USA > Rhode Island > Memoirs of Rhode Island officers who were engaged in the service of their country during the great rebellion of the South. Illustrated with thirty-four portraits > Part 10
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instances-as in the case of General Ferrero-and is discrepant with itself. The public mind, upon a fair examination of the facts, as here recorded, will decide with the committee on the conduct of the war, rather than with the court of inquiry.
Subsequently to his withdrawal from the army, General Burnside had been quietly engaged in business in New York and at the West, until, in the spring of 1866, the people of Rhode Island demanded an opportunity of expressing their approval of the course of their favorite general. A conven- tion was held at Providence on the 20th of March, at which General Burnside was nominated by acclamation and with the utmost unanimity, as a candidate for the office of governor of Rhode Island. On the 4th of April, the people at the polls ratified the doings of the convention, and General Burnside was elected without serious opposition to the honorable station of governor of his adopted state. On Tuesday, the 29th of May, he was inaugurated into his high office at Newport, amid a greater amount of enthusiasm than had ever before stirred the hearts of the people. The city sergeant made the custom- ary proclamation from the balcony of the State House, that "His Excellency Ambrose Everett Burnside, had been duly elected captain-general and com- mander-in-chief of the state of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations." The cannon roared, the people that thronged the streets cheered, and Gov- ernor Burnside was gratified to know that his fellow-citizens considered it a delight and satisfaction to do him honor.
It is scarcely necessary, in closing this sketch, to sum up General Burn- side's characteristics. He has shown himself to be one of our bravest and best generals, and a man of eminent integrity of character. Whenever, in the course of the war, he has had the control of affairs, unhampered by the unwarranted interference of his superior officers, and assisted by the cordial cooperation of his subordinates, he has been gloriously successful. It was not his fault that he suffered defeat at Fredericksburg and Petersburg. In North Carolina, Ohio, and East Tennessee, he has written for himself an imperishable record of fidelity, patriotism and success. The manliness and generosity of his nature shines through every part of his private life. The ways of his career never ran "in the corrupted currents" of the world, but have always flowed from the purest purposes and principles. . Selfish men, who live only for their own aggrandizement; men who are jealous of public favor, and cannot endure to hear a rival commended; men who are punetil- ious of their position and rank, and would be willing to see a battle lost and their country's cause imperilled, rather than waive a tittle of their conven-
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tional anthority, cannot appreciate the nobleness of that self-abnegation for the sake of duty, freedom and the country, which has been so well and brightly illustrated in the private and public life of General Burnside. Still more is that life adorned by the presence within it of a deep religious principle, and an unfeigned trust in God. IIe has thus secured in his retire- ment from the army and in his civil position, the grateful esteem, confidence and love of all who know and can rightly estimate his worth.
It remains simply to enumerate the Rhode Island officers and men who have served under General Burnside's command. Upon his immediate staff have been Brevet Brigadier-General Lewis Richmond, of Bristol, assistant adjutant-general; Brevet Lieutenant-Colonel Duncan A. Pell, of Newport, aide-de-camp; Brevet Lieutenant-Colonel Robert H. I. Goddard, of Providence, aide-de-camp; Captain Daniel S. Remington, of Providence, assistant quarter- master; Captains James D. De Wolf, of Bristol, and William II. French, of Providence, commissaries of subsistence; Doctors Henry W. Rivers, of Provi- dence, head-quarters surgeon, and James Harris, of Providence, medical director of the Ninth Corps. In the early part of the war, the first and second Rhode Island regiments and the first battery; in the North Carolina expedition, the fourth and fifth, and battery F, first Rhode Island light artillery; while in command of the army of the Potomac, the second, fourth, seventh, and twelfth, the first Rhode Island Cavalry, and all the batteries except F and H, were under his command. The fourth, seventh and twelfth, and battery D, were incorporated into the Ninth Corps, and, with the exception of the fourth and twelfth, participated in the East Tennessee movement, and the subsequent operations of the corps. The fourth was left at Suffolk when the corps went west, but afterwards rejoined it when in front of Petersburg. Commanding divisions in that corps were Major-General Isaac I. Stevens, of Newport, one of the ablest men and finest soldiers in the country, who was killed in the battle of Chantilly, Virginia, September 1st, 1862; and Brigadier- General Isaac P. Rodman, a most worthy citizen and a brave and promising soldier, who was mortally wounded in the battle of Antietam, September 17th, 1862. These Rhode Island men and soldiers General Burnside loved and trusted. The living he holds in high esteem. The memory of the dead he cherishes with a grateful reverence.
ERRATUM. The last sentence of the second paragraph on page 80, should read: "On the 27th of July, eight thousand pounds of powder wero deposited in the magazines, and threo fuses laid; and on the night of tho 27th and the 28th, the mine was tamped."
SILAS CASEY.
AJOR GENERAL SILAS CASEY was born in East Greenwich, Rhode Island, on the 12th of July, 1807. His grandfather, Silas, and his father, Wanton Casey, were natives of the same place. The former was an extensive importing merchant before the revolution. The latter pursued his education in France during the revolution, and there became an intimate acquaintance of Dr. Franklin, while minister to that country. His maternal grandfather, Major Nathan Goodale, was a native of Brookfield, Massachu- setts. He served in the army of the revolution, and was distinguished in the agements which preceded the surrender of Burgoyne.
The subject of this sketch entered the military academy at West Point In June, 1822, when nearly fifteen years of age. He graduated in 1826, and was appointed a Brevet Second Lieutenant in the seventh regiment of United States infantry, stationed at Fort Towson, then the territory of Arkan- sas, now within the Choctaw nation. While stationed at Fort Towson, the Osage and Pawnee Indians were quite troublesome, and Casey was often actively engaged in their pursuit. On one occasion, a party of the Pawnces came within a few miles of the post, and killed a corporal and drummer, who belonged to the company commanded at that time by him. Lieutenant Casey obtained permission from Major Burch, the officer commanding the post, to follow the enemy. He collected a party of fifteen frontier men, who then resided near the fort, to whom were added eight soldiers, all well mounted. The next morning he commenced the pursuit of the enemy, and by the assist- ance of a Delaware Indian, a celebrated tracker, who accompanied the party, came upon them on the afternoon of the second day, near one hundred miles
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been taken from our forces at Buena Vista, and recaptured at Contreras. Actively pursuing the enemy, and capturing several pieces of cannon, he assisted in hemming in between two brick walls a large party of lancers, who surrendered themselves his prisoners. At the severely contested fight at Churubusco, which commenced about twelve o'clock the same day, he was actively and closely engaged, and the portion of the second infantry, with the colors, under his immediate command, were among the first to enter the enemy's works. Captain Casey was breveted a major. for gallant and distin- guished conduct in the actions of Contreras and Churubusco.
At the storming of Chepultepec, he was selected to lead a picked body of two hundred and fifty volunteers, from the second division of regulars. While leading his men through a tremendous fire, he was severely wounded in the abdomen, when near the batteries of the enemy. The command then devolved upon the next in command, Captain, now Brigadier-General Paul. The wound of Captain Casey confined him to his bed for a month. He received, for gallant conduct in the action, the brevet rank of lieutenant- colonel, and was also the recipient of a beautiful silver vase from the inhabi- tants of his native town, and a resolution of thanks from the legislature of Rhode Island, as a memento of their appreciation of his services and conduct in the war with Mexico.
After the termination of the Mexican war, the second regiment of infantry was ordered to California. Lieutenant-Colonel Casey embarked in the ship Iowa, with a part of the regiment, and after a long and tedious voyage of five months around Cape Horn, arrived at Monterey. He remained in California until 1852, being there at the time of the adoption of the state constitution, and during the most trying period of her history.
In 1849, while stationed at Benecia, Lieutenant-Colonel Casey was ordered to the command of an expedition for the first exploration of a rail- road track across the Sierra Nevada. The surveying party being attacked by the Pitt river Indians, and the engineer killed, the expedition, from that fact, and also from the ravages of the fever and scurvy, was forced to return without entirely accomplishing its object.
In 1851, Lieutenant-Colonel Casey was ordered, with a command of four companies, to chastise the Coquede river Indians, who had attacked a party of whites while crossing the river. Finding it difficult to operate by land, owing to the extent of the morasses, and the swampy nature of the grounds, he succeeded in transporting across the country from Fort Orford three
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whale boats. With these he succeeded in ascending the river, and completely defeating the Indians. Ilis command were said to have been the first white men who had ever ascended that river. In 1852, he was ordered to New York on the recruiting service. In 1854, he was detailed a president of a board for the examination of a system of light infantry tactics, which, by direction of the War Department, had been translated from the French by Lieutenant-Colonel Hardee. This board revised, corrected and amended the translation, and the tactics, thus prepared, were adopted by the War Depart- ment. In the same year, Captain and Brevet Lieutenant-Colonel Casey received the appointment of Lieutenant-Colonel in the ninth regiment of infantry, the raising of which had just been authorized. The regiment, when organized, was ordered to Washington Territory. After arriving at the place of destination, Lieutenant-Colonel Casey was placed in command of the district of Puget Sound, head-quarters at Fort Steilacoom ; thence to conduct a cam- paign against the Indians of that section of country. Hle so far subdued the Indians in a campaign of twenty-five days, that those who did not surren- der, fled across the mountains, and took refuge with the Yakimas. He thus nipped in the bud that which many thought would be a second Florida war.
On the communication forwarding the report of Lieutenant-Colonel Casey's operations to the War Department, Major-General Wool, who then commanded on the Pacific coast, made the following endorsement, viz. :
" Respectfully forwarded. I approve, in all respects, of Lieutenant- Colonel Casey's conduct. No officer could have conducted the affairs on Puget Sound with more skill, enterprise, and activity, at the same time with greater discretion and sound judgment, than the colonel."
Lieutenant-Colonel Casey left California in July, 1861, on a leave of absence, arriving in New York in August. The report of the battle of Bull Run was brought on board the steamer, when off Sandy Hook, by the pilot. Lieutenant-Colonel Casey soon repaired to Washington, gave up his leave of absence, and offered his services to the government. He received the appointment of brigadier-general of volunteers, and was placed on duty in the city of Washington, on the 12th of September. The duty assigned General Casey was that of receiving, encamping, organizing into brigades, disciplining and instructing the volunteers who reported at the city of Washington. About one hundred and fifty thousand men passed through his hands, and he was instrumental in organizing some of the best brigades in the army. On the 20th of March, General Casey was assigned to the command of a division
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in the army of the Potomac, and marched with the army, under General MeClellan, to the Peninsula. The division he commanded was attached to the fourth corps, commanded by General Keyes. Eight regiments of Casey's division were raw troops. Several of the regiments had received arms only the day previous to leaving Washington. The division suffered much on the Peninsula, both from the inefficiency of the quarter-master's department, and from the want of medical supplies. The division in advance was intrenched within seven or eight miles of Richmond. Contrary to the opinion and advice of General Casey, he was ordered to move his division forward about three-fourths of a mile, leaving the flanks entirely unprotected. The division was attacked, on the 31st of May, by an overwhelming force of about thirty- five thousand men, and, after an obstinate resistance of three hours, was forced to the rear, after inflicting a terrible loss on the enemy, and with a loss of nearly one-third of their own number.
The force that attacked Casey's division drove the division of General Couch from their intrenchments, and they were ordered to retreat, although reenforced by the other division of the corps, commanded by General Peck, and the corps of General Heintzelman, commanded by Heintzelman in person. Casey's obstinate resistance gave time for General Sumner to cross the river, and threaten the flank of the enemy, and it was that event alone which forced the enemy to halt in his career. General MeClellan, who promulgated the false telegram with regard to the division, was not within twenty miles of the battle-field until the next day. One reason for that telegram was the fact, that the division had been placed in an entirely false military position, and those who were concerned in the statement were willing to cover up their military blunder by sacrificing the good name of the division and its com- mander. It is proper, however, here to state, that General MeClellan after- ward retracted much of the censure which he had thrown upon a division which had acted with much devotion to its country's cause. General Kearney, who commanded a division in the corps of General Heintzelman, and the first of the corps who arrived on the battle-field, says, in his report : " As it was, Casey's division held its line of battle for more than three hours, and the execution done upon the enemy was shown by the number of rebel dead left upon the field after the enemy had held possession of it for upwards of twenty-four hours."
Much light has been thrown on the behavior of the division, by state- ments from the enemy. General Hill, who commanded one of the attacking
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columns, said to an officer of General MeClellan's staff, who was sent over under a flag of truce, "that he was astonished that any blame should have been east on General Casey and his division. They fought with as great obstinacy, as he ever wished to see men fight."
The following is a copy of a letter received by General Casey from an old officer in the army, who had been a prisoner in Richmond:
" CINCINNATI, OHIO, March 4th, 1863. GENERAL SILAS CASEY, WASHINGTON, D. C .:
DEAR GENERAL :- When in Washington, you expressed a wish that I should communicate to you in writing, what I then told you in conversation, was the estimate by officers of the confederate service engaged in the battle of Fair Oaks, of your conduct and that of your troops on that occasion. I therefore again state, that while a prisoner in Richmond, 1 met confederate officers who expressed their surprise that any censure should have been cast upon you or your troops, for the part they bore in that battle. That so far from the troops under your command having acted badly, they behaved nobly, and resisted with admirable obstinacy an overwhelming attack ; and that this was the opinion. of the confederate officers generally who participated in the fight.
Very truly yours, (Signed,)
I. A. SIMPSON,
Major Topographical Engineers, late Colonel Fourth New Jersey Volunteers."
When it is considered that a body of less than five thousand men, for three hours resisted the advance of more than five times their number, doing it with an immense loss and under a murderous fire of cannon and small arms, the conduct of Casey's division deserved praise instead of censure. The unavoidable ront of the one hundred and third Pennsylvania caused the storm of censure, which has been so undeservedly heaped upon a body of troops, who nobly fought their first battle.
Brigadier-General Casey was appointed a major-general of volunteers, on the 24th of March, 1863. The government was so well satisfied with his conduct on the day of the battle, that his commission as major-general was dated the 31st of May, 1862. Casey was also made a brevet brigadier- general in the regular army, for gallant conduct in the field of battle, to date the same day.
On the 30th of June, General Casey was relieved from the command of his division by General Mcclellan, and ordered in command of the White
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House, for the purpose of superintending the evacuation of that depot. He performed that duty successfully, and reported, July 2d, in person to Gen- eral MeClellan, at Harrison's Landing, just about the time he was being driven upon the James river, with a portion of his army much demoralized. Inasmuch as General Mcclellan refused to restore General Casey to his old division, or to give him a command adequate to his rank, he applied for, and received authority to report in person to the adjutant-general, at Washington.
On the 11th of August, by an order from the Secretary of War, he was again placed on duty, to receive, organize and instruct the volunteers arriving in the city of Washington. While stationed on the Pacific coast, General Casey had prepared a system of tactics applicable to all the infantry forces of the United States. The system of tactics translated from the French by Major-General Winfield Scott, was the prescribed system in use in our armies, and had so been since 1835. General Scott adhered to his system with great pertinacity, and woe be to that officer who dared to advance any opinion, which would in any manner indicate that the general did not in himself monopolize all tactical science.
It was therefore with some difficulty, that the consent of the War Depart- ment, to place five hundred copies of Casey's tacties in the hands of the prin- cipal officers of the army for trial, could be obtained. From the result of the official reports thus obtained, the government, on the 11th of August, 1862, adopted the tacties of General Casey, for the regular, volunteer and militia of the United States armies.
In May, 1863, in addition to his other duties, General Casey was detailed as president of a board, for the purpose of examining candidates for appoint- ment as officers of colored troops, whom the government was about introduc- ing in the service. The movement was at first very unpopular with a portion of the people of the country, as also with a large portion of the army. The general, although somewhat doubtful at first with regard to operating in large bodies with that species of force, determined that, so far as he was con- cerned, it should have a fair trial. The board of which General Casey was president, examined nearly three thousand candidates, seventeen hundred of whom they recommended for commissions in various grades. From the con- current reports received from various sources, there is but little doubt that the success of the colored troops in the field has been brought about, in no small degree, by the action of the board.
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Nearly three hundred thousand volunteer troops were recruited, equipped, organized, and in a preliminary manner instructed. Those brigades which remained for any length of time with the general, invariably distinguished themselves in the field. The plan of drafting, by appointing a provost-mar- shal general to Congressional districts, was first proposed to the government by General Casey.
The General's wife died in the city of Washington on the 10th of March, 1862. She had been his faithful and devoted companion for nearly thirty-two years. Called to pass through many trials and hardships incident to his pro- fession, she performed her duties with singular fortitude and perseverance. General Casey was married to his second wife, Miss Florida Gordon, of Washington, on the 12th of July, 1864.
The following is the testimony of the Rev. J. Marks, D. D., who was in Richmond at the time of the battle of Fair Oaks :
" Many of the confederate officers whom I met in Richmond, and before it, uniformly spoke in the highest terms of the bravery of General Casey ; and said that his troops fought as well as they had ever known fresh and undisciplined regiments, and that they met from them a far more vigorous resistance than they had anticipated.
" They said that the position of General Casey was one of the greatest peril. Thrown in advance of Hooker and Kearney three miles, if they threw against him a large force it was almost impossible to reënforce him in season to prevent defeat. That they had expected to cut his division to pieces, and before reinforcements could possibly arrive, drive back the shattered regi- ments, to bear with them consternation and panic.
"But, so far from this being realized, the unyielding firmness of this division prevented their cutting through our left-wing, capturing a part, and demoralizing the whole ; for it held out against them until reinforcements came up. I was glad to hear them vindicated, and relieved from those charges which were so unjust and painful."
MSprague
GON WILLIAM SPRAGUE OF RI
WILLIAM SPRAGUE.
HE HONORABLE WILLIAM SPRAGUE was born in Cranston, Rhode Island, on the 11th of September, 1830, and is therefore now thirty-six years of age. His father was Amasa Sprague. His grandfather, William Sprague, early engaged in cotton manufactures, and particularly in the business of calico printing. He was among the first in the United States to attempt the latter. His works were erected in Cranston, about three miles from Providence, where he commenced with the most simple style of prints, known as "indigo blues." William Sprague was associated in business with his sons Amasa and William, both of whom, being brought up in the mills and print works, obtained a thorough knowledge of the business in all its details. Their cotton mills were in Cranston, Johnston, and in the village of Natiek ; but the goods manufactured there were quite inadequate to furnish the supply for their calico works, which were enlarged as their efforts were successful, and the demand for their goods increased.
William Sprague, the elder, died in 1836, when the entire business fell into the hands of his sons before mentioned, who then formed a new firm, under the name of A. & W. Sprague. The death of the father proved no cheek to the business; on the contrary, the new house continued to enlarge their works, and to ereet new mills. Several of large capacity were erected at Natiek ; and soon after, the firm purchased two other mills belonging to C. & W. Rhodes, which gave them the entire water power of that place. But the Messrs. Sprague did not stop here, for they subsequently erected additional mills in the villages of Aretie and Quidneck ; all were substantial structures of brick or stone, of four and five stories, with the usual dwelling- houses for the operatives, thereby forming populous villages.
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Amasa died in the year 1843, leaving two sons, Amasa and William. The firm continued without change. The surviving partner, William, like most men of fortune and influence, was induced to enter political life. He first became a member of the General Assembly of Rhode Island, and soon after was sent a representative to Congress. Next, he was elected governor, and subsequently a senator in Congress. The death of his brother Amasa and his greatly increasing business obliged him to relinquish the latter office. He now continued to devote his whole time to business, enlarging and extend- ing his works until the year 1856, when, after a very brief illness, his career was closed by death, at the age of fifty-six years, leaving one son, Byron.
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