USA > Pennsylvania > History of the Fifteenth Pennsylvania volunteer cavalry which was recruited and known as the Anderson cavalry in the rebellion of 1861-1865; > Part 36
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History of the Fifteenth Pennsylvania Cavalry.
One night I had charge of the advance picket post. Captain Remont directed me where to locate the post and vedette. We were in a forest of tall trees, so dark that one could scarcely see the sky. W. K. Long was the first man on duty, and he was placed a few rods in advance of a small bridge. After posting him I returned to the reserve, and had been there but a short time when I heard two shots, and at once mounted my horse, rode out and called, "Halloo, Long !" when he replied, "He didn't get me." "Did you get him?" I asked, "Don't know, but I shot in the direction where I saw the flash of his gun." We made a search, but did not find anyone. I then placed Long back of the bridge and took up some planks, and then went to camp to report to the Colonel, and found him sound asleep. After waking him I told him what had happened, and his reply was, "Sergeant, you take care of them until morning, and I will look after them then." Next morning we ate what we called a breakfast-fried mutton and the crumbs out of the bottom of our haversacks-with the rebels firing at us from the hilltop, but too far away to do any harm except annoy our horses.
One day I was ordered by the Colonel to take the men, cross the river (I don't remember the name), go to an apple-jack dis- tillery and get what information I could about Colonel Prentice's regiment of rebel cavalry. We crossed the river at a very rough, rocky ford, and were soon at the distillery, which was a regular moonshine establishment, without any building, set up in the orchard where they were getting the apples to distill. There were a number of citizens there, and some had guns. I approached two who were sitting on the fence, and asked them if there had been any soldiers there lately. One of them replied: "Yes; four of Colonel Prentice's men just left here." "How far is it up to Colonel Prentice's camp?" "Oh, just a little way up the branch." "Have there been any Yankees in this section?" "Never saw a Yank near here; they know better than to come in here." Having secured all the information desired, and not wishing to have any trouble with Colonel Prentice, when turning to leave them I said, "How do you like the looks of the Yankees?" when they almost fell off the fence. We recrossed the river, caught up with the column and reported to Colonel Palmer, when he remarked, "If Colonel Prentice will let us alone, we will him, but if he follows
423
Recollections of the Burbridge Trip.
us we will make it warm for him." He did not follow, and I was glad of it.
The next night we were traveling on a mountain, from which we could see the camp fires of Colonel Prentice in the valley below. We had a number of prisoners, some mounted on mules, and the pass or trail we were following was only wide enough to allow us to go single file. I was in rear with the guard when the column halted. After a while I thought I heard sabers rattling in front, but those immediately in front of me did not move. After calling to them several times to go ahead, without any move being made, I crowded my way past twelve or fifteen men and animals, when I found a mule, without a rider, tied to a small sapling. A pris- oner had dismounted, tied the mule and skipped out. We were not long catching up with the column.
I will never forget when we got off that mountain, two days later, and came to a road wide enough to accommodate a sled. We had been marching on trails for three days. An old cow among the laurel bushes greeted us with her bell, and it made the sweetest music I ever heard. I think that evening we arrived at Prestonburg, Ky., on the Big Sandy River, where we found General Burbridge's command in not very good shape, after the whipping the rebels gave them. Next day we marched to Catletts- burg, at the mouth of the Big Sandy, on the Ohio River. There was some clothing issued there, but no pants long enough for me, and I had to wear my rubber overalls to cover the holes in mine.
Here we got aboard the steamboat "Telegraph." The first stop was at Ironton, Ohio, to take on a cargo of stoves. We then had with us about twenty as fine-looking colored men as could be found. They had joined us as we came along, most of them bringing a horse from the plow, or whatever they happened to be working. We understood the boat would lay there for several hours, and, being in Ohio, there were no restrictions placed on us. We had not been there long when it was discovered that the enlist- ing officers were enlisting the colored men who came with us, and putting them in as substitutes, giving them a small amount of greenbacks, and no doubt receiving quite a snug sum for each one. When the Colonel learned what was going on, everyone was hustled on board and a guard kept the enlisting officers away.
We arrived at Cincinnati in the evening. As we were march-
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History of the Fifteenth Pennsylvania Cavalry.
ing up the wharf from the boat we passed in front of a large stone building, where there were a number of women making Government clothing. Some of them tempted us by shaking coats and pants at us, and I assure you many of us needed them badly.
We remained in Cincinnati two or three days, drawing clothing and getting horses shod, when we embarked on a steamboat for Louisville. It was loaded with sutler stores, and I know there was quite an amount short when they were unloaded. We marched from Louisville to Nashville, and at Bowling Green held an election in a corncrib. It never rained harder than just then. There were sixty-two votes polled, fifty-seven of which were for Lincoln. There was nothing of any importance the rest of the trip. We soon joined the balance of the Regiment in camp at Wauhatchie Station, west of Lookout Mountain.
THE REAR GUARD AT MCKINNEY'S FORD.
LIEUT. D. C. WHITE, COMPANY F, MARYVILLE, MO.
D URING September of 1864 our Regiment, under the con- mand of Col. William J. Palmer, was in East Tennessee watching the enemy, and harassing them in every way possible. The command was engaged in a number of pitched battles of more or less importance.
About the Ist of October, 1864, the Regiment found itself in the vicinity of Kingsport, on the Holston River. The rebel Gen- eral Vaughan was operating through that part of the country with a large body of men, and we were there to watch his operations, hold him in check and do him all the damage possible. About this time Colonel Palmer with a body of about seventy-five picked men was ordered to go through to General Burbridge, who had been operating in east Kentucky and on toward the salt works in Virginia, with dispatches apprising him of the movements of the rebel General Prentice, who with a large force was also operating in that country. This left the balance of the Regiment, about 300 strong, under the command of Lieut .- Col. Charles B. Lamborn, with instructions to watch the enemy under Vaughan, but not to allow himself to be cut off or drawn into a general fight, as the enemy was in much larger force than we were.
During the summer and fall this part of the country had been so raided over by the cavalry of both armies that forage and subsistence of all kinds was getting scarce, and the Regiment found itself without anything to eat or any forage for their horses. Colonel Lamborn, therefore, sent scouting parties through the country, with instructions to gather up all the flour and feed they could find. They succeeded in finding quite a lot of flour, and it was taken into Kingsport, and the women of the town were put to work baking it into bread.
I remember I had charge of the bread-baking department, and that I had some trouble inducing some of the women to bake
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History of the Fifteenth Pennsylvania Cavalry.
bread for the "Yankees." It was about midnight when the work was finished and the bread brought into camp. I think this bread must have resembled that baked by the children of Israel when they were about to leave Egypt. However, it supplied a long-felt want, and was distributed to the Regiment as a regular ration that night. About daylight in the morning, or perhaps a little before, there were indications that General Vaughan was advanc- ing, for our pickets were attacked on several roads about the same time.
The Regiment was soon in the saddle and ready to resist any advance that might be made. We held our position until toward 110on, when we crossed the river to the south side and guarded the fords for several miles along the river. There was a smart engagement at Widow Phipps' plantation, and we had one man wounded. Colonel Lamborn maneuvered the Regiment in such a way as to make the enemy think we intended holding our posi- tion indefinitely, but about dark the Regiment quietly commenced falling back in the direction of Bull's Gap, intending to ford the river at Mckinney's Mill. I had been put on as officer of the day that morning, so when the command commenced falling back I was naturally left in command of the rear guard of sixteen men. The Regiment made good time until about midnight, when it went into camp, which came near being a fatal mistake. The rear guard now became the outer pickets.
Toward morning we could faintly hear the movements of the enemy, and knew they were advancing on us. I sent a man in to notify the Lieutenant Colonel of what we heard, and he imme- diately had the command aroused, without any bugle call or other noise, and at once started "advancing backward," my six- teen men taking their position as rear guard, keeping about a half mile in rear of the Regiment. About 8 o'clock the rebels made a dash at us. We immediately turned and stood them off as best we could, giving them to understand that they couldn't run over us roughshod without saying as much as "by your leave." After checking them we again started back, keeping a sharp lookout to the rear, but we had not gone far when they came upon us again. We, of course, turned and engaged them and had no difficulty in checking them, but the trouble was they would not let us get away from them, for as soon as we started back they would
427
The Rear Guard at McKinney's Ford.
come for us full tilt, and every time they came for us we noticed they had increased in number.
Meanwhile the Regiment kept on its way toward Mckinney's Ford, where it intended crossing the river ; but the rear guard had been so much delayed, in turning and standing the enemy off, that the Regiment was more than a mile ahead of us. I now sent a man ahead to report to the Lieutenant Colonel and tell him how hard we were pressed, and asked that he send back a Company to our relief. But he thought, and subsequent events proved that he was right, that the best way to relieve us would be for the Regiment to cross the river as soon as possible, and then form and drive the enemy back from the bluff, so that the rear guard could cross ; consequently no relief was sent. We were now moving parallel with the river, and about a quarter of a mile from it, where the road ran along at the foot of a very steep bluff on our right, nearly or quite 100 feet high.
Between us and the river, on our left, was a field of very tall standing corn. About this time we discovered that some of the enemy had gone around on the bluff and were getting ahead of us, for we could hear them firing at a part of the Regiment which was now crossing the river at Mckinney's Mills. We also thought that we saw indications that they were getting in the corn field between us and the river, and were trying to cut us off in that direction.
I directed Serg. David Reeseman, who was one of the guard, to take two or three men and go into the corn field and see what was going on there. He decided to go alone, saying that I had no men to spare. So Reeseman, who was as brave a man and as good a soldier as there was in the Regiment, went into the corn field alone, but had not gone far when he ran into a squad of about half a dozen rebels. He didn't stand on the "order of his going, but went at once" across the corn field, between two rows of corn, and the rebels after him. He soon saw that they would surround and capture him if he didn't fool them in some way, so he jumped from his horse while it was under full headway and where the corn was so tall that the rebels couldn't see him, and cut across toward the river, and succeeded in hiding in the thick underbrush on the bank of the stream. Reeseman's front teeth were false, and when he jumped from his horse they fell out of his mouth, but he
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History of the Fifteenth Pennsylvania Cavalry.
didn't wait to hunt for them, and I presume they are in that corn field yet.
Meanwhile the rebels were pressing the rear guard so hard that we had no chance to fall back. They also commenced firing on us from the bluff, and it began to look as though we would have to cut our way out or be captured. About this time Maj. Charles M. Betts, accompanied by his orderly, J. L. B. Sherrick, came back to see what we were doing and how we were getting along, and as he was coming the rebels from the bluff fired on him. He saw that some of them had dismounted and were crawling down the bluff to get between us and the Regiment, and told us that we were being surrounded and would have to cut through, but ordered us to first charge the force that was then forming on our rear, drive them back and then turn and cut our way out.
Major Betts then started back to the command, and had gone but a little way when he saw the rebels had worked their way down the bluff to the road, and that he with the rest of us were cut off. He returned to us just as we had finished the charge on the rebels in the rear.
It didn't take us long to decide what to do and put it in execu- tion. We charged down the road in the direction of the Regiment, this time, and as we came around a bend we ran upon a rebel Lieu- tenant and nine men who were between us and the command, and took them prisoners. We didn't fool with them long, but made them mount our horses behind us and carried them along. Mean- time two companies of the Regiment had safely crossed the river, formed line and drove the enemy back from the bluff, so that they could not see to fire on us. The ford at Mckinney's Mill was so exposed, however, that the guard could not cross there, but had to go about a half mile farther down the river and cross, which we did successfully, carrying our prisoners mounted behind on our horses, which protected us from the fire of the enemy, as they could not shoot us without hitting their own men.
After we all got safely over we took up position a little way back from the river, and engaged the enemy in long-range fire and kept them from crossing, which, by the way, they did not show much disposition to do. When we went into camp that night, Colonel Lamborn complimented the rear guard on the resistance they had made, and gave me the sword and
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The Rear Guard at Mckinney's Ford.
revolver of the rebel Lieutenant we had captured. The sword I have yet, and would not part with it for any money, unless I should come across the Lieutenant from whom we captured it. I might give it to him, for he was a brave young officer.
We were all feeling very bad over the loss of Sergeant Reese- man, as we supposed he had been either killed or captured, for there was no braver man in the Regiment. But what was our surprise the next morning, shortly after breaking camp and start- ing on our way to Bull's Gap, to find the Sergeant sitting quietly by the roadside awaiting us, while "gumming" one of the hard biscuits we had baked at Kingsport, and as good as ever with the exception of the loss of his front teeth and horse. It appeared that Reeseman hid in the thick undergrowth by the river, where he lay quietly all day. The rebels frequently came within a few steps of him to get water to cook with and to water their horses, but, fortunately, not seeing him. He heard them talking very plainly, and from their conversation gathered that the rear guard had done them considerable damage in its resistance to their ad- vance. Toward night they all went back to the bluff and into camp. About night a negro came floating down the river in a canoe, and when opposite to him, Reeseman hailed him and made him set him across the river. He went about a mile south, and stayed all night with a negro family, and next morning joined the Regiment, much to the satisfaction of all his comrades.
The Regiment went on to Bull's Gap, from there to Knoxville and on to Chattanooga, and finally to Wauhatchie, where it got ready to take part in the spring campaign which put a close to the rebellion.
This article is written entirely from memory, over forty years after the incidents recorded took place, and I may have made some mistakes, but believe it is substantially correct. I take no credit to myself for the work of the rear guard, for any officer of the Regiment, with the same sixteen men I had with me, would have done equally as well or perhaps better.
A TRIP TO SAND MOUNTAIN, GA.
ENOCH W. MARPLE, COMPANY E, WILKES-BARRE, PA.
:
O N Friday afternoon, November 25, 1864, a detail of twenty men from the different companies was made and placed under the command of Lieutenant Beck, of Company D), and Sergeant McNair, of Company E, with instructions to go to Sand Mountain, Ga., and pick up any stragglers from the rebel army we could find, it being understood that some rebel officers were there on furlough.
We started with two guides early next morning, and went over a mountain, six miles from camp. We charged up to every house, but got no one, and camped that night at Maxwell's, on Island Creek. At daylight next morning (Sunday), a beautiful day, we left for Carpenter's Ferry. From there we went up on Sand Mountain, having a fine, uneventful ride until we were upon the mountain. As we were passing along near the summit, on looking down into a shallow valley we saw a horse saddled, standing in front of a house, with the reins thrown over a post. It is unneces- sary to say we at once "went for him." We had hardly started when a man in citizen's clothes came out of the house on a run, grabbed the reins, mounted without throwing them over the head of the horse, and got a good start right up the mountain through the woods. I believe we all emptied our revolvers at him, but, with dodging limbs and jumping over logs, we all missed. He was, however, headed off by a couple of the boys who had started for the house down through the woods, instead of by the road, one of whom at once changed horses with him. The prisoner turned out to be a man about fifty years of age, large and strong enough to have made a good fight had he but half a chance. He had raised his fist to strike one of the boys who stopped him, but thought better of it. Had he known that neither of them had a single shot, either in carbine or revolver, he would probably have escaped.
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SUMMIT OF LOOKOUT MOUNTAIN
Lieut. Chas. S. Hinchman
Capt. Wm. F. Colton M. B. Colton
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A Trip to Sand Mountain, Ga.
We then went on our way, shortly afterward meeting a citizen, who said he was going to church, and as he seemed to be an innocent sort of person, we made the serious mistake of letting him go. This we found out about fifteen minutes afterward, when the aforesaid innocent citizen brought about sixty of Wcather- spoon's guerrillas on our rear. Our prisoner at once turned and escaped to the rebels, those having charge of him being too much interested in the attack in the rear to notice it. We had quite a little skirmishı, but the guerrillas left in a hurry, and the guides suggesting that we had better make a certain point in the road, as the enemy would probably be able to cut off our retreat if they got there first, we "lit out" lively, and got there about a minute ahead of them.
We had at this point quite a little fight, one of our men-West Schaures, Company L, a recruit-being badly wounded in the leg. We retreated again, this time right over the top of the mountain, where there was no sign of any road, to the other side, striking a road down the mountain. We left our wounded comrade in a house near the summit, as he could not travel any farther, being weak from loss of blood. We went down the mountain and camped about two miles from Trenton, about midnight. The next morning we returned to Wauhatchie, arriving about I o'clock, pretty tired.
A force, under Serg. John B. Kreider, was at once sent out to bring back the wounded man and round up the rebels, but they returned without seeing any of them. Our wounded comrade was sent to the hospital on Lookout Mountain.
Everyone in our party had about given up all idea of ever getting down that mountain, as we certainly were in a bad fix. While we were in the last fight my carbine barrel was hit by a bullet while I was resting the stock on my thigh, awaiting a chance for a shot. Some pieces of the lead were scattered all over my face and neck, and one of the boys picked them out the next morning. I have always felt that I had a very close call, as the bullet might have come my way had the barrel of the carbine been held a trifle more to one side. This scout was probably of very little importance, but as we had one man wounded and were certainly thoroughly licked, it may be interesting.
THE VOTE OF THE REGIMENT IN THE PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION.
CORP. SMITH D. COZENS, COMPANY L, PHILADELPHIA.
O N November 7, 1864, I was appointed one of three super- visors to conduct the election in our Regiment on the fol- lowing day. Abraham Lincoln was the nominee of the Republican party and Gen. Geo. B. McClellan was on the Demo- cratic ticket. The chief plank of the Democrats was that "the war was a failure." The other two supervisors were Lieut. Chas. H. Kirk and Jos. Bontemps, and we all rode into Chatta- nooga to get poll books and everything else necessary for the election. The Commissioner who supplied our needs was our own townsman, Wm. V. McGrath, who was the representative of the Democratic party.
I am not quite certain whether either Lieutenant Kirk or I had any right to accept such a position, as neither of us was twenty- one years old, but no objections were raised, and we went ahead. This day we received eighty recruits, and the strong Republicans in the Regiment said that the majority of the Democratic votes were cast by them. Our Regiment had been recruited from all over the State, so that many counties were represented. The voting took place in the First Sergeant's tent, a certain number of counties being assigned to each.
The result, by counties, was as follows :
Republican.
Democrat.
Adams
27
I
Allegheny
30
IO
Bucks
7
2
Beaver
2
. .
Butler
4
. .
Center
5
I
Carbon
2
. .
Cumberland
I
. .
Chester
3
I
Armstrong
2
I
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The Vote of the Regiment in Presidential Election. 433
Republican.
Democrat.
Delaware
IO
·
Dauphin
7
2
Erie
I
·
Fayette
8
I
Franklin
7
·
Greene
23
2
Huntingdon
I
·
Jefferson
. .
2
Luzerne
4
. .
Lycoming
2
·
Lancaster
4
I
Montgomery
I4
5
Philadelphia
89
8
Perry .
I
·
Schuylkill
6
3
Somerset
I
Venango
I
. .
Washington
4
. .
York
2
. .
Westmoreland
33
I3
-
301
53
248 majority for "Old Abe."
This does not indicate the full strength of the Regiment at this time, as the seventy-five men whom Colonel Palmer took with him through Kentucky had not joined us, and Companies H and K were still doing escort duty at headquarters, and did not join us till a little later.
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SOJOURN IN DIXIE.
JOSEPH PONTIUS, COMPANY M, ROXBOROUGH, PHILADELPHIA.
I T was the day before Christmas, in 1863, that our Regiment joined the commands of Generals Sturgis and Elliott, about four miles from Dandridge. We were tired and hungry, and were eating what little we had in our haversacks, when a rebel scout was brought in. He said there were only 300 rebels on the road. Our Colonel asked for the privilege of ascertaining the truth of the scout's statement, and it was granted. Our horses were in no condition for a running match with the rebels, so about seventy of as good mounts as could be selected were ordered to get ready for the fray.
Our Colonel led us through the woods to a worm fence skirting it. We got through to the middle of the field, and found the rebels on the road as thick as bees. They were the left flank of General Martin's Divison.
We marched to the middle of the field, and formed in line of battle for a charge. Immediately we discovered we had bitten off more than we could masticate. Seeing the Colonel turn and make a bee line for a hole in the fence spoke louder than words. We got into considerable of a muddle, all trying to get to the hole at the same time.
The bullets flew thick and fast and the rebels were very close to us. There was no other way out of the field but by that par- ticular hole in the five-rail fence. It was too high for a jump, and we were too hotly pressed to make another opening.
There were about ten of the seventy captured in the field, and only one wounded. The latter was exchanged that day. Among the captured was Capt. W. Airey, who after suffering fourteen months in Libby Prison, returned home and died from the horrible diseases contracted in that den.
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