QJarncll Uniucraitg Htbratg Iltliata, New fork THE JAMES VERNER SCAIFE COLLECTION CIVIL WAR LITERATURE THE GIFT OF JAMES VERNER SCAIFE CLASS OF 1869 1919 The date shows when this volume was taken. To renew this 'book copy th6 call No. and giv6 to ( the iibra^an. ' HOME- USE RULES ill] ^JggjfgggCTn;' WAR 20|9&f All Books subject to Recall All borrowers must resris- ter in the library to boriuwi books for home use. All books must be re- turned at end of' college year for inspection and repairs. Limited books must be re- med within the four week limit and not renewed. Students must return all books before leaving town. Officers should arrange for the return of books waited during their absence from town. Volumes of periodicals ind of pamphlets are held in the library as much as possible. For special pur- poses they are given out for a li^iited time. Borrowers should not use their library privileges for the benc^t of other persons. Books of special value and gift books, when the giver wishes it, ' are not allowed to circulate. Readers are asked to re- PQ^ all cases of books marked or mutilated. Do not deface books by marks and writing. Cornell University Library E 475 .35.H88 True history of the charge of the Eighth 3 1924 026 471 593 The original of tliis bool< is in tine Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924026471593 A TRUE HISTORY THE OH^RQE CHANCELLORSVILLE. BY PENNOCK HtTEY, formekly colonbl of the eighth pennsylvania cavalry, and Brevet Brigadier-General United States Volunteers (ooMMAifDiNG Second Brigade Second Division Cavalry Corps, Gettysburg Campaign). PHILADELPHIA: PORTER & C0ATE8. Copyright, 18S3, BY PORTER & COATES, CONTENTS, FAQB THE HTSTOEY OP THE CHAEGE 5 Map — Position of Eighth Permsylvania Cavalry at six p. M., May S, 1863. THE EEPOET OF THE COMMANDING OFFICEE OF THE EIGHTH PENNSYLVANIA CAVALEY . . 18 Map — Position of Eighth Pennsylvania Cavalry ai seven p. m., May S, 1863. THE EVIDENCE OF GENEEAL SICKLES 23 THE EVIDENCE OF GENEEAL ALFEED PLEASON- TON {Reoiewed) 24 Map — Position of Eighth Pennsylvania Cavalry at eight p. m., May 2, 186S. CONCLUDING EEMAEKS 51 APPENDIX. Containing — Letter pbom J. F. Huntington, late Captain First Ohio Light Battery 55 Letter pkom Andrew B. WelIjS, late Captain Co. " F," Eighth Pennsylvania Cavalry 62 ' CONTENTS. FAGB Note peom William: A. Dailet, late Captain Co. "H," Eighth Pennsylvania Cavalry 67 Note fkom William A. Cobeie, late Captain com- manding Second Squadron Eighth Pennsylvania Cavalry 67 Letter from J. E. Carpenter, late Captain Eighth Pennsylvania Cavalry 67 Extract from Letter or Governor Cdbtin of Penn- sylvania TO President Lincoln 73 Letter prom Ex-Goveenor Cuetin op Pennsylvania TO General Huby 74 Organization op the Cavalry Corps, Campaign op Chancellorsville 75 THE CHARGE AT CHANCELLORSVILLE. THE HISTORY OF THE CHAEGE. It is probable that there has been more said and written about the battle of Chancellorsville than any other engagement that took place during the war. Not that the result of this particular action was of more vital importance than that of many others, but because there have been at times so many conflicting state- ments made with reference to it. Some of these, made by persons who were not even present, yet who undertook to " make history " for future generations, are in the highest de- gree unreliable and ridiculous. Especially so are portions of the evidence given before a Committee of Congress called " The Committee on the Conduct of the War." This Committee, composed of three Senators and four members of the House of Representatives, took the testi- mony of only sixteen* ofl&cers out of the great * General Doubleday in his Campaign of OhanceUorsviUe, page 32, 5 6 THE CHARGE AT OHANCELLOBSVILLE. number present at the engagement, without making the slightest effort either to prove or disprove the evidence given by them; thus allowing the unscrupulous ones the oppor- tunity of making false statements (at the ex- pense of others who had done their duty equally well) for their own glorification, with a view to future promotion in the army. Most historians of the Civil War, in speak- ing of this battle, seem to have ignored not only the ofiicial report of the Eighth Pennsyl- vania Cavalry and of Col. Devin, commander of the Cavalry Brigade, and the reliable evi- dence of General Sickles, but to have adopted almost invariably the egotistical and unreliable romances of General Alfred Pleasonton. Though twenty years have now passed since the battle of Chancellorsville was fought, the only ofiicer (with the exception of myself) who knows what the orders really were, and all the particulars with reference to the operations of says: "The subsequent investigation of this sad business by the 'Congressional Committee on the Conduct of the War' was very much of a farce and necessarily unreliable." As he was one of the identical sixteen officers who testified be- fore that Committee, he certainly ought to know whereof he speaks, yet he appears to have drawn largely from that very source for his information in relation to the cavalry and artillery operations on the second of May at Chancellorsville. THE HTSTORT OF THE CHAROE. 7 the Eighth Pennsylvania Cavalry on the se- cond of May, 1863, has not had the courage and independence to come out and correct his sworn statements, although earnestly requested to do so, in order that the country may be given the true history of his part in that great engagement. He excuses himself to me on the weak plea that he was called upon to testify- without having been previously notified, and hence the "inaccuracies" in his testimony. After years of reflection on the subject, with a desire to do full justice to all, and finding all appeals to General Pleasonton to correct his misstatements, or to give the true account of the operations of the above-mentioned cavalry regiment at that time, ineffectual, I now con- sider it my duty to correct those errors and misstatements to the best of my ability. Had General Pleasoilton made even an effort to show that these errors were caused by a defec- tive memory, m.uch could have been condoned ; but by refusing officially to correct them he certainly gives us the impression of a studied purpose. It becomes me, therefore, to give a true, unvarnished, and detailed account (from the notes, reports, etc., etc. made at the time, and now in my possession) of some of the most im- 8 THE CHARGE At CHANOELLORSVILLE. portant movements made by the cavalry dur- ing that day, and the incidents which led to and caused the Eighth Pennsylvania Cavalry to charge on the head of Jackson's column of Confederate infantry on the plank road near Fairview, It has been truthfully asserted by many who were present ,that the Eighth Pennsylvania Cavalry did not make its charge at Hazel Grove on the 2d of May, 1863 (as the enemy did not appear there, in fact, till after the reg- iment had left), the charge having been ac- tually made some time before on the plank road, about one mile distant from that place. Colonel Devin's brigade, composed of the Eighth and Seventeenth Pennsylvania and Sixth New York Cavalry, together with Mar- tin's battery of horse artillery, left the large open space surrounding the Chancellorsville House about four o'clock in the afternoon of May 2, 1863, for the purpose of reporting to Major-General Sickles (commanding Third Corps) for a reconnoissance or for a flank movement on a column of Confederate infan- try then passing across his front. (This, by the way, was the only time that the whole command was operated together as a brigade, THE HISTORY OF THE CHARGE. 9 and also the only time that it was under the direct command of General Pleasonton during the campaign of Chancellorsville.) By direction of General Pleasonton the Eighth Pennsylvania Cavalry was placed in advance, and passed out across Hazel Grove through a wood-road, reaching a point in the rear of General Sickles' line near Catharine Furnace, where General Pleasonton reported to General Sickles. There they remained but a short time, when the Sixth New York Cav- alry was ordered to the front and the balance of the brigade sent back to Hazel Grove, with directions to dismount and stand to horse till further orders. By direction of General Pleas- ' onton I remained with him for the purpose of being posted as to what my duties would be in leading the advance of the brigade against, the Confederate column, then passing across General Sickles' front. General Pleasonton had already given me some directions while on our way to the front. He said : " The impression was, that the enemy were retreating, and that we were going to charge through their lines, open communica- tion with General Sedgwick, and harass the rear of the enemy's column. That my reg- iment would take the advance, and he would 10 THE CHARGE AT OHANGELLOBSVILLE. follow with the balance of the brigade, includ- ing Martin's battery." Generals Sickles and Pleasonton remained together, waiting reports from the front, a long time after the cavalry had been sent back, when an aide from General Howard rode up and reported to General Sickles, whereupon both he and Pleasonton started to go back to- ward Hazel Grove, accompanied by several ofiicers, myself included. Just as we reached Hazel Grove, at Scott's Run crossing, another staif officer rode up in a state of great excite- ment, and reported to General Sickles that the enemy had flanked General Howard's corps, and that he had been sent for a regiment of General Pleasonton's cavalry. General Sickles immediately ordered General Pleasonton to send a regiment. This occurred at half-past six o'clock p. M. — not later. It was then that I was ordered by General Pleasonton to report with my regiment as quickly as possible to General Howard. On inquiring where he was, General Pleasonton said, " I suppose you will find him at or near the Old Wilderness Church ; there is where he was." There were no other orders given to me or to any other officer of the regiment. I found THE BISTOBY OF THE CHARGE. H the regiment, standing to horse, on the oppo- site or north side of Hazel Grove, near the road over which we had passed in coming out. The wood in front was so thick with under- growth that a bird could scarcely fly through it, much less could a cavalry charge have been made, as some writers have stated, and as Gen- eral Pleasonton stated in his evidence. On inquiring for the adjutant of the reg- iinent, and being informed by some of the men where he was, I rode to the point desig- nated. I there found Major Peter Keenan, Captain William A. Dailey, Adjutant J. Has- eltine Haddock, and Lieutenant Andrew B. Wells, playing cards under a tree near the head of the regiment, and on the opposite side of it, and also at a considerable distance from where I had left Generals Sickles and Pleason- ton when I received my orders. When I or- dered them to mount their commands they were all in very high spirits about the game, Keenan remarking, " Major, you have spoiled a d d good game!" Up to this time General Pleasonton had not been near the regiment or any of its ofiicers except myself since it was ordered back from Sickles's front. There was no firing on Gen- eral Howard's line at this time, that we could 12 THE CHARGE AT CHANOELLORSriLLK hear, it being a long distance away through the Wilderness. All was perfectly quiet here, and no one at Hazel Grove had the slightest idea that General Howard was in trouble or that the Eleventh Corps had given way^ ex- cept those officers who were with Sickles and Pleasonton when the aide reported, and he even had a very meagre idea as to the real extent of the disaster on that line. After mounting the regiment I rode off at its head in my proper place, followed by four other officers, all of whom belonged in front except Lieutenant Carpenter. The latter offi- cer commanded the second company of, the first squadron, and might properly have been in the rear of the first company, where he undoubted- ly would have been had I supposed there was danger ahead. The officers in front were Major Pennoek Huey, commander of the regiment; Major Peter Keenan, commander of the first battalion; Captain Charles Arrowsmith, com- mander of the first squadron; Lieutenant J. Edward Carpenter, commander of the second company; and Adjutant J. Haseltine Had- dock, whose place was with me unless other- wise ordered. We marched through the wood toward the plank road, part of which we had already THE HISTORY OF THE CHARGE. 13 passed in coming out. There was no unusual stir or excitement among the men and officers of the regiment, the impression being that the enemy were retreating, and all who had not heard of General Howard's disaster felt happy with the thought that the battle was almost over. No one in the regiment, with the ex- ception of myself, knew where we were going or for what purpose. From the information I had received from General Pleasonton, and from hearing the aide make his report before I started, I had no idea that we would meet the enemy till after I had reported to General Howard. Therefore the surprise was as great to us as to the enemy, as we were entirely unprepared, our sabres being in the scabbards. When we arrived almost at the plank road, we discovered that we had ridden right into the enemy, the plank road in our front being occupied by them in great force, and that we were completely surrounded, the woods at that point being filled with the flankers of Jackson's column, who were thoroughly hidden from our view by the thick undergrowth. It was here that I gave the command to " Draw sabre and charge," which order was repeated by Major Keenan and other officers. The charge was 14 THE GHARQE AT OHANCELLOBSVILLE. led by the five officers, already named, who were riding at the head of the regiment when we left Hazel Grove. On reaching the plank road, it appeared to be packed about as closely with, the enemy as it possibly could be. We turned to the left, facing the Confederate column, th6 regiment crowding on, both men and horses in a perfect frenzy of excitement, which nothing but death could stop.* We cut our way through, trampling down all who could ' * The scene at this point was one which can never be effaced from the memory of those present. The order to charge, followed by its instant execution, had such an overwhelming and paralyzing effect upon the enemy that for the space of a few seconds those nearest to us seemed utterly to lose the power of motion. Many throwing down their arms, raising their hands, and pleading for mercy and surrender, they doubtless thinking they had unawares run into the main part of the Union army. But in such a moment mercy shuns the path of war. We, deaf to their cries, dashed madly through and over them, trampling them under our horses' feet, and using oar sabres right and left on all within our reach. Surrounded and cut off, every man of us, thinking it was his last minute on earth, resolved to sell his life as dearly as possible. Arriving at the plank road, we found it filled with men unable to retreat or escape, the road behind being so closely packed with their comrades. Scores were trampled to death beneath our horses' feet as we went plunging and dashing over them. It was not till we had faced to the left on the plank road that the head of our column received any check. Although the flank of the regiment was suffering severely from the enemy, who were so close as to be able to >ise their bayonets with terrible effect on our men and horses as they came dashing past' them, the charge on the plank road had the fortunate effect of opening a possible means of retreat for our men. THE HISTORY OF THE' OHARQE. 15 not escape us, and using our sabres on all with- in reach, for a distance of about one hundred yards, when we received a volley from the en- emy, killing Major Keenan, Captain Arrow- smith, and Adjutant Haddock, three of the noblest and most gallant officers of the war, besides a large number of men ; all of whom are entitled to equal honor from a grateful na- tion in whose service they lost their lives. All three of the above-named officers fell at the same time and from the same volley, Major Keenan falling against me and lighting on the ground under my horse. His body was found on the spot where he fell a few days after. As the regiment was forced to march in col- umn on account of the thick undergrowth on either side of the road, it is quite possible that the rear had scarcely got well into the wood when the order was given to " Draw sabre and charge." The whole regiment therefore did not get all the way through, as the narrow road was completely filled with our dead, both men and horses, we having left thirty men and eighty horses dead on or near the plank road where this most memorable charge was made. The rear squadron, under the command of Captain Joseph W. Wistar, was completely cut off just before reaching the plank road, and had 16 THE CHARGE AT CHANCELLORSVILLE. to cut its way through in another direction, 3oming out into the open space which sur- rounds the Chancellorsville House, between the plank road and Hazel Grove, over tem- porary earthworks. Most of the regiment came 3ut of the wood on the north or opposite side Df the plank road. I immediately re-formed IS much of it as I could get together (which included almost every mounted man and officer Left) in rear of the artillery that was then going into line on the left of the plank road, and just in the rear of the thick wood which had com- pletely obscured us from their view while we were making our charge. The object in re- forming there was to support the artillery, md also to prevent them from opening fire till after our men had come out of the wood. Our charge had such a telling effect on the enemy that they did not advance farther on the plank road than the point where we struck them, and very few of them crossed the narrow road over which we had passed (that road being parallel with the two lines of battle). Our artillery opened fire first at the plank, road, not at Hazel Grove, as soon as they knew that we were out and were re-forming in their rear. Dusk was now coming on. As we could be THE BISTOBY OF THE CHARGE. 17 of no further service there, we fell back a short distance to the Chancellorsville House, where we arrived before the artillery at Hazel Grove opened fire, we having left that point about one hour previously. General Howard not being in that part of the field, and circum- stances having so changed since I was ordered to report to him, I made no effort to find him, but formed the regiment across the plain, cov- ering the road that led toward the river and fords, where the regiment did service all night in stopping the stampeded and scattered sol- diers, and assisted in re-forming them. Here we remained all night, as above stated. About four o'clock on the morning of the 3d I went to General Hooker's head-quarters to report and to receive orders, as the stamped- ing had entirely ceased and th^re were very few stragglers to be seen. Just as I arrived there General Pleasonton rode up, and I re- ported to him. He expressed great surprise and pleasure on seeing me, and said " that he was afraid we had all been captured or killed," and " that it was almost miraculous that we had been able to extricate ourselves from the peril- ous position;" it being very evident that he thought we had been surrounded and captured, and that he had lost a regiment from his small 18 THE CHAHOE AT CHANCELLOBSVILLE. command. Nor was he aware that we had made a charge on the enemy, or that the Eighth Pennsylvania Cavalry had done any- thing toward stopping the advance of Stonewall Jackson's column as it came rushing up the plank road flushed with victory, till he learned it from me at that time and place. My verbal report to him seemed to change the whole tenor of his thoughts, and to quicken his idea of mak- ing a glowing report redounding to his own glory. The imaginative orders to the regiment and his own after-conceived heroic exploits (as reported by him) were after-thoughts, when he learned from me that the regiment was not only not captured, but that it had made a noble fight, worthy of the men who composed it. About six o'clock a. m. I was ordered by him to take the regiment back to the camp we had left the day before. Soon after I received an- other order, directing me to make requisitions for rations and forage, to have the horses unsad- dled and groomed, and to draw a full supply of ammunition preparatory to crossing the river. Official Report. IS Eighth Pennsyl Near Potomac Bridge, Va., May 9, 1863. Head-qitaetees Eighth Pennsylvania Cavaley, ] 3. J Colonel : I have the honor to submit the following THE HISTORY OF THE CHARGE. 19. report of the operations of the Eighth Pennsyl- vania Cavalry, under my command, from the 29th day of April, when we broke camp at Grove Church and crossed the Rappahannock, until we' recrossed on the 4th day of May : On the 29th of April, I crossed the Rappa- hannock River with my command at Kelly's Ford, taking the advance to Richardsville, driving the enemy's videttes before me. At Richardsville, Major Keenan was sent to the left, to Richards' Ford, with two squadrons ; he surprised the enemy's picket, capturing twenty-eight prisoners, including a commis- sioned officer. With the balance of the regi- ment and one company of the First Michi- gan I advanced to Ely's Ford on the Rapidan River, crossed and charged the enemy's pick- ets, driving them about two miles ; after pick- eting the approaches to the ford I went into camp on the south side of the stream. The next morning, April 30, I moved at 4 A. M., with orders to proceed to United States Ford. I found the enemy in force at the junc- tion of the roads ' leading to United States and Richards' Fords, near Chancellorsville. My advance, under command of Lieutenant Car- penter, charged, capturing one company of the Twelfth Virginia regiment, with all its officers, 20 THE CHARGE AT CHANOELLOBSVILLE. after a severe skirmish of about two hours with Mahone's brigade of the enemy, who were be- hind breastworks. We succeeded in driving them, after repeated charges, to a wood in the rear, where another sharp skirmish ensued, ending in the retreat of the enemy on the Fredericksburg pike, and the occupation of Chancellorsville by my command. We remained at Chancellorsville until Gen- eral Griffin's division of infantry came up, when I moved down the Fredericksburg pike, find- ing the enemy in force behind breastworks. After a severe skirmish for about four hours, taking several prisoners, I retired about one and a half miles and went into camp, picketing the roads. The same day two squadrons of my regiment were sent to United States Ford as an advance-guard to General Sykes' division, opening communication with General Couch, who occupied the opposite shore. On the morning of May 1st the enemy drove in our pickets. The regiment was immediately sent to their support, and in a severe skirmish several charges were made, and the enemy held in check until the arrival of General Sykes with his division. A small detachment was sent to the left, and succeeded in capturing seventeen prisoners. THE HISTORY OF THE CHARGE. 21 The next morning, May 2, 1863, my regi- ment, with the balance of the brigade, under command of General Pleasonton, was moved to the front and right of General Sickles' division, about a mile from Chancellorsville. Shortly after I was ordered to report to Gen- eral Howard, who was on Sickles' right. We moved off briskly to the right, and found that General Howard had fallen back, and that the enemy had formed their line of battle across the road on which I was to move, throwing us between the skirmishers and the battle-line. The regiment made a desperate charge, com- pletely checking the enemy. In the charge we lost Major Keenan, Captain Arrowsmith, and Adjutant Haddock, with about thirty men and eighty horses. I moved the regiment back and formed across the road to stop stragglers from the Eleventh Corps. On the morning of May 3d I was ordered by General Pleasonton to cross the river and picket the road from Hartwood Church toward Kelly's Ford. The same night I was ordered to return, and bivouacked for the night near United States Ford. At daybreak on the 4th instant our reveille was sounded by the rebels shelling the camp ; two horses were killed. 22 TBE CHARGE AT CHANOELLOBSVILLE. The same day I reported to General Sedg- wick at Banks' Ford, and was by him ordered to report to General Howe, on his left, whose forces were being severely pressed. Only two horses were lost, although the fire was very severe. Lieutenants Garrett and Baker, with com- panies- C and I of my regiment, brought up the rear, and swam their horses across the river, the pontoons having been removed. I have the honor to be. Very respectfully, your obedient servant, Pennock Hitey, Maj. Gomdg. To Col. Thomas C. Devin, Commdg. 2d Brig. 1st Oav. Div. . The preceding report was made and for- warded on the ninth of May, less than one week after the close of the battle of Chancel- lorsville, by order of Colonel Devin,* com-, mander of the brigade, whose duty it clearly was to have returned it to me for correction * There were but three regiments of cavalry and one six-gun battery left with General Hooker's army by General Stoneman when he started on his raid around the Confederate army, and General Pleasonton, the commander of the First Division, and Colonel Devin, commander of the brigade, left in command of them. This singular and inexplicable arrangement left us a di- vision as well as a brigade commander. THE HISTORY OF THE CHARGE. 23 had he or General Pleasouton discovered in it any inaccuracies, or to have ordered me in arrest for falsifying my report. One field officer cer- tainly was put in arrest for that very offence after the battle of Chancellorsville. Extracts from Major- General Sickles^ Testimony. General Sickles in his evidence {Conduct of the War, vol. i. page 5) says : " General Pleas- onton's cavalry was sent to me, by my request, for the purpose of co-operating in a flank at- tack on Jackson, which I asked permission to make. ... I was holding General Pleasonton's cavalry in hand, desiring to make the attack with my infantry first, . . . when an aide of General Howard (I presume be was an aide, although he did not at the moment so announce himself) came to me and reported to me to be careful of my rear — that Stuart's cavalry was moving in my rear, and if I was not careful would cut me off;, and he added that a strong column of Jackson's infantry was also very near me, and that our troops were retreating. I felt very indignant at this communication ; I utter- ly disbelieved it, for I felt assured that no such .thing could have occurred without a serious en- gagement with General Howard's force, and 24 THE CHARQM AT OHANQELLORSVILLE. of course I would have heard the musketry and noise of battle. This officer left, having given his information, or, as I thought at the time, having failed in an absurd effort to stampede me. In a minute or two another messenger, an officer who announced himself as an aide- de-camp of General Howard, and who seemed to be much more self-possessed and methodical in his communication, arrived, and said that he came to me by General Howard's orders, begging me to send him a regiment of General Pleasonton's cavalry — that his corps had given way, and that our right flank had been carried by the enemy, and that Jackson was in my rear. I felt bound, of course, to give full heed to this communication, and did so." How very different from the reliable, hon- est evidence of General Sickles are these ex- tracts from the flippant and egotistical testi- mony of Brigadier-General Alfred Pleasonton ! The Evidence of General Alfred Pleasonton (reviewed). ■ General Pleasonton sa.ys {Conduct of the War, vol. i. page 28) : " When General Sickles desired me to go to the front, I went up, and found he had met with more resistance than he had expected. He then told me that t would not be able to get through. I then sug- THE HISTORY OF THE CHABOE. 25 gested to him that, as it was thick woods there, I had better take my cavalry back to the open space I had left. ... As I was going back at a trot, an aide-de-camp came up to me and said, ' General, the Eleventh Corps is falling back very rapidly, and some cavalry is neces- sary to stop it:' I understood pretty well what that meant. I had only two regiments of cav- alry with me, one of them having been retained by General Sickles at the front to protect his right, and there was one battery of horse artil- lery with me." In Supplement of the Conduct of the War, Part 2, page 7, Gen. Pleasonton says : " It was in this battle that, with three reg- iments of cavalry and twenty-two pieces of artillery, I checked the attack of the rebel general Stonewall Jackson after he had rout- ed the Eleventh Corps." On page 8, a few lines farther on (Suppt. Con. War, Part 2), General Pleasonton says: " My command of three cavalry regiments and one battery of six guns happened to be near this scene." On page 29 (Conduct of the War, vol. i.) General Pleasonton says : " In fact, I was alone pretty much the whole time, working wherever I found anything going wrong. I 26 THE GHABOE AT CHANOELLOBSVILLE. would say, Jbowever, that there were two squadrons of the Seventeenth Pennsylvania regiment left. This remaining regiment that I had was composed of raw men, new troops, and all I could do with them was to make a show." Here we may well pause to think what a wonderful officer is General Alfred Pleas- onton ! We can learn from his own sworn evidence how he achieved a great victory at Hazel Grove, although he "was alone pretty much the whole time " ! Did Wellington or Napoleon ever, under such adverse circum- stances, pluck such victorious laurels from defeat and disaster? Conduct of the War, p. 28 : " When I came to the open space which I had before left, I found it filled with fugitives, caissons, guiis, ambulances, and everything. I saw the mo- ment was critical, and I called on Major Kee- nan of the Eighth Pennsylvania, and gave him his orders. I said to him: 'Major, you must charge in these woods with your regi- ment, and hold the rebels until I get some of these guns into position.' Says I, 'You must do it at all cost.' He replied with a smile on his face, . . . 'General, I will do it.' ... I immediately ran up this battery THE HISTORY OF THE CHARGE. 27 of mine at a gallop, put it into position, or- dered it to unlimber, and double-shotted it with canister, and directed the men to aim at the ground-line of the parapet. ... I then set to work with two squadrons of the re- maining regiment to clear the field of ftigi^ tives. ... I managed to get twenty-two guns loaded, double-shotted; . . . the whole woods appeared alive with large bodies of men. This was just at dusk. . . . There was an immense body of men. ... I said to one of my aides, ' Mr. Thomson, ride forward there at once, and let me know what flag that is.' He then went to within about one hundred yards, and those people cried out, ' Come on ; we are friends.' He started to move on, when the whole line of woods blazed with musketry. . . . About the same time I saw from eight to ten rebel flags run up along the whole line. I immediately gave the order ' Fire !' and the fire actually swept the men away ; it seemed to blow those men in front clear out of the parapet." From the foregoing evidence we must rea- sonably suppose that the Confederates were very much afraid that " Mr. Thomson " would take them all prisoners were he allowed to come near enough. They may well have 28 THE CHAEOE AT CHANCELLOBSVILLE. feared it, as the sequel proves, for tkey were unable to hit him even with the whole fire of an immense body of infantry ! General Lee says : " One of the most wonderful things of this most wonderful battle is this state- ment, that a mounted officer fifty yards from Rhodes' line should be fired at by the whole line, and live to tell it." He has lived to tell it ! and, farthermore, fixes the hour at between " eight and nine o'clock." (At this hour what was left of the Eighth Pennsylvania Cavalry was formed across the roads near the Chancel- lorsville House.) General Pleasonton says : "I immediately gave the order to fire, and the fire actually swept the men away " ! What a con- trast in the effect of the two fires ! General Rhodes' whole line of Confederate infantry blazing away at fifty yards' range on one soli- tary officer (Mr. Thomson) without the slightest effect, yet General Pleasonton in returning the fire " actually swept the men, away " ! ! ! ! When questioned by the Committee, who evi- dently had grave doubts as to the correctness of some of his statements, the general seems to have feared that he had not sufiiciently im- pressed them with the great deeds he had per- formed, and that perhaps they did not believe that he had taken command of all the reserve THE HISTORY OF THE CHARGE. 29 artillery when there were artillery officers there who had as much ability, and certainly much more experience in that arm of the service than he had. " Question by the Committee {CondiLct of the War, page 30) : You are a cavalry officer, and yet you took charge of the artillery there ; how was that ? "Answer : From the simple fact that I saw that if somebody did not save that field at once, it was not going to be saved at that point. I considered it my duty to go in and do whatever I could, and that we were all up and would be driven into the river if I did not do it. When I came to count the artillery I had there, I found that I had the artillery of three corps in that line. I took it by force of circumstances and necessity." Again we are forced to stop and admire the wonderfully ready self-possession of an officer who under such very trying circumstances could so coolly stop and count his stock of artillery on such a disastrous field as he rep- resents it to have been. Colonel J. F. Huntington, in a letter pub- lished in the Boston Evening Transcript, March 8, 1882, says : " In a letter written by General Sickles to the Adjutant-General of the Army, 30 THE CHARGE AT OHANCELLOnSVILLE. a copy of which I have, after an allusion to the abrupt departure of the chief of artillery, he says : ' Captain Huntington, next in rank, as- sumed command, and, notwithstanding the stream of fugitives from the Eleventh Corps, put the . batteries in position in time to resist the farther advance of the enemy at that point, and held the ground, an object of the greatest importance, till I arrived. On my arrival I sent for the commanding oflScer, Captain Hunt- ington, and warmly thanked him,' etc. etc. etc. This shows who General Sickles recognized at \he time and place as the officer commanding the artillery, and indicates the period of his arrival at Hazel Grove. Neither I nor any other battery officer ever heard of Pleasonton's claim that he rallied or commanded the artil- lery on that occasion till long after the war." (See Appendix.) " Question by the Committee {Conduct of the War, page 30) : You assuined command of the artillery ? "Answer : I assumed command by virtue of being a general, and I fought it as a general of artillery. Some of the cannon I stopped from the flying column. I put it into line too. Jack- son had thirty-five thousand infantry, and I knew that nothing but an immense shock of THE HISTORY, OF THE CHARGE. SI artillery without a corresponding force of in- fantry was the only thing to stop him. That was my only chance; and I had to do it instant- ly. And I had to sacrifice my regiment of cav- alry to do it. Circumstances combined and achieved the result, and the officer who com- manded that cavalry aided me more than any- thing else. It was just the same as saying to him, * You must be killed.' When I ordered him to make that charge he said with a smile on his face, 'General, I will do it.' I knew when I gave the order that he would do it ; I felt confident of it, and I selected him for that purpose." In an endorsement upon a communication referred by General Pleasonton to Major-Gen- eral Rawlins, chief of staff, dated May 29, 1866, which letter (placed there by General Pleason- ton himself) is now on file at the Adjutant- General's office in Washington, General Pleas- onton says : " General Huey commanded the Eighth Pennsylvania Cavalry under my or- ders at the battle of Chancellorsville, and charged the AeacZ'of Jackson's column, by my direction, at the time it was causing the rout of the Eleventh Corps. General Huey was distinguished for gallantry, energy, and fidel- ity in his reports." 32 TBE CHARGE AT CHANGELLORSVILLE. In a letter to the Hon. Edwin M. Stanton, Secretary of War, also on file at Washington, General' Pleasontpn says : " Philadelphia, Feb. 25, 1864. " Hon. Edwin M. Stanton, Sec'y of War : "It gives me great pleasure to be able to present my testimonial to the gallant, able, and efficient service rendered by C-olonel Huey of the Eighth Pennsylvania Cavalry for the two years he served under my command in the Army of the Potomac. At the battle of Chan- cellorsville he led the charge of his regiment, which so materially assisted in the repulse of the attack of the rebels under Stonewall Jack- son. And throughout the campaigns of the Peninsula, Antietam, Fredericksburg, and Get- tysburg his conduct won for him the commen- dations of all his commanders. I recommend Colonel Huey as an efficient brigade com- mander, and consider he is entitled to that position. "A. Pleasonton, Major- General.'' In the official report of Colonel Devin, com- mander of the brigade, bearing date May 11, 1863, he says : " In the mean time the Eighth Pennsylvania Cavalry had been sent to the sup- THE HISTORY OF THE CHARGE. 33 port of General Howard, and, finding his line of battle broken and retired to the rear, bad charged on the enemy's lines between them and the brick house, which they succeeded in reaching, losing Major Keenan, Captain Arrowsmith, Adjutant Haddock, and about thirty men and eighty horses. The charge, however, had the effect of disordering and checking the advance at that point. The regiment then formed as provost in front of the brick house, where it remained all night." . . . Major J. Edward Carpenter, formerly of the Eighth Pennsylvania Cavalry, in a let- ter published in the Ghand Army Scout and Soldiers' Mail of May 12, 1883, says: "Gen- eral Pleasonton testified before the Committee that he gave his orders to Keenan and directed him to charge. There is probably not a single officer in the regiment who does not know that this is incorrect. No charge was contemplated when the regiment left HazerCrove, and there were no indications of any rout, no stragglers. . . . But for the unfortunate embellishment which General Pleasonton gave his testimony before the Committee on the Conduct of the War, I do not believe this question would ever have been raised." 34 TBE CBARGE AT CHANCELLORSVILLE. General Pleasonton, in a letter dated .March 23, 1881, says : "... At Chancellorsville, in May, 1863, he (General Huey) was in com- mand of the Eighth Pennsylvania Cavalry, which charged the advance o£ General Stone- wall Jackson's attack on the Eleventh Corps with such success as to contribute materially to the repulse of Jackson on the second of May. For his distinguished services on this occasion he was promoted to the colonelcy of the Eighth Pennsylvania Cavalry." . . . [The letter from which the above is an extract is in my possession, in General Pleas- onton's handwriting. His other letters may be found in the Department at Washington.] The quotations previously given from the evidence of General Sickles are an exact sum- mary of what really did occur up to the time the Eighth Pennsylvania Cavalry left Hazel Grove, and it shows a desire to give the inci- dents as they occurred, without embellishment. General Pleasonton, on the other hand, seems to have become very much " mixed," seeming to be under the impression, at the time his evidence was given, that the whole responsi- bility of the army was resting on his shoul- ders, as is shown by his testimony, which is largely made up of advice given to generals THE HISTORY OF THE CHARGE. 35 of higher rank than himself and to the gen- eral commanding the army — not of orders and incidents that actually occurred, but of orders and incidents he would like to have occurred. His whole evidence, so far as the Eighth Pennsylvania Cavalry is concerned, is one complete tissue of misstatements, and most unmistakably conveys the impression of hav- ing been given for a personal purpose. It is certainly a very great contrast not only to the correct testimony of General Sickles, but to that of other officers who were at Hazel Grove and had every opportunity of seeing what actually was happening at that point. The real facts can be proved, not only from his own contradictions, but by the surviving officers and men who were present, and who knew as much about what took place during the afternoon of the second of May, 1863, at Hazel Grove as General Pleasonton could 'have known, whose evidence and reports are so conflicting and inaccurate, and so very much at variance with all other reports, as to make them entirely unreliable. Almost immediately after General Pleason- ton had reported to General Sickles with his brigade, the Sixth New York Cavalry was ordered to the front to report to the officer in 36 TBE CHARGE AT CHANOELLORSVIJCLE. command there, and the other two regiments and Martin's battery were ordered back to Hazel Grove, with instructions to dismount and stand to horse till further orders. General Pleasonton remaining with General Sickles (where he had been for some time), when an aide-de-camp rode up and reported to General Sickles, who immediately started back at a walk, accompanied by General Pleasonton and other officers, myself included. General Sickles evi- dently doubted the rumor the aide reported, as he states in his evidence, but went back to learn for himself if anything was wrong in his rear. Both of the staff officers reported to General Sickles, one of them before he and General Pleasonton started back; the second one met us just as we reached Scott's Run, a rivulet that crosses the southern edge of the opening. General Pleasonton, in his report to General Sickles, dated May 11, 1863, makes another romantic statement : " On my return to the small plateau north of Scott's Run and ad- joining the wood which extended to the plank road, ... an aide-de-camp* of General War- ren, of General Hooker's staff, came up to say that the Eleventh Corps was falling back * This aide seems manufactured specially for tliis occasion, as only two staff officers reported at Hazel Grove before we left there. THE HISTORY OF THE CHABOE. 37 rapidly, and a regiment of cavalry was needed to check the movement." General Pleasonton did not "go back at a trot," as lie states in his evidence, except in his own imagination ; he rode quietly back with the party of officers to the edge of Hazel Grove, when the second stsiff officer met us, and where he received his orders from General Sickles to send a regiment of cavalry to General Howard ; which order was at once obeyed, General Pleas- onton remaining with General Sickles till after he had given me instructions and I had left him. Both aides, as -before stated, reported to General Sickles (see evidence), and not to Gen- eral Pleasonton : Sickles being the command- ing officer, it was the duty of the staff" officer to. report to Mm. When General Pleasonton came to the open space, he did not find it filled with "fugitives, caissons, guns, ambulances, and everything," as before stated in his evidence. He was then with General Sickles. It was here that the second staff officer spoken of in General Sickles' evi- dence reported. Everything was quiet. The men were lying around on- the ground, not dreaming of danger, some playing cards, others doing whatever they most enjoyed at leisure times. 38 THE CHARGE AT CHANGELLORSVILLE. General Pleasonton did not " call on Major Keenan and give him tlie orders." The major was some distance away, under a tree playing cards, neither in sight nor hearing. Major Keenan was not in command of the Eighth Pennsylvania Cavalry for one moment during the campaign of Chancellorsville, and ' I am of the opinion that he never was at any time ; nor is there anything on record to show such to be the fact, but abundant evidence to show the contrary. / was in command of the regiment and received all the orders that were given, being with General Pleasonton when General Sickles ordered him to send a regi- ment of cavalry to General Howard. I well remember the look of disgust and dis- appointment that came over General Pleason- ton's face at the thought of sending off another regiment, leaving him, a brigadier-general, with only one small regiment and a battery of artilr lery, in all probably not five hundred men. General Pleasanton could not order off a regiment to report to another corps commander without the consent of General Sickles, he being at that time subordinate to General Sickles and subject to his orders, by command of Major- General Hooker. General Pleasonton did not order Major THE HISTORY OF THE CHARGE. 3'9 Keenan " to ' charge in these woods with your regiment and hold the rebels,' " because there were no rebels to charge on or to hold ! At this time the enemy were in the vicinity of the Old Wilderness Church, and Howard's troops (betw'een us and them) were falling back down the plank road toward the Chancellorsville House. Nothing h-ad occurred at Hazel Grove to lead any one to suppose that the enemy would get there. General Pleasonton did not "know pretty well what that meant," nor did he suppose that there was any serious trouble at all on Howard's line when he ordered the Eighth Pennsylvania Cavalry to report to General Howard at or near the Old Wilderness Church, or he would have given very different orders. He did not call on the second officer of that regiment, as he states in evidence, and have a private conversation with him, telling him what great risks- he must run, thus causing the Major to smile; though it might, and probably would have, caused a smile had it occurred, because it would have been so ut- terly absurd, unmilitary, and out of place that the Major, with his quick wit and keeii eye for the ludicrous, would certainly have enjoyed a good laugh. Even General Pleas- 4U THE (MARGE AT CEANOELLOS.SVILLE. onton must smile when he recalls his testi- mony, and blush to think that he gained his promotion to the command of the cavalry- corps solely through the reckless misstate- ments and deceptions perpetrated by him in his sworn evidence and in his reports of the battle of Chancellorsville. His report to General Sickles, dated May 11, 1863, makes no mention of ordering a charge, he knowing full well that Sickles knew what orders he gave to him, but mere- ly saying, " I ordered the Eighth Pennsylva- nia Cavalry to proceed, ..." etc., etc., etc., etc. And in his report to Adjutant-General Seth Williams, dated May 18, 1863, he mere- ly says, " I ordered the Eighth Pennsylvania Cavalry to proceed," etc., etc., etc., etc. It must be clear to every thinking mind knowing anything at all about military affairs that had such an order been given, the regi- ment would have come back to Hazel Grove, or most likely would not have left there. A cavalry charge does not mean that the troopers are expected to ride through the enemy for miles. The most that could have been expected, had the charge been ordered and made at Hazel Grove, would have been THE HISTORY OF THE CHARGE. 41 to have made a bold and daring dash at the enemy, and to have "driven them back into the woods, where they would be under cover and hidden from view, beyond which mounted troops could not move them. It seems to be an admitted fact that General Pleasonton did not see the regiment again till the next day after he had given his orders to it, as he distinctly says in his evidence that there were " but two squadrons of the Seven- teenth Pennsylvania Cavalry left." If he had ordered the charge at Hazel Grove, cer- tainly some of the officers and men would have returned there. Or had the enemy made his appearance at Hazel Grove before the regiment left, it never could have gone through them to the plank road (about one mile distant) and had one platoon left. Had he not ordered me to report to General How- ard, it was clearly my duty to have reported to him again after the charge was made, as he was accessible from the point where we then were, in rear of Colonel Best's artillery at Fairview, on the left of the plank road. Instead of so doing, we fell back and formed across the opening near the Chancellorsville House (see preceding reports of Huey and Devin), covering the roads that led to the 42 THE CHARGE AT CHANCELLOmVILLE. river and diflferent fords. Here we spent the night in stopping and collecting the stampeders and stragglers who were rushing to the rear. The whole of General Pleasonton's evidence bears improbability on its very face. It is not for one moment to be supposed that he would have sent three hundred mounted men through a narrow wood-road running parallel with our artillery line, and within two hundred yards of it (though uot in sight), yet on the same level plain with it, the woods, as described by Gen-^ eral Pleasonton, being filled with the enemy, thus placing us in such a position as to pre- vent our artillery from opening fire, even had the enemy been actually rushing on the guns. Had the enemy been at Hazel Grove, we cer- tainly would have been kept there to support the guns, and our artillery would have opened a deadly fire on them, as they did some time after we left. All reports, both Union and Confederate, agree in their statements that the enemy flanked General Howard's right, about three miles distant from Hazel Grove, and drove it in on the right of the plank road first. This occurred at six o'clock p. m., and Gen- eral Howard immediately sent staff officers THE HISTORY. OF THE CHARGE. 43 from his head-quarters near the Old Wilder- ness Church, at full speed, for a regiment of cavalry. That regiment received its orders, and left Hazel Grove before sunset, which was before General Howard's retreating troops had fallen back (but a short distance), and before it was known that there would be a general stampede of the Eleventh Corps (a portion of that corps having done good j&ght- ing till they were overpowered), and that the main column of the enemy, under the com- mand of Stonewall Jackson, was coming down the plank road, driving everything before them, till they almost reached the open plateau around the Chancellorsville House. At this point there was a cart-road running obliquely from the plank road, that inter- sected the road on which we were moving, about four hundred yards from the plank road. It was at this point that the Eighth Penn- sylvania Cavalry first met the enemy ; and it was probably on this very cart-road that Stone- wall Jackson came forward to reconnoitre ; and it is also quite . possible that we were the cause of his turning back, as here is where I gave the command to "Draw sabre and charge." If such was the case, he was wounded by his own 44 THE CHARGE AT CHANCELLORSVILLE. men,* as we did not use our carbines ; and I am also of the opinion that there was no firing from our lines at this time and place, as the enemy- had not yet appeared at the edge of the plateau at any point to the south side of the plank road, nor had General Howard's retreating troops made their appearance at Hazel Grove. During the first part of our march after leaving Hazel Grove we were perfectly safe, as a portion of our infantry line was between us and the enemy. We had gone more than half- way to the plank road when we passed through our straggling retreating line, with the enemy pushing close behind ; therefore our own troops, who were in the wood, could not have appeared at Hazel Grove, or at any point on our line to the left (or south) of the plank road, till after we had gone through and emerged into the open space west of the Chancellorsville House. The state of affairs at Hazel Grove when we left there was exactly the same as it had been for some hours before, no one fearing or expect- ing danger, unless it might have been some of those who had learned from the staff officer that Howard was in trouble. Had things been * The Life of Stonewall Jackson, by a Virginian (a Confederate publication), after describing his two wounds in the left arm, says : "... He fell from his horse, and was caught by Captain Worm ley, to whom he said, ' AU my wounds are by my own men.' " THE HISTORY OF THE CHARGE. 45 in sucli a condition as General Pleasonton de- scribes in his evidence, can he make any one believe that he would have sent a regiment of cavalry, strung out in column, through a nar- row road skirted on either side by thick, scrubby timber (thus placing us in a defence- less position if attacked on the flanks), and covering, the whole front of all the available artillery of our army, and at such distance from it that they could not open fire and make it effective without cutting us down as well as the enemy ? Had our infantry line fallen back as far as Hazel Grove before we started, is it likely that General Pleasonton would have or- dered us off in that direction ? He would have brought the artillery into line and used it effect- ively on the enemy ; he would not have kept it waiting while we marched across its front from Hazel Grove to the plank road, when we could just as well have passed in its rear. The charge of the Eighth Pennsylvania Cavalry on the head of Jackson's column was simply a fortunate accident, caused entirely by the ignorance of the officers at Hazel Grove as to the position of General Howard's corps at that time and the near approach of the Confed- erates, Howard having sent to General Sickles 46 THE CHARGE AT CHANCE LLOESVILLE. half an hour before (when the enemy first made his attack on the right and doubled it back) in the hope that with the energetic use of cavalry, who could move swiftly from one part of the field to another, he might be able to prevent a general stampede of his corps. It was impos- sible for any one at Hazel Grove to know, or even suspect, that there was an enemy between Dowdall's Tavern and that point when we left there, and the last words spoken to me (and not to any other ofiicer of my command) by General Pleasonton were that " General How- ard was at or near the Old Wilderness Church." All reports, both Federal and Confederate, agree in their statements as to the position of the Eleventh Corps, and also that the cause of the stampede was the fact that the enemy had flanked them and come in the rear of General Howard's right flank, some three miles north- west from Hazel Grove, and that his troops were driven back toward the plank road. When this movement was made General Howard was at his head-quarters (at or near the Old Wil- derness Church), and it was from this point that he sent an aide-de-camp to General Sickles asking for a regiment of General Pleasonton's cavalry, to be used, as the aide said, in re- forming his scattered troops. This was all THE HISTORY O'F THE CHARGE. 47 done before Howard's troops at tlie Wilder- ness Churcli and the plank road liad given way, and before it was known either by Gen- eral Sickles or General Pleasonton that the enemy were not in full retreat, as both of them believed till the aide reported to the contrary. The country between the plank road and Hazel Grove was a complete wilderness, cov- ered with short, stubby undergrowth so thick that it was almost impossible for a person to go through it, and extending westward almost to the Old Wilderness Church, where, as already mentioned, Howard's head-quarters were, with but one narrow -road going through it over which troops could pass, and that road not running in a direction that would be available for the enemy till they had secured possession of the plank road some distance in rear of where General Howard was when his right gave way. It was on this road that the Eighth Pennsyl- vania Cavalry were when they passed through Howard's troops falling back, and struck the enemy on or near the plank road soon after. Therefore it was utterly impossible for the en- emy to have appeared till after the charge had been made and sufficient time had elapsed for them to have driven the Federal soldiers back 48 THE CSABGE AT CHANCELLORSVILLE. througli the woods to that point. As before mentioned, therefore, the charge was really one of those fortunate accidents which so frequent- ly occur to armies in the field, that no foresight could have anticipated or directed, and in all probability would not have occurred had it been known to General Sickles or General Pleason- ton when the regiment was ordered to Howard that he was completely routed, and that the enemy were then pushing for the open plateau surrounding the head-quarters of the Union army. Had the real condition of affairs been known, or even suspected, by Sickles when he ordered Pleasonton to send a regiment of cavalry to Howard (whose command was on his right), such an order would never have been given. As it is, he certainly would not have ordered three hundred men right into certain destruc- tion without one word of caution to their com- manding officer. The way was at that time supposed to be clear, and that we would reach Howard without any encounter with the enemy, it not being then known that the whole of his corps had given way. It was simply our igno- rance as to the real position of the enemy which caused us to march up face to face with an en- emy thirty thousand strong, and within fifty THE HISTORY OF THE CHARGE. 49 paces of them, before either party knew that their opponents were so near, thus placing us in such a desperate position that it required desperate action on our part for any portion of that noble three hundred to come out alive. It was the valor and boldness of our charge, and the surprise and shock to the enemy, that did the work, which in all human probability would not have been done had not the Eighth Pennsylvania Cavalry been surprised and sur- rounded at a time they supposed themselves entirely out of reach of the enemy. Before closing our remarks on the evidence of General Alfred Pleasonton the following additional extracts may be added to give the general reader some further idea of the exploits of this remarkable military hero, although hav- ing no immediate bearing on the charge of the Eighth Pennsylvania Cavalry : Conduct of the War, page 27, General Pleas- onton testifies as follows : " He (Hooker) wished me to take what force I had as soon as I could get through, follow them up, and do them all the damage possible. I asked him if I was under General Sickles' orders or if he considered me under General Sickles' orders. He said, ' No ; you will find 50 THE CHARGE AT most important points. It will also be seen that the evidence of General Sickles agrees with them, although in all probability he had not seen either of these reports when he testified. As the evidence of General Al- fred Pleasonton differs very decidedly from all three, the reader must come to the con- clusion that he could not have seen or known all that happened on that field. Captain James F. Huntington, commander of the artillery (see Appendix), and other officers and men who were there, are thor- 54 THE CHARGE AT CHANOELLORSVILLE. oughly correct in their statement as to what took place at Hazel Grove when the enemy- made his appearance. It seems a little re- markable where the material for General Pleasonton's report and evidence came from, as he certainly did not take it from the re- ports of the officers of his own brigade, and those officers of the artillery and infantry who were at Hazel Grove make no mention of him in their reports. Nor have I been able, after long and patient research, to find anything in the reports of the officers of the Eleventh Corps to confirm General Alfred Pleasonton's statement that he was in or near the right of that corps when it was attacked and gave way, although, as before quoted {Supplement Con- duct of the War, Part 2, page 8), he says that he "happened to be near this scene." As " this scene " was about three miles from Hazel Grove, with a wilderness between, it would reasonably appear from his evidence that on this particular occasion he was en- dowed with the gift of omnipresence! Pos- sibly that and other superhuman advantages enabled him to invent such a wonderful re- port, although, as he distinctly says himself, " he was alone pretty much the whole time " ! ! I ! APPENDIX. Letter from J. F. Huntington, late Captain First Ohio Light Artillery. Boston, Sept. 28, 1883. General Pennock Huey — Deak Gemteeal : You ask me to give you a brief report of tlie part taken by the artillery in the defence of the position at Hazel Grove. I will gladly do so, premising that I shall de- scribe only what I saw, and I think 1 saw the whole of an affair that has been made the subject of more balderdash than perhaps any minor action of the war. During the afternoon of Saturday, May 2, 1863, General Sickles, who had struck the rear of Stonewall Jackson's col- umn (then marching across our front to turn the -right wing of the Army of the Potomac), sent for Whipple's division of his corps, then in reserve near the Chancellor House. It ac- cordingly moved westerly on the plank road for a mile or more ; then, turning to the left, took a cross-road through the woods, ending in a large open field, known for some occult reason 55 56 THE CHARGE AT CHANCELLOBSVILLE. as Hazel Grove. About fifty yards to the right of this road as it crossed the field was another thick wood, hiding from sight the position held by the Eleventh Corps in that direction. Along the margin of the wood, lying between the field and the plank road, was a line of rifle-pits. These were now vacant, the troops that had occupied them being at the front with Sickles. There was thus a large vacant space between the left of the Eleventh and right of the Twelfth Corps. After crossing the field the road led over a rugged country to the position held by Sickles near the Furnace. Whipple's infantry followed this road, while his batteries were di- rected to halt at Hazel Grove till further orders. They comprised Battery " H," First Ohio, and the Tenth and Eleventh New York Independ- ent batteries. They were drawn up in a close column of half-battery near the north-west corner of the field, facing south. For some time we had the place to ourselves ; the horses were unbridled and fed, as no one thought for a moment of fighting there. From the reports of men escorting prisoners to the rear our fel- lows in advance seemed to be doing finely, and every one was in high spirits. Such was the state of affairs when Pleason- ton's Cavalry Brigade, with Martin's Horse APPENDIX. 57 Battery, entered the field, formed up, and dis- mounted. After a while I rode out toward the front to see what was going on. I had not gone very far when a sharp musketry fire broke out beyond the woods in the direction of the Elev- enth Corps. I returned as rapidly as possible, and on reaching the field found, to my surprise, that no steps had been taken toward putting the guns in battery. Though ignorant of the nature and strength of the threatened attack, the im- portance of holding the ground could not be overrated, controlling as it did the communica- tions between the advanced force at the Furnace and the main army. I inquired for the chief of artillery, and learned that he had left the field to look for orders — a proceeding that led to his trial by court-martial and dismissal from the service. Next in rank, I at once assumed com- mand, and was about to deploy the column pre- paratory to going into battery when a body of cavalry* took up the ground I was about to occupy. It has been stated by General Pleasonton that he ordered the charge of the Eighth Penn- sylvania Cavalry to gain time to get the guns in position. The falsity of this statement is * Supposed to be tlie two squadrons of the Seventeenth Penn- sylvania Cavalry. — Ed. 58 TSE CHARGE AT CHANOELLORSVILLE. ' skown by the fact that the guns might have been put in battery half, a dozen times after Jackson's musketry opened before I got back to the Grove, which I did not do until after your regiment had left it. For that purpose -there was no need of a charge of cavalry, but only of some one to give the necessary orders. As it was, notwithstanding the obstruction I have mentioned, the eighteen guns of Whip- ple's division were unlimbered, loaded, and ready to open before the enemy fired a shot or were in a position to do so. While waiting. for the ground to be cleared the situation of our batteries was awkward and perilous. In a close column, with the flank resting on the wood through which the enemy were rapidly advan- cing, they were helpless to resist his onslaught. Every minute the firing grew louder and near- er; the exultant yells of the enemy rent the air. After some minutes that seemed hours, to my intense relief the cavalry rode off". The movements required to put the guns in position were at once begun. Before the line was estab- lished a mob of panic-stricken fugitives from the Eleventh Corps broke from the woods and rushed through our incomplete formation. A lot of Third Corps forges, battery-wagons, and ambulances, that had been left in the wood- APPENDIX. 59 road, seeking to escape, galloped into the field, adding to the dire confusion. Our frightened horses reared and plunged in spite of the ut- most efforts of the drivers to control them. For a short time it looked as if the batteries would be swept in confusion to the rear ; that they were not, is due solely to the exeriions of the battery officers and the steadiness and dis- cipline of the men. The assertion made by General Pleasonton that these batteries were retreating panic-stricken, " drivers cutting the traces," and so on, and were by him rallied, brought back, and held to their duty, is an ab- solute falsehood made from whole cloth ! By the commands and exertions of their own officers as the torrent swept by, the batteries were formed and ready for action when the enemy, flushed with success, issued from the woods in our front. It was Archer's brigade, forming the extreme right of Jackson's line. They probably did not anticipate resistance at this point, having reason to believe that everything in that quarter had been well started to the rear. A storm of canister from our eighteen pieces and from Martin's four, in battery on the south side of the field at an angle to our line, enlightened them on the subject. They quickly regained the cover, and from there 60 THE CHARGE AT CHANCELLOESVILLE. opened a heavy fire of musketry. Though checked in our immediate front, there was no obstacle to the advance of Archer's troops through the woods bordering the field in the direction of the plank road. They soon occu- pied the rifle-pits before alluded to, and opened an enfilading fire on our line. The Eleventh New York Battery, holding the right and close to the pits, finding it too hot, limbered to the rear and withdrew. Battery " H," in the cen- tre, then changed front to meet this attack, while the Tenth New York continued to fire in the original direction. Martin's Battery kept up a heavy cross-fire from their position on the south side of the field. The triumphant advance of the enemy was checked, and by the time the infantry of Birney and Sickles reach- ed the field the fighting was practically over. For his own purposes Pleasonton exaggerates the strength of the attack ; his talk about "eight or ten battle-flags in sight at once" is simply — bosh! The critical moment was during the first rush of the retreat. After the line was fairly established, and we had settled down to the work, I, for one, had no fear of the result. The work was done by the batteries I have named, and no others. The assertion APPENDIX. 61 that retreating guns belonging to the Eleventh Corps were stopped by Pleasonton and put in position is not true. Huzel Grove was out of the line of retreat for anything on wheels from that corps. Some guns falling back on the plank road were put in position at Fairview by Colonel Best, chief of artillery of the Twelfth Corps. After the firing ceased, Gen- eral Sickles sent for me, and through me, as commanding ofiicer, warmly thanked the artil- lery officers and men for what he was pleased to term "their timely and gallant conduct." In conclusion. General, permit me to say that a more impudent and unfounded claim was never made by or in behalf of any man than that General Pleasonton exercised any command, directly or indirectly, over the bat- teries of Whipple's division in the affiiir I have described. Of what transpired in Mar- tin's Battery I have no personal knowledge; it would, however, require much stronger evi- dence than the assertion of General Pleason- ton to convince me that he assumed the duties of captain of that battery while Martin was at the fore. We bivouacked on the ground where we had fought. My own battery re- mained at Hazel Grove till driven from it on Sunday morning after a sharp and bloody 62 THE CHARGE AT CHANOELLOBSVILLE. fight while covering the formation of the new and interior line. Yours very truly, J. F. Huntington, Late Captain Battery "II," First Ohio Light Artillery. Letter from Andrew B. Wells, late Captain Com- pany "F," Eighth Pennsylvania Cavalry, General : As a number of accounts have been given of the battle of Chancellorsville, I contribute with much pleasure the following recollections of the part taken by our regiment in that en- gagement. The Eighth Pennsylvania Cavalry crossed the Rappahannock at Kelly's Ford about nine o'clock on the morning of April 29, 1863, at which time I was detailed in command of a company to act as an escort to General Meade. In this position I re- mained till he arrived at the Chancellorsville House, when I was relieved from duty there and ordered to report to my regiment. I reported to Major Huey, who ordered me to join my squadron, which was then fighting on the front skirmish-line. After driving tha enemy some distance, we fell back and en- camped for the night. . . . The next day (May APPENDIX. 63 2, 1863) our regiment was ordered from the left of the field to the right of General Sick- les' corps, about a mile on the other side of the Chancellorsville House. Our regiment was drawn up in squadron fronts and dismounted in a large open field, waiting orders. This . place was called Hazel Grove. After we had been there over two hours everything seemed so quiet that I proposed a game of cards to some of the officers,, who at once agreed. An empty cracker-box was procured and a blanket put over it, I furnishing the cards. The card- party was composed of Major Keenan, Captain Dailey, Adjutant Haddock, and myself. How little did we think that in one short hour two out of the four would be dead ! . . . While playing our game a mounted officer dashed up and asked who was in command. On be- ing told, he went on and met some officers who were coming toward us from the direction of General Sickles' front, among them Major Huey, the commanding officer of our regi- ment, who immediately rode over to where we were playing our game and gave the order to mount our commands. This was at twenty minutes past six in the evening. I remember it, for I looked at my watch to see how long we had been playing cards. When mounted 64 THE CHARGE AT CHANGELLORSVILLE. the regiment moved at once in the direction of the plank road in rear of General Howard's corps. Majors Huey and Keenan rode at the head of the regiment. We had not gone far when we discovered that we were inside of the enemy's skirmish- line. I was at the head of the second squad- ron, and distinctly remember hearing the com- mands, " Draw sabre and charge." We were in column, the first squadron taking the gallop, we of the second following with drawn sabres, Captain Corrie giving the command and tell- ing the men to " close up." When the com- mand " Charge " was given from the head of the regiment, it had just turned the corner of a wood-road, and as we came dashing around I saw at once the trouble. There was Jackson's corps in complete bat- tle-line, and we had accidentally run into it in obeying orders to report to Howard. Or, in other words, from the time Major Huey had received the orders to report to Howard the Eleventh Corps had been driven back and Jackson occupied the ground over which we were to pass, and while obeying our orders tlie enemy had got between us and Howard. The commanding ofiicer, who was in front, seeing and grasping the situation at once, and knowing APPENDIX. 65 full well, as any soldier would, that there was only one thing that could be done, gave the command to charge. And charge we did, three hundred men against thirty-five thou- sand! The regiment lost three ofiicers and a number of men in this terrible affair, but it held the enemy in check by the great and daring surprise it gave them ; and I may add that it was a surprise that was mutual. As we broke through their lines those who had empty guns would throw them at us with the bayonets on or charge on us with fixed bayonets. After the charge the regiment re- formed in rear of the artillery as best it could, and threw out a line of pickets across the country to stop the stragglers of the Eleventh Corps. On May 3, 1863, we were ordered to recross the river and do picket-duty on the road lead- ing from Hartwood Church to Kelly's Ford, and, finding no enemy, we retured to United States Ford, where we remained all night. On the morning of the 4th of May we were or- dered to report to General Sedgwick, which we did after crossing again to the south side. By General Sedgwick we were ordered to re- port to General Howe, and were by him or- dered to cover Sedgwick's rear in the retreat 66 TSE CRAROE AT OSANOELLOSSVILLE. across Banks' Ford. Lieutenants Garrett and Baker, with companies " C " and " I," brought up the rear, and swam their companies across the river, the pontoons having been removed. These two companies were the last of the Union army left on that side of the river. With reference to the oft-disputed question as to who led this charge, I would say that Ma- jor Huey, the commander of the regiment, who started with it from our halting-place, rode in front. In closing my letter I also wish to say that the report made by General Alfred Pleasonton to the War Department on the battle of Chancellorsville, in which he states that he gave Major Keenan the order to charge, is not only not borne out by facts, but is grossly untrue, and he knows it ! Gen- eral Pleasonton was not within three-quarters of a mile of us when the order was given to charge. Our meeting with the enemy was purely accidental, and all officers and men who were there will bear me out in my statement. [Signed] A. B. Wells, Late Captain Co. "F" Eighth Pennsylvania Cavalry. No. 404 Walnut St., Phila. APPENDIX. 67 Note from Captain William A. Dailey, late Captain "H" Company, Eighth Pennsylvania Cavalry. " I was one of the card-party at Hazel Grove (alluded to in the preceding letter and in Gen- eral Huey's history of the charge), May 2, 1863, and hereby certify that Captain A. B. Wells's statement of the circumstances is thoroughly correct. I also fully endorse his account of the battle of Chancellorsville. [Signed] " Wm. A. Dailey, "Late Captain 'H' Co., Mghth Cavalry, P. V." Note from Captain William A. Carrie, late Cap- tain com/manding Second Squadron Eighth Pennsylvania Cavalry. " I have read Captain A. B. Wells's account of the battle of Chancellorsville, and, being one of the officer^ who were present, I agree with his description in every point. [Signed] " Wm. A. Cokkie, "Late Captain comdg. Second Squadron Eighth Pennsylvania Cavalry." Letter from Brevet Major J. E. Carpenter, late Captain Eighth Pennsylvania Cavalry. Geneeal : Following is a statement of my observations 68 THE CHARGE AT GHANCELLOBSVILLE. concerning what took place before the charge was made by the Eighth Pennsylvania Cavalry at the battle of Chancellorsville, what happened during the action itself, and the events which immediately followed the charge. The regiment, having acted as an advance- guard to the Fifth Corps, crossed the Eapidan Eiver at Ely's Ford on the evening of the 29th of April, 1863. Early in the morning of the 30th it resumed the advance toward Chancel- lorsville. Skirmishing at the intersection of the road to United States Ford, where it cap- tured a company of infantry with its officers, and uncovering United States Ford for the passage of the Second Corps, it became engaged with the enemy near Chancellorsville, and after a sharp contest succeeded in occupying that place, and pushed the enemy some distance beyond. This ground was held, and on the morning of the 1st of May, Captain Wicker- sham's squadron, which had been left to hold the line, was attacked by the enemy's infantry. The regiment was brought to his support, and Lieutenant Dailey with a company made a brilliant charge to the relief of Wickersham. The regiment was sharply engaged here un- til it was relieved by the division of General Sykes, who, attempting to advance, soon found APPENDIX. 69 his hands full. The Eighth Pennsylvania Cavalry stood to horse for the remainder of the day at the cross-roads at Chancellorsville, at General Hooker's head-quarters, and at night bivouacked about a mile from Chancel- lorsville, on the Ely's Ford road. On the morn- ing of May 2d the regiment rejoined the brigade and marched to Hazel Grove, where it was form- ed in column of squadrons. Shortly afterward the brigade was moved to the front, following the small road which crosses Scott's Run and, continuing through the woods, finally reaches the Furnace. Out this road the regiment was pressed until it was close in rear of General Sickles' skirmishers, near the Furnace. After remaining in this position for a short time, the brigade (excepting the Sixth New York, which was left to protect General Sickles' right) was countermarched out of the range of the fire to which it had been exposed, and again took position at Hazel Grove. The men were dis- mounted, and were standing to horse; Major Keenan, Adjutant Haddock, Lieutenant Wells, and Lieutenant Dailey gathered beneath a con- venient tree and engaged in a game of cards. Suddenly an officer dashed up, and, learning where General Sickles and General Pleasonton were, immediately went to them; and soon after 70 THE CHARGE AT CHANOELLOBSriLLE. another staff officer joined tlie party, who were now some distance to the left of the regiment, at the point where Scott's Eun crosses the road, at the edge of the clearing. Major Huey, who had been with General Pleasonton for some time, now rode toward the regiment, and the game of cards was abandoned; the order to mount was given, and the regiment moved off to the right. At this time there was not the slightest disorder at Hazel Grove, and there was no indication of the presence of the en- emy. Taking the prolongation of the same small road over which it had returned from General Sickles' front near the Furnace, in the opposite direction, the regiment moved to- ward the plank road. It was now about half- past six o'clock in the evening. Before reach- ing the plank road the head of the column pen- etrated a line of the enemy's skirmishers, which, moving in the direction of the plank road to- ward Chancellorsville, had advanced its left flank beyond the point of junction of the small road upon which we were moving and the plank road, and, its right flank being refused, crossed the small road in a diagonal direction, where the regiment struck it. Brushing this skirmish- line away, the regiment turned to the left when it reached the plank road, and, taking the charge, APPENDIX. 71 was precipitated full upon the line of battle of the enemy, which crossed the plank road in the neighborhood of Dowdall's Tavern, and was ad- vancing toward Chancellorsville. This charge was led by five ofiicers, who rode at the head of the column — Major Pennock Huey, who commanded the regiment; Adju- tant J. Hazeltine Haddock ; Major Peter Kee- nan, who commanded the first battalion ; Cap- tain Charles Arrowsmith, who commanded the first squadron ; and Lieutenant J. Edward Carpenter, who commanded the second com- pany of the first squadron, and who was riding beside Captain Arrowsmith at the head of the squadron. Of these officers, Major Keenan, Adjutant Haddock, and Captain Arrowsmith were killed; nearly one-half of the enlisted men of the first squadron were killed or wound- ed, and a large number of horses were killed or disabled. But the effect of the charge was immediate : it scattered that portion of the en- emy's line and made great confusion — so much so that their advance was checked and the reg- iment was not followed when it retired to rally. Ample time was thus secured to form not only the Eighth Pennsylvania Cavalry, which was immediately formed on the left of the plank road (looking toward the enemy), but also 72 TBE CHARGE AT CHANCELL0B8VILLE. some of the reserve artillery, which took po- sition on our left ; and later our infantry force formed on the same line and on a prolongation thereof on the right of the plank road. These troops, I believe, were those of General Berry. The artillery, which took position on our left, I immediately went into action, and opened fire before the artillery which had been stationed at Hazel Grove, the guns of which were heard soon after. It was now at the last glimmering of twilight, and the enemy not having made his appearance in our front in force, and other I infantry having relieved the cavalry on the line — which, fronting the woods, was not on ground adapted to cavalry operations — the Eighth Pennsylvania Cavalry deployed across the country in the rear, in the vicinity of the Chancellorsville House, for the purpose of col- 1 lecting stragglers from the Eleventh Corps and returning them to their commands. By the time that the regiment had been deployed for this duty it was dark. After remaining in this position until about midnight, it was withdrawn, I and bivouacked for the remainder of the night * at the Chancellorsville House, General Hook- [ er's head-quarters. It may interest you to know that while I have written above my distinct recollections of APPENDIX. 73 the events which I have attempted to describe, my memory is corroborated in almost every instance by letters, a diary, and other docu- ments written at the time or within a few days after the occurrence. I have not attempted to detail the movements of the regiment before crossing the Eapidan Eiver or after recrossing on May 3d, nor have I mentioned the part taken by the regiment on May 4th, when the Eappahannock was again crossed at Banks' Ford and the regiment went to the assistance of Sedgwick. Very truly and respectfully. Your obedient servant, J. E. Caepentee, Late Gaptam Eighth Pennsylvania Cavalry, Brevet Major of Volunteers. To General Pemtock Huey. Extract from Letter of Governor Andrew G. Curtin of Pennsylvania to President Lincoln. Haekisbubg, Sept. 23, 1863. I have the honor to recommend to you Col- onel Pennock Huey, of the Eighth Regiment Pennsylvania Cavalry, for promotion to the rank of brigadier-general. . . . He received most distinguished testimonials to his conduct at Chancellorsville from General Hooker. . . . 74 THE CHARGE AT CHANGELLORSVILLE. Letter from Ex- Governor Andrew G. Gurtin of Pennsylvania to General Huey. Bellefonte, Oct. 8, 1883. My dear Sir : I have your letter of the 1st October, and am glad to say in reply that after the battle of Chancellorsville, General Hooker earnestly recommended you for promotion as a reward for gallant and meritorious conduct in that battle. Vy. respy., Yr. obt. servt., A. G. CUETIN. Gest. Pennock Huey. CHANCELLORSVILLE CAMPAIGN. {Organization of the Army of the Potomao, commanded by Major- General Joseph Hooker.) May 1-5, 1863. CAVALRY COEPS. Bkigadiee-Qeneral GEORGE STONEMAN. first division. Beigadier-Generai Alfbed Pleasonton. First Brigade. Second Brigade. Colonel Benjamm F. Daria. Colonel Thomas C. Devin. 8th Illinois. 1st Michigan, Co. " L." 3d Indiana. 6th New York. 8th New York. 8th Pennsylvania. 9th New York. 17th Pennsylvania. Artillery. New York Light Artillery, 6th Battery. SECOUD division. Brigadibr-Geneeal William W. AverHjI,. ! Brigade. SecOTid Brigade. Colonel Horace B. Sargent. Colonel John B. Mcintosh. 1st Massachusetts. 3d Pennsylvania. 4th New York. 4th Pennsylvania. 6th Ohio. 16th Pennsylvania. 1st Rhode Island. Artillery. 2d XJ. S. Artillery, Battery "A." 75 76 THE CHARGE AT OHANCELLOBSVILLE. THIBD DIVISION. BBIGADIEE-GENEEAIi DAVID McM. GbEGG. Mrat Brigade. Second Brigade, Colonel Judson Kilpatrick. Colonel Percy Wyndham. 1st Maine. 12tli Illinois. 2d New York. 1st Marylaind. 10th New York. 1st New Jersey. 1st Pennsylvania. Beg. Beserve Cavalry Brigade. Brigadier-General John Buford. 6th Pennsylvania. 1st United States. 2d United States. 5th United States. 6th United States. AETILLEEY. Captain John M. Eobeetson. 2d U. S. Artniery, Batteries "B" and "L." 2d U. S. Artillery, Battery "M." 4th U. S. Artillery, Battery "E." E. C. Dkuh, Adgidanir General. Adjutast-Geneeai.'s Office,! WASimieTOif, June S, 1882. > ■v-\' \ .V- \^v>: \ \ xi-^^ V- *N\ vA\,