USA > Vermont > A history of the Tenth Regiment, Vermont Volunteers, with biographical sketches of the officers who fell in battle. And a complete roster of all the officers and men connected with it--showing all changes by promotion, death or resignation, during the military existence of the regiment > Part 15
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On the breaking ont of the rebellion, and the issue of the President's call for seventy-five thousand men in 1861, Mr. Read enlisted for three months as private in the Howard Guards. This was the first company
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raised in Burlington, and formed a part of the First Regiment of Ver- mont Volunteers. On the ninth of May he left with his companions for the front, and served in faithfulness his full term of service. Being present at the battle of Big Bethel, which occurred June tenth, he barely escaped with his life, a round shot from the enemy's batteries shivering a tree just above his head. On the retreat of our men, which followed the same battle, he (beyond all reasonable doubt) saved a fellow soldier from falling into the hands of the Confederate cavalry. Herman Seligan, then a private, but now Captain of Company C, of the Ninth Vermont Regiment, became greatly fatigued, and fell by the wayside. Mr. Read took the gun, haversack, and other equipments of his exhausted companion, and carried them, in addition to his own, through to Fortress Monroe. In thus reliev- ing his brother in arms, he animated him with hope and courage by which he was enabled to pass on to the Fortress, which they safely reached in company late at night.
After the close of his three months' service, Mr. Read returned home and remained there until the President's second call for three hundred thousand men. At this crisis he felt constrained again to volunteer in defence of his country. Accordingly, July thirty-first, 1862, he re-enlisted as a private soldier for three years, and on the first of the following Sep- tember he was mustered into the United States service, in Company D, of the Tenth Vermont Regiment. Having been appointed Sergeant at once, on the organization of his company, he served for some time in this capacity. He also, for a while, performed the duties of First Sergeant. To Captain Darrah, who then commanded Company D, he was of great assistance by his performance of a variety of clerical labors, in addition to the appropriate services of his position as Sergeant. During the summer of 1863, he was detailed for duty as Clerk in the Adjutant-General's office, at the Headquarters of the Division. On assuming this position, he soon became conspicuous to a very unusual degree, considering the opportunities which his subordinate grade afforded, in the management of all matters pertaining to the office. He directed the labors of some five or six clerks who were under him, and had the sole charge and supervision, as well of the entire routine duties of the office, as frequently of important special duties, and of all its books and records. The latter were kept, under his direction, in so elegant and elaborate a manner as to elicit the admiration and praise of all who saw them.
Indeed, while he was at Division Headquarters, his labors in these particulars were looked upon as almost invaluable. And these were not all the services which he performed. Both in the field, along the march, and on the line of battle, he usually noted the position of the troops, the face of the country, and whatever he thought deserving of record. This he had learned to do when out with General Pope. Accordingly, in making out their reports, the officers often resorted to his notes and usually placed implicit reliance upon them. In fact, his minutes and observations were regarded and appealed to, as authority, not only
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throughout his regiment, but also at the Brigade and Division Headquar- ters. While in the performance of these various services, he, of course, became well acquainted with Brigadier-General Carr, and also with Brigadier-General Rieketts, who succeeded the former in the command of the division. It is said that these commanders made constant use of Mr. Read's acquirements. By them he was also frequently spoken of as qual- ified for any staff-duty. Both of these Generals, as I am informed, and other officers of rank, had a high appreciation of his industry and ability, as well as of his fine social qualities. Indeed, it is said that General Ricketts of his own accord promised that he should have an appointment as Aid on his staff, on the next occurrence of a vacancy.
He thus served, and continued to act, faithfully as a non-commissioned officer until he entered upon the duties of Second Lieutenant, in Company D, of the Tenth Vermont Volunteers. He was mustered in, August tenth, 1864, his commission bearing date June seventeenth of the same year. This advancement, though coming, in the opinion of most of his friends, very late, was by them all regarded as well deserved. No sooner was he promoted to the Lieutenancy than he was, at his own request, relieved from his arduous duties at headquarters, that he might rejoin his regiment. In his new position of line officer he showed the same capacity and the same power of adaptation, that he had previously exhibited under other relations. But it was now in a higher sphere. From this time forward he displayed fine ability, not only in the discharge of the ordinary duties of the grade he sustained in his own company, but also in taking upon himself at different times the combined charge and responsibility of various companies when the regiment had become reduced in the comple- ment of its line officers by the casualties of the service. His industry and zeal in the performance of all these labors, his knowledge of military affairs, as well as his courage and coolness in action, were remarkable, and probably unequaled by any other member of the regiment to which he belonged. December nineteenth, 1864, another commission was issued in his favor. By virtue of it, he was duly promoted to the First Lieutenancy in Company E, of the same regiment, on the sixth of February, 1865. This renewed recognition of his merits, like his preceding advancement, was generally regarded as faithfully earned and richly deserved.
Adjutant Lyman having been wounded at Cedar Creek, October nine- teenth, Lieutenant Read was detailed on the same day to act in his place. On the subsequent promotion of Adjutant Lyman to the Majorate, the subject of this notice was mustered in as Adjutant, February twenty- fourth, 1865, his commission bearing the date of the second of the preced- ing month. As thus promoted he entered afresh upon the labors of the Adjutancy, and engaged in them with all the alacrity and vigor for which he was distinguished. It is hardly too much to say that he met the respon- sibilities of his new position with tireless energy and unfailing skill, con- ducting all its wearisome and fatiguing details with comparative ease and, according to the testimony of his predecessor, dispatching more work
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during the six weeks he held this grade, than is ordinarily done in as many months.
Having thus noticed the more prominent points in Adjutant Read's military career, it may be well to refer briefly to the main actions in which he figured. During his service in the army, and subsequent to the fight at Big Bethel, with which he had to do, he was in many different con- flicts. Indeed, he was present at, or in some wise connected with, most of the battles in which his regiment was engaged; and it is said that in every instance he evinced a prudence, skill, and valor becoming the posi- tion he occupied.
He had some part in the spirited encounter at Kelly's Ford, November seventh, 1863, when the Confederate rifle-pits, eighty prisoners, and six hundred Enfield rifles, were taken. November eighth found him in the skirmishing which came off at Brandy Station, on the south side of the Rappahannock. On the twenty-seventh of November he was at Locust Grove, and participated actively in the severe fighting which then and there prevailed, securing the repulse of the enemy. He was also present at the battle of Mine Run, November eighteenth, his division acting as a support to the Fifth Corps.
On the opening of the spring compaign, in 1864, he was as usual at his post. From the diary which he kept while at headquarters, and in which he noted all the more important movements of the division to which he belonged, it is evident that he was in the various battles of the Wilder- ness in which his division was engaged, from May fifth to the eleventh, inclusive; that he was also in those of Spottsylvania, during the succeed- ing nine days up to the twenty-first; that he was likewise in the skirmish at Tolopotomy Creek, sometimes known as that of Gaines's Mills, May thirtieth and thirty-first; as well as in the severe fighting and amidst the dreadful carnage which occurred at Cold Harbor, from the first to the twelfth of June.
We next find him, pencil in hand, exposed to the severe shelling which occurred at Bermuda Hundreds, June nineteenth ; and again on the twenty- second and twenty-third of the same month, in the hard fighting and under the scathing fire before Petersburg. July ninth he was in the cou- flict which took place, and the rebuff which was experienced, on the Monocacy. In the brilliant engagement which came off September nine- teenth, and is commonly known as the battle of Opequan, at Winchester, he appeared in the new capacity of a Lieutenant. On this occasion he had charge of a skirmish line, performing a very hazardous and important service. A bullet struck his sword and glanced off; thus his life was saved. On the twenty-second of the same month he was present at, and took an active part in, the memorable fight at Fisher's Hill.
In the battle of Cedar Creek, which occurred October nineteenthi, Lieu- tenant Read had charge of the color company. His command being at first repulsed, and forced to withdraw, he endeavored to preserve the line unbroken, and was the rearmost man in retiring. While thus fearlessly
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engaged in securing an orderly retreat, he was also, as usual, busily occupied, compass in hand, observing the various movements, and taking note of what was passing. Seeing his men moving hastily from the battle ground in his advance, and himself likely to be left in the rear, sketching an outline of the battle, he said, as the bullets were whizzing by : "Be cool, boys; don't hurry; it's no time for haste ; I'm going fast enough." As he was afterwards advancing, a spent bullet hit the calf of his leg and bruised it considerably. Upon this he exclaimed : "I'm hit, boys, but it isn't much ; let us on." Although suffering not a little pain, he refused to leave the field, and continued with his men through the day. During the following winter he was absent a few weeks on leave. He then visited his home, sought recreation in social pleasures, had early recollections- revived, and enjoyed many pleasant chats with old friends and associates. Soon, however, he was back again with his regiment, which was at that time lying before Petersburg, in the vicinity of Warren Station. He wished to be with his companions, engaged in getting ready for the approaching compaign.
Shortly after this, and while the troops were still in camp, the writer of this memorial met Adjutant Read for the first time since the beginning of the war. During the few weeks that followed, before active operations commenced, he had several interesting interviews with Mr. Read, who spoke of by-gone days, of experiences in the army, and of his present duties and studies.
But anon the campaign opened in earnest-and it was more than a month carlier than that of the preceding spring- and this brings us to the closing scenes in the life of Adjutant Read. After the fighting of March twenty-fifth, it was decided that there should be an early effort to break the rebel lines. This was to be made, in part, by Brigadier-General Sey- mour's division of the Sixth Corps. With this end in view, a movement was initiated on the night of April first, and brought during the following day to a glorious issne, in which the Tenth Vermont largely participated. The troops moved out a little before midnight, and formed in front of Fort Welch, which lies to the southwest of Petersburg, and on the left of Fort Fisher. At about four o'clock on the morning of the second, they made their first charge and were successful. They advanced, both officers and men being on foot, athwart dense abatis, through the mud and water of deep trenches, over immense earthworks, and made themselves masters of a redonbt which had formed part of the rebel line in their front Then, wheeling to the left, they took another redoubt, and still another. It was between seven and eight o'clock in the morning- after the capture of the third work, and in the vigorous attempt made to hold it- that the Adju- tant fell, struck in the heel by a ball which passed through his right foot. Upon the reception of this wound he was immediately placed in a log- cabin which chanced to stand near by. Our men being soon compelled to fall back for a season, the rebels entered the cabin, seized the Adjutant, rifled his pockets of his money, watch and the like, and took from him his
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sword and belt, "but otherwise," as he said afterwards, "treated him well enough." At the loss of his sword he felt, and subsequently expressed, especial regret, as it bore the marks of a bullet by which it was indented in the fight at Winchester. Our forces again advancing, he was retaken, the Confederates not having time to remove him; and thenee he was con- veyed in an ambulance to the division hospital, where he suffered the loss of his foot by amputation just above the ankle joint.
The assault made on the morning of the second required in all, and especially in the officers, great energy and coolness, no less than real bravery and firm persisteney of effort. It was well known to the men generally, that the Confederate works were on well-chosen ground, of elaborate construction, and of vast strength. It was also supposed that they could never be taken without immense effusion of blood and great sacrifice of life. Then, again, it was the trial time long looked forward to with hope, and constantly kept in view with ever growing interest, as the gigantic preparations had been steadily pushed forward with unabating zeal. It was, so to speak, the pivot on which, if all went right, the sue- cessful issue of the war seemed about to turn. Under these circumstances it is no wonder that the men were burdened with anxiety, and that they marched out full of trembling solicitude. and with hesitating steps. So it is not a matter for surprise that the officers felt that a double burden rested upon themselves. But the Adjutant, as was the case with many others, seemed to rise with the emergeney and to be equal to it. Making ready for the exigencies of the occasion, he was most assiduous in his own special field duty. He exerted himself more, as many have remarked, and showed far greater efficiency than usual in bearing dispatches, in rallying the faint-hearted, and urging all onward to victory. And in the entire action, as I am informed, he united dash with his characteristic coolness and steadiness, falling at the extreme front, at the most critical moment of the day, disabled by a wound, from the effects of which he afterwards died.
And here it may be proper to refer to the feelings which the Adjutant experienced in view of the loss of his foot, and of the results of the vic- tory won. They will be best expressed in his own words, taken from a letter, probably his last, which was written on Monday, April third, while he was in the hospital near Warren Station. The letter was found in his pocket-book, which, with his other effects, was sent home after his death. He wrote substantially as follows: "Dearest Father and Mother : We had a glorious day yesterday ; captured thousands and thousands of prisoners. We charged and took the strong lines of the enemy, on which he depended to hold Petersburg, and we took all his artillery. It was a second Fisher's Hill, only far more glorious and important a victory." Again, sending a message to his sister, he says in the same missive, "Give her my dearest love, and tell her that yesterday's work fully pays us all for what we have lost. I can give my foot in such a cause with a good will."
The writer having returned from the front to Warren Station early
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Monday morning, saw the Adjutant six or eight times during the day, and endeavored to do all in his power to make him comfortable and alleviate his suffering, which at times was intense. His loss of blood had been small. Most of the preceding night he was able to sleep. His stump was not swollen and seemed to be doing well. All things considered, he appeared to be in an unnsually good condition. It should, however. be added that he had been previously somewhat weakened by a severe affec- tion of the bowels, and was still suffering considerably from it. On his being taken to the cars there was a delay of several hours, which, with his subsequent ride, no doubt increased his weakness. He was furnished with a good supply of coffee and food. His lassitude being observed, a stimulating drink was also prepared for him, which he was indisposed to take. As the writer was unable in person to accompany the Adjutant on the train, on account of the great number of wounded men constantly arriving, he secured the services of the best man he could find. who agreed to look after him carefully by the way, to see him safe in the General Hospital at the Base, and report when the cars returned next morning.
A visit being made to City Point on Wednesday, April fifth, the Adju- tant was at once looked up, and found to be in a more critical condition. According to the Surgeon-in-Chief, his system had never experienced a full reaction, and thus had failed to recover its tone since the amputation. Appearances seemed to indicate that there had been adequate nursing, and all due exercise of medical skill. During the afternoon and evening the writer was in to see the Adjutant four or five times, and did all he could to make him comfortable, not supposing for a moment that he would reach his earthly end for days, or even for several weeks. Under these circumstances it is more easy to imagine than to express the surprise he experienced on going into the hospital the next morning, and learning that at twelve o'clock the preceding night, which was that of April fifth, Adjutant Read breathed his last. His body was embalmed and sent to Burlington. It arrived there safely in a good state of preservation on Tuesday, April eleventh. The funeral took place on the afternoon of Friday, the fourteenth, -an eventful day, and not soon to be forgotten by the family of the deceased or by the people of the United States. Yes, even in the annals of our country, it will long stand memorable at once for the restoration of the Union flag to Fort Sumter, and for the awful tragedy enacted at Washington, which deprived the nation of its honored dead. On this red-lettered day in connection with appropriate exercises, the remains of Adjutant Read were duly deposited in the family burial place, by the side of those of a departed brother and sister, amid the tears of his dearest surviving friends and the silent tokens of the sympathy and heartfelt sorrow of the citizens of his adopted town.
Thus Adjutant Read has passed away, his removal adding another to the large number of sad casualties connected with the closing scenes of the great rebellion. And in view of the event this hasty memorial has been
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prepared, the aim being neither to praise nor to blame, but to weave together the more prominent incidents of his life, and to give as correct a transcript as possible of the estimate. in which he was held by his com- panions in arms. That he had faults and deficiencies none would be disposed to deny ; that he also possessed marked excellences, both natural and acquired, all are ready to acknowledge. As to the general correctness of his religious opinions and sentiments no one acquainted with his early training, who ever talked with him on divine realities, need have a doubt. Respecting his personal experience in relation to God and eternity, the conversation had with him was while he was in pain, and the data furnished are too inadequate to authorize much definiteness of state- ment. Of his character and general bearing, his regiment speak with uniform commendation.
In his early departure we accordingly have occasion for unfeigned grief. A young man is cut down who is deeply mourned by surviving compatriots who have known him at home, by the fireside, in the camp and on the battlefield. That he was beloved in the army, no one need have better assurance than the writer. It was his fortune to bear the tidings of the Adjutant's untimely death to many of his regiment, thus to witness the deep emotion they evinced, and to gather evidence of the strong attachment which bound them to the departed. Indeed, one has been taken who could ill be spared ; one whose powers of observation were superior, whose coolness and intrepidity are not often surpassed, and who was regarded as by far the best office man in the regiment. When the news of his death came there was a general feeling that in the latter par- ticular no one left could make good his place. His true position, as his friends have well observed, was that of a staff officer. For this he was fitted by his native bent and by long training ; he was exact and had an aptness for the investigation of minutiæ ; while his working capacity was of a marked kind. With more than ordinary insight into principles, and the clear foresight which pertains to their distinct apprehension, he united a remarkable accuracy in particulars, and a willingness to delve in the investigation of those minor details which is often very irksome to other- wise superior minds. This union in him of these two opposite tendencies kept his mind clear and free from confusion. In fact few persons of as high intellectual power are so ready as was he to undergo the drudgery of the Adjutant's Office, and few succeed so well in the fulfilment of its duties. More than this, however, it should be borne in mind that the vicissitudes of war have taken from us a man of fine social qualities, of refined literary taste, and for one so young, of high scholarly attainments. Of these latter points no more can now be said for lack of time and of materials necessary to an adequate estimate.
But last though not least, in the death of the departed the army has experienced the loss of a skillful tactician and an intrepid soldier. He was more than ordinarily well read in the science of war, and able to bring his knowledge to bear with practical efficiency. Says a companion in
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arms : "Taken all in all, Adjutant Read was a brave and ethicient officer. filling every position to which he was assigned, with fidelity, credit and skill." But not merely as an officer was he deserving of praise ; he was equally, perhaps more, conversant with the duties and trials of the private soldier. Through the larger portion of his army experience he was with- out a commission. Thus, during the progress of the war he saw much active and hard service, and under a variety of circumstances. Like every other true man in the field he was exposed to many and frequent dangers ; but for the most part he was remarkably fortunate ; although his garments were occasionally rent by flying missiles which carry ruin in their train. he almost entirely escaped harm and remained without a scar.
Finally, however, he received the fatal stroke which has forever removed him from our mortal sight. Although he passed through many dangers unscathed, he has at last fallen. He is now eut down in his early prime, and just as a triumphant people is preparing to enjoy the fruits of a dearly bought and long wished peace. And as we think of his premature death, sorrow surges in our souls. Indeed, how ean it well be otherwise ? In his departure, we-his kindred and acquaintances generally-experience the loss of a genial companion ; one who to good native ability added rare industry, fine culture and a high promise, accompanied by an assurance of hope that if his life were spared he would prove an honor to his friends, an adornment to his country, and render important aid to his day and generation. Yes, he is gone, offered as a sacrifice on the altar of his country ; but, though he be gone, he yet lives-his memory is freshly embalmed, is warmly cherished, and will long continue to flourish-in tho hearts of many surviving friends.
APPENDIX.
ROLL AND ROSTER OF THE TENTH REGIMENT VERMONT VOLUNTEERS,
MUSTERED INTO THE U. S. SERVICE SEPT. 1, 1862.
OFFICERS.
COLONELS.
Albert B. Jewett. Resigned April 25, 1864.
William W. Henry. Major Ang. 26, 1862. Lieut. Col. Oct. 17, 1862. Wounded June 1st, 1864. Resigned Dec. 17, 1864. Brevet Brig. Gen. March 7, 1865.
George B. Damon. Capt. Co. G, Aug. 12, 1862. Brevet Major Oct. 19, 1864, for gallantry at Opequan and Cedar Creek, Va. Major Dec. 19, 1864. Lieut. Col. Jan. 2, 1865. Brevet Col. April 2, 1865, for gallantry before Petersburg, Va. Mustered out of service as Lieut. Col. June 28, 1865.
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