USA > Rhode Island > History of the Ninth and Tenth Regiments Rhode Island Volunteers, and the Tenth Rhode Island Battery, in the Union Army in 1862 > Part 8
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The bugle sounded the call for public worship, and the men seated themselves upon the ground or stood in groups to hear the preaching of the Gospel, and sing the old, familiar hymns. The chaplain, in his best uniform, stood and prayed fervently for the Divine guidance and protection, while the men listened with heads reverently bowed. After the sermon the chaplain would give out some familiar hymn in our red-covered hymn books.
One of the regiment wrote home, " Last Sabbath Chaplain Root preached a very practical sermon on 'profanity.' After the sermon, the Warren boys agreed among their several messes, that when- ever one of them uttered a profane word he should be immediately compelled to go and fetch a pail of water for the cook's galley. As the distance to the camp is about half a mile, it will be readily seen that this was no light task thus voluntarily imposed upon themselves. To their honor, be it said, that they fully kept their agreement (so far as heard from), and I commend their example as worthy of imitation."
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THE NINTH REGIMENT
"August 3d. We have lost one of our comrades by death. He was a young man belonging in the south part of the State, a mem- ber of Company K. His death is supposed to be the result of injuries received from a fall while wrestling at Tennallytown. His remains have been sent home in a metallic burial case, at the expense of the general government. I was frequently at the hos- pital during his sickness, and should say that he received every care and attention possible. Both our doctors, Morton and King, spared no time or pains to relieve him.
" During the three months' campaign of the Ninth, the health of the regiment was generally good, and but three deaths occurred during its term of service : Hollis Taber, Jr., Company C, died Aug. 13, 1862, in hospital ; Sylvester B. Arnold, Company K, died Aug. 2. 1862, in hospital ; Joseph H. Simonds, Company I, died September, 1862, in Warren, R. I."
August 24th. The following order was received by the regi- ment :
HEADQUARTERS DEFENCES OF WASHINGTON,
General Orders No. 2. [Extract I.]
WASHINGTON, August 23, IS62.
In pursuance of orders from the War Department :
Ist. All regiments of three months volunteers within this command, will be mustered out of service at the points where they organized respectively. They will be placed en route for the rendezvous so as to arrive there one or two days before the expiration of their time.
By order of
Brigadier-General BARNARD.
(Signed) J. B. SMITH, A. A: G.
.
RHODE ISLAND VOLUNTEERS.
The regiment in accordance with the above order broke up its camps at the forts, Monday morning, August 25th, and took up its line of march for Washington. It left for home in the afternoon and proceeded by rail to New York, with the customary delays at Baltimore and Philadelphia. At New York the regiment was de- layed a day and a half for transportation. It was finally conveyed to Fall River by steamer Metropolis, and from there was trans- ferred to steamer Bay State, and arrived at Providence on the morning of the 29th. Company L, Captain Slocum, was left at Newport. After disembarking the "Ninth" was received by the "Tenth Regiment," and escorted to Exchange place, and dismissed. With one exception the companies belonged to other towns, and left the city in the earliest trains for their re- spective homes. Companies A and H, of Pawtucket, were hand- somely received there, and a bountiful collation provided. A similar reception was given to Company I, in Warren, and a speech of welcome made by Asa M. Gammell, Esq. A few days after, the regiment assembled in Providence, was paid off, and mustered out.
The history of the Ninth Regiment is necessarily brief and uneventful. It is not identified with brilliant deeds, such as attract the gaze and call forth expressions of wonder or admira- tion. It cannot point to hard fought battles, and exhibit a long list of casualties as evidence of its prowess. But if destitute of these features, impartial history will nevertheless give it a deserved recognition as a reserved power. Important but not dazzling duties were assigned it, and these duties were quietly and faithfully performed. In every respect it was a credit to the State, and worthy of being held in honorable remembrance.
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THE NINTH REGIMENT
THE SOLDIER'S RETURN.
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TUNE-Marching Along.
BY CAPT. JOHN MCKINLEY, CO. D, 9TH R. I. VOLS.
F ROM far distant fort and from white tented plain, How gladly we come to our old homes again ; Though stained not as heroes in battle's red gore, We've all done our duty, and none can do more.
To father and mother what joy it imparts To meet the loved son they have mourned in their hearts ; Where sad looks have lingered, a smile seems to reign, And friends, weary sighing, are cheerful again.
The lone-hearted maiden and fond loving wife, That longed for their loved one's return from the strife, With sister and brother have happy become, To see the brave soldier return to his home.
Though weary with wandering, 'tis pleasure sincere, Dear friends, kind neighbors, and kindred, to hear, In sweet tones of welcome, your voices arise, As you meet us and greet us with love's beaming eyes.
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RHODE ISLAND VOLUNTEERS.
Farewell for a while, now, the fort and the field, We return to the comforts our firesides can yield, And gladly forget our brief, weary sojourn Where friends meet to welcome the soldier's return.
May God speed the time when the battle's loud roar Shall no longer be heard on Columbia's shore ; When " peace and good will " all our people shall learn, And no longer prevent the soldier's return.
Chorus :
Homeward we come, proudly homeward we come, And sweet is the welcome of kind friends at home. How warmly love's feeling in each heart will burn When friends fondly welcome the soldier's return.
NINTH R. I. VOLUNTEERS.
FIELD AND STAFF.
Colonel-JOHN T. PITMAN.
Lieutenant-Colonels-JOHN T. PITMAN, JOHN HARE POWEL.
Majors-JOHN T. PITMAN, JOHN HARE POWEL, GEORGE LEWIS COOKE.
Surgeon-LLOYD MORTON.
Assistant-Surgeon-HENRY KING.
Chaplain-N. W. TAYLOR ROOT.
Adjutant-HENRY C. BROWN.
Quartermasters-GEORGE LEWIS COOKE, WILLIAM MCCREADY, JR. Sergeant-Major-ROBERT FESSENDEN.
Quartermaster-Sergeant-ALFRED O. TILDEN.
Hospital Steward-HENRY E. TYLER.
Commissary-Sergeant-HORACE G. MILLER.
COMPANY OFFICERS.
COMPANY A.
Capt. ROBERT MCCLOY, Ist Lt. ALBERT W. TOMPKINS, 2d Lt. HENRY C. BROWN. COMPANY B.
Capt. HENRY C. CARD, Ist Lt. J. CLARKE BARBER, 2d Lt. JAMES MCDONALD.
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NINTH R. I. VOLUNTEERS.
COMPANY C.
Capt. JOHN A. BOWEN, Ist Lt. GEORGE A. SPINK, 2d Lt. WILLIAM H. POTTER. COMPANY D.
Capt. JOHN MCKINLEY, Ist Lt. JOHN POLLARD, 2d Lt. WILLIAM MCCREADY, JR. COMPANY E.
Capt. ISAAC PLACE, Ist Lt. PHILIP D. HALL, 2d Lt. NATHAN BENTON. COMPANY F.
Capt. JOHN M. TAYLOR, Ist Lt. RANDALL HOLDEN, 2d Lt. RICHARD W. HOWARD. COMPANY G.
Capt. CHARLES S. WATSON, Ist Lt. FRANCELLO G. JILLSON, 2d Lt. HENRY J. WHITAKER. COMPANY H.
Capt. HENRY F. JENKS, Ist Lt. FRANK ALLEN, 2d Lt. GEORGE A. BUCKLIN. COMPANY I. Capt. SAMUEL PEARCE,
Ist Lt. GEORGE LEWIS COOKE, 2d Lt. WILLIAM H. SURGENS, Ist Lt. WILLIAM H. SURGENS, 2d Lt. HORACE G. BARRUS. COMPANY K.
Capt. JAMES R. HOLDEN, Ist Lt. WILLIAM H. GARDNER, 2d Lt. GEORGE H. BURNHAM. COMPANY L.
Capt. JOHN HARE POWEL, Ist Lt. WILLIAM R. LANDERS, 2d Lt. WILLIAM H. KING.
Capt. BENJAMIN L. SLOCUM,
S
Af. Banka
Irvin McDowell.
AlBurnside
George B. Mcclellan, and other Union Generals In Virginia, 1862.
F. Sigel
THE TENTH REGIMENT
R. I. VOLUNTEERS.
T HE Tenth Regiment Rhode Island Vol- unteers was princi- c'est pally recruited from an organization of the citizens of Providence, banded to- gether for State defence, and known as the First The White House. Regiment Rhode Island National Guards. On the 23d of May, 1862, the following spe- cial order was issued from the Adjutant General's office of the State, viz. :
Commandants of the several military companies of the State, will imme- diately assemble their respective commands, at their usual place of rendezvous, and report one company, minimum standard from each organization. to the office of the Adjutant-General, for three months' service in Washington.
Signed, E. C. MAURAN, Adjutant-General.
A meeting of the officers of the several companies comprising the " First Regiment Rhode Island National Guards," was imme- diately held, and the following resolution was unanimously passed :
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THE TENTH REGIMENT
RESOLVED, That Col. James Shaw, Jr., is hereby requested to offer to His Excellency the Governor, the services of the organization known as the 'First Regiment Rhode Island National Guards,' as now officered and organized, in response to the call for service made by him as above.
Signed, ELISHA DYER, Commanding Co. B, being Fourth Ward Drill Corps,
Chairman.
A reply was promptly received from the Governor, accepting the services of the regiment according to the terms of the reso- lution.
" On the night of the 25th," says Colonel Shaw (in his official report to Governor Sprague the following October), "the despatch announcing the defeat of General Banks was received, and at one o'clock on the 26th, I received from you an order to immediately organize the National Guards. I at once ordered the several companies to meet at their respective armories at 9 o'clock, A. M., and at seven P. M., of the same day, had the honor to report to you six hundred and thirteen men ready for duty. As I had seen no service in the field, and there was a prospect of immediate active service, I preferred to waive the right to command the regi- ment, according to the terms on which you had accepted it, and requested your Excellency to appoint some one who had received a military education as its commander. I was further directed by you to send in a list of company officers, and was informed that the quartermaster would be at my service at daylight the fol- lowing morning.
"At 2.15 P. M., the next day, by my order, the regiment was paraded on Exchange place, armed, clothed and equipped,-in less than thirty hours from the time it was first ordered to meet."
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RHODE ISLAND VOLUNTEERS.
General Orders No. 29, Adjutant-Gen- eral's Office, Providence, May 26, 1862, announced that the National Guards of Providence will be organized as the Tenth Rhode Island Volunteers : Capt. Zenas R. Bliss, United States Army, Colonel ; James Shaw, Jr., Lieutenant-Colonel.
Colonel Bliss being obliged to remain at home for a day or two, on account of his father's death, the following order was issued, viz. :
Col. Z. R. Bliss.
Special Orders, No. 29.
STATE OF RHODE ISLAND, ETC., ADJUTANT-GENERAL'S OFFICE, PROVIDENCE, May 26, 1862.
Lieutenant-Colonel Shaw is hereby ordered to have the baggage belonging to his regiment at the Stonington Railroad Freight Depot, at II A. M., on Tues- day, the 27th instant.
You will also order your companies to report punctually at the Stonington Depot, at 3 o'clock, P. M., same date.
By order of the Commander-in-Chief,
AUG. HOPPIN, Assistant Adjutant-General.
" We left Providence," wrote a member of the regiment, "Tuesday afternoon, and were received everywhere on the route with great enthusiasm." The impression seemed to prevail that Washington was safe now that the "Tenth " was on its way. Cer- tainly no regiment ever left the State more promptly in response to the Governor's call, and no regiment hastened to the rescue of the capital under a more solemn sense of duty.
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THE TENTH REGIMENT
Some of the best citizens of Providence were members of this regiment from al- most every rank and profession. There was the merchant, the lawyer and the banker; the mechanic and tradesman, with the clerk from behind his counter. There were the students, from the college and high school, led by that grand man, Lieut .- Col. James Shaw, Jr. Capt. Elisha Dyer, formerly governor of the State, whose former position gave increased value to the ser- vice now rendered. It was the general desire and expectation that Col. James Shaw, Jr., should be the colonel of the regiment, but he chose to be content with deserving the position, and de- clining the honor in favor of a worthy officer who had seen service.
"The regiment assembled on Exchange place," wrote Lieut. Charles F. Phillips, of Company B, "on Tuesday afternoon, May 27th, at three o'clock, and about five o'clock it filed into the cars. During the interim, while standing in line, we were all pretty well drenched by a heavy shower of rain, besides being bent well nigh double by the unaccustomed weight of our equipments. Some one pointed out a stranger, of fine soldierly physique, and face well bronzed by service with the regulars in Texas, as our future colonel, and an efficient commander he afterwards proved, but as we were then in blissful ignorance of his merits, we were hardly disposed to look upon him with favor at first." Colonel Bliss was detained at home on account of his father's death, and Lieutenant-Colonel Shaw assumed command of the regiment, and directed its movement to Washington.
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RHODE ISLAND VOLUNTEERS.
The commander of Company A, was Capt. William E. Taber, a young and efficient officer, who had seen service with the First Rhode Island Regiment. At the head of Company B, marched Capt. Elisha Dyer, one of the war governors of Rhode Island. The men are few who at his age and with his responsibilities, would have surrendered the comforts of home for the Capt. Elisha Dyer. arduous duties of the camp. Within eight hours time from the opening of the armory, he paraded his company of a hundred and twenty-five men up Broadway and down Westminster street. The other captains were: Jeremiah Vose, Company C; William S. Smith, Company D; Hopkins B. Cady, Company E; Benjamin W. Harris, Company F; A. Crawford Greene, Company G ; Christopher Duckworth, Company H ; William M. Hale, Company I; G. Frank Low, Company K (Second Lieutenant First Regiment). Most of the officers of the "Tenth" were citizens of Providence, well known to the men, and good order and discipline prevailed. "
Resuming, Lieutenant Phillips wrote : "As soon as the regi- ment had passed into the cars, guards were stationed with strict orders to allow no one to enter or leave the train. Soon a stout, well built man, with eyes and hair as black as the raven, and a countenance indicating a generous disposition, attempted to enter one of the cars. The guard disputed his entrance at the point of the bayonet. 'I am the Governor's aide,' he said with considerable vigor. 'And my orders are imperative,' as firmly insisted the guard. Here was a quandary, Captain Dyer's sergeant
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THE TENTH REGIMENT
was attending to business closely, but after further parleying, the necessary order came, and Col. Byron Sprague of his excel- lency's staff was allowed to pass in. A few moments later the final commands were given, the conductor gave the signal for de- parture, and the long train moved out of the depot amid loud cheering by the assembled crowd and a general waving of hats and handkerchiefs."
To such a regiment might be fitly applied the words of Abra- ham Lincoln when, in a message to Congress, he said : "There are regiments in the national service which could fill with dignity and honor, every important place in the central administration of the national government."
Lieut. Winthrop DeWolf, of Company D, wrote: "The first realizing sense of the rough work we had undertaken, I think, came over us at Groton, when for the first time we underwent 'rations.' At the gangway leading to the boat stood the com- missary and his assistants with a barrel before them. Our unsus- pecting recruits marched up in single file with open haversacks, when instead of the neat package of sandwiches and sponge cake which most of them expected to be deposited therein, the afore- said assistant disappeared for an instant, head and shoulders into the barrel, then rising suddenly crammed into the opening a greasy mass, which might be meat or bone, as it happened. The old soldiers (First Regiment men are old soldiers now), looked doubtfully at it from the corners of their eyes, the younger mem- bers received it with enthusiasm, as the first trial of patriotism, and retained it till far out in the Sound, when a certain unsteady motion taking possession of the steamer, they might be observed
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RHODE ISLAND VOLUNTEERS.
stealing to the guards and quietly dropping it overboard. The floor of the saloon was now assigned the men for sleeping quarters. From New York we took the Amboy boat, and arrived at Phila- delphia about five P. M., of Wednesday. A capital supper was awaiting us at the rooms of the Cooper Volunteer Relief Asso-
COOPER SHOP Y
WY N. COOPER & CO.
WVOLUNTEERY
RETMESYMENT
SALOONI FREE:
BAPTIST BETHEL
W.M. COOPER-
[SOLDIERS HOSPITALI
Cooper Volunteer Refreshment Building.
cjation, and, not to be forgotten, plenty of water and towels. This association has fed since the war commenced more than 200,000 hungry, way-worn men. Overhead are the hospital rooms. Two of our men being sick were taken thither, and treated with every possible attention. If blessings were shingles, these asso- ciation rooms would be new roofed every week ; yet I am told its charities are supported by the poor, and not the rich of that great
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THE TENTH REGIMENT
city ; that the subscriptions to it are mostly of one and two dol- lars ; that market-women and small store-keepers and country- men strain to the utmost their scant resources to spread that hospitable table."
The city of Philadelphia lay in the channel of the great stream of Union volunteers from New England, New York and New Jersey, that commenced flowing abundantly early in May, 1861. These soldiers crossing New Jersey and the Delaware river at Camden, were landed at the foot of Washington avenue, where wearied and hungry, they often vainly sought for sufficient refresh- ments in the bakeries and groceries in the neighborhood before entering the cars for Baltimore. One morning the wife of a mechanic living near, commiserating the situation of some sol- diers who had just arrived, went out with her coffee pot and a cup, and distributed its contents among them. That generous hint was the germ of a wonderful system of relief for the passing soldiers which was immediately developed in that city. Some benevolent women of the vicinity, imitating their patriotic sister, formed themselves into a committee for the regular distribution of coffee to the soldiers on their arrival. Gentlemen of the neigh- borhood also interested themselves in procuring other supplies, and, for a few days, they were dispensed under the shade of trees, in front of the cooper shop of William M. Cooper, on Otsego street near Washington avenue. Then the shop itself, generously offered for the purpose by Mr. Cooper, was used for the refreshment of the soldiers, and very soon whole regiments were fed there, at tables supplied by the contributions of the citizens of Philadel- phia, and were waited on by their wives and daughters. The first
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RHODE ISLAND VOLUNTEERS.
1
regiment supplied was Colonel Bienker's (German) Rifles, more than a thousand strong, who breakfasted there on the 27th of May, 1861. A hospital was also established for sick and wounded soldiers. The "Cooper Shop" not proving spacious enough, other places of refreshment were afterwards opened. This benevolent work was continued all through the period of the War of the Rebellion ; and to the immortal honor of Mr. Cooper and the citi- zens of Philadelphia, it must be recorded that they liberally sup- plied these saloons with ample materials to give a bountiful meal during the four years of war to almost 1,200,000 Union soldiers. Over 600,000 were fed at the " Cooper Shop" at an expense of ten to fifteen cents per meal. It caused the loss of Mr. Cooper's busi- ness, and reduced the family to severe straits. To the women especially, who devoted themselves to the service of preparing the meals, and waiting upon this vast host of the defenders of the . Union, belong the choicest blessings of their country. At all hours of the day and night, these self-sacrificing heroines-to whom a little signal gun, employed for the purpose, announced the approach of a regiment or a company of troops,-would repair to the saloon, and with the greatest cheerfulness dispense the gene- rous bounty of the citizens of Philadelphia. This noble work continued till August, 1865, when peace had been restored, and the flag of the republic was waving unmolested over every acre of its domain. Without disparagement to other cities (for all did noble work), it may with propriety be said, that in labors of genuine benevolence and generous giving for the comfort of the soldiers of the great Union army, the citizens of Philadelphia stand peerless.
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THE TENTH REGIMENT
Resuming, Lieutenant DeWolf wrote: "The night's ride to Baltimore was ludicrously uncomfortable, but with the sunrise we left the cars and marched through the debatable land unmolested. Cartridges had been previously served to one or two companies, but no disloyal word or act gave excuse for their employment. The southern sympathizers had disappeared from the streets and the 'stars and stripes' were flying from the public buildings. All the forenoon we lazed about the railroad station, while some officers were dispatched to Washington to report our arrival.
"They received at first the startling order to join the advance near Richmond at once, but when the locating officer came to understand that we were 'emergency' men, ordered to the de- fence of Washington, we were permitted to pursue our journey to the capital. To this end we were furnished with a few passenger cars and fourteen or fifteen freight and cattle cars, into which we tumbled after the manner of our cloven footed predecessors, whose aroma, bovine, porcine and equine, yet lingered lovingly about the spot. The sun was intensely hot, with no wind. In our car some air was obtained by bringing a pair of 'whangs' (army shoes, a trifle broader than they are long), to bear upon the boards at either ends, but the next car to us being completely iron-clad, roof and sides, reduced its inmates to a semi-fluid state. One man declared that the water 'sizzled' in his canteen, while the eggs bought in Baltimore were found to be handsomely baked upon his arrival at Washington.
"But at length we did arrive. Before us stood invitingly a row of wooden barracks, seemingly filled already to their utmost capacity with soldiers. Into these we filed and deposited our ac-
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RHODE ISLAND VOLUNTEERS.
coutrements. The floor that night presented a curious appear- ance. A conglomerate pavement of sleeping men, reclining every way, dovetailed, criss-crossed, head and heels, pillowed on knapsacks and cartridge boxes, heaving with the restless tides of slumber, from which arose the gleaming stacks of muskets, festooned with haversacks and canteens. So completely was the floor covered that the unfortunate guard, quorum parva pars fui, coming heavy-eyed from their posts, sought in vain for a vacant spot, and were finally compelled to spread their blankets upon the ground outside. A little after midnight, a man sprang to his feet in a distant corner of the room shouting, 'The enemy are upon us ! Seize your arms, boys !'
" Instantly five hundred men awoke and commenced scrambling for their arms and equipments. A scene of more perfect confu- sion can hardly be imagined.
"One dim lantern shed an uncertain light over the room. Now and then a stack of muskets came down with a crash to help matters. Few were wide awake enough to reason about the grounds of the alarm, and the officers' shouts went for nothing in the hurley-burley. When quiet had been a little restored, it was discovered that the man who started the alarm had been suffering from nightmare. He could not be persuaded in the morning of the excitement he had created."
A few years later the author found himself uncomfortably locked up in a stateroom with a Baltimore man who had a similar attack on board a steamer on Lake Champlain : "I was on my way home from Montreal and arrived late one evening at Burlington, Vt., where I took the night boat for Whitehall. It was crowded with
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THE TENTH REGIMENT
passengers, and every stateroom was engaged. As I sat watch- ing the crowd and looking about for a convenient camping spot on the floor, I recalled the night in 1862 when the 'Tenth Rhode Island boys ' crowded the decks of the steamer Plymouth Rock, on the way to the capital. Then, as now, the staterooms were all taken, but we cheerfully camped down 'on deck' with our knap- sacks for pillows, and after receiving our first rations, we dropped off to sleep, dreaming of the comforts of home and of the thin as- surances made us, when we put our names down, that nothing but the best was good enough for us, and that the best government upon the face of the earth would take care that we were supplied with every good thing.
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