USA > New York > Camp and field life of the Fifth New York volunteer infantry. (Duryee zouaves.) > Part 33
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Kingston, besides quartering his regiment one week at Newport, R. I., to which is to be added the escort expedition to Richmond, Washington, Mount Vernon, and Baltimore.
The Seventh Regiment bears the name, and deservedly too, of being a pattern to its associates in arms ; and they have exem- plified the truth, that the best citizens are the best soldiers, and that it is no mark of courage, or indication of prowess, to cast aside the courtesies or amenities of life.
To Colonel Duryee we may not invidiously ascribe the main- tenance of that high discipline and gallant bearing which so dis- tinguishes the Seventh Regiment above its compeers; and this may be said without detracting, in the slightest degree, from the merits of any officer and soldier of his command. The superior in all cases gives the general tone to his subordinates.
He is the author of Rules and Regulations for the government of the regiment in the field or in quarters ; also, several treatises on street-fighting. The latter was adopted by the New York State Legislature in the fall of 1857, after a committee of army and militia officers witnessed the admirable performance of the Seventh Regiment on the Fifth Avenue, in the summer of that year.
Colonel Duryée adopted Colonel Hardee's beautiful light infantry tactics in the year 1855, and his was the first military body that went through any of the exercises contained in that work ; but the laws for the government of the army and militia of the United States then in force, prevented his adopting it until it was recognized and approved by the War Department.
In the autumn of 1857 he adopted the system in full, and, after a thorough course of drill throughout the winter, he invited the author to witness its performance by the 7th Regiment at a battalion drill at the City Arsenal, Friday evening, March 19, 1858. The room was crowded with a large number of ladies and gentlemen, among whom were seen the beautiful uniforms of our army and navy officers, and the familiar faces of some of our most distinguished citizens. After the marching was over, the Colonel ordered his regiment to prepare for review. Colonel Hardee, accompanied by other officers and staff of the regiment, made a thorough inspection, after which Colonel Hardee took up
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his position at the side of Colonel Duryee, and the latter went through the manual.
The precision with which the regiment made the different movements of loading and firing, and the steadiness of the men, drew forth tremendous applause from the spectators present. Colonel Hardee was much surprised, and expressed astonishment at the result. He said that never had he witnessed a performance by any military body, in or out of the army, which surpassed it. At the conclusion, the regiment was greeted with a storm of plaudits.
After being connected with the Seventh for a period of twenty- one years, Colonel Duryée resigned his command, in the latter part of the year 1859; being succeeded by the late lamented Colonel Marshall Lefferts.
On the breaking out of the civil war. Colonel Duryée immedi- ately responded to the call for troops by Governor Morgan, and tendered his services to the country. His offer was gladly ac- cepted, and he was granted authority to raise a regiment of infantry, and received a commission as Colonel of Volunteers.
As the result of his efforts, the 5th Regiment New York Vol- unteers, otherwise known as Duryee's Zouaves, was organized. This regiment he brought up to a thorough state of discipline, and in drill it was excelled by none. It was destined to continue the hard drills after the command devolved on Colonel Warren and other officers, and, as it became older in the service, arrived at a still greater state of proficiency, especially in field tactics and bayonet exercise ; so that when it became a part of the Army of the Potomac, it was generally acknowledged to be the most perfect volunteer regiment in general drill in the 5th corps, and probably in the whole army; but in bayonet exercise it was without a rival.
On May 27, 1861, Colonel Duryee was placed by General Butler in command of Camp Hamilton, as acting Brigadier- General-his brigade consisting of the 1st, 2d, 3d, 5th, and 10th Regiments New York Volunteers. General Pierce, of Massa- chusetts, having arrived at Fortress Monroe, Colonel Duryee was superseded by that officer, June 4th, when he again assumed command of his regiment.
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On the 10th of June he took part with his regiment in the at- tack on Big Bethel, where he exposed himself, without flinching, to the enemy's fire.
General Pierce having been relieved, Colonel Duryée again assumed command of the brigade, with the addition of Colonel Baker's California regiment and the 20th New York. On the 31st of August, Colonel Duryee was commissioned a Brigadier- General of Volunteers by the President, and ordered to report to General Dix ; and he was assigned to the command of the 17th and 21st Massachusetts, 7th and 10th Maine, 21st Indiana, 87th and 111th Pennsylvania, 2d, 3d, and 5th Maryland, and the 5th New York-the latter being assigned to the right of the brigade.
When General Mcclellan made his advance on Richinond via the Peninsula, General Duryée, with part of the troops under his command in Baltimore, was ordered to Washington, where he arrived and reported to General McDowell, and his command was assigned to General Ricketts' division of the Ist corps.
General Duryée served under General Pope in his campaign of 1862, and was engaged in the battles of Cedar Mountain. Rappahannock Station, Thoroughfare Gap, Groveton, Second Bull Run, and Chantilly.
The following are extracts from the official report of General Pope's Virginia campaign.
General Pope says : "General Duryée commanded his brigade, in the various operations of this campaign, with ability and zeal."
General McDowell, in his report, says : "General Ricketts, who, at Cedar Mountain and at Rappahannock Station, was under my immediate command, and rendered valuable service with the division, speaks in high terms of the gallantry of Gen- erals Duryée and Tower, both at Thoroughfare Gap and the bat- tle of the 30th, in which the former was slightly and the latter severely wounded."-Exec. Doc. No. 81, 3d Sess. 37th Congress.
In General Ricketts' report of the second battle of Bull Run, we find the following :
" At sunrise on the 30th, ordered by you to send two brigades to report to General Kearney, and conducted the ist brigade, General Duryée ; 4th brigade, Colonel Thorburn ; which relier- ed a portion of General Kearney's division. General Duryée's
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brigade advanced into the woods, driving the enemy along the old railroad excavation until directly under their guns. While occupy- ing this ground General Duryee was subjected to a heavy fire of artillery and infantry, in which he received a slight wound and a severe contusion by a shell, but remained at his post animating his men, who behaved admirably. On recapitulating the services of brigade commanders, I would make particular mention of Brigadier-General Duryée for his noble conduct at Thoroughfare Gap, and his indomitable courage displayed at Bull Run while holding a trying position."-(Gen. RICKETTS' Report, p. 70).
"General Mcclellan again assuming command of the army, General Duryée served under him in the campaign in Maryland. He reinforced General Meade and fought under that officer at South Mountain, driving the enemy to the sanguinary field on Antietam, where he fought in the famous corn-field, where he was wounded and his horse shot under him; a portion of the time he commanded the division, owing to the wounding of Gen- eral Hooker, who was compelled to retire from the field."- (SWINTON).
General Mende's report of the battle of South Mountain speaks highly of the promptness of General Duryee in ascending the mountain in support of the Penn Reserves, which resulted in the defeat of the enemy.
General Ricketts says in his report of the battle of Antietam : " I commend the general good conduct of the division, and would mention particularly Brigadier-General Duryee, Colonels Coulter and Lyle, and Captains Matthews and Thompson of the artillery ; indeed, both officers and men displayed courage under a severe fire."
General Duryre resigned his commission in the early part of 1863, and again retired to private life. He was breveted Major- General of Volunteers hy the President, March 13, 1865. Gov- ernor Fenton, in forwarding the commission, says: "Conferred by the President, in recognition of your faithful and distinguished services in the Inte war." And added : "In behalf of the State, allow me to thank you for the gallantry and devotion which induced this conspicuous mention by the General Government."
From the New York Times, 1865:
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"At a meeting of the field officers of the seven regiments com- posing the 4th brigade, Ist division, N. G. S. N. Y., held pursuant to orders from General Headquarters, State of New York, at the armory of the 22d Regiment, N. G. S. N. Y., General Abram Duryée was unanimously elected Brigadier-General of the brigade, vice General John Ewen, resigned.
" The General's many years experience as Colonel of the 7th Regiment, National Guard, afterward Colonel of the famous 5th Regiment, New York Volunteers (Duryée's Zouaves), which has given a Warren, Kilpatrick, and Winslow to the army, and final- ly as Brigadier-General of Volunteers, eminently qualify him for the command."
In 1873 General Duryée was appointed Police Commissioner by the Hon. W. F. Havemeyer, and during his teri of service devoted himself to the discipline and efficiency of the department. On the 13th of January, 1874, the formidable assemblage of Com- munists at Tompkins Square took place. General Duryee, with a small body of police, attacked the vast crowd with impetuosity, capturing their blood-red flags, destroying their inflammatory banners, and drove them in utter confusion from the park.
LIEUTENANT-COLONEL GOUVERNEUR KEMBLE WARREN.
GOUVERNEUR K. WARREN was born in Cold Spring, State of New York, January 8, 1830. He graduated second in a class of forty-five at the carly age of twenty, from the United States Military Academy at West Point. Breveted Second Lieutenant in the Engineer Corps, he was employed in the survey of the Mississippi Delta, under the present General Humphreys. He remained here for three years, and then took the place of Robert E. Lee, subsequently the military chief of th : Rebellion, who had charge of the rapids of the Mississippi at Rock Island and Des Moines ; and Joseph E. Johnston, whose fame is linked with the history of the attempt to destroy the Union, succeeded him. In 1854 he was employed under Jefferson Davis in the Mississippi railroad office. "In 1855 he served under Harney in an expedition
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against the Sioux Indians, and had two engagements with them, in which many were killed. In 1856 and '57 he explored Ne- braska Territory. The Smithsonian Institute published his re- port of Geological Explorations."
" Afterward he was transferred to West Point, and in 1859 and '60 he was Assistant Professor of Mathematics. In 1854 he was promoted to the rank of a full Second Lieutenant, and First Lieutenant in July, 1856."
When the war broke out, he asked leave of absence to serve in the Volunteer Army, and in April, 1861, was appointed Lieu- tenant-Colonel of the 5th New York Regiment. He was pro- moted Colonel, September 11, 1861, and to the grade of Cap- tain in the regular army. On September 27, 1862, he was commissioned Brigadier-General, and breveted Lieutenant-Col- onel of the regular army.
When Hooker took command of the army, February, 1863, General Warren was made Chief Topographical Engineer, and rendered efficient service at the battle of Chancellorsville, and was appointed Topographical Engineer-in-Chief. During the battle of Gettysburg, while under a heavy fire, a bullet cut his chin underneath, inflicting a slight wound. In speaking of that battle, Swinton* says : "Sickles' line of battle was drawn up on the low ground front of Round Top, his left covering that point, Little Round Top was a commanding spur of Round Top Moun- tain, a rugged and wild spot, covered with huge boulders. Warren, while moving about in the performance of his duties as Engineer, on the morning of the second day visited this spur, on which some of the signal corps were stationed, and found that they were gathering their flags together preparatory to vacate. He discovered a body of the enemy, who were Hood's Texans, that had got around Sickles' left flank, and were advancing to occupy this important point. He immediately saw the strategic position with the eye of an engineer, and ordering the men to continue waving their flags boldly, to deceive the enemy into the belief that it was occupied by a force of troops, dashed off to bring troops to occupy it. He met Barnes' division of Sykes'
* "Army of Potomac," p. 346.
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corps, which was marching to the relief of Sickles, who was hard pressed, and on his own responsibility detached Colonel Vincent's brigade, composed of the 16th Michigan, Lieutenant- Colonel Welsh ; 44th New York, Colonel Rice ; 83d Pennsyl- vania, Captain Woodward; 20th Maine, Colonel Chamberlain, and Hazlitt's battery; the 140th New York, Colonel O'Rourke, accompanied the latter, which by great labor was dragged and lifted up the hill. As the troops rushed up the height, Hood's Texans were coming up on the opposite side without skirmish- ers ; they met face to face, and a terrible conflict ensued ; they fought hand to hand with the bayonet, officers grasped ritles from the hands of the fallen, and after half an hour's desperate struggle, the Union forces secured the position, until reinforced by Weed's brigade of Ayres' division. Later at night, three regi- ments occupied Round Top proper. The loss was a fearful one ; among the ledges of the rocks lay many hundred of the Union soldiers. General Weed, a regular officer, was killed, and Hazlitt fell dead over his body, while trying to catch his last words ; Colonels Vincent and O'Rourke, the latter a regular officer, were killed. This was the key of the position, as it enfiladed Cemetery Hill, and if Warren had not acted as promptly as he did, Gettysburg might have been one of those fields that decide the issues of war."
Warren was made Major-General of Volunteers August 8, 1863, and received the brevet of Colonel in the Regular Army to date from Gettysburg, and given the command of the Second corps.
" When in the following October, Meade lay along the Rapi- dan, Warren was accustomed to put on a private's uniform, and reconnoiter the enemy's position. In this garb he could ap- proach very near the enemy's lines, and gained much valuable information.
" When Lee suddenly outflanked Meade, compelling him to retreat in great haste, Warren commanded the rear guard. Near Bristoe Station the enemy made a sudden and heavy onset upon him, and at first, having all their batteries planted, pos- sessed greatly the advantage. But Warren, who now for the first time had an opportunity to display his great abilities as a strate-
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gist, soon reversed this state of things ; and the manner in which he chose his position, handled his troops, and planted his bat- teries, and for five hours repelled every effort of the enemy to advance, and finally drove him to cover, showed him to be per- fect master of the art of war, and called forth a congratulatory order from General Meade. He captured in this engagement five guns, two colors, and four hundred and fifty prisoners. The precision, promptitude, and sagacity he exhibited on this his first field, on which he commanded separately, made him at once a conspicuous man in the army. Dash and daring do not go so far with military men as with the public, and a battle so com- pletely planned and perfectly fought as this, could not escape the observation of such men as Meade and Grant."*
Swinton,t in his sketch of the Mine Run move, says that Warren, who was in command of the Second corps, and two divisions of French's, was to attack the enemy on their right.
" Looking at the position with the critical eye of an engineer, but not without those lofty inspirations of courage that overleap the cold dictates of mathematical calculation, Warren saw that the task was hopeless ; and so seeing, he resolved to sacrifice him- self rather than his command. He assumed the responsibility of suspending the attack.
"His verdict was that of his soldiers-a verdict pronounced not in spoken words, but in a circumstance more potent than words, and full of a touching pathos.
" The time has not been seen when the Army of the Potomac shrank from any call of duty. Recognizing that the task now before them was of the character of a forlorn hope ; knowing well that no man could here count on escaping death, the soldiers, without sign of shrinking from the sacrifice, were seen pinning on the breasts of their blouses of blue, slips of paper on which each had written his name."
"That this judgment of General Warren, and of his troops, was correct, General Meade himself became convinced, on riding over to the left and viewing the position." " It was, in fact, even
* " Grant and Sherman, their Campaigns and Generals."-J. T. HEADLEY.
t "Army of Potomac," pp. 396-'7.
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more formidable than the line of the Rapidan, which it had been considered impracticable to assail by a front attack."
When the army began its great campaign against Richmond the next spring, Warren, at the head of the Fifth Corps, held the center, one of the three grand divisions of the army as reorgan- ized under Grant.
Swinton says : " Warren, young in the command of a corps, owed his promotion to the signal ability, proofs of which he had given, first, as a Brigadier, then as Chief Engineer of the Army, and, latterly, as the temporary commander of the Second Corps. Of a subtle, analytic intellect, endowed with an eminent talent for details, the clearest military coup d'œil, and a fiery, concentrated energy, he promised to take the first rank as a commander."
" In the terrible battle of the Wilderness,* his command acted a conspicuous part. The second day, in reinforcing the hard pressed wings, he reduced his corps to two divisions, yet with these he firmly maintained his position. At Spottsylvania, Rob- inson's division of the Fifth Corps was terribly cut up, and their leader having fallen, were breaking in disorder ; when this intel- ligence reached Warren, he put spurs to his horse, and dashing forward, seized the colors and planted them amid the rebel fire, and by his voice and gallant bearing, rallied the division, but in the daring act had his horse shot under him. In the flank move- ment at the North Anna, and in the severe fight that followed, he handled his troops with such skill and success, and punished the enemy so severely, that Meade complimented him publicly. All through that terrible advance, until the army sat down before Petersburg, he exhibited a tactical skill and fighting power unsur- passed by the oldest General in the field, and equaled by few.
" In the fore part of December, with his own corps and a part of the Second, he moved out of his camps and destroyed twenty miles of the Weldon Railroad, besides station-houses and bridges. On his return he burned Sussex Court-house, in retaliation for brutal treatment and murder of some of our stragglers ; and was back in his old quarters before the enemy had fairly waked up to see what a terrible blow had been struck them.
"Grant and Sherman, their Campaigns and Generals."-J. T. HEADLEY.
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" In the final movement of the campaign of Grant, when Gen- eral Sheridan took the advance on the extreme left of Dinwiddie Court-house, he came upon the enemy a few miles beyond, at 'Five Forks,' and was defeated and compelled to fall back to Dinwiddie .* Warren's corps was at once sent to his relief. It had been fighting all day (one division, Griffin's, had been en- gaged also the day before, and the corps had suffered a loss of eighteen hundred in killed and wounded), yet he sent a portion of it forward immediately, which marched all night, reaching Sheridan next morning. The rest of his corps rapidly followed, and Warren, as ordered, reported to Sheridan on his arrival, who assumed entire command. Sheridan now being strong, advanced against the enemy, and at 'Five Forks' found them at bay, strongly intrenched. Warren was now directed to move with his whole corps on the enemy's left flank while the cavalry attacked in front. With his usual skill and promptitude, he advanced on the strong position in three lines of battle, and sweeping steadily down, carried everything before him, capturing the rebel artillery, which was attempting to move north, and many prisoners. Finding the Confederate front still holding its ground against Sheridan's cavalry, he, without waiting to re-form, swept down on the hostile line, breaking it to fragments, and giving the cavalry a chance to dash in and finish the work. Warren in this last movement rode with his staff in the front, and was still there just at dusk, his men shouting the victory, when he received Sheridan's order relieving him of command, and directing him to report to General Grant. Before doing so, he sought a personal interview, and asked the reason of his being relieved. With strange discourtesy and injustice, the latter refused to give him any."
How Grant viewed this proceeding may be inferred from the fact that he immediately placed Warren in command of the defenses of City Point and Bermuda Hundred.
In May he was assigned to the command of the Mississippi Department, but he did not retain it long, and offered his resig-
* Extract from dispatch-General Sheridan to General Grant, March 31, 1865 : " This force is too strong for us. I will hold out at Dinwiddie Court-house until I am compelled to leave."
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nation as Major-General of Volunteers, but retaining his rank in the Engineer Corps.
He asked for an investigation, but Grant replied that it was impossible, in the disturbed state of affairs, to assemble a court of inquiry at the time, and so the matter dropped.
" Although this was unjust to Warren, perhaps it was quite as well it should rest so. The war was over, the country jubilant and filled with praises of Sheridan, who had fought nobly, and contributed largely to the capture of Lee. A court of inquiry would, of course, have been compelled to censure him-an un- gracious task just then ; while his condemnation would have changed the opinion of scarcely any one in or out of the army. The people felt that it was an act of injustice, born of sudden impatience and excitement, such as he has often committed, and were sorry that he had been guilty of it, but preferred to forget it in consideration of his gallant services ; while among military men, if it had any effect at all, it only raised Warren higher in their estimation. A court of inquiry, therefore, would have had no effect on his reputation, though, as an act of justice, it was demanded. He could much better afford to let it pass than Sheridan can. A sudden act of injustice may be pardoned ; per- sisting in it constitutes its chief criminality."
"Warren at this time was about thirty-five years of age. By those most qualified to judge, he was considered one of the best, if not the best, tacticians in the army. With a nervous, quick temperament, balanced by strong reflective powers, and perfect knowledge of his profession, he combines all the qualities of a great General."
The author is indebted to Headley's work for many of the facts above given, with which he has incorporated his own notes and the statements of other writers. For a detailed account of the " Battle of Five Forks," and all the movements of General Warren with the Fifth Corps, with maps and copies of his orders, see " Warren's Defense," published by D. Van Nostrand (1866).
General Warren was breveted Major-General in the Regular Army, March 13, 1865.
In speaking of Warren's attack, Swinton says in his History : " After the first success, the men halted. Seeing this hesitation,
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Warren dashed forward, calling to those near him to follow. Inspired by his example, the color-bearers and officers all along the front sprang out, and, without more firing, the men charged at the pas de course, capturing all that remained of the enemy. The history of the war presents no equally splendid illustration of personal magnetism. Warren led the van of the rushing lines ; his horse was fatally shot within a few feet of the breastworks, an orderly was killed by his side, and he himself was in imminent peril, when a gallant officer, Colonel Richardson, of the Seventh Wisconsin, sprang between him and the enemy, receiving a se- vere wound, but shielding from hurt the person of his loved com- mander."
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