USA > New York > Dutchess County > Address delivered Wednesday, 28th November, 1866 : in Feller's Hall, Madalin, township of Red Hook, Duchess Co., N.Y. > Part 5
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. cruited in a great degree in this locality. Of the brave . youth who went forth from our midst at that time, all did their duty well, and/ the majority acquitted themselves with the highest credit in the different stations to which they were assigned and promoted:
Having thus disposed of the history of the regi-
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ment to which our neighbors and friends first con- tributed recruits (20th N. Y. S. M.), the next which c aims our attention is one which may be considered pe- culiarly our own, since the N. E. corner of the Upper District of the Town of Red Hook contributed 21. nearly one-half of Company C ; and the very village in which the Memorial Stone is located, supplied one-quarter of that same company as the result of an impromptu meeting for the purpose of pro- woting volunteering. What is more. a youth of this neighborhood, between fifteen and sixteen, JOHNSTON LIVINGSTON DE PEYSTER, a pupil of the Highland Military College, was the officer with whom our brave young men enlisted ; and, had he not been tricked out of the rewards of his labor, he would have commanded Company C, (even as he did command it for a few days in camp at Hudson), until he had either been killed or wounded at the head of his men, or promoted for good service.
What should make the following narrative of this regiment so interesting to this anditors is the fact. that the incidents are mainly derived from a gallant young man who was among the first to enlist, and went forth from us as a private, was made a sergeant about a month afterwards, and returned in command of his company wearing the shoulder-straps of a First Lieu- tenant. What is more, through self-denial and good conduct, and by strict economy, he was not only en- abled to pay for the support of h's family during his absence, but to retain sufficient, after the payment of his debts, to be enabled, by the judicious investment of the remainder, to place himself in possession of a farm. This volunteer, who furnished the particulars which have served as the framework of this regimental biography, may be looked upon as a perfect type of a sensible, judicious. brave American soldier ; and the same remark will apply to almost every one enlisted at that time from this vicinity. Among them are men whom it is an honor to take by the hand, and say to any one standing by. "This brave man is a type of our countrymen ; he has done his duty worthily by his comrades and to his c untry. He s a fair specimen of an American soldier, such as no other country can produce."
The One Hundred and Twenty-eighth Regiment was organized and innstered at Hudson, 4th Septem- ber, 1862. and despatched at once to Baltimore. It remained in that city from the 7th September to the 5th November From Baltimore it was transported to Fortress Monroe, and there shipped on board the ocean steamer Arago. There were 1,500 men, in - cluding the whole One Hundred and Twenty-eighth regiment and four companies of the One Hundred and Fourteenth New York Volunteers, on board this
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transport, besides the crew, which must have swelled the number to about 1. 600. As may well be supposed. sickness soon followed such close packing. and, doubt- less, had a good effect in making anti-slavery votes, since those who experienced the results could form, at once, some idea of the horrors of the Middle Pass- age in the palmy days of the Slave Trade.
Fortunately science, though it cannot prevent, can still mitigate and cure the wrongs arising from the in- humanity of man to man. It does not appear that any of the One Hundred and Twenty-eighth died, but they suffered immensely, since there was not only a great many cases of typhus and typhoid fever and measles among them, but also of that dreadful malady, the smallpox. After a voyage of 1,600 miles, they reached Ship Island. famous as the original rendez- vous of BUTLER's forces previous to the capture of New Orleans in the previous Spring of 1862. Thence they were transferred to the Quarantine Station, on the Mississippi, just above the famous defences of that river, Fort Jackson and Fort Philip. between which FARRAGUT forced his way to unsurpassed tri- umph, and eighty miles below the "Crescent City." Next they encamped at Chalmette, on "Old Hick- ory's," that is ANDREW JACKSON'S. famous battle ground in 1815 : and then they were stationed at Camp Parapet, a few miles above New Orleans.
While at the front. Colonel D. S. COWLES. of Hud- son was placed in command of a brigade, which in- cluded the One Hundred and Twenty-eighth, with orders to cross L ke Ponchartrain, and proceed up Pearl River This stream constitutes the dividing line. at that point. between the States of Louisiana and Mississippi. The object of this expedition was to discover facilities for getting out lumber. In their first skirmish our boys killed, wounded and captured fifty Rebels ; and on their return they brought back as prizes three schooners and one steamboat loaded with cottor. tar, etc ..
Here the remark may be permitted. that one of the most unjust features of this whole war has been the concession of the right of prize-money to the Navy, without any similar equivalent to our "Boys in Blue." A sailor in reality undergoes nothing like the labors, privations, sufferings and dangers to which a soldier is necessarily exposed. Oftentimes his cap. tu. es are unattended by any perilous circumstances. In many cases he is a mere cye-witness of a chase in which he can scarcely be termed a participant. On the other hand, the soldier scarcely ever makes a cap- ture which is remunerative, without long previous labors, either in marches, or in constructing works, and without undergoing many other dangers, beside
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the risk of life or wounds. Had the prize-money which our Army earned been distributed to that Army, many of our young men would have brought home sufficient to make them comfortable for life, or, at all events, sufficient, with economy. to place themselves and their families beyond the reach of want. .
Time will not permit me to dwell upon this bloody. siege in which the One Hu dred and Twenty-eighth lost its estimable colonel, but I cannot refrain from: mentioning a few inc dents too memorable and sug- gestive ever to be forgotten.
On the night of the 25th May. 1863. General BANKS invested Port Hudson. On t' e 26th, the One Hundred and Twenty-eighth joined the besieging force under that general, and thenceforward took a prominent part in one of the most difficult and dangerous enter- prises of the war. . On the very night of their arrival they participated in the first assault and gained a great deal of credit for bravery. On the 27th, a general as- sault was made. Our men made desperate efforts but failed, notwithstanding we had lost in vain 293 killed and 1,549 wounded. All the general officers engaged were disabled. Brigadier-General T. W. SHERMAN, commanding the division, lost his leg through a cannon-shot wound received in midmost fight. Briga- dier-General NEAL Dow was slightly wounded and was carried off. Colonel CLARK, Sixth Michigan, who. succeeded, was knocked off his horse by the concussion of .a shell, and was borne from the field for dead. Colonel D. S. COWLES, of the One Hundred and Twenty- eighth, who commanded a brigade at the commence- ment of the attack, was the next victim. Th- Four- teenth New Hampshire, whose colonel had also been wounded, was wavering While endeavoring to keep this regiment up to its work, and while gallantly lead- ing his men. COWLES was killed. The manne of his death is not exactly known ; all that is certain is that he lost his life, in the brilliant performance of his duty. According to some accounts, the cause of his death was a musket shot in the groin, which carried into his body, with it, the frame of his port-monnaie. The jagged and sharp steel, lacerating his intestines, occa- sioned the most excruciating suffering before he died. HORACE GREELEY, in his "Great American Conflict," states that he was transfixed by a bayonet and bled to death. Ifthis latter was the case. it is all the more creditable to COWLES, since it proves that be bad made his way so far into the enemy's works that our men were engaged in a hand-to-hand conflict with the Rebel defenders. This crossing of bayonets is one of the most brilliant and rarest occurrences in war. One of our fellow-townsmen, Dr. THOMAS J. BARTON. a
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natural poet, composed a few verses on the fall of Colonel CowLES, which have been set to music. They possess so much real merit that we cannot forbear their quotation :
· Columbia sent forth her legion, Their chief was our hope and our pride ; They fought in that far sunny region, He fell by that great river's side ; And these were the words of the warrior, As his life's blood was ebbing forth slow :
" Oh, tell to mr poor old mother, That I died with my face to the toe."
" Though others of loftier fortune Their praises may hear from afar- Return from the fields of the valiant All crowned with the laurels of war, Though hi-t'ry my name may not mention When this body is mouldering low, Yet 'twill comfort my poor old mother, That I died with my face to the foe."
Sleep on with the brave, gallant soldier ! Thy country shall cherish thy fame ; When we speak of the deeds of the valiant A place is reserved for the name. When the hosts of Rebellion are scattered, When peace crowns their grand overthrow, We will tell to the last generation How CowL.Es died with his face to the foe.
In this rash or reckless assault and desperate strug- gle, besides the casualties already mentioned, the Twenty-sixth Connecticut lost two field officers; the One Hundred and Sixty-fifth New York had three field and all its line officers killed or wounded, so that the regiment was left under the command of a first lieutenant ; in the One Hundred and Twenty-eighth the officers had suffered so severely that, after . COWLES was killed. the regiment was commanded by a captain.
During the assault our company, C, had b en de- tached to support a battery. Strange to say it did not lose a man. This is one of those marvels in war which cannot be explained or accounted for. except as a celebrated military writer, BEAMISH, in his work on Cavalry remarks. "There is no protection against bullets but good luck, " or, as a Christian would put it, " the interposition of a special Providence."
From the 27th of May to the 10th of June, there were no more attacks. The operations were confined to digging, battering, skirmishing, and sharpshooting. This was sufficiently hot work to satisfy even a. fire- eater, since all these duties were discharged under the torrid sun of a Southern June. Our boys were very lively, and the Rebel sharpshooters equally so. Both were on the keen watch to obey the rule of Donnybrook/Fair, namely. " Wherever you see a head, lad, hit it.7
On the 14th of June a second general assault was
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made. The One Hundred and Twenty-eighth opened the ball They assaulted or rather charged the works in skirmish line. supported by two brigades These supports got clubbed or disordered in a ravine. and the One Hundred and Twenty-eighth. having no longer any backers, had to " get out of that" the best way they could On this occasion Company C lost heavily, but lo ! strange again to say, the loss did not fall upon . volunteers from our midst. Sergeant JOHN H HAGAR and ALBERT COLE, son of JOHN COLE. of Tivoli Land- ing, were struck by pieces of shell.
A few days afterward, again, BANKS determined to make another desperate attempt to carry the works by main force. From previous experience he should have known that this was nothing better than a reck- less waste of human life. No better proof can be ad- duced of the inferior capacity of our generals than the manner in which they threw away the lives of their best soldiers, since the best and bravest always fall in such enterprises. At all events. he determined to make another desperate venture, and called for volun- teers to compose the Forlorn Hope,* and thus from his holdest men. formed a storming party whose fierce valor must carry the works. To prove of what stuff our American men are made, so many volunteers stepped forward that they were organized into two battalions, each of which comprised eight companies, in all about 1,000 men. The whole was under the command ot Colonel BIRGE. The second in command was Lieutenant-Colonel VON PATTEN. Both these field officers were I kewise volunteers.
Friends and neighbors, do you not think that the dis- tricts which furnished the men for this Forlorn Hope to carry, by storm, works which presented no breaches, and were as susceptible of defence as when our Army first sat down before that Rebel stronghold, should be proud of their men ? Twice, nay, thrice, at previous dates, had our assaults been repulsed with fearful loss, although upon those occasions there appeared to be greater chances of success than at this time. Do you not think that the men who volunteered for that death- struggle must have been fashioned out of the stuff which makes heroes ? Was the Upper District of Red Hook r-presented. there ? Was Madalin ? Tivoli ? Yes, both. Twenty-one men from Company C-after such long, trying service they must have constituted attnost the whole company-volunteered for this Forlorn Hope. From this immediate neighborhood there were seven.
1. JOHN H. HAGAR, Sergeant, made Second Lieu-
* For the details of the Forlorn Hope, consult DUYCKINCK's History of the War for the Union, page 180, &c., part 57, 53
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tenant in Louisiana, 5th November, 1863, from this. very circumstance ; 2. Sergeant HENRY A. BRUN- DAGE ; 3. GEORGE A. NORCUTT; 4. ALBERT COLE ; 5. PETER WYER. or DWYER, afterwards killed under SHERIDAN at Winchester in the Shenandoah Valley, 19th of Sept., 1864; 6. DN -. one whose name is suppressed for after conduct in 1864 deemed repre- hensible by his comrades ; 7. GEORGE F. SIMMONS.
I mention SIMMONS last because he has so often been cited by his comrades as a brave fellow. One of his officers said, "GEORGE is a tiger." Now, there is no animal braver than a tiger ; not even the lion is as brave. So this comparison of GEORGE to the tiger is by no means a small compliment, especially when a man has won the right to such a title on the battle. field. And yet, he was as gentle and generous, as he was brave, to his sick comrades.
It was this fact, the knowledge of this volunteering for this Forlorn Hope, which led to the consideration of the One Hundred and Twenty-eighth as the repre- sentative regiment of this neighborhood. Judge as men will, there is verily reason to believe that our brethren were preserved upon so many occasions be- cause our Father in Heaven spared them to us as ex- amples for imitation as soldiers in the field and as citizens at home.
This Forlorn Hope was to assault the Rebel works on the night of the 3d July. Orders had been issued for them to move forward at midnight of that date. They were actually forined in order of attack, and never did men evince a firmer determination to do or die than the soldiers composing those two devoted battalions. At the very moment they expected the orders to " forward," the assault was countermanded. BANKS had received assurances of the certain, immedi- ate, surrender of Vicksburg, and he knew that the fall of Vicksburg involved the capture of Port Hudson. Such circumstances would not justify another assault. BANKS, personally, is a very brave man ; he is an able politicion or statesman, but.he has not proved a great general. Those who served under him say that he had no confidence in his troops, and his troops had no con- fidence in his generalship. GREELEY considers that his loss in forty five days before Port Hudson amount- ed to 3,000 men.
On the 8th of July, the two battalions forming the Forlorn Hope were the first troops to enter the sur- rendered R-bel works. They were composed of men from eight different/ States, loyal States, and if they did not march into Port Hudson arm-in-arm like the delegates of South Carolina and Massachusetts, amid the hypocritical tears of a humbng convention, they marched in elbows touching, a much firmer bond of
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military union than any political arm-in-arm, amid the admiring cheers of the rest of their Army, who knew how to estimate their worth. The men of Tivoli and of Madalin had volunteered into the color company of the battalion, and they entered Port Hudson with the Stars and Stripes floa ing over their heads to the tunes of " Yankee Doodle," and " Hail Columbia," and the " Star Spangled Banner."
The One Hundred and Twenty-eighth ever after had a varied and extensive theatre on which to play its part Its first scene of active duty was in the valley of the Mississippi, and it participated in every one but one of the bru al and futile assaults upon Port Hudson.
From Port Hudson the One Hundred and Twenty- eighth was ordered to Baton Rouge. whither thy escorted 56 (42 ?) pieces of artillery. Between 4 P. M. of the 11th, and 3 A. M. of the 12th, they marched 27 (25?) miles. Thence they were ordered to Fort Butler, Donaldsonville, on the Mississippi, to restore the Union affairs in that vicinity. The Texan Cav- alry General (GREEN) had attacked the Union forces stationed at that point, and had whipped them. " The brigade to which the One Hundred and Twenty- eighth was attached was sent to restore affairs, and upon their arrival cleaned the Texans out."
The next station of the regiment was Old Hickory Landing, on the Mississippi, about eight miles above Fort Butler. Here they received orders to join FRANKLIN'S Texan Expedition, in September, 1863. Fortunately the orders were countermanded, and they were sent back to Baton Rouge. This failure of FRANKLIN was, perhaps, one of the most disgraceful of the war. Through some one's inefficiency there was so much suffering, that the One Hundred and Twenty- eighth may be thankful it did not constitute a part of bis command. Had the wind risen and blown a gale off shore, one-half of the troops, if not the greater por- tion, would have perished of thirst, the most horrible of deaths, or of hunger, or by drowning. *
GREELEY sums up this matter in a few words of grim humor : " Instead of taking these poor earth- works at Sabine Pass, defended by a Captain and 250 Rebels, or even trying, FRANKLIN-finding no place to land where he might not get his feet wet-slank weekly back to New Orleans, leaving the Texans to exult, very fairly, over a fruitful victory gained against odds of at least twenty to one."
Although the opinion of private soldiers in regard to a general may be deemed of little weight, it, never- theless, has its weight. Several of the privates or non-commissioned officers who served under FRANK-
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L.IN, and furnished materials for this and accom- panying sketches. say he displayed little military ability. One Sergeant CHARLES R. McNIFF added, " he never heard a man speak well of him." The same men dissected BANKS's character, as well as those who held higher positions, and thought EMORY, DWIGHT and . GROVER were as good gen- erals as any. in the armies they served with. GROVER, who 'commanded a division in the Sixth Corps, in 1864. was oneof HOOKER's generals, and the . men of the One Hundred and Twenty-eighth, who formed part of his command, remarked he was a " very dashing " ( KEARNY type ?) man, adding, he " seemed satisfied hest when up to his neck in blood."
The One Hundred and Twenty-eighty lay at Baton Rouge until the 17th of March, 1864. It was now commanded by Colonel JAMES SMITH, of Pough- keepsie. The regiment which had left Baltimore six- teen inonths previously 950 strong, was now reduced · to 300 fit for duty. Nevertheless, wonderful to relate, not one man from our district had as yet lost his life by sickness o any casualty. This exemption from sick- ness speaks volumes in favor of the morality of our men, if nothing else. And here it seems proper to re- mark, not one of our Red Hook men died from dis- ease during their whole three years' service. One JOHN VAN ETTEN, an old man, died of co gestive chills, at Savannah, after he was mustered out.
During the previous Win'er, 1863-'4, Lieutenant HAGAR, with eighty men, including our Company C, had been acting as a River Patrol, guarding, scouting, and preventing smuggling and contraband trade on the Mississippi.
On one occasion thirteen of our men, while stationed in Louisiana, went out thirteen miles into the enemy's territory, staid out two days, ransacked a Rebel vil- lage, and brought back $30,000 worth of contraband goods destined for the use of the Rebel army. *
In March, 1864. the One Hundred and Twenty- eighth was back again at Baton Rouge, and started thence in the same month, to form part of BANKS' madly planned, and as badly executed, and ill-fated Red River expedition. Every one connected with this op ration, who could control its movements, seem to have contributed thereto all their folly and none of their judgment. It began in miscalculation and it ended in disaster. The part played by the One Hun- dred and Twenty-eighth stands forth, however, amid the gloom like a principal star amid the constellation forined by EMORY's brilliant regiments.
The Union forces reached Natchitoches, 150 miles
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by water above Alexandria, 2d and 3d April, 1864. Between these towns the march of 55 to 65 miles. had been one continued skirmish.
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On the 6th of April " forward" was the word, and FRANKLIN's command led off westward on the road to Shreveport, the objective of the expedition. At Sabine Cross roads, 3 miles below Mansfield, the Union van encountered the Rebel Army of the Trans-Mississippi, and was terr bly handled. Advised of the disaster by the torrent of fugitives, EMORY had assumed a posi- tion at Pleasant Grove, 3 miles in the rear of the first scene of collision. There his " magnificent division " (the words in ita ics are not mine, but those of an eye- witness, or of a grand historian), posted i self to re- trieve the day. Formed in " magnificent order in line of battle across the road," it opened its ranks to per- mit the retreating troops to pass through, and then closed up like iron walls to receive and repulse, and shatter the pursuing Rebels flushed with victory. In this terrific conflict " EMORY's Division," says GREELEY, " had saved our Army, and probably our fleet also."
During the night BANKS withdrew to Pleasant Hill, 15 miles, EMORY covering the retreat, after bur: ing his dead and caring for his wounded.
At Pleasant Hill there was another fearful battle. In it the same heroes of Pleasant Grove won laurels as glorious. In this action a friend of mine, a capital soldier and gallant man, fell. He had been wounded earlier in the day, but continued to command a bri- gade. Charging at its head, he was again wounded mortally, pierced by five balls, and died with the shout of triumph on his lips. This friend and comrade of former days, was Colonel LEWIS BENEDICT, of Albany. He has left a proud record, for he not only fought bravely but he belonged to the class of " Die hard's," such as the " Iron Duke." WELLINGTON, loved, and fought victoriously to the last moment of his life.
At Plaisant Hill an eye-witness said, " it was evi- dent EMORY's Division was fighting the whole Rebel Trans-Mississippi Army :" and again "our victorious Army slept upon the battle-field, which was one of the bloodiest of the war." Who can refuse their applause to our One Hundred and Twenty-eighth when told that it belonged to, and did its duty in this grandly superior division, although not present in a'l its battles ? This absence was owing to the fact that our troops, strung out for twenty nules, always fought, and, when beaten. were crushed in detail.
Throughout the ensuing retreat, so discreditable to our commanders, but so honorable to our indomitable rank and tile, the One Hundred and Twenty-eighth did its duty in the most creditable manner. On the
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23d of April, at the Cane River Heights, it had an op- portunity to make a mark and made a bright one.
The Rebel General BEE, had got ahead of BANKS, and in a very strong position, ou Cane River, and hoped to hold him fast until the pursuing main Rebel Army could fall upon the Union troops and pound them to pieces. Here I will let a soldier of the One Hundred and Twenty-eightli, Color Corporal GEORGE
F. SIMMoNs, of Madalin. tell his own story. " We left camp at Grand Ecore, (just above Natchitoches on the Red River), at 5 p. M., April 21st ; marched all night, a distance of 23 miles ; halted for breakfast April 22d ; at 8 A. M., took up a line of march and marched until night, when. after 40 miles, we overtook, or rather · came upon the enemy by surprise, our advance skir- mishing, and encamped. Next morning. April 23, wc again took up our line of march, but did not go far before we found the enemy in a strong position." BEE did occupy a strong position. and had one flank, his right, protected by Cane River, quite a large and nav- igable stream at seasons. and the other, his left, by an impenetrable swamp. "General BANKS rode forward to reconnoitre the Rebel position, and while at the front was struck by a piece of shell. While the heavy can- nonading was going on, a NEGRO (one of that race always devoted to our service, and now so ungratefully ignored ), came running to the river's bank. on the op- posite sid-, and told us he would show us how to get in the rear'of the enemy (Rebels). The men (One Hundred and Twenty- eighth ), told our co onel. JAMES SMITH, of Poughkeepie, and he told General BANKS. Immediately two brigades. of which ours (GROVER'S) was one, comprising One Hundred and Twenty-eighth, One Hundred and Fifty-sixth, One Hundred and Seventy-fifth. One Hundred and Seventy-sixth. N. Y, and Eighth Massachusetts. The division, which was commanded by General H. W. BIRGE, were ordered to ford the river. We moved very cautiously to the rear. through an almost impassable wood, through swamps and mud, knee deep, and at last struck the enemy's picket lines. Then we began to skirmish, driving them from one position to another until they finally made a stand on a high bluff. From this we were ordered to drive them. We charged their lines. The first Union line faltered and hung back, the fire was so heavy and the position so strong. Then
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