USA > New York > Disaster, struggle, triumph. The adventures of 1000 "boys in blue," from August, 1862, to June, 1865 > Part 13
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remnant of them reached our lines again with their wounded, Lieutenant GEDDIS bringing up the rear as he had led the advance .* Our men think that this skirmishing on the 4th of July was the most dangerous service they were ever employed in, as the sharp- shooters hit everything that was seen to move. All the while the bands on the hill behind them, jubilant with victory, kept "independence day" by playing National airs. On the following night, pickets were stationed on the field ; Captain MUNSON, of the 126th, in command of our line. It was raining heavily, but the sharp-shooters continued their murderous work. Our pickets were charged to keep silence, for the rebel wounded would question them, and when they answered, the sharpshooters would fire in the direction of their voices.
On Sunday the heavy rain continued, but our men were all over the field disposing of the rebel dead and our own, and caring for the wounded. The moans of the latter, says Sergeant ROSE, were heart-rending.
On the morning of the 5th, it became certain that the enemy had left, and on that afternoon the pursuit was commenced by a large portion of the army. On
* JOHN B. GEDDIS enlisted in the 126th as a private, was made First Sergeant of Company D, then Second Lieutenant, then First Lieutenant, then Captain; and in December, 1864. he was commissioned Lieutenant-Colonel, but on account of the smallness of the Regiment at that time, could not get mustered in, and continued to rank as Captain. But he commanded the Regiment from some time in the autumn of 1864 until the 31st of March, 1865, when, in a gallant charge of the 1st Division under SHERIDAN, GED- DIS leading the Regiment and cheering on his men with his sword brandished aloft, was shot through the right hand. For his gallant and meritorious services he was brevetted Major U. S. Vols.
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the 7th, head-quarters were at Frederick ; on the 8th, at Middletown ; on the 9th, at South Mountain, and the advance at Boonsboro and Rohrersville. The diaries of the men record the kindness of the inhabi- tants at Taneytown in bringing them refreshments. On the 10th, head-quarters were advanced to Antietam creek, which was bridged by our engineers, our men passing over the old battle-ground. On the 11th, General MEADE's forces were in front of the position taken by LEE to cover his crossing the Potomac. This, to us, who know all the facts as they could not have been known to MEADE and his Corps command- ers, seems slow pursuit ; and very severe censures have been passed upon General MEADE for, first, the route he took; second, his slowness; and, third, his allowing LEE to escape across the Potomac without another fight. In regard to the first, after reading all the testimony on both sides, with the annexed corre- spondence, it would seem that General MEADE acted upon the very best judgment he could form, aided by the intelligence brought by his scouts and reconnoiter- ing parties ; which latter, as was afterwards proved, was not very much to be relied upon. For the second fact there were several causes. Many new recruits were just joining the army, and some old troops were leaving, their time having expired. The army was being reinforced by militia, and by forces from Harper's Ferry and other points, and it took time to get them all "in hand." Then it rained all the time; the roads were rough and rocky, or extremely muddy ; and many of our men were almost
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or quite barefoot, and there was a little delay for supplies of shoes to reach them. Again, LEE was manœuvering in a country with which he was familiar, to find a position where he might fortify himself, and stand at bay until he could cross the river. His course made it difficult to find him in a place where he could be assailed with success. And, in regard to the last point, it was supposed by all that the swollen state of the Potomac, and the absence of bridges and other means of transportation made it impossible for LEE to cross that river. With this firm persuasion, MEADE naturally saw less necessity for rapidity in his movements than if he had known, as we do, the facts of the case. From all General MEADE's correspond- ence at the time, it is evident that both he and his army expected another fight, and truly desired it. When, however, LEE had fortified himself near Fall- ing Waters, and General MEADE was anxious to attack him, a majority of the Corps commanders were opposed to it ; and General MEADE himself afterward thought that there would have been much the same risk as our forces experienced at Fredericksburg, and theirs at Gettysburg. Certainly the disappointment, both to the army and to the country, as well as at Washington, when it was found that LEE's army was across the river, was excessive, and damped somewhat the joy and triumph of the recent victory.
We pause here to notice a fact which constantly presses itself on our attention as we pursue our inves- tigations in regard to the Potomac army. We have examined the reports of army officers, rebel and
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Union, the letters of army correspondents (as given in the Rebellion Record and in newspapers), magazines, histories, biographies, cyclopedias, reports on the con- duct of the war, testimony before congressional com- mittees, addresses and speeches, SWINTON's Army of the Potomac, and GREELEY's large work, in short, every source of information within our reach, and everywhere we are met by one contrast. The writers on the rebel side are, in general, disposed to praise their army and its leaders. Every little success is magnified into a wonderful victory over the federal armies. Every blunder is studiously covered up. Every signal victory is hailed as the sure prelude to the final destruction of our armies and the triumph of the confederacy. Their Generals seem usually to have enjoyed the confidence of government and people ; their errors, often very great, were overlooked; they were not constantly changed to make room for inex- perienced aspirants. In short, in the south, we find a single purpose, animated by a single sentiment. The purpose was to establish southern supremacy on this continent, and destroy federal government. The sentiment was hatred of the north, as a people and as individuals. This unity of sentiment and purpose gave unity to all their plans and movements, and the strength of concert to all their operations. And then, although the war was initiated by them, and accepted by the north as a necessary evil, yet, as nearly all the fighting was on their soil, nothing was more easy than for their demagogues to represent "the Yankees" as aggressors, and "to fire the southern
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heart" by appeals to defend their firesides from the ruthless invaders of their territory.
But, in reading the writings of Unionists, we are struck by a painful contrast. It seems as if the north sent out its army of soldiers to fight on the field, and resolved itself into an army of critics to fight at home. In reading the diaries of the boys in blue, one is filled with sadness and indignation to find how keenly they felt the want of sympathy and appreciation at home. How depressing it was to them that, in many quar- ters, every little reverse was magnified into a defeat ; every movement that failed of success was called a wretched blunder; while the skill and tact of the rebel leaders was lauded. The reason seems to be, the south was a unit; the north was a house divided against itself. And although the final victory brought apparent unanimity and universal rejoicing, still there is much reason to believe that a rebel triumph would have elicited much sympathy; certainly among those who had no hearty love for our northern institutions.
HAPTER XYJ.
E will go back a little in order to tell the story of the Regiment.
On the 3d of July the Regiment marched to Two Taverns, and halted for the night and next day, expecting rations, but none came; and on the 7th they reached Taneytown, where the people were hos- pitable and supplied them with bread. On the 8th and 9th the Regiment marched nearly twenty-five miles a day in the rain and mud. On the 10th the Regiment acted as guard to a wagon train, and the next day went on picket, but were recalled to join a reconnoitering party to ascertain the whereabouts of the foe, in which they succeeded. On the 11th they passed through Crampton's Gap, and were joined by several thousand militia. They worked hard all night in a hard rain in making breastworks of rails and earth, and the next day both sides seemed manœu- vering for a position. Here the boys were cheered by the arrival of a very large mail, the first for nearly three weeks. Our forces were drawn up in line of battle on the 13th; a fine large stone barn was fur- nished for a hospital; lint, bandages and surgical instruments made ready ; all expected a severe battle. The next day, seeing no enemy, our lines were
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advanced, more earthworks thrown up; still the enemy were quiet. The night before, writes one,* "I had a floor and some nice quilts to lie on, and think- ing the enemy was in a tight place, where he would have to fight his way out, slept soundly. The 14th the news that LEE had escaped came like a thunder- bolt on the army. Everybody looked disheartened and discouraged ;" and, of course, there was some fault finding.
However, no time was lost; all started in pursuit. They marched rapidly, crossing part of the old battle- ground at Antietam, through several other towns, and at length reached the canal opposite Harper's Ferry. The canal is cut in solid rock, but its tow-path was the only bed our soldiers had that night.+ The cav- alry horses suffered most, as there was no provender. The whole army halted here the next two days, receiving needed supplies and witnessing the changes made by war around Harper's Ferry; the hills par- tially stripped of woods, and fortifications frowning from the heights. A wire bridge had been thrown across the Shenandoah. Crossing the Potomac (on a pontoon bridge) and the Shenandoah, they came into Loudon Valley, wherewere black berries in inexhausti- ble abundance. It seemed a providential supply, like
* The same writer in another place says: "We sleep on the ground, in which there is one advantage, for we do not have to shake up our beds or air the feathers."
+ On one side of the canal the rocks form precipices of from fifty to two hundred feet high, and on the other side of the tow-path the Potomac surges along at our feet. All very sublime, doubtless ; but I have seen feather beds which were softer to lie on .- [Private letter from Doctor PELTIER.]
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the manna in the wilderness, sanitary as well as salu- tary ; nor did it fail for many days. This, and the music of the bands at evening, cheered the tired and foot-sore way-farers. Sometimes our men, straying too far picking berries, were themselves picked up by guerrillas. The inhabitants were spiteful and inhos- pitable. Thus they followed up the valley, LEE and his armies on one side of the mountains, our army on the other, and nearly on a line. MEADE contemplated a flank movement at Manassas Gap, and five Corps, the 3d, under General FRENCH, taking the lead, were prepared to make it; but, says General WARREN, the assault was very feebly made by a single Brigade of FRENCH's Corps, and a whole day was wasted, which LEE improved in slipping off. Greatly was General MEADE disappointed at losing this last oppor- tunity of attacking LEE in flank. The army retraced their way through Manassas Gap, on the horrible road, full of boulders and rough stones and cut by wild torrents ; and went on more leisurely toward the Rappahannock, while LEE went toward Culpepper. On the 25th they reached White Plains, where several men, some of them belonging to the 126th, were cap- tured by guerrillas, and carried to Richmond prisons, in which they perished. * On the 26th the army passed through Warrenton, with bands playing and
* EDWARD T. MATHEWSON, a private in Company D, died in hospital at Rich- mond, November 14, 1863, aged eighteen. He was a noble and brave sol- dier, prompt and efficient in the performance of his duties, amiable in dispo- sition, respected by all his fellow soldiers. He fought, and fought well, at Maryland Heights, September 13th,' 62, and at Gettysburg during the awful three days. While picking berries at White Plain, on the 25th of July, '63,
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colors flying, to Warrenton Junction, where the troops had a much needed rest of four days, giving them such an opportunity of attention to their persons and wardrobes as they did not often enjoy. Several conva- lescents rejoined them. On the 30th they moved to Elk Run, in which place they remained more than a month. * The Corps was commanded by General WILLIAM HAYS, after the wounding of HANCOCK at Gettysburg, until WARREN took command in the lat- ter part of August. The weather was intensely hot ; the men were employed on picket duty: Doctors PELTIER and HOYT were both ill, and several other officers and men, worn out by hard marches, sleeping in wet clothing in the open air, often with insufficient rations and other hardships. Lieutenants GEDDIS and LINCOLN were on the sick list.+ On the 3d of August
MOSEBY's guerrillas seized him, with others, and carried them away prisoners. He was placed first in Libby prison, then in Belle Isle; sickened, of course, was taken to hospital, and died.
* "General MEADE states that he expressed the opinion to the government that the pursuit should still be continued, * * but that he was directed by the General-in-Chief to take a threatening attitude on the Rap- pahannock, but not to advance." [Report before the Committee, &c.]
+ An interesting letter from the latter, while recovering from illness, is before us. We give an extract: "Last night our band, the finest I almost ever heard play, serenaded a lady of the Sanitary Commission who is here. They played for nearly two hours, and such sweet music ! * * * Well do I remember the day we left Gettysburg, after being three days under fire and all worn out with fatigue, our Division halted to rest near our Corps hospital. This same band were playing; when finally they struck up " When this cruel war is over," every hcart seemed touched, every mind wandered to something absent. No one felt like saying a word. There was the hospital filled with men who a few days ago were as active as the best. Many eyes filled with tears. Just then General HAYS, our idol, came riding along, and instantly evcry hat went up, and cheer upon cheer greeted him. With his hat in his hand, as he rode along, he seemed possessed by the same feeling as the rest of us. The scene made a deep impression.
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divine service was held at Division head-quarters in token of gratitude to GOD for victory near Charles- ton, South Carolina ; at which about 3000 were present. (We have omitted to state that divine service was held on the Sabbath, whenever the circumstances of the army permitted.) At Elk Run the 2d Corps made amends for long labor and enforced abstinence by great indulgence in sleep and improper food, which produced sickness. The medical department took the matter in hand, and in conjunction with the military authorities enforced sanitary regulations ; ordering boiled and baked instead of fried meats, regular drill for exercise, and moving camps from sheltered woods to breezy and exposed positions. Their rations while here were good and wholesome. Pickles, pepper, rice, and fresh vegetables were furnished in abundance, and were of great service in restoring health.
This camping in the woods was picturesque, if not healthful. When they built their fires, the smoke, hanging in the green tree tops, overarched them like the dome of a cathedral, while the red light gleamed on their bronzed faces and weapons, giving the whole scene a wild and unreal look. But, regardless of the picturesqueness of the grouping, the men toasted their meat and hard tack on forked sticks, and boiled their coffee, and cracked their jokes, and lay down in the leaf-carpeted forest, and gave themselves up to dream- less sleep, undisturbed by thoughts of what the mor- row might have in store for them.
For a month the army had comparative rest. Since leaving Centreville they had marched over 500 miles,
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often with scanty rations, sometimes with none; sleep- ing on the ground, shelterless, poorly shod, and with insufficient clothing ; they had fought one of the severest battles of the war, and harrassed the retreat of the enemy at Harper's Ferry and at Ashby's and Manassas gaps. The Regiment was sadly reduced, its loss in officers being specially severe .* Their rest, however, was only comparative; all the diaries record constant and severe picket duty.
On the 30th of August the Regiment was ordered to Falmouth, opposite Fredericksburg, to support BUFORD'S, GREGG'S and KILPATRICK'S cavalry. The rebels having captured two of our iron-clad boats, these Divisions of cavalry were sent to destroy the boats. The expedition was entirely successful, and the 126th marched back to camp, eighteen miles, in six hours, which they thought "pretty tall marching."
On the 12th of September, the army broke camp at Elk river, and marched by way of Bealton, Rappa- hannock and Brandy Stations, on the Orange and Alexandria railroad, to Culpepper Court House; the cavalry, supported by infantry, fighting the enemy all the way from Brandy Station, and capturing a section of a battery and a number of prisoners. This move- ment of MEADE was made in consequence of informa-
* Doctor HOYT writes, August 22d, 1863: "To-day is the anniversary of the muster of our Regiment. Then we numbered 1,000 men ; now we have less than 300 present. The balance are dead, discharged, or scattered in various hospitals (and prisons) in the country. Colonel SHERRILL, Captains WHEELER, SHIMER and HERENDEEN, Lieutenants SHERMAN and HOLMES, Sergeant-Major Cook, and Color Sergeant BASSETT, are among the dead. Company B comes out with only five men under BASSETT. The whole line (on dress parade) shows less than 200 men for duty. What a sad change !"
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tion received that LONGSTREET'S Division had been detached from LEE's army and sent to reinforce BRAGG, who was hard pushed by ROSECRANZ, in Tennessee. (To this reinforcement BRAGG probably owed his sub- sequent success at Chickamauga.) MEADE took advan- tage of this reduction of the forces opposed to him, to attack them. Our cavalry dashed across the Rappa- hannock and drove the enemy across the Rapidan, and MEADE, following with our whole army, took possession of Culpepper, and the region between the two rivers. LEE took a strong position south of the Rapidan, but his left flank still rested on Robertson's- river. The 3d Brigade was marched quietly and. secretly around the base of Cedar mountain to Rob- ertson's river, and immediately went on picket, the whole Brigade going out at once, and remaining out three or four days. Thus this Brigade became a kind of watch or sentinel for the army. The duty was deli- cate and important, but the men of the 126th seem to have enjoyed it. The weather was generally good. Straw was abundant for beds, and partially ripened corn for food. The boys improvised graters by punching holes in their old canteens, and soon reduced the corn to a state in which it made excellent cakes. The "Johnny Rebs," as our men called them, were so near that an interchange of civilities was kept up, in spite of prohibitory regulations. Men would joke together to-day, who expected to shoot each other to-morrow. So little private animosity is there in war, except on the field of carnage.
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MEADE would now have attempted a flanking move- ment against the enemy, but just at this time his own forces were reduced. Besides a force sent to South Carolina, the 11th and 12th Corps of his army, under General HOOKER, had been detached and sent to Ten- nessee ; a great loss just then to General MEADE, but a grand opportunity for HOOKER, enabling him to participate in GRANT's glorious operations at and around Chattanooga, and to retrieve at Lookout Mountain and Missionary Ridge the sad reverse at Chancellorsville. Our army in Virginia was further depleted by the shameful necessity of sending troops to enforce the draft in New York city, which had been the scene of riots on a recent occasion of the kind. Thus was MEADE reduced to the defensive. And now for several days both armies lay almost in sight of each other, vigilant and watchful, until about the 8th of October LEE attempted offensive operations. It is impossible to gather from his report whether his design was merely to dislodge our army from its position, or whether he had ulterior designs on our Capital. Whatever his design, he certainly attempted by a flank movement to get between our army and Washington, and cut off our railway communication. He managed his advance very adroitly, taking, as he says, "circuitous and concealed roads," and leaving General FITZ LEE to make a feint of holding the posi- tion south of the Rapidan. On reaching James city, LEE encountered the advance of our army, which fell back toward Culpepper, thus bringing MEADE the important intelligence of his flank movement. Noth-
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ing was left for MEADE now but to foil LEE's design of interposing between our army and Washington, and then to fight him wherever he should have him at advantage.
On the 10th of October all was activity in our lines. Thinking the enemy to be skirting the Blue Ridge in order to flank us, the 2d Corps was formed in line of battle about two miles west of the town. The next day the army, having destroyed their stores and the bridge at Rappahannock station, marched to Bealton station, eighteen miles, the 2d Corps under General WARREN, covering the rear. All the way, trains of sick and of stores were hurrying to the rear, that is, toward Washington. On the 13th the army arrived at evening near Auburn, our Regiment, very tired, hav- ing acted as flankers most of the day. Our army marched in orderly columns on several parallel roads, while LEE, whose design was to flank us and cut off our retreat, took more circuitous routes to our left.
The 14th, before sunrise, found all on the move, although the morning was foggy and dark, "our" Brigade of "our" Division leading the Corps, and "our" Regiment in the rear of the Brigade. Scarcely had the troops crossed the ford (of Cedar Run) when the enemy opened in their rear with musketry and artillery, and in their front with dismounted cavalry, under Colonel RUFFIN, and a light Battery. The men deployed as skirmishers, when attacked by the enemy's cavalry, gave way at first; and General HAYS, seeing the condition of affairs, spurred his horse to the rear and said, "Colonel BULL, take your men
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and deploy them to the right of the road, and see what is in those woods. We'll see if your men will run !" Lieutenant-Colonel BULL instantly led his men on the double-quick across an open field, under a sharp fire, toward the wood-covered knoll in the front, where a Battery seemed to be posted. The meadow was covered with strong, tall grass, and on the right of it was a high fence. While our men were advanc- ing on the run, a body of the enemy's cavalry swept down on their right between them and the fence. The right of the Regiment swung round a little, and poured such an incessant fire into them as unhorsed several of them and killed their leader. Still our Regiment rushed on, gained the woods and the road beyond it, but the section of artillery which had been there had been removed by the cavalry. Of this spirited action General HAYS reports : "The rebel cavalry, led by Colonel THOS. RUFFIN, charged vigorously on the deployed 126th, under Lieutenant-Colonel BULL, and were most gal- lantly repulsed, with the loss of their leader, who was mortally wounded." The 126th continued to act as flankers and skirmishers, making their way through fields and over fences as best they might, while the army kept the road, all the way to Catlett's station, which they reached about noon.
To understand the importance of this "short but very decisive action," as General HAYS calls it, we must notice the critical situation of General WAR- REN at this juncture. His was the rear Corps of the army. All the other Corps had crossed the run, and
ENGAGEMENT OF THE 126th N. Y. VOLS. AT AUBURN. Oct. 14th, 1863. Col. Ruffain of N. C. mortally wounded.
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were going on toward Centerville. On the morning of the 14th he suddenly found himself attacked in front and rear by the enemy. CALDWELL, with the rear Division of the 2d Corps, was attacked on the south side of the run by STUART's cavalry, and at the same moment HAYS' Division which led the Corps, encountered EWELL's force, as has been related. WARREN, in his report, speaks of it as a moment of great peril ; being, as he says, "attacked on every side, my command separated by a considerable stream, encumbered with a wagon train, and in the vicinity of the whole force of the enemy." But the gallant action of the 126th and 12th New Jersey Volunteers cleared the route on which the Corps was to advance ; and the deployment of skirmishers, and the skillful use of artillery, kept the enemy in check while CALD- WELL's Division, which brought up our rear, effectu- ally covered the retreat till the threatened danger was over .*
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