USA > Pennsylvania > Northampton County > History of the One hundred and fifty-third regiment Pennsylvania volunteers infantry which was recruited in Northampton County, Pa., 1862-1863 > Part 17
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meadow, near a nice spring, .... General Hinzleman's Corps was encamped around Centreville, and some of his men called on us. But they did not seem to think much of us, claiming we were too dirty and hard looking for gentlemen to associate with. We removed our shoes, and dressed our feet. Then we lay around all day, and needed no camp guard to keep the boys in camp. In the evening the Hinzleman soldiers had dress parade, with their shoes blackened and white gloves on. This was the only time I had seen white gloves while in the army of the Potomac.
If I remember right it was on this evening that our Colonel Glanz arrived, returning from Richmond, Libby prison .... We all turned out in our stocking feet to greet the Colonel. He made a speech to us and dropped a few silent tears. The old man had changed since I had seen him last. He was quite corpulent when he was with us before, but when he got back he was just about as thin as I was. After he joined us he went with the regiment a few days, but he did not take command, as he claimed he was not well .... On the 17th as I arose, a comrade of mine by the name of Henry Zearfass, was still sleeping. I aroused him and told him to get his breakfast as there was a hard day's march before us. He told me his commissary supplies had run out. I took my cap and went around among the boys and soon had it full of coffee, sugar and hard-tack which filled his haversack for him. He was a nice young fellow, but he had no cheek. He would starve before lie would beg. After breakfast while we were packing up my tent-mate had a nice piece of bacon, and he said to me 'Rube I am going to throw this away I can't eat pork anyhow.' I told him to give it to me I would carry it; for I thought the gentleman would eat pork about noon. And I was right .... we left Centreville about 4 a. m., .... We had made five or six miles when a halt was made, and this brought us to a house. There were three men at the house, one had a bandage around his head, one had his arm in a sling, the other was lame. The boys accused them of being Rebels, and they denied it. Myself and
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Captain Henry J. Oerter, Co. C.
Lieutenant Benj. F. Boyer, Co. C.
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others were leaning against the garden fence. In the garden there was a nice bed of onions, the fence fell over and all I got was two onions and as the bugle sounded for us to fall in I looked down across the meadow and saw some of the Germans after a drove of geese. They were using a long pole with which they were knocking the heads off the geese. That was to me a new way of killing geese .... After marching a few miles we came to a little creek. Here we were ordered to fill our canteens, as we would not again find water for twelve miles .... we kept in ranks for about ten miles. The water had given out, the sun was very hot, and I commenced to get blind. I told my tent-mate I would drop in the shade a few minutes, and he said he was with me. We stopped about fifteen minutes then went on. The road was lined with men who were occu- pying every shady place. My Company had fifty-six men, and our orderly sergeant with five men were all that were left to stack arms. My partner's nickname was 'Chunkey.' He was over six feet tall and very thin. We were about 15 minutes late coming up to camp and when we halted, I said to Chunkey which will you do build a fire or go to the creek for water? . . . We took a seat under a shade tree to eat our dinner,- coffee, hard-tack and raw bacon. I brought out the piece of bacon which Chunkey was going to throw away in the morning. I cut off a corner and began to eat it when I said Chunkey have a piece it tastes good. I handed his piece which was five inches square and two inches thick, and he ate it with great relish, the grease meantime dropping from his chin before he got through with it. The 18 or 20 miles we had come from Centreville had brought Chunkey to his appetite .... we moved on a few miles further and went into camp on the banks of Goose Creek, by a mill dam, a splendid place to swim, and I think everybody took a bath. In the afternoon when the rear guard came into camp they brought with them about a dozen to fifteen long-legged narrow-chested pleasant Virginia farmers. They had their hands in their pockets, stood round shouldered like a hound in a mush-pot. They were under a strong guard.
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It rained some during the night, and they were the picture of distress the next morning. I then learned that two of our men had had their ears cut off, and that two had been found with their throats cut. They all belonged to our brigade, which was the reason for bringing these innocent, peaceable farmers into our camp. What was done with them I never learned. They all looked as if hanging might be too good for them. I always had respect for a man who being an enemy would declare himself such, and come out and fight. But I never had any love for those innocent bushwhackers ... . .
. We remained on the banks of Creek till the afternoon, when we moved about a mile back from the Creek and en- camped near a farm house. The old farmer was Rebel to the back-bone. He would not take the oath of allegiance and the boys took everything he had, and would have carried off the farm, but he took the oath and had a guard furnished him.
As we went into our camp we put up our pup tent, as a heavy thunderstorm was coming our way. It rained very hard and continued all night. After we had our supper and had smoked the pipe of peace, I and Chunkey, and the other mess- mate whom we shall call Feldy, for that was his nickname, had gone to bed and I was asleep. I was called up to go on picket .... in this detail for pickets there were seventy-five from our regiment. We were marched to division headquarters, where we were ordered to load our guns, and where we were joined by other details, from other regiments, in all about three hundred men. We were then placed in charge of three mounted officers and started for the picket line. We were to relieve the pickets who were out. The night was pitch-dark, and we could not see the man that was in front of us, so in order to keep together cach man took hold of the coat-tail of the man in front of him. We had to cross fields which had ditches which had been washed out by heavy rains, and it was no uncommon incident to find five or six men on top of each other in a ditch, or the same number taking a tumble over a big stone .... after
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we got through the fields, we entered a wood road where the going was better than in the fields. How far we tramped in the woods is more than I can tell .... but we could find no pickets and our guides were hopelessly lost. They called a halt and held a council and concluded to remain where we were. We had passed through our picket line and it was not safe to return that way in the darkness. Chances were that some- body might get hurt. We got orders to make ourselves as comfortable as we could and not make any noise. Under cover of my blanket leaning against a tree I was soon fast asleep and did not wake until the break of day. As I awoke I found I was sitting in two inches of water. As it was not the first time that I was sleeping in a mud hole it was nothing new, and for the first time, since we left Fredericksburg I had more water than I needed ..... we started back towards camp, and about two miles back just at the edge of the woods we came into the picket line that we were to relieve the evening before. Our reception by the pickets was mixed with a good deal of pro- fanity, but we called them down by informing them of how bright they had been to allow three hundred men to pass through their line unobserved. We relieved them, and after spending two hours on post returned to camp. We remained in this camp until June 24th. Nothing occurred during this time ex- cept we were ordered to fall in one afternoon, and were in- formed that three deserters were to be executed near Leesburg, Va ..... I did not see much in it only that such was the doom of deserters, and I suppose was intended to give us a pointer not to desert. During our time here some sick who had re- covered were returned, and those who were found sick with us were sent to that city. In our Company there was one man who thought he was sick. The rest of the Company thought he was playing off sick, and was trying to get into the hospital .. He reported to the doctors, was examined and came back to the Company with a gun and cartridge box. The first salute he received was, 'hello, you've got a box of pills. blue mass at that. They are enough to cure up any man in short
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order.' Well the fellow got a great send off, and made him- self scarce in a hurry and as near as I can remember he was cured. We had another fellow in our Company who was not well enough to carry arms. But his haversack had gotten too small for a sick man; so he went according to General Hooker's orders and made one out of a rubber blanket which would hold eiglit days rations. I am sure that it would hold more than three ordinary haversacks. I met this fellow once on a hard march in a wagon train. All he carried was the big haversack, and canteen, and a big staff in his hand to help him along, for he had the rheumatism. He was a regular out-and-out hospi- tal bum .... In the afternoon of the 24th we were notified to pack .... we felt rested and ready for the road. Our afternoon's march was only eight or ten miles to Edwards Ferry on the Potomac river. We went into camp near a farm house on a bluff, half a mile back of the river .... where we waited for the completion of the bridge then in course of construction. Here we had just a little fun. Our neighbors in one of the German regiments had found a sow and ten pigs, the pigs were nice and plump, about ten weeks old. They were nice for roasting. The dutch had killed all the pigs by the time I got around, and were just going for the old sow. She was about five feet long and three feet high and six inches wide. They had caught her and were holding a council of war over her. Some wanted her killed; others thought she was too lean. Able remarks were made on both sides. The final decision was to let her go, and she went .... we retired to our bunks early as there were indications that we were to have a hard day's march on the morrow, and we did not know at what hour they might take a notion to start with us. On the 25th reveille sounded before three o'clock, and we were early crossing the pontoon bridge, which seemed to be a mile long. By keeping step we got quite a swing on it. We received many commands to break step .... but we felt like giving the officers a good swing, and gave them a shaking up before we got across. But we also got our shaking up before night. We went through Poolsville and up the Potomac then turned a
Lieutenant Geo. H. Fritchman, Co. K.
Lieutenant Laurence Dutott, Co. K.
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northeastern direction and crossed a mountain. It rained in the afternoon, a very cold rain. On arrival near Jefferson, Md., in the evening we were tired and wet. We camped in a nice field. The farmer turned out three teams to haul cord wood to save his fences. But impatiently we made a raid on a fence, the order of the officer was that we should take only the top rail, which we did until we reached the bottom, and took that also if it was not rotten. We had cleaned up about one hundred rods of fence by the time the teams arrived with the cord wood. It rained all night and we were wet to the skin, spent a miserable night, and after the usual old bill of fare in rain and high wind, the command came to fall in and we marched through Jefferson. The band struck up a jig, the boys gave a cheer, and the ladies waved their handkerchiefs, and the remarks made were, 'Who wouldn't be a soldier ?'
Passing through mud from four to six inches deep, baggage wet and heavy, we passed on to the battle ground of South Mountain, near Burkettsville. Here we found a good many graves, mostly of New Jersey troops. Our brigade was sent in to this place to guard the gap; the rest of the corps went by another road to Middletown where we met them later. ... Cher- ries were ripe and very plentiful in this place, and the boys did not object 'to pick cherries.' I and Chunkey took a walk. .. . had some cherries, when late in the afternoon Feldy came in camp with a great loaf of bread, about seven by sixteen inches and also three pounds of fresh butter. I asked him where he got them, and he said he bought them. I said where did you get the money; for I knew he had none. He answered that he borrowed it .... I never found out how he came by it; but of course I had my own opinion how he got it, for I never believed that any member of our mess would take anything and not pay for it or at least promise to pay .... Let me state right here, that was the best bread and butter that I ever ate.
.... In the evening a brigade of cavalry came over the moun- tain into Burkettsville .... they were the drunkenest brigade that I ever saw. Officers and privates were alike. I saw two privates
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trying to keep an officer on the saddle, I also saw officers trying to keep a private in the saddle. Some of them had to lay over till the next day, before they were able to follow up their com- mand. I was informed that they had struck a distillery, but I think the distillery must have struck them ..
On the 28th of June reveille awoke us at 3 a. m. By 4 o'clock we were on the road to Middletown. As we were march- ing past General von Gilsa's Headquarters the General was standing at the gate, and the Company, to salute him, came to 'shoulder arms.' Just as Lieutenant Barnes of our Company gave the command to shoulder arms, the General gave the con- mand 'arms at will,' and as we did not obey promptly he re- peated the command, and made the remark 'you need not care for your little Major.' This caused quite a laugh in the ranks. Our regiment was commanded on this campaign by the Major . We joined our corps between Middletown and Hagerstown, expecting to remain in this camp during the day .... we took the Pike to Frederick City, Md. The weather was warm, and there were many fine residences along the Pike .... cool shady places were occupied by the residents .... we would see the natives sit on their porches, with standing collars, shoes blackened, and smoking cigars. It brought a fellow back to see how folks live in God's country, and what home comforts a fellow could have if he were only there. To be honest about it this was the only day that I had the blues while I was in the army. .. . but it was tramp, tramp, all day long .... no halt until near an hour before sunset .... we were formed into platoons, front and closed up, and as I was pretty well in the advance of the column, and as the Hagerstown Pike has a down grade into Frederick City, I had a grand view back over that column. The Pike was packed full of infantry as far as I could see, and they were from 16 to 20 men abreast .... the gun barrels glistening in the evening sun made a sight never to be forgotten .... we kept on marching .... and began to feel hungry as we had breakfast between three and four in the morning, and all we had to eat was dry hard-tack .... minutes turned into hours, and still on
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went the columns. Some general officers passed along the col- umns after dark, and I think Howard and Barlow were among them .... it was a steady marching and no halt until I1 o'clock p. m ..... we were ready for the road a little after daylight on the following morning ... .
The farther we got north the more loyal the people were. We met on the cross roads great crowds of men, women and children, and along the farm houses were set tubs of water for us. I never heard of any man, woman or child being insulted . . . we traveled through a very fine section of country this day and about six o'clock p. m. arrived at Emmitsburg, all tired .... the sun came out and we had a nice day on the 30th of June .... for a boy of nineteen years I felt old, my knee being stiff, it was with difficulty that I could walk .... it was not long till Chunkey and Feldy came in from picket. I was out of money and out of smoking tobacco. The Captain came to my relief. He bought me a pound of tobacco, and a pair of socks. The Captain of our Company (L. Q. Stout) had been sick since early in the spring. .. . and on account of his disability he was not in command of his Company, but he was with us whenever there was a chance to get with us. Prior to this he wanted to resign, but we would not let him. He was one of the best officers to his men that was in the army. He came to Emmitsburg on the evening of the 29th of June. He told me he had $79 dollars and by the evening of the 30th he did not have a cent left. He bought tobacco, socks and all those little things which the boys needed. I think this was the first time that we had the pleasure of seeing him since we left Centreville. He was going to take command of the Company, but the doctor would not let him. The doctor said he must be kept quiet, and away from all ex- citement .... During the day we moved to the north of the town, where our artillery had taken up position, and had some works. A thunder storm came up in the afternoon, and consequently we put up our tent. As we came through the town I noticed a nice bed of onions in a garden, and just about dusk I returned to town and borrowed a few onions out of that garden. .. . The
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next morning we left for Gettysburg before the pickets came in* and consequently I got into that first day's fight and the picket did not get there in time to get into it. But they got a good dose in the skirmish line on the 2d day. They were all wounded but one or two before the battle was over. I can just remember one by the name of Rube who did not get hurt. It was the night before the battle that I shirked picket duty. But all is fair in love or war. Little I dreamed of the terrible slaughter that would take place on the morrow ; and little did we think of the many that would be called to death before we should see another night.
On the ist of July, 1863, reveille was not heard early .... after breakfast which I think was between six and seven o'clock,- quite a little after we heard 'Officers call'-the officers came back and ordered us to clean up our guns as we might expect a skirmish before night. We all laughed at the idea of finding Rebels in Maryland and Pennsylvania. I think there was not one of us who knew that there was a Rebel on northern soil, at least I did not, nor did I care. We cleaned up our guns ; that is swabbed them out, and saw that they were dry on the inside, and in good trim for active service. We had rain the night before, and it was a cloudy, close morning. .... The next order we got was to pack up; just after that we all fell into line, when our Captain came along the line and was shaking every one by the hand and giving us good-bye. Poor fellow I think he was better informed than we were, for the tears were rolling down over his cheeks. .. . as near as I could judge the time, with- out a watch, it must have been after nine o'clock before we left camp. We went very slow starting out. At the state line we were informed that we were crossing into Pennsylvania, our caps went up in the air and gave three cheers for our native State. .... The wagon train of the First Corps had blocked the road, and we were delayed for some time on account of it. Then we started across the fields to the right, went through corn
*A detachment of 200 men which had been sent on duty at Emmits- burg.
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and wheat fields, till we got to another road, .... we had just gotten into this road when we saw a horseman coming at a fearful gallop. I thought he was riding a white horse, but when we got to the head of the column, I saw it was a bay and the lather on him must have been an inch thick. I also noticed that we began to step out faster, and it was not long till we saw another messenger with more orders from the front. 1 heard the boys say 'there is another long envelope coming,' as they called General Orders. We met five or six of these be- fore we reached Gettysburg. After we had received the second one we got down nearly to a dog trot, and kept that gait until we got to Gettysburg. .... The next thing we heard was can- nonading, but it sounded as if it were twenty-five miles away. The boys thought there was no use marching so fast, for we would be dead long before we could get there. But the cannon- ading was getting plainer, and we could hear the reports better. . The trot was kept up till we got to Gettysburg. It was very nearly a double-quick for eight miles. Bates in his history .... states that the Eleventh Corps was tardy in coming up to Gettysburg. I am of the opinion that if Bates had been in the ranks with us that day he would have rendered a different report. We had hard marching before in this campaign, but this was the worst. Some historians say that the roads were dusty. This is another mis-stated item. The roads were muddy, and in the town of Gettysburg mud must have been four inches deep ..... But let us not forget the ladies of the town. They stood along the sidewalks with buckets of water, and doing all they could for the men. God bless them. Our band played as we entered the town. Cannon were booming, and musketry rattling, while wounded were being brought back through the town. By all ap- pearances the ball was on . . we got through the town and just at the edge of it the band stepped to the right, and let ns take the right of way. As soon as we got clear of the town we received another reception, but this was in the shape of solid shot, shells .... and everything that could be shot out of a cannon. Here we got the same old command to forward, double-
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quick, and away we went for the big red barn at the Almshouse. The shells were coming pretty thick before we reached the barn. Some were going over us, and some did not quite reach us. A shell exploded right over the columnn, and every man dodged for the instant. We had a little fellow in the company who threw himself on the grass, and while I was looking at him and laugh- ing, and not paying attention to my feet, the foot on the game leg struck a big stone and I fell stretching about a rod before I got down. The ranks opened and allowed me all the room I needed, and I have no doubt they thought I was the first man kill- ed. When I got on my feet again I was alongside of Captain Howell of Company D, and as our guus were not loaded, I pro- ceeded to load mine, when the Captain gave the command to load and it passed along the column. We got to the barn with- out the loss of a man, where we formed battalion in mass.
Here the Major addressed the regiment. The following is a little that I remember. We were a nine-months' regiment, and our time had expired on the 22d of June. The Major told us our time was out and if there was a man in ranks who did not wish to go into battle ; he should step out, that it was no disgrace ; but that the enemy was in our native state, and that the people of Pennsylvania looked to us for relief, and that it was our duty to protect our homes. This is not the full address, but the main points, and before the speech was ended an order came for two companies for the skirmish line. Companies A and B were de- tailed, then the Major concluded his address. We gave three cheers and not a man stepped out of the ranks. The bugle sounded the advance, and we followed the skirmish line by bat- talion in mass. All our brigade, but eight companies of our regiment, were on the skirmish line. To the left of uis was a wheat field which was full of Rebel sharpshooters and the woods in our front was likewise full of them. While we were ad- vancing General von Gilsa took his position in the rear of the skirmish line, and about fifty yards in advance of us. I heard him talk to the skirmishers. He told them not to shoot unless they saw something to shoot at, as ammunition was worth
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money, and they must not waste it. Just at this time the bullets commenced to whistle and some of the boys on the skirmish line were trying to dodge them. The general told the boys to never mind those that whistled, as long as they whistled they were all right. The skirmishers cleaned out the wheat field and woods in short order. We followed up the skirmishers to the woods, and there we deployed right and left in line of battle, and advanced about five rods into the woods, where we got into position. Then there were more side-steps to the right so as to stretch the line and cover more ground, till the line was not any more than a single line. As we were all tired or more dead than alive, it did not take nis long to lie down. As soon as we got down, a battery in the rear of nis, on higher ground than we were, opened fire over us and we could feel the heat of the balls as they passed over us. About this time the Rebels made a charge, away to the left of us, and the battery in the rear of us turned their guns on them, taking them by flank. We could see balls plowing up the ground along the rear of the line, and if ever Johnnies ran for cover those fellows did. Shortly after this they made an- other charge near the center of our line, but to the left of us. I think it was a feint, their object being to keep us in our position until they got ready. As soon as they fell back I told some of the boys near me that we would get a chance next. There was a little stream about three rods in our front, with large trees on the opposite side of it; so that we could not see over seven or eight rods in front of us. Back of these trees was a large, level piece of ground or meadow,-a good place to form troops. I have seen the ground since, but I did not know about it at the time. It was only a few minutes after the repulse of the charge on the left, and I should think not over ten minutes after our line was formed .... till our skirmishers commenced to come in, fol- lowed by three lines of battle. The man on the right of me brought up his gun and took aim on one of our own men. Cor- poral Smith saw what he was about to do and suddenly struck his gun, raising it in the air so that though the gun discharged, the man was saved. The skirmisher was not one rod from us when this happened. It did not take the skirmishers long to get
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