USA > Maine > History of the First Maine cavalry, 1861-1865, V. 1 > Part 10
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Saturday, twenty-third, the regiment moved a short distance, and after remaining in line of battle all day, camped at night in a corn-field in the same line, holding the saddled and packed horses by the bridles all night, and, as was written home at the time, " tired, wet and hungry, but in good spirits."
For three or four days the regiment now marched hither and yon, how in one direction and now in another, now picketing, now supporting a battery, now scouting, now anything but rest, with but little to eat, and no encouragement. On the twenty- sixth it was joined to Gen. Fitz John Porter's corps, on the twenty-seventh reached Catlett's Station, and on the twenty- eighth moved to Manassas and was reviewed in the morning by Gen. Elliott, of Gen. Pope's staff, under whose direction it remained for a few days. That afternoon the regiment took the position it had become so well accustomed to take, the order of battle, several companies being sent off to reconnoitre in different directions, camping that night near Bull Run stream. Friday. twenty-ninth, commenced the second battle of Bull
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FIRST MAINE CAVALRY.
Run. The regiment marched on the field at daylight; was formed in line of battle on the right of the army in the morn- ing, and was kept in that position all day, under fire most of the time, but without being actively engaged. About noon one battalion, under command of Maj. Stowell, was sent to recon- noitre on the extreme right, and returned later in the day. A portion of Cos. G and K stood picket at night, and the remain- der of the regiment slept on the field, the men keeping hold of the horses' bridles.
The regiment was early in line the next morning. The battle was renewed about nine o'clock by the enemy with his artillery. This was of short duration, however, and matters remained quiet till between three and four o'clock in the afternoon, when the cannonading again commenced, now furiously, on the right. The regiment was ordered on a reconnoissance to the extreme right, and when a mile or more out the rebel batteries turned their attention to it. No serious damage was received, and the object of the expedition having been accomplished the regiment. returned, and found the enemy occupying the ground it had left but a short time before. By filing around some woods the regiment arrived on the field and found Gen. Pope's force beginning to give way. A panic ensued, which was rapidly increasing, when orders were received to "draw sabre " and stop stragglers and men who were leaving the field; and for some time this and another cavalry regiment were engaged, by persuasion, by upbraiding, and by the point of the sabre, in try- ing to prevent men from running away, and to restore order and confidence, but so strong was the feeling of defeat and dis- couragement that this service proved of little real effect. It. should be understood that at this time the army was by no means demoralized. There were stragglers, and many of them. but the great bulk of the army was in good order and still fighting nobly. The regiment after a while moved to the rear half a mile and formed in line under the brow of a hill for the same purpose as before, but as it was soon found that the enemy's artillery had a good range of this position, another move was made, the regiment this time crossing Bull Run stream, where the line was again formed, it now being about
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A COOL TEAMSTER.
dusk. Finally the regiment moved back to Centreville, reach- ing there about midnight, and bivouacked for the night. being in front of the whole army. One mile from the battle-field all was perfectly quiet ; men were cooking their suppers as coolly as if danger was something never known in the vicinity.
During this battle the regiment, though under fire a great portion of the time, was not actively engaged. Its loss was therefore slight ; one or two prisoners who were serving as orderlies were captured while carrying despatches.
Just after the army began to give way, and while the regi- ment was drawn up in line in rear of the field, the attention of the men was attracted by the coolness of the driver of an ammunition wagon. Bent only on the performance of his duty, he drove his team where he was ordered, paying no attention to the showers of shot and shell, no attention to the hosts of stragglers, passing retreating wagons of all sorts and paying no attention to the advice of the frightened drivers, steadily he made his way, clear up to the front, till he passed out of sight in the smoke and dust of the battle, evidently en route for the battery to which the ammunition belonged. Though unknown, he won the admiration of the Maine boys for his coolness, brav- ery and strict adherence to duty under such circumstances, and is entitled to the honor of being one of the best soldiers on that ill-fated field, though "only a teamster."
The day after the battle, Sunday, thirty-first, was compara- tively quiet. The regiment made a reconnoissance toward Cub Run, and after a bit of a skirmish with the enemy, returned and went on picket a couple of miles beyond Centreville, where it remained till nearly night of the next day, when it moved back to Fairfax Court House, reported for duty to Gen. Reno, com- manding a division of Gen. Burnside's corps, and went into camp. Tuesday, September second, it moved toward Alexandria three or four miles, and had a touch of provost duty, stopping stragglers, etc .. till the middle of the afternoon, when the line of march was again taken up, and the boys slept that night in a peach orchard, some three miles from Alexandria.
The campaign of Gen. Pope was now virtually over. Gen. MeClellan on the second of September was placed in command
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of the "forces for the defence of the national capital," though Gen. Pope was not relieved from the command of his army till nearly a week later, when he was assigned to a command in the northwest. During this campaign, lasting barely a month, the men had seen arduous and continuous service, and on their arrival at Alexandria were well worn out and were feeling some- what discouraged at the thought that all the events of that month, with its hardships, fighting, sufferings and loss of life had gone for naught. They had had no tents since the sixth of August, had lived mostly on green corn cooked when they could get time to cook it, having very little hard bread or government rations of any sort, suffering intensely from heat, dust, hunger and thirst, and for the last fifteen days the saddles had not been off the horses two hours at a time. At night, formed in line of battle, they had dismounted and lain down in front of their horses, with the bridle thrown over the arm, or the halter attached to some part of the body. Men and horses were well worn out. The sufferings of that campaign can never be told, never imagined, even, and they were apparently for no good. The men were sad, exhausted and dispirited, though aside from the wear and tear, their sufferings were compara- tively nothing. But amidst all this they never lost their faith in the eventual triumph of the cause for which they were suffering.
The quality of the regiment at this time was complimented by a writer to the London Cornhill Magazine of December, 1862, in an article entitled "Campaigning with Gen. Pope," who says : " Much of the Federal cavalry was wretchedly made up; but there was a Maine regiment of broad, long-armed swordsmen, whose equals I have never seen. In this regiment the horses of each company were of a distinct color. There was a regiment of lancers, likewise, whose pennons gave them a picturesque appearance. They were noted, mainly, for tum- bling from their saddles." The First Maine boys will remember this regiment of lancers, whom they facetiously dubbed " turkey- stickers," by which name they were long known.
During the month of August the band, which had been a part and parcel of the regiment from its organization, and the
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GOOD-BY TO THE BAND.
music of which had many a time cheered the men, and which had also won an enviable reputation throughout the army for its fine music, was mustered out of service as a needless and costly luxury, and went home, much to the sorrow of the members of the regiment.
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CHAPTER V.
THE CAMPAIGN IN MARYLAND.
LEE'S ADVANCE INTO MARYLAND. - GEN. MCCLELLAN AGAIN IN COMMAND OF THE ARMY. - THE REGIMENT AT ALEXANDRIA. - A RECONNOIS- SANCE TO FAIRFAX. -- THE WOUNDED ON THE BATTLE-FIELD OF BULL RUN. - BACK ACROSS THE POTOMAC. - A HOT, DUSTY MARCH INTO MARYLAND. - HEAVY DETAILS FROM THE REGIMENT. - CAMPAIGNING AMONG FRIENDS. - A SKIRMISH WITH FITZ HUGH LEE. - CHARGE INTO AND OCCUPATION OF FREDERICK. - COL. ALLEN APPOINTED MILITARY GOVERNOR OF THE CITY AND CAPT. SMITH PROVOST MARSHAL. - ON DUTY IN THE CITY. - ARRIVAL OF RECRUITS. - DUTIES OF MILITARY GOVERNOR AND PROVOST MARSHAL. - IMPORTUNITIES OF REBEL WOMEN TO AID REBEL PRISONERS. - THE MAINE BOYS AT PRAYER MEETING. - Co. G AT SOUTH MOUNTAIN. - COS. H AND M AT ANTIETAM. - DEATH OF GEN. RENO. - Co. G AT BURNSIDE'S HEADQUARTERS.
A FTER the second battle of Bull Run, the rebel forces. under Gen. Robert E. Lee, remained extremely quiet. and with the exception of a fight at Chantilly on the second day, nothing of interest or importance occurred for some days. Finally it appeared that Lee, instead of striking at Washington, as was the chronie fear during the most of the war. was making his way into Maryland, with the intention of releasing the thousands in that state whom he had been led to believe were friends of southern independence, from the bond- age of the United States government, and in the hope of adding large numbers to his force ; then, doubtless, of giving the state of Pennsylvania a taste of the horrors of war in part retaliation for what his own state of Virginia had suffered, if not, with his army largely increased by the disloyalists of " My Maryland," of making an attack on Washington from that direction. His ill success in awakening any enthusiasm among the people of Maryland by his stirring addresses and kind offers to " aid them in throwing off the foreign yoke, to enable them to again enjoy
(*)
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THE WOUNDED OF BULL RUN.
the inestimable right of freemen, to restore the independence and sovereignty of their state, and to regain the rights of which they had been so unjustly despoiled," and his disappointment thereat, are matters of familiar history, as are also his defeats at South Mountain and Antietam, and his subsequent retreat back into Virginia.
Gen. McClellan had been reinstated in command of the forces in the defence of the national capital, which forces were in the vicinity of that city. His services in the campaign in Maryland are also matters of history, and are not within the province of this work.
The regiment was near Alexandria the morning of Septem- ber third, resting a bit. About noon Cos. E, G, K, and L, then comprising the third battalion, under command of Capt. Tay- lor, went on a reconnoissance toward Fairfax. They reached within two or three miles of the court house, where they found the rebel pickets, and after one or two slight skirmishes with no serious results, they returned a couple of miles and went on picket, remaining there that night, and rejoining the regi- ment the next day. Word having been received that the Union wounded left on the field of Bull Run had been uncared for. on the fourth Co. F was sent out as guard for an ambulance train, to take such as were still alive to where they would receive proper treatment. They found the wounded in a horri- ble condition, suffering from wounds, hunger, and, above all, from thirst, there being but few in the vicinity to attend to their wants, and those unable to attend to them all, had they been inclined. The wounds of many of these poor sufferers had become infested with vermin, and in some cases putrefaction and gangrene had set in. Many had died by inches, and many were still dying by inches. It was a fearful sight, and one which but few of the regiment were so unfortunate as to witness.
Friday, fifth, the regiment recrossed the Potomac and was again in Washington, going into camp that night on Seventh street, where it was expected there would be a season of rest for men and horses, both of which were greatly in need of it ; but on Sunday the march was resumed, the regiment reaching
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Leesboro. Md., at dark, after the hottest, dustiest march on record up to that time. The heat was almost insufferable, and the dust, which choked men and horses, was so dense as to sometimes render it impossible to see ten feet away. The regi- ment had been assigned to Gen. Reno's division, and Co. G was detailed as body-guard for the general just before starting on this march. A day or two later Cos. A and I were detailed as body-guard for Gen. Rodman, while Cos. M and H were doing similar duty in Fitz John Porter's corps. From this time to the twelfth the regiment was engaged in scouting and recon- noitring in different directions, during which the boys learned the difference between campaigning in the enemy's country and among their friends. It was something new in their experience as soldiers to meet with friendly faces, kind words, and, better than those, substantial assistance from the people living along their lines of march, and to feel, as they sought information from the citizens concerning the movements of the enemy, that they were not being misinformed.
Friday, twelfth, the vicinity of Frederick City was reached by the army, where Gen. R. E. Lee had made his headquarters, and whence the rebels had not yet gone. The regiment, that is the half dozen companies not on detached service, had the advance, and met Fitz Hugh Lee's cavalry some three miles from the city, where, about two o'clock in the afternoon, a severe skirmish occurred, in which the enemy was driven. Pur- suit was given, and though the rebels attempted to make a stand in the streets of Frederick, they were forced to give way, and Union troops held the city after the rebels had occupied it one week. The loss was slight; the fighting was close, and several sabre cuts were given and received. The Union troops met with an enthusiastic reception at the hands of the Union citizens of the town. When the last armed rebel had been driven out or captured, the regiment went into camp, and by virtue of having been the first into the place, were allowed to take care of it. Col. Allen was by Gen. Burnside appointed military governor, Capt. Smith, Co. D, provost marshal, and the regiment provost guard. Adjt. Stevens was appointed acting assistant adjutant general, and Capt. Boothby, Co. F. aid-de-camp.
-أجب إنهاداء الاجاء ثبته، سايل حدة.
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ON DUTY INN FREDERICK.
The regiment, or about half of it. under command of Col. Douty, remained here till November second, patroling the town night and day, scouting and reconnoitring, and doing provost . duty generally. Some five hundred rebel prisoners were con- fined in the jail, and on the night of October fifteenth an attempt was made by their friends to set fire to the jail, hoping the prisoners would escape in the confusion. The plan did not work ; an alarm was sounded, and though the regiment, with the exception of those actually on duty, was unsaddled and asleep, in less than ten minutes it was mounted and had sur- rounded the jail, and not a prisoner escaped, though many desperate attempts were made. The New York Fire Brigade, which was then in the town, took a hand in the game, and knowing how, soon had the fire under control.
The service here, though not extremely hard, was of much importance, protecting alike soldiers and citizens. There were quantities of guard and patrol duty to be performed. There was scouting almost daily, and picketing a few miles out from the city all the time. There were frequent reports brought to headquarters by the affrighted citizens from the surrounding country, of projected raids into the city by the enemy's cavalry or guerillas, to release the prisoners, or to kill or capture the Union soldiers and take their arms and equipments, or murder Union citizens, of which it would not do to take no notice ; and many times was the regiment ordered out at a moment's notice to repel an attack from a foe, which existed only in the imagina- tion of alarmed farmers, or which had been warned by friends from the city that preparations had been made to receive. Then there were the prisoners to guard, the secret and open enemies living in the town to be looked after, the scores of hos- pitals, after the battles of South Mountain, September four- teenth, and Antietam, on the seventeenth, to be guarded and otherwise attended to, together with any amount of orderly and safeguard duty to be performed. In short, it was a time of constant, unwearying watchfulness and care, and of continuous service. Still the boys felt that they were among friends, and rather enjoyed serving in and about the pleasant city of Frederick. While here some two hundred and fifty recruits
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FIRST MAINE CAVALRY.
arrived from Maine, and were assigned to different companies, to take the places of those who had died or been discharged from the service. It is pleasant to record one fact in connec- tion with the hospitals in this city, and that is, that the dreary life of the wounded and sick boys in blue was made pleasant by the visits of the ladies of Frederick. Although many of these acknowledged that their sympathies were with the south, they said they would not allow their sectional feelings to interfere when sufferers were in want. That they certainly ministered to the wants of our sick men is the testimony of one officially connected with the First Maine Cavalry hospital there, and they are and ever will be gratefully remembered.
Col. Allen as military governor, and his staff, and Capt. Smith as provost marshal, performed their difficult and ardu- ous duties with general acceptance to all except the rebels, and even these were forced to acknowledge the fairness which char- acterized the treatment they received. Among the most vexa- tious things which came before Col. Allen in his new capacity were the persistent efforts of secession sympathizers in that city, and even from Baltimore, to get aid to their friends con- fined there in prison. Money, clothing, food, etc., were sent or carried there almost daily, for their benefit, and the office was besieged with rebel women hours at a time, with unblushing effrontery, for permission to go and see and cheer, or to take these articles into the jail and give to the dear, suffering boys. These requests were denied, with the exception that food and clothing (not gray) and small quantities of money were gen- erally allowed to be sent in, and, in rare instances, taken in. Boxes of rebel uniforms were sent from Baltimore for these prisoners, directed in care of the military governor, and women came after them and pleaded, till even Col. Allen's large stock of patience was well-nigh exhausted. that they be given the suf- fering heroes, giving as an excuse for the color of the clothing. that gray was selected, not because it was the badge of seces- sion. but because it was cheaper than cloth of any other color. Such excuses were too transparent, however. the colonel in- forming them firmly that if the boys were suffering so badly for clothing, they must bring some of another color. If ever
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GOVERNING THE CITY.
there was persistency displayed, it was by secession women at the office of the military governor of Frederick.
The duties of Capt. Smith as provost marshal were also arduous and difficult, and required a deal of discrimination and administrative ability. Upon being appointed to the office, he naturally looked into the Army Regulations, to see what his duties were. To his surprise the term was not to be found there, nor did the dictionary give him any assistance. Finally he came to the conclusion, as he expressed it, that he was a sort of king, and acted in that belief. He had almost unlim- ited power, and, it must be said, he used it well. The duties were vast and various, as the good order and well-being of the city was in his hands as executive officer of the military gov- ernor. In the first place, there was the care of the army passing through, which was no small job; then there were the liquor- saloons, houses of ill-fame, and resorts of all kinds to be kept under restraint, and, in short, all the police work of a city under martial law, and filled with discordant elements. to be looked after, as well as the care of the hospitals, the rebel prisoners, etc. No one can have any idea of his multifarious duties, unless he has been placed in a similar position.
Extracts from private letters, written by the clerk at the military governor's headquarters, will give some idea of the state of affairs there during that time : -
The secesh women here are pretty bold, and the men. even. are not so timid or secret as they might be. Very often a couple of the female rebels (they always hunt in pairs) come into the office to see Col. Allen. Then commences a series of begging for the privilege of furnishing clothing for the poor rebels who are here, setting forth in strong language their destitu- tion, their being strangers in a strange land. etc .. ending with, " Now, do. please. colonel - you don't know how much good it will do us." It makes me provoked. always, to hear them plead to be allowed to do some favor to a miserable rebel prisoner, but it always amuses me to hear the colonel talk to them. I don't see how he has the patience, but he talks as long as they do, appearing to feel the least bit sorry he can't grant them the favor, but at the same time refusing them so plainly that they can but understand what he means. Little consolation and still smaller favors they get out of him in that direction. A couple were in here the other day, and the colonel strongly hinted that they (the women) didn't come under his jurisdiction, by saying : ". If you are secesh, and sympathize with the rebellion so strongly. you have no business here. under a Union government -you belong down in Vir-
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FIRST MAINE CAVALRY.
ginia." He talks good-naturedly all the time, but still they know he means what he says. Yesterday a couple were in here, and one of them hung on for a long time for the colonel to let a rebel prisoner, who was wounded and taken at Antietam, I think, and who had been luxuriating and getting well at her house ever since, go to Baltimore with her, and she would see that he was taken care of after they got there. She said he didn't want to stay in Baltimore, but would report to the provost marshal there, as he was very anxious to get back to Richmond. Undoubtedly, but the colonel couldn't see it. I think when they left here they were pretty thoroughly convinced that when the poor, oppressed rebel did go to Baltimore, it would be with a squad, and under guard of a bayonet or two instead of a pair of bright eyes, which would be only too willing to go off guard duty. They can't play many odds on Col. Allen, if he did come from "down east."
I was a bit amused the other day at a little incident which shows which way the wind blows. I was standing at the gate before the office, talking with one of the orderlies, when a couple of young women came along. The orderly says, "There's a couple of secesh !" I looked at them quite curi- ously, you may be sure, when, just as they came within a few feet of us a big dog ran along and brushed against the dress of one of them. "Go away," said she, "you great Yankee dog; " and you ought to have seen the peculiar twist of the nose it required for her to say " Yankee." I could not help it, - I had to laugh, and laugh I did till they got out of sight. Rude in me, I know, but not having exercised the laughing muscles much lately, I hadn't them under perfect control.
Rumors of raids keep coming; a telegram came the other night that sixty rebel cavalry had crossed into Poolesville, which was confirmed by the report of the telegraph operators there, who were taken prisoners and paroled. The same night a party of four came up to Urbana, the town adjoining Frederick, about eight miles from this city, and calling at the house of the postmaster, a strong Union man, called him into his store and made prisoners of him and his clerk. a fine young fellow. Then they com- menced plundering, and the postmaster managed to slip them. The leader of the gang got mad and ordered his men to shoot the clerk, so he should not get away; but the men refused, when he took a pistol and shot him himself. The ball entered the poor fellow's lungs, and he must die if he is not already dead. Can you find a word expressive enough to use in speaking of that act ? I can't, without being profane. The gang left, and got safely across the river. the citizens of the town not caring to interfere. The postmaster remained all night scouting round, not daring to go home, having no arms, and came here yesterday morning.
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