USA > New York > Memories of the 149th Regt. N. Y. Vol. Inft., 3d Brig., 2 Div., 12th and 20th A. C > Part 3
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The regiment remained at this place, like a lost sheep wait- ing to be claimed, from the evening of October 2d to the afternoon of October 8th, when it moved to Pleasant Valley. While perched above Sandy Hook the position of the regi- ment in reference to the Army of the Potomac was anomalous. It belonged to no one and no one belonged to it. It was in the market subject to the highest bidder. One day it was visited and inspected by one general, and the next by another, and many rumors were in circulation as to the commands to which it belonged and the generals over it.
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FREDERICK CITY AND SANDY HOOK.
While here part of the tents and camp utensils arrived over- land from Washington with the Quarter-master's teams, which had been left in charge of Q. M. Sergt. Joseph Davis. A large number of men deserted, some of whom came back under the President's proclamation several months afterwards, while others never returned. On the afternoon of the 7th of Oeto- ber the regiment was inspected by Gen. Seth Williams.
While the regiment was waiting for adoption by the Army of the Potomac, most of the officers and men visited Harper's Ferry, the scene of the John Brown Rebellion against the State of Virginia. One of the officers, on one of these occa- sions, while passing along the street of that village, saw one of the men of the regiment in a guard-house detained for being absent from his command without a pass. The man said he had been sent on business by the Adjutant, whose horse was then standing hitched to a post in the street, and requested the officer to ride him home. Going to the Provost-Marshal's office to secure the prisoner's release, the officer was politely in- formed that he was himself liable to arrest for irregularity and had better return to his regiment at once.
The route from Harper's Ferry to Sandy Hook was first by a pontoon bridge (the iron bridge having been destroyed by the enemy), and thence by highway for two miles along the northern side of the river under the overhanging rocks of Maryland Heights. Between the rocks on one side and the river on the other was the highway (next to the rocks), then the track of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, and then the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal, filled with water, next to the river. From the pontoon bridge to Sandy Hook there was no ground not occupied by the highway, the railroad or the canal. The officer undertook to ride the Adjutant's horse along this Alpine path on his return. While proceeding leisurely along, a train of ears suddenly approached at full speed in front. Not hav- ing whip or spurs, the horse became unmanageable, and just as the engine arrived opposite began to rear and phinge nearly throwing himself and the rider under the passing train. The
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MEMOIRS 149th N. Y. INFT.
Fates had decreed, however, that this modern Don Quixote and Rosinante should appear on other fields of valor, and hence a seemingly inevitable accident was averted.
The Blue Ridge Mountains in the neighborhood of Harper's Ferry run in a northerly and southerly direction. The crest is very narrow, not more than three or four rods in width at places on Maryland Heights, and the east and west slopes are very steep for several hundred feet down from the top, and then round out in high and somewhat precipitons shoulders several hundred feet above the base on either side. On both sides of the Blue Ridge are valleys or high tablelands lying between this and other parallel ranges of the Alleghany cham on the east and west. The Potomac River, running from west to east, cuts a deep gorge across these valleys or tablelands, as well as through the Blue Ridge with its high shoulders, leav- ing the rocks of which the mountain and its shoulders are com- posed exposed and standing up on either side of the river in a precipitous and threatening attitude. The end of the Blue Ridge north of the river is called Maryland Heights, and that on the south London Heights. The river faces of each of these heights are too abrupt for ascent, and their sides are inaccessi- ble by horses except at favorable places.
The Shenandoah River unites with the Potomac where the latter makes its entrance into the main part of the mountain. Flowing northeasterly to join the Potomac, it ents the west shoulder of the Blue Ridge diagonally leaving a portion of the shoulder in the form of a high hill just at the point of conthu- ence of the two rivers which is called Bolivar Heights. Under this hill, and in part clinging to its sides, is a cluster of houses, mostly ranged along a single street running down the southern bank of the Potomac River on one side, and up the northern bank of the Shenandoah on the other, constituting the historie and world-renowned village of Harper's Ferry. Truly, its rugged and striking surroundings are in keeping with the bold and daring character of the man whom made it famous.
At the outbreak of the Rebellion, the government buildings
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FREDERICK CITY AND SANDY HOOK.
and shops used in the manufacture of firearms were situate along the shores of these rivers on either side of Bolivar Heights. Perched on the hillsides and along the street were the stores and dwelling-houses of the people employed in the government works. A little way up the nose of the hill was a little briek Catholic church, approached from the street below by a long flight of stone steps cut in the solid rock. It had a long inscription in stone on its front and was built in 1830.
JOHN BROWN'S FORT, HARPER'S FERRY.
On top of the hill, and two or three hundred feet above the river, was a small cemetery surrounded by a substantial stone wall. At one time when visited a new made grave had been prepared for an interment. It was three feet deep and ent in the solid but shaly rock.
Just west of the cemetery, on the Shenandoah side, was a pile of rocks standing ont conspicuous to view, with one ledge projecting at the top. This was called Jefferson's Rock and could be seen at a distance from the river below.
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MEMOIRS 149th N. Y. INFT.
On the Potomac side, near the confluence of the two rivers, was a small brick one story building, loop-holed for musketry, built by the government for an engine house. This was the fort in which old John Brown and his half dozen conspirators defied and held at bay the State of Virginia. One piece of artillery properly planted would have demolished the structure in ten minutes, but the old fellow insured his safety against such a contingency by seenring and retaining in his enstody a number of prominent citizen residing in and about Harper's Ferry. One or more of Brown's conspirators tried to escape by swimming the Potomac, but were shot by soldiers while in the water.
Near the junction of the Shenandoah and Potomac Rivers the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad formerly crossed the latter river over an iron bridge, and thence passed up its southern side. A little west of the village the bed for the railroad was ent in the solid rock, and at one place was a short tunnel pierc- ing the stony cliff, making a conspicuous object in the land- scape when seen from the northern side of the river.
Near this tunnel, when quarrying for the bed of the railroad, a small cave was uncovered, the entrance to which at this time was closed by a wooden door. In war times it was reported that John Brown here concealed the pikes with which he in- tended to arm the slave. The men explored the cave with the aid of candles, but discovered nothing for their pains unless it was the dirt which they carried away on their clothes.
Sandy Hook was a small place on the Maryland side of the Potomac, about two miles below Harper's Ferry, with the houses arranged along a single street. It was of no special in- terest except that at this time it was the base of supplies for the Army of the Potomac.
At Sandy Hook the regiment received its first letters from home. It was painfully interesting to witness the effect upon . the men. One said, as the tears ran down his cheeks and he stood holding the open letter in his band, that his beloved child had sickened and died; another, that his mother and child
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FREDERICK CITY AND SANDY HOOK.
were lying siek unto death with the probabilities against them. On the other hand, one said that good luck had attended him, his horse which he had offered for $90 had been sold for $125, and in other things he had been equally prospered. But after all, no letters received were like those from the mothers and dear wives at home, breathing love and affection and encour- agement in the performance of duty, barring consequences. It will never be fully known and appreciated how much the soldier at the front was affected in his character and deport- ment by the letters which he received from his wife and mother.
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CHAPTER IV.
PLEASANT VALLEY AND LOUDON HEIGHTS.
Ar the beginning of this narrative the Army of the Potomac and the Army of Virginia had each retired with- in the fortifications of Wash- ington. The Peninsula Cam- paign had terminated disas- trously under MeClellan, and Pope had ended his military career in defeat at the second battle of Bull Run and at Con- treville. Lee with his army CAUSUS BELLI. was within a few miles of the national capital contemplat- ing the discomfiture of his opponents and laying plans for an offensive campaign into the loyal States.
Soon after the Federal forces were within the secure fortifi- cations of Washington General Lee marched his army into the State of Maryland, crossing the Potomac at or near Point of Rocks (from the 4th to the 7th of September) and took a posi- tion at Monocaey and Frederick City.
On the eth of September Gen. Lee issued from Frederick his famous proclamation to the people of Maryland, in which he held himself forth as their champion and defender and in- vited them to join his standard. On the toth of that month, being threatened by an advance of the Union army, he vacated
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PLEASANT VALLEY AND LOUDON HEIGHTS.
Frederick and proceeded westward through the mountain gaps. in the direction of Hagerstown.
Delaying the Union Army at South Mountain, and by a rapid and decisive movement. Lee captured the stronghold of Har- per's Ferry, commanded by Col. Miles, with its valuable muni- tions of war, artillery and 12,000 troops.
After the battle of South Mountain, fought at or near Tur- ner's and Crampton's Gaps nearly concurrent in time with the capture of Harper's Ferry, came the battle of Antietam, or Sharpsburg, which occurred on the 16th and 17th of Septem- ber, and was sanguinary and desperate on both sides, but was not attended with decisive results in favor of either of the con- testants. On the Isth the engagement was not renewed by either party, and on the morning of the 19th it was discovered that the Confederate Army had retreated across the Potomac.
After Antietam the Confederate forces occupied a position in the Shenandoah Valley, between Bunker Hill and Winches- ter, and the Federalists about Harper's Ferry ; part of the lat- ter going into camp at Antietam Iron Works and Sharpsburg, part on Bolivar Heights, and part in Pleasant Valley. Gen. MeClellan made his head-quarters at Knoxville in the State of Maryland.
Just after the several forces had assumed these positions, the 149th joined the Army of the Potomac at Sandy Hook, as described in the last chapter.
After leaving Sandy Hook, as before related, the 149th went into camp in an open field in Pleasant Valley on the afternoon of the sth of October, and remained there engaged in drilling and studying tactics until the morning of the 25th of the same month. Soon after its arrival it was brigaded with the 137th Regt. N. Y. V. Inft., under Col. Andrews of Massachusetts as brigade commander.
The camp was situate in a large open field distant two miles northeast of Sandy Hook and one mile north of the Potomac. The location, although in a valley with mountain ranges on either side to the east and west, was on an elevated tableland
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MEMOIRS 149th N. Y. INFT.
many feet above and sloping southward towards the river ; consequently the camp was exposed to winds and storms which were common and violent at that time of year. If there was any wind, no matter in what direction it came, it was certain to reach camp in a concentrated form through the valleys and mountain gaps. In warm weather the location would have been desirable, but in the bleak and cold month of October it was otherwise. The scenery, however, was beautiful and that was some compensation for discomforts. Water was obtained from a spring and was bitter and disgusting to the taste, and if not unhealthy, was unfit for drinking before boiling.
From early morning until evening the time of the men was occupied in drilling, discipline, and learning military duties. Reveille sounded before sunrise and immediately after came company roll-call. This was attended by every man and officer in the company not exeused by the surgeon. It required haste to get one's boots on in time to be present. Of course, the men and officers slept in the major part of their clothes, yet it was not an unusual thing to see officers and men present in partial dishabille, shivering in the cold morning wind, owing to the shortness of time intervening between the sounding of reveille and the call of the roll. The writer well remembers seeing the men standing in line rubbing their eyes with the backs of their hands to get the "sticks" out of them while the hairs of their heads stood on end like the quills of a porenpine. It always did seem as if reveille was a combination of all the inhuman sounds possible to be made on an army bugle. No army call ever gave such unpleasant sensations. The long-roll was not pleasant, yet it did not grate on the car like reveille, if it was not sounded at night. It might be a false alarm, some one at fault in sounding it, and no fighting after all ; but who ever had an idea that there was a false alarm about reveille? that any one was in fault in sounding it? It was get up at once and just an hour before any honest man ought to get up. It was like the hand of death, not to be put off or avoided, and very sudden.
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PLEASANT VALLEY AND LOUDON HEIGHTS.
After roll-call came breakfast. At this time a company cook was selected for the men and an effort made to cook the meat, coffee and vegetables (when there were any) in common. The coffee was made in the same kettle used to cook the meat and vegetables. Of course an effort was made to get the kettle clean, yet the coffee, notwithstanding, had a greasy and un- palatable taste.
Speaking of the matter of food, it may be stated that the company cook business was kept up for several months, but in the end the men made coffee for themselves in small tin cups, and evoked their food in tin pails and improvised.spiders made of half a tin canteen, and fared better; in fact, the practice of company cooking is not adapted to men engaged in active ser- vice. The breakfast business at this time, especially to the officers, was not satisfactory.
At half-past eight in the morning came officers' drill, which extended to half-past nine or ten o'clock, then followed non- commissioned officers drill, extending from 10 to 11 o'clock, and then squad drill from 11 to 1 r. M. After this an hour was given for dinner. Then came squad drill from two to half-past four p. M., followed by dress parade from 5 to 6. After supper an officers' meeting was held for the recitation of army tactics from 8 to 9; and then the day closed with roll- call at 9 o'clock. All these duties required every other of the company to be present, except the last where the attend- ance of one was sufficient.
The non-attendance of an officer at any of these duties was treated with great severity. The captain of one company was censured in orders read on dress parade for non-attendance of himself and his officers at tattoo. This occurred on the 14th of October. The captain was offended, sent in his resignation, which was accepted, and he left on the 17th for home. There is no doubt that striet discipline was necessary to the efficiency of the regiment. yet at the time the great severity seemed un- necessary and a hardship.
The exercises and duties on Sundays were no less onerous 4
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MEMOIRS 140th N. Y. INFT.
than on week days. The forenoons were taken up with com- pany and regimental inspection, and the afternoons by church service and undress parade in addition to the usual roll-calls. The camp became a model of neatness and order, and the drill and discipline of the regiment the subject of commendation from its superior officers.
One day a party of officers of the regiment visited the Signal Station on Maryland Heights, from which a view could be had of nearly all the camps of the army, and one of the signal officers handed a field-glass to the visitors with a request to take a look at a model camp. Imagine their surprise and grati- fication on ascertaining that the camp referred to was their own. All the grounds were thoroughly swept and cleaned ; the tents and articles in them put in the neatest manner possi- ble ; the arms and aceoutrements burnished, polished and put in good condition. No Regulars were ever under more thorough and exact discipline. This was somewhat perplexing and annoying, but thereby the regiment became able to do those deeds of valor for which the 3d Brigade. 2d Division, 12th and 20th A. C. afterwards became justly distinguished.
The Chaplain undertook to have regular religious services on Sundays, consisting of preaching in the afternoon to the men, drawn up in a hollow square, followed by Bible classes and class-meeting. Prayer-meetings were appointed for Sunday evenings and on one other evening in the week.
There is something inconsistent in fighting the enemy and attending divine service, therefore, these services so efficiently commenced were in course of time interrupted and in the end almost entirely discontinued. After a little the duties of the Chaplain were largely confined to that of postmaster. In this he had much to do and was indispensable. He was known to handle 800 letters in a day and was always cheerful and oblig- ing and a favorite with the men. He was also ready to help a poor fellow on the march by taking his knapsack and gun and was often seen with about as many guns and knapsacks on his horse as he could carry.
COLONEL ABEL G. COOK.
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PLEASANT VALLEY AND LOUDON HEIGHITS.
On the 11th of October Lient .- Col. J. M. Strong was taken sick with eamp fever, went home, and never afterwards re- turned to duty with the regiment. Col. H. A. Barnum, at this time and for several months afterwards, was detained at home by a dangerous and painful wound received at Malvern Hill while a member of the 12th N. Y. Inft. The departure of Lient .- Col. Strong, therefore, left the regiment almost at the commencement of its service with Maj. A. G. Cook as its only field officer present for duty. The Major had some military knowledge obtained by prior experience in the State militia, was kind and obliging, possessed of the requisite ability for an efficient officer, and with all was a gentleman ; yet he was young, and like all the rest of his officers, inexperienced. To add to other disadvantages in the matter of field officers, in the first engagement in which the regiment participated, it lost the fur- ther service of Maj. Cook, who received a serious wound in the foot, and so for a considerable time in its history it was turned over to the tender mercy of field officers from other commands.
Col. Barnum was an officer of experience and unusual ability, yet it was unfortunate that at the organization of the regiment an officer was put at the head of it, however meritorious, who. was dangerously ill and could not take command. There is no. doubt that the good name of the Colonel assisted the War Committee in raising the regiment, yet in the light of subse- quent experience it is just to say that if the colonel of the regi- ment had been an officer of the experience and ability of Col. Barnum, been present with it from the beginning, and one with it in feeling and sympathy, the men would have been saved many annoyances and hardships, and the officers of the line en- couraged and made more efficient. The material of the regi- ment, both in officers and men, was as good as any that ever went into service from the county of Onondaga, and it was discouraging and disheartening, both to officers and men, to have officers put over them from other commands (not as a rule their equals), whether the assignment was temporary or per- manent.
eoecatt
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MEMOIRS 149th N. Y. INFT
One of the best field officers the regiment ever had, notwith- standing his youth and inexperience, and most loved and re- spected by the men, was the gallant young Major who assumed command on the departure of Lieut .- Col. Strong.
On the 11th of October Mr. O. E. Allen, the sntler, put in an appearance and offered for sale his assortment of pipes and tobacco, sweet cakes and pickles, and other small wares.
On the 17th the regiment was visited by Capt. Ira Wood of the 12th N. Y. Inft. In the evening dress parade was had un- der the flag of that regiment. It showed evidence of sanguin- ary service and much enthusiasm was manifested by the men upon beholding the valued treasure of the sister regiment, yet as a battle trophy it bore no comparison with the flag of the 149th at a subsequent and much shorter period of service.
On the 18th a party of officers of the regiment obtained leave of absence and went over to Harper's Ferry. After visit- ing that place they made the ascent of Maryland Heights by way of a road and foot-path leading up its western side. About half way up were earthworks occupied by a Massachusetts battery. From these works to the top of the Heights the way, a mere foot-path, was very steep and tiresome. After a long tedious climb the crest was finally reached. This was very narrow and the altitude so great there was a feeling when standing upon it of being suspended in mid-air. The crest is composed largely of rocks partially covered with earth and verdure, and in some places is only a few feet wide. A large stone set in motion down either side of the mountain to the east or west would continue to roll for many hundred feet be- fore stopping.
At a place on the summit was a Signal Station with one or two officers and a squad of men. Powerful telescopes, resting on a slight frame work of logs, were pointed in different direc- tions, and a non-commissioned officer sat where he could look from time to time through them. The visitors were permitted to look through the telescopes and saw similar stations to the one in question many miles away which could not be discerned
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PLEASANT VALLEY AND LOUDON HEIGHTS.
with the naked eye. When the man employed for observation saw a flag moving at any of these stations, he promptly signi- fied it to his superior, who assumed his position at the glass and directed the movements of a flagman standing near by ready to communicate the dispatch to the person for whom it was intended. The visitors were not permitted to share in the contents of the dispatches, but were treated with great kindness and courtesy. Day and night during the stay of the regiment in Pleasant Valley the men were able to see the move- ments at this Signal Station, the waving of a flag by day and a flaming torch by night subserving the purpose of communi- cation between the head of the army and his subordinates.
From the station, with the naked eye, could be seen Win- chester, Charlestown, Shepherdstown, Halltown, Sharpsburg, Antietam Iron Works, Sugar Loaf Mountain, Point of Rocks, Knoxville, Harper's Ferry, Bolivar, and many other places. On Bolivar Heights was a balloon which made occasional as- censions at great elevations, but from the station it was down, down, down.
About a month before oeeurred the surrender of Harper's Ferry under Col. Miles, and near the station were works thrown up at that time. On the way up, and from the crest of Mary- land Heights, were many beautiful and impressive scenes viewed from a picturesque standpoint only, but as seen on this occasion in the light of recent events, with the surrounding hills and valleys occupied by the forces of two great contend- ing armies, with their white tents, assembled troops, earthworks and other evidences of military occupation, the beholder was impressed with a feeling of awe which is difficult to describe.
On the 19th a brigade commissary commenced the sale of stores to the officers of the command. This was an event of great importance and the beginning of better subsistence : a change from partial starvation to fair living. The food of the men at this time was not altogether satisfactory as the meat and hard bread issued was that brought from Harrison's Land- ing and damaged. On at least one occasion both of these ar-
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MEMOIRS 149th N. Y. INFT.
ticles were filled with maggots, and at all times they were stale and unsavory. Many humorous stories were told of the bread and meat experience at Pleasant Valley.
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