USA > Pennsylvania > History of the One hundred & sixth regiment, Pennsylvania volunteers, 2d brigade, 2d division, 2d corps, 1861-1865 > Part 2
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9
BALL'S BLUFF
1861]
CHAPTER III.
BALL'S BLUFF.
A LL will remember our first camp. How hard we tried to accustom ourselves to the limited accommodations of camp life, and the scarcity of what seemed to us necessities for one's existence, and yet how soon we became reconciled and accepted the inevitable.
Drill and instruction, with camp guard and picket duty, kept all pretty well occupied ; the great difficulty then experienced by some of the officers was to get their men to understand what was requir- ed of a soldier, to acquire proficiency in drill and to submit to disci- pline, can now be readily understood and appreciated, but then it was hard, and while the officers labored hard, the men sometimes thought they were imposed upon and that they would never be able to stand it, yet after each hour's drill, or the end of a tour of guard or picket duty, all was soon forgotten, and the next time we were more ready, and stood it better and felt that in time we could be good soldiers. Guard duty was performed by com- panies, each company taking its turn, and two companies at a time were sent out on picket.
Nothing unusual or out of the ordinary routine of camp life occurred until about midnight of October 20th when the long roll was sounded and all was commotion, and excitement, men were hurried into line in the company streets ; some excited and alarm- ed, trying to do everything and doing nothing; others, cool and collected, were carefully equipping themselves, examining their arms and equipments, and assisting others to get ready. After remaining in line some time we were quietly dismissed without any satisfactory cause for the alarm, and we were making up our minds that it was a false alarm and only given that they might see how quickly the men could be put under arms, when orders were received to get ready to march at short notice.
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THE ONE HUNDRED AND SIXTH REGIMENT
[1861
Breakfast was soon disposed of, and at six o'clock we left camp and marched to the brigade parade ground, where we were soon joined by the Sixty-Ninth and Seventy-Second Regiments, stack- ed arms and awaited orders from Colonel Baker, who had gone to the front with the Seventy-First Regiment about four o'clock ; long hours of anxiety and suspense passed, all sorts of rumors were afloat, until finally, about three o'clock in the afternoon, the assembly was sounded, line re-formed, and the Brigade moved off at a rapid pace, the Seventy-Second leading, then the Sixty- Ninth, and our Regiment bringing up the rear. After over an hour's rapid marching we arrived at the canal and crossed on an impromptu bridge formed by canal boats, and marched down the tow-path to the ferry, where the troops were crossing over to Harrison's Island ; here a deplorable state of affairs was visible ; two large scows capable of holding about thirty men each were the only means of transportation to the Island, and part of the men were kept busy bailing out the water and others in pushing them across; from the Island to the Virginia shore a ferry boat that would hold about sixty was the only means of reaching the mainland. All the morning from daylight had been consumed in crossing about one-half of the Fifteenth Massachusetts, a detachment of two hundred of the Twentieth Massachusetts and the right wing of the California Regiment, or Seventy-First Pennsylvania, the troops as fast as they landed were pushed for- ward, and soon met the enemy who disputed their further ad- vance and the fight was on, the firing could be distinctly heard from our position, and as each load of reinforcements was taken over, a load of wounded was brought back, together with the conflicting reports as to the results, which were eagerly sought by us, waiting to be ushered into our first fight. One detachment would report our men driving them, another that the enemy had been reinforced and was driving our men back; again that we had recovered lost ground and again driving them. The sound of the battle was distinctly heard, and though we were anxious to go to their assistance we were unable to cross for want of means of transportation, and so were compelled to remain inactive between the river and canal.
About 5 o'clock a report was received of the death of General
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BALL'S BLUFF
1861]
Baker, for he had just been appointed Major-General of Volun- teers by President Lincoln and the order was found in his hat after his death, saturated with his life's blood. He was in- stantly killed, with sword in hand, while gallantly leading his men ; this was followed by the news that our men were completely routed after gallantly repulsing the enemy three different times and making a gallant charge to attempt the capture of their bat- tery, they being compelled to give battle on very unfavorable ground, being an open field surrounded by woods in which the enemy were concealed. Large reinforcements for the enemy had arrived from Leesburg and they greatly outnumbered our men who, with their leader killed and no chance of any support reaching them, were making for the shore as rapidly as possible over the open field, subjected to a terrible fire from the concealed enemy. Here matters became worse, for the retreat was follow- ed closely by the now victorious enemy, all further escape was cut off, the only conveyance from the Virginia shore to the Island, the ferry boat, had been sunk with a load of wounded, nearly all of whom were drowned. There was no escape for our brave men, who had stood up so manfully, they were either to fall into the hands of the enemy or jump into the river and try to make our shore; many therefore surrendered and became prisoners of war and others plunged into the river and tried to reach the Island. Many of these never reached there, but were drowned, or shot by the enemy, who now thronged the banks and unmercifully fired into our men while in the water; many of their shots coming over to where the rest of the Brigade was, we were therefore compelled to withdraw very quietly so as not to attract their fire, as they could have done us great damage, especially with their artillery. In a drenching rain we returned to camp, arriving there about midnight.
The loss of General Baker cast a gloom over the Brigade. The short time that he had been with us endeared him to us and had gained him the title of "Father Baker". Many were the expres- sions of sorrow and regret, which were in some measure over- come by the gallantry of his death, and the country lost one of its most gifted orators, an eminent statesman and one who would no doubt have become one of its most gallant soldiers. Our loss
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[1861
THE ONE HUNDRED AND SIXTH REGIMENT
was very heavy indeed, for the small force engaged. Colonel Wistar was wounded three times; Captains Markoe and Keiffer wounded; Captain Otter kill or drowned in trying to recross and Lieutenant Williams killed; all of the First California, or Seventy-First Pennsylvania. Of the five hundred and twenty men that crossed over, three hundred and twelve were lost. The other regiments also suffered very heavily. We lost two pieces of artillery, but no colors. It may be well to add here that the Color-Sergeants of the California Regiment, Sergeant Charles Vanzant and seeing the danger that threatened their colors, to prevent them falling into the hands of the enemy, plunged with them into the river, but finding their strength giving out, to save themselves finally threw them away, and both colors were lost, never to be recovered.
Our first engagement did not cease to be a matter of comment for a long time. Its loss was keenly felt by all and many were the uncomplimentary remarks heard on all sides against those who either planned or attempted to carry out such a movement, especially with the limited means of transportation at hand. General Charles P. Stone, commanding the Division, received most of the censure. I certainly think he was largely to blame. He was pre- sent and saw that it was impossible to cross any number of troops in any kind of reasonable time, and if any accident should happen to any of the boats used in transportation, with no others to replace them, all communication would be lost and retreat cut off. That such an accident did happen, with such fearful results, is seen above; instead of leaving such a small detachment without the means of rapidly reinforcing them, it would have been better to have withdrawn them at once and left the battle unfought, than to have left them with that fearful possibility staring them in the face, to be driven like sheep into the river to be drowned, after bravely fighting at such disadvantage, with such heavy loss. He certainly must have known that the enemy had the facilities of rapidly reinforcing their troops to a much greater extent in a much quicker time and that, sooner or later, we must suffer defeat.
Colonel Banes, in his "History of the Philadelphia Brigade", states that the following letter was found on the body of General Baker after his death :
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BALL'S BLUFF
1861]
"HEADQUARTERS CORPS OF [Here a bullet struck, and a word missing.]
EDWARDS' FERRY, October 21st, 1861.
COLONEL E. D. BAKER, Commander of Brigade.
COLONEL :- In case of heavy firing in front of Harrison's Island, you will advance the California Regiment of your Brigade, or re- tire the regiments under Colonels Lee and Devens, now on the (almost illegible by blood) Virginia side of the river, at your dis- cretion, assuming command on arrival.
Very respectfully Colonel, your obedient servant,
CHAS. P. STONE, Brigadier General Commanding.
and continues as follows :
Heavy firing was heard, and Colonel Baker decided to reinforce Devens. Leaving instructions to forward the artillery as quickly as possible, he hastened over to the Virginia side and, assuming com- mand, began to make the dispositions. Companies A and D, under Captain Markoe, were sent forward on the left as skirmish- ers, to ascertain the position of the enemy's right flank. They had advanced but a short distance when they came suddenly on the right of his line of battle concealed in a dense wood, and were at once hotly engaged. The action thus brought on soon became gen- eral. The ground on which Baker's forces were compelled to give battle was very unfavorable for them. It was an open field- a sort of oblong square, the length running at right angles with the river-bordered on three sides by a dense forest, and termin- ating on the fourth at the brow of a high bluff on the shore.
This would seem to show that General Stone had placed the whole responsibility upon Colonel Baker and given him discre- tionary power either to advance reinforcements or retire .the whole force, and that Colonel Baker had assumed the respon- sibility and decided to reinforce and advance. Be that as it may, General Stone was in command of that advance, and must have known that the troops would have to return, and provision should have been made to provide a safe means of retreat, and if none could have been provided, no advance ought to have been made ; he should not have yielded to the impetuosity of his inferior officers by attempting to do battle with no chance of support and no way of retreat ; granting that the boat had not been sunk, what chance was there of recrossing about 1500 men if pressed rapidly
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[1861
THE ONE HUNDRED AND SIXTH REGIMENT
and closely to the water edge, when the most that could be got into the boat was about 100, and over half an hour consumed in making a trip from shore to island, and back for another load. Yet General Stone had telegraphed to General McClellan: "I have the means of crossing 125 men once in ten minutes at each of the two points."
One cannot but feel that General Stone was responsible and to blame; this feeling was entertained by nearly all the command ; their confidence in him as a leader was gone, so that had he been retained in command, demoralization would have been the result.
The left wing of the First California Regiment was on detach- ed service and was not at the battle, and those that were left of the right wing were sent to join them on the 26th, where they remained until the evening of the 30th, when they returned and joined the Brigade.
ADJUTANT FERDINAND M. PLEIS. Aug. 28, 1861. Aug. 2, 1863.
Wounded at Gettysburg, Pa., July 2, 1863. Died at Philadelphia, Pa., Aug. 2, 1863. Wounds.
ADJUTANT JOHN A. STEEL. . Aug. 13, 1861. Sept. 10, 1864.
Second Lieutenant, Company C. Promoted to First Lieut., Company B, Sept. 17, 1862. Promoted to Adjutant, Aug. 15, 1863. Wounded at Antietam, Md., Sept. 17, 1862. Wounded at Fredericksburg, Va,, Dec. 13, 1862. Wounded at Petersburg, Va., June 18, 1864. Mustered out with Regiment, Sept. 10, 1864.
REGIMENTAL STAFF.
ASSISTANT SURGEON PHILIP LEIDY. Nov. 1, 1861. Sept. 6, 1862. Discharged by G. O., Sept. 6, 1862.
ASSISTANT SURGEON H. D. MCLEAN. Nov. 5, 1862. Dec. 5, 1863. Discharged by G. O. Dec. 5, 1863.
15
WINTER QUARTERS
1861]
CHAPTER IV. WINTER QUARTERS.
T HE loss of General Baker was long felt. All spoke of him with affection and admiration ; pictures of him were eager- ly sought : many were sent home to family and friends that they might sympathize with us and have some idea of the man whose death we mourned : small pictures and medals, arranged as badges were worn by many of the men for a long time, thus showing their loyalty to their brave old commander, whom we would cheerfully have followed wherever duty called. His successor was soon appointed, and in ten days, that is on October 31st, Brigadier General William W. Burns, of the Regular Army, arrived and took command. He at once instituted rigid dis- cipline, holding both officers and men to a strict accountability for the prompt and proper discharge of all the duties of a soldier, omitting not the slightest particular. This tended to make him extremely unpopular at first, but as time passed we better under- stood him, and the immense value of such training; and before the first campaign was over he became very popular, in fact quite a favorite, equally admired with Baker.
He was always on the watch to detect and punish either officer or man for neglecting or slighting their duty, and an instance occurred in our regiment which so impressed the men that they never forgot it. As he was crossing the guard line into our camp, Private Collum, of Company E, was walking from him with his gun on his shoulder ; the general slipped up behind him, snatched the gun from his shoulder, read the man a lecture on his duty while on guard, told him to call the corporal, then sent for the officer of the guard and had Collum put in the guard house and kept him there three days.
On November 4th, our Regiment moved camp from the open field on the top of the hill over beyond a large wood which would shelter us somewhat from the wind and storm, also take us from sight of the enemy, as our former camp was plainly visible to
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[1861
THE ONE HUNDRED AND SIXTH REGIMENT
them from the other side of the river and I believe in range, so that they could have troubled us with their long-range guns had they been so disposed.
We were now to go into "winter quarters", and all that could be done to make us comfortable was attempted. Large Sibley tents with stoves were issued in place of the little "A" tents, and about 20 men assigned to a tent with plenty of straw to sleep on ; extra blankets were issued, bake ovens built to supply us with fresh bread, and when the first issue was made how we enjoyed it-many ate their whole day's ration at one meal, but by-and-by they could not eat their allowance in a day. Other rations were plenty, and now that we had become reconciled to army fare, we enjoyed it. Clothing was scarce the early part of the winter, but was soon supplied. A thorough inspection of our uniform and underclothing revealed the fact that new and better was needed. Newspapers were plenty, sent by mail or brought into camp for sale; letters were received and sent. We were there- fore kept posted as to how things were at home and the latest war news from the front, and many were the rumors set afloat concern- ing ourselves : at one time we were to join Burnside in his expedi- tion south, at another time we were sure to go to Harper's Ferry to relieve Geary, and still another to go to Washington for provost guard duty, and many other similar reports. Each was positive in- formation from a reliable source, but each in turn was found to be very unreliable, and the anxiety first occasioned as each fresh report started soon quieted down; the frequency of the reports and their failure of fulfilment made them finally lose their effect, and they received the appropriate name of "chin music".
The regular routine of camp life was now fully carried out; squad, company and battalion drills, dress parade, inspection, and the still sterner duty of guard and picket. Many were the at- tempts made to get excused from this latter, including the ready response to the "doctor's" or "sick call", often without avail. Each company was detailed in a body for guard and picket duty, the turn for guard coming about once a week, and picket about every month or six weeks, two companies going at a time, when they remained for seven days. Our position was on the Potomac, in the neighborhood of Conrad's Ferry.
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WINTER QUARTERS
1861]
The vigilance required during the night while on picket, knowing the enemy to be near, was a strain on the nerves of some of the men, causing them to imagine almost anything. A private of Company C thought he heard one of the corporals concocting a plan to shoot him while on his post, and say it was done by the enemy. This so worked upon him that he could not stay on his post, but left it and came back to the camp fire with fear plainly depicted upon his countenance, and no amount of persuasion from the men, or threats from the officers, could induce him to return; he constantly watched every movement of that corporal during the balance of that night, and in the morning it was found that his hair, which had been black as the raven's wing, was consider- ably mixed with gray, owing to the fright of that night. Captain Allen sent him to the hospital for treatment, but after close ex- amination he was returned to duty, and subsequently did his duty well until the battle of Savage Station, when he left the line through fear, but afterward returned. He was subsequently wound- ed at Fredericksburg, December 13, 1862, and discharged on account of same.
The main trouble that we had was the want of money ; we had been away from home now over two months, and yet there was no sign of "pay-day". Men were in need of things that "Uncle Sam" did not provide, or the sutler (with his accommodating smile and ready reply, when asked what he had, "I got ebery ting vat de boys like") did not have. Families at home were appealed to and responded, again appealed to, and again as generously responded. Other families were in need of the pay of their head, who had left them for the army, and their calls were frequent and urgent ; yet no pay came. Many were the complaints, and yet no relief ; nor could any information be gained as to when the relief would come, or the cause of delay, except that there was some irregularity.
Colonel Banes states that "this delay in settlement arose from a misunderstanding between the State authorities and the War Department concerning the muster of the regiments, and was finally settled by the issue of an order 'that the muster of the regi- ments of Baker's brigade, although irregular, is hereby authorized and approved'". Finally, on December 6th, the paymaster made
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THE ONE HUNDRED AND SIXTH REGIMENT
[1861
his appearance, and we were paid off, but only for September, October, and the few days of August. This was a relief, and ยท made us happy, as we knew that the matter now was settled, and, as the first payment had been made, we would soon get another.
The men were now enabled to get some luxuries, as we then felt them to be, and frequent visits were made to the neighboring farm-houses for chickens, turkeys, pies and cakes, besides enjoy- ing many a full dinner prepared for us by appointment. Some of the more enterprising farmers prepared their articles and brought them into camp, and found ready sale to both officers and men, and, thus encouraged, made a regular business of it. Sometimes they would suffer from the desire of some to get more than they paid for; an appeal to the Colonel would neces- sitate a search, and if the guilty party were found he was sure of being punished. Sometimes the company officers would settle, and the matter be dropped, but if caught again, the delinquent would have to suffer the disgrace of being compelled to march under guard with a placard on his back, marked "Thief".
In Company H was a musician named Sullivan, who, from his pugnacious disposition, had been nicknamed "Yankee Sullivan". He had a propensity of getting more than belonged to him, and one day pulled the wool over the eyes of an old farmer who had brought, among other things, a fine large roasted turkey, which fascinated Sullivan, who, after inquiring the price, said he would take it, and went to his tent for his money, taking the turkey with him. The old man waited and waited, but Sullivan did not come back. It must be remembered that these people were not allowed inside the guard line, nor the members of the Regiment outside without a pass; so that most all the trading had to be done at the line. After waiting a long while the farmer went around to the guard house and made complaint to the officer of the guard, who conducted him to the Colonel, who, upon hearing the old man's story, at once ordered a search to be made, which resulted in finding the turkey in Sullivan's tent; he, upon being questioned, insisted that he had received it in his box from home, but on inquiry it was found he had received no box, and was confronted by the old man, who identified him and the turkey. Sullivan was compelled to pay the old man for the turkey, was then taken to
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WINTER QUARTERS
1861]
the guard house, and compelled to march up and down in front of it under guard for two or three days with the turkey tied to his back. That was bad turkey for Sullivan, for it never left him ; ever after he was called "Turkey". This, at first, he was dispos- ed to resent, but found it no use, and had to swallow his morti- fication.
There were other modes of punishment that were frequently put in use for those requiring it ; among them one was to compel the prisoner to ride the "horse", which was a log of wood, raised about six feet from the ground, resting on two forks driven into the ground, on which the men were to sit straddle for hours at a time ; another was to "carry the knapsack", that is, to be com- pelled to march up and down all day with a knapsack strapped to the back containing about thirty or forty pounds of stones; at other times to carry a heavy log of wood on the shoulders, etc.
There was an addition to the staff of the Regiment, of a Chaplain by the name of Rev. William Harris, an estimable gentleman. On December 9th he preached his first sermon, and regularly every Sabbath afterwards. He was very much liked indeed, and had with him quite a library of books, which he loaned freely. He was of much service to the men, assisting them to get their money home to their families after each pay-day, besides rendering spiritual consolation to those members of the Regiment who were religiously inclined, and I am pleased to record that there were many.
The health of the Regiment during our camp at Poolesville was unexceptionably good. In the official report of the Medical Director of the Army of the Potomac he states that of the total membership of the Regiment-1036-but fifteen were sick either in camp or general hospital, that being the lowest percentage of any regiment in the service, with three exceptions.
Many of the men were made the happy recipients, from time to time, of boxes from the loved ones at home, filled as only loving hearts and willing hands could fill them, with just what was want- ed: the outer man provided for with good warm underclothing, stockings, gloves and boots, and the inner man with roast turkeys, chickens, home-made bread, cake and pies, pickles and preserves, which, with some, were generously shared with their tent-mates
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THE ONE HUNDRED AND SIXTH REGIMENT
[1861
and friends. But there were exceptions to this generosity ; one case occurred in our tent. Several of us had received, at differ- ent times, our boxes, and had generously shared their contents with our tent-mates, when one, a little Englishman, now residing at Frankford, received a box after all of ours had been disposed of, and we were again ready for a little change from "Uncle Sam's" fare. He brought it into the tent, opened it, examined all that was in it, closed it up and put it up at the head of his bed. At each meal he would dive into the box, take out some of the good things, eat what he could, and put the rest back, never once offer- ing the smallest particle to any one of us who were eating our plain government fare at his side, not even to those whose generosity he had shared, as he refused nothing. This went on for two days. On the third day "Johnny" went on guard, and when he came in to dinner he went to his box, and lo! it was empty; not a vestige of anything was left. The scene that followed may be imagined. Nobody knew anything about it, nor was anything ever found out about it, although the captain was appealed to and all hands questioned ; "mum" was the word with all. The writer received a box, sent by some of those good lady friends who were always working for the soldiers, containing a large number of cloth gloves which were distributed among the members of the company, and many times were those dear ones at home blessed for the comfort they gave during the cold days and nights while on duty. These boxes frequently contained more than enumerated above, that which nearly every soldier longs for-"whiskey". A bottle would quite often be found among the contents, but these got to be so numerous, and their effects so visible, that an order was issued that all boxes would be opened, and, if found to con- tain whiskey, the box and contents would be confiscated. This was finally changed, so that only the whiskey would be confiscat- ed. This led to more care, and many were the devices planned to smuggle it in, for some men would have their whiskey if they got nothing else. It was put up as canned tomatoes and peaches, care being taken to preserve the labels; bottles were put inside of roast turkey and nicely covered with filling; large loaves of bread, when nearly done, had the top lifted carefully, the inside scooped out, the bottle nicely put in, and top put back into place.
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