SERGEANT HART NAILING THE COLORS TO THE FLAGSTAFF OF FORT SUMTER. DRUM-BEAT OF THE NATION THE FIRST PERIOD OF THE WAR OF THE REBELLION FROM ITS OUTBREAK TO THE CLOSE OF 1862 BY / CHARLES CARLETON COFFIN AUTHOR OF "THE BOYS OF '76" "THE STORY OF LIBERTY" "OLD TIMES IN THE COLONIES" "BUILDING THE NATION" &C. Illustrated NEW YOKK HARPER & BROTHERS, FRANKLIN SQUARE 18S8 Copyright, 1887, by Harper & Brothers. All rights reserved. / ■ '/. 7 S>eMcate5 TO THE SONS AND DAUGHTERS OF THOSE WHO FOLLOWED THE DRUM-BEAT THAT THE NATION' MIGHT LIVE INTRODUCTION. NEARLY a third of a century has rolled away since the outbreak of the war between the northern and southern sections of the United States, known in history as the War of the Rebellion. Since then a gen- eration has come upon the active stage of life. One-fourth of the inhab- itants of the United States at the jiresent time have no personal knowledge of the Avar, and to fully one-half it is but a dim and fading memorj'-. The conflict was one of the mightiest of all time, waged between people hav- ing a common ancestry, speaking the same language, living three-fourths of a century under the same flag, attaining an exalted position among the nations, and looking forward to a great and unexampled destiny. In 1860 thirty-three States composed the United States of America. Of these, fifteen permitted tlie holding of slaves. The slave-holders living in tlie States which produced cotton brought about the secession of their respective States from the Union, seized forts, arsenals, cannon, ships, and other property belonging to the United States. South Carolina was the first to withdraw, followed by Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, and Texas, which united to form a Confederacy of States, elect- ing Jefferson Davis President. ISTorth Carolina, Tennessee, Arkansas, and Virginia soon after withdrew from the Union and joined the Confederacy. The slave-holders put forth as a justification of their action the claim that some of the original and reserved rights of the slave-holding States were not protected under the Constitution. Of the seceding States, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia took part in the formation of the Constitution. Alabama and Mississippi were originally a part of Georgia, and claimed that any original right that belonged to Georgia inhered to tliem upon their admission. Florida, Louisiana, and Arkansas had been created from territory purchased from Spain and France after the formation of the Constitution, and could put forth no such plea; neither could Tennessee, which had been created from territory owned by the L^nited States. Texas had been annexed. These five States last viii INTKODUCTION. named had accepted tlie Constitution without any expressed reservation. They severally joined in the war against the United States. As the years go by, it is" seen that the upholding of the " rights " of the States as against those of the United States was not the real and pri- mal object which the leaders of the Kebellion had in view, but that their true and genuine purpose was to arrest the progress of free labor, the de- velopment of free institutions, and the growing power of the people j that it was an attempt to overthrow the democratic government founded by the people and establish instead an aristocratic government of the few over the many ; that it was, in reality, a conflict between two civiliza- tions — one the development of free, and the other of slave labor. The conflict was marked by three distinct periods. The first includes the conspiracy to bring about the disruption of the Union, withdrawal of the cotton-producing States, formation of the Confederacy, seizure of prop- erty belonging to the United States, bombardment of Fort Sumter, gather- ing of great armies ; the period of enthusiasm, expectation, egotism, brag- gadocio, and ignorance in both sections ; of mortification throughout the North and exultation in the South over the issue of the first great battle, followed in the North by the sober second thought, the rise of true patri- otism, voluntary enlistment in the armies, the resolute determination that, cost what it might of life or treasure, the Government of the people should not perish ; the enrolment of Missouri, Kentucky, Maryland, Dela- ware, which held slaves, also a large portion of the people in \Yest Vir- ginia and East Tennessee, on the side of the Union ; the success of the army and navy in the West, on the Mississippi and the Atlantic coast ; skilled labor putting forth its en|rgy to arm, equip, feed, and clothe the million of men in arms — this, with defeat and disaster, incapacity and mismanagement, the ebbing of the cause of the Union to low-water mark at the close of 1862 ; the gradual awakening of the people of the North to the comprehension that slavery, instead of being an element of weak- ness, was a source of strength to the Confederacy ; that slaves were con- structino; fortifications and tillino- the soil while the white men were fighting the battles, and that to preserve the Union slavery must be ex- terminated ; followed by the immortal Act of Emancipation by President Lincoln. The second period includes the year 1863 — the victories of Gettys- burg, Vicksburg, Lookout Mountain, Missionary Ridge, and other battles ; opening of the Mississippi ; the turning of the tide ; the results of the Proclamation of Emancipation ; the enrolment of slaves as soldiers of the Republic. INTRODUCTION. IX The third period includes the months from the appointment of Ulysses S. Grant commander-in-chief of the armies of the Union to the final break- ing up of the Confederacy and the re-establishment of the authority of the United States. " The Drum-beat of the Xation " treats of the first period of the con- flict between free and slave labor. In writing it I have endeavored to pre- sent briefly and imj)artially the cause, scope, progress, and meaning of the war by grouping the leading events. I have endeavored to lay aside prej- udice, to see the questions at issue as the peoj)le of the seceding States saw them, duly recognizing their sincerity of conviction and adherence to the idea that the authority of the State w^as higher than that of the Nation. I have endeavored to do full justice to the endurance of hardship and brav- ery of the soldiers of the Confederacy in battle, and to recognize the great ability of the ofiicers who commanded them. In the month of May, 1861, I began my labors as correspondent of the Boston Journal. It was my privilege to witness many of the great bat- tles, to have personal acquaintance with nearly all the generals command- ing the armies of the Union, and with those prominent in legislative and executive affairs. Since the war I have had personal acquaintance with many of the generals who commanded in the Confederate armies. History is valuable only as it is truthful. It is comparatively easy for an historian to comprehend the general plan and design of a campaign, but there is no task surrounded with greater difficulties than that of ascer- taining the sequence of events in a great battle. The commander-in-chief of a large army sees but little of what takes place upon a battle-field. Commanders of corps, divisions, brigades, and regiments can have but par- tial knowledge of the vai'ious movements. The story of the private is his individual experience. A correspondent having the freedom of the army, if faithful to his trust, has exceptional opportunities for observation. Offi- cial reports, in the very nature of things, can present but one side of a bat- tle. Human nature makes the most of success, and is ever ready to give a reason for defeat. The victor glorifies the part performed by his army ; the vanquished ever finds extenuating circumstances for his defeat. Offi- cial reports and narratives written by officers in command are not always the truth of history. From my note-books of the battle-field, from official reports, later narratives, from a great mass of material, I have endeavored to arrive at the probable facts. The statistical record during the years 1861 and 1862 gives seven hun- dred and twenty engagements between the opposing forces, most of them between small parties, and of little account in a history. Only those X INTRODUCTION. events which have been fruitful of result, or given direction to campaigns, have been considered. Tlie chief object of this volume will be attained if those who have come upon the stage since the close of the war, by a perusal of its pages, are enabled to comprehend the meaning of the great historic drama — what this Government of the people has cost and what it is worth, what their fathers accomplished for the continuance of the nation, the wiping out of slavery, and the welfare of the human race through all coming time. Chakles Caeleton Coffin. Boston, September, 1887. CONTENTS. CHAPTER I. PACK Causes which brought about the War 1 CHAPTER II. The Conspiracy 23 CHAPTER III. The Uprising of the People 48 CHAPTER IV. First Weeks of the War 64 CHAPTER V. The First Great Battle 86 CHAPTER VI. The Close of 1861 104 CHAPTER VII. The Beginning op 1863 128 CHAPTER VIII. The Spring of 1862 159 CHAPTER IX. The Battle of Shiloh 196 CHAPTER X. New Orleans and Memphis 218 xii CONTENTS. CHAPTER XI. PAGE The PENiNSUiiAR Campaign 236 CHAPTER XII. Confederate Manassas Campaign 277 CHAPTER XIII. Ina'ASion op Maryland 298 CHAPTER XIV. Invasion op Kentxjcky 334 CHAPTER XV. Crumbling op the Confederate Corner-stone 364 CHAPTER XVI. Fredericksburg 386 CHAPTER XVII. From Nashville to Stone Rin'er 415 CHAPTER XVIII. On the Mississippi 443 CHAPTER XIX. The Close of 1863 457 INDEX 465 ILLUSTRATIONS. PAGE Sergeant Hart nailing the Colors to the Flag-staff of Fort Sumter. . . .Frontispiece Henry Clay 7 John C. Calhoun 9 Andrew Jackson 11 Daniel Webster 13 John Brown 18 Harper's Ferry 20 Abraham Lincoln 25 Lincoln's Home .... 27 Built from the Ruins 31 Major Robert Anderson 33 General John A. Dix 37 Facsimile of General John A. Dix's De- spatch 38 Map of Pensacola 39 Jefferson Davis 40 Map of Charleston Harbor 42 General Beauregard 45 The Pig 50 The Massachusetts Sixth Attacked when marching through Baltimore 53 Fortress Monroe 58 Burning Norfolk Navy Yard 59 The New York Seventh Regiment march- ing down Broadway 61 General Scott 65 Richmond. (From a Sketch made in 1861.) 67 F. P. Blair 71 Night March into Virginia. (From a Sketch made at the time.) 73 Benjamin F. Butler 76 General Butler declaring the Negro " Con- traband of War " 79 Map of Bethel 81 PAGE General McClellan 82 Map of Rich Mountain 83 General Lj^on 84 Map of Bull Run 87 General McDowell 88 General J. E. Johnston 90 General Longstreet 92 The Battle of Bull Run 93 Position at 3 A. M 96 Robinson's House 98 Stonewall Jackson 99 Confederate Position 5 p. m 100 Missouri and Arkansas 109 Defence of Lexington 113 Battle of Ball's Bluff.— Death of Colonel Baker 115 Map of Ball's Bluff 117 House in which General Grant was Born 119 Map of Battle of Belmont 120 Battle of Belmont 121 South Carolina Coast 124 General Grant on his Horse going on board the Steamer 125 Captui-e of the Port Royal Forts 127 The Campaign in Tennessee 129 General James A. Garfield 130 Map of Middle Creek 131 A Gunboat of the Mississippi 136 Admiral Foote 138 Fort Henry 139 The Gunboats at Fort Henry 141 Forts Henry and Donelson 144 Attack of the Gunboats on Fort Donel- son 147 Fort Donelson, February 14, 1862 150 XIV ILLUSTRATIONS. Map of Fort Donelson, as Invested by General Grant ; based on the Official Map of General J. B. McPIierson 151 Pea Ridge 161 Map of Pea Ridge 162 Battle of Pea Ridge 165 John Ericsson 167 Hampton Roads 169 Map of the North Carolina Coast 173 General Burnside 175 Bombardment of Roanoke Island 176 Henry A. Wise 177 Map of Roanoke Island . . 178 Judali P. Benjamin 179 Landing at Newbern 181 Encampment of the Army ... 183 Bombardment of Island No. 10 187 Map of Island No. 10 189 The Carondelet passing the Batteries . . . 191 Map of the Shiloh Campaign 196 The Battle of Shiloh 197 Albert Sidney Johnston. 198 General W. T. Sherman 201 Shiloh Church 203 Lew. Wallace 203 The Battle of Shiloh 213 Pittsburg Landing. (From a Photo- graph, May, 1862.) 216 The Mississippi below New Orleans . . . 219 Forts of the Mississippi 221 Fort Pillow 227 Naval Engagement at Memphis, June 6, 1862 232 Closing Scene of the Naval Battle before Memphis. (From a Sketch made at the time.) 235 The Peninsular Campaign ! . 239 How the Union Army was Welcomed . . 241 Map of Williamsburg 244 Vicinity of Richmond 251 Fair Oaks 253 General Robert E. Lee 257 Mechanicsville, 1862 259 Watts's House 260 The Battle of Gaines's Mills 261 New Cold Harbor, 1862 263 C^aptain Reed and Son 267 Diagram of the Retreat 268 PAGE Malvern Hill 273 The Gunboats at Malvern Hill 275 Harrison's Landing 277 Map of Cedar Mountain 282 The Sortie of Lee 287 Map of Gainesville 292 Confederates Crossing the Potomac .... 299 South Mountain 302 Battle of South Mountain. Franklin's Corps Storming Crampton's Pass .... 309 Map of Antietam 317 Scene by Rail -fence, Antietam 320 Antietam 323 The Sunken Road 328 Burnside Bridge '. 330 Scene at the Sunken Road 333 Cavalry Engagement 337 The Sortie of Bragg 341 Map of luka 347 Map of Corinth 353 The Battle of Corinth 357 Map of Perryville 359 Battle of Perryville 361 Effects of Emancipation Proclamation. 365 Exchanging Rags for U. S. Army Cloth- ing 387 Burning Engine-house at Chambersburg 391 Attack on Fredericksburg. — The For- lorn Hope Scaling the Hill 399 Burnard's House, Fredericksburg 403 Doubleday's Skirmishers, Fredericks- burg 405 Map of Fredericksburg and Vicinity. . . 408 Marye House 409 Sergeant Pluuket 412 On the March in a Storm 419 Beginning of the Battle 422 The Battle of Stone River 425 Scene in the Afternoon at Stone River. 435 Close of the Battle 439 General Breckinridge 441 Battle of Baton Rouge 447 Gunboats at the Battle of Baton Rouge 448 Destruction of the Arkansas 449 From Memphis to Vicksburg 450 Foraging Parties 452 The Chickasaw Bayou 454 Christmas-day on the Rappahannock . . 461 DRUM-BEAT OF THE NATION. CHAPTER I. CAUSES WHICH BROUGHT ABOUT THE WAR. ''I'^HE war between tlie iiovtliern and southern sections of the United -■- States, whicli began in April, 1861, and lasted till April, 1865, was a conflict of ideas and institutions. The moral and political causes which brought it about are so many that I think of tlieni as I think of the riv- ulets springing from far-off mountain ranges, which united become a mighty river, broadening and deepening as it flows to the sea. The fount- ain-heads are far away. In those days when Rome was mistress of the world, the Angles or Saxons of Germany lived in villages which were called tuns.. Each man had the right of voting in tun meeting, which was held at the moot, or meeting- place. The meeting was a parliament in which the majority ruled. Each tun was indej^endent and sovereign, but ever ready to unite with other tuns against a common enemy. From the tuns along the shores of the Baltic Sea a band of Angles sailed across the German Ocean and landed in Britain, gaining a foothold on the" banks of the Thames. They carried to Britain individual freedom, the organizing faculty, and obedience to the will of the majority. They conquered the country, mak- ing it Angle-land, or England. We come down to an October day, 1066, wlien William of Xormandy and his followers won the battle of Hastings on the white cliffs of Dover, conquering the Saxons, or Angles, dividing the land, giving the estates to the soldiers, with titles of honor to those who had been brave in the battle. Out of the victory came the barons, lords, earls, and dukes ; the titled no- bility of England on the one hand, and on the other the subjugated Sax- ons and Britains, who became the common people of England. 1 2 DRUM-BEAT OF THE NATION. • In all ao;es men have worshipped power, and liave assntned that tlie con- ferrino; of a title made men noble: that the descendants of those thns hon- ored, by some inexpHcable process, were more worthy than the common lierd of men. The nobility could look disdainfully down upon the multi- tude, reo:ardino: them as of infei'ior make, with the taint of low condition in their blood. From London, in lOOG, sailed three vessels which bore the first perma- nent English settlers to America. Of the one hundred and five on board the ships, four were carpenters, twelve laborers, four gold -refiners, while forty-eight regarded themselves as gentlemen, far superior to the joiners and carpenters. So it came about that class distinction, sense of supe- riority, and antagonism to labor were transplanted from English soil to the banks of the James, in Virginia. These features of society were made more prominent when the merchants who established the colony sent over indentured servants to work in the tobacco fields who could have no social rights, and they became a permanent force affecting the community, when a Dutch ship-master, in 1619, sailed up the James with sixteen slaves stolen from Africa, which were purchased by the planters. In those years no one thought it wrong to steal or hold negroes or In- dians in slavery. Sir John Hawkins, who engaged in tlie traffic, thought himself a special servant of God elected to bring blessings to the negroes, who would be better off as slaves in a Christian land than remain barba- rians in Africa. Besides, it was very profitable. Little did that Dutch ship- master, or any one else, comprehend what would be the outcome of that cargo of slaves— that the little rivulet would become a river— the migh- tiest of all the forces to bring about the greatest civil war of all the ages. There came a time when there was trouble between King Charles and Parliament, resulting in civil war in Great Britain. Most of the noblemen sided with the King. They called themselves Cavaliers. To be a Cavalier was to be brave, to have exalted ideas of honor, aiid be quick to resent insult. To be spoken of as a true Cavalier was regarded as the highest praise. The King was defeated in battle and executed. Many of the men who had sided with him made Virginia their home, bought large tracts of land, owned slaves, and dispensed lavish hospitality. It was natural for them to regard themselves as superior to those who were obliged to labor for their bread. Tliey believed in class distinction, gave direction to soci- ety, and left their impress upon the State. One of the emigrants was Sir John Washington, who had followed King Charles in all his misfortunes ; but when the King lost his head, when the outlook for the future, as Sir John saw it, was only dark and gloomy, he sold his old home in England, CAUSES WHICH JJKOUGHT ABOUT THE WAR. 3 bade farewell to all that was dear, crossed the Atlantic, and made himself a home in Virginia. Following another rivulet, we are led back to that day when, by order of Henry VIII., King of England, a Bible was placed in every church throughout the realm. From reading it people began to think for them- selves, and to obtain exalted ideas of the worth and dignity of man; that men have natural rights which cannot be justly taken away by king or bishop, or any one else. Many of the parish ministers of England preached to the people to reform their lives, to stop their brutal sports — the lighting of cocks and dogs and worrying of bulls. Lords, ladies, king and queen, as well as the common people, delighted to see bull-dogs tear each other to pieces. Men who reformed their lives and became zealous for a purer religion were de- risively called Puritans by the rollicking Cavaliers, M'ho found little pleas- ure in attending church or listening to a psalm or sermon. The movement for purer morals began witli the common people, some of whom met in their own houses for worship instead of attending church. Such independence could not be tolerated by King James and the bishop.^ of the Church of England, and out of their j^ersecutions came the flight of the men and women of the little hamlets of Scrooby and Austerfield to Holland, where they lived ten years, and then, fearing that their children would forget that they were Englishmen, determined to leave Holland, cross the Atlantic, and establish themselves in the wilderness of America. On the 16th of September, 1(520, they bade farewell to all friends, sailing from Plymouth, England. They were one liundred and one persons. They were casting loose from all old things. They loved law and order. No one had given them authority to elect a governor, but nevertheless they chose one of their numljer — John Carver. In the cabin of the J/ay- Jlower, riding at anchor in the waters of Cape Cod, they signed their names to a compact organizing themselves as a body politic, agreeing to obey all the laws wliich they might make, and the governors whom they miglft choose. The woi-ld never before had seen such a paper or govern- ment. It was a constitution formed by a Christian people — the beginning of the government of tlie people. The nien of the MayJ^rer called themselves Pilgrims. They were poor; they were laborers. Labor was not only a necessity, but they re- garded it as a duty — a blessing. Idleness, in their estimation, led to vice ; industry to virtue. In that company of one hundred and one persons there were no inher- ited privileges, no class distinctions conferred by birth or positions in so- 4 DRUM-BEAT OF THE NATION. cicty. A democratic State crossed tlie Atlantic to establish itself upon the barren shores of Massachusetts, on a soil and in a clime where growth was possible only through unremitting industry. On Sunday they assembled in their moot, or meeting-house, for worship, listening to the preaching of Elder Brewster, their bishop, elected by themselves. They elected their governor in the same building, where they discussed all questions affecting the welfare of the community, each man having the right to be heard and to hold up his hand in voting. The Saxon tun became the New Eng- land town-meeting. Each citizen cultivated his own land, and there were no large estates. That their children might not grow up in ignorance, comprehending that ignorance is weakness and knowledge is power, they established free schools. With schools came the printing-press and the establishment of newspapers. In contrast, from the settlement of Virginia to the beginning of the war in ISGl, in no Southern State was there a coMiplete system of common schools. "1 thank God," wrote Governor Berkeley, of Yirginia, in 1671, '• that there are no free schools nor printing in Virginia, and I hope we shall not have them these hundred years." During the reign of Queen Anne a corporation was formed in Eng- land under the title of the Royal African Company, organized for carry- ing on the slave-trade. It was composed of dukes, lords, nobles, and mer- chants. Queen Anne reserved one-quarter of the stock for herself. She instructed the Boyal governors of the American colonies to give all pos- sible encouragement to the trade, and it is estimated that several hundred thousand slaves were transported to America by the company. So many M^ere brought that the colonists began to be alarmed, and Pennsylvania, in 1712, passed a law restricting the importation. Virginia, in 172G, imposed a tax on the slaves brought from Africa. In 17G0 South Carolina enacted a law against the trade. All of these laws were disallowed by the Eng- lish government. But there was no commercial enterprise which brought in such rich returns. Those engaged in it purchased molasses in the West Indies, shipped it to New England or to Old England, distilled it into run:i which was sent to Africa, where it was exchanged for slaves captured in the wars between the negro tribes, which were trans^wrted to the West Indies and the American colonies. In 1772 the Virginia assembly sent an address to George III., pleading with him not to thwart their efforts to put a stop to the trade. '• The interes|; of the country manifestly requires the total expulsion of the slaves," read the address. Thomas Jefferson and Henry Lee, of Virginia, were earnest in their efforts not only to put a "^ CAUSES WHICH BROUGHT ABOUT THE WAR. 5 stop to the importation of slaves, but to inaug-urate measures for the final abolition of slavery. The obstinate King, influenced by those who were reaping a rich harvest, would not listen to the appeal of the Virginians, and thus it came about that slavery was forced upon the people. The legislature of Massachusetts, in ITTl, and again in 1774, appealed to the crown to put a stop to the slave-trade without avail. It was British greed which planted slavery in America. With the coming of the Revolution slavery ceased in the New Eng- land States, and Virginia, in 1778, prohibited the further introduction of slaves. Societies were organized in the Southern States to brin": about its gradual abolition, and people looked forward to the time when it would become extinct. When the Constitution of the United States was adopted in 1787, and the Union established, each State surrendered some rights be- fore exercised, that the good of all might be secured. It was agreed that Representatives to Congress should be apportioned according to popula- tion. The South demanded that three slaves should be regarded as equal to two wdiite men. The slaves were citizens, but not voters. The North assented. It was the thistle seed of all future trouble. It was agreed that the African slave-trade might be continued till 1808, when it should cease altogether. This agreement was regarded as a compromise between the diverse interests of the States. Each State claimed the rio-ht to man- age its own institutions in its own way, and to make its own laws in re- gard to slaves. Slavery was an institution belonging to the several States, and not to the nation. Under the Constitution the States were no lon- ger a Federation but a Union, a Government of the people, with a Consti- tution which was to be the supreme law of the land. In 1787 an ordi- nance was passed for the government of the north-west territory, the great region of country now covered by the States of Ohio, Indiana, Illi- nois, Michigan, and AVisconsin, which prohibited slavery, but which de- clared that slaves escaping into the territory should be given up. This last provision was a seed which was to bring about a great crop of thistles sixty years later. In the Southern States agriculture was the only occupation — carried on almost wholly by the slaves, except in the mountain region, where slavery could not be made profitable, and where it degraded white labor. There was a class which lived solely upon the labor of the slaves. In the North there was a great diversity of occupations — agricultural, commer- cial, industrial, and mechanical. AJl men were regarded as laborers. The result was, as the years rolled on, a springing up of bustling towns and thriving cities in the North, while in the South there was only the shire V^^^^^* 6 DKUM-BEAT OF THE NATION. town of the county or tlie house of tlie planter with ne2:ro huts around it. New Orleans was the only city of magnitude in the South. Though the people of the entire country, when the Constitution was adopted, looked forward to the time when slavery would be gradually ex- tinguished, the progress of events wholly unforeseen changed the aspect of affairs. When we study the history of the human race, the development of na- tions and their character, we see that clinuite — heat and cold, currents in tlie sea and air, rivers and mountains — as well as the fertility and produc- tions of the soil, have had much to do with the moulding of nations. With the earth turning on its axis from west to east, there is ever a current flowing westward along the equator in the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. That in the Atlantic strikes ao-ainst tlie coast of Brazil, and sends a larg-e portion of its flood, together with the mighty volume of water coming down the Amazon and Orinoco, northward into the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico, and having no outflow except between Florida and Cuba, there must of necessity be a great rush of water at that point, which is the beginning of the Gulf Stream. The warm currents of air rising above the waters, laden with moisture drifting landward, give to the southern tier of States the climate which surpasses all others for the cul- tivation of cotton. Up to the close of the Revolutionaiy War, people in temperate climes wore clothing manufactured almost wholly from wool or flax, but it was discovered that the fibres of the cotton-plant could be used for the manufacture of clothing. The first cotton used in England was grown in India, but some seeds were brought to South Carolina, where the plants grew luxuriantly. Its cultivation began immediately after the close of the Revolutionary War. In 1TS4 eight bags of cotton were shipped to England, and in 1788, the year after the adoption of the Constitution, two hundred and eighty -two bags were shipped, and more called for. James Hargreaves, in England, had invented a spinning- machine, by which one person could do the work of several hands, thus cheapening the price of cloth and giving great impetus to the manufact- uring industries, and increasing the demand for cotton. It was slow work to pick the cotton seeds from the fibres, but this ditficulty was overcome by Eli Whitney, of Massachusetts, who invented the machine called the cotton-gin. \We have seen that from the first settlement of the country there were two distinct and diverse civilizations — two forms of society — one based on free, and the other on slave, labor. The demand of tlie world for cotton, the invention of the spinning-frame and of the cotton-gin, brought about ^ CAUSES WHICH BKUUGIIT ABOUT THE WAR. HENRY CLAY. a state of affairs entirely different from wliat liad been anticipated by those who expected tlie gradual dying out of slavery. These inveritions had a tendency to perpetuate the two distinct forms of society. Mann- facturino; befjan in New England at the closie of the last century, increased the demand for cotton, and in turn there was a call for more slaves in the cotton-growing States. The cessation of the African slave-trade in 1808, together with the demajid for slaves, made it profitable for the slave- 8 DRUM-BEAT OF THE NATION. lioklers of Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Missouri to raise slav^es for the southern market. Thus it came about that the coniuiercial and in- dustrial pursuits of the Nortliern and Middle States were intimately re- lated to the one great industry of the South. Slavery, instead of dying out, became a great source of wealth and political power. From its nat- ure it must be aggressive upon free labor, and must have new States and territories to maintain its political position. There are few things so slow of growth as an idea. Down to 1798 the peojile did not comprehend that the United States were a nation. The course of the French government towards the United States awak- ened resentment thronghout the country. During that year Mr. Nichols, of Kentuck}', offered a series of resolutions setting forth the rights of the States as superior to those of the nation. The insolence and arro- gance of the Governor of Algiers in 1800 brought on the war with that country, which awakened in some slight degree an enthusiasm for the Stars and Stripes. Up to that time there had been no background of liistory, of sacrifice and devotion, except that of the Revolution. The question was arising as to who owned the ocean. Great Britain claimed to be mistress of the seas. The merchants of England wanted to do all the carrying of the world, and they looked with jealous eyes across the Atlantic to the United States, whose merchant-ships were spreading their white wings on every sea. England and France were at war. Bo- naparte was sweeping Europe with his armies, while England with her navy was asserting her power upon the ocean. England not only de- stroyed the war-ships but the merchant-vessels of France. The United States was England's only competitor for the carrying trade of the world. France and England both began to seize American ships, and England heffan to seize American sailors for her navv. The United States was powerless to protect American merchant-vessels. Members of Congress thought that if all trade between the United States and foreign countries were stopped, the necessities of England and France would compel them to come to terms, and a law Avas passed laying an embargo, or prohibition, on trade. The result was far different from what they expected it would be, for in a very short time the vessels were rotting at the wharves, ship- mast^fe and sailors, ship -carpenters, calkers, and sail -makers, were roam- ing the streets of the seaport towns with nothing to do. In the country, on the other hand, the spinning-wheels and looms were never so busy — women and girls at work from morning till night. Instead of depending upon England for cloth, they were manufacturing it. The people in the seaports were suffering, while those in the country were prospcrin.g under CAUSES WHICH BROUGHT ABOUT THE WAR. 9 the law. The iiatui'al resuh, was a divided opinion as to the benefits of the Constitution and the Union. England and France, the while, went on seizing American vessels. England had taken nine hnndred and seven- teen, and France five hnndred and fifty-eight, valued at more than seventy niilh'on dollars. England had also forced nearly twelve thousand Ameri- JOHN C. CALHOUN. can sailors into her navy. The people of the United States becam#very angry, but were divided in opinion, some desiring to go to Avar with both England and France, others with England only. On June 19, IS 12, Congress, in secret session, passed a bill declaring war with England. The United States had twenty vessels in the navy, the largest carrying forty- four guns, while Great Britain had one thousand and sixty vessels, many 10 DRUM-BEAT OF THE NATION. of them carrying seventy-four guns. On the 10th of August, 1812, tlie frigate Constitution fell in with tlie British ship Guerriere, and in a few miuntes compelled her surrender, so badly damaged that she soon went to tlie bottom of the sea. From the adoption of the Constitution to tliat hour no event had aroused such enthusiasm for the flag of the country. The successes of the American navy, and the victories along the Canadian frontier and at New Orleans, made the United States a nation. Although the war was unpopular in the Northern States, though a conv-ention was held at Hartford, Connecticut, in opposition to the war, the people com- prehended as never before that in unity only could there be power and peace for the nation. The war was very popular in Kentucky, where Henry Clay, orator and statesman, used his great influence to arouse the people of that State, He was born at Ashland, in Virginia, about twenty miles north of Rich- mond, and like many other Virginians made Kentucky his home. Nearly every man in that State was a hunter, and with his rifle could bring down a squirrel from the tallest tree. The hunters volunteered in great num- bers to serve under General Harrison in the North-west, and under General eTackson at New Orleans. For many years after the war, ballads were sung throughout the country extolling their deeds and awakening a loyal sentiment for the flag. There can be no doubt that the part taken by the people of Kentucky in the war of 1812 created a deep and abiding love in that State for the Union. A very different sentiment existed in the cotton-growing States, which took no part in the war, contributing few if any soldiers to the army. No loyal sentiment for the Union was awakened in those States. The people of South Carolina had always disliked the form of government. The great planters were aristocratic while the government was democratic. The aristocrats had little in common with the mass of people. Just after the war with Great Britain, Commodore Charles Stewart, commanding the frigate Constitution, had this conversation with John C. Calhoun, member of Congress from South Carolina.: "You of the South,"" said Mr. Stewart, "are the aristocratic portion of the Union. You are aristocratic in your habits, modes of living, and action, and yet you assume all the professions of democracy." " I admit," said Mr. Calhoun, " that we are essentially aristocratic, but we yield much to democracy. It is our sectional policy. It is through our affiliation with the democratic party in the Middle and Western States that we hold our power. When we cease thus to control the nation, we shall dissolve the Union." CAUSES WHICH UROUGHT ABOUT TIIF, WAR. 11 ANDREW JACKSON. Mr. Calhoun believed with Jefferson that the sovereignty of the State was superior to that of the nation ; the Union was only an agreement be- tween the States, and not a system of government, lie was sincere in his opinions, a man of keen, incisive intellect, who wielded great inHuence. Through his teachings, far beyond those of any other man, the doctrine that the rights of the States were superior to those of the nation was ac- cepted by the people of the South, and that it was their right and privi- 12 DRUM- BEAT OF THE NATION. lege to secede from tlie Union whenever, in tlieir judgment, there was siitKcient cause. In 1818 a decision was made by tlie Supreme Court of the Uniten of the United States sliould be amended so that slavery might be carried everywhere. The Sonth lias the right to demand the repeal of all laws hurtful to slavery." A newspaper was established in Charleston to advocate the reopening of the African slave-trade. The people of Virginia were not quite ready to accept that doctrine. South Carolina wanted the law repealed which prohibited the importation of slaves from Africa, while Virginia did not; for she was raising negroes for the Southei'n market, every year sending from ten to twelve thousand, ■worth ten million dollars. Mr. Memminger, and others of South Carolina, formed an association to bring about the dissolution of the Union. It was called the " 1860 Asso- ciation," which sent out one hundred and sixty thousand pamplilets advo- cating secession. The legislature of South Carolina called a convention to provide for arming the militia of the State. The United States Hag was taken down from the State House in Columbia. " Xever again shall it float in the free air of South Carolina," said the great planters. One of the leading secessionists was Robert Barnwell Ilhett. His true name was Smith, which he did not like, and so changed it. His parents were poor, but he became wealthy and lived in a statel}'^ mansion, owned a large plantation and many slaves. His summer residence was at Beaufort, overlooking the beautiful bay of Port Royal, his winter home was in Charleston. In a speech delivered in the hall of the Institute of South Carolina, he said, " Tiie Northern people are swollen with pride and inso- lence, and steeped in ignorance, selfishness, and fanaticism. They never will understand their dependence on the South until the Union is dis- solved, and they are left naked to their own resources. Then, and not till then, will they realize what a blessing the Almighty conferred upon them when he placed them in connection with the South; and they will curse in bitterness and repentance the dark day on wdiich they compelled us to dissolve it. Upon its dissolution their whole system of commerce and manufactures will be paralyzed and overthrown. Their banks will sus- pend payments, their stocks will fall in price, and confusion and distrust will walk the streets of their great cities; mobs will break into their palaces, and society will resolve itself into its original chaos." Mr. Rhett and his fellow -secessionists did not see that the conliict which they M'ere about to inaugurate would be a struggle between two systems of labor. Nearly seven million emigrants had crossed the Atlan- tic to become free citizens of the United States. They were hard-work- ing men and women. They had been oppressed in their native lands. 22 DRUM-BEAT OF THE NATION. They hated slavery and class distinction. All of their instincts were for liberty. They knew that slavery degraded labor, and cast their votes against its extension into the territories of the West. The men in the South who hated the democratic form of government on which the Union had been established, who thought to establish a con- federacy on aristocracy and class distinction, little comprehended the mag- nitude of their undertaking. Slavery, from its nature, must be aggressive. The slave-holders saw that they must dissolve the Union, or, in time, slavery would die. Jefferson Davis and other Southern writers would have the world believe that they brought about the dissolntion of the Union for the preservation of the rights of the States, but the verdict of history will be that it was to establish a government based on slavery. THE CONSPIKAUY, 23 CHAPTER 11. THE CO XS PIRACY. WE come to 18G0, tlie Ir.st year of tlie presidency of James Bnclianan. The prediction made by John C. Callioun in 1812 liad come to pass. The Democratic party liad been purposely divided by the great slav^e- holders, who made demands for the extension of slavery which the mem- bers of the party in the jSTorth would not listen to. The slave-holders nominated John C. Breckinridge, of Kentucky, while the Northern men nominated Stephen A. Douglas, of Illinois. The Whig party nominated John Bell, of Tennessee. A new party, the Republican, had risen, pledged to resist the aggressions of slavery. Its candidate was that boy whom we saw in the first chapter, floating down the Ohio on a raft, whose father was movino^ from a slave to a free State. Al)raham Lincoln had attended school only a few weeks in a log -cabin, where tlie only window was a hole in the side of the building, covered with a skin dressed very thin, or a sheet of paper greased with lard. He had very few books — the Bi- ble, "Robinson Crusoe," the ''Pilgrim's Progress," a history of the United States, and a life of Washington. For want of other books he read the Dictionary, carefully studying the words to comprehend their meaning. He used to sit before the wide lireplace in the evenings with a wooden shovel before him, and work out proljlems in arithmetic upon it with a bit of charcoal. lie frequently walked several miles to the house of David Turnham to read the laws of Indiana In .1830, at the age of twenty-one, he moved with his father to Illinois. It was bitter cold, and the snow was deep on those December days when they made their way across the wind-swept prairies to their future home, on the north fork of Sangamon River. Witli John Hanks and John Johnston lie went down the river to Springfield to build a flat -boat, working for fifty cents a day. AVhen the boat was completed, they loaded it with country produce and started for New Orleans, Avhere he saw slaves whipped and sold. His heart sickened at the sight. Returning to Illinois, he went to work splitting rails — four hundred of them for a pair of butternut-colored 24 DRUM-15EAT OF THE NATION. jean trousers, which Xancv ILinks made for hiin, walking seven miles each day to and from his work. In 1841 he helped John Hanks build a flat-boat, and again went to New Orleans pulling an oar, seeing more of the hateful features of slav- ery. The water was low in the river when he returned on a steamboat, so that he was a long time in getting liome. There was a gang of slaves on board, handcuffed and chained to prevent their escape, the sight of which made a deep impression upon him. Once more at home, he be- came clerk in a store, and kept his accounts with such exactness, and was so fair in trading, that people called him "honest Abe." All respected him and had such confidence in him that they elected him to represent them in the legislature, where he came in contact with public men and learned about government. At one time he thought of becoming a black- smith, but concluded to survey land instead, and d)-a\v deeds. lie finally went to Springfield, studied law, and was admitted to the bar. He was so exact in all his dealings, so able in argument, so clear-sighted upon questions of law, that the people liked him and elected him to Congress. Being a native of Kentucky, he had a, great admiration for Henry Clay — Kentucky's great statesman and orator — and was a firm believer in the principles of the Whig party, The northern section of that party was opposed to the aggression of slavery. Most of those who supported the Whig party, together with many of the Democratic party, organized the new Republican party. Mr. Lincoln had been selected bj^ the Republican party in Illinois as their candidate for Senator, but Stephen A. Douglas was elected instead. At the convention of the Republican party held in Chicago in 1860, Mr. Lincoln was selected as their candidate for the presi- dency. It was on Saturday evening, after the adjournment of the convention, that I first saw Mr. Lincoln in his own home in Springfield, accompanying the committee of the convention who apprised him of his nomination. He received the committee in the parlor, standing before the open fire- place, wearing a black frock-coat. He listened to the address of Mr. Ash- man, president of the convention, and replied briefiy. There was no study of infiection or cadence for effect, but there was a sincerity of expression which won instant confidence from all present. With the utterance of the last syllable his manner instantly changed. A smile illuminated his face. Addressing Hon. William D. Kelley, of Pennsylvania, he said, "You are a tall man, judge. What is your height?" "Six feet three," was the reply. " I beat you. I am six feet four without my high-heeled boots." "Pennsylvania bows to Illinois," said Mr. Kelley, " and I am glad that we ABKAIIAM LINCOLN. THE CONSPIRACY. 27 have found ;i candidate for the presidency wlioiu we can look up to, for we have been iiifurined tlmt there were oidy little giants in Illinois." It was an allusion bj Mr. Kelley to Stephen A. Douglas, who was called the "little giant" by his admirers. The nomination of Mr. Lincoln was received with ridicule by the Southern newspapers, the editors of which delighted to call him an ape, a baboon, an ignoramus, an abolitionist ^ and the party which had nomi- nated him was stigmatized as the Black Republican party. The editors LINCOLN S HOME. informed their readers that the Republican party was in favor not only of abolishing slavery by act of Congress, but also was in favor of promiscu- ous marriage between white people and negroes, thus increasing the bit- terness of the South towards the North. Many jSTorthern men had settled in the South, some as merchants, oth- ers as mechanics, who ran locomotives, who l)uilt and repaired machinery. Slavery did not produce skilled mechanics, nor did it educate the people. Nearly all the school-teachers in the Southern States were from the Xorth. There were few common schools. The secessionists of Charleston, South Carolina, found fault with the school l^oard of tluit city for employing 28 DliUM-lJEAT OF THE NATION. teachers educated in tlie Nortli. This was tlie excuse of tlje board : " We have looked thi'ough the South, searching through the colleges and acade- mies in vain. The teacher's profession, unhappily, seems but little appre- ciated in the South." Oidy the sons and daughters of rich men in the South obtained an education. A very large proportion of the poor white people were unable to read or write. It was the legitimate outcome of the institution of slavery. People from the Northern States, even those who had lived in the South many years, were regarded with suspicion and closely watched. Vigilance committees were formed to look after Northern men. A pe- riod of espionage began. William II. Crawford, living at Fort Worth, Texas, was suspected of being opposed to slavery, and was hung by a mob set on by tlie vigilance committee. They brought his body to his grief- stricken wife, then organized a meeting, and chose a committee to hunt up all suspicious persons in the county. More than two hundred persons were compelled to leave that region — some were whipped, others tarred and feathered. In several of the Southern States laws were passed wliicli compelled all free negroes to leave the State or be sold into slavery. The steamboats on the Mississippi were thronged with negroes thus driven out. More than two hundred thousand free men were made liable to be sold by these inhuman laws. Slavery could not tolerate freedom in any form. There must be no free negroes to make the slav^es discontented. Free speech must not be permitted. White men must not discuss the question of slavery. They must remain silent or leave the countiy. The vigilance committees opened mail -bags and assumed the right to read private letters. The spirit of slavery was iidiuman, robbing men, hanging them or driving them from their homes. Thus said the Rich- mond Whig: " A large amount of violence has been developed since the secession movement began, more than in the whole previous history of the State. There has been an intolerance of spirit never before known. It is on the increase, and bodes no good to law and order." During the summer and fall of 1S60 John B. Floyd, of Virginia, Sec- retary 'of War, was doing what he could to prepare the Southern States for war. He sent one hundred and thirty -five thousand muskets from Northern to Southern arsenals. '' We are much obliged," said the Mobile Advertiser, " to Secretary Floyd for the foresight he has displayed in dis- arming the North and equipping the South in this emergency." The United States army numbered only twelve thousand men. Most of the troops were in Texas, California, and Oregon, so far away that when THE CONSPIRACY. 29 the plans of tlie conspirators were ripe, they couhl carry them out with- out molestation. The Secretary of the Xavy, though from Connecticut, allowed himself to be used by tiie secessionists. There were ninety vessels in the navy, carrying two thousand four hnndred and ninety-five guns. He sent five vessels to the East Indies, three to Brazil, seven to the Pacific coast, three to the Mediterranean, seven to the coast of Africa. Twenty -five were dismantled and unfit for service. Of the entire navy, the steamer Brool^- ly)i, twenty-five guns, and the store-ship lielo'f weva the only ones fit for service on the Atlantic coast. The dissolution of the Union was brought about by a few men. We can count them on our lingers. Tlie leaders were: Francis W. Pickens, William H. Gist, James II. Hammond, Robert Barnwell Rhett, Charles G. Memminger, Lawrence M. Keitt, James L. Orr, of South Carolina ; Jeffer- son Davis, Jacob Thompson, of Mississip])i ; John B. Floyd, James M. Mason, Robert M. T. Hunter, John Tyler, Henry A. Wise, John Seddon, of Virginia ; Robert Toombs, Howell Cobb, of Georgia ; William L. Yan- cy, of Alabama; Judah P. Benjamin, John Slidell, of Louisiana; Louis Wigfall, of Texas ; Stephen R. Mallory, of Florida. They announced their intention of dissolving the Union in case Mr. Lincoln should be elected President. "If Abraham Lincoln is elected," said Henry A. Wise, "I will not stay in the Union one hour. Rather than suljuiit to Republican rule, I would fight to the last drop of blood to resist its fanatical oppression. Our minds are made up. The South will not wait till the -ith of March, but we will be well under arms before then." "South Carolina will shatter this accursed Union. She will throw her arms around the pillars of the Constitution, and involve all the States in a common ruin," said Lawrence M. Keitt, with confused and florid rhetoric. There was great rejoicing in Charleston on the evening of election-day, November 6, 1860, when it was known that Mr. Lincoln was chosen. A few days later the legislature of South Carolina called a convention to act upon the question of seceding fi"om the L^nion. Notices of the formation of military companies appeared in the newspapers. The drum-beat was heard in every village. The Charleston Mc/'cnri/ flung out a transparency from its windows with this inscription: "One voice and a million of strong arms to uphold the honor of South Carolina." The Stars and Stripes became a hateful banner. Orators made inflam- matory speeches against the Union, and at the same time set forth the glo- rious future that awaited the Palmetto State. She was to be the leader in 30 DRUM-BEAT OF THE NATION. a revolution wliich -would bi-iug about the establishment of a new nation, which would l)e so powerful that the Northern States wonld sue for peace, and Great Ih'itaiu, fi-oni necessit}^, would bow meekly down before the new empire of the AVestern world. On December 17th the convention assembled in Columbia, but ad- journed to Charleston. Its sessions were held in secret, in the liall of the South Carolina Institute. On December 20th, at a quarter before one o'clock, it was voted that the union between the United States and South Carolina be dissolved. "The Union is dissolved!" was the cry which rang through the streets. Men tossed their hats into the air, women waved their handkerchiefs. All business stopped. Ladies appeared upori the. streets wearing secession bonnets made of cotton cloth, ornamented with rosettes of red, white, and blue, and leaves of the palmetto. A pro- cession was formed which marched to St. Michael's church-yard, where, around the grave of Calhoun, a solemn oath was sworn to give life, fort- une, and honor to secure the independence of the State. Evening comes. The ordinance of secession has been engrossed and is ready for signing. Two palmetto-trees have been placed on the platform in the hall. Mr. Alexander, an artist, has painted a banner representing the arch of the Confederacy, built on the ruins of the Union, South Car- olina the key-stone. Cotton bales beneath a palmetto-tree, a i-attlesnake darting its angry tongue, its emblems of power and vengeance. The members of the convention signed their names, then the bells rang, cannon thundered, and an excited crowd surged through the streets hurrahing over what had been done. Commissioners were sent to the other Southern States, urging them to secede. The legislature of Geoigia was in session. Robert Toombs was at home from AVashington and addressed the legislature. "AYithdraw your sons," he said, " from the army and navy and every department of the Government. Buy arms and throw the bloody spear into the den of the assassins and incendiaries, and let God defend the right. Twenty years of preparation would not make up for the advantage your enemies would gain if the rising sun on March 5tli should find you in the Union. Strike while there is yet time." Alexander H. Stephens made a speech in opposition to Toombs. " I tell you frankly," he said, " that the election of a man constitutionally chosen President is not sufficient cause for any State to separate from the Union." A month later he became vice-president of the Confederacy. Mississippi was the first State to follow South Carolina ; then Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, and Texas, the last on February 1, 1861. THE CONSPIRACY, 31 Lieutenant- colonel Gardner, of Massacluisetts, was commander of the forts guarding the harhor at Charleston. Castle Pincknej was an old-fash ioned, circnlar, brick fort on Follj Island, al)ont one mile east of the city. Fort Moultrie was on Sullivan's Island, still farther to the east, on the site of the old fort built of palmetto logs during the Ivevolution, which the British fleet bombarded, and where, when the flag-staff had been shot aM^ay, Sergeant William Jasjjer leaped from the rampart down upon the beach, picked up the flag, and planted it once more upon the parapet. Besides 32 DRUM-BEAT OF TOE NATION. these there was Fort Sumter, built up from a reef in the harhor. Tliere were tweuty-two camion in Castle Pinckney, besides two mortars and two small guns. In Moultrie there were forty-iive heavy cannon and seven light pieces; in Sumter there were seventy-eight cannon. The last-named fort was pentagonal in form, built of brick made solid by cement, and I'ose sixty-hve feet above the watei'. Tiie engineers who plaimed it in- tended that the armament should be one hundred and thirty-hve cannon, which should be placed in three tiers, two in casemates to be fired through embrasures, and the third on the top of the fort. Only seventy-eight of the guns, however, had been phiced in position. "Within the fort were wooden barracks for the ]M'ivates and officers. The fort was about mid- way, Sullivan's Island on the north and Morris Island on the south, a lit- tle more than half a mile from each. Tlie main ship-channel was between Sumter and Moultrie. The fort was two and one-third miles from Castle Pinckney and three and one-third miles from Charleston, Lieutenant -colonel Gardner saw that the secessionists were getting ready to seize the forts and called for reinforcements. The members of Congress from Sontli Carolina calkni npon the Secretary of War, Mr. Ployd, and asked for his removal. The request was granted, and Major Robert Anderson, of Kentucky, was appointed to succeed him. The secessionists did not know how true a man he was, or what blood coursed through his veins. His father was from Virginia, a lieutenant- colonel during the Revolution, was wounded at Trenton, taken prisoner ])y the British at Charleston, and was aide to Lafayette at Yorktown. Major Anderson was born in Kentucky, whose sons had poured out their blood for the Union in the war of 1812, whose voice had ever been for the Union. Major Anderson was a religious man. He believed in God and loved the Bible. ISTothing was so dear to him as the flag he had sworn to support. His headquarters were in Fort Moultrie, on Sullivan's Island. He, too, saw what the secessionists intended to do, and sent this message to General Scott: "Fort Sumter and Castle Pinckney must be garrisoned immediately, if the Government is to keep command of the harbor." " Your communications in the future will be addressed to the Secre- tary of AVar," wrote John B. Floyd to Major Anderson. Why did not Floyd remove him 'i Because he had something else to think of. A matter was coming to light which he would like to keep in the dark. Some bonds belonging to the Indian Trust Fund of the Inte- rior Department were not in the safe where they ought to be, A relative of Floyd, Godard Bailey, had charge of tlie bonds ; Floyd had made a con- ti-act with the firm of Russell & Co. to transport supplies for the army THE CONSPIRACY. 33 from St. Louis to Utah, and had paid tliem more than two million dollars in excess of work done, making the payments by drafts. The bankers in New York would not advance money on the drafts, whereupon Bailey took the bonds from the safe and gave them to Russell & Co., taking the drafts in exchange. It was in effect a robbery. The interest on the bonds would be due January 1st, and if not paid the theft would be made public. There was no money in the Treasury, which, under the administration of Buchanan, had become bankrupt. The Secretary of the Interior, Jacob MAJOR ROBEKT ANDERSON. Thompson, of Mississippi, was in Raleigh, North Carolina, "using his influ- ence to bring about a secession of that State. He received a letter from Bailey informing him of the condition of affairs, which caused him to hasten to Washington, and it was his arrival, and the reflection that in two or three days the transaction would be known, that gave Floyd some- thing else to think of. There were still a few men in Charleston who were true to the old flag. James L. Pettigrew was regarded as the ablest lawyer in South Carolina. 3 3-1 DRUM-BEAT OF THE NATION. On Sunday when the minister, where he attended church, omitted from the service the usual prayer for the President of the United States, Mr. ■ Pettigrew rose in liis seat and repeated vei'j^ distinctly, " Most humbly and heartily we beseech Thee with Thy favor to behold and bless Thy servant, the President of the United States." lie placed his praj'er-book in the rack, motioned to Mrs. Pettigrew, who placed her arm within his, and to- gether they left the clnirch; nor did he ever enter it again until his lifeless body was carried there for burial. There was still another loyal man in Charleston — Tom Hogan, born in Ireland, but who had made America his home. lie was in an auction- room, where, among other goods, the Stars and Stripes was displayed, not in honor, but in derision. The auctioneer did not offer it for sale, but threw it ujDon the ground, saying he would not ask a bid for that worthless rag. "I'll give ten dollars for it!'' shouted Tom Hogan, handing over his money, picking up the Hag and carrying it away, the astonished secession- ists not daring to molest him. Through all the years of the war he kept it concealed in his house, and when Charleston was once more under the Stars and Stripes, Tom Ilogan's flag waved above the headquarters of the general in command. Christmas evening came. Major Anderson was at a dinner-party in Charleston, where he heard something which set him to thinking as to what he ought to do. No reinforcements liad been sent him, and from what he heard he conehided that none were to be sent. He knew that the military companies of Charleston were intending to seize the forts under the direction of Governor Pickens. All night long he thought of his duty and obligation to the flag, and resolved to abandon Moultrie and transfer the troops to Sumter. His entire force consisted of two weak comj)anies of artillery and some hired men employed by the engineer department about the forts, in all about one hundred, of which flfty-one were officers and soldiers. The day after Christmas was a very active day in Moultrie, where nearly all of the soldiers were stationed, and where Major Anderson had his headquarters. Only the officers were informed as to what Major Anderson intended to do. Tlie secessionists had spies around him, and at night they had a boat patrolling the harbor. They attempted to keep close watch of every movement. Supper was I'cady, but the soldiers did not sit down to their mess ; taking their supper with tliem, they stepped into the boats and made their way to Sumter. Morning dawned ; the sun was ris- ing. The soldiers stand around the flag-staff. Major Anderson kneels, hold- ing the halyards, while Rev. Matthew Harris, the chaplain, offers prayer, and then the flag rises to the top-mast to float serenely in the morning air. THE CONSPIRACY. 35 The people of Cluarlestoii, looking out from tlic balconies of their houses along the grand promenade, behold with astonishment a column of smoke rising above Moultrie, where the gun-carriages are slowly burning, having been set on fire by the departing garrison, while above Sumter floats the detested flag. All their plans have suddenly been overturned. Sumter cannot now be seized ; the garrison must be starved out or the fort captured. They do not w^ant to starve the garrison, but to win glory by capturing the foi-t. The telegraph flashes the startling news to Washing- ton, Secretar}' Floyd hastens to the Wliite House to sec President Bu- chanan, demanding that Major Anderson be ordered back to Moultrie. The President refused to comply with the request, which greatly enraged the secessionists. In Charleston there was a beating of drums, a mustering of the mili- tia, who took possession of the arsenal. Castle Pinckney, and Fort Moultrie. There was great excitement throughout the State. The governor ordered out the Darlington Guards and the Columbia Artillery, which took posses- sion of Morris Island, to begin the erection of batteries and the mounting of cannon for the bombardment of Sumter. The soldiers in their bright uniforms did not do the shovelling ; that was done by slaves sent by the planters in their fiery zeal. liev. Mr. Prentis, preacher of the Gospel, owner of many slaves, sent sixteen of them. It was the beginning of the struggle between the two systems of labor, two forms of society, two diverse civilizations. Had Major Anderson seen fit to open fire upon that gang of slaves and the militia drilling on the sandy beach, he would quickly have put an end to the shovelling. lie had not gone to Sumter, however, for any hostile purpose; it was not his duty to begin hostilities. He had acted solely in self-defence, according to instructions from Wash- ington. Day by day he saw the fortification rising upon Morris Island, and heavy cannon placed in position to open fire, but it was his duty to wait. The secessionists, and not the Government, must bear the responsi- bility of beginning a war. The 1st of January came, and the coupons of the Indian Trust Fuiul were due. The money in the Treasury had been squandered. The people throughout the country were astounded at the news that the bonds of the Trust Fund had been stolen by trusted officials. Secretary Floyd had done what he could to destroy the government of the Ignited States and l)uild a Confederacy upon its ruins ; he could stay no longer in office. He sent his resignation to the President, and fled to Virginia like a thief escap- ing justice. The court indicted him, and warrants were issued to the sher- iff for his arrest. AVe shall see him once more for a moment as major- 36 DRUM-BEAT OF THE NATION. general in the Confederate army, then he will disappear, to be remembered only as a traitor and thief. Howell Cobb, Secretary of the Treasury, had already resigned. Their places were filled with loyal men. President Buchanan made a great mistake in not dismissing Jacob Thompson, of Mississippi, Secretary of the Interior. At a meeting of the cabinet it was decided to send four companies of troops to reinforce Major Anderson. Thompson acted the part of a traitor by telegraphing to the Governor of Soutli Carolina what had been done. The Government could not send a despatch to Major Anderson, as the secessionists would know all about it. The steamer Sia?' of the West, with the troops on board, reached Charleston harbor, but was turned back by the batteries on Morris Island, which opened fire. Verj' boastful was the Charleston Mercury the next morning. " We would not," it said, " exchange or recall that blow for millions. It has wiped out half a century of scorn and outrage. The haughty echo of her cannon has, ere this, reverberated from Maine to Tex- as. The decree has gone forth. Upon each acre of the peaceful soil of the South armed men will spring up as the sound breaks upon their ears. By the God of our fathers, the soil of South Carolina shall be free!" In one of the committee-rooms of the Capitol at Washington, on the night of January 5tli, there was a secret meeting of the Senators from Florida, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Texas. The watch- man who strolled through the corridors of the Capitol knew nothing of what was going on in the room ; the public knew nothing of what was said by the men who had thus met to overthrow the Government ; but durino: the niffht messao-es were flyino; alono- the wires uro-ino; the secession of the States which they represented, and the seizure of all the forts along the Southern coast, with all the arsenals. Governor Brown, of Georgia, ordered the military companies of Savan- nah to take possession of Fort Pulaski. A military company from x^ew Orleans went up the Mississippi- to Baton Rouge, and occupied the. arsenal there. In all the ports the secessionists were seizing the revenue-cutters belonging to the Government. John Adams Dix, of New York, was appointed Secretary of the Treas- ury. He sent Mr. Jones to New Orleans with an order to Captain Bi-esh- wood, commanding the revenue-cutter at that port^ to sail to New York. The captain was a secessionist and proposed to turn the vessel over to the Confederates, whereupon Secretary Dix sent this despatch: ^^ If any man attempts to haul down the American flag, shoot him on the spot /^^ What a glorious and heart-thrilling despatch it was! There had been apathy throughout the country over the state of affairs. People had stood THE CONSPIRACY. 37 appalled over the treachery at Washington and through the South. A sentiment so loyal, and uttered so fearlessly, awakened a lofty enthusiasm for the old flag which had never been lowered in dishonor. Every fort in the South was seized, except Fort Pickens, on Santa Rosa Island, in the harbor of Pensacola, which was held by Lieutenant Slemmer and the troops under him. /^ General Twiggs was in command of twenty-five hundred troops at San Antonio, Texas. He entered into conspiracy with Ben McCulloch, who GENERAL JOHN A. DI5. called himself a Texan Eanger, who gathered one thousand men and rode into San Antonio at two o'clock on the morning of February 10th, yelling, firing their guns, and taking possession of the town. General Twiggs pro- fessed to be surprised, and surrendered the troops, all the stores, cannon, and supplies, worth one million two hundred thousand dollars. Twiggs was from Georgia. When the news of his treachery reached Washington, President Buchanan ordered his name to be stricken from the rolls of the 3* /TV/ '^Vov/-_ 38 DKUM-BEAT OF THE NATION. '^'^m/7 ^dJj^a^ Ila^yi^ FACSIMILE OF GENEKAL JOHN A. DIX'S DESPATCH. THE CONSPIRACY. 39 army as a traitor. The people of New Orleans gave liiiu an ovation, but liis name has gone down to liistory covered with infamy. From the time of Judas men have despised a traitor. Florida seceded January 12th. It had been purchased from Spain by the money of all the States, and the forts at the entrance of Pensacola Bay had been built by the United States. The State of Florida had no claim to them. Men sent by the governor demanded the surrender of the forts. There were three — Fort McRea and Fort Barrancas on the main- land at the entrance to the harbor, and Fort Pickens on Santa Rosa Island, guarding the eastern side. Young Lieutenant Slemmer, in command, knew that he would be powerless against the troops which would soon appear, but he was loyal to the flag which he had sworn to support. He was quick to act. He drove spikes into the vent-holes of the cannon in the forts on the main-land, jumped into a boat with his men, rowed across the bay, threw himself into Fort Pickens, and determined to keep the Stars and Stripes flying above that fortress of stone. lie held it until the middle of April, when reinforcements arrived. It was the one place on the Atlantic shore south of the Chesapeake where the flag of the Union, through all the years of the war, waved in grandeur and glory. February 15th was a great day in Montgomery, Alabama. A crowd surged through the streets. Delegates from the seceding States were there, sitting in convention, organizing a Confederacy, and electing Jeffer- son Davis president and Alexander II. Stephens vice - president. Mr. Davis was at his home in Mississippi. There was great enthusiasm at all the railroad stations on his route to Montgomery. lie made twenty-five speeches, one from the balcony of the Exchange Hotel in Montgomery. It was ten o'clock in the evening ; cannon were thundering, bonfires blaz- ing, the crowd hurrahing. On each side of the newly elected president of the new Confederacy stood a negro, holding a tallow candle, that the people might see the great man of the hour. "England will not allow," said Mr. Davis, "our great staple — cotton — VNV^A^Cj MAP OF PENSACOLA. 40 DRUM-BEAT OF THE NATION. to be dammed up within our present limits. She -will aid us. If war must come, it must be on Northern, not on Southern, soiL A glorious fut- ure is before us. The grass will grow in Northern cities where the pav'e- ments have been worn off by the tread of commerce. We will carry war where it is easy to advance, where food for the sword and torch await our armies in the densely populated cities." He had some reason for uttering such language, for there were people in high positions in the Northern States who had assured the slave-hold- ers that they were in sympathy with them. JEFFERSON DAVIS. " If there is any fighting, it will be within our own borders and in our own streets," wrote ex-President Franklin Pierce, of New Hampshire, to Jefferson Davis. Fernando Wood, mayor of New York, proposed that there should be a separation of the States, and that New York City should be independent of them all. "If force is used it will be inaugurated at home," said the politicians belonging to the Democratic party, in convention at Alljany. THE CONSPIRACY. 41 " If the cotton States can do better out of tlic Union than in it, we insist on lettini!^ them go in peace," Avrote Horace Greeley, editor of the New York Tribune, one of the leaders of the party which elected Mr. Lincoln. It was a natural conclusion which the secessionists arrived at, that the people of the North were so divided in sentiment that they would not go to war, or if they did, it would be an easy matter for the Southern States to establish their independence. The merchants of New York, Boston, and Philadelphia became alarmed at the prospect of losing their trade, and were ready to give their friends in the South long credits, hoping thereby to induce the Southern States to remain in the Union. The merchants of Charleston, Savannah, and New Oi'leans accej^ted the offers, and purchased large stocks of goods, giving notes which never were paid. Let us keep in mind, as we go on with this story of the war, that it was a conflict between two systems of labor. The South had few manu- factories of any kind. On the 18th of February Raphael Semmes, who had resigned his commission in the United States navj', called upon Jef- ferson Davis at Montgomery, and received authority to visit the Northern States and obtain skilled mechanics, to be employed in making machinery for the manufacture of arms, ammunition, and percnssion-caps. " So ex- clusively," writes Mr. Semmes, " had the manufacture of these articles been confined to the North, that we had not even enough percussion-caps to fight a battle." In the month of March Mr. Semmes was inspecting the manufactories in Connecticut and Massachusetts and New York. He says that he found people everywhere not only willing, but eager to trade with him. He purchased large quantities of percussion - caps and sent them by express to Montgomery', and made contracts for machinery to manufacture rifled cannon. Mr. Semmes bears this testimony : " The people did not think it possible that the South was in earnest." Jefferson Davis and the cotton-planters thought that England must have cotton to supply the manufactures of that country, to keep millions of people from becoming pauj^ers ; that if the Northern States attempted to blockade the Southern seaports, England would send her ships to break the blockade; that the spinners and weavers of Lowell, Manchester, Fall River, and all the cotton manufacturing towns of New England, not liav- ing any more cotton, would become mobs, parading the streets and crying for bread. The Southern newspapers informed their readers that the North would soon be starved into submission. " The Northern people," said the Charleston Courier^ in December, 1860, " have a long, dark win- ter of cold and hunger impending over their heads. Before it is over 42 DRUM-BEAT OF THE NATION. they will have millions of operatives without work and without bread. Wlien cold and hunger do their work, this deluded rabble will ask alms at the door of the rich with pikes and firebrands in their hands." On February 11th Abraham Lincoln left his home in Springfield, Illinois, for Washington. lie was the chosen representative of free labor. MAP OF CHARLESTON HARBOU. Crowds greeted him at ev^ery station. This was what he said at Indianap- olis : "When the people rise in mass in behalf of the Union and the lib- erties of their country, truly may it be said that the gates of hell cannot prevail against them." On March ith he became President. " I have no intention of interfering with slavery in the States where it exists," he said ; and he went on to say that the Union is perpetual ; that acts of violence against the authority of the United States are insurrection- ary, and that the Union wonld defend itself and hold its property ; that beyond that there wonld be no invasion, no using of force against the peo- ple, no bloodshed, unless forced upon the national authority. THE CONSPIRACY. 43 " In jour hands," he said to tlie people of the South, " and not mine, is the momentous issue of civil war. The Government will not assail you ; you can have no conflict without being yourselves the aggressors." An attempt was made to conciliate the seceding States by holding a "Peace Congress," but the States that had seceded had no desire to be conciliated. What should be done about Fort Sumter? That was the one great question. " I have but one month's provisions," wrote Major Anderson. If pro- visions were not sent, he would be compelled to evacuate. Jefferson Davis sent commissioners to AVashington to negotiate for the surrender of the fort, but instead of surrendering it. President Lincoln and a majority of his cabinet decided that provisions should be sent to the garrison. "You will not be permitted to purchase provisions in Charleston," said the authorities of South Carolina to Major Anderson, stopping the commissary who had purchased vegetables in the market. The garrison had nothing left but salt pork and one barrel of flour. A fleet sailed from New York with supplies. "My batteries are ready. I await instructions," was the message of General Beauregard, commanding the troops on Mori-is Island, to Jeffer- son Davis. For three months the slaves had been at work with shovels, throwing up intrenchments. For three months the Palmetto Guard, the Columbia Artillery, and other companies — five thousand troops in all — had been placing cannon and mortars in position. A floating iron-clad battery had been constructed, which was towed by a steam-tug into a chosen position and anchored where it would rain its shot and shell upon the weakest wall of the fort. Major Anderson had seen it all, but yet he did not attempt to prevent it, for President Lincoln had determined that if there was to be war the Southern States should fire the first gun. "Demand the immediate surrender of Fort Sumter," was Jefferson Davis's order to Beauregard, and on the afternoon of April 11th two offi- cers went out to the fort from Morris Island with the demand. " I cannot surrender the fort. I shall await the first shot, and if you do not batter me to pieces, I shall be starved out in three days." South Carolina and the Confederate government cannot wait. Every morning through the winter the people of Charleston had seen the Stars and Stripes go up the flag-staff of Sumter, and its crimson folds and fadeless stars float serenely in the breeze through the day ; at night- 44 DRUM-BEAT OF THE NATION. fall they had seen the flash and heard the thunder of the sunset salute to the hated banner. The colonels, majors, captains, lieutenants, the soldiers in. the batteries, longed to humiliate the emblem of national authority. The governor of the State, Francis W. Pickens, Jefferson Davis, all who had labored with hot and fiery zeal to overthrow the Union, with blood at fever heat, were eager for war. The flag of the United States must be trailed in the dust. The "mud-sills," as Senator Hammond, of South Carolina, had called the working-men of the Northern States, must under- stand that the Cavaliers of the South were their masters. " It is a gross mistake," wrote George Fitzhugh, of Virginia, " to suppose that Abolition is the cause of dissolution between the North and the South. The Cavaliers, Jacobites, and Huguenots of the South naturally hate, con- temn, and despise the Puritans who settled the North. The former are master races ; the latter a slave race, the descendants of the Saxon serfs." Virginia had not seceded. The convention to consider the question was in session, composed largely of men who did not wish to secede. "I will tell you what will put Virginia in the Southern Confederacy in less than an liour," said Roger A. Pryor, a red-hot secessionist of Vir- ginia, to the people of Charleston ; " sprinkle blood in their faces." From the beginning the secessionists were bold and aggressive. Not by appeals to reason, not by fair argument, but by denunciation of the Northern people, by constant talking of " State Rights," they brought about the secession of the several States. The leadei's in the conspiracy saw that a blow must be struck. Having gone so far, they must go farther, and they deliberately resolved to bfing on the wai'. At 3.20 on the morning of April 12th a boat glides over the calm waters to Fort Sumter, bearing a messenger with a note from General Beauregard to Major Anderson : " I shall open fire on Fort Sumter in one hour." The people of Charleston knew that the message was to be sent, and many have sat up through the night to see the ushering in of the new era in the history of the Palmetto State. Half-past four. The hour has come. They see the flash of a cannon and hear its thunder rolling up the bay. An old man with long white hair flowing upon his shoulders — Edmund Ruffin, of Virginia — whose beau- tiful home stands on the bank of the James, who has given heart and soul to the cause of Secession, claims to have fired it. Little does he compre- hend what will come of it ; that before the cannon of the Nation have ceased their thundering, great armies bearing the Stars and Stripes will pitch their tents upon his wide-spreading acres; that the soldiers of the THE CONSPIRACY. 45 GEXEKAL BEAUKEGAKD. ■Union will eat the fruits of his orchards ; that his home will disappear in the devastating flames ; that his slaves will be freemen, citizens of the Eepublic ; that his own weak and trembling hands will twist a rope for his own neck; that the time will come when his body will be swaying lifeless in the air— that he will commit suicide through mortification over the failure of his liopes and expectations. 4G DRUM-BEAT OF THE NATION. From the sand-hills on Morris Island, from the floating battery, from Moultrie, came flashes in quick succession. White powder clouds floated in the morning air, and the deep thunder rolled across the hitherto peace- ful waters of the bay. Six o'clock. As yet there is no answering from Sumter. Major Anderson and his men are eating their breakfast of fried salt pork. Seven o'clock. At last the cannon of Sumter open their lips. Their waiting is symbolic of the patience, endurance, and long-suffering of a great people. Through the day the bombardment goes on, the forts and batteries raining a concentrated fire upon the beleaguered garrison. Major Anderson's heart is momentarily gladdened by the appearance of the fleet which has been sent to his relief, but the batteries on Morris Island com- mand the channel, and the vessels cannot approach the fort. At sunset the fort ceases its thunder, but through the night the Confederate bat- teries, at regular intervals, send their shells across the water. Morning dawns, and once more the batteries are in lively action. Again the fort replies, but more slowly than before, for no more cloth can be had for cartridges. The soldiers tear up their blankets, and when those are gone, strip off their shirts and hand them over to the gunners. From the roofs and steeples of Charleston, from the balconies along the promenade, the people look exultingly upon the scene. The Confederate soldiers in Moultrie send red hot cannon-balls crashing into the wooden barracks, setting them on fire. In vain the efl:"orts of the Union soldiers to extinguish the flames, and fearing that the heat will explode one of the magazines, they throw most of the powder into the sea. The flag- staff is shot away, but Peter Hart, who w;as once a sergeant under Major Anderson, but wh.o is now working at his trade as a carpenter for the Government, and Mr. Davy, run up the stone steps to the parapet, where shells are exploding and solid shot ploughing across the masonry, and fix the flag once more in its place. Major -Anderson has so little powder that he can only fire once in ten minutes. He has eaten his last meal ; there is not a biscuit left, no flour, nor rice, nothing but salt pork, but he has no thought of surrendering the fort ; he will stay till the last moment. He will be compelled to evacu- ate on Monday morning, when he can no longer give his starving soldiers food. A boat glides over the water from Morris Island, bearing General Wig- fall, of Texas, who climbs into one of the embrasures and informs Major An- derson that he has come from General Beauregard. He is a self-appointed messenger, unauthorized, but through his action the cannonade ceases. It is finally agreed that the fort shall be surrendered, that Major A.ndersoii THE CONSPIRACY. 47 and all his men shall have the privilege of salnting the flag, taking it with them, and that they shall be placed on board the Government vessels out- side the harbor. Never before has Charleston been so intoxicated with joj amounting to delirium as on that Saturday night, April 13, 1861. Crowds surge the streets, hurrahing and shouting. Houses are illuminated, bells ring. In the stately mansions ladies till wineglasses, and the young men drink to the health of General Beauregard, Jefferson Davis, Governor Pickens, the honor of South Carolina, and to the ladies. Never before such a niffht of revel in Charleston. " Thank God !" said Governor Pickens, standing on the balcony of the Charleston Hotel, addressing the multitude — " thank God ! the day has come ; the war is open, and we will concpier or perish. We have defeated their twenty millions, and we have humbled the proud flag of the Stars and Stripes that never before Avas lowered to any nation on earth ; we have lowered it in humility before the Palmetto and Confederate flags, and have compelled them to raise the white flag and ask for honorable surrender. The Stars and Stripes have triumj^hed for seventy years, but on this 13th of April it has been humbled by the little State of South Carolina. And I pronounce here, before the civilized world, that your independence is baptized in blood ; your independence is won upon a glorious battle-field, and you are free now and forever, in defiance of the world in arms'." Little did Governor Pickens think what changes four years M'ould bring ; that grass would be growing on those time-worn pavements ; that the air would be voiceless to all sounds of business, every house desolate, every home rent by cannon-balls, or shattered by exploding shells ; that all would be ruin and desolation. Governor Pickens had a great plantation. Slaves did his bidding. Ere four years they would be free men, soldiers in the army of the Kepublic, enjoying the rights of citizenship, and all the fond dreams which had come to him of a confederacy built oh slavery would fade away before the mighty power of a free people, and the old flag would once more be floating over the shapeless ruins of Sumter. 48 DRUM-BEAT OF THE NATION. CHAPTER III. THE UPRISING OF THE PEOPLE. SIXCE tlie fonncling of the nation, men liad never looked into one anoth- er's faces as on Saturday evening, April 13, 1861. Xever had there been such sinking of hearts and hopes as at the sunset hour of that day of gloom. People wept as they weep when looking down into the coffin of a departed friend. The flag that never before had been dishonored, the brightest banner that ever waved on earth, the emblem of the world's best hope — insulted ! Bitter the thought. Never before such a Sunday in this Western Hemisphere or in the history of the human race — on which thirty millions of people pondered the all-absorbing question whether the Union and the Government of the people was to live or die. Monday morning — the answer is on their lips. It is to live. Abraham Lincoln has written it with his own hand. " I, Abraham Lincoln, President of the L^nited States, in virtue of the power in me vested by the Constitution and the laws, have thought fit to call forth, and hereby do call forth, the militia of the several States of the L^nion, to the aggregate number of seventy-five thousand, in order to sup- press this combination against the laws, and to cause the laws to be duly executed." The telegraph flashes it east to Bangor, westward to San Francisco, to every city and town. A great hour has come — the beginning of a new era in the history of our country. Men read it with quivering lips and moistened eyes. For months and years, while the slave-holders have been directing the affairs of Government, lower and still lower has burned the patriotic fire, but now it flames from the Atlantic to the Pacific shore. In every fibre of their being the people feel that the nation shall live. Their fortunes, their lives — all the strength that God has given them shall be devoted to the preservation of the Union. A week ago the people of the Northern States were divided into politi- cal parties; now there is only one party. On Sunday afternoon, while the ink is still wet on the paper upon which President Lincoln has written his THE UPRISING OF THE PEOPLE. 49 proclamation, Stephen A. Douglas walks with quickened steps to the White House. He has been Mr. Lincoln's political antagonist. They were can- didates for Senator from Illinois. Through that senatorial contest they stood face to face, waging political warfare. Mr. Douglas won. They were candidates for the presidency, and Mr. Douglas lost ; but now that the Union is in peril, he forgets the past. He knows nothing but the duty of the hour. They clasp hands. " We must wage relentless war," are the words of Mr. Douglas. " Every man must be for the United States or against it ; there can be no neutrals — only patriots and traitors." One State was ready to respond to the call of the President — Massa- chusetts, which had thirteen thousand citizen soldiers. Massachusetts had been foremost in the Revolutionary War. Her citizens had ever been ardent lovers of liberty. Most of the leading antislavery men were of that State. During the year 1860, the governor, Nathaniel P. Banks, looking into the future and apprehending the possible coming of war, had taken measures to bring the militia to a high degree of efficiency. There had been a mustering of all the troops of the State on the historic field of Concord. His successor, John A. Andrew, also looked into the future and saw the necessity of having the troops ready to respond at any moment to any call which might be made upon them. Benjamin F. Butler, citizen of Lowell, who had earnestly supported Breckinridge for the presidency, had visited Washington in December to attend a meeting of his political i:)arty. To his astonishment, in conversation with a gentle- man from Mississippi, lie learned that the South intended to secede from the Union. " You men of the North will not fight," said the Mississip- pian. " Yes, they will fight," responded Butler. " Who will fight ?" " I will." "Oh! there will be plenty of men in the South to take care of such as you." "When we march to the defence of the Union we will liang on the trees all the men left behind who undertake to break up the Union," responded Butler. Returning to Boston, he informed Governor Andrew of the intentions of the secessionists. There M^as still another citizen of Massachusetts who fully compre- hended the designs of the secessionists — Henry Wilson, Senator, like Abra- ham Lincoln, a man of the people, who was very poor in early life, but who, by patriotic devotion, hard study, and perseverance, had won the con- fidence of the people. He had been one of the foremost to resist the ag- gressions of slavery, was bold and energetic, and who, whenever he wished to know just what to do, made the trip from Washington to Massachusetts to learn the opinions of the people. He was an adroit politician, and took measures to find out all he could about the plans of the secessionists, and 4 50 DRUM-BEAT OF THE NATION. had kept the governor of the State informed as to their intentions. Dur- ing the montli of January, Governor Andrew ordered the colonels of regi- ments to ascertain who of their commands would be ready to respond upon the instant to any call. During the month of February two thou- sand ove2*coats were made and other equipments provided. " If you have troops ready, forward them at once to Washington," is the message which comes to him. Out of the State House men hasten with orders. Twenty companies are wanted. The soldiers are scattered far and wide, in more than twenty towns, driving teams upon their farms, lUss;^*^ THE PIG. making shoes, pushing the plane ; some are clerks in counting-rooms, or laborers in mills where spindles are whirling and shuttles flying. Down by the sea-side, where the waves of the Atlantic break upon the granite ledges of Marblehead, are men with sunburnt, weather-beaten faces, who have braved the storms of the sea. All are sons of toil, rep- resentatives of labor. They are men who earn their daily bread. Little dream they of the place they are to occupy in history. It is four o'clock in the afternoon when a messenger rides up to the house of Caj^tain Knott Y. Martin. The captain has killed a pig and is ready to dress it, when the messenger hands him a slip of paper. With knife in hand he reads it : THE UPRISING OF THE PEOPLE. 51 '•You are ordered to appear with your company on Boston Common at the earliest possible moment." He throws down the knife to put on his uniform. " What will you do with the pig V asks Mrs. Martin. " the pig !" Not an instant does he wait ; the members of his company must be summoned, his knapsack packed. Major AVatson, of Lowell, is a lawyer. He has important cases in court, with interests of clients- at stake, but he turns the key of his office door. Months will pass before he again will enter it. The spiders can spin their webs in peace across the windows through the coming summer. The dust will be thick upon his briefs before he will again ponder points in law. General Benjamin F. Butler leaves his multitudinous law busi- ness to take command of the troops hastening to the rendezvous. Morning dawns, and in every village there is a beating of drums and gathering of citizens to see the soldiers take their departure. The day is dark and dreary — the wind east, the storm-clouds flying in from the sea, but the streets are filled with people. There is a steady tramping of feet upon the pavement, a swinging of hats and loud hurrahs as the companies arrive, marching to Faneuil Hall, the building where the nation in its infancy was cradled. The Sixth Regiment is the first to leave. A great crowd assembles to witness its departure and rend the air with their cheers. The next morn- ing the troops are in ]S"ew York, marching down Broadway beneath a sea of banners. Hundreds of thousands of people cheer them. They break- fast at the Astor House. Mr. Colman, the proprietor, will receive no pay for what they eat. At Philadelphia they sit down to a sumptuous enter- tainment provided by the citizens. In their loyalty they cannot do enough for the men who, at a moment's notice, have left everything to save Wash- ington from the hands of the Confederates. April 19th. It is the anniversary of Lexington and Concord. Eighty- six years have rolled away since Major Buttrick marshalled his fifty men in the meadows of Concord, with Rev. Mr. Emerson, minister, in the ranks, his gun upon his shoulder, and now three of Major Buttrick's descendants are whirling towards Washington in response to their country's call. They are in Maryland, a slave State, which the secessionists hope to secure to the Confederacy. They have stirred up the ruffians of the city to prevent the passage of Northern troops to Washington. " I fear that you will have trouble in Baltimore," are the words of General Davis to Colonel Jones, commanding the regiment. 52 DRUM-BEAT OF THE NATION. " Load your ginis," is the order of tlie colonel to his men as he pass- es through the cars distributing twenty cartridges to each man. The cars whirl into the northern depot ; horses are hitched on, and one by one they are drawn through the streets. Six companies go through to the southern depot before the ruffians can muster their forces ; but a mob quickly gathers, digs up the pavement, and hurls the stones into the cars. They tear up the rails. The four companies left behind must fight their way. The officers are cool and determined. They see that there must be a single commander, and elect Captain Follansbee. Clubs and stones are liurled upon them. The ruffians bring boxes, barrels, and carts to form a barricade, but the troops toss them aside. They are two hun- dred and twenty against five thousand. " We'll dig your graves!" "Down with the Yankee cowards!" " Hurrah for Jeff Davis !" One by one the soldiers drop. Luther Ladd, Sumner H. JS^eedham, Charles A. Taylor, and Addison O. Whitney are killed — the first to give their lives tliat the nation may live. The ranks close and the troops move on. The mob divides before the advancing columns as the air di- vides before an arrow shot from the bow. Besides the four killed, thirty- six are wounded. Of the ruffians, no one will ever know how many went down. The regiment reaches the cars and the train moves on to Wash- ington. While the cars are carrying the Massachusetts troops to the Capitol of the nation, the people throughout the country are holding mass-meetings, and passing resolutions to sustain the Government. In every village drums begin to beat. From flag-staff and steeple wave the Stars and Stripes. Presidents of banks in Boston hasten to Governor Andrew, offer- ing loans. In New York a great meeting is held in Madison Square. Some of the newspapers of that city have favored the secessionists, but now, under the pressure of the demands of the people, they fling out the Stars and Stripes and give their allegiance to Abraham Lincoln. The feeling becomes intense when they learn what is going on in Baltimore. By the order of the mayor of that city, the bridges on the railroad to Philadelphia and Ilarrisburg were burned, so tliat no more troops could reach Washington. The secessionists rejoiced in the anticipation that in a few days the Confederate flag would be waving over tlie Capitol, and tliat Jefferson Davis would be occupying the White House. "I will prophesy," said L. P. Walker, Confederate Secretary of War at Montgomery, " that the flag of the Confederacy will float over the dome of THE UPRISING OF THE PEOPLE. 55 the Capitol in Washington before the first of May. Let them try South- ern chivahy, and it may float eventually over Faneuil Hall in Boston." Great events were taking place in Richmond, The State Convention was in session. A majority of its members, when elected, Avere opposed to secession, as were a majority of the people of the State. Nor is tliere much doubt that the majority of the people throughout the South, with the exception of South Carolina, were at heart opposed to seceding from the Union. But the slave-holders were aggressive, determined to tram- ple down all opposition. The men who had brought about the secession of the cotton-growing States knew that it was necessary for them to secure Virginia. The leaders of the movement in that State, before the firing on Sumter, called on Governor Letcher, who at heart was a secessionist, but who had sworn to support the Constitution of the United States. He had a peculiar feeling of honor, and regard for his oath of ofiice. Among those who called upon him were John Seddon, of Richmond, and Mr. Lacey, who owned a large estate and many slaves on the Rappahan- nock. They presented a plan for seizing Fortress Monroe and the navy yard at Norfolk, which would give the Confederacy command of Chesa- peake Bay, the war-ships at Norfolk, the immense amount of supplies in the ship-yards, and nearly three thousand heavy guns. They included in the plan the seizure of the arsenal at Harper's Ferry, where there were fifteen thousand muskets and the machinery for the manufacture of arms. Mr. Lacey offered his check for ten thousand dollars to carry out the en- terprise. Governor Letcher informed them that he was in favor of the secession of the State, but until the Convention voted to secede, he would not permit the carrying out of their proposed plan. "Wait till the Convention secedes, and I will be with you ; but if you attempt it before action by the Convention, I will hang you." And yet he laid plans to act with great promj^tness the moment the State seceded. In order to influence the Convention, the conspirators made a great demonstration in Richmond — holding a mass -meeting, employing brass- bands, making speeches, inciting the passions of the people, ridiculing Abraham Lincoln, dwelling upon the aggressions of the North, glorifying the rights of Virginia. They organized a grand procession, and made a display of fireworks in the evening. The ladies of Richmond, who ardently favored secession, did what they could to help it on by standing on the balconies of their homes waving flags and wearing rosettes of red, white, and blue. The demonstration had its intended effect. In secret session the vote was passed April 17th, with the condition that the ques- tion should be submitted to the people for ratification. The secessionists 56 DRUM-BEAT OF THE NATION. knew that before the day for taking the vote arrived, regiments from the other Southern States would be tramping through the State, and that vot- ing would be a farce. When the day of election came, the voters of Win- chester found a regiment of Louisiana troops guarding the polls. When the vote of the Convention was announced, the people of Richmond were wild with excitement. Cannon thundered, ladies wav^ed their handker- chiefs from window, door-way, and balcony, and a drunken rabble surged the streets, hurrahing for Jefferson Davis and the Confederacy. " Yir- ginia walks out of the Union like a queen," said the liichmond Exa'tniner. In Montgomery, Jefferson Davis and the members of the Confederate congress are packing their trunks for removal to Richmond. They will make that city tlie capital of the Confederacy till they can take Washing- ton. That it would soon be theirs they do not doubt. This is what the Richmond Examiner said : " From the mountain-tops and valleys to the shores of the sea there is one wild shout of fierce resolve to capture Washing- ton City at all and every human hazard. That filthy cage of unclean birds must and will assuredly be jDurified by fire. ... It is not to be endured that this flight of abolition harpies shall come down from the black North for their roosts in the heart of the South, to defile and brutalize the laud. . . . Our people can take it — they will take it — and Scott, the arch-traitor, and Lincoln, the beast, combined cannot prevent it. The just indignation of an outraged and injured people will teach tlie Illinois ape to retrace his jour- ney across the borders of the free -negro States still more rapidly than lie came, and Scott, the traitor, will be given the opportunity at the same time to try the difference between Scott's tactics and the Shanghae drill for quick movements. " Great cleansing and purification are needed and will be given to that festering sink of iniquity — that wallow of Lincohi and Scott — the dese- crated city of Washington, and many, indeed, will be the carcasses of dogs and caitiffs that will blacken the air upon the gallows before the work is accomplished. So let it be." On the very hour that the Virginia Convention was voting in secret session to secede, Jefferson Davis virtually was declaring war against the United States by issuing his proclamation, offering " letters of marque and reprisal " to armed ships to capture the unarmed ships belonging to jSTorth- ern merchants. The South owned very few ships, while those of the North swarmed on every sea. He expected that privateers would soon be capt- uring the vessels of the North. Two days later, President Lincoln issued a proclamation, which announced the intention of the United States to blockade all the ports of the seceding States. THE UPRISING OF THE TEOPLE. 57 Tlie succession and sweep of events was like tlie rusli of a wliirlwind. In the arsenal at Harper's Ferry were fifteen thousand mnskets and the valuable machines for the manufacture of arms. There was no time to remove the muskets. " Three thousand troops are on their way to capture the arsenal," was the message which reached Lieutenant Jones, in command of tlie arsenal, on the evening of xVpril ISth. The militia of Yii'ginia intended to seize the muskets, make their way to Baltimore, arm the secessionists there, then march to Washington and hold the Capi- tol. It had all been planned in advance by Governor Letchei', and in anticipation of the secession of the State. Lieutenant Jones had expected such a movement. He received orders from Washington to destroy the building, and had piled wood around the stacks of arms and saturated the floors with oil. He had watchmen out on all the roads. One came with the information that the Virginians were close at hand. The sol- diers, sixteen of them, ran with torches and shavings, and the flames were soon leaping from the windows and curling through the roof. Down the hill came the Virginians, while Lieutenant Jones and the sol- diers crossed the river and made their way up the Maryland hills. There were thousands of secessionists in Washington ready to rise and seize the city. On the day Abraham Lincoln was inaugurated, a major- ity of the inhabitants were secessionists at heart, or utterly indifferent to the great question of the hour. The Union men discovered their plot. General Scott had six companies of L^nited States troops, two batteries, and a company of marines whom he could rely upon. The clerks in the dc])artments were organized into military companies. Xone was accepted who would not swear to sustain the Government. Beneath the trees in front of the War Department they held up their hands and made oath to 1)6 truly loyal. Fearing that an attempt might be made to assassi- nate the President, three hundred citizens guarded the White House, cannon were planted to sweep Long Bridge and the bridge at George- town. The burning of the arsenal at Harpers Ferry upset the well-laid plan. At iS"orfolk was the navy yard, with its great ship-houses and buildings filled with supplies for the navy; with more than two thousand cannon, a quarter of a million pounds of powder, and thousands of cart-loads of solid shot and shell, with vessels on the stocks and in the stream, among them the new^ frigate Jlerrhnac, carrying forty guns — ten million dollars' worth of property. Captain McCauley was commander of the yard. " Kemove the Merrimac to Philadelphia at once," was the order that came from Washino:ton. An engineer came to work the engines. It was 58 DRUM-BEAT OF THE NATION. Saturday, April 12tli ; the cannon were booming at Sumter. If Captain McCaulej was not himself a traitor, he was surrounded hj traitors, who persuaded him to disobey the orders. The fires had been kindled, but he ordered them to be put out. He did not comprehend that he had reached a supreme moment in life ; that then and there he might write his name large upon the scroll of fame — so large that people would read it with admiration through all com- ing time. In the stream, riding at anchor, is the frigate Cumber'lmid, with twenty - four guns, with a loyal crew on board. The milita- ry companies of Norfolk are drill- inff. He hears their drum -beat. He knows that they are meditat- ing the seizure of the navy yard. How easy for him to say, " The moment you attempt it I will sweep the streets of Xorfolk clean with grape and canister, and level it to the ground." Instead of that, before Virginia secedes, he permits Governor Letcher to sink vessels across the channel to prevent his taking away the llerrimae. " I will not remove any of the vessels, nor will I fire a shot except in defence," he says to the secessionists, and sets men to work cutting holes in the bottom of the Merrimac and the other ships to sink them. •Captain Paulding, appointed to supersede McCaulej^ arrives with sev- eral hundred Massachusetts troops just in season to see the Merrimac set- tle beneath the waves. " Save the navy yard if you can, but hold Fortress Monroe in any event," are the orders of General Scott. He has not troops enough to hold both. Confederate troops are hastening in. He sets the houses and ships on fire— the Pennsijlvania, Delaware, and Columhus, each carrying seventy-four guns ; the Merrimac, Raritan, and Columbia, frigates, and sev- eral smaller vessels. From ground to roof, from hull to top-mast, leap the flames, illuminating all the surrounding country. The houses and ships are destroyed, but the fire will not burn the cannon, the shot and shell, and so at the outset the Confederates obtain enough cannon to arm all their forts and batteries. So much lost to the nation, so mucl\ gained by them. VORTRESS MONROE. THE UPKISING OF THE PEOPLE. 59 It was four o'clock in the afternoon, April 19th, when the New York Seventh Regiment marched down Broadway. Everywhere — from win- dow, door-way, staff, steeple — waved the Stars and Stripes : flags of the costliest silk, flags of the homeliest bunting, flags of painted cotton cloth. Street, sidewalk, doors, windows, were crowded with people — a sea of hu- man faces. Never before such cheers as swelled up from the lips of five hundred thousand people. From the armory to the ferry that bore them to the Jersey shore it was one prolonged hurrah. Men worth millions of ^^^S$^SS^i^;S^^;^?s5^Vw^i;^^s^v'l-X % BURNING NORFOLK NAVY YARD. dollars were in the ranks. No more the making of money ; no more plans for mercantile transactions. Farewell to ease and comfort. Wel- come the weary march, the bivouac, the battle. The nation shall live, per- ish everything else. Women become like men, strong of heart, and wave their farewells to those most dear without a tear upon their cheeks ; strong men become like women, and weep through excess of joy and emotion. Not only in New York, but in Philadelphia, Chicago, Cincinnati — in every city, town, hamlet of the North — the new tide of life rolls in. 60 DRUM-BEAT OF THE NATION. Gen. Benjiunin F. Butler, with the Massacliusetts Eighth Regiment, reached the Susquehanna River at Havre de Grace. " The bridges are burned ; you cannot reach Washington," was the word that came to him. The great ferrj-boat, the steamer Maryland, was in tlie stream. " Seize it," was the order. In a very short time the regiment was on board, and the Maryland steaming down Chesapeake Bay for Annapolis. The New York Seventh Regiment was steaming down Delaware Bay on the steamer Boston, and up the Chesapeake to the same point. Great the consternation of the secessionists at Annapolis when the Maryland entered the harbor. The Constitution — " Old Ironsides," tlie ship that won so many victories in 1812 — was there without a crew. The secessionists were planning to take possession, but General Butler was too quick for them. The flag of the Confederacy never was to float above her deck. The secessionists had torn up the railroad ; but the men of the Eighth Massachusetts knew how to build railroads, and began to spike down the rails. They had taken the locomotive to pieces. ''I helped make this locomotive ; there is my mark," said a soldier, who laid aside his musket and went to work with a wrench and hammer to put it in order. " Are there any soldiers here who can run the engine V asked the colonel. ]Nine- teen stepped from the ranks in response. The slave-holders had left out of their calculations the greatest factor of all — labor. How little did they comprehend, when they began the w^ar, that the laborers — the men who worked for th^ir daily bread, the men who wore blue blouses and handled wM-enches and hammers, who tiled iron, who pushed the plane, who fol- lowed the plough — were the men who would reconstruct what slavery de- stroyed. There they were, at the outset, reconstructing the locomotive, the railroad, and in the end they would reconstruct the nation. Together the Massachusetts Eighth and the New York Seventh relaid the rails and made their w^ay to "Washington. In Baltimore the secessionists had triumphed for a moment, but up in western Maryland, at Frederick and Ilagerstown, the Union men were running up the Stars and Stripes. One evening, greatly to the astonish- ment of the secessionists, General Butler, at the head of his troops, marched into the city, planted the Stars and Stripes, arrested the police-commission- ers who were plotting treason, seized all the muskets and pistols they had collected, and set men to work repairing the bridges which had been burned. The Union men rejoiced ; the secessionists gnashed their teeth. The slave-holders were confident that the State would secede. James R. Randall wrote the song "My Maryland," which was set to an old German THE UPRISING OF THE PEOPLE. 63 nieloch' by Miss Carey, of Baltimore. Slie and iier sister, Miss Hetty, were ardent secessionists. Their house was regarded by the Union men as tlie headquarters of secession. The hidies of Baltimore who sympathized with the South met there to make uniforms for Confederate soldiers. The song was first sung by Miss Carey in June, 1S61. It was greatly applauded, and became very popular. It was sung everywhere throughout the South : MARYLAND! MY MARYLAND! _± — ^_x_^-__^ — , e_x ±_« — . 0—^-g — — « J =T-t:==t=(iz=f=pr=f=:*ir=:i = j ?:l=5=»=f=:p=:t=E.-=2i:1 — i-b — C'—f — F-^— f— f — -J -^ #- ^ i._^_«_i •_ « 1 ^ 1— r— > N -^— J- =ii_N_^_j — :1.-rp:n=:r_=zi=T=z^^:q2=.-^z=ii=:Tri^_z::::sz:q:--==3 p— ^-* — ^ , •_! -L- • *— ^-* li -m ^ i ^-^-» — f — • — F— ^ ^—^ — -^ — I F— ^-» — f — f -■ (rp 1 # - t m m , m [__ # g g — | * ^ ^ g ^^-— — >^— F- ^ — ^ :f:=p=^c:z:rt:=it:=rt=^t= ^ ^ ^ -I i?- ^F=F Q:|z=:j=Tz^zl=r'=*-=7t:=Tia-_=*=#— m- ^ V- ^F=± i^ilS _T • ^ -, "The despot's heel is on thy shore, ' His torch is at thy temple door, Avenge the patriotic gore That flecks the streets of Baltimore, And be the battle queen of yore, ^Maryland ! my Maryland ! Vain the song ! Ineffectual Richmond and in Baltimore to 'I hear the distant thunder hum, The old-time bugle, fife, and drum-. She is not dead, nor deaf, nor dumb, Huzza ! she spurns the Northern scum. She breathes, she burns, she'll come — she'll come ! JIarylaud ! my Maryland !" all the machinations of conspirators at l)ring about the secession of the State ! 64: DRUM-BEAT OF THE NATION. CHAPTEE IV. FIRST WEEKS OF THE WAR. THE first week in June, 1861, 1 became a correspondent in the army. My first observations were at Baltimore. In Boston, ]^ew York, Philadelphia, and in all Xorfhern cities patriotism was at flood -tide. Everywhere flags were waving; the drum-beat was heard in every village ; troops were drilling, companies and regiments organizing. Ladies wore Union rosettes of red, white, and blue. The music of the hour was " Yankee Doodle " and " Hail Columbia." Baltimore presented a striking contrast to the other cities. It was dull and gloomy ; only here and there were the Stars and Stripes to be seen. Business was at a standstill. It was a Southern city, but the secessionists, who in April had all but succeeded in taking the State out of the Union, finding that they had been foiled by the vigilance of the Government, were leaving Baltimore secretly, and making their way to liichmond to join the Confederate army. Ladies who sympathized with the South looked upon the Union soldiers as low, mean, vile, hateful creatures. They forgot their high breeding and ceased to be ladies when they daintily gathered up their skirts and spat at them upon the street. A regiment of Pennsylvania troops was drilling near Fort McHenry. A few days before they had been driving their teams afield or working in coal-mines, but now they were soldiers of the Kepublic. They knew very little of military affairs. They came, in their marching, upon a pool of water, and the colonel, not knowing the proper word of command to avoid it, shouted, " Gee round that hole !" They understood it. Out of such material the mighty armies of the Republic were organized. Washington, on the other hand, was in a hubbub. TroojDS were pouring in, raw, undisciplined, yet of material such as the world had never seen — artisans, artists, farmers, mechanics, merchants, printers, painters, poets, bankers, men of letters, ministers of the Gospel ; men from every calling and occupation -svere in the ranks, responding to the call of the President, and obeying the promptings of their own j^atriotic hearts. There was a" FIRST WEEKS OF THE WAR. G5 nimble of baggage- wagons in the streets and a constant tramping of men. Soldiei-s were quartered in tlie Capitol, spreading their blankets in the corridors, (leneral Scott, who had served his country faithfully in the war with England in 1812, and in Mexico, was popularly regarded as the Hercules of the time. He was a native of Virginia, but was true to the old flag. The newspapers in the South were calling him a traitor to Vir- ginia. He was seventy-five years of age, and his powers were failing. He could walk only with difticulty, but day and night he gave his waning energies to his country in this its trying hour. ' 'y^NN^ GENERAL SCOTT. Could I have gone to Richmond, I should have seen equal activity in that city — regiments of men in gray parading the streets or hurrying northward to Manassas or Harper's Ferry. Throughout the South the blood of the secessionists, those who believed that the States were superior to the Nation, was at fever-heat. Those who still loved the old flas: were (IG DEUM-BEAT OF THE NATION. awed into silence. Mr. Sennnes, wlio later in the war commanded the Confederate ship Alahama, gives this picture of Mobile the week after the firing on Sumter : " I found Mobile, like the rest of the Confederacy, in a o'reat state of excitement. It was boiling over with enthusiasm ; the young merchants had dropped their day-books and ledgers, and were form- ing and drilling companies by night and day, while the older ones were discussing the question of the Confederate Treasury, to see how it could be supported. The Battle House was thronged, ' and all went merry as a marriage bell.' " The cotton States had seceded under the hallucination that cotton was " king." Jefferson Davis had pictured the glory of the future South, and its power, based on slavery. The merchants of New Orleans had brought themselves to believe that its commercial greatness would be far superior to that of New York; but before the month of April had passed a great change came over the city. This is the picture by Mr. Semmes : " I ar- rived in New Orleans on Monday, the 22d of April. A great change was apparent. The levee was no longer a great mart of commerce, piled wdth cotton-bales and with supplies going back to the planter, and densely packed with steamers, and thronged with a busy nmltitude. The long lines of shipping had been greatly thinned, and a general air of desolation hung over the river front. It seemed as though a pestilence brooded over the doomed city, and that its inhabitants had fled before the fell destroyer. But this first simoom of the desert which had swept over the city, as a foretaste of what was to come, had not discouraged its jxitriotic inhabitants. The activity of commerce had ceased, but another activity had taken its place. War now occupied the thoughts of the multitude, and the sound of the drum and the tramp of armed men were heard in the streets. The balconies were crowded with lovely women in gay attire to witness the military processions, and the Confederate flag in miniature was pinned on every bosom." Mr. Jones, of Richmond, who kept a record of events during the w^ar, gives this picture of Richmond : " The ladies are postponing all engage- ments until their lovers have fought the Yankees. Their influence is great. Day after day they go in crowds to the Fair -ground, where the First South Carolina volunteers are encamped, showering upon them their smiles and all the delicacies the city affords. They wine and cake them — and they deserve it. They have just taken Fort Sumter, and have won historic distinction. They are worth from one hundred thousand to half a million dollars each, these rich young men, and are dressed in gray homespun." On the 6th of May Arkansas seceded from the Union, and was followed FIRST WEEKS OF THE WAR. 69 by ]^ortli Carolina on tlie 21st and Tennessee on the 8tli of June. In all the nionntain region of West Virginia, North Carolina, and Tennessee there were bnt few slaves. The people of that section were liard-working men and women, who loved the old flag, and who could not see that thev M'ould be any better off in the Confederacy under Jefferson Davis than in the Union under Abraham Lincoln. In Kentucky there were eleven hundred and sixty thousand people, and of these two hundred and lifty thousand were slaves. There were strong ties to bind that State to the Union. Through all the years the people had lived in peace with their neighbors across the Ohio Hiver, which with its many windings formed their northern boundary for nearly eight hundred miles. Young men from Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois had found their true-hearted wives south of the river. Many of the citizens of those States liad been born in Kentucky, but had settled for life where there were no slaves to degrade their labor. There were frequent visits to tlie old homes to see brothers and cousins. More than this, the little log-cabin in which Abraham Lincoln was born was still standing, and the people of the State — those who did not have any slaves — remembering how he struggled with poverty and hardships, how he had triumphed over adversity, how he had chopped wood, split rails, pulled at the oar on a Mississippi Hat-boat, were not sorry that he was President. He had been constitutionally elected. Thej believed in fair play. Why should he not be President? Why should Kentucky join the Confederacy? Why should the hard-working farmers who held with their own hands the plough join a government under which labor was regarded as degrading? The people of Kentucky had not forgotten the teachings of their great statesman, Henry Clay ; they had just erected a beautiful monument of nuir- ble to commemorate his virtues and greatness. His voice had ever been for the Union. Men advanced in years who had listened to his eloquent words rehearsed them to their sons. Old soldiers who liad fought for their country under General Harrison and General Scott in Canada, and Avho had stood with Jackson behind the breastwork of cotton-bales and hogsheads of sugar at Xew Orleans, who were receiving their pensions from Government, could not bear to think that the old flag had been in- sulted. They took pride in the thought that it had been defended at Sumter by a son of Kentucky, Major Anderson. The Rev. Doctor Breck- inridge, father of Senator Breckinridge, who had been Vice-president under Buchanan, loved the Union. He wielded great influence among the Presbyterians of the State. Kentucky did not raise cotton. Very few of those who owned slaves had any thought of building up an em- 5* 70 DRUM-BEAT OF THE NATION. pire based on slavery. On tlie contrary, many of tliem were willing to see slavery abolished, if it could be done peacefully. Such were some of the ties which bound the State to the Union. The Governor of Kentucky, Mr. McGoffin, was a "States-rights" man, and when President Lincoln called upon him for troops to put down the rebellion, he rej^lied that Kentucky would take no part in the war, little comprehending that in a contest between two forms of society, the one based on slave labor and the other on free labor, there could be no neutral ground ; that before many weeks the people of the State would range themselves on one side or the other. The planters of Missouri, who cultivated tobacco and hemp, and owned slaves, had done what they could to make Kansas a slave State. Like the planters of Virginia, they raised slaves for the Southern market. Many of them were originally from Virginia, others from Kentucky. But emigrants from Germany had been pouring into the State, especially into St. Louis. They hated slavery ; they crossed the ocean to become American citizens ; they couhl not understand the provincial pride of the secessionists which made a State of more consequence than the IN^ation. They were all for the Union, as were a majority of the American-born citizens of Missouri. Claiborne F. Jackson became governor January 1, 1861, and did what he could to bring about the withdrawal of the State from the Union. A convention w^as called, but not a single secession delegate was elected. It was a bitter disappointment to the South. It upset all the plans which liad been laid by Jackson for arming the State before turning it over to the Confederacy. There were a few far-seeing men in St. Louis who loved the L^^nion, and who determined to tlnvart the secessionists. One of these level-headed men was Francis F. Blair. In December he called the leading Union men together for consultation. " The State authorities," he said, "• are working to bring about secession. There are sixty thousand muskets in the United States arsenal which they intend to seize. We must form a military or- ganization to prevent it," Seventy-three names were enrolled, and Blair was chosen captain. It was the first military organization formed in the country to maintain the Union. Other companies were soon organized. They called themselves Home Guards. The hot-blooded young Southerners began to organize themselves as minute-men, under the lead of Basil W. Duke. Their special object was to gain possession of the arms. The commander of the arsenal, wdio was from North Carolina, had an understanding with Governor Jackson in regard to turning it over to the State ; but this plan was upset by the FIRST WEEKS OF THE WAR. 71 arrival of another officer sent by General Scott to command the United States troops, to take charge of the property of the United States at St. Louis, Nathaniel P. Lyon, of Connecticut, bold, fearless, resolute. He erected barricades around the building. Under the laws the Governor had the right to order out the militia for drill. He sent a messenger to Jefferson Davis for cannon and mus- kets. The secession militia under General Frost were in camp just out of St. Louis. When Fort Sumter was fired upon, and President Lincoln F. p. BLAIR. called upon the governors for troops, Governor Jackson replied that Mis- souri would furnish no troops to coerce a sister State, wliereupon Blair telegraphed that Missouri would furnish her share, and the Home Guards were mustered into the service of the United States. Strange -lookino; boxes were landed on the levee in the darkness of the night. May Sth, from a steamer just arrived from Memphis. A sharp- eyed man was lounging along the levee, and as the boxes were tumbled out he saw that they were heavy. " Marble," was the label. He saw 72 DRUM-BEAT OF THE NATION. them loaded upon drajs. He had the curiosity to follow them till thej reached Camp Jackson. It was a nice carriage which drove out to Camp Jackson on the morn- ing of May 9th. It contained a gentleman and lady. The sentinels ad- mitted it, and it was driven over the field leisurely where the soldiers were drilling. The lady admired their marching. She saw soldiers open- ing the boxes of marble. They had changed to cannon, shot, and shell. The lady drove to her lodgings, took off her bonnet and gown, and put on her hat and uniform — -no longer a woman, but Captain Lyon of the United States army. Two o'clock p. M. The Home Guards are marching through the streets. They are six regiments, with six pieces of artillery. Half the regiments march through one street, half through another, very rapidly, as if seeing how fast they can keep step to the drumbeat. They reach the open field and turn towards Camp Jackson. The cannon unlimber and the gunners stand by their pieces. General Frost beholds it in amazement. " Your command is regarded as hostile to the United States. I de- mand your surrender, with no other conditions than that all persons shall be humanely and kindly treated," are the words of Captain Lyon. General Frost sees that he is in a trap, with no chance to escape, and therefore surrenders. Thus, again, all the plans of the slave-holders and secessionists are overturned in Missouri. Ruffians in the street shook their fists at the Home Guards, threw pav- ing-stones, drew their pistols and fired. The Guards returned the fire, and for a few moments tliere was a melee, in which several soldiers and citizens were killed and others wounded ; but the Stars and Stripes were not to go down in St. Louis, and that great commercial centre was thus saved to the Union. When you look at the maj) of Virginia you will notice that the Appalachian Mountains lie in successive ranges, like the waves of the sea. East of the mountains the country is a succession of plateaus and plains all the M'ay to Cliesapeake Bay. It was in this section that the Cavaliers of England, when that State was settled, laid out their broad ])lantations, built their spacious mansions, and cultivated their fields of tobacco. The people who lived in the mountains were hunters, lumber- men, and coal -miners. They had small farms. They traded with the inhabitants of Wheeling more than with the merchants at Richmond. AV^liat they had to sell found a better and more convenient market west- ward than eastward. / ' FIRST WEEKS OF THE WAR. 75 In the section of the State east of the mountains there were nearly lialf a million slaves ; in the country between the Blue Ridge and the Ohio River less than twenty thousand. The people of West Virginia had no sympathy with secession. In June, delegates from forty counties met at AVheeling and repudiated what had been done at Richmond. They formed a State government, and elected F. II. Pierpont governor. So the State which had gloried in the name of the Dominion, before a month had passed after voting to secede lost one-half of her domain. Confederate troops were gathering at Ilai'pers Ferry and at Manassas .Junction, There were several companies at Alexandria. Arlington House, the home of Robert E. Lee, who had been greatly trusted by General Scott, but who had resigned his commission to become a major- general under Jefferson Davis, was within cannon - shot of the White House. "Washington will be ours before many days," was the boast of the newspapers at Richmond. General Scott saw that Arlington and Alexandria must be occupied, or some morning cannon-shot Avould be crashing through the White House. The moon was shining, the air calm and still, at two o'clock on the morning of May 24th, when the soldiers rolled up their blankets,, fell silently into line, and moved towards the bridges crossing the Potomac. They were commanded by Genei'al McDowell. Three regiments marched through Georgetown, four across Long Bridge, while the regiment of Zouaves under Colonel Ellsworth went on board a steamer, which moved down the river to Alexandria, where the gunboat Pawnee was Ij'ing. The Zouaves landed, swept through the streets, the Confederates fleeing to Manassas. A Confederate flag was flying over a hotel kept by a Mr. Jackson. Colonel Ellsworth climbed the roof and pulled it down, lie was descending the narrow stairs when he was shot dead by the land- lord, who in turn was shot by one of the Zouaves. The IS^orthern people said that Jackson was an assassin, wdiile the Southern people regarded him as a martyr to liberty. Through the South there was great indignation because the troops of the Union had invaded the State of Vii'ginia. " Tiie minions of Abraham Lincoln must be driven from the sacred soil of the State," said the Richmond papers. Troops from other Southern States were tramp- ing through the State controlling the voting on the day of election, but the newspapers published no protest. "Brave Virginians," said the Charleston Courier^ "and all true sons of the South, will cling to their true and honored flas: with more zeal lO \ DRUM-BEAT OF TH^E NATION. and devotion, and, if compelled to fall beneath it, will sell their lives dearly, strikinej especially at the leaders and officers of the insolent and invading hirelings and ruffians who seek to disgrace the chosen standard of a redeemed people." " The corner-stone of the Confederacy is African slavery," said Alex- ander H. Stevens, Vice-president of the Confederacy. "Our negroes will do the shovelling while our brave cavaliers will do the fighting," said one of the Richmond newspapers. But before a battle had been fought the corner-stone began to crumble. The slave-holdei'S around Norfolk and Hampton, in Eastern Virginia, sent their slaves with shovels to throw up fortifications. Some of the // s: BENJAMIN F. BUTLER. slaves, watching their opportunity when night came, crept through the woods, swam rivers, and made their way to Fortress Monroe. General Benjamin F. Butler was there wuth Massachusetts and New York troops. The slaves knew instinctively that the Union soldiers were their friends, that the slave-holders had begun the war to perpetuate slavery. The colored people had never studied logic, did not know the meaning of the word, did not know a letter of the alphabet, but they comprehended the meaning of this gathering of armies — that it was a war between slavery and freedom. FIRST WEEKS OF THE WAR. 77 One slave named Luke made his way to Fortress Monroe, and became a servant to Captain Tyler. Luke's owner, Colonel Mallory, came to get him. " It" j'ou will take the oath of allegiance to the United States I will give him up," said General Butler. The negroes in the canip heard of it, and w-ere much excited. Luke, with tears upon his cheeks, came to Captain Tjler. '' I don't think that you will be sent back, for General Butler has not any authority to send you." A moment ago the negroes were weeping and moaning, but now they were wild with joy. The news spread. General Butler heard of it, and ordered Captain Tyler to appear before him. " I understand, sir," said the general, " that you have been telling the negroes that they can't be sent back to their masters. Now, sir, I want to know by what authority you have told them so ?" " By the authority of common-sense." " AVhat do you mean by that, sir ?" "The case is this: Luke's former master sent him to work on the Confederate fortiiications ; that act made Luke contraband of war, and liable to be confiscated to the United States in case he should ever be found within our lines, either by his own act or by the advance of our troops. While thus employed he escaped to our lines ; that extinguished his master's right. Luke instantly acquired what he never had had be- fore — freedom. His master cannot demand him, for he held him only as property, and employed that property in acts of war against the United States. The United States cannot hold him as a chattel, because, as a government, we do not recognize slavery as a national institution. Luke, as property, is contraband of war, and confiscated to the United States. He is free ; nor can he ever again legally be a slave," " Slaves are contraband of war," was the proclamation made by General Butler, and sent out from Fortress Monroe. Never had the men who laid their plans to build the Confederacy and perpetuate slaveiy dreamed that the institution, before a battle had been fought, would begin to settle from its foundations. They began to see that military law was far different from civil law. Colonel Mallory and all the other planters went sadly back to their homes. Thousands of dollars' worth of property had walked away, nor was there any law by which they could recover it. A few days before Virginia seceded. Lieutenant-colonel John Bank- head Magruder, of the United States Artillery, called upon President Lincoln and said, "Mr. President, every one else may desert you, but I never will." Two days later he was in Bichmond, offering liis services 78 DEUM-BEAT OF THE NATION. to Jefferson Davis. He was sent to Yorktown to command the Confed- erate troops gathering at that point. He impressed slaves to work on tlie fortifications. One of them escaped to Fortress Monroe. "Massa Magruder is building forts," said the slave, George Scott. Major Theodore Winthrop, private secretary and aide to General Butler, went with him up the road towards Big Bethel, creeping through the woods, getting so near that Major Winthrop obtained a good view of tlie fortifications. General Butler resolved to make an attack, and Major Win- throp drew a plan for the movement and made this note : " George Scott is to have a shooting-ikon." Military law, the week before, had assumed superiority to statute law by making slaves contraband of war, and now this clear-headed young man, who, before the war began, was writing delightful literary articles, saw what none of the statesmen had discovered, that the same law which made slaves contraband of war for working on rebel fortifications would in like manner give them the right to bear arms. The people of the North, however, were reluctant to accept that conclusion. Not till many thousands of brave men had laid down their lives would they consent to tlie enrolling of the freed men as soldiers of the Republic. General Pierce commanded the expedition to Bethel, composed of two columns, one marching from Hampton, under Colonel Duryea, the other from Newport News, under Colonel Bendix. It was a night march, and " Boston " was the watchword. The soldiers were to wear a piece of white cotton cloth on the left arm. Unfortunately, the officer who was to attend to that service forgot to inform Colonel Bendix, and his men fired into the other column, killing two and wounding ten. General Pierce captured thirty prisoners at Little Bethel, but the alarm was given, and Magruder had ample time to make preparations. It was ten in the morning when the Union troops reached Big Bethel. The men had marched all night, had had no breakfast, and were weary ; the sun was hot ; the Confederates were in a strong position behind breast- works mounting several guns. Unwisely tlie attack was ordered. Lieu- tenant Greble, commanding the two pieces of artillery, the only cannon, opened fire. The Zouaves advanced through the woods on the right of the road, the other regiments through a cornfield and orchard. The Union troops were six regiments ; the Confederate not (piite so many, but were behind breastworks, with cannon, which made them much the strongest. Lieutenant Greble aimed his cannon with accuracy, and silenced several of the enemy's guns, but fell mortall}^ wounded. The battle went on till the ammunition of the Union troops was spent and they retreated, having lost FIRST WEEKS OF THE WAR. 81 GREBLE TOWNSEND'S HALT J. ^ * '--iCORNFIECD 20UAVESS ■'i i - f 2l forty men killed and M'ounded. Among tlie killed wei'e Lieutenant Greble and Major AVinthrop, beloved and lamented. The Kichmond newspapers magnilied the affair into a great victory. From Staunton, the first week in June, General Garnett, with several Confederate regiments and six cannon, marched north-west over the mountains to Beverly, in West Yirginia, to hold that region. He reached Beverly, where there are two turnpikes, one running nearly north, through a pass in Lau- rel Mountain, the other north-west, through a pass in Bich Mountain. He sent Colonel Pegram up the turnpike which runs over Bich Mountain with six cannon. Pegram crossed the summit, went almost down to Boaring Creek, threw up breastworks, felled trees, planted his cannon, and pitched his tents. General Garnett M-ent up the other turnpike to Laurel Mountain. "These are the two gate -ways to the north-western country," he said. Troops from Ohio had crossed the Ohio Biver at Wheeling to protect the Baltimore and Ohio Bailroad. They w^ere commanded by General McClellan, who was a lieutenant in the war with Mexico. When war broke out between France and Eng- land and Bussia, he was sent by Jefferson Davis, then Secretary of War, to the Crimea to make observations. He had been appointed major-gen- eral by the Governor of Ohio, and was protecting the railroad east of Wheeling. General McClellan detached General Morris with five regiments to make a feint of attacking the Confederates moved with the rest of his force from the toM ing Creek against Pegram, who was in a sti L^nion brigades was connnanded by General posed to make a flank movement, climb the n rebels, while McClellan made a show of attac satisfactor3% and was accepted. At daylight on the morning of June He has four regiments — nineteen hundred along the mountain sides, the rain is pouri clothes of the soldiers are soaked with rai 6 MAP OF BETHEL. ^rountain, and Roar- jf the .0 pro- ■ of the >lan was as starts. re rolling pping, the 3 forenoon 82 DRUM-BEAT OF THE NATION. they pick their way up tlie steep ascent soutli of the tunij)ike, A fanner guides them. Walking by his side is Colonel Lander, who, before the war began, piloted a body of troops through the passes of the Rocky Mount- ains to Oregon. The farmer's knees shake from fear ; he can go no far- ther, and Colonel Lander pushes on, picking out a ]-oute for the soldiers. They gain the top of the ridge, rest a few moments, and then turn north, inarching along the crest of the mountain towards the turnpike. GENERAL MoCLELLAN. Colonel Pegratci, fearing a movement upon his rear, has sent three iumdred men and two cannon back to the house of Mr. ILart. The Con- federate soldiers are behind breastworks. It is three o'clock before General Kosecrans reaches Mr. Hart's farm. The soldiers are wet and weary, but advance to the attack. The Confed- FIRST WEEKS OF THE WAR. 83 erate cannon open fire. The Union troops pour in their volleys, and tlie Confederates throw down their guns and flee, panic-stricken, into tlie woods, leaving tlieir cannon and all their supplies. Great was the commotion in Colonel Pegram's camp at Roaring Creek. The soldiers left everything and rushed up the mountain -side, stealing along the summit northward, hoping to make their way to Laurel Mount- ain. But they never reached General Garnett, who, hearing of the disas- ter, and finding his retreat cut off by General McClellan, who crossed Rich Mountain and took possession of the turnpike at Beverly, fled north along a mountain road. The road was narrow and rough. His teamsters liad hard work to get along. He had thirty-five hundred soldiers, but they lost all heart, and began to drop out of the ranks. General Morris was following, and overtook Garnett at Carrick's Ford. There was a booming of cannon and rattling of musketry for a few mo- ments, but the disheartened Confeder- ates soon fled to the next ford, where they rallied once more, and where General Garnett was killed. With his fall all fled in terror, throwing away their guns. General Rosecrans plaimed and executed the movement by which the two gate-ways had been opened, which annihilated the Confederates and se- cured Western Virginia to the Union. ' General McClellan, however, was com- mander-in-chief, and received the honor. He sent a despatch wdiich electrified the country : '' Garnett and forces routed, his army demolished, (xarnett killed. We have annihilated the enemy in Western Virginia, have lost thirteen killed and not more than forty wounded. We have, in all, killed at least two hundred of the enemy, and their prisoners will amount to at least one thousand. Have taken seven guns in all. The troops defeated are the crack regiments of Eastern Virginia, aided by Georgians, Tennesseeans, Carolinians. Our success is complete, and seces- sion is killed in this country." Like the bulletins which Xapoleon was accustomed to issue, and which electrified the people of France, so this despatch awakened the enthusiasm of the people, who looked upon McClellan as a great connnander. The MAP OF RICH MOUNTAIN. 84 DRUxM-BEAT OF THE NATION. routing of Garnett and Pegrani secured West Virginia permanently to tlie Union, and made McClellan commander-in-cliief of the armies of the United States. Passing once more to the West, we see Governor Jackson of Missouri doing what iie can to help on the Confederate cause. Captain Ljon has been appointed general bj President Lincoln. Jackson sends a message proposing that the State remain neutral. A conference is held in the Planter's House, St. Louis. "Rather," said Lyon, "than concede to the State of Missouri the right to demand that Government shall not enlist troops with- in her limits, or bring troops into the State whenever it please, or move its troops at its own will, I would see every man, woman, and child in the State dead and buried. This means war." Governor Jackson hast- ened to Jefferson City, is- sued a proclamation calling the people to arms, burned the bridges on the railroad leading to St. Louis and across the Osage River, and fled southward. General Lyon Avas quick to act. He started up the Missouri River on steamboats, came upon a party of Jackson's troops at Booneville, quickly routing them. It was a blow which secured Missouri to the L^nion. Thousands who had hesitated gave their allegiance to the Government, and enlisted to put down the rebellion. The newspapers of the South at this period of the war ridiculed the Northern troo])s. Said the Mobile xidvertlser : " The Northern soldiers prefer enlisting to starvation ; scurv}^ fellows from the back slums of cities. Bnt these are not soldiers, least of all to meet the hot - blooded, thorough - bred, impetuous men of the South ; trencher soldiers, who enlisted to war upon rations, not upon men. They are such as marched through Baltimore, squalid, wretched, ragged, half-naked, as the newspapers of that city report them ; fellows who do cot know the breech of a musket from its muzzle ; white slaves, peddling GENEKAI LYON. FIRST WEEKS OF THE WAR. 85 wretches, small-change knaves, and vagrants, the offscouring of the popu- lous cities. These are the levied forces which Lincoln arrays as candi- dates for the honor of being slaughtered by gentlemen such as Mobile sends to battle. Let them come South, and we will put our negroes to the dirty work of killing them. But they will not come South ; not a wretch of them will live on this side of the border longer than it will take us to reach the ground to drive them off." There was also foolish boasting in the newspapers of the North ; the people were confident that the war would not last more than a month or two. The Secretary of State, William H. Seward, expressed the opin- ion that it would be over in three months. It was believed that the Union men in the Southern States would rise against the secessionists. On the other hand, the Confederates believed that those in the North opposed to the war would rise against the Government. The farthest- sighted, whether living North or South, had little conception of what the conflict was to be, how vast its proportions, how tremendous in results. 86 DKUM-BEAT OF THE NATION. CHAPTER V. THE FIRST GREAT BATTLE. -' ''P^IIE mustering of armies began. Mountains, rivers, railroads — tlie -■- physical geography of a country — were to determine military cam- paigns. The great Appalachian chain of mountains covers a wide section of country ; it was plain that the great movements of armies must be either east or west of this region. In the east two Union armies were gathering: one at Chambersburg, in Pennsylvania, the other at Alexan- dria, in Yirginia, commanded respectivel}^ by Generals Patterson and McDowell. General McDowell issued- an order to the troops to respect private property. Officers were to keep a strict account of all land taken for camps, to estimate all damage in the destruction of fences or buildings, or trees cut down, and to obtain the names of the owners that they might be reimbursed. Very few men at the beginning had any comprehension of what destruction would come to the South. Two Confederate armies were gathering in Virginia: one at Manassas, under General Beauregard, the other at Harper's Fei-ry, under General Joseph E. Johnston. On June 6th Beauregard issued this address to the people of Loudon, Fairfax, and Prince William counties: "A reckless and unprincipled tyrant has invaded your soil. Abraham Lincoln, re- gardless of all moral, legal, and constitutional restraints, has thrown his abolition hosts among you, who are murdering and imprisoning your citizens, conliscating and destroying your propert}', and committing other acts of violence and outrage too shocking and re- volting to humanity to be enumerated. " All rules of civilized warfare are abandoned, and they proclaim by their acts, if not on their banners, that their war-cry is 'Beauty and Booty.' All that is dear to man — your honor, and that of your wives and daughters, your fortunes and your lives, are in- volved in this momentous conflict." It is not to be supposed that General Beauregard sincerely believed what he had written. He had been in the service of the United States more than twenty years. When South Carolina seceded he was in command of the military school at West Point, mingling with the refined, intelligent t THE FIRST GREAT BATTLE. 87 people of jSTew York. lie knew that tliey were not what he represented them to be, and that the address was a shinder. It was the spirit of slavery and the madness of the liour that prompted him. General Johnston was stationed at Harper's Ferry, because it was sup- posed to be an important position. Jefferson Davis said that it was a nat- ural fortress, and that it commanded the Shenandoah Valley. The military men at Washington made the same mistake. It commanded nothing. The Union army gathering at Chambersbnrg, Pennsylvania, was de- signed to confront that under Johnston. General Patterson had served in Mexico. He was sixty-nine years old, indecisive, easily influenced. He advanced to Williamsport, on the Poto- mac, above Harper's Ferry, whereupon Johnston spiked the heavy cannon which he had brought up from Nor- folk Navy-yard and placed in position, and retreated to AVinchester, more than twenty miles. General Pat- terson could not comprehend it, neither could his brigade commander, General Cad- wallader, nor his adjutant- general, Fitz-Jolm Porter. " I believe it is designed for a decoy ; there may be a deep-laid plot to deceive us," wrote Patterson. "Tlie whole affair is a riddle," said Cad- wallader. But it was not a decoy; it was plain common -sense on the part of Johnston, who saw that the position had no particular military value ; that Patterson could march past him, gain his rear, and cut off his retreat. In studying the war, we are to consider that the generals in com- mand at the beginning knew very little about war except what they learned from books, and that some of them never had commanded even a company. A large nund)er were made generals because they had been prominent in political affairs. General Scott, commander-in-chief of the Union armies, planned a cam- paign. The people demanded that the armies should move. " On to Richmond !" was the cry. The rebellion must be crushed. At Alexandria and Arlington were between thirty and forty thousand troops, under Gen- MAP OF BULL RUN. 88 DRUM-BEAT OF THE NATION. eral McDowell, confronted by the Confederate army under Beauregard, supposed to number twenty -five thousand. McDowell was to advance against Beauregard, and Patterson, at the same moment, was to move upon Johnston at Winchester. General Scott was apprehensive that Johnston would make a quick movement, join Beauregard, and outnumber McDow- ell, and he very emphatically informed Patterson that he must not permit any such movement. He assured McDowell that if Johnston attempted GENERAL MoDOWELL. it he would have Patterson at his heels. Patterson had twenty-two thou- sand men, Jolmston about twelve thousand. From the beginning the Confederates artfully and successfully deceived the Union generals as to their numbers. The timid Patterson accepted as truth all the stories told by men who came from Winchester pretending to be Union men, but who w'ere spies. " Johnston has forty-two thousand men and fifty cannon," said one. General Scott and the War Department THE FIRST GREAT BATTLE. 89 knew better ; bnt tliei-e was very little relicable information as to what was going on in Richmond or in the Confederate lines, while Jefferson Davis had accnrate accounts of matters at Washington. AVhen the war begun it was a Southern city, and a large number of the people sympathized with the South. They were in the Departments, in position to know all the secret movements. There was an organized mail-route between Wash- ington and Richmond. Every evening a man left the city on horseback, riding eastward to Port Tobacco. The country around is very poor. One hundred and fifty years ago there were tobacco plantations, with gangs of slaves cultivating the ground. Now the once waving fields are over- grown with pines, and Port Tobacco is a sleepy place. The people of that region were in sympathy with the South. On the bluff overlooking the Potomac stood the house of Mr. Watson, who had a son in General Lee's army. Across the Potomac, in Virginia, stood the house of Mr. Grimes. These gentlemen owned boats, and used to ferry people across the river in the night who carried percussion-caps, quinine, and other things purchased in Baltimore, to Richmond, making a great deal of money. There were Union gunboats in the river and soldiers on land ; but Mr. AVatson had a daughter whose sympathies were with the Southern army, and who kept a sharp lookout for the gunboats and soldiers. When neither was near she hung out a shawl from her chandler window as a signal to Mr. Grimes that the coast was clear, and when night came, light skiffs darted out from the creek along the shore and glided across the river. Mr. Jones, who lived near Mr. Watson,, was the Confederate mail-agent ; his post-office was a hollow tree at the foot of the bluff. When night came he made his way with letters and news- papers through the thick pines to the bank of the river, leaving the pack- ages in the hollow tree, and taking those that he found there. He knew where the Union sentinels were, and how to avoid them. Every day when the New York newspapers arrived at Annapolis, a Confederate agent made up a 'package, which before night was in the hands of Mr. Jones, and which the next night would be in Richmond, Mr. Grimes send- ing a messenger across the country with the bag. We come to July IStli. The time of the soldiers called out for three months has nearly expired ; the movement to Manassas must be made at once, or not at all. General Patterson is at Martinsburg, and marches to Bunker Hill, within nine miles of Winchester. He has no definite plan. On the morning of the 16th the cavalry makes a reconnoissance, and finds the Confederates in line of battle behind stone walls north of Win- chester. There are three thiuirs which Patterson can do, either of which 90 URUM-BEAT OF THE NATION. will be effective : attack Johnston, make a feint of attacking, or take a position which will prevent him from joining Beauregard. He does neither, but retreats to Charlestown, leaving Johnston free to move in any direction. There is no donbt that Patterson, np to the evening of the 16th, intended to attack, but that Fitz-John Porter, his adjutant- general, for some reason was opposed, and did what he could to per- suade him to move to Charlestown. So, on the morning of the 17th, we see the army especially instructed to prevent a junction of the two Confederate armies deliberately moving away. GENERAL J. E. JOHNSTON. General Beauregard knew that McDowell was getting ready to march towards Manassasi, and sent Colonel Chestnut, who had been a clerk in the War Department, to Washington to obtain information. He crossed the Potomac below Alexandria in tlie night, reached the city in the early morning of the IGth, and ate breakfast at the house of a friend. His friend's wife wrote these words on a scrap of paper : " Orders issued to McDowell to march to Manassas to-day." She had a confidential friend in the War Department who secretly synipathized with the South. Colo- nel Chestnut jumped into a buggy, was driven by a friend down the north bank of the Potomac to a spot where a boat was drawn up beneath the THE FIRST GREAT BATTLE. 91 bushes, and was ferried across tlie river. Before nightfall Beauregard was reading the information. The army under McDowell is in five divisions, commanded by Gen- erals Tyler, Ifunter, Ileiiitzelman, Miles, and Runyon. The troops for active service number about twenty-eight thousand, with forty-nine cannon. At noon, July 16th, the division under Tjder takes np the line of march. There has been much talk about masked batteries. The orders for the movement contain the following cautions : " The three following things will not be pardonable in any commander : to come upon a battery or breast- work without a knowledge of its j^osition ; to be surprised ; to fall back." The march is very slow. The troops stop when they please, to pick blackberries or rest themselves, but the bands strike up now and then, and the column moves on in glee, never doubting that in a few days the army will be in Richmond, and the rebellion ended. On the ITtli it is nine o'clock before the troops are on the march, and the movement is slower than ever, for fear of masked batteries. General Tyler comes upon a body of Confederates at Germantown with two cannon who make a rapid re- treat. The newspaper correspondents, in their eagerness for news, enter Germantown in advance of the troops. So rapid the retreat of the Con- federates that the sick in the hospital are left behind, together with a large amount of flour, several barrels of sugar, wnth frying-pans and kettles. Just beyond Germantown a baggage wagon has broken down, and the driver has cut the harnesses from the horses and is scampering towards Centreville, all of which puts the troops in the best of spirits. At nine on the morning of the 18th the army is in motion once more, the correspondents in advance, climbing over the abandoned breastworks at Centreville, and learning all the news before the troops arrive. At noon Richardson's brigade turns south to reconnoitre the ground towards Bull Run in the vicinity of Blackburn's Ford. The skirmishers discover a Confederate battery with troops. It is Longstreet's brigade. General Tyler orders up Ayres's battery, places two cannon in position, and a shell goes screaming across Bull Run, strikes a house, exploding inside, teai'ing away the chimney, and spoiling General Beauregard's dinner cooking over the fire. The next moment a shell comes from the woods down by Bull Run which explodes above the Union cavalry, setting the horses to dancing and wounding two men. General Tyler makes a mis- take in sending Ayres with his two guns down the slope, followed by Richardson's brigade. Suddenly there comes a volley from beneath the green foliage along the winding stream, and the air is thick with leaden rain. A white cloud rises above the trees, and a wild yell, not a cheer, 92 DRUM-BEAT OF THE NATIOX. not a hurrah, but more like the war-whoop of the painted warrior of the Western- plains, is heard above the din of battle. It was Longstreet's bri- gade delivering its first volley, and sending out its first battle-cry, often re- peated during succeeding months. Hichardson's men hurrah in turn. The firing is quick and sharp. Longstreet's men are thrown into confusion, and he sends to General Early for assistance. General Tyler is beneath the peach-trees near a small house over- looking the field ; he walks nerv- ously, and finally orders the troops to withdraw. Between sixty and seventy men have been killed or wounded. The loss on the Confed- erate side has been about the same. Tyler had exceeded his orders, and nothing had been gained. The Confederates regarded it as a great victor}^, while the Union troops looked at it in the light of a re- pulse. It had disarranged General McDowelFs jDlans. Returning now to the Shenan- doah Valley, we see General Johns- ton at this moment reading this despatch from Richmond : " Gen- eral Beauregard attacked ; go to his assistance." The way is clear, for Patterson marched towards Charlestown at daybreak, and is eighteen miles away. A few moments later the soldiers of Jackson's brigade are on their way to^yards Ashby's Gap, in the mountain wall bounding the eastern horizon. Seventeen miles will take them to Piedmont on the Manassas Railroad. Major Whiting gallops in advance, to have engines and cars in waiting. At eight o'clock the next morning the troops are in the cars, whirling towards Manassas. Bull Run is a branch of the Occoquon River, rising in the Bull Run Mountains, running south-east through a beautiful reach of fields, pasture, and woodland. As we go up stream from the Occoquon we come to McLean's Ford. Another mile brings us to Blackburn's. Two miles farther and we are at a stone bridge on the turnpike leading a little south of west from Centreville to Warrenton. There are several places above the bridge where the stream may be forded. Two miles more brings us to Mr. Sud- GENERAL LONGSTKEET. THE FIRST GREAT BATTLE. 95 ley's mill, with its great water-wheel. A road crosses the stream by the mill leadino; south to Manassas. Lea vino; the run and o:oini»: down the road, we pass a little church in a grove of oaks, A mile and a half brings us to the house of Mr. Matthews, on the east side of the road, with woods ex- tending eastward towards the stone bridge. There is a beautiful field west of the house. Looking across the field, we see the house of Mr. Dogan. Going on, we descend a gentle slope, and come to a pretty little brook trickling over a rocky bed eastward towards Bull Run. It is Young's Branch, and empties into Bull Bun below the bridge. The turn])ike is built alongside. We pass a stone house at the junction of the roads, and then ascend a hill. There is a grove of young pines and cedars on the right hand. East of the road is Mr. Henry's house ; across the field, still farther east, is the house of Mr. Robinson. We see a lone tree in the field a few rods south of Mr. Henry's, and a short distance beyond a I'ail fence, with a thicket of pines. In making this itinerary we have traversed the ground Oii which the first great battle of the war was fought. On the afternoon of the 18th General Beauregard had his troops along Bull Run, facing east. He had nearly twenty-two thousand men, with twenty -nine cannon. His brigades were stationed as follows: farthest down stream, at Union Mills, were Ewell's and Holmes's ; at McLean's Ford, Jones's and Early's ; at Blackburn's Ford, Longstreet's. Next came Bonham's, Cocke's, and Evans's, holding the line covering all the fords and the turnpike bridge. On Friday and Saturday, while McDowell's troops are resting at Centreville, Johnston's troops are being transported over the railroad. Jackson's brigade is the first to arrive, and is placed near Longstreet's brigade. Bee's and Bartow's brigades are in reserve between McLean's and Blackburn's fords. Johnston brings nearly nine thousand men and twenty-two cannon. General Holmes, who has been south of the Occoquon, comes with his brigade and six guns. The consolidated Confederate force numbers thirty-two thousand and seventy-two men and fifty-seven cannon. McDowell's engineers are riding along Bull Run, seeking a place where the troops can cross. They discover Poplar Ford, one mile above the bridge, but learn that there is a much better crossing at Mr. Sudley's mill. McDowell intended to attack the Confederate right flank, but the intrenchments are so strong that he must make a new^ plan, and he decides to leave Richardson's brigade to make a demonstration at Blackburn's Ford, to send General Tyler with the remainder of his division down the turnpike, to nud^e a show of attacking, to march with Hunter's and 96 DRUM-BEAT OF THE NATION. POSITION AT 3 A.M. Ileintzelmairs divisions tliroiigli tlie fields and woods in the niglit to Siidlej's Ford, march down the road leading towards Manassas, and strike the Confederate left flank and rear. At the right time Tyler is to change his demonstration to a real attack, cross the stream, and join Hunter and Ileiut- zelman. It is Saturday night. Going over to the house of Mr. McLean, we see Beauregard and Johnston in consulta- tion. Johnston is the senior officer, but as Beauregard is familiar with the ground, defers to his judgment. Beau- regard proposes that they cross Bull Run and attack McDowell's rear at Centreville. Johnston accepts the plan, and the order is written for the movement on Sunday morning. It is two o'clock in the morning when the troops of Tylers division fold their blankets and move down tlie turnpike towards the stone bridge. A mistake has been made at the outset. Hunter and Ileintzelman ought to have been the first to move ; they have a long distance to marcii. Tyler's men block the way. The flanking column ought to be at the ford at sunrise, but it is nine o'clock, and the sun high in the heavens, l>efore the head of the column reaches the old milL The marcli has been tediously slow. "When the soldiers reach the ford they stop to fill their canteens and munch their meat and bread, but finally cross the stream and move down the road. Half-past five. Confederate officers are carrying the oi'ders to the sev- eral brigade commanders to attack McDowell, when the stillness of the peaceful morn is broken by a single cannon on the turnpike east of the bridge. It is Ayres's battery beginning the battle. His second shot passes through the tent of Captain Alexander, a signal-officer to Beauregard. A moment later the guns with Richardson's brigade open their brazen lijDS. General Tyler sends a company of skirmishers towards the bridge. There is a rattle of musketry, a booming of cannon, but nothing more. Tyler made a mistake on Thursday in attacking with too much vigor ; now he is over -cautious, and Beauregard and Johnston soon discover that it is a feint. Just before the troops reached Sudley's mill Mr. Cunningham, who lives near the mill, discovered them, ran to his stable, mounted his horse, THE FIRST GREAT BATTLE. 97 crossed the stream, dashed down the Manassas Road, and informed tlie pickets of Evans's brigade that tlie Yankees were coming to turn their flank. Evans, without waiting for orders, changes front and marches north towards the house of Mr. Matthews. General Burnside, commanding the leading brigade of Union troops in Hunter's division, throws out the Second Rhode Island Regiment as skirmishers. They move nervously through the woods and fields. Sud- denly there bursts upon them a rattling fire from Evans's men. Two cannon open upon them. For half an hour the contest goes on in this fashion. Hunter makes the mistake of attacking slowly when it should be with vigor, and with a force strong enough to sweep Evans in an in- stant from the field. "Wheet's battalion of Confederates comes upon the run to help Evans, but receives a volley which is very destructive. And now the brigades of Bee and Bartow, six regiments of Johnston's troops, hasten across the turnpike, with Imboden's battery of four pieces, the horses upon the gallop. HI'- Just as these Confederate regiments are coming into position General Hunter is wounded by a piece of shell, and is carried to the rear, and General Andrew Porter assumes command. In a few moments the four Union regiments of Burnside's brigade are engaged, together with Reyn- olds's battery, which the Confederates attempt to capture, but are stopped by Sykes's battalion of regulars, which General Porter brings into line. Griffin's Union battery comes upon the gallop and wheels into position, and opens fire. Burnside's officers are falling ; Colonel Slocum is mortally wounded. Colonel Marston receives a bullet in his shoulder, Major Balch falls, with one leg crushed by a cannon-ball. General Porter has sent Sykes east of the road, but the other regiments and Griffin's battery are west of it, the line extending towards Dogan's house. Ricketts's Union batter}', near Dogan's, joins in the conflict. The fire of the Union troops is so destructive that General Bee orders the Confederates to fall back. They go faster and farther than he in- tended, down the slope, across Young's Branch, up the hill to Mr. Henry's house, wliere Imboden's battery is stationed. The battle has opened fa- vorably for the Union troops. There comes a lull. It is past eleven, and the advance regiments of Heintzelman are just coming upon the field, swinging out towards Dogan's house. If their bayonets had flashed in the sunlight an hour earlier, far different, in all probability, would have been the result. Looking eastward, we see Sherman's and Reyes's brigades of Tyler's division marching up the east bank of Bull Run to Poplar Ford, crossing ■7 98 DRUM-BEAT OF THE NATION. the stream, turning south, and advancing towards the turnpike. They could not cross by the bridge, because it was covered by a Confederate battery ; besides, the report was current that it was mined, and would be blown up the moment the Union troops attempted to cross. Af ten o'clock General Beauregard is at Mitchell's Ford, waiting to hear the opening of the battle at Centreville, towards which General Ewell is slowly advancing. He hears instead a cannon in the direction of the north-west. " There is a cloud of dust towards Sudley's Ford," is the report of the signal-officer. The cannonade increases, and there are volleys of musketry. The conviction comes to Beauregard that ROBINSON S HOUSE. McDowell is turning his left flank. " March towards the sound of bat- tle," is the order to all the brigade commanders, and Johnston and Beau- regard both ride as fast as their horses will carry them towards the Henry house, Beauregard taking command of the troops east of the house, Johnston west of it. They come out of the woods south of the house, and see the troops of Bee, Bartow, and Evans retreating in disorder up the hill. The lines are broken, the fugitives are streaming down the road towards Manassas. The officers are trying to stop them. A few turn about, but the greater number keep on. " Every segment of line," says General Beauregard, " we succeeded in forming, was again dissolved while another was being formed. More than two thousand men were THE FIRST GREAT BATTLE. 99 shouting, each some suggestion to his neighbor, their voices mingling with the noise of the shells exploding amid the trees overhead, and all word of command was drowned in the confusion and uproar." General Jackson's brigade has arrived, and stands bj the fence in .the thicket of pines south of Mr. Henry's. Jackson has drilled his men, and has been strict in discipline. If some of the men feel like running, the_y do not go. General Bee sees them, and thus calls out to his wavering men, STONEWALL JACKSON. " See Jackson standing like a stone wall !" Possibly it does not have much effect upon the Alabama and Mississippi regiments under him, but he has made " Stonewall Jackson " evermore a historic name. The Confederate line at this moment, with the exception of Jackson's brigade, is in great confusion. Towards Manassas stream the fugitives, crying that all is lost. " The disorder," says Beauregard, " seemed irre- trievable ; but the thought came to me that if their colors were planted out 100 DRUM-BEAT OF THE NATION. to the front the men might rally ronnd them. I gave the order, wliich was executed. The soldiers advanced, and the line was formed." It was a position much higher than the ground on which McDowell was forming for an advance, and the Confederate artillery could send a plunging lire upon the Union troops. It is two o'clock Sunday afternoon. The Union troops began their march at midnight, have come twelve miles, have only nibbled a little hard bread and bit of meat, and are Aveary and thirsty. A scorching sun has beaten upon them. The lines are growing thin. There is little discipline. Soldiers leave to get water, and do not return. I stand upon the roof of a house overlooking the field and see the brigades of Sherman, Franklin, Wilcox, and Porter advancing towards the houses of Mr. Kobinson and Henry ; Burnside is resting on the ground from which the Confederates have been driven ; Howard's brigade is moving towards the turnpike by Dogan's house ; Keyes's brigade is near the stone bridge. There are parts of fourteen Union regiments advancing to assail the Confederate line. At this moment nearly every Confederate brigade is hastening towards the spot, where the uproar is going on, with a quicker cannonade and live- lier volleys of musketry. There are twenty- two Confederate cannon pouring a' heavy fire upon the advancing men in blue, and twelve regi- ments delivering their volleys, only three of which, with six cannon, belong to the army under Beauregard ; the others belong to the army from the Shenandoah, under Johnston. The batteries of Griftin and Rick- etts are on the plateau east of Dogan's. They have been nobly served, and the Confederates have all been driven across Young's Branch southward. General McDowell at this moment commits another error: he orders the batteries to go across the stream in advance of the infantry. Ricketts does not like the order, but he is a soldier in the regular army, and believes in obeying commands. The battery moves down the road, crosses the stream, ascends the hill tow- ards the Henry house, and opens fire at close range. The Confederate sharp-shooters behind the picket-fence and under the peach-trees begin to pick off his horses, but he rains canister upon them and riddles the house with shells. Mrs. Henry, old and feeble, is killed, and the sharp- CONFEDEKATE POSITION 5 P.M. THE FIRST GREAT BATTLE. 101 shooters are compelled to retreat. Griffin comes, with his liorses upon the gallop, across the stream, and takes position to the left of Ricketts. , Major Barry, chief of artillery, has brought him the order to take this position. He, too, has objected, not having any infantry supports. " The Zouaves will support you," says Barry. " Why not let them go in advance until I get into position ? then they can fall back." " It is McDowell's order for you to go." " That settles it ; but mark my words, the Zouaves will not support me." A ball has lodged in one of the guns and it cannot be used. The other five open, and with Ricketts's deliver a destructive fire. From my position I can see a dust-cloud in the west rising above the tree-tops. A little later a regiment comes out of the woods south of the turnpike and west of the road leading to Manassas. The men are in gray, as are several of the Union regiments. They climb over a rail-fence. The colonel walks along the ranks as if saying something to them. Griffin sees them, believes them to be Confederates, and wheels his guns to mow them down with canister. The cannon are loaded, and the gunners stand ready to send the double-shotted charges into the line. We have arrived at a turning-point in the history of our country. "Dont fire!" It is Major Barry, commanding the artillery, who shouts it. " They are rebels," Griffin replies. "No, they are your supports." The Fourteenth New York Regiment has gone up into the woods, to the right of Griffin's battery, and Major Barry makes a mistake in sup- posing that the men in gray, which have just come out of the wood, are those who a few moments ago entered it. " Sure as the world, they are rebels !" Griffin shouts again. "I know that they are your supports." Griffin wheels his guns in the other direction towards the Henry house, and opens fire once more. The officer addressing the men in gray has finished his speech, and now faces them to the left, marches a few rods, faces them to the right, as deliberately as if at drill in camp, advances steadily towards Griffin, then comes to a halt. The men bring their guns to a level, and take aim. There is a flash, a white cloud, a roll of nms- ketry. The air is filled with leaden hail. Men and horses go down. Hardly one of the gunners that is not killed, wounded, or taken prisoner. The horses plunge madly down the ravine. The Zouaves in rear of Griffin behold the spectacle in amazement, then break, and stream over the field 102 DRUM-BEAT OF THE NATION. towards Dogan's house, a few only remaining to fire parting shots. In .vain the efforts of the officers to rally them. The men in gray that have given this deliberate volley are the troops of General E. Kirby Smith, the last of Johnston's army. They left the cars at the point where the railroad crosses the Warrenton turnpike, and have come upon the run down the pike and through the fields, guided by the sound of the cannon and the white cloud rising above the tree-tops. "Without orders from Beauregard, Johnston, or any one. Smith has j)0ured in his volley, changing the tide of affairs. Five minutes ago, and the fortunes of the hour were setting against the Confederates. Five minutes ago, and Grifiin and Ricketts, if they had done what they were about to do, would have cut Smith's brigade to pieces. One round from those eleven guns, double-shotted, would have made great gaps in those ranks, and have sent the living a routed rabble to the rear. For a short time the contest goes on. The Thirty-third Virginia ad- vances to seize the cannon, but are driven by the First Michigan of "Wil- cox's brigade. General Howard's brigade is advancing at the moment up the slope towards the Henry house. It delivers its volleys, holds its ground a while, but at last begins to melt away. Going over to the left near the Robinson house, we see Sherman's brigade, which has come across Bull Run, crossing Young's Branch, marching up the hill, pouring in a deliberate fire. At this moment the Confederate troops, animated by the destruction wrought by Smith's brigade of two thousand five hundred, redouble their energy. Men who a moment ago were faint-hearted, who were just ready to give way, take on fresh courage. Stragglers return, new troops arrive. On the other hand, the Union army has lost its aggres- sive energy. Under the disaster it begins to melt away. The troops fall back down the hill to the turnpike. There is no reserve behind which they can be rallied, and the tide drifts back over the ground wrested from the Confederates in the forenoon. There are daj^s when the air is calm, no breath rippling the placid waters — so calm that the aspen leaf ceases to be tremulous ; but suddenly, we know not whence, there comes a gentle breeze, which catches up the finest dust, whirling it in widening circles, gathering straws and sticks and broken twigs, whirling faster, in larger circles, with louder noise and wild commotion, sweeping over field and plain, hill and dale, levelling fences and houses, twisting trees like withes, becoming the uncontrolled devas- tating tornado. Such a whirlwind arises. Just where it begun it is not possible to say, but somewhere on the field men started to run. "Why they ran it would THE FIRST GREAT BATTLE. 103 not be easy to say, for the Confederates were not in pursuit. A body of Confederate cav^alry a little later rode towards the Union hospital ; another company dashed across Bull Run near the bridge ; and though the exploits of the Virginia Black Horse Cavalry, of which every horseman regarded himself as a " cavalier," were the themes of the hour, but there was no grand charge. The panic was far greater among the teamsters and the crowd of sight- seers that had gone out from Washington to see the battle than among the troops. The turnpike was crowded with army wagons. The team- sters stopped, not to inquire as to what had happened, but cut their horses loose, mounting one, handing the others over to the frightened Zouaves, and all dashing towards Centrcville. Members of Congress had come from Washington in carriages, and the frighteiied drivers lashed their horses to a run. I was drinking at a spring near the stone bridge, a few rods south of the turnpike, when the whirlwind came sweeping across the stream. I had just left General Schenck's brigade. Captain Carlisle, commanding a battery, had taken the bits from the mouths of his horses and was feed- ing them when the Confederate Black Horse battalion came through the woods. Ayres's guns opened upon the cavalry, sending canister into their ranks, and scattering the force in an instant. Having done this, Ayres came tearing along the turnj^ike towards Cub Run, gaining the eastern bank, wheeling into position, and standing ready to hurl destruction upon the Confederates. Not so fortunate Carlisle, who was compelled to leave four of his guns because the bridge across Cub Run broke down. . It would not be an accurate statement were I to say that all the troops were panic- stricken ; far otherwise. Many of the regiments left the field in good order, returning to Centreville by the route of the morning. There was disorder at Centreville through the incompetency of Colonel Miles, who after the battle was accused before a court-martial of being intoxicated. The only guns lost on the field were those of Griffin and Ricketts, the others were lost through the breaking down of the bridge at Cub Run. General McDowell rallied the troops at Centreville, and thought of making a stand at that point, but decided to fall back to Washington ; and so through the night the army which had marched to Centreville with confident expecta-tion of victory, which had been all but secured, made its weary way back to Alexandria and Arlington, leaving twenty-five of its cannon and nearly fifteen hundred men, killed and wounded, upon the plateau of Bull Run. The Confederate loss in men was greater; but Beauregard and Johnston had secured the prestige of victory almost at the moment of defeat. 104- DKUM-BEAT OF THE NATION. CHAPTER VI. THE CLOSE OF 1861. " TT^VERY one believes," wrote one of the clerks at Richmond in his J— i diary, " that our banners will wave in the streets of Washington in a few days, and the Union army will be expelled from Maryland ; that peace will be consummated on the banks of the Schuylkill." The people of the South were wild over the victory of Bull Run. Many thousands who had hesitated to join the Confederate army now hastened to enroll themselves. It was the universal belief that Jefferson Davis would soon be in the White House, and the flag of the Confederacy waving above the Capitol. The people of the Korth had not dreamed of defeat, and the disap- pointment was very bitter ; but as the lightning clears the murky air on a sultry summer day, so the defeat cleared tlie vision, and they compre- hended that the war was to be a conflict vast in its proportions, and to be waged to the bitter end. Cost what it might, tlie rebellion must be crushed, was the resolve of every loyal heart. " Three hundred thousand men are called for to suppress the rebellion," was the message which flashed over the wires from AVasliington. People left their occupations — the farmer his plough, the mechanic his hammer, the joiner his plane, the salesman his yardstick, scholars their books. Men worth a million dollars enlisted as privates, ready to give life and fortune to their country. In every village drums were beating, soldiers marching. They must be fed and clothed ; they must have guns, cartridge-boxes, knapsacks, tents, and wagons. For the closing of the Southern seaports ships must be built. Never before was there such a commotion in the Northern States. Labor, wliich the slave-holder had despised, suddenly became a giant, and was getting ready to put forth its strength. General Scott was too far advanced in life, and too feeble, to be com- mander-in-chief of the army ; but there must be a commander, and Gen- eral McClellan, who had won the battle of Rich Mountain, in AVest Vir- THE CLOSE OF 1861. 105 ginia, was selected. Tlmt battle was a small affair, but it had compelled the Confederates to abandon that section of country, and General McClel- lan was already regarded as a great commander. lie was called to Wash- ington, and commissioned by President Lincoln. "General McClellan would like to meet the correspondents in Washington. Please be at Willard's Hotel this evening at eight o'clock." Such was the invitation which the newspaper correspondents received on the morning of August 1, 1861. They assembled at the hotel, stepped into omnibuses, were taken to General McClellan's headquarters, and in- troduced to him. " I have one request to make — that you will be careful not to write anything from which the enemy will learn what is going on," he said. His words were few, but pleasant. The next day all the country was reading about the interview ; how General McClellan looked and acted. One correspondent said that he resembled Napoleon Bonaparte, and the people began to speak of him as " Little Napoleon," and to have great ex- pectations of victory with such an officer as commander-in-chief. It takes much money to carry on a great war — to pay the soldiers and officers, and buy horses, tents, wagons, muskets, swords, cannon, boots, clothing, oats, corn, hay ; to build ships and steamboats. " Which will win, the North or the South ?" was the question a banker in London asked of Baron Rothschild, who had a great deal of money, and who never lent it without getting good security and interest. " The North." "Why?" " Because it has the longest purse." It is industry that keeps the purse full. Baron Rothschild knew that the Southern people had no manufactories; that they had invented no labor-saving machines ; that their property was in land and slaves. He knew that they had only cotton and tobacco to sell ; that with all the sea- ports blockaded they would have no market ; that the slaves might run away or be set free, and that in a short time they would be of little value. He knew that the people of the North had set mill-wheels to whirling, and were employing the energy of nature to do the work of human hands ; that their property was in small, farms, houses, mills, machinery ; that labor wa& free; that it could tax itself; that it could borrow money, promising to pay in the future. This far-seeing man comprehended that the South- ern people would see their property disappear ; that they would exhaust the country of supplies ; that they would create a debt which they never 106 DKUM-BEAT OF THE NATION. would be able to pay ; and that after a while the Confederacy, reared on slave labor, would go down with a crash. This story of the war would be very incomplete were I to leave out the position and influence of England in the struggle. Yery soon after the surrender of Fort Sumter, and before Mr. Charles Francis Adams, who had been appointed Minister to England, reached London, the British Gov- ernment recognized the Confederates as belligerents — or as a people exer- cising war powers — which the people of the United States regarded as a very unfriendly act. But the great manufacturers of England who wanted cotton, the merchants who wanted to sell goods, saw that if the Southern ports were blockaded all trade with the Southern States would cease. They were greatly offended, also, because Congress, in order to get money to carry on the war, put a high tax on all goods manufactured in other coun- tries and brought to the United States for sale. So it came about that the manufacturers, merchants, and traders of Great Britain sympathized with the Southern people. They subscribed money to buy cannon, muskets, powder, and shells, which they gave to the Confederates, They built fast- sailing ships, and loaded them with all kinds of goods to run the blockade, sailing from Liverpool for the Bahama Islands, which lie only two hun- dred miles east of the coast of Florida, thence for Charleston, running past the blockading - vessels at night, supplying the Confederates with arms, ammunition, and supplies, and carrying cotton back to England. Most of the nobles, dukes, lords, and barons hoped the government which the people of the United States had established would be destroyed. Their sympathy was with the people of the South. Most of the newspa- pers in England praised the Southern people as gentlemen fighting for the freedom of their country against the l^orthern people, whom they called low-born, selfish Yankees. " The North," said the London Times^ when it received the news of the battle of Bull Run, " has lost all — ^^even military honor. We have been cheated out of our sympathies. We don't like to laugh. Seventy-five thousand American patriots have fled twenty miles in an agony of fear, though there was nobody pursuing them. The United States of America have ceased to be. The Union has burst asunder by explosive forces gen- erated within itself, and now the two republics stand like cliffs which of old were the same rock, but which can never be united." The men who owned cotton mills wanted the South to triumph; not so the men and women who tended the spinning frames and looms in Lin- colnshire. They had little cotton to spin and little food to eat, but when times were hardest, when their cheeks were thin and pale for want of food, THE CLOSE OF 1861. 107 wlien their children were asking for bread, they came together and held prayer-meetings, asking Almighty God to give victory to the people of the Northern States. They knew that it was a struggle between free and slave labor ; that the people of the North were fighting a battle for the oppressed of every land. " For mankind are one in spirit, and an instinct bears along Round the earth's electric circle the flash of right or wrong." Turning once more to the distant West, we see General Lyon in south- western Missouri, at Springfield, with about five thousand men, most of whom are soon to return to their homes, the term of enlistment being nearly expired. They are, many of them, without shoes ; their uniforms are in tatters. General Lyon has called for reinforcements, but the Gov- ernment has calls from every quarter. It is the 8th of August, and on the lith the time of the three months' men will expire. There is a Con- federate army at Wilson's Creek, ten miles beyond Springfield, towards the south-west, under General McCulloch and General Price. General Lyon estimated them at twenty thousand ; General Price's adjutant-gen- eral, Sneed, says that there were eleven thousand. It is probable that the Confederates outnumbered the Union soldiers nearly three to one. An- other Confederate army, under General Hardee, numbering nine thousand, farther east, was advancing to get between General Lyon and St. Louis, thus cutting off his retreat. We must not forget that the people of Missouri are taking sides as in no other State. The great majority are for the Union. Shall General Lyon abandon this section of the State? Shall he turn back from the people who are looking to the old flag for protection ? The Confederates have a large force of cavalry, and if he attempts to retreat, the cavalry will gain the advance, McCulloch will follow in swift pursuit, and his lit- tle force will be ground to powder. He believes it will be far better to advance and strike a powerful blow before retreating. The sun has gone down, the stars are shining. The day has been hot and sultry, but the night is cool and refreshing. The soldiers eat their supper, the battery horses munch their corn. At nine o'clock the bugles sound, and the artillerymen jump upon their seats. The drums tap light- ly, and the soldiers fall into line. The columns wheel into the road— one, under Colonel Sigel, with six guns, taking a road which leads soutli ; the other, under General Lyon, leading south-west. Colonel Sigel is to attack the right flank and rear of the Confederates, while General Lyon is to hurl his troops upon their front. A small force is left to guard the camp. 108 DRUM-BEAT OF THE NATION. General Lyon had in his column the First Missouri, First Iowa, First and Second Kansas regiments, two companies of the Second Missouri Rifle- men, eight comjDanies of United States Regulars, ten cannon, two com- panies of cavalry — about three thousand Ave liundred. Colonel Sigel had the Third and Fifth Missouri regiments, six cannon, and two companies of cavalry — about one thousand one hundred. Colonel Sigel was to make the attack, and when General Lyon lieard the sound of his cannon he was to attack in front. Wilson's Creek is a small stream winding amid wooded swells of land, with here and there a field or pasture. The morning was dawning. Some of the Confederate soldiers were asleep, others rekindling their fires and putting their frying-pans upon the coals, cutting slices of ham for their breakfast, when they heard a rattling of musketry a mile away. A picket came running in. " The Yankees are coming !" he shouted. The drums beat the long roll, the bugles sounded ; frying-pans were tossed aside ; soldiers ran hither and thither. The regiments formed in hot haste, for General Lyon was driving in the pickets. Captain Tot- ten's battery was sending its shells into camp from the north, and Sigel's guns were opening from the east. We see General Lyon's line moving down the road, the battalion of regulars, under Captain Plummer, in advance. Major Osterhaus com- mands the skirmishers on the right. Captain Totten wheels his six can- non into position, and the shells go hissing into the Confederate camp. Lieutenant-colonel Andrews, with the First Missouri, supports him. The First Kansas comes up on the left. L^p the ridge they drive the Confed- erates. Leaving General Lyon's troops for a moment, let us go through the woods south-east to the other road, on which Sigel is moving. His two companies of cavalry are in advance. In the dim gray of the morning tlie cavalrymen see Confederate soldiers coming down the road from their i2amp with pails and kettles, on their way to the creek for water. The cavalrymen ride into the fields, circle around them, and the Confederates suddenly discover that they are prisoners. The troops press on. They can see the white tents of the Confederates on the sloj^e of a hill. The smoke is curling up from the camp-fires. Sigel whirls four cannon into position and opens fire. There is a sudden commotion. Some of the Confederates flee, panic-stricken, through the fields. Far better for Sigel — far better for the fortunes of the day, if, in- stead of firing, he had pressed on with his troops ; then he could have capt- THE CLOSE OF 1861. 109 ured many prisoners. The Third and Fifth regiments crossed the creek and took possession of the camp. He had fallen upon the Commissary De- partment of the Confederate army. Around the camp were quarters of beef hanging on stakes and poles. Tliere was a corral of cattle, another of horses. The Confederate troops had fled, but they were rallying on another hill, Sigel brought up his cannon and once more opened fire. He could hear the uproar on the other road growing louder and coming nearer. Lyon was advancing. Looking across the liills tow- ards the north-west he could see the battle-cloud rising above the tree-tops. General Lyon is driving all before him, was the thought that came to him. " Lyon's men are coming up the road towards us," said Si- geFs skirmishers. Lieutenant-colonel Albert, commanding the Third Missouri Regiment, and Colonel Salomen, commanding "the Fifth, saw a brigade of troops com- ing through the fields. Above them floated the Stars and Stripes. The color-bearer was waving it as a signal to them not to fire. " They are Lyon's troops. Don't fire !" said the ofiicer. The men stand at ease. The advancing, line halts. Suddenly muskets flame, and shells from a battery crash through the woods. " They are Lyon's troops firing on us !" The cry runs along the line. tTp, almost to the muzzles of Sigel's cannon, rush the Confederates, shoot- ing horses, capturing five of the guns, killing and wounding nearly three hundred men. Back through the fields flee Sigel's troops — their part in the battle ended. Passing over now to the Confederate camp, we see General McCulloch marshalling his forces. It is half-past five when the rattle of musketry breaks on the skirmish line. In front of the position where General Lyon is advancing are the troops connnanded by Generals Slade, Clark, McBride, Parsons, and Rains. CAMPAIGN IN MISSOUKI. 110 DRUM-BEAT OF THE NATION'. They file towards tlie left. Captain Woodruff, with his six cannon, comes into position and replies to Totten's guns. Colonel Herbert, with his Louisiana regiment, and Colonel Mcintosh's Arkansas regiment join them, marching up to a rail-fence enclosing a cornfield, coming against the Union regulars under Captain Plummer and the troops from Kansas. Forward and backward, through the scrubby oaks, surge the lines of battle, the Confederates greatly outnumbering the Union troops. General McCulloch hears the thundering of Sigel's guns upon his rear. Leaving General Sterling Price in command of the troops in front of Lyon, he marches east with Churchill's and Greer's regiments of Missouri- ans, two companies of Louisiana troops, and Eeid's battery. General McCulloch, in his report of the Ijattle, makes no mention of the \vay in which he deceived Sigel by marching with the Stars and Stripes, but nevertheless, according to Sigel's account, under its protect- ing folds he advanced close up to the unsuspecting troops before opening fli-e ; — at a volley putting Sigel to rout and enabling McCulloch to wheel about and march back to confront Lyon, who is driving all before him. The hill on which the contest has raged is thickly strewn with the dead and dying. The battle is going against the Confederates on the left. McCulloch throws in Carroll's, Greer's, McLitosh's, and the Louisiana reg- iments. These are not enough. General Tearce's brigade, the last reserve, is called upon. Reid's battery comes to take part. Once more let us go back to the Union lines. From a hill overlook- ing the field where the Confederates are standing, amid the sheltering corn-rows, Captain Dubois's and Captain Totten's pieces are still thunder- ing. The Missourians in Lyon's regiments look across the space between the two lines and see old acquaintances in the Confederate ranks. The Confederates recognize them in turn. There are no hatreds like those engendered by civil war. Old-time friends become implacable enemies, ready to fight to the bitter end. Some of General Lyon's regiments have fired away all their ammuni- tion. A soldier of a Missouri regiment has fired the last bullet that will fit his gun, but has some of large size. He sits down beneath a tree and begins to whittle them. " What are you doing ?" asks an officer. " Whittling the bullets to fit my gun." "Don't stop to do that. Look into the cartridge-boxes of the men who have been killed ; you will find some that wU\ fit your gun." In a few moments he is loading and firing once more. Colonel Gordon Granger is on General Lyon's staff. There is a gap THE CLOSE OF 1861. Ill between two regiments, and as he looks over to the Confederate line he discovers a regiment preparing to rush in. He brings three companies into the intervening space. "Lie down in the grass. Don't show your- selves. "Wait till I give the word," are his orders. The men lie low. Up the slope march the Confederates. There is a blaze and rattle, and many of the Confederates reel to the earth. Back over the field flee the living. General Lyon has been wounded in one leg, a bullet has struck his head. Blood-stains are on his face. He has put his last battalion into the line. His horse has been killed, and he has mounted a second. Al- together, he has but a handful of troops. Sigel is routed ; McCulloch is bringing up every Confederate soldier, outnumbering him three to one. " I fear the day is lost," General Lyon says ; but he rides along the line, swinging his hat and encouraging the men. They rally round him, and follow him into the thick of the fight. A bullet pierces his breast, and he falls from his horse dead. The army has lost its great-hearted leader. Only those around him know of it. Though dead, his bravery has so stirred the soldiers that for another half-hour the fight goes on. It is half-past eleven. For five hours the battle has raged. All night long the Union men were on the march. They have had no breakfast ; they are hungry, thirsty, faint, weary. Notwithstanding all this, once more they charge the advancing Confederates and drive them, but cannot hold the field. There is but one thing to do — retreat. One-third of those engaged have been killed, or are wounded. The battle is lost, but they have struck a blow whicli, in its moral effect, will make it a victory. Out of it will come a taking of sides by the people of Missouri — thousands of men wavering before the battle, after it wall decide to stand by the Union. The troops which marched from Springfield under General Lyon numbered not quite four thousand ; of these more than fourteen hun- dred were killed, wounded, and missing. The Confederate loss was pro- portionally great, and the blow so damaging that McCulloch and Price made no attempt to follow the retreating troops, which made their way to Rolla, a distance of one hundred and twenty -five miles. Leaving now the West, let us look at events on the Atlantic coast. Very soon after the first battle of Bull Run, when the Confederates saw — as did the people of the North — that the war was to be a trial of strength and endurance, they began to build forts along the coast. A gang of slaves was building Fort Hatteras, which stands on a point 112 DRUM-BEAT OF THE NATION. of land nearly surrounded by water, on the North Carolina coast. The white waves of the Atlantic break along the narrow strip of sandy beach, whichis washed on the other side by the waters of Pamlico Sound. The Confederates are building a bomb-proof large enough to afford shelter for live hundred men. The bank of sand is twenty-live feet in thickness ; it is turfed over, and there are ten heavy cannon mounted — two of them thirty-two-pounders. On Tuesday, August 27, 1861, the Confederate soldiers in the fort, looking seaward, saw a Union fleet coming down from the north — the frigate Minnesota, with the flags of Commodore Stringham and General Butler flying in the breeze ; the frigate Wabash, the sloop-of-war Pawnee, and three war-steamers — the Monticello, Harriet Lane, and Quaker City. There were also two steamers with nine hundred troops on board, com- manded by General Butler. The Cumherland, a sailing -frigate, came from Fortress Monroe with her white sails spread to the winds. The Wahash took her in tow, and the whole fleet steamed in towards the forts. It was nearly ten o'clock before the vessels were ready, and then the sides were all aflame sending a storm of shells into the forts. While the cannon were thundering, two hundred soldiers jumped into boats and rowed towards the shore. The white surf was breaking on the sands, but they dashed through it, and running up the beach formed in line. Colo- nel Weber, of New York, was in command. The Confederate cannon in the fort returned the Are of the ships, but the shots were badly aimed, and did no harm. For four hours the bombardment went on, and was so terrific that the Confederates pulled down their flags. Tlie Monti- cello steamed in, when suddenly the guns of Hatteras opened upon the ship, and solid shot crashed through her sides, while shells exploded around her. Fortunately, however, the captain got out of range and saved his ship from destruction. It was an act of perfidy. The Confederates finally abandoned Fort Clark, and two or three of the skirmishers, under Captain Weigel, ran in and hoisted the Stars and Stripes. Tlie Confederates in Hatteras, thinking Fort Chirk was full of Union soldiers, opened upon it with all their guns, wasting their ammuni- tion and hurting no one. At sunrise the next morning the Confederate steamer Winslow opened fire upon the troops on shore ; but during the night Colonel Weber had placed two howitzers and a rifled six-pounder in position behind an em- bankment, and the Winslow was obliged to keep at proper distance. It was a grand sight when the Susquehantia, Wahash, Jlinnesota, Harriet THE CLOSE OF 1861. 113 Lane, Pawnee, and Cumberland, one after anotliei-, opened their broad- sides upon Ilatteras. Commodore Barron was the Confederate commander in the fort. Once more the Confederate flag came down, but Commodore Stringham paid no heed to it ; lie was not to be deceived a second time, and the shells kept pouring in till a white flag went up. Then the sail- ors gave a hurrah and let the cannon cool. More than seven hundred prisoners were captured, with one thousand muskets and thirty-one heavy cannon. Nearly fifty of the Confederates had been killed or wounded, while not a Union soldier or sailor had been injured. ISo longer could English vessels enter and depart through Hatteras In- let ; and several which arrived during the next few days, unconscious of danger, were captured, to the great chagrin of the captains and crews. The loss of the forts and their occupation by the Union troops was an unexpected blow to the Confederates, for now a Union fleet could gain entrance to Pamlico and Albemarle sounds, and a Union army could secure a foothold in North Carolina. Taking events in their chronological order, and returning once more to Missouri, we find General Sterling Price issuing a proclamation glori- fying the battle of Wilson's Creek as a great victory for the Confederates, and calling upon the young men of Missouri to join his army, which soon numbered twenty thousand. lie advanced to Lexington, on the Missouri Piver, where there were three Missouri vol- unteer regiments and two of Home Guards, numbering twenty -eight hundred, under Colonel Mulligan, who threw up intrench- ments, upon which were mounted six cannon and two howitzers ; but the howitzers were useless for want of ammunition. He had only forty rounds for his men. On Sep- tember 11th the Confederate artillery opened fire, but Price decided to begin a siege in- stead of making an attack. Reinforcements swelled his force to twenty-five thousand, cending the river with supplies for Mulligan, no water, and their food was running short. The Confederate batteries kept up a constant fire ; the shells exploded among the horses of the Union cavalry, strewing the ground with their mangled bodies. The rebels charged upon the hospital, but were driven by the Montgomery Guards of Chicago, who in turn were driven. For three days Mulligan held out against Price's whole army, till his ammunition was exhausted, and the DEFENCE OF LEXINGTON. He captured a steamboat as- The Union troops could get 114 DRUM-BEAT OF THE NATION. tongues of liis men hung out of their mouths for want of water, bravely waiting for reinforcements which would never reach him. A shower came, and the soldiers spread their blankets to catch the falling drops, and then wrung them into their kettles. The Home Guards became disheartened at last, and Major Becker, without authority, raised the white flag, but Mulligan tore it down. The rebels opened fire once more, and the Home Guards retreated. Mulligan was twice wounded, nearly two hundred of his men killed or wounded, and he was forced to surrender. But this success of General Price could not swerve the great majority of the people of that State from their allegiance to the Stars and Stripes. We are to remember that the border line was fifteen hundred miles long; that the Government was obliged to send troops in every direction. It must help the loyal men of Missouri — must hold St. Louis, the great commercial centre west of the Mississippi, with its iron-founderies, its great fleet of steamboats. If the Confederates were to get possession of the State, or hold any part of it, the cause of the Union would suffer. Gen- eral Fremont was appointed commander of the Department ; his head- quarters were at St. Louis. He gathered a large number of troops for a movement towards the south-west, which would compel General Price to retire from the Missouri River. It was seen by the Government at Washington and by the Confeder- ate Government at Kichmond that the Mississippi, the Ohio, Tennessee, Cumberland, and Arkansas rivers would be great lines of communication as well as the railroads in the mighty struggle. Railroads could be torn up, but the rivers would be always running. Cannon might be planted upon the banks to stop the passing of steamboats, but the rivers would always be there. In West Virginia General Cox, with several regiments, was making his way up the Kanawha Valley, to give protection to the Union people. General Floyd, who, while Secretary of War, had violated his oath of oflice and done what he could to destroy the Union, was at Carnifex Ferry, on the Gauley River, a branch of the Kanawha. General Robert E. Lee, with a body of Confederates, was at Cheat Mountain, confronted by Gen- eral Rosecrans. We see Rosecrans leaving General Reynolds with a por- tion of his force to hold the ground against Lee, then marching with the rest from Clarksburg southward. He climbs mountains and moves through narrow defiles. At noon, September 9th, he is on the summit of Gauley Mountain. After a march of more than one hundred miles he comes suddenly upon Floyd near Summerville, who has strong intrenchments and twelve cannon. Rosecrans advances ; there is a skirmish, which almost t -,>^ BATTLE OF BALL'S BLUFF.— DEATH OF COLONEL BAKER. THE CLOSE OF 18G1. 117 becomes a battle, waged witli such vigor that Floyd steals away in the night, crossing tlie river on a log bridge, leaving all his tents, a large amount of supplies, and does not stop till he reaches SewalFs Mountain, thirty miles away. It was the 21st of October, a sweet, calm, and restful day, with the glory- of autumn on all the hills. I was in Washington. There were whis- pers in the air of something going on near Edwards Ferry, on the Potomac, above Washington. I hastened to General McClellan's headquarters to ascertain what it might be. The headquarters were in a large brick build- ing; there were aides and clerks in the numerous ajDartments, but they had no information to give to a correspondent. There was an air of mystery, a reticence which usually stimulates a correspondent to get at the bottom of things. While waiting to obtain an interview M'ith General McClellan, President Lincoln entered the room. I had seen him in his Springfield home, and lie gave me a cordial greeting. An aide passed into the room occupied by General McClellan, and announced the presence of the Presi- dent. I could hear the click of the telegi-aph within. Several minutes passed, and then the lieutenant invited the President to enter the inner room. While waiting, the President rested his head upon his hand, and seemed lost in thought ; there -were l^nes of trouble in his sunken cheeks. He soon came out, with his head bowed. His hands were clasped upon his heart ; he walked with a shuffling, tottering gait, reeling as if beneath a staggering blow. He did not fall, but passed down the street, carrying not only the burden of the nation, but a load of private grief, which, with the swiftness of the lightning's flash, had been hurled upon him. "We have met with a disaster up the river : fifteen hundred men have been lost and Colonel Baker is killed," said General Marcy, in response to my inquiry. It was at Ball's Bluff, where the Fifteenth and Twen- tieth Massachusetts, the Tammany Regiment of New York, and the California Regiment, also recruited in Xew York, commanded by Colonel Baker, had been sent across the Potonuic to make a demonstration towards Leesburg. The crossing was made on a canal- boat and two smaller boats. Colonel Baker was confronted by a force much larger than his own. He fell, and the troops were forced back to the river. There was a rush for the boats. Many plunged into the 8^ ?.^J^^ ^" (■^ MAP OF BALL S BLUFF. 118 DRUM-BEAT OP" THE NATION. swirling M-aters, to be swept away, a few to gain tlie otiier shore, some to be shot by the exultant Confederates, firing with deliberate and deadly aim upon the lielpless and unresisting victims. It was a needless move- ment which was ordered by General McClellan, and not well managed. The disaster aroused the indignation of the people and awakened criti- cism. Colonel Baker was President Lincoln's intimate friend ; lie had lived in Springfield, practised at the same bar, ridden in the same circuit, and they were animated by the same lofty ideas. Colonel Baker served in the Mexican war, made California his home in 1852, and had been elected Senator. On the floor of the Senate-chamber his voice had been eloquent for the Union. AV'hen the war began he raised his regiment in New York, equipped it largely at his own expense, naming it the " Califor- nia" Regiment. He had fallen in its first battle, and the telegraph had flashed the news of the terrible disaster to the President, On September Ith, General Ulysses S. Grant, who had been appointed to command the Department of South-eastern Missouri, reached Cairo, at the junction of the Ohio and Mississippi rivers. When the war began he was a clerk in a leather store at Galena, Illinois, He had been educated at West Point, and had seen service in Mexico. He drilled the volun- teers of the first company raised ii» the town, w^ent with them to Spring- field, Avhere Governor Yates asked him to assist in the Adjutant-general's oflice. He mustered in the soldiers as they arrived, went with the regi- ments ordered to St. Louis, and was there on that morning when General Lyon marched out and captured the camp of the secessionists. The Gov- ernor appointed him colonel of the Twenty-first Illinois llegiment. He kad been commissioned a brigadier-general, and had arrived in Cairo. The Confederates had invaded Kentucky, violating the neutrality which the State attempted to assume. Bishop Leonidas Polk had left the ministry of the Episcopal Church, and had been appointed a major- general by Jeiferson Davis. With several thousand men he took pos- session of Columbus, twenty miles below Cairo. The next morning after General Grant reached Cairo a Union scout came to him and said that the Confederates were getting ready to start from Columbus to seize Paducah, at the mouth of the Tennessee River. General Fi'emont, at St. Louis, General Grant's superior commander, was informed by Grant that he in- tended to send several regiments up the river that night and get ahead of the rebels. No instructions came to the contrary. At daylight on the morning of the 6th the people of Paducah were astonished to see a fleet of steamboats crowded with Union soldiers moored at the landing. Most of the people were secessionists, and were greatly THE CLOSE OF 1861. 119 disturbed ; they had expected to welcome General Jeff Thompson and an army of Confederates instead. The quick action of General Grant had upset all their expectations. The seizure of that town was an act of in- calculable benefit to the Union. We come to the first week in November. General Fremont wiis mov- ing witli an army towards soutli-western Missouri. Word reached (xcneral Grant that a large portion of the Confederates at Columbus were getting .^^^'^--t^ HOUSE IN WHICH GENERAL GRANT AVAS BORN. ready to leare on steamboats, go down the Mississippi and up White River, in Arkansas, and join the force under General Price, and thus enal)le him to overwhelm Fremont. General Grant was to execute a movement which would keep the rebels from carrying out the plan. lie directed General C. F. Smith, who was at Paducah, to march towards Columbus, but to halt before reaching that place. General Grant himself gathered up the troops at Cairo, about three thousand, and went down the river, accompanied by 120 DRUM-BEAT OF THE NATION. two gunboats. A portion of the rebels were on the high bhiffs of Colum- bus, where they had mounted heavy guns ; but there was also an encamp- ment on the low ground on the Missouri side, at Belmont. General Grant landed a few men on the Kentucky side to make a demonstration towards Columbus, as if he were intending to join General Smith, who was coming from Paducah. He had no intention of fighting a battle, but made the movement to keep the rebels from leaving. His soldiers were eager to do something, and he determined to land at Belmont and break up the Confederate camp at that point. The Confederates at Columbus were at their wits' ends as to his inten- tions, but at daylight he drew in the men on the Kentucky side, crossed the river, and landed the troops. He had two companies of cavalry, six cannon, and live regiments. It is eight o'clock when the troops advance. A mile and a half brings them to the rebel pickets, which are quickly driven in. The troops charge upon the camp and capture it. They swing their hats, then stack their arms and break ranks to seize the plunder. Some of the officers, in their enthusiasm, mount a stump and deliver speeches glorifying the Union. While this is going on, steamboats are ferrying several thousand Confederates across the river from Columbus. General Grant, finding it impos- sible to restore discipline, orders the camp to be set on fire. The Confederates who have fled to the bank of the river, finding that they are not pursued, and that reinforcements are landing, reform, advance along the bank, flanking the Union troops. " We are surrounded !" is the cry. Some of. the officers who have been making speeches suddenly become faint-hearted, and are all but ready to surrender. " We have cut our way in, and we can cut our way out," is the quiet remark of General Grant. The lines are formed, the skirmishers advance, the Confederates are again driv^en, and the troops reach the boats. General Grant rides alone out towards the enemy to reconnoitre. He reaches a corn-field quite near the Confederates, looks at them a moment, turns his horse, walks him a short distance before break- ing into a gallop. General Polk and one of his staff see him. " You may let your soldiers try their marksmanship on that Yankee, if you like," said General Polk, but no one fired. The two gunboats were sending their shells upon the Confederates. The troops were on board the steamers, BUS MAP OF BATTLE OP BELMONT. THE CLOSE OF 1861. 123 and the boats ready to move away, when General Grant came riding in from the corn-field. All supposed him to be on board. The captain of one of the steamers sees him, runs out the i^Uink, and the noble horse which he is riding slides down the steep bank and walks the plank to the deck, with the rider in the saddle. General Grant goes upon tlie upper deck, and sits on a sofa a moment in the captain's room. lie rises, and an instant later a bullet passes where he has been sitting. It has been a sharp battle ; the Union loss is nearly five hundred, the Confederate, six hundred and forty-two. The newspapers of the North spoke of the battle as a defeat because General Grant went back to Cairo, but the object which he had in view was fully accomplished. Tlie enemy did not send any troops to join General Price, nor were any sent to capture General Oglesby, who M-as fifty miles south-west of Cairo. The battle, instead of being a defeat, must therefore be regarded as a victory for the Union. On this same day another engagement was taking place at Port Royal, on the coast of South Carolina, which in its results was of great value. On the morning of October 29th a fleet of gunboats, with the frigate Wcibash, all under the command of Admiral Dupont, together with a great number of steamers carrying an army of twelve tliousand men, com- manded by General T. W. Sherman, sailed out from Fortress Monroe. Xone of the captains knew whither they were bound, but each had a let- ter which was to be opened after sailing. No one in the fleet, except Ad- miral Dupont and General Sherman, was supposed to know the destina- tion of the expedition ; but there were so many traitors in Washington that on the next morning Mr. Benjamin, Confederate Secretary of "War in Richmond, telegraphed to Governor Pickens, of South Carolina, that it was bound for Port Royal. Port Royal is a deep and capacious harbor. The Government saw that the navy must have a harbor where the vessels blockading Charleston, Savannah, and all the other ports, could obtain coal and make repairs. The Confederates had erected two forts to defend it — Fort Walker, on Hilton Head, and Fort Beauregard, on the opposite northern shore. There were fifty -two guns in both works. General Drayton, with several hundred men, held Fort Walker, and Colonel Donavant Fort Beauregard. The Confederates had a small fleet of steamers, under Commodore Tatnall, but they were not of much account. It is half-past nine in the morning when the signal for attack flutters out from the mast-head of the Wahash. There are thirteen vessels in the fleet ; they are to sail in a circle, delivering their fire first on one fort 12-i DRUM-BEAT OF THE NATION. and then on the other. Tlie Wabash leads, followed by the Susquehanna and the gunboats. The forts are the first to open fire, but with little ef- fect, for the vessels are moving and the guns are not well aimed. When half a mile away the sides of the vessels begin to flame, pouring solid shot and shells into Fort Walker. Round and round, in an ellipse, the vessels move in majestic order, the shells exploding in the forts, tossing up clouds of sand and dismounting the guns. Three times the fleet rounds the cir- cles, coming nearer Fort Walker, and sending such a storm into it that the garrison flees in consternation through the woods. The gunboats steam up \ \ ''-^ < \ ^^ { -^^ \cHy5iRLEST0F|W^ Y \ -'^ \|l^r-^ j-^ Ft.SunStei^Q Jj\ ) ^ ri ""^S^ T^^^^^ VcA Nd ^m\ lO 1 {--^ " ^^ |jf^^ A )l v^^y^^ ^ \% \/j> J§ li ^g-jl!sS**i "■' ^-7^ (l o&J ^ DCAuron s^ (^^ 7 in 1 ' u ly^ n K \'i\ \S w <5x ''''^'' ^ B \ ^ ->° 1 '^'^^--S^ 1^ ^^"^^ \W>V :0^-^' o Mi \ J/ ■* / f'^'^^^-^L ^ ! V^^/ 1 C^ (J '^ ^^ ^'^ h5*N^^^ -ts^L ^ SAVANHaiJ^^ ^^ •^ /P^ ^V^ ■^^ f^ aM-'"" f>^^ A. » SOUTH CAROLINA COAST. the bay to Beaufort, the beautiful town which has been the pride of the wealthy planters and the citizens of Charleston, who have made it their sea-side home, and who have been foremost to bring about secession, little thinking how soon retribution would overtake them. They have thought that the way would be far away on Northern soil. Through the morning they have heard the thunder of the cannonade rolling up the river. Cou- riers have been stationed to bring the news of the expected discomfit- ure of the fleet. There is sudden silence, a few moments of suspense, and then a horseman rides into town with the news that the forts are THE CLOSE OF 18G1. 127 abandoned and the gunboats are on their Avay up the bay. Never before was there such consternation in Beaufort. There is running to and fro, wringing of hands, quick loading of wagons, shoutings to the shaves to go to tlie main - land ; but instantly the negroes disappear in the woods or hide in their cabins. The planters and their fam- ilies flee, leaving all behind. "When the gun- boats reach the town the negroes are hav- ing a saturnalia, making themselves at home in the stately mansions, drinking the costly wines, plundering and destroying property. The troops land and take possession of the town and restore order. The year closes with the border states — Kentucky, Missouri, East Tennessee, West Virginia, and Maryland — loyal to the Union, all the other Southern States joining the Confederacy. Midsummer opened with dis- aster to the Union at Bull Run, but autumn closes with victory for the old flag at Port Royal. IILTON HEADJ/;,I/A Q CAPTURE OP THE PORT ROYAL FORTS. 128 DKUM-BEAT OF THE NATION. CHAPTER YIL THE BEGINNING OF 18 6 2. THE year 1SG2 opened with the Union armies, east and -^vest, doing nothing. The Army of the Potomac in and around Washington numbered one liundred and thirty thousand men. Throughout the au- tumn tliere had been grand reviews, attended by the President and Cabi- net, members of Congress, and great crowds of people. There had been much pomp and parade, and promise as to wliat the army would do ; but 1861 closed with nothing accomplished, and no plan of a campaign on the part of General McClellan. New troops were constantly arriving, and by midwinter the army around Washington numbered nearly two hundred thousand. The inaction of General McClellan was producing discontent throughout the country. Everything he had asked for had been granted, but as nothing had been accomplished, the people were beginning to lose confidence in him. The " peace party," which was op- posed to the war, applauded his inaction, and the natural result was that those who were earnest for its prosecution began to think that his heart was not in it. He had issued an order that no damage should be done to the property of the Confederates ; slaves were not to be molested. When the Hutchinson family — three brothers and a sister, who had given many concerts throughout the country — visited the camps and sang songs to cheer the soldiers, they were ordered to leave because some of their songs were anti-slavery in sentiment. From the beginning of the war the Poto- mac Kiver had been closed to navigation by Confederate batteries along its southern bank. General McClellan made no attempt to reopen the river. Every night the correspondents sent the despatch, '* All quiet along the Potomac," until it became a byword. Seeing no indications of any movement by the Army of the Po- tomac, I left Washington for Kentucky, where General Buell was in command. Tennessee had joined the Confederacy ; Kentucky had not. The Gov- ernor of Kentucky was hoping that the State would take no part in the THE BEGINNING OF 1862. 129 war. Jefferson Davis planned otherwise. Several thousand Confederate troops, under Major-general Polk, had entered the State and planted can- non on the bluffs of Columbus. The Confederates hoped tliat the act would make the State decide to join the Confederacy, but instead it made the people more determined than ever to stand by the Union. THE CAMPAIGN IN TENNESSEE. Jefferson Davis appointed Albert Sydney eTohnston, born in Kentucky, to command the Confederate troops in the West. Before he arrived. Gen- eral Lovell laid out Fort Henry and Fort Donelson, on the Tennessee and Cumberland rivers. They were only twelve miles apart, close to the boun- dary of the two States. Five hundred slaves were set to work. General Johnston, on the afternoon of his arrival at Xashville, sent General Buckner to take possession of Bowling Green with five thousand men, and ordered General Zollicoffer, with several thousand men, to ad- vance from Knoxville, in Tennessee, through Cumberland Gap, and take position east of Bowling Green. Still farther east, General Humphrey Marshall, with three thousand troops, entered the State from Virginia and descended the valley of the Big Sandy Tviver, whicli runs north to the 9 130 DRUM-BEAT OF THE NATION. Ohio. General Marshall thought that he could bring all eastern Kentucky under the Confederate Government. James A. Garfield ^vas at Colurabns, Ohio, a young colonel, who was born in a log-cal)in with a bark roof, a stone fireplace, and mud chimney. GENERAL JAMES A. GARFIELD. His parents were poor; they had a frying-pan, a bake -pan, and some wooden plates, and a few other things in the kitchen— the one room in the cabin. He be^an life by driving mules to tow a canal -boat. He THE BEGINNING OF 183-2. i;ji clioppecl wood, lielpcd a farmer make potash, and by hard work made liis way througli college. He had taught school, and had been president of a college in Ohio. He was colonel of the Forty-second Ohio llegiment, at Columbus. He received a despatch from General Buell, who was at Louisville, to send his regiment to Prestonburg, on the Big Sandy Kiver, while he was to hasten to Louisville. " If you were in command of the sub-department of eastern Kentucky, what would you do ? Let me know to-morrow morning," said General Buell Through the night Colonel Garfield studied the map of Kentucky, the Big Sand}^ the valleys, the gaps in the mountain -ranges leading to Virginia and Tennessee. He went over the census tables to see where he could find forage and supplies for troops, laid his plan before General Buell, and was appointed to command a brigade. He was directed to "drive the enemy back or cut him off." He had his own and the Foi-- tieth Ohio and the remnant of the Fourteenth Kentuckv — a half-oro^an- ized regiment, poorly supplied with arms and clothing. He had no can- non. Ilain M'as falling, but the soldiers marched through deep mud up the valley of the Big Sandy. They had no tents ; at night they bivou- acked in the woods, kindling great fires. A steep and wooded hill, with rocky ledges at the summit and a creek winding through a narrow valley at its base, was the position selected by Marshall. With his four cannon he could sweep the valley. The vallej^ was so narrow, and the hills so steep and high, that the Union troops could not turn his flank; they must attack in front. On the evening of January 0, 1SG2, the Union troops found them- selves face to face with the Confed- erates. A few shots were fired; but the cold gray winter night was set- ting in, and the soldiers of both armies lay down to sleep in the mud and rain, which changed to sleet, and beat pitilessly upon Union and Confed- erate alike. No fires were kindled. Garfield was in the valley, the Con- federates on the hill, with every advantage of position, outnumbering him two to. one, with four cannon, while he had not a single piece of artillery. In the morning the Union troops advanced. General Marshall was getting ready to charge, but suddenly changed MAP OF MIDDLE CREEK. L32 DRUM-BEAT OF THE NATION. Ill's mind, for down the valley lie beheld twelve hundred Union troops coming as fast as they could run. They had been marching all day, and had come twenty miles through the mud since daylight. They had heard the thunder of the Confederate cannon rolling down the valley, and had liastened to take part in the fight. General Marshall fears that lie is to be flanked, and gives the order to retreat. The frightened Confederate soldiers throw away their guns and flee through the woods. Night is closing in. Suddenly a bright light illumines the sky : Gen- eral Marshall has set Are to his stores and supplies, and is fleeing through the mountain-passes towards Virginia. There has been little fighting, but that little has brought about a great result ; it has secured all eastern Ken- tucky to the Union. It is the first break in the Confederate line of de- fence west of the Alleghanies. Let us go up now to the head -waters of that beautiful stream, the Cumberland River. From its mountain springs it gurgles over a rocky bed w^estward to the town of Waitsboro. Just below that town the water .is deep enough for small steamboats, which can come all the way from the Ohio, past Nashville, to that point. A little farther down, on the south side of the Cumberland, is a grist and saw mill, also springs which gush from the hill-side. The place is known as Mill Springs. General Zollicoffer was there with nine thousand troops. He had been a member of Congress from Tennessee, but had given heart and soul to the Confederate cause. He knew little about military affairs, and General George B. Crittenden was sent to take command. General Crit- tenden was a Kentuckian ; his brother was a general in the Union army, and his father, who had been a Senator in Congress, was giving the strength of his declining years to maintain tlie Union. Before General Crittenden arrived. General Zollicoffer, eager to advance, by using two steamboats and some flat-boats crossed the Cumberland and threw up intrenchments at Beech Grove, on the north bank of the river. There was a brigade of Union troops at Somerset, under General Schoepf, twenty miles from Beech Grove, and another brigade at Co- lumbia, thirty miles north-west, under General George II. Thomas, both moving towards Mill Springs. While the Union troops are making their toilsome march along the miry roads, let us see how things look at Beech Grove. General Critten- den finds nine thousand men, but so many are sick that onlj^ six thousand are fit for duty. They have little to eat. The country around is poor; THE BEGINNING OF 1862. 133 tlie inirc is so deep that the wagons which bring provisions and supplies cannot move. Many of tlie soldiers are armed with shot-guns; they are destitute of overcoats; their shoes are wearing out. Why have they left their homes to become soldiers? Because they have been led to believe that they owe allegiance to the State in which tliey were born rather than to the nation, and because they have dreamed of winning glory on the field of battle. There is no glory in remaining in camp. General Zolli- coifer does not wish to wait for the Union troops to attack ; he woukl rather march out and attack them. General Crittenden opposes the j^lan ; but the colonels, the captains, the men — all are eager to advance. A council of officers decided in favor of the plan. General Thomas is onlv nine miles away. They will make a night march, attack him at dayli^dit, rout him, then move on to Somerset and rout the troops under Schoepf. By one vigorous stroke they will sweep the Union troops back to tlie Ohio River. The night is cold and drearj^, the rain falling; but the Confederate soldiers hail with joy the news that they are to move out and attack Gen- eral Thomas. They will eat breakfast in his camp upon rations suj)plied by the United States. The war has become more than a conflict between two sections of the country. In Kentucky it is a war between old neighbors and friends — a civil war. Union soldiers from Tennessee are to fire into the faces of Confederate Tennessee soldiers. Though Kentucky has not joined the Confederacy, hot-blooded young men have left their homes to enlist in the Confederate service. General Thomas, commanding the Union troops, M\as born in Virginia. He was in the battle of Buena Vista, in Mexico. He is clear-headed and self-possessed. His soldiers love him, for he is kind-hearted, brave, and looks after their comfort and welfare. He always has his eyes open. To guard against surprise, he stations his cavalry pickets out on all the roads leading to his camp, and behind them infantry pickets. He reached Logan's Cross-roads on the night of January 17th. The troops pitched their tents on Mr. Logan's farm, and the cavalry pickets went two miles out on all the roads, with infantry behind them. We see the Confederate cavali-y mounting their horses at midnight at Beech Grove. Zollicoffer's brigade moves first — two cavalry battalions, one Mississippi and three Tennessee regiments, and Kutledge's battery, four guns. General Carroll follows with two Tennessee regiments, two cannon of McCluny's battery, then the Sixteenth Alabama and two cav- alry battalions. 184 DRUM-BEAT OF THE NATION. The dim liglit of the winter morning is dawning (January 19th) wlien the foremost cavabyman conies upon the Union pickets. " Halt ! Who goes there f The answer is a Confederate jjistol-shot. A Union cavah-yman goes down the road as fast. as he can ride to Colonel Hanson's tent. In an instant the drum is beating the long-roll. General Thomas has four thousand men : the Tenth Indiana, Colonel Kise, and Fourth Kentucky, Colonel Frye, from Colonel Hanson's bri- gade ; the First and Second Tennessee and Twelfth Kentucky, from Gen- eral Carter's brigade ; the Ninth Ohio and Second Hinnesota, from Colo- nel HcCook's brigade. The three batteries are commanded b}^ Captains Kenny, Randall, and Wetmore. He has only one battalion of cavalry. Besides these he has a battalion of engineers from Hichigan and one com- pany of the Thirty-eighth Ohio Regiment, wdio are ordered to guard the camp. Out from their tents leap the soldiers of the Tenth Indiana and Fourth Kentucky, and form in line across the road. Ten minutes, and both regiments are ready and waiting the word of connnand. The Tenth Indiana is on the west side of the road in the woods, the Fourth Kentucky on the cast side, both facing south. The men in blue, as they stand there with their muskets loaded and capped, see the skirmishers falling back, and in the dim and misty light the flashes of the mnskets. And now they catch a glimpse of an advancing line of Confeder- ates, who halt, raise their guns, and fire. It is a regiment from Hississippi. Behind the Hississippians come the Nineteenth Tennessee upon a run through a field. The battle furiously begins ; volley after volley rolls from the opposing lines. The Fourth Kentucky is in rear of the Tenth Indiana. " Where shall I go into position ?" Colonel Frye asks. " Go out and take position in those woods," Colonel Hanson replies. The Fourth Kentucky passes through a field, enters a piece of woods, and comes out into Hr. Logan's field. The men leap over a rail -fence and form once more. Suddenly from the other side of the field there comes a volley. " Back to the other side of the fence !" Colonel Frye gives the order. "Ha! ha! they arc retreating!" the Confederates shout; they think that the Union troops arc panic-stricken. Across the fields they rush, but sud- denly five hundred mnskets flame in their faces, and Kenny's Battery sends shell after shell through the advancing line, which comes to a stand-still. The air is misty and the smoke so thick that the men in blue and the men in gray can see only the quick flashes of one another's guns. Colonel HcCook comes M-ith his briti;ade. The Second Hinnesota THE BEGINNING OF 1832. 135 swings up beliiiid tlie Fourtli Kentucky, and the Xinth Ohio takes the place of tlie Tenth Indiana. The Mississippians are in front of the Min- nesota regiment. Colonel Frye rides down by the rail-fence. lie sees in tlie dim light an officer on a white horse, wearing a rubber blanket conceal- ing his uniform. Colonel Frye does not know him, but rides up so near that they might shake hands. " We must not shoot our own men," says the officer. " Of course not." " Those are our men." The officer points, but Colonel Frye cannot see any soldiers in that direction, and rides a few steps away. He turns his horse to look once more. Suddenly an officer by the side of the man on the white horse fires a pistol at Colonel Frye, missing him, but wounding his horse. What ! A Confederate ! The man on the white horse not a Union officer! Colonel Frye raises his pistol, fires, and General Zollicoffer falls from his saddle dead. How strange Zollicoffer's mistake ! for Colonel Frye has no cloak or blanket concealing his uniform. For a half hour the struggle goes on east of the road. Stepping over, now, west of the road we see the l^intli Ohio fixing bayonets. They have fired away nearly all their ammunition, and they will finish the battle by a charge. The line closes — shoulder touching shoulder. They break into a run. The Confederate Tennesseeans give way. A panic seizes the whole Confederate line ; officers and soldiers alike think only of saving themselves. What a pitiful scene it was! More than four hundred Confederates killed and wounded, the living throwing away their guns and everything that hindered them. Back to Beech Grove, across the Cumberland River, they fled, most of them crossing on the steamboats, but some attempting to swim were swept away by the swirling ice-cold stream. They had nothing to eat ; all had been lost. Hungry, weary, faint, footsore, freezing, the regiments melted wholly away. It was a terrible blow; Kentucky was hopelessly lost to the Confederacy. The Union men in eastern Tennessee, hearing the news, took heart. Never, never would they yield, but stand forever for the flag of the Union ! On January 9th I reached Cairo, with credentials from the Secretary of War to the general in command. I entered the headquarters — a mean room in an old building, up a flight of rickety stairs. "Come in," was the response to my knock. Entering, I found a gentleman with a close- cut beard, wearing a blue blouse, without sign of any rank, sitting on an 13G DRUM-BEAT OF THE NATION. empty nail-cask at a pine table, smoking a pipe, with a pile of papers be- fore him. lie had the appearance of being a clerk. " Is General Grant in ?" I asked. " Yes, sir," was the reply. "Will yon be kind enongh to give him this letter?" Instead of carrying it to an adjoining room, the gentleman opened it, ran his eye over the page, greeted me cordially, and said, " I am happy to see yon. Please take a nail-cask. Colonel Webster will give you a pass." It was my first interview with General Grant. In the ship-yards at Cincinnati and St. Louis there had been a clatter- ing of axes: carpenters hewing oaken timbers, building vessels — broad, fiat-bottomed, with sloping sides, flat roofs — to be clad with iron plates. Never before had floated on the waters of the Ohio and Mississippi such strange craft. A GUNBOAT OF THE MISSISSIPPI. "They look like mud- turtles," said the soldiers when the gunboats Essex, Carondelet, Cincinnati, St. Louis, and Benton steamed up to the levee at Cairo. But these queer-looking gunboats, with cannon peeping from their port-holes, were destined to play an iipportant part in the war. Let us keep in mind that the war was a revolt against free laboi'. The working- men of the great States of the West, the iron-workers and the ship-car- penters, had wielded hammers and axes, and here were the vessels which they had constructed, with which they proposed to open once more to commerce the Cumberland, Tennessee, and Mississippi rivers. The Cumberland and Tennessee run side by side northward from the THE BEGINNING OF 1862. 137 northern boundary of the State of Tennessee. They are only twelve miles apart. Just south of the State line stood Fort Henry, on the east bank of the Tennessee, while Fort Donelson stood on the west bank of the Cumberland. There was no bluff at Fort Henry, and the mud fortifica- tion thrown up by slaves under the direction of Major Gilmer was on a low bank, screened by a thicket of willows. There were sixteen cannon — one of which threw a ball ten inches in diameter, one sixty-pounder, twelve thirty-two-pounders, and two twelve-pounders. They were so ar- ranged that they could all be pointed down the river to knock the gun- boats to pieces, or inland to throw shells upon troops advancing to attack it from the rear. Outside of the fort were rille-pits and breastworks. The tall trees were cut down to form an abatis. Inside the intrenchments were nearly four thousand men, under General Tilghman. At Columbus, on the Mississippi, were twenty-two thousand Confederates, under General Leonidas Polk. At Fort Donelson was General Buckner, with nearly twenty thousand troops. At Bowling Green, in Kentucky, on the south bank of the Big Barren River, in a very strong position, was General Johnston, with twelve thousand troops. Opposite the Confederates, at Bowling Green, in central Kentucky, was a Union army, under General Buell. At Cairo was another army, under General Grant. General Garfield, by his victory in eastern Ken- tucky, and General Thomas, by the victory at Mill Springs, had broken the Confederate lines of defence. Where, now, M-ould it be easiest for the Union troops to break through ? On January 28th Commodore A. II. Foote, commanding the gunboats at Cairo, sent this despatch to General Halleck at St. Louis : " General Grant and myself are of the opinion that Fort Henry can be carried with four gunboats and the troops.*' "From Fort Henry," wrote General Grant, "it will be easy to operate either on the Cumberland, twelve miles distant, on Memphis, or Columbus." If Fort Henry were taken, it would be easy to land an army on the east bank, march across and attack Fort Donelson in the rear ; or the army could land on the west bank and attack Columbus in the rear. " I strike where the enemy least expects me, and I move to turn his positions," were the military rules adopted by Xapoleon. If Fort Henry could be taken, it would turn the Confederate position. There was so much to be done that a month passed before the gun- boats were ready. But up the Ohio, on February 2d, they moved, fol- lowed by a fleet of steamboats, with ten regiments of soldiers crowding the cabins and the decks. The gunboats turned up the Tennessee. The 138 DRUM-BEAT OF THE NATION. melting snow on the far-off mountains was sending down a flood, wliicli was o.verflowing all the lowlands. At daylight the next morning the steamboats ran their prows against tlie bank and tied them up to the trees. The troops went on shore. Scouts called at a farm-house. " You never will take Fort Henry," said a woman. ADMIRAL FOOTE. " Oh yes, we shall ; the gunboats will knock it to pieces." " They will be blown sky-high before they get near the fort." " How so ?" "The river is full of torpedoes." The scouts reported the information to Admiral Foote. and the sailors, jumping into the boats, went out with grappling-irons, and in a short time lished up six torpedoes. THE BEGINNING OF 1862. 139 General Grant and Commodore Foote agreed that tlie gunboats should commence tlie attack at twelve o'clock. " I shall take the fort in about an hour," said the commodore. " I shall commence firing when I reach the liead of Panther Island, and it will take me about an hour to reach the fort, for I shall steam up slowly. 1 am afraid, general, tliat the roads are so bad the troops will not get around in season to capture the en- emy. I shall take the fort before YOU get into position." Tlie boats reach the head of the island, and the fort is in full view. It is thirty-four minutes past twelve o'clock. There is a flash and a creamy cloud of smoke at the bow of the Cincinnati. An eight-inch shell screams through the air. The gunners watch its course ; their ])ractised eyes follow its almost viewless flight. The fort accepts the challenge, and instantly twelve guns open upon the advancing l)oats. The shot and shell plough furrows in the stream, and throw columns of water high in air. The gunboats move on slowly and steadily ; their fire is regular and deliberate. Every shot goes into the fort. The Confederate gunners are blinded and smothered l)y clouds of sand ; the gun-carriages are crushed, splintered, and over- turned ; men are cut to pieces. Something unseen tears them like a thunder-l)olt. The fort is full of explosives. The heavy rifled gun bursts, crushing and killing those who serve it ; the flag-staff is splintered and torn as by lightning. Yet the fort replies. The gunners have the range of the boats, and nearly every shot strikes tlie iron plating. They are like the strokes of FORT HENRY. 140 DRUM-BEAT OF THE NATION. sledge-lmimiiers, indenting the sheets, starting the fastenings, breaking the tongh bolts. The Cincinnati receives thirty-one sliots, the Essex lifteen, the 8t. Louis seven, and the Carondelet six. Though struck so often, they move on. Tlie distance lessens. An- other gun is knocked from its carriage in tlie fort; another — another. Tliere are signs that the contest is about over. But a shot strikes tlie Essex between the iron plates ; it tears through the oaken timbers and into one of the steam-boilers. There is a great puff of steam ; it pours from the port-holes, and the boat is enveloped in a cloud. She drops out of the line of battle. Her engines stop, and she floats with the stream. Twenty-eight of her crew are scalded, among them lier brave commander. Captain Porter. The Confederates take courage. They siDring to their guns, and fire rapidly but wildly, hoping and expecting to disable the rest of the fleet. But Commodore Foote does not falter ; he keeps straight on as if nothing had happened. A shell from the Cincinnati dismounts a gun, killing or wounding every gunner. The boats are so near that every shot is sure to do its work. The fire of the boats -increases, while the fire of the fort diminishes. Coolness, determination, energy, perseverance, and power win the day. The Confederate flag comes down, and a white flag goes up. Cheers ring through the fleet. A boat puts out from the St. Lords. An offlcer jumps ashore, climbs the torn embankment, stands upon the para- pet, and raises the Stars and Stripes. Thus, in an hour and twelve minutes, the fort which the Confederates confidently expected would prevent the gunboats from ascending the river was forced to surrender, and there was unobstructed w%ater communication to the very heart of the Confederacy. The line of defence was again broken. There was but little loss of life in this engagement — twenty to thirty killed and wounded on each side. Up the river steamed the gunboats, capturing the nearly completed Confederate gunboat Eastport. During the preceding months the Con- federates have partly altered an old river steamboat into a gunboat. They had built it up with thick timber, and partly plated it with iron ; but sud- denly they cut the steam-pipes, chopped holes in the bottom, and fled to the woods. On the Union side during these months the men of the iron- mills, the carpenters of St. Louis and Cincinnati, had constructed the gun- boats, and there they were, making their way up the Tennessee to the border of Alabama. Although Governor Harris, of Tennessee, and his fellow-confederates iiiiiiiiiimiiiliiiiiiiiij THE BEGINNING OF 1862. 148 have voted tlie State out of the Union ; althougli the groat mass of the people in western Tennessee are for the Confederacy, there are those wlio swing their hats and give a cheer, witli the tears rolling down their cheeks, when they behold once more the dear old flag floating from the flag-staffs of the gunboats. AVitli consternation General Albert Sidney Johnston, at Bowling Green, read the message that came to him announcing the surrender of Fort Henry. Through the months liis troops had been digging trenches, throw- ing up breastworks in front of the Union army under General Buell, but now it was lost labor. He must make a quick retreat, or General Grant with a great army would be in his rear. Johnston had twelve thousand men ; Buell a much larger force, and was getting ready to advance. There was a sudden commotion, a packing up of baggage, loading it into the cars and in wagons — barrels of flour, beef, pork, tents, cannon, am- munition. They set fire to buildings containing thousands of bushels of corn. In the engine-house of the railroad were six engines laid up for re- pairs. They piled wood around them and set it on fire and hastened away. The work of destruction of material forces had begun in the Confederacy. On the morning of February 14th, General MitcheU's division of Union troops marched into Bowling Green. Mitchell looked at the locomotives. " It will not take long to repair them," he said. It was the difference between the North and the South. A few days later and the encrines were runninoj. Labor was winnino; its victories. It is twelve miles from Fort Henry to Fort Donelson. There are two roads, which wind through the forest, with here and there a farm-house. The soil is not very fertile, and the farmers do not raise much corn ; but the oak-trees in the fall of the year are full of acorns, and the farmers keep large herds of pigs, which roam the woods, feeding upon the nuts. Out from Fort Ilemy marched the troops under General Grant — McClernand's and Smith's divisions — leaving General Lew. Wallace's divis- ion to hold that fort. The baggage -wagons had not arrived from Cairo, and the soldiers carried three days' rations of bread and meat in their hav- ersacks. They bivouacked at night beside a brook, and kindled great fires, shooting the pigs and roasting them by the glowing coals. They sang songs, shouted, danced, told stories till the drums beat the tattoo ; then they scraped the dead leaves into heaps for a bed, wrapped themselves in their blankets, and lay down to sleep. While the Union army is working its way towards the Cumberland River, let us go in advance and look at Fort Donelson. We see the town of Dover located where the river runs north-west. 144 DRUM-BEAT OF THE NATION. and then bends nortli. The ground rises fifty feet above the water ; the stores and dwellings are on the hill-side. Low down we see a bank of fresh earth, and higher up a second line of works, and seventeen cannon peeping from the embrasures — most of them thirty-two pounders— all pointing down the river. Those in the up- per work are so high that they will pour a plunging fire upon the gun- boats when they steam up the river, while Admiral Foote will find that if he approaches near the fort he will not be able to elevate the muzzles of his cannon sufficiently high to do any danuige. FORTS HENRY AND DONELSON. From the south-west corner of the fort a line of breastworks runs south along the crest of a ridge. Following it a mile, we come to a deep ravine, with a creek flowing through it ; crossing the creek, we follow the line, now bending east another mile to Lick Creek, which flows north to the river, and which is too deep to be forded. The fortifications consist of three distinct parts — the water batteries and fort, the line of breastworks, and beyond them a line of rifle-pits and abatis. The rifle-pits are built of logs. There is a space between the upper log and the one beneath it, behind which the Confederate riflemen can lie and pick off the Union troops. The country beyond is broken into ridges and hills covered with forests. At midnight on the day of tlie loss of Fort Henry the Confederate troops from that fort, under Colonel Ileiman, reach Fort Donelson. Troops arrive from Nashville, sent by General Johnston. General Gideon J. Pil- low arrives on the 9th. lie had served in the Mexican War, It was said THE BEGINNING OF 1862. 145 that in that war he ignorantly constructed a fortification with tlie ditch on tlie wrong side of the embankment ; hut lie had an exalted opinion of his abilities, was jealous of his superior officers, besides being ever ready to find fault with their plans. lie once attempted to supersede General Scott. Another Confederate general arrived on the 11th, Simon B. Buck- uer, who several years before the outbreak of the war had had a falling out with Pillow, and their personal relations were not cordial. General Johnston was very unfortunate in his selection of officers for the defence of this important point. The major-general in command was John B. Floyd, the man who, as Secretary of War under President Buchanan, had done what he could to furnish the Southern States with arms, who had been indicted by the Grand Jury at Washington as a thief for the em- bezzlement of the funds of the United States — this man, with no military experience, by virtue of the date of his commission was senior officer. It is quite certain that General Buckner, the junior general officer, was much better fitted to command. General Floyd arrived on the 13th and assumed command, which was not relished by Pillow. There were twenty-eight regiments of Confederate infantry, besides two battalions, one regiment of cavalry, six batteries of light artillery, and seventeen heavy guns. General Buckner, with six regiments and two bat- teries, was assigned to hold the ground north-west of the town ; the rest of the army — six brigades — the remainder of the line, under General Pillow. General Bushrod R. Johnston was selected by General Floyd as chief of staff, and a great deal of the energy of the defence of Donelson was due to him and General Buckner rather than to Floyd or Pillow. The first brigade in line was Ileiman's, holding the right ; then Davidson's, Drake's, "Whar- ton's, McCausland's, and Baldwin's, with twenty-four cannon. During the winter four hundred log-cabins had been built, so that the Confederates were much better sheltered than the Union troops, M'ho had no tents, but who must bivouac on the frozen ground. The Union army left Fort Henry on the 11th of February. On the 12tli the videttes come in sight of the Confederate pickets outside the breast- works. General McClernand's division swings south towards Lick Creek, while General Smith takes position north-west of the fort. General Grant makes his headquarters at the house of Mrs. Crisp, a log-cabin with a chim- ney outside. He has twenty-five regiments and seven batteries: in all, forty -two guns. McClernand's division has three brigades — Oglesby's, W. H. L. Wallace's, and Morrison's — all the troops from Illinois, with the exception of a company of United States cavalry. General Smith's di- vision consists of McArthur's, Lauman's, Cook's, and Morgan L. Smith's 10 146 DRUM-BEAT OF THE NATION. brigades. One of the regiments in Lautnan's brigade is commanded by Colonel Berge. The men are sharp-shooters ; their rifles have telescopes attached. They have fired at targets till they have become expert in aim. The morning of the 13th dawns. The sharp-shooters have filled their cartridge-boxes, and are in advance of the rest of the army, working their way towards the Confederate lines. They crouch behind logs or lie upon the ground, screened from sight by the gnarled roots of the trees. Before the sun is up there is a rattling fire between the sharp-shooters and the Confederate pickets. A little later the Confederate cannon throw shells at random towards the Union lines. Some of the Union batteries make their way throngh the thick woods, and come into position and aim at the puffs of smoke which rise above the trees. General Grant sees that he has not troops enough to cover the entire line, and sends a courier to Fort Henry for General Lew. Wallace's di- vision. Other regiments are on the way, coming up the river, which are turned over to Wallace upon his arrival, who organizes them into bri- gades, commanded by Colonel Cruft and Colonel Thayer. He comes into position between Smith and McCiernand, directly west of Fort Donelson, forming the centre of the army. The arrival of tliese trooj)s enables McCiernand to move farther east towards the river, and close the road which leads south from Dover, thus cutting oft' all chance of escajje on the part of the Confederates in that direction. While this is going on, the gunboat Carondelet comes up the river and opens fire upon the batteries with her long-range guns. One cannot understand just what General Floyd intended to do. Prob- ably he had no definite plan. Had he been a commander of ability he would have fallen suddenly, with an overwhelming force, upon McCier- nand before the arrival of General Wallace, when there was a wide gap between the right and left wings of Grant's army, but he waited instead till ten additional Union regiments had arrived. He waited to be attacked instead of attacking, and lost his best opportunity of winning a victory. The morning sun was bright and clear, the air balmy as April, but before night the wind changed, clouds drifted across the sky, the wind in- creased to a gale, and a furious snow-storm swept over the contending ar- mies. Many of the Union soldiers had thrown off their overcoats and left them behind in the march, and now paid the penalty by shivering through the night. General Grant does not wish to bring on an engagement. He has closed all the roads leading from Fort Donelson. Tlie Confederates can receive no supplies except by the river. He hopes, with the aid of tlie X 2 THE BEGIKNIKG OF 1862. 149 gunboats under Commodore Foote, to capture the entire force without much lighting. The fleet arrives on the morning of the 14th. While Commodore Foote is getting ready to open fire upon the fort, Gen- eral McClernand is taking matters into his own liands. General Grant has directed him to do nothing that will bring on an engagement, but McClernand is a lawyer, a nervous, restless, brave, impulsive man, and was a member of Congress before the war. He has not yet comprehended that strict obedience to the command of his superior officer, except in extreme cases, is one of the most important rules. A Confederate battery on a hill in front of Morrison's brigade is sending its shells upon his line. There are three Confederate batteries, which have a wide sweep, and are very annoying to McClernand. His own batteries reply. When the Confed- erates stop firing, McClernand, thinking that they are silenced, resolves to order Morrison to advance and capture them. He does not take into ac- count the five regiments of infantry under Heiman crouching behind the breastworks near by. There are three regiments in Morrison's Union brigade. They move through the woods and come to the foot of the slope in front of the Confederate works. Instantly the Confederate cannon open upon them. The Forty-ninth Illinois, Morrison's own regiment, comes into a clearing, and moves more rapidly than the other regiments. The men begin to fall, but they open fire upon the cannoneers. Captain Maney, command- ing one of the Confederate batteries, is wounded ; also his first and second lieutenants. The Union troops thinking that with a rush the battery will be theirs, give a cheer and run up the hill. Suddenly the breastworks flame. The Confederates, resting their muskets on the logs in front of them, fire a volley. Men firing down hill, especially in the excitement of battle, almost always aim too high. Men fall from the Union ranks, but for fifteen minutes they stand on the slope of the hill loading and firing — not only the Forty-ninth Illinois, but the Seventeenth and Forty-eighth. They fall back at last, but at the foot of the hill halt, reform their lines, advance once more, again fall back, and a third time go up almost to the breastworks to retreat again, leaving many of their number upon the dead leaves, close up to the works. It is a horrible sight which they behold when they see the leaves set on fire by the burning wadding of the Con- federate cannon, and the flames sweeping over the wounded, whom they cannot help. More than three hundred men — just how many we do not know — have fallen in this assault made against the orders of General Grant. !N"ot till three o'clock in the afternoon were the gunboats ready to attack. During the two days of waiting, the Carondelet has thrown one 150 DRUM-BEAT OF THE NATION. hundred and thirty-nine shot into the fort, dismounting three of the guns. All the cannon in the fort have replied, and sent hundreds of solid shot in return, but only two have done any damage. One has gone through the side of the boat, and killed or wounded a dozen men. Several men have been killed in the fort. The plan of Commodore Foote is to attack the batteries on the bank of the river, silence them, then run past the town, and cut off all commu- nication between the army and Xasli- ville, which will soon compel Floyd to surrender. The fleet comes into position. The boats are to steam slowly and fire deliberately. It prob- ably would have been better to have gone ahead with the utmost speed and run past, without attempting to silence the batteries. If attempted, it might possibly have been accom- plished. When within one mile of the fort the St. Louis opens fii"e, quickly fol- lowed by the Pittsburg, Louisville, and Carondelet. The Conestoga and Taylor, wooden vessels, are in rear, firing at long range. The battle opens earnestly. There is the deaf- ening roar of the guns, the crash of solid shot, the bursting of shells, whirring of the ragged pieces, ripping up of the iron plating, and loosening of bolts. The boats move steadily on. The mile lessens to half a mile ; the smoke-stacks are riddled, and the fire under the boilers, for want of proper draught, begins to grow dull, reduc- ing the speed. But on they move till within one-quarter of a mile, when a shot strikes the pilot-house of the Carondelet, killing the pilot. A solids shot cuts the rudder-chains of the Carondelet, and she became unmanage-. able. The thirty-two-pound balls go through the oaken sides of the boats as you can throw pease through wet paper. A shot splintered the helm^ of the Pittsburg, and that boat also became unmanageable. A third shot crashed through the pilot-house of the St. Louis, killing the pilot instantly. Commodore Foote was standing by his side, and was sprinkled with the blood of the brave man. The shot broke the wheel and knocked down a timber, which wounded the commodore in the foot. He sprang FT.DONELSON, FEB.14TH,1862. THE BEGINNING OF 1862. 151 Contederato Tents A Mg Huts .'nion Fo: MAP OF FORT DONELSON, AS INVESTED BY GENERAL GRANT ; BASED ON THE OFFICIAL MAP OF GENERAL J. B. McPHERSON. to the deck, limped to another steering apparatus, and endeavored with his own hands to keep the vessel's head to the stream ; but the other apparatus also had been shot awaj. Sixty-one shots had struck the St. Louis ; some had passed through from stem to stern. The LoulsviUe had received thirty -five; twenty-six had crashed into and through the Carondelet. One of her guns had burst, killing and wounding six of the crew. The Pittsburg had been struck twenty- one times. All but the 152 DRUM-BEAT OF THE NATION. Louisville, of the iron-plated boats, were unmanageable. At the very last moment — when the difficulties had been almost overcome — the commo- dore was obliged to hoist the signal for retiring. Ten minutes more, five hundred feet farther, and the Confederate trenches would have been swept from right to left their entire length. When the boats began to drift down the stream the Confederates were running from their guns, to escape the fearful storm of grape and canister which they thought would soon sweep over them. Fifty-four were killed and wounded on the gunboats in this attack. General Floyd called a council of war, which met that Friday evening. " I am satisfied," he said, " that Grant will bring up all his reinforce- ments, and will be able to prevent our getting supplies. I propose to attack him at daylight to-morrow morning. One-half of the army under General Pillow M'ill attack McClernand's division, while General Buckner with the other wing will attack General Smith." General Floyd hoped by this movement to throw the Union troops into confusion. At any rate, by driving McClernand, the Confederate army would be able to get away before Grant's reinforcements arrived. All preparations were made. The soldiers received extra rations, their cartridge-boxes were filled, and the regiments placed in position. All niijht lonoj the marchinoj and countermarchino^ went on. Saturday morning, out from the trenches moves Baldwin's brigade, Pil- low's division in advance, and Drake's and Simonton's brigades following. The soldiers pick their way slowly through the woods. The skirmishers deploy, and come sooner than they expected upon the Union pickets in front of General Oglesby's brigade. The drummers of that brigade were beating the reveille when there came the sharp crack of rifles. The Union soldiers sprang to their feet. General Pillow's troops marched south-west on the Ferry Road, as it was called, half a mile, then turned to the north-west. The Twenty-sixth Mississippi began the attack ; but instead of catching Oglesby's men asleep, they found them wide awake and in line. " The enemy is in front of me in force," was the message sent by Colo- nel Baldwin to Pillow, who moved forward the Eighth Kentucky and Twentieth Mississippi, making a fiei'ce attack on Oglesby. The conflict was in the woods. There were no tall trees, but underbrush and scrubby oaks. There was a field with a rail-fence around it. There were ravines and knolls. In some places the bushes were so thick that you could see but a few feet. On such ground the battle raged — at first a rattling fire, then the thunder of the batteries, then a deep and heavy roll from thou- THE BEGINNING OF 1862. 153 sands of muskets at once. Oglesbj holds liis ground till his men are out of ammunition. McArthur with his brigade does the same. But Pillow- has the most men, and finally drives them. He falls upon W. H. L. Wal- lace's brigade, on the left of Oglesbj, who has six Illinois regiments, with McAllister's two twentj-four-pound howitzers, and Taylor's, Schwartz's, and Dresser's batteries. The falling back of McArthur and Oglesby exposes Wallace's right flank, and he falls back to a new position, making in part a change of front along a low ridge. The Confederates rush forward, but are swept back. They attempt to take McAllister's guns, but are driven. Farther round, facing north, move Pillow's troops. " I must have reinforcements," is the w^ord from McClernand to Wal- lace, who sends Cruft's brigade. Just at this moment Buckner's division comes out of the intrench- ments, passing in front of the rifle-pits at the foot of the hill to attack W. H. L. Wallace's left. Two guns of Taylor's Battery which have been fir- ing towards the south wheel round towards the north-east and pour canis- ter upon the Confederates. Three-fourths of Floyd's troops are falling upon McClernand's one division. They seize several of Schwartz's and" McAllister's guns. Wallace sees that he must retreat, but his troops fall back steadilv, loading and firing^. At eleven o'clock General Pillow has folded the Union line so far back that the road is open for the withdrawal of the Confederates; Whj^ does not Floyd improve the opportunity ? Because General Pillow is a weak, vain, egotistical man. He has led the movement, and wishes to reap all the glory. He thinks that he has defeated General Grant and routed his army. Ignoring Floyd, he sends this despatch to Nashville to General Johnston: " On the honor of a soldier, the day is ours." He regarded him- self as a great general, and looked down upon Floyd, his superior in com- mand, as only a political general, ignorant of the art of war. Without consulting Floyd, he ordered Buckner to march out and attack the Union troops. Buckner obeyed the order, and moved towards the position occu- pied by General Lew. Wallace, who at the moment was talking with Colonel Ivawlins, of General Grant's staff. An oflicer came riding down the road as fast as his horse could run. " Save yourselves ! All is lost I" he shouted. But Wallace, instead of saving himself, put his troops in motion np the road to confront Buckner. He meets W. H. L. Wallace riding coolly to the rear with what troops he has left. " Are they pursuing ?" "Yes." 154 DRUM-BEAT OF THE NATION. " How far behind ?" "You will have just about time to form your line right here." The men of Thayer's brigade come into line upon the run. Up the road leap the horses of Wood's Battery, the men jumping from their lim- bers and wheeling the guns into position. A moment later the battle opens with great fury. The struggle is in the woods. A cloud of smoke rises above the trees. The hazel-bushes are whipped into shreds by the bullets. The Confederates can make no impression upon this line of men who have thus thrown themselves across their path. AV. II. L. Wallace and Oglesby are reforming in the rear. An hour passes, and then there comes a lull. General Grant the while has been on the gunboat St. JLouis, in con- sultation with Commodore Foote. He has heard no cannonade ; no up- roar of musketry has fallen upon his ears, nor intelligence of the attack reached him. He is on his way to his headquarters at Mrs. Crisp's house, a log-cabin, when he meets Captain Hillyer of his staff, very white in the face over what has happened. He is five miles from the scene of conflict. The mud is deep; he rides through it as best he can, to find the men in groups, the regiments disorganized, their cartridge-boxes empty. There is an abundant supply of ammunition, but the cfiicers have not thought of refilling the empty boxes. "There is a tide ia the affairs of men Wiiich, taken at its flood, leads on to fortune." A great hour has come to the man, who a few months ago was selling leather in Galena, so obscure a citizen that very few of his townsmen even knew that such a man as Ulysses S. Grant existed. He turns to his chief of staff, Colonel Webster, and says, " Some of our nien are pretty Ijadly demoralized, but the enemy must be more so, for he has attempted to force his way out, but has fallen back ; the one who attacks now will be victori- ous, and the enemy will have to be in a hurry if he gets ahead of me." On that instant decision hangs all the future — of Donelson, Vicksburg, Chattanooga, and Appomattox. Intuition, with clear reasoning, leads him to correct conclusions. The Confederates have come out in force ; their lines inside the fort must be thin somewhere, and now is the time to break them. " Fill your cartridge-boxes ; quick — and get into line ; they are trying to escape ; they must not be allowed to do so !" he shouts, and the cfiicers of his staff ride along the lines repeating it. As an organist touching the keys of the mighty instrument brings the myriad pipes responsive to his THE BEGINNING OF 18G2. 155 touch, so this man, whom the world has not yet heard of, brings the thou- sands of human wills upon the instant responsive to his own. A moment ago they were despondent, but now their cheers ring out upon the wintry air. They fill their boxes, take their places in line, and stand ready to obey commands. Five minutes ago, confusion ; now, discipline and order. In a moment the plan of attack is decided upon. General Smith's division, which has not been engaged, will attack with all its energy. Smith had advanced his skirmishers in the morning. He is an old soldier ; of all Grant's troops his are the best disciplined. Colonel Cook's brigade is directed to make a feint of attacking the fort. Major Cavender brings his heav^y guns into position and opens a furious cannonade, under cover of which Colonel Lauman's brigade is to advance upon the rifle-pits on the outer ridge. If he can get possession of these, Cavender can plant his guns there and rake the inner trenches. The Confederates, Colonel Hanson's brigade — the Second Kentucky, Twentieth Mississippi, and Thirtieth Tennessee — are in the rifle-pits. There are six pieces of artillery and another brigade behind the inner in- trenchments, all ready to pour their fire upon the advancing columns. Colonel Hanson's men lie secure behind the breastworks, their rifles thrust between the logs. It is fifteen or twenty rods to the bottom of the slope, and there you find the fallen trees, with their braiiches interlocked, and sharp stakes driven into the ground. Beyond is the meadow where Lau- man forms his brigade. General Smith leads the Union troops — Lauman's men — to the mead- ow, while Colonel Cook moves upon the left and begins the attack. The soldiers hear far down on the right Wallace's division driving the enemy from the hill. It is almost sunset. The rays of light fall upon the backs of Lauman's men and into the faces of the Confederates. The advancing brigade is in solid column of regiments, the Second Iowa in front ; then the Twenty- fifth Indiana, the Seventh and Fourteenth Iowa — four firm and unwaver- ing lines, which throw their shadows forward as the}'' advance. Birge's sharp-shooters are flung out on each flank. The brigade halts upon the meadow. General Smith rides along the line and informs the troops tliat they are to take the rifle-pits with the baj'onet alone. He sits firmly on his horse, and his long gray hair, falling almost to his shoulders, waves in the evening breeze. The Confederate cannon cut them through with solid shot ; shells burst above and around them ; men drop from the ranks, or are whirled into the air ; there are sud- den gaps, but not a man flinches. They look not to the rear, but towards 156 DRUM-BEAT OF THE NATION. the front. There are the fallen trees, the hill, the line of a thousand mus- kets, the cannon thundering from the height beyond. There is no whis- pering in those solid ranks, no loud talking ; nothing but the " Steady ! steady !'' of the officers. They move across the meadow. A line of flame runs along the Con- federate works. Men drop from the advancing ranks to lie forever still beneath the forest-trees. With all the energy of life centred in one effort the living pass on, charging up the hill into the white smoke, driving the Confederates. The woods resound with their lusty cheers as they take possession of the works. Going down to Lew. Wallace's line, we see the Eighth Missouri and Eleventh Indiana regiments, under Morgan L. Smith, ready to advance. He lights a cigar and gives the order to move on. A bullet strikes the cigar from his lips. A soldier gives him another. " Thank you." He does not forget to be courteous, though the air is thick with bullets. The two regiuients, followed by others, rush up the hill, reach the road over which the Confederates intended to retreat, closing it once more. There was a council of Confederate officers at General Floyd's head- quarters. Nearly all the brigade commanders w^ere present. They were downhearted. General Floyd and General Pillow blamed General Buck- ner for not advancing earlier. " I advanced as soon as I could, and my troops fought as bi'avely as others," said Buckner. " Well, here we are, and it is useless to renew the attack with any hope of success. The men are exhausted," said Floyd. " We can cut our way out," said Major Brown, commanding the Twen- tieth Mississippi. "Some of us might escape, but the attempt would be attended with great slaughter," said Floyd. " We have got to surrender, for aught I see," said an officer. '• I wnll not surrender the command ; neither will I be taken prisoner," said Floyd. " I don't intend to be taken prisoner," added Pillow, There were three small steamboats in the river. Floyd marched his Virginia regiments on board. Pillow accompanied him. The boats swung into the stream and moved up the river. So they fled, leaving Buckner to surrender to General Grant. At daybreak a white flag waved above the breastworks, and an officer came out with a letter for General Grant, asking for an armistice till noon. " !No terms other than unconditional and immediate surrender can be THE BEGINNING OF 1862. 157 accepted. I propose to move immediately upon your works," was tlie an- swer. General Buckner has no alternative, and accepts the terms. I had passed the night on a steamboat with the fleet. Leaping ashore, I climbed over the embankment of the water - batteries, where the can- non, dismounted by the shot from the gunboats, were lying — one with its muzzle knocked off, others half buried in the yellow earth. The regiments of General Smith's division were marching into the fort, their banners waving in the bright sun, the bands playing. Down by the river and in the town were the Confederate regiments, their arms stacked, their knapsacks thrown upon the ground. They were woe-begone, weary, and hungry. They were kindling fires, using the picket - fences of the gardens. They felt that they had fought bravely, but that the battle had been lost through the incapacity of Floyd and Pillow. They said that Floyd was not only a thief but an imbecile. Passing through the shivering ranks, receiving courteous treatment from the soldiers, I entered the old hotel, with a wide veranda covering its front, and found General Buckner eating his scant breakfast of poor bacon, corn-bread, and coffee. General Grant arrived about noon. I was pres- ent at the formal surrender of the troops. The interview between Grant and Buckner was in the cabin of the steamboat Uncle Sam. In the cabin lay Colonel John A. Logan upon a cot. He had been wounded, and his wife was by his side ministering to his needs. On the day of the battle the Confederate force, so far as can be ascertained, exceeded twenty thousand. More than fourteen thousand soldiers were surrendered. The Union troops numbered about twenty-seven thousand. Let us go up to Nashville on this Sunday morning. At noon on Satur- day General Pillow had sent his despatch : " On the honor of a soldier, the day is ours."' There is great rejoicing. The newspapers have put out bulletins, and the crowds in the streets are reading them : " Enemy retreating 1 Glorious result ! Our boys following and press- ing their rear ! A complete victory !" A horseman comes tearing through the street, shouting " Fort Donel- son has surrendered, and the Yankees are coming !" IN'ever before such an excitement in Xashville as at that moment. Peo- ple began to pack up their goods, loading them on wagons. Before noon the steamboats arrived with Floyd and Pillow. Johnston's troops soon came from Bowling Green, passing through the city towards Murfreesboro. The people had supposed that Johnston would defend the city, but when they saw the troops moving away they became frantic. 158 DRUxM-BEAT OF THE NATION. "When the army was across the Cumberland, the beautiful wire sus- pension abridge which had cost more than two hundred thousand dollars was destroyed. The Confederates had more than a million dollars' worth of supplies in the city which they could not remove. The people rushed into the storehouses, helped themselves to flour, sugar, meat, clothing, shoes, and whiskey. In an hour they passed from wild entlinsiasm to despair. There was one Union man in Nashville who had stood resolutely for the old flag — Stephen Driver — who before the war was a sea-captain, sailing from Salem, in Massachusetts, to foreign lands. Once, when in a foreign port, he ren- dered important service to the place, and the people presented him w^ith a beautiful flag. A priest pronounced a blessing upon it as it rose to the mast-head of his ship, and he made a solemn promise to ever defend it, with his life if need be. He had made I^ashville his home. He opposed secession. When the war began he was obliged to secrete the flag. He sewed it into a quilt, and every night slept beneath it. He named it "Old Glory." Many times the Confederate soldiers searched his house to find it. " I shall yet raise it above the State-house !" he said to them. They threatened him with death, and he bade them do their worst. His hour of triumph came when the troops under Buell entered Nashville. He told the soldiers the story of " Old Glory," brouglit it out, went with them to the roof of the State-house, and flung it to the breeze, with the men in blue swinging their caps and shouting their hurrahs. THE SPRING OF 1862. 159 CHAPTER YIIL THE SPRING OF 186 2. ^'^IIE theatre of the war was wide, and the drama one of many scenes. -L The first one in the montli of March, 18G2, was in tlie far West, on tlie line between Missonri and Arkansas. There were at the breaking out of tlie war 50,000 Indians in New Mex- ico, 30,000 in Texas, 20,000 in Kansas and jS'ebraska : in all there were more than 400,000 who received supplies from the Government. Yery soon after the war began, Albert Pike, who was born in Boston, Massachusetts, who lived in Arkansas, and who was known to the woi-ld as a poet, was sent by Jefferson Davis to make a treaty with the Indians of the South-west. He told the Indians that they had been wronged by the United States ; that the Confederacy was thenceforth to be the govern- ment of the country, and that they would be well' cared for. He induced the chiefs to call the Indians together, and a great council was held August 21, 1861. Four thousand braves were there. John Ross was the principal chief of the Cherokees, and signed a treaty to act with the Confederate Gov^ernment. The Creeks joined them. They were sup- plied with arms, and in a short time several thousand warriors were en- rolled as soldiers in the Confederate army. Sterling Price and Benjamin McCulloch were commanders of the Con- federate troops, but they could not act in harmony, and General Earl Van Dorn was placed in command of the Department west of the Mis- sissippi. He was born in Missouri, was educated at "West Point, fought in the war with Mexico, and had deserted the flag of his country. When the war began he gathered a band of Texans and captured the troops of the United States Army in that State. Jefferson Davis appointed liitn to connnand the Department, hoping that he would induce the young men of Missouri to enlist in the army. There was great rejoicing in the Confederate army when he arrived. Forty cannon fired a salute. He made an address. "Soldiers," he said, "behold your leader. He comes to show you the 160 DRUM-BEAT OF THE NATION. way to glory and immortal renown. He comes to hurl back the minions of the despots at Washington, whose ignorance, licentiousness, and bru- tality are equalled by their own craven natures. They come to free your slaves, lay waste your plantations, burn your villages, and abuse your loving wives and beautiful daughters." He issued a proclamation, which was distributed by messengers through all the towns of Arkansas and northern Louisiana. Confederate sympa- thizers in Missouri distributed it in that State. " We have voted to be free," it read ; " we must now fight to be free, or j)resent to the world the humiliating spectacle of a nation of braggarts more contemptible than the tyrants who seek to enslave us. The flag of our country is waving on the southern border of Missouri, planted there by my hands under authority of our chief magistrate. It represents all that is dear to us in life. Shall it wave there in melancholy loneliness as a fall leaf in our primeval forests, or shall its beautiful field and bright stars flaunt in the breeze over the bright fields of Arkansas, Texas, and of Louisiana, as they are marshalling to do battle with Missouri for victory, for honor, and for independence ? " Awake, young men of Arkansas, and arm ! Beautiful maidens of Louisiana, smile not upon the craven youth who may linger by your hearths when the rude blast of war is sounding in your ears ! Texas chivalry, to arms I Hardship and hunger, disease and death are prefera- ble to slavish subjugation ; and a nation with a bright page in history and a glorious epitaph is better than a vassalled land, with honor lost and a people sunk in infamy !" To fire the hearts of the people of Arkansas and arouse his troops to action, he forged a telegraphic despatch that there had been a great bat- tle on the Mississippi, in which three Union gunboats were destroyed and twenty thousand Union troops were killed, wounded, or taken pris- oners. General Pike, who had been commissioned brigadier-general l)y Jef- ferson Davis, was placed in command of the Indians. The whole force, under Van Dorn, moved towards Pea Ridge to crush the only Union army south-west of St. Louis, under General Curtis, who had advanced to the boundary line of Arkansas. He had eleven thousand troops : the brigades of Osterhaus and Asboth, under General Sigel, the brigades of Davis and Carr, with thirty-eight cannon and howitzers. General Van Dorn's army had been hastily gathered. The Arkansas, Louisiana, and Texas troops numbered eleven thousand, and were com- manded by General McCulloch ; the Missouri troops were under Gen- THE SPRING OF 1862. 161 eral Price, and numbered eight tliousand. General Pike had two white regiments besides the Indians, niTmbering four tliousand, making the Con- federate army above twenty thousand. General Van Dorn was in the Boston Mountains, on the border of the Indian country, fifty miles from Pea Eidge, and lie determined to make a rapid march, get in rear of General Curtis, and strike a sudden blow, cutting off his retreat. It was a windy morning, March 5, 1^5<'^ ^.-ed, the Confederates forcing the Union troops back nearly two miles, but were unable to drive them any farther for several reasons. In a battle lasting many hours there comes a time when the troops break down through exhaustion. " This is hard pounding, bnt we will see which can stand it longest," said Wellington at Waterloo. "We shall hold them jet," said Grant to his chief of staff. General Webster, at five o'clock. He was taking note of the situation of affairs — the concentration of his troops, the line being hardly a mile in length, its position along the northern bank of Dill's ravine. In every army there are two classes of men : those who grow fainthearted, and who lose heart under disaster, those whose determination and courage rise nnder disaster. At five o'clock on that Sunday afternoon the troops standing along the bank of that ra- 14 210 DRUM-BEAT OF THE NATION. vine are of the class who have no tliought of final defeat. Whatever the outcome of the battle may be, they are there to fight. General Grant had lost at this hour between six and seven thousand ; there was a great crowd of faint-hearted fugitives cowering along the river bank. Probably there are not more than ten thousand men in line, but Lew. Wallace is not far away with six thousand fresh troops. During the afternoon General Web- ster has been preparing a line of defence along DilTs ravine, which ex- tends from the river nearly one mile towards the north-west. Bundles of liay, pork-barrels, boxes, anything that can be used, are placed along the northern bank. Men go to work with spades, and in a short time have a formidable breastwork. General Webster places all the cannon in posi- tion, between twenty and thirty in number. The artillerymen who have lost their guns are eager to work the heavy cannon ranged along the ravine. Going up the road leading to Crump's Landing we see Sherman covering it with his two brigades. At his left are McClernand and Hurlbut's divisions, reaching down to the heavy mins. The shattered divisions of W. 11. L. Wallace and Prentiss are in rear. On the Confederate side Jackson's, Chalmers's, Gladden's, and Gibson's brigades are getting ready to make the last attack, which it is expected will drive Grant into the river, or compel his surrender. General Beau- regard has not comprehended all the points of the situation, neither has any Confederate corps commander. Success thus far has crowned their efforts. They have driven the Union troops almost to the landing. One more attack and the victory will be complete ; but the troops at this moment are nearly as much disorganized as the Union regiments. Many of them have left the ranks to secure the plunder in the captured camps. Others, weary with the march from Corinth, having wasted their ra- tions, are searching for something to eat. At this sunset hour the enthu- siasm and courage of the morning, through weariness and exhaustion, are wanting. We saw the men of Nelson's division of Buell's army crossing Duck Creek with their knapsacks on their bayonets. They did not know what would come of it, but here they are being fen-ied across the Tennessee by the steamboats forming at the landing. They see the thousands of fugi- tives cowering under the bank. The Confederate cannon-shot and shells are whirring through the trees. Right above them the heavy guns, under General Webster, are thundering. The roll of musketry is like the cres- cendo of an orchestra as Ammen's brigade winds up the bank and comes into position between the heavy guns and the river, and pours its volleys THE BATTLE OF SHILOH. 211 down upon the Confederates in Dill's ravine. At the same moment there comes a roar from the great guns on the gunboats Lexington and Tyler, which send their shells up the ravine. General Bragg, commanding the troops south of the ravine, directs Jackson and Chalmers and Gibson to charge across it, climb the north- ern bank, and finish the victor}^ for the Confederates. They descend the southern slope, making their way through the chincopins and hazels. In- stantly a line of fire runs along the northern crest. The heavy cannon flame upon them in front, the eleven-inch shells come tearing across their flank, a withering storm of bullets beats in their faces. In a moment the line in gray melts away ; not a soldier gains the northern crest. The regiments are cut to pieces. With this last attack and repulse, the vic- tory, so sure a few moments ago, becomes a defeat. In the life of General Beauregard we And an account of this last attack : " General Beauregard, seeing that nothing but a concerted and well-supported attack, in heavy mass, could that evening strike a finishing blow, by which the enemy would be crushed, ordered the corps command- ers to make a hasty reorganization of the troops for a combined onslaught. He caused all fragmentary bodies and stragglers to be gathered up, and they were carried forward to swell the line of battle. They were not pressed to the front, as ordered, in combined attack, but in a series of dis- jointed assaults, which were easily broken, and with slaughter, by the for- midable weight of metal which girded the Federal position, supported by a still heavy force of infantry, while the shells of the gunboats swept the long ravine which our different commands had to cross. The troops were greatly disorganized ; the commands were cut up and intermingled, and greatly confused. . . . General Hardee was bringing up two regiments, when one broke in disorder and fell back out of the fight. . . . Wood's brigade made no impression upon the artillery and the infantry support- ing it. . . . Gladden's brigade was led under a heavy fire from the light batteries, siege-pieces, and gunboats across the ravine, ascended the ridge with bristling bayonets ; it could go no farther. . . . Chalmers vainly en- deavored to ascend the ridge. . . . Jackson saw that a farther advance was impracticable." "Three different times," says Colonel Fagan, of Gibson's brigade, "did we go into that valley of death, and as often were forced back. All was done that could be done, as the heaps of killed and M'ounded give ample evidence." The wearied soldiers of both armies lie down to sleep, with their loaded guns beside them, while the sentinels stand like statues along that 212 DRUM-BEAT OF THE NATION. valley of death, watching and waiting for the morning. There is little sleep for the Confederates, for through the night the gunboats send their shells through the forest in the direction of their bivouac fires. When General Grant arrived at Pittsburg Landing in the morning, and learned the state of affairs, he saw that there w^as no danger of an at- tack at Crump's Landing, and sent an order to Lew. Wallace to march at once to the "right of the army," but did not specify by which road. Gen- eral Grant had given a verbal order to the officer who carried it, but the order which General Wallace received at half-past eleven was written with a pencil upon a sheet of paper stained with tobacco juice, and bore no signa- ture. The officer, fearing that he might not remember what General Grant had said, picked up a crumpled piece of paper and wrote it with a pen- cil. General Wallace started at once, with his cavalry in advance, towards the sound of the firing, taking the road towards the bridge which he had constructed across Snake Creek. General Wallace did not know that Gen- eral Sherman had fallen back. While on the march a second officer came with an order for him to march rapidly, and who said, '' We are repulsing them." At this moment the firing' seemed to General Wallace to be get- ting farther away. Another messenger came. " Where are you going V' he asked. " To the right of the army," was the reply. " Don't you know that we are driven back almost to the landing, and the chances are that we shall be driven into the river?" General Wallace was astounded. General Rawlins, of Grant's staff, and McPherson, of the engineers, rode up, having been sent to ascertain his whereabouts, and to bring him with all possible haste to the landing. After conference with them, General Wallace ordered his division to countermarch and go back to the starting- point, and take the old road to the landing. We can see our mistakes after we have made them, but are not always clear as to what is best for us to do in emergency. General Wallace did not know the exact position of affairs at the landing, neither did General Grant know the exact posi- tion of General Wallace. Had either known just how things stood, it is altogether probable that Wallace, instead of countermarching, would liave gone on. He was in rear of the Confederates with six thousand men — those who had swept up the slope of Donelson under General Smith. The Confederates at this moment in front of Wallace were very much disorganized ; they had suffered severely from the fire of Sherman's, W. H. L. AVallace's, and McClernand's divisions. The appearance of such a body on their left flank and rear undoubtedly would have carried con- sternation along the demoralized and shattered ranks. Said Grant to General Wallace in 1864, "If I were to be in the same situation again I .^ --fa^ v-^i .<^ ■^'.j'.';-'-, THE BATTLE OF SHILOH. 215 slioiild order you to go on."' It was dark when the head of Wallace's col- umn reached the lower bridge across Snake Creek. lie crossed the creek and halted in the road, thus forming the right wing of the army for the battle of the next day. General Beauregard's headquarters on Sunday night were about one mile in rear of the line of battle. General Bragg occupied General Sher- man's tent near Shiloh Church. During the evening the Confederate corps commanders came together at Beauregard's headquarters and re- ceived their orders for the following day. They felt the loss of General Johnston, but were jubilant over what had been acconqilished, and confi- dent of success. They had no doubt that the victory would be made com- plete in the morning. General Beauregard sent a despatch to Richmond announcing that he had won a victory. He did not know that Buell at that moment was coming into position with his divisions on the north bank of Dill's ravine, where Chalmers and Jackson had been repulsed. During the night General Grant is laying his plans for the morning. As at Donelson, he decides no longer to stand on the defensive, but issues orders to begin the battle at daylight. He leaves General Buell to make whatever disposition he pleases with his troops. Just as daylight breaks, Thompson's battery, of Lew. Wallace's division, sends its shells across the ravine through which winds Tillman's Creek towards Snake Creek, upon Pond's brigade of Confederates. At the same instant the batteries down towards the river begin to thunder, and a few moments later the firing opens all along the Union line. With returning daylight many of the stragglers of yesterday, cheered now by the knowledge that Buell's army has arrived, return to their regiments. Beginning upon the right, between the road leading to Crump's Land- ing and Tillman's Creek, we see Lew. Wallace's division facing south- west, then Sherman facing south, then McClernand, and the remnant of W. H. L. Wallace, then Ilurlbut, and what is left of Prentiss. Buell's three divisions — Nelson's, McCook's, and Crittenden's — occupy the ground from the main Corinth road to the river. Nelson's division is in Dill's ravine. It is twenty minutes past five when Nelson moves out from the ravine southward, followed by C^rittenden, who conies into position on Nelson's right, followed in turn by McCook, who takes the right of Crit- tenden. The first musketry firing is between Nelson's skirmishers and the Confederates under Breckinridge. Almost at the same moment Wal- lace's skirmishers on the right advance upon Pond's Confederate brigade. Wallace crossed Tillman's Creek and pushed Pond frotn his position, then waited for the advance of Sherman on the edo;e of a larofe field. About 216 DRUM-BEAT OF THE NATION. PITTSBUKG LANDINU. (^PROM A PIIOTOGllAPII, MAY, 1S62.) sev^en o'clock Sherman and McClernand advanced to the left of Wallace's division. While this is going on, BnelTs divisions are pnshing the Con- federates in front of them back over the ground where the fight M'as hot- test on Sunday — "the liornet's nest," as the soldiers called it. Through the forenoon the battle goes on, but not with the terrific energy of Sun- day. The Confederates are no longer on the aggressive. Two Union bat- teries, those of Mendenhall and Terrill, obtain a position from which they send an enfilading fire upon the Confederate batteries in front of McCook, General Sherman is upon the spot, and gives direction to the firing. The Confederate cannon are quickly silenced and driven. This, together with the folding back of Breckinrido;e and Brao-w by ISTelson and Crittenden on the left, the aggressive energy of McCook, Ilurlbut, and Sherman in the centre, and the resistless advance of Wallace on the right, can have but one result, the final defeat of the Confederates. Early in the forenoon General Beauregard gave up all expectation of winning the battle. He knew that Buell had arrived, that the Union army was now much larger than his own, that his army had lost its en- ergy, and that sooner or later he must retreat ; but he resolved to make a show of resistance, and to fall back that he might save his troops from a final rout, which would be the probable result if he were to attempt a vigorous attack. It was two o'clock when Governor Harris, of Tennessee, serving on General Beauregard's staff, asked Colonel Jordan if the battle THE BATTLE OF SHILOH. 217 was not going against them, and if there was not danger of a rout. Colo- nel Jordan expressed his fears to Beauregard for the safety of the army, and asked if it would not be well to get away as soon as they could. '' I intend to withdraw in a few moments," was the reply ; and officers were sent with orders to the cor])s commanders to retire from the field. At three o'clock the Confederate army, with disordered ranks, disheartened, defeated, having lost more than twelve thousand troops, began its weary march back to Corinth. The last roll of musketry died away — fired beyond the little log church, almost on the very spot where the struggle began. General Beauregard reached Corinth, and sent this despatch to Ilich- niond: "We have gained a great and glorious victory — eight to ten thou- sand prisoners and tliirty-six cannon. I>uell reinforced Grant, and we re- tired to Corinth, which we can hold. Loss heavy on both sides." On the same day he sent a flag of truce to Grant asking leave to bury his dead, with this message : " Sir, — At the close of the conflict yesterday, my forces being exhausted by the extraordinary length of time during which they were engaged with yours on that and the preceding day, and it being ap- ])arent that you had received, and were still receiving,, reinforcements, I felt it my duty to retire, and withdraw my troops from the immediate scene of battle." The Union army lost thirty-three guns on the first day ; l)ut on the second Sherman"'s division recaptured seven, McClernand's three, and the army of Buell twenty — in all thirty guns. The Union loss was about twelve thousand, of whom three thousand were taken prisoners. General Beauregard reported his loss at nearly eleven thousand, almost all killed and wounded. He reported the number killed at seventeen hundred and twenty-eight. General Grant says that it was much lai-ger ; that more than that number were buried in front of the divisions of Sherman and McClernand. The Confederates were the attacking party on the first day, and their loss was much greater than Grant's. On the second day the Union army began the attack, and quite likely their loss was equal to the Confederate. The battle was fought with great obstinacy on the part of the Union troops. Grant says : " Excluding the troops who fled, panic-strick- en, before the}^ had fired a shot, there was not a time on the 6th when we had more than twenty-five thousand men in line." Beauregard's force was nearly forty thousand. The troops on both sides were undisciplined. The battle decided nothing, except that Beauregard lost liis prestige as a great commander. Ilis despatch announcing a great victory aroused for the moment the enthusiasm of the Southern people, but when they learned that it was a defeat instead he was no longer looked upon as a hero. 218 DRUM-BEAT OF THE NATION. CHAPTER X. NEW ORLEANS AND MEMPHIS. IT^ROM the forests of Minnesota, in the lieart of the continent, the Mis- sissippi River pours its mighty flood to the sea. "With its branches — the Missouri, Ohio, Tennessee, Cumberland, Arkansas, and Red rivers, and tlieir thousands of smaller streams — it is the arterial system of the conti- nent. The dead tree which falls into the stream five thousand miles away is borne to the Gulf of Mexico ; the grains of sand washed from the sum- mit of the Rocky Mountains is carried by the ever-sweeping current to the sea. When the Southern States seceded from the Union no river on the globe had a commerce so great as that of the Mississippi. The people of New Orleans had great expectations. They thought that by the secession of the Southern States and the setting up of the Con- federacy New Orleans would become the metropolis of the Western world ; that St. Louis and Cincinnati would cease to grow ; that New York would no longer control the commerce with England and Europe; that grass would grow in the streets of Boston. When the State seceded, cannon thundered on the levees and bonfires blazed. When troops were called for, the merchants opened their pocket-books and gave liberally to fit out the Washington Artillery, which took part in the battle of Bull Run. On the low and marshy land thirty miles from the Gulf of Mexico the United States had bnilt two strong forts — St. Philip, on the north bank, and Jackson, on the south. They were built of brick. The walls were thick, and there were one hundred and twenty-six guns in position to sweep the river. In addition to the forts, a great chain was stretched from shore to shore, resting upon eight old hulks anchored in the stream. Blacksmiths and carpenters were at work constructing a huge steam bat- tery, the 3£anassas, carrying sixteen guns, and a steam ram, the Louisi- ana^ shaped like a turtle, nearly all nnder water. Flat-boats were piled with pitch, pine- wood, and barrels of tar, to be sent adrift if a Union fleet should appear. NEW ORLEANS AND MEMPHIS. 219 Sucli a fleet did appear. Its commander was David Glasgow Farragut, who was born near Knoxville, Tennessee. He went to sea when he was only ten years old, under Captain Porter, in the frigate l^ssex, and was in the terrible fight between that vessel and the British ships Phoebe and Cheruh in the Bay of Valparaiso, in 1812. His friends were mostly in the South, but he was true and loyal to the flag under which he had fought, and was selected to command tlie fleet sent to capture New Orleans. He had seventeen vessels — all wooden ships — besides twentj^-one mortar-boats — schooners which had been pur- chased. In all, he had about two hundred cannon. M. ^ "L "V ^ Q) .>!>■'' '^/iSISS*^ £ PASS "7 A, THE MISSISSIPPI BELOW NEW ORLEANS. A fleet of steamers sailed from Xew York with fifteen thousand troops on board, commanded by General Benjamin F. Butler, to hold the city after its capture. Admiral Farragut had much difliculty in getting the large vessels over the bar at the mouth of the river. It took two weeks, with the aid of tug- boats, to get the Pensacola across ; but one by one the vessels — all except the Colorado — were at last in the river. 220 DRUM-BEAT OF THE NATION. '' Dress all jour rigging with green booglis," was the order of the admiral. ■ The soldiers went on shore with their axes, cut down branches of trees, took them on board, and lashed them to the masts and yard-arms. Below Fort Jackson the river turns, and the vessels dropped anchor under the shelter of the woods. Then the sailors saw why they had been ordered to dress the rio-o-inpr. The Confederate soldiers in the forts would not be OCT O able to distinguish the vessels from the trees. The mortar-vessels were drawn up beside the bank and tied to the trees. Mr. Gerdes, of the Coast Survey, went round the bend in a boat, sighted the fort with his transit instrument, and found out by triangula- tion just how far the distance was from the boats to the fort. Commander Porter had charge of the mortar-vessels. The Confed- erates had a regiment of men prowling tlirough the woods, up to their waists in water, who reported that the mortars were getting ready. Colonel Duncan, commanding the Confederate gunboats, let loose a* lire-boat. It was at daybreak, April IGth, when the Union sailors saw it sweeping round the bend, lighting up the river. They leaped into their boats, seized it with grappling-irons, and towed it to the shore. The next morning the mortars began, and before night one thousand four hundred shells, each M'eighing two hundred and eighty-five pounds, had been thrown into the forts. Through the night, the next day, and for six days and nights, the shells swept up from the mortars high in the air, and fell, sinking deep into the mud, exploding, lifting cart-loads of earth into the air. The barracks were set on fire, killing fourteen and wounding thirty-nine men. It was terribly trying to the Confederate sol- diers in St. Philip, who had little sleep. But they were brave, and though they could not see the mortar-boats, sent rifle-shot towards them, which crashed through the woods, sinking one of the schooners and disabling one of the Union steamboats. The thunder of the mortars rolled along the river, reverberating from shore to shore, stunning the fish, which floated to the surface, and breaking windows at the Balize, thirty miles away. Admiral Farragut was getting oiit of patience. The mortars could not silence the forts, and he determined to run past them ; but he must first cut the boom opposite Fort Jackson. In the night Captain Bell, M'ith two gunboats, steamed up to it. lie tried to blow up one of the hulks, but the torpedo did not explode. Men with hammers and chisels went to work upon the chain. Though all the guns in the fort were sending shot and shell upon them, they hammered till the chain snapped, leaving an opening for the ships. NEW ORLEANS AND MEMPHIS. 221 Down the river came more fire-rafts ; but tlie sailors knew Iiom' to man- age them, and no liarm was done, except that two of the vessels, in getting out of their way, ran against the steamer Jfississij^jd and carried away her main-mast. Admiral Farragut tliought out in advance what part each ship was to perform. He divided liis fleet into divisions. First division : Pensacola, Mississijypi, Cayuga, Oneida, Varnna, Katahdin, Kineo, and Wissahick- on. Centre division: Ilartford, Brooklyn, and Richmond. Third divis- ion: Si'lota, Iroquois, Kennebec, Pinola, Itasca, and Winona. The Ilariford was the flag-ship, a noble vessel, whicli sat as graceful as a swan upon the water. She was two hundred and twenty-five feet in FORTS OF THE MISSISSIPPI. length, and carried twenty -two nine -inch Dahlgren guns, two twenty- pounder Parrott's, and a rifled Sawyer gun on her decks ; up in the main- tops were howitzers in iron houses. The forts w^ere so low that the howit- zers could pour grape and canister from the main-tops right down upo)i the men working the guns on the barbette of the forts. Admiral Fan-agut planned what each ship w^as to do. The column un- der his command was to attack Fort Jackson, while the right column, under Captain Bailey, was to push on and pour their broadsides into Fort St. Philip, and attack the Confederate fleet. The chain-cables were looped over the sides of the ships to protect them. The gun-carriages were whitewashed, so that the sailors might see how to liandle the guns. At midnight the boatswains piped their whistles, and the sailors on tiie ships leaped from the hamim)cks, which were stowed away, and the decks cleared for action. The sailors up at the mast-heads on the lookout, at 222 DRUM-BEAT OF THE NATION. five minutes before two, saw two red lanterns go np at the peak of tlie Ilarlford. It was the signal for sailing. - The Confederates knew that something was going on in the fleet, and they set great piles of wood on fire on both shores to light up the river, and sent down more fire-rafts, which came floating towards the ships. Three o'clock. The crescent moon is rising in the east. The sky is clear. Scarce a breath of air distnrbs the leaves of the forest. You hear only the swirling of the water. Suddenly the mortars open. The shells stream skyward, sail slowly for a moment through the air, and then de- scend upon the forts. Round the bend moves the line of ships, the Cayuga^ of Captain Bailey's division, in advance. The guns of Fort Jack- son flame, and a moment later those of St. Philip are thundering ; also a battery near by. Just above St. Philip are the Confederate war-vessels, ready for action. Five minutes — and the Cayuga has poured her broadsides into St. Philip, and has passed through the opening in the raft. Ten minutes more and five of the Confederate vessels are upon her like so many wolves upon a single deer that has outrun the rest of the herd. It is to be a battle fought in the darkness, with a thick haze on the river, with the smoke of nearly four hundred guns hanging like a pall over the swirling stream, with only the light of the crescent moon low in the eastern horizon, and the lurid flame of the fire-rafts and the flashes of the cannon, with clouds of black smoke rolling up from the chimneys of the war-ships, and the air thick with shot, shells, grape, and canister. No one can tell just what takes place. The vessels, one after another, steam through the opening in the raft. " The way to the work was phiin, Caldwell had broken the chain — (Two hulks swung down amain, Soon as 'twas sundered) — Under the night's dark blue. Steering steady and true. Ship after ship went through — Till, as we hove in view, Jackson out-thundered. "Back echoed Philip! Ah, then, Could j'ou have seen our men. How they sprung in the dim night's haze To their work of toil and clamor! How the loaders with sponge and rammers. And their captains with cord and hammers. Kept every muzzle ablaze." NEW ORLEANS AND MEMPHIS. 228 The Pensacola follows the Cayuga, steaming slowly, her gunners taking deliberate aim, sending eighty-pound rifled shot, and shells, eleven inches in diameter, into the fort. But the gunners in the fort do terrible execution on her decks, killing and wounding thirty-seven men. Through the storm from both forts steams the Oneida, driving with all her force at a Confederate ship, striking it amidships and cutting it lialf-way through. Eoth broadsides flame at the same instant upon the Confederate vessels swarming around her. Up past the forts comes the Varioia, unfortunately running aground. Down upon her sweep the Confederate ships Governor Moore and the Manassas, crushing holes in her sides, smashing planks and timbers into kindlings. The vessel begins to sink, but her guns keep up their thunder- ing, sending three eight-inch shells into the Governor Moore, and riddling her sides with solid shot, making such terrible havoc that she pulls down her flag and surrenders. From the cannon on the other side of the ship five shells smash through the sides of another Confederate vessel, making it a complete wreck. The Varuiia sends still one more shell into the boilers of a third vessel. There is a rush and roar of steam, and the crew leap into the river to save themselves from being scalded. Lower settles the Varuna. The sailors leap from the deck into the rushing stream, to be picked up by the boats of the Oneida. The Mississippi poured a broadside into Jackson, another into St. Philip. The Manassas comes down with a rush upon her, crushing a hole in her hull below the water-line, and disabling her machinery by the shock. But all the while her guns are roaring — sending eight-inch solid shot into the Manassas, riddling her iron plates, setting her on fire. The Katahdln puts on all steam, runs close under St. Philip, and pours her fire into the iron-clad Louisiana. The Kiiieo runs close up to St. Philip, and then sends solid shot at the Manassas. The Wissahlckon, unfortunately, runs ashore in the darkness before reaching the fort, but floats again, runs past the forts, only to ground once more. These vessels belonged to the first division. They were to pay little attention to the forts, but to engage the thirteen Confederate vessels. It was just half-past three in the morning when the Hartford, leading the second division, swept round the bend of the river. By the light of the fire-rafts and the blazing piles of pitch-pine wood on shore the Con- federate gunners in Fort Jackson behold the beautiful outlines of the ves- sel, and the shot and shell begin to sweep her decks. The Hartford can only reply with her bow gun. Bat at five -minutes before four, from the 224 DRUM-BEAT OF THE NATION. middle of the stream, her broadsides open upon both forts. Ten minutes, and slie is past them, but in the darkness runs aground. The Manassas pushes a great raft of fire upon her. In an instant tlie flames are leaping up lier sides and into the rigging. The steam-pumps are set to work ; the sailors lower their buckets, dip up the water, dash it upon the flames, and all the while the cannon are thundering. " In a twinkling the flames had risen Half-way to maintop and mizzen, Darting up the shrouds like smoke. Ah, how we clanked at the brakes ! And the deep steam-pumps throbbed under. Sending a ceaseless flow. Our topmen — a dauntless crowd — Swarmed in rigging and shroud. There ('twas a wonder I) The burning ratlins and shrouds They quenched with their bare, hard liands. But the great guns below Never silenced their thunder !" The Hartford floats once more. A Confederate vessel crowded witli men comes down to board her, but Captain Broome lets flj a shell, and she disappears. The Brooklyn, in the darkness, runs upon one of the hulks of the raft. The Manassas, another Confederate vessel, fires upon her, but getting clear and running close up to St. Philip, the Brooklyn sends such a storm of grape and canister from her great guns that by the flashes the sailors can sec the Confederates fleeing from the fort. A Confederate vessel — the Warrior — comes down upon her, but the Brooklyn sends eleven shells into her, and the Warrior is a helpless wreck, on fire from stem to stern. The Richmond steams slowly past the forts, firing steadil}', the gun- ners watching the flashes from the fort and taking deliberate aim. The Sciota, with Captain Bell on her deck, leads, steaming rapidly past the forts, engaging two Confederate vessels, and setting them on fire. The Iroquois passes the forts. The Confederate vessel McCrea sweeps her decks with grape, but she sends one eleven-inch shell and a broad- side of canister into the Jlfc6'/'€«, driving her off, and opens her broad- sides upon the rest of the Confederate vessels. The Pinola — the last to pass the forts — receives the fire of the forty guns of St. Philip, but arrives in season to take part in the fight with the Confederate vessels. NEW OKLEANS AND MEMPHIS. 225 A shell from one of the forts explodes in the boiler of the Itasca, and she drifts back below the hulk. The Winona is driven back, her decks slippery with the blood of her crew. What a scene it is ! Lurid flames, burning rafts, the flashing of three hundred guns, a storm of shells raining upon Fort Jackson, the air thick with solid shot, grape and canister, vessels rushing upon each other, black clouds of smoke rolling up from pitchwood smeared with tar, white clouds belching from the cannon's mouths ! Daylight is dawning — the uproar dying away. The Confederate fleet is destroyed. Some of the vessels have disappeared, like the Varuna, be- neath the swirling waters ; others are shattered wrecks drifting seaward. The Manassas is all aflame ; the powder left in her magazine explodes, and she disappears forever. Never before was there such consternation in New Orleans. Men lose their senses. At the levee is a great fleet of steamers loaded with cotton. In an instant they are ablaze — the people setting them on fire, cutting the cables, and sending them adrift in the stream. People run hither and thither, not knowing what to do or where to go. In an hour property worth millions of dollars is licked up by the flames. Up the river steam tlie vessels, the Cayuga in advance. Three miles below the city the Confederates have erected a battery of twenty heavy guns, which open upon her, but the Hartford, Pensacola, and BrooTdyn open with their broadsides sucli a stream that the Confederates flee in terror, and the vessels steam on, dropping anchor in front of the city at one o'clock in the afternoon of April 25th. On the ships the sailors swing their caps and hurrah. On the shore is a crowd of people cursing and swearing in impotent rage. " Burn the city !" shout the ragamuffins, who have nothing to lose. " Shoot the coward who commanded the forts !" they cry, not knowing how gallantly the Confederates in the forts had fought, nor that the Con- federate flag is still flying above them. But they could not hold them. The garrisons began to desert, and they were surrendered to General Butler, who took possession of New Orleans on the 1st of May. In the battle the loss on the ships was forty killed and one hundred and seventy-seven wounded. Let us see what has been accomplished in the Mississippi Yalley. The first victory was at Fort Henry ; the second. Fort Donelson. Then came the evacuation of Bowling Green and Nashville, the battle of Pittsburg 15 226 DRUM-BEAT OF THE NATION. Landing, the taking of Island jSTo. 10, the opening of the rivers down to Fort Pillow, liftv miles above Memphis. New Orleans has been taken, and the fleet of Admiral Farragut is at Yicksburg. AVe come to the last week in May. Since the battle of Pittsburg Land- ing General Ilalleck has been gathering an army of nearly one hundred thousand men to advance upon Corinth. Beauregard has about half as manv. He is exceedingly cautious, builds long lines of intrenchments, then advances a mile and builds another long line — sets the soldiers to work digging wells to supply the troops with water. He supposed that he would be compelled to besiege Corinth, and brought forward heavy guns and erected batteries. On the 28tli of May he opened fire. But there were no Confederates at Corinth; they had nuirehed silently away to Tupelo, fifty-two miles south of Corinth. General Halleck was greatly surprised and chagrined, for he had lost an opportututy to strike a blow. Fort Pillow, forty miles above Memphis, was no longer of any account, for the Union army could take it from the rear. The Confederates, there- fore, spiked the guns, burned their barracks and what supplies they could not take away; and the Confederate gunboats went down the river to Memphis, where several of the boats had been built. Commodore Montgomer}^ commanded the fleet. Lie had eight vessels. They were: General Beauregard, four guns; Little Rebel, two; General Price, four ; Sumter, three ; General Lovell, four ; Thompson, four ; Gen- eral Bragg, three; and General Van Dorn, four — total, twenty -eight guns. Fort Pillow evacuated ! It was astounding news to the people of Memphis. They learned it at noon, June 5th. The merchants closed their stores. Some of them began to pack their goods. Some of the citi- zens jumped on board the cars and fled from the city. The Confederate fleet made its appearance. "I shall retreat no farther," said Commodore Montgomery; "I shall fight a battle in front of the city, and to-morrow morning you will see Lincoln's gunboats sent to the bottom." The dawn is breaking when I step from the Benton, the flag-ship of Commodore Davis, to the tugboat Jessie Benton. It is a bright summer morning. The woods are resonant with the song of birds, the air balmy. Light fleecy clouds, fringed with gold, float along the eastern horizon. The Union fleet is at anchor three miles above the city. " Drop down below the city and see if you can discover the Confeder- ate fleet," is the order to tlie captain of the Jessie Benton. NEW ORLEANS AND MEMPHIS. 229 We sweep around the majestic bend of the river and behold the city. Tlie first rays of the sun are gilding the spires of the churches. A crowd of people is upon the levee — men, women, and children — who have come out to see the Union fleet sent to the bottom. The Jessie Benton is a swift little craft, tender to the fleet to carry orders. As I stand upon the deck I can see all that is going on. Suddenly a vessel with a black cloud of smoke rolling from the chimneys shoots into the stream. It is the Little Rehel, Commodore Montgomery's flag-ship. One by one the other vessels follow, forming in two lines of battle. In the front line, nearest the city, is the JBeauregard, next the Little Rehel, then the Price and Sumter. In the second line, behind the Beau- regard, is the Lovell, then the Thompson, Bragg, and Yan Dorn. The Confederate cannon are rifled, and of long range. They are piv- oted, and can be pointed in all directions. The boilers of the vessels are protected by iron plates. Slowly they begin to move up stream, and the Jessie Benton turns her prow to the curi-ent, and we steam back to the fleet. The boatswains are piping all hands to quarter. The sailors are throw- ing open the ports, running out the guns, placing shot and shell on deck, taking down rammers and sponges, and distributing cutlasses. ''Let the men have their breakfast," is the order from the flag-ship. Admiral Davis believes that the men will fight best on full stomachs. They eat the rations of beef and bread and drink their steaming coffee while standing beside the guns. There are five gunboats in the Union fleet. The Benton is nearest the Tennessee shore, then the Carondelet, Louisville, St. Louis, and Cairo. There are also two rams — the Queen City and Monarch. The rams are river steamers, with thick oak sides ; they carry no cannon, but on each boat are one hundred riflemen. " Round to ; head down stream ; keep in line with the flag-ship," was the order which we on board the Jessie Benton carried to each boat of the line ; then returned and took our position between the Benton and Caron- delet. I am on the top of the tug, beside the pilot-house. The sun is an hour high, and its bright rays lie in a broad line of golden light upon the eddying stream. Look down the river to the city and behold the house-tops, the windows, the levee crowded with men, women, and chil- dren. The flag of the Confederacy floats defiantly. The fleet is moving slowly towards us. A dense cloud of smoke rolls up from the chimneys of the steamers and floats over the city. 230 DRUM-BEAT OF THE NATION. There is a flasli, a 2:)nff from the Little Behel, a sound of something in the air, and a cohimn of water is thrown up a mile behind ns. A second shot from the Beauregard falls beside the Benton. A third from the Price, aimed at the Carondelet, misses by a foot or two, and dashes np the water between the Jessie Benton and the flag-ship. It is a sixty-four- ponnder. If it had struck ns our boat would have been splintered to kin- dlings in an instant. Commodore Montgomery sees that the boats of the Federal fleet have their iron-plated bows np stream, and comes np rapidly to crush them at the stern, where there are no iron plates. A signal goes up from the Benton, and the mud-turtles, as the soldiers called them, begin to turn towards the enemy. The crowd upon the levee think that the Federal boats are retreating, and hurrah for Commodore Montgomery. There has been profound silence on board the Union gunboats. The men are waiting for the word. It comes. " Open fire and take close quarters." The Cairo begins. A ten-inch shot screams through the air and skims along the water towards the Little Reljel ', another from the St. L^onis ; a third from the Louisville j another from the Carondelet ; and lastly from the Benton. The gunners crouch beside their guns to sight the shot. Some are too high, some too low. There is an answering roar from all the Confederate boats ; the air is full of indescribable noises ; the water boils and bubbles around us ; it is tossed up in columns and jets. There are sudden flashes overhead, explosions, and sulphurous clouds, and whirring of ragged pieces of iron. The cannonade reverberates from the high bluff behind the city to the dark green forest upon the Arkansas shore, and echoes from bend to bend. The space between the fleets is gradually lessening, for the turtles are advancing. A shot strikes the Little Rebel ; one tears through the Gen- eral Price, another through the General Bragg. Commodore Montgom- ery is above the city, and begins to fall back ; he is not quite ready to come to close quarters. How fast one lives at such a time ! All of your senses are quickened ; you see everything, hear everything ; the blood rushes through your veins, your pulse is quickened ; you long to get at the enemy, to sweep over the intervening space, lay your boat alongside, pour in a broadside, and knock them to pieces in a twinkling ! You care nothing for the screaming of the shot, the bursting of the shells. You have got over all that. You have but one thought — to tear down that hateful, flaunting flag; to smite the enemies of your country witli all your might. AVhile this cannonade was going on, I noticed the two rams casting NEW ORLEANS AND MEMPHIS. 231 loose from the shore. I heard the tinkle of the engineer's bell for more fire and a full head of steam. The sharp-shooters took their place. The Queen came out from the shelter of the cotton-woods, crossed the river, and passed down between the Benton and the Carondelet. Colonel Ellet stood beside the pilot and waved his hand to me. The Monarcli was a little later, and instead of following in the wake of the Queen^ passed between the Cairo and the 8t. Louis. See the Queen! Her great wheels whirl up clouds of spray, and leave a foaming path. She carries a silver train sparkling in the morning light. She ploughs a furrow which rolls the width of the river. Our boat dances like a feather on the waves. She gains the intervening space between the fleets. !Never moved a queen so determinedly, never one more fleet — almost leaping from the water. The Stars and Stripes stream to the breeze beneath the black cloud unfolding, expanding, and trailing far aAvay from her smoke-stacks. There is a surging, hissing, and smothered screaming of the pent-up steam in her boilers, as if they had put on all their energy for the moment, as if they had flesh, blood, bones, iron, brass, steel, and were nerved up for the trial of the hour ! Confederate oflicers and men behold her in astonishment. For a mo- ment there is silence. The men stand transfixed at their guns, forgetting their duties ,• then, as if moved by a common impulse, bring their guns to bear upon her. She is exposed on the right, on the left, and in front. It is a terrible cross-fire. Solid shot scream past, shells explode around her. She is pierced through and through. Her timbers crack ; she quiv- ers beneath the shock, but does not falter. On, on, faster, straight towards the General Beauregard. The commander of that vessel adroitly avoids the stroke. The Queen misses her aim ; sweeping by like a race-horse, receiving the fire of the Beauregard on one side and the Little Rebel on the other. She comes round in a graceful curve, almost lying down upon her side, as if to cool her heated smoke-stacks in the stream. The stern-guns of the Beauregard send their shot through the bulwarks of the Queen. A splinter strikes the brave commander. Colonel Ellet. He is knocked down, bruised and stunned for a moment, but sj^rings to his feet, steadies himself against the pilot-house, and gives his directions as coolly as if nothing had hap- pened. The Queen passes round the Little Rehel and approaches the General Price. " Take her aft the wheelhouse !" shouts Colonel Ellet to the pilot. The commander of the Price turns towards the approaching antagonist. Her ^32 DRUM-BEAT OF THE NATION. wlieels turn ; she surges aliead to escape the terrible blow. Too late. There is a splintering, crackling, crashing of timbers ; the broadside of the boat is crushed in. It is no more than a box of cards or thin tissue-paper before the blow. There are jets of flame and smoke from the loop-holes of the Queen. The sharp-shooters are at it. You hear the rattling lire, and see the crew of the Price running wildly over the deck, tossing their arms. The un- ceasing thunder of the cannonade drowns their cries. A moment, and a white flag goes up. She surrenders. But the Queen has another antagonist — the Beauregard — which sweeps down with all her power. There is another crash ; the bulwarks of the Queen are crnshed. There is a great opening in her hull. But no white flag is displayed ; no cries for quarter, no thoughts of surrender- ing. The sharp-shooters pick off the gunners of the Beauregard., com- pelling them to take shelter beneath their casemates. We who see-it hold our breaths, unmindful of the explosions around us. How will it end ? Will the Queen sink with all her brave men on board? But her consort is at hand — the Monarch — commanded by Captain El- let, brother of Colonel Ellet. He was five or ten minutes behind the Queen in starting, but he has appeared at the right moment. He, too, has been un- mindful of the shot and shell falling around him. He aims straight as an arrow for the Beauregard. The Beau- regard is stiff, stanch, and strong, but her timbers, planks, knees, and braces are no more than laths before the pow- erful stroke of the Monarch. The sharp-shooters pour in their fire. The engineer of the Monarch puts his force- pumps in play and drenches the decks of the Beauregard with scalding water. An officer of the Beauregard raises a white cloth upon a ]-ammer, the signal for surrender.' The sharp-shooters stop firing. At this moment three boats are floating helplessly in the stream, the water pouring into the hulls through the splintered planking. Captain Ellet saw that the Queen was disabled, and took her in tow to NAVAL, ENGAGEMENT AT MEMPHIS, JUNE 6, 1SC2. 1. Federal gunboats; 2, 2. General Beaure- gard : 3, 3. Little Rebel ; 4, 4. General Price ; 5, 5. Sumter , 6, C. General Lovell ; 7, 7. Gen- eral Thompson ; S, S. General Bragg ; 9, 9. General Van Born ; Q. Queen City ; M. Mon- arch. NEW ORLEANS AND MEMPHIS. 233 the Arkansas shore. Prompted by humanity, instead of falling upon the other vessels of the fleet he took the General Price to the shore. The Little Rebel was pierced through her hull by a half-dozen shots. Commodore Montgomery saw that the day was lost. He ran alongside the Beauregard^ and notwithstanding the vessel had surrendered, took the crew on board to escape. But a shot from the Cairo passed through the boilers of the Little liehel. The steam rushed out like tlie hissing of serpents. The boat was nera* the shore, and the crew jumped into the water, climbed the bank, and fled to the woods. The Cairo gave them a broadside of shells as they ran. The Beauregard was fast settling. The Jessie Benton ran alongside. All had fled save the w^ounded. There was a pool of blood u^Jon the deck, warm from the heart of a man who had been killed by a shell, "Helj), quick !" was the cry of Captain Maynadier. I rushed on board in season to assist in saving a wounded ofiicer, lift- ing him to tlie deck of our boat, and the next moment the Beauregard disappeared. " I thank you,'' said the officer, " for saving me from drowning. You are my enemies, but you have been kinder to me than those whom I called my friends. One of my brother oflicers, when he fled, had the meanness to pick my pocket and steal my watch, thinking it was the last of me." There is no cessation of the cannonade. The fight goes on. The Benton is engaged with the Lovell. They are but a few rods apart, and both within a stone's-throw of the multitude upon the shore. Captain Phelps stands by one of the Benton's rifled guns, runs his eye along the siglits, and gives the word to fire. The steel-pointed shot enters the starboard side of the hull by the water-line. Timbers, braces, planks — the whole side of the boat, is torn out ; the water pours in. The vessel settles to the guards, to the ports, reels, and with a lurch disappears, going down like a lump of lead. It is the work of three minutes. Her terror-stricken crew are thrown into the current. A man with his left arm torn, broken, bleeding, and dangling by his side, runs wildly over the deck. He beckons now to those on shore, and now to his friends on board the boats. He looks iniploringly to Heaven and calls for help, then disappears in tlie eddying whirlpool. A hundred human beings are struggling for life, buffeting the current, raising their arms, catching at sticks, straws, planks, and timbers. " Help ! help ! help !" they cry. It is a wild wail of agony mingled with the cannonade. There is no help for them on shore ; there, within a dozen rods, are their friends — their fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters, wives, children — 234 DRUM-BEAT OF THE NATIOX. they who urged them to join the service, who all but compelled them to enlist. All are powerless to aid them ! Tliej who stand upon the shore behold those whom they love defeated, crushed, drowning, calling for help ! Commodore Davis beholds them. His heart is touched. " Save them, lads !" he says. The crews of the Benton and Carondelet rush to their boats. So eager are they to save the struggling men that one of the boats is swamped in the launching. Away they go, picking up one here, another there — ten or twelve in all. A few reach the shore and are helped up the bank by look- ers-on, but fifty or sixty sink to rise no more. How noble the act ! how glorious ! Bright amid all the distress, all the horror, will shine forever, like a star of heaven, such an act of humanity. The Price, Beauregard, Little Rehel, and Lovell — one-half of the Con- federate fleet — W'Cre disposed of. The other vessels attempted to flee. The Union fleet had swept steadily on in an unbroken line. Amid all the appalling scenes of the hour there was no lull in the cannonade. While saving those who had lost all power of resistance, there was no cessation of effort to crush those who still resisted. A short distance below the Little Rebel, the Thompson, riddled by shot and in flames, was run ashore. A little farther down stream the Bragg was abandoned, also in flames from the explosion of a nine - inch shell thrown by the St. Louis. The crews leaped on shore and fled to the woods. The Sumter went ashore near the Little Reljel. The Van Dorn alone escaped. She was a swift steamer, and was soon beyond reach of the guns of the fleet. The fight is over. The thunder of the morning dies away, and the birds renew their singing. The abandoned boats are picked up. The Thompson cannot be saved. The flames leap around the chimneys ; the boilers are lieated to redness. A pillar of Are springs upward in long lances of light. The boilers, beams of iron, burning planks, flaming tim- bers, cj^nnon, shot, and shells, are lifted five hundred feet in air in an ex- panding, unfolding cloud, filled with loud explosions. The scattered frag- ments rain upon forest, field, and river, as if meteors of vast proportions had fallen from heaven to earth. There is a shock which shakes all Mem- phis, and announces to the disappointed, terror-stricken, weeping, humili- ated multitude that the drama which they have played so madly for a twelvemonth is over, that retribution has come at last. Thus, in an hours time, the Confederate fleet was annihilated. Com- modore Montgomery was to have sent the Union boats to the bottom ; but his expectations were not realized, his promises not fulfilled. It is not NEW ORLEANS AND MEMPHIS. 235 CLOSING SCENE OF THE NAVAL BATTLE UK] oljl. Ml Mllii^^ THE TIME.^ Kii-M A SKETCH MAKI, AT known how many men were lost on tlie Confederate side, hnt probably from eighty to a hundred. Colonel Ellet was the only one injured on board the Union fleet. The gunboats were uninjured. The Queen was the only boat disabled. In striking contrast was the destruction of Mont- gomery's fleet. The victory opens the Upper Mississippi from Cairo to Vicksburg. 236 DRUM-BEAT OF THE NATION. CHAPTER XL THE PENINSULAR CAMPAIGN. ''I^IIE section of Virginia between James and York rivers is called by -•- the people of that State "The Peninsula," and the military move- ment made by the Army of the Potomac in 18G2 is known as the Penin- sular campaign. When the army under General McDowell marched to Bull Tiun it was a movement towards Richmond. The idea was uppermost in the mind of the people and of General McClellan that he must capture Richmond. It was the capital of the Confederacy. The Confederate Congress was in session there. It was thought that its capture would put an end to the rebellion. The people had cried, " On to Richmond !" bat they did not see, neither did General McClellan, that Richmond was of little account. The strength of the Confederacy was in the armies under Jolmston and Beauregard. They must be defeated before the rebellion could be crushed. In the Revolutionary War the British obtained possession of Philadelphia, but the Continental Congress moved to York, and the war went on. When General Howe got tired of holding it he undertook to march to New York, and was pounced upon by General Washington at Monmouth. President Lincoln saw what General McClellan and the people did not see — that the Confederate army must be defeated first of all. Jolmston was at Centreville. Why not attack hira there, within a day's march of supplies ? President Lincoln became so dissatisfied with General McClellan's in- action that on Washington's birthday, February 22d, he issued an order for all the armies to move. The Western armies did move, and we have seen what they accomplished at Donelson, Island No. 10, and Pittsburg Landing. At the time the order was issued General McClellan had no plan as to what he would do. He was not willing to march to Centre- ville, which was strongly fortified, but wanted to go down the Potomac to tlie Peninsula, and march to Richmond. "McClellan never intended to march to Centreville," says Prince De THE PENINSULAK CAMPAIGN. 237 Joinville, of France, who was on McClellan's staff, and who has written a liistory of the war. " For weeks and perhaps months this plan of going to tlie Peninsula had been secretly maturing." The President was afraid that while MeClellan was on his way to Piehmond General Johnston would be on his way to Washington — for Jefferson Davis would have liked nothing better than to swap off Rich- mond for AVashington. We now know that Davis and Johnston talked the matter over, and that one of the plans devised by Beauregard was to cross the Potomac below Washington, and another to cross above Wash- ington, get between Washington and Baltimore and cut the railroad. President Lincoln- said that General MeClellan and his corps com- manders must decide upon a plan, but that enough troops must be left to protect Washington. There were five corps commanders — Sumnei', McDowell, Ileintzelman, Porter, and Iveyes. " A force of forty thousand should be left to protect Washington," said General Sumner. " With the forts fully garrisoned, twenty-five thousand men will be enough," said Keyes, Ileintzelman, and McDowell. " Leave Washington entirely secure, and move the remainder of the force down the Potomac, choose a new base at Fortress Monroe or any- where, but move in pursuit of the enemy by some route," was the order of Mr. Stanton, Secretary of War. The day after the council of war General Johnston and Jefferson Davis knew all about it through spies ; for there were still a great many men and women in AVashington who sympathized with the Confederates, and who planned to find out all that was going on. General Johnston saw that he must be in position to defend Rich- mond ; it was of no use to stay at Centreville. He sent off his supplies, abandoned the batteries along the Potomac, evacuated Centreville, crossed the Rappahannock River, and waited to see what MeClellan was going to do. The army was to go by water, one hundred and eighty miles, to For- tress Monroe. Open your map of Virginia and you will see the James , River coming down fi-om Richmond. Xorth of it is the York River, a short arm of Chesapeake Bay, with a railroad leading from West Point to Richmond. Never before was there such activity in hiring vessels — 113 steam- boats, 188 schooners, 88 barges, which were obtained in Baltimore, Phila- delphia, New York, and Boston, costing millions of dollars. In thirty- seven days 122,000 men, 15,000 horses, 1150 wagons, 264 pieces of field 238 DRUM-BEAT OF THE NATION. artillery, beside ambulances, tliousands of tents, a mountain of supplies, were transported from Washington to Fortress Monroe. The Confederate works at Yorktown were erected where the English fortifications stood in the Eevolutionarj War. When these were cap- tured, the vessels could then go up York River to West Point and White House, and the army, while besieging Tlichmond, could receive its supplies by the York River Railroad. General McDowell, with forty thousand men, was to move from Washington to Fredericksburg, covering Wash- ington till the army was in front of Richmond, and then join him. General McClellan could not go up James River, because the Merri- mac was guarding it, with only the Monitor to keep lier from destroy- ing the Union fleet. Going now to Yorktown, M-e find Wormsley Creek emjDtying into York River, on the one hand, and Warwick River empty- ing into the James, on the other, with only a narrow strip of land between them. General Magruder, commanding the Confederates at Yorktown, built dams on the streams, making them wide and deep, and erected earth- works and mounted heavy guns. He had only eleven thousand men to hold a line thirteen miles in length". General Johnston, commanding the Confederate army at Richmond, thought that it would not be possible for him to hold Yorktown for any length of time, and instructed Magruder to make as much show and noise as he could with his troops, Magruder was ready to retreat at any moment, and was much surprised when he saw the Union army go into camp and begin to throw up intrenchments. McClellan expected that the navy would attack the Confederate bat- teries at Yorktown, and open a passage up York River, but Commodore Goldsborougli said he had not enough vessels to undertake it. McClellan expected that the forty thousand troops at Fredericksburg, under McDow- ell, would come down and threaten the rear of Magruder, but President Lincoln, not willing to leave Washington exposed, withdrew McDowell from McClellan, who complained that it overturned all his plans. He de- cided that he must have heavy cannon and begin a siege. The soldiers laid aside their muskets and began to construct earthworks. In a field on the farm of Mr. Garrow stood three chimneys. General Magruder had burned the houses that they might not afford shelter to the Union troops. A Vermont soldier discovered that Warwick River was only about waist-deep at that point, and that there was not a large force of Confederates opposite. There was an earthwork with a twenty-four- pounder howitzer near the stream, and a quarter of a mile away two smaller cannon. The soldiers of the Vermont brigade could see that the Confederates were strengthening their works. General McClellan ordered THE PENINSULAR CAMPAIGN. 239 the Yerinont troops to make a reconnoissance across the stream. On the morning of April 16th the Yermonters could hear the Confederate bands playing the tune of " Rosa Lee." Just then the cannon of Mott's Union battery opened their brazen lips and sent their shells across the stream, and the band stopped playing. The Third and Fourth regiments from Vermont opened lire. The Confederate guns replied. Through the fore- noon the fusillade went on. General McClellan and all the members of his staff rode down towards the three chimneys, and looked through their glasses at the Confederate works. McClellan ordered General Smith, com- THE PENINSULAK CAMPAIGN. mantling the troops, to send a small force across the stream, but not to bring on a general battle. Two companies of the Third Vermont, holding their guns and cartridge-boxes over their heads, crossed the river, while eighteen cannon rained shells upon the Confederate works. The Confed- erate troops in the rifle-pits fled. The Vermoiiters waited for reinforce- ments, but none were sent. The Fifteenth Xorth Carolina opened upon them, but its colonel was killed, and the regiment thrown into confusion. Two Georgia regiments came and opened a destructive fire, and a little later seven Confederate regiments came upon the run, and the Vermonters 240 DRUM-BEAT OF THE NATION. were compelled to retreat. Of one hundred and ninety-two who crossed the stream, nearly one-half were killed or wounded. Among the killed was William Scott. In the month of November, ISGl, while the regiment was near AVashington, he went on picket two nights in succession, the last night to relieve a sick comrade. He fell asleep, was tried by court-martial, and condemned to be shot. It was the evening before the day fixed for his execution when a gentleman from Vermont came to my room greatly distressed, and asking if there was not some way by which the life of Will- iam Scott could be saved. There was a minister in Washington for whom President Lincoln had great regard — Rev. Mr. Smith. I hastened to Mr. Smith's house and found that he had gone to bed, but when he learned what I wanted, he quickly dressed and went with me to the White House. I remained in the anteroom while he ascended the stairs to see the President, and to intercede for the life of the boy. This was the re- ply of President Lincoln : " I shall take into consideration all extenuating circumstances, and endeavor to do what is right." Others came to inter- cede for the boy. In the morning, instead of a file of soldiers, a volley, a mangled corpse. President Lincoln jumped into a carriage and drove with all haste to the regiment, arriving there just in season to put a stop to his execution. On the bank of the river Warwick we see William Scott, mortally wounded, offering, with his dying breath, his last prayer that God will bless President Lincoln. Through the month the soldiers were digging in the mud ; McClellan was getting the two-hundred-pounder guns into position. When all were ready he would open a terrific cannonade. On the night of May 1st a negro came into the Union lines with the information that the Confeder- ates were leaving Yorktown. McClellan did not believe the story. On the morning of the 4th he would open fire. "Keep up a heavy fire through the night, but spike the cannon at day- break and retreat to Williamsburg," was General Magruder's order ; and all through the night the Confederate cannon thundered, throwing shot and shell at the Union earthworks. Daybreak came, and suddenly the firing ceased. There was silence in Yorktown ; and then General McClellan discovered that there was not a Confederate soldier in the place ; all had gone. "With five thousand men we had stopped and held in check over one hundred thousand of the enemy," said Magruder. He carried oif all his light artillery, but left fifty-two heavy guns in the intrenchments. It is twelve miles from Yorktown to Williamsburg. Three miles east of the town you come to College Creek, which runs south to the James. THE PENINSULAR CAMPAIGN. 243 Another little stream, Queen's Creek, trickles north to York River. Tiie old stage-road from Yorktown to Kichmond runs along the narrow neck of land between the head-waters of the two streams. At this gate-way the Confederate engineers had laid out Fort Magruder. With the two streams protecting the flanks, it would be an easy matter for a small force in the fort and behind the breastwork^ to hold a much larger army at bay. Early in the morning of May 4th the cavalry under General Stone- man left Yorktown in pursuit of Magruder. The mud was deep in the roads, the cavalry could not ride verj^ fast, but before night they came upon the Confederates of General Longstreet's division. In a short time thirty of the cavalry went down before the Confederate rifles. The bat- tery horses sank in the mire. The Confederates saw their opportunity, rushed upon them, and captured one of Gibson's guns. Stoneman was obliged to fall back. There had been a drizzling rain through the day, and at night a storm set in which drenched the weary troops of both ar- mies, who had to lie tentless upon the water-soaked turf. The morning of May 5tli dawned ; the rain had ceased. General Hook- er's division of Ileintzelman's corps had pressed on, following the cavalry, and at half-past seven was in line of battle, advancing towards Fort Ma- gruder, south of the stage-road, while Smith's division came into line north of it. Long-street's troops, had greatly the advantage in position. Longstreet and A. P. Hill h,ad gone as far as Williamsburg, but seeing how strong a place it was between the two streams, had turned back to hold it. When Hooker began the attack only a portion of the Confeder- ates had arrived. Their cannon were in the fort, well protected, while the Union artillery was in the open fleld. While the Union batteries were wheeling into position, shells began to explode among the horses and cannoneers. When once in position, the Union artillerymen sent their shot and shells with such true aim that several of the Confederate cannon were silenced. Hooker's brigades came out of the woods along the east- ern bank of the stream to find themselves in front of a formidable abatis. The soldiers crouched amid the fallen trees and poured in their fire. A desperate struggle begins. The Confederates advance, but are in turn driven. The Union men work their way almost up to the fort, but are compelled to fall back. Through the forenoon Hooker carries on the bat- tle alone; not a musket is fired by Smith's division. General McClellan is at Yorktown, and does not know that a battle is going on. He has ap- pointed General Sumner to take command at the front. There are nearly forty thousand men near at hand, but Sumner issues no order ; not a bri- gade is ordered to Hooker's assistance. 244 drum-bp:at of the nation. General Kearney is far away with his division. He hears the nproar of battle. He is an old soldier, was in the Mexican War, and in Italy, at the battle of Solferino. The road is filled with teams, but he orders them aside and hurries on with his men. He waits for no orders from the commander-in-cliief, nor from Sumner, His troops grow weary. He knows that they need to have their enthusiasm aroused, and orders the band to play. " Play ' Yankee Doodle,' or any other doodle you can think of!" he shouts. The band strikes MAP OF WILLIAMSBURG. up, and the w^eary soldiers swing their caps and push on towards the battle-field. Peck's brigade, of Couch's division, comes into position on Hooker's right on the stage-road. At tlie same moment Kearney's troops, which have marched past other divisions, come up and re- lieve Hooker, who has fought the battle alone through the day. Berry's brigade is in the advance. It emerges from the woods, and comes into line in rear of Hooker. It has come at the right moment, for Longstreet is advancing. Hooker's troops file to the rear, the Confeder- ates following with a victorious cheer ; but suddenly a pitiless storm bursts upon them from Berry's line. " Give them the bayonet !" The order runs along the line. Kearney's men rush forward with a cheer, driving tlie Confederates back to the fort. " You can get across Queen Creek down there," said a negro to Cap- tain Stewart. " There is a dam, and the road crosses it and goes on to Williamsburg." General Smith sent Caj)tain Stewart with four companies to see about it. " Infantry and artillery can cross," was the word sent back by Stewart ; and General Hancock with his brigade moves up the road, crosses the dam, and takes possession of the deserted Confederate intrenchments on the west side. He has tlie Sixth Maine, Fifth Wisconsin, Forty -ninth Pennsylvania, Forty-third New York, and Wheeler's battery. He can see Fort Magruder across the plain to the south, smoking and flaming. He is almost in Johnston's rear. " 1 can go to Fort Magruder if well supported," is his message to Gen- THE PENINSULAR CAMPAIGN. 245 eral Smith, his division commander. He is in a field near a farm-house. From the farm-house westward is a rail-fence. Wheeler's battery comes into position on a knoll close by the house. The Fifth Wisconsin and For- ty-third New York are behind the fence ; the Forty-ninth Pennsylvania behind the house ; the Sixth Maine are behind the battery to support it. Out from a piece of woods come two Confederate brigades of Hill's divis- ion. Wheeler's guns flame. Hancock sees that the force in front of him is greatly superior to his own. He is too far out, and retreats towards the dam, to a better position on the east of a hill, all the troops in line. On sweep the Confederates with exultant cheers ; but the cheering suddenly ceases, for a terrible fire bursts upon them. They come to a stand-still. Down the slope moves the Union line, and the Confederates flee across the field. More than five hundred are cut off by Hancock's advance, and find themselves prisoners. Night is settling down. The battle is over, the victory won. During the night Johnston retreats, leaving several cannon, many wag- ons, and several hundred of his wounded. Of the Union troops two thou- sand two hundred were killed and wounded ; of the Confederates, about one thousand. There was a commotion in Kichmond. " In the President's mansion," writes Pollard, the Southern historian, " all was consternation and dismay." Jefferson Davis's niece wrote a letter to a friend, but the mail-bag was captured. Thus read the letter : " General Johnston is falling back from the Peninsula, and Uncle Jeff thinks we had better go to a safer place than Richmond. He is miserable. He tries to be cheerful and bear up against such a continuation of troubles ; but, ah I I fear he cannot live long if he does not get some rest and quiet." The Confederate Congress adjourned hastily. A great many people left the city. The public documents were put in boxes and sent away, Mrs. Jefferson Davis took down her window-curtains, tore up the carpets, packed the pictures, and left the city. The Treasury Department, printing notes which passed for money, removed its presses to Georgia, and univer- sal gloom settled over the Confederate capital. To understand General McClellan's campaign on the Peninsula we shall have to study the map not only of the country around Pichmond, but also take a look at Norfolk, the Shenandoah Valley, and Fredericks- burg. General McClellan wanted to capture Richmond. He was moving up 246 DRUM-BEAT OF THE NATION. the Peninsula for that purpose, expecting that General McDowell, who was at Fredericksburg, would move south, and join him on the north bank of the Chickahominy River. Let us see the outlook now from the Confederate side. "Richmond," said the Despatch of that city, "must be defended. If it is captured, in the eyes of Europe it would be like the taking of London or Paris bj an enemy." General McClellan did not want to attack the Confederate army at Centreville, because the fortifications were strong, but those around Rich- mond were a great deal stronger. Thousands of slaves had been working with spades and shovels throwing up intrenchments. To prevent the Union gunboats from ascending James River, piles were driven across the stream a few miles below the city, and heavy guns mounted at Dru- ry's Bluff. The Confederate Government set itself to gather an armj as large as that commanded by General McClellan, and troops were hurried up from North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia. In the Shenandoah Valley there are two Union armies : one, under General Fremont, of ten thousand men, is in the upper Shenandoah ; the other, under General Banks, who is at Harrisonburg with five thousand. They are not far apart. United, they can move upon Richmond from the west. The. Confederate Government sent General Jackson with twenty thou- sand men to capture or drive Fremont and Banks out of the Shenandoah Valley, which he did very quickly, driving Fremont west towards Kana- wha, and compelling General Banks to retreat down the Shenandoah into Maryland. He accomplished it by rajjid marches ; by falling first on one and then on the other before they were aware of his presence. It was a ver}' ;ibly conducted campaign on the part of Jackson, and the world began to see that he was a remarkable man. The Confederate Government had no troops to spare to hold Norfolk ; it was decided to abandon the place. On the night of May 10th the buildings in the navy yard were set on fire. Commodore Tatnall, com- manding the Merrimae, finding that he could not take her up James River, set her on fire. The flames reached the magazine, and at five o'clock in the morning there was an explosion heard far away. James River was open now to the Union gunboats, and the Monitor and the Galena went up to Drury's Bluff, almost to Richmond. The guns in the Confederate works were so much higher than the cannon on the vessels that the Confederates had the advantage, and the gunboats were repulsed. THE PENINSULAR CAMPAIGN. 247 The Union army was advancing along the banks of the Chickahominy, and a great fleet of steamers and schooners were unloading supplies at White House. General McClellan might have stopped where he was, sent the supplies round to James River, marched the army in that direction, and made Harrison's Landing his base of supplies. He had formed his plan, and did not change it, for he expected that McDowell with his troops would come down from Fredericksburg and join him ; but McDowell was no longer under him ; besides. General Anderson was at Bowling Green, near Fredericksbui-g, with fifteen thousand Confederate troops, and Gen- eral Branch was at Hanover Court-house with nine thousand, confronting McDowell. The Chickahominy is a small stream, not more than forty feet wide in August ; but when the spring rains are on, it overflows its banks and spreads out over all the valley, which is nearly a mile wide. There are marshes, swamps, dense forests, and tangled thickets. The railroad as you go from "West Point to Richmond crosses from the north to the south at Bottom's Bridge. The Confederates had destroyed all the bridges, but the Union army rebuilt them. Engines and cars were brought oil vessels from Baltimore and Washington, and the railroad put in running order. The army was divided. Three corps — Sunmer's, Porter's, and Franklin's — advanced up the north bank, Keyes's and Heintzelman's along the south bank, of the Chickahominy. It is less than forty miles from Williams- burg to Bottom's Bridge, but the movement was so slow that two weeks passed before the army reached the bridge, which gave General Johnston ample time to concentrate the Confederate troops. General Fitz-John Porter advanced to Hanover Court-house, had a brush with General Branch, captured one cannon and some prisoners, and tore up the rail- road track on the line running to Gordonsville. It is the last week in May. Johnston's opportunity has come. The Union army is divided. He will move out from Richmond with nearly all his force, and strike Keyes and Heintzelman, and crush them with an overwhelming blow. The Chickahominy, with its swirling flood, would be his ally ; for a great rain flooded the lowlands and swept away all but one of the bridges. With the bridges gone, McClellan would not be able to send any troops to their assistance. The planters of Virginia have a delightful custom of giving appropri- ate names to their homes. Going east from Richmond down the Nine- mile Road, we come to a farm-house with a grove of oaks around it, to which the owner has given the name of Fair Oaks. A short distance far- ther, across the railroad, at the junction of the IS^ine-mile Road with the 248 DRUM-BEAT OF THE NATION. staiyc-road leading from AVilliamsbiirg, we come to Seven Pines, so named because seven tall pines rear their stately trunks and wave their green plumes above a planter's home. Mr. Echo lives in the house a few rods west of the junction of the two roads ; Mr. Hilliard a little farther east ; Mr. Tignor in the house south-west of Seven Pines. Going up the Williamsburg Road a short distance towards Kichmond, we come to two houses just alike, standing south of the road. The soldiers of the Union army call tliem the " twin houses." General Couch's division of Iveyes's corps is at Seven Pines, General Casey's at Fair Oaks. Going down the Williamsburg Road two miles, we find Kearney's division of Heintzelman's corps. Two miles farther brings us to Hooker's division of the same corps. Kearney and Hooker have been placed to guard the roads leading south across White Oak Swamp, so that the Confederates cannot come round upon their flank and rear. Through Friday night the Confederate troops are on the march : Hu- ger's division down the Charles City Road, with the intention of getting in rear of Couch and Casey ; Longstreet's and D. II. Hill's divisions march down the Williamsburg Road, to strike Casey in front ; Smith's and Ma- gruder's divisions down the Nine-mile Road, to fall upon the right flank of Casey near Fair Oaks. General Johnston is with General G. W. Smith on the Xine-mile Road. Huger is to begin the attack. When Longstreet hears the roar of Huger's cannon he is to strike, and at the same moment Smith is to advance and fold back Casey's right. In all, between forty and fifty thousand men are advancing to the attack. Eight o'clock — nine o'clock — ten. No sound from Huger. He is toiling in the mud. Longstreet is waiting impatiently; Casey's pickets capture Major Washington, one of General Johnston's aides, and bring him before General Keyes. There comes a sound of musketry from the picket line. The prisoner's countenance suddenly lights up, which leads General Keyes to think that something unusual is going on in the woods in front, and orders the troops under arms, and sets men to work with axes to cut •down trees. Noon — three o'clock. General Hill is out of patience waiting for Hu- ger's advance. He hopes to surprise Casey, and instead of sending skir- mishers in advance, sweeps on with his whole line. Casey's cannon open. Colonel Bailey directs the batteries, and lets fly canister and shells, which make havoc in Hill's ranks. The assault is upon Naglee's brigade. Suddenly Longstreet appears upon the riglit of Hill, getting in rear of Casey's left flank. The Con- THE PENINSULAR CAMPAIGN. 249 federates outnumber the Union men four to one. The firing is quick and lieavy. General Sumner, three miles away, hears it, and orders his men under arms. Casey's soldiers are all new ; this their first battle. An aide rides through the woods to Heintzelnian, but misses his way, and it is two o'clock before Heintzelnian knows what is going on. The Confederates under D. H. Hill come into an open field, and all of Casey's cannon open upon them. The fire is so destructive that they cannot face it, and they lie down, wliile Longstreet is folding round the left flank. For three hours Casey holds his ground, but the line crum- bles piecemeal, the troops falling back towards Seven Pines. Colonel Bailey spikes the guns which cannot be dragged away, and is shot down while doing it. Casey's whole line retreats to that held by General Couch. Two regiments of Couch's division are moving up towards the railroad to support Naglee, when they see across a field towards the north-west long lines of Confederates — the trooj)s of General Smith, who, seeing the gap between Couch and Casey, rush in and cut off four regiments, which are not captured, but which are driven towards the Chickahominy. This is on the right of the Union line. Now, going down to the left, we find Longstreet diiving all before him. Casey's troops are fleeing tow- ards Seven Pines ; but suddenly a regiment — the Tenth Massachusetts — which has been held in reserve advances. It requires nerve and muscle to go forward when all others are retreating ; to be a breakwater when the flood sweeps all before it; but they hold Longstreet in check. " Had the regiment," says Keyes, " been two minutes later they would have been too late to occupy that fine position, and it would have been impossible to have formed the next and last line of battle, which stemmed the tide of defeat and turned it towards a victory." Casey has been driven a mile. His camp is in the hands of Longstreet. Couch's line has also been folded back. Other actors came — General Kearney, with Jameson's and Berry's bri- gades. The soldiers lay their knapsacks upon the ground, move out upon the left of the Tenth Massachusetts, lie down behind the felled trees, and wait for the advance of the Confederates. They are sheltered by the trees, and pour in a deadly fire. In rear of Seven Pines is the hospital. The sick men, down with fever, hear the tide of battle rolling nearer. A soldier rushes in. " The rebels are sweeping all before them !" he shouts. Lieutenant Bice, of the Eleventh Maine, hears it, springs to his feet, and grasps his gun. 250 DRUM-BEAT OF THE NATION. "All of jon who can hold up your heads follow me!" he cries. Men who have not been able to stand spring np at the word. Their cheeks are thin, fever is raging in their veins ; bnt a dozen M-eak and tottering men follow him. They reach the front. Seven times Lieutenant Rice loads and fires, taking deliberate aim ; then a bullet pierces his breast, and he falls dead. An officer with one hundred men who have been out on picket come up the road. "Where is mj regiment?" he asks of General Heintzelman. " I cannot tell you ; but if it is fighting you want, just go in, for there is good fighting all along the line." It is almost sunset ; but now another actor comes to take part in the drama. When General Sumner heard the first roll of musketry, without waiting for orders from McClellan, he issued his own orders to his troops to be under arms. He knew" that the water in the river was rising rapid- ly, and sent men down to the Grapevine Bridge, as his soldiers called one of the bridges wdiicli they had built, to tie it to the trees with ropes. He marched Sedgwick's division down to the water's edge. It was late in the afternoon before he received orders to cross the river. All the other bridges had been swept away by the rising flood. This was afloat, but the ropes held it in place. Into the water marched the troops, wading a long distance before they reached the bridge. Kirby's battery came, the horses sinking in the mud, and the wheels going almost to the hub. The horses floundered and splashed in the stream, but the soldiers put their shoulders to the wheels, tugged at the traces, lifted the axles, and with great exertion the battery reached the other side. Gorman's brigade is in advance, followed by Dana's. They move tow- ards the sound of the firino-, facino- south-west. At this moment the Con- federates, under General G. W. Smith, are moving south-east towards Fair Oaks across the field, and through the woods between the Nine-mile Hoad and the railroad. The advance of Sumner compels Smith to change his line. The sun has gone down, twilight is stealing on, when Kirby wheels his cannon into position and sends his shells across the field into the Con- federate lines. Gorman's brigade of five regiments charges across the field. There are two fences before them, and the Confederates are behind the farther one. With a cheer the Union troops dash down the first and rush towards the second. There are quick flashes — brighter now than before the sun went down. The Confederates are driven. General Johnston, while rallying his men, is struck by a piece of shell, and General Smith is placed in command of the army by Jefferson Davis, who has come THE PENINSULAR CAMPAIGN. 251 out with Mr. Mallorj, Secretary of tlie Navy, and General Eobert E. Lee, to see the battle. At nine o'clock tlie sounds of the conflict die away, and both armies prepare for the morrow.. The Confederates feel that they have won a victory. They have driven the troops of Casey's division nearly a mile, and are sleeping in the capt- 252 DRUM-BEAT OF THE NATION. nred tents. They hav'e captured ten gnns, and are picking up more than live tliousand muskets. General Johnston, however, has not accomplished all that he intended. He expected to crush Kejes's corps and drive Heint- zelman's into the Chickahominy; but he has done neither. General Huger has disappointed him. This is what a Confederate soldier has written : "As 1 rode down through the Held I met Franks, one of Longstreet's aides, looking as blue as indigo. 'What is the matter? are you not satis- fied with what we have done V " ' Satisfied be hanged ! Old Jeff, Mallory, Longstreet, and all the rest of them are as mad as thunder. Huger's slowness has spoiled everything. He had positive orders to begin the fight in the morning, and he hasn't fired a gun to-day.'" Huger was not regarded as an officer of much energy, but he had been making a long, hard march through the mud, and his men were tired out. Had he been in position and attacked vigorously, things might have gone badly for the Union army. Sometimes there are ludicrous as well as sad scenes on a battle-field. Captain Lawton was a Confederate officer on General Longstreet's staff. He saw a soldier coming out of the woods with his gun on his shoulder, and deliberately going to the rear. " You are going the wrong way," said the captain. The soldier did not notice him. " I say you are going the wrong way. Turn about, sir," said the captain, drawing his sword. The soldier levelled his gun and cocked it. " See here, you little man on that horse, I've been in thar. I know what is going on in thar, and if you think that you are going to send me in thar again you're mistaken." The cap- tain saw the muzzle of the gun aimed at him, the look of determination on the soldier's face, and said, " Well, my good fellow, perhaps you will think better of it after you have got over your fright." " You can go in thar, captain, if you want to ; I haven't the least objec- tion." The soldier went to the rear, while the captain, the next moment, reeled from his horse, struck by a ball, which, however, only disabled him for a time. At daybreak on Sunday morning an orderly belonging to the Confed- erate array rode out of the woods into the Union lines. "Where is General Anderson?" he asked. " He is here. What do you want of him ?" said a colonel. "I have a despatch for him from General Pryor." " I will take it. You are my prisoner. Soldiers, guard this man." The orderly w-as much astonished to find himself a prisoner. The THE PENINSULAR CAMPAIGN. 253 despatch gav^e information of the disposition of the Confederate forces for the battle soon to begin again. During the night the whole of Sumner's corps crossed the Chicka- liominy, and at daj'break the troops thus strengthened were ready to re- new the battle. Sedgwick remained where he fought on Saturday. Rich- ardson's division was in line on his left, and formed in two lines, with -•»?' '>j. ^•^" ..-^-^'^^ V ^■Tvi FAIR OAKS. French's brigade in front, on the railroad, and Howard and Meagher in the second line in his rear. Kearney, Couch, and Hooker, with the rem- nants of Casey's division, were in the vicinity of Seven Pines. The battle began at five o'clock. At that hour the Confederates are discovered south of tlie raih-oad, in the woods, in front of Richardson. Pettit's Union battery opens with shells, and the stillness of the Sabbath morn is broken by deep reverberations rolling along the Chickahominy. From the woods where Pettit sends his shells there comes a volley — another — another — and the men begin to drop from Richardson's ranks. The Confederates advance and attack French's brigade at sliort rantre. For an hour the men stand in their places and deliver their fire upon the columns which pushed against them. Reinforcements come up from Longstreet's reserves, and Howard is brought up from the second line to meet them. His horse is shot, he is wounded in the right arm, and is forced to leave the field. By the onset of his brigade the Confederate line is broken. Hooker conies up the railroad and falls upon the Confederates in front, breaking, dividing, and scattering them. Sickels is advancing along the Williams- 254 DRUM-BEAT OF THE NATION. burg Road. Berry and Jameson are moving over the ground of Saturday, between Seven Pines and White Oak Swamp. Richardson and Sedg- wick are also in motion. From Fair Oaks to the swamp south of Seven Pines the Union line advances over the bloody field. It is like the swing- ing of a gate, with i.o hinges near Fair Oaks, and reaching past Seven Pines to White Oak Swamp. The Confederates have failed in what they attempted, and are retreat- ing, with broken, demoralized ranks, to Richmond. The road is filled with fugitives. Ileintzelmau and Sumner press on until they are within four miles of the city. " I have no doubt but we might have gone right into Richmond," says General Ileintzelman. "I think that if the army had pressed after the enemy with great vigor we should have gone to Richmond," is the opinion of General Keyes. ''They (the Federals) missed an opportunity of striking a decisive blow. These opportunities never return," writes Prince De Joinville, of France, who was with McClellan when he recalled the troops from their pursuit and established his lines as they were on the morning of Sat- urday. The loss on the Union side was live thousand seven hundred and thir- ty-seven. The Confederate loss, as reported in Smith's, Longstreet's, and Ilill's divisions, was six thousand seven hundred and eighty-three. Whit- ing s division also suffered severely, so that the entire Confederate loss was nearly eight thousand. There was consternation in Richmond. The city was full of stragglers. Long lines of ambulances came in filled with wounded. People hastening to the cars, expecting that ere long the Union soldiers would be march- ing into the city. General McClellan had two corps north of the Chickahominy which he might have swung down upon the city while the victorious corps which had driven back the Confederates pressed on ; but he had no plan except to besiege the city, and the great o^iportunity went by, never again to return to him. After the battle of Fair Oaks a month passed before anything of im- portance happened around Richmond. General McClellan was building bridges across the Chickahominy and roads through the swamps. The soldiers were cutting down trees and throwing up intrenchments. There were rainy, hot, and sunshiny days. Sickness came. The hospitals were full of men down with the fever. General McClellan called loudly for re- THE PENI^^SULAR CAMPAIGN. 255 inforcements, and General McCalFs division of Pennsylvania reserves was sent to him. The Confederates had a large division of cavahy, commanded by Gen- eral Stuart, who stai'ted north of Riclimond on the night of June 13th, rode east, came suddenly upon a party of Uniou. ct^alry at Old Church, and captured it. He readied the Pamunky River, burned two schooners and fourteen wagons, and then pushed on to the railroad at Tunstall's Sta- tion and waited for a train, which came down the road, going east. The engineer saw the Confederate cavalry on both sides the track. What should he do ? Should he stop ? No ; he w^ould drive on faster. lie pulled the throttle. The cars were filled with sick and wounded men. The cavalrymen began to lire. The bullets whistled past the engineer's head. A few of the men in tlie cars were wounded, but the train thun- dered past, and reached White House in safety. General Stuart moved "^n, crossed the Chickahominy, came upon a Union hospital, captured and paroled the sick men, crossed White Oak Swamp, and made his way to Pichmond. He had trotted round the Union army. It was a brave and daring ride, and won for General Stuart a great j-eputation. General McClellan saw that some morning he might find his communications with York River cut off, and began to think about doing what he might have done after tlie battle of Williamsburg — make the James River his line of communication. The dividing of the army — having one portion south and another north of the Chickahominy — the failure to follow np the victory at Seven Pines, and the ride of Stuart, were unfortunate affairs for General McClellan. He was at the head of an army of volunteers — men who were accustomed to think for themselves, and who, before entering the army, had been in the habit of expressing their opinions, and who now discussed his general- ship around their bivouac fires. It was mortifying to think that a body of cavalry could ride around an army of one hundred thousand men. General Johnston having been wounded, Jefferson Davis appointed Robert E. Lee commander of the Confederate army. He was born in Vir- ginia. His father was an officer under Washington durinoj the Revolu- tion. General Lee graduated at West Point in 1829, was chief engineer of General AVool's brigade in Mexico. He was a great favorite of General Scott. He was superintendent at West Point several 3-ears. Probably it was through the infiuence of General Scott tliat he was made a colonel in the L'nited States Army in March, 1861, just before the war began. He commanded the marines at Harper's Ferry when John Brown was capt- ured. When Virginia seceded, he resigned his commission, left the old 256 DRUM-BEAT OF THE NATION. flag, went to Richmond, and on April 22d was appointed by tlie Governor of the State to command the Virginia troops. In accepting tlie command he said : " Trusting in Almiglity God, an approving conscience, and the aid of my fellow-citizens, I devote myself to the aid of my native State, in whose behalf alone will I ever draw my sword." General Lee believed the doctrine taught by Calhoun, that the supremacy of the State was supe- rior to tliat of the Nation. He did not see that in the sequence of events the sovereignty of the State would be swe2:)t away by the Confederacy, He was sent by Governor Letcher to the valley of the Kanawha. He had accomplished little there, and had been recalled to advise in military affairs at E-ichmond. He had promised to serve his State only, but on June 3d he was in command of the Confederate army. He was intimately ac- quainted with the whole country between Richmond and Washington, for he was born on the banks of the Rappahannock, in Westmoreland County, and was owner of the beautiful home, Arlington, overlooking the city of Washington ; had ridden time and again over the country between Wash- ington and Richmond, and knew every stream and road. He was fifty- three, in the maturity of all his powers ; a refined, courteous, kind-hearted gentleman, respected and beloved by all who knew him. Such the com- mander with whom General McClellan had to deal. General Lee resolved to reinforce his army by bringing Jackson from the Shenandoah ; not to confront McDowell, who was at Fredericks- burg, but to fall upon one wing of McClellan's divided army. The Union army was not only divided by a river, but it reached from Hanover Court-house to White Oak Swamj), a distance of more than twenty miles. General Stonewall Jackson was at Port Republic, in the Shenandoah Valley. On the evening of June 18th his troops began to move east. They did not know whither they were going, for Jackson was accustomed to keep his own counsels. On tlie same day the troops of General Whit- ing's division, at Richmond, received orders to be ready to move. They were informed that they were going in the cars to reinforce Jackson. On Belle Isle, in the river James, at Richmond, were a large number of Union prisoners who were to be exchanged. The day before they were to come north a train of cars filled with Confederate troops stopped a while in front of the prisoners. " We are going up to join Jackson," said the Confederates. The same day a man who pretended to be a Frenchman came into McDowell's lines at Fredericksburg. " Fifteen thousand men have left Richmond to join Jackson," he said. "A large body of troops have joined Jackson," was the despatch sent THE PENINSULAR CAMPAIGN. 257 by General Sigel, out beyond Manassas, to Wasliington. What was the meaning of it ? Was Jackson going to march upon Washington ? Gen- eral Ilalleck and Secretary Stanton knew not wliat to make of it. Let us go witli General Whiting, commanding the division of Confed- GENERAL ROBERT E. LEE. erates, on board the train, up to Lynchburg, where the cars are switched north ; from thence we ride to Gordonsville, thence east to the town of Frederickshall, on the Yirgijiia Central Eailroad. It has been a round- about journey. 17 25S DRUM-BEAT OF THE NATION. General Lee's lieadquarters were out on the Meclianicsville Road, north- east of Richmond. At noon on Monday, June 23d, the officers of Lee's staff saw a man covered with dust ride up and .wearily dismount. He was in citizen's dress. It was Jackson, who had ridden fifty-two miles during the morning. He had laid aside his uniform and had come on a military pass, that none might know him. Although weary and exhausted, he would only drink a glass of milk. General Lee had called the command- ers of four divisions together to lay before them his plan for attacking JVIcClellan. They were Jackson, Longstreet, A. P. Hill, and D. H. Hill. " Your four divisions are to make the attack ujjon the troops north of the Chickahominy. I have sent Whiting's division to reinforce Jackson, and have allowed the Richmond papers to announce that large reinforcements have been sent to enable Jackson to drive the Union troops out of the valley and to move on Washington. McClellan receives the Richmond papers regularly." General Lee left the four commanders to settle upon a plan of attack. Jackson would have much the longest march to make. He would be ready, he said, to attack at daylight on the 26th. On June 25tli Jackson, with Whiting's trooj^s, is at Ashland, twenty miles north of Richmond. On the morning of the 26th General Lee starts with his whole army, ex- cept twenty-five thousand men, under Magruder, left to defend Richmond. General Branch's division marches due north up the Brook Turnpike ; General A. P. Hill marches north-east over the Mechanicsville Turnpike ; while Longstreet and D. H. Hill march east to strike tlie Chickahominy at Xew Bridge. General Fitz-John Porter commanded the Union t)-oops north of the Chickahominy. A little stream comes down from the north — a branch of the Chickahominy — upon which Mr. Ellison has a mill a mile south- east of the little cluster of houses called Mechanicsville. The road from Mechanicsville to New Bridge crosses the stream by the mill. General Seymour's brigade is standing on the east bank, facing west, near the mill ; farther up the stream is General Reynolds's brigade ; still farther up are Griffin's and Martindale's. It is past noon when the cannon of A. P. Hill and Branch open fire in front of the Union line, but it is three o'clock before the Confederates are in position to begin the battle. General Porter has cut down trees and built breastworks. His line is well protected. All through the after- noon the artillery on both sides hurl shells and solid shot across the stream. In vain are all the efforts of Hill and Branch to move the Union troops from their position. They assault the L^nion lines, but are driven back THE PENINSULAR CAMPAIGN. 259 with great slaughter. McClellan receives startling news — that Jackson is sweeping round to get in rear of Porter and cut off communications M'itli York River. Porter must not only fall back, but the whole army must retreat to James Kiver. As you go east from the New Bridge Poad yon come to the farm of Mr. Ilogan. Farther on you descend a steep hill and come to Powhite Creek, where the water is slowly turning the wheel of Dr. Gaines's grist- mill. Ascending the bank on the other side, and riding a short distance, we come to a cluster of houses which make up the hamlet of New Cold Harbor. A large gum-tree stands on the south side of the road. As yon rest beneath the tree you are on the spot where General Lee stood durino- the battle fought on June 2Ttli, and known as the battle of Gaines's Mills. MECHANICSVILLE, 1SG2. Going due south, and crossing another little stream which trickles west, then south, and south-east to the Chickahominy, a mile brings us to the farm-house of Mr. "Watts, surrounded by a grove of trees, with a chimney at one end. Beneath the trees we find General Fitz-Jolm Porter, who has been placed in command of the ITnion troops on the north bank of the Chickahominy. He has removed his own quarters to the south side. Gen- eral Porter has cut down the trees along the bank of the little rivulet, and has thrown up rifle-pits and intrenchments. He is to hold the enemy in check while General McClellan makes preparations for a retreat to James River. He has thirty thousand men against nearly seventy thousand Con- federates. Commencing on the creek near the Chickahominy, we see on our right hand General Morrill's division, with Butterfield's, Martindale's, 260 DRUxM-BEAT OF THE NATION. ^^■^^^m^M^'^ u WATTS S HOUSE. and Griffin's brigades. Upon tlie other side of tlie stream are the di- visions of Longstreet, A. P. Hill, and AVhiting. General Griffin's brigade is south of the road which comes down from Cold Harbor. ]^orth of the road is General Sykes's division of regulars, composed of Warren's, Cliapnian's, and Buchanan's brigades, confronted by E well's, D. H. Hill's, and Jackson's divisions. General Porter's second line at the beginning of the battle is composed of McCalFs division, sta- tioned near the centre, in rear of Griffin. Late in the day Slocum's division of Sumner's corps crosses the Chick- ahominy and takes position in rear of Sykes's. It is a hot, sultry day. General Lee is at Hogan's plantation, near New Cold Harbor, sitting beneath the portico of the farm-house absorbed in thought. He is neatly dressed in a gray uniform buttoned to the throat. Longstreet is sitting in an old chair at the foot of the steps, be- neath the trees, eating a lunch, with his feet against a tree, his uniform faded and torn, buttons missing, and his boots old and dusty. Gregg, AVilcox, Pryor, Featherstone, and other generals are there waiting for Jack- son, who has been marching hard all the morning to get into position. A THE PENINSULAR CAMPAIGN. 263 courier comes down the Cold Harbor Road, delivers a message to Lee, who mounts his liorse and rides away to New Cold Harbor. It is just two o'clock in the afternoon when Lee is ready to begin the attack. There has been a cannonade all along the line north and south of the Chickahomiuy. Magruder, on the south side, has instructions to make a grand demonstration, as if he were going to attack McClellan. It is his intention to keep him from sending troops to Porter's aid. Lee intends to make a grand onset and sweep Porter into the Chicka- horainy. Under cover of a fire from the artillery, A. P. Hill begins the attack upon Griffin and Martindale. The Confederate infantry advances NEW COLD HARBOR, 1S62. through the belt of timber and descends the ravine. From the Union rifle-pits there are sudden flashes and quick spurts of flame, and the battle- cloud becomes thick and heavy. It would require many pages to make a full record of the terrible com- bat. How Longstreet urged his men into the woods ; how brigade after brigade marched against Martindale, Griffin, and Butterfield, only to fall back with broken and shattered ranks ; how the ground became strewn 264 DRUM-BEAT OF THE NATION. with the dead and wounded ; how men in the opposing armies fired into one anotlier's faces and fell almost into one another's arms, mingling their life-blood in one crimson stream ; how Jackson pressed on over the plain, urging his men nearer and nearer; how the Pennsylvania Heserves went np to aid the regulars ; how couriers dashed through the woods over to General McClellan, asking for reinforcements; how Slocum's division went over, reached the field, and held in check the dark masses forming upon the flank of the regulars and reserves. The hours hung heavilj^ Three o'clock — four o'clock — five o'clock — and no break in the line. Thirty-five thousand against seventy ! But the pressure is terrible. French's and Meagher's brigades, of Sumner's corps, are ordered across the Chickahominy. Six o'clock ; the struggle is fiercer than ever. Every regiment is brought to the front on both sides. The artillery still thunders, but the Union infantry are ont of am- munition. Longstreet has been hurled back as often as he has advanced, and so have A. P. Hill and D. H. Hill ; l)ut Jackson is working towards the Chickahominy. Sykes's men, who have been facing north, are obliged to face east to meet Jackson's troops, coming from Old Cold Harbor. Union soldiers begin to leave the ranks and move towards the rear. There is a desperate rush from Jackson's brigades, and the Union line gives way. If there were a fresh division, or a brigade even, at hand the tide might be stopped ; but no reinforcements are at hand. There are fifty thousand men upon the southern bank of the river, but General McClel- lan is afraid that Magruder will make an attack, and sends no additional troops to Porter. The regulars and Pennsylvania Reserves are worn out ; their ammuni- tion is nearly gone. They can have no more support, but at this mo- ment, after they have held at bay for four hours a superior force, they are called upon to withstand the last gi-and charge of Jackson. AVhiting's Confederate division advances ; he is received with grape and canister. His line halts, wavers, almost breaks ; but Jackson, Whit- ing, Hood, and McLaws urge the men to push on. They leap across the ravine, halt a moment, sheltered by the bank above them from the fire of the Union batteries, and then storm the breastwork and seize the guns. There is a short struggle, a falling back of the Union troops, and the battle of Gaines's Mills is lost to General McClellan. Meagher and French have reached the field, but are too late to save the day. Twenty guns have fallen into Lee's hands, and several hun- dred prisoners. Cook's cavalry, in the rear, drawing their sabres, dash THE PENINSULAR CAMPAIGN. 265 upon the exultant foe, but it is an ineffectual charge. The retreating troops fall in behind French and Meagher, and form a new line nearer the Chickahominy as the darkness comes on. They have been driven from their first position, but Lee has not power enough to drive them into the Chickahominy. He decides to wait till morning before renewing the at- tack. The morning dawns, and Porter is beyond his reach across the river, with all his siege-guns, ammunition, and supplies. How near Lee came to losing the battle rtiay be seen by the following extract from the account of a correspondent of the Richmond Whig : " It was absolutely necessary that we should carry their line ; and to do this, regiment after regiment, and brigade after brigade, was successivel_y led forward. Still, our repeated charges — gallant and dashing though they were — failed to accomplish the end, and our troops, still fighting, fell steadily back. Thus for more than two mortal hours tlie momentous issue stood trembling in the balance. The sun was setting far in the west, darkness would soon be upon us, and the point must be carried. At this juncture — it was now five o'clock — the division of the gallant Whiting hove in sight. On reaching the field their troops rapidly deployed in line. The charge was made under the most galling fire I ever witnessed ; shot, shell, grape, canister, and ball swept through our lines like a storm of leaden hail, and our noble boys fell thick and fast ; and yet, still with the irresistible determination of men who fight for all that men hold dear, our gallant boj^s rushed on. " Suddenly a halt was made ; there was a deep pause, and the line wavered from right to left. We now saw the character of the enemy's works. A ravine deep and wide yawned before us, while from the other side of the crest of the almost perpendicular bank a breastwork of logs was erected, from behind which the dastard invaders were jiouring mur- derous volleys upon our troops. The pause made by our troops was but a brief breathing-space. The voice of McLaws was heard : ' Forward, boys ! Charge them!' and with a wild, mad shout our impetuous soldiery dashed forward." There was not time to take away all the supplies which General McClellan had accumulated. Through the night teams were in motion, and the trains upon the railroad ran, carrying sick and wounded men and provisions to White House. On the morning of the 2Sth, Keyes's and Porter's corps started across White Oak Swamp, followed by wagons, artillery — fifty heavy siege-guns — which McClellan had brought up from Yorktown. At White House '206 DRUM-BEAT OF THE NATION. Landing, sloops, schooners, barges, and steamboats were departing for York River, liastening rapidly away, for no one knew how soon Jackson might appear. At Savage's Station are barrels of pork, beef, sugar, coffee, boxes filled with bread, blankets, boots and shoes, which cannot be removed. They are set on fire, and the odor of burning bacon and leather is wafted on the summer air. Far down the line a black cloud rises heavenward from the bridge across the Chickahominy, which has been set on fire. A railroad train loaded with cartridges, shot, and shell is standing on the track. The sol- diers fire the cars. The engineer pulls the throttle and jumps from the engine, and the train whirls down the descending grade. It is two miles to the burning bridge. Faster and faster it flies, dashing along the fields, over the meadows, through the forest, a trail of fire, a streaming banner of flame and smoke. It reaches the bridge, leaps over the abutment, the engine going down into the stream, the flaming cars, one after another, piling upon it, while from the burning mass the exploding shells scatter the fragments far and wide. It is Saturday — a joyful day in Kichmond, for the word runs through the city that Lee has won a great victory, and that he is about to crush McClellan and compel his surrender. The multitude shout and swing their hats. But there are sorrowful scenes when the wounded are brought in. All the hospitals are filled. Lee has lost more than five thousand men. McClellan could not take the thousands of his wounded in the hos- pitals to James Itiver. His ambulances were filled, and the long line started on its weary journey. One of the chaplains, who was left with a corps of surgeons and nurses to care for those that could not be taken, gives this account of the heart-rending scene : " The officers and soldiers who still lingered with their companions now prepared to leave. Many a manly cheek was wet with tears as they bade farewell to those whom they never expected to meet again. There were many sad partings. Up to this time the disabled had not known that they were to be left behind ; when it became manifest that such was to be their fate, the scene could not be pictured in human language. Some wounded men who were left in their tents struggled through the grounds, exclaiming, ' I would rather die than be left in the hands of the rebels.' I heard one man cry out, ' O my God ! is this the reward I de- serve for all the sacrifices I have made, all the battles I have fought, and the agony 1 have endured ?' Some of the younger soldiers wept like chil- dren, others turned pale, some fainted." THE PENINSULAR CAMPAIGN. 267 Among the wounded was Captain Eeed, of Indiana. His company was out on the skirmish line. His son William, sixteen years old, with patriotic fire in his blood, had enlisted as commissary-sergeant. "When the battle- at Savage Station began, he seized a musket, went to the front, but was struck down by a bullet. The father wraps him in his blanket, pil- lows his head with his coat. " Leave me, father, and take care of the men," are the M'ords of the boy, and the captain returns to his place, soon to fall Nvith a bul- let through his shoulder. When darkness settles down, and the roar of battle dies away, they see the lines in blue move away in the dark- ness. They are prisoners. The captain surrenders his sword to Colonel ®R^5^>%e3S CAPTAIN REED AND SON. Gorman, of the Fourteenth South Carolina, who generously returns it, and with great kindness does what he can to relieve their sufferings. They are taken to Libby Prison, where the boy gives his life to his country. Sunday morning dawns. The Union troops still hold the breastworks in front of Richmond. Lee does not know what is going on in the Union lines. Magruder sends out a small force to attack Sumner at the farm of Mr. x\llen, but Hazard's and Pettit's batteries, with Sedgwick's division, quickly repulse the assault. Lee is reorganizing his ranks, and his sol- diers are resting after the victory. LTe does not know how precious the 268 DBUM-BEAT OF THE NATION. moments are ; he will learn to-morrow, when he finds that McClellan is on his way to James River. It is onlj nine miles from Fair Oaks to Malvern Hills, but White Oak Swamp lies between, with only two narrow roads across it. There was no time to construct new ones. General McClellan must, in changing his DIAGRAM OF THE RETREAT. base, carry food sufficient to last him a week. The soldiers took three days' rations in their haversacks; three days' more were taken in the wagons, and twenty-five hundred cattle were driven in advance. "While the cannon were still playing on the north si-de of the Chick- THE PENINSULAR CAMPAIGN. 269 a])ominy at Gaines's Mills, tlie wagons were in motion towards White Oak Swamp. Strategy in war is not exactly like a game of checkers, for in that game one side moves at a time ; but in military oj^erations both sides move at the same moment. Strategy is to deceive your oppo- nent, and so gain an advantage. General Lee had made the movement from Richmond to crush the section of the Union army north of the Chickahominy. He had sent Jackson far round to strike the railroad and cut off communication with York River. He expected to see McClellan abandoning his* lines in front of Richmond, and retreating towards Williamsburg. When the sun rose on the 2Sth of June he discovered that the Union troops were still along the Chickahominy. He was pleased. They were not thinking of re- treating. He would let the soldiers rest a day, care for the wounded, and then move east, get between McClellan and York River, and turn the defeat into a rout. General Lee had no suspicion of the movement of the Union army to the James. Magruder, with twenty -five thousand, was south of the Chickahominy, and thinking that the Union troops were retreating, or- dered forward Kershaw's and Griffitirs brigades. They came upon French's brigade of Sumner's coi'ps on the farm of Mr. Allen. The Con- federates made two charges, but were repulsed with much loss. This was about half-past nine in the morning. The army was withdrawing, and Sumner fell back to Savage's Station to join Heintzelman ; but through some misunderstanding Heintzelman left his position and crossed AVhite Oak Swamp without informing Sumner. Through the forenoon a mist had hung over the Chickahominy, but now it lifted ; and Magruder, finding that there were no Union troops before him, pushed forward to strike a second blow. It was four o'clock when McLaws's and Magruder's own division approached Savage Station. Through the hours of this Sunday the troops of Sumner stood in line motionless as statues, guarding the road leading to the swamp, covering the retreating army. Brooks's brigade of Franklin's corps also remained. With reckless impetuosity, without waiting for any co-operation from Jackson, who was repairing the bridges across tlie Chickahominy, Magru- der hurls his brigades upon Sumner. But instantly there comes a roll of thunder from six Union batteries. It was past five o'clock before Magruder opened the battle. An hour passed of constant artillery firing ; then the Confederates advanced across the wide and level plain. There was a stream of fire from Sumner's line — a steady outpouring 270 DRUM-BEAT OF THE NATION. of deadly volleys, with answering volleys from the Confederate lines. Sumner's batteries left off firing shell and threw canister, and the lines M'hicli had advanced so triumphantly were sent in confusion across the field. Longstreet and Jackson, under cover of the gathering darkness, once more pushed on their reluctant troops. Sumner brought up his reserve brigades. It was a short, sharp struggle — a wild night tem- pest — the roaring of fifty cannon and twenty thousand muskets. The evening was calm ; not a breath of air stirred the leaves of the trees. " Who are you ?" asked an officer of the Fifth Yermont, dimly seeing a regiment in the darkness. There was a momentary silence, and then the question came back, " Who are you ?" "The Fifth Vermont," " Let them have it, boys I" were the words of command shouted by the Confederate officer. The Yermonters heard it. There was no flinching. Instantly their rifles came to their cheeks. There were two broad flashes of. light, two rows of dead and wounded. But the Yermonters held their ground, and the Confederated disappeared in the gloom of night. Following the wagons were thousands of sick and wounded Union sol- diers working their way towards the swamp, urged on by hope of escajiing the liands of the Confederates. It was heart-rending to hear the words of those who were too badly wounded to be moved, or who could not be taken away. General McClellan sent a last despatch to Secretary Stanton : " If I save this army now, I tell you plainly that I owe no thanks to you or to any other person in Washington. You have done your best to sacrifice this army." It was regarded as very discourteous. It was a grave offence to charge Pi'esident Lincoln and the Secretary of War with seeking to de- stroy the Union army. We need not wonder that General McClellan felt very sore when, instead of marching towards Richmond, he was moving away from it. He had been defeated, and defeat is hard to bear. "Glendale" is the euphonious name given by Mr. Nelson to his farm, located two miles south of White Oak Swamp. It is a place where sev- eral roads meet — from the north, the Swamp Road ; from the east, the Long Bridge Road ; from the south, the road leading to Malvern Hills ; from the south ■ west, the Newmarket Road ; from the north - west, the THE PENINSULAR CAMPAIGN. 271 Charles Citj Road, leading to Richmond. There are farm-houses, groves, ravines, wheat-fields waving with grain. There is a church ujjon the Mal- vern Road, and west of it a half-mile the mansion of Mr. Frazier, where the Confederate lines were formed on the 30th of June. At sunrise all the divisions of the Union army were south of the swamp. Richardson and Smith, with Naglee's brigade of Casey's di- vision, were guarding the road through the swamp ; Slocum was on the Charles City Road, north-west of the church; Kearney was between that road and the Newmarket Road ; McCall was on the N^ewmarket Road, with Hooker and Sedgwick behind him, near the church ; Porter and Keyes were at Malvern with the trains. Lee divided his army. Jackson, D. II. Hill, and Ewell followed IMcClellan across the Swamp Road, while A. P. Hill, Longstreet, Huger, Magruder, and Holmes made all haste down the Charles City Road from Richmond, to strike McClellan on the flank and divide his army. The President of the Confederacy went out with A. P. Hill to see the Union army cut to pieces. Jackson reached the bridge across the sluggish stream in the swamp, but it was torn up, and on the southern bank stood Smith's and Richard- son's divisions, with Hazard's, Ayers's, and Pettit's batteries. Jackson brought up all his guns. There was a fierce artillery fight, lasting through the day. Jackson succeeded in getting a small infantry force across tow- ards evening, but it was not strong enough to make an attack, and noth- ing came of all his efforts to harass the rear. During the afternoon the Union pickets on the Charles City Road dis- covered A. P. Hill's troops filing off from the road west of Frazier's farm towards the south. The Confederates went across the fields and through the woods to the Newmarket Road. "While the main body was thus tak- ing position, a small force of infantry and a battery opened fire upon Slo- cum ; but he had cut down the forest in his front, forming an impassable barrrer, so that he was secure from attack. General McCall formed his division of six thousand men, with Meade's brigade north of the road, Seymour's south of it, and Reynolds's— com- manded in this battle by Colonel Simmons — in reserve. He had five bat- teries in front of his infantry, pointing down a gentle slope upon an open field. It Avas half-past two before A. P. Hill was ready to make the attack. He threw out two regiments as skirmishers, which advanced upon McCall's lines, but they were repulsed. Hill had twelve brigades : six of his own and six of Longstreet's. Magruder and linger had not arrived. 272 DRUM-BEAT OF THE NATION. Brigade after brigade advanced, but recoiled before the direct fire of tlie Uiiioii batteries, sustained by tlie infantry. " The tliunder of the cannon, the cracking of the musketry from tliou- sands of combatants, mingled with screams from the wounded and dying, were terrific to the ear and to the imagination," says a Southern corre- spondent. " Volleys upon volleys streamed across our front in such quick suc- cession that it seemed impossible for any human being to live under it," writes another Confederate correspondent. Five o'clock I The battle has raged two hours and a half, sustained wholly by McCall. The Confederates desist from their direct attack in front, and throw all their force upon Seymour's left, south of the road. McCall sends over the Fifth and Eighth regiments from his second line. " Change front with the infantry and artillery," is his order. Hill is pushing along his left flank to gain the rear of McCall, who orders a charge, which is executed witli a promptness and vigor sufticient to check the advancing troops. But his line has becouie disordered by the charge. Hill hurries up his reserve brigades, which fire while ad- vancing. The gunners of tlie German batteries are seized with a panic and leave their pieces, while the drivers dash ofl: to the rear, breaking through the infantry and trampling down the men. The sun is still an hour and a half above the horizon. The Fifty-fifth and Sixtieth Virginia (Confederate troops) charge upon Randall's but- tery, shooting the few gunners who remain, and capture the cannon. McCall tries to rally the fugitives which break through Hooker's and Sumner's lines. Hooker has G rover's brigade on the right, Carr's in the centre, and Sickles's on the left. The Sixteenth Massachusetts and Sixty -ninth Pennsylvania, of Sedgwick's division of Sumner's corps, join Hooker on the right. They pour in a fire upon the left fiank of the Confederates. Along Sumner's front are five batteries — thirty can- non in all. On the side of the Union troops there are fifteen thousand infantry ; on the Confederate side more than twenty thousand. But the Union troops have tiie advantage of position. They are comjjactly formed. The thirty guns, double-shotted, make great havoc in the Confederate ranks. Grover's brigade drives the Confederate troops and recaptures Randall's battery. It is an irresistible charge, made with such power that a por- tion of the Confederate troops flee in consternation towards Richmond. The officers try to rally them, but vain are their efforts. THE PENINSULAR CAMPAIGN. 273 " Many of tlie officers," writes a Southern correspondent, " wept like children. Everything seemed lost, and a general de23ression came over all liearts. Batteries dashed past in headlong flight. Ammunition, hospital, and supply M'agons rushed along and swept the troops away from the field. In vain the most frantic exertions, entreaty, and self-sacrifice of the staff-officers. The troops had lost their foothold." The arrival of General Magruder's division alone saved Hill from a disastrous rout, and the sun went down upon the gory field lost to Lee, for he had suffered a severe repulse. He had committed a great blunder in dividing his army. Jackson, with more than one-half of the troops, had been easily kept at bay along the sluggisJi stream winding through the swamp. Instead of crushing McClellan, Lee had suffered a signal defeat, dinnning the glory of the victory at Gaines's Mills. MALVERN HILL. Two miles south of Glendale, overlooking James River, rise the Mal- vern Hills, a beautiful swell of land sloping towards the north. The Crewe house, built of red brick, surrounded by elm -trees, is on the hill. West of it are the Strawberry Plains, through which winds a little brook. The north-west side of the hill is sharp and steep, and General Bar- nard places the batteries one above another, with the heavy siege-guns on the summit. East of the hill towards Harrison's Landing is the house of Mr. Binford. 18 274: DKUM-BEAT OF THE NATION. General Fitz-Jolm Porter was placed in command. On the west side, overlooking the plain, was Porter's corps ; General Sykes's division on the extreme left, nearest James River. Behind these two divisions was Couch's, on the side of the hill. Kext in line was Ileintzelman, with Kearney on the left and Hooker on the right. Beyond IJeintzelman was Sumner's corps, reaching to Mr. Binford's house. Behind Sumner was Franklin, while Keyes was still farther east, near Mr. Carter's mill. Porter's troops faced west, Keyes's east, the army being a semicircle. At daybreak Jackson, Ewell, and D. II. Hill, are in motion crossing White Oak Swamp. They are to attack the north-east side of Mal- vern, by the Binford house, while Magruder and Huger are to attack the north-west side. A. P. Hill and Longstreet's corps have suffered so terri- bly that they cannot go into the battle. Through the forenoon the Confederate troops are marching to get into position. Lee intends, by a grand assault from all sides, to produce a panic in the Union lines, capture the cannon, and make a complete victory. Four o'clock. Armistead's brigade, of Huger's division, leads the as- sault. The beginning of the cannonade is to be the signal for Jackson. Magruder's cannon open fire, but are soon silenced and driven from their positions b)^ the superior fire from the semicircle of batteries on the slopes of Malvern. Armistead pushes on with spirit, but his brigade is cut to pieces by shells, by volleys from Howe's brigade, and his troops are hurled back, disorganized and broken. The flags of the Fourteenth Alabama are lost. Magruder is angry. He was blamed yesterday for not being on hand when wanted ; and now, without judgment, orders up regiment after regi- ment singly to attack Porter, but every attack is repulsed. The wind is north-east, and the roar of the conflict does not reach Jackson. From four till six o'clock his troops wait. D. H. Hill is impa- tient. Lee wonders why Jackson does not begin. The wind lulls at nightfall, and the rattle of musketry and the reverberations of the can- nonade fall on the ears of Hill. The Confederate troops come out from the woods in which they have been standing, rush with a yell upon Kearney's division, only to be rolled back as the waves are broken upon the rocky ledges of the ocean shore. There is little concert of action on the Confederate side. The plan has miscarried. Malvern is aflame with the flashes of more than one THE PENINSULAR CAMPAIGN. 275 Jiundred guns, hurling solid shot and shell into the Confederate lines. General Hunt, commanding the Union artillery, keeps the batteries in constant play, while the gunboats in the river send shot and shell across Strawberry Plains. General McClellan is on the Galena^ and each gen- eral manages his own corps as seems to him best. The sun goes down, and night comes on. At nine o'clock the battle ends. Lee has suffered another repulse, with great loss, "Retreat to Harrison's Landing,"' is the order from McClellan. It is six miles down the river, and during the night the army makes its way to tliat point, where steamboats are arriving with supplies. " Although," says General McClellan, in his report, " the battle of Malvern was a complete victory, it was necessary to fall back still far- TUE GUJsBOATS AX MALVEKN HILL. ther, in order to reach a point where our supplies could be brought to us with certainty." That was not the opinion of some of his officers. General Martin dale was so angry that he shed tears. " I, Philip Kearney," shouted that general, " enter my solemn protest against this order to retreat. We ought, instead, to march into Richmond. \\\ full view of all the responsibility of such a declaration, I say to you all, such an order can only be prompted by cowardice or treason." In the morning the Union army is at Harrison's Landing, while the Confederate army is moving towards Richmond. During the seven days' fighting McClellan has lost about sixteen thousand, and Lee twenty thou- sand men. 276 DKUM-BEAT OF THE NATION. The campaign for tlie capture of Richmond was over. It was un- dertaken against the judgment of President Lincohi, who could see with his plain common -sense what General McClellan did not comprehend — that the Confederate army would be stronger at Richmond than it pos- sibly could be at Centreville ; that it would be easier to strike a blow near Washington than at Richmond, far from the base of supplies, and in the enemy's country. CONFEDEKATE MANASSAS CAMPAIGN. 277 CHAPTER XII. CONFEDERATE MANASSAS CAMPAICxN. T^'^IIE campaign of McClellan against Richmond liad failed. The Union -■- army was at Harrison's Landing, inactive, dispirited, wasting with sickness. There were rivah-ies and jealousies among the generals. The commander-in-chief gave much more of his confidence to Fitz-John Porter and Franklin than to Hooker, Heintzelman, and Kearney. Favoritism, wherever exercised, in a school or army, where obedience is required, im- pairs discipline. It was natural that the colonels, captains, lieutenants, and soldiers should also have prejudices either for or against the different corps commanders and the commander-in-chief. There was a marked de- cline in the discipline of the army, and a great deal of murmuring, espe- cially on the part of some of the officers. HARRISON S LANDING Up to this time the military campaigns had been made at hap-hazard. There had been no head. It was seen that there must be some control- ling mind, and General Halleck was called to Washington by President Lincoln to give direction to military movements. 278 DRUM-BEAT OF THE NATION. On June 2Gtli Major-general Pope was appointed by President Lincoln commander of an army along the Rappahannock. He had three corps : Sigel's, Banks's, and McDowell's — in all, about forty-nine thousand men. General Pope was educated at West Point, was in the battle of Buena Vista, and had rendered excellent service at New Madrid, on the Mis- sissippi, and in the capture of Island No. 10. When the war began, President Lincoln called for seventy-live thou- sand soldiers. " Where will he get them ?" everybody asked ; but under that call ninety-one thousand offered themselves. In July, 1861, he called for live hundred thousand, and more than seven hundred thousand enlisted. More troops were needed, not only for Virginia, but on the Mississippi, in North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Texas — in all the seceded States. In July, 18G2, he called for three hundred thousand more. The peo- ple, instead of being disheartened by the disasters that had come upon the Army of the Potomac, hastened to fill up the ranks. All over the North, in every town and village, once more was heard the drum-beat. Regi- ments were forming ; men who had not thought of enlisting hastened to enroll their names, bidding farewell to friends, to give their lives for their country if need be. Not only three hundred thousand, but four hundred and twenty-one thousand enlisted. This was the song they sang, written by William Cullen Bryant : "We are coming, Father Abraham, three hundred thousand more, From Mississippi's winding stream and from New England's shore; We leave our ploughs and workshops, our wives and children dear, With hearts too full for utterance, with but a silent tear ; We dare not look behind us, but steadfastly before — We are coming, Father Abraham, three hundred thousand more. "If you look all up our valleys, where the growing harvests shine, You may see our sturdy farmer boys fast forming into line ; And children from their mothers' knees are pulling at the weeds, And learning how to reap and sow against their country's needs ; And a farewell group stands weeping at every cottage door — We are coming. Father Abraham, three hundred thousand more. "You have called us, and we're coming, by Richmond's bloody tide. To lay us down for freedom's sake, our brothers' bones beside ; Or from foul treason's savage grasp to wrench the murderer's blade. And in the face of foreign foes its fragments to parade. Six hundred thousand loyal men and true have gone before — We are coming. Father Abraham, three hundred thousand more." CONFEDERATE MANASSAS CAMPAIGN. 279 Confederate troops were hastening to reinforce the army of Lee. Ne- groes who came into McClellan's lines liad great stories to tell of the im- mense arm J in Richmond. He was calling for reinforcements, and blamed the authorities as having brought about the failure of the campaign by taking away McDowell from his control. He wrote this to Secretary Stanton : " If I cannot fully control all his troops I want none of them, but Avould prefer to fight the battle with what I have, and let others be responsible for results." From the beginning McClellan believed that Lee had two hundred thousand men. There were three separate armies in Virginia besides McClellan's : one in the lower Shenandoah, under Banks ; one in the upper Shenan- doah, under Fremont ; and one at Fredericksburg, under McDowell. There was no unity of plans, and on June 26tli they were placed un- der the command of General Pope, wdio issued an unfortunate ad- dress. "I have come," he said, "from the AVest, where we have always seen the backs of our enemies ; from an army whose business it has been to seek the adversary, and to beat him when found ; whose policy has been attack, and not defence." The officers and men thought that he was drawing unjust comparisons between the soldiers of the East and those of the AVest. Such was not his intention, but he did not reflect how thej would receive such an ad- dress. They knew that they were brave, and an imputation that they were inferior to Western troops was very offensive. General Halleck directed General Pope to concentrate his army and cut the railroads leading west from Richmond. Such a movement would compel General Lee to send away some of his troops. It had that effect. Lee sent Jackson with his own corps and other troops up to Louisa Court-house the day after Pope assumed command. On June 27th he sent A. P. Hill's division. In his letter to Jackson he said, "These troops will exceed eighteen thousand men. Your command ought certainly to number that amount." This made Jackson's army thirt^^-six thousand besides the cavalry under Stuart. What should be done ? It was a perplexing question at Washing- ton. General McClellan was calling for reinforcements, but there were no troops to send him. His campaign had been a failure, and Secretary Stanton and General Halleck, and the country generally, had lost confi- dence in him as a commander. General Halleck saw that cpiite likely Lee would throw an overwhelming force on Pope, and a portion of the troops under Burnside were hurried from North Carolina to reinforce him. The 280 DRUM-BEAT OF THE NATION. Confederate Government was conscripting men to fill up the ranks of the army. Something must be done. On July 24:th General Halleck went to Harrison's Landing to see McClellan, who asked for fifty thousand more troops. "■ I am not author- ized to promise you tnore than twenty thousand," said Halleck. " I will make the attempt to take Richmond with that number," was the reply. General Halleck returned to Washington. Upon his arrival, there came a despatch from McClellan that he must have thirty-five thousand. It was not possible to send that number. There was only one thing to be done : to withdraw the army from the James to some position where it could co-operate w^ith the army under Pope, and it was decided to bring it to Acquia Creek, on the Potomac, below Washington. " Send away your sick as fast as you can," was the despatch to McClellan July 30th. On August 3d Halleck ordered the withdrawal of the whole army, but McClellan, instead of at once obeying, sent a protest. " I fear it will be a fatal blow," he said. " Here, directly in front of this army, is the heart of the rebellion ; it is here we should strike the blow which will determine the fate of this nation. A decided victory here, and the military strength of the rebellion is crushed," he said to Halleck. He thought that the Union army would be demoralized if withdrawn. Not till August 1-ith did the troops take np the line of march to Yorktown. Two weeks had been lost. It is not strange that he did not like to retrace his steps. Few men like to take the back track. It was hard to recognize in any way the hu- miliating fact that the movement to Kichmond was a failure. About half-way between Orange Court-house and Culpeper Court- honse, north of the Rapidan River, is Cedar Mountain, which stands by itself, one of the outlying hills of the Blue Ridge. It is the first week in Angust. The telegraph informs General Lee that Pope is marching south from Culpeper Court-house. The Confedei'- ate pickets down by Malvern Hill report that the Union troops are get- ting ready to leave Hai-rison's Landing ; that there is a great bustle and stir — steamers and schooners departing with supplies, that camps are breaking up. General Lee has sent General Jackson north-west with twenty-five thousand men to confront Pope. On the 9th of August Jack- son is marching np the road leading north across Cedar Mountain. General Banks, with about seven thousand five hundred ITnion troops, is marching south from Culpeper. Pope sends Colonel Marshall with this order : " General Banks is to move to the front immediately, assume command of all the force, deploy his skirmishers if the enemy advances, CONFEDERATE MANASSAS CAMPAIGN. 281 and attack liiin immediately as he approaches, and be reinforced from liere." It was not a written order, bnt General Banks required it to be writ- ten out by Colonel Marshall, for a military commander wants to know just what he is to do. Was he to advance and attack? No; but if Jackson advanced he was to attack him. General Pope sent General Koberts, an engineer officer, to select the ground Banks was to hold. General Pope ought to have written out exactly and explicitly just what General Banks was to do ; but he did not, and it was- the beginning of a series of mistakes. It is past noon when General Banks forms his line, the troops facing south. They see the mountain before them, and General Augur, com- manding a division, files out west of the road, and General Williams east of it. Crawford's brigade has the right of the line ; General Geary's brigade stands next in line •, then Prince's brigade. General Greene has only two small regiments. General Gordon's brigade is held in reserve half a mile in rear of Crawford. The ground is a gentle slope rising towards the mountain. There are corn and wheat fields, clumps of trees, and out on the right, where Craw- ford forms his line, there are woods. The wheat has been cut, and is standing in shocks. Out in the woods, and far out on both flanks. Gen- eral Bayard lias his cavalry skirmishers keeping watch, for it is well known that Jackson is advancing. It is eleven o'clock when General Jubal Early, commanding the First Confederate Brigade, comes out upon the north slope of the mountain and beholds Bayard's cavalry. He bi'ings up four guns. He is on much higher ground than Bayard. The cavalrymen see white puifs of smoke amid the cedars, and hear the shells scream through the air. Bayard places Knapp's battery in position. Other batteries come up, and from one till half-past three o'clock the artillery firing echoes along the mountain sides. It is a bold front which Banks presents — so audacious that Jackson tliinks the whole of Pope's army is before him, and hesitates about making an attack. He has twenty-five thousand men, but supposes that Pope has double the number, not for a moment imagining that there is only one small division of less than eight thousand. He places Ewell on the east side of the road and Winder on the west, with A. P. Hill in the rear of Winder. The last-named officer is struck by a shell and killed, and Gen- eral Taliaferro takes command of the division. AVhat shall General Banks do? Jackson has deployed his line. If tlie enemy advances he is to attack. Has Jackson advanced ? Certainly he 282 DRUM-BEAT OF THE NATION. has advanced from where he was in the morning. General Roberts has se- lected the ground which Banks is to hold, but to attack he must necessa- rily advance. His nearest support is Ricketts's division, which is nearly four miles in his rear. He does ;'f«ii aftf^.i)-^- C' ' I I 1 S'/ CRAWFOBD'AA CAMPBELL (V RONALOV^-^// ^ ^ \ ^V&'ftj-^- 'VjALIAFERRO ^ V^RINC V ^RE \ "^ St_' \ e^UAfi MOUhiTAlN- MAP OF CEDAR MOUNTAIN. not know that with less than eight thousand he is confronted by twen- ty-five thousand. It is half-past five, a sultry sum- mer afternoon, when Geary and Prince, east of the road, and Craw- ford out in the woods, west of it, march forward with quick steps, firing rapidly. It is like the sud- den outbreak of a storm. Jack- son has not expected to be at- tacked, but has been getting ready to sweep down upon Banks like a hound upon its prey. Crawford's men rush through the woods and fall suddenly upon the left flank of Campbell's brigade. The First Virginia battalion is the first to feel the stroke and gives way in confusion. " Change front !" is the order to the Forty-second Virginia ; but the officer who gives it. Major Logan, falls mortally wounded, and the regi- ment breaks. General Garnett is wounded and Lieutenant-colonel Cun- ningham killed. Crawford's men, with a cheer, next rash upon Talia- ferro's bi'igade, striking it in flank, while Geary and Prince are attacking in front, driving it in disorder, " All the troops," says Early, " had fallen back, and the enemy was advancing up the slope of the hill." There is consternation in the Con- fedei'ate lines. A great stream of fugitives is pouring down the road. The artillerymen of Winder's battalion are lashing their horses to a run to the rear to take new positions. Officers are riding with orders to Branch, Pender, and Archer, commanding the brigades of Hill's division. Ronald's brigade comes up to confront Crawford and Geary. The fresh Confederate troops bear down upon Crawford and Geary, and drive them back. The Tenth Maine makes a charge to roll back the advancing Confederates. In a few minutes one hundred and seventy-three out of four hundred and sixty-one officers and men are killed and wounded. A half-hour too late. Banks orders Gordon to attack. His troops go upon CONFEDEKATE MANASSAS CAMPAIGN. 283 the run across the little creek and through the wheat-fields. It is a Lrave assault, but a useless sacrifice of men. They are compelled to retreat. It is a hard-fought, bloody, useless conflict. In an hour and a half 1661 Union troops were killed and wounded, and 1314 Confederates. It was so audacious a stand on the jjart of the Union troops that Jackson, who had expected to march on to Culpeper, turned back and retreated across the Rapidan. At Kearnstown, near Winchester, in the Shenan- doah, iu 1861, he had been defeated by General Shields and General Kim- ball, and here at Cedar Mountain he had come very near being defeated by an army not a third the size of his own. lie saw that he could not go on to Culpeper, for Pope's entire army would confront him, so he retreat- ed to wait for the arrival of reinforcements. In June the theatre of war was before Richmond ; in September it was to be in front of Washington, around and on the field where the first great battle of the rebellion had been fought. • Lee consolidated his army into two corps, making Jackson and Long- street commanders. D. H. Hill, with a small force, was left to guard Richmond. Jackson had fourteen brigades and fourteen batteries — thirty- five thousand men ; Longstreet had the divisions of Hood, Anderson, Walker, and McLaws — thirty-five thousand ; Stuart commanded the cav- alry — five thousand — giving Lee seventy-five thousand in all. On the morning of the 15th the brigades of Long^street were at Gor- donsville. On the same day the retreating brigades of McClellan were marching east over the battle-ground of Williamsburg towards Yorktown to take steamers for Acquia Creek and Alexandria. It was a very important letter which the Union cavalrymen, under General Bayard, captured from a Confederate officer on August 16th — a letter from Lee to Jackson, informing him of what he intended to do, and how many men he had. General Pope read it, and saw that he was to be attacked by an army numbering seventy-five thousand. Gen- eral Reno, with two small divisions, had joined him ; but, all told, he had only forty-nine thousand men. There was but one thing for him to do — fall back north of the Rappahannock and take a position to cover Wash- ington, and await the arrival of McClellan's troops. General Lee has conceived a brilliant movement. He will hold Long- street on the south bank of the Rappahannock, make Pope believe that he intends to cross and attack him, while Jackson makes a swift and roundabout march to get in the rear of Pope, capture his supplies, and cut off his connection with Washington. Jackson is on the west bank of the Rappahannock, at Sulphur Springs. 2Si DRUM-BEAT OF THE NATION. At daybreak, August 25th, his brigades march north-west away from the river. The Union cavah-ymen guarding the other side see cohimns of dnst rising in the west. Wliat is Jackson np to? Whither is he going? He is heading towards the Bkie Ridge. Is he intending to go tlirough some of the gaps into tlie Shenandoah Valley ? General Pope, who is at Warrenton, has his army well concentrated, but he does not know what to make of those clouds of dust far away in the west towards the Blue Ridge. A Union officer, Colonel Clark, is out on picket. He creeps through the woods close np to the road over which Jackson is marching, lies there all the morning and counts the regiments — thirty-six of them, with cavalry and batteries. Wlien they have gone by, he hastens to Gen- eral Pope at Warrenton with the news. The Bull Run Mountains lie north-west of the old battle-field of Bull Ran. General Pope does not mistrust that Jackson, although marching west, is aiming for Thoroughfare Gap ; but before night Jackson has crossed the river at Harrison's Ford, and is at the little village of Orleans. His men have marched twenty -five miles in the broiling sun. They throw themselves down for a few hours' rest, but at daybreak are once more marching north towards the little town of Salem. Kow they turn east, and in the evening, after another twenty-five-mile march, are in pos- session of the Gap. How easy it would have been for Pope to have sent a division of troops up there by rail and taken possession of it in advance I But he did not suspect that Lee would divide his army and send Jackson to make such a roundabout movement. In war it is very necessary for military commanders to keep a sharp lookout on the back door as well as on the front. Usually it is much easier to get in at the rear than at the front. The movement w^hicli Jack- son was making was very hazardous, and if General Pope had divined what he was intending to do, and fallen back towards Manassas, he could have crushed him. If his cavalry picket had been out beyond the Bull Run Mountains keeping watch, he might have saved the army from the disasters that resulted from his want of care and foresight. But while Jackson is stealing round to his rear. Pope, joined by Heintzelman and Fitz-John Porters corps, is planning to make a sudden dash across the Rappahannock and attack Longstreet. He knows nothing of w4iat is going on in his rear. It is eight o'clock in the evening of the 26th. Suddenly the tele- graph between Pope's headquarters and W^ashington ceases ticking. Gen- eral Stuart has pushed south-east from Thoroughfare Gap with his cav- CONFEDERATE MANASSAS CAMPAIGN. 285 airy, and is at Bristoe Station, three miles west of Manassas Junction. Two empty trains, with the engines, are there, and he runs them off the track. Jackson is following Stuart, and at midnight his leg -weary sol- diers, who have marched nearly sixty miles in a little more than two days, are at Manassas Junction, capturing three hundred Union troops, with forty-eight cannon, one hundred and seventy-five horses, ten locomotives, fifty thousand pounds of bacon, two thousand barrels of flour, thousands of bushels of oats, one thousand barrels of corned beef, with an immense supply of bread, two thousand barrels of salt pork, fruit, hospital stores, and ammunition. The Confederate cavalrymen mounted the fresh horses. The soldiers ate all they could, filled their haversacks, sj)iked the cannon, and set the sheds containing the stores on fire. Union cavalrymen rode in hot haste to Warrenton, and General Pope soon comprehended the meaning of Jackson's movement. He was cut off from Washington ; his supplies were destroyed. He must make a quick march towards Manassas, fall upon Jackson, and crush him before Lee could come to his aid. Oflicers ride with orders, and at daybreak, August 27th, every division is moving eastward. At the same moment Long- street is moving over the same route that Jackson took for Thoroughfare Gap, to join Jackson before Pope can fall upon him. General Halleck in Washington learned that something wrong was go- ing on at Manassas. General Slocum's division of the Arni}^ of the Po- tomac was at Alexandria, and General Taylor's brigade of New Jersey troops hastened to the cars, and were taken out as far as Bull Run on Wednesday morning, August 27tli. The troops filed out of the *cars, marched across the bridge, and on to Manassas Junction. Suddenly the heavy guns which Jackson had captured opened on them, and then the Confederate infantry. General Taylor, seeing that Jackson's whole corps was in front of him, retreated towards Blackburn's Ford. Stuart, with his cavalry, dashed upon the surprised troops, capturing Taylor and nearly half the brigade. Those not captured fled through the M'oods towards Centreville utterly disorganized. General Hooker at the same hour — three o'clock in the afternoon — is marching east from Warrenton Junction along the railroad. A brook called Broad Run, which is crossed by the railroad near the station, comes down from the north-west, along which is posted Swell's division of Confederates. Hooker deploys his men, outmanoeuvres Ewell, makes a vigorous attack, and drives him across the run so rapidly that he cannot remove his wounded. It is a quick, sharp fight, in which Ewell loses between three and four hundred men, and Hooker nearly the same 286 DRUM-BEAT OF THE NATION. number. General Pope arrives while the fight is going on, and at sunset on this Wednesday night begins to comprehend the situation of affairs. It is not a small force of cavalry and infantry that has gained his rear, but half of Lee's army. He is of the opinion that Jackson is swinging his whole corps south, to get between him and Alexandria, and sends or- ders to his own generals to move in the same direction — making the mis- take of removing General McDowell's and Sigel's corps from Gainesville, where the turnpike from Centreville to Warrenton crosses tlie railroad running through Thoroughfare Gap. They were in the best place possible to keep Lee from joining Jackson. Leaving Pope now, let us go up to Manassas and see what Jackson's plans are. He knows that Pope outnumbers him ; that he cannot wait at Manassas ; that it will not do for him to get between Pope and Alexan- dria, but that he must retire to a position where Lee can join him. He remembers the old field of Bull Run — knows every foot of tlie ground. North of it is an unfinished railroad, excavations and embankments, along which he will post his troops and hold the ground till Lee arrives. So, while Pope is marcliing his troops south-east and south towards Manassas Junction, Jackson is retreating north-east to this chosen position. General McDowell, in obedience to Pope's orders, begins his march eastward. He is at Gainesville, the point where the Manassas Gap Rail- road crosses the Warrenton Pike. Suddenly a cannon on a hill north of the turnpike flashes. There is a short fight, and the enemy disappear from the hill, retreating north-east. McDowell thinks it is Stuart's cav- alry Ihat he has encountered, but it is General Bradley Johnson's brigade of Taliaferro's division instead. McDowell does not suspect that he has struck Jackson's right wing, and that if he continues his march east along the j^ike he will find himself confronted by Taliaferro's and Ewell's di- visions. He has orders to march to Manassas Junction. He turns south, and marches away from the very spot which he ought to hold. If he were to march a mile farther east he would find the enemy. The head of the column turns south in obedience to orders, and tlie great oppor- tunity to crush Jackson is lost. It is half-past four in the afternoon when word comes to General Pope that Jackson is at Centreville, east of Bull Run. It is a mistake. He has been there, and A. P. Hill was there in the morning ; but now Jackson has his whole army along the line of the unfinished railroad south of Sud- ley Springs. Pope, accordingly, sends orders to his different corps to march towards Centreville. It is almost sunset, Kearney's division of Heintzelman's corps has CONFEDERATE MANASSAS CAMPAIGN. 287 THE SORTIE OP LEE. made a quick march, crossed Bull Run at Blackburn's Ford, and is nearly up to Centreville. Reno's division is behind him on the east bank ; Hook- er is on the west bank ; Reynolds and Sigel are two miles south of the old battle-field ; Porter's corps is at Bristoe Station ; Banks is behind him, guarding the trains. Ricketts's division is well up towards Thoroughfare Gap, just where it ought to be to keep Longstreet from coming through. King's division has been there, but lias been ordered to Centreville. If he had been or- 288 DRUM-BEAT OF THE NATION. dered to remain witli Ricketts, far different, in all probability, would have been the history of the campaign. Let us see the situation at the moment the sun is sinking behind the Blue Ridge. Kearney, at Centreville, has come up with the rear of A. P. Iliirs corps. Thirteen miles away in the west Longstreet is coming tln'ough Thoroughfare Gap. Ricketts's guns are flashing in front of him. King is on the turnpike, his soldiers in column, marching at will. King has no expectation of being attacked. He does not know that Ewell and Taliaferro are ready to pounce upon him from a piece of woods across the open field north of the turnpike. The sun is just sinking below the horizon, and the cool of the evening is delightful to the weary soldiers, who hear the boom of cannon far away in the east towards Centreville, where Hooker and Kearney are driving the rear of A. P. Hill from that place north-west towards Sudley Springs. Not a soldier in Gibbon's and Doubleday's brigades of King's division mistrusts that half a mile from the turnpike Taliaferro has his batteries in position, and that the gunners are taking aim. There are flashes and white clouds of smoke along the edge of the woods ; shells burst amid the astonished and startled trooj)s. The column comes to a halt and waits for orders. General King is not thei'e. Gibbon and Doubleday hold a quick consultation. " Tear down that fence !" is the order, and the fence on the north side of the turnpike is thrown to the ground in a twinkling. The two gener- als resolve to know the meaning of this audacious cannonade. Gibbon's brigade — the Second, Sixth, and Seventh Wisconsin, and the Nineteenth Indiana — advances across the field. A line of light fringes the dark-green foliage of the forest. A moment later they give their answer by a volley of musketry. The Union batteries gallojD to a hill, wheel into position, and open fire. Doubleday has the Fifty -sixth Pennsylvania, and the Seventy -sixth and Ninety-fifth New York regiments. They turn from the turnpike and move up a gentle slope. Gibbon marches through a piece of woods to an open field. The regiment holding the left of the line advances to Mr. Brawner's house, driving the Confederate skirmishers, coming upon Talia- ferro's line, which is posted along the railroad-cut crossing Brawner's farm. The battle extends from the farm-house, out-buildings, and hay-stacks east- ward to the woods, where Ewell's division is stationed. Doubleday ad- vances across the open field north-west of the little cluster of buildings called Groveton, charging straight into the woods. General Taliaferro has four brigades : Baylor's, Johnson's, Taliaferro's, CONFEDERATE MANASSAS CAMPAIGN. 289 and Stafford's. Two of Ewell's brigades are also engaged : Trimble's and Lawton's ; in all, there are twentj-nine Confederate regiments against seven Union. It is nearly six o'clock when the battle begins ; it is a terrific struggle. This is what General Taliaferro says of it : " For two hours and a half, witliout an instant's cessation of the most terrible discharges of musketry, round shot, and shell, both lines stood un- moved, neither advancing, and neither breaking nor yielding, nntil at last, about nine o'clock at night, the eneni}^ slowly and sullenly fell back and yielded the field." General Taliaferro was wounded. General Ewell received a bullet in his knee and was carried to a farm-house, where his leg was amputated. Three Confederate colonels, one lieutenant-colonel, and four majors were killed or wounded. " It was a fierce and sanguinary fight," said Jackson. Through the twilight hours the two lines faced each other — the Union troops mostly in the open fields, the Confederates in the edge of the woods — and fired sullenly in each other's faces, broad sheets of flame from rausketiy and cannon lighting up the lurid scene — one-third of the Union troops being killed or wounded. Gibbon and Doubleday have fallen back to the turnpike. The soldiers are not in the least disheartened. They have lost one-third of their num- ber. The field where they have fought is thickly strewn with killed and wounded, but they make the welkin ring with their cheers. They know that they have fought three times their own number. Jackson hears the hurrahs sounding on the night air, and does not know what to make of it. A defeated army marches away in silence ; but the Union troops, instead of marching away, are hurrahing as if they had won a victory. It must be that they have been reinforced. Instead of sweeping down and crushing King as he might have done, he consolidates his line. General King is in a quandary. What shall he do ? Pope has been marching to attack Jackson before Longstreet arrives. He has encoun- tered Jackson's right wing ; to stay where he is will be hazardous. He does not know where to find Pope, and resolves to march towards Manas- sas. The wounded are gatliered, the long train of ambulances move away, and at one o'clock in the morning the two brigades which have fought so brave a battle retire from the spot which they ought to hold at all hazards. With their marching away they put it out of the power of Pope to crusli Jackson before the arrival of Longstreet ; for Ricketts, wdio has been trying to hold Thoroughfare Gap against Longstreet, has been outflanked 19 290 DRUM-BEAT OF THE NATION. by a division which crept over tlic mountains farther north, and is march- ing south towards Bristoe Station. In tlie morning McDowell and Sigel were in tlie best possible position, but now there is nothing to prevent the union of Longstreet and Jackson. It is August 29, 1862, and the sun is rising. General Pope is at Cen- treville. He has made the mistake of tliinking that Jackson is retreating, but is glad to hear that he has halted. He does not know that Long- street's troops are pouring through Thoroughfare Gap. He has been in pursuit of Jackson, has found him, and now will crush him. Couriers ride with orders to the commanders of the different corps and divisions. Heintzelman, with Hooker's and Kearney's, are at this hour between Centreville and Bull Rnn. Crossing Stone Bridge and riding west, we come to the field of the first Bull Run battle. One mile beyond it, south of the turnpike, near Groveton, we find Reynolds's division of Pennsyl- vania Reserves, Sigel's corps, and Milroy's independent brigade. Kow, turning south, and riding along a country road through woods and fields, we come to the railroad near Manassas, where we find the troops of Fitz- John Porter. He is three miles distant from Sigel and Reynolds. McDow- ell is near him. Banks is three miles farther south, at Bristoe Station, guarding the trains, moving slowly, when he ought to be moving rapidly, towards Bull Run. The army under Pope is not a compact body ; the troops have very little confidence in him as a commander. His own troops have not for- gotten the unfortunate order which he issued Avlien he took command, and are beginning to suffer for want of the provisions which Jackson destroyed. The troops which have been serving under McClellan are prejudiced against him. There is want of harmony among the corps and division commanders. Under such circumstances General Pope proposes to fight a great battle. He will crush Jackson, and then fall back towards Wash- ington and reorganize and revictual his army. Reynolds is near Groveton, within a mile of the field where King fought so bravely the night before. East of him, next in line, are Schenck's and Schurz's divisions, and then Milroy's brigade, facing north- west. "With the rising of the sun the battle begins. The Confederate troops are the same that fought the previous night — Taliaferro's division, com- manded now by Starke, and E well's, commanded now by Lawton. The Confederates drive back Schurz's division, but are driven in turn. One of Schurz's brigades gains the railroad embankment and holds it. At half-past five in the morning. General Porter receives an order to CONFEDEKATE MANASSAS CAMPAIGN. 291 mai'cli at once to Centreville ; but it is lialf-past seven before he is ready to move. Then he receives an order to march towards Gainesville. The troops turn north-west and march along the railroad leading to Gainesville. At half-past eleven they are at Dawkin's Branch, a little stream running south. They can see the shells bursting in the air two miles north of them ; the rattle of musketry falls upon their ears. Porter has twelve thousand men. An officer comes to him with this despatch from General Buford, commanding the cavalry, wdio is near Gainesville, on the left flank of Reynolds : " 9.30 a.m. — Seventeen regiments, one battery, and five hun- dred cavalry passed through Gainesville three-quarters of an hour ago on the Centreville road. I think this division should join our forces, now engaged, at once." What should Porter and McDowell do ? The order from Pope was to march to Gainesville ; but Longstreet was already at Gainesville. His advance had joined Jackson, according to this despatch. Should they turn off from the road, strike through the woods, and find a route due north to Reynolds ? Porter and McDowell rode out a little distance and saw that the ground was uneven, that the troops would find it difficult marching. Far- ther east is the road leading to Sudley Springs. King's and Ricketts's divisions are already on it, and at noon they take up their line of march towards the sound of the cannonade. General Porters skirmishers are in the woods west of Dawkin's Branch, his cannon are planted along the east bank, and his troops are in line. He sees a cloud of dust west of him. AVhat is the meaning of it ? Is Long- street swinging his troops south to attack him ? The Confederate pickets immediately in front of Porter are Rosser's cavalrymen who have been sent by Longstreet to raise a great dust in front of Porter, to make him think that his whole force is moving towards Manassas. The cavalrymen have tied bundles of brush to the tails of the horses, and are riding up and down the road. General Porter did not like to receive orders from Pope, and his preju- dice is seen in his despatches to McClellan. " We are working," he writes, " to get behind Bull Run, and I pre- sume will be there in a few days, if strategy does not use us np. The strategy is immense, and the tactics in the inverse proportion. ... I be- lieve the enemy have a contempt for the Army of Virginia. I wish my- self away from it, with all our old Army of the Potomac, and so do our companions." Through the afternoon Porter waits. The order directing him to move 292 DRUM-BEAT OF THE NATION. to Gainesville was a joint order to himself and McDowell. McDowell has moved np the road to Sudley Springs, and reaches the field of battle in season to be of service, but Porter does not follow. He is but two miles from the conflict ; a fleet horse would take him to Pope's headquarters in half an hour; no messenger is sent to obtain instructions. Through the afternoon Porter remains motionless. Pope the while supposes that Porter is obeying the order already sent. MAP OF GAINESVILLE. It is four o'clock before Heintzelman is in position to attack A. P. Hill, who holds the left of the Confederate line. He selects Grover's bri- gade of Hooker's division to lead. " Advance till you receive the fire of the enemy ; deliver your own, then charge bayonets !" are the orders. The brigade, which has been in all the battles of the Peninsula, moves across the fields towards the woods and the railroad embankment, behind which the Confederates are lying. First a rattle, then a roar of musketry and of Confederate cannon. The line in the field conies to a halt ; the muskets fall to a level ; a line of light runs the entire length. With a hurrah the^^ go up to the embankment, driving the Confederates back upon the second line. Now is the time to hurl in the reserves, break the Confederate line at the centre, fold it back, and crush the divided wings. But no troops CONFEDERATE MANASSAS CAMPAIGN. 293 come to tlieii- support. For twenty minutes they struggle, and then are compelled to fall back, leaving more than six hundred killed and wounded on the field. Kearney was to advance at the same moment that Grover attacked, but for some reason he did not till later, when he rolled back the Confed- erate line. " For a while victory trembled in the balance," are the words of Hill. Gregg's Confederate brigade loses six hundred and thirteen killed and wounded, including every field-officer excepting two. Hill's troops are protected by the railroad embankment. He orders up Lawton's and Early's brigades, and Kearney is driven from the position which he has gained. It -was noon when King's division started from Dawkin's Branch to march north ; and now, at six o'clock, just as the sun is going down, the troops which in the last night's gloaming turned from the turnpike west of Groveton and attacked Jackson's right wing, once more advance to attack, not the worn and wearied troops of Jackson, but Hood's division of Longstreet's corps — the troops which Buford saw pouring through Gainesville at half-past nine. Here they are, with three batteries lining the edge of the forest. Darkness once more is coming on when King's troops move to the attack. General King is not able to sit in his saddle, and General Hatch commands the division. For three-quarters of an hour they struggle, when, outnumbered, they are obliged to retire, leaving one cannon in the hands of the enemy. Night closes upon a bloody scene. The Union troops have attacked, have driven the enemy from his chosen position. / General Pope believed that the tarrying of Porter at Dawkin's Branch was the cause of all his subsequent failure and disasters, and that officer subsequently was relieved of his command, was tried by court-martial, and dismissed from the army, to be reinstated again by Act of Congress in 1886. History doubtless will acquit Fitz-John Porter of being disloyal ; but as the years go by, and as the secret history of the war is unfolded, it will be seen that the prejudices engendered in the Army of the Poto- mac by undue favoritism on the part of General McCIellan had much to do with the train of disasters on the field of the second Manassas. How easy it is to make mistakes, and in war how terrible sometimes are the consequences ! General Pope is confident that the enemy is re- treating, when, instead, Lee is posting his troops to renew the battle. On this Saturday morning Pope, instead of attacking, might have had his whole army east of Bull Run, on the heights of Centreville, resting his wearied 294 DRUM-BEAT OF THE NATION. soldiers and obtaining fresh provisions ; bnt, on the contrary, at midnight lie issues his orders for an advance '"'"in pursuit''^ of tlie enemy. Porter had arrived, and the army, with the exception of Banks's corps, was at last concentrated. On the ground occupied by the Confederate army in the first battle of Bnll Run are the Union troops. There are woods with cleared fields ; two swells of land — that on which stands the house of Mr. Henry, and west of it, a mile distant, Bald Hill and Mr. Chinn's house. On the north side of the turnpike were the troops of Generals Heintzelman, Reno, Sigel, King, and Porter. General Pope knew that Jackson was still along the line of the railroad embankment, and massed his troops to attack him, not suspecting that Lee was moving Longstreet south of the turnpike to turn his own right flank. Through the forenoon both armies have been getting ready for the conflict. Just before Porter advances to attack Jackson, Reynolds and Ricketts discover the troops of Longstreet creeping round the left flank, and Reynolds forms his division to meet him. The brigades of Barnes and Butterfield, of Porter's corps — fresh troops that have had no part in the battle since they came from the Peninsula — are first engaged. King's division, a great deal smaller than it was forty- eiffht hours a2:o, also advances. " I am hard pressed, and must have reinforcements," is Jackson's mes- sage to Lee. An oflicer rides to Longstreet with Lee's message: "Jackson needs assistance. Send him what troops you can spare." The troops will ha^-e to march nearly three miles to get there. Longstreet has a better plan. The Union troops advancing against Jackson face noi'th-west. Longstreet is south of Groveton. He sees that he can bring his artillery into posi- tion to fire north-east, and that the shot and shells will enfilade Porter's line. " I saw that if I were to open fire the attack against Jackson could not be continued ten minutes. I made no movements with my troops," said Longstreet to me after the war. A battery wheels into position and the shells scream through the air, bursting in Porter's ranks, and doing such execution that in ten minutes Butterfield and Barnes are falling back. Had not Longstreet opened at the very moment, Jackson would without doubt have been driven from the position. General Pope has not yet discovered what Lee is about to do, and makes the mistake of ordering Reynolds to cross the turnpike and assist CONFEDERATE MANASSAS CAMPAIGN. 295 in the attack upon Jackson. McDowell is still on the south side of the pike. Longstreet sees the mistake which Pope has made. His whole line advances — five divisions — ^ Evans, Anderson, Kemper, Jones, and Wilcox. They have been concealed in the woods. Thej come into the open field west of Mr. Chinn's house. Pope quickly sees his mistake, and Sigel and two brigades of Ricketts's division, under General Tower, M'ith tw^elve can- non, go upon the run across the turnpike to join McDowell. General Sykes, with two brigades of regulars, hastens to the Henry house hill, and also Reynolds, with the Pennsylvania Reserves. McLean's brigade of Schenck's division is on Bald Hill. Sigel, seeing how hard pressed they are, sends Schurz's division to help them. The conflict rages around the Chinn house. Colonel Koltes and Colonel Fletcher Webster, son of Daniel Web- ster, the great statesman, are killed and General Tower wounded. Passing over to Longstreet's lines, we see Hood's division cut to ])ieces, one-fourth of the troops killed or wounded. Anderson's is almost annihi- lated. In one brigade of five regiments every field-oflicer except one is killed or wounded. The ground is slippery with blood. Sigel's and McDowell's troops hold Bald Hill, despite all the efforts of Longstreet to drive them from the position by a direct attack, but the Confederate troops are creeping round towards the Henry house. General Pope sees at last that the battle is going against him. He must hold his ground till the trains can get across Bull Run. The retreat be- gins, the troops in front of Jackson slowly falling back. The Henry house hill must be held to the last, and there, on the very spot where the final struggle in the first battle of Bull Run took place, comes the last struggle of the day. Longstreet advances, but all of his attempts to drive the reg- ulars under General Sykes ends in failure. The sun has gone down, dark- ness is coming on, but there are still flashes on the Henry hill, where the cannon and muskets flame. The cannon are silent at last, the battle over. Lee has won a victory and the Union troops are retreating across Bull Run. Lee has suflered so severely that his tired troops can make no quick pursuit. There had been a great mistake made by General McClellan at Alex- andria, in not co-operating as heartily as he might with Pope. The Army of the Potomac, when it landed at Alexandria and passed beyond the fortifications, was no longer under his command, but received orders from Pope. We need not wonder that he keenly felt the change. He had been commander-in-chief of all the armies, had issued orders to gener- als in the Far West as well as along the Atlantic shore. That power had 296 DRUM-BEAT OF THE NATION. been taken away ; and now his army, which he had led so near Richmond that he could hear the church-bells toll the hour, was being transferred to Pope. Instead of being at the head of a great army he was at Alexandria, sending his troops to another commander. Pope needed supplies. This the answer of McClellan : " Wagons and cars will be loaded and sent as soon as a cavalry escort is sent to bring them out." Pope sends this to llalleck in reply : " Such a desiDatch, when Alexandria is full of troops, and we are fighting the enemy, needs no comment." Pope has this to say in liis report : " I do not see what service cavalry could have rendered in guarding a railroad train. 1 did not feel discouraged till I received this letter." To Pope's request for ammunition this McClellan's reply : " I know nothing of the calibre of his guns." On the afternoon of the 29th, with the booming of cannon at Manassas rolling across the Potomac, he telegraphs to President Lincoln as to the course to be adopted : " To leave Pope to get out of his scrape and at once use all means to make the capital safe." September 1st. It is a rainy morning, but Jackson is on the march, crossing Bull Run at Sudley Ford, where McDowell forded it when he marched to the first Bull Run battle. He marches north, then north-east, along a country road till he reaches the Little River turnpike, and then turns south. He is north-east of Centreville, and is aiming for Fairfax Court-house to get once more between Pope and Washington. It is a liazardous moment, for Longstreet is far behind, and Pope has been rein- forced by Sumner and Franklin, who have twenty thousand men. Pope discovers Jackson's movement, and orders the army to fall back towards Fairfax. At Germantown is the junction of the Little River and Warrenton pikes. Hooker and Reno and Kearney are there, when Jack- son, just at dark, comes down the Little River pike, files into the woods and fields south of Chantilly,. near Ox Hill. It is nearly dark when A. P. Hill begins the attack with Branch's, Hay's, Trimble's, and Gregg's bri- gades, which are hurled back by Reno and Kearney, with severe loss to Jackson ; but the Union army suffers a great loss in the death of General Stevens and General Kearney. Once more night comes on, closing the battle. It has been a period of disaster and defeat to the Union army, and of victory to the Confederates. General Pope, in his retreat, has been obliged to leave a large number of his wounded on the field. There was one very pathetic scene. In an orchard lay six Union soldiers near one another, not under the sheltering shade of the trees, but in the broiling sun. Each of the six had lost a leg, and one, Corporal Tanner, had lost both CONFEDERATE MANASSAS CAMPAIGN. 297 legs. N'ear by them was a soldier with a ghastly wound in his side, made by an exploding shell. They were hot with fever and parched with thirst. The surgeon who had been left in charge of them had taken too much liquor, and was incompetent, through intoxication, to care for them. The suffering soldiers could see the apple-trees near by loaded with luscious fruit — so near, and yet so far away ! The ripening apples were dropping to the ground. " Oh that we had some of them !" said one. The soldier with a wound in his side, hearing the exclamation, dragged himself towards the trees, stretching out his arms, clutching the long grass, gaining inch by inch until he could reach the apples and toss them back to the others. It was a supreme effort. He did not know the names of his suffering comrades ; they were not members of the same regiment, but they wore the blue, and were giving their lives for their country; that was enough. A few moments later he who had made this sacrifice breathed his last breath, and was motionless evermore. His last work had been one of love, good-will, and devotion. The army was out of provisions. Sumner's and Franklin's corps had reached Centreville, but they had very little to eat. It is possible that if there had been any controlling mind a stand might have been made at that point and Lee, in turn, defeated ; for the Confederates, although they had destroyed Pope's provisions, were needing supplies, and would have been compelled to make a second attack, or retire towards Manassas. General Pope saw that the troops had no confidence in him, that the army was disorganized, and that the best course would be a falling back to the fortifications at Arlington and Alexandria. General McClellan was there, and the troops which had temporarily been turned over to Pope once more came under his command, and the work of reorganization began. Lee's jDlan for crushing Pope, and bringing about the withdrawal of McClellan from the James, had been crowned with success. There was great i-ejoicing in the South, and much despondency throughout the North. General Lee had lost many men ; but having crushed Pope, and compelled the withdrawal of the Army of the Potomac from the James to Wash- ington, he determined to carry the war northward, across the Potomac, in a new and aggressive campaign. 298 DEUM-BEAT OF THE NATION. CHAPTER XIII. IXYASIOX OF MARYLAND. TT was universally believed in the South that the sympathies of the peo- ■*■- pie of Maryland were with the Confederacy. The song " My Mary- land !'' had been sung in every hamlet of the seceded States. It was be- lieved that if General Lee were to cross the Potomac and enter that State thousands of young men would flock to his ranks ; that Baltimore would welcome him with open arms ; and that the possible result might be the capture of AVashington, or a movement into Pennsylvania. lie would be in a rich and fertile country. The harvest had been gathered, and he could obtain all needful supplies. Such a movement would terrify the ]S^ortliern States. If he could fight another battle and win a great victor}^ north of the Potomac, England and France would recognize the Confeder- acy and break the blockade. The soldiers were ready and eager to invade the North. Had they not driven McClellan from Richmond? Had they not defeated the combined armies of McClellan and Pope? On September 5th the Confederate army crossed the Potomac at Po- land's Ford, General Jackson leading the colunm. The water was only knee-deep, and the soldiers swung their hats, cheered, and sung "Mary- land ! my Maryland !" General Lee issued a strict order against plundering private property. He regarded Maryland as a Southern State, and the army must not do anything to oifend the people. It was harvest-time; the orchards were loaded with fruit, the barns filled with hay and grain, and there were thousands of acres of corn ripening in the golden sunlight. At ten o'clock on September 6th General Stuart's cavalry entered Frederick. There were Marylanders in the Confederate army, Miio were warmly welcomed by their friends. A few women waved their handkerchiefs, but most of the people gazed in silence upon the troops. The soldiers Avere well supplied with Confederate paper -money, and they paid liberally for boots, shoes, flour, bacon, cattle, and horses. The people did not dare to refuse the money, although thej knew it was Avorthless. INVASION OF MARYLAND. 301 General Lee issued an address, which read as follows : " The people of the South have seen with profound indignation their sister State deprived of every right and reduced to the condition of a conquered province. Be- lieving that the people of Maryland possessed a spirit too lofty to submit to such a government, the people of the South have long wished to aid you in throwing off this foreign yoke, to enable you again to enjoy the inalienable rights of freemen." The people of Maryland did not feel, however, that they were under a foreign yoke, or that they were a conquered province. They did not swing their hats and hurrah, but on the contrary made up their minds to stand by the Union. All the Confederate troops in and around Richmond were hurried for- ward to reinforce General Lee. General Walker joined him at Frederick with two brigades. On the afternoon of September 7th General Lee un- folded his plans to General Law. " There are," he said, " between eight and ten thousand stragglers between here and Rapidan Station. Besides these we shall be able to get a large number of recruits who have been accumulating at Richmond for some weeks. They ought to reach us at Hagerstown ; we shall then have a very good army. In ten days from now, if the situation is then what I confidently exjDect it to be after the capt- iire of Harper's Ferry, I shall concentrate the army at Hagerstown, effect- ually destroy the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, and march to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. That is the objective point of the campaign. I wish to destroy the railroad bridge over the Susquehanna, which will disable the Pennsylvania railroad for a long time. With the Baltimore and Ohio in our possession, with the Pennsylvania broken, there will remain to the enemy but one route of communication with the West — that by the lakes. After that I can turn my attention to Philadelphia, Baltimore, or Wash- ington. General McClellan is an able general, but a very cautious one. His array is in a very demoralized and chaotic condition, and will not be prepared for offensive operations, or he will not think it so, for three or four weeks. Before that time I hope to be on the Susquehanna." There were eleven thousand Union troops at Harper's Ferry and Mary- land Heights, where there w^ere strong works, with heavy cannon. Mary- land Heights are higher than all the other summits in the vicinity and commanded Harper's Ferry and Loudon Heights, on the south side of the river. General Lee saw that it would not do to leave so large a force in his rear to pounce upon his trains. Harper's Ferry must be caj)tured. We can now see just how General Lee laid his plan, and what considera- tions led to his adopting it. His whole army is near Frederick. He 302 DRUM-BEAT OF THE NATION. issues his orders on Wednesday evening, September 9th. He will divide it into five sections. He will send Jackson, who has so drilled and disci- plined his troops that they can march thirty miles in a day with ease, over Sonth Mountain westward, through Boonesboro', through Sharpsburg, SOUTH MOUNTAIN. to cross the Potomac at Shepardstown, marching south to Martinsburg, in Virginia, seizing the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, and pushing east to Harper's Ferry. Jackson is to be at Martinsburg on Friday evening, and at Harper's Ferry on Saturday morning. While he is making this wide circuit of nearly sixty miles, in as many hours, McLaws's division is to march south-west, and close upon Maryland Heights. At the same time Walker's division is to cross tlie Potomac opjjosite Frederick, turn west, and seize Loudon Heights, on the east bank of the Shenandoah, overlook- ing Harper's Ferry. These simultaneous movements will cut off the eleven thousand from McClellan. While these three sections of the army are thus employed, D. H. Hill is to hold the passes at South Mountain, and Longstreet is to move on to INVASION OF MARYLAND. 303 Hagerstown. General Lee understands the qualifications of McClellan to command an army. He saw the commander of the Army of the Potomac remaining at Alexandria through the winter ; saw him sit down before Yorktown with more than one hundred thousand men, with only eleven thousand Confederates in front of him. He knows how long he was in advancing from Yorktown to the Chickahominy ; how he lingered at Har- rison's Landing while he himself was hastening northward to crush Pope. His scouts give him information every evening of the slow movement of McClellan towards him. He can count upon McClellan's slowness as a permanent factor in all his plans and calculations. On tlie other hand, he can count upon Stonewall Jackson's swiftness. If he orders Jackson to be at Harper's Ferry on Saturday morning, he will be there without fail. General Stuart is to send a squadron of cavalry with each division to pick up all stragglers. When Harper's Ferry falls, all are to hasten northward towards Sharpsburg. It is a bold, hazardous plan, based on the known slowness of McClellan. Lee will have time to strike the blow and concentrate his army before McClellan will be in position to attack him. The Union army had been reorganized with right and left wrings and a centre. The right wing was commanded by General Burnside, and con- sisted of the First Corps, commanded by General Hooker, and the Ninth, under General Peno. Each corps had three divisions : the First Corps, King's, Picketts's, and Mead's divisions ; the Ninth Corps, Wilcox's, Stur- gis's, and Podman's. The centre was commanded by General Sumner, who had the Second Corps, with Pichardson's, Sedgwick's, and French's divisions ; and the Twelfth Corps, under General Mansfield, composed of Williams's and Greene's divisions. The left wing, commanded by General Franklin, contained the Fifth Corps, under General Porter, and the Sixth, under Franklin. On Sunday afternoon, September 7th, General McClellan left Wash- ington, establishing his headquarters near Pockville, fourteen miles from Washington, where he remained till the following Friday. The army was moving less than six miles a day towards Frederick. On the morning of the 10th the Confederate troops began to move away from that town. Two days later, on the 12th, General McClellan wrote : " From all I can gather, Secesh is skedaddling, and I don't think I can catch him unless he is really moving into Pennsylvania. In that case I shall catch him before he has made much headway towards the interior. I am beginning to think he is making off to get out of the scrape by re- crossing the river at Williamsport, in which case my only hope of bagging 304: DRUM-BEAT OF THE NATION. him will be to cross lower down, and cut into his communications near Winchester, He evidently don't want to fight me, for some reason or other." While McClellan was writing this on Saturday evening, the Union cavalry and the Ninth Corps, under Burnside, were marching into Freder- ick. A soldier brought a very important paper to McClellan, picked up in the house which had been occupied by General D. H. Hill — a copy of Lee's orders, giving all the details of the proposed movements of the Con- federate army. It is not often that a general commanding a great army comes into possession of a document revealing all the plans of his opponent, mak- ing him master of the situation. Longstreet at Hagerstown would be thirty miles away from the divisions at Harper's Ferry. The old National Hoad, over which the stages rattled before the railroads were constructed, leads north-west from Frederick ; first over the Catoctin range of hills to the little village of Middlctown, then over the South Mountain Range, through Turner's Gap, to Boonesboro', and on to Hagerstown. Another road leads south-west, crosses the South Mountain Range through Cramp- ton's Pass, six miles south of Turner's Gap, and descends into Pleasant Valley. It would be an easy matter for McClellan to move with half or two-thirds his army through Crampton's Pass, while the remainder marched up the old stage-road. By such a movement he could thrust himself be- tween the two wings of Lee's army, and at the same time relieve Harper's Ferry. There would be few Confederates to confront him at Crampton's Pass ; and once in Pleasant Valley, he would be in rear of D. II. Hill, who was holding Turner's Gap, and who would be compelled to fall back tow- ards Hagerstown. Instead of doing this, General McClellan decided to send Franklin's corps and General Couch's division of the Fourth Corps through Crampton's Pass, and to move with the bulk of the army — more than sixty thousand men — up the old stage-road. It would not be a flanking move- ment, but following a retreating army, and attacking its rear-guard in a strong position. At twenty minutes past six on Saturday evening he wrote the order to Franklin to move at daylight on Sunday morning. Quickness and resolute energy were the all -important considerations. The army had moved slowly. The troops were fresh, and well supplied with provisions. Franklin's troops had taken no part in the battles under Pope at Manas- sas. They were in superb condition. The weather was delightful, the roads excellent. Why have Franklin wait till morning? Why not make the march in the night? There were no Confederates to confront INVASION OF MARYLAND. 305 him east of Crampton's Pass. Little did McClellan comprehend that tlie great issues of the campaign were enfolded in those words : " You will move at daybreak." If the Confederates under JMcLaws held Crampton's Pass, Franklin was to form liis troops for attack, and half an hour after hearing the opening of battle at Turner's Gap he was to fall upon McLaws. These tlie closing Avords of McClellan's order : " I ask you at this important moment to use all your intellect and the utmost activity a general can exercise." With this injunction were these words : " If you find the Pass held by the enemy in large force, make all your dispositions for attack, and commence it about half an hour after you hear severe firing at the Pass on the Ilagerstown Pike, where the main body will attack." With so much depending on quick and energetic action, the order for Franklin to wait for the opening of the battle at Turner's Gap is an enigma which General McClellan never explained. It is a twelve -mile march which Franklin has to make. His troops start at daybreak to climb the Catoctin Range and then descend into the valley beyond. The Confederate pickets at the Pass see the winding col- umn of men in blue coming down the slope at ten o'clock, and send word to McLaws, who is three and a half miles away, directing his cannon upon the Union intrenchments on Maryland Heights, and who hastens with his troops to hold the Pass. If Franklin had moved at sunset he would have been at the foot of the Pass a little past midnight, unseen by the Confederates. AVhile Franklin is thus advancing, let us see what is going on at Turner's Pass, on the old stage-road. Early in the forenoon of Sunday, the 14tli of September, General Burnside, leading the Union army, ascended a high hill a few miles west of Frederick, and looked down upon one of the loveliest valleys in the world. At his feet was the vilhige of Middletown ; beyond it, in the bot- tom of the valley, the Catoctin Creek winds thi-ough ever-verdant mead- ows, past old mansions surrounded with well -filled barns; north and south, far as the eye can reach, are wheat and clover fields, and acres of corn putting on its golden hues. Beyond the creek the road winds along the mountain -side, past the little hamlet of Bolivar. There are ledges, loose stones, groves of oak, and thickets of mountain shrubs. There is a house on the summit, at Turner's Gap, once a tavern, where the teamsters and stagemen of former days watered their tired horses and ate a lunch. It is old and dilapidated now. Standing there and looking east, it seems as if a strong-armed man might hurl a stone upon Middletown, hundreds of feet below. Twelve miles away to the east are the spires of Frederick, gleaming in the sun. Westward from this mountain gate-way we may 20 306 DRUM-BEAT OF THE NATION. beliold at our feet Boonesboro' and Keedjsville and the crooked Antietam ; and still farther westward the Potomac, making its great northern sweep to AVilliamsport. In the north-west, twelve miles distant, is Ilagerstown, at the head of the Cumberland Yalley, Longstreet is there on this Sunday morning, sending his cavalry up to the Pennsylvania line, gathering cattle, horses, and pigs. General D. H, Hill, from Turner's Gap, beholds the Union army spread out upon the plains before him, reaching all the way to Frederick City ; dark-blue masses moving towards him along the road, through the fields, with banners waving, their bright arms reflecting the morning sunshine. He is a native of South Carolina, and was educated by the Government at West Point. He was a teacher at the North Carolina Military School, and before the war did what he could to stir up the people of the South to rebel. He told them that the South had won nearly all the battles of the Revolution, but that the Northern historians had given the credit to the North, which was a " Yankee trick." He published an algebra in 1857, which Stonewall Jackson pronounced superior to all others. His "prob- lems " were expressive of hatred and contempt. " A Yankee," he states, " mixes a certain number of wooden nutmegs, which cost him one-fourth of a cent apiece, with real nutmegs, worth four cents apiece, and sells the whole assortment for $4i and gains $3.75 by the fraud. How many wooden nutmegs are there ?" "At the Woman's Rights Convention, held at Syracuse, New York, composed of one hundred and fifty delegates, the old maids, children, wives, and bedlamites were to each other as the numbers 5, 7, and 3. How many were there of each class ?" " The field of Buena Yista is six and a half miles from Saltillo. Two Indiana volunteers ran away from the field of battle at the same time ; one ran half a mile per hour faster than the other, and reached Saltillo five minutes and fifty-four and six-elevenths seconds sooner than the other. Required, their respective rates of travel." General Burnside formed liis lines along the Catoctin Creek. Gen- eral Cox's division was south of the turnpike, on the old road over which General Braddock and Washington marched in 1755, which winds up the mountain to Fox's Gap, one mile south of Turner's. General Reno's division advanced along the turnpike. It is seven o'clock in the morning when Scammon's brigade of Ohio troops moves into position. Robertson's battery is south of the turnpike, in a field, throwing shells up the mount- ain into the woods, where Hill's men are lying sheltered from sight by the foliage. INVASION OF MARYLAND. 307 There is a reply from the Gap. Solid shot and shells fly from the mountain to the valley, Hayne's battery joins Robertson's. Simmons opens with his twenty - pounder, and McMullin with four heavy guns; and while church-bells far away are tolling the hour of worship, these can- non in the valley and on the mountain-side play the prelude to the ap- proaching strife. Scammon's brigade leads the way by the old Sharpsburg Road, the men toiling slowly up the hill, through the fields and pastures, over fences and walls, sometimes losing foothold and falling headlong or sliding down- ward. The brigade was preceded by a line of skirmishers, and was fol- lowed by Crook's brigade. Cox was moving to gain possession of Fox's Gap, where Hill has stationed Garland's brigade and Pelham's battery. General Colquitt is to hold Turner's Gap. Hill has five brigades, which have great advantage in position. The Union troops toil up the mountain -side, and a little past nine o'clock the first ripple of musketry breaks upon the morning air. Lieu- tenant Crome, of McMullin's battery, runs up two cannon and opens fire, but the skirmishers of the Twentieth ISTorth Carolina pick off the gunners. Lieutenant Crome is killed, and the cannon stand there with no one to load them. The Confederates do not dare to run down and capture them. Scam- mon slowly works his way round upon Garland's flank. A storm of bullets sweeps through the woods from the Union muskets. General Garland is talking with Colonel Ruftin, of the Twentieth North Carolina, who is urging him to go to a safer place. He will not go, and the next moment falls mortally wounded. The Confederates are behind a stone wall. The Union troops charge upon them, the Twelfth Ohio rushing upon a battery, but the gunners are quick to limber up their pieces and make their escape. Then the Thirtieth Ohio, with fixed bayonets, charge upon the Twenty-third and Twelfth JS^orth Carolina, and the Confederate line gives way. Cox is in posses- sion of Fox's Pass. Hill sends G. B. Anderson's brigade to attack him, but Anderson is repulsed. An onset as vigorous as that which overthrew Garland at that hour of the morning doubtless would have whirled D. H. Hill's whole force from the mountain ; for Longstreet, who had started from Hagerstown, was several miles distant, and there were no other Con- federate reinforcements at hand. The Union troops on the old stage-road were slowly advancing. The mountain is steep ; it rises one thousand feet above the valley. It took the Union engineers a long while to decide which was the best point to attack, and it was mid-afternoon before the troops were in position. We see Hooker's corps filing along a narrow 308 DRUM-BEAT OF THE NATION. ■country road, past Tabor Chnrch, north of the stage-road, to attack Hill's ■left Hank. The other three divisions of the Ninth Corps follow Cox's advance. Burnside, who is in command, has waited for Hooker to ar- rive. Hooker has made a rapid march, but it is past three in the afternoon before he is in position. Burnside supposed that Longstreet and Hill together confronted him, hut when Cox opened the battle Longstreet was ten miles away; and now, as Hooker is getting ready to advance, Longstreet's troops are panting up the western slope of the mountain. Hooker's corps is composed of Eicketts's and King's divisions and the Pennsylvania Reserves. The artillery — all the batteries which can be brought into position — send their shells up the mountain. Steadily on- ward moves the long line across the fields at the foot, up the pasture-lands of the slope, into the woods. Hood's division of Confederates is the first to reach the ground which Colquitt has held through the day. There is a rattling of musketry, then lieavy rolls, peal on peal, wave on wave, and a steady, constant roar. Not yielding an inch, but advancing slowly or holding their ground, the veter- ans of the Peninsula continue their fire. The mountain is white with the rising battle-cloud; there are shouts, yells, outcries mingling with the can- nonade, echoing and reverberating along the* valleys. " Please open upon that house with your battery," was the order of Colonel Meredith, of the Nineteenth Indiana, commanding a brigade in King's division, to Lieutenant Stewart, of the Fourth United States Artil- lery. The house was filled with Confederate sharp-shooters. Lieutenant Stewart sights his guns. A shell crashes through the rooms, and the Con- federates swarm out from doors and windows, like bees from a hive, in liasty flight. The men from Indiana give a lusty cheer. Gibbon's brigade moves up the old stage-road ; Longstreet's troops are arriving ; and as the sun goes down the volleys of musketry are like the grinding of the pebbles washed by the waves of the sea. The battle dies away as the darkness comes on. General McClellan has lost at Turner's Gap fifteen hundred and sixty -eight men, all but twenty -two of them killed or wounded. Among the killed was General Reno, commanding the Ninth Corps. He was a native of Virginia, but, unlike General Lee, and most of the ofiicers from the Southern States who had sided with the Confederacy, felt that he was in honor bound to fight for the old flag. General D. H. Hill, author of the "Algebra" and commander of the Con- federate troops in this battle, in his account of it speaks of him as'a "ren- egade Virginian who was killed by a happy shot from the Twenty-third INVASION OF MARYLAND. 311 North Carolina.'" The Confederate loss was between two and three thou- sand, more than fifteen liundred of them prisoners. Going down to Crampton's Pass, six miles from Turner s, where we saw Franklin forming his lines at ten o'clock, we see the battle opening at noon, with Slocum's division on the right and Smith's on the left. The Confederates are under General Howell Cobb, of Georgia, who bankrupted' the United States Treasury during Buchanan's administration — one of the conspirators who brought about the Rebellion. He holds the Pass with three brigades. The battle goes on for three hours, when Cobb is com- pelled to flee, losing one cannon and four hundred prisoners, with nearly as many more killed or wounded. Tlie troops at Harper's Ferry heard the cannon, the roll of musketry at Crampton's Gap. Colonel Miles knew that tlie Army of the Potomac was fighting its way to his relief, but at eight o'clock on Monday morning, September 15th, against the remonstrances of his officers and soldiers, he raised a white flag in token of surrender. A moment later he was mor- tally wounded. Harper's Ferry was lost, with its eleven thousand men and seventy-three cannon, through the incapacity of Colonel Miles ; through the postponement by McClellan of the hour of marching for Franklin from sunset on Saturday till daybreak on Sunday; through the movement of the main body of the army to Turner's Gap instead of Crampton's. The troops were indignant at the surrender, with so little resistance on the part of Miles ; some of them shed tears over the disgrace. The Union cavalry, immbering twenty-five hundred, made their escape under cover of the night. They followed winding forest-paths through the woods, avoiding the roads till they were north of Sharpsburg. While crossing the Williarasport and Hagerstown road, they came upon Long- street's ammunition-train. " Hold !" said the officer commanding the cavalry to the forward driver. " You are on the wrong road. That is the way." The driver turned towards the north as directed, not knowing that the officer was a Yankee. "Hold on there! You are on the wrong road. Who told you to turn off here, I should like to know ?" shouted the Confederate officer in charge of the train, dashing up on his horse. " I gave the order, sir." "Who are you, and what right have you to interfere with my train, sir?" said the officer, coming up in the darkness. " I am colonel of the Eighth New Jersey Cavalry, and you are my prisoner," said the Union officer, presenting his pistol. 312 DEUM-BEAT OF THE NATION. c One hundred wagons and seventy-four men were thus quietly cut out from tlie trains. At the head of this comj)any of prisoners marched a man with down- cast eyes, sunburned, dusty, dressed in gray, with a black featlier in his hat, Fitz-Hugli Miller, lie was a Pennsylvania!!. It was he who ar- rested Cook, one of Joh!i Brown's acconiplices in 1859, and delivered hii!i over to Governor Wise. Cook was tried, found guilty, and hanged. When the war broke out Miller went South, and was a captain in Lee's army. The people of Cliai!!bersburg Imew that he was a traitor. " Hang him !" they shouted. " A rope ! — get a rope !" There was a rush of men and women towards him. They were greatly excited. So!!ie picked up stones to hurl at him ; others shook their fists ii! his face ; but the guards closed round him, and hurried the pale and trembling man to prison as quickly as possible, and saved hiii! from a violent death. General Lee had defeated Pope at Bull Eun, had entered Maryland and pushed north to Ilagerstown. Jackson had captured Harper's Ferry, and there was !iow !!0 Union army to cut off his retreat, threaten his real', or intercept his communicatioi! with the Shenandoah Valley. His offi- cers and soldiers were expecting that he would lead them into Pennsyl- vania ; but General Lee knew that he could not !!iove farther north, now that he had been driven fro!!i South Mountain, for the Union avmy was pouring over the i!!ountain, and would soon be upon hii!i. He ixiust se- lect a field where he could concentrate his army and fight a defensive bat- tle. If he could once !!!ore defeat McClellan he could then invade Penn- sylvania. But his troops liad iiiade long and swift marches ; they were weary and worn. He had lost a great iiiany n!en. Thousands had been killed and wounded, other thousands had straggled. All told, he had not more thai! fifty thousand. General McClellan, however, believed that he had nearly oi!e hundred thousand. General Lee, after capturing Harper's Ferry, could have recrossed the Potomac, but he preferred to fight a battle north of the Potomac, and se- lected a field where it would be impossible for General McClellan to turn either of his flanks or get in his rear. In western Maryland is the little town of Sharpsburg, with a tui-npike leading i!orth to Hagerstown, and another running east to Boonesboro', and across the South Mountain Range to Frederick. Three miles west is Shepardstown, on the Potomac, which can be forded at low tide. A mile east of Sharpsburg is Antietam Creek, which rises north of Hagerstown, runs south between high, steep banks, and empties into the Potomac three miles south of Sharpsburg. It can be forded in many places. . INVASION OF MARYLAND. 313 Daybreak, September 15th, McClellan's troops are in possession of South Mountain, seven miles from Antietam. Thirty-five brigades are ready to advance. Lee has fourteen brigades, under Longstreet and Hill, which at that hour are making their way westward across Antietam River. The cannon have been at work all the morning at Harpers Ferry, but at eight o'clock the reverberations die away. The. white flag has been Hung out and the place surrendered. The Union cavalry under Pleasanton are at that moment dashing upon the Confederate cavalry, Lee's rear-guard at Boonesboro', capturing two cannon and two hundred and fifty prisoners. At the same hour General McClellan issued orders for the army to move on ; but at half- past twelve the Ninth Corps liad not started. Late in the afternoon, after a march of seven miles, Richardson's division of Sumner's corps reached the eastern bank of the Antietam to find Longstreet and Hill upon the western bank. Far different the marching of Stonewall Jackson's men. They have made the sixty-mile march from Frederick to Harj)er's Ferry, have captured the eleven thousand Union troops, and now are making the twenty-five-mile march back again to Sharpsburg. Through the afternoon, through the night of the 15th, they are pushing on, and at eight o'clock on the morning of the 16tli are at Shepardstown. Before sunset on the 16th Jackson's whole force, except A. P. Hill's division, together with McLaws's and Walker's, are at Sharpsburg. Through the forenoon of the IGth General McClellan, with his staff, is riding up and down the eastern bank of the Antietam, looking at the position of the Confederates, receiving the cheers of his troops. Not till afternoon does he decide what to do. Before noticing the movements of the army, let us walk up the turnpike towards Hagerstown. It is a beau- tiful country of rolling fields, patches of woodland, and farm-houses. We look down over the slopes to the winding Antietam beyond. Ten miles away is the South Mountain Range, with the white houses of Boonesboro' nestling at its western base. Nearer is the village of Keedysville. Every- where there are beautiful fields, waving with ripening corn. Just out from the village we look to the right upon a great barn and a small cottage, the home of Mr. Pij)er, a quarter of a mile from the turn- pike. Farther up the pike, three-quarters of a mile from Sharpsburg, we see a lane turning off to the right which leads down to Mr. Muma's and Mr, Rulet's farms. We turn east through their farms to the turnpike, which runs east from Sharpsburg to Keedysville. The rains have washed it, and it is lower than the surrounding fields. Keep this road in mind, for we shall see it again by-and-by. 314 DRUM-BEAT OF THE NATION. Going back to the Ilagerstown turnpike we come to a low, square brick building on the left — a little church where the Dunkers meet for worship. Beliind the church, and north of it, is a beautiful grove of oaks. East of the church is a cornlield, with another grove of oaks. Another half-mile brings us to Dr. Miller's house, on the east side of the turnpike, with his barn west of the road. There is a cornlield beliind the barn. A little farther we come to Mr. Poffenbui'ger's house, on tlie east side. If we were to walk down the narrow lane which branches off from the turnpike in front of Poffenburger's towards the north-west, a mile would bring us to the Potomac. Turning south-west from Poffenburger's, and walking down another narrow lane, we come to a large white house owned by Mr. Nicodemus. Going through his door-yard, and walking west fifty rods, we come to a beautiful swell of land. AVe see that a cannon planted there can throw shells in every directiqii — that it has the sweep of all the country. It is only two miles from the Potomac to the Antietam. General Lee sees that by forming a line from the hill on Mr. Nicodemus's farm to tlie Antietam he will have a great advantage of position, and will not be under the necessity of protecting his flank and rear. It is a strong line of swells of land, hollows, groves, ledges, rail-fences, cornfields, orchards, stone walls. These are the natural defences. In addition, the soldiers dig a trench and build a breastwork from the stone ledges w^est of the Dunker church to the turnpike south of it. Lee throws out his advanced line to the ridge east of Joseph Poffenburger's house, extending it south through the east grove of woods to Mr. Muma's field. This front line is half a mile east of the church. It was two o'clock in the afternoon of September 16th when the Penn- sylvania Keserves, under General Meade, crossed the Antietam. They en- countered Jackson's pickets on Mr. Hoffman's farm. There was a sharp skirmish and a cannonade, which lasted till dark, the Confederates being driven l:)ack to Mr. Poffenburger's. At dark the Pennsylvanians lay down upon their arms in a cornfield. General Mansfield's corps crossed the Antietam during the night and halted a mile in rear of General Hooker, while General Sunmer's troops remained east of the Antietam. General Burnside, with the Ninth Corps, moved south on the east bank of the stream and bivouacked at the base of Elk Ridge, to be in position to cross by a stone bridge which now bears his name. General McClellan's plan was to attack Lee's left \vith Hooker's and Mansfield's corps, suj^ported by Sumner, and as soon as matters looked INVASION OF MARYLAND. ' 315 favorable there, to have Bnrnside cross and attack south of Sharpsburg. lie held Porter east of Antietam in reserve. The morning of the 17th was threatening, and heavy clouds hung upon the summits of South Mountain. At five o'clock Hooker's men rise from the furrows in the cornfield, shake the dew-drops from their hair, roll their blankets, kindle their fires, and eat their breakfasts. In the field west of the Dunker church the soldiers of Hood's Confed- erate division were kindling their fires, breaking open barrels of flour, wetting it with water, and baking cakes in the ashes. General Hood had held the line in the east woods till midnight, when Lawton, Law, and Trimble relieved him. The Union pickets began the battle, aiming at the dusky forms stirring amid the corn-leaves. Then the batteries opened. A shell from a Con- federate cannon burst in the Sixth Wisconsin, disabling eight men, before the regiment made any movement. Doubleday's brigade, north-east of Poffenburger's house, held Hooker's extreme right. Then came Meade's division, with Ricketts's division in rear. Mead was to lead the advance, and his troops pressed on after the skirmishers towards the woods east of Dr. Miller's house. On the Confederate side Lawton's division of Jackson's corjDs held the position. Ripley's brigade, of D. H. Hill's division, was between the woods and Mr. Muma's house. McClellan's batteries — thirty cannon — east of the Antietam, opened fire, sending solid shot and shell upon Lawton, Ripley, and Hill. " It enfiladed my line, and was a damaging fire," said Jackson in his report. But Jackson's batteries replied, and the cannonade rolled along the valleys, announcing to the people of Hagerstown, Boonesboro', and Sharps- burg that a great battle had begun. General Ricketts advanced with Christian's and Duryea's brigades, and with the Pennsylvania Reserves moving towards the cornfield south of Miller's house, driving the Confederates. They reached the middle of the field, but were met by a withering fire from Lawton's, Hays's, Trimble's, Walker's, and Douglas's brigades of Jackson's command. The men dropped thick and fast on both sides, some killed instantly, others hobbling away : the Confederate wounded towards the woods by the Dunker church, the LTnion wounded towards the east woods. The Confederate cannon planted around the church hurled shells from the front, while the batteries on the hill behind the house of Mr. Nicodemus enfiladed the Union line. 316 DRUM-BEAT OF THE NATION. Hooker had, in all, about ten thousand men — ten brigades. Double- day was reaching out west of the turnpike by Poffenburger's house. If Hooker had known just how Jackson's line was formed — if he had known that the hill behind Kicodemus's house commanded the entire field as far south as Muma's house — he would not have advanced towards the Dun- ker church, but would have reinforced Doubleday and carried the hill. But he could not see how commanding a position it was ; so from that hill the shot and shells came with terrible effect. In the cornfield, in Mr. Miller's orchard, all over the ground between the east and west woods, the struggle went on, Jackson bringing in all his troops, with the exception of Early's brigade, and all his artillery, and sending in haste for Hood to help him. General Starke, commanding the Stonewall division, was killed ; also Colonel Douglas, commanding Law- ton's brigade. Lawton, commanding EwelFs division, and Walker, com- manding a brigade, were wounded. More than half of Lawton's and Hays's, more than one-third of Trimble's, and all the regimental com- manders in these brigades, except two, went down. On the Union side llicketts loses one hundred and fifty-three killed and eight hundred and ninety-eight wounded. Of Phel^^s's brigade nearly one-half were killed or wounded. By half-past seven o'clock the first act of the drama is over. The mus- ketry dies away, but the cannonade goes on — Battery B, Fourth United States Artillery, Cooper's and Easton's Pennsylvania batteries, and Edget's !N^ew Hampshire, on the ridge by Poffenburger's, sending a continuous storm of shells into the woods beyond Xicodemus's house, whence came another storm, riddling Poffenburger's house and barn, upsetting his bee- hives, ploughing the ground in his garden, exploding in the rail-fences, and whirring away over the heads of the worn and weary men lying upon the ground. Hooker's batteries kept up the fire to prevent Jackson from assuming the offensive, and the Confederate guns replied — possibly to pre- vent a renewal of the attack, which had all but succeeded. The cannonade dies away, and the gunners throw themselves upon the ground to rest a while, kindle their fires, and drink a cup of coffee. At early morn I mounted my horse in Hagerstown, where I had ar- rived on the preceding evening, upon its evacuation by Longstreet. The people of the town were at the windows and in the streets, listening to the reverberations rolling along the valley. The wind was from the south- west, a gentle breeze ; the clouds were sweeping the tree-tops of South Mountain. I had a seven-mile ride before me to reach the field, and half resolved to go down the turnpike to Sharpsburg, gain the rear of the Con- INVASION OF MARYLAND. 317 iMAP OF ANTIETAM. 318 DRUM-BEAT OF THE NATION. federates, and see the battle from that side. I was in citizen's dress, and might not be turned back by the Confederates ; bnt the people of Hagers- town dissuaded me from attempting it. The uproar begins again, and a rattle of musketry, like the pattering of the first drops of rain upon a roof, then a roll, crash, roar, and rush like a mighty ocean billow. Riding rapidly down the Boonesboro' Road, I came upon a Confederate soldier who was lying beneath a tree, wrapped in his blanket. He doubtless thought that I was a Union cavalryman, and raised his hand imploringly, as if to ask me not to shoot him. He was thin and pale, had dropped in the retreat, and had not strength enough to move on. There was fever in his hollow cheeks, and I left him with the conviction that he never again would see his Southern home, and that ere many days he would be at rest forever — life's battle ended. Another mile, and I came upon the drift-wood of the Union army. Every army has soldiers faint of heart in battle. I came upon one group in bright, new uniforms — fresh soldiers, who were fleeing from this their first battle. " AVhere does this road lead to ?" one asked, with white lips. " To Hagerstown ; but where are you going ?" " Our division has been ordered to Hagerstown, and we are going there to join it." I knew that he was not telling the truth. They hastened on, cowards for the moment. Striking across fields towards the white powder-cloud rising above the trees, I came upon the hospital, on the farm of Mr. Hoffman, where, at that early hour, there were long rows of wounded. Turning from the sickening scenes I ascended a hill, and came upon the men of Hooker's corps, who had opened the battle, learned the story of their conflict, and then rode on to Joseph Poffenburger's house, behind which were thirty cannon, and their muzzles pointing south-west. At the moment their brazen lips were cooling. There was a lull in the battle. All was quiet in the oak grove along the Hagerstown Turnpike. I could see no gleam- ing bayonets amid the trampled corn-rows west of D. R, Miller's barn. I did not know that the line of men in blue lying on the ground by Poffenburger's was the foremost line of the Army of the Potomac. I rode down through the door-yard, where the hollyhocks were opening their white and red bell-shaped flowers to the morning sun. The flower- beds in the garden were trampled. A Confederate shell had exploded among the beehives ; the Union soldiers had gathered the honey, and the swarms were angrily buzzing in the air. I went down the turnpike tow- INVASION OF MARYLAND. 319 ards Miller's house, and came upon a Union soldier crouching beneath the wall. " Where are you going ?" he asked. " I thought tlmt I would go to the front.'' " The front ! You have passed it. I am on the skirmish line ; jou liad better get out of here mighty quick. The Rebs are in the corn, right there." I acted upon the timely advice and turned back ; none too soon, for a moment later solid shot and shells were screaming through the air. Goino- south, I came upon the Twelfth Corps, General Mansfield's. It had biv- ouacked a mile in rear of Hooker's, and did not arrive at the east woods till after eight o'clock. General Mansfield was an old man, white-haired, but his eye was keen, and he had a resolute will. He deploys his line from Dr. Miller's house south through the garden — the cornfield beyond. He has only two small divisions — Crawford's and Greene's. He rides along the line, his long, white hair streaming in the wind. He does not stop to consider that he is a conspicuous object ; that Confederate sharp-shooters are crouching in the corn west of the turnpike ; that some are but a few rods distant be- hind Dr. Miller's barn. He rides forward into the orchard south of the house. A minie- bullet comes from the cornfield, and he falls from his horse mortally wounded. General Williams succeeds to the command. Many of the soldiers of the Twelfth Corps are new, and this is their first battle ; but they are brigaded with veterans who have been through all the battles of the Peninsula and Bull Run, and move resolutely to the attack. At the word of command the line moves down the gentle slope, past Miller's house, across the turnpike, through the cornfield beyond, to the west woods. Suddenly they come upon sharp-shooters crouched behind the trees, who retreat as the line advances. On through the woods moves the line to the western edge, to come upon Hood's division, posted be- hind limestone ledges and a rail-fence. Sheets of flame burst from the hill, where Stuart's cannon hurl canister upon the men in blue under Crawford. The Confederates are well protected, the Union troops whol- ly exposed. In the thick of the fight General Hooker is wounded, and the com- mand of the right wing devolves upon General AVilliams. He has no force in reserve. Hooker's corps is too much broken to come to his sup- port. Hartsuff's and Gibbon's brigades have joined in the attack, but there are no others at hand. Mansfield expected that Sedgwick's divis- 320 DRUM-BEAT OF THE NATION. SCENE BY RAIL-FENCE, ANTIETAM. ion of Sumner's corps would attack by the Dunker church, but that di- vision is nearly a mile in the rear, moving slowly. If it were present, D. H. Hill would not be rushing from the field soutli of the church to roll back Greene's division. The Union lines are melting away, and are gradually forced back over the field, tliickly strewn now with their fallen comrades. The second act in the terrible drama is over — badly managed on the part of the Union commanders, but admirably by Jackson, who has shift- ed his troops to meet every emergency. He has had all the advantage of position, and nearly, if not fully, as many troops as Hooker in the first attack, and more than Mansfield in the second. General McClellan, by sending in a corps at a time, frittered away his strength. Only Hook- er's and Mansfield's had been ordered across the Antietam to attack the Confederate left. It was twenty minutes past seven in the morning when Sumner received his orders to cross the stream. He had been in position on the eastern bank for thirty-six hours, and might have opened the at- tack before sunset on the 15th, but no orders had come to him. Through the morning the men of this corps have heard the deafening cannonade and the rolls of musketry. They meet wounded men, and hear doleful stories of disaster. Sumner forms Sedgwick's division in a col- umn of brigades, Dana's in front ; close behind it Gorman's, and then INVASION OF MARYLAND. 321 Howard's, General Sumner is between sixty and seventy years of age, a brave and grim old man, wlio has seen a great deal of liardship on the Western plains with the cavalry, but w^ho, till the breaking out of the war, had but little experience with infantry. He makes a mistake in thus forming liis line, and not holding a portion of the troops to protect his left flank. Possibly he thinks that General French, who is to attack by Muma's house, will shield him on the left ; but French's division is far behind, just turning into the fields south of Mr. Hoffman's house. General Sumner does not mistrust that there are ten Confederate bri- gades lying concealed in the hollow and behind the fences between the Dunker church and Muma's house, ready to swing upon his rear as Sedg- wick moves towards the church ; but there they are, waiting their great opportunity. Hot blasts from the Confederate guns behind the church beat upon Dana's line as it moves across the turnpike. Gorman is on the turnpike, How^ard just east of it, when suddenly the men in gray rise from the hol- lows in Muma's field. Sumner is talking with Colonel Kimball, of the Fifteenth Massachusetts, when Major Philbrick of that regiment shouts, " See ! the Kebels !" "My God ! We must get out of this!" Sumner exclaims. He is in front of the church, between Gorman's and Dana's brigades, and rides back to Dana's advancing line. " Change front !" he shouts. The line comes to a halt. Officers run hither and thither. The men have been advancing south-west ; they must get into position to face south-east. Gen- eral Howard, commanding the rear brigade, sees the Confederate line fold- ino' round his left flank. The reo^iment on the extreme left of his line is the Seventy -second Pennsylvania, and is the first to feel the blow. The bravest men in the world, standing as they find themselves, would be no more than sticks and straws in a whirlwind at that moment. Five minutes ago Sedgwick's brigades were advancing over the smooth and level field ; now all is confusion. Howard and Dana swing as best they can to meet the onset. Gorman, instead of pushing on, begins to fall back, not over the ground where he has advanced, but northward towards Miller's and Poffenburger's. The struggle is short, but 'the loss fearful. In a very few minutes more than two thousand of Sedgwick's men are killed or wounded, and the whole division driven back to the east woods. But the Union batter- ies open with canister, and the ten Confederate brigades are driven in turn to the shelter of the hollows in Muma's fields, and into the woods by the church. 21 322 DRUxM-BEAT OF THE NATION. When the Fifteenth Massachusetts regiment advanced towards the church it numbered five hundred and eighty-two ; in twenty minutes three hundred and forty-three had been killed or wounded. Yery severe were tlie losses of the Confederates in this short melee. " Here I witnessed," says General Hood, " the most terrible clash of arms by far that has occurred during the war." The disaster to Sedgwick had come about through the formation of the entire division as an assaulting colunm, with not even a skirmish line of flankers. Had Sumner waited till French's and Richardson's divisions were in line, far different would have been this story of the battle. General French's division of Sumner's corps followed Sedgwick, cross- ing the Antietam, turning to the left, and marching through the fields tow- ards the house of Mr. Muma. Richardson filed to the left, moved along the bank of the river, crossed a little brook which springs from the hill-side near Rulet's house, encountered Hill's skirmishers, drove them up the ravine, and formed his line under cover of a hill. French is in the ravine, with half of his division north of the brook, tlie other half south. He has Weber's, Kimball's, and Morris's brigades, and forms them as Sedgwick did his, in three lines — Weber in front, Morris in the second, and Kimball in the third line. Morris's men have never been under fire. They are new troops, they have heard the roar of battle through the morning ; and now, as they ad- vance across the fields, the batteries on the hills all around Rulet's house open upon them, gun after gun, battery after battery. The hill -side grows white ; a silver cloud floats down the ravine and enfolds them ; there are flashes, jets of smoke, iron bolts in the air above, tearing up the ground below or cutting through the ranks ; they feel the breath of the shot, the puff of air in their faces, and hear the terrifying shriek. A comrade leaps into the air, spins round, or falls to the ground. They behold his torn and mangled body, but they see not the shot that wounded him. D. H. Hill has his front line in the ravine by Muma's. The Confed- erate soldiers have an opportunity to fill their canteens from the cool water bubbling up from the spring -house. The sharp-shooters are in Muma's chambers, firing from the windows at French's troops as they ad- vance over the field east of the house. The skirmishers in the burial- ground near the house rest their muskets upon the white head-stones. French arrives while Sedgwick is having the great struggle in front of the church. Kirby's, Bartlett's, and Owen's batteries, of Sedgwick's divis- ion, are on the hill-side east of Miller's field, rakinoj the Confederate lines. o — O S 3' tri S 3 =■ Si S « ^ ^ INVASION OF MARYLAND. 325 Tlie sharp-shooters occupying Muma's house and barn, finding the place too hot for them, apply the torch to the buildings, and retreat to Rulet's orchard. The dark pillar of cloud, the bright flames beneath, the con- stant flashing of the artillery, and the hill-sides alive with thousands of troops, their banners waving, tlieir baj^onets gleaming, is a terrible scene of grandeur. Weber's brigade advances steadily, throwing down the fences, scaling the stone walls, preserving a regular line. Not so with Morris's, which is thrown into confusion. The time has come to strike a great blow. " Tell General Kimball to move to the front and come in on the left of "Weber," is French's order to General Kimball. The brigade* swings towards the south, past Morris's brigade, enters the ravine, and pushes on towards Rulet's. Far up the hill-side, in Rulet's, Muma's, and T)r. Piper's cornfields, are the Confederates of Longstreet's and D. H. Hill's reserve brigades. On the hills south of Sharpsburg is A. P. Hill, just arriving from Harper's Ferry. All of the hills are smoking with artillery. Jackson's batteries by the church are still firing upon Howard, who, now that Sedgwick has been carried from the field, commands that division of Sumner's corps. Just beyond Muma's the road is sunk below the surface of the ground. It has been used many years, has been washed by rains, forming a natural rifle-pit, in which D. H. Hill posts his first line. Between this pathway and the pike is a cornfield, in which he stations his second line, with his artillery planted on the knoll higher up, near the turnpike. It is but a few rods from Muma's to the road — " Bloody Lane " since the battle. There is an apple orchard west of Rulet's house, beyond which the ground rises sharp and steep — a rounded knoll, sloping towards the west into the sunken path. The line of advance taken by Weber carries him directly towards the smoking ruins of Muma's buildings, while Kimball passes between Muma's and Rulet's. Weber's troops move over the mown field, past the burial-ground, leap- ing the fences. Some of the men pause a moment, rest their rifles on the rails and tombstones, and take a long shot at the dark line in the corn-field. They cannot see the nearer line of Hill's division lying in the hidden road. Kimball, a little farther south, joining his right to Weber's left, sweeps on in splendid order past Muma's spring-house, his left wing touching the apple-trees around Rulet's. The Union batteries east of the Antietam — the twenty-pounder Parrotts — Richardson's batteries on the hillocks be- yond the ravine — Kirby, Owen, Thompson, and Bartlett, are all at work. 326 DRUM-BEAT OF THE NATION. Smith's division of Franklin's corps — tlie Sixth — which has arrived from Crampton's Gap, advances to protect the riglit flank of French, con- fronting the Confederate troops that liave driven Sedgwick from the field. Under cover of tliis fire French moves np the hilL His men reach the crest and behold a rail-fence between them and the road. Suddenly thousands of men seem to rise out of the ground. The work of death be- gins. French's men, instead of fleeing from this unexpected foe, intrenched in so strong a position, rush with a loud hurrah towards the fence. The lines are not ten paces apart. Hill's is consumed like a straw in a candle's flame, it melts like lead in a crucible ; ofiicers and men go down, falling in heaps. The few who are left after the tremendous volleys flee into the cornfield beyond. French's men tear away the rails, leap over the fences, plunge into the road, trampling down the dead and dying, rush upon the second line with uncontrollable fury, scattering it in an instant. I am in rear of the line, upon a knoll, with the scene like a panorama before me. French's men come to the house and spacious barn of Ixulet. The lines divide, but unite once more beyond. I see the blue uniforms beneath the a2')ple-trees in the orchard. The sunlight glints from barrel and bayonet. There comes a crash of musketry — lightning flashes, white powder-clouds. Above the uproar I hear the Union cheer, the Confeder- ate yell. There are turning-points in the lives of men. A parting of ways has come to McClellan. He is sitting in an arm-chair across the Antietam, beholding the scene through a telescope, but does not see the golden moment. Fitz-Jolm Porter's corps is there, eleven thousand men. Were he to hurl them upon the discomfited Confederates he would divide Lee's army at the centre. AVhile French was thus dealing with General D. H, Hill, Richardson was engaging Longstreet. General Meagher, witli his Irish brigade, was on the right, the tip of its -wing touching Rulet's garden. Caldwell's bri- gade was on the left, reaching down nearly to the Boonesboro' Turnpike. Brooke's brigade was in reserve. Lcngstreet's batteries were on the hills around Dr. Piper's, and his troops — a part of them — in the road, the upper end of which was held by D, H. Hill. His line was so formed, and such was the ground, that Caldwell, instead of swinging round upon Sharpsburg, was obliged to fall in rear of Meagher, and became a second line instead of a part of the first. French was pouring in his volleys north of Rulet's, and Meagher, climbing the knolls and rushing up the ravines, came upon the enemy in the road. It was a rej^etition, or rather a continuation, of the scene then INVASION OF MARYLAND. 327 enacting a few rods farther north. The Irish brigade fought till their ammunition was exhausted. They drove the Confederates from the road, and held it. Again and again Longstreet endeavored to recover it. General Richardson was wounded, and carried from the field. General Meagher was bruised by the falling of his horse. His men, worn, ex- liausted, half their number killed and wounded, retired by breaking ranks and filing to the rear, Cald well's troops filing to the front at the same moment, and taking their places. It was done as deliberately as if it were a dress parade. The ground towards the Boonesboro' pike is very much broken. There are numerous hillocks and ravines, cornfields, stone walls, and fences. Un- der shelter of these Longstreet stealthily moved a division to attack Cald- well's right flank in the cornfield west of the sunken road. It was a part of the force attacking French. Brooke's brigade went upon the run up the ravine, and filled the gap between Caldwell and Kimball, and held it against all the assaults of the enemy. On Caldwell's left the sunken road winds among the hills. Longstreet still held that ground. Colonel Barlow reconnoitred thes situation. He commanded the Sixty-first and Sixty-fourth 'New York regiments, and ordered thera to march by the left flank. They pushed out into the fields towards Sharpsburg, gained the fiank of the enemy still holding the road, and forced three hundred to surrender. He also captured their colors. There is once more a lull in the battle. Longstreet is making prepara- tions to regain his lost ground. Having failed on French's right, by liu- let's, he renews the attack on the left. But Colonel Cross, of the Fifth New Hampshire, who has fought the Indians of the Western plains, who has tracked the grisly bears of the Rocky Mountains, discovers the move- ment. It is the same which has been successful against Sedgwick. The left of Caldwell is far advanced towards Dr. Piper's when Colonel Cross sees Longstreet's troops making a rapid movement to gain a hill in his rear. He changes front, and his regiment goes upon the run to gain the hill. The two lines are within close musket-range. They make a parallel movement, firing as they run. It is an exciting race. Colonel Cross cheers his men, inspires them with his own untamable enthusiasm, gains the hill, faces his troops towards the enemy, and delivers a volley. It checks their advance a moment, but, rallied by the ofiicers, they rush on, charging up the hill. Cross, reinforced by the Eighty-first Pennsylvania, which has followed him, gives the word, " At them, boys !" He leads the countercharge. The Confederates break in confusion, leaving a stand of colors and three hundred prisoners in Cross's hands. 328 DRUM-BEAT OF THE NATION. Again Longstreet tries to drive back the centre and regain the road, and again Barlow repulses him, charging through the cornfield, almost up to the Ilagerstown Turnpike, and gaining Dr. Piper's house. Yin- cent's and Graham's batteries gallop to the hills south of Ru- let's, wheel into po- sition, and reply to the batteries on the hills along the turn- pike north of Pi- per's. Hancock, who now commands Richardson's divis- ion, can hold his ground, but he can- not advance. Thus, by one o'clock, Lee has been pushed from his ad- vanced lines on the right and on the left. He still holds the rocky ledges in the woods behind the church, and main- tains his position along the turnpike and holds the lower bridge, where Burnside is endeavoring to force a crossing. It was past one o'clock when Franklin's corj^s, with Smith's and Slo- cum's divisions, arrived. It had marched twelve miles. The soldiers were weary. Slocum's division relieves Sedgwick, while Smith occupies the ground near Rulet's house. There is a consultation of officers in the woods in rear of Slocum's position. Franklin wishes to attack with all his force. Irwin's brigade and the Vermont brigade are already engaged. General McClellan rides across the Antietam, comes upon the field, directs the commander to hold his position, but to make no attack. He rides bare- headed on his favorite horse along the lines. The troops cheer him. He takes a hasty look at the field, directs the commanders to hold their ground, but issues no other order, and rides back to his headquarters east of the Antietam. THE SUNKEN ROAD. INVASION OF MARYLAND. 329 I went in that direction, and readied the headquarters, tlie ]iouse of Mr. Prj, a large, square mansion surrounded with trees. McClellan was seated in an arm-chair on the lawn, his staff were near by, their horses sad- dled and bridled. Stakes had been driven into the ground to support the telescopes through which McClellan and Fitz-Jolm Porter and other offi- cers were surveying the battle-iield. Four stone bridges cross the Antietam. Hooker and Mansfield had crossed the two upper ones. The next one is on the road leading west from Keedysville to Sharpsburg ; the fourth, farther south, is twelve feet wide and one hundred and fifty in length. General McClellan had or- dered General Burnside to carry the bridge, cross the stream, and attack Lee's right flank. The west bank is steep. There is a grove of oak-trees, a limestone quarry, and a stone wall, where General Toombs had placed his brigade, to pour deadly volleys upon the bridge. He had four pieces of artillery. Burnside places a line of batteries along the eastern bank, and all the morning the cannon throw solid shot and shell at the Confederates, mak- ing a great noise, but doing little damage. He forms his troops with Stur- gis's division on the right, Wilcox's in the centre, Rodman's on the left, with Cox's division, commanded by Crook, in reserve. " You are to carry the bridge, gain the heights beyond, and advance along their crest to Sharpsburg, and reach the rear of the enemy," was the order of McClellan to Burnside. There was no imperative need for such an order. It was not necessary that the bridge should be carried. The water in the Antietam was low, and it could be forded in many places ; but neither McClellan nor Burn- side thought of having the troops ford the stream. Several messengers were sent by McClellan to Burnside in the early morning, directing him to assault the bridge. " McClellan appears to think that I am not trying my best to carry the bridge. You are the third or fourth one who has been to me with similar orders," said Burnside to Major Sackett. The men must wind down a hill, cross a level plateau, and rush upon the bridge, climb the steep bank beyond, with cannon vomiting canister and shrapnel, and the riflemen of Toombs's command picking them off. from their place of concealment and protection in the stone quarries. Again and again the head of the assaulting column melted away. General Sackett says : " General Burnside ordered assaults to be made upon the bridge which were for a long time unsuccessful. I had been at his headquarters for fully three hours, when Colonel Key arrived from 330 DRUM-BEAT OF THE NATION. McCIellan's headquarters with positive orders to push across tlie bridge and to move rapidlj upon tlie heights ; to carry the bridge at the point of tlie bayonet, if necessary, and not stop for loss of life, as sacrifices must be made in favor of success." The Second Maryland and Sixth N^ew Hampshire troops, in column, charged upon the bridge. Instantly the west bank was a sheet of flame. The head of the charging column melted away, and the troops fell back BUKNSIDE BRIDGE. under cover of the ridge on the eastern bank. It was one o'clock before Burnside was ready for a second attack. Then the Fifty -first New York, Fifty-first Pennsylvania, Thirty-fifth and Twenty-first Massachusetts, and Seventh Connecticut rushed upon the bridge, carried it, drove Toombs from the stone quarry and walls, and the divisions, one by one, crossed the stream and deployed along the western bank. There had been a fearfnl sacrifice of life. After the bridge liad been carried a large portion of tRe troops forded the stream, which they might have done during the attack, if such an order had been issued. INVASION OF MARYLAND. 331 At three o'clock tlie whole Ninth Corps advanced. Jackson and Hood were sending men upon the rnn southward to help Longstreet to resist Burnside's attack. It is a critical moment with Lee, but his heart is cheered by the arrival of A. P. Hill from Harper's Ferry. His soldiers go on the run across the fields. They have marched seventeen miles in seven hours. The brigades of Pender and Brockenbrough hold the ex- treme right. Then come the brigades of Branch, Gregg, and Archer, joining Toombs and D. R. Jones. From three o'clock till late in the afternoon the battle rages in the fields south of Sharpsburg. Burnside almost reaches the town, but his left flank, Podraan's divis- ion, is exposed. A. P. Hill attacks it sharply, and the troops fall back towards the Antietam. The sun is going down, red and large as seen through the murky battle - cloud. One of the Union batteries from my position seems to be in the sun. All of the Confederate caimon are in play. The wdiole landscape is flaming and smoking, but as darkness conies on the flashes cease, the thunder dies away. Groping my way amid the bivouac fires and along the lines, I come upon a group of soldiers who have eaten their supper of hard bread, and are whiling the hours away with song and story. Tender thoughts come as they think of comrades who never more will march with them or stand by their side in battle, and thoughts of loved ones far away. This the song I hear : "Do they miss me at home ? do they miss me? 'Twould be an assurance most dear To know at this moment some loved one Were saying, 'I wish he were here.'" Through the night the troops rested on their arms. With the rising of the sun on the 18th the cannonade began. General Couch's division had arrived. McClellan had twenty-five thousand troops that had taken no part in the battle, yet no orders were issued to renew the struggle. He had eighty thousand men, and more troops were on their way. "Whether to renew the attack on the 18th or to defer it, even with the risk of the enemy's retirement, was a question with me," says Gen- eral McClellan. He decided to wait. He believed that Lee had one hun- dred thousand, but at no time during the battle of the 17th were there fifty thousand Confederates on the field. A white flag came out from the Confederate lines asking for an ar- mistice to gather up the wounded between the two armies. It was granted. I walked over the field in front of the Dunker church, where 332 DRUM-BEAT OF THE NATION. the conflict liad been so fierce. Tlie dead "were there in blue and gray. Upon the breast of one in bhie lay a pocket Bible, open at the Psalms. Looking at the page, I read, " Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil : for thou art with me ; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me." Upon the fly-leaf the sentence, written, doubtless, by a loving mother, " We hope and pray that you may be per- mitted by a kind Providence, after the war is over, to return " — a prayer never to be granted. The son had given his life to his country. The day passed, neither army renewing the attack ; but through the night the Union pickets could hear the tramping of feet, the rumble of cannon-wheels growing fainter in the distance, and mistrusted what the morning revealed — that the Confederates were retreating. "When the sun rose once more not a Confederate was to be seen ; all were south of the Potomac. McClellau gave orders for the army to advance. The various corps pushed on to Sharpsburg. General Porter's corps hui-ried down to the Potomac, forded the river, and formed on the southern shore, but found itself confronted by the Confederate artillery. The soldiers ad- vanced, but were driven with great loss. When they could have done great good they were not used ; when they were used they could accom- plish nothing. So the great battle was fruitless of results. The Union army has greatly outnumbered the Confederate, but it has attacked by divisions and frittered away its strength ; has lost between twelve and thirteen thousand in killed and wounded. How great the Confederate loss was will never be known. General Lee estimated the number at less than eleven thousand ; but from the crossing of the Poto- mac at Frederick to the recrossing after the battle, nearly twenty thou- sand had been lost from his ranks. Riding up the hill-side to the sunken road, I came upon the line of men who had gone down under the onslaught of French and Richardson, lying as the grass lies in the swathe of the mowers. They were in rows, like the ties of a railroad, in heaps like sticks of wood. The hot blast which had flamed in their faces had shrivelled Hill's lines as the simoom blasts the verdure of the forest. There were prostrate forms which in the full vigor of life had gone down with resolution and energy still lin- gering on their pallid cheeks. There was one with a cartridge between his thumb and finger, the end bitten off, and the paper between his teeth, when the fatal bullet pierced his heart, and all the naachinery of life came to an instant stand -still. A young lieutenant had fallen while trying to rally his men, his resolute energy was still on his face. In the cornfield beyond, fourteen Confederate dead were lying in a heap, the I INVASION OF MAEYLAND. SCENE AT THE SUNKEN ROAD. stalks and broad green leaves trampled and stained with the crimson life- flood. By the Hagerstown Turnpike the body of a Confederate sharp-shooter was hangino; on the limb of a tree. He had climbed into it for a com- manding position, and had been picked off by a Union soldier. The horses of a Confederate battery had gone down in a heap in the public square in Sharpsbur General McClellan was there. The troops were passing through the town. The complacent look which illuminated his countenance on the day of battle was no longer there. Those who had cheered him when he rode along the lines in front of Muma's burning buildings no longer swung their hats. That Lee had escaped when he might have been crashed was the manifest conviction. The unexplained inaction of the 18th had brought about a marked change of sentiment among men and officers alike towards General McClellan. 334: DRUM-BEAT OF THE NATION. CHAPTER XIY. INVASION OF KENTUCKY. T\7E have followed the Army of the Potomac during the summer of ^ * 1862, and now turn towards the west to see what the armies in that section of the country have been doing. The battle of Pittsburg Lauding was fought in April. In June the Confederate array under Beauregard retreated to Tu23elo, in Mississippi, wliere Beanregard was succeeded by General Bragg. On the Union side, General Ilalleck, who had commanded all the Union armies west of the Alleghanies, was called to Washington and nuade general - in - chief. lie made the mistake of dividing the army which had fought the battle of Pittsburg Landing, and scattering it in de- tachments all the w^ay from Memphis to Chattanooga. The army under General Grant, which had fought during the first day at Pittsbui-g Land- ing, held the country between Memphis and the little town of luka, twen- ty-five miles east of Corinth, on the Memphis and Charleston Railroad. ■ The army under General Buell was farther east. Opening the map, we see Iluntsville, in Alabama, a very pretty place, north of the Tennessee, where BuelFs right wing was stationed. It is one Inindred miles from luka. Going east from Iluntsville in a straight line sixty miles, we come to the little hamlet of Jasper, north of Chattanooga, M-here we find the left wing of his army. Some of the divisions are at Dechard. Buell is obliged to receive his supplies either from MemjDhis or Nashville, where there are depots filled with flour, beef, and pork. The army is not so large as it was in June, for the time of the soldiers who enlisted for a year has expired. They have gone home, and their places have not been filled by new recruits. General Bragg planned a movement of the Confederate army from Tupelo to Chattanooga. The trooj)s went in the cars south to Mobile, then north the entire length of Alabama to Chattanooga. The wagons moved across the country. By this movement he was in a position to strike General Buell's left flank. i INVASION OF KENTUCKY. 335 His ranks, which liad been thinned by the battle of Pittsburg Land- ing, were once more filled up ; not by volunteers, but by men who had been forced into the army under the Conscription Act passed by the Con- federate Congress. The people of the South seceded from the Union in defence of State Rights, but they were beginning to see that State Rights were not re- garded by the Confederate Government ; that the government set up by the Confederate Congress was a despotism. If a conscript resisted, he was seized by force. If he secreted himself, he was hunted down. General Lee was moving north in Virginia, and General Bragg re- solved to march north and invade Kentucky, which would compel Gen- eral Buell to fall back to the Ohio River. At the same time General Kirby Smith was to march from East Tennessee due north into Eastern Kentucky, to Lexington, Fraidcfort, and on towards Cincinnati. Such movements, it was thought, would transfer the theatre of war to the banks of the Ohio. It was believed that there were thousands of young men in Kentucky who would join the Confederate army. Bragg hoped to capture Louisville and invade Ohio. Kentucky was rich in horses. The harvests had been gathered ; he could live upon the country. He would create terror in the Western States just as General Lee was creating consternation at Washington by his invasion of Maryland. The Confederate cavalry was far superior to the Union cavalry. At the beginning of the war the Union Government did not encourage the formation of regiments of cavalry because the outfit was so costly. On the other hand, the Confederates saw that cavalry, by making raj^id move- ments, could be used with great effect. At Murfreesboro' was a brigade of Union troops : the Third Minne- sota, Colonel Lester, and Ninth Michigan, Colonel Duftield, with four pieces of artillery and a company of cavalry. General Crittenden com- manded the post. The officers disagreed ; there was little discipline, and things generally were at loose ends. The officers forgot that "eternal vigilance is the price of liberty." General Forrest, commanding a bri- gade of Confederate cavalry, learned from his spies how things wei"e : that the Third Minnesota Regiment was encamped east of the town, and six companies of the Ninth Michigan west of it — they were three miles apart — and that one company of the Ninth was quartered in the court-house. It is not known how the negroes around Murfreesboro' discovered what Forrest intended to do, but it is certain that a negro came into toM'n and said, " Massa Forrest is coming witli a big ai-my, sure." 336 DRUM-BEAT OF THE NATION. " It is a nigger story," said the officers, who paid no attention to it. Daylight is streaming up the east on July 12tli when the Union pickets south of Murfreesboro' hear a clatter of hoofs upon the turnpike, and dis- cover a long line of cavalry coming like the wind. The pickets fire their guns. The guards in town hear the clatter of the tw^o thousand horses, and give the alarm. The soldiers in the court-house bar the doors. With a whoop and yell the Georgians and Texans galloped through the streets, capturing the Union guards and taking j^ossession of the town. Two of the Confederate regiments dashed upon the camp of the Xinth Michigan, but the regiment rallied and drove them. Forrest attacked the Third Minnesota, but Colonel Lester foi^med his troops and opened fire. For- rest dashed round to Lester's rear and attacked the camp, but was again driven. He went back to the Kintli Michigan, dismounted two of his regiments, sent the Second Georgia to get in rear of the Union troops, then hoisted a white flag, and sent a message to Dufiield, demanding his surrender, and Duffield com^jlied with this demand. Having captured these, he turned about and made the same demand upon Lester, who was too weak to resist. So seventeen hundred men, four cannon, six hun- dred mules and horses, and a million dollars' worth of supplies were lost. Forrest carried away w^hat he could and burned the rest. General IS^elson, commanding the nearest troops, started to capture Forrest ; but as he had no cavalry, Forrest trotted away eastward to McMinnville, then rode north fifty miles to Lebanon, then dashed west nearly to Xashville, captured one hundred and fifty guards along the rail- road, burned four bridges, and rode back to McMinnville. John H. Morgan, who was born at Lexington, Kentucky, and who had served in the Mexican War, was brave and daring. He had joined the Confederates, and raised a regiment of young men who were ready for any adventure. They were mostly Kentuckians acquainted with the country. General Bragg sent him to destroy the railroad between Louisville and Nashville over which General Buell received his supplies. He started from Knoxville, in East Tennessee, July 4th, with one thousand men, mounted on good horses ; crossed the Cumberland Mountains north-west, reached Tomj^kinsville, in Kentucky, one hundred and fifty miles from Knox- ville, and captured four companies of Union cavalry. Not stopping, he pushed on to Glasgow, forty miles north of Tompkinsville, and captured some supplies. He issued a proclamation calling upon all true Kentucki- ans to join him. A few wild and restless fellows enlisted. His horses were tired, and he rested one day, and then rode north to the railroad near Mammoth Cave, and destroyed a bridge across Barren River. INVASION OF KENTUCKY. 337 General Morgan had a very skilful telegraph operator, George Ells- worth, who had an instrument in his pocket, which he cpiickly attached to the wires. On July 10th Morgan and Ellsworth, with a body-guard of fifteen men, reached the Louisville and Nashville Road. Ellsworth clindjed the telegraph-pole, took down the wire, and put on his instrument. Prettv soon he read a message from General Boyle, who was in Louisville, to General Brown at Bowling Green. It was raining, but all through the evening Ellsworth read off the messages, learning all the news of the day, besides a great deal about military affairs. Morgan found out that Stan- ley Matthews was provost -marshal of Nashville, and so sent a despatch CAVALRY ENGAGEMENT. to Henry Dent, who was provost -marshal at Louisville. Thus it read: " General Forrest attacked Murfreesboro', routing our forces, and is now moving on Nashville. Morgan is reported to be between Scottsville and Gallatin, and will act in concert with Forrest." On the 12th Morgan reached Lebanon, and Ellsworth took possession of the telegraph-office at half-past three in the morning. He waited till half-past seven, when the instrument began to click. He found that the operator, whoever he was, was calling B, which he discovered from the book was the Lebanon office, and was signing himself Z. Ellsworth an- swered the call. Then came the questions and answers : 99 338 DRUM-BEAT OF THE NATION. " What news ? Any skirmishing after your last message ?" " Xo ; we drove what little cavalry there was away." " Has the train arrived yet ?" " No. About how many troops will there be ?" " Five hundred." Ellsworth did not know what office he was talking with, but deter- mined to find out, and sent this message : "A gentleman has bet the cigars that you cannot spell the name of your station correctly." "Take the bet. L-e-b-a-n-o-n J-u-n-c-t-i-o-n. How did he think I would spell it ?" " He gives it up. He thought you would put in two b's in Lebanon." " Ho ! ho ! He's a green one." " Yes, that's so. What time did the train with soldiers pass ?" " At half-past eight last night." " Very singular where the train is." " Yes ; let me know when it arrives." But the train did not arrive. A few minutes, and Ellsworth heard from the Union operator that it had gone back to Lebanon Junction, and that the soldiers on the train had had a skirmish with some of Morgan's cavah ry. General Morgan went to Midway, where Ellsworth again telegraphed. For several days he used the wires, sending a great many messages, and intercepting all the Union despatches. Tlie Union officers in Lonisville, Nashville, and everywhere else were greatly mystified over the orders which they received. Morgan upset all their plans. From Somerset, on July 22d, he sent this despatch to General Boyle, the Union commander at Louisville — his old friend: " Good -morning, Jerry. This telegraph is a great institution. You should destroy it, as it keeps me too well posted. My friend Ellsworth has all your despatches since the 10th of July on file. Do you wish copies ?" He sent this to Hon. George Diinlap, anotlier old friend: "Just com- pleted my tour through Kentucky. Captured sixteen cities, destroyed millions of dollars' worth of United States property, paroled fifteen hun- dred Federal prisoners. Passed through your county, but regret not see- ing you." Morgan went north to Cynthiana, only fifty miles from Cincinnati ; but finding Union troops were closing around him, he retreated to Tennessee. A month passes. Bragg is getting ready to move, and so is Kirby Smith, who is at Knoxville, and who is to invade Eastern Kentucky. He sends Colonel Scott, with nine Inindred cavalry and several pieces of artil- lery, in advance; he passes through Monticello, and crosses the old battle- INVASION OF KENTUCKY. 339 ground at Mill Springs. On the 29th General Smith approaches Ricli- raond, only thirty miles south of Lexington. General Nelson, who commands the Union troops in this section of the State, has stationed Manson's and Cruft's brigades at Richmond. The troops numbered nearly seven thousand, but they were new recruits. There was a skirmish and battle, with l)ad management on the part of Manson. His army was thrown into confusion, and he ordered a retreat. The Confederates pressed on and captured many prisoners. General Nel- son arrived from Lexington, and rallied the fugitives at Richmond, but was wounded. Manson was captured, and all the artillery, with three thousand of the Union troops. In a day the only Union force that could oppose General Smith was swept away. With banners flying and drums beating, the victorious Confederates marched on to Lexington, the most important town in central Kentucky. Many of the soldiers in his army are Kentuckiaus, and the sympathies of a large portion of the people are for the Confederacy. Ladies wave their handkerchiefs from the M^indows ; little girls pick flowers from the gar- dens and strew them in the streets; women stand in their door-ways with baskets of provisions ; merchants present the soldiers with boots and slices. No Union force confronts General Smith. He can move on towards Louisville, cut off Buell from that city, and take j^ossession of it, perhaps. At any rate, he will be in position to join General Bragg, who is ad- vancing from Chattanooga. General Smith can move due north, and strike a blow at Cincinnati. Which shall he do? If he can threaten Cincinnati, it will frighten the people of Ohio and prevent the forwarding of troops to Louisville to head off Bragg. He decides to move north. He will be in a rich and fertile section, and besides, he has another object in view — the setting up of a Confederate government in Kentucky. Jef- ferson Davis believes that if a government favorable to the Confederacy can but be established the people of the State will rally round it. Young men are flocking to Lexington to join Kirby Smith's ranks ; and with a civil government' to direct affairs, he indulges the belief that the State can be saved to the Confederacy. He little comprehends how deep is the attachment of the majority of the jjeople for tiie Union, He marches north, keeping his cavalry in advance. On September 15th he is so near Cincinnati that he can hear the whistles of the steamboats. But if he ever seriously thought of capturing Cincinnati, he discovers that it will not be an easy task. In a night strong fortifications liave risen on all the hills around Covino-ton. An energetic . man is in com- 340 DRUM-BEAT OF THE NATION. inand — General Lew. Wallace, All the sIioids and stores in Cincinnati are closed, and forty thousand men are at work with axes and shovels, and are mounting cannon. Troops have come from all parts of Ohio and Indiana. The steamboats have howitzers mounted on their decks to patrol the river. Before capturing the city the Union troops must be driven from the fortifications ; the river must be crossed before the Con- federate troops can seize the spoils. General Smith is too good a soldier to attempt such an enterprise. lie can threaten, but not attack. He waits for General Bragg. On August 21st General Bragg began to cross the Tennessee Eiver at Chattanooga. The mountains lie in ridges, and run from the north-east to the south-west. Chattanooga is in tlie valley of the Tennessee Kiver. By moving his troops to Chattanooga, General Bragg had placed himself east of one of the ranges, while the Union army under General Buell was west of it. General Bragg determined to mask his movement by sending out his cavalry to annoy Buell. General Forrest started with his brigade and reached Short Mountain Cross-roads, where Captain Miller, with a portion of the Eighteenth Ohio, was stationed. Miller had built a stockade. His men had just eaten dinner, and were a short distance away, when they heard the clattering of hoofs and saw the Confederate cavalry charging down the road. Miller got into the stockade with a portion of his men, while those who were cut off by the cavalry fled to the woods. The men of the Eighteenth Ohio fought so resolutely that Forrest was obliged to retreat, with a loss of twelve killed and forty-one wounded. The next day he came upon the Twenty- sixth Ohio, under Colonel Fyffe, nine miles west of McMinnville. Fyffe formed his regiment in line of battle, and attacked the Confederates so suddenly and vigorously that they fled in every direction. General Morgan was more successful. He crossed the Cumberland River at Ilartsville and rode rapidly to Gallatin, twenty-five miles north- east of Nashville, where he captured two hundred Union troops, burned a railroad bridge, captured a train of freight-cars, ran it into a tunnel north of Gallatin, set the cars on fire, and loosened the timbers which supported the roof of the tUnnel, which came down with a crash, filling the excava- tion with great masses of rock. No trains could pass, and Nashville was cut off from Louisville. General Buell sent General R. W. Johnson with six hundred and forty cavalry of the Second Indiana, Fourth and Fifth Kentucky, and Seventh Pennsylvania regiments to attack Morgan, but after a hard fight near INVASION OF KENTUCKY. 341 THE SORTIE OP BRAGG. Gallatin, Johnson was defeated and captnred, with a portion of his com- mand, while the remainder were put to flight. The women of the town rejoiced over the defeat of the Union troops. They waved their handkerchiefs, and provided nice things for the Con- federate soldiers. Over the mountain-range called Waldron's Ridge marched the Con- federate army of forty thousand men, and thence to the Cumberland Riv- er, crossing it at Carthage, forty miles east of Nashville. General Bragg was nearer Louisville and Cincinnati than General Buell, W'ho was south 342 DRUM-BEAT OF THE NATION. of I^asliville. Ilis plan was to compel Buell to fall back to the Oliio River, and he hoped tluis to secure Kentucky to the Confederacy. IS^orthward along the turnpike leading from Carthage to Munfords- ville pressed the Confederates, the cavalry, under Colonel Scott, burning the bridges spanning Salt Kiver. The roads were dry and dusty. The summer heat had dried the streams ; the rivers could be forded anywhere. The troops suffered for want of water. The secessionists of Kentucky welcomed them with hurrahs, while those who stood up for the Union saw their cornfields stripped and their hay-stacks disappear. On September 13th General Bragg's advance, under General Chal- mers, reached Munfordsville, where there was a fort garrisoned by Union troops, under Colonel Wilder, of the Seventeenth Indiana. A Confeder- ate officer approached the fort with a white flag, and called upon Wilder to surrender. "I decline to do so," was the reply. Chalmers opened fire, and his skirmishers advanced, but were driven back, and he waited for reinforcements before attacking in earnest. Reinforcements meantime arrived in the fort— Colonel Dunham, with one thousand men and Konkle's battery. Colonel Dunham, being Wild- er's senior officer, assumed command. Again the white flag appeared, with a demand to surrender, and Colonel Dunham declined. Chalmers had six regiments, twelve cannon, a brigade of cavalry, and a battalion of sharp-shooters. He deployed his line and opened fire. The cannon thundered, and there were volleys of musketry, but Chalmers did not dare to risk a charge. General Bragg arrived with the main body of the army. A third time the Confederates displayed a white flag, and an officer brought a note from Bragg, who informed Dunham that the fort was surrounded by an overwhelming force. Again Dunham refused to surrender. He sent the answer by Colonel Wilder, who saw that what Bragg had stated was true — that the whole Confederate army was drawn up around the fort. Dunham thereupon called his officers together, and they decided that it was better to surrender than to have a battle, with the prospect of great loss and almost certain defeat. So at two o'clock on the morning of September ITth the fort was surrendered, the officers to re- tain their swords, the troops to be paroled, and to have four days' rations. At daylight on the 17th — the hour when Hooker was advancing through the cornfield in front of the Dunker church at Antietam — this force of fifteen hundred men at Munfordsville — the only troops in front of Bragg — was swept from his path. By a rapid march he could get to Louisville before Buell could overtake him ; but he did not attempt it. At the inoment when he ought to have marched swiftly and struck a INVASION OF KENTUCKY. 343 great blow, lie hesitated. He waited at Prewitt's Knob till Biiell was close upon him, deploying his troops to attack ; then, instead of fighting a battle, pushed north-east to Bardstown, while Buell, instead of follow- ing, and forcing him to light, marched to Louisville. Bragg had accom- plished what he intended — forced the Union army to fall back from northern Alabama to the Ohio. He issued this proclamation to the peo- ple of Kentucky : "Kentuckians! we have come with joyful hopes. Let us not depart in sorrow, as we shall, if we find you wedded iu your choice to your present lot. If you prefer Federal rule, show it by your frown, and we shall return whence we came. If you choose rather to come within the fold of our brotherhood, then cheer us with the smiles of your wom- en, and lend willing hands to secure yourselves in your heritage of liberty. "Women of Kentucky! your persecutions and heroic bearing have reached our ears. Let j'our enthusiasm have free rein. Buckle on the armor of your kindred, your hus- bands, sons, and brothers, and scoff to scorn him who would prove recreant in his duty to j'ou, his country, and his God." Some of the people of the State were ready to welcome General Bragg. A few young men were eager to join the Confederate ranks. A great many of the women hailed the Southern army with joyful looks and sparkling eyes, but the great heart of the State was beating loyally and true for the Union, Far-seeing men knew that Bragg would soon be driven by the great army gathering at Louisville — thousands of soldiers from Ohio, Indiana, Michigan, and all the West — to join Biiell. Jefferson Davis and the Confederate authorities at Bichmond were in- dulging in the delusion that if a Confederate government could be set up at Frankfort, the capital of Kentucky, the people would recognize it, and yield allegiance to the Confederacy. They did not comjjrehend that the people of the State were farther than ever from yielding allegiance to the Confederate Government. Not only did Davis believe that he could secure Kentucky, but that Illinois, Indiana, Missouri, and Iowa could be induced to abandon the contest against the South by offering to them the free navigation of the Missis- sippi to the Gulf of Mexico. On the day that Bragg issued his proc- lamation a committee of the Confederate Congress reported in favor of making such an offer. Instead of that, the soldiers of the North -west were pouring in, and on October 1st Buell had an army of nearly one hundred thousand men. The women of Fi'ankfort and many of the men had given a welcome to the Confederate army. Mr. Richard Hawes was to be inaugurated governor at noon October 4, 1862. Major-general Kirby Smith was de- .S44 DRUM-BEAT OF THE NATION. tailed by General Bragg to arrange the military escort. Thus read the order : "The governor will be escorted from his quarters by a squadron of cavalry, and ac- companied by the commander of the Confederate States forces, Major-general Buckner. Brigadier-general Preston, and their respective staffs. The commanding general will pre- sent the governor to the people, and transfer in behalf of the Confederate States the civil order of the State and public records and property. " Nearly all the Confederate generals are present at the inauguration — Bragg, Kirby Smith, Buckner, Stevenson, Cleburne, Heath, Churchill. Preston Smith, William Preston. They gather in the Capitol Hotel for a banquet. The landlord brings out his wines and liquors. The ladies keep open house, feasting the officers of the army. Mr. Richard Hawes is escorted to the Capitol, and takes the oath of allegiance to the Confederate States. The flag of the Confederacy waves above the Capitol. It is six o'clock in the evening, and General Bragg is taking tea with an accomplished lady, Mrs. Preston, M'hen a cavalryman dashes up to the door with the startling news that the Union troops are close at hand. Governor Hawes, six hours a governor, suddenly packs his carpet-bag. The Confederate generals leap into their saddles. The ladies who hung out Confederate flags in the morning hasten to take them in. There are only two Confederate infantry regiments in Frankfort, with soine cavalry. The officers do not stop to take ceremonious leave of the ladies who are entertaining them, and before they are out of the streets on the south side of the town the Union cavalry are dashing across the bridge and en- tering upon the other side. The new governor is riding southward — gov- ernor only in name. The ladies who have smiled so graciously upon the Confederates, entertaining them, and looking forward to a new order of things in Frankfort under the administration of a Confederate governor, in grief and anger contemplate the sudden change which has taken place, while those who have stood by the old flag — whose husbands and brothers are fighting for the Union — open wide their doors and spread bountiful repasts. The true 'history of the war conq:>rises something more than fighting — more than the thunder of cannon, the rattle of musketry, the advance and retreat, the victory and defeat. It includes the hardships, trials, and endurance, the sympathies, hopes, griefs, sorrows, passions, and actions of men and women who heard nothing of the uproar of battle, who saw little of the grandeur and nothing of the horror of a battle-field. INVASION OF KENTUCKY. 345 In Kentucky, Tennessee, Missouri, Virginia — in all the Border States, as they were called, the war was around the hearth-stones — in the homes of the people. People distrusted their old-time friends; near neighbors were often bitter enemies, a sad state of affairs, paralyzing society, engen- dering feuds and animosities so bitter that many years must yet pass before they will wholly disappear. We have seen General Bragg, by his movement northward from Chat- tanooga, compelling General Buell to hasten from northern Alabama to Louisville, and now we will go down to the vicinity of Corinth and look at a second part of Bragg's programme. Corinth was an important military point, because there the railroad running from Columbus, Kentucky, to Mobile crossed the Memphis and Charleston Road. When General Albert Sidney Johnston was forced back from Bowling Green by the taking of Fort Donelson, he selected it as the next position to be held, and it was from thence that he marched to attack General Grant at Pittsburg Landing, to fight a great battle, in which he was defeated, and in which he lost his life. We have already seen how General Ilalleck, in May, 1862, with Grant's and Buell's armies combined, advanced upon Corinth, building long lines of intrench- ments ; that when he was ready to open fire with his heavy siege-guns he found the Confederates had slipped away under Beauregard to Tupelo, in Mississippi. We have also seen Buell holding the country east of Corinth, and Bragg conceiving the plan of putting his troops on the cars, sending them to Mobile, and thence north to Chattanooga, to gain Buell's flank and rear, and then marching into Kentucky, compelling that general to march back to Louisville. General Grant was commander of the Department of West Tennessee. lie had two small armies: the army of the Mississippi, under General Rosecrans — the troops which Pope commanded before he was ordered to Virginia (Hamilton's, Stanley's, Davies's, and McKean's divisions) — twenty- two thousand men, and the Army of the Tennessee (Sherman's, McPher- son's, Ord's, and Hurlburt's divisions), eighteen thousand men. The Confederate Army of the South-west was commanded by Major- general Earl Van Dorn, composed of the divisions of Breckinridge, Maury, and Little — thirty-eight thousand men. Van Dorn was left to hold Grant in check, while Bragg, by his march into Kentucky, transferred the theatre of war to the Ohio River. Van Dorn sent General Armstrong with his twenty-five hundred cav- alry north from Grand Junction to attack the Union troops at Bolivar. 346 DRUM-BEAT OF THE NATION. The Confederate cavalry rode swiftly througli the woods, expecting to surprise Grant's cavalry, but the movement was discovered. Colonel Crocker, with nine hundred men, advanced from Bolivar to meet Armstrong. He formed his brigade of cavalry and mounted infan- try in the woods. Skirmishing began, and continued till night. The cav- alrymen dashed at each other. A few Confederate and a few Union men went down in the melee. Crocker slowly drew off his men and fell back, crossing the Hatchie River to Bolivar. Armstrong did not dare to attack, but turned off, crossed the river, and made a dash at the railroad at Medon Station. The Seventh Missouri and Forty-lifth Illinois were there. " Pile up the cotton-bales and make a fort," shouted the officers when the alarm was given. The soldiers rushed to the station and piled the bales into a breastwork, with openings through which they could fire. The Confederate cavalry dismounted and advanced, but were glad to leap into their saddles again and retreat towards the Hatchie River. Colonel Dennis, with seven hundred infantry and two cannon, followed, and came upon them. Armstrong turned about, saw how small a force it was, and deployed his men, sending them out on each flank. The Con- federates charged and captured the two cannon, but the Union infantry rallied and poured in so hot a fire that the Confederates retreated, leaving the guns, which they could not take away, and losing one hundred and seventy-four men. Van Dorn gained nothing by the movement. The Confederate commander thought that this movement to Bolivar would make Grant think that the whole Confederate army was intend- ing to attack his right flank, and that he would hurry up the troops from Corinth ; but that commander saw that it was only a feint to cover some larger movement. He discovered that the troops under Yan Dorn and Price were leaving Grand Junction. At luka, twenty-six miles east of Corinth, are mineral springs. Be- fore the war the planters of northern Alabama and Mississippi used to gather there in summer to drink the refreshing waters, lounge on the broad piazza of the hotel, and talk about raising cotton and the secession of the Southern States. Colonel Murphy, commanding a brigade of Stanley's division, was there, but abandoned the town, retreating to Corinth, and making no effort to save or destroy the beef, flour, pork, and other supplies intrusted to his care, which fell into the hands of General Price, and which he was very glad to get. General Price had fourteen thousand men at luka. Grant planned a movement which he hoped would result in the defeat of that force. He INVASION OF KENTUCKY. 347 sent General Rosecrans with Stanley's and Hamilton's divisions — nine thousand men — south to the little town of Eienzi, on the railroad ; from there the troops were to turn east, march along the country road to Jacinto, and come upon luka from the south. lie sent General Ord to attack from the north-west, but who was to wait until he heard Eose- crans's guns before attacking. General Rosecrans reached Jacinto on the 18th of September. The wearied troops kindled their bivouac fires, drank their coffee, and threw themselves on the ground, weary and worn, after a hard day's march. He had promised General Ord to be ready to fall upon Price early on the 19th, but he was yet twenty miles from luka. Heavy rains had fallen, the roads were deep with mud, the streams were swol- len, and it was slow getting on. Before daybreak the troops took up once more their march. At one o'clock in the af- ternoon the cavalry in advance came upon the Confed- erate outposts at Barnett's Corner, They were on the road leading from Jacinto to luka, marching north-east. There was still another road far- ther east, leading south to Fulton. General Rosecrans intended to sweep his right wing round upon that highway and attack from the south and east, while Ord was to assail Price from the north-west. His column was strung out — a long line of infantry, artillery, ammunition, and baggage- wagons. The woods were thick on both sides of the highway. He was nearly up to a cross-road, along which he could march to gain the Fulton Road, and his skirmishers were ascending a hill, when there came a sharp rattle of musketry in their faces. General Price had discovered the movement, and laid a plan to fall upon Rosecrans with nearly all his force. With fourteen thousand men he would make quick work of tlie nine thousand strung out in a long col- MAP OF lUKA. 348 DRUM-BEAT OF THE NATION. umn. lie was acquainted with the ground ; Rosecrans was not. Price had forty-four cannon, and chose his position on a hill two miles south of luka, deploying General Little's division, consisting of Gates's, Colbert's, Green's, and Morton's brigades, in front, holding Maury in reserve to con- front General Ord. At Barnett's house a battalion of the Fifth Iowa deployed as skirmish- ers and drove the Confederates. At Miss Moore's house, five miles from luka, the fight was sharp. The skirmishers, from the brow of a hill, dis- covered the enemy in line along a ravine. General Hamilton, command- ing the division, was close behind the skirmishers, and saw that the time for quick action had come ; for suddenly a strong force of Confederates rushed uj^on the Twenty-sixth Missouri, driving it back upon the head of the column. Ilis troops were in the road. The woods on both sides were very thick. He knew nothing of the ground. Shells were bursting around him, and bullets cutting the twigs. The Eleventh Ohio Battery with great difficulty wheeled into position in the thick underbrush. The leading regiment, the Fifth Iowa, went out upon the right, and the Forty- sixth Missouri beyond it. The Forty-eighth Indiana went up the road upon the run, and swung out to the left of the battery. It was after four o'clock, and the sun well down towards the horizon, when, with these three regiments and one battery in line, began the battle, which burst out in an instant with great fury. Up the hill came other regiments — the Fourth Minnesota and Sixteenth Iowa — which formed on the right in the rear, and the Tenth Iowa and the Twelfth Wisconsin Battery on the left. The Eightieth Ohio formed in reserve in rear of the Forty-eighth Indiana. The ground was so rough and the woods so dense that Hamilton could only have a front line of three regiments, while General Price had de- ployed one entire division. On the right of the Confederates was the Texas Legion, which with a yell rushed forward, pouring volley after volley into the left flank of the Fifth Iowa. Many Union soldiers went down, but the regiment held its ground and gave deadly volleys in return. The Eleventh Ohio Battery was commanded by Lieutenant Sears, who worked his guns with great rapidity. The Confederates were within can- ister range, and he made great gaps in their lines. The Confederate can- non, on the other hand, were aimed too high, and the shot cut the twigs of the sassafras-trees over the heads of the Union troops. The Confederates determined to capture the Union battery, and came on with a rush upon the Forty-eighth Iowa, which gave way, and then came the shooting of the gunners and the horses. The frightened ani- mals dashed through the ranks of the Twenty-sixth Missouri, which rushed INVASION OF KENTUCKY. 349 into the gap in the line, pouring a deadly fire into the faces of the exult- ant Confederates. " Lie down and load ; then rise and fire !" shouted Captain Brown to the men of Company C. The men obe3'ed, sheltering themselves while loading, and then rising for an instant and firing. " Fire low !" shouted a Confederate officer to iiis men, who saw the Twenty-sixth Missouri sheltering themselves. The Confederates fired low and then the Union men began to drop very fast. This the scene at sunset : the Confederates charging upon the battery, horses and men going down in a heap, dead and wounded piled one upon the other, the air thick witli bursting shells and leaden rain, the men firing in one anotlier's faces. The Confederates had caj^tured the battery, but could not hold it. They retreated, rallied, rushed once more upon the guns, took them a second time, but to hold them only a moment, for the Union troops came on with a cheer and regained them. For two hours the tide of battle sui'ged backward and forward over the same ground. General Little, on the Confederate side, fell mortally wounded. General Price narrowly escaped. He brought up brigade after brigade, but could drive the Union men only a few paces before his own lines were swept back in turn. Night came at last, putting an end to one of the fiercest contests of the war, brief but bloody, fought with unsurpassed bravery and obstinacy on the Union side — seven regiments and two batteries (two thousand eight hundred men in all) defeating nearly the whole Confederate force. Dark- ness settled down upon the field, thickly strewn with killed and wounded ; the Union soldiers lay down where they stood, sleeping on their arms all night long, Nvith the rain pouring upon them. General Price was uneasy. He had attacked and been defeated. His ablest officer. General Little, had been killed. There was a mournful scene in luka at his midnight burial. The Confederate officers stood around ; torches threw their ffickering light upon them as they heaped the earth above the brave commander. There was no drum-beat, no volley of mus- ketry, a funeral very much like that of Sir John Moore on the battle-field of Corunna, in Spain — "Not a drum was heard, not a funeral note." General Price was thinking wdiat he should do, for the Union troops under Posecrans were sleeping on their arms, ready to renew the battle in the morning. North-west of the town were the troops under General Ord, ready to advance. There was but one road open to him, that leading south to Fulton, and Posecrans was ready to seize it in the morning. 350 DRUM-BEAT OF THE NATION. A man to be a successful general must be able to make a retreat, if need be, as well as to win a battle. General AVasliington won the admira- tion of the British generals when he slipped away in the night from a su- perior force at Trenton, made an all-night march, fell upon the British at Princeton, and won a victory. General Price showed his good-sense and his ability to escape capture by giving instant orders for a retreat. Morning dawned. The Union troops were ready for battle, but no Confederates confronted them. They were gone, escaping by the Fulton Road. Rosecrans entered luka, to find the houses full of Confederate wounded. Hamilton's division had done nearly all the fighting. It contained less than three thousand when the battle begun ; but one hundred and thirty- seven had been killed, five hundred and twenty-seven wounded, and twen- ty-six had been captured. The wind had blown from the north, and no sound of the conflict had reached the ears of General Ord, who had been waiting to hear the cannon- ade. If he had heard it, it is quite probable that Price's army would have been ground to powder, as corn is crushed between the revolving mill- stones. When the Confederate soldiers saw that they were to evacuate the town they broke open the houses, helping themselves to whatever pleased them most. The people had welcomed them a few days before with open arms, but now they saw their property ruthlessly taken by the men from Missouri and Arkansas. They had espoused secession as a sovereign right, and had voted to secede, little thinking how bitter would be the turn of events. Price made a rapid march, sending his wagons in ad- vance, the drivers urging on the mules, so that by daylight they were beyond the reach of Rosecrans's cavalry. General Grant had failed in his plan to crush Price simply because he had relied upon General Ord's liearing the cannon of Rosecrans. So we see how small a matter in war will sometimes defeat the best-laid plans. General Van Dorn determined to attack Corinth, the key to all the surrounding countr3\ If it could be captured, the Union troops would be compelled to abandon AVest Tennessee. He had thirty-eight thousand troops, while Rosecrans, in command at Corinth, had only about twenty thousand. There was a Confederate spy in the town. Miss Burton, who sent a letter to Van Dorn which fell into the hands of Rosecrans's detectives, who carefully unsealed it, made a copy, then resealed it and allowed it to go to Van Dorn. Miss Burton in her letter told Van Doi'n how many INVASION OF KENTUCKY. 351 Union regiments Rosecrans had, the number of cannon, and informed him that the town could be best attacked from the north-west, between the two raih'oads. Rosecrans did not have Miss Burton arrested ; he was too shrewd for that. But the detectives had their eyes on her so sharply that she could not send a second letter to let Yan Dorn know that the negroes and soldiers were building redoubts and breastworks. North and east of the town there are swamps, with knolls and thick woods — not a good place to deploy troops in line of battle. On the north- west, however, the ground is high and rolling, with no natural obstruc- tions. Over this plateau Van Dorn intended to make his attack. The Memphis and Charleston Railroad comes into the town from the north- west, the Mobile and Ohio from the north. Walking out over the Memphis Railroad, we see Fort AVilliams south of the road on a knoll, and the three twenty-pounder Parrott guns inside of it to sweep all the plateau. North of the railroad, on another knoll, is Fort Robinett, close by the county road leading to Bolivar. AValking north-east, and crossing the county road leading to Chewalla and the Mo- bile and Ohio Railroad, we come to the county road leading to Purdy, and beyond it we see Fort Powell, and farther on Fort Richardson. These are all tlie points we need keep in mind. General Rosecrans had his cavalry out on all the roads — north, east, south, and west. The scouts brought word on the 2d of October that Yan Dorn was making a rapid march. Rosecrans stationed Hamilton's divis- ion on the Purdy Road, its right extending to a swamp, its left reaching to Fort Powell. Davies's division was next in line, with General Stan- ley's division behind it in reserve, while General McKean's division held the left, south of the Memphis Railroad. General Powell led the advance of the Confederates in the march to Corinth along a road south of the Memphis Railroad, and came into posi- tion, with the brigades of Rust, Yillepique, and Bowen in front, his left touching the Memphis Railroad, and Jackson's cavalry reaching south be- yond the seminary, south-west of the town. General Price had two divis- ions : Maury's and Hebert's. Hebert had succeeded General Little, killed at luka. Maury's line began at the Memphis Railroad, in front of Fort Robinett. Moore's and Phifer's brigades made up the front line, with Cabell's in reserve. Hebert's division extended north-east, with Green's, Gates's, and McLean's brigades in front, and Colbert's in reserve. General Rosecrans thought it best to begin the battle some distance from the town, beyond the line of the forts. By so doing he would de- velop the plans of the Confederates. Davies's division, in the centre was 352 DRUxM-BEAT OF THE NATION. between the railroads, while Mc Arthur's brigade went out on the south- west side of the Memphis Road. In front of Davies was an old breast- work built by Beauregard, held by Oliver's brigade. It was half-past ten in the morning when Lovell's division (Confeder- ate) advanced and began the battle by falling upon Oliver. General McKean, on the left, saw that Oliver was going to be flanked, and sent McArthur's brigade to his assistance. The Confederates greatly outnum- bered the Union troops. After firing a while, the Confederates rushed, charged the breastwork, capturing two cannon, and driving Oliver back towards Fort Robinett, which uncovered Davies's flank. Moore's Confed- erate brigade sprang into the gap between Davies and McArtlmr, which compelled Davies's whole division to fall back. The Tenth Ohio Battery, out on the Chewalla Road, had hurled shells upon the Confederates, but the time had come when it must go to the rear, for there were no regiments at hand to support it. The gunners limbered up the j^ieces and seized the sponges and rammers. " Get bucket No. 2," shouts a corporal. The Confederates are not one hundred feet distant ; but G. S. Wright, a boy of eighteen, runs and picks it up, with the bullets whistling about him, and brings it safely away. Going up the Purdy Road, we see Hamilton's troops on the knolls north of the town, and the Confederate troops under Ilebert in the woods M'est of him. Yan Dorn has ordered Ilebert to keep out of sight until the right moment comes, thinking that Hamilton will rush in to help Da- vies ; but Hamilton makes no such movement. His troops in the morn- ing faced north-east, but he sees that Van Dorn is not going to attack from that quarter ; and while the battle is raging west of him he is changing his line, so that at noon it faces north-west. His skirmishers have discov- ered the seven thousand Confederate troops under Hebert in the woods. There has been a lull in the battle. The Confederates, elated by the success of the morning, are getting ready for a grand attack. Van Dorn plans to hurl his troops upon Davies's division and drive them on, brigade after brigade, over the ground between the two railroads. In battle a general must be quick to see what the enemy intends to do, and be ready to receive the blow and strike one in return. Rosecrans comprehends Van Dorn's plan, and orders McKean to fall back to another ridge to join his right to Davies. Stanley, who has been near the town, is advanced, to be close to Davies, while Hamilton is to be ready to swing to the west and strike the Confederates in flank. It was nearly three o'clock before Van Dorn was ready. First the cannon opened ; then the brigades, one after another, fell upon Davies. INVASION OF KENTUCKY. 353 General Hackleman, commanding a Union brigade, was mortally wound- ed. General Oglesby, commanding anotlier brigade, was also wounded. The troops began to waver, when up came Stanley's batteries, the horses upon the run. The gunners leaped from the limbers, wheeled the can- non into position, and poured canister into the Confederate ranks. Gen- eral Mower's brigade came on the double-quick, and went into the thick of the light. Through the afternoon the battle rages. Sullivan's brigade, of Ham- ilton's division, comes to take part. At six o'clock the contest ceases. Van Dorn has driven, as it w^ere, a wedge almost through the Union lines. To-morrow he will finish the work. He sends this ex- ultant telegram to Richmond: "Our troops have driven the enemy from their positions. We are w^ithin three- fourths of a mile of Corinth. The enemy are huddled together about the town — some on the extreme left trying to hold their posi- tion. So far all is glorious." About the time the war began, an Indian named Chief Sky, in Wisconsin, captured a young eagle on the banks of the Flambeau River, a branch of the Chippewa. The company from Eau Claire brought the bird with them when they went into camp at Madison, and Captain Perkins named him " Old Abe," for Abraham Lincoln. The soldiers becaine fond of him, and he of the soldiers. He had a perch on the color-staff, and always sat there in battle, flapping his wings, as if in ecstasy, when the battle was wildest. The regiment is in Mower's brigade, and Old Abe on his perch, looking out over the scene. Cannon are thundering around him ; there are long rolls of musketry; the air is thick with bullets. From the flank comes a fearful volley, enfilading 23 MAP OP CORINTH. 354 DRUM-BEAT OF THE NATION. the line, cutting clown scores of men, and severing the cord which holds Old Abe to the staff. He flaps his wings, rises above the two armies, cir- cles out over the Confederates, then back again to his friends, and lights once more on his perch. The regiment is in retreat, and Old Abe goes with it, to be in a score of battles, and to come out of them all unliarmed. Night settles over the scene, and General Rosecrans prepares for the morrow. Several hundred negroes are set to work with axes, picks, and shovels, building breastworks north of Fort Powell. Rosecrans reforms his line, resting the left on Fort Robinett, the centre on the ridge be- tween the two railroads, and the right on the high ground on the Purdy Road. McKean's division still holds the left ; Stanley stands next in line ; then Davies, then Hamilton on the right. Rosecrans calls all these officers to his headquarters — a wdiite cottage with a portico, the home of Hampton . Mark — explains his plans, and the officers post their troops accordingly. Fort Robinett and Fort AVilliams were what military men call the keys to the position, so situated that their cannon could sweep all the field. If Van Dorn could get possession of the forts he could turn the guns npon other parts of the Union line. Being so important a position, we may expect Yan Dorn to try his best to capture them. The first brigade of the Second Division of Rosecrans's army (General Stanley) is called the Ohio Brigade, Colonel Fuller commander, composed of the Twenty -seventh. Thirty -ninth, Forty -third, and Sixty-third Ohio regiments. About ten o'clock at night the troops file into position. Tiie pickets hear noises in front of them, and discover that the Confederates are planting a battery. Captain Brown, of the Sixty-third, goes out with two companies. Creeping along the Chewalla Road, he^ comes suddenly upon a Confederate ofiicer, Captain Tobin, commanding a Tennessee bat- tery, and takes him and his bugler prisoners. At four o'clock in the morning the Union soldiers were astir. Rose- crans ordered that no fires should be kindled, but the soldiers wanted a cup of hot coffee, and disregarded the command. The Confederate artil- lerymen, aiming at the light, opened fire and sent their shells into Corinth. Sutlers, teamsters, and negroes hastened to the rear, but the soldiers ate their breakfast, and were ready for work. Captain Williams waited till in the dawning light he could see just where the Confederate batteries were, and then opened with his thirty -pounder Parrott guns. His aim was sure, the shells destructive, and the Confederate gunners made haste to get away, taking all but one gun, which was captured by the soldiers of the Sixty-third Ohio. The skirmishers began as soon as it was daylight. The Confederate INVASION OF KENTUCKY. 355 batteries joined in, and sent a shell crashing into tlie Tishomingo Hotel, filled with Union wounded, killing a soldier. It was half-past nine when Hebert's Confederate division came out from the woods and advanced against Davies. The long lines of men in gray came into the clearing. Gates's brigade led the movement upon Fort Richardson. A storm beat in their faces; men dropped, but the column pressed on up the gentle ascent, rushing at last up to the line of breastworks, and leaped over them. Captain E-ichardson, for whom the fort was named, goes down, and his gunners are shot. The infantry sup- porting the battery are driven. The troops retreat towards the town, foUow^ed by the Confederates. McLean's Confederate brigade captures Fort Powell. Gates's men rush on into the town, charging up almost to Itosecrans's headquarters ; but they are confronted by the Tenth Ohio and Fifth Minnesota and Immell's battery. Mark Hampton's house is riddled with bullets. Seven Confederates go down in front of it ; but the wave which has rolled so far and so triumphantlj^ has spent its force. Going up the Purdy Road, we come to Hamilton's division. His bat- teries are sending shells westward, and we see Sullivan's brigade falling upon the Confederates, the Fifty-sixth Illinois sweeping them out of Fort Powell and recapturing it. The Confederates under General Maury advanced against Forts Robi- nett and Williams. The thirty-pounder Parrotts opened upon them, but still the Texans and Mississippians pressed on. " Forward ! Charge !" It was Colonel Rogers, of Texas, commanding a brigade, who gave the order. He had a battle-flag in his hand and led his men. Canister mowed them down, but they reached the ditch in front of the fort, and halted to take breath. Just so, at the battle of Buena Yista, the Mexicans halted when they should have advanced, and were mercilessly cut down. There are times in battle when moments are priceless. Such a crisis had arrived at Corinth. It was but a moment that they stood irresolute, but in that brief instant the Confederates lost a possible victory. Down into the ditch leaped the brave Rogers, his men following ; climbing the parapet, but all to tumble headloirg, pierced by bullets. Little did Colonel Rogers suspect what a tempest would burst upon him; that the Ohio Brigade was close at hand biding its time, and that the Eleventh Missouri also was there. For a few moments only can such a contest last — men firing into one another's faces, scores going down at every volley ; men stabbing at one another with their bayonets and striking with the butts of their guns. 356 DKUM-BEAT OF THE NATION. The contest "was soon over, the Confederates fleeing over ground thickly strewn with killed and wounded. A few moments ago the Sixty- third Ohio numbered two hundred and fifty, now only one hundred and twenty-five. In front of Fort Robinett fifty-six Confederates are lying, piled one upon another. The defeat was so decisive that Yan Dorn ordered the instant retreat of his army. Before noon the shattered columns were gone, with Ttose- crans in pursuit. General Ord was at Bolivar. He had started for Cor- inth while the battle was raging, intending to attack Yan Dorn in the rear. He had four thousand men — Hurlbut's division. Yan Dorn hast- ened west to get beyond the Hatchie River. Ord met him at the river. Confederate cavahy held the bridge, but Ord took possession of a hill and commanded the approach to the bridge with his cannon. The Confederate troops charged upon the hill, but were driven by Ord, who was wounded in the melee. General Hurlbut then assumey can't sell wife and child no more. No more of dat ; President Lincum has done shot de gate. Dat's what's de matter." The great multitude shouted "Amen ! Glory hallelujah !" This the song they sung : "John Brown, the dauntless hero, with joy is looking on, From his home among the angels he sees the coming dawn; Then up with Freedom's banner and hail the glorious morn When the slaves shall all go free." The hands of the clock moved on to midnight. The great multitude knelt. There was a stillness like the silence of the grave, broken only by the bell tolling the hour. The last peal died away along the peaceful waters of the Potomac, and they were free. This the prayer of an old negro : "Almighty God, bless President Lincoln and all the soldiers." All night long they danced and sung. From that hour, wherever the Union soldiers marched, the Stars and Stripes was not only the emblem of the Union, but of freedom and human rights. Only through disaster, defeat, disappointment, through hardship, trial, suffering, through the outpouring of the richest wine of life, had the people of the North come to a comprehension that the drum-beat of the nation, in its final outcome, was to be not only the restoration of the Union, but a wiping out of the institution which had brought about the war. The last week of 1862 beholds the Army of the Cumberland march- ing through a wintry storm to fight a desperate battle and win a victory in Tennessee. The Army of the Potomac, disheartened by its many de- feats and the incompetency of its commanders, is resting upon the Fal- mouth Hills, confronted by the Confederate army, which has hurled them back from Fredericksburg heights. This the Christmas scene as pictured by Private John R. Paxton, out on picket : "It was Christmas-day, 1862. 'And so this is war. And I am out here to shoot that lean, lank, coughing, cadaverous-looking butternut fel- low over the river. So this is war / this is being a soldier. Hello, John- ny, what are you up to V The river was narrow, but deep and swift. It was a wet cold, not a freezing cold. There was no ice — too swift for that. " ' Hello, Johnny, what you coughing so for?' 460 DRUM-BEAT OF THE NATION. "'Yank, witli no overcoat, shoes full of holes, nothing to eat hut parched corn and tobacco, and with this denied Yankee snow a foot deep, there is nothin' left, nothw^ hut to get up a cough by way of protestin' against this infernal ill-treatment of the body. AVe-uns, Yank, all have a cough over here, and there's no sayin' which will run us to hole first, the cough or your bullets.' " The snow still fell ; the keen wind, raw and fierce, cut to the bone. It was God's worst weather, in God's forlornest, bleakest spot of ground, that Christmas -day. of '62 on the Rappahannock, a half-mile below the town of Fredericksburg. But come, pick up your prostrate pluck, you shivering private. Surely there is enough dampness around without add- ing to it your tears. " ' Let's laugh, boys.' '"Hello, Johnny.' " ' Hello yourself, Yank.' " ' Merry Christmas, Johnny.' " ' Same to you, Yank.' " ' Say, Johnny, got anything to trade V '"Parched corn and tobacco — the size of our Christmas, Yank.' " ' All right ; you shall have some of our coffee and sugar and pork. Boys, find the boats.' " Such boats ! Some Yankee, desperately hungry for tobacco, invented them for trading with the Johnnies. They were hid away under the banks of the river for successive relays of pickets. "AVe got out the boats. An old handkerchief answered for a sail. "SVe loaded them with coffee, sugar, pork, and set the sail, and watched them slowly creep to the other shore. And the Johnnies? To see them crowd the bank, and push and scramble to be first to seize the boats, go- ing into the water and stretching out their long arms'. Then when they pulled the boats ashore, and stood in a group over the cargo, and to hear their exclamations : ' Hurrah for hog !' ' Say, that's not roasted rye, but genuine coffee. Smell it, you-uns.' ' And sugar too.' Then they divided the consignment. They laughed and shouted, 'Reckon you-uns been good to we-uns this Christmas-day, Yanks.' Then they put parched corn, to- bacco, ripe persimmons into the boats, and sent them back to us. And we chewed the parched corn, smoked real Virginia leaf, ate persimmons which, if they weren't very filling, at least contracted our stomachs to the size of our Christmas dinner. And so the day passed. We shouted, ' Merry Christmas, Johnny.' They shouted, ' Same to you, Yank.' And we ? THE CLOSE OF 1«G2. 463 forgot the biting wind, the chilling cold ; we forgot those men over there were our enemies, whom it might be our duty to shoot before evening. " We had bridged the river — spanned the bloody chasm. We were brothers, not foes, waving salutations of good-will in the name of the Babe of Bethlehem, on Christmas-day, in '62. At the very front of the oppos- ing armies the Christ Child struck a truce for us — broke down the wall of partition, became our peace. We exchanged gifts. We shouted greet- ings back and forth. AVe kept Christmas, and our hearts were lighter for it, and our shivering bodies were not quite so cold." The soldiers of the Union army usually called the Confederates "Johnny Rebs." When and where the term was first used, and why, is not known. The Confederates called the Union soldiers "Yanks" — the abbreviation of Yankee. When the war began the newspapers of the South boastingly set forth the superior qualities and Ijraveiy of the Con- federate soldiers, and had much to say about their chivahy, and indulged in many expressions of contempt for the soldiers of the Union, and em- ployed insulting epithets. That period had passed. The men marching beneath the Stars and Stripes had exhibited bravery in battle, constancy and steadfastness under defeat, and manly qualities which ever win ad- miration. The Union soldiers, when the war begun, had little doubt of their ability to brush the Confederates aside, make their way to Richmond, reopen the Mississippi, and re-establish the authority of the United States throughout the South. They did not believe that men who were not accustomed to labor would be able to endure the hardship and fatigue of military campaigns. With the progress of the war egotism, expectation, and all illusions passed away. Soldiers from the Xorth and soldiers from the South alike had proved their manhood. Respect had taken the place of disdain and contempt. There was no personal hatred. The men in blue and the men in gray alike were fighting for ideas and jirinciples which to them were dearer than life. So closes the first j^eriod of the war ; to the Confederacy it was vic- tory in the East, defeat in the West, military despotism, conscription, wasting of material resources, hopes deferred, fading of expectations, future foreboding. To the people of the North, notwithstanding the vic- tories west of the AUeghanies and on the Mississippi, it was the period of defeat, disaster, disappointment, discipline ; for by these a Divine Prov- idence was leading the nation to comprehend that Justice, Liberty, Right- eousness are eternal principles which may not be violated with impunity, and which are of more value than human life. At Manassas, Fair Oaks, 464 DRUM-BEAT OF THE NATION. Malvern, Antietam, Sliiloh, Fredericksburg, Stone River, thousands of brave hearts were at rest forever, not only that the Nation might live, the Government of the people be preserved, l)ut that Justice, Liberty, and Righteousness might be established in tliis AVestern world, and the whole human race be lifted to a larger, nobler life. The second and third periods will be presented in subsequent volumes. dl INDEX. (C, Confederate ; U, Unvm.) Abolitioxists, 15. Adams, Charles Francis (U.), 106. Adams's brigade (C), 488, 440. Address of R. E. Lee (C), 301. Alabama, tlie Fifth (C), 406. Alabama, the Fourteenth (C), 274. Albert, Lieutenant-colonel (U.), 109. Alexander, Captain (U.), 96. Alexander, Captain (C), 402. Alexander, Colonel (U.), 428. Alexander, Mr. (C), 30. Algebra bj- D. H. Hill (C), 306. Algiers, war with, 8. Allen's brigade (C), 446. Ammen's brigade (U.), 210. Anderson, G.'^B. (C), 307. Anderson, Patton (C), 207, 360, 431, 432. Anderson, Robert (U.), 31, 34, 35, 36, 43, 45, 46, 69. Anderson, R. H. (C), 247, 252. Anderson's brigade (C), 207. Anderson's division (C), 295. Andrew, John A. (U.), 49, 50, 52. Andrews, Colonel (U.), 410. Andrews, Lieutenant-colonel (U.), 108. Angle-land, 1. Antietam, battle of, 313; losses in, 332. Antislavery agitation, 15. Appalachian Mountains, 72. Archer's brigade (C), 331, 406. Arkansas, secession of, 66. Arkansas, the Thirteenth, 437. Arlington House, 75. Armistead's brigade (C), 274. Arms for Missouri Secessionists, 71. Armstrong, General (C), 345. Army of the Cumberland (U.), 459. Army of the Potomac (U.), 236, 393, 459. Army of United States (1861), 28. Arsenal at Harper's Ferry, 28, 55, 57, 70. 30 Artillery, the Fourth I'nited States, 316. Asboth, Alexander (U.), 160. Asboth's division (U.), 160, 163. Ashman, George, 24. Aspinwall, Mr., 389. Augur, C. C. (U.), 281. Ayres's battery (U.), 91, 96, 103, 271. Bailey, Captain (U.), 221. Bailey, Godard, 32. Bailey, Theodorus (U.), 221, 226. Baird, Al)salom (U.), 384. Baker, Edwin D. (U.), 117. Balch, :\[ajor (U.), 97. Baldwin, William E. (C), 145, 152. Baldwin's brigade (C), 145. Baldwin's brigade (IL), 423, 424. Ball, Colonel (C), 394. Ball's Bluflf, 117. Baltimore in 1861, 54, 64. Banks, Nathaniel P. (U.), 49, 246, 278, 280, 287. Banks offer money to the L'nited States, 52. Barbarism of slavery, 28. Barbee's Cross-roads, 393. Barksdale's brigade (C), 346. Barlow, Francis C. (U.), 327, 328. Barnett's Corner, 347. Barnet's battery (U.), 359. Barnes's brigade (U.), 294. Barron, Commodore (C), 112, 113. Barry, W. F. (U.), 101. Bartlett's battery (U.), 322. Bartow, F. A. (C), 95, 98. Bates, Sergeant (U.), 182. Baton Rouge, 36. Battles (Army): Fort Sumter, 44; Big Bethel, 78; Rich Mountain, 81 ; Carrick's Ford, 83; Blackburn's Ford, 91; Bull Run, 96; Wil- 466 INDEX. son's Creek, 107; Lexington, Mo., 113; Summerville, Ya., 114; Ball's Bluff, 117; Belmont, 119 ; Middle Creek, 181 ; Mill Springs, 133 ; Fort Donelson, 149 ; Pea Ridge, 163 ; Roanoke Island, 176 ; New- beru, 182; Fort Macon, 184; New Madrid, 186; Shilob, 206; Warwick River, 238; Yorktown, 240; Williamsburg, 243; Seven Pines, 248; Fair Oaks, 25?; Ellison's Mills, 258 ; Gaines's IVIills, 259 ; Savage Station, 269; Glendale,270; Malvern Hill, 274; Ce- dar Mountain, 281; Manassas Junction, 285; Broad Run, 285; Groveton, 288; Gainesville, 291 ; Manassas, 292; Cbantiliy, 296 ; Soutb Mountain, 305 ; Crampton's Pass, 311; Harper's Ferry, 311; Antietam, 315; Murfreesboro', 336; Ricbmond, Ky., 339 ; Sliort Mountain Cross - roads, 340 ; McMiuuville, 340 ; Gallatin, 340 , Mun- fordsville, 342; luka, 348; Corintb, 352; Perryville, 360; Fredericksburg, 396; Harts- ville, 415; Stone River, 424; Baton Rouge, 447; Parker's Cross-roads, 452; Chickasaw Bluffs, 453. Battles (Navy): Fort Hatteras, 112; Port Roy- al, 123; Fort Henry, 136; Fort Donelson, 149; Monitor and Merri)nac, 165; Roanoke Island, 174; Island No. 10, 190; Forts St. Philip and Jackson, 222; Memphis, 229; Yicksburg, 443; Arkansas and Union fleet, 444. Bayard, George D. (U.), 283, 406. Beatty, John (U.), 437. Beatty, Samuel (U.), 437. Beauregard, G. T. (C), appointed command- er at Charleston, 44 ; at Manassas, 86 ; is- sues address, 86 ; at Blackburn's Ford, 91; at Bull Run battle, 95, 96, 98, 102; at Corinth, 196, 199, 200; at Shiloh battle, 206, 211, 215; sends despatch to Richmond, 216; retreat of, to Tupelo, 226, 334. Becker, Major (U.), 1^4. Bee, Bernard E. (C), 95, 98. Behr, Captain (U.), 207. Behr's battery (U.), 207, 308. Bell, John, 33. Bell, Henry H. (U.), 320. Belle Isle, 356. Belmont battle, 130. Bendix, John E. (U.), 78. Benjamin, Judah P. (C), 29, 173. Berge, H.W. (U.), 146, 155. Berry's brigade (U. ), 244, 249, 354. Big Bethel battle, 78. Bissell, ColoneUU.). 186. Blackburn's Ford, engagement at, 91. Blair, Francis P. (U.), 70,71. Blair, Montgomery (U.), 378. Blockade-runners, 106. Bloody Lane, 325. Bombardment of Sumter, 43. Bonds, Indian Trust, 32, 35. Bonham, M. L. (C), 95. Boston Mountains, 161. Bowen, Major (U.), 163. Bowen's brigade (C), 351. Bowling Green, 143. Boyle, Jeremiah T. (U.), 387. Bradley's battery (U.), 437. Bragg, Braxton (C), at Corinth, 200: at Shi- loh, 305, 207, 211, 315 ; succeeds Beaure- gard, 334 ; resolves to invade Kentucky, 335 ; movement of the army of, 336, 338, 339,341; at Munfordsville, 343; proclama- tion of, 343; attempt of, to establish a State government, 344; effect of the movement, 345; at battle of Perryville, 356; retreat of, to Tennessee, 363; at battle of Stone Riv- er, 417, 418, 443. Branch, F. O. B. (C), 180, 181, 347, 3.56, 258. Branch's brigade (C), 296, 331. Breckinridge, John C. (C), 23, 200, 416, 420, 439, 446. Breckinridge, Rev. Dr., 69. Breshwood, Captain (C), 36. Brewster, Elder, 4. Brockenbrough's brigade (C), 331. Brooks, Colonel (U.), 395. Brooks's brigade (U.), 369, 327. Brooks's divisions (U.), 404. Brown, Captain (U.), 334. Brown, Captain (U.), 349. Brown, Isaac N. (C), 444. Brown, John, 18. Brown, Joseph E. (C), 36. Buchanan, Frank (C), 168, 169. Buchanan, James, 33. Buchanan, R. C. (U.), 359, 360. Buchanan's brigade (U.), 360. Buckland, General (U.), 302, 307. Buckner, Simon B. (C), 139, 137, 145, 153, 155, 1.58. Buell, Don Carlos (U.), in Kentucky, 128; instructions of, to Garfield, 131 ; at Bowl- ing Green, 137, march of, to Pittsburg Landing, 199; at battle of Shiloh, 215; at Huntsville, 834, 335; retreat of, to Louis- ville, 340, 343, 345; at battle of Perryville, 356, 360. Buford, General (U.), 391. INDEX. 467 Burnard, Alfred, 403. Biiruside, Ambrose E. (U.), at Bull Run, 97, 100, 103 ; iu North Carolina expedition, 172 ; at Roanoke Island, 174; at Newbern, 181; commands right wing of the Army of the Potomac, 303; at battle of South Mount- ain, 306; at battle of Antietam, 329; as commander of the Army of the Potomac, 393; in Fredericksburg campaign, 396,404, 413. Burton, Miss, 357. Butler, Benjamin F. (U.), talk of, with se- cessionists, 49 ; commands Massachusetts troops, 51; march of, to Washington, 60; at Fortress Monroe, 76 ; at Fort Hatteras, 113 ; declared slaves contraband of war, 77, 364, 370; in expedition to New Orleans, 219, 228. Butter field, Daniel (U.), 259, 294, 893. Buttrick, Major, 51. Cabell's brigade (C), 351. Cabinet meeting, 378. Cadwallader, George C. (U.), 87. Cabin, Colonel (U.), 444. Cairo in 1861, 185. Caldwell, John C. (U.), 336, 332, 410. Calhoun, John C, 10, 11. California, settlement of, 14. Calls for troops, 104, 278. Carey, Miss, 63. Carey, Miss Hetty, 63. Carlin, William P. (U.), 359, 860, 437, 429. Carlisle's battery (U.), 103. Carpenter, Mr., 208. Carr, E. A. (U.), 160, 163, 164, 272. Carrol!, De Rosey (C), 110, 183. Carter, General (U.), 417. Carter's brigade (U.), 134. Casey, Silas (U.), 249, 257. Cavaliers, the, 2. Ca vender, John (U.), 154, 155, 158. Cedar Mountain battle, 280. Centreville, evacuation of, 237. Chalmers, James R. (C). 210, 315, 343. Chautilly battle, 296. Chaplin River battle, 356. Chapman, G. T. (U.), 260. Chase, Salmon P. (U.), 378. Cheat Mountain, 114. Cheatham, B. F. (C), 200, 305, 360, 420, 429, 480. Chestnut, James, jr. (C), 90. Chicago Convention, 34. Chickasaw Bluffs battle, 455. Christian's brigade (U.), 315. Christmas, 1861, 84. Christmas, 1863, 457. Churchill, T. J. (C), 110. Clarke, John B. (C), 109, 284, 446. Class distinction, 8. Clay, Henry, 6, 9, 10. Cleburne, Patrick (C), 207, 420, 421, 427,437. Climate, effect of, 6. Cobb, Edward (C), 409, 410. Cobb, Howell (C), 17, 39, 86. Coburn, Colonel, 888. Cochrane, John (U.), 867. Collins, Sergeant (U.), 411. Colman, Mr. (U.), 51. Colquitt's brigade (C), 306. Columbia artillery (C), 34. Columbus seized, 118. Commerce with England, 8. Confederacy organized, 39. Confederate mail route, 89. Congressional debates, 376. Connecticut Regiment, Seventh, 830; Tenth, 176; Fourteenth, 410. Conscription act (C), 457. Conscription of Confederates, 335. Conspirators, 29. "Contraband Camp, "458. Contrabands, 77. Cook's brigade (U.), 145, 155. Cook's cavalry (U.), 364. Cooper's battery (U.), 316. Corinth battle, 353. Correspondents, 91, 105. Cotton shipment, 6. Couch, D. N. (U.), 244, 248, 253, 304, 381, 398. Council at Donelson, 156. Cox, Jacob D. (U.), 114, 806, 829. Crawford, William H., 28. Crawford's brigade (U.), 381, 283. Crawford's division (U.), 819, 339. Crenshaw's battery (C), 406. Crittenden, George B. (C), 133. 138, 876. Crittenden, Thomas L. (U.), 315, 375, 376, 418. Crocker, Colonel (U.), 345, 846. Crockett, Major, 307. Crockett, Major (U.), 302, 208. Crome, Lieutenant (U.), 306. Crook, George (U.), 307, 339. Cross, Edward, 337, 410. Cruft, Charles (U.), 145, 146, 158, 889. Crum's Mill, 356. Cumberland, Department of the, 415. 468 INDEX. Cunningham, Mr.. 96. Curtis, Samuel R. (U.). IGO, 161. Dana's brigade (U.), 250, 320. Daniel, John M. (C), 174. Darlington Guards (C), 34. Dartnioutii College case, 12. Davidson, T.J. (C), 145. Davidson's battery (C), 163, 164. Davis, Charles H. (U.), 226, 229, 234, 444, 445. Davis, Jefferson (C), senator in Congress, 22, 29; elected President of the Confeder- ac}', 39 ; speech of, at Montgomery, 39 ; ap- points Bishop Polk major-general, 118; appoints Albert Sidney Johnston to com- mand in the West, 129; appoints Van Dorn to command West of the Mississippi, 159; Davis and Henry A. Wise, 177; talk of, ■with Beauregard and Johnston, 237 ; con- sternation in the President's mansion, 245; at battle of Seven Pines, 250; appoints R. E. Lee to command, 255; at Murfreesboro', 416; other mention of, 450, 452, 457. Davis's division (U.), 160, 162, 345, 351, 354, 429, 432. Davy, Mr. (U.), 46. De Bow's RecieiD, 16. De Courcy, General (U.), 455. De Joinville, Prince, 236, 254. Delaware, the First, 409, 410. Democracy, 16. Democratic Party in Xew York, 40. Dennis, Colonel (U.), 346. Dent, Henry (U.), 337. Dix, John A. (U.), 86. Dodge's brigade (U. ), 163. Douovant, Colonel (C), 123. Doubleday, Abner (U.), 288, 316, 389, 404. Douglas, Stephen A. (U.), 23, 49. Douglas's battery (C), 424. Douglas's brigade (C), 316. Drake's brigade (C), 145, 152. Drayton, Percival (U.), 183. Drayton. T.F.(C.), 123. Driver, Stephen (U.), 1.58. Dubois, John V. (U.), 110. Duffield, Colonel (U.), 335, 336. Duke, Basil W. (C), 70, 145, 416. Duncan, J. K. (C), 220. Dunham, Colonel (U.), 342. Duuker Church, 315. Dunlap, George (U.), 328. Dunn, Captain (U. ). 401. Dupout, Admiral (U.), 123, 374. Duryea, Colonel (U.), 78. Duryea's brigade (U.), 315. Early, Jubal (C), 92, 95, 259, 316. Easton's battery (U.), 316. Ector's brigade (C), 424, 437. Edgarton's battery (U.), 424. Edgel's battery (U.), 316. Edward's Ferry, 117. Ela, Carlton (U.), 193. Election, 1862, 418. Ellet, Captain (U.), 232, 235. EUet, Charles (U.). 231, 232, 235. Ellison's Mills, 258. Ellsworth, Colonel (C), 337. Ellsworth, E. Elmer (U.), 75. Emancipation, 455. Emancipation of slaves in District of Colum- bia, 370. Emerson, Ralph Waldo, 375, 429. Emigrants from Europe, 21. Emigration societies, 15. Engineer brigade (U.), 396. England's attitude, 106. Ericsson, John (U.), 166. Estvan, B. (C), 180, 183. Evans, N. G. (C), 95,97,98. Everett's battery (U.), 447. Ewell, Richard S. (C), 95, 259, 274, 284, 285, Fagan, James T. (C), 211. Fair Oaks battle, 248. Falmouth Hills, 894. Faneuil Hall, 51, 55. Farragut, David G. (U.), 219, 443. Fealherstone, W. I. (C), 260. Ferero's brigade (U.). 411. Field's brigade (C), 407. Fifth Army Corps, the (U.), 303. First Army Corps, the (U.), 303, 393, 404. Fitzhugh. George (C), 44. Florida Regiment, the Eighth, 396. Floyd, J. B. (C), 28, 29, 32, 114, 145, 152, 155, 158. Follansbee, Albert S. (U.), 51, 52. Foote, Andrew H. (U.), 137, 146, 150, 154, 190, 193. Forrest, N. B. (C), 335, 452. Fort Barrancas, 39 ; Bartow, 174 ; Beaure- gard, 123; Clark, 112; Donelson, 129, 143, 146, 152; Dixie, 180; Henry, 129, 134; Hat- teras. 111; Jackson, 220; Macon, 178, 184; Magruder, 243; McRae, 39; McHenry, 64; Monroe, 75,166; Moultrie, 31; Pickens, 37; INDEX. 469 Piiickney, 31 ; Powell, 351 ; Pulaski, 36 ; Robiuett, 352 ; Richardson, 351; Sumter, 31; St. Philip, 230; Walker, 123 Foster, John G. (U.), 175, 181. ■ Fox's Gap, 306. Franklin, William B. (U.), 100, 247, 253, 274, 304, 321, 328. Fredericksburg battle, 403. Fremont, J. aiU.), 114. 118, 119, 246, 364. French, William H., 269, 303, 321, 326, 393, 413. Frost, Daniel M. (C). 71, 72. Fr3e, Colonel (U.), 134. 135, 859. Frye's brigade (U.), 359. Frye's division (U.), 418. Fuller, A. B. (U.), 354, 400. Furlough of Confederate troops, 457. Fyffe, Colonel (U.), 340, 432, 434, 439, 441. Gaines's Mills Battle, 264. Gainesville battle, 292. Gallatin engagement, 340. Gardner, John L. (U.), 31. Gareshe, Colonel (U.), 439. Garfield, James A., 130, 131. Garland's brigade (C). 306. Garnett, General (C), 282. Garuett, R. S. (C), 81, 83, 84. Gates's brigade (C), 348, 351. Geary, John W. (U.), 281. Georgia Regiment, Third, 375. Gerdes, F. H. (U.), 220. Germans in St. Louis, 70. Gibbon, John (U.), 288, 308, 319, 407. Gibbons, John S.,278. Gibson, Randal L. (C), 210, 211. Gibson's battery (U.), 243. Gilbert's Corps (U.), 356, 360. Gill more, Quincy A., 378, 380- Gilmer, Jeremy F. (C), 137. Gist, William H. (C), 29. Gladdiu, A. H. (C), 205, 210, 211. Gleudale battle, 270. Goldsborough, Commodore (U.), 174, 238. Gooding's brigade (C), 363. Goodspeed, Captain (U.), 427. Gorman, W. A. (U.), 249, 250, 261, 281, 320. Graham's battery (U.), 328. Granger, Gordon (U.), 110, 384. Grant, Ulysses S. (U.), at Cairo, 117 ; seizes Paducah, 118 ; at battle of Belmont, 120: quarters of, at Cairo, 136; at Fort Henry, 146; at battle of Fort Donelson, 154; at bat- tle of Shiloh, 202 ; as commander of the Department of West Tennessee, 345, 448. Grcblc, John (U.), 78, 81. Greeley, Horace (U.), 377. Green, Lieutenant (U.), 172. Greene, General (U.), 281. Greene's brigade (U.), 281. 296. Greene's division (U.), 303, 319, 320. Greer, E., 110. Gregg, Maxcy (C), 260. Gregg's brigade (C), 331. Greusel, Colonel (U.), 429. Grider's brigade (U.), 440. Griffin, Charles (U.), 97, 101, 103. Griffin's brigade (U.). 260, 263. Griffith's brigade (C), 269. Grimes, Mr. , 89. Grimes, Senator (U.), 370. Grose's brigade (U.), 434, 440. 441. Grover's brigade (U.), 272. Grovetou battle, 290. Guion, Captain (C), 184. Gulf Stream, the, 6. Gunboats at Cairo, 136. Gunther's battery (U.), 434. Hackleman, p. a. (U.), 352, 353. Hale, John P. (U.), 369. Hall's, N. A., brigade (U.), 398, 400. Halleck, Henry W. (U.), at St. Louis, 14, 137; as commander in the West, 197, as milita- ry director, 277; order of, to Pope, 279; or- der of, to McClellan, 280 ; in Washington, 285; divides the Western armj^ 334; for- bids slaves entering the army, 364; instruc- tions of, to McClellan, 389. Hamilton, Schuyler (U.), 193, 345, 347, 352. 354. Hamilton's house, 404. Hammond, James H. (C), 29, 44. Hampton, JMark (C), 353. Hampton Roads engagement, 169. Hancock, Winfield S., 244, 328, 407, 410. Hanks, John, 23. Hanks, Nancy, 24. Hanover Court-house, 247. Hanson's brigade (C), 155, 440. Hardee, William J. (C), 107, 200, 206, 211. 251, 360, 423. Harker's brigade (U.), 429, 437. Harlan's brigade (U.), 417. Harris, Isham G. (C), 140, 169, 216. Harris, Matthew (U.), 34. Harrison, William H., 10, 69. Harrison's Landing, 273. Hart, Mr., 82. Hart, Peter (U.), 46. 470 INDEX. Hartford Convention, 10. Hartsiiff's brigade (V.), 319. Hascall's brigade (U.), 420, 440. Hatch, General (U.), 293. Hattera.s Inlet, 111. Hawes, Richard (C), 343.' Hawkins, Colonel (U.), 401. Haj'den's batterj' (U.), 163. Hayne, Senator, 12. Hayne's battery (U.). 807. Hays's brigade (C). 296, 407. Hazard's battery (U.), 267, 271. Hazen,William B. (U.), 420, 433. Hebert, Louis (C), 100, 110, 351, 359. Heiman, Colonel (C), 143, 145. Heintzehnan, Samuel P. (U.), at Bull Run battle, 91, 96, 97; at Williamsburg, 237, 243; on the Chickahominy, 247; at Fair Oaks, 254; at White Oak Swamp, 269; at Malvern Hill, 274; under Pope, 284; at bat- tle of Gainesville, 292. Henry House, 95. Hill, A. P. (C), at Williamsburg, 243; at Me- chanicsville, 258; at Gaines's Mills, 260, 264; at Glendale, 271 ; at Malvern, 271 ; on the Rappahannock, 279; at Cedar Mountain, 281, 282; at Ccntreville, 286; at Sudley Springs, 288; at battle of Gainesville, 292; at battle of Chantilly, 296; at Harper's Ferry, 313; at Antielam, 325, 331; at Fred- ericksburg, 407. Hill, D. H. (C), at battle of Seven Pines, 248, 254; atMechanicsvilie, 258; at Gaines's Mills, 260, 264; at Glendale, 271, 272; at Malvern, 274; in Richmond, 283; in Mary- land, 306; at battle of South Mountain, 306, 308; at Antietam, 315, 320, 322, 325, 332; at Fredericksburg, 395. Hillyer, William S. (U.), 154. Hindman, Thomas (C), 207, 208. Hiscock's battery (U.), 359, 431. Hodgson's battery (C), 207. Hogan, Tom (U.), 34. Hollins, George N. (C), 186. Holmes, General (C), 95. Home Guards in Missouri (U.), 70, 72. Hood's division (C), 264, 283, 295, 315. Hooker, Joseph (U.), at Williamsburg, 243; at Seven Pines, 253; at Glendale, 271 ; at Mal- vern, 274; under Pope, 287, 288, 296; at An- tietam, 314, 319, 329 ; at Fredericksburg, 413. Houghtaling's battery (U.), 430, 450. Howard, O. O. (U.), 97, 100, 102, 253, 316, 321, 400,411. Howard, Samuel (U.), 121. Howe, A. P. (U.), 274, 404, 407. Huger, Benjamin (C), 52, 178, 248, 251, 272. Humphrey's division (U.), 412. Hunt, Henry J. (U.), 274, 275. Hunter, David (U.), 91, 95, 97, 374. Hunter, R. ^l T. (C), 29. Hurlburt, Stephen A. (U.), 200, 206, 216, 345, 356. Hutchinson family, 128. Ide.vs, growth of, 8. Illinois Regiment, the Twelfth, 198; the Sev- enteenth, 149; the Twenty - first, 118, 428; the Twenty-second, 418, 430; the Twenty- fifth, 164 ;\he Twenty - seventh, 418, 430; the Thirty -fourth, 424; the Thirty -fifth, 348; the Thirty -si.\th, 429 ; the Thirty- eighth, 428 ; the Forty -second, 418 ; the Forty - fifth, 346 ; the Forty - eighth, 149 ; the Fifty-first, 430; tiie Fifty-sixth, 355; the Eighty-eighth, 430. Imboden's battery (C), 97. Immell's batterj^ (U.), 355. Indiana cavalry, the Second, 340 ; battery, the Seventh, 432 ; Regiment, the Tenth, 134 ; the Eleventh, 156 ; the Seventeenth, 342; the Eighteenth, 163; the Nineteenth, 288, 308 ; the Twenty-first, 446 ; the Twen- tj^-second, 113 ; the Twenty-fifth, 155 ; the Twenty-ninth, 427; the Thirtieth, 427; the Fifty-fourth, 455. Indians in the Territories, 159. Ingersoll, R. G. (U.), 451. Iowa division (U.), 295. Iowa Regiment, the Second, 155; the Third, 164; the Fifth, 348; the Seventh, 155: the Tenth, 133, 193, 348 ; the Eleventh, 156 ; the Fourteenth, 155; the Sixteenth, 348 ; the Seventeenth, 342 ; the Eight- eenth, 163; the Nineteenth, 288; the For- ty -eighth, 348 ; the Fifty -sixth, 355 ; the Fifty - seventh, 438 ; cavalry, the Second, 340; the Third, 163. Irish brigade, the (U. ), 327. Island No. 10, 185, 193. luka battle, 347. Jackson, Andrew, 10, 13. Jackson Camp (C), 72. Jackson, Claiborne F. (C), 70, 84. Jackson, Mr., 75. Jackson, T. J. (Stonewall), at Bull Run, 95; 1 receives the name of Stonewall, 99; at Port I Republic, 256; his ride to Richmond, 258; i INDEX. 471 in consultation with Lee, 358; tlie move- ment to Cold Harbor, 264 ; at Savage's Station, 270; at Gainesville, 266; at Glen- dale, 271; at Malvern Hill, 274; at Louisa Court -bouse, 279; bis movement against Pope, 286; at Cedar Mountain, 281, 284; bis niovement to Manassas, 285, 289; at Groveton, 290; at Gainesville, 298, 294; at Cbantilly, 296; at Martinsburg, 802; capt- ures Harper's Ferry, 312; at Antietam, 813, 331; in the Sbenandoab Valley, 390; at Fredericksburg, 403, 413. Jackson's brigade (U.), 405, 407. Jameson's brigade (U.), 249, 254. Jefferson, Tliomas, 4. Johnson, Busbrod R. (C), 145. Johnson, R. H. (U.), 340, 418. Johnson's battery (C), 406. Johnson's brigade (C), 288. Johnston, Albert Sidney (C), appointed to command, 129; at Bowling Green, 148; his retreat to Murfreesboro', 158, 196; at the battle of Shilob, 198, 199, 205; his death 209. Johnston, Joseph E. (C), at Harper's Ferry, 86; bis retreat to Winchester, 87; ordered \ to Bull Run, 92; at the battle of Bull Run, I 96, 98, 103; in Richmond, 237; his retreat | from Williamsburg, 245 ; at the battle of Seven Pines, 247, 248, 250. Jones, Catesby (C), 171. Jones, D. R. (C), 331. Jones, Edward F. (U.), 51. Jones, Lieutenant (U.j, 57. Jones, Mr. , 66. Jones's battery (U.), 163. Jones's brigade (C), 95. Jordan, Thomas (C), 200, 216. Kearney, Philip (U.), 243, 244, 249, 271, 275, 277, 280, 293. Keitt, Lawrence M. (C), 29. Kelley, William D. (U.), 24. Kemper's division (C.), 295. Kenly, Colonel (U.), 389. Kenny's battery (U.), 134. Kentucky in 1861, 69. Kentucky policy, 383. Kentucky Regiment, the Second (U.), 433; the Fourth (U.), 134,340; the Fifth (U.),' 340; the Eighth (U.), 441; the Ninth (U.), 437,441; the Eleventh (U.), 437, 441; the Twelfth (U.), 134; the Fourteenth (U.), 131; the Twenty-second (U.), 455. Kershaw's brigade (C), 269. Keyes, Erasmus D. (U.), 97, 100, 237 247 254, 274. Kimball, Nathan (XL), 283, 321, 322, 327, 409. King Cotton, 66. King's division (U.), 288, 295, 303. Kirby's battery (U.), 250, 322. Kirk, General (U.), 424, 427. Kise, R. C.{U.), 134. Koltes, Colonel (U.), 295. Labor, degradation of, 22. Lacey, Major (C), 55. Ladd, Luther (U.), 52. Lamar, Mr. (C), 17. Landor, F. W. (U.), 82. Latham's battery (C. ), 406. Lauman, J. G. (.U.), 145, 155. Law, General (C), 801, 315. Lawton, General (C), 288, 290, 31.5. Lee, Henr}^, 4. Lee, Robert E. (C), at Harper's Ferry, 19; resigns from United States Army, 75; at Fair Oaks, 251 ; appointed to command the Army of Northern Virginia, 255; or- ders Jackson's corps to Richmond, 256; at battle of Mechanicsville, 258; at battle of Gaines's Mills, 260; movement of, south of Chickahominy, 269; at battle of Gleudale, 271; at battle of Malvern Hill, 273; move- ment of, against Pope, 279, 280 ; consoli- dates the army, 283; movement of, to Ma- nassas, 283, 286 ; at battle of Gainesville, 298; invasion of Maryland by, 297, 298; address of, to people of Maryland, 801 ; at Hagerstown, 312; at battle of Antietam, 313; retires to the Rappahannock, 390; at battle of Fredericksburg, 408. Lee's Mills engagement, 239. Lester, Colonel (U. ), 335, 336. Letcher, John (C), 55, 57. Lexington, Missouri, engagement, 113. Libby Prison, 267. Lincoln, Abraham (U.), boyhood of, 23; visit of, to New Orleans, 23 ; nominated to the Presidency, 24 ; home of, 25 ; journey of, to Washington, 42 ; inaugurated as Presi- dent, 42 ; proclamation of, for troops, 48 ; interview of, with Douglas, 49 ; ridiculed by the people of the South, 55, 56 ; pro- claims a blockade of Southern ports, 56; influence of, in Kentuck}', 69, 70; receives a call from Magruder, 77 ; effect of death of General Baker on, 118; dissatisfied with McClellan's inaction, 236 ; retains troops to defend Washington. 237 ; pardon of 472 INDEX. William Scott by, 240 ; despatch to, from McClellan, 370 ; call of, for troops, 278 ; revokes Fremont's orders in relation to slaves, 364; revokes Hunter's order, 375 ; appeal of, to the Border States, 375; mes- sage of, to Congress in relation to emanci- pation, 375; receives a letter from McClel- lan, 375; letter of, to Horace Greeley, 376; debates in Congress on Emancipation Proc- lamation, 376; receives delegation of min- isters, 377 ; first draft of Emancipation Proclamation of, 378 ; discussion in the cabinet on Proclamation, 378 ; the Presi- dent's prayers, 379 ; visit of, to the Army of the Potomac, 386 ; instruction of, to McClellan, 389: letter of, to McClellan, 390; removal of McClellan from command by, 393. Little, Henry (C.),3-t9. Logan, John A. (U.), 157. Long Bridge, 57, 75. Longstreet, James (C), at Blackburn's Ford, 92; at battle of Bull Run, 95; at Williams- burg, 243 ; at Seven Pines, 248, 253; at Me- chanicsville, 258, 263, 264 ; at Savage Sta- tion, 270 ; at Glendale, 274; movement of, to Manassas, 289, 290; at Gainesville, 291, 294, 295; at Antietam, 313, 325, 326, 327; at Culpeper, 390; at Fredericksburg, 402. Loomis's battery (U.), 360. Lovejoy, Owen (U.), 376. Lovell, Mansfield (C), 129, 176. Lowell, J R., 19. Lynch, Commodore (C), 174. Lyon, Nathaniel P. (U.), 71, 72, 84, 107, 111. Mackall, W. W. (C), 185, 194, 195. Macy, Captain, 400. Magilton's brigade (U.), 405, 407. Magruder, John B. (C), 77, 78, 238, 243, 258, 263, 269, 271, 274. Maine Regiment, the Sixth, 244; the Tenth, 282; the Fourteenth, 446. Mallory, Charles (C), 77. Mallory, Stephen R. (C), 29. 251. Malvern Hill battle, 273. Manassas battle, 294. Manigault's brigade (C), 431. Mansfield's corps (U.), 303, 314, 319, 329. Manson, M. D. (U.), 134, 339. Maney's battery (C), 149. Mauey's brigade (C), 431. Mason, Captain (U.), 203. Mason, James M. (C), 29. Mass meeting in New York, 52. Massachusetts battery, the Sixth, 446; Regi- ment, the Sixth, 51 ; the Eighth, 60 ; the Tenth, 249; the Twelfth, 407; the Thir- teenth, 117 ; the Fifteenth, 321, 322 ; the Sixteenth, 272, 400 ; the Nineteenth, 398 ; the Twentieth, 398, 400 ; the Twenty-first, 178, 330; the Twenty -fourth, 181; the Twenty -seventh, 176; the Thirtieth, 446; the Thirty-first, 330; the Thirty-fifth, 330; the Forty-third, 176; the Forty-fourth, 176. Marcy, R. B. (U.), 117. Markham engagement, 393. Marshall, Colored (U.), 281. Marshall House, 75. Marshall, Humphrey (C), 129, 130, 132. Marston, Gilman (U.), 97. Martin, Knott V. (U.), 50. Martindale, John H. (U.), 259, 275, 281. Maryland Invasion, 298. Maryland Regiment, the Second (U.), 329. Matthews, Mr., 95. Matthews, Stanley (U.), 337. Maury, General (C), 420. Maury's brigade (C), 351 Maxey, Captain (U.), 420. Maynadier, H. E. (U.), 190, 233, 344. McAllister's battery (U.), 153. McArthur, John G. (U.), 145, 352. McBride, J. H. (C), 109. McCall, G. A. (U.), 255, 260, 271, McCauley, Captain (U.), 57. McCausland, John (C), 145. McClellan, George B. (U.), appointment of, as major-general, 81; at Rich Mountain, 83; appointment of, as commander-in- chief, 84 ; meets newspaper correspondents, 105; in Ball's Bluff affair, 117, 118; order of, relating to slaves, 128; inaction of, 128; plan of movement of, to Richmond, 237; at Yorktown, 238; at battle of William.s- burg, 243; on the Chickahominy, 247; at battle of Seven Pines, 248; at battle of Fair Oak.s, 253 ; at battle of Mechanics- ville, 258; movement of, to James Ri%'er, 269 ; despatch of, to Secretary Stanton, 270; Lee's opinion of, 301 ; reorganization of army by, 303 ; at Rockville, 303 ; move- ment of, to South Mountain, 304; loss of, at Turner's Gap, 308; at Antietam, 313, 314, 326, 328, 329, 332, 333; after Antietam, 386; opposition of, to President Lincoln's proc- lamation of emanoipation, 386 ; Stuart's raid to Chambersburg, 389 ; receives a letter from the President, 390; moves into Vir- ginia, 390 ; plan of, for operations of I INDEX. 473 army, 393; removal of, from command, 393. McClernand, John A. (U.), 143, 153, 200. 210. McCluny's battery (C), 133. McCook, A. McD. (U.), 134, 215, 264. 356, 359, 360. 415. 421. McCowu's division (C). 422, 430. McCullocb, Ben. (C), 37, 107, 110. 160. McDowell, Irwin (U.). command of, at Bull Run, 75, 86, 88. 90. 91,98, 100; at Freder- iclvsburg, 238, 247, 256; at Manassas. 278, 290, 291. McGoffln. Beriah (C), 70. Mcintosh, General (C). 110. 163. Mcintosh's battery (C). 406. McKean's division (U.), 345, 351, 354. McLaws's division (C). 264, 283, 302, 395. McLean's brigade, 295, 351. McMullin's battery (U.). 306. McNair's brigade (C. ). 424. 434. McPherson. J. B. (U.), 212, 345. 351. 355. Meade, G. C. (U.). 271, 303. 315. 404. Meagher, Thomas F. (U.), 253, 264, 326, 410. Mechanicsviiie battle, 258. Memminger, Charles G. (C), 20, 21, 29. Memphis engagement, 230. Mendenhall, Captain (U.), 215, 216, 439. Meredith, Solomon (U.), 308. Michigan Regiment, the First, 102 ; the Fourth, 348; the Si.xth, 446; the Seventh, 348 ; the Ninth, 335, 336 ; the Twenty- first, 430; the Fourth Cavalry, 420. Middle Creek battle, 131. Miles, Colonel (U.), 91, 103, 308. 311. Militia of Virginia, 87. Mill Springs battle, 132, 135. Miller, Major (U.), 409. Miller's brigade (U.), 441. Miller, Captain, 340. Miller, Dr., 314. Miller, FitzHugh, 312. Milroy's brigade (U.), 290. Minnesota Regiment, the Second. 1.33 ; the Third. 335, the Fourth. 348; the Fifth^ 3.55. Mississippi Regiment, the Seventeenth, 395; the Eighteenth, 395, the Twenty -first, 175; the Thirtieth, 175. Missouri Compromise, 14. Missouri Regiment, the First (U.), 108, the Second (U.), 164 , the Third, 109, 375 ; the Fourth. 348 , the Fifth. 109 , the Sixth, 455 ; the Seventh, 346 ; the Eighth, 156 ; the Eleventh. 355 , the Twelfth, 164 ; the Twenty-fifth, 206; the Twenty-si.x'th, 348; the First Cavalry, 163. Mitchell, O. M. (U.). 143, 360, 418. Monitor, the (C), 171. Montgomery, Commodore (C), 226, 230. Montgomery Convention (C.), 233. Montgomery Guards (C). 113. Moore, Colonel, 205, 416. Moorhead, Colonel (U.), 400. Morgan, Colonel, 184, 186. ]\Iorgan, J. H. (C), 336. 338, 415. 416. Morgan's division (U.), 454. Morrill, G. W. (U.), 259. Morrill's division (U.), 251. Morris, General (U.), 81. Morris, Lieutenant (U.), 168. Morris's brigade (U.), 322, 351. Morrison, Colonel (U.). 145. 189. Mower's brigade (U.). 353. Muldraugh's Hill. 417. Mulligan. J. A. (U.), 113. Muma, Mr., 313. Munfordsville engagement, 342, 416. Murphy. General (U.), 346.452. Muskets sent South, 28. "My Maryland," 63. N.\GLEE'S BRIGADE (U.), 249, 271, 411. Nashville convention, 17. Nashville evacuation, 157. Navy, United States, in 1861. 27. Navy yard at Norfolk, the. 58. Needham. Sumner H. (U.), 52. Negley's brigade (U.), 418. Negley's division (U.), 432. 449. Nefson, William (U.), 199, 204, 339. Nelson's division (U.), 202, 210, 215, 336, 339. Nelson's farm, 270. New Cold Harbor, 263. New Hampshire Regiment, the Fifth, 327, 410; the Sixth, 330. New Jersey Cavalry, the Eighth, 311; the Ninth, 176. New Madrid, 186. New Orleans, 66, 222. New York Regiment, the Fourth, 410; the ' Seventh, 59 ; the Tenth, 410 ; the Four- teenth, 101; the Fifty-first, 339; the Six- ty-first, 327. the Sixty -fourth, .327 ; the Seventy-sixth. 288 ; the Ninety-fifth, 288 ; the Ninety - seventh. 407 ; the One Hun- dred and Eighth, 410. Newbern battle, 182. 183. Newspapers . the Boston Courier, 374 ; the Charleston Courier, 41, 75; the Charleston Mercury, 28, 36; the London Times. 106; the Louisville Journal, 379 ; the Memphis 474 INDEX. Appeal, 186; the Memphis Argus, 190; the Mobile Advertiser, 28, 84; the New York Tribune, 41; the Richmond Whig, 28, 265; the Richmond Despatch, 246 ; the Rich- mond Examiner, 363. Newton's division, 404, 407. Nichols's resolutions, 8. Nicodemus, Mr., 814. Ninth Corps, the, 303, 304, 308, 314, 336, 417. North Carolina Regiment, the Thirteenth, 307; the Twentieth, 306, 307; the Twen- ty-third, 307, 308. Northern men in Southern States, 27. Novelty Works, the, 166. Oglesby, Richard J. (U.), 123, 145. 153, 353. Ohio brigade, the, 3.54; the Fourth Regiment, 409, the Eighth, 409 ; the Ninth, 135 ; the Tenth, 355, the Tenth battery, 352; the Eleventh, 348, the Twelfth, 307; the Thir- teenth, 307; the Sixteenth, 455; the Eigh- teenth, 340; the Nineteenth, 433, 437, 441 ; the Twenty -sixth, 340 ; the Twenty-sev- enth, 354 ; the Thirty-third, 354; the Thir- ty-eighth, 134; the Thirty -ninth, 354; the Fortieth, 131; the Forty -second, 131 ; the Forty-third, 354, 355 ; the Fifty-first, 441 ; the Fifty-third, 207, 354, 355 ; the Sixty- third, 352, 354 ; the One Hundred and First, 428. "Old Abe," 353. Old Glory, 158. Oliver's brigade (U.), 352. "On to Richmond," 87, 395. Opinion in the Southern States, 41. Ord, Edward O. C. (U.), 345, 347, 349, 356. Order to bombard Sumter, 43. Ordinance of 1787, 5. Orr, James L. (C), 27,-29. Osterhaus, Peter J. (U.), 108, 160, 163. Otis, Captain (U.), 432. Owens's battery (U.), 322. Owens's brigade (U.), 400. Paducah, seizure of, 118. Paine, General (U.), 186, 189. Palmer, Rev. Dr. (C), 16. Palmer's division (U.), 416, 418, 429, 434. Palmetto Guard (C), 43. Panic at Bull Run, 102. Parke, J. G.(U.), 175, 176, 184. Parson's battery (U.), 360. Parsons, Monroe M. (C), 109. Patterson. Robert (U.), 87, 89, 90. Paulding, Hiram (U.), 166. .-b^"^ Paxton, John R. (U.), 459. Pea Ridge battle, 161. Peace Congress, 43 Pearce, N. B. (C), 110. Peck's brigade (U.), 244. Pegram, John (C), 81, 82, 406. Pelham's battery (C), 306, 389. Pemberton, General (C), 450. Pender's brigade (C), 331, 404. Peninsular campaign, the, 239. Pennsylvania Regiment, the Fifth, 272 ; the Seventh. 340 ; the Eighth, 272 ; the Thir- teenth, 410; the Forty-sixth, 188; the For- ty-seventh, 245 ; the Fifty -first, 330; the Sixty-ninth, 272; the Seventy-second, 321; the Seventy-seventh, 424; the Eighty-first, 323; the Eighty-eighth. 407; the One Hun- dred and Sixth, 400; the One Hundred and Eighth, 410; the Tenth Cavalry, 272, 314. Perkins, Captain (U.), 353. Perry's brigade (C), 396. Perryville battle, 369. Pet names, 198. Pettigrew, Mr. (U.), 33. Pettit's battery (U.), 207, 253, 267, 271, 394. Phelps, S. S. (U.), 233. Phelps's brigade (U.), 316. Phifer's brigade (U.), 351. Philbrick. Major. 321. Phillips, Wendell (U.), 19. Pickens, Francis W. (C), 29, 34, 47. Pierce. Ebenezer W. (U.), 78. Pierce, Franklin, 40. Pierpont, F. H. (U.), 75. Pike, Albert (C), 159, 160, 161, 163. Pilgrims, 3. Pillow, Gideon J. (C), 143, 152, 153, 155. Piney's battery (U.), 427. Pittsburg Landing, 199. Pleasanton, Alfred (U.), 313. Plummer, Joseph B. (U.), 108, 110, 186. Plunkett, Sergeant (U.), 411. Political situation, the, in 1862, 417. Polk, Leonidas (C), 118, 129, 137, 185, 200, 360, 438. Polk's brigade (C), 428, 432. Pond's brigade (C), 215. Pope, John (U.), at New Madrid, 185, 190. 193, 195 ; in Virginia, 278, 290, 293, 294, 295, 297. Port Royal engagement, 123. Port Tobacco, 89. Porter, Andrew (U.), 97, 100. Porter, Captain W. D. (U.), 140, 445. Porter, David D. (U.), 220: I INDEX. 475 Porter, Fitz-Jolin, under Patterson, 87, 89, 90; as commander of a corps, 237; in en- gagement at Hanover Court-house, 247; in battle of Meclianicsville, 258; in battle of Gaines's IMills, 263, 264 ; at White Oak Swamp, 265; at Malvern Hills, 274; under Pope, 284, 287, 291, 303; at Antietam, 328, 332. Post's brigade (U.), 427 Powell, General (C), 357. Prentice, Captain, 372. Prentis, Rev. Mr. (C), 35. Prentiss, General (U.), 200, 206, 207, 210. Preston, General (C), 344, 438. Price, Sterling (C), 107, 113, 162, 346, 348. Prince's brigade, 281. Privateers, 56. Proclamation of South Carolina, 13; of Jef- ferson Davis, 56; of Earl Van Doru, 159; of President Lincoln, 378. Pryor, Roger A. (C), 44, 252, 260. Queen Anne and the slave-trade, 4. Queen City, the, 229. Rains,J.E. (0,109. Rains's brigade (C), 436. Randall, James R. (C), 60. Randall's battery (U.), 134, 272. Ransom's division (C), 395. Rawlins.J. A. (U.), 153,212. Reed, Captain (U.), 267. Reed, William (U.), 267. Regulars, United States, 97, 434. Reid, J. G. (U.), 110. Reno, James L. (U.), 175, 176. Reno's division (U.), 283, 287, 293, 296, 306, 308. Repeal of the Missouri Compromise, 15. Republican party, the, 24, 27. Retreat of Pope, 277; of McClellan, 280; of Lee. 390 ; of Bragg, 442. Revenue, collection of, 13. Reynolds, John (U.), 97, 114, 258, 271, 287, 290, 393, 418. Rhett, Robert Barnwell (C), 21, 29. Rhode Island Regiment, the Second (U.), 97. Rice, Lieutenant^U.), 249. Rich Mountain battle, 83. Richardson, Israel B. (U.), 91, 253, 323. Richmond Blues, the (C), 177. Richmond, scenes in, 245, 266. , Ricketts, James B. (U.), 97, 100, 103. Ricketts's division (U.), 287, 289, 303, 308, 315. Ripley, R. S. (C), 315, 373. Roanoke Island battle, 174, 176. Roaring Creek, 81. Roberts, General (U.), 194, 281, 282. Roberts's brigade (U.), 430. Robertson, Judge (C), 381, 383. Robertson's battery (U.), 306, 438. Rodman's division (U.), 303, 329. Rogers, Colonel (C), 355. Ro.secrans, William S. (U.), in West Virginia, 81; at Rich Mountain, 83; in skirmish at Summerville, 114 ; as commander of the Army of the Mississippi, 345; in battle of luka, 347, 349, 351 ; in battle of Corinth, 354; succeeds Buell, 413; advance of, from Nashville, 418 ; in battle of Stone River, 421,429,436. Ross, John (C), 163. Rosseau, L. H. (U.), 360, 434. Rosser's cavalry (C), 291. Rothschild, Baron, 105. Ruffln, Edmund (C), 44. Ruggles's brigade (C), 446. Rulet, Mr., 313. Runyon, Theodore (U.), 91. Russell & Co., 32. Rust's brigade (C), 351. ■ Sacket, Major (U.), 329. Sailors seized by England, 9. Saloman, C. E. (U.), 109. Savage Station battle, 266, 269. Scammou's brigade (U.), 306. Schenck, Robert (U.), 103, 290. Schoepf's division (U.), 132, 360. School-teachers, 28. Schurz's, Carl, division (U.), 290. Schwartz's battery (U.), 153. Scott, George (U.), 78. Scott, William (U.), 240. Scott, Wiufield (U.), 58, 65, 75, 87, 88. Scott's cavalry (C), 342. Sears, Lieutenant (U.), 348. Secession of States, 30. Second Corps (U.), 303. 411. Seddon, John (C), 29, 250. Sedgwick's division (U.), 249, 267, 271,272, 303,321. Semmes, Raphael (C), 40, 41,66. Seven Pines battle, 248. Seward, William H. (U.), 85, 378. Seymour's brigade (U.). 258, 271. Sharpsburg, movement to, 312. Shaw, Colonel (C). 176. Shepard, Colonel (U.),434. Sheridan, Philip (U.), 359, 360, 361, 423, 430. 470 INDEX. Sherman, Thomas W. (U.), 123. Sherman, William T. (U.), at Bull Run, 97, 100, 102; at Shiloh, 200, 205, 207, 210; on the Mississippi, 345 ; at Vicksburg, 450, 456. Shields, James (U.), 283. Shiloh battle, 198, 206. Ships: Alabama (C.),66; Arkansas (C.),444, 457; Beauregard (C), 226; Benton (U.), 136, 190, 226, 229, 445; Boston (U.), 60; Bragg, (C), 226; Brooklyn (U.), 29, 221 ; Cairo (U.), 229; Carondelet (U.), 136, 140, 146, 150,229, 445; Cayuga (U.), 221; Cincinnati (U.), 136, 139,445; Clifton (U.), 444; Colorado (U.), 219; Columbia (U.), 58; Columbus (U.), 58; Conestoga (U.), 150; Congress (U.), 168; Constitution (U.), 10, 60; Commercial (U.), 385; Cossack (U.), 182; Cumberland (U.), 58, 112, 168; Curlew (C), 174; Dauntless (British), 179; Delaware (U.), 58; Eastport (0,140; Enchantress (U.), 372; Essex (U.), 136, 140, 445; Galena (U.), 246, 275; Gold- en Gate (U.), 198; Guerriere (British), 10, 12; Harriet Lane (U.), 112; Hartford (U.), 221; Highlander (U.),182; Iroquois (U.), 221; Itasca (U.), 221; Jeflf Davis (C), 370, 372; Jessie Benton (U.), 226; Katahdin (U.), 221; Kennebec (U.), 221; Kinea (U.), 221; Lexington (U.), 211; Louisiana (C), 218; Louisville (U.), 150, 229, 445; Lowell (C), 226; Manassas (C), 218; Maryland (U.), 60; Mayflower, 3; Merrimac (C), 57, 165, 168, 246; Minnesota (U.), 112, 168; Missis- sippi (U.), 221; Monarch (U.), 229; Moni- tor (U.), 168 ; Monticello (U.), 112; Nash- ville (C), 179; Oneida (U.), 221; Onward (U.), 374 ; Pawnee (U.), 75, 112 ; Pennsyl- vania (U.), 58; Pensacola (U.), 219, 221; Pinola (U.), 221; Pittsburg (U.), 150, 194; Planter (C), 373; Price (C), 224; Quaker Citv (U.), 112; Queen City (U.), 229, 231, 232; Queen of the West (U.), 444; Rari- tan (U.), 58; Rebel (C), 224; Relief (U.), 29; Richmond (U.),221; Sciota (U.), 221; Southfield (U.), 174; Star of the West (U.), 86; Stars and Stripes (U.), 174; St. Law- rence (U.), i68; St. Louis (U.), 136, 140, 150, 190, 194, 229 ; Sumter (C), 226 ; Susque- hanna (U.), 112, 123; Taylor (U.), 150; Teaser (C.),168; Thompson (C), 226; Tus- carora (U.), 179; Tyler (U.), 211, 444; Un- cle Sam (U.), 157 ; Van Dorn (C), 226 ; Varuna (U.), 221 ; Virginia (Merrimac) (C), 165 ; Wabash (U.), 112, 123; Wander- er (C), 17; Waring (U.), 370, 372; War- rior (U.), 179; Winona (U.), 221; Wissa- hickon (U.), 221; Zouave (U.), 168. Sickles, D.E.(U.), 252. Sickles's division (U. ), 404. Sigel, Franz (U.), 107, 108, 160, 165, 278, 286, 290. Sill's brigade (U.), 422, 429. Simmons, Colonel (U.), 271. Simonson's battery (U.), 860. Simonton's brigade (C), 152. Sinclair's brigade (C), 405, 407. Sixth Corps (U.). 393. Slack, William J. (C). 109. Slade's brigade (C), 109. Slavery, introduction of, 2. Slaves in the United States, 457. Slave-trade, 4, 7, 8, 18, 27. Slemmer, Adam J. (U.), 87. Slidell, JohnlC). 29. Slocum, Henry W. (U.), 97, 260, 285, 328. Small, Robert (U.), 373, 374. Smith, A. J. (U.), 453. Smith, Charles F. (U.), 119, 120, 143, 145, 155, 158. Smith, E. Kirby (C), 102, 838, 344. Smith, Gustavus W. (C), 248, 250. Smith, Joseph (U.), 170. Smith, Lieutenant-colonel (U.), 417. Smith, Morgan L. (U.), 143, 145, 156, 157. Smith, Rev. Mr. (U.). 240. Smith, William F. (U. ), 239, 244, 271, 322, 328, 393. Smith's, M. L., division (U.), 456. Sneed, Thomas L. (C), 107. South Carolina Regiment, the Fourteenth, 267. South Carolina, secession of, 30. South Mountain battle, 306. Southern slave-market, 21. Sovereignty of the States, 11. Stafford's brigade (C), 288. Stanley, David S. (U.), 186, 303, 345. 347, 354, 442. Stanton, Edwin M. (U.), 237. Starke, General (C), 290, 316. Starkweather's brigade (U.), 360. Steamboats on the Ohio, 340. Stearns, Frazer A. (U.), 182. Steedman's brigade (U.), 368. Steele's division (U.), 453. Stephens, Alexander H., 30, 31, 96. Stevens, J. J. (U.), 296. Stevens, Mrs., 411. Stevens's battery (U.), 437. Stewart, Captain (U.), 244. INDEX. 477 Stewart, Charles, 10. Stewart, Lieutenant (U.), 308. Stewart's brigade (C), 432. St. Michael's Church, 30. Stokes's battery (U.), 434 Stone River battle, 423. Stoneraan (U.), 243, 405. Stringham, Commodore (U.), 112. Stuart. J. E. B. (C), 255. 285, 289, 303, 404. Stuart's brigade (U.), 201. Sturgis's division (U.), 303. Sudley's Mills, 92. Sullivan, General (U.), 452. Sullivan's brigade (U. ), 353, 354. Sumner, Edwin V. (U.), 237, 247, 250, 254, 260. 269, 321, 369, 893, 395, 413. Sumter, Fort, 47. Supreme Court decision, 12. Swan wick, Lieutenant- colonel (U.), 419. Sykes, George (U.), 97, 260, 264, 274, 295. Tai,i.\ferro, General (C), 281, 288. Taliaferro, Lieutenant (U.), 419, 431. Taliaferro's division (C), 405. Tammany Regiment (U. ). 117. Tanner, Corporal (U.), 296. Taritf bill,12. Tatnall, Josiah (C), 123, 246. Taylor, Captain (U.), 207, 208. Taylor, Charles H. (U.), 52. Taylor's battery (U.), 153, 207. Taylor's brigade (U.), 285. Taylor's farm, 395. Temple's battery (C), 440. Tennessee, Army of (U.), 345. Tennessee Regiment, the First (U.), 134; the Second (U.), 134. Tenney, Matthew (U.), 169. Terrill's battery (U.), 215, 216. Ten-ill's brigade (U.), 216, 860. Thaver, John M. (U.), 146, 153, 154. Third Corps (U.), 393. Thomas, George H. (U.), 132, 415, 418, 429, 438. Thompson, Captain (U.), 215. Thompson, Jacob (C), 29, 36. Thompson, M. J. (C), 119. Thompson's battery (U.), 322, 326. Thorn well, J. H. (C), 16. Tillman, William, 370. Tishomingo Hotel, 355. Tobin, Captain (C), 354. Tom, the slave, 174. Toombs, Robert (C), 29, 30, 295, 329, 331. Totten's battery (U.), 108, 110. Trade in the North, 41. Trimble, General (C), 288, 296, 315. Trimble's brigade (C. ), 406, 407. Troops called for (U.), 457. Turner's Gap battle, 306. Turnham, David, 23. Twelfth Corps (U.), 303, 319. Twiggs, David E. (C), 37. Tyler, Captain (U.), 77. Tyler, Daniel (U.), 91, 95, 96. Tyler, John, 29. United States Fourth Artillery, 316. Utley, Colonel (U.), 380, 383, 384, 385. Van Cleve, General (U.), 350, 353, 418, 427, 434, 440. Van Dorn, Earl (C), 159, 160, 164, 452. Vandever, William (U.), 163. Vaughn's brigade (C), 429. Vermont brigade, 328. Vermont Regiment, the Third, 239 ; the Fourth, 239; the Fifth, 270; the Seventh, 446. Vigilance Committee (C), 27. Villepique's brigade (C), 351. Virginia, secession of, 56 ; the Thirtj"- first Regiment of, 102; the Fifty-fifth, 272; the Sixtieth, 272. Waldron's Ridge, 341. Walke, Henry (U.), 194, 444. Walker, L. P. (C), 52. Walker's brigade (C), 316, 407, 408. Wallace, Lewis (U.), 143, 146, 156. 200, 203, 210, 215, 340. Wallace, W. H. L. (U.), 14.5, 153, 200, 200, 207, 210, 215. Warren, G. R. (U.), 2. Warren's brigade (U.), 260. Washington Artillery (C), 218. Washington jail, 367. Washington, ]\Iajor (C), 248. Washington, Sir John, 2. Waterhouse's battery (U.), 207. Watson, B. F. (U.), 51. Watson, Mr. (C), 89. Weber, Colonel (U.), 113. Weber's brigade (U.), 322. Webster, Daniel, 12. Webster, Fletcher (U. ), 275. Webster, J. D. (U.), 136, 154, 210. Webster's brigade (U.), 322, 325, 360. Weigel, Captain (U.), 112. West Virginia, 69. 478 INDEX. AVetmore's battery (.U.). 134. Wbarton, Colonel (C), 145. Wheat, C.R.(C.), 97. Wheeler's battery (U.), 244. Wheeler's cavalry (C), 274, 420, 422. White, M.J. (C), 184. White Oak Swamp battle, 267. White's brigade (C), 164. Whiting, Major (C), 92. Whiting, W. H. C. (C), 257, 259. Whiting's division (C), 254, 258. Whitney, Addison O. (U.), 52. Whitney, Eli, 6. Whittier, J. G. (U.), 244. . Wigfall, Louis (C), 29, 46. Wilcox, Cadmus (C), 260, 295. Wilcox, Orlando B. (U.), 97, 100, 102, 303, 393. Wilcox's division (U.), 303, 329. Wilder, Colonel (U.), 342. Williams, Captain (U.), 354. Williams, General (U.), 319, 445. Williams's division (U.), 281. Williamsburg battle, 243. Willich's brigade (U.), 424, 429. Wilson.Henry (U.), 49, 369. Wilson's Creek battle, 107. Winder's brigade (C), 282. Winthrop, Theodore (U.), 78. Wisconsin Regiment, the Second, 315, 446-; the Fourth, 446; the Fifth, 428; the Sixth, 288, 315 ; the Seventh, 288 ; the Twelfth battery, 348; the Twenty-second, 381, 384, 385. Wise, Captain (C), 177. Wise, Henry A, (C), 19, 29, 172, 177. Withers, General (C), 442. Withers's division (C), 423. Wood, Captain (U.), 153, 154. Wood, Fernando, 40. Wood, T J. (U.), 207, 211, 420, 429. Wood's brigade (C), 428, 431. Woodbury, General (U.), 396. Woodruff, Captain (U.), 110. Woodruff, William E. (U.), 110. Woodruff's brigade {U.),429. Worden, John L. (U.), 171. Wright, G. S. (U.), 352. Yancy,W. L. (C), 29. Yates, Governor (U.), 118. Year of Jubilee, 457. Yorktown, siege of, 240, 243. ZoLLicoFFER, Felix (C), 129, 132, 135. Zook's brigade (U.), 410. Zouaves (U.), 75, 78, 101. II THE END. II INTERESTING BOOKS FOR BOYS. BOUND VOLUMES OF HARPER'S YOUNG PEOPLE for 1883, 1884. and 1885, Handsomely Bound in Illuminated Cloth, $3 00 per vol. Bound Volumes for 1880, 1881, 1882, «/irf 1886, are out of stock. THE BOY TRAVELLERS ON THE CONGO. Adventures of Two Youths in a Jour- ney with Henry M. Stanley "Through the Dark Continent." By Thomas W. Knox. Copiously Illustrated. 8vo, Cloth, $3 00. THE BOY TRAVELLERS IN THE RUSSIAN EMPIRE. Adventures of Two Youths in a Journey in European and Asiatic Russia. 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