USA > New York > A brief history of the Twenty-Eighth Regiment New York State Volunteers, First Brigade, First Division, Twelfth Corps, Army of the Potomac, from the author's diary and official reports. With the muster-roll of the regiment, and many pictures, articles and letters > Part 10
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
hot ice as for an African school teacher ; now there are twenty thousand, and one hundred and fifty schools for advanced education, of which seven are colleges presided over by African presidents and faculties, and three of these college presi- dents were slaves. In 1861, when the war began, for a southern Negro to know how to read was a crime ; now 2,250,000 have learned to read and write. Then they had not a single school ; now they have 25,530 schools operating through some part of each year. Thirty years ago the entire taxable property of the negro was twelve thousand dollars; now it is $264,000,000. Who would have dared to prophesy part or all of this ? And yet this is one direct re- sult of that great fierce war. The settle- ment of the West, the building of our great trans-continental railroads, the devel- opment of the South, and the vast increase in wealth of the nation are all parts of the great outcome of the war. It was a peace worth fighting for ; a peace which without the war could never have been. It settled forever the question of the power of self maintenance of Republican institutions. It ended the old struggle between cavalier and roundhead which had come down to us from our English ancestry ; it settled the question as to the relative prowess of northerner and southern ; it opened a door of escape for the poor whites of the middle East, and said to the world, here is a spot in deed and truth where every man of honest worth and honest purpose is the peer of every other man. To have had part in such a war is cause for self-con- gratulation. To be written in the roll of the patriots of 1861 to 1865 is glory and honor, and on that roll is written the name of each comrade of the Twenty-eighth Regiment of New York Volunteers.
IN MEMORY OF DEAR OLD "PAP WILLIAMS."
By W. F. GOODHUE, Milwaukee, Wis. Secretary Third Wisconsin Infantry Association.
IT IS with pleasure that I learn you are I to publish a regimental history, and in it there is to appear a portrait and memoir of our brave old Division and Corps com- mander, Pap Williams of blessed memory. As the Hibernian said of his dead friend : ** l'eace to his soul and not to his ashes, for
he hasn't gone where ashes are made." Although I haven't seen the old general for thirty-one years, yet with memory's eye I see him to-day as plainly as ever, and with the soughing and whispering of the wind amid these northern pines, I fancy myself back among the Virginia pines and the
·
62
TWENTY-EIGHTH REGIMENT N. Y. S. VOLUNTEERS.
pine savannahs of Georgia and the Caro- linas, through which we followed for many a weary mile the devoted leader of the old Red Star Division.
His was a Cromwellian figure, sitting his horse like a centaur, sturdy, strong and imperturable under all the circumstances of bloody warfare ; his strong. kindly face and grizzled beard indicated the stanch and rugged nature of the man, while be- neath his black slouched hat gleamed in the southern sun the glasses he constantly wore, scintillating like the jewelled eyes of a war god when giving to the warriors of the nation the inspiration of battle and holding firmly in his teeth the never-lighted stub of a cigar.
When the rifles at the front began their crackling sound the horse he rode quick- ened its step and the advance of the divis- ion when it reached the front, found old Pap there too, and there he stayed until the field was won.
In all the four long years of that inces- sant warfare the brave old general was on hand and there was not a drum beat in the Red Star Division that he didn't hear and was the first to answer its call, no matter what the occasion - a review, a march or battle ; he was there, and his boys had to get up very early in the morning, long before the roosters began to crow to beat him in punctuality and promptness, and it is doubtful if we ever got there ahead of him.
:
There were but two generals in the Union Army who acquired from the sol- diers the affectionate soubriquet of " Pap " and there were Generals George H. Thomas, the beloved commander of the Army of the Cumberland, and our own division commander, Alpheus Starkey Wil- liams of the Twelfth and Twentieth Army Corps, and it is a fact that both of these generals came from the old Red Star Division.
The commander of the Second Brigade, First Division, Banks' Corps, in August, 1861, was Colonel George H. Thomas, who was then promoted to brigadier-gen- eral and given a command in Kentucky : General Chas. S. Hamilton, the first colonel of the Third Wisconsin Infantry, succeed- ing him in the command of the brigade. This able officer was sent to McClellan's army, and the old Second Brigade fought under the direction of Gordon, Ruger and Hawley to the end of the war, respectively. That these two " Paps " were able soldiers
goes without saying, and their worth as such is so recorded in history ; but there was something else in their make-up- something more in their natures and char- acter than the stern dominant qualities of militaryism, else they would not have ac- quired that soubriquet of endearment and respect which was spontaneously bestowed upon them by the overworked troops they so gallantly handled on many a hard fought field. "Pap" Thomas was edu- cated at West Point ; " Pap" Williams was educated in the Mexican war. The former was a regular army officer ; the latter was a volunteer officer ; but these differences count for naught when summarizing their characters ; both were beloved by the troops they led through the war, and both were called "Pap" by the troops who knew them best.
That hard fighter and stern tyrant, Frederick the Great, used the term " my children " when he spoke of his troops, but his flinty old heart had no love for them, and his hypocritical term of affec- tion, was one of sovereignty, and not of true affection, for he flogged, starved and slaughtered them remorselessly. History does not record an instance when his men called him "Pap" or anything akin to it. He held his army to its work by the sternest discipline, which his troops feared more than they did the enemy. The nobler instinct of patriotism, which gives a steadfast cour- age in battle and braces men to sustain the fatigues of warfare, was wanting in his army, because he degraded his men by punishment with the lash, and he also seems to have whipped patriotism pretty well out of his people, if Poult- ney Bigelow's articles on the "Strug- gle for German Liberty," now current in one of the magazines, are to be believed.
The American soldier had a personal dignity which such men as Thomas and Williams respected. These generals had duties to perform which, in their execu- tion, placed exacting and onerous condi- tions upon their troops; but the men obeyed and respected such requirements with alacrity, even unto death, and each emulated the other in their service in the cause for the Union, which was an un- quenchable faith common to all, and it is with feelings of pride and admiration that I now remember the abiding faith, the deep and hearty love and respect we then had and now have, I can safely say, for
63
GENERAL WILLIAMS' RECOLLECTIONS OF CHANCELLORSVILLE.
the brave officer whom we loved to call " Pap" Williams, long since gone to his reward.
At the close of the War General Williams commanded the Temporary Division of the Fourteenth Army Corps, a division com- posed of the western troops of the Twentieth and Fourteenth Corps. This division was in camp on the old Crittenden place, near Louisville, Kentucky, held there by the government in expectation of going to Mexico and assist Juarez to drive the French troops from that country, who were then the main stay of Maximillian's throne. But " Napoleon the small " took the hint given him by Secretary Seward and with- drew Marshal Bazaine in due season, otherwise Pap Williams would have been engaged in a second Mexican war.
While in camp there the general would talk over, of an evening, the events of the civil war, and I remember one evening an officer present asked him what, in his ex- perience, was the most critical hour he had seen during the civil war. " May 2d, the night before Chancellorsville," he promptly answered, and then he went on to say why he thought so. "My division had been divided and scattered by orders from headquarters. I didn't know exactly where all of .it was; in that wooded, rugged region, brigades and regiments once sep- arated were difficult to keep track of, and it couldn't be done with my limited staff of officers. Then at dusk Jackson broke
the Eleventh Corps and came charging down upon our position and I was fairly at my wit's end to know what to do ; my staff were looking after or trying to keep track of my absent regiments, and I had no one to help me gather together the re- maining troops of the division, and all the time the cursed yelling and firing of the approaching rebels grew nearer and nearer. If Pleasanton had not posted his batteries on the ridge, along the little valley of Scott's Run, the rebel charging column would have gone straight through us, but the excellent work of those batteries saved us the day. For about an hour," the gen- eral went on to say, "I experienced a mental anguish which I never had before or afterwards during the whole war, and perhaps the reason why I never suffered so again was that never afterwards was my division so separated and scattered as it was that terrible night, and through no fault of mine." We all know how well the general brought up his division and posted it in the night on that fateful field, and how well he handled it that Sunday morn- · ing, when Jackson's corps charged us again and again, beaten every time, and our general took his division, he was so proud of, from the field with empty cartridge boxes, but not until relieved by fresh troops. Green shall be his memory in the hearts of us all as long as we remain on this earth, in this Republic he served so well.
ORGANIZATION AND MUSTER-IN OF THE TWENTY-EIGHTH.
COLONEL E. F. BROWN.
THE preliminary preparations for the organization of the Twenty-eighth Regiment, N. Y. Vols., has little of in- terest to the general public, but at the time was something that engaged the at- tention of the people of the country, especially those residing in Niagara. Or- leans and Genesee counties, N. Y. Five companies - one half the Regiment -was the nucleus. Added to these were two from Orleans and one from Genesee. All of these were recruited almost simulta- neously and in an incredible short time after the attack on Fort Sumpter. which occurred April. 16, 1861. Colonel Don- nelly, who had been for several years active
in the Militia organizations of the State, and lieutenant-colonel of the Sixty-sixth Regiment, at once took an active part in organizing the companies, and to him is due the honor of perfecting and organ- izing the regiment. Familiar with every detail of preparation, he was enabled to give prompt advice and secure aid in supplying every need while the com- panies were being enlisted. The people were aroused, and the work of securing quarters, rations and general supplies was easy - indeed, only required the asking.
The seven companies mentioned were readily united in seeking a rendezvous at
64
TWENTY-EIGHTH REGIMENT N. Y. S. VOLUNTEERS.
the same point. It was the desire of State authorities that all the troops from the Central and Western counties should ren- dezvous at Elmira, where extensive prepa- rations were making for a great military camp. A preference was expressed, and by a well-directed effort was successful, to have this regiment allowed to rendezvous at Albany. This was considered a favor, for which all were very grateful. As soon as the proper number of. men were enlisted to form a company, orders were issued from the Adjutant-General's office for the trans- fer to Albany, and thus in a few days eight companies were ready for muster. Two companies were lacking, and it was the work of a few days and some fine diplomacy to secure the other two.
Captain FitzGerald, who was in Albany with a company from Ontario County, and Captain Waller, from Sullivan County, both unassigned, and both anxious to se- cure the best possible organization with which to unite the fortunes of their respec- tive companies, were not long in reaching the conclusion that the Twenty-eighth was likely to perfect their organization first ; and, although sought for by others, soon decided to join us, and thus the Twenty- eighth was ready to prepare for muster-in with ten full companies. While in Albany making these preliminary arrangements, the various companies were somewhat scat- tered, being quartered here and there in various vacant buildings - none of them too comfortable ; but all better, as they subsequently learned, than tents, sheds, damp ground or swamps. Arrangements were made to feed all the men at the Adams House, and the food, while not served in the best style of first-class hotels on mahogany or maple extension tables, or served by skilled waiters, was, however, in the main satisfactory. The Delevan House, next door across the street, would have been a trifle more satisfactory, although the supplies for each were under the super- vision of the.celebrated caterer and hotel manager, Monsieur Roesselle, now proprie- tor of the Arlington Hotel at Washington. The men occasionally rebelled at the ser- vice, and scrimmages with the waiters were of frequent occurrence.
1
It was soon discovered that the center of a great city like .Albany was not the best locality for organizing troops, and as soon as the muster rolls could be prepared the order for mustering-in the regiment was given, and we were numbered 28. 1
although several earlier numbers were not mustered in until many days later.
The muster into the service of the United States for a specific time-say, "three months," or "two years," or "three years," or " during the war "-was at first somewhat misunderstood, and re- sulted later in serious disagreement be- tween the Government and some of the New York troops, of which the Nineteenth N. Y. was a conspicuous example, although one of its field officers was a son of W. H. Seward, then Secretary of State of the United States.
The Twenty-eighth took no stock in this controversy. All, officers and men, were mustered in for two years or during the war, which was construed as meaning "during the war," provided the war con- tinued less or no longer than two years.
As the day of muster-in to the United States service approached, it was percep- tible that the enlisted men were discussing the question of what the " muster " meant, and also what the war meant, and they discussed it understandingly and reached proper conclusions.
On the 18th day of May the organiza- tion .was completed and the field officers were elected by the votes of the com- pany officers. Preparations were then made for immediate muster-in of the regi- ment, which great event took place on May 22, 1861.
A little episode which occurred between the 18th and 22d may not be wholly devoid of interest, although it is probably forgot- ten by most of the surviving members. A few of the men during their stay in Albany had discovered that a blanket on a hard floor and Adams House fare and the re- straints of camp requiring a pass to leave for a few hours, and other little restrictions to their liberties, were not altogether to their tastes, and some of these not exceeding a half dozen in all, gave their company offi- cers notice that they " wanted to go home," and some intimated that unless they could have leave they would go without leave .. One captain having heard of this called his company in line, and after a few words of kindly advice to all to stand by the organization, made the inquiry : "How many of you have determined not to be mustered into the United States service. If there are any such let them step three paces to the front." With a halt and a limp and a hang-dog expression on their faces about a half dozen stepped out. He took
65
MUSTERED INTO THE UNITED STATES SERVICE.
their names and after a good lecture directed them to return to their places in the ranks. On the following day he sent for them and kindly asked them if they had fully determined whether they would be mustered in or not. Five of the num- ber decided to refuse the muster. The captain at once prepared to muster them out. For this extremely unpleasant duty he had secured the services of a barber and a drum and fife. Several brave men volunteered their aid and the men were placed in the barber's chair, their heads shaved on one side sufficient to mark them and then they were drummed out of camp to the iune of the Rogue's March. While there were unpleasant remarks about the barbe(a)rity of the proceeding, the question of refusal to muster was settled. The approval of the summary proceedings by the other members of the company was made apparent by the rousing cheers given for the captain.
It was not at all strange or singular that some boys who had left comfortable homes with pleasant surroundings, and who had never before been under other than mild parental restraint, should look upon it as a great deprivation to be placed under mili- tary discipline. The discouraging outlook of two years of camp life and the danger of battles to come, of hardships, of pleas- ures gone, all tended to homesickness, a disease termed nostalgia, which is often as fatal as other diseases and quite as painful and distressing To the credit of those who were so summarily mustered out be it said that after their Albany experience and a visit to their mothers, most if not all again enlisted and served faithfully during their term of enlistment and were killed in battle or honorably mustered out at the expiration of their term of service.
The muster-in was a great occasion. It was so considered at the time, and has been held in remembrance as our great anniver- sary day from that time to the present. It has been and still continues to be the day of our annual reunion. No distinction is made - officers and men alike-regardless of rank or station in life, meet and join cordially in celebrating the great day of our muster- in. As our numbers decrease the interest of that day; becomes more dear to those who remain. When we consider the fact that a thousand men stood in line and with uplifted hands took the oath in the most solemn and impressive manner to support the Constitution of the United States and
defend the flag of our common country, it meant something in addition to the words of the oath to which we pledged our honor. It further said to each one of us, we must stand by each other as well as the govern- ment and the flag. Each man as he stepped to the front of the line for the pur- pose of identification by the mustering officer declared by this action that he was there for a purpose and wished the world to know it. Each and every man was deeply impressed with the responsibility he assumed. He saw that a base and wanton attempt was being made to destroy this great and powerful nation, to divide and distract the government under which we had lived and prospered for almost a cen- tury. And why should this be done ? At this time the question of emancipation of the slaves was not thought of. The pres- ervation of the Union and the defense of the flag, these were in danger, and whatever else might happen, these must be preserved. Patriotism pervaded the thoughts of the young volunteer, and danger did not deter him from standing up manfully and answering to his name promptly when called by the mustering officer. It was indeed a sight to remember, when, one by one, these noble young men stepped for- ward and declared to the world that, come what might, they were ready and willing for the sacrifice. From that hour the thousand men composing the Twenty- eighth Regiment became as one man ready to do battle for the Union and for each other, and for the flag that floats over us all.
Immediately after the organization was completed the work of discipline and train- ing began. The number of officers who had received military training was limited to a few who had fortunately been serving in the State Militia. Those who had received the slightest military education were in great demand. It was several days before uniforms and equipments could be secured, and these were days of hard work and mental strain for the officers, who had many, yes, everything to learn, and that mostly by experience rather than by books. Requisitions were not in form, were taken to the wrong officer, had to be made over, and all for lack of early educa- tion. All had to be studied and there was little time to do it in. There were quarter- master and commissary stores, camp and garrison equipage, arms and ammunition, etc., etc.,- each in its turn had to be
66
TWENTY-EIGHTH REGIMENT N. Y. S. VOLUNTEERS.
obtained in the regular way - and all new to a New York volunteer officer. Before the lesson had been half learned, orders came for the Twenty-eighth to go into camp in the town of Bethlehem in Albany County, about three miles from the city. This was our first camp, named Camp Morgan, for our worthy Governor, Edwin D. Morgan. Here is where we received our first mili- tary instruction. Here we received our first education in the arts of war. Here our first effort at guard duty, and even at this day one smiles at the drills of the awkward squads and the still more awkward drill- master. Our outfit of arms was a feature and this was down at Camp Morgan. We had requested to be furnished with rifles, and as a mark of great confidence our request was gratified. We were supplied with a 44-caliber rifle with sword-bayonet and were greatly pleased thereat. While it must be admitted that the guns were at first very awkwardly handled, there was no lack of effort on the part of officers or men to perfect themselves in the manual of arms. Regular squad drills were organized and the enlisted men when off duty could be seen almost constantly engaged in private efforts to perfect themselves in the art of the soldier. This was an encouraging
feature and relieved the officers of much anxiety. In fact, the majority of the offi- cers required quite as much instruction as the enlisted men. Competition was active. The school of the officer was as important as the school of the soldier. Both felt the need of education and no time was lost by either in the effort to become efficient. Our first dress parade and several that fol- lowed will be recalled with a broad smile at the remembrance of the effort to con- ceal the gross ignorance of many of the officers and most of the men in the per- formance of that exercise at the close of the day. It was indeed a laughable farce as we now look at it in the light of subsequent drills and dress parades of the regiment. We proudly recall the fact that there was no lack of effort on the part of any officer or soldier to study and improve, and this was universal. After the muster in, came this short preparation in the art of war at Camp Morgan, and then we were ready for active service, indifferently so, it must be admitted at first, but by degrees and con- stant field duty from that on, improvement came readily, and finally the degree of per- fection which enabled us to stand up before the cannon and musketry of the enemy and perform our duty without flinching.
THE BAND OF THE TWENTY-EIGHTH NEW YORK. HOW ORGANIZED-ITS SERVICE AND DISCHARGE.
By ENOS B. WHITMORE, Rochester, N. Y.
W HEN, on the 22d of May, 1861. the Twenty-eighth New York State Vol- unteer Regiment was sworn into the United States service, at Albany, and received its number, it had no band. There were with the regiment some company musicians, and the nucleus of a fife and drum corps ; and, besides, within its ranks were other musici- ans of ability and experience in band practice ; but these, aside from the musici- ans first referred to, were all members of some of the various companies of the regi- ment, and regularly enlisted as privates to carry the knapsack and shoulder the gun.
But away from Albany, in the southern part of the State, and unknown to the members of the regiment, circumstances were soon to transpire which were destined at no distant day to provide for the regi- inent the substantial beginning of a good
and acceptable brass band. At the time of the breaking out of the War there was at the village of Friendship, in Allegany county, a flourishing musical academy con- ducted by Professor James Baxter In the summer of 1861, and after many regiments had gone into the field, Major Roy Stone, of the Pennsylvania " Bucktail Regiment " (the first Pennsylvania rifles), came to Friendship and perfected an arrangement with Professor Baxter to organize and equip a band for his regiment, then at the front and in camp in Maryland.
In carrying out this agreement with Major Stone, and for the purpose of getting material from which to organize the contemplated band, Baxter issued invi- tations for local bands, and musicians gen- erally, to meet at the Friendship Academy at an early day, the object being stated in
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.