USA > New York > New York regiment, 1887-1895 > Part 9
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After the series of battles, terminating in the retreat of the Sixth Corps from Salem Heights, the Regiment leisurely returned to its old winter quar- ters, back of Falmouth, where the following orders were issued :
HEADQUARTERS SIXTH CORPS, May 10th, 1863.
Special Orders, No. 118.
1. The term of service of the Sixteenth New York Volunteers having expired, the Regiment will proceed at once to Albany, N. Y., the place of enrollment, where it will be mustered out of service. Upon arrival there, its arms, equipments, and public property will be turned in to the proper officers. The Quartermaster's department will furnish transportation from Falmouth.
The General commanding the Corps congratulates the officers and men of the Regi- ment upon the honorable termination of their period of duty. They have deserved well of the Republic upon many battle fields and in many tiresome marches. Through. all The vicissitudes of their two years' service they have preserved for their Regiment an
26
Historical Sketch of the
unblemished record. For their faithful services and gallant bearing upon all occasions, the General commanding the Corps thanks them in his own name, and for the country By command of MAJOR-GENERAL SEDGWICK.
M. T. McMAHON, Assistant Adjutant-General.
HEADQUARTERS FIRST DIVISION, SIXTH CORPS, } May 10th, 1863.
Special Orders, No. 44.
The undersigned is happy to add his testimony to the good character of the officers and men of the Sixteenth New York Volunteers, whose term of service is about to expire.
Their gallant conduct throughout the late campaign, and especially in the battle near Salem Church, excited his unbounded admiration.
It is needless to say how much he regrets to lose them. His best wishes for their future happiness go with them.
W. T. H. BROOKS, Brig .- Gen'l Com. Div.
COL. J. J. SEAVER, Com. 16th N. Y. Vols.
HEADQUARTERS SECOND BRIGADE, May 10th, 1863.
Special Order, No. 39.
To the Sixteenth New York Volunteers :
The term of service of the Sixteenth New York Volunteers having nearly expired, the General commanding the Brigade desires to express to them the sincere regret which he, in common with many others, feels at having them severed from his command.
During the past year they have been under his immediate notice, and have nobly borne their part of every hardship and privation which the command has endured. On the battle fields of West Point, Gaines' Hill, Charles City Cross Roads, Crampton Pass and Antietam, they showed themselves brave and gallant soldiers, ever ready to do battle for their country, and resisting to the last the onset of their country's foes.
In this last terrible campaign they have shown their gallantry and devotion anew, and won the commendation and thanks of all their commanding officers. To those whom they left on the field, the country will do honor. To the wounded the General extends his sympathy, and to the Regiment that has, on so many fields, unflinchingly and patriotically gained and maintained its reputation, the General commanding the Brigade tenders his congratulation, with the hope that they may be soon numbered again amongst their country's defenders. By order of
BRIGADIER-GENERAL J. J. BARTLETT.
R. P. WILSON, Capt. and Ass't Adj't-General.
On May 10th, 1863, the Regiment left Falmouth, via Washington, Phil- adelphia, New York, reaching Albany on the 14th. Here it was met by a committee of the Common Council, Thomas McCarty chairman, and a large delegation of firemen, at the Hudson River Railroad depot, who escorted the officers and men to the Delavan House and treated all to a bountiful breakfast. The appearance of the men, in their war-worn gar- ments, the torn banners, in shreds, and the fifteen wounded, were cheered
27
$ 16th Regiment, N. Y. Volunteer Infantry.
enthusiastically by the vast concourse of people assembled to meet and welcome the first regiment to depart and to return. No eye was dry, and is the boys moved through the streets, their sadly thinned ranks brought grief to every heart. After the procession had finished their march, they halted at the Capitol, where Gov. Seymour addressed the Regiment in these eloquent and appropriate words :
Soldiers of the Sixteenth Regiment :
With the close of this day will expire the two years for which your Regiment was mustered into the United States service. Your thinned ranks are most eloquent wit- nesses that your duty, as soldiers of the Union, has been religiously discharged. When, on the 15th of May, 1861, you were mustered into service, your Regiment numbered Soo stalwart men. You went forth with your banners fresh and beautiful; you return with them worn and tattered, but more beautiful and more sacred to us, from the perils and hardships through which they have been borne.
I congratulate you upon your return to our State, and upon the prospect of your speedy re-union with friends at home. Many who went with you, in the vigor of man- hood and health, have been denied this privilege. The records of the battles of West Point, Gaines' Mill, Crampton, Antietam and Fredericksburg, will account for the five hundred missing soldiers. Their bones are crumbling upon the Peninsula and whiten- ing the hills of the Blue Ridge. We welcome you, their comrades in arms, and in behalf of the People of the State, whom you have so honorably served, invoke the richest blessings of Providence upon you !
We will place your torn banners, amid others which will come to us from the battle- field, in the archives of the State, and cherish thein as precious memorials.
Soldiers! You are now about to return to your homes, in the northern part of the State. You will soon look forth upon the beautiful waters of Lake Champlain, the rolling St. Lawrence and Lake Ontario, along whose different shores most of you reside.
You will return to the duties of civil life, prepared, we trust, to discharge them with the same fidelity and honor you have manifested in the field.
And now, let me give you a kindly word of caution before bidding you farewell. You are about to enjoy that repose to which you are so justly entitled, and to receive a por- tion of that pay you so hardly and honorably earned. Be prudent, be careful, and do not let the designing or the unprincipled rob you of your money-keep it for the hour of sickness, and for the aid of those near and dear to you.
Again, as Governor of the State of New York, and Commander-in-Chief of its military forces, I thank you for your patriotic services.
Col. Seaver's reply :
To Your Excellency, and to the Mayor and Common Council of the City of Albany :
I desire to express to you the thanks of this Regiment for this cordial and enthusias- tic welcome so unexpectedly extended to us. It is the more gratifying inasmuch as it was unexpected.
I need not speak of the thinned ranks-of the trials and sufferings patiently borne- ยท f the sickness, disease and battles which have so reduced our numbers. These have all become familiar topics in the history of all armies. You have been pleased to allude
28
Historical Sketch of the
to the services of this Regiment in flattering terms. I trust that those services have not been rendered in vain-that all our sufferings will not, under Providence, be allowed to pass for naught. The reception extended to us this day is a cheering indication that they will not. The enthusiasm of your citizens-old and young-shows clearly enough that the heart of the people is still beating to the true measure-that their devotion to the old flag is as deep and undying as it was when the storm of battle first broke upon Fort Sumter.
I would to God that every soldier in our armies were here to-day to witness this enthusiasm. It would warm their hearts and nerve their arms to more powerful blows and to more glorious deeds. But while this may not be, the spirit of the people can be imparted to them.
Let it go forth from the Press, from Executive Halls, till the Armies of the Nation shall feel that there is but one people and one sentiment in all the loyal States, and that that people and that sentiment are with the Army, in favor of a speedy and honor- able termination of this war, and the restoration of the power of the Government of the United States over all that are now in rebellion. This will be worth more than thousands of armed men, and will be most potent in influence.
To your hands, sir, I am pleased to deliver the colors of this Regiment, that they may be preserved in the archives of the State. They are beaten by storm, torn by many a hostile bullet, but, I believe, they have never been dishonored.
Let them remain as a testimony to the brave men who have fallen in their defence, and to those who are so soon to return to their homes-sobered by discipline and chastened by much suffering.
Gov. Seymour subsequently visited the soldiers in the carriages.
While in Albany a large number of the soldiers of the Regiment attended the North Dutch church, the seats in the north gallery being reserved expressly for them. The discourse of Rev. Dr. Clark, the eminent pastor, was truly eloquent, thrilling aud exceedingly appropriate, and was listened to with marked attention throughout by these war-worn heroes, their bronzed and scarred cheeks being frequently bedewed with tears-espe- cially when allusion was made by the Rev. Dr. to the sufferings and priva- tions they had endured for two years in defence of their country. His allusions to the many gallant companions they had left behind also brought many a tear from the soldiers as well as the congregation.
May 18th Col. Seaver issued the following farewell address, the last order to the Regiment :
HEADQUARTERS SIXTEENTH REG'T N. Y. VOLS., Albany, May 18th, 1863.
To the Officers and Men of the Sixteenth Reg't N. Y. Vols .:
As we are about to separate for our several homes, on the expiration of our term of service, I should do less than my duty if I failed to express to you my sincere gratitude for the promptness and alacrity with which you have obeyed all orders since I have had the honor to command the Regiment, my admiration of the patience with which you have endured every trial and fatigue, and the noble, self-sacrificing manner in which you have discharged every duty to your country.
29
16th Regiment, N. Y. Volunteer Infantry.
Among the first to enter the field at your country's call, yours has been no holiday work. Your thinned ranks and tattered banners speak more eloquently than words, of lung and honorable service. For this your country will honor you with her highest praise, and reward you with her profoundest gratitude-the richest legacies bequeathed by any nation to a soldier and a patriot. I need not speak of your noble deeds at Gaines' Hill, at Crampton's Gap and at Salem Heights, in each of which engagements more t an a quarter of your numbers fell. I need not allude to the other fields where your presence was felt in the services you rendered. You have written your own record in noble, patriotic blood, and no words of mine can add to the lustre of its page. In all these services-in all these privations-in all these achievements-we have shared in common; and it is my highest pride that you have borne so patiently and achieved so well.
When the relations that have so long and so pleasantly existed shall cease, and we lay aside the character of the soldier to assume that of the citizen, let us not forget any of the obligations we owe to our common country-let us not, in the quiet of our homes forget her danger and her need. The Government must be sustained-its old flag must be upheld until it shall again wave over every State represented on its azure field. Not a star shall fall-not a stripe shall fade. To this we should all be ready to "pledge our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor."
May God, in His healing mercy, soon restore to us all those who bear honorable wounds received in our late engagement, and give to the friends of those who have fallen in battle or perished by disease, strength to bear their bereavement.
J. J. SEAVER, Colonel Com'dg Reg't.
While at Albany the officers presented a magnificent sword to Col. How- land, and the men an elegant Bible to Mrs. Howland. In the fly-leaves of the Bible the names of the donors were engraved. These best friends of the Regiment felt deeply these marks of gratitude.
On the 22nd the different companies were mustered out and returned to their various homes. The Sixteenth passed out of organization honored, and into history revered.
At Gouverneur, Potsdam, Ogdensburg, Malone and Plattsburgh the returning heroes were received as only the loyal people of these commu- nities, who loved them well, and from whose numbers they went, could take them to their hearts.
THE RETURN OF THE SIXTEENTH REGIMENT.
BY MRS. F. M. THRALL.
Now vibrates every heart that hears The footsteps of our volunteers ! Fearless they went, but all untried; They now return, our praise and pride.
30
Historical Sketch of the
The flag we gave them only bears
Stains of war and noble scars;
Ready ! ah ready ! was their word
When the first notes of war were heard. We gave them God-speed through our tears,
With trembling hopes and nameless fears,
How nights of watching, days of tight, For our country and our right,
Have proved their valor and their faith,
And some have proved it unto death.
Our hearts foreboded well the day,
That some must fall in bloody fray;
But they rest in a glorious bed, Who sleep with the immortal dead.
Ye martyrs in this valiant band,
In fairest lines your names shall stand,
With patriots of the early time, And loyal souls of every clime;
Toll for the brave we loved so well,
In solemn peals a funeral knell. While all our hearts responsive sigh, How nobly did our heroes die.
LOSSES IN ACTION.
The losses in action of the Sixteenth, as compiled from the muster-out rolls, reports of officers, memoranda of daily records of the Regiment kept by one captain, six lieutenants and eleven enlisted men, which agree in nearly every case, are as follows :
KILLED.
WOUNDED.
MISSING.
First Bull Run
O
I
O
West Point.
6
16
2
Gaines' Hill
46
194
54
Garnett's Hill.
I
3
3
Savage Station
3
5
2
Glendale .
2
13
3
Malvern Hill .
I
5
II
Crampton's Pass
32
90
O
Antietam.
I
3
0
Salem Church .
28
91
49
Total Total casualties in action, 665.
120
421
I24
The above figures are also verified by the newspapers of Albany, on the date of the return of the Regiment, based upon the statements of the offi- cers, who then had all the records of the Sixteenth with them. The Even- ing Journal, Atlas and Argus and Morning Express files have been carefully examined. The same records and memoranda show the deaths by companies, as follows :
31
16th Regiment, N. Y. Volunteer Infantry.
Killed and Died of Wounds.
Died of Disease, Accidents, &c.
CO'S.
OFFICERS.
MEN.
TOTAL.
OFFICERS.
MEN.
TOTAL.
Field and Staff.
I
8
8
5
5
108
B.
H I
14
15
8
8
106
C.
15
15
6
6
143
D.
14
14
12
12
I12
E.
1 H
10
11
10
IO
131
F.
H I
12
13
1
5
6
III
G.
12
12
=
II
124
H.
1
12
13
13
13
118
I.
I
10
. II
8
8
132
K.
I
6
7
IO
IO
120
TOTALS.
7
113
120
1
88
89
I221
Total deaths in Regiment, 209. This number does not include those who died away from the Regiment
At Gaines' Mills the color-bearers were three times shot down, and all except one of the color-guard were either killed or wounded. The regi- mental banner was in every march and in every battle in which the Regi- ment participated. It was struck by a ball, while in the hands of the color- bearer, and the ferrule indented so that it could not be moved on the staff. At Crampton Gap, Corporal Charles H. Conant was instantly killed by a Minie-ball through the head, while holding one of the flags, and Corporal Robert Watson, of the color-guard, was shot through the leg, in this action.
In all, the Sixteenth was engaged in eighteen reconnoissances, skirmishes and battles, and lost six hundred and sixty-five men, killed, wounded and missed in action. Twelve hundred and twenty-one men were enrolled and served some part of the two years the Regiment was in the United States service. When mustered out this number was reduced to two hundred and cighty-one, officers and men. 1221 less 281 gives total loss 940, of whom more than one-half are now dead.
TOTAL ENROLLMENT.
16
Co. A.
32
Historical Sketch of the
LOSSES IN BARTLETT'S BRIGADE
These tables of figures on casualties in action are from the official publi- cations of the War Department, and are based on the Colonels' reports at the date of each action, verified by pension papers and the muster-out rolls, furnished to me most kindly by Col. Wm. F. Fox, of Albany, N. Y.
SEVEN DAYS' BATTLES, INCLUDING GAINES' HILL.
KILLED.
WOUNDED.
MISSING.
Fifth Maine
9
49
Sixteenth New York.
40
181
12
Twenty-Seventh New York
12
118
32
Ninety-Sixth Pennsylvania
13
61
13
Total.
74
409
68
CRAMPTON'S GAP, MD.
Fifth Maine.
4
28
O
Sixteenth New York.
31
70
0
Twenty-Seventh New York
6
27
0
Ninety-Sixth Pennsylvania
20
71
O
Total.
61
196
O
Total loss of Army at Crampton's Gap
was
113
418
2
ANTIETAM, MD.
Fifth Maine
O
5
O
Sixteenth New York .
I
2
0
Twenty-Seventh New York
O
O
o
Ninety-Sixth Pennsylvania
1
I
o
Total.
2
8
0
SECOND FREDERICKSBURG.
Fifth Maine
11
58
27
Sixteenth New York
33
70
49
Twenty-Seventh New York
3
13
3
One Hundred and Twenty-First N. Y.
48
173
55
Ninety-Sixth Pennsylvania
16
54
9
Total
III
368
143
33
16th Regiment, N. Y. Volunteer Infantry.
LOSSES IN "TWO YEARS' REGIMENTS."
A table of casualties during their service of the first twenty " two years' regiments," as shown by the most complete records at the War Department at Washington and by the muster-out rolls at Albany :
KILLLED AND DIED OF INED OF DISEASE WOUNDS.
DATE OF MUSTER.
REGIMENT.
DEATHS.
Of'c's En. ! Men.
Total. Of'c's E.n. Men.
161. May 7,
..
21,
14,
3d Veterans,
- .
T
25
26
2
64
66
92
..
..
9,
5th Duryea Zouaves,
6
183
189
O
31
31
220
April 23,
7th Steuben Regiment,
14
88
102
I
46
47
149
..
33,
8th German Rifles,
O
89
80
I
41
42
131
May 4,
9th Hawkins Zouaves,
2
74
76
2
25
27
103
April 20,
Irth Ellsworth Zouaves,
3
48
51
3
12
15
66
..
May 13,
12th Independence Guards,
3
61
64
I
59
60
124
: :
14,
13th Rochester Regiment,
4
67
71
O
29
29
100
..
17,
14th First Onondaga,
4
56
60
O
44
44
104
15th Engineers (3 years).
16th "Straw I lats of History,"
4 107
IlI
I
85
86
197
24,
17 Westchester Chasseurs,
5
31
36
3
29
32
68
17,
18th New York Rifles,
4
34
38
I
34
35
73
17,
19th First Cayuga,
2
31
33
O
54
54
87
17,
20th German Turners,
7
54
61
I
60
61
122
:
6,
21st Buffalo Regiment,
2
74
76
2
40
42
118
June 6, 22d Second N. Y. Regiment,
5
31
36
3
29
32
68
May 21, 27th Broome County Regt.
2
71
73
2
69
71
144
--
I
24
25
0
23
23
48
..
9, 4th Scotts Life Guards,.
2
60
62
T
23
24
86
6th Wilson Zouaves,
O
13
13
O
34
34
47
25,
Ist National Guards,
0
88
88
3
33
36
124
.4
..
2d Troy Rifles,
ACC'TS, IN PRISON, &C. TOTAL.
Total.
..
15,
10th (three years' regiment),
There were in all thirty-eight " two years' regiments " from New York State. Except as above given the highest casualties occurred in the Thirty- Fourth Regiment, viz., 162. Thus the Sixteenth, with the single exception of the Fifth, stands on the records as suffering the greatest loss of all the thirty-eight New York regiments which served the same period and for the same time. These records credit the Sixteenth with twelve less than it in fact lost, and, no doubt, like errors occur with reference to others.
.-
3
34
Historical Sketch of the
DEATH OF COL. HOWLAND.
Col. Joseph Howland, of Matteawan, Dutchess county, N. Y., died at Mentone, France, of consumption, on April Ist, 1886.
Col. Howland, at the organization of the Sixteenth Regiment New York Volunteers, in the spring of 1861, at Albany, joined the Regiment as its adjutant on the staff of Col. Thomas A. Davies, and served in that capacity until the organization of the old Sixth Army Corps, in the fall of 1861, at Alexandria, Va., when he was promoted to be assistant adjutant-general on the staff of Gen. Henry W. Slocum, who was assigned to the command of the third brigade of that corps. In this position he served until March, 1862. On the promotion of Col. Davies to be brigadier-general, at the unanimous request of all the commissioned field and staff of the Sixteenth Regiment, Major Howland consented to take the command of his old Regiment, and received his commission as its colonel in March or April, 1862, just as the army was preparing for its "on to Richmond " movement. This appointment was hailed by the whole Regiment-officers and men alike-with a heartiness born only of admiration and respect for a throughly good soldier and a noble man. Col. Howland immediately applied him- self to the duties of his position. The comfort and welfare of the men of his command were his first and constant care. Order and discipline were rigidly enforced, and prompt obedience to all requirements was but a natural outgrowth which sprang from the love an intelligent soldiery bore to an urbane and dignified chief. No officer in the service ever devoted himself more unremittingly to the interests of his men than did Col. How- land to the old Sixteenth, from the time he joined it at Albany to its mus- ter-out at Albany in 1863. Possessed of abundant means, he provided for the Regiment many luxuries and comforts which the government did not supply, for both camp and hospital, while his estimable wife and her sister devoted themselves with untiring zeal to the care of the sick and the wants of those who were well, following, like ministering angels, the Regiment and its fortunes wherever it marched and fought.
Col. Howland commanded the Regiment in the desperate battle of Gaines' Mill on the 27th of June, 1862, when on the extreme right of line it charged the enemy, recapturing a battery which had been lost earlier in the day, and retained its position until the exhaustion of its ammunition and the final onset of "Stonewall" Jackson forced it to retire, as the sun was going down. Early in this engagement, the lamented Lieut .- Col. Marsh was mortally wounded and borne from the field. At about the same time Col. Howland received a severe wound, but continued to direct the
35
16th Regiment, N. Y. Volunteer Infantry.
movements of the Regiment until it left the field. In this engagement, 'owes its colonel and lieutenant-colonel, the Regiment lost in killed and sounded 260 men, rank and file-fully one-quarter of its effective force on that day. No battle-scarred veteran ever bore himself with higher valor or inspired his command with more heroic bravery than did Col. Howland on this occasion. Brave, without rashness, he was at his post where danger was thickest. With a courage that scorned all danger, and with an intre- Indity that seemed to defy death, he led his men on the field and remained with them so long as there was hope.
From the effects of the wound received on this day Col. Howland was compelled to retire from the service. But though no longer able to bear the fatigues of a campaign, he never forgot his old command, or ceased to vare for its welfare. He visited the Regiment once at Harrison's Landing, and was once more with it at Albany on its return home. On this latter occasion the enlisted men of the Regiment presented to Col. and Mrs. Howland an elegant copy of the Bible, in which were bound the letter of presentation and the autograph signature of every man of the command then present.
Subsequent to his retirement from the service he was brevetted a briga- dier-general, in recognition of his meritorious service and distinguished. bravery on the field.
Col. Howland was the youngest son of Samuel S. Howland, of the firm of Howland & Aspinwall, of New York, In physique he was not strong, and was thereby unfitted for the life of a soldier. His early education and training, received under the care of the best masters, had, however strength- ened his constitution, and developed a mind of unusual clearness and of great power. His executive ability was of a high order, and in the admin- istration of affairs he had few equals. He possessed a high sense of honor and a clear and quick conception of right and wrong. To the right he was inflexible. No art, device or subterfuge could so gloss the wrong that it would evade his keen detection and stern rebuke. This trait in his charac- ter was prominent, and no man could approach him without feeling that he was in the presence of a noble man.
In 1865 Col. Howland was elected Treasurer of the State of New York, and held the office for the ensuing two years. It is superfluous to say that the duties of the office were discharged in an upright and acceptable manner.
He never fully recovered from the effects of his military service and the doubling wound which retired him, and much of his time since then has ren spent in travel and leisure, seeking to regain that health which was then impaired. For this purpose he was abroad at the time of his death.
36
Historical Sketch of the
Aside from his immediate family, Joseph Howland-the Christian gentle- man and the brave soldier-will have no sincerer mourners than the sur- viving members of the old Sixteenth New York Volunteers.
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