USA > New Hampshire > History of the Twelfth regiment, New Hampshire volunteers in the war of the rebellion > Part 40
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Knowing it to be little less than impossible for any troops, however experienced or disciplined, to obey such an order with their front and flank heavily engaged, General Carr sends a staff officer to inquire of Captain Langley, in command of the regiment, if his men can be depended upon. "Yes," is the ready response, "if I can make them understand the order." "Then shout it in the ears of every company commander. and let them watch the motion of your sword as the signal for its execution."
But seconds are years now, and moments end in eternity to many of your brave comrades who are falling at every step; but the living close in to fill up
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the gaps of the dead, and the order is executed with such steadiness and precision as to convince the foe that something more than raw militia lines is still before them. But nearly one half of your number have already been killed or wounded. Lieutenant French, brave and faithful unto death, falls dead at the feet of Captain Shackford, from whom he is receiving the order, and a few minutes later both color bearers, Parker and Howe, and most of the color guard lie dead or bleeding from mortal wounds.
But the enemy is swinging round his right, that already overlaps you, and before you can hardly check his advance you are ordered to fall back a short dis- tance, when you again face about and open fire upon his lines. But the fight now is as short as it is desperate ; for, with the foe upon three sides, retreat or capture seems the only alternative, and your whole division is ordered back upon the supports that are now coming up from the Second, Fifth, and Sixth corps.
With only twenty-five or thirty men left together to defend the colors, you once more face the rushing, crushing torrent of lead and steel that is sweeping the field, forcing the Third Corps back from its advanced position on the right as it has already done on the left, and led by the gallant and noble hearted Lieutenant Fernal, who has since gone to his reward, you advance in the front line of support, helping to retake the ground and prisoners you had lost, and driving the rebel lines back until you occupy nearly the same position as when first attacked. The apple orchard, the wheat field, and Emmitsburg road, so stubbornly defended and reluctantly yielded, are yours again ; and one long, loud, triumphant cheer goes up, such as you will never forget nor hear again.
Would that time were mine to speak of the many acts of individual heroism and patriotic devotion here performed by those who fell and those that still sur- vive ; but history shall preserve them, and their result and effect shall be known and felt when this monument shall no longer hold its record or even stand to mark the advance line of "The New Hampshire Mountaineers" on the field of Gettysburg.
How fitting then, upon this rise of ground where you first met and last drove the enemy, and around which so many of your brave comrades fell, to bring the enduring granite from your native hills, and erect a monumental tribute to the patriotism and valor of the living and the dead. But the battle is over and the bugle has long since sounded the recall. Come back then, veteran comrade, from this sad reverie of war, and listen once more to the sweet sounding reveille of peace ; for the dark night of woe has passed, and the effulgent light of a glorious morn shines above and around us.
The hardships and sufferings of the march and the field, like a dream as they sometimes seem, have passed away, and with them let us hope all the bitterness and hatred between the blue and the gray. No longer, as before the war, united in name but divided in sentiment, nor, as at one time feared, a union pinned together with bayonets, to last only while exercising the military power to enforce it ; but now by the wisdom and mercy of Him who hath directed and preserved, we rejoice that ours is not only
" The union of fakes, the union of fands, The union of states none can sever ;"
but -
" The union of hearts, the union of hands, And the flag of our Union forever."
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PRESENTATION ADDRESS.
BY CAPT. R. W. MUSGROVE.
It becomes my pleasant duty, in behalf of the veterans of the Twelfth Regi- ment of New Hampshire Volunteers and of the State they honored, to make formal delivery to you, sir, as the representative of the Gettysburg Battlefield Association. this granite monument which has been placed here to mark the spot where brave men from the granite hills of New Hampshire stood shoulder to shoulder and fought and died for the preservation of the union.
These men from the old Granite State assisted on those memorable days in July, 1863, in making history that will be even more enduring than this block of granite itself. and it is only fitting that the ground on which they fought so bravely for God and humanity should thus be marked with a block from the granite hills of their native State.
We have no doubt that a grateful country, remembering the deeds of her sons on this field, will ever provide your worthy association with the means necessary for the preservation of this shaft, so that generations yet unborn may read in its simple inscriptions the deeds of heroism on this historic field of Gettysburg.
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New Hampshire Volunteers.
REUNIONS.
In the first part of this history the Twelfth Regiment is referred to as a family, and the reason is there given why this term of relationship was more applicable to this than any other regiment that went out from our patriotic little State to help save the great and grand estate bequeathed to us by our fathers. And it is because of this, in addition to that common bond of friendship which binds every true soldier to his brother soldier as comrades in peace as well as war, and which is the centripetal force that now holds together more than two hundred thousand of the old vet- erans as members of the Grand Army of the Republic. that the Twelfth was among the first to organize a reunion association, by means of which its members have kept actively strong those kindred ties, which, though time may weaken, can never be sundered until all are dead: for while the last one survives the memory of his dead comrades will be near and dear to him, and make him yearn to meet them on that peaceful shore, where war's dread sounds can meet their ears no more.
The members of no other regiment of the State, if indeed of any state. have taken so much pains in preparing for, and so much pleasure and satisfaction in attending, their annual reunions as have the survivors of the Twelfth New Hampshire.
While the officers and a few of the rank and file of other regiments have met together here and there at irregular times, and more often as a single company than a whole regiment, except as they have met at the grand reunion of all the veterans of the State holden each year recently at The Weirs, the Twelfth boys have had a grand rally around their colors * at some previously selected one of the ten principal towns in and around which the different companies were raised.
These towns given here in the alphabetical order of the letters of their respective companies in the army, and which was and still is the routine order of holding these reunions, are Alton. Gilmanton, Bristol. Tilton, Ashland ( formerly Holderness), Pittsfield, Laconia, Lake Village, Mere- dith, and Wolfeborough : and up to this writing, 1893. every reunion has been holden in some one of these towns, except two-one on Diamond Island. Lake Winnipiseogee, and the other at The Weirs on the shore of the same beautiful lake, as will be referred to hereafter.
The towns have taken great interest in entertaining the veteran surviv- ors of the regiment as their turns came round, and vied with each other in trying to make their honored guests, their wives. children, and such friends and relatives as they might wish to invite, heartily and sumptuously welcome.
A reunion of the Twelfth has long been a gala day for the town having the honor of the occasion, and for many years the governor of the State and other prominent military and civil officials have made it a practice to
ยท See post.
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be present, and willingly contributed five dollars each to become honorary members of the regimental association.
The first of these reunions was holden at Laconia in the fall of 1865, and was little more than a revival, by some of the officers and their wives, of the social gatherings that were so well enjoyed during the winter the regiment was stationed at Point Lookout, Md. It was but a small impromptu affair, and few, if any, present thought of its being the commencement of the long list of grandly successful gatherings that have since followed.
It was an entertainment, however, of the most enjoyable kind. Speeches and songs enlivened the early evening hours, and here was kindled the first one of the afterward famous camp-fires, which have been so important a part of the exercises of every subsequent reunion.
Here, also, was taken the initiatory step, since the war, in that " light fantastic round," which has always been the closing, and to some, one of the most brilliant and enjoyable features of these entertainments.
At this meeting it was suggested, and soon after decided upon, that a general encampment and reunion of all the survivors of the regiment should be holden sometime during the next year, at such time and place, and with such a programme of exercises as a committee, chosen for that purpose, might decide upon.
As mutually assistant and contributory to the success of both enter- prises, it was determined early in the spring that the encampment should be upon Diamond Island, one of the larger islands of the lake above named, and that the chief and closing day occur on the Fourth of July upon the occasion of the public opening of a large hotel that had just been built there.
The beautiful place, the double occasion, and the day itself, which proved as pleasant to enjoy as its memories were inspiring, all united to call together a much larger concourse of people than expected, it being estimated that not less than seven thousand persons visited the island during the day.
Camp orders for the Fourth, which was the second day of the encamp- ment, were as follows: "Reveille" at 3 A. M. ; " sunrise salute " by artillery ; " guard mount" at 9: "dinner call" at 12 M. : " assembly " at 2 P. M. : " dress parade " at 5 : " retreat " at 6; and " taps " at 10.
To supply all answering to the dinner call who could not be accommo- dated at the hotel, tables of rich rations awaited them in the surrounding grove.
The literary exercises, that commenced soon after the sounding of the assembly, were the chief attraction of the day, and consisted of a prayer by Chaplain J. H. Higgins : reading of the Declaration of Independence by Capt. H. Q. Sargent ; a brief history of the regiment by Capt. II. M. Heath ; a poem by Capt. J. M. Durgin ; and an oration by Capt. A. W. Bartlett ; followed by speeches of invited guests and other distinguished persons present.
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As soon as dark enough there was a grand display of fireworks, lasting for about an hour : and " taps " that night, instead of meaning " lights out," followed by silence and sleep, as in the army, were supposed to be heard upon the drum head and the dancing floor, which had been pre- pared in the grove for the occasion, about the same time, and to be continued on the latter until long after midnight.
The " Belknap Cornet Band " furnished music during both days of the encampment, and until the departure of the regiment on the morning of the 5th. And thus ended one of the largest, if not most successful, reunion entertainments that the regiment ever had, and one that at once established a reputation which, with but little diminution, it has maintained to the present time.
Soon after effecting its regular reunion organization, the selection and adoption of a badge of membership was acted upon, and the one finally accepted was a diamond shaped piece of plate silver, slightly convexed upon its face surface, and bearing thereon the enameled outline of a heart surrounding a Maltese cross, and in the four corners of the diamond the figures and letters. " 12th N. H. V." The shape of the badge itself is impressively suggestive of the red. white. and blue flannel badges worn by the respective divisions of the Third Corps in the army ; the different colors in this, as all the other Corps, representing the numbers, from one to three, of the divisions, and the shape of the badge the number of the Corps, that of the Third, as the reader has already learned, being the diamond. The Maltese cross and the heart were the badges respectively of the Eighteenth and Twenty-fourth Corps, in which the regiment served during the last year of the war.
In addition to this regular regimental badge, others in silk, of different colors and styles, have been gotten up for each annual reunion, upon which have been printed the name of the place where and the date when the reunion for that year was holden. At first these badges were designed and procured more for the occasion than as a badge of member- ship, and were sold for the purpose of helping to defray expenses to whoever might desire one ; but later on they, like the silver ones, could only be worn by the surviving members of the regiment and their wives and the widows of those deceased, that the many visitors might know who were the ones amid the crowd that were deserving of and designed to have all the honors of the occasion. The honorary members even, including governors. generals, and members of Congress were not allowed to wear them.
Another interesting and attractive feature of these reunions was the getting up each year of some pleasing and unique souvenir of the occasion, which were eagerly sought for by many beside the Twelfth boys, and which will be found carefully preserved in many houses in the State, as well as out, long after the original recipients have been numbered with the dead.
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This practice may be said to have originated in the fertile brain of Woodbury Sanborn, who, though not an original member of the Twelfth family by enlistment, was with or near the regiment much of the time during its service, being connected with the sutler department, and was a warm and tried friend to all who wore " 12th N. H. V." upon their caps. lle took great interest in their annual gatherings, and did much for their success. He alone designed most of these souvenirs, and was chiefly instrumental in getting them manufactured and ready ; and it seemed to be his especial pleasure to keep it all a profound secret, except to two or three of his trusted friends, what the boys at the next reunion were to receive. For a while these mementoes were sent through the mails with invitation circulars to every member of the regiment whose address was known ; but the last and larger ones were given out to those present, at cost price, and only sent to such others of the regiment as might care enough about them to pay for making and sending.
These reunion mementoes consisted mostly of miniature equipments of every kind that the soldier had to wear in the army, including the musket, and soon became so popular that they were sought for by many outside of the regiment who wished to have and preserve them as keep- sakes : and sometimes. when the demand was active and supply adequate, they were sold at auction, and the receipts therefrom, together with the money received from the sale of badges and ball tickets, was usually sufficient to liquidate incidental expenses.
Among other things connected with these reunions, and worthy of record memory, is the origin of that beautifully appropriate custom of burying deceased veterans wrapped in the flag of their country. This practice, than which nothing can more fittingly honor the last remains of him to whom national honor is due, and which has already been adopted by some of the Grand Army Posts of Massachusetts and other states, as it eventually will by all, was first started by the Twelfth Regiment Association several years before any other veteran organization, so far as can be learned, had introduced the idea or even seriously entertained it.
To one of the orginal drummer boys, whose name is better known now among his comrades than then, belongs the honor of originating the idea and first bringing it to the notice of the public, by introducing a resolution for its adoption at a regimental rennion at Tilton, N. II., in September. 1879. And it was through his efforts that John B. Willard, of Company F, the first one to die after that meeting, was buried at Pittsfield, enshrouded in the same glorious emblem of liberty under which he had marched and fought. Since then, small silk flags have been purchased and kept on hand for that purpose.
The regiment, therefore, can justly claim the credit of inaugurating a custom that ought to have been common throughout the loyal states long before, which should rapidly spread into every state where a Grand Army Post exists, and last so long as an honorably discharged Union soldier survives.
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New Hampshire Volunteers.
When the loyal heart has ceased to beat. Of a soldier, true and brave.
Oh, give him for his winding sheet The flag he helped to save.
For it he stood where thousands fell. Amid the battle's roar ;
And now that all with him is well, And nought can harm him more,
We'll lay him down, he's done his part. In silent peace to rest ; With the old badge pinned o'er his heart And the flag around his breast.
There let the honored dust repose. Soldier and flag together, Secure from all their country's foes. Forever and forever.
During the first few years of their reunions the members of the regi- ment had naturally a very strong desire of being privileged to rally once more around their old army colors, and an application was made to the state authorities for permission to take one stand of them, at least, from their place in the rotunda of the state capitol, at the next reunion, for that purpose.
It was claimed by the officer of the regiment, who made the request in its behalf, that the only valid objection thereto, namely, the danger of their being injured or destroyed, was met and disposed of by the question that, if the men who had risked their lives and shed their blood to protect and preserve them on the field of battle could not be trusted to take care of them for one day while in their personal keeping, then who could? But while the question was too forcibly pertinent to be answered adversely to the wish that prompted it, yet the adjutant-general, after consulting with the governor and council, dared not allow the precious relics to be taken from the secure resting place provided for them, without legislative authority.
Thinking then, as he still does, that the request was a reasonable one, and that the heroes who had so long and bravely defended them should have had the glad privilege and great pleasure of gathering around and saluting their tattered and blood-stained battle-flags once more, when they could do so fanned by the soft zephyrs of peace from their native hills instead of being swept down by fiery blasts upon battle-fields of war, the officer above alluded to introduced a resolution, at the next session of the legislature, authorizing the adjutant-general of the State to let the veterans of every military organization that served in the war have, under certain precautionary restrictions, one stand of their old battle-flags at any one reunion of the surviving members, at any time within five years that they might desire them. And this resolution would probably
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have been adopted and approved, had not the mover been persuaded to withdraw it for special reasons which did not, however, apply to the Twelfth.
But although unsuccessful in two attempts to give one more greeting to, and take their final parting of, their dearly cherished colors, the efforts were not fruitless to the regiment, for out of them grew up the idea of the regiment having a flag of its own. And one evening, while he who had twice failed in his efforts to procure the old flags was discussing with another earnest friend of the regiment the desirability of having a new one, the latter rather impatiently remarked : "Well, well, I certainly agree with all you say and heartily endorse the idea, but to get such a flag as you are talking about, and have it properly lettered and finished, as it ought to be, would cost a hundred dollars or more, and how shall we pay for it? Another idea seemed just then to enter the brain of the other, for, springing from his chair, he walked across the room and back, and then exclaimed : "Never mind the pay ! 'where there's a will there's a way'; and if you are present at our next reunion, you will see the boys marching under a splendid flag of their own, or thenceforth you are at liberty to write me down in your memory's list as Mr. False Promise." His words proved prophetic, and ever since the veteran members of one New Hampshire regiment have had a flag that they could proudly look up to at each reunion, and that they could keep and use without the fear or favor of any one. And it will be kept as a precious relic of the " Old Twelfth" long after its last survivor has joined his comrades that have gone before, and answered with them the morning roll-call on the other shore.
The flag is five feet by six in size, made of the best quality of banner silk, heavily bordered with gold-gilded fringe, and lettered in gold leaf with the names of the thirteen battles in which the regiment was engaged .*
It was made to order by Charles O. Eaton, of Boston, at a cost of one hundred dollars, and paid for by the citizens of Laconia and one or two other towns of Belknap county. It was received by the regiment as a present from the citizens of that county, although the price of it was so quickly raised that but few of her patriotic sons and daughters had the coveted privilege of aiding in the work. Many times the needed amount could have been raised if necessary.
* See table of battles and losses.
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New Hampshire Volunteers.
WOODBURY SANBORN MEMORIAL STONE.
Whoever has visited that beautiful spot on the western side of the largest and most renowned of our many crystal lakes, where for many years the veterans of New Hampshire have had their annual encamp- ment, and which is visited every year by thousands beside those who attend these military reunions, cannot have failed to notice the large granite boulder so conspicuously located upon the grounds near the crest of the hill in rear of the hotel, and upon the top surface of which are deeply engraved the names of all the military organizations of the State that served in the Union army during the rebellion.
This boulder is about eight feet long and four and one half feet wide upon the upper side: and, rising from two to three feet out of the ground, with a slight inclination from east to west that presents plainly to view its smooth, tablet-shaped top, seems designed by nature for the very purpose for which it has been so properly and prominently used.
Soon after the war, the place where this stone is located was selected as the permanent camping ground of the veteran soldiers of the State at their general reunions, and had long been a pleasure resort where quite a large hotel, several imposing buildings, and many cottages had been erected by the Veteran Association and private parties. Yet of the many thousands who had gathered around and looked upon this singular deposit of the glacial or drift period of the earth's existence, no one had ever thought or dreamed of making it speak for the pride and patriotism of the " Old Granite State," as it now does and will continue to do down through many generations of the future, until it met the thoughtful gaze of one in whose fertile mind the idea first took root, and where it grew into that maturity of conception necessary to its visible realization. To him for whom the stone has been named, belongs not only the credit of
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originating the idea itself, but of procuring a deed of the piece of land - twenty by twenty-two feet - upon which the boulder rests, of having it lettered, and of designing the style and procuring the erection of the fence that surrounds it.
This fence is all of cast iron, and was manufactured by D. Arthur Brown, of Penacook, N. H. The pickets are in the shape and of nearly the size of common muskets, with bayonets fixed, and the four corner posts are in imitation of cannon surmounted by four balls, with holes therein to serve as socket holders for small flag-staff's on public occasions, as may be seen in the engraving. On a small oval plate attached to the gate is inscribed :
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