USA > New York > Reminiscences and record of the 6th New York V.V. cavalry > Part 1
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.
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6
44
3.74 2f 55339
REYNOLDS HISTORICAL GENEALOGY COLLECTION
1
ALLEN COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY 3 1833 01083 5194
Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2012
http://archive.org/details/reminiscencesrec00fost
Reminiscences and Record
OF THE
6th New York U. V. Cavalry. THE POLLO
6
N
Y
CAVALRY
-
BY
ALONZO FOSTER,
LATE SERGEANT CO. F.
СОВСЕМУЛИЕ У УГГЕЛ СО" МИЛО THE SnBrIC riBSТЫ,
F 8349 .5128
Foster, Alonzo, 1841- Reminiscences and record of the 6th New York V. V. cavalry. By Alonzo Foster, lato sergeant Co. F. (Brooklyn, 1892] 148 p. 18". First published in the Long island traveler.
1. U. S .- Hist .- Civil war-Regimental histories-N. Y. cav .- 6th. 2. New York cavalry. 6th regt., 1861-1805. I. Title.
2-15247
Library of Congress
£523.6.6th
45-117
1755039
٢٠٠
THIS BOOK IS FRATERNALLY DEDICATED TO MY COMRADES OF THE 6TH N. Y. CAVALRY.
1
COPYRIGHT. 1932, BY ALONZO FOSTER.
CONTENTS.
Introduction
5
The Old Camping Grounds II
Savage Station 27
Chancellorsville.
37
Brandy Station
45
The Wilderness
51
Trevillian Station
57
Beaver Dam
65
Meadow Bridge
71
Deep Bottom.
79
Night Attack
91
Reminiscence of Co. F
95
Record, etc.
105
New Year's Wish
117
Orders and Reports
119
Personal Mention
129
Personal Incidents.
135
Our Losses 138
Roster of Officers 139
Our Monument
147
1
ALONZO FOSTER, Co. I, Cth N. Y. Cavalry.
INTRODUCTION.
1
HEN as a volunteer I joined the Sixth New York Cavalry at Camp Scott, Staten Island, among the articles of personal effects most highly prized was a copy of the New Testament, presented to me by the Rev. S. H. Platt, and a pocket diary; the former I had promised to read daily, and the latter was to contain the daily events connected with my future army life ; both resolutions were kept so far as the circumstances attending camp and field life would permit. The Testament I have at present, carefully laid away, the choicest relic of my army life ; I also have the diaries that kept me company during those years.
The daily entries were made in my diaries in shorthand, mostly in pencil, and many times under unfavorable circum- stances; sometimes I would jot down a
6
INTRODUCTION.
previous day's record while resting for a moment with my horse standing by my side, and at other times I have written while in the saddle, when halting in the line of march. Stenography is not, uni- versally read, and the kind found in my diaries might puzzle the best shorthand student ; the books could therefore be of little interest to anyone but myself. Two years ago I began to translate them into readable English, and copied them into a handsome book which will remain as a sacred heirloom in my family.
While engaged in this work, old and stirring recollections were revived ; pictures that had grown dim and obscure were brought into light and retouched with mem- ory's pencil; for a time I lived in the past. My comrades of the old Sixth gathered about me, their faces wore the old familiar look, and their voices had the familiar ring ; the camp, the march, the bivouac and the battlefield passed before me in panoramic review, each bringing its train of associa- tions.
With these memories upon me I was in-
3
7
INTRODUCTION.
duced to write a series of articles descrip- tive of some of the engagements in which the Sixth New York Cavalry bore a con- spicuous or leading part, and which were published from time to time in the Long Island Traveler.
To comrades who read them they were of interest and frequent requests were made for them which could not be supplied; it was then suggested that these articles be gathered together, and with other matter of a historic nature pertaining to the regi- ment be published in book form, so that every comrade might have a volume in his possession. This, coupled with the fact that many regiments who bore a far less con- spicuous part in the late war have had their histories published, while the Sixth, with all its grand achievements, has been allowed to pass into forgetfulness, induced me to undertake in an imperfect manner the publi- cation of these reminiscences.
It would be superfluous for me to claim for the work any literary merit; to that it makes no pretension, it is simply the plain story of a soldier who marched and fought
8
INTRODUCTION.
in the ranks beside his comrades, absolutely unpretentious to any literary value, but, I believe, truthful in every detail.
I intimated that no effort had been made to preserve the memory of the Sixth New York Cavalry ; this statement requires some qualification. The Veteran Association of the regiment, which meets annually in the city of New York, has from time to time appointed committees to write a regimental history, but thus far no practical result has been achieved.
Still another reason for the publication . of this volume-and in that I know I will have the hearty concurrence of my com- rades, and of their immediate friends- friends who with anxious solicitude and earnest prayers followed them through all those years of toil and danger-I refer to the common pride we have in the history, unwritten though it may be, that was made by the Sixth New York. Without dis- credit to any other regiment that the State of New York sent to the field, I believe that the records will bear out the assertion that more engagements stand to our credit
9
INTRODUCTION.
than to any other regiment. If there be exceptions to this they are in favor of the other regiments in the brigade, viz. : the Fourth New York, Ninth New York, 17th Pennsylvania, with whom the Sixth was closely identified. In fact, our history is their history as well, and whatever can be said or written of the Sixth New York, can be said or written of these three regi- ments, constituting (with the Sixth) the Second Brigade of the First Division of the Cavalry Corps.
ALONZO FOSTER, 133 Clifton Place, Brooklyn, N. Y.
NOTE.
In collecting material for this book, I am greatly indebted to many comrades of the regiment for kind suggestions, and in many instances valuable information that they have given. I am equally in- debted to the published record of the military service of General Thomas C. Devin. A. F.
The Old Camping Grounds.
On the 15th of October, 1861, I entered the Union Army, and having a desire to look at the grounds over which I rode so often, I selected the 15th of October, 1890, or the 29th anniversary of my enlistment, as an appropriate date on which to under- take my journey ; so on the morning of that day, accompanied by my wife, I turned my back upon the City of Churches and my face towards the " sacred soil." The first point of especial interest to me was Perry- ville, Maryland ; here during the months of March and April, 1862, the Sixth New York Cavalry were stationed, passing the greater part of the time in drilling ; very much attention was given to sabre drill, and the lessons and exercise that we received here, I believe, made us second to no cavalry regiment in the service in the use of that weapon.
The old camping ground can be plainly
12
THE OLD CAMPING GROUNDS.
seen as you cross the river, and reminds me of the days of '62, when our regiment crossed and recrossed at this point-not at the bridge over which the train now passes, but on the old " Maryland," which then conveyed the cars from Perryville to Havre de Grace. After the bridge was built, the boat was transferred by the Pennsylvania Railroad Company to New York harbor, and in September last caught fire and was burned. Arriving in Washington at 3 o'clock in the afternoon, we were obliged to wait until 4:45 for the train running to Falls Church, Va., which place I had fixed upon for our first stopping place and head- quarters. The afternoon being stormy, we were obliged to remain in the depot and patiently await the hour for departure. I remembered that it was in this building, nine years ago, President Garfield fell, a victim of the crazed Guiteau, and upon inquiry was directed to a brass star in the tesselated floor of the waiting room, as marking the spot on which the first drop of blood fell from the mortal wound. A few feet from this on the wall of the room,
-
13
THE OLD CAMPING GROUNDS.
is a small and beautifully carved marble tablet, bearing this inscription :
" JAMES ABRAM GARFIELD, " President of the United States. "July 2nd, 1881."
Taking the 4:45 train we reached Falls Church a little after 5 o'clock. As we passed over Long Bridge my mind re- verted to the first and last times that I had passed over that route.
The first was on a dark rainy night in the month of April, 1862, when the Sixth crossed from Washington to Alexandria, on its way to Yorktown, to join General McClellan's army, then besieging that place. The last time was in February, 1865, when on my way home from Augur General Hospital.
On reaching Falls Church we went at once to the house of Mr. Lounsbury-a name familiar to many of the members of Company H, 127th, New York Regiment. The last hours of Sergeant Riley Penny were soothed by the Christian ministrations of Mrs. Lounsbury, and many of the boys have reason to remember her home and
14
THE OLD CAMPING GROUNDS.
that of her sister, Mrs. Ives, with the keenest pleasure ; these ladies are still engaged in their labors of love, exemplify- ing in their lives the true spirit of the Master.
Falls Church is a handsome village, sit- uated on high ground, about ten miles from Washington, and containing about 1,200 inhabitants, many of whom are employed in the different Governmental departments at Washington. The place derives its name from the old brick church which stands near the centre of the village, and which serves as a connecting link between the past and the present. It was built about the year 1765, from bricks brought from England, and what strikes one as most sur- prising, is its clean and fresh appearance, every brick and seam is as fresh and unim- paired as though it was completed yester- day, instead of having stood for more than a century and a quarter. If churches be an indication of a people's piety, then are the people of this village exceptionally pious. I counted nine churches almost within speaking distance from each other.
15
THE OLD CAMPING GROUNDS.
From Falls Church we drove to Arling- ton, and stood for the first time in that city of the dead ; the cemetery contains 370 acres, inclosed by a handsome stone wall and shaded by magnificent oak and chest- nut trees. As I stood surrounded by the twelve thousand sleeping comrades who had placed their lives upon their country's altar, I instinctively felt that I was on holy ground, for where in all the earth is there a spot more hallowed ? Beneath a giant oak stands a large granite stone, before which I stood with uncovered head while I read this inscription :
" Beneath this stone repose the bones of 2, 107 unknown soldiers, gathered after the war from the field of Bull Run and the route to the Rappahannock. Their re- mains could not be identified, but their names and deaths are recorded in the archives of the country, and its grateful citizens honor them as of the noble army of martyrs. May they rest in peace ! Sept., A. D. 1866."
I took an acorn which lay at my feet and laid it carefully away, that I might
16
THE OLD CAMPING GROUNDS.
plant it; the oak that grows from it I will cherish with the utmost care, for its parent shelters one of the sacred spots of earth. I remembered that some of my comrades of the Sixth were buried along the route from which these bones were taken, and doubtless they were here.
On our return we passed by Upton's Hill, and tried to locate the spot on which the 127th was encamped while stationed there. The old Upton house stands just as it did twenty-eight years ago ; the hill slopes away to the woods on the south and west and to the road on the north present- ing very much the same appearance that it did 'in '62, and what seemed more natural still the road was a mass of yellow mud, there having been a heavy rain the day . before.
From Falls Church we took the road to Alexandria, and from thence to Manassas and Bull Run: there is little here to re- mind one of the first great battle of the war, or the one that was fought on the same field, with results scarcely more satisfactory to the Union side thirteen months later.
17
THE OLD CAMPING GROUNDS.
Not far from the railroad station on the right of the Confederate line a monument has been lately erected. It is a plain shaft, 35 feet high, built from brown stone, with a white marble tablet on each of its four sides, three being blank and the fourth bears this brief inscription :
"Dedicated by the Ladies' Memorial Association of Manassas on Aug. 30, 1889, to the heroes of Virginia and her sister States, who yielded their lives on July 18 and 21, 1861, and August 2S and 29, 1862, in defence of the Confederate cause."
Unlike the monument of the unknown dead at Arlington, it was shaded by no tree or shrub, and no thoughtful hand had planted a flower about its base. It stands upon the field where the battle was fought and where the soldiers fell. I gathered some seeds from the nearest shrub, and have planted them beside the acorn from the heights of Arlington. They shall grow side by side and equal care shall be be- stowed on both.
From Manassas we visited Thoroughfare Gapand Haymarket. Stopping at Gaines-
18
THE OLD CAMPING GROUNDS.
ville, we spent the night at the residence of Mrs. Marstella, a lady at whose house I had been entertained while a portion of our army was encamped at Centreville in August, '62. Miss Marstella and a bright little grandson were at the station with a carriage and conveyed us to the house, less than a mile distant. Mrs. Marstella is of one of the best families of Virginia ; she gave us a most cordial and hearty wel- come; though her friends and sympathies were upon the Confederate side during the war, which swept away the greater part of her property, there is no bitterness in her heart toward the Union soldier, and I left her filled with admiration for one of her advanced years, bearing so nobly and with- out complaint the losses and deprivations incident to the war.
From Gainsville we took the train for Bealton, at which place we were to take a carriage and ride thirteen miles (in the direction of Fredericksburg) to Pine View, not far from Groves Church, where the Sixth was encamped in Oct., '62. Here we were to visit a family with whom the for-
19
THE OLD CAMPING GROUNDS.
tunes of war had thrown me in contact while in that vicinity. I will take the liberty to quote a page from my diary which was written at that time. Perhaps some of the comrades of Companies F and H will recall the circumstance. The only one that I distinctly remember as being with me at the time was corporal Rufus Corey, of Company H. Here is the record :
Friday, Oct. 2, 1862 .- The day has been very stormy. Have ridden most of the day covered with my rubber poncho, and that has failed to keep me dry. This fore- noon Sergeant Grant came from camp with orders for me to withdraw my men two miles nearer camp. The order was a welcome one. We were to establish the post at a farmhouse occupied by three ladies, Mrs. Kellog and her two daughters. Sergeant Grant introduced me to Mrs. Kellog, saying that the family would be under my protection while we remained there. The lady was standing in her door- way and we were sitting on our horses in the drenching rain.
Saturday, Oct. 3, '62 .- The storm has
20
THE OLD CAMPING GROUNDS.
passed and the day is unusually fine. 1 find the family who are under our protec- tion to be social and inclined to treat us - with respect, which under the circum- stances, I appreciate most heartily. I have arranged (by Mrs. Kellog's request) to take my meals at her table, turning my rations into the family, which is most satisfactory to me, making an oasis in my soldier life ; this is a new experience and recalls my home life, my mother and sisters.
It was under the foregoing circumstances that I made the acquaintance of this family and by inquiry I learned that Mrs Kellog had died soon after the war and the re- maining members had removed to Spring Grove, near Pine View. On arriving at Bealton, Mr. Frank Kellog (a grandson of Mrs. K.) accosted us and after ascertaining that we were from Brooklyn and on our way to Spring Grove, informed us that he had come for us with his team, and after a pleasant, though somewhat rough ride of four hours, reached our destination. From Miss Kellog and her brother we received a most friendly welcome; time has dealt
21
THE OLD CAMPING GROUNDS.
somewhat tenderly with Miss Kellog, and in the mature woman of fifty I could quite easily recognize the Miss Kellog at whose table I sat while wearing the blue 28 years ago. The fact that Mr. Kellog wore the gray while I was wearing the blue, did not prevent him from extending to me the
warmest hospitality. I spent two days at his house, and shall always remember my visit there as among the most pleasant inci- dents of my journey. From Spring Grove we return to Bealton, after which we visited Rappahannock and Brandy Station. This latter place I had especially desired to see, for with the rest of the boys of the Sixth, as well as the Ninth New York and 17th Pennsylvania Regiments, I have for the past twenty-eight years carried a vivid recollection of that field.
On the 11th of October, '63-just eight days after the incident referred to in my diary-our regiment made two successful charges there. Major Hall, I think, was in command of the regiment at the time, General Devin in command of the brigade, and General Buford of the division. Our
22
THE OLD CAMPING GROUNDS.
Division was ordered to fall slowly back from Raccon Ford on the Rapidan, through Stevensburg to the Rappahannock, General Meade being well on his way to Centre- ville, and Kilpatrick with his division was on our right, beyond Culpepper. Coming down from the direction of Orange Court- house, the Confederate infantry began skirmishing with our rear guard early in the morning ; crossing the ford soon after sunrise, we became quite heavily engaged near Stevensburg, from this point we fell slowly back until Brandy Station was reached. Stewart's cavalry in the mean- time had engaged Kilpatrick, who being much farther in advance than we, became partially enveloped by the enemy ; his left flank was entirely uncovered, and on it swarmed long lines of infantry, while Stewart was pressing him on the right and centre. It was late in the afternoon, our brigade was in the open field just to the north and east of the railroad station ; see- ing Kilpatrick's danger, and knowing that to fall back from this point, thus open, the gap between our right and his left would in
23
THE OLD CAMPING GROUNDS.
crease it, General Devin ordered the Sixth to charge the enemy, who were rapidly ad- vancing and increasing in our front; the charge was made and repeated under a heavy fire of musketry and artillery ; but the enemy's lines were broken, and Kilpat- rick's men relieved .from their danger came charging through, meeting with our right. General Kilpatrick afterward de- clared that it was this timely charge of the Sixth New York Regiment that re- lieved him in a most critical moment.
It was my intention to visit Culpepper, and if possible find the spot where our camp was located during the winter of '63 and '64; but the weather was not propitious, and I was obliged to forego that part of my programme. I was told, however, that the old camp was now covered by a good growth of trees, and that there was nothing there to remind one of the days of '64, save the little stream at which we watered our horses and filled our canteens ; but it would have been some satisfaction to have re- newed my acquaintance with that, for it was a friend that never failed us. It was
24
THE OLD CAMPING GROUNDS.
here that the Sixth New York Regiment re-enlisted in December, 1863, and from here in May, 1864, we entered upon the campaign that began at the Wilderness and ended at Appomatox.
From this point we retraced our steps to Falls Church, passing through Alexandria. This place has changed but little since the war, a kind of Rip Van Winkle sleep seems to envelop it, and in passing through the streets one is surprised at the Sabbath-like stillness that pervades them. In my con- versation with the people whom I met, I was impressed with the same fact that pre- sented itself during the war, viz. : that the better we become acquainted, the better friends we are, and whatever prejudices and heartburnings there may have been in the past, or may be now, they will be over- come when the people of the South and they of the North fully understand each other.
In the course of my journey I met a number of ex-Confederate soldiers, and though I wore the bronze button, there was no lack of cordiality in their greeting or
25
THE OLD CAMPING GROUNDS.
of hospitality in their entertainment. I found in them as warm-hearted friends to-day as I had brave enemies twenty eight years before.
War is fruitful of strange and peculiar incidents and I listened to many tales, both pathetic and ludicrous, that had their origin in those dark days. One in particular claimed my attention, from the fact that it took place at Grove Church, a spot familiar to the Sixth New York Cavalry. In that neighberhood lived an old gentleman who was known by his acquaintances as an in- veterate Yankee hater. Long before the war he had obtained this reputation, and when the war broke out and the blue- coated Yankees were actually marching on the sacred soil of Virginia, his hatred be- came almost a mania ; the sight of a Union soldier was. like gall and wormwood to him. The war was over and another enemy came ; his garb was more sombre than the de- tested blue coats, and his aim was more certain ; Death claimed the old man for his own. In the old burying ground near the church his wife had rested for years,
26
THE OLD CAMPING GROUNDS.
and with thoughtful care he had preserved a space where his body was to rest by her side. When the grave digger had reached near the accustomed depth, his spade was arrested by coming in contact with a wooden box, and upon uncovering and opening it, it was found to contain the body of a Union soldier, dressed in his blue uniform; when or how it was placed there no one knew ; the body was carefully re- placed, the grave enlarged, and the old man's body was gently lowered to its last resting.place beside the detested Yankee.
In closing this letter, already too pro- longed, I desire to extend my sincere thanks to the kind friends whom I met, and by whom we were so hospitably entertained during our brief sojourn there, and should any of my old comrades of the Sixth New York Cavalry have any doubts about the hospitality of the people of Virginia, they have only to visit them to have them removed.
ولا يمار البرو شياجي زاوية ١٠.١٥ عيش
Reminiscence of the Battle of Savage Station.
So much has been written and so much said concerning the seven days' battle that it seems presumptive, at this late day, for one who bore but a humble part in that memorable " change of base " to attempt to reproduce any of the momentous scenes then enacted. There is one very marked peculiarity about a battle scene. No man who has ever been under fire, or stood in front of the enemy, whether making or re- pelling a charge, or standing in line, receiv- ing and giving back shot for shot, that ever forgets it, or ever experiences under any circumstances a like sensation. A soldier can no more forget his army life and ex- perience than a mother can forget her off- spring. So reader, when you hear the old veterans rehearsing to each other the events of the days of '61 and '64-tales that have been more than thrice told-do not
28
BATTLE OF SAVAGE STATION.
criticise, but remember that these events are interwoven into their very lives, and that every camping ground and bivouac, every skirmish line and battlefield, is pho- tographed upon their memory, not to be erased until the mind itself shall fail. And remember too, that while this photograph- ing process was going on they stood be- tween you and the destruction of all that you and every patriot holds sacred.
After the battle of Williamsburg, which was fought on the 5th of May, 1862, the Confederates fell back until they reached the earthworks thrown up for the protec- tion of Richmond : our army followed and confronted them along the line of the Chickahominy, the Sixth New York occupying a position a little to the rear and centre of the line.
The ground was low and marshy, and to procure water it was only necessary to break the soil and dig to the depth of a few inches when the excavation would be filled with water of a slightly milky color, and highly flavored with the taste of root and decayed wood ; but as no other was to be had, we were obliged to use it.
29
BATTLE OF SAVAGE STATION.
Our lines were at no great distance from Richmond, perhaps from five to six miles at the nearest point. By climbing to the tops of the highest trees we could catch glimpses of the spires of some of the build- ings in that city, and occasionally the sound of church bells could be heard. For about six weeks our army lay in this position, anxiously awaiting and expecting the order to advance; but on the 27th of June the army began the retrograde movement, which was popularly known as the " change of base,"' during which the seven days' bat- tle was fought, beginning with Mechanics- ville and closing with the terrible battle of Malvern Hill, fought on July 1, '62.
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.