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 3
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Nearly all of them entered the service as commis- sioned officers, and acquitted themselves well on many a hard fought field during the four years of war that followed.
Walter Newhall and Charles Treichel distinguished themselves in Missouri, as lieutenants under Major Zagonyi. of Fremont's Body Guard, and afterwards served with great credit in the Third Pennsylvania Cay- alry: the former losing his life at the close of 1863, by an unfortunate accident while acting as .1. 1. G. on the statt of General Averill. William Treichel was a major, F. C.
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Newhall, F. H. Furness, W. W. Frazier and Emlen Carpenter, captains, and Osgood Welsh, a lieutenant, in the Sixth Pennsylvania Cavalry. Joseph Wistar was a captain in the Eighth Pennsylvania Cavalry. Edward S. Jones was lieutenant colonel. and E. P. Wilson a captain in the Third Pennsylvania Cavalry. F. C. New- hall was A. A. G. on the staff of General Sheridan, with the rank of lieutenant-colonel. Franeis Wister was a captain in the Twelfth Unitel States Infantry, and afterwards a colonel of volunteers. G. H. Newhall and John Lowber Welsh, (son of the present Minister of the United States at the Court of St. James.) served with the " First City Troop," of Philadelphia, during the Gettysburg campaign, and Samuel Hildeburn entered the Regular Cavalry as a second lieutenant, and rose to the rank of captain.
Our captain, William Rotch Wister, turned out with Captain Comly's " Wissahickon Cavalry." later in the war, June, 1863, and was mustered in as first sergeant for the then existing emergency. This company became part of the Twentieth Pennsylvania Cavalry, and Ser- geant Wister was promoted to the lieutenant-coloneley of the regiment, and served with great credit during its six months' term.
There were others whose names I cannot now recall. but I believe nearly all of them served in the Army of the Union, at some period of the rebellion, and I have always felt proud of my connection with " The Phila- delphia Light Horse." Let us now follow Colonel Schurz to New York to see what he has been doing since receiving his commission.
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CHAPTER III.
Colonel Sehurz recruiting in New York-The battalion under Adams and others join him-He is appointed Minister to Spain-Efforts to get a Colonel-General Scott on volunteer cavalry-Lieutenant Bailey and President Lincoln- Major MeReynolds appointed Colo- nel-Captain Adams and the Secretary of War-How the regiment wasnamed . The Lincoln Cavalry"-Mustered in at last-Campscezes at El Park and Bellevue Garden.
Y arriving in New York city, early in May, 1861, Colonel Schurz, who was a German, began re -. cruiting among his own countrymen, and soon got to- gether a large number of men who had seen cavalry service in Europe.
He found out about the organization under Adams, Bailey and others, at the " Palace Garden," and pro- ceeded to pay them a visit, in order to try and induce them to join him. He made use of the same arguments he had used in Philadelphia, but with better success. and a meeting of the battalion was called to consider the matter.
There was a good deal of discussion at the meeting, and some few strenuously opposed a union with the Germans; but it seemed to be the only hope of getting into the service as cavalry, and the majority voted to join Colonel Sehurz : provided he would accord to them the filling of certain offices in the regiment, and permit them to regulate their troop organizations.
A committee waited upon Colonel Schurz, in reference to the matter, and he acceded to their terms ; upon which a union was formel.
The principal officers of the German battalion were Captains Frederick Von Schickfuss, August Haurand,
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Count Ferdinand Stosch and Count Von Moltkie, (a rel- ative of General Von Moltkie of the German army.) Lieutenants L. I. Zimons, Frederick Hendricks, Franz Passegger and R. H. O. Hertzog ; all fine soldierly-look- ing men and jovial companions. Count Von Moltkie was to have been the lieutenant-colonel. but he never was mustered in. The Germans were to choose their own major, while the Americans were to choose a major. and also the quartermaster and surgeon of the regiment. Colonel Schurz was to have control of the other appoint- ments ; but in a few days afterwards his military career was suddenly cut off, for the time being, by his appoint- ment as Minister to Spain. Before leaving for his dip- lomatie post, however, he wished to see the regiment placed under some worthy successor.
Lieutenant Bally was dispatched to West Point to offer the coloneley to Captain Bayard (afterwards Gen- eral Bayard. killed at Fredericksburg), who was then one of the instructors at the United States Military Academy at that place. The captain could not then accept, but he recommended Captain Owen, another of the instructors at the Academy.
This officer signified his willingness to accept, and at once obtained a short leave from the commandant. and returne l with Bailey to New York to have an interview with Colonel Sehurz. Before Captain Owen could finally accept. it appeared he would have to obtain a leave of absence from his regiment in the regular army. To ef- fret this he would have to forward his application through the "regular channels," and weeks might elapse before the "red tape" regulations could be overcome. and, perhaps, after all. his application might be refused. In view of this it was agreed that Bailey should pro-
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veed to Washington and try to obtain the requisite leave. Accordingly, he set out at once, armed with a letter from Colonel Schurz to the Hon. Montgomery Blair, then Postmaster General. On presenting his ere- dentials, Mr. Blair accompanied him to the War Depart- mont, and introduced him to the Secretary, Hon. Simon Cameron. Mr. Cameron said he could do nothing in the matter without the approbation of the Adjutant-Gene- ral, or General Scott, then Commander-in-Chief of the United States Army. Bailey could not get in to see the Adjutant-General that day, so he repaired to the head- quarters of General Scott. The general was very busy, so Bailey waited till after office hours and then went to his residence. When he attempted to enter, however, he was stopped by a sentinel; but the general, who hap- pened to be at the window, beckoned to the sentry to let him pass. The general seemed to be in a bad humor : did not believe in granting leave to young officers of the regular army to command volunteer regiments, and didn't believe in volunteer cavalry anyhow; said it would cost half a million of dollars to mount and equip the regiment, and then it would take longer to get them ready for efficient service than it would to put down the rebellion.(!) Bailey was much discouraged by this opinion, and left the august presence with hanging head and drooping spirits. The bright visions of a "praneing steed" and a "vanquished foeman" almost disappeared. The elegant uniform and clanging sabre, which always insures the smiles of the fair sex, where Were they ? Bailey strolled moodilyalong for some dis- 'ance, without aim or object, until he was aroused by the crowd in front of the White House, pressing in to see the renowned "rail-splitter" from Illinois, then the Na-
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tion's honored President. He rallied his thoughts and joined the throng. in hopes of having an interview with "Uncle Abe," trusting vaguely that something advan- tageous to his mission would be the result.
He soon found himself in the " Blue Chamber," scan- ning the person of the President, watching the play of his countenance and listening to the original way in which he disposed of many of his visitors; among whom were grave Senators, pseudo generals and queer-looking aspirants for military honors, contractors and pot house politicians ; all having an "ax to grind." By and by the President turned towards Bailey, and, with a smile, said : "Well, General, what can I do for you?" Bailey was taken by surprise, but, collecting his wits, he smilingly replied : "Not General yet, Mr. President, but hope to be if the war lasts long enough."
Mr. Lincoln seemed to appreciate the ready rejoinder. and said : " I hope the war will not last long enough to make generals of all who aspire to that position." Bailey then informed the President of his mission to Washington. Mr. Lincoln said he did not like to inter- fere in army matter, unless it was absolutely necessary. and recommended Bailey to call upon the Secretary of War or General Scott. Bailey informed him that he had seen General Scott, but had met with no encourage- ment, and that the Secretary of War would not listen to him at all. "Oh!" said the President, "its the old story. You tried all other sources first, and then came to me as a last resort ?" "Just so, Mr. President," said Bailey, laughingly, "and I hope I shall not have come in vain ?" The President said, with a smile, "I can't see why you should have so much difficulty about getting a colonel. Why, I could supply you with a
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hundred. from Illinois alone, inside of a week. Go back and tell Colonel Schurz to hurry up this regiment as soon as possible, and I will see that it is accepted." Bailey set out for New York with a lighter heart, and, on arriving, reported the result of his mission. Captain Owen was disappointed, and so were the officers of the regiment, but recruiting went on vigorously.
General Phil. Kearny had lately arrived from Europe, and a committee of the officers waited upon him to see if they could prevail upon him to become their colonel; but he was in some way pledged to the Governor of New Jersey, who shortly afterwards commissioned him brigadier-general. When asked if he knew any one whom he could recommend. he named Andrew T. Me Reynolds, who had served with him as a captain of dragoons, in the war with Mexico, and had been wounded there, and brevetted major for gallantry.
The committee thanked him for the information, and at once began inquiries as to the whereabouts of Major MeReynold. Captain Adams happened to possess a copy of Gardiner's Military Dictionary, which contained not only the military record of the major, but gave his address, which was at Grand Rapids, Michigan. Cap- tain Adams then telegraphed him, and in four hours afterwards had a reply, that he (MeReynolds) would be on at a certain hour next day. At the hour named he was on hand, and Captain Adams promptly introduced him to Colonel Schurz, who shortly afterwards trans- ferred the coloneley of the regiment to Major MeRey- nolds, in the following letter, endorsed on the same sheet of paper containing his own commission or ap- pointment :
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NEW YORK, June 5, 18C1.
Major A. T. MCREYNOLDS:
DEAR SIR :- Beingordered by the President to leave for my diplomatic post at Madrid, I am obliged to dissolve my connection with the cav- alry regiment within referred to. Having satisfied myself that you are most eminently fit to stand at the head of this organization, and hay- ing obtained the consent of the officers within my reach. I take the lib- erty of respectfully requesting you to take my place in this matter. I wouldl invite you to see the authorities at Washington for the purpose of inducing them to ratify this transfer of authority.
Yours, very truly,
(Signed) CARL SCHURZ.
The officers of the regiment were sorry to lose Colo- nel Schurz, as he was a man of good parts, had a mili- tary education, and had proved himself a good soldier in his own country. Besides all that he had political influence in this country which would have been of much advantage to the regiment. While with them he had made a very favorable impression upon all, by his high sense of honor, his powers of discrimination and his knowledge of human nature. He seemed to always se- leet the right man for the right place. He returned from abroad in a short time afterwards and entered the Union army, where he made a good record ; rising to the rank of a major-general.
A committee, composed of Colonel Me Reynolds and Captain A. W. Adams, William H. Boyd and Joseph K. Stearns, was dispatched to Washington to procure the ratification of the above transfer. Captain Adams was acquainted with Ex-Governor Newell, of New Jersey, who, happening to be in Washington at the time, intro- duced the committee to the President ; who in turn sent them to the Secretary of War.
On presenting the papers to Mr. Cameron, he re- marked, with a smack of satisfaction. that he was very glad to have that document in his possession once more,
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and coolly proceeded to put it into a drawer ; saying that it had been granted to Mr. Schurz as a political favor, but that the matter had been a source of regret to him ever since, and he intended to withdraw the authority to raise volunteer cavalry, since Mr. Schurz had been other- wise provided for. He said also that the war would only be a ninety days' affair, and that volunteer cavalry could not be got ready for service before it would all be over.
This took the " starch" right out of the whole commit- tre, except Captain Adams, who felt a personal in- terest in the " document." as Colonel Schurz had en- dorsed upon it some commendations of him; and he determined not to lose possession of such a credential. * He, therefore, informed Mr. Cameron of the fact, and politely requested him to return the document on that account; which Mr. Cameron, after considerable hesitation consented to do. Being in possession of the precious paper once more the committee re-visited the President, in company with Governor Newell, and laid their grievances before him with much feeling.
Mr. Lincoln then examined the papers, and endorsed them as follows :
" Hon. SECRETARY OF WAR :- Please say to Colonel A. T. Reynolds. that when he will present the cavalry regiment according to the within .. ority, they will be received under him as they would have been inder Colonel Schurz.
(Signed) A. LINCOLN. June 13. 1861."
On returning to the Secretary of War the commit- be handed him the papers, demurely calling his at- Tention to the President's endorsement. Mr. Cameron. reading the endorsement. suddenly assumed the at- Die of a wounded tiger, and stormed at the commit- 'S" like fury, saying: " This is what you wanted the 3
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papers for, is it?" and added : "I wish the President would remember that there is a War Department."
He said, also, that the committee must get the approv- al of General Scott, before they could get him to consent to the raising of volunteer cavalry. Captain Adams then set out to find the Commander-in-Chief. That ofli- cer was very busy, and it was hard to get an inter- view, but Adams had a " friend at Court." in the person Schuyler Hamilton, who was a member of the General's staff, and through his influence the General sent a note of approval to the Secretary of War; which I regret to say was retained by that functionary, and therefore can- not be given here. It would appear from this that Gen- eral Scott's views about volunteer cavalry had changed A
somewhat.
Had Captain Adams had the document with him he might have got it endorsed by General Scott, but Mr. Cameron held on to it, no doubt fearing that the Presi- dent's endorsement might influence the action of the Commander-in-Chief.
This note seemed to take Mr. Cameron by surprise, and he very reluctantly endorsed the papers as follows : " Approved. on condition that the whole of the regiment be at Wash- ington, or wherever ordered to be, by the ist day of August next, and portions of it before the 15th of July next.
(Signe1) SIMON CAMERON. June 15. 1561.
He must have thought that these conditions would prove the overthrow of the whole scheme, and no doubt he laughed in his sleeve as he handed the papers to the committee. What a commentary this is upon the his- tory of the late civil war, which continued for four long years, and in which, from time to time. we had three hundred regiments of volunteer cavalry and three thous- and regiments of volunteer infantry.
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While at the War office a discussion arose as to what name the regiment should be known by, and Colonel MeReynolds promptly proposed "THE LINCOLN CAV- ALRY," which was unanimously adopted by the commit- top ; all of whom thought the name appropriate. because Mr. Lincoln had called the regiment out, notwithstand- ing much opposition from those high in authority around him. They thought also that the name would make the regiment popular and aid in recruiting.
When the President heard what the regiment had been named, he inquired who had "christened the baby." and when informed how it came about. he remarked that "he was accused of being its father, and might as well own up." He hoped, however, that the regiment would not consider the name as conferring honor upon it, but en- deavor, by brave deeds, to confer honor upon the name : adding that he wouldl watch its career with a great deal of solicitude.
The committee then returned to New York, and every effort was put forth to fill up the ranks and get into ser- vice, as per conditions of Secretary Cameron.
Recruiting offices were opened at Elm Park and at Palace Garden : also at No. 43 Courtland street and at No. 648 Broadway. The headquarters of the regiment were at Disbrow's Riding Academy, on Fifth Avenue. where the officers kept their horses. There Ogle. Jones and Battersby instructed some of the other officers in horsemanship and the use of the sabre, which afterwards proved of great advantage to them.
None but active, intelligent, able-bodied young men Were accepted at any of the recruiting offices, and very soon nine troops, including the Germans, were organized and mustered into service. A troop from Syracuse, N.
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Y., joined them about that time, and another was organ- izing in Grand Rapids, Mich., among the admirers of Colonel MeReynolds, which, with Boyd's Philadelphia troop, completed the regiment.
There were no politicians among them, consequently not much assistance had been received from the Union Defense Committee of New York. About five hundred dollars is all that was obtained from that body ; while other regiments, officered by politicians and their friends, received many thousands of dollars each.
The officers of this regiment had experienced up-hill work from the very start, as the Government gave no encouragement to those engaged in raising cavalry, and on this account the sympathies of the people were to a great extent withheld ; but the boys were bound to be troopers, and this love of the service is what held them together, and afterwards promoted their success in the field.
As quickly as mustered in the companies went into camp in the breezy shades of Elm Park, where the white tents of the German battalion had enlivened the land- scape for some time.
The Americans encamped on a separate part of the grounds from the Germans, and it looked like the camps of two different organizations. The difference was not all in appearance, either, for the two parties were about as different in their manners, habits and language as it was possible to be. Very soon misunderstandings arose, or rather the parties never understood each other, and frequent broils between the Germans and the Irish- Americans was the result.
The confusion grew worse confounded until there was a serious outbreak, and both parties turned out to settle
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the difficulty with sabres and shillalahs. The officers on both sides strove to quell the uprising, but matters grew worse every moment, and it looked as if officers as well as men would take a hand in the melee. Finally the colonel appeared among them, and with the aid of some of the cooler officers succeeded in restoring order. It was evident, however, that the peace would not be a lasting one, as much bal blood had been displayed on both sides, and it was determined to remove the Ameri- cans to some other location.
Bellevue Garden was chosen, and very soon the Americans were under canvas on the banks of the East River, where they enjoyed good bathing and plenty of fresh air.
The men had not received their uniforms, and when once outside of camp could not be distinguished from the citizens. This led to a great deal of confu- sion and trouble, as the men knew nothing about mili- tary discipline, and cared less.
When they moved to Bellevue Garden the officers made up their minds to enforce the regulations, and therefore set to work to post themselves. They had the camp arranged in due military order, and set apart sev- eral tents for the guard, and for refractory soldier who might violate the rules of military discipline.
The first night in camp the guard was duly mounted. and an officer of the day appointed. This officer was a bright young lieutenant who was bound to see things done in accordance with the regulations.
The sergeant of the guard was an old English dra- goon, who claimed to have followed Nolan in his famous charge at Balaklava, and was chosen on this occasion because of his supposed knowledge of the rules of war.
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The officer of the guard was directed to post a chain of sentinels all around the camp. to prevent soldiers from going out without proper leave; and no one was to be allowed to pass the guards at night without giving the countersign. "But what's the use ?" said the officer of the guard, "my men have no arms." This non- plussed the officer of the day for a moment, but being fertile with those ingenious resources which are inval- uable in times of emergency, and which often afterwards helped the same officer through difficulties in " Dixie." he told the officer of the guard to make out a requisi- tion for axes, of which the Government seemed to have an abundance. The young officer laughed, but promptly obeyed the order, and very soon the sentinels were walk- ing their " beats" with axes at "right-shoulder-shift."
Not satisfied with the precautions already taken, the officer of the day directed that the sentinels call the hours after nine o'clock p. m., and in order to see the system properly inaugurated, he remained at the guard tent till after that hour.
During the early part of the evening the sergeant of the guard appeared and reported that one of the senti- nels had been arrested by the police, while on his beat. and carried off to the station-house, for cutting down a pear tree with his axe; and, worse still, some of the guard had divulged the countersign. and a great many of the men had left camp and gone to town.
This was a serious breach of the regulations, and called for prompt action. The guard was re-organized and duly instructed, and a new countersign given out. One of the sentinels was a "greenhorn." who had en- listed on setting foot in "Amiricky," and hearing that his cousin had gone in the Second New York: Volun-
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teers, he joined our regiment, which was the First New York Volunteer Cavalry, "so as to be near to his cousin."(!) The new countersign was " Washington," and poor Pat couldn't remember it five minutes to save his life. The officer gave him a brief account of the great patriot, in order to impress the name upon his memory, but all to no purpose. He then told him to re- peat it as he walked up and down on his beat, and Pat kept whispering to himself, "The counthersign is Wash- ington, the counthersign is Washington;" but it would slip from his memory occasionally, and then he would have to make a desperate effort to recall it, when he would again repeat as before.
Finally the bell on Blackwell's Island struck the hour. and sentry No. I sang out : " Ten o'clock, and all's well." The next took it up. and the next. until it came Pat's turn, when there was "silence in camp by the space of half a minute." " Why don't you repeat the call ?" said the officer, in a stage whisper. "Yis, sur: vis, sur," said Pat, and the next instant his shrill voice was heard for at least half a mile, as he yelped out, with a most illigant brogue : "Tin o'clock. all's well, an-an the counther- sign is Washington !" This brought down the camp. as all were quietly listening to the workings of the new system, and for a few minutes nothing could be heard but shouts of derisive laughter, cat-calls, shrill whistlings and the like. At last order was restored. Pat was re- lieved from guard duty in disgrace and a new counter- sign was given out. to prevent those who had gone to the city without authority from getting into camp with- out being arrested.
The Germans also had their trouble as well as their fun. There was an organization encamped close by
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them, calling themselves the " Lincoln Greens," and our Germans thought those fellows were trying to steal our name; and it looked very much like it, as we were known as the ". Lincoln Cavalry."
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