USA > Maryland > Fifth regiment, I., M.N.G. : a history of the regiment from its first organization to the present time > Part 2
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"But these are themes on which I may not dwell. There is your flag ; accept and cherish it. Did we live in an old cathedral land, it would go to you amid the smoke of incense and rustling in the breath of anthems. Around it there is clinging here only the sacred fragrance of your homes. Take it, with its associations and suggestions, with its memories and inspirations. Take with it the respect of men who honor manhood, and the blessing of women whose hands and hearts are hallowed by all that charity and loving-kindness can bestow of earthly consecration. God in His mercy grant that it be never tarnished by the dust of conflict, and, most of all, that it may never float over the red surges of fraternal strife ! If ever the children of a common country, bound once again together by the olden ties, under the re-established consti- tution of their fathers, should be called to battle for that priceless heritage, those who entrust your flag to you to-day will know where to look for it-in the front. Should the Providence which has bestowed on us one Washington, vouchsafe to us another in that hour, we know that he will find, beneath the gray you wear, free hearts as dauntless as those that hedged about the Father of his Country when your grandsires wore the buff and blue."
The address of Mr. Wallis was heard amidst impressive silence, and when, at the conclusion of his speech, he presented the flag to Colonel Herbert, the latter, in receiving it, replied :
"I thank you, sir, and, in behalf of the officers and men of the regiment I am proud to command, I accept this flag. I covet your eloquence, sir, that I might
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reply to your remarks in appropriate terms. There is not a man in this regi- ment who would not be willing to die in defense of this flag, and dying, would say, 'God bless the women of Maryland !' You have beautifully alluded, sir, to the Old Maryland Guard, to which I had the good fortune to belong, as also did many of those present here to-day. You have also most eloquently and feelingly alluded to the absence, through death, of many of those noble women whose fair hands worked this flag. Sir, I believe that those absent friends are now looking down from heaven upon this scene. You are also aware that many of those who composed the Old Maryland Guard are not with us to-day, and that they also are now sleeping ' the sleep that knows no waking.' You may trust yourself to name them ; I cannot. I thank you, and, in the name of the regiment, accept this beautiful flag."
The size of this gift was six by six and a half 'feet. It was made of fine heavy blue silk, with a deep border of gold fringe. One side bore the national seal, with the motto "E pluribus unum" em- broidered in gold. Over it were the words, "Presented by the Ladies of Baltimore," and under it the legend, " Maryland Guard, Fifth Regiment:" On the other side was the Maryland seal. The staff was of rosewood, and a silver eagle perched on the top.
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CHAPTER V. THE FIRST ENCAMPMENT.
CAMP CHESAPEAKE, NEAR CATONSVILLE .- THOUSANDS VISIT IT .- THE GOVERNOR A FREQUENT ATTENDANT. - A NOTABLE PRESEN- TATION .- INTERESTING CEREMONIES .- A CAMP OF INSTRUCTION, AND NOT OF PLEASURE MERELY .- THE FIRST ASSEMBLY .- A GREAT SUCCESS .- CELEBRATING THE TWENTY-SECOND OF FEB- RUARY ON THE CHESAPEAKE .- A VISIT TO A BRITISH MAN-OF- WAR.
In 1869 the regiment inaugurated its system of summer encamp- ments which have always been regarded as an important part of the training of the citizen soldier. The first began on June 19, and was located near Catonsville. "Camp Chesapeake," as it was named, continued five days. It was, in a certain degree, a social event as well as a novelty. The camp was situated on high ground, about six hundred feet above tide-water. The accessibility made the number of visitors very large. They found the place an excellent temporary summer resort. Its one hundred and thirty new tents were thronged every day. Brigadier-General R. H. Carr and staff were frequent visitors, and Governor Bowie was there more than once.
On the third day of the encampment the regiment was presented with a State flag. Upwards of two hundred vehicles of all kinds were called into service to convey visitors, while a still greater num- ber came either on the horse-cars or on foot. Several thousand spectators, half of whom were ladies, were present. The parade ground, where the ceremonies took place, was a very suitable spot, though the surface was somewhat undulating. The regiment, with about 350 muskets in line, was drawn up shortly after 6 P. M., and after the Governor and his staff had passed down the line, receiving the salute as he did so, the regiment performed a series of very creditable manœuvres. While these evolutions were in progress, a portion of Battery A, of the First Artillery, Captain Clotworthy, made the spectacle more interesting by a cannonading accompaniment. As a conclusion to the events of the day, the presentation followed.
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The State flag, a beautiful one of blue silk, emblazoned with Mary- land's official seal, was produced, and Adjutant-General Bier made the presentation, on the part of the State, to Colonel Herbert, who received it with a suitable address. While the encampment had been expected to be a source of pleasure to the men, and while that expectation had been realized, it was not a military pic-nic, but a camp of instruction. All the liberty consistent with discipline was allowed, but disorderly and unsoldierly conduct was promptly and vigorously checked. There were no inducements held out to join the regiment merely for the sake of the encampment. The regular army discipline regarding personal appearance prevailed. Absence from camp or non-compliance with the general orders governing punctuality at roll-calls and attention to accoutrements, elicited the severest fine allowed by the code or some penalty imposed by court- martial. No active member of the regiment was allowed in camp as a visitor. As a rule, the conduct of the men was all that could have been desired. Only a few violations of the regulations occurred, and in such cases the guilty parties were soon provided with quarters in the guard-house. In leaving camp, the regiment marched from the grounds to the armory, about seven miles, in two hours. A few days later the Third Regiment encamped on the same spot.
One of the chief events in Baltimore society, in 1870, was the assembly given by the Fifth at the armory on February 10. It was one of those splendid social episodes characteristic of the city. The event was brilliantly successful. The decorations of the armory were entirely worthy, nor was there anything else wanting to make the occasion a memorable one to those who were present. The patron- esses of the ball were Mrs. J. Hanson Thomas, Mrs. Wm. H. Brune, Mrs. Louis McLane, Mrs. Wm. F. Frick, Mrs. Thomas H. Morris, Mrs. George Small, Mrs. Henry E. Johnston, Mrs. Richard Norris, Mrs. James R. Herbert, Mrs. J. Stricker Jenkins, Mrs. Henry D. Loney, and Mrs. Robert Lehr.
The honorary managers were Messrs. S. Teackle Wallis, Douglas H. Gordon, Henry Moore, Frederic Tyson, H. D. G. Carroll, Robt. R. Kirkland, John Stewart, Wm. Prescott Smith, Wm. H. Graham, John B. Williams, Francis Burns, Jr., and Wm. H. Corner.
The twenty-second of February, in 1870, was celebrated by the Fifth at Annapolis. Chief among the reasons for observing the day at the ancient town was the fact that a visit to that place by water at that time furnished an opportunity to see one of those war vessels
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which naval architecture had not found possible of construction until after the Civil War. The English line-of-battle-ship Monarch paid a visit to Maryland waters in February, 1870. With the end of the war between the States, American progress in the art of building war vessels had stopped. The people of Maryland were familiar with monitors and small turret ships; but a vessel like the Monarch represented a more advanced stage of naval warfare. No cruiser in the American navy could have carried her battery. The vessel was one of a number of the invulnerable steel ships which the English Admiralty were producing. The Monarch, with other English vessels of the same class, the Inflexible, the Superb, the Invincible, the Alexandria, and the Temeraire, were brought to the world's notice in a very prominent way in later years at the siege of Alex- andria. The regiment had a close view of the tremendous warrior, but fate and the captain of the steamer Samuel J. Pentz prevented the soldiers from setting foot on the English vessel. The Pentz was chartered by the regiment for a visit to Annapolis, and nearly all of the excursionists expected that the trip would include an inspection of the Monarch, permission having been granted by its commander, Captain Commerell. The regiment turned out four hundred muskets for the trip, and the party also included about two hundred civilians. The day was intensely cold, and a keen northwest wind forced the excursionists to hunt for the most sheltered places on the steamer. Before the Pentz had reached the mouth of the Patapsco she passed the ice-boat Chesapeake, which was carrying the members of the City Council of Baltimore down to the Monarch, to extend to the officers of the English ship the hospitality for which the city was famous. As the Pentz rounded Sandy Point, the masts and the long black hull of the Monarch came into view, and the men crowded forward to see the ship, but the Pentz approached no closer to the war vessel than the usual channel to Annapolis, until about to return to Baltimore. Annapolis was awakened by a parade through its streets, and the regiment was reviewed by Governor Bowie on the parade-ground of the Naval Academy.
After the regiment and the other excursionists had spent three or four hours at Annapolis, the Pentz steamed away for the Monarch. When the great ship was reached, the marines were seen drawn up at the gangway, and everything else was apparently prepared for a reception. Hawsers were thrown over the side ready to fasten them to the Pentz. By the side of Captain Commerell stood Mr. Jackson,
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the British Consul at Baltimore, to introduce the visitors, and the people on the Pentz were hanging over the bulwarks in their haste to get on board the Monarch. The band of the latter vessel played " Hail Columbia," and the Fifth's band played "God Save the Queen." The Pentz moved completely around the Monarch at the slowest possible speed and at a distance of only a few yards, but the excursionists did not have the pleasure of actually setting foot on the war-vessel. The mass of people on the Pentz, crowding on one side, brought that side of the steamboat down into the water to the guards, and the water being very rough, the officers of the Pentz were unwilling to take the risk of an accident by transferring the passengers to the man-of-war. Some of them were discontented at not having the opportunity to board the Monarch, but the two vessels remained nearly half an hour in company, and the sight was a rare pleasure, even as it happened.
CHAPTER VI.
AN ATTACK AND A GLORIOUS VICTORY.
A PHILADELPHIA PAPER OBJECTS TO A PUBLIC RECEPTION OF THE FIFTH .- PHILADELPHIANS RESENT ITS ABUSE AND GIVE THE REGIMENT A SPLENDID OVATION .- THE WHOLE CITY TURNS OUT. -UNSTINTED PRAISE AND UNLIMITED HOSPITALITY .- THE TRI- UMPH COMPLETE.
It was in 1870 that the regiment began its encampments on the New Jersey coast. In going either to Cape May or Atlantic City the regiment found Philadelphia directly in its path. In passing through Philadelphia for the first time, the Fifth undertook what was to be regarded as an experiment. The extent of the good or ill feeling of that city for Baltimoreans, in a military capacity, was not as well known then by any means as it is now. The appearance of the Fifth in Philadelphia created a decided sensation, which was increased by the abusive course of one of the Philadelphia newspapers.
The Evening Bulletin of July 13, 1870, under the caption " Water- ing a Compliment," obtained no small amount of unpleasant notoriety by publishing the following tirade :
"The visit of the famous New York Seventh Regiment to Philadelphia, on its way to Cape May, has excited a laudable desire among our people not only to express their admiration of the military efficiency of this celebrated corps, but also to testify their appreciation of the patriotic services rendered by the regiment during the struggle for the Union. It was the Seventh Regiment of New York, in co-operation with the Eighth of Massachusetts, that opened the way to the capital which Rebel Baltimore had closed. And on repeated occa- sions afterward, the same gallant body of citizen-soldiers freely responded to the country's call, and went promptly to the scene of danger, while hundreds of brave men from its well-drilled ranks gave themselves individually to officer the raw regiments that were so rapidly transformed into veteran troops under their example and command. It is only right that Philadelphia, with all her patriotic impulse, should welcome the New York 'Seventh' with all appro- priate compliments and hospitalities. It is quite a misfortune that the com- pliment of the reception is to be marred by a movement whose bad taste and unpatriotic spirit will be measured by the extent to which it receives the countenance of our people. A regiment of Rebel volunteers from Baltimore, notorious for its active participation in the effort to destroy the Union, promi- nent as a part of that infamous conspiracy which threw Baltimore as a threat- ening obstacle in the pathway to Washington, is going to Cape May, and must
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needs pass through Philadelphia. It is composed of the men whose traitorous enmity cost the lives of the brave men of the Sixth Massachusetts, who fell, proto-martyrs, in the streets of Baltimore, and that compelled the first perilous and laborious march of the Seventh New York to Washington. 3
"And now it is proposed to water the compliment which Philadelphia extends to the patriotic New York Seventh, by extending the same courtesy to the Rebel Maryland Fifth. The two regiments, one nobly true to its country, and the other bitterly false to it in its great hour of need, are to be counted worthy of equal honor, and a Philadelphia regiment has been found willing to ignore all the great principles of the war for the Union, and to cast dirt on the memories of the brave men whom these Maryland Rebels helped to send to their now almost forgotten graves, while they play the courtier to men whom they cannot recognize in their organized military capacity without doing dis- honor to themselves. It spoils the compliment to the New York Seventh to have this Rebel-sympathizing demonstration thrust in close upon the heels of a reception which is, in all respects, so eminently proper. It is no keeping up of the hostilities of the Rebellion to say that armed bodies of men, who are only famous for their overt acts of treason and rebellion, who won whatever bad eminence they enjoy fighting against their country, have no right to expect or to receive formal recognition and public courtesy from a community which gave its men and treasure and heartfelt sympathy to crush the bad cause which these men strove to maintain. It is a dangerously bad lesson to teach the rising generation that there is no difference between the man who fights for his country and the man who fights against it. It is a doctrine which will, sooner or later, curse our country with its pernicious influences. It may look very pretty and chivalrous, and all that, to act as if this radical distinction between right and wrong had no real existence ; but the representatives of such a cruel, causeless, costly rebellion as we have passed through cannot be taken in their concrete form into the embraces of a loyal community without doing some damage to the moral sense of a people who, through all the dark years of the war, were taught that the distinction between those that were for their country and those that were against it was as wide and distinct as the difference between heaven and hell. If this Maryland regiment wants to go to Cape May, let it go. The way is open to it, and Philadelphia will not do for it what it and its friends did for our gallant New York guests. But anything like a military or civic reception will be not only in exceedingly bad taste, but will be extremely repugnant to thousands who still believe in the reality of the principles which made Philadelphia glorious before all the cities of the Union in the days so recently gone by."
A prominent officer of the Fifth makes the significant comment upon this editorial that "the article did more to make our reception a universally popular one than anything else." This newspaper thus placed its sentiments as a local issue squarely before the people of Philadelphia. Its utterances undoubtedly affected the result, but not in the way it had intended. When the Fifth made its appear- ance in Philadelphia, its members might have supposed, judging from their reception, that nearly every citizen of that place had a personal interest in setting his foot on such a spirit as the Bulletin had tried to impute to them. The publication did no harm to the Fifth, but the people of Philadelphia thought their city was injured. Still more seriously injured was the New York Seventh, which had the misfortune to be the subject of the Bulletin's warm praise.
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Coming at a time when press and people were anxious to condemn almost anything which that journal admired, the Seventh had to pass through an ordeal of the severest criticism. The Fifth's recep- tion furnished the clearest proof that no important part of Philadel- phia's people would ever take such a despicable attitude as the Bulletin had tried to lead them to assume. In the heat of passion, some of the newspapers of that city went to extremes in dealing with the situation. In the following editorial from the Philadelphia Sunday Mercury the more severe expressions of indignation against the Bulletin, in which the Seventh had the misfortune to be included, have been eliminated.
" If the Maryland regimentis composed of ' rebels and traitors,' as the Bulletin asserts, let us see more of Baltimore rebels and traitors. The frequent pres- ence of such men would serve to teach some of our 'loyal' people good breeding in social life without doing any political harm. The courtesy extended to the Baltimore visitors by so many of our prominent citizens, irrespective of party, was very creditable to Philadelphia, showing, as we have said, that such papers as the Evening Bulletin cannot communicate their meanness of spirit to the people of this city. The attempt of that journal to excite prejudice and to prompt incivility to the Baltimore regiment was a most signal and dis- graceful failure. Its counsels were treated with becoming contempt. Doubt- less the Maryland Fifth will have a happy time at Cape May, . . They will remain nine days on the island, and we venture the prediction that they will leave it followed by the kind wishes and admiration of all the residents and visitors at that favorite summer resort. It is proper to say, in conclusion, that the marching, military evolutions and bearing of the Maryland Fifth proved this regiment to be quite equal, if not superior, to New York's 'crack' concern. Many of our military citizens place the Marylanders, as soldiers as well as gentlemen, far ahead of the boasted Seventh, which has been carefully trained, especially for street parades and holiday shows, for many years."
The Philadelphia Sunday Transcript was equally emphatic in its praises of the Fifth and its condemnation of the Seventh. The latter is omitted. " The marked contrast," it said, "between the conduct of the New York Seventh and the Maryland Fifth regiments was so great as to effectually close the lips of the warmest friends of the former or the bitterest foes of the latter. It is creditable to the Union League and the National Union Club that the national bunting was displayed from both houses, and nowhere along the route was the applause more genuine than from parties who occupied places in front of these establishments. Philadelphia was true to herself in extending the hearty welcome to the Maryland Fifth, and our guests, like gentlemen, appreciated it."
Still another journal made the following pungent comment : " It is a pity that some men's brains will not allow them to advance beyond their own door-steps."
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That the scurrilous attack on the Fifth gave a temporary stimulus to the spirit of fraternity there is but little room to doubt. Public sentiment crystallized in Philadelphia into the opinion that charges of national disloyalty, flung in the most offensive manner at a regi- ment of whose personnel the assailant probably knew little or nothing, laid the city itself open to the charge of being wedded to any lie that was couched in war-time phraseology. As a result, when the Fifth arrived in Philadelphia early in the morning of July 22, they received an ovation which seemed to be the spontaneous tribute of nearly the entire people. At the depot in that city the regiment was met by two committees, one on the part of the citizens and the other repre- senting the military. Caparisoned horses were in readiness for field and staff officers. An informal and cordial greeting was offered the visitors, and soon after the regiment began its march for the Continental Hotel, where elaborate preparations had been made for its reception. Here the soldiers found General Robert Patterson, who had been expecting them, and who gave them a welcome as hospi- table as the disposition to please could make it. Breakfast was served at the Continental. What was remarked as something nota- bie by the Philadelphia journals was the perfect decorum with which three hundred men entered the dining-room while free from all restraint, for they were not under orders. Towards the close of the repast, Colonel Herbert called "Attention !" and the whole regiment arose instantly as one man, in perfect uniformity, and the silence imposed by the simple order was instantaneous and absolute. Col- onel Herbert then made an address of thanks for the attentions received. His speech occupied just one minute. General Patter- son's address of welcome had been delivered in thirty seconds, and both addresses were models of cordiality, point and brevity.
Preparations for a parade through Philadelphia had been com- pleted by the reception committee. The route had been made public, and throughout its entire length there was a mass of people who could not have testified much more pleasure at the sight of the visitors if they had been a regiment of their own soldiers just returned from battle. The procession moved out Arch Street to Broad Street, to the La Pierre House. Here a stand had been erected and the parade was reviewed from it by General Prevost and staff. The principal buildings were handsomely decorated. The parade was an inspiriting pageant. Both officers and men of the Fifth showed themselves worthy of their reception. Those who saw their
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salute and battalion movements on Broad Street, when . being reviewed by General Prevost, were able to endorse the practically unanimous and complimentary criticisms of the Philadelphia news- papers. The Record noted with an appearance of astonishment which was not altogether feigned, that the men of the Fifth required no sun umbrellas for the parade, did not fall out of the ranks, did not get drunk, and that they all acted in a gentlemanly manner- things for which Philadelphia had been prepared, the Record hinted, by other recent military visits.
Nothing could have exceeded the unostentatious but thoughtful attention and hospitality of the citizens who had charge of the recep- tion. Nothing was forgotten, even to the stock of good cheer which the regiment found on the cars of their train.
CHAPTER VII. THE CAPE MAY ENCAMPMENT.
CORDIALLY GREETED BY PROMINENT PEOPLE .- A SPEECH OF WELCOME BY THE MAYOR .- REVIEWED BY GENERAL MEADE .- GENERAL MEADE'S HIGH PRAISE .- AN INTERESTING INCIDENT. -BALLS, HOPS AND BANQUETS .- A TEST OF DISCIPLINE .- CAMP TRENTON A GREAT SUCCESS.
It was three o'clock in the afternoon, and Cape May lay broiling in the sun, when the regiment arrived there. A formal reception and a parade had been intended, but the intense heat led to a partial change of program. The reception was informal, but none the less héarty. The Baltimore representatives at the depot reception were John W. Davis, Dr. L. A. Cooper, Dr. Riggin Buckler, Gen. F. C. Latrobe, W. C. Tucker, and Colonel Jenkins. Hundreds of other prominent people were there. Mayor Miller, of Cape May, delivered the following brief address of welcome: "Colonel Herbert-On behalf of the City Council, residents, and sojourners at Cape May, I extend to you and your command a hearty and sincere welcome. It will be our pleasure to do all in our power to make your visit pleas- ant and agreeable. It affords me, personally, peculiar satisfaction to have the privilege of welcoming the Fifth Regiment of Maryland to our shores, believing that it will have a tendency to cement more firmly the bonds of friendship and good will which should exist between the people of all sections of our great country. Again, I extend a cordial and hearty welcome to the Fifth Maryland."
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