USA > New York > History of the One hundred and twenty-fourth regiment, N. Y. S. V. > Part 12
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"On Saturday night (previous to the Sunday's fight) the regiment lay on picket on the skirt of a wood, and an unknown force of the enemy-the same who had routed the Eleventh corps -- were somewhere within. A rude road ran from each flank of the regiment into this wood. I was ordered by the commanding general to send a party out to explore each road ; it was hazard- ous and required skilful officers. I sent Captain Weygant, of Newburgh, Company A, and ten men on the right, and Captain Murray, Company B, of Goshen, on the left, with cight men. Captain Weygant presently returned. . He had found two caissons and a gun captured from us that afternoon and abandoned by the enemy, and, taking possession of them, advanced about one-fourth of a mile without meeting the enemy. Captain Murray came in . . . and reported that deploying his men and keeping in the shadow, he had advanced about a mile and, unperceived, had come on a large force of the enemy, who were preparing columns of attack or defence. This report was for- warded to the commanding General and proved of service in the advance shortly after made by General Birney, who brought in the caissons and guns already referred to. This was a very hazardous scout and well performed, as the woods were alive with enemies concealed in the darkness ; and we subsequently exchanged several volleys with them at intervals during the night. When the Sunday fight began, it was necessary, from the unexpected appearance of a Rebel regiment on our right, which was unsupported, to change front on the centre. The movement was executed as on parade, the brave Captain Silliman, of Corn-
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wall, Company C, throwing out his guide, and dressing his com- pany to the right in the midst of a heavy fire; but it was amus- ing to see the men stepping backward : not one would face about and expose his back to the foe for the few moments neces- sary for the manœuvre. Captain Silliman, conspicuous for his height, displayed great gallantry ; waving his sword above his head he ever encouraged his men, and kept his eye on the colors, of which he had charge, his being the color company. Thrice was the color-bearer shot down, but the darling flag never touched the ground, and was finally taken by Corporal Hazen of Goshen, Company B, who bore it gallantly the remainder of the day. The Newburgh Company I, fought with much cool- ness and deliberate aim, and their commander, little Cressey, son of our New Windsor parson, was dancing around on the broad grin, seemingly amused as well as interested. While the regi- ment was lying down behind and supporting a battery, they were exposed to a perfect storm of bursting shells. Many were hit, but none uttered a sound; those killed died as they lay, and when the regiment arose to advance on the enemy, several of the Orange Blossoms # remained prone on their faces. May the Crea- tor receive their brave souls. During the above shelling, Captain Benedict, of Warwick, Company D, was reclining on his elbow ; a discharge of grape, about a bucketful, ploughed up the ground and threw some on him; he looked around and muttered something, I did not hear what; but he would have moved more if a hen in scratching had thrown a little dirt on him. Captain Weygant, of Newburgh Company A, was grazed in the head by a ball, which, though not dangerous, was painful; covered with blood he remained cheering his men, and when exhausted by fatigue and loss of blood, got on a yellow pack-mule he found, and did great service as a kind of adjutant' Adjutant Bronson was shot through the leg-the first one hit. I did not see him, being in a
* The sobriquet Orange Blossoms was not generally applied to the regiment until after the publication in our county papers of the above extract. It was first used by Colonel Ellis during the battle of Chancellorsville. Previous to that time our friends at home occasionally spoke of us as the National Guard, but we were known in the army only as the 14th New York Volunteers.
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different direction at the time. While lying in the rifle-pits, we were annoyed by sharp-shooters, firing at a great elevation; we would not hear the report of the gun, only the sharp 'chirp ' of the rifle-ball, and an occasional thud told that some one was hit. I heard distinctly the ball strike General Whipple; we lost several men here. Lieutenant Grier, of Cornwall, Company C, was an object of especial interest to the Rebs. His clothes were pierced over and over, but he came off with a whole skin. Grier was one of the original Company I, 71st regiment, and fought bravely at Bull Run."
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CHAPTER VIII.
AFTER CHANCELLORSVILLE-BEVERLEY'S FORD.
M "AY 7th .- We are just beginning to realize the extent of our loss. Nearly half our log huts are roofless, and hardly a squad (that is four men who tented together) remains intact. This has been the most gloomy day of our existence as a regiment. The men go about silently, or speaking almost in whispers, with faces expressive of most intense sadness ; and if you watch them closely, you may ever and anon detect some stalwart fellow stealthily brushing an unbidden tear from his bronzed cheek, as he passes by a tenantless log cabin, so recently occupied by some friend or schoolmate.
For a week after our return we had but few drills, and a con- siderable number were allowed to spend the greater part of their time at the division hospital, with their wounded comrades. On the 15th our turn for picket came round again ; but the weather was pleasant, and we now rather enjoyed these three-day tours away from our camp.
On the 17th a mail was brought out to us, and a member of. Company B. loaned me a Goshen paper which contained several articles concerning our regiment ; and a long eulogistic obituary notice of our lamented Captain Murray. Just after I had finished reading the articles and notice referred to, and was in the act of handing the paper back to the owner, a messenger from the front brought word to the reserve where I was posted, that a number of covered wagons were approaching the line, and I hurried out to see what it meant. It was our own division ambulance train, which I learned, from the officer in charge of it, had been over the river under a flag of truce for, and was now loaded with, severely wounded officers and men of the 3d corps, who had fallen
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into the hands of the enemy during the battle, but had since been paroled.
As the ambulances passed through the line I looked into each one to see if I could discover any members of the 124th among the suffering, ghastly looking mortals they contained. As I lifted the curtain of the third wagon I was startled by the bandaged, distorted, but yet familiar face of Captain Murray. " Why, Cap- tain," I shouted, "I was sure you were killed, and was told George Hawley had buried you on the field ; and besides I have just been reading your obituary in a Goshen paper." I did not understand the Captain's first reply. He had been wounded by a bullet which had passed in between his lips, carried away his two upper and two lower front centre teeth, gone through the back of his neck, and lodged just under the skin of his shoulder. His lacerated tongue and mouth were so swollen he could scarcely speak ; but smiling over the failure of his first attempt, he, with another painful effort, mumbled what I had now no difficulty in interpreting as " Worth a dozen dead men."
During the day I learned that eight or ten other severely wounded members of the 124th had been brought in through more distant portions of the line, and as soon as the regiment returned to camp I went over to the hospital to see them.
Captain Murray had, immediately on his arrival there, caused a telegram to be sent to his mourning friends at Goshen, notify- ing them that he still lived. And while other members of his family hastened to divest themselves of sombre weeds, his father the IIon. William Murray, President of the Goshen National Bank, and his uncle, the Hon. Spencer Murray, President of the National Bank of Orange County, both ex-members of Congress and inti- mate friends of Secretary of State Hon. William H. Seward, hastened to Washington, where a special engine was placed at their disposal which soon brought them to the Captain's side.
He was meantime gaining rapidly. Under the improved treatment and especial care he received after his arrival among his comrades, the inflammation in his face and neck was hourly abating; and though his tongue remained thick, he was soon able
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to " wag it " in a most emphatic manner. On my second visit to the hospital, after his arrival, an officer and friend of his, who had accompanied me on both occasions, unfolded a paper and with a most sorrowful face, and in a doleful voice, began reading to him the obituary referred to; but before he had finished the first sentence the Captain shook his fist, mumbled "stop! stop !- you stop," and then explained in rather strong if but poorly articulated English that he had already listened to the reading of the same thing half a dozen times ; and wound up his protest by borrowing a revolver from an officer who lay near him, and swearing by all that was good and bad, he would put a hole through the very next person who unfolded a newspaper in front of him. Before another day had passed the Captain was on his way home where gentler hands could minister to his wants.
While Captain Murray and other favored ones, who had richly earned every encomium and merited all the care that could be bestowed upon them, were rapidly recovering under the gentle nursing they were receiving at their comfortable homes, hundreds of others who had shown themselves just as brave and in every respect equally as deserving were, for want of the tender care their more fortunate comrades were receiving, daily growing weaker; and every morning there could be seen in front of the hospital tents at Aquia Creek a line of stretchers, most of which held the dead form of somebody's husband, father, son, brother or loved one, in most cases waiting a soldier's unceremonious coffin- less burial, in what have long ere this become " unknown graves."
At dress parade on the afternoon of June 2nd the following letter from the IIon. Charles H. Winfield, who then represented our district in Congress, was read to the regiment :
GOSHEN, New York, May 28, 1363
COLONEL A. VAN HORN ELLIS.
DEAR COLONEL: Pardon the liberty I take, of thanking and congratulating you, and through you your brave regiment, for the glorious manner in which the 124th bore itself through the recent battle. You do not doubt that we have hoped everything of
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yourself and your men, since you left us, but we hardly dared to hope the regiment would stand the first severe and terrible battle shock' with the cool and unfaltering courage displayed on the oc- casion referred to.
Could you fully realize, officers and men, the emotions of pride and satisfaction that filled all hearts here, and found utter- ance from almost every tongue, at the manner in which you faced danger and death in the discharge of your duty in the recent and first principal trial of your courage and patriotism, it would cheer and lighten your hearts in many a silent watch, or weary march, and nerve your arms in all the blows you are hereafter to strike for your flag and your country.
If the skill and courage displayed by your gallant regiment is any indication of the mettle of the Army of the Potomac, who dares to say that we shall not succeed in vindicating our country's honor and subdue the unholy rebellion which threatens it. I need not say that our delight and satisfaction at the glorious conduct of the regiment, has been mingled with deep sorrow at its severe losses. How the vacant places in your ranks must sadden your hearts at roll-call. Remember, however, that your missing heroes died nobly, and never men had better right to 'look proudly to Heaven from the death bed of fame,' wherever they rest. May the flowers of earth bloom beautifully above their ashes, and their pure spirits bask in the smiles of their God.
Say to all who love him, that Captain Murray, God bless his true heart and brave soul, is steadily and surely (humanly speaking) getting well, and much of his anxiety for a speedy re- covery seems to be that he may be among his brave comrades as soon as possible, sharing their honors and dangers. His company, his regiment are the objects of his pride and his love, and his soul pants to be where they are. May Heaven spare and protect you all.
Your friend C. H. WINFIELD.
Colonel Ellis, in his reply to the above, says, " Your kind and
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inspiring letter is at hand, and being read to the regiment, was received with mingled emotions of pride and gratification. Pride, that our perils and devotion to the cause are appreciated by the respected and loved ones at home, and gratification at its ex- pression through you, our honored representative.
" We have ever striven to do our duty, and were it possible for a craven thought to enter the bosom of the least among us, one glance at the flag which, weather-beaten and rent with balls, yet waves over what is left of us, would so fire his breast that death would be the least evil that could befall, for the remembrance of its fair donors, the dear 'Daughters of Orange,' is ever before us. The warring of a mighty tempest alone could equal the shouts of the ' American Guard' as they entered the conflict cheering loudly for the 'little girls at home.' The sod now covers many of these brave boys, but the sob of regret is fiercely choked by the grand thought that they fell with their faces to the foe, and not una- venged. . . . When asked for a list of officers and men who con- ducted themselves bravely in the fight, I could but say 'Here is the muster-roll of the regiment.'
" Your kind letter has cheered us much ; for the loss of our general, the brave Whipple, and consequent failure of any report from the division, made us fear our efforts might never be ap- preciated by the ones we cared most for, but these fears are now removed."
Wednesday afternoon, June 3d, Major Cromwell inspected the regiment ; and during the day it was rumored that something unusual was transpiring in General Lee's camp opposite Falmouth. Colonel Franklin's regiment, the 122nd Penn., completed its nine months service and started for home a day or two after our return from Chancellorsville; whereupon Colonel Ellis, being the senior officer remaining, took command of our brigade, which was now composed of the S6th and 124th New York, and numbered for duty between five and six hundred men.
On the 4th. about three o'clock a. in., Lieutenant Colonel Cum- mins came personally to my quarters, and notified me that he had just received orders to have his command ready to move at day-
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break. At four o'clock the assembly was sounded, and we were soon in line, in heavy marching order. After remaining under arms about an hour, the regiment was dismissed with instructions to remain in readiness to fall in at a moment's notice, but the day passed quietly away without bringing us any farther orders.
.On the 5th, about three o'clock in the afternoon, I was sitting on a cracker box in front of my log cabin, thinking of the events of the past, and wondering as to the future, when suddenly there came up from the direction of Fredericksburg, the booming of cannon. At first the reports, and the intervals between them, were such as led me to suppose a section, or at most three or four guns of some light battery, was at work ; and as for a time there was no reply, I concluded a small force had been sent over the river on a reconnoissance, and were simply shelling the woods or, perhaps, attempting to drive in some one of the enemy's numerous outposts ; when suddenly eight or ten reports in quick succession, from guns of a much heavier calibre than those to which I had just been listening, completely upset my calculations on that score. A moment later the intervals between reports were lost in a continuous roar ; and hastening within my quarters, I took down and buckled on my sword, gave instructions con- cerning the filling of canteens and haversacks, slipped two or three boxes of sardines into my pocket-for I had not forgotten my experience with Jack Smith on our first crossing of the river -and soon had all my traps packed and in readiness for any emergency. Then I walked out to my company street for the purpose of directing my men to do the same ; but my precaution, so far as they were concerned, was unnecessary ; they had all buckled on their accoutrements, and quite a number with knap- sacks strapped were walking thoughtfully, up and down by their gun stacks. Meantime, off to the left of the regiment, three or four " dead-beats" who had not yet been gotten rid of, might have been seen crawling or hobbling toward the surgeon's tent. For over an hour the distant thundering of artillery continued without a moment's cessation, then slackened and gradually died away ; and at five o'clock all was quiet again.
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On the morning of the 6th a man of the S6th New York, who had been on duty as a clerk at corps head-quarters, came into camp and reported that he had that morning copied an order from army head-quarters, which stated that three small brigades of picked regiments, one of which was to be selected from the Third corps, were to accompany a large body of cavalry on a secret expedition. About noon it was rumored that Colonel Ellis' brigade had been selected from the several recommended from our corps, for the especial duty above referred to. An hour later, an order was received by Colonel Cummins, which directed that all knapsacks, baggage, and such tents, and blankets as were not absolutely needed for the immediate protection of the men, be left in camp, under guard of those who were deemed unfit for a long and rapid march. At five o'clock the long roll sounded, and a few moments later Colonel Ellis, accompanied by Captain Ben. Piatt and Lieutenant H. P. Ramsdell, members of his staff, and followed by half a dozen mounted orderlies appeared ; and taking position at the head of the column, ordered his bugler to " sound the forward," and away we went.
On reaching the top of a knoll, a short distance from our now almost deserted little log village, I looked back from the head of our column, over the remnants of the two regiments, and remem- bering the many who went out with us, when we last marched from that spot to the battle-field, never to return, wondered if all the brave men now in our ranks would ever see their little huts again. We were scarcely out of sight of our camps, when the rain commenced falling, and we heard from the distance, the dull heavy rumbling of heaven's artillery, which ere long pealed forth right over us with a furious crashing-to me, more terribly grand than the thunder of any battle-field. Like the cannonading of the day before, it lasted about an hour, then gradually died away ; but the rain continued half an hour longer.
We were thoroughly drenched, but as it was quite warm, we would have cared but little for that, if the rain had not left the road in such condition that at every step we slipped about to such an extent, and so much mud clung to our feet, that more
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effort had to be put forth, and strength expended, in accomplish- ing one mile, than is usually required for four or five. Never- theless we pushed on as fast as possible, and the men were in very good spirits until about eight o'clock, when Colonel Ellis, supposing he was on the wrong road, ordered a countermarch. I never heard that order given to a moving column-unless they had just run against the enemy's line of battle, or some- thing of that sort-but that some one was called very hard names, and this was no exception to the general rule.
After retracing our steps about a mile, it was learned we had not left the correct road ; and another countermarch was ordered, followed by another volley of-of-hard names. Then on, on we plodded, in the mud, through streams and over rough roads, until long after midnight. And when at last the order to halt was given, we were all so thoroughly tired out, that in fifteen minutes not twenty men in the two regiments, save the poor fel- lows who were detailed for picket, were awake. Two hours later there came the order " Have your men roused up, get your breakfasts, and be ready to resume the march at daybreak." As usual, however, we did not get off at the time appointed. We were up at half past four, but it was ten o'clock before we started.
When the sick call was sounded that morning, quite a number were found to be so completely exhausted, that they could scarcely move; and when at length the column got under way again they were left behind, with instructions to make their way back to camp the best they could. All were stiff and foot-sore, but it was a beautiful morning; and though on the start it was painful hobbling, rather than marching, we soon wore off our stiffness, and almost forgot our blistered feet. And encouraged by the better roads and beautiful sky, a spirit of cheerfulness soon pervaded the entire column ; and muttering and grumbling gave way to jokes and mirth.
The place where we had bivouacked could not have been more than twelve miles, in a direct line, from camp; but we had marched at least sixteen in getting there; and if the distance of our slippings about in the mud, were added, it would make it at.
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least twenty miles. The place was called Cropp's Tavern, or Spottsville. There was a large frame building there, said to have been before the war a flourishing hotel; but its palmy days had passed.
In the room which had once contained the bar and where the majestic slave-breeders of the country round about had been wont, in times past, to meet and discuss o'er their wine the glory of coming days-when "the whole herd of cowardly northern abolition dogs " had been compelled, by their valor, to sue for mercy, and all the nations of the earth had come to recognize them as the most mighty, invincible lords and nobles of the sunny south, who, none daring to hinder, swayed the destinies of the proudest, grandest Nation beneath the sun-there was now, alas ! nothing to be seen but an old rickety bedstead, on which lay a roll of rags, and old army blankets. These had apparently been spread on the floor, and served as bed and cover- ing for several squalid half-naked children, who with a lean hun- gry-looking dog were running about the premises. There was only one other room in the house which appeared to be occupied, and that was furnished with three chairs, a long bench, a table, and two rolls of rags and blankets, among which sat an old man, who was a cripple, and two women-probably the mother and grandmother of the children referred to. There were on the premises, several log outbuildings, all empty, and a number of negro huts, but no negroes.
But to return to our march. As I have said, it was a delight- ful day; the air was cool, and the country was more fertile and thickly settled than any portion of Virginia through which we had yet passed. As soon as we left the tavern it was thought necessary to arrest all men and boys found along the route, to prevent their carrying word of our movement to the enemy. My company being at the head of the column, I witnessed that day many scenes which affected me more than anything I had ever seen in hospital or on the battle-field.
It was Sunday, and quite a number of able bodied men were at their homes. The first arrest took place about three miles
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from the tavern. As we quietly emerged from a thick pine wood, I saw on a little hillock just in front of us, a pretty white cottage, more northern in style than was usually found in that portion of the south. On the slope in front of it was laid out, and in full bloom, a beautiful flower garden; near the house stood a group of becch trees, and around the whole ran a white picket fence. On the side nearest us, at a gate which stood half open, was a fine looking middle-aged man, dressed in a white linen suit, and a broad-brimmed Panama hat. At his side, with her hand rest- ing on his arm, stood a noble looking woman, undoubtedly his wife. They seemed riveted to the spot, and stared at us, as if doubting their senses. And it is not to be wondered at that they were surprised, for the advance guard had gone off to a large house, some distance to the left, and the first notice they had of our approach was the appearance of a column of bristling bayonets emerging from the woods just in front of them. Before they had time to recover from the effects of their surprise, an orderly stood beside them, informing the man he was a prisoner. A moment later Colonel Ellis rode up, and after kindly express- ing to the lady his regret that it was necessary to perform so unpleasant a duty, directed the orderly, without a moment's delay, to move forward with his prisoner. The lady bade her husband adieu without shedding a tear, or scarcely changing a muscle of her face, and moved rapidly up the garden walk to the house. But on entering the door she turned and looked back- saw him marched away under guard of despised Union-loving, slavery-hating soldiers; and shrieked, fainted, and fell back- ward into the hall.
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