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 7
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I wish again that I could repeat all the strong words his loy- alty chose; but these I do remember: As we strolled through an orchard that adjoined his quarters, he stopped me by the shoulder, and, turning so that we faced each other, said, with a
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great weight of earnestness on every syllable, and his eye burn- ing: " Why, I have thought this over so much, and have lain awake so many nights in anxiety for the country, and have grown to love her so -. " He did not conclude the sentence; but the intensity of his expression, and especially of the last clause, though it was tenderly spoken, was such, that to have added, " that I offer her my life," would have weakened the sense. After a silence, he continued: "If we should fail in this war, and I survive it, my course is determined. I shall never leave off fighting for liberty-if not in this country, in some other-if not with my sword, with my pen-to the end of my life." And so the General went on, as long as I remained his guest, breathing out his passionate devotion to the truth, for which, in a few days, he was to spill the blood of his brave heart; and knowing how many times his knighthood had been proven in the fires of conflict, he seemed to me, while speaking, as grand as a man could be.
Of the Christian piety, that was Gen. RICE's eminent trait, though it was manifest in his whole conversation, I have not spoken distinctively, because I had yet something to relate that would set it clearly forth. My desire to tell this, moved me, more than anything else, to write a sketch of the visit.
As the day advanced to noon, and we returned from our walk to his room, we fell to talking of what would follow if our cause should be lost. The strain grew more and more sombre, till it drooped into silence-a silence which the General broke by saying, as one proposing the solution of a difficulty: "Suppose we pray." He rose, and taking the Bible from the shelf, opened it and read the fourth chapter of 2d Corinthians-" Therefore, seeing we have this ministry," etc.,-after a manner that showed how deeply he felt that a ministry had been committed to him. At the eighth verse he paused to look up and smile; when the reading was ended, we kneeled down. He drew very near the Throne, revealing how closely a Christian soldier may walk with God. It is not often that any single passage of a life can be taken as a specimen of the whole, and especially the ordinary. every-day expression of a great and useful career is not up to the
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level of a grand significance; but I think that this prayer of Gen. RICE, written over his tomb, might stand as a just monument and record, to tell the true history of what he was. It was the last of earth between the General and me. As we rose from our knees, he remarked, in a cheerful tone: "It looks brighter, does n't it?" and I, feeling that the visit was complete, soon took my leave.
I saw him once more. He lay in a tent-dead. A wounded soldier, with his face buried in his hands, sat beside the body. I lifted the hat that covered the features. They were calm as the slumber of peace. I remembered how he once said to a friend of mine, who told it to me: " Give my life for my country! I have given it many a time." The sacrifice was often carried to the altar; at last the flame had touched it, and it was consumed. The sound of cannon at the front, when the battle vet raged, was borne back on the trembling air, but his sword reposed quietly beside the still hand, that two hours before had grasped it in God's name. It was pleasant then, as it has been through the six weeks of fiery toil and tempest, that have since worn wearily by, to think that the General was at rest.
THIE FUNERAL SERVICES AT NEW YORK.
We give the account of these services from the " Wisconsin Puritan," because of the additional facts of interest that the article contains relative to our departed hero.
" Honors to the Heroic Dead."
Under the above title, we find in the " New York Evangelist" of May 19th, an account of the funeral services of the late Briga- dier General JAMES C. RICE, who fell mortally wounded while leading his troops, on Tuesday, May 10th, in the late series of battles in Virginia. We copy the account in full, for two rea- sons: First; we of Milwaukie and Wisconsin have a kind of inheritance in this departed hero, by virtue of his brother, JOIIN RICE, Esq., in this city, to whom was written his last letter, just on the eve of the campaign in which he nobly laid down his life.
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Secondly; in Gen. RICE were beautifully and grandly united the Christian, the patriot and the hero.
In civil life there are some who combine the characteristics of a Christian and a patriot. In military life there are less such. Few in either class add to the other two qualities, so excellent in themselves, the undaunted valor and intrepidity of a hero. Let his name be held up now and in all history, for emulation. Look at a few lust things concerning Gen. RICE. He closed his last letter thus:
"I enter upon this campaign cheerful and happy, for I love my country more than my life, and my entire hope, whether living or dying, is in Christ, my Saviour and Redeemer. Again, good-bye, my dear brother; and if we meet not again on earth, may we meet in Heaven. Your affectionate brother,
" JAMES."
His last words were: "Turn me over and let me die with my face to the enemy; " and the dispatch from the battle field, announcing his last breath, was: "He fell at the head of his column, where he was to be found in every fight." He was in twenty battles. How marvellous did he escape in all the preced- ing. God spared him, not only to serve his country through her greatest peril, but to give him time and occasion to leave a name and influence for posterity. The treasure will be governed with fond affection and great respect. We have seen the whole of his last letter referred to. The writer seems to us to have had a premonition that it was his last campaign. We should judge that he had just closed a letter to his beloved wife. He then turns to his brother and touchingly speaks of his companion, and makes a brother's statements and requests (which may not be spread before the public eye), as though he stood in the very face of death, and much expected to fall beneath his dart. Ah! it is trying to the soul to go into the deadly conflict thus; and that, not for himself, nor for his family, but for his country-self and family and all laid on the public altar. God bless the men who do it. The account of his funeral, with some biographical notice, is as follows:
" One of the most imposing services we ever witnessed took
6
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place last Sunday afternoon at the church of Rev. Dr. ADAMS, on Madison square. The occasion was the funeral of Brig. Gen. JAMES C. RICE, who fell in the battle of Tuesday. He was an officer of high reputation in the army, and not one was more truly beloved by those whom he commanded, or more deeply mourned. In this city he was well known, having resided here many years. He was a member of Madison Square Church, and here, before the altar where he had professed his faith in Christ, and where he had been joined in marriage, was now laid his manly form, silent in death. The deep interest and general sorrow drew together an immense audience. Long before the hour, the church was filled to overflowing. At half-past three the remains encof- fined, draped in the national flag and decorated with wreaths, bearing on it the hat and sword of the deceased, was borne in, escorted by several distinguished officers, among whom were Gen. ANDERSON, the hero of Fort Sumter, Maj. Gen. Dix and Brig. Gen. HAYS. During its passage up the broad aisle, an appropriate requiem was performed by the organ and choir.
" When this solemn strain had died away, Rev. Dr. PRENTISS began the service by reading the Scriptures; and never did those blessed words of consolation: 'I am the resurrection and the life;' 'Now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the first fruits of them that slept;' and ' Oh! death, where is thy sting? Oh! grave, where is thy victory?' sound more appropriate than over the bier of one struck down in the power of his manhood, yet dying in a holy cause, full of Christian faith and hope.
"Dr. ADAMS then rose to pay the last tribute to his departed friend and brother. Looking down from the pulpit upon the coffin which contained all that remained of the noble dead, it was some moments before he could speak. He then began in words that we shall long remember:
". The scene before us needs no interpreter. It is solemn and sublime beyond all speech. Solemn and sublime, because we bend over the bier of a true, brave, Christian soldier, who died in the discharge of his duty, at head of his column, full of faith in his Redeemer and the cause of country. Six years since, in this very church, he who now lies here confessed Christ, and
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partook of the communion. Eighteen months since he stood before this altar and was married, going forth with only a sky of blue and gold; upon that identical spot he lies now, on his way to an honored grave. The circumstances of this occasion in themselves are eloquent. Self-sacrifice is eloquent; devotion to the cause of God and our country is eloquent; death is eloquent. Who would not rather be in that coffin, covered with the emblem of our nationality, a true patriot and a Christian, than be walking alive a supporter of this wicked rebellion against the best gov- ernment the world ever saw; or than be dragging out a low, sordid, sensual and selfish existence.'"
" Dr. ADAMs then proceeded to give a sketch of the life of the deceased, a few points of which we give, as well as we can, from memory: Ile was a native of New England, being born at Worth- ington, Mass., where his mother still lives, at the age of eighty- four years. When he came to this eity to enter on the profession of law, his mind was somewhat disposed to skepticism, but meet- ing with wise religious counsel and instruction, he soon embraced the truth, and entered with all the manly carnestness of his nature upon the duties of a Christian life. Asking at once for something to do, he was set to work in the mission school, in which he was a diligent laborer, so long as he remained in this city. At the first breaking out of the war he entered the army, impelled by a sense of duty. He did not wait for a commission, but enlisted as a private, and made his way up without any patronage or family influence, solely by the force of his own talents, his cour- age and prompt devotion to duty. It was at once seen that he was no ordinary man, and his promotion was rapid. It was his fortune to be in all the campaigns of the army of the Potomac. He fought in twenty battles, and was always foremost, seeking the post of danger, and inspiring his men by his own heroic example. But not only was he thus brave, he was always also a Christian soldier. He did not forget, amid the excitements and dangers of a military life, that he was a soldier under another Captain. His courage was inspired and animated by religion. The fear of God cast out all other fear. He was always active for the welfare of his men, visiting them in their tents, dissuading
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them from the vices of the camp, and bidding them, amid the perils of war, remember their homes, their families and their God. As a testimony to his example, Dr. ADAMs read from a letter to the 'Evening Post,' written but two or three weeks since by one of the editors, who, on a visit to the army, saw and admired this noble Christian soldier, the Havelock of our army. Owing to such a consistent life, he had great influence over his men. They became known, like the Ironsides of Cromwell, as a God-fearing regiment. They were ready to follow where he led the way. In the late battles, out of eighteen hundred men whom he commanded, he lost eight hundred before he met his own end. " At last death, for which, like Havelock, it had been the study of his life to be 'always prepared,' found him on the field. It was on the afternoon of Tuesday, May 10, his men drawn up in line, and while resting on their arms the mail arrived, bringing him a letter from his wife. He read it, and scarcely had he finished it before the order came to 'advance.' He placed him- self at the head of his column and led his men to the charge; and thus, 'foremost fighting, fell.' As he was borne from the field he was met by Gen. MEADE, who, seeing him, dismounted, came and spoke to him tenderly, as one whom he loved, lamenting his wound and hoping it might not prove serious. But the brave soldier, who felt the life blood rapidly flowing from his wound, and knew that his hour had come, answered calmly that he had tried to do his duty, and was ready to die for his country. The reply of his commander deserves to be remembered: 'Would that all had done it as faithfully, and were as well prepared.' The wound was mortal. A Minnie rifle ball had penetrated the thigh, and though the leg was at once amputated, the flow of blood was too great. He lived but two hours. As he grew unconscious, his young aid knelt by his side, and putting his lips to his ear, whispered his last prayer; and so he died.
" This simple narrative, given by his pastor with so many de- tails, and with extracts from his letters showing his character, was listened to by this vast andience with the deepest interest. Many times the recital melted all to tears. The service con- tinued for two hours, and at the close they lingered still longer,
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to avail themselves of the privilege given them, of looking for the last time upon the face of the heroic dead.
"So has fallen one of the manliest, the bravest, and the best, who have risen up to defend our country in this hour of peril.
" Shall we say that he died too soon? Too soon, indeed, for us; but for him, not a day nor an hour. He fell in the prime of manhood-only thirty-four years old; but he died in a right- eous cause, with a pure conscience, at peace with God; leaving an example which will be to others a model and an inspiration. Long will the grateful hearts of his soldiers, of his comrades in arms, and of Christian brothers, as well as his own kindred, cherish his memory."
FUNERAL SERVICES AT ALBANY.
The Death of Gen. Rice-Order from Gov. Seymour.
GENERAL HEAD QUARTERS, STATE OF NEW YORK, ? ALBANY, May 14, 1864.
GENERAL ORDER, No. -. I announce with pain, the loss of General JAMES C. RICE.
Young, brave, ardent, enthusiastic, he engaged in the support of the flag of his country, and in the suppression of the rebellion against the constitutional authorities, as a duty demanding the devotion of body and soul, and the willing sacrifice of life.
Ever faithful to his trust, he was the gallant leader of his command, and, in the midst of a brilliant carcer, he fell upon the battle field, leaving to his companions in arms, to his friends and his country, a character of unsullied Christian patriotism. As a mark of respect for his memory, the National Flag will be displayed at half-mast on the Capitol, and upon all the arsenals of the State, on Monday, the 16th instant.
HORATIO SEYMOUR, Governor and Commander-in-Chief. J. I. JOHNSON, A. A. A. G.
Military Funeral of Gen. Rice.
The military funeral of Gen. RICE took place at half past four P. M., May 16, after the services at the house. The body was
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BRIG. GEN. JAMES C. RICE.
borne to the capitol, preceded by the bearers, JAMES MARTIN, W.M. CASSIDY, WML. KIDD, WM. BARNES, PAUL CUSHMAN, E. C. BACHELDER, GEOREE B. STEELE, CHAS. CRAFTS, ISAAC EDWARDS, SAMUEL WILLIAMS, ROBERT H. WATERMAN and CHAS. HI. STRONG, where it remained until it was borne to the receiving vault. The military bearers were, Generals RATHBONE and DANFORTH, Cols. AINSWORTH and CHAMBERLAIN, Lieut. Colonel FRIEDLANDER, and Major McKowy.
The military pageant was imposing. It consisted of the Twenty-fifth Regiment, under command of Col. CHURCH; Gov. SEYMOUR and staff, in uniform; members of the common council; prominent citizens, and personal friends of the deceased. The procession moved up Washington avenue, and thence to the re- ceiving vault, where a volley was fired over the grave, and an impressive address was delivered, closing with the following beautiful lines, written and pronounced by Rev. Dr. PALMER:
Rest, soldier-rest! thy weary task is done; Thy God-thy country-thou hast served them well; Thine is true glory-glory bravely won; On lips of men unborn thy name shall dwell.
Rest, Patriot-Christian! Thou hast early died, But days are measured best by noble deeds; Brief though thy course, thy name thou hast allied To those of whom the World, admiring, reads.
Rest, manly form! Eternal love shall keep Thy still repose, till breaks the final dawn; Our Martyr stays not here-He knew no sleep! On Death's dark shadow burst a cloudless morn.
Live! live on Fame's bright seroll, heroic friend! Thy memory, now, we to her record give- To earth thy dust: Our thoughts to Ileaven ascend, Where, with the immortals, thou dost ever live!
The following beautiful tribute is from J. G. HOLLAND, Esq .:
TO THE MEMORY OF MY FRIEND, BRIGADIER GENERAL JAMES C. RICE.
Moaning upon the bloody plain, The young and gallant soldier lay; And from his failing heart and brain The life was ebbing swift away
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BRIG. GEN. JAMES C. RICE.
The restlessness of death was there- The weariness that longed for rest- The beaded brow, the matted hair, The hurried pulse, the heaving breast. " TURN ME," he said, 'THAT I MAY DIE FACE TO THE FOE!" and ready hands And loyal hearts were waiting by, To execute his last commands.
Facing the enemy, he died- A hero in his latest breath; And now, with mingled love and pride. I weep, and boast his glorious death.
No braver words than these, my friend, Have ever sealed a soldier's tongue ; No nobler words hath history penned ; No finer words hath poet sung.
The oak that breaks beneath the blast, Or falls before the woodman's strokes, Spreads by its fall the ripened mast That holds in germ a thousand oaks.
And in the words thy death hath strewn, More than thy fallen life survives; For o'er the Nation they are sown- Seeds for a thousand noble lives.
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BRIG. GEN. LEWIS BENEDICT.
III. BREVET BRIG. GEN. LEWIS BENEDICT .*
COLONEL LEWIS BENEDICT, the subject of this sketch, son of LEWIS BENEDICT and SUSAN STAFFORD, his wife, was born in Albany, New York, September 2d, 1817.
Ilis early studies were prosecuted at Aurora, Cayuga county, N. Y .; but his preparation for college was made mainly at the Albany academy. In 1834, he entered the sophomore class at Williams college, and was graduated in 1837. Thence he went into the office of the late JOHN C. SPENCER, at Canandaigua, and read law. In January, 1841, in Albany, he was licensed as attorney at law, and subsequently was admitted as'counselor in the State and Federal courts. In 1845, he was appointed city attorney; and was reappointed for a second term. In 1847, he was appointed Judge Advocate General on the staff of Governor JOHN YOUNG. In 1848, he was elected surrogate of the city and county of Albany, for a term of four years, by a majority of seventeen hundred votes-his entire vote greatly exceeding the party strength. In 1849, he received the appointment of Judge Advocate General from Governor HAMILTON FISH. In the fall of the year 1860, the Union men of his district nominated him for member of assembly, and elected him by a majority of nearly four hundred votes. He was the only Union candidate elected from the county at that time. This was the last public position of a civil character held by him.
Both the beginning and end of his life develop the same char- acteristies. As a boy, he was noted for zeal and diligence in study, and not less for enterprise in play. The records of the
* For gallant conduct at Port Hudson, the Government conferred the rank of Brevet Brigadier General on Colonel BENEDICT.
Engª by A. H. Ritchie
Chew: Benedick Call 62 °0.4. vol Could
THE NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY
4STOR, LENOX TILDEN FOUNDATIONS
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Albany Academy attest his successes in competitive examinations, and it is well remembered by many who shared in them, how, after sweeping the prizes for good scholarship, he would resort to the play ground, and exhibit equal superiority in those games and contests which are alike the peril and delight of robust and ambitious boyhood.
His collegiate career resembled his academic. It was success- ful to whatever degree he chose to make it. A classmate, now President of a College, describing him, says: "It is doing injustice to none of his classmates to say that, in mind as in person, he had no superior among them all. His rank as a scholar was high; and he could have made it higher. His mind was quick and clear, and he learned with great facility. His critical power was unusual, and no one could detect the weak points of an argument, or the incorrect use of terms, sooner than he." He graduated with distinction, and three years after was chosen to deliver the Master's oration.
While a student of law, he maintained sufficient ardor of pur- suit to enable him to acquire a knowledge of the elements of that science; but his taste for general literature was decided enough to save him from being engrossed by studies purely professional. His habits of critical investigation, of collation and analy- sis, are indicated by marginal annotations and references con- tained in his books. Indices rerum, diaries and memoranda of various sorts remain, that show his reading to have been varied, extensive, and always careful. They disclose an acquaintance with authors and topics, and also preferences and prejudices in respect to both, that indicate clearly the knowledge he most prized, and in which he was farthest advanced. They exhibit a degree of acquirement, of intellectual power, and mental habi- tudes of such tendencies, as might have justified him in adopting literature as a profession. It is, perhaps, well to say, that not the slightest expression of fondness for the one chosen for him, is recorded in any form, anywhere; and later in life he did not scruple to say that it never was his choice.
On his admission to the bar, MARCUS T. REYNOLDS, then at the zenith of his professional fame and intellectual vigor, received
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him as his law partner, and elevated him at once to a position in the practice of law, not attained so often, perhaps, as fairly earned. Other connections and associations concurred to make his entrance upon his professional career one of the most pro- mising that could fall to the lot of a young practitioner.
The City Attorneyship, which he held two terms, appears to have been the first political appointment he received. From that time he was actively and earnestly a political partizan. The tersest record of his political labors would be the history of every party struggle, State or National, that occurred between his entrance on political life and his joining the army. Ile was always a leader. He was often delegate to conventions, State and county; chairman of committees, local and general; a prolific author of addresses and resolutions, and a frequent speaker at political assemblages.
In this department of effort he was not without occasional suc- cess, although the general fortune of his party in his own district may be said to have been adverse. Even when defeated, he com- monly had the compensation, if it may be called by that name, of appearing by the election returns to have received more than the vote of the party that nominated him-especially was this so, when he was elected Surrogate.
He was acute in his perceptions of the qualities of men, and accurate in his estimates of character. It is impressive to read, now, the memorials that exist of his early distrust of some who are infamous to-day, on account of the treachery and apostacy he dreaded and predicted.
It can hardly be necessary to say that the principles and objects for which he contended through life, were essentially the same as those in defence of which he died. Descended, as he was, from Puritans, who planted Liberty on this continent; from Patriots, who subsequently achieved American Independ- ence; and the son of one of the most active and persistent of the founders of a party to preserve both, when both were threatened, his life was the natural result of his instincts; and his death attests his faith in his convictions, and the unselfishness of his patriotism.
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He was early convinced that the slaveholders meant war, and prepared his mind for that issue. He also regarded all attempts to conciliate them as very much worse than futile, and addressed himself to persuading others not to rely upon efforts in that direction. At the beginning of December, 1860, writing to a friend connected with the Government, he said: "The feeling here is, that one concession would but pave the way for another, until, without saving the Union, public sentiment would be de- moralized." This he believed with the earnestness of a convic- tion, and on all occasions spoke and acted in the faith of it. As the rebellion became systematized and aggressive, the spirit of resistance rose within him: he toiled hard to arouse his fellow citizens to a sense of the necessity there was to provide for the public defence by suitable military preparations. The then Adjutant General of the State, JOHN M. READ, Jr., bears testi- mony to the cordiality and energy with which Mr. BENEDICT seconded the efforts of the State administration to induce the Legislature to put the State on a war footing, early in January, 1861-that was, at the beginning of the session.
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