USA > California > A Volume of memoirs and genealogy of representative citizens of northern California, including biographies of many of those who have passed away > Part 4
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to handle cavalry as Hooker was to command the whole of the Potomac army. After the Brandy Station fight we were on the alert and kept our eye on the movements of the enemy, meeting them again at Aldie on the 17th, with General Kilpatrick as the leader of this expedition. Kilpatrick's brigade was composed of the Harris Lights, Fourth New York, First Massachusetts, First Rhode Island and the Sixth Ohio, accompanied by a section of artillery. Kil- patrick was directed to move through Ashby's Gap and ascertain the move- ments of the enemy. We met the advance of Fitzhugh Lee's division at Aldie, and a very sharp engagement was the result. Kilpatrick took in the situation at a glance and sent the Harris Lights, charging through the town, to hold the town, to Middleburg. This move cut off Lee's retreat in that direction. Then the Sixth Ohio and other regiments charged them in front and flank in quick succession. Here the Sixth Ohio charged and captured a battalion of the Fifth Virginia Cavalry, and here Major Stanhope was killed. Lee's men fought desperately, using his artillery to good effect, but all in vain ; Kilpat- rick's gallant men, aided by Randall's battery, swept the enemy back until they intrenched themselves behind stone walls and haystacks, and otherwise fortified themselves ; and here they made it very disagreeable for our men in the open. The general finally ordered up a regiment ( the Harris Lights, I think ), in charge of Major Irwin. The general said, "Major, there is the opportunity for which you have been asking. Go, take that position." Away dashed the Harris Lights ; but their horses could not leap the barricades. Dis- mounting, they rushed with drawn sabers upon the enemy, who quickly asked for quarters. The balance of the brigade, inspired by the dash of the Harris Lights, made a charge all along the line and drove the enemy from the field, capturing quite a number of prisoners, Lee moving in the direction of Middle- burg, with part of our men in pursuit, where two days later we had another brush with them.
An incident happened at Aldie, in which a brave officer retrieved his good name and at the same time added much fame to his military record. Colonel Di Cesnola, of the Fourth New York Cavalry, had that morning, through mistake of orders, been placed under arrest, and his sword taken from him. But in one of these wild charges his regiment hesitated, forgetting that he was under arrest, and without command he flew to the head of his regiment. re-assured his men, who were wavering, and led them to the charge with suc- cess. The act was seen by General Kilpatrick, who rode up to him and said. "Colonel Cesnola, you are a brave man. You are relieved from arrest:" and taking his own sword from his side, handed it to the colonel, saying, "Here is my sword; wear it in honor of this day."
In the next charge that the colonel was in he was badly wounded. as I will relate. At Upperville, four days after the Aldie fight. we again met the enemy. The contest for a certain position of importance to both armies was to be taken. Evidently it was considered a forlorn hope, for volunteers were called for to form a storming party. I think there were about twenty men of Company A. of our regiment, among the force engaged in it. Colonel Di Cesnola being at their head. They were promised support ; but the support
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did not come in time ; and after a severe hand-to-hand contest, they being out- numbered finally surrendered. They were all taken prisoners and sent to Libby prison, except the colonel, who was so badly wounded that he could not be moved. Captain Delos R. Northway and many of his men were among the wounded. The battle was won later in the day. Kilpatrick's men were all engaged; and I am confident that there were more horses killed in that fight than in any other cavalry engagement of the war; and we were equally afflicted by the loss of scores of good men, -- killed, wounded and prisoners. I should have remarked that at Aldie our regiment sustained a great loss in the death of Major Ben Stanhope, who was wounded in the charge, his arm being badly shattered ; and he did not rally from the amputation ; also that two days later we met the enemy at Middleburg, June 19th, where our men were again successful in giving Lee a drubbing.
These were the days that tried the mettle of every man, not alone those that were doing the fighting at the front but those also that had charge of sup- plying them with food and ammunition. My duty was to keep my brigade in rations, as well on the march as at any other time ; and I can assure you that there were many anxious hours spent in thinking how this was to be accom- plished.
When we first started out on this campaign I drew from the corps' com- missary fifty head of beef cattle of the Texas long-horned variety to keep the brigade in fresh meat on the march. The cattle were in charge of a sergeant, and guard of about ten men. When out a day or two the sergeant came to me in great excitement and said, "I have lost every head of cattle I had." The underbrush in that section was very thick, and the cattle getting into it could not be driven out. I said, "Boys, you know what you will have to do." That evening they came to me with smiles all over their faces. They had gathered up over one hundred head of fine beef cattle, and as the country after that was more open they had no more trouble.
At the battle of Aldie, General Kilpatrick's headquarters ( also the head- quarters of the ordnance officer, quartermaster, and commissary ) were on the rise of ground just east of the town and battlefield. Our wagons were packed; but the mules were not unhitched from the wagons, for we knew not how soon we would have to move. At times during the battle they got range of us, and the darky teamsters were stampeded, and they cut some of the mules loose from the wagons and went helter-skelter to the rear, as fast as the mules could carry them; nor did we see them again for some hours after the battle was over. When asked why they ran away, the spokesman of the darkey teamsters said, "De Laud, Massa Cap'n! dose shells a-cumin' right ober heah, an' a-bustin'. You think we a-goin' to stan' that? Not if dese darkies know demselves." It was useless to argue with them; but they were informed that if it occurred again they would be fired.
The two armies met at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, on July 1. 1863; and every one knows the result of that great battle ; so I will not enter into details. but will pass it over to the historians, who have told the story many times. At the time of the Gettysburg battle I was on the road between Frederick City,
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Maryland, and the battle-field, bringing up rations for the brigade. I had to make three trips, both ways, in four days, sleeping in my saddle, when I slept at all. My horse gave out completely, and I can assure you that the horse question with me was becoming a serious one, as at that time Kilpatrick was accused of killing more cavalry horses than any other general in the army. My chance came to better my condition in the horse supply in an unexpected man- ner, and in the nick of time. I was riding along the road between Gettys- burg and Frederick, Maryland, about noon, and was passing the headquar- ters of the First Brigade, First Division of our corps. The officers were in an inclosed field under some trees, eating their dinner. The darky waiters were supposed to be taking care of the horses, feeding in the enclosure, and as I came along I saw a fine horse jump the fence into the road and run in the direction that I was going. He had run perhaps a mile before I came up with him, being led by a darkey, who had just caught him and was leading him in the direction that I was going. I put spurs to my old horse, and as I came up to him I said, "Hello! that's my horse; I am glad you caught him." "Is that so, Massa Cap'n?" I thanked him for catching the horse. After he had ridden out of sight and seeing no one coming to claim the lost, I put my saddle on my new horse and turned the old one out to rest,-a very humane act appar- ently,-but probably he would be picked up by some foot-sore infantryman. Ever afterward I tried to steer clear of this division. I rode this horse the remainder of the time that I was in the service, and he proved to be the best one that I ever had. I don't remember who was the fortunate possessor of him after I was wounded. I presume that some of my good friends will say : "Reeves, it was not right for you to take that horse." I say, "It was." I was on duty that required the utmost dispatch. I was obliged to be at certain places at a certain time, or the men would not get their rations ; and I felt that I was justified in bettering my condition under these circumstances.
Kilpatrick commanded a division in the Gettysburg campaign, having been promoted after the Aldie fight, and Colonel Hughey had command of the brig- ade in place of Kilpatrick. The work of the cavalry in this campaign can be known only by reading the history of the great cavalry leaders.
From Gettysburg we crossed over into Virginia and stopped for a few days at Thoroughfare Gap to recruit a little. While here I was taken sick with typhoid fever, and was so sick that I could not be moved in the ambu- lance with the other sick. Dr. W. B. Rezner reported my case to the colonel. The colonel said. "Leave Reeves here? No, sir." "But he can't be moved. Colonel." "Well, then leave the best nurse in the regiment with him." My old friend, M. H. Barber, volunteered to stay with me, he being my old chum of long years. There was a farm house up on the side of the Blue Ridge mountain, about one mile from the depot, owned by a Mr. Saunders, and the colonel ordered me to be taken there. Barber knew full well that it would be a capture, and Libby prison for both of us, if I got well enough to be moved. Dr. Rezner left medicine enough with Barber to cure a dozen men, and mercury enough to salivate a horse, all of which I think went down my throat ; my tongue was done to a crisp and my hair all fell out! The last that
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I remembered of what was going on around me, was when the boys set the litter down to open the gate to Mr. Saunder's house; I bid them all good- bye, never expecting to see them again.
We were at Mr. Saunders' about one month, and were treated with the utmost kindness. Mrs. Saunders had a brother in Mosby's guerrilla band, and they often came to see how I was getting along. They used to ask Barber how long he thought I would be sick, for they were sure we would be their pris- oners in time: and it looked so to us; but Barber fooled them. One morning, after I had become convalescent, Barber came to me and said, "I hear bugles sounding over the other side of the mountain;" and he wanted to know if he had not better go over and see if they were our men. Mr. Saunders, whom we had every reason to believe to be a good Union man, told him of a bridle path across the mountain. So the next morning, about 3 o'clock, Barber left me and got to the eastern slope, just as the bugle was sounding the reveille, and, as good luck would have it, he came into the camp of the One Hundred and Twenty-first New York Infantry, who were picketing the gap. He made his wants known, and about 2 o'clock, p. m., an ambulance, conveying a flag of truce, drove up to Saunders' residence. After giving these kind people our heartiest thanks and all the money we possessed ( I think about ten dollars). we bid them an affectionate good-bye, and by dark I was in the hospital tent of the One Hundred and Twenty-first New York, where Barber and I staid until the regiment moved; and I, with the sick of the regiment, was sent to Washington, and was an inmate of the Lincoln hospital for about two months. This was a model for neatness and order. It was conducted by the Sisters of Charity ( God bless them ! ) ; they were angels in disguise. I could not have had better treatment if I had been at home.
While I was staying with the One Hundred and Twenty-first New York, they had quite a lively experience with Colonel Mosby's men. About the middle of a very dark night the whole of Mosby's men pounced down upon the camp with yells that would do credit to a band of Comanche Indians. All but the guards were asleep; and, if the rest of the men were as badly frightened as I was, I pity them; but, of course, they were not, for in about two min- uts all of the men were out and on duty, and in ten more the enemy were flying up the pass, with the One Hundred and Twenty-first after them. But to a sick man it was a trying ordeal.
About the first of November those of the cavalry able to leave the hospi- tals around Washington were sent to what was called "the dismounted camp." there to receive new equipments of all kinds necessary for service in the field. I being the ranking officer, they were placed in my charge to be taken to the front. The squad consisted of cavalrymen from nearly every regiment in the Potomac army. We were well equipped and officered as a company. Mosby's men were always hanging around in the rear of our army, and we were obliged to keep a sharp lookout for them. I was instructed to take the command to Culpeper Court House, where the cavalry was supposed to be, and turn them over to their respective regiments ; but when we arrived at Culpeper, we found that the cavalry had moved that morning to a point about fifteen miles farther
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on. The rain was falling in torrents, and my men had no tents or rations : one can imagine our situation. I housed them the best I could under the circum- stances, in old sheds; but the next thing was to feed them. This was not so easily done. I found the commissary of the brigade, the man that had relieved me at the Gap, when I was taken with the fever, and to him I applied for aid. I told him the situation. "But," says he, "you have no requisition on which to draw rations." I told him that I could arrange that. I had some of the army requisition blanks in my pocket, which I soon filled out for three days' rations for one hundred men, and took them to him: he smiled, looked wise, and filled the order, and the boys were made happy. The next day we found the com- mands to which the men belonged, and I was received with cheers by the boys of my own regiment. They said that they never expected to see me again.
I had been in camp about a week when our wagon train that had gone to the station for rations was attacked and captured by Mosby's men, but not without a fight, in which one of his men was captured. Colonel Steadman immediately called out the regiment to try and retake the wagons. He ordered the captured "Johnny" to be tied securely on a white horse, and after finding out from him the shortest route to Mosby's camp, told him that he would be shot if he did not pilot us there that night. Mosby was at White Plains, about fifteen miles in a direct line over the mountains from our camp. The night was as dark as the proverbial "stack of black cats," and as chilly as Alaska. The "Johnny" did as he agreed : he took us over the mountain by a mere bridle path, where we had to go single file. We got to the west side of the mountain just as the sun was casting its bright beams on the low hills to the west of White Plains. Here we had the extreme pleasure of seeing our wagon train, about three miles off, going over the hills, and out of sight forever. Mosby's men were drawn up in line at the foot of the mountain, ready to give us battle as soon as we came into the valley. Mosby never knew what it was to stand up and fight like regular soldiers, but could make the prettiest running fight of any officer in either army. In this way they kept us from following the wagons. They gave us a beautiful fight on that bright Sunday morning in November, and we returned to our camp very much chagrinned at our failure to bring back the wagons.
While in this camp, we were called out one day to see a deserter shot. The deserter belonged to a regiment in another brigade, but in our own divis- ion. Colonel Steadman wished to see just how many men in the regiment cared to see a man shot for the crime of desertion. The vote was taken and scarcely a man cared to see it; and our noble old colonel sent back word that his men declined to witness so barbarous an act.
A few days later the whole army was on the move, this time to Mine Run. This was one of the many moves that should not have been made, but, like many another, it was forced upon the commanding general by outside pressure, and was against the better judgment of General Meade and the generals in his command. The clamor of the Copperheads of the north and the shouters, that "the war is a failure and we can never whip them." brought
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on a battle that would not have been fought if that element had been muzzled. They were the prime cause of more than one-fourth of the total loss of the killed and wounded in both armies during the war.
On the 27th of November, the armies of Meade and Lee met again, this time under very discouraging circumstances to us, "Mine Run" being the scene of action. Here General Lee's army was well intrenched in a thick growth of timber, large and small. While our army was in the open, with a large ravine in our front, the enemy behind their breastworks seemed to have it all their own way. After a great deal of cannonading, and some charges on their works, with no results for good, it was decided to withdraw after the first day's fight. The weather becanie intensely cold, and the men, not being prepared for a winter campaign, suffered severely. After this, the army went into winter quarters around Warrenton and vicinity, and the winter of 1863-4 was spent in picketing the fords along the river, and gathering together the largest and best equipped army that this country has ever seen.
There is always the amusing, as well as the sad, side connected with the life of a soldier. An amusing thing happened to some of the boys in our regi- ment the morning of the battle of "Mine Run," but it wasn't one bit amusing to the "other fellow." Some of our regiment were out on the flanks of the army foraging more for amusement than anything else; for we had plenty of rations. We came to a large plantation with apparently everything that one could wish for in the way of eatables. The place had all the appearance of wealth and contentment. Evidently we were the first Yankee soldiers that had been that way for some time, as we were a long way off from the main
road. This planter proved to be a rebel sutler. He had a large barn, well filled, with doors opening on both sides, to enable wagons to drive through. In this barn we found, hanging up, ready for the rebel army, about thirty nicely dressed hogs, as fat as southern hogs ever get. In his wagon, just ready to leave for the front, we found plenty of hams and tobacco. Our boys cap- tured the whole "business." The sutler swore vengeance ; but that made no difference to us. In disposing of the hogs in the barn, one boy would ride under a hog hanging by the hind legs, and another would cut the ham-strings, and away went the hog, until all were gone. When we got back to the regi- ment the hogs were cut up, as we were on the march and each man had about ten pounds of fat pork strapped to his saddle. A greasier lot of men I never saw. The pork that we captured did us very little good, as we had no salt ; and after one trial of fresh pork without salt we threw it all away ; but I pre- sume that it was all gathered up by the colored people or the Confederate army the next day.
That afternoon we were supporting a battery, which was not a pleasant job, especially for cavalry. It was here that my old and tried friend. M. H. Barber, was wounded in the head by a spent minie ball. The wound was a severe one, although it did not prove fatal. The skull had to be trepanned. He finally recovered, and is now living at Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio.
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WINTER QUARTERS AT WARRENTON.
After an all summer's campaign, with but here and there a breathing spell, it was a pleasure to know that we were going into winter quarters, even if for only a month or so. The camp at Warrenton was an ideal one, sloping gently to the south, with plenty of room for picket lines for the horses, and quarters for the men without being at all crowded. Warrenton was a beautiful little village of about one thousand inhabitants, but had seen hardships untold during the war, and the people were on the verge of starvation when we went there. But our camping with them was a Godsend, for the men spent nearly all of their money with the towns-people.
The walls of our winter houses were built four feet high, from the ground to the eaves, of split logs. Then each of the men had a fly tent. These tents were made so that they could be buttoned together. Most of the houses had from four to six persons, and therefore each house had from four to six fly tents buttoned together to form a roof. Each of the houses had a stone or mud chimney, extending to the peak of the roof, and usually on top of the mud chimney they had a keg with both ends out. Many pranks were played on the boys by placing a covering over the top of the chimney, or throwing a handful of blank cartridges down the chimney, to give them a shaking up when all was quiet within, or when a game of seven-up or eucher was in progress.
The winter to the most of us passed away very pleasantly. Occasionally the cavalry made reconnaissances into the enemy's lines to see what they were doing, to amuse themselves during the winter months. New Year's day, 1864. was the coldest day we ever saw in the army. We were ordered to be ready for a reconnaissance at 9 o'clock. a. m .. December 31st. We were in line promptly at that time, waiting for marching orders, until 1 p. m., when we were ordered to march. It commenced to rain at If o'clock, and about 3 it began to freeze, and by 5 o'clock the roads were frozen solid. We were climbing the eastern slope of the Blue Ridge mountains, and it was so slippery that our horses could scarcely keep their feet. Of course we walked, and were very glad to do so, to keep from freezing. We finally reached the top of the mountain, where we built huge fires of pine logs and fence rails. Each company would build a fire, in a circle, large enough to inclose the com- pany within it, and every ten minutes or so a detail of men was made to bring fresh fuel for the fire. Thanks to the party owning that particular tract for furnishing enough rails to keep us from freezing, if not warm. That night and the next day have always been spoken of as "that cold New Year's of 1864" by all okl settlers, because it extended all over the United States. Many of the soldiers, north and south, froze to death.
The next morning we started on our march to Front Royal. It was cold and dreary, I can assure you ; and it was amusing to see the whole com- mand from general to private walking along beside their horses, occasionally stopping to swing their hands about their shoulders to keep their fingers from freezing. Just at dark, in the gloom of the most dreary day that one sees in a life-time, we entered the village of Front Royal and saw the camp-fires
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of the enemy on the opposite side of the Shenandoah river, which had frozen over,-something that the oldest inhabitant had probably never seen before.
I hardly think that our cavalry boys were in a fighting mood that night. for, after a brief consultation by the higher officers, it was decided to make an early start next morning .- not to molest the enemy, who seemed to be peacefully slumbering .- and go by the way of White Plains and back to War-
renton. On the 2d the weather was warmer, and the men began to feel like doing a little foraging for horse and man. The squad that I was in on this particular occasion ( "foraging expeditions," as we used to style them) was composed of some of the most daring spirits in the company. Billy Borts, Shell Stiggleman, Billy Moore, John and Bill Barrett and others that I do not now call to mind, were of the party. Seeing a large farm house off to the left of the road they made a swoop down upon it in a most ruthless man- ner. The family consisted of an old gentleman and his wife, and two daugh- ters, with their small children, who had evidently come to spend the holi- days. As our party rode up to the house, the family were evidently just getting ready to eat their New Year's dinner, or the remnant of one. The boys went into the house and took everything that they had on the table, dumping all into their haversacks, and, I blush to say it, they did not stop at the eatables, but some of the boys did what General Butler was accused of doing, took the spoons for souvenirs. But I wish to say that all this was done under protest from myself and others.
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