USA > New Jersey > New Jersey and the rebellion : a history of the service of the troops and people of New Jersey in aid of the Union cause, Pt. 2 > Part 40
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44
9 Captain Henry N. Blake, (Eleventh Massachusetts Regiment,) in his "Three years in the Army of the Potomac," says, in closing his account of the battle of Chantilly : "The army mourned the National loss of Major-General Kearney, who was killed at Chantilly ; and his memory will be cherislied as long as exalted patriotism, inspiring courage, and justice towards men, are revered by mankind. Qualified to be the head of the army, he accepted the command of a brigade. Leaving the comforts which his large wealth afforded, he welcomed the most trying hardships of the service. In another zone, the enemies of his country had taken his arm; but his zeal triumphed over the disability, and he fought until he had sacrificed his life. Placing the reins between his teeth, and grasping in his single hand the two-edged sword, he led his men in the charge that was never checked. Humane to those who were his inferiors, the orderlies were directed to bring water in canteens to the soldiers when the exigen- cies of the hour required that all should remain in the ranks at the front. Impetuous in thought and action as the flash of his fiery eye, he censured with the same vehe- mence the misconduct of a private, or the General of the highest rank in the Union forces. Beloved by his division, the red badge which he instituted was always worn by the officers and men with the same proud feeling with which the heroic commander displayed the cross of the Legion of Honor, which never enrolled a nobler chevalier. Bravely performing his public tasks, the death of this pure patriot and consummate soldier was a fitting conclusion of his eventful life."
Chaplain Marks' thus details his last interview with General Kearney :
"From this time I had no personal intercourse with General Kearney, until the fatal day of Chantilly. While the army was yet at Centerville, I entered his room to obtain permission to visit the wounded at Fairfax Station. This, without a moment's hesita- tion, he granted, and urged me to remain with him for a few moments; during the course of our conversation he spoke of the causes which led to the disastrous defcat of the previous Saturday, and then of the spirit which animated the South. For the first time in our intercourse he spoke on the subject of religion. He regretted that it had been so little his study, but said his knowledge of the world and experience taught him that the only hope of the future was in the gospel of our Lord, and that every- thing else would signally fail in producing peace on earth and good-will amongst men. He said the scenes in which we were living more deeply impressed him with the value of the teachings of the Bible.
" We parted, and in the sanguinary struggle of the evening General Kearney fell, and with him a thousand hopes for the country and the army. He was a man of far more talent than many have been willing to concede to him. While ardent and impulsive,
817
DISTINGUISHED GENERAL OFFICERS-KEARNEY.
had fought for the nation, for unity, liberty, law; and the nation, with the last flash of his sword in its eyes, took him to its heart and shrined him there, with the chief and best of those who, from Bunker Hill downward through the lapsing years, had received in their breasts the fatal thrusts intended for its own.
Of the personal characteristics of General Kearney, something still remains to be added. As a disciplinarian he was, as already intimated, stern, exacting, pitiless. Possibly, he may have been some- times unnecessarily severe, his impetuous temper hurrying him into actions which sober reflection could not justify. But no man was more ready than he to confess an error or correct a wrong. His nature was at bottom, frank, generous, just, and as, upon occasion, he was swift to censure with unsparing epithets, so when the blood cooled, he was no less quick to compensate for any injustice of which he may have been guilty. Even in the enforcement of necessary discipline, he often showed his tender side. Frequently, after having reprimanded an officer in presence of his command, for some slovenliness of dress or carelessness of drill, he was known to say privately to the object of his rebuke: "This reprimand was necessary, sir; I must have discipline; come and take dinner with me." The officer, however greatly his sensibilities may have been wounded, could not but appreciate the man who, while thus faithful to the responsibilities of command, uniformly respected the manhood of his subordinates; and we believe there was never an instance in which a reprimand, however sharp or severe, led to permanent resentment or estrangement. As for the men in the ranks, their love of Kearney amounted to idolatry. It was a passion, deep, intense, headlong. They swung their caps for him
he was capable of the most wily caution; while often stern and withering in rebuke, he was generous and forgiving, and though ambitious, he was above all low, mean jealousies. No officer in the army was more laborious and sleepless ; his keen eye was everywhere; and with an energy that never faltered, he corrected every abuse, and fully investigated everything that pertained to the discipline and well-being of his division. If he had lived, his brilliant and chivalrous qualities would have won for him a very high place in the admiration and gratitude of his country."
103
818
NEW JERSEY AND THE REBELLION.
as he passed their camps; gossiped proudly of his peculiarities and achievements in tent and bivouac; and wore his homely flannel badge, as the Old Guard of Napoleon wore the cross of the Legion of Honor. It was not wonderful that he inspired this feeling. He was not merely faultlessly brave; he was careful, even in the heat of the most desperate action, of the safety and lives of his troops, while in camp he was ever studious of their comfort. Many a delicacy from his private larder found its way to sick and wounded sufferers in the hospitals of his command. Of these latter he was a constant visitor, and with the details of their organization, no less than with the wants and condition of all their inmates, he took care to be always familiar.10 Thus thoughtfully cared for-knowing that whatever fortune might overtake them, his eye would seek them out and his hand minister to their com- fort, it was no wonder that the men revered and confided in him
10 Chaplain Marks in his interesting work, " The Peninsula Campaign in Virginia," makes frequent reference to General Kearney's humanity and sympathy with the sick and wounded. Once he said to the Chaplain, who had been looking after the sick at Baltimore Cross-Roads, "Everything relating to my sick men touches my heart;" and "from that hour," adds the writer, "he was my warmest friend." During the battle of Fair Oaks, he sent the Chaplain to Savage Station with the instruction, "All the men of my division that you find there wounded or dead, attend to them, sir, and I will thank you." This interest in the suffering was exhibited, it should be remem- bered, during all the excitements and anxieties of battle, and it showed the ever thoughtful concern of the model soldier for the welfare of his men. The following letter addressed by him to Chaplain Marks, during the Peninsula campaign, is of deep interest in this connection :
" HEADQUARTERS, THIRD DIVISION, FAIR OAKS, { "June 15, 1862.
"DEAR SIR :- I return you my grateful acknowledgments for your noble and ener- getie conduct in behalf of our poor sufferers of this Division.
"From long experience in the field no one appreciates more sensibly the service you thus render to humanity and to our cause.
"If there has been one point, more than another, where I have hitherto laboriously, and conseientiously, and successfully fulfilled my duties as an officer, it has been in my solieitude for the sick and disabled. I am thankful to find in you a strong coadjutor ; and when I am a little more free to separate myself from the eares of being on the spot to command in case of attack, I will ever be found a constant visitor of the hospitals.
"Most respectfully, your obedient servant, " PHILIP KEARNEY, Brigadier-General." In a letter after the battle of Fair Ouks, General Kearney wrote :
"One curious fact; knowing the case of carrying off my siek and wounded from Fair Oaks (I sent them off early), I was ordered to unload them and abandon them ; but I did not, and carried them off; but, although I had twenty empty wagons, was prevented taking off those of another hospital. Fortunately, they, too, principally got clear."
819
DISTINGUISHED GENERAL OFFICERS-KEARNEY.
with an absolute trust; no wonder that they followed him gladly into the thickest danger, and counted a word of approval from his lips as more than compensating for the sorest pains and the dreari- est sufferings.
Nor was the generous kindliness of this rare soldier expended alone on the soldiers of his command. He pitied sincerely the misfortunes of many among the enemy, and in his wide-reaching charity of soul lost no opportunity to mitigate the sufferings result- ing to Southern families from the presence of our troops among them. A few cases in illustration of this fact deserve to be stated here. Among the estates within the limits of Kearney's command, while lying at Alexandria, was that of Miss. E. P. Herbert. Cir- cumstances having rendered her comparatively helpless, her case was at once laid before General McClellan in the following charac- teristic letter :
"HEADQUARTERS NEW JERSEY BRIGADE, CAMP SEMINARY, November 24, 1861. 5
"SIR: I have the honor to apply for a safeguard for the house and property of Miss E. P. Herbert, in Alexandria. Her case is peculiarly distressing. She was possessor of " Vaneluse," a point in my camp necessary for military oceupation, at an early period. When threatened with an attack I was obliged to garrison the premises by the two flank companies of Colonel Simpson's Fourth New Jersey Volunteers. The lady was obliged to leave. Her house in Alexandria had been foreed open, and all her furniture destroyed. She is without any friends, and quite advanced in years, and cut off from all pceuniary resources-being additionally burthened with her sister, infirm in mind as in body. In Alexandria, she has not been treated with due eonsid - cration. As the military instrument of much of her distress, I feel bound to help her, and I have done so. She needs it, for her mind has given way to high nervous excitement and fear.
"A 'safeguard' for her residence in Alexandria will do much to secure her from future annoyances, and to calm hier. I respectfully trust that it may be granted.
"Indemnity is due to her, and could not be refused, if her case had a hearing. In no instance could humanity have juster scope for its excreise.
"Very respectfully, your obedient servant, "P. KEARNEY, Brigadier-General."
This letter finely displays both General Kearney's humanity and sense of justice ; and his action in this case is only a type of other deeds no less noble and generous. Before writing this letter, he had personally helped the object of his interest, having on the 26th of October put his banker at her disposal "to the best of his means," and tendered her other assistance no less valuable. Another instance in which this same benevolent temper found
820
NEW JERSEY AND THE REBELLION.
expression, is disclosed in a letter to the Assistant Adjutant-General of Franklin's Division, dated February 12, 1862, as follows :
"SIR: I respectfully again call the attention of General MeClellan to the great distress of Mrs. Godwin, a lady of high social position, and the necessity of her being permitted to go to Richmond, as she has no male relatives in the North.
"It is now a month since Mr. Godwin dicd, and left herself and numerous daughters thus helpless. They have no support except what aid they may receive from myself, and other officers. Excepting the principle of private individuals passing the lines, they could easily be left at Mrs. Fitzhugh's, two and a half miles from our post, and by her forwarded to Manassas.
"They have never had any means of information, and what they witness in my command can only be in favor of the spirit, comfort and cheerfulness of the Union army.
Very respectfully, your obedient servant,
"P. KEARNEY, Brigadier-General."
But with all his sympathy for the inevitable distresses of war, with all his commiseration for the misfortunes of the proud and haughty First Families who suddenly saw all their props swept away, General Kearney resented as a personal affront any and all manifestations of sympathy with treason within the limits of his command. Himself clear as the day, with his whole nature fired with lofty zeal, he despised and abhorred all hypocrisies and dou- ble-dealing, all infractions of good faith or comity on the part of those who were held at the mercy of the conqueror. And his treatment of all persons so offending was as sharp and decisive as it was often unexpected. Two illustrations only of his stern fidelity to principle in cases of this character can be given here, and that in the form of letters from Kearney's own hand. On the 13th of December, 1861, he wrote to a Mrs. Brooks, of Alexandria, who had been guilty of a seditious act, as follows :
"HEADQUARTERS, NEW JERSEY BRIGADE, ) " December, 13, 1861.
" MADAM : Certain articles for a prisoner in my Brigade Hospital, have been received. They were unnecessary as tending to the comfort of the prisoner, as I had already supplied him with clothing from my own wardrobe, and the hospital has complete sets-as to delicacies, they are equally unnecessary, as our own hospital is richly pro- vided. Be assured that in this sad war, I ignore individuals, more particularly if wounded and prisoners, and that I have made no distinction between this prisoner and my own people.
"The package, on being examined, contained what was seditious. The insignia of rebellion attending openly the bouquet presented, is equally liable to condemnation.
"In reference to this, Madam, with the kindest feelings that civil war admits of, I can only see in it an unpardonable defiance and contempt for the feelings of myself and command, who have ever been your safeguard and protection. It is aggravating to the highest point with myself, whom the very consideration I show, above all others, to the undefended, seditious or Union, causes to detest, despise and loathe tliose factious, egotistical Southerners, who have introduced anarchy and schism, reducing us, a proud
821
DISTINGUISHED GENERAL OFFICERS-KEARNEY.
first-class Nation, to (if they could) the insignificance, themselves and us, of a petty German Principality.
" Madam, if I were to construe my duty strictly, it would be to denounce you to the surveillance of the Alexandria authorities, but I accept as your excuse, the weakness of your sex, and your unprotected situation. I must, as a friend, caution you for the future. It was with great difficulty, owing to your sentiments, that I protected you whilst herc. Does it ever occur to you that those who like myself, and most others, have sacrificed comfort, interest, and their homes, to protect our glorious Union, must feel insulted, as no male dares to insult us (did we allow private annoyances to mix with our high vocation), in thus being bearded in the face of our might by expres- sions of disloyalty, and that as to the individual for whom it is called forth, it could only prevent or restrain our full benevolence to him as a sufferer ?
"With best respects, your obedient servant,
"P. KEARNEY, Brigadier-General.
"P. S. You will please not to hold further communication with the prisoner."
Two days later, the above letter was followed by this note, in which courtesy and firm adherence to duty are strangely blended :
"SEMINARY, December 15, 1861.
"DEAR MADAMI : I received yours of this date; I did not read it; it was sufficient to glean from it that you feel aggrieved by me. I most respectfully apologize, and dis- claim any feeling of personality, although injured. But in doing so, I am left only my official duty-that of reporting secret correspondence with the enemy, a prisoner under my charge.
"With great respect, your obedient servant, " P. KEARNEY, Brigadier-General. " To Mrs. BROOKS."
In another case, the action of General Kearney was even more sharp and decisive. A Mrs. E. Godwin having offered an insult to the flag, he addressed her (March 29, 1862) as follows :
"DEAR MADAM: The conduct of the ladies of your family has been so impudent, by its public demonstrations, that I am left but one of two alternatives to save you, viz : The obtaining for you a safeguard from General Mcclellan ; but this obliges an oath of allegiance to the Union. Ladies do not always like this straining of their private predilections.
"The other alone remains for me, therefore, viz: The planting over your door, by my high authority (not, therefore, the abuse as by an irresponsible individual), that flag of our old Union, under which we have all lived so long, and in which I have so strong a faith that the North and the South, the East and the West, will sooner or later be once more united, and all doubts and discord past, will learn once again to appreciate cach other, without reference to section.
"Most devotedly and sincerely, your obedient servant, " PHILIP KEARNEY,
"Brigadier-General Commanding Camp at Seminary."
The flag, under which the high-strung Virginia ladies had declared their solemn purpose never again to walk, was planted over the door, as Kearney promised, and they walked under it, rebuked and humiliated, spite of all their sneers and boasts, so long as his authority extended over their acres.
822
NEW JERSEY AND THE REBELLION.
Did the war produce another General in whom were thus united so many of those high and peculiar traits which go to make the perfect soldier ? Did it produce another who fought more unselfishly or with more lofty fidelity to principle ? Another who, with keener prophetic eye searched out and foretold the weaknesses and disas- ters under which we staggered so drearily and long ? Another who, unawed by the frown of authority, always declared with equal boldness and emphasis the thought that was in him ? Another who looked towards a higher mark, or measured all his deeds by a higher or broader standard ?
MAJOR-GENERAL GERSHOM MOTT.
Major-General Gershom Mott is a native of Mercer County, in this State, and upon the commencement of the rebellion was thirty- nine years of age. During the Mexican war he served with marked credit as Second Lieutenant in the Tenth Infantry, one of the ten regiments which were attached to the regular army during that period. At the time when the first call was made for volunteers to aid in suppressing the rebellion, he held a desirable position as cashier of the Bordentown Banking Company, but with genuine patriotic feeling, he at once offered his services to Governor Olden in any capacity he might designate, and on the 4th of August, 1861, was appointed Lieutenant-Colonel of the Fifth New Jersey Volunteers. This regiment, which was composed of a superior class of men, he thoroughly drilled and disciplined-being its com- manding officer during nearly all the time he was connected with it-advancing it to a high state of efficiency and preparing it for the arduous and terrible campaigns in which it was destined to share. In the first demonstration against the enemy made by the Second New Jersey Brigade, this regiment carried off the honors, being selected by General Hooker to cross the Potomac and seize the rebel works at Cockpit Point, which was done, under Mott's direction, in the most gallant and satisfactory manner. In the memorable battle of Williamsburg, the regiment fought with the most obstinate bravery, occupying an advanced position, and ren-
.
823
DISTINGUISHED GENERAL OFFICERS-MOTT.
dering service of inestimable value in the general plan of opera- tions. Immediately after this battle, Mott, who had distinguished himself by his coolness and courage, was promoted (May 7, 1862) to the Colonelcy of the Sixth Regiment. This regiment he com- manded with such skill and success in all the contests in which it participated on the Peninsula and up to the second Bull Run, as to win the lavish encomiums of his superiors, eliciting from them a strong and unanimous recommendation for his promotion to a Briga- dier-Generalship. The President, satisfied of his merits as an offi- cer and soldier, promptly acted upon this recommendation, ordering the promotion on the 7th of September. At this time Mott was at home suffering from a wound received at Bull Run while gal- lantly leading and encouraging his men, but as soon as possible (December 4th) returned to the field, and, upon the urgent request of General Hooker, then commanding the Center Grand Division of the Army of the Potomac, was assigned to the command of the Third Brigade, Second Division, Third Corps, or what was more generally recognized as the Second New Jersey Brigade, then com- posed of the Fifth, Sixth, Seventh and Eighth New Jersey and the One Hundred and Fifteenth Pennsylvania and Second New York Regiments. In the battle of Chancellorsville, this brigade dis- played the most heroic gallantry, bearing the brunt of the fighting on that part of the line where it was placed. Here, General Mott, who fought with the same bravery and skill as on other fields, at one time carrying the colors in his own hand as his columns swept to the assault, was again wounded, but refused to leave the front until completely exhausted from loss of blood, when he retired a short distance to the rear. On the 29th of August, having recov- ered from this wound, he rejoined his command at Bealton, and on the 15th of October engaged the enemy at McLean's Ford, where, being in sole command of our forces, he handsomely defeated a large body of the enemy. On the 3d of April, 1864, as the army commenced its Grand Advance upon the enemy, General Mott was placed in command of the Second Division of the Third Corps, but subsequently, upon the consolidation of the Fourth and Third Divisions of that Corps, and their incorporation with the Second
824
NEW JERSEY AND THE REBELLION.
Corps as one division (the Third), fell back temporarily to his old brigade. Shortly after, however, he again took command of the division, and held that position until the close of the war. On the 10th of September, 1864, he was brevetted Major-General, and after the army broke up, was put in command of a division of the Provisional Corps which was then formed-the division consist- ing of the remnants of the old Second Corps. Upon that corps being mustered out, he was ordered to report to the Department of Washington (July 28, 1865), and on the 5th of August was made a member of the Wirz Commission. Subsequently (on the 25th of November, 1865), he was appointed on the Commission to inves- tigate the difficulties between the State of Massachusetts and the Austrian Government, growing out of the enlistment of Austrian subjects by the former. He remained on this commission until the 15th of January, 1866, having been made a full Major-General on the 1st of December preceding. On the 20th of February following, his resignation from the service, sent in some months previously, was accepted, and he retired to private life, carrying with him the warmest expressions of confidence from Secretary Stanton and other members of the Government.
General Mott was the first officer of volunteers who was bre- vetted a Major-General from the Army of the Potomac, and is the only full Major-General from New Jersey. As a soldier his record is without spot, and his advancement was purely the result of merit. Some Generals-not a few, indeed-acquired prominence rather through the friendly intervention of politicians and hired correspondents, than by actual performance in the field; but Mott owed nothing to influences of this character, suffering rather from the hostility of the one and the prejudice of the other. More than once, the credit of achievements performed by his brigade and di- vision was ascribed to others, and even the historians of the war have not altogether corrected the false judgments of cotemporane- ous writers as to a number of engagements in which he participa- ted, as is clearly shown elsewhere in the history of the Second New Jersey Brigade.
As a disciplinarian, General Mott possessed qualities of the
825
DISTINGUISHED GENERAL OFFICERS-MOTT.
highest order, and his division was at all times conspicuous both for the efficiency of its officers and the courage and endurance of its men. At one time during the campaign from the Wilderness to Petersburg, General Mott furnished from his division over half a dozen Colonels to command brigades in other divisions, and all justified the confidence which induced his superiors to look to his command for officers of the highest skill and capacity. But with all his admitted courage and genuine capacity, Mott had little magnetism of character, and rarely depended for success upon the arts of command. He was purely a man of method, as was natu- ral in view of his education and business pursuits, and he held tenaciously to military rules, being inclined, indeed, to view with a sort of contempt any officer who failed to fight militarily, in precise accordance with established regulations. He was at all times thoroughly self-possessed in action, but was not always above the influence of passion. With his familiars he was genial and hearty to the last degree, but could be frigid as an iceberg to any against whom, whether justly or otherwise, he had conceived a prejudice. During the battle of Chancellorsville, having been car- ried to the rear when exhausted from loss of blood, an officer of a regiment in his brigade, entered the place where be was lying, some mile or so from the front, and seemed about to make himself com- fortable, when Mott, seeing no signs of any wound on the person of the visitor, enquired sharply, " What are you doing here, sir ?" The officer replied that he had been injured, but his manner show- ing that he was really skulking, Mott, too indignant for speech, turned his face to the wall with an air that said, " begone, thou coward," and from that hour, there was a barrier between that offi- cer and himself that nothing could ever beat down.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.