USA > Pennsylvania > Martial deeds of Pennsylvania, Vol. 1 > Part 42
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head by a rifle ball. "At this time, pressed on all sides, our lines broken, and our corps unsupported, we fell back to the position occupied in the morning, leaving our dead and wounded in the hands of the enemy. After the battle was over, and we had retired to our old camps, a chosen party returned, under flag of truce, to find the body of their dead commander; but though the ground was diligently searched by men who had stood in the ranks on that fatal day, no trace could be discovered of it, or even the place where either it or any of the regiment's dead had been buried."
Major Chandler had a presentiment of his impending doom. Knowing that the battle would soon take place, and presuming that his own regiment would be called to bear a conspicuous part, he was oppressed with gloomy forebodings. Doubtless the recol- lection of dear ones, whom he would never more meet, saddened him, and he said to his companion, whose words are quoted above : "I feel that I shall not come out of this battle alive." But, save to his intimate friend, he concealed his feelings so com- pletely, that his men were even inspired by his cheerful and confident bearing.
In person, Major Chandler was nearly six feet in height, and had always enjoyed excellent health. He was married in August, 1861, to Miss Maraquita Mason of Philadelphia. When he volunteered at the opening of the war, he went with the full realization of the magnitude of the struggle upon which the nation was about to enter, and of the sacrifices he was making. The following testimony of Captain Thomas P. Parry, a friend of the family, illustrates this consciousness, as well as the tender- ness of his heart: "As an evidence of his kindly feeling and affection for his mother, I would also say, that, at his earnest solicitation, I induced the mustering officer, Major (now General) Ruff, to reject his brother William, who was desirous of entering the service; for, as he said, his mother was much excited, and one son should remain with her, but that he was not to be that son ; he was ready to offer his own life to save his country, but desired to save his mother from the affliction of another sacrifice."
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THOMAS S. BRENHOLTZ.
HOMAS SEVERN BRENHOLTZ, Lieutenant-Colonel of the Fif- tieth regiment, was born on the 29th of November, 1834, in Chester county, Pennsylvania. He was the son of Isaac and Catharine (Phillips) Brenholtz. In early childhood his parents removed to the city of Reading, in the public schools of which he was educated. He had a special liking for military service, and was placed in the military establishment of Colonel Batchelder, who has since made for himself a wide reputation as the illustrator of the Battle of Gettysburg. After leaving this. he became principal of a grammar school, and always manifested a keen relish for study. When the call was made for troops. at the opening of the Rebellion, he volunteered as a private. but was induced to accept the position of Lieutenant in the Fifth (three months') regiment. Before the close of the term, he was promoted to Captain, and, immediately on his return, entered with great activity upon recruiting a three years' organization. which was designated the Fiftieth, and of which he was made Lieutenant-Colonel. He accompanied Sherman's expedition to Port Royal in November, 1861, and participated in the early operations undertaken in the Department of the South. During this time he received a furlough of thirty days that he might visit his family; but learning before he was ready to depart that the enemy was threatening the Union position, he promptly pocketed his furlough and remained on duty with his men. Such acts of self-devotion, and his unremitting attention to duty, won him the favor and confidence of all who knew him. He was engaged in the action at Coosaw Ferry on the 1st of January, 1862, and at Pocataligo on the 29th of May following, and in both evinced fine soldierly qualities.
In July of this year the regiment was called to Virginia, and was attached to the Ninth corps. Colonel Christ, its commander. having been placed over a brigade, to Lieutenant-Colonel Bren- holtz fell the duty of leading the regiment. In Pope's canı- paign, which immediately followed, the service was exhausting and the fighting desperate. At the Second Bull Run. and at Chantilly, the regiment was hard pressed, and in the latter battle. after having held its position until the last cartridge had been fired, the men fixed their bayonets and awaited the word to
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charge. They came out of the bloody struggle in good order, bringing with them their dead and wounded. The service in this campaign told fearfully upon Colonel Brenholtz's health, and on reaching Washington he was obliged to yield to the disease that was preying upon him. For several weeks he was very ill; but as soon as he was again able he rejoined his regiment and was at its head in the battle of Fredericksburg, though not actively engaged. The corps was subsequently sent West, and a part of it, including the Fiftieth regiment, went to the support of General Grant at Vicksburg. After the fall of that stronghold, with the column of Sherman, Colonel Brenholtz moved at the head of his regiment to Jackson, and while employed in the operations before that place in posting his men upon a very exposed part of the skirmish line, he was hit by an enemy's sharp-shooter, and borne fainting from the field. The ball had apparently entered his lung. After the effect of the first shock had passed, it was hoped he might recover; but while on the steamer which was bearing him to Cincinnati, whither his wife had come to meet and care for him, he sank under the effects of the wound and breathed his last before reaching his destination. " A nobler spirit," says one who knew him well, "has not been offered a sacrifice upon the altar of his country. He leaves many warm friends in this city, who will ever cherish his memory with a sincere and genuine affection. His mortal remains are with us, to be interred in the home of his youth, and among the friends he loved. He was talented and brave. Let him sleep in the proud grave of an American Soldier." In person Colonel Bren- holtz was above the medium height and robust. He was married in 1859 to Miss Clara Arnold of Reading.
CHAPTER III
THE KILLED IN BATTLE.
OHN FULTON REYNOLDS, Major-General of volunteers, was born on the 21st of September, 1820, in the city of Lancaster, Pennsylvania. He was the son of John and Lydia (Moore) Reynolds. He received his elementary education in the schools of that city, at Litiz Academy, and Green Academy, Maryland, and in 1837, was appointed a cadet at West Point, where he grad- ? uated, in 1841, with distinction. Immediately thereafter he was made brevet Second Lieutenant in the Third artillery, and was sent to Fort McHenry, near Baltimore, where a few months later he was commissioned a full Second Lieuten- ant. In 1843 he was sent to Florida, and at the expiration of a year was ordered to Fort Moultrie. In 1845 he was trans- ferred to Corpus Christi, and subsequently to Fort Brown. In June, 1846, he was promoted to First Lieutenant, and accom- panied General Taylor's column on its advance into Mexico. On the 23d of September, 1846, he distinguished himself in the battle of Monterey by his coolness and courage, and was brevetted Captain. At Buena Vista, on the 23d of February, 1847, he again displayed the most undaunted heroism and gallantry, and was brevetted Major. At the conclusion of the Mexican War, he was ordered to duty in forts on the New England coast, where he remained four years. He was then placed upon the staff of General Twiggs, whom he accompanied to New Orleans. After a year he returned North, and was stationed at Fort Lafayette. He was soon afterwards sent on an expedition across the plains to Utah, arriving at Salt Lake City in August, 1854. In March, 1855, he was promoted to Captain and was ordered to Cali-
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fornia: He engaged the Indians at several points on the Pacific coast, especially distinguishing himself in an action with them near the Rogue River, Oregon. He also served upon a board of officers designated to examine applicants for entrance to the regular army from civil life. In December, 1856, he arrived at Fortress Monroe, and for nearly two years remained on duty on the Atlantic coast. In April, 1858, he was placed in con- mand of Company C of the Third United States, and with it was ordered to again cross the plains to Utah, where he arrived in September, 1858. In September, 1860, he was assigned to duty as commandant of cadets at West Point, and in May, 1861, he was made Lieutenant-Colonel of the Fourteenth regular infantry, · and was ordered to New London, Connecticut, to recruit his regiment.
In this brief outline of the life of Reynolds previous to the Rebellion, an idea is conveyed of the school in which he was trained and tempered for the arena on which he was destined afterwards prominently to figure. It is a record of a man who, in whatever position he was placed, executed with fidelity the task assigned him. In Mexico he won promotion as often as an opportunity was given him to meet the enemy, and when twice ordered to march across the continent with his command, and to beard the wily savage in his lair, he shrunk not from this severe duty. To be a soldier in time of peace is far more irksome and oftentimes more disagreeable than in time of war. But his was a nature in which the iron predominated, and he had only to be shown the path of duty to follow it.
In August, 1861, he was promoted to Brigadier-General of volunteers, and was ordered to take command at. Fort Hatteras. But troops were now being rapidly put into the field, and skilled soldiers were required to command them. The Reserve corps had just been organized, and at the carnest solicitation of Gov- ernor Curtin, General Reynolds was assigned to the First brigade of that body. It was composed of the First, Second, Fifth and Eighth regiments of infantry, and the First cavalry. The pros- pect of a severe and protracted struggle was plainly discernable to his penetrating mind, and he earnestly gave himself to the duty of making his brigade a model of soldierly qualities. The
JOHN B MILES. Lieut Col 49+ Regt
SAMUEL M ZULICK Col 29 P.eg Brev: Brig Gen.
JOSHUA THOMAS OWEN Col ( * Deg' Brig Gen Vous
EDWARD JAY ALLEN Co! 155 F.es
GEORGE W MEPRICA Meyor 187 ** Peg"
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JOHN F. REYNOLDS.
first of the seven days' battles on the Peninsula was a handsome triumph to the Union arms. It was principally fought by the Pennsylvania Reserves, and Reynolds' brigade played a promi- nent part. The position was skilfully chosen on Beaver Dam Creek, and the rifle-pits and lunettes for the guns were wisely disposed. When Lee came with his legions, he no doubt antici- pated an easy triumph and a rapid advance. But he had scarcely started in his onward march before he met, on the two roads running across the creek, the little division of Reserves, present- ing a firm front. The rebel leader at once wheeled his guns into position and opened fire. The guns of the Reserves answered. The rebel infantry were speedily drawn out in battle line, with powerful supports, and made determined assaults along the whole front; but bleeding and torn they were hurled back by the Re- serves, who yielded not one inch of ground. Again and again the enemy returned to the assault with fresh troops, but with no bet- ter success. His dead and wounded covered all the field, and the sod was slippery with gore. Until long after sunset the contest was continued; but where Reynolds had planted his guns on the morning of that day, and established his infantry lines, there were they when darkness closed in upon them; scourged, it is true, but filled with pride at their achievements, and eager to renew the battle. The following incident of the fight is related by Major Woodward in "Our Campaigns": "General Reynolds, whose ever- watchful eye was upon the regiments of his brigade, several times rode down to our position, at one time exclaiming, as he pointed with his sword : 'Look at them, boys, in the swamp there; they are as thick as flies on a gingerbread ; fire low, fire low.'" The victory was complete, and every preparation was being made to continue the contest on the following morning, when an order came for the division to retire to Gaines' Mill. It was received with astonishment by the soldiers. They could not be made to understand why a victorious army should retreat before the con- quered, and many a resolute man indulged in loud denunciation as the order was enforced. But their vision was circumscribed, and they were unable to see that their small force was being flanked, and would be subject to inevitable capture if they remained. The skill displayed by General Reynolds in this
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battle attracted the attention of his superiors and the whole country, and marked him for distinction.
On the following day the Reserves were held in a second line of battle, ready to go to the support of any part of the front which should be overpowered. They had not long to wait, and soon found themselves hurried forward to fill the breach that the rebel onsets had made. Unlike the position they had abandoned, this field had not been fortified, and the masses of the foe, precip- itated upon exposed portions of the line, soon broke through. The ground was contested with fiery energy till nightfall, General Reynolds moving in the thickest of the fight, and always where the danger was most imminent, bringing aid at the opportune moment, and maintaining the contest with unexampled courage. But the fragment of the Union army engaged was vastly outnum- bered, and was finally obliged to yield. It was just at the close of the day, and the fight was almost over, when General Reynolds, while returning from the right of the line where he had been directing the Fifth and Bucktail regiments, heard the sound of desperate encounter where the Eleventh and a New Jersey regiment were posted. He had scarcely reached the line, and was seeking support to relieve them, when a brigade of regulars on their flank gave way, and before they were aware of the situa- tion, the greater portion of them, including General Reynolds and his Adjutant, Colonel Kingsbury, were surrounded and every way of escape was cut off. The General, his Adjutant, and an orderly, concealed themselves during the night, and in the morning, while attempting to escape, were confronted by a rebel patrolling party, who took them prisoners of war. For several weeks the General was confined in a Richmond prison.
Before General Reynolds had been released, General McCall, the commander of the Reserve corps, resigned. Who so com- petent to succeed him as the leader of the First brigade, who had borne himself so gallantly in the first two engagements ? To him the position was accorded by the consenting voice of the Government and the army. He came forth from Libby prison on the 8th of August, 1862, in exchange for the rebel General Barks- dale, going at once to his new command. On the battle-field of Bull Run, at the moment when the need was greatest and the
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danger pressing, General Reynolds and his trusty division were at the threatened point ready to stem the tide of disaster. Mr. Sypher, in his history of the Reserves, gives a graphic account . of Reynolds' heroic action here. "General Reynolds," he says, " with the instinct of a thorough soldier, discovered. that the enemy was aiming to seize the Warrenton pike in the rear of broken masses of troops that were now flowing back from the front. He at once determined to throw his division into the breach, and save the army, or perish in the attempt. The plan of the enemy was to break the centre and seize the roads between the two wings of the army, and thus ensure its destruction. The heroic General, fully conscious of its desperate situation, galloped along his line and called upon his men to charge upon and hurl back the advancing foe. The Reserves saw by the ardor of their General that the whole Union force was in imminent danger; in a moment they were up and charging with a cheer and a yell across an open field; they encountered the enemy at the brow of a declivity, up which the rebels struggled in vast numbers, and with unwearying pertinacity. Fortunately the Reserves were aligned upon a country road, which, having been somewhat worn by use, afforded partial protection. The contest became hot and desperate. Greatly outnumbered by the rebels, they were only enabled to hold them in check by rapid and un- ceasing firing. The field officers, who rode upon the ground above the road, were much exposed and suffered severely. At one moment all seemed to be lost. The First and Second regiments were engaged in an almost hand-to-hand encounter; the left was pressed back, and to the consternation of the mounted officers, who from their positions had a view of the field, the troops on the right of the Reserves gave way in utter confusion. At this critical moment, the gallant Reynolds, observing that the flagstaff of the Second regiment had been pierced by a bullet and broken, seized the flag from the color-bearer, and dashing to the right. rode twice up and down his entire division line, waving the flag about his head and cheering on his men. The rebel sharp- shooters rained fierce showers of bullets around the ensign thus borne aloft, but in vain did the missiles of death fill the atmos- phere in which it moved. The effect upon the division was
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electrical. The men, inspired by the intrepidity of their leader, rent the air with cheers, plied their tremendous musket fire with renewed energy and vigor, and in a few moments the thinned ranks of the rebel regiments gave way before the steady and unrelenting volleys poured upon them. Night came on and put an end to the contest; but the famous Stone Bridge over Bull Run was, by the genius and heroic daring of General Reynolds, and the valor of the brave men he commanded, preserved for the use of the National army. The army thus beaten back, retired beyond the range of the loyal guns, appalled at the havoc they witnessed in their ranks, and confounded by their failure to reach the turnpike. The sun was now setting, and the battle had ended."
After the Union army had been beaten on the plains of Manassas, and the foe defiantly began to move northward, deep solicitude filled the mind of the North. Especially was there anxiety in Pennsylvania, which lay in the natural course of invasion. The feeling of insecurity was then more universal than in the following year, when the foot of the invader was actually on Pennsylvania soil. The necessity for an uprising of the people to beat back the advancing enemy was recognized, and Governor Curtin made instant and earnest appeals. But what could citizen soldiery do without a leader to organize and mar- shal them? The need of the very best talent which the Union army possessed was felt, and in searching its ranks none seemed so fit in such an hour of peril as General Reynolds, and he was accordingly detailed to proceed to Harrisburg and prepare the fast-gathering militia for duty. With a master hand that work was done, and with incredible celerity and skill the fresh levies were prepared and put into the Cumberland Valley. Already was an army marshalled, and he was preparing to put himself at its head and lead it in the bloody encounter, when the foe was repulsed on the field of Antietam, and further need of its ser- vices was at an end.
Returning to the Army of the Potomac, Reynolds was pro- moted to the command of the First corps, which embraced the Reserves, and to the head of which General Meade was advanced, and in November he was made Major-General of volunteers. In
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the battle of Fredericksburg, on the 13th of December, 1862, to the First corps was given the advance of Franklin's grand division, on the extreme left. The orders of Franklin were · faithfully executed, and that devoted corps was launched with terrible force upon the frowning heights, where the enemy was intrenched, breaking and crushing through his line. But sup- ports failing to come forward as they should have done, if the dear-bought advantage was to be maintained, Reynolds was obliged to withdraw his forces when victory seemed fairly within his grasp.
The First corps was held in front of Fredericksburg threaten- ing to cross during the preliminary stages of the Chancellorsville campaign, in May, 1863, and when Hooker had crossed above, and gained a secure lodgement on the south side of the river, this corps hastened to join him there. Before it had arrived, Stone- wall Jackson had made his famous flank movement, and had routed the right wing of Hooker's army. Reynolds put his corps into position on that flank in place of the discomfited Eleventh, and held the ground in defiance of a triumphant foe. Reynolds, after getting his troops into line and securely posted, and having learned the extent of the disasters that had fallen, seemed to have entertained a strong disgust for the management of the battle. He betook himself to his couch and paid little heed to the staff officers who came to report to him during the night. He was a trained soldier and allowed no criticism of the conduct of his superiors to pass his lips; but his actions plainly spoke his condemnation of the conduct of that disastrous field.
But whatever may have been the silent feeling of Reynolds, it in no way affected his devotion to the interests of the army and the success of its leader; and when about to set out on the Get- tysburg campaign, Hooker placed him in a position the highest in the whole army next himself, giving him command of the right wing, embracing the First, Third and Eleventh corps, and of all the cavalry, nearly a half of the entire force. When Meade suc- ceeded Hooker, Reynolds was continued in this elevated position, and exercised a great influence in the movements preliminary to the battle. The sight of his native State overrun by an insolent enemy, ravaging and despoiling its fair domain unchecked, made
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him impatient of delay, and eager to get at the invaders. His cavalry, under Buford, reached Gettysburg on the 30th of June, and on the morning of the 1st of July the battle opened. He had encamped with the First corps on the night of the 30th, four miles back, and in the morning had hastened forward with the leading division to the cavalry's support. He had scarcely led this into action, when, in a little tongue of wood which reaches up from Willoughby Run towards the Seminary, where he had just led a regiment forward and was turning to look for supports, he was struck in the back of the neck and never spoke more. Only three persons were with him at this time-Captains Mitchell and Baird of his staff, and Charles H. Veil, his orderly. Captain Baird says : " After throwing the first troops forward into the woods, and turning to come out of them, the enemy opened a most terrific fusilade, and an accidental shot, not from a sharp-shooter as has been stated, struck him just as he was getting clear of the timber. As he fell from his horse his foot hung in the stirrup and he was dragged ten feet or so before it was loosened. I at once jumped from my horse, and opened his clothes, but in an instant saw that there was no hope for his recovery. I obtained a canteen of water from one of our infantry who was behind a tree on the edge of the woods, and raising his head, gave him a mouthful, but he could not swallow. In a few moments I got some of our men, who put him in a blanket and carried him off the field. He made no exclamation at all when he was hit, and none at any time afterwards." Substantially in accord with this, is the statement given by Veil: "This regiment," he says, " charged into the woods nobly, but the enemy were too strong, and it had to give way to the right. The enemy still pushed on, and were not more than sixty yards from where the General was. Minie balls were flying thick. The General turned to look towards the Seminary. As he did so, a Minie ball struck him in the back of the neck, and he fell from his horse dead. He never spoke a word after he was struck. I have seen many killed in action, but never saw a ball do its work so instantly as did the ball which struck General Reynolds, a man who knew not what fear or danger was. The last words he spoke were, 'For- ward, men, forward, for God's sake, and drive those fellows out
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of the woods !' meaning the enemy. When he fell, we sprang from our horses. He fell on his left side. I turned him on his back and glanced over him, but could see no wound, except a bruise above his left eye. We were under the impression that he was only stunned." He was carried from the wood a short dis- tance, when the two Aides left to convey the intelligence to the officers next in command. The body was borne back by the help of other orderlies who soon came up, and as they went, the Gen- eral gasped, and they thought he was recovering from the stun which they supposed he had received. Whereupon they laid him gently down and Veil attempted to give him some water from a canteen; but he could not drink. This was his last struggle. He was borne on to the Seminary, and now for the first time was discovered the bullet wound, beneath his hair, which had caused his death. No coffin could be procured, and in a rude marble-cutter's box the body of the hero was trans- ported to Westminster, and thence by way of Baltimore and Philadelphia, to Lancaster, where it was consigned to the grave.
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