USA > Pennsylvania > Martial deeds of Pennsylvania, Vol. 2 > Part 27
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847
HORATIO G. SICKEL.
admirable manner. Though repeatedly forced to yield ground, he constantly rallied and fought so determinedly as to hold the enemy in check until we had restored the left, and being rein- forced made one final and decisive assault. In the midst of this noble conduct General Sickel fell severely wounded; but his spirit still pervaded his men. This was a severe action, in which we pressed an assault for nearly two hours before being reinforced against Wise's and Wallace's brigades, supported by other troops of Johnson's and Anderson's commands. In the final assault we carried the ground, the enemy's dead and wounded falling into our hands, and we intrenching beyond the Boydton Plank Road, which was our objective point. We buried one hundred and thirty-five of the enemy's dead." In his official report of this action General Chamberlain said : " I cannot fail to speak of the unflinching fortitude and commanding courage of Brigadier- General Sickel, whose example and conduct made my presence needless on that part of the line, until he was borne from the field severely wounded." This was a fitting termination to his service ; for long before his wound had healed the war had ended gloriously for the Union arms, and the legions of the Grand Army had come marching home. The Government was prompt in bestowing upon him the brevet rank of Major-General.
Not long after the close of his service, he was appointed by Governor Curtin Health Officer of the Port of Philadelphia. He was subsequently appointed Collector of Internal Revenue for the fourth district of Pennsylvania, and is at present United States Pension Agent for that city. He early took a deep interest in the public schools, was for several years a director and for two terms president of the fourteenth section. He has for a long period been a member of the Board of Health, President of the Philadelphia, Newtown and New York Railroad Company, and is intimately connected with the mining and banking interests of the State. In person he is above the medium height and of powerful frame, with dark brown hair and gray eyes. In society he is taciturn, but with the mien of one possessing decided opinions and reserved power. His high sense of honor and moral worth endear him to all.
CHAPTER XIII.
ILLIAM WOODS AVERELL, Colonel of the Third cavalry, Brigadier and Brevet Major-General, was born on the 5th of November, 1832, at Cameron, Steuben county, New York. He was the son of Hiram and Huldah (Hemmingway) Averell. His paternal grandfather, Ebenezer, was a soldier of the Revolution, and his great-grandfather, Solo- mon, one of the early settlers of Connecticut. He became a cadet at West Point in 1851, graduated in 1855, was made Brevet Second Lieutenant in a regiment of mounted riflemen, and sent to garrison Jefferson Barracks, Missouri. In 1856 he was transferred to the cavalry school at Car- lisle, and in the following year was ordered upon the frontier in New Mexico. On the 7th of December, 1857, he had a brisk skir- mish with a band of Kiowa Indians, near Fort Craig, routing and destroying them. In 1858 he went upon the Navajoe expedition, in which encounters were frequent, engaging at Chusca Valley with Kyatano's band, and at the Puerco of the West, where he was severely wounded, the savages attacking the camp at night.
When rebellion reared its threatening head, he was sent as bearer of despatches to Colonel Emory, at Fort Arbuckle, in the Indian Territory, performing a journey of 1800 miles in fourteen and a half days. During June and July of 1861 he was on mus- tering duty at Elmira, New York, and subsequently was Adjutant- General to General A. Porter, in the first Manassas campaign. On the 23d of August he was commissioned Colonel of the Third cavalry, and given command of a brigade posted in front of Wash- ington. He led the advance of Mcclellan's army on Manassas in 1862, and was in active service throughout the Peninsula cam- paign, bearing a part in the operations at Yorktown, Williams-
848
I'mato by Brady.
BRIG. GEN W W. AVEREIL Brever Major General.
849
WILLIAM W. AVERELL.
burg, Fair Oaks, and Malvern Hill, and routed the rebel cavalry in a skirmish at Sycamore Church, on the 2d of August. He was prostrated by sickness, and was absent during the Second Bull Run and Maryland campaigns. Upon his return he was pro- moted to Brigadier-General. He went immediately to the upper Potomac, where he was employed in frequent skirmishing, and when the army advanced was hotly engaged along the passes of the Blue Ridge. During the winter of 1863 he had command of the Second division of cavalry.
Averell was a good disciplinarian, and troops under his com- mand were rapidly transformed to real soldiers. In the spirit of banter, Fitz Hugh Lee, the rebel cavalry leader, who had been his companion at West Point, invited him to come over the river and visit him, and bring him a bag of coffee, a rare luxury in the rebel camp. Averell is one of those mnen to whom bold exploit is meat and drink. He at once determined to accept the invita- tion, and summoning to horse on the 17th of March, 1863, rode to Kelly's Ford, crossed the Potomac, attacked and won a decided victory over Lee and Stuart, tempering their appetites for the coffee which he had brought, and returned in good order, with only slight loss. This was the first considerable cavalry victory of the war. It sent to the heart of the North a thrill of joy. It disclosed what a skilful and bold leader could effect. "For gallant and meritorious services" in this battle, General Averell was brevetted Major in the regular army. When the Chancel- lorsville campaign opened he was charged with demonstrations upon the upper Potomac, and in the direction of Gordonsville. Heavy rains interfered with efficient action, and little was accomplished.
In the reorganization of the army which shortly after took place, Averell was sent to take command of the cavalry in West Virginia-a difficult country in which to operate, and intensely wearing to the troops. At Beverly on the 4th of July, 1863, at Hedgeville on the 19th, at Moorfield on the 7th of August, and , at the Greenbrier White Sulphur Springs on the 26th, he led his mounted command in brisk actions. At Droop Mountain the enemy had intrenched upon the summit, and was well supplied with artillery, and here on the 6th of November Averell attacked ;
54
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MARTIAL DEEDS OF PENNSYLVANIA.
and though the force was formidable he flanked it, and com- pletely routed the foe, capturing guns and trains. For his gallant conduct he was brevetted Lieutenant-Colonel in the regular army. He was scarcely settled in camp, when, on the 8th of December, he again led his command southward on one of the most daring raids in all his stirring campaigns. Its object was the destruction of the Virginia and Tennessee Railroad, and the immense stores there collected. By rapid marching he arrived at his destination on the 16th, and commenced the work of devastation. Several bridges and miles of track, depots, mill with warehouse and grain, meat, salt, clothing and merchandise, to the value of millions of dollars, were given to destruction. The enemy hurried forward troops in large force and put them upon his track. It was mid-winter, the roads icy, his beasts smooth-shod, and the streams swollen; but that indomitable will and cool daring which at Kelly's Ford, Moorfield, and Droop Mountain had gained him the victory were not wanting; and though foes were pressing on every side, he eluded all, and brought off his command triumphant. In his report he says : "I was obliged to swim my command, and drag my artillery with ropes across Craig's Creek, seven times in twenty-four hours." The creek was decp, the current strong, and filled with drifting ice. And in concluding his report he says : "My command has marched, climbed, slidden, and swum, three hundred and forty- five miles since the 8th inst." For this campaign he was brevetted Colonel in the regular army.
In the spring of 1864 he commanded a division in West Vir- ginia, and was engaged at Cove Gap on the 10th of May, where he was wounded, and in the destruction of the Tennessee Rail- road on the 12th. He thence marched across the Allegheny Mountains to Staunton, where he joined Hunter in his descent upon Lynchburg, and with that General made the famous circuit by the Kanawha and Ohio rivers to Parkersburg, and thence by rail to Martinsburg. On the 20th of July he defeated Ramseu's division at Carter's Farm, and had a sharp encounter at Win- chester four days after. When McCausland made his escape from the burning of Chambersburg, Averell moved in pursuit, and at Moorfield overtook and routed his division. The skir-
851
JOHN I. GREGG.
mishing at Bunker Hill and Martinsburg towards the close of . August heralded the dawn of a glorious day for the Union arms in the Shenandoah Valley, and the victories at Winchester, Fisher's Hill, and Mount Jackson followed in quick succession, which swept the enemy and made the Valley thenceforth un- tenable. So complete was the destruction that it was facetiously said that if a crow would fly from Winchester to Lynchburg he would be obliged to take his provisions with him. General Averell was brevetted Brigadier and Major-General in the regular army in recognition of his services at Moorfield and throughout the war. He resigned his commission on the 18th of May, 1865, and in 1866 was appointed Consul-General of Canada.
OHN IRVIN GREGG, Colonel of the Sixteenth cavalry, Brevet Brigadier and Major-General, was born on the 26th of July, 1826, at Bellefonte, Centre county, where his family had resided for nearly a century. His father, Andrew Gregg, was for two terms State Senator. He received a sound educa- tion in the academies of Centre and Union counties. In stature he is six feet four inches in height and well formed. In Decem- ber, 1846, he volunteered as a private for the Mexican War, and on reaching Jalapa received notice of his appointment as First Lieutenant in the Eleventh infantry, one of ten new regular regiments. He was subsequently promoted to Captain, and served with honor to the close of the war, when these regiments were mustered out of service. Captain Gregg returned to Centre county, where he engaged in the manufacture of iron. He served in the militia as First Lieutenant, Captain, Major, and Lieuten- ant-Colonel. He was married in November, 1857, to Miss Clarissa A. Everhart, a lady of rare amiability and beauty, whose early death was deeply and sincerely mourned.
At the breaking out of the Rebellion he was made Captain and Colonel of the Fifth Reserve, but was shortly after appointed Captain in the Sixth United States cavalry. Ilis duty in the field commenced with the Peninsula campaign under Mcclellan, as a squadron commander. He was present at the battle of Williams- burg on the 5th of May, Kent Court House on the 9th, and on the 11th had possession of White House on the Pamunkey. He
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MARTIAL DEEDS OF PENNSYLVANIA.
was with the Union advance at Ellison's Mills on the 21st, and at Hanover Court House on the 27th. In the preliminaries to , the Seven Days' battle he skirmished with the rebel infantry, and narrowly escaped capture. Then followed days and nights of weary marching, while the army of Mcclellan was fighting its way to the James. Captain Gregg subsequently did important service in the retirement from the Peninsula, and in the cam- paigns of Second Bull Run and Antietam. In November, 1862, he was selected to command the Sixteenth Pennsylvania cavalry. Early in January, 1863, he joined the Army of the Potomac, and was assigned to Averell's brigade. During the remainder of the winter he performed important outpost duty, and acquired a reputation for efficiency which was never lost. The first and only battle in which Colonel Gregg participated as a regimental commander was at Kelly's Ford, on the 17th of March. The numbers on either side were about equal, and the advantage gained by the Union force was decisive, marking a new era for that arm. At Brandy Station, on the 9th of June, nearly the entire cavalry of the two armies was engaged. Here Colonel Gregg led a brigade.
At Aldie and Upperville the fighting was severe, the combat- ants coming hand to hand. In the battle of Gettysburg his command was posted so as to protect the right flank of the Union army, and was engaged during the afternoon of the second day, and during the third. After Lee made his escape to Virginia, Gregg's brigade with the entire division was sent across the Potomac to follow up the rebel rear, and ascertain his where- abouts. But the rebel chieftain covered his movements by leaving near the mouth of the valley his best fighting troops. At noon on the 18th, while near Shepherdstown, the Union skirmishers were driven in, and close upon their heels the enemy advanced in force. For eight hours, and until night put an end to the contest, the fighting was of the most determined character and .the carnage terrible. The enemy was well supplied with artillery, which was effectively served. At first he concentrated his fire on the right, then on the left, and finally, just as the sun was sinking, a fire of unwonted power and destructiveness was opened upon the right centre. The enemy charged repeatedly.
853
JOHN I. GREGG.
coming on in three columns, and gaining at times a point within thirty paces of the Union line ; but nothing could withstand the withering fire that swept that gory field, and until darkness separated the combatants Gregg's small brigade held fast its posi- tion, and when the remnants of his faithful band were ordered to retire, bore away the mangled forms of one hundred and fifty- eight of their comrades.
In the movement to Culpeper, Gregg was with the advance, and in conjunction with Kilpatrick's men captured a body of the enemy who were there cut off. When General Lee com- menced his flank movement towards Centreville, one regiment of Gregg's brigade was left on the south bank of Hedgeman or Upper Rappahannock river, charged with picketing in the direc- tion of Jeffersonton. At eight o'clock on the morning of the 12th of October, the enemy were reported advancing in force. With two small regiments of less than six hundred men, from early in the day until nightfall, Colonel Gregg succeeded in check- ing the right wing of Lee's army and delaying his passage of the stream. The stubborn resistance which this devoted band here made was of signal service, as Meade was enabled to complete the crossing of the stream, and gain a day's march on his antagonist.
In November Gregg was ordered to Washington, where he remained the greater part of the winter under medical treatment. In the Wilderness campaign, which opened in May, he was in Sheridan's column, and for three days was engaged near Todd's Tavern. On the morning of the 10th Colonel Gregg had the advance in the movement upon Richmond, and soon after start- ing encountered the enemy in force. A brisk skirmish ensued. On the following day Gregg was of the rear-guard, and before the column had all moved the enemy attacked with great impetu- osity, doubling up a part of his brigade, and was near throwing the whole Union force into confusion. At this juncture Gregg brought his artillery into position, and when the rebels were at close quarters, gave them grape and canister in rapid rounds, which sent them back in utter rout. It is impossible, as it is unnecessary, to follow Colonel Gregg through all the intricate mazes in which he led his brigade and division. He particu- larly distinguished himself in the actions of the 12th of May
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MARTIAL DEEDS OF PENNSYLVANIA.
inside the fortifications of Richmond, and at Trevilian Station, on the 11th of June, for which he received the brevet rank of Brigadier-General. In the action at Deep Bottom, on the 16th of August, he was wounded in the right wrist. He was also wounded in the ankle at Hatcher's Run, on the 6th of February, while attempting to charge at the head of a portion of his brigade against the enemy's infantry. An amusing incident occurred in connection with the dressing of this wound. At the time of the engagement, and for some days previous, a young German, the Baron Morehouse, a Lieutenant in the Prussian service and Aide-de-camp to the King, who was here for the purpose of observing military operations, had been serving as a volunteer aid on the staff of General Gregg. He had kept close to the side of the General throughout the battle, and in the midst of the sharpest firing. While the surgeon was removing the boot from the wounded foot, seeing the bullet lying loose in the wound, he sprang forward in an excited manner, and seizing the blood-stained missile, exclaimed in his broken English, "Mien Gott! I will carry him to Europe and show him to mien king."
General Gregg was again wounded at Amelia Springs on the 5th of April, 1865, in a skirmish on the occasion of Lee's retreat from Petersburg. At the close of hostilities he was brevetted Major-General of volunteers for distinguished services during the war. He also received the brevets of Major, Lieutenant-Colonel, Colonel, and Brigadier-General in the regular army, for gallantry in action in the battles of Kelly's Ford, Middleburg, Shepherds- town, Wilderness, Sulphur Springs, St. Mary's Church, Deep Bottom, Stony Creek Station, and Hatcher's Run. Throughout his entire term of service, General Gregg displayed the best qualities of the intrepid soldier, and by his stubborn fighting on many fields fairly won the character of an heroic and reliable officer, one who was not afraid to face superior numbers, even under the most unfavorable circumstances, and who made his dispositions with so much coolness and self-possession as to reassure his own men and intimidate the foe.
855
ROY STONE.
OY STONE, Colonel of the One Hundred and Forty-ninth regi- ment, and Brevet Brigadier-General, was born at Plattsburg, New York. He was the son of Ithiel Vernon and Sarah (Gurner) Stone. He was educated at Union College, and when the war broke out was a resident of Warren county, on the borders of the great forest where a hardy population dwelt. Forming a com- pany from among them, he sought acceptance in the three months' campaign. Failing in this he kept together his men, and after fruitless waiting, started down the Allegheny river on flat-boats, with the design of joining Mcclellan in West Virginia, where a stirring campaign was in progress. He was five days in making the run to Pittsburg, and on his arrival was summoned to Har- risburg to join the Reserve corps just then authorized. His men were armed with their own rifles, and each wore a bucktail, as an emblem of hardihood and marksmanship. They were merged in the Bucktail regiment, which became famous.
Before entering upon the campaigns of 1862 the regiment was divided, four companies being assigned to Colonel Kane for special service, and the other six left to the command of Major Stone and going with the Grand Army to the Peninsula. Recognizing their fitness for skirmish duty, General Reynolds gave them the advance in the movement upon Richmond, and at Mechanics- ville and Beaver Dam Creek they were the first to meet the foe.
From his camp-fire on the Chickahominy he wrote to his parents on the 28th of June: "At noon of the 26th, while on picket two and a half miles from our main body, I engaged a large force of the enemy and held them in check until I was entirely surrounded, giving our troops time to prepare for the attack. I then cut my way out, and by a wide detour through the woods and swamps finally arrived at camp with the loss of seventy-five men. My black horse, saddle, pistols, and boots, had to be left behind. We had been given up as lost, and were received with the greatest demonstrations of delight by General Reynolds and all the brigade."
The fighting at the intrenchments was determined, but the enemy could make no impression, and at night it was decided to withdraw the Union force to Gaines' Mill. To Stone was given the place of covering the rear, which he accomplished with
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MARTIAL DEEDS OF PENNSYLVANIA.
entire success. "General Reynolds," he says, "stayed with us a great part of the time, displaying wonderful courage and skill. Cooper's battery also remained, and was most gallantly served. Two small companies of Berdan's sharpshooters were also placed under my command. As soon as it was light, the enemy, who had placed new batteries, and made all his dispositions under cover of night, renewed the attack in great force upon my front, which was the key to the whole position. Again and again they formed for a charge upon our fords, and as often they melted away, before our steady fire, while their batteries at rifle range poured a most terrible shower of shell, grape and canister upon us, shattering the woods over our heads and tearing up the ground about us. Still our protection was so perfect that the loss was comparatively light. We had held them back for two hours and a half, our forces were nearly all safe behind the second line, and we were outflanked on the right and left, when General Reynolds sent us orders to fall back as best we could. It was a desperate business. We had three miles to go without any help, and the men were already exhausted. Our loss here was fearful. We had to traverse nearly a mile before we got out of range of the batteries, which had been firing upon us all the morning. Many men fell while passing over that mile, and beyond that, every man who gave out on the double-quick had to be left behind. I brought in the poor remainder of the Bucktail regi- ment, one hundred and twenty-five men and five officers, too much exhausted to stand, but full of pluck and covered with glory."
In the action of that day Stone was again ordered in at four in the afternoon, and until sunset held his ground, when with the entire Union force engaged he retired behind the Chicka- hominy. In closing the letter above quoted, he says : "No language can describe the glorious conduct of my officers and men. It was more than heroic. Their loss is great. As for my- self, I escaped with a slight bruise, though I had a ball through my bucktail and had my second horse shot yesterday."
Major Stone took position at Charles City Cross Roads in rear of a battery of Parrot guns, and while the first charge was being delivered acted as a reserve. That charge was successful; but a counter charge in great force carried the Reserves back, and now
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ROY STONE.
Stone received the rebels and in turn drove them. But his men were too few, and they were compelled to retire. Taking up a new position about four hundred yards to the rear he made it the rallying point for the Reserves, and soon had six standards. With this force, which intuitively seemed to place itself under his command, he moved forward at dusk to the front, where the fighting was still fiercely raging. In his official report he says : "I moved by the flank up the Richmond road, and advancing steadily to the extreme front under sharp fire, halted to recon- noitre, on finding myself among the wrecks of our own batteries where the action commenced. General McCall had come out of the woods wounded and alone, and taken his place at the head of the column. After the halt the General took me forward a few paces with him, and in the darkness. suddenly we found ourselves close upon the levelled muskets of a column of the enemy which filled the road in front of us. We were ordered to halt and dismount, but I turned and escaped only slightly hurt, drawing two volleys. General McCall was not so fortunate and is in the hands of the enemy. I formed my first company across the road and went to the rear, by order of General Kearny, who had come up in search of a battery to sweep the road in front. I soon became, however, so faint and dizzy from the effects of my hurt, that I was taken to the hospital and took no further part in the action, which soon terminated."
The superior marksmanship of the Bucktails and their great value as skirmishers, under such a leader as Stone, pointed to the desirability of a brigade of such troops, and at the recom- mendation of Generals Reynolds, Seymour, and others, he was sent to Pennsylvania to recruit one. Though the plan was not carried out, owing to his being ordered to the front when only two regiments were full, upon the occasion of the disaster at Bull Run, and advance of the foe into Maryland, yet he was eventually put in command of the brigade increased to four regi- ments, having in the meantime been commissioned Colonel of the One Hundred and Forty-ninth. With this he took part in the movements preliminary to and in the battle of Chancellorsville. It was incorporated in the First corps, and with Reynolds was on the ground at Gettysburg among the first troops. To Stone's
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MARTIAL DEEDS OF PENNSYLVANIA.
brigade was assigned the open ground on the advanced centre of the line. As they came upon the field they shouted, "We have come to stay," and with a heroism akin to martyrdom they proved their determination. In the heat of the battle Colonel Stone was severely wounded and rendered incapable of further duty, a Minie ball striking him in the right hip. He could not be moved from the field, and when, towards evening, the shat- tered corps was obliged to fall back, he was left in the enemy's hands. During the two weary days, while the terrific fighting was in progress, he was in captivity suffering from a double torture. When at length the foe, beaten and broken in spirit, began to retire, it conveyed to him the joyful tidings that his comrades were triumphant.
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