USA > Maine > First Maine bugle, 1893 (history of 1st Maine Cavalry) > Part 29
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We had about concluded to tear up our slab floor, build a fire on the ground and cook our fresh beef, when we were ordered to fall in, and being marched to the cars were put into a box car. Our guards told us that our cavalry had burned the railroad bridges on the road to Richmond, so we would have to go around by Lynchburg. A few spiteful women made faces and said some insulting things to us at some of the sta- tions as we pulled up, but some of our boys made them beat a retreat. It was night when we arrived at Lynchburg. We
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FIRST MAINE BUGLE.
were marched into a small room in the upper part of some las building, so small we could hardly all lie down. We could no water from the guard and of course nothing to eat. Se rebel deserters and men who would not enlist in the rebel sine were confined in the next room. They handed some wateren us through a small hole in the brick wall but could sit nothing to eat. We passed a tiresome night on the small a' dirty floor. It rained during the night. Two of the boys v up in the fire-place and the rain covered them with soot. . when they were pulled out by the legs in the morning they were a sight to behold.
As the day wore on a long line of rebel cavalry passed below our windows, each man leading an extra horse. Some of ti. boys hailed them and told them to give us some arms an! horses and we would fight them for our liberty. One l. Johnny called to us, " If you are so full of fight how came yio all up there? " This was a dead shot, and all the rebel trooper- laughed, while we joined in. It was extremely tiresome, stand. ing about all day in that small room, and we were glad whey the order came to " fall in " again for another move. " You a wanted to go to Richmond, now you will go there sure," so one of the guards. Our guards on the train were two your men, or rather boys. They had no ill-will against us. Th .; had enlisted because they were told that the Yankees were wolf than brutes, and would destroy everything. We arrived je Richmond next day. We were searched and our names entered in the register of the flourishing Hotel Libby. We did w . have much to be robbed of. I had only a box of Ayer's ! and a volume of Cavalry Tactics. We had no blankets 3 were in the lightest marching order. There was but one pr oner in the room we were located in. There had been exchange of prisoners a short time before our arrival. were shown to the top floor where we were star boarders.
We had a fine view from the west window of our prison. 11 James river ran near its walls and a canal full of busy boa plied between us and the river. Beyond the river green :. noble trees and some fine residences appeared. It made _
5
MY EXPERIENCE AS PRISONER OF WAR.
think of our own New England homes. Would we ever return to them again? The keepers removed the glass from the prison windows and nailed strips of boards across them. They very gently informed us that if we made one cut in these bars or in any other part of the room, all our knives would be taken from us. A stove was in one room and we burned what chips had been left behind by former occupants. The wind blew freely through the open windows and the first few days were chilly and damp.
A few other prisoners came in from West Virginia, having been captured after a hard fight. They had taken refuge in a small church and the Johnnies had to burn it to get the boys out. In a few days our army of pioneers from Chancellorsville came to Richmond; a large portion of them belonged to the Eleventh Army Corps and had been surprised by Stonewall Jackson while cooking their dinner. It was a sad sight for us. The streets were full of them and Libby prison was packed till we could hardly find room to lie down. The rest were sent to other places. We had the top floor, the width of the building and back to the partition wall, with windows on three sides. Packed as we were, we needed all the air we could get. We had two " meals " a day. The morning meal consisted of one- fourth loaf of baker's bread and a piece of boiled meat as large as two fingers of a man's hand. For supper we had some soup made of beans and sides of bacon boiled together. The bacon was bad, and the beans only parboiled. We chose sergeants to divide it, a one-gill dipperful to each man. There was no bread with this soup. This mixture made us sick and nearly every one had the diarrhoea. I only ate one cup of it, and from that on lived on one meal a day. We had to fall in to be counted each day, company front and six lines deep, and were cursed and thumped if we did not fall in quick. Any one too sick to stand up was carried out, we knew not where. Men would try to stand up so they could stay with us.
A servant of Captain Turner came in every day with a paper to sell for postage stamps; money could not buy it. Some of the boys had stamps hidden away in their clothes. The rebs
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FIRST MAINE BUGIE ..
had tried to buy these stamps, but of course no one wim! have any, so they would send in the newspaper to find th stamps. We found no good news for us until one morning !! paper contained the news of Stonewall Jackson's death. 1! it was bedlam let loose. We cheered, howled and stamped. woo forgot "where we were at " for a moment. Up came an caro and a guard, who faced us with ready muskets and demande the cause of the cheering. No one could tell him, and we' stood defiant. He said he had a mind to fire on us, but after cursing us to his heart's content he retired. We fasted th : day to punish us, but Jackson was dead ! I could not kop my burned and sour cracker any longer, but had to eat it.
One day a guard came in for volunteers to go out to unbon a canal boat of goods. We opposed it, but thirty men went of: in hopes to be given some food. Some kind women sent they children with food for them, but the guards had orders not t. let them have a mouthful. Capt. Turner said we " had enough to eat in the prison; it was giving aid and comfort to the enemy to feed us." When the poor tired boys came in and told us of it we resolved that if another man started to go out to work for the cursed rebels we would throw him out of the window. . 1 call was made for men next day, but not a man moved.
The cavalry boys kept together and did the best we could to pass the time. The vermin over-ran us-it was kill, kill! Wy have sat undressed an hour at a time and killed them as the; charged on us. There was one man sixty-five years old. from Col. Mulligan's regiment, who had his shoes taken from him. and walked barefoot many weary miles on his way to prisos. and his feet were so raw he could not walk for some days. II swore he would get even with the rebels, and I hope he dit Lieut. Andrews was not confined with us. One happy day were ordered to fall in. We were to be paroled ! If we !! been told we were to go to heaven I do not think we would have been one-half so happy. We were formed in a long !: in the street and a piece of bread and meat given us. Wewe: asked by many if we would again fight for the " Lincoln sto ernment." I think every one said he would fight until the os
7
MY EXPERIENCE AS PRISONER OF WAR.
Women and children offered us food. Some were so fortunate as to get a lunch, but the long line of guards had orders to keep the crowd back. Some rebel officers talked kindly to us about the war, but said they expected to win. We finally marched towards Petersburg. As night came on a heavy thun- der shower burst on us. It was so dark we couldn't sce cach other. We fell down and many fell in the ditches. We were passing through a dense wood, when word was passed from one to another to scatter in the timber. In a moment we ran and tumbled down among the trees. The rebs ran about to rout us out, but we would not move. We passed the night in a pouring rain and next morning we marched on. Our old shoes became filled with the fine sand and water, and every step was torture. We passed through Petersburg, and here again many women and children tried to feed us, but guards lined the strects to prevent it, though some few did grab some of the food. Some of the guards said they dared not let us take anything, for Capt. Turner would punish them. We had nothing to eat all that day. We marched on towards City Point, a long line of wretched stragglers. Every man who gave out was carried back. I shall never forget that march. My feet were blistered and worn by the sand till each step was like walking on fire. Timothy Richardson, who enlisted with me, said he could go no farther, but I encouraged him, and by leading him we finally came to the high bank above the wharf at City Point. There lay the steamer James Spaulding with our glorious flag above her. We sat on the bank until the last soldier went on board before we could muster spirit enough to crawl down to the steamer. We were free, and under our own loved flag again !
We sailed for Annapolis, where after a short stay, we were ordered to " Parole Camp " near Fort Ellsworth, opposite Wash- ington. It was a long time before my feet were entirely well. Corporal N. B. Catland of Co. B died soon after our arrival at " Parole Camp" from the effects of his imprisonment. We were exchanged in time to meet Gen. Lee and his determined advance on Washington that summer.
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8
FIRST MAINE BUGLE.
The First Cavalry Battle at Kelly's Ford, Va.
BY MAJ, FRANK W. HESS, U. S. ARMY AND THIRD PA. CAV. (Concluded.)
After a short delay, in which his front was cleared of the wounded of both sides and his regiments formed again, Gen. Averell moved forward his whole command and soon met the fire from Lee's battery of four guns. These guns were well served. and their projectiles were very annoying. Firing sometimes at a single squadron advancing, they very frequently knocked out a horse or man. The firing from our own battery was discouray- ing, as the ammunition was of very poor quality and the fuss thoroughly unreliable. Prisoners captured in the last charge informed us that Stuart himself, with his chief of artillery, wa- on the field, and from this we had reason to believe that more than Fitz Lee's brigade would soon be before us. It afterward transpired that Stuart and Pelham were accidentally there Unfortunately for the artillery of the confederacy, the brave Pelham did not leave the field alive.
As we advanced it was discovered that their cavalry had been formed in line on both sides of their battery, and their sharp- shooters opened on us again with effect. It was now found necessary by Gen. Averell to extend his line farther to the left. and to this part of it was sent the Fifth United States Cavalry until this time held in reserve. The enemy's front was again masked by his sharpshooters, deployed in a heavy line, and they soon commenced advancing and firing rapidly, while ht- battery of four guns seemed to redouble its energies. Undler cover of this he was seen moving forward his main line and preparing for a charge with a very large part of his command. Our whole front at this time was assailable at any point by a charge, and as the enemy's loug lines moved forward all folt that the great struggle of the day was about to commence.
FIRST CAVALRY BATTLE AT KELLY'S FORD, VA.
He led off with his left wing, heading for the center of our right wing, and at a gentle trot swept down a slope at the foot of which ran a stream that now separated us. Crossing this and forming again, he pressed forward, directing his course on the three squadrons of the Third Pennsylvania Cavalry, which had been posted on the outer edge of a small wood. The fields in front of these squadrons, through which the charging column was now coming, were heavy, and the horses were sinking from hoof to fetlock deep, and the whole Union line halted to await the attack. In the squadrons of the Third Pennsylvania the front rank had advanced carbines, and the rear rank had drawn their sabers. The men were cautioned to reserve their fire, and await the approach of the enemy that it might be more effect- ive. On came the confederates, but the soft ground, a scatter- ing fire from some squadrons of the Sixteenth Pennsylvania, which I think was on the right of the Third, and the steadiness of the troops in their front, who stood like a wall, all contrib- uted to destroy the vim and enthusiasm of this charge.
Before arriving within a hundred yards of its objective, the charging column had lost its momentum, and commenced sift- ing to pieces. More than half had halted, or were proceeding in a half-hearted sort of way, and a few only of the most daring spirits, on the best horses, arrived within from twenty-five to fifty yards of the objective. Now it was that the volleys from the front rank of the Third were given with terrible effect, and of which, says the Richmond Whig, in an issue of a few days after the event, " There were men in our lines who were engaged at Malvern Hill, at Gaine's Mills, in many of Jackson's battles, and with one accord they say that they never passed through such a fearful fire as thinned our ranks in that charge." As this was the fire of cavalry mounted, and from the ordinary Sharp's carbine, not a magazine arm, it is presumable that the effect is overstated. The article from the Whig, however, goes to show that the efforts of our men were fully appreciated by the enemy. As soon as Gen. Averell had perceived that it was the purpose of the enemy to charge on this part of the line, he hurried up Reno's command-the First United States Cavalry
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FIRST MAINE PUGLE.
-- it having been in reserve until this moment, and placed it in position some distance-about one hundred yards-to the left of and slightly in advance of the Third Pennsylvania, with the intention of making a counter-charge on the right flank of the enemy's column, as soon as he had made contact with that regiment.
It is necessary here to explain that previous to this and on the first field after crossing the river, some of Averell's poopk., as before intimated, too anxious to flesh their maiden saber-, and swayed by the intoxicating enthusiasm of "thundering hoofs," had indulged in some unauthorized charging, which drew from the division commander a very emphatic order, that troops once assigned a position in line, would, under no circum- stances, leave it without orders from himself or some one desig- nated by him as competent to give such orders. This order prevented the Third Pennsylvania from charging at the moment the enemy had exhausted himself. To show how difficult it was to obey this order literally, as required, it is only necessary to state that individual officers and men rode forward into the ranks of the confederates and engaged in hand-to-hand contest -. Had this charge, composed of the First, Third and Fifth Vir- ginia Cavalry, been delivered, as seemed inevitable when it started, both from its wild cheering and the numbers in the column, and not have ended surprisingly "in air," Reno would have been precisely in the right position to have prevented them, after having been broken on the troops in their front. from retiring to form again, and with the Third and Fourth Pennsylvania, which were on its right and rear, the field would have been cleared and these organizations lost to the confed- cracy. But the abortive effort of the enemy to reach our line in the face of the withering fire of the Third Pennsylvania ren- dered the preparations being made for the counter-charge of no avail. The order for the Third Pennsylvania to charge now came, and carbines were dropped and sabres drawn, and the enemy were driven entirely from the field, numbers being cap- tured and wounded.
While the events narrated above were happening, the right of the center, the Fifth United States Cavalry, under Walker,
--
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11
FIRST CAVALRY BATTLE AT KELLY'S FORD, VA.
was pushing forward on the extreme left as rapidly as the deep ditches which traversed the fields here would permit, driving back a strong mounted skirmish-line. Lee now, with his other two regiments (the Second and Fourth Virginia), estimated by our officers at seven or eight hundred (we are told by Maj. McClellan that these two regiments were stronger than the other three), charged on Averell's left, the objective being the battery which was hurrying into position. Prisoners captured from this column stated that the charge was led by Gen. Stuart in person. It was better managed than that on the right, and was driven nearer home. It was gallantly met by the Fifth Regulars, the Sixth Ohio, and by Reno, with his squadrons of the First United States, and repulsed with severe loss to the enemy, who was now driven from this his third position at all points. Reno, with the reserves, did not return to the line at all, but reached a point nearly one mile in advance, where he was joined by the whole command. From this point there was no enemy visible, except flying detachments and two guns.
This left Gen. Averell's command victorious at all points. Not a foot of ground once gained had been yielded by any part of his line. No pursuit could have been effectual. Undoubt- edly this command could have gone to Culpeper without serious opposition. But why should it? Lee, who was the true object- ive, could easily have kept out of the way. The full result hoped for in this expedition across the river, on the enemy's own ground, had been realized. The confederate cavalry had been met with about equal force on a field well known to him, but strange to us, and had been driven from it. To reach him the Union cavalry had effected the crossing of a deep and rapid stream in the face of most formidable obstructions and deter- mined opposition by the enemy. Being an isolated enterprise of a single small cavalry division, whose horses had been weak- ened by an arduous and engrossing picket duty throughout the winter, and unsupported on this occasion by any co-operation of the army, from which it was separated by a distance of over thirty miles, with a dangerous river between, it is difficult to imagine any sense of duty which would have prompted its com-
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FIRST MAINI BUGLE.
mander to have gone farther. It was now 5:30 o'clock; not much of daylight was left. The horse, having matched thirty miles over heavy roads the day previous, and seven miles the morning before the action commenced, and after that having been engaged directly with the enemy or in support, making many charges, and rapidly shifting from place to place on the field over soft ground, were much fagged. Reno remained at the farthest point reached by our people, without being assailed by the enemy, and until the field was cleared. The prisoners and wounded were carried across the river and the dead were buried. There were two officers so badly wounded that they could not be taken from the field, and they were left at a farm- house with a surgeon and some medical supplies. I have since been told by Gen. Averell that he left the bag of coffee for Gen. Lee, with the following note :
"DEAR FITZ: Here's your coffee. How is your horse?
AVERELL."
The whole division retired across the river that evening with out molestation, and encamped at Morrisville, and on the following day returned to the army, bringing with it an experience which thrilled the country and assured the cavalry arm of the service that the days of unjust criticism of its operations had come to an end. The most substantial result of this fight was the feel- ing of confidence in its own ability which the volunteer cavalry gained. This feeling was not confined to the regiments engaged, but was imparted to the whole of our cavalry. The esprit de corps and morale were greatly benefited. Kelly's Ford was the making of our cavalry. The effect was apparent, too, upon the confederates, for they also had been taught a lesson, and from this time until the end of the war the prowess of their antago- nists was, to put it mildly, held in high esteem. The engage- ments which followed each other in rapid succession during the summer of this year-Brandy Station, Aldie, Upperville, Mid- dleburg, the work on the right flank at Gettysburg, the fights at Boonsboro, Williamsport and Shepherdstown-all go to prove the correctness of this deduction. The troops engaged on the side of the confederates have already been named. The Union
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FIRST CAVALRY BATTLE AT KELLY'S FORD, VA.
15
troops consisted of parts of the following regiments, organized temporarily for tactical purposes into three brigades, as follows : First Brigade ( Col. Duffie), First Rhode Island, Fourth New York, Sixth Ohio; Second Brigade (Col. McIntosh), Third, Fourth and Sixteenth Pennsylvania; Reserve Brigade ( Capt. Reno), portions of the First and Fifth United States Cavalry, and Martin's (New York) Horse battery, commanded by Lieut. Brown. All told, 2, 100 men. The losses as reported, and no :. recorded in Vol. XXV., Official Records of the Rebellion, were as follows :
Confederates :
Killed.
Wounded.
Capture 1. I
Officers
3
Men
8
77
33
Total killed, wounded and captured.
. 133
Horses
71
ST
12
Union troops :
Killed.
Wounded.
Capire !.
Officers
I
12
2
Men
5
35
20
Total killed, wounded and missing .
Horses, no report; loss small, except at the fordings.
The loss at the ford was, killed, two men: wounded, three officers and five men, and fifteen horses killed or so bally wounded as to be of no use.
As showing the humane feeling which often actuated the leaders on both sides, it may be interesting to state that when the two cavalry officers who were left on the field had sufficiently recovered to permit of their removal, Gen. Fitz Lee sent a flag of truce to Averell's picket-line, saying: " Your two officer- are well enough to go home where they ought to be. Send an ambulance to Kelly's and you can have them." This was done and the officers went to their homes. It must also be remarked that of the three officers left behind by Lee in his raid on Averell's pickets a few weeks before, two of them died and were placed in coffins and sent under flag of truce across the lines, and the other one recovered and was sent to Camp Chase.
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FIRST MAINE BUGIE.
Maj. H. B. McClellan, in the " Life and Campaigns of Maj .- Gen. J. E. B. Stuart," devotes over twelve pages to a descrip- tion of this contest. When we consider that from his standpoint it seemed but a slight affair, and an utter failure on the part of the Union troops engaged, the undue prominence given it, a. well as his manner of treating it, gives rise to the suspicion that he feels under some compulsion to explain away the result. As his work is one of the most important contributions to the history of the cavalry of the Army of Northern Virginia that has yet made its appearance, his deductions skillfully drawn, his facts forcibly stated, the literary style and general character of his book such as to give it a place in most public libraries, I have felt that it will not be well to allow his statements to go unchallenged where they appear to me to be incorrect.
Gen. Averell in his official report to his chief of this affair. says : " From what I had learned of Lee's position, and from what I knew of his character, I expected him to meet me on the road to his camp." This seems to have been construed as a slur on Gen. Lee by the author of the sentence, and is fre- quently quoted and paraded by Maj. McClellan, who exhibits a feeling in his account of this battle which one does not expect to find in the work of an impartial historian. However this may be, something seems to have occurred that has awakened the ire of this writer, and he proceeds to roundly berate Gen. Averell and to belittle his conduct of this affair. He claims that Fitz Lee's command that day, exclusive of the battery, consisted of only eight hundred men. If this be so they were handled in a manner to leave the impression on the minds of their adversaries that there were at least twice as many. This, in itself, would be an eloquent commentary on Fitz Lee's gen- eralship. A participator in that fight, an experienced and cool- headed officer, remarks that it was the " most numerous eight hundred I ever saw."
Gen. Lee in his report does not state his own strength, though he is careful to state that of his adversary at, in round numbers just one thousand more than he had. Maj. Davis, now in charge of the War Record Office, has kindly made diligent search for.
1
15
FIRST CAVALRY BATTLE AT KELLY'S FORD, VA.
but has failed to find, any report from this brigade that gives the number of men in it at this precise date. This is unforty- nate. The only mention made of the number of men he had occurs in the last sentence of Gen. Stuart's report to Gen. R. E. Lee, forwarding that of Fitz Lee. In the very last sentence he states it to be " less than eight hundred." This estimate may not be exact, and probably was carelessly made; but on account of the prominence of its distinguished author, it seems about to be passing unchallenged into history. It is, however, open to grave suspicion, since it is a part of the same report that contains such glaring inaccuracies as this: "The defeat was decided, and the enemy, broken and demoralized, retired under cover of darkness to his place of refuge ( the main army), having abandoned in defeat an expedition undertaken with boasting and vainglorious demonstration." The quotation is verbatim.
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