USA > New Hampshire > History of the Twelfth regiment, New Hampshire volunteers in the war of the rebellion > Part 18
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History of the Twelfth Regiment
believe it true, but we were glad for a change of some or almost any kind that promised a little rest.
We have already marched back here to Warrington this afternoon, and are now waiting for the train.
From Wapping Heights to Front Royal the First Brigade took the lead, advancing part of the way in line of battle over hills, rocks, and through brooks, swamps, and ravines; but finding nothing to fight, formed into column and marched back to Markham and encamped for the night. The next day it started again at 4 A. M., and marched through Piedmont and Salem to White Plains, where the Twelfth Regiment went on picket and was exposed to a severe shower during the night.
Little did the rain-soaked and march-worn sentinels of that weary but watchful picket line think, as they stood as faithful but almost disheart- ened outposts on that wet and gloomy night, that they were so near the end of their long and wearisome marches, and that before another night should come they would be relieved from the tiring toils of war in the field, and preparing to leave the Army of the Potomac for a pleasant place of rest and safety in camp.
Coming, as it did, all unexpected, the order for the Second, Fifth, and Twelfth New Hampshire regiments to be detached from the Third Corps and to report at Washington for guard duty, seemed too much like a dream or idle camp story to be credited ; and not until the Second and the Twelfth found themselves on rail en route for the Capital, that con- gratulations were exchanged and the realization of the welcome truth begun to be felt.
At noon of the 27th the Second and Twelfth regiments bade farewell to Meade's army, and took the train for Washington, followed by another train loaded with prisoners captured at Wapping Heights and Front Royal. The train stopped at Warrington Junction until 5 o'clock, and then proceeded to Alexandria, arriving there about sunset. Here another stop was made, and some of the sick sent in ambulances to general hos- pitals in the city. They would have fain kept along with their old com- rades, but their condition was too low and feeble to go further, and " we said good-bye, to some of them, forever."
Here also, as at Warrington before starting, the rebel prisoners were greeted and feasted by the citizens, from whom acts of kindness and words of love and sympathy, by men, women, and children who soon gathered around, evinced how strong and bitter was the feeling they still cherished against the Union and its organized power that had conquered their army at Gettysburg. and were now bringing back their fathers, brothers, and sons as prisoners of war.
It was nearly midnight when the trains reached Washington. Here again there was a welcome greeting for the guarded Gray, but none for the conquering heroes in Blue, who had so long and faithfully guarded
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the National Capital itself, and who had, but two or three weeks before, saved it from capture on the field of Gettysburg.
From the almost sumptuous supply of food and clothing that the prison- ers received from relatives and friends, and the complaint that some of them made, that it was hard to be held as prisoners of war in their own city, one would have supposed, without other means of knowing, that he was in Richmond instead of Washington. And this was by no means the only squad of rebel prisoners captured and sent North among which could be found former residents and natives of the city. Eliminating the colored population, and at least three out of every five of the residents of Washington at the commencement of the war were outright Secessionists.
If he who never marched in the ranks would learn a sad lesson of the frightful scourge of war, he can study and fully understand it by the fol- lowing truthful illustration.
But little more than nine months before, the Twelfth Regiment had left Washington with nearly one thousand strong and hardy men, to bear its part of the burden of toil and danger that rested upon the Army of the Potomac. Now it returns with nearly a score less than one tenth of that number, sick and well, and breaks its ranks at the "Soldier's Rest" with only sixty-nine muskets in stack !
No wonder that Lieutenant-Colonel Marsh, who had not seen the regi- ment before since he left it on the field of Chancellorsville, exclaimed, " My God ! Is this all that is left of the Twelfth New Hampshire?" and cried like a child ; or that Captain May, who left it at the same time and rejoined it here, when he saw the ragged and haggard condition of that pitiable remnant - some of them not able to be outside of the hospital and all without clothes or money - pulled out his pocket-book and said, " Here, boys, help yourselves," giving and loaning to the amount of sev- eral hundred dollars. With memory active to draw the contrast between then and now, it was a sad and sorrowful picture indeed.
For forty-seven consecutive days the regiment had been in active cam- paign service, most of the time on the road or the battle-field, making many forced marches by night as well as by day; and the condition of the men was one of actual destitution and suffering. A single glance could reveal enough, but could not all discover ; for it required a much closer and more searching inspection to perceive the worst, that could only be realized by the sense of feeling, as well as of sight. The tired, haggard look ; the worn-out shoes, affording but little or no protection to their feet; and the dirty, ragged clothes, scarcely sufficient to cover their bodies and screen them from the burning rays of the sun, - all told the same story of hardship and suffering.
But the toils and dangers of the march and the field were now over with them for awhile ; and the discomfort and misery of their bodily con- dition were also soon to end by an expurgation of water and fire, as will be referred to in the next chapter.
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But if the war-worn veterans of the Second and Twelfth regiments had much reason to rejoice, those of the Fifth had more; for no sooner did they reach Washington than they were ordered to proceed to Concord, N. H., to rest and recruit, where they could all get a chance to visit their homes. They did not rejoin the brigade at Point Lookout until the 13th of November.
The next day after their arrival an amusing incident occurred among the men of the two regiments which, though it may not serve " to point a moral or adorn a tale," is nevertheless significantly illustrative of not only how little a thing can frighten the brave, but of how closely con- nected the lachrymose and ludicrous phases of our lives sometimes appear.
The Second and Twelfth regiments were quartered in the same bar- racks and close together ; and some one in the latter regiment, in the still hour of the night when all was quiet, accidentally hit one of the guns that were stacked at their feet, causing three or four of the gunstocks to fall with a crashing noise upon the floor. Instantly both regiments were upon their feet and groping and grasping in the darkness for their guns, which some got hold of and were actually in the act of using them against each other, before they became sufficiently awakened to remember that they were in Washington city instead of on the vedette line in front of the enemy.
And thus ended with these two regiments, as well as the Fifth, the memorable Gettysburg campaign.
CHAPTER VIII.
POINT LOOKOUT.
At 6 o'clock P. M., on the 30th of July, 1863, the Second and Twelfth regiments, with about two hundred prisoners, embarked on board the steamer "John Brooks," at 7th street wharf in Washington, and were soon moving down the Potomac, bound for Point Lookout, Md., and arriving there about noon the next day.
This place had been selected by the Government for the location of a large prison encampment which Gen. Gilman Marston, through the influ- ence of Governor Berry and others, was now authorized to establish, and to take with him, for that purpose, the three New Hampshire regiments that had suffered the most in the field.
To troops that had seen so much of the dark, rough side of a soldier's life, and had just been through the hardest campaign of the war, it was a military paradise, where they could find and enjoy, in quiet safety, the rest and relaxation that their nerves and muscles so greatly needed, and which the mind did not fail to appreciate.
Washed by the waves of the Chesapeake on one side, and separated from Virginia by the broad mouth of the Potomac on the other; within a few hours' ride by sail or steam of Washington and Baltimore; with a nice picnic cluster of pine trees on the extreme point to sweeten the air and shade the ground, and excellent facilities for boating, fishing, and bathing, it had long been a favorite resort for pleasure seekers and invalids from both cities. But never did it afford more heart-felt relief and gladness than to the war-worn veterans who now possessed it.
Could the many loved comrades, left buried behind, have been there to enjoy it with them, their cups would have lacked only the sweet pleasure of home to have overflowed with joy and gladness.
This peninsula point, being all surrounded by water except a narrow neck, easily guarded, on the north, and so favorably situated, near the theatre of war and the base of supplies, as to save long transportation of either the prisoners captured, or the rations to feed them on, it was, perhaps, considering security, convenience, and comfort, including the mild climate and healthy location, the best place for a large camp and general depot for prisoners of war that could have been selected.
The first thing of importance after landing, and it was very important to health and comfort, was a general slaughter by fire and water of " gray backs."
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History of the Twelfth Regiment
Thousands were drowned in the Potomac into which the boys rushed at the first breaking of their ranks after landing, and a thousand times as many more were consumed in the big bon-fire of coats, pants, vests, shirts, socks, shoes, and caps that was kindled the next day when the quartermaster stores were distributed, and each man had the happy priv- ilege of receipting for a new suit of clothes to take the place of the dirty, ragged, vermin-infested ones that they now gladly committed to the flames. And if there were a few articles of clothing that escaped, be- cause thought too good to be thus destroyed, they were at once cleaned and purified by a grease-extracting and life-extinguishing souse and boil in soap-suds.
Dressed cap-a-pie in cloth and leather new, with faces shaved and hair cut and combed, the boys looked as much better as they felt, and would hardly have been recognized as the same "Dirty Dozen," as someone called them, that arrived in Washington a few days before.
There was to be no more skirmishing for " gray backs" now, either of the two or six legged genus, and the entire relief from the hardship and danger of the one, and the annoyance and discomfort of the other, was better appreciated than words can well express.
No sooner were the regimental camps laid out, and tents erected (which were no longer the dog-kennel shelters, but the much more com- modious and comfortable " A" tents) than work was commenced on the stockade around the prisoners' quarters.
This consisted of pine logs split in the middle, and cut long enough to trench fast in the ground, and leave ten or twelve feet above as the height of the pen. On the outside of this stockade, near the top, was built a staging about four feet wide for the sentinels to walk on.
To thus circummure a space of ground big enough to accommodate several thousand men was no small undertaking, and an invitation was given to the " Johnnies " to assist .*
This at first they indignantly declined, not deeming it good military manners to be asked to help build their own prison ; but, getting tired of waiting, they at last concluded to bend their backs and bear a hand.
In the meantime a detail of twenty men was made from the regiments to act as mounted scouts in the country above the Point, and watch for any contraband trade or suspicious acts of the inhabitants, most of whom were in active sympathy with the South.
There was, however, but little fear of any rescuing force from that direction, as the narrow neck, above referred to, of only a few rods in width, was guarded by artillery and a block-house; while the constant presence of gunboats in the Potomac made any like attempt from the Virginian shore equally hazardous.
The camp was divided into company quarters, each occupied by one hundred men in charge of a sergeant.
* The prison pen was afterward enlarged by a post and board fence.
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New Hampshire Volunteers.
Strict police and sanitary regulations were enforced, good food and pure water amply supplied, and nothing for the health and comfort of the prisoners was wanting. In fact, with good " A " or "Sibley" tents to shield them from the sun, and shelter them from the storm, and warm clothes in winter to take the place of their ragged " butternut and jeans," they were all much better provided for than when in their own army, and many of them better supplied than ever before in their lives.
ANOTOLLEC.CO
BOSTON
A JOLLY JOHNNY REB. (As he looked upon his arrival at camp.)
This treatment, so different from that of our own starving comrades in the prison pens of the South, and so much better than expected by the rebels themselves, soon made its impression, and had a favorable effect upon the recipients. Sectional prejudice and hatred, engendered or intensified by the war, soon softened into respect, and even friendship, and a great change came over the vision of their dreams.
Not only were their hurts softened, but their minds were opened ; and being both convicted and convinced their conversion was radical and reli- able, as their future acts and conduct proved. They had, at last, by kind treatment and the new light given them by contact with their hitherto hated and despised Yankee foes, got their eyes open, and could now plainly see, what they never had or could before, that theirs was, as some of them called it, " the rich man's war and the poor man's fight."
Many of these, willing to prove their faith by their works, took the oath of allegiance, and, exchanging the rebel gray for Union blue, enlisted into the Federal service where they served faithfully until their discharge. Two full regiments were thus raised, and being commanded
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History of the Twelfth Regiment
by men commissioned from the ranks of the Second, Fifth, and Twelfth regiments, were sent to the western frontier to fight the Indians.
They were known on the war records as the First and Second United States Volunteers, but were called by the boys, "Galvanized Yanks."
A few of them enlisted into the ranks of the Second Regiment, as wil- ling then to fight for the stars and stripes as they had been to battle for the stars and bars, and it is testimony of record, that " braver and truer men than they proved themselves never fought beneath the old flag."
Most of them, however, who took the oath of allegiance went into the northern states and found work wherever they could, not daring to return to their homes in the South, even if they had been allowed to do so.
In taking the oath they were required to answer several questions, and the answers to these had to be sent to Washington and approved before applicants were given their liberty.
These questions would, of course, be answered favorably whether the applicant was acting in good or bad faith, so that this particular care and formality was all absurdly useless.
The actions of these men, who were healthy and comfortable, were in marked contrast to those of our own army in rebel prisons, who, though suffering every discomfort and misery, many of them actually starving, chose to thus suffer and die rather than by any act or word to show them- selves disloyal to their country and its flag.
But while thousands were thus happily disposed of, three times as many more remained under guard. Squads and companies of from fifty to five hundred were coming in every week or two to take the place of those going out, leaving an average in camp of about five thousand ; although at times, toward spring, there were more than double that num- ber to be watched and cared for.
With this large number together, it is not surprising that, however good their rations or kind their treatment, there should be many discon- tented ones, and some who were willing to take the risk of an attempt to escape rather than remain longer in confinement.
These few had only to plan and lead, and the rest of course would follow ; and hence the greatest vigilance was required to detect any indi- cations of this kind, for five or six thousand men, who had learned to scorn and defy death in the ranks of Longstreet and Jackson, against as many hundred, though armed, taken by surprise, would have had more than even chances of exchanging the fortunes of war, and making pris- oners of those who were guarding them. This once accomplished, their final escape into " Dixie," with the whole of Southern Maryland ready to assist them, would have been the easiest part of the undertaking.
Hence the great danger, especially before the arrival of the Fifth Regiment, was from a sortie from within, instead of an attack from with- out. That such an attempt was at one time seriously considered, and really intended, there is but little doubt.
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New Hampshire Volunteers.
Strong suspicions, founded on several minor but significant observa- tions, at last ripened into evidence too positive and direct to be unheeded.
The two guarding regiments - Second and Twelfth - were ordered under arms, with muskets loaded, and two pieces of artillery, double- shotted with canister, were placed so as to sweep the gateway, while the prisoners were all marched out of their quarters, a company at a time, and a thorough search was made of every tent and the whole prison ground.
Several muskets were found, but how they got there was a mystery ; and quite a number of their bunks, when uncovered, were found to be boats roughly constructed from pieces of hard-tack boxes and boards with the cracks tightened with grease and soap, and holes cut through the sides near the top for the oars which were also found all ready for use. It was further discovered that they had dug a tunnel nearly to the outside of the stockade. This was easily done without attracting particular attention, as they, for some time, had been allowed to make sun-burnt brick from the clay found in their enclosure, to use themselves or to sell to the officers to build chimneys with to their winter quarters.
The prisoners had been doing quite a business in this line, but after the discovery of the tunnel, no more brick-making was permitted in the rebel camp. This source of revenue being cut off, more attention was given by them to the manufacturing of rings, fans, pipes, chains, charms, etc., which they readily exchanged with their blue-clad guardians for " green- backs" or government scrip.
In this kind of work they evinced, many of them, considerable skill and ingenuity. One of them manufactured a clock that would keep very good time, and another constructed a miniature steam engine which would run, and, considering the material and tools he was obliged to use, was quite a curiosity.
Beside the evidently concerted plans and efforts to escape, just referred to, there were many other attempts made by two, three, or more, at a time. These attempts- nearly always unsuccessful - were usually made by dropping out and hiding away while outside of the stockade for wood, water, or bathing, and, if not found before dark, taking their chances of escaping during the night into Maryland. At one time an attempt was made to bribe the guard, which being reported, the soldier was instructed the next time he went on guard to inform those who had tried to bribe him that he would let them out if they would double the amount offered. This they agreed to do if he would allow double the number to pass out.
The bargain being at last made, before the next relief came round, ten of the liberty-seeking "Johnnies" were outside of their pine-log sur- rounding ; but, before they knew it, found themselves inside of a circling line of mounted patrolmen, who, with loaded carbines, commanded them to halt. Two weeks in the guard-house on half-rations was their reward.
At another time two or three who had dropped out from a squad, that
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History of the Twelfth Regiment
was out for some purpose, were allowed to remain, as if unnoticed, until late in the night, when. thinking it safe to make another move toward their final escape, they crawl out of their hiding places in the bushes, stand erect for a moment or two and listen, and then, with low-bent bodies, and cat-like steps, move silently forward, but only for a few steps, before the " zip" of bullets over and around their heads causes them to fall to the ground and beg for their lives. One of these was shot by an officer in the Second Regiment, after he had cried for quarter. It was a mean and cowardly act.
A few experiences like these, and one or two others related in the chapter of anecdotes, had a tendency to convince the discontented ones that it was useless for any of them to attempt an escape from Point Lookout, which though a good place to stay at, was a very bad place to start from.
To show the deplorable condition of the poor whites of the South, under the slave-holders' regime, it may be properly referred to here, that not more than one third of the prisoners could write their own names. It was only by this wide-spread ignorance through the slave states (for this class included nearly the whole white population, except the slave- owners and their families) that the Rebellion was made possible. And hence it is plainly seen how necessary to the welfare and safety of free people is the general diffusion of knowledge.
Religious services were held every Sabbath in the prisoners' camp, the chaplains of the different regiments taking turns in conducting them, and fervent interest was frequently manifested, especially among the soldiers from General Jackson's command, who had imbibed somewhat of the Christian zeal of their great leader.
They said they used to have great revivals in their corps when Jackson was alive and mingled with them. No wonder that his soldiers followed him until they fell dead in their tracks, as they were said to, on their forced marches around our right flank at Chancellorsville, or that they fought with such desperation in that battle to avenge his death ; for re- ligious zeal, as the history of the world shews, is one of the strongest motive powers of the human heart. It was this that made the armies of Constantine and Cromwell invincible, and caused the vain sacrifice of millions during the Crusades.
But Christian interest and efforts were not found in the prison camp alone. By the efforts of Chaplain Ambrose and others, money was raised by subscription, and quite a commodious chapel was erected, where, in bad as well as good weather, religious services could be held. Before this, when pleasant, meetings had been held in a small grove of pines near the camp of the Twelfth.
The new chapel was dedicated Sunday, December 27th, a minister from New York preaching a very interesting sermon from Matthew, twenty-first chapter and twenty-second verse. On the second Sabbath in January the
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New Hampshire Volunteers.
chaplain delivered one of his ablest discourses upon the words : "For every house is builded by some man, but he that built all things is God," and brought out, among others, the beautifully illustrative idea, that the lowest and hidden stones are those of the foundation, and therefore near- est " The Chief Corner Stone."
Quite a church of humble and devoted worshipers in the Christian faith was organized from the Twelfth and the other two regiments, which, without schism or discussion, excepting upon one question, grew up and flourished.
The question alluded to was upon the propriety of excommunicating the venerable Sergeant Osgood, of Company C, who, it was discovered, was a believer in universal salvation.
This was deemed to be too dangerous a doctrine to be tolerated, much less to be openly communed with, and so without any other charge against him he was voted out.
It was not until the 13th of November that the Fifth Regiment arrived from Concord, N. H., where, as already noticed, it had been for three months on recruiting service. It had partially filled up its own ranks out of the bounty-jumping class of recruits, and brought along with them nearly three hundred more of the same kind for the Second and Twelfth regiments.
This was the beginning of grief, as will be seen, for all the old mem- bers of the brigade, although the veterans of the Fifth had learned enough about their new associates, before leaving Concord, to quite correctly estimate their value as soldiers.
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