Class. Book. ,M^5 THE AMERICAN VOLUISTEER Ml I.HOLLAND The American '. '.rrf AOPLD H-.S Xr.- ST. ::- - - S e t > ' ! • : Ri^DT-jrrtfri ■M9o PREFACE. The most astonishing thing connected with the history of the W.ir of \f^CA to 1865 was the heroism displayed by the Amer- ican \'ohnitecr. We have reason to expect deeds of valor from the standing armies of tlie world, from men whose sole duty is to drill and spend their whole lives in preparation to fight; men trainetl to anns and supposed to be ever ready to die in defense of their country, but the records of all the braverv and self sacrifice of all nations of the earth pale and become as nothing when compared with tlie heroism of tlie volunteer annics of 1861 to 1865. Xot in tlie history of the world is there a record of any regiment or battery losing 50 per cent, in killed and wounded in a single battle until our War of the Rebellion, and we must remember this fact wlien recalling the gallantrv of our own people. The annics of England did great deeds during the centuries [xist ; the veterans of Xapolcon left the mcmorv of tlieir splendid fighting on many gory fields, but the volunteers of America, b<}th in indi\idual heroism and the gallantry displayed by them as an organization, have excelled every ann\- tliat e\er marcherl on earth. The farmer who, in 1861, left his plow in the furrow; the merchant who closed his store; the clerk wlio threw down the pen; the workman who left the mill, and the schoolboy his books, fonning regiments and batteries to go to the front, proved better, nobler and more heroic soldiers than anv others known in historv. PREFACE. I have said that no command of any nation in any war ever lost 50 per cent, killed and wounded in a single engagement except our own army, and there we find dozens of regiments that suffered that loss and more. The writer has contributed since the close of the Civil War to "The Philadelphia Public Ledger" several articles treating on the subject. The articles in question were much sought after, and, as copies of the paper cannot now be obtained, I have had them printed in pamphlet form, together with a brief statement of the battles in which the commands spoken of were engaged; and this is the apology for printing this little book and I offer it as a tribute to my comrades. "The American Volunteer," the most heroic soldiers the world has ever knoAvn. In preparing these articles for the paper I regret that I found it impossible to procure data of a similar character in regard to the heroism of the Southern soldiers as well, for thc}^ were just as brave and just as heroic as their brothers of the North. Were thev not so the losses of the Nothem army would not have been so terrible; and now, as Americans, while we can- not endorse their cause, we must admire their soldierly quali- ties and their heroism. In the words of Mr. McKinley, 'The bitterness of the war belongs to the past. Its glories are the common heritage of us all. What was won in the great con- flict belongs just as sacredly to those who lost as to those who triumphed. ST. CLAIR A. MULHOLLAXD. Phil.\delphia, January 29, 1909 HEROISM OF THI; AMERICAN VOLUNTEER EXTRACTS FROM PHILADELPHIA PUBLIC LEDGER l-RL-;Dl-:iUCKSBrRG. rtcncral George B. McClcllan fouglit and won the battle of Antietam September 16 and 17. 1862. Then, resting with the army at Harper's Ferry until ( )ctober 26th, on the evening of that day broke camp and moving down the Lowden Valley, marched to assume the offensive. On the evening of November 7th he had concentrated the anny of the Potomac at Warren- ton Arriving at that point, he was relieved of the command of the anny by order of the President, and CFcneral Ambrose Bumside took his place. Bumside at once resumed the march towards the south, the objective point the Confederate capital. Richmond. On the evening of November 1 7th the head of the column arrived on the banks of the Rappahannock River at the old town of Fal- mouth, nearly opposite the ancient citv of Fredericksburg. The town was occupied at that time bv ColtKiel Ball, with the l.'^th \'irginia Cavalry, four com])anics of Mississippi infantry and Lewis's Battery. Pettit's Battery of our army was rushed to the front by General Sumner, and exchanged a few shots with the Confederates on the opposite bank, but. as we had no pontoons with the amiv (by some blundering they had not arrived^ it was impossible for our forces to cross, and so our armv went into camp. The days and weeks slipped by, giving the anny of Northern \ irginia, under command of General Robert H. Lee, ample 6 HEROISM OF THE AMERICAN VOLUNTEER. time to concentrate in our front and fortify the long range of hills in the rear of the town. In the early days of December, General Burnside resolved to cross and give battle. His first idea was a flank movement by way of Skenker's Neck, twelve miles below the city, but was abandoned almost as soon as thought of. Then Burnside resolved to throw pontoons across the river opposite the city, and cross and give battle there, and so, on the evening of the 11th of December, 1862, pon- tooniers commenced building the bridges, which were completed by noon of the 12th with great difficulty. Then the Army of the Potomac, more than one hundred thousand men, crossed and found themselves on historic ground. It was near the Falls of the Rappahannock, now within the limits of the City of Fredericksburg, that Capt. John Smith anchored his little vessel and fought the Indians in 1608. Near Fredericksburg was opened the first iron mine ever worked in America, from the products of which were made the cannon balls and cannon that served the Sons of the Revolu- tion in their battles for freedom. Near this city, also, Virginia's famous Governor, Spotswood, whose name is still green in the annals of America, had his home. Near Fredericksburg, also, George Washington was bom, and in that city spent his boyhood days with his mother, growing into the man who was to make the greatest civil and military record in history. From that historic town he went to join the army under Brad- dock, and began the career that made him the foremost Amer- ican of all times. It was in that city that his mother was vis- ited by Lafayette and other famous patriots and statesmen; and it was there, too, this noble woman died and was buried. That venerable city appears, therefore, to be closely connected with the revolutionary and pre-revolutionary history of this country. Fredericksburg is the most historic spot of the most historic State of the Union. Almost within sight of its towers were bom some of the foremost and greatest men of the country. Washington, Monroe, JefiFerson, Madison and Lee were all from HEROISM OF THE AMERICAN VOLUNTEER. 7 the section of tlie country in wliich that city and the battlefields nuuied arc situated. In \'ir^inia the war of secession began und ended. The battle i)f Fredericksburg began on the morning of De- ceml)cr 13th by the advance of the Pennsylvania Reser\es, under command of General George Gordon Meade, — the in- tention to attack and turn the right flank of the Confederate army, that rested on the heights near Captain Hamilton's. No sooner had Meade's Division become engaged than our whole left wing, under command of General William B. Frank- lin, became involved and the battle raged. While the severe figliting was taking place on the extreme left of our line, French and Hancock's Divisions of the 2nd Corps were ordered to storm Maryc's Heights in the rear of the town. Marching out Hanover street, under a heavy fire of solid shot and shell, they gained the fields, deployed and moved forward in line. By the time they reached the base of Marye's Heights, forty per cent, of the force had been killed or wounded — no hope or cliancc of breaking through the Confederate centre, or carrNnng their strong line of works, and what was left of tliosc commands began falling back. On the left the battle had gone against our forces, and that portion of our line was also driven back, and the battle of Fred- ericksburg was practically ended. At sundown Buniside resolved to make another attempt to carrv Marye's Heights, and ordered out Hooker with his gal- lant a^mmand. At ^indown Hooker's men debouched from the town, deployed in the fields, and passing over the ground strewn with the dead of I'rench and Hancock's divisions, the dark mass hurled themselves against the Confederate position but were driven back with great slaughter. On the evening of the 14tli, all the troops were withdrawn to the northern bank of the river, and tlie autumn campaign closed. CHANXHLLORSVILLE. Shortly after the battle of Fredericksburg General Bumside was relieved from the command of the Armv of the Potomac, 8 HEROISM OF THE AMERICAN VOLUNTEER. and was succeeded by General Joseph Hooker. General Hooker after reorganizing the army, prepared to assume the offensive. Instead of repeating the blunder of General Bumside in cross- ing to attack in the enemy 's front, Hooker resolved on a flank movement, and, marching the army up the banks of the river crossed at Kelly 's and United States Fords, and began march- ing down the south bank of the river to get in rear of the Con- federate position at Fredericksburg. The movement began on April 27, 1863, and by the evening of the 30th nearly all the army was across the river and marching down towards Freder- icksburg. General Ropert E. Lee, who commanded the Con- federate army of Northern Virginia, having discovered Hooker on his flank, promptly moved out of his works in rear of Fred- ericksburg and marched to meet him, leaving a small force, however, to hold the line of works at Fredericksburg. The two armies met at a place called Chancellorsville, about nine miles from Fredericksburg, and the battle commenced May 2, raged on the 2d, 3d and 4th, when our army was once more defeated, and during the night of the 5th, fell back and recrossed the river. The Battle of SALEM CHURCH, or SALEM HEIGHTS, as it is sometimes called. When General Hooker moved with the army to fight the battle of Chancellorsville, he left behind General Sedgwick with our Sixth corps with orders to cross at Fredericksburg as soon as Lee vacated the position, carry the heights, and get in the rear of the Confederate army as they marched to meet our forces. Sedgwick threw pontoons across, occupied the city of Fredericksburg, and, after a very sharp fight (and this is generally known as the second battle of Fredericksburg) with the force that Lee had left behind he succeeded in carry- ing the heights, and then began his march to get in Lee's rear at Chancellorsville. Lee, discovering the movement, promptly detached one of his corps to meet Sedgwick. These forces met at Sakm Church, or Salem Heights, between Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville, and a very severe engagement took place, micrdism or Tui; .\mi:ius message that he would "fight it out on this line if it tk all summer. ■' On the 10th was fought tlie battle of Po River; on the 12th was fought tlie deadly battle of Spottsyl- \ania. where Hancock captured the Confederate General, Stewart, and four thousand prisoners. On the 13th the battle omtinued nearly all day. the firing close and deadly. The three days following were marked by heavv picket firing and severe losses on both sides — almost one continuous battle. On the ISth occurred the battle of Spottsylvania Court House 10 HEROISM OF THE AMERICAN VOLUNTEER. about two or three miles to the left of where the battle of Spott- sylvania proper was fought. On the evening of the 19th Ewell's Corps of the Confederate Army made a fierce attack on our Second Corps on the old Fredericksburg Road, but was beaten off. On the 21st a portion of our army fought at Milford Sta- tion. On the 24th and 25th was fought the battle of the North Anna. On the 27th fought at the Pamunkey River. On the 28th, Sheridan's Cavalry fought the battle of Haw's Shop, a very severe engagement. On May 30th and 31st was fought the battle of Tolopotomy Creek. June 3rd the bloody battle of Cold Harbor, ending the first month's campaign of 1864, with continuous fighting almost day and night. Grant, finding it impossible to crush the enemy in his front and so capture the Confederate capital by direct attack, abandoned the effort at Cold Harbor in front of Richmond, marched across country, crossing the James River and laying siege to the city of Peters- burg, about twenty miles to the south of Richmond, the fight- ing commencing there June 15th and continuing night and day without intermission until the 9th of April following, 1865, when victory crowned our efforts, and the Union was saved. THE BLOODIEST SPOT ON EARTH. Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, Salem Church, The Wilderness, Spottsylvania, Spottsylvania Court House, Todd's Tavern, Po River, Bank's Ford. Fifty miles south of the capital of our country there is an old Virginia city, quiet, quaint and beautiful — Fredericksburg on the Rappahannock. There is a peculiar charm about the ancient town, and it is replete with historic interest. Mary, the venerable mother of Washington, lived and died at Freder- icksburg, and there the Father of his Country would often come to visit her. It was before the days of steam and train, and at least a day and a half from Mt. Vernon by coach and four was necessary when Washington made a call of affection on the old lady. It is not at all likely that Mary Washington ever saw her son after he became President, as she died in Octo- HEROISM OF THr: AMHRICAN' V< UJNTHKR. 11 bcr, 1789, Washington liaving been inaugurated in New York I'll April 30 of tlic same year, the distance separating son and mother being very great in those days of stage coaches. She had, however, the satisfaction of knowing of the final success "f tlie Revolution and of the great honors paid to her distin- guished son. The old homestead of Mary Washington is still standing, and just in the rear, with only the garden separating, is "Kin- more," the house of her son-in-law. Colonel Fielding Lewis, another old-time colonial mansion, and very interesting it is. The Hessians, after the surrender of Cornwallis, were camped for some time on the plantation, and there were artists among tlum who decorated the interior of "Kinmore" witli plastic oniaments of much merit. Colonel Lewis was married to Betty, the sister of Washington, and the mother loved to stroll through the flowers of the back garden and over to "Kinmore" to spend the e\ening and take tea with Betty Lewis. Marv Washington was buried in the field just outside of the town. Ikr monument stood in full \ iew of the I'nion and Confederate lines during the battle, and was smashed and shattered by the shells of Ixith armies, the fragments still lying scattered on the ground. After the war the ladies of the south raised a more costly and stately memorial by the grave, and because of their love for the meniorv of the mother of Wash- ington, we say: "God bless tlie ladies of the South !" About twelve miles south from Fredericksburg is Spottsyl- vania Court House, and alx)ut the same distance west, perhaps a little more, is the Wilderness Tavern. Draw a line from each of these jKjints to the others — from I' red cricks burg to Spt)ttsylvania. thence to the Wilderness Tavern, and back to Fretlericksburg — and you have a triangle in which were fought several of the greatest battles of the War of the Rebellion. Or, perhaps better still, draw a circle— sav, twelve miles, or a little more, in diameter — ^with FVedcricksburg. Spottsylvania and the Wilderness Taveni on the outer edge, and inside that circle were fought the battles of the first and second FVedericks- burg, Chana'llorsville, Salem Heights, the Wilderness, Po 12 HEROISM OF THE AMERICAN VOLUNTEER. River, Todd's Tavern, Laurel Hill, Spottsylvania, Spottsylva- nia Court House, Mine Run and several minor fights and en- gagements. Within the circle more men have, perhaps, been killed and wounded than on any ground of equal area on earth. Forty years have made but little change in the appearance of th,; country. Signs of war are still strongly in evidence, the whole land torn, seamed and crossed in all directions by earthworks and revetements. Here and there are a few scattered farms, where the plowshare oftentimes turns up human bones, and where little children run out to the roadside to offer to the pass- ing stranger relics of war, rusted bayonets, burst shells and mould- ering rifles, on which years of exposure have left their marks. The Wilderness is as of yore, and but little changed. Woods solemn and lonely; primeval forests, where the wild turkey finds a home, where the piping quail greets the morning and the whooping owl and melancholy whip-poor-will make evening sad ; their song, harmonizing with the wind sobbing through the templed trees, sounds an eternal requiem over ground forever consecrated by martyr blood. Intervals there are where the undergrowth is rich and luxuriant, but dead trunks of massive trees, charred and blackened by fire, mark spots where flames swept over the fighting line, burning up alike the dead and the wounded. The same remarkable and appalling percentage of killed and wounded in individual commands in single engagements that has made the world's record for heroism was repeated time and again on every battlefield within the circle of fire and blood. Let us recall some of the organizations that lost 50 per cent., or more, on this ground, keeping in mind that there is no record of any European regiment that ever lost so great a percentage in battle. THE FIRvST FREDERICKSBURG, DECEMBER 13, 1862, was redolent with heroic deeds. The fact that the battle was a mistake and a blunder, and the sacrifice useless, detracts not from the honor that is rendered to brave men; but when we recognize the fact that the troops marched to death, ni:K<»ISM < •!•• T!!!' AMFCKICAN VoIANTKliR. 13 kiiuwinjj how hoptk-ss Ihe stnigglc, wc must acknowledge the fact but adds to their glory. The Twentieth Massachusetts was a great regiment, and lost at Fredericksburg 6S.4 i)er cent, killed and wounded. It was in Norman Hall's Brigade of the Second Corps. The fire of Rarksdale's Brigade of Mississippians was so deadly that it was found imi)ossible to construct the pontoon bridge opposite the city, and the engineers were forced to give up the job. The fire of one hundred and fiftv guns was concentrated on the river front, but e\en that failed to drive back the Confederate ritlimeii. Tlieir fire was still sulTiciently elTectivc to prevent the completioTi of the bridge. It was then that the brigade of N'orman Hall took up the work. Tlic Seventh Michigan and Nineteenth Maine, maiming the boats, rowed across under the terrific fire, antl leaped ashore to attack the enemy. The Twentieth Massachusetts was one of the first regiments to cross, and to it was assigned the task of clearing the streets of the town. In colr.mn of ct>mpanies, led by Captain George X. Macy, the ctnimand forced its way literally inch by inch, met by a severe and deadly musketry fire from housetops and win- dows, but finally succeeded in reaching the main street, the Confederates gi\ ing up the struggle and retiring to the heights beyond the citv. It was a gallant fight and cost the Twentieth just 68.4 per cent, in killed and wounded and not one missing. The command had fought on the Peninsula, at Antietam, and on every battlefield from the very beginning, and after Freder- icksburg there was but little left of it. I'our months afterwards it fought at Chanccllorsville, and seven months afterwards went into action at Cicttysburg with 230 otVicers and men and lost 124 of tlum killed and wounded. The regiment had a remarkable fatality in field and staff officers — the noble Colonel Paul Revere killed at (icttNsburg; Lieutenant Colonel Ferdi- nand I'reher killed at Fredericksburg: Major Henry L. Abbott killed at the Wilderness; Major Henry L. Patton killed at Deep Bottom; Surgeon Fflward H. Revere killed at Antietam: and Adjutant Henry M. Bond killed in the Wilderness. This regi- ment had, all tuld, eighteen commissioned othcers killed in 14 HEROISM OF THE AMERICAN VOLUNTEER. battle. Captain George N. Macy was the senior captain — but a very young man — and, as acting major, commanded the regiment in the battle. When General Howard asked Colonel Hall who was to command the leading regiment and he pointed to Macy, Howard exclaimed, "What, that boy!" Colonel Hall replied, "Yes, that boy is all right and will lead it, and the regiment will follow anywhere you wish." The "boy" afterwards lost an arm at Gettysburg, and at the close of the war was a Brigadier-General and Brevet Major-General. Meade's advance on the left, where, with the Pennsylvania Reserves, he struck the right of the Confederate line at Hamil- ton Heights, was a wonderful and brilliant charge. Looking over the plain where the charge was made, and remembering that it was swept by the enemy's artillery, one is astonished to think that the Reserves ever reached the Confederate line, but they did, and drove it in and back through the timber, and, in a hand-to-hand fight, Sergeant Charles C. Upjohn, of the Second Reserves, tore from the hands of the color-bearer the flag of the Nineteenth Georgia Regiment, the only flag captured in the battle. Had Meade been left to his fate and not promptly supported, the Pennsylvania Reserv^e division that he so nobly led would have been annihiliated ; but General B. Franklin, seeing the trouble, promptly put in nearly the whole of the Left Grand Division, and the Reserves were saved but not until after having met with appalling loss. Gibbon's Division of the First Corps went into action on the right of the Reserves, and two regiments of that command were distin- guished, not only because of the great loss, but of the splendid fight they made, the Sixteenth Maine losing 54 per cent, killed and wounded, and the Twenty-sixth New York 56 per cent. The Sixteenth Maine was not exactly a new regiment, but had never been under fire until the morning of Fredericksburg. On that day it proved itself one of the finest regiments that ever left the Pine Tree State, and Colonel Charles W. Tilden made a name for himself in the half hour that the command was under fire. Seeing that he was losing many of his men while holding a position to which he had been assigned, he led HKKoISM OF Till-: AMIiKICAN Vi HANTKER. 15 a remarkably successful charge on the works in his front, cap- turing several hundred prisoners, and in the hand-to-hand figlit the bayonet was not only used freel\-, but relied upon al- most entireh-. The regiment advanced unsupported and alone, and, after taking the line of works, pushed into the woods and struck an overwhelming force of the enemy. Colonel Tilden was compelled to order a retreat, but not until he had left just 54 per cent, of his command dead and wounded on the ground. Tlie first one stnick was the youngest soldier in the regiment. .•\s the line was moving forward, Benny Worth, a boy of 15, was stnick in the head by a piece of shell. For a moment he was stunned and dazed, but, quickly recovering himself and pushing tlic blood back out of his eyes, he laughed and said, "All right, this is what I came for." He was ordered to go to the rear; but no —he quietly picked up his musket and went on. never giving up until the last shot was fired. Charley and Monroe Lyford were marching side by side, they were brothers, and Charley was one of the brightest and handsomest bovs in the regiment. He fell dead, and Monroe, as he saw him fall, became frenzied with anger, and, leaping over the works with tlie fury of a madman and with lightning speed, began bavonet- ing right and Kft, screaming, "Vou ha\e killed my brother; curse you !" 'Hie horrors of the battle are never so great as to prevent a smile, and a veritable laugh passed through the ranks when a piece of shell stnick one of the boy's knapsacks, tore it open and lifted a pack of cards high in the air, intact, when thev sudiso- that Harcock led forward exactly -r" 2 c-tr rert. "were dead ard wcnmded on the frozen groiind. Tne r^rsz Brlrade. General Cald^eH. had lost 50 per cent. tfHez. and "^^cnnded, and sis of the seventeen resinients that c-:m-c sed the di-dsicn ha.d east 5-1' per cent, or over. None ■s^ere r~.:;:?:r.r. and no priscner? "^rere left in the hands of the the Sirtv-rdnth Xe^ York, -arith 53 per cent.: then the Fifty- third Penns;}"ivanda. Sei*enth Xe-s- York and Eighty-eighth HER- ISM "F THE A'! .-IS I CAN V :LI.VTEER 17 Fifty-third Pennsylvania Regiment "sras ocm ni.^.r.ded by Colonel John R Brooke, now a M. - ~ - — ■ •- - r'lr army. Hancock said of him B' i to per- lonn the highest s<-r.-ice to h . and added to the laurels be and ^ ^ ••-.,-_- - _ ^ — . • The ; - ittk by Colonel H. Boyd McKetm. a noble yoong oJScer. who was wr - : • -. " 1 _ - -1 F-ederlcksbur^ and ChanctlSors^.-ille, ar. r The Kiith New Hampshire was led into the hght by Ccionel Edward E Cross, who, six m-'""~ " — 'is. -^vas killed at Gett>-sburg He fell early in • .ih 5ve -^z'-is^is. Major Edward E. Sturtevant then took otnmiand. and a as alrr. - - -' '■ " ' ^ - ^ -- " —.- ani M'>ire ar. . lead in quick succession The cok)r sergeant and all the coior guards went (jr — - ^ ^ - — ' - • ^g re. The Insh and the Germans fought nobly side by side for the la-^ - - -^ .■ • -■ - - • : T: Robert Nugent, who fell badly wounded. Nineteen comniis- s>'>^ • ~" -; the nght with him. and sixteen o: them wt : 1 The Seventh New York .German' was ormmanded by Col-o- ne! " of , Schack was a handsome and accc'mplishei o:5cer He was a captain of cavalr>- in the arc. o:' '^ >ec-.:r . years' leave of absence, he cime out o rr'Tr. - New York regiment He was as brave as he was handsome Alter ''■ ' - in the servTCt rk. Be lieving thai to be an .\mericin atizen was better than to be a German ofScer ht ' .: his p«apers an fledgtxi .\niencan. ^ , .hat he was as i. gallant and brave 18 HEROISM OF THE AMERICAN VOLUNTEER. It is difficult to say just what regiment went furthest, or what colors were carried nearest to the celebrated stone wall, and it is of little moment, as they all were close, and it is a question of a few yards, but there seems to be but little doubt of the fact that the bodies found nearest to the mouth of the Confederate guns were those of Major Horgan and Adjutant Young, of the Eighty-eighth New York. The casualties among the officers were unusually great. The field officers were ordered to dismount and go in on foot, and regimental commanders walked in front of the colors. This would account in a manner for the severe loss, as the colors were conspicuous marks for the enemy. Many of the regiments had three or four commanders during the day. The Fifth New Hampshire had five commanders, the first four being killed or wounded. The Sixty-ninth New York was brought off the field by the fourth commander, the first three being killed or wounded. Colonel Nelson A. Miles commanded his own regiment, Sixty-first New York, and also the Sixty-fourth of that State. The third commander brought the two regi- ments from the field. Hancock says of Miles: "He was severely wounded, and conducted himself in the most admirable and chivalrous manner, and his command behaved with a stead- iness unsurpassed by any other troops." While Miles was badly wounded, he recovered quickly enough to be present at Chancellorsville, less than five months afterwards, to be ter- ribly wounded once again, distinguish himself still more and gain a Congress Medal of Honor. The Chancellorsville wound was pronounced by the surgeons mortal, the ball passing through the bowels and fracturing the pelvic bone. The doc tors said that he had no right to live, and declared that he could not, and for the honor of the faculty he should certainly have died, but he still lives. Miles is a hard man to kill, anyhow. The One Hundred and Forty-fifth Pennsylvania had two commanding officers, Colonel H. L. Brown, of Erie, being wounded. The One Hundred and Sixteenth Pennsylvania was brought from the field by the fourth commander, the three field officers being wounded. The Second Delaware had m:R«)isM OF Tin: amkkic.w voun'TEER. 19 three commuiuHug ofl'icers, the first two being wounded. The Kightv-first Pennsylvania had four commanding oniccrs, tlie first three being shot down. Tlie I'iftx -seventh New York had three commanders. The Sixty-third New York had three commanders. The SixtN-sixth N'ew York had four. During the battle Colonel James J. Hull and Captain Julius Wehle were killed, and another ollicer wounded, while in command. The color sergeants and color guards of the different commands suffered equally witli the officers, many being killed under the flags, but never did the colors fall, but gallant souls rushed forward to raise them. Not a color was lost. The color ser- geant and all the color guard of the Sixty-ninth New York were shot down close to the enemy's guns, and when the regiment fell back the colors were missing. Two days after, when the detail went back to bury the dead, the color staff was found; near it lay the color sergeant, cold in death. When they were about to lay the body in the shallow grave the flag was found tucked into his blouse. In his dying agony he had stripped it from the staff and placed it near his lieart. CH.WCiaj-ORSX'ILLIv. Wliile the fighting at Chancellorsx ille, May 2d and 3d, was severe and the losses in both aniiies very great, yet there was but one regiment on record that lost in that battle 50 per cent, in killel,f.\Ti:ii;R. 21 tenants Saniiul II. Town, I'laiik Slcwart, SaiiUK-l II. joiies, Siuniiel rophim and William J. Oclson were wounded. Tlie Nititty-fifth ranks with the Twentieth Massachusetts in having the largest number of field and stall ofVicers of any regiment kilKd in battlr. eaeh having six. Of the Ninety-fifth, Colonel John M (rt)sline and Mijur William H. Hnbbs were killed at Guinc"s Mill, Colonel Town, Lieutenant-Colonel Hall and Ad- jutant Dunton at Salem Heights, and Lieutenant-Colonel Ivlward Carroll fell in the Wilderness. The three Town boys wt-re brothers, and the fact of all three falling in the same battle, the Colonel being killed and the Major and Lieutenant badly wounded, was one of those coin cidences that go to show the severity of the fighting. In the battle of Salem Heights the One Hundred and Twenty first New York made a great record and a noble fight. The regiment was recruited in Oswego and Herkimer counties, in New York State. The original Colonel was Richard Franchot. He resignettsylvania, in which the connnand again sudered a fear- ful loss. Cajitains Butt and I'ish ami Lieutenants Pierce and Pettengill were killed. The regiment captured four Confed- erate Hags at Rappahannock Station and two at Sailor's Creek. During its tenn of service it had fifteen officers killed in battle and fourdied of disease, and twenty-seven officers were wounded, and onlv two regiments from New York, the Fortieth and Sixty- nintli, had more n)en killed in battle. Inthr WILDI'RNKSS CANH'Air.N promotion was rapid. An officer who remaimxl with his command was sure to be quickly 22 HEROISM OF THE AMERICAN VOLUNTEER. advanced or surely killed. The brigade to which the writer was attached began the Wilderness campaign May 5th with ten field officers present for duty. Within six weeks six of the ten were dead, killed in battle, and the other four were in the hospital badly wounded, and the brigade was commanded by a captain. The nine brigades of the Second Corps had thirty- seven commanders during the first six weeks of that campaign. An average of three to each brigade had been killed or wounded. The Ninety-third New York Infantry was recruited in Wash- ington county of that State, and on the first day of the Wilder- ness made the sanguinary record of 60 per cent, killed and wounded. The regiment fought in the forest, in front of the Brock Road, just to the right of the Orange plank road. It was in Hay's brigade of the Second Corps, and was placed in position by General Hancock himself. It held the extreme right of the corps, and as the head of the column arrived near the point of attack Hancock ordered Colonel Crocker to form line quickly and move into the woods. Unsupported and alone, the brave regiiyient advanced through a dense thicket of bushes, briars and bramples, and within five minutes was hotly en- gaged. The command had met the head of Heth's division of Hill's corps. The regiment made a glorious fight, holding the line with unflinching courage, although outnumbered and outflanked. Half an hour passed, with no supports or assist- ance coming, and the reason then became apparent. General Hays, the brigade commander, had been killed ; and hence confusion. Colonel Crocker, finding himself in command of the brigade, hastened to bring up the other regiments, and not a moment too soon. The brave boys of the Ninety-third were still on the line, but 60 per cent, of them were dead and wounded. After the sun went down and the darkness fell, the survivors, after sending the wounded to the rear, gathered picks and spades and reverently buried the dead on the line they had held so nobly. "Ah," said one of them, "tenderly and with sad hearts we buried our dead comrades. Parting with them in the dark forest was a sad thing to do. We had long been friends tried and true friends ; we had messed together, shared HKROISM OF THK AMKRICAN VOLINTEKR. 23 with tin m our store of rations; drank from the Siime canteen; slept under the Siime blanket in all kinds of weather, whether the stars were shining or the storms were beating ujxjn us. In danger, shoulder to shoulder; in sickness, hands, rough but tender, soothing the fevered brow; and so at midnight we had tfu-m buried; then, exhausted, we sank to sleep by their new made graves until the morning, when the thunder of cannon and rattle of musketry awoke us to another day of strife." l*'our officers were among the dead and thirteen others were sent to tlie rear wounded. The State of New Jersey gave to the Union many noble regiments, but none superior to the Fifteenth Infantry. It fought at I'Vedericksburg, and at Salem Heights lost heavily. When the Wilderness campaign opened it had been reduced in numbers to fifteen ofl'icers and four hundred and twenty-nine muskets, and it crossed the Rapitlan with Grant with this num- \)€r. Of the four hundred and forty-four total, three hundred fell at Spottsylvania, one hundred and sixteen of them being killed. Within two weeks the aimmand was reduced to four oflicers and onv hundred and thirty-six muskets, and the color sergeant and all the ailor guard, save one, had been killed and woundensin 41 jier cent, and 43 missing. This regiment had 10 officers and 271 men killed in battle during its term of ser\'ice. Taking the five regiments of the Iron Brigade as a whole, we find the killed aiul wounded to have been 49.5 per cent., with 249 missing, many of whom were among the dead. « Reader, when vou visit tlic fuld <>f the first day's fight, and 28 HEROISM OF THE AMERICAN VOLUNTEER. you walk past the spot where Reynolds fell, and enter the woods where every knarled tree is torn by shot and shell, you will see a line of monuments crossing your path. Pause when you reach them, stand for a time by the stone that marks the center of the Twenty-fourth Michigan Regiment and recall the day of the battle. You will then be standing near the center of the Iron Brigade. On the right ot that organization was the brigade of Roy Stone, and on the left that of Colonel Chapman Biddle. Walk the line of these brigades from right to left — ah, yes, you may walk the line of the whole First Corps — and you cannot step without treading upon ground every inch of which was saturated and made sacred by the blood of heroes. And how did the Twenty-fourth Michigan fight? They charged into the woods without taking time to load and, with bayonet, driving the enemy across the Willoughby Run, cap- tured the Confederate General Archer and many of his men. There the well-dressed line waited in the forest during the long afternoon, repulsing every attack of the enemy. General Sol Meredith, the brigade commander; Colonel Henry A. Mor- row, Lieutenant-Colonel Flanagan, the adjutant, and almost every officer who was not killed outright was severely wounded, twenty-two being killed and wounded out of twenty-eight Captains Speed and O'Donnell and Lieutenants Wallace, Saf- ford, Grace, HumphreyAdlle, Dickey and Shattuck were dead upon the field. Seven color bearers were shot down under the flag, four of them, Abel Pack, Charles Ballou, August Ernest and William Kelly, l>ing dead almost side by side, while every one of the color guard was dead or w^ounded. When Corporal Andrew Wagner was severely wounded and the colors fell, Colonel Morrow raised them, Kelly ran up and seized the staff, saying: "The Colonel of the Twenty-fourth shall never carry the flag while I am alive." He was killed instantly. Still another brave soul raised the flag, only to fall. Again Colonel Morrow grasped the "starry banner" and, while waving it aloft, he, too, fell terribly wounded. No falling back was thought of until ordered to retreat, and then the dead was, IIl-koiSM I iK THi: AMERICAN VOI.INTKKR. 29 dragRi'd l)\- force fn>m tlu- liaiuls of a inortallv wounded soldier who, with a last ixpiriuj,' effort, tried to raise it from the ground, but fell back only to die, Sfjlendid Michigan; your sons have done you great honor. Tin- Nimteenth Indiana, Colonel S. j. Williams commanding went into action in line with the Twent\- fourth Michigan Reg- nnciit, crossing \\'illoughl)\- Riui in the lirst nisli and charge of the day. and flanking Archer's Confederates, doing its full share in the capture of that command. In the afternoon it )uld tlie li ft tlank of the Iron Hrigade, meeting and repelling charge afttr cliarge of the enemy. i'he fire of the regiment was so deadlv that for one hour after the line of the enemy had atlvanctd to the attack not a live Confederate succeeded in crossing the stream. When the conunand was finally with- drawn with the rvinainder of the brigade, 56 per cent, of those who had hild llie line weri' dead or wounded. Al>)Ut eleven o'clock the head of Rov Stone's brigade ar- ri\ed on the field, and was placed bv General Doid)ledav on tlie left of tlu- Chaml)ersburg pike, the left of the line resting near the right of tlu- Iron Brigade. Shells were fl\-ing as the Pennsylvanians mo\ed into position, and it was a hot place to form. Stripping fi»r the fray and imslinging knapsacks, the men called out, "We have a)me to stav. " When evening came fully 50 per cent, of the gallant brigade remained on the fatal ridge. Stone's Brigade held the key to the first day's fight, and every man seemed to realize the importance of hold- ing out to the last. Although some two hours elapsed from thi- time the brigade arri\ed until the first serious attack of the Confederate infantr\", it was an\thing but an interval of peace. I{x{H)sed and in full view of the enemv, the line was |xninded bv batteriis from the distant hills, Ixitli north and west, and many wire the casualties. Then the whole valley of Willoughby Run anil the country beyond was in clear view, and e\ ery man s;iw for himself what was coming — the Confed- erates, in a contimious double line of deploved battalions, with other battalions en vuusi- in reserve. To meet this tremendous onslaught stocxl one thin line, and not a man in reserv'e. It 30 HEROISM OF THE AMERICAN VOLUNTEER. required courage of a high order to quietly await the attack, but Stone's men were equal to the occasion. As Colonel Huidekoper and Major Chamberlain were chat- ting, while awaiting the attack, a unique, antique and most picturesque figure approached. It was citizen John Burns, of Gettysburg. Tall and bony of frame, with deliberate step, he came to the front, carrvdng in his right hand a rifle at a ' 'trail. " He wore a blue swallow-tail coat, with brass buttons, dark trousers and a high hat, from which the nap had long : since disappeared. Although three-score years and ten, and bent with age, he said: "Can I fight with your Regiment?" Just then Colonel Wister came up and in his bluff manner asked: "Well, old man, what do you want?" "I want a chance to fight with your Regiment?" "You do? Well, where is your ammunition?" "Right here," said the old hero, slapping his trousers pocket, which was bulging out with cartridges. "Good," replied Wister, "I wish there were more like you, " advising the old man to go into the woods and fight where he would be more sheltered. But Bums was not the kind that looked for shelter, and he fought during the day not only in the open, but in the very front. When evening fell he was still there, but badly wounded. At half-past one o'clock the whole line of the enemy was seen advancing, and for more than two hours the devoted brigade of Roy Stone — One Hun- dred and Forty-third, One Hundred and Forty-ninth and One Hundred and Fiftieth Pennsylvania Regiments— met and checked the exulting foe. Never in the history of wars did men stand up under like conditions and make such a defence. There they were, one thin line, without a man in reserve, meeting charge after charge, and seeing beyond, as far as the eye could reach, other lines of fresh troops, ready to take the places of those repulsed. Every field officer in the brigade, save one, was shot, and many of them several times. In the One Hundred and Forty-third 60 per cent, were killed and wounded, and 91 missing, many of these being numbered among the dead ; the One Hundred and Forty-ninth lost 50 per cent, killed and wounded, and 111 HEROISM OF THI-: AMERICAN VOLr.NTKKR. 31 nussitig; the One Huiulrtcl and iMllictli hjst 50 per cent, killed .ind wounded and 77 missing, 25 of whom were afterward found to be deiid or wounded. Glorious brigade of the Key- stone State! When will your glory fade? Ofliccrs and men alike will li\ e in story. Can we ever forget Roy Stone falling awa\- out in fnjnt of his line; (jr Langhorne Wister clinging to his command with mouth so full of blood that speech was an impossibility; of Huidekopcr remaining in command of his regiment with shattered arm and a ball through his leg; or Color Sergeant Rcnjamin H. Crif)pen, of the One Hundred and Forty-second, lingering, as his regiment walked to the rear, to shake his fist at the advancing foe, until he was shot dead; or Color Sergeant Samuel Phifer, of the One Hundred and Fiftieth, advancing with the colors and flaunting them in the face of the victorious foe until he fell dead, with all the color guard dead or wounded around him? Surelv it was a great brigade and a noble fight, but more yet was demanded, for on the evening of the second day the One Hundred and Forty- ninth and the One Hundred and Fiftieth charged upon the Con- federate lines, and recaptured two guns that had been lost that afternoon. Likewise, on the third day of the battle the three regiments were again under fire, being in line to meet the charge of Pickett's men, and to meet the storm of the artilkrv fire that for two long hours preceded that attack. To the left of the Iron Prigade. the brigade conunanded by Colonel Chapman Piddle held the line. The organizatitm consisted of one New York and three Peiinsvlvania regiments, and its record is very similar to that of the two brigades on the right. The Kightieth New York (Tweiitielli Militia), called the "Ulster Guard," Colonel Theodore P (Kites com mandiiig. had 50 jx^r cent, killed and wounded, 24 missing. The One Hundrwl and Twenty first Pennsylvania. Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Piddle, had 39 percent, killed and wounded, and 01 missing. The One Hundred and Forty-second Penn svlvania. Colonel Robert P. Cummings. had 39 ])er cent, killed and wounded, and 70 missing. The One Hundred and Flftv first Pennsylvania, Lieutenant Colonel George F. McFarland 32 HEROISM OF THE AMERICAN VOLUNTEER. had 56 per cent, killed and \voinided and 100 missing. Not only did the brigade make the splendid fight on the first day's battle, but on the second and third day all the regiments were engaged, and in the last grand scene of the drama the Eightieth New York and the One Himdred and Fifty-first Pennsylvania, led by Colonel Gates, rushed in, side by side with Stannard's Vermonters, to strike the flank of Pickett's line. The ' »ne Hundred and Forty-second Pennsylvania lost some of its best officers and men. Colonel Cummings, Captain Flagg and Lieu- tenants Tucker and Hurst were killed instantly, and Captains Grim, Evans, Dushane and Hasson, and Lieutenants Powell, Walter, Swank, Heffley, Huston, Hoffman and Wilson were wounded. Lieutenant Colonel George F. McFarland, who commanded the One Hundred and Fifty-first Pennsylvania on the first day's fight, was the principal of the McAlister Academy, in Juniata county, of our State. He was an exceedingly calm, brave man, and while awaiting the infantry attack quietly sat on the ground taking notes, while the shells were flying in all directions. He was terribly wounded and lost a leg. The Regiment was unique in many particulars: McFarland, a school principal, in command, with one hundred school teach- ers marching and fighting in the ranks. The whole of Com- pany D was composed of scholars and schoolboys from McFar- land's Academy. The Regiment fought the Twenty-sixth North Carolina. TWENTY-SIXTH NORTH CAROLINA. All the heroism of the American Volunteer was not by any means concentrated in the Northern Army, the Southern troops were Americans also and fought quiet as bravely and as well as those of the North ; the terrible losses of the heroic men of the North would never have been made had they not bad equally heroic men to meet. The heroism of both is the com- mon heritage and honor of all Americans. The Twenty-sixth North Carolina Infantry that inflicted the 56 per cent, killed and wounded on the One Hundred Fiftv-first Pennsvlvania itKk'iisM oK THi-; ami;kic.\n vounthfck. 33 \'i)liiiitifrs was not hiliind lliiir oppoiuuts in bnivtrv. That RfVjiiiu-iit wtiit into action with 820 niuii and had 86 killed, 502 woundfd. Total 588 and luorv than one hundred missing, manv of whom were undoubtedly among the killed and wounded but without taking account of the missing we have a record of 71 7-10 per cent, loss; 34 of the 39 officers of the Regiment was killed or wounded. Colonel Harry K. Burgoyne, two captains and three Lieutenants being killed. Some of the companies were more unfortunate than others, one company lost every man in the two day's battle. Private James Moore being tlie 85th man shot in the Company. Company A went into the fight with '>2 men into action and lost 88; Company K lost 80 out of 82. Iv\i ry man of the Color Guard was killed or wounded then Caj)tain McClearv took the flag and fell dead. Colonel Burgovne raised the flag and fell mortally wounded, tluii I'rivatt' Harry Cutte seized the flag staff and dead hands raised it once more and fell severely wounded. When Lieuten- ant Colonel Lane was wounded he was carried into a brick house, used as a Held hospital and while lying there among the dead and dving a wounded ofllccr from Georgia lying beside him and delirious, all the night of Julv 1st. but on the morning of till- Jiid he became (iiiiei and for a time silent and Colonel I^ine heanl him say in a perfectly rational tone of voice. "There now, \'icksburg has fallen, Gicneral Lee is retreating and the south is whipped. " .\ few momt-nls afterwards he died. \'icksburg surrendered I'orly-eight hours afterwards and Lee retreated the next evening. The Twenty-sixth North Carolina was organized bv Colonel Zebuloun B. \'ance after being in the field for one year, he was elected Governor of his Stale and was known as the War Governor, after the close of the war he was elected three successive times to the United States Si-nate. Colonel Burgoyne was one of the most youth- ful oflicer^ of the war. being but 19 years and 10 months old wlieii he was a>mmissioned Lieutenant Colonel, and when killed at Gettysburg was only 22. He had received a military etlucation at the \'irginia Military Institute where he was a student when the war a^mmenced. 34 HEROISM OF THE AMERICAN VOLUNTEER. The One Hundred and Fifty-first had 14 officers killed and Avounded, and was the last regiment to leave the line when retreat was ordered. The Confederate General, Heth, said that "the dead of the One Hundred and Fifty-first marked the line of battle with the accuracy of a 'dress parade.'" On that day Pennsylvania's teachers and schoolboys left a rich legacy to others who come after them. Much history has been written, and any amount of criticism indulged in, in re- lation to the fight of the First Corps on the first day of the bat- tle, but the more we learn of it the more we must acknowledge that it was a great contest, a wonderful defence against over- whelming odds. All the severe fighting of the first day was not confined to the line of the First Corps. The Eleventh Corps, coming upon the field later in the day, also fought against great odds, and made a splendid fight. One regiment, at least, kept up with the best record of any one of the First Corps. The Seventy- fifth Pennsvlvania fought to the north of the town, near the Carlisle road, losing 56 per cent, killed and wounded. This regiment was originally recruited by General Henry Bohlen, who was killed at Freeman's Ford, August 22, 1862. It was commanded at Gettysburg by Colonel Francis Mahler, who was killed there. Colonel Francis Mahler was badly wounded early in action, but refused to leave, and continued in com- mand until he was killed. The regiment was composed en- tirely of Germans, who here fought better for the land of their adoption than any son of Germany ever fought in defence of his native land. Tulv 2, 1863. — The second day at Gettysburg was quite as prolific in the piling up of great losses as the first day — noble deeds and splendid fighting on every part of the field. No sooner had Longstreet swept down on the Third Corps than regiment after regiment began rolling up the wonderful record of more than 50 per cent, killed and wounded. When the strong line of the Confederates struck the Emmitsburg road and peach orchard, they found the Twenty-sixth Pennsylvania in line. This regiment held the extreme right of the Third HHKdlS.M ol" Tin; AMERICAN V( JiAXTIiEK. 35 Corps, and was commuiKled on that day by Captain George W Tomlinson. The command had been in every battle from the beginning, and was reduced to the numbers of a small bat- talion. Three hundred and eighty-two ofiicers and men stood in line when the fight began, and within an hour 224 of them had been killed or wounded - 56 per cent. Of 18 officers, 4 Wire killed and 7 wounded, 5 of them being crippled for life. All the color guard were down, an 1 three color sergeants fell dead, one after the other. The One Hundred and Forty-first Pennsylvania Infantry was also in line there to meet the rush of the Confederate attack, another very small command, and at a most critical moment was called upon to meet an over- whelming force. Bravely the men stood to the work, pouring in a steady fire, and holding the enemy back until the batteries of their division could be rescued and the guns hauled ofl bv hand, all the horses being killed. The commander, Major Israil Spaulding, was killed. The only Captain left at the close of the fight was Cajitain Joseph II. Horton, a most gal- lant young officer, who greatly distinguished himself and brought the remnant of tlie regiment from the field. Their record —63 per cent, killed and wounded — placed anothe I\ iHisylvania regiment on the roll of the brave. The Kleventh New Jersey, Colonel Robert M. McAlister, a truly grand hero, commanding, fought along the Kmmitsburg road to the right of the peach orchard. This regiment fought Wilcox on its right and liarksdale on its left. Fifty-one per cent. kilUd and wounded is the record of these Jerse\Tnen. Colonel McAlister soon fell, shot through the leg, with his foot smashed by a shell. Major Philip J. Kearney then took com m.md and fill dead. Captain Luther Martin then took com- mand and fell dead. Captain Doramus B. Logan then took command and fell dead. Captain Andrew H. Ackerman took command, and was instatitly killi-d. Captain Lloyd took command, and fell terribly wounded. Lieutenants Provost, Fassctt. Lavion. \'olk. Crood and Axtell were lying on the ground, wounded and bleeding, but still the ICleventh New Icrscv held on until the order to retreat was received, when ■\ 36 HEROISM OF THE AMERICAN VOLUNTEER. the Adjutant, John Schoonover, suffering with two wounds' led it from the field. On the same line with the Eleventh New Jersey the Twentieth Indiana made a heroic fight. In the First Division of the Third Corps — Bimey's division — the Indiana boys were commanded that day by Colonel J. K. Wheeler, who fell dead at their head. The number of killed and wounded — 54 per cent. — tells the story of their valor. As the battle rolled back from the peach orchard, the fighting became terrific on the left, the wheat field having been already covered with the dead and dying. At this juncture the divis- ion of the regulars went in to emulate the best fighting of the volunteers. While they could not excel the latter, they could at least equal them, and they did, the Seventeenth United States, commanded by Colonel Durell Green, losing 65 per cent, in killed and wounded. As yet no monuments mark the line of the regular troops, but let us hope that Congress may see to it, and that at an early day those splendid regiments may not be forgotten or unhonored. And then that magnificent regi- ment, the Fifth New Hampshire, was in the wheat field, also. It had gone to the left that afternoon, with Caldwell's division of the Second Corps. In the short, sharp encounter, Colonel Cross was killed, and the regiment lost, in killed and wounded, exactly 50 per cent. This regiment, during the war, had 18 officers and 277 men killed in battle. Colonel Edward E. Cross was a model officer, and was in command of the brigade when killed. When passing, as his command formed for the fight, General Hancock said to him, ' 'Cross, this is the last day you will fight as a Colonel ; you will have your commission as Briga- dier-General in a few days." Cross replied, as he rode away, "Too late, too late; I will die to-day." He lived for a few hours, after being shot through the body, and although sufifer- ing great pain, talked cheerfully to the end. Said he, "I did hope to live to see peace restored to our distressed country. I think the boys will miss me; say good-bye to them all." "Peace to his ashes; heaven rest his soul," was the prayer that went up in every part of the Second Corps as, in the calm still- ness of the midnight hour, he slept to wake no more. hi:ri>ism <>r rm; .\mi:rica\ volunticick. 37 The forcing back of Humphrey's division of the Third Corps exposed to an overwhelming attack the Fifteenth Massachu- setts and the Ivighty-second N'ew York, which, with a section of Brown's Rhode Island Battery, had been thrown forward to the Codori House. The Eighty-second N'ew York was cc'mraanded by Lieutenant-Colonel Huston, and Colonel George H. Ward commanded the detachment. The two little regi- ments made a most gallant stand, and held on the advanced position until Colonel Ward had been killed. His regiment, the Fifteenth Massachusetts, left dead on the field Captains Murkland and Jorgeson and Lieutenant Buss. Nearly every officer was wounded, and the record of the afternoon was 50 per cent, killed and wovmded. The Eighty-second New York sufTered quite as seriously, losing exactly 50 per cent, killed and wounded. Lieutenant-Colonel James Huston, Captain Jonah C. Hoyt and Lieutenants John Cranston and John G. McDonald being killed and nine oflicers wounded. The Eighty- second captured, during the afternoon of the second, the colors of the Forty-eighth Georgia, and on the third day captured the colors of the First and vSeventh Virginia Regiments. Dur ing a crisis that afternoon, Hancock led into action the brigade insisting of the One Hundred and Eleventh New York, Colo- nel Clinton McDougal; the One Hundred and Twenty-fifth New York, Ct)lonel George L. Willard ; and the One Hundred and Twenty-sixth New York. Colonel Eliakin Shirrell. The force chargemmanding the brigade, was killed. Shir- rill. of the One Hundred and Twenty-sixth, was killed, and Mcnougal, of the One Hundred and Eleventh, was wounded. The latter regiment lost 71 per cent, in killed and wounded. The One Hundred and Twentv-sixth lost not only their Colonel but also Captains Skinner. Herenden and Wheeler, and Lieu- tenants Hunton, Sherman and Holmes, and nine other officers were wounded. The record at Gettysburg was 55 per cent killed and wounded. Tliis regiment captured three stands of colors in the b.ittlo Including those killed in this fight, the 38 HEROISM OF THE AMERICAN VOLUNTEER. regiment had sixteen officers shot dead in action during the war. Glory to the Empire State ! And now let us recall the grandest of all. It was getting towards evening, and the battle had raged along the Emmits- burg road and out by the peach orchard. In vain had our brave troops fought and died. The Third Corps had been rolled back, crushed and almost annihilated; the wheat field had been swept by line after line of battle; Little Round Top had been saved, and Hood's Texans were being gradually driven down the crest; the gallant Sickles had been carried to the rear from where he had fallen, crushed and bleeding. Still the battle raged along the whole line; a crucial moment had arrived. A great gap existed on the left of the Second Corps, and the victorious and exulting foe was moving forward to push through the threatened point, but were still far off. Han- cock, seeing a large force emerging from the timber, and think- ing it was some of our own forces, galloped to meet them, only to discover a division of the enemy. He was met by a volley in which was wounded the only aide he had with him, Captain W. D. W. Miller, a very noble young officer. The danger to the Union line was imminent ; but one small regiment — the First Minnesota — was anywhere near. Han- cock quickly rode toward it, and called out, "What regiment is this?" "The First Minnesota," came the answer. Then pointing to the Confederate columns about to seize the unoccu- pied heights of Cemetery Ridge (and should they succeed dis- aster to the Union Army would surely result, though reinforce- ments were hurrying to advance), the General said: "Colonel Colville, charge that line. " At this moment the scene was one of appalling grandeur; Little Round Top wreathed in smoke the crash of artillery was re-echoing from all the woods, lines of battle were charging back and forth over the valley of death, and the whole crest of Cemetery Ridge was a blaze of fire. The men of the First Minnesota instantly knew what Hancock's order meant — death or wounds for every man in the ranks, sacrifice of the entire command in order to gain a few minutes' time, and thus save the position and probably the battlefield. MiiRtiis.M i»F Tin: .\mi:kic.\.v volunteer. 39 Kvrrv man saw and acct'])tf(l the sacrifice. Responding to CoK illes rapid i>rders, the command, in perfect line, with arms at a "rij;[ht shoulder sliift," went sweeping down the slope directly uiH)n the enemv's center. Xo hesitation, no stopping to fin-, silently at a "doid)le quick," then at a "run," then at the utmost speed, they went -for the oidy hope of being able to reach the enemy through the stonn of fire that met them was by sj)eed- -"Charge, " screamed Colville, as the regiment nearctl the advancing lines of the enemy. Then in a rush with leveled bayonets, the First Minnesota, with momentmn and cUsi)eration, went crashing through the first line. Then a volley and tlie center of the enemy broke and was for a few miiuites thrown into confusion. The very ferocity of the onset seemed for a time to paralyze them. The object was accomplished ; time, short as it was, was gained, and before the long lines of the Confederates could be straightened out the reserves were on the ground and the position was saved. But wliat a sacrifice! Colville and every other officer, ex- cept two, were weltering in their blood, killed or wounded. Then the few survivors fell back, leaving dead and wounded 82 per cent, of the gallant men that charged ten minutes before. The aimals of war contain no such record of true heroism, valor and self sacrifice. Neither was it in vain, for the execution of the movement was ctjmplete and successful and the object g. lined, and it was necessarv. "There is no more gallant deed m history," said Hancock, but he added: "I saw the necessity of gaining five mimites, and I would have ordered them in if 1 had been sure that every man woidd have been killed. " The Mtxjnd (lav, however, was not the last of the battle for the First Minnesota, (^n the afternoon of the third day the remnant of that noble command was again in the very front, and when Pickett's men reached Cemetery Ridge the First was there to receive tin in. Corix)ral Dehii, the last of the color guard, was sliot and the llagstaff cut in two. Corjwral O'Brien ran up and raised the cv>lors on the piece of stafT that was left, dashing forward toward the enemy. He fell, with two wounds, and Corporal W \' Ir\in, of Company D, grasped it. The whole 40 HEROISM OF THE AMERICAN VOI^UNTEER. command rushed in, following the flag. It was hand-to-hand fight for a few minutes ; no time to load and fire, bayonets and clubbed muskets and great stones snatched from the wall were used ; but the struggle, close, desperate and deadly as it was, was soon over, and the Confederates threw down their arms and surrendered, Marshall Sherman, of Company C, capturing the colors of the Twenty-eighth Virginia. Great Minnesota — "Etoile du Nord!" The sacrifice of your sons was your glory. Never forget them. Keep their memory green. Tell the children of the glorious deeds, and teach them to rejoice in the heroism of their fathers. But Gettysburg was not to end without one more regiment making the great record of 50 per cent, killed and wounded. The Sixty-ninth (Irish) Pennsylvania stood, when the battle raged fiercest, out in advance of the line where the great attack of Pickett's 18,000 concentrated in largest numbers, surrounded, overwhelmed and literally swallowed up in the surging masses of the Confederates. The Irishmen stood immovable, uncon- querable, fearless and splendid in their valor, the green flag waving side by side with the colors of their adopted country, both held aloft by the stone wall until the victory was assured and the hosts of the enemy crushed. But Colonel Denis O'Kane and Lieutenant-Colonel Martin Tschudy lay dead. Major Duff'y and almost every other officer was down wounded, while another regiment had taken its place in the list of those that had, in single engagements, lost 50 percent, killed and wounded. Truly, Gett^^sburg was a field resplendent with great and heroic deeds. The "Congress Medal of Honor "was originated for the purpose of rewarding brave actions out of the ordinary line of duty. An average of less than one to each Union regi- ment has been given by the Government. I think the entire number granted for all the war might have been distributed for this battle alone and not one of them misplaced. And yet, how few of our people know of the heroism of our army in the Civil War. In justice to the men who composed those armies, in justice to their children, should not most recognition be given to the glowing history? What a page of our country's im:ri,r.\Ti;i:K. 41 history it is. bvit low luivi- read it. Our school books are silent on the subject, and our chikireii never hear it mentioned. What a storv for the children of Minnesota would be "The First at Gettysburj;^. " or for those of Michigan, the thrilling tale of the Twenty-fourth. How the coming generations in our own State would delight to read of Roy Stone's Brigade, or the One Hundred and iMfty-first Pennsylvania, with its one hundred school teachers and their young scholars, and the fight thev made. But thev never hear of these things. I question whether there are a dozen school children in Minne- >;ota who ever heard of their fathers at Gettysburg. It is doubtful if there is a line in any text lx)ok of the public schools of any State keeping alive thes-^ memories. Our children come home and tell us wonderful tales of heroism in the history of old Greece and Rome, and of campaigns in Europe. They speak of Therniop\lae and Marathon, and then have "The Charge of the Light Brigade "" at Balaklava on the end of their tongues, but of their own fathers, who made a record for hero- ism never equalled and one that will never be excelled, they are strangely ignorant. Let us hope that in the readers of the future our children may learn the story of "American heroism" at least as well as that of other ages and of other nations. Tlic wonderful lu-roisra displayed by the annies of the Ci\-il War was not the oidy remarkable fact connected with the great struggle. The youth of the soldiers was equally so. A Phila- dtlphia regiment, marching down Broad street on the way to the station and to tlu' front was ridiculed by a Southern sym- pathizer wlio. viewing the passing columns from the sidewalk, remarked that the Southern men would soon make short work of that crowd. 'Wliv ■. said he, "they are only schoolbo>'S. " True, the regiment was comjKJsefl in a great measure of school lv)ys. but, during the following four years, it made a record lor splendid lighting never equaled by the finest regiment that ovt r mardied in anv of the annies of Europe. We might truthfully say that our anny was composed of sch(K)lbovs Hundreds of thousands of them threw down 42 HEROISM OF THE AMERICAN VOLUNTEER. their books and filled the ranks, and tens of thousands were laid in soldiers' graves and never returned to school again, while other thousands served during the entire war, returning home veterans of many battles, to once more take up their books and, going back to school, finish their education. An eminent writer of EngHsh history states as a remarkable fact that one of the divisions of the army of Charles I was commanded by a general only 30 years of age. At the close of our war in 1865 it was rare to find a brigade or division com- mander who had attained that age. In the Second Corps, Miles commanded the First Division, while John R. Brookes, James A. Beaver, George N. Macy and the writer commanded the brigades comprising that command, and each had hardly reached the mature age of 25 years. I personally recall some of the schoolboys, and, when I remember young faces beaming with intelligence, enthusiasm and heroic loyalty, I feel like recording their virtues, and it may be that the boys of our own time, if ever called upon, will profit by their example and dis- play the like noble qualities. The youngest brigade ccmmander that I remember is now an eminent citizen of our State and vice president of the Lake Erie and Pittsburg Railroad, Colonel James M. Shoonmaker. He was born June 30, 1842, and was assigned to the command of the Second Brigade Cavalry Division, Army of West Virginia, January 1, 1864, when 21 years and six months old. The brig- ade consisted of the First Virginia Cavalry, Fourteenth Penn- sylvania Cavalry, Twenty-second Pennsylvania Cavalry and Gibson's Battery. YOUNGEST BRIGADE COMMANDER. Although only 21 years and 6 months old at the time he issued this order, yet he was a veteran and a seasoned soldier; at the front from the very first hour of trouble, a private sol- dier in the First Maryland Cavalry, then promoted through every non-commissioned grade, to Second Lieutenant July 16, 1862, and finally mustered in as Colonel of the Fourteenth Pennsylvania Cavalry November 24, 1862, aged 20 years and HKRoisM or Tui: AMiikic.w vt>urNTi;i:K. 43 4 months. I ha\f bctn tdld that when he reported to Harris- hurg to take a)mmaiid of tlie Fourteenth Cavalry, Governor Curtin gazed at the young fellow with curiosity and astonisli- inent and, for a moment, seemed to doubt the wisdom of grant- ing so im}X)rtant a commission to one so young. Even then he did not look his age. Hut tin- commission was issued and the CK;)\enior soon learned that lie had made no mistake, the regiment being one of the best and most ably commanded of .mv that left our State. THIRT\' n\\i DAVSrXDlvR I'IRE. After commanding for ^ months the brigade in the army of West X'irginia, he was, on August 3, 1864, assigned to the com- mand of the I'irst Brigade in AxerilTs ca\alrv di\ision, Amiv of tlu- Shenandoah, and led that brigade in all the battles and engag* meiits between Sheridan and Harlv in the whirlwind ainipaign that marked montlis of the last year of the war. Ihiring the many fights vi this j)eriod his brigade was almost tx)ntimially under fire and, in one of those months, from the day of the battle of ()j)efiuan Creek. September 1^), until Cedar Creek, ( )ctober 1'', the brigatle was under fire e\erv one of tlie .^1 days. Not only was the lx)v brigade commander continu- ally f)raised by his sujuriors because of his efliciencv as an oflicer, but his perstmal bravery and heroism were recognized by the conferring upon him of the highest honor granted to a soldier of the I'nion. for he was given a Congress Medal of Honor for most di.stinguijhed services at Winchester, September 19, IS<)4. when at a critical moment of the battle. Colonel Schoon- niak«r gallantly led a cavalry charge against the left of the (umus line of battle, which was protected bv earthworks, drove tin eiumy out of the works and captured manv ])rison- ers. " Hut uhv try to enlarge further on his merits i* The fact of his ct.mmanding a brigade in the vallev campaign under vSheri- dan is the strongest proof that he not only filled the position well. I)ut brilliantly. 44 HEROISM OF THE AMERICAN VOI.UNTEER. HEROES WERE CHILDREN. While the youth of the commanders was surprising, that of the heroes who won the Congress Medal of Honor was more so. So young in many cases that they might in truth be called children, they exhibited not only valor but intelligence of a high order. A gentleman calls to see me now and then and I recall him as a mere child of long ago. Robinson B. Murphy was bom May 11, 1849. He enlisted as musician at the beginning of the war and the official state- ment of the action for which he gained his Congress Medal reads: "At Atlanta, Ga., July 28, 1864, being orderly to the brigade commander, he voluntarily led two regiments as rein- forcements into line of battle, where he had his horse shot from under him." He enlisted in the War of the Rebellion August 6, 1862, at the age of 13 years 2 months and 24 days in the One Hundred Twenty-seventh Illinois Volunteer Infantry, and was made orderly to the Colonel of the regiment. In Jan- uary, 1864, he was made orderly to General J. A. J. Lightburn, and participated in several hard-fought battles. In the army he was known as "Bob." When he performed the wonderful feat that gained him the medal he was only 15 years old. The circumstances under which young Murphy led two regiments into battle were as follows: BOY LED TWO REGIMENTS. The division in which General Lightburn commanded was that day on the extreme right of the army, which was being flanked by the enemy. Young Murphy was sent to the right by his General to find out the situation, and finding that the enemy had flanked the right wing and was driving them, he rode on his pony down the line and met General Logan, who commanded the Army of Tennessee that day, and begged him with tears in his eyes for reinforcements, telling him they were cutting our right all to pieces. The General replied : "I have ordered reinforcements from the left and here they come now, and if you know where they are needed, Bob, show them in." IlKROISM oF Tin: .\MI:rICAN VOI.rNTKKR. 45 And that is how he- came to lead the two regiments that day. (ieneral Lighthurii wrote regarding Bob that he was "not only brave and faithful, but displayed remarkable judgment for one (jf his age, as I soon found out I could depend on him under any circumstances that might rise." K\LISTI<:i) .\T THIRTHI-:\. In 1S62, at a war meeting held in llie court house at Oswego, Wright .Mur[ihv, being called uj)on for a speech, wound up by saving: "I ha\e asked a great many men to enlist, and, now I propose to enlist mvself. " At this Hob jumi)ed up and going forward, wanted to enlist also, but his father would not allow him to do so on account of being the only son and also of his youth. Aftir arguuig the matter for two weeks, his father Irving in every way possible to dissuade him. Bob simply say- ing, "Papa, if von do not consent to let me go with vou I will run awav. as I am deteniiined to go to the war." His father, not wishing to back out himself, fuially gave his consent and Bob became a soldier with his father, whose age at enlistment was 51 years and that of Bob 13, Bob took his father home to die in Se[itiniber. 1864, but he returned after 60 days and was made orderlv on the staff of (niieral Webster, who was chief of staff to (u-neral Slurman. and was mustered out as such at the close of the war, in June, 1865, at Washington, D. C, after participating in the grand review of the armies at Washington. •MORK CARTKI I )0P:S— CALIBRE 54." And here is another very little chap who gained his medal. ' )rion r. Howe, born December 2'^, 1848. He enlisteci earh in the war and was woundi-d at \'icksburg and three times at I >allas. Oa. His record is a brilliant one, and (icneral Shemian tells the story in a letter of August 8. 1863: 46 HEROISM OF THE AMERICAN VOLUNTEER. Headquarters 15th Army Corps, Camp on Black River, August 8, 1863. Hon. E. Stanton, Secretary of War. Sir: I take the liberty of asking, through you, that some- thing be done for a lad named Orion P. Howe, of Waukegan, 111., who belongs to the Fifty-fifth Illinois, but at present at home wounded. I think he is too young for West Point, but would be the very thing for a midshipman. When the assault of Vicksburg was at its height, on the 19th of May, and I was in front near the road, which formed my line of attack, this young lad came up to me, wounded and bleeding with a good, healthy boy's cry, 'General Sherman, send some cartridges to Colonel Malmburg; the men are nearly all out,' 'What's the matter, my boy?' 'They shot me in the leg, sir, but I can go to the hospital. Send the cartridges right away.' Even where he stood the shot fell thick, and I told him to go to the rear at once, I would attend to the cartridges; and off he limped. Just before he disappeared on the hill, he turned, and called as loud as he could, 'Calibre 54. " I have not seen the lad since, and his Colonel (Malmburg) on inquiry gives me the address above, and says he is a bright, intelligent boy, with a fair pre- liminary education. What arrested my attention then was — and what renewed my memory of the fact now is — that one* so young, carrying a musket-ball through his leg, should have found his way to me on that fatal spot, and delivered his mes- sage, not forgetting the very important part of the calibre of his musket .54, which you know is an unusual one. I'll war- rant that the boy has in him the elements of a man, and I com- mend him to the Government as one worth the fostering care of one of the national institutions. I am, with respect. Your obedient servant, W. T. SHERMAN. Major General Commanding. When the poet, George H. Boker, learned of the episode of young Howe, he put the story in verse. hi:kov must have felt when he handed liis mother a commeiidatorv letter from his company ctimmander Comrade I.angbein was born in Gennany, but came to the United States when two years of age. Two weeks after Sum- ter was fired upon he enlisted in the Ninth New York Infantry 48 HEROISM OF THE AMERICAN VOLUNTEER. as drummer. So childish in appearance was he that his com rades named him "Jennie," and as such he was known during the term of his service. The letter above quoted is in the possession of his aged mother, which she treasures to this day. It is but fair to add , and I take great pleasure in doing so, that since the war "Jen- nie ' ' has won as honorable a name in civil life as he did during the war. Who has not heard of ex-Assemblyman and ex- Judge Langbein? His friends are legion, and they are proud of his record. In 1877, and again in 1879, the people of his district sent him to the legislative hall at Albany, where he was noted for his frankness, independence and fearlessness. In the fall of the latter year he was elected Justice of the Seventh Judicial District Court, over which he presided with a fairness and ability worthy of a higher station. With his brother, ex- Senator George H. Langbein, he is the author of " Langbein 's District Court Practice," a work well and favorably known among the bench and bar of the city of New York. And here is another boy who wears the Congress Medal of Honor, nobly won: George D. Sidman, a schoolboy from Michigan a mere child in years when he made his great record and won the medal for "distinguished bravery in battle at Gaines Mills, June 27, 1862." This battle, the second of the "Seven Days Battles," before Richmond, was one of the most disastrous battles of the Civil War, wherein Fitz John Porter's Fifth Army Corps was pitted against the three army corps of Generals Longstreet, Hill and "Stonewall Jackson. Brigadier General Daniel Butterfield's brigade, composed of the Twelfth, Seventeenth and Forty-fourth New York, Eighty- third Pennsylvania and Sixteenth Michigan Volunteer Infantry Regiments, that day occupied the left of the battle in the form of a curve, with the vSixteenth and Eighty-third on the extreme left and resting on the border of Chickahominy Swamp. Here the brigade was called upon to resist several desperate charges of the enemy during the day, which, in every instance, resulted in defeat of the attacking forces. It was in this "forlorn hope" rally that Companion Sidman, miKtilSM or Till' ANIICRICAN VOLUNTEER. 49 tluii .1 vt)ulh of 17. scrxiiii,' in tla- ranks of Company C, Six- ttcnth Michigan, as a private, but borne on the rolls of his c<>m{)anv as a dnimmt-r bov, distinguished liimself by waving his giui and calling u|K)n his comrades to rallv on the colors as he had done, thus setting an exami)le that was sj^eedilv fol- lowed by a number of others, and winning the approbation of Major Welch, of his regiment who was a witness of the heroic act. He was in the front rank of the charge upon the enemy, and in the almost hand-to-hand conflict that followed fell severely wounded through the left hij) by a minnie ball. On the morning of l)ecember l.\ 1S62, while the Fifth Corps was drawn up in line of battle on Stafford Heights waiting for orders to cross tlu' Rapi)ahannock Ri\er and enter Fredericks- burg, Colonel Stockton, comniantling the Third Brigade, First Pivision, called upon the Sixteenth Michigan for a volunteer to carry the new brigade flag that had just reached the com- mand Sidman, but now partially recovered from his wound, sprang from the ranks and begged for this dutv. His patriot- ism and fidelity to duty, well known to Major Welch, now conmianding the regiment, won for him the coveted prize, much to the chagrin of several other comrades who valiantly offered their services. Leading his brigade on its famous charge up Marye's Heights, in that terrible slaughter under Buniside. he was again wounded, but not so severely as to prevent him from planting his colors within 150 yards of the enimv's line, wliere they remained for 30 hours. Three days later he j^roudly lK)re his llag back across the Rappahannock, marked by a broken shaft and several holes, caused by the enemy's missiles during the charge. It was in this battle. Sundav, December 14, 1S62. while the brigade lav all dav hugging tlie ground behind the slight eleva- tion a few yanls in front of the enemy, momentarily expecting an attack, that Com^ianion Sidman, with a comrade of his ouTi company, displayed hum.mitv as well as remarkable valor by running the gauntlet thnnigh a railroad cut for canteens of water for sick and wounded comrades who could not be re- moved from the lines; this at a time, ttxi. when the enemv's 50 HEROISM OF THE AMERICAN VOLUNTEER. sharpshooters were so stationed as to command the ground a considerable distance in the rear of the brigade lines. It was this distinguished service of humanity at Fredericksburg, in the face of a vigilant enemy and with almost certain death staring him in the face, that prompted his officers in recom- mending him for the Medal of Honor. The War Department, however, with a full record knowledge of his service from Gaines Mills to Fredericksburg, and for reasons best known to itself, decided that the medal was earned at the first-named battle, with continuing merit to the end of his military service. f """ SCOUTS AND SPIES. Perhaps the most dangerous duty a soldier can be engaged in is that of scout. In a book published after the war, and called "Hampton and His Cavalry," the following definition of a scout is given : ' 'The scouts of the army did not constitute a distinct organization, but suitable men volunteering for this duty were detailed from the different comimands. The posi- tion required not only coolness, courage, zeal and intelligence, but special faculties born in some few men." The line of demarcation between a scout and a spy was at times very ill-defined, for, as the scouts were usually dressed in the enemy's uniforms which they had captured, they were by strict military laws subject to the penalty of spies if taken within the enemy's lines, and they were not without pleasant experiences of that sort. Undoubtedly one of the most distinguished of this class was Archibald Hamilton Rowand, Jr., who received the medal because of the indorsement of General Sheridan, who knew and appreciated his great services to the cause. SHERIDAN SCOUT. Companion Rowand was bom March 6, 1845, in Philadelphia, Pa.; and enlisted July 17, 1862, in Company K, First West Virginia Cavalry, and served until August 17, 1865. His services were not onlv remarkable, but most valuable to the hi:ki>ism of thi- ami-ricax \'()Lunti:i;r. 51 cause. He was one of the most during and most trusted of Sheridan's scouts. That general refers to him in his memoirs as having succeeded in passing through the Confederate army in .March, 1S65, when lie carried dispatches from Sheridan at Columbia. \'a.. west of Richmond, to Grant at City Point on the James River. ( )nce, while sctouting for Avcrill he was captured, but told such a plausible story to tlie Confederate otTicers about being a Confederate scf)Ut with verbal orders from one distant gen- eral to another that he was allowed to depart. The first time he was detailed on scout rluty his two companions were shot and killed. ( )ii his ne.xl trip his comrade and his own horse were killed when they were 18 miles inside of the Confederate lines, but Rowand managed to dodge the enemy's bullets and get back alive, vowing at every jump never to go on scout duty again. He soon recovered from his fright however, and started out «)n another trip. While with vSheridan he was asked to locate the notorious partisan leader. Major Harry Gilmore and. if |x)ssible. elTect his capture. C.\rTl'RIv OF MAJOR GILMORE. After several davs, hard work, he found Gilmore stopping iti a large country mansion near Moorfield, West \'irginia. This he reported to Sheridan, who sent witli him al)()ut fifteen scouts under Colonel Voung. They dressed in Confederate uniforms, and. followed by 300 Federal cavalry at a distance of several miles, to be of assistance if the true character of the scouts was discovered, they arrived near Gilmore's command about day break and Rowand went forward alone and single handed captured the \ idelte with out a shot being fired. The somts then entered the family mansion and took Gilmore out of bed and back to Sheridan's headquarters. Rowand s most »iotablc exploit was when, in company with James A. Campbell, he carried imjxirtant dispatches from Sheridan to Grant. Sheridan hafl been ordered to pass around to the west of Richmond and effect a junction with Sherman in N'orth Caro- lina, but. owing to heavy rains and swollen streams, he had been 52 HEROISM OF THE AMERICAN VOLUNTEER. delayed until the Confederates had time to throw a heavy force in his front and prevent his advance. It was necessary to in- form Grant of the state of affairs, and Rowand and Campbell agreed to perform the perilous journey. They dressed as Con- federates, entered the enemy's lines and passed within eight miles of Richmond. They had been in the saddle continuously for 48 hours and within two miles of the Chickahominy River when some Confederate scouts recognized them, although they had previously held a conversation with Lee's chief of scouts and gotten away undetected. By hard riding they reached the river ahead of their pursuers, and Rowand plunged in and seized a skiff, which was floating in the stream. They aban- doned their horses and reached the other side of the river, just as the Confederates came up. They were fired at and ordered to halt, but this only stimulated them to greater exertions. After running ten miles they reached the Union line. Here a new difficulty confronted them. The Lieutenant in charge of the pickets refused to believe their story that they were Sheridan's scouts and was inclined to hang them as Confederate spies. They finally induced him to conduct them to the Colonel, who immediately forwarded them to General Grant's headquarters. While sitting at Grant's desk waiting for him to come, Rowand and Campbell both fell asleep, the first time in over two days. General Grant awakened young Rowand by tapping him on the shoulder, and, after reading the dispatches which were written on tissue paper rolled in tinfoil, and which Sheridan had charged them to eat before being hanged if captured. General Grant ordered that every attention should be given them. They were taken in charge by several officers and were presented to Mrs. Grant and a number of officers' wives who were there at the time. While thev were at headquarters the two daring scouts, who had come through the confederate army, were feasted on the delicacies of the season, and had a bottle of champaign at every meal and a few between times. After the fighting ceased, and when the war closed, General Sheridan took Companion Rowand with him to Louisiana and HKROISM 1 •!•' Tin: AMIvRICAX VoI.rNTKICR. 53 then in Aujjust, 1S65, lie was luinorably discharged and returned h< nif. ComjKiiiion Rowaiid is by profession a lawver and holds a high position as a member of the Pittsburg bar. ACHIKVHMKXTS OF A ROV. A lx)y from Montgdmcrv County of our own State, Henry Irwin Vohn, had a n'markable experience. When the war began he was too young to enlist, hut, in August, 1S63, having reached the mature age of 14 vears, he left school, bade good- bv to the mother whom he was ne\er to see again, as she died before his return, and enlisted in Comj)any G, First United States Cavalry, for five years. While the war had been in progress for more than two years, he was not too late to have a good share of the fighting and, under Pleasanton, Buford, Torbert. Merritt and Sheridan, was in all the cavalry fights frt^m White Sulphur Springs to Appomattox, 34 battles in all ; Bamett's Ford, Todd's Taveni, Spottsylvania, Beaver Dam, Yellow Meadow Bridge, MechaTiics\ille, Hanover Junction, Haw's Shop, Old Church, CoUl Harbor, Trevillian Station. White House Landing, Deep Bottom, Petersburg, BerryA-ille, Ccdar\ille, Winchester. Kearneysville, Smithfield, Opequan (Winchester), I'isher's Hill, Wa\niesboro, Mt. Crawford, Tom's Brook. Cedar Creek, Middletown. Gordonsville, Waviiesboro, 186.'>. Dinwiddie Courth(^use, Five Forks, Sutherland's Station. Sailor's Creek, Appomattox. CAVALin'MAX AT FOURTEEN'. Young Yohn was not a musician, but a regular cavalryman, doing the whole duty of a man in the ranks; a strong, healthy and judging from his present appearance, handsome b<:)y. When the Civil War closed he had still more than two years to sen.'C. and was sent with his regiment to the Southwest to fight the Indians, and there was severe and heavy fighting and plenty of it at that time. Two years' splendirl service in south- cm Arizona, fighting old Cochise and his human tigers, "The Chiricauhan Apaches," under General Thomas L. Crittenden, 54 HEROISM OF THE AMERICAN VOLUNTEER. and these two years full of the most exciting adventures and heroism on the part of the boy ; not a day or hour but was taken up in marching or fighting, and because of his gallantry and intelligence, he won the stripes of a sergeant, finally ending his term of service and receiving from his commanding general the following strong and unusual indorsement on his discharge : "A faithful and brave soldier and intelligent non-commis- sioned ofhcer. " Then follows on the document the long list of the battles and engagements in which the young soldier had participated. While there were large numbers of boys of 14 in the volunteer service and particularly in the infantry, I question if there was another so young doing a man's full duty in the regular cavalry or with such a splendid and enviable record. PENNSYLVANIA'S PROUD DEEDS. At Gettysburg: While almost every State can claim to have had regiments on that field which fought until they had made the glorious record of more than 50 per cent, killed and wounded, our own State was not behind in the wonderful fight- ing. The 141st Pennsylvania Infantry lost 64.6% The 26th Pennsylvania Infantry lost 56.9% The 149th Pennsylvania Infantry lost 50 % The 150th Pennsylvania Infantry lost 50 % The 151st Pennsylvania Infantry lost 56 % The 75th Pennsylvania Infantry lost 56 % New York has several regiments on this Roll of Honor at Gettysburg : The 1 nth New York lost 71 % The 80th New York lost 50.9% The 126th New York lost 55 % The 147th New York lost 60 % The 82d New York lost 50 % MliKdlSM «)I* TIIIC AMFCRICAN VOLUNTEER. 55 New Jersey at (.kttysburg had the Kleveiith Infantry with a loss of 54 per cent.; Michigan was there with the Twenty- fcnirth Infantrv, losing 64 per cent. ; Indiana, with the Xine- teeiitli and Tweiilietli Infantry, losing 56 and 54 per cent., re- specti\ely; Wisconsin, with the Second Infantry, losing 59 j)er cent.: New IIanii)shire, with the Fifth Infantry, losing 50 per cent.; .Massachusetts, with the Fifteenth Infantry, losing 50 per cent.; and, hnally, Miiniesota, with the First Infantry, K)sing S2 per cent. Not alone at Gettysburg, but on otlier fields we find the same glorious record of heroism. HEROIS.M AN'D VALOR. At Manassas the One Ilundretl and First New York lost 64.6 per cent.; iMfty-iighth Pennsylvania, at Fort Harrison, lost 56.5 per cent.; Twenty-fifth Massachusetts, at Cold Harbor, lost 61.9 per cent. ; Thirty-sixth Wisconsin, at Bethesda Church, lost 53.3 per cent. ; Twentieth Massachusetts, at Fredericksburg, lost 68.4 per cent.; Eighth Vemiont, at Cedar Creek, lost 53.2 jHT cent.; Kighty-first Pennsylvania, at Fredericksburg, lost 5'). 7 per cent.; Twelfth Massachusetts, at Antietam, lost 61.4 per cent. ; First Maim, at Petersburg, lost 63.6 per cent. ; Ninth Louisiana (colored), at Milliken's Bridge, lost 64 per cent.; I'ifth New Hampshire, at I'redericksburg. lost 57.2 per cent.; Ninth Illinois, at .Shiloh, lost 62.4 per cent.; Ninth New York, .It Antietam, lost 59.2 i)er cent. ; iMfteenth New Jersey, at Spott- svlvania, lost 54.2 per cent.; Sixty-ninth New York, at Antie- tam, lost 61.8 per cent.; Fifty-first Illinois, at Chickamauga, lost 52.6 per cent.; I'ifth New York, at secv)nd Bull Run, lost 7^ per cent.; Ninety-third New York, at Wilderness, lost 58.9 per cent.; I'ifteenth Indiana, at Missionary Ridge, lost 59.5 per cent. ; Seventh Ohio, at Cedar Mountain, lost 58.6 per cent. ; Sixty-third New York, at Antietam. lost 58.7 per cent.; Tliird Wisconsin, at Antietan\ lost 58. 8 per cent.; One Hundred Forty- first New York, at Opequan, lost 58.7 per cent.; Fifty-ninth New York, at Antietam, lost 52.8 per cent.; Second Wisconsin, at Manassas, lost 52 1 pir cent.; Forty-fifth Peimsylvania. at 56 HEROISM OF THE AMERICAN VOLUNTEER. Cold Harbor, lost 50.5 per cent. ; Sixth United States (colored), at Chapiii's Farm, lost 54.8 per cent. ; Fifteenth Massachusetts, at Antietam, lost 52.8 per cent. ; Fourth United States (colored), at Chapin's Farm, lost 56 per cent.; Twenty-sixth New York, at Fredericksburg, lost 53 per cent.; Fourteenth Indiana, at Antietam, lost 56.2 per cent. ; Twelfth New Hampshire, at Cold Harbor, lost 50.5 per cent. What a tale of death and blood, heroism and valor, devotion and love of country these figures tell I Colonel Sidney Burbank's Brigade, of United States Infantry at Gettysburg lost exactly 50 per cent, of all the officers; the Seventh United States Infantry lost 51 per cent. ; fighting over the wheatfield, Seventeenth Infantry lost 53 per cent.; Tenth United States Infantry lost 52 per cent. These are some of the commands that beat the world's record for heroic fighting, and these figures speak of the killed and wounded only. Many were the missing in each of these com- mands, with the exception of the First Minnesota, and, undoubt- edly, many of those were among the dead, but I speak only of those who were known to have been killed or wounded, and those alone are counted in this paper. GREAT RECORD AT FORT HARRISON. The Fifty-eighth Pennsylvania Infantry made its great rec- ord at Fort Harrison, September 29, 1864. The attack on Fort Harrison was made to either enable our troops to capture Richmond by the north bank of the James or to cause the Con- federate commander to withdraw forces from his right, and thus materially assist General Grant in his movement of our extreme left at Petersburg. The attack was made by the First Division of the Eighteenth Corps, and General vStannard, who com- manded the division, lost his arm in the fight. The regiment was compelled to march over open ground for full three-quarters of a mile before reaching the fort, every moment exposed to the fire of the enemy without an opportunity of returning it. By the time the Fifty-eighth reached the ditch in front of tlie works, eight color bearers had fallen in succession, and nearly hi:rf Tin-: amicrican x'or.rxTiiRR. 57 50 j)tr CL-iit. (>t till,' imn, hut, without a nionu-nt's hesitation, the others leaped into llie open trench and began cUmbincj the works. Captain Cecil Clay, of C()m{)any K, seizin;:;; the Hag of the One Hundred Ivightv-eighth Pennsvhania, dnj\e his sword into the bank, and, placing his foot on the handle, used it as a step. One of his men. seizing him by the leg, threw him up on to the- top I if the works. As he reached the crest of the banquttle two pri\ates, Johnston and Copeland, got there at the same moment. Johnston fell wounded and Copeland fell dead. TIk- right arm of Captain Clay was shot off, but he seized the colors in his left and waved them aloft. The men of the I'iftv eiglith crowded each other in their efforts to climb the works, and after a territlc hand-to-hand stniggle the fort was taken. The Adjutant, Joseph Iv. Johnson, of the Fifty- eightli, was perhaps the first man of the regiment to enter the fort He was wounded twice before reaching the works, and was shot the third time after entering the fort. Congress Mtxlals of Honor were awarded to Captain Clay, Adjutant Johnson and I.irutenant Nathaniel Mclveown, of the Fifty- eighth, and for the same fight metlals were awarded to Captain William S. Hul)bcll. of the Twenty-first Connecticut Infantry, and I'rixate W'iUiain I. ('.raul, of the One Hundred Eighty- eighth Penns\lvania Infantrv. and Cajitain Samuel B. Home, oi the Klexenth Conincticut Infantrv. The I-'ift\- (.■i:;tith ri'nnsvhania Infantrv was recruited in Warren, McKean, Cameron, Clinton, Northumberland, Luzerne and Totter Counties, in our State. The first Colonel, J. Rich- tcr Jones, was killed at Haclielor's Creek. N. C, May 23, 1863. At Fort Harrison the loss was 5()J j^cr cent, killed and woimded. Among the killed were Captains Theodore Blakeley and Daniel I". Linn, and Lieutenants Joseph Iv. Johnston, Thomas Bir- mingham, Robert Hedian and Captain Cecil Clay were among these severelv wounded CHAPINS l-ARM. OR NICW MARKLT HEIGHTS. The battle known by this name was fought at the same time as the successful assault on I'ort Harrison, and was, in fact, 58 HEROISM OF THE AMERICAN VOLUNTEER. but a part of the same action, being an extension of our line to the right. In this battle the colored troops sustained re- markable losses and performed a most conspicuous part. Their heroism was great and their fighting superb. The Fourth United States Colored Infantry lost 56 per cent., killed and wounded, and of the 12 of the color guard, 11 were killed and wounded, and Sergeant Major Christian A. Fleetwood gained a Congress Medal of Honor for saving the flag of his regiment. This gallant regiment was recruited at Baltimore, in July and August, 1863. The Sixth United States (colored) made also a remarkable fight at New Market Heights, losing nearly 55 per cent, killed and wounded and not one missing or unaccounted for. Captain McMurray's company lost 87 per cent., the greatest of any organization during the whole war. At my request one of the survivors writes me the following account of the day: "To understand clearly the battle of September 29, 1864, at Chapin's Farm, Va., and the heavy losses sustained by the Sixth United vStates Colored Infantry in that action, it is neces- sary for us to understand something of the position of the two opposing forces and of the conditions under which the attack was delivered. "The Eighteenth Corps, consisting of three divisions of three brigades each, under Major General Birney, was massed on the north side of the James River, near Deep Bottom .The whole command was under orders to march at daybreak on the morn- ing of the 29th for an attack on Fort Harrison. The command was to mo\'e by the left, which threw the Third Brigade of the Third Division in front. "This brigade was made up of the Fourth, Fifth and Sixth Regiments of U. S. C. I., under command of Colonel Samuel A. Duncan, of the Fourth. Our formation was in brigade line of battle, with the Fourth on the right; then the Fifth and, of course, the Sixth on the left, and in this formation we were to move. HEROISM OF Tin; AMERICAN VoUlNTEER. 59 RUSH INT, TO DEATH. "The first position of tlie enemy on the road toward Fort Harrison was some two miles from our camp, in a northwesterly direction, and consisted of earthworks strengthened by a good abattis, and further guarded by a sluggish stream, swampy in places, about three or four yards wide, with slimy banks and cozy, sticky bottom. This stream ran nearly parallel to that side of the earthworks which we attacked and was some 60 to 80 yards distant from it. Tliis face of the works formed one of the adjacent sides of a re-entrant angle, from the other side of which an enfilading fire could be poured over the entire inner bank of the stream. And it was across this stream and into this angle and against this abattis that it was the fate of the Sixth to charge. "Wc formed line of battle, as stated above, in the earliest dawn of the 29th, and, according to order, as soon as we could see to take aim, we began our march. Captain Weinman, of the Sixth, in command of the brigade sharpshooters, covered our front and was followed by A and K companies of the Sixth, in command of Captain R. B. Beath, deployed as skirmishers. "Our orders were that as soon as the enemy was found, to strike and drive him as rapidly as possible,' and we were as- sured that the whole cf^mmand would be at our backs to sustain ST0RM1{I' WITH HU LLHTS. "Our route was througli a fairly open wood, up the slope of a hill; then along its crest, finally dipping gently toward cleared or partly cleared land. We had barely reached the crest of the hill when firing began between the shar|Dshooters and the enemy. In a few moments the firing was increased by volleys from their picket reser\ es, and then a scattering and receding fire told us that our men had them on the run. Striking a double quick, wc followed down the slope and soon were in the thick of it ourselves and getting it hot. For the Sixth had come squarely on that re-entrant angle and upon that muddy stream, too wide 60 HEROISM OF THE AMERICAN VOLUNTEER. to be jumped over and too miry to be waded through, but which, nevertheless, had to be passed over. To hesitate was to die on the outer side of the stream. So officers and men plunged in and struggled through as best they might and climbed the opposite bank. But they had no sooner gained their feet than they were swept off them again by a storm of bullets from the left, delivered with great accuracy and intenific volume. The Color Guard went down to a man, and York, Sheldon and Landon and Meyer — in fact, almost every line officer of the regiment went down before it, either in the stream or on this inner bank. Captain York fell while taking the regimental colors from the dying color bearer, and Lieutenant Meyer, in trying to carr\' them forward after York had fallen. The national flag went down time and again and finally reached the front in the hands of Sergeant Kelly, of Company F, who was fortunate enough to carry it and live. The regimental flag was taken from the dead hands of Lieutenant Meyer by the Adjutant of the Regiment, N. H. Edgerton, who started forward with it, but went down within two paces of Meyer, struck by a ball which shot his hand at the wrist and cut the staff of the flag in two ; but, finding that only his hand was gone, he sheathed his sword, took the flag in his other hand and carried it to the front of the abattis. Colonel Ames, already wounded in the fleshy part of his leg, and less than a score of the rank and file were there, waiting to make a further advance if men enough could be got together to make it possible. But when he learned that all who had crossed the stream were with him, he said: "Well, boys, we can't break through this line with half a dozen men. Fall back behind the stream." "This was accomplished with little further loss, although some firing was still kept up, for the powder smoke was now so dense that it was impossible for the enemy to see us, and the firing was done at random. "So ended a happening that for percentage of casualties stands almost unequaled. And of these casualties almost all were either in the creek or in that slaughter pen between it and the abattis. HEROISM <>F THK AMERICAN' VOLUNTEER. 61 ■"Captain Bcath, who commanded the skinnishers, and Lieu- tenant Colonel Royce were, I think, the only exceptions among the oflicers. both of them being shot, if I remember correctly, before we reacheil the stream." IvXTRAORDIXARV DARING Captain John McMurrav, that splendid oflicer whose com- pany lost the wonderful percentage of S7 killed and wounded, also tells me the story of the awful day: "Those who are familiar with the movements of the troops under Grant during the siege of Petersburg will remember that on September 29, 1S64, Cjeneral Warren was pushed out on the extreme left of our line in an attempt to capture the W'eldon Railroad, while at the same time the Tenth Corps, commanded by Birney, and the liighteenth Corps, under General Ord, were thrown against the defenses of Richmond, on our extreme right. "In this mo\ement we fonned part of the Eighteentli Corps. Harlv on the morning of September 29 we were astir, and before sunrise were on the march directlv toward tlic Confederate, entrenchments at the foot of Spring Hill, or New Market Heights. "In contemplating now the results of that dav I have been led to see the wisdom of God in concealing from man what is before him as 1 never saw it before. Had I known when I arose that morning what was in store for mv ct^mpany or my regiment within the next two or three hours I would have been entirely inifitteil for the duties of the day. In mercy and kindness I was allowed to see onlv what each moment revealed, and, seeing that and only that, I went forward, trying to do the best I couUl and hoping for the best results. FACING TIII-: RII'Li; TITS. '"As I ri number the distance now the line of Confederate works toward which we were moving was somewhere between a mile and a half and two miles from the river at the point where we left the steamer, .\bout half of this distance we marched bv the tlank, or "endwise," as Isaac TuUer said. Then 62 HEROISM OF THE AMERICAN VOLUNTEER. we formed in line of battle, our regiment on the left of the line and the Fourth next on our right. Soon after forming thus we emerged from a wood into an open field, on the top of a little hill. Just as we reached this field we could see the first rays of sunlight glinting from the treetops and a score or two of Confederates scampering across the field before us, turning once in a while to shoot back at us. They were the men who had been on the picket line, and were falling back before us to their line of entrenchments. "The field through which we were passing was nearly 40 rods in width, as I remember it now. From the edge of the wood the ground descended slightly toward the Confederate rifle pits. Between the far edge of the field and this line of rifle pits had been a strip of woods 10 or 12 rods wide, through which ran a little stream parallel with the works. All the timber in this piece of woods had been cut down, forming a slashing in front of their line, very difficult to pass through the trunks and limbs of the trees impeding our progress at every step. Our brigade was marched across this open field and halted at the far side, just at the edge of the slashing. There we were fonned in line with as much accuracy and care as though we had been on parade. Every man and every officer was in his place. Every captain or company commander was in the front rank, his first sergeant was directly behind him in the rear rank and the lieutenants and sergeants stood a step or two behind the rear ranks of their companies in their places as file closers. Back of these a few paces stood the field officers of each regiment, and still back of them were the brigade commander and his staff officers. FORWARD AS ONE MAN. "During the time we were straightening and adjusting our line, and while we stood there after it was all arranged, not a Confederate bullet was fired at us. I have no doubt that the Confederates looked on with great interest, thinking no doubt what a lot of fools we were. I know there was a big lot of thinking done by us as we stood there. We knew there was IIEiROISM nV TMI- AMHRICW V( )LUNTE;KR. 63 a strong lint- of Confederatos behind the ritle pits across the slasliing frcjin us. We knew that, as soon as \vc would move ft)rward, they would open fire on us. ■■\Ve knew the order to go forward woultl soon be given. But beyond that, what? Woidd it be death, or wound, or ca])ture' Would it be \ ictory or defeat' How the scenes and deeds of the past came nishing in on the mind like a mightv flitod ! That was perhaps the most tr\-ing fwe mimites we endured in all our army life. It woukl take the pen of the brightest angel that ever stood before the throne of God to write the thoughts of the men who stood in that line that bright Sejitember morning. My heart almost stands still now as I write these lines and try to recall some of the thoughts that came to me then. ■ I-'inally we heard the voice of Colonel Duncan, our brigade commander, saying, "Forward!" and as one man we plunged into the slashing. And I want to say for the honor of the regi- ment, and the whole brigade, that I believe not a man turned his back to the enemy. "'The jx)int where we attacked the Confederate line was about a mile and a half to our right, and the Confederate left, of Fort Harrison. Why we were directed to attack there I do not think an oflicer in our brigade knew. And I think they were equally ignorant of what was taking place at other points, We learned afterward that near the time of our attack, perhaps a little later. General (Jrd with the larger portion of the Eigh- teenth Corj)s assaulted Fort Harrison, on theChapin Farm, one of the outer defenses of Richmond, and our attack at Xew Market Heights was merely to prevent the Confederate troops there from being sent to strengthen the line at and near Fort Harrison. RANKS GROWING THINNER. ■ At the command Forward !' our line advanced immcdiatelv plunging at once into the slashing I have already described, lust as the aimmand was gi\en Lieutenant Johnson, of mv compan\-. in an excited way, began to swing his sword over 64 HEROISM OF THE AMERICAN VOLUNTEER. his head, describing with it a series of circles. He had not completed more than three or four of these when a Confederate bullet struck him on the wrist, and the sword, flying off at a tangent, struck the ground 18 or 20 feet away. He was taken to the rear and then to hospital at Fort Monroe, and I did not see him again for several months. "But the rest of us pressed on toward the Confederate line, picking our way through the slashing as best we could. It was slow work, and every step of our advance exposed us to the murderous fire of the enemy. We had little chance for firing and might almost as well have had no muskets. Some- times and in some places they were absolute hindrance to us. As we urged our way onward we were utterly unable to protect ourselves in any way. As we advanced I noticed our ranks getting thinner and thinner and wondered what had become of the men. I saw fewer and fewer of my own men, and won- dered if any of them had turned back. Then I passed my first sergeant. Miles Parker, shot through the leg. He was sitting down and greeted me cheerfully as I passed by saying, 'Never mind me, captain, I'll get along all right.' And as I pressed on as best I could, urging the men forward, I passed others of my company, some killed and some wounded. I saw that my company was suffering heavy losses, but thought of little else than pressing forward and keeping the men moving on. When about half way through the slashing I came to a large oak tree that had been felled. At the same moment three or four members of the color guard came to the same spot. We were close by the stump of the tree, and the way forward seemed to be through an opening between the trunk of the tree and its stump, less than three feet wide. Involuntarily, almost, I paused to let the colors go ahead of me. I followed close after, and just when the last of the men carrying one of our flags (we had three) was right in the opening between the stump and the tree trunk he was shot through the breast and fell back against me, almost knocking me over. The loss of his life there abso- lutely saved mine. l!i:Kr mortally wounded, 203 wounded and 17 missing who wer«. afterward found to ha\ e died in the enemv's hands — a total of 76 per cent. The only command showing a greater percentage of loss was the I'irst Minnesota, at Gettvsburg. The I'ifth New York was commanded in the battle bv Colo- nel G. K. Warren, that gallant soldier who afterward com- maiuled tin- I'ifth Cori)S. Warren, seeing an exposed ix)int in our line of battle and the panimount necessitv of holding it. placeM I'K Tin; AMi'Kic.w vmi.i .\ti;i;k. 69 place we supjK)seis.m ok Till- AMi-RicAN v< ti,i \ti;i;r. 71 kilK'd i>r wounck-d on tilhcr side in the battle, but know it was (.onipanitively larjje on lx)th. Next to the battery, the Fifth h)w;i sufTeri'd most se\-erely. So far as I can learn, the action of tin- batter\- was not only satisfactory to all, but it has elicited till- hii^lust praise. Colonel Lothrop, Rosecrans's chief of ar- tillery, told lue the morning after the fight that he did not be- lieve there was a case on record where a battery had been so badly slaughtered or where the men and officers exhibited more braverv during an engagement. "The able for duty of Rosecrans's armv have gone in pursuit of the eneniv. What is left of the battery is here to be repaired and recruited as soon as possible. "Vou will j)erceivc that, finally, the Ivleventh Ohio Battery has experienced the 'no\eltv' and fun' of a fight; and, though I tnist that what are left would exhibit the same gallantry again if ciiUed ujxin to do so imder similar circumstances, I don't think many of us will spoil' for another dose like that of the l''th. The men not disabled buried their 16 dead comrades together in one grave -hole —under the shadiest tree conve- nient on the battlefii'ld on the morning of the 20th. Riding past from our bivouac in tlie woods to this place I was able to witness the rite briefiv. It was cnule. but very sad. Xo shrouds, coffins, songs or audible prayer; yet, I believe, with as much real respect and genuine sorrow as in the most pom- I>oiis and circumstantial funerals in peace. And I feel sure these diad patriots will sleep and dream as sweetly in their common enide grave as anv mausoleumed king; and that Gabriel's last tnunp if in discriminating hands -will find them as quickly and as will prejxired as anv, tlnnigh most of those boys did in- arlvertentlv let slip a few "cuss words' occasionally when the amenities of the situation seemed to call for them. There was Ivttic, king among heroes, though uncrowned save by gallant deeds richer and more glorifying than any gold or jewels. The wounded, including mvself, are (juarlered in rebel houses turned into hosjiitals in this place, and receive as good care as circum- stances seem to pemiit. When able to write myself I may give you further particulars. CYRUS SEARS. (Dictated.) 'Per William H. Doxon." 72 HEROISM OF THK AMERICAN VOLUNTEER. TEAMSTER'S HEROISM. Of the 103 men of this battery in this action 54 were can- noneers. Of these 48 were killed or wounded — over 88 per cent. — leaving an average of but one cannoneer able for duty for each gun. The drivers were considerably protected by the ridge where the guns were and did not suffer much. But of these there was at least one dead hero — John Dean. Just as the guns were being abandoned and all the able-bodied were trying to save themselves Dean was seen by a comrade holding his team right where it stopped after his piece had been taken into battery. Dean's team was the leading one to the limber. Two or three horses of the six to this limber were then dead or dying, and the rebels were close and very "hot." This com- rade asked Dean why he did not save himself as others were doing. Dean replied "My sergeant ordered me to hold this team right here, and by G — d, I'm going to do it or die till I get proper orders to do something else." Next morning he was found still holding his team right there with a death grip on his bridles— Dean stretched, dead — all those six horses dead, but still hitched to the limber. He sleeps under the tree with the rest. The Confederate reports of the battle pay the highest com- pliment to the battery. In his official report of this battle Confederate General Price, in specially complimenting his Third Louisiana and Third Texas Regiment for their prowess in charging this battery at luka, after noting their previous glorious record, says: "In this, the hardest fought fight which I have ever witnessed, they well sustained their bloodily won reputation, as the accompanying report of killed and wounded will testify." CONFEDERATE COMPLIMENTS. And here is what the Confederate Colonel Whitfield says about it in his report : On the afternoon of Friday, September 19, we formed in line of battle about one mile south of luka on the Bay Springs road, the enemy appearing in large force. ni:R(»i>M or riii-: ami;kic\\ \t>i,r\Ti:i:k. 73 S<')Oii after pcltiiij; in position I was ordered to move mv coin- inaiul in the direction of the cnem\-, which was tlien about 300 yards ofT. After ha\ing advanced about 100 j^accs tlie enemy opened a very heavy fire with j^rape and canister from their artillery, besides a shower from their small anns. Under this gallinp fire mv command mo\ed on, and, when within about 150 yards of the enemy, I discovered that unless the battery, was immediately silenced the result might be most disastrous, and gave the command to charge, which was responded to by loud cheers from my command and the Third Texas Cavalry — being then dismounted — and at a double cjuick they moved up and captured the six gun battery, which I am informed by one of the lieutenants, had been charged eight times before in differ ent fights unsuccessfully." Mark the balance of Colonel Whitfield's report, to wit: "In this short but hotly contested charge I sustained a loss of 106 of!'icers and men, most oi whom fell at or immediately about the batter\ " As wc sliall see j)resentlv the loss in this charge t)f the Third Texas dismounted cavalry is not included in this 106, for a Confederate corresjxjndent writing to the Confeder- ate Mississippian under date of September 24, 1862, says of Trices Third Brigade in this fight: "They charged and took the battery which was doing so much damage after a desperate struggle, piling the ground with the dead. The Third Ix)uisiana Regiment of this brigade entered the fight with 238 men and lost lOS in killed and wounded. The Tliird Texas fared about as badly. " And, as we shall show, we had repelled two charges before this was made in which, doubtless, we "had done the State some service." This from the report of (n'ueral Rosccrans. commanding the Ann\ of the Mississippi: "The enemy's line of inf.iiUr\- now moved forward on the battery coming up from the woods on our right on the Fifth Iowa, while a brigafle showed itself on our left and attempted to cross the road toward Colonel Purczcl. The battle became furious. Our battery {X)ured in a deadly fire upon the enemy's column advancing up the road, while the musketry concen- 74 HEROISM OF THE AMERICAN VOLUNTEER. trated upon it, soon killing or wounding most of the horses. When within 100 yards they received a volley from our entire line and from that time the battle raged furiously. The enemy penetrated the battery, were repulsed, again returned, were again repulsed, and finally bore down upon it with a column of three regiments (doubtless the Colonel Whitfield charge) and this time carried the battery. The cannoneers were, many of them, bayonetted at their pieces. Three of the guns were spiked. In this last charge the brigade of Texans, which had attempted to turn our left, having been repulsed by Pur- czell turned upon the battery and co-operated in the charge. The Forty-eighth Indiana, which lay in its track, was obliged to yield about 100 yards, where it was supported by the Fourth Minnesota. "Sand's Eleventh Ohio Battery, under Lieutenant Sears, was served with unequaled bravery, under circumstances of danger and exposure such as rarely, perhaps never, has fallen to the lot of one single battery during the war." HONORED BY CONGRESS. The Eleventh Ohio was organized in Cincinnati in 1861 from recruits gathered in Athens, Butler, Hamilton, Vinton and Wyandotte Counties. The men were specially equipped and made a fine appearance in camp parades. "Mrs. General Fremont presented the company with a silk guidon when it reported for duty at army headquarters in St. Louis. Such incidents were common in those days, and cer- tainly no one supposed that that little banner would sometime float over the bloodiest single field battery contest on record." For the magnificent fight that Lieutenant Sears made with his guns he was awarded the Congress Medal of Honor; every man of the battery should have had a Medal of Honor and not one medal would have been misplaced. The Medal of Honor was not the only reward conferred upon Lieutenant Sears. He was commissioned lieutenant colonel of the Forty-ninth United States Colored Troops, and, with that gallant regiment fought until the close of the war, making another splendid HEROISM « "F THi: AMIvRlCAN \-< H.fNTKKK. 75 rtcord for Ihc Milor displayod by that i(.j;im(.ni at Millikcn's lu lui, wlicn- thf losses ucrt- almost as great as that of his bat- t« r> at liika, and finally, at the close of the war, \vas recom- inendcd for bre\et brij^'adicr general. Colonel Sears is now a banker at llarpster, ( )hio, and no one would imagine tliat tlie quiet, tuiassuming cili/en, whom e\ery one loves and honors, could e\ er ha\e been the stern soldier and heroic commander of th( i;ie\enth Ohio Battery at luka. The battle of luka was fought September 19, 1862, General Kosrcrans commanding the Union troops and General Price the Confederate. It ended in a Union victorv, although the enemy had a nnich larger force. And so the writer rejoices in ret-ording the heroism r>f the commands herein named, "The American Xdlunteer, " whose c(jual as a soldier has never yet ajip^ared on earth.