USA > New York > Disaster, struggle, triumph. The adventures of 1000 "boys in blue," from August, 1862, to June, 1865 > Part 3
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effected, however, owing to the presence of hostile forces, and some citizens were captured and made prisoners, even while engaged in their benevolent work. It was a time of alarm, also, and almost of discouragement. The Union strongholds in Virginia, with a few exceptions, had all been dismantled or des- troyed and abandoned. Maryland and Pennsylvania
seemed to lie open to invasion. In the latter State the wildest excitement prevailed, and thousands of volunteers offered themselves to defend her. POPE gladly resigned his command. In calling MCCLELLAN
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to the command of the combined armies, the authori- ties were doubtless prompted, first by his known popu- larity with the army, and next, by his skill in military organization. For the army was to be reorganized, and it must be done rapidly, as it were, while on the wing. Its shattered and mutilated columns must be replenished with new recruits, who should learn tac- tics from the veterans with whom they were associa- ted, repaying the debt with their fresh, unworn vigor. On the 4th of September MCCLELLAN assumed com- mand of the old troops and new levies that were con- stantly arriving under the proclamation of July 1st, and the draft of August 4th.
Soon after the battle of Bull Run, LEE moved his army first to Leesburg, thence across the Potomac, near Point of Rocks. Generals LONGSTREET, EWELL, A. P. HILL, D. H. HILL, and the redoubtable JACK- SON, had command of the columns that moved in the direction of Frederick, Maryland. This was the sec- ond city in the State in wealth and commerce, and the third in population ; less than fifty miles north- west of Washington, and sixty west of Baltimore. Much excitement prevailed in the city ; many of the inhabitants fled, and large quantities of provisions were destroyed by the citizens. But it was soon found that LEE's errand was peaceful. The leaders of his army proclaimed that they came as friends, and called on the inhabitants to rise, and throw off the tyranny under which they were groaning. Recruiting offices were opened where men might enlist in the southern army. But no response came from "my Maryland ;"
39
ONE THOUSAND BOYS IN BLUE.
and the rebel leader, sorely disappointed to find the people so insensible to their own misery, left Freder- ick and moved on toward Hagerstown. Perhaps had LEE'S army been less ragged, dirty and barefoot, enlistment might have worn a more enticing aspect. Terrible excitement prevailed in Pennsylvania. Vol- unteers in great numbers rushed to offer themselves as soldiers. Governor BRADFORD, of Maryland, called for troops to defend their homes, and his call was promptly responded to.
Finding Maryland unprepared for revolt, and Balti- more too strongly defended for direct attack, LEE, leaving a rear guard at Frederick, moved his army toward Western Maryland, where he could communi- cate with Richmond through the Shenandoah Valley, or threaten Pennsylvania through that of Cumberland. In this way he hoped to draw our forces away from the Capital and fight them far from their base of sup- plies ; or in their absence, make a sudden dash and seize Washington. ' He seems to have supposed Har- per's Ferry would be abandoned when it was known his army was in Maryland ; but learning that it was garrisoned by many thousand men, he saw the neces- sity of dislodging them before he could carry out his plans.
On the 7th of September, MCCLELLAN was apprized of the disappearance of the enemy from his front ; and leaving BANKS in command of the defenses of Washington, he crossed the Potomac and set out in pursuit of LEE. At first he proceeded cautiously, lest LEE'S removal might be a stratagem, and only reached
40
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Frederick on the 12th, just as the rebels had evacu- ated. But here a most extraordinary piece of good fortune awaited him. A copy of LEE's general order, issued only four day's before, and containing his whole plan of operations, had been left behind and fell into MCCLELLAN's hands. It was dated Septem- ber 9th, 1862 :
[Confidential.] HEAD-QUARTERS, ARMY OF NORTHERN VIRGINIA, September 9th, 1862.
SPECIAL ORDER,
No. 191. 'S
III. The army will resume its march to-morrow, taking the Hagerstown road. General JACKSON'S command will form the advance; and after passing Middleton with such portion as he may select, take the route toward Sharpsburg, cross the Potomac at the most convenient point, and by Friday morning take pos- session of the Baltimore and Ohio railroad; capture such of the enemy as may be at Martinsburg and intercept such as may attempt to escape from Harper's Ferry.
IV. General LONGSTREET's command will pursue the main road as far as Boonsboro', where it will halt with reserve, supply and baggage trains of the army.
V. General McLAws with his own division and that of General R. H. ANDERSON, will follow General LONGSTREET; on reaching Middleton will take the route to Harper's Ferry, and by Friday morning possess himself of the Maryland Heights, and endeavor to capture the enemy at Harper's Ferry and vicinity.
VI. General WALKER, with his division, after accomplishing the object in which he is now engaged, will cross the Potomac at Check's Ford, ascend its right bank to Lovettsville, take posses- sion of Loudon Heights if practicable, by Friday morning, keep the ford on his left, and the road between the end of the moun- tain and the Potomac on his right. He will, as far as practicable, co-operate with General McLAWS and General JACKSON in inter- cepting the retreat of the enemy.
VII. General D. H. HILL's division will form the rear guard of
41
ONE THOUSAND BOYS IN BLUE.
the army, pursuing the road taken by the main body. The reserve artillery, ordnance and supply trains, will precede Gene. ral HILL.
VIII. General STUART will detach a squadron of cavalry to accompany the commands of Generals LONGSTREET, JACKSON and McLAWS, and with the main body of the cavalry, will cover the route of the army and bring up all stragglers that may have been left behind.
IX. The commands of Generals JACKSON, McLAWS and WAL- KER, after accomplishing the objects for which they have been detached, will join the main body of the army at Boonsboro' or Hagerstown.
X. Each regiment on the march will habitually carry its axes in the regimental ordnance wagons, for use "of the men at their encampments, to procure wood, &c.
By command of General R. E. LEE. R. H. CHILTON, A. A. General.
For Major-General D. H. HILL, commanding division.
By this order, MCCLELLAN ascertained that Harper's Ferry, with its garrison and stores, was the prize LEE was aiming at, and that to gain it he was hazarding the dangerous experiment of dividing his army while in a hostile territory, and placing an uncertain river between its divisions. In doing this, he evidently counted on our customary slowness of operations in Virginia, for he planned that Harper's Ferry should be invested, taken and his forces recruited and advanced northward toward the tempting fields of Pennsylvania before our army should come up with him.
Knowing LEE's entire plan, MCCLELLAN was now complete "master of the situation." And it does not seem very difficult to tell what he should have done under the circumstances. At least we are pretty sure what " STONEWALL JACKSON " would have done.
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Before our army was a range of mountains, called the South Mountain range, through which there are two principal passes or gaps, the northern called Tur- ner's, the southern Crampton's gap. On the further
HACERSTOMN
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N
B
WILLIAMSPORT
não
A
CR.
B
B
A
ANTIETAM
BOONSBORO
TURNER'S CAP AB
A
POTOMAC RIL
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MIDDLETOWN
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B
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AB
SHARP SBURG
FREDERICK CITY
MARTINS BURG
C
H
SHEPHERDSTOWN
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C
CRAMPTON'S CAP
MARYLANDE HTS
A.C. D.
D
C
POTOMAC
RIVER
SCALE OF MILES.
5
10
JAH
RIVER
0
LOUDON HTS.
SH
REBEL MOVEMENTS ON HARPER'S FERRY AND ANTIETAM.
A A Jackson's march from Frederick to Harper's Ferry. C C McLaw's and Ander- son's march from Frederick to Maryland Heights. D D Walker's march from the Monocacy to Loudon Heights. A C D Enemy's line of March from Harper's Ferry to Antietam. B B Longstreet's march to Antietam. H H Franklin's march from Pleasant Valley to Antietam.
or western side of these mountains is Pleasant Valley, three or four miles wide, beyond which rises Elk Ridge, parallel to the South Mountain range, and ter- minating in Maryland Heights, which overlook and command Harper's Ferry. To rush forward by the southern and shortest route, gain Crampton's pass
PLEASANT VALLEY
MT.
O
A.C.D.
EU
SOUTH
CATOCTIN MTS.
HARPER'S FERRY
43
ONE THOUSAND BOYS IN BLUE.
while slightly defended, overtake McLAWS, fight and defeat him, and thus spoil one part of LEE's pretty programme, would seem to have been the dictate of military" policy. MCCLELLAN, with the bulk of his army, took the longer route by Turner's gap ; FRANK- LIN, with the rest of the army, were on the southern route, but neither reached South Mountain until the 14th, although the distance is but fifteen miles from Frederick, where the army was when the order was found. LEE, constantly kept informed by scouts of what was going on in our army, had time to dispatch considerable bodies of his troops to dispute the passes of the mountains. BURNSIDE's command (HOOKER'S and RENO's corps) found themselves opposed by D. H. HILL's division of 5,000 men, soon reinforced by two of LONGSTREET'S divisions. The ground was exceedingly precipitous and rocky, but HOOKER'S troops sprang from crag to crag, opposed by the confederate riflemen, who, from behind every bush and stone, took deadly aim at our soldiers. By dark HOOKER's troops had gained the height on the right of the pass, GIBBON's brigade was just behind them, and RENO held the height on the left. Night pre- vented farther advance, but the pass was virtually. carried. This success, however, had cost the sacrifice of at least 1,500 killed and wounded, among whom was the gallant General RENO. Meanwhile FRANK- LIN was forcing his way through Crampton's pass, defended by McLAWS, who was also operating against our forces in his front on Maryland Heights. Here the contest was much like that at Turner's pass; the
44 THE ADVENTURES OF ONE THOUSAND BOYS IN BLUE.
enemy were driven backward up the hill, and after a spirited contest of three hours, in which we lost seve- ral hundred men, the crest was carried, and FRANK- LIN's corps rested on its arms, with its advance thrown forward into Pleasant Valley. The garrison at Harper's Ferry, beleaguered by the rebel armies, had heard the firing all day, and supposed relief was near; but, alas! it came too late, for on the very next morning, our whole army being within a few miles of them, they were basely surrendered. The particulars of this disaster must be given in another chapter.
CHAPTER
HE surrender of Harper's Ferry was, all circum- stances considered, a disgraceful and disastrous event. The question, on whom ought the dis- grace to rest, is, notwithstanding the finding of the investigating commission, and the consequent verdict of public opinion, still an open one. Some of the witnesses before the commission testified that it was the 126th Regiment New York Volunteers, who, by a shameful panic and flight, so demoralized the whole body of troops on Maryland Heights, as to cause the abandonment of that position, and the consequent surrender of Harper's Ferry. The decision of the Commission was in accordance with such tes- timony ; no opportunity being given for those most interested to bring forward one witness in their own behalf, or to offer one word in their own defense. They were, in fact, far from the scene, in Chicago, and not even aware that their conduct was under- going investigation. When the officers of the Regi- ment learned the cruel and calumnious charges against them, and that a general order from the War Department had branded them with infamy, they made application for a court of inquiry which might examine the character of the witnesses who
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1
had screened their own dereliction of duty by false accusations of others. No answer was received by the applicants, nor could they learn the fate of their application. At length, in the winter of 1864, they learned that a decision had been made upon it and forwarded to the Governor of New York .* The deci- sion was, that "the exigencies of the service were such that the application could not be granted." The Regiment was retained in the service ; its officers were allowed to keep their rank as officers and as gentlemen ; yet they bore the disgrace of a sentence which, if just, would, by military laws, have brought the penalty of death ! Still may be found in the archives at Washington, the damning sentence : "The commission calls attention to the disgraceful behavior of the 126th New York Regiment of Infantry ;" and newspapers, cyclopedias and biographical dictionaries have repeated the charge from that time to this. A band of young volunteers, patriotic, high-minded, rushing at the call of the President to the defense of principles which they esteemed vital, and a flag which they deemed sacred, were, at the very outset of their career, made victims instead of heroes ; and incurred a stigma which their young blood, bravely shed on many battle-fields, has not yet washed away. Unable to get proper redress for the irreparable wrong they have received, they deem it due to the memory of its sixteen officers and hundreds of enlisted men who were subsequently killed in action,
* Who had as much to do with it as the Emperor of China. The Regi- ment was in the service of the United States, not of the State of New York.
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ONE THOUSAND BOYS IN BLUE.
as well as to the maimed and scarred survivors of the regiment, that a plain, unvarnished story of the whole affair at Maryland Heights and Harper's Ferry, should, even at this late day, be published. Such a narrative if ever so well substantiated, may not change public sentiment. But no soldier falls with- out leaving behind him many to whom his reputa- tion is as dear as to himself. If, by a candid and impartial statement of facts, gathered from diaries kept and letters written at the time by officers and privates, and from various other sources,* we can clear that reputation and throw the blame where it justly belongs, those friends surely will not think "we have labored in vain or spent our strength for nought." We think that the very testimony (a copy of which now lies before us) of the witnesses who slandered the 126th before the examiners, proves conclusively that they left their own commands on one pretext or another, at the most critical period of the action on Maryland Heights. Generally this pretext was that they were seeking in the rear for those "cowardly," "skulking," "scoundrels," "the 126th ;" and endeavoring, unsuccessfully, to drive them back into action at the point of the bayonet, or by threats with loaded revolvers. (The only trou- ble was, they sought for the Regiment in the wrong place.) Had these valiant detectives been where offi-
* We have before us ten or twelve independent narratives of the Harper's Ferry disaster, in manuscript, written without collusion, by line officers and enlisted men of the 126th, differing in details, but agreeing in substantial particulars.
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cers are generally expected to be when a battle is raging, they would have seen nine Companies of the 126th fighting in their proper places on the heights, and one Company doing picket duty on the right of the ridge. No doubt there were some skulkers ; there always are in every fight; even some of the line officers may have been among them; and the tall figures 126 in the front of their caps made them particularly conspicuous ; but that there was any general "skedaddling," as one of the officer wit- nesses elegantly terms it, we can find no shadow of proof, but much evidence to the contrary. One of the witnesses whose evidence seems to have had most influence with the commission, because it was artfully framed so as to seem to be given with great reluctance, and who received from that commission a special commendation as having "behaved with great gallantry," we mean acting Adjutant BARRAS, was, three months afterward, dismissed from the United States service for disobedience of orders and other conduct unworthy of an officer and a gentle- man. Of the worth of his testimony the reader must judge for himself.
But we will not anticipate by arguing the case here. Our business now is to condense, from several of the narratives we have mentioned (note, page 10), an account of events as they took place, as clearly and concisely as we may.
The 126th Regiment New York Volunteers on arriv- ing at Harper's Ferry, whither they were ordered by General WOOL, found it occupied by the 111th New
49
ONE THOUSAND BOYS IN BLUE.
York Volunteers, the 39th New York Volunteers, the 32d Ohio Volunteers, the 12th New York State Mili- tia, the 1st Rhode Island Battery, and a portion of the 5th New York Heavy Artillery, all commanded by Colonel DIXON H. MILES .* The Regiment encamped on the plateau which occupies middle ground between Harper's Ferry and Bolivar Heights, and on which stands the village of Bolivar, or, as it might be called, upper Harper's Ferry. The Regiment being com- posed of raw recruits, immediately entered the school of the soldier, drilling, guard duty, picket duty, and the manual of arms, except loading and firing. These duties, arduous in themselves to the inexperienced, were rendered doubly exhausting by the climate, which was hot and debilitating in the daytime, and cool almost to frostiness at night. Food, different from what they had been accustomed to, and prepared by inex- perienced cooks, was neither very palatable nor health- ful ; and sleeping on the chill ground, with scanty covering, was not very refreshing. Discomforts seem, however, to have been borne with fortitude, and even among those who did not escape consequent sickness, form the theme of jesting comment in their diaries and letters.
4
On the 1st of September orders were given for the establishment of a post hospital in three large govern- ment buildings above the village of Harper's Ferry, under the charge of Surgeon WM. VOSBURGH, of the
* This was the same Colonel MILES who, at the first battle of Bull Run, gave such conflicting orders to the officers, that great entanglement and confusion ensued, and they decided not to obey him.
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111th New York, with 1st Assistant-Surgeon C. S. HOYT, of the 126th New York, as assistant. Colonel MILES ordered all the sick from the various regi- mental hospitals to this general hospital, and it soon numbered over three hundred patients. On the 3d and 4th the forces at Harper's Ferry were augmented by those from Winchester, under General WHITE, driven thence by the advancing enemy, and ordered by POPE to this place. Those were stirring days. Long lines of infantry, cavalry, artillery and their baggage filed in over Bolivar Heights, having fired the quartermaster's stores and magazines before leav- ing Winchester .* The next day their commander, General WHITE, was ordered to the defense of Mar- tinsburg, a town a few miles distant, on the Baltimore and Ohio railroad. On the 5th, the troops, including those from Winchester, were brigaded. The 126th were ordered to break up at Camp Prouty, and remove their camp to the low, sharp ridge at the rear of the plateau, called Bolivar Heights. The 60th Ohio, 9th Vermont and 126th New York, with the battery of Captain POTTS, constituted the 2d Brigade, Colonel TRIMBLE commanding. All communication with other places by railroad and telegraph, was cut off by the advancing enemy. Sunday, the 7th, the men were employed in clearing the timber from the west bank of the Potomac. One of our officers describes
* The troops from Winchester consisted of the 115th New York Volun- teers, 9th Virginia, 60th Ohio, 65th Illinois, and some other Regiments. The 126th shared with the tired and weary guests their own rations of bacon and coffee; hospitality that was afterward opportunely repaid by some of the Regiments.
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the "slaughter of these noble chestnut trees, the pride' of Virginians, as cruel," but it was necessary in order to clear a range for artillery and prevent a flank movement. On the 8th more trees were felled, and a battery was placed on the road to Winchester. On Monday, the 9th, occurred the first death in the Regi- ment. This was of HENRY E. SIMONS, of Company K, (CHAS. M. WHEELER, Captain.) Many of the diaries and letters written at this time mention this first death in the Regiment, and all speak of the kindness and care he received in the hospital. Neither did he and others in the hospital want for woman's care. Mrs. DEPEW, whose husband was in Captain COLEMAN's Company, and a few Union ladies of Harper's Ferry, are parti- cularly mentioned by Surgeon HOYT as showing every kindness to the sick and wounded. Colonel MILES' head-quarters were at Harper's Ferry, and a battery was posted near the hospital. Two Brigades were posted on Bolivar Heights, with a battery at each. extremity. On Thursday, the 11th, the approach of" " STONEWALL JACKSON " obliged General WHITE to, evacuate Martinsburg, and with his Brigade he returned to Harper's Ferry, waiving, however, his right to take command there in favor of Colonel MILES.
If we have made our description of Harper's Ferry and its surroundings intelligible, it must be quite evi- dent that no line of defense at the ferry, or on the plateau of Bolivar, or on Bolivar Heights, could be held for any length of time against an enemy who should have possession of Maryland Heights. As the 4
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rebel general, MoLAWS, says in his report : "So long as Maryland Heights was occupied by the enemy, Harper's Ferry could never be occupied by us. If we gained possession of the heights, the town was no longer tenable to them." That MILES was not igno- rant of this fact, is evident; for he had a part in the defense of Harper's Ferry the May preceding, having command of "the Railroad Brigade" there. General SAXTON, in his report of that affair, says: "Lieutenant DANIELS, with his naval battery of Dahlgren guns, on Maryland Heights, 2,000 feet above the level of the sea, did splendid service throughout the entire siege." "The great elevation of this battery enabled us to shower shells directly over the heads of our own forces (at Bolivar) into the faces of the foe advancing over Bolivar Heights." All this must have been known to Colonel MILES. But he was not left to his own dis- cretion in the matter. As early as the 15th of August he received peremptory orders from General WOOL to fortify Maryland Heights. MCCLELLAN himself,
although deeming our possession of Harper's Ferry of small importance after the enemy was actually in Maryland, and believing that MILES' force ought to have been withdrawn from there and added to his own army, still when overruled on this point, sent word to MILES to defend Maryland Heights if it with- drew every man from Harper's Ferry to accomplish it. And how were these important heights defended ? Ir some places the ridge was so sharp and the slopes or each side so precipitous, that what little artificial for tification was needed would have been easy. At such
ONE THOUSAND BOYS IN BLUE.
*53
points, cannon, suitably posted, could have been easily defended, and with the trees and under-growth cleared, might have swept the whole vicinity. On the 11th of September the condition of the heights was as follows. We have said that the Potomac river was crossed at Harper's Ferry by a railroad bridge, the northern end of which was directly under Maryland Heights. From this point a difficult road had been
POTOMAC
PLEASANT VALLEY
CANAL
REBEL BATTERIES
RIVER
SANDY HOOK
BOLIVAR
HARPERS FERRY
POTOMAC R.
HALLTOWN ROAD
SHENANDOAH RIVER
N
1
LOUDON HEIGHTS
WE
SHORT HILLS
S
HARPER'S FERRY.
carried up around the western slope of the mountain to its top, and thence down the eastern side to Sandy Hook. Half way up the mountain, on this road, was the battery we have spoken of (for it seems to have been the very battery used there the May previous) and some light field pieces, all commanded by Captain MCGRATH. On the mountain's ridge ran a road, or rather bridle-path, crossing the Sandy Hook road at
SOUTH MOUNTAIN
MARYLAND HEIGHTS
ELK RIDGE
54 THE ADVENTURES OF ONE THOUSAND BOYS IN BLUE.
its highest point. Following this path northerly three- fourths of a mile from the point of its intersection with the road, up a steep slope to the summit of the heights, you reached a small log hut called the look- out ; thence going on northerly a quarter of a mile further, you come to a rude breastwork of logs, thrown across the ridge and a few rods down the western side. The east side was so precipitous as to need no defense. In front of these breastworks, for fifteen rods perphaps, the trees had been cut down and left on the ground, forming a slashing or rude abattis"; but down the slopes west of the breastworks, the woods were left standing, and a thick under- growth of laurel. Thirty rods south of the breast- works, a bridle-path wound diagonally down toward Harper's Ferry for some distance, and reached an old house and clear spring ; thence it led along the moun- tain side a fourth of a mile to MCGRATH's Battery. This road, or path, was of use afterward, as we shall see.
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