LIQHTS ^ 
 AKm LIFE. 
 
 By C. A. SIMONDS. 
 
LIGHTS AND SHADES 
 
 OF 
 
 ARMY LIFE 
 
 FROM 1861-64, 
 
 BY c. -A.. si:is^onNri3S, 
 
 LATE OF THE 
 
 llTH U. S. INFANTRY 
 
 THE C. A. J. 
 
 ATHOL, MASS. 
 WATERMAN PRINTING 
 1894- 
 
 HOUSE. 
 
DEDICATED TO MY CHILDREN, 
 
 IDA ESTELLA (SIMONDS) MERRIAM 
 
 AND 
 
 LEON MELVILLE SIMONDS. 
 February 14, 1894. 
 
 C. A. SIMONDS. 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 Thinking it would be of interest to my children 
 to know something of the lights and shades of my 
 army life during the War of the Rebellion, from 
 Oct. 3d, 1 861, to Oct. 3d, 1864, I write the tol- 
 lowing sketch. While I cannot express with the 
 pen the hardships which we experienced during 
 those years, I have written these facts that those 
 who read them may more clearly comprehend the 
 trials of army life. 
 
 Your affectionate father, 
 
 C. A. SIMONDS. 
 
Digitized by the Internet Archive 
 in 2015 
 
 https://archive.org/details/lightsshadesofarOOsimo 
 
In 1861, the I2th clay of April, at four and 
 one-half o'clock in the morning, General Beau- 
 regard, in command of the Confederate forces 
 around Charleston, fired the first cannon shot on 
 Fort Sumpter, Charleston Harbor, S. C, wherein 
 was Major Anderson and his small force of Union 
 troops. The affair caused intense excitement 
 throughout the entire Northern, Western and 
 Eastern States, also the eleven Confederate States. 
 
 I assisted my father during the month of April in 
 laying the foundation of the Methodist Church in 
 Athol. To procure desirable rocks for that purpose 
 (which lay in the bed of Millers River near by) , 
 we worked in the water considerably for three 
 days, which caused a lameness in my ankle dis- 
 abling me for work nearly all summer. 
 
 In August, 1 861 , my brother William, with John 
 and Joseph Nickerson, enlisted into the iithU. S. 
 Infantry, and had it not been for my lameness I 
 should have gone with them. In September I 
 commenced to attend the High school in Athol. 
 The excitement of the war was riuming very high, 
 and nearly every pleasant evening after school a 
 citijen by the name of Charles Orcutt would drill 
 the young men in marching and other military 
 
6 
 
 LIGHTS AND SHADES OF ARMY LIFE. 
 
 movements In the meantime my lameness great- 
 ly improved, but I was far from being well. 
 
 I write these preliminary statements as they are 
 so intimately connected with my enlistment into 
 the service. 
 
 The 3d day of October, 1861, I enlisted into 
 the nth U. S. Infantry. A lieutenant of that 
 regiment had a recruiting office at the Summit 
 House. As I was enlisted as a musician in the 
 field music for three years, I was assigned to Com- 
 pany G. I was required to pass a rigid inspection. 
 We were taken into the Summit hall (75 feet long) 
 there removed our clothing, then asked to run the 
 length of the hall and return as fast as possible. 
 This was done to test our wind and show our 
 limbs. I had not fully recovered from my lame- 
 ness, but said nothing about it to the officer, but 
 just got "right up on my muscle"" and ran so fleetly 
 that nothing wrong was detected. I was then 
 given the liberty to go to my home and to wait 
 orders to report to the office. 
 
 On the 7th of October, Willard Twitchell and 
 Ruel Nickerson enlisted for the same regiment. 
 On the following day we were ordered to report, 
 prepared to go to the headquarters of the nth Infan- 
 try, which was at Fort Independence, Boston Har- 
 bor, 
 
 On the morning of the 8th of October I bade 
 my father, mother, brothers and sisters "good 
 
LIGHTS AND SHADES OF ARMY LIFE. 
 
 7 
 
 bye'' amidst many tears, and took the train for 
 Boston, arriving there about ii o'clock, and for 
 the first time in my life saw a real vessel, which 
 was a very wonderful sight to a country boy of 
 nineteen years of age. We were conducted to 27 
 Sudbury street, which was the regimental head- 
 quarters in the city. As I was rath.er shy lest I 
 might get lost in the great city, I ventured one 
 square out then returned, then took in two. and so 
 on until I felt quite at home. Ruel Nickerson had 
 more confidence in himself, and remarked that he 
 could go where he pleased and return all right. 
 Shortly after dinner he started out for himself ; he 
 was gone until late in the clay, when Comrade 
 Twitchell and myself started out in search. After 
 traveling an hour we found him. He was entirely 
 lost and greatly rejoiced to meet us. We returned 
 to our quarters. 
 
 In the evening we partook of our first army ra- 
 tions, which consisted of one thick piece of bread 
 (no butter) , a mug of coffee (no milk) . We 
 thought it a "big jump" from our home fare. We 
 retired at night into soldiers' quarters ; a straw bed 
 and blanket. The noise of the market wagons 
 and the yawling of cats in the back yards caused a 
 sleepless night. 
 
 The following morning we took the boat at 
 Commercial Wharf for Fort Independence. For 
 our first army dinner we had a soup of boiled rice. 
 
8 LIGHTS AND SHADES OF ARMY LIFE. 
 
 potatoes, onions, and almost everything else 
 boiled together. That so went against me that I 
 thought it about time to be a little homesick. I 
 soon rallied from that and "went in" v/ith the rest 
 of the soldiers. In the afternoon the companies 
 were out on drill, all in blue uniforms, and I had 
 to look several moments before I could see my 
 brother William who was in the ranks, as all sol- 
 diers looked alike to me at that time. 
 
 On the morning of the loth of October we were 
 ordered to the quartermaster's quarters to draw 
 army clothing, which took the place of our citizen's 
 clothes for three years. I also had a bugle issued 
 to me at that time, and was attached to Company 
 G, iith U. S. Infantry, ist Brigade, 2d Division, 
 5th Army Corps. I was subject to the orders and 
 teaching of the Drum Major, W. E. Giddings, 
 who took his drummers, fifers and buglers to the 
 fartherest corner of the Fort and required us to 
 practice two hours in the forenoon and the same in 
 the afternoon. As I was exceedingly anxious to 
 learn the regimental calls on the bugle, I practiced 
 six hours each day, until I had them learned, 
 which required several months' time. I also took 
 my violin to the Fort, and spent many pleasant 
 evening hours with it. 
 
 In the month of November, 1861, there were 
 five companies ordered to Perry ville, Md. — Com- 
 panies A, B, C, D, G. We were camped in A 
 
LIGHTS AND SHADES OF ARMY LIFE. 9 
 
 tents for a short time while barraclvs were being 
 built for winter quarters, each company having a 
 building which was warmed with coal They were 
 built on the banks of the Susquehanna River, where 
 it empties into the Chesapeake Bay — a very beauti- 
 ful location. The work of these companies was to 
 guard 3000 government mules, which were being 
 trained to the harness and wagon, for service in 
 the field. On Thanksgiving Day each Captain 
 treated his company (100 men) to a Thanksgiving 
 dinner, which was cooked in Harve-de-Grace, on 
 the opposite side of the river, and ferried across to 
 our quarters. It consisted of roast geese, pud- 
 dings, preserves, pies, etc. It was most highly 
 appreciated by all, it being the last one we enjoyed 
 for three years. 
 
 About this time I was transferred from Company 
 G to Company D, as they had no bugler, a great 
 pleasure to me, as brother William belonged to 
 that company. During the winter Captain Chip- 
 man of Company D held Episcopal services, the 
 only religious services we had an opportunity to 
 enjoy while in the service. One man in Company 
 G became so dirty and lousy during our encamp- 
 ment here that the officers ordered three men to 
 take him to the river and scrub him with brooms, 
 which they did. One of the amusements of the 
 winter was snowballing. On one occasion Com- 
 panies 1) cuul G were arrayed against each other. 
 
lO LIGHTS AND SHADES OF ARMY LIFE. 
 
 After a long contest it narrowed clown to one man 
 from Company G and myself of Company D, and 
 after a few moments the two boys clinched each 
 other. Company G went to the bottom and had 
 his face washed with snow. A big shout went 
 up from Company D, which ended a friendly 
 struggle. 
 
 During the first days of March brother William 
 was sent to the regimental hospital sick with 
 the measles. Three day later I came down with 
 them, and had it not been for the kindness of our 
 company cook, Willard Twitchell. who took meas- 
 ures to bring them out (as the doctor told me I 
 hadnU got the measles), and gave me great care 
 for three days, they probably would have proved 
 fatal. The ]-egiment was ordered to Washington 
 during my sickness and I was left at the hospital 
 with others under command of a sergeant. In five 
 days we were ordered to join our regiment at 
 Washington, but when we arrived there they had 
 gone on to Alexandria, Va. We were obliged to 
 camp for three days on a hill (where now stands 
 the soldiers' home) in our "dog" tents, waiting 
 for transportation down the Potomac to our regi- 
 ment. When we arrived there it was very cold, 
 and as we had not fully recovered from our sick- 
 ness, we were allowed to sleep in a covered army 
 wagon. We suffered exceedingly from the cold, but 
 after a few weeks we were entirely restored to health. 
 
LIGHTS AND SHADES OF ARMY LIFE. II 
 
 In the first days of April, 1862, our regiment, 
 with the Army of the Potomac, took transporta- 
 tion for F'ortress Monroe and the Peninsular Cam- 
 paign. Seven large steamer loads of soldiers, 
 horses and artillery in a row up the Chespeake 
 Bay, made a beautiful sight to behold. In the 
 waters of Fortress Monroe I first saw the famous 
 Monitor, and thought it was a hogshead in the 
 water until I learned it was the Monitor. 
 
 We landed in the early days of April, and 
 started on our long march with about seventy-five 
 pounds weight of luggage. After traveling two 
 and one-half miles I saw the first effects of war. 
 
 The Confederates had burned the beautiful old 
 town of Hampton ; not a chimney left standing. 
 We marched on to Yorktown where the enemy was 
 strongly fortified, and remained there about three 
 weeks. McClellan laid siege to the place, and one 
 dark night a company of men were ordered to 
 plant a siege gun near the enemy's works and 
 throw up earthworks in front of it. I was detailed 
 as bugler to give any necessary alarm, and we were 
 so near the enemy that we were ordered not to 
 speak aloud. About one o'clock in the night one 
 of our mules brayed, and almost immediately a 
 cannon shell was thrown by the enemy, passing 
 over our heads and bursting quite a distance from 
 us, doing no damage. This was the first shot that 
 I had heard from the enemy. The next morning 
 
12 LIGHTS AND SHADES OF ARMY LIFE. 
 
 we found the Rebels had evacuated Yorktown, and 
 the following day we were ordered to break camp 
 not to retiun, taking all our traps and two days' 
 rations. Torpedoes were buried in the road for 
 the purpose of killing our troops, but very few were 
 killed, as we took the roadside. We marched 
 through deep mud and intense heat a distance of 
 twelve miles to Williamsburg, a strongly fortified 
 place, where our troops defeated the "Rebs''' the 
 day before. On account of the heat, thh-st and my 
 heavy pack I was obliged to fall out of the ranks to 
 rest, the first and only time during my three years, 
 service. My brigade went about two miles farther 
 and camped for the night. I overtook my regi- 
 ment the next morning, fully persuaded that it was 
 easier to keep up than to catch up. We continued 
 our march through mud until we came to a heavy 
 piece of timber where the Rebels had built log 
 houses, which they were obliged to evacuate. As 
 we went into camp the woods were full of hogs 
 and pigs of all ages, and we commenced killing 
 them with pistols and swords until the bullets flew 
 so thick that it became dangerous for men. The 
 farmers entered complaint to the officers and we 
 were ordered to stop killing, but not until we had 
 a good supply of pork. Our rations were all used 
 and the teams stuck in the mud three miles to the 
 rear, but during the evening my company cook, 
 Willard Twitch ell, came into camp bearing a box 
 
LIGHTS AND SHADES OF ARMY LIFE. 1 3 
 
 of hardtack- upon his back which weighed about 
 seventy-five pounds. A big shout went up from 
 his company (D). We found a barn full of sweet 
 potatoes, and helping ourselves, make a pork soup 
 without salt, which made many ot the boys sick 
 for a few hours. Fortunately I had a little salt. 
 The teams came up in two days, and we drew three 
 days rations and marched for several days until we 
 arrived at a camping ground near Chickahominy 
 Swamp, where we remained several weeks. 
 
 From this camp, brother William and myself 
 mailed $42 in gold to our parents in Athol, Mass., 
 which never reached home. Together, we sent 
 more than $300 home during our enlistment. 
 
 While we were in camp at this place, one of our 
 men deserted into the Confederate lines, and with- 
 in a very few hours after he left, a cannon shot 
 was fired directly into our camp by the enemy. 
 The same afternoon we started on a reconnoitering 
 expedition to Hanover Court House. On the 22d 
 or 23d of June, 1862, we camped on the ground 
 for the night, with a single blanket over us, as it 
 was very warm. About midnight the entire camp 
 awoke nearly frozen, on account of a very heavy 
 cold fog coming over us, and the remainder of the 
 night was spent in burning big fires. The follow- 
 ing day we returned to our old campground, where 
 we remained until the morning of the 27th of June, 
 1862, when we started on the seven days retreat 
 
14 LIGHTS AND SHADOWS OF ARMY LIFE. 
 
 for Harrison's Landing, near the James River. 
 About ten o'clock that morning we were ordered to 
 stack our knapsacks and form into Hne of battle 
 (our first), which was near Gaines' Mill. The 
 battle commenced about eleven o'clock, but our 
 regiment was not called into action until two 
 o'clock in the afternoon. The duty of all musi- 
 cians in time of battle was to follow, pick up and 
 care for the wounded. The hospital was estab- 
 lished at a large farm house. The first wounded 
 man I helped carry from the field was a Confeder- 
 ate from a South Carolina regiment. As the bat- 
 tle was raging a pieee of shell came from the en- 
 emy as large as my hand, ticked my ear and tore 
 the bark from a tree against which I was standing. 
 Our troops held their position until dark, when we 
 continued our retreat. We never saw our knap- 
 sacks again, and consequently lost many keep- 
 sakes. 
 
 During our retreat the entire Army of the Po- 
 tomac passed over one very narrow road through 
 White Oak Swamp. My corps passed through in 
 the night, and we were obliged to march very 
 slowly and halted every few rods. Incredible as it 
 may seem, we were so completely exhausted that 
 men actually slept standing, leaning their heads 
 upon their guns. 
 
 After marching and fighting for three days and 
 nights we came to the place known as Malvern 
 
LIGHTS AND SHADES OF ARMY LIFE. 1 5 
 
 Hill, arriving there at ten o'clock in the morning 
 of July 1st, 1862. We were formed into line ot 
 battle on the brow of the hill to support a battery. 
 About two o'clock in the afternoon the enemy fired 
 the first cannon shot at our battery, killing one of 
 the horses within ten feet of me. From that 
 through the remainder of the day a most terrific 
 battle was fought, and many thousands of men were 
 killed on both sides. About six o'clock, the same 
 afternoon, I saw one of the most inspiring sights of 
 my life. The enemy were moving in large force 
 in our front and our reserve corps was called upon 
 to meet them, each brigade's band leading them 
 into position playing the national airs. With their 
 colors flying, the setting sun throwing its light upon 
 them and their glittering bayonets, every soldier 
 was inspired to fight with renewed courage lor their 
 dear old flag. The bands retired to the rear, 
 when our army made it so hot for the -'Rebs" that 
 they fled to the woods not to return. 
 
 Although they were defeated in that battle we 
 were still order&d to retreat farther down the river 
 to Harrison's Landing, where we arrived July 3d. 
 While in camp here I laid down to rest on the 
 shady side of my tent and went to sleep. The sun 
 shone upon me so hot that when I awoke I was un- 
 able to stand, and was very sick for a few hours 
 from sunstroke. The only event which occured in 
 my experience at this camp, outside of our routine 
 
1 6 LIGHTS AND SHADES OF ARMY LIFE. 
 
 duties, was one morning the orderly sergeant of 
 our company, without provocation, struck my 
 brother WiUiam in the face while he was stooping 
 Over. Before he had time to strike him the second 
 blow I clinched him, throwing him to the ground, 
 and held him there until another sergeant of the 
 company ordered me to let him up, assuring us 
 protection. In the meantime the captain of the 
 company was notified and appeared at the scene. 
 After learning the circumstances, he told me 
 he hoped nothing of the kind would occur again. 
 He put the sergeant under arrest, who was court 
 martialed and reduced to a private in the ranks. 
 He was formerly an officer in the English army. 
 He deserted at the second battle of Bull Run, 
 which was the last I ever saw of liim. 
 
 August ist, 1862, we went from Harrison's 
 Landing to Newport News. At this place the 
 Rebel gunboat Merrimac sunk the Cumberland 
 and Congress, Union gunboats. On one of these 
 boats, John Humphrey, a schoolmate, was cut in 
 two by a cannon ball. 
 
 From this place we took transports to Acquia 
 Creek, where we remained only a few days. While 
 here a few darkies went in bathing close by our 
 camp, and all at once we heard a terrible scream 
 from them which attracted our attention. They 
 were making for the shore, and a little way from 
 them was a huge serpent coming towards them at 
 
LIGHTS AND SHADES OF ARMY LIFE, 1 7 
 
 full speed Several soldiers took clubs and met it 
 when it came to the shore and killed it. It was a 
 snake six feet long and nearly three inches in di- 
 ameter through the largest part of his body. He* 
 was spotted like a boa constrictor, and was said to 
 be a deadly serpent. 
 
 From here we started on a hard march, which 
 ■finally brought us on to the battlefield of the sec- 
 ond Bull Run battle. Several weeks previous to 
 this, my brother William had an attack of the 
 chronic diarrhoea, which had reduced him to a 
 very low state of health, and two days previous to 
 the battle he was so poorly that his captain (Chip- 
 man) carried his musket and I carried his cartridge 
 box, con taming sixty rounds, blanket, etc., in ad- 
 dition to my own load, that he might keep up with 
 the command and not fall into the hands of the 
 enemy. That night we went into camp and smelled 
 pennyroyal, and as I was very anxious for him, I 
 filled my quart dish and steeping the herb, very 
 strong, sweetened it, and gave him to drink two or 
 three doses. From that he commenced to recover 
 and the second day went into battle, and never 
 was troubled with another attack. About two 
 o'clock on the 30th day of August, 1862, we were 
 drawn up in line of battle. The enemy fired the 
 first shot, a cannon ball, that afternoon, and in- 
 stantly killed the two right hand men of our regi- 
 ment. The band was but a very few feet from 
 
4 
 
 1 8 LIGHTS AND SHADES OF ARMY LIFE. 
 
 them, and as the shell burst, many of our instru- 
 ments were injured by the giape and canister 
 which flew in all directions. The battle raged un- 
 ''lil evening, when the entire army was ordered to 
 retreat to the defences near Washington, or Alex- 
 andria and Arlington Heights. The night of our 
 retreat was very dark, and it was impossible in the 
 confusion for the different regiments to keep with 
 their own colors. We were also separated from 
 ours, but continued to retreat into the night until 
 we arrived at Centerville, where 1 bivouached for 
 the night, not knowing where our regiment was. 
 The next morning I awoke and found our colors 
 but a short distance from me. with a very small 
 portion of the regiment with them. I was never 
 more rejoiced to see my beloved mother than I was 
 to find the dear old flag of our regiment. 
 
 From Centerville we started for General Lee's 
 (Confederate) army, which had crossed the Poto- 
 mac River into Maryland. The first engagement 
 with the enemy was at South Mountain, and al- 
 though our regiment was not engaged in that bat- 
 tle, we passed over the battlefield before the 
 wounded were all gathered up, in pursuit of the 
 Rebel army. Here I saw a row of not less than 
 three hundred dead men, who had been gathered 
 and laid side by side. A long ditch was dug, the 
 bodies placed in it, their blankets thrown over their 
 faces, and then they were covered with earth.. 
 
LIGHTS AND SHADES OF ARMY LIFE. 
 
 19 
 
 This was the usual way of burying the dead. I 
 had heard a great deal said about the scanty food 
 the Rebel army had. As I passed a dead soldier 
 who lay by the side of the road, with his haver- 
 sack by his side, I looked into it and found noth- 
 ing but a single corn cake as large as a saucer and 
 one-fourth of an inch thick. Evidently it was 
 nothing more than corn meal mixed with cold 
 water, and cooked on coals. The soldier lad was 
 not more than fifteen years old. This was. my 
 only experience in searching dead soldiers. 
 
 This battle was fought September 14th, 1862. 
 We still pressed on until we found the Confederate 
 army in line of battle at Antietam Creek, Mary- 
 land, where a fearful battle was fought September 
 16 and 17, 1862, when the Rebel army was de- 
 feated and driven back into Virginia. Two days 
 later, a portion of our division (2d Division, 5th 
 Corps), was sent across the Potomac River at a 
 ford which was composed ot a broad ledge, extend- 
 ing entirely across the river which was one-half 
 mile wide, with the water nearly waist deep. Af- 
 ter advancing about two miles on the Virginia side, 
 we came upon the Rebels in ambush, in great 
 force, and after a fierce fight we were obliged to re- 
 cross the river. During the fight a comrade and 
 myself took a wounded man on a stretcher and 
 brought him across the river, which was a very 
 tedious task. As we were nearly across, my helper 
 
20 LIGHTS AND SHADES OF ARMY LIFE. 
 
 stepped into a hole, completely wetting the wound- 
 ed man, whose thigh was broken. He died that 
 evening from the effects ot amputation. 
 
 We lay in camp near Shepardstown several 
 weeks with no special excitement except our routine 
 camp duties. 
 
 From this camp we went to Warrenton, Virginia, 
 arriving there November, 1862 in a drenching rain. 
 Everything was so wet that it seemed for a time 
 impossible to build a fire, as all dry wood and 
 fences had been previously burned by the armies. 
 As I was determined to build one I took my 
 hatchet, cut down a little white oak as large as a 
 man's thumb, and placing it on a rock, I pounded 
 it until the end was nearly as fine as hair and by 
 touching a lighted match to it, it burned very freely. 
 This was one of the many devices for building afire. 
 We were at this place but a few days, when we 
 started under General Burnside for Fredricksburg. 
 We arrived at Falmouth Heights, on the opposite side 
 of the Rappahannock River, w^iere Gen. Burnside 
 was obliged to bombard the city in order to lay his 
 pontoon bridges across the river. He fired into the 
 city with one hundred and seventy nine guns all one 
 day, which set the city on fire in many places. It 
 was a grand but fearful sight. The next day we 
 crossed the -river, the enemy having fled to the 
 heights beyond, leaving most of their household 
 goods but many of them were taken. I sent my 
 
LIGHTS AND SHADES OF ARMY LIFE. 2 1 
 
 mother a very fine table-cloth, which was worth 
 $8 00 at that time. I paid $1.50 postage. The 
 most miserable night I ever spent was in trying to 
 sleep on a feather bed, the contrast was too great. 
 While the battle was raging I was tearing out the 
 pews from the churches preparing them for hospitals. 
 From the M. E. Church I sent a hymn book to my 
 mother, who has it now. The Confederate Army 
 was so thoroughly entrenched that we retreated in 
 the night across the river, after losing many lives 
 and nothing gained by the battle. We went into 
 camp for a few weeks near Falmouth, where I was 
 detailed to cook for Captain Chipman of Company 
 D. I received good instructions from the doctor's 
 cook, who was a professional from New York. We 
 had our baked biscuit, pies, cookies, roast meats, 
 fish, etc. 
 
 From this camp we started on the march for one 
 of the fords on the Rappahannock River, known as 
 Burnside''s "stick in the mud."" We marched about 
 thirty-six hours in a pouring rain and when we 
 arrived at the river it was so swollen that we could 
 not ford it, consequently, we were ordered to return, 
 but the mud was so deep that it was impossible to 
 get our artillery back over the roads. As we were 
 in a woody country, men were detailed from the 
 whole army to coduroy the roads, which was done 
 by cutting trees from three to five inches through 
 and laying them side by side across the road. 
 
22 LIGHTS AND SHADOWS OF ARMY LIFE. 
 
 This was done for several miles as fast as the horses 
 could walk. We returned to camp and remained 
 there through the winter. Here we built ourselves 
 huts, or log houses, with mud chimneys, which 
 made very comfortable quarters. * 
 
 In April, 1863, we started for Chancellors ville. 
 Our corps (the fifth) arrived at a ford on the Rap- 
 idan River April 30th. about midnight. It was 
 raining fast, and the water in the river where we 
 crossed was nearly four feet deep. Most of the 
 troops crossed with their clothing on, but our band 
 stripped naked, and holding their knapsacks above 
 their heads, crossed over. The stream was about 
 two hundred feet wide, with a very steep, muddy 
 bank which we had to climb. We were in poor 
 condition to dress, nevertheless we did so, and 
 camped down in the rain and waited for daylight. 
 While crossing the stream the cavalry formed a 
 line below where we crossed, to catch anyone who 
 might lose his footing. It was so very dark that 
 one soldier from the 6th U. S. Infantry floated 
 past the horses and was drowned. For our break- 
 fast we took hardtack and coffee, then marched un- 
 til noon, arriving at the plantation known as the 
 Chancellor House. After a little rest our division v 
 formed in line of battle. At this place I saw the 
 8th Pennsylvania Cavalry form in line and charge 
 on a regiment of Rebel infantry, which lay behind 
 a stone wall. When the order was given, the 
 
LIGHTS AND SHADES OF ARMY LIFE. 
 
 23 
 
 horses ran with their riders on their backs about 
 three hundred yards at break-neck speed. The 
 Rebels fired on them, but the horses leaped the 
 wall with a bound, and only a very few of the 
 "Rebs" escaped. Some were taken prisoners and 
 others were killed. That night, May ist, I was 
 detailed as bugler to go on picket duty. I was 
 placed on the beat with my brother William as 
 picket. About midnight we heard a noise as 
 though a man was coming through the brush from 
 the Rebel line of pickets. William gave the com- 
 mand, "Who comes there?" There was no reply, 
 but the noise kept coming nearer. Again the com- 
 mand, and no reply. I was just about ready to 
 give the bugle alarm, when William cried out 
 "nothing but a hog." May 2d. in the afternoon, 
 I helped throw up earthworks for defence against 
 the enemy, as we expected an attack from them, 
 but they did not come. We camped down for a 
 night's rest at nine o'clock, and had barely laid 
 our heads on our knapsacks, when the general call 
 was sounded to fall in and support the iith Corps, 
 which was hard pressed by the enemy. The mu- 
 sic department, under command of the doctor, es- 
 tablished a hospital to receive and care for the 
 wounded. The day following we received word 
 to break camp, ready to retreat, and as we had a 
 big supply of flour, sugar, tea and coffee, which we 
 were obliged to destroy, I made a big lot of griddle 
 
/ 
 
 24 LIGHTS AND SHADES OF ARMY LIFE. 
 
 cakes and coffee and carried them to brother Wil- 
 liam, who was at the front behind' breastworks- 
 They were a great treat to him, as he was out of 
 rations and water. Shortly alter this we retreated 
 across the Rappahannock River. For a few days 
 we lay in camp with no special excitement. 
 
 About the 25 th of June, 1863, we started in 
 pursuit of General Lee's Confederate army, which 
 was making a big raid in Pennsylvania. This was a 
 forced march every day until we reached the battle- 
 field of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. The incidents 
 of interest which we call to mind on this line of 
 march was when we came to a very large black 
 cherry orchard, both sides of the road for half a 
 mile in length. We had strict orders not to pilfer 
 the country, but the sight was so tempting to the 
 officers that we were given the privilege of picking 
 cherries five minutes, and we were "all in it." As 
 we were resting in camp for a few hours on a Sun- 
 day morning, the Captain of Company D got one 
 of the boys to shave his face. As he was doing so 
 the captain remarked that that was the last time he . 
 should ever be shaved as he would be dead before 
 next Sunday. He was shot the next Thursday in 
 battle, and lived but a few moments. As we 
 pressed on toward the battlefield we went into 
 camp for the night. We had hardly got our coifee 
 to boiling when the general call was sounded to 
 fall in. Word came to us that General Reynolds 
 
LIGHTS AND SHADES OF ARMY LIFE. 25 
 
 of the 1st Corps was killed. We marched fast 
 until two o'clock in the morning and rested on our 
 knapsacks in a church yard until four o'clock, when 
 we started again. After traveling in the road a 
 short time we took to cross-lots through woods, 
 over fences, etc., and about seven o'clock arrived 
 on the battlefield, having marched more than forty 
 miles without rest. Still we were greeted with a 
 shout and called fresh troops. Our brigade was 
 formed into line of battle, all of the bands falling 
 back to the rear of the troops. At two o'clock 
 Friday afternoon, July 3, 1863, without doubt, the 
 fiercest artillery duel ever fought on land occurred. 
 The Confederate army opened fire with one hun- 
 dred and twenty-seven cannon and the Union 
 army with as many many more, and kept up a con- 
 tinuous firing for three hours. Then came a 
 charge from the enemy, who were met by our 
 artillery and infantry with such a terrific slaughter 
 that they retreated in great disorder, losing many 
 prisoners. During this engagement I sat in an 
 oak tree forty feet high, where I saw the whole 
 grand but terrible conflict. The musical depart- 
 ment then fell back about a mile, and established 
 a hospital made of large tents. Saturday morning, 
 July 4th, I went to the regiment and found my 
 brother William in line of battle at the foot of 
 Little Round Top Mountain. He was slightly 
 wounded three times the day before. I then re- 
 
26 LIGHTS AND SHADES OF ARMY LIFE. 
 
 turned to the hospital, where I helped care for the 
 wounded, night and day, for two weeks. fOn the 
 evening of the 4th of July/-i863, I held a light for 
 the surgeons to amputate a young man's leg, which 
 was badly shattered above the knee. The poor 
 boy died before morning.^ ^After two weeks' of 
 weary watching and witnessing many sad scenes, 
 the wounded were sent to dhferent general hos- 
 pitals, and we started for our^ regiment, which had 
 followed Lee's army into Virginia. We first went 
 to Baltimore, Maryland, where we had to wait sev_ 
 eral days for transportation. During our stay in 
 this camp, we had the pleasure of visiting the Bal- 
 timore Water Supply Works, also the fine estate of 
 Mr. McDonald, who then owned Flora Temple, 
 then the fastest trotter in this country (2.18), and 
 also several others. 
 
 We joined our regiment near the foot of the 
 Alleghany Mountains, where rattlesnakes were 
 plenty. We moved on the next morning. The 
 remainder of the summer and autumn was spent in 
 marching and countermarching, on account of the 
 movements of the enemy. During this campaign 
 there were two features of interest to us which I 
 will mention. Our brigade was ordered to occupy 
 Snicker's Gap in the Blue Ridge Mountains. A 
 very narrow and rough road led us to the top of 
 the mountain, where we could look a long distance 
 up the famous Shenandoah Valley, There was 
 
LIGHTS AND SHADES OF ARMY LIFE. 27 
 
 one solitary old house, in which an old gentleman 
 and his wife lived. They had several tat hogs and 
 a big bloodhound dog, and while we were there he 
 butchered the hogs. He would let a hog out of 
 the pen, which would run until the dog would 
 catch him by the nose and hold him until his mas- 
 ter came up and stuck it, holding him until the hog 
 died. 
 
 In the fall of 1863, a soldier of my company (D) 
 who deserted from the Rebel army and joined ours, 
 and then deserted from ours several times and took 
 bounties each time, was tried by courtmartial and 
 sentenced to be shot dead. It was proven in his 
 trial that while he was guarding conscript soldiers 
 from Boston to Washington, that he was bribed by 
 one of them for ten dollars, to let him go while 
 passing through Baltimore. After he had gone a 
 short distance from the car, he fired and killed 
 him. When the time came for execution, our 
 brigade formed three sides of a square ; on the 
 open side was the grave and coffin. He was re- 
 quired to follow his coffin, which was carried on 
 the shoulders of four soldiers, around the entire 
 square, followed by a guard, finally taking his seat 
 on the end of the coffin. Twelve soldiers were 
 then drawn up into line, each having a rifle hand- 
 ed to him. Six of them were loaded with bullets 
 and six with blank cartridges. They were then 
 ordered to take sure aim at the soldier's heart. He 
 
28 LIGHTS AND SHADES OF ARMY LIFE. 
 
 was instantly killed, two bullets passing through 
 his heart, and the other four very near it. Every 
 man in the brigade was obliged to witness the sad 
 scene, and we hope that the soldiers of no Chistrian 
 nation will ever see the like again. 
 
 In the winter of 1863, we went into winter 
 quarters, composed of tents, at Alexandria, Virgin- 
 ia. Our duty was to guard the trains which were 
 carrying provisions to the army at the front. We 
 frequently received passes to go into the city, 
 where we attended the theatre. Some of my leis- 
 ure time in this camp was spent jumping, my best 
 standing jump being ten feet and four inches. In 
 March, 1864, I was transferred from the field music 
 to the band. The ist day of May our band was 
 ordered to Fort Independence, Boston Harbor, our 
 regimental headquarters. At the same time our 
 regiment, with the rest of the army, started for the 
 battlefield of the Wilderness. On the 5th of May, 
 brother William was taken prisoner and was a 
 great sufferer in Andersonville and Florence pris- 
 ons. On the night of May ist, our band was in- 
 vited to play at a reception held by President Lin- 
 coln, which we did, until three o'clock in the 
 morning, when we took the train for Boston. The 
 only incident of note on our journey was shortly 
 after leaving a small station in York state, our en- 
 gine jumped the track, which delayed us two 
 hours. It was put back on the track by placing 
 
LIGHTS AND SHADES OF ARMY LIFE. 29 
 
 sticks of wood, which were taken from the tender, 
 in front of the wheeLs, and the steam appHed, thus 
 drawing the engine upon the wood. After trying 
 many times, they succeeded in bringing the wheels 
 level with the track, then taking iron bars, slid 
 the engine on to the track. 
 
 On arriving at Fort Independence, our duties 
 consisted of practicing music four hours per day, 
 and playing for guard mounting and dress parade. 
 The monotony of this life was occasionally broken 
 by the band being invited to play for serenades in 
 the different cities adjoining Boston. On one oc- 
 casion we had the honor of bemg invited by Gov- 
 ernor John A. Andrew to accompany him and his 
 staff on the new steamboat "Regulator" on her 
 maiden trip down the harbor, which was a very 
 bright spot in our history. Some of our leisure 
 moments at the Fort were spent in fishing for lob- 
 sters with a bushel basket, and with fair success. 
 One of the sad sights that we were called to wit- 
 ness occasionally, was when a bounty jumper would 
 be lashed hand and foot to an artillery wheel, 
 stripped naked and branded on the hip with a red 
 hot iron letter "D," signifying deserter. There 
 was very great excitement in the Fort one after- 
 noon, as it was reported that the Rebel gunboat, 
 Tennessee, was coming up the coast. Our heavy 
 guns were put in order for action, but fortunately 
 it was a false alarm. 
 
30 LIGHTS AND SHADES OF ARMY LIFE. 
 
 On the morning of October 3, 1864, the time of 
 my service (three years) having expired, the adju- 
 tant of the regiment, who made out my discharge, 
 saw fit to write, regarding my character, as most 
 excellent during his term of service, which affords 
 me great satisfaction. At four o'clock in the after- 
 noon I took the boat for Boston, as a citizen. My 
 first suit of clothes — coat, pants, vest and hat — 
 cost $100.00. We returned home to Athol the 
 following day, meeting father, who had spent two 
 years in the army of N. C, with all of the other 
 members of the family, with the exception of 
 brother William, who was held as prisoner of war 
 until the next February. It was a joyful meeting. 
 
♦