  commanding  the  army  did  not  spring  up  so 
quickly  on  the  banks  of  the  Potomac  that  it  was  easy 
to  replace  them.  Nevertheless,  there  remained  an  un- 
favorable impression  in  public  opinion,  which,  without 
stopping  to  inquire  the  cause,  saw  only  the  result, 
namely  :  that  Meade  had  let  Lee  escape,  and  every- 
thing had  to  be  commenced  over  again. 

As  at  the  former  invasion  of  Maryland,  Lee  retired 
by  the  valley  of  the  Shenandoah  without  hurrying;  and, 
like  McClellan,  but  much  more  rapidly,  Meade  marched 
on  a  parallel  line,  by  way  of  the  Loudon  valley,  follow- 
ing the  eastern  slope  of  the  Blue  Ridge.  On  the  15th, 
we  crossed  the  battlefield  of  Antietam,  on  our  way  to 
Harper's  Ferry.  We  looked  over  that  ground,  taken 
and  retaken  five  times  successively  on  the  morning  of 
the  i/tn  of  September.  The  little  church  still  showed 
the  holes  made  by  the  balls,  which  had  not  left  a  door 
or  window.  Its  roof,  broken  in,  hung  in  pieces.  All 
the  trees  of  the  neighboring  woods  were  literally 
riddled  with  balls.  In  the  surrounding  fields,  little 
mounds  of  earth,  and  a  few  pieces  of  board  with  names 


526       FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

on  them  half  effaced,  marked  the  places  of  the  for- 
gotten dead.  The  village  of  Sharpsburg  still  showed 
the  scars  of  war,  on  the  sides  of  its  houses. 

On  the  17th,  we  crossed  the  Potomac  at  Harper's 
Ferry,  and,  turning  Loudon  Heights  below  the  mouth 
of  the  Shenandoah,  we  pursued  our  route  in  the  direc- 
tion of  Upperville,  where  we  camped  on  the  20th. 
There  we  halted  for  a  day ;  we  had  marched  too  fast. 
Meade  regulated  his  march  by  that  of  his  adversary, 
watching  for  an  occasion  to  strike  him  in  the  flank,  on 
the  other  side  of  the  mountains. 

This  occasion  presented  itself  on  the  22d.  The  Con- 
federate army,  marching  in  a  long  column  up  the  valley 
of  the  Shenandoah,  had  to  pass  before  Manassas  Gap, 
whose  mouth,  near  Front  Royal,  it  had  covered  by  but 
a  feeble  division.  That  day,  the  Second,  the  Third,  and 
the  Fifth  Corps  were  at  the  other  end  of  the  Gap. 
They  received  orders  to  throw  themselves  rapidly  on  the 
enemy,  sweep  away  the  few  troops  found  there,  and  cut 
his  column  in  two.  Nothing  was  easier.  The  Third 
Corps  entered  the  pass  first.  Unfortunately,  the  Third 
Corps  had  fallen  into  the  hands  of  an  incapable  general, 
and,  of  his  two  division  commanders,  Birney  was  absent, 
and  Humphreys,  promoted  to  major-general  and  to  the 
position  of  chief  of  the  staff  of  the  army,  was  replaced 
by  General  Prince,  an  officer  who  had  served,  I  believe, 
in  North  Carolina.  No  one  knew  anything  about  him. 
As  to  the  division  just  added  to  the  corps,  it  was  not 
considered  as  yet,  except  as  a  memorandum.  It  must 
have  been  somewhere  behind.  I  have  forgotten,  or 
never  knew,  who  commanded  it  at  that  time. 

We  penetrated  into  the  pass  without  finding  anything 
in  front  of  us,  which  did  not  prevent  General  French 
from  taking  so  many  precautions  that  for  a  long  time 
we  thought  it  was  not  a  question  of  forcing  the  passage. 


THE    PURSUIT. 


527 


but  of  defending  it.  We  passed  the  night  near  a  farm- 
house some  distance  in  the  niountains. 

On  the  morning  of  the  23d,  I  received  orders  to  form 
my  brigade  in  line  of  battle  on  an  uneven  plateau,  on 
the  right  of  the  line ;  then,  after  a  while,  the  direction 
having  been  rectified  by  General  French  himself, 
marched  directly  forward.  At  the  same  time,  Ward 
crossed  the  destroyed  railroad,  and  obliqued  to  the  left 
with  the  two  other  brigades.  At  the  other  side  of  the 
plateau,  I  found  myself  facing  a  ravine  deeply  cut  down 
between  two  steep  slopes,  covered  with  a  fine  thicket. 
We  passed  this  obstacle  by  breaking  by  the  right  of 
divisions  to  the  front,  and,  when  we  had  surmounted 
the  opposite  slope,  the  line  was  promptly  reestablished 
on  a  second  and  higher  plateau.  From  that  position  I 
could  see  distinctly  that  the  other  brigades  had  turned 
to  the  left  as  well  as  the  Second  Division,  in  the  same 
direction  as  the  gaps,  the  bend  of  which  I  was  about  to 
pass.  The  order  of  march,  "  directly  forward,"  was  so 
explicit  that  I  concluded  the  object  of  my  isolated 
movement  must  be  to  cover  the  gorge,  in  which 
the  railroad  ran  in  a  straight  line.  However,  in  the 
doubt,  I  placed  myself,  with  my  officers  and  my  guidon, 
on  the  most  prominent  point,  and  ordered  a  halt,  to  see 
if  new  orders  would  not  be  sent  to  me.  Ward's  right 
was  at  the  bottom  of  the  pass.  Between  the  road 
which  he  was  following  and  the  foot  of  the  mountain 
was  a  vacancy,  which  seemed  to  me  to  be  my  place,  and 
I  did  not  understand  why  they  should  leave  me  behind, 
instead  of  having  me  occupy  it,  following  the  general 
movement. 

Our  line  was  moving  away  now  in  the  prolongation 
of  my  left.  The  skirmishers  ascended  the  slope  of  a 
mountain,  less  elevated,  and  not  so  sharp  as  the  others. 
When  they  arrived  near  the  summit,  the  border  of  the 


528       FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

woods  which  stretched  out  before  them  was  spotted 
with  puffs  of  white  smoke,  which  told  me  that  the 
advance  posts  of  the  enemy  were  opening  fire  on  them. 
They  replied  immediately  with  spirit ;  then,  in  a  few 
minutes,  an  officer  on  horseback  passed  in  front  of  them 
at  a  gallop,  returned  towards  the  centre,  and  the  whole 
line  burst  forward  on  a  run  towards  the  woods,  which 
they  swept  in  a  flash.  The  line  of  battle  then  passed 
a  roll  of  ground,  behind  which  I  lost  it  from  view. 

At  this  instant  a  staff  officer  was  remarked  who  was 
coming  towards  us  at  a  gallop.  He  brought  me  the 
order  that  I  had  expected,  and  explained  to  me  that,  in 
directing  me  to  march  straight  ahead,  it  had  been  for- 
gotten to  add  that  it  was  only  a  precaution  to  have  me 
take  my  distance,  to  avoid  the  crowding  together  to- 
wards the  centre  of  the  line  of  which  I  formed  the  turn- 
ing wing.  In  any  event,  the  movement  was  badly  ar- 
ranged. Since  the  enemy  did  not  occupy  the  elbow  of 
the  pass,  the  simplest  way  would  have  been  to  form  the 
front  in  line  of  battle  beyond  that  point  and  without 
wheeling.  But,  if  they  must  absolutely  lose  time  in  use- 
less evolutions,  they  should  have  been  executed  correctly 
and  caused,  at  least,  two  brigades  to  wheel  by  battalion 
in  a  body. 

We  descended  from  the  plateau  to  take  position  on 
the  right  of  the  Second  Division,  which  separated  us 
from  Ward.  The  movement  appeared  to  come  to  a 
halt  without  anybody  knowing  why.  The  Seventeenth 
Maine  was  detached  to  sustain  a  battery  at  the  left  of 
the  road,  where,  however,  were  placed  all  the  troops  ex- 
cept my  brigade  and  the  Twentieth  Indiana,  deployed 
there  as  skirmishers  before  my  arrival.  The  One  Hun- 
dred and  Tenth  Pennsylvania  was  posted  in  advance  of 
a  group  of  houses  on  our  front.  Separated  from  my  di- 
vision, I   did  not  know  what  they  wished  to  do  ;  but  it 


THE    PURSUIT. 


529 


appeared  to  me  that,  whatever  it  might  be,  they  did  not 
know  how  to  get  about  it.     Finally,  they  advanced. 

One  brigade  of  the  Second  Division  was  selected  to 
dislodge  the  enemy  from  the  nearest  hill-top.  That 
brigade  was  one  commanded  by  one  of  the  political 
generals  recently  sent  to  the  army,  and,  naturally,  he 
did  not  know  the  first  thing  about  his  new  profession. 
An  aid  came  to  bring  him  the  order  to  form  his  regi- 
ments in  double  column  on  the  centre,  to  ascend  the 
hill,  and  to  deploy  them  in  line  of  battle  on  approaching 
the  summit.  The  improvised  general  repeated  the  order 
to  himself,  but  did  not  understand  it  any  better.  — 
"  Very  well  ;  double  column  — yes  —  on  the  centre."  — 
He  repeated  the  words  to  himself,  looking  for  some  one 
to  help  him  out,  when  he  saw,  a  few  paces  distant, 
Colonel  Brewster  of  the  Seventy-third  New  York. 
Brewster  was  a  brave  soldier  and  a  good  officer  sup- 
planted in  the  command  of  the  brigade  by  this  chief, 
who  knew  less  than  the  poorest  of  his  corporals. 
"  Colonel,"  said  the  general,  calling  him  near,  "  you 
heard  what  the  man  said  .■* "  (He  meant  the  aide-de- 
camp). "  Yes,"  replied  Brewster.  "  Well !  Do  it, 
then,  do  it."  On  his  part  he  saw  it  done,  and,  wishing 
to  show  that  if  he  were  ignorant  he  was  not  a  coward, 
he  followed  the  movement  and  went  on  caracoling  his 
horse  under  fire.  He  returned  with  a  ball  in  his 
foot  and  another  in  his  hip,  and  we  never  saw  him 
again. 

A  regiment  of  the  Third  Division  was  sent  to  me  as 
a  reenforcement.  It  was  full  in  numbers,  almost  as 
large  alone  as  my  whole  brigade ;  but  it  had  never  been 
under  fire,  and  I  believed  it  to  be  more  prudent  to  leave 
it  in  reserve  than  to  put  it  in  line. 

We  continued  to  drive  the  enemy  back  out  of  the 
pass,  but  slowly  and  without  engaging  other  troops  than 


530       FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY, 

a  brigade  and  a  line  of  skirmishers.  The  latter,  seeing 
that  there  was  only  skirmishing  going  on,  took  things 
easily.  One  could  see  them,  while  keeping  up  their  fire, 
regale  themselves  on  blackberries,  which  the  unculti- 
vated fields  yielded  abundantly  at  that  season  of  the 
year. 

The  sun  went  down  at  this  state  of  affairs,  and  Gen- 
eral French  put  off  serious  business  until  the  morrow. 
Now,  in  the  morning,  the  enemy's  army  had  passed  be- 
yond Manassas  Gap,  and  the  few  troops  we  had  before 
us  had  gone  on  to  join  his  rearguard.  We  went  on  to 
the  mouth  of  the  pass,  from  where  we  could  enjoy  for 
a  short  time  a  magnificent  view  of  the  valley  ;  after 
which  we  made  a  half-wheel  to  the  right,  and  returned 
to  the  point  from  which  we  had  started. 

A  few  days  afterward,  finding  myself  in  command  of 
the  pickets,  I  had  to  receive  my  instructions  directly 
from  General  French.  I  found  a  large  man  with  a  red 
nose,  a  flushed  face,  a  bald  forehead,  a  dull  look.  Near 
him,  a. glass  and  a  bottle  of  whiskey  appeared  to  be  on 
the  table  en  permanence.  He  made  me  sit  down,  said 
a  few  words  to  me  on  the  ofificial  object  of  my  visit, 
and,  making  continual  grimaces,  the  effect  of  a  nervous 
affection,  began  on  a  subject  which  he  appeared  to  have 
at  heart.  The  occasion  lost  by  his  unskilfulness  at 
Manassas  Gap  had  been  the  subject  of  comment  not  at 
all  flattering,  and  the  general  commanding  had  been 
very  much  disappointed.  French  endeavored  then  to 
justify  himself  on  all  occasions.  He  began  by  compli- 
menting me  on  what  I  had  done  at  his  extreme  right, 
which  seemed  to  me  less  flattering  than  surprising,  see- 
ing I  had  done  nothing  at  all.  The  only  regiment  en- 
gaged on  my  side  was  the  Twentieth  Indiana,  which  did 
not  belong  to  me,  and,  in  my  brigade,  I  had  lost  but  one 
man,  killed  by  chance.     Without  waiting  my  reply,  he 


THE    PURSUIT. 


531 


launched  into  a  confused  dissertation  on  the  fine  things 
he  considered  that  he  had  accomplished  on  this  occa- 
sion. His  great  argument  consisted  in  this  :  that,  ex- 
cept one  brigade,  he  had  used  nothing  but  skirmishers 
to  sweep  the  pass,  and  that,  by  keeping  his  troops  back, 
he  had  prevented  the  enemy  from  knowing  where  they 
were.  He  returned  continually  to  this  point,  and  inter- 
rupted himself  at  each  instant  to  say  to  me,  "Do  you 
see  the  point  ?  Do  you  understand  the  point  ?  "  What 
I  understood  very  clearly  was  that  his  ideas  were  very 
much  confused.  He  did  not  appear  to  suspect  that  his 
system  of  skirmishers  was  just  the  unskilfulness  which, 
by  causing  us  to  lose  precious  time,  prevented  our  cut- 
ting in  two  the  long  column  of  Lee,  or,  at  least,  of  cut- 
ting off  his  rearguard.  He  kept  me  for  a  long  time  in 
order  to  go  over  the  same  things,  and,  as  I  put  my  foot 
in  the  stirrup  at  the  entrance  to  his  tent,  he  kept  re- 
peating, "  You  understand  the  point,  do  you  not  .-* " 

Poor  Third  Corps  !     Your  best  days  were  over. 

On  the  26th,  we  arrived  at  Warrenton,  where  General 
Birney  returned  to  take  command  of  the  division.  The 
Confederates  having  halted  at  Culpeper,  our  army  was 
again  posted  along  the  Rappahannock.  On  the  31st, 
the  right  of  our  position  was  assigned  to  the  Third 
Corps,  and  Birney's  division  pitched  its  tents  around 
White  Sulphur  Springs.     The  pursuit  was  over. 


CHAPTER   XXV. 

OPERATIONS   DURING   THE   LATTER   PART   OF   1863. 

White  Sulphur  Springs — The  Vallandigham  affair  —  Plots  of  the  Cop- 
perheads —  Bloody  riots  in  New  York  —  Attitude  of  Governor 
Horatio  Seymour  —  Western  regiments  sent  to  enforce  the  law  — 
Reenforcements  hurried  to  Tennessee  —  Advance  on  Culpeper  — 
The  Sharpshooters  —  Movement  to  the  rear  —  The  engagement  at 
Auburn  —  Battle  of  Bristoe  Station  —  Remarks  —  Visit  of  General 
Sickles —  Battle  at  Rappahannock  Station  —  Engagement  at  Kelly's 
Ford  —  March  in  line  of  battle  —  Mr.  John  Minor  Botts  between  two 
racks  —  Mine  Run  affair —  Death  labels  —  Raid  on  Richmond. 

White  Sulphur  Springs  is,  as  denoted  by  its  name,  a 
sulphur  spring  of  great  clearness.  It  is  a  few  miles 
from  Warrenton,  in  a  beautiful  country  where  the 
wooded  hills,  the  green  meadows,  and  the  cultivated 
fields  agreeably  vary  the  landscape.  Before  the  war, 
it  was  every  summer  one  of  the  chosen  rendezvous 
of  Southern  society.  The  planters  liked  to  take  their 
families  and  meet  each  other  there,  and,  under  pretext 
of  taking  the  waters,  to  play  heavily,  drink  hard,  and  get 
excited  over  politics.  A  large  hotel  offered  them  hos- 
pitality (well  paid  for),  in  the  centre  of  a  semicircle, 
formed  by  two  rows  of  small  cottages,  for  use  of  the 
families.  All  this  in  the  midst  of  fine  shade,  in  the 
centre  of  which  the  spring  burst  forth  in  a  reservoir 
covered  by  a  columned  rotunda.  But  since  that  time 
the  war  had  passed  that  way.  Of  the  great  architec- 
tural structure  nothing  remained  but  a  heap  of  ruins, 
from  the  midst  of  which  arose  some  columns  blackened 
by  the  flames,  and  some  pieces  of  walls  half  crumbled 
away.     General   Birney  established  his  headquarters  in 

5.^2 


THE    LATTER    PART    OF    1 863.  533 

the  garden.  A  short  distance  away,  and  near  the  War- 
renton  road,  a  clump  of  great  oaks  extends  its  shade  in 
the  midst  of  a  field.  There  I  pitched  my  tent,  and  for 
six  weeks,  except  the  usual  drill,  we  were  able  to  give 
ourselves  up,  without  being  disturbed,  to  the  leisure  life 
of  the  country. 

It  was  not  the  government,  it  was  the  Copperhead 
party  which  gave  us  this  leisure.  In  this  way  :  this 
party,  closely  affiliated  to  the  cause  of  the  rebellion, 
had  not  ceased,  since  the  commencement  of  the  war,  to 
contrive  every  possible  hindrance  to  the  government. 
Compelled,  at  first,  to  bend  before  the  patriotic  enthu- 
siasm which  had  fired  the  free  States,  it  had  since  be- 
come audacious,  and  by  its  manoeuvres  it  had  obtained 
successes,  much  to  be  lamented,  in  the  elections  of 
the  preceding  autumn. 

One  of  its  most  violent  and  unscrupulous  leaders 
was  a  certain  Vallandigham,  representative  of  one  of 
the  Ohio  districts.  He  had,  in  Congress,  constantly 
opposed  every  war  measure,  and,  when  the  session  had 
closed,  he  went  into  the  country,  to  continue  his  sedi- 
tious diatribes  against  the  national  government.  On 
the  1st  of  May,  1863,  he  ventured  on  a  public  speech, 
in  which,  after  having  heaped  up  beyond  measure  every 
injurious  and  lying  accusation  which  he  could  invent 
against  the  administration,  he  finished  by  calling  on 
the  people  directly  to  disobedience  and  sedition,  in 
reference  to  an  order  of  General  Burnside,  directed 
against  those  who  aided  and  assisted  the  enemy. 

General  Burnside,  who  then  commanded  that  mili- 
tary department,  caused  the  arrest  of  Vallandigham, 
and  brought  him  before  a  court-martial  at  Cincinnati. 
A  writ  of  habeas  corpus  was  immediately  produced  in 
favor  of  the  prisoner.  But  this  privilege  had  been 
suspended  by  a  proclamation  of  the  President,  in  the 


534       FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

month  of  September  preceding,  and  Congress  had 
fully  sanctioned  that  measure,  based  on  the  explicit 
terms  of  the  Constitution,  in  case  of  insurrection  or 
invasion.  The  general  refused  to  obey  the  writ,  and 
his  refusal  was  judicially  approved.  The  military  com- 
mission declared  the  accused  guilty,  and  condemned  him 
to  imprisonment  in  one  of  the  fortresses  of  the  United 
States.  The  President,  always  indulgent,  mitigated 
the  sentence  by  ordering  that  the  condemned  should 
be  sent  into  the  enemy's  lines,  and  forbidden  to  re- 
enter the  loyal  States  before  the  conclusion  of  the  war. 

At  this  the  whole  Copperhead  party  broke  out  in 
loud  cries,  and  was  furiously  eager  to  avert  the  palm  of 
martyrdom  from  its  disciple.  A  great  meeting  was 
called  at  Albany,  the  capital  of  the  State  of  New  York, 
to  that  effect.  Without  appearing  in  person,  Governor 
Seymour  wrote  a  letter  to  it,  denouncing  the  action  of 
the  government ;  the  orators  of  the  second  class  were 
loud  in  their  condemnation  of  the  government,  and 
finally  adopted  some  resolutions  which  were  sent  to  the 
President.  He  condescended  to  reply  to  them,  in  a 
communication  as  moderate  in  manner  as  conclusive  in 
matter.  This  victorious  refutation  of  the  argument  in- 
spired by  treason  did  not  prevent  the  agitation  from 
spreading  in  the  Democratic  party,  which,  in  Ohio, 
chose  Vallandigham  for  its  candidate  for  Governor. 

The  new  levy  ordered  by  Congress,  and  the  prepa- 
rations for  the  conscription  for  the  States  which  had 
not  filled  their  quotas  with  volunteers,  furnished  an- 
other opportunity  to  the  allies  of  the  rebels  to  annoy 
the  government  by  unworthy  means.  Any  pretext 
served  them.  The  drawing  was  to  begin  in  New  York, 
on  July  II,  eight  days  after  the  victory  at  Gettysburg, 
when  Lee,  still  at  bay,  was  on  the  left  bank  of  the 
Potomac.     The  drawing  went  on  peaceably  enough  on 


THE    LATTER    PART   OF    1 863.  535 

Saturday.  The  next  day,  seeing  that,  contrary  to  their 
expectations  and  notwithstanding  their  excitement,  the 
people  submitted  to  the  measure,  as  legal  and  neces- 
sary, plotters  stirred  up  all  the  foul  parts  of  the  city,  to 
bring  out  from  there  the  scum  of  the  European  popula- 
tion. The  moment  was  favorable.  New  York  was 
stripped  of  troops  and  of  militia.  Everything  which 
could  aid  in  driving  back  the  invasion  had  been  sent 
away  to  Pennsylvania  and  Maryland.  There  remained 
the  police  alone  to  fight  the  riot. 

Urged  on  by  the  hope  of  impunity,  by  the  temptation 
of  pillage,  by  underhand  encouragement,  the  cursed 
brood,  on  Monday,  came  out  from  its  dens,  armed  for 
pillage,  murder,  and  fire.  The  conscription  offices  were 
attacked,  sacked,  and  given  up  to  flames.  Then  the 
bands  of  savages,  spreading  through  the  streets,  began 
their  work,  hanging  colored  men,  pursuing  the  officers 
employed  in  the  conscription  or  partisans  of  the  admin- 
istration pointed  out  to  them  for  attack.  They  broke 
open  the  houses  of  individuals  which  seemed  to  promise 
them  rich  plunder,  and  burnt  public  buildings,  among 
others  an  orphan  asylum.  For  three  days  the  city  was 
delivered  over  to  a  horrible  and  bloody  bacchanalian 
riot,  in  which  the  women  and  the  children  were  engaged 
in  thieving  and  even  in  murder. 

The  police  did  its  duty  bravely  ;  it  charged  the  rioters 
everywhere,  wherever  they  assembled  in  force,  and  pro* 
tected,  as  much  as  was  within  its  power,  both  persons 
and  property.  But,  to  put  an  end  to  this  ignoble 
anarchy,  it  was  necessary  to  await  the  return  of  the 
militia,  recalled  in  haste  to  the  defence  of  their  families 
and  their  firesides.  Then  the  repression  was  prompt 
and  energetic.  After  the  street  fights,  the  police  was 
able  to  state  that  twelve  hundred  of  these  rioting  rob- 
bers were  buried.     By  adding  to  this  number  the  secret 


536       FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC   ARMY. 

burials  which  escaped  the  search,  the  very  large  num- 
ber of  wounded  cared  for  in  their  families  and  in  the 
hospitals,  and  the  convictions  afterward  in  the  courts, 
it  would  be  found  that  the  punishment  was  equal  to  the 
crime.  Under  the  democratic  polity,  society  does  not 
depend  on  the  government  to  defend  it.  It  knows  how 
to  protect  itself. 

The  Governor,  Horatio  Seymour,  whose  attitude  and 
conduct  towards  the  national  government  had  been  of 
a  nature  to  encourage  the  riot,  much  more  than  to  pre- 
vent it,  thought  only,  in  concert  with  his  party,  how  he 
could  turn  the  event  to  its  profit,  in  order  to  prevent 
the  conscription.  Under  pretext  of  finding  out  if  some 
error  had  not  crept  into  the  account  of  the  contingent 
furnished  by  the  State,  and  of  previously  submitting 
the  question  of  the  constitutionality  of  the  law  to  the 
judiciary,  he  asked  the  President  that  the  resumption  of 
the  drawing  should  be  indefinitely  adjourned.  The 
object  of  this  attempt  is  easily  seen.  It  was  designed 
to  dry  up  the  sources  of  the  reenforcements  necessary 
to  the  armies,  to  diminish  if  not  to  annul  the  results  of 
the  victories  of  Gettysburg  and  Vicksburg,  and,  while 
the  Confederate  government  was  renewing  its  forces  by 
a  levy  en  masse,  to  reduce  ours  by  stopping  the  con- 
scription and  by  discouraging  volunteer  enrolments. 
Such  were  the  means  by  which  the  peace  Democrats  in 
the  North  hoped  to  bring  about  either  a  definite  estab- 
lishment of  a  Southern  Confederacy,  or  a  formation  of 
a  new  Union,  based  on  the  subjection  of  the  free  States 
to  the  power  of  the  slave  States. 

The  President  refused  to  accede  to  the  request,  in 
a  communication  giving  his  reasons,  dated  August  7. 
On  the  next  day,  the  Governor  insisted  on  producing 
documents  prepared  for  the  case  by  Judge  Waterbury. 
The  resumption  of  the  drawing  was  nevertheless  ordered 


THE    LATTER    PART    OF    1 863.  537 

for  August  19,  and,  to  prevent  the  possibility  of  new 
violence  on  the  part  of  the  partisans  of  the  rebellion, 
several  regiments  of  the  Army  of  the  Potomac  were  sent 
to  New  York.  Among  the  number  were  the  Third  and 
the  Fifth  Michigan,  whose  departure  reduced  my  bri- 
gade still  more  considerably,  although  the  Ninety-ninth 
Pennsylvania  was  transferred  to  me  to  replace  them. 
Some  other  troops  were  taken  from  some  of  the  other 
divisions.  They  chose  preferably  those  belonging  to 
the  Western  States.  Their  presence  was  enough  to 
prevent  all  opposition. 

At  the  same  time,  a  considerable  detachment  was 
drawn  from  the  Army  of  the  Potomac  to  send  to  South 
Carolina.  The  result  was  that  offensive  operations 
had  to  be  temporarily  suspended. 

Along  in  the  middle  of  September,  General  Meade 
received  advice  that  Longstreet  had  left  Lee's  army  to 
go  to  Tennessee.  As  he  was  preparing  to  immediately 
resume  the  campaign,  it  was  announced  to  him  from 
Washington  that  the  Eleventh  and  Twelfth  Corps  were 
to  be  hurried  off  to  the  West,  under  the  command  of 
General  Hooker.  They  soon  departed,  and  ceased 
thereafter  to  form  part  of  the  Army  of  the  Potomac. 

The  five  remaining  corps,  including  the  cavalry,  could 
not  furnish  an  effective  force  of  more  than  fifty  to  sixty 
thousand  men,  in  the  absence  of  the  troops  sent  to  the 
State  of  New  York,  and  who  had  not  yet  returned. 
Nevertheless,  Meade  did  not  judge  it  necessary  to  await 
their  return,  and  on  September  15  the  army  was  put 
in  motion.  The  cavalry  crossed  the  Rappahannock  first. 
We  followed  closely.  On  our  approach,  Lee  abandoned 
Culpeper,  and  fell  back  with  his  whole  force,  behind  the 
Rapidan,  where  we  were  forced  to  halt  before  the  strong 
position  he  had  taken. 

There  the  regiments  that  had  been  absent  several 


538        FOUR    YEARS    Willi    THE    rOTOMAC    ARMY. 

months  rejoined  us.  You  need  not  ask  if  there  was 
not  a  joyful  reunion.  The  Third  and  Fifth  Michigan 
were  welcomed  in  the  brigade  with  endless  cheers,  to 
which  they  replied  with  no  less  enthusiasm.  After  so 
many  battles  that  they  had  fought  together,  they  were 
rejoiced  to  be  again  side  by  side  for  the  battles  remain- 
ing to  be  fought.  It  appeared,  besides,  that  among 
them  the  time  lost  for  war  had  been  profitably  employed 
otherwise.  Colonel  Pierce,  recovered  from  his  wound, 
told  me  that,  during  the  ten  or  twelve  days  his  regiment 
had  stopped  at  Troy,  thirty  of  his  men  had  married. 
Now  they  could  sing  the  popular  couplet :  — 

Nos  amours  ont  dure  toute  une  semaine. 

Ah  !  que  du  bonheur  les  instants  sont  courts  ! 

I  trust  that  husbands  and  wives  found  each  other 
after  the  war  was  over,  and  that  the  young  Trojan 
lasses  were  not  left  behind,  as  was  the  spouse  of  pious 
.^neas. 

The  Ninety-ninth  Pennsylvania  returned  to  the  Sec- 
ond Brigade,  to  which  it  had  always  belonged  ;  but  it 
was  replaced  in  mine  by  the  First  Battalion  of  sharp 
shooters,  and  as,  at  the  same  time,  the  Seventeenth 
Maine  received  an  accession  of  two  hundred  recruits, 
the  number  of  my  command  was  brought  up  to  thirty- 
two  hundred  men,  of  whom  more  than  two  thousand 
were  present  in  the  ranks. 

The  sharpshooters  formed  a  special  organization  in 
the  army.  There  were  but  two  battalions  raised  in  the 
whole  United  States  by  Colonel  Berdan,  composed  ex- 
clusively of  the  best  marksmen,  who  had  to  make  proof 
of  their  skill  before  being  admitted  to  the  ranks.  Their 
uniform  was  dark  green,  with  horn  buttons  ;  their  arms, 
Sharp's  breech-loading  rifles.  Fighting  always  as  sharp- 
shooters, they  had  a  firmness  of  hand  and  correctness 


THE    LATTER    PART    OF    1 863.  539 

of  aim  which  rendered  them  particularly  dangerous. 
At  a  distance  which  the  rifled  Springfield  could  not 
reach,  their  deadly  balls  struck  the  mark  almost  with 
certainty.  Some  few  of  them  were  armed  at  their  own 
expense  with  long  telescope  rifles,  and  for  them  distance 
appeared  to  be  annihilated.  From  these  facts  one  can 
judge  of  the  number  of  victims  which  the  sharpshooters 
must  have  made  in  the  ranks  of  the  enemy. 

Culpeper,  which  we  have  so  often  mentioned,  is  a 
small  city,  or  rather  a  large  village,  where  there  are  a 
few  pretty  houses.  Everything  was,  at  this  time,  in 
disorder ;  the  stores  were  closed  ;  the  inhabitants  had 
disappeared.  We  found  there  only  a  very  few  negroes, 
either  too  young  or  too  old  to  run  away,  and  left  there 
because  they  were  not  worth  the  trouble  of  taking 
away.  We  remained  camped  in  that  neighborhood 
until  October  10. 

On  the  6th,  official  information  of  a  movement  of 
Stuart's  cavalry  in  the  rear  of  our  positions  had  already 
put  us  on  the  alert.  Reconnoissances  had  been  sent  out 
in  different  directions,  and  on  the  8th  we  were  held 
ready  to  march  at  the  shortest  notice.  The  suspicion 
of  a  manoeuvre  of  Lee  to  turn  our  right  became  a  cer- 
tainty when,  on  the  loth,  the  advance  posts  of  the 
Second  Division  were  attacked  at  James  City  by  the 
cavalry  which  covered  the  flank  of  the  principal  column 
of  the  Confederates.  Then  General  Meade  understood 
that  the  intention  of  his  adversary  was  to  cut  his  com- 
munications with  Washington.  The  army  fell  back 
immediately  on  the  Rappahannock.  The  Third  Corps 
covered  the  retreat. 

We  had  hardly  started  in  our  turn,  on  the  morning 
of  the  I  ith,  when  a  brigade  of  the  enemy's  cavalry  pre- 
sented itself  on  our  left  flank.  The  division  was 
formed  in  line  of  battle  immediately,  but  the  battalion 


540       FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

of  sharpshooters  sufficed  to  cause  the  immediate  dis- 
appearance of  the  horsemen  who  threatened  us.  Al- 
though our  march  was  delayed  by  some  confusion 
amongst  the  ammunition  wagons  and  ambulances  at 
the  passage  of  Hazel  River,  we  arrived  in  the  afternoon 
on  the  heights  which  commanded  Beverly  Ford.  From 
there  we  might  have  been  witnesses  of  a  cavalry  combat 
on  the  plain  if,  after  the  first  charge,  all  the  details  had 
not  been  lost  in  a  thick  cloud  of  dust,  in  the  midst  of 
which  both  friends  and  enemies  disappeared  in  an  in- 
stant. So  that  I  can  say  nothing  about  it  except  that 
it  was  General  Buford  who  opened  the  way  through 
Stuart's  troopers,  endeavoring  in  vain  to  bar  the  pas- 
sage. At  nine  o'clock  in  the  evening  we  passed  over  a 
bridge  of  boats,  which  the  pontoniers  took  up  from  the 
water  behind  us.  At  midnight  a  portion  of  our  troops 
bivouacked  behind  Freeman's  Ford. 

Thwarted  in  his  plans  on  the  south  bank  of  the 
Rappahannock,  General  Lee  concluded  to  make  a  new 
trial  on  the  north  bank.  He  took  up  his  movement 
again  by  way  of  Sulphur  Springs,  where  General  Gregg, 
at  the  head  of  a  brigade  of  cavalry,  was  not  strong 
enough  to  dispute  his  passage.  But  the  resulting 
engagement  unmasked  the  march  of  the  enemy.  From 
that  time  on,  it  was  a  race  between  the  two  armies,  in 
which  the  advantage  w-as  not  very  much  on  our  side. 
This  is  the  manner  of  it  :  from  Warrenton  the  two 
corps  of  Hill  and  Ewell,  which  composed  all  of  Lee's 
forces,  directed  their  march  towards  Bristoe  Station  by 
different  roads,  counting  on  coming  together  there  to 
strike  us  in  flank.  If  Meade  had  foreseen  the  move- 
ment, or  if  he  had  been  advised  of  it  in  time,  nothing 
would  have  been  easier  than  for  him  to  have  received 
the  attack  at  that  point  and  in  a  favorable  position, 
and  it  is  quite  likely  that  the  enemy,  having  come  out 


THE    LATTER    PART    OF    1 863.  541 

for  wool,  would  have  gone  back  shorn.  Unfortunately, 
in  the  persuasion  that  Lee  was  endeavoring  to  precede 
us  to  Centreville,  in  order  to  put  himself  in  a  good 
position  between  us  and  Washington,  the  general 
commanding  continued  his  retreating  movement  with- 
out stopping. 

That  day  (October  13)  we  had  passed  ahead  of  the 
Second  Corps,  commanded  at  that  time  by  General 
Warren,  who  took  French's  place  as  rearguard.  To- 
wards three  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  we  were  about  to 
reach  the  village  of  Auburn  when  the  head  of  our 
column  was  unexpectedly  welcomed  by  musket  shots, 
near  a  wood  whose  border  crossed  the  road  in  front  of 
us.  French,  who  marched  with  our  division,  had 
neglected  to  have  the  ground  in  front  of  the  column 
reconnoitred  by  an  advance  guard.  We  were  thus 
ignorant  of  what  force  confronted  us.  The  First  Bri- 
gade, commanded  by  Colonel  Collis,  was  formed  rapidly 
to  the  right.  Mine,  which  followed,  was  developed  in 
two  lines  to  the  left,  while  a  section  of  artillery  opened 
on  the  woods,  from  which  a  lively  fire  was  maintained 
upon  us. 

These  dispositions  taken,  the  order  was  given  to  the 
first  line  to  charge.  This  was  done  briskly.  On  my 
side,  the  Fifth  Michigan  and  the  First  Battalion  of 
sharpshooters  dashed  forward  on  the  run.  The  enemy 
had  not  time  to  give  us  a  volley.  We  were  upon  him 
in  an  instant,  and  the  woods  were  swept  with  little 
resistance.  We  found  there  only  a  brigade  of  dis- 
mounted cavalry.  The  rebels  ran  to  their  horses  and 
disappeared,  leaving  in  our  hands  only  their  dead  and 
a  few  prisoners. 

We  had  halted  on  the  edge  of  a  steep  ravine,  at  the 
bottom  of  which  ran  a  brook  over  a  stony  bed.  Beyond 
the  ravine  there  was  an  open  plain,  in  rear  of  a  farm- 


542        FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

house,  whose  front  bordered  the  road  beneath  us.  A 
few  farm  buildings  were  in  the  fields,  five  or  six  hundred 
yards  further  off.  There  appeared  a  group  of  horsemen, 
among  whom  was  an  officer  affectedly  caracoling  his 
horse,  stopping  from  time  to  time  to  examine  our  move- 
ments with  a  field  glass.  "  Who  will  bring  down  that 
too  inquisitive  officer  for  me  .'*  "  I  asked  of  the  sharp- 
shooters nearest  to  me.  "  We  will  try,  colonel,"  they 
replied.  They  chose  one  of  their  number,  who  ad- 
vanced a  few  steps,  and  adjusted  his  sight  with  care. 
He  fired.  After  a  few  seconds  of  watching,  we  saw  the 
horse  stagger,  as  if  about  to  fall,  then  balance  himself 
on  three  legs.  The  ball  had  struck  the  horse,  instead 
of  the  horseman,  who  did  not  wait  for  a  second  trial  of 
the  range  of  the  weapon,  or  of  the  skill  of  the  marks- 
man. The  whole  group  disappeared  with  him  behind  a 
wall,  and  we  saw  no  more  of  them. 

During  this  time,  our  dead  had  been  buried,  and  our 
wounded  taken  to  the  ambulances.  The  column  re- 
sumed its  line  of  march,  preceded  this  time  by  an  ad- 
vance guard. 

The  next  day,  having  crossed  Bull  Run,  we  had  just 
taken  position  in  the  afternoon,  on  the  height  in  front 
of  Centreville,  when  a  violent  cannonade  broke  out  at 
Bristoe  Station,  which  we  had  passed  a  few  hours  be- 
fore. The  Second  Corps  had  come  in  collision  with  the 
enemy.  Early  in  the  morning,  it  had  found  itself  in 
contact,  on  one  side  with  Ewell's  advance  guard,  and  on 
the  other  with  Stuart's  cavalry.  But  the  latter  had  not 
been  able  to  stop  its  march,  nor  the  former  to  delay  it 
by  skirmishing  with  Caldwell's  division,  which  brought 
up  the  rear. 

At  Bristoe  Station,  affairs  took  on  a  more  serious 
aspect.  The  Fifth  Corps,  which  Warren  had  counted 
on  finding  there,  had  gone  on  without  waiting  for  him, 


THE    LATTER    PART    OF     1 863.  543 

when  Hill's  column  presented  itself.  The  latter  imme- 
diately took  measures  to  cut  off  the  Second  Corps,  so 
as  to  throw  it  back  on  Ewell,  and  surround  and  destroy 
it  between  the  two.  But  Warren  guarded  against  the 
danger,  with  a  promptness  of  decision  and  a  rapidity  of 
action  which  could  not  be  too  highly  praised.  He  threw 
forward  Hay's  division  behind  a  railroad  embankment, 
which  protected  our  men  as  an  intrenchment,  while  he 
disposed  Webb's  division  to  receive  the  shock.  So, 
when  the  enemy  advanced  in  line  of  battle,  he  was  wel- 
comed with  such  a  fire,  both  of  musketry  and  artillery, 
that  his  ranks  were  soon  thrown  in  disorder.  Without 
giving  him  time  to  reform,  Warren  pursued  him  with 
the  bayonet  at  his  back,  and  ended  by  carrying  away 
from  him  five  pieces  of  artillery,  two  flags,  and  five  hun- 
dred prisoners.  When  Caldwell's  division  rejoined  the 
other  two,  the  affair  was  over ;  Hill  was  driven  back, 
and  Ewell,  pursuing  his  road  by  Greenwich,  had  not  yet 
appeared. 

From  the  heights  where  Warren  joined  us,  during 
the  night,  we  could  follow  with  our  eyes  the  different 
phases  of  the  combat.  It  was  the  first  time  that  this 
young  general  had  commanded  a  corps  in  action.  This 
beginning  did  him  much  honor. 

I  have  often  asked  myself  the  question,  why  the 
army  remained  motionless  while  Warren,  left  to  himself, 
had  to  contend  alone  against  forces  much  superior  to 
his  own  ;  and  why  General  Meade  did  not  profit  by  this 
first  success,  to  return  against  the  enemy  with  all  his 
forces,  and  give  him  battle  in  a  position  which  was  not 
disadvantageous,  and  which  fully  filled  the  permanent 
requirement  of  always  covering  Washington.  It  is  cer- 
tain that,  in  this  whole  retrograde  movement  from  Cul- 
peper  to  Centreville,  Meade  adopted  the  most  prudent 
course,  and  the  safest ;  but  it  must  be  said   it  was  not 


544       FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

the  most  glorious.  It  completely  upset  Lee's  plan, 
which  was  to  turn  our  positions,  and  plant  himself 
across  our  communications  with  Washingthon.  The 
question  is  whether  he  would  have  made  as  much  by 
that  manceuvre  as  he  expected. 

It  must  be  remarked  that  success  would  have  put 
him  in  a  shape  identical  with  our  own.  In  placing  him- 
self between  us  and  Washington,  he  put  us  between  him 
and  Richmond.  I  am  well  aware  that  he  would  have 
willingly  left  the  road  to  the  Confederate  capital  en- 
tirely free  to  us,  if  the  road  to  the  federal  capital  were 
abandoned  to  him.  But  he  could  not  reckon  on  that. 
The  exchange  would  have  been  too  much  in  his  favor. 
Suppose  we  had  allowed  him  to  do  so  at  Culpeper.  In 
what  respect  would  his  position  have  been  better  than 
ours  .-*  We  had  our  backs  to  the  Rapidan  ;  he  had  his 
to  the  Rappahannock.  Our  forces  were,  at  least,  as 
numerous  as  his,  and  our  veteran  soldiers  equal  to  his. 

What  if  he  had  continued  to  march  to  the  north  .-*  As 
we  had  the  interior  line,  we  could  not  fail  to  overtake 
him.  He  arrived  at  Warrenton  before  us,  which  did 
not  prevent  our  preceding  him  at  Bristoe  Station,  when 
he  presented  himself  there.  There,  too,  we  could  have 
awaited  him  as  we  did  at  Auburn  or  Greenwich,  and 
obtained  a  victory  much  more  important  than  the 
success  of  Warren,  which  was  more  brilliant  than 
fruitful. 

Admit,  finally,  that,  persisting  in  refusing  battle,  Lee 
had  preceded  us  at  Centreville.  He  would  have  been 
in  a  formidable  position.  But  how  would  he  subsist 
his  army  there .''  For  us,  the  Potomac,  of  which  we 
were  masters,  was  always  an  open  way  by  which  to  re- 
plenish. Hunger,  which  brings  the  wolf  out  of  the 
woods,  would  then  force  the  enemy  from  his  position, 
to  fight  us  under  conditions  which  would  be   so  much 


THE    LATTER    PART    OF    1 863.  545 

the  worse  for  him  in  proportion  as  he  was  away  from 
his  base  and  his  communications  were  difficult. 

As  to  marching  on  Washington  with  two  army  corps, 
without  any  possible  means  of  crossing  the  Potomac 
immediately,  and  when  we  were  at  his  heels,  that  is  an 
hypothesis  which  it  is  not  necessary  to  stop  to  consider. 

In  fine,  it  would  have  been  more  profitable,  it  would 
certainly  have  been  more  glorious,  to  give  battle  to  the 
Confederates,  on  any  point  whatever  of  the  road  travelled 
over,  than  to  undertake  to  run  a  race  with  them  for 
celerity  of  movement.  General  Meade  himself  so  ex- 
pressed himself  before  the  Congressional  committee ; 
but  one  does  not  always  do  what  he  wishes,  above  all  in 
war,  and,  in  his  uncertainty  as  to  the  aim  and  the  move- 
ments of  his  adversary,  he  determined  to  follow  the  line 
of  conduct  which  offered  the  least  risk. 

However  that  might  be,  General  Lee,  seeing  his  plans 
foiled,  had  nothing  to  do  but  return  on  his  steps.  As 
much  to  delay  our  pursuit  as  to  get  some  result  from 
his  excursion,  on  retiring,  he  destroyed  the  railroad 
from  Bristoe  Station  to  the  Rappahannock,  for  a  dis- 
tance of  about  twenty-five  miles. 

On  the  next  day,  the  15th,  Sickles  arrived  at  the  damp 
of  our  division  at  Fairfax  Station.  Led  by  his  ardor, 
he  came  to  ask  to  resume  his  command,  thinking  that  a 
battle  was  imminent.  The  general-in-chief  thought, 
not  without  reason,  that  he  was  not  yet  able  to  endure 
the  hardships  of  service  and  fulfil  all  the  duties  incum- 
bent on  the  position  he  asked  for  amongst  us.  He 
could  walk  only  on  a  crutch,  and  could  not  yet  support 
the  pressure  of  an  artificial  leg.  The  welcome  given 
him  by  his  two  old  divisions  went  far  to  console  him 
for  his  disappointment. 

The  fact  of  his  arrival  at  the  Station  was  scarcely 
known  when  all  his  Gettysburg  regiments  formed  with- 


546       FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

out  arms,  in  double  line,  along  the  road  he  must  take  to 
reach  General  Birney's  headquarters.  The  latter  had 
gone  to  meet  the  maimed  hero,  with  a  wagon  drawn  by 
four  horses.  Their  appearance  was  the  signal  for  a 
thunder  of  acclamations,  such  as  I  have  seldom  heard. 
The  wagon  passed  at  a  walk,  from  one  end  to  the  other 
of  the  line ;  explosions  of  hurrahs  burst  forth  on  the 
passage  of  the  carriage,  and  were  kept  up  long  after  it 
was  at  a  distance.  Caps  were  thrown  into  the  air ;  and 
the  welcome  was  most  enthusiastic.  And  when  the 
general  had  entered  Birney's  tent,  surrounded  by  the 
brigade  commanders,  the  men  assembled  around  in 
throngs,  for  a  long  time  giving  expression  to  their  joy. 

It  must  be  acknowledged  that  this  reception  was  not 
only  a  manifestation  in  honor  of  the  old  corps  com- 
mander, but  also  a  protest  against  the  successor  given 
to  us.  In  war,  soldiers  know  how  to  appreciate  the 
value  of  their  generals.  It  is  not  by  becoming  addicted 
to  some  vulgar  vice  forbidden  amongst  themselves,  or 
by  making  of  his  authority  an  instrument  of  intrigues, 
that  one  acquires  their  confidence,  but  simply  by  being 
worthy  of  commanding.  Be  just,  and  you  can  be  severe 
without  arousing  any  resentment,  even  amongst  those 
who  may  deserve  punishment.  Be  partial,  and  your  in- 
dulgence for  some,  with  your  severity  towards  others, 
will  bring  the  contempt  of  all.  At  the  bottom  of  his 
heart,  the  soldier  always  has  a  feeling  of  uprightness, 
which  governs  the  judgment  he  passes  on  his  chiefs. 
His  greatest  welfare  hangs  directly  upon  it,  for  often 
his  life  may  depend  on  an  order  well  or  badly  inspired. 
This  is  why  poor  generals  spoil  good  soldiers,  and  good 
generals  reform  poor  soldiers. 

The  same  men  fight  very  differently,  according  to 
who  commands  them.  If  they  have  confidence  in  their 
commander,  they  will  dash    upon   the   enemy  witli   an 


THE    LATIER    PART    OF    1 863.  547 

enthusiasm  without  reserve,  for  they  know  that  the 
regiment  will  not  be  compromised  without  necessity, 
and  that,  if  they  must  die,  their  death  will  at  least  be 
useful  to  the  cause  to  which  they  are  devoted.  But  if 
they  feel  that  they  are  poorly  led,  and  if  they  are  afraid 
of  being  sacrificed  without  result,  from  lack  of  judgment 
or  by  an  intellect  obscured  by  the  fumes  of  whiskey, 
their  enthusiasm  gives  place  to  indecision.  They  will 
go  through  fire  in  obedience  to  discipline,  and  to  save 
their  amour  propre ;  and  if  they  encounter  a  stubborn 
resistance,  where  they  would  have  gone  in  and  forced  a 
position  without  counting  their  losses,  one  may  be 
assured  that  they  will  fall  back,  blaming  the  chief, 
whom,  their  mistrust  makes  responsible  for  the  check. 
It  is,  then,  not  surprising  that  when  soldiers  find  the 
occasion  they  will  show  forth  somewhat  noisily  their 
interest   in  the  general  assigned  to  them. 

Heavy  rains,  making  the  fords  of  Bull  Run  impassa- 
ble, kept  us  three  days  near  Centreville.  The  enemy 
profited  by  it,  to  destroy  the  railroad,  burning  the  ties 
and  bending  the  rails  which  they  could  not  carry  away. 
We  had  then  to  repair  the  destruction  before  retaking 
the  offensive  beyond  the  Rappahannock,  where  Lee  had 
retired.  The  work  was  done  with  remarkable  rapidity. 
A  fortnight  sufficed  to  complete  it.  As  the  work  ad- 
vanced, we  changed  camp,  and  oftener  still  as  far  as  our 
division  was  concerned.  General  French  appeared  to 
take  pleasure  in  having  us  move.  The  hurrahs  for 
General  Sickles  yet  sounded  in  his  ears. 

At  Bristoe  Station,  Broad  Run  was  crossed  and  re- 
crossed  three  times  by  our  men,  with  the  water  to  their 
waists.  At  Catlett  Station,  we  were  continually  moved 
without  any  cause  or  reason,  sometimes  in  the  middle 
of  the  night.  In  such  case,  General  French  remained 
invisible  in    his  tent,   where   no  one  was   admitted   to 


548       FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

disturb  his  mysterious  slumbers.  One  night,  General 
Birney,  tired  of  his  fantasies,  neglected  to  obey.  He 
appealed  to  Philip  sober,  who,  when  morning  came,  did 
not  venture  to  ask  why  his  orders  of  the  evening  before 
had  not  been  obeyed  —  if  he  even  remembered  having 
given  the  orders. 

On  November  6,  the  railroad  being  completed. 
General  Meade  resolved  to  retake  the  offensive  by  for- 
cing the  passage  of  the  Rappahannock  at  two  points  at 
once.  The  Fifth  and  the  Sixth  Corps  were  ordered  to 
attack  at  the  point  where  the  railroad  crosses  the  river ; 
the  First,  Second,  and  Third  Corps,  at  Kelly's  Ford,  a 
few  miles  below.  The  movement  commenced  at  day- 
light on  the  7th. 

The  right  column  encountered  the  greatest  opposi- 
tion. A  division  of  Ewell's  corps  held  a  strong  posi- 
tion at  that  point,  defended  by  a  redoubt  and  intrench- 
ments,  protected  by  the  fire  of  several  batteries  of 
artillery.  A  vigorous  charge  of  two  brigades  of  the 
Sixth  Corps,  commanded  by  General  Russell,  decided 
the  matter.  The  redoubt  was  carried.  With  it  the 
enemy  lost  fifteen  hundred  prisoners  and  four  guns, 
without  counting  the  dead  and  wounded. 

At  Kelly's  Ford,  the  obstacles  were  less  serious. 
The  attack  was  intrusted  to  my  brigade,  which,  for 
that  occasion,  was  reenforced  by  the  Twentieth  Indiana, 
and  the  Second  Battalion  of  sharpshooters.  We  arrived 
on  the  wooded  heights,  which  command  the  river,  with- 
out giving  the  alarm  to  the  enemy.  It  was  not  until 
they  saw  us  descending  to  the  river  banks  that  they 
ran  to  throw  themselves  into  the  intrenchments  which 
defended  the  ford,  at  the  same  time  advancing  a  bat- 
tery ;  but  General  Birney  had  already  put  some  guns  in 
position  above  a  bend  in  the  river,  which  took  it  while 
in  motion,  and  compelled   it    to   turn  away  from  them. 


THE    LATTER    PART    OF    1 863.  549 

Then  it  presented  its  side  to  some  other  guns  in  posi- 
tion on  my  right,  which  were  only  awaiting  this  oppor- 
tunity to  open  fire.  Assaulted  from  both  sides  at  once, 
it  was  soon  reduced  to  silence,  and  compelled  to  retire. 

During  the  cannonade  I  had  thrown  forward  the 
sharpshooters,  commanded  by  Colonel  Tripp,  to  the 
edge  of  the  river,  and  behind  them  my  other  regiments, 
whom  I  held  massed  in  rear  of  a  roll  in  the  ground 
near  by.  Colonel  Tripp  had  improvised  some  protec- 
tion for  two  or  three  of  his  companies,  on  the  most 
elevated  part  of  the  bank,  from  which  they  kept  up  so 
deadly  a  fire  on  the  opposite  intrenchments  that  the 
enemy  did  not  dare  to  show  himself,  except  occasionally 
for  a  chance  shot.  Profiting  by  this  advantage,  the  rest 
of  the  battalion  entered  resolutely  into  the  water. 
This  was  the  signal.  I  pushed  forward  behind  them, 
followed  by  the  Fortieth  New  York,  the  Twentieth  Ind- 
iana, the  Third  and  the  Fifth  Michigan,  and  the  One 
Hundred  and  Tenth  Pennsylvania.  Even  before  I  had 
reached  the  opposite  bank,  my  skirmishers,  led  by  Lieu- 
tenants Aschmann  and  Garrison,  had  carried  the  first 
line  of  rifle-pits,  and  planted  their  flags  on  the  parapets. 
The  second  line  did  not  hold  out  long ;  then,  without 
stopping,  we  advanced  on  the  village  on  the  run.  The 
enemy,  who  did  not  expect  us  there  so  soon,  offered 
little  resistance,   and   surrendered  with  a  good  grace. 

They  were  principally  North  Carolina  troops,  who 
appeared  to  me  to  be  more  glad  than  sorry  to  throw 
down  their  arms  and  accoutrements  in  order  to  run  to 
the  rear.  After  this,  there  remained  only  a  light  work 
in  form  of  a  demilune,  isolated  in  the  middle  of  a  field. 
It  was  occupied  by  fifty  men,  who  preferred  to  let  them- 
selves be  taken  to  flying  across  the  open  ground.  This 
affair  did  not  cost  us  a  hundred  men,  and  brought  us  in 
more    than    five    hundred    prisoners.       Personally,    it 


550       FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

brought  me  the  honor,  along  with  General  Russell,  of 
being  mentioned  in  the  order  of  the  day  of  the  army, 
wherein  we  received  the  thanks  of  the  general  com- 
manding, and  an  expression  of  the  thanks  of  the  Presi- 
dent. 

The  greater  part  of  the  enemy's  forces  had  retired 
into  a  wood,  which  it  abandoned  during  the  night. 
The  next  day  there  was  no  opposition  to  our  march, 
and  towards  noon  the  whole  army  was  reunited  on  the 
plain  of  Brandy  Station.  The  pursuit  began  immedi- 
ately in  order  of  battle.  The  country  was  admirably 
fitted  for  it.  It  is  almost  the  only  part  of  Virginia 
where  the  open  land  extends  to  any  distance  without 
obstacles.  So  that  this  grand  military  deployment 
offered  one  of  the  finest  spectacles  which  could  be 
imagined.  Let  one  picture  to  himself  two  army  corps 
marching  on  the  centre,  in  line  of  battle,  in  mass,  the 
artillery  in  the  intervals  and  on  the  roads,  the  flanks 
covered  by  two  divisions  in  column,  the  skirmishers  in 
advance,  the  cavalry  on  the  two  wings ;  the  reserves 
covering  the  wagons  in  the  rear  ;  and  all  this  mass  of 
humanity  in  perfect  order,  rising  or  falling  gradually 
according  to  the  undulations  of  the  plain,  with  the  noise 
of  the  cannon,  which  did  not  cease  throwing  projectiles 
on  the  rearguard  of  the  Confederates  in  retreat.  Such 
was  the  moving  picture  which  was  given  us  to  enjoy 
during  that  whole  afternoon. 

The  enemy  persistently  refused  the  battle  we  con- 
tinued to  offer  him.  He  only  halted  after  having  passed 
the  Rapidan.  Our  respective  positions  were  thus  the 
same  that  they  had  been  a  month  before. 

The  rebels  had  reckoned  that  we  would  halt  on  the 
line  of  the  Rappahannock.  In  that  persuasion,  they 
had  begun  to  build  their  winter  quarters,  without  imag- 
ining that  they  might  be  at  work  for  our  benefit.     Such 


THE    LATTER    PART    OF    1 863.  55  I 

was,  however,  the  fact.  We  found  brick  and  lumber  in 
abundance,  and  even  barracks  almost  finished,  in  the 
camps  so  hurriedly  abandoned  by  them.  This  was  so 
much  valuable  material  for  us,  of  which  we  immediately 
made  good  use. 

My  brigade  now  encamped  on  the  land  of  Mr.  John 
Minor  Botts,  a  Virginian,  who  had  played  a  marked  role 
in  the  old  Whig  party.  He  had  adroitly  manoeuvred 
his  bark  in  the  midst  of  the  political  storms  which  im- 
mediately preceded  the  tardy  secession  of  his  State. 
Since  then,  he  had  made  an  opposition  to  the  Richmond 
government,  temperate  in  reality,  but  sufficiently  noisy 
in  manner  to  be  able  to  take  advantage  of  it  with  us,  as 
an  evidence  of  Union  sentiments. 

This  able  man  had  found  means  to  feed  at  both  racks. 
As  soon  as  he  saw  us  on  his  vast  property,  of  which 
a  part,  it  was  said,  was  only  a  deposit  left  in  his  hands, 
by  means  of  pretended  sales,  by  rebels  serving  in  the 
armies  of  the  Confederacy,  his  first  care  was,  natu- 
rally, to  make  as  much  as  possible  out  of  the  circum- 
stances. He  immediately  sought  General  Meade.  He 
told  him,  in  moving  terms,  of  the  persecutions  to  which 
he  had  been  subjected  on  the  part  of  the  Confederates, 
and  the  devastations  his  property  had  had  to  suffer. 
On  these  grounds  he  demanded  the  protection  of  the 
general  commanding,  and  finished  by  asking  in  regard 
to  an  indemnity  for  the  losses  caused  by  our  troops. 
General  Meade  willingly  acceded  to  his  requests,  and, 
as  my  headquarters  were  the  nearest  to  the  house,  I 
received  orders  to  call  on  Mr.  Botts,  and  agree  with 
him  as  to  what  could  be  done. 

To  my  great  surprise,  I  found  a  house  surrounded  by 
grounds  in  good  order,  and  where  no  mark  of  the  war 
was  apparent,  except  in  the  reduction  of  the  household 
service.     The  white  fences  were  intact.     Inside  of  them 


552       FOUR   YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

the  sheep  grazed,  the  turkeys  gobbled,  the  chickens 
clucked,  the  geese  ate  the  grass,  and  the  plump  ducks 
slept  with  their  b-ills  under  their  wings.  This  was  a 
rural  sight  which  we  had  long  before  lost  the  habit  of 
seeing  in  Virginia,  My  aids  were  not  less  surprised 
than  myself,  a;nd  it  appeared  to  us  that,  however  great 
a  victim  the  honorable  Mr.  Botts  had  been,  he  had 
nevertheless  succeeded  in  saving  some  valuable  remains 
from  the  shipwreck.  A  stairway  of  several  steps  led 
us  to  a  piazza,  covered  by  the  projection  of  a  Greek 
front,  supported  by  high  columns.  The  door  was 
opened  to  us,  and  we  passed  into  the  house. 

The  parlor  where  we  were  received  was  furnished 
without  taste,  but  solidly  comfortable,  and  where  noth- 
ing was  wanting.  On  the  wall  a  few  of  the  pretentious 
daubs  which  the  want  of  artistic  intelligence  of  the 
South  accepts  as  pictures  were  growing  yellow.  In 
fine,  everything  appeared  to  be  in  its  usual  condition, 
and  nothing  indicated  that  the  cheap  carpets  had  been 
soiled  by  the  boots  of  the  soldiery.  The  master  of  the 
house  soon  made  his  appearance,  with  the  air  that 
Marius  must  have  borne  when  confronted  by  the  le- 
gionary who  was  ordered  to  put  him  to  death  ;  but 
when  I  had  made  him  acquainted  with  the  object  of  my 
visit,  modifying  his  expression,  he  took  the  initiative, 
and  began  his  oration. 

As  I  had  not  come  there  for  flowers  of  rhetoric,  but 
on  the  matter  of  trees  cut  down  and  fences  burned,  I 
hastened  to  give  a  more  practical  turn  to  the  conversa- 
tion. We  had  not  the  less  to  listen  to  the  reading  of  a 
letter  destined  for  the  RicJimoud  Exaviijier,  and  in 
which  Mr.  Botts  complained  bitterly  of  the  excesses 
committed  by  the  Confederate  army  to  his  prejudice. 
He  inveighed  particularly  in  the  letter  against  General 
Stuart,  who,  little    susceptible    to   the    charms    of   elo- 


THE    LATTER    PART    OF    1 863.  553 

quence,  had,  it  appeared,  caused  the  arrest  of  the 
orator,  in  order  to  rid  himself  of  his  complaints,  which 
were  either  too  long  or  too  strong.  But  where  Mr. 
Botts  lacked  cunning  was  in  the  communication  to  me 
of  the  reclamation  for  damages  and  injuries  addressed 
to  the  rebel  government.  It  appeared  to  me  that  to 
hold  out  one  hand  to  Richmond  and  the  other  to  Wash- 
ington might  be  adroit  ;  but  to  let  me  know  of  it  was, 
at  least,  useless,  especially  when  certain  damages, 
which  I  knew  had  been  the  work  of  the  enemy,  were 
unjustly  laid  to  the  charge  of  our  troops. 

The  conclusion  was  :  firstly,  we  were  to  furnish  a 
detail  of  a  hundred  men,  with  wagons,  to  put  up  the 
fences,  protected  by  which  the  flocks  of  Mr.  Botts 
could  graze ;  that  afterwards  a  special  commission  was 
appointed  to  assess  the  damage  and  present  a  report 
on  the  question  of  indemnity.  As  I  left  the  army  a 
few  days  later,  I  am  ignorant  of  what  happened. 

In  the  month  of  September  preceding,  a  question  had 
been  raised  in  reference  to  my  position  in  the  army,  by 
a  colonel  aspiring  to  take  my  place.  The  question  was 
whether  the  regulations  authorized  my  retention  on  the 
rolls  after  the  transfer  of  the  men  of  the  Fifty-fifth  to 
the  Fortieth,  and  the  discharge  of  the  Thirty-eighth, 
regiments,  which  I  had  successively  commanded.  Al- 
though the  question  had  been  decided  in  my  favor, 
explicitly  at  army  headquarters,  and  implicitly  at  the 
War  Department,  which  had  not  given  heed  to  the 
demand,  I  believed  that  I  had  done  enough  to  get  out 
of  a  contested  position,  by  a  promotion  to  the  grade  of 
brigadier-general,  which  had  been  asked  for  me  five 
times  within  a  year,  by  all  my  superiors.  Conse- 
quently, on  the  13th  of  November,  the  campaign  being 
finished,  and  the  army  getting  ready  to  go  into  winter 
quarters,  I  wrote  to  the  adjutant-general  to  that  effect. 


554       FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

The  President  had  decided  at  that  time  to  put  off  all 
promotions  until  after  the  assembling  of  Congress.  It 
followed  that  my  order  of  muster  out  as  colonel  pre- 
ceded by  several  weeks  my  nomination  as  brigadier- 
general.  This  interval,  lengthened  by  the  habitual 
delays  of  confirmation  by  the  Senate,  gave  me  the  privi- 
lege of  passing  in  New  York  and  Washington  a  winter 
much  more  agreeable  than  it  would  have  been  under  a 
tent. 

I  will  add  here  that,  a  few  days  after  my  departure, 
the  army  crossed  the  Rapidan,  in  accordance  with  a 
well  conceived  plan  of  General  Meade,  to  envelop 
Ewell's  corps,  separately  encamped,  several  miles  away 
from  Hill's.  The  undertaking  was  resultless,  on  ac- 
count of  several  mishaps,  notably  the  mistakes  of  Gen- 
eral French,  who,  on  the  first  day,  delayed  the  march 
of  the  army  considerably  by  his  slowness  in  reaching  the 
point  assigned  to  him,  and,  on  the  second  day,  wan- 
dered so  far  from  the  road  that  he  brought  up  against 
the  enemy's  line,  instead  of  making  connection  with 
the  Second  Corps,  as  he  had  been  ordered  to  do.  This 
untoward  event  cost  us  seven  hundred  men  in  the 
Third  Corps,  amongst  whom  was  Colonel  Tripp,  of  the 
sharpshooters,  who  was  killed  in  the  engagement. 
The  two  corps  of  the  enemy,  whom  we  should  have 
surprised,  and  fought  separately,  united  immediately, 
and  fortified  so  strongly  and  so  thoroughly  that  on  the 
third  day  the  attack  was  recognized  as  too  hazardous 
to  be  attempted. 

An  instance  of  moving  significance  took  place  there. 
On  the  morning  of  the  20th,  Warren  was  to  attack  the 
rebel  right  with  the  Second  Corps,  reenforced  by  two 
divisions  of  the  Third.  When,  at  daylight,  the  men, 
formed  in  line  of  battle,  saw  in  front  of  them  the 
marshy  borders   of    Mine    Run,  the    tangled   abatis  of 


THE    LATTER    PART    OF    1 863.  555 

fallen  trees,  and  the  intrenchments,  in  front  of  which 
the  enemy's  artillery  crossed  its  fire,  knowing  that  the 
impossible  was  asked  from  them,  they  thought  of 
Fredericksburg,  and,  without  excitement  or  murmurs, 
each  one  wrote  his  name,  his  age,  and  his  place  of 
birth  on  a  little  square  of  paper,  which  he  pinned  on 
his  breast. 

There  is  nothing  more  affecting  in  its  heroic  sim- 
plicity than  this  silent  and  resigned  protest  of  soldiers 
ordered  to  death  uselessly,  who  know  it,  and  who  yet, 
ready  to  immolate  themselves  to  duty,  confine  their 
protest  to  pencilling  beforehand  their  modest  epitaphs. 

Happily,  General  Warren  did  not  allow  the  sacri- 
fice to  be  made.  Despising  the  disparaging  criticisms 
to  which  he  was  exposing  himself,  he  took  it  upon  him- 
self to  suspend  the  assault,  and  sent  one  of  his  aids  to 
explain  the  reasons  to  the  general  commanding.  The 
latter  immediately  countermanded  the  orders  under 
which  Sedgwick  was  to  attack  the  left  and  Birney  the 
centre  of  the  enemy's  positions.  The  opportunity  was 
lost ;  the  advanced  season  did  not  allow  the  undertaking 
of  any  more  new  operations.  The  army  recrossed  the 
Rapidan,  to  take  up  again,  and  this  time  permanently, 
its  Culpeper  winter  quarters. 

This  period  of  inaction  was  only  broken  by  several 
cavalry  movements,  the  most  important  of  which, 
towards  the  end  of  February,  was  an  attempt  to  deliver 
those  of  our  prisoners  whom  the  barbarism  of  the  rebel 
government  had  abandoned  to  all  the  tortures  of  cold 
and  hunger,  on  an  island  in  the  James,  in  front  of  Rich- 
mond. General  Kilpatrick,  who  commanded  the  expe- 
dition, penetrated  to  the  second  line  of  the  defences  of 
the  rebel  capital,  but  could  go  no  further.  A  part  of 
the  force,  led  by  Colonel  Dahlgren,  had  been  led  astray 
far  from  its   road  by  the  treason  of  a  guide,  and  be- 


556       FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

trayed  into  an  ambuscade,  where  a  large  number  were 
killed,  wounded,  or  taken  prisoners.  The  guide  was 
hanged  to  a  tree,  with  a  stout  rope  ;  but  the  death  of 
that  wretch  did  not  restore  to  life  the  young  colonel, 
whose  body  lay  among  the  dead.  As  to  the  prisoners, 
they  were  sent  far  distant  to  the  south,  where  they 
were  to  perish  by  thousands,  victims  to  unheard-of 
barbarities,  of  which  I  will  give  an  account  elsewhere. 


CHAPTER   XXVI. 

I^.YSSES   S.   GRANT,   LIEUTENANT-GENERAL. 

Condition  of  the  rebellion  at  the  beginning  of  1864  —  General  Grant  in 
the  West  —  The  capture  of  Vicksburg  —  Capitulation  of  Port  Hud- 
son —  Victory  of  Missionary  Ridge  —  Grant  appointed  lieutenant- 
general  —  His  portrait  —  His  stay  at  Washington  —  Reorganization 
of  the  Army  of  the  Potomac — Ofificial  statement  of  the  land  forces 
of  the  Lfnited  States — How  I  came  to  be  appointed  to  the  com- 
mand of  the  garrison  and  defences  of  New  York. 

The  year  1864  was  recognized  everywhere  as  the  one 
which  must  decide  the  result  of  the  war.  In  the 
North,  as  in  the  South,  all  agreed  on  this  point. 

During  three  years  the  rebellion  had  not  ceased  to 
gradually  fall  back  further  and  further  from  the  accom- 
plishment of  its  designs.  In  the  West  it  had  been 
driven  out  of  the  central  States,  and,  in  consequence  of 
defeat  after  defeat,  having  lost  the  line  of  the  Missis- 
sippi, it  had  been  cut  in  two  so  completely  that  for  the 
use  of  the  government  at  Richmond  the  States  and 
Territories  beyond  the  river  were  afterward  as  though 
they  did  not  exist.  In  the  East,  where  it  had  concen- 
trated its  best  forces,  and  where  its  best  generals  had 
not  found  their  equals  in  ability  amongst  their  oppo- 
nents, even  its  successes  had  been  but  negative,  more 
onerous  on  them  than  our  reverses  had  been  on  us. 
In  fact,  the  Army  of  the  Potomac  had  been  for  the 
Confederates  the  stone  of  Sisyphus.  Twice  had  they 
rolled  it  back,  once  from  the  borders  of  the  James  to 
those  of  the  Antietam,  and  again  from  the  banks  of 
the  Rappahannock  to  the  heights  of  Gettysburg,  only 

557 


558       FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY, 

to  be  twice  overwhelmed.  The  third  time  their  force 
had  failed  them  half-way,  near  Centreville ;  and  now 
they  were  worn  out  with  holding  their  enemy  on  the 
Rapidan,  whence  he  was  always  threatening  to  spring 
upon  their  capital. 

How  long  could  their  resistance  endure  .■*  A  year  at 
the  most.     For  these  reasons  :  —  « 

The  South  was  at  the  end  of  its  resources,  and  it 
was  not  in  the  power  of  a  few  speculators  interested  in 
English  blockade-runners  to  renew  them.  Supported 
by  her  negroes,  she  had  made  war,  and  could  yet  do  so, 
without  money  or  credit ;  but  not  without  armies.  She 
had  still  two  armies  remaining,  who  were  all  that  the 
levy  en  masse  could  furnish.  Behind  them  there  was  no 
more  population  to  recruit  from  or  renew  them.  Already, 
to  fill  up  its  ranks,  the  revolutionary  government  of 
Richmond  had,  according  to  the  strong  expression  of 
Grant,  "  robbed  the  cradle  and  the  grave."  It  had 
forced  into  the  ranks  even  old  men  and  children.  This 
might  sufBce  for  still  another  campaign ;  but  after- 
wards }  These  gone, — and  men  are  quickly  used  up, 
—  all  that  was  possible  was  done.  The  rebellion,  then, 
had  only  a  last  hand  to  play. 

In  order  that  they  might  try  one  more  chance,  they 
must  maintain  the  war  until  after  the  presidential 
election,  which  took  place  in  November  ;  for  the  mili- 
tary campaign  of  the  rebels  in  arms  in  the  South  had  to 
correspond  with  the  electoral  campaign  of  their  North- 
ern allies.  There  was  entire  cooperation,  united  action, 
between  the  two  wings.  So  that,  if  the  first  gained  any 
advantage  in  the  field,  the  second  would  magnify  the 
account,  using  every  means  to  that  effect,  which  the 
usual  agitation  customary  in  times  of  general  election 
would  enable  them  to  do  to  advantage.  By  uniting 
certain  selfish  interests,  and  rallying  those  whose  ambi- 


ULYSSES    S.    GRANT. 


559 


tion  had  been  disappointed,  by  exciting  personal  discon- 
tent, they  could  have  great  effect  upon  the  people  by 
giving  rise  to  a  feeling  of  weariness  of  the  war,  aversion 
to  new  sacrifices,  and  lead  them  to  a  bartering  away  of 
principles  by  the  lure  of  so-called  compromises.  If,  by 
such  operations  as  these,  cunningly  carried  on,  they 
could  succeed  in  getting  accepted,  as  Democratic  can- 
didate for  the  Presidency,  a  man  imbued  with  their 
views,  all  the  resources  of  the  opposition  would  come 
into  their  hands,  and  the  election  might  assure  the 
triumph  of  their  ideas. 

This  triumph  would  have  been  either  the  supremacy 
of  the  South  in  a  new  union,  reconstituted  to  their 
profit,  or  a  distinct  confederation,  composed  at  least  of 
the  cotton  States,  if  the  North  refused  to  release  the 
Central  States.  In  either  case,  it  brought  ruin  to  the 
Republic,  humiliation  to  democratic  ideas,  the  putting 
back  of  civilization,  and  the  destruction  of  liberty. 

In  the  North  very  different  views  prevailed.  During 
three  years  the  blood  of  her  citizens  had  flowed  in 
streams  on  the  fields  of  battle,  and  the  public  credit 
was  stretched  to  fill  the  yawning  gulf  of  expenditure. 
It  was  time  to  make  a  finish,  not  by  a  shameful  and 
useless  compromise,  but  by  a  final  and  unconditional 
triumph.  To  accomplish  this  it  was  necessary,  as  much 
as  possible,  to  reform  abuses,  repair  errors,  and  correct 
the  faults  which  had  too  long  prolonged  the  war.  The 
armies  must  be  strengthened  and  restored  to  life  by 
freeing  them  from  the  enervating  influence  of  the 
creatures  of  intrigue  and  politics,  and  made  more 
effective  by  giving  them  only  capable  and  meritorious 
generals  to  command  them.  Above  all,  a  man  must  be 
called  to  the  supreme  command  of  all  the  land  forces, 
in  position  to  support  his  authority  by  the  greatness  of 
his  services  and  the  brilliancy  of  his  success,  and  capa- 


560       FOUR    YEARS    \VH11    THE    l**  )'R)MAC    ARMY. 

ble  of  directing  the  operations  of  the  different  armies 
with  a  unity  which  had  heretofore  been  wanting. 

One  man  only  united  all  these  conditions  :  General 
U.  S.  Grant.  During  the  course  of  two  years  his 
name  had  continually  grown  greater  in  renown  by  the 
continued  successes  of  the  Western  armies.  The  bat- 
tles he  had  fought  had  had  a  character  of  vigor  and 
great  tenacity ;  the  victories  he  had  won  had  always 
been  fruitful  in  great  results.  He  had  conceived  extraor- 
dinar)'  enterprises,  and  executed  wonderful  works. 
In  this  respect,  the  history  of  Grant's  campaigns  on 
the  Mississippi  will  remain  as  the  most  curious  illustra- 
tion of  the  American  character  and  American  genius 
applied  to  the  art  of  war.  What  we  did  in  the  East 
under  his  command  did  not  afford  anything  new  or 
particularly  different  from  what  is  done  in  the  wars  of 
the  old  world. 

In  the  month  of  July,  1863,  the  taking  of  Vicksburg 
put  the  seal  to  his  renown.  \'icksburg  was  a  position 
which  nature  and  art  had  made  so  strong  that  it  was 
generally  regarded  as  impregnable,  and  such  w^as  its 
importance  that  Jefferson  Dans  himself  had  publicly 
announced  that  it  should  be  held  at  all  hazards,  if  he 
had  to  employ  all  the  forces  and  all  the  resources  of 
the  Confederacy.  As  the  place  was  inapproachable 
from  the  front,  other  combinations  than  a  direct  attack 
were  necessar)-  to  reduce  it.  Sherman  was  sent  at 
first  to  take  it  in  reverse,  by  way  of  the  Yazoo  River,  and 
he  failed.  Grant  undertook  then  to  cut  a  canal,  which 
should  connect  two  bends  of  the  Mississippi,  in  order  to 
send  through  them  the  gunboats  out  of  reach  of  the 
enemy's  guns.     He  had  to  give  up  the  attempt. 

His  plan  was  to  lead  his  army  by  the  right  bank  of 
the  river,  some  sixty  miles  below  the  citadel  of  the 
South,  cross  the  river  near  Bruinsburg,  plant  himself 


ULYSSES    S.    GRANT.  56 1 

entirely  in  the  enemy's  country,  and,  following  up  the 
left  bank,  to  attack  the  place  by  its  only  vulnerable 
side.  It  was  very  fine  and  very  bold  in  conception. 
It  was  still  finer  and  still  bolder  in  execution. 

Not  having  been  able  to  make  his  canal  project  suc- 
cessful, Grant  resolved  to  send  his  gunboats  down  the 
river,  past  the  Vicksburg  batteries.  Admiral  Porter 
was  a  man  well  fitted  to  conduct  this  bold  enterprise. 
He  succeeded  in  a  dark  night,  without  any  loss  except 
that  of  one  steamer,  and  injuries,  more  or  less  serious, 
to  a  few  of  the  others.  Now  Grant  could  carry  out  his 
plans. 

At  Port  Gibson,  where  he  crossed  the  river  with  his 
army,  he  met  the  enemy  and  whipped  him.  At  Grand 
Gulf  he  forced  him  to  retire,  driving  him  under  the  fire 
of  his  gunboats,  and  then  pursued  him  to  the  rear  of 
Vicksburg.  On  the  12th  of  May  he  obtained  another 
victory,  at  Raymond  ;  on  the  14th,  General  Johnston  is 
beaten,  and  the  city  of  Jackson,  capital  of  the  State  of 
Mississippi,  falls  into  Grant's  hands,  with  twenty  guns. 
General  Pemberton  is  beaten  in  his  turn,  on  the  i6th, 
at  Baker's  Creek,  where  he  loses  four  thousand  men 
and  twenty-nine  guns.  On  the  next  day,  the  17th,  at 
the  passage  of  Big  Black  River,  he  sustains  a  new  loss, 
of  twenty-six  hundred  men  and  seventeen  pieces  of 
artillery.  On  the  i8th  he  retires  to  Vicksburg,  which 
is  then  immediately  invested.  Six  weeks  later,  in  spite 
of  the  vain  efforts  of  Johnston  to  relieve  him,  Pember- 
ton, short  of  provisions  and  ammunition,  was  himself 
forced  to  surrender  to  the  conqueror,  and  to  deliver  up 
to  him,  with  the  place,  nearly  thirty-two  thousand 
prisoners,  two  hundred  and  thirty-four  pieces  of  artil- 
lery, and  seventy  thousand  muskets.  As  a  necessary 
consequence  of  this  triumph  of  Grant's,  Port  Hudson 
surrendered  four  days  later,  adding  seven  thousand  men 


562        FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

and  fifty  pieces  of  artillery  to  the  material  losses  of  the 
enemy,  who  had  besides,  in  the  same  week,  left  thirty 
thousand  men  on  the  field  of  battle  at  Gettysburg. 

This  series  of  operations  carried  on  with  as  much 
perseverance  as  energy  ;  these  obstacles  overcome  on 
all  sides  ;  these  operations  carried  on  by  every  means  ; 
these  battles  following  battles  ;  these  victories  leading 
to  victories  ;  and  this  continuance  of  efforts,  never  sat- 
isfied while  anything  remains  to  be  done  :  all  this  is 
General  Grant. 

In  the  month  of  October,  having  replaced  General 
Rosecrans  at  Chattanooga,  Tennessee,  he  found  himself 
in  front  of  General  Bragg,  whose  forces  were  intrenched 
in  a  formidable  position  on  Missionary  Ridge.  As 
soon  as  his  army  had  been  sufficiently  reenforced  by 
the  arrival  of  Sherman,  whom  he  had  called  from  Vicks- 
burg,  and  of  Hooker,  who  brought  him  the  Eleventh 
and  Twelfth  Corps  detached  from  the  Army  of  the  Po- 
tomac, he  marched  out  to  the  attack  of  this  new  oppo- 
nent on  the  heights,  where  the  latter  believed  he  was 
impregnable.  Not  only  did  he  dislodge  him,  but  he 
threw  him  back  in  full  rout  to  Dalton,  in  Georgia,  in- 
flicting upon  him  a  disastrous  loss  of  eighteen  thousand 
men  and  a  large  number  of  guns. 

After  this  new  victory,  gained  on  November  25, 
Grant  meditated  already  the  capture  of  Atlanta,  and 
that  brilliant  campaign  through  the  whole  of  Georgia, 
which  was,  at  a  later  date,  a  subject  of  astonishment 
and  admiration  in  the  old  as  well  as  in  the  new  world. 
But  he  had  to  leave  to  General  Sherman  the  execution 
of  that  grand  conception,  for  he  had  been  called  to 
Washington,  to  a  still  more  arduous  task. 

The  grade  of  lieutenant-general  did  not  exist  in  the 
American  army.  It  had  been  conferred,  only  excep- 
tionally and  by  brevet,  on  General  Scott,  the  conqueror 


ULYSSES    S.    GRANT.  563 

of  Mexico.  On  March  2,  1864,  Congress  reestablished 
it  in  favor  of  General  Grant,  and  the  President  added  to 
it  that  of  commander-in-chief  of  all  the  armies  of  the 
United  States. 

It  was  at  the  same  time  recompensing  him  for  great 
services  rendered  and  laying  him  under  obligations  to 
render  still  greater.  General  Grant  accepted  the  posi- 
tion. The  people  experienced  a  profound  joy  and  an 
absolute  confidence.  They  understood  that  the  direc- 
tion of  the  war,  intrusted  to  such  hands,  was  the  de- 
cree of  death,  in  a  short  time,  to  the  rebellion. 

I  had  the  opportunity,  for  the  first  time,  to  meet 
General  Grant  in  Washington,  on  this  occasion.  All 
his  pictures,  spread  throughout  the  world  by  photog- 
raphy and  engraving,  resemble  him.  He  is  a  man 
rather  below  than  above  medium  height.  His  bearing 
is  simple  ;  his  deportment  reserved  as  are  his  manners. 
His  sobriety  of  language  has  passed  into  a  proverb. 
Never  has  man  better  followed  the  maxim  that,  if 
"speech  is  of  silver,  silence  is  golden."  As  in  all 
popular  heroes,  people  have  endeavored  to  find  some- 
thing extraordinary  in  his  features.  But  what  is  really 
seen  there  is  an  expression  of  tranquil  firmness,  some- 
thing like  the  consciousness  of  force  in  repose.  His 
features  are  regular ;  his  forehead  broad.  In  his  clear 
and  intelligent  eyes  the  glance  betrays  generally  a  cold 
clearness. 

It  follows,  as  a  matter  of  course,  that,  on  his  arrival 
in  Washington,  he  was  the  lion  of  the  day,  the  man 
whom  every  one  wished  to  see,  whose  hand  every  one 
wished  to  grasp.  The  Americans  are  terribly  enthusi- 
astic towards  whoever  is  the  object  of  their  enthusiasm. 
They  cause  him  to  undergo  moral  and  physical  trials 
which  only  a  constitution  robust  both  in  body  and  mind 
can  endure.     There  were  nothing  but   deputations  — 


564       FOUR    YEARS    Willi    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

sometimes  they  deputed  themselves  —  with  the  accom- 
paniment of  forced  harangues  ;  individual  presentations 
and  hand-shaking  ;  serenades  by  night  ;  receptions  by 
day,  etc.  General  Grant  no  longer  belonged  to  him- 
self ;  they  left  him  neither  respite  nor  repose.  So  he 
had  no  sooner  arrived  at  Washington  than  he  was  in 
haste  to  depart.  The  great  task  which  had  been  in- 
trusted to  him  was  nearer  his  heart  than  all  the  ova- 
tions. He  was  in  haste  to  put  all  his  time  to  profit  in 
preparing  to  accomplish  it. 

The  war  was  now  concentrated  on  two  points  where 
the  last  two  armies  of  the  rebellion  were  lying.  In  the 
West,  that  of  Johnston,  fortified  at  Dalton,  on  the  bor- 
ders of  Georgia ;  in  the  East,  that  of  Lee,  intrenched  in 
Virginia,  behind  the  line  of  the  Rapidan.  Both  had 
been  reenforced  by  all  the  contingents  it  had  been  pos- 
sible to  send  to  them.  The  Confederacy  had  drained 
its  last  drop  of  blood  to  swell  its  last  stake.  Against 
Johnston,  Grant  pitted  Sherman,  at  the  head  of  all  the 
forces  available  between  the  Alleghaniesand  the  Missis- 
sippi. He  established  his  own  headquarters  with  the 
Army  of  the  Potomac,  left  still  under  the  command  of 
General  Meade.  He  knew  that  it  was  that  army  which 
must  give  the  finishing  stroke  to  the  rebellion,  and  he 
neglected  nothing  to  assure  to  it  all  the  chances  possL 
ble  in  this  duel  to  the  death.  The  War  Department, 
for  its  part,  put  everything  in  motion  to  fully  cooperate 
to  the  same  end. 

The  five  corps  of  the  Army  of  the  Potomac  were  con- 
solidated into  three,  under  the  command  of  the  three 
generals  recommended  more  than  all  the  others  by 
their  services,  their  experience,  and  their  capacity : 
Hancock,  Warren,  and  Sedgwick. 

Hancock  was  placed  at  the  head  of  the  Second  Corps, 
composed  of  four  divisions  :  those  of  Barlow  and  Gibbon, 


ULYSSES    S.    GRANT.-  565 

belonging  to  the  old  organization,  and  those  of  Birney 
and  Mott,  taken  from  the  Third  Corps,  which  ceased  to 
exist  as  an  organization. 

Warren  continued  to  command  the  Fifth  Corps,  in 
which  was  incorporated  what  remained  of  the  First 
Corps  ;  the  whole  formed  in  four  divisions,  commanded 
by  Generals  Griffin,  Robinson,  Crawford,  and  Wads- 
worth. 

The  command  of  Sedgwick,  composed,  as  heretofore, 
of  the  Sixth  Corps,  comprised  in  addition  the  old  divis- 
ion brought  to  the  Third  Corps  by  French.  It  con- 
sisted of  three  divisions,  commanded  by  Wright,  Getty, 
and  Prince. 

Finally,  the  Ninth  Corps,  commanded  by  Burnside, 
was  recalled  from  Tennessee,  to  cooperate  with  the 
Army  of  the  Potomac,  in  which  it  was  soon  to  be  incor- 
porated. It  had  three  divisions,  under  the  orders  of 
Generals  Potter,  Wilcox,  and  Crittenden,  to  which  was 
added  a  fourth,  composed  entirely  of  colored  troops,  and 
commanded  by  General  Ferrero. 

These  four  army  corps,  together  with  the  cavalry 
corps  (henceforth  under  the  command  of  General 
Sheridan,  brought  from  the  West  to  take  that  important 
position),  formed  an  effective  force  of  about  one  hun- 
dred and  forty  thousand  men.  It  was  much  larger 
than  Lee  could  bring  against  us,  but  the  latter  had  the 
advantage  of  the  defensive,  to  which  the  nature  of  the 
countrv-  in  Virginia  offers  inexhaustible  resources. 

Besides  the  Army  of  the  Potomac,  General  Grant 
had  for  his  operations  against  Richmond  two  other 
auxiliary  armies,  which  were  to  act  in  cooperation  with 
it.  One,  about  thirty  thousand  strong,  was  assembled 
at  Fortress  :\ronroe,  under  the  command  of  General 
Butler.  It  was  to  ascend  the  James,  directly  threaten 
Richmond,  and,  by  establishing  itself  at  City  Point,  in- 


566       FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY, 

tercept  all  the  reenforcements  that  Lee  could  draw 
from  the  Carolinas.  The  other,  commanded  by  General 
Sigel,  and  numbering  about  seventeen  to  eighteen 
thousand  men,  occupied  Virginia,  beyond  the  Blue 
Ridge.  His  mission  was  to  protect  the  Shenandoah 
valley,  threaten  Lee's  communications  with  the  West, 
and  stop  all  aid  which  might  be  sent  him  from  that 
quarter.  Banks,  in  Louisiana,  and  Steele,  in  Arkansas, 
received  each  his  special  instructions.  In  Tennessee, 
Sherman,  who  united  under  his  command  the  three 
armies  of  the  Cumberland,  the  Tennessee,  and  the  Ohio, 
had  had  his  plan  drawn  up  for  a  long  time.  The  cam- 
paign was  to  open  in  all  quarters,  by  the  simultaneous 
movement  of  the  armies. 

As  the  truth  of  the  statements  as  to  the  great  pro- 
portions of  the  war  has  been  called  in  question  by  the 
press  in  Europe,  I  will  take  from  the  report  of  the 
Secretary  of  War  the  official  account  of  the  forces 
which  the  United  States  had  on  foot  on  the  ist  of  May, 
1864. 

The  total  number,  including  the  troops  of  all  arms, 
—  but,  of  course,  not  including  the  militia,  —  amounted 
to  nine  hundred  and  seventy  thousand  seven  hundred  and 
ten  men,  distributed  as  follows  :  — 

Present  under  arms .     .  662,345 

On  detached  service  in  the  different  departments     .     .  109,348 

In  the  army  hospitals 41,266 

In  the  general  hospitals,  or  at  home  wounded     .     .     .  75,978 

Absent  on  leave,  or  prisoners  of  war 66,290 

Absent  without  leave ...  15,483 

Total      .  ...  970,710 

The  six  lumdred  and  sixty-t%vo  thoicsand  three  hundird 
and  forty-five  men  present  under  arms  were  distributed 
as  follows :  — 


ULYSSES    S.    GRANT. 


567 


Department  of  Washington 4-'  i''4 

Army  of  the  Potomac j  .j  jg^ 

Department  of  Virginia  and  North  Carolina    ....  59,139 

"            of  the  South j3  j^j. 

"      Gulf (5j866 

"                "      Arkansas 2  ■5666 

"                 "      Tennessee 74,074 

"      Missouri i  c  j^q 

"                "      Northwest 5,295 

"                "      Kansas ^^7^8 

"                "      Cumberland 119,948 

"      Ohio ".     .     .     .  35,416 

"                "      North 5^546 

"                "      Western  Virginia •     .  30,782 

"                 "      East 2,828 

"                 "      Susquehanna 2,970 

"                 "      Middle 5,627 

"                 "      New  Mexico 3-454 

"                 "      Pacific 5,141 

Headquarters  of  the  military  division  of  the  Mississippi    .  476 

Total 662,345 

My  name  had  been  sent  in  to  the  Senate  for  promo- 
tion on  January  5,  but,  the  Senate  being  occupied  with 
more  important  matters,  I  was  not  confirmed  until 
April  8,  too  late  to  obtain  an  immediate  command  in 
the  army. 

On  May  2,  I  received  my  commission  at  New  York, 
where  I  had  gone  to  wait  for  it.  A  few  days  later,  I 
met,  on  Broadway,  an  officer  of  my  acquaintance,  who 
accosted  me,  asking  me  if  I  had  seen  General  Peck.  — 
"  He  is  in  the  city  for  twenty-four  hours,"  he  said  to 
me,  "  and  he  would  be  very  glad  to  shake  hands  with 
vou.  I  have  just  left  him  on  the  way  to  General  Di.x's 
quarters,  where  he  must  be  at  this  moment." 

The  pleasant  memories  of  the  friendly  relations  which 
attached  me  to  the  general  under  whose  orders  I  had 
served  my  first  campaign  made  it  at  once  a  duty  and  a 
pleasure  to  call  on  him.  I  immediately  made  my  way 
to  headquarters,  withon<-  suspecting  that    destiny  had 


568       FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

anything  to  do  with  the  sentiment  which  took  me  there. 
I  found  General  Peck  there.  Our  interview  was  most 
cordial.  After  the  first  greetings,  our  memories  inevita- 
bly turned  backward  ;  my  old  brigade  commander  had 
just  expressed  in  the  most  generous  terms  his  appre- 
ciation of  my  services  in  the  Peninsula,  when  General 
Dix  interrupted  him.  "  Ah  !  "  said  he,  "  here  is  the 
man  you  were  looking  after." 

The  remark  related  to  a  subject  of  conversation  dis- 
cussed before  my  arrival,  and  of  which  I  was  ignorant. 

"  That  is  true,"  replied  General  Peck  ;  "  and  you 
could  not  find  a  better  one." 

Then  General  Dix,  turning  towards  me,  said,  "  You 
have  received  your  commission  of  brigadier-general  .''  " 

"  Four  or  five  days  ago." 

"  And  you  are  awaiting  orders  .-•  " 

"  Yes,  general." 

"  Ah,  well  !     You  will  not  wait  long." 

He  struck  the  bell.     The  orderly  appeared. 

"Ask  Colonel  Van  Buren  to  step  here." 

General  Peck  smiled,  and  I  looked  in  vain  for  an 
explanation  of  the  enigma,  when  the  chief  of  staff 
entered  the  room. 

"Colonel,"  said  General  Dix,  ^' will  you  please  draw 
up  an  order  assigning  to  General  de  Trobriand  the 
command  of  the  garrison  and  defences  of  New  York. 
As  soon  as  you  have  delivered  it  to  him,  he  will  enter 
on  his  duties,  in  order  that  General  Stannard  can  report 
without  delay  at  his  new  position." 

A  quarter  of  an  hour  afterward.  General  Stannard 
turned  over  to  me  the  command  in  which  I  succeeded 
him.  He  was  in  a  hurry  to  join  the  army,  and  find 
new  opportunity  to  distinguish  himself,  as  he  had  done 
at  Gettysburg,  little  thinking  that  he  would  soon  return 
leavine:  an  arm  before  Petersburg. 


ULYSSES    S.    GRANT.  569 

The  measure  taken  so  hurriedly  by  General  Dix  was 
approved  by  the  War  Department,  and  I  was  retained 
at  the  First  Division  of  the  Department  of  the  East. 

The  command  which  was  intrusted  to  me  would  have 
been,  in  time  of  peace,  the  most  enviable  of  all  to 
which  I  could  have  aspired.  It  was  a  very  important 
position  for  an  officer  of  my  grade,  for  it  embraced 
fourteen  forts  and  batteries,  armed  with  eighteen  hun- 
dred pieces  of  artillery,  and  defended  by  three  regi- 
ments of  regulars,  a  regiment  of  militia,  enrolled  for 
garrison  service,  and  several  companies  of  artillery. 
The  government  accorded  me  in  this  a  mark  of  its 
confidence,  so  much  greater  in  that,  born  a  Frenchman, 
I  was  an  American  by  naturalization  only.  Notwith- 
standing, this  kind  of  service  would  have  been  more 
suitable  for  some  general  necessarily  kept  away  from 
the  army  by  his  wounds  or  by  the  shattered  state  of 
his  health.  As  for  me,  who  had  never  had  a  scratch, 
and  whose  health  had  never  been  more  robust  than 
since  I  had  paid  my  tribute  to  the  pestilential  climate 
of  the  Peninsula,  —  it  would  have  been  a  much  more 
appropriate  place  for  me  to  have  been  making  the  cam- 
paign than  to  be  passing  the  days  in  my  office,  signing 
reports,  or  on  a  steam  yacht,  visiting  the  forts  from  the 
outer  bay,  at  Sandy  Hook,  to  the  entrance  of  the  sound, 
at  Throgg's  Neck. 

However,  whether  for  good  or  for  evil,  it  was  not 
given  to  me  to  take  part  in  the  opening  scenes  of 
General  Grant's  campaign  in  Virginia.  I  will  therefore 
limit  my  account  of  that  campaign  to  a  summary  rela- 
tion of  that  series  of  battles  and  terrible  conflicts  which 
mark  the  march  of  the  Army  of  the  Potomac  from  the 
banks  of  the  Rapidan  to  those  of  the  Appomattox 
before  Petersburg:. 


CHAPTER    XXVII. 

BATTLE   AFTER   BATTLE. 

Battle  of  the  Wilderness  —  Volleys  (J  ojitrance  in  the  thickets  —  The 
diverse  fortunes — Death  of  General  Wadsworth  —  Fight  in  the 
midst  of  the  flames — Result  —  Battle  of  Spottsylvania  —  Death  of 
General  Sedgwick  —  Attack  on  the  intrenchments  —  Success  of  the 
Second  Corps  —  Twenty  hours  of  conflict  —  Night  movements  — 
Continued  battles — Engagement  on  the  North  Anna  —  Cavalry 
expedition — Sheridan  under  the  walls  of  Richmond  —  Death  of 
General  Stuart  —  Battle  of  Cold  Harbor  —  Account  rendered  of  one 
month  of  campaign. 

On  May  4,  1864,  the  Army  of  the  Potomac  crossed  the 
Rapidan,  without  opposition,  below  the  enemy's  posi- 
tions, and,  turning  the  Confederates'  right,  entered  into 
that  ahnost  impracticable  region  known  by  the  name  of 
the  Wilderness.  Grant's  design  was  to  get  in  the  rear  of 
Lee,  but  the  latter  did  not  give  him  the  time.  He  im- 
mediately left  his  intrenched  positions,  not  to  fall  back 
on  Richmond,  but  to  fall  directly  on  the  army,  which, 
in  its  march,  presented  its  flank  to  him.  Ewell's  and 
Hill's  corps  advanced  by  two  parallel  roads,  and  at  five 
o'clock  in  the  morning  struck  the  centre  of  the  Fifth 
Corps  (Warren).  The  attack  suspended  the  movement, 
and  the  battle  was  commenced  with  great  vigor  on 
both  sides.  Ewell's  advance  guard  was  at  first  repulsed 
and  driven  back ;  but,  reenforcements  soon  reaching 
him,  he  retook  the  offensive,  and  the  Fifth  Corps,  which 
was  engaged  alone,  lost  all  the  ground  it  had  gained  and 
more.  Hancock,  who  had  the  advance,  and  who  was 
already  considerably  beyond  Chancellorsville,  was  hur- 
riedly  recalled   to   form  on  Warren's  left.     Sedgwick, 

570 


BATTLE  AFTER  BATTLE. 


571 


who  brought  up  the  rear,  was  already  in  position  on  the 
right. 

Some  hours  passed  away  in  each  party  feeling  of 
each  other  in  this  labyrinth  of  thick  woods,  where 
often  one  could  see  nothing  until  he  touched  it.  This 
gave  Hancock  time  to  arrive  and  stop  Hill's  advance. 
The  battle  there  was  still  violent  and  desperate.  The 
first  general  who  was  killed  was  Alexander  Hays,  who 
had  replaced  me  in  the  command  of  my  old  brigade. 
Durmg  three  or  four  hours  the  Second  Corps  fought 
furiously,  without  succeeding  in  forcing  the  enemy  to 
fall  back  from  the  midst  of  the  thicket,  where  a  bayonet 
charge  could  not  be  made,  nor  artillery  used.  The 
night  separated  the  combatants  in  the  position  where 
they  had  begun  the  fight.  It  was  to  be  renewed  in  the 
morning.  Only  the  battle  was  to  take  on  still  greater 
proportions,  in  consequence  of  the  arrival  of  Burnside 
on  one  side  and  Longstreet  on  the  other. 

Lee  attacked  first  at  daylight  on  the  6th,  on  Sedg- 
wick's right.  The  attack  was  repulsed  without  great 
trouble,  and  almost  immediately,  Warren  and  Hancock 
having  advanced  their  front,  the  battle  extended  along 
the  whole  line.  Bear  in  mind  that  it  was  in  no  respect 
like  any  other  battle.  The  men  fought,  as  it  were,  feel- 
ing their  way.  On  that  rough  terrain,  rocky,  hilly, 
covered  everywhere  with  a  network  of  low  vegetation 
and  dwarf  trees,  no  precision  of  movement  was  possible. 
The  general  direction  of  the  two  armies  was  well  enough 
defined,  but  the  dispositions  in  detail  necessarily  es- 
caped the  control  of  the  superior  officers.  The  colonels 
even  could  rarely  overlook  at  once  all  the  companies  of 
their  regiments,  and  in  the  brigades  it  was  difficult  for 
the  right  to  know  what  was  going  on  at  the  left,  and 
vice  versa.  They  advanced  through  the  woods  with 
difficulty.       The    adversaries    came   upon    each    other 


572       FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC   ARMY. 

twenty  or  thirty  paces  apart,  —  further  than  that,  they 
could  not  see  each  other.  —  and  on  both  sides  they  fired 
desperately  until  they  saw  no  one  in  front  of  them. 
Were  the  lines  broken,  or  were  they  mingled  together  .'* 
That  could  hardly  be  told.  Wounded  men  of  Birney's 
division  were  taken  prisoners  while  going  to  the  rear, 
by  a  regiment  of  the  enemy,  which  had  wandered  astray. 
I  have  the  fact  from  officers  who  came  near  meeting 
the  same  fate,  and  who  could  not  tell  me  how  the  regi- 
ment had  got  into  that  position,  or  how  it  got  out. 

One  can  understand  that  the  battle  was  fought  every- 
where with  so  much  the  more  desperation  that  what 
was  happening  at  one  point  was  not  known,  and  was 
consequently  without  influence,  elsewhere.  Those  who 
had  the  best  of  it  found  a  thousand  hindrances  to  their 
pursuing  their  advantage  ;  and  those  who  had  the  worst 
of  it  found  a  thousand  facilities  for  escaping. 

Notwithstanding  everything,  when,  at  five  o'clock  in 
the  morning,  Hancock  threw  forward  the  two  divisions 
of  Mott  and  Birney,  supported  by  Getty's  division  of 
the  Sixth  Corps  and  Wadsworth's  division  of  the  Fifth, 
the  attack  was  pushed  with  so  much  vigor  that  Hill's 
corps,  on  which  it  fell,  was  broken  and  thrown  back  in 
disorder  to  near  Parker's  store,  a  distance  of  more  than 
a  mile  and  a  half.  Unhappily,  Longstreet  came  up  at 
this  moment,  and,  in  spite  of  every  effort,  the  Second 
Corps  could  not  get  any  further.  Soon  even,  pressed 
more  and  more  by  superior  forces,  it  lost  ground,  and 
ended  by  being  forced  back  to  its  first  position,  leaving 
among  the  dead  General  Wadsworth,  one  of  the  bravest 
soldiers,  one  of  the  noblest  citizens,  and  one  of  the  best 
men  whose  loss  the  country  has  had  to  lament  during 
this  war.  Not  far  from  Wadsworth  dying  lay  Long- 
street,  severely  wounded. 

On  the  centre  and  on  the  ri2:ht,  the  battle  went  on 


BATTLE  AFTER  BATTLE. 


575 


without  any  great  result  on  either  side.  The  force  of 
the  fighting  was  not  at  that  point,  but  more  to  the  left, 
where  it  was  soon  to  recommence  with  a  new  fury. 
Lee  had  himself  taken  command  of  Longstreet's  corps, 
and,  when  he  had  rallied  Hill's  corps,  he  threw  the  two 
together  against  the  improvised  intrenchments  of  the 
Second  Corps,  along  a  crossroad  called  the  Brock  road. 
The  assailants  were  stopped,  at  first,  by  a  fierce  fire, 
which  did  great  damage  in  their  ranks  ;  but  seon  a  fire 
caught  in  the  woods  ;  the  wind  carried  the  smoke  and 
flames  against  the  end  of  our  line,  which  was  soon  en- 
veloped. The  enemy  took  advantage  of  the  accident  to 
charge  home  at  that  point.  Then  they  literally  fought 
in  the  midst  of  the  fire,  the  flames  licking  the  legs  of 
the  combatants.  The  Confederates  were  successful  in 
forcing  the  intrenchments,  when  the  prompt  arrival  of  a 
brigade  commanded  by  General  Carroll  repulsed  them 
with  so  much  vigor  that  the  attack  was  abandoned, 
after  having  cost  the  assailants  terrible  losses,  as  evi- 
denced by  the  number  of  dead  and  wounded  left  on  the 
ground. 

The  day  ended  as  it  had  begun,  by  an  attack  by 
Ewell  on  the  right  of  the  Sixtb  Corps.  This  time,  it 
was  more  serious,  and  succeeded  better  than  before. 
Two  brigades  were  beaten,  and  the  two  generals  com- 
manding them,  Seymour  and  Shaler,  were  captured 
while  bravely  striving  to  rally  their  men.  However, 
the  evil  was  soon  repaired,  and  the  enemy  was  forced  to 
fall  back  without  having  gained  anything  at  that  point, 
except  a  quantity  of  prisoners. 

This  two-days  battle  left  the  victory  undecided  be- 
tween the  two  armies.  Meade  had  succeeded  in  main- 
taining his  position  against  the  repeated  attacks  of  the 
enemy.  Lee  had  succeeded  in  inflicting  on  us  a  greater 
loss  than  his  own.  .  On  our  side,  in  fact,  it  amounted  to 


574       FOUR   YEARS   WITH    THE    POTOMAC   ARMY. 

about  eighteen  thousand  men,  while,  according  to  their 
reports,  the  Confederates'  was  scarcely  more  than  half 
that  number.  Total  loss,  from  twenty-eight  to  thirty 
thousand  ;  and  this  was  but  the  commencement. 

The  next  day.  May  7,  Grant  was  ready  to  continue 
the  battle  ;  but  Lee  had  enough  for  the  time  being. 
He  had  retired  behind  his  intrenchments,  where  it 
would  have  been  a  mistake  to  attack  him.  The  first 
plan  was  then  resumed,  and,  when  night  came  on,  the 
army  was  put  in  motion  for  Spottsylvania  Court  House. 
The  enemy,  who  was  on  the  alert,  was  soon  aware  of 
the  movement.  He  immediately  began  his  march  by  a 
road  parallel  to  the  one  we  were  following.  As  the  dis- 
tance he  marched  over  was  less  for  him  than  for  us,  he 
reached  the  goal  'first.  So  that  at  eight  o'clock  in  the 
morning,  when  Robinson's  division,  which  led  the 
column,  debouched  from  the  woods  upon  the  open  fields 
near  Spottsylvania,  it  found  itself  confronted  by  Long- 
.street's  corps,  and  was  thrown  into  disorder.  .  Its  com- 
mander, struck  in  the  knee  by  a  ball,  lost  a  leg  in  the 
fight.  Soon  Griffin's,  Crawford's,  and  Cutler's  divisions, 
coming  hurriedly  on  the  ground  in  succession,  in  their 
turn  drove  back  the  enemy  to  a  height  where  he  had 
just  taken  position.  There  they  halted,  to  await  the 
Second  Corps,  which  was  closely  following  the  Fifth. 
Hancock  having  been  retained  by  General  Meade  to 
cover  the  general  movement,  Sedgwick  came  up  first, 
but  several  hours  late. 

Whatever  were  the  other  military  qualities  of  General 
Sedgwick,  it  could  not  be  said  that  he  was  distinguished 
by  the  quickness  of  his  coup  a  ail  or  the  promptness  of 
his  decisions.  So  that  he  allowed  the  whole  afternoon 
to  pass  away  in  partial  demonstrations,  rather  feeling  of 
the  enemy  than  endeavoring  to  dislodge  him.  The  lat- 
ter profited   by  the  respite,  to  straighten   his  skilfully 


BATTLE    AFTER    BATfLE. 


575 


chosen  position,  so  that  on  the  9th  the  two  armies 
were  found  confronting  each  other. 

This  day  passed  away  in  preparations  and  in  move- 
ments to  install  the  corps  in  the  following  order  :  on 
the  left,  Burnside  ;  in  the  centre,  Sedgwick  and  War- 
ren ;  on  the  right,  Hancock.  Except  this,  the  opera- 
tions were  limited  to  the  fire  of  sharpshooters,  which 
unfortunately  lost  to  us  General  Sedgwick,  killed  while 
he  personally  overlooked  the  placing  of  a  battery  of  sev- 
eral pieces  in  position.  His  death  was  much  mourned  in 
the  Sixth  Corps,  where  he  was  greatly  beloved,  and  in 
the  army,  where  he  was  esteemed  as  much  for  the  noble- 
ness of  his  character,  and  for  his  patriotic  devotion,  as 
for  his  abilities  as  a  soldier. 

On  the  loth  the  day  began  by  an  advance  movement 
of  Hancock.  After  having  crossed  a  branch  of  the  Po 
without  difficulty,  he  continued  his  march,  and  had 
already  struck  the  enemy's  lines  when  two  of  his  divis- 
ions were  recalled  to  take  part  in  an  assault  along  War- 
ren's front.  Shortly  after,  Barlow's  division,  left  alone 
in  front  of  much  superior  forces,  was  obliged  to  fall 
back,  and  ended  by  rejoining  the  other  two,  when  there 
occurred  one  of  those  unhappy  attacks  which  often 
during  the  war  cost  us  so  dearly  and  brought  us  so  little. 

It  was  always  the  same  story:  —  Formidable  positions 
bristling  with  artillery,  covered  with  intrenchments, 
protected  by  inextricable  abatis,  defended  by  a  solid  and 
numerous  army.  The  result  was  what  might  have  been 
foreseen.  Twice  the  columns  of  attack  of  the  Fifth  and 
Second  Corps  were  sprung  forward  through  all  the  ob- 
stacles ;  twice  were  they  driven  back,  bruised,  cut  up, 
leaving,  in  the  two  attempts,  from  five  to  six  thousand 
men  dead  or  wounded,  on  the  ground  they  had  not  been 
able  to  wrest  from  the  enemy.  Among  the  dead  was 
General  Rice,  a  fine  and  brave  officer  of  the  Fifth  Corps. 


5/6       FOUR   YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC   ARMY. 

At  one  point  only,  in  front  of  the  Sixth  Corps,  a  bri- 
gade, commanded  by  General  Upton,  penetrated  the 
intrenchments,  and  with  the  assistance  of  a  second  bri- 
gade, led  by  General  Russell,  captured  a  thousand  pris- 
oners and  a  few  guns.  But  the  failure  of  the  principal 
attack  did  not  allow  the  advantage  to  be  followed  up, 
and  the  troops  who  had  been  so  successful  had  to  return 
to  our  lines  when  night  came  on. 

Seven  days  had  passed  since  the  Army  of  the  Potomac 
had  entered  on  the  campaign  by  crossing  the  Rapidan ; 
seven  days  of  continual  and  desperate  fighting.  This 
bloody  week  had  not  brought  victory,  and  it  had  cost  us 
29,410  men. 

The  enemy's  positional  Spottsylvania  had,  it  seemed, 
been  chosen  and  made  ready  at  the  time  of  the  Chan- 
cellorsville  campaign,  which  explains  the  strength  and 
importance  of  his  intrenchments.  However,  some  vul- 
nerable place  must  be  found.  Having  failed  at  one 
point  did  not  prove  that  we  could  not  succeed  at  anoth- 
er. At  all  events,  Grant  resolved  to  make  the  attempt 
without  delay. 

On  the  I  ith,  Hancock  received  orders  to  leave  his  po- 
sition on  the  right  wing,  during  the  night,  to  form  in 
order  of  attack  between  Burnside  and  Wright,  who  had 
succeeded  Sedgwick  in  the  command  of  the  Sixth  Corps. 
In  a  dark  night,  and  during  a  pouring  rain,  the  move- 
ment was  promptly  executed,  and,  when  the  first  glim- 
mer commenced  to  light  up  the  gray  mist  spread  through 
the  atmosphere,  the  Second  Corps  was  ready  in  the  fol- 
lowing order :  Birney's  division,  deployed  in  two  lines 
and  supported  by  Mott's  division  (these  two  divisions 
were  the  remains  of  the  old  Third  Corps) ;  then  Bar- 
low's division,  also  in  two  lines,  but  by  battalion,  in 
mass ;  finally,  Gibbon's  division,  in  reserve. 

At  a  given  signal  all  moved  silently  forward.     Where 


BATTLE    AFTER    BATTLE. 


577 


they  would  find  the  enemy  they  did  not  know  ;  under 
what  conditions  they  were  about  to  attack  him  they 
knew  no  better.  But  they  marched  forward  noiselessly, 
with  hurried  step,  and  hoping  for  a  surprise.  Suddenly 
they  come  upon  the  rebel  pickets  ;  they  pass  over  them 
without  firing  a  shot.  The  intrenchments  are  before 
them,  forming  a  salient  angle,  and  as  though  asleep  in 
the  haze.  Then,  by  a  spontaneous  burst,  in  spite  of  all 
the  orders  of  the  officers  for  silence,  they  break  into  a 
resounding  hurrah,  and  rush  forward  on  the  run.  In  a 
moment  they  are  on  the  enemy's  lines,  and,  in  spite  of 
a  sharp  fire,  they  leap  over  them  in  a  few  bounds  and 
fall  on  the  defendants  with  the  bayonet.  The  fight 
breast  to  breast  was  fierce  but  of  short  duration.  The 
Confederates  were  as  if  inclosed  between  the  traverses 
in  the  interior  of  their  intrenchments.  Under  that 
avalanche  of  steel  which  rolled  upon  their  heads,  the 
bravest  could  not  fight  long.  They  had  to  die  or  sur- 
render. They  surrendered.  Johnson's  whole  division 
of  Ewell's  corps  remained  in  our  hands,  with  twenty  or 
thirty  pieces  of  artillery,  and  as  many  flags.  General 
Johnson  himself  and  General  Stewart  were  among  the 
prisoners. 

The  Second  Corps,  animated  by  its  success,  advanced 
promptly  within  the  intrenchments  carried  from  the 
enemy,  easily  driving  back  through  the  woods  the  force  it 
found  before  it,  until  it  struck  a  second  line  of  intrench- 
ments, before  which  it  was  compelled  to  halt,  and  soon 
to  fall  back,  under  the  increasing  pressure  of  the  forces 
pushed  rapidly  by  the  enemy  to  this  point.  The  angle 
then  became  the  theatre  and  object  of  a  furious  strife. 

The  fight  had  become  general  along  the  whole  line, 
but,  in  spite  of  the  attacks  of  Warren  on  one  side  and 
Burnside  on  the  other,  Lee,  protected  by  his  intrench- 
ments, was  able  to  continue  to  strip  one  part  of   his 


578       FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

front,  to  mass  the  reenforcements  on  the  principal 
point,  and  to  reestablish  his  lost  position  at  all  hazards. 
Meade  understood  this,  and  on  his  side  hastened  to 
strongly  sustain  the  Second  Corps.  Wright  arrived 
first  to  Hancock's  aid,  followed  by  two  of  Warren's 
divisions. 

The  battle  continued  during  the  whole  day,  on  the 
one  side  to  retake  and  on  the  other  to  hold  this  corner 
of  the  works  contested  with  unparalleled  desperation. 
Five  times  the  Confederates  returned  to  the  charge. 
One  assault  repulsed,  they  rallied  at  a  short  distance, 
reformed  with  new  troops,  and  again  rushed  on  the 
double  intrenchments,  where  our  men  received  the 
shock  with  an  unshakable  firmness. 

The  narrow  crest  was  alight  with  the  flash  of  the 
guns,  through  which  the  bayonets  were  crossed,  fierce 
cries  were  heard,  and  where  the  opposing  flags  nearly 
touched  each  other ;  and  when  the  human  wave  was 
broken  against  the  immovable  obstacle,  it  retired,  leav- 
ing behind  it  a  heap  of  bloody  corpses  clothed  in  gray. 
Night  came  on  and  the  fight  still  continued.  It  lasted 
nearly  twenty  hours,  at  the  end  of  which  the  enemy, 
finally  discouraged  as  much  as  exhausted,  abandoned 
the  strife,  and  retired  behind  a  second  line  of  defence, 
connected  with  what  remained  of  the  first. 

General  Grant  was  then  able  to  appreciate  how  much 
more  arduous  the  war  was  in  Virginia  than  anywhere 
else,  and  how  much  greater  efforts  and  greater  sacrifices 
were  necessary  to  win  victory  in  front  of  his  new  adver- 
saries than  before  those  over  whom  he  had  triumphed 
in  the  West.  But,  if  the  labors  and  dangers  of  the  task 
were  of  a  nature  to  astonish  him,  his  was  not  a  charac- 
ter to  be  turned  from  his  purpose.  Far  from  yielding, 
he  became  more  firm  against  the  obstacles,  and,  with 
that  obstinate  perseverance    that    nothing   could    turn 


BATTLE  AFTER  BATTLE. 


579 


from  his  goal,  during  seven  days  still  he  sought  an  op- 
portunity to  force  the  enemy  out  of  his  intrenchments. 
At  the  same  time,  to  fill  up  in  part  a  loss  of  nearly  forty 
thousand  men,  the  result  of  eight  days'  fightino",  he 
asked  for  reenforcements,  which  were  sent  to  him  from 
Washington. 

In  order  to  show  how  little  the  week  following  the 
seven  days  of  privations,  trials,  and  battles  was  a  week 
of  repose  for  the  troops,  I  borrow  the  following  passages 
from  the  notes  of  Mr.  Swinton,  at  that  time  correspond- 
ent of  the  New  York  Times  in  the  Army  of  the  Poto- 
mac :  — 

"May  13.  —  The  battle  of  the  12th  having  ended  by 
the  retreat  of  Lee  behind  an  interior  line,  it  was  re- 
solved to  endeavor  to  turn  his  right.  In  this  design, 
during  the  night  of  the  13th,  the  Fifth  Corps  received 
orders  to  march  from  the  extreme  right  to  the  extreme 
left,  in  order  to  attack,  in  concert  with  Burnside's  corps, 
on  the  14th,  at  four  o'clock  in  the  morning.  The  bad 
weather  had  broken  up  the  roads  considerably,  and,  as 
the  night  was  of  an  Egyptian  darkness,  the  march  was 
made  only  with  the  greatest  difficulty.  The  river  Ny 
had  to  be  crossed  at  a  ford.  On  the  other  side  of  the 
river  there  was  no  road.  They  were  obliged  to  cross 
some  fields  and  a  piece  of  woods  where  a  road  was  to 
be  cut  with  the  axe.  When  they  were  half-way  to 
their  destination,  so  heavy  a  fog  arose  that  even  the 
numerous  fires  which  had  been  lighted  to  guide  them 
ceased  to  be  visible.  The  men,  exhausted  by  fatigue, 
wet  through  in  fording  the  river,  and  tramping  in  the 
mud  up  to  their  knees  in  the  darkness,  fell  asleep  all 
along  the  road.  In  addition,  the  place  where  the  troops 
were  to  take  position  was  completely  unknown,  and, 
when  light  appeared  and  the  head  of  the  column  arrived 
on  the  left  of  Burnside's  corps,  near  the  Fredericksburg 


580       FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

turnpike,  the  only  troops  present  to  execute  the  pro- 
jected attack  were  twelve  hundred  worn-out  men  of 
Griffin's  division.  It  was  seven  o'clock  before  General 
Cutler  was  able  to  get  together  about  thirteen  hundred 
men. 

"  May  14.  —  The  fire  of  the  skirmishers  began  at  six 
o'clock  in  the  morning.  In  the  southeast  was  a  high 
hill  which  completely  commanded  Warren's  position. 
As  this  appeared  to  be  occupied  only  by  a  few  cavalry, 
a  small  force  of  regulars  was  sent  to  get  possession  of 
it.  The  horsemen  retired,  and,  while  our  regulars  in- 
trenched, Upton's  brigade  of  the  Sixth  Corps  (which 
had  followed  the  Fifth)  came  to  relieve  them.  They 
had  not  completely  established  themselves  before  a 
considerable  body  of  the  enemy's  infantry,  from  the 
village  of  Spottsylvania,  advanced  against  them.  The 
brigade  was  swept  away,  and  General  Meade,  who  had 
come  to  visit  the  ground,  was  near  being  captured. 
The  Sixth  Corps  then  coming  up,  in  the  afternoon  this 
important  position  was  retaken  and  reoccupied,  for  it  is 
certain  that  the  enemy  did  not  abandon  it, 

"  May  15  and  16.  — The  removal  of  the  Fifth  and  the 
Sixth  Corps  for  this  movement  left  the  Second  on  the 
extreme  right  of  the  line.  But  on  the  15th  Hancock 
had  to  send  Barlow's  and  Gibbon's  divisions  on  the 
Fredericksburg  road,  so  that  Birney  was  left  to  cover 
Burnside's  right,  at  the  end  of  the  general  line.  As  to 
the  other  corps,  the  day  passed  away  in  putting  every- 
thing in  order,  and  gathering  together  the  stragglers, 
opening  the  roads  and  in  incessant  skirmishing.  A  new 
base  was  established  at  Acquia  Creek,  where  the 
wounded  and  the  sick  were  sent,  and  from  which  provi- 
sions and  forage,  of  which  the  army  was  in  need,  were 
brought. 

"May  17. —  Hancock  received  orders  to  lead  his  com- 


BATTLE  AFTER  BATTLE.  58 1 

mand  out  of  the  works  which  he  carried  on  the  12th, 
and  attack  the  enemy  to-morrow,  at  daylight,  in  the  in- 
trenchments  which  he  occupies  in  front  of  that  position. 
The  Sixth  Corps  is  to  form  on  Hancock's  right,  and 
assault  the  enemy's  line  at  the  same  time.  The  Ninth 
Corps  is  to  take  part  in  the  attack.  Marching  by  night 
is  yet  very  difficult. 

"May  18. —  The  troops  were  in  position  before  day- 
light. It  was  hoped  to  surprise  the  enemy  sleeping ; 
but  he  had  his  eyes  open,  and  was  protected  by  acres 
of  impenetrable  abatis.  At  four  o'clock  Gibbon's  and 
Barlow's  divisions  moved  to  the  attack  in  line  of  bri- 
gades. The  artillery  was  posted  and  intrenched  in  the 
first  line,  and  fired  over  the  troops  during  the  en- 
gagement. Our  troops  were  received  by  a  fire  of  both 
artillery  and  musketry,  which  swept  the  approaches  and 
made  great  havoc  in  their  ranks.  Nevertheless,  they 
continued  to  advance  to  the  edge  of  the  abatis,  which,  in 
connection  with  a  deadly  fire,  stopped  further  progress. 
Many  brilliant  efforts  were  made  to  penetrate  the 
enemy's  lines,  but  without  success.  At  ten  o'clock  in 
the  morning,  the  attack  showing  no  chance  of  succeed- 
ing. General  Meade  suspended  the  movement." 

After  so  many  attempts,  as  costly  as  useless,  it  was 
necessary  to  do  what  might  easily  have  been  done  in 
the  first  place  :  dislodge  Lee  from  his  position  without 
direct  attack,  but  simply  by  a  march  by  the  flank.  On 
the  19th  the  movement  was  got  ready,  when  the  rebels 
suddenly  took  the  offensive,  to  cut  our  communications 
with  Fredericksburg.  Their  column  was  composed  of 
Jackson's  old  soldiers,  now  commanded  by  Ewell,  and 
they  found  before  them  only  the  regiments  of  heavy 
artillery,  serving  as  infantry,  which  General  Tyler  was 
bringing  from  Washington.  These  brave  men  had 
never  been  under  fire,  but,  if  they  were  as  inexperienced 


582        FOl^^    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

as  recruits,  they  had  the  bravery  of  veterans.  They 
marched  to  meet  the  enemy  with  admirable  bearing, 
and  repulsed  him  completely,  after  a  very  serious  con- 
flict, in  which  their  losses  were  so  much  the  greater 
that  they  exposed ,  themselves  the  more  with  a  heroic 
awkwardness.  In  that  engagement  they  gained  in- 
stantly their  footing  in  the  Army  of  the  Potomac, 
and  the  congratulations  of  the  general  command- 
ing, who  was  pleased  to  bear  witness  to  their  good 
conduct  by  an  order  of  the  day  issued  especially  on 
their  account. 

Delayed  by  this  incident  for  twenty-four  hours,  the 
movement  of  the  army  did  not  begin  until  May  20.  It 
was  successfully  made  to  the  North  Anna  River,  the 
passage  of  which  was  forced  by  Hancock,  by  dislodging 
the  enemy  from  some  works  which  defended  it,  while 
Warren,  established  without  opposition  on  the  south 
bank,  some  miles  above,  brilliantly  repulsed  the  forces  of 
the  enemy  sent  against  him.  But  it  was  then  discovered 
that  Lee  had  got  the  start  of  us,  and  taken  a  strong 
position  between  the  Second  and  the  Fifth  Corps.  The 
rough  experience  of  Spottsylvania  had  somewhat  cooled 
General  Grant  in  regard  to  direct  attacks  against  forti- 
fied positions.  Without  incurring  new  sacrifices,  he 
withdrew  to  the  north  bank  the  three  corps  which  had 
crossed  to  the  other  side.  This  operation  was  com- 
pleted without  the  enemy's  knowledge,  on  the  night  of 
May  26,  and  the  army,  inclining  towards  the  south- 
east, took  its  march  towards  the  Pamunkey.  On  the 
evening  of  the  27th  it  had  passed  the  river  near  Hanover- 
town,  where  Sheridan,  with  his  cavalry,  rejoined  it. 

On  May  9,  Sheridan,  whose  services  could  not  be 
made  useful  in  the  country  where  the  army  was  then 
operating,  had  been  sent,  with  three  divisions  of  cavalry, 
to  cut  Lee's  communications,  and  destroy  the  railroads, 


BAITLE  AFTER  BATTLE,  583 

burn  the  bridges,  and  threaten  the  rebel  capital  itself. 
He  had  accomplished  all  this  to  the  letter,  with  as  much 
vigor  as  ability.  He  had  first  occupied  the  station  of 
Beaver  Dam,  on  the  North  Anna.  There  he  had  inter- 
cepted several  rebel  convoys,  one  of  which  included  four 
hundred  prisoners  on  the  road  to  Richmond,  whom  he 
freed.  He  had  burnt  the  cars,  destroyed  the  locomotives, 
consigned  to  the  flames  a  million  and  a  half  of  rations,  and 
destroyed  ten  miles  of  the  railroad.  As  he  had  burned 
the  bridge  of  Beaver  Dam,  on  the  North  Anna,  he  did 
the  same  for  that  of  Ground  Squirrel,  on  the  South 
Anna.  At  Ashland  Station  he  burned  the  depot,  a 
large  amount  of  supplies  stored  there,  six  miles  of  rail- 
road, two  bridges,  several  public  buildings,  a  locomotive, 
and  three  trains.  During  all  these  operations,  the  ene- 
my's cavalry  had  not  ceased  to  harass  him;  but  he  had 
everywhere  driven  it  off  with  loss,  without  interrupting 
his  work  of  destruction.  Finally,  a  few  miles  from 
Richmond,  near  the  Yellow  Tavern,  Stuart  having  col- 
lected his  whole  force  to  bar  his  passage,  Sheridan  did 
not  hesitate  to  attack  him.  The  fight  was  strongly  con- 
tested on  both  sides  ;  but  the  Confederates  were  beaten, 
and  Stuart  lost  his  life.  His  death  was  an  irreparable  loss 
to  the  Confederate  government,  which  had  never  had  a 
cavalry  general  equal  to  him,  and  never  found  one  to 
replace  him. 

As  soon  as  he  was  free  of  his  adversary,  Sheridan 
marched   straight    on   the  fortifications   of    Richmond. 

General  Custer,  charging  at  the  head  of  his  brigade, 
penetrated  the  first  line,  capturing  there  a  section  of 
artillery  and  a  hundred  prisoners.  The  second  line  be- 
ing too  strong  to  carry,  Sheridan  retired  on  the  Chick- 
ahominy,  where  he  burned  the  railroad  bridge.  After 
taking  a  little  rest  at  Haxall's  Landing,  and  having  re- 
ceived from  General  Butler  the  provisions  he  required. 


584       FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

he  took  the  road  to  meet  the  Army  of  the  Potomac, 
which  he  successfully  joined  near  the  Pamunkey. 

Lee  had  no  trouble  in  getting  ahead  of  us,  and  once 
more  he  presented  himself  to  bar  the  road  to  Richmond, 
on  the  banks  of  the  Chickahominy.  Reconnoissances 
sent  out  to  look  for  him  found  him,  as  usual,  solidly 
established  in  an  intrenched  position,  from  which  we 
could  not  undertake  to  dislodge  him  without  resolving 
beforehand  to  submit  to  dreadful  sacrifices.  On  the 
other  hand,  it  was  impossible  to  risk  the  passage  of  the 
river  without  having  first  driven  the  enemy  back  on 
Richmond,  and,  besides,  his  proximity  to  that  city 
prevented  any  new  attempt  to  interpose  by  a  turning 
movement  between  the  Confederate  capital  and  the 
army  defending  it.  The  dangerous  mistakes  of  Freder- 
icksburg and  Spottsylvania  were  again  resorted  to,  and 
General  Meade  ordered  a  first  attack. 

The  troops  designated  were  the  Sixth  Corps,  and  a 
reenforcement  of  sixteen  thousand  men  which  had  come 
from  Butler's  army,  under  the  command  of  General  W. 
F.  Smith,  On  the  ist  of  June,  at  four  o'clock  in  the 
morning,  the  two  corps  charged  with  great  spirit, 
crossed  a  wide  open  ground  under  a  deadly  fire,  and,  at 
a  cost  of  two  thousand  men,  forced  the  enemy's  line  on 
the  edge  of  a  thick  wood.  But  when  they  tried  to 
penetrate  further  they  struck  a  second  line,  much 
stronger,  before  which  they  had  to  halt.  The  two 
corps  kept  the  position  they  had  carried,  and  where 
they  had  made  six  hundred  prisoners.  The  best  result 
of  this  engagement  was  to  assure  us  the  possession  of 
Cold  Harbor,  a  place  which  derived  all  its  importance 
from  the  convergence  at  that  point  of  several  main 
roads. 

This  half-success  encouraged  General  Meade  to  at- 
tempt  more.     On  the  3d,  at  daybreak,  the  whole  line 


BATTLE  AFTER  BATTLE.  585 

charged  across  the  marshy  land,  through  the  abatis  and 
the  thickets,  and  soon  after  the  whole  line  fell  back, 
repulsed  at  all  points.  On  the  left  only.  Barlow  had 
entered  the  enemy's  works,  and  Gibbon  reached  the 
parapet,  which  did  not  prevent  both  being  driven  back, 
with  a  loss  so  much  the  heavier  in  that  they  had  ad- 
vanced so  far. 

In  this  unfortunate  affair,  the  enemy  could  not  have 
lost  more  than  two  thousand  men.  Our  loss  was  thir- 
teen thousand.  The  number  sufficiently  shows  the 
bravery  displayed  by  the  assailants.  They  did  all  that 
was  possible  ;  but  the  impossible  was  asked  of  them. 

A  month  had  passed,  to  a  day,  since  the  Army  of  the 
Potomac  had  opened  the  campaign  by  crossing  the 
Rapidan.  During  these  thirty-one  days  and  thirty-one 
nights,  it  had  had  severe  privations  to  undergo,  fatigues 
without  number  to  endure,  battles  terrible  and  numer- 
ous to  fight.  It  had  surmounted  everything  by  an  in- 
domitable energy,  and  by  a  bravery  which  nothing  could 
discourage.  Finally,  at  the  cost  of  enormous  sacrifices, 
it  had  reached  the  Chickahominy,  a  few  miles  from 
Richmond,  in  that  region  already  too  well  known  by 
McClellan's  disastrous  campaign.  Can  it  be  said  that 
the  result  was  worth  to  us  all  it  cost  ?  I  think  not. 
More  could  have  been  gained,  at  a  much  less  expense  ; 
for  along  the  whole  road  lay  the  bodies  of  our  soldiers, 
—  many  without  burial,  —  and  the  military  hospitals 
were  overflowing  with  the  sick  and  wounded.  The  offi- 
cial reports  made  the  extent  of  our  losses  more  than 
sixty  thousand  men,  and  yet  we  were  very  far  from 
having  attained  our  goal.  Besides,  both  the  govern- 
ment and  the  people  began  to  be  alarmed  at  the  sacri- 
fices. 

General  Grant  himself  must  have  been  troubled,  and 
thought  thereafter  to  modify  a  plan  of  campaign  which 


586       FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY, 

had  deceived  his  expectations  and  disappointed  his 
hopes.  As  much  and  more  than  any  one  else,  he  un- 
derstood that  he  could  have  led  the  army  to  its  present 
position,  sparing  the  greater  part  of  the  blood  shed. 
He  had  advanced  only  by  a  series  of  turning  move- 
ments on  the  enemy's  right.  Now,  he  could  have 
easily  made  them,  without  delivering  the  deadly  as- 
saults which  had  cost  us  so  much,  wherever  the  enemy 
had  barred  our  passage.  But  it  did  not  enter  into  his 
plans  to  drive  back  Lee's  army  to  the  walls  of  Rich- 
mond intact.  His  object  was  first  to  destroy  it  ;  if  that 
could  not  be  done,  to  so  enfeeble  and  demoralize  it,  by 
such  a  succession  of  terrible  blows,  that  he  would  only  be 
able  to  have  the  remains  of  it  to  put  behind  the  fortifi- 
cations of  the  Confederate  capital.  What  he  sought, 
above  all,  was  to  force  his  adversary  to  some  great  bat- 
tle, where  he  could  crush  him  under  the  double  supe- 
riority of  numbers  and  tactics. 

But  Lee  was  not  the  general  to  so  expose  himself. 
Once  only  had  he  assumed  the  offensive  to  fall  on  the 
flank  of  our  army  in  march,  because  in  the  Wilderness 
the  nature  of  the  country  offered  him  advantages  quite 
exceptional.  He  had,  however,  failed  ;  and  from  that 
day  had  obstinately  confined  himself  to  a  prudent  de- 
fensive, in  works  long  prepared.  In  that  respect,  the 
topographical  disposition  of  the  country  presented  inex- 
haustible resources.  Besides,  in  prevision  of  the  con- 
flict of  which  it  might  be  the  theatre,  this  region  had 
been  studied  with  care,  and  the  best  positions  to  stop 
the  march  of  an  army  on  Richmond  had  not  only  been 
determined  on,  but  prepared  by  works  at  least  sketched 
out.  Lee  ably  availed  himself  of  these  advantages,  and 
this  forced  his  adversary  to  sacrifice  more  than  he  had 
counted  on,  in  order  to  accomplish  his  designs. 

In  the  impossibility  of  bringing  the  Confederate  gen- 


BATTLE  AFTER  BATTLE.  587 

eral  to  an  open  battle,  Grant  had  endeavored  to  demol- 
ish the  hostle  army  by  terrible  blows,  behind  the  in- 
trenchments,  the  disadvantages  of  which  to  us  might  be 
compensated  by  the  superiority  of  our  forces  and  of  our 
resources.  If  his  calculations  were  not  realized,  neither 
can  it  be  said  that  they  had  completely  failed,  since  the 
operations  of  the  month  of  May  cost  the  enemy  a  clear 
third  of  the  forces  he  had  on  the  Rapidan.  The  pro- 
portion of  our  losses  was  greater ;  it  was  nearly  two- 
fifths  of  the  army  with  which  we  had  opened  the  cam- 
paign ;  but  it  was  a  question  of  reserved  resources,  and, 
as  the  rebellion  had  put  absolutely  all  in  the  field,  its 
armies  must  be  worn  out  before  ours  in  all  respects,  and 
it  must  give  up  from  exhaustion  in  a  short  time. 

The  two  auxiliary  armies  of  the  James  and  of  West- 
ern Virginia  had  not  rendered  the  services  to  General 
Grant  which  he  expected  from  them.  General  Butler, 
having  debarked  without  opposition  at  Bermuda  Hun- 
dred, at  the  confluence  of  the  Appomattox  and  the 
James,  had  been  content  to  cover  himself  with  in- 
trenchments,  after  having  burnt  a  few  bridges,  destroyed 
a  few  pieces  of  railroad,  and  attacked,  without  success, 
a  rebel  force  established  at  Drury's  Bluff.  The  enemy 
had  had  no  trouble  in  inclosing  him  in  that  position  by 
a  line  of  contravallation,  so  that  the  reenforcements 
brought  by  Beauregard  from  the  two  Carolinas  had  a 
clear  road,  and  could  be  used  either  to  defend  Rich- 
mond or  to  enlarge  Lee's  army. 

General  Sigel,  in  his  field,  had  managed  so  poorly 
that  on  May  15  he  had  been  beaten  at  New  Market, 
and  driven  as  far  as  Cedar  Creek,  leaving  the  passage 
open  for  other  reenforcements,  also  bound  for  Lee's 
army.  Thus  all  the  accessory  combinations  of  General 
Grant  failed.  Sigel,  relieved  from  his  command,  was 
replaced  by  General  Hunter,  and  one-half  of  Butler's 


588       FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

forces,  become  useless  in  the  corner  in  which  they  were 
inclosed,  were  employed  to  reenforce  the  Army  of  the 
Potomac,  which  they  joined  in  time  to  take  part  in  the 
battle  of  Cold  Harbor. 

In  the  West  everything  was  going  on  well.  General 
Sherman,  commander-in-chief  of  the  united  armies  of  the 
Cumberland,  the  Tennessee,  and  the  Ohio,  had  driven 
Johnston  back  from  position  to  position,  from  Dalton  as 
far  as  Kenesaw. 


CHAPTER   XXVIII. 

IN   FRONT   OF   PETERSBURG. 

Passage  of  the  James  —  First  attack  on  Petersburg  —  My  return  to  the 
army  —  City  Point  —  General  Ingalls — A  night  at  headquarters  — 
General  Hancock  —  Losses  of  my  brigade  during  two  months'  cam- 
paign—  Losses  of  the  Second  Corps  —  Fortnight  of  extra  duty  —  The 
colored  troops  —  Early's  expedition  against  Washington  —  Between 
the  cup  and  the  lip  there  is  room  for:  a  hanging  —  First  Deep 
Bottom  expedition  —  Hurried  return. 

In  consequence  of  the  check  at  Cold  Harbor,  a  rest- 
lessness was  becoming  general  among  the  people, 
which  the  government  in  vain  pretended  not  to  notice. 
After  so  many  bloody  conflicts,  after  so  many  heavy 
sacrifices,  the  enemy  still  presented  to  us  an  undaunted 
front.  On  seeing  the  army  halted  on  the  banks  of  the 
Chickahominy,  it  was  asked  if  Grant  was  about  to 
renew  again  those  operations  around  Richmond  which 
had  succeeded  so  poorly  under  McClellan.  Public 
opinion,  shaken  in  its  confidence,  already  began  to 
listen  to  the  sinister  interpretations  of  the  opposition 
journals,  when,  in  the  last  half  of  June,  it  learned  that 
the  lieutenant-general  had  boldly  crossed  the  James, 
and  laid  siege  before  Petersburg. 

The  time  had  passed  when  the  commander-in-chief, 
directing  or  not  directing  the  armies  from  his  cabinet, 
subordinated  all  the  movements  of  the  army  to  the 
incessantly  repeated  order  :  "  Cover  Washington  and 
Harper's  Ferry;"  when  the  President,  interpreting 
literally  his  constitutional  command  of  all  land  and 
naval  forces,  interfered  in  the  plans  of  the  campaign  at 

589 


590       FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    AR:\IV. 

the  pleasure  of  his  individual  counsellors.  This  was 
completely  changed.  General  Grant  had  no  one  but 
himself  to  consult,  for,  while  accepting  the  whole 
responsibility,  he  had  reserved  to  himself  complete 
liberty   of    action. 

When  he  unexpectedly  transferred  the  theatre  of 
operations  across  the  James,  public  opinion  fluctuated, 
wavering  between  what  it  had  to  fear  and  what  to  hope. 
I  imagine  that  at  Washington  there  was  much  less 
indecision ;  they  at  first  saw  but  one  effect  of  that 
great  movement  :  the  capital  uncovered  ;  and  the  gov- 
ernment, which  had  not  made  a  study  of  military  strat- 
egy, was  very  ill  at  ease  at  no  longer  having  its  grand 
army  between  the  rebels  and  itself. 

This  passage  of  the  James  was,  however,  a  very  fine 
movement,  as  ably  executed  as  it  was  boldly  conceived. 
It  inaugurated  a  new  phase  in  the  campaign.  Up  to 
this  time.  Grant  was  content  to  "hammer  away  "  inces- 
santly at  the  enemy,  as  he  said  himself,  changing  his 
base  as  he  advanced,  transferring  successively  his 
depots  of  supplies  from  Washington  to  Acquia  Creek, 
from  there  to  Port  Royal  on  the  Rappahannock,  thence 
to  White  House  on  the  Pamunkey,  and  now  from 
White  House  to  City  Point  on  the  James.  Hence- 
forth, the  battering  not  having  produced  the  expected 
effect,  Grant  was  about  to  try  the  resources  of  military 
science,  and  give  precedence  to  strategic  combina- 
tions. 

In  the  first  place,  he  took  his  measures  so  well  to 
conceal  his  intentions  from  the  enemy  that  the  latter 
did  not  recognize  the  character  of  the  movement  until 
it  was  already  executed.  Warren  was  ordered  to  occupy 
Lee's  attention  by  the  menace  of  an  advance  on  Rich- 
mond from  the  direction  of  White  Oak  swamp,  while 
Smith  (W.  F.)  recmbarked  from  White  House  to  return 


In    front    of    PETERSBURG.  59 1 

to  Bermuda  Hundred,  and  Hancock,  with  the  Second 
Corps,  would  be  transferred  to  the  right  bank  of  the 
James  by  a  flotilla  of  large  steamers  collected  at  Wilcox 
Landing  for  that  purpose.  At  the  same  time,  a  bridge 
of  boats  was  thrown  across  a  little  below,  where  there 
were  thirteen  fathoms  of  water  in  the  channel,  and 
where  the  river  was  more  than  two  thousand  feet 
broad.  The  Fifth  and  Sixth  Corps  crossed  over  on 
the  bridge. 

Grant  hoped  to  get  hold  or  Petersburg  by  a  coup  de 
main.  If  he  had  succeeded,  the  fall  of  Richmond 
would  have  soon  followed  in  all  probability.  Unfortu- 
nately, delays  occurred  and  contretemps  which  caused 
the  opportunity  to  fail  and  completely  modified  the 
course  of  events.  General  Smith  (W.  F.),  after  liaving 
carried  the  first  line,  which  was  defended  by  militia 
only,  did  not  know  how  to  take  advantage  of  his 
first  success.  Proceeding  methodically  and  cautiously, 
where  it  was,  above  all,  necessary  to  act  with  vigor  and 
promptness,  he  put  off  the  serious  work  until  the  next 
morning.  Hancock,  in  his  turn,  debarked  on  the  right 
bank,  did  not  receive  the  order  to  march  on  Petersburg 
until  he  had  been  delayed  to  wait  for  rations  which 
were  behindhand,  and  went  astray  in  his  march  owing 
to  false  indications  on  a  map  which  had  been  sent  to 
him  as  correct.  In  short,  he  lost  precious  hours  in  the 
afternoon  of  June  15,  and  on  the  morning  of  the  i6th 
it  was  too  late  ;  Lee's  troops  had  arrived. 

Nevertheless,  the  intrenchments  thrown  up  hastily 
by  the  enemy  were  not  so  formidable  that  they  might 
not  be  carried.  In  the  morning,  a  fresh  attack,  with 
Birney's  and  Gibbon's  divisions,  met  with  some  success, 
but  with  no  decisive  results.  In  the  afternoon,  the 
Ninth  Corps  having  arrived,  the  attempt  was  renewed 
on  a  greater  scale,  and  it  ended  by  carrying  the  line  at 


59-       FOUR    \"EARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

sundown,  after  a  hard  fight  and  considerable  loss.  On 
the  next  morning,  a  new  assault,  always  by  the  Second 
Corps,  supported  by  the  Ninth.  The  enemy  lost  more 
ground  and  a  redoubt  of  importance.  In  the  evening, 
he  succeeded  in  surprising  the  intrenchments  which 
Burnside  had  taken  from  him.  All  these  fights  were 
not  without  cost ;  the  loss  of  that  day  alone,  on  our 
side,  amounted  to  four  thousand  men. 

The  Confederates  defended  the  ground  step  by  step, 
with  such  determination,  only  to  gain  the  time  neces- 
sary to  finish  a  stronger  and  better  selected  line,  on  the 
hills  immediately  around  the  city.  They  retired  to 
these  lines  in  the  following  night,  and  during  the  whole 
of  the  1 8th  they  sustained  in  them  a  series  of  attacks 
which  met  with  no  success.  From  that  da}',  the  siege 
of  Petersburg  was  resolved  upon,  and  regular  works 
were  begun. 

It  must  be  remarked  that  this  siege  was  not  a  siege, 
properly  speaking.  The  place  was  never  even  invested.  It 
lies  twenty-two  miles  south  of  Richmond,  on  the  right 
bank  of  the  Appomattox,  eight  miles  southwest  of  City 
Point,  where  that  river  empties  into  the  James,  and 
where  the  new  base  of  supplies  of  the  army  was  natu- 
rally established.  So  that  we  had  turned  Richmond  to 
put  ourselves  across  a  part  of  the  enemy's  communica- 
tions with  the  South,  and  directly  threaten  the  rest. 
These  communications  were  :  the  railroads  to  Norfolk, 
Weldon,  and  Lynchburg,  and  the  Jerusalem  and  Boyd- 
ton  roads,  —  all  ending  at  Petersburg.  Besides  these, 
the  Confederate  capital  had  only  the  James  River  canal, 
to  the  west,  and  the  Dansville  railroad,  to  the  south. 
The  latter  did  not  extend  beyond  the  limits  of  Virginia, 
but  it  crossed  the  Lynchburg  railroad  at  Burksville, 
which  doubled  its  resources.  If,  then,  we  succeeded  in 
enveloping  Petersburg  only  on  the  right  bank  of  the 


IN    FRONT   OF    PETERSBITIG. 


593 


Appomattox,  the  population  and  the  Confederate  army 
would  be  reduced  to  draw  all  their  sni^lies  from  Rich- 
mond by  a  single-track  railroad.  To  accomf^h  that 
was  our  effort ;  to  prevent  it,  the  enemy's  :  that  was 
the  point  towards  which  all  the  (^>erations  of  the  siege 
were  directed  for  nine  months.  On  the  day  on  which 
we  finally  succeeded,  Petersburg  and  Richmond  fell  at 
the  same  blow,  and  the  whole  structure  of  the  rebellion 
crumbled  with  these  two  cities^  I  have  now  to  rdate 
by  what  long  series  of  efforts,  labms,  and  battles  we  at 
last  accomplished  this  great  triumph. 

On  June  27,  at  the  request  oi  General  Meade,  I  was 
finally  relieved  from  my  command  at  New  York,  with 
orders  to  rejoin  the  Army  of  the  Potomac  as  soon  as  my 
successor  arrived  to  take  m}r  place.  Many  days  passed 
away  while  I  waited  for  him,  which  by  so  much  delayed 
my  departure:  I  did  not  reach  Fortress  Mcmroe,  where 
I  was  to  meet  my  servants,  my  horses,  and  my  baggage, 
untfl  July  9.  But  the  transpmt  aa  whidi  they  were 
shipped,  they  told  me,  was  detained  at  Hew  Ycnk  for 
twenty-four  hours  aft^-  the  aq^minted  time.  What  was 
I  to  do  in  the  meantime  ?  There  had  f mnerly  been  a 
hotel  under  the  walls  oS.  the  fcHtress,  but  it  was  now 
turned  into  a  hosfHtaL  There  was  nothing  to  be 
found  but  sutlers"  tents  and  a  restaurant  where  one 
might  get  something  to  eat  but  no  |^ce  to  sleeps  the 
daily  service  of  the  military  steamers  bong  made 
directly  frmn  Washington  to  City  Point,  and  making 
connecticm  with  the  Baltimore  steamers,  so  that  those 
going  either  wav  were  nevo-  obliged  to  pass  a  night  at 
the  fortress.  Fwrtunately  for  me,  the  French  steam 
corvette  Pkl^/ikffm  was  anchored  in  the  bay,  and  I 
was  aUe  to  ask  her  cocnmander,  Mandet,  whom  I  had 
m^  in  Kew  York,  for  hospattality,  which  he  rendered 
me  in  the  most  ccwdial  manner.     Thanks  to  him  and  to 


594       FOUR   YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

his  officers,  three  days  of  waiting  passed  off  in  the  most 
agreeable  manner  in  the  world  for  me. 

My  baggage  having  arrived,  I  left  on  the  evening  of 
the  1 2th  for  City  Point,  where  I  arrived  about  four 
o'clock  in  the  afternoon.  Steamboats  and  sailing  ves- 
sels, transports  and  lighters  of  all  kinds,  encumbered 
the  river  near  the  improvised  wharves  on  which  they 
were  still  working.  Higher  up,  towards  Richmond,  the 
eye  could  distinguish  at  a  distance  the  turrets  of  the 
monitors,  which  appeared  to  stand  out  of  the  water, 
and  the  gunboats,  on  which  enormous  pivot  guns  were 
visible.  The  river  bank,  rising  up  high,  had  been 
cleared  and  levelled,  so  as  to  make  room  for  storehouses 
for  supplies,  and  for  a  station  for  the  railroad.  All  this 
had  sprung  out  of  the  earth  as  if  by  magic,  in  less  than 
a  month.  The  railroad  ran  behind  the  docks  ;  the  loco- 
motives were  running  back  and  forth,  leaving  long 
plumes  of  smoke,  and  on  the  ground  trails  of  coals  and 
sparks  of  fire.  All  was  activity  and  movement.  Legions 
of  negroes  were  discharging  the  ships,  wheeling  dirt, 
sawing  the  timber,  and  driving  piles.  Groups  of  soldiers 
crowded  around  the  sutlers'  tents  ;  horsemen  in  squad- 
rons went  down  to  the  river  to  water  their  horses. 
And,  on  the  upper  plateau,  huts  of  different  forms  and 
sizes  overlooked  the  whole  scene  below.  A  great  vil- 
lage of  wood  and  cloth  was  erected  there,  where  a  few 
weeks  before  were  but  two  or  three  houses. 

The  largest  of  these,  and  one  which  must  have  been 
a  fine  dwelling,  now  held  the  offices  of  General  R. 
Ingalls,  Quartermaster-General  of  the  army.  It  was 
General  Ingalls  who,  since  the  opening  of  the  campaign, 
had  changed  our  depots  successively  to  four  different 
points,  and  that  with  so  much  order  and  precision  that 
rations  had  not  been  wanting  to  the  army  for  a  day. 
As  the  last  train  had  departed  when  I  debarked  at  City 


IN    FRONT    OF    PETERSBURG.  595 

Point,  I  would  have  been  forced  to  pass  a  very  disa- 
greeable night  if  General  Ingalls  had  not  very  obli- 
gingly put  at  my  disposal  a  light  wagon,  which  carried 
me  that  same  evening  to  headquarters  in  front  of 
Petersburg. 

General  Meade  did  me  the  honor  to  welcome  me  as 
an  old  acquaintance  whom  he  was  very  glad  to  see.  I 
had  just  finished  explaining  to  him  by  what  train  of 
circumstances  I  had  been  kept  in  New  York  and  at 
Fortress  Monroe  when  Colonel  Chanal  presented  him- 
self at  the  door  of  the  tent.  The  colonel  belonged  to 
the  artillery  corps  in  the  French  army.  He  had  come 
to  America  on  an  official  mission,  to  study  our  different 
systems  of  arms,  and  especially  our  innovations  in  artil- 
lery. This  mission  had  brought  him  to  the  Army  of 
the  Potomac,  where  his  studies  were  soon  completed  by 
practical  observations.  We  had  already  made  each 
other's  acquaintance  on  his  arrival  at  New  York.  So 
that,  when  General  Meade  finished  the  conversation  by 
inviting  me  to  pass  the  night  at  headquarters,  I  ac- 
cepted with  pleasure  the  offer  of  a  place  under  the  tent 
of  Colonel  Chanal. 

On  leaving  General  Meade,  I  found  that  I  was  among 
friends,  as  the  greater  part  of  the  officers  of  the  staff 
were  personally  known  to  me.  In  war  the  sharing  to- 
gether of  the  same  dangers  and  privations  establishes 
more  prompt  and  cordial  relations  than  common  occu- 
pations or  pleasures  do  in  other  walks  of  life.  Every 
one  welcomed  me,  asked  me  the  news  from  New  York 
and  Washington,  what  was  said  here,  and  what  was 
being  done  there,  giving  me  in  return  accounts  of 
our  friends,  both  those  who  survived  and  those  whom 
death  had  taken. 

The  hour  for  retiring  came ;  but  under  Colonel 
Chanal's  tent  the  watch  was  much  prolonged,  around  a 


596       FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

supper  seasoned  with  appetite,  and  accompanied,  in 
place  of  music,  by  the  continual  crackling  of  the  picket 
firing.  As  I  asked  for  information  in  regard  to  the 
cause  of  this  unusual  noise  at  that  hour,  "  It  is,"  they 
told  me,  "  Burnside,  who  is  protecting  the  works  of  his 
mine."  I  learned  then  that  General  Burnside,  whose 
front  was  very  near  the  enemy's  works,  had  undertaken 
to  blow  up  a  redoubt  by  means  of  a  mine.  From  what 
I  heard  about  it,  it  seemed  to  me  that  the  enterprise 
inspired  little  confidence,  and  that  generally  it  was 
regarded  rather  as  a  subject  for  pleasantry  than  an 
object  of  interest. 

The  next  morning,  early,  I  mounted  on  horseback  to 
report  to  General  Hancock,  after  having  thanked  Gen- 
eral Meade  for  having  assigned  me  to  the  Second 
Corps,  the  one,  above  all,  to  which  I  preferred  to  be 
attached.  The  weather  was  magnificent,  and  the  sun 
very  warm,  even  at  that  early  hour.  A  part  of  the 
troops  were  in  motion,  and  raised  thick  clouds  of  dust, 
through  which  we  could  scarcely  breathe.  It  was,  how- 
ever, only  a  change  of  position  of  a  division  in  the  im- 
mediate neighborhood  of  the  house  where  General 
Hancock  had  established  his  headquarters.  I  could, 
then,  easily  find  him,  to  present  to  him  the  order  of 
which  I  was  the  bearer. 

General  Hancock  is  one  of  the  handsomest  men  in 
the  United  States  army.  He  is  tall  in  stature,  robust 
in  figure,  with  movements  of  easy  dignity.  His  head, 
shaded  by  thick  hair  of  a  light  chestnut  color,  strikes 
one  favorably  from  the  first  by  the  regularity  of  his 
features  and  the  engaging  expression  which  is  habitual 
to  him.  His  manners  are  generally  very  polite.  His 
voice  is  pleasant,  and  his  speech  as  agreeable  as  his 
looks.  Such  is  Hancock  in  repose.  In  action  he  is 
entirely  different.     Dignity  gives  way  to  activity  ;  his 


IN    FRONT    OF    PETERSBURG.  597 

features  become  animated,  his  voice  loud,  his  eyes  are 
on  fire,  his  blood  kindles,  and  his  bearing  is  that  of  a 
man  carried  away  by  passion,  —  the  character  of  his 
bravery.  It  is  this,  I  think,  which  renders  him  much 
less  fit  for  an  independent  command  than  to  act  under 
orders.  We  will  see  in  the  course  of  our  narrative  that, 
after  having  distinguished  himself  above  all  others  at 
the  head  of  a  division  or  an  army  corps,  he  was  much 
less  fortunate  in  independent  operations  which  were 
intrusted  to  him.  Brilliant  in  the  second  rank,  he  did 
not  shine  so  brightly  when  occupying  the  first.  Was  it 
a  question  of  execution  ?  he  was  admirable.  If  it  was 
necessary  to  plan  and  direct,  he  was  no  longer  equal  to 
the  occasion.  This  is  often  the  case  amongst  soldiers. 
Like  Benedeck,  Hancock  could  have  performed  marvels 
at  Solferino  at  the  head  of  a  corps,  and  as  commander- 
in-chief  lose  the  army  at  Sadowa. 

His  popularity  was  as  great,  perhaps  greater  than 
that  of  any  other  officer  of  his  rank.  This  is  easily 
explained  :  firstly,  by  the  brilliancy  of  his  service,  and 
also  by  the  particular  care  he  always  took  to  have  it 
known.  The  correspondents  of  the  principal  journals 
yielded,  like  every  one  else,  to  his  captivating  bearing 
and  manners ;  information  was  freely  given  them  in  the 
form  of  reports  by  the  general,  —  often,  without  doubt,  to 
avoid  all  error, — their  correspondence  was  submitted 
to  his  inspection,  so  that  the  result  was  sometimes  par- 
tialities of  which  they  were  hardly  conscious. 

For,  the  truth  must  be  told,  General  Hancock  had 
his  partialities  ;  and  if  some  were  justified  by  the  real 
merits  and  the  capacity  of  those  who  were  the  objects 
of  them,  others  were,  on  the  contrary,  inexplicable  by 
any  military  consideration,  and  were  connected  with 
political  aims,  in  which  the  general  allowed  himself  to 
be  drawn  too  easily.     But,  not  to  speak  of  persons,  his 


598       FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY, 

first  two  divisions  were  much  closer  to  his  affections 
than  the  third,  which  came  from  the  old  Third  Corps. 
And  yet  no  one  will  ever  think  that  that  division 
brought  him  less  honor  than  the  two  others.  By  a 
close  examination  it  could  be  easily  proved  that  it  did 
him  greater  services  than  the  second. 

For  my  part,  I  was  far  from  suspecting  anything  of 
the  sort  during  my  first  interview.  General  Hancock's 
welcome  was  most  cordial.  He  did  all  I  could  wish,  by 
assigning  me  to  my  old  division,  and,  like  so  many 
others,  I  was  under  the  spell  when  I  left  him  to  pre- 
sent myself  to  General  Birney. 

I  shall  never  forget  with  what  radiant  cordiality  Bir- 
ney stretched  out  his  hand  when  he  saw  me  at  his  tent 
door.  "At  last  you  are  back  again,"  he  said  to  me. 
"  We  have  been  expecting  you  for  some  time.  I  need 
not  tell  you  with  what  pleasure  I  see  you  amongst  us 
again." 

The  pleasure  was  mutual,  for  I  felt  like  a  traveller 
who  returns  home  after  a  long  absence.  Through  the 
tent  door  I  saw  passing  back  and  forth  some  well 
known  officers  of  the  staff.  Soon  General  Mott  en- 
tered. We  sat  down  in  the  shade  of  the  great  trees 
which  sheltered  headquarters,  and  I  listened,  with  an 
interest  easy  to  understand,  to  the  details  of  some  of  the 
battles  in  which  the  division  had  recently  taken  part. 
It  had  been  in  some  severe  ones,  —  so  severe  that  the 
Fourth  Division  (formerly  Humphrey's)  had  been  con- 
solidated with  the  Third,  which  put  Mott  for  the  time 
being  at  the  head  of  a  brigade.  Pierce,  promoted  to 
brigadier-general,  now  commanded  the  brigade  which  I 
had  commanded  at  Gettysburg.  There  remained  the 
brigade  of  General  Ward,  who  left  the  army  at  Spott- 
sylvania,  and  was  not  to  return.  This  command  was 
assigned  to  me. 


IN    FRONT    OF    PETERSBURG.  599 

I  had  already  commanded  it  by  intervals  when  I  was 
connected  with  it,  first  as  colonel  of  the  Fifty-fifth,  and 
afterward  of  the  Thirty-eighth ;  but  there  had  been 
great  changes  in  it  since  that  time.  Then  it  was  com- 
posed of  six  regiments  ;  now  it  had  ten,  without,  how- 
ever, having  any  more  men  fit  for  duty,  the  last  cam- 
paign had  so  largely  reduced  their  numbers.  Here  is 
the  official  account  of  the  losses  of  the  brigade  during 
only  two  months,  from  May  5  to  July  5  :  — 

FIRST   BRIGADE,   THIRD   DIVISION,   SECOND   CORPS. 

Denomination.  Killed.        Wounded.  Missing.        Total. 

Officers 22  73  8  103 

Non-commissioned  officers  and 

privates 252  1438  293  1983 

Total .     2086 

The  loss  was  three-quarters,  calculating  the  effective, 
at  the  opening  of  the  campaign,  at  twenty-eight  hundred 
men,  which  is  a  large  reckoning,  that  number  much 
exceeding  former  averages.  This  proportion  agreed, 
however,  with  the  condition  of  the  brigade  when  I  took 
the  command.  Notwithstanding  the  return  of  a  large 
number  of  convalescents,  and  after  the  addition  of  five 
new  regiments,  two-thirds  of  the  effective  was  still 
absent.  Out  of  sixty-nine  hundred  and  seventy-six  men 
I  could  put  into  line  only  about  two  thousand. 

The  losses  of  the  other  divisions  were  in  like  propor- 
tion. I  have  always  heard  that  those  of  the  Second 
Corps  were  estimated  at  twenty-four  thousand  men. 
Certainly  they  exceeded  twenty  thousand,  and  the  reen- 
forcements  received  did  not  raise  its  effective  force 
above  twelve  thousand.  In  this  effective,  in  conse- 
quence of  the  consolidation  of  the  Fourth  Division  with 
the  Third,  the  latter  had  nearly  one-half.  My  brigade 
was  the  strongest  in  the  corps,  and  I  doubt  if  there  was 


600       FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

another  in  the  whole  army  which  could  report  twenty- 
four  hundred  and  forty-four  men  present  for  duty. 

These  figures  by  themselves  are  so  eloquent  that  it  is 
useless  to  add  a  word.  On  comparing  them  with  those 
of  European  wars,  one  will  appreciate  what  kind  of  a 
war  we  were  carrying  on  in  America. 

During  a  fortnight  the  Second  Corps  laid  down  the 
musket  for  the  spade  and  the  pick.  As  it  was  in  reserve 
since  an  unfortunate  attempt  to  turn  the  right  of  the 
enemy's  lines,  — a  movement  in  which  the  Third  Divis- 
ion had  suffered  the  most,  —  the  details  for  work  were 
taken  from  it  by  right.  We  had  first  to  cut  down  and 
level  the  intrenchments  raised  by  the  Confederates  ; 
then  to  make  covered  ways  by  which  the  troops  could 
move,  and  ammunition  and  rations  be  carried  to  the 
front  of  our  lines,  without  being  exposed  to  the  obser- 
vation, and,  consequently,  to  the  fire,  of  the  enemy. 
As  the  work  was  carried  on  principally  by  night,  we 
were  troubled  very  little ;  but,  even  if  little  dangerous, 
this  kind  of  service  is  not  very  pleasant. 

Our  line  extended,  at  this  time,  to  Jerusalem  plank 
road,  between  the  Norfolk  railroad,  which  was  in  our 
possession,  and  the  Weldon  railroad,  of  which  we  were 
to  take  possession  before  long.  Our  works  ended  at 
this  point  by  a  redoubt,  marked  out,  but  not  finished, 
but  sufficient,  however,  to  hold  the  road,  and  sweep  a 
broad  ravine,  along  which  our  rifle-pits  were  prolonged 
in  return.  The  pickets  of  the  enemy,  covered  by  rifle- 
pits,  were  exceedingly  close,  and  would  have  been  able 
to  trouble  very  much  the  workings  of  our  guns  by  our 
cannoneers.  But,  in  accordance  with  a  tacit  agreement, 
the  fire  of  the  skirmishers  was  suspended,  so  that  on 
both  sides  these  passed  back  and  forth  openly,  while 
the  firing  was  carried  on  only  at  night,  to  guard  against 
surprise. 


IN    FRONT    OF    PETERSBURG.  6oi 

It  was  quite  different  along  the  front  of  the  Ninth 
Corps,  which  held  on  the  right  of  the  Fifth.  Along 
that  part  of  the  line,  the  exchange  of  artillery  and 
musketry  fire  was  carried  on  day  and  night  without 
interruption.  The  working  of  the  mine  might  have 
accounted  for  part  of  this,  but  other  reasons  were  the 
prevailing  ones  for  this  reciprocal  bitterness.  Two 
Maryland  brigades,  one  Union,  the  other  Confederate, 
were  opposed  to  each  other,  and  one  can  understand 
that  between  enemies  from  the  same  State  there  could 
be  no  compromise.  In  addition,  there  were  in  Burn- 
side's  command  some  colored  troops,  against  whom  the 
soldiers  of  the  South  showed  a  particular  animosity. 
The  colored  troops  returned  their  hatred  in  full  meas- 
ure. The  causes  were  not  far  to  seek.  Without  speak- 
ing of  their  national  hatred  towards  those  who  were 
holding  their  race  in  slavery,  and  treating  their  breth- 
ren in  bondage  like  a  kind  of  cattle,  all  their  resent- 
ment was  more  than  justified  by  the  odious  cruelties  of 
which  those  of  them  who  fell  into  the  enemy's  hands 
were  the  victims.  For  instance,  in  the  month  of  April 
preceding,  a  rebel  general  by  the  name  of  Forrest 
having  carried  Fort  Pillow,  as  much  by  trickery  as  by 
force,  the  whole  garrison,  composed  almost  entirely  of 
colored  troops,  had  been  massacred  with  an  inhuman 
refinement  of  cruelty.  Neither  sex  nor  age  was  spared, 
and  the  Southern  brutes,  drunk  with  blood,  finished 
their  work  by  including  the  whites  themselves  in  the 
revolting  butchery.  Since  that  time,  the  black  troops 
took  less  prisoners,  knowing  what  awaited  themselves 
if  they  were  captured,  and  urged  each  other  on  to 
battle  by  the  cry,  "  Remember  Fort  Pillow  !  "  So, 
when,  during  an  evening,  at  the  time  when  the  regi- 
ments were  relieved  in  the  intrenchments,  an  increase 
of  cannon  and  musketry  fire  was  heard  on  the  front  of 


602       FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

the  Ninth  Corps,  it  was  generally  remarked:  "The 
colored  troops  are  taking  their  turn  in  the  intrench- 
ments." 

The  labor  of  completing  and  strengthening  our  lines 
was  not  the  only  reason  which  delayed  their  extension 
to  the  Weldon  railroad.  Some  new  movements  were 
taking  place  near  Washington,  of  which  we  awaited  the 
issue.  Along  in  the  early  part  of  July,  General  Lee, 
profiting  by  the  field  being  left  open  to  the  north  of 
Richmond,  had  sent  a  corps  of  twelve  to  fifteen  thou- 
sand men  into  the  Shenandoah  valley,  under  command 
of  General  Early.  The  latter  had  the  field  of  opera- 
tions to  himself,  for  the  reason  that  General  Hunter, 
after  having  penetrated  the  country  as  far  as  Lynch- 
burg, had  been  compelled  to  retire  before  superior 
forces,  and  to  take  his  line  of  retreat  through  Western 
Virginia.  Early,  finding  nothing  in  front  of  him,  ad- 
vanced rapidly  on  Winchester  and  Martinsburg,  from 
which  place  Sigel  retired  at  his  approach,  to  the  north 
of  the  Potomac.  Early,  continuing  on  his  way,  crossed 
the  river,  entered  Frederick  without  opposition,  and 
prepared  to  march  directly  on  Washington. 

The  object  of  this  vigorous  demonstration  was  to 
compel  us  to  let  go  our  hold  on  Petersburg.  Twice 
already  Lee  had  succeeded,  by  a  similar  manoeuvre,  in 
sending  our  army  north  of  the  Potomac,  and,  although 
the  operation  was  conducted  on  a  smaller  scale,  he 
hoped  that  Grant  would  be  in  a  hurry  to  fly  to  the  re- 
lief of  the  menaced  capital,  and  that  he  would  thus 
lose  the  fruit  of  two  months'  hard  campaigning.  But 
he  was  counting  without  his  host.  Halleck  was  no 
longer  at  the  head  of  the  armies,  and  Grant  was  not  a 
man  to  whom  the  administration  pretended  to  pre- 
scribe what  he  had  to  do,  or  whom  it  could  direct 
according  to  its  whims. 


IN    FRONT    OF    PETERSBURG.  603 

The  general-in-chief  took  the  matter  coolly.  He 
measured  with  a  calm  eye  the  extent  of  this  invasion 
on  a  small  scale,  and  contented  himself  by  sending  on 
the  Sixth  Corps  to  meet  it.  Wright's  troops  arrived 
at  Washington  the  morning  after  leaving  City  Point. 
At  the  same  time,  the  Nineteenth  Corps,  coming  from 
New  Orleans,  under  the  command  of  General  Emory, 
entered  the  James,  and  anchored  in  front  of  Fortress 
Monroe.  There  it  received  orders  to  continue  on  up 
the  Chesapeake,  and,  instead  of  reenforcing  the  army 
before  Petersburg,  to  join  the  Sixth  Corps  at  Wash- 
ington. 

When  Early,  advancing  from  Frederick,  arrived  on 
the  Monocacy,  the  passage  was  disputed  by  the  division 
of  General  Ricketts,  which  had  preceded  the  others, 
and  by  some  worthless  troops  which  General  Wallace 
had  assembled  in  haste.  The  enemy  succeeded  in  driv- 
ing them  back  on  Baltimore ;  but  when  he  presented 
himself  in  front  of  Georgetown  he  found  that  Wright 
had  arrived  before  him.  He  had  nothing  to  do  but  re- 
tire as  fast  as  possible,  which  he  did,  pursued  by  the 
Sixth  Corps  as  far  as  the  valley  of  the  Shenandoah, 
where  he  did  not  halt  until  he  was  a  long  distance  from 
the  Potomac.  It  was  thought  that  they  were  free  from 
him,  but,  as  he  threatened  to  renew  his  attempt,  the  two 
army  corps  were  left  for  a  long  time  to  guard  Washing- 
ton. This  protective  measure  was  happily  completed 
by  uniting,  under  one  command,  four  little  military  de- 
partments which  surrounded  the  capital  but  did  not 
defend  it.  United  in  one  hand,  it  was  to  be  hoped  they 
would  render  more  service  than  they  would  create  em- 
barrassment. Hitherto  it  had  been  directly  the  con- 
trary. 

Lee's  plan,  then,  had  failed  ;  but  he  might  attempt  to 
renew  it,  by  sending  reenforcements  to  Early.     Grant 


604       FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

resolved  to  prevent  this  by  menacing  Richmond,  on  the 
left  bank  of  the  James,  or  at  least  by  destroying  the 
bridge  of  boats  which  the  enemy  had  at  Chapin's  Bluff 
to  maintain  his  communications  from  one  bank  to  the 
other.  This  expedition  was  intrusted  to  Hancock,  re- 
enforced  by  two  divisions  of  cavalry  led  by  Sheridan. 

On  July  26,  we  received  orders  to  be  ready  to  march 
with  four  days'  rations,  and  a  hundred  rounds  of  ammu- 
nition to  a  man,  forty  of  which  would  go  in  the 
ammunition  wagons.  No  quartermaster  train  would 
follow  us,  except  a  few  wagons  with  intrenching  tools, 
and  twenty  ambulances  to  a  division,  which  betokened 
some  hard  work.  Where  were  we  going  .-'  We  knew 
nothing  of  our  destination  when  we  started,  at  five 
o'clock  in  the  afternoon.  Mott  commanded  the  division, 
Birney  having  been  promoted  a  few  days  before  to  the 
command  of  the  Tenth  Corps,  which  formed  part  of 
Butler's  forces. 

On  reaching  the  City  Point  road,  we  marched  in  front 
of  a  double  gallows,  on  which  the  night  before  two 
wagoners  of  the  Seventy-second  New  York  had  been 
hanged,  under  circumstances  which  will  give  some  idea  of 
the  discipline  which  ruled  in  the  Army  of  the  Potomac. 
The  term  of  service  of  the  regiment  had  expired.  It 
was  about  to  leave  the  army.  The  two  teamsters  had 
been  mustered  out  like  the  others,  when,  on  the  eve  of 
departure,  they  conceived  the  fatal  idea  of  going  to 
spend  the  night  at  an  isolated  farmhouse  some  distance 
away,  where  a  woman,  still  young,  lived  alone,  and 
whom,  it  appeared,  they  thought  engaging.  They 
reached  the  place  late  in  the  evening,  and  succeeded  in 
inducing  her  to  open  the  door  on  some  pretext.  As 
soon  as  they  were  within,  they  attacked  the  woman,  and 
treated  her  person  with  shameful  violence.  "She  will  not 
dare,"  they  thought,  "  to  tell  the  secret."     And  besides. 


IN    FRONT    OF    PETERSBURG.  605 

as  the  regiment  was  to  leave  the  next  day,  they  would 
be  far  away  before  she  could  make  complaint.  In  that 
they  deceived  themselves.  At  daylight,  the  outraged 
woman  was  at  headquarters,  and  entered  her  complaint 
before  the  provost-marshal.  Search  was  immediately 
made.  Suspicions  were  naturally  directed  towards  the 
mustered-out  regiment,  where,  in  fact,  the  guilty  ones 
were  soon  discovered.  On  seeing  their  comrades  de- 
part to  return  home,  they  must  have  had  bitter  reflec- 
tions on  the  danger  of  yielding  to  the  impulses  of  pas- 
sion. Perhaps  they  too  had  families  awaiting  their 
return.  But  it  was  too  late.  The  court-martial  was 
merciless.  Between  the  cup  and  the  lips  there  was 
room  for  a  hanging.  They  were  executed  in  full  view 
of  the  enemy's  lines,  to  show  the  rebels  how  justice  was 
done  amongst  us.  I  do  not  say  that  the  example  was 
not  a  good  one  ;  but,  the  time  of  service  expired,  on  the 
eve  of  seeing  their  kin  —  it  was  hard. 

At  nightfall  we  left  the  City  Point  railroad  to  cross 
the  Appomattox,  on  the  bridge  of  boats  which  con- 
nected our  position  with  Butler's  at  Bermuda  Hundred. 
The  march  continued  the  whole  night  ;  sometimes  in 
the  woods,  sometimes  through  the  fields.  Fires,  kept 
up  along  the  road  by  cavalry  soldiers,  marked  out  the 
way  for  us.  At  dawn,  somewhat  tired,  we  crossed  the 
James,  at  Jones'  Neck,  on  a  bridge  of  boats.  At  six 
o'clock  my  skirmishers  were  in  contact  with  the  enemy. 

The  enemy's  troops  were  some  which  Lee  had  sent 
-to  dislodge,  or  at  least  hold  in  check,  a  brigade  of  But- 
ler's, intrenched  on  the  left  bank  of  the  river,  near 
Deep  Bottom.  General  Foster,  who  was  in  command, 
had  successfully  repulsed  several  attacks  when  we  came 
to  assist  him.  His  adversaries  turned  promptly  against 
us,  and  took  position  on  the  borders  of  a  wood,  which 
commanded   the  plain  where  we  were.     Miles'  brigade 


6o6       FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

and  mine  were  deployed  in  advance,  each  of  us  covering 
his  division.  On  my  right,  the  Fortieth  New  York  ; 
on  my  centre,  the  One  Hundred  and  Forty-first  Penn- 
sylvania, and  the  Second  Battalion  of  sharpshooters  ad- 
vanced without  serious  opposition  to  the  position 
assigned  to  them,  around  two  farmhouses  of  some  im- 
portance. But  on  my  left  the  Ninety-ninth  and  Hun- 
dred and  Tenth  Pennsylvania  had  just  entered  into  a 
field  of  corn,  where  they  were  received  by  a  fusillade 
from  the  wood  in  front  of  them.  The  fire  becoming: 
hotter  from  that  quarter,  I  sent  the  Seventy-third  New 
York  to  reenforce  them.  They  then  continued  their 
advance,  and  had  just  dislodged  the  skirmishers  of  the 
enemy,  who  were  in  the  corn,  when  the  One  Hundred 
and  Tenth,  which  connected  on  the  left  with  the  other 
brigade,  observed  four  guns  in  position  within  a  short 
distance.  Their  fire  was  immediately  turned  obliquely 
on  the  artillerymen,  while  the  Ninety-ninth  and  the 
Seventy-third,  continuing  to  engage  the  infantry, 
obliqued  towards  the  left  to  draw  nearer  the  cannon. 

Meanwhile  Miles,  profiting  by  a  hollow  of  the  ground, 
rapidly  disposed  four  of  his  regiments  for  a  charge, 
which  was  quickly  made.  The  four  guns  were  taken. 
Some  other  pieces,  less  exposed,  took  position  in  front 
of  me,  and  began  to  burst  their  shells  and  throw  their 
solid  shot  amongst  my  four  regiments  in  reserve.  Two 
of  our  batteries  hurried  up  to  silence  them,  and  com- 
pelled the  enemy  to  withdraw  into  the  woods,  where 
their  infantry  also  soon  disappeared. 

About  nine  o'clock  the  affair  was  over.  My  regiments 
were  able  to  get  a  little  rest,  after  a  night  march  and  a 
morning  of  skirmishing,  while  some  other  troops  were 
thrown  forward  in  pursuit  of  the  enemy,  who,  however, 
did  not  retire  far.  He  had  simply  fallen  back  into  a 
second  line  of  intrenchments,  behind  a  stream  of  water 


IN    FRONT    OF    PETERSBURG,  607 

called  Bailey's  Creek.  To  attack  him  in  front  appeared 
to  General  Hancock  too  hazardous.  The  cavalry  was 
sent  to  find  out  what  was  the  chance  for  a  turning 
movement.  While  waiting,  necessary  precautions  were 
taken  not  to  be  turned  ourselves,  and  my  brigade  was 
ordered  to  cover  the  right  flank  of  the  expeditionary 
corps. 

We  passed  the  night  in  this  manner.  On  the  morn- 
ing of  the  28th,  Lee  had  already  sent  considerable 
forces  against  us,  whose  attack  General  Sheridan  had 
to  sustain.  He  successfully  repulsed  it ;  but  hence- 
forth it  could  no  longer  be  a  question  of  reaching 
Chapin's  Bluff,  still  less  of  surprising  Richmond.  That 
evening,  at  dark,  as  soon  as  Miles  had  relieved  me,  I 
marched  to  join  General  Mott  near  the  bridge  of  boats. 

The  division  was  ordered  to  return  that  same  night 
to  the  front  of  Petersburg,  and  receive  instructions 
there  from  General  Ord.  Barlow's  and  Gibbon's  divis- 
ions were  to  remain  at  Deep  Bottom  twenty-four  hours 
longer. 


CHAPTER   XXIX. 

THE    MINE. 

Universality  of  Yankee  genius  —  The  mine  dug  by  Colonel  Pleasants  — 
Project  of  assault  —  General  Burnside's  plan  —  Unfortunate  modifica- 
tions —  Lots  drawn  —  Last  preparations  — The  match  goes  out  —  The 
explosion —  The  crater  —  Terrible  fiasco  —  The  double  investigation 
—  Different  conclusions  — The  true  cause  of  the  want  of  success. 

General  Ord  had  recently  arrived  from  the  West, 
where  he  had  served  up  to  this  time.  General  Grant, 
knowing  him  to  be  an  officer  of  merit,  had  transferred 
him  to  General  Butler's  army,  where  he  took  the  place 
of  General  W.  F.  Smith,  as  commander  of  the  Eigh- 
teenth Corps.  For  the  time  being  he  occupied  the  right 
of  our  lines,  in  front  of  Petersburg.  His  headquarters 
were  on  the  top  of  a  hill,  whence  the  view  embraced  apart 
of  our  intrenchments,  and  glimpses  as  far  as  the  city 
of  Petersburg,  of  which  the  steeples  and  some  of  the 
edifices  could  be  seen.  There  we  learned  the  cause  of 
our  sudden  recall  from  Deep  Bottom. 

The  mine  dug  under  the  direction  of  Burnside  was 
finished  and  charged.  The  firing  of  it  was  fixed  for  the 
next  day,  July  30,  and  was  to  be  followed  immediately 
by  a  charge  of  the  Ninth  Corps,  with  the  support  of  the 
Eighteenth.  For  this  reason  our  division  had  been  re- 
called, to  relieve  the  troops  of  General  Ord  in  the 
trenches. 

A  few  details  on  the  manner  in  which  this  work  was 
carried  out  may  be  interesting  here. 

The  engineer  officers  took  no  part  in  it.  This  will, 
without  doubt,  appear  more  extraordinary  in  Europe  than 

608 


THE    MINE.  609 

in  America.  One  must  remember  the  miiversality  of 
the  Yankee  genius,  and  that  the  men  of  that  race,  as 
intelhgent  as  they  are  enterprising,  are  accustumed  to 
undertake  the  most  diverse  tasks.  No  people  ever  at- 
tached themselves  less  to  one  single  pursuit.  Their 
principle  is  that  intelligence  can  do  everything.  Thus 
they  advance  faster  to  success.  Everywhere  except  in 
the  United  States  the  capabilities  of  the  mind  are 
marked  off  in  categories.  Aptitudes  are  considered  as 
exclusive,  and  every  one  chooses  his  career  according  to 
his  supposed  bent.     This  is  a  great  error. 

Organizations  well  developed  are  capable  of  perform- 
ing very  different  tasks.  The  same  man,  perhaps,  may 
be  at  the  same  time  a  thinker  and  a  man  of  action,  a 
man  of  law  and  a  man  of  war,  a  philosopher  and  a  man- 
ufacturer, a  merchant  and  an  artist,  a  mathematician 
and  a  poet.  He  may  not  have  all  his  faculties  equally 
developed ;  but  they  are  not  exclusive  of  others.  The 
Yankee  understands  this,  and  tries  everything,  ready  if 
he  fails  in  one  pursuit  to  essay  another.  That  is  why 
he  always  ends  by  succeeding; 

It  is  not  that  he  is  better  endowed  by  nature  than 
other  men  ;  it  is  due  to  education.  In  his  infancy  he 
has  not  been  put  into  the  swaddling-clothes  of  traditions 
and  prejudices  ;  opinions  ready  made  are  not  imposed 
upon  him  ;  neither  the  government  nor  the  church  has 
weighed  down  upon  his  young  intelligence.  He  has 
grown  up  in  free  air ;  he  has  learned  to  rely,  above  all, 
upon  himself,  and  he  knows  that  on  his  own  value  de- 
pends the  place  he  will  take  in  the  midst  of  a  people 
amongst  whom  everything  starts  from  the  initiative  of 
the  individual.  Hence  the  breadth  of  all  his  faculties, 
and  the  variety  of  practical  knowledge  which  makes 
such  varied  use  of  them. 

But  to  return   to  the  mine :   the   first   notion   of  it 


6lO       FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

occurred  to  Lieutenant-Colonel  Henry  Pleasants,  an 
old  civil  engineer,  now  commanding  the  Forty-eighth 
Pennsylvania.  The  most  advanced  point  of  our  lines 
was  upon  the  lower  part  of  a  hillside  crowned  by  a  sort 
of  redoubt,  behind  which  the  cemetery  hill  commanded 
the  city  of  Petersburg.  Within  our  lines,  in  a  deep 
ravine,  ran  the  track  of  the  Norfolk  railroad,  which  was 
hidden  from  the  enemy's  view  by  our  works.  This 
formation  of  the  ground  suggested  to  Colonel  Pleasants 
the  idea  of  opening  a  horizontal  gallery  under  the 
enemy's  works.  He  proposed  it  to  General  Potter,  his 
division  commander,  who  in  turn  submitted  it  to  Gen- 
eral Burnside.  The  latter  approved  of  it  without  hesi- 
tation, and  the  next  morning  Colonel  Pleasants  set  to 
work. 

The  first  thing  to  do  was  to  get  the  exact  distance 
from  the  mouth  of  the  mine  to  the  redoubt  which  it  was 
intended  to  blow  up.  The  instruments  necessary  were 
at  headquarters,  but  the  use  of  them  could  not  be 
obtained.  The  chief  engineers  of  the  army  and  other 
authorities  declared  ex  cathedra  that  the  project  was 
senseless  and  foolish  ;  that  a  mine  as  long  as  that  had 
never  been  dug ;  that  it  could  not  be  done  ;  that  the 
men  would  be  stifled  by  the  lack  of  air  or  crushed  by 
the  falling-in  of  the  earth,  etc.  It  resulted  from  this 
that  the  general  commanding  did  not  approve  of  the 
undertaking,  but  only  tolerated  it.  One  sees  by  this 
that  Vespiit  de  corps  is  the  same  in  every  country. 
With  specialists,  the  thing  which  has  not  been  done 
cannot  be  done,  and,  if  you  propose  to  them  any  inno- 
vation not  found  in  their  books,  nine  times  out  of  ten 
they  will  tell  you  that  it  is  impossible  or  absurd. 

General  Burnside,  who  persisted  in  his  idea,  sent  to 
Washington  for  an  old  theodolite,  which,  however, 
enabled  Colonel  Pleasants  to  determine  that  the  length 


THE    MINE.  6ll 

of  the  direct  gallery  must  be  five  hundred  and  ten  feet, 
at  the  end  of  which  lateral  galleries,  curving  in  an  arc 
of  a  circle,  must  be  dug  to  the  right  and  left,  each  thirty- 
eight  feet  long.  It  follows,  of  course,  that  all  assist- 
ance was  refused  by  the  engineer  corps,  which  did  not 
wish  to  take  any  part  in  an  enterprise  of  which  it  had 
proclaimed  the  absurdity.  Following  suit,  the  superior 
officers  of  the  army  were  greatly  amused  by  the 
pleasantry. 

Colonel  Pleasants,  left  to  himself  without  other 
encouragement  than  that  of  Burnside  and  Potter,  con- 
tinued his  work  with  an  unshakable  perseverance.  He 
was  refused  timber  ;  he  sent  for  it  to  a  sawmill  out  of 
the  lines.  They  refused  him  mining  picks  ;  he  had  the 
common  picks  in  the  division  fixed  over.  They  refused 
him  wheelbarrows ;  he  had  the  earth  carried  out  in 
cracker  boxes  bound  with  iron  taken  from  old  fish 
barrels.  So  that  he  was  equal  to  every  requirement 
without  employing  a  person  outside  of  his  own  regi- 
ment of  four  hundred  men,  mostly  recruited  from 
among  the  miners  in  Schuylkill  County,  Pennsylvania. 

One  important  point  was  to  conceal  the  removed 
earth  from  the  view  of  the  enemy,  who,  if  suspecting 
anything,  might  send  some  men  to  the  tops  of  the 
trees  on  the  hill,  and  discover  the  works,  which  it  was 
important  to  conceal  from  him.  For  that  reason,  every 
morning,  before  daylight,  the  pioneers  covered  over  the 
earth  brought  out  of  the  mine  during  the  night  with 
branches  of  trees.  The  amount  of  earth  removed  was 
in  all  as  much  as  eighteen  thousand  cubic  feet. 

The  work,  begun  June  25,  was  finished  on  July  23, 
without  accident,  in  spite  of  all  predictions  and  of  all 
derision.  It  was  then  necessary  to  change  the  tone. 
The  fact  must  be  recognized  that  the  thing  was  serious. 
That  which  had  been  declared  impossible  was  done. 


6l2       FOUR   YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

The  explosion,  if  it  succeeded,  and  if  we  knew  how  to 
get  the  benefit  of  it,  must  deliver  Petersburg  to  us. 

The  Deep  Bottom  expedition  had  given  us  the  most 
favorable  opportunity  possible.  In  fact.  General  Lee, 
uncertain  as  to  its  real  importance,  and  trusting  to  the 
protection  of  his  lines,  had  sent  more  than  half  of  his 
forces  to  the  other  side  of  the  James.  Hancock  would 
keep  them  there  with  his  two  divisions ;  he  would  take 
advantage  of  the  night,  to  return  before  Petersburg, 
and  when,  on  the  next  morning,  the  rebels  should  dis- 
cover his  retreat  of  the  night  before,  the  assault  would 
be  made  before  they  would  have  time  to  return  across 
the  river. 

Everything,  then,  seemed  to  promise  success,  provided 
that  the  assault  should  be  made  with  vigor  and  in  unison. 
That  was  the  great  point,  and,  unhappily,  the  one  as  to 
which  the  measures  taken  gave  rise  to  serious  appre- 
hensions. The  choice  of  the  Ninth  Corps  to  lead  the 
attack  was  far  from  being  the  best  that  could  have  been 
made.  That  corps,  which  had  rendered  good  service  in 
North  Corolina,  in  the  Army  of  the  Potomac,  and  in 
Tennessee,  had  been  so  reduced  by  these  various  cam- 
paigns that  it  had  been  necessary  to  renew  it  almost 
entirely.  Troops  of  all  sorts,  mostly  newly  raised,  had 
been  incorporated  in  it  ;  which  had  not  prevented  their 
doing  their  duty  in  the  positions  where  they  had  been 
placed. 

Since  their  arrival  before  Petersburg,  they  had  pecul- 
iarly suffered.  In  the  affairs  of  June  ly  and  i8,  they 
had  lost  three  thousand  men,  and  during  the  whole 
following  month  they  had  been  subjected  to  a  fatiguing 
and  perilous  service  in  the  trenches,  where  the  picket 
fire  had  cost  them  eleven  hundred  and  fifty  men.  These 
incessant  fatigues,  and  the  habit  of  always  keeping  them- 
selves   under    cover    of    the    intrcnchments,    were    not 


THE    MINE.  613 

of  a  nature  to  predispose  their  divisions  to  push  with 
vigor  an  open  attack.  It  would  have  been  much  better 
to  have  trusted  the  assault  to  more  hardy  troops,  such 
as  those  of  the  Second  or  the  Fifth  Corps,  For  myself, 
I  am  convinced  that  if  Hancock  or  Warren  had  had 
charge  of  the  affair  we  would  have  carried  every- 
thing in  a  few  hours.  But  Burnside,  who  had  taken  the 
lead  in  having  the  mine  dug,  held  it  as  a  point  of  honor 
to  complete  the  work. 

However,  it  was  not  without  taking  account  of  the 
real  condition  of  his  command.  So  he  had  concluded 
to  put  at  the  head  of  the  column  of  attack  his  fourth 
division,  composed  of  colored  troops,  who,  more  nu- 
merous and  less  fatigued  than  the  others,  were,  taking  all 
things  into  consideration,  the  ones  on  whom  he  could 
best  depend.  Immediately  after  the  explosion,  these 
two  brigades  were  to  pass  through  the  opening  made  in 
the  enemy's  works,  in  two  columns  ;  the  one  to  turn  to 
the  right,  and  the  other  to  the  left ;  sweep  the  inner 
side  of  the  enemy's  intrenchments  and  cover  the  flanks 
of  the  three  other  divisions,  who  would  charge  directly 
for  the  summit  of  the  hill.  After  them  would  advance 
the  Eighteenth  Corps,  and  our  success  was  assured. 
For  it  must  be  remembered  that  Lee,  having  sent  five 
divisions  to  the  north  of  the  James,  had  but  three  left 
at  Petersburg.  Once  established  on  the  hill,  the  city 
was  ours  ;  the  enemy  was  cut  in  two  ;  the  left,  with  its 
back  to  the  Appomattox,  would  find  itself  surrounded, 
and  the  right  could  do  nothing  but  make  a  prompt  re- 
treat, leaving  us  all  the  guns  in  the  intrenchments. 

Such  was  the  plan  which  General  Burnside  submitted 
in  writing  for  the  approval  of  General  Meade,  on  July 
26.  As  a  plan  it  would  be  difficult  to  find  anything  to 
object  to  it.  As  to  its  execution,  it  remained  to  see 
how  the  Ninth  Corps  would  do  the  work,  and  how  gen- 


6 14       FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC   ARMY. 

eral  officers  of  the  corps  would  act.  But  the  moment  it 
was  decided  to  intrust  the  execution  to  General  Burnside, 
as  he  knew  better  than  any  one  else  the  true  condition 
of  his  troops  and  how  to  make  the  best  use  of  them,  it 
would  have  been  wise  to  leave  the  details  to  him,  and 
not  interfere  with  the  particular  measures  he  had  pre- 
pared long  before.  By  not  understanding  this,  General 
Meade  committed  an  error  which  became  the  source  of 
many  others,  and  incurred  also  a  direct  share  in  the 
responsibility  for  the  want  of  success.  This  error  was 
in  ordering  the  commander  of  the  Ninth  Corps  to  sub- 
stitute one  of  his  white  divisions  for  the  colored  one  in 
the  part  assigned  to  the  latter.  The  general  command- 
ing communicated  this  decision  directly  to  General 
Burnside,  on  July  28. 

The  latter  states  "that  a  long  conversation  suc- 
ceeded, in  which  I  explained  to  General  Meade  the  con- 
dition of  my  white  divisions.  I  insisted  on  the  impor- 
tance, in  my  opinion,  of  placing  the  colored  division  in 
advance,  because  I  thought  that  at  that  time  it  would 
make  the  charge  better  than  any  of  the  three  others.  I 
reminded  him  that  the  latter  had  been  in  the  trenches 
for  forty  days,  immediately  in  front  of  the  enemy,  where 
a  man  could  not  show  his  head  above  the  parapet  with- 
out drawing  out  several  shots  ;  that  during  all  this  time 
they  had  been  in  the  habit  of  coming  out  of  the  lines  by 
covered  ways,  and  taking  all  possible  means  to  protect 
themselves  against  the  enemy's  fire  ;  that,  nevertheless, 
their  losses  had  been  continual,  and  had  amounted  to 
some  thirty  to  sixty  men  a  day ;  that  the  soldiers  had 
not  been  able  even  to  cook  their  meals,  which  had  to  be 
prepared  in  the  rear  and  brought  to  them  ;  that,  not 
having  been  able  to  wash  their  clothes,  they  had  not 
changed  them,  and,  finally,  they  were  not  in  a  fit  condi- 
tion to  make  a  vigorous  charge,"  etc. 


THE    MINE.  615 

To  these  reasons  Meade  objected  "that,  without  hav- 
ing any  reason  to  believe  that  the  colored  troops  would 
not  do  their  duty  as  well  as  the  white,  yet,  inasmuch  as 
they  formed  a  new  division  which  had  never  been  under 
fire,  and  that  the  work  to  be  done  was  such  as  to  demand 
the  best  troops,  he  judged  it  inadmissible  to  intrust 
it  to  a  division  whose  courage  had  not  been  proved." 

Evidently,  the  reasons  were  good  on  both  sides  ;  but 
what  conclusion  should  have  been  drawn  from  them  ? 
Clearly,  that  the  Ninth  Corps,  both  black  and  white 
divisions,  were  equally  unsuitable  for  the  work  to  be 
done,  and  that  it  should  be  intrusted  to  others.  This 
conclusion,  so  simple  and  so  logical,  did  not  appear, 
however,  to  present  itself  to  the  mind  of  either  general, 
and,  as  neither  succeeded  in  convincing  the  other,  Gen- 
eral Meade  announced  that  he  should  refer  the  decision 
to  the  lieutenant-general. 

General  Grant,  on  being  consulted,  decided  in  favor 
of  the  superior  officer,  against  the  inferior.  So  that  the 
question  was  decided  more  as  a  matter  of  discipline 
than  as  to  what  was  the  most  suitable.  The  result 
showed  that,  and  General  Grant  himself  recognized  it 
by  saying  before  the  court  of  inquiry  :  "  General  Burn- 
side  wished  to  put  his  colored  division  in  advance,  and 
I  believe  that,  if  he  had  done  so,  success  would  have 
followed.  However,  I  agreed  with  General  Meade  in 
his  objections  to  the  proposal.  He  made  the  point  that 
if  we  put  the  only  colored  division  we  had  in  the  ad- 
vance, and  the  affair  turned  out  badly,  it  would  be  said, 
and  with  a  show  of  reason,  that  we  killed  off  those 
troops  because  we  cared  nothing  about  them," 

The  thought  of  considering  "they  said  "  on  such  an 
occasion  is  a  circumstance  curious  and  to  be  noted. 
One  can  guess  by  that  the  influence  of  the  electoral 
campaign   in  the    North.     Neither    Grant    nor    Meade 


6l6       FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

wished  to  run  the  risk  of  furnishing  to  the  opposition 
an  arm  which  they  would  use  against  the  reelection  of 
President  Lincohi.  In  any  other  circumstances,  it  is 
not  to  be  believed  they  would  have  regarded  any  such 
consideration. 

The  final  decision  was  announced  to  General  Burn- 
side  on  the  29th,  twelve  or  fifteen  hours  before  the  time 
fixed  for  the  explosion.  It  was  a  cause  of  great  disap- 
pointment and  embarrassment  to  him.  Which  of  the 
three  divisions  should  he  choose  to  replace  the  fourth  ? 
Such  was  his  hesitation  that,  to  get  out  of  it,  he  resorted 
to  the  strange  expedient  of  putting  the  result  to  lot. 
The  lot,  which  is  of  course  blind,  and  sometimes  is 
pleased  to  give  us  some  severe  lessons,  fell  upon  the 
very  division  which,  if  it  was  not  worse  than  the  others, 
was  certainly  worse  commanded.  From  that  instant 
all  chance  of  success  was  gone.  Petersburg  would 
escape  our  grasp  for  yet  a  long  time. 

The  whole  night  was  devoted  to  the  last  preparations, 
the  attacking  divisions  forming  at  their  posts  as  they 
were  relieved  in  the  trenches.  Our  division,  which  had 
been  massed  in  the  woods,  out  of  sight  of  the  enemy, 
during  the  whole  day,  took  the  place  of  the  Eighteenth 
and  a  part  of  the  Tenth  Corps,  in  that  part  of  the  lines 
which  extended  from  Burnside's  right  to  the  Appomat- 
tox. My  brigade  was  the  nearest  to  the  mine,  from 
which  it  was  separated  by  a  curtain  of  woods.  My 
right  occupied  Fort  Stedman,  armed  with  ten  guns, 
and  near  which  were  twelve  mortars.  My  left  was  so 
near  the  enemy  that  the  sharpshooters  distributed  along 
my  front  in  a  trench  could  easily  throw  stones  into  his 
advanced  works.  The  least  noise  in  one  line  was 
heard  in  the  other,  so  that  on  our  arrival  we  were 
saluted  with  a  shower  of  shells,  which  did  us  no  partic- 
ular injury. 


THE    MINE.  617 

The  hour  set  for  the  mine  explosion  was  half-past 
three  in  the  morning.  I  have  stated  that  the  principal 
gallery  of  the  mine  ended  in  a  transverse  gallery  in  the 
shape  of  an  arc  of  a  circle.  In  the  walls  of  the  latter 
eight  narrow  passages  were  made,  facing  each  other 
(four  on  each  side),  leading  to  eight  chambers,  each  con- 
taining a  thousand  pounds  of  powder  —  in  all,  eight 
thousand  pounds.  That  would  make  a  fine  explosion. 
So  from  three  o'clock  every  one  was  up,  the  officers 
watch  in  hand,  eyes  fixed  on  the  fated  redan,  or  in  that 
direction. 

There  were  about  two  hundred  men  in  that  work, 
sleeping  tranquilly  a  sleep  from  which  they  would  awake 
in  eternity.  Perhaps  they  were  dreaming  of  returning 
to  their  families,  of  the  joys  of  the  domestic  fireside,  at 
the  instant  when,  beneath  them.  Colonel  Pleasants 
(what  irony  in  that  name)  was  applying  the  fire  to  the 
match  along  with  which  they  were  about  to  consume 
the  last  minutes  of  their  existence.  Upon  the  parapet 
the  motionless  sentinels  were  watching  the  pale  lights 
which  began  to  brighten  the  horizon  in  the  east. 
Silence  reigned  everywhere,  but  in  our  lines  all  eyes 
were  open ;  in  those  of  the  enemy,  nearly  all  were 
closed. 

From  half  after  three  the  minutes  were  counted.  — 
It  is  still  too  dark,  it  was  said.  —  At  four  o'clock  it  was 
daylight ;  nothing  stirred  as  yet ;  at  a  quarter  past  four 
a  murmur  of  impatience  ran  through  the  ranks.  — 
What  has  happend  ?  Has  there  been  a  counter-order  ? 
or  an  accident  ?     Has  the  assault  been  deferred  } 

It  had  happened  that  the  match,  which  was  ninety 
feet  long,  had  gone  out  at  a  splice  about  half-way  of  its 
length.  It  was  necessary  to  be  certain  of  it,  and  the 
risk  was  great.  If  the  explosion  took  place,  whoever 
was  in  the  gallery  was  lost.     Two  intrepid  men,  Lieu- 


6l8       FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

tenant  Jacob  Douty  and  Sergeant  Henry  Rees,  volun- 
teered to  see  what  was  the  cause  of  the  delay,  and  to 
relight  the  match.  Both  returned  safe  and  sound. 
The  redoubt  had  a  respite  of  a  quarter  of  an  hour. 

Suddenly  the  earth  trembled  under  our  feet.  An 
enormous  mass  sprang  into  the  air.  A  mass  without 
form  or  shape,  full  of  red  flames,  and  carried  on  a  bed 
of  lightning  flashes,  mounted  towards  heaven  with  a 
detonation  of  thunder.  It  spread  out  like  a  sheaf,  like 
an  immense  mushroom  whose  stem  seemed  to  be  of  fire 
and  its  head  of  smoke.  Then  everything  appeared  to 
break  up  and  fall  back  in  a  rain  of  earth  mixed  with 
rocks,  with  beams,  timbers,  and  mangled  human  bodies, 
leaving  floating  in  the  air  a  cloud  of  white  smoke,  which 
rose  up  in  the  heavens,  and  a  cloud  of  gray  dust,  which 
fell  slowly  towards  the  earth.  The  redan  had  disap- 
peared. In  its  place  had  opened  a  gaping  gulf  more 
than  two  hundred  feet  long  by  fifty  wide,  and  twenty- 
five  to  thirty  feet  deep. 

Immediately,  as  though  the  eruption  of  a  volcano 
had  poured  out  a  torrent  of  lava  upon  our  lines,  they 
were  on  fire  from  one  end  to  the  other.  All  our  bat- 
teries opened  at  once  on  the  enemy's  intrenchments. 
The  projectiles  whistled,  roared,  burst.  Through  the 
deafening  noise  of  the  artillery  firing  was  heard  a  cry, 
and  the  first  division  advanced  to  the  assault. 

It  had  nothing  in  front  of  it.  The  Confederate 
troops  occupying  the  lines  to  the  right  and  the  left  in 
the  immediate  vicinity  of  the  mine  had  fled  precipitately 
through  fright  and  fear  of  further  explosions.  The 
others,  stupefied,  endeavored  to  see  what  was  going  on 
while  awaiting  orders.  The  way  was  completely  open 
to  the  summit  of  the  hill,  which  was  protected  by  no 
other  line  of  works. 

The    column   marched    directly    to    the    crater,    and, 


THE    MINE.  619 

instead  of  turning  around  it  to  pursue  its  way,  it  de- 
scended into  it,  in  the  midst  of  the  torn-up  earth. 
Once  at  the  bottom,  finding  itself  sheltered,  it  remained 
there.  A  part  spread  out  to  the  right  and  the  left 
behind  the  abandoned  works.  The  general  command- 
ing (Ledlie)  the  division  had  remained  within  our  lines, 
in  a  bomb-proof. 

The  second  division,  delayed  at  first  by  the  obstruc- 
tions, was  soon  mixed  up  with  the  other.  Several  regi- 
ments descended  into  the  crater,  the  greater  part 
extended  towards  the  right  without  going  beyond  it. 
Only  one  brigade  succeeded  in  making  its  way  through, 
so  as  to  advance  beyond.  It  found  itself  then  engaged 
in  ground  cut  up  by  trenches,  by  covered  ways,  by 
sheltered  pits  dug  in  the  ground.  Worse  than  that, 
the  enemy,  recovering  from  his  surprise,  had  already 
profited  by  the  time  we  had  lost,  to  place  his  guns  in 
position,  and  form  his  infantry  so  as  to  throw  a  concen- 
trated fire  upon  the  opening  made  in  his  works.  After 
having,  with  difficulty,  advanced  over  the  natural  obsta- 
cles, the  brigade,  more  than  half  in  confusion,  seeing 
that  it  was  neither  supported  nor  reenforced,  was  com- 
pelled to  fall  back  with  loss. 

The  third  division  had  not  even  made  a  like  attempt. 
In  mingling  with  the  first,  it  had  simply  increased  the 
confusion,  and  crowded  together  on  the  left. 

Time  was  flying ;  the  opportunity  was  fast  escaping 
us ;  the  chances  of  success  were  disappearing  as  we 
were  looking  on.  Nothing  could  force  the  troops, 
crowded  together  in  the  crater,  or  lying  down  behind 
the  intrenchments,  to  leave  their  positions.  The  of- 
ficers of  spirit  amongst  them  exhausted  themselves  in 
vain  efforts.  The  men  would  not  move.  Some  officers 
ordered  without  purpose,  and  moved  around  without 
doing  anything.     The  greater  part  remained,  like  the 


620       FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

men,  motionless  in  a  state  of  paralysis.  The  mine  had 
been  blown  up  two  hours,  and  our  forces  had  not  made 
any  advance. 

Towards  seven  o'clock  the  colored  division  received 
orders  to  advance  in  its  turn.  The  blacks  advanced 
resolutely,  passed  over  the  passive  mass  of  white  troops, 
not  a  company  of  whom  followed  them,  and,  although 
their  ranks  were  necessarily  broken  by  the  obstacle, 
they  charged  under  a  deadly  fire  of  artillery  and  mus- 
ketry, which  reached  them  from  all  sides  at  once. 
They  even  reached  the  enemy,  took  from  him  two  hun- 
dred and  fifty  prisoners,  captured  a  flag,  and  recovered 
one  of  ours  taken  by  him.  But  they  were  not  sus- 
tained. They  were  driven  back  by  a  counter-charge, 
and  returned,  running  in  confusion,  to  our  lines,  where, 
by  this  time,  a  large  number  of  the  white  troops  were 
eager  to  return  with  them. 

Until  then  the  Confederates  had  limited  their  efforts 
to  defending  the  hill.  Encouraged  by  the  feeble  at- 
tempts which  we  had  made  to  reach  it,  and  by  the  ease 
with  which  these  efforts  had  been  repulsed,  they  began 
to  draw  near  along  the  intrenchments,  and  endeavor 
to  retake  from  us  the  part  of  the  lines  they  had 
abandoned.  Their  guns  covered  with  their  fire  the 
space  which  separated  the  crater  from  our  lines,  where 
their  mortars  rained  shell  and  shot.  The  troops  which 
had  taken  shelter  there  found  themselves  so  much  the 
worse  off  that  the  cross  fire  of  the  skirmishers  rendered 
the  rear  communication  more  difficult. 

At  this  time.  General  Meade,  seeing  the  day  lost 
without  hope  of  recovery,  sent  orders  to  retreat.  Gen- 
eral Burnside  endeavored  in  vain  to  obtain  a  suspen- 
sion of  the  order.  He  still  hoped,  with  more  obstinacy 
than  reason,  not  only  to  maintain  himself  on  the 
enemy's    line  until    night,  but    even  to  carry  the  hill. 


THE    MINE.  621 

About  noon  the  renewed  order  was  promptly  commu- 
nicated to  the  troops  concerned,  without  any  manner 
prescribed  of  executing  it.  It  was  found  that  at  this 
same  instant  the  enemy,  after  having  failed  in  several 
attempts,  came  out  in  force  from  a  ravine  where  he  had 
rallied  his  forces,  and  advanced  to  retake  the  crater. 
In  a  moment  it  was  a  general  devil  take  the  Jiindmost, 
a  confused  rush,  in  which  those  who  could  run  fast 
enough  and  escape  the  rebel  fire  returned  to  our  lines. 
Those  who  endeavored  to  resist,  or  were  delayed,  were 
taken  prisoners. 

Thus  passed  away  the  finest  opportunity  which  could 
have  been  given  us  to  capture  Petersburg,  since  the 
day  when  General  W.  F.  Smith  had  presented  himself 
in  front  of  it  before  the  arrival  of  the  troops  of  General 
Lee.  This  terrible  fiasco  cost  us  forty-four  hundred 
men,  much  more,  certainly,  than  a  complete  success 
would  have  done,  if  the  operation  had  been  conducted  as 
it  should  have  been,  and  if  the  Ninth  Corps  had  fought 
as  it  ought  to  have  fought.  All  the  supporting  troops 
found  themselves  in  a  situation  in  which  it  was  not 
possible  to  do  anything.  The  Eighteenth  Corps  had 
not  an  opportunity  to  move.  A  few  regiments  passed 
beyond  the  abandoned  intrenchments,  to  take  posses- 
sion of  the  skirmishers'  rifle-pits,  where  they  held  their 
position  with  difficulty  for  a  short  time.  Ayres'  divis- 
ion of  the  Fifth  Corps,  massed  on  the  left,  stood  with 
its  arms  ready,  with  no  opportunity  to  use  them. 

The  enfemy  did  not  withdraw  a  man  from  in  front  of 
Mott's  division,  to  assist  in  repelling  the  assault.  It 
was  not  necessary.  General  Hancock,  nevertheless, 
wished  to  be  certain  of  the  fact,  and  ordered  a  demon- 
stration on  the  front  of  each  brigade.  It  was  sufficient 
for  one  of  my  regiments  to  leap  over  the  parapet,  to 
draw  out  a  vofley,  which   cut  down  one  officer  and  fif- 


62  2       FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

teen  men.  Colonel  McAllister  resorted  to  a  ruse.  He 
caused  the  bugle  to  be  sounded,  and  at  the  order  "  For- 
ward ! "  his  men,  as  arranged  beforehand,  showed  their 
caps  on  the  points  of  their  bayonets,  above  the  intrench- 
ments.  The  fire  drawn  by  this  trick  left  no  doubt  as 
to  the  presence  of  the  rebels  in  force  in  that  part  of 
their  lines. 

A  double  investigation  of  this  unfortunate  affair  was 
made  —  one  by  the  Congressional  committee,  the  other 
by  a  court  of  inquiry.  The  conclusions  drawn  by  the 
two  bodies  were  very  different.  The  Congressional 
committee  declared  :  — 

•'  That,  in  its  opinion,  the  cause  of  the  disastrous 
result  of  the  assault  of  July  30  ought  mainly  to  be 
attributed  to  the  fact  that  the  plans  and  suggestions  of 
the  general  (Burnside)  who  had  devoted  his  attention 
so  long  to  this  subject,  who  had  brought  the  project  of 
mining  the  enemy's  works  to  a  favorable  issue,  and  who 
had  chosen  and  drilled  his  troops  with  care,  to  assure 
every  advantage  which  could  be  drawn  from  the  explo- 
sion of  the  mine,  had  been  completely  put  aside  by  a  gen- 
eral (Meade)  who  had  shown  no  confidence  in  the  work 
while  it  was  going  on,  who  had  given  it  no  assistance 
or  declared  approval,  and  who  had  assumed  entire  direc- 
tion and  control  of  it  only  when  it  had  been  completed, 
and  the  time  arrived  to  reap  all  the  advantages  which 
could  be  derived  from  it." 

The  court  of  inquiry  was  in  somewhat  of  a  delicate 
position.  It  was  composed  of  General  Hancock,  presi- 
dent, and  of  General  Ayres  of  the  Fifth  Corps,  and  Gen- 
eral Miles  of  the  Second  Corps.  The  judge-advocate, 
or,  to  speak  more  accurately,  the  reporter,  was  Colonel 
Schriver,  attached  as  inspector-general  to  the  army 
staff.  I  am  very  far  from  wishing  to  throw  any  doubt 
on    the   impartiality  of   any   member  of   the   court  of 


THE    MINE.  623 

inquiry,  but  they  might  have  been  called  upon,  under 
certain  circumstances,  officially  to  censure  the  conduct 
of  their  general-in-chief,  a  position  somewhat  embar- 
rassing for  an  inferior  in  regard  to  a  superior.  Their 
inquiry,  moreover,  conducted  from  a  point  of  view  en- 
tirely practical,  was  more  particularly  directed  to  find- 
ing out  the  facts  than  the  original  causes.  From  their 
report  the  causes  of  the  want  of  success  were  as 
follows  :  — 

"  First,  the  want  of  judgment  in  the  formation  of  the 
troops  to  advance,  the  movement  having  been  made 
mostly  by  the  flank  instead  of  by  the  front.  General 
Meade's  order  directed  that  columns  of  assault  should 
be  employed  to  take  the  cemetery  hill,  and  that  suitable 
passages  through  our  works  should  be  prepared  for 
them.  The  opinion  of  the  court  is  that,  properly 
speaking,  no  columns  of  assault  were  formed.  The 
troops  should  have  been  formed  on  the  open  ground  in 
front  of  the  point  of  attack,  and  parallel  to  the  line  of 
the  enemy's  works.  The  witnesses  prove  that  one  or 
several  columns  could  have  passed  by  the  crater,  and  by 
its  left,  without  any  previous  preparation  of  the  ground  ; 
second,  the  stopping  of  the  troops  at  the  crater  instead 
of  advancing  to  the  crest,  although  at  the  time  the  fire 
of  the  enemy  was  of  no  importance  ;  third,  the  poor 
use  made  of  officers  of  pioneers,  of  working  parties,  and 
of  materials  and  tools  for  their  service  in  the  Ninth 
Corps  ;  fourth,  certain  portions  of  the  assaulting  col- 
umns were  not  suitably  led  ;  fifth,  the  lack  of  a  compe- 
tent leader  of  high  rank  on  the  scene  of  operations,  to 
order  matters  according  as  circumstances  demanded. 

"  If  failure  had  not  resulted  from  the  above  causes, 
and  if  the  crest  had  been  occupied,  success  would  still 
have  been  put  in  jeopardy,  from  not  having  prepared  in 
time,   in   the  lines  of   the    Ninth    Corps,    suitable   de- 


624       FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

bouches  for  the  troops,  and  especially  for  the  light 
artillery,  as  prescribed  by  the  orders  of  General 
Meade." 

In  conclusion,  the  court  of  inquiry  ascribed  the  direct 
responsibility  of  the  failure  to  General  Burnside,  com- 
manding the  Ninth  Corps,  Generals  Ledlie,  Ferrero, 
and  Wilcox,  commanding  the  First,  the  Fourth,  and 
the  Third  Divisions,  and  Colonel  Bliss,  commanding 
the  First  Brigade  of  the  Second  Division  ;  specifying 
the  portion  of  blame  and  the  responsibility  attaching  to 
each. 

In  comparing  these  two  verdicts,  one  can  easily  see 
that,  if  they  differ  from  each  other,  they  are  not  contra- 
dictory. Either  may  be  right  without  the  other  being 
wrong.  The  committee  of  Congress,  composed  of  mem- 
bers who  were  not  at  all  military  men,  did  not  enter 
into  questions  of  detail,  but  paid  attention  principally 
to  the  primary  causes.  The  court  of  inquiry,  on  the 
contrary,  being  composed  of  military  men,  did  not  go 
back  to  the  original  causes,  but  applied  itself  exclu- 
sively to  considering  the  question  from  a  military  point 
of  view. 

Between  the  two  conclusions,  the  first,  the  greatest, 
the  true  cause  found  no  place.  The  committee  could 
not  have  known  it  ;  the  court  of  inquiry  found  no  place 
for  it.  This  cause,  to  which  all  the  others  were  subsidi- 
ary, I  have  already  indicated  :  it  was  the  employment  of 
the  Ninth  Corps  to  lead  the  assault.  Had  it  been  left  in 
the  trenches  with  the  Eighteenth  Corps,  and  had  the 
Second  and  Fifth  been  put  irt  advance,  Petersburg  was 
ours  on  the  30th  of  July,  before  noon. 


CHAPTER    XXX. 

SUMMER   HARVESTS. 

General  theory  of  the  siege  of  Petersburg— The  pick  and  the  musket- 
Second  expedition  to  Deep  Bottom —  Death  of  Colonel  Chaplain  — 
The  trials  of  a  regiment  —  The  mark  of  death — Presentiments  — 
Return  to  the  trenches  —  Contest  for  the  Weldon  railroad  —  General 
Warren's  succees  —  Unfortunate  affair  of  General  Hancock  at  Ream's 
Station  —  Fort  Hell  —  Origin  of  the  name  —  Nocturnal  coup  de  main 
—  Muskets,  cannons,  and  mortars  —  Southern  deserters —  Victories  of 
Sheridan,  Sherman,  and  Farragut. 

The  unfortunate  affair  of  July  30  closed  the  series  of 
direct  attacks  against  Petersburg.  They  had  cost  us 
more  than  twenty  thousand  men.  It  was  full  time  to 
adopt  a  different  method.  So  that,  after  that,  opera- 
tions were  exclusively  directed  against  the  communica- 
tions remaining  open  between  the  city  and  the  South, 
The  communications  were  three  in  number:  the  Wel- 
don railroad,  the  Boydton  plank  road,  and  the  Lynch- 
burg railroad.  I  cite  them  in  the  order  in  which  they 
occurred  on  our  left.  As  they  diverged  more  and  more 
from  each  other  as  their  distance  from  the  city  in- 
creased, the  constant  effort  of  the  enemy  was  to  keep 
our  lines  at  as  great  a  distance  as  possible  from  the 
city.  The  result  of  this  was  that,  instead  of  simply 
covering  Petersburg  by  a  semi-circular  line  of  defences, 
resting  on  the  Appomattox  at  its  two  extremities,  the 
enemy  pushed  his  intrenchments  in  a  concave  line  more 
than  seven  miles  from  the  city,  on  Hatcher's  Run,  a 
creek  which  was  found  to  play  an  important  part  in  the 
last  operations  of  the  campaign. 

This  explains  the  fact,  apparently  strange,  why  the 

625 


62  6       FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMV. 

nearer  we  approached  our  end  the  further  we  were 
from  the  place  we  were  trying  to  capture.  To  every 
movement  for  extending  our  lines,  we  found  a  corre- 
sponding extension  of  the  enemy's  lines  already  made 
in  the  same  direction.  Their  lines  were  always  stretched 
out  to  extend  beyond  our  left,  the  more  effectually  to 
cover  the  Boydton  road,  and  especially  to  keep  us  as  far 
as  possible  from  the  Lynchburg  railroad,  the  last 
line  of  supplies  remaining  to  Lee's  army  except  via 
Richmond. 

It  will  be  easily  seen  that  the  longer  the  lines  were 
stretched  out  the  less  was  the  proportional  number  of 
the  troops  to  defend  them.  A  portion  behind  which 
had  at  first  been  massed  an  army  corps  we  now  occu- 
pied by  a  division,  and  the  space  formerly  occupied  by  a 
division  must  now  be  left  to  a  brigade.  To  enable  us  to 
do  this,  and  prevent  all  surprise,  it  was  necessary  to 
materially  strengthen  the  intrenchments.  On  both 
sides  enormous  works  were  made.  The  troops  ceased 
fighting  only  to  fortify  themselves,  and  the  musket 
was  laid  down  only  to  take  up  the  pick.  So  that, 
finally,  the  two  armies  faced  each  other  by  a  very  for- 
midable front  of  closed  redoubts,  redans,  demi-lunes, 
and  batteries.  These  works,  not  far  apart,  were  con- 
nected by  a  continuous  curtain  of  intrenchments,  pro- 
tected by  chevaiix-de-frise,  or  abatis  of  branches  of  trees 
sharpened  and  bound  together  by  iron  wire.  They 
supported  each  other  and  crossed  their  fire  at  all  points. 

It  became  evident,  after  a  while,  that  the  question 
would  necessarily  be  decided  along  Hatcher's  Run, 
beyond  the  extreme  Confederate  right.  They  were 
therefore  compelled  to  have  a  force  constantly  at  their 
disposal,  to  defend  themselves  outside  of  their  lines,  as 
it  was  necessary  for  us  to  have  one  to  attack  them 
there.     In  this  respect   the  advantage  was  entirely  on 


SUMMER    HARVESTS.  627 

our  side,  for,  as  I  have  elsewhere  explained,  Grant 
could  always  repair  his  losses,  while  Lee  could  no 
longer  do  so.  The  latter  could  hardly  draw  a  man 
from  the  exhausted  South  ;  the  former  had  still  vast 
resources  in  reserve,  in  the  North,  as  witness  the  new 
levy  of  five  hundred  thousand  men  ordered  by  the 
President  on  July  18,  in  virtue  of  the  power  conferred 
on  him  by  Congress. 

It  will  be  now  understood  what  was  the  object  of  the 
campaign  during  the  last  five  months  of  1864.  After 
having  given  this  general  view,  I  will  resume  the  narra- 
tive of  the  successive  operations  by  means  of  which 
the  result  was  accomplished. 

We  have  seen,  by  the  last  expedition  to  Deep  Bot- 
tom, that  Grant  could,  at  will,  force  his  opponent  to 
strip  his  lines  in  front  of  Petersburg.  It  was  sufficient 
foi*him  to  throw  a  corps  on  the  left  bank  of  the  James 
for  Lee  to  immediately  divide  his  forces,  and  send  a 
part  to  that  side.  It  must  be  borne  in  mind  that  Deep 
Bottom  was  only  ten  miles  from  Richmond  ;  that,  if  the 
first  defences  were  forced,  the  bridge  of  boats  at 
Drury's  Bluff,  by  which  the  Confederates  communi- 
cated with  the  left  bank,  was  lost,  and,  in  that  case,  we 
could  reach  their  capital  without  their  having  any  way 
of  opposing  us.  So  that  they  were  compelled,  what- 
ever they  did,  to  hurry  to  Chapin's  Bluff,  to  oppose  any 
menace  of  an  advance  in  that  direction.  Grant  then 
pushed  his  extreme  left  towards  new  positions  to  oc- 
cupy, and  of  these  two  simultaneous  attacks,  made 
twenty  miles  apart,  one  or  the  other  must  succeed.  In 
this  manner  the  Weldon  railroad  was  taken. 

This  time,  however,  the  expedition  to  the  north  of 
the  James  was  made  on  a  much  larger  scale  than  the 
former  one.  General  Grant  provided  for  the  chance 
that  Lee  might  send  insufficient  forces  to  protect  his 


628       FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

lines  to  the  north  of  the  James,  in  order  to  better  pro- 
tect the  railroad.  In  that  case,  the  demonstration  would 
be  changed  to  a  serious  attack  against  Richmond. 
Accordingly,  the  Tenth  Corps  was  added  to  the  Second, 
as  well  as  a  division  of  cavalry,  the  whole  under  the 
command  of  General  Hancock. 

On  the  1 2th  of  August,  at  two  o'clock  in  the  after- 
noon, we  set  out,  under  a  torrid  sun  and  stifling  heat, 
for  City  Point,  where  we  arrived  in  the  evening.  Our 
ulterior  destination  had  been  kept  secret.  In  order  to 
deceive  the  enemy,  the  next  morning  we  embarked  on 
steam  transports,  which  descended  the  river  a  short 
distance,  and  then  halted,  as  if  to  wait  for  troops  de- 
layed. It  was  generally  supposed  that  we  were  going 
further.  We  were  deceived  ourselves.  But  at  nine 
o'clock  in  the  evening,  when  it  had  become  dark,  all  the 
steamers  turned  about  and  ascended  the  river.  When 
we  passed  by  City  Point,  every  one  understood  that  we 
were  bound  for  Deep  Bottom. 

At  daylight  my  brigade  debarked  the  first  near  the 
bridge  of  boats,  over  which,  at  that  moment,  was  defil- 
ing our  artillery,  coming  by  way  of  Bermuda  Hundred, 
and  also  our  wagons  and  ambulances.  We  advanced 
immediately  upon  the  woods  where,  a  fortnight  before, 
Miles  had  captured  a  battery  from  the  enemy.  Four  of 
my  regiments  cleaned  out  the  thickets,  driving  before 
them  the  enemy's  skirmishers,  while  with  six  others  I 
established  my  force  in  some  works  thrown  up  the 
month  previous  by  the  First  Division.  The  latter, 
which  had  had  some  difficulty  in  debarking,  joined  us 
shortly  after,  and  took  position  on  our  right.  It  was  to 
attack  the  enemy  in  the  fortified  position  which  had 
once  before  stopped  us  behind  Bailey's  Creek. 

In  consequence  of  delays  in  debarking,  the  attack 
could  not  be  made  until  five  o'clock  in  the  afternoon, 


.SUMMER    HARVESTS.  629 

which  deprived  it  of  all  the  advantages  of  a  surprise. 
At  that  instant  a  violent  storm  broke  forth,  so  that  the 
thunder,  together  with  the  artillery  and  infantry  fire, 
made  a  fine  racket ;  unfortunately,  more  noise  than  any- 
thing else.  Barlow  having  assaulted  with  a  brigade  con- 
taining in  its  ranks  many  new  recruits.  Night  came  on 
without  our  having  gained  any  other  advantage  than  that 
of  drawing  to  that  point  the  greater  part  of  the  enemy's 
forces,  which  enabled  General  Birney,  now  command- 
ing the  Tenth  Corps,  to  capture  four  guns  on  another 
part  of  the  line. 

The  15  th  passed  away  in  vain  efforts  to  turn  the  Con- 
federate left.  The  Tenth  Corps,  supported  by  the 
cavalry,  was  charged  with  this  movement.  As  a  reen- 
forcement,  the  second  brigade  of  our  division  had  been 
placed  under  the  orders  of  General  Birney.  Finally,  to 
aid  his  success  by  a  diversion,  Mott  was  ordered  to 
make  a  false  attack  on  the  enemy's  right.  Our  line 
had  been  considerably  advanced  since  the  evening.  It 
extended  now  to  the  foot  of  a  cleared  hill,  the  summit 
of  which  was  occupied  by  the  rebels.  Along  my  front 
were  some  fields  of  corn,  the  stalks  still  standing.  I 
threw  forward  a  few  regiments,  which  drove  back  the 
enemy's  skirmishers,  and  drew  towards  this  point  a 
brisk  fire  both  of  artillery  and  musketry,  without,  how- 
ever, doing  us  much  damage.  The  demonstration  was 
renewed  in  the  afternoon,  but  the  hours  passed  away 
without  anything  being  heard  from  the  right,  and  the 
second  day  brought  us  no  better  results  than  the  first. 

It  was  then  decided  that  Birney,  not  having  been 
able  to  turn  the  enemy's  left,  should  attack  in  his  front 
the  next  morning.  During  the  night,  our  troops  were 
disposed  to  act  according  to  circumstances.  In  the 
morning,  the  rifle-pits  were  carried  at  a  dash,  and 
Terry's  division  penetrated  the  intrenchments,  where  it 


630       FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC   ARMY. 

captured  several  hundred  prisoners  and  three  flags. 
But  the  necessary  reenforcement  had  long  before 
reached  the  enemy.  He  took  the  offensive  in  his  turn, 
and  recovered  the  lost  ground.  Our  second  brigade 
took  a  very  active  part  in  the  engagement,  in  which 
Colonel  Craig,  commanding  it,  was  killed.  It  is  always 
a  thankless  mission  to  have  to  reenforce  a  corps  in 
action.  The  general  commanding  on  the  ground 
gladly  seizes  the  opportunity  to  spare  his  own  troops  at 
the  expense  of  the  troops  assisting,  and,  in  fine,  the  lat- 
ter finish  generally  by  having  a  greater  share  in  the 
blows  given  than  in  the  honors  of  the  combat. 

General  Gregg,  at  the  head  of  the  cavalry,  had  the 
same  fortune  as  General  Birney.  Supported  by  Miles' 
brigade,  he  drove  back  the  enemy  on  the  Charles  City 
road,  and  was  afterward  driven  back  in  his  turn,  losing 
all  the  ground  he  had  gained. 

Along  my  front,  action  was  limited  to  skirmishers' 
fire  and  demonstrations,  in  one  of  which  the  Twentieth 
Indiana  captured  two  enormous  mortars,  which  the 
enemy  had  been  compelled  to  abandon  on  our  left. 
These  mortars  had  been  placed  there  to  fire  their  fif- 
teen-inch shells  at  our  gunboats.  All  around  were 
magazines  dug  in  the  ground,  full  of  ammunition.  It 
being  impossible  to  transport  the  ammunition,  we  blew 
it  up,  which  was  done  without  accident.  General 
Chambliss,  commanding  a  rebel  brigade,  had  been  killed 
in  the  morning.  He  was  buried  in  our  lines,  but  I  have 
never  known  how  his  body  happened  to  be  there. 

On  the  morning  of  the  17th,  Colonel  Chaplain,  com- 
manding the  First  Regiment  of  Maine  artillery,  was 
mortally  wounded  on  my  picket  line.  This  regiment 
was  one  of  those  which  had  been  sent  from  Washington 
to  reenforce  the  army  during  the  first  part  of  the  cam- 
paign,  and    which   had   so   brilliantly    distinguished  it- 


SUMMER    HARVESTS.  63  I 

self  in  its  first  engagement  at  Spottsylvania.  It  was 
then  sixteen  hundred  strong.  It  lost  more  than  a  quar- 
ter in  that  affair.  The  baptism  of  fire  cost  it  dearly. 
Arrived  in  front  of  Petersburg,  there  were  still  more 
than  a  thousand  men  in  its  ranks,  when,  on  the  i6th  of 
June,  it  received  an  order  to  charge  the  enemy's  in- 
trenchments  at  the  front,  where  Fort  Stedman  was 
afterward  built.  The  assault  had  no  possible  chance  of 
success.  It  had  to  cross  an  open  space,  three  times  as 
great  as  that  generally  assigned  to  charges  of  this  sort. 
Nevertheless,  these  brave  men  advanced  in  good  order, 
with  their  guns  on  their  shoulders,  closing  their  ranks 
cut  up  by  shell  and  musketry.  They  went  as  far  as  it 
was  possible  to  go,  melting  away  to  the  sight,  in  a 
stream  of  blood,  and  strewing  the  ground  with  their 
dead  and  wounded.  They  were  soon  forced  to  halt. 
They  started  out  more  than  a  thousand,  they  returned 
less  than  four  hundred.  The  affair  lasted  from  twelve 
to  fifteen  minutes.  The  enemy  had  not  lost  a  man, 
while  they  left  behind  them  more  than  six  hundred,  of 
whom  thirty  were  officers. 

These  deplorable  mistakes  took  place  only  too  often 
during  the  war.  It  may  have  been  that  a  corps  com- 
mander too  readily  accepted  the  erroneous  report  of  a 
volunteer  officer  of  his  staff.  Eager  for  success,  he 
gave  the  order  to  charge,  without  himself  verifying  the 
condition  of  affairs.  The  general  of  division  has  not 
always  the  moral  courage  to  venture  to  object  to  such 
an  order.  The  brigade  commander,  clearly  seeing  that 
it  is  a  question  of  the  useless  destruction  of  one  or  more 
of  his  regiments,  can  take  it  upon  himself  to  comment 
upon  it  to  his  immediate  superior,  who  will  probably 
reply  :  —  "I  know  that  as  well  as  you  do  ;  but  what 
can  I  do  about  it  ?  The  order  is  peremptory  ;  it  must 
be  obeyed."     It  is  obeyed,  and  a  regiment  is  massacred. 


632        FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

Colonel  Chaplain  escaped  in  the  butchery  ;  but  it 
struck  him  a  mortal  blow,  from  which  he  did  not  re- 
cover. His  men  belonged  to  the  same  neighborhood 
with  him.  He  had  organized  them  ;  he  had  led  them 
from  the  forests  of  Maine.  They  were  his  great  family. 
When  he  saw  them  sacrificed  under  his  eyes  by  a  fan- 
tasy as  deadly  as  useless,  a  melancholy  discouragement 
took  hold  on  him.  Sombre  presentiments  besieged 
him.  He  was  surrounded  by  phantoms.  He  answered 
to  the  call  on  August  17,  when  the  ball  of  a  rebel  skir- 
misher struck  him  down  on  my  picket  line. 

I  regretted  his  death  without  being  surprised  at  it,  as 
I  expected  it.  He  was  a  doomed  man  to  me  from  the 
first  day  I  had  seen  him  on  taking  command  of  the 
brigade.  I  designate  in  this  way  those  on  whom  death 
has  put  his  mark  beforehand.  If  you  ask  me  in  what 
consists  this  mark,  I  would  find  it  difficult  to  reply. 
One  can  scarcely  define  what  is  almost  indefinable,  a 
thing  which  is  felt  rather  than  perceived.  This  fatal 
seal  is  imprinted  rather  on  the  general  manner  than  on 
the  features.  Its  imprint  is  fugitive,  and  yet  appears 
sometimes  in  the  looks,  at  the  bottom  of  which  one 
divines  the  trembling  of  the  soul  soon  about  to  depart  ; 
sometimes  in  the  smile,  in  which  appear  the  fleeting 
shadows  of  a  cloud  which  does  not  belong  to  the  earth  ; 
sometimes  in  certain  movements  as  if  worn  out,  in  cer- 
tain languid  acts  in  which  is  betrayed  the  symptoms  of 
a  task  which  reaches  its  end.  Sometimes,  on  the  con- 
trary, the  finger  of  death  is  shown  by  a  feverish  energy 
without  reason,  forced  laughter,  jerky  movements.  You 
perceive  there  a  cord  too  tightly  stretched,  the  vital 
cord,  which  must  soon  break.  One  would  say  that 
nature  is  expending  hurriedly  forces  which  are  soon  to 
become  useless. 

I    am   far  from   contending  that    all    those  who  are 


SUMMER    HARVESTS.  633 

about  to  die  are  marked.  On  the  contrary,  the  im- 
mense majority  march  on  to  death  without  the  least 
previous  indication  of  the  fate  awaiting  them.  I  state 
only  a  fact  which  experience  demonstrated  to  me ; 
namely,  that  a  small  number  of  men  carry  the  unmis- 
takable mark  of  the  near  approach  of  the  death  await- 
ing them.  I  will  also  add  that  they  are  not  themselves 
conscious  of  it,  and  that  the  number  of  those  who  can 
read  these  mysterious  signs  is  very  limited.  Some- 
times, in  the  evening,  in  camp,  I  have  tried  to  describe 
the  mark  to  officers  around  me.  I  do  not  remember 
ever  having  convinced  any  one  of  the  truth  of  my 
theory. 

One  rainy  day,  I  was  conversing  in  my  tent  with 
Captain  Wilson,  assistant  adjutant-general  of  my  bri- 
gade. We  were  then  marching  on  Fredericksburg. 
Lieutenant-Colonel  Gilluly,  commanding  the  Fifth 
Michigan,  entered.  He  came  simply  on  some  detail 
of  service,  which  was  arranged  in  five  minutes.  When 
he  had  gone  out,  "  Now,"  said  I  to  my  incredulous 
captain,"  here  is  an  opportunity  to  make  a  trial  of  my 
theory.     Colonel  Gilluly  is  marked." 

The  captain  evidently  thought  nothing  of  it.  But 
in  the  first  battle  Colonel  Gilluly  was  killed  before 
Fredericksburg,  while  bravely  leading  his  regiment  in  a 
charge. 

Of  all  those  on  whom  I  have  recognized  the  mark,  — 
and  they  are  many,  — one  only  may  have  escaped  death. 
He  was  the  colonel  of  a  Pennsylvania  regiment.  He 
was  shot  through  the  body,  and  lay  for  several  weeks 
on  the  threshold  of  eternity.  He  had  not  recovered 
the  last  time  I  heard  of  him. 

This  mark  is  entirely  distinct  from  a  presentiment. 
The  latter  is  to  the  victim  himself.  It  is  an  inexpli- 
cable revelation,  but  an  acknowledged  fact.     There  are 


634       FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

SO  many  incontestable  examples  on  record  that  it 
would  be  idle  to  add  any  more  here.  In  my  opinion, 
veritable  presentiments  announce  death  as  certainly  as 
the  setting  of  the  sun  announces  the  coming  of  the 
night.  Thank  God,  there  are  few  organizations  which 
are  subject  to  it.  People  in  general  are  not  at  all  sus- 
ceptible to  it. 

A  sergeant  had  finished  his  three  years  of  service 
before  Petersburg.  Not  wishing  to  reenlist  immedi- 
ately, he  took  his  discharge,  and,  his  own  master  hence- 
forth, he  bade  good-bye  to  his  comrades,  the  last  even- 
ing he  was  to  remain  in  camp.  During  the  night  came 
an  order  to  prepare  for  an  attack.  At  daylight  the 
regiment  was  in  line. 

"  Well  !  "  exclaimed  the  sergeant,  gayly,  "  it  shall  not 
be  said  that  the  regiment  went  into  a  charge  under  my 
eyes  witj^jput  my  accompanying  it." 

He  grasped  a  musket,  and  took  his  place  in  the 
ranks,  and  was  killed.  It  was  the  last  thing  in  the 
world  of  which  he  thought. 

I  return  to  my  brigade,  which  I  left  skirmishing  with 
the  enemy  on  Bailey's  Creek. 

The  firing  soon  ceased  on  both  sides,  in  consequence 
of  a  truce  of  some  hours,  to  bury  the  dead  and  to  take 
off  the  wounded.  During  this  time  a  rainstorm  de- 
scended impartially  on  both  Federals  and  Confederates. 
Thunder  took  the  place  of  the  artillery,  and  the  wind 
roared  in  the  great  sonorous  pines  above  the  heads  of 
our  regiments,  poorly  sheltered  at  their  feet.  Night  came 
on  without  any  mingling  of  firing  in  this  aerial  concert. 

The  rain  continued  to  fall  during  the  greater  part  of 
the  next  day  (the  i8th).  Towards  five  o'clock  in  the 
afternoon,  the  artillery  gave  a  signal  of  a  new  engage- 
ment. This  time  it  was  the  enemy  who  took  the  offen- 
sive   against    the   Tenth    Corps.     In    a   few  moments, 


SUMMER    HARVESTS.  635 

great  cheering  announced  a  charge  in  force  in  that 
direction.  The  firing  soon  became  very  violent,  and, 
from  one  to  another,  soon  extended  to  my  Hne.  The 
rebels  exactly  repeated  on  us  what  we  had  tried  on 
them  :  an  attack  on  the  right,  and  demonstrations  on 
the  left.  The  attempt  did  not  succeed  on  either  side. 
Repulsed  with  loss  everywhere,  they  retired  to  their 
lines  much  faster  than  they  had  come  out  of  them. 

Two  hours  later.  General  Mott  received  orders  to 
immediately  return  to  Petersburg  with  his  division.  It 
was  a  night  of  marching,  in  place  of  a  night  of  sleep,  on 
which  we  had  counted.  We  understood  that  something 
new  had  happened  on  the  Weldon  railroad,  and  we 
marched  rapidly  towards  Bermuda  Hundred.  General 
Hancock  kept  the  rest  of  his  forces  two  days  longer  to 
the  north  of  the  James,  in  order  to  compel  the  enemy 
not  to  withdraw  from  there.  His  expedition  against 
Richmond  having  failed,  it  was  to  be  hoped  that  the 
effort  of  Warren,  at  the  other  extremity  of  our  lines, 
would  succeed. 

That  was,  in  fact,  the  result.  Our  division,  being 
the  strongest  in  the  Second  Corps,  had  been  recalled 
from  Deep  Bottom  to  relieve  the  Ninth  Corps  in 
the  trenches,  and  allow  it  to  join  the  Fifth  Corps 
in  the  desperate  fight  in  which  it  was  engaged.  The 
day  before  General  Warren  had  succeeded,  without 
much  difficulty,  in  reaching  the  railroad  which  it  was 
designed  to  take  from  the  enemy.  But,  as  soon  as  he 
tried  to  march  towards  Petersburg,  he  met  a  large  force 
of  the  enemy  in  line  of  battle,  to  dispute  the  ground 
with  him.  The  fight  began  immediately.  A  flank  at- 
tack thr«w  Warren's  left  division  in  disorder  ;  but  the 
line  was  promptly  rectified,  and  finally  he  remained 
master  of  the  position,  where,  during  the  night,  he 
besan  to  cover  his  front  with  intrenchments. 


6^6       FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 


'O 


However,  the  railroad  was  of  so  much  importance  to 
the  enemy  that  he  made  desperate  efforts  to  recover 
possession  of  it.  General  Lee  sent  all  the  forces  he 
could  draw  from  his  lines,  and,  on  the  next  day  (the 
19th),  a  violent  attack  broke  in  Warren's  right,  driving 
back  Crawford's  division,  and  threatened  to  roll  up  the 
whole  corps.  But,  while  falling  back,  the  troops  con- 
tinued an  obstinate  resistance,  and,  although  more  than 
two  thousand  had  fallen  into  the  hands  of  the  enemy, 
they  succeeded  in  holding  possession  of  the  railroad 
until  the  arrival  of  two  divisions  of  the  Ninth  Corps. 
Relieved  then  from  the  terrible  pressure  which  it  had 
found  so  difficult  to  resist,  Warren  immediately  resumed 
the  offensive.  The  Confederates,  in  their  turn,  sub- 
jected to  an  attack  on  two  sides,  gave  way  and  regained 
their  intrenchments  in  full  flight. 

General  Warren  was  not  deceived  by  the  inaction  of 
the  enemy  during  the  20th.  He  profited  by  it  to  fortify 
his  position  and  prepare  for  a  new  attack,  for  which, 
indeed,  he  did  not  have  long  to  wait.  It  was  made  on 
the  2ist.  The  Confederates  had,  in  the  first  place, 
struck  the  left  of  the  Fifth  Corps,  and  then  the  right. 
They  could  now  try  only  the  front,  which  they  did. 
Supported  by  a  strong  artillery  fire,  they  charged  reso- 
lutely but  unsuccessfully.  A  united  move  on  our  left 
was  still  worse  for  them.  On  that  side,  Warren  had 
disposed  his  troops  in  echelon.  The  enemy's  column 
was  cut  to  pieces,  and  the  remnant  escaped  only  after 
leaving  five  hundred  prisoners  in  our  hands.  This 
decisive  success  secured  us  from  that  time  undisputed 
possession  of  the  Weldon  railroad.  We  had  paid  a  good 
price  for  it,  in  the  loss  of  four  thousand  men.  # 

The  morning  of  the  victory  gained  by  General  War- 
ren, General  Hancock  arrived  from  Deep  Bottom  with 
his   two  divisions.      He  was   immediately  sent   to  take 


SUMMER    HARVESTS.  637 

position  in  rear  of  the  Fifth  Corps,  and,  as  the  enemy 
acknowledged  his  defeat.  General  Hancock  received  the 
mission  to  destroy  the  track  as  far  as  Rowanty  Creek, 
ten  to  twelve  miles  in  onr  rear. 

The  First  Division  was  now  commanded  by  General 
Miles.  General  Barlow,  who  had  been  twice  severely 
wounded,  and  whose  health  was  seriously  affected  by 
the  fatigues  of  the  last  campaign,  had  received  leave  of 
absence  for  six  or  eight  months,  to  go  to  Europe  to 
reestablish  it.  The  Second  Division  remained  under 
command  of  General  Gibbon. 

The  troops  of  these  two  divisions  followed  up  their 
work  of  the  destruction  of  the  railroad  without  hin- 
drance as  far  as  Ream's  Station,  five  or  six  miles  from 
the  Fifth  Corps.  There  were  some  intrenchments 
which  had  been  thrown  up  before,  where  Miles  es- 
tablished' himself  on  the  24th,  while  Gibbon  continued 
to  destroy  the  railroad  towards  Rowanty  Creek.  The 
cavalry  having  then  given  notice  of  the  approach  of  a 
large  body  of  rebels,  Hancock  recalled  bis  Second 
Division,  and  awaited  the  attack  with  his  forces  united 
behind  the  intrenchments.  The  enemy  charged  twice 
on  Miles'  division,  which  held  the  right,  and  was  twice 
repulsed  with  considerable  loss. 

This  double  repulse  shook  the  assailants,  but  only 
irritated  their  commander.  Gen.  A.  P.  Hill,  who  was 
resolved  to  succeed  over  forces  much  inferior  to  his  own 
and  separated  from  the  rest  of  the  army.  He  opened 
the  third  attack  by  an  increased  fire  from  all  his  guns, 
and  pushed  forward  Heth's  division  to  assault  in  col- 
umn. At  this  charge  he  broke  the  line,  and,  getting 
inside,  threw  the  whole  into  confusion.  Gibbon's 
division,  still  in  posilion,  might  restore  affairs,  or  at 
least  prevent  a  rout.  But  Gibbon's  division  had  in  its 
ranks    a   large    number   of   conscripts  and   substitutes 


638       FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC   ARMY. 

recently  arrived  in  the  army.  The  greater  part  of 
them  were  miserable  cowards,  compelled  to  serve  in 
Spite  of  themselves,  or  tempted  to  enlist  by  the  allure- 
ments of  a  large  bounty.  When  Hancock  gave  the 
order  to  charge  the  enemy  and  retake  the  twelve  guns 
already  captured,  it  was  impossible  to  make  them  move. 
They  cowered  down  under  the  shelter  of  the  works, 
sometimes  on  one  side,  sometimes  on  the  other,  think- 
ing only  to  shelter  themselves  from  the  firing,  and  they 
finished  by  allowing  themselves  to  be  captured  in  a 
mass,  without  making  the  least  resistance.  The  remain- 
der of  the  division,  demoralized  by  such  a  miserable 
defection,  made  a  very  poor  figure.  If  they  fought  at 
all,  it  was  so  little,  or  so  poorly  that  it  is  not  worth 
mentioning. 

In  contrast  with  this  poltroonery,  the  cavalry  which 
accompanied  the  expedition  fought,  dismounted,  with 
great  bravery,  and  delayed  the  progress  of  the  enemy 
by  its  efforts.  At  the  same  time.  Miles,  with  intrepid 
coolness,  was  everywhere  rallying  his  regiments.  He 
thus  succeeded  in  bringing  back  two  or  three,  with 
which  he  retook  three  guns,  and  formed  the  nucleus  of 
a  new  line,  to  which  the  others  rallied. 

In  the  night  Hancock  withdrew,  with  a  loss  of  twenty- 
four  hundred  men.  Hill,  on  his  side,  retreated  at  the 
same  time.  His  losses  in  the  two  first  attacks  had  been 
very  heavy ;  but  he  carried  off  as  trophies  nine  guns 
and  seventeen  hundred  prisoners.  This  unfortunate 
affair  of  Ream's  Station  deeply  tarnished  the  honor  of 
the  Second  Division,  without  elevating  that  of  the 
First.  It  brought  Miles,  who  had  distinguished  himself 
very  much,  the  commission  of  major-general. 

During  these  different  engagements  we  had  remained 
in  the  trenches,  except  MacAllister's  brigade,  sent  to 
Hancock's  assistance,  and  which,  in  consequence  of  a 


SUMMER    HARVESTS.  639 

mistake  in  the  orders  received  while  on  the  road,  had 
not  been  able  to  arrive  in  time.  My  front  extended 
from  the  cut  of  the  Norfolk  railroad  to  the  Jerusalem 
plank  road.  It  included  on  the  right  a  closed  work, 
called  Fort  Rice,  in  the  centre  several  batteries  of 
cannon  and  mortars,  and  on  the  left  a  work  already 
quite  large,  and  which  was  to  be  made  much  larger. 
According  to  the  rule  adopted,  to  give  to  each  separate 
work  the  name  of  a  superior  officer  killed  on  the  field  of 
battle,  this  work  was  officially  baptized,  "  Fort  Sedg- 
wick." But  before  that  it  had  already  received  a  pop- 
ular baptism.  In  the  army  and  throughout  the  country 
it  was  known  as  "  Fort  Hell,"  and  no  other  name  was 
ever  given  to  it  except  in  official  reports.' 

It  has  always  been  supposed  —  and  that  very  natu- 
rally —  that  this  name  arose  from  the  fact  that,  being 
the  point  where  the  lines  were  nearest  each  other,  it 
was  where  the  fire  was  hottest.  But  I  have  heard 
another  explanation  given.  At  the  time  when  it  was 
only  sketched  out  as  a  battery,  an  officer  commanding 
the  working  details  had  thought  to  give  it  his  own 
name,  and,  of  his  own  authority,  had  hung  up  on  a 
tree  a  paper  to  that  effect.  A  general  officer,  happen- 
ing to  pass  along  that  way,  saw  with  surprise  the  name 
of  this  unknown  person,  and  said,  as  if  he  had  read  it 
incorrectly,  "  Fort  —  what  is  that  ?  "  he  called  out. 
The  matter  was  explained  to  him.  When,  as  a  com- 
mentary, he  shrugged  his  shoulders  and  said,  "  Fort 
Hell ! "  and  passed  on.  The  word,  strongly  uttered, 
was  heard  by  a  few  soldiers,  who  did  not  allow  it  to  be 

'  The  word  /le//  in  English  is  much  more  forcible  than  the  word  t'>i/er 
in  French.  It  carries  with  it  the  idea  of  an  oath,  on  which  account  the 
strictly  pious  are  scandalized  in  hearing  it,  and,  in  order  to  express  the 
sense,  the  ladies  have  recourse  to  a  periphrase.  On  that  account  it  is 
popular  among  the  soldiers. 


640       FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

forgotten.  It  had  an  enthusiastic  success.  From  the 
Fifth  Corps  it  spread  through  the  army ;  from  the 
army  amongst  the  people,  by  means  of  the  correspond- 
ents of  the  newspapers.  Fort  Hell  it  was,  and  Fort 
Hell  it  remained  until  the  last. 

Any  way,  whatever  was  the  origin  of  the  name,  it 
was  fully  deserved.  It  was  across  the  Jerusalem  plank 
road,  where  the  intrenched  picket  line  of  the  enemy 
was  thrown  forward  to  a  ruined  house,  of  which  but  two 
chimneys  remained  standing.  The  rise  of  ground  on 
which  were  those  ruins  was  less  than  a  hundred  yards 
from  the  fort,  which  compelled  us  to  keep  our  rifle-pits 
for  our  pickets  at  the  foot  of  the  epaulements  in  the 
abatis.  Those  of  the  enemy  were  in  front  of  tht 
chimneys,  so  near  to  us  that,  in  case  of  an  attack,  our 
cannoneers  would  have  had  much  trouble  to  save  their 
pieces.  It  is  true  that  for  the  present  the  traditions 
of  the  Fifth  Corps  were  kept  by  us,  so  that  not  a  shot 
was  fired  on  either  side.  The  good  understanding  be- 
tween the  pickets  went  so  far  that  during  the  evenings 
there  was  a  regular  trading  of  the  tobacco  of  the  Confed- 
erates for  the  coffee  of  the  Federals.  Coffee  was  an 
abundant  and  daily  ration  for  our  men.  To  the  South- 
ern soldier,  who  had  had  none  since  the  war  began,  it 
was  a  delicious  luxury.  They  met  each  other  without 
arms,  in  a  little  ravine  near  a  spring  from  which  they 
drank  in 'common.  They  traded  the  New  York  for  the 
Richmond  journals,  and  often  they  drank  their  coffee 
together,  while  making  their  barter.  The  most  severe 
orders  were  necessary  to  suppress  those  polite  atten- 
tions, and  break  up  these  clandestine  meetings. 

But  firing  might  begin  at  any  moment,  and  I  some- 
times thought  it  would  be  better  for  us  to  open  first. 
The  presence  of  the  enemy's  pickets  so  close  to  us  as 
the  chimneys  offered  serious  inconveniences  and  real 


SUMMER   HARVESTS.  64 1 

dangers.  After  an  examination  of  the  position,  I  came 
to  the  conclusion  that  I  could  carry  the  picket  line  by  a 
coup  de  main,  if  General  Hancock  would  let  me  do  it. 
I  spoke  of  it  to  General  Mott,  who  immediately  ap- 
proved of  the  idea.  I  took  him  over  the  ground  to  ex- 
plain my  plan,  and  he  agreed  to  make  the  proposal.  On 
September  8,  General  Hancock  came  himself  to  pass 
along  my  line  and  examine  the  point  of  attack.  The 
dispositions  which  I  had  submitted  to  him  were  ap- 
proved ;  the  execution  was  fixed  for  the  night  of  the 
9th  to  the  loth. 

I  chose,  for  this  night  surprise,  three  of  my  regi- 
ments. On  the  left  of  the  fort,  the  Twentieth  Indiana, 
Colonel  Meikel,  was  to  form  in  mass,  without  noise, 
behind  a  swell  of  ground,  to  charge  from  there  with  the 
bayonet  upon  the  whole  salient  part  of  the  enemy's 
picket  line  covering  the  destroyed  house.  On  his  left, 
the  Second  Battalion  of  sharpshooters  was  to  sweep 
the  rifle-pit  as  far  as  a  marked  point,  reverse  the  works, 
and  connect  that  point  by  new  pits  to  the  end  of  a  piece 
of  woods  already  occupied  by  our  pickets.  To  the  right 
of  the  road,  the  Ninety-ninth  Pennsylvania,  Colonel 
Biles,  was  to  do  the  same  thing  for  the  other  end  of 
the  line.  By  capturing  from  the  enemy  this  salient 
curve  of  his  pickets,  we  threw  him  back  to  his  natural 
position,  and  established  ours  parallel  to  our  principal 
line.  The  two  colonels  charged  with  the  enterprise 
were  the  only  persons  intrusted  with  the  secret,  when, 
during  the  day,  I  verbally  informed  them  of  my  inten- 
tions. Not  till  ten  o'clock  in  the  evening  did  I  send 
them,  in  confidence,  written  orders  to  take  their  com- 
mands to  the  points  selected.  The  remainder  of  the 
brigade  was  under  arms,  in  perfect  silence,  without 
knowing  what  was  to  be  done. 

A  little  before  midnight,  I  left  General  Mott  at  my 


642       FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY, 

headquarters,  and  went  out  on  the  line  with  my  staff 
officers.  I  found  every  one  there  behind  the  parapets, 
with  fires  out.  They  were  awaiting  the  hour  appointed 
for  moving,   which  was   one  o'clock   in    the   morning. 

The  moon  had  been  down  for  an  hour ;  the  darkness 
was  profound  ;  there  was  complete  silence  along  the 
whole  line,  and  the  fires  of  the  enemy's  pickets  were 
gradually  being  extinguished.  Soon  a  black  mass  in 
motion  was  dimly  seen  in  front  of  the  fort.  Suddenly 
a  shot,  followed  by  twenty  others,  lighted  up  the  rifle- 
pits.  A  dull  sound  of  the  feet  of  men  charging  on  the 
run,  —  a  clamor  formed  by  a  thousand  cries, — voices 
threatening,  furious,  frightened,  mingling  with  the 
crackling  of  musketry  fire,  —  confused  sounds  of  fight- 
ing hand  to  hand,  —  the  thunders  of  artillery  above  all 
the  rest,  —  all  this  filled  the  air  at  once. 

Is  was  the  affair  of  a  quarter  of  an  hour.  The  enemy, 
surprised,  overwhelmed  by  the  human  torrent  which 
rushed  upon  him,  gave  way,  and  abandoned  to  us,  not 
only  the  section  attacked,  but  still  more  of  his  line, 
both  to  the  right  and  to  the  left.  The  works  were 
quickly  turned  by  the  companies  provided  with  picks 
and  shovels,  and  we  were  solidly  established  in  the 
rifle-pits,  which  the  enemy  was  not  able  to  recapture 
from  us. 

Colonel  Meikel  was  among  the  killed.  He  was  a 
young  officer  of  great  merit  and  daring  bravery.  His 
loss  was  keenly  felt  in  the  brigade,  and  amongst  all 
who  had  been  brought  in  contact  with  him. 

From  that  night  on,  there  was  no  longer  any  ques- 
tion of  truce  or  polite  attentions  between  the  two  lines. 
There  was,  on  the  contrary,  a  fusillade  a  outrance, 
which  hindered  us  very  much  the  following  night  about 
completing  the  connection  of  our  works.  The  work 
could  be  completed  only  by  rolling  up  large  gabions  to 


SUMMER    HARVESTS.  643 

cover  those  of  the  working  party  who  were  not  pro- 
tected by  deep  enough  trenches.  Evidently,  the  enemy 
took  very  much  to  heart  what  he  called  "  a  Yankee 
trick  played  by  a  Frenchman."  It  was  not  possible  to 
go  around  inside  of  our  works  without  danger.  I  lost 
twenty-two  men  there  in  one  day.  All  the  embrasures 
had  to  be  masked  by  thick  curtains,  which  were  only 
opened  at  the  time  of  firing.  A  cap  could  not  be  shown 
anywhere  above  the  parapet  without  instantly  drawing 
a  ball,  for  the  sharpshooters  on  both  sides  were  of  dan- 
gerous address.  I  saw  a  sergeant  killed  near  me,  while 
looking  between  the  gabions.  The  ball  struck  him 
above  the  eyes. 

Then,  indeed,  did  Fort  Hell  fully  justify  its  name. 
When  the  artillery  fire  opened,  although  I  had  twenty- 
four  guns  and  eight  mortars  along  my  front  in  batteries, 
the  fire  of  the  enemy  was  concentrated  preferably  on 
Fort  Hell.  The  regiments  occupying  the  fort  protected 
themselves  well  enough  against  the  shells  by  means  of 
broad  trenches  roofed  over  with  logs,  whose  slope  was 
covered  with  beaten  earth  to  the  depth  of  two  or  three 
feet.  But  it  was  not  sufificient  protection  against  mor- 
tar shells.  These  projectiles,  of  an  enormous  weight, 
falling  vertically  from  a  great  height,  broke  through 
everything  ;  where  they  burst  amongst  the  soldiers 
they  might  work  great  destruction,  which  happened 
two  or  three  times.  So  that,  as  soon  as  a  mortar  shell 
was  noted,  night  or  day,  the  men  came  out  of  their 
bomb-proofs,  and,  with  eyes  aloft,  watched  the  course 
of  the  projectile.  They  were  able  to  calculate  exactly 
the  place  where  it  was  about  to  fall,  and,  in  a  few  leaps, 
protected  themselves  against  all  danger  from  its  explo- 
sion. When  the  mortar  fire  ceased,  they  returned  to 
their  bomb-proofs. 

In  artillery  firing,  our  gunners  were  notably  superior 


644       FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

to  those  of  the  enemy.  The  field  batteries  had  been 
reduced  from  six  guns  to  four.  I  had  several  batteries 
on  my  line,  and  I  have  often  been  a  witness  to  the 
remarkable  accuracy  of  their  fire.  I  have  seen  "  with 
my  own  eyes  "  a  lieutenant  of  the  Third  New  York 
Independent  battery,  named  Fitz  Gerald,  knock  down  a 
rebel  flag  three  times  in  six  shots,  at  a  distance  of  six 
hundred  and  forty  yards,  with  a  twelve-pounder,  smooth- 
bored  gun,  loaded  with  solid  shot. 

My  headquarters  resembled  a  small  intrenched  camp. 
It  lay  in  rear  of  a  covered  way,  in  a  bunch  of  pines, 
which  overlooked  the  brigade  lines.  The  enemy  was 
often  pleased  to  send  us  there  a  few  shots,  and  the 
musket  balls  were  striking  against  the  trees  from 
morning  to  night,  and  especially  from  night  to  morn- 
ing. So  that  we  were  compelled  to  protect  our  tents, 
those  of  the  pioneers,  and  the  horse  sheds,  by  high 
parapets,  which  reduced  the  number  of  accidents  to 
an  insignificant  figure. 

The  exchange  of  musketry  and  artillery  firing  con- 
tinued, without  interruption,  during  the  month  of 
September.  On  two  or  three  occasions  the  pickets 
endeavored  to  put  a  stop  to  it,  and  renew  the  pacific 
bearing  and  peaceful  intercourse  interrupted  by  the 
nocturnal  coup  de  main  against  the  chimneys.  But  the 
Confederate  officers  would  only  permit  a  half-hour  of 
truce  daily,  at  sundown,  the  time  of  relieving  pickets  on 
both  sides.  Their  main  object  in  keeping  up  this  con- 
tinual firing  was  to  stop,  as  much  as  possible,  the 
desertion  which  was  thinning  their  ranks  in  a  ratio 
more  and  more  disquieting.  There  was  not  a  night 
when  some  of  their  men  did  not  come  into  my  lines, 
either  singly  or  by  squads.  The  greater  part  were 
Floridians,  belonging  to  the  troops  of  General  Finni- 
gan  ;  so  many  that,  one  evening,  some  of  my  advanced 


SUMMER    HARVESTS.  645 

posts  perpetrated  the  joke  of  sending  my  compli- 
ments to  the  Florida  general,  with  a  request  to  come 
over  and  take  command  of  his  brigade,  the  greater  part 
of  whom  were  on  our  side. 

These  desertions,  which  took  place  more  or  less  on 
the  different  points  where  the  proximity  of  the  two 
lines  and  the  shape  of  the  ground  furnished  more  easy 
opportunities,  were  caused  less  perhaps  from  the  wear- 
ing effect,  physically,  of  the  laborious  service  around 
Petersburg,  than  from  the  moral  discouragement  aris- 
ing from  our  great  successes  on  all  other  points. 

On  August  7  General  Sheridan  had  taken  the  place 
of  General  Hunter,  in  the  command  of  the  military 
department,  including  all  the  troops,  in  the  vicinity  of 
Washington.  Outside  of  the  garrisons,  he  had  under 
his  orders  the  Sixth  and  Nineteenth  Corps,  to  whom 
must  be  added  the  troops  of  Western  Virginia,  and 
two  divisions  of  cavalry,  sent  from  the  Army  of  the 
Potomac.  These  forces,  united,  made  up  an  army  of 
thirty  thousand  infantry  and  ten  thousand  cavalry. 

Sheridan  had  at  first  to  obey  his  instructions,  which 
directed  him  to  keep  on  the  defensive,  to  cover  Mary- 
land and  Pennsylvania,  which  Early  continued  to 
threaten.  But  soon  the  necessity  of  driving  back  the 
enemy  far  from  the  Baltimore  &  Ohio  Railroad  be- 
came so  manifest  that  General  Grant  decided  to  go 
and  see  his  lieutenant,  in  order  to  judge  for  himself 
what  the  chances  of  success  were  for  an  offensive 
movement.  "  I  visited  General  Sheridan  at  Charles- 
town  "  (near  Harper's  Ferry),  "and  he  showed  me  so 
clearly  the  position  of  the  two  armies,  and  what  he 
proposed  to  do,  the  instant  he  was  authorized  to  do  it ; 
he  expressed  such  entire  confidence  in  success,  that  I 
saw  clearly  that  there  was  nothing  to  say  to  him,  and 
the  only  orders  I  gave  him  were,  '  Go  in  ! '  "     And  he 


646       FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

did  go  in,  so  successfully  that  the  lieutenant-general  has 
never  thereafter  had  any  need  of  visiting  him  before 
giving  him  orders. 

On  September  19  Sheridan  attacked  the  enemy 
near  Winchester,  and,  after  a  desperate  battle,  carried 
the  position,  and  remained  master  of  the  ground,  with 
two  thousand  five  hundred  prisoners,  five  guns,  and 
nine  colors.  General  Russell,  commanding  a  divis- 
ion of  the  Sixth  Corps,  was  killed  in  the  battle, 
while  on  the  enemy's  side  fell  Generals  Rodes  and 
Godwin. 

Early,  beaten  at  Winchester,  retreated  thirty  miles 
up  the  valley,  and  took  position  at  Fisher's  Hill,  where 
Sheridan  quickly  followed  him.  On  the  22d,  the  posi- 
tion, although  very  strong,  was  carried  by  assault. 
The  Confederates,  in  full  rout,  left  in  the  hands  of  the 
victor  sixteen  pieces  of  artillery  and  a  large  number  of 
prisoners.  Sheridan  pursued  with  great  vigor  beyond 
Harrisonburg  and  Staunton  to  the  passes  in  the  Blue 
Ridge.  He  returned  to  take  position  behind  Cedar 
Creek,  after  having  completely  destroyed  the  provisions 
and  forage  in  that  part  of  the  valley  and  the  country 
around,  in  order  to  deprive  the  enemy  of  the  large 
amount  of  supplies  which  he  had  up  to  that  time  drawn 
from  there,  and  to  prevent  his  being  able  to  subsist  his 
army  there  in  the  future.  The  destruction  embraced 
more  than  two  thousand  barns  full  of  grain  and  forage, 
and  more  than  seventy  mills  full  of  wheat  and  flour. 
Four  thousand  head  of  cattle  were  driven  off  by  the 
troops,  and  three  thousand  sheep  were  issued  as 
rations. 

I  will  add  here,  in  order  not  to  return  to  the  subject 
further  on,  that.  Early  having  undertaken  to  resume 
the  offensive  on  October  9,  his  cavalry,  beaten  and 
pursued  by  ours,  lost  in  the  attempt  eleven   pieces  of 


SUMMER    HARVESTS.  64? 

artillery  and  three  hundred  and  fifty  prisoners.  Finally, 
on  the  19th  of  the  same  month,  the  enemy,  having  been 
reenforced  by  a  division  of  infantry  and  six  hundred 
horsemen,  succeeded,  by  a  night  march,  and  favored 
by  a  thick  fog,  in  turning  the  left  of  our  position  on 
Cedar  Creek.  The  surprise  was  complete.  At  day- 
light our  left  and  centre,  attacked  unexpectedly,  were 
compelled  to  fall  back  in  confusion,  protected,  however, 
by  the  Sixth  Corps,  which,  being  on  the  right,  had  been 
able  to  form  hastily,  and  which  now  retreated  in  good 
order. 

General  Sheridan  was  at  this  time  absent,  at  Win- 
chester. He  was  returning,  on  horseback,  when  the 
sound  of  artillery  firing  reached  his  ears,  and  caused 
him  to  hasten  his  pace  to  the  utmost  of  his  horse's 
speed.  Towards  ten  o'clock,  between  Newtown  and 
Middletown,  he  found  his  army  rallied  and  his  lines 
being  reformed  in  a  good  position,  thanks  to  the  ener- 
getic and  judicious  measures  of  General  Wright,  who 
commanded  in  his  absence.  His  presence  was  enough 
to  restore  to  his  troops  both  ardor  and  confidence.  He 
rode  along  the  lines,  received  everywhere  with  enthu- 
siasm, and,  almost  without  modifying  the  dispositions 
made  by  his  lieutenant,  he  gave  orders  to  renew  the 
battle. 

Ashamed  of  their  rout  of  the  morning,  and  burn- 
ing to  make  amends,  the  troops  charged  on  the  enemy 
with  irresistible  force.  They  carried  everything  before 
them,  chased  the  enemy  through  Middletown,  and  did 
not  halt  in  the  pursuit,  with  the  bayonet  at  his  flanks, 
until  they  had  retaken  all  the  ground  lost  in  the  morn- 
ing. Besides  the  guns  captured  by  him  in  the  morning. 
Early  lost  twenty-three  others  in  the  afternoon,  so  that 
really,  in  the  afternoon  battle,  he  lost  forty-one  pieces 
of   artillery.       Our    cavalry   continued    to    harass    his 


648       FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

routed  columns  as  far  as  Mount  Jackson,  increasing 
hourly  the  number  of  prisoners,  already  great,  and  cap- 
turing a  large  part  of  the  wagon  train. 

This  brilliant  victory  put  an  end  to  the  diversions  of 
the  enemy  in  the  Shenandoah  valley.  The  remains  of 
Early's  corps  were  recalled  to  Petersburg,  and  the 
Sixth  Corps  was  able  to  retake  its  position  with  the 
Army  of  the  Potomac.  Two  more  divisions  were  de- 
tached from  Sheridan's  army,  one  to  reenforce  General 
Butler,  and  the  other  to  occupy  Savannah  when  Sher- 
man should  arrive  there. 

General  Sherman  had  in  his  field  pursued  the  unin- 
terrupted series  of  his  successes.  By  a  course  of  able 
manoeuvres  and  brilliant  battles  he  had  reached  Atlanta, 
where  his  victorious  forces  had  entered  the  city  on 
September  2.  This  was,  as  all  knew,  the  objective 
point  of  his  campaign.  There  he  was  master  of  a  net- 
work of  railroads  of  vital  importance  to  the  enemy. 
The  different  lines  were  destroyed  by  his  cavalry. 
At  this  time  he  gave  his  army  two  months  in  which 
to  rest,  before  leading  them  through  Georgia  to  the 
Atlantic  coast. 

There  were  still  other  victories  during  the  month  of 
September,  which  I  cannot  undertake  to  enumerate 
without  taking  me  too  far  from  the  Army  of  the  Poto- 
mac. One  of  the  most  important  was  the  capture  of 
the  three  forts  which  defended  the  entrance  to  Mobile 
Bay,  and  the  destruction  of  the  enemy's  war  vessels 
found  there,  by  the  naval  division  of  Admiral  Farragut, 
with  the  assistance  of  the  land  forces  commanded  by 
General  Gordon  Granger.  One  hundred  and  four 
pieces  of  artillery  and  fifteen  hundred  prisoners  were 
the  fruits  of  that  expedition. 

Each  one  of  these  victories  was  saluted  before  Peters- 
burg by  a   nocturnal  salvo  of  a  hundred  guns  loaded 


SUMMER    HARVESTS.  649 

with  shell.  This  disagreeable  awakening  sounded  in 
the  ears  of  the  rebels  as  the  death-knell  of  their 
hopes.  This  was  the  reason  why  so  many  of  them 
concluded  not  to  risk  their  lives  for  a  cause  hence- 
forth hopeless. 


CHAPTER    XXXI. 

OCTOBER   VINTAGE. 

General  Butler's  success  north  of  the  James  —  Line  advanced  to  the 
Peeble's  house — Return  to  Fort  Hell — Misfortunes  of  a  Virginian 
family  —  General  Birney's  death  —  Arrival  of  recruits  at  the  army  — 
Dearth  of  officers  —  Political  prejudices  —  Too  free  talk  —  Expedi- 
tion to  Hatcher's  Run  —  Battle  of  October  27  —  Line  broken  — 
How  the  break  was  repaired  —  Cavalry  on  foot  —  Night  retreat  — 
The  wounded  —  General  Hancock  leaves  the  army. 

The  latter  days  of  September  were  marked  by  different 
movements,  whose  meaning  could  not  be  doubtful. 
The  Tenth  Corps  was  replaced  in  the  trenches  by  the 
First  and  Second  Divisions  of  the  Second  Corps,  which 
thus  found  itself  occupying  alone  the  line  from  the 
Appomattox  to  the  Jerusalem  plank  road.  The  line  of 
our  works  was  like  a  second  line  of  skirmishers,  the 
regiments  occupying  in  force  only  the  forts,  whose  cross 
fire  was  thought  sufficient  to  stop  any  attempt  which 
might  be  made  by  the  enemy.  My  front  was  extended 
to  the  right  as  far  as  a  new  redoubt,  to  which  the  name 
of  Fort  Meikel  was  given.  To  the  left,  a  division  of 
the  Ninth  Corps  and  one  of  the  Fifth  filled  the  interval 
between  the  Jerusalem  road  and  the  Weldon  railroad. 
So  that  we  had  four  divisions  free  on  that  part  of  the 
line. 

We  were  not  long  in  learning  where  the  Tenth  Corps 
had  gone.  On  the  evening  of  the  28th,  a  telegram  from 
General  Grant  informed  the  army  that  in  the  morning 
General  Ord,  commanding  the  Eighteenth  Corps,  had 
carried,  by  assault.  Fort  Harrison  and  the  whole  line  of 

650 


OCTOBER    VINTAGE.  6--,  I 

fortifications  in  front  of  Chapin's  Bluff.  At  the  same 
time,  General  Birney,  at  the  head  of  the  Tenth  Corps, 
had  carried  the  New  Market  road,  near  Bailey's  Creek. 
General  Butler  had  succeeded  where  General  Hancock 
had  twice  failed.  He  captured  the  position,  with  fifteen 
guns  and  several  hundred  prisoners.  This  step  forward 
was  a  most  menacing  one  for  Richmond.  Butler  re- 
ceived orders  to  establish  himself  there  solidly,  and  no 
effort  of  the  enemy  could  dislodge  him. 

It  was  time  to  try  again  the  plan  which  had  given  us 
possession  of  the  Weldon  railroad,  and  push  our  lines 
towards  Hatcher's  Run.  While  the  reenforcements  sent 
by  Lee  to  the  north  of  the  James  were  being  worn  out 
in  costly  and  useless  assaults  against  Butler,  General 
Meade  sent  his  four  disposable  divisions  to  his  left. 
September  30,  they  met  the  enemy  intrenched  at 
Peeble's  house,  near  the  Poplar  Grove  Church.  Griffin 
charged,  and  carried  the  redoubt,  with  the  rifle-pits  cov- 
ering it ;  Ayres,  in  like  manner,  carried  a  less  important 
work  on  a  neighboring  road.  The  two  divisions  of  the 
Ninth  Corps,  now  commanded  by  General  Parke,  were 
less  fortunate.  While  continuing  the  movement  further 
towards  the  left,  they  were  attacked  by  a  force  of  the 
enemy,  which  drove  them  back  in  disorder  on  the  Fifth 
Corps.  The  position  taken  by  the  latter  was  held,  how- 
ever. To  better  assure  the  position  at  all  events,  Mott's 
division  was  called  in.  A  part  of  Gibbon's  division  re- 
lieved us  in  the  trenches,  and  the  City  Point  military 
railroad,  the  extension  of  which  followed  parallel  to  our 
lines,  rapidly  transported  us  to  General  Warren's  head- 
quarters. Arriving  by  the  first  train,  I  met  General 
Meade,  who  ordered  a  staff  officer  to  guide  me  to  Pee- 
ble's house,  where  the  two  other  brigades  soon  joined 
me.  The  weather  was  bad  ;  rain  fell  in  torrents  ;  it  was 
a  most  disagreeable  night. 


652       FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

The  next  morning,  October  2,  three  divisions  were 
ordered  to  carry  the  advanced  works,  whose  line  was 
prolonged  beyond  Peeble's  house.  The  movement  was 
made  in  good  order,  but  without  a  battle,  the  enemy 
having  evacuated  the  positions  where  we  expected  to 
find  him.  The  whole  line  then  advanced  across  some 
difficult  and  very  wooded  ground. 

The  general  movement  pivoted  on  the  right,  and,  as 
our  division  held  the  left,  my  brigade,  forming  the  ex- 
tremity of  the  turning  flank,  had  much  trouble  to  keep 
in  line.  We  had  to  get  through  the  thickets  after  the 
style  of  wild-boars  ;  but,  by  breaking  the  branches  to 
make  way,  we  arrived,  without  delaying  the  line,  in  front 
of  a  farmhouse,  where  the  enemy's  skirmishers  awaited 
us.  Easily  dislodged,  they  continued  to  fall  back,  firing, 
as  far  as  a  second  line  of  fortifications.  This  line, 
armed  with  cannon,  and  well  built  on  a  hill,  the  ap- 
proach to  which  was  across  open  ground,  extended  much 
further  than  we  had  supposed.  So  that,  instead  of  being 
able  to  turn  it,  we  were  ourselves  rather  exposed  to 
being  struck  on  our  flank.  Four  of  my  regiments  were 
promptly  formed  in  a  refused  line  to  prepare  for  any 
movement.  But  the  enemy  was  probably  not  strong 
enough  to  try  that  experiment.  Besides,  his  attention 
was  occupied  by  Pierce's  brigade,  which  was  feeling  of 
his  line  to  find  out  its  strength. 

The  object  of  the  reconnoissance  being  fully  accom- 
plished, operations  were  not  pushed  further.  The  fol- 
lowing days  were  employed  in  extending  our  intrench- 
ments,  and  in  constructing  a  number  of  redoubts,  the 
work  on  which  was  well  advanced  when,  on  the  5th,  we 
were  relieved  by  the  colored  division  of  General  Fer- 
rero.  We  took  up  our  march  for  Fort  Hell  again  ;  but 
now  only  four  of  my  regiments  were  put  in  the  first 
line.     The  six  others  camped  in  reserve  in  the  woods  in 


OCTOBER   VINTAGE.  653 

front  of  the  Chevers  house,  where  I  was  happy  to  find 
a  shelter  more  substantial  than  a  tent. 

The  house  had  been  abandoned  by  its  owner,  who 
lived  in  Petersburg.  He  had  carried  off  all  the  furni- 
ture, and  left  only  one  old  white-haired  negro  with  his 
wife,  hardly  less  aged  than  himself. 

The  division  headquarters  were  close  by,  in  a  more 
imposing  house  than  the  one  which  was  still  occupied 
by  the  family  of  the  owner.  The  owner  was  a  well  pre- 
served old  man,  whose  son,  an  officer  in  the  Confederate 
army,  had  been  captured,  and  was  then  in  the  prison  at 
Point  Lookout,  on  the  Chesapeake.  The  wife  and  two 
daughters  of  the  prisoner  had  remained  at  the  Jones 
house,  with  the  grandfather. 

I  made  the  acquaintance  of  the  old  planter  at  the  time 
when  a  temporary  absence  of  General  Mott  gave  me 
the  command  of  the  division. 

The  family  was  in  a  most  pitiful  condition.  Mr. 
William  Jones  owned  seven  hundred  and  forty  acres  of 
land  around  his  dwelling,  and  four  houses  in  Peters- 
burg. So  that  a  few  months  before  he  had  been  a 
rich  man.  He  had  numerous  slaves,  and  flocks  still 
more  numerous  ;  his  crops  were  ripening  in  the  sun, 
and  promised  an  abundant  harvest,  when,  at  the  end  of 
the  month  of  June,  the  war  brought  the  armies  to  the 
Jerusalem  plank  road.  Everything  was  swallowed  up 
at  once  before  his  eyes.  Wheat,  oats,  corn,  were  cut  to 
pieces  under  the  horses'  hoofs ;  cattle,  sheep,  hogs, 
fowls  were  carried  off  ;  negro  men  and  women  ran 
away  ;  and  between  one  day  and  the  next  the  planter 
found  himself  without  servants,  almost  without  pro- 
visions, and  without  money  ;  for,  as  to  his  Petersburg 
houses,  it  would  be  a  long  time  before  they  would  be  of 
any  avail  to  him. 

When  I  took   General  Mott's  place  at  headquarters 


654       FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

the  destitution  of  the  family  was  complete.  The  di- 
vision commissary  and  the  officers'  mess  literally  pro- 
vided them  with  food.  The  mother  prepared  the 
meals  in  their  chamber,  and  the  orderlies  helped  the 
grandfather  with  good-will,  bringing  him  his  water  and 
wood.  The  old  man  bore  misfortunes  with  a  philosophy 
somewhat  callous,  and  appeared  almost  to  forget  it 
when,  in  the  evening,  a  whist  party  gave  him  the  oppor- 
tunity to  show  his  ability  as  a  player,  of  which  he  was 
proud. 

But  his  stoicism  had  still  greater  trials  to  bear.  The 
youngest  of  his  granddaughters,  fifteen  to  sixteen 
years  of  age,  was  attacked  by  typhoid  fever.  She  died 
October  15,  without  having  lacked  either  care  or  medi- 
cine. The  division  service  had  provided  for  everything. 
After  her  death,  the  staff  officers  clubbed  together  to 
buy  a  mahogany  coffin,  which  they  sent  for  to  City 
Point.  The  younger  officers  did  more  :  they  themselves 
bore  the  body  to  the  grave.  The  young  girl,  delivered 
from  the  miseries  of  life,  was  buried  at  the  foot  of  the 
garden,  in  the  inclosure  of  the  little  family  cemetery, 
and  a  chaplain  conducted  the  funeral  services  over  the 
remains. 

Another  very  sad  incident  is  connected  with  my 
temporary  sojourn  at  the  Jones  house.  —  October 
19  I  received  the  following  despatch  over  the  tele- 
graph wires,  which  put  the  army  headquarters  in  com- 
munication with  all  the  others  :  "  General  Birney  died 
yesterday  at  Philadelphia,  at  half  after  ten  in  the 
evening."  The  blow  was  so  much  the  greater  that  it 
was  unexpected.  Birney  was  one  of  the  best  friends  I 
had  in  the  army.  Placed  under  his  orders  during  fif- 
teen months,  I  had  been  able  to  appreciate  his  personal 
qualities  and  military  merits.  He  had  died  from  care, 
worn  out  by  three  years  of  campaigning,  during  which 


OCTOBER    VINTAGE.  655 

the  energy  of  his  will  and  the  ardor  of  his  patriotism 
alone  had  been  able  to  sustain  him  to  the  end  against 
the  weakness  of  his  physical  constitution.  As  long  as 
he  was  able  to  stand,  he  had  remained  at  his  post. 
Two  weeks  before  his  death,  in  the  last  engagements, 
where  he  had  highly  distinguished  himself,  he  had  left 
his  bed  to  be  put  on  horseback.  The  artificial  force 
which  he  had  found  to  enable  him  to  lead  his  corps  to 
the  battle  deserted  him  after  the  victory.  Mortally 
affected,  he  finally  consented  to  return  to  his  home, 
only  when  it  was  too  late.  He  had  scarcely  reached 
Philadelphia  when  he  died,  in  the  midst  of  his  family, 
still  young,  without  living  to  see  the  triumph  of  the 
cause  to  which  he  had  sacrificed  his  fortune  and  his 
life. 

The  sad  impression  of  the  Jones  house  on  my  mind 
could  not  cause  me  to  forget  that  at  that  time  the 
absence  of  General  Mott  brought  to  me  the  honor  of 
commanding  the  Second  Corps  —  during  twelve  hours, 
on  two  occasions.  General  Gibbon  was  away  on  leave 
of  absence.  General  Hancock  went  to  pass  one  day  at 
the  extreme  left,  with  General  Meade,  and  another  to 
the  north  of  the  James,  with  General  Butler.  Accus- 
tomed to  do  everything  with  a  military  punctuality,  he 
notified  me  that  during  his  absence  the  command  of 
the  corps  would  devolve  on  me,  by  virtue  of  seniority. 
It  is  useless  to  add  that  never  was  a  command  so  easy 
for  me  to  fill.  The  enemy  did  not  gratify  me  by  the 
slightest  demonstration,  and  I  had  not  even  a  paper  to 
sign,  General  Hancock  having  returned  at  nightfall  to 
sign  the  report  and  other  official  papers. 

The  conscripts  and  substitutes  continued  to  reach  us 
in  great  numbers,  notwithstanding  the  frequent  deser- 
tions on  the  way,  in  consequence  of  the  culpable  negli- 
gence with  which  that  branch  of  the  service  was  con- 


656       FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

ducted.  The  escorts  were  taken  from  the  most 
miserable  troops,  those  which  were  good  for  nothing 
except  to  guard  the  depots.  They  were  generally  regi- 
ments enlisted  for  a  hundred  days,  without  instruction, 
without  uniform,  and  without  discipline.  Instead  of 
preventing  abuses  and  repressing  disorders,  they  were 
only  eager  to  profit  by  them,  to  fleece  the  recruits,  who, 
having  received  their  bounty,  generally  had  their 
pockets  well  filled.  The  officers  were  scarcely  better 
than  the  soldiers.  Their  good-will  was  purchased  by 
money,  and,  by  offering  a  sum  large  enough,  it  was 
not  difficult  to  obtaiti  facilities  for  desertions.  So  that, 
on  the  average,  we  received  at  the  army  only  about 
sixty  to  seventy  per  cent,  of  the  detachments  forwarded 
to  us.  Therefore,  in  order  to  repair  the  waste  from  the 
last  levy  of  five  hundred  thousand  men,  the  President, 
in  the  month  of  December  following,  was  compelled 
to  make  an  additional  cajll  for  three  hundred  thousand 
more. 

Nevertheless,  as  I  said,  the  recruits  reached  us  in 
large  numbers.  We  have  seen  by  the  affair  of  Ream's 
Station  what  they  were  worth  on  their  arrival.  How- 
ever, they  could  be  quickly  drilled  and  made  useful  if 
the  war  should  be  prolonged  a  few  months. 

By  an  unfortunate  coincidence,  it  happened  that  a 
decision  of  the  Secretary  of  War  took  away  from  us  a 
large  number  of  officers.  The  question  was  if  the 
acceptance  of  a  promotion  above  the  grade  of  sergeant 
altered  the  terms  of  the  original  enlistment;  for  in- 
stance :  if  one  who  had  enlisted  for  three  years  as  a  sol- 
dier, and  had  become  an  officer  during  that  time,  had  a 
right  to  his  discharge  at  the  expiration  of  these  years, 
when  the  regiment  to  which  he  belonged  remained  in 
the  army,  reenlisted  or  filled  up  by  an  accession  of  a 
sufficient  number  of  recruits.     The  question   was    an- 


OCTOBER   VINTAGE.  657 

swered  affirmatively.  Many  officers  took  advantage  of 
it  to  return  home.  Some  left  the  service  finally,  others 
proposed  to  themselves  to  return  with  an  advance  in  rank, 
obtained  from  the  Governor  of  their  State  by  personal 
application,  family  influence,  or  by  taking  an  active  part 
in  the  last  work  of  the  electoral  campaign  in  favor  of 
Lincoln.  The  latter  were  deceived  in  their  calcula- 
tions. The  dearth  of  officers,  resulting  from  their 
departure,  made  necessary  a  large  number  of  promo- 
tions, entirely  to  the  advantage  of  those  who  remained, 
and  especially  to  those  sergeants  who  had  proved  their 
bravery  and  capacity.  When  those  who  had  gone  off 
wished  to  return,  it  was  too  late,  the  places  were  taken, 
and  the  war  was  finished  without  them. 

On  the  return  of  General  Mott,  I  resumed  command 
of  my  brigade.  Only  eighteen  days  intervened  before 
the  presidential  election,  and,  as  we  awaited  the  event 
with  an  interest  easy  to  imagine,  political  preferences 
were  shown  much  more  openly  than  usual  in  the 
army.  A  majority  of  not  less  than  five  to  one  was 
already  assured  to  Mr.  Lincoln  ;  but  General  McClellan 
still  had  quite  a  number  of  partisans,  particularly  among 
the  artillery  officers,  he  having  created  and  organized 
that  corps  at  the  beginning  of  the  war. 

One  day,  I  met  one  of  them  in  General  Hancock's 
tent.  He  was  colonel  and  chief  of  artillery  of  the 
Ninth  Corps.  Naturally,  the  conversation  turned  on 
politics,  and  became  so  much  the  more  animated  that 
the  colonel  and  I  did  not  agree  on  a  single  point.  A 
partisan  of  slavery  and  of  compromise,  he  developed 
such  extraordinary  theories  against  emancipation, 
against  the  policy  of  the  government,  and  against  the 
war,  that  I  could  not  refrain  from  expressing  to  him 
my  astonishment  in  seeing  him  occupying  a  position 
amongst  us  so  completely  at  variance  with  his  opinions. 


658       FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

During  the  discussion,  General  Hancock,  who  leaned 
very  near  the  Democratic  party,  preserved  a  diplomatic 
silence.  He  was  strongly  of  the  opinion  that,  if  he  had 
wished,  he  might  have  himself  been  the  candidate 
opposed  to  Lincoln.  It  appeared  that  some  politicians, 
friends  of  his,  had,  at  the  time,  made  some  vague 
overtures  to  him  on  the  subject,  overtures  which  he 
had  wisely  declined.  He  had  not  pronounced  for  either 
side,  making  some  general  remarks,  emphasized  by 
gestures  of  the  head,  desiring  to  run  with  the  hare  and 
hold  with  the  hounds. 

Unfortunately,  I  commented  with  some  force  on  the 
consideration  due  General  McClellan  as  a  statesman 
and  as  a  soldier.  I  was  treading  there  on  delicate 
ground.  I  passed  along  rapidly,  and,  taking  up  the 
Peninsular  campaign,  I  quickly  touched  on  the  battle 
of  Williamsburg.  Carried  away  by  too  great  confidence 
in  the  liberality  pi  the  general,  and  in  his  personal  im- 
partiality as  to  well  known  facts,  I  recalled  Hooker, 
abandoned  during  the  whole  morning  without  support ; 
the  general-in-chief  remaining  behind  in  Yorktown  ;  his 
arrival  in  the  evening,  when  everything  was  over  ;  his 
ignorance  of  what  had  happened  —  alas  !  and  the  fa- 
mous despatch  wherein  mention  was  made  of  Hancock, 
without  a  word  about  Hooker,  Kearney,  or  Peck. 

"  Not  that  I  intend  for  a  moment  to  underrate  in  the 
least  the  importance  of  your  part  in  the  battle,"  I  added, 
addressing  myself  to  Hancock,  plainly  annoyed.  "  In 
that  respect  there  can  be  but  one  voice,  and,  as  much 
as  anyone  can,  I  appreciate  how  much  your  brilliant 
action  on  that  occasion  did  you  honor.  But  I  appeal 
to  yourself :  what  can  be  thought  of  a  general-in-chief 
capable  of  such  conduct,  and  of  such  injustice  towards 
three  generals  out  of  four  .-•  " 

I   must   acknowledge,  the  peroration    failed  to  have 


OCTOBER   VINTAGE.  659 

any  effect.  The  fourth  general  was  little  affected  by 
the  fact  that  I  recognized  the  justice  of  his  treatment, 
as  soon  as  I  spoke  of  the  injustice  of  which  the  others 
had  been  the  victims.  I  had  touched  a  sore  spot ;  the 
oil  I  poured  upon  it  did  not  allay  the  irritation. 

"  I  understand,"  said  General  Hancock,  breaking  up 
the  session.  "  You  are  all  alike  in  the  old  Third 
Corps.  In  your  eyes,  you  have  done  everything  in  this 
war,  and  all  others  nothing." 

I  protested  in  vain  ;  wounded  vanity  does  not  reason. 
I  saw  plainly  that,  by  a  few  words  too  freely  spoken,  I 
had  not  only  lost  the  good-will  of  my  corps  commander, 
but  had  also  revived  his  prejudices  against  the  whole 
Third  Division.  The  opportunity  to  prove  it  was  not 
long  in  coming. 

Three  days  after,  on  October  25,  Mott's  division, 
relieved  in  the  trenches  by  Miles'  troops,  was  massed 
for  the  night  back  of  the  lines,  not  far  from  Gibbon. 
All  detached  men  who  were  not  absolutely  indispen- 
sable where  they  were  detailed  were  armed,  and  tem- 
porarily returned  to  the  ranks.  No  wagon  was  to 
accompany  the  expedition.  The  generals  themselves 
received  advice  to  carry  their  blankets  on  their  led 
horses  ;  pack  mules  carried  the  provisions  for  the  staff. 
All  this  meant  battle,  and  we  understood  that  a  new 
movement  was  to  be  made  on  Hatcher's  Run. 

On  the  26th,  a  march  of  a  few  hours  brought  us  in 
the  afternoon  one  mile  back  of  Fort  Dushane,  on  the 
Weldon  railroad,  where  we  passed  the  night. 

On  the  27th,  before  daylight,  we  were  on  our  way. 
The  Second  Division  had  the  advance.  We  followed 
by  a  side  road,  known  as  the  Vanghan  road. 

The  object  of  the  movement  was  :  to  find  the  ex- 
treme point  of  the  enemy's  fortifications,  which,  almost 
certainly,  must  be  on  Hatcher's  Run  ;  to  turn  them,  so 


66o       FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

as  to  take  his  line  in  flank  and  in  reverse,  and,  while  a 
part  of  our  force  should  drive  the  enemy  towards  Peters- 
burg, to  push  with  the  balance  for  the  Lynchburg  rail- 
road, in  order  to  cut  this  last  line  of  communication.  In 
the  execution  of  this  plan,  the  greater  part  of  the  Ninth 
Corps  was  to  threaten  in  front  the  right  of  the  works 
which  had  stopped  us  on  the  2d  of  October  ;  Warren, 
with  two  divisions  of  the  Fifth  Corps,  was  ordered  to 
attack  the  line  in  the  rear,  while  Hancock,  with  two 
divisions  of  the  Second  Corps,  operated  further  on,  on 
the  left,  against  the  Boydton  road  first,  and  afterward 
against  the  Lynchburg  railroad.  This  was  our  first 
turning  movement  against  Petersburg.  The  ground 
was  new  to  us.  In  calculating  the  chances  of  success, 
a  large  part  was  left  for  the  unforeseen. 

The  march  of  the  Second  Corps  was  very  rapid.  At 
seven  o'clock  in  the  morning  the  Second  Division  en 
countered  the  advance  posts  of  the  enemy  in  front  of 
Hatcher's  Run,  drove  them  back  to  the  creek  without 
halting,  and  easily  forced  the  passage,  carrying  an 
unimportant  work  at  that  point.  I  was  then  sent  for- 
ward to  cover  the  movement  of  the  turning  column 
towards  Dabney's  mill.  In  front  of  us,  the  Confederate 
skirmishers  occupied  a  large  field  on  a  crossroad,  which 
was  to  serve  us  as  a  place  of  assembly  for  the  greater 
part  of  our  forces.  The  Seventy-third  New  York  and 
the  Second  Battalion  of  sharpshooters  quickly  dis- 
lodged them,  and,  the  rearguard  of  the  column  having 
passed  behind  us,  we  arrived  at  the  sawmill,  through 
the  woods,  without  further  molestation. 

At  noon  we  had  reached  the  Boydton  road,  having  a 
few  lively  skirmishes  between  our  flankers  and  the 
enemy's  advance  pickets.  The  country  was  absolutely 
covered  with  woods.  It  was  impossible  to  deploy,  and 
the  whole  corps,  marching  by  the  flank,  could  do  nothing 


White  4^  Oak    Roa.d 


ACTION 
BOVDTON 


■y.^j  yy^. 


From  Gen.  Walker's  "  History  of  the  Second  Army  Corps." 


OCTOBER    VINTAGE.  66  I 

but  follow  the  narrow  and  muddy  wood  road  which  led 
from  the  sawmill  to  the  high-road.  But  there  the 
country  was  cleared  up,  waste  land  and  fields  bordered 
the  road  both  to  the  right  and  to  the  left,  which  allowed 
us  to  take  a  regular  position.  The  Second  Division 
moved  in  advance,  ready  to  attack  the  embankment  of 
Burgess  mill,  where  the  enemy  appeared  to  be  in  no 
great  force.  It  was  reenforced  by  our  Third  Brigade, 
commanded  by  Colonel  MacAllister.  Four  of  my  regi- 
ments, the  Seventy-third,  the  Eighty-sixth,  and  the  One 
Hundred  and  Twenty-fourth  New  York,  and  the  bat- 
talion of  sharpshooters  covered  our  left  flank,  along  on 
the  further  side  of  thick  woods  on  the  edge  of  a  wide 
clearing.  With  the  six  others,  the  Ninety-ninth,  the 
One  Hundred  and  Tenth  Pennsylvania,  the  Twentieth 
Indiana,  the  Fortieth  New  York,  the  First  and  the 
Seventeenth  Maine,  I  was  formed  across  the  Boydton 
road,  fronting  south,  to  protect  the  rear  of  our  line. 
And,  lastly.  General  Pierce's  brigade  was  deployed  in  the 
woods,  on  a  line  with  MacAllister's. 

These  dispositions  were  scarcely  made  when  General 
Hancock  received  orders  to  stop  his  movement  at  the 
place  where  we  were.  The  cause  was  the  delay  of  the 
Fifth  Corps  to  take  the  position  assigned  to  it  on 
the  right  of  Pierce.  The  attack  of  the  Ninth  Corps 
had  not  taken  place,  in  consequence  of  obstacles  judged 
insurmountable.  The  two  divisions  of  the  Fifth  Corps 
had  effected  their  turning  movement,  but  with  much 
more  difificulty  than  had  been  expected.  The  rough- 
ness of  the  ground  and  the  density  of  the  thickets  had 
delayed  their  march  along  Hatcher's  Run,  the  opposite 
bank  of  which  was  crowned  with  intrenchments.  These 
intrenchments,  in  return  of  the  principal  line,  extended 
from  the  angle  they  made  near  the  creek,  to  beyond 
Burgess  mill,  where  our  division  had  halted. 


662       FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

The  enemy,  whose  skirmishers  swarmed  everywhere 
through  the  woods  to  find  out  what  we  were  about,  were 
not  slow  to  perceive  the  opening  left  on  our  right. 
With  his  perfect  knowledge  of  the  locality,  it  was  not 
difficult  for  him  to  send  forward  a  considerable  force 
without  its  being  perceived.  The  attack  fell  without 
warning  on  the  flank  of  the  Second  Brigade,  from  the 
same  quarter  where  it  expected  every  moment  to  see 
Crawford's  division.  It  can  be  imagined  what  was  the 
result. 

It  was  about  three  o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  when 
the  firing,  at  first,  led  us  to  suppose  that  Crawford  had 
encountered  the  enemy  on  his  road.  But  the  firing 
increased  in  violence,  and  rapidly  approached,  mingled 
with  noisy  shoutings.  There  was  no  mistake  now. 
Our  line  had  been  broken  or  flanked,  and  the  enemy 
was  driving  back  the  Second  Brigade  upon  us  in  dis- 
order. 

At  this  instant.  General  Mott,  fearing  for  the  safety 
of  the  sawmill  road,  sent  the  Seventeenth  Maine  to 
take  position  there  in  haste,  under  guidance  of  one  of 
his  staff  officers. 

The  rebels,  continuing  their  advance,  captured  two 
guns,  and  came  upon  the  Second  Division.  But  there 
they  found  our  Third  Brigade,*  which,  it  will  be  remem- 
bered, had  been  sent  to  reenforce  the  Second  Division. 
MacAllister,  with  great  promptness  and  coolness,  had 
already  changed  front  to  the  rear.  He  received  the 
shock  without  being  shaken.  The  force  of  Hill's  charge 
was  broken  before  the  fine  resistance  of  his  regiments. 

In  order  to  attack  our  troops,  the  enemy  had  been 
obliged  to  come  out  of  the  woods,  and  cross  the  end  of 
the  open  field,  at  the  foot  of  which  a  countermarch  by 
battalion  on  the  run  had  already  placed  my  reserve  in 
a  good  position.     The  moment  was  critical.     If   Mac- 


OCTOBER    VINTAGE.  663 

Allister's  line  had  given  way  under  the  increasing  press- 
ure of  the  enemy,  the  Second  Division  was  in  great 
danger  of  being  cut  off  and  surrounded,  in  which  case 
it  was  lost.  In  order  to  prevent  this  catastrophe,  Gen- 
eral Hancock  had  but  my  five  regiments.  They  re- 
ceived orders  to  charge. 

The  column  which  was  attacking  the  Third  Brigade 
presented  its  flank  to  us.  As  the  distance  was  consid- 
erable, and  time  pressed,  my  men  opened  fire  while 
marching.  The  balls  went  faster  than  they  did.  A 
part  of  the  rebels  turned  promptly  against  us,  and  the 
fire  became  very  brisk.  In  the  beginning,  my  guidon 
bearer  was  knocked  off  his  horse,  which  was  disem- 
bowelled by  a  shell.  In  less  than  five  minutes,  three 
staff  officers  fell  wounded  around  me.  One  of  my 
friends  and  aids,  Lieutenant  Bonnaffon,  was  shot  througti 
the  leg ;  Captain  Bell  was  shot  through  the  lungs ; 
Lieutenant  Lockwood  was  struck  in  the  foot.  The 
latter  two  belonged  to  the  division  staff.  On  seeins' 
me  charge,  they  rushed  to  join  in  the  fray. 

We  advanced  rapidly  on  the  enemy,  who,  attacked 
thus  both  on  the  front  and  flank,  hesitated,  and  gave 
way  the  moment  we  reached  him.  MacAllister,  re- 
lieved, immediately  took  the  offensive  in  concert  with 
Smythe  of  the  Second  Division,  and  we  swept  every- 
thing before  us.  General  Mott  having  then  sent  me 
the  order  to  resume  my  first  position,  leaving  only  a 
line  of  pickets  in  front,  I  returned,  taking  along  the 
two  guns  recaptured  from  the  enemy  by  the  First 
Maine,  a  flag,  and  two  hundred  prisoners.  But,  on  the 
other  hand,  I  left  on  the  field  eighteen  ofilicers  and  a 
hundred  and  seventy  men. 

Repulsed  on  this  side,  the  enemy  immediately  turned 
his  attention  towards  our  left,  which  he  hoped  to  take  in 
the  flank.     He  found  there  my  four  detached  regiments 


664       FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

defending  the  border  of  a  wood,  which  could  be  ap- 
proached only  across  open  ground.  He  made  the 
attempt  two  or  three  times,  but,  meeting  a  strong 
resistance,  pushed  further  to  the  left  with  all  his 
cavalry,  and  soon  encountered  Gregg  with  his  cavalry. 
Both  sides  dismounted,  and  a  sharp  engagement  ensued 
in  the  woods  for  more  than  tv/o  hours.  Gregg's  division 
fought  with  great  tenacity,  and  could  not  be  broken  or 
driven  back  by  all  the  enemy's  efforts. 

The  battle  ceased  only  at  nightfall.  General  Hamp- 
ton, on  the  Confederate  side,  had  five  brigades  with 
him.  In  stopping  them  with  an  inferior  force,  our 
dismounted  cavalry  rendered  good  service,  for,  if  they 
had  given  way,  our  line  would  have  been  taken  in  re- 
verse, and  we  would  have  had  so  much  the  more  trouble 
to  retire  without  any  mishap  in  that  the  Fifth  Corps 
had  not  joined  us.  Our  ammunition  was  nearly  ex- 
hausted ;  it  was  difficult  to  replenish,  in  consequence  of 
the  distance  back  to  the  ammunition  wagons.  In  the 
position  which  I  occupied,  shells  had  reached  us, 
coming  from  three  directions  at  once,  giving  evidence, 
on  the  part  of  the  enemy,  of  an  intention  to  make  a 
combined  attack  on  us  at  daylight  the  next  morning. 
These  different  considerations  determined  General 
Hancock  to  retire  during  the  night. 

Between  seven  and  eight  o'clock  he  sent  for  me.  I 
found  him  dictating  orders  in  a  covered  wagon,  fitted 
up  like  an  office.  The  wound  that  he  had  received  at 
Gettysburg  had  not  entirely  healed,  so  that  he  was 
obliged  to  take  some  repose  after  the  fatigue  of  a  day 
passed  on  horseback.  The  rain  was  then  falling  in 
torrents,  and  the  night  was  already  of  an  inky  black- 
ness. 

"  General,"  he  said  to  me,  when  I  presented  myself, 
"  I  have  called  you  to  intrust  you  with  a  delicate  mis- 


OCTOBER   VINTAGE.  665 

sion,  in  which  I  rely  both  on  your  prudence  and  your 
energy.  The  Second  Corps  will  withdraw  at  ten 
o'clock.  Naturally,  the  Second  Division  will  begin  the 
movement  in  retreat,  followed  by  the  Third.  I  leave 
you  with  the  general  command  of  the  pickets,  both 
infantry  and  cavalry.  I  must  have  three  hours  ad- 
vance ;  you  will  not  withdraw  any  part  of  your  line 
before  one  o'clock  in  the  morning.  In  such  a  night  as 
this,  it  is  not  probable  that  the  enemy  will  perceive  our 
movements,  or  that  he  will  try  to  interfere  with  us  ;  but, 
if  any  attempt  is  made,  you  will  have  to  take  the  nec- 
essary measures  to  protect  the  rearguard  of  the  column 
against  any  attack.  The  withdrawal  of  the  pickets  will 
perhaps  not  be  so  easy.  Manage  so  as  not  to  leave 
any  part  behind,  and  to  so  combine  your  movements  as 
to  promptly  concentrate  your  forces  at  a  given  point. 
It  is  important  that  you  should  have  them  well  in  hand, 
in  order  to  repulse  any  attack  which  may  be  made 
against  your  retreating  line.  Whatever  happens,  your 
rallying  point  is  the  sawmill,  where  the  Second  Di- 
vision will  halt,  at  least  until  daylight.  Endeavor  to 
reach  that  point  without  delay,  and  to  bring  your 
whole  force  with  you.  After  which  you  will  only  have 
to  rejoin  your  division,  and  send  the  regiments  which 
do  not  belong  to  you  to  their  respective  brigades." 

These  instructions  were  so  clear  and  precise  that  I 
had  not  a  question  to  ask.  I  thanked  the  general  for 
the  confidence  he  placed  in  me,  and  departed  to  visit 
the  line  myself  before  the  movement  commenced. 

I  took  one  of  my  staff  officers  with  me,  who  had  been 
over  the  ground  during  the  day,  and,  followed  by  an 
orderly,  I  passed  into  the  pine  woods,  which  it  was 
necessary  to  go  through  in  order  to  reach  the  picket 
line  in  a  direct  course.  But,  when  the  last  glimmers  of 
the  fires  had  disappeared  behind  us,  we  found  ourselves 


666       FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

enshrouded  in  darkness,  doubly  opaque  under  the  green 
canopy.  It  was  impossible  to  distinguish  anything. 
Invisible  branches  whipped  us  in  the  face ;  at  every 
step  we  struck  against  the  slender  pine  trees.  The 
horses  refused  to  go  on  in  the  inextricable  labyrinth. 
They  turned  about,  throwing  themselves  to  the  right 
and  left,  and  soon  caused  us  to  lose  all  sense  of  direc- 
tion. In  order  to  remain  together,  we  had  to  speak 
continually,  for,  if  we  had  kept  silent,  we  should  have 
found  ourselves  instantly  separated  from  each  other. 
At  last,  after  turning  and  returning  without  knowing 
which  way  to  go,  we  ended  by  coming  across  a  reddish 
glimmer  of  light,  which  led  us  to  a  battery  of  artillery 
posted  on  the  edge  of  the  woods. 

We  there  found,  very  a  propos,  Colonel  Burns,  com- 
manding the  Seventy-third  New  York.  Having  been 
for  several  hours  without  communication  with  the 
brigade,  he  Avas  coming  to  me  to  make  report  of  the 
engagement  of  the  four  regiments  on  picket,  and  to  ask 
for  ammunition,  which  they  would  probably  need  at 
daylight.  Meeting  Colonel  Burns  in  this  manner  made 
it  much  easier  for  me  to  send  my  orders  along  the 
whole  line,  and,  well  informed  as  to  the  position  of 
affairs,  I  returned  to  General  Hancock,  whom  I  found 
sitting  on  a  log,  before  a  campfire. 

The  Second  Division  defiled  in  silence,  with  bayonets 
in  the  scabbard,  the  muskets  under  the  arm,  and  the 
blankets  rolled  over  the  shoulders.  The  Third  Division 
began  its  movement  in  its  turn,  silently  and  with  the 
same  precautions.  The  last  regiments  disappeared  in 
the  woods,  along  the  sawmill  road,  and  I  remained 
alone  by  the  fire  with  my  staff  officers  and  my  orderlies. 

Alone  }  —  No.  Thei-e  were  still  here  and  there 
stragglers  delayed,  I  do  not  know  why,  and  wounded 
left   behind,  for   reasons    I   too  well  knew.      After   the 


OCTOBER   VINTAGE.  667 

battle,  as  many  were  carried  away  as  possible.  But, 
during  Gregg's  engagement,  some  shells  having  burst 
among  the  ambulances,  they  had  been  withdrawn 
further  from  the  battlefield,  and  the  transport  of  the 
wounded  went  on  much  more  slowly.  When  the 
ambulances  had  carried  their  sad  burdens  to  a  distance, 
the  movement  in  retreat  prevented  their  return.  There 
remained  only  the  litters  which  followed  the  columns  in 
their  turn.  Many  unfortunates  had  been  thus  aban- 
doned in  the  woods.  Others  lay  along  the  edge  of  the 
road,  and,  suspecting  the  fate  which  awaited  them, 
prayed  us  with  moanings  to  take  them  with  us.  I 
heard  soldiers  saying,  "  Do  not  trouble  yourselves  ;  be 
a  little  patient.  The  ambulances  are  going  to  return  ; 
we  are  here  to  wait  for  them."  They  well  knew  that 
there  was  nothing  of  the  sort,  but  they  endeavored  to 
spare  the  poor  creatures  a  few  hours  of  anguish.  Per- 
haps they  also  wished  to  spare  themselves  the  painful 
emotion  of  hearing  their  mournful  supplications. 

Quite\near  us,  a  young  soldier  had  dragged  himself 
under  a  cart,  to  be  sheltered  from  the  rain.  He  had  had 
his  leg  shot  through  or  broken  by  a  ball.  Whenever 
any  one  passed  near  him,  he  raised  himself  up  on  his 
elbow,  and  asked  in  an  injured  voice,  "Are  not  the 
ambulances  coming  .-'  "  "  Right  away,"  they  answered 
him  ;  and  hurried  on  in  order  not  to  hear  any  more. 
Some  of  the  experiences  of  war  are  as  sad  as  others 
are  glorious. 

The  fires  continued  to  burn  all  along  the  line.  They 
were  carefully  kept  up  in  order  to  deceive  the  enemy, 
and  to  make  him  believe  the  troops  were  still  present, 
where  really  there  was  no  one.  The  watches  were  con- 
sulted from  time  to  time.  The  hours  passed  slowly ; 
nothing  wsls  stirring  along  the  Confederate  lines,  or,  at 
least,  so  it  appeared   to  us,  for  at  that  hour  they  were 


668       FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

massing  fifteen  thousand  troops  in  our  front  to  give  us 
a  disagreeable  reveille,  when  Aurora  with  her  rosy  fin- 
gers —  but,  at  that  time,  they  were  to  find  in  our  lines 
only  the  ashes  of  our  extinguished  fires. 

At  one  o'clock  in  the  morning,  the  order  to  retire  was 
sent  along  the  line.  One  by  one,  the  companies  and 
regiments  came  out  of  the  woods  from  different  direc- 
tions, and  noiselessly  assembled  on  the  road.  Not  a 
shot  indicated  that  the  movement  had  been  discovered. 
Every  one  came  out  without  accident,  except  one  com- 
pany, of  twenty-four  men  and  two  officers,  who  went  as- 
tray in  the  woods,  and  were  near  entering  the  enemy's 
lines.  They  explained  their  mistake  by  saying  that  they 
were  a  part  of  a  detachment  sent  out  to  relieve  the 
pickets.  The  explanation  seemed  so  natural  that  it 
turned  aside  suspicions,  to  which  their  capture  might 
have  given  rise. 

It  was  nearly  two  o'clock  when  we  withdrew  in  our 
turn.  Passing  the  troops  massed  at  the  sawmill,  we 
crossed  Hatcher's  Run  a  little  further  along,  taking  with 
us  a  large  number  of  stragglers.  At  seven  o'clock  in 
the  morning,  we  had  rejoined  the  division,  and  I  re- 
ported to  General  Hancock  the  withdrawal  of  the 
pickets  without  fight  or  accident.  This  good  result  was 
due  in  great  part  to  the  active  and  earnest  efforts  of 
Colonel  Rivers,  commanding  the  Eleventh  Massachu- 
setts, who  was  on  duty  as  officer  of  the  day  of  the 
division. 

I  have  related  the  affair  of  October  27  with  a  ful- 
ness of  detail,  because  the  general  commanding  does 
not  appear  to  have  appreciated  the  incidents  as  I  saw 
them.  When  a  landscape-painter  finds  his  subject  for 
a  painting  in  nature,  on  transferring  it  to  his  canvas, 
he  puts  in  the  lights  and  shades  as  pleases  him.  Gen- 
eral   Hancock's   report  was  treated   somewhat  in   this 


OCTOBER    VINTAGE.  669 

manner,  and,  in  the  division  of  the  light  and  shade,  the 
relief  was  for  the  Second  Division,  and  the  background 
for  the  Third,  especially  as  to  what  concerned  my  bri- 
gade. The  general  wished,  doubtless,  to  restore  the 
reputation  of  the  men  of  Ream's  Station,  while  giving 
a  lesson  in  modesty  to  those  of  the  old  Third  Corps, 
"  who  believed  they  had  always  done  everything."  One 
fact  is  certain,  that  the  Second  Division  did  not  lose 
half  as  many  men  as  the  Third. 

However,  it  is  right,  in  such  case,  to  bear  in  mind  the 
lying  and  exaggerated  reports  which  might  lead  a  corps 
commander,  and  even  a  division  commander,  to  an  in- 
voluntary error.  I  had  an  example  of  this  myself  on 
this  occasion.  It  will  be  noticed  that  all  my  regiments 
had  been  engaged  excepting  one.  The  Seventeenth 
Maine,  whose  colonel  was  absent  that  day,  had  been 
detached  from  my  command  to  cover  a  point  of  the  saw- 
mill road  which  was  thought  to  be  threatened.  The 
next  morning,  I  learned  with  satisfaction  that  the  regi- 
ment had  vigorously  repulsed  the  enemy  when  he  had 
shown  himself.  This  came  from  a  report  addressed  to 
General  Mott,  by  his  inspector-general,  W.,  who  had 
been  ordered  to  guide  the  detachment.  He  had  dis- 
posed it  in  such  and  such  a  manner  ;  he  had  done  this 
and  that.  He  only  regretted  one  thing  :  that  he  had 
not  had  more  troops,  in  order  to  cut  off  the  rebels  from 
retreating,  etc.  Some  days  later,  Colonel  West  having 
returned,  I  thought  I  ought  to  express  to  him  my  satis- 
faction at  the  good  conduct  of  his  regiment.  He  looked 
at  me  an  instant  with  a  surprised  air,  as  if  to  be  sure 
that  I  was  not  rallying  him.  Then,  with  frankness,  he 
said,  "  But,  General,  my  regiment  did  not  see  an  enemy 
or  fire  a  cartridge  !  " 

It  was  true.  The  author  of  the  report  was  an  officer 
capable  of  great  bravery  ;  but  he  was  less  scrupulous 


670       FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

than  brave,  and,  profiting  by  a  position  in  which  he  was 
out  of  view,  he  had  represented  as  facts  what  was  only 
a  might-have-been.  His  gasconade  profited  him  as  he 
wished.  He  was  only  a  major  ;  this  fine  imaginary  tale 
brought  him  the  commission  of  lieutenant-colonel. 

It  must  be  said  :  these  things  happened  too  often  in 
the  army.  In  general,  those  who  are  the  most  boastful 
are  those  who  do  the  least,  and  vice  versa.  So  that 
rewards  are  far  from  being  in  porportion  to  merit. 
Humbug  is  decidedly  more  profitable.  How  m^any  rapid 
promotions  I  have  seen  from  no  other  cause  !  So  that 
many  deserving  officers  ended  by  resorting  to  it  in  order 
to  have  justice  rendered  to  their  services,  which  other- 
wise would  have  been  overlooked  or  misconstrued. 

General  Hancock  left  the  army  a  few  days  after  the 
unsuccessful  operations  against  the  Boydton  road.  He 
was  ordered  to  Washington,  to  organize  a  new  army 
corps,  which  was  to  be  composed  entirely  of  men  who 
had  already  been  in  service.  But  neither  the  prestige 
of  his  name  nor  the  advantages  offered  were  enough  to 
make  the  project  successful.  But  few  regiments  were 
raised,  which  never  entered  the  field.  So  that  from  the 
month  of  November  General  Hancock  disappeared,  no 
more  to  return,  from  the  scene  where  he  had  justly 
achieved  a  brilliant  reputation  as  general  of  division  and 
commander  of  a  corps. 


CHAPTER   XXXir. 

THE   BEGINNING   OF  THE  END. 

Presidential  campaign  of  1864  — Cleveland  convention — Baltimore 
convention — Platforms  —  Nomination  of  Mr.  Lincoln  —  Chicago 
convention  —  Democratic  profession  of  faith  —  The  question  of  pris- 
oners of  war  —  Barbarities  of  the  rebel  government  —  Nomination  of 
General  McClellan  —  Desperate  manoeuvres  —  Election  —  The  army 
vote  —  Counter-stroke  by  the  Confederates  —  Thanksgiving. 

While    military  operations    were  being  carried  on  in 
front  of  Petersburg  with  an  indomitable  perseverance, 
electoral  operations  were  carried  on  in  the  North  with 
an  indefatigable  activity.     The  nearer  the  day  of  elec- 
tion came,  the  greater  the  ardor  of  the  two  parties  in 
the  strife.     On  their  side,  the  Republicans  wished  the 
war  to   continue   until   the  extinction  of  the  rebellion, 
and  the  reestablishment  of  a  Union  consummated  by 
victory  and    ennobled   by  the  immediate   abolition    of 
slavery.     The  Democrats,  on  the  other  hand,  demanded 
the  suspension  of  the  war,  by  a  compromise  with   the 
rebellion,  and   the  conditional  restoration  of  a   Union 
subject  to  the  pretended  rights  of  the  South,  implying 
every  reserve  in  favor  of  the  maintenance  of  slavery. 
The  first  were  desirous  of  reaping  the  fruits  of  former 
sacrifices  by  means  of  new  sacrifices  ;  the  latter  wished 
to  accept  the  total  loss  of  the  bloodshed,  and  the  treas- 
ure  expended,  and  incur  no  more.     One  party  would 
form  no  alliance  with  treason  ;  the  other  would  make 
an  alliance  with  hell  itself  if  it  were  to  their  interest. 
The  inspiration  of  the  Republicans  was  an  enlightened 
patriotism  ;  the  moving  Democratic  idea  was  a  short- 
sighted egotism. 

671 


672       FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC   ARMY, 

At  the  beginning  of  the  presidential  campaign,  the 
Republican  party  had  been  threatened  with   a  compro- 
mising   division.     The  radical  fraction,   pushed    on   by 
the  impatience  of  revolutionists,  and  influenced  by  per- 
sonal rancor,  made  a  call  for  a  convention,  to  be  held  at 
Cleveland,  May  31,  to  meet  before  the  time  of  the  reg- 
ular  convention,    whose    ruling     motive    was    directed 
expressly  against  the  reelection  of  President  Lincoln. 
The  call,  addressed,  as  usual   in   such   a   case,  "  to   all 
independent   men,  jealous  of  their  liberties,  and  of  the 
national  grandeur,"  was  made  for  two  reasons  :  in  the 
first  place,  the  present  administration  had  abused  be- 
yond   measure    its    facilities    for    patronage,    resulting 
from  the  organization  of  an  army  of  a  million  of  men. 
And,  in  addition,  at  the  next  election,  the  doctrine  that 
one  man  should  hold  but  one  presidential  term  should 
be  adhered  to  as  an  inflexible  principle.     "  A  rule  hav- 
ing almost  acquired  the  force  of  a  law,  by  the  consecra- 
tion  of  time."     Which  was  not  true.     The  history  of 
the  United  States  demonstrated   that.     In  the  second 
place,  the  Republican  convention  called  for  the  8th  of 
June,  at   Baltimore,  was   not   really  a  national   conven- 
tion.    Why  .-'     Because  it  would  hold  its  sessions  too 
near   the    centre  of   administration.     So    that  another 
convention   must  be  called,  at  a  more  central  point,  as 
much  to  make  the    expense  light  on  the  purse  of  its 
members  as  to  preserve  their  consciences. 

Never  in  the  history  of  the  United  States  had  a 
more  transparent  political  manoeuvre  been  built  upon 
such  a  poverty  of  reasons.  The  common-sense  of  the 
people  was  not  deceived  by  it  for  an  instant,  and  the 
Cleveland  convention  was  a  complete  failure.  If  there 
had  been  a  germ  of  life  in  it,  the  letter  of  acceptance  of 
its  candidate  for  the  Presidency  would  have  been  suffi- 
cient   to   destroy    it    immediately.       General    Fremont 


TPiE    BEGINNING    OF   THE    END.  673 

therein  declared,  in  plain  terms,  that  if  any  other  candi- 
date than  Mr.  Lincoln  were  nominated  at  Baltimore,  he 
would  not  stand  in  the  way  of  a  fusion  in  favor  of  his 
rival ;  but  if  it  were  Mr.  Lincoln  who  obtained  the 
nomination,  "  there  would  be  no  other  alternative 
except  to  organize  all  the  elements  of  conscientious 
opposition  against  him,  in  order  to  prevent  the  misfor- 
tune of  his  reelection."  Now,  it  must  be  remembered 
that  General  Fremont,  having  charge  of  the  department 
of  Missouri,  in  1861,  had  raised  such  a  disturbance  by 
the  abusive  acts  of  his  administration  that  the  govern- 
ment had  been  compelled  to  remove  him  after  a  few 
months.  Inde  ir(2  !  His  old  popularity,  shaken  since 
that  time  by  his  hostile  attitude  towards  the  adminis- 
tration, did  not  survive  this  last  manifestation,  full  of 
personal  rancor,  and,  finally,  there  was  no  course  left  to 
him  to  extricate  himself  from  the  false  step  which  he 
had  taken,  except  to  rally  around  President  Lincoln, 
withdrawing  from  his  own  candidacy. 

The  Republican  convention  assembled  at  Baltimore 
on  the  day  appointed.  It  was  composed  of  delegates 
from  all  the  Northern  States,  and  from  some  districts 
of  Tennessee,  Louisiana,  and  Arkansas,  numbering 
more  than  five  hundred  men.  Its  platform  was  clearly 
expressed  in  the  following  resolutions  :  — 

"  Resolved,  That  it  is  the  highest  duty  of  every 
American  citizen  to  maintain,  against  all  their  enemies, 
the  integrity  of  the  Union,  and  the  paramount  author- 
ity of  the  Constitution  and  laws  of  the  United  States ; 
and  that,  laying  aside  all  differences  of  political  opinion, 
we  pledge  ourselves,  as  Union  men,  animated  by  a  com- 
mon sentiment,  and  aiming  at  a  common  object,  to  do 
everything  in  our  power  to  aid  the  government  in 
quelling,  by  force  of  arms,  the  rebellion  now  raging 
against  its   authority,  and  in  bringing  to  the  punish- 


6/4       FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC   ARMY. 

ment  due  to  their  crimes  the  rebels  and  traitors 
arrayed  against  it. 

"  Resolved,  That  we  approve  the  determination  of 
the  government  of  the  United  States  not  to  compro- 
mise with  rebels,  or  to  offer  any  terms  of  peace,  except 
such  as  may  be  based  upon  an  unconditional  surrender 
of  their  hostility,  and  a  return  to  their  just  allegiance  to 
the  Constitution  and  laws  of  the  United  States,  and 
that  we  call  upon  the  government  to  maintain  this  posi- 
tion, and  to  prosecute  the  war  with  the  utmost  possible 
vigor  to  the  complete  suppression  of  the  rebellion,  in 
full  reliance  in  the  self-sacrificing  patriotism,  the  heroic 
valor,  and  the  undying  devotion  of  the  American  people 
to  their  country  and  its  free  institutions. 

"  Resolved,  That,  as  slavery  was  the  cause  and  now 
constitutes  the  strength  of  the  rebellion,  and  as  it  must 
be  always  and  everywhere  hostile  to  the  principles  of 
republican  government,  justice  and  the  national  safety 
demand  its  utter  and  complete  extirpation  from  the  soil 
of  the  Republic  ;  —  and  that,  while  we  uphold  and  main- 
tain the  acts  and  proclamations  by  which  the  govern- 
ment, in  its  own  defence,  had  aimed  a  death-blow  at 
this  gigantic  evil,  we  are  in  favor  furthermore  of  such 
an  amendment  to  the  Constitution,  to  be  made  by  the 
people  in  conformity  with  its  provisions,  as  shall  termi- 
nate and  forever  prohibit  the  existence  of  slavery  within 
the  limits  of  the  jurisdiction  of  the  United  States." 

On  the  first  ballot,  Mr.  Lincoln  received  four  hundred 
and  ninety-seven  votes,  and  the  nomination  was  made 
unanimous  by  acclamation. 

It  cannot  be  said  that,  during  its  existence,  the 
administration  of  Mr.  Lincoln  had  been  without  spot. 
Doubtless  it  had  tolerated,  more  or  less  willingly,  a 
certain  number  of  abuses  ;  but  the  people  took  into  the 
account  the  immense  difficulties,  the  multiplied  compli- 


THE    BEGINNING    OF   THE    END.  675 

cations  with  which  the  government  had  to  struggle  in 
the  midst  of  events  without  precedent.  In  the  presence 
of  the  great  things  it  had  accomplished,  the  pubHc  con- 
science had  no  thought  of  bringing  up  against  it  the 
things  it  might  have  done.  Besides,  as  Mr.  Lincoln 
himself  said,  with  the  good-sense  and  wit  which  charac- 
terized him,  "The  people  were  of  the  opinion  of  the 
Dutch  farmer,  who  thought  it  was  not  the  time  to  trade 
horses  while  crossing  the  stream." 

The  Democratic  convention  had  been  appointed  for 
June  22  ;  but  the  leaders  of  that  party,  embarrassed  by 
the  strifes  in  its  own  ranks,  desirous  of  diminishing  the 
blow  about  to  fall  upon  them  as  much  as  possible,  and 
thinking  they  must  have  delay  to  compose  their  differ- 
ences, postponed  the  meeting  of  the  convention  until 
August  29.  Until  then  they  made  the  best  of  their 
time  to  bring  odium  upon  the  administration  by  every 
means  in  their  power.  Their  Southern  allies  came  to 
their  assistance,  by  intrigues  in  default  of  victories. 
Under  pretext  of  propositions  for  peace,  there  were 
underhanded  plottings  on  the  Canadian  border,  by 
means  of  rebel  agents,  in  order  to  make  it  appear  that 
Mr.  Lincoln  refused  to  honorably  conclude  the  war 
before  the  extermination  of  the  South.  These  manoeu- 
vres came  to  an  end,  after  having  made  more  or  less 
noise,  without  producing  the  desired  result.  Neverthe- 
less, the  partisans  of  peace  at  any  price,  led  by  Mr. 
Vallandigham,  gained  enough  ground  to  control  the 
convention  when  it  assembled  at  Chicago. 

Horatio  Seymour,  Governor  of  New  York,  who  had 
become  noted  for  his  factious  opposition  to  the  govern- 
ment, was  appointed  President.  Vallandigham  was 
appointed  chairman  of  the  committee  to  draw  up  the 
platform.  The  sentiments  of  the  convention  were  ex- 
pressed in  the  following  resolution  :  — 


676       FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

"  Resolved,  That  this  convention  does  explicitly 
declare,  as  the  sense  of  the  American  people,  that,  after 
four  years  of  failure  to  restore  the  Union  by  the  experi- 
ment of  war,  —  during  which,  under  the  pretence  of 
military  necessity  or  war  power  higher  than  the  Con- 
stitution, the  Constitution  itself  has  been  disregarded 
in  every  part,  and  public  liberty  and  private  right  alike 
trodden  down,  and  the  material  prosperity  of  the  coun- 
try essentially  impaired,  —  justice,  humanity,  liberty, 
and  the  public  welfare  demand  that  individual  efforts 
be  made  for  a  cessation  of  hostilities,  with  a  view  to  an 
ultimate  convention  of  the  States,  or  other  peaceable 
means,  to  the  end  that,  at  the  earliest  practicable  mo- 
ment, peace  may  be  restored  on  the  basis  of  the  Fed- 
eral Union  of  the  States." 

The  remaining  resolutions  were  nothing  but  violent 
denunciations  of  all  the  acts  of  the  government,  per- 
verted even  to  the  point  that  it  was  denounced  for  hav- 
ing suppressed  the  liberty  of  the  press,  at  the  very  time 
when  the  Democratic  papers  were  filled  with  the  most 
unbridled  abuse  of  the  President  and  his  administration, 
without  let  or  hindrance,  and  when  the  most  violent 
language  was  poured  forth  on  all  the  stages  erected  for 
party  meetings. 

One  of  these  resolutions  reproached  the  government 
for  not  having  done  its  duty  towards  those  of  our  sol- 
diers who  were  prisoners  of  war.  It  may  be  well  to 
remark  that  if  the  Confederate  government  had  not 
shown  the  grossest  bad  faith,  not  one  of  our  soldiers 
would  have  remained  a  prisoner  in  its  hands,  for  on 
the  7th  of  May,  in  consequence  of  the  release  on 
parole  of  the  rebel  forces  captured  at  Vicksburg  and 
Port  Hudson,  the  balance  was  in  our  favor  to  the  num- 
ber of  thirty-three  thousand  five  hundred  and  ninety- 
six.     But  Jefferson  Davis  and  his  officials  persisted  in 


THE    BEGINNING    OF   THE    END.  677 

Stopping  or  delaying  the  exchanges  under  all  sorts  of 
pretexts,  with  the  object,  in  the  first  place,  of  making  it 
impossible  for  our  unfortunate  soldiers  to  take  up  arms 
again,  on  account  of  their  sufferings  and  privations.  In 
order  not  to  be  suspected  of  exaggeration  on  this  sub- 
ject, I  will  limit  myself  to  borrowing  textually  a  few 
passages  from  the  official  report  made  by  a  special 
committee  of  Congress. 

"  The  evidence  proves,  without  any  possible  doubt, 
the  deliberate  purpose  on  the  part  of  the  rebel  authori- 
ties, put  in  practice  and  long  persisted  in,  to  subject 
those  of  our  soldiers  who  had  the  misfortune  to  fall 
in  their  hands  to  a  system  of  treatment  the  result  of 
which  was  to  reduce  many  of  the  survivors  returning  to 
us  to  a  condition,  physical  and  moral,  which  no  lan- 
guage can  completely  describe.  Nearly  all  the  patients 
now  in  the  hospital  of  the  Naval  Academy  at  Annapo- 
lis, and  in  one  in  the  western  part  of  Baltimore,  have 
received  the  most  attentive  and  intelligent  care  for 
more  than  three  weeks,  and  many  among  them  for  a 
still  longer  time.  Nevertheless,  they  still  present  the 
exact  appearance  of  living  skeletons,  being  literally 
skin  and  bones.  Numbers  of  them  are  lamed  for  life, 
having  had  their  limbs  frozen  while  exposed  to  the 
severities  of  winter  at  Belle  Isle,  forced  to  lie  on  the 
naked  ground,  without  tents  or  blankets,  many  without 
overcoats  or  even  coats.  .  .  . 

"  It  is  stated  by  witnesses  that  it  was  a  general 
practice  among  those  who  captured  prisoners  to  rob 
them  of  everything  of  value,  —  money,  blankets, 
clothes,  —  for  which  they  received  in  exchange  only  a 
few  worn-out  rags  almost  worthless." 

Example  :  Lieutenant  Fisher,  of  General  Mott's  staff, 
was  made  prisoner  at  Deep  Bottom,  while  carrying  an 
order.     The  colonel    of   the  Twenty-seventh  regiment 


678       FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC   ARMY. 

of  the  rebel  Virginia  cavalry  robbed  him  of  his  gold 
watch,  his  money,  and  pocket-book.  The  subalterns, 
following  the  example  of  their  chief,  took  from  him  his 
hat  and  his  boots,  and  he  was  compelled  to  march  with 
naked  feet  and  bare  head  where  his  escort  led  him,  too 
happy  to  save  his  uniform.  If  he  had  not  been  an 
officer,  they  would  probably  have  left  him  only  his  pan- 
taloons and  shirt. 

"  Witnesses  declare  that  often,  on  rising  in  the 
morning  from  their  couch,  on  the  naked  ground,  they 
found  many  of  their  comrades  had  died  of  cold  during 
the  night.  In  regard  to  the  food  furnished  our  men  by 
the  rebel  authorities,  it  was  proved  that  the  ration  for 
each  was  entirely  insufficient  in  quantity  to  keep  a 
child  in  good  health,  even  if  it  had  been  of  good  quality, 
which  it  was  not.  It  consisted  habitually  of,  at  the 
most,  two  small  pieces  of  coarse  corn  bread,  in  which 
the  cob  was  ground  up  with  the  corn,  mixed  together, 
and  badly  cooked ;  and  only  occasionally  about  two 
ounces  of  meat,  so  bad  as  to  be  scarcely  eatable  ;  once 
in  a  while,  a  few  wormy  beans. 

"  Those  who  had  been  allowed  to  receive  clothes  and 
blankets,  sent  by  our  government  for  their  use,  were 
obliged  to  sell  them  to  their  guards  or  others,  at  what- 
ever price  they  could  get,  in  order  to  support  life  by  an 
addition  to  their  diet. 

"  Besides  this  insufficiency  of  food,  clothing,  and 
shelter,  our  soldiers  who  were  prisoners  were  subjected 
to  the  most  cruel  treatment  on  the  part  of  those  who 
guarded  them.  They  were  insulted  and  shamefully 
maltreated  on  nearly  every  occasion.  Many  of  them 
were  shot  down  without  mercy,  for  having  failed  to 
obey  the  demands  of  their  jailors,  sometimes  for  having 
violated  rules  of  which  they  knew  nothing.  When  they 
were  crowded  together  in  great  numbers  in  buildings, 


THE    BEGINNING    OF   THE    END.  679 

the  sentinels  fired  on  them  and  killed  them  when  they 
showed  themselves  at  the  windows  to  breathe  a  little 
fresh  air.  One  man,  whose  comrade  on  the  battlefield 
and  in  captivity  had  been  fortunate  enough  to  be 
included  among  those  exchanged,  was  killed  in  his 
room  while  he  was  waving  an  adieu  to  his  friend.  Wit- 
nesses testify  to  other  cases  of  murder,  equally  without 
justification. 

"  A  part  of  our  exchanged  prisoners  have  returned  to 
us  without  coats,  or  hats,  or  shoes,  or  stockings.  The 
committee  is  powerless  to  give  you  a  correct  idea  of  the 
sad  and  miserable  condition  of  the  men  they  have  seen 
in  the  hospitals  they  have  visited.  In  spite  of  all  the 
care  bestowed  upon  them,  they  are  dying  every  day, 
and  your  committee  were  witnesses  to  the  mournful 
spectacle  of  the  death  of  one  of  them.  All  declared 
that  the  state  to  which  they  are  reduced  is  caused 
solely  by  the  barbarous  treatment  to  which  they  were 
subjected  on  the  part  of  the  enemy  during  their  cap- 
tivity ;  the  surgeons  having  charge  of  them  have  not 
the  least  doubt  that  the  declarations  of  their  patients 
are  true  in  all  respects." 

My  pen  refuses  to  reproduce  here  the  horrible  de- 
tails of  this  long  martyrology,  which  the  commitee  closes 
by  photographs  of  the  principal  victims.  These  photo- 
graphs, reproduced  by  engraving,  render  all  comment 
superfluous  for  those  who  have  seen  them.  In  com- 
parison with  the  abominable  hells  where  our  prisoners 
were  tortured  by  the  instruments  of  Jefferson  Davis, 
the  Siberian  mines  are  a  place  of  peace  and  comfort. 
At  Andersonville  as  many  as  thirty-five  thousand  were 
tumbled  in  and  heaped  up  inside  of  a  stockade  in  the 
open  air,  without  shelter,  without  blankets,  nearly  with- 
out clothing.     There  they  died  at  the  rate  of  a  hundred 


68o       FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

a  clay,  not  to  speak  of  those  who  there  lost  their  reason 
through  stress  of  hunger  and  suffering. 

And  the  Democratic  party  at  Chicago  made  common 
cause  with  their  assassins  !  And  made  it  a  reproach  to 
our  government  that  it  had  not  performed  its  duty 
towards  these  prisoners  of  war !  And,  in  its  audacious 
hypocrisy,  offered  its  sympathy  to  our  soldiers  and 
sailors  !  But  liberty  is  admirable  in  that  it  confounds 
impudence  and  unveils  hypocrisy.  The  good-sense  of 
a  free  people  takes  account  of  the  falsehoods,  and 
always  ends  by  giving  the  verdict  to  the  truth.  Allow 
free  speech  and  a  free  press,  and  let  the  people  judge. 
The  world  will  take  the  right  road. 

When  the  Chicago  convention  proceeded  to  the  nom- 
ination of  a  candidate  for  the  Presidency,  the  name  of 
McClellan  brought  on  a  violent  debate,  which  was  pro- 
longed during  the  entire  day.  On  the  next  day  he  had 
but  one  hundred  and  sixty-two  out  of  two  hundred  and 
twenty-eight  votes.  The  general  was  guilty  of  having 
fought  the  rebellion  by  arms,  although  he  had  done 
everything  not  to  succeed.  But  he  had  a  majority 
which  was  finally  raised  to  two  hundred  and  two  votes, 
and  he  was  nominated. 

A  portion  of  the  Democratic  party  which  had  pro- 
nounced in  favor  of  the  war,  and-  which  still  kept  its 
patriotic  sentiments,  was  confounded  by  the  spirit  of 
the  convention,  and  by  the  general  tone  of  the  speeches 
made  there.  In  order  to  counteract  it,  or,  at  least,  to 
diminish  the  effect,  the  War  Democrats,  as  they  were 
called,  procured  from  McClellan,  in  his  letter  of  accep- 
tance, a  declaration  in  favor  of  a  vigorous  renewal  of 
the  war,  in  case  all  peaceful  efforts,  first  tried,  should 
fail.  The  result  was  to  irritate  the  peace  men  at  any 
price  without  having  any  influence  on  tJiose  for  war  at 
all  Jiazards. 


THE    BEGINNING    OF    THE    END.  68 1 

General  McClellan  had  been  well  chosen  by  the  plot- 
ters, who  thought  only  of  their  own  gain  in  case  of 
success.  He  was  a  man  without  a  just  sentiment  of 
personal  dignity  and  without  force  of  character.  In 
this  whole  affair,  he  played  the  role  of  a  pliable  instru- 
ment, and  lent  himself  readily  to  whatever  was  required 
of  him.  If  he  had  reached  the  White  House,  it  is 
probable  that  he  would  have  been  a  President  without 
firmness,  floating  in  all  currents  and  turning  in  all 
eddies. 

For  those  who  were  studying  the  signs  of  the  times, 
the  State  elections  during  the  month  of  September  and 
October  indicated  already  the  result  of  the  presidential 
election.  Vermont,  Maine,  Ohio,  Indiana,  Pennsylvania, 
all  gave  considerable  majorities  to  the  Republican  can- 
didate. Even  Maryland  voted  on  that  side.  The  allies 
of  the  South,  brought  to  their  last  resources,  then  had 
recourse  to  desperate  manoeuvres.  On  October  19,  a 
band  of  robbers,  in  their  interest,  made  an  irruption  from 
Canada,  and  carried  off  the  money  from  the  bank  of 
St.  Albans,  in  Vermont.  A  conspiracy  was  organized 
in  the  North  to  overturn  the  administration  by  violence. 
The  leaders,  who  belonged  to  the  peace  Democrats, 
were  arrested,  and  the  plot  failed,  not  without  making 
it  necessary  to  send  General  Butler  to  New  York  with 
troops  from  his  army,  to  prevent  any  disorder,  and 
assure  full  liberty  to  vote  on  election  day. 

At  last  the  8th  of  November  arrived.  Never  did 
greater  quietness  mark  a  more  important  election. 
Every  citizen  voted  freely  as  he  wished,  and  the  result 
was  that  Mr.  Lincoln  was  reelected  President  by  the 
vote  of  all  the  States  but  three  :  New  Jersey,  Delaware, 
and  Kentucky,  who  gave  to  General  McClellan  the  alms 
of  a  few  votes.  The  majority  of  Mr.  Lincoln  on  the 
popular  vote  was  the  largest  that  any  President  had 


682        FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

ever  received  before  him.  It  amounted  to  more  than 
four  hundred  thousand  votes. 

The  army  furnished  an  important  contingent ;  among 
the  officers  and  soldiers,  those  only  took  part  in  the 
election  whom  the  laws  of  their  States  authorized  to 
vote.  No  attempt  of  any  kind  was  made  to  influence 
the  soldiers  on  the  part  of  the  government.  The  only 
efforts  at  proselyting  came  from  the  Democratic  party, 
who  sent  electoral  agents  to  us,  with  their  pockets 
stuffed  with  printed  bulletins  in  favor  of  McClellan,  and 
appeals  "  for  our  old  general."  But  these  efforts  were 
generally  poorly  received,  and  sometimes  the  reception 
accorded  to  the  apostles  of  the  Chicago  profession  of 
faith  was  of  a  kind  to  disgust  them  with  their  mission. 

Such  was  the  case  of  one  of  the  too  zealous  preachers 
while  I  was  temporarily  commanding  the  division.  He 
had  come  to  the  army  on  a  pass  from  the  Governor  of 
Connecticut.  An  unhappy  inspiration  led  him  to  my 
headquarters,  where  he  found  shelter  under  the  chap- 
lain's tent,  and  was  entertained  at  the  officers'  table. 
He  soon  unmasked  his  batteries  by  making  seditious  re- 
marks before  the  members  of  the  staff.  Repulsed  in 
this  quarter,  he  tried  his  fortune  among  the  soldiers  of 
the  provost-guard,  to  whom  he  held  forth  in  language  so 
grossly  insulting  to  the  President  of  the  Republic,  and 
so  transparent  in  its  encouragement  for  treason,  that 
his  auditors  seized  him  and  took  him  to  their  captain. 
On  hearing  the  cause,  Captain  Brennan  shut  up  the 
orator  in  the  stockade,  which  was  used  for  a  prison,  in 
order  that  an  autumn  night  passed  in  the  open  air 
might  calm  the  intemperance  of  his  zeal.  The  next 
morning,  the  Democratic  commercial  traveller  was  hur- 
ried off  to  the  provost-marshal  of  the  army,  who  re- 
turned him  to  Washington,  doubtless  very  much  dis- 
gusted with  the  result  of  his  electoral  excursion. 


THE    BEGINNING    OF   THE    END.  683 

In  the  Army  of  the  Potomac,  the  vote  was  seven  to 
one  in  favor  of  Lincoln.  The  Western  armies  gave 
him  a  still  greater  majority.  In  my  brigade,  only  one 
regiment,  the  Fortieth  New  York,  gave  to  McClellan  a 
number  of  votes  worth  noting.  Among  all  the  others 
he  obtained  only  an  inconsiderable  minority.  The  Sev- 
enteenth Maine  voted  unanimously  against  him. 

The  people  welcomed  the  result  of  the  election  as  the 
beginning  of  the  end,  and  the  allies  of  the  rebellion  were 
cast  down  by  the  blow. 

To  the  rebels  themselves  the  stroke  was  terrible. 
The  success  of  the  Chicago  candidate  was  their  last 
hope,  spes  lUtima  Trojce !  We  had  heard  from  their 
lines  the  cry,  "  Hurrah  for  McClellan  !  "  Which,  as 
may  be  thought,  did  not  increase  the  popularity  of  the 
Democratic  candidate  among  us.  On  such  occasions, 
our  men  replied  by  a  unanimous  shout,  "  Hurrah  for 
Lincoln  !  "     A  bad  sign  for  our  adversaries. 

Three  days  before  election,  they  attempted  a  noctur- 
nal coup  de  mam,  whose  success  —  if  it  were  successful 
—  would  at  the  last  moment  spur  up  the  zeal  of  their 
allies  in  the  North.  The  plan  was  divulged  in  some 
way  or  other,  for  on  the  5th  of  November,  between  nine 
and  ten  o'clock  in  the  evening,  I  received  orders  to  put 
my  brigade  under  arms  and  form  in  line,  behind  the 
works,  my  five  regiments  in  reserve.  Towards  mid- 
night, there  suddenly  broke  forth  a  violent  firing  at  my 
right,  which  extended  along  the  front  of  my  pickets. 
The  artillery  opened  fire  immediately  on  both  sides  ; 
the  cannon  lighted  up  the  lines  by  the  flashing  of  their 
fire,  and  the  mortars  streaked  the  heavens  with  a  shower 
of  falling  stars.  It  was  Hampton's  legion,  composed  of 
South  Carolina  troops,  which  threw  itself  on  the  posi- 
tion occupied  by  our  Third  Brigade.  The  sudden  im- 
petus of  the  attack  carried  at  first  our  rifle-pits  and  a 


684       FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

little  part  of  the  works  ;  but,  before  the  assailants  could 
effect  a  lodgement,  MacAllister  was  upon  them  with  two 
or  three  of  his  regiments.  An  obstinate  although  short 
combat  ensued.  The  enemy,  beaten  back,  regained  his 
lines  as  soon  as  possible,  leaving  in  our  hands  fifty 
or  more  prisoners,  and  a  number  of  dead  and  wounded 
on  the  ground.  The  abortive  attack  cost  Lee  one  hun- 
dred and  fifty  to  two  hundred  men,  and  did  not  gain  a 
vote  for  McClellan. 

From  and  after  the  reelection  of  Lincoln,  the  number 
of  desertions  from  the  Confederate  ranks  sensibly  in- 
creased. Many  came  into  our  lines  ;  many  others  took 
every  occasion  to  abandon  the  army  and  secretly  return 
home.  In  order  to  pursue  and  bring  back  an  army  of 
refractory  soldiers  and  deserters,  the  Richmond  govern- 
ment had  to  distribute  pretty  much  every  where  another 
army  of  military  employes,  which  was  necessarily  a 
source  of  weakness.  At  a  number  of  points,  and  es- 
pecially in  North  Carolina,  the  deserters  went  back  into 
the  mountains  armed,  where  the  rebel  government  did 
not  dare  to  search  for  them.  They  lived  there  until  the 
end  of  the  war  at  the  expense  of  the  inhabitants,  upon 
whom  they  levied  contributions  without  mercy,  organ- 
ized in  numerous  bands  resembling  brigands  rather  than 
soldiers.  We  may  well  think  that  the  rural  populations 
whom  they  victimized  were  thoroughly  disgusted  with 
the  Southern  Confederacy. 

The  only  bonds  of  cohesion  which  henceforth  kept 
together  the  armies  of  Hood  before  Sherman  and  the 
army  of  Lee  in  front  of  Meade  was  that  of  discipline 
and  the  point  of  honor  of  fidelity  to  the  flag.  In  neither 
army  did  any  illusion  prevail  as  to  the  near  result  of  the 
war. 

Mahone's  division,  composed  principally  of  troops 
from  Florida^  Alabama,  and   Mississippi,  among  whom 


THE    BEGINNING    OF   THE    END.  685 

desertions  were  most  frequent,  was  replaced  before 
Fort  Hell  by  the  Carolinians  and  Virginians  of  Ander- 
son, who  inspired  more  confidence.  These  movements 
gave  rise  to  repeated  rumors  that  the  evacuation  of 
Petersburg  was  liable  to  happen  at  any  moment.  The 
deserters  themselves  appeared  to  believe  this,  so  that 
vigilance  was  redoubled  everywhere.  On  several  occa- 
sions the  army  was  put  under  arms  during  the  night, 
ready  to  start  in  pursuit  of  the  enemy  on  the  first  infor- 
mation as  to  the  abandonment  of  the  lines. 

It  is  quite  possible  that  General  Lee  thought  of 
leaving.  But,  if  he  did  have  the  idea,  he  felt  that  he 
was  watched  too  closely  to  be  able  to  put  it  into  execu- 
tion without  running  the  risk  of  irreparable  disaster. 
So  that  he  remained  unto  the  end  fast  in  his  position, 
pressed  more  and  more,  but  always  opposing  an  obsti- 
nate resistance,  while  the  breezes  from  the  west  brought 
to  him  the  sounds  of  the  crushing  defeats,  in  the  midst 
of  which  Hood's  army  melted  away. 

'General  Grant  had  wisely  judged  when  he  had  said 
that  the  Confederacy  was  but  an  empty  shell,  whose 
whole  resistance  was  on  the  outside.  Before  the  end  of 
the  year  it  came  to  pass  that  the  shell  was  crushed  on 
one  side  and  somewhat  broken  on  the  other. 

It  was,  then,  with  good  heart  and  with  good  appetite 
that  the  Army  of  the  Potomac  celebrated  Thanksgiving 
day,  for  which  the  population  of  several  States  had  sent 
from  New  York  cargoes  of  provisions  of  every  kind. 
The  City  Point  railroad  brought  us  mountains  of  eata- 
bles, fowls  of  all  kinds,  pastry  of  all  sorts,  preserves  of 
every  nature.  Turkeys  and  the  traditional  plum  pud- 
dings figured  there  above  all  in  sumptuous  abundance, 
many  having  on  them  the  card  with  the  name  of  the 
giver.  Sheridan's  and  Butler's  armies  were  included  in 
this  act  of  popular  generosity,  so  well  arranged  that 


686       FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

there  was  not,  from  the  banks  of  the  Potomac  to  those 
of  the  James  and  Appomattox,  a  soldier  who  did  not 
share  in  the  feast. 

These  details  may  appear  insignificant  to  those  who 
have  not  been  through  the  trials  of  war,  and  have  never 
had  a  place  left  vacant  at  their  firesides  for  one  absent 
under  the  flag  ;  but  those  who  have  campaigned  at  a 
distance  for  several  years  will  understand  the  signifi- 
cance of  these  tokens  of  remembrance,  sent  by  the  fam- 
ily of  the  poor  as  well  as  of  the  rich,  to  the  soldiers  who 
were  fighting  for  the  common  cause.  They  will  not 
be  astonished  that  the  gift  filled  our  hearts  with  thank- 
fulness. 


CHAPTER   XXXIII. 


THE  LAST  WINTER. 


General  Humphreys  —A  raid  to  the  south  of  Virginia  —  Cloth  pontoons- 
How  a  railroad  is  destroyed —A  winter's  night— Exodus  of  negroes  — 
Murder  punished  by  fire  —  Military  executions  —  Renewed  operations 
on  Hatcher's  Run  —  Last  extension  of  our  lines  —  General  Grant's 
chessboard  —  Sherman's  march  —  Victories  in  Tennessee  —  Cavalry 
raids — Capture  of  Fort  Fisher  —  Schofield  in  North  Carolina  — 
Sherman's  arrival  at  Goldsborough  —  Sheridan  at  work  —  His  return 
to  the  Army  of  the  Potomac. 

November  26,  General  Humphreys  took  command  of 
the  Second  Corps,  succeeding  General  Hancock.  His 
name  has  already  appeared  in  our  narrative,  principally 
in  giving  the  account  of  the  battles  of  Fredericksburg 
and  Gettysburg,  where  he  played  a  conspicuous  part  in 
very  critical  circumstances.  Since  then  General  Meade 
had  attached  him  to  his  headquarters  as  chief  of  staff, 
a  position  more  useful  than  brilliant.  The  command  of 
a  corps  exhibited  much  better  his  qualities  as  a  soldier, 
and  if  it  was  an  advantage  to  him  to  have  us  under  his 
orders,  it  was  a  good  fortune  to  us  to  have  him  for  a 
commander. 

General  Humphreys  bore  little  resemblance  to  his 
predecessor.  Physically,  he  was  rather  small  and  some- 
what spare.  His  head  is  that  of  a  thinker  and  worker. 
The  habit  of  observation  has  developed  in  his  face  the 
impression  of  a  natural  keenness,  the  expression  of 
which  gives  emphasis  to  his  language  when  he  speaks, 
and  his  silence  when  he  listens.  His  manners  are  sim- 
ple, pleasant,  and  with  no  shade  of  affectation.  Never 
did  any  man  in  his  position  think  less  of  being  valued 

687 


688       FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

Otherwise  than  by  his  services.  Thus,  in  his  conversa- 
tion, devoid  of  useless  v^rords,  it  was  generally  felt  that 
he  ordinarily  kept  back  more  than  he  uttered. 

He  was  an  officer  of  the  greatest  merit,  belonging  to 
the  corps  of  engineers.  While  acting  as  such,  having 
charge  before  the  war  of  a  scientific  survey  of  the  course 
and  the  mouths  of  the  Mississippi,  he  wrote  a  treatise 
on  the  subject  so  remarkable  that  Congress  had  it 
printed,  and  it  is  to-day  a  source  of  valuable  information 
for  the  world  of  science. 

As  commander  of  a  corps,  his  clearness  of  perception 
and  the  perspicacity  of  his  coup  d'ceil  were  powerfully 
aided  by  a  perfect  coolness  under  fire.  His  calm 
bravery  and  insensibility  to  danger  left  him  always  in 
full  possession  of  his  faculties.  The  only  thing  which 
could  affect  his  self-possession  was  an  unexecuted  order 
or  movement  badly  carried  out  in  time  of  action.  Then 
he  broke  forth  so  much  the  more  violently  in  that  ordi- 
narily his  feelings  were  restrained.  To  give  vent  to  it, 
the  general  had  recourse  to  flaming  outbreaks  in  which 
all  the  vigor  known  or  unknown  of  the  English  lan- 
guage burst  forth  like  a  bomb.  After  which,  mani- 
festly relieved,  he  resumed  his  usual  calm  demeanor. 
The  atmosphere  became  serene  again  ;  the  storm  had 
passed.  And,  to  conclude,  General  Humphreys  was 
recognizable  among  all  the  officers  of  the  army  by  a 
narrow  necktie,  of  a  brilliant  red,  which  he  always  wore. 

Our  new  chief  had  scarcely  taken  command  when  we 
left  Fort  Hell  and  its  vicinity,  this  time  to  return  no 
more.  We  changed  position  with  the  Ninth  Corps,  and 
our  three  divisions  were  placed  on  the  extreme  left, 
around  the  Peeble's  house.  It  was  December  i,  and 
winter  had  already  announced  its  presence  by  several 
hard  frosts.  The  men  set  to  work  like  beavers  to  build 
winter  huts.     Labor  lost.     On  the  7th,  our  division  was 


THE    LAST    WINTER.  689 

on  the  road  with  the  Fifth  Corps,  for  an  expedition 
commanded  by  General  Warren.  We  carried  six  days' 
rations,  and  a  hundred  rounds  per  man.  We  took  very 
little  besides  ;  the  ambulances  alone  followed  the  col- 
umn, with  a  few  ammunition  wagons  and  a  few  wagons 
for  the  commissary  stores.  As  usual,  Gregg's  cavalry 
was  with  us. 

I  will  not  say  that  we  left  our  new  quarters  without 
regret,  before  having  used  them  ;  but  all  traces  of  an- 
noyance vanished  with  the  dispersion  of  the  morning 
fog,  especially  when  it  became  evident  that,  instead  of  a 
new  extension  of  the  lines  to  the  left,  we  were  to  make 
an  excursion  to  a  new  part  of  the  country.  The  weather 
had  become  more  mild ;  it  was  one  of  those  autumn 
days  in  which  it  is  a  pleasure  to  march,  and  the  spirit  is 
exuberant.  We  turned  our  backs  on  Petersburg,  which 
was  not  unpleasant  to  us  ;  we  advanced  into  a  country 
in  which  the  marks  of  war  showed  less  and  less,  and 
which  had  the  charm  of  novelty  to  us.  Here  is  a  line, 
however,  marked  out  across  the  road  with  little  piles  of 
fences  in  front  as  posts  for  skirmishers.  This  is  where 
the  Third  Brigade,  marching  to  the  aid  of  Hancock  at 
Ream's  Station,  received  an  order,  through  a  mistake, 
to  halt.  Here  we  are  at  the  woods  where  the  dis- 
mounted cavalry  delayed  as  well  as  they  could  the 
advance  of  the  rebels,  while  further  along  Miles  re- 
formed the  disordered  infantry.  We  passed  beyond  the 
scene  of  conflict  ;  we  met  no  more  reminders ;  we  are 
in  a  new  region. 

At  sunset  we  had  made  twenty  miles,  and  had  not 
met  the  enemy.  In  front  of  us  was  the  Nottoway,  a 
small  river,  quite  deep,  and  running  in  capricious  wind- 
ings, under  the  shade  of  great  trees,  bordered  by  wide 
fields.  A  little  further  along  there  had  been  a  bridge, 
but  the  cavalry  had  just  set   it  on  fire,  according  to 


690       FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

orders,  and  Warren  himself  overlooked  the  laying  of 
cloth  pontoons,  to  enable  us  to  cross  to  the  further  bank 
before  night. 

I  do  not  remember  to  have  spoken  about  these  cloth 
pontoons,  so  easily  transported  and  so  useful  on  expedi- 
tions where  streams  are  met  with.  They  are  cut  out 
and  sewed  together  in  the  form  o^  a  flat-boat.  In  order 
to  use  them,  the  cloth  is  stretched  over  a  frame-work  of 
wood,  which  can  be  put  together  and  taken  apart  easily. 
When  in  the  water,  they  carry  the  flooring  for  a  bridge 
as  well  as  the  wood  pontoons  ;  nothing  being  easier  than 
to  empty  from  time  to  time  the  little  water  soaking 
through  them.  When  we  move  on,  the  framework  is 
taken  to  pieces,  the  cloth  rolled  up,  and  everything  put 
into  boxes,  much  lighter  and  easier  to  transport  than 
the  ordinary  pontoons,  which  require  a  strong  team  for 
each  boat. 

Our  second  day's  march  led  us  by  the  court  house  of 
Sussex  County  and  the  village  called  Commans'  Well, 
near  Jarrett's  Station  on  the  Weldon  railroad.  That 
was  the  goal  of  our  expedition. 

The  railroad  not  having  been  destroyed  beyond 
Ream's  Station,  the  enemy  had  found  means  to  make  it 
still  quite  useful.  His  wagons  followed  out  the  Boydton 
road,  and  reached  the  end  of  the  railroad  by  crossroads, 
where  they  were  able  to  load  up  with  supplies.  These 
wagon  trains,  which  were  under  protection  of  their  cav- 
alry, were  of  great  help  to  them.  Our  mission  was  to 
put  an  end  to  this  trafflc.  This  is  why  we  pushed  south 
so  rapidly.  We  came  to  destroy  twenty  miles  of  railroad 
at  such  a  distance  from  Petersburg  that  henceforth  it 
would  be  impossible  for  the  enemy  to  get  supplies  from 
this  source. 

The  work    of    destruction  commenced  immediately. 
The  cavalry  set  about  it  by  moonlight  ;  then  the  divis- 


THE    LAST   WINTER.  69 1 

ions  of  the  Fifth  Corps  took  up  the  work  the  latter  half 
of  the  night.  In  the  morning  we  took  our  turn.  The 
work  was  performed  as  follows :  The  whole  division 
formed  in  line  of  battle,  without  intervals,  along  the  rail- 
road, and  stacked  arms.  The  soldiers  then  ranged 
along  the  side  of  the  rails.  At  the  command,  ready, 
every  man  bent  over  and  seized  the  end  of  the  tie  in 
front  of  him  with  both  hands.  At  the  second  command, 
the  first  regiment  near  a  break  or  end  raises  with  a 
common  effort  the  ties  and  rails.  All  the  others  do  the 
same  thing  successively,  and  the  iron  road,  with  its  sup- 
port, is  raised  up  on  one  side  and  overturned,  rolling 
along  like  a  long  ribbon.  That  done,  the  rails  are 
broken  apart,  and  the  ties  piled  up  in  square  heaps. 
On  each  pile,  filled  in  with  dry  wood  and  brushwood, 
five  or  six  rails  are  placed  across  each  other,  and  then 
the  pile  is  set  on  fire.  The  intense  heat  softens  the 
iron,  which  soon  bends  by  the  weight  of  its  two  un- 
supported ends,  and  the  rails,  being  no  longer  square, 
cannot  be  used  again  until  rerolled. 

All  this  was  very  quickly  done.  In  less  than  twenty- 
four  hours,  we  destroyed  in  this  manner  about  twenty 
miles  of  railroad,  although  a  part  of  the  troops  remained 
always  under  arms,  to  receive  the  enemy  if  he  should 
present  himself.  On  drawing  near  Hicksford,  the 
enemy's  cavalry  was  met.  But  it  was  not  in  any  great 
force,  and  was  driven  to  the  other  side  of  the  Meherin, 
where  the  destruction  of  the  railroad  ceased.  The  ex- 
pedition having  fully  succeeded.  General  Warren  gave 
orders  to  return  the  next  morning. 

I  shall  long  remember  that  night.  The  rain,  which 
had  begun  to  fall  in  the  evening,  soon  changed  to  sleet, 
and  the  ground  was  covered  with  a  coat  of  ice,  thicken- 
ing from  hour  to  hour. 

The  trees  bent  and  the  branches  were  broken  under 


692       FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

the  weight.  The  wind,  cold  and  damp,  groaned 
amongst  the  pines  like  a  complaint  from  suffering 
nature.  The  temperature  lowered  still  more  before 
morning,  and,  finally,  a  sun  pale  and  as  though  himself 
frozen  shone  over  a  landscape  of  sugar  candy.  It  was 
as  beautiful  as  an  opera  decoration,  and  fantastic  as  a 
fairy  tale,  but  exceedingly  uncomfortable.  Those  who 
involuntarily  stood  around  on  the  ice  or  sunk  in  the 
mud-holes  were  not  much  disposed  to  admire  the  mar- 
vellous delicacy  of  the  twigs  under  their  transparent 
envelope.  Other  incidents,  moreover,  occurred  to  with- 
draw all  minds  from  the  contemplation  of  nature. 

During  our  march  on  Hicksford,  the  negroes  of  the 
country  around  were  on  the  alert,  and,  foreseeing  our 
return,  had  packed  up  their  clothes,  made  ready  some 
provisions,  and  prepared  for  flight.  They  had  vedettes 
out  to  watch  for  our  appearance,  so  that,  as  soon  as  the 
column  was  put  in  motion  to  return  to  Petersburg,  they 
began  to  join  us  from  all  sides.  They  came  in  bands, 
bundles  over  the  shoulder,  the  young  assisting  the  old, 
the  children  in  their  mothers'  arms,  and  in  the  gayest 
costumes.  To  do  honor  to  their  liberators,  they  had 
put  on  whatever  their  incongruous  wardrobes  contained 
that  was  finest.  All  the  fashions  which  had  obtained 
for  two  generations  were  represented.  There  was  the 
Bolivar  hat,  with  large  wings,  and  the  stove-pipe,  with 
almost  imperceptible  brim  ;  the  frock  coat  of  the  time 
of  the  Restoration,  and  the  coat  with  the  codfish  tail, 
of  the  reign  of  Louis  Philippe  ;  the  pantaloon  a  la  hus- 
sarde,  and  the  knee-breeches  ;  boots  and  pumps  ;  the 
wool  blouse  and  the  ruffled  shirt.  Among  the  women, 
the  hoops  of  the  second  empire  were  displayed  along- 
side the  narrow  scabbard  of  the  first  ;  printed  calico 
and  white  muslin.  And  what  hats  !  and  what  caps ! 
and  flowers,  and  even  feathers  !     An  improvised  carni- 


THE    LAST   WINTER.  693 

val  in  the  woods  of  Virginia.  When  the  rations  were 
distributed,  there  was  room  for  the  children  and  old 
aunties  in  the  quartermaster's  wagons.  (The  female 
slaves  were  never  recognized  as  wives  or  mothers,  since 
they  were  not  married,  and  their  children  belonged  to 
the  master.  For  the  same  reason,  the  negroes  never 
rose  above  the  dignity  of  2tncle.  Uncle  Tom  ;  Aunt 
Sarah.)  Every  one  who  was  well  and  young  followed 
on  foot. 

Now,  after  the  comedy  comes  the  tragedy. 

At  Sussex  Court  House,  the  rumor  spread  among 
the  troops  that  the  farmers  round  about  were  acting  as 
guerillas,  riding  around  our  vicinity  to  pick  up  strag- 
glers, and  that  a  number  of  the  latter  had  been  mur- 
dered in  the  farmhouses.  The  information  was  brought 
to  us  by  negroes,  who  offered  to  prove  it  by  leading  us 
to  different  places  where  the  victims  had  been  secretly 
buried  during  the  night.  Detachments  were  sent  out 
to  verify  the  facts,  which  were  found  to  be  true.  They 
found  the  bodies,  the  throat  cut,  the  head  crushed  in 
by  blows  of  an  axe,  and  the  breast  pierced  by  a  knife. 
The  punishment  began  at  the  same  hour.  The  court 
house  was  burned,  with  the  neighboring  buildings  ; 
then  the  plantation  of  a  rebel  colonel,  on  which  three 
of  our  men  had  been  assassinated  ;  also  a  number  of 
others  along  our  road,  including  the  barns  and  cotton- 
gins,  and  the  haystacks  standing  in  the  fields.  Noth- 
ing was  left  except  the  negro  huts  to  serve  as  shelter  to 
the  families  of  the  murderers.  The  last  destruction 
was  that  of  a  large  tavern  near  Nottoway,  where  gue- 
rillas were  concealed  in  the  cellar. 

The  next  day,  during  a  glacial  cold,  in  the  rear  of 
our  lines,  we  made  our  camp,  where  we  were  to  pass  a 
part  of  the  winter. 

This  time  of  repose  was  noted  only  for  the  frequent 


694       FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

military  executions  amongst  the  substitutes,  who  made 
a  speculation  of  desertion,  after  having  pocketed  the 
bounty.  In  some  divisions  they  hanged  them,  as  un- 
worthy to  die  the  death  of  a  soldier.  General  Miles 
kept  the  gibbet  erected  for  a  long  time  before  his  head- 
quarters, as  a  warning  to  all  parties.  In  our  division, 
two  men  only  were  shot,  and  each  time  a  temporary 
absence  of  General  Mott  left  to  me  the  disagreeable 
duty  of  presiding  at  the  ceremony. 

These  matters  are  arranged  in  the  United  States 
very  much  as  they  are  in  France.  The  three  brigades, 
drawn  up  in  two  lines,  form  the  three  sides  of  a  square, 
the  fourth  side  of  which  is  reserved  for  the  execution. 
These  arrangements  made,  the  first  line  faces  to  the  rear, 
and  the  condemned  marches  between  the  two  ranks, 
preceded  by  the  music,  which  plays  a  funeral  march. 
The  provost  guard  acts  as  an  escort,  and  bears  before 
him  the  coffin  in  which  his  dead  body  will  presently  be 
placed.  The  platoon  detached  for  the  executipn  closes 
the  column.  When  it  has  passed,  the  first  line  faces 
about. 

The  funeral  procession  conducts  the  condemned  to 
the  edge  of  the  grave,  already  dug.  After  the  reading 
of  the  sentence,  repeated  at  the  same  time  in  front  of 
each  regiment,  by  the  adjutant,  the  condemned  is 
seated,  with  his  eyes  blindfolded,  upon  a  board  at  the 
foot  of  his  open  coffin,  into  which  he  falls  backward  when 
shot  at  the  signal  given  by  the  provost-marshal.  If  he 
still  breathes,  two  shots  are  held  in  reserve,  which  are 
fired  at  the  same  time,  one  at  the  head  and  one  at 
the  heart. 

The  troops  are  then  formed  in  column  to  march  be- 
fore the  body,  and  the  music,  which  a  moment  before 
was  a  plaintive  lamentation,  in  a  minor  key,  passes 
without  a  halt  to  a  major  key,  playing  gayly  the  allegro 


THE    LAST    WINTER.  695 

for  a  quickstep.  In  war,  no  more  time  is  given  up  to 
sentiment  than  is  absolutely  necessary. 

The  remainder  of  the  winter  passed  away  without 
bringing  us  any  other  event  of  note  except  a  second 
attempt  against  the  enemy's  right  and  the  Lynchburg 
railroad.  The  operation  was  scarcely  more  than  a  rep- 
etition of  the  one  which  had  failed  in  October,  except 
that  the  posts  were  differently  distributed.  This  time 
the  Fifth  Corps  was  on  the  turning  wing,  and  the  Sec- 
ond at  the  centre  of  the  line. 

On  February  5,  we  started  early  in  the  morning,  by 
the  Vaughan  road.  General  Humphreys  was  ordered  to 
force  the  passage  of  Hatcher's  Run.  The  cavalry  not 
having  succeeded  in  doing  it,  I  waS  charged  with  the 
duty.  The  Second  Division,  which  was  in  advance, 
halted  to  let  my  brigade  pass  and  take  position  on 
the  right.  On  arriving  at  the  creek,  I  found  some 
unimportant  works,  behind  which  the  rebels  were 
posted  in  small  numbers.  But  the  ford  had  been 
destroyed,  and  the  bed  of  the  creek  so  encumbered  with 
obstacles  that  it  was  impossible  for  the  horses  and  diffi- 
cult for  the  men  to  surmount  them.  While  my  sharp- 
shooters occupied  the  enemy  in  front,  I  crossed  on  foot 
over  the  barriers  of  the  dam,  with  two  of  my  regiments, 
the  Ninety-ninth  and  the  One  Hundred  and  Tenth  Penn- 
sylvania, and  the  position  was  carried  on  the  run.  My 
other  regiments  immediately  joined  me,  while  the  pio- 
neers made  a  temporary  bridge  for  the  cavalry  and  artil- 
lery. The  enemy  was  then  pursued  beyond  the  sawmill 
road  by  ^he  Fortieth  New  York,  and  the  One  Hundred 
and  Fifth  Pennsylvania  (placed  temporarily  under  my 
orders).  With  the  remainder  of  my  brigade,  I  rapidly 
threw  up  a  semi-circular  line  of  intrenchments,  covering 
at  once  the  Vaughan  road  and  that  leading  to  Arm- 
strong's mill  on  the  Run. 


696       FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

We  worked  with  a  will,  and  the  Second  Brigade 
lengthened  the  line  upon  my  left  to  make  connection 
with  the  Fifth  Corps,  which  had  not  yet  appeared  when 
the  enemy  made  a  violent  attack  between  the  Third 
Brigade  and  the  Second  Division,  at  that  time  com- 
manded by  General  Smythe.  This  was,  as  we  have 
seen,  his  favorite  method.  Profiting  very  cunningly  by 
his  knowledge  of  the  smallest  accidents  of  the  ground, 
and  of  the  groping  manner  of  moving,  to  which  the 
nature  of  the  country,  covered  with  woods  and  swamps, 
compelled  us,  he  would  throw  himself  into  some  interval 
left  open  carelessly  or  necessarily.  Then,  attacking 
vigorously  the  isolated  portion  of  our  troops,  he  struck 
it  on  the  flank,  and  too  often  succeeded  in  rolling  it  up 
in  disorder  as  far  as  he  could  go  without  being  stopped. 
This  was  exactly  what  had  taken  place  on  October  27. 
On  this  occasion,  however,  the  manoeuvre  was  far  from 
obtaining  the  same  success.  Between  Smythe  and 
MacAUister,  the  assailants  were  so  roughly  received 
that,  after  returning  to  the  charge  several  times,  they 
retired  discomfited  to  their  intrenchments,  without 
having  been  able  to  break  our  line  at  any  point.  So 
that  General  Humphreys  remained  master,  with  two  of 
his  divisions,  of  all  the  ground  which  he  had  been 
ordered  to  occupy. 

On  the  next  day  the  Fifth  Corps  did  not  do  so  well. 
Warren,  in  developing  his  movement,  more  extended 
than  that  of  Hancock,  struck  against  considerable  rebel 
forces.  Crawford's  division  was  driven  back  in  disorder 
on  Ayres,  who  had  the  same  fate.  The  intrenchments 
we  had  thrown  up  the  evening  before  were  of  great 
help  in  reforming  his  troops  and  stopping  the  enemy, 
who  otherwise  might  have  driven  us  back  to  the  other 
side  of  the  creek. 

The  remainder  of  the  month  of  February  was  devoted 


THE    LAST   WINTER.  697 

to  Strongly  intrenching  the  captured  position,  and  cov- 
ering it  with  an  immense  abatis,  stretching  out  to  our 
picket  line,  a  breadth  of  a  thousand  to  twelve  hundred 
yards  ;  and,  finally,  in  preparing  to  strike  the  decisive 
blow  when  the  moment  should  arrive.  All  this  brought 
us  to  the  25th  of  March. 

But,  while  holding  the  Army  of  the  Potomac  in  com- 
parative inactivity.  General  Grant  was  only  taking  his 
measures  to  beat  down  the  Southern  Confederacy  into 
such  a  ruin  that  nothing  would  remain  standing  after 
the  fall  of  Petersburg  and  Richmond.  From  his  head- 
quarters at  City  Point,  he  directed  the  operations  of  the 
armies  simultaneously  and  at  all  points.  Electricity  and 
steam  were  at  his  disposal  to  transmit  his  orders  in  all 
directions,  and,  upon  the  immense  chessboard  of  the 
war,  he  moved  his  pieces  with  an  ensemble  whose  com- 
binations must  end  in  checkmate. 

We  left  Sherman  at  Atlanta,  which  he  entered  victo- 
riously on  September  2.  In  the  original  plan  conceived 
by  General  Grant,  this  important  place  was  to  be  the 
base  of  an  expedition  across  Georgia,  supposing  that 
Hood's  army  should  continue  to  fall  back  in  that  direc- 
tion. But  it  happened  quite  otherwise,  the  rebels  hav- 
ing turned  back  to  the  North,  in  order  to  force  Sherman 
to  retrace  his  steps  on  the  long  line  of  communication 
which  he  had  to  defend  as  far  as  Chattanooga.  Sher- 
man pursued  them  at  first  without  abandoning  Atlanta  ; 
but,  soon  comprehending  that  the  defence  of  so  extended 
a  line  would  infallibly  paralyze  the  execution  of  the  pro- 
jected plan,  he  conceived  the  bold  idea  of  freeing  him- 
self from  every  fetter,  by  leaving  the  protection  of 
Tennessee  to  General  Thomas,  and  himself  advancing 
through  the  heart  of  Georgia,  independent  of  all  base 
of  operations  and  supplies.  On  October  11,  he  tele- 
graphed to  General  Grant  :  — 


698       FOUR   YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

"  Hood  is  now  on  the  river  Coosa,  to  the  south  of 
Rome.  He  has  pushed  an  army  corps  on  to  my  road  at 
Acworth,  and  I  have  been  compelled  to  follow  him.  I 
hold  Atlanta  with  the  Twentieth  Corps,  and  I  have 
strong  detachments  along  my  line,  which  reduces  my 
active  force  to  a  comparatively  small  army.  We  cannot 
remain  here  on  the  defensive.  With  his  twenty-five 
thousand  men,  and  the  daring  cavalry  which  he  has,  the 
enemy  can  always  cut  my  railroad.  I  would  infinitely 
prefer  to  make  a  ruin  of  the  road  and  the  country  from 
Chattanooga  to  Atlanta,  including  the  latter  city,  send 
back  my  wounded  and  my  sick,  and,  with  my  active  army, 
march  across  Georgia  to  the  sea,  desolating  everything. 
Hood  may  march  upon  Tennessee  and  Kentucky  ;  but 
I  believe  that  he  will  be  compelled  to  follow  me.  In- 
stead of  being  on  the  defensive,  I  will  have  the  offen- 
sive ;  instead  of  trying  to  guess  what  he  intends  to  do, 
he  will  have  to  guess  my  plans.  This  is  in  war  a  full 
difference  of  twenty-five  per  cent.  I  may  reach  Savan- 
nah, Charleston,  or  the  mouth  of  the  Chattahoochee." 

Grant  had  foreseen  Hood's  movements,  and,  the  same 
day,  before  receiving  Sherman's  despatch,  had  predicted 
that  if  he  cut  loose  from  Atlanta  he  would  find  nothing 
before  him  but  the  old  men,  children,  and  the  troops 
left  for  railroad  guard.  "  Hood  will  probably  march  on 
Nashville,  with  the  idea  that  by  advancing  to  the  North 
he  can  do  us  more  harm  than  we  can  do  the  rebels  by 
penetrating  the  South."  The  lieutenant-general  would 
have  preferred  that  an  end  should  have  been  made  of  Hood 
first,  in  the  fear  that  Thomas  was  not  strong  enough  to 
stop  him.  But,  on  receipt  of  the  telegram,  he  replied, 
"  If  you  are  convinced  that  the  march  to  the  sea  can  be 
made  while  holding  firmly  the  line  of  the  Tennessee 
River,  you  may  make  it,  destroying  the  whole  line  of 
railroad  south  of  Dalton  or  Chattanooga  if  you  think  it 


THE    LAST    WINTER. 


699 


best."  Between  Atlanta  and  City  Point  the  correspond- 
ence was  exchanged  in  less  than  an  hour.  It  would 
have  taken  longer  for  a  mounted  orderly  to  carry  an 
order  from  one  end  of  our  lines  before  Petersburg  to 
the  other. 

Sherman  set  to  work  immediately  to  complete  the 
necessary  preparations.  He  sent  General  Schofield 
with  the  Fourth  and  the  Twenty-third  Corps  to  join 
General  Thomas,  in  order  to  make  him  fully  able  to 
defend  Tennessee,  reserving  to  himself  four  other 
corps  and  a  division  of  cavalry.  He  cut  and  demolished 
the  whole  network  of  railroad  terminating  at  Atlanta ; 
he  delivered  to  the  flames  all  the  depots,  magazines, 
material,  and  public  property  of  every  sort  contained  in 
the  city,  and,  on  November  14,  by  the  light  of  this  con- 
flagration, he  began  that  famous  march  which  will 
always  be  known  in  history  as  "  Sherman's  march  to  the 
sea."  His  army  plunged  into  the  heart  of  the  South, 
like  a  caravan  into  the  depths  of  the  desert ;  the  horizon 
closed  down  upon  it,  and  during  a  month  there  was 
utter  silence  as  to  its  fate,  until  one  day  it  reappeared 
on  the  Atlantic  coast.  Like  a  river  of  lava,  it  had 
devoured  everything  in  its  passage. 

During  this  time,  according  to  the  prevision  of  Grant, 
Hood  had  arrived  in  Tennessee,  where  his  presence 
was  signalled  by  the  burning  of  Johnsonville  by  Forrest, 
and  the  destruction  of  a  great  depot  of  supplies.  Con- 
tinuing his  march  to  Franklin,  he  found  there  General 
Schofield  in  position  to  bar  his  passage.  On  November 
30  he  endeavored  to  dislodge  him  by  a  general  attack. 
The  battle  was  desperate  and  bloody.  He  lost  there 
more  than  six  thousand  men,  among  whom  were  six 
generals  killed,  six  wounded,  and  one  made  prisoner. 
Our  loss  was  only  twenty-five  hundred  men. 

After  such  an  advantage,  Schofield  might  have  held  his 


700       FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

position.  He  preferred  to  abandon  it  during  the  night, 
to  unite  his  forces  with  those  of  General  Thomas,  and, 
by  drawing  the  enemy  further  away  into  the  interior, 
render  his  ruin  more  certain  and  irreparable.  In  fact, 
Hood  followed  him  to  Nashville.  On  December  15 
General  Thomas,  having  received  the  reenforcements 
he  expected,  and  remounted  his  cavalry,  in  his  turn 
took  l;he  offensive.  The  battle  lasted  two  days,  and 
ended  in  the  complete  rout  of  the  enemy,  who,  among 
other  crushing  losses,  left  in  our  hands  the  greater  part 
of  his  artillery  and  his  trains.  The  rebel  general  es- 
caped with  difficulty  from  Tennessee,  with  the  remains 
of  his  army  fearfully  reduced  during  his  retreat. 

Thus  broken  in  by  these  hammer  blows,  the  shell  of 
the  rebellion  was  also  pierced  by  the  gimlet.  The  de- 
parture of  Sherman  and  the  victory  of  Thomas  were 
the  signal  for  a  series  of  raids  which  cut  up  the  Confed- 
eracy in  every  direction,  destroying  a  large  part  of  its 
interior  means  of  communication  and  its  depots  of  sup- 
plies. During  the  whole  winter  General  Grant  directed 
the  most  diverse  operations,  upon  the  most  distant 
points,  with  an  extraordinary  vigor  and  activity.  He 
sapped  the  edifice  on  all  sides  at  once  to  produce  a 
general  falling-in,  the  day  of  which  was  rapidly  ap- 
proaching. 

In  the  month  of  December  it  was  General  Grierson 
departing  from  Memphis  at  the  head  of  a  column  of 
cavalry,  breaking  the  Mobile  and  Ohio  railroads  and  the 
Mississippi  Central,  destroying  the  material  and  sup- 
plies, burning  the  depots  and  the  bridges,  and  captur- 
ing a  convoy  of  English  arms  intended  for  Hood  ;  then 
it  was  General  Stoneman  sweeping  the  forces  of  Breck- 
enridge  before  him  out  of  eastern  Tennessee,  captur- 
ing his  artillery  and  trains,  destroying  the  salt  works  at 
Saltville,  and  reducing    Wytheville,  with    its    factories 


THE    LAST    WINTER.  7OI 

and  storehouses,  to  ashes.  —  Other  expeditions  of  the 
same  kind  were  equally  successful ;  two  or  three  failed  ; 
but  a  few  slight  checks  did  not  stop  the  general  march 
of  our  success. 

Sherman,  master  of  Savannah,  was  getting  ready  to 
resume  his  march,  this  time  coming  towards  us,  across 
the  two  Carolinas.  Grant  resolved  to  send  an  expedi- 
tion to  meet  him,  with  the  double  object  of  opening  a 
new  base  of  supplies,  and,  at  the  same  time,  capturing 
from  the  rebel  government  the  only  port  left  to  it  for 
communication  with  the  outer  world.  This  was  Wil- 
mington. In  consequence  of  the  exceptional  difficulties 
which  the  disposition  of  the  mouths  of  the  river  pre- 
sented, we  had  never  been  able  to  seal  it  hermetically. 
The  cruisers,  it  is  true,  had  made  many  prizes  there, 
but  many  blockade-runners  escaped  them,  and  the  Eng- 
lish smugglers,  organized  on  a  vast  scale  at  Nassau, 
introduced  through  this  port  provisions,  ammunition, 
and  arms  for  the  rebel  government. 

A  powerful  squadron  assembled  in  haste  in  Hampton 
Roads,  before  Fortress  Monroe,  under  command  of 
Admiral  D.  D.  Porter.  The  cooperation  of  a  land 
force  being  necessary  to  get  possession  of  the  forts. 
General  Grant  furnished  six  thousand  five  hundred  men 
from  the  Army  of  the  James,  intended  to  be  under  the 
command  of  General  Weitzel,  an  officer  belonging  to 
the  engineers.  But  General  Butler  took  upon  himself 
to  go  with  the  troops  and  lead  the  expedition.  Decem- 
ber 25,  he  debarked  a  part  of  his  force  near  Fort 
Fisher,  and,  after  a  reconnoissance,  in  which  General 
Weitzel  believed  he  was  justified  in  declaring  the  fort 
impregnable,  the  troops  were  reembarked  on  the  27th, 
and  the  expedition  returned  to  Fortress  Monroe,  con- 
trary to  the  express  instructions  of  the  lieutenant-gen- 
eral.    The  latter  believing  that  the  pitiful  result  was  to 


702       FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

be  attributed  solely  to  the  military  incapacity  of  But- 
ler, and  the  want  of  judgment  or  energy  of  Weitzel,  in 
a  few  days,  sent  the  same  troops  back,  reenforced  by  a 
brigade  of  one  thousand  five  hundred  men,  this  time 
giving  the  command  to  General  A.  H.  Terry.  The  bom- 
bardment recommenced,  and  the  fort  was  carried  by 
assault,  after  a  desperate  combat,  in  which  the  marines 
of  the  fleet  took  a  part.  The  other  works  were  aban- 
doned by  the  enemy.  This  important  success  cost  us 
scarcely  more  than  six  hundred  men,  killed  and  wounded. 
It  cost  General  Butler  his  command,  to  which  General 
Ord  succeeded. 

The  port  was  closed  ;  the  city  was  to  be  taken.  In 
order  not  to  reduce  his  forces  before  Petersburg  and 
Richmond,  General  Grant  called  on  General  Schofield, 
with  the  Twenty-third  Corps,  whose  presence  was  no 
longer  necessary  in  Tennessee  since  the  discomfiture  of 
Hood.  At  the  end  of  January,  Schofield  took  com- 
mand of  the  Department  of  North  Carolina,  and  estab- 
lished his  forces  at  Fort  Fisher  and  Newburn.  In 
February,  he  captured  Wilmington  and  its  defences, 
after  two  days'  engagement.  Conformably  to  his  in- 
structions, he  marched  on  Goldsborough,  of  which  he 
took  possession  on  the  2ist,  after  some  sharp  engage- 
ments. Sherman's  arrival  was  now  provided  for  ;  he 
would  find  twenty  days'  rations  for  sixty  thousand  men, 
and  twenty  days'  forage  for  twenty  thousand  horses. 

And  he  soon  came,  scarcely  delayed  at  all  by  the 
forces  that  the  enemy  had  been  able  to  concentrate 
against  him,  under  command  of  General  Joe  Johnston. 
He  had  left  Savannah  on  February  i,  and  resumed  his 
victorious  march.  On  the  17th,  capturing  Columbia,  cap- 
ital of  South  Carolina,  he  had  forced  the  evacuation  of 
Charleston,  which  was  at  last  in  our  hands.  The  fire  was 
henceforth  extinct  on  the  hearthstone  of  the  rebellion. 


THE    LAST   WINTER. 


703 


Sherman,  in  passing,  had  put  his  foot  upon  it.  From 
Columbia  he  had  directed  his  course  towards  Goldsbor- 
ough  via  Fayetteville,  where  he  arrived  on  the  12th  of 
March,  and  where  he  had  opened  his  first  communica- 
tions with  Schofield  by  Cape  Fear  River.  Johnston 
had  in  vain  put  himself  across  Sherman's  path,  in  order 
to  prevent  the  junction  of  the  two  armies.  At  Benton- 
ville,  as  at  Averysborough,  he  had  been  beaten  and 
thrown  back  on  Smithfield. 

In  this  ejtseinble  of  combined  operations,  whose  circle 
was  closing  in  more  and  more  around  Richmond,  Sheri- 
dan could  not  be  left  inactive.  His  role  was  to  march 
on  Lynchburg  with  his  cavalry,  and  destroy  all  the 
western  communications  of  the  Confederate  capital, 
while  drawing  near  Sherman,  so  as  to  join  him  if 
circumstances  were  favorable.  This  raid  was  to  coop- 
erate with  three  others  ;  the  first  from  Eastern  Ten- 
nessee, with  four  or  five  thousand  cavalry  ;  the  second 
from  Vicksburg,  with  seven  or  eight  thousand  horse- 
men ;  the  third  from  Eastport,  in  Mississippi,  with  ten 
thousand  horsemen  ;  without  taking  account  of  an 
advance  against  Mobile,  and  the  interior  of  Alabama, 
by  thirty-eight  thousand  men  of  different  arms,  under 
the  command  of  General  Canby.  "That  will  be 
enough,"  said  General  Grant,  "  to  leave  nothing  of  the 
rebellion  standing  on  its  feet." 

Sheridan  left  Winchester  February  27,  at  the  head 
of  ten  thousand  cavalry.  As  was  his  usual  way,  he  did 
things  up  in  grand  style.  On  his  approach,  Early  had  re- 
tired from  Staunton  to  Waynesborough,  in  an  intrenched 
position.  Sheridan  followed  him,  and,  on  March  2,  at- 
tacked him  with  a  rush,  and  carried  everything  before 
him,  and  remained  master  of  the  fortified  position,  with 
sixteen  hundred  prisoners,  eleven  pieces  of  artillery, 
their  teams   and  caissons,  two  hundred  wagons  loaded 


704       FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

with  subsistence  stores,  and  seventeen  colors.  Pursu- 
ing his  course,  he  was  the  next  day  at  Charlottesville, 
where  he  began  the  work  of  destruction.  Bridges  of 
iron  and  bridges  of  wood,  canal  locks  and  embank- 
ments, railroads  and  plank  roads,  —  everything  which 
might  be  useful  to  the  enemy  was  burnt  or  destroyed. 
In  order  to  turn  him  from  his  course,  the  rebels  were 
forced  to  themselves  deliver  to  the  flames  the  two 
bridges  over  which  he  intended  to  cross  the  James. 
Not  being  able  to  advance  further  south,  Sheridan 
decided  to  join  Meade  instead  of  Sherman.  Without 
ceasing  to  destroy  everything  in  his  road,  he  took  the 
direction  of  White  House  on  the  Pamunkey,  where  he 
found  a  force  of  infantry  sent  to  meet  him  with  the 
provisions  of  which  he  was  in  need.  After  a  few  days 
of  repose,  he  crossed  the  James,  and,  on  the  27th  of 
March,  joined  the  Army  of  the  Potomac,  in  front  of 
Petersburg,  in  time  to  take  the  most  brilliant  part  in 
the  great  events,  the  hour  for  which  had  struck. 


CHAPTER    XXXIV. 

THE   GREAT   STROKE. 

Capture  and  recapture  of  Fort  Steadman  — Desperate  combats  along  the 
lines  of  rifle-pits — General  MacAUister —  The  conscripts  under  fire  — 
The  One  Hundred  and  Twenty-fourth  New  York  and  the  Fifty-ninth 
Alabama  —  General  Lee's  plans  —  General  Grant's  instructions  — 
Opinions  in  the  army  —  First  movements  —  The  battle  of  White  Oak 
road  —  The  battle  of  Five  Forks  —  Warren  and  Sheridan  —  A  night 
of  engagements  —  The  last  assaults  —  Meeting  General  Grant — Death 
of  General  A.  P.  Hill.  —  Veiiit  summa  dies. 

At  the  first  glimpse  of  light  in  the  morning  of  March 
25, 1  was  awakened  by  a  violent  cannonade  mingled  with 
distant  rolling  of  musketry.  I  sprang  from  my  camp- 
bed  in  order  to  hasten  outside.  A  few  staff  olificers 
were  already  up,  listening,  and  hurrying  to  put  on  their 
uniforms.  We  could  not  be  mistaken.  It  was  an 
attack  by  the  enemy  in  force  against  some  point  in  our 
lines  in  front  of  Petersburg.  —  "  Everybody  arise  !  sad- 
dle the  horses,  and  have  the  brigade  instantly  under 
arms  !  "  —  The  order  was  hardly  executed  when  an  aid 
from  General  Mott  arrived  at  a  gallop.  —  The  enemy 
has  surprised  Fort  Steadman,  on  the  front  of  the  Ninth 
Corps.  He  has  captured  two  or  three  batteries,  and 
pushed  his  skirmishers  on  to  the  City  Point  railroad. 
The  division  must  hold  itself  ready  to  move  at  a  mo- 
ment's notice.  A  part  of  the  Fifth  Corps  has  already 
moved. 

In  a  few  minutes  the  tents  were  down,  the  baggage 
loaded  in  the  wagons,  the  troops  formed  in  line,  arms 
stacked,  and  we  awaited  orders.  The  cannonade  was 
still  going  on,  and  the  musketry  fire  rolled  continuously. 

705 


706       FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

At  nine  o'clock  an  orderly  brought  me  a  despatch  : 
"  Hartranft's  division  of  the  Ninth  Corps  has  retaken 
Fort  Steadman  and  the  adjoining  batteries.  The  enemy- 
has  left  two  thousand  prisoners  in  our  hands.  His  loss 
in  killed  and  wounded  must  be  as  much  more." 

Now  for  our  turn  on  the  left.  It  was  nearly  noon 
when  General  Humphreys  came  with  General  Mott  to 
establish  himself  at  the  Smith  house,  where  my  head- 
quarters were,  to  be  near  the  line.  General  Meade,  con- 
vinced with  good  reason  that  the  enemy  must  have 
weakened  his  lines  in  the  vicinity  of  Hatcher's  Run  in 
order  to  furnish  troops  for  his  attack  on  Fort  Steadman, 
had  given  orders  to  capture  all  the  enemy's  fortified 
picket  lines  in  front  of  the  Sixth  and  the  Second  Corps, 
after  which  we  should  push  on  further  if  opportunity 
offered. 

Miles,  who  held  the  right,  attacked  first,  and  was 
completely  successful.  In  my  turn,  I  threw  forward 
the  Twentieth  Indiana  and  the  Seventy-third  New 
York,  which,  under  command  of  Colonel  Andrews, 
carried  all  the  rifle-pits  in  front  of  us  and  sent  me  in  a 
hundred  prisoners.  MacAllister  followed  immediately, 
and  was  not  less  successful  at  first  ;  but  he  very  soon 
had  more  to  do  than  any  of  us.  In  consequence  of  the 
slowness  of  the  Second  Division  to  follow  the  move- 
ment, and  of  the  shape  of  the  ground,  his  left  was  in 
the  air.  The  enemy  took  advantage  of  this  to  attack 
at  this  point,  and  retook  his  rifle-pits.  The  Elev^enth 
Massachusetts  and  the  One  Hundred  and  Twentieth 
New  York  returned  promptly  to  the  charge,  and  dis- 
lodged the  rebels  for  the  second  time.  The  sharpness 
of  the  engagement  revealing  a  determination  on  the 
part  of  the  enemy  to  regain  the  lost  ground,  I  hurried 
forward  the  One  Hundred  and  Twenty-fourth  New 
York,  and  followed  soon  with  the  rest  of  the  brigade. 


THE    GREAT   STROKE. 


707 


We  did  not  arrive  a  moment  too  soon.  The  head  of 
my  column  had  scarcely  passed  over  a  marshy  creek 
crossing  the  road  when  the  enemy  began  to  send  a 
shower  of  shells,  with  a  precision  showing  a  close  study, 
on  his  part,  of  the  distance  of  the  ground.  At  the  same 
time,  a  firing,  coming  closer  and  closer,  mingled  with 
repeated  cheers,  told  us  that  the  rebels  were  again 
charging  the  Third  Brigade,  with  increasing  success. 
The  left  of  the  Seventy-third  New  York  was  even 
carried  away  when  the  First  Maine,  led  by  Colonel 
Shepherd,  charged  on  the  run  to  stop  this  reverse 
movement,  with  the  aid  of  the  One  Hundred  and  Tenth 
Pennsylvania.  The  charge  of  those  two  regiments,  by 
giving  the  others  time  to  come  into  line,  held  in  our 
possession  all  that  the  Twentieth  Indiana  and  the  Sev- 
enty-third New  York  had  captured  from  the  enemy 
two  hours  before.  Then  MacAllister,  feeling  himself 
strongly  supported  on  his  right,  retook  the  offensive, 
and  his  brigade  returned  for  the  third  time  into  the 
pits  so  obstinately  contested. 

MacAllister  is  a  character  truly  original.  From  what 
I  have  related  of  his  services  in  front  of  the  enemy,  the 
reader  would  doubtless  be  led  to  imagine  him  as  hard 
fighters  are  generally  represented,  —  still  young,  with 
loud  voice,  fierce  moustache,  lofty  step,  etc.  Nothing 
could  be  further  from  the  truth.  MacAllister  is  a  good 
pater  familias,  having  passed  his  fortieth  year.  His 
voice  is  soft  and  calm  ;  never,  never  on  any  occasion  is 
it  raised  to  the  pitch  of  an  oath  or  anything  resembling 
it.  Not  only  is  his  moustache  not  twisted,  but  his  face 
is  as  closely  shaven  as  that  of  an  honest  pastor. 
Everything  about  him  has  the  air  of  simplicity  and 
modesty.  His  habits  are  those  of  an  anchorite.  A 
temperance  man,  he  never  touches  liquor  of  any  kind, 
not  even  beer.     Tolerant  as  to  others,  rigid  for  himself, 


708       FOUR   YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

he  preaches  by  example  only.  His  staff  had  full  liberty 
to  use  moderately  the  liquors  he  refused  himself,  and  it 
seemed  perfectly  a  matter  of  course  to  him,  when  we 
visited  him,  that  his  adjutant,  Major  Frinkelmeyer, 
should  offer  us  "  the  stirrup  cup." 

As  punctual  in  his  religious  habits  as  he  was  sincere 
in  his  belief,  he  had  Protestant  religious  services  regu- 
larly on  Sunday  at  his  headquarters.  The  most  pleas- 
ant attention  we  could  pay  him  was,  on  that  day,  to 
listen  to  the  sermon  of  his  chaplain. 

His  habitual  kind-heartedness  for  the  soldier  did  not 
affect  his  discipline.  When  he  personally  intervened  in 
a  punishment,  he  seldom  failed  to  accompany  it  with  a 
reprimand,  the  tenor  and  tone  of  which  recalled  to  the 
culprit  the  scoldings  he  had  received  from  his  mother 
in  his  childhood.  So  that  the  soldiers  among  themselves 
called  him  affectionately  "  Mother  MacAllister."  But 
when  the  day  of  battle  came  the  mother  led  on  her 
children  as  a  lioness  her  cubs.  Because  he  was  a  most 
exemplary  man,  MacAllister  was  none  the  less  the  most 
energetic  soldier. 

But  to  return  to  the  enemy,  who,  although  driven 
back,  did  not  yet  give  up  the  struggle.  Between  my 
brigade  and  the  First  Division,  the  ground  was  low  and 
marshy,  covered  with  a  thicket  of  brush,  where  the 
rebels  had  not  thought  it  necessary  to  establish  a  line  of 
rifle-pits.  It  was  here  that  they  made  a  new  effort. 
My  right,  composed  of  the  Fortieth  New  York  and  the 
Ninety-ninth  Pennsylvania,  the  two  regiments  having 
the  most  conscripts  in  their  ranks,  rested  there.  The 
greater  part  of  them  were  that  day  for  the  first  time 
under  fire.  It  was  well  to  have  an  eye  on  them.  The 
uproar  in  the  woods  and  the  noise  still  heard  along  the 
front  of  the  First  Division  must  have  shaken  their 
nerves.      Nevertheless,   they   showed   a  bold   front,   not 


THE    GREAT    STROKE.  7O9 

being  directly  engaged.  But  when  they  saw  the  enemy, 
driven  from  Miles'  front,  rush  upon  them  with  the  dash 
which  characterized  the  old  soldiers  of  Lee  ;  when  they 
heard  the  balls  whistling  around  their  ears  and  falling 
on  the  trees  like  hail,  they  began  to  drop  to  the  rear  in 
a  lively  manner,  with  the  back  bent,  and  hustling  each 
other,  hesitating  about  obeying  the  earnest  appeals  of 
the  officers  and  the  storming  of  the  sergeants  ;  in  fine, 
more  desirous  of  sheltering  themselves  against  the 
storm  of  lead  than  of  openly  taking  flight.  I  cannot  tell 
what  might  have  happened  if  the  road  by  which  we  had 
come  up  had  not  been  thirty  or  forty  paces  back  and 
parallel  to  that  part  of  the  line.  I  had  there  my  staff 
and  orderlies,  who  ran  down  any  one  attempting  to  pass 
the  line.  Stopped  by  these  cavalry  charges  in  detail, 
the  conscripts  made  so  comical  an  appearance  that, 
while  lavishing  the  most  highly  colored  epithets  upon 
them,  we  could  not  help  laughing.  The  laughter,  I  be- 
lieve, had  more  effect  upon  them  than  the  oaths  and 
the  blows  with  the  fiat  of  the  sabre,  and  we  led  them 
back  to  their  positions  with  so  much  less  difficulty  that 
none  of  us  was  struck,  and  that,  the  old  soldiers  having 
held  firmly,  the  attack,  weakened  by  their  resistance,  had 
passed  further  along  across  the  marsh. 

In  that  direction,  the  One  Hundred  and  Twenty- 
fourth  New  York  had  been  left  a  little  in  the  rear,  be- 
hind a  swell  of  ground.  All  the  men  were  lying  down, 
so  as  not  to  be  seen  by  the  enemy.  On  issuing  from 
the  woods,  the  rebels,  finding  before  them  only  a  hand- 
ful of  skirmishers  in  retreat,  did  not  hesitate  to  pursue 
them.  This  was  what  Colonel  Weygant  had  foreseen, 
and  he  had  taken  his  measures  accordingly.  He  allowed 
the  assailants  to  advance  as  closely  as  possible  without 
discovering  his  men.  When  they  were  but  about  forty 
paces  off,  the  whole  regiment  rose  as  one  man,  fired  a 


7IO       FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

deadly  volley,  and,  without  reloading,  charged  with  the 
bayonet.  It  was  all  done  in  a  turn  of  the  hand.  The 
enemy  were  surrounded  without  having  time  to  recover 
themselves.  It  was  the  Fifty-ninth  Alabama,  which 
laid  down  its  arms,  when  its  flag  had  fallen  into  our 
hands  by  the  death  of  its  defenders.  The  commander 
was  among  the  number.  Colonel  Weygant  had  man- 
aged the  affair  so  well  that  our  loss  was  insig- 
nificant. 

The  loss  in  the  brigade  was  comparatively  heavier  in 
officers  than  in  non-commissioned  officers  and  soldiers. 
Colonel  Andrews  of  the  Twentieth  Indiana  was  shot 
through  the  arm,  which  did  not  prevent  his  remaining 
at  his  post  until  the  end  of  the  day.  Colonel  Biles  of 
the  Ninety-ninth  Pennsylvania  was  wounded  in  the  hip. 
In  the  One  Hundred  and  Tenth,  Major  Hamilton,  com- 
manding the  regiment,  had  scarcely  been  carried  off, 
nearly  crushed  by  the  fall  of  a  limb  of  a  tree,  when  Cap- 
tain Stuart,  his  successor  in  command,  fell  mortally 
wounded.  In  revenge,  the  brigade  made  a  large  num- 
ber of  prisoners,  and  buried  in  its  front  fifty-six  dead 
rebels,  which  implied  at  least  four  hundred  wounded 
along  that  short  section  of  the  line.  These  figures 
give  an  idea  of  what  that  first  day  of  the  grand  fort- 
night of  battles  which  completed  his  ruin  must  have 
cost  the  enemy  —  in  addition  even  to  the  four  thousand 
men  sacrificed  by  him  in  the  short-lived  surprise  of  Fort 
Steadman. 

It  was  much  more  than  a  serious  check  to  General 
Lee  ;  it  was  a  complete  failure  of  the  plans  on  which 
his  last  hopes  depended.  In  the  position  in  which  the 
victorious  arrival  of  General  Sherman  at  Goldsborough 
placed  him,  there  remained  but  one  resource  by  which 
to  prolong  further  the  contest  ;  this  was  to  abandon 
Richmond  and  Petersburg,  and,  by  uniting  his  army  to 


THE    GREAT    STROKE. 


711 


that  of  Johnston,  transfer  the  theatre  of  war  to  the  very 
heart  of  the  agonizing  Confederacy. 

In  taking  the  initiative,  by  an  attack  against  our 
right,  so  as  to  cut  our  communications  with  City  Point, 
Lee  had  for  an  object  to  bring  about  the  concentration 
of  all  our  forces  in  that  direction.  Profiting  then  by  our 
distance  from  the  course  he  must  take,  he  would  make 
his  retreat  by  the  Lynchburg  railroad,  and  the  roads 
which  follow  along  the  right  bank  of  the  Appomattox, 
which  he  could  not  do  in  the  face  of  two  army  corps, 
massed  near  Hatcher's  Run.  He  had  taken  his  meas- 
ures and  made  his  preparations.  We  have  seen  how 
he  failed  at  the  beginning  of  his  efforts.  Not  only  was 
Fort  Steadman  immediately  retaken,  without  displac- 
ing any  of  our  troops,  but  that  portion  of  his  lines 
which  he  wished  above  all  to  have  secure  was  pressed 
much  more  closely  by  the  capture  of  the  fortified 
picket  line  which  covered  it. 

Lee's  initiative  did  not  advance  or  retard  by  a  day 
the  general  movement  of  our  army.  The  date  for  com- 
mencing the  movement  had  been  fixed  at  the  29th  of 
March,  in  the  explicit  instructions  sent  on  the  24th  to 
Generals  Meade,  Ord,  and  Sheridan.  Nothing  was 
changed  or  modified  after  the  25th.  The  principal  dis- 
positions were  as  follows  :  — 

"  I.  General  Ord  will  move  on  the  night  of  the  27th, 
to  cross  the  James,  and  join  the  Army  of  the  Potomac, 
with  three  divisions,  two  of  white  and  one  of  colored 
troops.  He  will  leave  the  latter  under  the  orders  of 
General  Parke,  commanding  the  Ninth  Corps,  and  will 
hold  himself  in  reserve  on  the  left  of  the  army,  with 
the  two  other  divisions. 

"  2.  On  the  morning  of  the  29th,  the  army  will  march 
to  the  left,  with  the  twofold  object  of  forcing  the  enemy 
from  his  position  in  front  of  Petersburg,  by  a  turning 


712        FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    TOTOMAC    ARMY. 

movement,  and  of  assuring  the  success  of  the  cavalry 
under  the  command  of  General  Sheridan,  who  will 
start  at  the  same  time  to  cut  the  Lynchburg  and  the 
Danville  railroads.  The  two  army  corps  (the  Second 
and  the  Fifth)  will  march  first,  in  two  columns,  by  the 
two  roads  which  cross  Hatcher's  Run  the  nearest  to 
our  lines. 

"  3.  General  Parke  will  remain  in  command  of  the 
lines  in  front  of  Petersburg,  and  will  defend  City  Point 
with  the  entire  Ninth  Corps,  one  colored  division  from 
the  Army  of  the  James,  the  dismounted  cavalry,  the 
engineer  troops,  and  the  headquarters  guards.  If  the 
Sixth  Corps  should  also  be  moved  out,  the  Ninth  will 
not  extend  beyond  the  works  at  the  Weldon  railroad. 

"  4.  In  the  absence  of  General  Ord,  General  Weitzel 
will  have  command  of  the  troops  left  to  the  north  of 
the  James.  He  must  exercise  the  utmost  vigilance  on 
his  front,  and  profit  by  every  favorable  occasion  which 
may  be  left  him  to  penetrate  the  enemy's  lines.  Every 
success  of  this  kind  must  be  followed  up  with  great 
promptness,  abandoning  all  that  part  of  our  positions, 
except  the  closed  redoubts. 

"  5.  The  extremely  wooded  nature  of  the  country  in 
which  the  army  is  about  to  operate  rendering  imprac- 
ticable the  use  of  a  large  amount  of  artillery,  the  num- 
ber of  pieces  will  be  reduced  to  four  or  six  per  division, 
at  the  option  of  the  generals  commanding  (Meade,  Ord, 
and  Sheridan). 

"  6.  All  the  troops,  without  exception,  will  carry  four 
days'  rations  in  their  haversacks,  and  eight  days'  in  the 
wagons.  Each  man  will  carry  sixty  rounds  of  ammuni- 
tion ;  a  like  amount  will  follow  in  the  wagons." 

These  instructions  ended  by  the  following  recom- 
mendations :  "  A  large  part  of  the  armies  operating 
against   Richmond  is  left  behind.     The  enemy,  know- 


THE    GREAT   STROKE. 


713 


ing  this,  may  consider  it  as  his  only  chance  to  strip 
his  works,  leaving  therein  only  a  slight  line,  while  he 
will  throw  the  rest  upon  our  troops  in  motion,  to  after- 
ward return  to  his  positions.  It  cannot  be  too  strongly 
urged  upon  the  commanders  of  the  troops  left  in  the 
trenches  not  to  allow  this  to  be  done  without  taking 
advantage  of  it.  If  the  enemy  advances  out  of  his 
lines  to  attack,  that  fact  alone  may  be  considered  as 
almost  conclusive  proof  of  a  sufficient  enfeebling  of  his 
works.  You  will  particularly  enjoin  upon  the  com- 
manders of  corps  which  may  be  attacked  not  to  await 
the  orders  of  the  general  commanding  the  army  to 
which  they  belong,  but  to  act  promptly,  advising  their 
superior  officer  of  their  action.  You  will  enjoin  the 
chiefs  of  division  to  the  same  effect,  for  the  case  where 
other  members  of  their  corps  may  be  engaged.  I  es- 
pecially dwell  on  the  importance  of  following  up  every 
advantage  gained  over  the  enemy." 

General  Sheridan,  having  to  operate  separately,  re- 
ceived official  instructions  which  circumstances  ren- 
dered useless. 

The  hour  for  the  decisive  blow  had  arrived.  We 
received  the  news  with  the  greatest  satisfaction.  For 
some  time  we  had  begun  to  fear  lest  that  honor,  at 
least  in  part,  would  be  taken  from  us.  The  rapid  prog- 
ress of  Sherman  towards  the  North,  and  his  arrival  at 
Goldsborough,  while  giving  us  great  joy,  was  not  with- 
out causing  us  some  inquietude  in  the  sense  that,  if  he 
joined  us  before  the  fall  of  Richmond,  the  glory  of  the 
Army  of  the  Potomac  would  be,  in  that  event,  half  ob- 
scured. The  desperate  character  of  our  battles,  the 
greatness  and  persistence  of  our  efforts,  the  immensity 
of  our  losses,  our  constancy  as  inalterable  in  adverse  as 
in  good  fortune, — all  these  would  become  dim  in  the 
face  of  the  easy  triumphs  of  the  Western  armies  through 


714       FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

Georgia  and  the  two  Carol inas.  It  would  be  said 
the  Army  of  the  Potomac  was  not  able  to  make  an 
end  of  the  rebel  army  in  Virginia,  and,  in  order  to  take 
Richmond,  it  was  necessary  that  the  Western  army 
should  come  from  the  banks  of  the  Mississippi,  to  help 
it  to  victory  on  its  own  ground.  But  thank  God  !  we 
did  not  have  to  suffer  the  humiliation,  after  our  four 
years  of  battle,  sufferings,  and  privation,  of  losing  the 
glorious  fruit  when  it  was  within  our  grasp. 

Well,  on  the  29th  of  March,  1865,  we  left  our  camps 
no  more  to  return  to  them.  Never  had  the  soldiers 
taken  up  their  arms  with  a  firmer  grasp  ;  never  had  the 
ofificers  given  their  commands  in  a  more  stirring  voice. 
Forward  !  March  !  We  felt  in  the  air  the  magnetism 
of  the  dawn  of  the  day  of  supreme  triumph.  Wq  de- 
parted joyfully,  and  crossed  Hatcher's  Run  without 
meeting  the  enemy.  The  Second  Corps  was  promptly 
formed  in  line  of  battle  in  front  of  the  fortified  line, 
which  turned  towards  the  northwest,  following  the 
course  of  the  river,  while  the  Fifth  Corps,  marching 
further  to  the  left,  drove  in  the  advance  posts  of  the 
enemy  on  the  Boydton  road  as  far  as  the  White  Oak 
road,  in  front  of  Burgess  mill.  Grant  and  Meade 
came  up  promptly  behind  us,  and  their  presence 
was  an  indication  that  something  decisive  was  con- 
templated. 

As  the  enemy  did  not  present  himself,  we  advanced 
to  meet  him  through  the  woods  ;  but  he  did  not  come 
out  of  his  works.  '  It  was  at  another  point  that  he  was 
preparing  to  prevent  our  attack.  At  nine  o'clock  in  the 
evening  we  were  installed  in  a  line  of  works  constructed 
and  abandoned  by  the  rebels.  The  two  divisions  of 
General  Ord  had  come  into  the  line  between  the  Sixth 
and  the  Second  Corps,  which  allowed  General  Hum- 
phreys to  extend,  without  a  break,  beyond  the  Boydton 


THE    GREAT   STROKE. 


715 


road,  to  the  same  point  where  he  had  fought  on  the 
27th  of  October  preceding. 

In  the  night  all  operations  were  stopped  by  detesta- 
ble weather.  The  rain,  falling  in  torrents,  soaked  the 
ground,  so  that  the  roads  were  impracticable  for  artil- 
lery and  ammunition  wagons.  It  was  necessary  to 
repair  them  as  well  as  possible  by  covering  the  ruts 
with  branches  of  trees  or  "corduroying,"  or  by  open- 
ing new  roads  through  the  forest.  This  work  occu- 
pied part  of  the  troops,  while  the  others,  with  mar- 
vellous rapidity,  threw  up  temporary  intrenchments  to 
guard  against  any  possible  attack  by  the  enemy. 

The  30th  was  thus  lost  for  the  offensive,  but  not  for 
the  defensive.  General  Lee  set  actively  to  work  to 
mass  on  his  right  all  the  force  of  which  he  could  dis- 
pose without  absolutely  stripping  that  heavy  defensive 
line  which  General  Grant  had  forced  him  to  extend 
for  a  length  of  more  than  thirty  miles.  These  tactics 
had  served  him  twice,  perhaps  they  might  for  the 
third  time. 

On  the  31st,  at  two  o'clock  in  the  morning,  the 
weather  having  somewhat  improved,  the  order  was 
given  to  us  to  march  by  the  left  flank.  The  Second 
Division,  now  commanded  by  General  William  Hays, 
extended  along  the  line  which  the  brigades  of  Pierce 
and  MacAllister  completed.  My  brigade  was  in  re- 
serve behind  the  First  Division,  which  Miles  had 
already  massed  along  the  Boydton  road.  Warren,  who 
had  remained  there  up  to  this  time,  pushed  his  corps 
further  out  against  the  White  Oak  road,  where  the 
Confederates  had  assembled  the  greater  part  of  their 
forces.  It  was  at  this  point  that  they  awaited  the  mo- 
ment to  strike.  The  appearance  of  General  Winthrop's 
brigade,  which  was  skirmishing  in  the  advance,  was  the 
sio-nal  to  them  to  leave  their  intrenchments  and  throw 


7l6       FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

themselves  on  the  division  of  Ayres,  which  had  the 
advance.  The  blow  was  so  violent  that  the  division  fell 
back,  not  without  disorder,  upon  Crawford's  division, 
which  was  in  its  turn  shaken.  But  Warren  had  made 
his  dispositions  in  this  favorite  manoeuvre  of  the  Con- 
federates. His  three  divisions  were  formed  in  echelon, 
so  that  the  impetuous  rush  of  the  assailants  was  dimin- 
ished on  the  first,  became  feeble  as  it  struck  the  second, 
and  died  out  against  the  third.  Griffin  lemained  firm 
as  a  rock,  and  the  broken  mass  fell  rolling  back. 

All  this  happened  close  to  us.  Not  a  hurrah,  not  a 
volley  was  fired  which  we  did  not  hear  distinctly.  But 
the  woods  interposed  as  a  curtain,  and  we  could  see 
nothing.  Under  such  circumstances,  it  is  very  exciting 
to  listen.  Thus  we  were  silent  when  we  saw  the  First 
Division,  in  front  of  us,  leap  over  the  parapet  which 
covered  it  and  disappear  in  the  woods  in  the  direction 
of  the  battle.  At  the  same  time,  one  of  General  Hum- 
phreys' aids  brought  me  the  order  to  follow. 

I  was  to  sustain  Miles  ;  but  he  did  not  give  us  the 
opportunity  to  come  to  his  assistance.  With  his  accus- 
tomed promptness,  he  fell  upon  the  flank  of  the  enemy's 
column,  already  retiring  from  Griffin's  front.  Between 
the  two,  the  Confederates  were  beaten  and  driven  back 
in  a  lively  manner  to  their  intrenchments  on  the  White 
Oak  road,  which  a  large  part  of  them  did  not  succeed 
in  reaching.  We  took  many  prisoners,  and  the  greater 
part  of  their  wounded  remained  in  our  hands.  The 
Fifty-sixth  Virginia  was  said  to  have  been  captured 
almost  entire  by  Chamberlain's  brigade  of  the  Fifth 
Corps. 

Miles,  continuing  his  advance,  soon  left  an  interval 
between  his  right  and  the  Boydton  road,  which  I  re- 
ceived orders  to  fill  as  it  enlarged.  In  this  movement, 
gradually  made,  I  had  to  change  position  twice  in  less 


THE    GREAT    STROKE. 


1^1 


than  an  hour,  and  I  left  behind  me  two  lines  of  intrench- 
ments  almost  finished,  so  much  quickness  had  my  men 
acquired  in  this  kind  of  work.  When  Miles  ceased 
his  movement,  the  sun  being  already  low,  our  last 
position  of  the  day  was  solidly  established  under  a  very 
brisk  artillery  fire.  The  enemy's  skirmishers  had  been 
driven  back  behind  the  principal  line,  from  which  our 
men  prevented  their  advancing  a  second  time. 

At  about  four  miles  from  the  point  which  the  Fifth 
Corps  had  reached,  the  White  Oak  road  was  crossed 
by  other  roads,  making  an  intersection  known  as  Five 
Forks.  It  was  too  important  a  point  not  to  be  sharply 
contested.  The  enemy  had  accordingly  intrenched 
and  occupied  it.  The  evening  before,  Sheridan,  on 
arriving  at  Dinwiddle,  had  sent  Merritt  to  examine  the 
point,  and  the  latter  had  found  it  occupied  by  a  force 
too  large  to  be  handled  by  the  cavalry  at  his  disposal. 

Dinwiddle  Court  House  is,  as  its  name  implies,  a 
county  seat.  The  Boydton  road  passes  through  it  seven 
to  eight  miles  to  the  rear  and  left  of  the  position  then 
occupied  by  the  Second  Corps.  Five  Forks  forms  al- 
most an  isosceles  triangle  with  these  two  points,  the 
vertex  of  which  is  at  Burgess  mill,  and  the  two  sides 
formed  the  one  by  the  White  Oak  road,  from  the  east  to 
the  west,  and  the  one,  from  northeast  to  southwest,  by 
the  Boydton  road.  From  Five  Forks  to  Dinwiddle,  the 
base  is  formed  by  a  road  describing  a  concave  curve 
forking,  near  its  centre,  in  both  directions. 

On  the  31st,  while  the  enemy  was  engaged  with  War- 
ren in  front  of  the  White  Oak  road,  Sheridan,  pushing 
his  cavalry  further  on  the  left,  seized  the  occasion,  and 
took  possession  of  Five  Forks,  without  meeting  much 
resistance.  But  when  the  troops,  driven  back  by  the 
Fifth  Corps,  had  returned  to  their  intrenchments,  eager 
to  repair  their  check,  they  poured  out  in  the  direction 


7l8       FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMV. 

of  Sheridan,  and,  having  joined  their  cavalry,  at- 
tacked him  so  sharply  that  he  was  compelled  to  give 
way  before  numbers,  and  retire  to  Dinwiddle.  He  fell 
back,  contesting  every  step  of  the  way,  the  most  of  the 
time  his  cavalry  fighting  dismounted,  leaving  one-fourth 
of  his  men  as  horse-holders.  Arriving  near  Dinwiddle, 
Sheridan,  profiting  by  some  intrenchments  which  were 
there,  closed  up  and  concentrated  his  line,  and,  facing 
the  enemy,  received  him  so  warmly  that  he  could  make 
no  further  advance.  Night  coming  on,  Lee  recalled  his 
two  divisions  to  Five  Forks. 

The  Fifth  Corps  came  very  near  cutting  off  their  re- 
treat. As  soon  as  Sheridan's  position  was  known  at 
headquarters,  orders  had  been  hurried  to  Warren  tO' 
march  to  his  aid.  Unfortunately,  the  order  did  not  reach 
him  until  after  dark,  causmg  delay  in  the  movement. 
Nevertheless,  Ayres*  division,  hurried  forward  first  by 
the  Boydton  road,  would  doubtless  have  reached  Din- 
widdle almost  as  quickly  as  by  daylight  if  the  destruc- 
tion of  a  bridge  over  Gravelly  Run  had  not  stopped  him. 
He  had  to  rebuild  the  bridge,  which  delayed  him  some 
hours.  So  that  when  Ayres,  having  taken  a  crossroad 
to  the  right,  came  out  from  the  road  from  Dinwiddle  to 
Five  Forks  at  daylight,  he  found  there  our  cavalry. 
The  enemy  had  already  retired,  also  escaping  War- 
ren, who  came  up  with  his  two  other  divisions.  The 
pursuit,  begun  by  the  cavalry,  was  continued  in  connec- 
tion with  the  infantry,  the  two  corps  having  united  un- 
der the  command  of  General  Sheridan. 

The  cavalry  struck  directly  at  Five  Forks,  and,  by  a 
number  of  vigorous  charges,  drove  the  enemy  into  his 
intrenchments.  At  the  same  time,  Sheridan  sent  the 
Fifth  Corps  forward  on  the  right,  so  as  to  turn  the  Con- 
federates' left,  and  strike  them  on  the  fiank  and  rear, 
while  General  Merritt  should  attract  their  attention  on. 


THE    GREAT   STROKE. 


719 


the  other  flank  by  active  demonstrations.  As  they  had 
not  met  Warren,  they  thought  him  still  in  the  vicinity 
of  the  Boydton  road,  and,  having  had  to  do  thus  far  with 
the  cavalry  alone,  which  pressed  upon  their  front  and 
extended  beyond  their  right,  they  saw  in  Merritt's  move- 
ments only  the  development  of  a  turning  attack,  against 
which  it  was  important  above  all  to  guard. 

However,  behind  this  curtain  of  cavalry  moving 
noisily,  Warren  was  silently  making  his  prescribed 
manoeuvre.  Ayres  and  Crawford  in  the  front,  each  with 
two  brigades  deployed  in  two  lines,  and  the  third  in  rear 
with  the  same  formation,  Griffin  marched  in  reserve  on 
the  turning  wing  by  battalions  in  mass.  The  whole 
corps  advanced,  taking  its  direction  by  the  sun,  moving 
with  a  steady  step,  over  a  thousand  obstacles,  down  into 
the  ravines  and  over  the  hillocks,  through  the  fields  and 
the  thick  woods. 

In  order  still  better  to  cover  the  movement.  General 
McKenzie,  who  had  just  rejoined  the  army  with  a  cav- 
alry reenforcement,  received  orders  to  sweep  the  White 
Oak  road,  between  Five  Forks  and  the  point  where  it 
struck  the  right  of  Lee's  lines.  He  found  some  force 
of  the  enemy,  which  he  drove  back  towards  the  Boydton 
road,  thus  providing  against  any  attack  on  Warren's 
right. 

The  Fifth  Corps  came  upon  the  left  of  the  Confed- 
erate force  isolated  at  Five  Forks,  about  four  o'clock  in 
the  afternoon.  Ayres,  who  was  the  nearest  to  the 
enemy,  immediately  changed  front,  and,  after  having 
driven  in  the  pickets,  came  upon  the  intrenchments, 
forming  a  right  angle  with  the  principal  line  for  a  dis- 
tance of  more  than  a  hundred  yards  The  division  im- 
mediately charged  with  the  bayonet,  and  carried  the 
works,  capturing  more  than  a  thousand  prisoners. 

This  change  of  front  and  attack  were  executed  so 


720       FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

promptly  that  Crawford,  having  a  much  more  extended 
arc  of  a  circle  to  pass  over,  had  not  been  able  to  keep 
the  line.  Griffin  threw  himself  into  the  interval,  and, 
connectmg  with  Ayres,  captured  on  his  front  fifteen 
hundred  prisoners.  When  Crawford,  in  his  turn,  had 
finished  his  movement,  he  found  he  was  in  the  only  road 
by  which  the  enemy  could  retreat,  so  that  the  latter, 
finding  himself  attacked  on  three  sides  at  once,  had  no 
other  resource  than  to  lay  down  his  arms. 

A  part  of  the  enemy  still  held  a  traverse  intrenched 
on  their  extreme  right.  The  troops,  somewhat  disor- 
ganized by  the  battle  at  the  end  of  a  long  and  severe 
march,  hesitated  before  this  new  obstacle,  and  lost  time 
skirmishing.  General  Warren,  coming  up,  went  to  the 
front,  and  called  on  them,  both  by  voice  and  gesture,  to 
follow  him.  The  whole  force  immediately  moved  for- 
ward on  a  bayonet  charge.  The  intrenchment  was 
carried  and  its  defenders  made  prisoners.  Of  the  two 
Confederate  divisions  of  Pickett  and  Bushrod  Johnson, 
hardly  a  handful  succeeded  in  escaping,  pursued  with 
the  sabre  at  their  backs  by  the  cavalry  of  Merritt  and 
McKenzie.  This  victory  was  so  much  the  more  brill- 
iant that  it  cost  less  than  a  thousand  men,  while  the 
enemy  lost  five  thousand  prisoners,  without  counting 
the  dead  and  wounded,  the  artillery  and  colors  left  in 
our  hands.  The  attack  made  by  the  enemy  at  Five 
Forks  had  the  same  result  as  that  of  Fort  Steadman, 
six  days  before ;  a  moment  of  ephemeral  success  fol- 
lowed by  a  crushing  defeat.  In  the  thinned-out  ranks 
of  the  defenders  of  Petersburg,  the  loss  of  twelve  thou- 
sand men  made  a  terrible  gap. 

The  battle  was  scarcely  over  when  General  Warren 
sent  for  orders  to  General  Sheridan,  and  received  in 
reply:  "Major-General  Warren,  commanding  the  Fifth 
Corps,  is  relieved  of  his  command  ;  he  will  report  imme- 


THE    GREAT   STROKE.  72  I 

diately  to  Lieutenant-General  Grant,  commanding  the 
armies  of  the  United  States,  for  orders."  This  news, 
spread  everywhere  along  with  that  of  the  victory,  caused 
a  general  surprise,  and  gave  rise  to  different  conjec- 
tures. Even  to-day  it  seems  to  me  that  the  matter  is 
not  entirely  clear.  In  his  official  report.  General  Sher- 
idan explains  the  step  in  these  terms  :  "  General  War- 
ren did  not  exert  himself  to  get  up  his  corps  as  rapidly 
as  he  might  have  done,  and  his  manner  gave  me  the 
impression  that  he  wished  the  sun  to  go  down  before 
dispositions  for  the  attack  could  be  completed."  Then, 
speaking  of  the  battle,  "  During  the  engagement  por- 
tions of  his  line  gave  way  when  not  exposed  to  a  heavy 
fire,  and  simply  from  a  want  of  confidence  on  the  part 
of  the  troops,  which  General  Warren  did  not  exert 
himself  to  inspire."  To  these  imputations  General 
Warren  replied  by  a  detailed  justification  of  his  military 
conduct  on  the  occasion.  It  is  probable  that  the  real 
cause  is  to  be  sought  elsewhere :  perhaps  in  some 
details  in  the  first  personal  contact  between  these  two 
generals,  who  had  never  met  before.  In  such  a  case, 
the  edgewise  meeting  of  some  crooked  atoms  might  be 
sufficient  to  arouse  irritability  without  cause  between 
men  who,  if  they  knew  each  other  better,  would  become 
attached  by  mutual  esteem.  On  a  field  of  battle,  in 
the  heat  of  action,  the  first  impressions  are  made 
stronger,  instead  of  being  softened  down,  and  the  least 
sting  may  be  changed  to  a  wound.  However  it  may 
have  been  on  this  occasion,  Warren  was  transferred  to 
the  Department  of  the  Mississippi,  Griffin  took  his 
place  at  the  head  of  the  Fifth  Corps,  and  the  incident 
was  forgotten  in  the  shock  of  armies  and  the  whirlwind 
of  events. 

During  the  series  of  battles  from  Five  Forks  to  Din- 
widdle, and  from  Dinwiddle  to  Five  Forks,  the  left  of 


722       FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

the  Second  Corps,  of  which  I  formed  a  part,  was  almost 
contiriually  in  motion.  General  Humphreys  governed 
his  movements  by  those  of  the  Fifth  Corps.  Before 
morning,  when  Warren  moved  out  to  go  to  Sheridan's 
assistance,  we  had  fallen  back  to  the  return  intrench- 
ments  which  covered  the  Boydton  road.  In  the  after- 
noon, my  brigade  had  been  retired  to  the  rear  line,  on 
the  side  towards  the  sawmill,  where  the  firing,  fre- 
quently increased  in  sharpness,  gave  reason  to  fear  an 
attack  in  force.  When  Sheridan  returned  to  Five 
Forks,  we  hastened  to  retake  our  position  of  the  night 
before. 

It  was  dark  when  we  arrived,  and  the  head  of  my 
column  filed  rapidly  along  the  intrenchments,  when  a 
great  clamor,  prolonged  by  hurrahs,  arose  suddenly 
near  us.  Our  movement  was  stopped,  ranks  closed  up, 
the  clicking  of  gun-locks  ran  along  the  whole  line,  and 
the  gun-barrels  were  thrust  over  the  parapet.  All 
eyes  peered  into  the  darkness  to  discover  the  moving 
mass  of  the  assailants  ;  all  ears  were  stretched  to  catch 
the  sound  of  their  footsteps  ;  but  there  was  no  move- 
ment, and  the  cheering  died  away.  As,  besides,  our 
pickets  did  not  come  in,  T  sent  some  men  to  find  out 
the  meaning  of  the  noise,  and  we  soon  learned  that 
these  resounding  cheers  were  the  rejoicing  of  the 
enemy  over  the  entire  destruction  of  Sheridan's  forces, 
cavalry,  infantry,  artillery  wagons,  etc.  We  knew 
what  the  facts  were.  The  illusion  was  of  short  dura- 
tion, for  the  truth  was  soon  told  them  by  our  advance 
posts,  and  the  dull  silence  of  discouragement  succeeded 
to  the  noisy  outburst  of  enthusiasm. 

The  silence,  however,  did  not  last  long.  My  brigade 
was  scarcely  established  in  its  position  on  the  right 
of  the  First  Division  when  I  received  orders  to  push  on 
a  partial  attack  in  front,  in  order  to  be  assured  whether 


•     THE    GREAT    STROKE.  723 

the  enemy  continued  to  hold  his  lines  in  force,  or  if  he 
had  weakened  sufficiently  to  permit  me  to  enter.  I 
immediately  called  on  Colonel  Burns  of  the  Seventy- 
third  New  York.  Burns  was  the  man  to  take  charge 
of  the  business.  Wrong-headed  and  good-hearted,  like 
most  Irishmen  a  desperate  fighter  ;  but  clear  of  percep- 
tion, and  of  good  judgment,  and  steady  in  time  of  peril ; 
better  under  fire  than  anywhere  else.  Besides  his  own 
regiment,  I  put  two  others  under  his  orders,  both  well 
commanded  :  the  One  Hundred  and  Twenty-fourth 
New  York,  under  Lieutenant-Colonel  Weygant ;  and 
the  other,  One  Hundred  and  Tenth  Pennsylvania,  under 
Captain  F.  Stewart.  The  three  regiments  were  formed 
in  line  in  front  of  the  parapet ;  the  seven  others  were 
stretched  out  to  fill  the  space  left  vacant. 

Night  attacks  are  almost  impracticable  in  the  woods. 
The  darkness  is  deeper ;  difficulties  multiply  at  every 
step  ;  officers  and  men  are  lost  to  view  in  an  instant ;  the 
ranks  get  mingled  together,  are  broken  and  scattered ; 
trees  stop  the  men  sometimes  as  obstacles,  but  much 
oftener  as  shelter  from  the  balls.  The  force  starts  out 
in  line  of  battle  ;  it  reaches  its  point  of  attack  in  a  col- 
umn in  disorder,  and  at  the  first  volley  from  the  enemy 
it  decamps  in  confusion.  I  had  therefore  preferred  as 
point  of  attack  a  cleared  field  which  stretched  in  front 
of  us  to  the  enemy's  pickets.  The  moon,  half  obscured 
and  low  down  in  the  heavens,  permits  me  to  follow  their 
movements  for  some  time. 

The  line  advanced  silently  and  in  good  order, 
not  a  man  left  behind.  Soon  it  disappeared  in  the 
obscurity,  and  we  remained  in  suspense  for  several 
minutes.  Then  a  flash  through  the  obscurity,  a 
report  of  a  shot,  other  flashes  and  other  reports. 

The  line  continued  to  advance  without  reply.  Then 
the  whole  border  of  the  woods  crackled  from  one  end 


724       FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

to  the  Other.  Finally,  a  brilliant  jet  of  flame  crossed 
the  field  and  lighted  up  the  heavens  like  a  flash  of 
lightning  ;  a  loud  thunder-clap  shook  the  atmosphere, 
followed  by  the  cry,  Forward !  given  in  chorus  like  an 
echo ;  and  the  three  regiments  charged  the  enemy's 
rifle-pits  on  the  run. 

From  that  moment  there  was  only  a  great  tumult  of 
gun  shots,  shouts,  and  tramping  through  the  dead  wood 
and  broken  branches.  The  rifle-pits  had  been  carried, 
of  course ;  but  behind  them  was  found  a  thick  wood, 
obstructed  with  fallen  trees.  The  men  engaged  in  this 
thicket  had  no  longer  even  the  uncertain  light  of  the 
moon  to  direct  them,  as  she  had  sunk  below  the  hori- 
zon. It  being  impossible  to  go  further,  they  posted 
themselves  as  advantageously  as  possible,  continuing 
the  firing  as  well  as  they  could  on  the  rebels  scattered 
around  them. 

The  briskness  of  the  firing  sufficiently  demonstrated 
that  the  enemy  had  not  stripped  his  line  in  front  of  us. 
The  object  of  the  reconnoissance  being  accomplished, 
General  Mott  sent  me  orders  to  retire  the  three  regi- 
ments. 

They  came  out  of  the  woods  leisurely,  and  reformed 
their  line  along  the  borders  of  the  open  field.  Then, 
certain  of  leaving  no  one  behind,  they  retreated  with 
the  same  precision  as  if  they  had  been  on  the  drill 
ground.  They  retired  thus,  continually  under  fire,  at 
the  same  pace  and  in  the  same  order  in  which  they  had 
advanced.  In  front  of  the  breastworks,  where  the  balls 
were  still  flying  and  where  some  of  them  knew  that  I 
was  present,  they  halted  until  Colonel  Burns  was  cer- 
tain that  the  position  behind  the  parapet  was  free. 
Then  only  did  they,  at  his  command,  leap  over  it. 

The  engagement  was  of  itself  of  no  importance. 
We  gained  but  a  few  prisoners  by  it,  and  we  lost  about 


THE   GREAT    STROKE.  725 

thirty  men  and  a  captain  of  the  One  Hundred  and 
Twenty-fourth,  who  was  killed.  But  I  have  thought  it 
well  to  relate  the  details,  in  order  to  show  what  soldiers 
our  volunteers  had  become,  and  how  their  officers  com- 
manded them  in  the  latter  days  of  the  war. 

This  engagement  was  a  signal  for  a  series  of  similar 
attacks,  which  succeeded  each  other  without  cessation 
during  the  rest  of  the  night.  As  soon  as  one  was  over, 
another  began  on  a  different  point.  Towards  Hatcher's 
Run  and  Petersburg  they  were  strongly  supported  by 
the  artillery.  From  a  distance  we  surveyed  the  lumi- 
nous course  of  the  shells  as  they  passed  each  other  in 
the  air,  and  listened  to  the  deep  sound  of  the  guns 
which  kept  the  two  armies  on  the  alert.  The  soldiers 
said  to  each  other  :  "  Things  are  moving  ;  it  will  be 
warm  to-morrow." 

After  the  battle  of  Five  Forks,  General  Grant  had 
but  one  fear :  this  was  that  the  enemy  would  take 
advantage  of  the  night  to  evacuate  his  works.  This 
is  the  reason  that  he  kept  up  a  continual  attack  along 
the  whole  line,  ready  to  throw  the  troops  in  pursuit  if 
he  should  not  succeed  in  keeping  the  enemy  close  in 
his  intrenchments,  and  also  why  he  sent  Miles  to  reen- 
force  Sheridan  at  Five  Forks,  in  case  General  Lee 
should  endeavor  to  pass  over  him  by  retreating  along 
the  White  Oak  road. 

The  First  Division  having  been  sent  out,  I  received 
orders  at  two  o'clock  in  the  morning  (April  2)  to  take 
my  -brigade  back  immediately  on  the  Boydton  road. 
The  order  was  accompanied  by  the  official  information 
that  at  four  o'clock  the  Sixth  Corps  and  the  Ninth  were 
to  assault,  the  one  in  front  of  Fort  Fisher  (Peeble's 
house),  and  the  other  in  front  of  Fort  Hell  (now  Fort 
Sedgwick).     The  great  day  had  arrived. 

We  filed  through  the  woods.     An  aid  led  me  to  the  po- 


726       FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

sition  I  was  to  occupy  in  the  intrenchments  which  cover 
the  road  and  cross  it  behind  the  Rainie  house,  where 
General  Humphreys  had  his  headquarters.  Five  batter- 
ies were  there,  the  guns  in  position,  the  teams  in  rear, 
the  ammunition  wagons  open,  the  artillerymen  at  their 
posts.  Great  fires  lighted  up  the  scene.  I  disposed 
my  first  tv/o  regiments  between  the  batteries  furthest 
off.  Where  was  the  third .-'  Had  it  got  lost  in  the 
marshy  ground  we  had  passed  over  ?  Had  it  passed  by 
the  point  where  we  left  the  road  .''  My  aids  were  sent 
out  in  search. 

At  this  moment  a  desperate  firing  broke  out  in  the 
woods  in  front  of  us,  and  exactly  in  front  of  the  batter- 
ies which  were  not  yet  protected.  I  turned  the  com- 
mand over  to  the  senior  of  the  two  colonels,  with  a  few 
rapid  instructions,  and  went  in  search  of  the  missing 
troops.  I  met  groups  of  stragglers  joining  the  two 
regiments  in  position.  —  "  Where  are  the  others  ?  "  — 
"  They  are  coming,  general.  We  got  lost  in  the  swamp  ; 
now  they  have  found  the  road."  All  right.  But  time 
presses  ;  I  gallop  to  meet  them  on  the  open  ground 
between  the  road  and  the  batteries. 

What  fine  soldiers  were  those  cannoneers  !  Shells 
rained  around  them  ;  balls  whistled  everywhere  through 
the  air,  telling  them  that  the  enemy  was  very  near.  If 
our  men  gave  way,  the  rebels  would  not  be  long  in  fall- 
ing on  the  guns.  Nevertheless,  they  stood  there  as 
calm  as  their  pieces,  apparently  indifferent  to  what  was 
passing  in  the  woods.  The  ofBcers  and  gunners  were 
looking  over  the  parapets,  watching  for  the  moment 
when  the  enemy  should  appear  in  the  open  ground,  to 
sweep  them  with  canister. 

One  of  my  aids,  Lieutenant  Keene,  joined  me  at  a 
gallop,  reporting  that  three  regiments  were  in  the 
works  farther   along   the   line.     When   the  attack  was 


THE    GREAT    STROKE.  727 

made,  they  had  thrown  themselves  there  to  cover  the 
guns  left  at  that  point  without  infantry  support.  The 
other  regiments  were  in  line  at  the  entrance  into  the 
woods,  awaiting  orders.  I  ordered  him  to  go  and  bring 
them  on  the  double  quick  to  fill  the  vacant  space.  — 
Keene  departed.  He  had  not  gone  twenty  steps  when 
his  hat  was  carried  away  by  a  shell.  The  blood  gushed 
forth  from  his  nose.  Somewhat  stunned,  he  felt  of  his 
head,  shook  himself  together;  then,  settling  in  his  stir- 
rups, went  on  his  way,  as  if  nothing  had  happened. 

When  my  last,  regiments  came  up,  the  attack  lost 
ground  rapidly.  The  firing  became  more  distant,  and 
soon  died  away  in  the  depths  of  the  forest. 

Where  did  that  attack  come  from  ?  What  troops  had 
repulsed  it  ?  How  and  by  what  roads  had  the  enemy 
been  able  to  penetrate  so  far  in  rear  of  the  intrench- 
ments  I  had  hardly  left  ?  I  never  learned.  It  was  one 
of  those  incidents  which  often  occur  in  the  confusion  of 
great  battles.  Perhaps  the  explanation  might  be  found 
in  some  brigade  or  division  report.  But,  in  the  midst  of 
the  brilliant  events  of  that  day,  it  disappeared  like  a 
brook  in  the  ocean. 

At  the  first  glimpse  of  daylight,  the  interrupted  move- 
ment was  completed,  and  my  brigade  took  the  position 
which  had  been  assigned  to  it,  with  a  reenforcement  of 
four  hundred  and  fifty  convalescents  of  the  First  Divis- 
ion, placed  temporarily  under  my  command. 

The  great  uproar  of  artillery  from  Petersburg  had 
reached  its  highest  point  when  punctually  at  four 
o'clock  in  the  morning  Parke  and  Wright  threw  for- 
ward their  assaulting  columns.  Parke  forced  the  first 
line  of  the  enemy  where  Port  Mahone  was  ;  but,  since 
the  famous  affair  of  the  mine,  the  enemy  had  made  a 
second  line,  equally  strong,  at  some  distance  in  the  rear, 
and  the  Ninth  Corps  was  stopped  there.     Wright  car- 


']2Z       FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

riecl  everything  before  him  in  front  of  Fort  Fisher,  the 
Sixth  Corps  having  penetrated  the  vast  enceinte,  so  long 
impenetrable.  Ord  succeeded  also  in  breaking  through 
near  Hatcher's  Run,  with  two  divisions  of  the  Twenty- 
fourth  Corps,  commanded  by  Gibbon.  The  two  corps, 
united,  turned  their  faces  to  the  right,  towards  Peters- 
burg. Two  closed  redoubts  were  found  in  the  plain. 
Gibbon  captured  both,  but  not  without  the  most  in- 
trepid resistance  from  one  of  them. 

All  that  portion  of  Lee's  army  which  was  in  front  of 
the  Second  Corps,  seeing  its  road  to  the  city  cut  off,  re- 
treated in  the  direction  of  Sutherland  Station,  on  the 
Lynchburg  railroad.  The  guns  disappeared  rapidly 
from  the  embrasures,  while  the  men  filed  out  on  the  run 
behind  the  intrenchments.  Deployed  as  we  were  on  a 
long  line,  a  third  of  which  was  in  return,  some  time  was 
necessary  for  us  to  form  in  column  on  the  Boydton 
road.  When  we  reached  Burgess  mill,  the  enemy  had 
disappeared. 

However,  he  was  not  to  escape  us  completely.  At 
the  first  news  of  the  successful  assault,  Sheridan  had 
hastened  to  send  back  his  first  division  to  Humphreys. 
Miles  returned  in  haste  by  way  of  the  White  Oak  road, 
when,  the  current  of  retreating  rebels  passing  in  his 
reach,  he  began  an  energetic  pursuit  along  the  Claiborne 
road.  He  struck  them  near  the  station,  where  they,  at 
first,  made  an  obstinate  resistance.  But  Sheridan  came 
up,  overlapping  their  right.  They  gave  way  and  fled  in 
the  greatest  disorder,  by  the  road  running  along  the 
Appomattox,  abandoning  their  guns  and  losing  a  large 
number  of  prisoners. 

In  the  meanwhile,  we  left  behind  us  the  fine  fortifica- 
tions with  which  the  rebel  engineers  had  covered  the 
approaches  to  Burgess  mill,  and  hurried  on  towards 
Petersburg  by  the  Boydton  road,  now  completely  open. 


THE   GREAT    STROKE. 


729 


It  was  a  beautiful  day.  The  spring  sun  laughed  amongst 
the  new  foliage.  Heaven  and  earth  appeared  to  rejoice 
in  our  triumph.  The  men,  forgetting  the  fatigues  of 
the  last  days  and  the  sleepless  nights,  marched  with  a 
joyous  step,  running  and  laughing  with  each  other.  On 
the  right  and  on  the  left,  our  flankers  picked  up  pris- 
oners, who  surrendered  with  a  good  grace,  and  took 
their  place  between  our  regiments  without  showing  any 
ill-temper.  They  knew  that  the  war  was  finished  by  a 
blow,  and  were  far  from  regretting  it. 

On  approaching  the  city,  we  passed  out  of  the  woods 
to  cross  a  wide  plain.  We  had  arrived  near  a  house  of 
poor  appearance,  situated  about  fifty  yards  from  the 
road,  when  an  electric  movement  ran  through  the  ranks. 
Attention  !  There  is  General  Grant !  Every  one 
straightened  himself  up,  adjusted  his  equipments.  The 
general,  seated  on  a  front  veranda,  his  legendary  cigar 
in  his  mouth,  looked  on  us  passing  by,  probably  think- 
ing of  something  entirely  different.  The  door  was  like 
the  entrance  to  a  beehive.  Staff  officers  were  crowding 
around  ;  horsemen  were  coming  and  going  on  a  gallop. 
All  was  motion  and  life  around  the  lieutenant-general. 
He  alone  preserved  his  habitual  calm ;  but  through  that 
apparent  impassibility  shone  the  pride  of  triumph  and  of 
satisfaction  for  the  task  accomplished. 

Everything,  however,  was  not  yet  over.  The  cannon 
were  heard  grumbling,  and  between  us  and  Petersburg 
there  was  still  a  line  of  works  important  enough  to  at 
least  give  the  enemy  time  to  collect  himself.  In  order 
to  strengthen  his  position,  he  had  even  endeavored  to 
recapture  some  positions  from  the  Ninth  Corps.  It  was 
in  one  of  these  offensive  efforts,  unsuccessful  though 
vigorously  made,  that  General  A.  P.  Hill  was  killed. 
He  had  played  a  great  part  in  the  war,  and  had  served 
the  cause  of  secession  with  as  much  constancy  as  ability. 


730       FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

He  perished  with  it,  and  was  buried  in  the  same  wind- 
ing-sheet.' 

The  remainder  of  the  day  passed  in  putting  the 
artillery  in  position,  and  in  connecting  our  movements 
with  those  of  the  Sixth  and  the  Twenty-fourth  Corps, 
so  as  to  carry  the  city  by  assault,  if  the  enemy  persisted 
in  defending  it.  But  he  had  no  such  idea.  General 
Lee  wished  only  to  gain  the  night,  the  protector  of  dis- 
orderly retreats. 

This  memorable  day  was  Sunday.  While  at  Peters- 
burg the  last  rampart  of  the  rebellion  was  falling  in 
pieces,  its  president  was  in  Richmond,  calling  in  vain  on 
the  Lord  of  Hosts.  Mr.  Jefferson  Davis  was  at  St. 
Paul's  Church,  where  he  received  a  despatch,  the  tenor 
of  which  did  not  permit  him  to  hear  the  end  of  the 
religious  service.  It  was  the  Venit  smnnia  dies  of  the 
Southern  Confederacy.  Twelve  hours  were  left  to  its 
government  to  pack  up  and  leave. 

*  A.  P.  Hill  was  killed  near  the  Boydton  road,  after  the  lines  were 
broken  by  the  Sixth  Corps,  by  some  soldiers  away  from  their  com- 
mands.—  Trans. 


CHAPTER    XXXV. 

THE   DENOUEMENT. 

Evacuation  of  Petersburg  and  Richmond  —  The  pursuit  —  Arrival  at 
Jetersville  —  The  Confederates  at  Amelia  Court  House —  Engage- 
ments of  the  rearguard — Fight  at  Deatonsville — Captures  and 
trophies  —  A  great  cast  of  the  net  —  Death  of  General  Read  —  Opin- 
ion of  a  Confederate  sergeant  —  The  baggage  —  Meeting  General 
Sheridan — High  Bridge  —  The  last  battle  of  the  Second  Corps  — 
Communications  between  Grant  and  Lee  —  The  coup  de  grace — The 
Confederate  army  lays  down  its  arms —  Final  tableau. 

During  the  night  of  the  2d  to  the  3d  of  April,  General 
Lee  evacuated  Petersburg  and  Richmond  simulta- 
neously. All  the  troops  he  had  left  were  assembled  at 
Chesterfield  Court  House,  a  central  point,  at  nearly 
equal  distance  from  both  cities,  and  from  there,  in  the 
morning,  they  began  their  movement  to  join  Johnston's 
army  in  North  Carolina.  This  was  their  only  chance 
of  escaping  utter  destruction.  General  Grant,  who  was 
well  aware  of  this,  was  ready.  The  pursuit  began  im- 
mediately, so  that  the  occupation  of  the  two  cities  was 
left  principally  to  the  Twenty-fifth  Corps,  composed  of 
colored  troops.  The  division  placed  temporarily  under 
the  orders  of  Parke  was  put  in  charge  of  Petersburg, 
an,d  the  two  others,  under  Weitzel,  took  possession  of 
Richmond. 

The  last  and  supreme  humiliation  of  these  arrogant 
despisers  of  humanity  !  At  the  very  seat  itself  of  their 
overturned  government,  their  property  and  their  lives 
were  under  the  protection  of  the  black  man,  to  whom 
they  had  refused  a  place  in  the  great  human  family. 
At  this  last  hour  of  the  great  iniquity,  the  characters  of 

731 


'J 2)2        FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    AR.MY, 

both  the  oppressor  and  the  oppressed  were  made  mani- 
fest without  disguise.  The  associates  of  Jefferson 
Davis  delivered  to  the  flames  the  city  they  could  no 
longer  defend,  and  which  the  flames  would  have  utter- 
ly devoured  but  for  the  colored  soldiers  of  Weitzel,  who 
saved  two-thirds  of  it.  The  whole  business  quarter,  the 
richest  and  most  thickly  inhabited,  was  reduced  to 
ashes.  Its  piled-up  ruins  will  for  a  long  time  tell  what 
were  the  men  who  sacrificed  their  country  to  their 
depraved  ambitions,  with  the  sole  object  of  perpetuating 
their  barbarous  rule  over  a  soil  torn  from  American 
civilization. 

The  route  selected  by  General  Lee  was,  on  leaving 
Chesterfield,  to  cross  the  Appomattox  at  Good's  bridge, 
in  order  to  strike  the  Danville  railroad  at  Amelia  Court 
House.  From  there  he  hoped  to  precede  us  at  Burks- 
ville,  the  point  of  intersection  with  the  Lynchburg  rail- 
road ;  if  he  succeeded  in  passing  that  point  before  we' 
were  able  to  oppose  him,  he  was  nearly  certain  to  effect 
a  junction  with  Johnston,  who  was  stretching  out  his 
left  from  Smithfield  to  meet  him.  The  common  objec- 
tive, then,  was  Burksville.  Pursuers  and  pursued  hur- 
ried in  that  direction  with  an  equal  ardor.  In  that  race 
the  advantages  were  balanced,  for,  if  the  Confederates 
had  ten  or  twelve  hours  advance  of  us,  our  route  was 
shorter  than  theirs  by  a  distance  nearly  equivalent  to 
the  difference  in  time. 

The  two  armies  started  on  the  race  by  parallel  roads, 
Lee  to  the  north  and  Grant  to  the  south  of  the  Appo- 
mattox. Sheridan,  who  had  remained  during  the  even- 
ing before  not  far  from  Five  Forks,  took  the  lead,  with 
all  his  cavalry,  followed  by  the  Fifth  Corps,  which  had 
camped  at  Sutherland.  The  Second  Corps  marched  at 
daylight  by  the  Appomattox  river  road,  and  the  Sixth 
followed  closely.  —  General  Ord,  with  the  greater  part 


THE  DENOUEMENT. 


of  the  Armv  of  the  James,  marched  along  the  line  of  the 
Lynchburg  railroad,  which  the  Ninth  Corps  was  ordered 
to  protect  behind  him. 

Thus  General  Grant  had  divided  his  forces  into  two 
columns,  and,  while  Ord  pushed  towards  Burksville. 
Sheridan  and  Meade  took  a  straight  line  to  strike  the 
Danville  railroad  a  little  farther  to  the  north,  at  Jeters- 
ville  Station. 

Sheridan  arrived  there  first,  during  the  4th,  at  the 
time  when  Lee  had  just  reached  Amelia  Court  House, 
and,  as  he  was  considerably  in  advance  of  Meade,  he 
intrenched  in  order  to  give  ISIeade  plenty  of  time  to 
join  him.  We  had  been  somewhat  delayed  in  our 
march  by  the  necessity  of  repairing  the  roads,  or  of 
leaving  the  artillery  and  trains  behind.  In  spite  of  all 
possible  diligence,  it  was  not  until  the  afternoon  of  the 
5th  that  we  reached  Jetersville.  But,  during  these 
twenty-four  hours,  Lee  had  not  thought  himself  strong 
enough  to  engage  in  a  doubtful  battle  against  the  six- 
teen or  eighteen  thousand  men  who  barred  his  way. 

Everything  was  turning  against  him.  Adverse  fort- 
une struck  him  a  hard  blow  in  depriving  him  of  the 
provisions  on  which  he  had  relied  to  supply  his  army. 
A  lar-e  train  ordered  from  Danville  on  the  2d  was  to 
wait  for  him  at  Amelia  Court  House.  It  happened 
that  the  rebel  government,  having  need  of  the  cars  for 
its  hurried  removal,  had  ordered  the  conductor  to  take 
them  on  to  Richmond.  He  did  not  understand  that  they 
wished  the  empty  cars,  and.  without  unloadmg,  contni- 
ued  on  his  way,  taking  the  rations  with  him. 

Lee's  soldiers,  on  leaving  Petersburg,  had  hardly  a 
day's  rations  with  them.  The  greater  part  had  eaten 
nothing  for  twenty-four  hours  when  they  arrived  at 
Amelia  Court  House.  They  employed  the  day  of  the 
5th  in  foraging  to  pick  up  what  they  could  find  in  the 


734       FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

neighborhood  ;  a  very  insufficient  resource,  in  a  country 
more  than  impoverished.  And,  by  this  delay,  the  last 
chance  of  joining  Johnston  was  lost. 

During  the  night  of  the  5th  to  6th,  the  Confederates 
were  compelled  to  start  on  their  road  ;  we  were  upon 
them.  Already  in  the  afternoon,  General  Davies,  with 
a  brigade  of  cavalry,  had  captured  five  pieces  of  artil- 
lery, and  burned  a  hundred  and  eighty  wagons,  at  Paine's 
crossroads.  The  rebels  hurried  forward  as  fast  as  the 
increasing  difificulties  permitted,  for  forage  was  lacking 
to  them  as  well  as  provisions,  and  the  animals  were 
feeble  from  hunger,  as  well  as  the  men.  Now  their  only 
hope  was  to  reach  Farmville  before  us,  so  as  by  a  detour 
to  regain  the  direction  towards  North  Carolina,  or  to 
reach  Lynchburg,  where  they  had  a  supply  of  provis- 
ions. But  the  nearer  the  stag  approaches  the  end  of 
his  course,  the  more  ardently  does  the  pack  hurry  on 
his  trail.  At  daylight  the  whole  army  was  put  in 
motion. 

The  cavalry,  supported  by  the  Sixth  Corps,  resumed 
its  march  parallel  to  the  enemy's  column.  Griffin,  pass- 
ing by  Amelia  Court  House,  which  had  been  evacuated," 
kept  to  the  left,  upon  the  flank  of  the  Confederates, 
while  Humphreys  pressed  closely  upon  their  rearguard. 
Finally,  Ord,  reaching  Burksville,  marched  rapidly 
upon  Farmville,  in  order  to  destroy  the  bridge  at  that 
point,  towards  which  Lee  was  pushing  the  head  of  his 
column  with  equal  haste. 

It  was  about  nine  o'clock  in  the  morning  when  our 
division  caught  up  with  the  rearguard  of  the  enemy, 
near  Salt  Sulphur  Spring.  General  Mott  communicated 
his  instructions  to  me  while  my  regiments  were  rapidly 
advancing.  Ten  minutes  after,  we  were  engaged  with 
the  enemy.  The  Twentieth  Indiana,  deployed  as  skir- 
mishers   and    supported    by    the    One    Hundred    and 


THE    DENOUEMENT.  73c 

Twenty-fourth  New  York,  had  rapidly  ascended  a  hill, 
and  begun  to  drive  the  rebels,  who  fell  back  along  the 
Deatonsville  road. 

We  advanced  firing,  with  a  rapid  step,  when  Mott, 
wishing  to  examine  for  himself  the  dispositions  I  had 
made,  came  to  join  me  on  the  skirmish  line.  —  "  Every- 
thing goes  along  finely,"  he  said.  "  Push  on  vigorously, 
and  try  to  reach  the  wagons  which  are  a  short  distance 
away.  If  you  capture  them,  it  is  quite  probable 
you  may  find  a  commission  of  major-general."  —  He 
had  hardly  stepped  back  four  paces  when  the  sound  of 
a  ball  striking  against  leather  made  me  turn  my  head. 
I  remarked  a  hurried  movement  among  the  staff  officers. 
Several  leaped  from  their  horses,  and,  in  the  midst  of  a 
group,  I  saw  the  general  stretched  on  the  ground.  A 
ball  had  gone  through  his  leg,  passing  between  the  two 
bones  below  the  knee.  When  he  saw  me  near  him,  he 
raised  himself  on  his  elbow  to  say  to  me  :  —  "  You  have 
command  of  the  division.  You  already  know  your 
instructions  ;  I  have  nothing  to  add.  Carry  them  out 
vigorously.  Good-luck  and  good-bye."  —  He  was  car- 
ried off  on  a  litter,  suffering  less  from  physical  pain  than 
from  moral  disappointment  at  not  being  able  to  assist  at 
the  denouement  of  the  drama  in  which  he  had  played 
for  four  years  a  part  as  meritorious  as  distinguished. 

The  movement  was  continued  without  interruption. 
The  First  Brigade,  now  commanded  by  Colonel  Shep- 
hard  of  the  First  Maine,  and  strengthened  by  two  regi- 
ments, continued  to  advance  in  line  of  battle,  behind  its 
skirmishing  line,  whose  dash  gave  the  enemy  no  time  to 
halt.  The  rebels  were  pressed  so  closely  that,  a  favor- 
able position  presenting  itself  to  them  to  make  a  stand 
around  a  large  farmhouse,  they  were  driven  from  it 
before  they  were  able  to  cover  themselves  with  a  slight 
barricade  hurriedly  sketched  out. 


736       FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

However,  a  little  further  on,  there  was  a  halt,  A 
body  of  Confederate  cavalry  had  placed  a  battery  in  a 
good  position  to  sweep  a  piece  of  open  ground,  extend- 
ing to  the  right  of  the  road.  The  First  Division  was 
hurrying  up  on  that  side,  but,  marching  from  Jetersville 
by  a  longer  road  than  ours,  it  had  not  been  able  to  join 
us,  and  our  skirmishers  alone  prolonged  our  line  of 
battle.  To  assist  them,  I  ordered  forward  a  section  of 
the  Eleventh  New  York  battery.  A  lively  cannonade 
followed,  to  such  good  purpose  that  soon  guns  and 
horsemen  disappeared  before  them. 

During  the  engagement,  General  Humphreys  had 
come  up  on  the  line.  We  dismounted  in  order  to 
advance  out  of  the  woods  by  a  road  running  along 
a  slope  from  which  the  movements  of  the  enemy  could 
be  better  discovered.  We  must  have  been  noticed,  for 
the  balls  began  to  whistle  about  our  ears  with  a  persist- 
ency which  certainly  was  not  due  to  chance.  But,  as 
General  Humphreys  paid  no  attention  to  them,  it  was 
not  my  place  to  notice  them.  He  asked  me  as  to  the 
exact  position  of  my  three  brigades,  consulted  a  topo- 
graphical sketch  which  he  held  in  his  hand,  explained  to 
me  where  the  road  led  to,  where  we  had  a  good  oppor- 
tunity to  strike  the  rear  of  the  enemy's  train,  and  above 
all  the  guns  of  the  rearguard,  which  he  was  particularly 
desirous  of  capturing.  Finally,  satisfied  on  all  points, 
"  I  think,"  said  he,  in  a  calm  voice,  "  we  had  better  get 
further  to  the  rear." 

We  retraced  our  steps  without  accident. 

Now  we  are  at  work  again.  The  chase  recommences. 
A  new  line,  hurriedly  made  and  feebly  defended,  is 
again  carried  by  the  skirmishers.  A  hundred  yards  fur- 
ther on,  the  hill  is  crowned  by  a  slope  strengthened 
by  fences  and  felled  trees,  behind  which  appears  a  well 
filled  line.     Here  the  skirmishers  are  not  enoush.     The 


THE    DENOUEMENT.  737 

line  of  battle  is  formed  along  a  covered  hedge,  under 
fire  from  invisible  artillery,  which  is  searching  us  with 
shell  from  beyond  the  crest  where  the  infantry  awaits 
us.  In  a  few  minutes,  six  regiments  are  ready  to 
charge  :  the  Seventy-third  and  Eighty-sixth  New  York, 
the  One  Hundred  and  Fifth  and  One  Hundred  and  Tenth 
Pennsylvania,  the  First  and  the  Seventeenth  Maine. 
At  the  command  all  dash  forward  at  once.  The  strife 
is  to  see  who  will  pass  ahead  of  the  others,  and  first 
plant  the  colors  on  the  enemy's  intrenchments.  No  one 
remains  behind.  The  wounded  fall  ;  they  will  be 
picked  up  afterward.  The  first  thing  was  to  strike  the 
enemy. 

It  was  a  beautiful  sight.  The  six  flags  advanced  in 
line  as  though  carried  by  six  human  waves,  which 
ascended  without  halting  until  they  had  extinguished 
and  submerged  the  flaming  dyke  which  was  raised  in 
front  of  them. 

And,  with  no  other  delay  than  the  time  required  to 
collect  two  or  three  hundred  prisoners,  and  reform  the 
ranks,  continually  following  the  retreating  enemy,  we 
arrived  at  Deatonsville.  There  the  First  Brigade  gave 
way  to  the  Second.  Nearly  all  the  regiments  had  emp- 
tied their  cartridge-boxes  on  the  skirmish  line,  where 
they  had  been  since  morning. 

From  this  point  on,  the  First  Division  marched  in 
line  with  us  on  the  right  of  the  road,  and  advanced  at 
a  good  pace.  Now  it  was  a  question  of  not  allowing 
ourselves  to  be  left  behind.  So  that,  without  waiting 
for  the  First  Brigade  to  replenish  its  ammunition,  I 
pushed  the  Second  Brigade  to  the  front  in  line  of  battle 
and  supported  closely  by  the  Third. 

We  went  on  at  a  fine  rate.  Twenty-eight  wagons  and 
five  guns  had  already  fallen  into  our  hands.  At  each 
capture  the  ardor  of  the  chase  increased     The  men  no 


738       FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

longer  halted  even  to  load.  When  an  obstacle  presented 
itself,  behind  which  the  enemy  made  a  pretence  of 
standing,  the  skirmishers  ran  upon  them  with  cheers  ; 
the  regiments  nearest  dashed  forward,  and  the  position 
was  carried  before  even  the  rest  of  the  line  knew  what 
was  going  on. 

Towards  sundown,  General  Pierce,  on  emerging  from 
a  thick  wood,  found  himself  in  front  of  an  abrupt  hill 
crowned  by  a  slope,  behind  which  the  enemy  in  force 
opposed  a  determined  resistance.  The  cause  was  soon 
known.  On  the  crest  of  the  hill,  which  was  reached 
by  a  winding  slope,  the  road  turned  sharply  to  the  left, 
and  was  thus  parallel  to  our  front.  The  enemy's 
trains  were  still  defiling  there,  and  it  was  to  save  them 
that  the  entire  rearguard  opposed  us.  But  there  was 
no  intrenchment  which  could  hold  against  the  determi- 
nation of  our  men  when  they  saw  the  wagons.  The 
crest  of  the  hill  was  carried  at  the  instant  when  the 
last  carriages  had  passed.  While  falling  back,  the  es- 
corting troops  still  defended  them.  Pierce  rapidly 
changed  front  on  his  left  regiment,  while  the  Third 
Brigade  came  up  in  haste  to  have  its  share  of  the 
spoils. 

The  line  had  but  just  passed  a  large  farmhouse  at  the 
highest  point  of  the  hill,  when  an  unexpected  sight 
was  presented  to  it.  At  the  bottom  of  a  narrow 
valley,  divided  throughout  its  length  by  a  small  stream, 
called  Sailor's  Creek,  more  than  two  hundred  wagons 
were  hurrying  pell-mell  to  cross  the  stream  upon  a 
bridge  half  destroyed.  The  Second  Brigade,  in  which 
was  the  One  Hundred  and  Twentieth  New  York,  fell 
upon  the  prey  with  enthusiastic  cries.  Two  of  these 
regiments,  the  Seventeenth  Maine  and  the  Fifty-sev- 
enth Pennsylvania,  even  crossed  over  the  creek  in  pur- 
suit of  the  enemy,  and  only  stopped  at  the  summit  of 


THE    DENOUEMENT. 


739 


the  opposite  hill.  The  First  Division,  which,  on  ac- 
count of  the  change  in  the  direction  of  the  road,  had 
been  obliged  to  make  a  long  detour,  nevertheless 
arrived  in  time  to  take  part  in  the  fray. 

The  day  was  fine.  Besides  the  wagons  captured  to 
the  number  of  two  hundred  and  seventy,  my  two  bri- 
gades, which  were  engaged,  had  taken  from  the  enemy 
six  guns,  an  artillery  guidon,  eight  flags,  and  from  five 
to  six  hundred  prisoners.  Miles'  division  had  likewise 
its  trophies.  These,  however,  were  the  least  of  our 
successes. 

While  Humphreys  was  pushing  on  and  demolishing 
the  rearguard  of  the  rebels  piecemeal,  Sheridan  took 
the  advance  of  the  Sixth  Corps,  looking  for  a  place 
where  he  could  strike  a  terrible  blow  in  the  rebel  flank : 
leo  qiicerens  quern  dcvoret  !  He  hurled  one  of  his  divis- 
ions of  cavalry  to  the  attack ;  the  enemy  halted  to 
cover  in  force  the  point  threatened  ;  the  fight  was  car- 
ried on  with  vigor,  while  a  second  division  passed  on  to 
renew  the  combat  at  a  point  a  little  further  along, 
and  then  a  third  division  in  like  manner.  While  the 
enemy's  infantry  halted  to  fight,  the  trains  continued 
on  their  way,  leaving  behind  the  greater  part  of  their 
protecting  force.  The  column  was  broken  up  into  sec- 
tions, and  the  moment  must  come  when  it  would  be 
cut  off.  That  was  what  happened.  Three  divisions  of 
cavalry,  led  by  Custer,  Crook,  and  Devin,  struck  the 
trains  upon  Sailor's  Creek,  a  few  miles  above  the  point 
where  we  had  captured  a  part.  They  destroyed  four 
hundred  wagons  en  bloc,  captured  sixteen  pieces  of 
artillery,  and  made  a  large  number  of  prisoners. 

Between  Sheridan,  in  front,  and  Humphreys,  in  rear, 
was  Ewell's  Confederate  corps,  delayed  by  the  inces- 
sant cavalry  charges,  whose  object  was  to  give  time  for 
the  Sixth  Corps  to  arrive.     Wright  was,  indeed,  not  far 


740       FOUR   YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

away,  and  soon  his  first  division,  commanded  by  Gen- 
eral Seymour,  struck  the  rebel  force  along  the  road, 
while  the  second,  commanded  by  General  Wheaton, 
extended  around  the  left  flank  of  the  enemy's  column. 
The  latter  made  frequent  and  vigorous  attacks  in  reply. 
But  when  it  had  to  halt  before  the  fire,  assailed  on  all 
sides  at  once,  crushed  as  in  a  vice  between  the  cavalry 
and  the  infantry,  it  had  no  other  resource  but  to  lay 
dpwn  its  arms.  This  great  haul  of  the  net  brought  in 
six  to  seven  thousand  prisoners,  General  Ewell  himself 
and  five  or  six  other  general  officers  among  them. 

And  this  was  not  all.  To  complete  the  disaster  to 
Lee's  army,  his  advance  guard  received  the  same  day 
an  important  check.  We  left  him  advancing  rapidly  on 
Farmville,  towards  which  the  Army  of  the  James  was 
directing  its  course.  General  Ord,  fearful  of  not  ar- 
riving in  time,  sent  forward  two  regiments  of  infantry 
and  a  squadron  of  cavalry,  under  command  of  General 
Read,  to  stop  the  enemy  by  burning  the  bridge.  Read 
arrived  too  late  to  carry  out  his  instructions.  The  head 
of  the  enemy's  column  had  already  crossed  the  river. 
However,  knowing  how  important  it  was  to  delay  the 
enemy,  he  did  not  hesitate  to  attack,  notwithstanding 
the  enormous  disproportion  of  force.  He  contested  the 
gound  step  by  step,  with  a  heroic  intrepidity,  while 
Ord  hurried  forward  at  the  sound  of  the  musketry.  He 
was  killed  at  the  head  of  his  two  decimated  regiments  ; 
but  the  sacrifice  of  his  life  had  the  full  result  for  which 
he  hoped.  The  Army  of  the  James  soon  appeared, 
and  the  rebels,  halted  at  Farmville,  could  only  turn  off 
in  an  endeavor  to  reach  Lynchburg. 

This  battle  of  the  6th  of  April,  known  generally 
under  the  name  of  the  battle  of  Sailor's  Creek,  gave 
the  coup  de  grace  to  Lee's  army.  Worn  out  by  fatigue 
and   hunger,  exposed  to  every  privation  and  every  dis- 


THE    DENOUEMENT. 


741 


couragement,  these  twenty-six  to  twenty-eight  thousand 
men  were  no  longer  in  condition  to  defend  themselves. 
A  portion  was  without  arms  ;  the  remainder  was  only 
capable  henceforth  of  those  spasmodic  efforts  in  which 
a  mortal  agony  is  extinguished. 

Among  the  prisoners  we  had  made  in  the  evening 
was  a  young  sergeant  whose  intelligence  had  been 
noted  by  some  officers  of  my  staff.  I  sent  for  him  and 
conversed  some  time  with  him.  His  replies  can  be 
given  in  a  few  words  :  "  General,  I  can  tell  you  nothing 
which  you  do  not  well  know.  The  Army  of  Northern 
Virginia  no  longer  exists.  What  remains  cannot  es- 
cape you.  It  must  end  in  that  manner,  and,  since  it 
cannot  be  otherwise,  we  do  not  regret  that  the  day  long 
foreseen  has  arrived.  On  the  contrary,  we  are  all  re- 
joiced that  the  war  is  finished.  If  we  had  been  con- 
sulted, it  would  have  ended  many  months  ago,  but  the 
government  chose  to  hold  out  to  the  end. 

"  I  was  taken  by  the  conscription,  like  the  rest  ;  for  of 
those  who  volunteered  at  the  beginning  of  the  war  very 
few  now  remain.  For  six  or  eight  months  back,  our 
men  have  deserted  by  thousands.  Those  who  remain 
have  been  held  by  a  sentiment  of  honor  only.  They  did 
not  wish  to  disgrace  themselves  by  deserting  their  flag. 
They  have  done  their  duty  to  the  best  of  their  ability. 
As  to  the  Southern  Confederacy,  although  they  would 
have  liked  to  have  seen  it  triumph,  they  lost  all  hope 
of  it  long  since. 

"  Personally,  I  care  little  for  slavery,  and  it  is  all  the 
same  to  me  whether  the  negroes  be  free  or  not.  I  be- 
long to  a  family  of  farmers  who  sometimes  hired  black 
labor,  but  who  owned  no  slaves.  Now,  when  we  employ 
them,  we  will  pay  them  instead  of  their  masters  ;  that 
is  all  the  difference.  As  to  politics,  I  have  never  taken 
any  part.      I  know  very  well  that  the  war  was  brought 


742       FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

on  principally  for  the  benefit  of  the  planters  ;  but  what 
could  we  do  ?  when  one  is  on  board  of  a  ship,  he  must 
do  what  he  can  to  keep  it  afloat.  The  Confederacy 
has  ruined  the  South  by  the  war  ;  our  hope  is  now  that 
the  Union  will  raise  her  out  of  her  ruin  by  peace." 

When  I  had  dismissed  the  prisoner,  he  halted  a  few 
steps  away,  hesitated  an  instant,  then,  turning  towards 
me,  said  :  — 

"  General,  your  kindness  has  encouraged  me  to  ask  a 
favor  of  you.  There  are  a  half-dozen  of  us  here,  who 
have  found  nothing  to  eat  since  day  before  yesterday. 
If  you  could  give  us  each  a  cracker,  that  would  help  us 
to  wait,  and  we  would  be  very  thankful." 

We  were  not  very  bountifully  supplied  ourselves  ;  in 
fact,  we  were  very  far  from  it.  But  the  sergeant  did 
not  return  to  his  comrades  empty-handed. 

One  thing  struck  me  particularly  in  the  contents  of 
the  wagons  fallen  into  our  hands  ;  it  was  the  quantity 
of  heavy  and  useless  articles  with  which  they  were 
loaded.  Cooking-utensils,  frying-pans,  stewpans,  kettles, 
were  plentiful,  along  with  trunks  and  chests  half  empty 
or  filled  with  useless  papers  and  worn-out  rags.  Dis- 
cipline must  have  become  very  much  relaxed,  or  the 
comfortable  habits  of  the  ofBcers  deeply  fixed,  to  induce 
them  to  load  down  the  transportation  of  an  army  whose 
safety  depended  on  its  celerity,  with  such  impedi- 
menta. It  seemed  to  me  that  the  surplus  of  useless 
trains  hastened  the  loss  of  the  rebel  army  by  retarding 
its  movements  and  scattering  its  active  force.  When 
a  ship  threatens  to  founder,  they  throw  the  freight  into 
the  sea.  Lee's  army  refused  to  lighten  itself  in  this 
way,  and  was  engulfed  with  its  cargo. 

During  the  night  of  the  6th  and  the  7th,  the  enemy 
continued  his  movements.  At  daylight,  Humphreys 
was  already  in  pursuit.     In  the  rapidity  of  the  march,  I 


THE    DENOUEMENT.  743 

passed  by  a  crossroad  I  should  have  taken,  and  soon, 
having  some  suspicions  on  the  subject,  I  halted,  while 
my  aids  sought  for  information.  A  general,  followed  by 
some  staff  officers  and  an  escort  of  cavalry,  came  up  by 
the  road  near  which  I  had  halted.  Those  around  me 
said,  "  It  is  Sheridan  !  "  which  excited  my  curiosity. 
I  had  seen  the  general  once  or  twice  only,  but  without 
ever  having  had  an  opportunity  to  exchange  a  word 
with  him. 

General  Sheridan  is  of  medium  height,  stout,  and 
vigorous  ;  with  a  soldierly  air.  He  at  that  time  wore 
his  hair  brushed  up  and  his  moustache  an  nattirel ;  his 
eyes  are  black  and  bright  ;  his  look  denotes  great 
quickness  of  perception  and  of  temperament.  His  feat- 
ures are  regular  ;*his  open  countenance  denotes  a  frank 
decision  of  character.  Such  is  the  impression  I  have 
of  this  meeting,  the  first  time  I  ever  had  an  interview 
with  him. 

He  halted  near  me,  saluting  me,  calling  me  by  my 
name  as  if  we  had  been  old  acquaintances,  and,  as 
soon  as  I  had  made  known  to  him  my  doubt  as  to  which 
road  I  ought  to  take,  in  a  few  words  he  put  before  me 
very  clearly  my  line  of  march.  Wright  was  marching 
on  this  line  ;  Humphreys  on  that  ;  Griffin  must  be 
found  so  far  away.  At  such  an  hour  we  would  reach 
High  Bridge,  where  we  could  strike  the  enemy,  etc. 
My  brigade,  then,  should  take  the  road  that  I  had 
passed,  and  which  would  bring  me  out  at  such  a  cross- 
road, where  I  would  meet  such  and  such  troops.  All 
this  was  told  so  clearly  that  I  could  not  doubt  the  per- 
fect accuracy  of  his  information.  The  general  had  in 
his  head  not  only  the  general  character  of  the  move- 
ments of  the  army,  but  also  the  details.  I  left  him  im- 
mediately, in  order  to  repair  the  delay  of  some  minutes, 
and  at  the  hour  announced  we  reached  High  Bridge. 


744       FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

This  is  a  magnificent  viaduct  of  twenty-one  arches, 
crossing  the  valley  of  the  Appomattox  from  one  hill  to 
the  other.  It  is  designed  both  for  the  Lynchburg 
railroad  and  for  the  inhabitants  who  wish  to  cross  on 
foot  or  in  carriage  from  one  side  to  the  other.  When 
we  presented  ourselves  at  one  end,  the  enemy,  who  had 
just  crossed  over,  was  setting  fire  to  the  other.  We 
had  to  throw  a  pontoon  bridge  across  the  river.  Gen- 
eral Humphreys  determined  to  profit  by  this  delay  to 
save  the  viaduct,  the  second  arch  of  which  was  already 
on  fire.  A  strong  detachment,  armed  with  axes  bor- 
rowed from  the  different  regiments,  hurried  to  the  fire, 
under  the  direction  of  some  engineer  officers.  The 
upper  bridge,  on  which  was  the  railroad,  was  saved  by 
the  sacrifice  of  a  third  span,  and  the  lower  bridge  was 
open  for  our  trains,  after  some  slight  repairs. 

The  Second  Division  crossed  over  first.  General 
Barlow,  who  had  returned  to  the  army  three  or  four 
days  before,  was  in  command.  The  enemy's  rearguard 
was  still  on  the  hills.  Barlow  sent  against  him  the  bri- 
gade of  General  Smythe,  who  was  killed  in  the  engage- 
ment. He  was  a  gallant  officer,  very  much  beloved  in 
the  Second  Corps.  His  death  closed  the  long  list  of 
the  victims  of  the  war  among  the  general  officers.  One 
of  the  last  ones  killed  was  General  Winthrop  of  the 
Fifth  Corps. 

Barlow  had  scarcely  reached  the  further  bank  when 
he  was  sent  to  Farmville,  from  which  a  detachment  of 
the  enemy  retired  at  his  approach,  after  having  burned 
the  bridge,  and  more  than  one  hundred  wagons,  which 
he  could  take  no  farther.  General  Humphreys,  with 
my  division  and  that  of  Miles,  continued  energetically 
to  pursue  the  greater  part  of  the  Confederates  by  the 
road  to  Appomattox  Court  House.  We  came  up  with 
them  five  or  six  miles  further  on,  in  a  strong  position, 


THE    DENOUEMENT.  745 

where  they  had  already  covered  themselves  with  in- 
trenchments  and  awaited  our  approach.  I  had  the  left, 
and  Miles  the  right.  The  skirmishers  deployed  in 
advance  met  everywhere  a  stubborn  resistance,  and, 
from  the  extent  and  solidity  of  the  enemy's  line,  it 
became  evident  that  we  had  before  us  all  that  remained 
of  Lee's  army.  The  day  was  passing  away.  In  the 
impossibility  of  turning  either  flank  of  the  position,  a 
charge  was  ordered  of  three  regiments  of  the  First 
Division.  It  was  repulsed  with  loss.  We  had  to  do 
with  too  strong  a  force. 

All  the  remainder  of  the  army  was  some  distance 
away,  on  the  other  side  of  the  Appomattox.  The  cav- 
alry and  the  Fifth  Corps  were  on  the  road  via  Prince 
Edward's  Court  House.  The  Sixth  Corps  and  the 
Twenty-fourth  were  still  at  Farmville,  where  the  bridge 
was  not  rebuilt  until  night ;  and  the  Third  Division  had 
not  yet  rejoined  us.  We  were  thus  compelled  to  put  off 
the  renewal  of  the  attack  until  the  next  day.  But  the 
enemy  did  not  wait.  He  commenced  his  march  during 
the  night,  and  the  grand  chase  again  began,  with  eager- 
ness, at  daylight. 

We  advanced  in  three  columns,  picking  up  all  that 
was  left  behind  by  the  Confederate  army.  This  rem- 
nant was  breaking  up  more  and  more,  leaving  its  strag- 
glers in  the  woods,  in  the  fields,  and  along  the  roadside. 
Animals  and  men  were  yielding  to  exhaustion.  The 
wagons  were  left  in  the  ruts  ;  the  cannon  abandoned  in 
the  thickets  or  buried  in  holes,  hurriedly  dug,  that  the 
negroes  hastened  to  point  out  to  us.  The  places  were 
marked  for  those  who  should  be  charged  with  the  duty 
of  bringing  off  the  pieces,  and,  without  halting,  we 
pushed  forward,  "  on  a  hot  trail,"  like  hounds  who  are 
coming  upon  their  quarry. 

As  for  men,   we  captured  them  everywhere.      Our 


746       FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

advance  had  been  so  rapid  in  the  Second  Corps  that  the 
trains  had  not  been  able  to  join  us.  We  were  without 
rations  ;  fortunately,  we  had  a  few  cattle  left,  and  some 
provisions  in  the  country  around.  To  secure  them,  one 
regiment  from  each  brigade  was  detailed  for  foraging. 
Lee's  soldiers  were  also  searching  the  country  for  pro- 
visions, but  in  isolated  groups.  Wherever  they  met  our 
detachments,  they  surrendered  with  eagerness  rather 
than  repugnance.  They  had  had  enough  of  the  war, 
and  henceforth  were  less  rebels  than  the  Virginia  sheep, 
which  it  became  necessary  to  pursue  a  oiUj^ance,  and 
even  to  shoot  when  they  refused  to  surrender. 

In  the  afternoon,  a  few  horsemen  in  gray  appeared  in 
front  of  us.  They  had  halted  in  the  middle  of  the  road, 
before  a  farmhouse,  and  waved  a  white  handkerchief  in 
the  air  as  a  flag  of  truce.  General  Humphreys  was 
promptly  notified,  and  received  a  communication  written 
for  General  Grant.  The  letter  having  been  forwarded, 
our  movement  continued  with  more  ardor  than  ever.  — 
"  Hurry  up,"  the  men  in  the  ranks  said.  "  Lee  is  going 
to  surrender ! " 

The  evening  before,  in  fact.  General  Grant  had  writ- 
ten to  General  Lee  the  following  note,  dated  Farmville, 
April  7 :  — 

"General,  —  The  results  of  the  last  week  must  convince  you  of  the 
hopelessness  of  further  resistance  on  the  part  of  the  Army  of  Northern 
Virginia  in  this  struggle.  I  feel  that  it  is  so,  and  regard  it  as  my  duty  to 
shift  from  myself  the  responsibility  of  any  further  effusion  of  blood,  by 
asking  of  you  the  surrender  of  that  portion  of  the  Confederate  States 
Army  known  as  the  Army  of  Northerfl  Virginia." 

The  reply  was  received  at  eight  o'clock  in  the 
morning :  — 

"General,  —  I  have  received  your  note  oi  this  date.  Though  not 
entertaining  the  opinion  you  express  on  the  hopelessness  of  further  resist- 
ance on  the  part  of  the  Army  of  Northern  Virginia,  I  reciprocate  your 


THE    DENOUEMENT.  747 

desire  to  avoid  useless  effusion  of  blood,  and  therefore,  before  consider- 
ing your  proposition,  ask  the  terms  you  will  offer  on  condition  of  its 

surrender." 

General  Grant  wrote  immediately  :  — 

"  General,  —  Your  note  of  last  evening,  in  reply  to  mine  of  same  date, 
asking  the  condition  on  which  I  will  accept  the  surrender  of  the  Army 
of  Northern  Virginia,  is  just  received.  In  reply,  I  would  say  that,  peace 
being  my  great  desire,  there  is  but  one  condition  I  would  insist  upon, 
namely :  that  the  men  and  officers  surrendered  shall  be  disqualified  for 
taking  up  arms  again  against  the  government  of  the  United  States  until 
properly  exchanged.  I  will  meet  you,  or  will  designate  officers  to  meet 
any  officers  you  may  name  for  the  same  purpose,  at  any  point  agreeable 
tc^  you,  for  the  purpose  of  arranging  definitely  the  terms  upon  which  the 
surrender  of  the  Army  of  Northern  Virginia  will  be  received." 

General  Lee  believed  that,  outside  of  his  army,  he 
could  yet  make  a  last  effort  in  favor  of  that  rebel  con- 
federation to  which  he  had  so  long  devoted  his  military 
genius.  He  sent  the  following  communication  in  the 
night  of  April  8  to  9 :  — 

"  General,  —  I  received  at  a  late  hour  your  note  of  to-day.  In  mine 
of  yesterday,  I  did  not  intend  to  propose  the  surrender  of  the  Army  of 
Northern  Virginia,  but  to  ask  the  terms  of  your  proposition.  To  be 
frank,  I  do  not  think  the  emergency  has  arisen  for  the  surrender  of  this 
army ;  but,  as  the  restoration  of  peace  should  be  the  sole  object  of  all, 
I  desire  to  know  whether  your  proposal  would  lead  to  that  end.  I  can- 
not, therefore,  meet  you  with  a  view  to  surrender  the  Army  of  Northern 
Virginia;  but,  as  far  as  your  proposal  may  affect  the  Confederate  States 
forces  under  my  command,  and  lead  to  the  restoration  of  peace,  I  should 
be  pleased  to  meet  you  at  10  o'clock  A.M.  to-morrow,  on  the  old  stage 
road  to  Richmond,  between  the  picket  lines  of  the  two  armies." 

This  letter  seems  scarcely  in  accordance  with  the 
personal  character  of.  General  Lee.  In  order  to 
frankly  assert  that  "  the  emergency  had  not  arisen  to 
call  for  the  surrender  of  this  army,"  he  must  have  been 
poorly  informed  as  to  what  had  transpired  on  his  front 
a  few  hours  before.  Sheridan,  always  indefatigable,  had 
by  a  forced  march  reached  Appomattox  Station  before 


748       FOUR   YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

his  enemy,  and  captured  four  trains  of  cars  loaded  with 
provisions,  and  sent  on  by  the  railroad  from  Lynch- 
burg. When  the  advance  troops  of  the  rebels  came  up, 
our  cavalry,  placed  across  the  road,  had  charged  them 
and  driven  them  back  to  the  Court  House.  So  that 
the  disorganized  remains  of  the  rebel  forces  were 
enveloped  on  all  sides  :  held  in  front  by  Sheridan's 
cavalry,  which  Ord's  infantry  was  hastening  to  join  ; 
threatened  on  the  flank  by  the  Fifth  Corps  ;  closely 
pressed  on  the  rear  by  the  Second  Corps,  followed  by 
the  Sixth  ;  and,  finally,  held  on  the  north,  the  only 
point  left  open,  by  the  James  River. 

It  is  difflcult  to  explain  why  General  Lee  did  not  do 
at  that  time  what  he  was  compelled  to  do  a  dozen 
hours  later.  It  could  hardly  have  been  hope,  for  on  the 
evening  before  his  generals  had  represented  to  him  the 
absolute  uselessness  of  further  sacrifices.  Under  such 
circumstances,  the  little  tricks  of  diplomacy  and  the 
carefully  involved  style  of  protocols  are  very  little  in 
accord  with  the  character  of  a  general  who  holds  a 
sword  ;  above  all,  when  he  has  so  used  it  as  to  ennoble 
his  defeat,  and  command  the  esteem  of  his  adversaries. 
If  he  had  surrendered  on  the  evening  of  the  8th,  Gen- 
eral Lee  would  have  spared  his  men  the  blood  uselessly 
shed  on  the  morning  of  the  9th,  and  he  would  have 
spared  himself  the  announcement  contained  in  the  fol- 
lowing refusal  of  General  Grant  :  — 

"  General,  —  Your  note  of  yesterday  is  received.  I  have  no  author- 
ity to  treat  on  the  subject  of  peace.  The  meeting  proposed  for  lo  A.  M. 
to-day  could  lead  to  no  good.  I  will  state,  however,  general,  that  I  am 
equally  anxious  for  peace  with  yourself,  and  the  whole  North  entertains 
the  same  feeling.  The  terms  upon  which  peace  can  be  had  are  well 
understood.  By  the  South  laying  down  their  arms,  they  will  hasten  that 
most  desirable  event,  save  thousands  of  human  lives,  and  hundreds  of 
millions  of  property  not  yet  destroyed.  Sincerely  hoping  that  all  our 
difficulties  may  be  settled  without  the  loss  of  another  life,  I  subscribe 
myself,"  etc. 


THE    DENOUEMENT.  749 

April  9,  1865.  —  Forward  again  early  in  the  morn- 
ing, always  on  the  heels  of  the  enemy's  rearguard,  com- 
posed of  Longstreet's  corps,  now  that  Ewell's  has  been 
wiped  out.  A  vigorous  cannonade  and  a  musketry  fire 
are  heard  from  three  or  four  miles  in  advance.  Instinc- 
tively everybody  cries  :  "  There  is  Sheridan  !  Bully  for 
Sheridan  !  " 

This  was  the  last  convulsive-  effort  of  the  rebel  army 
in  the  throes  of  death.  By  the  first  glimmer  of  day- 
light, Lee,  knowing  that  he  had  nothing  but  cavalry  in 
front  of  him,  endeavored  to  pass  over  it  ;  Sheridan  had 
foreseen  this.  He  had  dismounted  his  men,  and,  de- 
ploying them  in  heavy  line  of  skirmishers,  contested 
the  ground  foot  by  foot,  falHng  back  slowly  until  the 
infantry  of  General  Ord  came  into  line  behind  him. 
Then,  all  the  cavalry,  running  to  their  horses,  "formed 
at  a  gallop  to  charge  the  enemy  in  flank  at  the  instant 
when  the  Army  of  the  James  attacked  him  in  front. 
The  Fifth  Corps  was  formed  in  line  between  Sheridan 
and  Humphreys  ;  the  circle  of  steel  had  closed  about 
it,  and  the  army  of  Lee  had  nothing  else  to  do  but 
either  to  surrender  or  perish  drowned  in  its  own  blood. 
It  surrendered.  The  white  flag  was  shown  along  its 
lines,  and  General  Grant  received  the  following  note 
from  General  Lee  :  — 

"  General,  —  I  received  your  note  of  this  morning  on  the  picket  line, 
whither  I  had  come  to  meet  you,  and  ascertain  definitely  what  terms 
were  embraced  in  your  proposal  of  yesterday  with  reference  to  the  sur- 
render of  this  army.  I  now  ask  an  interview  in  accordance  with  the 
offer  contained  in  your  letter  of  yesterday  for  that  purpose." 

The  interview  was  granted,  and  the  two  generals  met 
in  a  house  at  Appomattox  Court  House. 

Immediately  an  order  from  General  Meade  an- 
nounced to  us  that,  on  account  of  the  situation  of 
affairs,  hostilities  were  suspended  for  one  hour.     Con- 


750       FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

sequently,  our  divisions  were  massed  on  the  right  and 
left  of  the  road.  Half  an  hour  after,  we  were  advised  that 
the  truce  was  prolonged  till  two  o'clock  in  the  afternoon. 

At  exactly  two  o'clock  our  division  moved  out.  But 
my  first  brigade  had  not  made  a  quarter  of  a  mile  when 
I  again  received  orders  to  halt.  Before  us,  back  of  a 
narrow  curtain  of  woods,  stretched  out  an  open  space, 
which  was  all  that  separated  us  from  the  enemy's 
pickets,  who  were  quiet  at  their  posts.  The  place  was 
called  Clover  Hill. 

Soon  a  carriage  is  signalled,  drawn  by  four  horses, 
with  a  white  flag  floating  over  it.  Everybody  hurried 
to  the  borders  of  the  road.  What  can  that  be  ?  Civil- 
ians in  frock  coats  and  with  chimney-pot  hats  I  Pshaw  ! 
It  is  soon  made  known  that  it  is  Judge  Ould  and  a 
Colonel  Hearth,  commissioners  for  the  exchange  of 
prisoners  for  the  Confederates.  Since  entrance  to  our 
lines  is  permitted  them,  everything  is  doubtless  settled. 
Cheers  began  to  break  out  along  the  line.  These 
gentlemen  salute  and  pass    on. 

The  carriage  having  gone  on  its  road,  impatience 
rises  to  fever  heat.  What  has  happened  !  Nothing 
settled  yet  ?  It  is  to  gain  time.  There  must  be  some 
trick  intended.  We  had  better  finish  the  affair  before 
night.  If  they  do  not  wish  to  surrender,  all  right  !  Let 
us  go  in  at  once. 

All  at  once  a  tempest  of  hurrahs  shook  the  air  along 
the  front  of  our  line.  General  Meade  is  coming  at  a 
gallop  from  Appomattox  Court  House.  He  has  raised 
his  cap  and  uttered  a  few  words  :  lee  has  surren- 
dered !  Without  having  heard,  everybody  has  guessed 
it.  Mad  hurrahs  fill  the  air  like  the  rolling  of  thunder, 
in  the  fields,  in  the  woods,  along  the  roads,  and  are 
prolonged  in  echo  amongst  the  trains,  which  in  the  dis- 
tance are  following  the  Sixth  Corps. 


THE    DENOUEMENT. 


751 


General  Meade  leaves  the  road  and  passes  through 
my  division.  The  men  swarm  out  to  meet  him,  sur- 
rounding his  horse.  Hurrah  for  General  Meade  ! 
Again,  Hurrah  !  and  on  all  sides.  Hurrah  !  The  en- 
thusiasm gains  the  officers  of  his  staff,  who  cry  out  like 
all  the  rest,  waving  their  hats.  Caps  fly  into  the  air  ; 
the  colors  are  waved  and  salute,  shaking  their  glorious 
rags  in  the  breeze  ;  all  the  musicians  fill  the  air  with 
the  joyous  notes  of  "Yankee  Doodle"  and  the  sono- 
rous strains  of  "  Hail,  Columbia  !  " 

Those  who  witnessed  the  explosion  of  that  scene  of 
enthusiasm  will  never  lose  the  remembrance  of  it.  To 
tell  of  it  is  possible  ;  but  it  is  not  possible  for  pen  to 
reproduce  it,  and  no  description  can  induce  the  electric 
thrill  of  the  occasion  in  the  soul  of  the  reader. 

All  the  hopes  of  four  years  at  last  realized  ;  all  the 
fears  dissipated,  all  perils  disappeared  ;  all  the  priva- 
tions, all  the  sufferings,  all  the  raiser}-  ended  ;  the 
intoxication  of  triumph  ;  the  joy  at  the  near  return  to 
the  domestic  hearth,  —  for  all  this,  one  single  burst  of 
enthusiasm  did  not  suffice.  So  the  hurrahs  and  the 
cries  of  joy  were  prolonged  until  night. 

After  General  Meade,  each  one  of  us  had  his  share  ; 
generals  of  division  and  generals  of  brigade  each  re- 
ceived a  noisy  ovation,  and  had  to  reply,  will  he,  nill 
he,  with  a  speech. 

Certainly,  as  much  as  any  one  else,  I  had  had  enough 
of  the  war.  I  had  been  in  it  long  enough,  and  seen 
enough  of  its  hardships,  to  know  the  cost  of  its 
glories.  As  much  as  any  one,  I  wished  for  peace,  es- 
pecially in  the  e\-il  days, — peace  by  triumph,  under- 
stand me.  And  yet,  strangely  enough,  I  could  not 
keep  from  feeling  the  unreasonable  sentiment  that 
evervthing  was  too  soan  over,  and  that,  for  my  part,  I 
could  have  endured  a  little  more.     Thus  are  we  fash- 


752       FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

ioned.  When  we  have  attained  our  goal,  we  are  not 
very  far  from  regretting  the  ardent  emotions  of  the 
strife,  in  the  tranquil  security  of  victory.  There  is  in 
this  something  of  the  meminissc  jiivabit  of  the  poet. 
But,  after  all,  who  can  know  ?  Would  I  have  had  the 
same  regrets  if  I  had  at  the  time  known  that  my  com- 
mission of  major-general  was  to  date  from  that  day  ? 

The  conditions  accorded  by  General  Grant  were  gen- 
erous. With  true  greatness  of  soul,  while  securing  the 
fruits  of  his  victory,  he  applied  himself  to  softening  the 
bitterness  of  defeat  for  the  adversaries  he  held  at  his 
mercy.  Unconditional  Surrender  Grant  (this  is  the 
interpretation  given  by  the  soldiers  to  the  initials  U.  S.) 
departed  from  his  old  habits,  to  honor  a  rival  struck 
down  by  the  fortune  of  war,  and  —  as  he  himself  says 
in  his  report  — "  these  enemies,  whose  manly  vigor, 
however  unworthy  the  cause,  has  accomplished  prodi- 
gies of  valor." 

These  are  the  terms  offered  by  General  Grant  and 
accepted  by  General  Lee  :  — 

"  Rolls  of  all  the  officers  and  men  to  be  made  in  du- 
plicate ;  one  copy  to  be  given  to  an  officer  to  be  desig- 
nated by  me,  the  other  to  be  retained  by  such  officer  or 
officers  as  you  may  designate.  The  officers  to  give 
their  individual  paroles  not  to  take  up  arms  against  the 
government  of  the  United  States  until  properly  ex- 
changed. And  each  company  or  regimental  command- 
er to  sign  a  like  parole  for  the  men  of  his  command. 
The  arms,  artillery,  and  public  property  to  be  packed 
and  stacked  and  turned  over  to  the  officers  appointed 
by  me  to  receive  them.  This  will  not  embrace  the 
side-arms  of  the  officers,  or  the  private  horses  or  bag- 
gage. This  done,  each  officer  and  man  will  be  allowed 
to    return  to    his    home,  not    to   be  disturbed    by   the 


THE    DENOUEMENT.  753 

United  States  authority  so  long  as  they  observe  their 
paroles  and  the  laws  in  force  where  they  may  reside." 

Griffin,  with  the  Fifth  Corps,  Gibbon,  with  two  di- 
visions of  the  Twenty-fourth,  and  McKenzie,  with  his 
cavalry  command,  were  appointed  to  assist  in  the  last 
formalities,  and  take  charge  of  the  arms,  munitions  of 
war,  and  wagons  of  the  rebels.  After  a  day  of  repose, 
all  the  rest  of  the  army  moved  out  to  await  at  Burks- 
ville  the  speedy  crumbling  of  the  last  remains  of  the 
Confederacy  of  the  South,  a  necessary  consequence  of 
the  capture  of  Richmond  and  the  destruction  of  Lee's 
forces. 


CHAPTER    XXXVI. 

CONCLUSION. 

The  existence  of  the  rebellion  depended  so  completely 
on  the  fate  of  Lee's  army  that,  when  the  latter  suc- 
cumbed, the  former  disappeared.  Johnston  surrendered 
to  Sherman,  Dick  Taylor  and  Kirby  Smith  to  Canby, 
and  there  remained  no  longer  a  rebel  soldier  in  the 
whole  extent  of  the  ex-Southern  Confederacy. 

The  man  who  had  been  its  president,  beset  on  every 
side,  fled,  not  knowing  where  to  go  to  conceal  his  pro- 
scribed head.  The  roads  were  cut  off,  the  communica- 
tions intercepted  by  the  expeditions  of  General  Canby, 
who  had  just  captured  Mobile  with  two  corps,  and  of 
General  Wilson,  who,  at  the  head  of  more  than  twelve 
thousand  cavalrymen,  had  passed  like  a  rocket  across 
Alabama  and  part  of  Georgia,  forcing  the  fortified  city 
of  Selma,  destroying  Tuscaloosa,  capturing  Montgom- 
ery, taking  Columbus  and  West  Point  by  assault,  and 
finally  entering  Macon,  to  receive  there  the  submission 
of  the  Georgia  militia  and  five  Confederate  generals. 

In  that  fiery  expedition  of  one  month, — from  March 
20  to  April  20,  —  he  had  taken  prisoners  by  thousands, 
captured  cannon  by  hundreds,  destroyed  bridges,  rail- 
roads, arsenals,  manufactories  of  arms  and  machinery, 
naval  foundries,  depots  of  provisions  and  of  every  sort 
of  supplies.  He  had  nothing  else  to  do  but  to  send 
detachments  in  every  direction  in  pursuit  of  Jefferson 
Davis,  who  was  overtaken  and  captured  by  one  of  them 
on  the  nth  of  May.      P>erybody  knows  the  incidents 

754 


CONCLUSION.  755 

of  that  miserable  Odyssey,  begun  under  the  sinister 
plan  of  burning  Richmond,  and  terminated  in  the  mud, 
under  a  grotesque  disguise  of  a  woman. 

Mr.  Lincoln  was  assassinated,  April  14.  A  detesta- 
ble cause  must  have  recourse  to  detestable  means.  The 
war  which  had  been  carried  on  upon  the  fields  of  battle 
and  in  the  camps  where  the  honor  of  the  South  had 
taken  refuge  was  not  enough  for  the  Richmond  govern- 
ment. Its  familiars  and  its  agents  had  organized  to 
burn  our  great  hotels  and  our  public  places  most  fre- 
quented, and,  calling  even  the  yellow  fever  to  its  aid, 
had  introduced  into  the  North  loads  of  clothing  im- 
pregnated with  pestilential  emanations.  These  infa- 
mous plots  having  failed  in  their  execution,  the  men  who 
had  charge  of  the  great  strife  of  democracy  against 
oligarchy,  of  liberty  against  slavery,  were  especially 
devoted  to  the  pistol  and  the  poniard,  in  the  dark  coun- 
cil rooms  whose  ramifications  extended  even  to  Paris. 

This  was  the  result  :  — 

The  noble  mission  of  Abraham  Lincoln  in  this  world 
was  crowned  with  martyrdom  ;  the  glorious  immortality 
of  the  hero-martyr  was  sealed  with  his  own  blood  by 
the  ball  of  an  assassin. 

The  Army  of  the  Potomac  left  Burksville  on  the  2d 
of  May,  for  Washington.  On  the  6th,  it  passed  through 
Richmond  in  triumph,  and  Fredericksburg  on  the  lOth. 
On  the  23d,  it  marched  in  great  state  before  President 
Johnson  and  the  higher  authorities,  amid  the  plaudits 
of  a  vast  concourse  of  people  assembled  in  the  capital 
to  witness  that  great  review.  The  next  day,  a  part  of 
Sherman's  army  had  its  turn,  before  departing  for  Ken- 
tucky. Then  the  disbanding  began;  and  in  a  few 
months  the  armies  of  the  Republic  returned  to  a  paci- 
fied country  as  many  citizens  as  before  it  had  counted 
volunteer  soldiers  in  its  ranks.     The  number  amounted 


756       FOUR    YEARS    WITH    THE    POTOMAC    ARMY. 

to  800,963.  Amongst  these,  the  regular  army  easily 
found  enough  men  to  fill  its  almost  vacant  ranks,  and  to 
complete  the  increase  of  its  permanent  force  by  the 
creation  of  new  regiments. 

The  number  of  Confederate  forces  who  laid  down 
their  arms  and  were  dismissed  to  their  homes  on  parole 
was  174,223,  to  whom  must  be  added  98,802  prisoners 
of  war  confined  in  the  North,  which  brings  the  total  of 
the  troops  of  the  Southern  Confederacy  released  on 
parole  to  273,025.  But  it  must  be  noted  that,  at  the 
time  of  the  overthrow  of  the  armies  of  Lee,  Johnston, 
and  Taylor,  a  great  many  detachments  were  scattered 
over  the  immense  extent  of  the  country,  to  pursue  de- 
linquents, guard  the  depots,  watch  the  railroads,  etc., 
and  that  the  most  of  them  disbanded,  to  return  directly 
home  to  their  families.  It  is  said  that  a  great  part  of 
the  troops  of  Kirby  Smith  in  Texas  .dispersed  in  this 
manner,  after  having  pillaged  the  public  property.  In 
estimating  this  number  at  twenty-seven  thousand  in 
addition  to  those  regularly  surrendered,  we  find  that 
the  rebellion  had  still  three  hundred  thousand  men  en- 
rolled, without  taking  into  account  the  deserters  at  the 
time  when  it  laid  down  its  arms. 

It  had  put  into  the  field  a  little  more  than  eleven  hun- 
dred thousand  men  during  the  war,  and,  according  to 
the  best  information  obtained  from  the  Confederates 
themselves,  it  had  lost  during  these  four  years  between 
six  and  seven  hundred  thousand  men  killed  or  wounded, 
which  makes  a  number  of  dead  at  least  equal  to  the 
Union  armies,  that  is  to  say,  as  we  have  seen,  double 
in  proportion  to  the  number  of  the  armies,  and  triple  in 
proportion  to  population, 

In  fine :  — 

By  reducing  the  contingents  furnished  by  all  the 
levies  to  the  uniform  proportion  of  three  years  to  each 


CONCLUSION.  757 

man,  the  total  number  of  men  enrolled  in  the  service  of 
the  United  States  amounted  to  2,154,311. 

Of  this  number,  the  report  of  the  provost-marshal- 
general  shows  that  280,789  men  lost  their  lives,  of 
whom  about  eight  thousand  were  officers.  And  of  the 
rest,  1,057,423  were  treated  in  the  general  hospitals  for 
wounds  or  diseases. 

We  see  how  the  greatness  of  the  sacrifices  was  meas- 
ured by  the  grandeur  of  the  cause  demanding  them. 

The  United  States  of  America  fought  to  maintain 
their  national  integrity,  for  the  consecration  of  their 
free  institutions,  and  for  the  supremacy  of  the  govern- 
ment of  the  people,  by  the  people,  —  that  is  to  say,  for 
the  great  principles  of  progress  and  of  liberty,  which 
are  the  natural  tendency  of  modern  societies  and  the 
legitimate  aspirations  of  civilized  nations.  Such  a  cause 
is  worth  all  sacrifices.  By  sustaining  it  at  any  cost, 
the  United  States  have  done  more  than  accomplish  a 
work  of  power  and  of  patriotism  ;  for  their  triumph  is  a 
victory  for  humanity.