USA > New York > Boots and saddles. A history of the first volunteer cavalry of the war, known as the First New York (Lincoln) Cavalry, and also as the Sabre regiment. Its organization, campaigns and battles > Part 16
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In this dash Jones captured over two hundred wagons and ambulances, with their teams, two pieces of horse artillery, and over seven hundred prisoners; most of them with arms in their hands guarding their wagon trains. On arriving at Loudon the prisoners were quar- tered in the Young Ladies' Seminary, and the wounded. which were numerous-the ambulances being filled with wounded from Gettysburg-were cared for by the people of the town.
On the 6th our regiment, under Lieutenant-Colonel Adams, attacked a large force of the enemy near Chai- bersburg, and captured over a hundred prisoners. Our boys were regarded as great heroes by the people of those parts, and many love affairs sprung up between them and the young ladies in the vicinity of their stop- ping places.
Our gallant assistant surgeon, George R Douglass. called the " fighting doctor," was smitten by the charms of a young lady of Bedford Springs, and subsequently married her. The gallant Captain Prendergrast also won the heart of a fair lady at that place, and in all proba- bility they, too, would have been married. had not the captain been killed at the battle of Nineveh, while lead-
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ing his men in a desperate charge under Colonel A. W. Adams, on the 12th of November, 1854.
Immediately after the engagement of Captain Jones with the enemy, at Mercersburg. Pennsylvania, our regi- ment proceeded to Greencastle, where we found them on the 13th, as already stated.
And now for Boyd's company on detached service. What had they been doing during this memorable cam- paign ?
It will be remembered that Major Boyd had con- ducted our wagon train from Martinsburg. Virginia, to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. where he had arrived on the 17th of June, having been pursued nearly all the way by the cavalry of General Jenkins ; and there they were joined by Lieutenant O. B. Knowles, who had set out from Maryland Heights to hunt them up.
On the 19th of June Boyd put his men and horses on board the cars at Harrisburg. and proceeded to Shippens- burg ; where, finding the road torn up, he debarked his troop and marched to Chambersburg.
On the 20th he marched to Mercersburg. and, while concealed in a large barn. JJenkins' cavalry filed past in the road. only a short distance from his position. He then dashed into Greencastle, but the " Johnnies " had all left.
On the 220, he was more successful in finding the enemy. His men struck a portion of Jenkins' cavalry at Greencastle, and a lively skirmish ensued, lasting about half an hour, in which Boyd lost private William Rible, killed. and Sergeant Milton Cafferty, wounded and captured : but the enemy were driven out of town. Rible was the first man killed on Bem-ylvania soil in defence of the Union.
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" Only one man killed-so we read full oft.
.. And rejoice that the loss on our side was so small ;
" Forgetting meanwhile that some loving heart
" Felt all the force of that murderous ball."
The next day Boyd was forced back to Shippensburg, skirmishing all the way, and on the 24th the enemy in great force charged into the latter place, driving him towards Cashtown. Here the charge was renewed, andl he was forced back to Mount Rock.
The Confederates kept steadily advancing. during the 25th and 26th, and forced Boyd back as far as Carlisle ; but he stubbornly contested every inch of the road. On the 27th he was forced back to Kingston. He had sent Lieutenant Knowles, with a small detachment to save the clothing. &c., at Carlisle Barracks; but the enemy intercepted them and they were compelled to re- turn without performing the task. The enemy then destroyed everything at the barracks.
On the 28th the Confederates got between Boyd's men and Harrisburg, and they were compelled to take to the fields to reach the town. The Confederates then be- gan to fall back, and Boyd followed close on their heels.
On the 29th, Lieutenant Knowles and seven mon of the troop captured thirty-three of the enemy, and forty horses; but had to abandon them shortly afterwards to save themselves.
On the 30th, the troop captured a foraging party with all their wagens; and the next day Lieutenant Knowles, with three men, captured seventeen of the enemy, near Arendtsville, and brought them into camp. Sergeant E. Knowles went out to forage for some victuals, and met three of the enemy on the same errand. He drew his revolver, which, by the way, was not loaded, and took the trio prisoners.
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On the Ist of July, the troop captured a dozen wagons loaded with provisions and plunder, and turned them over to General W. F. Smith, besides seventy horses and twenty mules that the enemy had taken from the farm- ers. General Smith had been without teams for bring- ing up supplies for his troops, and this capture sup- plied the want.
The New York Militia were also supplied with pro- visions from the captures made by Boyd's troop.
On the evening of that day the troop was to have made an attempt to capture General Lee, who was re- ported to be at Cashtown, with but few troops around him, and no cavalry; but they fell in with some of the enemy's cavalry near Fayetteville, and charged their rear guard, stampeding the whole force, causing them to abandon much plunder which they had obtained at Chambersburg; and this prevented the attempt to cap- ture the great chieftain of the enemy.
While Boyd was after Jenkins, that day, Lieutenant Knowles, with fifteen men, charged into a wagon train which had been captured by the Confederate General Stuart, near Washington. on the 28th of June. and now guarded by Fitz Lee's Brigade, capturing fifty prisoners and a large number of the wagons, snatching them from between the rear guard and the main body of the enemy; but he had to abandon the wagons in order to get away with his prisoners.
On the 3d of July the company captured some of General Carter's wagons, near Arendtsville, and another lot near Bendersville; and towards evening they cap- tured another train in the Quaker Valley; all of which had been out foraging.
On the 4th of July, the boys thought they ought to
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celebrate the day by capturing some of the invaders. so they set out on a scout towards Oranstown. There they overtook a foraging party of the First North Caro- lina Cavalry, and charged them, capturing one hun- dred prisoners, a dozen wagons loaded with plunder, and a drove of horses which the enemy had collected to carry into Virginia.
On the 6th, Boyd's men had a lively skirmish with a superior force, at Waterloo, in which they captured forty prisoners, and drove the enemy before them.
On the 9th they had another skirmish near Hagers- town, Maryland, but the enemy were too strong, and Boyd fell back to Chambersburg ; at which place we found him on the 11th of July, as already stated.
On the 12th we sent him to attack the enemy at Hagerstown again, and he drove them out; then joined us at Greencastle, on the 13th, where the fragments of Milroy's old division were assembled.
Major Boyd and his handful of men had been in the saddle almost constantly, day and night, from the 12th of June, just one month, and had never lost sight of the enemy in all that time. They only fell back when com- pelled by superior numbers, and always returned to the attack the moment the enemy ceased pursuit. When the invaders began to fall back from the Susquehanna, Boyd's men pressed them in rear and on the thanks, causing them to think there was a large force in pursuit; thus keeping them from marauding, and hastening their retreat. The people of the country gave them much val- table information about the enemy, which enabled them to accomplish much more than they otherwise could have done. This shows the advantage that troops have when defending their own territory against an invading
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enemy, and furnishes a good excuse for many of our disasters and failures in "Dixie."
The men of Boyd's troop, being all Pennsylvanians, were filled with patriotic enthusiasm, and willingly sub- mitted to any and every hardship, in order to free their native state from the foot of the invader. They went hungry and sleepless many times, obtaining food as best they could, and sleeping at intervals in fence corners, rather than lose an opportunity of harassing the enemy and saving the property of the peaceful but frightened inhabitants.
For his services in this campaign, Major Boyd was . commissioned colonel of the Twenty-first Pennsylvania Cavalry, and his worthy lieutenant, Oliver B. Knowles, was commissioned major of the same regiment.
Major Boyd felt that every man in the troop had earned a commission, and he requested Governor Curtin to select the officers of the new regiment from among them ; but the Governor thought otherwise. He gave Lieutenant Win. H. Boyd a commission as captain, how- ever. and commissioned Sergeant Emerick Knowles as adjutant of the regiment.
Colonel Boyd wished to have me as his lieutenant-col- onel, but. as I had not the good fortune to be with the troop in that campaign, the Governor thought I had no claims. Twelve of these men afterwards received com- missions in the First New York ( Lincoln) Cavalry, and other regiments, and several of them received Congress melals for capturing prisoners, guns and battle flags. in the Valley, and in the campaign from Petersburg to AAppomattox ..
Lieutenant Knowles refused to be mustered into the new regiment, because it was an emergency regiment
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whose term expired in six months. He remained with the company as my first lieutenant, until Boyd's regi- ment re-enlisted for three years, and then he was mus- tered as its major.
He afterwards became its colonel. all the other field officers having been discharged on account of wounds received in the battle of Cold Harbor, under Grant.'
We left Greencastle, Pennsylvania, on the 14th of July, arriving at Hagerstown, Maryland, the same eve- ning, where we learned that the Confederates had re- crossed into Virginia, and we felt very much chagrined indeed.
We found our wagon train at Hagerstown, all safe, having come from Harrisburg. through Philadelphia and Baltimore, and we had a change of garments, which was quite refreshing.
Here the Gettysburg campaign ended, and we pre- pared to invade the Southern Confederacy once more.
In this memorable campaign the First New York (Lincoln) Cavalry had met the enemy when they first broke through the gaps of the Blue Ridge ; had fought them at Berryville, at the Opequon, and at Winchester and Martinsburg : had helped to destroy their pontoon bridges on the Potomac, in their rear ; and had captured over three hundred wagons with their teams, two pieces of horse artillery, and more than a thousand prisoners.
What other regiment of cavalry can boast of more valuable services in that campaign?
Just here our wagon master deserves a passing notice. . It is of no small importance to have a good man in charge of the wagon trains, and ours was well fitted for his position. He was a memberof Company B. of our own regiment. named Robert Bruce-I don't know whether
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he was a descendant of Bruce of Bannockburn or not. He was known all through the army as " Buck." He was about forty years of age; had been a driver on the Knickerbocker Line in New York, and a butcher in the Bowery ; but he finished his education as wagon master of Dan Rice's famous circus. What he didn't know about horses, mule-, harness and wagons wasn't worth knowing. He had traveled all over the United States and Canada, and felt at home any where. He always had a reserve of extra horses and mules. and a re-fit of harness, and sellom got stuck by the way. If a horse or mule straved from any of the surrounding camps it was sure to be captured by " Buck's guerrillas;" and it was always something of a task to get a good animal away from him. He was always ready to furnish any of the officers with a re-mount, until their own horses should recuperate. When likely to be late on the road he would ride along the train, singing out: " Make way for the headquarter wagons," or. " This ammunition train is ordered to the front, and must go through if every other wagon is left behind." He made a short cut through General Kearny's lines, on the day of the battle of Malvern Hill, and just escaped before Kearny rode up swearing like a trooper. He sometimes made a raid on a careless quartermaster's stock, when his own team : were used up, and often got into trouble on that account. On his way through Maryland and Pennsylvania he had managed to match his teams, in size and color, and they were in much better condition when he returned to us at Hagerstown than when he left Berryville. He had procured a fine Government ambulance.and four splendid horses to draw it, which he presented to brigade head- quarters, and we enjoyed it hugely on many occasions
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afterwards in the Shenandoah Valley. "Buck" would not accept promotion, saying : " a whole skin and a full pocket will beat honors any time." This was not com- mendable, but was nevertheless true of many besides " Buck."
A battery of artillery reported to us at Hagerstown, and our morning report showed a force of twenty-two hundred men-cavalry, infantry and artillery-for duty. With this force we were expected to guard the Poto- mac from Harper's Ferry to Williamsport, a distance of about twenty-five miles
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CHAPTER XIX.
Sharp-burg, Maryland-Major Harry Gilmore-Back in Dixie-Miss Belle Boyd-Martinsburg and its People-Death of Roland Ellis- Scouting and Skirmishing-Captain Jones at Smithfield-Account of some . Scout's"-Capture of Captain Blackford and his Men- Capture of the Ninth Maryland Volunteers.
Y the 16th of July. 1563. we moved to Sharpsburg, Maryland, about two miles from the Potomac. and opposite to Shepherdstown, on the Virginia side of the river. The enemy occupied the latter place, and their pickets and ours frequently conversed together. On one occasion the Confederate Major, Harry Gilmore, swam across at the invitation of an officer of the Twelfth Penn- sylvania Cavalry, then on picket duty, and remained talk- ing for nearly an hour. Our men also crossed to the Virginia side, and returned unmolested. The mounted pickets frequently met in the river to exchange coffee for whisky and tobacco. There were a great many of our wounded lying at Shepherdstown, and I was sent across with a flag of truce to obtain permission to send them aid. Major Gilmore consented, and we sent Dr. Fred. Elliott, of our regiment, and several nurses, with a goodly supply of medicines and provisions suitable for wounded men.
On being ordered to cross the Potomac with the flag of truce. I proceeded to dress in full uniform, with sash. side arms, and spurs, and had two men to row me over in a boat.
On striking the other shore a sentinel ordered us to halt. and demanded our Business. I told him I wished
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to see the commanding officer of the pickets, as I had a message to be forwarded to the officer in command of the troops in the vicinity of Shepherdstown. He point- ed to a horseman approaching, and said : " That is the officer in command here." " Who is he ?" I inquired. "That is Major Gilmore," said he. The major dismount- ed on the bank. a little above us, and beckoned me to approach. There was such a contrast between our re- spective "get-up." that I really wished I had not been so particular about my personal appearance. I inform- ed the major that I was a captain in the First New York ( Lincoln) Cavalry. and A. A. A. G. of the troops at Sharpsburg, opposite, and that my mission was to in- quire after the wounded of our army in Shepherdstown. which we understood were quite numerous. He ex- pressed himself well pleased at meeting one of the gallant First New York ( Lincoln) Cavalry; said our regiment had a good name in the Valley; and that he would be pleased to do us any favor that lay in his power. I told him we wished to send a surgeon and some nurses over. with medicines and such articles of food. &c .. as the wounded might require. He said we could do so, but that they would not be permitted to re- turn until the Confederate troops should leave the place. I assented, as I felt that would not be very long. As I approached Major Gilmore, I took a photograph of his personal appearance in my mind, and produce it here for the benefit of those who never saw that bold Mary- lander.
He was dismounted, standing by a spirited and power- ful looking gray horse, his right hand resting on the sollle, and his left resting on the hill of a long cavalis sabre. His dress consisted of gray pants, tucked into
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the tops of cavalry boots, a gray flannel shirt, with roll- ing collar, black neck-scarf with flowing ends, and a light colored soft felt hat, with a black drooping feather.
His height seemed to be about five feet ten, or more, and his weight about one hundred and seventy to one hundred and eighty pounds. His hair was light in color, and well trimmed; and he wore a mustache, which was not very heavy. His skin was fair, with some color in his cheeks, and his eyes pretty large, of Saxon blue, and he appeared to have a slight cast in one of them. I thought he had a pleasant expression of countenance, but his face had rather a German look. Altogether I thought the horse and man, just as they stood there, would have made a spirited picture to place at the head of an account of the Confederate partisans, or guerril- las of the Shenandoah Valley.
The major expressed a desire to see the war at an end. and hoped it would soon come to a close in manner sat . isfactory to all. He remarked that if any man said " war" to him after that. he would knock him down.
On the 23d of July, we sent Major Quinn, with two hundred mounted men, across the river at Shepherds- town, to drive the enemy out, while we crossed the ford with artillery and infantry.
This party returned in the evening with about a dozen prisoners, captured near Martinsburg, and reported that there were no Confederate troops within five miles of that place. We sent the same party out on the 29th. and they passed through Martinsburg. Charlestown, Berryville, and Winchester, and could hear of no enemy nearer than Strasburg.
Our whole command then moved across the Potomac to Martinsburg. arriving there on the 4th of AAugust.
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While at Sharpsburg, we had gone all over the battle field of Antietam, and it was surprising how few traces of that great struggle were to be seen. Near Burnside's bridge, on the Antietam Creek, were many graves, but everything was over-grown with grass. McClellan's look-out, on the top of the mountain, overlooking the village and the battle field, was the most conspicuous reminder of the event. The people of the village had collected great numbers of all kinds of missiles, which they had varnished, and were using as mantel ornaments.
Our headquarters at Sharpsburg were in the house of a Mr. Kretzer, who had three fine daughters. The eldest had a lover in the Confederate army, and was. of course. a "little rebel :" while her two sisters were for the Union. One of them, the younger, has since mar- riel a Union soldier. while her sister. " Teat." is still single. The eldest. I believe, married her "Johnnie," since the close of hostilities, and thus formed a little union of her own May there be no "rebels" in that union. I would recommend Miss " Teat " to take up "arms," and institute a relentless war until some young man is compelled to sue for peace and union.
Our advent into Martinsburg was so unexpected that the Confederate spy. Miss Belle M. Boyd, was unable to make her escape, and became a prisoner in her own father's house. She did not relish the restraint. and sent a note to Colonel Me Reynolds, requesting him to call. that she wished see him on important business. The colonel declined to see her, but delegated me to attend to the fair but fickle creature. Her mother received me politely. and called her wayward daughter. who shortly entered the parlor, all smiles, evidently put on for the occasion.
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She began to tell how irksome it was to be so closely confined, and wanted to know if the general wouldn't allow her the liberty of the town. (!) I smilingly told her that she was regarded as a very important person- age, and capable of doing us too much injury to be allowed to go at large; which seemed to tickle her vanity, and she said, with a eurl of her lip: "I hope 'you all' are not afraid of a poor weak woman?" I re- minded her of the powerful influence she was said to exert over General Stuart's cavalry, inspiring them to aets which astonished not only the Yankees but them- selves. She laughed heartily at this, and wanted to know what we had heard of her. "Well." said I. "it is rumored among our men that you led Stuart's column in his raid around MeClellan on the Peninsula, and also in a similar raid in Maryland."
This was a " whopper," but I wished to gratify her ruling passion, vanity. She looked very much pleased. and said : " You all don't believe that, do you ?" "Well," said 1, " the men think so, but if you deny it I will be- lieve you." To this she made no reply, but excused herself for a moment and went up stairs. In a very few moments I was startled at seeing a tall figure. in the uniform of a Confederate colonel of cavalry, enter from the rear of the parlor. It was Miss Boyd, who wished to impress me with her military appearance. She had a pistol in her belt. and really looked like a dangerous customer. I feigned alarm, told her I would surrender, and hoped she would not shoot me ; at which she laughed heartily, and said that was just the way the Yankees did when General Stuart met them.
She wore a fine gray cloth jacket, slashed with gold lace on the breast and sleeves, a pair of white buckskin
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gauntlets, a dove-colored soft felt hat. with a long dark plume, and a gray skirt or riding habit. A fine leather belt, with a silver-mounted revolver in a patent-leather case, ornamented her waist, and she carried a fancy rid- ing whip in her hand. She was tall and of good figure. and in her uniform looked well.
She wore the rank of a colonel C. S. A., and she told me she often rode with General Stuart at the head of his cavalry. She showed me a gold watch, studded with jeweis, presented to her by the officers of Stuart's cavalry, as the inscription fully proved. Altogether she seemed very proud of her connection with the Confed- erate raiders, and of the services she had rendered to the Confederacy.
" Now," said I. "after seeing and hearing what I have. you can't blame me if I report to the colonel that you are altogether too dangerous a person to be at large." This seemed to startle her, and she said : " I hope you all would not send me to prison ?" " Perhaps not," said I. " but we must keep a sharp eye upon all your move- ments."
We had a sentinel at the house, to keep her from com- municating with any of the inhabitants, and to prevent her sending news to the enemy. She had frequently passed through our lines in disguise, carrying mail to the south, giving information of our strength and po- sition.
Shortly after this Colonel Me Reynolds was called to Washington: I took command of my company : and the officer who succeeded to the command of the troops at Martinsburg had Miss Boyd arrested and sent to Washington, in order to gain a little notoriety in the papers.
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She had brown hair, hazel eyes, a somewhat long oval face. with a finely formed but prominent nose, and rather prominent teeth, which she exposed a good deal when smiling or talking. Her skin was fair, and her face sprinkled with small freckles ; but she was what might be called rather good looking, although by no means a beauty.
Martinsburg was an oasis in the Southern Confed- eracy, in which our regiment always found friends and pleasant stopping places. Some of the most wealthy, intelligent and refined people of the town were loyal to the Union cause. The venerable Edmund Pendleton had, by his influence, prevented many of the best fami- lies from going with the South. His sons, Dr. Boyd Pen- dleton and Major Edward Pendleton, were Union men. The former had a son in the United States navy, and the latter a son in the regular army. The major had a son in the Confederate army, also, but of course he was not responsible for that.
The old homestead. on the hill. where Dr. Pendleton resided, was always open to our officers, and there they forgot the dangers of a trooper's life, while enjoying the Doctor's kind hospitality. His youngest son, "Nat," saved General Kelly and his command from capture by General Early's forces, by flanking the enemy's pickets and giving the Union boys the information which he had obtained.
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