USA > Pennsylvania > Erie County > A twentieth century history of Erie County, Pennsylvania : a narrative account of its historic progress, its people, and its principal interests, Volume I > Part 40
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The Michigan's history after the ship was cleared for action, waiting for the arrival of the steamer Philo Parsons, is as follows. All hands stood at their guns at quarters. during the night until very early in the morning when the ship got under way and proceeded out of the harbor and went to Kelley's Island. There she heard that the steamer
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Philo Parsons had been captured by the rebels. On inquiring what di- rection she took, Capt. Carter was told that she went under full steam to the north'ard. The Michigan then proceeded at full speed in the same direction. When between Marblehead and South Bass Island, a row boat was picked up with the clerk of the steamer Philo Parsons in it. He was rowing on his way to tell the Michigan what had happened, and from him was got the information of some of the doings of the "rebs" on the Parsons. Going a little further, another rowboat was picked up, coming from Put-in Bay. In it was the son of old Ossawatomie (John) Brown, who was hanged at Harper's Ferry. He was coming to tell the Michigan about the rebel raider's doings after capturing the Parsons. Capt. Carter sent him back to Put-in Bay, thanking him for his efforts to furnish the information.
The Michigan then proceeded at full speed to the mouth of Detroit river, hailing a schooner that came out of the river, asking if she had seen the Philo Parsons. The captain of the schooner answered: "No!" The Michigan then went to Bar Point and hailed a tug, which had just come down the river, asking if the Philo Parsons had been seen up the river, but the captain of the tug answered "No!"
Capt. Carter then 'called a consultation of the ship's officers in the cabin to decide what further to do. Not knowing of the where- abouts of the Parsons, or how many guns she might have on, it was thought that she might go to Cleveland, or to some other of the lake cities, or possibly might capture some large lake steamer, and turn into a commerce destroyer on the Great Lakes. As a result of this con- sultation it was finally decided to return to Sandusky. On their way back the steamer Island Queen was seen aground on Chickenolee reef, she having drifted there after being scuttled and cast adrift by the raiders. When the Michigan arrived at Sandusky the officers heard of the sinking of the Parsons in the Detroit river.
Cole, the spy, had told of a man living in Sandusky, who acted as messenger between him and the rebel raiders in Canada. Sergt. of Marines Stevenson, with a guard of marines, went on shore and ar- rested this traitor and brought him as a prisoner on board the Michigan, which then steamed to Johnson's Island, anchored, and resumed the previous duty of guarding the island and the rebel prisoners there.
Afterwards Gen. Dix came and held an investigation at the West House, Sandusky, examining Capt. Carter and Ensign Hunter. Some time after this, Capt. Carter was ordered to appear before the United States court at Cleveland. When he returned on board the Michigan, he ordered Ensign Hunter to go to Clevland and report before the same court. There Mr. Hunter saw Cole, the spy, his supposed wife, clerk of the steamer Philo Parsons, engineer of the Island Queen, captains of both steamers and others. The result was that Cole was sent to Fort Lafayette, and Beale, the daring commander of the rebel raiders, was hung. The captain of the Island Queen died only a short time ago.
Vol. I-23
CHAPTER XXXI .- MINUTE MEN AND CONSCRIPTS.
REBEL ALARMS .- THE GETTYSBURG SCARE .- THREATS OF INVASION BY LAKE .- THE HOME GUARDS .- THE THREE DRAFTS.
People of middle age living today can have but an extremely vague idea of the intensity of feeling that prevailed during the four years of the war of the Rebellion. Erie was a long way removed from the scene of activity, which at no time approached nearer than Gettysburg, and that, though an invasion of the state, was hundreds of miles from this lake city. But yet there was the keenest tension of feeling prevalent here; anxiety, apprehension, fear. Hundreds of Erie boys and men were at the front, and every day brought a fresh burden of anxiety-cumulative it seemed-upon the sort of logic, that, having been spared in previous engagements, each suc- ceeding battle lessened the chance of eventual escape from the deadly bullet or the fearful havoc of the bursting shell. And there was the dread apprehension of calamity impending. It did not always go well with the Union cause; too many times during the first two years at least, was it true that victory had perched upon the Confederate banners, and while all tried bravely to have faith in the ultimate tri- umph of the Union cause, there were occasions when faith was sorely tried and apprehension made the heart flutter and feel sore.
And then the bulletin boards after the news of a great battle had been received! The hundreds of ghastly faces that haunted them, waiting to see posted the names of those who had fallen in the fight -- oh, it was agonizing at times! Then the long lists that were written of names taken from the rolls by Confederate bullets in the Virginia battle fields, and the breaking hearts of those who read in the posted list the names of father or brother or son who had gone down before the awful fire and would never return! No; we who live today can form but an imperfect idea of the state of feeling that then prevailed. for we have never since had anything to compare with those terrible dark days of the war of the Rebellion. Our experience in the war with Spain, and the trouble in the Philippines is as nothing with what that was.
But here in Erie we were not without apprehension, that bordered close upon fear. It was not the fear of the draft, though that car-
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ried terror into many homes as the necessities of the government de- manded recruits and took them whether willing or not. It was fear from another cause and I will try to tell about it and what effect it had upon Erie.
The year 1864 was marked by a turning of the tide at the front. Grant had inaugurated his hammering campaign in Virginia and Sherman had started upon his march to Atlanta and the sea. There were losses. Bulletins continued to tell how Erie boys were yielding up their lives at Spottsylvania, in the Wilderness, and in the gallant fights from Chickamauga to Atlanta, but the news of the time en- couraged all kinds of hope ; for though the battles were fierce and the carnage fearful the Union forces were steadily advancing and the end seemed to be promised. But all was not over yet, for the cloud of the draft came over the people and the terrible suggestions of it.
I was then a lad of fifteen ; too young to be a soldier, but for the Union, and ours was a Union household though not a one was an eligible, unless, indeed, the head of the house should become a volun- teer, for he could not have been drafted-he was not then a citizen. But one night he came home with a musket on his shoulder and a belt about his waist which had the insignia "U. S." on the buckle and upon the cartridge box attached. There was consternation and grief instantly. Father had enlisted. Let me make haste to state, however, that the grief was not universal. It did not include the sterner sex. While my mother overflowed in tears and the children were silent, the boys of the family, at least the oldest of us, secretly felt a pride in that musket and a joy to think that our father was to be one of those to resist the rebels; and our fingers itched to handle that gun-as a matter of fact, before we were driven off to bed that night each in turn had a chance to put that mighty old fusee upon his shoulder and march across the floor. But my mother was not silently tearful. She had words of expostulation. Why should he, who was only a newcomer in this country, enlist into the American army, she was saying. For I must here state that it was considerably within a year that we had come from Canada.
That, however, did not signify much, and I remember that in my mind it seemed an argument of but little weight, for, boy though I was, I knew more than one of the older boys of my acquaintance who had crossed the border and enlisted in the service of the United States. From the school which I attended, (St. George's, it was named), I knew one who had become a sailor in the gunboat ser- vice of the Southern rivers and had yielded up his life; another, one of the big boys, had run away and at Detroit enlisted to be a drummer boy ; one of the young men I knew as an officer of the Sunday school I attended had bravely died at Port Hudson, and among the greatest heroes in the eyes of all the boys of St. George's was the uncle of a class-mate, a captain of the Yankee army, who paid a visit to his
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home town during a furlough, and, with another, whose rank was major, but who lived in the southern part of the city, attracted more attention than the hundreds of British soldiers stationed there at that time did altogether. It is a fact that there was an intense spirit of attachment to the cause of the United States in that Canadian city. And this notwithstanding the fact there were two regiments of British infantry and half as many more of other arms of the military service- artillery, engineers and cavalry-barracked there at the time. Boys are impressionable creatures. They quickly hear, and are profoundly impressed by, what their elders say. And they can remember. My memory of the happenings in this regard seems to me today to be pretty clear. And what I had heard and observed produced convic- tions-convictions that have been lasting. I can remember the im- pressive effect produced upon me when the red-coated Sixty-third regiment marched down Wellington street after its splendid band. But it was a far deeper impression that resulted when I saw Major Magee walking along Richmond street in his soiled uniform of blue and observed all eyes turned toward him and heard the suppressed re- marks of those who lined the walks, "He is a Yankee soldier on leave."
Therefore, to me it did not seem an improper or an unreasonable thing that my father, who had ever been in speech an enthusiastic supporter of the cause of the American Union, should shoulder a musket in its behalf, even though he were freshly from Canada.
But (don't laugh, though it may be a standing joke among the veterans who "saw service") his enlistment was in the home guards.
The organization of a company of home guards in the fall of 1864, mention of which was made above, was not the first call for minute men from Erie to come forward to the defence of the State against invasion. It was in fact the last, for on three previous oc- casions calls had been made and promptly responded to. The first occurred in September 1862, when the State authorities became alarm- ed for the safety of Harrisburg and a hasty call was sent out to all parts of the State. Six companies were at once got together including a number of the leading business men of the city and the contingent of minute men proceeded to the State capital. Happily there was no necessity for any fighting, and all returned early in October.
It was rather different however, less than a year later. No com- munity kept much closer watch upon developments at the front than Erie did. At the time there were three regiments from Erie, serving in Virginia, and here we were almost as well posted regarding the movements, not only of our own men, but of the enemy as well. Early in June it became known that Lee, with a vast army, had set out to invade Pennsylvania. The intelligence, when it reached here, carried terror with it; the very mention of Lee's bold campaign sug- gested fearful things, and his boastful declaration that he would water his horse in Lake Erie made many a man apprehensive. He had
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been able to enter Pennsylvania, what was there, then, to prevent his sweeping the entire length and breadth of the State. Erie county was worked to a high pitch of excitement, and when Gov. Curtin made an urgent appeal for militia to defend the State, instantly meas- ures were taken to effectively respond. A monster meeting was held here at which earnest speeches were made by Messrs. Lowry, Sill, Galbraith, Walker, Marvin, McCreary and others, pointing out the duty of all citizens to rise up and drive out the invaders. About 400 enlisted and at once they were conveyed to Pittsburg, when they reached there, however, they were met with the intelligence that the battle of Gettysburg had been fought, the Confederates beaten and they were being pursued through Virginia by the victorious Union hosts.
Here, at home, there was intense relief, and perhaps even more than relief was felt by hundreds who were for a time in abject fear, not only for what might happen even here, so far away from the scene of strife, but for the safety not alone of the men who had been for long doing active service under the flag, but of those undisciplined men who had gone out upon the hasty call. The experience, however, did much to solidify the feeling of determination on the part of Erie people to defend their state against invasion. The home guard spirit, implanted in loyal breasts, did not die. On the contrary, it endured, confirmed by the stories of heroic deeds performed on Pennsylvania soil, and of the splendid services and untimely death in that famous battle of some of the best and bravest of Erie's young men.
There was no organization, but the spirit endured. About a year later the rumor was circulated that the rebels had set out to make another invasion and that their object was to capture Pittsburg and destroy the plant at which the cannon used by the Union Army were made. It was a well defined rumor, given with so much of circum- stantial detail that there was a genuine uprising. A meeting was held at the court house and speeches made, and it was agreed that the ringing of the court house bell should be a signal for all to gather at the railroad station, prepared to go forward. The very next day the bell was rung.
Strange to relate, at this present time there is no agreement in the stories of that occurrence. Among those still living who hurried to the station that morning, is Mr. C. C. Shirk. He had returned from service in the river gunboat fleet, and the call for men to defend Pittsburg found him among the first to report at the station. He describes the gathering as a remarkable outpouring. From city and country ; from every nearby town, they came. They reported just as they left their labor or their homes. Their hands were empty. Not a weapon was to be seen, nor any provisions upon which to subsist. There were no leaders. It was simply a mob. No one directed the movement and there were no known orders or plan.
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Into the cars in waiting they piled themselves. When the passenger coaches were filled freight cars were pressed into service and the men were packed into them. Then they were off.
The route brought them first to Cleveland, where a change of cars to another road was necessary, and there was some delay. But at length the second stage of the journey was entered upon. From what source the orders came to the railroads, who was planning the movement, what the program was, the thousands who composed that rabble knew not. So far as Mr. Shirk can say there were none. But yet they went forward. And it is not improper to speak of it as a rabble, for such it verily was. Men who at home were models of good order and propriety, out on that excursion seemed to cut them- selves loose and there was no sort of a prank they were not ready to lend themselves to. In the party was a contingent composed of Allegheny College boys, from Meadville. They were leaders in all sorts of deviltries, practicing mischief purely for the sake of being mischievous.
The run from Cleveland to Pittsburg was made in the night and it was just as day was breaking that disaster was narrowly averted. As the train was running alongside the Ohio but a short distance outside of Pittsburg a number of freight cars, filled with the home de- fenders, left the track and were turned over. One rolled over and over down the embankment and stopped only at the water's edge. No one was injured. But the incident afforded opportunities. That coterie of college boys set out upon a raid as foragers. Every hen- roost in the vicinity was depopulated, and the plunder useless because there were neither facilities nor time for cooking it, was carried back into the cars and wantonly and cruelly wasted.
At length the home guard troops arrived in Pittsburg, to the surprise and wonderment of the inhabitants. Who were they? What were they? Why were they? No one could answer. And yet some one must have expected them ; someone must have directed them. For by a concert of action not at all understood but acted upon only by a sort of common impulse, the crowd moved to the market house and were fed. Then they proceeded to the eastern part of the city and were halted at Herron Hill. That might have been the hill the King of France encountered, for the proceeding was the same. There the force was turned. By experiences that in some sense duplicated those of the outward trip the return was made and all arrived safely at home.
But what would have been the profit if Pittsburg really was to be invaded? What benefit would have been derived from such a mob? This, Mr. Shirk says, is a problem that has been unsolved by him to this day.
The recollection of Mr. Richard Gaggin of that expedition differs considerably from that of Mr. Shirk ; and yet they were mates during its entire period. According to Mr. Gaggin the turn-out was shameful-
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ly small, at least from Erie. And then, his recollection is that there was one head and moving spirit, John W. Douglas, collector of in- ternal revenue for the Erie district. There were deputies or lieuten- ants selected, but they failed in time of need. And there was a pretty well devised plan, though it was not required to be put in operation, for it was found that the rebels had changed their plans and turned towards Harper's Ferry. Many of the volunteer guards offered their services to proceed across the Maryland line and pursue the enemy, but the general commanding declared there was no need, and as the volunteers were business and professional men who had left their occupation in status quo he directed all to return to their homes declaring he would call for them when needed. Doubtless Mr. Gaggin's story is correct. He was in a good position to learn the ins and outs of the business.
To the great majority of that crusade, however, it was as it seemed to Mr. Shirk, and putting the best face possible upon the sit- uation it was an interposition of Providence that these minute men were not compelled to face rebel bullets.
These occurrences had to do with sections of the state distant from Erie, and the defenders that proceeded to Pittsburg were not the real home guards. The service in which my father enlisted that day in 1864 was quite a different matter. It concerned Erie. This is how it came about :
Canada, you may remember, was spoken of above as a country in which there was existent a strong feeling of sympathy with the side of the Northern people in that dreadful struggle of four years. It was, however, also strictly neutral and all sorts of people, fleeing from the United States upon one pretext or another, found a ready asylum there. Bounty jumpers, evaders of the draft, deserters and Confederates in large numbers were to be found in all parts of Can- ada. I was personally acquainted with two Southern Confederates, printers, who were employed in the office where I served as devil. One of them was a Memphian, the other belonged to Natchez, and I knew of their frequently having callers who came to make appoint- ments of some sort, the nature of which I could only guess, and I guessed because of the office gossip prevalent.
Now in the summer of 1864, with Grant pressing on to Richmond and Sherman making
.. a thoroughfare For freedom and her train,"
through Georgia to the sea there came stories of plots being hatched by the rebels in Canada, and these stories at length took tangible form. The feasibility of the alleged plans impressed everyone living
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on the border with the probability of the stories, and when at length rumor had it that the rebels had captured a propeller near Buffalo and another at the upper end of the lake, and that they were about to convert them into gunboats and attack every city on the American shore, alarm became acute.
Erie was stirred up perhaps more than any other lake city. It had reason to be. Its "finest harbor" offered the enemy a splendid location for a navy yard. Its central position on the lake was an advantage that an enemy might be expected to eagerly avail himself of. Therefore the alarm spread swiftly. It was then the real home guard movement was inaugurated. It was then that the citizens, high and low, old and young, came out as by one impulse and prepared to defend their homes.
One of the first measures undertaken was a means of defense for the harbor and the plan immediately adopted was to erect a hasty forti- fication that would command the entrance to the bay. At that time Mr. Gustave Brevillier was engaged in the manufacture of soap and candles and his factory stood on the southeast corner of Sixth and Holland streets. One morning he heard the sound of the drum and martial music, and going to the door of his factory, he discovered a company of men approaching, marching by twos, each with a shovel or a pick upon his shoulder. As they passed the commander of the company hailed him.
"Fall in, Brevillier. Get a shovel and fall in."
He did so. Out Sixth street the party proceeded, to Ash Lane, then, turning their course northward they continued until they reach- ed the high point of land just east of where the blockhouse now stands on the Soldiers' and Sailors' Home grounds.
There Capt. C. F. Mueller was in command. For many years he was a picturesque figure in this community, popular even beyond the limits of the German colony. He was in command. He had been a soldier in the German army and was skilled as an artillerist. He was directing the work which consisted of constructing an earthwork fort. And such a company of volunteer fort builders! Mr. Brevillier found, next to him, digging in the clay with which the defense was to be made, Bishop Young, of the Catholic church, who was wielding the shovel with characteristic zeal. Nearby Col. Bliss was swinging a pick, and W. L. Scott was propelling a wheelbarrow. Democracy was triumphant at that spot. The best measure of a man at that time was his ability to work and all ranks were leveled in the evident de- sire to make a record.
Capt. W. F. Lutje, of the volunteer artillery, was at home on sick leave. He was recovering from a severe wound. Detailed to super- intend the work, he was in attendance. The fort had been designed by Major W. F. Raynolds, of the engineer corps of the regular army, who had been superintendent of lighthouse construction. The work
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was therefore well planned. It was as skillfully executed. But it was not the work of one day. The better part of a week was required to complete it, and in that time the "prominent citizen" of nearly every name and interest had had a hand in erecting the defense.
It was a well chosen position. No better for the time could have been selected, for it commanded the entrance to the harbor and had a splendid advantage in the matter of elevation. But what of the equipment ? That was amply provided.
Let it not be thought for a moment that the scare about the rebel invasion from the north was a purely local affair. Far from it. The state government and the government at Washington had a watchful eye toward the north. No portion of the entire lake coast of the United States appeared to be in especial danger, except that of Lake Erie, and the government seemed to believe it was in reality menaced by the Confederates, driven to desperation by their reverses in the south. Therefore the action taken by the Erie citizens in making the fortification on the garrison ground was heartily second- ed by the powers that then were. Knapp's battery of artillery was ordered to Erie to equip the fort, and from Ohio there were several companies of volunteer infantry sent to Erie to be of service here.
But those who carried the muskets; what of them? Who is there remaining to this day that can tell? I have thus far searched in vain for one who remembers more than the merest fragment of a story about the home guard infantry. There are survivors, to be sure, but their memory of the doings of the time are vague and un- certain. I asked Alderman Walther about it. He was one of them. He attended the drills. In the evening he learned to march and acquired knowledge of the manual of arms.
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