USA > New York > History of the Twenty-second regiment of the National guard of the state of New York; from its organization to 1895, pt 1 > Part 15
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But to return to the regiment. For a little while the march continued as usual. Thirteen miles passed ;
* Official report, page 323 post.
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and encamp, and to move at an early hour in the morn- ing. There was some trouble with the Eleventh N. Y. N. G., which was unwilling for some reason to march, but finally did so, so that it was not until 3:30 P. M. that Gen. Smith could leave Bridgeport to join the advance.
There can be but little doubt that Gen. Smith was greatly " disgruntled" at being assigned to this com- mand. He considered it a great descent from the magnificent corps in the Army of the Potomac that he had formerly commanded, and he was in that state of mind familiarly known as " sour." He always spoke well of the Twenty-second, but he had profound con- tempt for many of the hasty levies and for the general officers of the National Guard under him. His feelings probably led him to display a good deal more indiffer- ence to his division than many officers would have done, and, some thought, induced him to show a dispo- sition " to let things go anyhow " without trying very hard to improve them, a fact which appears in his cor- respondence. It would seem as if he might have shown more active interest in improving the discipline of the command or in looking out for their comfort. If he had, he could largely have added to their efficiency. On the other hand, while he was miserably supplied, not even being provided with a quarter-master,* no com- plaint appears in his letters, nothing but the most soldierly spirit to do the best he could with what he had, and he was very popular in his division.
But to return to the regiment. For a little while the march continued as usual. Thirteen miles passed ;
* Official report, page 323 post.
.
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a few quietly dropped out ; all were growling, not loud but deep. Fourteen, more vacancies. Fifteen, the sun now beating down with the sultry heat of an extremely hot July day, no shade, no water, no rest; no complain- ing now, but men dropping out with frightful rapidity. All those who were not pure "grit" had given in previously, and from this time those remaining kept up, till they fell from sheer exhaustion. On every side one would see men flush, breathe hard, stagger to the side of the road and drop almost senseless ; but still the column went on, many with feet so blistered that they hobbled rather than marched.
At one time the entire left wing of the Thirty- seventh, on arriving at the crest of a hill, rebelled, and halted where they stood. But as the Twenty- second pressed on, regimental pride was aroused- an officer of the Thirty-seventh snatched up the regi- mental colors, and rushed forward, cheering on his men; and, closing up as best they could, every man able to walk rallied himself once more, and pushed forward.
Col. Roome, of the Thirty-seventh, gave out early, exhausted by illness and the fatigues of the previous day. He followed his regiment, however, in a wagon ; and many other officers of the brigade were compelled to imitate his example.
Neither here nor at any other time during the cam- paign were there ambulances or wagons, or anything for the transportation of the sick but what could occa- sionally be picked up on the road, so that the great majority of the disabled, not only here, but throughout the subsequent march, had to be left where they gave
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out. The farmers, however, were kind-hearted and patriotic, and did all they could to take care of them."
The brigade reached a point about a mile from Car- lisle about 5 P. M. It was then ascertained that the rebels were in the immediate vicinity, and it halted to repel an attack. But in place of the two regiments that started eleven hundred strong, only about three hundred men were left, and even these were almost completely exhausted. The remainder were stretched in groups along the roadside, bathing their heads where they could get water, and striving to collect their strength suffi- ciently to enable them to overtake the column; and seven men in the Twenty-second, reported by the surgeon as ruptured, afforded an additional proof, if one were necessary, of the severity of the march.
The mere distance marched was not so great as necessarily to have produced such a result. The same troops subsequently marched much farther without a tithe of the suffering; but it was a great mistake to compel men fresh from civil life, exhausted by pre- vious hard manual labor and privation, and without suf- ficient food, to undergo such an ordeal, and its effect on the morals and discipline of the troops can readily be conceived by any one.
* In company with a corporal and four privates, I was detailed to act as rear guard, and pick up stragglers ; and it was awful to see the boys drop out by the roadside, and lie there, too sick to move. In all cases they were taken into the nearest inhabited houses, the inhabitants of which were very hospitable, especially the ladies of Kingston, who had provided bread and butter, apple jam, cool water, etc .- the best they had.
Pearce's Tribune correspondence.
CHAPTER XX.
THE . DEFENCE OF CARLISLE.
T HE march was finished, and the brigade was at Carlisle, but so were the rebels. For a while there was mounting in hot haste, riders galloping back to hurry up stragglers ; and the brigade rapidly formed into line, amid hurried consultations of field officers, muttered curses from captains who, like Rachel, mourned for their companies "because they were not," and the other unmistakable signs which indicated nervous anxiety at headquarters. An hour or so was spent on tenter-hooks, during which the ranks were largely increased by the reporting of men who had temporarily succumbed to the heat and fatigue, but who had pushed on when hearing how much they were needed. The brigade then marched forward, having learned that the enemy had retreated, and, passing through the principal streets of Carlisle, raised the American flag amid great enthusiasm.
The reception of the troops at Carlisle was all that could be expected from a patriotic people welcoming those who had delivered them from a detested enemy. The hurrahs of the men, the smiles and waving of handkerchiefs of the ladies, made all forget their priva-
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tions, and feel that they were engaged in a sacred cause; and when the tired and hungry men were shown to a substantial meal in the market-house, and waited on by the ladies of the town (who were conceded to utterly eclipse any seen on the route for good looks as well as hospitality), it was unanimously resolved by the rank and .file that " Mahomet's paradise was not. in it with Carlisle."
About 6 p. M., while the Twenty-second were making some slight amends for their two-days' fast, a report came that the rebels were advancing from the south, and the Twenty-second was ordered to support the artillery, under Licut. King, which was sent in that direction. Leaving their meal unfinished, the regiment formed, and rapidly marched through the town, cheered on by the ladies from every house. On the way to the position, refreshed and almost as good as new, uproari- ous cheers were given for the ladies of Carlisle, the Thirty-seventh, Col. Roome-for everything, in fact, except their brigade commander, whose appearance, from that time forth, was the signal for the deadest kind of silence-a slight which elicited from that neglected in- dividual an order forbidding "this ridiculous (?) habit of cheering."
On reaching the crest of a hill, two miles south of the village, which overlooked a broad valley and the main road, the section of Landis' Battery was placed in position ; and the Twenty-second, now quite well filled up by the arrival of those who had given out from the privation and heat of the march, formed line of battle as supports. It may be remarked, as an example of the pluck and the fatigue of the men, that, though an
STATE HISTORIAN'S OFFICE, ALBANY, N. Y.
From a Painting in Philadelphia
BOMBARDMENT OF CARLISLE, PA., JULY 1, 1863.
VA
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engagement was momentarily expected, more than three-quarters of the rank and file coolly lay down in their places, and went to sleep. An hour passed, and a cavalryman was seen coming from the south, urging his horse to its utmost speed. At each jump his sabre would fly high in the air on one side and his carbine on the other, while he bent forward over his horse's neck, so that he could have served as a model for a picture of " a frightened vidette." Still, nothing appeared at the south. But in a short time the heavy boom of cannon and the explosion of a shell, brought even the most weary to their feet. At this time Gen. Ewen was en- gaged with a native in discussing the place to put the guns. The native, who was suspected of being a Con- federate emissary, was advising him that there was a much more commanding position a mile to the south. In fact, it was one which would have insured the cap- ture of the artillery. When the firing came from the north, Gen. Ewen characteristically exclaimed: " Verily, gentlemen, it behooves us to look around us." In this his command, for once, agreed with him. Nothing was to be seen in front but the thick columns of smoke ascending in the rear from the other side of Carlisle; and the bright flashes of light and the frequent reports of artillery from the hills on the north, showed that the enemy had surrounded the place in overwhelming force; and, without affording to the many helpless women and children who were in it an opportunity to escape, had commenced to shell the town. Fortunately, Gen. Ewen had been apprised that the enemy was ap- proaching before he marched out, and had sent back word to Gen. Brisbane, who ordered the remainder of
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Landis' Battery to proceed, with all possible speed, to Carlisle, and followed it at once with his troops. The following extract from a letter from C. Stuart Patter- son, a member of the battery who was severely wounded during the engagement, gives a graphic account of their experiences :
"I shall not tell you the story of the march, for we have both read our friend Wingate's admirable description of it, but will resume the broken thread of my story about five miles from Carlisle. Fatigued by the march, for it seemed long to raw recruits, and the day had been sultry, we had halted in column on the road. I threw myself on the ground and was in a semi-asleep state. How long I had been thus, I know not. When I heard the noise of a horse galloping at speed, I half- opened my eyes to see, pulled up almost on top of me, a horse, white with foam, having for his rider a young officer in an irritatingly nice uniform, and whose face was almost as white as his collar. He hurriedly asked for the brigade commander, and then for the captain of the battery. I informed him that he would find him in the rear of the column, and received for my reply an order to push on to Carlisle with the section of which I was temporarily in command, as an attack was expected there. I got ready to move, and by the time the men were mounted, the captain and Corporal Rosengarten, the chief of our section, had come up, and off we started at a gallop. What a ride it must have been for the unfortunates who sat on the limbers and caissons, I can well imagine, for my experience on parade in the city some months before had made me feel forcibly that I could wish my bitterest enemy no worse fate than to ride on a caisson when the horses were trotting. But one of our com- rades was the most unfortunate. "Hans Breitman " (Charles S. Leland), unable to find room on limber or caisson, had, with admirable fortitude, seated himself astride of a gun in the way that sailors are popularly supposed to ride a horse-with his back turned in the direction the column was moving and his arms clasped round the piece ; every jolt (and they were not
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few nor far between) sent him up about three feet, and, most unluckily for him, the law of gravitation did not fail to operate, and consequently he would descend upon his hard steel saddle with a force that would have drawn from most men some other expression than the (apparently) German air which he con- tinued to hum with the most unbroken good humor. It was almost dusk when we rode into the market-square in Carlisle, received by the cheers of the inhabitants, and, what was more grateful, by their good cheer so generously set out in the market- house. The market-square is the centre of the town, and is formed by the intersection of the Harrisburg-Baltimore Pike with the main street, on which is laid the track of the Cumber- land Valley Railroad. Around this square stand the Presby- terian and Episcopal churches, the courthouse, the jail and the hotel. We found then that the first section of the battery. with the first brigade of infantry, had been sent down the Balti- more Pike in search of the mysterious enemy, to repulse whom our march had been so much accelerated. We halted and dis- mounted with alacrity that would have done credit to veterans. The streets were crowded with women and children, the latter gazing with open mouths or making minute investigations into the contents of the limber and caisson-boxes, and the former mostly engaged in dispensing the generous cheer they had pro- vided. I distinctly remember sitting on the curbstone, with a young lady on each side of me, a piece of bread and butter in each hand and a cup of coffee on my knee. About this time Gen. Smith and staff rode in, the General dressed in a gray walking suit and looking like a country gentleman riding out to inspect his farm. Our friend, Dr. Will's, soldierly appearance caused him, as he was at the head of the staff, to be taken almost universally for the division commander. While I did ample justice to the good fare provided by my fair friends. they reciprocated by telling me of their confident expectations that Gen. Lee could never face the invincible Philadelphia Battery, and that his whole army was undoubtedly in retreat at that very time. I think that comforting assurance had just been given me when I heard quite a loud explosion, and a whiz, as if some-
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body had been popping off a sky-rocket, and that a tolerably iarge one, over my head. I think I should hardly have known what it was if an obliging cavalry soldier had not come down the street, apparently in some hurry, and informed everybody thereabout, as well as most of the inhabitants of the neighboring houses (for he spoke loudly), that the " rebs" were firing at us, and then evinced his unfaltering belief in the entire accuracy of his own statement by moving off at a rapid pace in a direction that, if pursued long enough, would have placed him in much closer proximity to the North Pole than to the rebels. What became of him I can't say. But, if Sir John Franklin is ever discovered, I shall make it my business to fit out an expedition in search of my friend of the cavalry, for I have never seen him since. Shot after shot followed in rapid succession, the first few being fired at a considerable elevation and apparently going over the town. Their first effect was to clear the streets of all non-combatants and of some who, if they had had any sense of honor, or even ordinary courage, would have been active combatants. I have in some of the plays and pantomimes, which it has been my good, or ill fortune to see, witnessed some rapid changes of scenery, but no scene in any play, however sensational, was ever trans- formed with the rapidity they displayed, and no stage-clown or ghost ever vanished from the stage with greater celerity, than that of my fair friends, who, in their hurry, forgot to say " good- bye." As my gun was the nearest to the main street, I had the good fortune to wheel into position before my brother sergeants could have time to turn. Gen. Brisbane then directed me to go into battery on the railway track. Thus upon us devolved the honor of opening the ball on our side. I found that the enemy's battery was in position on the outskirts of the town, apparently about 300 yards away from us; my gun was pointed toward them; on my right, and direct at right angles from my gun, so as to command the Baltimore Pike, were Hart and Williams with their guns, and on my left was Rosengarten, with his gun pointed toward Harrisburg. The limbers and caissons of our four guns were drawn up in rear of my gun and almost filled up the square." In line on the main street, and with their right
STATE HISTORIAN'S OFFICE, ALBANY, N. Y.
From " Harpers' Weekly," by permission McDonnell Bros , Chicago.
REBELS SHELLING N. Y. MILITIA IN STREETS OF CARLISLE, PA.
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resting on the Baltimore road, was the Gray Reserve Regiment, and immediately on my right was a company from the interior of the State, who broke, and who were seen by me no more that night. We fired, as you know, but three shots. If they did any execution, the credit is solely due to Capt. Landis, for he sighted the pieces. Just as I had given the order to fire the third shot, some ten or fifteen minutes after the commencement of the action, I received the wound which consigned me to the hospital for the balance of that fight and sent me home two days afterwards.
It need not be said that the position of the Twenty- second, south of the town, was now most precarious, and in a few minutes Capt. Burke, of Gen. Smith's staff, rode up with an order for its immediate return.
Fortunately, the moon had not yet risen, and the dusk of the evening concealed them as they crept back. As the regiment stealthily "sneaked" into the vil- lage in columns of fours, in a manner very different from the triumphant manner in which they had marched from it shortly before, a shadowy something made itself visible along the high road. The leading non-commis- sioned officer of Company A, who was gifted with very good sight, remarked to Capt. Otis that "that was a gun and it was trained upon the head of the column." This was doubted, but when the sergeant obliqued to the other side of the road, the manner in which the piece followed the column showed that he was cor- rect. The situation was apparent at once. The troops in the town had feared the regiment was cap- tured. Not being sure whether the advancing column were friend or foe, its Philadelphia friends kept a gun double shotted with canister, trained upon its approach. The Twenty-second, being familiar with artillery, knew
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from the position of the gun and men what it meant, and then and always have been thankful that the gentle- man who held the lock-string that evening was not a nervous man. If he had been, this history would never have been written.
On entering the town it was ascertained that Gen. " Baldy" Smith had reached it with two regiments of Pennsylvania Reserves (militia) and the remainder of Landis' Battery, under Col. Brisbane, after the Twenty- second had left. It was also ascertained that Gen. J. E. B. Stuart was in command of the attacking force.
Gen. Stuart had left the Army of Virginia on his memorable raid, had gone around the Army of the Potomac, captured a train within two miles of Wash- ington and thence proceeded to York and Hanover, try- ing to effect a connection with Gen. Lee, who, by reason of his absence, had been prevented from learning of the movements of the Army of the Potomac. His com- mand consisted of the brigade of Gen. Fitz-Hugh Lee, the First, Second, Third, Fourth and Fifth regiments of Virginia Cavalry, that of Gen. Hampton, consisting of the First and Second South Carolina Cavalry, First North Carolina, Jeff. Davis Legion, Mississippi; Cobb Legion, Georgia; and Phillips Legion, Georgia ; and of WV. H. F. Lee's Brigade, consisting of the Ninth, Tenth and Thirteenth Virginia Cavalry and the Second North Carolina Cavalry. Stuart's Horse Artillery was also included in the Division. All had been marching and fighting incessantly since June 9. The following letter from Col. T. S. Garnet, aid to Gen. Stuart, is interesting from its personal reminiscences as well as from giving the Confederate side of the affair:
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NORFOLK, VA., May 31, 1892.
GEN. GEORGE W. WINGATE, New York.
Dear General-In response to your request, as contained in your letter of the twenty-seventh instant, I proceed to give you an account of the advance upon Carlisle, Pennsylvania, made by General J. E. B. Stuart, with three brigades of cavalry of the Army of Northern Virginia, on the evening of July 1, 1863.
*
It was Gen. Stuart's purpose to pass through the gap in the mountains west of Hanover, and debouch into the Gettysburg Valley; but on approaching Hanover, the Second North Caro- lina Cavalry (Lieut .- Col. W. H. Payne) encountered Farnsworth's Brigade, of Kilpatrick's Division, and had a sharp little fight in the town ; but not being supported in time, was driven back, having its colonel captured, and losing upwards of 106 other prisoners.
In the fight which ensued, Kilpatrick's Division must have been roughly handled, as he admits a loss of 197. At dusk, Gen. Stuart withdrew, with all his troops and trains, through Jefferson, towards York, Pa., hoping to hear from the right wing of the Army of Northern Virginia, then believed to be operating towards the Susquehanna.
It was surprising that no news had reached us of the position of the Army, and now it became essential to know what was Gen. Lee's plan of concentration.
Arrived at Dover, Pa., on the morning of July I, Gen. Stuart sent off one of his staff-Major Venable-on the trail of Early's troops; and, later in the day, Capt. Henry Lee, of Gen. Fitz Lee's staff, was sent towards Gettysburg. But before either of these officers could return, Gen. Stuart had reached the suburbs of Carlisle, in the afternoon of July I.
You will pardon this long preface, but it was given in answer to your inquiry as to the route by which we reached Carlisle.
And now in regard to our strength actually present at Car- lisle. Fitz Lee's Brigade alone invested Carlisle. The brigade of Gen. Hampton came no farther than Dillsburg, at which point, on the evening of July 1, it was turned off, with orders
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to march ten miles on the road to Gettysburg. The brigade of W. H. F. Lee was between Dillsburg and Carlisle, but took no part in the attack. So that there were present at Carlisle only about 1, 500 men of Stuart's Cavalry, and, I think, only four of the guns of the Stuart Horse Artillery .*
Perhaps I may indulge here in some personal reminiscence, and as memory is apt to lay hold of the insignificant details of any affair, I would state that I believe I was about the first of Stuart's men to enter the city limits of Carlisle. As I rode around the corner of a yard or enclosure, where the street makes a right-angle as it enters the town, I observed a few skirmishers approaching and taking position behind a stone wall in the edge of the town, and two horsemen advanced at a canter. When they had approached within pistol range I fired once at them, and they wheeled and disappeared. At the same moment, the skirmishers let me have it from their stone breast- works, and I quickly retreated to the angle I had just passed.
Others of our command, chiefly couriers of Gen. Stuart, and then the General himself, rode up and received a few shots from the skirmishers. f Not wishing to bring on an engagement, and not secing any force in town, Gen. Stuart directed us to pre- pare a flag of truce.
One of our Signal Corps flags-a white flag with a red square in the centre-was made to do duty as a flag of truce, by pinning something white over the red square, and one of our couriers was sent with an officer into the town to demand its immediate surrender.
The flag was detained unusually long, # and Gen. Stuart. becoming impatient, sent in another messenger requesting that the women and children be removed, and stating that unless
* Gen. Smith's report says seven guns. There were certainly as many.
+ Gen. Garnet states that he was not more than a hundred yards off when he was fired on, and Gen. Fitz Lee and staff were only a hundred yards further and in easy range, but for some reason were not fired on.
# Gen. Smith delayed the flag of truce an hour, being anxious to get the Twenty-second back into the town while Stuart submitted to the delay, as he wanted to get his rear guard up.
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the town was surrendered it would be shelled in three minutes. Both flags were returned with a positive refusal to surrender, but stating that the women and children would be removed. Immediately upon the receipt of this reply, our artillery was brought up and opened fire upon the place. Two guns were posted near the angle I have mentioned, and two others upon higher ground behind them and several hundred yards distant. By this time it had gotten dark and the lieutenant in charge of the guns on the hill, mistaking the guns close to the town for a hostile battery, planted his first two shells right among our own men, and would have done more mischief if the order, "Cease firing," had not been promptly given. No attempt was made by us to storm the place, and but little skirmishing went on. The artillery fire was not severe, and, I presume, very little damage was done .*
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