USA > New York > Camp and field life of the Fifth New York volunteer infantry. (Duryee zouaves.) > Part 24
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37
One of the wounded who was lying on the field stated afterward that the Confederate General, " Stonewall" Jack- son, came over the ground where the regiment had been 13"
298
Fifth New York Volunteer Infantry.
engaged, and he heard him say to the Confederates, " Be careful not to hurt any of the enemy's wounded, as they must be regarded as our friends."
Charles Taylor, of Company G, was lying badly wounded near the brook, and he asked one of the Fifth, who laid down under the enemy's fire and became a prisoner, to fill his canteen with water from the brook a few feet off. He replied that he was afraid that the enemy would shoot him. A Confederate came along, and not only filled his canteen, but bathed his wounds himself.
Among the recruits who joined the regiment at Newport News, twelve days before the battle, was James Cathey, a young man of high spirit and strong principle. The last words he said were to Patterson, who stood near him in the line, and who knew him and his family in New York, before they went into the field. They were these : " Look out for Siss." He was killed.
A prominent member of the Masonic fraternity, who is rietor of a well-known house of refreshment in the ;. er part of New York City, and was also well acquainted with Cathey, told the writer that the day he left for the front, he came into his house in full uniform, and bade him and some friends good-bye. Before he went, he took out a copper cent from his pocket, and cutting a nick in it, said, " Keep this until I come back." The barkeeper stuck it up on the wall behind the bar. On the day of the battle, and at the precise hour, as was afterward ascertained, that young Cathey's spirit had fled, a few friends were talking about the war and the absent ones ; among them were men- tioned the many good qualities of Cathey. They were com- menting on the circumstance of his leaving the penny when he went away, which was still sticking on the wail, when, without any apparent cause, it dropped to the floor. They thought it was ominous of evil at the tinte, and in a few days their forebodings were verified. Cathey was dead.
299
Second Battle of Bull Run.
A ball passed through the canteen, haversack, a blank book (three-fourths of an inch thick), a tin plate, and a large piece of pork, and embedded itself in the hip of First Sergeant Geo. A. Mitchell, of Company F, occasioning a painful, but not dangerous wound. This circumstance, tri- fling as it may appear, shows at what close quarters the men received the fire of the enemy.
James Patterson, of Company G, was lying with four wounds made by one ball, and perfectly helpless. A Con- federate cavalryman came along, and was robbing the dead, and not even sparing the wounded. He said to Patterson, " You won't live anyhow, and I guess I'll take what you have got." He took his shoes off and two dollars in money. The wounded man begged him to fill his canteen with water, but he refused, and said that he didn't need any water, as he could not live anyway, for he was all shot to pieces. As he left, the rebel told him that Jackson was in Washington, and waving the bill in his face, said, " I am going there too, and will not fail to drink your health with this note when I get there."
Pollard in his history says :
"The scenes of the battle-field were rendered ghastly by an extraordinary circumstance. There was not a dead Yankee in all that broad field who had not been stripped of his shoes and stockings-and in numerous cases, been left as naked as the hour he was born. Our barefooted and ragged men had not hesitated to supply their necessities even from the garments and equip- ments of the dead. So numerous were the wounded Yankees, that in four days' 3,000 had not been attended to."
The following is from a narrative by a Confederate Lieu- tenant :
"The fight was by far the most horrible and deadly that I have seen." "Their dead (Union) on the field were lett in such numbers as to sicken even the veterans of Richmond and the
300
Fifth New York Volunteer Infantry.
Shenandoah Valley;" " they left 2,000 dead, rotting clay, and almost innumerable wounded." "Their discipline and night saved them from a rout."
The Confederate losses, by their own reports, were 1,090 killed, 6,154 wounded, in the one hundred and fourteen regiments of infantry, and among their artillery battalion, engaged. The greatest loss appears in the brigades that first charged, especially among the officers ; the 5th Texas lost 239 in killed and wounded, among whom were all of their field and acting field officers, and after the battle the regiment was under the command of a Captain. The loss in Porter's twenty-four regiments in killed, wounded, and missing, was 2, 164, about one-fourth of the number of his forces engaged.
The dead of the Fifth Regiment had not generally been stripped, as their uniform was not of any use to the Confed- erates, but they took their shoes and stockings in most in- stances, and in many cases their fez caps, and of course whatever money or valuables any of them chanced to have on their persons. The badly wounded lay on the field for two or three days, among the festering corpses, before they were removed by their comrades, who were sent to their re- lief under a flag of truce. The latter buried 79 of the Fifth, and there were others who could not be recognized on account of the loss of their uniforms, or who had crawled into the woods and died there, whom they could not reach, as they were restricted by a Confederate guard to a certain boundary. But the number killed and wounded that I have heretofore stated-297, the names of whom appear in the Appendix-have been taken from the company rolls, and no pains have been spared to have them verified by comrades. It is generally supposed that the loss was even greater. as some names appear on the rolls as dropped for desertion from the date of the battle, who have never been seen since by any of their comrades or friends. .
301
Second Battle of Bull Run.
Sergeant Henry Bullwinkle, one of the original members of the regiment, and who served all through with it, was as cool as he was brave, as all those that served with him can testify. He was one of the last to leave the field on the left, as the enemy came out of the woods. He had received one bullet through his fez cap, grazing the side of his head. As he fell back, he took deliberate aim at a color-bearer, and saw him fall. As he was running off, he received a shot through his pantaloons, grazing his thigh ; another cut through a leather leggin grazing the bone, and the balls whistled lively about his ears. Something struck his blanket, which was rolled up and hanging over his shoulders, (all of the men were carrying their blankets in this manner, having left their knapsacks at Harrison's Landing). He could hear the cursing and abuse of the enemy. He fell on the ground and they stopped their fire, but he jumped to his feet again and succeeded by great agility in crossing the brook at the foot of the hill. He halted in the bushes on the other side. and reloaded his piece, when seeing a group of mounted officers he took steady aim and fired, and had the satisfac- tion of seeing one of the officers fall from his saddle. He then ran toward a battery of four guns on a hill, the men of which were making frantic gestures for him to get out of the way, as they were about to fire. He succeeded in reaching it and going by it, and the battery immediately opened on the enemy, who were now at close range.
Renben P. Sturgess, a young man, only eighteen years of age, and one of the first to enlist in the regiment, picked up Colonel Warren's cap, which had fallen to the ground. and handed it to him. This was about the time of the crisis of the onslaught of the enemy, and the men had been ordered to fall back, but they would not leave. Colonel Warren asked him his name, and what company he belonged to. He replied, "Company C." "Well ; you get to the rear ; this is no place for Company C;" instead of retreating he
302
Fifth New York Volunteer Infantry.
fired a shot at the enemy, and stood, and again re-loaded his piece. The remnant of the regiment were now trying to save themselves by falling back. The next day, Colonel Warren inquired for young Sturgess. "Missing," was the answer. "Then," said the Colonel, "that brave young man is dead or wounded." It was too true -- he had received a mortal wound.
Joseph H. Tyndall, of Company D, finding himself sur- rounded by the enemy and unable to escape, threw down his rifle at the feet of a Confederate, who was charging upon him with the bayonet, in token of submission. The latter, however, contrary to the rules of civilized warfare and the comnion instincts of humanity, was about to run him through, when Tyndall by a quick movement eluded the thrust, seized the weapon, and by a powerful movement wrenched it from his grasp, amid the jeers and gibes of the Confederate's companions.
Sergeant Robert Strachan, of Company I, supported James Cochrane, who was bleeding from four wounds, to the rear, and endeavored to halt one of the ambulances on the road, which were all full and moving off at a rapid pace. But none of the drivers would take any notice of his urgent appeals. Finally, one of them dashed rapidly by him, drawn by four horses. He called to the driver to stop ; but the only response he received was a curse. Strachan was a determined man, and feeling that he must adopt a decided course of action, knowing that there was no time to spare, as the enemy were coming on, he leveled his Sharp's rifle at the head of the driver, and said, " Halt ! or I will drive a bullet through your skull." This mandate was obeyed, and he lifted " Jim " by main strength and threw him into the wagon on top of the wounded, and the ambu- lance dashed off. By this means Cochrane was saved from being left to fall into the hands of the enemy, and probably owes his life to Strachan's decision.
.
303
Second Battle of Bull Run.
Corporal George Huntsman, a young man of great prom- ise, who was receiving an academic education before his enlistment, left his pleasant home at Flushing, Long Island, and went alone to Baltimore and enlisted in the 5th Regi- ment, October 19, 1861, to serve for three years, or during the war. He was promoted Corporal for good behavior and soldierly conduct, May 11, 1862, and was in active service with his company up to the engagement of Second Bull Run, August 30, 1862. In this battle he received a mortal wound, and died four days thereafter in the Wolf Street Hospital, Alexandria, Va. His remains were trans- ported to his parents' residence at Flushing. and the funeral took place on September 11th.
This young patriot. an only son, whose life was thus sac- rificed at his post of duty at the early age of nineteen, was beloved and respected by all his comrades. Sergeant E. L. Pierce said : " He was one who shared with me the perils of campaign life, and who by his pleasant and brotherly manner, endeared himself to me and made it much easier to bear."
On a beautiful monument erected in the town park by the citizens of Flushing, in memory of those who fell for their country's sake in the war of the Rebellion, may be seen engraved with eighty-six others, the name of Corporal George Huntsman.
He was a son of Professor George Washington Hunts- man, of the College of the City of New York. His great- grandfather on his father's side fought in the war of the Revolution, to establish the Independence of the States against the unjust exactions of Great Britain ; two of his uncles were in the war of 1812 ; and his cousins on both sides were in our late war. His mother's grandfather was Samuel Neilson, one of the noble Irish patriots who was imprisoned and exiled during the closing years of the last century by the British Government, the truths they main-
304
Fifth New York Volunteer Infantry.
tained not being agreeable to the power that strove to annex Ireland to its empire.
George Huntsman Post, No. 50, Grand Army of the Re- public, of the town of Flushing, was named to honor the memory of our deceased comrade.
Let us look at this field one year later through the eyes of one of the three years' members of the old Fifth, who was transferred to the 146th New York Volunteers to serve out the remainder of his time. The letter from which the fol- lowing extract is made was addressed to the writer under its date :
CAMP NEAR NEW BALTIMORE, VA., { October 22, 1863.
DEAR D. . . . . When we arrived at Centreville we struck off again and marched (you would hardly guess where) to the old Bull Run battle-field, about three hundred yards from where our regiment had the fight last year. As soon as I had my supper I started over, and in five minutes I stood by the graves of our de- parted comrades. Graves, did I say ? it would be a disgrace to call them such ! Graves! if a few handfuls of dirt strewn over skeletons can be called such ; but I don't. I tell you, D., it was a heart-rending sight, to see their skulls kicked in every direc- tion, and the feet and bones of the dead sticking above the ground. There was one grave this side of the creek which took my attention. The rain had washed the earth away from where one of his knees must have stuck out, and covering this joint was part of his red breeches; there was quite a crowd around the grave, and they almost all took a piece of what was left of the cloth. While one of the men was looking around, he overturned one of his jacket sleeves ; it had on a Sergeant's gold stripes ; at first I thought it was Billy McDowell's body ; we looked again, but could not find any diamond, so we all came to the conclusion that it must be Sergeant Allison, the color-sergeant. We were going to make out a detail the next morning to properly bury the remains, but we marched again at 2 A.M.
JOHN MURRAY.
The remains of those who were buried on this field, as
305
Second Battle of Bull Run.
well as those in other fields, were all collected and removed to cemeteries established by the Government authorities soon after the close of the war.
"On Fame's eternal camping-ground Their silent tents are spread, And memory guards with solemn round The bivouac of the dead."
An admirable description of the battle was published in The Soldier's Friend, August, 1866. It was written by Paul K. Faulk, one of the " Left-armed Corps," late of the rith Pennsylvania Volunteers, Hartsuff's brigade, which was badly cut up in the Second Bull Run engagement. He very justly places the Zouaves in the front-where they fought -- in the following extract :
"During many a lonely hour visions of that bloody day have trooped up from the dim mist of the dreamy past, and mingling in the imaginary fray, I have passed again through the gory drama and fought the battle over anew. . .. . Three thousand bayonets gleamed in the sultry rays of the sun ; a grim determi- nation compressed the muscles on the dusty-bronzed faces of the toil-worn brigade ; the starry flags fluttered proudly and defiantly ; and amid the wreathing smoke, and shaken by the deafening thunders of musketry and artillery in the fiery front, the devoted battalion pressed forward into the valley of death. No martial music cheers the weary ranks ; only the wild excitement of bat- tle sustains the half-wavering column, as the rebel batteries vomit forth their deadly iron hail, and the terrible zip, zip, of the minie ball is quenched in blood. Streams of stragglers pour from the smoke-curtained front, and the wounded pass on to the rear, faltering and bleeding at every step. A great many of them wore the red breeches of the Zouaves."
TESTIMONY FROM THE ENEMY.
Charles F. Ballou, formerly a member of the 44th New York Volunteers, who was wounded, and lay on the field of
306
Fifth New York Volunteer Infantry.
battle, told the writer that while conversing with a Con- federate soldier, the latter made the remark that there was one Yankee regiment that would stand a bayonet charge ; he knew it because he had fought against them at Gaines' Mill ; and they wouldn't budge. Ballou asked him what regiment it was ; he replied, " Them Zouaves."
An officer of high standing thus expressed himself in re- gard to this battle :
" The 5th army corps were treated on that day, by u hoever was responsible, in a way that should be his everlasting disgrace, for they were made to assault twice their numbers in a good position, under the false idea that they were in retreat, and while they went up to be butchered, the rest of the army at a safe dis- tance were mere spectators."
After dark, on the day of the battle, what remained of the regiment fell back to Centreville ; a wearisome march, es- pecially so after the trying ordeal through which they had passed on that day. The road was blockaded with wagons, ambulances, stragglers, etc., and many of the commands were mixed up. But the men kept together, notwithstanding nearly all the companies, or rather squads, were under the command of Sergeants and Corporals, preserving their forma- tion perfectly, the same as they did through the seven days' retreat, and could have formed a small line of battle of about 100 men at any moment. They showed a marked contrast, in this respect, to many of the other organizations on the march that had not suffered near as much loss, thus reaping the benefit of the severe training they had received from the first under Colonel Warren, assisted by such severe disciplin- arians as Colonel Hiram Duryea, Winslow, and others.
Colonel Warren, from his long experience, was thorough master of the details of military service in all its branches, and of the science of war. He was severe, but just, to the men as well as to the officers, and held all alike in their dif-
307
Second Battle of Bull Run.
ferent spheres to a strict attention to their duties. We finally arrived at Centreville and bivouacked outside of the works.
The Fifth numbered, on the morning after the battle at Centreville, less than 100 ; Companies F and D, mustering 17 men, were under the command of First Sergeant George A. Mitchell, of F; Sergeant William H. Chambers took the command of H and B; Sergeant Forbes held Company G ; Sergeant Brogan, Company I ; and the other companies were under the command of Lieutenant Gedney, and Lieutenants Whitney and Chase, who had not been in the engagement ; and remained about the same until they reached Hall's Hill, where the few stragglers rejoined us, and we were increased by the addition of some new recruits.
Sunday, August 31 .- We went inside of the works and sent out a detail, under a flag of truce, to bury the dead and look after the wounded. They suffered greatly for the want of food while performing their sad duties, as the scanty sup- plies they were able to procure were given to the wounded.
We left Centreville September 2d, about I A.M., and marched to Fairfax Court-House, rested until 3 P.M., and then resumed the march, and bivouacked at Ball's Cross- Roads.
While on the road near Fairfax during a brief halt, a regi- ment came marching by, and an unusually tall and well-pro- portioned man stepped from the ranks; it was noticed that he carried the colors. He inquired for Company G and William McDowell, and was answered that he was lying dead on the battle-field. The tears started to his eyes, and for a moment he was quite overcome, until suddenly becom- ing conscious that men were looking at him, he dashed his hand across his eyes, and joined his regiment, which was the Anderson Zouaves. He was the brother of our own la- mented Sergeant.
Shortly after the regiment had gone into bivouac at the
308
Fifth New York Volunteer Infantry ..
side of the road, some of the men discovered General Mc- Clellan, with three orderlies and an aide, riding up toward us. He was on his way to the front from Washington, hay- ing been reinstated in the command of the army, now that Washington was in danger. It was after dark, but the men recognized him at once, and turned out and gave him three rousing cheers. He stopped, and asked if they had suffered much in the late engagement, and seemed sorry at the reply, as he held the regiment in high esteem, and always put it forward before distinguished visitors to the army.
During the march from Centreville, the enemy were run- ning a race on roads parallel to the route of the Union army for Washington, and did get in the rear, on the line of re- treat at Chantilly, where the lamented Generals Kearney and Stevens lost their lives in the battle that ensued to dis- lodge them. When General Jackson, the Confederate leader, saw the body of the former, he uncovered his head, as did those about him, and said : " You have killed the bravest officer in the Union army ; this is General Philip Kearney, who lost his arm at the gates of the City of Mexico." It was a tribute of respect paid by one brave soldier to another, although an antagonist. The men could see the reflection of the sun on the enemy's bayonets at times as they marched, and skirmishers were ont on the flank of the column. A diminutive Lieutenant of the regular army had charge of those detailed from the Fifth, and the boys worried the poor man's life out, hunting them out of farm-houses on the route where they were trying to find a square meal,
The movements for about ten days may be stated very briefly as follows :
We marched at about 6 .A. M., on Wednesday, the 3d, some five miles, and occupied Hall's Hill, and were joined by a large number of recruits, sent on from New York. The ap- pearance of the men did not tend to raise their spirits much, as we were all in rags and dirt. On the 4th and 5th we re-
309
Second Battle of Bull Run.
mained at Hall's Hill, and were visited by citizens from Washington. 6th, marched at 9 P.M., and crossed the chain- bridge over the Potomac, and bivouacked near Tenallytown, having marched nine miles ; and on the 7th we transferred our camp to the other side of the road. 8th, started at 7 P.M., moved six miles and joined the division near Rock- ville. 9th, marched at 7 A.M., passing through Rockville, and bivouacked. 11th, marched at 9 A.M, eight miles and bivouacked near Seneca Creek. 12th, marched at 10 A.M. eleven miles to Hyattsville, and bivouacked outside of the town. 13th, marched at 6 A.M., thirteen miles, crossing the Monocacy, and bivouacked two miles from Frederick City.
CHAPTER XIII.
BATTLE OF ANTIETAM.
THE CONFEDERATE SUCCESSES - VIRGINIA Versus THE COTTON STATES-THE BATTLE OF ANTIETAM-THE ENEMY RETIRES-GENERAL MCCLELLAN'S RE- PORT - CROSSING THE POTOMAC-BATTLE OF SHEPARDSTOWN-TENTH NEW YORK REGIMENT TRANSFERRED-SCARCITY OF SUPPLIES-A MIXED UNIFORM- PENALTIES CF OLD CLOTHES-A BREAD SPECULATION-A WHISKY SMUGGLE -- A DRILL CHALLENGE ACCEPTED-CROSSING AT HARPER'S FERRY-COLONEL O'ROURKE OF THE 140TH NEW YORK-SNICKER'S GAP-WARRENTON-A SE- CESSIONIST TOWN-FAREWELL REVIEW BY GENERAL MCCLELLAN-GENERAL BURNSIDE IN COMMAND-THE 146TH NEW YORK-WARRENTON JUNCTION- SPOTTED TAVERN-THE HENRY HOUSE-RESIGNATION OF COLONEL HIRAM DURYEA-CHANGES IN THE REGIMENT-BEFORE THE BATTLE.
THUS far the prestige of success on the Peninsula ap- peared to rest with the Confederate army. The commanding officer, the military chief of the Rebellion, was a Virginian, and many of his most effective Generals were proud of the same distinction. They were not only in deep sympathy with the objects of the war against the Union, but they were thoroughly familiar with the country which was made the great arena of this stubborn conflict. They were VIRGINIANS, and the State pride which corrupted all the politics of the South, and which gave to the Union a secondary place, intensified their determination to carry the war to the extremity almost of extinction rather than surrender to the armies which con- tended for our national life. They were thus, in one respect, masters of the situation. They were fighting on their own soil, for their own heritage, in a latitude and under a climate where the Northern troops suffered great losses by sickness and death ; the latter were decimated in localities and in an atmos- phere which to their antagonists were healthful and invigorat- ing. The immense disadvantages of the Northern troops, who, under other circumstances, would have achieved a succes-
(310)
--
---- ,
31I
Battle 'of Antietam.
sion of victories, gave to the Confederates the substantial fruits of triumph, and of repeated disaster to the loyal arms ; and whi e these events did not dampen the ardor of the lat- ter, they inspired the Confederates with greater confidence and determination. Their purpose was to annihilate the Army of the Potomac, and this accomplished, either the pos- session of the national capital, or their own terms of separa- tion, they assumed to be a certain event.
One special feature of the contest was always apparent. Whatever amount of zeal and bravery were shown by Virgin- ian and North Carolina regiments on the field, they were fully equaled by the impetuous, wild, and determined dash and tenacity of the troops from the South and South-west. The regiments from South Carolina and the States whose shores were washed by the Gulf, showed an ardor and a stubbornness of will together with a bitterness of hatred that made them difficult foes to meet in the field. They had a motive kindred to that of the Virginians, but it was one of supreme selfishness.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.