USA > Illinois > Yates phalanx : the history of the Thirty-Ninth Regiment Illinois Volunteer Veteran Infantry in the war of the rebellion, 1861-1865 > Part 25
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On the boat, and well assured that we were on the way home to stay, everybody was jolly and happy, and the jollity was long-drawn-out, lasting until we reached Baltimore early the next morning. After breakfasting, the Regiment took its place on the train awaiting it on the Pennsylvania Central Railroad and was soon speeding to Chicago. The journey was safe, comfort able and afforded enjoyment to all. We felt that at last "school is out!"
At Chicago a bountiful repast was spread at Bryan Hall by the noble-hearted ladies of the "Soldiers Aid Commission." The ensuing morning, after breakfast at the same place, we took the cars for Springfield. Our march to the cars was accompanied by cheers and shouts, the waving of hats and handkerchiefs by the loyal people of Chicago.
We reached Springfield the morning of December 9 without the occurrence of anything worthy of mention, and proceeded to Camp Butler, where we encamped. Here the time was fully occupied in turning over all government property in our possession and in making out the final discharge papers and payroll of men and officers, and on December 16 receiving the pay due from "Uncle Sam" and assembling once more together as an organization before Adjutant-General Haynie to surrender our war-worn, battle-torn and well-loved flags that the Regiment had carried through four years and two months of active service.
We met together for the last time, soon to be separate in widely diverging paths. The following exercises took place in the chapel.
The Regiment, under command of Brevet Brigadier-General O. L. Mann, was massed in the chapel of the camp, where the ceremony of surrendering the flags of the Regiment to the State authorities transpired. The flags were three in number, and were severally presented. Number One was a "prize flag," awarded by the State Agricultural Society, as a premium for superior drill and discipline, and was called "The Agricultural Flag." The brazen eagle, ball and socket, attaching to this flag, were presented by Major-General John Gibbons, commanding the Twenty-Fourth Corps, for gallant conduct in the assault on Fort Gregg, Petersburg, Virginia, April 2, 1865. Number Two had been presented by Governor Yates, and contained a life-size picture of His Excellency. This flag,
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General Mann said, had been consigned to the care of a Sergeant of the same name, who had been shot down in one of the engagements, while unfurling it to the breeze, and when his lifeless body was about to be removed for burial, it was discovered that his right hand still grasped a shred of the flag, and that its folds were saturated with his life blood. The name of Sergeant Yates should therefore be associated with that old flag, and his memory should be dear and sacred to every patriotic heart in the State. Number Three, in its tattered, riddled and ragged condition, bore unmistakable traces of original beauty, and was the give of a young lady named Miss Arion, and had been tenderly and sacredly regarded for her sake. The flags were all literally in ribbons, and bore incontrovertible evidence of the fiery ordeal through which they had passed. General Mann observed that these old flags were very dear in the sight of the men of the Thirty-Ninth Regiment, and he hoped that if the State possessed no secure and proper receptacle for them and others of like history, that she would lose no time in providing one.
General Haynie, in taking charge of the precious relics, observed that he had no language in which to express the emotions of his soul on that occasion. He regretted that the State possessed no fireproof building in which to deposit them, and keep them secure against casualties, and earnestly hoped that the matter would engage the early attention of our Legislature. He said that these old, tattered and riddled banners constituted the jewels of the State, and, if lost or destroyed, could never be replaced. Diamonds or precious metals, if lost, could be made good again, but these were priceless and invaluable, and no pains on his part would be spared to protect them against any possible contingency. They were made sacred by the blood, which, they had been told, was shed upon them.
Turning from the flags to the men, on behalf of the State and its Executive, Governor Oglesby, who was absent therefrom, General Haynie bid them a most hearty welcome back to its generous soil, and gratefully thanked them for the noble and heroic services they had rendered to the Nation. In conclusion, he hoped that on their return home to the quiet pursuits of civil life, they would not abandon the principles they had fought for in the field; that they would be true to their own record, and true to the Union and its friends. There were, unfortunately, still rebels at home, who had kept up a fire in the rear while they were in the field, and there was no reason why they should change front at home and vote in favor of the party and principles against which they had fought and bled in the field. This part of the General's speech was received with rounds of applause, amid which he retired from the platform, the band striking up a stirring air.
At the conclusion of General Haynie's speech, General Mann again ascended the platform, and for the last time demanded the "attention" of his command, on this occasion to deliver to them his last "order" and take his final leave as their commander.
"Soldiers: The period toward which your attention has been directed for a long time is at hand. Having served your country faithfully for nearly five years, you are today honorably discharged from the army of the United States. You will soon leave off your veteran garb of valiant blue, and, putting on another suit, become honorable citizens of an honorable State-a State that has sent over 260,000 troops to the field, and given to the country a President who has fallen a martyr to that cause which, like the voice of God, called you from your homes to engage in the stern realities of fierce and bloody warfare. In parting with you, it is not
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"School is out!"
necessary for me to remind you of the different departments in which you have served with distinction. The graves of your fallen but gallant comrades, in Missouri, in Maryland, in the Carolinas and in the Virginias, will keep them fresh in your memories. Nor need your commanding officer enumerate the many stormy moonless nights you have passed on picket, guarding your sleeping comrades from the midnight assaults of those who sought alike your lives and the life of your country-these will never be forgotten. The sanguinary fields which you have gallantly fought, and the frowning, formidable forts you have heroically stormed, you will always remember. Some of you will remember them by the wounds which are still fresh in your bodies, and by the limbs you have left to bleach on Southern soil, while on all your memories they are as deeply engraved as they are on your victorious old battle-flags, which you today turned over to the authorities of your State, unsullied by even an imaginary shade of dishonor.
"The fortunes of war have been such as to prevent your commander from participating with you in the final campaign that crowned our common country with Victory and Peace. Yet from his post of duty elsewhere he watched your interests with a jealous eye, and heard of your deeds of valor with feelings of pride and regret. To your gallantry and efficiency in the field is he largely indebted for his present rank and position, and he therefore most cheerfully embraces this last opportunity to thank you, one and all, for your soldierly bearing towards him, and for the promptness with which you have observed and executed his orders. He will ever regard it his sacred duty to contribute in any way to your individual prosperity, wherever he can, and bespeak for you that recognition of the glorious services you have rendered your country, and so nobly and dearly earned. Go to your homes, Veteran Soldiers, and strive to perpetuate that peace, whose purchase was effected at so vast a price, which has made your once long lives short, and your full ranks thin. But should the emergency again arise, when either National honor must be compromised, or personal life laid on the alter of your country, let no member of the Yates Phalanx be slow in rushing to the conflict as a representative of the honored old Thirty-Ninth.
"Urging upon you, possibly for the last time, the vital importance of maintaining characters of honesty, integrity, industry and stability, and hoping that again in the peaceful circles of home and friends you will leave far behind any habits contracted in the army that may tend to retard you in a manly career in the great campaign of life, your commander bid you, officers and men, one and all, an affectionate Farewell!"
For some moments after the General ceased speaking, a deep silence prevailed, which was then relieved by a burst of loud and prolonged cheering. The old colors were again, and for the last time, saluted, when the men passed out of the chapel to join the Paymaster, who had established a "headquarters" at another point, and was ready to distribute a large quantity of promissory notes, issued on the credit of Uncle Sam.
The men who participated in the final "muster out" have sought homes in almost every State and Territory of the Union, and have proved good citizens and worthy members of society. The number is growing less and less as each year makes its changes. Soon "taps!" and "lights out!" will be
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sounded for the last one of our number by the grim camp-follower of us all-Death! only to awake at the "reveille" of Gabriel as he summons us for final account; and we earnestly hope and trust, in closing this faithful yet imperfect record of your history in the War of the Rebellion, that there may be a balance in our favor at the Judgment.
Comrades, the following letter will explain itself. It is introduced here thinking that it would prove eminently satisfactory to yourself and your posterity to know the opinion of Major-General Alfred H. Terry, concerning your conduct during the nearly three years you were in his command. He is seriously ill from Bright's disease of the kidneys with its many complications. His sufferings make writing a difficult task, and hence his letter is to be the more appreciated by us all.
"New Haven, Conn. May 14, 1889.
My dear Doctor:
"You ask me to express my opinion about the 'Old Thirty-Ninth Illinois.' What can I say about it-what can any one say about it except that it was one of the most gallant of Regiments and was as distinguished for its discipline and good order in camp and on the march as it was for its gallantry in action.
"Sum up all soldierly qualities and attribute them to the Regiment and you will do it no more than justice.
Sincerely yours, Alfred H. Terry"
One last word before you close this poor recital of your heroic deeds on many fields and under varied circumstances.
Do you not, all of you, comrades, feel gratified and proud of the noble and active part the dear old Regiment took in the "War of the Rebellion?" In tracing out its movements the writer has lived over again the days when this history was made; forms and faces, together with events almost lost to memory, have appeared with a brightness that seemed impossible; and so, doubt less, have appeared to you.
This history of the Thirty-Ninth has been written, not alone for your satisfaction, but for the gratification of your children and your children's children, who will hand it down to still remoter generations with the pride and boast of an ancestry who fought and died and were crippled in order to sustain and perpetuate the Union of the States of North America.
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The Wilmington Monument
The modest white shaft, but one foot square at its base and six feet in height, which marks the burial place of Adjutant Joseph D. Walker at Oakwood's Cemetery, Wilmington, Illinois, is also the cenotaph whereon is recorded the names of many comrades who fell in battle or died of wounds and disease from Companies A and E of the Thirty-Ninth Illinois Veteran Volunteer Infantry. It is located in a beautiful spot on the bluff of the east branch of the majestic Kankakee river, within 150' of the tranquil water, which is only disturbed by the occasional passing of a canal steamer, or ruffled by the storm-winds that whistle a requiem over the graves of fifty or more martyrs representing various commands in the great "War of the Rebellion." It is laden with flowers annually, often visited by the friends of those whose names are modestly chiseled in the snow-white marble.
On the front or east-side surface of the shaft are the names of -
Adjutant JOSEPH D. WALKER. Lieutenant JOSEPH W. RICHARDSON, Company A.
On the south front is inscribed the names of -
Sergeant DAVID M. HANSON. Sergeant GEORGE W. BURTON. ALEXANDER GRAY. ALMON MERRILL. THOMAS STEWART. WALTER VAN DEBOGART. JAMES McMASTER. All of Company E.
While on the north surface of the shaft appear the following names -
Sergeant GEORGE W. YATES. WILLIAM BUTTERFIELD. IRA NICHOLS. ANDREW SEYBERT. GEORGE LYONS.
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HENRY STARKWEATHER. JOSEPH CARTER. HUGH ROURKE. All of Company A.
And the name of Major S. W. Munn, who organized Company A, will be added before the regimental reunion of 1889.
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Testimonial to Dr. Charles M. Clark
7
"Dear Sir and Comrade: You and the undersigned were selected to act as a committee to publish the History of the Thirty-Ninth Illinois Regiment, and upon you the committee placed the responsible duties as chief editor. We recognize, therefore, that it is a very delicate task for you to record the important part of history which you made, and the honorable relations which you sustained to the Regiment and to the medical department of the army.
"We therefore request and direct you to insert the following relating to your labors during the war, as prepared by one of your comrades, feeling assured that all the survivors of the Regiment will fully endorse what we have said, and heartily join in this testimonial to your efficiency and faithfulness while Surgeon of the Thirty-Ninth.
"There is no branch of military service on which the usefulness of an army depends more than on the medical department. In order that it may be thoroughly prepared for long marches and for desperate encounters with an enemy, the entire rank and file must be in the very best of physical vigor. It is one of the prime duties of the surgeon of a regiment to see that this desired condition is rigidly maintained. Is the location of the camp healthful? Is its sanitary conditions at as high a grade of excellence as is possible? Are rations properly prepared? Is the soldier too sick for duty, or shall he be returned to the ranks? Shall he be sent to a general hospital or discharged from the service? All these questions, and many more of kindred character, constantly confront the army surgeon, and to answer them for the best 'good of the service,' requires great skill and untiring devotion to public duty.
"Comrade Clark entered upon his duties as Surgeon of the Regiment well equipped to meet manfully all these stern requirements under very favorable circumstances. Though young, he had met with success in his practice and had attracted the notice of the medical fraternity. He had 'roughed it' in the gold fields of the Rockies, and hence took kindly to camp life. His post of duty was, from the first, with his regiment, and it never got so far to the front as to leave him in the rear. He was on detached service frequently, but seldom lost sight of his own command, for he invariably refused duty that would remove him from fields where wounds were found. He was a skillful surgeon, and many of his complicated field operations are of public record; and of the public records which surgeons were required to keep, those of Dr. Clark are said by competent authority at Washington to be among the very best returned, and they must be of great value to the Bureau of Pensions.
"When Dr. Clark reached Appomattox Court-House, he was the Chief Operating Surgeon of the Field Hospital of the Twenty-Fourth Army Corps, and yet he was in 'hailing distance' of the old Thirty-Ninth.
"Our medical comrade settled in Chicago at the close of the war, and is now there in the enjoyment of a remunerative practice.
Signed, Amos Savage, Al. C. Sweetser, O. L Mann."
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APPENDIX I
Hugh R. Snee Letter To his Grandchildren
Private Hugh Rippy Snee was one of the men mustered out with the Regiment on December 6, 1865. His tale is one of great deprivation, pain and terrible suffering. Yet, filled too, with strength, determination and courage. On May 16, 1864 during the battle of Drewry's Bluff, Virginia, he suffered a head wound caused by a Confederate saber and was also wounded in the cheek by a musket ball. After the battle, he was considered "walking wounded" by the doctors and was assigned to duties of helping other injured comrades on the battlefield. During this assignment his position was overrun and he was forced to surrender. He was sent to Andersonville Military Prison.
During the next several months' Snee attempted escape by various means. The Rebels, trying to reduce the number of escape attempts from Andersonville, decided to move many prisoners, including Hugh Snee. As these Union soldiers were being transferred to another prisoner, the train derailed forcing the prisoners to be returned to the camp. Snee suffered dreadful injuries to his hands, feet and scalp, but since the Confederate doctors did not consider these wounds serious, they were left untreated. These were the cause of various health problems that would plague him all his life.
Snee remained a prisoner until late September 1864 when, by taking the name of a dead soldier, his final attempt at freedom was successful.
After his escape he wandered barefoot and alone until he reached the little station of Lovejoy on the railroad running from Atlanta east. Following the tracks, he entered the Union lines on approximately October 21, starving and suffering from scurvy, chronic diarrhea, and gangrene.
It was here he found a cousin who located his younger brother Nathan who was on detached service from the Seventy-Sixth Illinois. (In June 1863, Nathan had been injured during the battle of Vicksburg. He was in the skirmish line when the man next to him fired his musket so close to Nathan's head that a piece of the percussion cap flew into his ear, causing injury and perm anent deafness. The Army believed he was no longer capable of being an infantryman, however, he could fire a cannon. In January 1864, Nathan was transferred to the Fourth Ordnance Division, Seventeenth Artillery Corps near Big Shanty, Georgia.) Nathan and others cared for Hugh until he could be sent to a hospital. Snee was to spend the next several months in the Military Hospital in Cincinnati, Ohio and his home near Rockville, Illinois. There after, he returned to the Regiment at Norfolk in August 1865.
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My Great-Great-Grandfather, Private Hugh Rippy Snee of Company E, wrote a letter to his father shortly after his escape from Andersonville that tells his tale far better than this writer. This missive became the basis for another letter he wrote to his grandchildren.
"My Dear Grandchildren-
At your earnest and often repeated request that I write an account of my capture, imprisonment and escape from the Confederate Military Prison at Andersonville, G.A. in 1864, I have concluded that with the help of a copy of the tale as written for my father soon after my escape from there to comply with your wishes.
"But I am aware that a gray head is very liable to contain a failing memory. I shall confine myself almost entirely to the letter as I wrote it when all the incidents were fresh in my memory.
"My Regiment, the Thirty-ninth Illinois Volunteers, at the time was a part of the Army of the James under General B. F. Butler pushing out from Bermuda Hundred to attack Petersburg from that side and we were attacked by Beauragarde at Dreuries Bluff, V.A. on May 16, 1864 and were driven back from the rear by a force which had broken through our lines to the right of us. But we cut our way through the attacking party and again on a hill not far to the rear of our former position where we supposed we would be safe, and from this new position, I with a few of my comrades were sent back to pick up some of the wounded of my Company whom we found and carried back to where a large number of wounded had been gathered to be placed on some flat cars standing on the track at that place. And while resting (after caring for the wounded) we were charged upon by the Rebel cavalry [Third North Carolina] from the timber on our right which at first took to be our own men for we were not aware that our own lines had fallen back while we were after the wounded. The Rebs cut us off and ran us up on the Railroad towards Petersburg at a double quick. At Petersburg we were confined in an old tobacco warehouse until we were started on our long railroad journey to Andersonville where we arrived about June 1, 1864 where we were assigned to the Forty-Second Detachment which was located in the new or East side of the Stockade. A detachment consisted of three messes of ninety men, each in charge of one man chosen by vote from their own ranks, and the head of each mess was chosen the same way. My Detachment was made up principally of Western men and stood the hardships of this terrible prison life much better than the Eastern men did. Consequently, the death rate was lower in my Detachment than in the Detachments on each side of us which were made up from a regiment of shoemakers from Lynn, Mass., and I got along very well under the circumstances. I made it a point to be busy at something as much of the time as possible, and to further this plan, I made long walks about the Prison and kept posted as to what was being done as far as I could.
"I checked two attacks of that deadly scourge, prison diarrhea, by as total abstinence from food and drink for three days and a careful diet as I resumed eating afterwards. I fear that very few could have lived through such a fast when half starved at best. Many tried it but
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Appendix I - Hugh R. Snee Letter
very few succeeded. Most of them would have died, I think, ere there fast could have been prolonged enough to have done them any good.
"And now, all of you having read many better descriptions of this prison that it is possible for me to write, I will attempt nothing further. But taking my cue from the nature of the questions you have put to me, I infer that you are more interested in the manner of my escape from there than in a recounting of my sufferings while there.
"I made two unsuccessful attempts at escape, both on about the same general plan, and will describe the last one. And will say right here that there was not at any time the remotest chance of escape from that prison and every and all of such attempts were only a dangerous waste of energy and brought only punishment and despair.
"One morning myself and a comrade got detached to go outside under a guide to get wood for cooking purposes. We were placed under a boy of about 16 years of age, and on a pretense of searching for Herbs for medicinal purposes, we enticed the boy into the woods as far as possible where we attacked him from the rear, took his gun from him, covering his mouth with a part of his clothes, tied him to a tree, and started South in the direction of a River that we had been told entered into a larger one which went to the Sea. But we soon ran into the Cavalry Patrol which surrounded the Prison at no great distance from it. We told where the Boy was; We were taken back to the Prison gate where we expected to meet with severe punishment, but fortunately for us, there happened to be a good natured, kind hearted Lieutenant in charge of the gate that day. After giving us a good scare, finished up by saying -Yanks, I guess you will have to try some other trick if you get out of here-and chucked us back in the prison again.
"Sometime in September, Authorities made an attempt to move some of the Prisoners to some other Prison and to discourage any attempt to escape on our part, they gave it out that we were going to the front to be exchanged. The train that I was on ran off the track and was badly wrecked about three miles from the Prison and many were killed and wounded. I was badly bruised on both my feet and got a bad scalp wound, and a sliver from the wreck pushed into my shoulder and a finger on my left hand was broken. We were taken back to the Prison. My injuries were not considered serious enough to require treatment, and right there is where my sufferings began in earnest: The scurvy developed in my wounds and instead the flesh began to slough off, and I had witnessed some of the sufferings and death of others, that it was only a question of a very short time I would be passed out of the gate, feet foremost, to swell the number of that silent host on the hill who tell no tales of Andersonville.
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