I
COMMANDING OFFICERS OF THE REGIMENT.
THE
One Hundred and Twentieth
REGIMENT
NEW YORK STATE VOLUNTEERS.
A NARRATIVE OF ITS SERVICES IN THE WAR FOR THE
UNION.
BY
C. VAN SANTVOORD, D. D.
„ Ghaplqiit, U,, S. A.,*iS6*-j.
PUBLISHED BY THE ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTIETH N. Y. REGIMENTAL UNION.
1894 : PRESS OF THE KINGSTON FREEMAN,
RONDOUT, N. Y.
. 1 2.0m
V3 ?
HEADQUARTERS DEPARTMENT OF NEW YORK,
GRAND ARMY OF THE REPUBLIC,
CAPITOL,
ALBANY, N. Y., February 25, 1904.
It is with profound sadness that the Department Com mander announces to the Comrades of this Department the death of Past Department Commander GEORGE H. TREADWELL, who died in the City of Albany, January 2ist, 1904, after an extended illness.
Of distinguished ancestry, gifted, dignified, pleasant and courtly in manners, prominent and highly respected as a citizen, gallant and brave as a soldier, and devoted to the best interests of the Grand Army of the Republic, which he served with honor and zeal, his memory will be cherished by his surviving Comrades, whose sympathies with those of the Department Commander, are hereby tendered to his bereaved family and friends.
The Department Commander with sincere regrets also announces to the Department the recent death of that loyal friend to the veterans and their families, Mrs. ELLEN M. PUTNAM, late Superintendent of the Oxford Home, whose establishment and success were so largely owing to the untiring labors, good judgment and zeal of Mrs. Putnam.
Widely known because of her devotion to the arduous duties pertaining to her position, amiable in disposition and upright in char acter, her untimely death is a great loss to her family and many friends as well as to our noble auxiliary, the Woman's Relief Corps, whose cause she served so long and so successfully.
JOHN S. KOSTER,
Department Commander.
HEADQUARTERS DEPARTMENT OF NEW YORK,
GRAND ARMY OF THE REPUBLIC,
CAPITOL,
ALBANY, N. Y., February ^5, 1904.
It is with profound sadness that the Department Com mander announces to the Comrades of this Department the death of Past Department Commander GEORGE H. TREADWELL, who died in the City of Albany, January 2ist, 1904, after an extended illness.
Of distinguished ancestry, gifted, dignified, pleasant and courtly in manners, prominent and highly respected as a citizen, gallant and brave as a soldier, and devoted to the best interests of the Grand Army of the Republic, which he served with honor and zeal, his memory will be cherished by his surviving Comrades, whose sympathies with those of the Department Commander, are hereby tendered to his bereaved family and friends.
The Department Commander with sincere regrets also announces to the Department the recent death of that loyal friend to the veterans and their families, Mrs. ELLEN M. PUTNAM, late Superintendent of the Oxford Home, whose establishment and success were so largely owing to the untiring labors, good judgment and zeal of Mrs. Putnam.
Widely known because of her devotion to the arduous duties pertaining to her position, amiable in disposition and upright in char acter, her untimely death is a great loss to her family and many friends as well as to our noble auxiliary, the Woman's Relief Corps, whose cause she served so long and so successfully.
JOHN S. KOSTER,
Department Commander.
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER PAGE
I. INTRODUCTORY — War Spirit in Ulster County i
II. THE ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTIETH ORGANIZED —
DEPARTURE FOR THE FIELD 9
III. BETWEEN THE POTOMAC AND RAPPAHANNOCK . 22
IV. BURNSIDE AND FREDERICKSBURG 3 I
V. HOOKER IN COMMAND AND A NEW CAMPAIGN OPENED. . 37
VI. CHANCELLORSVILLE AND ITS STORY 48
VII. REBELLION RAMPANT AND THE INVASION OF THE NORTH 58
VIII. GETTYSBURG AND ITS ISSUES 68
IX. GENERAL GRANT IN CHIEF COMMAND— CAMPAIGNING ON
THE RAPIDAN 78
X. ANDERSONVILLE — A Veteran's Narrative 89
XI. THE WILDERNESS AND ITS TRIALS 1 06
XII. SPOTTSYLVANIA 117
XIII. COLD HARBOR 125
XIV. THE UNION ARMY ACROSS THE JAMES 135
XV. A REBEL STRONGHOLD INVESTED 147
XVI. THE FOLDS TIGHTENING AND THE END IN SIGHT 162
XVII. RICHMOND'S FALL AND LEE'S SURRENDER 173
XVIII. THE RETURN HOME AND JUBILANT RECEPTION 186
XIX. THE SOLDIERS IN CIVIL LIFE ; THE REGIMENTAL UNION 199
XX. GETTYSBURG MONUMENT AND ITS DEDICATION 211
APPENDIX ; ROSTER AND RECORD OF THE REGIMENT.
M1571S8
INSCRIPTION IN BRONZE
ON FACE OF MONUMENT.
THE ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTIETH
NEW YORK INFANTRY
HELD THIS PART OF THE LINE
ON THE SECOND DAY OF JULY, 1863.
PRESENT FOR DUTY, 30 OFFICERS, 397 MEN; TOTAL 427.
CASUALTIES FROM THE WAR DEPARTMENT:
KILLED IN BATTLE, 8 OFFICERS, 25 MEN.
WOUNDED,
10 OFFICERS, 144 MEN. MISSING 17; TOTAL 204.
CHAPTER I.
INTRODUCTORY. THE WAR FOR THE UNION POPULAR ENTHUSIASM — RESPONSES TO THE
NATION'S CALL FOR HELP — NEW YORK STATE IN THE FRONT RANK — ULSTER COUNTY'S CONTRIBUTION TO THE NATION'S DEFENDERS — THE USE AND VALUE OF REGIMENTAL HISTORIES.
The late war for the Union attested the strength of the National Government. It attested as well the devoted patriotism of the masses of loyal citizens, which needed only a fitting occasion to call forth all its energy in the nation's defense. Without patriotism of this lofty kind, the strength to save the nation in a critical time, would hardly have been possible. The arms lifted to rend the Union asunder, would have been likely to gain their object, had not the people with hearts aflame with love of country, its government and institutions, risen to the emergency, ready to dare all dangers and bear all burdens to keep safe from harm, the priceless heritage left them by the fathers.
When, therefore, the time came that an appeal to this feeling was found necessary, there was no languor or hesitation in responding to it. The whole nation sprang to arms at the call of the government, for aid. The West vied with the East and North in the alacrity with which men were enlisted and sent forward to con front the common danger. Regiment after regiment
1
2 ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTIETH N. Y. S. VOLS.
poured forth to take their places in the ranks of the army on which the nation relied for the safety of its institutions. No ties of kindred, or home, or business, or property, were strong enough to withhold the aroused masses from the grim, impending conflict which involved the stability and very existence of the Union, under which the people had lived prosperously and happily for nearly a hundred years. These men, so hastily don ning the soldier's uniform, understood well the urgency of the crisis that required their services in the field ; and they went forth ready to stake everything upon the altar of a country, which conferring its benefits upon all, was worthy to be loved and defended by all. They were thus resolved, at all hazards, to maintain the Union unbroken and unharmed, against any efforts to sunder or injure it, and preserve our civil and religious liberties in all their integrity for the generations following,
It proved to be a mighty task which they had under taken to do. The full dimensions of it could not be taken in till long afterwards. But mind, heart, con science, all faculties and energies were devoted to the work, whether great or little, and success they felt con vinced, must come in the end, whatever it might cost to achieve it. And as the work went forward its propor tions seemed to grow ; its demand for larger supplies all the time increased. The ranks depleted were steadily filled up with fresh warriors as full of ardor and courage and determination to conquer as those who had enlisted before them. Thus while the great conflict was in prog ress, a host of citizen-soldiers, such as the world had never seen before, stood arrayed as the defenders of the nation, till at length the end of their toils and sacrifices
ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTIETH N. Y. S. VOLS. 3
came in the success which the Union cause had won. The gain well deserved all the price paid to secure it, as the spectacle of the long and desperate struggle with such vast interests at stake, and the complete and glorious triumph for the Union crowning the issue, was one of the most striking and impressive that the ages ever saw.
New York was behind none of her sister States in the promptness with which she responded to the President's call, and in her large and free contributions of troops to swell the armies of the Republic. Her soldiers were found in every part of the widely-extended field where their services were needed. They stood shoulder to shoulder with comrades from other States, cheerfully bearing whatever burdens their duty to the country and love for the cause imposed upon them. This State has a bright record for the number and character of the troops she furnished during the war, not less than for the amount of hard service they rendered in defending the flag and securing success for the national cause.
Of this great number sent forth by the State, Ulster county contributed its full share. Few, if any counties in the State, have displayed more alacrity than Ulster in sending forth its sons in warrior harness to meet the then present emergency. In the numbers, too, which the county furnished from first to last, it bears favorable comparison with the most patriotic counties throughout the State. When rebel guns were turned against the nation's flag at Fort Sumter, and the indignity set the whole North into a blaze of patriotic ardor, a regiment of three months' men was swiftly organized in Ulster
4 ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTIETH N. Y. S. VOLS.
county, and under the command of Col. George W. Pratt — who fell at the head of his regiment at the second Bull Run battle — hurried forward to offer its services to the government and breast the storm that seemed ready to burst. The promptness with which this regiment was enrolled and the zeal evinced by its officers and men in hastening to the front to breast whatever perils might await them in defending the nation's honor and integrity, reflected high credit on the county as well as those who thus worthily represented it. It returned home after its term of service had expired, and within a few months a new regiment, to serve for three years or the war, made up largely from the material of the returned regiment, stood ready to go forward to the front. This was the Eightieth New York Volunteers, as the name was entered in regular order of enlistment on the State Register. The name, however, which its members loved and clung to and were unwilling to sur render, was one that antedated the war and cherished through association, viz : the Twentieth New York State Militia. Its strong peference for this name came to be allowed, so that during the war, as now, the regiment was best known by its chosen appellation of the -Old Twentieth," which all its members were and are proud to wear.
This regiment left for Washington, on October 25th, 1 86 1 ; continued in active service during all the war; was engaged in some of its most severe battles, making an honorable record throughout. The second regiment enlisted for the war and sent out from Ulster county, was the One Hundred and Twentieth. It left Kingston for the seat of military operations, August 24, 1862
ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTIETH N. Y. S. VOLS. 5
Like the former regiment, its members were not wholly composed of men residing in Ulster county. Three companies of the One Hundred and Twentieth were raised in Greene county, as one, at least, in the Twen tieth N. Y. S. M., was drawn from the same region, while a few individual recruits, were found in both regi ments, from Dutchess county and neighboring localities. Far the greater part of the recruits, however, belonged to Ulster county, as was also the case with the next regi ment, the One Hundred and Fifty-Sixth, recruited in the summer and fall of 1862 and which, in command of the late Col. Erastus Cooke, left Kingston for the field in early December of that year, rendering active and efficient service till the end of the war.
Thus three regiments, besides the three months regiment, went forth from Ulster county, in response to the nation's call to share in its defense. Few, if any counties in the State, made a better showing than this, or evinced more spirit and zeal in rushing to the country's aid, when reckless hands were raised to strike at its peace and unity. The men, too, who composed these regiments, were not mere holiday soldiers, pompous on parade and courageous in calm and sunshine, but they were men of earnest purpose, with hearts resolved and sinews strung to meet and bear whatever peril and hardship might come from laborious campaigns and to bear the country's flag unsullied through bloodiest fields. Their history shows with what energy, resolution and persistence they carried forward and finished the great work which a confiding country had devolved upon their hands.
The obligations conferred upon the whole country by
O ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTIETH N. Y, S. VOLS.
what they suffered and wrought, are high and lasting. It is fitting that these deeds should be remembered and a record made of them, easily accessible, to such as in coming years, may seek to know something in detail, concerning kinsmen and friends who took part in the war, and, it may be, shed their blood in the nation's defense. It is not enough to speak of these deeds in a general way, as having been performed by masses of men forming a great army. The deeds of one regiment, being so small a part of the whole, are, in such cases, apt to be overlooked or passed by without special recog nition. But each regiment has its own history, with ample material often, for a distinct and interesting narra tive. Many of these regimental histories have been written, having for the surviving members of the several regiments, their families and friends, far deeper interest than those general accounts of battles or military service in which the part performed by the single regi ment received but perfunctory notice. All who have been directly connected in some way with a regiment, may be regarded as having a certain pride in its mem bers as belonging to their own town, county or district, and thus share the satisfaction which the soldiers them selves feel in having its gallant deeds recorded. On this account these histories have a value of their own to a large number of citizens who find delight in reading about the war experiences of kindred and friends who /ere engaged in the sacred conflict for the Union. Many who stood in the ranks are dead, it is true, but their works do follow them. And those who knew them wett and honored them, turn to the record of what they did in the country's cause with unabating interest and
ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTIETH N. Y. S. VOLS, J
pleasure. This record too, is one that does not fade away with passing years. Children and childrens' child ren will continue to scan what their fathers were and what they did in the dreadful time when the nation was staggering under the blows dealt against it, and what help these strong arms brought to avert those baleful blows or prevent their doing fatal injury to the land they loved.
Considerations, such as these will justify, if this indeed be necessary, the narrative contained in the following pages . The writer availing himself of materials placed in his hands for the purpose mentioned — materials gathered with care and from trustworthy sources, may hope to present a narrative of the military career of the One Hundred and Twentieth Regiment, that its members, at least, will find just, adequate and fitting — a narrative too, that shall prove not unattractive to the many friends of the regiment, who, admiring its general record, may desire to see it spread out before them in greater detail. The literature of the late war, indeed, is so vast in vol ume as to seem to render superfluous anything added to its bulk. Still, the strong hold which the great subject has taken and continues to maintain, on the national mind and heart, encourages the hope that even this slight addition to what is already pub lished, may find some measure of favor with readers outside the little circle of surviving comrades, at whose request and on whose special behalf, this me morial is prepared.
In the preparation of this work, the writer has received important assistance from several individuals closely connected with the One Hundred and Twen-
8
ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTIETH N. Y. S. VOLS.
tieth Regiment. Among these he would particularly mention Gen. George H. Sharpe, Col. C. D. West- brook, Major J. H. Everett, Messrs. J. McD. VanWag- onen, Wilbur L. Hale, Edward B. DuMond and Egbert Lewis. To the last one of these gentlemen, he is indebted for a full and carefully kept diary, covering nearly all the period that the regiment was engaged in active service, embracing memoranda and notes from other parties, the most of whom were formerly connected with the regiment and familiar with the matters they- relate. The frequent and free citations from these memoranda in the following pages, will show how greatly helpful they have been in the work of preparing, what is now with sincere diffidence, placed under the eye of the reader.
CHAPTER II.
THE ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTIETH ORGANIZED — COLONEL GEORGE H. SHARPE IN COMMAND — HIS EFFICIENT WORK IN RECRUITING — THE RE QUISITE ENLISTMENTS RAPIDLY SECURED — LIST OF THE REGIMENT^ OF FICERS — READY TO TAKE THE FIELD FLAG PRESENTATION ADDRESSES
BY MR. BARNARD AND COLONEL SHARPE CROWDS CHEER THE REGIMENT
AS IT EMBARKS FOR NEW YORK LEAVES NEW YORK FOR PHILADELPHIA
HOW ENTERTAINED AT THE LATTER CITY ARRIVAL AND BIVOUAC AT
WASHINGTON ENCAMPMENT AT ARLINGTON HEIGHTS.
The One Hundred and Twentieth Regiment, New York State Volunteers, was organized in response to the call of President Lincoln, issued July 2d, 1862, for three hundred thousand men. In compliance with this call and for the efficient prosecution of the object in view, Governor Morgan appointed committees composed of residents in the several senatorial districts of the State, a committee for each district. Their business was to aid the work of recruiting and see that it was carried forward properly and expeditiously. The work of enlisting recruits at once began and was pressed for ward so vigorously, that by the 2Oth of August, the requisite number of men was nearly secured. The people in those days were alive with patriotic ardor and quick to respond to appeals for help which the Govern ment, in the emergency then present, found it necessary to make. The field for raising recruits was wide and promising. The diligent reaper who wrought in it was sure to be rewarded with abundance of sheaves. There
I O ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTIETH N. V. S. I'OLS.
was hardly a locality East, North or West, so benighted concerning the issues of the war, or so indifferent to its prosecution, as to require more light or urgent argument before furnishing its contingent of soldiers in answer to the nation's cry for help.
An important part of this work fell to the lot of Col. George H. Sharpe, who, by the appointment of the Governor of the State, was to command the regiment about to be raised. Col. Sharpe had commanded a company in the regiment of three months' men, which had gone forth from Kingston shortly after the fall of Fort Sumter, and his experience in that campaign served to adapt him more fully to the more responsible com mand he was now called to assume. He entered active ly and earnestly upon the task of recruiting, holding meetings almost daily in the several sections of the county and addressing large audiences drawn together by interest in the country's cause. These meetings, were at times addressed by other influential citizens of the county, who placed country before party, and by the fervor of their appeals, swelled rapidly the number of recruits and raised to a higher pitch the loyal zeal and ardor of the people.
An occasional exception was found to the enthusiasm
which these meetings stood ready to greet the
speakers who, throughout the county, came with appeals
' more volunteers. One of these exceptions was at a
known village generally considered to be foremost
i patriotic action. The people there owing to certain
5 and influences, not easy to define or understand,
1 which soon passed away, seemed at first indifferent
the duty of contributing to the cause by personal
ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTIETH N. Y. S. VQLS. I I
enlistments. A meeting had been called to be held in the evening, and Col. Sharpe upon arriving in the after noon and consulting with the leading men of the locality was informed that the meeting would undoubtedly be well attended, but there was no prospect of any enlist ments, and the attempt to get them there might as well be abandoned. The meeting did prove to be a very large one and the enthusiasm gradually rose to a very high pitch. Col. Sharpe in the course of his speech stated the result of the interview with the leading men of the town in the afternoon. He said that he had been given to understand that in the regiment to be raised, that locality would be unrepresented. He had always had a high opinion of the courage and enthusiasm of its citizens, and rather than leave the town without rep resentation in the regiment, he proposed to return to Governor Morgan his commission as Colonel, and to
o
enlist as a private for that locality in order that the whole county might be represented. He was followed by one or two strong addresses from prominent citizens, and at the close of the meeting- seven young men came
o J o
forward to enlist, and their example was soon followed by a sufficient number to authorize the issuing of a commission to a young man of the same town, who finally fell at the head of his men on one of the most memorable battle-fields of the war.
In this wray the filling up of the regiment made steady and rapid progress, to the high credit of the county and of those who took service as the nation's defenders. Three of the ten companies composing the regiment, were raised in Greene county, whose citizens were inspired with a love for the cause, kindred to that shown
I 2 ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTIETH N. Y. S. VOLS.
throughout the State, and indeed, the entire North. The volunteers as they were enlisted, repaired to Camp Samson, where, on a spot well adapted to the purpose for which it was selected, and which the Twentieth N. Y. S. M., had occupied the previous year, the men were duly enrolled and inducted into camp life. Lt. Col. West- brook had his quarters here, superintending the enrolling process, the arrangement of the various companies, and their distribution into tents. The mustering into the service of the country was done by Captain J. B. Hagar, U. S. A., who completed his work on August 22d, the number of enlisted men then amounting to nine hundred and six.
The following is a list of the field and staff officers of the regiment, the captains of the several companies with the number of men contained in each :
Colonel — GEORGE H. SHARPE.
Lieutenant-Colonel — C. D. WESTBROOK.
Major — J. RUDOLPH TAPPEN.
Adjutant — SELAH O. TUTHILL.
Quartermaster — URIAH H. COFFIN.
Surgeon — J. O. VANHOEVENBURGH.
First Assistant- Surgeon — HENRY COLLIER.
Second Assistant- Surgeon — W. A. VANRENSSELAER.
Chaplain — FOSTER HARTWELL.
The following non-commissioned officers were also connected with the regiment :
Sergeant- Major — HOWARD COOKE. Quartermaster-Sergeant — GEO. P. BARBER. Commissary — W. J. COCKBURN. Hospital-Steward — J. D. KEYSER. Drum- Major — AUGUST GCELLER.
ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTIETH N. Y. S. VOLS. I 3
The captains in command of the several companies with the number in each company in their respective order were :
Company A : Captain — ABRAM L. LOCKWOOD, ninety- seven men.
Company B : Captain — SIMON S. WESTBROOK, eighty- four men.
Company C : Captain — JACOB L. SNYDER, eighty- nine men.
Company D: Captain — LANSING L. HOLLISTER, eighty- three men.
Company E : Captain — DANIEL GILLETT, eighty-six men.
Company F : Captain — THEO. F. OVERBAGH, ninety- four men.
Company G : Captain — WALTER F. SCOTT, eighty- nine men.
Company H: Captain — CHARLES H. McENTEE, ninety- four men.
Company I : Captain — FRANCIS W. REYNOLDS, ninety- three men.
Company K : Captain — JAMES M. PIERSON, ninety- seven men.
The regiment being thus in readiness to start for the field, lay in camp awaiting orders to move, which were liable at any moment to arrive. During this interval the kindred and friends of the soldiers, and people anxious to witness the departure of the regiment, came pouring into Kingston from Greene County as well as from all parts of Ulster, on Saturday, the 23d of August. The town had rarely beheld such crowds of visitors as were attracted to it by the regiment just about to bid a long
1 4 ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTIETH N. Y. S. VOLS.
farewell to homes and friends in the North, and to set forth upon an expedition from which many of them might never return.
On this clay, which proved to be the one preceding the departure of the regiment, and in presence of the multitude gathered at the encampment, a very impres sive ceremonial took place. This was the presentation of two flags, which the regiment was to bear with it wherever its presence might be demanded in the service of the country. An account of the ceremonies, which had no less interest for spectator than for soldier, is taken from the KINGSTON JOURNAL, of August 2/th, 1862.
"On Saturday afternoon, at 4 o'clock, the flags purchased by the ladies of Ellenville and Kingston to be given to the One Hundred and Twentieth Regiment (Washington Guard), were presented at Camp Samson. A platform was erected at the flag staff. Upon this were assembled as many of the officers of the regiment as could be de tached from duty, and the clergy of the village. Prayer was offered by Rev. B. C. Lippincott, of Hurley. Mr. Reuben Bernard, of this village then advanced to the front of the platform and spoke as fol lows : —
1 'Colonel George H. Sharpe of the One Hundred and Twentieth Regiment, N. Y., State Volunteers :— The Ladies of Ulster County have honored me by selecting me, as their agent and mouthpiece, in presenting to you our national standard and your regimental colors'. The ladies of the County feel that they have an interest in this regi ment and in the contest in which you will be engaged. They ish you to take and bear with you some token of their appre ciation and remembrance, some symbol, which, by its constant presence, will ever remind you that you are remembered in their s and watched by loved ones at home. You, and the brave ith you, will regard these flags, not only as an evidence of your s greatness and glory, but also as having clustered about ihe hallowed influence of home. Let these flags speak to ith the voice of a wife, mother and sister, bidding you to deeds of noble daring.
ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTIETH N. Y. S. VOLS. I 5
" 'These colors are entrusted to the keeping of your regiment, with a perfect confidence that you will preserve inviolate the honor of the flags presented to you by the women of the County of Ulster. We must not be discouraged by reverses. Ulster County suffered her full share in that noble revolution which gave birth to this flag. Our oldest citizens can remember the time when our neighboring village fell a sacrifice to its love of liberty. The flames which destroyed their property only served to purify and ennoble the patriotic ardor with which they fought for freedom. So with you. Let every reverse only strengthen your hearts and nerve your arms, to do and dare for your country's cause, bearing with you the constant remembrance that in every struggle, these flags will smile down on you the prayers and the approval of the women you leave behind you.
" ' The flag which I present, has, for the last eighty years, been the emblem of our country's greatness ; has protected us in the enjoyment of all our rights. That flag is now endangered. A wicked, cause less, monstrous rebellion is seeking to destroy it. Shall it, can it be done? You, soldiers, going and about to go to the field, must answer this great question. I think I know your answer. You say to this rebellion, you say to the whole world, ''this flag has protected us in times past and we will protect it now.'
" 'And now, Col. Sharpe, allow me the pleasure of presenting you these flags, knowing that you and the noble men with you, will do your whole duty, and knowing that with the blessing of God crown ing your efforts, this flag shall be preserved to the latest generation without one stripe obliterated or one star dimmed.'"
Colonel Sharpe, in behalf of the regiment, accepted the flags in the following address :
" He said that 'he had been aware for some time that these flags were to be presented to the One Hundred and Twentieth Regiment, and that it was expected he should speak for the officers and men who composed it ; yet he spoke but the simple truth when he assured them that he was so overcome by the emotions that agitated his heart, that he hardly had a word at his command. He could only say, that he was wholly penetrated with emotions of gratitude to the men of Ulster and Greene for their noble and self-sacrificing efforts to raise, in the shortest possible space of time, the regiment with the
I 6 ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTIETH N. Y. S. VOLS.
command of which he had been honored. At a former moment, he had thought he would write upon a slip of paper the names of the men of Ulster and Greene, who had placed him under the deepest obligations by their generous assistance, while he had been laboring to raise the men then ready to go to the defense of their country, but as he recollected one after another, he forbore to pen their names, as the list itself would have made a speech. And now to the deeds of the stout and brave men of Ulster and Greene, was added this expres sion of interest and regard from lovely and patriotic women, thus increasing the burden of his gratitude and the list of memories to which he would ever revert with the deepest emotions of pleasure. It was greatly to be regretted that on that occasion, the regiment could not be drawn up before the assembled multitude in line of battle, but the duties incident to their hurried departure in answer to the call of the Governor, forbade this. He would not boast how the regiment would bear these flags, or in what state it would bring them back, nor, indeed, would he pledge it to bring them back at all ; but he felt sure that the men who were going forth that day from among them, would do all in their power to preserve these flags from dishonor, even though they had to struggle until the last man should have the last shred to bear back to the place from whence they had been received. " 'And now they were going away. He knew something of the extent of the pain which their departure caused. The character of the men in the regiment gave unmistakable evidence, how keen were the pangs of sorrow which wrung the hearts of friends there assembled. Many of them he knew had been most tenderly brought up, and had been the dearest objects of that care and love, which is found only in the best homes in our land. Now they were going from their native hills, and yet the better part of them would remain behind, and all the scenes of home would be more truly with them than ever before. But it was because they loved their homes that they went from them^ and if they ever achieved deeds of bravery on the bloody battle-field,' it would be because of the inspiriting memories of home which would
II their minds. Yes, they were going and might he not hope that their prayers would attend them ; not alone for the preservation of the health of these loved ones, or for their being saved from the im moralities of the camp, or the shot of the enemy, or for their pre paration for sudden death, would he ask them to pray ; but while they implored all this, he would beg of them to pray that they might
ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTIETH N. Y. S. VOLS. I J
be the means, with others who had joined the grand army of the Union, of speedily crushing out this rebellion, and bringing all the States to enjoy the full blessing of freedom, peace and prosperity under our flag and constitution. ' "
"The flags thus presented consist of a national and regimental color. Both are of silk. The body of the latter is blue, upon which is worked with yellow and crimson silk, an eagle and shield. The eagle bears in its beak a scroll, with the national motto ' E pluribus unum/andin its talons a scroll containing the words 'One Hundred and Twentieth Regiment, Washington Guard/"
During this day the expected orders came, directing the regiment to start at 8 o'clock on the following morning. All in and about the camp became at once bustle and activity. The day of the 24th of August, which was Sunday, was bright and beautiful. The crowds of the day before were swelled into a still greater multitude on this eventful day of departure. Early as the hour was, all places in the near vicinity of the camp were filled with interested spectators, and with the kindred and friends of the soldiers. Many of these with trembling voices and tearful eyes gave parting adieus to beloved relatives whose faces they might never see again. These affecting separations however, need not be dwelt upon, as similar scenes were exhib ited wherever a new regiment left home for the seat ol the war, and what is suffered in such parting may better be imagined than paraded through inadequate descrip tion on the printed page.
Promptly at the hour of eight, the regiment broke camp and began its inarch for Rondout, followed by a great crowd bent on seeing it embark. Cheers and shouts attended it along its route to the wharf, where
I 8 ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTIETH N. Y. S. VOLS.
the good steamer Manhattan lay ready to receive and convey the men to New York. While the boat lay at the dock awaiting the signal to start, the final greetings were exchanged and farewell words spoken, and then, with a great outburst of cheers the vessel swung off into the stream. All the way down the Hudson, from every boat and landing passed, the same lively gratula- tions were poured forth by hearty sympathizers with the citizen -soldiers, who were devoting their lives to the safety of the nation. As long as the declining day per mitted sight of the Manhattan and her stalwart, living freight, the cheering voices of people in vessels and on shore, continued to salute them. Then, with night came rest for the weary, and in the early morning the vessel had reached her wharf in the metropolitan city. The soldiers disembarked and were marched to the City Hall Park. There the usual muskets were furnished, though the regiment had to wait for complete equip ments, including ammunition, till it reached Washing ton, where, what was lacking, was in due form supplied. On the same afternoon at four o'clock, the regiment resumed its journey, marching down to the Jersey City ferry, crossing over to the other side and taking cars for Philadelphia, which city it reached at 6.30 the following morning.
Here an agreeable surprise awaited them. In an ample hall near where the cars stopped, a sumptuous breakfast was provided by the loyal and large hearted citizens of Philadelphia, and all the regiment cordially invited to partake. This was not an act of hospitality tendered to one regiment, or to a few others at intervals as circumstances might prescribe. But it was the rule,
ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTIETH N. Y. S. VOLS. I Q
begun early in the war and continued to its close, to furnish forth a meal to every regiment passing through Philadelphia to the front. The whole country came, in this way to know and honor the patriotic city for the considerate and generous provision made for such great numbers of soldiers, who were privileged to enjoy this good cheer. As for the soldiers, every one was loud in his praises of this graceful entertainment, whose value was enhanced by the assiduous attentions bestowed upon every guest at table, the memory of which remained fresh and pleasant in all after years. The writer had the good fortune to share these generous attentions a year before when connected with another regiment, the Twentieth N. Y. S. M., and put forth his experiences in a printed letter, a paragraph of which, as expressive of the cordial sentiments of all, who like him have been guests at the same board, he will ven ture to transcribe : —
"As the troops left the ferry boat, they were marched into an immense hall near the wharf, fitted up for the accommodation and refreshment of the regiments constantly passing through to the seat of the war. Six tables, stretching the whole length of the apartment, and ample enough to enable an entire regiment to stand around them, were loaded with refreshments, furnished by the hospitality of the city of brotherly love, thus proving the name to be fittingly applied. And such refreshments for tired and hungry men ! Excellent bread and delicious butter, superb cold beef and ham, potatoes, coffee and tea, pickles of various kinds, etc., urged upon all with a persistent hos pitality, that seemed to receive rather than confer a favor. The min istry of gentle hands was conspicuous, as it always is, in such a scene as this. Your correspondent being conducted toward the head of the bounteous board, one angel took his hat, another disrobed him of overcoat, a third took charge of a package or two, a fourth led him to a seat at the table, a fifth ministered to his wants while there, and all
2O ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTIETH N. Y. S. VOLS.
with a delicacy and warmth of kindness that brought forcibly to his mind the Pilgrim of Bunyan in the Palace Beautiful, with the ministry of the fair sisterhood there, refreshing and strengthening him for the hardships and dangers of the way before him. No wonder that the soldiers, exulting in this gxxxlly fare, broke forth, company after company, into spontaneous cheers for the city of Philadelphia which made the rafters of the building fairly ring again. Nor was this ample cheer all. Here the sick soldiers are furnished with comfort able quarters, and received assiduous medical care, until able to join their regiment, or failing this, are sent home, without money and without price. In addition to all, in a room overhead, writing materials are furnished for those who desire, during the two or three hours stay in the city, to write to their friends. I was urged there several times to write home, which though much fatigued and the hour being two o'clock in the morning, I finally did, to show, at least, how much I valued such attention and kindness. When the letter was written and enclosed they refused even to let the writer pay for the stamp. All hail to the city of Philadelphia for such princely generosity, continued so long and yet rendered not only without grudging or complaint, but rejoicingly. It will prove a noble and lasting monument to her honor."
In looking back thirty years, this account does not seem to the writer overstated, and he is quite sure that a strong response to these eulogistic words will be given by every surviving Union soldier, who when going forward to encounter the perils and hardships of the war, found his footsteps lightened and his heart and arm strengthened by a sympathy and good will so heartily expressed.
The regiment left Philadelphia in the morning taking cars for Baltimore where it arrived at four p. M. March ing across the city, without danger any longer of molestation from any disloyal element, to the Washing ton depot, it started at six p. M. for Washington, arriving there on the 2;th, at midnight, the streets being a
ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTIETH N. Y. S. VOLS. 2 I
bivouac for the remainder of the night. Washington at that time was little more than an armed camp. The streets were filled with soldiers, army wagons, cavalry squadrons, gun carriages and caissons, with kindred ob jects sure to follow in the train of " glorious war," the whole forming a very striking spectacle to those lately parted from peaceful country homes. The stay here, however,, was short, as at 10 o'clock on the morning after arrival, the ranks were formed and the regiment crossed the Long Bridge, marching to Arlington Heights, where its first camp on the sacred soil of Virginia was pitched, the dome of the capitol looming up grandly at the distance of seven miles. Those who knew the his tory of Arlington, long the home of General Robert E. Lee, then in command of the rebel armies, and saw how the iron heel of war had stamped out its beauty, and spread desolation around, would find a fruitful lesson inspired by the spot where their first night in Virginia was spent.
CHAPTER III.
THE SECOND BATTLE OF BULL RUN — THE ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTIETH
AIDING TO PROTECT WASHINGTON LIFE IN CAMP — RELIGIOUS SERVICE
— POPE'S ROUTED ARMY RE-ORGANIZED BY MCCLELLAN UNION SUC CESSES IN MARYLAND — ARMY HOSPITALS — PENINSULA VETERANS RE VIEW OF TROOPS NEAR FAIRFAX SEMINARY UPTON'S HILL ENCAMP MENT A GRAND REVIEW NEAR ALEXANDRIA PRESIDENT LINCOLN AND
SECRETARIES, PRESENT — REGIMENT ORDERED TO THE FRONT BURN- SIDE SUPERSEDES MCCLELLAN ARMY OF THE POTOMAC BEFORE FRED-
ERICKSBURG.
The day following the regiment's first encampment in Virginia, the second battle of Bull Run, August 28th, may be said to have opened. General King's division on its march from Warrenton to Centreville, ran into the divisions of Ewell and Taliaferro, of Jackson's corps, which was holding the region around Bull Run, after its enterprising and successful raid upon Bristoe Station and Manassas. Then ensued, as Taliaferro describes it, 14 one of the most terrific conflicts that can be conceived. For two hours and a half, from late in the afternoon till after dark, without an instant's cessation of the most deadly discharges of musketry, round shot and shell, both lines stood unmoved, neither advancing, and neither broken nor yielding, until about nine o'clock, " when the conflict closed, with no decided advantage on either side, but with heavy losses to both. Early on the next morning the main battle began, continuing through that day, the 29th, and through the following
ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTIETH N. Y. S. VOLS. 2$
one, the close of the latter witnessing the discomfiture of Pope's army, and its retreat toward the defenses of Washington.
The One Hundred and Twentieth was not called upon to take part in the severe fighting running through these three August days, though the booming of the cannon from this hotly contested field reached the men in their Arlington encampment.
On the morning of the 2 9th however, they were roused from their slumbers by the long roll. Cartridges and rations were hastily furnished, and in fifteen minutes, armed and equipped, they were standing ready to march. Their route lay across the Potomac, through Georgetown to Fort Ethan Allen, ten miles from their camp at Ar lington. The regiment was one of a number of detach-
o o
ments sent from Washington and places adjacent, to guard against any movement, should one be attempted, on the part of Lee, to throw troops in Pope's rear, or between him and Washington. No such attempt, how ever, was made. The Union army fell back, when the time came, without being seriously molested, though much demoralized by its defeat, till it found itself within the fortifications which made Washington secure against any assaults from without.
The regiment remained in camp near Fort Ethan Allen for more than a week. The spot where they pitched their tents was a high side hill from which a fine prospect opened, and where their surroundings were such as to minister greatly to the mens' comfort and satisfaction. Not only were their rations good and abundant, but occasional foraging, with purchases from people coming into the camp to sell provisions, afforded
24 ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTIETH N. Y. S. VOLS.
such luxuries as pigs, chickens, ducks, hoe-cake, eggs, cakes, pies, etc., a bill of fare, which however appetizing, could only solace the men for a brief period, and sure to be ere long exchanged for the plain army ration, which knew but little variety, without being always at hand or abundant. The good things mentioned, were however, heartily enjoyed while they lasted, while as to their future supplies, the men gave themselves no concern. They were ready for hardships and privations should they come, as belonging to the nature of their present service.
Nor was the sense of dependence on the Great All- Provider lost sight of, by a large part of the regiment certainly, who failed not to express their obligations for His bountiful gifts and for His guardianship in all their way, and fervent thanksgivings went up daily from those who had been taught to praise God for his good ness. And on Sunday, the 3ist, in Captain Snyder's tent, a large number gathered to hear the voice of prayer and the Chaplain's earnest admonitions, which met with attentive audience and warm response, making all feel stronger for the work before them, in the aid and benediction Divinely promised. There is no soldier, who cannot do and suffer more, and fight better, in the con sciousness, which everyone may have, that the Lord is on his side, to guard the right cause, and strengthen the arms that uphold it.
While the regiment lay encamped here, Pope's routed army was pouring into Washington, and the men had an opportunity to see many of these troops as they hurried forward in their retreat. Many of the soldiers escaping from this hard-fought, but disastrous field of
ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTIETH N. Y. S. VOLS. 2 5
Bull Run, had lost their arms, and with uniforms torn and dust-covered, wore a melancholy and woe-begone appearance. It might seem, looking at these straggling crowds, that discipline lost, might not again be restored. Yet this needed to be done and done promptly. And in this emergency, the President turned at once to the only man adequate, in his judgment, to do it. General McClellan was urged to undertake it and consented. And, with his rare organizing faculty and his popularity with the troops which no reverses seemed to impair, order very soon began to emerge out of this chaos. Companies, regiments, brigades, divisions stood forth in brief period, in compact and regular array, and on the 7th of September, a week after the Bull Run battle, McClellan left Washington at the head of a large and well appointed army to meet Lee who was crossing the upper Potomac into Maryland. The battle of South Mountain followed on the I4th with a brilliant success for the Union arms, and three days after, on the i7th, was fought the bloody battle of Antietam, which, if not an overwhelming Union victory, as it might and should have been, yet resulted in thwarting Lee's designs on " My Maryland" and driving him back disappointed and crippled, across the Potomac.
During these stirring operations, the One Hundred and Twentieth remained in the vicinity of Washington engaged in doing picket duty, the drilling of the men going on from day to day, thus familiarizing them with their required work and fitting them to act their part well in the hour of trying service. They moved from point to point for several weeks, keeping mostly near to Washington and waiting for the time when they should
2 6 ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTIETH N. Y. S. VOLS.
be called to join the ranks standing in the forefront of the battle. On September loth, they were at Fort Lyon, on the I4th, at Fairfax Seminary, near Alex andria, with the Potomac, bearing steamers and war vessels on its bosom, in view, and Mount Vernon occasionally seen from some neighboring elevation which commanded a wide sweep of the river. Fairfax Sem inary, a spacious and sightly structure, was now con verted into a hospital for our sick and wounded soldiers, the necessities of the war compelling the use of this and similar commodious buildings in all places where our armies held possession, and bloodshed as well as sick ness abounded. Alexandria, near at hand, was full of hospitals. Distributed among these were a number of soldiers of the Twentieth N. Y. S. M., wounded at Bull Run, whom acquaintances of the One Hundred and Twentieth were permitted occasionally to visit. Among these wounded was the gallant Captain Pelatiah Ward. He fell, as did his colonel, Geo. W. Pratt, while charg ing the enemy's impregnable breastworks late in the afternoon of the last day's battle. Captain Ward was among the bravest men and best soldiers who, that day, went into the desperate fight. He died within a fort night after receiving his wound. The sights of wounded and suffering men, witnessed by the soldiers of the One Hundred and Twentieth in these hospitals, impressed upon them a vivid idea of the horrors of war and taught them what the future in this bitter contest, might have in store for themselves.
Around the encampment of the One Hundred and Twentieth, were thousands of McClellan's veterans returned from the Peninsular campaign. Among these
ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTIETH N. Y.S. VOLS. 2j
the soldiers of the regiment found many friends from the North, whose accounts of the battles they had fought, the hardships they had endured and the " moving acci dents by flood and field " they had experienced, were listened to by them with the liveliest interest. A grand review, composed of these troops,, and others in the vicin ity, was held on October 2d, in a large field about two miles from Fairfax Seminary. Not fewer than fifteen thousand soldiers formed the array, the various arms of the service being all represented. The general officers reviewing, were Heintzleman, Sickles and Carr. The men at first, were formed in a single line of battle, then in three lines, with artillery in the rear. The ceremonies usual on these occasions were performed with full knowledge of what was proper to each. The appear ance of the battalions and of the whole array was soldierly and imposing, and well deserved the commen dations bestowed upon it, in which the One Hundred and Twentieth Regiment had a merited share of honor. In the new organization of the army under Burnside, soon to take place, the One Hundred and Twentieth Regiment was to form part of the Second (Excelsior) brigade belonging to Sickles' Second division, Colonel George B. Hall being in command of the brigade.
Up to October nth, the regiment remained in the same camping ground at the Seminary. The duties of camp life were performed day by day with strict regu larity, but the incidents and transactions of these days, having so much in common, do not require a particular detail. The regiment took up its march on the i ith of October, toward Upton's Hill, not only leaving its pleasant camping ground of the previous weeks, but
28 ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTIETH N. V. S. VOLS.
with it many articles of personal comfort which had solaced the soldiers - while continuing there. Both officers and men were required to dispense with what ever was unnecessary and retain no superfluous clothing or baggage or utensils to cumber their movements in the field. This looked like a speedy entering on an aggressive campaign.
Their present encampment at Upton's Hill, was near the spot where the Twentieth N. Y. S. M., had their quarters the previous winter and within a short distance of Falls Church, a quaint old edifice, with historic mem ories, within whose grounds a number of the Twentieth's deceased soldiers are interred. During the remaining days of October, the regiment continued within the same narrow bounds, moving its camp a few miles from time to time, marching on the i;th from Upton's Hill and again pitching its tents at Fairfax Seminary. Little occurred of special interest except a grand review on the 22d, of some twenty thousand troops near Alex andria, at which President Lincoln, Secretaries Seward and Stanton, Generals Banks and Sickles, and a large number of other generals and government officials were present. On the last day of October, orders were received to be in readiness to march next morning. On November ist, accordingly, the sick were sent to the hospital and the whole division stood arrayed in march ing order. Baggage, ammunition and supply trains, artillery, ambulances, and long lines of troops with their colors displayed were presently in motion. The soldiers of the One Hundred and Twentieth, with their shelter-tents strapped to their knapsacks, took their position in the marching column. Their fortunes now
ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTIETH N. Y. S. VOLS. 2 9
and henceforth were to be joined to those of the Army of the Potomac. Their faces were turned toward the South where the enemy they proposed to meet were known to be, nor were they to turn back from the task undertaken, till the great conflict was fought through and the victory won.
General McClellan, it is known, remained for weeks near the battle field of Antietam and seemed to have grown to the ground there, so long and persistently did he cling to it. Repeated and urgent messages from Washington to hasten his departure in pursuit of Lee effected very little. He pleaded more time to recruit his exhausted army after the late destructive battle, to clothe, equip and provision his forces, to repair the heavy losses he had sustained, and completely fit them for the work they were expected to do. At length, on the 26th of October, nearly seven weeks after the Antietam battle, the order was issued to pack up and get ready to march. The direction was the Potomac, which the army was to cross on pontoons. The process was slow and the crossing was not completed 'till the 2d of Novem ber.
Its position on reaching the " sacred soil "was east of the Blue Ridge, along the line of which it moved slowly southward, having advanced on the 7th of No vember, to Warrenton. While encamped near this place, an order arrived from Washington on this day relieving General McClellan from the command of the army and putting General Burnside in his place. It seemed a hard measure to the man who had so promptly and skilfully reorganized Pope's discomfited army, achieved the victory of South Mountain and driven Lee
3O ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTIETH N. Y. S. VOLS.
out of Maryland, but the Washington authorities were bent on rebuking, what they considered McClellan's tardi ness of movement, and this was the result. They placed a chief in command of whom they expected a more prompt and aggressive action and more decisive results. How far this expectation was to be verified, the events of a few weeks were to determine. Meanwhile, Burnside having submitted his plan of operations to the " powers " at Washington and received assent to it, at once began his march toward Fredericksburg, before which city by the 1 9th of October, the three " grand divisions " of his army, consisting of 127,574 officers and men had arrived. The One Hundred and Twentieth Regiment, as a part of the Army of the Potomac, was guided by the move ments of the whole. Sickles' division, was the Second of the Third Corps, which with the Fifth Corps, formed the Centre Grand Division, commanded by General Joseph Hooker. Parts of this force were already before Fred ericksburg and its other subdivisions were steadily draw ing together, to the same point. The One Hundred and Twentieth, after marches to Centreville, Bull Run, Bris- toe Station and other points, encamped on the icth of November, at Manasses Junction, where they saw Gen eral McClellan, on leaving the army, receive and return the greeting of the troops. Thence their course was toward the Rappahannock. They crossed Occoquan Creek on the 25th ; passed through Dumfries on the 26th ; Stafford on the 27th, and on the 28th, encamped within two miles of Falmouth, opposite Fredericksburg. The army of Burnside was now concentrated, a narrow river alone separating it from the foe it had marched hither to encounter.
CHAPTER IV.
BURNSIDE CROSSES THE RAPPAHANNOCK ASSAULTS THE ENEMY'S DEFENSES
HIS DISASTROUS DEFEAT AND LOSSES — THE ONE HUNDRED AND
TWENTIETH NOT IN THE MAIN ASSAULT UNDER FIRE FOR THE FIRST TIME
MOVEMENTS AND SERVICES OF THE REGIMENT BEFORE AND AFTER THE
BATTLE AN ARMISTICE TO REMOVE THE WOUNDED AND BURY THE DEAD
UNION ARMY RECROSSES THE RIVER MORAL OF THE DEFEAT.
It is not my purpose to go into a detailed description of the battle of Fredericksburg, that proved so disas trous to the Union army. This narrative is concerned chiefly with the One Hundred and Twentieth Regi ment, and the part it played in the mighty drama, the several acts cf which were now developing, one by one. A sketch, however, of the several battles in which the regiment shared, is necessary, in order that the situation in which it was placed from time to time, the character of the service it rendered and how this service was performed, may appear in a distinct light. Burnside's plan was an immediate crossing of the river as soon as it could be reached, the occupying of Fredericksburg while Lee's army was far away, and then a rapid and direct movement upon Richmond. Halleck telegraphed to Burnside the President's view of the plan in these words, "he thinks it will succeed if you move rapidly, otherwise not." Had Burnside been able to cross the Rappahannock, on or about the igth of November, when his forces were all collected and ready to pass
3 2 ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTIETH N. Y. S. VOLS.
over, he might have succeeded in his design. Certainly, the history of the bloody days that soon followed would have been very different. As it was, the pontoons which were to have been at the river at the time the General and his troops reached it, did not arrive until the 25th. By this time a considerable force of the Con federates had reached Fredericksburg, followed within a short interval by their whole army, which was soon for midably entrenched on the hills overlooking the city. The crossing could now only be effected in the face of a determined and powerful foe, ready to rain down de struction upon all assailants and eager, in fact, to be assailed in their chosen stronghold. A sagacious and prudent commander would have paused long before dooming his men to so desperate an undertaking. But, excellent though General Burnside might be as a man, and brave as a soldier and fitted to lead a division or even a corps skillfully,- he lacked the ability, as some stronger men than he, in the like position, also did, to inspire and manage the combinations of a great army so that the best results might be secured by the most suit able means. Even Lee himself, whose ability to com mand an entire army was not often questioned, commit- mitted on the third day of Gettysburg, a blunder sim ilar to that committed by Burnside, on the iz|.th of De cember, when he hurled his devoted masses against the redoubts and entrenchments of Marye's Hill, before which they fell in frightful numbers by the hands of foes whom no mortal valor could dislodge. The result was such as might have been and should have been readily foreseen. The repeated attempts to carry the enemy's positions had failed signally. Our brave troops were
ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTIETH N. Y. S. VOLS \ ^
*-J *J
repulsed at all points, and within a day or two the shattered army recrossed the Rappahannock with their numbers diminished by thirteen thousand, dead and wounded, who formed the ghastly record of this terrible day.
Not much of this loss, indeed, -fell upon the One Hundred and Twentieth Regiment. Its position in this battle, was such, as not to render it exposed to the hottest fire of the enemy. The service it was called upon to perform, however, from the time it encamped near Falmouth,on November 28th, till the battle of the 1 3th of December closed, was arduous and efficient. The cutting of wood, for the construction of corduroy roads found necessary for the use of the army, occupied many men, whose labors were sometimes continued through the entire night. Detachments of the men were posted along the Rappahannock day and night doing picket duty, the pickets of the enemy being sta tioned on the opposite bank. Incessant vigilance was necessary in the immediate presence of an alert enemy, and the getting in readiness to cross the river for the coming attack, called for energetic and persistent work from every department of the Union army.
The men of the One Hundred and Twentieth had their full share of the toil, hardship and privation which in the cold and sometimes stormy December days and nights, befel the army on the eve of its grim encounter with the enemy. On the night of the I2th the brigade to which the One Hundred and Twentieth was attached, marched five miles down the river and bivouaced in the woods. On the I3th, the day of the battle, the brigade moved to the hills near the Rappahannock,
3
34 ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTIETH N. Y. S. VOLS.
taking station in rear of our batteries on the heights. General Sickles' division, to which the brigade was attached, was posted here as a reserve. This position overlooked the city of Fredericksburg, the heights beyond on which the rebel army was entrenched, and the wide plain separating the two. They were thus witnesses of the battle in all its furious progress. They saw the repeated charges of our brave troops upon the enemy's works ; how again and again the strong posi tions were assailed with stubborn but unavailing valor, while the cheers of our soldiers and the yells of the enemy were mingled with the rattle of musketry and the roar of artillery. General Sickles' division was sent to re-enforce the Left Centre under General Franklin, whose command had crossed on the I2th, and now needed whatever reserves could be brought to its sup port. This division began to cross the river at about 3 p. M. of the 1 3th, the battle then raging, and took its assigned position at the front. The One Hundred and Twentieth got over the river about sunset, and joining its brigade in the front line of battle, soon found what that position meant by the shrieking of a shell which passed over their heads, burying itself in the ground behind them. Some one proposed three cheers — a bravado, by the way, which veteran troops would never have displayed — for the first shot which sternly saluted the regiment, and the men were beginning to respond, when the untimely outburst was checked, by fear of attracting the notice of the enemy. The men however, made themselves merry with an incident which pres ently attracted their notice. One of the captains sent his colored servant to bring in some cornstalks from a
ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTIETH N. Y. S. VOLS. ~> 5
stack standing near. He had brought one armful, had returned and loaded himself with a second, with which he was just starting, when a solid shot struck the stack, scattering its contents around. In a trice the doughty African was flat on his back, with his armful of stalks covering him in front like a shield and clasped tightly to his breast, as though safety from rambling cannon balls lay only in that. It was found hard enough to get him to come out from his cover and stand erect, with such perils compassing him around.
Shortly after dark a company was advanced as skirm ishers, reaching a ditch running parallel with the line of battle. The enemy's position could be seen from a hill that rose just before them. Here the horrors of a battle-field were visible all around them, the ground they occupied having been fought over that day, being strewn with dead, and having other signs that mark a sanguinary struggle. When the morning dawned they found themselves within range of the sharpshooters' rifles, and were ordered to fall back to a more sheltered position. A lieutenant and ten men who were detailed for special duty on the same night, got beyond the picket line, and creeping on hands and knees among the dead and wounded, were so near the enemy's lines as to hear their soldiers in conversation. They re mained in this position till after midnight, when they crept back to their picket line, with only one of their number wounded.
On Sunday the i4th, the regiment lay on their arms in the front all day, under fire of the enemy's guns, though the combat had virtually ceased, only occasional missiles from musket and cannon being exchanged.
36 ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTIETH N. Y. S. VOLS.
On the 1 5th the same comparative quiet pervaded the two armies, and at 2 r. M. a flag of truce brought about a cessation of hostilities. This was done in order that our wounded might be taken from the field and our dead buried. While this sacred office was performing, the pickets of the Union and rebel forces were seen in neighborly, if not friendly intercourse, exchanging such commodities as each party desired to obtain of the other, " Yankee" sugar and coffee, for " Johnnie " hoe- cake and tobacco, forming the staple articles in the barter. There was now nothing more for the Uuion army to do on the south side of the Rappahannock, and all that remained for it at present, was to re -cross the river. This was accomplished on the i6th, with out molestation from the enemy, The bridges were taken up, and the old camping ground before the disastrous battle, was re-occupied. The ordeal through which the army had passed since the I2th, had been a terrible one, and it was small solace to the sur vivors of the conflict, and to the hearts lacerated by losses of kindred and friends, to be told, and to know, that the bloody catastrophe might have been, and with more wisdom at the helm, would have been avoided. The lesson learned, had been a stern one to the Union army, whose spirit never quailed under the worst reverses, and which calmly and with good heart, abided the time when Fortune would smile upon it and reward its constancy and valor with deserved victory. That day might be distant, indeed, and many a deadly struggle of contending hosts must ensue before its dawn, but it was surely coming. And the brave Union heart, true to the right, and strong in its faith, was content to wait and see.
CHAPTER V.
SICKNESS AND DEATH IN CAMP — THE FAMOUS "MUD MARCH " AND WHAT
CAME OF IT THE ARMY'S NEW COMMANDER, GENERAL HOOKER
EFFECTS OF THE CHANGE ON THE TROOPS ARMY IN WINTER QUARTERS
COLONEL SHARPE GOES ON HOOKER'S STAFF, LIEUTENANT-COLONEL
WESTBROOK IN COMMAND OF THE REGIMENT THE SOLDIERS CHEERED
BY TOKENS FROM HOME PRESIDENT LINCOLN'S VISIT AND REVIEW OF
TROOPS INCIDENTS GETTING READY FOR A FORWARD MOVEMENT.
For several days after reaching their encampment on the north bank of the Rappahannock, the soldiers of the army enjoyed quiet and rest undisturbed. It was a pleasant relief from the confusing noises which had late ly stunned the ear, and from the toilsome days and comfortless nights which the situation, the past week, had imposed. The men of the One Hundred and Twentieth, though shivering under their slight shelter tents, in the cold December nights, shared, in common with the army, the restful feeling, arising from release for a season — a brief one it might be — from the exhaust ing burdens attendant on their recent services in front of the enemy's works. But all burdens were not taken off, even now. For sickness, with heavy-pressing hand, finds its way into the quietest camps, and death, with his levelling stroke, comes to soldier and civilian alike.
Three members of the regiment, died on Sunday, the 2 ist, one of whom was the captain of company H, Charles H. McEntee, a brave and meritorious soldier, and an estimable man. The two others were private
38 ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTIETH N. Y. S. VOLS.
soldiers, Isaac E. Shultis, of company A and Matthew Stokes, of company C. These two were buried here with the usual military honors, while the captain's re mains, escorted to the railroad station by the company he had commanded, were forwarded to his late home at Rondout.
When the year 1863 opened, and during the whole of January, a considerable number of the regiment were on the sick list. The hospital tents, fitted for their accommodation, had many occupants who needed the doctor's care, and from these, from time to time, com rades who had succumbed to disease, were carried forth to their burial. From the diary referred to in the introductory chapter, this record of January i6th, is taken : — " Much sickness prevails. Almost every day we heard the muffled drums, as one of our comrades was carried to the grave. To-day, the regiment mus ters only 400 men fit for duty." Life in the field, under tents, in cold and often stormy weather, as the case was now, so different from what the men had been accustomed to at home, with privations and hardships hitherto untried, tolcl strongly upon the health of many, so that the losses in battle were found not to outnumber those that the army sustained from other causes as the war progressed. In fact, disease caused far greater mortality than the bullet.:i: The shelter tent, indeed, so unfitted to keep out cold, so provocative of chills, fevers, lung diseases, rheumatism and other ailments, might be
* From a statement prepared in the Adjutant-General's office, it appears, that during the war, 1861-65, the number of Union soldiers illed in battle was 67,058 ; died of wounds, 43,012, total, 110,067. Died of disease, 199,720.
ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTIETH N. Y. S, VOLS. 39
supplanted by log cabins, made tight and comfortable by the craft of soldier workmen. If only sure of remain ing in winter quarters there, this change would have been made, and was, in fact, begun by the regiment as early as January Qth. But Burnside was still in com mand and yearned to regain the confidence of the army by some bold stroke against the enemy, that would measureably redeem the recent sore failure. With this in view, plans wrere buzzing through his brain, among them one of re-crossing the Rappahannock a few miles above Fredericksburg, and falling upon Lee's forces when unprepared. This led to the issuing of orders to his army to be prepared at any moment to march. And so on the 2Oth of January, the march actually began— very slowly and toilfully, because of the roads — con tinuing only a mile and a half, that afternoon. It was resumed early on the 2ist, amid a pouring rain which had begun the evening before, continuing without ces sation all night. The diary referred to, describes the situation in these words :
"The pontoons, artillery and some of the wagon trains, were in the advance, and the troops were slowly and sullenly moving through the driving storm and deep, sticky mud. The wagons and artillery sank to their axles, so that twelve horses could not move a small field gun. At 3 P.M., we had gained about six miles. We expected to cross the river early the next morning, and to be placed in position to attack the enemy's lines, but the mud was so deep it was impossible to move our trains. At 3 P. M., the regiment was ordered out without arms to cut poles and make corduroy roads. We built the road to a point from which we could see the enemy, across the river. They seemed to be well-informed in regard to our movements, for they had painted, on a large board, clearly legible from this side, ' Burnside and his pontoons stuck in the mud — move at i o'clock, three days' rations in haversacks.'"
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This was the famous " Mud March," which, by the testimony of all whose lot it was to share it, rendered every other that the faithful Army of the Potomac ever made, as child's play, in comparison. Dead horses and mules strewed all the road over which the men returned to their camp. The expedition was at an end, and fortun ate for the army that it was. General Franklin, in a letter to Halleck — written after the war — pithily expressed it, " So I looked upon the rain which stopped his (Burn- side's) second attempt to cross the river, (the Mud March), as a Providential interference in our behalf."
The control of the army was now to pass into other hands. On the 25th of January, 1863, an order arrived from Washington, relieving- General Burnside of the command of the army, and appointing General Joseph Hooker, in his place. Hooker was a soldier of ripe experience, with a high record as brigade, division and corps commander, having shown marked ability in the management of these several commands. His brave and fearless spirit, his readiness to fight the enemy whenever a chance to win presented and even when that chance seemed doubtful, and his bearing on the field as a gallant soldier and chivalric leader, had gained for him the name of " Fighting Joe Hooker," so expressive of the sense the soldiers had of his heroic and aggressive qualities. His popularity with the troops was undoubt ed, and his advancement to the chief command, after Fredericksburg, was hailed by them, at least, with lively satisfaction. Whether the superior officers regarded him as fully competent for his present high trust, is another question. It is safe to say, that some of these had doubts on this subject. He was soon to test, how-
ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTIETH N. Y. S. VOLS. 4 I
ever, as his predecessor had done, his capacity for the charge and direction of a great army, and had the best wishes of all for his success. It is certain that under his administration, a new vigor was soon infused into the army. General Couch, speaking of what took place after Hooker assumed command, says : " I have never known men to change from a condition of lowest depres sion to that of a healthy fighting state in so short a time." The strength and spirits of the army both, were well recruited by the rest, in winter quarters. Furloughs were generously given during this period of inaction, and with excellent results, those receiving them return ing promptly to their posts when their leaves of absence expired. In discipline, in fighting material, in courage, in enthusiasm, a finer body of men than the army which Hooker commanded when the spring of 1863 opened, it would be hard indeed to find. Its numbers, too, amounted to nearly, if not quite, 126,000 men, and what achievements might not be effected for the Union cause, when such an army should come in conflict with its foes !
During the months of February, March and April, while the army lay in winter quarters before Fredericks- burg, little occurred in the experience of the regiment, requiring special mention. There were some deaths of the members in hospital, a record of which will appear in another place. Some changes, too, in officers, occurred through transfer and resignations. Colonel Sharpe, much to the regret of the regiment, received in February, an appointment on the staff of General Hooker, which he was induced to accept, devolving thus, the command of the regiment, on Lieutenant-Colonel Westbrook, who
42 ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTIETH N. Y. S. VOLS.
continued in command till disabled by a wound, at Gettysburg;. Adjutant Selah O. Tuthill, Captains Pier- son and S. S. Westbrook, and Lieutenant Dumond Elmenclorf resigned, and their places, as will appear elsewhere, were duly filled. The army was well sup plied with stores and provisions. Mails came regularly with their welcome freight of letters from home, and papers bringing news of what was passing in the world without, and in the vicinity of the soldiers' homes, which interested them still more. Other remembrances also came, in the shape of boxes and packages, containing articles to minister to the comfort of the men in the field, and these tokens came close home to the hearts of the various recipients. For the men who honored reli gion, and sought to practise its precepts amid the din of arms and the hindrances interposed to Christian duty on the tented field, the God-fearing officer's tent was opened, where, while off camp duty, many like-minded were glad to assemble and find comfort and strength in the words of praise, prayer and exhortation heard with in, and support in the great struggle going on, in an arm mightier than man's. President Lincoln, whose reve rent spirit led him habitually to look upward for help to bear the grievous burdens pressing on him, was ever the friend of the chaplains, and was pleased to have them lead the soldiers to trust in that Supreme Protector without whose guardianship of" the city, the watchman waketh but in vain."
The President's great anxiety for the safety of the country, and for the success of its armies, led him often to the front when troops lay within easy reach from Washington. It was no uncommon thing to see him at
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reviews, mingling familiarly with officers, and express ing sympathy with the troops in their sacrifices for the common cause, and inspiring confidence by his hopeful words and by his serene faith in the ultimate success of the right. On the 6th of this month the whole cavalry force of the Potomac army was reviewed by the Presi dent and General Hooker, near Falmouth. Mrs. Lincoln was with him on this occasion, and their little son "Tad," the boy riding a pony and Mrs. Lincoln seated in a car riage drawn by six horses. Many of the One Hundred and Twentieth were spectators of the review, which presented a more superb and imposing display than it had ever been their privilege to see. On the 7th 4< the boys " were out in force to see the President, as he passed through their camp. His thoughtful, honest, care-worn face, lit up at times with a smile while con versing with those near him, impressed them deeply, and many spoke what they felt, that he was indeed the man for the crisis, and fitly chosen to pilot the ship of state safely through the tempestuous seas. On April 8th the Third Corps, under General Sickles, was reviewed by the President near the Lacey House, opposite Fred- ericksburg. The Corps was arrayed in line of battle, forty regiments in double column forming the right, a number of batteries of artillery the left, while a hundred yards in rear of the centre, the immense baggage, ammunition and supply trains were located, with 2,000 mules attached to the multitudinous wagons of the trains. Apropos of the mules, a stirring, and but for its sober accompaniments, a ludicrous incident here occurred. For as a battery suddenly opened in salute of the review ing party, some of the long-eared quadrupeds, not yet
44 ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTIETH N. Y. S. VOLS.
hardened to the roar of cannon, were seized with a panic, ensuing in a stampede of a large number. Mules dashed against mules, and against and over all obstacles that rose before them, producing a scene of the wildest confusion and dismay. Nor did the scene pass without harm resulting, for a number of men received hurts more or less serious, and not a few mules had broken legs and other injuries, making the killing of them necessary. Notwithstanding this exciting episode, not down in the bills, the review went along according to the programme, and was in every respect a grand military display, well deserving the encomiums it received.
On April loth the regiment went with the whole brigade to General Sickles' headquarters to see the President take leave of the army, on his return to Wash ington. The troops lined both sides of the corduroy road they had built, the lines extending from General Hooker's headquarters to the railway station. The President, Mrs. Lincoln and little son in a carriage pre ceded Generals Hooker and Sickles and their staffs, while cheers uprose from the troops, and strains of mar tial music rent the air, proclaiming how the hearts of all were affected toward their kind, wise ruler, and how warmly they responded to his good wishes for triumphs soon to come.
All indications now pointed to the speedy beginning .of active work in the field. The last inspections were held, requisite stores were supplied, articles not essen tial to an army in marching and fighting trim, were laid aside to be left behind, and all were awaiting the daily expected summons to break camp and march forth
ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTIETH N. Y. S. VOLS. 46
against the enemy. General Stoneman, in command of the cavalry, had received his orders before the 1 3th of April, to cross the Rappahannock at its upper fords and sweep down upon, and cut off Lee's communications with Richmond, with the design of forcing the latter to fall back on his depots and give up Fredericksburg. The crossing could not be effected, by reason of heavy and continuous rains which made the river unfordable for many days at the point he meant to cross, nor did he get over till the main army had crossed, and the work he was sent to do, even if possible then to be done, ceased to be of any avail. By the 3Oth of April, the principal part of the army had crossed the river, General Hooker having reached Chancellorsville, at 6 p. M., of that day, with four corps, besides that of General Sickles, in reserve and near at hand. The crossing had been effected skillfully and expeditiously, and it looked as though Hooker's plan for enveloping and crushing the hostile army, was in a fair way of successful ex ecution. It was not owing to any misgiving on the part of the General commanding, or want of perfect con fidence in the success of his plans and manoeuvres, that he did not succeed. His jubilant manifesto, issued at Chancellorsville, and read by Colonel Westbrook, on this same 3Oth of April before the regiment, which had not yet crossed the river, proclaims how sanguine the General felt of grasping a splendid victory, such a thing as failure being judged by him quite out of the question. It ran in these ambitious words, which remind one strongly of Pope's grandiloquent address when he assumed command of the army, a short time before Bull Run :
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"It is with heartfelt satisfaction that the Commanding General announces to the army, that the operations of the last three days have determined that our enemy must either ingloriously fly, or come out from behind his entrenchments and give us battle on our own ground, where certain destruction awaits him. The operations of the Fifth, Eleventh and Twelfth Corps have been a succession of splendid achievements.
" By command of Major General Hooker."
The " achievements " of getting on the ground in so alert and silent a way as to surprise Lee, still at Fredericks- burg, were no doubt " splendid" enough, but they were after all only preliminary, deciding nothing so long as the remaining steps in the plan were not properly taken. Hooker's plan in brief was, to have Sedgwick with three corps cross the Rappahannock below Fredericksburg, himself holding four corps under his own eye around Chan- cellorsville, and then have the two wings move toward each other, taking the enemy in flank and in reverse, and thus effect his "certain destruction," as the order expressed it. It was a very pretty plan, similar to McClellan's plan at Antietam— though this had bet ter results— and might have succeeded had it been promptly and thoroughly carried out, and had nothing unexpected occurred to disconcert and overthrow it. But such unforeseen thing did occur in the shape of Stone wall Jackson's little counter-move against Hooker's Eleventh corps under Howard, lying far off to the right, unguarded, unsuspicious of danger, in military phrase "in the air," and thus presenting a tempting prize to the eye of an enterprising adversary. The attack, which fell like a thunderbolt from a clear sky, suddenly turned Hooker's sunshine into black clouds!
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and thenceforward he had all he could do to repel, with out being himself overthrown, the fierce and repeated onslaughts of the foe. What share the One Hundred and Twentieth Regiment had in the progress of this grim and sanguinary conflict, will appear in the follow ing chapter.
At this stage of the war, the crossing of the Rappa- hannock by the Union army seemed the certain presage of defeat and disaster. After two gallant attempts to win victory beyond this river, resulting in failure, further effort in this direction, as the faint-hearted would be ready to say, might as well be abandoned. But the faint-hearted did not control the national counsels, nor pervade the armies in the field, as would be shown ere long by the locality where the great final triumphs of the war were achieved.
CHAPTER VI.
CROSSING THE RAPPAHANNOCK — HOOKER AND HIS ARMY AT CHANCELLORS-
VILLE — STONEWALL JACKSON'S ATTACK ON HOWARD STAMPEDE OF THE
ELEVENTH CORPS CONFEDERATE ADVANCE ARRESTED — ACCOUNTS OF
THE BATTLE AND THE ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTIETH'S PART IN IT. COLONEL WESTBROOK'S MEMORANDA — MR. LEWIS' DIARY — GENERAL DOUBLEDAY'S HISTORY — DEATH OF GENERALS BERRY AND WHIPPLE — ARMY RECROSSES THE RAPPAHANNOCK LOSSES AT CHANCELLORSVILLE.
On the afternoon of April 28th, the regiment began its march toward the Rappahannock, not reluctant to bid farewell to the rude log- huts in which they had been " cabin'd, cribbed, confined," for four months. Advanc ing four miles, the Excelsior brigade encamped in a wood not far from the river-bank above Fredericks- burg. It remained here till the 3Oth, the troops cheered by the paymaster's presence, whom they had not seen for several months, and who now cancelled all arrears. This did the "heart good, like a medicine," infusing fresh strength for the heat and burden of the coming days.
Resuming their march at noon, they held on their way till midnight ; making a detour to avoid the enemy's observation, the brigade bivouacking in an open field within four miles of United States Ford. On May ist at noon they crossed the river, and making a rapid march of five miles, were stationed in support of a bat tery. The position occupied was nearly in the rear of the centre of the Union line, and of General Hooker's
ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTIETH N. Y. S. VOLS. 49
headquarters, at the Chancellors ville House. The division of General Berry, to which the brigade belonged, was held as a reserve.
While the division lay at this point, and toward the close of the following day, May 2d, Jackson's famous attack was made on Howard's Eleventh Corps, lying on the extreme right of the Union lines. The effect of this attack, as is well known, was overwhelming. The troops of Howard, taken by surprise, as nearly all can did authorities agree, many of them away from their arms, some preparing or taking their evening meal, had little time to form line or make effective resistance against the sudden storm which burst upon them. With some gallant, though unavailing attempts, on the part of a brigade or two, to stand firm, the whole corps was thrown into confusion and became, in a brief space, a disorganized, flying crowd, that streamed in wild disorder to the rear, past Hooker's headquarters. Men, wildly- seeking their own safety, horses, with and without riders, army wagons and ambulances, pack mules, beef cattle bellowing as they ran, formed a scene such as bedlam broke loose might fitly represent. The enemy, yelling and firing, pressed fast on the heels of the panic-stricken throng. There was ground for fear, that other troops stationed in the route of these fugitives, might not escape the contagion of fright, or might not be able to make successful head against the furious onslaughts of a foe, elated by success, and dashing forward to grasp larger and more decisive advantages.
Resistance, however, to the rebel advance, was prompt ly made, and so effectually, that a check for a time at least, was put upon it. General Berry's division, held
4
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in reserve, as before stated, was now brought into requisition, and bore an important part in staying the rushing tide that threatened to sweep away everything before it. Doubleday, says of this division : " they were true and tried men and went forward at once to the res cue. Berry was directed to form across the Plank Road, drive the rebels back and retake the lost entrenchments — an order easy to give but very difficult to execute. The most he could do under the circum stances, was to form his line in the valley opposite Fairview, and hold his position there, the enemy already having possession of the higher ground beyond."
This force, with several batteries formed across the Plank Road, whose fire was very destructive, largely contributed to arrest the farther advance of the enemy
The commander of the One Hundred and Twentieth, Colonel C. D. Westbrook, has furnished some interest ing memoranda relating to the situation and action of his regiment and of the troops associated with it, grow ing out of Jackson's attack and the rout of the Eleventh Corps. What effective part these troops took in arrest ing the furious progress of Jackson's forces, will appear from the following statement :
" Massed in close column by division, our brigade lay under arms until about 5 p. M., May 2, when we were sent forward on double- quick about half a mile on the Plank Road. Here we met General Berry, who sent two or three regiments ahead to the left, and ordered the One Hundred and Twentieth Regiment into the thick woods on our right. On the officer in command asking, ' how am I to get there,' in view of a ditch, overflowed swamp and densest thicket in front, the reply was, ' I don't know, but get there you must and form line to the front to stop this panic.' The officer put spurs to his horse, cleared the ditch, floundered through the swamp and landed
ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTIETH N. Y. S. VOLS. 5 j
on a firm piece of ground, being quickly followed by the regiment. Bayonets were fixed, a charge made to the front, other regiments coming up and extending the movement to the right. The sound of confused orders reached us from the thickets just beyond, indicating the close proximity of the enemy, when the regiment was stopped till the line, reaching about half a mile in the woods, was fully formed. Quickly came the rattle of musketry, mingled with heavy cannonading from our rear, the shells flying over head, lighting up the thickening darkness of the woods. The din was kept up till near midnight, while hastily constructed barricades of brush and logs were thrown up for such protection as they might afford.
"The First and Third divisions of our Corps, had been sent away early in the afternoon to watch certain columns of the enemy which had been seen marching toward the southwest in the direction of Howard's command. These divisions had attacked the rear of the marching column, and had captured a Georgia regiment, shortly after which, Jackson's attack fell upon Howard's Corps. After this cap ture, the two divisions marched back still on the left of the Plank Road, reaching a position, where, with our division on the right of the road and Howard's in front, they formed together three sides of a triangle. Jackson's forces having swept away Howard's, were now the side of the triangle in front of us on the right of the Plank Road. Being mingled together, in their hot pursuit through the thick woods and darkness, and arrested by the charge of our troops, they struggled in vain to reform their disordered lines. The leading division was therefore withdrawn to Dowdall's Tavern, to reform, and A. P. Hill's division sent to occupy their places in the front. While this was going on, Jackson, with a few of his aids, went forward to reconnoitre, with a view to continuing his aggresive operations, charging his pickets to beware of firing upon him, on his return. He was struck down, as he could hardly fail to be, in that seething fur nace of shot and shell, lighting up the darkness on every side, but whether his own men, or the enemy, fired the fatal shots, is not cer tainly known. His death it may be, saved the Union army from complete overthrow. It is certain, that had he lived to direct the fiery energies of his troops, it would have resulted in much greatei disaster to the army opposed to him. As it was, the arrest of Jack son's forces by Berry's division, with the co-operation of troops and artillery, brought up by Pleasanton, just at the critical juncture, saved
52 ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTIETH N. Y. S. VOLS.
the Fifth Corps, lying in their front, from being flanked, and with it, probably, the routing of Hooker's army at Chancellorsville. On the other hand, had Reynolds' and Meade's corps, together 37,000 strong, both of whom for inexplicable reasons had taken no part in the battle, made an attack on the flank of Jackson's forces, while the fierce struggle about Hazel Grove was going on, as their command ers wished, but were not allowed to do, the tables would have been turned and Chancellorsville would have been won to the Union arms. But it is useless to speculate on what might or would have been under other conditions.
"The brunt of the battle had fallen on the Third Corps. Their loss was 3,439 killed and wounded, and 600 missing, the latter loss consisting mostly of men burned in the woods, where a conflagration kindled by the combat, licked up the wounded and the dead. "
To the foregoing account, some notes from Mr. Lewis' diary, are subjoined, relating mainly to operations on the day following Jackson's attack :
"There was heavy firing all night in many places along the line, while ever and anon, the Union cheer or rebel yell, told us of a fierce charge. Sunday, May 3d, at about 6 A. M., our pickets were driven in, and the enemy, in large force, fell upon us with terrible fury. Soon we were pouring into his advancing columns, a terrific fire of musketry, with which was mingled, the roar of forty cannon, while the air seemed filled with minie-balls, shot and shell. The enemy came rushing on till they were checked within twenty-five feet of our breastworks. We held our position two hours, until our lines were broken a short distance to the left of our regiment. As the enemy came up on our flank, company by company fell back and formed a line of battle a short distance to the rear, which position we easily held. The officer in command of our brigade — of the division also, since General Berry's death and the wounding of General Mott — General Joseph W. Revere, then led us back nearly to the river where we remained during the rest of ths day."
General Doubleday, in his history of the battle, explains the position and service of Berry's division here referred to, as follows :
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"The last line of our works was finally taken by the enemy, who, having succeeded in driving off the Third Maryland, of the Twelfth Corps, on Berry's left, entered near the road and enfiladed the line to the right and left. Sickles sent Ward's brigade, to take the place of the Third Maryland, but it did not reach the position assigned it in time, the enemy being already in possession. In attempting to remedy this disorder, Berry was killed, and his successor, General Mott, was wounded. The command then devolved upon General Revere, who, probably considering further contest hopeless, led his men out of the action without authority — an offense for which he was subsequently tried and dismissed the service."*
The fighting from the early morning of May 3d, till the Union troops were forced back from the third line, was of the most furious character. Our lines, under Hancock, Sickles, Slocum, Couch and Humphreys, were formed in front and around the Chancellorsville House, with nearly the whole rebel army, under A. P. Hill, McLaws, Anderson and Stuart, (in place of " Stonewall " Jackson, disabled the night before,) determined at all hazards, to break through and overwhelm their tena cious enemy. Frequent and desperate attacks were made upon the Union positions, which were defended with equal energy and resolution. The contest about Hazel Grove and Fairview, was hottest. The possession of the hill at the former point, was vital to the success of the Confederates, and when after tremendous efforts, they gained the height and crowned it with artillery, they became virtually masters of the situation. Nothing was left for the Union forces to do, but to fall back, step by step, which was clone in perfect order, every foot of the ground being contested with unabated spirit
* The sentence, however, being subsequently set aside through President Lincoln's interposition.
54 ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTIETH N. Y. S. VOLS.
and constancy, and no position abandoned till it became untenable. Sickles' Corps, on which the main force of the attack fell, and which had a large share in prevent ing our ranks from falling into confusion, behaved throughout with conspicuous coolness and gallantry. Birney's and Berry's two divisions of this corps, were posted on the Plank Road, running from Chancellors- ville through the centre of the Union line. General Birney, was on the left of the road, and Berry, under whom the Excelsior Brigade fought, occupied the right. They were both exposed to the full sweep of the enemy's onset, and held fast their respective positions unflinch ingly, to the last moment that resistance could avail.
General Berry, after stemming with his division the night before, the torrent of pursuing enemies, flushed with success, and on this 3d of May, having done all that a brave and energetic leader could, to inspire his troops and keep their ranks unbroken, yielded up his heroic life, a victim to his devotion. No braver soldier in the Union army, laid his last supreme offering this day on the altar of his country, as none had a higher place in the confidence and affections of his comrades. His death was a sore loss to his command, and indeed, to the Union army, of which he formed one of the props and ornaments.
A kindred tribute is due to General A. W. Whipple, who was in command of the Third division of Sickles' Corps. This division, with Birney's, after their engage ment with Jackson's rear column, as before noticed, had returned in time to confront, on the evening of the 2d, the advance of Jackson's troops, who were near- ing the Chancellorsville House. These divisions, with
ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTIETH N. Y. S. VOLS. 5 5
artillery under Captain J. F. Huntingdon, hastily placed in position, baffled the last assault of the enemy that night. General Whipple's services on May 3d, his position being in rear of Berry and near Fairview, were equally efficient in the fierce contest there progressing, which ended, as noticed, in the falling back of the division. On the morning of May 4th, while attempt ing to silence some guns, which by Anderson's orders, had opened on some wagon trains of the Twelfth Corps, he was picked off by a sharpshooter and killed, adding thus another lustrous name to the long list of devoted men, who, in those trying days, poured out their life- blood for their country. The death of two division commanders, of the same corps, on the same field, though on two successive days, is an event, which the history of the four years' conflict has rarely found it necessary to record.
The One Hundred and Twentieth Regiment, was left encamped, on the evening of the 3d, near the Rappahannock, the severe fighting of the day being ended. The conflict was not renewed on the following day, nor was there any purpose on the Union side to renew it. General Hooker, had on the 3d, been stunned and rendered unconscious for a time, by a shot striking a pillar against which he was leaning, of the Chancellors- ville House, and the effect had been to impair the activity and strength in action which the crisis needed, and to incline him to turn his thoughts to re-crossing the river, as a measure of prudence, if not of necessity. Accordingly, a council of war was called on the evening of the 4th, at which the situation was discussed, a decision being arrived at, and an order issued to recross.
56 ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTIETH N. Y, S. VOLS.
This was carried into effect, and within a brief period, the several corps, forming the bulk of the army, found themselves on the north bank of the Rappahannock, whence they had hopefully issued a few days before, and minus the victory they had confidently expected to seize. General Sedgwick, with the Sixth Corps, con taining 26,000 men, had barely been able to hold his own against the forces confronting him, and after various successes and reverses, whose detail is not a necessary part of this narrative, found it expedient also to retire across the river. The much needed help promised him from Hooker's wing of the army, had not been sent, and perhaps could not be sent, because not able to be spared from a body struggling for its own life, and bent on securing a safe retreat. When this last had been effected, nothing remained for the gallant Sixth Corps, in its critical position in front of Lee's whole army, but to do as the other wing had done and place the Rap pahannock between itself and its vaunting enemy. And so the Army of the Potomac was re-united once more on the north bank of the little historic river which divided it, as it had done the past winter, from the foe it had not yet been able to overcome.
The losses in the Chancellorsville campaign, were larger than those at Fredericksburgh, heavy as the latter were. The fearful total was upwads of 17,000 men, of which number, 12,000, in round numbers, formed the aggregate in Billed and wounded. The Confederate loss, as reported, was some 2,000 less, the whole number on both sides being 22,000 — a figure about equalling the entire present population, men, women and children, of the city of Kingston. The comparison will help to
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give a proper conception of what a great battle, which mows down more than a score of thousands of men, really means. War is a costly business to life and limb, besides the manifold evils of other kinds which mark its desolating footsteps. Happy day for the world, when the prophetic turning of the sword into the ploughshare, shall find its fulfillment among the nations, in the cessa tion of all wars, and the establishment of universal peace. The number of casualties in the One Hundred and Twentieth, according to the Adjutant's report, showed nine killed, 46 wounded, including one commissioned officer, Captain Frank W. Reynolds, and 18 missing, total 72. A more severe ordeal was awaiting the regi ment in the coming days. The discipline and trials thus far, were simply preparative. The men were not querulous nor disheartened at what they had gone through, nor disposed to shrink at the prospect which opened before them. But true to the. cause they had espoused, and to their own convictions that complete triumph must come in the end to the right, they stood manfully in their lot, ready to do and suffer all that duty to their country demanded.
CHAPTER VII.
LEE'S INVASION OF THE NORTH — WHY UNDERTAKEN— ^CONDITION OF CON FEDERATE ARMY — ADVANCES THROUGH SHENANDOAH VALLEY CROSSES
THE POTOMAC OPERATIONS IN PENNSYLVANIA — HOOKER'S MOVEMENTS
AND PLANS — RESIGNS COMMAND OF UNION ARMY GENERAL MEADE
APPOINTED TO THE CHIEF COMMAND — MOVEMENTS OF THE ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTIETH, AFTER CHANCELLORSVILLE.
The outcome of Hooker's repulse at Chancellorsville, following after an interval of a few months the repulse of Burnside at Fredericksburg, was the invasion of the North by the Confederate army. Such an invasion had long been a cherished idea on the part of the secession leaders. Their two successes at the points above men tioned, put the Confederates in high spirits. They came to regard themselves as adequate to all military achieve ments they might choose to undertake, and in a trial at arms, practically invincible.
The crossing of the Potomac into Maryland after the second battle of Bull Run, was in accordance with their favorite idea of invasion. The battle of Antietam, baffled, for a time, the purpose which Lee and his gov ernment were longing to execute, viz., to retaliate upon the North, the inflictions of the war, which had hith erto mainly fallen upon southern soil. It would be a delightful change, to have Confederate armies encamped on northern fields and quartered in northern cities, with ample supplies exacted from both. The prospect was a captivating one and grew more alluring after Chancel-
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lorsville. The time seemed now to have come, for the Confederate forces to pass over and take possession of the land. They felt themselves quite strong enough to go up and subdue it, as they were eager to enjoy the fruits of their anticipated conquest. The had only to put away doubt and misgiving and throw their energies into the inviting enterprise, and the result aimed at, was, to their fancy, surely attained.
As a reward of their heroism, zeal and constancy, the Confederate government, they believed, would be firmly established. It would be recognized as a government, by foreign nations, and this they had labored for and were specially anxious to bring about. They had their agents abroad to promote this object, and all possible means were employed to accomplish it, though their best efforts thus far, had met with but indifferent success. They regarded England and France, and with good reason, as secretly favoring the South, and as willing to grant such recognition the moment the Confederate cause had attained a fitting measure of success. This
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would be, it was believed, when the southern armies had taken possession of the great cities and strongholds of the North, maintaining their hold in spite of all opposi tion. In the flush of their recent successes on the Rap- pahannock, they laughed at all obstacles that might rise up to prevent the realizing of a dream so enchanting. They had only to go forward, resolute to brave all, and overcome all that opposed them, and their staunch, irresistible army would settle the matter exactly in the way they designed.
This, no doubt, was the strong inducement that led General Lee to recross the Potomac, and try his for-
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tunes a second time on northern territory. There were other things which had their weight, such as reports, constantly forwarded by rebel spies and sympathizers in the North, to the effect that friends of the southern cause residing there, were only waiting for the advance of Lee's armies to declare themselves, put an end to the hated war by siding with the invaders and thus secure to the South an independent government thenceforth. But the copperhead element, with the bluster and assump tion it at times put on, was, when the spirit of the loyal masses fairly awoke, but as the chaff which the wind driveth away. The South put more trust in it than sensible people should, and had really no reason to wonder, when it proved a broken reed for those who leaned upon it,
General Lee's decision, however reached, was made at last, and preparations for his invasion at once began. His army, during May, was strengthened by two divisions of Longstreet, and a large number of new recruits, the whole amounting on May 3ist, to 88,000 men in round numbers, of whom 68,000 were ready for active service. The recent battles had not diminished his effective force, while the morale of his troops was higher than ever. A finer army in numbers, in equip ment, in discipline, in spirit, courage and confidence, had at no time taken the field under the Confederate flae.
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The army, divided into three corps, commanded respect ively by A. P. Hill, Longstreet and Ewell, was ready at the opening of June, to begin its famous invasion.
Its rendezvous was Culpeper, for which place two of Longstreet's divisions set out on the 3d of June, followed on the 4th, by Ewell's corps. A reconnoisance
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by Pleasanton, in command of the Union cavalry, on the 7th, toward Culpeper, resulted in a sharp engage ment with the enemy's cavalry, under Stuart, near Brandy Station, without effecting much for either side. To get rid of serious obstructions to crossing the Potomac, Lee found it important to free the Shenandoah valley from Union troops, a considerable body of whom, under Milroy, held it, and with no intention to relinquish possession, unless forced to do it. This forcing process was resorted to by General Ewell, who, on the i3th of June, marched upon Winchester, where Milroy was rest ing in fancied security, and whence he was driven out by overpowering numbers and obliged to retreat beyond the Potomac. His losses in this operation were heavy, but the Confederates gained their end in clearing the valley of all Union troops and thus opening an unob structed highway through the valley of the Shenandoah for all the troops desiring to take that route.
Jenkins, at the head of 2,000 cavalry, crossed the river at Williamsport, June i5th, reaching Chambers- burg, the same day. He exacted contributions of horses, grain, etc., from the farmers, as he advanced, striking terror into the hearts of the inhabitants of the region, who, looking upon his force as simply the forerunner of hosts to follow, trembled to think what was to befall them when the main army should appear. In fact, Ewell's Corps, was not long in following the lead of its cavalry, and on the 22d, it had crossed the Potomac, the divisions of Rodes and Johnson reaching Chambers- burg, on the 23d. On the 27th, these divisions had ad vanced to Carlisle, while Jenkins, with his cavalry, pushed forward to Kingston, only thirteen miles from Har-
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risburg. This daring" cavalry leader, approached within four miles of Harrisburg, skirmishing and seeking to find out the most favorable points for attacking the city. With Ewell's infantry to back him, the fate of the Penn sylvania capitol seemed to be trembling in the balance.
Numbers of the citizens, dreading the impending danger, made a hasty flight. But events were occurring elsewhere, which made Ewell's recall necessary, and relieved Harrisburg from the presence of a threatening enemy at its gates.
The corps of Longstreet and Hill, had crossed the Potomac on the 24th, and united the next day at Hagers- tovvn. On the 2/th, they were at Chambersburg, Hill's Corps, advancing to Fayettsville, where it was encamped, on the 29th, with Heth's division thrown forward on that clay to Cashtown, distant eight miles from Gettys burg. There Hill's Corps was within striking distance of Gettysburg, on the west, Longstreet being close behind him, with Ewell's Corps on the north of this town and but a few miles off, all indicating that Gettys burg was the point toward which the rebel forces were converging, and where it was determined to abide the issue of a pitched battle. This outline to the Confed erate army's movements is given with some detail, in order that the operations of the Union forces, before the great battle of Gettysburg, so momentous in its results, may be more clearly seen and understood.
For some weeks after the battle of Chancellorsville, tire Army of the Potomac lay quietly in its encampments near the Rappahannock. General Hooker was not long in learning that the enemy was projecting some move ment, though what its character or direction was, he had
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no certain knowledge. A change in the encampment on the other side of the river met his eye, and General Sedgwick was directed to send troops across to recon noitre and ascertain whether the main body of Lee's army remained there. A division was accordingly sent over, which was soon confronted by Hill's Corps, which still retained its position near Fredericksburg. The division sent by Sedgwick, returned, reporting that Lee's army had not moved, though, in fact, Longstreet's and Ewell's corps, were then some distance on their way to Culpeper. Hill, with his corps, followed the others as soon as he found the force sent by Hooker withdrawn from the Fredericksburg side of the river and Sedgwick gone from his front, and then the whole of Lee's army was moving forward on its northern expedition.
General Hooker remained opposite Fredericksburg, till the 1 3th of June, when, hearing of Ewell's advance on Winchester, he started north toward Washington. On the 1 5th, three 'of his seven corps were grouped around Centreville, one was at Manasses, the others at Fairfax Court House, with Pleasanton and his cavalry force at Warrenton.
The Union army was now on the alert, the purpose of the enemy being ascertained, and proper preparation was made to repel the invasion from whatever quarter it might come. When the rebel forces were capturing towns in Pennsylvania and threatening Harrisburg itself, urgent appeals were forwarded to Hooker to hasten to the rescue. But his plan was, while he kept his army interposed between Lee and Washington, so as to guard the Capitol, to advance on a line parallel with Lee's army, ready to strike it whenever opportunity presented.
64 ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTIETH N. Y. S. VOLS.
With this view, his army advanced cautiously, step by step, in the direction taken by the enemy, a part of it crossing the Potomac on the 25th, the corps of Reynolds, Sickles and Howard, being that night at Middletown and extending as far as Boonsboro. On the 26th, the Second, Fifth and Sixth corps, were advanced to Fred erick, and by the 28th, the greater part of the army was drawn together at this point as a rendezvous.
Another change in Union commanders now took place. Certain measures which Hooker desired to effect for the advantage of the army, as he believed, were not approved by the Washington authorities, and feeling that he was hampered, if not thwarted, by this failure to comply with his requests, he resigned his command. His resignation was accepted and General George G. Meade, was at once appointed to fill his place. A change so important, on the verge of a great battle that might occur at any moment, might seem a very dangerous tiling to do But the new commander, though
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untried in a position so high and responsible, was well known as a soldier of experience and skill — a brave, capable and efficient officer, who would be sure to devote his best energies to carrying out successfully, the great work that had devolved upon him.
He found the army true, loyal and prompt, as it had always been, and ready for whatever service its com mander might direct. Only three days would elapse before its spirit and endurance would be tested in one of the greatest battles in our history. It was a brief time for a commander to adjust himself to his position, and for the troops to know and confide in their leader. Yet when the trying time came, both leader and soldiers
ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTIETH N. Y. S. VOLS. 6 5
showed that their short connections with each other, had wrought no harm to the cause, and abated nothing from the ardor, energy and devotion to duty, which made their struggle victorious.
From Frederick, where the army was on the 28th of June, General Meade moved nearer the Susquehanna, and to the enemy clustered around Gettysburg. On the 3Oth, the left of his army, the First Corps, was at Marsh Creek, the Eleventh Corps, at Emmetsburg, a few miles from Gettysburg. The other corps were located at different points south of the latter town, but near enough to each other to operate promptly, should battle occur at or near Gettysburg. Thus situated, with Gettysburg as a central point, and the two armies the circle around it, both awaited, on the 3Oth of June, such developements as another day might bring forth.
Little has been said in this chapter about the One Hundred and Twentieth Regiment. Its movements and history during the two months after Chancellorsville, are embraced in those of the whole army whose preparations to meet the invasion of Lee, have been described. Not much of special interest occurred requiring distinct notice. Drilling and reviews, marching and counter marching, picket duty and guarding wagon trains, with routine service in camp, occupied the time, till the sev eral corps began to move toward the north. On the 25th of June, the regiment crossed the Potomac at Edwards Ferry, marching along the Chesapeake and Ohio canal, to Monocacy aqueduct. On the next day, it advanced to the Point of Rocks, and on the 27th, went into camp thirteen miles beyond, in the vicinity of Mid- dletown. On the 28th, a march of 16 miles, took the
66 ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTIETH N. Y. S. VOLS.
regiment through Frederick and several small villages in Maryland, to Walkersville, and on the 29th, it advanced to Taneytown, where part of the Union forces were encamped, awaiting the order that should send them forward to the field on which the issues of the battle, so near at hand, were to be decided.
As an evidence of the Union feeling that existed in Maryland, when the regiment passed through it, and how the hearts of the people warmed to the old flag- though many regarded them as having strong southern sympathies — an extract from the memoranda of Mr. Lewis, will be found of interest :
"Our march since we reached Maryland, has been through a beautiful section. Evidences of thrift were on every hand. It was pleasant to look upon the comfortable homes, the fine orchards loaded with fruit, and the large fields of waving grain. The people with whom we conversed, were outspoken in their loyalty to the Union, and we felt that we were among our friends. The ladies in many cities and villages through which we passed, were wild with joy at the sight of the Union army, and welcomed us with patriotic songs and waving flags. Our men who visited houses along the line of march, found plenty of bread, pies, cakes, biscuits, milk, fruit, and vegatables, which were given to them or purchased at very low prices. Some of these loyal people did not keep enough for them selves to eat. In some of the towns and villages, ladies, with their servants, stood in front of their houses eagerly passing pure cold water to our thirsty soldiers."
We have seen other accounts of Maryland, during the war, giving a far less favorable view of the people's loyalty there, especially just after the rebellion broke out. But, in this third year of the conflict, the people had found time for reflection, and this, it is pleasant to believe, had led those who had wavered, to abhor seces-
ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTIETH N. Y. S. VOLS. 6j
sion and disunion and cling to the old flag, and extend cordial greetings to the men who were bearing and defending it. The invasion of Maryland the year before and the battle of Antietam, had done much to open the eyes of wavering Marylanders, and to revive love for the Union, in hearts, where it had begun to languish. The lesson then learned, was soon to be repeated at Gettysburg, and with more emphasis, and wider benefits to the Union cause.
CHAPTER VIII.
ON THE FIELD OF GETTYSBURG BATTLE OF THE FIRST DAY, JULY 1ST
— UNION FORCES WITHDRAW TO CEMETERY HILL SECOND DAY S BATTLE
ATTACK ON SICKLES' CORPS THE ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTIETH IN
THE HOTTEST OF THE CONFLICT — ITS GALLANT DEFENSE AND RECORD- ITS HEAVY LOSSES IN KILLED AND WOUNDED — SAD SCENES ON THE BATTLE-FIELD — PICKETT's CHARGE AND REPULSE ON THE THIRD DAY — RETREAT OF LEE IMPORTANCE OF THE UNION VICTORY.
The opposing armies which had been gathering around Gettysburg, were, on the jOth of June, near to each other and gradually drawing nearer, so that a speedy collision could not long be avoided. That collision took place at 9 A. M., of July ist. Heth's division of Hill's Corps, advancing from the west on the Chambersburg road, struck the cavalry division under Buford, which had been thrown forward and was holding the ridges to the west of Gettysburg. Buford was determined to pre vent, if possible, the Confederates from entering the town, knowing that if he could maintain his ground, he would soon have the support of the First Corps, then hastening forward to join him.
In spite of all that skill, gallantry and the most stub born resistance could do, Buford was forced back slowly before overwhelming numbers, till at length, one division of the First Corps, with General Reynolds himself, appeared upon the field and at once joined in the struggle to repel the advancing host. The remainder of the First Corps, reached the field about 1 1 A. M., but before
ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTIETH N. Y. S. VOLS. 69
it arrived, some of the fiercest fighting of this opening day had taken place. The most of the fighting during this day, was on the ridges on each side of Willoughby Run, a small stream a few rods west of Seminary Ridge, along which the Confederate line of battle stretched on the second and third days of July. A piece of woods between Willoughby Run and Seminary Ridge, possessed such advantages, that both sides were eager to seize and hold it, and the fight for the mastery of this coveted shelter, was furious and prolonged. It was at the eastern entrance to this woods, that General Rey nolds, the pride of the army, one of the brightest names on the roll of the nation's leaders and heroes, fell dead from the bullet of a sharpshooter. A monument now marks the spot where his noble life ended.
Energetic and stubborn, as the resistance was to the rebel advance, it was not sufficient to prevent the num bers that came pouring on from the west, from gaining ground. The Eleventh Corps, under Howard, came up about one o'clock, to the support of the First, and formed line along Seminary Ridge, on the right of Doubleday, then in command of the First Corps. But now Swell's troops were advancing from the north, and Howard was obliged to face his line in that direction to meet their attack, and was unable to render much aid to the First Corps, in their desperate struggle against Hill. With out describing in detail the movements of the several
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bodies now engaged, it must suffice to say that the Eleventh Corps, was no more able to hold its position against the mighty odds brought against it than the First Corps had been. Both corps, in short, were gradually forced back, before overpowering numbers. The First
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Corps, having held its ground much longer than pru dence dictated, only retreated, when, to remain longer, must have resulted in its capture or utter destruction. As it was, the losses in it were appalling. " Half of its numbers," as its heroic commander, Doubleday , reported, " lay dead and wounded on the field, and hardly a field officer had escaped." Among the regiments sharing this loss and which for hours had, in the front line, withstood these furious attacks of the foe, was the Twentieth N. Y. S. M., a monument to whose dead soldiers stands on the spot, consecrated by their valor and sacrifices.
The falling back of the First Corps, which had, from morning till late in the afternoon, borne the main brunt of the attack, was not in disorder, much less in panic. Broken and defeated, it was not dismayed, and slowly, firmly, contesting every foot of the ground as it retired, its wearied ranks reached at last, Cemetery Hill, and were freed for a time, from further pursuit. This hill, or Ridge, as it is commonly called, since famous, had been designated before the battle, by General Reynolds, as a suitable position upon which his force could rally if driven back. The hill was not only well adapted for this exigency, but for the line of battle which was stretched along its top during the memorable days of July second and third. One division of the Eleventh Corps, under Steinwehr, had occupied it as a reserve, while the other two divisions had gone forward to engage in the battle then pending. And now as the bloody day was closing, the soldiers of both corps were collected on these formidable heights, Waclsworth's division, of the First Corps, occupying Culps Hill. The men rested on their arms in readiness for an attack, should one be
ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTIETH N. Y. S. VOLS. J I
made, and knowing- well that the battle, suspended for a time, would certainly be renewed on the following day.
It was now decided by General Meade, to concen trate his army on Cemetery Ridge, and to await battle on this strong position. The several corps accordingly soon began to arrive, the Third and the Twelfth the same evening, the others coming up the next day, the Sixth, under Sedgwick, after a march of thirty-four miles, not reaching the field till late in the afternoon. From Gulp's Hill, to Little Round Top, a distance of two miles, the Union lines extended, and were prepared, at all points, to meet the enemy's advance. In this advantageous position, they awaited the movements of Lee's army, which, stretched along Seminary Ridge, a mile to the west, might at any moment, receive and obey the order to attack.
The attack did not really begin till about half-past three in the afternoon, and then it \vas provoked by Sickles' Corps, which had taken an advanced position three quarters of a mile beyond the main Union line on Cemetery Ridge. This corps, indeed, bore the brunt of the opening attack by Longstreet's troops, who s\varmed out of the \voods and over the ridges in front of the corps, and rushed into the conflict with the utmost impetuosity. Sickles' Corps, served as a breakwater to the mighty oncoming flood of the enemy, and but for the gallant work they did in checking the assault and weakening its force, it might have gone hard, Sickles claims, and others agree, with the Union army that day. Be this as it may, the blow fell with tremendous force upon Sickles' soldiers, who, after doing all that men
72 ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTIETH N. Y. S. VOLS.
could to resist it, were forced in the end, to yield ground which was no longer tenable. The One Hundred and Twentieth Regiment, as a part of this corps, bore its full share of the burden, suffering and loss which rested upon all, and its sharp experience in this fierce and san guinary conflict, now demands particular notice.
The regiment left Taneytown, on the 3Oth of June, and on July ist, reached Emmettsburg, from which it advanced 10 miles to Gettysburg, arriving on the battle field at 2 A. M. of July 2d. It came upon the field between the Union and rebel lines, and for a longdis tance through the valley and upon the hills, could trace the two lines by the light of their fires. The battle of the day before had been fought, and the marshaling of the Union lines during the night and on the morning of this day, indicated that a deadly grapple of the giants was near at hand. The regiment moved with its corps to the place assigned to it in the line on the Ridcre. The
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position of the corps, was on the left of the Union line, next to Hancock's Second Corps, and with Little Round Top in its rear, to the left. Sickles left this position not regarding it as suitable, and with the tacit assent of General Meade, advanced, as has been noticed, to one he judged more favorable. In the new position chosen, the centre of his corps was at the famous Peach Orchard, distant, about a mile from Little Round Top ; his right wing, under Humphrey, extended along the Emmets- burg road, and his left, under Birney, making a right angle at the Peach Orchard, with the other part of the line. This left the two sides of the angle exposed to an enfilading fire from batteries stationed in front of the apex of the angle, and when so situated, a sufficient
ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTIETH N. Y. S. VOLS. J 3
force assails both sides of the angle at once, as the troops of Barksdale and Kershaw did in this case, it is hardly possible for the defenders to maintain their ground suc cessfully.*
The One Hundred and Twentieth was in Birney's division on the left, and on the heads of his stanch battalions, the storm of the opening battle burst in all its fury. I am not describing the battle in detail, f but simply giving an outline, so that the general features of it may be made apparent, with the view of having the service and record of the One Hundred and Twentieth better understood. And as the sharp experience of that regiment is given, in the diary hitherto quoted from, by one who passed through the raging fires of the conflict, we will listen to the story, as he tells it, in a terse and straightforward way :
"Almost from the first of our advance, we had been under fire from the enemy's batteries, stationed just in the rear of their front line of battle. Some of our artillery was stationed on the brow of the hill, just in front of us, and sent an occasional reply to the fire from the enemy's guns.
"At about 4 o'clock in the afternoon, the enemy's batteries, on Seminary Ridge, opened on us a terrific fire, and our artillery, after passing to our front, replied. Soon their long line of infantry were seen advancing toward us under a rapid fire from our batteries. When the advance had got within rifle range of the artillery on the brow of the slope in front of us, so many of the gunners were killed or wounded, and so many of the horses had been shot, it was with the greatest difficulty that all of the pieces were drawn to the rear. J
* General Doubleday's History of Gettysburg Battle.
t See General Sharpe's minute account of the second day's battle in the twentieth chapter of this volume.
I While the Union batteries were falling back, Bigelow's battery was directed to hold its position at all hazards, till another line of artillery could be formed beyond Plum Run. The order was obeyed, the end was accomplished, but the battery
74 ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTIETH N. Y. S. VOLS.
By the time they were safely behind us, the enemy were within range of our fire. The regiment being now alone in the reserve, the men were lying down with orders not to rise till they received the word of command. The enemy's advance line having reached the base of the slope behind which we were lying, and moving forward rapidly, the order came and the whole line rose as a man and poured into their ranks such a terrible fire of musketry, as to bring them to a standstill when within a few rods of us. Then for an hour or more, the dread ful crash of battle resounded ; the rattle of musketry, the bursting of shells, the roar of cannons, mingled with the cries of the wounded, and with the cheers and yells of the determined foemen. All at once, our line was swept by an enfilading fire, under which no troops could remain and live, and it became necessary to fall back without the range of the deadly hail. We were losing very heavily in our regiment, but fell back in good order, contesting stubbornly every inch of the ground. Soon other troops — from the Second and Fifth corps — came forward protecting our flanks, and enabling our whole line to advance. The enemy were driven back before us, until we had retaken nearly all the ground we had just lost.
'• Nearly all the men lost by our regiment during the battle of three days, were lost on this day. Out of 440 present for duty when the battle commenced, 203 were numbered among the killed and wounded, at its close. General Sickles, our corps commander, was wounded by a minie-ball and carried from the field, David W. Hommel, a member of our regiment, with others, assisting in this service.* Lieutenant-Colonel C. D. Westbrook, in command of the regiment, fell, severely wounded, and was carried to the rear by Alonzo Lewis and John Myers, of company I, and Charles Yates, of company H, just in time to save him from falling into the hands of the enemy. Yates, while aiding in lifting the Colonel from the ground, was
was well-nigh annihilated. Of the four battery officers, one was killed, another mortally wounded, and Captain Bigelow himself wounded severely. Two sergeants were killed, and four wounded out of seven, the killed and wounded privates being in like proportion, while of the horses, eighty out of eighty-eight were killed or disabled. The battery sacrificed itself to the safety of the line, making an immortal record, a monument in honor of which appears at Gettysburg, on the spot where the battery was posted.
* General Sickles was wounded, near the Trostle House, about six o'clock, losing a leg as the effect of his wound.
ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTIETH N. Y. S. VOLS. / 5
severely wounded in three places, requiring himself, the help he was offering to his commander. While we were lying down, before the infantry engagement, Captain Lockwood, of company A had just warned Lieutenant Ketcham, not to expose himself more than was necessary, the latter replying, "a dead man is better than a living coward," when, just as the words passed his lips, he was instantly killed. Captain L. Hollister, of company D, had his haversack taken from his side by a solid shot. A second shot came along and killed him while he was talking to some friends about the first. Captain Barker, of company K, Lieutenant Burhans, of company I, Lieutenant Freileweh, of company E, Lieutenant Carle, of company G, and Lieutenant Creighton, of company H, were also among the killed. Captain Overbagh, Adjutant E. M. C. Russell, Lieutenants E. S. Turner, Gray, Wilkinson, Pettit, Cockburn, Austin and Everett, were wounded. Of these, Lieutenants Gray and Turner, each lost an arm, while Lieutenant Cockburn, a young man of noble qualities and excellent promise, soon after died of his wounds.
'' After the fighting had ceased for the day, some of the men visi ted the corps hospital, which had been established about half a mile to the rear, in search of wounded comrades. They found a house and yard filled with wounded, and in a grove near by, the ground was literally covered with them, while stretcher-bearers were con tinually arriving with their loads. Surgeons were passing to and fro among them, or standing about the amputating tables. Some were appealing for help and many were calling for water, and others lay suffering and dying without uttering a groan or word of complaint.
" The night was calm and beautiful. The full moon rose early in the evening. Several of the regiment visited that part of the field over which we had fought twice during the day, to search among the dead and wounded for missing comrades. They went from one to the other, turning their faces up to the light of the moon, to see if they could recognize them. Strewn all over the field, and lying side by side, were the blue and gray. The wounded were calling for water, or pleading to be helped from the field. The doctors were passing from one to another, giving temporary relief, while stretcher- bearers and ambulances, were bearing them to the hospitals as fast as possible. Our position was on the left of our line of battle, and sleep during the night, could not be obtained, on account of the artillery firing and volleys of musketry in different places along the lines."
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This account will give the reader who knows nothing of a battle-field, except from report, a distinct idea of the perils, sufferings and horrors which are inseperable from a sanguinary conflict like the one described. Only a small part of the picture is here disclosed to view, but the whole canvass was filled with scenes, equally sombre and harrowing, as the night ended the struggle on that hard- fought field. The soldiers of the Third Corps, had done their duty manfully, holding their ground against superior numbers, to the last extremity, and falling back to Cemetery Hill, only when successful resistance to the outflanking hosts of the enemy, was no longer possible. As it was, the desperate struggle at this point in the long line, was for a time ended, and the battle remained still undecided. Another day of conflict remained, and on the issue of that coming day, the fate of the struggling antagonists depended.
The battle of July 3d, was, as everybody knows, " short, sharp, and decisive." It consisted mainly in Pickett's celebrated charge against the Union centre, where the Second Corps, under Hancock, was posted, and its overwhelming repulse by the Union forces. The charge was preceded by the tremendous roar of a hundred cannons from Seminary Ridge, and the thundering reply from nearly an equal number on the Union side. When these mighty earth-shaking voices had subsided, after an hour or two, the infantry, under Pickett, moved for ward to their deadly and desperate work. It was a work hardly more hopeful of successful result than Burnside's assault against the rocky defences of Marye's Heights. One wonders how so astute a leader as Lee could commit what every one sees to have been a blunder, and which,
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had he heeded Longstreet's advice, to move around the Union left, and assail it in flank and rear, would never have occurred. Pickett's devoted division, with gallantry worthy of a better cause, could only dash itself to pieces against the rocks of the Union battalions, which stood in grim array before it, and in a short time nothing remained of it but shattered fragments, which the refluent tide bore back to the point whence the body had set forth a little while before, unbroken and buoyant. This dreadful repulse ended the battle, and with it ended all northern invasions, and indeed, all hopes, in reasonable minds, of success to the rebel cause. At Gettysburg, a death blow was dealt to the rebellion, and none knew this better than the Confederate leaders.1" The struggle might go on for some time to come, with an army not destroyed arid able to effect its retreat into Virginia. But the struggle was henceforth to be for preservation alone, with no resources in prospect to make good present losses or ward off the collapse that was drawing slowly, but inevitably nearer. Thus the Gettysburg battle was the turning point in the mighty conflict, and the victors on that immortal field might cheer themselves with the assurance that the triumph now won was the pledge of the total triumph at no distant day, of the cause for which so many lives had been sacrificed, and such unimaginable suffering inflicted upon the households of the land.
* Longstreet, in his account of the battle, in the CENTURY of Febru ary, 1887, says : " For myself, I felt that our last hope was gone, and that it was now only a question of time with us."
CHAPTER IX.
BETWEEN GETTYSBURG AND THE RAPIDAN — GENERAL GRANT IN COMMAND OF THE UNION ARMIES — PREPARING FOR A SOUTHERN CAMPAIGN — MOVEMENTS OF THE ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTIETH AFTER GETTYS BURG — LIEUTENANT-COLONEL TAPPEN IN COMMAND OF THE REGIMENT INCIDENTS IN CAMP A MILITARY EXECUTION SODIERS' RECREA TIONS — AFFAIRS AT JAMES CITY — MEMBERS OF THE REGIMENT CAP TURED.
The victory at Gettysburg, with the utter failure of Lee's designs upon the North, did not result in the dis persion, capture and ruin of the rebel army. Such decisive overthrow, many have insisted, ought to have been effected, and would have been, with the proper promptness and energy in following up at once the grand triumph which the Union army had achieved. Some of the principal commanders in the beaten army, notably General Longstreet, expected an instant and unrelaxing pursuit, and have expressed, since the war, their surprise than an immediate advance against their demoralized ranks was not ordered. The prudent Union commander, however, was unwilling to take any risks, and preferred, as the part of discretion, to cling to his commanding Ridge, without molesting the enemy in his preparations for retreat. He regarded the army opposed to him, as too formidable still to be assailed with success, and that his own army, depleted by the heavy losses of the three days' battle, might, if attacking, be repulsed in turn, which would counteract the solid advantages now obtained.
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Perhaps his course was a wise one, though there are commanders that could be named, who, if in the same position, would have pursued a more energetic course. As it was, Lee, with his army, was suffered to win his way back toward the Potomac without serious interrup tion from his adversary, and on the morning of the i5th, twelve days after the great battle, his army stood once more on Virginia soil, where, with such recruited num bers and strength as it might gain, it was enabled to prolong the struggle for nearly two years.
The whole interval between the Gettysburg battle and the spring of 1864, when the army, under General Grant, began its march southward, was given to prepa ration for the great work that lay before it. On the Qth of March, 1864, Grant received his commission as Lieu tenant- General — a grade which Congress had a short time before revived — and the command of all the Union armies passed under his control. He was selected as the man pre-eminently fitted for the position, his con nection with the capture of Fort Donelson, Nashville, Vicksburg, and with other brilliant successes, led the government and people to believe, that the Army of the Potomac, had found at last, the man who should lead it to victory.
That gallant army, so often unfortunate in its com manders, longed for, and richly deserved, to have the leader capable of directing its fiery energies aright, and making the blows they were ever ready to strike, tell with decisive effect upon the enemy. Such a leader, it was believed, had now been given to them, and the spirit and enthusiasm of the troops rose in proportion. They knew what a bitter contest was opening before them,
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and what the expectations of the country were, and they stood ready for the toil and sacrifice demanded by the one, in order to fulfill the other, in the utter overthrow and stamping out of the rebellion,
General Grant visited the Army of the Potomac, on March loth, the day after his appointment to command. He made his headquarters with Meade at Brandy Sta tion, some 70 miles from Washington. A re-organiza tion of the army, recommended by General Meade — who retained his command under Grant — was effected, by means of which, three army corps were formed in place of the six corps which had operated at Gettysburg. These consolidated corps, were the Second, Fifth and Sixth. The Second Corps was composed of two divis ions of the old Second Corps and two divisions of the old Third Corps — the command being assigned to Gen eral Hancock. The Fifth Corps, was commanded by General Warren ; the Sixth by General Sedgwick. By this arrangement, the One Hundred and Twentieth Regiment, became connected with the Second Corps, under Hancock. The division it belonged to, was the Fourth, commanded by Brigadier General Mott, its brigade being the Second, whose commanding officer was Colonel W. R. Brewster. The number of regi ments to a brigade, was increaed by the new organiza tion, there being nine in the First brigade and eight in the Second. The re-organization being completed, the Army of the Potomac was ready to enter on the open ing campaign.
It was a grand and powerful army, its total number of officers and enlisted men, of all arms and branches of the service, present and equipped for duty, on the 3Oth
ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTIETH N. Y. S. VOLS. 8 I
of April, 1864, being 99,438,* or, in round numbers, 100,000 men. The Army of Northern Virginia, which they were going forth to oppose and vanquish, if it might be, had hardly two-thirds of this number, as its aggregate of officers and enlisted men. But the Con federate troops were on their own soil and familiar with the country through whose fields and forests the course of the coming conflicts lay — and these were advantages that fully compensated for any shortcoming in the mat ter of numbers. The Union army was sure at least, to encounter " foemen worthy of their steel." And when the Rapidan should be crossed and "the wilderness" fairly entered on, our soldiers knew perfectly that the utmost energies of an enemy, whose prowess had often been tried, would be put forth to withstand their advance, and if possible, drive them back, baffled at all points.
Leaving the army for a time encamped along the banks of the Rapidan, we turn back to trace the history of the regiment with whose fortunes this narrative is principally concerned. It has been seen with what self- sacrificing bravery the One Hundred and Twentieth performed its part in the Gettysburg battle, and at what great personal cost, it attested its fidelity and devotion to duty. Colonel VVestbrook, having been disabled by his wound, the command of the regiment devolved on Major J. Rudolph Tappen, Captain A. L. Lockwood, becoming Lieutenant-Colonel. During the remainder of the summer, after the opening days of July, nothing of sufficient moment occurred in the experience of the regi ment to require special comment. Though relieved
* Humphrey's " Virginia Campaign, of '64 and '65."
6
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from the urgencies of the battle-field, the season of respite was not marked by inaction, for a great amount of marching, from point to point, was done during July and August, while drills and reviews, guard and picket duty, made the days, as they went by, anything but idle or leisure days. The face of the army was turned toward the south once more, where the field of its future operations lay, and was moving slowly to the line it pro posed to take up, between the Rappahannock and Rapi- dan rivers, till ready for a general advance. The regiment in its journeyings, visited localities and battle fields which the rebellion has made historic — Manassas Junction, Bristoe Station, Harper's Ferry, Bull Run, Sharpsburg and Antietam, being of the number. The ranks of the regiment had grown greatly depleted through the losses of the Gettysburg campaign, and its one crying need now, was a fresh supply of men. This need, indeed, it shared with nearly all the army. Accordingly, efforts were at once put forth to supply this demand. A detail of officers and men was sent North to obtain what was so urgently required. The several rendezvous of drafted men were resorted to, to secure the necessary supply, it being found that volun tary enlistments were insufficient, and then the process of filling up the regiments went on with more or less rapidity. To what extent the thinning out in the regi ment had gone and its consequent need to be recruited, will appear from this statement in the diary before referred to :
"Our ranks had already been thinned by battle and sickness. Several companies that left Kingston with nearly one hundred men, now had less than twenty ; and it was noticed, that at one of our brigade drills, the regiment numbered only eighty-three men."
ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTIETH N. Y. S. VOLS 8 \
o
This was about three months after Gettysburg. And though this was far from being the whole number then composing the regiment, many being absent from parade on detached duty or in hospital or for other sufficient cause, it yet shows how reduced the numbers actually were, and what absolute necessity there was for bringing in men to fill the gaps. Fortunately, we had the state of New York, and in fact, the North itself, to draw upon, and its resources were still large and not likely soon to be exhausted.
Army discipline must be maintained, as without it, no body of troops in the field can be held together or made to render efficient service. To secure this, punishment for the violation of military rules must sometimes be severe, and to appearance, even harsh and cruel. The punishment of death, for desertion, may seem dispropor- tioned to the offence, but there are circumstances under which such punishment may be warranted and even demanded. The court-martial that tries the culprits, is the judge of these, and from its decision, at times, no appeal avails. A decision of this kind, had adjudged five deserters from the Fifth Corps, to be shot on the 3<Dth of August, about half a mile from Beverly Ford, where the One Hundred and Twentieth was then encamped. The diary from which we take the incident gives the following animated account :
"About 10,000 men witnessed the solemn scene. Five graves were dug in line and five coffins were placed beside them. The whole corps was drawn up in solid column, on a rise of ground, enabling all to have a good view. The five men were neatly dressed in white shirts and blue pants. The band played solemn music for about an hour, while the assembled crowd appeared deeply impressed
84 ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTIETH N. Y. S. VOLS.
with the sadness of the occasion. The men, who were fine looking, were led to their graves where each was seated on the end of his coffin with hands fastened behind his back. Sixty soldiers, with loaded muskets, were drawn up in line in front of them. One of the unfortunate men was so overcome that he had to be assisted to his place. The right and left men met and kissed each other and were again placed upon their coffins. After the chaplain had spoken a few words, the order came to fire, when sixty muskets flashed, and the men lay dead upon their coffins."
A story of this kind moves our sympathies deeply, and we think of the stricken hearts of the kindred of these unfortunate men who sent them forth with their benedictions and prayers to battle in their country's defense, little anticipating such a catastrophe as this, com pared with which death on the battle-field, would have been to them, a boon and blessing. It is pleasant to know, that very few, indeed, of the multitudes that went forth from northern homes to join in defending the flag, were brought to their death in a way so dreadful and ignominious.
In contrast to this, the soldiers in camp had seasons of relaxation and amusement, which they enjoyed heart ily. The monotony of camp life was relieved at times by such aesthetic sports as climbing a greased pole, catching a pig by the caudal end, greased also, leaping over bars or hurdles, tossing small " contrabands," as General Butler termed them, in blankets, alternating with an occasional foot race or horse race. Apropos of the latter, one of the surgeons offered a small wager that he could run his horse a hundred yards, turn round a post and get back to the starting point sooner than a man on foot could perform the same distance. One of the captains accepted the wager ; the parties set out on
ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTIETH N. Y. S. VOLS. 85
the race ; the doctor reached the post first, but the time taken in slowing his horse and turning around the post, brought the captain half way back on the home stretch and he reached the goal before he was overtaken and won the race amid the acclamations of the delighted spectators. This is one of the more pleasing aspects of the soldier's life, and we like to see him get all the innocent amusement he can, for his service in the field, is at best, one of hardship and discomfort. But I must hasten to notice a mishap, which about this time, befell a part of the regiment, and which had very serious con sequences for those on whom the misfortune fell. This was the capture by the enemy of no fewer than 1 1 3 men and two officers, with the almost certain result of their being shut up in Southern prisons, the very name of which struck horror to the soul of a Northern soldier. To understand how this disaster occurred, some account is necessary of the situation and movements of the two armies.
In the early part of September, Longstreet's Corps, was detached from Lee's army and sent to join Bragg's army before Chattanooga. The defeat of Rosecrans at Chicamauga, on the 2Oth of September was the result ; in consequence of which, the Eleventh and Twelfth corps of the Union army, were sent west, under Hooker, to strengthen the army of Rosecrans. What remained of Lee's and M cade's armies, soon began active opera tions against each other, the cavalry of each army playing an important part. The Union cavalry, in three divisions, under Buford, Kilpatrick and Gregg, by a series of aggressive movements, had got possession of the whole country between the Rappahannock and the
86 ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTIETH N. Y. S. VOLS.
Rapidan. The enemy's cavalry, under Stuart, in two strong divisions, commanded respectively by Generals Fitz Hugh Lee and Wade Hampton, were on the watch for opportunities to assail their adversaries to advantage and regain possession of the ground lost. Meade's army was concentrated in the neighborhood of Cul- peper Court House, and Lee was manceuvering his forces with a view to bring his adversary to an engage ment on favorable ground, calculating in this case to defeat him. Stuart had posted Hampton's division at Madison Court House, a few miles south of Robertson river, a small affluent of the Rapidan, while Kilpatrick's command was north of the stream, and a few miles south of James City. Several miles north of this place, at Griffinsburg, a division of the Third Corps, under Gen eral Prince was encamped.
The Confederate army, on October 9th, crossed the Rapidan and advanced by slow marches toward Madison Court House, being posted on the loth, so as easily to outflank the Union right. The cavalry being in the advance, detachments from Hampton's division, crossed the Robertson river on the evening of October Qth, driving in the Union outposts toward James City. General Meade regarded this movement only as a feint to cover the retreat of the Confederate army. Lee's subsequent movements, however, show that he had no purpose to retreat, but was aiming to surprise and defeat the Union army. In carrying out this design, the Con federate cavalry took the initiative, and performed an efficient part. This is well described by the subjoined paragraph from the Comte de Paris' ''History of the Civil War," which, as embracing the disaster to the One
ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTIETH N. Y, S. VOLS. 87
Hundred and Twentieth Regiment, makes it accord with the aim and course of our narrative :
"At daybreak on the loth, Stuart crossed Robertson's river with the whole of Hampton's division, his right moving forward against Custer, who, being ordered not to open the battle, gradually falls back before it. The main body of the division follows the James City road, which ascends the northern extremity of Thoroughfare Mountain. Kilpatrick awaits the enemy in this position with his Second brigade, which Colonel Davis commands, since the death of Farnsworth. General Prince, who, with a division of the Third Corps, is encamped between Griffinsburg and James City, sends him the One Hundred and Twentieth, New York.* But this reinforce ment of less than 300 men, is not sufficient to enable Kilpatrick to cope with the forces of the Confederates. The Union troopers have dismounted and formed as skirmishers, with the infantry on the slopes of the hill. While Stuart makes Gordon's brigade, also on foot, con front them, he places himself at the head of Young's cavalry, makes a detour and arrives on their flank at a gallop. The soldiers of the One Hundred and Twentieth are the first exposed to his blows, almost all the regiment falls into his hands. The Union cavalry rapidly retreats to James City, closely pursued by Stuart. Kilpatrick, to retard the pursuit, brings forward his reserves, and a charge of the Fifth New York and Fifth Michigan, succeeds in setting free a large number of prisoners. Despite a new reinforcement brought by Prince, the Federals are overmatched. Pleasanton orders Kilpatrick to cover Prince's retreat, by falling back slowly on the Second and Third Corps, stationed on the west of Culpeper. and orders Custer to join him at James City."
* The One Hundred and Twentieth Regiment was not sent forward in support of Kilpatrick on the loth of October, as implied in the Comte de Paris' statement. It moved from James City on the afternoon of the 8th, as appears from this memo randum in the diary: " October 8th, marched with division at 4 A. M., twelve miles, halting at 10 A. M., near James City. At 3:30 p. M., the regiment was chosen as a cavalry support, and went four miles toward Madison Court House, halting at a school house one mile from Russell's Ford on Robertson's River."
It remained here through the gih and till Stuart's attack on the loth.
88 ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTIETH N. Y. S. VOLS,
Without extending this account, it is enough to say that Lee was baffled in his purpose to force an engage ment upon the Union army, which, re-crossing the Rap- pahannock, was in a position to choose its own time for continuing the conflict.
The result of the foregoing action to the One Hundred and Twentieth, was, as before noticed, the cap ture of 1 1 5 men, including Surgeons Miller and Hogan. These two officers were not held in captivity long, but being paroled, they rejoined their regiment December 1 8th, when it lay in winter quarters at Brandy Station, For the others, the only fate that stared them in the face, was the southern prison, with all the indignity, suffering and woe, which that term implied. It is fitting before taking leave of this subject, that some account should be given of the frightful experiences of these unfortunate men in the places of torture, in which for weary months they were confined by their unrelenting captors. An account of this kind has been put forth in a printed paper, by Wilbur L. Hale, a member of the regiment, who himself saw and shared all the horrors he describes. As the story told by him, is a clear, graphic and striking one, needing no additions to com plete the picture, it will be spread out before the reader in its main particulars in the chapter ensuing. If it anticipates a little the general course of the narrative, it will prove at least, no hindrance to the fuller under standing of all matters of interest relating to the fortunes of the regiment.
CHAPTER X.
WILBUR L. MALE'S NARRATIVE OF A Y-EAR'S EXPERIENCE IN SOUTHERN PRISONS — HOW THE MEN WERE MADE PRISONERS CONVEYED TO RICH MOND TREATMENT BY THE WAY HOW PRISONERS FARED IN LIBBY
PRISON AND BELLE ISLAND — REMOVED TO ANDERSONVILLE AN ACCOUNT
OF THIS HORRIBLE PRISON AND THE SUFFERINGS OF UNION SOLDIERS CONFINED THEREIN.
The narrative of Mr. Hale, which forms the subject of the present chapter, treats of his experience and that of his comrades during a year's confinement in the Libby, Belle Island and Andersonville prisons. His account, as written, is contained in two newspaper arti cles, each of considerable length, the first being con cerned with the Libby and Belle Isle prisons, the last with Andersonville. Interesting as are the details in the first article, they cannot be given in full without curtailing the second article, or extending the present transcript to an inordinate length. This is the less necessary, as the account of Andersonville, the most notorious of the southern prisons, embraces all of priva tion and suffering that belonged to the other two. What was endured at Libby and Belle Isle, was endured at Andersonville, and in greater degree. The account of this last, associated as it is in northern minds with unimaginable horrors, will be given entire. The main points of interest in the first article will be presented, so as to give the reader the substance of what the writer would convey, and preserve the connection between the several parts of his narrative.
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The circumstances under which the members of the One Hundred and Twentieth were captured, are set forth in the following opening paragraphs :
"It could hardly be expected of a regiment that was so continually at the front, and whose whole term of service was along the danger line — taking part in all the battles, skirmishes, marchings, and severer duties of a soldier in which the Army of the Potomac was engaged, should escape losing more or less of its members, as prisoners of war. The regiment fought well at Chancellorsville, holding its line until the line was completely wiped out by the victorious rebels, who turned our left flank, and, except the good runners, rolled us up into a ball — just the condition for the capture of prisoners, but were not able to avail themselves of the opportunity, thanks to the brisk shelling they received.
"At Gettysburg, where the fight was so hot that we lost more than three-fifths of our strength in about three hours, with the lines so close together that on three occasions, at least, the conflict was a hand- to-hand fight, the charges of the enemy were so quickly and thoroughly broken that the opportunity for capture of prisoners did not occur.
" It is possible our previous exemption from capture had banished all thought of that event from our minds, for certain it is the rank and file saw and appreciated the danger, as, formed in line of battle, on the roth of October, 1863, near James City, Va., we endeavored to stop the onward progress of Lee's whole army, imperative orders being given that our position be held, and though we saw clearly the cavalry closing in on both flanks, the regiment held its ground until the order was reluctantly given to 'fall back.'
;t The order was deferred too long, however, and in the disorder consequent upon it, the rebel cavalry rode through our numbers in all directions, with their cries of 'surrender.' Instances of personal bravery and persistent refusal to surrender were very common and marked, but we were overwhelmed by numbers, and under the per suasive argument of from two to half a dozen loaded carbines, most of us thought discretion the better part of valor, and one after another threw down his arms and gave up the fight.
"On being brought together in the rear of our victorious enemy, it •was made apparent the regiment had suffered severely in regard to
ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTIETH N. Y. S. VOLS. 9 I
prisoners, and before our march to the rear, toward Gordonsville, was commenced, a count showed one hundred and thirteen men, includ ing our hospital steward, surgeons Hogan and Miller.
After their capture, the men were taken to Gordons ville, under charge of a detail from the Fifth Virginia cavalry. The march was wearisome and painful, one of its chief hardships, being a deficiency of food. Their own rations were exhausted and their captors were no better furnished, in this respect, than themselves, though ready to share such provisions as they had, with the men placed under their charge. It is pleasant to see soldiers compassionate and kind to enemies in captivity and misfortune, and rendering as far as in their power, friendly offices to adversaries lately arrayed in arms against them, but now in need of aid and cheer. Such a spectacle is presented in this passage of Mr. Male's narrative :
"The morning of our capture was to have been the time of our relief from picket duty, and our rations were exhausted, but few of the men having enough in their haversacks to last them through the day. An appeal was made to the guard for breakfast, but the asking was barren of results. Indeed, our captors were themselves on short rations, and told us plainly that their hopes and expectations were a strike on our trains. Our guard were veterans — several of them having been prisoners themselves, and whether from their own experience, or the deeper, purer feeling of pity that brave men dare to feel and show, not a blanket, tent, knapsack or any of our furniture was taken, and though their own rations consisted of but little beside parched corn, they offered that freely to those that were without food, and halted at noon as long as they dared, to give us an opportunity to roast some corn we plucked from a field by the wayside. It was rather hard feed for us, but it was all our captors had themselves, and I am sure that through all that long and weary march we saw no meat rations but those in possession of the prisoners.
92 -ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTIETH N. Y. S. VOLS.
li We reached Gordonsville about midnight and were turned over to the provost-guard at that place. We here found, as on several occa sions afterward, that the severest, strictest and most cruel guard that prisoners of war could ever have, were not the brave boys that dared to meet us in open fight. They fought hard — too hard for us at times — but with the battle over, were always kind and generous. Indeed, while in camp or on picket our men often strove to be as near the enemy as possible. The horrid custom of picket firing had ceased by the time our regiment reached the front, and no ' Johnnie' ever appealed to us for bread or ' Yank ' asked for the golden weed, without being supplied, though I have known our boys to go on half rations to feed the hungry enemy."
No such spectacle as this was seen, or perhaps was possible, in the prisons where our soldiers were confined. In these, the rule was unmitigated severity. The men on guard were under the eye and control, if they did not always share the spirit, of a stern, cruel and inex orable officer in charge. This made pity or mercy for prisoners, or care for their comfort, or the alleviation of their misery, words without meaning. The words were not found in the prison vocabulary, and all that remained for the sufferers was an unvarying repetition of woes that seemed to great for human beings to endure.
Packed into filthy cars, the men were carried from Gordonsville to Richmond, where their first prison experience began, as thus related :
" This was the celebrated Libby Prison. It was situated between Carey street and the canal, and except in the matter of food, we could have gotten along there very pleasantly. On the following Wednesday, October I4th, however, we were removed to another building. This had been occupied as a tobacco warehouse, and except for the fact that we had a shelter over us and a dry floor to sleep on, was the worst accommodations we had in the Confederacy. No water, or but very little, was furnished ; the water closet arrangements were so
ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTIETH N. Y. S. VOLS. 93
deficient, that portions, at least, -of our room were covered with excrement and filth that reeked and smelled until men grew ill from the fearful stench, and without knowing where we were to be taken, men never removed their quarters more cheerfully than did we, when on November i6th, we were transferred to the Pemberton building, opposite, or nearly opposite, our original quarters in Libby.
"This building certainly was a wonderful improvement over any quarters in which we had been confined in Richmond. Water and other accommodations were good, and to our great joy, we discovered in cutting through a brick wall that separated us from an adjoining building a large supply of tobacco stems and a number of sheets ot tin. The most of us understood at once the value of tobacco, but it remained for John R. Jones, a member of company I, and a tinker, to see any particular value, or anything to be desired in the plates ot tin. He did see it, however, and appropriated it all to his benefit. He was very kind, however, and made pails for us that held about three quarts, that he sold as fast as he could make for five dollars each, Confederate money. The price was wonderfully large — in appearance. It was only in appearance, however, for with that money 20 to i for United States greenbacks, the price in our money — to those that had it, was but 25 cents, which was certainly cheap, and as Jones put it, could not be afforded only that ' I stole all the material, and do the work to keep out of mischief/
"While in this building, our regular rations, when they were any thing like regular, were one-half pound of corn bread a day, beef occasionally, rice more frequently, though not often, and occasionally something that those professing to know, called mule or horse, and that was certainly dark and coarse and tough, was added. What added to our certainty that it was one or the other was, we were more likely to get it after a fight at the front.
" The bread served us was of corn, ground cob and all, never sifted nor salted, but mixed with water and baked. The beans and rice, the former especially, being wormy, were very bad, and were prepared for the prisoners in a wretched manner, being boiled or partly boiled in 4o-gallon kettles, that being half full, were filled with cold water, which was dipped off and served to us as soup. It certainly was economical, as a kettle half full was, by the addition of a sufficient quantity of water, made to do duty as soup for a thousand men.
94 ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTIETH N. Y. S. VOLS.
These supplies bordering on starvation, were largely owing, the writer thinks, to the Confederate Commis sariat, and to the enormous price at which provisions and all necessaries of life were selling at Richmand, their money value rising higher every month. He quotes from a Richmond paper the following market report for December 29th, 1863 :
Flour, $110 to $220 per barrel. Beans, $28 per bushel. Wheat, $20 per bushel. Apples, $60 to $70 per barrel. Nails, $110 to $130 per keg. Corn, $12 per bushel, very scarce. Peas, $25 per bushel, very scarce. Whisky, $85 per gallon. Rum, $80 per gallon. Brandy, $55 to $58 per gallon.
This, too, when the papers of the city, no doubt taking the cue from the government, possibly doing it by rebel orders, were filled with boastings of the strength of the Confederacy and their ability to continue the war indefinitely.
A supply of rations from the North for the Union prisoners arrived in Richmond about the middle of November. They were distributed among the proper recipients, and for the six weeks that the provisions lasted, they ministered greatly to the comfort and refresh ment of the men whose bodily vigor was giving way under scanty and unwholesome diet. Amid all their privations, they did not lose sight of their religious obligations, nor the need of Heavenly succor in their trials, nor the soothing and strengthening influence of the meeting for praise and prayer, and this is told in the following words :
ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTIETH N. Y. S. VOLS. 9 5
" So the days passed on. They were frightfully long, and every means conceivable were brought into requisition to employ our minds and bodies. Immediately on our confinement some of ihe One Hun dred and Twentieth, that were accustomed to hold prayer meetings in the regiment, re-opened them. The first attendance was but a half dozen, but the interest grew until hundreds attended nightly. It was a strange thought and a stranger sight, that in that building, amid the jest and scoff of some of our comrades, and often of all the dis turbance the guard could raise, that men would thus meet for prayer and praise. That it was good, the writer knows full well, for amid our surroundings many whose thoughts for possibly the first time since they left home, were led in that direction, came to the Great burden bearer, and afterward in their lives showed the change, and many of them died strong in the new found hope and precious peace."
On January 2ist, 1864, their then place of confine ment was vacated and the prisoners transferred to Belle Isle. How the men were tempted to forswear their allegiance, and find freedom, employment and good sup port by joining the Confederacy, and how the overture was rejected, the following paragraph will show :
" Here again rebel officers came with offers of quarters, food and clothing to those who would take the oath of allegiance and accept employment in the Tredagar Iron Works, and other places. But few, very, very few accepted ; still, it was a fearful temptation to many. The picture was made as complete as words could paint it. Our government had forsaken us. They would never consent to a parole for fear the rebels would not observe it, (had I been a rebel I never would have used that argument,) and knowing one mail on the defensive was as good as two or more in an aggressive fight, they — our government — had concluded to let us die. We were openly told of the opportunities we would have to desert them and escape North, but no, they stood and swore allegiance to the stars and stripes while stand they could, and then bravely, calmly, nobly laid down to die, and die they did rather than stain their souls with treason, and their lips with such a lie, and among the things longest to be remem-
•96 ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTIETH N. Y. S. VOLS.
bered were the last words of some dying comrade, as feeling the icy fingers of death groping for their heart strings they would draw a comrade's ear down to their fast stiffening lips and whisper, 'tell father, mother, wife, children and friends, I did not desert/ Those deaths were glorious. "
The removal to Belle Isle did not add to the comfort of the imprisoned, as appears from the following extract :
" Rations were smaller, if possible, on the island than in the city, .and without clothing or tents — and an exceptionally hard winter, and a necessity for greater exercise to keep warm, men suffered very much. Many walked the whole night through, and overcome by fatigue and weakness, some lay down and froze. At any rate they died, and were found next morning stiff in death. At one time some of our guard were accompanied by dogs, but after several had been coaxed over the line and killed and eaten, the practice was discon tinued."
This prison life on the Isle, ended March 4th, on which day they were taken back to Richmond and hopes of parole were held out to the men languishing for release from their fearful captivity. These hopes were destined soon to be destroyed. For entering cars the next day, the prisoners were carried to Petersburg, where some fancied the paroling process might be per formed in their favor. Instead of this, they soon learned to their horror, that their destination was Andersonville, toward which the train was now making its way. This was appalling information to the unfortunate captives, several of whom in their distress and in the face of all hazards, flung themselves from the train hoping to escape, but were shot down by the vigilant guards who lined the tops of the cars. The train on reaching
ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTIETH N. Y. S. VOLS. 97
Charlotte, North Carolina, stopped a short time for sup plies, and the wearied prisoners were allowed to leave the cars for sorely needed rest and refreshment. When the journey was resumed, several of their comrades, too ill to go farther, were left behind, to find such kindness as the people of the country might show them. At length, after eight days' travel, on the i2th of March, they reached the end of their journey, and the grim palisades of the Andersonville prison rose before them, within which they were to dwell, how long, no one could say, and quite likely to find — unless all accounts were false — a release only through the grave.
THE STORY OF ANDERSONVILLE.
If there is in all the world, certainly to those who suffered there as prisoners of war, any single name or word that stands as a synonym for inhumanity, brutality and suffering, that word is Andersonville. Wirz might be coupled with it by the people of the North, but to those who suffered, Andersonville includes all, as without the one there could never have been the other.
Andersonville is a small village, credited by the census of 1880 with a population of 308, in Sumter County, on the line of the Cen tral Railroad, about 75 miles southwest of Macon, and about 50 miles from the Alabama line. It was so far in the interior as to be out of reach of any raiding parties of Union men, though we did think sometimes that a small, well" mounted and well armed force of cavalry might have reached us from the south. They never came, how ever. It is possible they never could have reached us, or, having reached us, and encumbered with such a load as we would have made, could never have escaped the force that would certainly have been sent after them.
In many respects the place might have been made a great improve ment over Richmond and Belle Isle. The place selected for us was on the bank of a considerable stream, and heavily wooded.
7
98 ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTIETH N. Y. S. VOLS.
These advantages, however, were all nullified by the rebels, who cut down every tree on the ground to build a stockade. This was done by cutting the trees into lengths of about twenty-five feet, hewing two sides to make a close fit, and standing them closely together in a trench about five feet deep. This made a tight fence of about twenty feet in height around an enclosure of from eight to ten acres. There were two entrances on the north side of the prison, one on each side of a stream that ran through it, dividing it nearly in halves, with the larger half on the east side of the stream. The gates were massive enough, in appearance to us at least, to have withstood a battery of six-pounders, and as we neared them a comrade said : "Whoever enters here leaves hope behind." I told him we had lived in Rich mond five months without hope, except in God, and this could be no worse.
During the greater portion of the time in Richmond, I had acted as sergeant of the floor, the duty being to distribute rations as they were issued to us, receiving therefor an extra ration a day, when there was any issued. The same good fortune followed me in Anderson- ville, where I was chosen as sergeant of a squad of three hundred, with the same pay.
It seemed as we walked into the stockade that it was an improve ment on Belle Island. In addition to poor rations there we suffered from neglect, prisoners being turned out of buildings in the city in the midst of winter with insufficient clothing, and without tents to shelter them from the wind and cold of the dreary desert of that place.
Andersonville was warmer. It was also new, the ground being not yet filled with the filth and death of the Island. As summer heat came on, however, we wished ourselves north again. No pro tection of any kind was provided from the sun. Men grew sick and died from contact with the almost torrid glare. At first we crouched along the stockade as a means of protection, but that was stopped by a line erected a rod inside the stockade, to pass beyond which was sure and certain death. At first we were well supplied with pure water for drinking purposes and to cook our scanty dole of corn or rice and beans, but later on a cook-house was established on the up stream side of the stockade, and next above that a camp was estab lished for our guard. The establishment of cook-house and bakery was a benefit, as wood was decidedly scarce, as were also cooking utensils, but while the building subserved that interest for us the filth
ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTIETH N. Y. S. VOLS. 99
from the cook-house and the sinks of the guard above us, added to that of the horses of the cavalry and battery, that all floated down the stream, made it so foul it could no longer be used for drinking purposes or bathing. Providence was kinder to us then than were our captors or Wirz, for during a heavy shower about that time a new and living spring of clear water burst forth from the hillside in the stockade, that continued to run during all the time of our confine ment there, and, I am assured by a friend who visited the place a few years ago, that though the timbers had fallen away in many places, that spring, with its pure and limpid water, continued to flow.
As the stockade filled up, however, other sources of supply were found necessary, and as wells were dug — some of them being dry, the idea of a tunnel out of our prison was suggested. Many of them were dug. The men would get as near the stockade as possible, taking care to shield themselves from the eye of the guard, who, placed on a runway two or three feet below the top and outside the stockade, kept their eyes upon us, and between their cry of "Post number one," two, or twenty, as the case might be, "all is well," would carry out their haversacks full of sand and dump it in the swift-flowing run or stream below us. In this way the shafts were sunk twenty feet deep or more, when taking a course parallel with the surface the tunnel would be run one, two or three hundred feet beyond the stockade. Unfortunately much of this work was done a short time before the rain that opened our spring, occurred, and still more unfortunately one or two of the tunnels, on the south side were dug so shallow that as the rain made its way into the soil the support of the piles gave way, and sections of them fell. The full guard was called out, and the battery with grape and canister was trained on us, and our courage gave way.
Tunneling was tried later on, but Wirz, had taken the hint, and by means of spies that were sent in with detachments of prisoners, our plans in that direction were all discovered and foiled. One of the spies came to grief, however, for being himself discovered, he was pressed so hard he ran beyond the dead line, and was instantly killed by a bullet from the guard.
Here, as in Richmond, rebel agents, ministers, or professed ministers, included, were sent or came into the prison to persuade men to take the oath of allegiance to the rebel government. Good pay and work was promised at places so remote from any probable
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line of march the Union army might take, we would never be seen or captured by them. I myself was offered a position as superintendent of a mill, for I was a miller, and was promised all the colored men needed to do the laborious part of the work, if I would go out and grind grain for the guard. I agreed to go if the product of the mill could go into the stockades and hospital, but that being declined I refused, though threatened with solitary confinement.
In many respects Andersonville was much worse than either Libby Prison or Belle Island. To be sure it was not so cold as farther north, but with no protection from the elements, every change of the weather resulted in a higher death rate. If hot or cold or wet, the result was all the same and meant more death for us. There was never more than 30,000 prisoners there at any one time, tho' first and last nearly or quite double that number were sent to that horrible place, and until June ist, the number did not exced 15,000, still from March ist to October ist, the number of dead men reached the enormous figure of 36,912. Mark the number. It is more than the population at any one time, and yet I assert it did not tell the whole story, for being in a position to know the number of prisoners at times, and also to know the number of daily dead, I figured out that a like proportion of deaths would carry off the last man in the stock ade in 165 days — just five and one-half months. The above number, 36,912, however, is rebel record, and they lied to make their record seem less heinous.
Indeed, the policy of some of the officers at least was to kill or permit the prisoners to die. In the early spring I found Richard Johnston, a member of my company and an old acquaintance from the town of my residence, suffering severely from diarrhoea. I applied to Dr. McVeigh, of Salem, Va., for permission to go outside and get pine boughs to make a bed and raise him from the ground. His cool deliberate reply was: "Damn the Yankees, let them die ! Each one that dies is one less without any risk for us to kill him."
I held the position of master of the gangrene ward, in the prison. As is known, this is a mortification of the part affected, resulting from poverty of the blood and system, and under the very best of circum stances — where food and anti-scorbutics are plenty and of the best and most nourishing character, is a very stubborn disease, if such it may be called, while in such a place as that, where strength and vigor
ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTIETH N. Y. S. VOLS. I O I
was as completely gone as was ours, its appearance was the sure pre cursor of speedy death.
Dr. McVeigh used to say it was an excellent place to learn sur gery, and would cut and haggle at the limbs of the poor wretches, though he knew the conditions of their system was such, that in thirty-six hours at the farthest, gangrene would almost certainly be at its fearful work, and with their greatly enfeebled strength the patients were sure candidates for the trench, where in rows of fifty, the dead were laid.
For a very large proportion of the spring and all summer, the accommodations at the hospital were wofully deficient in tents and number of beds, hearing of which and thinking their chances of care among their own comrades of company or regiment was better than with entire strangers, many of the sick preferred the stockade and were not brought out to the hospital, until the very last stages.
On that account and also because all illnesses at Andersonville seemed to impair the mind and memory of the diseased, a very large proportion of those received were unable to give their names. Add to this cause the fact that labels containing name, rank and regiment were only pinned on the clothing of the dead, and that other fact that many of the dead were carried naked to burial, and the only wonder is the list of unknown dead is no larger than it is.
It is shocking to think of men carried naked to their graves. It was not so at first, for one and another comrade would give this, that or the other portion of clothing to cover the naked ones, until some of our own men, detailed to bury the dead, sent surreptitious word into the hospital that men decently clothed were stripped by the rebels, and to prevent this as well as protect ourselves, all good clothing was taken from the dead to cover the living. Indeed, but for that fact, we would have been an army of nude men.
It is no wonder that with death staring continually in our face, the temptation to lawlessness and disorder should not at times at least be yielded to. It was to an extent, in Richmond, though nothing in comparison to that at Andersonville, where robbery and murder even became so frequent that in self defence a prisoner called Big Pete, a corporal of Company G, Second Massachusetts, H. A., took the case in hand, and, organizing a police force, made the arrest of one called^ Mosby by our men, from being chief raider, and several of his men. With the consent of Captain Wirz, a jury was impanneled, and a
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prosecuting attorney appointed from the prisoners, with a rebel law yer for defence. The men were fairly tried, six of them found guilty and hanged. The records of the trial were preserved and brought to Washington, where the findings of the court were preserved and to day are on file in the War Department, as part of their records.
This action gave us peace from that quarter, though in no other manner did it at all affect our interests or add at all to our comfort. It stopped the raiding of lawless men in our midst, but had no effect whatever on the continual raid made on our health and strength by the terrible heat, ruthless hunger, and unnecessary privation.
The talk of exchange or parole broke out again in July or Aug ust. It was started from Wirz' headquarters, and had a short run when, as if to purposely deaden our hopes and fill us with despair again, a detail of carpenters was called for from the prisoners, and the work of erecting barracks in the stockade was commenced and continued until about four buildings of about 20x50 feet had been erected, when the work was as suddenly stopped. The work was commenced with the ostensible purpose of contributing to our com fort during the coming fall and winter. Our idea was, the rebels were becoming alarmed at the approach of the Union army through Ten nessee and into Georgia, for almost simultaneously with the cessation of work on the buildings inside the stockade, carpenters and laborers were withdrawn from the prison and sent north. It took us a long time to discover their destination, but it was subsequently revealed that Florence, S. C, was their objective point. That was a small village in Darlington county, about 75 miles east of Columbia, at the junction of the North Eastern Railroad, running north from Charles ton, distant about 125 miles, and about the same distance west of Wilmington, N. C.
I never reached that place, but was told what could have been expected, that being farther from food supplies, the condition of the prisoners was, if possible, rather worse than Andersonville. The stockade was not completed when the prisoners reached that point, and in consequence guard rule was more rigid and severe, and rations less.
I was in hopes the move meant something better, for me, at least, though what it was, or the direction from which the hoped-for relief would come, was altogether an unknown equation until about Sep tember 2Oth, when, tired and weary from a long vigil at the bedside
ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTIETH N. Y. S. VOLS, 1 03
of a member of Company I, my own company, who I thought could not live through the night, I had lain down under a piece of cotton cloth, confiscated from the Confederacy, and which I afterward brought home, my sleep was disturbed by a comrade trying to pull me out into the moonlight. We were never surprised at anything, in those days. I quietly opened my eyes and saw Richard L. Tinker, one of my nurses, who, warning me to make no noise, told me to come out into the bright moonlight. He then said Wirz had sent for him in the early evening and told him to notify and enroll all sailors, preparatory to being sent north to Charleston for parole, and thinking of a comrade that had succumbed to the cruel treatment of his captors he had entered me on the roll as Frederick A. James, car penter's mate of the gunboat Housatonic, though before he told me that, he made me swear never to reveal the source from which I had received the name, in case I could not ' pull through ' on that line. I, of course, was willing to give any pledge in return for the prospect of getting away from the city of death, in which I had been confined since March previous ; and until the dawning of the morning he kindly sat with me and posted me on points that might be necessary for me to know.
I was weak in body and enfeebled in mind, but the waiting lasted through a long and dreary week until September 27th, when Wirz directed Tinker to get his men together and report at his headquar ters. I was placed in the rear rank so Wirz would not notice me. He spied me out, however, and threatened to send all soldiers back to the stockade. He, however, was as anxious to get rid of us as were we to leave his inhospitable board, and telling us to speak good words for him, we were all led to the depot, in waiting for a train for Charleston.
There had been but little confidence placed in Wirz' word, still the excitement was so great among those whose names were enrolled, we hardly grew hungry or ate, though carefully drawing all the rations doled out. It was well they were kept, as none were issued to us when we left or until night when Macon was reached, where one day's rations and an all night rest was given. The next morning we started again and reached Augusta, where another rest, but no rations was given, and early next morning we arrived in Charleston. The transports with prisoners had not reached the harbor, and the city was being shelled for fair. A large shell passing over the city drop-
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ped on an engine, with steam up and just ready to pull out, that exploding just at the proper moment and in conjunction with a full head of steam blew engine, engineer and fireman into a hundred fragments, and killed, wounded and scalded several in the depot. The officer in charge of our train was frightened and with or without orders he directed the engineer of our train to pull out and head for Richmond.
The next day, September 30, we reached Columbia, S. C. Here we were given a long rest and two days' rations. We were permitted to leave the train and wander for a short distance into the city. I thought it was one of the finest places I ever saw. The place was old, the streets well cared for, and shade abundant. It looked as though the scourge of war had visited it very slightly, if at all, and showed none of the devastation and misery a visit made later, revealed.
With two days' rations we were again started northward, arriving at Greenboro, N. C., next day, October i. From that point north east to Petersburg, the railroad had been torn up by Grant's army, and we were switched off on a new line toward Danville, Va. The distance was but 48 miles, but it required a whole day of twenty-four hours to make the distance — slower railroad time than we had pre viously required on a pinch for the same distance on foot, when in good marching order. It was reached at last, however, and better time was promised to Richmond. It was better, still we did not arrive there until the 4th, having traveled since September 30, on two- days' rations, or from September 27, on three.
That we were hungry and faint, goes without the saying. Indeed, a few, seven, I believe, died on the train from Andersonville, literally starved to death.
Life in Richmond was hard, though better than on the road, and for two weeks we lived a life of fear and anxiety. Ross, the infamous adjutant of General Winder, was still in charge of the prisoners in and about the city, and he took special pains every day to tell us of the waning hopes and efforts of Grant's army, and the great victories daily won by the Confederates, and to those he recognized, and unfor tunately I was one, he daily swore that we should be sent south by the very next train. Our stay there was caused by a hitch in the delivery, as we undoubtedly should have been delivered to the Federal authori ties at Charleston.
Of all men I knew in the South, I think Ross would rather lie
ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTIETH N. Y. S. VOLS. IO5
for nothing than tell the truth for good wages. He never admitted we were intended for parole, and even up to the evening of the day before we left Libby, he insisted we were to be returned south. On the 1 8th, however, we were ordered out in the early morning. At first our direction was toward the depot, but we soon filed off down another street toward a steamer plying down the river, and were soon on our way down the James. Colonel Mulford had not been advised of our coming, and a long delay of hours occurred at Aiken's Land ing. Colonel Mulford came at last, however, at breakneck speed, down to the landing, and hurriedly receipting for us, we were marched ashore, and our year and ten days of imprisonment was ended.
CHAPTER XI.
THE WILDERNESS — ARMY CROSSES THE RAPIDAN — CHARACTER OF THE
COUNTRY TRAVERSED SWINGING ROUND LEE's RIGHT FIERCE ATTACKS
ON THE UNION FLANK TWO DAY'S CONFLICT IN THE WILDERNESS — A
CONFEDERATE GENERAL^ ACCOUNT OF THE STRUGGLE DEATHS OF
GENERALS HAYES AND WADSWORTH THE ONE HUNDRED AND TWEN TIETH'S SHARE IN THE BATTLE ITS LOSSES BURNING WOODS PREY
UPON THE WOUNDED.
From the loth of October, on which the capture by the enemy of the men of the One Hundred and Twen tieth took place, till the following Spring, no events of extraordinary importance occurred in the experience of the regiment, nor indeed, in the history of the army. There was considerable movement and manceuvering on the part of the two armies, and some engagements between the opposing cavalry forces, but no severe bat tle. An assault on Lee's forces, intrenched in a favora ble position behind Mine Run, on the last day of November, was intended, and indeed, ordered by Gen eral Meade. But the Confederate position was so strong and formidable, that Warren, in command of one wing, declined to give the order he had received to attack. When Meade had come over to survey the enemy's position at Warren's request, he agreed with the latter's view, that an attack should not be made, and it was abandoned accordingly, much to the relief of the soldiers, who had stood in line for several hours in readiness to go forward, with an ordeal like that at Fredricksburg,
ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTIETH N. Y. S. VOLS.
before them.* A day or two before, however, on the 27th of November, a brisk attack had been made on the Third division of the Third Corps, which, in the advance, was moving forward towards the enemy's position. In this engagement, which lasted but a short time, the One Hundred and Twentieth took part, losing 1 1 men, three of the number being killed. The enemy was repulsed ; the division resumed its march and united with the main army before Mine Run. The army then fell back toward the Rapidan, which it crossed December ist, and on the 2d, reached its old quarters around Brandy Station. Winter quarters were now established, and all active operations ceased for some months to come. When the spring opened, preparations for the approaching campaign, whose purpose was a stroke at
* That the Union soldiers in line before the enemy's entrenched position at Mine Run, waiting the order to attack, had Marye's Heights before them, with no chance of success, and death likely in store for the assailants, appears from the following reference to this proposed attack taken from the Comte de Paris' History of the War : "Almost all have witnessed Fredericksburgh and Gettysburg ; they know by a double experience that a bloody defeat is reserved to the one of the two armies which takes the offensive It is said that most of them on the morning of the 3oth, took care to pin to their coats pieces of paper bearing their names. They wished that their names might be placed over the fresh earth which was to cover them in their everlasting sleep. No hope of glory was occupying their minds at that supreme hour, but they were anxious to secure on that distant soil the modest epitaph which allows the soldier's family to distin guish his remains, instead of having to kneel at the grave of the un known. It was in this manner it is related, that they silently showed the conviction, that they were going to be asked for a useless sacri fice. If it is only a legend— for legends are sometimes easily made — it is worth being quoted, for it perfectly describes the character of the Army of the Potomac." — Vol. Ill, p. 810.
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the heart of the Confederacy, were pressed forward vig orously. By the ist of May, all was in readiness for the expected advance. Orders were accordingly issued on the 2d of May, 1864, for the movement of the sev eral corps to begin on the 4th of May, preceded by the cavalry, under Sheridan, which began its march at mid night of the 3d, crossing the Rapidan in advance of the infantry. Five bridges had been thrown over the stream at Germanna Ford, Culpeper Mine Ford and Ely's Ford. The Second Corps crossed at Ely's Ford ; the Fifth and Sixth at Germanna Ford, the former moving forward to Chancellorsville, and the latter to Wilderness Tavern. The Fifth Corps reached its des ignated halting-place by two o'clock, having marched twenty miles, the Second Corps having arrived at Chan cellorsville at an earlier hour. General Grant regarded the safe crossing of his army, with its immense trains, and his first day's march into the Wilderness, as a very propitious opening of the campaign. " And he might well feel gratified at the result," remarks General Humph reys, " for it was a good day's work, in such a country, for so large an army, with its artillery and fighting trains, to march twenty miles, crossing a river on five bridges of its own building, without a single mishap, interruption or delay."
The reference to "such a country," means no doubt, " the Wilderness," through which the route of the army lay, and in which the first battles in this memorable campaign were fought. This is one of the names which the war has made famous, and linked to this " Wilder ness," are poignant memories of toils and sufferings, that words are feeble to express, on the part of those who
ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTIETH N. Y. S. VOLS.
struggled through it, encountering foemen at every step. The tract known by this name, stretches south of the Rapidan fifteen or twenty miles in extent — is covered with a dense forest growth of scrub oak, dwarf pines and other varieties of wood " almost impenetrable by troops in line of battle, where manceuvering was an operation of extreme difficulty and uncertainty. The undergrowth was so heavy that it was scarely possible to see more than one hundred paces in any direction. The movements of the enemy could not be observed until the lines were almost in collision. Only the roar of musketry disclosed the position of the combatants to those who were at any distance, and my knowledge of what was transpiring on the field, except in my imme diate presence, was limited, and was necessarily derived from the reports of subordinate commanders."*
Into these dreary and tangled thickets Grant flung his brave battalions, with the view of swinging past the right of Lee's army, which lay in front of it at no great distance, watching its enemy's operations and ready to pounce upon him at the first opportunity. The attempt of Grant to pass the Confederate army and interpose between it and Richmond, was sure to be fiercely resisted. Lee's plan was to strike the flank of the Union army with his whole force as soon as practicable, after the former had crossed the Rapidan and entered on its march southward. From Orange Court House, where Lee's headquarters were, two roads lead toward Fred- ericksburg. They run in the direction of the Rapidan, nearly parallel to each other, the one nearest the river being the " Old turnpike," the other, the " Plank road," a
* General Hancock.
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short distance south of it. The route of the Union army lay directly across these roads along the western bor ders of the wilderness. Ewell's Corps began to move about noon, on May 4th, along the Orange turnpike, while A. P. Hill, with two divisions, moved along the Plank road, parallel with Ewell, General Longstret being directed to bring forward his corps from Gordons- ville and follow rapidly on the same road. Ewell first struck the Union column while it was crossing the Orange turnpike, and the battle of the Wilderness opened with this attack.
I do not undertake to describe this battle in detail, but design, as in other cases, to present certain outlines necessary to connect the work of the One Hundred and Twentieth Regiment, with the operations of the army of which it formed a part. The details of this and of other great battles of the war, are given in the histories specially devoted to them, and the plan of this narrative, as well as the limits assigned to it, precludes full and extended accounts of battle-fields. I hope to make the general features of these sanguinary encounters clear to the reader and aim at doing little beyond this in the descriptions given.
During the 5th and 6th of May, the battle now begun, raged with varying success. The difficulties of this war fare in the woods, were immensely trying, and at times, bewildering. Hill's troops, on the Plank road, soon struck their foes, as Ewell's had done on the Orange turnpike, and impetuous and fierce as their attack was, the resistance they met with, was as resolute and unyielding. The troops that were crossing the turnpike when Ewell assaulted them, belonged to Warren's Fifth
ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTIETH N. Y. S. VOLS. I I I
Corps, and these bore the brunt of the attack. They were joined later in the day by those of Sedgwick's Sixth Corps, who together maintained, till night put an end to the conflict, the ground they held against the most desperate efforts of the enemy. On the morning of the next day, the battle was resumed, Longstreet, having by a night march, come up to the support of Hill, and putting his veteran troops at once into the hot test of the fight. Thus, the whole of Lee's army was engaged in the struggle to arrest the advance of the Union army and drive it back bafflled toward the Rapi- dan. Hancock, also, had joined his corps with those of Warren and Sedgwick, so that in these two terrible days of conflict in the Wilderness, the main forces of both armies were arrayed against each other. The character of this strange battle and the scenes which it presented, are well set forth in these words of one of the Confederate leaders who was present :
" It was a desperate struggle between the infantry of the two armies, on a field, whose physical aspects were as grim and forbidding as the struggle itself. It was a battle of brigades and regiments, rather than that of corps and divisions. Officers could not see the whole length of their commands, and could only tell whether the troops on their right and left were driving or being driven, by the sound of the firing. It was a fight at close quarters too, for as night came on in those tangled thickets of stunted pine, sweet-gum, scrub oak and cedar, the approach of the opposing lines could only be discerned by the noise of their passage through the underbrush, or the flashing of their guns. The usually silent wilderness had suddenly become alive. The angry flashing of the musketry and its heavy roar, mingled with the yells of the combatants as they swayed to and fro in the gloomy thickets,