USA > Pennsylvania > Montgomery County > Lives of the eminent dead and biographical notices of prominent living citizens of Montgomery County, Pa. > Part 26
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"It was when, on the morning of the 3d of July, he saw the en- emy massing their artillery and directing it against the crest held by the gallant Second Corps, which was to receive in a few hours the shock of battle, that General Hancock ordered me, as Medical Director of the corps, to remove our hospitals, till then stationed near the Taneytown road, and just back of the crest, further to the rear, where they would be out of range. While personally superin- tending this operation, the terrible fire of guns (according to the Con- federates, a hundred and fifteen, and according to our estimate at the time, a hundred and fifty) began, soon answered from our side by as many more. Shells were flying thick through the yard of our Sec- ond Division Hospital, and it was difficult to secure help enough to. load our wounded in the ambulances. When this had been kept up about two hours, bringing us to about four o'clock in the after- noon, I received a hasty summons to see General Hancock, who was lying wounded on the further side of the slope. The enemy had made his grand charge with Pickens' division, fifteen thousand strong, the very flower of Virginia chivalry, just after the cessation of the artillery fire, and had received that repulse which broke the Confederate heart, and compelled the catastrophe at Appomattox Court House as a corollary and necessary sequel. The enemy's ar- tillery had reopened to cover the retreat of his broken legions, and was sweeping the crest as with a besom of destruction. I at once
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mounted, and taking an ambulance with me, galloped for the field where lay the wounded hero. The road led directly over the crest, through the reserve artillery park, and was marked with dead and wounded men and horses.
*
"I found General Hancock lying at the foot of a tree, with a wound in the groin. Some one had tied a handkerchief about it for the purpose of arresting hemorrhage. The wound was just in- side of the femoral artery, which it narrowly missed, and was deep and jagged, as well as wide enough to admit a thumb and finger, with which I drew out, much to his surprise, bits of wood and a ten-penny nail. He wondered if the enemy were filling their shells with nails, for he did not entertain a doubt that his wound had been the result of the explosion of a shell which had struck a neighbor- ing fence rail, some portions of which had accompanied the nail into the wound. This theory, mistaken as it turned out to be, I accepted in the excitement of the hour, and not feeling anything else in the wound concluded that all foreign bodies had been re- moved. I withdrew the ligature, which seemed unnecessary, as hemorrhage had ceased, and applied the usual compresses and ban- dages. When, after placing the General in the ambulance, I pro- posed to mount and follow, he expressed a preference that I should recline by his side in the vehicle, which I did accordingly.
" The maladroitness of the driver, or what seemed such to the General, in directing his course over the very highest part of the ridge, elicited from him a very natural remonstrance, until it was remembered that this was the only exit for a wagon, the lower ground being barricaded with extemporized breastworks. The General, though suffering considerable pain, was in high spirits, his exultant bearing suggesting that earlier hero of our history, whose glory is England's boast-the dying Wolfe at Quebec.
" He directed me to halt when we should reach our hospital, in order that he might dictate a dispatch to General Meade, announcing the victory. Accordingly, when we reached the farm-yard used as a hospital, where his summons found me, and where shells were still flying as carelessly as in any part of the field, he exclaimed, with an expletive, pardonable in a man already grievously wounded, but not disposed to be killed after the battle was over, 'This is a pretty hospital ! Drive on !' We at length got to a quieter neigh- borhood, where I wrote the dispatch he dictated.
* x X
"It is a curious and tempting field of speculation opened by the inquiry, What would have happened had General Hancock not been placed hors du combat ? Here was a man, the right hand of the commanding General, who, in the first day's fight, was hurried to the front as his locum tenens by that distinguished General, with the information that Reynolds was killed, and the advance in dis-
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order, and with instructions to take command and rally the troops, reporting at once on the suitableness of the Gettysburg position for a great battle-instructions which called for that personal magnet- ism characteristic of Hancock above all our officers excepting per- haps Sheridan.
In the subsequent actions Hancock commanded the whole centre and left centre, comprising the First, Second and Third Corps : and, it was currently reported, exerted a preponderating influence at the council of war held on the 2d, after the disaster to Sickle's corps, which disaster he did more than any other man to repair by his vigorous personal exertions in hurrying up reinforcements, and moving troops from his own and the First Corps, then under his command into the awful gap that Longstreet had made. At that council the question was discussed whether the army should fall back to the line of Piper creek-a line which had been contem- plated as a suitable one on which to fight the battle had it not been precipitated by the collision of the Ist instant. The report went that Hancock strenuously opposed this proposition, saying with em- phasis, 'The Army of the Potomac has made its last retreat. It must fight, and die, if that be its fate, on this ground.'
"This was the soldier who clung with such tenacity to the skirts of the hill at Fredericksburg, when the rebels had us just as we had them at Gettysburg. This was he who did the sole brilliant thing in the whole bloody Wilderness campaign, in making, with his no- ble Second Corps, the early morning attack of the 12th of May, 1864, at Spottsylvania, in which he scooped up Generals Johnson and Stewart, with over three thousand rank and file and twenty-two guns. *
"What might not such a soldier have done, hurling the gallant Sixth Corps-only second in distinction, if not equal with our own -against the enemy's broken ranks? And what, too, in the pursuit? This question, it seems to me, admits of as easy a solution as the other, if not easier. Would he not have imparted to the pursuit a new vigor? Would he have taken the outer line of eighty miles in- stead of the inner direct one of forty in following Lee? Would he have given him three days in which to entrench himself at Falling Waters, with the swollen Potomac behind him, and his bridge of boats shattered by General French?
*
"When at last I got the General down to the margin of the creek, where our rear hospitals had been established, more suitable dressings were applied to his wound ; but, misled by the shell theory which he had broached, I did not suspect the presence of still an- other foreign body. He was sent away with many others in the first train to Baltimore, and it was not till six weeks afterwards that the surgeons, led by the persistence of purulent discharge to make very careful and minute research, at length discovered with their probes,
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at the depth of eight inclies, and removed, a Minie ball. But at corps headquarters we were prepared for this to some extent, as the next morning after the battle the ' McClellan saddle' (which General Hancock used, as well as the horse he rode, both being borrowed from Captain Brownson, our commissary of musters, a gallant officer sub- sequently killed at the battle of Ream's Station) was found to have a hole directly through the pommel. This solved the mystery. The wood and the nail came from the saddle, and were carried into the wound along with the ball, though we were naturally surprised to find so clumsy a nail used in the construction of a saddle."
During this enforced retirement from the field he visited West Point, in New York, and St. Louis, in Missouri, and was every- where received by the people with great enthusiasm.
In December, 1863, he reported at Washington for duty, though he was still suffering from his wound. At this time he was promi- nently talked of in official quarters for the command of the Army of the Potomac, but with characteristic modesty and magnanimity he disclaimed all desire for that position, and urged the retention of General Meade.
In January, 1864, he returned to the field, and resumed command of the Second Corps. But as the army was then inactive, in win- ter quarters, and as it was desirable to fill up the regiments before the opening of the spring campaign, General Hancock was requested by the authorities at Washington to repair to the North and recruit for his corps, making his headquarters for the purpose at Harris- burg, Pennsylvania. His high reputation and great popularity made him very successful in this service, and while engaged in it he was tendered by the City Council of Philadelphia the compliment of a reception in Independence Hall on the 18th of February, 1864. About this time he also received the hospitalities of New York, Al- bany, Boston, and other cities. By his efforts under this appoint- ment the Army of the Potomac received a large accession to its strength.
In March, 1864, he rejoined the Army of the Potomac, and took a most prominent part in the celebrated campaign of that year un- der General Grant. At the battle of the Wilderness, Virginia, on the 5th, 6th and 7th of May, he held the left of the army, and com- manded the Second Army Corps and portions of the Fifth, Sixth and Ninth Corps, amounting in all to more than fifty thousand men under his command at one time. On the roth of the same month he commanded the Second and Fifth Corps during the assault made upon the enemy's works at Allsop's house (battle of the Po), in
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front of Spottsylvania Court House. On the 12th he led his corps in its renowned assault at Spottsylvania, storming the enemy in their entrenched lines, capturing their earthworks and more than four thousand prisoners, among which was nearly the whole of the cele- brated Stonewall brigade, including twenty pieces of artillery, up- wards of thirty colors, and many thousand stand of small arms. This bloody assault stands apart as the most brilliant achievement of the Army of the Potomac during the campaign of 1864. Owing to the fact that at that time a battle was fought nearly every day, and further that the public mind was stunned, as it were, by a succession of bloody contests, in which whole armies were engaged, this famous feat of arms by Hancock's corps was never given that prominence which its success and importance merited. It was in fact the hard- est and best delivered blow Lee received during the whole campaign, and had it been promptly supported and followed up he would surely have been then ruined. It has transpired since the war, from Confederate sources, that Lee himself was compelled to lead the troops which finally checked the Second Corps, and this only when it had penetrated almost to the heart of his position. Even Lee's strenuous and repeated efforts with his best troops could not wrest from Hancock's men the works and guns they had stormed and car- ried in their first attack in the morning.
On the 18th he made another stubborn assault upon the enemy's lines in front of Spottsylvania, and on the 19th repelled a heavy attack from Ewell's corps, killing and capturing several hundred of the enemy, and drawing him across the Ny river. His troops also took a prominent part in the operations at the North Anna on the 23d and 24th, and had some severe fighting at the Tolopotamy from the 29th to the 3Ist. He commanded his corps in the bloody as- saults at Cold Harbor from the 3d to the 12th of June, during which his troops did some desperate fighting and met heavy losses.
From the 15th to the 17th of June he was engaged in the move- ments which transferred the Army of the Potomac to the south side of the James river, and in the assaults made upon the enemy's lines in front of Petersburg.
On the evening of June 17th he was compelled to turn over the command of his troops on account of disability, caused by the wound he had received at Gettysburg, which had not properly healed, and from which he had suffered during the whole campaign. It was constantly open and suppurating, and frequently on the march com- pelled him to leave his saddle and ride in an ambulance until con-
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tact with the enemy called him to his horse again. Although he was obliged to give up command of his troops on account of his wound, he did not withdraw from the field or from the line of bat- tle (the entrenchments in front of Petersburg) .* At the end of ten days, again feeling able to mount his horse, he resumed the com- mand of his corps, and was engaged in the siege operations in front of Petersburg until July 26th, 1864.
On this latter date, in compliance with orders from headquarters of the Army of the Potomac, he withdrew his corps from the Pe- tersburg lines, and in conjunction with General Sheridan's cavalry, crossed the Appomattox and James rivers. They then attacked the enemy's works on the north bank of the latter stream, at Deep Bot- tom, and after some severe fighting, in several engagements, cap- tured a portion of their entrenchments, four pieces of artillery, sev- eral hundred prisoners, and three colors. Remaining on the north side of the James until the evening of July 29th, he was directed to transfer his command to the south side of that river. The with- drawal of his large force of cavalry and infantry, which was in close contact with the enemy at several points, was a movement requir- ing great care and skill, but was admirably executed. After a most trying night march the Second Corps (or rather two divisions of it, Mott's division having recrossed the James on the previous night) arrived in front of Petersburg in time to witness the explosion of the mine on the goth of July.
This movement to Deep Bottom, under command of General- Hancock, was intended to force General Lee to detach a portion of his army from the Petersburg lines and send them to the north side of the James to confront Hancock's demonstration there, thus weak- ening him in front of the mine at the time of its explosion. The expedition was perfectly successful in that respect, for a large por- tion of Lee's army was sent to oppose him, and in addition severe damage was inflicted by Hancock's assaults at Deep Bottom, in which Lee lost guns, prisoners and colors.
On the 12th of August, 1864, General Hancock was appointed a Brigadier General in the regular army, and the same day received orders from army headquarters to conduct another movement against the enemy on the north bank of the James river. On this occasion his command was composed of his own corps (the Second), the Tenth Corps of the Army of the James, and Gregg's division of
*This is the most unmistakable evidence that Hancock is no holiday soldier, but al- ways at the post of duty und danger. He did not push his men into sanguinary fights and remain out of danger himself.
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cavalry. Here he had a series of sharp conflicts with the enemy,. during which he assaulted and carried their entrenched lines at one- point, captured four field howitzers, a number of prisoners, and several colors. During this expedition Chambliss, the Confederate General, was killed in a charge by Gregg's cavalry at the crossing of Deep creek. These operations continued until August 20th, when he was recalled to his former position in front of Petersburg.
On the 25th of the same month General Hancock fought the bat- tle of Ream's Station, on the Petersburg and Weldon railroad. His forces consisted of two divisions of his own corps and Gregg's divi- sion of cavalry. He was detached from the main army at this time, and was engaged in cutting the railway, when the enemy withdrew a large force from their entrenchments (outnumbering Hancock's force three or four to one), and attacked him with great force and. vigor. His small command repelled several heavy assaults, but at length his line was broken, and a number of prisoners and one bat- tery were lost. By desperate fighting, however, he held a portion of his position until nightfall, when he rejoined the army in front of Petersburg. Early in the day just mentioned General Hancock had perceived that the enemy were concentrating an overwhelming force against him, and had sent a timely requisition to the com- mander of the army for reinforcements, designating at the same- time a short and direct road by which they could reach him. The reinforcements were not sent, however, until too late in the day,. and then by a roundabout road, on which they had to march many needless miles. In consequence they were too long in reaching even the vicinity of the field to take any part in the action.
On the 27th of October, 1864, General Hancock, in command of two divisions of his own corps and Gregg's division of cavalry, fought the battle of Boydton Road, Virginia. On this occasion he was attacked by a superior force of the enemy, whom he drove from the field with severe losses in killed and wounded, capturing one- piece of artillery, nearly one thousand prisoners, and two colors.
In November, 1864, the President directed General Hancock to repair to Washington to recruit, organize, and command an army corps to be composed of fifty thousand veterans who had served an enlistment during the war and had been honorably discharged. He remained in this service, in which his great reputation and popu-
MAJOR GENERAL W. S. HANCOCK. 2SI
larity* made him very successful, until February 26th, 1865, when he was assigned to the command of the Middle Military Division, relieving General Sheridan, with headquarters at Winchester, Vir- ginia. This command embraced the departments of Washington, West Virginia and Pennsylvania, and the Army of the Shenandoah, consisting of about thirty-five thousand men of all arms. By the opening of the spring of 1865 this army had been brought to a high state of discipline and efficiency by General Hancock, and it was the intention of the authorities that he should either embark with it and join Sherman on our South Atlantic coast, or make a move- ment against the enemy in the direction of Lynchburg, Virginia. But the surrender of the armies of Lee and Johnston made such movements unnecessary. He therefore remained in command of the Middle division (changing his headquarters to Washington, D. C., in April, 1865) until July of the same year, when he was as- signed to the command of the Middle Military Department, with headquarters at Baltimore, Maryland.
On the 13th of March, 1865, he was breveted Major General in the United States army "for gallant and meritorious services at the battle of Spottsylvania," Virginia. On the 26th of July, 1866, he was promoted to the full grade of Major General. t
He remained in command of the Middle department until August 6th, 1866, when he was transferred to the Department of the Mis- souri, with his headquarters at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. While in this command he was engaged during the spring and summer of 1867 in a campaign against hostile Indians in Kansas and Colorado. . Early in the spring of 1867 he moved from Fort Riley, Kansas, with a column composed of about fifteen hundred troops of all arms, to a point about twenty-five miles from Fort Larned, on the Pawnee Fork, a tributary of the Arkansas river, in Kansas, where was located an Indian town of hostile Cheyennes and Sioux, whose warriors had for several years been committing depredations, murdering settlers, running off stock, and so on. Immediately after a conference, at which these Indians had promised to commit no hostile acts in the future, they treacherously killed some of General Hancock's scouts,
*Says Mrs. William II. Holstein, who spent three years as a volunteer nurse in the Army of the Potomae: "General Hancock possessed in a remarkable degree the power of exciting enthusiasm among the mighty hosts he so often led to victory." In illustra- tion she relates this incident : "A New York company was being led in battle at Deep Bottom by a Sergeant. A Corporal in the ranks, seeing the former lagging behind. stepped out to lead the men, as though he had always been acenstomed to command. Shortly after the Corporal was ordered to report to General Hancock's headquarters, which he did, and left the General's tent with the rank of Captain as a reward for his gallant conduct."-Three Years in Field Hospitals, page 88.
tAt this date General Hancock is the senior Major General of the army.
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.attacked the laborers on the Kansas Pacific railroad (then under ·construction), and attacked and burned to death in their station some of the employes of the Butterfield Overland Stage Company. To punish this treachery General Hancock moved against the town to which reference has been made, entirely destroyed it, and pur- sued and drove the Indians entirely out of that section of country. Later, during the same summer, with a small body of troops, he made a second expedition to Denver, Colorado, and return, for the purpose of opening the Butterfield stage route from Fort Harker to that city, which had been closed by the attacks of hostile Indians. He accomplished the service thoroughly, and established a system of stations, guards and escorts, which prevented that important route from further interruption.
On the 12th of September, 1867, in obedience to orders from the President, he relinquished the command of the Department of the Missouri to Lieutenant General Sheridan, and on the 29th of No- vember following assumed command of the Fifth Military District and Department of the Gulf, comprising the States of Louisiana and Texas, with headquarters at New Orleans. General Hancock was averse to this change of command, and so informed the authorities at Washington, requesting them to leave him where he was, where his duties were purely military and entirely disconnected from po- litical matters and reconstructive acts. But his request was not needed.
Immediately upon his arrival at New Orleans, and entering upon This command, he issued his celebrated General Order, No. 40, of which the following is a copy :
HEADQUARTERS FIFTH MILITARY DISTRICT, NEW ORLEANS, LA., Nov. 29th, 1867. General Orders No. 40.
I. In accordance with General Orders No. 81, Headquarters of the Army, Adjutant General's Office, Washington, D. C., August 27th, 1867, Major General W. S. Hancock hereby assumes com- mand of the Fifth Military District and of the department composed of the States of Louisiana and Texas.
3. The General commanding is gratified to learn that peace and quiet reign in this department. It will be his purpose to preserve this condition of things. As a means to this great end he regards the maintenance of the civil authorities in the faithful execution of the laws as the most efficient under existing circumstances. In war it is indispensable to repel force by force and overthrow and destroy opposition to lawful authority. But when insurrectionary force has been overthrown and peace established, and the civil authorities are ready and willing to perform their duties, the military power should
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MAJOR GENERAL W. S. HANCOCK. 283
. cease to lead, and the civil administration resume its natural and rightful dominion. Solemnly impressed with these views, the Gen- eral announces that the great principles of American liberty are still the lawful inheritance of the people and ever should be. The right of trial by jury, the habeas corpus, the liberty of the press, the free- dom of speech, the natural rights of persons, and the rights of pro- perty, must be preserved. Free institutions, while they are essen- tial to the prosperity and happiness of the people, always furnish the strongest inducements to peace and order. Crimes and offences committed in this district must be referred to the consideration and judgment of the regular civil tribunals, and these tribunals will be supported in their lawful jurisdiction. While the General thus in- dicates his purpose to respect the liberties of the people, he wishes all to understand that armed insurrection or forcible resistance to the law will be instantly suppressed by arms.
By command of
Major General W. S. HANCOCK.
General Hancock's course while in command of the Fifth Mili- tary District was at all times entirely consistent with the lofty and patriotic sentiments expressed in the above order, but finding that such a course was not in harmony with the views of some of his military superiors in Washington, he was, at his own request, re- lieved from that command by order dated March 28th, 1868. The President then transferred him to the important command of the Military Division of the Atlantic, which embraced the Department of the Lakes, the Department of the East, and Department of Wash- ington, with headquarters at Washington, District of Columbia, where they remained until the following October, when they were transferred to New York city.
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