USA > New York > Albany County > Albany > The heroes of Albany. A memorial of the patriot-martyrs of the city and county of Albany, who sacrificed their lives during the late war in defense of our nation 1861-1865 > Part 6
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68
" A large company of ladies and gentlemen met at the house of A. MCCLURE last evening, on the occasion of the presentation of sword, &c., to Lieut. Col. RICE, of the Ellsworth regiment. Among those present were Gov. MORGAN, Hon. ERASTUS CORN- ING, JOHN G. SAXE, Esq., and other distinguished citizens. The Presentation Address was made by Mrs. WILLIAM BARNES, who spoke with great feeling and in a vein of patriotic fervor, which stirred the hearts of all who listened. It will be long before the recipient will forget her eloquent words and impressive counsels. Lieut. Col. RICE responded in an address marked at once by earnestness and scholarly finish. He pledged those present that the sword, of which he was the recipient, should return to its scabbard, when the war was ended, untarnished; and that no friend should have cause to blush over his record. He was deeply affected, and spoke with the pathos of earnest feeling.
"The sword is beautifully finished, and bears the following inscription: 'Lieut. Col. RICE, Forty-fourth Regiment N. Y. S. V. Presented by his Albany Friends.' Among the articles pre- sented, in addition, were a pair of revolvers, belt and sash, &c."
After the appropriate and eloquent Presentation Speech by Mrs. WM. BARNES, Col. RICE made the following reply:
68
BRIG. GEN. JAMES C. RICE.
" Respected Madom: Be pleased to accept for yourself, and for those whom you have so eloquently represented here this eve- ing, my grateful thanks, for these precious testimonials of your and of their regard.
" Aside from the intrinsic value of these martial gifts, so rich and beautiful in themselves, the thought that they are the gener- ous offerings of friends whose esteem long years of absence from their midst has not dimmed; the thought that the fair and patri- otic channel of their conveyance is, at this moment, recalling to the mind of each one present the distinguished source from which you spring; the thought that they are presented here, surrounded by my kindred and family friends; and, above all, the thought that they are so soon to be used for the defence of a beloved country, in whose preservation cach of our homes and firesides, our families, and all the kindliest relations and bless ings of life are so intimately allied, will ever enhance to me the value of your gifts-adding, whether upon the tented or battle field, joy to duty-tenderly touching to their finest issues the sacred love and devotion I bear to my country, and causing me more fully than ever before, to realize:
' How home-felt pleasure prompts the patriot's sigh, And makes him wish to live, yet dare to die.'
" The manner, Madam, in which these martial gifts have been presented to me-coming as they do from the hands of one of the gentler sex, and surrounded as I am by so numerous an assemblage of fair women and brave men-naturally calls to my mind those chivalric days of England's earliest kings, when around the Round Table of the good and gallant Arthur, valorous knights modestly told their loves, and feats of arms; when the fair Countess of Brittany and Montford stooped to bind the sash and sword around the waists of the bold Sir Tristam, and the generous Knight, Sir Lancelot; when the fair Lady Isabella, and the beautiful Eloisa, beside prancing steeds, gracefully knelt and fixed the spurs to their gallant knights; when the brave Templar of Ivanhoe won his fair Rowena by his faithful arms; when love was the crowning grace-the grandeur of the soldier's toils and
69
BRIG. GEN. JAMES C. RICE.
bravery in woman's eyes the dearest quality of the manly mind. In accepting this sword, on this occasion, from your fair hands, I would not entirely forget the noble examples of those chivalric times; but I will remember their many virtues, their merey towards the helpless, and their kindness towards the oppressed. Be assured, Madam, that this sword, now entrusted to me by you, shall never be tarnished with one ignoble or ungenerous action; that as it now comes from your hands, bright and un- sullied, so shall it be sheathed, when this war shall have ceased and peace shall have been restored throughout the land. When the skillful armorers of Saragossa presented their new made swords to the brave knights of old, they first plunged them, hot from the forge, into the river Stalo, and thus tempered, baptized them with a saered name, and dedicated them to some noble cause. This night I receive this sword, tempered by your eloquent and burning words, and forever dedicate it to the freedom and pre- servation of my country. Inspired by your commands, I receive this sword, and with the Trojan hero, as the Greeks threatened his beloved Troy, confidently exclaim:
· Si Pergama dextra
Defendi possent, etiam hac defensa fuissent.'
" If the Union can be defended by any right hand, even by this, it shall be defended.
" In the sentiments which you have so eloquently and feel- mgly expressed in regard to this war, I fully concur. I have long and confidently believed that God, looking down from His Eternal Throne of Justice upon the American people, from the formation of our Government, and despairing, after a long and faithful trial, that justice and right would ever be done to the down-trodden slave, either by the North or the South, at last has taken their emancipation upon Himself. I believe that it is God's divine purpose, having used the wrath of the South to commence this war, to cause that wrath to praise Him by the freedom of every slave. And I also confidently believe that this war, under his Providence, will be made just severe enough to effect this object; and that it will be ended by God only when
70
BRIG. GEN. JAMES C. RICE.
we, as individuals, both North and South, shall see and realize this Divine object. Be assured, Madam, that in this war
' There is a Divinity that shapes our ends, Rough hew them as we will.'
Bearing no unkind or ungenerous spirit towards the South, but at the same time determined to defend my country to the last, . on this Divinity, in conducting this war to a happy and glorious peace, I alone rely.
" With feelings thus inspired, I receive these military arms and equipments from your hands. But be assured that in doing so, I accept them relying not boastingly or confidently upon my own strength. I receive them, feeling deeply the responsibility of the sacred trust imposed upon me by your kindness, and trust- ing for their unsullied keeping entirely to that Being who never forsakes the brave and the faithful, who in the day of battle and of trial, put their trust in Him alone. I accept them as a Chris- tian, feeling that they are to be used in a most holy cause-a cause that God will bless, and in His own wise time and way bring to a happy and glorious issue. I accept them as a patriot, proudly remembering the blessings and the glory of our coun- try's past, and anxiously trusting that the same glory and bless- ings, so abundantly shared by us, may be transmitted to our children. I accept them as a soldier, willing to leave all, sacri- fice all (save a Saviour's love), willing to offer up my life, if need be, for my country; for in the loss of our country all is lost, and whoever of us shall be so unhappy as to survive his country, can but feel that he has already lived too long."
The subsequent history of this regiment, and the glorious record made by it, are well known. Young RICE was shortly promoted to its command, and led it through all the hard fighting of the seven days' battles before Richmond, in the campaign of 1862. It was here that the soldiers learned, in their hardships and sufferings, that they had in their Colonel, a friend whose heart was ever open to their needs, and that their comfort was ever his first solicitude. The noble men of this splendid regi- ment, who have escaped the dangers of the battle field, uniformly
71
BRIG. GEN. JAMES C. RICE.
bear grateful testimony to the constant kindness and sympathy of Col. RICE. At the battle of Gettysburg he had charge of a brigade, and here, in the language of an eye-witness of that day's terrible conflict, " he again distinguished himself by his gallantry and skill. He was highly spoken of by Gen. MEADE, for his con- duct on this occasion, and earnestly recommended by him, as well as by Generals HOOKER and BUTTERFIELD, for an appoint- ment of brigadier general of volunteers. The President acqui- esced in the wishes of these officers, and Col. RICE was presented with his commission, dating from the day of the battle of Gettys- burg." Gen. RICE was now assigned to the command of a brigade, and had a part in all the battles of the "Army of the Potomac," till the fatal bullet closed his earthly career, at the close of a desperate day's fight at Spottsylvania, Virginia.
Gen. RICE's last letter, addressed to his aged mother, reveals the inner thoughts and workings of his soul. He said:
"We are about to commence the campaign, the greatest in magnitude, strength and importance since the beginning of the war. God grant that victory may crown our arms; that this wicked rebellion may be crushed, our Union preserved, and peace and prosperity again be restored to our beloved country. My faith and hope and confidence are in God alone, and I know that you feel the same. I trust that God may again graciously spare my life, as he has in the past; and yet we cannot fall too early, if, loving Christ, one dies for his country. My entire hope is in the cross of my Saviour. In this hope I am always happy. We pray here in the army, mother, just the same as at home. The same God who watches over you also guards me. I always remember you in my prayers, and I know that you never forget me in yours. All that I am, under God, I owe to you, mother. Do you recollect this passage in the Bible: 'Thou shalt keep, therefore, the statutes, that it may be well with thec, and thy children after thee.' How true this is in respect to your children, mother. I hope that you will read the Bible and trust the promises to the last. There is no book like the Bible for comfort. It is a guide to the steps of the young-a staff to the aged. Well, my dear mother, good bye. We are going again
72
BRIG. GEN. JAMES C. RICE.
to our duty, to bravely offer up our life for that of our country, and, through God, we shall do it valiantly. With much love and many prayers, that whatever may betake us we may meet in Heaven at last,
I am, your affectionate son, "JAMES."
They will meet again where sorrow and parting are no more.
We regret that after several efforts we have not been able to obtain a fuller account and more minute details of the career of this distinguished soldier and eminent Christian; but the follow- ing papers, from those who knew well the departed hero, afford a just and clear view of his pure and lofty character, and of the valuable services that he rendered to our country.
TIIE LAMENTED GEN. JAMES RICE, AS HE APPEARED IN CAMP-A VISIT WITH HIM TO A PRAYER MEETING-HIS REMARKS AT THE MEETING.
Correspondence of the New York Evening Post.
Near CULPEPPER, April, 1864. MY FIRST NIGHT WITH THE ARMY.
Well, after dinner my hosts fulfilled their promise; one of them guided me several miles to the quarters of the General.
The General is a Massachusetts Yankee, and was a New York lawyer. He entered the war as a private; became afterwards lieutenant colonel of the finest regiment our State has ever sent out; rose to be colonel of it, and was made brigadier general for a brilliant deed at Gettysburg. He has fought his way up, having neither family nor political influence, and has the reputa- tion, with the commanding general, of holding tenaciously what is given him to hold, and going, over all difficulties, to the spot which he is ordered to take. His men say of him that he never says " go," but always, " come;" they are sure of hard fighting under him, but they are certain, too, to see him leading in the hottest part of it. He will blush when he reads these praises of him, but as I do not call him by name, and as what I tell is the simple truth concerning the simplest, purest and bravest soldier I ever knew, there is no need of his blushes.
I proposed a walk before dark, and we lit our cigars and saun- tered through the brigade, that I might see how soldiers live in
73
BRIG. GEN. JAMES C. RICE.
their winter quarters. It is not such an uncomfortable life as many of us at home feared. What we call tents are in fact huts; a frame-work of logs is built up to the height of four feet, and tightly sealed with mud; over this is spread a canvass tent as a roof. A broad, backwoods fireplace extends nearly across one side of this little house, on which the great logs are heaped to make a warm and cheerful fire. Some tents have boarded floors, in others the ground is beaten down hard; all are kept dry by a ditch surrounding the outside. Within are two " bunks " or berths, in which two or four men sleep; the walls are decorated with pictures cut from illustrated papers, with scraps from the country weeklies, patriotic songs, here and there an army hymn, and perhaps a photograph. You enter by a door, but there are no windows, the canvass roof admitting abundant light. This was the home of our soldiers during the long winter months. Here they read, slept and discussed; for these men are inex- haustible disputants, having brought with them from home all their curious love of political discussion.
" There is the chapel," said the General to me; " the chaplain is an excellent man-plain, rough, but full of fervor, and with a spirit of a Christian soldier. There is a prayer meeting to-night, and we will go in presently."
The chapel was a long building of logs, somewhat higher than the ordinary tents, and covered with canvass given by the Chris- tian Commission. The seats were fence rails, firmly fixed in crotches driven into the ground. A little ledge, with two candles, answered the purpose of a pulpit and reading stand. When we entered, the meeting was about to begin. The house was full, about one hundred and twenty-five men having gathered together. I shall not soon forget this remarkable evening. The chaplain opened the meeting with a hymn, sung to a familiar, old-fashioned Methodist air, then asked the General to pray, who did so, fervently and simply. After more singing, such of the men as chose were called upon to speak or pray, as they wished. A number rose, one after the other, some speaking a few words, others offering a prayer. Those who spoke, urged in simple, direct, earnest words the necessity and happiness of a Christian
74
BRIG. GEN. JAMES C. RICE.
life; those who prayed, called upon God, with touching appeals, to bless their country, the President, their generals and their families, from whom they had been so long separated. They spoke and prayed as men feel who have been long upon the sea, and whose port is yet far off; as men troubled with the yearn- ings of a lonely life, yet strong in their sense of duty fulfilled, and earnest to continue even unto death, if God so willed, in the canse for which they have so long battled. I am not ashamed to say that my heart tilled, and tears came to my eyes, as I listened to them and saw what greatness of endurance, what for- titude and patient self-sacrifice, was found here in the camp. At the close of the meeting the General spoke: "You know well," said he, "and I rejoice that you know the importance and sacredness of the contest in which we are engaged. This is God's war; we who fight it are God's soldiers; we are God's peo- ple-the plain people whom he loves and cares for. This is God's war; everything that is holy and good on earth is at stake in it; we are fighting for law, for free government, for the liberty and equality of all men; we are fighting to maintain all that ever or ean keep this Nation pure and happy and prosperous; not only our laws and our liberties, and those of our children, but even the religion of Christ would be corrupted if the enemies of the Union could triumph. They are autocrats, hating the plain peo- ple, despising the workingmen, corrupting religion, snatching at our liberties. We are God's servants, engaged in his work; and because we are that, because it is His service we do, therefore we are bound to be honest, to be faithful, upright, enduring, brave, pure of life, devoted in all things to Him who is our mas- ter; therefore it belongs to us, before all other men, to serve God in every act of our lives, to love Him, to follow His com- mands, to restrain our passions, to be in all things moderate, virtuous soldiers of God."
"You have been told," he went on, "how the soldiers of the Union are thought of at the north; how they are cared for, loved, looked up to. You know how, in your own homes, a soldier of the Revolution was reverenced, because he fought in the great battles which first gave us liberty; but your reward will be greater
75
BRIG. GEN. JAMES C. RICE.
and more enduring than theirs. When this war is over, and you go home, you will be received with shouts, and hosannas, and tears of joy; you will be honored and cherished as man never was before you in the world; your children and children's children, to the latest generation, will make it their proudest boast that their fathers fought in this great and holy war. You will found families in the land; the greatest in the land will be proud to say, 'my ancestors served in the great war; ' and if we die on the field of battle, as many of us must, do you think we shall be forgotten? Ah! don't believe it. When the war is over, be sure every smallest incident of its history will be traced, every name will be recorded. every brave deed will be searched ont, and for a century to come your trials, your sufferings, your constancy and bravery will be the chosen theme of the most finished scholars, and the greatest writers our country produces. No act of ours will escape the vigilance of that multitude of busy writers who will, in every State and every town, search out our names and the story of our services, to make them known to the Nation, which will call us fathers of a redeemed country, the soldiers of a greater revolution. Ah! it is a proud thing to fight in this war; our reward will be great. Let us live such lives that God will love us, and that our countrymen may be proud of us. Let us keep up, here in the camp, the thoughts and habits of the dear homes we have left so far away, that our old mothers, when we come back to them, shall not find us in anything changed except for the better."
Do men fail to think thus? The General, whose words I have written here, has fought in twenty battles. He is but a little past thirty, but his black hair is already grizzled, and the lines in his grim face tell of exposure and the excitement of battle. "Do they see it as you do, General," I asked, as we walked homeward, " do they believe with you?" Believe," said he, "they know; they have discussed these questions many hundred times about their camp fires; it is their life, their hearts are full of it. Do you think they are men who give their ease, their prospects, their lives for it; don't understand it? My dear sir, they know more than all the north put together."
76
BING. GEN. JAMES C. RICE.
I believe they do. These soldiers, in their long isolation from the busy world of home, have pondered and settled certain ques- tions for themselves; they have disentangled themselves from the sophistries in which adroit politicians at home used to catch men as in nets. They call right, right; wrong, wrong, and duty, duty. The men of this army are enriously self-contained, self- confident. They no longer toss up their hats for a passing gon- cral-a disgusting fashion which was encouraged in the army at first, because it was thought that Americans fight as Frenchmen. and must be moved by personal motives, and by appeals to the meaner passions. " The soldier, if he does his dnty, is as good as his officer," they say: " the soldiers have achieved more than their officers in this army; we gain battle by hard fighting." They believe in the power of the army of the Potomac, and think it the finest army now in the world. " It is easy," they say, "to go on from victory to victory; easy to be confident when you always beat the enemy." But we have been defeated time and again, and after every defeat we have fought again as stubbornly, as bravely as ever. That's the hardest trial. But of what the army says, or such small part of it as one by chance and effort can get knowledge of, I must write another time. C. N.
. BRIG. GEN. JAMES C. RICE.
By Chaplain TWICHELL, Second Regiment Excelsior Brigade.
One of the most pleasant passages of my army experience, and one that I think will stay as freshly as any in my recollection, should my life go on to old age, is my last visit to Gen. RICE, at his head quarters near Culpepper Court House, a few days before we crossed the Rapidan and entered upon the late campaign, from the scenes of which he was fated so soon to disappear. I cannot say that he and I were friends, as our acquaintance had been recently formed; but I had often felt of late, that if his regard should keep pace with mine for a season, we were des- · tined to become such; for it was not possible for one who knew him, to refrain his love. His soldiers, who sat down in the trenches before Spottsylvania, and sobbed when word passed
77
BRIG. GEN. JAMES C. RICE.
along the line, "The General is dead!" can tell how that was, for they knew him, as he knew them.
The afternoon before the visit I speak of, I had ridden over to Culpepper-several miles from our camp-to pass the night with a friend; and just at sunset, having half an hour to spare, I ealled on the General. Had I no more than that short interview to recall concerning him, it was still enough to make me a mourner when he fell. He had lately written, to send to Mr. WHITTIER, that beautiful, sad story of the hospital, since pub- lished in the " Independent," and taking the manuscript from his portfolio, he read it aloud to me. His voice, subdued to the pathos of the subject, and the narrative itself, blended harmo- niously with the soft shadows of the waning spring day that gathered around the reader's form as he stood in a western window for light, all together blend harmoniously with my present thoughts of the scene, now that, like the sergeant whose last hours he comforted, the General himself has halted and bivouacked forever.
When I rose to go, but not till the proposed half hour had twice expired, he asked me with true soldierly heartiness to stay till morning, and replied to my plea of a previous engagement: " Well, then, come out to-morrow and spend the forenoon; I shall be at liberty after nine o'clock, and we can talk over everything." I am very thankful now that there was nothing to forbid my acceptance of the invitation.
When the orderly admitted me, at the time appointed, the General was giving audience to three private soldiers of his com- mand, who had come for counsel in some matter. It was de- lightful to witness the spirit that presided at the interview. The grace with which his kindness met their confidence, showed that kindness and confidence were the law and custom of the place; yet no one could have failed to perceive that the proprieties of rank were not in the least article violated. That he was their commander, appeared as plain as that he was not their tyrant. When finally he dismissed them, satisfaction and gratitude shone in all their faces, and I comprehended why it was that once (as I heard himself tell), during the "Seven Days," in the summer
78
BRIG. GEN. JAMES C. RICE.
of 1862, when he was Colonel, the remmant of his wasted regi- ment, ordered as a forlorn hope to save a battle well-nigh lost, followed him steadily up, struggling through the refluent tide of their own broken line, until it dashed, bayonet to bayonet, against that of the enemy, sweeping down fifty to one, and stopped it at the fearful cost of nearly half that started. The smile of encouragement by which he lighted the hearts of his men, and more than that, the frequent prayers he offered, kneel- ing in their midst, boded ill to the foe against which he led them.
Thus was my forenoon with Gen. Rice introduced. Before it ended, I heard him say many things that I wish might be told in his own noble words-it would honor his memory so much more than any representation of mine. But the long intervening agony of this campaign, whose battles have ahost jostled cach other-the echoes of one scarcely dying out before the thunder of the next begun-makes that quiet April day seem a great way back, and I cannot recall it as I would. His words, as he uttered them, are for the most part gone from me, but their substance and manner, and the impression they made on me, are as yes- terday. His country was the one engrossing theme with him. He did not much diseuss parties, or campaigns. Though he gave his opinions freely of both, neither political aspects nor alone the military situation appeared uppermost in his thought; but rather the true goal of our legislation and our arms-the advancement of Liberty. That it was the duty and privilege of the Nation to be free, was a truth that. on this day at least, pos- sessed him utterly. He betrayed little interest in other things. We walked out, looked at the horses, talked somewhat of men and books, remembered our common alma mater, touched on a variety of topics, and occasionally a staff officer came with busi- ness; but whatever the diversion, the General each time soon returned to the cause, for which, soul and body, he was in arms; and listening, I felt the charm that dwells in consecration.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.