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 6
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GROVER's line. commanded by Colonel JAMES SMITH, (One Hundred and Twenty-eighth ) of Poughkeepsie, GROVER being absent with another division, charged through the first line-the One Hundred and Twenty- ciglith through the Twenty-first Maine-and carried the heights capturing many prisoners." BEE was com- pletely wlapped, and the road open for our Army.
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On this occasion GEORGE MINELER, from near our old " Red Church," won for himself the sou riquet of " Lieutenant" by his coolness. As our boys charged up the heights, GEORGE sang out, " Don't get excited. boys! The Rebs are going; we've got them ! Don't fire high. Aim low and we've got them !" The event cor- responded with bis clear judgment. GEORGE was badly hit at Cedar Creek. A ball went through his head diagonally, entering near the riglit ear and coming out on the side of the nose, injuring but not quenching the left eye, leaving an ugly bnt honorable scar ..
" After the combat of Cane Ricer Heights the One Hundred and Twenty-eighth took up its line of march on the 24th ; moved through pine woods a distance of 19 miles, and encamped. On the 25th, after marching 23 miles, occupied Alexandria again. This was a ter- rible day's work, carrying over 61 lbs., under a South- ern sun, through sand. ankle deep. The men were so used up that they could not raise their feet but dragged them along. When the muskets were stacked they threw themselves down, too exhausted to make the usual arrangements for the night."
The next operation of this sorely tried expedition was the building of that f mous Red River Dam, by which the common-sense Wisconsin lumberman. Lieu- tenant-Colonel JOSEPH BAILEY, Fourth Wisconsin, saved our fleet, when no West Point engineer, or Annapolis graduate could suggest a means for its sal- vation.
On the Ist of May. before the Army left Alexan- dria, the One Hundred and Twenty-eighth was engaged in an action which merits par icular mention. Colonel JAMES SMITH, One Hundred and Twenty-eighth. with his own regiment, also the One Hundred and Fifty- . sixth and One Hundred and Seventy-sixth New York Volunteers, was ordered back to the Red River Rapids, 2 or 3 miles above the town, where the Rebels had assumed a very strong position behind a large levee. Corporal SIMMos says it looked as formidable as the Port Hudson works. Colonel SMITH was to drive the Rebels away so as to allow our vessels to pass down unmolested through the Dam. Colonel SMITH attacked them about daylight and completely rou ed them, killing and capturing about 50 or 60 . Besides whipping the Rebel land forces our infantry boarded the Rebel Hotilla and captured several float- ing batteries armed with heavy guns. In this action the One Hundred and Twenty-eighth, and forces, only lost three men, although they encountered s noted Texas Brigade, formerly under the notorious Texas Rebel, General GREEN, whose head had been blown off, April 12th, in an insane attempt to storin gunboats with infantry.
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In the retreat from Alexandria, on the Red River, to Semmesport, on the Atchatalaya, and thence to the. Mississippi, the One Hundred and Twenty-eighth was . constantly engaged skirmishing with the enemy, and acting like feelers for the Army which followed. They were in an action at Mansura on . Marksville Plain, 16th May, and in a second affair at the Yellow Bayou (Grosse-Tete District). Here the Rebels, under a French nobleman, Prince POLIGNAC, attacked our year, the 19th May, 1864, about daylight, and got tremendously flogged. Our "Boys " lay in ambush to receive them, and the One Hundred and Twenty- eighth had very few casualties. whereas the Rebels suffered a heavy loss in killed, wounded, and pris- oners.
After this the One Hundred and Twenty-eighth was stationed at Morganza, 175 miles above New Orleans, then at. Algiers, opposite that city, and then in that city itself.
Thence with the rest of EMORY's corps on the 19th, it was ordered to GRANT before Petersburgh and Richmond. Simultaneous with its arrival in Hampton Roads, EARLY struck at Washington. Thus, opportune- ly, from the Army of the Mississippi. the One Hundred and Twenty-eighth was transferred back to the Atlan- tic Slope to reinforce the Army of the Potomac. It arrived at Fortress Monroe just in time to save the National capital in July, 1864. It was then assigned to the Army of the Shenandoah, and was present »nd distinguished itself in almost every skirmish and in every battle won by fiery PHIL. SHERIDAN.
The following verse. a perfect piece of word paint- ing, is too appropriate to be omitted. Still full of praise and fire as it is, it scarcely presents a full por- traiture of great little PHIL .. , who glorious as he rode at the head of his troopers, was just as eminent in the conduct of an army or the administration of a depart- ment ; more eminent in his refusal to falsify facts in · his reports of the New Orleans massacre, to save the reputation of his superior, an apostate President :
SHERIDAN, SHERIDAN, Cavalry SHERIDAN : Him of the horses and sabres I sing, Look how te drove them ! Look, how he clove them ! Subred, belabored, confused and confounded, The whole Rebel rout, as they fell back astounded At the fierce stride and swing Of our mien galloping ;
Shouting with rengen' ce, roaring with laughter, . Cheering with victory, as they plunged after
' SHERIDAN, SHERIDAN, Cavalry SHERIDAN !
Attracted by its efficiency and valor, this able and audacious general, of the true KEARNY stamp. made the One Hundred and Twenty-eighth his body or headquarters' guard. To have satisfied such
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a fighting commander demonstrates that it must haxe been a hard fighting regiment. As a proof of this, the day before the battle of Cedar Creek, it numbered 300 men and had received 80 recruits. On the day after the battle it p raded 70 effectives, 10 less than the reinforcement added to it 48 hours previously. This will do for the One Hundred and Twenty-eighth. Regiments as good. it would not be just to s y there wer. not, but better there were none ..
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To those who are desirous of following out the career of the 128th more in detail, the following par- ticulars may prove interesting : EARLY made his dash apon Washington, 12th July, 1864. Without debarking. the 12Sth. still (19th) on board the Daniel Webster, was ordered up the Chesapeake Bay and Potomac, and arrived (24th July) just in time to assist in preserv- ing our Capital, and very nearly in time to catch and crush EARLY. Notwithstanding EARLY's repulse, he hovered upon the Potomac, and sent out that cavalry raid which laid Chambersburg in ashes.
On this, the 19th Corps was ordered to Monoc- acy Junction, thence to Harper's Ferry, and thence- forth made part of the Army of the Shenandoah, oc- cupying successively Halltown, Charlestown, Berry- ville, Winchester, Middletown. But this is antici- pating. When SHERIDAN took the command, he re- organized the Sth and 19th Corps, merging the former in the latter. This was in August, 1865.
In the next month, September, that famous cam- paigu commenced whose first great battle, Winches- ter, sent EARLY whirling up the valley, and ended with the devastation of that region which had hither- to been synonomons with abondance, and had almost served as a granary for the constantly returning Rebel armies.
In the skirmish at Berryville, or Battle Town, 13th September, and in a previous spirited brush between Halltown and Charlestown, the 128th was the first to lead off, and took a lively part in the dance.
After two or three hours' skirmish at Berryrille. the 128th lay all night, in a drenching rain, in line of battle, as it had fought the previous day .. In the morning it fell back and threw up works, which were held until orders were given for the advance on Win- chester.
Up to this time, despite of EARLY's assertions. to the contrary, SHERIDAN had not had men enough to make head against the Rebels. Now, as ROSECRANS was wont to say, " having got a good ready," in ac- cordance with GRANT's suggestion, he began to " go in." On the 19th September, the 128th fought des-
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perately in the battle of Winchester, also, variously styled, of the Opequan, from the creek on whose bank it occurred ; or of Bunker's Hill, a limestone ridge, about ten miles west of Winchester, where the Rebel right was posted, which flank was first attacked.
In this battle, GROVER's division of the 19th Corps, " still glorying in its achievements, at Port Hudson, on the Mississippi, and at Pleasant Hill " (and Cane River Heights), "on the Red River," did most des- perate fighting. The Division, including the 128th, was in the advance, and the 128th was in the first line. They left camp 19th September, 2 A. M., and advanced, skirmishing continuously. until 1 p. M., when orders were given. to assault the Rebels' strong position. The Federal losses in this attack were heavy, and fell chiefly on the leading division. Here it was that one of our Upper District men, Peter Dwyer, or WYER, was killed, and GEORGE F. SIMMONs very severely wonded.
SIMMONS was the right general guide. and was in advance carrying the marker or guidon-a small American flag with the number of the regiment in its centre. He was first shot through the left foot. The ball broke all the bones of the small toes. Notwith- standing his pain and faintness. he remarked that as his musket was loaded he would take a last shot at the Rebels before he fell back. While firing, a second ball tore through his right foot, breaking the bones of his big toe and those of the two next. Ilis only thought was now to save the little American flag which he carried, and he actually tottered off to the rear on his heels, and thus preserved it. Ilis company went into action thirty-three strong. When he was hit. seventeen of them lind been already killed or wounded.
After his defeat at Winchester, 19th September, EARLY fell back to Fisher's Hill and assumed a posi- tion regarded as the very strongest in the Shenandoah Valley. Here he was attacked by SHERIDAN on the 22J. The assault of the Rebel left was assigned to the 19th Corps. The 114th, 116th and 128th N. Y. Volunteers led the way in skirmish order. These three regiments together comprised only 500 men. Nevertheless, such was their impetnosity that they converted what was intended simply as a cover for the main, attack into an actual attack. Sweeping in skirmish order over the Rebel works, they captured a whole Rebel brigade and 1,500 muskets stacked. Thius quickly and effectually the 128th and two others solved their problem.
There is no need of going into further particulars of this campaign :. It is well known how SHERIDAN fol-
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lowed up EARLY, " rubbing him gradually out " until EARLY had fallen back into the pas-es of the Blue Ridge. Thereupon SHERIDAN, having laid waste the Shenandoah Valley, withdrew to Cedar Creek, near Strasburg. Having been reinforced by 8,000 fresh troops from Richmond, EARLY restned the offensive, and fell upon us like a thunderbolt at Cedar Creek.
In this surprise and battle, on the 18th October. 1864, the 128th suffered severely. After that wonder- ful recuperative victory, the 128th could only muster 70 men out of the 300 who were in line when the fight began. This is the more remarkable since they had received 80 recruits-none. however. from the Upper District of Red Hook-on the 17th October. the day previous to the battle, so that in reality they counted (on the 19th) 10 effectives less than the reinforcement which they had received 24 hours previous.
In this connection it is worthy of remembrance that GROVER's famous, fighting, first. infantry di- vision, which landed at Washington in July, and com- menced its fighting on the 19th September, 7.000 strong, on the 20th of October, 31 days afterward, could only parade 3.000 effectives. One month of SHERIDAN's style of fighting and GROVER's " die hard " work had placed under ground or in the hos- pital 4,000 men.
After this. SHERIDAN sent to GROVER to select, from his division his best Regiment to serve as a guard at Headquarters. The latter detailed the 128th. It now comprised only about 100 all told, although it had been constantly receiving recruits from drafted men.
By this time fighting was over in the Valley, and on the 8th January. 1865, the 128th was at Baltimore. Thence, with the rest of GROVER's division. it was sent to Savannah, where it arrived on the 18th January, 1865. It constituted a part of the garrison of this city until about the 18th February, 1865. when it was sent to Morehead City, North Carolina, and served as pioneers to General Stocvy's column. It joined SHER- MAN at Goldsborough, N. C., and remained with him until after the surrender of JOE JOHNSTON.
Thence it was dispatched back to Savannah ; thence to Augusta, Ga., where it remained about one month. Whilst there Lientenant HAGAR, of our Dis- trict, commanding Color Company O, was placed at the head of the permanent picket line around the city, to prevent stealing, and to break up the illicit trading with the Rebels. From Augusta it was sent back to Savannah to prepare its muster out rolls; and on the 12th July, 1865, it was mustered out in that city. When the officers were sent on to New York, they were ordered on without a mouthful to eat or a cent
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in their pockets. For 24 hours they had no food whatever, although there was 10 months' pay due to a majority of the officers and men of the regiment, besides the three months' extra pay. The principal authority for this narrative, Lieutenant HAGAR, had 1.500 dollars due him.
At Albany, on the 26th July, 1865, the Regiment was under arms for the last time, and on that day it was paid and mastered ont.
The third and last of our representative regiments was the One Hundred and Fiftieth. This connects Red Hook with the Army of the Centre and with SHERMAN. The first, the Twentieth New York State Militia, was a type of the Army of the East, the suffer- ing, enduring, and preserving ; the second the One Hundred and Twenty-eighth, with the Army of the West, the capturing and the holding, which freed the Mississippi ; the third, the One Hundred and Fiftieth, with the Army of the Centre, the conquering and avenging.
The One Hundred and Fiftieth had its baptism of fire at Gettysburg, "the soldiers battle"-the Waterloo of the "Slaveholders' Rebellion," its appropriate title, which has been properly placed as the chosen inscrip- tion upon the memorial erected by this " immediate neighborhood " to its patriotic defenders. Thence, the One Hundred and Fiftieth was transferred to Ten- nessee and soon came under that "Passer of the. Mountains," SHERMAN.
" To bold DEMETRIUS, Greece in tales and ditties,
· Ascribed the title " Capturer of Cities," -- Thine be the appellation Russian DIEBITSCH bore
" The Passer of the Mountains !"'-
Despire of armies, guns and all the craft of war ; -
Thou, who, like L-man-born, impetuous Rhone, Fed by far-distant Alpine fountains,
Gorg'd by the furious winter rains. Roll'd through the Apalachian chains, Whirl'd, tore through Georgia's bulwark zone, - And in a surge of men, of cannon, steel and flame, Burst like a pent-up flood on Macon's fertile p ains
"HK WHO IRAKS THROUGH THE. ALLEGHANIES" be thy name !
"ATLANTA'S TAKER !" SHERMAN ! EXPERT in War's dread game."
Even as at Gettysburg it had inaugurated its career by the capture of cannon, even so it performed first- class work in every battle of that stupendous cam- paign -
" The advance to Atlanta, a combat each mile,
The supplying our troops one long battle the while,"-
in the romantic gorges of the Apalachian Mountains With SHERMAN it swept through Georgia with the dignity of a triumphal procession.
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" By Heaven ! 'twas a gain march, 'Twas a pic-nic or a play ! Of all our long war 'twas the crowning arch, Hip ! hip ! for SHERMAN's way !
Of all our long war this crowned the arch- For SHERMAN and GRANT hurrah !"'
With SHERMAN it was at Savannah and assisted in that magnificent capture, which enabled him to pres- ent such a Christmas gift to the Nation as was never before presented by a general to a President. With SHERMAN it swept through South Carolina like the scythe of death driven by the wing of the destroying angel. With SHERMAN it again confronted JOE JOHN- STON, on the western slopes of the Alleghanies, as tri- umphantly as it had, in the previous year, in the defiles and western valleys of that range. With SHERMAN it marched homewards, through Richmond and through Washington, amid the grateful applause of the Nation, and the admiration of all who had studied its achieve -. ments in fighting and endurance .* * *
Other regiments and other commands constituted lesser links in the chain of connection between Red Hook and the Union Armies. Citizens of Red Hook served in the N. Y. First Artillery. in which, as already mentioned, Brevet Colonel DE PEYSTER, was Junior Major, 1862-'3. This regiment was commanded by Colonel, now Brevet Brigadier-General, CHARLES S. WAINWRIGHT, who in 1850 and 1851 was the chief of a splendid section of artillery in this district. This able officer whose guns saved us on the afternoon of the first day, July 1. 1863, at Gettysburg, performed his first service with artillery in this vicinity. He might alinost be claimed as one of our representative men. His regiment was present in forty-five battles. One company, filled with recruits from Dutchess County, among whom were men from Red Hook, deserves a special mention .. It performed notable service, with those little, spiteful mortars known as Cononxs, at the siege of Petersburg and Richmond. The men learned to handle their pigmy engines of destruction with a celerity and dexterity which must have been as grati- fying to the Union troops as it was annoying and fatal to the Rebels.
Thus from 21st April. 1861, down to 6th February, 1866, men of Red Hook were under arms protecting, ennobling, and maintaining the Rights of the North, the Unity of the Nation. the Liberties of the People, and the Honor of their Flag. As Engineers, as Light and Heavy Artillery, as Cavalry, as Mounted, Blue legged and Red-legged Infantry, as members of the Medical and General staff, citizens of Red Hook dis-
* For a detailed history of the 150th Regiment, N. Y. Volunteer In- fantry, see Appendix.
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charged their duties as soldiers, as officers, and as citizens faithfully to their Country, gloriously to the Union, and creditably to themselves. May their laurels be immortally green !
" The soldier's glory lives in story,
His laurels grow green as his locks grow gray."
Let Red Hook never be wanting in gratitude to her soldiers. X *
I now approach the most sad and solemn partion of my duty-the consideration of the crippled and suf- fering invalid and the requiem of the dead. Before entering upon the subjects of our invalids and mar- tyrs, it is fitting to observe that the WAR is not an unmised evil, There is an immense deal of good mingled with its miseries. It develops the manliness of a people, and tempers them'as iron is converted into steel. But, setting aside the mere physical advan- tages of war, its moral influences are no less striking upon the intellectual qualities of men. To have par- ticipated in this conflict is to have witnessed some of the most gigantic improvements in mechanics. Verily, it might be said that in our four years' conflict, War de- rived its grandest forces from an abnormal applica- tion of the Arts of Peace, and its greatest resources from prostituted efforts of Industry. Thus Peace in turn will receive a new impulse and find fresh sonrces of wealth in the very inventions which owe their origin to the necessities of war. Even as in common life, just. as Birth, and Life, and Death walk hand in hand, and mutually succeed and assist each other, even so War and Peace, or Destruction and Reproduc- tion (sad as it is to contemplate the truth), minister to human progress, and constitute the elements re- quisite for the healthy development of a Nation.
What is more, the National soldier can look abroad with pride and witness the effects of our Civil War upon Foreign War. An iron-clad Navy had its prac- tical birth in our conflicts. Our Monitors are the models for the world. Our . Naval system stands first in the world, hunbly to be imitated by the hitherto superior Nava' Powers. From a third- rate, at best a second-rate, Naval Power, we have risen so high, that, relatively, former first-class Powers have sunk as far below our former condition. Such a change is unex- ampled. in the world since the Romans, a military. power. by one effort surpassed the Carthagenians, essentially a naval one. And all this was due, not to the Government officials, but to the mechanical adaptativeness and intelligence of our people. Again, even as the Old World received a new impulse a century since from this our New World, which im-
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pulse was the day-dawn of liberal institutions to the Old World, even so our Civil War has been an ex- ample to the Prussians, which has wrought out the deliverance of three parts of Middle Europe, and over- thrown the greatest despotism which has ever ex- isted-that Austrian despotism which was based on enslaving not only the bodies and minds, but the very souls of men. The ideas-Civil, Political and Mi i- tary-which were learned in our American Revo- lutionary struggle by Foreign Officers, who served under WASHINGTON, and were carried back by them to Europe, led to the great French Revolution. These ideas occasioned its Declaration of Rights and Principles, and determined their success. For this the down-trodden millions of Europe owe to our Fathers an incalculable debt of gratitude. The recently de- livered Germans owe to the present generation of Americans an almost equal debt of gratitude, since liberal and progressive Prussia must ascribe her mar- velous success to the wise application of the lessons learned from and during our Civil War. Accord- ing to foreign advices, all the inventions, adoption -. adaptations, developments and improvements which insured our triumph over the Rebellion were adopted and applied by the Prussian war-authorities, and the result of their own observation was a success unparal- Jelled in the history of nations.
But these philosophical and gratifying reflections, however important and interesting, are more appropri- ate to other occasions than the present, when all our thoughts should be directed towards our soldiers who survive, and to our martyrs who are dead.
In casting a retrospective glance upon the minor events of the past war, it is painful to recall bow tittle the faithful soldier had to boast, as far as the Government was concerned, over the unfaithful. To be sure, every honest mau has a great reward in his own conscience ; but a great country owes something more than that to fidelity and patriotism. In this war there was a perfect realization of the words of SoLoMos. that " all things come alike to all, * : * to him that sacrificeth and to him that sacrificath not." We are seeing this every day. Copperheads. Peace Democrats, and even Rebels stand as well with the Administration as the strongest and most en- during Union men. Even so it was during the war in regard to the good and bad in our Army. He who was in favor received a reward often unmerited and he who was in disfavor the stripes o. ten undeserved. I was sufficiently struck with this fact the other night in reading over the letters of a soldier. Ser- geant CHARLES K. McNIFF, Company B. 20th N. Y. Militia, from Madalin, to deem his words worthy
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of repetition before his fellow-citizens. He is one to whom Miss LANDON's words exactly apply :
" And telling a tale of gallant war, On his brow was a slight but glorious scar."
" Mr. STOCKINGS is a good and faithful soldier ; also J. HATTON ; they have respect ; also the rest of the boys What do yon suppose a deserter is thought of here ? Nothing at all, and I suppose but little at home. Might not a man rather be killed on the battle-field than to desert his regiment, flag and country, and have no respect for his parents ?"
And yet how little respect was paid to the merits of such soldiers ; how little consideration or justice for their feelings. in the true sense of the word.
The same soldier quoted was promoted for good and faithful service, and placed in a very responsible situation, as Sergeant in charge of three ambulances .. Writing fron City Point. July 9th, 1864, he says : "I will tell you of a little affair that transpired last Winter. There was a young fellow in Company B who went to Alexandria, overstayed . his (leave) three days, and came back and was put in the Bull Ring (prisoners' pen) for four months and had six months' pay stopped Now mark the difference. A young rogue by the name of B -. deserted, and was gone eighteen months. comes back. gets all his back pay. no punishment, but favored with a good job as cl rk in the Hospital Department. The reason was,his father was rich, and cashier of a bank."
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