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 50
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
585
A Race for Life.
not much of a hurry, and when within about 100 yards I called on him to halt, but he paid no attention to my command. A little nearer he came, and I leveled my pistol, intending to fire, when he threw up his hands and exclaimed, "Lieutenant, don't shoot me ! I am one of your men." I am thankful to this day that I did not shoot.
The main column was soon reached, and surprising to me, it was not a quarter of a mile distant. The road led through a dense woods, and I soon found myself near the rear of the column. I struck the mule train, where they were jumping for life to keep up, as was always the case with 5000 cavalry on the march.
GETTING HOME FROM ATHENS, GA.
- LIEUT. A. B. COLEMAN, COMPANY L, PHILADELPHIA.
I PARTED from Comrade Cozens at Athens, Ga. The war being at an end and I unable to travel, the Regiment, going to Atlanta on their way home, had left me at Athens. I was completely broken up by sickness and the hardships of the cam- paign, but was endeavoring as best I could to make my way home.
As far as I knew I was the only man who wore the Union uni- form left in the town. Mr. Kirkpatrick, who lived opposite the University buildings, and who had two sons in the Confederate army, was very good to me, as were his whole family. Company L, to which I belonged, had been encamped on the sidewalk of the University, with our horses fastened to the trees. On our arrival at Athens, Mr. Kirkpatrick came across the street to where we were, and through his kindness I was enabled to get out of the weather to a good resting place on the shed floor. Although he offered me a good bed, my sanitary and physical condition was such that I declined accepting such a luxury. I do not believe I . had changed my underclothing for six weeks before our arrival at Athens.
The opportunity now arrived for me to get out of the town on my way home, and I soon availed myself of the offer.
The train started for Augusta, Ga., on a beautiful spring morn- ing. It was filled with Confederates on their way to their once happy homes. How dejected they looked ! although they appeared to have plenty of friends to see them off. I fared well with the good things that were handed in-loads of corn bread, molasses, etc. I shall never forget the kindness of those poor fellows. We had a good time on the way. On the second seat in front of me sat General Wheeler and a number of other officers who had been prominent in the lost cause. We arrived safely at Augusta after an all-day journey of about 100 miles, having left Athens at 10 o'clock. As far as I know I was the only Union soldier aboard
586
587
Getting Home from Athens, Ga.
the cars. That trip was a free passage to all men who wore a uni- form-Union or Confederate, clean or dirty.
It was sundown when we arrived. Although I was not hungry, I felt like a miserable creature-tired, ragged and lousy, with no money, and looking for any hole in which to hide myself. Passing along the street I stopped in front of an old frame church, lit up by candles. Two men were sitting at the top of a stairway at the front, and as I looked up longingly they invited me up. I was tired of walking and glad to get somewhere. I told them I had no money, but they passed me in. It was a minstrel show that was to come off, and the house was filled with Confederates. A Colonel sat next to me. Few of the men in the place were in any better condition than I was.
The first announcement-there were no programs-was a song, something in reference to the lost cause, by an ex-Confederate. All the actors were ex-Confederates with their old uniforms on. He sang well, and the Colonel began crying, for he was very much affected by the song. The man disappeared from the stage, and the Colonel turned and excused himself to me, saying he "couldn't stand any more of that." He told me he had lived over the moun- tains, had arrived in town that day and had met a friend of his, who told him that all that remained of his house and barn were two chimneys where the house had been. It was terrible to think what they had gone through and what was still in store for them.
I came out of that place and walked about a mile, when I dis- covered a colored woman in front of her house. After hearing my tale of woe, she called her husband, who invited me in. The shed floor was my resting place. For breakfast I received corn bread and "Jeff coffee," for which I was very thankful.
As far as business was concerned the city of Augusta appeared to me to be done for. There were many ex-Confederates in the town, and all seemed to have trouble getting to their homes. In the afternoon I had seen Jeff Davis passing through the town, under guard-I suppose going North.
I got away from Augusta without any trouble, and arrived at Savannah the same day, just in time to catch a steamer for Fortress Monroe. It was loaded with English and other foreign officers, freight, etc. These officers generally had been on the staffs of rebel officers, and were on their way to their respective
588
History of the Fifteenth Pennsylvania Cavalry.
countries. I overheard one of them remark that if he "could get out of the country without putting his foot on Northern soil he would be perfectly satisfied."
I again fared well, and again it was a colored woman who was my benefactor. She was peeling potatoes in the cook-house on the ship. The old mammy took good care of me, and gave me plenty to eat and a shakedown on some barrels under cover. Soon we were on the ocean. The Captain of the vessel spied me and inter- viewed me.
In a few days we arrived at Fortress Monroe, and I soon found myself in Washington, where I got transportation for home- "Home, sweet home."
THE "FIFTEENTH" AT GENERAL JOE JOHNSTON'S SURRENDER.
-
ARTHUR O. GRANGER, COMPANY C, CARTERSVILLE, GA.
T HE Stone River campaign during the last days of 1862 and the first of 1863 was a severe strain on me. I was in my seventeenth year at that time, and lack of the knowledge to properly prepare my food was the cause of my being sent to the hospital to be treated for typhoid fever and some other complaints. Improperly prepared food caused more deaths than rebel bullets, and in our Regiment, which was made up of young men, prin- cipally, the death rate from this cause was very great.
I was a very sick boy when I was sent to Hospital No. I, at Murfreesboro. There were six of us, all desperately ill, in a small second-story room, facing the square. The door to the hall was kept open for ventilation. It was a common thing to see the nurses carrying out the poor fellows who had died. They were simply wrapped in a blanket, thrown over the shoulders, with feet dangling down in front, and head behind, and taken to the dead house. Even in these duties the usual care of seeing that the patients were really dead was not always taken, for in one of our hospitals a soldier was carried out and put in the deadroom, and a few hours after another was taken down, and the astonished burden bearer found the one he had carried down before, sitting up and asking for his medicine. I was here six weeks before I could walk around the hall, and soon after, thinking I had more strength than I really had, I started to go downstairs and out to the square in front, but the little strength I had was all gone by the time I got to the foot of the stairs and I had to sit down and rest before I could crawl back to my bunk again. This "bedstead" was made of rough boards, the size of a cot. The slats ran crosswise and were several inches apart and a single folded blanket was the mattress. Our clothes were our pillows.
589
590
History of the Fifteenth Pennsylvania Cavalry.
I was the only one of my Regiment in this hospital. Back in Nashville there had been a large detachment of unfortunates in the hospitals there, but these were coming back to the Regiment. Now that warmer weather had set in the boys in camp were recovering their old spirits under its influences and the changes that were taking place. The Regiment was then just outside of Murfreesboro reorganizing, drilling, and doing some scout duty in which they met with good success. By the time I was fit to take my old place in its ranks, the hospital authorities discovered that I wrote a good, legible hand and detailed me for light duty of a clerical character, and when my Regiment started off on the Tullahoma campaign I was the chief clerk in the hospital. I filled this position for about a year till David F. How, my mess- mate in Company "E," received an appointment as First Lieu- tenant in the Tenth Missouri, and was appointed on the staff of General Elliot, commanding the cavalry. He got me detailed at once as clerk at cavalry headquarters. Before I commenced my duties there, a telegraphic order was received for me to report to General Sherman's headquarters and I at once started for Kingston, Ga. It was only a few days after I arrived at Sher- man's headquarters that we started from Atlanta, on November 16, 1864, on his march to the sea. Several of the Anderson Cavalry were along, but my duties were such that I was not thrown in contact with them. J. Geo. Henvis, of Company H, was one. Part of the time he rode a mule and may have played an important part. John Walter, of Company K, was another. At the battle of Resaca he so distinguished himself in carrying dispatches on our fourteen-mile line of battle, as to merit the commendation of General Sherman, who personally asked him to be his private orderly and was retained in that position till July, 1865, when he was discharged. It was Walter who took the verbal order from General Sherman to General John A. Logan, to take command of General McPherson's Corps after that General had been killed in battle. A staff officer generally does work of that kind, but just then time was an important object. It was a question of minutes and Sherman took the best he had for a messenger. J. Reese Moore, Company M, was in our signal corps, and before the campaign closed had charge of the signal men at headquarters. This march of Sherman's was no hap-
The "Fifteenth" at General Joe Johnston's Surrender. 591
hazard affair, but had been carefully planned long before it was carried out. The General had posted himself as to the agricul- tural products of the various counties, and in his marches avoided those in which cotton predominated. Corn, sweet potatoes and pork were what he wanted, as only a small supply of provisions was in the wagons. No sooner had we started than the darkies came flocking to our camps, and while many made themselves useful as cooks, servants and teamsters, their number became so great before we reached Savannah as to become a nuisance. Three or four days after we started, our chief signal officer, Captain Becktel, sent up several rockets to let the other corps know where General Sherman was. The rockets were large and of the best and made a fine display. But most of our darkies had never seen any, and instead of enjoying the sight it filled them with the utmost terror. Our cook was washing dishes at the time, but dropped everything and ran for the bushes; others hid in wagons and tremulously asked "what them things were?" Even the mules and horses were frightened, and it would not have taken much more to have gotten up a stampede.
It was not until after we reached Savannah that I was made confidential clerk to General Sherman. This was a most interest- ing position to occupy, for I was behind the scenes, as it were, and knew all the movements of our army and what the General expected to accomplish by the various marches of the different corps of his army, separated as they were by long distances. General Sherman was exceedingly kind and considerate to those with him, and while at all times he was the superior officer, he had a flattering manner of saying nice things in such a way as endeared him to you. He always had a good opinion of our Regiment, but the official dispatch which we received on January 21, 1865, telling of the capture of General Hood's pon- toon and wagon train, raised us still higher in his estimation. He talked to John Walter about the Regiment and said "it was the best one in his Department; they can ride faster, do more hard fighting and capture more wagon trains than any regiment in my command." On the march to the sea he slept on a cot, but on the Carolina campaign baggage was reduced to a minimun and there were no cots or such luxuries. There was one large tent at headquarters for an office, and that is where I slept. The
592
History of the Fifteenth Pennsylvania Cavalry.
records were kept in a stout chest, with folding legs and two lids, which, when opened out, made two writing tables. I have more than once wakened up at night to find the General sitting in his nightclothes at the desk, on a camp-stool stretched across my feet, poring over a map by the light of a candle. Often I asked him, "Can I do anything for you, General?" and his usual reply was, "No, go to sleep, Granger. You need all the rest you can get." I have frequently looked out of the office tent during the night, and seen General Sherman walking up and down in front of the camp-fire, bareheaded, in his red drawers and slippers, and always smoking. The anxiety of the campaign and the great responsibility kept him from sleeping. I do not think that, on our marches, he averaged more than four hours sleep per night. He was always the last to bed and the first up in the morning, and most any time in the night could be found either in the tent or at the camp-fire.
In preparing orders for the next day's march, the General would study over his maps and draft out the distance to be traveled and the line of march for the two wings of the army under Howard and Slocum. I would then write out an order addressed to each of these Generals, to be signed by Colonel Day- ton, Asst. Adjutant General, and couriers would be dispatched with them. These orders would go down to army corps, division, brigade and regimental commanders, often not reaching the latter till long after midnight.
At Columbia, S. C., the contingent of Anderson's (Fifteenth Pennsylvania ) cavalrymen in Sherman's army was increased by the arrival of Joe Rue, who was a member of my old company in the Regiment. Joe had been captured over a year before, in East Tennessee, but had escaped and hid in Columbia just before our army reached there and, as he had nothing to eat for several days, was overjoyed to be with friends again.
On March 15th, the rebel General Rhett was captured by Sergeant Jos. W. Range and four men of the Tenth Ohio Cav- alry. This regiment had been with us in Sequatchie Valley and in the winter campaign in East Tennessee, so cur feeling for them was a tender one. Range and his men were "bummers" out for forage and scouting when they heard the sound of firing not far off, and curiosity impelled them to get nearer to see what
The "Fifteenth" at General Joe Johnston's Surrender. 593
was going on. Range's squad were dressed in an odd fashion. Only one man had a complete U. S. uniform, while the Sergeant had on a suit of black broadcloth, which he had picked up a day or two before. The others had the look of Confederate soldiers. As they drew near to the firing they saw a line of rebel skirmish- ers engaged with those from Kilpatrick's cavalry. Back of them was the rebel line of battle. Two officers were riding at a walk from the skirmishers to the line of battle, and Range said quietly to his men, "Let's get them." Riding slowly, at a walk, his party intercepted the officers and gave the military salute when they met but quietly got around the two and suddenly covered them with their revolvers, seized the bridle-reins and passed them over the heads of the captured horses, and galloped off with their prisoners, General Rhett and his Adjutant-General. This was his first and last battle. He had been one of those fiery orators that had done yeoman service in bringing on the war, but when the fighting com- inenced had kept out of harm's way. He had been "invincible in peace and invisible in war."
It was not till the 15th of April, after we had received the news of Lee's surrender, that General Joe Johnston, in our front, gave any indications that the time had come for his army to quit, too. At that date a dispatch came from him, through General Kilpat- rick, asking for a cessation of hostilities and a personal interview, which was arranged to take place near Durham Station on the 17th. General Sherman took his staff officers and three or four orderlies, among whom was John Walter. I was the only clerk along. At General Kilpatrick's headquarters horses were fur- nished us and we rode through our lines with a flag of truce at ' the head of the column. General Johnston was met about four miles out from Durham Station, riding along the road with a portion of his staff, and also flying a flag of truce. The two Generals shook hands with each other and rode back to the house of a Mr. Bennett, where they went into a room by themselves and talked for an hour. Our men mingled with the rebel cavalry. They were pretty bitter and the officers haughty. The Generals arrived at no conclusion that day, as General Johnston wanted to see Secretary of War Breckenridge again and obtain authority to include all Confederate armies in the surrender. I had a good opportunity to observe Generals Johnston and Wade Hampton.
38
594
History of the Fifteenth Pennsylvania Cavalry.
They were both in full dress uniforms of gray cloth. Johnston was a full General and his badge of rank was three stars in a row. on each end of his coat collar. The stars are supposed to be silver, and the outside ones are half-encircled by a wreath of gold.
The next day the two Generals, Sherman and Johnston, met again at the same place. Soon afterwards General Johnston sent one of his staff officers back to his lines for Mr. Brecken- ridge, the rebel Secretary of War, Major General C. S. A., and ex-Vice-President of the United States. I recognized him at once from photographs I had seen. He was a good speci- men of a real Southerner. His clothes looked rather seedy, but he was haughty and his manner was proud. General Sherman would only consent to see him in his character of a general officer, and would not recognize his as Secretary of War. The conference lasted several hours, and Breckenridge returned to the rebel lines. Terms were finally agreed upon, and Sherman appeared at the doorway, bareheaded, calling "Granger." I quickly responded. He introduced me to General Johnston and told me to make two copies of the agreement, and while I wrote the two commanders talked interestingly, and I did so wish that I could have listened to them. The agreements being finished, they were signed by both, first by General Sherman and then by General Johnston, after which both parties returned to their respective armies, for we had to wait until the agreement could be ratified by the authorities at Washington.
The Confederacy was now fast breaking up. The rebels had some hope till Lee surrendered, but since that event deserters from their cause were flocking to our lines, while many of those still in arms started a promiscuous pillage of their own people. A little later the Mayor of Louisburg, N. C., sent in some of the members of his council and formally surrendered that place to General Sherman, and at the same time asked for a guard to protect them from rebel cavalry.
On April 24th, Lieutenant-General Grant arrived at our head- quarters. I heard him tell Sherman that Lee had surrendered over 26,000 men ; that their killed and wounded were upwards of 20,000, and that he had captured in battle some 23,000, and also said that his loss was not over 15,000 in killed, wounded and missing. General Grant's special mission was to report that
The "Fifteenth" at General Joe Johnston's Surrender. 595
the agreement for the surrender of Johnston's army was disal- lowed by the Washington authorities. General Sherman at once notified the rebel commander and demanded the surrender of the army on the same terms as were granted General Lee by General Grant.
On April 26th, Sherman and Johnston again met at Mr. Ben- nett's house and the surrender of his army was consummated. We had to wait for General Johnston, but as soon as he arrived the two Generals went in together and, after consulting for an hour, General Schofield was called in and, at the dictation of Gen- eral Sherman, drew up the terms of capitulation, which were the same as Grant had given General Lee. After General Sherman had written the terms and they had been read to the two chiefs, General Sherman called for me and directed that I make two copies, one for General Johnston and the other for himself. Each copy was signed by the two Generals, and my share of the sur- render was the pen and holder and inkstand, which I still possess. I tried to purchase from Mr. Bennett the table cover on which the writing was done, but the old fellow could not be induced to part with it.
The total of officers and men surrendered by General Johnston was over 89,000 ; 36,817 were in our front and the balance dis- tributed in Georgia and Florida. At the consummation of this great event, the Fifteenth Pennsylvania Cavalry had a greater representation present than any volunteer regiment in the service, for John Walter, of Company K, stood just outside the door while I was inside writing the official copy.
OUR REGIMENT-IN WAR AND PEACE.
HATBORO, PA., SEPT. 1, 1905.
O N the afternoon of the twenty-first of June, 1865, the Regiment officially closed its term of service in the Army of the United States, at Nashville, Tenn. The companies were paraded without arms and marched to the rear of the Colonel's quarters and formed in column of com- panies. Major Hough, the mustering officer, then commenced on the right of the line and called each man's name, who, as he answered, "Here," stepped three paces to the front, and when all remaining of a company recruited in 1862 had answered, they were declared mustered out of service.
After all the companies were disposed of, the officers were formed in line and took an oath that they had furnished returns for all the stores committed to their care and that they were not further accountable, and the mustering officer then declared them out of service, and the Fifteenth Pennsylvania Cavalry as an organization ceased to exist; to be thereafter only a memory.
But the recollections of the achievements of that. organiza- tion cannot fail to be of much satisfaction to all who participated therein. The preceding pages of this book have told only what was done by those in the field with the carbine and sabre, but the armies of the Cumberland and Tennessee felt the influence of the brains and the clerical experience of many of those who made up the rank and file of our Regiment. In almost every department some of "ours" were detailed for headquarter office duty, and although most stringent efforts were made to have these men re- turned to the Regiment, in many cases it was found to be im- possible, as the character of the work they did was so valuable that no one else could be found to fill their places.
Simeon Lord, of Company E, as Sergeant of Couriers at army headquarters, had charge of all courier lines throughout the Army of the Cumberland. This is a position of great responsi- bility, requiring good judgment and great ability, and no better soldier was ever found to take his place.
The clerical work of an army is carried on by report from
596
597
Our Regiment-in War and Peace.
subordinate commanders showing the exact number of efficient men in the various arms of the service and also the number in hospitals and unfit for duty on account of sickness or wounds. These are daily reports, so that the commanding officer may know at all times the number of men he can put in a line of battle. There were also reports from every division, brigade, and regiment of infantry and cavalry and batteries of artillery, show- ing in detail their condition. Also reports from the ordnance, quartermaster, and commissary departments showing at a glance the amount of stock each has on hand. There was also a large amount of correspondence between the different commanders, many of these in cipher, and all had to be written out with pen and then recopied in books.
In our command was a large number of young men of superior education whose previous employment well fitted them to fill these positions and the heads of the various departments were not long in finding it out. Nothing shows the quality of the men composing our Regiment more than the fact that eighty-six of them received commissions-forty-five in our own Regiment and forty-one in other commands. Ours was a unique Regiment in that it was distinguished as the only independent regiment (so far as known) in an army of over one million men. Our reports were made direct to the Department Commander during our term of service.
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.