To sacrifice, to suffer, and if need be, to die : a history of the thirty-fourth New York Regiment, Part 3

Author: Chapin, L. N. (Louis N.)
Publication date: 1903
Publisher: Little Falls, NY : Galpin CWRT
Number of Pages: 218


USA > New York > To sacrifice, to suffer, and if need be, to die : a history of the thirty-fourth New York Regiment > Part 3


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


Just as early and promptly a company was being organized at Ham- mondsport, in Steuben County. The first enlistments were about April 20, the name of William H. King being first on the roll. As usual in all such cases, he was the man to be the first captain. Immediately after, came the name of Monroe Brundage, destined to be the company's second captain, though now but second lieutenant. On the 25th was entered the name of Azariah C. Brundage, destined in later years to be the Adjutant of the Soldier's Home, at Bath, in the same county, where so many of the young men, then hale and strong, and hurrying to the defence of their country, but later worn with the long march, and the hard battle, should find a refuge. After enlistments were well started, Alfred T. Atwood, with about twenty men, from the town of Pulteney, joined their ranks. Atwood was made First Lieutenant, and another of his men, H. C. Lyon, was made Orderly Sergeant, and still another, John Finnegan, Second Sergeant. The organization of the company was completed May 15. On May 22 the company was mustered into the State service, and very soon left Hammondsport for Albany, where it arrived the following day, and where it was "consigned" to quarters in the Adams House. Here, however, as Mr. A. C. Brundage informs us, it remained only for a few days, when it was transferred to the In- dustrial School Barracks, where it joined the other companies.


15


A STORY OF BEGINNINGS


The following is the result of the first election held in this company :


COMPANY I.


Captain, William H. King. First Lieutenant, Alfred T. Atwood. Ensign, Monroe Brundage.


First Sergeant, Henry C. Lyon.


First Corporal, Jas. C. Harrington.


Second Sergeant, John Finnegan. Second Corporal, Lewellyn McCabe.


Third Sergeant, Lemuel C. Benham.


Third Corporal, A. C. Brundage.


Fourth Sergeant, Orran Emmett.


Fourth Corporal, J. W. Williams.


Fifth Sergeant, Eugene B. Larrowe.


At Addison, in this same Steuben County, on April 17, the name of Henry Baldwin was enrolled. He is to become the captain of the other Steuben County company. This company, as Captain Sanford writes, "was composed of the best and most prominent young men, of the towns of Addison, Woodhull, Tuscarora, Jasper, Rathbone, and Troupsburg." And "the officers of the company were divided among `the several representatives of the towns that had assisted in the form- ation of the company." Thus, Captain Baldwin was from Addison; First Lieutenant, James R. Carr, from Tuscarora; Second Lieutenant, Edwin F. Smith, from Woodhull; and the same with the non-commis- sioned officers. The company was mustered into the state service May 18, and left for Albany May 27.


Of this company, the following statement and roll of officers, elected after its first inspection, is taken from the Addison Advertiser, of May 22, 1861, now, and for over forty years, in the possession of Horace D. Baldwin, a Company E man :


COMPANY E. Captain, Henry Baldwin. First Lieutenant, James R. Carr. Ensign, Edwin F. Smith.


First Sergeant, Edwin M. Le Munyan. First Corporal, Horace D. Baldwin.


Second Sergeant, George W. Wildrick. Second Corporal, Charles Kester.


Third Sergeant, Henry W. Sanford. Third Corporal, Oscar D. Blanchard.


Fourth Sergeant, William Durand.


Fourth Corporal, Benj. F. Burt.


At Champlain, in Clinton County, at this time, what was destined to be Company D, of the Thirty-fourth, was taking form and order. Although a certain memorial of the company, such as we were all familiar with during the service, issued in gilded form, and designed to be framed and hung among the archives at home, states the company was mustered into the state service May I, we find that May 22 was the true date. This was a splendid company, and Captain John O. Scott, who early came to the front as its leader, was a most devoted officer. The same scenes, with which we are now so familiar, attended the departure of this company from home.


COMPANY D. Captain, Davis Jefferson Rich. First Lieutenant, John O. Scott. Ensign, Brinkerhoff N. Miner.


First Sergeant, Albert W. Ransom. First Corporal, Christian Zaugg. Second Sergeant, Lemuel C. Matthews. Second Corporal, Cyrus H. Kellogg Third Sergeant, Henry J. Cooper. Third Corporal, Eli J. Deschamps.


Fourth Sergeant, William L. Hill. Fourth Corporal, Albert H. Cook.


16


HISTORY OF THE THIRTY-FOURTH REGIMENT


At West Troy, during the dates with which we are now dealing, May 18-30, William L. Oswald was busy recruiting the company that, in the lettering, should be known as Company A, and as stated below, was to have the right of the line.


Mr. Oswald was president of the village of West Troy at the time, and for the furtherance of the project of raising a company a meeting was held April 25, at Union Place Hall, in the village. At this meeting a number of recruits were obtained. The Hall became the rallying cen- ter for the movement. As Lieutenant Oathout writes us, Captain Os- wald, (as he was afterward elected to be), Luther A. Hill, and him- self, gave almost their entire time recruiting the company. They were entirely successful, and on May 17 had their first inspection at the Hall ; and, as our Roster shows, on the following day, May 18, were mus- tered into the state service. After inspection on the 17th, the company elected its commissioned officers as follows :


Captain, William L. Oswald. First Lieutenant, Elijah R. Brown. Ensign, Benjamin H. Warford.


On the first of June the company came down to Albany, and were quartered at the Industrial School Barracks, along with the other com- panies, with whom their fortunes were destined to be cast for the com- ing two years. On June 15, as we shall see, came the muster of the regiment into the United States service, and on the 17th, following, this company, to be known henceforth as Company A, elected its non-com- missioned officers as follows :


First Sergeant, Luther A. Hill. First Corporal, Abram E. Lansing.


Fourth Sergeant, Martin Gorman.


Second Sergeant, Geo. H. Swartwout. Second Corporal, Joseph Andrews. Third Sergeant, John Oathout. Third Corporal, John McIntyre. Fourth Corporal, Edward Hoffman.


On July 1, the company visited West Troy, prior to the departure of the regiment for the south, and an enthusiastic reception was tend- ered by the citizens. On this occasion a flag was presented to the com- pany, also articles for camp and hospital use, and a Bible to each man. Speeches were made by resident clergy, and prominent citizens. Most of the above facts we glean from the West Troy Advocate, the village newspaper at the time. At the time of holding its first election of non- commissioned officers, in June, it numbered seventy-five privates.


Now all these additional companies had early or late, arrived in Albany; and the following statement, by an officer, who was on the inside at the time, will explain how the organization of the regiment was finally accomplished. The officer referred to is Captain Nathan Easter- brook Jr .:


"Early in May, the six 'skeleton' companies from Herkimer County, pro- ceeded to Albany, to recruit and drill. The companies were commanded by William Ladew, James A. Suiter, Byron Laflin, Wells Sponable, Nathan Easterbrook, Jr., and John Beverly. For a month or more the cherished de- sire of the six companies to form a 'Herkimer County Regiment,' with field and staff officers to be selected from among their numbers, came danger-


17


A STORY OF BEGINNINGS


ously near failure, by reason of assign- ment of one or more of the faithful six to some other regiment then in course of formation. The aid of influential friends at Little Falls and Herkimer was frequently invoked, and freely given, and with the courage and pluck of the faith- ful, against whom the direst results of disobedience of orders were intimated, our column remained unbroken, notwithstand- ing the fact that recruiting was not pro- gressing as rapidly as it should have to insure the desired full com- panies. To facilitate the com- pletion of the companies so far as possible, Captain Easterbrook was urgently advised by Messrs. George A. Hardin, Oliver Ladue, Horace M. Burch, Acors Rath- bun, and others, to merge his company into the other five companies, which he did; and then he recruited a full com- pany of men from Crown Point (Company H), which had reached Albany too late to be accepted under the 'Call,' with the understanding that imme- diately on acceptance by the State, under Captain Easter- brook, who was duly authorized as a recruiting officer to com- CAPTAIN MONROE BRUNDAGE-1875 plete his company, they were to hold an election for company officers of their own members, and to vote the 'straight' Herkimer County ticket for regimental field officers, which they did. This piece of strategy put the 'six' on solid ground after many tribulations. The battles were bloodless, but the outcome was of vital importance to the 'Herkimer County Regiment.' Companies A, D, E, and I came to us without stipulation, except that Captain Oswald, Company A, was promised the 'Right of the Line,' which he got.


The bona fide membership of the regiment, on the 15th of June, 1861, might have been 775, officers and men; but it was more likely less than 775. We may have had 125 recruits during our tour of two years, though I do not believe we had. If we had 775 bona fide members at 'muster in,' and received 125 recruits, we had 900, officers and men, during our two years' service. We lost 93, officers and men, killed and mortally wounded, or more than ten per cent. of our enrollment. Nearly one-third of Colonel Wm. F. Fox's 'Three Hundred Fighting Regiments' met with a smaller loss."


The following is the first regimental organization completed at Albany :


Colonel-William Ladew, Lieut. Col .- James A. Suiter, Major-Byron Laflin, Adjutant-George W. Thompson, Quartermaster-Nathan Easterbrook, Jr., Surgeon-Socrates N. Sherman, Asst. Surgeon-Edward S. Walker, Chaplain-J. B. Van Petten, Drum Major-David M. Heath.


·


18


HISTORY OF THE THIRTY-FOURTH REGIMENT


When mustered into the federal service, the regiment, according to Colonel Suiter, numbered 786 officers and men. Adjutant-General Sprague, in his early reports of 1864, gives the number as 809. At the muster in, June 15, an opportunity was given to any, who didn't like the prospect ahead, to back out ; and there were some faint hearts, who availed themselves of the chance ; but generally speaking there was little disposition to do this. The regiment was drawn up, and a company at a time held up the right hands and swore to support and defend the country. When any men in a company backed out, there was a uni- versal howl from all the others in the regiment. And when any com- pany stood solidly up, and took the oath to a man, there was a universal cheer. Most of the cases of backing out were due to misgivings which the men began to have about their pay ; for some, we must remember. had already been in the service nearly two months, and as yet no pay had materialized. But usually, when reassured on this point, they stepped back into the ranks.


In the General Roster, which is given farther on, will be found the names of all the officers, elected at the organization, with the order of their subsequent succession. On the afternoon of June 26 a stand of colors* was presented to the regiment by Horace Burch, of Little Falls, representing the ladies of that place. The banner was of silk, and was a beautiful emblem. Here at the barracks, also, the men received their arms, their uniforms, their blankets, and, in fact, their whole first outfits. The guns were the old smooth-bore, Springfield muskets, which even then were properly regarded as antique weapons. The uniforms were good, but the blankets were small and shoddy. They were the best, however, that the state could do on such short notice, and very soon after reaching the field they were replaced by blankets good enough for anybody. All this time there was hard drill going on every day ; and the citizens of yesterday, the clerks, and the farmer boys were rapidly being transformed into well-seasoned soldiers. At Tweddle Hall, in the city, every Sunday, the men attended divine service, and the great hall echoed to many a rousing sermon, preached by the ablest ministers in the city ; among whom was Rev. R. B. Strat- ton, who took a deep interest in the Thirty-fourth ; for he had been a Little Falls citizen himself but recently, and personally knew many of the members.


*A WORD CONCERNING THE PICTURES.


Very many of the illustrations in this volume are from photographs more than forty years old . They were faded and yellow, and deeply gnawed by the tooth of time; but I think the comrades will agree with me that the photo-engravers have succeeded remarkably well in restoring them. Many of the recent views were taken by myself. The views of the monument and group were taken by Photographer W B. King, of Hagerstown, Md., from whom comrades can obtain copies. We are all deeply indebted to the comrades who have been willing to loan their old photographs, now held as priceless treasures, for the purposes of this history. Whenever possible it has been my plan to give two pictures of each officer, showing how he looked in the war, and how he looks now. or did in later life, for many have passed away. In most cases Time has left few of the lineament? with which we were familiar. The flag referred to is now preserved, along with many others, in the State Capitol, at Albany.


CHAPTER II


OFF TO THE FRONT. CAMP KALORAMA. CAMP JACKSON.


O N the morning of July 3, a person standing at the foot of State Street, in Albany, and gazing up toward the Capitol, would have seen a column of soldiers marching down. It was a sight with which the citizens of the city had grown quite familiar, but which still remained an inspiring spectacle. There was the rhythmic wave of motion which, starting at the head of the column, nearest the band, rolled up the great hill till it reached the rear of the column, and every moment repeated itself as the men swung from right to left, and left to right. The guns, at a right shoulder shift, flashed in the bright morning sun, every one held at exactly the same angle. · Who are these men, who thus bear themselves so nobly, and step so firm and true? Surely they are no raw recruits; they are more like Uncle Sam's regulars; they march as if a military step wert their natural habit, and military service their accustomed vocation. But no; these are the men who, but yesterday, were in the back- woods of northern Herkimer County; scattered upon the farms of old Steuben; along the shores of Lake Champlain; and through the towns and cities of the state. Each man has heard a warning cry that "freedom stood in peril of a foe," and here he is, ready for her defense. Never men stepped truer to the drum-beat than these men of the Thirty-fourth, who are now on their way to the front; and we may be sure we shall hear a good report of them, when the time comes for action.


It is July 3, and the regiment has embarked, and is on its way down the river. The morning of our national holiday finds the Western World at wharf, in the lower part of New York city, where it remains until the morning of the 5th, when it steams across the bay, and the regiment takes train for Washington. The Washington Intelligencer, of Saturday, July 6, contained this among its other local news items :


"The Thirty-fourth Regiment, New York State Volunteers, arrived here at nine o'clock last evening. It is a fine body of men, who are mostly from Herkimer County. The regiment numbers a thousand men."


Here Colonel Ladew reports to General Mansfield, and on the fol- lowing day, Sunday, the regiment pitches its first camp, which is on Kalorama Heights, a commanding and healthy site, with sloping side, and a bountiful stream of water close at hand. Here, during our second week, occurred the first real casualty in the regiment. George J. Water- house, of Company K, going to the brook in the morning, to fill his canteen, leaned over, his revolver slipped from his side coat pocket, the hammer struck on a stone, the pistol was discharged, and the ball passed directly through his heart. Waterhouse was a printer, employed in the office of the Little Falls Journal, at the time of his enlistment, as was also the writer of this history. His tragic death produced a profound impression.


20


HISTORY OF THE THIRTY-FOURTH REGIMENT


Quartermaster Easterbrook sends us the following statement in regard to the exchange of our old Springfield muskets for a better arm, which occurred at this time :


"I suppose you have heard Colonel Suiter relate the story of the very dis- couraging outlook for an efficient arming of the regiment when it reached Washington; and how, by a lucky providence, in the personal visit of Governor Morgan to the city, and through the influence or aid of General Mansfield and General Francis E. Spinner, and perhaps others, the regiment was finally, though reluctantly, on the part of Governor Morgan, armed with the Enfield rifle. It is an interesting incident of the service of the regiment, and is worthy of preservation."


Colonel Suiter's account of this incident is briefly stated as follows:


"The arms which we had, being worthless, we made application to Govern- or Morgan, then in Washington, for more efficient arms. We received, on the morning of July 21, Enfield rifles, of 58 and 60 caliber, and sent them to the men."


The battle of Bull Run was fought on Sunday, July 21 ; and a great many good people thought the north was justly punished for being willing to go to war on that holy day. But how about the south? The south might properly have wished that all its battles could be fought on that day, that it was the best day in the week for them. We lay in our camp on Kalorama, and heard the distant booming of the heavy guns. The day before an order to be ready had arrived ; but not yet had we made a move. It was a Sunday for deep reflection, and for thoughts quite as serious as we might have had at home. listening to "sermons of another kind." Along in the middle of the afternoon the order came to fall in, and we thought we should surely start for the front. But we didn't. Monday morning all moving orders were countermanded. On that morning Colonel Ladew started for the north on recruiting service, and the command devolved on Lieutenant-Colonel Suiter.


July 28, the regiment broke camp on Kalorama, and took its uneventful march up the Potomac, as far as Great Falls, which is the source of water-supply for the city of Washington. Here three com- panies, B, G, and I, are detached, under the command of Major Laflin, to guard the river. The remaining seven companies proceed on to Seneca Mills, where they go into camp, which is named after General Jackson.


Quartermaster Easterbrook gives us the following account of the trip up to Seneca Mills :


"When we left Washington for Seneca Mills, Gen. Mansfie d took lively interest in our outfit. We had 42 Wagons, 6 Ambulances, a Wagonmaster and three assistants. We had 190 head of horses to do our work These 190 horses consumed about one and a quarter tons of hay and 60 bushels of oats per day. General Mansfield ordered the Asst. Q. M. (Maj. D. H. Rucker, father-in-law of Gen. Sheridan,) to supply me with $2,000, to buy forage. Maj. Rucker gave me roo twenty dollar gold pieces. I had no place to put them, so I put them in the valise attached to the saddle, which I had bought in Albany. This valise, as I learned from experience, was made of stiff cardboard paper, covered with cloth. The gold pieces weighed five or six pounds, and every time my horse galloped the gold would bounce from one end to the other of the valise, and at last knocked out the end of the same, the


21


OFF TO THE FRONT


gold falling and scattering over the ground. There was a lively scramble to gather it in, which I finally did, but the puzzle, what to do with it, was yet unsolved I slept with it under my head for a pillow that night. Gen. Mansfield had $800 turned over to Lieut .- Col. Suiter at the same time, to buy fresh meat for the regt. I never knew how the Colonel got along with his responsibility, but mine made me lots of trouble."


While we were at Camp Jackson we had a good deal of trouble with the matter of provisioning the regiment. There was no regular system of supplying the troops not only of our own, but of other regi- ments as well, that were encamped along the Potomac. All provisions had to be hauled in wagons from Washington, except produce for the horses, which was bought of the farmers in the vicinity. On one occa- sion Captain Sponable was sent to Washington for supplies by Colonel Ladew. The roads were bad, the horses, four to a wagon, were green, and wouldn't pull, and the Captain had a hard time getting back. He made up his mind that if he was ever sent out on that duty again he would devise some other means for hauling the stuff to camp. Along- side the river ran the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal ; which, at that time, was closed to navigation, on account of the rebs, who occupied the Vir- ginia shore. The water was in the canal, but there was no navigation. And sure enough, shortly after the Captain's first trip, he was ordered to make another. He went down to Washington on horseback, and proceeded to interview Captain D. H. Rucker, who was then Assist- ant Quartermaster, at Washington (and by the way, he was after- ward father-in-law to General Phil Sheridan), and made requisition on him for a boat to transport supplies to Seneca Mills. The Quarter- master looked at the Captain out of the corner of his eye, and finally said, "Captain, are you crazy? You never could get a boat to Seneca Mills. The rebels would blow you out of the canal." The Captain insisted, but it was of no use. Rucker would give no boat. The Cap- tain then left, and went to General Francis E. Spinner, then and for the whole period of the war, United States Treasurer. General Spin- ner was a Herkimer County man, whose home was in Mohawk. He knew the Captain well, and knew also that he was a practical boatman ; and what's more, knew that he was a man who, when he set out to do a thing, generally did it. Well, to make a long story short, the Captain got his boat; and hurried back to Rucker with his written order. Rucker made no more opposition; but promptly said that the stuff should be at the wharf in Georgetown, and loaded, by five o'clock. And sure enough it was; and the Captain started for Seneca Mills. That was probably one of the most remarkable trips ever made by any man on the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal. The Captain was captain, boat'sun, crew and cook ; and what's more, had to do all the locking on the way. The driver drove his horses, dodged the bul- lets, and the Captain did the rest. The rebels were early in discover- ing this bold attempt to reopen navigation, and thought it a lit- tle premature ; and that it was their duty to put some obstacles in the way. But, in spite of all their opposition, the Captain succeeded, brought his boat through in handsome shape, with the cargo intact, and received therefor the thanks of his commanding officer.


22


HISTORY OF THE THIRTY-FOURTH REGIMENT


Here, as at all our other first camps, we were overrun with the blacks, for whom the Suwanee River, and all other rivers of the south, had no attractions at all comparable with those of the Potomac River, with Massa Linkum's sojers encamped on its northern bank. General Butler had not yet arrived, to give these refugees a name and a status ; the government did not want to do anything to give the south reason for believing that we were fighting to wipe out slavery; and so these runaways, who were not yet contrabands, were left unhoused, unfed, unclothed, and almost unburied. Later on their condition was very much improved, and thousands of them were employed as teamsters, servants, etc. But all along, at first, the whole situation was most pa- thetic.


Quartermaster Easterbrook gives us a few interesting reminiscen- ces on this subject :


"The only points of especial interest regarding the fugitive slaves in our camp, so far as I had any experience, center on Fenton Harris, who faithfully served me, went to Little Falls with me when we were mustered out, came to New Haven with me, and died here last October, (1901,) and lies in the Grove Street Cemetery in this city, in the lot, and close by the grave of Lieut .- Governor, Morris Tyler, in whose family he had been employed for thirty-four years. Fenton was much more than a servant to me. I have never lost interest in him. He was a noble specimen of an escaped slave. Col. Laflin had as a servant " Dick," who also was a superior man. I would like to tell you how I tried to get Dick out of Washington, in December, 1861, with the aid of Dr. Sherman, to take him home, (Pittsfield, Mass.,) for the Colonel, and how he failed. A black man could not get out of Washington. Dr. Sherman invoked the power of his position to get him out, but it wouldn't work. Dick had to stay. Then there was Addison Phillips, and his wife, Nellie, with an infant of tender age. (six weeks, I think). Nellie established a laundry at Camp Jackson, and did quite a thriving business. Addison, is living at the Falls, and did own several houses and lots there. Captain Riley also had a valuable man. He was as black as a raven, and as good as he was black. He enlisted late in 1863, or early in '64, and received a large bounty: $1,500 as I remember it. Fenton Harris had been owned by a man named Turley, whose home was at Leesburg, Va. There must have been twenty or twenty-five negroes in our outfit, most of whom came to us at Camp Jackson. The poor fellows had a hard time of it until the adoption of Butler's theory. After that they got along all right.'




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