USA > New Hampshire > A history of the Second regiment, New Hampshire volunteer infantry, in the war of the rebellion > Part 2
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Process Reproduction of Pencil Drawing by Israel .T. Hunt,
The Old Ropewalk Barracks, Portsmouth.
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SECOND NEW HAMPSHIRE.
and in August became a part of the Third New Hampshire Regt. When the First Regiment went to the front, May 25th, there were left in camp at Concord two companies : the Granite State Guards, of Great Falls, Capt. Ichabod Pearl, and the company recruited by Capt. Leonard Drown. These were soon relieved by the detach- ment of three months men from Portsmouth, and joined the Second, their commanders being commissioned Captains of Companies H and E, respectively.
The work of organizing, officering, and making the regiment ready for the field was actively pushed. Col. Pierce resigned on the 4th of June, and Gilman Marston, of Exeter, then a member of Congress from the First District, was commissioned as colonel and at once assumed command.
On the 31st of May Major Seth Eastman, U. S. A., began the work of mustering the men, commencing with Company A, and closing with Company K on the 8th of June. The 10th of June was held as the date of regimental muster, on which date, according to the tabulations of Adjt .- Gen. Ayling, 1022 men had been mus- tered. Subsequent individual enlistments filled the regiment to its maximum number, probably before it left the state, but all received after that date are classi- -- fied as "recruits."
The state equipped the Second Regiment (as it also had the First) in the most thorough and comprehensive manner according Corpl. Edwin S. Tash, Co. D. to the military standard of the day, and the completeness of its Dover, N. H., March 16, 1895. Edwin S. Tash, a prominent grocer of this city, com- mitted suicide at his home this forenoon by shooting himself in the head with a 38-caliber revolver. Death was instantaneous. De- spondency over business troubles was the cause. Deceased was 58 years of age, was prominent in local politics, and a Grand Army man. He leaves a widow and one son. outfit attracted the admiring at- tention of old army officers. E. D. Townsend, late Adjt .- Gen. U. S. Army, has the following to say in his interesting "Anecdotes of the Civil War :" "Some of the regiments came to Washington
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EQUIPMENT.
admirably equipped. There were, especially, two from New Hampshire. They had complete clothing, arms and accoutrements, and tents. Their wagons were arranged like store-rooms, with boxes for their various supplies. They had also very good bands of music."
The baggage train comprised sixteen four- horse wagons of the famous Concord make, and the horses were selected with the great- est care. The wagoner who drew the rein over such a rig was, in those early days, quite as much of a fellow as the company com- mander. It is needless, perhaps, to add that this part of the outfit was in due time turned into the common pool of the quartermaster's department, and the Second put as to trans- portation upon a level with the rest of the army.
William Humphrey Ramsdell, Co. I.
A son of William Ramsdell, long a leading citizen of Milford. Had led an adventurous life, including several years as a gold hunter in California. Went to Portsmouth as lieutenant of the Milford company, on three months' enlistment, and on the breaking-up of the company, re- enlisted as a private in Co. I. He died in Milford June 19, 1879, aged 49 years.
The uniforms were gray, the jaunty forage caps and "spiketail" dress coats banded with red cord. A company at a time, the men were marched over to the "old custom house," made their individual selections from the grand jumble of garments, and generally went forth with misfits of a more or less exasperating nature.
Nine companies were armed with smoothbore muskets, cal. 69, carrying "buck and ball"-a most efficient weapon for close work.
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SECOND NEW HAMPSHIRE.
The "Goodwin Rifles" (Co. B) were armed with Sharp's rifles- breechloaders-which had been provided by the subscriptions of citizens of Concord. The expense was subsequently assumed by the state, and eventually by the United States. The muskets were exchanged, soon after the first Bull Run battle, for Spring- field rifled muskets.
The selection of line officers for the regiment was doubtless a matter of perplexity for the Governor, as it certainly was of disappointment to some whose ambitions were not gratified. Almost every detachment of any size had come in with a nominal company organization of its own so far as commis- sioned officers were concerned. These could not all be retained. Joseph E. Janvrin, Co. K. Some received their discharges, Served nearly seventeen months on the hospital staff of the Second. Oct. 28, 1862, he was com- missioned Assistant Surgeon of the Fifteenth N. H. Dr. Janvrin now resides in New York city. while others dropped down a notch or two in the official scale. Some accepted warrants as non-commissioned officers or stepped into the ranks as privates ; the high average social scale and character of the men then com- posing the rank and file rendering the latter alternative by no means an entirely distasteful one. The roster of commissioned officers was finally completed as follows :
Colonel-Gilman Marston, of Exeter. Lieutenant- Colonel-Francis S. Fiske, of Keene. Major-Josiah Stevens, Jr., of Concord. Quartermaster-John S. Godfrey, of Hampton Falls. Surgeon-George H. Hubbard, of Manchester. Assistant-Surgeon-James M. Merrow of Rollinsford. Chaplain-Henry E. Parker, of Concord.
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ORIGINAL ROSTER.
Company A .- Captain, Tileston A. Barker, of Keene. First Lieut., Henry N. Metcalf, of Keene. Second Lieut., Herbert B. Titus, of Chesterfield.
Company B .- Captain, Simon G. Griffin, of Concord. First Lieut., Charles W. Walker, of Concord. Second Lieut., Abiel W. Colby, of Concord.
Company C .- Captain, James W. Carr, of Manchester. First Lieut., James H. Platt, of Manchester. Second Lieut., Samuel O. Burnham, of Pembroke. Company D .- Captain, Hiram Rollins, of Dover. First Lieut., Samuel P. Sayles, of Dover. Second Lieut., Warren H. Parmenter, of Dover.
Company E .- Captain, Leonard Drown, of Fisherville. First Lieut., William H. Smith, of Exeter. Second Lieut., Ai B. Thompson, of Concord. Company F .- Captain, Thomas Snow, of Somersworth. First Lieut., Joshua F. Littlefield, of Somersworth. Second Lieut., Harrison D. F. Young, of Lancaster.
Company G .- Captain, Ephraim Weston, of Hancock. First Lieut., Evarts W. Farr, of Littleton. Second Lieut., Sylvester Rogers, of Nashua. Company H .- Captain, Ichabod Pearl, of Great Falls. First Lieut., Joab N. Patterson, of Hopkinton. Second Lieut., William H. Prescott, of Somersworth.
Company I .- Captain, Edward L. Bailey, of Manchester. First Lieut., (Adjt.) Sam'l G. Langley, of Manchester. Second Lieut., Joseph A. Hubbard, of Manchester.
Company K .- Captain, William O. Sides, of Portsmouth. First Lieut., Edwin R. Goodrich, of Portsmouth. Second Lieut., John S. Sides, of Portsmouth.
As time passed there was a growing impatience to be sent to the front. Many of the men had enlisted in the middle of April, on an emergency call, but were still in the state. To be sure, time passed very pleasantly at Camp Constitution, with an occasional extra excitement like the ridiculous hogshead regatta on the mill- pond, or the rebellion of the "Abbott Guard" (Co. I) against the character of its rations, which resulted in the company being put
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SECOND NEW HAMPSHIRE.
under guard in its quarters, but effected the desired change in the interest of the whole regiment.
Occasionally, on Sunday, an entire company would march over to the city to attend divine service. June 2d the regiment formed on the parade ground and listened to the chaplain's first camp sermon. He selected as a text, Psalms, 146 : 5 : "Happy is he that
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Hospital of the Second Regiment, Portsmouth.
Drawn by J. Warren Thyng, from Sketch by Israel T. Hunt.
hath the God of Jacob for his help, whose hope is in the Lord his God." The spirit of the discourse was that all men sought after happiness, that the South had taken the wrong path to secure it, and it was the mission of the loyal North to set her right. Nor did the spiritual head of the regiment fail of the admonition to "put your trust in God and keep your powder dry."
On Saturday, June ist, the portion of the regiment then uni- formed marched over to the railroad station to greet a Maine regiment on its way to Washington. The sight of the Maine boys
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OFF FOR THE WAR.
actually headed for the front rather increased the fear that the rebellion would be put down before the Second New Hampshire could put in a blow.
But on the morning of June 20, the regiment left Portsmouth on its way to Washington. It was accompanied by the then famous Manchester Band, under the leadership of Walter Dignam. Their services were paid for by subscription, and they remained with the regiment about a fortnight after its arrival in Washington.
The regiment arrived in Bostou at 12 o'clock. A tremendous ovation awaited it. At the Eastern Railroad station, fourteen hundred "Sons of New Hampshire" received it, under escort of the Boston Cadets, and with Gillmore's Band, all under the mar -. shalship of Colonel O. A. Brewster. The procession marched through Black- stone, Commercial, State, Court, Tremont and Winter streets, to Music Hall, where a sumptuous colla- tion was spread. Along the route the streets were crowded with spectators, who cheered the troops at every step. Haymarket Square was a literal sea of heads.
Lieut. Ai B. Thompson, Co. E.
In August, 1861, was promoted to Captain 18th U. S. Infantry, and distinguished himself at Perrysville and Murfreesboro. Brevetted Major for gallantry, and was retired for disability from wounds. Depart- ment Commander of the G. A. R. in 1888. Elected Secretary of State for New Hampshire in 1877, which position he held until his death, which occurred at Concord Sept. 12. 1890.
Music Hall was appro- priately decorated. The galleries were occupied by the Sons of New Hampshire, and the floor by the troops, and every seat in the hall was filled. Vociferous cheers were given as the different parties arrived in the hall : for Gov. Berry and suite, for ex-Gov.
SECOND NEW HAMPSHIRE.
Goodwin, Gov. Andrew of Massachusetts, the Cadets, and the Second. The marshal called the company to order, and after the invocation of a blessing by Rev. Dr. Quint, then of Jamaica Plains, the eating commenced, at the conclusion of which Hon. Marshall P. Wilder, a native of Rindge, was introduced as the representative of the Sons of New Hampshire. He bade the regiment a hearty welcome. He reminded them of the revolutionary renown of their state, and of the patriotic governor, John Langdon, who pledged his last cent for the cause of his country. He said that war was a terrible crime ; but that an attack upon the integrity of the Union more than justified it. The stars and stripes must be respected south as well as north of Mason and Dixon's line. He closed by eloquently reminding Col. Marston of the importance of his trust.
Col. Marston responded, and said in substance that he could not find words to express his emotions of gratitude at the cordiality of the reception tendered his regiment. The scenes of this day will nerve our hearts to do all that man can do for the honor of New Hampshire, God bless her ! We have not left our happy and peaceful homes for a war of oppression or conquest of anybody.
We have taken up arms to preserve the freest and best government against the most causeless rebellion ever conceived. And we will do it! When this war commenced, some doubt was expressed whether the people of the free states, having always been engaged in the pursuits of peace, would be able to defend the Union ; but the uprising of the whole North had settled that point. Massachu- setts had been the first in the contest, as she was in the revolution. Many a tearful eye witnessed the march of the gallant Sixth of this state, in Washington, through Pennsylvania Avenue, hungry and fatigued, after the scenes in Baltimore, but as gallant and unsubdued a set of men as ever upheld the honor of any country. The Second New Hampshire is composed, not of military men, but civilians ; yet if they are given work to do, I will answer for them in the language of Colonel Miller, "We'll try, sir !" Col. Marston was frequently interrupted during his remarks by the most enthusiastic cheers.
The regiment left Music Hall about half-past two, and marched to the parade-ground upon the Common, where they were reviewed by Gov. Andrew and staff, Gov. Berry, and ex-Gov. Goodwin. The
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RECEPTION IN NEW YORK.
review concluded, the regiment marched to the railroad station and embarked on a train drawn by two locomotives and consisting of twenty-two passenger and two baggage cars. At Fall River they were transferred to the steamboat " Bay State," and arrived in New York about ten o'clock on the morning of the 21st. They were warmly welcomed by the Sons of New Hampshire in New York, each of whom wore an appropriate badge. H. B. Perkins delivered an eloquent welcoming speech, concluding as follows :
Israel Thorndike Hunt, Co. D.
"Soldiers of New Hampshire ! We, who were born and nurtured Served three months in the Hospital De- partment of the Second, when he was promoted Hospital Steward of the Fourth N. H. To his facile pencil we are indebted for several fine drawings of early camp views which but for him would not have been preserved. Dr. Hunt now resides in Boston. amid the same granite hills to which you have just bidden adieu -we, whose kindred and friends are pillowed on her rocky bosom-we are proud of you today, and feel that the spirit of Stark and Langdon still lives and animates your bosoms. Onward ! onward ! then, shall be our motto, as we know it is yours ; onward, until the demon of treason and disunion is crushed from our land (cheers), and Yankee Doodle and The Star Spangled Banner shall again thrill the hearts of a patriotic, a united, an invincible people." (Cheers.)
Charles Soule followed Mr. Perkins in a brief but eloquent speech, and presented an elegant silk flag-the same under which the regiment fought many of its hardest battles. The following is a New York newspaper's report of Col. Marston's reply :
"The colonel, Gilman Marston, listened to the addresses on horseback and with uncovered head. His horse had stood mean- time with little or no manifestation of uneasiness, but when his rider's voice was raised in response, the animal curvetted about considerably ; the colonel, nevertheless, spoke easily, and with as
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SECOND NEW HAMPSHIRE.
much dignity as his peculiar position at the time permitted, pausing for a moment and reining up his horse in front of the committee- men, as often as the impatient steed carried him beyond the formal position he had at first taken. During the delivery of his reply, he said that in behalf of the regiment and himself, he presented their united and grateful thanks for the kind welcome they had been given, and the gift of so beautiful a flag. The stars and stripes had always been a type of our Union, to uphold which they had left the comforts of home to undergo the deprivations and trials of war ; but he hoped that, by the blessing of God, the Union would be maintained for transmission to other generations. He accepted the flag for the regiment, and pledged for them their devotion to it, and their determination to uphold it with all their strength."
The flag was then carried to the line, the Sons of New Hamp- shire formed into sections at the head of the regiment, whose band struck up a national air, when the regimental line broke into platoons, and the column moved up Broadway amid the applause and cheers of thousands of spec- tators. The officers dined with the committee of arrangements at the Everett House, and the men were entertained at the Elm street armory.
At half-past four p. m. the regiment departed for Washing- ton, being transferred on the ferry-boat ." Kill von Kull" to Elizabethport, N. J., where it took cars by the Reading line. George W. Morgan, Co. F. Resides at Lancaster. These were box-cars, roughly fitted with seats of unplaned boards-the first reminder to the men that they need no longer expect all their journeys to be garnished with cushioned seats. And when the barrels of cooked rations were opened, and beef was distributed which certainly had
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ON TO WASHINGTON.
not improved with age, some of the men were ready to believe that modern civilization was indeed a failure.
During the night, while passing through New Jersey, a lamenta- ble accident occurred, Lieut. Charles W. Walker, of Co. B, falling from the platform of a car and re- ceiving fatal injuries. His remains were sent back to Concord, where his funeral was attended by members of the legislature and a large concourse of citizens.
The regiment reached Harrisburg June 22, and at midnight arrived at Golds- borough, Pa., where the men were marched from the cars, and the order given to load muskets. A rest of an hour was here had, and at eight o'clock on the morning of the 23d the regiment was in Balti- more.
Quartermaster James A. Cook.
Was the original Commissary-Sergeant of the Second. June 9, 1862, promoted Quartermaster. July 2, 1863, pro. Captain and Com. Sub. He re- tired from the service badly broken in health, and returning to his home in Claremont, died there May 13, 1866.
It was really a disap- pointment to the men that they got through Baltimore without a riot. But the city was then well under control, and the Union sentiment beginning to assert itself. Still, all preparations were made to force a passage if circumstances should require. With loaded muskets, and accompanied by the Seventeenth New York and a Pennsylvania regiment, the march was taken up-the Seven- teenth in the middle of the street in column of platoons, the other two regiments marching by the flank upon the sidewalks on either side. The line of march was kept clear by cordons of policemen across the head of each intersecting street, behind whom pressed a solid mass of humanity, manifestly not of a very friendly character.
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Camp Sullivan, Washington, D. C.
Process Reproduction of Pencil Drawing by Israel T. Hunt.
CAMP SULLIVAN. I 7
About noon the regiment arrived in Washington, and in the evening marched to its designated camping ground, on Seventh street, about a mile and a half from the capitol. It was not a comfortable location, being on the southern exposure of the long ridge known as Kalorama Heights, with but little shade in the camp limits. The camp was named "Camp Sullivan," in honor of
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Hospital Steward's Shanty: Camp Sullivan,
Drawn by J. Warren Thyng. from Sketch by Israel T. Hunt.
New Hampshire's great revolutionary general. Drill and discipline became the order of the day, and the regiment rapidly improved in both.
It is amusing, now, to recall the wild camp rumors and reports which were flying in the Second, as in all the green regiments. A mansion house, seen in picture above, was currently reported to be a rebel signal station, from the gable window of which lights were occasionally displayed at unseasonable hours of the night. It was
In the view of Camp Sullivan, on the opposite page, the three wall tents and two A tents on the knoll in the background, under the oak trees, are the quarters of the staff. The tents just below, with the small square flags, are the hospital. The tent at the left, with flag, is the sutler's. In the background, at the right, the gable and roof of a small house show above the tents. This is outside the camp, and has no connection with it. In foreground is a rude shelter made from an old tent-fly. On two of the tents are visible evidence that some of the boys have done their washing and hung their shirts out to dry.
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also generally believed that spies fairly swarmed about the camp, and that danger lurked behind every bush for the camp-guard marching his beat at night.
This ridiculous fear was the direct cause of a tragedy, one night, when Jonathan Calef, a corporal of Company A, who had been permitted by one sentry to pass a rod or two outside the camp line, was shot through the neck by the guard on the next beat, from which he died August 14.
A casualty of a less serious character was met by private Joseph B. Conner, of Company I. A stack of loaded muskets fell to the ground, and one piece was discharged, the ball passing through one of Conner's arms, inflicting a wound which necessitated his dis- charge for disability.
The regiment was brigaded with the First and Second Rhode Island and Seventy-first New York regiments, all under command of Col. Ambrose E. Burnside, of the First Rhode Island. Attached to the brigade was Reynolds' Rhode Island Battery-six 13-pounder rifles-and the Seventy-first had two small boat howitzers-brass.
CHAPTER II.
JULY 16 TO 22, 1861 .- THE FIRST BULL RUN CAMPAIGN-ADVANCE INTO VIRGINIA-CAPTAIN EPHRAIM WESTON-IN CAMP NEAR CENTREVILLE -ADVANCE TO BULL RUN-A FEMALE PROPHET-SECOND FIRES ON A GEORGIA REGIMENT-CHARLES TABER'S EXPERIENCE-IMBODEN'S REBEL BATTERY-COL. MARSTON WOUNDED-UNION REINFORCEMENTS ARRIVE-MCDOWELL ANNOUNCES A VICTORY-BATTLE RENEWED- THE SECOND ON THE HENRY HILL-INCIDENTS OF THE RETREAT- JOHN L. RICE-THE AFFAIR AT CUB RUN-AMPUTATION OF ISAAC W. DERBY'S ARM-REPORT OF LIEUT .- COL. FISKE.
T two o'clock on the afternoon of July 16, the regiment marched from its camp on that short campaign which ended so suddenly and disas- trously at Bull Run. It had rarely shown as full ranks as on that occasion. Men who had been under the surgeon's care for weeks buckled on their armor and obstinately refused to be left behind while the death blow was given the rebellion.
One of the most striking examples of the triumph of determination over bodily infirmities was exhibited by Captain Ephraim Weston, of Company G. He was suffering at the time from the disease which ended his life only a few months later ; but he started with his company, and made the campaign which was his first and his last. Many a lift he got from the mounted officers on the march out, and at night his devoted men saw to it that he had the best bed and shelter the materials at hand afforded. He conducted himself with conspicuous valor on the battlefield, and in some way got safely back to camp.
The tents were left standing at Camp Sullivan, with most of the knapsacks and personal baggage, in care of the invalids. The regi- ment marched with its brigade across Long Bridge, where it was cheered by the venerable James Wilson of Keene and other New Hampshire men who had assembled there, and as it stepped upon
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SECOND NEW HAMPSHIRE.
the soil of "Old Virginny" the band struck up " Dixie" with might and main, while the soldiers made the air resound with their marching songs and cheers. But the heat and suffocating dust soon began to tell upon the men, not yet hardened for such a march, and many were obliged to fall out of the ranks and seek shade and rest.
The bivouac that night was at Bailey's Cross Roads, and the march was resumed early the next morning. Evidences of the recent presence of the enemy were met, the road having been obstructed at places by felled trees, and the pio- neers of the Second-a select squad of twenty men under charge of a sergeant -found plenty of exercise in clearing the way for the column. About II o'clock word was passed down the line that rebel earthworks were ahead. Orders were at once given to load. Then the ranks were closed up, the regiment broke into column of sections, and in this formation marched rapidly forward. The long line of works were soon in L sight. They were of quite Capt. Ephraim Weston, Co. G. formidable character, with Was from Hancock, and the original Captain of Co. G. Died of disease Dec. 9, 1861. The Grand Army Post at Antrim is named for him, and furnishes the above portrait. a number of embrasures for artillery, revetted with sand- bags, each bag bearing the But the rebels had departed,
initials of its late owner-" C. S. A." evidently in haste, as considerable property was picked up in the brush camps to the rear of the works, which would not have been overlooked in a leisurely evacuation.
A mile beyond was the little village of Fairfax Court House,
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ADVANCE TO CENTREVILLE.
which the brigade entered in bloodless triumph, but with a clearly defined impression that a serious blow had been dealt the rebellion. Arms were stacked in the streets and upon the village green, and a rebel flag which had been left floating from the cupola of the court house was gathered in by one of the Second Rhode Island, the regimental flag of the Second New Hamp- shire taking its place. The soldiers scattered through the village and the aban- doned camps, and of some of the looting done, the least said, the better. The richest find was a rebel mail bag which missed connec- tions, and the contents of which were as good as a John Sullivan, Jr., Co. E. circulating library.
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