History of California, Volume XXII, Part 53

Author: Bancroft, Hubert Howe
Publication date: 1885-1890
Publisher: San Francisco, Calif. : The History Company, publishers
Number of Pages: 816

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that we have made the war :' And after an analysis of the Stevenson letter, he continues: 'It is no longer pretended that our purpose is to repel invasion -to strike and defeat the military organizations which Mexico may set on foot to contend for the boundaries of Texas. The mask is off; the veil is lifted; and we see in the clearest characters invasion, conquest, and coloni- zation emblazoned on our banners. We are no longer engaged in a defen- sive war; but we behold an expedition about to sail from New York to a dis- tant region of the globe, which it cannot possibly reach in less time than from four to six months, commanded by a mere political fortune-hunter of not the highest character, and destined to accomplish the conquest and dis- memberment of a sister republic, whose weakness seems to make her a ready prey to men whose pursuits are those of plunder.'

" According to the official reports, there were 767 men at this time, and Lancey makes the number 800 a little later. It had been the idea to raise 1,000 men. Clark's recapitulation of the muster-rolls shows a total of 844, not perhaps including recruits who enlisted after the regiment sailed for Cal. The official report, House Ex. Doc., 24, 31st cong. Ist sess., p. 22ª, makes the total number, including 188 recruits, 955 officers and men. If the whole regi- ment was mustered Aug. Ist, there must be errors in Clark's dates of arrival of companies from the interior; but Murray also says the country companies arrived later.

MUSTER ROLL OF THE REGIMENT.

had been previously made for the organization of six other regiments from New York; but as the latter were never raised, or rather were consolidated into one, mustered into the service later, Stevenson's regiment became the 1st N. Y. Volunteers, and the name was formally changed by orders from the war department. But the other regiment had also been inustered in as the first, its colonel declined to comply with the order requiring a change, and Burnett's regiment is still known as the first in New York.5 I append a list of regimental and company officers as taken from the muster-rolls by Francis D. Clark, and published in his latest monograph on the subject.6

5 Clark's First Regt, 76, 91.

6 The First Regiment of New York Volunteers commanded by Col. Jonathan D. Stevenson, in the Mexican War. Names of the members of the regiment during its term of service in upper and lower California, 1847-8, with a record of all known survivors on the 15th day of April, 1882, and those known to have deceased, with other matters of interest pertaining to the organization and ser- rice of the regiment. Compiled by their comrade, Francis D. Clark. New York, 1882, 8vo, 94 p., with an appendix of 16 p., bringing the record down to Aug. 1, 1883. Portraits of author and of Col. Stevenson. The author, a member of Co. D, and later resident of N. Y. City, hegan in 1870 to collect information respecting his surviving and dead comrades; and besides taking a prominent part in all anniversary reunions, serving as secretary, replying to toasts, and writing newspaper items on his chosen subject, published a Roll of Survivors, New York, 1871, single sheet, and again a Roll of Survi- rors, N. Y. 1874, Svo, 20 p. He was secretary of the associated pioneers of the territorial days of Cal., and mainly the author of the pamphlet report of that organization. Cal. Assoc. Pion., N. Y. 1875, Svo, 58 p .; also contribut- ing a narrative of his regiment's experience to the Cal. Territorial Pioneers, First Annual. He deserves much credit for his intelligent efforts, and his book calls for no unfavorable criticism so far as the author is concerned. As a monograph, however, the book might well have been made much larger by the addition of interesting personal and local reminiscences; and it does not speak well for the survivors of the regiment, many of whom are rich, that they did not give more encouraging support to the enterprise. Perhaps they reserved their best efforts for the time when the colonel's long-promised nar- rative shall appear.

Official list of Ist N. Y. Volunteers: Colonel Jonathan D. Stevenson, Lieut- col. Henry S. Burton, Major James A. Hardie, Surgeon Alex. Perry; Ass't surgeons, Robert Murray and Wm C. Parker; commissary, Capt. Wm G. Marcy; adjutant, Lieut J. C. Bonnycastle; ass't quartermaster, Capt. Joseph L. Folsom; sergeant-major, Alex. C. McDonald; quartermaster-sergeants, suc- cessively, Stephen Harris, Geo. G. Belt, and James C. Low; drum-major, Geo. Batchelor; chief musicians, Joseph Vevis and Frederic Grambis; sutler, Sam. W. Haight; clerk, James C. L. Wadsworth.

Co. A. Capt. Seymour G. Steele; lieutenants, Geo. F. Penrose, Charles B. Young, and Geo. F. Lemon; sergeants, S. O. Houghton, Walter Chipman, and Edward Irwin.

Co. B. Capt. James M. Turner (did not go to Cal.); lieutenants. Thomas

504

NEW YORK VOLUNTEERS.

For names of all members of the regiment, officers and privates, with biographical notices of many, I re- fer the reader to the Pioneer Register at the end of this and the preceding volumes. Five or six of the officers were of the regular army and graduates of West Point. The regiment was almost exclusively made up of young unmarried men, many of whom were minors. The leading motive for enlistment was the immigrant's hope to better his condition in a new country ; many were attracted solely by a love of ad- venture, and but for the ice would as readily have gone to the north pole; while others had records, as- sociations, and debts, from which they were willing to run away. Captain Steele's company, if we may credit the Herald of the time, was composed of tem- perance men. Mechanies were most numerous, includ- ing thirteen printers; and there were also clerks and farmers. Many were men of good education, family, and prospects. Says Walter Murray: "There were

E. Ketchum, Henry C. Matsell, and E. Gould Buffum; sergeants, Charles Richardson, James G. Denniston, and *John Wilt.

Co. C. Capt. John E. Brackett; lientenants, Theron R. Per Lee, Thomas J. Roach, C'has C. Anderson, Wm R. Tremmels (not in Cal.), and *Geo. D. Brewerton; sergeants, Edmund P. Crosby, Wm Johnson, and *Geo. Robinson.

Co. D-many of its members from Philadelphia. Capt. Henry M. Nag- lee; lieutenants, Geo. A. Pendleton, Hiram W. Theall, and Joseph C. More- head; sergeants, Henry J. Wilson, Aaron Lyons, and Wm Roach.

Co. E. Capt. Nelson Taylor; lieutenants, Edward Williams, Wm E. "'utrell, and Thomas L. Vermenle; sergeants, John M. O'Neill, Henry S. Mor- ton, and Abraham van Riper.

Co. F. Capt. Franeis J. Lippitt; lieutenants, Henry S. Carnes, Wm. H. WVeirick, John M. Huddart, and *Jeremiah Sherwood; sergeants, James Mulvey, James Queen, John C. Pulis, and *Thomas Hipwood; chaplain, T. M. Leavenworth.

Co. G. Capt. Matthew R. Stevenson (son of the colonel); lieutenants, Jolin McH. Hollingsworth, Jeremiah Sherwood, *Wm W. Weirick, and *Wm H. Smith; sergeants, John Connell, Geo. Jackson, Geo. Robinson, Walter Taylor, and Wm B. Travers.

Co. H-raised at Albany, N. Y. Capt. John B. Frisbie; lieutenants, Edward Gilbert and John S. Day; sergeants. Eleazar Frisbie, Wm Grow, Henry A. Schoolcraft, and James Winne.

Co. I-raised at Bath, N. Y. Capt. Wm E. Shannon; lieutenants, Pal- iner B. Hewlett, Henry Magee, Win H. Smith, and *John McH. Hollings- worth; sergeants, Joshua S. Vincent, Joseph Evans, and Joseph B. Logan.

Co. K-raised at Norwich, N. Y. Capt. Kimball H. Dimmick; lieuten- ants, John S. Norris, Geo. C. Hubbard, Roderick M. Morrison, *Theron R. Per Lee, and *Geo. D. Brewerton; sergeant, Jackson Sellers.

The names marked with a * are those of officers transferred to other com- panies. on the rolls of which they also appear.

505

CHARACTER OF THE MEN.

men of pretty much every class except the most opu- lent ; a large proportion of steady mechanics of all trades, with a smart sprinkling of the b'hoys of New York City, and not a few intemperates and ne'er-do-wells.". This rough element was strong enough to give the regiment a bad name in some respects, as we shall see. Some of the volunteers achieved later notoriety as criminals, ending their career in prison or on the gal- lows; while others could never so far forget their early training as to devote themselves to any other industry than the vicious one of machine politics in its different branches. Yet there can be no doubt that the standard of character and ability was much higher than in most volunteer regiments of this or any other period. An extraordinary number, both of officers and men, reached in their western home and elsewhere enviable positions in military and po- litical life : as lawyers, judges, and merchants; as men of wealth and local influence. And a majority of the rest may point with pride to their humbler record as respectable law-abiding citizens. Without indorsing current declarations to the effect that "patriotism was the ruling motive of these brave men," we may sup- pose that under circumstances demanding such quali- ties they would have been as brave and patriotic as other men.

With military drill and discipline at the island camp, where the regiment remained nearly two months,

1 Narrative of a California Volunteer, by IIon. Walter Murray, MS., 212 p. The author was a private of Co. A, detailed as cook during the encamp- ment at Governor's Island, and in later years a prominent citizen of Califor- nia. His narrative is by far the most complete extant on the enlistment, en- campment in N. Y., voyage of the Loo Choo, and experience of his own and the other companies that served at Sta Bárbara and in Lower California. Un- fortunately-though this does not much impair its value so far as regimeutal annals are concerned-the MS. terminates abruptly before the return of the writer to Alta California. John B. Frisbie's Reminiscences, MS., written in Mexico, 1884, contains some details about the history of the regiment.

Another original MS. in my possession is Capt. Albert G. Brackett's Sketch of 1st Regiment New York Volunteers. It is a carefully prepared ac- count en résumé of the organization and achievements of the regiment, none the less creditable to the author from the fact that it is less complete thau Clark's work published several years after this MS. was furnished for my use. The author is, I think, a son of Capt. Brackett of Co. C.

506

NEW YORK VOLUNTEERS.

reality began to take the place of romance in the minds of many volunteers. Many ran away, and inore escaped the service, more or less reluctantly, by the aid of their parents, armed with writs of habeas corpus, designated at the time as writs of 'non-Califor- nium' by newspaper writers and others who were wont to refer flippantly to the 'baby regiment.' There were the usual ludicrous happenings in connection with the work of transforming raw recruits into sol- diers; as when a sentinel, after repeated instructions that no one must be allowed to pass without the countersign, hailed the next comer with the conven- tional " Who goes there?" "A friend," was the reply. "Then say 'Newport,' or I'll shoot;" or when an- other guard started to chase a man who had eluded his vigilance, all the volunteers in sight following the two at full speed in their eagerness to bet on the re- sult of the race. Murray also notes the disastrous effects of the coffee and other rations concocted by himself and other cooks of like inexperience. Be- cause of political opposition to the project of sending out this body of warrior-colonists, and for lack of the excitement and solemnity sometimes arising on such occasions from prospective danger and bloodshed, Stevenson's regiment had to endure somewhat more than its due share of ridicule; but this did no harm, and the places of those that left the ranks were filled without much difficulty.8

Among those remaining as well as those who re- tired there were causes of dissatisfaction more or less serious. Recruiting officers had talked of land grants in California, and the men, when their first enthu- siasm had cooled, realized that the government, to say nothing of lands, had not even bound itself to carry them to California at all. Then they were

8 Besides the narratives already cited, the best authorities on the experience at Governor's Island are articles in various newspapers of the time, many of which I find reproduced or quoted in Niles' Register, vol. Ixx .- i., passim. The N. Y. Herald of Aug. 10 and Sept. 6, 1846, gave to its readers pictures of the encampment.

507

TROUBLES IN CAMP.

legally entitled, under the laws of New York, to choose their own company officers; but in few cases, if any, were they really permitted to do so. Again, the prices charged for articles of clothing were deemed excessive, so much so that several companies refused to receive these articles on their pay account, being confined in consequence for insubordination. Some- what serious disturbances were reported in the news- papers, and on one occasion at least the regular troops were called out to quell disorders.9

Late in August three stanch ships were chartered for $65,000-a reasonable rate, as even the news- papers admitted, though they did not fail to note a willingness on the part of certain friends of the ad- ministration to furnish inferior vessels at double the price-to carry the regiment round the Horn to the Pacific coast; and on board was placed a large and well chosen assortment of arms, munitions, and im- plements for war or peace. Instructions from the war department to Colonel Stevenson were dated September 11th. The regiment was to be a part of the force under General Kearny; but as the latter might not arrive so soon as the volunteers, the colonel might for a time find himself in chief command of the

9 ' On the 18th the regiment was marched to the guard-house to receive their bounty money previous to embarking. The men of Co. C-the first com- pany marched up-refusing to pay the prices charged for their clothing, viz .: $5 for jackets, $3 for pants, and $1.50 for caps. They were willing to pay a fair price, but were confined for insubordination. Co. A then came up, and refused. They were marched back to their quarters and confined to their tents. Col Bankhead, finding the refusal general, told them they would be compelled to embark without their pay-which they preferred to taking the clothing at the prices charged.' Niles' Reg., Ixxi. 57. 'The uniform of the regiment, which will soon be completed, designed by Major Hardie, is very neat and serviceable; pantaloons of dark mixed gray with scarlet strip or cord up the seam of the leg, blue coats with scarlet trimmings, a new style of Freuch cap, very becoming; the first dress parade will take place next Sunday.' N. Y. Herald, Aug. 3, 1846. See also extracts from the Union, U. S. Gazette, and Tribune, in Niles' Reg., Ixxi. 386, 402. 'It is likely that some of the young men who expected to enjoy the " largest liberty " under the rule of such a colonel, and the most lawless license in the El Dorado they seek, will find themselves under restraints which they neither antici- pated nor desired.' N. Y. Com. Advocate, in Id., 20. 'We hear that a sort of court-martial was held on Governor's Island yesterday, and the ringleader in the recent kick-up there among Col Stevenson's volunteers was convicted of mutiny and ordered to be shot !' Tribune, in Id., Ixx. 402.

508

NEW YORK VOLUNTEERS.

land forces. "It is not expected that you will be able to advance far into the country; nor is it advis- able for you to undertake any hazardous enterprises. Until you shall fall under the command of General Kearny, your force will be mostly if not wholly em- ployed in seizing and holding important possessions on the sea-coast;" but "where a place is taken by the joint action of the naval and land force, the naval officer in command, if superior in rank to yourself, will be entitled to make arrangements for the civil government of it while it is held by the cooperation of both branches;" so that Stevenson's chance to be for a brief time military governor of California was very slight. Instructions to Kearny and the naval commanders were enclosed to him, as were his to the others; but as the military occupation was completed and Kearny was on the ground long before the volun- teers arrived, the policy as well as the facts of mili- tary occupation being moreover well known to the reader, there is no need of entering more fully into the details of this document.10

But while ships were ready and instructions signed there were yet vexatious delays of departure resulting from complications between the colonel and his enemies. It is not easy or very important to determine the merits or even the exact nature of the complications referred to, which are but vaguely recorded in papers of the time. The colonel's own version, as presented by Lancey, is in substance as follows: Thomas J. Suth- erland, a military adventurer, being refused a position on the staff, used insolent and threatening language, and was ordered out of the tent and off the camp- ground. In his anger he devoted himself to plots of vengeance, and some fifteen days before the time set for sailing Stevenson received a warning through the war department of prospective attempts to prevent his departure, and to make a certain captain, Shannon or Naglee, I suppose, colonel in his place. Presently,

10 Sept. 11, 1848, Sec. Marcy to Stevenson, Cuft?' Conquest, 249-50.

509

STEVENSON'S TROUBLES.

through a friend in the sheriff's office, there came more information, to the effect that seventy or eighty men who had joined the regiment, but had been unable at the last to pass the medical examination, had been in- (luced to bring suit for false imprisonment, claiming damages to the amount of $80,000. Writs of attach- ment were made out and were to be served on the day of sailing; but thanks to the warning, Stevenson was able to baffle the efforts of his foes and to escape the sheriff's posse.11 There is no good reason to question the general accuracy of this testimony, though there is room for suspicion that it does not include quite the whole truth, that the suits for false imprisonment were not the only ones pending, and that all opposition to the gallant colonel did not proceed from the plots of the disappointed Sutherland. The evidence extant is for the most part vague, and it may involve nothing more discreditable to Stevenson's reputation than the fact that the class of metropolitan politicians which he represented was not-in 1846-regarded as merit- ing unqualified praise. I append some extracts which will illustrate the spirit of the time, showing what

11 Lancey, in Clark's First Reg., 55, etc. Embarking the troops in great haste, Col S. gave orders that no one should be permitted to board or leave the vessel without his written permission; and men were stationed at different points with 32-pound shot to sink any boat that might persist in making fast. Several attempts were made by officers of the law to reach the colonel by send- ing false messages or false names, and by other devices; and once the heavy shot was dropped alarmingly near a boat belonging to the foe. At midnight the colo nel with an escort armed to the teeth found his way with muffled oars to hold a parting interview with his three motherless daughters in Brooklyn. For two days after the forces embarked a strict guard was kept up. The guns were manned, loaded with grape and canister, and kept ready for instant service. S. explained to a few trusty friends ' that he intended to resist ar- rest at all hazards, even if the sheriff's boat had to be blown out of the water'! The pilot of an approaching steamer was given five seconds to back off, or be a dead man, and he chose to save his life. And finally, as the flag-ship was towed out to sea, another steamer bearing the sheriff's posse left the wharf in pursuit, but was distanced in the race. About five miles out the colonel made a parting visit to the other two ships; and on the Susan Drew. 'did not notice the extended hand' of the captain who had plotted against him and who was to have been make colonel. 'When, however, this gentle- man placed his hand in his, Col S. looked him steadily in the eye. The of- ficer at that glance flushed guiltily, and knew then that the colonel was aware of his perfidy toward him. Slowly the checkmated villain withdrew his hand and slunk away '!

510

NEW YORK VOLUNTEERS.

was thought and said of the volunteers and their com- mander. 12

The departure from New York was on the 26th of

12 In his speech of July 27th in congress, Ashmun says of the Stevenson letter: 'It is addressed-not to an officer of the army whose habits and educa- tion fit him for mere military service of the ordinary kind-uot to a man who has beeu distinguished by any public service in the field-but a mere political adventurer, who is only known to the world as a partisan from the neighbor- hood of the Five Points, and the region where the Empire Club holds sway, and where the doctrine that "to the victors belong the spoils " is acknowl- edged and practised.' Cong. Globe, 1845-6, app. 809. There was some jeal- ousy on the part of other volunteer organizations for favors shown to this regi- ment, especially as a son of Sec. Marcy was to go as paymaster. Mechanics' Journal, in Niles' Reg., Ixx. 344. 'For ourselves, we have never believed that this expedition would sail under the command of J. D. Stevenson; and warrant for such an opinion may be found in the well known Glentworth affair. A man who has ever found it necessary to be an alias should never be intrusted with a military command, or made the associate and companion of gentlemen. How Gov. Marcy can justify it to his conscience and to the country for having recommended Stevenson for this highly important com- mand we cannot conjecture.' N. Y. Courier and Enquirer, in Id., 416. The same paper prints some of Sutherland's charges, in substance as follows: Ist, forcing the men to purchase unsuitable clothing at excessive prices, his son- in-law being the pretended contractor. 2d, falsely reporting company rolls as complete, in order to obtain commissions for incompetent favorites. 3d, using his influence to exclude men of capacity and experience (that is, Suth- erland himself !), and accepting only men who would become his 'suppliant underlings.' 4th, declaring his intention to run away from his government convoy, and not to obey the president's orders in Cal .! And 5th, duplicity practised on president, governor, and others, 'unbecoming an officer and a soldier.' In the S. F. Californian, Oct. 6, 1847, is an extract from the N. Y. Express on statements in the legislature on the clothing swindles. 'The diffi- culties are not yet ended. The colonel has chartered four vessels, but as things look now, one will be amply sufficient, unless he sails very soon. The circuit court is crowded this morning with the parties and witnesses to a case of habeas corpus, which is to test the legality and validity of Col Stevenson's commission. Gen. Sutherland continues to be the active instrument of oppo- sition, and will perhaps succeed in breaking up the enterprise. If he does not, it will fall to pieces of itself, most likely. In either case, a partisan of the govt has been liberally rewarded, and it is "all right."' North American, in Niles' Reg., Ixxi. 39. 'Col Jonathan D. Stevenson-a motion was yesterday made for the appointment of a receiver of the property and effects of this gentle- man, upon a creditor's bill filed against him, in which N. Dane Ellingwood was complainant, The motion was granted. Will not this stop his supplies from the government? He is also under bail, which was put in upon his ar- rest under a writ of ne exeat to stay within the jurisdiction of the court.' N. Y. Tribune, in Id., 57. 'The Cal. expedition is off at last, shorn somewhat of its numeric force, as it has long been almost wholly of its moral. Its de- parture has been signalized by a prolongation of that unhappy compound, made up almost equally of misfortune and misconduct, which has attended it from the beginning; and it requires no very abiding or superstitious faith in omeus to believe that the issue will be useless and inglorious in strict con- formity with the inception and progress.' 'We put on record at this time our unhesitating confidence that as a specimen of utter hopeless failure this Cal. expedition will stand without a superior, perhaps without an equal, in the annals of any nation' ! Com. Advertiser, Sept. 28, 1846, in Id., 68. More of the Ellingwood suit in Nov. Gazette and Times, in Id., 146.

511

VOYAGE TO CALIFORNIA.

September. Each of the three transports carried three complete companies and part of another, Company E being the one that was divided. The Thomas H. Perkins, 697 tons, under Captain James P. Arther, well known in California, bearing the commander's peuant, carried companies B, F, and G, with Colonel Stevenson, Surgeon Perry, and Quartermaster Folsom. The Loo Choo, 639 tons, James B. Hatch master, and also familiar with the western coast, carried companies A, C, and K, under the command of Major Hardie, having also on board Assistant-surgeon Parker and Chaplain Leavenworth. The Susan Drew, 701 tons, Putman master, carried companies D, I, and H, under the command of Lieutenant-colonel Burton, with Com- misary Marcy and Assistant-surgeon Murray. All the fleet was under the convoy of the U. S. sloop-of-war Preble. So sudden was the departure, for reasons that have been given, that over forty men and offi- cers, including Captain Taylor and lieutenants Ver- meule and Penrose, were left behind. These men were despatched on November 13th on the Brutus, Adams master, under Captain Taylor. Subsequently two hundred recruits were raised by the efforts of Captain Turner, who had returned from Rio Janeiro. Half of this force sailed on the Isabella, Briggs master, from Philadelphia, under Lieutenant Thomas J. Roach; and the other half on the Sweden, Knott master, from New York, under Lieutenant Thomas E. Ketchum- all in August 1847.

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History of California, Volume XXII, Part 53

Author: Bancroft, Hubert Howe Publication date: 1885-1890 Publisher: San Francisco, Calif. : The History Company, publishers Number of Pages: 816

Author: Bancroft, Hubert Howe
Publication date: 1885-1890
Publisher: San Francisco, Calif. : The History Company, publishers
Number of Pages: 816