unm OF A RnAlJJlLJ LiBRARYOFCONi ^ _ 00D014t,07H?|| ?^^'m^'^mm"Mm: Gass. Book COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT N^ARRATIVE Cf A PRIVATE SOLDIER IN THE Volunteer Army of the United States, DlRING A PORTION OF THE rEKIOIl COVEKEU BY THE GkEAT W A R OF I HE ReUEI.LION OF 1861. BY Charlies Lewis Francis, 1 (Private Company B, Ei-hty-Ei^'hth lUiiaois VoIunteei«J>^,.^^^ v. ,>^^ 1879. o^ William Jknkins and (. oMpkrfvf^WAe'-**.^^^^ Brooklyn, N. Y. 1879. Entered according to Act of Congress with tlie Librarian of Congress, in the year 1879, by Charles Lewis Francis. PREFACE. In writing the following narrative of my ^experiences during the troal)loas period em- bracing the year's 1861 to 18G4 I disclaim any intention of setting myself up as a historian; The sphere in which I moved was not at any- time so elevated as to enable me to form views of men and things of so extended a character as that they Could have any general bearing or interest* It is extremely seldom that a person in the ranks of an army or in the mass of a political machine becomes acquainted with the springs of a movement until its object has been accomplished or defeated. As for the army moveinents by Geographical Divisions, mo- mentuous crises in Congress, the probable effect of defeat in the field upon the finances of the country, and the like, we never discussed nor, for my part, thonght of them. vSo that if an}" one chance in the future to pick up this IV book in anticipation of receiving any valuable or important information from it having any bearing on either of these great questions he may in all probability be disappointed. That tlie regular historian will have to deal with those matters I have no doubt. In my nar- rative it Avill be found that I seldom travel very far beyond my actual and personal experience, it is my object to keep within the line strictly, and if now, after having made my disclaimer, I am asked for my object in writing the book at all, I will be compelled to admit that I can give none that is to my mind a useful or prac- tical one. It may, indeed, turn out that my slorv will partially corroborate some one who may hereafter venture an extended opinon as to the general character of the experiences of the private soldiers in our Civil War; it may be of some interest to the children of those who took part in the struggle, in showing the facts as they were, stripped of the inevitable romance with which such narratives have been clothed by writers who have shown a lack of power to resist the temptation. Whether or no, one thing occurs to me, and that is this, if my ac- count is preserved until he is grown, my son will not be confined to mere tradition for his information, as is the fact with the children of so many soldiers of former wars, and as will no doubt be the case with those of many of my comrades as well. CHARLES LEWIS FRANCIS CONTENTa CHAPTEK I. Kiots in Baltimore, Supprcs^sion of the Riots. After the Battle of Bull Bun. Battle of Ball's Bluff. First California Regiment. Pennsylvania Buck-Tails. Frederick Cit}^ Maryland. On to Winchester. Night before the Battle. The Battle of Winchester. After the Battle. On a Transport. Monitof and Merrimac, In the Shenandoah Valley ugain. CHAPTER II. Going to the West. On the Prairies, ^'30(),o6o More \ Mustered In. Off for the Seat of War. In Cincinnati. In Louisville^ Kentucky. Marching after Bragg.- At Bardstown, Ky. Battle of Perryville. After the Battle, The Emancipation ProcUimation, At Crab Orchard, Ky. VII CHAPTER III. Personnel of the Eighty-Eighth. Incorri- gible Tommy Corrigan. "Gol)bling\ Salut- ini»' Danville, Kv. Fordin^- Green Kiver. fe A Grand Foray. Gathering Plunder. Through Nashville to Mill Creek. Another of CorriganV Tricks. The Colonels Filthy Harano-ue. The 3()th Illinois on its Mettle. General Sill our Brigadier. CLiAPTER IV. Forward to Murfreesboro'. A good Omen. Legalized "Gobl)ling\ A Specimen Rebel. Into a Cedar Forest. The Colonel Makes a Speech. Going into Battle. Advancing on the Enemy.' Death of Abe Weaver. Night be- fore the Battle. The Battle of Murfreesboro\ An Unpleasant Predicament. A Prisoner of War. CHAPTER V. A Dismal Change. At Tullahoma. In Chattanooga. In Atlanta, Georgia. At West Point, Georgia. At Montgomery, Alabama. YIII A Disappointment. The Women of East Temiessee. In Bristol, Virginia. In L^'ncll- burg, Va. Libby Prison in the Prospect. In Libby at Last. A Prison Incident. Released from Captivity. In Camp Parole, Annaj)olis, The "IlichmonclJeffersonian'\le3troyed. At Benton Barracks, Missouri. CHAPTER VI, Post Bugler, Post Headquarters. Bathing in the Mississippi. The Invalid Corps. Our Mess. Minnesota Troops. Guard-mounting. Off on a Furlough. Missouri '^M. S. MV'' and "K M. M^s", Small Pox. A Sad Story. More about Missouri Troops. A Field Offi- cer's Court Martial. A General Court Mar- tial. O'Brien's Case. The Western Cavalry Bureau. A Spree. The Calithum plans. Drum- med out of Service. Organization of Colored Troops. Discharged. CHAPTER I. FROM THE orTnK'KAK OF THE W'A K UNTIL ABOUT JUNE, 18G-2. .VXD WHILE, ALTHOUGH I WAS NOT YET A SOLDI EK, I WAS MUCH WITH THE ARMY, AND IX THE FIELD. 1. When the war broke out, sny in the niontli of April, 1861, I was residing witli mv uncle in Balti- more and Wash i no-ton ; tliat is to say, business was done in tlie former city, wliile the residence was at the capital. On the l'.)th of tliat month occurred the bloody riot in l>altimore, durins;- which six or seven men of the Sixth Regiment of Massacliusetts Infantry were killed or wounded. Tlie next two days (Satnr- day and Sunday) were days of terror. Xo one knew wliat Avas to come next. Regiments were hastily formed out of Avorkmen from the various shops. ^'Ross Winan Guards" was the name of a battalion formed by the enlistment of men in the employ of the great inventor. That, and other regiments and com- panies paraded the streets in hastily manufactured uniforms of various colors and materials, and armed with a great variety of weapons. 8 NAllKATIVE OF A PRIVATE SOLDI El{. On Friday night a coinpiiiiy of tlie 6tli Maryland State Guard proceeded to the President street depot, and after compelling the men of an unarmed regiiiient (the Twenty-sixth Pennsylvania, Colonel Stone) to re- trace their steps to Philadelpliia, the soldiers of the Sixth Maryland Guard, accompanied I)y a large 'out well organized mob, proceeded to the Gunpowder river, where they set tire to and desti-oyed a railroad bridge, and I believe they also at the same time scut- tled and sunk the great railroad ferry-ljoat "Mary- land," on the Susquehanna river at Ilavre-de-^race. v) Besides this, all communication bv telegrai)h between the city and the outside world was cut off, exce])ting a line to Harper's Ferry, but that wire was ke})t open solely in the interest of those whose sympathies were against the Federal Government and in favor of the Southern people. Saturday the city was altogetlier ill the hands of the mob. Stores, especially such as contained arms and tliose holding provisions, were broken open and ruthlessly rifled of their contents. All kinds and descriptions were seized in the general levy. It was not unusual to meet a band of rag-a muffins armed with single and double-barrelled shot- guns, rifles, long and short, and a variety of swords, sabres, and cutlasses all in one company. Few per- sons slept that night. Owners of houses, stocks of goods, jewellers, bankers, and all Avere alike in great fear for the safety of the valuables they were possessed of or had under their control. Sunday morning broke into a beautiful spring day. The sun shone wai*m and genial. Still there was no abatement of the excitement. The church bells rang incessantly, but not for tlio purpose of ca]!';!);; wors'iippcrs. All stated Divine services wi'rc su^peiiiU'd. ;iiul the wild c'langiiiii- of the bolls were hut sign:ds for all persons capable of beariji^- arms to assemble at the various places of rendezvous, and t!n>rc be ^wovu in and armed as citizen soldiery. One Kane — he was styled " Mar- slial Kane" — seemed to me to be in the chief control, and, when I v\'ent to tlie police station, or otlier pub- lic Iniildinir on Holiday streei, I think, he was active- ly eno-aged in superintending tlie mustering of men and the issuing of arms to tliem afterward. All I'le forenoon the city was rife with runH)rs, ••'i'ro. 11 most 2''iiinful. I rc'nieiii')i'r [!i;ii 1 Ixjiird (lie oiiiiiious, lieav}^ reo-iilar tread of tho soidiei's as tlu^v uiarclicd to the (letiaiit rollin:^- of the di'uiiis. Tliei'e was no music save that, and, if it may Ije so called, an occa- sional dramatic Idasfc of the bugle as chan-xes in the direction of the column were announce(L Then in- deed the people began to Ijreathe freer. The city liad been controlled, troops I/j((l sa.fely passed through, and the '^secessionists " and th.eir allies, the mob, had alike been awed into submission. The first regiment of loyal t]"oops that I saw venture on the bloody route of the Sixth Massachusetts was, I think, from Vermont or Maine. They were uniformly tall, luU-bearded, liealthy looking men, and a jauntily attired vivandiere was with them. They did not ride in the cars from the President street depot to the Camden depot, as the gallant Sixth attempted, but, having formed near the depot, with londc^d muskets and fixed bayonets, they wisely marched along Pratt street through the great crowds to the cjirs. Soon after that Xew York cit}' sent S(nne regiments, composed in part of what were then called roughs. They were firemen and of that class. It was expected by the Southerners that these troo})s would fraternize with them, but they did not, and that was the last of Baltimore's prospects of ruin. She settled down to terrible hard times and the mortification of seeing United States engineers survey- ing old Federal Hill, as a preliminary to the erection of a strong fort right in the city itself. 3. Early in May I left Baltimore entirely, and re- mained in Washington [ind its neighborhood. Until July ni}^ time was divided between visiting camps and 12 NAUKATIVE OF A I'i;iVAIE SOLDlEIt. forts, attoiKiiug- the sessions of Cojigress, and gcn- eraUj, in taking in the events occurring around and jibout me. The ijattle of I^ull Ivun was fouglit. and I witnessed the wonderful extremes. A few days before, and I saw the line h)oking troops from the Xorth ; tliey were well fed, well dressed, full of fight, and they moved from the various camps in tlie city, ovei' the Long Bridge and on to Arlington Ileiglits, in tirrie with the music of many gorgeously uniforined and well appointed bands. Vvith virgin ])anners Hying. and speeches from the President and tlie emineid Senators and Representatives from their several States, the various regiments and brigades marclied gayly on to finish tlie war in sixty days I I saw th,c retreat, and when the troops tiled into tlie city I mingled my feelings with those who feared that the existence of the nation was in its greatest peril. To render it worse, that direful day was dark and gloomy, and it rained in torrents. The returning soldiers were dirty, and begrimed with the historic clay of Virginia; some were shoeless, many hatless — all minus some- thing, and but very few with any but drooping ;ind dejected spirits. All was hurry-scurry, and to all appearances without any definite aim other than that of arriving at comfortable camping grounds. Then we were afraid that the rebels would follow up their victory and enter Washington. It was said by many that the Government were wholly i)repared to ilee, that the President had gone, and it was fully a week before the people were reassured of their immediate safety. The best conditioned of our troops had been left on the southern side of the Potomac, but what AFTEH Tilt; i;at'ii.]': ov UHA. Ills. lo did wo know of that ? in'-idrs, our Pi-(,.vo8t ^^lai'sliaTs office had not yot been eonipletv'Iv o!-_u-anizevl, our spies were not so dili^^'ent or uiiinerous as those on tlie otlier side, and t1ie city ontaini';! within its limits a, vast number of tliose wlio thon^ii'lit the enemy woubl very soon Ije jit our (b)ors. ami with wiiom a wisli was fatlier to the thon^-lit. However, tlie feelinu- of despair in time ii'ave way to that of ho[)e and conndencc, General McDowell was superseded, and by and by General McClellan, the "great soldier/' tbe ''young Napoleon," the "savior of his eountiw." took command of our armies. Troops poured into the city by thousands, daily and hourly ; fortifications rose as if by magic, and upon all tlie hills around the city Avere bristling- cannon, while at the feet of those hills and all around them Avas a vast cainp of armed men. From the Insane Asylum be von d the eastern branch of the Potomac river to Tennalytown on the Ivockvillc Pike road, and ai-onnd in a circle, wei'C camps of infantry, cavalry, and t)atteries of artillery. 4. After General ^dcGlellan assumed command, and had reorganized the army, tliere was a grand review of the troops held at Ball's Cross Roads. In order to get there we first had to procure a formidable pass from the Headquarters of the Army, and this pass was made no less formidable by the oath attached to it than by the terrible looking signature placed at the bottom. It was that of "Drake De Kay," who was an aide-de-camp at headquarters. I am sorry I have lost that j)ass, because it would now be a real curiosity, and I would have liked very much to have been able to give a copy of it in this place. However, armed 14 NAEliATlVE OF A PllIVATE SOLDIEK. with this formidable pass, I went with tlie rest of tlic sightseers, crossed the river at Oeorgetown, thence to Munson's Hill in Virginia, where our people had a signal station communicating with anotlier situated on the top of the dome of the C;i[)it()l. From there we went to Ball's Cross lloads, but I saw no Ball's or other notable crossroads. I simply saw from a favorable position immense masses of troops of all arms : long lines of infantry, now in echelon, now in masses, and again formed into line of battle extending for miles, and at times two or tliree lines deep. S<{a;idrons and regiments of cavalry gallo})ed through oiH'uings in the woods, crossed tlie depi-essions, and (piii-klv disappeared in other openings in the forests; then whole parks of artillery daslied into the tields, and in and out and through tlie woods, meanwhile performing the most intricate and mysterious of manoeuvres. One time I thought that the hill v^^e were standing upon was to be carried by stoi-m, but a division of New York troopers flanked us and passed on. It was an awfully grand sight, and fascinated me. I could not help fixing my gaze u})on the scene before and on both sides of me. There was everything of real battle except smoke, noise, and suffering. The generals and their staff officers were gayly dressed, and the liorses they rode reared and pranced as if they were conscious of the fact that the eyes of the civilized world were upon them, and that the great majority of men trusted and expected that their riders would be carried upon their backs to victory and triumi)h. It was a beautiful day, clear and cold, and the sun shining upon the well burnished arms and accoutrements of BATTLi: OF I;ALI>S I'.LIFF. 15 the men, withal, iiiadi' a pi •tiiri' with which [\\v liiKvst I ever saw on eaiivas wa-s not lo ho coni[)a,re(I for beauty. I saw the 3'outhful coinniaiider twice on that day. He was surrounded by a hundred staff officers, while scores more were flyiu';" liitiier and thither Avith orders to the different division commanders. His escort consisted of a1) )ut live luindi'ed picked troopei's, and this l)ody guard })revented us from g-etting too near tlieir cliief. lie himself stood up with a glass almost continually at his eye, and, if he tliought of making a striking picture of himself, I must say that he succeeded in impressing me by his attitude and reminding me of a famous picture of his alleged pro- totype. 5. It might liave been a little before that that I went with some couriers who delivered at Poolesville certain despatches for General Stone. It was rather late one afternoon that wo left Washiiigton by the Rockville road, and it was almost dark when we galloped through Koekvilk'. t'ne county seat of Montgomery county, Maryhind. The town l)ore an ai)pearance of old age and decrepitude, and there were no attractions for us to stop, even if our ordei'S had not been imperative not to do so. Later, we arrived at Muddy Branch, or Darnstown. Darnstown was no town at all at that time, but I remember that Muddy Branch was very muddy. There were only two or three houses in the town, but they were ''on the Pike," and there was a cross-road leading to a ferry on the Potomac river a few miles to the south. There were ten or twelve regiments of infantry encamped thereabouts, and shortly after our arrival nearly all of them took up the line of 16 NAERATIVE OF A PRIVATE SOLDIER. march for Poolesville, a few miles further on. It was late fall or early winter, and the night was very cold. About midnight we arrived at Poolesville, and the General received his desi)atches. We did not know, at least I did not know, the contents of our papers, but early that morning Colonel Baker, of the First California regiment, was across the Potomac river, and the battle of Ball's Bluff was fought and lost. I went over after the battle, and penetrated nearly to Leesburg. I was, at times, inside tlie enemy's lines, but did not know that until I had got out again. That was the first time that I had jictually seen men killed and Avounded on a battlefield, and, it may seem strange, but I do not remember that I experienced the peculiar feelings to be expected. It was not until Wincliester that I did so. But of that as I get on with my story. Soon after the repulse and defeat the body of Colonel Baker was recovered, and I returned to Washington witli its escort, having been absent about three days. There was deep feeling manifested upon the death of Colonel Baker. He was extremely well liked by the men under him, and tlioir lamentations were loud. Although this regiment was called the " First California,'* it is not to be concluded therefrom that it was composed of Californians. It was not so to any great extent. Colonel Baker had been a Senator from Oregon, or California, I forget which, and I believe represented one or the other in the Senate of the United States at the outbreak of the war. I saw the regiment when it was beino^ ors^anized. It was encamped on tlie Bladensburg road, just outside of the corporate limits of Washington. Its organization FIRST (ALIFUKXLA J{E(U.MENT. I V' Wtis ditt'ereiit from that of most other rc^^imcnts in this,' that there were seventeen or eiu'hteen eompaiiies, four of which at least ha 1 ])een recruited in Pliiladelphia, Penusylvaiiia, and more in various other cities in unefjual pi-o[)ortio!is — this I know, because I witnessed scenes of emuhition, to designate it lightly, between the men of different States. Besides this regiment, he had several others at Ball's Bluff. There wei-e, 1 think, the Nineteenth and Twentieth Massachusetts, and I have an impression that I recognized the Fifteenth regiment from the same State. Colonel Baker was an Englishman by birth, but had been brought to this country at a very early age. In person and appearance he was large and heavy ; he had a full face, florid complexion, and he wore a full beard and whiskers, with these he had a kind, benevolent, and fatherly expression of countenance. It wjis generally remarked that he was too good a man to be recklessly exp;)sod to danger, and there was manifested a strong disposition toward having an investigation to ascertain whether the Colonel's next superior officer Avas vn)t to be blamed for the disaster. 0. Again I went on an expedition to Virginia with a C(dumn of troops. We did not know where w^e were going to nor what we were going for, but at a misera- ble place called Drainsville, it was a question whether, in the skirmish that took place, we got beaten or were victorious. At any rate we came back without having accomplished any specific object that I know of. I believe this was undertaken by the troops of General McCall's Pennsylvania Reserve Corps. During the rest of the winter of 18G1-2 I was engaged in 18 NARRATIVE OF A PRIVATE 60LDIEK. going from ciinip to cam}), iiiid in the habit of staying away from home for days and weeks togetlier. Of course it was very wrong and all that, and I invariably got lectured upon my return, but after all, I had many interesting experiences during that time, and besides, amid such scenes it would be hard to attempt to control a youtli of eighteen, especially as a wide and treacherous ocean existed between liim and direct parental authority. So I had very mucli my own way. I encamped at Tennalytown — a little beyond George- town — with the celebrated "Buck Tails" of Pennsyl- vania, and made many acquaintances among the men of the various regiments. I was in a i)()sitii)n to return services for entertainment, because, militai-y discipline being rigidly enforced, few of the oilicers or men were allowed to go beyond the grand lines of their respective brigades or divisions, wliereas, I was not so amenable to arbitrary orders, and could go and return nearly as it suited me, and thus I was enal)led to perform many little commissions for those Avith whom I associated. There were four or five regiments in the brigade of "Buck Tails,'' and these, with several others, and a battery, commanded, if I remem- ber well, by a Captain McClure, formed what was known as the "Pennsylvania Reserve Corps." The whole was commanded by General McCall. I became very intimate with several men in the Forty-sixth Penn- sylvania regiment. Indeed, I think it was that regiment that had whole companies of Welshmen in it. One of the men of this regiment was sadly homesick, and, as he had a sister who was a domestic in the family of Galusha A. Grow, the then Speaker of the House of PEXXSYLVANIA "HICK TAII.s. ' I'.J Representative,s, 1 was dulv comiuissioiicd to interview lier and lay his case before iier in sueli a way as that she should duly eouimuuicate the same to lier august employer, for relief. Whether my mission or her la- bors were ever successful I never learned, but T do know that wlien I reached home and told where I had been. I received the severest correction short of a thrashing 1 had ever had, from my aristocratic great aunt for communing with a ** servjint." It was very shocking to lier when she saw liow quickly 1 had blos- somed into so democratic a flower. Dear, high- minded old aunt I If she had but recalled history then, or was alive now to know as much as we do about the inside springs that move great men, she would have realized that ''servants" had before con- trolled, did then, and no doubt would thereafter wield no small influence in shaping the policies of those whom they serve — all the way between ]>resenting a good or ])ad dinner, guarding secrets well, and the other extreme, allowing tliemselves to be courted by news})aper c(n-respondents or other — spies. But that is not a narrative, and ought, if printed at all, to be placed in ])aren theses, and it would have been, if I had not Ijeen advised by very respectable authority to entirely discard the use of them in the kind of writing described in my title-page. I visited the camps and fortifications on both sides of the river. I was very much interested in the organization of the Sixth (or Fifth) United States Cavalry. The regiment was encamped on the great plain east of the capitol and not far from the Congressional burying ground. General Hunter was the Colonel and General Emory 20 XAi;i;Arj\K of a pkivaie soldi ku. was thu Lieutenant (JoloneJ. A,< a matter of fact, there were few officers of the i-eginient between generals and second lieutenants. I liad very lively times as I scampered over tiie plain with tlie regiment, engaged as it Avas in "breaking in*' l^oth men and horses. After half a dozen lucky falls and a score of other misliaps, I became (juire expert as a rider. and I do not know but that 1 might have been a sub- altern in the regiment had I not been dissuaded from making an application by the highest domestic authority, Avho declared tliat in all her experience of sixty to eighty years, " none l)ut scapegraces ever went into the army." That was equal to a hnvfnl veto, and, bad as I was. I determined, although two generations removed, and a recent importation of the blood at that, not to voluntarily make of myself the traditional scapegrace of the family. Like aig-uments caused me to desist a short time after, when at Camp Carroll, just outside of Baltimore, 1 was found dressed in a blouse, wearing a jaunty cap, and drilling a squad of men of the Fifth Maryland Volunteers, over whom I hourly expected to be placed in command. I re- member that I had not been back to the capital long- when I started to go to Frederick City. I travelled on the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad to a point within three miles of the city, and there left the cars on perceiving the signs of an army being near by. Then I advanced, with military prudence, until I entered regular lines. The camp proved to be that of a brigade commanded by General Abercrombie. The camp was situated on high ground and in thick, wild woods, the whole oveidooki ng the Monocacv river and AT FKKDKltK K rllV. M A i; V 1,V N 1 ». "M the city beyond. I prfK-ci'dcd ilii-oiiLi-li t lie \;iri<>us vv/]- mental gT-ouiuls. and saw. aiii'tni^- otlicr cclchi-ii ies. Colonel FletcluM' We'h^lci-. (d' t lir Tw clft li Massacdiii- setts lufaiitry. udio wa< iMiulcd (»iit to iiie as a son of the great Evpounder of l lie Conslit iition. of which I made dne note, and have remenibered it to tliis day. Proceeding ow to the west, I eanie in siglit of tlie city, bnt before reaclii ng it I bad to pass over the o\i\ stone bridge which spans the Monocacv river a short dis- tance from Freck-rick. I might have crossed by the raih'oad bi'idge nearer, but the sight of tlie ohl stone structure took my fancy, [t was an ohl-fashioned affair — no one could inform me as to its age ; in solid- ity and plainness it reminded me of some of the old bridges I had seen in Wales, say that over the Usk river at Abergavenny. On either end there were two largo ui'n-shapL'd oi-nanients (d' stone, and T was gravely told by a " l*ennsyl\ ania Dutchman." win* WHS my guide, tijat enchjsed in eacb was a large pack- age of whiskey that had been [)laced there at the time the bridge w^as built. Tlie Monocacy river was more rajtid than deep, but the signs on the banks were that during a rainy season the stream might swell to large proportions. The road I was on led directly to the main street of tbe town, and I walked up that thor- ouglifare until I arrived at headquarters. I think General Banks, of Massachusetts, was in command. At any rate, I received a pass which enabled me to move pretty much as I pleased. Frederick is situated in a delightful country. Rich and well cultivated fields surround the town, especially on the north and west sides. The people who inhabited it were largely 22 XAK.IATIVE OF A PRIVATE SOLDIER. made ii}) of the desceiulants oi' the Gerimuis who long ago settled in Pennsylvunia, and who are vulgarly called '' Pennsylvania Dutch." They all hail from Adams County, and if one could say, and prevail upon the rest to believe, that his name was •' Schmidt," or any one of its German variations, he had almost a sure pass to the aristocratic i)ortion of the town. This is the place where Barbara Fritchie made herself immortal ; or at least the poet says she did. 7. About March, ISiJ'L I took a longer tlight, this time with the intention of sharing with General Shields and his army whatever glory was to be found in the Shenandoah valley. I reached near Harjier's Ferry safely, but there the bridge had been destroyed, and we were compelled to remain on the northern side of the Potomac river, at a station called Sandy Hojk., until our turn came at the ferry. The Potomac river here was very rapid and its bed filled with jagged rocks against which the water beat and foamed and frothed again. T'here are three distinct mountains there, one on tlie Maryland side, called the Maryland Heights, another upon which Harper's Ferry is built, and another divided from the last by the Shenandoah river, which empties itself into the Potomac at this point. I finally got aci'oss in a flat boat, which was propelled by means of a rope fastened at either side of the river, and which was pulled upon by the occupants of the boat. It was rather a dangerous piece of business, because, if by chance we should lose our hold upon the rope, there would have been no help for it, but we should all have been dashed to pieces upon the rocks below. Several persons were so dashed and ox TO W INCIIKSTKIL '-;;] killed there on the sjiiiie (hiy that we })a?:.iluiiniage. Evei'v one desired to see it, and at that time it had not heen torn to i)ieces for relics, as the soldiers of General Sickles's brigade did witli a celebrated tree on Jackson 8([nare in Washington. Pnr'sning onr way, we reached Mar- ti nsburg and rested. Late on an afternoon I started for Wincliester, and althongh I soon got very tired, I could procure no conveyance, so I let the army go ahead, and followed as best I could. To make it worse yet, it aj)peai"ed that tlie enem\' had utterly spoiled the macadamized road, as it was said, bv dragging locomotives over it, and of the whole width of the road theix* was scai'cely a piece left whole that was large enough t<» stand ui)on. Tiie men must have had a hard time of it as they marched ahead of me. On my way I came u}) to the camp of a detachment of the Fifth' (?) Mounted Kitles of New York. I Avas very hungry, and did not hesitate in accepting an invitation to dine with them. Up to this time I had seen but little of a soldier's real life after all. I had now to put up Avith the "hard tack," and it was A'ery hard at that, and "'sow belly" — that is Avliat the men called it, but avc knoAV it by the name of "clear sides." It Avas a bivouac, and I had no blanket — no- thing but a huge cloak that I had Avorn all the Avinter before. My hunger assisted me in submitting to the table fare, but as to sleeping Avith them, I could not bring myself to entertain the idea of it. I thought 24 >;AJIKAT1VE of a PKiVATE SOLDIER. there would certainly be houses near by, and in one of them I might at least obtain shelter. The boys were a jolly set. They laughed and told stories. The big- gest and most improbable were laughed at the most. But I went on. By and by. as I trudged along, I overtook a genius who, if he be alive now and has not reformed his life, is either a millionaire or an inmate of State's prison. He was a l)right looking fellow of about twenty-four or twenty-five years of age, dressed comparatively ntatly, tind he carried a bundle under his cirm. He lost no time in nuiking my ac(jriaintance. and, without any solicitation on my })art, declared lie would bear me compiiny. Had I been older I would probably have been sus])ici<)us ; but in truth I had hastened my steps in order to overtake him. for the benefit of his comjninionship. The moon was shining somewhat, and I was Vvcll armed, but as it tui-ned out. he was not to be feared at all so far as my bodily safety was concerned. We widked on for an hour or so, and talked about everybody and cAerything except ourselves, and then he ventured to inform me that he belonged to the First A^irginia Cavalry of loyal troops, and was then going to join his regiment if he could find it. I am afraid that I did not eat much at my last opportunity, or else that the Avalking and talking had given me an extraordinary appetite, for I got hungry again, and I told my companion of my condition, and wished that we would soon get to a house. He appeared to know something of the country, for he told me confidently that very soon we would reach one that he knew of, and further, that we would have but little difficulty in faring well xiGiTT iu:f<)i;f: Tin-: isatti.k. 2.) enough. Presently we reaelu'd a ithiei' near J>unker Hill, and huvin<>- vxatled two or three hi'ooks that ran across the I'oad. v>e were start ]e«l l\v the harkiiio-. of a whole paek of dous. At the same time eaeli of ns drew his revolver, ami when the eloud that haarty a[)i)(.'aring to ••ilown" his dogs, and the order was ol)eyed in good time. Then we advanced, and, hailing the gentleman, demanded if we could get fare there. At the same time my friend went np to the old fellow^ and whispered in his ear. The old man made no answer that I heard, and I believe if w(»nld have made hut little difference if he had denied us, so we went in. Peoj)le on the l)orders during that time, whether elassed as loyal or disloyal, had to he very careful of strangers who called. They might he "'angels unawares" that they were entertain- ing, or fcx^s indeed. But our welcome appeared to be a hearty one. We were conducted along the spacious hall, and from thence into a sort of sitting room and dining room comlhned, and while we sat warming ourselves before a. lively log fire a tine looking and youthful negro was engaged in ai'ranging the table. We ate a very hearty supper of fresh rolls, bacon, ^'snitz" pie, milk, and coffee. When we had con- cluded our meal we wanted to pay for it, but our host would not hear of such a thing. We could '^stop all night, and go on in the morning." This we were "*2G NARRATIVE 01" A PKIVATE SOLDIER. under the necessity of doing anyway, beeunse the fiofhtino- had already commenced, and our soldiers were not yet in the city; but we thanked him all the same. During the conversation that now ensued I found to my horror that I had been travelling with a *^ rebel'' in disguise, and at the moment I felt like doing something. My companion saw the expression of my feelings as it was on my face, and wliile pretend- ing to topple over, he bade me in a whisper not to be ^'a damned fool." Light was thus shed u})on the matter, and I saw it instantly, but I coukl not reach any satisfactory conclusion in my mind as to liis object. He certainly could not have been one of our s})ies. for if he was, he would not conduct himself in that way. so I thouglit. When we had got into bed he let me into the secret. **I know lu)w to travel," said he — "when you are in Rome do as Romans do,*' etc. Next morning, he succeeded in exchanging counterfeit Southern bills for New York ;ind other Northern States paper money Avliich the farmer had and considered worthless. My com})anion had upon his person an enormous quantity of the counterfeit stuff, and he acknowledged to me that he had made consid- erable money, and expected to make much more in his practice upon the dupes of a Southern Confederacy. As we were leaving early in the morning, he handed the poor old num a few ancient news])a})ers out of the bundle he had, and directed him to deliver them to a person giving such a sign and such a password. "They were for a blockade-runner," he remarked as we left. He afterward explained to me that he always did so, and after a day or two he would send his THE I'.A'iTLK OF W I N ( I! KS THi;. 2i partner in the deeeptioii to the poor old iii;in to whom lie gave the sign ami the password agreetl upon. This ensured good treatment, and pei'haps tlie host was again deceived as to luonev matters. 8. Amid the hooming of not far distant cannon and the rattling sound ol* luusketrv we began our journey, and liad not tra\ened far before we fell in with the rear of the army. The various regiments were ranged in battle array on several rising grounds lying between Bunker Hill and the town of Winchester, Later, as we advanced along the high road, we were challenged by a guard of the One llumlred and P'ourtli Pennsyl- vania regiment of Infantry, l)ut, upon the arrival of the officer of tiie guard, we succeeded in showing him that we were jjroper persons, and as to the danger we were in of being shot by General Jackson's troops — that was our own lor)k-out. Thus we went on. Right in front of us, and, as it seemed, in the rear too, there was ra[)id liring by the skirmisliers for an hour or so ; but, aljoui !^eyvn (►Ydock in the morning, we were nearly run over and trampled upon by the troops who were advanciniiU}>on the " double quick." The colonel of tlie One Hundred and Fourth Pennsylvania regi- ment nearly knocked me dowji with his horse, and I barely protected my i)recions body by taking to the shelter of tlie stout Ijutt of a tree. How the fighting became fast and furious. I saw the enemy to the J &oi'th -east and east of the city, and they were quickly moving from place to i)lace, as if performing a manoeuvre, or preparing for a retreat. At eleven o'clock our troops continued to advance, so that 1 could get on, and when I stopped I found myself on 28 XAiiitATivE OF A j'KivATb: suldip:r. the summit of ;i hill, with the town in full view. Far away to the north-east I saw the broad Shenandoah just coming ont from between two hills, and again on my right hand I could see it placidly lying for eight or ten miles to the south. Here my companion left me, and as unceremoniously as we had come together. In between my prospect tlie battle niged for two or three hours more, Avhen I saw that our iiag was being borne far on the other side of the houses. As I advanced I soon found myself within the precincts of the ill-fated town. I did not go by the road, and if I had wished to go that way I could not have found it. Jumjung fences and crossing fields. I made my entry from the south side of the town. Here I met with desolation and misery in its direst aspect. A tine house, [iresent- inof many evidences of having been an abode of wealth. had been struck more than once by shot and shell from our batteries, and it was now broken and ruined. No one was to be seen on the premises, except in the adjacent outhouses there were a few negro women. These were weeping and wailing, but for what in par- ticular they seemed not to know. When I inquired of one of them as to who her master was, she set up the cry, "Tis two miles ; 'fore God, it's two miles." That was all I could get out of any of them. Thus I en- tered the town ; but the battle was nearly over. Far away I could hear the firing of guns, as if our gallant little army was pursuing the enemy to the south. During the remainder of the day the town was being filled with the wounded of both sides ; for the defeat had been so complete that the enemy left all their dead and wounded on the field. Along on the sidewalk Ani;i; 'riii: haitij:. ■2\) wo^'fc! rauLi-otl. ill different plac-c^ in the crooktMl main t^treel. the Ixxlies of llio-e wlnt had heeii wounded, and then died suhse^nenl lo tlieir ivmoval from the liehl. Many surgeons were in tiieir lirst experiences in Held service, and on the hare sidewalk in front of the hotel they were cutting olT a leg here, and an arm there, and all the time the })oor wounded suhjectswere howl- ing and crying'' as their life's hlood ran down the declivity to the gutter of the street. Many failed to survive the performance of the necessary operations, and expired as they were left by the surgeons. Those that died were simply covered with blankets and left there. Across the street there was a church, and I went to see what there was within. 1 cannot conceive what it was that attracted me. 1 know I felt heart- sick on viewing the scenes on the street. I felt as if I Avas in a dream : that all T saw was unreal : and I realized the terrihie feeling of one who is in a, night- marc. \ know I gasped and held my breath. In the church r found at lea^t two hundred wounded and dying men. The majority were Northerners, but thev were all receiving e([ual care and attention. Here, too. many i)oor fellows died while under the suro-eon's hand. Some expired while the knife and saw were being used. There was one Avhom I met. a tall, stout, and strongly built young fel- low, al)out twenty-tive years of age, and, as he turned his agonized countenance toward me, I re- cognized him as one of the guards of the One Hundred and Fourth Regiment of Pennsylvania, who had challenged me in the morning. Poor fellow! he had been shot with a musket ball through the 30 XARH.VTIVE OF A PRIVATE .SOLDIER. right lung, and had had a part of his face torn off by a fragment of shell. He did not appear to know me, although I did what I could for his comfort, and he expired while I looked at him. The doctors had probed for the ball, and had done what the enemy left undone of their intended work. While in the church, I noticed that no mitter what the nature of the soldier's wound was, the sufferer was invariably consulted as to the application of chloroform, and a sort of pride made a great majority of them decline the benefit of it. Tliere were some w!io even laughed and otherwise made light of their misfortunes. I could not stand it long, and, as I was very tired, sought a place where I could sleep. In a de- serted house I went with a few officers who lia:i been assigned by General Shields to take for- mal possession of the city. Here I laid myself down upon a bed that showed signs of having been vacated in considerable haste. A man's coat and vest were on a chair near by, and a nice pair of slip- pers were under the bedstead. I was not very particular, and did not undress, except as to my hat, cloak, and boots ; and I laid there during the remainder of the night in a dreadful sleep. Next morning the scene was more terrible than it had been on the preceding night. Scores of dead bodies had been gathered into an empty lot on the east side of the town, and when I arrived there, parties of men were eno^a.o^ed in interrins: the bodies. There was an officer who kept a record of those that were identified, and a rough wooden peg, with a number on it, was driven into the ground at the head of each grave. Many of ON A 'iKAN-iH'!;!". 'ul those I saw huv'wd had hclcii-vd in the One Uiiiidred and Fourth Pennsylvania regiiueiit. but there were also a number belon,ly pj'.cini;-. and a Ha'j: staff on one end of her. froju wliicdi the* stars and sti-ipes fitfiiUv rnstliMJ in the fresh rMoi'nii^u- hreezc. At a more res])eetful distance were the larp-er wooden friu-ates. two or tliree of them. and. inside the roads, were tlie ruins of the ill-fated " Conu^ress ** and ••Cumberland." l^^ir beyond, and a b)n_ii- way up the James rivei-, there 'was a heavy Idaek elond of smoke and a dark o))ject underneath. That was tlie Merri- mac, and she seemed bent on making us realize all of our worst fears. Hut she did not venture within figditing distance, and we waited through the agoniz- ing suspense until evening, wlien we were [)erniitted to land. I soon found myself in the fortress, notwith- standing the fact that Genend Wool had prohibited all citizens from entering. I visited the quarters, case- mates, magazines, and headquarters. General Wool looked and acted as if he l)elieved that it lia.d been fear of Itim a](uie that Inid deterred the commander of the enemy's iron-clad from coining out and destroying us all. Xext day I ])ut my head into the muzzle of the *• Lincoln" gun. and also into tliat of the "Sew^ard" aun. The.-e were two monster pieces of ordnance, planted dovrn on the sand near the water and formed a sort of shore battery. I also visited the ancient town of Hampton. The houses had nearly all been destroyed by fire some time before, but there still re- mained not far away a yery fine building that had for- merly been used as a seminary or college. Hampton is situated on the low, flat shore of the bay, and was ajiproached by water through a long and crooked chan- Oi XAlIUATiVE Ol' A I'll! V ATE SOLDiEK. nol. From Fortress Moiiroo we could plainly see Newport News and the rebel tiag at an outpost of theirs ou Sewell's Point, some distance south. Then we took a regiment or two to Sullivan's Landing, on the York river. As soon or befoi-e we were fastened to the shore, nearly all the men were in the sliallow water, diligently engaged in picking up and eating the oysters that abounded there. Tlience I went on toward Yorktown. I met with iv.M'dan's sharp-shooters, and saw a great deal of life at the front. 10. On my return to Washington I merely rested awhile and then went off to the Shenandoah valley again. I met Banks and liis army, but I pursued an independent course, and found myself at last Avith General Shields far down tiio valley. At Port Repub- lic we had a desperate Hght. and our army was beaten. I was not present at the lighting, having the day before gone over the mountains for about ten miles to Cross Keys, where General Fremont had an army and was engaging tlie enemy. Next day, when I had nearly got back to where I started from, I found our camps empty, and the rebel cavalry far in my rear. In this most unpleasant })redicament there was nothing- left for me to do but to ascend one of the high hills near by, and hide myself for a time, or descend into the valley and take a risk of capture. Hidden within a clump of stunted pine trees, I remained all of that day and the next night. From where I was concealed I plainly saw and heard the rapid movements of the enemy's cavalry, and it was all to the }iorfh of me. I was thus virtually a prisoner. Next morning I arose from the green turf on which I had lain all night, and IX JUK siij:namh)a:i vai.lky .\ee wiint my j)ros[)eer8 were. I found not ;i single soldier in ^ight. Our iiieu had ]-ehv;Ued. and the enemy had also gone on their way. On tliis 1 ventni-ed to a road, and })ro- ceediiig sonic <,listanee ah)ng that, it hrouglit me to a highway at the bottom of the valley. 1 sto))j)ed at tlie iirst hoiicse, for 1 wa.^ nearly fainting with hunger, but the place was deserted- The furniture had been removed, and there was no sign of life about it, except the presence of a large dog, whom, to save myself, I desi)atched by a cou'ple of shots from my ivvolver. It was not until 1 had trudged along for a couple of miles farther that I was encouraged as I drew near to a sub- stantial house by seeing several i)ersons about it, and when I entered I found all was astir. The people that lived in the house Avere Quakers. In the wide hall that ran through the centre of the house were five soldiers reclining on extemporized bedsteads. Three of them were Xorthern men and two Southrons. The Quakei", a venerable looking man, and apparently purely ortliodox, and his family of young men and women, were administering what comforts there were within reach to the sufferers, wdio had been wounded in the lighting of the day before. My condition was taken m at a glance, and without being asked to which side I belonged, or in relation to any other personal matter, the old gentleman simply said, ^^ Walk in, my son," which invitation I ([uickly accej^ted. One of the daughters helped me to a splendid breakfast, and meanwhile told me how ''our horsemen" had chased the "Yankees " the day before, and that a sort of bat- tle had taken place near where we were. "Over 36 >;AKKATiVK or A ruiVATE SOLDIER. yonder,'" she said, })oiiitiDg to a house in the distance, " were twenty or thirty more wounded men of botli sides." I tohl her of my adventures, and she seemed to be interested in my recital. She said she was older than I, and udvised me to go back to Washington and stay there until the war was over. Meanwhile a sur- geon of one of General Shields's regiments had arrived, and with medicines and bandages and sticks, attended to the wants of the wounded. Here I took my first dose of quinine. The doctor told me I looked sick, and declared that I ''would sui-ely get an attack of the ague," after my exposure. This was almost too good a place to leave, but in the afternoon I did so, and after a great march, sometimes riding and sometimes walking, I reached Washington again. Up to this time it will be seen that I was not yet a soldier, and I have thought that what I have written is somewhat out of place here, but, as it is done, I cannot forbear giving it a place, if for nothing else but by way of in- troduction. CHAPTER 11. FKOM ABOUT THE MIDDLE OF JUXE, 1862, WHEX I LEFT WASHIJs^GTOX FOR THE WEST, UXTIL THE LATTER PART OF OCTOBER IX THE SAME YEAIi, WHEX I WAS AT CRAB ORCHARD, KEXTUCKY, AS A PRIVATE SOLDIER OF COMPAXY " B," OF THE EIGHTY-EIGHTH REGIMEXT, ILLIXOIS IXFAXTRY VOLUXTEERS. 1. DuRixu one of my many journeys to and from Wasliington in the spring of 1862, I chanced to be upon the I'ailroad train from that city to Baltimore. In tlie cars wei-e nniny convalescent soldiers ; some had been wounded, and were discharged and being sent home, to recruit that great army of cripples already appearing in the various States of the North ; others, not so badly off, were on furlough and leave of absence, and going to their homes for a season, in the full uniform of the army, and this without being under any of the restraints or inconveniences of army discipline. Among others on the train I met and became acquainted with Mr. Henry Weaver, whose home was at Loda, in Iroquois county, in the State of d'"5 N.VuK.VTlVE UF A riliVATE 60LD1ER. Illinois, lie hud been a i)rivute in Colonel Farns- worth's celebrated Eighth Regiment of Illinois Cavalry, and had just received his discharge from the service at one of the general hos|)itals situated in or near to Alexandria, Virginia, where he had been for a long time previously, suliering from typhoid fever. By him I was told of the beautiful country he lived in, and how easy it was to get along there, especially for a young man, such as I then was. By the time Ave readied Baltimore we were well acquainted, and on leaving him at the dei)ot of the Northern Central railroad, I received and promised to accejjt from him a cordial invitation to visit him in his jTrairie liome, so far away to the Avest, For some time after this I continued to be engaged in going from camp to camp, as I have before related. My relatives and friends persisted in their refusal to sanction my going into the army, and at last I conchided m3^self that after all it would perhaps be better for me to abandon the idea. For a little while I tried to settle down to hard study, but, Avith fifty thousand or more of armed men around me, and the continual hurly-burly of almost a state of siege, I made but little progress and realized less satis- faction. After making \i\) and tearing to pieces many different plans, I suddenly recalled to my mind the lieartiness of the invitation I had received from Mr. Henry Weaver, and I thougiit I Avould very much like to see his beautiful home and country. Eager at the thought, I determined to immediately l^anish myself from the stirring and demoralizing scenes by which I Avas so completely surrounded ; go to Illinois, pursue my interrupted course of studies, and finally settle (iOJ\(i To 111 i: WKST. o\) down to live tlioi-(\ All (liosc of mv fi-icn.ls to whom I mentioned my ])r(>ject npiihinded my i-csoliil ion. My nneie jokin^iy warned me iioi lo ivrui'ii to tlie East again nnless with my eieiei(>nsly for the great West. But alas for the strength or weakness of human i-esojution I The next time my frien."Ai;;;ATiVE ui- a nil v ate soldi ee. high iiiuuii tains and a great river, and I thonght, as I went over tlie Allegheny mountains and tlie Ohio river, that I had at last seen some things of sutHcient importance to entitle them to places on the map of the world. I esteemed myself as very nearly equal to him who had climbed Moiit Blanc, or to the other one who had passed over tlie Andes, Now I was in Chicago, eight hundred miles from tidewater, and I acknowledge to have felt some surprise on finding that the people Avere very much like the inhabitants of other cities I had visited, and although I had travelled so far, I was not after all in a foreign country. Having made my arrangements so that I could afford to stay but one day, I had to devise some means of seeing as much as possible of the city in that time. The street cars seemed to be the best suited to my purpose, and upon one of them, that passed the hotel, I got, and as I stood on the front i)latforin, I engaged in conver- sation with the driver of it. Talking with him (and he was a very enthusiastic talker, even for a Chicagoan), and viewing the city, I went to the end of the route. We passed by many hundreds of houses that had not yet been raised to the new grade of the streets, and that part of the city presented a curious aspect. Some years before it had been discovered that the grade of the city was in many places below the level of Lake Michigan, and the work of raising the streets and the buildings to the new level had been going on. But once past the business centre, and when we got to where the residences of the poorer jieople were, the houses had not been raised, but the streets had. Many blocks had stores built on the corners, but between ON llli; I'UAll.'IKS. 41 these corners tlie dwcllinu- houses seemef] to he in a hole. Entrance from the street hv means of the roofs appeared to be the easiest mode, lint in ])]aees where the distance was too i^ivat to he jnmj)ecl. long stairs had been built from the street down to the front doors below. After arriving at the end of the railroad line, I found mvself on a large ti'act of laud as flat as a mill-i)ond. 1 took another route on my return to the city, but the scenes were very much the same. 2. Next day I took the traiji on the CMiicago branch of the Illinois Central railroad, and ran soutli on that for ninety-nine miles to Loda. It was during this journey that I first realized the nature and extent of the grand Prairies. For miles upon each side of the road, and extending as far as the eye could reach, to the east, and to the wa^st, there was nothing but flat, or very little rolling, prairie. Sometimes the horizon would seem to be broken by small, dark green objects of ir- regular sha])es. These were groves of trees, oases in the blank prairie. The laud itself was clothed in verdure, already thick and high, and all over were in bloom ujany kinds of })lants and flowers growing in wild profusion that take great care and attention to be cultivated at all in other countries I had visited. While stopping at a small station on the open prairie I. witnessed a phenomenon which I believe is peculiar to that country. It was an optical illusion. Although we were in the midst of a blank space, yet there ap- peared in the distance houses, churches, trees, and other objects, all of a grossly exaggerated size and turned upside doAvn. There were many veritable cas- tles in the air. It was quite a study while it lasted, 42 N.VilUATlVi: OK A IT.IVATP: 80LD1EK. which was not long, and wc watched the beautiful picture as it o-radua-Hy faded, fainter and fainter, until the prospect became as it was before, one plain blank sea of green. In all that distance of ninety-nine miles I do not reme!nl)er t!iat our train crossed a single river worthy of the name, and none Mt all with a name, that I heard of. exce[)t that at Kankakee, and comparatively speaking, the dimensions of this one were insignificant. On my arrival at Loda I soon found my acciuaintance oi' rhe trip to Baltimore, and before night we were all together, he and his three brothers, Volney, Abram, and William. We were telling stories of tiie war. Oi' course, by politeness 1 took my i)lace as a simpk' corroborator of what was said and related by the brother. He was near t > them, and besides so recently from the seat of war. Henry Weaver must have been about the first veteran to return to that neigli])orhood ; at least I thouglit so, from the way he was gazed at and listened to. I soon ascertained that Loda was not a place likely to prove suitable for me. It would have been just the place if I could have taken a hand at farming. If I could have arisen at live o'clock in the morning, and milked two or three cows, cleaned the horses and the stable, besides doing a great nuiny other "chores" before breakfast, then plough or plant all day. and repeat the "chores" at night— I might have been suited if I h:id been able to do all these, but I could not. Even the ten and twelve-year-old girls did more tlian I could. The town itself was a small flimsy affair of about fifty houses. The people who inhabited it were chiefly those wdio bought grain from the farmers at twelve "THREE HUNDRED THOUSAND MORE." 43 and a half cents a bushel, and made high wines of it, and a few others who sold to the same farmers calico for their wives' dresses at a qnarter of a dollar a yard. Everybody retired to bed on ordinary occasions at eight o'clock in the evening and arose again at five o'clock in the morning, or even earlier. For awhile I had a magnificent time of it. I had almost forgotten that the war Avas going on, in my enjoyment of the task of helping to plough and to plant and in attend- ing the little social gatherings in the neighborhood. -Sometimes parties were held in the "Grove," some ten miles away to the east. When we went to the *' Grove " the large farm wagons were put into shape, and pell-mell we were crammed irito^ them, boys and girls together. Once out on the broad prairie, the horses were made to go at a round gait, and as we rushed along we inhaled the bracing, invigorating air of the fresh country, and by the time we reached the pic-nic grounds we held each within ourselves more fun and devilment than may perhaps be found in a dozen of city boys, lively as they are sometimes. On the "glorious Fourth of July" we had a grand time at Ash Grove. There were reading, praying, eating, dancing, flirting, but not a bit of drinking. There was neither whiskey nor beer. A full descrip- tion of that day's frolic would be out of place here ; be- sides that I have written it in another book. Although I had almost forgotten the war, I had not ceased to wear my semi-military dress on all proper occasions. I liked to wear my blouse, and sometimes added a belt around my waist and a jaunty McClellan cap on my head, and so, when about the 4th of July, 1862, the 44 NARRATIVE OF A PRIVATE SOLDIER. President's call for ** 300,000 more" reached us, and the country got ablaze with patriotism, I was ready. J had already thought of going away in search of some place more suitable for my projects of settlement, but had arrived at no determination. When the procla- mation came to Loda I first learned what patriotism was really like. Young and old became intensely ex- cited. None but patriotic hymns were sung. The village lawyer was threatened with *' lynching" because he was suspected of being a '' Copperhead." The end was that I went to Chicago to spy out the land, as it were. The Board of Trade of that city had undertaken to organize three regiments and a battery to be patronized by the members, and I soon returned with my pockets full of transportation tickets and authority to recruit. Finally, about the end of July, Abram Weaver, Volney, his brother, and several others, with myself, went to Chicago, and on the 1st of August we were enrolled and became part of the ** Nelson Guards," a company to be in the second regiment of the Board of Trade brigade. Then the boys each got sixty dollars as a bounty, supplied, I believe, by Cook county. 3. Before our regiment was fully organized I went on recruiting tours out on several of the railroads leading from Chicago, and on my return I found we had been christened Company **B," Eighty-eighth Regiment Illinois Volunteer Infantry. William A. Whiting had been elected our Captain in place of A. S. Chadbourne, who was raised to be Lieutenant-Col- onel of the regiment. Henry H. Cushing was our First Lieutenant, and -. Lane had become the MUSTEliED IX. 45 Second Lieiitenaut. I was somewhat chagrined to find, on my return from recruiting, tliat my ahsence had phiced me out of the field as a candidate for Sec- ond Lieutenant, which position I had been too sure of obtaining. We were now in camp at Cottage Grove, on the south side of the city, and just beyond Camp Doughis, which hitter at that time Avas filled with Confederate soldiers, prisoners of war. Near by, and on the edge of the lake, was the tomb of Stephen A. Douglas. The plain stone marking the grave was surrounded by a shabbier iron railing, but the whole is so situated that if in the future it becomes desirable to pay a greater respect to the memory of the "Little Giant," no better location could be selected for a mon- ument worthy of his talents and services by the admir- ers of the dead statesman. On the 27th of August, 1862, we were regularly mustered into the service of the United States by Captain Christopher, U. S. A. We also received our Colonel, Frank T. Sherman, of Chicago, at the same time. We were not organized and equipped any too soon, for just at that time Gen- eral Buell, of our army, was on his famous retreat from northern Mississippi, and the enemy, under the command of General Bragg, were after him, and even ahead of him sometimes. The real object of Bragg appeared not to be known — whether he intended to strike Louisville, Kentucky, or Cincinnati, Ohio, was the question. We were, therefore, not allowed to en- joy our pleasant camp for any great length of time, so near to the great city, with the opportunities for get- ting delicacies afforded by it. But we had not been idle by any means. Our regiment was well drilled 46 NARllATIVE OF A PRIVATE SOLDIER. in all the small movements in arms and bodies, and on our last dress parade the line looked like a veteran battalion. Next day after the order was received, with three days' rations and onr knapsacks slung, we marched lightly through the city and to the depot on Madison street. Oui- company's patron, Mr. Murry Nelson, of Chicago, had formally, and with some cere- mony and a speech, presented us with a costly silken banner, but it was after some time given over to stor- age and safety.* We had a most disagreeable entry into active service. We were crowded into empty, open, shallow cars, used otherwise for transporting coal or other heavy merchandise, and crowded, too, to such an extent as to render our condition dangerous. Bc3ides this we were entirely exposed to the glare of a hot sun during the day, and as it wore on toward night the weather became cliilly. Although it would be wrong to say that we were being baptized with fire, yet it is true that avc were nearly blinded by the black, sulphurous cinders and smoke that came upon us from the engine in front. As we got along upon our route the people, who had heard of our coming, assembled on the platforms of the railway stations and pitched whole basketfuls of cooked provisions among us, and fruits of all kinds in great quantities. These were very acceptable because few of the soldiers had as yet gained any experience with the hard biscuits, and, al- though we were, as a general thing, pretty hungry, not * A gentleman with a better memory than I appear to have had informs me that our flag was with us in the field and used there as a battle flag. Mr. Nelson holds the flag now as a val- ued memento of the war. OFF FOK TilF SEAT OF WAR. 47 many luicl yet ventured to attack their rations. We learned from the people tliat they were fearful that General Bragg might capture Louisville or Cincin- nati, or both, and al'terward invade and devastate the Middle States of Oliio, Indiana, and Illinois. In due time we reached JelTersonville, Indiana. Here we en- camped not far from the Ohio river, and received our proper arms and accoutrjments. Our arms were of the meanest kind even for that period ; they were old smooth-bore flint-lock muskets changed to the more modern style for percussion caps. They were very heavy, and dreadful kickers. 4. We remained in Jelfersonville but a very short time. Then we were ordered to Cincinnati, and, very late at night, and thoroughly soaked witli the rain that had fallen, Ave arrived at that place, and were further ordered to cross over the river to Covington, Kentucky — ''Out of the way," some one said. At Cincinnati all was confusion. The enemy had been expected. General Kirby Smith and his Southern soldiers were supposed to be not far off to the sonth ^id advancing rapidly. All able-bodied male citizens had been for some time engaged in erecting earthwork defences. Having had some little experience in the army, I felt that it would not be cpiite the thing for me to go to camp in the condition in wdiicli I then was, especially as it w^as plainly impossible and ont of the question to think of pitching our tents at that late liour and in such stormy weather. Our orderly ser- geant, Kent, and myself somehow or another became separated from the company and regiment, and, as we were both really sick, we went with some others to the 48 NAKliATlVE OF A PRIVATE SOLDIER. AVest End General Hospital. There we were well re- ceived and treated to good fare. The prescription of Dr. Daniel Jndkins, the surgeon in charge, for my ailment was, as I afterward learned, a dose of good whiskey (the first, I believe, I had ever tasted), and Kent got the same or a larger dose. This was on the night of the 11th of September, 18G2. The sergeant and I both slept well that night on nice clean hospital cot beds, and before we went to sleep we unanimously agreed to believe that our quarters were immeasui'ably superior to those of our comrades. On the morning of the 12th we set out to find our regimental camp, and [ifter a long and wearisome tramp over muddy roads and clayey hills, we found the men of the regiment huddled together in a bare gully not far from the Ohio river. Fortunately we were shortly afterward ordered to a more commanding and favoi-able position and farther to the south. Our new location was near Licking river, or Blue Lick river ; I have forgotten the correct name of it. Here we received our handsome Sibley tents, and our severe morning, noon, and evening drills were resumed. We were here organized into brigades and divisions of the Army of the Ohio. I am not certain of the designa- tion of our brignxle, but I do know that we were commanded by the present Lieutenant General Phil Sheridan. It was thouglit that General Kirby Smith, commanding the Confederate forces in our front, would make an attack on tlie city of Cincinnati, or pretend to do so, as an aid to General Braxton Bragg in his endeavor to capture Louisville. But the scare was soon gotten over ; General Smith did not venture IX CIXCIXXATI. 4y to advance upon our lines, and in a few days more we were ordered to vacate our cam}) and ^vorks, and proceed thence on a steamer to Louisville. This we did ; but something- was out of the way, if not decidedly wrong. Either the water in the Ohio river was too shallow, or we had an enemy at the wheel. Whether or no, we often ran aground, and on two different occasions the men were compelled to disem- bark on to the Kentucky shore, along which we marched in an irregular manner, to enable the steamer, thus lightened, to go ahead. While upon the shore we had no dread of meeting the enemy, and, as we frolicked along, employed ourselves in gathering and eating pa -paws and other wild fruits growing on the heavily wooded bank. We finally reached Louisville, and Avere in time to effectually check Bragg in his advance upon the city. Our brigade now consisted of the Thirty-sixth regiment of Illinois Volunteer Lifantry on the right, supported by the Twenty-first Michigan Lifantry. Our regiment, the Eighty-eighth, composed the left, supported by the Twenty-fourth regiment Wisconsin Volunteers. In the brigade, usually on our right, were the Second and Fifteenth regiments of Missouri Volunteer Infan- try. Tlie two latter regiments were almost exclusively made up of Germans, and were splendid soldiers. The Thirty-sixth Illinois was commanded by a large, homely-looking, and rough-mannered old fellow named Grisel. He had been engaged before the war as a freight-train conductor on the present Chicago, Bur- lington, and Quincy railroad. His voice was as thunder among the hills. The Thirty-sixth was a 50 inArrative of a private soldier. veteran regiment, and when it joined ns the men of it presented a sorry spectacle. They had fonght in several battles in northern Mississipj^i, and had par- ticipated in the retreat from that region. They were ragged, shoeless, hatless, and otherwise forlorn, to a man. Until the regiment procured fresh supplies of clothing, and camp and garrison equipage, the men of the Thirty-sixth stole what they could from other regiments Avhicli were better provided, and when com- plaint was made, they called us " sixty-dollar " men, and told us to spend our bounty money. This last was said and listened to as a general thing in pretty good humor. Nevertheless, there Avas considerable growling and grumbling, because, whereas, the soldiers who had enlisted early in the war received no bounty, and were even paid a lower rate of wages ; many also had left behind them fauiilies to suffer : we, who had just entered the service so late, had received so much read}^ money in hand ; besides, those of us who left any dei)endents behind, had left them under the care of organizations of the rich and powerful, which, in a measure, assured the welfare of those dependents. 5. At Louisville there was no time for anything but hard work. General Bragg was at Bardstown, only twenty-five or thirty miles to the south, and his army of veterans had rested and I'ecruited its strengtli for ten or fifteen days or more. One day's rapid march, and those veterans might enter the precincts of the city, and we be driven into the Ohio river ! Engineers upon our side worked day and night in surveA'ing de- fence lines and works, and the whole army and thou- sands of citizens besides followed the engineers in car- IN LOUISVILLE, KENTlCK'i. 51 ryiiig out their plans by erecting tlie works. We Inid a long line of trencli and breastworks to make besides an indescribal^le kind of fortification to bnild on a slight rising of gronnd on the extreme left of our line. As Inck for some and ill Inck for others wonld have it, one of the lines that we were constructing ran directly throngh a noble vineyard. There must have been ten acres or more of vines, and the fruit was just rij^e and of a most palatable kind. The owner protested, of course, against the destruction of his fortune, but his opposition was all in vain. The rising ground to the north of his vineyard had to be strengthened by works, and the space in front of it must be cleared so as to afford no protection to an advancing enemy ; so vines, fruit, trellises, and all had to go. The men fed upon the fruit, and as a result many became sick from eat- ing too much of it. About this time General Jefferson C. Davis, of our army, shot and killed General Nelson in a hotel in Louisville. They had quarrelled over the arrangements that had been made for re-arming and re-clothing the veterans. Jeff C. Davis complained that the men of his division had not been treated fairly, and was called a ^Miar" by his superior, whom he thereupon shot. That is the story that we heard, but there was much more also said at the time about the relations of the two generals toward each other. General Nelson was half liked and half disliked. After General Pope, it was boasted of him by his admirers, that General Nelson was the ^^best, finest, and most elegant and ori- ginal curser and swearer in the whole United States army." There was some sort of inquiry held. The 52 NAKKATIVE OF A PKIVATE SOLDIER. excitement among the common men reminded me of some of the passages of Tacitus. A few days more, and we had otlier matters to think about and to talk about. While at Louisville, we shifted our camp sev- eral times. The day was thick with rumors and reports of Bragg' s advance, and timid citizens ran hither and thither, apparently aimless, and filled with fear and terror. As niglit came on the fears of the populace grew in intensi ty. The orders given to pickets and patrols were very strict, and communicated in whispers. Great care and caution was exercised in preconcerting signals and in ensuring secrecy. Sky- rockets of all hues and of all combinations of stars and durations of time were continually being set off and bursting in the heavens. We were often called out twice or thrice a night by tlie "long roll " or the shrill "assembh^" and silently we were marched to the trenches or formed into line of battle at previously ap- pointed places. But after all. General Bragg did not come, and it is doubtful whether he ever intended to attack us, and perliaj)s he laughed in his sleeve as his outposts and spies reported to him the eveuts taking place in the city. 6. Now began our first actual movement in the face of the enemy. Our troops were in excellent trim, the veterans well recruited, and the erstwhile raw troops already well acquainted with military discipline. It wiJ^ said tliat our army had thirty-five or forty thou- sand fighting men on its rolls, and all three arms in good proportion for the work in hand. Our brigade was now definitely placed in General McCook's Corps de Armee, which was the right wing of the grand MARCHIXG AFTER BRAGG. 53 army, and on (3r about tlie 1st of October, 1862, we advanced in splendid order and elevated spirits. Our brigade was near the centre of the army corps. Our route led us through the most horrible of countries. Immediately upon leaving the city, upon the south- west side of it, we plunged into a wildly broken section, through dark and dreary defiles, over high hills, and across the North Rolling fork of Salt river and other equally muddy, nasty streams, which latter we were compelled, in almost every instance, to ford by wading through the water. After the first day or two our men began to show signs of fatigue. Many fell out of the ranks, and became stragglers ; surplus baggage strewed the roads, and whenever a halt was made the men took the opportunity thus offered of re- lieving themselves of needless articles which they had loaded themselves with under the erroneous impres- sion that they were necessary for a soldier's com- fort. Whole knapsacks, filled with kits — from shaving appliances and shoe brushes to portable writing desks — were thrown away. Many of the soldiers had foolishly invested in ili-fitting boots, and it was not until they had adopted the sen- sible regulation army shoe that comfort and ease in foot marching was attained. The heat by day was excessive, and pure drinking water was scarce ; many suffered on that account, and kept the doc- tors busy in prescribing for the peculiar complaints thus engendered. However, it was not long before our raw troops learned to imitate the veterans, and by assuming the lightest marching order, straggling, sore 54 NARRATIVE OF A PRIVATE SOLDIER. feet, and fainting at the same time almost entirely disappeared from the ranks. It was said that we had been directed to proceed on that route in order to the better concealment of our formation and numbers — as if General Bragg had had no spies in tiie city ! We were very thankful after two or three days to find that our advance was now within a few miles of the Bardstown turnpike road, and that we were but ten miles from the enemy did not make any difference to us. The way was dark, and the weather was rainy and disagreeable, and, as we trudged along the winding roads and climbed up one side and rolled down the other of hills, the veterans started to John Brown's body is mouldering in the grave, But his soul is marching on. And very soon our whole regiment, then another, and in a short time the whole division caught up the strain, and then — the occasion defies descrip- tion. The conformation of the country was pecu- liarly well adapted for producing an effect. Before the echoes from one range of hills had been spent they were overwhelmed by others, until the great conglom- eration of sounds made the place seem unearthly. Late at night we filed into the great road, and pitched our bivouac not far away. It appeared that we had made good time ; for we had reached this point somewhat in advance of the time expected, and considerably in advance of the BARDSTOWX, KENTUCKY. 00 centre of the main army. Onr ex})edition, liowcver, was ill rewarded because it became onr duty to sustain pickets and out])osts besides remaining under arms all night. In the moi'ning tlie remainder of the army came up, and in order to allow us to subside into our proper position, we were permitted to rest awhile until the others had advanced. In the field in which we had bivouacked there was stubble, and growing in amongst that we discovered a species of wild fruit called "ground cherries." These the men ate with great relish. The advance on Bardstown Avas made with great caution, although, as it afterward proved, without much reason for it. We formed into line of battle, and so went through the woods, fields, and de- pressions, but Bragg had gone. Still, we kept up our array until we were well on to the Springfield road after the flying Confederates. We vvere then told that Bragg never intended to pursue an offensive policy in getting so far to the North ; that he only de- sired to hold the country long enough to enable him to secure the crops, just ripening ; in fact, that he had fifteen hundred wagons laden with the supplies he had gathered ; that to obtain these had been his only object ; and finally, that we were to pursue him with such diligence as to compel him to disgorge the most if not all of it. On the 7th of October we had pressed the enemy all day, and our advance was neces- sarily slow, but late in the evening we passed through the long single street of straggling houses that altogether formed the town of Springfield, and soon after went into bivouac on the heels of the enemy. We were somewhat in front, but all night the army 56 NAKIIATIVE OF A TRIVATE SOLDIEE. was being advanced and placed into position. The enemy had turned his back and was at bay. Picket firing continued more or less throughout the darkness. I saw General McCook twice during the night. He was right in front, and dashing here and there as if deter- mined on business. General Crittenden did not come up with his troops until morning, and then he went to our right. General Sheridan was busy too. He acted in a very common manner, and did little that night to bespeak his future standing. I believe he had not yet changed from being tlio Colonel of a Michigan cavalry regiment of volunteers, although he did duty as a Brigadier. There Avas no sleep nor rations, no fires were allowed, and we laid on our arms all that night. 7. Before daylight the next morning (the 8th) we were astir and in motion, flying to the position assigned to us, and the " Battle \)f Perryville" or '^Cave Springs " was begun. At eight or nine o'clock in the morning we were supporting a Missouri (?) battery of four brass pieces, twenty-four-ponnd howitzers. The battery was planted on the brow of a hill and immedi- ately to the right of the road, and up to the time of our arrival had been supported by the Regiment of Ohio Volunteer Infantry. The men of this latter regiment were now weakening, and as the fight became warmer, were preparing to fly. General Sheridan dismounted near our company, and ordered us to shoot the first man of the Ohio regiment that attempted to retreat. But we did no such thing, and the poor fellows quickly obeyed their OAvn impulses and went to the rear, first one at a time, then in squads, and finally the whole regiment scampered BATTLE OF PEllUYVILLE. 57 down the road. We then received orders to udvancc up the incline, pass the battery, and descend the other side, so that the guns could i)hiy their havoc over our heads. If I may be allowed to judge, I must say that the Eighty-eighth obeyed the order in gallant style, especially when it is considered that that was the first time the regiment had been exposed to the fire of the enem}^ The bullets fell fast and thick around us, and there was much ducking of heads. As we passed the battery and went ahead, our work was presented to our view. The descent was more abrupt than long, ajid there were a few standing trees on that side of the hill; beyond was a stout rail fence, and then a large corn-field with the stalks standing ; beyond that again t'here was a gentle acclivity of open ground, which ended in thick woods. In these woods the enemy was strongly posted. Three separate attempts were made by the enemy to dash over the space between their line and ours. Once they actually entered the corn- field, but a battery on our right and front caught them with a murderous fire in flank, and three times they were driven back to the friendly shelter of the woods. -The object of the enemy seemed to be to dis- lodge our battery and thus cut off our left by gaining the road, where, as we saw the next day, they had well nigh defeated us. With continued heavy firing upon both sides, and without any particular regiment advancing beyond the rail fence, the fighting went on until after dark. We lost, as I remember, of our com- pany only one. He was quite a young boy, named Lynn, a sort of pet of the company. He was wounded in the leg. On our left, as I have said, the fighting 58 NARRATIVE OF A PRIVATE SOLDIER. had been more severe. A General or Captain Terrill and also a Captain Jackson had been killed. One or the other of the two commanded a battery that was roughly handled by the enemy during the battle. Early next morning we were expecting to renew the engagement, and advanced, first, in line of battle, and afterward on the right by companies, but there was no enemy to be met with ; he had fled during the night. We then wheeled around and encamped on the bed of the creek near the left of the battlefield. There was strong talk of General McCook having received an unsatisfactory reply from General Buell when he re- quested the assistance of cavalry to pursue the enemy, and that it was to the effect that as General McCook had recklessly brought on the engagement, he should fight it out with his own corps unaided. It was said that there existed a close relationship between the commanding generals of both armies ; but that was only camp-fire talk. At any rate we encamped on or near the field of battle for two whole days, and by that time Bragg and his wagons were far away. Because of the absence of rations, we were com- pelled to do some foraging here, and the ducks and geese in the almost empty stream were made to suffer their necks to be stretched, to help appease the general lack of food. The day after the battle we dis- covered that it was the division of General Hardee that opposed us the day before, and that the line that showed such temerity and courage in making the at- tempts to storm our battery was composed in part of the Third and Fourth Florida regiments of infantry. Many members of these two regiments were killed or AFTER THE BATTLE. 59 wounded, tlio hitter caj)tnred and made })ri,s()iicrs of war, and it was from them we derived our information. They also told us tliat wlieu they saw our regiment ad- vance they surmised that we were "regulars," because our men wore dark trousers, whereas volunteers wore pantaloons of sky-blue materials. We took this as a great compliment. It was at this battle that many of our men had for the first time viewed a dead man, or at least the body of a person killed by violence in war, and because of the black, swollen condition of many of the bodies of the slain Southerners, a report circulated, and was believed to be true by many of our men, to tlie effect tliat our enemies had been fed on gun-pow- der and whiskey in order to so fire them that they should become animated to fight with desperation, and that the gun-powder caused the discoloration. On a rocky spot in the bed of the ci-eek I saw four or five bodies, by their clothing, apparently officers of the enemy. These had been cared for to the extent of the building of a rail fence around them, so as to protect the remains from being attacked by the swine that prowled in the woods. The disgusting sight of these animals feeding upon human gore was more than suffi- cient to give them immunity from sacrifice by the hungry of our army. No one could be found suffi- ciently hardy to talk of eating of the flesh of hogs captured near the batttlefield. No ! No more than if we were an army of Hebrews. 8. Immediately after this we started in pursuit of General Bragg, his army, wagons and all, through Har- rodsburg, Lancaster, and numerous other insignificant toAvns, until he and his finally disappeared far into the 60 NAKIIATIVE OF A PKIVATE SOLDIER. AVild Cat moimtains. ILirrodsburg was no burg at all so far as we were permitted to see, but Lancaster had been a pretty little old-fashioned town, albeit it was, when we marched through it, very thoroughly gutted, and probably by the retreating Confederates. On this marcii we saw the camp fires of the enemy nearly every night, and reached them before they had finished burning in the morning ; often as we arrived, after climbing to the top of a hill, we were favored with a sight of a large part of the enemy's forces and long lines of wagons winding along around the feet of the hills and through the valleys beyond, apparently at a snail's pace, and not very far from us, but in re- ality the rear guard of Bragg's army was seldom within several miles of our advance, and the whole army was moving at a rapid gait. During this march, also, the President's proclama- tion in relation to the emancipation of negro slaves came to be understood by the people of the countr}^, and they began to realize that all the chances were against the existence of slavery after the ensuing New Year's Day, unless the South in the meantime were eminently successful in the field. There Avere some in our army who were almost seditiously inclined ; officers resigned their commissions rather than be engaged in the forced emancipation of the negroes. Said they, "We enlisted in this war for the maintenance of the Union, and not for the purpose of protecting the negro." Such, however, were in a wonderfully small minority when compared with the great mass of the army. The latter were called '^Abolitionists," whether or no, and thought it not wrong to take the game as THE E.MAXJLPATIOX I'RUULA.MATJOX. 61 \s^ell as the naiuo of '' Jiio-i^cr steiilors," so that avIrmi an able-bodied negro wouhl e )nie and crave assistance in his hiding from liis " massa," we took him in and he became a servant for ns until he coukl do better. There were also grave differences in tlie construction of the terms of the proclamation among the superior officers of the army. The great mass of the army were in favor of at once giving assistance to negroes desirous of getting their freedom, but our General commanding seemed to think that in relation to slaves and slavery a sort of static quo was decreed until the first of January then ensuing. Even the famous doctrine of '^contraband of war" was ignored by Greneral Buell. Often at night, when we had pitched our camp, might have been seen the traditional slave-driver, riding upon a mule and wear- ing a broad-brimmed hat, and carrying in his hand a stout cowhide whip. He would be searching for his negroes who had joined our ranks as we marched past his plantation. When any such were found the mas- ter hastened to headrpuirters, and there he obtained an order that the runaway be delivered to his alleged owner. Now it was the turn of the other side to » grumble and be indignant; said they, '"'We enlisted to save the Union, and not to catch runaway slaves." Many openly refused to obey such orders, and in one or two instances which came under my direct observa- tion a mutiny Avas barely avoided. We had at one time a lively young negro come to us, and he implored our protection from his cruel master. He was very in- telligent and bright — almost another Harris. We gave him a camp kettle to carry for us, and he did it 62 NAlUiATIVE OF A PKIVATE SOLDIER. clieerfiiUy i'or the rest of the day. As was usually tlie case, wlieii we had readied our place of bivouac, up came the master jnifiiug and blowing as if he had rid- den a long- way and at a very fast gait. He soon espied his "chattel," and made a demand for the pos- session of him, Init we were enlisted on the side of the poor negro. There were but few "War Democrats" among us, and we refused to comply with the owner's demand. Then he went away for an order, but we knew that he might soon return, and so we secreted the slave in another com})any, and when the owner did return witli his written order and backed by a staif officer to enforce obedience, the negro was 7wn est in- verttus, and thus we baiiled the process. The man ^YVl.i shrewd, however, and perhaps he was helped by the advice of those in authority, for, when on the next day Ave had recovered our man from his hiding j^lace and reinstated him within our company ranks, and as the poor negro marched lightly under his burthen, no doubt congratulating himself that every step forward widened the distance between him and his hated con- dition of servitude, up came the owner, backed by an * officer of the general staff, who, we were given to under- stand, was no less a personage than G-eneral Fry, chief- of-staff to the commanding general. This looked bad for the negro, and he cpiaked with fear and his thick lips looked bloodless. The opposition we made was strong, and it even went so far that the column halted, and more than one musket was brought into position to shoot the officer, so great Avas the indigna- tion at Avhat Avas considered an outrage. But no overt act of mutiny was committed beyond Avliat I have AT CRAB OKCIIAKI), KENTUCKY^ 03 said, and the officer, whoever lie was, rode on his horse into the ranks, seized tlie almost fainting victim by the collar, and jerked him out and into the roadway. As he was thus ruthlessly torn away, the poor fellow gave us in his immediate vicinity one look of despair that I shall never forget as long as I live, and, as he was formally turned over to his master, his cries and howling rose loud above the shouts of indignation raised by the men of our regiment. It is not hard to conjecture what the nature was of the treatment the runaway received at the hands of his master. Feel- ing, as I said before, ran very high against all con- cerned, and but little more was required to provoke that which would have forever closed the career of General Fry then and there. This was not far from Lancaster. 9. At Crab Orchard the weather became quite cold. We had no tents, and our other baggage had most of it been left behind at Lancaster. We had noAv lost sight of the enemy entirely. Bragg was safe in the mountain passes of that country, and if it had ever been the intention to catch him, the opportunity to do so was gone for a time. No power but the elements could reasonably be expected to prevent him from crossing the mountains with his army, and plunder. Besides, our bases of supplies were not then situated so as to be calculated for a campaign beyond, in East Tennessee ; so we were halted at Crab rchard. Our division was in front, and was deployed out in a grand line enclosing within it several high mountains and deep valleys. As we drew in our cordons we were suc- cessful in capturing and bringing in very many strag- 64 NARRATIVE OE A PRIVATE SOLDIER. giers fi'oni the enemy's army. We had pity on many of them, because it was not hard to see that the event was anything but honorable to them. Many were conscripts, forced against tlieir wills to take up arms, and they had ])urposely allowed themselves to be taken, and so perhaps that they might be able to return to their homes not yet so far away. At Crab Orchard, too, the boys did some foraging for themselves. Near our place of bivouac there was a large field of sugar cane, of the kind called " sorghum," and there Avas a mill placed near the centre of it. Tlie grinding apparatus was of a most ancient and primitive style, but the men inserted fence rails where there should liave been lever poles, and used their own power for lack of horses or steam, by which means there Avas soon procured a large quantity of the juice, and that being boiled down u]_ion a fire near by, produced a sort of syrup or molasses. Personally, I had quite an ad- venture while on grand guard, or picket, near Crab Orchard. In company with another man I had just got to the top of a high hill when I saw far down in the winding valley beyond a wreath of smoke ascend- ing above the trees of the dense, primeval forest. Where there was smoke of that kind there might be a house, and we reasoned that if there was a house with a fire in it, there ought to be something to eat inside, so we determined to investigate. After a long, tire- some, and tedious brusli through the trees, over streams, and across bottom lands, we suddenly came upon a log hut, and we perceived that it was from there that the smoke came that we had seen. As we approached, a dog by its barking warned the occu- AN ADVENTURE. 65 pants of our coming, and as we cnicrg'cd wo saw one of tliem lolling against the doorway-to tlio hut. lie was a tall, lank, yellow-looking fellow, clothed in dirty, ragged, home-s[)uii garnients, a coat of one color and trousers of another, but lie still Avore upon his head a small gray military caj). Fortunately we had our guns loaded, and my com})anion covered the native and ordered him to get outside entirely and raise his hands above his head. This order was obeyed with reasonable iilacrity, and after he had shuffled and wriggled himself into the proper position, I demanded who he was and who was with him. He answered civilly and straight enough that he was a poor man and living there and cultivating the small Ijatcli of open ground in front of us. He swore, how- ever, without us asking him, that he was no ^*Reb," and therefore we did not believe him as to that. On going inside I saw a monstrous sized Dutch oven on the open hearth, and within that was a large batch of corn bread just done to a turn. On a rude table there were set enough of cups and saucers and broken knives and forks for three or four persons. I left my comrade to take care of the prisoner, while I secured a portion of the contents of the oven, some butter, and one or two other things, a few red pepper pods, and such, and then I returned and sent my companion in to search the place. No sooner had he turned to enter the house than our prisoner took to his heels and fled like a deer into the deep woods. He was ofl and out of sight before I could fire my musket, even if I had wanted to, which I did not at that time because it might have brought a dozen of the enemy to fight us 66 NARRATIVE OF A PRIVATE SOLDIER. two, and that would have been serious, if not fatall}^ to our disadvantage. As it was, we saw that the best thing we could do would be to hurry away as fast as we could, and we had barely got out of the woods be- fore we heard the howling of two or three dogs almost at our heels. We hurried along without any knowledge or thinking of where we were going until after we had scampered helter-skelter some distance, when we fell in with a small party of our men. While sharing with them our plunder, which was enjoyed by all with great relish, we laid before them the particulars of our ad- venture. Then it was agreed that all of us should re- turn to the hut and see farther into the affair. This we did, approaching very cautiously, and this time effectually surrounding the place, so that no one could escape. Thus we succeeded in capturing four men in the shanty. Only two of them, however, had arms, and one of them was wounded, so we left the wounded man and the one we had first seen, and marched away with the other two and with the captured arms in our possession until we fell in with a detachment of our provost guard, to whom we delivered our prisoners. CHAPTER III. C0NTAI:N^S AN" ACCOUNT OF THE MARCH FROM CRAB ORCHARD, KENTUCKY, IN OCTOBER, 1862, UNTIL THE RAISING OF THE SIEGE OF NASHVILLE, TEN- NESSEE, AND THENCE ON UNTIL THE EVE OF THE ADVANCE ON 3IURFREESB0R0'. 1. Up to this time I luive said little or nothing of the personnel of my immediate comrades. The truth is, that the recollection of a great majority of them has faded from me; but notwithstanding that, I Avill endeavor in this })lace to do the best I can under the circumstances, in telling Avho and what they were. Our Colonel was Frank T. Sherman of Chicago. He, or his fatlier, or some other relative of his, owned or controlled the " Sherman House," a large hotel in that city; at least that is what I remember having been said of him in the regiment. In person he was tall and slim. He had a darkish red face and promi- nent features, suggestive of a tincture of Indian blood. Both in his face and temperament he was decidedly biliously inclined. Perhaps I would bo better understood if I said that his whole countenance 68 NAPtllATlVE OF A PRIVATE SOLDIER. was Cassius-like, and be was on the whole consider- ably more feared than beloved by the men of the regi- ment, in so far as I noticed. In age he was then probably forty-five years. I can trnly say and affirm that, although I saw him every day for nearly five months, I but rarely saw him smile, and never heard him say a kind word to any one. On one occasion, however, he gave a sign of there being something in him which, if assiduously cultivated, might have redeemed his character. It was while we were march- ing from Louisville, Kentucky, and about the second or third day out from that place. We were winding up hill, plunging into ravines, and the rain fell in torrents upon us. The " boys,'' as I have elsewhere mentioned, had been singing- John Brown's body lies mouldering in the grave, and that other one. We are coming, Father Abraham, three hundred thousand more, and such like songs, in an uproarious manner, and had stopped, aj^parently for want of breath, as they plodded along the ascent of a steep hill. Having reached a more favorable ground, the Colonel, who was just in advance, gave out the command in clear, ringing tones : " Prepare to pucker I Pucker ! " At this the first company gave a shout, and soon the whole regiment caught it up, although the men to the rear of Company " B " could not possibly have had the slightest idea of what they were shouting at or for. Then followed more singing, of course, and the next PERSOXXEL OF THE EIGilTY-EIGllTlI. (••» day the Colonel vviis credited as the possessor of sonic luimor. Lieutenant Colonel A. ^. Chadbourne was a mild- mannered, blue-ej'ed man, and about as lit for hard military service as a delicate woman might be. How- ever, he had a full beard and whiskers, and looked well on horseback. He had formerly been a commis- sion merchant in Chicago, and was very much liked by the men of the regiment, but I never remember him to have distinguished himself in the field or upon the march. Who our Major was I have utterly forgot- ten. Dr. Ooatesworth was our regimental surgeon. He was a large, jolly-faced English-Canadian, if I re- member aright, and it was said that he was a good cus- tomer at his own medicine chest, especially for '' qui- nine and whiskey," minus the quinine. Dr. Eankin, our assistant surgeon, I knew better. He was a differ- ent kind of man altogether. He did not carry himself so high as tlie surgeon did, and at ''sick call" the boys Avere sure of receiving a kind word and good advice as well as the regulation dose of castor oil. We were all very sorry when the Doctor was detached from the regiment and sent to one of the general hos- pitals in Nashville. Captain William A. Whiting, of Company "B," was rather a nice-looking young man of twenty-eight or thirty years of age, but I never liked him sincerely because he exhibited on numerous occasions a marked affinity or partiality for one of the several ''cliques" of which the company was composed. This was the " Gridley clique," made up of about a dozen men, headed by our Orderly Ser- 2:eant, and who hailed from a town of that name 70 XAKKATIVE OF A PRIVATE SOLDIER. situated far in the interior of the State. Our First Lieutenant was Henry H. Gushing, a bright, soldierly young man, somewhat younger than the Captain, but taller and more dashing in appearance. He wore mutton-chop-shaped whiskers and had a light or red- dish growth of hair. He was not heeded very much in company affairs, and I never remember him to have been in sole command. Some time before I termi- nated my active connection with the company he had been detailed away as Acting-Quartermaster of the reofiment. The Second Lieutenant was named Lane. He was a heavily built young man, and of a dull, stu- joid disposition. He had nothing much to say at any time, even if he knew of anything to talk about. He was absolutely a " Gridley " man, pure and simple. It is easily to be seen that I did not belong to that ** clique." There were, as I said before, several of them. There were the '^Loda" boys, the "Onarga" boys, etc. If I belonged to any clique at all, it was the "Loda" one. In it were Abe Weaver, Volney, his brother, Ed Stemp, and some others, besides my- self. As in all companies of men any way numerous, there are bound to be notable characters in more or less variety, our company was not an exception. First and chief of ours was Tommy Corrigan, a small- sized but tough specimen of an Irishman, and as occasion required, he had the command of every bit of wit and brogue his mother gave him. He was the ''funny man" of Company " B," and often got himself out of a severe scrape by the judicious use of his mother wit. While we were encamped on Mill Creek, near Nashville, the Colonel had a milch cow, but no guards IXCOIMlKii I'U: iOMMY COIIKKIAX. 71 could be <^-()l who \\rrr IkmioI I'lKni-h t" pi'oh'ci the tents effectually, (o .uri-, had the i)roper temperament to restrain him from o-oiiio- too far in his devilment. Lorenzo Martin was another of whom 1 have some recollection. Also in the regiment was Alfred Kogers, who was literally II "white man." He was English. He had white hair, white eyes, and a very white skin. I may have something more to say of him hereafter. Now as to the term "gobbling" that I have nsed, it may be necessary for me to give some definition. In- deed, I doubt very much whether any one who has not seen service will be able to understand the term with- ont it. The word as I give it is not to be found in liny of the staaidard dictionaries. I may therefore Ije allowed to state in relation to It that in every mess of live or six soldiers there was to be found one or more experts in foraging for provisions and other necessaries and luxuries not provided for In the regulation " ration" or camp ec[ulpage. A piece of butter, a jug of milk, a frying pan, or a coffee pot, besides turkeys, geese, and chickens, were all alike luxuries to the sol- diers, and it was the duty of the "gobblers" to procure them when needed. In some messes whiskey or the peach brandy or ai)ple jack of the country was very welcome. This was often done by purchase or trade, but whether or no, such things were had— literally ii ^AKUATiX E UF A I'KIVATE .SULDIER. " ii'obbk'd." oi' lalu'ii a\v;i\' without liuedino- the owii- er's dissent, oi' caring" for his opinion as to what the jH'ice ou,u-ht to he'. 'IMiat was '• go]jl)lin_u- " as I iinder- stood it. 2. We remained in the neighborhood of Crab Orcluird for some days, and nntil every fence rail had disappeared in the making of camp fires. Then we started on a^ counternnircli toward Sta nford, Ijut we did not go into the town. Just as we drew near to Sta nford onr orders directed us across the country. Down went a fence as if l)y magic, and Ave moved into the most beautiful beach foi'cst I have ever seen in my life. There must surely have been thousands upon thousands of acres in it. AH the trees seemed to be as like one another as soldiers in a line, and apparently they were of the stime age and size. There was no undergrowth of brush, and the smootli-barked trees slu)t up like so nuiuy giants of the sands, and were I'anged in such a nnmner as almost to suggest scientific regularity. Underneath was thick grass of a peculiarly beautiful green color, over which we marched as if upon a velvet carpet. From this forest we emerged in due time, and got upon the high road near Lancas- ter. On reaching our place of bivouac we found it to be a large field of stubble. As we were without tents, it became our greatest care to protect our precious bodies from the night cold. We were drawn up in a line of l)attle, and the commands giAcn, 'SStack arms," ^'Unsling knapsacks,*' ''Break Kanks.*' No sooner was the last order given than each company, leaving a guard over its line, the rest broke, pell-mell, like a flock of sheep, for the fences, and in SALLTlXt. J)ANV1LJ,J:, KJ;X'U(K\. i5 an incredibly short spat'c of linii' llic IV] i(c\^ wore de- molished, and the dry cedar rails of which they Avere conii)osed were doing- good service as fires in front of the line, and upon which su})i)er was being cooked. During the i)rocess of cooking, the regular ''gobblers " had descried afar off, on the top of a small hill, several stacks of what looked like straw, and very soon after the knoll to the right of ns and about half a mile away in*esented a scene as if a thousand overloaded tumble-bugs were at work. 8ome were going up emi-)ty and running, and others were coming down with loads of unthrashed grain upon their heads and backs. On this occasion it was a shameful waste ; for what we used for bedding was splendid oats in sheaves. During the next day or two we reached Danville, but we were not permitted to have more than a view of the city. We supposed it was because we were nearer to headquarters now than w^e had been at Crab Orchard. The army saluted the city by forming into })arade column, and with arms at support, colors up, and bands playing, we marched along the main road that skirted the city on its northern side. About a mile or so beyond we halted on the Lebanon Pike road and went into camj). This camp w^as made memorable on account of the fact that a full ration of fresh beef was dealt out to the army. A great many of the men had now^ given out. The heavy marching, aided by the irregular diet and constant exposure, bad given them all sorts of diseases, and while we were encamped not far from Lebanon Junction, on the Louisville and Nashville railroad, those wdio were so sick as in the judgment of the medical staff to be T6 XAKJLVTIVE OF A i IIIVATE ^JOLDIER. unfit to ])iu-8iT0 the iirirc'li, w -re sent off to the various hospitals in Louisville, Kentucky, and Jeffersouville, Indiana ; and those whom we had left behind in those places came uj) with us ; among such was Volney Weaver, of !)!)lino- " \v!,en not. That is a plainer and more concise definition of the latter term tlian I nave in ili(> piwions eliaptei-, and I tliink myself justified in reeordin^- it here and aban- doning my former explanation. Of this partienlar expedition I ean only deseri])e the part taken by the sfpiad I happened to be with. We went, six or seven of us, througii tlie woods, over hills, across "bottoms," through helds, and over rivulets for a mile or more to our right and front, without meeting with any pros- pects of success. Then the incorrigible Tommy Corrigan, who was of our i)arty and some dist^mce in advance, by a loud exclamation told us that he was not far from a prize, and we saw at a distance of half or three quarters of a mile to the I'ight and still to the front, a large, substantial mansion and numerous out- buildings. We hastened our steps, and after clearing nnnnmbered ditches and fences, we entered a long lane in whicli we formed into line, with Tommy Cor- rigan on the right as undisputed commander. We soon reached the place, and, as an 'institution/' found it to be greater than many of the ''towns" we had passed throngh, although the latter generally boasted high-sounding names. The mansion itself was a large two-stoiy building of wood, and had the inevitable hall running through the centre of it, and an immense chimney built upon the outside on each end. The second story was almost an exact copy of the first. A sort of porch ran up to the roof, and the door leading into it from the second story was exactly like the front door below, even to the knocker. There were numerous outhouses, granaries, meat-houses. 98 KAKKATIVE OF A PKIVATE SOLDIEK. stables, root-houses, and henneries on one side of the main strncture, and on the otlier a vilhige of negro huts lying low and irregular, like so man}^ smashed tiles. Before we got to the lawn entrance we met a negro man who was nearly scared to death. Corrigan, pointing his gun (which was empty) at the man, or- dered him to api)roach us, and he came toward our position fairly dancing with fear. From him we had a terrible tale. His master was a rebel of the deepest d}^. Only the night before he had cai)tured a ^' Union soldier,'' and had conveyed him to Murfrees- boro', where the poor fellow was to be shot for being a ^'spy." Tlie master was "cruel to his slaves" as well. He had shot or hung several of the negroes who had attemi)ted to run away. We now held a council of war, and liaving informed ourselves of the nature of the surroundings, as to the number of inmates, the locality of the provision stores, etc., we advanced toward the house. When we entered the hiAvn gate Ave saw^ a fat, jolly looking old planter stand- ing in the doorway of the house. He was perhaps sixty years of age, and appeared as if during the whole of that period he had lived upon the best that the land afforded. But he had a gun in his hand, and, as Tommy Corrigan drew his musket to his shoulder, he gave the command, "Drop that piece," and the " piece " was dropped as if it had been red hot. Then we advanced and seized the old gentleman. He was very belligerent — in fact, full of opj^osition — but we soon disarmed and set a guard over him, some distance away from the house. On ransacking the place we found the planter's wife and two daughters. They A SPECIMEX REBEL. 'Hi boastingly told us tliat the lin8l)aiKls of l)()tli of them were in the Soutlieni nnny, iind would revenge any in- jury we might do. We tried in vain to mul< preparations for work ; he directed each of the drummers and fifers to place a piece of yellow rag around his left arm, and was proceeding to have me do the same when I appealed to the Colonel, who was near by, and asked him if Company " B " was not going to skirmish ; if it was, the men might need a bugler, and at any rate I did not wish to be a non-combatant. The Colonel laughed grimly, and 106 XARRATIVE OF A PRIAMTE SOLDIER. replied thiit il w.i ; quite likely Company "B" woiilt]: soon be skir:i\i ;iiing, and perhaps doing something- else mo;v serious still, and he gave me the desired permission to go forward to the head of the regiment, and there report to tho Captain. To the Captain I told how it was that I became ordered to report to him, and on leariiiiig tlie circumstances I was received enthusiastically by the men. 4. After advancing for some three or four hundred yards we came upon a squad of the enemy's cavalry, and a running tight ensued, we killing one and wounding three others, without suffering any casualty on our side. Tlie enemy tied as the regiment filed off from the road and formed into line on the doublo quick. Then we advanced again, and when we reached a point where the roiid took a turn to the left we made another formation in some grand cedar woods on our right. Here Companies " A " and " B " were ordered to deploy as skirmishers, with Companies "F" and " G " as a reserve for tlienu When all was ready, and by the Captain's orders, I sounded the "Deploy a^ skirmishers," ''On the centre deploy," and ''For- ward," and away we went through the woods. The mnsket balls from the enemy came thick and fast among ns, but as we were protected by the large trees, we suffered very little if any at all. Our men fired at the enemy near the end of the woods, and then each man dashed forward to the cover of the most convenient tree, Avhere he reloaded and prepared for another dash. Next I was directed to sound a " Rally by fours," which being done in tolerable shape, an order to go forward v/as given, and when I had ADVAXcixG OX THE exp:my. 107 again sonuded a '* Halt " and '' \)v\)hn\" we liad cleared tlie woods and were in fidl view of a beanliful cultivated spaje, shut in on all sides but one by the dense cedar forest. The o]>en side was towai'd the south- east, aiul was formed of a sort of ** bottiun *' or morass. The woods on all other sides but the one we were on were tilled with the enemy, and from the farther end on our left was a battery that had got our range, and was ra|)idly sending shells and solid shot into an in- conveniently close ])roximity to our line. The fire from the enemy's small arms did no harm because it went too high. The open space alluded to was the theatre of all I saw of the real battle, which had now commenced in earnest. It was a single cotton planta- tion, and comprised several fields of various shapes and sizes. Toward the centre of the opening was sit- uated the planter's house, surrounded by the usual com})lenient of outhouses and negro quarters, and on one side, to the left of us, there was a large barn-like structure, and that was a cotton-gin and press. We continued to tire as rapidly as we could, and always aimed in a general way in the direction of the battery and where we saw the smoke of the enemy's small arms, but I could not see whether our shots did any execu- tion. About noon we were informed that in order to perfect our line of battle, it was necessary to carry the open space and clear the woods on either hand, and thereupon the Second and Fifteenth Missouri regi- ments on our right darted out of the woods. They were exposed to a A'ery heavy fire, but they did not flinch nor make a halt until they had gained the woods beyond. The infantry were closely followed by 108 XARRATIVE OF A PRIVATE t>aLDIER. a battery of f'>nr [>ieces. We watched with eager in- terest as we saw the galhint Germans coarse across the cotton tielils and over fences, and enter the woods be- yond. This was our time, and we were ordered to advance on tlie double quick into the opening and take up a position in front of the mansion. At the sound of the bugle Companies ' "A " and *^B" went from cover and swept across the fields under another heavy fire, but the men succeeded in gain- ing the house, the lawn, and the adjacent out- buildings. A battery now took up a position on our former line on the edge of the woods, and engaged the enemy over our heads. Meanwhile the Missouri regiments and the battery which they sup- ported fought the battery and the infantry of the enemy m their front. It was now too late in the day for a regular battle to be brought on, but the active skirmishing and artillery fighting increased until nearly the whole of our corps front was engaged. The soldiers of botli armies were in plain view of each other, and the rattle of musketry and the roar of can- non were heard from afar on either hand. AYe had nov\^ within our view the higher buildings of the town, and we thought that on the morrow, perhaps even that same night, we would gain the prize. Again an advance was oi-dered, and the men ran gallantly over another field or two and laid themselves down close by a fence, the new line thus formed bringing them more to a face with the enemy. The Missouri regiments too made another dash, and gained a still more favor- able position for shelling the woods. The battery which they supported speedily followed and took the DEATH OF ABE WEAVER. 109 new position — all save one o-mi that wns placed hors du combat by a well directed shot of the eiieniy. This was about half-past three oxdock in tlie afternoon. While i]i the last mentioned position and beyond the liouse the fire from the enemy was terrific. The earth near by was torn by the shot, and sliells ex- ploded very near to us. Musketry balls literally fell like hail, and as they struck the ground they sputtered and sizzed like great hailstones. Here, about five o'clock in the afternoon, and just as the fire of the enemy had decreased to almost random shots, Abram Weaver, my bosom friend, was killed. He received a bullet right in the heart, and as he fell he died without a groan. In the charge to obtain this position Cap- tain Smith, of Company '' A," fell, wounded, but how, I have forgotten. 1 was with the Captain of my com- pany when Abe Weaver fell, and we stood about ten paces to (he rear. The men were wtirned to lie flat on the ground, and all except Volney, Abe's brother, obeyed. Volney was frantic with grief. I shall never forget the terrible look upon his face. I was directed by the Captain to take him to the rear, and he came with me easily enough, but as he went along he ner- vously clutched his musket, and swore to be revenged for his brother's death. We passed safely through a shower of bullets on our way, and when we reached the dwelling house I conducted Weaver to a comforta- ble place, and as he had become quite sick, the doctors prescribed for him. As I was about to return to the front. Generals Sheridan, Sill, and two or three others, accompanied by a numerous staff, came up, and as they peeped around the corners of the house at the 110 NARRATIVE OF A PRIVATE SOLDIER. battle g()i?ii>- on in front, tlie bullets came prett}' lively, and I ivmcnioc'i- that I was amused at the manner in Avhich our commanders dodged the fire. General Sheridan swung his cloak around his body, and said something that made us all laugh. I am sorry now that I have not preserved the joke. After dark tliere was nothing but desultory tiring by either pickets, ex- cept that up to about seven o'clock our battery and that of the enemy kept up a sort of duel. I went out to where the body of Abe AVeaver lay, and after secur- ing his diary and papers, straightened out his limbs. Among the documents I found was one that has some bearing in showing the cluiracter of our volunteer sol- diers. That a young man possessing such talents as the work proclaims he did should be called upon to sacrifice his life will certainly tend to give future gene- rations an idea of the cruel character of the war, and it is to be hoped that the thought will act as aw^arning against the evils of fratricidal strife. I have kept a copy of the lines, and give them here. They appear to have been written in an ecstacy of patriotism. Oh ! that I could now coramand the elements, And guide them on their universal routes ! I'd confine them all on this fair land of ours ; And then, with thunders loud and strong, Louder than what sometimes doth fright our souls. And tempests such as would draw out mountains From their solid rocky bases, and hurl them Far into the turmoil of the sea — I'd teach them all to proclaim Liberty ! Oh ! that sheets of vivid lightning I could rend Into an Alphabet that all might read, In living chal^acLer? that, like the adamant, NIGHT BEFORE THE BATTLE. lU Would stand the freaks of nature and defy them For a thousand times a tho isan^l years! I'd concentrate on high its powers of brightness, And let it vie with the eternal font of light, And with that shed its light and heat all round, Into the smallest nook and vale of earth, In every hamlet and in every hut, Where freedom now, and where it doth not shine — Oh, yes ! if I could now have full command, I'd write (and under it Eternity) The glorious legend, Liberty ! 5. About ei_ii-iit oV-iock we reformed onr line near the house, and left only a picket where our advanced position had been. All the wounded were taken to the house, where their hurts were temporarily dressed, and they were then sent to the rear in ambulances. The body of Abe Weaver Avas brought in and laid at the foot of a tree in front of the house, and a piece of cord wood placed under him for a head rest. I saw him at a late hour, and as he lay u[)()n his back, with his eyes open aud a smile upon his face, he seemed to be peacefully gazing up at the stars, which but dimly lighted the sky. They say that the body was decently^ interred during the night, but I did not see it done. In common with the many thousands of others, it may be said of him that Those who in their country's cause Their young life's blood have shed For what in right and justice was, Do but sleep : they are not dead. Each drop of blood shall rise again With multiplying power ; Each wound, each groan, each sting of pain, Shall liave its recompensing hour. 112 NARRATIVE OF A PRIVATE SOLDIER. Thy youthful blood, though poured like rain, Upon thy country's altar, Well prove has not been poured in vain When treason dare assault her. Examples live, and so shall thine Unto the latest ages ; Thine epitaph, unwritten now, Shall be the work of sages. Sleep then a patriot's sleep, In glory's honored bed — Live on in History's brightest page, Thou brave, heroic dead. We found the house moderately well supplied with necessaries. Linen sliirts. cloths, and sheetings were utilized by the doctors in the manufacture of bandages. A quantity of edibles Avas found, and far down in an outdoor cellar a box of tallow dips was discovered, and the latter articles were very welcome indeed. We also came upon several bee-hives, and after we liad obtained from them all the honey we could they were set on fire. This brought an order from the General direct- ing us to be more careful. There was no use in tjiinking of sleep that night, and I do not believe there were many that got any — none at all except, perhaps, Tommy Oorrigan. He, as I said before, could sleep anywhere. The house was pretty well filled with wounded and dying men, and the doctors were busy attending to the wants of the injured and in making preparations to receive such as would claim their ser- vices on the morrow. After midnight the Captain of Company "F" (I think, of our regiment, and who was at the time under arrest for some ca'ise or an- other), and two other men whose names I have also THE BATTLE OF MURFREESBORO'. 113 forgotten, engaged ^vith me in pl.-iying canU. T men- tion this as one of the plienomena of military life. We four were surrounded by dead and wounded men, within earshot of the shrieks and groans of our poor unfortunate comrades, and yet we not only could en- gage in playing euchre, hut, taking no heed of the chances agninst that day being our last on earth, I i-e- meniber that the uominal stakes were as eagerly sought after and played for as if we were far away and safely ensconced in some peaceful back parlor. Often- times since, when engaged in a social game, tbe play- ing of it recalls to my mind that memorable night, and I start almost shuddering as I think of it. All that night there was hurrying to and fro, and from far behind us came the noise as of cautious activity in our main army, and from our front there was more than occasionally heard the ominously low, rumbling sounds of massive life and ])i-eparation. All this kept our imaginations busy in tigh ting for the supremacy, but the cards Avere victorious, and we did not become aifected very much. About four o'clock in the morning of the last day of 1862 we four players were suddenly brought to our feet by hearing the sound of regular tiring from the enemy's front, and we got outside of the house just in time to see a large body of the cav- alry galloping back through the morass I mentioned before. We saw the flashings of their guns as they wheeled around and made another fire. Soon all was bustle around its, and the wounded men were hurriedly placed into ambulances and taken to the rear. I saw Dr. Coatesworth take himself oif in anything but a gallant manner. For awhile all was preparation, but 114 XAKRATIVJ- UF A PRIVATE SOLDIER. as soon as tlie tii-st streak.^^ of dawn appeared tlie firiniT of the outei'iiiost line became general. As soon as it was light enough the batteries on either side engaged one another, and before the sun was fairly np the in- fantry of both ai-niies had commenced the bloody work. Up to seven or eight o'clock onr men stood their ground well enough, but a little later the woods in front of us fairly vomited forth clonds of the enemy. At the place wliere our advanced line had been the evening before tlie conflict became almost a hand-to-hand fight. Numbers fell on either side. About this time a shell exploded near where I stood, and a piece of that, or else one of the shower of bullets that fell, dei)rived me of my bugle. It .was torn almost into two pieces. I experienced then a very curious but indescribable feeling as I carefully examined myself to ascertaiu whether or not I was wounded. It was the most agreeable surprise I ever felt. The battle raged thus, now driving and again being di-iven, until ten or eleven o'clock, when more clouds of the enemy emerged from the woods, and by some signal those who had been fighting in front fjell upon their faces, while the fresh troops, with wild, unearthly yells, ran over the prostrate bodies and took the lead. This was too much for our men, and the line gave way and fell back to the house, and there, under a galling fire, reformed. But the enemy had massed his forces in our immediate front, and line after line came as I have described the first two. It was as if a tide of steel, wave succeeding wave, and with such impetuo^i'V that nothing on earth in the AN UNPLEASAXT PREDICAMEXT. 115 shape of an iinny eoiihi witiistiiiid it. 1 s;nv tlio Thirty-t^ixth Illinois iiiid the Kit'toiMith Missoiii-i, and some other regiments, make two gallant charges on my right, and the enemy fell hack ; hut het'ore I conld get out of my unfavorahle position the brave Union regiments themselves had to retreat before overwhelm- ing numbers, and with that I was lost ; I became virtually a prisoner of war from that time. As our line fell back, I was in a most unpleasant predicament. I was between the contending armies, and in equal danger of being killed or wounded by my friends as by my foes. I remember seeing the Eighty-eighth in one disorderly mass near the cotton press, and the Colonel was wildly gesticulating as if endeavoring to have the regiment rally and form into line ; but I also saw that he failed altogether, and the men hastily re- treated in a demoralized manner to the woods in the rear, which tliey entered near where our hrst skirmish line appeared the day before. That is the last I ever saw of the Eighty-eighth, and I cannot claim a share of whatever fame or glory the regiment earned after- ward. I was told that General Sill, our Brigadier, was killed about eleven o'clock, and at a place not far from where I stood. Soon there were two lines of Confederate soldiei-s between me and safety, and now I got bolder and stood near the fence that ran in front of the house. Then I encountered another line of the enemy, but they brushed past me and offered me no harm. I was only the recipient of some cursing and swearing, and called a '' damned Yankee," and they went along. General Cheatham and his staff soon af- ter came up to where I was, and to one of his attend- 116 XARIIATIVE OF A PKIVATE SOLDIER. ants I believe I gave some misinformation. Up to tliis time I h.i 1 !)een in considerable danger from onr own men. Tlie enemy had moved so rapidly that the lire from our batteries intended for them, and which was sujjposed to retard them in their advance, had fallen far behind and around the locality where I was. More than one of the shells from onr batteries explod- ed, and several of the solid shot of our troops landed in or near to the house, which was now filled with wounded men. Major Miller, of the Thirty-sixth Illi- nois Infantry, already hurt, was, I think, further wounded by one of our own missives. Sergeants George Cole and Charley Swan, of the Twenty-fourth Wisconsin, were also inside, wounded. A shell ex- ploded in one room, and put five or six poor fellows out of their pain and misery entirely. The scenes in- side were too terrible to be depicted, at least by me. 7. The fighting went on in this Avay, but far to my rear, until about two o'clock p. m., when the rear or provost guard of the enemy came up, and I, with others, was formally taken prisoner. This guard was deployed as skirmishers, or at a little wider intervals, and had to perform the twofold duty of preventing desertion from their own army and of gathering pris- oners aud plunder. This particular guard was com- posed of a regiment called the ''First Louisiana Tigers," and was commanded by a Colonel Jacques. It^was a Xew Orleans regiment, and the ranks of it were mostly made up of Irishmen. The Colonel told us who he was, and offered to parole us then and there. During the afternoon, and amid the roar of cannonad- ing and the incessant volleying of musketry, and A PRISOXER OF WAR. 117 while we could see the clouds of dust aud hear the shouts and clash of battle far and near, a lot of us unfortunaf.es were disarmed, herded together, and marched toward the city — prisoners of war. By him who has never been in the like circumstances, I believe it to be utterly impossibk^ to conceive the nature of our feelings as we tramped over the ground that the night before we were so confident of gaining as victors in the then impending battle. " 'Twas not to be," and we were led, or dragged, into the town ; and amid the Avild exultations of the inhabitants and the brutal raillery of the soldiers, we were tlirust into the court- house enclosure. We were tired, weary, heart-sick, and sore. Here I found that I was but one out of many hundreds. There were besides myself George Rodney of my company, and Alfred Rogers and Chauncy Walworth of the regiment, and many others with wiiom I had a speaking acquaintance. After awhile we wei'c ordered to proceed upstairs in the dingy courthouse, and into a small office ; there we gave our names, rank, company, and regiment, and were relieved of all our surplus baggage ; that is, tin cups, plates, knives, forks, woollen blankets, and other articles. I was well searched, and Abe AVeaver's diary and letters, which I had secured the night be- fore, were closely scrutinized, but found innocent ; my small portfolio, containing fine French paper, and which was concealed in a breast pocket, was not dis- covered, but I had a very difficult task to procure ex- emption from seizure for my rubber blanket. This concluded, we were allowed to again enter the yard. CHAPTER V. CONTAINS A BRIEF ACCOUNT OF MY SOJOURN IN THE SOUTH WHILE A PRISONER OF WAR IN THE HANDS OF THE ENEMY, AND THENCE ON UNTIL I ARRIVED AT BENTON BARRACKS, NEAR ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI, WHERE I REPORTED TO COLONEL B. L. E. BONNEVILLE, U. S. A., ON THE IOTH DAY OF APRIL, 1863. 1. I HAVE on a previous occasion written a very full account of my stay in the South while a prisoner of war in the hands of the enemy, and because of that, and for tlie reason that it is my desire that my narra- tive may not appear to be drawn out too much, and become tedious because of its length, I have determined to give only a general account in this place of that pe- riod. Besides tliese, there is one other reason why I should not at this time particularly rehearse tlie suf- ferings and trials we underwent, and that is because many sulfered to a greater extent by far tlian I did, and they liave had their recorders by the score. The treatment wliich prisoners of war received during those unh;ip])y times will be taken notice of by the A DISMAL CHAXGE. 119 writers of the liistory of ll)t' war wlioii it comes to bo made ii}). For my part, I would rather erase from my memoiT, if I coidd, the sad sidc^ of the story, and retain only that by wliich 1 was benetited, the travel- ling, changes of scene, and tlie acquaintance I made with tlie manners of the ditfo-ent peo[)le with wdiom I came in contact. And although I may freqiientl}' liave to say that our men sulfered, the wounded from (ack of treatment and all from lack of food and exposure, yet I am aluKJSt ready to apologize for many of the shortcomings of the enemy in tliese regards, be- cause in nearly every instance they treated their own forces no better than thev did us, and this too for the very good reason that what they had not themselves could not very well be furnished to us. Early on the morning of the 1st of January, 1863, I was a^vakened by being trampled upon by some of my mates in misfortune. It was a disnnd change from the comparatively ha})py dreamy sleep I had been in, and which had been superinduced by the ex- citement and fatigue of the previous days, when I a^voke on that Xew Year's morning. For nearly a week before, the tension on our spirits had been strained, until but little was wanting to break us down. The defeat and capture and that night's confine- ment in the filthy courtyard constituted the last straw, and a more broken-spirited lot of humanity than we were then it would be difficult to conceive of, It had rained all night, as it invariably did immediately after heavy firing, and now we were wet to the skin and chilled to our bones. Every joint in my body ached, and I was in great pain and torture. As soon as the 130 XARRATIVi: OF A PRIVATE SOLDIER. daylight heg.i;! to appear we were roused somewhat and cheered hy the sound of heavy cannonading and other noises of hat tie, and thereby we were assured tliat althougli tlie enemy (as tliey boasted) had captured so many of us (2,500), still our army was not destroyed by any means, but on the contrary was still engaging the enemy, and that too at no very great distance away. When we beheld the hurry and bustle amonjr the Southern forces around us we even hoped for our speedy release by our army gaining an overwhelming- victory. But alas I it was not to be gained in time to save us. Upon a full and fair consideration of the circumstances, and by virtue of my own experience, I feel confident in asserting, and I think all will agree with me, that there is no position a soldier can be made to occupy so conducive to a good, strong, healthy appetite for food as that in wliich he is placed when he realizes that he is a prisoner of war and out of im- mediate danger of being kille I or wounded by pur- posely directed bullets or stray shots, bursting shells or solid missiles. It need not be recpiired then that I should argue the (juestion, and it will be sufficient to say tlrat I was very hungry, and immediately placed my- self on the qui vive for something to eat. Early in the day an officer of the Southern forces, a sort of Com- missary or Quartermaster, entered the yard of the courthouse in which I was confined and wanted labor to load wagons with provisions, as he said, for the *^ Yankee wounded." I instantly volunteered, and with some others went along with hihi. I was willing to go anywhere with anybody where provisions were to be seen, as it would be a liard matter, I thouoht, if AT TULLAHOMA. 121 I could liandle food iind not irot any for mvsolf. T succeeded in g-etting possession of a soiiv liaru and a quantity of flour and corn meal. With these I re- turned to the courthouse yai'd, hut 1 found that my friends had been removed, and I liad to follow them a long way tlirough the slush and snow to a bivouac not far from the raiJrojul station on the south side of the town ; my note-book says it was near a jail, but I do not rememljer seeing it. 2. There was great activity in railroad matters; but we did not know that General Rosecrans was to gain such a splendid victory as he did on the Friday ensu- ing. We received in this place our first ration, and it consisted of a small ([uantity of sour, coarse, and dirty corn-meal. Brine scraped from the inside of empty pork and beef barrels "was used in the place of salt, and the men cooked the corn-meal by first wetting it to about {he consistency of ])laster, and daubing old flour barrel heads with the mixture ; the preparation was then held against a smoky Are built uj^on the ground until it became dry. Early next morning we we]"e nuirched out of the enclosure and taken nearer the railroad track, and after a couple of hours' shiver- ing in the cold slush and snow we were driven into a train of cattle cars, seventy or more of us unfortunates in each car, and the wdiole train hurried away to the south as fast as the poor railroad facilities would per- mit. At Tullahoma we w^ere delayed several hours in order to allow other trains to pass us on their way to Murfreesboro'. At this place we saw tlie marks of previously used defence works, trenches, stockades, etc., which wa were told had been erected by one of 122 XARRATIVE OF A PRIVATE SOLDIER. our arinit'S on. \t< retreat the summer before. The country ai'oiiii'.l Tullahomji looked miserable; the whole appeared to be covered with a dense growth of stunted pine or cedar, and the people who visited us on the railroad were just as poor looking ; what with, their raggedy dirtyv homespun garments, and their universal, uncouth, half-starved looking countenances they were indeed a pitiful set. After a long and wearisome ride we finally reached Chattanooga. Our entry into this famous place was made some time dur- ing the nighty and we were at once conducted to the west side of the town, thi-ough the cold rain and sleet, and thence to a deep hole in the mountains, in which we were interned vv;itlu>ut tents or other protec- tion against the disagreeable weather. In the morn- ing we partially discovered where we were. The southerly boundary of our prison was formed of the Tennessee river, and on all other sides were high moantains, not very mucli unlike the place we so suc- cessfully foraged near Xashville a month or so before. The wounded men suffered very much now ; their neglected hurts had commenced to fester, and the torn flesli to rot. All of them were miserable, and not a few lost their senses from their pains and agonies. Those of us who were well enough to yell sought to find our acquaintances, and for an hour or so the pris- oners tried to get together the men of each regiment by themselves, and during that time the shouts for the "Forty-second Indiana," and this regiment and that^ gave considerable life to tlie hitherto dreary scene. Here, too, several of our men, who had provided themselves with enormous quantities of counterfe^it IX CHATTAXOOGA. 123 Confederate bills, and who liad apparently allowed themselves to be captnred on purpose, were arrested by the Southern authorities for using the commodity. They were taken away to ])rison, and, as we wei-e told, received some very severe punishment. Every one of us had to ])roduce our wallets for inspection. Many of us believed at the time that the whole was a pre- tended fear, and that tlie inspection was a ruse of the authorities to get a knowledge of our funds, because they did not a])pear to discriminate in their seizures of bills. One of the tirst things we did on being cai> tured was to make the most we could ont of our su- perior currency, and it was natural to suppose that the most honorable of us were liable to be imposed upon in the exchange. We now Inid our first picture of Southern life in war times ; that is, life away from the field. We bought breakfast biscuits for two dol- lars (Confederate money) a dozen, milk at one doihir a qua]-t, a tiny dried apple or dried peach pie for a dollar, and everything else there was to be had at the same high prices. The people seemed to have plenty of money, and even little boys sported pockets filled with "shinplasters." But it was '^greenbacks" that all wanted, and a dollar of our money had from ten to twenty times the purchasing power of a " gray- back," as the Southern money Avas called. We re- ceived our second ration at Chattanooga, and it con- sisted of a small measure of corn-meal of nearly the same quality as the previous dole, and was cooked by the men in the same manner. 3. We remained in Chattanooga in all about twenty- four hours, at the expiration of which time we were 124 X ARE ATI YE OF A PHI V ATE SOLDIER. again put upon the filthy cattle cars, and conducted on a "''strap-iron" railroad to Dalton Junction, (rcorgia. On our route we passed over and saw the grand mountains of that region, which have since then become so historical, but our spirits were anything else but conducive to our artistic appreciation of the scenes. Dalton is a station on the road to Atlanta, and where the railroad coming from East Tennessee joins the one going north and south. I think it was then called the ^'East Tennessee and Virginia" railroad. We were delayed here also, for a couple of hours, but there was nothing of interest to be seen. There was the same inanity prevailing as at the other places we had sto])ped at. Then we went on at a snail's pace to Atlanta, Georo-ia. On arrivino^ at Atlanta we were at first conducted to a pine woods beyond the town, and although deep snow was on the ground, the place was welcome to us as offering some chance to straighten our limbs and stretch out at rest. During the night we were mustered under a strong militia guard, and by the light of blazing pine-knot torches we were brought through the sombre forest and across lots to an empty square about in the centre of the city. In the morning we were there exhibited to the wondering people of the place. Crowds of all kinds came to see us. There were throngs of young and old, white and black. It was said that there was cause for especial astonishment to many of the inhabitants for that whereas we were "Yankees," and no mistake, yet we had no tails as moiikeys have, and as they had been assured the ''Yankees" wore, and besides that, we had IN ATLANTA, GEORGIA. 125 feet very mucli like their own, jind np to tlii,^ time better clad. During the wintry d;iy we received many marks of enmity from the jxjpnhiee, hut I must not omit to sny tliat I nt least was treated kindlv l)v a rebel soldier and also by a hidy who lived on the 'easterly side of the s(inare. The first divided his stock of provender with me and the latter sent her servant with a basket of provisions to the party in whieh I was. In the evening J slii)]X'd the guard, and went partially through the town. In one place I read a newspaper called the ''Atlanta Confederacy." The editor of the sheet was present, and he Avas very jubi- lant and demonstrative. I also went into a store where a very long-to]]gued man was glibly crying goods off at auction. He had a very meagre stock! but the prices he got when compared with^'prices in the North were as dollars to cents or half-dimes. From Atlantii we went to West Point. West Point is on or near to a river that forms the western boundary of Georgia and the eastern line of Alabama. Before reaching West Point we stopped at one of the prettiest towns I ever saw. I think it was called La Grange. If it was not, it bore an ecpially pretty name. I went from the railroad some distance befm-e entering the town. There was a large sqnare snrronnded by^neat houses, and in the centre there was a fine well with an enormous bnt old-fashioned pump. On one side there were the post-office, a large, commodiously built struc- ture, and an airily built hotel. But all was empty and silent. I walked along the corridors of the ele- gant looking hostelry, but no sound was heard save the echo of my own footfalls. I met no one to impede 126 NARRATIVE OF A PRIVATE SOLDIER. me; tliere w;;s nt'tiial desertion in the place. Tlie stores too were elosed und empty, and tlie whole place looked as if it was dead — as if it had been visited at midnight by tlie angel of death, and none left to bury the victims. The town had Ix^en drained of its willinof lighting material, and the unwilling ones had taken to the wilds of the hills to esca])e conscription. I was told that each house was one of mourning. As I re- traced my steps ovei- the grass-grown street to the sta- tion, I felt it was a great i)ity that so fair a place should have to suffer so much. Near the depot I saw some of our men in the act of despoiling a house around which there were apparent some signs of life. After I had prevailed upon them to desist from unne- cessary violence, I went into the house. Here I found Major Thomas J. Barrv, of the Sixtieth Georo-ia red- ment of infantry. lie lay in his bed, where he had been for a long time suffering from wounds in both legs. He was very grateful for my interference, and he showed his gratitude by furnishing me with some- thing to eat. Before I left him he talked with mo very sensibly about the wai", but of course from the standpoint of a Southern gentleman, and so for that reason it was impossible for us to agree. He told me that he had been educated at West Point Military Academy, and up to the breaking out of the war had been a Lieutenant in the regular army. Yet he refused to agree with me that that fact alone consti- tuted a strong argument in favor of the General Government and against his native State holding the prior right to his personal services. From my experi- ence with the people of the South (excluding, of AT WEST POIXT, GEORGIA. 127 course, the bljitjint. loiid-nionllRMJ puvlioii of it), I nm led to conclude tluit the ^'rejit ])()\ver of the Confed- eracy was derived from a difference in the })olitical education of the peoi)Ie North and South. They of the South recognized the National (xovernnient as a. mere engine of convenience, having no supervisory powers over the several States, the latter being so luany sovereign and inde[>endent republics — in fact, that our country was a mere confederacy. We of the North not only believed the contrary, but had been taught to look upon the Union of the States as a per- petual federation — that the Union was first, and States or communities at least second. If it had not been for this difference in training, I do not believe that ihe Southern Confederacy could have recruited a second army. At West Point Alfi-ed Rogei-s and myself (for we had become ahnost insej)ai'al)le com- panions) got our sn])per at the house of a Frenchman, who did not scruple in j^rivate to berate the South, its armies, president, and everything belonging to it, but told us that he hoped Ave had not been noticed as we entered his house. We slept that night under the platform of the depot, and had for our bed a lot of decaying cotton-seed. In the night it had rained in torrents, and when we awoke in the morning it was still falling heavily. There were fair promises made that we should get a ration of food, but as far as we were concerned we did not place much confidence in them, so that the first question that we propounded to ourselves was, " Where shall we get our breakfast? " In solving the problem we had to take into consideration the warning of the French gentleman, and according- 128 ^AKKATIV K OF A PRIVATE SOLDIER. ly we heaflcd our course in a direction different from tliat of hi!< mansion. After a lively run through the pelting rain, and jumping numerous temporary water courses, and experiencing many rebuffs, we reached a neat-looking house, where we were taken in. The lady of the house informed us that her husband and two sons were members of the famous '' Hampton Le- gion," and in treating us well she hoped that some one in the Nortli would be led to do as much for her loved ones. Hers was a sad story. Her husband was far away in the East, conHiied in a hospital until his wounds were healed enough to enable him to travel, and when that time came he would return a crip])le ; one son had fallen on one of the battlefields of Vir- ginia, and she said she had "some consolation in knowing that he was dead '' ; but her youngest son was she knew not where, as he had not been heard from for many months. Her recital, however, did not prevent our speedy entertainment ; for, as soon as it was over, we were conducted to a dining-room, and there heli)ed to a comparatively substantial break- fast. Kor did the sad bereavements of the family prevent the good lady's three daughters from being somewhat gay. After the meal was over we entered a neatly furnished parlor, and were treated to music and lively conversation. In due time we separated with mutual promises, names, and addresses ; but I have forgotten what I received, and I doubt not that in the succeeding disastrous state of affairs in that country the memory of us soon faded from their minds as well. At a beautiful town called Ope- lika, in Alabama, we stopped, and found the same AT MOXTGOMEKY. ALABAMA. 120 scenes of destitution ;i.< \\v had at La (iraime. in (reorgia. 4. Up to tliis time wc had uood ri-asons for enter- taining liopes of our speedy delivci-auce from eaptivity. As we understood it the [)rograninie was that we should be conducted to Vieksburg, Mississip[)i, that eityl)eing (hen a dei)ot for tlie exeliange of prisoners under tlie existing cartel ; Ijut after wv liad reached a point a short distance to tlie east of ^lontgomery, Alabama, we were chagrined on ascertaining that a serious hin- drance to our delivery existed. I forget now exactly what it Avas, but I think General Grant had been making some gi-and movement, and that our foi'ces had cut the communications. At any rate we were given to understand that we were to go no further that way, but retrace our stcjxs to some ]ioint toward -the Atlantic sea-boai-d — some said Ghai-lestoii. others Salisbury, Xoi-tli Carolina, and the rest Kiclnnoml. Virginia. While we were outside of Montgomery the men created rpiite a stir. They had taken the old ad- vice about the early l)ird, etc., and at an early hour some of them went to the public market and bought nearly all the stutf there was to sell, jind much of the money used had been counterfeit. When the citizens got up to make the usual i)urchases for the day they found they had been cornered. This caused a procla- mati(jn by the Mayor to be issued during the day, and we were thereby interdi(;ted from all trade with the people. At Montgomery we received the only respect- able issue of rations that we got during our entire captivity. It is deserving of commemoration because it consisted in part of roasted beef and fresh bread. loO :NAKKAnVE OF A PKIVATE SOLDIER. We were hivonat-ked along the niilroiid track to the east of the town, and were permitted to use some of tlie pine wood that was corded near by for fuel. The weather was (piite chilly and cold, but it is doubtful from which we suffered most, the cold or the dense black smoke of the pine-wood fires. It was ordered that before the issuing of i-ations the men should form themselves into companies of about one hundred each, so as to expedite the work. Then four or five of them would get the food and make the subdivision. On this occasion there were eleven companies, but five or six men with wliom I was i)roceeded to the place of distri- bution and demanded rations for the twelfth company, and got them. In this way we got considerable more than our share. Our retrog)-ade journey Avas not at first so lively in pleasant incidents as our forward movement had been. The wounded men began to fall off here and there, and many died in the cars. All of us were more or less in low s})irits. On our journey hitherto the men had been somewhat gay even at times. The Germans were particularly so. They engaged in singing songs of different kinds, but all were alike in having uproar- ious choruses. It must have been startling to the people living along the road to hear in the middle of the night nearly a thousand men singing ** Johnny Schmoker"and that other song with a chorus some- thing like this : Rituria, rituria, swilly willy wink um poop. Now it was altogether clianged, and but little ribaldry was heard. We were now told that we were to retrace our steps to Dalton, Georgia, and go thence on to A DISAPPOIXTMEXT. 131 Knoxville, Lynchburg, unci -so on to Kicbniond. As we travelled alon^^ we were o^reeted with the wavino- of flags from the houses near the j'oad. the people evi- dently taking ns for patriots of their own side — those of lis who were able raising a derisive cheer in reply to such demonstrations. In this part of our journey we frequently saw negi'o women ploughing the hiiuls for cotton })hinting. The i)loughs were dniwn by single mules, and the women sang mournful tunes as they followed after. In due time we reached Atlanta jigain, and furnished another s])ectacle for the populace. From there we proceeded to Dalton Junction, some thirty miles south of Chattanooga. Here we were or- dered to halt and allow some more pressing freight to pass us. Up to this time we had been in ignorance of the state of affairs in our late army, but now we got an inkling of what had l)een going on, ;ind exnggei'- ated the news that was vouchsafed to us by our enemies. We were of course correspondingly elated. The switehes near the depot at Dalton were well filled with loaded trains, and as we were not very efficiently guarded, it was not long 1)efore the men found out that the cars were loaded with |)rovisions, such as rice, corn-meal, sugar, etc. The sugar was in large tierces and so was the rice. In the beginning a venture- some man broke through the corn-cob stopper of .the bung-hole or ins})ection hole of a tierce, and scooped out the sugar or rice with an iron spoon, but they soon went further, and broke in the heads of the casks, and the plunder was then handed out by the tin cupful. In a short time the whole party was lib- erally supplied, and the guard too got all they wanted. lo'Z ^AKKATIVE OF A FRIVATE SOLDIER. Tiiese men were not many degrees better, provided with food tliun we were ourselves, and had in fact stood by and winked at our depredation. 5. Proceeding on our new route, we reached Knox- ville, and realized that we were then in the heart of that country made so famous by its ''Union men" and '' Union women " during the whole war. That is what we called those loyal people. Down South they were designated as traitors, as we stigmatized the Southern sympathizers living in the North "Co})- perheads." We saw much that was gratifying to ns in the conduct of tlie people thereabouts, and heard from them many saddening stories of the horrors of the war. After leaving Knoxville we passed through Jonesboro' and several other towns of lesser note, and as we approached the mountains, we came to a break in the railroad. The road i-an over a tongue of land, formed by a river doubling in its course. A few days before our coming General Carter, of our troo{)s, so we were informed, had made a raid through the mountains of soutlieast- ern Kentucky, and he and his troops had succeeded in destroying the railroad bridge at each place of crossing. Thus, when we arrived at the river, we were compelled to evacuate the cars, wade the river as best we could, and climb the high steep bank on the other side. When we had got over we found a man of a Michigan cavalry regiment in a iiotel there. He had been wounded in the fight incident to the burning of the bridges. The wife of the raider General Carter was also there, as we were informed. If I am not mistaken, I think I wa-^ told that thereabouts was the THE WOMEN OF EAST TEXXESSEE. 133 Genenirs home. 'I'lit' men had to tni(};ie I he distiiiice of seven or eight miles to the other l)reak, and wlien they arrived they were all very tired and weary. All through this section there was dee}» feeling expressed ; the neighhoring woods and mountains were tilled with men who had l)een outlawed by the Southern authori- ties. One old woman, wiiile handing to us some dried meat, told us of her husband, who had but recently been hung; another, of her husband and son, and all because they had dared to be loyal to the Union. The children, ragged and dirty as they were, were as in- tensely loyal as their more Southern mates were in for the Southern Confederacy, and I never heard peo])le *' hurrah for Abe Lincoln '' in the Xorth more lustily than did those women of East Tennessee. AVhat they brought to us out of their meagre stores they would accept no pay for. Once 1 succeeded in remunerating an enthusiastic lady for some kind- ness by handing to her a quantity of })ins and needles out of a *' housewife " that some kind friend had provided me with, and which up to this time had lain quietly uncalled for in the bottom of my coat })ocket. It appears that even as early as that the whole country was in a woful state, when pins and needles were indeed worth more than their weight in gold. By-and-by, as we went along, we reached Bristol, on the boundary line be- tween Virginia and Tennessee. At this place I per- ceived my strength giving way. I was very weak by reason of lack of proper food and rest, and sick from the constant ex})osure. In this condition I deter- mined to desert the over large company I was in, and 134 XAKKATIVE OF A PKIVATE SOLDIER. with which J had hitherto kept myself, and so my spe- cial partiicr Eogers and I hid onrselves beneath the floor of the depot in the town, and there we remained until the main column had moved on. Early in the ensuing morning we had succeeded in breaking open a barrel and getting possession of a (piantity of flour. Eluding the guards, we i)roceeded to a house not far away, and ]jrevailed on the mistress of it so that she got her negro woman to cook a portion of it for us, while she retained the remainder for herself as recom- pense. I have to take our hostess as a si)ecimen of the inhabitants of the counti-y. She Avas very free in her manner, and amused us by telling a long story of herself. She was a tall, straight woman of about thirty-five years of age, of a dark, swarthy complexion, and she had black. ])iercing eyes, with suggestively pointed features. She told us the difference between her kind and the i)eoi)]e through whose country we had just passed. Her kind were the real Virginians — the others were the "white trash." She herself, ac- cording to her story, was a lineal descendant from the renowned Pocahontas. As she warmed up we were pathetically asked, "What did you-uns come down Sooth to fight we-uns for, anyway?" We of course declined to enter into the obviously ''irrepressible conflict "'of opinions as to that, and by silence inti- mated to her that we had given up the conundrum. Our apparent defeat was as balm to her, and she en- joyed her victory in an ccstacy of triumph ; but she magmuiimously acknowledged that there was still no reason Avhy '' we-all and you-all" might not yet be friends. Bristol was at that time the headquarters of IX BRISTOL. VIRCilXIA. 135 some geneml, iind I tliinls ]iis iiniiic was I{mn))liivv Marshall. The town is sifiiatod amid somo onjiid scenery, llereahonts we saw on the one liand the range of higli mountains called the (nvat 8mokv mountains in western Xorth Carolina, and on the other the wild, rngged eminences of the Cuml)erland range in southeastern Kentucky. After dark of that day my com])anion and J went \)y a ]-oundabont wav to the other end of the town, and led hv a. ne^■ro. Ave went to his master's house foi- supper. Ih^rv we were entertained vei-y well, and when asked about jiayment the host said he would only take pay, if at -all, in greenbacks, because one of liis sons was engaged in smuggling medicines and other easily tra'nsported goods through the lines from Cincinnati, and could therefore use only our money. We were then told some of the secrets of the business, and wer(> su i-])rised to hear the extent to which it was carried on. We were told that there were many houses in our lines, and even commandants of jmsts, commissaries, etc. in Kentucky, who were in a sort of league with smug- glers. As we ]-eturned to the depot we intended to keep as far as possible from tlie lieadquarters and other places where guards were, but as we went along, we came nearly stumbling over a man on sentry. We w^ere at first somewhat shocked, but the guard reassured us when he saluted us by saying only, " It's a d d dark night, isn't it ? " I do not know what reply we made, but we hurried as fast as we could to the friendly shelter of the depot platform, and laid ourselves down to sleep there. When we had thought that our com- rades on the cattle cars were far enough in advance 136 XAKR.VTIVE OF A PRIVATE SOLDIER. we ciinie out of hiding and reported to the first officer we met. We were tlien phiced upon the reguhir train bound east — into the first passenger coach I had been in since entering the service. At a phice called Wytlieville we mingled with the crowd of Confederate officers, and with them partook of the slender break- fast sup[)lied by the liotel near the depot. We now entered a very wild and mountainous stretch of coun- try. The cars in some i)laces seemed to be winding up a serpentine road and running in an awful prox- imity to dreadful preci})ices. To render the situation more dangerous, it must be remembered that the rails, cars, and engine were sadly in need of repair. In at least one place I saw that the iron rails were loose. Most of the time, however, I took the sailor's advice,, and kept my eyes aloft, gaziiig at the rugged mountain tops that seemed to penetrate above the clouds. Our train travelled so fast when compared with the regular prisoners' accommodations, that we reached Lynch- burg, Virginia, just as our late comrades moved out toward Richmond, but too late to be forwarded with them. G. The town of Lynchburg as a c-uriosity is probably well enougli, but as a city it is much different from a Methodist's typical Zmn. It is built upon the summit and sides of a high hill, and the streets are all ter- races. The railroad depot was at a point at the foot of the hill upon which the town is built, and there we were caused to disembark from the train. We trudged up the steep street through the snow, nearly a foot deep, and still falling, and amid the jeers and ribald shouts of the urchins on the sides of it who were IN LYNCHBURG. VIRGINIA. 137 as ragged as ourselves. 1 was now hareheaded aiul nearly barefooted. My sto(!k of clothijig liad l)een reduced to a cloth sliirt and a very tliiu blouse, with a pair of ragged trousers which failed completely to cover my limbs. lu a meal-sack I carried what beggarly kit 1 was possessed of. We labored up that street until we reached another on which the Provost Marshal had his oflice. To that official we were reported, and I with a few others was immediately thrust into an up})er room, wdiere were already con- fined a number of Cotifederate soldiers of a low class, and who had committed various offences. The win- dows of the room had been boarded up so that but little light entered. The place smelled horribly, and the prisoners were wallowing in filth. Close to the wall on one side were ranged a lot of wooden pails, near- ly all of which were filled with filth. 1 beca?ne sick im- mediately ui)on my entrance, and must have fainted, for I remember rer()vi(h'd hiiiiseH' with two pails, one of whicli I know was \\\\i'{\ with the wliiskey or ^'uppU' jack"; the other niiglil have contained .soap grease. He took nie away \)\ a (h)or h-ading into a k)ng, dark passage; that hail the ap})earai)ce ol" being bored through the solid rock, and from which we emerged into the street a long distance from the pidjlic entrance to the prison. 1 was then conilucted through the darkened streets, alleys, byways, and hmes, and travelled ui)hill and downhill for half an hour or so, when we reached a sort of ** poverty corner" of the town, and upon billowing my darkey guide I entered a house where there was a negro frolic in full blast. 1 say "* negro "' frolic, but there were many white men there besides myself. The wdiole was presided over by an old white-headed African, and to him my ('om|»anion delivered the pails of '"soaj) grease." iSoap givase or not, wv \\(}\\> \vy\ welcome and had a hilarious time of it. I was not told so, but I had reason to sup[)ose that my conductor and the host were in some sort of [)arlnershii) : for I saw them divide money when the fandango was over, and my man demurred to liis i)ro})ortion of *' greenbacks" to *' Confeds.'' 8ome time before davlio^ht we were again in the kitchen under the prison. There remained now no doubt what,ever as to our destination. ^' Belle Isle," "Castle Thunder," and '* Libby Prison " were now before us, and threatening us, each with its horrors. By those who have experi- enced the like our feelings are known, but to those others who have not it were charity to hide them. I 140 :naukai(\ K <>f a private soldier. do not now rcineinljer how long it. was tluit we re- mained ;it Lynchburg". l)iit tliink it was about forty- eight hours; then we were sent to Kiehmond. We presented a sorry spectacle as we left the cai's at the depot in Richmond and marched down Gary street to- ward Libby Prison, and again were countermai'ched back to a place called for distinction " Castle Light- ning." 1 do not know whether the i)lace received that name otiicially, Init that is what I heard it called. It was situated on a rising gi'ound, and nearly a mile west of Libby. It w;is a large, newly erected brick building, designed for use as a tobacco factory and warehouse. On ent(M-ing it we were conducted to the third story, a large, well lighted room, and very clean. We found contined there hundreds of citizens of the more respectable degrees. Many before their capture by Genei'al J. E. H. Stuart at llagerstown had been members of the Maryland Legislature, so we were told. Many were professional men or gentlemen farm- ers and merchants who had been incarcerated for op- litical offences agaiiist the Confederate Government. There was also a sprinkling of newspaper correspond- ents and private adventurers. One of the latter was an Englishman, and he amused all wdio listened to his threats as to what he and his Goveriiment would do when he got free once more. Nearly all were in poor spirits, although the majority were engaged in the manufacture of all sorts of trinkets possible to be made out of beef bones — miniature Bibles and other books, rings, pins, and figures. Making copies of the traditional Venus seemed a very popular employment. Smoking-pipe bowls wc^re also made from laurel root, 1^ LIBBY PKTSOX AT LAST. 141 and the fronts of thc^v wvvv cinlu'liislK'.] wirh cni figures of the Goddess of rvihei-ly. tii.- .VnicricMii shiclil and eagle, or ohlier patriotic deviec DiHVreiit coIoimmI sealing-wax was used vvilh good effect hy the IVihle and jeweli"v makers, 'i'his did not seem to l)c sneli a very dreadful place: indeed, f thought it was very nice to he there, if we were to Ite conlined at all. \Ve h;id hardly time, however, to congratulate e;ich other on our good foi'tune before being oi'dered to move out of this coni|)aratively })leasant })lace ; and we again took up our line of maix-h to Libhy I^rison. 7, Tliis was a- weary m;irch. and when at length we reached the famous place nnd had remained for an hour in the cold street below, we felt a soi-t of easy resignation as we filed into the low, dark enti'v that formed the poi-tal of the gloomy [)rison. We wei-e not allowed to pi-oceed u)i st;iii-s. howcvt'r. until wc iuid passed the ordeal of scarc'i by t!ic commanding otlicer, and the whole of what was left of our kit and ])ocket knick-knacks were duly de])osited tlii-ough a hole in the wall, something like a theatre box office, into the custody of our jailo:-. This done, we wcj-e })ermitted to ascend to the second story, and wei'e allowed to fall u[)on the filthy fioor to rest, if that were possible. Libby Prison had also been a toljacco warehouse, but it was not so modernly built as Castle Lightning. The ceilings in Libby were scarcely six feet from the floor, and all the light and ventilation our room received was through three windows in the front, which were almost wholly boarded up, and three others in the rear, which were broken sufficiently to let in a little air. In the right-hand corner of the rear there w^as a 142 .NAiiKAin i: of a private soldier. small place parMtioned off as for a sink, but whatever might have been its intended use, it smelled horribly. The front was on Carv street, and tlie sidewalks Avere constantly patrolled by aimed guai'ds, whose orders were to shoot on the slightest provocation. That they had received snch })rovocation and had obeyed orders was attested l)y tbH biilIel-bo!e> in tlie slivitters and in t-he beaiii.> al>o\c. umJ \\hicii \fere >«igijilicaiirly sliuw n to us when made accjuainted with the ruJes of the in- stitution. Tlie windows in the rear overlooked a canal, and just beyond that was the James river, full of rocks and veiy i-ough. On our right hand we could see a long railroad bridge spanning the rivei', and to our front or left an island in the river, which, as we were informed, was the famous or irrfamous "Belle Isle." The room in which we were confined was about tAventy-tive feet wide and ran the full depth of the building. In it there wci-e two hundred and fifty or even more of us quartered. As soon as we were fairly locked u}) an ancient negro entered with an iron ])ot, in whicii were some fumigating agents, in his hand. He set tire to the mixture, and as he swung the pot around him like an incense holder, he sang a sort of African song. The fumigation only made a worse smell than there had been before, but he fur- nished a good deal of amusement to those who were able to laugh. AYe came pretty near incurring severe extra punishment on the first night of our stay at this place. Many of us had constantly hoped for a speedy deliverance, and our spirits were not entirely broken. About ten o'clock thiit night all was quiet except an occasional groan from some poor fellow whose wound A PRISOX IXCIDENTT. 143 had beon touched hy his iicxl ixMiiiihor ; for we hiy tlieiv in s})()()n fiishioii, jitid it \\;is mipossihlc for one to move l);ind or foot ^\•illlont (list iiihinu- the next, man. Some oik* in a far eonier let out a cat-eali. then anolhei", and in a u-ondci-fnlly shoil tinie lliei'e was l)andeinonium. Cats. crha])s my vciw littleness saved me. Many of our men died thei-e aftei' having borne the hardship of our long transpoi-tation. and although the most se- verely wouutled were given some ti-eatment, a great pro[)ortion gave uji the battle of life. The weather was intensely cold while we were there, and we were ex[)osed to its inclemency. This resulted in the pre- nniture cutting oft' of many and in the lifelong disabil- ity of many more. 1 remember that it was with feelings of indescriba- ble joy that we received intelligence that we were to be speedily delivered into the hands of our own Gov- ernment. We had been told so before, but now, when volunteers were called for to assist in making out muster rolls, we were assured that our time had 14:4 ^SAKKAilVK OF A PRIVATE .SOLDIER. come. Willing hand^ by tlio score offered to do tlie work, and tiiplicate rolls were soon made out. It was not, lu>wever, until we were safely embarked upon a train of rougb freight cai's, bound for City Point, that every fear was removed. Then, as we moved away, the men seemed to be reanimated with their former spirits, and desi)ite the sti-oiig guard, they indulged in uproarious hilarity. As in the early part of our cap- tivity, the Germans sang songs; others told stories, and almost all were discussing the probability of receiving furloughs when they reached the North. I am nearly sure that many secretly h()[)ed that it would be some time before our army captured a sufficient number of the enemy so as to have them to exchange for us. We went through Petersburg, but in dilferent spirits from those we had entered other towns. As we drew near to City Point the scene became interest- ing; the more rolmst got out and danced upon the tops of the cars, and tired off huzzas at everything ; but when at last our train rounded a hill that brought us within sight of the river and the flag of truce boats lying there, the scene that ensued beggars description ; the able-bodied men danced like so many children on a holiday, and the poor sick and wounded pressed their faces against the openings of the cars and sadly smiled when they were told that our flag Avas there as well as the flag of truce. One poor fellow had slept, and when he awoke he hardly believed it to be true, but when another man and my- self made way for him to see, he was overjoyed, and fell back as if dead. It took us some time to go through the forms of being delivered over. Our nRLRAsni) rnnM rAPTrvTTY. 145 namns woiv mlU.! (uuu \Ur rolls, nn,] ;i. uv juiswpmi '^'^ wcjv o-ivM, np „,,,!,.!• t!;(. (MrcrtK.n .,f ('(.ionH] Ou](], the S..Ml!i,.r,i ('on:ii!isr-i..iirr. ;ij!,! ;i,,.,iro we went ()!! to oiii- nwii Covci-iijDciit's Ix.iii. the '• Meta- moni."" '!"lic ix^lvi odifri-s ;!i)ri ,-.<,], Ii,.,-s on (1.ifvl,(Te wnrp the l.csi .!n-s(.i ,ncii I li:,<■!.;!!,(! ..olisiird l)i'ass, niwi the l,usi- liPsswas coiKliictccl in v,u vWvouwh ]in]\\v nu<] di.-;. In comjiaiiv wirli another steamsJiip. the "New York." we .^teamed doAvn the James river, and anehored nea]- tlie bh)ekadino- ^quiu]~ ron for that nigdit. ]\IeaiiAvhi]e a glorious nition of hot cofif'ee. fresli bread, and meat was issued to us, and an additional ration of sou]) to those in need of special nourishment. The voyaoe u]) the Chesapt^ake l)ay was made without any si)eeial ineidenl. or if any occurred. T w.-is not in a condiiioii (o notiee ihem"; neither can I icll whcrli-er we were thirty or thirtv-hve days in the hands of the (nieiny : we" had i)r()i)ably been tliere the Jonovst rime n)entioned. When we renclied Annapolis. Mnryland. we disembarked at the Oovernment doek at the Xaval Academy, at wldch place we left the sick and wounded to have their hnrts attended t.o. The j-est of ns marched through the ])lace to the camp of the paroled men just out'^side of the town. Although the snow was deep, and we had not yet l)een furnished with new clothing, yet we did not feel the exi)osare as much as we did that which we experienced at Richmond. The change of posses- sion had worked that much for ns. Veiy soon after we arrived at Camp Parole we received good supplies 146 XAKKAilVK OF A PRIVATE SOLDIETl. of warm cloiliing and camp and garrison equipage. When we li;id secured a sui)])ly of clothing we went into tlie city and put ourselves into the hands of a harber. 1 was scared at my jiersonal appeai'ance, and how the negroes in Lynchburg managed to recognize me I cannot imagine. On one side of my chin I wore a long tuft of straggling hairs, and on the other scarcely any at all, while my u[)per li}) looked as if it had been smeared with n finger of molasses. After shaving, bathing, and dressing in my new clothes I was led by curiosity to weigh myself, and found that I turned the scales at just a little less than seventy-five pounds ! I had never weighed more than a pound or two above a hundred, but now I was miserably poor. Indeed, the bones nearly protruded through the flesh, my cheeks were hollow, and tlie skin on my face Avas dried to the consistency of a drum-head, and all this change in less than forty days ! I was in a manner ashamed of myself as I tried to laugh, and caught the effort in a mirror, where I saw a most horrible picture. While in the town I imprudently indulged in eating oysters to excess, and on my return to camp, I dearly paid for it by becoming very ill. The surgeon, having exan^ined me, gave the very cheering information that my heart was too weak to force a circulation, and if it was otherwise, that thei'e was no blood in me to circulate. Afterward I became so sick that my life was not worth very much. I was thoroughly exhausted, and when I got better I found that I had undergone pretty severe treatment. I had been placed on infants' diet, I had been cupped and lanced aver the region of the heart, and IN CAMI- f'AK'OI.r:. A\-\A|'0[,]>. MAHVLA\[). 147 ^- '' '^""-^ '" '^ •ulv p.-ii-!. Mi i-\'l,v!i;i!-v, jSO;! wluMI ^"•' '^'■'■'^'''' ■'' A.. !>;.).,!,.. and M,n,-i. >ontln.n, (..„]>.!. nu-^ ,,,,,1 u . ^w.■.. ,.x.-h;.n..v,l. i , w,. place inuii tlu. exclian-e u a. clTecLe.J, ami a< we uerc \\<-srM-n fn.o,,>, w. n,M-(. onl.Mv.l to S,. Lo„,.., A[i,.- soun.scas t.) I,e ncanM- 0,1 r n-u-iin.Mils. I |,a,l Ihhmi u-iiii«»VKi». 119 people ilockcd into the l <>\\ ii .-iinl iiiiiiu-lcd fi'crly jDnon-^^ US. Along tow.-ird nii:'!)! the li<|ii<>r Ii.-k! Im'l:'iiii t" t.ikc effect iii>oii the lic.-id.- of lli<»r w lio li;id iiidiilLied in it ; pnper> lu uliidi we li.-id Ix'cii so urn^sh .-ilnix'd Wfre shown. !ind llic fccliiiL:" <>!' iniliu^n.-il i<>n \v:i> i-ckindlcd, Tlic etlV'ct \\;is llnit :\\'{i'V d;ii'k :i Jnoh oC :d>(Mit livu liiindreth(' huii;- foad ieailing 'to lh(,' main -tfcct of tlie town and attacked the otlice of tlie j)apcr. Il was the same "* IJielunond .IclTcf- sonian*'lhat was shown to iis in Davlon. Oiiio. In less than ten miniiK's (he whole estahlishmeni was gutted : n<»t a type font was left nor a press nnhroken ; whole eases of type and ents of all kinds re(jniivd in a counti-y newspapef oltiee. and large l roving evci'vthing they e(Mild find he- longing to the i)a|»er. The ])ul)lisher was sear(died foi*. hilt in \ain. It was said that hai-j'ing his })(dities he was a goo(l man. and a religi(»iis one too, and that he kept a Hihle st(n-<' in the ne\t s(pia)-e ; l)nt if he had Ijeen found that night, all his sanctitieation would not have saved him from a :^e\Qvt' thrashing ; {>erhaps he might have l)een hanged to a himp-post. Next morning our deed was ap})lauded by many of the citi- zens ; but they had aroused a spirit they could not control, and on the whole they were lieartily ghid when they saw us safely on our train and moving out. 9. When our train reached Paris, in Edgar county, Illinois, I found that the company of men in whose charge I had been placed had vanished. I alone was loU AAKKATi\j; OK A PRIVATE SOLDIER. left of tl)oni :i!i. and under those circumstances I also al)andoned tlie train with the intention of going to Loda and recruiting my liealtli there before reporting at St. Louis. Mv way led me to the north throujrh a well cultivated cham})aign country, and at one place tbrougli an exclusively Quaker settlement. At the house of one of th;it sect, named Williainson, I think, I stopped one night, and was treated in a manner that left no doubt of my welcome or of his kindness of heart. This Avas my first opportunity for storv- telling, nnd I kept the old gentleman and his wife and daughter up out of their beds until what was to them a most unreasonjible hour. I passed on to Danville, where I visited the coal mines then but recently de- veloped on Vermillion river. Here I metAvith several countrymen of mirie. and rested a day or two with them. Finally, I took the cars at Danville for Champaign, and thence on to Loda, where I remained something like a week, the guest of my friends the Weavers. I was ecfually liusily engaged in rehearsing my story and in the enjoymePft of recreative exercise. About April 1 I stai-ted on my way to St. Louis. On the 4th I reached Springtield, the capital of the State of Illinois, and reported to Colonel Morrison, IT. S. A., commanding. He was an old veteran, and had a blotchy, battle-scarred face ; he was gouty, too, and cross, although he vented no bad temper upon me. He gave me permission to go about the city and see what was to be seen, and entered a formal order reciting my report to him, and directing me to proceed to St. Louis, Missouri. I remained in Springfield some days, visiting many places o-f note, among others the AT BENTOX BARKArKS. MO. lol State Capitol, the thvellin,ii" liou.seot' I'rc^ident Lincoln, etc. On the lOth of April I ari-ived at Benton Har- racks, near St. Louis, and reported in person to Colonel B. L. E. Bonneville, U. S. A., eonmianding the post. He was another old veteran like unto Mor- rison. I was immediately detailed by special order to remain at headquarters in the nominal capacity of Post Bugler, but in reality my duties were as a clerk in the office of the Post Adjutant. CHAPTER VI. COVERS THE TIME DURING WHICH I REMAINED AT THE POST OF BENTON BARRACKS, NEAR ST. LOUIS, MO., AND EMBRACES FROM APRIL 10, 1863, TO DECEMBER 29, 1863, THE LATEST DATE BEING THAT OF MY DISCHARGE FROM THE SERVICE OF THE UNITED STATES AS PRIVATE OF COMPANY ''b" EIGHTY-EIGHTH REGIMENT OF INFANTRY ILLINOIS VOLUNTEERS. 1. At the first thought I concluded that an account of my life at Benton Bari-acks would necessarily in- clude a lengthy dissertation upon the '* technique" of army life — the peculiar arrangements existing there, treating of the various officers and tlieir sei)arate du- ties, and methods of performing them ; but I have since amended my 2:>lan so that I will only give in this place a general account of my experiences at the post, and when I am bound to mention anything be- yond the legitimate limits of such a project I will en- deavor to be as brief as possible. My nominal office, as I have already stated at the conclusion of the pre- ceding chapter, was that of " Post Bugler," but upon POST Br(4LER. ] .YS the day of my arrival I was ^sct to work in the oHice of the Post Adjutant, and assisted in tiie preparntioii and making- out of what was called a *' 'I'ri-Monthlv Post Return." That document comju'ised an official statistical account and history of the i)ost for the i)re- vious ten days ; the num!)er of othcers and men. their several names, ra.nks. companies, and regiments, and the nature of the details or those who wcj'e on special duty; also the names, i-a.-ik. and regiment of all who had died or been transferred during that period ; and much other information prescribed by the rules of the Adjutant (renei-aJ.*s Otlice. I was not long in be- coming familiar with tiie requirements of that branch of the l)iisiness, but I was altogether relieved of it within a- few days, and installed at a sei)arate desk, having in iny charge tiie issue of })asses to go in or out of the camp lines. I soon l)cgan to recruit my health, and in about a month I had procured a small shar[vtoned l)ngle, and one morning I surprised the Post I) i!id by sounding the "first call," with a num- ber of vaiiations possil)le on that instrument. The post of Benton BaiM-acks was situated on what was called Grand Avenue, and included the Fair Grounds belonging to the Agricultural Society of St. Louis and a large tract of land adjoining on the Avest. The whole of the Fair Grounds, with the numerous build- ings, large and small, belonging to it, were monopo- lized, and used as a sort of General Hospital. This General Hospital was almost entirely independent of the post, and was carried on under the direction of Surgeon Ira Russell, U. S. V. Colonel B. L. E. Bonneville was, as I have said, our post commander. 154 :^^ARRATIVE OF A PR^^A.TE SOLDIER. He was a short, fat old gentleman of French-Canadian extraction. He had been in the military service of the United States for forty or fifty years, and had al- ready been retired, and was now restored to the active list, and doing duty as Chief Commissary of Musters for the Department of the Missouri besides being Commander of the post. The Colonel had seen ser- vice in all of the various wars the country had been engaged in during the many years of his career, but what he appeared to be most particularly proud of was the fact that when comparatively a youth, and only a Captain in the army, he had explored tlic Rocky mountains and gone through ever so many ad- ventures and hair-breadth escapes, and had been given up as lost for a time ; his account of which had been edited or written by no less a personage in literature than Washington Irving. I saw the book. It was about the size of this of mine ; and although it would be presumptuous in me to criticise so august a writer, still I cannot foi-bear saying that I have seen many works of the Prince of American authors in which he displayed his genius to a degree immeasurably beyond that which he appears to have employed in editing or writing the Colonel's narrative. The Post Com- mander had for his Acting Assistant Adjutant Gene- ral a handsome, dashing, and young Lieutenant, A. J. Newby, who belonged to some Iowa regiment. Lieutenant Newby not only had a handsome face and a fine carriage to recommend him, but he was besides a very good, kind, and gentlemanly officer. Above all he was a master of the '' Spencerian " system of hand-writing, and his penmanship was as handsom_e POST HEAF>QrAKTF:R^5. 155 as his face. His sioriatiuv wus a model for all to copy. Our Post Adjutant, however, sadly interfered with Lieutenant Newby's designs, if lie had any, on the affections of the Post Coinniainhint's prettv niece. Lieutenant N.Brosseau was. from Kankakee. Illinois, and was not only of the same extraction as the Colo- Jiel, but he was withal a handsome, modest voung fel- low, and, what ca|»ped his (jualiticjttions, he was a de- vout Roman Catholic in religion: so that, no matter how often the lady went out riding under the escort of the iH)nderous Acting Assistant Adjutant General, it was Lieutenant Brosseau who invariably got the honor of gallanting her to and from church. Iowa men, or men belonging to regiments from that State, were in the great majority around Head(juarters. In the Post Adjutant's office l)esides myself was McHenry, a little red-com[)le.vioned, shrivelled uj) old man from the north of Ireland. Mac was a patient, reli^jble, ;ind steady man with his figures and pen, and li\ed e-itirely contented if he had the uninterrnpted enjoyment of two privileges, as he was pleased to term them. The lirst was immunity from "botheration" when at work at his "reports," and the second was the exercise of unrestrained liberty in the queer no- tions he had of the laws of health. He would rather pay twenty-five cents at any time than indulge in a " s([uare meal," being content with bread and water, i)rovided the former contained a proper proportion of phosphorus or other alleged brain food ; and he liked to sit under the flow of a water pipe and allow the cold fluid to run down his naked back for an hour at a time. The post headquarters 156 NARRATIVE OF A PRIVATE 80LDIER. itself was a large, substantial mansion, situated in the centre of the parade ground, and tlie Post Adjutant's office was in a building of more modest pretensions near by. Next door to our office, but in the same building, was the U. S. Military Telegraph Office, and that was presided over by Mr. and Mrs. Marean. They were a childless couple, she fat, curly-headed, and jolly, he thin and straight-faced. The headquar- ters men used to make of the telegraph office a sort of rendezvous ; that is, such of them as were specially musically inclined. There were in it guitars, flutes, and I believe a piano, and we always got the air of the latest patriotic song or hymn for the first time at Marean's. In the main building there were Captain Guerin, a citizen. Chief Clerk to the Commissary of Musters, and Jones, Windsor, and Wadsworth, clerks. The latter had also the duties of Postmaster added to his share. Amos M. Currier was on the other side of the hall, as Chief Clerk to the A. A. A. General. A. M. Currier was a nice little, intellectual looking man,, and as honest and kind as his api)earance betokened him. He wore long silky lu'own whiskers and full beard and moustache, and on the whole was such a person as goody-goody boys like to have for a school- master. There were some other clerks there — a Zacli King and a King No. 2, but I have forgotten the names of the rest. They were all men of Iowa regi- ments, and Mount Pleasant, McGreggor's Landing, Washington, or Des Moines, Iowa, invariably marked the letters they received. My duty was now confined to the issuing of passes not only to officers and men who desired to leave the camp for business or pleasure, BATHIKG [N TlIK MlSSISSirPI. lo7 but also to s»i(jh otlu-r porsuus (civilian,-) who^.r l.n>i- ness or curiosity reijuired tliat they should conic into or jjo out of the lines of the post. Most of the hitter were male and female peddlers of fruit, fancy goods, etc. 2. As the fine weather came on I found n>y situation quite eomfortable and easy. The routine of my labor was light, and I found at my disposjd considerable leisure time to go and come. I frequently visited the city and what places of interest there were there and in the surrounding country. Before the summer was much advanced I had purchased a fleet }K)ny of the mustang breed, and on its back 1 often rode for miles around and through the adjacent country. I ])re-' scribed for my health's benetit frequent and furious coursings a)on<2: the " King's Highway," a road that ran from the river aiK)ve the city to the river a long way beyond it below, often going as far as Carondelet without turning. I visited the scene of an early tri- umph for tiie Union cause — Cam}) Jackson — just out- side the city, where a military camp of Rebels was sui-prised in l!S(U, the men captured, and the State assured to remain in the Union. During the summer we used to go past the La Clede Iron Works, and thence on to an ancient ferry on the Mississippi river to bathe. The place wa.s none of the best, owing to the treachery of the current, and tradition was plenti- ful that catfish thereabout were as large as porpoises, and when caught invariably had within each one of them from a quarter to a half of a human body. I remember that I used to look upon the whole ferry and the scene as the same as that memorable one de- scribed in "Uncle Tom's Cabin." 158 XARRATIYE OF A PRIA'ATE SOLDITYl. About this time the Goveriuneiit f()und itself with a large number of men on its luinds who luid been rendered unfit for field service by reason of wounds and amputations, and the order authorizing and di- recting the formation of the "Invalid Corps" was promulgated. On general princii)les the objects of the order were apphluded by all, as it was considered no more than right and just that the (Teneral Gov-' ernment should retain in its service and pay as many of its disabled veterans as it needed and who were capa- bleof performing clerical and otlierdutiesakin to them. Men with but a single leg or arm, instead of l)eing thrown back ujwn tlie friends and communities which they had left behind them, in the receipt merely of a })altry pension, were suitably placed in po- sitions where the Government could utilize tlicir tal- ents and at the same time well afford to pay theordi- nary wages. Under these arrangements there was a good regiment organized in 8t. Louis by Colonel Al- exander, an old veteran of the Regular Army. There never was a word uttered that I heai'd in any man- ner derogatory to the organization until the authori- ties in Washington decided that other than those who were wounded and maimed might be i-eceived into the corps ; but now it was that many great and notorious -cowards, men who were full of fear of the dangers in- cident to an active career in the field, officers as well as soldiers, made a grand rush for admission to mem- bership in the "Invalid Corps." Certificates of Dis- ability were almost dignified with a market value, and the prices soon ascended to a high figure, and because ** Chronic Diarrhaa '* avus the prevailing complaint THE rXVAI-ID CORPS. 151» alleged by such dishonorable men in theii a[>p]ication.s for transfer, the whole coi'ps fell into disrepute ; and although the designation of it was ortieiallv changed from " The Invalid Corps'* to "The Veteran Reserve Corps," still it rarely got that name sa\e on paper and in very polite society. In all other places it was stigmatized as "The Diarrlxea Corps." In my posi- tion and by my associations 1 was enabled to ^ee a great deal of the inside workings of the organization, and 1 can truly say that it was really disgusting when not amusing to hear the stories of some applicants for transfer. Dr. Lra Russell used to tell us some of their stories: how one officer ottered three hundred dollars for the necessary certiticate ; another tendered a mortgage on his farm ; others begged and })rayed to the medical authorities for their assistance. All this time there was no difficulty in a proper person be- ing transferred. Poor George Rodney of my company wanted a certiticate very badly, but he succeeded only in becoming an inmate as a convalescent of the Gene- ral lIosi)ital. There one day he proved himself enti- tled to some indulgence, for he succumbed to the ef- fects of disease contracted in the service, and died and was buried. It was Kodney against whom the Colonel, on that memorable night before Thanksgiv- ing, the previous year, had especially directed his de- nunciations because Geoi'ge had his musket with him, and from that it was to be inferred that he intended to use his weapon against defenceless people. The climax of interest in the "Diarrhoea Corps" was reached when, not long afterward, a law was proposed in the National Legislature having for its object the 160 XARRATIVE OF A PRIVATE SOLDIER. consolidation of the corps into coni})act regiments, and the incorporation of the whole with the Regular Army. Under the pressure of tlie intense spirit of patriotism or super-patriotism then prevailing, and amid the confusion and turmoil incident to the state of war the country was then in, the act was passed, and the eminent promoters of tlie measure had per- formed services tliat entitle them to be vividly remem- bered, perhaps differently by different people. Under this law the grossest injustice and unfairness was en- acted, for while thousands ui)on thousands of good men were wounded or otherwise disabled, they dul not care for or seek to fasten themselves upon the Government for life, but were coijteut to return to their homes as patriotic citizen soldiers, on the con- trary, with the incorporation into the Regular Army of the Veteran Reserve C()ri)s, the officers belonging to that organization became equal in the tenure of their commissions to those who had devoted their lives, from extreme youth to old age. to the service of their country. The result was tliat on the conclusion of the war the country found upon its hands a batch of officers wdiom it could not get rid of except on half pay. It may be interesting in the near future to see Colonel Bonneville, U. S. A., and others of his class and services, on a social and official equality with ''Colonel Swashbuckler, U. S. A.," erstwhile a corner lounger in some country town in the far North. Many persons like the last-named gentleman (?) will secretly thank the luck that deprived them of a limb apiece when they complacently draw half pay, while the more unfortunate comrade, of equal rank and sei-- 0I7I{ MESS. 161 vices, turns the crank of liis liaud-organ on the corner of the street and receives the pitifall}^ small pension awarded to him by his grateful country. 5. There was no complaint possible to be made in relation to our domestic economy. Here occurs a break in the almost constant talk of matters in rela- tion to what was for oui- eating ; there is not now much solicitude about rations, and we had no longer to think of the wherewithal for dinner before we had disposed of our breakfast. "Our mess" was com- posed of most of the clerks engaged in and about the Post Headquarters, and we had a cook all to ourselves. Sam Fry was office-orderly to the Colonel command- ing and general purveyor for the mess. He was in every respect a first-class ''gob!)ler." Sam was be- sides a Jolly fellow, of grciit experience and always full of fun. In jiis career he had l)een an auctioneer, a clown in Dan Rice's circus ; he had driven a stage- coach for years, ;ind when he enlisted he had just dropped the handles of his plough, Cincinnatus like, on a farm up in Iowa. Th^re were also three or four men from the General Hospital — apothecaries, hospi- tal stewards, etc, — in the complement. We occupied a separate house, and altogether were very comforta- ble. Sam Fry drew regular rations for all of us except Jones. Jones got commutation money instead, and paid a stated sum for his board. The rest were taxed about one dollar a week, and with the fund thus collected Sam Fry provided such seasonable arti- cles of diet as were not included in the legal ration. How the cook got her pay 1 have forgotten, but I have an indistinct recollection of there having been an un- 162 NARRATIVE OF A PRIVATE SOLDIER. derstanding all around that she was expected to steal enough to compensate her for her services. The troops stationed at Benton Barracks at the time I am writing about were almost entirely composed of unex- changed paroled men, with a small force of others acting as a provost-guard ; but other troops made of the post a sort of temporary stojiping place on the journey going south. When any such did favor us with their company there was great excitement at headquar- ters. On ordinary occasions it was the merest matter of form to mount the guard. Tlie work was often done by either McHenry or myself, each in our turn actiii:r as Adjutant and Sergeant-Major all in one, and the Post Band often outnumbered by two to one the whole detail for guai'd duty. When it hapjiened that a })attal- ion or regiment of men came to be our guests, the first thing that usually occurred to McHenry was to make a detail for the ensuing day, taking care to draw a requisition for sufMcient men and officers to make the ceremony imposing. One such occasion was on the 12th of October. 1803, when, about noon- tide, we were startled by the strong and measured sounds of many bugles, and by a great amount of drumming and fifeing. McHenry was in ecstasies, and none of us were very sorry for the })romise of an enlivening of the routine of duty. We had not long to wait before we were cheered by the sight of a sturdy column of infantry en route. This proved to be the Tenth Minnesota Infantry Volunteers. It had just returned from General Sibley's exi)edition against the Dakota or Sioux Indians. The forces of the ex- pedition had pursued the red-skins to and beyond the \f r>r.VE.soTA TKot^rs -uta kd -motxt. 1G:> Missouri Uivcr, ;ni«l ;ilrli(mi:h the men li.-id seen very hard service, stili the wliole l»riu-:i le <»f w'lich this re- gitiUMit formed a pirt li;i 1 lo>t only ei^^'lit men. The otTieers and men of the re,uiment were as ;i rule tall, fine, able-bodied men. roiiii;b in exterior and bronzed l»v exposui-e, nnd to a dot they tilled the re<(nirenients of ;i o-ood picture of the ideal pioneers of our Western country. The reo-iment was well armed with the lat- «'-^t improved pnttern of the S[>rinoticld rifled musket. Friend Mc Henry did not wait long. l)ut sent ;i i-e(|uisi- tioii for the attendance on the morrow of a most re- spectable sized detnil, and during the afternoon, when the Ninth regiment from the same State arrived in catnp, it only caused McHenry to make out another detail to augment the number to report. During the whole of that evening nothing was talked about in our set save the grand guard-mounting there was to be on the next morning. There were to be eighty })rivates, a ((uota of non-commissioned officers, and three shoul- der-strapped gentlemen to boot. Early next morning we were astir. McIIenry had conned his part as Ser- geant Major well, and was waiting. But alas for his jiopes of distinction I the Post Band had not yet con- ed uded its morning salutation of reveille when the l)and of the Ninth Minnesota struck up the "General Assembly." Soon afterward the regiment was in line, column formed, and the command, '' Forward" given. Then they left us as they came, without a word of ex- planation, not even submitting their reports to post headquarters. When the time came for Guard- mounting we were compelled to be content with the usual beggarly detail of Provost Guardsmen for duty. 164 NAllHATIVE OF A PRIVATE SOLDIEU. The performance of my duties as Pass Clerk brought me in contact with many queer and interesting cliar- acters. About tlie middle of August, 1863, a man who said he belonged to a certain regiment of Illinois Infantry becaine very familiar ; and as he was a sort of engaging person, he rarely failed to secure a pass from me when the favor was in my discretion. I do not now retnember what it was that particularly aroused my sus])icions that all was not right with liim. but they were aroused about the time mentioned, lie always had plenty of money, and ap})arently wnnted for nothing but complete liberty. Finally I hit u})()n a plan that was immediately successful, and I declined to issue a, pass to him. I pleaded as my excuse (he standing order in relation to the amount issuable and the risk I ran in ovcrste])ping tiie limit prescribed. This was an obstacle to his going to 8t. Louis, ;ind forced his secret. He used his occupation of a soldier as a cloak or cover for the business he was really en- gaged in. That was the '''shovin;^r" or ])assing of counterfeit money. He then got the re(|uired pnss. As soon as he was gone I consulted with my su])erior, and proper measures were concocted to meet the emer- gency. Under instructions from Mr. Currier, I went with the soldier into the city, among his companions there and through their haunts. By some means or other the head of the gang (for there was quite a number of them) succeeded in eluding the officers of the law set upon his track. It was said at the time that the detectives in the service of the Government, or at least some of them, were in collusion with the rogues. However, the business was broken up for a OFF ON' A KruLorciir. 1G5 time. I mention this circiiiHstatn'e nioi'c pjirticularly becjiuse during the time 1 phived a-inuleur detective I 8;i\v more devilment th:in I had during niy wliole pre- vious life. -4. On the 1st (»f S''[U('niher 1 received a furlough or leave of ahseuce for fifteen days, and upon that I pro- ceeded to Loda. Illinois, and there passed the ensuing two weeks. It was a remarkabl}^' ]ileasant season of the year, and I rememher to this time that day suc- ceeded day in a round of interest. Up to that time the farmers of that section had been kept comi)ara- tively poor. Corn was dirt cheap, and in some in- stances actually nsed as fuel ; but during that year the people had sown flax seed and had realized enormous profits, owing to the great demand and price paid for the product f(»r hospital purposes. The farmers had a,lso cultivated sorgluim or Chinese sugar cane, and that Irid yielded immensely — ^o much so that the re- sources of the country were taxed to their utmost for casks t($ put the syrup in, and still it fetched a high ]n-ice per gnlhus. In this way the country folk were paid f(>r the two or three previous years of liard times, iuu\ they were all cheerful and happy in so far as ma- terial prosi)erity was concerned. All this contributed in a gi'eat degree to enal)le me to accomplish my ob- ject, which was to have a- pleasant time and relaxation from the routine of my duties at Benton Barracks. During the early autumn of 1863 the political af- fairs of the State of Missouri were, to put it mildly, in a very bad way. Governor Gamble presided at Jef- ferson City, the capital of the State, and he was thor- onghly hated and despised by what was designated 166 XAKKATIVE OF A PRIVATE SOLDIER. the "loyal ''elem en tof tlie people of tlie State, while be was upheld or defended by tbose wlio were of contrary affiliations. Tliere was an election approaching, and ofreat excitement ensued. Politics eno-rossed the at- tention of the citizens to tbe exclusion of almost every other topic. Street corners, churches, ])ublic halls, markets, and even our military camps were tbe scenes of wordy warfare. The severe measures of General Curtis early in tbe year bad taugbt tbe would-be outspoken sym[)a,tbizers witb tbe South a lesson tbat tbey bad not forgotten. Alton Peniten- tiary was not far away, Gratiot street Prison was at band, confiscation laws wei'e in force, and above all it was easy for declared rebels to be transported into tbe Southern lines. So far as tbe opposition dai'ed to go, tbey went. I remember listening to a, s|)eecb of tbe celebrated patriot and Union man. General "Jim Lane," of "Kansas Jaybawker "fame. He was a l\ad- ical of tbe Radicals. lie breatbed deatb, contisca- tion, banishment for Rebels in evei'v sentence, and be was not left without sup})()rt — his words were received witb tumultuous ai)plause. lie was rei)lied to by Gen- eral Fi-ank P. Blair, Jr., wdio even at tbat time bad so changed his views from what they bad been during tbe earlier stages of tbe war, as to be called a " Co})- perhead." Jefferson City was at that time in })art protected by a regiment of the Missouri State ^Militia (the First Regiment). There were two kinds of mili- tia in the State — tbe Missouri State Militia and the Enrolled Missouri Militia — and tbe greatest confu- sion was caused by that circumstance. The prime distinction between the two sorts was found m the na- MISSOURI ''m. s. m/s" and '* h. m. m.'s." Km tnre of the sentiments tliev lield toward the Federal Cjovernnient and the ideas they entertained in regard to States rights, es[>eeially tlie riglits of the State of Missouri. The first mentioned were intensely loyal to the Union of tiie 8tiires. What tlie othei-s were may be inferred, hut I cannot undertake to descrihe them any further than hy saying that each sort was at tlie throats of the other on the slightest provocation. Wiien '* Jim Lane's" speech reached the capital the loyal M. S. M.'s hecame wildly enthusiastic, and the men of it there only ceased to cheer and roar over it when they had denounced the Governor at his own door. On this many of the militiamen wore thrown into prison, but the rest of them rallied, carried tlie prison house by storm, and released their comrades. ^'This was altogether too radical," said Cajitain Barnes to me, •■'and the consequence is that the regi- ment has been scattered — two companies on the Iron Mountain Railroad, two on the Pacific Railroad, and two more here." Several of the officers of the jvgi- nient were even then under arrest for aiding and ahet- (inii- the men in the commission of whatever the of- fence was tliat was laid to them. About the last of October w^e received news that went to confirni previous rumors to the effect that a soldier named Roberts, of the First Nebraska Volun- teer Infantry, was to be executed at our post for deser- tion and felony. The anticipation of the event gave rise to a great deal of speculation, but it never came off, at least during my time, id though the sentence had been regularly approved by the highest authority. When I first arrived at Benton Barracks the place con- 168 NARRATIVE OF A PRIVATE SOLDIER. tained a large mimber of men, and these we organized into companies and battalions. Under the rules and regulations governing the army, each company was entitled to a certain quota of women as laundresses. In times of tranquillity these women are wives of sol- diers, but in our camp it was otherwise, except in a very few instances. Whether or no, when men were exchanged and ordered to tlie field it was altogether out of tlie question to think of sending the women with tliem, so that wlien tlie camp was de])leted of soldiers there remained a large number of these women. and their })resence within the lines soon develo})ed into a nuisance. Being attached to no regularly mustered compjiny, they could draw no rations, and therefore it is easy to see that no matter how tliey obtained tlie means of living, it was certainly acquired in an irreg- ular manner. They retained their old quarters, and from thence the unfortunate creatures sallied forth as foragers. Nothing was safe from depredation : the commissary depot was robbed, the wood piles were raided u})on, and the stores of the "village" wei-e burglarized. It required a strong effort, but finally they were all extiri)ated, almost literally at the })oint of the bayonet. Cai)tain Fillebrown, the commander of our Provost Guard, did the work in a very ''gal- lant" but at the same time elfectual manner. Then the women swarmed into the buildings attached to the General Ilosjiital. They were not allowed to rest long, however, before the Hospital folks chased them from one building to another until what were left of the unlucky women were all congregated in a shanty adjoining the dead-house. The enemy were finally small-pox: — A SAD STOKY. l()0 driven out of this last resort hy a striituoem. Hospi- tal Steward Ferris procured a couple of devil-may-care fellows, who allowed theniselve.>< to be publicly carried into the dead-house, and in sucli a manner as insured the fact that at least some of the obnoxious women could not fail to see them go in. At midnight the women were startled hy the sounds of the supposed dead men groaning and raving as they reached their ears through the thin walls of the house. The friirhtened creatures lost no time in arriving at the t'onclusion that the devil was there in })erson, and they hastily quitted their last refuge, and left the })recincts of the hospital for a less haunted neighbor- hood. From that time the whole post was com})ara- tively clear of the unwelcome ''laundresses." During the late summer and early autumn the scourge of small-pox raged fearfully in the General Hospital, and a great many died before they could be transported to ** IJloody Island," in the Mississi})pi river, where a sort of exclusively sniall-pox hospital had been established. All t'le people around us were in o-reat fear of the contaiiion. What was most sad was the carelessness exhibited in providing against danger. There were many young women who had volunteered to serve, and were serving as nurses in the hospital. Before entering upon the service it was required, as a precautionary measure, that they, in common with all others, should submit to the operation of being vac- cinated. On the face of it this was a very good and proper regulation, but unfortunately sufficient care was not exercised in the selection of the vaccine mat- ter used, and many persons fell as victims. Those 170 NARRATIVE OF A PRIVATE SOLDIER. who did not contract the dread disease were but little better oft than those who did. I remember the case of one yonng woman wiio had been beautiful; she be- longed, too, to a highly respectable family in the city of Saint Louis, and it was nothing but genuine patri- otism that h id impelled her to assume the duties of hospital nurse. They vaccinated her as they did the rest, but alas ! tl.ie agent was indeed poisonous. It was charged with the seeds of the most horrible dis- e;ise. In a short time she got to ))e a most pitiful ob- ject. Her breasts dropped oif, and then death relieved her from a miserable existence. Others got oft' with no less tiian withered arms, an 1 ugly scrofuh)Us mni'ks. Al)out the first of August there were at our camp five com[)anies of the Eleventh Missouri Cavalry Vol- unteers, and three com[)inies of the Eleventh Oliio Cavalry Volunteers, and a portion of the Second Regiment Missouri Heavy Artillery, besides a, ProvoT one in the room in a roar by alleging that he had made a bet with a comrade that he could go home and in ten days be- come the husband of that comi'ade's affianced bride. "And I did it too, Judge." This was enough, and even the Colonel lost his proper gravity, and was com- pelled to join in the roars of laughter that ensued. The dignity of judicial proceedings, ho^vever, was soon restored by the next case. It was that of a plain, common-looking man, who said substantially that he h^id received a letter informing him of the se- rious illness of his wife ; that he had used every en- 174 NAKKATIVE OF A PRIVATE SOLDIER. deavor to obtain a fnrlongh witliout success, and had only left the camp in a des})erate mood, without real- izing the enormity of his crime ; th;it even then he had not arrived nt his wretclied liome in time to be there iit the deatli. Tiie few days since lie liad been engaged in placing liis or])]iMned children where they could be cared for. 'I'lie poor fellow's weeping acted as a magnet, and when he was through with his story there Avere but few dry eyes in the Court room. A little Frenchman l)elonoiiio- t() the Second Missouri Artillery Reserves pleaded that his regiment had been mustered out of ser- vice by order of the President. But he Avas mis- taken, and his trial Avent on. There Avas great fun in this case, and in the absence of an inter])reter Colonel Graham Avas kei)t busy in consulting a French and English Dictionary. There Avas great anxiety mani- fested by the paroled men to have their cases finally disposed of before the end of the month, which was a day for mustering for pay. Most of tiicni had a year's pay due to them, and many had eighteen moiiths' coming to them, and as the punishment was usually a fine of a greater or less amount, there Avere but fcAv Avho could not afford the penalty. We also had a *' General Court Martial" in session. This Avas a more im])osing affair, a more august tribunal, having the jurisdiction of ji Court of Oyer and Terminer Avhen compared Avith that of a Field Officer's Court Martial, Avhich latter may be likened to a Court of Special Sessions. The Genend Court Martial Avas made up of some half dozen Field Officers, and had a Captain (W. F. Dewey) for Judge Advocate oi* Prose- A GEXEKAL COUllT MARTIAL — BKIEN'S CASE. 175 ciitor. The Court held its sessions in the room over our offices, and in which I and other of the clerks slei3t. I Avas a sort of scribe for this Court, and fre- quently took down the testimony in short hand. One of the most imi:)ortant cases tried by this Court was that of Private Mike O'Brien, of the First U. S. In- fantry. Mike had already served one complete term of five years, and this his second term Avould expire on the 18th of August, 1863. He had been a sort of privileged character at the post. He and his wife lived in a neat little house all by themselves, and shared with the post sutler in a little monopoly. His regular duties consisted in acting as orderly and gene- ral factotum to the Colonel ; at least that is all I ever knew him to do in the Avay of service. Mike w^as every inch a soldier, not excepting the bad qualities so often found in veterans. He would sometimes get drunk — very drunk — and tlien there w\as the devil to pay with him. For a comparatively long time he had manfully withstood all temptation that way, and had saved money in anticipation of his discharge. He iiad even opened negotiations with old man Stewart, on Salisbury street, for the purchase of a groggery, when, alas I in an unfortunate moment Mike fell in with a former comrade, Avho, having received a com- mission in the Volunteer service, was sporting his gold lace and broadcloth in the city. Mike was be- coming envious, and when the two had talked over the matter, it was determined that Mike had not suc- ceeded so well as his friend because he had been liandicapped with a wife I He was full of this unfit he got drunk, when he began the Avork of remedvino- 176 NARRATIVE OF A PRIVATE SOLDIER. the evil by trying to kill the heavy tail to his kite. But his wife got the better of him, and instead of do- ing with her as his mad passion jororiipted, she pitched her husband out of the wagon in which they were riding home, and left him sprawling in the gutter, a prey to the snares of the Provost Guard. She had not been long in camp, however, before her master ar- rived too, and he lost no time in undertaking to finish the job he had so inauspiciously begun. He would probably have succeeded this time had not the uproar attracted the attention of the Post Provost Guard. ^^Two men and a Corporal "came, but Mike displayed a huge navy revolver and gave out the direst threats against ^' the head of the galloot " who attempted to arrest him. The guard prudently procured reinforce- ments, and then the combined powers moved on the belligerent Mike, and finally, after almost a regular siege, succeeded in arresting him, but not before he had fired two shots, and made three missfires. All this occurred on the 10th of August, and when he had only a week or so more to serve. On the day upon which his term of service expired he was tried by General Court Martial and sentenced to perform six months' hard labor " in such place as the Commanding- General of the Department should select." The sen- tence was approved by the District Commander on the 28th of August, but I do not remember whether O'Brien served out the term or the i^roceedings were disapproved by the Department Commander ; the lat- ter, I think, was most probably the case. 6. Early in the month of October, 18G3, the Gov- ernment established in our camp a depot of the West- THE WESTERN CAVALRY BUREAU. 177 ern Cavalry Bureau, having Colonel Hatch (of the Second Michigan Cavalry Volunteers) as chief. It must be remembered that while the Government Avas anxious to purchase all the serviceable horses it could, it was at the same time equally desirous of getting rid of such as were past being of service ; so that about the 1st of November several large recuperating hospi- tals for horses and mules were established. There wa-s a very large one at the northerly side of our camp, and there was a very extensive one on or near to Franklin Avenue, nearer the city. To these hospitals the animals of Grierson and other raiders were con- yeved after their hard ridings in the South. The Government sold at public auction every Friday such of the animals as had been condemned during the preceding week as unfit for further use, and bought new horses every day, so as to fill the requi- sitions constantly received from the field. Tliis busi- ness presented a fine scope for plundering the Govern- ment, and it was taken advantage of to a great extent. The charge was openly made that the officers entrust- ed with the duty of inspection had condemned many good horses, which on the day of sale were sold at prices ranging from thirty-seven cents to five dollars a head. In a few days thereafter, the purchaser of such animals, in collusion with the purchasing offi- cers of the Government, so it was said, again sold them to the public service, and at the immense prices prevailing at the time. I do not remember whether anything was ever done about the fraud, but I do know that it was the talk of the camp for some time. AVe did not have the gallant Lieutenant 178 NARRATIVE OF A PRIVATE SOLDIER. Brossean for our Post Adjutiint for any great length of time. He was called to the field during the summer, where he received well merited promotion in his regi- ment. Ho was succeeded hy Lieutenant Philander Lucas, a great, overgrown son of the fat prairies. He was from Jacksonville, Illinois, had been an under teacher in the institute of learning at that place, and was captured by the Eebel General Van Dorn, at Holly Springs, Mississippi. He was a lawyer by pro- fession, and had with him quite a res^jectable library. It was said by those who did not like him that he was badgered back to the field by his fellow officers. At any rate, he went, and was succeeded by Lieutenant D. 0. Reid, of Company ^'H" of the Forty-fifth regi- ment of Infantry Illinois Volunteers. Lieutenant Pieid was a small but well formed and attractive man. He had an intellectual countenance, and was altogeth- er a very clever, active officer. He had a dark, placid countenance, and that was made more striking by a heavy black moustache and chin whiskers. The Lieutenant had been in the service since June, 1861, was wounded in the second assault on the enemy's works in front of Vicksburg the summer before, had been taken prisoner and cruelly treated by his captors, and on his final parole became a guest of Benton Bar- racks. While with us he expected to receive promo- tion and join the Colored Troops, but my impression is that he got tired of waiting, or disgusted with that branch of the service, and went to his regiment in the field. He was a native of some part of Pennsylvania, but had emigrated many years before to Galesburg (I think), in Illinois. A '^ spree" — THE CALITHUMPIAXS. 179 Whatever may be said of the previous cliapters of this my narrative by those who may read them, I can say of this last one that I find myself severely taxed to find incidents enough to make it seem interesting. There is no change of scene or battle to describe. This whole chapter is altogether different from what would reasonably be expected of a soldier. To me it reads rather of doings of a boy off for a holiday, and I am almost ashamed to place it beside the more stirring- portion of my narrative. Of course we were all in- tensely interested in the events of the war as they happened, but anything I might say here would be at second hand and certainly out of place. My only excuse is that my life at Benton Barracks was includ- ed in my term of service as a private soldier, and therefore must be told in some way. We had many "sprees" while at the post, but they are hardly deemed w^ortli mentioning except perhaps one as a sample. This was on the occasion of the marriage of a relative of Captain Guerin to a young man named Gostin. About the latter part of August we heard that the newly wedded pair were in the Captain's house on Salisbury street, just outside the Barracks. Along toward midnight the Post Band, with their regulation instruments of fifes and drums, and carry- ing besides a lot of other noise producers, such as gongs, bells, tin pans, and an array of bugles, filed out of the main gate. With the rest, I went to see the fun. When we reached the front of the house wherein the bride and bridegroom were, the Post Band performed a very creditable piece by way of serenade. This was succeeded by John Munson, our mail wagon driver, 180 XAKRATIYE OF A PUIYATE SOLDIER. giving the command sometliiiig like this: '* Attention^ Calithnmpiuns I Music hy the Calitlinmpians ! One — two — three I'' And then there was such a din as never was heard. People in their night clothes threw up the neighboring windows and peered out on the scene, an army of dogs howled, and general pandemo- nium reigned. At a certain other signal the noise ceased, and the Post Band gave another respectable 2)erformance. By this time the folks within had be- come well acquainted with our jiresence, and the jolly Captain appeared and made a jolly speech. At his invitation we entered the house and were received by those we had intended to honor. Eating and drink- ing began immediately. Tliere were root beer and soda water for the temperate and youthful, lager beer for the more experienced, and whiskey for the old stagers, and these were all indulged in, until before long the men were in fine condition and the best of humor for sj^eeches, songs, and rough dancing. Each song was honored with at least one encore, and each sentence of a speech was uproariously apj^lauded. So many speeches were made that at last there was a dearth of subjects. By and by, when the resources of the family had nearly ceased to supply the demand for food and drink, the landlord of the house, a man named Speckermann, came into the company and made u speech, the best part of which was the perora- tion. It consisted of an appeal to us that we would honor him with our company in his grocery store on the opposite side of the street. This honor was quickly conferred uj^on him, and all but the ladies went over to the j^hice. There was more guzzling. DRUMMED OUT OF SERVICE. 181 smoking, "speechifying" until three o'clock in the morning, wiien we left the scene for camp. The bridegroom afterward ])ecame the proprietor of the photograph gallery at our j^ost. 7. About the first week of November (on a Satur- day) an incident ha2")pened in our camp the like of Avliich I had not seen before. It was the formal dis- honoi'able discharge of a soldier. The first intimation I got of the affair came from Colonel Wood, of the Eleventh Missouri Cavalry, who requested that the Post Band be placed at his disposal for one hour or so. The band was of course ordered to report for duty immediatel}^, in full uniform and instruments, at the Colonel's headquarters. AVith the rest, I went to the regimental parade ground to see the sight. After some delay, the regiment was formed into line as for review, and the culprit conducted to the front and centre. Then the Adjutant read all the orders relating to the case, and handed the soldier his dis- honorable discharge from the service. The prisoner was deprived of his hat, and a ready barber quickly mutilated his hair, and the same functionary also stripped the prisoner's clothes of all buttons and other ornaments. Thus prepared, the command received the order, "Draw sabres," and the unfortunate man was marched along the line in advance of the band, which all the while played the "Rogue's March." He was kept from going too fast by a sort of mock es- cort which accompanied him, but at the left of the line the duty of the guard ceased, and the poor fellow made a good start, and was off like a shot, out of sight and out of the main gate. He did not wait to hear 182 NARRATIVE OF A PRIVATE SOLDIER. tlie gibes and laughter of his late comrades. I was inclined to believe that the prisoner did not allow the disgrace to affect him very much, for when he passed me I thouglit I detected a sort of satisfied smile upon his face. During the summer of 1863 the Government first began to utilize the recently emancipated slaves by making soldiers of them. The use of negroes for such a purpose was somewhat hastened by the diffi- culty experienced by some of the Eastern States in filling their several quotas of troops. Thus it came about that a New York regiment was recruited in Louisiana from the freedmen there ; a Massachusetts regiment was built up in Missouri and Kansas, and a "good, likely negro" fetched a price as a substitute nearly equal to that he would have brought in ante- bellum times. General Lorenzo Thomas, the Adjut- ant General of the Army, had been to the South and South-west, and seemed to be possessed of great power in the premises. Boards of examination were ap- pointed, and invitations sent out to both officers and men of the army, as well as to outsiders, to present themselves for examination and appointment to office in the new element. At Saint Louis there was such a Board, presided over by Colonel Daniel Huston, Seventh Cavalry Missouri Volunteers. Even before cold weather set in our barracks became a rendezvous for the organization of Colored Troops, and nearly every one of the minor officers and the staff clerks at Headquarters had made the projDcr application and obtained the necessary permission to appear before the Board for examination. Then Colonel William OKGANIZATION OF COLORED TROOPS. 183 A. Pile, wlio bad succeeded Clinton B. Fiske as Colo- nel of the Thirty- third Missouri Volunteer Infantry, both of whom were known as "fighting parsons," appeared and took charge of the organization of the Colored Troojis in and near Saint Louis, with head- quarters at Benton Barracks. It was not until I was left almost entirely alone of my old fellow clerks that I made the necessary application and received the let- ter permitting me to appear before the Board for ex- amination. On the 1st of December I presented my- self, and at the conclusion of the medical and surgical examination I had reason to feel glad that I had done as I had, even if I failed to obtain the promotion. Ever since my release from captiv- ity I had been tortured by the thought that perhaps my sufferings and the exposure had left something behind that might appear upon j)rovocation, so I had been very careful not to expose myself un- necessarily to the vicissitudes of hard labor or the in- clemency of the weather ; but now the rough, thor- ough-going, typical 'Mjrute" of a surgeon, after making a searching investigation from toe nail to the to]:) hair of my head, not only passed me as " approved, " but complimented me somewhat on the soundness of my condition. In due time I passed into the dread presence of the Board. There had been many terrify- ing reports afloat in relation to this Board. It had been represented as especially severe and merciless, but of course no one could know what took place when others than himself were j^resent. Stories were told of men of age and pretensions who had failed correctly to answer whether our Saviour lived before 184 NARRATIVE OF A PRIVATE SOLDIER. or after Mahomet ; otliers did not know the difference between a simple equation and the multiplication of common fractions. Whatever truth there may have been in these stories, it is nevertheless the fact that many applicants were disappointed. Field officers of volunteers were recommended for promotion (?) as Second Lieutenants in the new forces, and althouo-h there were three distinct classes of each grade, many failed to pass at all. Of my examination I can only say that, with the exception of that part requiring the possession of technical knowledge of military affairs, it was something like a very searching examination of advanced students in a good school of the lower academic class, and during which the best read of men w^ould be apt to fail occasionally, unless aided by a good memory. Mine served me well throughout the whole ordeal, and in a few days I was gazetted as hav- ing passed and been recommended for appointment. Immediately after this I was ordered to report to Col- onel Pile, and I assumed full under-charge of his office as his Acting Assistant Adjutant General. On the 29th day of December, 1863, I received an official copy of an extract from Special Orders from the De- partment of the Missouri, dated the day before, by which I was discharged the service of the United States as Private Company ''B," Eighty-eighth Regi- ment Illinois Volunteers, and I thereupon ceased to be an enlisted man in the army. I had been a soldier in all only about seventeen months, and on looking back over my story I find that although it is not alto- gether devoid of incident, still I am sure it cannot possibly be so interesting as the story, if told, of DISCHARGED. 185 many a man whose service brought him into many more encounters, more difficulties, and during which he was exposed to many more dangers. It will be a pity if there are not many of such who will yet do as I have done, save my manifold sins of omission and commission, my faults in style and manner of ex- pression, and thus hand down to their heirs that which will, as I said in my preface, enable them to have something beyond mere tradition to point to when discussing the experiences of a private soldier in the Great American Civil War.