USA > Maryland > The Maryland line in the Confederate Army, 1861-1865 > Part 31
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The Baltimore Light Artillery was one of the best-known batteries in the artillery arm of the Confederate service, and no one organization did more to maintain the honor of our State and her fair fame than did this body of young Marylanders. The battery was formed in the carly part of the fall of 1861, and was ordered to report to General J. E. Johnston, then in command of the army at Centreville, Virginia. The intelligence of its commanders- the gallantry and skill with which their guns were handled - soon attracted the attention of all, and from the actions in the Valley, under Jackson, the severe battles around Richmond, to the culmination of their active operations in 1862 at Sharpsburg. their valor and devotion were most conspicuous. After the return to Virginia, the battery was directed to report to General W. E. Jones, in command of the Valley District, who had also under his command the First Maryland Cavalry and the Second Maryland Infantry. From this time on the
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battery served with the cavalry corps. In this service they hidded to the high reputation they had already achieved, and no service was too arduous for them to undertake - no danger too great for them to face, and in no instance did they ever prove unworthy of the confidence which was reposed in them by those in whose support they were so frequently called upon to take positions of greatest peril. Under the gallant Brockenborough, Griffin and MIcNulty, they achieved a , fame second to no similar organization.
GENERAL HENRY LITTLE ROOM .- Furnished by Mrs. Little in memory of her husband. This room is handsomely furnished with oak furniture, contains two beds with woven wire springs and hair mattresses. The pillows in this room were made of the feathers from the game which General Little shot during his life-time. A fine picture of the General adorns the wall of the room. There are also portraits of Lee and Jackson, the charge of the First Maryland Infantry, and the prayer in Stonewall Jackson's camp.
MARSHALL ROOM .- In memory of two brothers - Robert I. Taylor Marshall, a member of the Washington Artillery, killed at Beverly's Ford, August 23, 1862, and James Markham Marshall, of the Black Horse Company, of the Fourth Virginia Cavalry, who died for his country September 5, 1862. The room contains oak furniture, and was furnished by their brother, Colonel Charles Marshall, of General Robert E. Lee's staff.
STONEBRAKER ROOM .- This room is substantially furnished by Joseph R. Stonebraker, who was a member of Company C. First Maryland Cavalry, as a memorial to his brother, Edward L. Stonebraker.
GOODWIN ROOM .- Furnished by C. Ridgely Goodwin, Esq., in memory of his brother, Frank Greenwood Goodwin. This room is furnished in oak and is very comfortable.
Frank Greenwood Goodwin, tenth child of Robert Morris Goodwin, of Maryland, was born in Savannah, Georgia, November 13. 1846. He was at school at Chattanooga, Tennessee, early in 1861. In April, 1861, he joined the Oglethorpe Light Infantry, of Savannah, and with that company went to Virginia, under command of Captain Frank Bartow, taking part in the first battle of Manassas (Bull Run). The company became a part of the Eighth Georgia Regiment, G. T. Andrews' Brigade, Hood's Division, Longstreet's Corps. At the battle of Seven Pines he was shot through the arm, went to his home, and within a month returned to his command. Participating in all the battles of the Army of Northern Virginia, Frank Goodwin gave his life to his country at Gettysburg, July 3, 1863. aged seventeen years.
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CHANTILLY ROOM .- This is a small hall room, with a single bed, and furnished by Mr. H. F. Going, who has been active and helpful in all matters connected with Confederate work. Chantilly was an estate on the picket line, while the army was encamped at Centreville, in the autumn of 1861, and is associated with pleasant recollections by members of the First Maryland Infantry.
WILLIAM E. COLSTON ROOM .- This room was one of the first furnished and presents an attractive and comfortable appearance. The room was furnished by Captain Frederick M. Colston, Assistant to Chief Ordnance Officer, Army of Northern Virginia, a brother of William E. Colston.
William E. Colston was born in Washington March 24, 1839, but his early years were spent in Virginia, the home of his ancestors. He came to Baltimore about 1857, and was among the first to go to Virginia when the war broke out. On June 1, 1861, he enlisted as a private in Company B, Maryland Guard, attached to the Twenty-first Virginia Infantry, but when the First Maryland Regiment was formed, was transferred to Company H, Captain William H. Murray, June 18, 1861. In this company he served in all the campaigns and battles of the year, and at the battle of Cross Keys, June 8, 1862, in Jackson's Valley campaign, he was desperately wounded, being shot through the body. He was permanently injured by this wound and disabled for a long time, but as soon as able to ride, he was appointed volunteer aide to Major-General Trimble. General Trimble being wounded and left at Gettysburg, Colston then volunteered into Mosby's command, and was killed in the night attack on Harper's Ferry, January 10, 1864. He is buried in the Confederate lot at London Park with his old comrades of Company H.
BRIGADIER-GENERAL LLOYD TILGHMAN BUILDING .- This building contains the Colonel James R. Herbert Room, which is furnished with hard wood furniture, in keeping with those in the other buildings. Mr. M. J. Block, Mr. Thomas W. Morse and Mr. Thomas McNulty solicited subscriptions sufficient to furnish it. The other room in this building is furnished by the Home temporarily with cots.
General Lloyd Tilghman of Talbot County, Maryland, was educated at West Point. At Fort Henry, February 6, 1862, he held the fort until nearly half his gunners were killed or wounded. When Foote took the fort he had as prisoners General Tilghman and staff, and sixty men. General Tilghman remained as prisoner a few months and was exchanged. In the fall of 1862 he rejoined the Army of the West, then in Mississippi, and was put in command of the First Brigade, Loring's Division. At the battle of Corinth he took a prominent part, and in all subsequent operations of that army, under Van Dorn, and after- wards Pemberton, he bore a conspicuous part up to the time of his death. General Tilghman was killed by a shell on the evening of May 16, 1863, on the battlefield of Baker's Creek, or Champion Hill, Mississippi.
INTERIOR OF ONE OF THE ROOMS.
THE LIBRARY.
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BRIGADIER-GENERAL JAMES J. ARCHER BUILDING .- This building contains on the lower floor the Raleigh C. Thomas memorial hall ; on the second floor a store room and servants' sleeping quarters.
General James J. Archer was born in Harford County, Maryland. Colonel of the Fifth Texas Regiment, commanding Texas Brigade at Evansport batteries, March 21, 1862 : Acting Brigadier-General at West Point, Virginia, May 7, 1862 ; promoted to Brigadier- General, June 2, 1862, and assigned command of Fifth Brigade, Hill's Division ; June 4, 1862, assigned to Hatton's Brigade, Whiting's Division ; June 26 and 28, 1862, engaged in the battles of Mechanicsville and Gaines' Mill ; August 9, 1862, in battle of Cedar Mountain ; August 26, 1862, engagement at Manassas Junction ; August 28, 29 and 30, 1862, second Manassas ; September 1, 1862, Ox Hill ; September 15, 1862, at Harper's Ferry ; September 17, 1862, Sharpsburg ; September 20. 1862, Shepherdstown ; December 11-15, 1862, Freder- icksburg ; May 3. 1863, Chancellorsville ; July 1, 1863, Gettysburg, where he was wounded and captured.
General Early in his report said : "The service lost at this time that most gallant and meritorious officer, Brigadier-General Archer, who fell into the enemy's hands." His death resulted from his wounds and his imprisonment on Morris Island, South Carolina, where eight hundred officers were imprisoned in the line of the fire from the Confederate batteries and forts.
RALEIGH C. THOMAS MEMORIAL HALL .- The Thomas memorial hall was furnished by the family and friends of Raleigh C. Thomas, who was a gallant soldier in Company C, First Maryland Cavalry, and who was much beloved by his comrades. This room, which is 50x27 feet, is used as a reading room. It is furnished in old oak with most comfortable and handsome furniture, tables, arm chairs and rockers. The ceiling is of oak, and the equipping of the room involved an expense of about $1,000. It is a handsome tribute to the memory of the deceased, who died in Baltimore in 1887. A fine painting of Mr. Thomas is on the wall. The library contains 1,000 volumes, contributed at various times by kind friends from all over the State, about one hundred newspapers are on file, which are kindly sent free by the press of the State.
ADMIRAL RAPHAEL SEMMES BUILDING .- This building contains the R. E. Lee and Warfield memorial rooms.
Admiral Raphael Semmes was born in Charles County, Maryland. September 27. 1809. He entered the United States Navy as midshipman at the age of seventeen : was promoted to Lieutenant ten years later, and rose to the rank of Commander at the age of forty-six. During the Mexican war he served on board ship and as an aid to General Worth : February
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15. ISone of the obbreak the resigned the Secretary -imp of the Lighthouse Board at Wash- ington. D. E, and tool. command of the Confederate steamer Sumter, at New Orleans, ran the blockade at the mouth of the Mississippi, and in July, 1861, captured a number of American vessels in the Gulf of Mexico. In August, 1862, he took command of the steamer Alabama : he sunk the Hatteras, after a brief action, January, 1863, off Galveston. At the evacuation of Richmond, Admiral Semmes had charge of the James River squadron. He nrrendered at Greensboro, North Carolina, May 1, 1805.
The following is a list of vessels captured and destroyed by Admiral Semmes : Abbie Bradford, Ben Danning. Ebenezer Dodge, Joseph Maxwell. Machias, Neapolitan, Alert. Amazonian, Baron de Castine, Brilliant, Clara L. Sparks, Content, Elisha Dunbar, Express, Harriot Spalding, Arcade, Cuba, Golden Rocket, Joseph Parks, Montmorency, Vigilance, Altamaha, Annie T. Schmidt, Ben Tucker, Charles Hill, Conrad, Dorcas Prince, Emily Farnum, Golden Eagle, Hatteras, Albert Adams, Daniel Trowbridge, Investigator, Louis Kilham, Naiad, West Wind, Amanda, Annie, Bertha Thayer, Chastelaine, Courser, Dunkirk, Emma Jane, Golden Rule, Jabez Snow, John A. Parks, Kingfisher, Lauretta, Louisa Hatch, Martaban. Nora, Talisman, Olive Jane, Tycoon, Punjab, Virginia, Sea Lark, Weather Gage. Justina, Lamplighter, Lafayette, Manchester, Winged Racer, Morning Star, Nye, Ocmulgee. Tonowonda, Parker Cook, Union Jack, Sea Bride, Wave Crest, Sonora, Starlight. Kate Cory, Lafayette I., Levi Starbuck, Martha Wenzell, Nina, Ocean Rover, Thomas B. Wales. Palmetta, Union, Rockingham, Washington and S. Gildersleeve.
GENERAL ROBERT E. LEE MEMORIAL ROOM .- This room has been furnished through the liberality of the Brewers' Exchange of Baltimore, as a token of their appreciation of the institution and of their admiration of the character of the great commander. The following tribute to the memory of General Lee is from the late Senator Benjamin H. Hill, of Georgia :
When the future historian comes to survey the character of Lee, he will find it rising like a huge mountain above the undulating plain of humanity, and he will have to lift his eyes high toward heaven to catch its summit. He possessed every virtue of the other great commanders without their vices. lle was a foe without hate, a friend without treachery. a private citizen without wrong, a neighbor without reproach, a Christian without hypocrisy, and a man without guilt. He was Caesar without his ambition, Frederick without his tyranny, Napoleon without his selfishness, and Washington without his reward. He was obedient to authority as a servant, and royal in authority as a true king. He was as gentle as a woman in life, pure and modest as a virgin in thought, watchful as a Roman vestal in duty. submissive to law as Socrates, and grand in battle as Achilles.
THE WARFIELD ROOM .- This room has been furnished in memory of Albert
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Gallatin Warfield, Jr., and Gassaway Watkins Warfield, both members of Company A, First Maryland Cavalry, Confederate States of America, by their mother and brothers, Joshua N., Edwin, John and Marshall T. Warfield, and sisters, Mrs. M. Gillet Gill, of Baltimore, and Mrs. Herman Hoopes, of Philadelphia.
Albert Gallatin Warfield, Jr., entered the Confederate Army, joining Company A, First Maryland Cavalry, under command of Colonel Ridgely Brown. In the fall of that year he was stricken down with typhoid fever and lay ill at Winchester for many weeks. He was convalescing when the Confederates evacuated the town, but remained in hiding for ten days after the Federals arrived, and tried in vain to escape. He gives in his diary a most interesting account of the experiences of himself and his companion, Clark, in their efforts to elude the Federal soldiers and to escape, but finally, on December 27, they were compelled to surrender. He was marched to Martinsburg, and from thence sent, via the Baltimore and Ohio, to Camp Chase, Ohio. He was exchanged in the spring of 1863, after having been transferred to Fort McHenry, Baltimore, Maryland. He had not been with his regiment long before he was sent on an important scouting expedition with five other picked men from his company, and with them was captured. This proved his greatest misfortune, as he was destincd to spend two long dreary years in prison at Point Lookout, and was finally exchanged the last of March, 1865, just before the close of the war.
Gassaway Watkins Warfield was the third son of Albert G. and Margaret G. Warfield. When the Civil War began he was in his fifteenth year. The one desire and ambition of his youth was to be a soldier and fight for the Southern cause. He was sent to Rock Hill College in 1861, and continued there until July, 1864. During his college life he longed to go South, and then decided to do so when an opportunity offered. This came soon after his return home for his summer vacation in 1864, when General Early invaded Maryland. Notwithstanding the fact that the hope of success of the Confederate cause was fast waning, his patriotic ardor won, and he cast his lot with the forlorn hope of the Confederates. On July 11, 1864, he buckled on his sword, donned the gray, bade farewell to home and dear ones, and with a mother's prayers and benedictions, rode off to do battle for the cause that he believed to be right and just. He enlisted in Company A, First Maryland Cavalry, Con- federate States Army, at Triadelphia. The gallant company was then under command of Captain Thomas Griffith. Young Warfield's career as a soldier in active service in the field was brief, lasting but twenty-six days, yet it was one filled with exciting incidents, forced marches and almost daily fighting. He was taken prisoner at Moorefield and sent to Camp Chase, Ohio. The exposure and hardships of prison life soon told upon his youthful constitution, and he was stricken down with a fatal fever in October, and, after long suffering, he died January 14. 1865, a martyr to the cause he loved and for which he freely gave up his life.
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MAJOR-GENERAL ARNOLD ELZEY BUILDING .- This building contains the Quartermaster's Department, pharmacy and the Superintendent's office.
This distinguished officer was Captain of the Second Artillery, and in command of the United States Arsenal, Augusta, Georgia, when he resigned in the early part of 1861. On June 19, 1861, he was commissioned Colonel of the First Maryland Infantry. Upon the disablement of General E. Kirby Smith, at the head of this regiment, July 21, 1861, moving into position on the memorable field of Manassas, the command of the brigade devolved upon Colonel Elzey, who successfully continued the movement and assailed the enemy with such vigor as to cause them to give way ; this retreat soon became a panic, and the result was the complete ront of the Federal Army. At this moment President Davis rode over the field and, meeting Colonel Elzey, saluted him as "General," remarking, "You are the Blucher of the day."
General Elzey remained in command of this brigade until made a Major-General and assigned to command of the defenses at Richmond in December, 1862.
At Cross Keys, in June, 1862, he rendered valuable service, the position occupied by the Confederate forces was of his selection, and General Ewell, in his report, says : "I availed myself frequently during the action of that officer's counsel, profiting largely by his known military skill and judgment . he was much exposed, his horse was wounded early in the action, and at a later period of the day, was killed by a rifle ball, which at the same time inflicted upon the rider a wound that forced him to retire from the field ; he was more particularly employed in the centre directing the artillery."
General Elzey was seriously wounded at Gaines' Mill, June 27, 1862, in which battle his brigade took active part and sustained heavy loss. His ability as a soldier was recognized by General Lee, who suggested to the President he should order him to take the field in January, 1863. Again, in May, 1863, General Lee wrote to President Davis that he greatly needed two Major-Generals, and asked that General Elzey be sent to him to command Trimble's Division.
April 25, 1864, General Elzey was ordered to Staunton to establish headquarters as commander of the Maryland Line : September 8. 1864, was assigned to duty as Chief of Artillery in the Army of Tennessee.
OFFICE OF SUPERINTENDENT .- The Superintendent's office contains the usual office furniture, with the following pictures and muster rolls, framed, hanging on the wall : "Prayer in Stonewall Jackson's Camp," "The Charge of the First Maryland Infantry at Harrisonburg, Virginia, at the Death of Ashby," "Last Meeting of Lee and Jackson," " Muster Rolls of Company A, First Maryland Infantry, and Company D. First Maryland Cavalry." "Letter from Jefferson Davis, Camp St. Mary, or Camp of the Maryland Line at Hanover Junction, January, 1864." and several others.
THE MESS HALL.
THE RELIC ROOM.
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QUARTERMASTER'S ROOM .- The Quartermaster's Department is fitted up with shelves and such other conveniences as are required. Everything is given out here that is required in the different departments, from a needle up to a uniform. Tobacco day is looked for with fond anticipation. On one side of the room are the bins which hold the linen of the memorial rooms. The linen is brought here and stored until issued for use. There is an inspector, who takes an account of all the linen coming out of the rooms. On Monday morning a clerk takes an account of all going into the laundry ; a perfect system is maintained, so that everything will be properly accounted for.
MEDICAL DEPARTMENT .- Surgeon to the Home-William P. E. Wyse, M. D. Consulting Surgeons-Dr. Charles G. Hill, Dr. E. E. Jones, Dr. Thomas S. Lati- mer and Dr. J. J. Chisholm. The surgeon's office, dispensary, and the Stonewall Jackson Infirmary are the chief points of interest in the medical department of the Home. Those patients able to get about report to the surgeon's office, where they are treated. The less fortunate ones, who are too sick to report at the surgeon's office, are sent to the Infirmary, where they are under the care of skilled nurses and visited by the surgeon every day. or oftener, if necessary.
GENERAL E. KIRBY SMITH ROOM (PHARMACY) .- The surgeon's office and dispensary are situated on the east end of the Elzey Building, and is one of the prettiest and most attractive places within the walls of the Home, which is due to the liberality and good taste of Mrs. Decatur H. Miller, who fitted up and furnished it at considerable expense. It is carpeted ; the wood work is of highly polished, hand-carved oak ; the medicine case is of the same wood. Under a brass chandelier, a handsome centre table has upon it a silver waiter, ice water pitcher and goblets, which are decidedly useful as well as ornamental, all combine to make the surgeon's office a cheery place of refuge for those who require the aid of the healing art. Mrs. Miller has indicated her wish that this room be named in memory of the late General E. Kirby Smith.
General Smith was an officer of distinguished reputation in the United States Army, when his duty to his State prompted him to resign his commission at the commencement of the war. He was appointed a Brigadier-General, and ordered to report to General Joseph E. Johnston, commanding the Army of the Shenandoah, in July. 1861, and was severely wounded at the first battle of Manassas, leading his brigade into action. General Smith afterwards was made a Major-General and assigned to a division under General Johnston, hut was subsequently transferred to the Armies of the West, and finally was in command of the Department of the Trans-Mississippi. The services of General Smith in this command were of great importance, and added to his already high reputation as an able soldier. It
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devolved upon him to make surrender of the last army of the Confederacy, when he returned to civil life, and, like the immortal Lee, his honored chieftain, devoted himself to the education of the youth of his country. At the time of his death (March 28, 1893,) he was connected with the University of the South, Sewanee, Tennessee. General Smith attained the rank of full General in the Confederate service.
BRIGADIER-GENERAL CHARLES S. WINDER BUILDING .- Contains the mess hall, dish room, commissary and kitchen on the first floor. The E. Bolton Piper room, containing seventeen beds, chairs, lockers, etc ; two small bedrooms, bath- room and linen-room, also quarters for the servants, on the second floor. This room is furnished with proceeds of a bequest from the late E. Bolton Piper. The mess hall was furnished by Lieutenant George W. Wood, of Baltimore. Lieu- tenant Wood, prior to the war, lived in Louisiana and served with troops from that State. The commissary department occupies two small rooms, and the kitchen is on the same floor and convenient to the mess hall. The old Winder Building was torn down during the summer of 1898, and a new and much enlarged structure erected, at a cost of some $4,000, the expense of which was defrayed out of the receipts from the bazaar held in Baltimore in April of that year.
General Winder was educated at West Point, appointed Second Lieutenant of Infantry and afterwards promoted to be First Lieutenant, and was ordered to the Pacific coast. The steamer San Francisco, on which the troops took passage from New York, was disabled by a hurricane off the Atlantic coast, and drifting helpless for many days before the storm, was reported lost for several weeks. Different vessels rescued the crew and passengers, however, and Lieutenant Winder and his men, whom he refused to leave, were taken to Liverpool. For his conduct on this occasion he was promoted to be Captain in the Ninth Regiment Infantry, being. it is believed, the youngest captain in the army. He was again ordered to the Pacific coast, and with his company took part in Steptoe's campaign against the Columbia River Indians, being present at his defeat and perilous retreat under cover of night. He also took part in Colonel Wright's subsequent successful campaign against the same Indians. Early in 1861 he resigned his command and offered his services to the Confederate Government at Montgomery, and was commissioned Captain in the regular Confederate States Army. Being ordered to Charleston, he was present at the reduction of Fort Sumter. He was afterwards in the command of the South Carolina Arsenal, until commissioned Colonel of the Sixth South Carolina Infantry, arriving with his regiment at Manassas just at the close of the battle of July 21 ; March 4. 1862, nominated by President Davis to be a Brigadier-General : March 25, 1862, assigned to the command of the Fourth Brigade, Hill's Division, but without taking command, was on the emergency of a vacancy in the command of the Stonewall Brigade, assigned to the same and participated in the Valley campaign of 1862 : August. 1862, assigned to command of Jackson's Division ; was mortally wounded
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whilst in command of this division, August 9, 1862, at Cedar Mountain, General Winder was engaged in the battles of McDowell, Gaines' Mill, Malvern Tavern, Winchester, Harper's Ferry, Port Republic, Cedar Mountain and others.
General T. J. Jackson, in his report of the battle of Cold Harbor, says : " In pursuance of the order to charge the enemy's front, the First Virginia Brigade, commanded by General C. S. Winder, moved forward through the swamp, and upon emerging into the open fields, its ranks broken by the obstacles encountered, were re-formed, meeting at that point with the Hampton Legion, First Maryland, Twelfth Alabama, Fifty-second Virginia, and Thirty- eighth Georgia, they were formed upon his line. Thus formed they moved forward under the lead of that gallant officer, whose conduct here was marked by the coolness and courage which distinguished him on the battlefields of the Valley."
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