The History of Waukesha County, Wisconsin. Containing an account of its settlement, growth, development and resources; an extensive and minute sketch of its cities, towns and villages etc, Part 80

Author: Western Historical Co., pub
Publication date: 1880
Publisher: Chicago : Western Historical Company
Number of Pages: 1050

USA > Wisconsin > Waukesha County > The History of Waukesha County, Wisconsin. Containing an account of its settlement, growth, development and resources; an extensive and minute sketch of its cities, towns and villages etc > Part 80

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O. H. LA GRANGE, Colonel Commanding.

Any one who knows Col. La Grange, his record in the army and his course at Milwaukee and in Fond du Lac County, during the famous " Booth War," in Antislavery times-knows he was a particularly brave and fearless man ; that he was brave enough to censure even Secretary Stanton when he thought such censure was deserved, and was brave enough to make the above endorsement, when all the facts were in his'possession, before any man's judgment had been warped by the hope of magnificent reward. After the Congressional Committee had begun the investigation of the Fourth Michigan's claim to the entire reward of $100,000 offered for the capture of Jefferson Davis, the following sworn testimony was elicited, and furnishes all the evidence necessary to place the honor for that famous capture where it belongs :

HON. JOSEPH HOLT, Judge Advocate General of the United States:

I have the honor to represent that, in obedience to orders from Col. O. H. La Grange, commanding Second Brigade, First Division of Cavalry, Military Division of the Mississippi, I reported with one battalion of the Firat. Wisconsin Cavalry to Brig. Gen. Croxton, commanding First Division of Cavalry, Military Division of the Missia- sippi, at Macon, Ga., on the 6th day of May, 1865. My orders from Gen. Croxton were verbal-to proceed in search of Jefferson Davis ; to march to Dublin, on the Oconee River; to leave men at the cross-roads at Jeffersonville and also at Dublin ; to proceed with the rest on toward the Savannah River, unless I could get some trace of Jefferson Davia-in that case to pursue and capture him, if possible.

I left Macon with my command at 6 o'clock, P. M., May 6, 1865, marching to Jeffersonville, Twiggs County, where I left Lieut. Hewitt with thirty men. I continued on toward the Oconee River, marching all night and the- next day, arriving at Dublin, Laurens County, about 5 o'clock, P. M., May 7 ; distance from Dublin, fifty-five miles .. The roada were very sandy, and the day immensely hot; men and horses much exhausted. Before reaching Dublin I sent Lieut. Clinton on a side road to Laurel Hill, distant some seventeen miles, with twenty men. I pasaed, during: the day, many men from the rebel Gen. Johnston's army, on their way home. Some of them were mounted and armed. At a place called Thomas' Crossroads, I heard of several hundred of them who were all mounted. They had passed out about an hour before I arrived. They were a part of a brigade of cavalry from Gen. Johnston's army. At Dublin, I camped near the ferry. About 11 o'clock, P. M., Lieut. Clinton arrived with his men. I could get no information whatever from the whites. About 12 o'clock at night, a negro came to me and told me that Jeff- erson Davia, with his wife and family, had passed through the town that day, going south on the " river road." The negro stated that they had eight wagona with them, and that another party had gone down on the other side of the river ; that he heard the lady addressed as Mrs. Davis and one of the gentlemen spoken of as President Davis ; that Mr. Davis did not come across the river at the regular ferry with the balance of the party, but came over on a small flat-boat about three miles lower down the river, and that he was mounted on a fine bay horse ; that he did not come through the town, but only up to the outskirts ; that when the party left he joined, and all went on together. The atory of the negro being so straight, all believed it to be true. I detailed Lieut. Lane, with forty-five men, to remain at Dublin, watch the ferry and picket the crossroads.

May 8, at early dawn, started in pursuit, on the Jacksonville road. At Turkey Creek, I got from a woman information that convinced me that Jeff Davis was certainly with the party that I was pursuing. Here we entered the pine regions. The country was poor and almost uninhabited. I think that, during the day, I saw only two or three men after leaving the vicinity of Dublin. It commenced raining in torrenta, and after a few hours the track of the wagons could no longer be followed. While endeavoring to find the trail again, a citizen came along on horae- back. At first, he professed to know nothing of any party ; but, upon my threatening to impress his horae, he said he had heard of some wagons stopping over night about eleven miles away. This man guided us through the pine wooda, in a westerly direction, about a dozen miles, to the place where the wagon party had stopped the previous night. Discharging the guide, we followed the trail a few miles, when we again lost it. Here I found a new guide, who, for a consideration, showed us through the swamps of the forks of Alligator Creek, over to where the tracks of the wagons could be plainly followed. Continuing on to the crossing of Gum Swamp, and it being after dark, we atopped for the night. We had made about forty miles that day, but, owing to the great rain, it was a hard day'a march.' The men had no rations, except a little corn meal.

May 9, started a little before light, and pressed on through the same wilderness country, to the Ocmulgee River ; thence, down a few miles in a dense swamp, to Thomas' Ferry, where, after some difficulty, we crossed over. An accident to the boat delayed us about two and one-half hours. Here I learned that the wagon party had left at

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1 o'clock that morning, passing on to the little town of Abbeville, which contained only three families. We stopped to feed the horses with corn. Here I ascertained that the wagons had gone in the direction of Irwinsville. Just as we were leaving Abbeville, four Union soldiers appeared. They informed me that they belonged to the Fourth Michigan Cavalry, Lieut. Col. Pritchard commanding, and that he, with his regiment, was advancing on the Haw- kinsville road, not far distant. Believing it to be my duty, as an officer. to communicate to Lieut. Col. Pritchard the information in my possession in regard to Jeff Davis, I sent Lieut. Clinton, in charge of the command, forward on the Irwinsville road, going attended only by an orderly, to meet Lieut. Col. Pritchard. I gave to him all the information in my possession in regard to Jeff Davis. I informed him that Jeff Davis and family had passed that morning in the direction of Irwinsville, and that my command had gone in pursuit ; also that a part of bis train, with an escort, was still on the east side of the river. Lieut. Col. Pritchard informed me that he was out after Jeff Davis, but until then, had heard nothing from him ; and that his orders were to CAMP AT ABBEVILLE, and guard the ferries on the river, offering me at the same time some of his men, if I needed them. I declined the offer as my force was ample; and it was very difficult to get subsistence for men and horses, and neither of our commands had any rations. Parting with Lieut. Col. Pritchard about 2 o'clock P. M., I hastened on and overtook my command about eight or ten miles from Abbeville. We came upon a place where the L'avis party had stopped to feed and rest ; they had left so recently that their fire was still burning. We passed on until after dark, probably about 9 o'clock, when, coming to water. I ordered a halt, giving orders to graze the horses a short time, as we had no corn, and be ready for an early start. At the time I knew that the Davis party was not very far away, and so informed my command; but I supposed we were near the Alapaha River, and that the Davis party had probably crossed over. I had been informed that the ford was difficult, and I did not want to come down to the river in the night for fear of alarming Mr. Davis, and enabling him to escape on horseback under cover of the darkness. We had made this day about forty-five miles. May 10, started at 3 o'clock A. M. : we had marched a mile or so when the advance, under Sergt. Hussey (who was an experienced soldier) was suddenly halted and ordered to dismount. Thinking, of course, he was upon the rebel picket, the sergeant answered, " Friends," at the same time giving the word to his six men to retreat, when a heavy volley was fired upon him and his party. This was quickly followed by the second volley. I called for ten men and dashed ahead to where the volley had been fired, when we were greeted by a third volley, from what I judged to be from twenty to thirty muskets. It was so dark that I could distinguish no one, and only saw at this time the fire from their guns. I then rapidly formed my line, dismounting about one-half of my force.

We then pressed on the enemy ; after one charge, we forced them into a swamp. At this juncture, I saw a line of mounted men near, on my left. Ordering Sergt. Horr, with a small party, to pursue the enemy, who had disappeared in the swamp, I turned, with my whole remaining force, against their mounted men, who I saw greatly outnumbered my own. The firing was continued on both sides with spirit, until Sergt. Horr came running to me, saying that he bad captured a prisoner, and that our opposers were Union troops. I instantly gave orders to stop firing, which was soon followed by a cessation on the part of our opponents. I then rode forward, and the first man I met was Lieut. Col. Pritchard. I asked him how he came to be fighting us. He said that after we had parted at Abbeville, he had selected a portion of his best mounted men and taken another way, and had got to Irwinsville first, and that the wagon train had just been captured, near at band. I inquired of him if Davis was taken ; he said he did not know. He and I then crossed over a narrow strip of swamp, about fifty yards wide, when we found the wagon train and Jeff. Davis and party, guarded by a small force of the Fourth Michigan Cavalry. Ascertaining that the whole party were prisoners, and that my mission was ended, I prepared to return to Macon, where I arrived on the 13th of May, 1865. Of my men, there were wounded, Corp. G. W. Sykes, of Company D, arm badly shat- tered near the shoulder ; Private C. W. Seeley, Company D, wounded in the leg severely : Nelson Apley, Company D, in the shoulder slightly. This affair took place about twenty-five miles from Abbeville, and within one mile of Irwinsville, Irwin Co., Ga. Of the Fourth Michigan Cavalry, two men were killed and one officer badly wounded. I will here say that I had no intimation of the presence of any Union troops nearer than Abbeville, and that I believed all the while that we were fighting with Jeff. Davis' escort. Had we not been waylaid and fired upon by the Fourth Michigan Cavalry, we should, without a doubt, have captured Jeff Davis even sooner than it was effected. For further information, I will refer to my official report, made to Gen. Croxton upon my return to Macon. In view of all the facts, I do, for myself and the officers and men of my command who were with me at the time of the capture, claim a due share of the reward offered by the President for the capture of Jeff Davis.

Respectfully submitted :

HENRY HARNDEN,

Late Lieutenant Colonel First Wisconsin Cavalry.

This statement was sworn to before O. F. Weed, Justice of the Peace of Jefferson County, Wis., December 11, 1865.

Only the following two sworn statements by men of integrity and honor, who knew the facts and which add strength, if possible, to Col. Harnden's deposition, will be given :

STATE OF WISCONSIN, ss.

GREEN LAKE COUNTY,

James J. Aplin, being duly sworn on oath, says, that he was a private in Company K of the First Regiment of Wisconsin Cavalry ; that he acted as Orderly for Lieut. Col. Henry Harnden, and was with him in the pursuit and capture of Jeff Davis; that he heard the conversation between Lieut. Col. Pritchard and Lieut. Col. Harnden, referred to in the statement of the latter ; that he knew of his own knowledge that all the facts set forth in the whole of said statement are true. JAMES J. APLIN.

Subscribed and sworn to before me, this 14th day of December, 1865.

THOMAS C. RYAN, Notary Public.

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HISTORY OF WAUKESHA COUNTY.

STATE OF WISCONSIN,

WAUKESHA COUNTY, SS.

Orson P. Clinton, being duly sworn on oath, says, that he was Second Lieutenant of Company B, First Regiment of Wisconsin Cavalry, and with Lieut. Col. Harnden during the pursuit and capture of Jeff Davis : that he has heard read the foregoing statement made by Lieut. Col. Harnden, and knows the contents thereof; that the same is true of his knowledge (except the conversation referred to with Lieut. Col. Pritchard), which he verily believes to be true. ORSON P. CLINTON.

Subscribed and sworn to before me, this 12th day of December, 1865.

C. G. HEATH, Justice of the Peace, Waukesha County, Wis.

In his detailed testimony, Mr. Clinton made, among others, the following sworn statement : " There was a great deal said as to who was to be blamed for the collision in which the Fourth Michigan lost two men. I did not, neither did I hear any one else blame Col. Harnden ; but all blamed Col. Pritchard. I talked with a number of the men who first fired into us, and they all said they had no instructions as to the probability of our coming up that road. Others said that Col. Harnden had hardly got out of sight on the day before when Col. Pritchard ordered a detail of fifty of his best mounted men and marched rapidly all night on another road until they came in ahead of us on the road we had followed all along, and immediately made arrangements for Davis' capture, colliding with us as above recited.

"I knew nothing of any reward being offered for Mr. Davis' capture, until we were with in a day's march of Macon, on our return."

Mr. Clinton's whole statement, which is lengthy and made under oath, does not differ from Col. Harnden's, Sergt. Maj. Hargrave's or the others. It is not necessary, therefore, to incor- porate more of it. It is proper to add that Pritchard made a sworn deposition also, in which, however, he was careful not to commit himself to any very positive statement of important facts. Lieut. Purinton, who commanded the advance that fired upon Lieut. Hussey and his men, also swore to a document in which the main facts recited by Col. Harnden are corroborated, and in which he unwittingly, no doubt, opens wide the door which shows that Pritchard and his men knew for certain that they were not firing upon Jeff Davis and his party, or any portion of them. He swears that he found the Davis camp; reconnoitered until he found out that the camp had no outposts, and that as it was comprised of teams, tents and wagons, he " knew it was the Davis camp." If he knew it was the Davis camp, then he knew equally well that the men advancing upon Davis' trail were not the Davis party, therefore must be Union soldiers. In his lengthy sworn statement, Pritchard says he thought, perhaps, the advancing squad his men fired upon was not composed of Union soldiers, as he "did not know but what he (Harnden) might have taken some other route" instead of following the Davis trail, which he had been following so closely for days. The italics in this last sentence are Pritchard's. This bears strong marks of being everything but the truth. He knew that Col. Harnden knew of the whereabouts of Davis. In fact, Col. Harnden knew so well of Davis' whereabouts, that he directed Pritchard in such a certain manner that the latter had gone straight to the Davis camp without the arduous labor of following a trail. Pritchard also swears himself into an unen- viable position in another statement. He says he himself, after coming upon the Davis party, took pains to satisfy himself that it was not the First Wisconsin camp. Then, knowing there were but two parties beside his own anywhere in that country, and having discovered and sur- rounded the one which he knew was not the Wisconsin detachment, he knew past all doubt, and so did Purinton, that the other, upon which he fired, was the Wisconsin detachment. No other conclusion is possible from Pritchard's and Purinton's sworn testimony.

If Pritchard and Purinton had never made any sworn statements, the world would prob- ably have thought one party was as much to be blamed as the other ; now, however, all doubt is cleared away-Col. La Grange's indorsement cannot but be considered a just one, and a true statement of actual facts.

The following extract from aprivateletter may properly be added :

MADISON, Wis., March 27, 1880.

FRANK A. FLOWER, Esq .- Dear Sir : Yours of the 25th inst., containing inclosure, is this morning received. Your article upon the subject of the capture of Jeff Davis is, in the main, correct, and I do not think I care to add

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HISTORY OF WAUKESHA COUNTY.

anything to it. The whole subject, to me, is intensely disagreeable. Benjamin F. Pritchard is a lawyer at Kalama- zoo, Mich., I think. He claims that he was not informed of the reward being offered when he started on his expe- dition .* Lieut. Hussey was one of the bravest men in our army. Respectfully,

HENRY HARNDEN.

The names of the Wisconsin men who started with Col. Harnden to capture Jefferson Davis are as follows :

Henry Harnden, Lieutenant Colonel ; Walter O. Hargrave, Sergeant Major ; O. P. Clin- ton, Second Lieutenant, Company B; James J. Aplin, Company K, Orderly for Col. Harnden ; Austin M. Horr, David N. Bell, William Billsbeck, Martin M. Coleman, William Dezer, John Huntermer, Gotlieb J. Klineline, S. Leonard, James McStilson, George W. Silsbee, C. Stone- brook, Herbert Schelter, Charles L. Hewitt, Frank Dolph, Obed W. Bell, Isaac W. Spoor, Orlando Babcock, James Akenhead, John H. Benson, Horace Miner, Robert De Long, D. A. Gurnee, J. M. Blood, Charles Firhelm, Eliab Farnham, Ed. Gibney, Asa R. Green, Roswell Hart, Jeremiah Harrington, Aug. Jahmke, Charles J. Marvin, B. Marcus, Adrastus Newell, Aug. Petram, Andrew J. Pearson, J. H. Smith, David A. Stafford, Charles Stark, Samuel C. Torrey, William Voyght, John M. White, Donat Wisenberg, Lorenz Warner, all of Company A ; L. L. Blair, Melvin T. Olin, John Clark, T. P. Culberton, J. H. McCrary, E. H. Stewart, A. L. Beardsley, Thomas Coleman, R. P. Franklin, Sylvester Fairbanks, William Gill, William Grimes, Lewis Jacobson, Honore Leverner, William Matskie, Ira Miller, John Nolan, John Norton, W. P. Otterson, Stephen Pouquette, W. A. Spangler, F. Steenfield, Joseph Smith, George Wright, John Waggoner, all of Company B; H. L. Palmer, Charles Chase, Thomas Dillion, A. B. Haxford, Thomas Callahan, B. P. Smith, B. N. Castle, R. W. Hays, J. S. Baldwin, T. Z. Black, C. Brandeburg, S. C. Culver, M. Curtis, C. T. Clark, L. D. Vand, George Down- ing, J. A. Daugherty, W. Gallagher, A. S. Hart, F. Henke, J. Kent, C. Kinsman, B. Kluns- man, H. Kricher, E. Langler, William H. Noble, O. N. Noble, W. H. Polley, Z. Reimer, P. B. Richer, William Struetz, William Spiller, William H. Strong, William M. Smart, B. Suer, E. E. Sweet, E. Thompson, J. Taylor, J. W. Tremont, C. M. Turner. D. A. White, all of Company C ; T. W. Lane, Second Lieutenant ; George G. Hussey, J. M. Wheeler, G. W. Sykes, L. P. Pond, Joseph Myers, George La Borde, Nelson Apley, F. P. Anderson, Donald Brander, F. Bublitz, J. S. Burton, Laurence Bird, Joseph Beguen, A. J. Graig, Thomas Day, Thomas Deckerson, Jared Fields, James Foley, Jacob Gosh, D. H. Goodrich, Lewis Harting, N. M. Hephner, C. Helgerson, Henry Hamilton, A. E. Johnson, John Ludwick, M. F. Nickerson, P. W. O'Hern, J. A. L. Pooch, Alexander Pengilly, Arne Rensom, Jerome Roe, H. Stone, John Spear, Henry Sidenburg, J. H. Warren, C. W. Seely, all of Company D.

Col. Harnden, on account of his frankness and honesty, was dubbed the " Puritan Col- onel." He was too frank, while confiding in Pritchard, at Poor Robbin Ferry. But he was, nevertheless, an obstinate fighter, and a brave man. Once, having been severely wounded, being unable to stand, he braced himself against a tree and continued to shoot every rebel that came within range, as long as any were in sight.

Career of Commander William B. Cushing .- The soldier dead are, as a matter of fact, all illustrious-all worthy of conspicuous places in history. But the historian is frustrated on every hand, in the attempt to do them justice, by a total lack of proper materials ; and only those, therefore, whose record has fortunately been preserved, and been furnished by living friends, can be enrolled.

No more glorious name ever added luster to the resplendent escutcheon of fame than that of Commander William B. Cushing, a native of Waukesha County. In the results of the use of the limited authority he had, he was greater than a Lawrence or a Perry. A volume like this might be filled with a recital of his deeds of patriotism and valor, and no apology will be given for the space devoted to them here. They will be read with increasing interest as time goes on and they continue to shine brighter and brighter in the halo of glory that forever will illumine the

* Several of those present at the capture of Jeff Davie have been personally questioned, who say that Pritchard learned of the reward of $100,000 while on the road in pursuit of Mr. Davie, and that the fact was known to him at his meeting with Col. Harnden at Abbeville. Pritchard'e statement that he knew of no reward when he " started on hie expedition " is thus questionably sustained. He knew It after he started.

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HISTORY OF WAUKESHA COUNTY.

graves and names of American soldiers. The following descriptive masterpiece was written by Harriet Prescott Spofford, and appeared in Harper's Monthly for June 1874 :

"The world just now is full of heroes, for the wars of the late decade are resplendent with actions well fulfilling the poet's prophecy of the period when

' Many a darkness into the light shall leap, And shine in the sudden making of splendid names.'

But among all the laureled number it has not been our fortune to hear of any whose exploits eclipse in brilliancy and elan those of one of our young naval officers, who entered the lists a stripling, and whom the close of the war found, at the age of twenty-two, with the rank of Lieu- tenant Commander, and with the engrossed thanks of Congress and of the Navy Department in his possession, together with countless testimonials, medals, and acknowledgments from Gener- als of division, Union Leagues, and corporate bodies in all parts of the country ; tributes to deeds which bring back to us a remembrance of those of the old heroic days-deeds so great that men became great through the mere recital of them. And certainly he who so often and so gallantly risked life and fame for his country as Lieutenant Commander William B. Cushing did, deserves some other record than the disjointed and fragmentary one hidden away in the archives of the Bureau of State; and it is a task full of interest to gather one rumor and another, sift their truth, and put official statement by statement, till the story of those five glorious years of his service stands complete.

Midshipman Cushing sailed from Boston in the frigate Minnesota, and reached Hampton Roads in May, 1861-a lad then scarcely seventeen years old, but fully determined upon play- ing a great part in the great events to come. The Cumberland, the Quaker City, and the Mon- ticello, men-of-war, all lay in the Roads, and the latter of them, which has the honor of having .been the first ship under fire in the Rebellion, young Cushing subsequently commanded. The fleet had been at anchor a single day when five schooners, loaded with tobacco, were captured ; and that night the young midshipman took into port the Delaware Farmer, the first prize of the war. During the next month he was on duty with the blockading squadron on the Carolina coast; but in August he was again in Hampton Roads, and was in the first launch with those sent to storm a battery and burn some small vessels ; and in the same month he sailed in the Minnesota to the assault of the Hatteras forts, the squadron consisting of the flagship with six other men-of-war and some steam-transports, and being the largest that had ever sailed together under the American flag. The waters to which Hatteras Inlet gave entrance at that time swarmed with privateers and blockade-runners, and its possession was an object of importance, and was guarded by the two forts, Clark and Hatteras. As the squadron moved into line, and the first shot fired by the Wabash was answered by the rebel guns instantaneously, and every ship seemed suddenly sheeted in flame, the scene heightened by the contrast of perfect peace other- wise on sea and sky during all the bright summer day, we can easily imagine what an experience it was to the boy for the first time under the fire of one of those engagements to which his fancy had thrilled a thousand times, and his enjoyment of it may be known by the eagerness with which from that moment he plunged into everything affording any promise of the same excite- ment and danger.

"During the following winter Midshipman Cushing did blockading duty on the Cambridge, and saw some hot work with a party "cutting out " a schooner up a narrow stream, being attacked by and defeating a large body of infantry and artillery. He was often in this stormy season out in open boats for hours together, with the sea breaking over him, till it was neces- sary to hoist him on board, too stiff with ice and sleet to bend a joint. But it was at this time the great Merrimac fight came off, a part of which he was-a part of the Saturday's black despondency that saw the Cumberland go down and the white flag flutter from the peak of the Congress, of the Saturday's superb confidence, when the rebel giant, with the sun glistening on her iron shields, bore down on her grounded antagonist, and never seeming to see an idle mote in the distance till a 200-pounder came from it, crashing through her consort, which

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The History of Waukesha County, Wisconsin. Containing an account of its settlement, growth, development and resources; an extensive and minute sketch of its cities, towns and villages etc, Part 80

Author: Western Historical Co., pub Publication date: 1880 Publisher: Chicago : Western Historical Company Number of Pages: 1050

Author: Western Historical Co., pub
Publication date: 1880
Publisher: Chicago : Western Historical Company
Number of Pages: 1050