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 12
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passing through a deep defile, the alarm was given that a charge of the enemy was about to be made on the right. Every gun was cocked and ready for an encounter, but the rumored assault proved to have issued from an advanced detachment of their own men. Bivouacking over night on the route, the regi- ment reached the Junction the next morning, and taking the cars, were soon on their way to Washington, where they were well received, and immediately quartered at the Patent Office.
Colonel Burnside, in his official report to the governor of the state, speaks as follows of the conduct of the regiment while on the march through Maryland:
"I desire to speak in terms of high commendation of the bearing of both officers and men, upon the toilsome and somewhat perilous march through Anne Arundel county, from Annapolis to the Junction. The fatigues of the day were borne with great equanimity, and any indication of hostility was sufficient to put every man on the alert. It is gratifiying to feel that the march was accomplished in safety, and without affording to the inhabitants of the section of country through which the detachment passed, the slightest cause of complaint. Nothing whatever occurred to detract from the good reputation of the state, whose patriotism had called into active service the fine body of men whom I esteem it an honor to lead."
A few days after the arrival of the first detachment at Washington, it was joined by the second detachment, under the command of Lieutenant- Colonel Joseph S. Pitman, which made the regiment complete. The whole regiment was then reviewed by the President of the United States, and on the 2d day of May, the men, to the number of eleven hundred, were mus- tered into the military service of the United States, for three months. On the 8th of May, orders were received for the encampment of the regiment. Henry A. DeWitt was detailed to act as engineer, and, under his direction, the camp was finely located in a beautiful spot, in the north-eastern suburb of the capital .* Here the regiment spent the time in the ordinary routine of camp life, and in perfecting itself in everything pertaining to the duties of a good soldier.
The wide reputation secured by the First regiment with the authorities at Washington, and throughout the surrounding country, as a model in disci- pline and deportment, reflected honor upon the state. The evening services at dress parades, conducted by the chaplain, were highly impressive, and were
* Which received the name of Camp Sprague, in honor of His Excellency, the governor of the state.
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frequently attended by President Lincoln and his family, cabinet officers, mem- bers of the diplomatic corps, representatives and senators in Congress, and other distinguished persons. The confidence and love of the men under Colonel Burn- side's command, for their gallant leader, knew no bounds. In the admirable narrative of the campaign of the First Rhode Island regiment, by the Reverend Augustus Woodbury, chaplain of the regiment, the author says on this point: "We read in the story of the Psalmist, King of Israel, that the love of Jonathan for David, 'was wonderful, passing the love of women.' I knew not the meaning of the passage, till I perceived the devotion which Colonel Burnside, by the manliness of his life, attracted from every man under his command."
On Thursday, May 23d, the quiet of the camp was somewhat disturbed by an order for the men to hold themselves in readiness to march. Twenty- five rounds of ammunition were distributed, and excitement was at its highest point. The hopes of the regiment, that the day had at last come when they would be allowed to move, were however doomed to disappointment, for the morning of the .24th broke, and brought the intelligence that twelve regi- ments had been thrown across the Potomac during the night, and that the services of the First Rhode Island had not been required. The Saturday following, which was the day of the funeral of Colonel Ellsworth, the men thought that they were to be certainly called into action. An alarm of an engagement progressing on the Virginia side of the Potomac was raised, and the regiment was instantly in line, and ready to march on the moment of receiving orders. The alarm proved to be without foundation, and the men were obliged to disperse to their quarters, without enjoying the opportunity they had so long coveted. But a few weeks passed however, before the desire of the men to march was abundantly satisfied. On the 10th of June, the regiment was ordered to take part in an expedition towards Harper's Ferry, to join other forces under General Patterson, for the purpose of dislodging the rebels under General Johnston, then holding that place. The regiment advanced as far as Williamsport, Maryland, but the evacuation, of Harper's Ferry by the rebel forces, rendered the further prosecution of the campaign unnecessary. From Williamsport on the 15th, the First regiment made their celebrated march of thirty-three miles, passing through Hagerstown, and encamping at night in the suburbs of Frederick City. The next day, they were en route for Washington, and were soon again established at Camp Sprague.
It is almost unnecessary to speak of the high esteem which the First regiment won for itself in the minds of the people in Washington, during its
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sojourn in the environs of the city of Washington. Their camp was daily visited by numbers, who spoke in the highest terms of the appearance of the men. The cleanliness of the camp, its sanitary condition, and the gentle- manly demeanor and soldierly qualities displayed by the men, were the admiration of all. As the time for the expiration of the term of service for which the regiment was enlisted drew near, preparations began to be thought of for the reception of the regiment at home. As yet, the men had been unable to serve their country in the battle-field. Few thought they would have an opportunity. But man is not the disposer of human events, and, although the time had almost arrived when they would be free to return to their homes, the First regiment was destined, before its return, to be tried in the fiery ordeal of one of the fiereest conflicts that at that time had ever been waged upon this continent. How nobly the Rhode Island troops secured to their state the reputation of her sons for bravery and fortitude on the day of battle, is a matter of history.
The rebels had been gradually accumulating their troops at Manassas. and were threatening the capital of the nation. At the same time, Union forces had been collected in and around Washington, and towards the middle of July, an aggressive movement on the part of the government was inaugu- rated. On the 16th, the army, consisting of thirty-five thousand men, with eleven batteries of artillery and four companies of cavalry, began to move.
At one o'clock in the afternoon the First regiment left Camp Sprague, and with faces towards the enemy, commenced the march for the front. They encamped at Annandale for the night, and the next morning found them driving the enemy from Fairfax, at which place they encamped until the next day. On Thursday, July 17th, the regiment proceeded to Centre- ville, where they remained until Sunday morning, when the whole army advanced on Bull Run. Colonel Burnside having been assigned to the com- mand of a brigade, and Lieutenant-Colonel Pitman being absent on detached duty, the command of the First Regiment devolved upon Major Balch, who led the regiment gallantly into action. Both Major Balch and Major Goddard were complimented very highly by Colonel Burnside, in his official report to General Scott.
The Second Rhode Island regiment was the first to engage the enemy. The bravery with which they fought for nearly half an hour, without support, in this disastrous battle; is well known to all. Colonel Hunter was wounded early in the conflict, and, as he retired from the field, he left the
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command of the division temporarily to Colonel Burnside, who immediately ordered the remainder of his brigade to the support of the gallant Second. The First regiment was now brought into the contest, and when the battle raged the most furiously, there its flag was seen waving triumphantly For two hours the men fought with the steadiness of veterans, when the rebels retreated, and the brigade was ordered to fall back into the woods, and replenish its exhausted ammunition. Victory had crowned their arms, and at this time, the regiment had not dreamed of defeat. They had rested but a short time in the woods, when a confused mass of ammunition-wagons and parts of different regiments came pouring through their ranks. The retreat had begun which ended in a complete rout. Still the Rhode Island regiments kept well together, and fell back in good order, aiding in covering the retreat, until they reached the Cub Run Bridge, when they became disorganized. They went into camp at Centreville, and were afterwards ordered to retreat to Washington.
The First regiment had received its first and only trial on the field of battle. It had not been found wanting. No man had turned his back upon the enemy in action, and it was only after their temporary victory, and when the rest of the army was flying towards the capital, that their faces were turned towards Washington.
In the perils of this battle Governor Sprague shared, joining himself to the regiment as a volunteer, and rendering himself conspicuous on the field. Chaplain Augustus Woodbury, besides performing the duties of his sacred office, proved himself fearless in the face of the foe, acting as aide-de-camp to Colonel Burnside during the day, and rendering efficient service. Reverend Thomas Quinn, the Catholic assistant chaplain, was there encouraging the troops by his presence and words. The heroic christian soldier, Lieutenant Henry A. Prescott, fell while leading on his men. Doctors Rivers and Harris rendered most efficient service among the wounded.
The First regiment remained in Washington, until the city was considered out of danger from any attack of the rebels, and then on the night of the 25th of July, it broke camp and started for home. The regiment arrived in Provi- dence on Sunday morning, the 28th, where it was received with outbursts of applause, and a welcome that showed how deeply its services had been appre- ciated. The men were escorted to Railroad Hall, where they were addressed by Lieutenant-Governor Samuel G. Arnold and Bishop Clark, and an abundant collation provided. A few days later, the regiment was mustered out of the service.
JOHN S. SLOCUM.
OHN S. SLOCUM, whose gallantry in the service of the United States, attested in two wars, and crowned by a glorious death in Virginia, was born in the town of Richmond, Rhode Island, on the Ist of November, 1824. Not long after his birth his family removed to Bristol where John spent most of his earlier life, receiving his education at the schools of the place, and subsequently at the Fruit Hill and Marlborough classical schools, and at a commercial academy in Hartford. His mind was active, and he learned more than books. To manage a boat, to handle fire-arms, and to perform all the evolutions of the manual, were part of his self acquired educa- tion. During the Dorr war,-one of those earlier manifestations of that destructive spirit which now seeks the utter annihilation of our common- wealth,-young Slocum rallied, as he ever did through life, to the cause of the government. As a member of the National Cadets, he felt greater obliga- tions to render himself in faet, as in name, a citizen soldier. His inclination for the career of arms was decided, and he but needed a field to achieve fame and render his country service.
When the Mexicans sought to cheek the advance of the Americans, on their territory along the Rio Grande, and war began, Slocum hastened to Washington, and without friends, influence, or position, by his own exertions at the door of the presidential mansion, made his way to the presence of the chief magistrate of the Union, and by his honest, manly offers of service, obtained what he alone desired,-a commission in the army. An act of Congress, passed on the 11th of February, 1847, authorized the raising of ten additional regiments of regular infantry, and in the first of these, the ninth
16
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on the army lists, Slocum was appointed first lieutenant on the 18th, a week after the passage of the act. His captain was Joseph S. Pitman; the colonel, almost from its organization, was Truman B. Ransom, who left the classic halls of Norwich University, of which he was president, to fight the battles of his country ; while the major was Thomas H. Seymour, since governor of Connecticut, a personal friend of Slocum, and the one from whom perhaps more than any other he acquired his military tastes. The new regiment was soon raised, organized, and fitted for service. Its destination was the army of General Scott in Mexico, which it reached in time to share in the series of glorious victories that attended the American arms. At the battle of Con- treras, on the 19th of August, 1847, the ninth was one of the regiments ordered to attack the front of the enemy's works; and in consequence of an accident to General Pierce, Colonel Ransom commanded the force which received the enemy's fire, while Brigadier-General Smith assailed their rear. At the moment agreed, Ransom pushed on with General Shields, each on a different side. They routed a superior force of Mexicans opposed to them, Ransom in twenty minutes dislodging them from a village where they were strongly posted and covered. In the brilliant actions of that and the follow- ing day, Lieutenant Slocum was eminent even amid the gallant men around; and his name is one of those to whose activity the success was attributed by the commanding officers. This gallant and meritorious conduet won him the brevet rank of captain.
At Chepultepec, Ransom, leading the storming party up the heights in the face of a perfect sheet of fire, fell at the head of his gallant regiment, in which Lieutenant Slocum, since the promotion of his captain, commanded the company, and shared in all the glory of the day. They drove the enemy from his exterior intrenchments and positions, and held the counterscarp under the heaviest fire. The ninth, led by Seymour on Ransom's fall, scaled the parapet, entered the citadel, and struck the Mexican flag from the walls. The coolness and bravery of Slocum on that terrible day won him the com- mission of captain, but his well earned rank was of short duration. The victories of the American arms extorted peace, and with peace came the reduction of the army to its former scale. The ninth was disbanded, and Captain Slocum again returned to private life. As an officer, he had endeared himself to his men not only by his skill and bravery,-qualities which always command the soldier's admiration,-but by his singular attention to their wants. The drooping soldier on the march was often relieved of his musket
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by Lieutenant Slocum; the soldier almost perishing with thirst, who lay down in despair, was restored and refreshed by a draught held to his lips by his lieutenant, who ventured through all hazards to get it.
After the battle of Chepultepec he returned to the United States, having been detailed to the recruiting service, which was his last duty as an officer of the army.
The experience which he had acquired was appreciated in his native state, and several corps of militia desired to avail themselves of his able direction, but it was only by repeated urging that he took command of the Mechanic Rifles.
In 1860, he was one of the examining board at West Point, and as secretary, made the report of the visitors. When the rebellion began, he was deeply pained, and too grieved in heart at the prospect before him to rush madly forward. He had seen war in its reality. In arms he would meet as foes the men beside whom he had fought and bled for the glorious cause of their common country. Yet, when Colonel Burnside and Lieutenant- Colonel Pitman offered themselves to the governor of Rhode Island, that noble patriot despatched a messenger, late in the night, to ask Slocum to call upon him. A commission of major in the first Rhode Island was offered and accepted without a moment's hesitation. On the 20th of April, the regiment marched to the relief of the threatened capital. As in the Mexican war, Major Slocum won the affection of his men, and by his skill and experience aided to make them effective soldiers.
Under the first call of the President of the United States for troops to serve three years, or during the war, a second regiment was required. from Rhode Island. Governor Sprague at once gave the coloneley to Major Slocum, and authorized him to raise the regiment. He immediately returned to Rhode Island, set to work with great promptitude, and in a very brief period recruited his regiment, saw it equipped, and, with the aid of Colonel Blanding and Captain Steere, drilled to a degree of efficiency seldom acquired by a volunteer force in so brief a period. To add to the comfort of his men, a thousand India rubber blankets were presented to them by the firm of A. & W. Sprague. Many other tokens of interest and regard were also received by officers and men, and the citizens of Lonsdale made a liberal donation to the hospital department. An elegant stand of colors was pre- sented to the regiment by the ladies of Providence, through Colonel Jabez C. Knight.
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The regiment struck their tents at two o'clock, P. M., June 19th, 1861, marched to Exchange Place, in Providence, where, in the presence of a large crowd of spectators, a short and spirited address was delivered by the Right Reverend Thomas M. Clark, Bishop of Rhode Island, who also invoked the Divine blessing. Resuming their march to Fox Point, they embarked on board the steamer State of Maine for New York ; the battery, under Captain William HI. Reynolds, acccompanying the regiment, on board the steamer Kill von Kull. The regiment was accompanied by Governor Sprague, Seere- tary Bartlett, and Bishop Clark. At Jersey City they took the cars for Washington, where they were warmly received, and encamped in Gales's woods, near Camp Sprague, where the first Rhode Island regiment was encamped.
On the 25th of June, the first and second Rhode Island regiments, with their batteries, paid their respeets to President Lincoln, by whom they were reviewed. While in camp the regiment was brigaded with the first Rhode Island, the second New Hampshire, the seventy-first New York, and Captain Reynolds's battery, and the brigade placed in the command of Colonel Burnside and assigned to the division of General Hunter. On the afternoon of the 15th of July Colonel Slocum left Washington with his regiment, and at night encamped with the rest of General Burnside's brigade, at Annandale, proceeding next day to Fairfax Court House, where they encamped.
After occupying Centreville till the famous Sunday, July 21st, the whole army moved on towards the strong position occupied by the enemy, beyond the deep ravine, through which the small river known as Bull Run held its course. The second Rhode Island regiment, under Colonel Slocum, led the advance of the division which crossed Cub Run and reached Bull Run at , Sudley's Ford on the extreme left of the enemy's line. From the heights the rebels could be seen moving rapidly forward, and, after a short rest, Colonel Slocum was ordered to throw out skirmishers upon the flanks and in front. These soon engaged the enemy, and Slocum bravely led on his regi- ment through the woods to the open ground, opening the terrible battle of Bull Run. Their steady advance was met by General Evans, but the enemy soon gave way under the steady, resolute charges of Colonel Slocum. But in the moment of his triumph, he fell mortally wounded, his dying eye cheered with the hope of victory, and his mind clouded by no foreboding of the disaster that ensued. Well had he done his part, the gallant leader of a gallant corps!
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In this battle the second regiment lost twenty-eight men killed, fifty-six wounded and thirty missing. Besides their colonel, the regiment lost Major Ballou, and Captains Levi A. Tower and S. James Smith. Doctor James Harris, surgeon of the regiment, was unceasing in the performance of his professional duties through the day, often exposed to danger in the field, and always having words of cheer for the wounded and dying. After the retreat commenced, he gave himself up a prisoner rather than be separated from those who required his attention. The death of the brave Slocum left the regiment in the command of Captain Frank Wheaton, of the United States army, then acting lieutenant-colonel, to the colonelcy of which he was subsequently promoted.
An incident which happened in this battle, is deserving a place here. While the second regiment was at the foot of the hill the standard bearer, a timid German youth, got behind a tree to shield himself from the shot of the enemy. The officers ordered him to advance to the brow of the hill where the colors could be seen. The trembling lad was so overcome with fear, or from some other cause, that he did not obey the order. At this moment Cornelius G. Pierce of Bristol, of Company G, stepped from the ranks, seized the standard and bore it to the top of the hill, waving it defiantly in front of the enemy, where showers of shell and bullets were flying about him. But the hero, enveloped in smoke, stood firm and defiant, waving his standard. The German, witnessing the bravery of this young man, now recovered from his fear and begged the privilege of resuming his deserted post .*
In his official report, Colonel Burnside thus speaks of the brave and gallant Colonel : "The death of Colonel Slocum is a loss, not alone to his own state, which mourns the death of a most gallant and meritorious officer, who would have done credit to the service, while his prominent abilities as a soldier would have raised him high in the public estimation. He had served with me as major of the first regiment of Rhode Island volunteers, and when he was transferred to a more responsible position, I was glad that his services had been thus secured for the benefit of his country." His monument will proudly bear the words : Contreras, Churubusco, Chepultepec, Sudley Ford.
* From the Boston Post and Fall River News.
LEVI TOWER.
APTAIN LEVI TOWER, only son of Captain John C. and Sarah G. Tower, and grandson of the late Colonel Levi Tower, of Newport, Rhode Island, was born in the village of Blackstone, town of Mendon, Massa- chusetts, August 18th, 1835, where his parents temporarily sojourned during their absence from Pawtucket, North Providence, Rhode Island. In 1843, when their son was eight years old, his parents returned to Pawtucket, where they still reside. In infancy he was given to God in baptism in St. Paul's church, of which his father and mother were members. He was a son of vows, and was accordingly trained up. As soon as he was old enough, he was sent to Sunday-school, which he constantly and punctually attended for several years. On the Lord's Day he was always in his place at church. His religious education was faithfully attended to, and nothing was left undone that parental love could do. At an early age, he displayed more than ordi- nary intellectual abilities, and no means were left unemployed to improve them. He attended for several years the public school in the district in which he lived, and received the instruction of competent teachers. At a later period of life, he went through a thorough course of classical training under Messrs. Frieze and Lyon, in the University Grammar School in the city of Providence. In due time he entered Brown University, which he was sub- sequently compelled to leave in consequence of ill health. He then turned his attention to one department of practical mechanics, in which he made commendable proficiency. He next became clerk to Jacob Dunnell, Esq., owner of an extensive calico printing establishment in Pawtucket, Massachu- setts, where, by his faithfulness and devotion to business, he won the confi-
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dence of his employer, and by his gentlemanly deportment gained the strong and almost parental affection of him and his family. Captain Tower was one of the original members of the Pawtucket Light Guard. He entered the company as a private, and rose rapidly from one gradation to another to a captaincy. Whatever he undertook, he did with all his might. He could not and would not remain stationary. His aim was always- Higher ! and he pressed onward and upward, and stopped not till he reached it. This was true of him from childhood to manhood. The boy was father of the man.
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