USA > New York > Disaster, struggle, triumph. The adventures of 1000 "boys in blue," from August, 1862, to June, 1865 > Part 22
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Although the orders were strict and strictly enforced, that no Regiment which had lost its Colors through any fault, should be furnished with new ones, yet a new stand of Government Colors was immediately presented to this Regiment, which had now become reduced to sixty-seven, officers and enlisted men, present for duty.
Those Colors were carried until the close of the war, by Ser- geant COVERT BARNUM, Company C, and were then returned to the Government, by whose order they were afterward delivered to the Governor of the State of New York, and are now deposited in the Bureau of Military Statistics, at Albany. The following battles were inscribed on these Colors, pursuant to General Orders, from the War Department : Gettysburg, Bristow Station, Mine Run, Wilderness, Po river, Spottsylvania, North Anna, Tolopotomy, Cold Harbor, Petersburg, Strawberry Plains, Deep bottom, Ream's Station.
The Regiment was mustered out of the service before the orders for the inscription of the subsequent battles were issued.
ALEXANDER HAYS, BRIG, GENERAL, U. S. V.
Tigravedl. czpieesly for Bachelder's History of Gettysburg
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
BREVET MAJOR-GENERAL ALEXANDER HAYS (Brigadier-General of Volunteers)
Was the son of General SAMUEL HAYS, of Venango county, Penn- sylvania, and was born in the year 1820. He graduated at the military academy of West Point, in 1844, having as classmates, HANCOCK, PLEASANTON, and other distinguished officers, and was promoted to the 4th United States Infantry, as a Brevet Second Lieutenant. He was soon afterward married to Miss ANNIE A., second daughter of Mr. JOHN B. MCFADDEN, one of the most respected citizens of Pittsburg, Pennsylvania. He served on frontier duty and in the military occupation of Texas in 1845 and 1846 ; was in the war with Mexico, being engaged in the battles of Palo Alto, May 8th, 1846, and Resaca de la Palma, May 9th, 1846 ; and for gallant conduct in these battles he was breveted First Lieutenant, May 9th, 1846, and was, promoted Second Lieutenant 8th Infantry, June 18th, 1846.
Subsequently, he was sent to western Pennsylvania on recruit- ing service, and having, in a short time, enlisted a large number of men, he proceeded with them to Vera Cruz, and marched thence to the relief of our garrison at Puebla.
Soon after arriving the second time in Mexico he was appointed Acting Assistant Adjutant-General to Brigadier-General LANE, and he distinguished himself in several conflicts with the enemy, and inflicted severe punishment on the guerrillas that infested that part of the country. It was once remarked by a distin- guished officer of the army, that while on General LANE's staff, Lieutenant HAYS made a military reputation for his chief which afterward sent him to the United States Senate from Oregon.
He resigned his commission in the army on the 12th of April, 1848, and, after a short experience in the business of manufactur- ing iron, he turned his attention to civil engineering until the breaking out of the rebellion, when he went out with the old 12th
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Pennsylvania three months Volunteers, on the 25th of April, 1861, but afterward entered the volunteer service as Colonel of the 63d Pennsylvania Volunteers, and was appointed Captain in the 16th United States Infantry, May 14th, 1861.
During the Peninsular campaign he was attached, with his Regiment, to the 1st Brigade, 3d (KEARNEY's) Division, 3d Army Corps, under General HEINTZELMAN. He participated with gal- lantry in the battles of Seven Pines and Fair Oaks, and was appointed Brevet Major United States Army, June 30th, 1862, for gallant and meritorious services at the battles of Fair Oaks, Peach Orchard, and Glendale, Virginia. He also distinguished himself during the seven days fight, and was appointed Brevet Lieutenant-Colonel United States Army June 30th, 1862, for gal- lant conduct in the battles of Glendale and Malvern Hill. He led his command in the battles of Groveton (called also second Bull Run), where he was severely wounded on the 30th of August, 1862. He was appointed Brigadier-General of Volunteers, Sep- tember 29th, 1862. Having partially recovered from his wounds, and reported to the Adjutant-General for duty January 6th, 1863, he was ordered to the command of the 3d Brigade of CASEY's Division, in the defenses of Washington, under General HEINT- ZELMAN, and on the 9th of January, 1863, he assumed com- mand of the Brigade, consisting of the 39th, 111th, 125th and 126th New York Volunteers, the 151st Pennsylvania Volunteers, and the Pennsylvania Keystone Battery, then doing picket duty along Bull Run. He remained in command of this Brigade till the 25th of June, 1863, when the New York Regiments of the Brigade were transferred to the 3d Division of the 2d Army Corps, under General HANCOCK, and General HAYS, was assigned to the command of that Division, and remained in command of the Division through the battles of Gettysburg, Auburn Ford, Bristow Station, Mine Run and Morton's Ford, and until the 26th of March, 1864, when, upon the consolidation of the Army of the Potomac, the Brigades of the old 3d Division of the 2d Army Corps were assigned to the 1st and 2d Divisions of the Corps, and General HAYS was placed in command of the 2d Brigade of BIRNEY'S Division, previously of the 3d Corps, but in the consolidation, the 3d Division of the 2d Corps, a command which in name was inferior, but in numbers greater than that of the old 3d Division.
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He was breveted Colonel United States Army, July 2d, 1863, for gallant and meritorious services at the battle of Gettysburg.
General HAYS led his command in the battle of the Wilderness, on the 5th of May, 1864, and while rallying his Brigade to with- stand the shock of LEE's legions that came cheering down with . superior numbers upon him, he was pierced by a rebel bullet, and fell with his face to the foe. The lowering clouds of battle threw a dark pall over the scene, and 200,000 muskets flashed their lurid fires in deadly defiance, and shook the deep forest with their angry roar, honors befitting the death of the noblest chieftain. So died HAYS, the hero.
The announcement of his death was a sad one to the old 3d Brigade, and especially to the 126th New York, to whom he was more than a friend in the day of their adversity, when perjured cowards had blackened their record; for he became their patron, believed in their innocence and virtue, and trusted in their bravery, a trust never betrayed.
Well do the survivors of the 126th New York remember the earnest words of General HAYS, when at Auburn he spurred his horse down the line to that Regiment, and ordered it to drive the enemy out of the woods in front, saying, as he gave the order, that he wanted a Regiment that would not run, and although, in obeying the order, the Regiment lost one-tenth of its number, it felt proud of the confidence reposed in it by the General it loved. to honor.
His body was taken from the bloody field of the Wilderness to loyal Pittsburg where the whole city mourned his loss. The Mayor and Councils attended the funeral in a body, and a military escort followed by many thousand citizens performed the last sad honors to the earthly remains of General ALEXANDER HAYS ; but his memory is cherished not only by his bereaved family, but by the tens of thousands of citizens who knew him. personally, or through their gallant soldier sons, had learned to, love him for his noble qualities as a man, and his bravery, effici- ency, and skill as an officer.
He always seemed to win the confidence and admiration of the men of his command. It is said that while a Colonel under KEARNEY, he led his Regiment with such gallantry and success in a charge that the "Knightly KEARNEY " embraced HAYS upon
22
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the field, glorified the grand charge which he had made, and ordered surrounding Regiments to do honor to his men as they marched by almost " dancing in air " with elation.
He well knew how to take advantage of the occasion to develop the martial spirit of his command. At Gettysburg, when LONGSTREET's memorable charge of the 3d of July had been repelled and the twelve Regiments of HAYS' Division had cap- tured 2,600 prisoners and twenty-one stands of colors, General HAYS took a rebel flag captured by a Captain of the 126th New York Volunteers, on which was inscribed "Harper's Ferry " and the names of ten other battles, and two of his staff,* each with a captured flag rode down in front of his command and up in rear, trailing the rebel colors in the dust amid the deafening shouts and cheers of the men, who for the moment forgot the terrible battle scenes and thought only of the glory of their victory.
The United States Service Magazine, of September, 1864, says, . of General HAYS, at the battle of Gettysburg, on the memorable 3d of July : "General HAYS, commanding the 3d Division of the 2d Army Corps, finds himself opposed to General A. P. HILL, in which is General GEORGE E. PICKETT, and others of his old classmates and comrades of the Mexican war, on the road leading to Emmettsburg. HILL has been cannonading them for some time, without effect; then moves his troops across the field, thinking, no doubt, that his veterans will drive these raw militia like chaff before the storm. But they meet General HAYS and his veterans ; he has put fight into them. Behind the shelter of a stone fence he restrains himself and his men until the enemy is at close quarters. Then, like WELLINGTON, at Waterloo, the word is: 'Up, and at them !' His rapid, well directed volleys send the head of HILL's column reeling in confusion back upon its center and rear. A hurricane, charged with lead and fire and death, consumes them. The battle was won. This was the decisive charge; and General HAYS was a hero among heroes at Gettysburg.
"He takes from the enemy, that day, twenty banners and bat-
* Captain GEORGE P. CORTS, Assistant Adjutant-General, and Lieutenant DAVID SHIELDS, Aidc-de-Camp. Lieutenant SHIELDS was shot through one of his lungs at Morton's Ford, February 6th, 1864, but still survives, though seriously disabled by the almost fatal wound.
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tle flags, three thousand stands of arms, and kills and captures about twice the number of his command. Out of twenty mounted orderlies, he has but six left. He has lost all his Colonels ! Lieutenant-Colonels command Brigades ! Lieuten- ants command Regiments ! Two of his five horses are killed under him. His whole staff is unhorsed. Their steeds lie dead where they fell, or are in their last agonies. Gathering around their chief to congratulate him, reeking with the dust and sweat and fumes, and weary with the toil of the battle, they receive the commendation they deserve. How proud they are of their chief ! How proud he is of his 'boys!' The battle cloud has passed away from his brow, and the hard-set features of a few moments before relax into his kind, familiar smile of love and affection. GEORGE P. CORTS, Captain, and Assistant Adjutant-General, reliable and efficient, often under fire with him before, wants to follow up the success while the game is in view and the trail is fresh. The General takes young DAVE SHIELDS, his boy Lieuten- ant and Aid-de-Camp, not yet twenty years old (and he can count nearly as many battles), in his arms and imprints a kiss on his cheek, while his boyish face is yet aglow with the flush, and his bright eye sparkling with the fire of victory. What youth in the land would not be prouder of that kiss of honor from his General than of a hundred from the lips of the fairest maidens."
At Washington, on the 1st of January, 1864, while returning to the front from a short leave to his home in Pittsburg, Pa., he received a beautiful sword, sent to him with an appropriate note of presentation, dated December 30th, 1863, by his friends and fellow-citizens of the city of his adoption, as a testimonial of their appreciation of his worth and services. The hilt was of solid silver, cast in the form of two zouave soldiers, with muskets at a shoulder. This was surmounted by an American eagle in solid gold, the guard of the hilt being also gold. The scabbard was of gold, and beautifully embossed with wreaths and crests, and terminated in a broad, blunt end like that of a Roman sword. It bore the following inscription : "Presented to Gene- ral ALEXANDER HAYS by the citizens of Pittsburg, 1863." Beneath which was "Mexico, 1846-47; Yorktown, Williams- burg, Fair Oaks, The Orchard, Nelson's Farm, Malvern Hill,
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126 TH REGIMENT NEW YORK VOLUNTEERS.
Bristow, Groveton, Gettysburg, Auburn, Bristow, and Locust Grove." The accompanying belt was of a magnificence to cor- respond with the sword.
The following extract from the letter of acknowledgment of the gift is truly characteristic :
WASHINGTON, D. C., January 1, 1864.
GENTLEMEN .- I have this morning received your magnificent sword; it is impossible to express my sense of the high honor which you have conferred upon me. The exquisite richness of the testimonial enhances its interest to others, but the motives of the donors endear its value to me.
When the rebellion broke upon us like a tornado, in the desecration of our flag at Sumter, I took an oath never to sheath a sword until honorable peace should restore to us our glorious Union.
I am no politician of any political clique or party, but will support the existing government with my whole soul, heart, and body. It gives me great satisfaction that by transferring the war to the soil of the rebels, our own loved homes have been spared the desolation which I have witnessed. Increased prosperity has been ours, and western Pennsylvania may well be proud of the reputation her soldiers have earned. * * * *
I return to you, gentlemen, my sincere thanks for your warm expressions of approbation, and assure my friends that if my past conduct meets with their approval, no act of mine hereafter shall forfeit it.
In acknowledgment of the distinguished honor you have conferred upon me, I must request a recognition of those who have most contributed to my success. The blood of the sons of " our dear old commonwealth," has flown freely, but it is mingled with that of Ohio, New York, New Jersey, Connec- ticut, Indiana, Virginia, Rhode Island, and Delaware. God bless the defenders of our dear old flag.
Yours sincerely, ALEXANDER HAYS, Brigadier-General Volunteers.
Aside from his qualifications as a brave and gallant officer, General HAYS was a man of decided scientific culture, scholarly taste, and a refined and accomplished gentleman, possessed of an unfailing fund of humor and an exuberance of spirits and vigor.
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BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
COLONEL ELIAKIM SHERRILL
Was born in Greenville, Greene county, N. Y., February 16th, 1813. His father being a tanner and also a farmer, his son was reared to both pursuits. He received a good English education at the academy in his native town, and, in 1832, removed to Herkimer county, where he married a daughter of Judge ELD- RIDGE, of Madison county. In 1838, he removed to Shandaken, in Ulster county, and was engaged in an extensive tannery, of which he ultimately became part owner and chief manager. In 1847 he was elected member of Congress from the Ulster district, and in 1854 he was elected State senator, and served two years, being chairman of the committee on banks and banking. In 1857 he removed to Brooklyn, and thence, in 1860, to Geneva, where his previous prosperity in business enabled him to secure a fine farm, which he was cultivating with skill and success, when, in 1862, the call for "Three Hundred Thousand Men" roused him, with other patriots, to serve his country in the field. The Governor, upon the recommendation of the twenty-sixth senatorial district committee, having selected him to raise the Regiment assigned to the district, he immediately responded to the call, and, saying to his family, "My country needs me, it is my duty to go," he gave his whole energy to the work of recruiting the Regiment; and within a shorter period than the most sanguine anticipated, he was on his way to the field with a full Regiment of men. On arriving at Baltimore he was ordered to Harper's Ferry with his Regiment, for post duty and instruction, under Colonel MILES, an old army officer; but, soon after getting his Regiment into camp, the defeat of POPE's army and the advance of the enemy indicated that the camp at Harper's Ferry would not long remain a peaceful school of instruction.
Colonel SHERRILL then made every possible effort to have his command receive such military instruction as would enable it to be used in an emergency. The men were kept under drill as much as was consistent with their health; and loading, firing, and target firing was practiced by the details for camp guard, so that the greatest possible efficiency could be obtained within the few days of peace that might be spared them.
The drill and discipline to which Colonel SHERRILL subjected his
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command, doubtless attracted the attention of the commanding officer, who detailed the Regiment to meet the enemy on Maryland Heights; and thus he was unwittingly drawn into action by reason of his diligence in preparing for it.
When his Regiment was thus detailed for service, Colonel SHER- RILL, in justice to his command, informed his superior officer of their inexperience and scanty instruction; but, as a soldier and a man of honor, he was ready to obey the orders of his commanding officer, and with less than seven hundred of his own Regiment (the rest, excepting the sick, being on picket or other duty), and small detachments of other Regiments, he kept a Brigade of the enemy (KERSHAW's) at bay, on Maryland Heights, for hours, where, with fearless exposure, in the front ranks, in order to see intelligently the movements of the enemy, he fell, severely wounded; a musket shot, through his lower jaw, tearing out his teeth, cutting his tongue, and driving a piece of a tooth into the back part of the tongue, from which it was taken out, weeks afterward, through an incision from the outside and beneath. This wound never healed. But as soon as he had sufficiently recovered to enable him to travel, he started for the field, and reached the Regiment at Union Mills, Va., December 10th, 1862; not to remain, for this, his health and the condition of his wound would not permit, but to look again upon his loved Regiment, whose reputation had been blackened by the blighting breath of slander, and on whose fame the poisoned fangs of perjured villains had fastened to hide the stains of their own cowardly acts.
The Regiment turned out, under arms, and received its Colonel with the appropriate military salute; and then greeted him with the warmer welcome of cheers that burst spontaneously from the breast. Colonel SHERRILL left camp on the third day after his arri- val ; and, after having recruited his strength, and partially recovered from his wounds, returned again, on the 27th of January, 1863, and reported for duty, and resumed command of the Regiment. Under his command the Regiment became distinguished for its efficiency, discipline, and precision in drill. By his moral example, and his dignified, equable, and courteous intercourse with his officers, and treatment of his command, he brought out the nobler qualities of the men, and so developed their moral courage, pride of character, and power of self-command, that the Regiment was
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distinguished, during its whole service, for its reliability on all occasions, especially under critical and trying circumstances.
At the battle of Gettysburg, Colonel SHERRILL led his Regiment down into that valley of death, whence the Excelsior Brigade, of the 3d Corps, had been driven on the evening of the 2d of July, and in a hand to hand fight with the enemy, drove him from the position, and helped to stay the tide that was sweeping back the 3d Corps. Colonel WILLARD, 125th New York Volun- teers, having been killed in this charge, Colonel SHERRILL took command of the Brigade; but, in the memorable charge of the following day, when 15,000 rebels assaulted the lines of the 2d Corps, Colonel SHERRILL, while in command of his Brigade and standing in the rear of the 39th, New York Volunteers, fell, mortally wounded by a musket shot in the bowels, just when the battle was the hottest; but his men, still supposing themselves under his command, fought on until the rebel host melted away under their unerring fire, or fled in confusion back across the valley through which they had just charged in awful grandeur.
Without the knowledge of the men of his own Regiment, the dying SHERRILL was borne to the rear by some men of the 39th New York Volunteers, and taken to the 11th Corps Hospital, where he breathed his last, at about eight o'clock in the morning of the 4th of July, 1863. It seemed most fit that if the sacrifice of such a patriot's life must be made, it should be consummated on our country's birthday. His remains were taken to his home, in Geneva, and buried with military honors. Ten thousand per- sons attended his funeral, for all the friends of his Regiment were mourners.
While with his officers he often spoke of the happy re-unions of his Regiment he hoped to enjoy after the close of the war. His faith in the success of our arms was unbounded, and his love for his Regiment was like that of a father for his children.
The two battles in which he was engaged, Harper's Ferry and Gettysburg, constitute two of the most memorable epochs in the history of his Regiment.
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126TH REGIMENT NEW YORK VOLUNTEERS.
COLONEL JAMES M. BULL
Was born in Canandaigua, N. Y., in 1825. He studied the pro- fession of law in the office of Messrs. WORDEN & CHESBRO, Esquires, and was admitted to the bar, and afterward entered the law office of Messrs. SMITH & LAPHAM, and subsequently became a partner in the office.
At the breaking out of the war he took an active part in assisting to recruit the several Companies organized in the county. He devoted much time to the duties of the War Com- mittee, of which he was a member, and was, at length, appointed Lieutenant-Colonel of the 126th New York Volunteers, which Regiment he had been actively engaged in recruiting.
He was commissioned and mustered Lieutenant-Colonel to rank from August 15, 1862, and was absent on leave, to close up his business, until about the 15th of September, when, communi- cation with his Regiment, at Harper's Ferry, having been cut off by the enemy's advance into Maryland, he reported to the Adjutant-General, at Washington, and was ordered to report to Major-General WOOL, at Baltimore, under whose orders he con- tinued on special duty till the 22d of September, 1862, when his Regiment, having been paroled, arrived at Annapolis, he joined it there, and assumed command, and remained in command until the return of Colonel SHERRILL to duty on the 27th of January, 1863.
Lieutenant-Colonel BULL again took command of the Regiment on the evening of July 2d, 1863, at the battle of Gettysburg, when, Colonel WILLARD having been killed by a shell, Colonel SHERRILL took command of the Brigade.
Colonel SHERRILL having been mortally wounded on the after- noon of July 3d, and Colonel MCDOUGAL, 111th New York Volun- teers, having been wounded soon thereafter, Lieutenant-Colonel BULL, then being the senior officer, took command of the Brigade by order of General ALEX. HAYS, commanding the Division, and remained in command of it till July 26th, 1863, when, on being relieved by a superior officer, he again assumed command of the Regiment, and continued in command until December 10th, 1863.
On the 30th of July, 1863, he was commissioned Colonel, with
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rank from July 3d, 1863, and was mustered as Colonel, October 25th, 1863.
On the 10th of December he received leave of absence on account of sickness, and remained absent until February 1st, 1864, when he joined his Regiment for duty, and remained in command till February 10th, when he was ordered to the State of New York on recruiting service, from which he again joined the Regiment on the 8th of April, 1864, and was honorably dis- charged the service, for physical disability, April 18th, 1864, by Special Order No. 107, Head-quarters 2d Army Corps, on tender of resignation.
The following testimonials, expressive of the regard of the officers of his Regiment, and of General OWEN, his former Brigade commander, were presented to Colonel BULL when he left the service, copies of the same being published in the local papers by direction of the officers:
HEAD-QUARTERS 2D BRIGADE, 2D DIVISION, 2D CORPS, - April 29th, 1864.
Colonel JAMES M. BULL, commanding the 126th New York Volunteers, attached to my Brigade, by his uniform prompt obedience to orders, and intelligent administration of regimental affairs, possessed my entire confi- dence and respect. He distinguished himself, and his command won for itself a name imperishable at the battle of Auburn, October 14th, 1863, where I detailed his Regiment to act as skirmishers to clear the road for the advance of my column in the direction of Catlett's Station. A Regiment of cavalry and a section of artillery attacked the head of the column. Colonel BULL displayed much personal bravery in the management of his troops, and in finally dislodging the enemy from his position.
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