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 5
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On the 4th, when we were about three miles from Warrenton, riding along in a blinding snow-storm, we were fired upon by a band of Colonel Mosby's men, who were in ambush in the woods. But there was no one killed or wounded. Arriving safely at Camp Warrenton (after five days of very severe, and to one used to campaigning seemingly a needless, hardship to horse and man) we found the walls of our log houses still standing, and all that was needed to make a complete house again was to button our fly tents together.
Before we left on the expedition just narrated, the question of re-enlist- ment of the regiment was the all-absorbing topic. The proposition made by the government was this: Those of the three years' men whose time was nearly ont could re-enlist for three years more, or during the war, and receive a bounty of four hundred and two dollars and a furlough of thirty days. Nearly all of our regiment re-enlisted. The men were to go home, six com- panies at a time. Ours ( Company G) was one of the first to leave for home. What a glorious time we had visiting dear old friends! On this furlough I visited my brother George at Janesville, Wisconsin, for a few days, then returned to Ohio, to bid friends good-bye. I well remember the parting. Mother said: "Truman, it is probable that I will never see you again on earth, but we will meet in Heaven. But, my dear son do your duty at all times." Thus we parted, I going back to army life, and mother and sister to their watching. praying and waiting for our return.
By the time the Second Division of the regiment had returned from their furlough, we were ready for a forward movement, not to return to our old
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battle-ground north of the Rapidan and Rappahannock rivers, which had been fought over so many times in the past three years.
THE JEWISH SUTLER.
Before passing to the battles of the Wilderness and those to follow, I wish to give a few reminiscences of camp life, as we saw it at Camp Warren- ton. The boys of our regiment, like those of most others, had to do some- thing to amuse themselves, and we imagined that we had sufficient cause for getting back on the other fellows; but, perhaps, not to the extent that we carried the joke.
We had a sutler by the name of Isaac Alexander, a regular rustling Jew, and a sky-scraper in prices. But, nevertheless, the men would patronize him to the extent of their whole monthly pay ( which was little enough, the Lord knows) ! This they got in sutler's checks in advance. And the consequence was that the sutler got the money on pay-day, and the men only had the vivid recollection of how a half-yard or so of poor ginger-bread once tasted, or what was to them worse, pies that would make a mule sick. It was decided that he must leave for other parts ; so we planned a raid upon his old "shebang." which was located some distance from the camp. But before we could make the raid we had to make arrangements to throw him off the track, for we knew that he would have the camp thoroughly searched.
The boys gathered as many cracker and soap boxes as they needed, and planted them in the ground under their berths, or bunks, and a man could search all day without finding anything. The arrangements all made, we selected a dark night in February, and the boys that had been let into the scheme were notified to be on hand at II o'clock sharp. In this camp we had no particular time for lights out ; nothing was thought of the men being on the streets of the camp at all hours of the night, provided they were orderly. The sutler had a large Sibley tent, about twenty-five feet on the ground, and in this he had a small wall tent. where he slept and cooked. The large tent had about ten or fifteen upright poles around the circumference, and a tall one in the center. Four boys were to get into the tent and manipulate the center pole, and one boy to each of the other posts. One of the boys, who could mimic a donkey to perfection, was to stand off at a little distance from the tent and give the signal to start by imitating the braying of a donkey, when the tent moved off as if by magic. It was a success; the sutler was not dis- turbed in his nap, and the boys carried off all that could be stored away in their boxes, or enough, as they thought, to break up his business. But no, this did not stop him: for. after having a thorough search of the camp, he got another lot of goods, this time the colonel allowing him to have a guard; so we were worse off than before, as it made one more guard to mount.
A few days later we were ordered on a reconnaissance across the Rapi- dan river, and the sutler got permission of the colonel to accompany us. The boys were rejoiced at hearing this, for now they thought they had a chance to lose Mr. "Sutler." The river was running full banks, and we had to
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swim our horses, and pretty hard work it was, too. The sutler plunged in with the rest. Two of his lead horses, being heavily loaded with sutlers' supplies strapped on their backs, went down the river with their entire loads. He, in the strongest part of the current, was yelling at the top of his voice for help. By chance he caught hold of an overhanging branch of a tree and was saved from drowning, but his horse went down the river and came out on the opposite side, more dead than alive. This was the last we saw of the sutler, and we never had another in our camp as long as I was with the regiment.
THE STORY OF THE LOST BEER KEG, AND WHAT BECAME OF IT.
Our lieutenant colonel was the most high-toned gentleman that we had in the regiment. He had been recently promoted to the colonelcy, and in consequence was, as the boys used to, say of him, "in high feather and needs a set back." No one denied that he was a good soldier, and all that, but it was hard to tolerate his seeming exclusiveness from his fellow officers and men. He was extremely fond of lager beer and used to send to Washington for a keg once in two weeks; but never a drop did any of us taste while in his possession. Some of the Company A boys, with one or two of Company G, made up their minds that the next consignment of beer would never be delivered to the lieutenant colonel's tent. So they made arrangements with the teamster to put the keg of beer in the hind end of the wagon next time he had any to bring for the colonel. and they would attend to the rest when it came to camp. It came on a dark, stormy night, and we were in waiting for it. Just before reaching the camp ground, there was quite a hill, and one of the boys was to be ready to climb into the hind end of the wagon and dump the keg out on the ground; and, of course, it would roll down hill, where the boys were in waiting for it. Everything passed off as planned. In the tent of A. W. Stiles, orderly sergeant of Company A. had been dug a hole large enough to admit of an ordinary beer keg. The keg being in place, with dirt over it, and the bunk being put in place over the keg, the boys felt reasonably safe when the colonel should order a search for the beer, which he did the next day : but, of course, he did not find it.
After the excitement attending the capture of the beer had died down somewhat. the boys procured some rye straws, and the favored ones-and there were many-were allowed to lie in the bunk and partake of the beer through a straw to their hearts' content. When the wagon drove up to the colonel's tent, he came out to look after his keg of beer, and found it not. Of course the driver saw it put on board, but where, oh, where, was it now ? "Some miscreant has 'swiped' it, and I'll have the camp searched in the morn- ing." So the next morning the whole regiment was turned out, and the "riot act" was read to them. A guard of fifteen or twenty men, of whom some were the raiders, searched every tent in the regiment, to no purpose, as I have above stated.
About a week later the empty keg was placed at the entrance of the
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lieutenant colonel's tent, with an inscription something like this: "We are very sorry, Colonel, that there is no more beer in this keg. We sign our- selves, 'Many topers, but none like you.'" I think he never got any more beer by the barrel or keg.
DENTISTRY.
Dentistry in the army was one of the lost arts, as I found to my sorrow. After suffering with the toothache for several days and nights, I concluded that the next time I saw the doctor or his assistant I would have the tooth drawn. I did not have to wait many hours to be accommodated in the tooth-pulling line, for, as I was riding along with my company through a beautiful piece of woodland, I came across just what I had been looking for, -the assistant surgeon, Zenas A. Northway, and an assistant, Orange Ball,- both of whom I had implicit confidence in as to their strength, but not as to their ability as dentists. I made my wants known, and Zen'as said, "Cer- tainly, I can pull the tooth." Ball sat down on a steep bank and held my head between his knees, while Zenas, with a pair of old turnkeys, hooked into the tooth ( a large molar ), and commenced to twist without any apparent result ; and he finally said, "Ball, you try it awhile." So they changed places. Ball, being the stronger man, gave it a tremendous twist, which brought the tooth, but broke the jaw bone, which for many months gave me more trouble than the tooth had ever given me. The old turnkey, as an instrument in the art of dentistry, has been relegated with its inventor to the region of the Inferno. Nearly every man or woman who has arrived at the age of sixty has had his or her experience in tooth-pulling by that same old instrument of torture.
GUARD MOUNTING.
It is very easy to mount guard. That's what most old soldiers will say. Well, it is; but will you qualify that statement, by saying, "around camp?" But, on the outpost, it is sometimes a difficult "proposition."
The little incident that I wish to relate was a little out of the ordinary in guard-mounting. It was in February, while we were doing double duty on account of one-half of the regiment being home on furlough. The head- quarters of the outpost at this time were at the old stone barn about four miles north of Warrenton. We usually kept a detail of twenty-five or thirty men there all the time as outpost ; each detail was out five days. The line that we had to picket extended to the Blue Ridge mountain, about three miles to the west. The pickets, of course, are what are called "videttes," and are supposed to stand in the place where the sergeant posts them in his rounds of duty. I was the officer of the guard in charge of this post on a certain night. It was snowing so hard that we could not see more than one rod before us. But, of course, the pickets must be changed. I had been over the ground several times, and knew just where all the pickets should be. At 12 o'clock, midnight, it was still snowing as hard as ever as I was making the rounds with the second relief. We got along nicely until we got to an old
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house, where I had posted a little German (a raw recruit) under a cherry tree in front of the house. We called to him, but no reply. Thinking, per- haps, he had changed his position somewhat, we started out to find him. After floundering around outside of the picket line for a half hour or so, we retraced our steps, as best we could, to the old house, and there found the little Ger- man and his horse in the house, and he sound asleep, as comfortable as could be under the circumstances. After telling him that the crime of which he was guilty-that of sleeping on his post-was punishable by death, he begged of us not to kill him, which, of course, we promised; but sent him to head- quarters with the charge of sleeping on his post. Our good old Colonel Steadman gave him a severe reprimand that scared him nearly to death, and let him off at that.
Our outpost orders were to fire at any person coming from the outside. The reason for this order was, we had had men taken from their posts by the enemy rushing upon them, capturing them without notice. The usual instruc- tions given to guards are as follows: "Halt, advance, and give the counter- sign ;" which is done over the point of a gun. We had very little trouble with the regular Confederate soldiers on our picket lines; it was the Mosby guerrilla band, who would kill a man for his outfit, his horse and equipments.
THE WILDERNESS CAMPAIGN.
The transfer of General U. S. Grant from the western army to the Army of the Potomac, to take general command of all the armies in the field, was thie wisest thing the administration could possibly have done. The eastern army demanded a man that could cope with General R. E. Lee in stategetical movements, and found that man in the person of General Grant. How well he succeeded, every careful reader of American history knows. The con- centration of the federal army along the banks of the Rapidan was evidence to us that Grant intended to fight his antagonist on Joe Hooker's old battle- ground ; so we were spared the long tedious marches of other campaigns in reaching the battle-field. The morale of the army was excellent. Having been re-enforced by many thousand new recruits, and strengthened by the arrival of the Washington garrisons and the Ninth Coros under General Burn- side, there was a feeling of confidence that the army had never had before uncler any other leader, and this confidence was also shared in by the author- ities at Washington, for they did not try to dictate to him, as they had to other commanders prior to his coming.
I will now take up the movements of the cavalry corps from the time we broke camp at Warrenton until I was wounded. On the 29th of April we left Camp Warrenton for the front, wherever that was to be, with five (lays' rations. The cavalry corps, consisting of three divisions, was com- manded as follows: First Division, General A. T. A. Torbet: Second Division, General David McMurtrie Gregg: Third Division, General J. H. Wilson, with General Phil Sheridan as commander of the corps.
On the evening of May 2 we were on the banks of the Rapidan, at Ger-
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mania Ford, awaiting the arrival of the pontoon train, and to guard the same while it was being put in place across the river. Not an unnecessary sound was made, for fear of attracting the attention of the enemy, who were supposed to be in waiting for us on the opposite side of the river. While the bridge was being laid the boys in our command were taking account of stock, as it were; and I must here record the fact that I spent the greater portion of the night in reading the endearing letters that I had received from my best girls during our stay at Warrenton. It was a hard thing to do, but I burned them all up, for I knew that on the morrow we would cross the river Rapidan, and perhaps some would cross the river Styx; and we did not care to let the "Johnny Rebs" know what our best girls had been saying about them, provided we were killed or captured.
The pontoons down, we commenced to cross at 3 o'clock of the morning of the 3d, having no opposition, except from a few pickets, who were easily driven away. We expected to meet the enemy immediately on arriving on the south side of the river, where we entered the wilderness, but to our surprise we did not meet them until the morning of the 5th, and by that time the Fifth and Sixth Corps were on the south side. A division of cavalry led each of the infantry columns, and were to uncover the enemy's position. On the 5th, 6th and 7th our cavalry were engaged most of the time on their flanks. Our division was followed by the Sixth Corps, and a better corps never fought an enemy. It made no difference how hard a march we made that old Sixth Corps was camping near us at night, and we used to call them the "Foot Cav- alry," a term they seemed to enjoy.
At Todd's Tavern on the afternoon of the 7th we were in a peculiarly interesting fight with a brigade of infantry, mostly Georgia and Alabama men. We were on the enemy's right flank, and were expecting an attack. The enemy had got pretty well in on our left, when the Sixth Ohio was ordered to charge. As we advanced we found a large swamp between us and the enemy, which, of course, the horses could not go through. The men were dismounted and the horses left in charge of the fifth man, he being respon- sible for the four horses left with him.
The enemy were on the opposite side of the swamp behind the fence that ran along its edge, and were giving us the best they had in their locker. As we neared the edge of the swamp, some of the men said, "It can't be done." I, with several others, were equally confident that we could go through, if we could get a good leader. I think that it was Captain E. S. Austin, of Com- pany G, who said he would lead, and called to Company G, "Forward at will!" The command went all along the line, and in another minute the whole regiment was floundering waist deep in water, while the "Johnnies" on the other side were pegging away at us at a lively rate. We finally gained the opposite shore, where we were successful in dislodging them. Some of our men were wounded, but don't think any were killed. If I remember rightly, W. B. Brisbine, of Company D. lost his left arm at this place.
After all of our men reached the south side we charged on the main body of the enemy, who were drawn up in line in the woods, a few hundred
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yards distant. They stood their ground well for a quarter of an hour, but . the rapid-firing carbine was too much for their muzzle-loading rifles. They. broke and were driven pell-mell through the woods for a quarter of a mile. As we stopped I noticed a boy, not over fifteen years old, who had been shot through the body. He raised himself on one elbow and said, "Mr., will you please give me a drink of water? Oh, do give me a drink!" After I had given him the drink he said, "Thank you; I wish that I could see my mother and sisters. They live down in Georgia, and I am the only boy." With his head resting on my arm, he called for "mother-sister," and in a few moments his spirit had flown where the sound of war was not heard! I gently laid him down on mother earth, to be buried with his fallen comrades. 1 think that I never had anything affect me more than this incident in my whole army career. And many a silent tear I have shed, as I have recalled the scene.
We lay on our arms all that night with the dead and dying all around us, we caring for the wounded on both sides alike, as best we could. We were not attacked that night, and in the morning we were called in. It was very amusing on this charge to hear what our dear old Colonel Steadman said while trying to get around the big swamp. He had to ride to our left about a mile, to cross on a bridge ; and at this point was met by our adjutant general, who asked him where his regiment was. He was very much excited, swinging his saber, saying. "General, they are on, on; we are licking the devil out of them, but I can't get to them." This remark caused a great deal of amusement at headquarters, for they knew that he was a fighter, and it was hard for him to keep out of a conflict that his regiment was engaged in.
On the 8th the cavalry were all notified to draw five days' rations of everything necessary for a long raid. We knew well what this meant, for, whenever an order came to draw more than three days' supplies, it meant a raid in the rear of the enemy's lines; and this is what it proved to be this time. The story was circulated that General Meade had complained to Gen- eral Grant that Sheridan's cavalry corps was in his way in bringing up his infantry. Meade and Sheridan had some hot words over it. This resulted in Grant's giving Sheridan permission to make a raid or reconnaissance in force in the rear of Lee's army. He said to Grant : "I can send consternation to the heart of the Confederacy;" and Grant gave him permission. This is inside history that I have never seen in print ; but I think it is true, as I had it from a cavalry officer of high rank.
On the morning of the oth we were on the move before daylight, pass- ing over the old Chancellorsville battle-ground, and came in the rear of Lee's army on his right flank. We were marching on two different roads, the Sixth Ohio being the rear regiment in General Davies' brigade ( First Brigade of the Second Division). In the afternoon, about 4 o'clock, as our regiment was passing through a deep cut in the road, we were surprised by a body of dismounted cavalry, who had posted themselves on both sides of the roadway, so as to give us an enfilading fire as we were in the cut of the road and unable to help ourselves. Of course the attack, coming as it did, caused somewhat of
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a panic, and the front of the column was doubled back on the rear. All this time the enemy were firing at us, and, I must say, we were very much demoralized. We re-formed as quickly as possible, and, when out of the cut, charged the enemy with the saber.
There was a two or three gun battery in our immediate front that was doing good execution. General Davies, who was with our regiment at this time. said, "Boys, we must take that battery at all hazards." We made a charge and captured two guns, but could not hold them, for W. H. F. Lee's brigade came down upon us, like a hawk on a June-bug, and re-captured them. We tried to retake it, but were not strong enough. It was in this last charge that Captain James S. Abel, of Bloomfield, was killed, and quite a number wounded. The skirmishing was kept up until after 10 o'clock at night, both forces halting on the banks of the Taw river. Lying down in front of our horses, with an arm through the bridle rein, we were asleep almost as soon as we touched the ground. Just at daylight on the morning of the Ioth the same battery that had been giving us so much trouble the previous afternoon opened fire on us at short range, from the edge of a piece of timber. The first shell exploded in our ranks, killing two horses, and one man was wounded. It was not more than two minutes from the time the first gun was fired until we were in our saddles and charging them. We captured both guns and gunners.
We then crossed the Taw river at Beaver Dam station, on the Richmond & Potomac Railroad. Here we destroyed miles of track, locomotives, cars and a large amount of army supplies, about three million rations for Lee's army, and released three hundred and seventy-five of our men taken from HIS at the Wilderness, who were being taken to Richmond. We also captured three hundred of the enemy.
Gordon's brigade of Stuart's cavalry clung to Gregg and Wilson's divisions, while they were crossing the North Anna river. Davies' brigade was sent to Ashland Station on the Richmond & Potomac Railroad, there destroying the depot and the large woolen mills where blankets were made for the Confederate army; besides, we destroyed cars and track, leaving nothing that would be of use to the enemy. We then rejoined the main body at Allen's Station. Near Ashland we found that we had overlooked. from the destruction, about one thousand cords of wood, piled along the rail- road track, which we discovered after the order to join the main body, and about twenty-five of us boys decided to stop and burn it. We had it nicely fired when a body of the enemy came swooping down on us ; but we had acom- plished our purpose and retired in good order, after some pretty sharp skir- mishing.
On the morning of the IIth it was ascertained that Stuart's forces were concentrating at a place called Yellow Tavern, six miles from Richmond. Sheridan's whole force moved on that point in the following order: . Merrit. Wilson and Gregg. Stuart's line was formed at the intersection of the Brock pike, but Sheridan got a telling position on his left flank and enfiladed his line with artillery. Then Custer charged, capturing two of the enemy's guns
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with their gunners, and broke their line. Stuart's detached force, under Gor- don, now attacked Wilson in the rear, but Gregg's came in on their flank, drove them toward Ashland and across the north fork of the Chickahominy. Fitzhugh Lee's division fell back toward Richmond. This ended the battle for that day. The casualities on both sides were very severe, especially on the Confederate side, General J. E. B. Stuart being mortally wounded, and Brigadier General James B. Gordon killed. This was as hard a blow to the Confederacy as the loss of "Stonewall" Jackson. The Confederate cavalry never regained the prestige that it had during Stuart's command of it.
Sheridan followed up that part of Stuart's force that fell back toward Richmond, and entered the most advanced line of intrenchments and turned their guns on the enemy, who seemed to be determined to keep us out of Richmond.
On the morning of the 12th, about the break of day, as we were entering the fortifications on the north side of Richmond, joking with one and another, I rode up to Major Northway and asked him what hotel he proposed to stop at while in Richmond. He seemed to be very serious, and said, "Well, Tru- man, we may all stop at Hotel de Libby before night." and about that time we heard torpedoes exploding, which had been planted in the road with a string running off in the woods on the side of the road; and as our men passed over them the string was pulled and the torpedo exploded. The general ordered the prisoners that we had to dig them up, and we had no more trouble.
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