USA > Michigan > Wayne County > Detroit > History of the Twenty-fourth Michigan of the Iron brigade, known as the Detroit and Wayne county regiment > Part 26
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The 6th of the month at early dawn, the bugles sounded, and the Old Army of the Potomac prepared for the triumphant march through the Rebel Capital. Here and there and everywhere the troops were marching and countermarching, the cavalry were dashing to and fro, Aides rode furiously between the different Headquarters, and everything betokened a grand gala day for the army. The sun shone splendidly. It was just such a day as one would have selected had he been given a choice. At 9 o'clock the march was to begin and at that hour the tread of the soldiers, the soft music floating through the pure air, the gay flags waving in all directions, the bright sunshine flashing on the guns of the long lines of infantry, all inspired the mind with feelings of pride and satisfaction.
The Army of the James was drawn up along the streets through which we were to march and extended not less than three miles. And now the Army of the Potomac enters Richmond and every man treads firmer as he marches through the streets along which thousands of Union captives were marched by the Rebels after Bull Run and other disastrous fields. How changed! Then the citizens of Richmond came out by thousands to look with pride and triumph upon the long files of captives sent
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by the Rebel chiefs to amuse their countrymen. Now the captives are the conquerors, and with mailed hands and helmeted heads and the tread of great chiefs, they pass through the city, and the great Leader of the Rebel armies, from behind a latticed window, views the endless lines of the Union forces ! Shout after shout goes up from the Brigades of the Armies of the James as the war-worn veterans of the army file by them. We pass by all the noted places in order that the troops may see them.
Here is Libby, and each soldier bites his lip and grinds his teeth as he marches by the place of murders. On we march, and now we are in front of the Capitol, and the beautiful Equestrian Statue of the Father of his Country stands out like a living reality against the blue sky, the bright sunshine playing upon horse and rider, and seeming to give life to both.
There is the Capitol of the State of Virginia. It was built many, many years ago. It is not so old as Westminister Hall or St. Paul, or the Tower of London, but from its rostrum have issued forth in other days, an eloquence which thrilled a nation of freemen, and inspired men with a warmer devotion to liberty. It has a history.
Now we are on Franklin street, and opposite the residence of General Lee. It is a plain substantial brick dwelling. We are conquerors, but we are not barbarians. We rejoice in victory, but we do not insult a fallen enemy. We pass in silence so far as speech is concerned, but the sound of martial music and the soft notes of the many bands filled the street with patriotic airs.
We leave the city, and are on the way to Hanover Court House. Every foot of the ground between Richmond and Fredericksburg is full of historical associations, remote and recent. Here is Hanover Court House, the scene of several severe battles, and more noted still as being the place where Patrick Henry, the forest-born Demosthenes, first exhibited those wonderful powers of eloquence which electrified the continent and sounded the knell of English rule in America. Before we reach Hanover Court House, we bivouac on the spot where General Stuart of the Rebel army, received his death wound. On all sides are earthworks, rifle pits, trenches, etc.
On the fourth day after leaving Richmond, we approach Fredericksburg, and from a height seven miles in the rear, we catch the first sight of the city. First a spire meets the eye, and then the top of a lofty building, and finally the whole city is in full view. All are anxious to pass over the memorable battle-field, and the line of march is up the Bowling Green Road. There on the hill are the Rebel batteries. Did I say batteries? There are the embrasures, but the Rebel and his cannon are gone. Stillness as of the Sabbath reigns through all the fields and over all the heights.
I am anxious to revisit the first battle-field of the "Twenty-fourth," and I leave the Brigade and cut across the fields. A negro is ploughing in the field where Hattie was killed, but the grave of our first offering to the grim God of War is untouched. Humbly, reverently, I dismounted and kneeled by the graves of Hattie and Reed and read their half effaced names from the mouldering head-boards. Captain Whiting renews the names. We have fought the good fight. We have won the victory. We are on our homeward march. These, our first dead, cannot go with us. They sleep on the banks of the Rappahannock and we shall see them no more till the Judgment Day.
I saw also the graves of Sergeant Brindle and Corporal Tait who were killed on the 30th day of April, 1863. I said to the ploughman, "My good man, in these graves sleep brave soldiers who fought for the best and holiest of causes, and gave up their lives that their country might live. Respect their graves or in the silent watches of the night, their sheetless corpses shall harrow thy soul with fear." He promised
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HISTORY OF THE TWENTY-FOURTH MICHIGAN.
to respect them and we bade adieu to the resting places of the first martyrs of the "Twenty-fourth."
" Their bodies are dust, their good swords rust, And their souls are with the saints, we trust."
That night our bivouac is on the north bank of the Rappahannock not far from where we encamped after we recrossed the river in December, 1862. We crossed the river at the identical place where we crossed it on the morning of the 12th of December, 1862. Then we were going out to fight; now we have fought our last fight and won our last battle, and we are going home to friends and dear ones.
It seemed to me as if from this plain, there must stand some of the countless throng that crowded it on that memorable 12th day of December. But no, not one. Few of that host remain. Some sleep a mile below, some afterwards fell at Chancellorsville, some at Gettysburg, some at Mine Run, some in the Wilderness, and on every battlefield from the Rapidan to the James, and from the James to Appomattox Court House, where Lee finally succumbed, some of those brave spirits find resting places. They will come together no more.
As I sat by the grave of Hattie, I tried to recall the past. I tried to recall to mind the scenes of the 13th day of December, 1862. On this identical field, stood Speed, and Hutton, and Grace, and Nall, and the other brave officers and soldiers who have fallen at Gettysburg and elsewhere. Nall sleeps in New Jersey. Speed rests near Detroit. Grace lies in the National Cemetery at Gettysburg. Hutton is in the Wilderness! It was painful to dwell on the theme. Why was I spared ? I asked myself. Here I was, mounted on the same horse which I rode in the first battle of Fredericksburg !
I have given you, in a conversational way, an account of our homeward march. We are near Arlington, at present, but I think we shall be all out of the service in a few days, except perhaps a few of the Veteran Regiments. The Grand Review comes off next week, and is to be the greatest military display the world ever saw. We are making perparations for it. I hope the general health of the officers and men is good. No doubt you are all looking forward to a speedy return to your homes. Give my regards to all.
Ever your friend, HENRY A. MORROW.
Adjutant LEWIS H. CHAMBERLIN,
Twenty-fourth Michigan Volunteers.
GRAND REVIEW -- GRANT'S FAREWELL -CLOSING WEEKS.
During the week following, the Army of the Potomac and the one that had marched with Sherman to the sea, moved in grand review through Washington, with proud and streaming battle-flags, before the President and chief men of the nation, receiving due homage for their patriotic services. In an address by the General- in-Chief to the Union soldiers of the nation, he said :
By your patriotic devotion to your country in the hour of danger and alarm, your magnificent fighting, bravery and endurance, you have maintained the supremacy of the Union and the Constitution, overthrown all armed opposition to the enforcement of the laws and of the proclamation forever abolishing slavery -- the cause
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THE ARMIES DISBANDED.
and pretext of the Rebellion-and opened the way to the rightful authorities to restore order, and inaugurate peace on a permanent and enduring basis on every foot of American soil. Your marches, sieges, and battles, in distance, duration, resolution, and brilliancy of results, dims the lustre of the world's past military achievements, and will be the patriot's precedent in defense of liberty and right, in all time to come. Victory has crowned your valor, and with the gratitude of your countrymen and the highest honors a great and free nation can accord, you will soon return to your homes and families. To secure these glorious triumphs, tens of thousands of your gallant comrades have fallen, and sealed the priceless legacy with their blood. The graves of these, a grateful nation bedews with tears, honors their memories, and will ever cherish and support their stricken families.
The weeks following the Grand Review and farewell address were devoted to mustering out the soldiers as rapidly as possible. With the surrender of Lee all recruiting offices were closed and no more arrivals came to Camp Butler, while the drafted men and substitutes there were soon sent home, which lightened the duties of the Twenty-fourth Michigan. The closing weeks of the Regiment's tarry near Springfield, Ill., were attended with none of the excitement of the field. However, the assassination of Lincoln had its effect upon the men-that of profound sorrow. Many of the soldiers wept as at the loss of a father. On the occasion of the President's funeral, the appearance of the Twenty-fourth Michigan, which formed the principal escort added to the pageant and elicited much commendation from military men and citizens. The regiment was drilled with especial care for the honorable duty, by Major Hutchinson and the company officers, and its appearance was at its best, being thoroughly furnished with new Iron Brigade black hats, feathers, brasses and white gloves. They were soon recognized by Major-General Joseph Hooker, who was in attendance and who seemed pleased again to meet the Regiment whose acquaintance he had made in the early stages of the war. Lieutenant-Colonel Edwards commanded the Regiment on the occasion.
The days passed slowly by as the men could count on their fingers the weeks they had to serve. Occasionally some long absent member would return from Confederate prison or general hospital. On the 4th of June two of the new recruits were drowned while bathing in the Sangamon River-Thomas Checken and Thomas Shanahan. One was drowning and his comrade swam out to his assistance and both went down in each other's arms. The old story that wherever camps are pitched graves are left, proved very true at Camp Butler, for twelve of the veterans of the Regiment and twenty-five of the new recruits were there mustered out forever and found final resting places near this prairie camp.
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HISTORY OF THE TWENTY-FOURTH MICHIGAN.
June 16th brought orders for the Regiment to proceed to Detroit for muster-out. On June 19, at 10:30 A. M., it bade a glad farewell to Camp Butler for its last tenting ground, near the banks of the Detroit. It reached Fort Wayne soon after daylight of Tuesday, June 20, and at 5 o'clock P. M. was welcomed home in the city whence it took its departure nearly three years before .- Then, 1,026 men upon its rolls, now, less than 200 of those original men. The Free Press thus described its arrival :
Our citizens felt a peculiar gratification, yesterday afternoon, in welcoming to their homes the gallant Twenty-fourth Michigan. It is the especial pride of our city and county. Of all the brave troops who have gone from our State, few, if any, regiments can point to a more brilliant record, to more heroic endurance, to greater sacrifices for the perpetuation of the priceless legacy of civil liberty and a wise and good government. Few regiments in the service have been through more perilous marches and seen more hard fighting. Its losses have been extremely heavy. Yesterday an expectant crowd thronged the depot from 10 A. M. until the Regiment arrived, and the thoroughfares leading to the depot were thronged. By 5 o'clock the depot was crammed to excess, and Brush and Atwater streets in the neighborhood were a dense mass of human beings As the train rolled into the depot, cheer on cheer made the echoes ring again. The Regiment formed in line and proceeded up Brush street, escorted by the city band, thence down Jefferson. Here the scene was an imposing one. Flags were displayed and many buildings were gaily decorated with flags, evergreens and mottoes. Over the entrance to Young Men's Hall were the words "Welcome Home." The building of F. Buhl was beautifully decorated with flags. The side walks, roofs of buildings and every available place for seeing was densely packed with spectators and cheer on cheer went up as the Regiment passed along. A conspicuous object in the line was the beautiful flag presented by the citizens of Detroit.
Though the ranks were full, only about two hundred were of the original men, distinguished by a red circular patch on the hat, which , was the badge of the old First Army Corps, to which they formerly belonged. Lieutenant-Colonel A. M. Edwards was in command of the Regiment which was marched to the freight dock of the Michigan Central Depot whence it left for the front just two years, nine months and twenty-two days previously from that hour. It was from this dock that the immense throng of friends on that sad evening, August 29, 1862, watched the steamers that bore them away till they were lost to view. Alas, three hundred of those departing friends were gone forever, never more to be welcomed home. On this memorable spot in our regimental history, tables were spread for supper and the returning soldiers were welcomed back by Rev. George Taylor and Hon. Theodore Romeyn. Lines were again formed and the Regiment proceeded up Jefferson avenue to Detroit Barracks. This was its last camping ground and named "Camp
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Crapo" after the Governor of Michigan. Here it awaited its final dissolution a few days later. It was met upon its return to Detroit by some who had been tarrying in hospitals, prisons and detached service, so that, altogether, about two hundred and forty-six original members were mustered out with the Regiment. Below we quote portions of the closing letter of Sergeant S. D. Green to the Free Press, from the Twenty-fourth Michigan, whose correspondent he had been from the Regiment while out from home.
FAREWELL LETTER OF SERGEANT GREEN.
CAMP CRAPO, DETROIT BARRACKS, June 29, 1865.
The Twenty-fourth remembers with gratitude and thanks that through these columns during their three years' absence and hard service, their friends at home were occasionally informed of their toils and hardships, their marches and campaigns. We have heard from lips that love us, during the few happy days that have sped on golden wings since Detroit gave us such a glad and cordial welcome eight days ago, that hearts were rejoiced at good news in the paper from time to time. That our friends may hear once more through this means, we send them words of cheer and greeting from this, our last tented camp and field.
The slow process of the mustering office is approaching the final termination of its labors as regards the Twenty-fourth. One company-the unassigned recruits- mustered out three days ago, has this afternoon been paid and its members are on their way home. Company F was mustered out at noon to-day. It waits only the striking of balances by the Paymaster's clerk, and the last roll-call will be to walk up to the table and receive their pay. Yet a very few days, and the organization of our regiment will be no more. Still, there is no regret. As soldiers, we are no longer needed ; as citizens, we return-we who remain-to the quiet avocations of civil life and home.
We hope to return to our places upon the stage of life, some to take high and honorable positions among our fellows, others as honorable though more humble stations. Already some of our number who, by the casualties of war, were disabled and left us early in our term of service, have reached a high and advantageous stand from which to start in the battle of busy life. We saw one who graduated with high honors yesterday at the University of Michigan in the neighboring and pleasant city of Ann Arbor, and when eyes rested upon the empty sleeve that hung by his side, we remembered how he won it. Sick and left behind in hospital at Brooke's Station, when the regiment moved forward to Fredericksburg, he pressed onward next day, but failing to find the Twenty-fourth, he went in with the Seventh, charged through " that smoking town," and came out maimed for life. And he is but one. You shall see them on every hand, yet they do not complain. They have their reward, and some there are who, having gone through ten times more and greater dangers, unharmed, would fain give something to have been touched that they, too, might bear honorable scars.
Yesterday the regiment had its last dress parade. To-day the arms and ordnance stores have been turned over to the proper government officers, and all the stately pride of arms is gone from our camp. We still live in tents, such as have been our habitation summer and winter for three years. With this, too, this special correspondence "from the Twenty-fourth," must have an end. Your correspondent
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HISTORY OF THE TWENTY-FOURTH MICHIGAN.
has held pleasant communion with the friends of the regiment through these columns. And yet it could not be for any intrinsic merit of those sketches which were sometimes gathered from the smoke of battle and from out the dust of hard campaigns, but it must be due to the fact that they concerned that regiment upon whose members were centered the fondest hopes, and for whose welfare and safety the most fervent prayers were offered by friends at home.
And now to those friends and to the Twenty-fourth we say good bye, but the memories that are pleasant shall remain always with
Their friend and yours, S. D. G.
FAREWELL ORDER.
At 5 o'clock P. M. on Wednesday, June 28, occurred the last dress parade of the regiment, when the following farewell order was read :
HEADQUARTERS TWENTY-FOURTH MICHIGAN VOLUNTEERS, DETROIT, June 28, 1865.
GENERAL ORDERS NO. 46.
Officers and Soldiers of the Twenty-fourth Michigan Volunteers :
You are soon to return to civil life and assume the duties and obligations of citizens.
In taking leave of you and sundering the ties which three years of toil and danger have strengthened, I wish to express my warm regard for you personally and my high admiration for the noble qualities you have displayed in your career as soldiers.
Your patience, promptness, courage and fidelity, have won for you the praise of all your commanders. The story of your exploits will be told in history. In your first battle, at Fredericksburg, when only newly enlisted, you established a reputation for coolness and gallantry which entitled you to be classed with veterans. In your subsequent engagements at Port Royal and Fitzhugh Crossing, at Chancellorsville, and on the Westmoreland raid, at Gettysburg, Mine Run and the Wilderness, at Spottsylvania, North Anna and Bethesda Church, on the Tolopotomoy, at Petersburg, on the Weldon Railroad and on the Weldon raid, at Hatcher's Run, and at Dabney's Mills, you maintained the high character you had gained, and added fresh laurels to your already brilliant fame.
You left Detroit nearly three years ago with a thousand men and thirty-seven officers. You return now with less than two hundred of those men and only six of the original officers. Every battle-field on which the Army of the Potomac has fought, from the first Fredericksburg, to Hatcher's Run, has been moistened with your blood. You have never lost a color, but have captured two from the enemy.
You will soon return to your homes and families, and engage in civil pursuits. You can carry with you the sweet reflection that you have done your duty, and a restored and happy country will applaud the heroic sacrifices you have made in its defense. Let no act of your future life sully the fair name you have won in the field. Return to your homes, good and quiet citizens, and follow the arts of peace with the same zeal and fidelity you have shown in the field of honor, and happiness and prosperity will crown your labors.
By order of Lieutenant-Colonel
ALBERT M. EDWARDS.
L. H. CHAMBERLIN, Lieutenant and Adjutant.
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COMMANDERS OF TWENTY-FOURTII MICHIGAN DURING ABSENCE OF COLONEL MORROW.
LIEUTENANT-COLONEL MARK FLANIGAN. (Brevet Brigadier-General.)
LIEUTENANT COLONEL WILLIAM W. WIGHT.
LIEUTENANT-COLONEL ALBERT M. EDWARDS. (Brevet Colonel.)
MAJOR WILLIAM HUTCHINSON. (Brevet Lieutenant-Colonel.)
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THE ARMIES DISBANDED.
Friday, June 30, 1865, dates the final discharge of the Regiment, it having been just two years, ten months and fifteen days from its muster-in to its muster-out.
COMMANDERS OF THE REGIMENT.
Although the Twenty-fourth Michigan never had but one full Colonel, the Regiment was from time to time under the command of four other of its officers, while its Colonel was absent on sick leave, wounded or in command of the Brigade. These officers were Mark Flanigan, W. W. Wight, Albert M. Edwards and William Hutchinson, who commanded the Regiment at different times as follows, Captain Gordon commanding one day :
1862.
July 26 to Nov. 4, Colonel Morrow. Nov. 4 to Nov. 6, Lt .- Col. Flanigan. Nov. 7 to Feb. 9, '63, Colonel Morrow. 1863. Feb. 9 to Feb. 16, Lt .- Col. Flanigan. Feb. 16 to Mar. 24, Colonel Morrow. Mar. 24 to April 2, Lt .- Col. Flanigan. April 2 to June 1, Colonel Morrow. June I to June 5, Lt .- Col. Flanigan. June b to June 7, Colonel Morrow, June 7 to June 13, Lt .- Col. Flanigan. June 13 to July I, Colonel Morrow. July I to July 4, Captain Edwards. July 4 to July 14, Colonel Morrow. July 14 to Aug. 7, Captain Edwards. Aug. 7 to Aug. 21, Colonel Morrow. Aug. 21 to Aug. 23, Captain Edwards. Aug. 23 to Oct. 10, Colonel Morrow. Oct. 10 to Dec. 6, Captain Edwards. Dec. 6 to Jan. 3, '64, Colonel Morrow. 1864.
Feb. I to Feb 28, Lt. Col. Wight. Feb. 28 to Mar. 8. Colonel Morrow. Mar. 8 to Mar. II, Lt .- Col. Wight. Mar. II to Mar. 21, Colonel Morrow. Mar. 21 to May I, Lt .- Col. Wight. May I to May 5, Colonel Morrow. May 5 to May 9, Lt .- Col. Wight. May 9 to May 22, Major Edwards. May 23 to June 9, Lt .- Col. Wight. June 9 to Nov. 13, Lt .- Col. Edwards. Nov. 13 to Dec. 22, Colonel Morrow. Dec. 22 to Jan. 17,'65, Maj. Hutchinson. 1865. Jan. 17 to Jan. 20, Lt .- Col. Edwards. Jan. 20 to Jan. 24, Colonel Morrow. Jan 24 to Mar. 31, Lt .- Col. Edwards. Mar. 31 to April 14. Colonel Morrow. April 14 to Apr. 25, Lt .- Col. Edwards. April 25 to June 15, Maj. Hutchinson. June 16, Captain George C. Gordon. June 17 to June 30, Lt .- Col. Edwards.
Jan. 3 to Feb. I, Captain Edwards.
Thus altogether, Colonel Morrow had command one year four months ; Lieutenant-Colonel Edwards, one year one month ; Lieutenant-Colonel Wight, three months; Major Hutchinson, two and a half months; Lieutenant-Colonel Flanigan, one month, and Captain Gordon ( nominally ) one day.
THE DRUM STICKS OF THE TWENTY-FOURTH.
The drum sticks used in the Twenty-fourth Michigan have a history reaching far back into days of the Revolution and probably much farther could the facts be known. They were found on the
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HISTORY OF THE TWENTY-FOURTH MICHIGAN.
battle-field of Saratoga, or Bemis Heights, October 7, 1777, by the side of a dead British Drummer. They were picked up by Lieutenant Chase of Morgan's famous South Carolina Rifles, and were presented by him to James Parker, a drummer in Chase's Company, by whom they were used until the close of the Revolutionary War. He then presented them to James Culver, from whom they passed to his son David Culver, a drummer in the war of 1812. Culver used them at Niagara, Lundy's Lane, and elsewhere in the campaigns of the "Second War for Independence," and transferred them to his son James who was a drummer in the American Army in the Mexican War, 1846 to 1848, and by him they were used in the campaign from Vera Cruz to the City of Mexico.
In August 1862, James presented them to his cousin, Anson B. Culver who was a drummer in the band of the Twenty-fourth Michigan Infantry. He used them from the battle of Fredericksburg, December 13, 1862, to the close of the campaign which terminated in the terrible conflict at Gettysburg. In the fall of 1863, Culver presented these precious relics to Colonel Morrow, who owned them till his death in 1891. Their last war service was in the Grand Review of the Union Armies at Washington in 1865, at the close of the Rebellion, when they were used in the Band of the Iron Brigade of which General Morrow was then commander. They have been witnesses of many stirring incidents in our national history, but never, in their long career, did they witness grander deeds than when at Gettysburg they sounded the advance of the Twenty-fourth Michigan boys to their immortal work, whose conduct in that battle is a part of the brightest chapter in the military annals of the Republic.
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