USA > New York > Saratoga County > History of Saratoga County, New York : with historical notes on its various towns > Part 19
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"The Second division, on the left nearest the pike, had received the most severe shock of the attack. Bidwell's brigade held the ex- treme left, the key to the pike, and sustained the whole of Kershaw's rebel division, which came up in compact order to within very close range. The gallant brigade received the on- set with full volleys, which caused the right of the rebel line to stagger back, and the whole line was, almost at the same moment, repulsed by the corps. The cavalry on our flank -and never braver men than the cavalry of our little army mounted saddles -were doing their best to protect the pike leading to Winchester, and it was the great aim of both the cavalry and the single organized corps of infantry to hold this pike ; for on this depended the safety of the whole army and, more, of our cause. General Bidwell ordered his brigade to charge. Rising from their places in the little grave- yard and the grove the brigade rushed for- ward, the rebels breaking and running in con- fusion down the declivity which they had but just ascended with such confidence, and across the little stream. But the rebel artillery sent our men back to their places, to the shelter of the roll of ground. The charge cost us dearly. Captain Lennon of the 77th was
mortally wounded; Lieutenant Tabor was killed, * * and many other valuable lives were lost ; but the most severe blow to the brigade and the corps was the loss of our gallant General Bidwell. He fell, while bravely directing the charge, with a frightful shell wound. * * *
"The fall of General Bidwell left Colonel French, of the 77th, in command of the brigade. The line was quickly reformed in the position from which the charge was made, and again the rebels came on with cheers and yells. They were as bravely met as before, and a second countercharge sent them again in disorder across the creek, leaving the ground covered with their dead and wounded. The greatest shock of the second charge of the rebels had fallen upon the Third brigade, and nobly had it been met. * *
At length a new line was formed just north of Middletown, which was about two miles in the rear of the position held by the Second division of our corps early in the morning. *
" The grand old Sixth corps, directed by our own loved General Getty, had turned the for- tunes of the day. It was now ten o'clock. Far away in the rear was heard cheer after cheer. What was the cause? Were reinforce- ments coming? Yes; Phil Sheridan was con- ing, and he was a host. He had ridden from Winchester at amazing speed, and now as he passed the long trains of ambulances in which were the hundreds of bleeding victims of the morning's work, the wounded men, whose shattered limbs or mangled bodies attested that they had not run away, raised themselves and cheered with wild enthusiasm the hero of the valley. * Dashing along the pike he came upon the line of battle. 'What troops are these?' shouted Sheridan. The Sixth corps,' was the response from a hundred voices. ' We are all right,' said Sheridan, as he swung his old hat, and dashed along the line toward the right. 'Never mind, boys; we'll whip them yet! We shall sleep in our old quarters to-night.'
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" At three o'clock Sheridan gave the order to move, wheeling from right to left, as a gate swings upon its hinges. The Third division, on the right of our corps, became for a mo- ment embarrassed in passing through a strip of woods. The First division moved slowly but firmly, gaining a strong position. The Second division also advanced, but were or- dered to go very slowly, and this was far more difficult than to rush quickly over the ground. Yet the division obeyed the order, and forced the rebels to fall back. In front of the First and Second brigades was a stone wall. This they seized, and were at once partially shel- tered; but there was no such protection for the Third brigade. In its front was a meadow and a gradually inclined plane, and behind a wall which skirted the crest was the rebel line. Between that line and ours, in a hollow, stood a brick mill, from the windows of which the enemy's sharpshooters in the mill made it impossible to advance slowly, and the line fell back. Our best men were falling fast. The color sergeant of the 77th fell dead. Another sergeant seized the flag and fell. Adjt. Gil- bert Thomas, a youth of rare beauty and sur- passing bravery, seized the fallen flag. He cried, 'Forward, men!' and fell dead with the staff grasped in his hands. 'I can not take my brigade over that field slowly,' said Colonel French. 'Then go quickly,' responded Gen- eral Getty. The word was given, and with a bound and a shout the noble brigade went across the field, quickly driving the Confeder- ates from their strong position.
" By this time the right of the army had started the enemy, and their whole line was giving way. The three divisions of the Sixth corps bounded forward, and then commenced the wildcst race that had ever been witnessed even in that valley, so famous for the flight of beaten armies. The rebel lines were completely broken, and now, in the utmost confusion, every man was going in greatest haste toward Cedar Creek. Our men, with wild enthusiasm, with shouts and cheers, regardless of order or form-
ation, joined in the hot pursuit. There was our mortal enemy, who had but a few hours since driven us unceremoniously from our camps, now beaten, routed, broken -- bent on nothing but the most rapid flight.
" From the point where we broke the rebel ranks to the crossing of Cedar Creek was three milcs, an open plain. Over this plain and down the pike the panic stricken army was flying, while our soldiers, without ever stop- ping to load their pieces, were charging tardy batteries with empty muskets, seizing prison- ers by scores and hundreds."
So the battle ended, and the Sixth corps was ordered to occupy the same spot from which it had so suddenly decamped to meet the ene- my in the early morning.
With this grand and wonderful battle the fighting experience of the 77th regiment closed, and, its term of service having expired, it was ordered to Saratoga Springs to be mustered out, where it arrived on the 23d of November, 1864, just three years after the day of its mus- tering in. The regiment was received with all the love and honor a patriotic people could bestow. A committee of the most prominent citizens had been appointed to make arrange- ments for its reception, and an immense crowd assembled at the depot to welcome the little (only fourteen officers and one hundred and five men) band of war-worn soldiers, -- a mere remnant of the thirteen hundred and sixty- nine noble men who had gone from there thrce years before. They were escorted to the pub- lic hall, where they were welcomed by the president of the village on bahalf of the peo- ple of Saratoga, and, after a prayer by D. E. Tully, the first chaplain, Col. James B. McKean delivered an address, which was responded to by Colonel French, after which Dr. Luther F. Beecher read a poem of welcome, written by Mrs. M. C. Beechcr. In the evening a splendid banquet was tendered them by the citizens of Saratoga Springs at the American Hotel. Speeches were made by Hon. C. S. Lester, William H. Sacket, Hon. James M.
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Marvin, Hon. H. Pond, Dr. Beecher, Hon. James M. Cook, W. M. Potter, and others, and by many officers and soldiers of the regi- ment.
On the 13th day of December, 1864, the 77th regiment was duly paid and mustered out of the service, having served faithfully for three years, the whole term of its enlistment.
This is the history, in brief, of Saratoga county's pet regiment, the 77th, a record of noble deeds without a single blot. It never by any act on the field or in the camp, on the march or in the fight, disgraced the county from which it was sent. It never flinched or wavered from any duty, however perilous, which was assigned to it, nor until properly ordered did it ever turn its back upon the foe. From the beginning to the end of its service the regiment bore its colors untouched by the hands of the enemy. They were often shattered and torn by shot and shell, often leveled to the dust by the death or wounds of their bearers, but they were always kept sacred, and on the muster-out of the regiment were deposited in the Bureau of Military Statistics at Albany.
A beautiful Quincy granite monument, sur- mounted by a bronze statue of a soldier, . erected to the memory of the dead of the regiment, stands in the public square in the village of Saratoga Springs. The plain Greek cross, and the words, "77th Regiment New York Volunteers," cut upon its face, indicate that the soldiers whose deeds it commem- orates belonged to the 77th regiment, New York State Volunteers, of the Second division of the Sixth corps, Army of the Potomac.
OTHER REGIMENTS.
The 2d veteran cavalry regiment was or- ganized at Saratoga Springs in the fall of 1863, for three years. It was enlisted in the counties of Saratoga, Schenectady, Mont- gomery, Clinton, Essex, Warren, Albany, Rensselaer, and Columbia. The 25th cav- alry (Lickels' cavalry) was in part organized
in Saratoga Springs, in 1864, the men being enlisted for one and three years in New York, Delaware, Saratoga and Sullivan counties. Parts of the 115th and 153d New York vol- unteers were also raised in Saratoga county.
II .- THE 30TH REGIMENT NEW YORK STATE VOLUNTEERS.
Three companies of the 30th regiment New York State volunteers were raised in the towns of Saratoga Springs and Greenfield.
Company D was organized by the election of Miles T. Bliven captain, Mervin G. Put- nam first lieutenant, and John H. Marston second lieutenant.
Company F, Albert J. Perry captain, An- drew M. Franklin first lieutenant, and James M. Andrews, jr., second lieutenant.
Company G, Morgan H. Chrysler captain, William T. Conkling first lieutenant, and Asa L. Gurney second lieutenant.
The 30th regiment was organized by the election of Edward Frisby, of Albany, as col- onel, Charles E. Britnall, of Troy, lieutenant- colonel, and William M. Searing, of Saratoga Springs, major, and was mustered into the service of the United States on the first day of June, 1863. After some two weeks delay, the regiment was armed with old flint-lock mus- kets, altered to cap-lock, and was sent to Washington, and thence to the front, mak- ing its first camp at Brightwood, near where Fort Stephens was built. From thence it was marched to Arlington, and there brigaded with the 22d and 24th New York and the Brooklyn 14th, afterward the 84th New York volunteers, making the First brigade in the First division and First corps in the organiza- tion of the army. This brigade formed camps near Upton's Hill, and passed the balance of the year 1861, up to April, 1862, in building forts and picketing on the front. In April, 1862, General McClellan, after nine months of preparation, prepared to obey the call of " On to Richmond!" that had been ringing in our ears from the north all winter, moved forward
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with bands playing, drums beating, and colors flying, -- following our brave leader, "Little Mac," who announced that hereafter his head- quarters would be in the saddle, - all joyful that active service had come at last, and con- fident that the rebellion would be squelched in about six months, late in the afternoon of that or the next day were drawn up in bat- tle array in front of those impregnable rebel works at Centre Hill and Manassas. The skirmish line was moved forward, and, being anxious to cover themselves with glory, charged on the works and carried them with- out giving the rest of the army a chance to participate in the glorious work, captured seven colored persons, eight wooden cannon, and a lot of old shanties, vacated five days before by the rebels. The order was given to bivouac for the night. The next day was spent in inspecting the works and adjacent country, and the next day after, this grand army retreated back to our old camp, through a regular Virginia rain-storm, caused proba- bly by the dust of the battle! This brigade went in to make up the Army of Virginia, un- der command of McDowell, and the First division, First brigade ahead, moved to Fred- ericksburg, Virginia, by the way of Catlett and Bristoe Station, on the Orange and Alexandria railroad, and arrived there some three or four days before the balance of the division. In this march the brigade earned the name by which it was afterwards known -" The Iron Brigade."
General Augur commanded the brigade, and General King the division. This regi- ment served at Fredericksburg, engaged in picket duty and making reconnoissance, until in August, 1862, when the division joined General Pope's army, and while under him was engaged in battles as follows: Cedar Mountain, Rappahannock Station (three days), White Sulphur Spring, Gaine's Cor- ners, Grafton, and Second Bull Run. Then, under McClellan, was engaged in the battles of South Mountain and Antietam. In the battle of Second Bull Run, ont of four hun-
dred and sixty-three men, there were killed, wounded and missing two hundred and four- teen, and of twenty-three officers seven- teen were killed and disabled ; Colonel Frisby, the brave and noble commander, was killed, and Lieutenant Colonel Searing was promo- ted on the field to its command. At the battle of South Mountain the regiment could muster only one hundred and ten men fit for service. At the battle of Antietam the brigade was put on the skirmish line, and withdrawn as soon as the battle was fairly commenced. The army, then under the command of General Meade, followed the enemy by the way of Warrensburg to Fredericksburg, and on the 12th and 13th of December were engaged in the battle of Fredericksburg, and on the 20th of January, 1863, the army, under the com- mand of Burnside, participated in what was generally called Burnside's mad march. The army then went into winter quarters; the First brigade and First division, commanded by that brave and good man, General Wads- worth, encamped at Belle Plain, near Aquia Creek, Va. The regiment remained there, performing the ordinary camp and picket duty, until the latter days in April or first in May, when the First corps moved to the Rappahannock river, crossed over, and took position in front of the enemy, General Hooker in command, remained there for two days, when the corps was withdrawn and sent to take the place of the Eleventh corps in the battle of Chancellorsville, under Gen- eral Hooker's immediate command ; arrived there and took part in the battle for two days. The regiment then encamped before Fred- ericksburg, and soon after was ordered home, and mustered out and discharged at Albany, New York, June 18th, 1863. A large portion of the officers and men of the 30th regiment, under Lieutenant Colonel Chrysler, organized the 2d veteran cavalry regiment, New York volunteers, and reëntered the service in Octo- ber, 1863, and served until November, 1865. the close of the war.
V
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CHAPTER XXIV.
CENTENNIAL CELEBRATIONS-HISTORY OF THE SARATOGA MONUMENT AS- SOCIATION.
I .- SEMI-CENTENNIAL CELEBRATIONS.
There were two semi-centennial celebra- tions in Saratoga county in the year 1826 that were of especial interest.
The one held at Ballston Spa, July 4, 1826, surpassed in interest and pageantry all Fourth of July observances in this county that have preceded or have followed it. The most prominent feature of the procession was a car forty-two feet long and fourteen feet wide, named the Temple of Industry. It was drawn by thirteen yoke of oxen, each yoke in charge of a driver clad in a tow-frock, and all under the command of Jacob Near, of Malta. Upon the car were thirteen representatives of as many branches of the mechanic arts, plying their vocations. Among them were the printer striking off semi-centennial odes, the black- smith with his anvil keeping time with the music, the cooper making more noise than all others, and Mr. William Van Held, who, while the procession was moving, made a pair of shoes for the president of the day, to whom they were presented with an appropriate ad- dress and response.
Another interesting feature of the procession was a band of thirty-seven Revolutionary vet- erans, who kept step to the music in a way that indicated they had not forgotten their military discipline. Lemuel Wilcox, a soldier of the Revolution, bore a standard inscribed " Declaration of Independence." John White- head, another Revolutionary veteran, bore a standard inscribed " Constitution of the United States;" and another veteran, Jeremiah Pier- son, carried the national standard. Another attractive feature was the corps of Union ca- dets, composed of two fine-looking and ad- mirably-drilled uniformed companies from Union college, one commanded by Captain
Knox and the other by Captain Jackson, now president of Union college. The corps was under the command of Major Holland, the register of the college, and a veteran of the war of 1812. The procession moved through the principal streets amid the salvos from a brass six-pounder, captured from Burgoyne, to the Baptist church, which stood upon the lot now occupied by the railroad water-tank. Samuel Young, then speaker of the assembly, presided. Prayer was offered by the Rev. Eliphalet Nott, president of Union college. The Declaration of Independence was read by Anson Brown, a young lawyer of this village, who died while a representative in the Twenty- sixth Congress. The oration was delivered by John W. Taylor, then speaker of the House of Representatives. His closing remarks were addressed to the Revolutionary soldiers, who arose in a body, and the scene was quite dra- matic.
The Union cadets dined at the Sans Souci hotel, and toasts were at the Village hotel. Among the regular toasts were the following : "John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, and Charles Carroll of Carrollton, the surviving signers of the Declaration of Independence. As the measure of their days, so is that of their fame -overflowing."
When this sentiment was uttered, it was not known that since the sun had risen on the morning of that day two of those illustri- ous patriots had been numbered with the dead, leaving Charles Carroll the sole sur- vivor. By previous arrangement the cadets marched into the room, when the president of the day addressed them in highly appro- priate and complimentary terms. Major Hol- land responded, reading from a manuscript in the familiar handwriting of Dr. Nott :
"Gentlemen - In behalf of the corps I have the honor to command, permit me to tender their acknowledge- ments for your polite attentions. If our humble exer- tions to aid in the duties of the day have met the appro- bation of the patriotic assemblage, it is the highest gratification we can receive. In retiring, permit me to
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propose as a toast : 'The county of Saratoga-its hills, monuments of valor; its springs, resorts of fashion; its hamlets, signalized by patriots and statesmen.' "
Union college and its distinguished presi- dent were complimented by two of the alumni as follows: By Thomas Palmer, Esq. : " Union college-Crevit, Crescit, Crescat." By Anson Browne, Esq .: "The president of Union college, Dignum, lunde, virum musa vetat mori."
If these sentiments were not duly appreci- ated by all present, the following was ex- pressed in such plain, unmistakable English that there was no doubt as to its meaning : By Edward Watrous, Esq .: "The Legiti- mates of Europe: May they be yoked, poked, and hopped, cross-fettered, tied hand and foot, and turned out to browse on the pine plains of old Saratoga."
The celebration of the semi-centennial at Schuylerville was also an imposing affair. It is alluded to in the chapter upon the town of Saratoga in connection with reminiscences of Schuylerville. Of this affair Giles B. Slocum, of Newton, Wayne county, Michigan, writes :
"The leading actor of the occasion was Philip Schuyler, a grandson of the General. The extensive tables were set on the grounds of old Fort Hardy, with a canopy of ever- greens to protect the guests from the sun, although the oration was delivered in a shady grove on the eastern slope of the heights, near where the Dutch Reformed church now stands, by the eloquent but unfortunate Rev. Hooper Cummings, of Albany, at that time a brilliant light in the American pulpit, but destined, like a glowing meteor, to go sud- denly down in darkness and gloom. I well remember, also, that there were about a dozen old Revolutionary soldiers seated in a row on a bench close under the voice and eye of the orator (so they could better see and hear), and when the speaker, in the course of his re- remarks, addressed them personally, it was in such glowing terms of thankfulness and honor for their invaluable services, few dry
eyes could have been found within hearing of his voice. John Ward, one of the body guards of General Schuyler, and who was car- ried off by the tory Waltermeyer to Canada when the latter attempted the abduction of the General from Albany, was among those seated on this bench.
"The gathering was a very large one, the people of the whole county being nearly all there. Brigadier General De Ridder, from across the river, a substantial property holder and a general in the war of 1812, was mounted on a fine horse at the head of a large troop of light horse (as they were then called), and other military companies. The soul-stirring drum and the ear-piercing fife were the mate- rials in that day in the way of music.
"I recall the fact, also, that the breast- works surrounding the fort were then nearly perfect, as General De Ridder, at the head of the military, marched around on the top of the entrenchments."
II .- CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION, 1877, AT BEMUS HEIGHTS.
The first celebration of the year 1877 was at Bemus Heights, on the 19th of September, the centennial anniversary of the first of the two battles. Extensive preparations were made for this event, numerous committees appointed, and the result was a splendid commemoration of the day. Neighboring towns and counties joined in the patriotic effort.
A meeting was held at Saratoga Springs on the 12th to make the necessary arrangements, and General French issued the order of the day, in which it was stated that "one hun- dred guns would be fired at sunrise on the old battle-field by Battery B, Tenth brigade. Capt. A. H. Green. That the procession would be formed on the square at Bemns Heights hotel, near the river, at 9 A. M., and march to the battle-field, about half a mile distant."
The procession, which was long was es-
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corted by a platoon of police, with Gen. W. B. French chief marshal. Assistants to chief marshal: Col. Hiram Rodgers, Saratoga Springs; Capt. I. S. Scott, Capt. B. F. Jud- son, Saratoga Springs; Lieutenant Vande- mark, Stillwater ; Col. George T. Steenburgh, Troy ; J. Willard Lester, Charles L. Pond, Saratoga Springs.
The next in order was General J. B. Starr and staff ; Brig. Gen. Alonzo Alden and staff.
The first division was headed by Doring's band, of Troy, and consisted of the Tenth brigade, Third division, New York State Na- tional Guard.
The second division consisted of veterans of the war of 1861, G. A. R. associations, civic associations, and the fire departments of Stillwater and the neighboring towns.
Third division-Veterans of the war of 1812, veterans of the war of Mexico, eminent citizens and invited guests in carriages.
The order of exercises on the battle field consisted of : First, opening address by the president of the day, Hon. George G. Scott, of Ballston Spa ; second, oration by Hon. Mar- tin I. Townsend, of Troy ; third, poem by Robert L. Lowell, of Union college ; fourth, address by Lieut. Gov. Wm. Dorsheimer ;. fifth, collation, at which short speeches were made by distinguished citizens of the State; sixth, review of the Tenth brigade by Gov. Lucius Robinson ; seventh, maneuvering of General Alden's brigade in evolution of the line, illustrating the engagement on the same ground. between the armies of Generals Gates and Burgoyne one hundred years before.
The occasion was improved by the people of the surrounding country, who flocked to the grounds in all sorts of conveyances, on foot and on horseback, and even on canal boats. The program of the celebration was success- fully carried out, the affair ending in a fierce sham battle between an imaginary British foe, concealed in a clump of woods, and General Alden's brigade.
One of the most interesting places in the
vicinity of the battle ground was the old Neilson house. This venerable structure was decorated with flags and turned into a re- freshment saloon. The chief article on the bill of fare was pumpkin pie, baked in the room where General Poor had his headquar- ters, and where the wounded Major Ackland was joined by his wife the day after the second battle. At this house was exhibited a large collection of battle-field relics, -twelve-pound cannon balls, rifle bullets covered with the rust of a century, Indian weapons and tools, such as stone hatchets, flint arrow-heads, and pestles.
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