Martial deeds of Pennsylvania, Vol. 1, Part 13

Author: Bates, Samuel P. (Samuel Penniman), 1827-1902. cn
Publication date: 1875
Publisher: Philadelphia, T.H. Davis & Co.
Number of Pages: 1164


USA > Pennsylvania > Martial deeds of Pennsylvania, Vol. 1 > Part 13


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


A bill was accordingly drawn, which after being duly consid- ered and matured, was passed on the 15th of May, that gave the Governor the means and the authority to put the State in atti- tude to defend its southern border against the sudden incursions of the enemy, and to fly to the aid of the General Government in an emergency. By its terms the borrowing of $3,000.000 on the faith of the Commonwealth was authorized; the appoint- ment of one Major-General and two Brigadier-Generals, and a grand staff; the terms of service of the Adjutant, Quarter- master, and Commissary-Generals were fixed for three years; soldiers were forbidden to leave the State to volunteer, and troops were prohibited from moving beyond the limits of the Common- wealth until fully armed and equipped; Associate Judges and County Commissioners were constituted a Board to meet monthly


1


1


1


143


THE GREAT UPRISING.


and provide relief at the expense of the county, for any in desti- tute circumstances dependent upon soldiers called into the mili- tary service, to meet which demands the Commissioners were empowered to make temporary loans; pensions were granted to the widow or minor children of one falling in the service ; county and municipal officers who wished to enlist were allowed to appoint deputies; and the establishment of a military pro- fessorship in universities, colleges, and academies of the Com- monwealth was authorized. These provisions indicate the earnest- ness which, at that early period, the Legislature manifested, and the enlarged and humane views by which it was swayed.


But the most important provision of the law was that, in com- pliance with the recommendation of the Governor, which author- ized the formation of the Reserve Volunteer Corps of the Com- monwealth, that eventually achieved a wide reputation as the Pennsylvania Reserves. The duty of raising this corps was entrusted to the Commander-in-chief, and the officers of the grand staff. It was to consist of thirteen regiments of Infantry. one of Cavalry, and one of Light Artillery, to serve for three years unless sooner discharged, to be liable to be called into the service of the State to suppress insurrection or to repel invasion. and further, to be liable to be mustered into the service of the United States at the call of the President. The Governor was to establish camps of instruction, and armories, and was to desig- nate the time when the soldiers should attend upon instruction. When not in camp, nor in the field, they were to hold themselves in readiness to rendezvous upon the instant of warning.


The plan as provided in this bill would have given the Common- wealth the advantage of the instant service of a body of 15,000 picked troops, trained and disciplined by frequent and efficient drills, had it been executed as intended. Camps were established at West Chester, at Easton, at Harrisburg, and at Pittsburg. and George A. McCall, an experienced soldier, was appointed Major- General, under whose direction the corps was rapidly organized. Under the order of General Patterson for twenty-five regiments. while he was in command of the Department of Washington. and while cut off from communication with the Government, considerable progress had been made in recruiting, and when


144


MARTIAL DEEDS OF PENNSYLVANIA.


that order was countermanded, the work was not arrested, as there seemed a certain prospect that more troops would be needed; and when on the 15th of May, three weeks after the order of Patterson, the act providing for the Reserve Corps was- passed, many troops were in readiness to enter it. To make it really the representative of the entire State, the Commander-in- chief made an estimate of the number, apportioned according to population, which could be received from each county.


But an event was soon to occur which eclipsed in pressing necessity the immediate defence of the southern border of the State. On the 21st of July was fought the first battle of Bull Run, in which the Union arms suffered a disastrous defeat. The field was within hearing of the National Capital, and the beaten army was largely composed of troops whose time had already ended, or would soon expire. Great consternation prevailed lest the foe, animated by victory, should immediately march upon the Capital, while few troops were left to defend it, and capture or disperse the officers of the Government. In this extremity the President called for the Reserve Corps, which, thanks to the in- telligent policy of Pennsylvania, was in readiness to march. It arrived upon the front at a moment of dire extremity, and entered the breach, assuring safety to the city and Government. Having thus been taken into the service of the United States, and incor- porated with the National army, it never again returned to the exclusive service of Pennsylvania; and during the three years of its duty, whether upon the march, or on the field of carnage, wherever hardships were to be borne or danger met, it main- tained a reputation for courage and gallantry unsurpassed, the name of Reserves carrying gladness to friend and terror to foe.


Thus the enterprise of the authorities of Pennsylvania in pro- viding for State defence, was circumvented upon the very threshold of its inception, and the border was left unprotected, except by the enrolled militia and volunteers who came at the Executive's call. Previous to the passage of the act for the organization of the Reserves, the President had called for thirty-nine regiments of infantry and one of cavalry to serve for three years or the war. and under this requisition four regiments were recruited and organized from Pennsylvania, which were mustered into the


3


145


THE GREAT UPRISING.


United States service in advance of the Reserves. Hence, in numbering the new levies after the twenty-five regiments of three months' troops, these four were interposed, which caused the First of the Reserves to be the Thirtieth of the line. The Thirteenth of the Reserves was a rifle regiment known also as the Bucktail, which was consequently the Forty-second of the line, the artil- lery, the Fourteenth Reserve, the Forty-third, and the cavalry, the Fifteenth, the Forty-fourth. This duplicate numbering occa- sioned some confusion and was the source of numberless mistakes. To add to the complication, there were two of the three months' regiments, the Eleventh and the Twenty-third, which, when they came to be organized and recruited for three years, though com- posed for the most part of new men, like a knife with a new blade and a new handle, retained their old designations. Hence when the Eleventh regiment was spoken of, there was always doubt whether the Eleventh three months', the Eleventh three years', or the Eleventh Reserve, Fortieth of the line, was meant, and there was a possibility that the Eleventh cavalry, One Hun- dred and Eighth of the line, or the Eleventh militia, might be intended. In making up the records of the men belonging to the several regiments, frequent errors were discovered in official documents traceable to this cause, and some instances occurred in which it was impossible, with the data at hand, to decide with certainty to what regiment they belonged. To render this sub- ject intelligible a table is given in which a statement of the entire force of the Commonwealth is exhibited, to which the reader is referred.


In a message addressed, on the Sth of May, to the Legislature at its extra session of 1861, the Governor informed that body that the Society of the Cincinnati of Pennsylvania had presented to him the sum of $500 to be used towards arming and equipping its volunteer troops, and asked that the manner of its use should be directed by statute. That Society was one whose original members were the representatives of the most exalted patriotism. They were the surviving soldiers of the Revolutionary army, who, when they saw the great work to which they had addressed themselves accomplished, when a long and sanguinary struggle, borne by a people meagre in numbers and with insignificant 10


146


MARTIAL DEEDS OF PENNSYLVANIA.


resources, finally had terminated triumphantly, gathered them- selves together and pledged lasting friendship, and hearts respon- sive to the woes and wants of any who should be left destitute, or his widow, or his orphans. WASHINGTON was at its head, and MIFFLIN, and WAYNE, and REED, and CADWALADER, sainted names, . were of them. That gift, though small in amount, was like a voice from patriot tombs, conjuring the soldiers of the present to fidelity to their trust. It was appropriately devoted to the pur- chase of flags to be carried at the head of the regiment, an inspi- ration in battle, and a perpetual reminder of the heroismn of the men to which it allied them.


The following resolutions were passed on the 16th : " Whereas, in the present unprecedented circumstances of the country, suffer- ing under a treasonable assault upon our constitutional liberties, this expression of patriotism, by a society founded by Washing- ton and the illustrious chiefs of the Revolution, and embracing in its present organization their immediate and lineal descen- dants, and which is so honorably, closely associated with the hallowed memories which cluster around the early struggles and checkered history of our Republic, demands special recognition and approval, therefore, Resolved, That the Governor be and is hereby directed to expend the said money in the purchase of regimental flags having the coat-of-arms of the State. . . . That the Governor be authorized and directed to convey to the patriotic donors the acknowledgments of this Legislature, for the generous contribution thus spontaneously made towards the preservation of that Union which was established by the labors and sacrifices, and cemented by the blood of the gallant founders of their honored Association."


That the gift might be made the more significant, and might be a perpetual witness to all the soldiers of the State of its origin, a joint resolution was adopted instructing the Governor to ascer- tain how the regiments from Pennsylvania, during the war of the Revolution, of 1812, and of Mexico, were numbered, among what divisions of the service they were distributed, and where they distinguished themselves in action, and to procure regimental standards for troops now in the field or that may hereafter be recruited, and have them inscribed with the numbers of the afore-


147


THE GREAT UPRISING.


time regiments,' have painted thereon the arms of the Common- wealth, and the names of the actions in which those regiments had won renown, and providing that all these standards, "after this unhappy Rebellion is ended, shall be returned to the Adju- tant-General of the State, to be further inscribed, as the valor and good conduct of each particular regiment may have deserved, and that they then be carefully preserved by the State, to be de- livered to such future regiments as the military necessities of the country may require Pennsylvania to raise."


When, at the conclusion of the war, these flags were returned to the hands of the Governor, their condition gave little hope that this last provision would be executed. On that bright May morning, in 1861, when this resolution was discussed and moulded into form, the actors in the scene had little conception of the countless multitude, making the solid earth tremble with their tread, who were to be called to the field, of the roar of battle, filling the heavens with sulphurous smoke, which was to resound from one end of this broad continent to the other, for the space of four long years, of the whole land filled with mourn- ing for the myriads who, on the one side or the other, were to fall, or that these same flags would be rent and seamed with the hail of battle, and wrapt in the fiery billows of the conflict until many of them should be unrecognizable, and have not a shred left whereon to emblazon their story.


The attempt to hold the Shenandoah Valley by detached troops posted at Winchester or at Harper's Ferry, even though num- bered by many thousands, to prevent the advance of the enemy across the Potomac, as in the case of Patterson in 1861, proved fruitless whenever an invasion of Maryland was attempted in force, and disasters of the most startling character to the Union arms were of frequent occurrence there throughout the greater portion of the war. On the 25th of May, 1862, a force of the enemy under Generals Ewell, Edward Johnson, and Stonewall Jackson, advancing down the valley, attacked General Banks who had been left at Winchester with about 4000 men. Spirited actions were maintained with the rebel vanguard, but from pau- city of numbers the Union troops were speedily compelled to give way. Banks had with him a train of 500 wagons. These


148


MARTIAL DEEDS OF PENNSYLVANIA.


he struggled to save, and finally succeeded in crossing the Po- tomac with about 450, the remainder having been destroyed to keep them from the enemy's hands, but with the loss of nearly a quarter of his force in killed, wounded, and missing. The moment this concentrated attack of the enemy was discovered at Washington, presuming that the movement was for invasion, the President called on the Executive for the militia of Pennsyl- vania to meet the threatened danger. An order was promptly issued to the Major-Generals, and other officers of the State forces, and with alacrity and promptitude the citizen soldiery came flock- ing to the standard. But before they could be brought together at the camp of rendezvous, it was ascertained that the enemy's column had been checked by movements upon either flank by the forces under Fremont and McDowell, and that the necessity for immediate aid from the militia was past, when, on the 27th, the order was countermanded, and an acknowledgment of the patriotic zeal which had been shown was tendered.


But early in September, the rebel Army of Virginia in all its force, having beaten Mcclellan upon the Peninsula, and routed Pope upon the plains of Manassas, did cross the Potomac, and the danger of a protracted invasion of Pennsyl- vania, and the making it the seat of war, seemed imminent. As threatened twice before, the passage of the Potomac was made from the Shenandoah Valley. The rebel Commander-in-chief, General Robert E. Lee, had no sooner planted his army on Mary- land soil, than he addressed a proclamation to the people of that State, in which he said : " The people of the Confederate States have long watched with the deepest sympathy the wrongs and outrages that have been inflicted upon the citizens of a Common- wealth allied to the States of the South by the strongest social. political, and commercial ties. They have seen with the pro- foundest indignation their sister State deprived of every right, and reduced to the condition of a conquered province. .. Believing that the people of Maryland possessed a spirit too lofty to submit to such a Government, the people of the South have long wished to aid you in throwing off this foreign yoke, to enable you to enjoy the inalienable rights of freemen, and restore inde- pendence and sovereignty to your State. In obedience to this


3


7


2


149


THE GREAT UPRISING.


wish, our army has come among you, and is prepared to assist you with the power of its arms in regaining the rights of which you have been despoiled."


From the tenor of this proclamation it will be seen that a general uprising by the people of Maryland was anticipated, and the purpose of a permanent occupation foreshadowed. For how could they hope to "throw off the foreign yoke," and "restore independence and sovereignty," that is the independence and sovereignty of the rebel Government, unless a force of arms was maintained in their midst sufficient to repel any power which could be brought against them? But though the rebel leader was supreme in the State, and for many days held absolute sway, there was no rallying to his support, as he had anticipated. No foreign yoke was felt which they desired to throw off, as they already enjoyed that independence and sovereignty which was their choice. They gave him unmistakably to understand that his offer was gratuitous, and the grey-haired Barbara Fritchie, of "Fredericktown," whose courage the poet Whittier has immortal- ized in song, dared even to shake the Union flag in the leader's face.


A force of nearly 14,000 Union troops, under Colonel Dixon H. Miles, had been occupying the mouth of the Shenandoah Valley, which retired, as the enemy advanced, to Harper's Ferry, where they were shut up and the place invested by an army under Stonewall Jackson, and General Hill, estimated at 35,000 men. After a feeble resistance Miles surrendered, and, at the very moment of yielding, was instantly killed by the explosion of a shell. By this act, commonly regarded as one of disgraceful cowardice, or worse, nearly 12,000 men were sur- rendered prisoners of war, involving a loss of 11,000 stands of small arms, 1800 horses, and seventy-three pieces of artillery. Again was the futility of attempting to hold this highway of invasion by detached force demonstrated.


As soon as the result of the second battle of Bull Run was known, attention was at once directed to the defenceless condition of Pennsylvania. It was an hour of gloom for the whole country, and especially so to this State. The drain upon the population by the frequent and heavy calls for troops to fill the national


150


MARTIAL DEEDS OF PENNSYLVANIA.


armies, had left but a small part of the men fit for military duty to carry on the ordinary avogations of life. On the 4th of Sep- tember, the day following that on which the combined Union forces fell back to the defences of Washington, Governor Curtin issued his proclamation, calling upon the people throughout the Commonwealth to rally for organization and drill, and to hold themselves in readiness to move at the moment of need. He recommended the formation of squadrons and companies, and that there might be opportunity for regular and systematic drill, advised that all business be suspended after three o'clock of each day, and that all classes, irrespective of rank or condition, should unite in the work of preparation.


To the counsel of the Executive good heed was given. The lawyer left his briefs, the judge the bench. The voice of wisdom was hushed in the schools. The furrow stood half turned. The water flowed lazily by the mills, whose spindles it was wont to keep whirling in endless attune. The hammer at the forge was silent, and in all the walks of business where was accustomed to be heard the steady hum of industry, a Sabbath silence reigned. On the field of rendezvous stood shoulder to shoulder the man of rare culture and he with the horny hands of toil.


. On the 5th, the enemy crossed the Potomac at the various fords, and stood in force upon the Maryland shore; but authentic intelligence of his movements was slow in reaching the North. On the 10th, the Governor issued a General Order, calling on all able-bodied men to enroll, effect complete organizations, supply themselves with arms and sixty rounds of ammunition to the man, tendering arms to such as were unable to procure them ; and, on the following day, acting under the authority of the President, he called for 50,000 men, directing them to report by telegraph for orders to march. "This call," says the Gover- nor, in his message to the Legislature, "was promptly respon- ded to, and a large force was sent forward to the Cumberland Valley and its vicinity. The first part of this force, consisting of one regiment and eight companies of infantry, moved from Harrisburg on the night of the 12th of September, and was followed by other regiments as rapidly as they could be organized and transportation provided. The command of the whole force


151


THE GREAT UPRISING.


was taken by Brigadier-General John F. Reynolds, who left his corps in the Army of the Potomac at my urgent request, and hurried to the defence of his native State, for which he is entitled to the thanks of the Commonwealth. Of the volunteer militia, 15,000 were pushed forward to Hagerstown and Boonsboro, in the State of Maryland; 10,000 were posted in the vicinity of Greencastle and Chambersburg; and about 25,000 were at Harrisburg, on their way to Harrisburg, or in readiness and waiting for transportation to proceed thither."


In the meantime, the advance of the invading. army was arrested by the prompt movement of the Army of the Potomac. On the 14th, the enemy, who had taken possession of the passes of the South Mountain, was met and routed. Pushing rapidly forward, the Union Army came up with the main body of the foe, concentrated upon a neck of ground partially encircled by the Potomac and Antietam streams, and during the afternoon and evening of the 16th, and day of the 17th, a fierce battle was fought, in which the enemy was worsted, and driven back into Virginia, the field, with the rebel dead and wounded, remaining in the hands of the victorious Army of the Union.


The militia of the Commonwealth, though unable to participate in the struggle, reached the neighborhood of the field of strife in time to have been called into action, had their services been needed, proving their patriotism by their prompt response to the call and the readiness with which they seized the musket and transformed themselves from citizens to soldiers. On the 20th, General Reynolds issued an order for the return of these troops to Harrisburg, where had been established the general camp of rendezvous, and on the 24th they were disbanded and returned to their homes.


A few days after the battle General Mcclellan addressed, from his headquarters at Sharpsburg, the following letter of acknow- ledgment, to Governor Curtin, and through him to the people of Pennsylvania : " I beg to avail myself of almost the first moment of leisure I have had since the recent battles, to tender to you my thanks for your wise and energetic action in calling out the militia of Pennsylvania for its defence, when threatened by a numerous and victorious army of the enemy. Fortunately, cir-


152


MARTIAL DEEDS OF PENNSYLVANIA.


cumstances rendered it impossible for the enemy to set foot upon the soil of Pennsylvania, but the moral support rendered to my army by your action was none the less mighty. In the name of my army, and for myself, I again tender to you our acknowledg- ments for your patriotic course. The manner in which the people of Pennsylvania responded to your call, and hastened to the defence of their frontier, no doubt exercised a great influence upon the enemy."


Governor Bradford, of Maryland, on whose soil the great strug- gles had occurred, and whose people the rebel General had pro- claimed he had come to assist in throwing off a foreign yoke, issued a general order, dated at the Executive Department at Annapolis, September 29th, 1862, in which he said : " The expul- sion of the rebel army from the soil of Maryland should not be suffered to pass without the proper acknowledgment and cordial thanks of her authorities, to those who were chiefly instrumental in compelling that evacuation. I would tender, therefore, on behalf of the State of Maryland, to Major-General Mcclellan, and the gallant officers and men under his command, my earnest and hearty thanks for the distinguished courage, skill, and gal- lantry with which that achievement was accomplished. It reflects a lustre upon the Commander-in-chief, and the heroism and endurance of his followers, that the country everywhere recognizes, and that even our enemies are constrained to acknow- ledge. To Governor Curtin, of Pennsylvania, and the militia of his State, who rallied with such alacrity at the first symptoms of an invasion, our warmest thanks are also due. The readiness with which they crossed the border, and took their stand beside the Maryland brigade, shows that the border is, in all respects, but an ideal line, and that in such a cause as now unites us, Pennsylvania and Maryland are but one."


A tribute could not have been more cordially or gracefully ren- dered to the promptitude and patriotism displayed by the citizens of Pennsylvania, who thus came to the rescue in this critical emergency than was this, and its value was enhanced by the evident sincerity and heartfelt gratitude which pervaded its every utterance. But if the words of the Governor, the chosen repre- sentative and mouthpiece of the people of the State, were pleasing


153


THE GREAT UPRISING.


to Pennsylvania, to the army, and indeed to the entire North, with what leaden weight must they have fallen upon the cars of the foe, who had been led to believe that Maryland was render- ing unwilling obedience to Union rule, and was ready for revolt when the opportunity should be afforded ? The result of this invasion dissipated a delusion which had been filling the minds of the insurgents from the time when the mob in Baltimore had cut off communication with the North, to the triumph of the Union arms on the field of Antietam, and with which they were never afterwards troubled.




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.