History of Fayette County, Pennsylvania : with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Part 43

Author: Ellis, Franklin, 1828-1885
Publication date: 1882
Publisher: Philadelphia : L.H. Everts & Co.
Number of Pages: 1314

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nolds' brigade took part, being absent on a reconnois- sance to Difficult Creek. On the 7th of December, while the division lay at Langley, Capt. Jesse B. Gardner, of "G" company, was promoted to major of the regiment, in place of Duncan, resigned.

On the 10th of March, 1862, the Eighth, with the entire division, moved from the winter-quarters at Camp Pierpont (Langley ) to Hunter's Mills, Va., with the expectation of joining in a general advance of the army on the Confederate position at Manassas. But it was found that the enemy had evacuated his line of defenses and retired towards Gordonsville, and thereupon the plan of the campaign was changed by the commanding general, MeClellan, and the Re- serve regiments were ordered back to the Potomac. On the 12th, the retrograde march was commenced, and continued through mud, darkness, and a deluge of rain to Alexandria, where it was expected that the division would embark with the rest of the Army of the Potomac for the Peninsula ; but this was not the case. The division of McCall was assigned to duty with the First Corps, under Gen. McDowell, which, with the exception of Franklin's division, was held between the Potomac and Rappahannock Rivers for the protection of the city of Washington.

From Alexandria the Eighth with its brigade marched back to Manassas, thence to Warrenton Junction, to Falmouth, and ( May 24th ) across the Rap- pahannock to Fredericksburg, of which place (ien. Reynolds was appointed military governor. An ad- vance from Fredericksburg along the line of the rail- road towards Richmond was intended, but this was found to be inexpedient, and as Gen. Mcclellan was calling urgently for reinforcements in the Peninsula, Reynolds' brigade was recalled from its advanced po- sition on the railroad; the entire division was marched to Gray's Landing, and there embarked for White House, on the Pamunkey River, where it arrived on the 11th of June. There had been a vast quantity of stores collected at White House for the use of the army on the Chickahominy, and the timely arrival of the Reserves prevented the destruction of these stores by a strong detachment of Confederate cavalry under Fitzhugh Lee, who was then on his way towards the Pamunkey for that purpose.

From White House, the Eighth marched with the division by way of Baltimore Cross-Roads to join the Army of the Potomac in the vicinity of Gaines' Mill. Thenee the division was moved to the extreme right, where it took position at Mechanicsville and along the line of Beaver Dam Creek.

On Thursday, the 26th of June, was fought the bat- tle of Mechanicsville, the first of that series of bloody engagements known collectively as the Seven Days' Figlit, and also (with the exception of the severe skirmish at Dranesville in the previous December) the first engagement in which the Pennsylvania Re- serves took part. In this battle the Eighth (having in the morning of that day relieved the Second ) occu-

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WAR OF THE REBELLION.

pied the left of its brigade line, and about the centre of the line holding the bank of Beaver Dam Creek. The First Reserve Regiment was on its right. On a crest of ground northeast of the creek was posted Easton's Battery. At the margin of the swamp which skirts the creek the Eighth was deployed, Companies A, D, F, and I being thrown forward as skirmishers under command of Lient .- Col. Oliphant. The battle commenced at about three o'clock in the afternoon, the Georgia and Louisiana troops of the enemy wad- ing the stream and rushing forward to the attack. " A brief artillery contest, in which the shells burst in rapid succession in the very midst of the infantry, was followed by the advance of the rebel columns, and the battle became general. A charge of the enemy below the swamp, with the design of capturing Easton's Battery, caused the skirmishers to be re- called, and the regiment moved to its support. But the enemy being repulsed by other troops it returned to its former position. Three times the close columns of the enemy charged down the opposite slope with determined valor, but were as often repulsed and driven back. At night the men rested upon the ground where they had fought. The dead were col- lected, wrapped in their blankets, and consigned to the earth, and the wounded were sent to the rear. The loss of the regiment in killed, wounded, and mis- sing was nearly one hundred. Company F being upon the skirmish line, and. not comprehending the order to withdraw, remained at its post, and fell into the hands of the enemy."

line recoiled before them, and was swept back to the woods, but they rallied in superior numbers, and the two regiments were in turn driven back, with a loss to the Eighth of twenty-four in killed and wounded. During the battle the heroic Reynolds, the brigade commander, was taken prisoner by the enemy.

The day of Gaines' Mill closed in blood and defeat to the Union forces, and during the night the shat- tered Pennsylvania Reserves, with the other troops, succeeded in crossing the Chickahominy and destroy- ing the bridges behind them, though two bridges farther down the stream (Bottom's and Long Bridges) still remained, and it was not long after sunrise on Saturday morning when the Confederate force under the indomitable Jackson was massed at the upper one of these and making preparations to cross to the south side. Other hostile forces were also advancing directly on Mcclellan's left wing, and in view of this rather alarming situation of affairs, the general had, as early as Friday evening, decided on a retreat by the whole army to James River, where a base of sup- plies could be held, and communication on the river kept open by the co-operation of the Union gunboats. The troops were informed of the proposed change by an apparently triumphant announcement (intended merely to encourage the soldiers and lighten in some degree the gloom of the great disaster) that a new and mysterious flank movement was about to be executed which would surely and swiftly result in the capture of Richmond. No such assurance, however, could conceal from the intelligent men who formed the Army of the Potomac that their backs and not their faces were now turned towards the rebel capital, and that the much-vaunted " change of base" was made from necessity rather than choice.

At daylight in the morning of the 27th of June the Eighth, with its companion regiments of the Reserve Corps, was withdrawn from the battle-ground of the pre- vious day, and moved down, parallel with the Chicka- hominy, some two or three miles, to Gaines' Mill, During all the day succeeding the battle (Saturday, June 28th) the Eighth lay at Savage Station, on the York River Railroad. On Sunday it moved with the other regiments to and across White Oak Swamp, and at about sunset came to the vicinity of Charles City Cross-Roads, where on the following day a fierce battle was fought, in which the Eighth took gallant part. The first assault of the enemy was received at about one o'clock in the afternoon. "In the forma- tion of the line the First Brigade was held in re- serve, but as the struggle became desperate the Eighth was ordered in. Its position fell opposite the Sixth Georgia, which was upon the point of charging, when Gen. McCall gave the order for the Eighth to charge upon it, and Col. Hays leading the way with a shout that rang out above the deafening roar of the conflict, it dashed forward, scattering the Georgians and driving them beyond the marsh in front. A few prisoners were taken. Later the enemy pressed heavily upon that part of the field, and the line was forced back, the Eighth gradually retiring until it reached a new line which had been established, where where Gen. Fitz-John Porter's corps (of which the Reserves formed a part) was placed in line of battle for the renewed conflict which was inevitable. Butter- field's brigade occupied the extreme left. Sykes' di- vision of regulars the right, and McCall's Pennsyl- vanians were placed in the second line. Approaching them were the Confederate commands of Gens. A. P. Hill, Longstreet, D. H. Hill, and the redoubtable "Stonewall" Jackson, in all more than fifty thousand men, against half that number on the Union side. The battle opened by a furious attack on the regulars composing Porter's right. These, after having re- pulsed the enemy in his first attack, finally gave way before a renewed assault. The Eighth Reserve, in the second line, was posted where a road was cut through rising ground, and the excavation afforded some shel- ter, but the regiment suffered quite severely from the shells of the enemy, which were directed at a battery which it was posted to support. The battle raged furi- ously during all the afternoon. At about five o'clock the enemy advanced in heavy masses from the woods, and the Eighth Reserve, with the Second Regulars, weread- . it remained till darkness put an end to the conflict." vanced to meet the assault in their front. The hostile | The loss to the regiment at Charles City Cross-Roads

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HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.

was sixteen killed and fourteen severely and many others slightly wounded.

In the terrific battle of Malvern Hill, which was fought in the afternoon of the following day, the Eighth, being held with the division in reserve, did not become engaged. The battle was opened at about four o'clock P.M., and from that time until darkness closed in, the roar of musketry, the crash of artillery, and the howling of canister was unintermit- ting. Finally the carnage ceased, and the men of the North lay down on the field (as they supposed) of victory. But at about midnight orders were re- ceived to fall in for a march, and the Pennsylvania Reserves, with other commands of the Army of the Potomac, moved silently down the hill and away on the road to Berkeley (or Harrison's Landing), where they arrived and encamped on July 2d. The loss of the Eighth Reserve Regiment in killed, wounded, and missing during the Seven Days' battles was two hundred and thirty.

After a dreary stay of more than a month at Har- rison's Landing, the Eighth was embarked on the 11th of August, and with the other Reserve regiments procee.led to Acquia Creek, on the Potomac, under orders to reinforce Gen. Pope. The division (except the Second Regiment) was moved to the vicinity of Kelly's Ford, and there joined to the Third Corps, under Gen. McDowell. In the engagements of the 29th and 30th of August the regiment took gallant part, losing five killed, seventeen wounded, and about thirty missing, out of a total strength of about one hundre:l effective men with which it entered the campaign. At this time the command of the regi- ment was held by Capt. C. L. Conner, of " D" com- pany, from Fayette County.

Immediately after the close of Pope's disastrous campaign the Reserve division moved with the army into Maryland and fought at South Mountain and Antietam. In the former battle the Eighth lost seventeen killed and thirty-seven wounded, and in the latter twelve killed and forty-three wounded. In this battle ( Antietam) the Reserves, being in the corps of Hooker, moved across the creek with that fighting general in the afternoon of September 16th and opened the fight, the position of that corps being on the right of the army. On the following morning the battle opened early, and the First Brigade moved forward, passed through a small wood, and formed line in a large cornfield beyond. The Eighth was ordered into a grove to the left to dislodge a body of the enemy who had sheltered themselves there and were engaged in picking off the Union artillerymen. This duty was well and gallantly performed. "The grove was soon cleared, and from it a steady and effective fire at close range was delivered upon the rebel line concealed in the cornfield. For four hours the battle raged with unabated fury and with varying , township, Fayette Co., Pa., Aug. 1, 1826.

success when the Reserves were relieved by fresh troops." On the following day the enemy commenced

his retreat to the Potomac, covering his design by the feint of bringing in fresh troops from the direction of Harper's Ferry.

At the battle of Fredericksburg, Va., on the 13th of December, 1862, the Eighth again fought with the greatest gallantry, and experienced a heavier loss than on any previous field. In the crossing of the Rappahannock the Reserves covered the laying of the pontoons for the passage of Gen. Franklin's grand division, and after the crossing they were selected to make the first attack on that part of the field. "In the heroic advance of this small division in the face of the concentrated fire of the enemy's intrenched line, in scaling the heights, and in break- ing and scattering his well-posted force the Eighth bore a conspicuous and most gallant part. Never before had it been subjected to so terrible an ordeal, and when after being repulsed and driven back by overwhelming numbers it again stood in rank beyond the reach of the enemy's guns scarcely half its num- bers were there. Twenty-eight lay dead upon that devoted field, eighty-six were wounded, and twenty- two were captured."

Early in February, 1863, the Reserve regiments were ordered to the defenses of Washington to rest and to receive reernits, which were being sent forward from Pennsylvania to fill their decimated ranks. There the Eighth remained until the open- ing of the spring campaign of 1864, when it was again ordered to the front, and rejoining the Army of the Potomac moved forward with Gen. Grant into the Wilderness. It left Alexandria on the 19th of April, proceeded to Bristow Station, and thence on the 29th marched to Culpeper Court-House. On the 4th of May it crossed the Rapidan, and on the 5th was once more engaged with the enemy, losing six killed and twenty-seven wounded. On the 8th it moved to Spottsylvania, and in the series of conflicts which continued until the 15th it was almost constantly under fire, and behaved with its accustomed steadi- ness, though its loss during that time was but three killed and sixteen wounde.l. Its three years' term of service having now expired, an order of the War Department was received on the 17th of May reliev- ing it from duty at the front, directing the transfer of its recruits and re-enlisted veterans to the One Hun- dred and Ninety-first Regiment, and the mustering out of its other men and officers. Under this order those whose terms had expired proceeded to Wash- ington, and thence to Pittsburgh, where the remnant of the regiment was mustered out of service.

Gen. S. Duncan Oliphant,1 the subject of this sketch, is the second son of a family of eleven chil- dren-six sons and five daughters-of F. H. and Jane C. Oliphant; was born at Franklin Forge, at the "Little Falls" of the Youghiogheny River, Franklin

1 By Gen. Joshua T. Owen.

Gen. f. D. Oliphant

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WAR OF THE REBELLION.

His experience of school commenced when quite a child, while his father lived in Pittsburgh,-the in- struction of a private tutor in the family at Franklin Forge, and subsequently at different schools from time to time in Uniontown, mostly in the old Madison College building; and his preparation for college at Bethel Academy, near Pittsburgh, and the Grove Academy, at Steubenville, Ohio.

In the fall of 1840 he entered the freshman class of Jefferson College, Cannonsburg, Washington Co., Pa., where his older brother John, Gen. J. B. Sweit- zer, Rev. Johnson Elliot, John Sturgeon, Daniel Downer, William Parshal, and Thomas Lyons, of Fayette County, were among his college-mates. He was one of the four orators representing the Philo Literary Society, along with Gen. Joshua T. Owen, of Philadelphia, Gen. James S. Jackson, of Kentucky, and Col. Rodney Mason, of Ohio, on the annual ex- hibition in the spring of 1844, graduating in Septem- ber following. In October of the same year he en- tered Harvard Law School; graduated from it in June of 1846; entered the law-office of Gen. J. B. Howell and Hon. E. P. Oliphant, his unele, and was admitted to practice in the several courts of Fayette County in September, 1847.

Having some passion and taste for the military life he joined the ald Union Volunteers in the fall of 1847, and in January, 1848, he was elected and com- missioned captain ; appointed aide-de-camp on the staff of Maj .- Gen. Cyrus P. Markle. In 1849 he was elected and commissioned lieutenant-colonel, com- manding the battalion of uniformed militia of Fay- ette County. Taking an active part in anything useful to the town and county, he commanded the Union Fire-Engine Company for many years, and was for three terms president of the Fayette County Agricultural Society, holding its annual fairs at Brownsville. He was fond of horses, the chase, the rifle, and the shot-gun, and was something of an expert in all manly exercises.

Acquiring some experience at the bar of Fayette County, he moved to Pittsburgh in the fall of 1850, and entered into partnership with Hon. Thomas Wil- liams; but the atmosphere of the "Smoky City" prov- ing uncongenial to his wife's taste and health, he re- turned to Uniontown in the fall of 1852, and resumed the practice of law there.

About this time the building of a branch railroad from Uniontown to Connellsville began to be seriously agitated. Col. Oliphant took an active interest in the enterprise, calling meetings and soliciting subserip- tions for stoek, working on when others had aban- doned hope. The Fayette County Railroad was due chiefly to his-in conjunction with the Hon, Na- thaniel Ewing's-constant and persevering energy. He was secretary and treasurer of the company from the commencement of the enterprise until after the road was finished.

On the 12th of April, 1861, Fort Sumter was fired

upon. Col. Oliphant at once commenced to raise a company of volunteers for the defense of the I'nion. In this he had the active co-operation of Capt. J. D. Ramsey, Maj. J. B. Gardner, Henry W. Patterson, Henry C. Danson, William H. McQuilkin, Martin Hazen, and others. On the 15th the company was full and off to the rendezvous in Pittsburgh, where the company was organized, electing S. D. Oliphant captain ; J. B. Gardner, first ; J. B. Ramsey, second; and Henry W. Patterson, third lieutenant. The com- pany then went into Camp Wilkins with the name of "Fayette Guard," and was cast in the organization of the Eighth Regiment, Company G, Pennsylvania Re- serve Corps, at Camp Wright, on the Allegheny Val- ley Railroad, of which Capt. Oliphant was elected lieutenant-colonel. On the 16th of June, 1861, he was presented with a beautiful sword by his friends in Pittsburgh, of which the Daily Post of the 17th says,-

"SWORD PRESENTATION-AN INTERESTING CEREMONIAL.

" Last evening one of the large parlors of the Monongahela Ilonse was filled hy a party of la lies and gentlemen to witness a pleasing and touching ceremony, not an uncommon one amid tho incidents of these times of war, but in this instance a peculiarly graceful and appropriate one. A beautiful sword was presented to Lieutenant-Colonel S. D. Oliphant by his friends as a token of their love for the man and their esteem for the virtues peculiar to the soldier which he so eminently possesses.

"In a speech conceived in most excellent taste, and delivered with true manly feeling, the sword was presented to Col. Oli- phant by Algernon S. Bell, Esq., of this city. It was received by Col. Oliphant with deep feeling, and his reply was a model of calm eloquence, such as only comes when the heart speaks ont.

" The gentlemen were college-mates together, are bothi mem- bers of the legal profession, and the friendship of their early days has been refreshed and strengthened by the growing es- teem of more mature years. The occasion was one which called forth feeling allusions to bygone days and classic re- membrances. The generous impulses of both bearts poured ont in simple, touching words. There was no effort at display, no high-flown effort at big. round words, but the men spoke lo each other as brother might speak to brother.

" We never recollect to have witnessed a similar ceremony more happily consummated. The audience sympathized heartily with the sentiments expressed by the speaker, and at the close of the ceremony gave their hearty congratulations to the officer whom they had assembled to honor."

On the 20th of July, 1861, the regiment received marching orders for Harrisburg; took cars at Pitts- burgh on Sunday morning, the 21st, arriving at Har- risburg on Monday morning. "Bull Run" had been heard from, and the regiment was hurried on through Baltimore to the defense of Washington ; went into camp at Meridian Hill, moved thence to Tenally- town, where the Pennsylvania Reserves were assem- bled and organized into brigades under Gen. George A. McCall. The Eighth Regiment was brigaded with the First, Second, and Fifth Regiments, under com- mand of Brig .- Gen. John F. Reynolds.

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HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.

Late in October, 1861, the Pennsylvania Reserves were ordered to the south side of the Potomac, to the extreme right of MeClellan's line, Camp Pierpont, with division headquarters at Langley, on the Dranes- ville turnpike.

The monotony of the winter of 1861-62 was only broken by the little battle of Dranesville, eight or ten miles south of Camp Pierpont, the first success of the Union arms on the soil of Virginia, fought princi- pally by the Third Brigade of the Reserves, under Gen. Ord ; the First Brigade, in which was the Eighth Regiment, under Gen. Reynolds, being in reserve, and coming up near the close of the battle. About the 1st of April the Reserves took up the line of march for Fredericksburg, on the Rappahannock River, halting some days at Alexandria, Manassas Junction, and Catlett's Station, arriving at Falmouth, and shell- ing a detachment of rebels out of the town, but not in time to prevent them from firing and burning a span of the bridge on the Fredericksburg side of the river. The Reserves went into camp on the hill above the town, were incorporated with the army of Gen. McDowell, and remained on duty at Falmouth and Fredericksburg until the 8th of June, 1861, when the division was ordered to the Peninsula, and again as- signed to the right of MeClellan's line, on the Chick- ahominy, near Mechanicsville.

On the 26th of June, 1862, Col. Oliphant was on grand guard and picket duty with his regiment at the village of Mechanicsville, and during the after- noon of that day was driven in by the advance of Lee's army. Retiring slowly he fell back to Beaver Dam, where the regiment was formed in line of battle with the rest of the Reserves. "Col. Oliphant rode along the front of his line, addressing each company in turn with words of inspiring eloquence. When he came to his own old company, under the influence of deep feeling and strong emotion, he exclaimed, ' Fay- ette Guard, remember Pine Knob is looking down upon you, and Lafayette is watching you from the dome of the court-house! You will not go back on me to-day ?1 The first of the Seven Days' battles was fought, and the 'Old Guard' did not go back upon him."

Next morning the Reserves fell back to Gaines' Mill, where the second of the Seven Days' battles was fought. Col. Hayes having lost his voice, not strong at best, and although he participated in the battle, he turned the command over to Lieut .- Col. Oliphant. The regi- ment was sent forward some distance in advance of the line to develop the position and force of the enemy; it suffered severely. Every commissioned officer in the left wing.excepting Capt. Danson was killed or wounded; among the wounded were Capt. Baily and Lieut. McQuilkin, of Fayette County. Hay- ing spent all its ammunition, the regiment retired by the rear rank in good order, mangled and bloody, but

not broken. On the crest of the hill, where the line of battle was formed, Col. Simmons, of the Fifth Reserve, opened his ranks to let the Eighth pass through.

The whole line cheered the Eighth, and Col. Sim- mons, grasping Col. Oliphant's hand, said, "I never expected to see you alive again, or to bring a corpo- ral's guard up out of that rebel hell."

At the White Oak Swamp Col. Oliphant received a severe contusion from a spent round-shot, which in- volved the right knee-joint. Stunned by the blow he fell unconseious to the ground, when Surgeon Alleman bandaged his knee whilst under fire, and having administered some restoratives, in a few minutes he remounted, and by leave of Gen. Seymour continued on duty on horseback. [Officers below the rank of brigadier-general are required to go into battle on foot.] He continued on duty throughout the day and night, and the next day at the battle of Malvern Hill.

On the 6th of July, at Harrison's Landing, he was stricken down with partial paralysis of the right side, and with entire loss of hearing, and was sent to Wash- ington and thence home for treatment. He suffered great pain in his leg and ears, and on the 29th of December, 1862, on surgeon's recommendation, he was honorably discharged on account of physical disability incurred in service.

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History of Fayette County, Pennsylvania : with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Part 43

Author: Ellis, Franklin, 1828-1885 Publication date: 1882 Publisher: Philadelphia : L.H. Everts & Co. Number of Pages: 1314

Author: Ellis, Franklin, 1828-1885
Publication date: 1882
Publisher: Philadelphia : L.H. Everts & Co.
Number of Pages: 1314