LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. 
 
 Shelf. ..^^^, 
 
 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 
 
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MEMORIALS 
 
 LIEUT. GEOEGE H. WALCOTT, 
 
 fate of Ifet 301^ «. S. Coloub froops. 
 
 ^^ 
 
 By C.M.-^ TYLER. 
 
 WITH AN INTRODUCTION 
 
 By HON. HENRY A^aLSON. 
 
 WRITTEN FOR THE MASSACHUSETTS SABBATH-SCHOOL SOCIETY, 
 AND APPROVED BT THE COMMITTEE OF PUBLICATION. 
 
 BOSTON: 
 MASSACHUSETTS SAHBATH-SCHOOL SOCIETY. 
 
 DEPOSITOnr, MO. 13 COUNUILL. 
 
 C' 
 
EI 4^2 
 3oHi 
 
 Entered according to Act of Cougrcss, in the year 18C5, by the 
 
 MASSACHUSETTS SABCATH-SCnOOL SOCIKTY, 
 
 in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the District of Massachusetts. 
 
 -L.I A irv 
 
 X 
 
C5 
 
 TO HIS MOTHER 
 
 THESE MEMOraALS OF A NOBLE SON. 
 
 A WIDOW, SOLITARY FOB MANY YEARS IN HER RESPONSI- 
 BILITY, JUST PERMITTED AT LENGTH TO LEAN UPON HIS 
 RIPENING JUDGMENT, AND TO BE CHEERED BY HIS MANLY 
 AND SANGUINE WORDS, SHE SURRENDERED ALL HER BRIGHT 
 ANTICIPATIONS, AND WITH SOLEMN CHEERFULNESS BENT 
 HIM FORTH TO DIE FOR THE REPUBLIC. 
 
 IT IS HER JOY THAT HIS NAME IS ENROLLED NOT ONLY 
 AMONG THOSE OP THE NATION WHOM POSTERITY WILL NOT 
 WILLINGLY LET DIE, BUT, BETTER THAN ALL, AMONG THE 
 JUST IN HEAVEN, WHO SHALL SHINE AS STARS POR EVER- 
 MORE. 
 
 C. M. T. 
 
World, farewell I Of thee I'm tired ; 
 Now toward heaven my way I take; 
 There is peace, the long-desired — 
 Lofty, calm, that naught can break. 
 World, with thee is war and strife; 
 Thou with cheating hopes art rife; 
 But in heaven is no alloy, 
 Only peace and love and joy. 
 
 German Hymn, 1652. 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 The annals of no nation or epoch record more 
 of self-sacrificing devotion, conscientious fidelity, 
 heroism, endurance, patience, and resignation than 
 have illustrated the bloodj struggle of our age in 
 America. In the great civil war through which 
 the nation has just passed, the fruits of the cul- 
 ture of Christian institutions have been mani- 
 fested in many forms. By their chastened en- 
 thusiasm, their heroism in camp and battle-field, 
 their patience in suffering, and their sublime 
 faith in death, the Christian youth of the country 
 have been the inspiration of noble deeds and the 
 example for comrades. Taught around pious fire- 
 
6 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 sides, in Sabbath-scliools, and churches of the 
 living God, the sacredness of humanity, the series 
 of events and the discussions growing out of 
 them preceding the conflict of arms, were sure to 
 quicken their patriotism, their love of liberty, and 
 their sense of justice. Discerning for their na- 
 tive land a glorious destiny among the nations, 
 they were quick to hear the menaces against its 
 life; loving liberty with passionate ardor, they 
 instinctively saw the coming danger ; imbued 
 with the charities and humanities of religion, they 
 could not fail to see " poor, dumb, toiling millions " 
 bending beneath the nameless woes of perpetual 
 servitude ; and when the echoes of the signal-g'ms 
 of rebellion resounded through the startled na- 
 tion, they were prepared to offer themselves upon 
 the shrine of a stern and lofty duty, with a faith 
 that never wavered, and a hope never dimmed 
 
INTRODUCTION. 7 
 
 by lost battles. The subject of this memoir 
 was of this class of the youthful manhood of the 
 country. Nurtured and trained in the creed that 
 pronounces blessings on the peace-makers, war, 
 its ambitions and glories, had no allurements for 
 him. In becoming a soldier of the Eepublic, he 
 was not actuated by self-interest, or impelled by 
 hatred, nor lured by visions of martial glory. 
 Duty was the inspiration of his action. Having 
 known him from his childhood, appreciating his 
 manliness, integrity, and conscientiousness, I se- 
 cured for him a commission in the 30th regiment 
 of colored troops then organizing in Maryland. 
 I recall now his manly bearing and modest words 
 when he received his promotion, and expressed 
 to me his gratitude for the aid I had given him. 
 " I shall try," he said, " to do my duty, so that 
 you will never regret your kindness to me." I 
 
8 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 followed with interest liis brief career till he sank 
 
 beneath the burden duty imposed, — another 
 
 sacrifice for the country. In the morning of life 
 
 he went to keep companionship with the noble 
 
 spirits whose unselfish sacrifices have made the 
 
 RepubHc of United America dearer to all its 
 
 children, — the Christian heroes whose good 
 
 deeds, 
 
 " Through the ages, 
 
 Living in historic pages. 
 
 Brighter grow, and gleam immortal, 
 
 Unconsumed by moth or rust." 
 
 HENRY WILSON". 
 
MEMORIALS 
 
 There certainly is a growing distrust of 
 religious memoirs. Devout and sensitive 
 minds shrink from unfolding the inner life 
 too freely to the world, as fostering a spir- 
 itual egotism. And it is felt to be almost 
 a sacrilege to invade the spiritual life of 
 others, — to break their silence, and lay 
 bare their sacred intercourse with God. 
 
 A second and sounder reason for this 
 distrust is found in the fact that religious 
 memoirs pass, too often, into indiscriminate 
 eulogy. The writer means to be truthful — 
 to give a just portraiture ; but, in the ardor 
 
10 MEMORIALS OF 
 
 of affection or of admiration, conceals faults 
 and exaggerates virtues. 
 
 The writer of these biographical notices 
 appreciates whatever is sound in these ob- 
 jections. He knows full well that thousands 
 of America's sons, who have gone down 
 among the '' hosts of unreturning brave," 
 and have fallen victims in this civil contest, 
 deserve to have their history written in let- 
 ters of gold. 
 
 The friends of Lieut. Walcott cherish 
 for him a modest affection. They revere 
 all the good and heroic spirits who have 
 risen up to do battle unto death for the 
 Republic, whose exploits in arms have 
 made this truly an " age of chivalry." They 
 claim no devotion to the Fatherland, no 
 valor, no spirituality of character for him, 
 as above many others ; but they feel assured 
 
LIEUT. G. H. WALCOTT. 11 
 
 that a written memorial of so bright and 
 valiant a spirit — of one of such cheerful 
 and uncompromising piety, and so staunch 
 in outward living — cannot fail of exerting 
 a good influence, especially upon the young. 
 Retiring from our lines before Petersburg, 
 entering the hospital to die, his fate smote 
 sorely the hearts of those who knew him. 
 Hon. Henry Wilson, U. S. Senator, — whose 
 interest in the Lieutenant we shall have 
 occasion to refer to again, — remarked, 
 among other words of sympathy, " I am 
 greatly disappointed to hear of the death of 
 George. I have expected much of him ; 
 the country has suffered a loss." 
 
 The resolve is taken, therefore, to gather 
 these reminiscences together, and to com- 
 mit this little volume to the charitable re- 
 gards of all who admire a young Christian 
 officer. 
 
12 MEMORIALS OF 
 
 George Henry Walcott was born in Na- 
 tick, Mass., October 28, 1844, and died in 
 the hospital at Philadelphia, July 10, 1864, 
 at the age of nineteen years and eight 
 months. His father died when he was 
 nine and a half years old. The review of 
 the earlier part of his life will be brief. He 
 was not precocious, — was not preternat- 
 urally wise or good for his years. He was 
 a boy of boys. No wise man affects to con- 
 sider boyhood as commonplace, — as inca- 
 pable of chivalrous exploit, — of poetry, of 
 philosophy, of anxious forecast. The life 
 of every boy who possesses the stuff of future 
 manhood must be a study for the gravest 
 understanding. No sagacious mind will 
 consider the formative period of boyhood as 
 only a period of vegetation, of frolic, and 
 mischief. Nor is it profitable only to study 
 
LIEUT. G, H. WALCOTT. 13 
 
 the boyhood of such as Napoleon, Canova, 
 Beethoven, and Webster. Let the keen 
 observer write with felicitous style the his- 
 tory of any boyhood, — that of your own 
 son, if you will, concealing his name, — and 
 it may be as thrilling to you as romance. 
 
 All boyhoods are original. Our boys 
 have their days when they are heroes, or 
 poets, or orators, warriors and statesmen. 
 There is an eloquent mimicry of most every 
 art and every profession. 
 
 It cannot be doubted that the dark shadow 
 which fell upon the home of George, filling 
 it with silence and tears, never wholly passed 
 away. In all sports and recreations, in all 
 his real life and dream life, the edge of that 
 shadow touched him. He was the oldest ; 
 he must take his father's place. His mother 
 must one day lean upon his arm and consult 
 
14 MEMORIALS OF 
 
 his opinions. Though a child, he became 
 more erect, and turned aside oftener to 
 think. Superficial observers might scarcely 
 detect this inner sedateness, this unconscious 
 stretching up of the life towards manhood. 
 But it gave him an earnest eye, a frank, 
 soldierly manner, a disposition to rise above 
 present boyish disputes, and made him a 
 dignified young judge of the rights and 
 wrongs of companions. Thus, like all boys, 
 he swept the fields, climbed the hills for 
 look-outs, scaled trees and high buildings, 
 and explored the woods to learn the ways 
 of all the animals that haunt there. 
 
 The scenery of his native place is charm- 
 ing. The apostle Eliot, in olden time, stood 
 by its silver lakes, upon its rounded prom- 
 ontories, where nestled canoe and shallop, 
 and proclaimed the gospel to the Indians. 
 
LIEUT. G. H. WALCOTT. 15 
 
 A venerable oak still stands, beneath whose 
 roof-tree he often spoke. From its hills can 
 be seen, on any clear summer day, the dome- 
 shaped Wachuset and Monadnock, fifty 
 miles away. The chain of lakes, well 
 stocked with perch and pike, and hunted 
 by many a disciple of Izaak Walton, pour 
 their clear waters into the distant reservoirs 
 of the city of Boston, through a subterra- 
 nean tunnel large enough to be explored 
 with torches in boats. Here George flung 
 his line into the waters, and bathed, and 
 pulled the oar, or helped to hoist the sail, 
 or moor any of the village flotilla. In fine, 
 he was such a boy as would have entered 
 with hearty sympathy into all the sports of 
 rosy young Englishmen at Rugby, — regat- 
 tas, foot-races, foot-ball, and gallant dash- 
 ing on colt-back at liedges. He was one 
 
16 MEMORIALS OF 
 
 Dr. Arnold would have rejoiced over ; not 
 because of intellectual indications so much 
 as because of the breezy atmosphere of 
 healthful sincerity and manliness that went 
 about with him. He was just the boy to 
 listen to Arnold when, as Mr. Thomas 
 Hughes, author of School-days at Rugby, 
 says, '' He taught us that in this wonderful 
 "world no boy or man can tell which of his 
 actions is indifferent, and which not ; that 
 by a thoughtless word or look we may lead 
 astray a brother for whom Christ died. He 
 taught us that life is a whole, made up of 
 actions and thoughts and longings, great 
 and small, noble and ignoble ; therefoi^e, tlie 
 only true wisdom for a boy or man is to 
 bring the whole life into obedience to Him 
 whose world we live in, and who has pur- 
 chased us with his blood ; and that whether 
 
LIEUT. G. H. WALCOTT. 17 
 
 we eat or drink, or whatsoever we do, we 
 are to do all in his name and to his glory ; 
 in such teaching faithfully, as it seems to 
 me, following that of Paul of Tarsus, who 
 was in the habit of meaning what he said, 
 and who laid down this standard for every 
 man and boy in his time." 
 
 George was a fine rider of horses. The 
 writer first saw him mounted upon a cele- 
 brated horse well known at our county 
 races. The owners of high-bred horses 
 were ever pleased to place them at his 
 service. He rode with the ease and grace 
 of an English fox-hunter. 
 
 He was a fine declaimer. With a clear, 
 resonant voice, a soldierly air, an earnest 
 glance, he made a marked impression upon 
 the audience who gathered at the close of 
 the session of the High School to listen to 
 
18 MEMORIALS OF 
 
 the exercises so ably conducted by Mr. Rice, 
 the former preceptor. All was natural and 
 manly, — an entire freedom from the affect- 
 ed tones and the ultra proprieties of the 
 professed elocutionist. An incident may 
 illustrate his fine oratorical power. A fes- 
 tival of the Sabbath-school was held in a 
 grove. At the conclusion of each little ad- 
 dress of the boys, a salute was fired from a 
 miniature battery. George delivered his 
 address with so much force, dignity, and 
 feeling, as to win much applause. Two 
 salutes were fired, instead of one, as a rec- 
 ognition of his ability. 
 
 The school-days of George rapidly fled. 
 He had his aspirations. He sighed as he 
 thought of college. While others pressed 
 forward in the walks of study, he must 
 turn aside to business. He did not mur- 
 
LIEUT. G. H. WALCOTT. 19 
 
 IS bUH- 
 
 mur, but entered with energy into hu 
 ness. He won the lasting confidence and 
 esteem of the gentleman — Mr. Winch — 
 who employed him for three years, and to 
 whom, for his fatherly kindness and succor, 
 he expresses much gratitude in a letter 
 written from Maryland a few months before 
 his death. 
 
20 MEMORIALS OF 
 
 II. 
 
 The religious history of George dates 
 from May 2, 1863. With all his genial and 
 hearty freshness, his sensitive honor, and 
 the manliness which his father's death had 
 given him, he caused his friends much solic- 
 itude. He threw energy into all things : 
 he gave momentum to others. Like all 
 ardent, passionate young men, he felt the 
 power of temi^tation. Shunning, as yet, 
 dissipation, scorning things low and debas- 
 ing, his fancy threw a glow about many 
 amusements which stand as ushers with 
 golden rods upon the vestibule of the palace 
 of vice. 
 
 It is the old story. Young men are rest- 
 
LIEUT. G. H. WALCOTT. 21 
 
 less, imaginative ; vague, irresistible ener- 
 gies arc uncoiling within them ; they must 
 have scope. Like armed knights, they stand 
 upon the edge of the field burning for high 
 endeavor. Older people j)ut them aside, 
 distrust their wisdom, and retain the enter- 
 prises of society in their own hands. Per- 
 haps this is right. The young men of 
 America assume early enough the manage- 
 ment of social and political affairs. But the 
 question becomes a grave one, to all who 
 love young men — who admire and never 
 sneer at young enthusiasm, and who realize 
 that it is one of the most potent and useful 
 facts of our nature : What shall be done for 
 our youth in this transition period, wherein, 
 though certain faculties were never more 
 capable, they must still wait for the harden- 
 ing of their fibre, for the discipline of the 
 
22 MEMORIALS OF 
 
 critical understanding ? Should we not be 
 able to throw more charm about our Amer- 
 ican homes ? Are there not innocent pas- 
 times — festivals sanctioned by such men 
 as Luther in other times — that may be 
 adopted to make home dear to boys and 
 young men ? Are not the English wiser 
 than we in forestalling the pleasures of dis- 
 sipation by rural sports and by fireside rec- 
 reations ? 
 
 It was in the' beginning of May that 
 George considered the duty of beginning 
 a Christian life. It is evident from his 
 diary that by the influence of a fair friend, 
 to whom he was much attached, he was led 
 to ask the great question, What shall I do 
 to be saved ? On the second of May the 
 writer was invited to call upon him at once, 
 if possible, at his mother's residence. He 
 
LIEUT. G. H. WALCOTT. 23 
 
 was in profound distress. He sank in 
 deep waters, and the waves overflowed liim. 
 He could not sleep or eat. The sins of the 
 past seemed to come upon him in armed 
 and thick array. Memories of his ingrat- 
 itude to Christ seemed to smite him as 
 fierce waves lift up a storm-tossed bark, 
 " when rent are rigging, shrouds, and sail," 
 and hurl it into the gulf again. It was a 
 spiritual Waterloo. It had lasted for days, 
 — a fierce, relentless contest with the Holy 
 Spirit, of a passionate young will that said, 
 with St. Augustine, " Lord, convert me, 
 but not yet ! " God's time had come. The 
 iron fingers of old sins were being broken. 
 The writer, awe-stricken by the evidence of 
 this terrible contest of spiritual powers upon 
 an invisible field, knelt with him, and of- 
 fered a petition to God that the struggle 
 
24 ]VIE^IORIALS OF 
 
 might cease, and a full surrender be made, 
 — offering such spiritual advice as seemed 
 best, and then withdrew. In a day or two 
 calm had succeeded storm, and then came 
 the " peace which passeth all understand- 
 ing." From the hour of this surrender 
 George went forth with the spirit of a Chris- 
 tian soldier. He became a member of the 
 First Congregationalist Church, August 2, 
 1863, on profession of his faith, with twenty 
 others. August 25, he entered the acad- 
 emy at Easthampton for a single term, 
 before entering the army. A few extracts 
 fi^om his diary will disclose his manner of 
 life, impressions, and progress : 
 
 ''Sept. 29, 1863. — I went to the summit of 
 Mount Tom last evening, in company with some 
 of our boys, and returned this morning, at six 
 o'clock. 
 
LIEUT. G. H. WALCOTT. 25 
 
 " Oct. 4. — Another Sabbath is past. The 
 president has preached all day. This is the 
 sixth Sabbath in Easthampton : only six are 
 left. My school-days will soon be over. I wish 
 I could go to college ; but the Lord knows what 
 is best for me, and I trust him implicitly. 
 
 " Wednesday, Oct. 28. — My nineteenth birth- 
 day. A beautiful autumnal day. The sun shines 
 warmly into the windows ; not a cloud visible. 
 What a year it has been ! What can be in store 
 for me the coming year ? God has been good 
 to me. In this year jast gone he has revealed 
 to me my danger, and caused me to turn to him 
 before it was too late. I am a Christian. O Fa- 
 ther ! help me, at the commencement of another 
 year of my life, to form new resolutions, and to 
 live more holily, and to do my duty at all times. 
 Make me to feel that thine eye is ever upon me, 
 and without thee I can do nothing. Help me to 
 grow in grace. In thee do I place my trust. 
 
 " Wednesday, Nov. 4. — On Monday eve we 
 had a torch-light procession : speeches by Presi- 
 dent Henshaw, Professor Hubbard, Hon. Mr. 
 
26 MEMORIALS OF 
 
 Williston, Dr. Blanchard, President of TVheaton 
 College, 111., Dr. Seelye, and others. To-day I 
 have walked to the summit of Mount Iloljoke, 
 and back, via State Hospital and South Hadley. 
 
 " Nov. 7. — To Northampton to-day. Saw a 
 pair of oxen of enormous weight, — over four 
 tons. To prayer-meeting on Thursday eve. I 
 love to go into the house of the Lord. I should 
 not wish to live without God. Praise the Lord, 
 O my soul ! 
 
 " Nov. 8. — A delightful Sabbath. A prayer- 
 meeting was liolden in my room this afternoon. 
 G. and F. declared their intention to live for the 
 Lord Jesus Christ. I rejoice that I am a Chris- 
 tian. 
 
 ^^ Nov. 10. — Another glorious day. A meet- 
 ing in the chapel. H., of Kansas, and B., of 
 Vermont, and "W., of Pennsylvania, have re- 
 solved to become the disciples of Christ. I 
 resign myself wholly to him. He doeth all things 
 well. 
 
 "iVoy. 11. — A meeting in my room. S., of 
 Savannah, Georgia, and several others, rose and 
 
LIEUT. G. H. WALCOTT. 27 
 
 spoke of consecrating themselves. The Lord is 
 with us, and will bless us. Exchanged hats with 
 D., of Pennsylvania, who desires me to remem- 
 ber him by it. He is a good fellow, and has be- 
 come a Christian. His parents are Quakers. 
 
 ^^ Nov. 14. — Next Saturday shall be at home, 
 Deo volente. I descended a shaft into the lead 
 mines to-day, advancing about half a mile into 
 the tunnel. A meeting for prayer : new evi- 
 dences of the goodness of the Lord. 
 
 " Sabbath, Nov. 15. — The last Sabbath forme 
 in Easthq^mpton has gone. Have heard Dr. 
 Seelye for the last time. Have been thinking 
 of E. to-day. Grant, Father, that she may re- 
 member her promise to pray daily for me. 
 Amen. 
 
 "Nov. 18.' — I have been jolly to-day. Have 
 been around with R. to bid the boys good-by, and 
 have been frolicking generally." 
 
 All the while George was at Easthampton 
 he commended himself as the prince of 
 good fellows. Frank, honorable, decisive, 
 
28 MEMORIALS OF 
 
 lie carried his religion as a healthful ele- 
 ment everywhere with him. He was fore- 
 most in sports, and by his ringing laugh 
 and manly bearing rendered his society 
 indispensable. 
 
 Meanwhile, the fires of patriotism were 
 kindling within him. In his correspond- 
 ence with his mother he was preparing 
 her for a new career. Every bulletin from 
 the army thrilled him, and confirmed his 
 resolve to enter the ranks of his country's 
 defenders. His mother justly recoiled from 
 this surrender of her oldest son, upon 
 whose arm alone she could lean, and who 
 was her confidant. But she interposed no 
 obstacles, uttered no syllable to chill his 
 patriotic fervor. With tears she accepted 
 the fact, and prepared to meet it. He 
 writes, under date of Nov. 13, 1863 : 
 
LIEUT. G. H. WALCOTT. 29 
 
 " I know you are a good, kind mother. You 
 must be a Spartan mother. I am resolved that 
 the grand aims of my life shall be my God, truth, 
 and my country. I wish to buckle on the armor : 
 I must." 
 
 Under date of Oct. 28, 1863, he wrote a 
 letter whicli rings with bugle note : 
 
 " Mother Dear : — I received your letter, 
 and was glad. To-day is my birthday. I am 
 now old enough, strong enough, willing enough 
 to do something for my country. Abraham Lin- 
 coln has called for three hundred thousand more. 
 The brave who have gone send up a cry for help, 
 that all may not be lost. Shall not that call be 
 heard ? What future is there for a young man 
 if this rebellion is not crushed ? Mother, I must 
 go. Emma has one to care for her. The boys 
 can all cut their way, except Fred. Do not 
 think this a romantic impulse ; all that has passed. 
 I wish to blend my efforts with others to do what 
 I can for my country^ for humanity, and for my 
 
so MEMORIALS OF 
 
 God. He can protect me on the battle-field as 
 well as at home. He will never desert me. If 
 he shall see fit to call me home — then there is no 
 more sorrow. Mother, ask God to direct you. 
 I have prayed to know my duty. 
 
 Your affectionate 
 
 George." 
 
LIEUT. G. H. WALCOTT. 31 
 
 III. 
 
 Geoege lias enlisted. His journal opens 
 with the year 1864 ; and he is in the camp 
 of instruction, upon Long Island, in the 
 harbor of Boston. Gen. Meade's army lies 
 now in its winter cantonments, in the form 
 of a sickle, between Alexandria and Cul- 
 pepper. The handle of the sickle — the 
 Fifth Corps — runs parallel with the Orange 
 and Alexandria Eailroad, which it guards 
 from guerillas. The blade of the sickle 
 springs away at Beverly Ford toward Mad- 
 ison Court House, round by Culpepper and 
 Raccoon Ford, and the point stretches to- 
 wards Fredericksburg. The affair of Mine 
 Run is over, and Meade and Lee lie await- 
 
32 MEMORIALS OF 
 
 ing the spring, and observing each other. 
 Gen. Grant is coming from the Cumberland 
 to examine mihtary charts with the Secre- 
 tary of War and the President, and to pro- 
 ject the sanguinary but victorious campaign 
 of '64. Young warriors are hurrying for- 
 ward, from North and East and West, to 
 the different regiments and corps, in squads 
 of twenties and fifties and hundreds. Gal- 
 lant hosts are mustering from every hillside 
 and valley and city, — many of them, alas ! 
 to fall in battle. 
 
 " Sabbath, Jan. 3. — What a Sabbath ! — my 
 first in camp. The men seem to have forgot- 
 ten the day. The Lord be merciful unto us ! I 
 shall be glad to reach the regiment. For all 
 that, I enjoy soldiering. 
 
 " Jan. 8. — How different these from my 
 school-days ! O God ! keep me in the right 
 path. 
 
LIEUT. G. II. WALCOTT. 33 
 
 " Jan, 9. — Still on Long Island. A letter 
 came to-daj from Cousin Amelia. 
 
 '•^ Jan, 10. — I hope I shall not lapse into the 
 bad ways of army life. God helping me, I won't. 
 The Lord is my help. In him do I put my trust. 
 
 ^^ Jan. 13. — To-day we have been drilled. 
 Supped with J. A., who goes to-morrow to 
 Charleston, S. C. Mr. Hazeltine goes to "Wash- 
 ington to-day." 
 
 Mr. Hazeltine was a noble man, of com- 
 manding figure, finely chiselled features 
 and flowing beard, who united with the 
 church on the same morning with George, 
 and who fell during the summer, in one of 
 the battles of June, before Richmond. 
 
 "Ja?2. 18. — Left Long Island at 1.30, with 
 three days* rations. At G.30 P. M., in the cars, 
 and off for Dixie. 
 
 " Jan. 19. — At 9.15, at Jersey City. Stopped 
 at Newport, R. L, over night. To New York 
 to-day, and over the ferry. 
 
34: MEMORLILS OF 
 
 " Ja/i. 20. — Somewhere in New Jersey. 
 Left Jersey City last night at 12 o'clock. At 
 2.15, P. M., we are at Philadelphia : all in cat- 
 tle-cars, and waiting to start for Baltimore. 
 
 "Jan. 21. — In barracks at Baltimore, and 
 have slept soundly. 
 
 " Jan. 23. — Alexandria, Va. In ' Soldiers' 
 Rest.' The weather is like northern March. 
 I sit upon the ground." 
 
 "Alexandria, Va., Jan. 22, 1864. 
 
 " My Dear Mother : I had heard of 
 
 Virginia mud: 1 am acquainted with it now. 
 Soldiers' Rest is a beautiful place, — a long 
 white building for our barracks, another in 
 which to eat, another for washing, and others 
 still for purposes I know not ; the whole sur- 
 rounded by a high whitewashed fence. Last 
 night a gentleman of the Sanitary Commission 
 entered the barracks and gave us some soldiers' 
 hymn-books, then addressed us upon the subject 
 so dear to us. 
 
 " It is a lovely moonlight night. I can hear the 
 
LIEUT. G. H. WALCOTT. 35 
 
 distant cars running to tlie front. I shall get my 
 gun tliis afternoon. Herman and I camped down 
 together last evening upon the floor, using our 
 knapsacks for pillows. We snoozed away most 
 soundly. We marched across Washington City 
 on our route hither three times. It would not 
 have been military if we had not slung our knap- 
 sacks and stood an hour or two, or perhaps half 
 a day. Some grumble, but I expect this, and 
 laugh while others scold. 
 
 " Mother, it would be useless, I suppose, to ask 
 you not to worry about me ; but it will do no good 
 to be over-anxious. Even if I never return, it 
 will be all right. God knows best. AYe can 
 and must trust him. I feel safe in his hands. 
 Be cheerful, mother ; for all things work together 
 for good to them that love God 
 
 " I am resolved to rise early daily, and to be a 
 flrst-class soldier, and do my duty faithfully in 
 every capacity, private or official. I shall be 
 strict, but kind. Every officer should have been 
 first a private. Discipline is the thing for an 
 army ! You know my history. Mr. Winch is 
 
36 MEMORIALS OF 
 
 not a bad disciplinarian : to be with liim and not 
 come to time, is impossible. I hope to show my- 
 self to be made of good stuff, and to resemble my 
 mother. My health and courage are both good 
 »— the latter better, perhaps, than it will be when 
 I get before the enemy. I am not homesick. I 
 love my home ; there is none better ; but I am 
 doing my duty. 
 
 Affectionately, 
 
 George." 
 
 " Camp 22cl Eeg., Beverly Ford, 
 
 " Rappahannock River, Va. 
 
 "t7of72. 26. — Now I am really in the army, I 
 must try and live up to my religious principles, 
 and, God helping me, I will. 
 
 " Jan. 30. — One week in Virginia. I write 
 in the woods, waiting to go on my post from nine 
 o'clock to twelve to-night. We expect a guerilla 
 raid. We will give them a warm reception. 
 
 " Feh. 1. — Came in from picket, tired and 
 dirty. Col. Sherwin sent for me, and gave me 
 papers from Washington. I am to be examined 
 
LIEUT. G. H. WALCOTT. 37 
 
 before Casey's Board for a commission. A letter 
 from mother." 
 
 Tiiroiigli the kindness of Senator Wilson, 
 George found hiniself in Washington Feb- 
 ruary 6, and dined at the senator's hotel 
 with his family. Senator Wilson procured 
 an extension of his furlough, and gave him a 
 recommendation to Gen. Casey. Upon the 
 9th he was examined. On the 10th he lis- 
 tened to speeches in the Senate and House, 
 and explored the Capitol, returning to Bev- 
 erly Ford on the 11th to await the results 
 of examination before Casey's Board. 
 
 "i^eJ. 11. — Reached Rappahannock Station at 
 two o'clock, P. M., and marched to camp. At- 
 tended the prayer-meeting in the chapel of the 
 22d regiment. The colonel and other officers 
 were present." 
 
 The writer of these memoirs was chap- 
 
38 MEMORIALS OF 
 
 lain of the 22d regiment, and the pastor of 
 George in Massachusetts. He was received 
 with great courtesy by Gen. Tilton and Col. 
 Sherwin, and a chapel was at once erected, 
 of considerable architectural attractions. 
 The logs were jointed into the shape of 
 sloping Gothic buttresses. There was a 
 vestibule or porch, a neat gallery, supported 
 by sturdy brackets, a platform and pulpit ; 
 the walls were festooned with Virginia green. 
 Seats, hewed from logs, were all around, 
 leaving a centre aisle. Division and brig- 
 ade generals, with their staffs, came to wor- 
 ship ; and fair ladies from Philadelphia and 
 New York, from Maine and Massachusetts, 
 blended their voices with the choir organ- 
 ized by Col. Sherwin. Officers came in full 
 dress, as a mark of reverence, and soldiers 
 wore their side-arms. 
 
LIEUT. G. H. WALCOTT. 39 
 
 Many a noble heart that sighed upward 
 in prayer, and many voices of dear Chris- 
 tian soldiers that stirred us with eloquent 
 acknowledgments of the love of Christ, were 
 in a few months to be forever silenced amid 
 the carnage of the Wilderness, of Spottsjd- 
 vania, of North Anna, of Petersburg. 
 
 The voice of George was often heard in 
 the meetings for prayer. He was ever the 
 same cheerful, manly spirit, — ready at all 
 times to speak of the goodness and love of 
 his Saviour and Lord. 
 
 For the sake of our young readers, we 
 will sketch Virginia scenery and camp life 
 as George found it. 
 
 Stand by the chapel upon the hill and 
 sweep the circle. Tlie Blue Ridgo rises 
 like enchantment ; never Vas there so co- 
 quettish a range of mountains. Yesterday 
 
40 MEMORIALS OF 
 
 SO near that the gray rocks shone through 
 the purple mist, and you could see tlic curl- 
 ing smoke of hostile camp-fires of flying 
 guerillas who scout the Shenandoah ; to-day 
 they recede, and seem fifty miles away. The 
 eye ever reposes with delight upon the grace- 
 ful outlines. The atmosphere is an artist, 
 and casts new mantles over them daily. No 
 Flora McFlimsey or Pauline Bonaparte was 
 ever so fickle, and yet uniformly elegant, in 
 her costumes. 
 
 Over the Rappahannock are the head- 
 quarters of Gen. Pleasanton ; further on, 
 the village of Gen. Meade, in concentric 
 circles of rank. Upon the outside an im- 
 mense stud of horses, well groomed and 
 mettlesome ; then piles of pressed hay, high 
 as a cathedral ; then the dress parade of 
 camp carriages, light and artistic, for t\\t 
 
LIEUT. G. H. WALCOTT. 41 
 
 general-in-cliief and his staff alone ; and 
 now the village of Gen. Patrick, chief of 
 proTost ; then of Gen. Humphreys, who is 
 the ''Gen. Gneisenau" of the army. At 
 length you reach the centre of this city of 
 canvas, and Gen. Meade is there the brain into 
 which all these telegraphic lines converge. 
 The immense army lies coiled about him. 
 At a Avord from him, dense blue masses of 
 soldiers would start from a hundred hills 
 and vales, debouch from woods, and move 
 in columns, converging at every tread 
 toward some field of dreadful carnage. 
 Telegraphic lines, sustained by slender poles, 
 will always guide you from Sedgwick, from 
 Warren, from Sykes, to the centre of the 
 army. Our camp-fires, fuelled with the 
 best of black walnut, remorselessly cut down 
 in these old Virginia forests through which 
 
42 MEMOEIALS OF 
 
 tlie Washingtons, Lees, Fairfaxes, and 
 Spotswoods once galloped with hound and 
 horn, are to burn for two months, and the 
 army, like a huge anaconda, lie motionless. 
 
 Let us look around us, see how the sol- 
 dier lives, what gay officers are about, what 
 are the occupations and pastimes of an ex- 
 pectant army. 
 
 The scenery has become desolate. Mil- 
 lions of crows — genuine ravens, in suits of 
 ghostly black, that would delight the gloomy 
 genius of Edgar A. Poe — flap about us in 
 squadrons, regiments, corps, and armies. 
 Carcasses of horses lie frequent upon the 
 plains, which these black surgeons have dis- 
 sected with busy scalpel. You may crack your 
 riding-whip, or discharge your pistol — they 
 only rise a few feet, and flap slowly off a rod 
 or two, in solemn contempt. They cloud 
 
LIEUT. G. PI. WALCOTT. 43 
 
 the heavens at sundown, as they return, 
 corps after corps, from a convention about 
 the offal of the camps at Culpepper. All 
 fences have vanished. Heavy caissons and 
 artillery wheels have been whirled in the 
 fury of battle across fields and through dis- 
 mantled orchards, and stacks of chimneys 
 are scarred and blackened monuments of 
 the past. Old Virginia ht)uses echo the clang 
 of sabres and the thunder of riding-boots. 
 
 Gen. Sykes and his staff have domiciliated 
 themselves in the house of a planter. Gen. 
 Bartlett in another, Gen. Tilton in another. 
 Proud Virginia girls are destitute of shoes 
 and bonnets . Lazy planters — some of them 
 despised by their own wives because absent 
 from Confederate service — sit upon their 
 verandahs, very African in dialect, very 
 seedy, and very proud of Stonewall Jackson. 
 
44 MEMORIALS OF 
 
 Their walnut and maple forests are melting 
 away ; their negroes will melt away too as 
 the army leaves. 
 
 The soldier is busy picketing, cooking, 
 washing clothes, playing chess and checkers, 
 and opening packets from home. 
 
 Dress parade, band practice in distant 
 hollows, target firing — these are the order 
 of the day. Occasional dashes of fiery 
 guerillas through the lines and up to the 
 headquarters of Gen. Schweitzer, sending 
 his wife into the cellar, and rousing up staff 
 officers in undress to fire their pistols in the 
 moonlight at shadowy horsemen, — sudden 
 ripples now and then upon the picket line 
 wake us in the night, cause the colonel to 
 send his orderly around to officers with a 
 caution, and the soldier turns over to feel 
 for his rifle, and then all is still again. 
 
LIEUT. G. H. WALCOTT. 45 
 
 Enter the hut of the soldier. Its little 
 dome of two or three ponchos flaps in the 
 wind, or is musically drummed upon by the 
 rain. Pairs, triplets, quartettes of soldiers 
 lie like spoons in a drawer, — changing po- 
 sition, when tired, at a given signal, by 
 mutual understanding, and with military 
 promptness. They couch like Turks about 
 the fire, shave by pocket-mirrors, fresco the 
 log wainscot with Frank Leslie or Harper's 
 Monthly emblazoned with imaginary pyra- 
 mids of cannon-balls, belching columbiads, 
 and band-box colonels and majors riding 
 ridiculously in advance of their, regiments, 
 upon fiery horses, into the smoke of war, 
 and carrying, as no colonel often does, the 
 regimental standard. The most expert dis- 
 ciple of Soyer slashes the pork and the beef, 
 turns it upon the coals, or fries the " hard- 
 
46 SIEMORIALS OF 
 
 tack " which has been soaking over night. 
 Tailoring, cobbling, military discussions, 
 criticisms of generals, in all the confidence 
 of a Napier or Jomini ; scouring of bayonets, 
 reading of religious and secular papers, 
 prophecies of speedy movement across the 
 Rapidan, — all these in this microcosm of a 
 few feet square. 
 
 Meanwhile gay cavalcades of officers' 
 wives (soon to be ordered out of the army) 
 fly to and fro with military escorts, to ex- 
 change courtesies with corps or division 
 commanders. 
 
 There are military balls. Suddenly the 
 headquarters of Gen. Bartlett become a 
 bower for a fair Rosamond — with its gate- 
 way of green in the form of a lady's bon- 
 net — with its winding avenues. Traitor 
 ous -planters groan inwardly as bands of 
 
LIEUT. G. H. WALCOTT. 47 
 
 pioneers invade the groves, slashing the firs, 
 spruces, and maples. 
 
 Two polished cannon of bronze point 
 down the hall. Eagles and stars of tin, 
 swords arranged in clusters — flashing blades 
 radiating from the centres or crossing each 
 other as if wielded by invisible combatants 
 — festoons of green forming a groined arch 
 as of some Gothic temple, carpets of white 
 canvas all adorn the saloon. There are 
 senators' wives, a secretary's daughter from 
 Washington, and wives of officers from 
 many a state. The band bursts suddenly 
 into a clash of music as a fountain hurls 
 upwards its jet of waters from the pavd of 
 some Alhambra, and crowns of bayonets 
 gleam with their inserted tapers above the 
 throng of beauty. 
 
48 MEMORIALS OF 
 
 IV. 
 
 The examination of George was emi- 
 nently satisfactory, and he received a first 
 lieutenant's commission. On the morning 
 of Tuesday, March 1, 1864, the writer of 
 these memorials escorted the Lieutenant to 
 Rappahannock Station, and bade him adieu. 
 On arriving at "Washington, he called upon 
 Senator Wilson to receive some funds de- 
 posited with him, then left for home before 
 assuming his position in the 30th Reg't U. 
 S. colored troops. 
 
 After a joyful visit at home he proceeded 
 to Camp Birney, Md., and was mustered in 
 upon the 8th of March. A letter to his 
 
LIEUT. G. H. WALCOTT. 49 
 
 cousin \nll afford a sketch of liis move- 
 mentSr 
 
 " Camp Birney, near Baltimore, Md., 
 
 March 13. 
 
 " Dear Amelia : — I seize the first oppor- 
 tunity to let you know my whereabouts. I ar- 
 rived here on the 8th. Last Thursday received 
 orders to report, with thirty men, on board U. S. 
 steamer Cecil. "We proceeded to Point Lookout 
 on a recruiting expedition ; but on our arrival 
 Gen. Marston would not permit us to land, as 
 we were entering Gen. Butler's department. We 
 remained several hours, and I was introduced to 
 the officers of 2d New Hampshire Reg't. Left the 
 Point at 2 o'clock yesterday afternoon. Had a 
 beautiful sail upon the Chesapeake. We had a 
 race with a steamer. As we marched through 
 Baltimore, the people, on their way to church, 
 observed us sharply, but did not disturb us. How 
 different from three years ago, when the Massa- 
 chusetts Sixth was assaulted in these very streets ! 
 Tiwy fear the negro soldiers. My regiment is 
 4 
 
50 MEMORIALS OF 
 
 commanded by Lt.-Col. Oakman, of jMassacliu- 
 setts. I like him. I am assigned to Co. E., Capt. 
 Woodward; Second Lieut. Lewis Datrick. I 
 have a good six-shooter, for which I gave twenty- 
 three dollars ; so, beware ! 
 
 " "We have a chaplain, a young man, and grad- 
 uate of Amherst. He teaches the men to read 
 and to write, and preaches on the Sabbath. 
 "While he was preaching to-day, one of the men 
 began suddenly to cry aloud, and kneeled down 
 in the ranks. Not a smile was seen upon the 
 faces of the rest. I hear very little profanity. 
 Generally, the men are more moral than white 
 soldiers. They never grumble : give them an 
 order and they obey it. I would not change my 
 position for the same in a white regiment. The 
 officers are young, ambitious, of good principles, 
 and good companions. Love to all. 
 
 George." 
 
 " Broad Creek, Queen Ann's Co., 
 
 Kent Island, Md., March, 1S64. 
 
 " Dear Mother : — I left Baltimore last 
 
 TuescifLy, on another recruiting expedition. While 
 
LIEUT. G. H. WALCOTT. 51 
 
 superintending arrangements for departure, your 
 letter was placed in my hands — the first and 
 only one since I left you. Then came an order 
 from Col. Thomas to report to Capt. Swift for 
 special duty. So we started the next morning 
 on steamer Balloon, steamed down the bay, and 
 up the Choptank along the eastern shore to Eas- 
 ton, Md. When we reached our destination, we 
 confiscated a church to quarter our men in. It 
 is just the place we want. The men are down 
 stairs. Up stairs is a good room, with a carpet 
 and chairs. We have made it our headquarters. 
 Secessionists are very thick. There is one iu 
 the room at this moment trying to create a muss. 
 Last Monday we marched through Baltimore, 
 and stacked arms in Holiday Street, before Holi- 
 day-street Theatre, on the very spot where 
 Marshal Kane rallied his men, in 18G1, for a 
 plot to place the city in the hands of the rebels. 
 " Capt. Swift passed examination at the same 
 time I did before the Board at Washington, and 
 is senior captain. One of our negroes was shot 
 by a white man a day or two ago ; but the boy 
 
52 MEMORIALS OF 
 
 was to blame, — he was intoxicated. Do not 
 be alarmed about me." 
 
 There is an almost prophetic remark in 
 his diary : 
 
 '^Saturday, March 26. — Another week has 
 passed away, never to return. The time is 
 swiftly flying, and I am nearing my heavenly 
 home. There will be no more sorrow. I should 
 like to take a peep into home to-night. 
 
 " March 31. — Camp Birney once more. De- 
 tached from my regiment. I am ordered to take 
 command of Co. H, 39th U. S. C. T. 
 
 ^^ April 1. — Very busy to-day clothing my 
 men and procuring their rations. Have just 
 received a letter from my dear mother. God is 
 good in giving me such a home and friends. 
 
 " Sahbath, April 3. — Inspection. I have 
 moved my company into another part of the bar- 
 racks. It is communion hour at home. How I 
 should like to be there ! 
 
 " April 24. — Between Annapolis and Wash- 
 
LIEUT. G. H. WALCOTT. 53 
 
 ington. "What a Sabbath ! God help me to da 
 my duty at all times. We have marched all day, 
 and must lie down in the rain. Such is the sol- 
 dier's life. 
 
 '•^ April 25. — Virginia once more. Marched 
 through Washington to-day, and saw the Presi- 
 dent. Have had a tough march." 
 
 Everything now converges towards the 
 Rapidan. All along the base of supplies is 
 collected the material of war, and boxes of 
 " hard-tack " are piled high in air, like blocks 
 of warehouses in New York or Philadelphia. 
 A campaign as bloody as that of Wagram or 
 Marengo was before us. In a few days the 
 carnival of war was to open, and day and 
 night the crackling of musketry and the 
 pounding of heavy guns would be heard 
 from the Wilderness to Petersburg. It will 
 be forever impossible to accurately rcpro- 
 
54 MEMORIALS OF 
 
 duce these scenes : the charges of cavalry, 
 
 — the onset of divisions and brigades, — 
 the fierce contests for particular positions, 
 
 — the exploits of individual soldiers, which 
 will forever lack a historian, and must go 
 down into the silence of forgetfulness, or be 
 recited, with flashing eye, by scarred and 
 surviving comrades, by future firesides. 
 
 For weeks Burnside's Corps had been the 
 gossip of the camp. From Annapolis he 
 could be hurled as a flying column in any 
 direction. By this last week of April, his 
 corps — the Ninth — pushed its advance col- 
 umns to Fairfax, and began to throw little 
 wisps of cavalry towards Falmouth and 
 Fredericksburg. Lieut. Walcott's regiment 
 was at Fairfax on the 27th, and at Man- 
 assas Junction the 28th ; on the 4th of 
 May at Catlett's Station, pushing for the 
 front ; but where was that to be ? 
 
LIEUT. G. H. WALCOTT. 55 
 
 111 the Fifth Corps speculations were rife. 
 Should we join Burnside, and storm Fred- 
 ericksburg ? or would he suddenly take 
 transports and proceed up the James or the 
 York ? Would Meade attempt to turn the 
 flank of Mine Run upon the left, or seize the 
 inside track around by Madison Court House, 
 crowding Lee towards the sea, and cutting 
 the lines running south ? 
 
 Gen. Grant soon arrives at Culpepper and 
 fixes his flagstaff in the ground well towards 
 the Rapidan. Taciturn as the grave, his 
 corps commanders, up to the hour when 
 grand divisions began debouching from vales 
 and woods and took direction towards the 
 fords, knew not which way the finger of war 
 was pointing. Reinforcements were added 
 to the Second Corps.* The First and Third 
 were blended with the Fifth and Sixth. 
 
56 MEMORIALS OF 
 
 Maj.-Geii. Hancock commanded the Second, 
 Warren the Fifth, Sedgwick (alas ! soon to 
 fall) the Sixth. The badge of the Second 
 Corps was a lozenge ; of the Fifth, a Mal- 
 tese cross ; of the sixth, a Latin cross. A 
 straggler could easily find his corps, divis- 
 ion, and regiment. 
 
 The scouts of Gen. Lee, from the summit 
 of Clark's Mountain, watched every cloud 
 of dust. 
 
 On Tuesday afternoon. May 3, Gen. Gregg 
 pushed his cavalry quickly towards Ely's 
 Ford, and Gen. Wilson seized Germania 
 Ford. Soon an eagle flying from Rappa- 
 hannock to Culpepper could have seen with 
 his keen eye Hancock, Warren, and Sedg- 
 wick all defiling by different roads, by the 
 light of the stars, to Germania Ford ; and 
 also, in the early morn, the convulsive start 
 
LIEUT. G. H. WALCOTT. 57 
 
 of Lee's forces as. with yells of exultation, 
 tliej moYC rapidly upon our flank. Burn- 
 side remains all day Wednesday on the Rap- 
 idan, covering Washington. The various 
 corps, pushing with great celerity, arrive at 
 their first bivouac at the Wilderness on 
 Wednesday afternoon, — the Fifth getting 
 into position near the house Avliere Stone- 
 wall Jackson was taken, wounded, the year 
 before. On Thursday morning, May 5, at 
 six o'clock A. M., the click of our pioneers' 
 axes in the Fifth Corps is heard cutting 
 down trees for abatis, and to clear the 
 ground to afford range for the musketeers. 
 Generals Grant and Meade are on the 
 ground, and have fixed their flags at the 
 old mill on the Germania road. The army 
 is in position in the form of a crescent, one 
 horn resting upon Germania Ford, where 
 
58 MEMORIALS OF 
 
 is the Sixth Corps ; then comes the Fifth, 
 then the Second ; the other horn resting 
 towards Chancellorsville. Burnside has 
 crossed at Ely's Ford, and comes just in time 
 to fill the gap between the Second and Fifth 
 Corps. 
 
 The white troops and a portion of the 
 colored are advanced to the front. The 
 writer saw some of them go into position. 
 A portion of them are halted in reserve, in- 
 cluding Lieut. Walcott's regiment. The 
 roar of battle floated back into his ears for 
 two days. 
 
 In his diary he writes : 
 
 " May 2. — In camp at Manassas Junction. I 
 have lived a year for my God. O God, help me 
 to live a life that will be pleasing in thy sight ! 
 In thee, dear Father, do I put my trust ! With- 
 out thee I can do nothing. Save me for Christ's 
 
LIEUT. G. H. WALCOTT. 59 
 
 sake. Bless her through whose influence I was 
 induced to seek thee. 
 
 " 3Iay C. — jSTear Germania Ford. Roused at 
 two o'clock this morning. We crossed the Rap- 
 idan at eight o'clock, advanced to the rear of the 
 battle-field, but were halted. 
 
 " 3fay 7. — Roused at eleven o'clock last night, 
 and marched to Gen. Grant's headquarters. The 
 enemy opened upon us about five this morning. 
 We whipped the force opposed to us, then ad- 
 vanced to Chancellorsville." 
 
 He passed over Chancellorsville field on 
 Sunday the 8tli. It was the first flank 
 movement after the Wilderness conflict. 
 The "writer saw the Sixth and Burnside's 
 Corps moving around towards Spottsylvania, 
 but, amid the immense masses of troops, 
 could get no glimpse of Lieut. Walcott. 
 
 Let us go back for a few moments to the 
 morning of May 5, and take a glimpse of 
 the great battle that is raging. 
 
60 MEMORIALS OF 
 
 Stand ill the centre of the crescent, and 
 your nerves thrill at the slightest sj^asm of 
 battle from right to left. Fifteen or twenty 
 thousand reserves are bivouacked in the 
 centre, making coffee with much noncha- 
 lance, or moving in columns here or there 
 to strengthen the reeling lines of fire. The 
 peculiar odor of battle, — of gunpowder and 
 blood, and of reeking horses, sullen clouds 
 of smoke, crisped and burning leaves, — all 
 float back towards you ; and little knots of 
 cowardly stragglers walk up to you with an 
 assumed air of courage, and ask you to show 
 them, as soon as possible, the way to their 
 regiments; while others, with slight wounds, 
 sling their arms and wear the forlornest look. 
 But these men are not numerous, and the 
 steady roar of the fight tells of the heroic 
 persistence of our noble army. From out 
 
LIEUT. G. H. WALCOTT. 61 
 
 every copse and ravine, and from hillsides, 
 flow the melancholy tide of ambulances 
 to their various hospitals. It is a dark, 
 mysterious fight. The lines run winding 
 through glens and thickets, along hills and 
 into ravines, where the flash of muskets is 
 the only guide for the rifleman. The deadly 
 strife rages about every wooded height, and 
 in every dark hollow. The waves advance 
 and retire, now overflowing, now shattered 
 upon brave breasts. As you ride forward 
 there springs up a demoniac yell, then 
 splashes of musketry, which in a moment 
 become a rattling, deafening roar, and you 
 feel the weight upon our lines, as if your 
 own nerves terminated everywhere at the 
 circumference of the battle. Suddenly the 
 sound seems stationary ; a deep answering 
 roll of musketry rises again, is wafted ii'om 
 
C2 MEMORIALS OF 
 
 you ; you tliank God for our brave boys, 
 and your blood bounds to hear honest 
 Yankee cheers wind up this repulse of the 
 enemy's charge. 
 
 From seven o'clock A. M. of Thur&day 
 till sunset the musketry is almost incessant. 
 Artillery is not heard. No batteries can 
 get in position. Lee is straining every nerve, 
 by furious and rapid assault, at horrible ex- 
 pense of the lives of his men, to shatter our 
 lines, destroy Grant's prestige, and inspire 
 our army with fear for the rest of the cam- 
 paign. The result was the reverse : his 
 own army never afterwards charged with 
 confidence. 
 
 The sun goes down upon this field of 
 blood. One hundred and fifty thousand 
 combatants cast themselves wearily upon 
 their -arms to snatch rest. The woods are 
 
LIEUT. G. H. WALCOTT. 63 
 
 full of dead and dying. Groans of wounded 
 officers and privates rise upward to the stars. 
 Torches flash through the woods, and there 
 are stooping comrades lifting tenderly the 
 sufferers upon stretchers, or burying them 
 in trenches. Our lines are where they were 
 in the morning. The Fifth Corps has ad- 
 vanced a half mile. Lee has been foiled at 
 all points. He must conquer : a draivn hat- 
 tie is a defeat for him. 
 
 During the night the batteries are feeling 
 out positions, and at daybreak the horrible 
 bass of shrapnel or spherical case — tearing, 
 hissing through the underbrush — will min- 
 gle with the treble of musketry. An Eng- 
 lish nobleman in the army declares it to be 
 the most terrible musketry of modern his- 
 tory. It has raged for fourteen hours. At 
 dawn cannonading commences. There arc 
 
64 MEMORIALS OF 
 
 tremendous assaults upon the left and cen- 
 tre, and then upon the right. The Sixth 
 Corps yields ground a little, loses Gen. Sey- 
 mour, and retakes its line. A frightful con- 
 flagration breaks out in front of Burnside : 
 the dry leaves and brush burn like tinder. 
 The heat rolls back for miles, and thousands 
 of dying veterans must be shrivelled by this 
 new and cruel foe. 
 
 The weary armies rest for breath at me- 
 ridian. At five o'clock P. M. brigades 
 stealthily pushed forward — again collide ; 
 there is an upleaping of divisions and corps, 
 fearful charges, — the terrible roll deepening 
 into ocean-like roar, accented with the heavy 
 peals of Napoleon and Parrot guns. 
 
 Again the sun goes down in blood, and 
 Lee is crippling himself in desperation. 
 The charges have been feebler. Yells are 
 
LIEHT. G. II. WALCOTT. 65 
 
 not heard to-day, nor will they be heard 
 again, but once or twice, then feebly, for 
 the rest of the campaign. 
 
 On Saturday the conflict at the Wilder- 
 ness closed. Trains began to move round 
 by the rear of both armies towards Spottsyl- 
 vania. Burnside's Corps and Sedgwick's 
 Sixth Corps were all day on Sunday, May 8, 
 marching over the old Chancellorsville field. 
 That division of Burnside's Corps which in- 
 cluded Lieut. Walcott's regiment was em- 
 ployed (according to his diary) in guarding 
 the flank and rear during the movement, 
 and encountered the enemy on the 7th, and 
 routed them, advanced southward of Fred- 
 ericksburg, and threw up breastworks, while 
 our army was again grappling with Lee at 
 Spottsylvania. 
 
 The writer of these memoirs availed him- 
 
G6 MEMORIALS OF 
 
 self of tliG opportunity to examine the field 
 of Chancellorsville, memorable for the bat- 
 tle under Gen. Hooker. The rifle-pits were 
 still there. It was very easy to trace the 
 lines, their advance and retreat. The posi- 
 tion of our army seems to have been a good 
 one, and one hardly knows why the enemy 
 should have forced Hooker from his ground. 
 
 On the 9th of May, the very day that the 
 fierce battles in and around Spottsylvania 
 opened to continue until the 18th, Lieut. 
 Walcott's regiment was put into entrench- 
 ments, still protecting the flank. Momen- 
 tarily expecting an assault, and compelled 
 to exercise sleepless vigilance, they yet es- 
 caped the horrors of the week, and could 
 only listen to the distant roar as it rolled 
 back from Spottsylvania Heights. 
 
 " 3Iay 12. — Still behind the breastworks. 
 
LIEUT. G. H. WALCOTT. 67 
 
 There has been the heaviest fighting to-day of 
 the week : an incessant roar of artillery and mus- 
 ketry since morning. It has rained all day. 
 
 " May 13. — Still rainy. We marched at 
 six o'clock this evening, and reached this place, 
 five miles from Fredericksburg. It was an aw- 
 ful march, through mud knee-deep, and in the 
 dark. 
 
 ^^May 14. — Another week has passed away. 
 The battle is still going on. "We are under 
 orders to move to-night. I pray God to watch 
 over me, protect me, and make me pure and 
 holy. 
 
 '•^ May 15. — In line of battle all night, ex- 
 pecting an attack, — our batteries shotted and in 
 position." 
 
 On Thursday, May 19, the fires of Spott- 
 sylvania smouldered into silence that was 
 so profound as to be ominous. In the 
 evening a sudden, fierce attack of Ewell's 
 Corps upon the First Mass. Heavy Artillery 
 
68 MEMORIALS OF 
 
 and one of the New York Heavy Artillery 
 regiments in our rear partially explained it. 
 This attack of Ewell was, in part, to recruit 
 the exhausted commissariat of Lee, who 
 told his troops that they must capture our 
 supply trains or starve ; in part,*to cover his 
 retreat towards Richmond. The writer was 
 but three-quarters of a mile distant when 
 the engagement opened. Lieut. Walcott, it 
 seems from his diary, had a share in this 
 handsome repulse of Ewell. His regiment 
 left Salem Church at seven o'clock P. M., 
 upon the double-quick, through woods and 
 swamps, and were soon under the shells of 
 Ewell's batteries. They were ordered to 
 hold the road (the Fredericksburg road, I 
 suppose, over which passed our ambulance 
 and supply trains) at all hazards. The 
 rebels were driven back in the moonlight. 
 
LIEUT. G. H. WALCOTT. 69 
 
 Lieut. Walcott remained there till Satur- 
 day ; then marched to Guiney's Station ; 
 thence, with some delays, to Bowling Green ; 
 thence to Milfbrd, Newtown, and Aylett's ; 
 thence to Hanoverton on the Pamunkey. 
 
 The little diary of this noble and gallant 
 spirit is not remarkable for its literature ; 
 but it is nevertheless pathetic, and becomes 
 painful as we near the last entry, written in 
 pencil with a tremulous hand : 
 
 " Sunday, May 22. — On the march to Rich- 
 mond. Have marched all day, and expect to 
 march all night. It has been frightfully hot. 
 Oh, what a Sabbath ! I pray God to keep me 
 from sin. God bless the friends at home. 
 
 " Monday, May 23. — Marched through Bowl- 
 ing Green." 
 
 Gen. Warren was at this time pushing 
 his Fifth Corps across the North Anna 
 
70 MEMORIALS OF 
 
 River, and Gen. Hancock was pounding 
 away at the junction of North and South 
 Anna Rivers, crossing, and pusliing stead- 
 ily forward. The battle of the North Anna, 
 won by our Fifth Corps, was one of the most 
 critical and successful of the campaign. 
 
 " May 25. — We broke camp this morning, 
 marched three miles, and are now in the woods, 
 encamped a few miles south of Milford, Ya. 
 
 ''May 26. — At Milford to-night. My com- 
 pany is on picket, guarding the bridge over the 
 Mattapony River. I have written a long letter 
 to mother to-day. I should like to step into the 
 prayer-meeting at home to-night. 
 
 " May 27. — We started this morning at five 
 without breakfast: muddy and warm. I have 
 some eggs and corn-cakes for dinner, and shall 
 have a chicken for supper. I am first-rate : 
 never felt better. 
 
 " Sunday, 29. — On the banks of the Pamun- 
 key River, near Hanoverton, twelve miles from 
 
LIEUT. G. H. WALCOTT. 71 
 
 Richmond. God be praised for the success 
 which we are having ! I pray that the war may 
 soon cease, and I may live to see peace once 
 more. 
 
 " Monday^ 30. — Heavy fighting a few miles 
 towards Richmond. Four letters from mother, 
 and two from Amelia, to-day, God bless them ! 
 
 " May 31. — Another month is almost gone, — 
 a month ever memorable in history. I thank 
 God for his goodness. In the woods, on the 
 road to Richmond from llano verton. 
 
 " June 1. — I have a terrible headache. 
 Fighting is going briskly on in the direction of 
 Mechanicsville. I pray God to help me do my 
 duty, and to spare my health and life. 
 
 " June 2. — We moved a few miles to-day, 
 and are near Newcastle. I am pretty sick. 
 
 " June 4. — I feel very sick : I shall be glad 
 when I get well. We have not moved to-day. 
 There is heavy firing to-night. 
 
 " Sunday, 5. — A lovely evening. The chap- 
 lain preached this afternoon. It is communion 
 Sabbath at home. I should like to have been 
 
72 MEMORIALS OF 
 
 there. Yeiy heavy firing again to-night. Have 
 written a few lines to Amelia. 
 
 " June G. — At Old Church Tavern. I am 
 much better than I was yesterday. We moved 
 in the night, and have been throwing up entrench- 
 ments. A letter from mother to-day. 
 
 '-'June 10. — The cavalry pickets w^ere driven 
 in this afternoon. We were out, but they had 
 all skedaddled. 
 
 ^'- June 11. — The regiment has been out on 
 reconnoisance. I have been too sick to go, and 
 remained in camp. I pray that I may get well 
 soon. 
 
 ''^ June 14. — I rode in the ambulance to-day. 
 We are near the Chickahominy. 
 
 ''''June 15. — Sick, and lying in an ambulance. 
 
 " June 16. — We have marched twenty miles 
 to-day, and crossed the Chickahominy at 8.30 
 A. M. We are now on the banks of the James. 
 
 " June 17. — Very hot. We crossed the 
 James to-day. I am in the ambulance. The 
 
 rebels shelled us to-day I have been under 
 
 fire. Crossed at Wilson's Bend. 
 
LIEUT. G. H. WALCOTT. 73 
 
 ^^June 18. — I am very sick; have been riding 
 in ambulance all daj. We are near Petersburg." 
 
 On the 19th of June the writer rode to 
 the front with Gen. Pearson of the 155th 
 Pennsylvania regiment. On our return we 
 found a division of colored troops biv- 
 ouacked in the rear of Gen. Birney's head- 
 quarters before Petersburg. It flashed upon 
 me that Lieut. Walcott might be found. I 
 soon identified his regiment, but found him 
 not. We then rode to the ambulance train. 
 I called George by name. There was a 
 faint response, then an exclamation of joy, 
 as he roused from a stupor of illness and. 
 recognized my voice. A pang of sorrow 
 entered my heart as I looked upon his palo 
 face and eyes that l^jid lost their lustre. 
 He felt sure that he would be sent on tho 
 
74 MEMORIALS OF 
 
 morrow to City Point, thence to Washing- 
 ton. I left him with this conviction, dis- 
 tressed at the thought that I might see 
 him no more. His surgeon was certainly 
 severe : he should have been sent to the 
 hospital weeks earlier. 
 
 " June 20. — I am in a hospital-tent. I shall 
 be so glad when I get well ! 
 
 "Jime 21. — They have moved me from the 
 tent to-night, and have placed me in a house. I 
 am very sick. 
 
 " Jane 22. — Still in the hospital. I shall be 
 glad when I get where I can have good care and 
 something to eat. 
 
 " June 23. — Still at the hospital near the front. 
 We ought to be moved : a shell struck the hos- 
 pital to-day. 
 
 '''-June 24 — They moved us to City Point 
 to-day. It is no better than the other. Shall 
 be glad when I get to Washington." 
 
 This is the last entry in his diary. 
 
LIEUT. G. H. WALCOTT. 75 
 
 V. 
 
 This history of Lieut. Walcott rapidly 
 nears its close. Before many days, radiant 
 with light and joy, he takes his departure 
 from these scenes of earth. To-day, as I 
 write, the grand armies of Sherman and 
 Meade are passing in review before the 
 President and Lieut. Gen. Grant For two 
 days the serried ranks of brave soldiers are 
 crossing the Long Bridge, and moving along 
 the Avenue. Seldom, if ever, were Napo- 
 leon or Wellington permitted to behold so 
 grand an army at one time. Horses and 
 riders are wreathed with laurel ; pennons 
 flash in the sunlight ; tattered flags excite 
 beholders to the wildest enthusiasm. 
 
76 MEMORIALS OF 
 
 Alas, how many gallant spirits have fall- 
 en ! This triumphal hour has been pur- 
 chased by myriads of lives. The fields of 
 Virginia, of Tennessee, of Missouri, of 
 Georgia, are broken into mounds, where 
 lie the brave defenders of the Republic. 
 No field or state or country shall bound 
 their fame. " The whole world," says Peri- 
 cles, '' is the sepulchre of the brave who fall 
 in defence of their country." 
 
 Lieut. Walcott looked proudly forward 
 to this hour of the triumph of the Republic. 
 Thousands have, with him, passed away 
 whose hearts throbbed quickly at the 
 thought of the homeward march, the last 
 review, — the 'acclamations of magistrates, 
 citizens, mothers, sisters, and betrothed. 
 
 Four brief letters were written by the 
 Lieutenant after June 5. The first two 
 were directed to his cousin in Boston. 
 
LIEUT. G. H. WALCOTT. 77 
 
 " Sunday Eve., June 5, 18G4. 
 
 " Dear Amelia : — I am south of the Pa- 
 
 mnnkey, ten or twelve miles northeast of E-ich- 
 
 mond. Fighting was going on when I began 
 
 this note, but everything is still now. From 
 
 where I sit the roar of artillery, crackling of 
 
 musketry, and bursting of shells have been heard 
 
 distinctly. We have been guarding the wagon 
 
 trains, and protecting the right flank. My 
 
 strength is failing me. I shall be better in a day 
 
 or two, and then will write a full account of the 
 
 past. Love to uncle and aunt. 
 
 George." 
 
 " Old CHtJECH Tavekn, Va., 
 
 June 7, 1864. 
 
 " Mt Dear Amelia : — I wrote a few lines, a 
 day or two ago, to let you know I had not for- 
 gotten one who takes so much interest in my 
 welfare. I was pretty sick when I wrote, and 
 yet was forced, at one o'clock that night, to get 
 up and march. Should have given out had not 
 the major given up his horse to me. Had I 
 been told what was before me, I should have dc- 
 
78 MEMORIALS OF 
 
 clared it impossible — marcliing thus day and 
 night. We left Manassas Junction, May 4; 
 marched until one o'clock that night; started 
 again next morning, and marched until nine at 
 night; halted until two o'clock midnight, then 
 forward again. Crossed Germania Ford at eight 
 o'clock A. M. Friday, Gth. Immediately upon 
 crossing, were ordered to quickly reinforce Gen. 
 Sedgwick (Sixth Corps), who was hard pressed. 
 We marched up lively, the men singing. It was 
 a frightfully hot march through the woods. It 
 amounted to nothing but to tire us out, for we 
 were ordered back again to the ford. We halted 
 until eleven o'clock at night, when orders came 
 to advance. Passed the entire Sixth Corps; 
 marched up a hill, and formed line of battle. 
 Gen. Grant's headquarters were at the base of 
 the hill, in our rear. There were seven or eight 
 lines in front of us. About five o'clock the 
 " Rebs." opened on us, and such a roar of artil- 
 lery, peals of musketry, and bursting of shells 
 cannot be imagined by one who has not heard it. 
 This battle lasted half an hour. Gen. Grant 
 
LIEUT. G. II. WALCOTT. 79 
 
 sat before his tent, smoking a cigar, as though 
 nothing unusual was transpiring. There were 
 troops enough in front of us, and we lay still all 
 the while, and did not fire a gun. After the 
 battle we were ordered to Chancellorsville." . . . 
 
 The Lieutenant details the march to 
 Fredericksburg and to Salem Church, and 
 the double-quick march through the swamps 
 and woods already referred to, to succour 
 the First Mass. Heavy Artillery and New 
 York regiments attacked by Gen. Ewell, — 
 who was resolved to capture our trains, — 
 and the movements of his division towards 
 Richmond and the James. In the closing 
 lines of his letter he says : 
 
 "There are many rumors about the colored 
 troops, but probably none of them are true. We 
 have gone where we were ordered, and the fault 
 is not ours that we have not seen more fi^jhtinof. 
 
80 MEMOEIALS OF 
 
 " I wish I could tell you, Amelia, how much 
 good your letters do me. They help me to be- 
 come better. I strive hard to do my duty to my 
 God at all times, and I pray that army life may 
 not make me any the less a Christian. It is 
 good to know that you pray for me. I have 
 written ten letters during the campaign, and 
 these to my mother. 
 
 Truly and sincerely, 
 
 George." 
 
 " Old Church Tavern, Va., 
 
 Sunday, June 12, 1864. 
 
 " My Dear Mother : — A letter from you 
 to-day, and was glad to hear from you. I am 
 very sorry you are so anxious about me. We 
 expect to start for James River to-morrow. 
 Should you not like to see me, by the roadside 
 sitting, with a ' hard-tack,' and a piece of raw fat 
 salt pork, and a canteen of water, making a 
 breakfast ? We are on the road between White 
 House and Eichmond. The regiment has been 
 to White House with rebel prisoners. I was 
 
LIEUT. G. H. WALCOTT. 81 
 
 not well enough to go with -it. I thought much 
 of you last Sabbath. How I wished to be with 
 you at communion ! 
 
 " The ' Johnnies ' drove in our cavalry pickets 
 a day or two ago ; but when they got to the in- 
 fantry pickets, Co. A, Capt. Swift, they were 
 checked. The cavalry came skedaddling through 
 our lines. We were ordered out at double-quick. 
 The infantry pickets held their ground. 
 
 " It is a pleasant Sabbath day. I write under 
 a peach tree, behind some earthworks. We are 
 to have religious services at four o'clock. 
 " Cheer up, mother ! Good-by. 
 
 Geokge." 
 
 And here is the last letter, in a trembling 
 hand, written with a pencil upon a sheet of 
 paper from the army wagon of the Chris- 
 tian Commission, with its imprimatur on 
 the corner : 
 
 ** JuxE 25, 1864. 
 " My Dear Mother : — I am very sick in 
 the hospital at City Point. I hope to be sent to 
 6 
 
82 MEMORIALS OF 
 
 Washington soon. •! can scarcely help myself, 
 so -sveak am I. If I can get to Washington, I 
 would go home if possible. Do not worry. I 
 have not had a blue moment yet. I left the 
 front, two miles from Petersburg, last Friday. 
 I am too weak to write more. 
 
 George." 
 
LIEUT. G. II. WALCOTT. 83 
 
 VI. 
 
 The failing young officer was tardily re- 
 moved from City Point to Washington. 
 An army surgeon has been severely criti- 
 cized by many officers for detaining Lieut. 
 Walcott upon the banks of the James, lan- 
 guishing under a terrible disease. A little 
 humanity and vigilance might have saved 
 him for the country and for his friends. 
 It was only by accident, as it was, that mil- 
 itary friends got him aboard the transport 
 for Washington. He was sent to the hos- 
 pital at Philadelphia. His mother, in re- 
 sponse to a telegram, flew at once to the 
 bedside of her son. I shall insert her own 
 graphic narrative : 
 
84 MEMORIALS OF 
 
 " I arrived at the officers' hospital, Philadel- 
 phia, at half-past ten, Sabbath night, July 3, 
 1864, after a wearisome, anxious journey, fear- 
 ing that I might not find ray dear boy alive. 
 How my heart throbbed, as in that hot summer 
 night I neared the hospital ! As I saw the lights 
 glimmering through the trees, I prayed so ear- 
 nestly that I might find him there. I reached 
 the door ; I asked for the surgeon ; he came ; I 
 told him that I was seeking my son. ' Is he 
 here ? ' — ' Yes.' — ' Is he alive ? ' — ' Oh yes ! ' 
 What a burden rolled from off' my heart ! I had 
 found him, and he was alive ! The surgeon led 
 me to George's bedside ; he was asleep, but oh ! 
 so emaciated that I hardly knew him. I ob- 
 tained permission to stay all night. The surgeon 
 aroused him ; he looked up, and exclaimed, ' O 
 my mother ! have you come ? How good I how 
 good ! ' and he threw his arms about my neck, 
 and kissed me. 
 
 " I was calm, composed. I saw at a glance 
 that he was very weak and low. I urged him to 
 be quiet and rest, for I would remain with him 
 
LIEUT. G. II. WALCOTT. 85 
 
 and care for Lim. * Can you ? ' said he. ^ How 
 good it is to see you ! ' I asked him if he trusted 
 in the Saviour. ' Oh yes ; Jesus has kept me — 
 lias been vv^ith me all the while/ On the morrow, 
 when the surgeon came, he said, 'My mother has 
 come : please give all directions to her ; she will 
 take care of me, and see that I have everything 
 right.' Soon came the chaplain. George said to 
 him, ' My mother has come : I shall now get 
 well.' The chaplain told me that before my arri- 
 val he had said that a kiss from his mother would 
 help him more than anything else upon the earth. 
 " On this day — July 4 — he expressed a 
 strong desire to recover and go home. He ral- 
 lied a little, and the attendants thought him bet- 
 ter. The surgeon gave me no encouragement. 
 George lay quiet much of the time ; was not in- 
 clined to talk much ; asked a few questions about 
 home, and replied to questions briefly. At the 
 name of Jesus a smile would come, and his face 
 would be radiant and happy. It was thus through 
 the entire week ; his natural expression had been' 
 very serious and thoughtful. 
 
8G MEMORIALS OF 
 
 " On Tuesday he was more nervous — was 
 wearied by the talking about him, and by people 
 passing in and out the room. He asked me, * Do 
 you think I shall recover, mother ? ' — ' Yes,' I 
 replied , * I hope you will ; but God v^rill do all 
 things well, and we will leave all in his hands.' — 
 ' Oh yes,' said he, ' we will leave all with God ; 
 let him do just as he thinks best. I should like 
 to go home again ; but, then, God knows best : 
 if he shall call me to my heavenly home, it is all 
 right. His will be done.' 
 
 " At another time he said, ' Mother, when I 
 am able, I want to have a long talk with you. I 
 have thought of you much since I have been in 
 the army. I never realized half so much before 
 how many hardships you have endured. Oh, 
 when I am well how I shall love to do for you ! ' 
 
 " Mr. Hyde, a Baptist clergyman residing in 
 the neighborhood, called frequently to see him. 
 Chaplain Alexander Shiras — an excellent man — 
 called several times in a day. He would repeat 
 passages of Scripture or hymns, in which George 
 would immediately join with his voice. 
 
LIEUT. G. II. WALCOTT. 87 
 
 " On Wednesday I could see no improvement. 
 I prayed most earnestly that his life might be 
 spared. I told him that I had prayed for his 
 recovery. He said he would pray also ; that 
 God was able to restore him if he thought it 
 best ; that Jesus healed the sick, and raised the 
 dead even, when upon earth ; that his power was 
 not lessened : he was just as able now as he was 
 then. ' Who was raised ? ' — ' The widow's son. 
 Perhaps he will raise another widow's son. We 
 will leave it all with him ; will we not, mother ? ' 
 
 "At nightfall he was weaker. Mr. Hyde 
 called ; offered a short but touching prayer. ' I 
 love to hear you pray,' said George : ' your voice 
 is distinct and strong ; I am helped to follow you. 
 I am so weak I can scarcely think connectedly.' 
 
 " On Thursday he was decidedly worse. His 
 mind was perfectly clear. At times, on first 
 awaking from sleep, he would make a wandering 
 remark, but on being spoken to, would become 
 immediately conscious. I asked him if his head 
 ached. ' Oh no ; my head is all right,' was his 
 invariable answer. He had fever and disease of 
 
88 MEMORIALS OF 
 
 the bowels, and ' his chances,' said the surgeon, 
 ' for getting well would be greater were it not 
 for the scurvy which he has. His blood is so 
 poor that it leaks from the veins, and settles 
 under the skin,' — appearing like ordinary blood- 
 blisters. In addition to all, there were large 
 bedsores, incurred by the cruel riding in the am- 
 bulances for so many days. Poor boy ! he was 
 completely worn out. 
 
 " I spoke hopefully to him, anxious to afford 
 him the benefit of hope to aid his recovery. We 
 had spoken much of home, in a quiet way, that 
 day. In the afternoon he was unwontedly rest- 
 less, and his distress evidently increased. With 
 more impatience than I had before seen, he 
 wished for something to make him feel easier. 
 It was the only impatient remark he uttered. I 
 said to him, ' Georgie, ask God to help you bear 
 your suffering.' — ' I will, mother ; pray for me ; 
 repeat some hymns, can't you ? ' I recited 
 
 " * Jesus ! lover of ray soul, 
 Let me to thy bosom fly.' 
 
 " * That is it,' said he, — * let me to thy bosom 
 
LIEUT. G. IT. WALCOTT. 80 
 
 fly.' In a whisper he prayed, ' O Jesus ! help me 
 to bear my pain without a murmur ; help me to 
 be patient; come near to me, Lord Jesus, and 
 help me. I am weak, but thou art mighty, and 
 hast promised to help all who ask thee. Now, 
 I beseech thee, help me ! ' He became quiet as 
 a lamb. After a little, he said, in a low, sweet 
 voice, ' Mother, do you not think Jesus is nearer 
 to us many times than we think ? ' — ' Yes, my 
 dear, I do.' — ' Well, mother, he is here now — just 
 close here. He is going to put his arms around 
 mc, and take me to Ids hosom — and take me right 
 to his bosom.' This he repeated several times. 
 * Mother, are you willing that he should take me 
 thus ? ' — ' My dear,' I said, ' if God can spare you 
 to me, I shall feel it a precious blessing ; but I 
 can say, " His will be done." ' — * That is right, 
 mother ; " His will be done." Perhaps he will 
 take me to his bosom to-night.' He continued 
 thus for a half-hour, nearly in that same sweet 
 undertone, then began to suffer again. ' O 
 mother ! pray for me every minute, won't you, 
 that I may not utter a murmur ! I don't want 
 
90 MEMORIALS OF 
 
 to make one complaint ! ' Any one could see 
 that he suffered acutely; but no complaint, no 
 moan escaped him. ' God has a design in this 
 suffering,' said he : ' he does nothing without a 
 reason ; and he will help me to bear it. Pray, 
 mother, every moment ! ' His distress continued 
 for an hour. Then, in a clear voice, he began 
 to speak of the Saviour and of heaven. ' Oh, 
 how beautiful is Christ ! how glorious is heaven ! 
 Is this death, mother ? How sweet it is to die ! 
 The room is full of angels ! I see them. Plow 
 beautiful you all seem to me ! Mother, I thank 
 you for all you have done for me ; and, oh, I 
 thank you so much that you ever taught me to 
 be a Christian ! O God ! keep my mother from 
 all harm ; bless her, and reward her for all her 
 goodness to me.' I asked him if he was in pain. 
 ' Not at all.' Said I, ' What shall I tell them at 
 ^ome ? ' — ' Tell them that I die happy — I die 
 happy! Mother, I shall not live to go home 
 again : I shall die here. It is just as well. Tell 
 all the dear ones to meet me in heaven. Give 
 my Bible to Brother Frank : tell him to read it, 
 
LIEUT. G. H. WALCOTT. 91 
 
 and be a Christian. Give my Testament to 
 Emma : tell her that many a time I have read 
 it by the roadside after a hard day of marching. 
 Ho^v beautiful is heaven ! My father and sister 
 and many friends are there. Mother, don't you 
 think I will know them there ? ' — ' Yes,' I said, 
 ' I think you will. There will be no pain there, 
 or suffering.' He smiled at his attempt to sing 
 the little hymn — 
 
 (( ( 
 
 There will be no more soitow there.' 
 
 * Am I not a fine singer, mother ? ' — ' Georgle,' 
 I replied, ' they all sing there, and you will sing 
 with them.' — ' Shall I ? — shall I ? Oh, that 
 will be beautiful, to sing in heaven ! Yes, they 
 all sing there.' George was no singer, but ever 
 after he became a Christian he had a strong de- 
 sire to sing the songs of Zion. 
 
 " He continued to converse thus for a half- 
 hour ; his eyes flashed with unusual lustre, and 
 his face was radiant with joy. Then liis physi- 
 cal distress returned, lasting an hour or more. 
 He besought me to pray that he might bear it 
 
92 MEMORIALS OF 
 
 patiently, expressed his willingness to suffer all 
 God's will, and that it was all right. 
 
 " All at once his eyes were bent upwards, as 
 though he looked into heaven ; his arms were 
 extended, and in a loud, clear voice he said, 
 ' Oh, how splendid ! how splendid ! I see the 
 Lord Jesus ! I see the angels ! Blessed Saviour ! 
 glorious heaven ! There is my father ! Where is 
 my place ? Ah ! there it is ! I am going so 
 easily ! Angels are about me. How beautiful 
 seem you all ! You are all Christians, are you not ? ' 
 
 " The steward and nurses and attendants he 
 besought to meet him above. ' Matron, I thank 
 you for all you have done. God will reward you. 
 You will meet me in heaven, will you not ? ' He 
 repeated the word ^ splendid ' many times with 
 great emphasis. 
 
 " He continued in this exalted state for a half- 
 hour or more, then sank into a state of great ex- 
 haustion. Soon he beckoned me to his side, and 
 whispered, ' I see it all now.' — ' What do you 
 see ? ' I asked. * I'll tell you in the morning.' — 
 * George, do you think you will live till morning ? ' 
 
LIEUT. G. II. WALCOTT. 93 
 
 — ' Yes ; but I shall not rest much. I shall svffer* 
 I will tell you in the morning.' 
 
 "He did suffer keenly all night. When we 
 were alone, on the morrow, he said, ' I will tell 
 you now why I suffer, — I can be more useful 
 to those about me in this way. Well, if by suf- 
 fering thus I can serve God best, I am willing 
 to suffer as long as he wishes. I am ready to 
 go any moment, or to stay and suffer longer — 
 just as he pleases.' 
 
 "On Friday his sufferings were intense. I 
 besought the surgeon to give him somethhig to 
 quiet him. He did so. It was the only time he 
 took anything of the kind. Standing, with the 
 chaplain, by his side, I remarked that before 
 George left home he never shrank from his duty, 
 but adopted it as a rule of life to stand up for 
 Jesus, openly and bravely. He looked up, say- 
 ing, ' Mother, since I have been in the army I 
 am conscious of having endeavored to serve God 
 to the best of my ability.' 
 
 " At times, from intense suffering, he seemed 
 oblivious of all about him, and would talk with 
 Christ as though he were present in person. 
 
94 MEMORIALS OF 
 
 " On Saturday night this was remarkable. 
 Suffering exquisitely, he said, ' O Lord Jesus, 
 you have promised to help me to bear this, and 
 you will, — will you not ? You will keep near 
 me and help me. Tou suffered so much more ! 
 and I am willing to suffer all you wish me to do. 
 I am ready to go now, or to stay and suffer 
 longer. You had nails through your hands, and 
 spikes through your feet, and they gave you 
 vinegar and gall to drink, and they mocked you 
 and scoffed at you. But here have I friends to 
 minister to me. Oh ! my pains are not to be 
 compared to thine.' 
 
 " In speaking of the bright manifestation of 
 heaven he had on Thursday night, he said: 
 ' O mother, I never was so happy in my life. 
 I did not know I could be so happy.' When the 
 chaplain stood by him on Friday morning, he 
 lamented that the brightness was not like that 
 of the night before. ' You have come out of the 
 bright light into the shadow. But Jesus is just 
 as near, though not so plainly seen, and you feel 
 like trusting him the same, do you not ? ' — ' Oh 
 yes,' he answered : ' I trust him just as much.' 
 
IJEUT. G. H. WALCOTT. 95 
 
 " On Sabbatli morning he said that he had 
 suffered acutely during the night, and that he had 
 tried to bear it without a murmur. He did bear 
 it without a murmur. Before offering prayer 
 this morning, I read the thirty -first Psalm — 
 the last Scripture I read to his father, the last to 
 George. 
 
 " At half-past ten he complained of coldness. 
 We wrapped him in blankets : he soon began 
 to breathe very rapidly. His distress and hur- 
 ried breathing increased. He commenced to 
 pray aloud — ' O Lord Jesus, help me ; help me 
 to bear this O Lord, I beseech — ' His voice 
 broke and failed. He gave me a quick and 
 searching look, then turned his eyes heavenward, 
 and said, in a whisper, * Jesus is about to take 
 me home — Jesus ' — fainter — ' Jesus ! ' Rapid 
 breathing became long deep gasps, continuing an 
 hour or more. At fifteen minutes before one 
 o'clock, Sabbath noon, July 10, he was gone." 
 
 Mrs. Walcott received letters from Phil- 
 adelphia, kindly giving other reminiscen- 
 
9G MEMORIALS OF 
 
 ces of lier son. The following are letters 
 from Chaplain Shiras and ^Ir. Hyde : 
 
 "Philadelphia, July 28, 18G4. 
 
 "Dear Madam: — Your letter of the 24th 
 was received last evening. It is my first intel- 
 ligence respecting you since you went from us a 
 mourner, carrying your dead for burial, two 
 weeks ago last Monday. 
 
 " I am rejoiced to learn that God has enabled 
 you to bear up under your grief — to resign 
 yourself to his wise ordering — and even amidst 
 tears to say, ' God's will be done.' Thus does 
 our heavenly Father constantly fulfil his prom- 
 ise, that ' as our day, so shall our strength be.' 
 Thus does our Christian faith, shedding its 
 precious light upon the state of those who ' sleep 
 in Jesus,' enable us to bear what would other- 
 wise be the crushing grief of their departure 
 fronf us. Blessed religion ! which thus takes the 
 sting from death, the bitterness from grief, and 
 the darkness from eternity. What should we 
 be without it? What could we do? 
 
LIEUT. G. H. WALCOTT. 97 
 
 '* In compliance with your request, I state with 
 pleasure what passed between your son and me 
 on his first coming to the hospital. 
 
 *• I saw him shortly after his arrival, — found 
 him in a condition of extreme prostration, but 
 cheerful and bright, — and after inquiring about 
 his health, told him I hoped he knew where to 
 look for strength. ' Oh, yes ! ' he answered, 
 
 * that I do.' — ' You know Jesus, then, as your 
 Saviour ? ' said I to him. * Yes ; I don't know 
 what I should have done without him in this 
 war.' — * He has sustained you, then, amidst 
 all troubles ? ' — * Yes, indeed he has.* — ' Well, 
 then, you can trust him to sustain you now ? ' — 
 
 * Yes, that I can.' He was too much exhausted 
 for further talk at that time, and so, offering a 
 brief prayer for him, I left him in Christ's 
 keeping. 
 
 " The next day he was very feeble, and unable 
 to talk much ; but the little conversation that we 
 had showed he was resting trustfully on Christ, 
 and finding him a precious, present Saviour. 
 The mention of the name of Jesus brought a 
 7 
 
98 MEMORIALS OF 
 
 smile of pleasure to his face ; and every illusion 
 to the comforts and blessings of the gospel was 
 evidently welcomed. I repeated to him the 
 twenty-third Psalm, his own lips going over it 
 along with me. At the close he said, ' That's a 
 splendid Psalm.' — * Yes/ I replied ; ' it is de- 
 lightful to have the promise of Christ's presence 
 at all times, even in the valley of the shadow of 
 death ; and if he call you to pass through it, I 
 hope you'll find him with you.' He gave a 
 quick, inquiring look at me, and said, * Tell me, 
 now, what you think ; am I going to die ? ' I 
 said, * You are very sick, but I hope not danger- 
 ously so. If we can only get your mother here 
 to nurse you, I trust it will bring you up again. 
 But you're ready for whatever may happen, are 
 you not ? ' — * Yes,' he said, * I am ready. It's 
 just as God pleases. He'll do what's right.' 
 
 " He was so weak the next time I saw him that 
 he could not converse, but listened, with appar- 
 ently great interest and pleasure, to some hymns 
 that I repeated ; such as, ' I lay my sins on Je- 
 sus ; ' and to the earlier verses of the fifth chap- 
 ter of the Second Epistle to the Cormthians. 
 
LIEUT. G. II. WALCOTT. 99 
 
 " You came that evening, and saw for yourself 
 how gentlj, peacefully, and sweetly God led him 
 
 down towards death during the ensuing week, 
 
 how he scattered every shade of terror from his 
 prospects, — how he filled him with hope of a 
 calm rest in heaven, —and how at last Christ 
 came and took him to himself, that where he is, 
 his servant might be also. 
 
 " I rejoice exceedingly that the only death we 
 have had since I have been in the hospital should 
 have been so full of Christian comfort and so 
 bright with Christian hope. And I cannot but 
 hope that good will come from it to others ; 
 though I do not yet see the full impression I 
 first counted on. 
 
 " The case shows plainly two or three things : 
 First, the sure fruit of a right Christian train- 
 ing. ^ Bring up a child in the way he should 
 go, and when he is old he will not depart from 
 It.' You say that you had made it your life 
 work to bring up your children in such a way 
 that they might honor God and do good in the 
 world. And here you see how surely such sow- 
 
100 MEMORIALS OF 
 
 ing brings a blessed harvest in the end. You 
 waited, probably, for years for the full issue of 
 that sowing ; but in due season came the golden 
 ears. 
 
 " The need of early choice of Christ is also 
 shown. Had not your boy sought Jesus while 
 in health, he would have found it very difficult, 
 in the utter prostration of his sickness, to direct 
 his thoughts to him. He had hardly power to 
 think; and in his weakness could only just lie 
 trustingly in the arms of the Saviour he had 
 found, assured that he would not let him perish, 
 or permit any to pluck him from his hands. 
 
 " And then, too, how it shows us the power of 
 the gospel to sustain, in view of the great change 
 to eternity ! No one that watched your son, as 
 he sank gradually away towards death, could fail 
 to see what support he found in the promises of 
 full salvation and eternal life through Christ. 
 He had taken those promises to his heart and 
 fully trusted them, — he knew whom he had 
 believed, — he was confident that his Saviour 
 would not leave him nor forsake him, and that 
 
LIEUT. G. H. WALCOTT. 101 
 
 God would not fail to fulfil thoroughly his words. 
 And so he rested calmly on the sure hope of life 
 through the Redeemer, and went, in that hope, 
 serenely down the way to death. We cannot 
 doubt that it was to rise, beyond death, into 
 blessed immortality. 
 
 " God give us all like faith in Jesus, and finally 
 like peaceful death and happy life through him ! 
 
 " I thank you for the photograph you send. It 
 is a very pleasing one, and I shall cherish it as a 
 memento of one whom I learned very much to 
 love on earth, and hope yet to meet in heaven. 
 
 " Assuring you of the pleasure with which I 
 shall always hear from you, and praying that 
 God may fully console you in your grief, 
 I am, with great respect. 
 
 Your servant in Christ, 
 Alexander Shiras." 
 
 Extract from the letter of Rev. J. C. Hyde : 
 
 . . . . " Since your departure home, the matron 
 has told me many things he said, and expressed 
 herself very much profited by his words. She 
 
102 MEMORIALS OF 
 
 said he was so grateful for little favors done him, 
 and spoke of them so kindly, that she never could 
 forget his words. My dear sister, your dear 
 George is not lost — only gone before. He lived 
 a lon'g life the last ten days he spent here ; longer 
 than many who live threescore years and ten. 
 His words will never die. His patience, his res- 
 ignation, his faith and love, his almost inspiration, 
 will never die. I never heard one talk who 
 seemed so nearly inspired — never. His language 
 was so well chosen and so appropriate, his voice 
 so sweet, and his whole manner so triumphant, 
 that I could scarcely resist the impression that he 
 spoke with inspiration, especially on Thursday 
 evening. How thankful ought you to be that 
 you had such a son with you so long, that he 
 died so triumphant a death, and left so good a 
 testimony behind him ! 
 
 I am, dear madam. 
 
 Yours in Christ, 
 
 J. C. Hyde." 
 
 I give one other extract, from a letter to 
 
LIEUT. G. H. WALCOTT. 103 
 
 Mrs. Walcott from Capt. Swift, his comrade 
 and friend : 
 
 " Dear Madam : I first met George in 
 
 Washington, D. C. Out of nine applicants we 
 alone passed the Board of Examination on the 
 same day. He passed an excellent examination. 
 Next day we parted ; met again a month after- 
 wards at Baltimore, when he was ordered to re- 
 port to me for recruiting service. We proceeded 
 to Kent Island, Md. We slept together, and 
 every night before retiring he knelt and offered 
 prayer. He observed that I did not, and re- 
 quested me to kneel with him, and I did so. 
 Every one loved him, even the secessionists. We 
 returned to Baltimore. One Sabbath he heard 
 me swear. About an hour after I received a 
 note with my name upon the envelope. I read 
 it thoughtfully. It commented on the evil of 
 swearing, and was from George. I went to his 
 tent, and told him I would try and swear no more, 
 and be a better man. I think I have tried to do 
 60 since. He was respected by all, and was as 
 
104 MEMORIALS OF 
 
 brave an officer as he was good. He was taken 
 ill at Old Church, Va. If he had taken my ad- 
 vice, he might have recovered ; but he did not 
 wish to leave the regiment, and was sent to the 
 hosj^ital too late. All the little delicacies I could 
 procure I gave him ; for which he was very 
 grateful. He thought a great deal of you, his 
 little brother, and his sister. He thought no one 
 equal to ' dear mother,' and would sit hours with 
 me reading your good letters, and talking of you 
 and of his father. Hoping that the thoughts of 
 his goodness will comfort you, and those around 
 you, and that I shall meet him in heaven, 
 I remain, very respectfully, 
 
 C. N. Swift, 
 Capt. 30th U. S. C. T." 
 
 " Near Petersburg, Va., 
 
 Sept. 10, 1SG4. 
 
 " Dear Madam : While at Old Church 
 
 an incident occurred which showed the manhness 
 and heroism of Lieut. Walcott. A dash was 
 made upon our lines by the rebel cavalry. Our 
 
LIEUT. G. H. WALCOTT. 105 
 
 regiment was ordered to support the pickets. 
 No one thought of the Lieutenant going out ; but 
 when we had advanced a half-mile I saw him, 
 and besought him to go back; but he said he 
 should advance as long as he was able, if we 
 were going into a fight. We advanced a mile, 
 and halted. I saw that George was exhausted. 
 I again asked him to go back. He replied, * Do 
 you think I am coward enough to go back now ?' 
 I replied, ' It is not cowardly for a man to retire 
 when too unwell to stay.' I went to the surgeon. 
 He sent him back in an ambulance. His was a 
 Christian's life. I wish we had many more like 
 Lieut. AYalcott. Of no act of his did he need to 
 feel ashamed. Kind and noble, he was a warm 
 friend and agreeable associate. We are now in 
 the trenches near the Weldon Railroad. 
 I am, very truly, yours, 
 
 L. W. Detrich, 
 2d Lieut. Co. E, 30th U. S. C. T." 
 
 This closes these memoirs. Let them 
 go forth. These simple annals of a brave 
 
106 MEMORIALS OF 
 
 young Christian may kindle in some of 
 our young men a manly purpose and Chris- 
 tian aspiration. Those who knew him will 
 welcome these memorabilia, and deem them, 
 I believe, just and truthful. 
 
 The world and the church need men^ — 
 high-minded, Christian men, like him whose 
 life has here been sketched. 
 
 " earth, so full of dreary noises ! 
 O men, with wailing in your voices! 
 delved gold, the waller's heap ! 
 O strife! O curse that o'er it fall! — 
 God makes a silence through you all. 
 And 'giveth his beloved sleep.' " 
 
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