USA > Pennsylvania > Bedford County > History of Bedford, Somerset, Fulton counties Pennsylvania > Part 24
USA > Pennsylvania > Fulton County > History of Bedford, Somerset, Fulton counties Pennsylvania > Part 24
USA > Pennsylvania > Somerset County > History of Bedford, Somerset, Fulton counties Pennsylvania > Part 24
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 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79 | Part 80 | Part 81 | Part 82 | Part 83 | Part 84 | Part 85 | Part 86 | Part 87 | Part 88 | Part 89 | Part 90 | Part 91 | Part 92 | Part 93 | Part 94 | Part 95 | Part 96 | Part 97 | Part 98 | Part 99 | Part 100 | Part 101 | Part 102 | Part 103 | Part 104 | Part 105 | Part 106 | Part 107 | Part 108 | Part 109 | Part 110 | Part 111 | Part 112 | Part 113 | Part 114 | Part 115 | Part 116 | Part 117 | Part 118 | Part 119 | Part 120 | Part 121 | Part 122 | Part 123 | Part 124 | Part 125 | Part 126 | Part 127 | Part 128 | Part 129 | Part 130 | Part 131 | Part 132 | Part 133 | Part 134 | Part 135 | Part 136 | Part 137 | Part 138 | Part 139 | Part 140 | Part 141 | Part 142 | Part 143 | Part 144
On the 10th of October, with its brigade and division, the regiment marched into Virginia, and just two months later it took part in the action at Dranesville, but suffered no loss in killed, wounded and missing. The success of the Union forces, however, greatly elated the spirit of the troops engaged, and tended to counteract the depressing effects cansed by the Bull Bun and Ball's Bluff disasters. The win- ter was passed at Langley, Virginia, where Sergt .- Maj. Oswald H. Gaither, of Somerset county, formerly sergeant of Co. A, was ap- pointed adjutant of the regiment.
Early in March, 1862, a general forward
movement of the army was commenced upon the enemy's position at Manassas, and the 10th moved with the division to Hunter's Mills. The retreat of the Confederate army, however, produced a change in the plan of the campaign, and the regiment soon after made a forced march to Alexandria. While this movement was in progress a terrible storm prevailed, and on account of the destruction of a bridge, a long detour was necessitated to reach the Alexandria and Leesburg turnpike. At Alexandria the regiment was compelled to encamp without tents or other shelter, and the men suffered severely from the inclemency of the weather.
From Alexandria another forward movement was commenced, and moving via Fairfax, Centre- ville and Manassas Junction to the neighborhood of Fredericksburg, the reserves were attached to the command of Gen. McDowell, charged with the defense of Washington. But about the middle of June the Pennsylvania reserves were detached from McDowell's corps and or- dered to reinforce the army of Mcclellan on the peninsula. On its arrival in the vicinity of Mechanicsville, the division of which the 10th formed a part was attached to Gen. Fitz John Porter's corps. In the battle (Mechanicsville) which followed, the 10th was warmly engaged. A part of the regiment was posted in rifle-pits, and a part in a piece of woods to the right of them, while Cos. C and I * * were
thrown forward as skirmishers. Easton's bat- tery was stationed on the brow of the hill, just in rear of the 10th. On both sides of the creek, which is here a sluggish stream, the ground is swampy and was covered with a growth of under- wood. On the Mechanicsville side the ground descends for a quarter of a mile to the creek bottom .. As the enemy came down the descend- ing ground through the fields and along the road, Easton's battery opened a rapid fire, and when within rifle range, the men posted in the pits and along the old milldam poured in so de- structive a fire that he was forced back with terrible slaughter. Notwithstanding this bloody repulse, again and again he renewed the attempt to reach the creek and to force a passage, his main attacks being made along the road and upon the bridge near the mill. But nothing could withstand the steady fire of the reserves, and his columns advanced 'only to be broken and beaten back with the most grievous slaughter. The line of the 10th was everywhere preserved
Digitized by Google
124
HISTORY OF BEDFORD, SOMERSET AND FULTON COUNTIES.
intact, and a joyful exultation was felt when night put an end to the battle.
The following day at Gaines' Mill, and throughout the remainder of the famous seven days' fight, the officers and men of the 10th be- haved most gallantly. The regiment lost, in the series of battles which commenced at Mechanics- ville and ended at Malvern Hill, over two hundred in killed, wounded and missing. Capt. Miller was killed ; Lieut. Gaither was mortally wounded ; while Capts. Adams, Ayer, McCon- nell and Phipps, and Lieuts. Moore, Wray and Shipler were severely wounded.
From the peninsula, with other regiments of the Pennsylvania reserves, the 10th was trans- ferred to the army of Gen. Pope, and took part in the second battle of Bull Run, but as the field operations of the 10th (except the Gettys- burg campaign) were performed almost side by side with the 8th regiment of reserves (whose history will be found in preceding pages of this work) we do not deem it necessary, in this connection, to again refer at length to the battles of second Bull Run, South Mountain, Antietam, Fredericksburg, Gettysburg, and the Wilderness ; merely adding, however, that in all of the engagements mentioned the 10th won im- perishable honor and renown. In the three days' fighting at second Bull Run, it suffered a loss of twelve killed, thirty-four wounded and nineteen missing. At South Mountain there were four killed and nineteen wounded. At Antietam but one man, besides Col. Warner, was wounded. At Fredericksburg the loss was severe, being eleven killed, seventy-five wounded and fifty-one captured. At Gettysburg there were two killed and five wounded.
During the battles in the Wilderness and be- yond, the regiment met with severe losses, but the number is not stated in the reports. On the 30th of May, 1864, the enemy was met in con- siderable force near Bethesda Church, where the reserves were at first driven back in some disorder, but finally forming in a favorable position, a temporary breastwork of rails was thrown up and the enemy was checked. Re- forming his lines he attacked in heavy force, but was repeatedly repulsed and driven back in confusion, the reserves inflicting great slaughter and taking many prisoners. This was their last battle, their time of service having expired. Many of the 10th re-enlisted as vet- erans, and formed part of the 190th and 191st
regiments. On the 11th of June, 1864, the remnants of this brave and once strong body of men, which had fought in nearly every battle in which the Army of the Potomac had been engaged, and which was not excelled in valor by any other organization of the division, was mustered out of service at Pittsburgh.
SOMERSET COUNTY MEN WHO SERVED IN THE 10TH RESERVE.
COMPANY A.
COMMISSIONED OFFICERS.
Captains : Robert P. Cummins, m. June 20, 1861; res. Jan. 6, 1862. Jas. 8. Hinchman, m. June 20, 1861; pr. fr. 1st lt. Jan. 13, 1862; killed at Bull Run Aug. 30, 1862. Chauncey F. Mitchell, m. June 20, 1861; pr. fr. sgt. to 1st agt .; to 2d It. Aug. 1, 1862; to cant. May 1, 1863; res. Sept. 8, 1863. John C. Gaither, m. July 17, 1861; pr. to Ist sgt .; to lat It. May 1, 1868 ; to capt. March 1, 1861; to brev .- maj. Mar. 13, 1865; wd. Fredericksburg, Dec. 18, 1862; m. o. w. co. June 11, 1864.
First Lieutenants: . Cyrus Elder, m. June 20, 1861 ; pr. fr. 2d It. Jan. 8, 1862 ; res. July 21, 1862. David C. Scott, m. June 20, 1861 ; wd. at Fredericksburg, Dec. 18, 1861 : . pr. to 1st agt .; to Ist It. April 26, 1864 ; m. o. w. co. June 11, 1864. George 8. Knee, m. June 20, 1861 : pr. fr. 1st sgt. to 2d It. Jan. 18, 1862; to 1st It. Aug. 1, 1862; died Jan. 27, 1863, of wds. recd. at Fredericksburg Dec. 13, 1862.
Second Lieutenant: Jas. M. Marshall, m. June 20, 1861; pr. to Ist agt. : to 2d It. May 1, 1863; com. 1st It. Sept. 4, 1863; not m., res. March 14, 1864.
NON.COMMISSIONED OFFICERS.
First Sergeants : Rufus C. Landis, m. June 20, 1861 ; pr. to agt., to Ist agt. April 26, 1864; m. o. w. co. June 11, 1864.
Sergeants: Adolph Winter, m. June 20, 1861 ; trans. to 46th regt. P. V. Oct., 1861. Oswald H. Gaither, m. June 6, 1861 ; pr. to sgt. maj. July, 1861. Eugene N. Petrie, m. June 6, 1861; pr. to principal mus. July 28, 1861. Herman G. Weller, m. June 20, 1861; pr. fr. corp .; dis. by order of war dept. Nov. 26, 1862. H. G. Cunningham, m. June 20, 1861; pr. fr. corp. ; dis. May 5, 1863, for wds. rec. at Fredericksburg, Dec. 18, 1862. August Flots, m. June 20, 1861 ; pr. to sgt .; dis. May 24, 1863, for wds. rec. at Fredericks- burg, Dec. 13, 1862. Henry H. Kuhn, m. June 20, 1861; pr. to sgt .; dis. to accept. pr. in U. S. C. T., April 2, 1864; vet. Alex. Koontz, m. June 20, 1861; pr. to agt .; m. o. w. c., June 11, 1864. Francis Phillippi, m. June 20, 1861 ; pr. to agt .; captd. at Gaines' Mill; wd. at Bull Run May 29, 1862; Fredericksburg Dec. 13, 1862, and Wil- derness May 5, 1864 ; m. o. w. c., June 11, 1864. Mesheck Beam, m. July 17, 1861; pr. to corp .; to agt. April 2, 1864; m o. w. c., June 11, 1864. Samuel R. Pile, m. July 17, 1861; pr. to corp .; to sgt. April 26, 1864: captd. at Fredericksburg Dec. 18, 1862; m. o. w. c. June 11, 1864.
Corporals: Chas. G. Ogle, m. June 20, 1861; killed at Gaines' Mill June 27, 1862. Samuel P. Pearson, m. July 17, 1861; dis. on surg. cert. July 31, 1862. Wm. P. Huston, m. Sept. 19, 1861 ; dis. Oct. 14, 1862, for wds. rec. at Charles City Crossroads, June 30, 1862. Charles A. Gaither, m. June 20, 1861 ; dis. Dec. 25, 1862, for wds. rec. at Bull Run Aug. 30, 1862. Isaac McAdams, m. June 20, 1861; killed at Fredericksburg Dec. 13, 1862. George A. Keslar, m. June 20, 1861; m. o. w. c. June 11, 1864. Jas. Benford, m. June 20, 1861 ; m. o. w. c. June 11, 1864. John G. Bricker, m. June 20, 1861; wd. Spottsylvania May 10, 1864 : ab. at m. o. Jacob Wil- trout, m. July 17, 1861; wd. at Wilderness May 8, 1864; ab. at m. 0. Samuel Leese, m. June 20, 1861; captd. at Fredericksburg Dec. 13, 1862; m. o. w. c. June 11, 1864. William G. Stoner, m. June 20, 1861; wd. at Fredericksburg Dec. 13, 1862; m. o. w. c. June 11, 1864. Robert E. Laughton, m. June 20, 1861; captd. at Fredericksburg Dec. 13, 1862; missing in action at Wilderness May 8, 1864.
Musician : Wm. Austin, m. June 6, 1861 ; pr. principal mus. July, 1861.
Digitized by
Google -
125
WAR OF THE REBELLION.
PRIVATES.
[The following named privates were mustered in with the company from June 20 to July 17, 1861. Those whose names ap- pear in italics were mustered out with the same June 11, 1864. ]
Alfred Ash, Hugh Auman, Jesse Anderson, Jas. W. A. Barret, C. F. F. Boyd. David Baldwin, John Bense. Geo. W. Bricker, Christian Berkey, Solomon Cook, Dan'l Camp, E. Countryman, Benj. F. Cooper, John Custer, Ephraim Coleman, Richard Custer, Chas. Dively, Wesley W. Davis, Dennis Durst, Elijah P. Faidley, Jacob Folk, Wellington Glenn, Wm. H. Garlitz, John Gonder, Urbanus Glotfelty, Jonas Garletts, Wilson C. Hicks, John Hoyle, C. M. Hinchman, John Hershberger, Alex. H. Huston, Benj. F. Heckart, Cyrus Hainbaugh, Wm. F. Houpt, Henry Kidner, Dan'l 8. Knee. Wm. H. Kimmel, Edward J. Koontz, Jno. O. Kimmel, Soloman A. Lenhart, Michael C. Lowrey, F. M. M' Adams, Jno. P. Mathias, Jos. Miller, Henry C. M'Kinley, Alex. Nedrow, Harrison H. Penrod, Geo. Pile, Frank H. Rhodes, Wm. E. Ramage, John A. Ridinger, Sam'l Saylor, Alex. Saylor, Josiah Saylor, Jairus R. Schockey, Henry W. Slater, Luther A. Smith, W'm. H. Smith, Jere- miah Shaffer, J. M. Schneckenber, Thos. Stewart, Edward F. Tilson, Frank R. Walker, Samuel Walker, Wm. Wagner, Geo. W. Weimer, Wm. H. Walker, Wm. Young, Jeremiah Yutzy, Tobias D. Yoder.
Recruits-when mustered in: Robert Allison, Oct. 29, 1862; Fletcher Benford, Oct. 31, 1863; Henry Critchfield, Oct. 29, 1862: Wm. Cable, Oct. 29, 1862 ; John E. Cobaugh, Oct. 29, 1862 ; Jacob Casebeer, Oct. 29, 1852; Wm. E. Conrad, Sept. 19, 1861 ; Virgil Elder, Sept. 18, 1861 ; pro. to Q. M. Sgt. May 1, 1863 ; Henry J. Frank, Sept. 19, 1861 ; C. F. Huston, Sept. 19, 1861; Franklin Horner, Oct. 29, 1862: Jos. D. Humbert, Oct. 29, 1862; 8imon P. Kurtz, Sept. 19, 1861 ; Oliver Moore, Oct. 29, 1862; Jacob Metz- ler. Oct. 29, 1862 ; John Nedrow, Oct. 29, 1862; John Pugh, Oct. 29, 1862; Peter Pell, Oct. 29, 1862; Joshua Richmire, Sept. 19, 1861 ; Hezekiah Rock, Oct. 29, 1862; Levi Shaulus, Sept. 19, 1861 ; Jacob Sumstine, Oct. 29, 1862; Alex. Stern, Oct. 29, 1862; Geo. H. Tay- man, Sept. 19, 1861.
Killed : Robert Allison, Wm. E. Conrad, Cyrus Heinbaugh, John O. Kimmel, Michael C. Lowery, John Nedrow, at Freder- icksburg, Va., Dec. 13, 1862 ; John Bense, at Mechanicsville, June 26, 1862; Urbanus Glotfelty, at Galnes' Mill, June 27, 1862 ; Benj. F. Heckart, at South Mountain, Sept. 14, 1862.
Wounded: Hugh Auman, Aug. 12, 1863; Jas. W. A. Barrett, May 9, 1864; C. F. F. Boyd, at South Mountain, Sept. 14, 1862; Dan'l Camp, at 8pottsylvania, May 10, 1854 ; Samuel Saylor, at Spottsylvania, May 10, 1864; Alex. Saylor, at Spottsylvania, May 10, 1861; Benj. F. Cooper, at Antietam, Sept. 17, 1862 ; John E. Cobaugh, at Wilderness, May 5, 1831; Jacob Casebeer, F. M. M'. Adams, John P. Mathias, Jairus R. Schockey, at Fredericksburg, Dec. 13, 1862; J. M. Schneckenber, at Wilderness, May 9, 1864; Edward F. Tilson, June 30, 1862; George F. Wimer, June 30, 1862 ; David W. Welsley, Aug. 27, 1862; Dennis Durst, at Bull Run, Aug. 30, 1862; Wellington Glenn, at Gaines' Mill, June 27, 1862; C. F. Huston, June 30, 1862; Henry Kidner, at Gaines' Mill, June 27, 1862; Dan'l 3. Knee, June 30, 1862; Geo. Pile, at Bristoe Station, Va., Oct. 14, 1863; Geo. W. Bricker, at Fredericksburg; Christian Berkey, at second Bull Run.
Died of disease or wounds: Geo. W. Bricker, Jan. 4, 1863, of wds. rec. at Fredericksburg, bu. in Mil. Asy. Cem., D. C .; Christian Berkey, Sept. 18. 1862, of wds. rec. at second Bull Run, bu. at Phila- delphia, Pa. ; John Cobaugh, May 19, 1864, of wds. rec. at Wilder- ness, May 5, 1861; Jacob Casebeer, Mar. 28, 1863, of wds. rec. at Fredericksburg, Dec. 13, 1862, bu. at Philadelphia; Dennis Durst, Sept. 16, 1862, of wds. rec. at Bull Run, Aug 30, 1862; Edward J. Koontz, Sept. 15, 1862; J. M. Schneckenber, May 11, 1864, of wds. rec. at Wilderness, May 9, 1864, bu. on battlefield; Edward F. Tilson, Sept., 1862, of wds. rec. June 30, 1862; Geo. W. Weimer. 1862, of wds. rec. June 30, 1862.
Discharged before expiration of term : Hugh Auman, Aug. 12 1868; C. F. F. Boyd, May 26, 1863; David Baldwin, disch. on surg. cert. Dec. 16, 1861; Benj. F. Cooper, May 5, 1863 ; John Custer surg. cert., Jan. 17, 1863 ; Wesley W. Davis, May 5, 1963, for wds. rec. in action Aug. 27, 1862; C. F. Huston, Jan. 17, 1863, for wds. rec. June 30, 1862; Dan'1 8. Knee, Jan 17, 1863, for wds. rec. June 30, 1862; Wm. H. Kimmel, on surg. cert., Dec. 1, 1862; Simon P. Kurtz, surg. cert., Jan. 80, 1862; Henry C. Mckinley, surg. cert.,
John Pugh, surg. cert., Mar. 14, 1863; Wm. Wagner, surg. cert., Feb. 28, 1862 ; Jeremiah Yutzy, surg. cert., Dec. 24, 1862.
Transferred : Ephraim Coleman, to V. R. C., Feb. 15, 1864; Richard Custer, vet. : Henry Critchfield, Wm. Cable, Henry J. Frank, John Hershberger, Alex. H. Huston, Franklin Horner, Jos. D. Humbert, Oliver Moore, Jacob Metzler, John A. Ridinger, Joshua Richmire, Hezekiah Rock, Levi Shaulus, Jacob Sumstine and Alex. Stern, to Co. I, 191st regt. P. V., June 1, 1864; Wm. H. Garlitz and Tobias D. Yoder, to V. R. C., Sept. 1, 1863; John Gon- der, Wm. E. Ramage, to V. R. C., Dec. 9, 1853 ; Jeremiah Shaffer, to V. R. C .; Peter Peil, to 191st regt. P. V., June 1, 1864; Geo. H. Tayman, to 191st regt. P. V., June 1, 1864; Fletcher Benford, to Co. I, regt. P. V., June 1, 1864.
Missing in Action: E. Countryman, at Gaines' Mill, June 27, 1862; Frank H. Rhodes, at Spottsylvania, May 9, 1864.
Captured: Jas. W. A. Barrett, at Fredericksburg, Dec. 13, 1862; Dan'l Camp, at Gaines' Mill, June 27, 1862 ; C. M. Hinchman, at Bull Run, Aug. 30, 1862; Solomon A. Lenhart, at Fredericksburg, Dec. 18, 1862.
FIFTY-FOURTH REGIMENT.
This regiment, which was recruited in the summer and early autumn of 1861 (principally in the counties of Somerset, Cambria, Dauphin, Northampton and Lehigh, the first-mentioned county sending forth nearly one-half of the regi- ment's aggregate strength), rendezvoused at Camp Curtin. The original field officers, all residents of Cambria county, were. Col. Jacob M. Campbell, Lieut .- Col. Barnabas McDermit, and Maj. John P. Linton.
The regiment remained at Camp Curtin until February 27, 1862, when it was ordered to Wash- ington, D. C., and upon its arrival there en- camped near the Bladensburg Cemetery. On March 25, it was assigned, by order, to Brig .- Gen. Keim's command of Casey's division, but the order was countermanded on the following day, and on the 29th it was ordered to proceed to Harper's Ferry and report to Col. Miles. Upon his arrival, Col. Campbell was directed to make such dispositions of his force as to guard most effectively about sixty miles of the Balti- more & Ohio railroad. Hence, Co. G was stationed at Back Creek bridge; Co. F at Sleepy Creek bridge ; Co. D at Alpine station ; Co. I at Sir John's run ; Co: C at Great Cacapon bridge ; Co. H at Rockwell's run ; Co. E at No. 12 Water station ; Co. B at Paw Paw ; Co. K at Little Cacapon bridge, and Co. A at South Branch bridge. Headquarters of the regiment were first established at Great Cacapon, but subsequently at Sir John's run.
The country thus occupied was considered by the rebels as their own, and the majority of the people in the vicinity were rebels. Numerous guerrilla bands led by daring and reckless chieftains roamed throughout that region, pil- laging and burning the property of the few
Digitized by Google
126
HISTORY OF BEDFORD, SOMERSET AND FULTON COUNTIES.
Union inhabitants, and watchful for an oppor- tunity to burn the railroad bridges, cut the telegraph wires, and destroy the railroad. To guard this great thoroughfare, of vital impor- tance to the government, to suppress guerrilla warfare, to afford protection to the harassed and helpless people, was the duty which the regiment was assigned to perform. Col. Camp- bell at once assumed, as a cardinal principle, that the true way to deal with guerrillas was to assume the offensive and hunt them, instead of waiting to let them hunt him. Almost daily, from some part of the line, squads were sent out to engage and capture these roving bands, led by such notorious partisans as Edwards, White, Imboden and M'Neil, and many were brought in. Thus was passed the time until September 10, 1862.
Meanwhile the rebel army having defeated McClellan on the peninsula, and Pope at second Bull Run, was now advancing into Maryland on the Antietam campaign. On September 11 his advance guard reached Back creek, where he sur- prised and captured some of the pickets of Co. G. Communication with Col. Miles, at Harper's Ferry, was again severed, and soon after the latter place was invested by "Stonewall " Jack- son, the post, garrison and immense military stores falling into the hands of the enemy. Col. Campbell now telegraphed to Gen. Kelly, in command in West Virginia, for orders. Kelly declined to give any, but advised the withdrawal from the road. This the colonel de- cided not to follow, and clung to his position, which had now become perilous, his little band of nine hundred men, without artillery or cavalry, being the only Union forces, at that time, in the hostile territory of Virginia.
On the 12th Col. Campbell, taking a small detachment from Co. I, Capt. Bonacker, at Sir John's run, and another from Co. D, under Lieut. Gageby, proceeded in open platform cars to Back creek. There he was joined by Capt. Long, with a small force, in all but sixty-six men. Proceeding cautiously toward North Mountain, and awaiting until the main body of the enemy. had passed, Col. Campbell made a bold and impetuous attack upon his rear guard. The rebels, ignorant of the numbers of the at- tacking force, were thrown into confusion, and fled precipitately. In this spirited sortie two of the enemy were left dead upon the field, seven were wounded, nineteen were taken prisoners,
and thirty stands of arms and one caisson were captured. Leaving a small force, with Maj. Linton in command, at Back creek, Col. Camp- bell returned and immediately re-established telegraphic communication with the advance post. Two days later the enemy again ad- vanced his pickets to the neighborhood of Back creek, while a division of his ariny was engaged in destroying the railroad, with headquarters at Martinsburg.
Learning that the enemy's pickets had ad- vanced, Col. Campbell, with detachments from Cos. C, D, and I, hastened to the support of Maj. Linton. "From their stations," said a correspondent, " the enemy's pickets could see but one side of the colonel's camp at the bridge, and struck with this fact, he conceived and executed a happy device. Leading in his de- tachments on the exposed side, he marched them over the hill, out of sight of the enemy, and again and again back to the road and through the camp, thus conveying to the rebel pickets the impression that the post had been strongly reinforced. That night three hollow logs were mounted upon the wooden breast- works, and with the soldiers' gum blankets wrapped around them, presented the appearance of formidable siege guns. To complete the de- ception the men bored holes in the stumps with a large auger, and charging them freely with powder, set them off regularly morning and evening."
Until the 21st skirmishing with the enemy's pickets was kept up, when Co. G, which was holding the bridge, was attacked by a con- siderable force of the enemy. Col. Campbell at once moved his train, with his forces hastily collected, to the support of the menaced detachment ; but before he arrived Maj. Linton had been attacked with an overwhelming force, and was obliged to fall back, bringing off all his men, but losing his camp and garrison equipage. The enemy advanced and burned the railroad bridge, but hearing the whistle of the locomotive bringing up Col. Campbell's force, and suspecting an ambuscade and the ar- rival of reinforcements, hastily fell back. Col. Campbell pushed out his pickets again to the bridge, where they arrived before the fires were extinguished.
After the battle of Antietam, Gen. Mcclellan, unaware of the presence of any Union troops south of the Potomac, sent a cavalry force to
Digitized by Google
127
WAR OF THE REBELLION.
picket the Maryland shore. Seeing soldiers in blue across the river, they regarded Col. Camp- bell's men as rebels in disguise, and it was with considerable difficulty that they could be unde- ceived. Upon the surrender of Miles, the bri- gade to which the regiment had belonged had disappeared. A report of its position to the army commander soon brought an order attach- ing it to Gen. Franklin's command. At day- light on the 4th of October, the rebel Gen. Imboden, with a force of infantry and cavalry seven hundred strong, attacked Co. K, Capt. Newhard, at Little Cacapon. The men were all at roll-call when the enemy, under cover of a dense fog, rushed into their camp, and the first intimation they had of his presence was a volley fired from their own rifle-pits. They immedi- ately seized their arms, and attempted to drive out the hostile force; but the odds were too great, and they were forced to yield. Thirty- five of the company escaped, but Capt. New- hard and fifty of his men were captured. Seven of the company were wounded. The enemy had two killed and eight wounded. Moving rapidly to Paw Paw, where Capt. Hite was sta- tioned with Co. B, Imboden divided his brigade, and, with one column keeping the captain amused in front, sent the other to the rear, and before the latter was aware of his situation, he was fast between the two. Bringing up two of his guns within easy range of Hite's position, Imboden demanded his surrender. As resist- ance was sure to entail a useless slaughter, the company yielded. Learning the fate of two of his companies, Col. Campbell quickly concen- trated his force at Sir John's run. Imboden approached within six miles, and after recon- noitering the position for a day, unwilling to attack, withdrew to Winchester, and the re- maining companies of the 54th were returned to their old posts.
Soon afterward the regiment was attached to the command of Gen. Morrell, left for the de- fense of the Upper Potomac, and subsequently, upon the organization of the 8th army corps, it was assigned to the 3d brigade, of the 2d di- vision, commanded by Gen. Kelly. In Decem- ber, Cos. B and K, having been exchanged, returned to the regiment, and the order, reliev- ing it from the onerous and trying duty upon the railroad, which had been earnestly longed for, was received. Concentrating at North Mountain, it moved, on the 6th of January, 1863,
to Romney, where, after a fruitless pursuit of Imboden, it remained until the opening of the spring campaign. On the 29th of January, Lieut .- Col. McDermit resigned, and Maj. Linton succeeded him, Capt. Enoch D. Yutzy, of Co. C, being promoted to major.
The regiment was now attached to the 4th brigade of the 1st division, department of West Virginia, Col. Campbell in command of the brigade, and Lieut .- Col. Linton of the regiment. On the 3d of April, the enemy having attacked a forage train, above Burlington, the 54th, with a battalion of cavalry, was sent in pursuit. At Purgitsville the rebel cavalry was encountered and driven and some prisoners taken. The regiment continued here, scouting the country and capturing guerrillas who infested the region, until the 30th of June, when it moved to New Creek in anticipation of an attack upon Grafton. On the 6th of July, Gen. Kelly moved his com- mand, by forced marches, to cooperate with the Army of the Potomac, now driving the enemy from the field of Gettysburg. On the 10th he came up with the rebel pickets, and, upon the withdrawal of the rebel army into Virginia, he followed up the retreat, and on the 19th was heavily engaged. During the night he learned that the enemy in force was moving on his rear, and immediately retreated into Maryland, leav- ing the 54th alone upon the Virginia shore. The enemy approached and threw a few shells into its lines, but soon retired.
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.