467 
 I 
 
 S4 ni6 
 
 3py 1 
 
 GEN. JOHN SEDGWICK 
 
 AN ADDRESS 
 
 DELIVERED BEFORE TflE 
 
 AT THEIR SIXTEENTH AN MAI, ,M lOETING AT 
 
 Montpelier, Nov. II, ISSO. 
 
 By MARTIN T. McMAHON 
 
 ADJtJTAKT GENERAL, SIXTH ARMY CORPS. 
 
 RUTLAND : 
 
 TuTTLE & Co., Official State Printers. 
 
 1880. 
 

GEN. JOHN SEDGWICK 
 
 AN ADDRESS 
 
 DELIVERED BEFORE THE 
 
 V ^ 
 
 AT THEIR SIXTEENTH ANNUAL MEETING AT 
 
 Montpelier, Nov. 1^1, 1 SSO. 
 
 By martin T. McMAHON. 
 
 ADJUTANT GENERAL, SIXTH ARMY CORPS. 
 
 RUTLAND : 
 TuTTLE & Co., Official State Printers. 
 
 1880. 
 
JOINT HESOLU'I'IOX. 
 
 HksoIjVEI), by tlu- Sciiati' and House of Kt-preseutativos — Tliat the Secre- 
 tary of the Senate be instructed to procure the ])rintlng of two thousand and 
 live liundred eo))ies, in i)aniphlet form, of the address of General Martin T. 
 McMahon, on tlie life and services of Major General John Sedgwick, 
 delivered Ix'fore the Officers" Reunion Society on the Eleventh day of 
 November, A. 1). 1880, for the use of the Historical Society, State Library, 
 and the (ient^ral Assembly, as follows : To each member of the Senate sind 
 House of Representatives four copies, to each Town Clerk one copy, to each 
 ( 'oUege, Normal St^hool, and Academy in this State, one copy ; one copy to 
 the Governor and each of the Heads of J)epartments, and to each Judge of 
 the Supreme Court one copy, to the State Library two hundred copies, to 
 the Vermont Historical Society two hundred cojiies, and the remaining 
 copies to the Vermont Officers' Reunion Society. 
 
 John L. Baustow, 
 
 President of the Senate. 
 James L. Maktin, 
 Speaker of the Uout>e of Representatives. 
 Ai)i)roved D.-cember 14th, 1880. 
 
 UOS W" E I .L FA K N H AM , 
 
 Governor. 
 
ADDEESS. 
 
 Ladies ami (icntlenien : 
 
 If I felt tliiit tiny degree of responsibility attached to me for 
 my ap]»earance on this occasion, other than i)erliaps a certain 
 lack of moral courage to resist the flattering invitation of your 
 committee to deliver this address, I should feel obliged to com- 
 mence witli an ai)ology ; for I certainly confess to a feeling which 
 has dwelt upon my mind ever since the invitation Avas communi- 
 <uited to me and the suggestion made that it would be agreeable 
 to the soldiers of Vermont that tlie sul)ject of the address 
 should be, "John Sedgwick," that I am totally inadequate to do 
 justice to the memory of that galla.r_t soldier or justice to an 
 audience such as this. 
 
 Disclaiming responsibility, hoAvever, except as I have stated, I 
 shall proceed at once without loss of time to say a few words to 
 you, fellow citizens, of a man who deserves to be kept in perpetual 
 memory by the people whom he served, and In' men of every land 
 who admire honest and sterling nmnhood, and ])ure and devoted 
 patriotism. 
 
 Those who Avere in the army or Avho remember the trying days 
 from 'ni to '05 must often realize that there is to-day in the 
 United States and out of it a generation who, being children or 
 
unborn when the civil war eoramenced, know very little of its- 
 history. 
 
 Those who bore a part in it scarcely realize yet. that this great 
 American conflict for the maintenance and restoration of the 
 Union will stand in human history as one of the most im])ortant 
 events that has ever been chronic^lod by the pen of man. The 
 youn.ii^-er generation to whom I have referred learned history 
 before this cha])terwas written in its pages. Although recorded, 
 in the blood of a million of their fellow creatures, upon trampled 
 battlefields in many States, although written in words that will 
 never fade on the hearts of many Avidowed Avomen, on the hearts 
 of thousands of orphan children, the history of the school room 
 of the younger generation of to-day contains nothing of the civil 
 war. It was not the practice before the war, nor do I believe it 
 IS now, that young people who leave the sclu)ol room ever devote 
 themselves with any remarkable diligence to continuing their 
 studies either of history or of any other branch included in the 
 regular course. It is not to be wondered at, therefore, that there 
 are many heroes who gave their lives for this Kepublic, Avhose 
 names are com2)aratively little known. Neither is it to be gain- 
 said that as time advanc'es the names of these men will beam in 
 the firmament of American glory with the steady lustre of the 
 everlasting and imchangeable stars. The lesson of their lives 
 will be taught to the children of the future as a necessary ])ortion 
 of their education ; the story of their deeds will be told to the 
 old and the young. And pen and j)encil Avill portray in all the 
 forms by which ideas are communicated and nuide imperishable, 
 some central truths that they lived and died to establish. Of 
 these truths, one nuiy be stated here. That the people of our 
 day and generation are not unworthy tlu' inheritance bequeathed 
 
them by the founders of this government ; that the people of our 
 day have not degenerated, that at no time tliroughout all the 
 past annals of the world has any nation or people or race pro- 
 duced grander types of humanity than this American Republic. 
 Of the men of '61 to '05 it may be said that they differed in 
 character and achievement as well as in personal demeanor " as 
 one star dift'ercth from another star in glory." 
 
 There were the grave veterans of former wars, there were the 
 bright faced J^oys of the school room who left their mothers' sides 
 to march in serried ranks to battle fields of the terrors of which 
 they never could have had the remotest conception. There were 
 the farmer and the blacksmith, the lawyer and the mechanic, 
 the ])reacher and the laborer, the doctor and the clerk, men of 
 all walks in life, men of all grades in social circles, men of all 
 habits of mind, of all grades of talent, men with and without 
 ambition, who marched with steady steps to make up the millions 
 who faced the privations of the field to establish a principle which 
 it had heretofore seemed to them it was sacrilege to question. 
 This principle was that this Republic is an indestructible Union 
 of indestructible States. The names of many of those who com- 
 posed our armies have become historic and household words. 
 The memory of all, even of the humblest whose record occupies 
 no greater space in the world's history than the breadth of a 
 small granite slab, wide enough to hold above the waving grass 
 in any of the great cities of the dead the touching word, each 
 letter of which suggests a tear—" Unknown," deserves to be held 
 by their surviving comrades, by tlieir fellowcountrymen of to-day, 
 and by endless generations yet to come, in tender, affectionate, 
 everlasting remembrance. 
 
 But of these, I am here to speak of only one. 
 
G 
 
 He was personally known to many of you and dearly loved : 
 and I venture to say tliat there are eyes -wliieh rest on mine 
 to-night, that were dim with rears on one sad summer day in the 
 Wilderness, when he laid down his earthly life and left the Sixth 
 Corps orphaned, and the army and the nation to deplore and weep 
 for John Sedtiwick. 
 
 From Cornwall Hollow in Conneetieut, lu' entered the niilicary 
 academy in the year 1833. Upon graduating he was ai)pointed 
 2d Lieutenant in tlie 2d Artillery, and served on the plains 
 against the Indians, until the hrilliant and romantic episode of 
 the Mexican Avar. At Contreras and Churuhusco he commanded 
 his company, was complemented in orders and breveted ca])tajn. 
 At Molino del Key he was again especially commended and was 
 breveted Major for (;he[)ultepec. He I'specially distinguished 
 himself at the attack on the San Cosmo gate of the City of 
 Mexico, and was again specially fommcndcd in the i-e])()rts. lie 
 was made full (*aptain in IS-i'J ; and when the new regiments 
 were created in 1855 he was a]»pointed ^Nfajor of the 1st Cavalry. 
 This ;i|»])ointment, wholly unsolicited and uiu'xpectcd by him. 
 was made, I may say, almost by the unanimous rerpu\<t and 
 desire <jf the higher otiicers of the army. A\'liile in this position 
 he figured in the miniature civil war in bleeding Kansas, contend- 
 ing alternately against the disciples (tf .lohn lirown and the 
 border ruttians of Missouri. Tn Afarch, ISCl. he was made 
 Lieutenant-Colonel of the 2d Cavalry ; and in A]»ril of the same 
 year. (\>loiicl ol' the +th Cavalry. In August, 18(!1. he was made 
 Brigadicr-Ceiieral of Volunteers, and the following year received 
 the full rank of ^lajor-General. 
 
 On many l)attle fields, therefore, from his boyhood onward he 
 had amph' opi)ortunity of learning what an .Vmerican soldier 
 
could do. and tliis, like all else that came under his observation, 
 he laid a^vay for future use. and made available in the greater 
 operations in which it Avas his fortune to be subsequently 
 engaged. 
 
 On the plains, as a coiunumder of cavalry in the monotonous, 
 difficult, dangerous and inglorious contests against the Indians, 
 he simply did his soldierly duty, always winning the commenda- 
 tion of his superiors, the love of his associates and the respect of 
 his men. 
 
 During this period of his services at Jefferson Barracks the 
 cholera swept through bis command striking down officers and 
 men alike. Sedgwick Avas spared throughout it all and a great 
 part of eacli day he spent in the hospitals cheering the sick and 
 consoling the dying. 
 
 He was little knoAvn outside of army circles but in the army 
 there was no one from the General (commanding down to the 
 private soldier, better known or more warmly regarded. 
 
 When the civil Avar commenced he Avas duly ordered from the 
 plains to the East, duly promoted to higher commands and found 
 himself in 18G1 Brigadier-General of Volunteers, commaiiding a 
 Brigade in tbe army then being organized near Washington, to 
 retrieve the disaster of Bull Kun and to carry the colors of the 
 Union and the authority of the United States into and through 
 and over the revolted States. 
 
 His selection foi- this commaiul, like tliat of many of the 
 greatest of our soldiers Avho were similarly selected Avas due to 
 the wise foresight and intimate knowledge of the army possessed 
 by the first organizer and great commander of the army of the 
 Potomac, George B. ]\IcClellan. 
 
 When there was a vacancy in the command of a Division upon 
 
s 
 
 the Upper Potomac by the strange and unacoountable arrest, 
 never explained, of Gen. Charles P. Stone, Sedgwick was sent to 
 the command of this division, then described as a corps of obser- 
 vation. But wlien at last the army of the Potomac was com- 
 pleted and took the held in organized corps, Sedgwick's Division 
 became a part of the second army corps. 
 
 Down the broad waters of the Potomac in that early day in 
 spring, amid the thunders of artillery from fleet and fort, with 
 waving flags and streamers gaily decked, hundreds of vessels 
 sailed day after day conveying the great army of the Potomac to 
 its destination at Fortress Monroe to begin the grand advance on 
 Eichmond. 
 
 Sedgwick's connection with those important events reveals one 
 grand and magnificent episode. 
 
 At Fair Oaks on t,])e 30th of May wlien the treacherous riv^r 
 rose and seemed to sweep all hope of succor from the left wing of 
 the army of the Potomac, on Avhich the whole force of the rebel- 
 lion was suddenly hurled : when bridge after bridge so carefully 
 constructed had given way, and there remained but one, over 
 which the water poured in a mighty torrent, and which was held 
 in place by rojie.s attached to the trees upon either bank^ 
 Sedgwick's groat will and iron nerve rose to the occasion higher 
 than the Avaves, stronger than the mad river, — and over the 
 treml)ling bridge through the surging Avaters he led his men, 
 dragged his artillery ami accom[)lished a jjassage marA'elous in its 
 achievement, magnificent- in its results. 
 
 With his arrival on that field all danger to the army and the 
 caiisc Avas remoAcd. The enemy Avere rej>ulsed and driven back 
 at every point, and the folloAving day defeated on every portion 
 ot tne field. This affair illustrated one peculiar trait in Sedg- 
 
wick's character and life. He was always quietly but decidedly 
 at the right spot at the right time, and he seemed to get there or 
 be there with such quiet precision that there seemed nothing 
 strange in it until you critically examined the obstacles overcome. 
 This feature fitted him peculiarly for the command of the Sixth 
 Corjis which he attained somewhat later, for throughout the his- 
 tory of that corps repeated instances on imi)ortant occasions are 
 to be found when its prompt and timely arrival accomplished 
 decisive results. It is not to be wondered at, therefore, that 
 when such a commander succeeded to such a corps that the repu- 
 tation of both should stand high throughout the army. 
 
 At Antietam, under the blue September sky in the early dawn, 
 the reorganized army of the Potomac under its old commander 
 confronted ujjon a single field its old opponent. Hitherto all our 
 great battles had been fought upon one side or the other in detail, 
 Sedgwick commanding his division under the gallant Sumner, 
 pushed forward on the right leading his men with that earnest 
 determination which always im])lied that the thing he set out to 
 do must be accomplished in spite of all human resistance. His 
 men n^elted away under the steady and destructive fire, yet he 
 pressed on forcing the enemy back through tlie woods and 
 the cornfield, beyond the memorable Dunkei- cluii-cli. He was 
 bleeding from a painful wound to which he referred almost petu- 
 lantly as being merely an annoyance and awkward just at that 
 time. At last again struck by an enemy's bullet he fell from loss 
 of blood and exhaustion, and was carried from the field. The 
 contest at this point had been severe beyond description and 
 when Sedgwick's bleeding body was borne away and the hearts of 
 his men Avere drooping, it was the old Sixth Corps that i)ressed 
 forward under Franklin and Smith and Sl«cum to restore our 
 
1(» 
 
 orokcu ranks, tct ,^avc tlie iviunaiit of Scdowick's Division and 
 ji.^sist in coniplfting- the glorious work of the (hiy and one of the 
 greatest vietories uf the war. Sedgwiek's wounds were very i)aiu- 
 ful. but long before they were fully healed he was haek again in 
 the Held and assigned to tho comnumd of the Ninth Corps. 
 Referring to the pain and annoyance of his wounds he once .said 
 laughingly: •• If J am ever hit again I ho[)e it will settle me at 
 once. I want no moiv wounds." 
 
 When tlie customary and exi)ected change was made in the com- 
 mand of the ar)ny of the Potonuic after the first Fredericksburg, au 
 iuterehange of commaiKkn's was ordered between the Ninth and 
 the Sixth f 'or[)s which })laced ( Jeneral " Baldy " Smith in command 
 of the one and (Jeneral Sedgwiek as the chief of the other. He 
 joined the corps at the cam]) on the Rapi)ahaiinock known as 
 AVhite Oak Church. When he came hevvas kindly received. I'Ven 
 enthusiasticalh . iiorhwitlistanding the corps greatly mourned 
 its late commanders both 1^'ranklin and Smith. 
 
 The winter passed monotonously enough. It was a dismal 
 camp, and the days went by right hea\ ily until at the o})ening of 
 spring our ancient labor Avas resumed and once more the faithfnl 
 old Army of the Potomae found itself again up(»n the hated ])on- 
 toons. crossing theriver(d' death ])rcliminary lo the l)attles whieh 
 made up the sad record of rhe Chancellors\ ille campaign. Inas- 
 much as tliis camj)aign. ami the events connected with it. consti- 
 tute ])erhaps the most iniitortant of Sedgwick's history. 1 shall 
 devote nun'c of my time to it than to any other of the actions in 
 wliich he was- engaged. 
 
 The movements of General Hooker at that time were singu- 
 larly well planned. Our army occu]»ying the Falmouth Heights 
 and the left bank oS the Rappahannock was confroided by the 
 
11 
 
 arniv of Oei.eral Loe occupying the opposite l.auk. tlie City of 
 Froaericksl.urg. Mavyc's Heights ana the river a1)..ve ahd below 
 the city, a distance of some miles. 
 
 Hooker's plan consisted of transferring tlie greater part of the 
 armv rapidly and secretly some twenty miles above Lee's jmsition, 
 crossing the river m force, marching to the tlank and rear of the 
 rebel line and compelling the enen.y to evt.ciude a strongly f..rti- 
 fied position and come out and give baitle outside his works in 
 order to save his communication with "Richmond. 
 
 While the movement was in progress Sedgwick was left near 
 his original camp a to^v miles below Fredericksburg in commarid 
 of three corps of the anny composing the left wing. These were . 
 his own. the sixth corps, the first under connnand of General 
 John F. Keynolds and the third under command of General 
 Daniel E. Sickles. With this strm.g forc-e he was to cross the 
 nver. threaten the enemy's fortified position below Fredericksburg 
 und without bringing on. if he could avoid it. a general engage- 
 ment so conduct himself as to make tlie enemy believe that i. 
 was his intention to do so at any moment. In other words he 
 was left to create a formidable diversion, but still strong enough 
 tofiglit if necessary. The crossing of the river was accomplished 
 in the night time. The enemy's pickets occupied the opposite 
 bank and were within easy talking distance of our men. The 
 rumble of heavy wagons carrying the pontoon boafs could be 
 heard across the river, and it was therefore determine.l that the 
 boats should be carried down upon the shoulders of the men- 
 The lio-ht brigade under General Calvin E. Pratt, were a^ssigned 
 to thirimportant duty. After much, delay, trouble and vexation 
 the boats were at last launched before the enemy had any full 
 realization ot what was about to occur. T4ie night was dark and 
 
12 
 
 foggy, but soiiuds could be lieurd at an imusual distance. Two 
 or tlirce times from the ojiposite bank the rebel pickets hailed 
 with the usual *' Halloa there Yank, what's going on over there ? 
 What are you doing ?" Our pickets occasionally replied, '* Johnny 
 we're coming over after yon." This style of conversation 
 occurred at intervals during the night as some nnusual sound 
 attracted the enemy's attention. "When the boats were launched 
 and manned by soldiers of the engineer brigade as oarsmen, 
 the troops of General David A. Eussell were embarked, sixty men 
 in a boat, and in deathly silence, the oars scarcely making a rip- 
 ple in the water, forty boat loads pushed from the shore side by 
 side, and were lost in the fog before they had gone twenty feet 
 from land. Tlie dead silence still continued while those upon 
 the slu^re watched with beating hearts, and listened with anxiety 
 not to be described. It seemed an everlasting time while each one 
 peered througli the fog which fell like a ])all upon tlie gallant l)and 
 that had left us for the other shore. The river is not more than 
 eighty or one hundred yards wide at this point but the progress 
 of the boats, owing ju-obably to the necessity of rowing with great 
 silence, Avas unusually slow. There was ominous stillness on the 
 further bank. There seemed to bo no movement of troops ; we 
 could hear iio runil)ling of artillery. Suddenly upon the damp 
 night air there rang from the enemy one single clear word dis- 
 tinctly heard in all the boats and across upon our bank and well 
 understood. Tiiat Avord was " Fire !*' The blaze of musketry in 
 tlie fog along the Avhole river bank for two liundred yards seemed 
 like the silent, sudden opening of one great mouth of flame. The 
 t rash that followed took aAvay some of the sccTiic effect of this 
 brilliant display, and was of itself robbed of its effectiveness by the 
 uncomfortal)le acicompaniment of rattling I)u]lets whicli, fortu- 
 
13 
 
 nately for those in the boats, were aimed too high to do much 
 harm except upon the innocent spectators wlio had not yet 
 embarked. Tlie rebel yell familiar as it Avas to all of us never 
 seemed so ominous and disagreeable. Xotliing was heard from 
 the boats except here and there a word of command or encourage- 
 ment, and afterwards as the fire from the further bank continued 
 and grew after the first Yolley more straggling, the anxiety for 
 one word from Russell grew grave and great. In a few seconds a 
 boat was seen returning, and our hearts grew chill, believing th at 
 the attempt to land had been abandoned. As the boat however, 
 came out of the fog, it was seen that it was empty except as to 
 the oarsmen. Then in another instant a clear, loud, exultant 
 cheer folloAved by another and another, told us that the works on 
 the further banks were ours. The boats made another trip car- 
 rying other regiments, and then the bridges were rapidly laid 
 down and completed soon after daylight. In the meantime a 
 second crossing was effected about one mile fui'ther below on the 
 river where Reynolds threw across one of his divisions. For three 
 days we remained in this position skirmishing every day, keeping- 
 two divisions on the enemy's side of the river, the rest of the 
 command in readiness to cross. Meanwhile Hooker with the 
 rest of the army had rapidly and admiraljly aecom])lished the 
 crossing of the river and the great flank march which formed the 
 essential feature of his plan of action. With Slocum in advance 
 he was sweeping down upon tlie enemy's flank capturing even 
 their outlying pickets. Upon Hooker's arrival on the field, for 
 reasons never fully explained or understood, he checked Slocum's 
 further advance in the direction of Fredericksbiu-gh, contracted 
 his own lines and seemed to assume the defensive, and main- 
 tained it during the rest of those unfortunate operations. Mean- 
 
u 
 
 Avliik' he withdrew from Sed,<>-wiek"s eonuiuind. first Sickles* eor])?; 
 jiiid then Keviiolds'. wliicli liad to iiuireli to join liim by way of 
 one of Hu' \i]»iier fords; ;|iid Sodowick was left at Franklin's 
 (•rossin^jf tlii'ee miles below F]-i'dt'i-ii-l<sburi>- with the Sixth ('()ri)S 
 alone, which ninnbcrcd at that time about twenty-two thousand 
 men. On Saturday night Sedgwick had one division of his com- 
 mand across tlie river deployed in front of the enemy's work 
 extending about four miles l)elow the city. 
 
 An or(U;r from (Jeneral Hooker received at half-past eleven at 
 night dirt'cled him to take up his bridges, marc.li to Fredericks- 
 burg upon our side of tiierivei'. relay the bridges. ci-i)ss with 
 his command, capture the city, take the heights which dominated 
 the lown known as ^lai'ye's Heights, mai'ch out on the ]>lank 
 road 1n the direction of Chaiu'elloi-sville iind join (jcncral 
 Hooker's command at dayliglit. The distaiu-e of Chanct'llors- 
 villc from Fredericksburg is about eleven miles. The distance to 
 be accom]»lished ]a Avithdrawing to our own side of the river and 
 marching l)y the Falmouth Heights to Fredei'icksburg about fi,ve 
 miles. Inasmuch as it woidd ha\e been totally im])ossible in the 
 time allowed tor the whole march to have taken up the bridges, 
 transj)orted them to h'j-cd crick si )urg and relaid them there, 
 (leneral Sedgwick decided not to i-emove the l)ri(lges, but to cross 
 ■with, his whole coj-j)s on the bridges as constructed and move by 
 tlie i'ank on the enemy's side of the river into Frederickslmrg. 
 By doing this he would save some hotirs of time. He moved at 
 once to cross the I'iver with his remaining division. 
 
 Brooks who was in ])osition, fronting the enemy's works, was 
 shar])ly ])ressed by their i)ickets in the darkness, as if they desired 
 to know whether we were withdrawing. Xewton's and 
 Jlowc's divisions with the light brigade, jinarched in the direction 
 
of Frciloricksl)urg-. They were pressed as they advaiieed by 
 eiieiiiy's skirmishers, who were on the ah'rt, and their })rogTess 
 resisted, in tliis manner, was necessarily cautious and slow. 
 
 It was the opening dawn, therefore, when the first brigade of 
 Xew'ton's command readied the town of Fredericks])urg, moved 
 out and as soon as the deployment could be ett'ected, assaulted 
 the stone wall made memoral)le by tiie slaugiiter of oui- troops, 
 under Burnsitk". in tJie })revious l)ecend)er. This stone wall oi' 
 line of rifle i)its, presented to us at the beginning of tlie slo])e 
 which led up to Marye's Heights a smootli face of solid stone, 
 about six feet high, behind which, but on liigher ground, Avas a 
 strong line of the enemy's infantry. As oui' men advanced gal- 
 lantly to the attack. sup[)o]-te(l by one or two l)atteries, the first 
 in position, the cmeniy reserved their fire until our line was close 
 at iiajid. The batteries at Marye's Heights crowning the crest 
 behind the stojie wall o}»ened with terrible eit'ect. It was impos- 
 sible to withstand the fire ; the men were ordered to fall back, and 
 did so in good order, and without })anic. When they reached 
 favoring ground affording shelter, the line was ordered to lie 
 down, and did so promptly and without confusion. Sedgwick 
 rode out near the left of the line, and as he witnessed the repulse 
 he remained Avatching intently the enemy's position with an ex- 
 pression on his face that I had never observed l)eforc. All the 
 merry lines about his eyes had disappeared ; his lips had settled 
 into a fixed expression of determination, and the genial face 
 wdiich I had never seen before except in camp, seemed at that 
 moment to l)e nuule of iron. A few of his stalf Men- scattered in 
 the vicinity ; the others were along the line of the retiring troops, 
 to indicate the position Avliere the line was to halt, re-form and 
 lie down. When this was accom])lished the enemy from the rifle 
 
16 
 
 pits perceiving a commanding officer whose very presence indi- 
 cated authority, directed their fire upon General Sedgwick. 
 After a few seconds of delay I ventured to suggest to him to 
 retire from his exposed position. At first he did not seem to 
 hear me. IT])on my repeating the suggestion as the hullets 
 becaino more numerous, lie turned to me Avitli a rapid gesture, 
 pulling down liis old sloueh hat as if to conceal tlie intense 
 expression of liis eyes, and said with strange emi)hasis, " By 
 Heaven, sir, tiiis must not delay us." 
 
 lie slowly turned his hor.se and rode liack into the streets of 
 the town. 
 
 During the few nuuuents that he stood gazing at the enemy's 
 works his plans were eomplefed. and Avere carried out without 
 the loss of a single instant. 
 
 (Tibbon's division, which had crossed over on a bridge newly 
 laid directly in front of the town, was ordered to move forward 
 on the right to develop what could be accomplished by an attack 
 in that direction. Howe Avas ordered to execute a similar move- 
 ment on the left. In the nu-antime, from Newton's Division and 
 tiie light brigade, assaulting cohunns were organized to carry the 
 heights directly in our front if the flank movements should prove 
 im})racticable. (libbon f<nind himself <'onfronted by the canal 
 running i»arallel to the enemy's position and under the full fire 
 of all I heir batteries. This he could not cross in liiu- of battle : 
 to cross it in column on a bridge constructed for the i)urpose 
 uiulri' the I'wv which could t)e concentrated on him was destruc- 
 tion. Hazel liun on our left with its deep and })reci|iitous banks 
 rendered a similar good service to the enemy as part of their 
 defensive line and checked for the time the advance of Howe. 
 The reginu'Tits for the main assault from the centre on Marve's 
 
Heights were collected as quickly as possible. These regiments 
 were drawn from the varions divisions of the corps. Our 
 extreme left was still back at the position held on the previous 
 day aiid strongly skirmishing with the enemy in their front. It 
 was therefore ten o'clock before the assaulting columns were 
 formed and ready to attack. 
 
 From the main street of Fredericksburg, running at right 
 angles to the river, the plank-road leads up to the center of the 
 enemy's position. 
 
 From the limits of the city to the crest of Marye's Heights the 
 distaiice is about half a mile. A toll gate stands about half way 
 up the slope. The heights on both sides of the road were 
 crowned with batteries. A little above the toll-gate and at the 
 commencement of the steeper slope to the left of the road as we 
 faced the enemy's position, was the stone wall occupied still by a 
 strong line of infantry. In front of the stone wall, about three 
 hundred yards below and near the outskirts of the city, was our 
 line of battle rei)ulsed at daylight. The enemy plainly saw our 
 preparations for the assault and evidently did not wish to inter- 
 fere with them. They seemed perfectly confident of the result, 
 and when they saw that we intended to attack their direct front 
 and (umter, they scarcely disturbed our intentions by a single 
 shot. At last it was my duty to report to the General that every- 
 thing Avas in readiness. His instructions Avere that one column 
 formed on the street leading to the plank-road should march 
 directly up the plank-road ; that another and parallel column 
 formed on a street about sixty yards to the right should march 
 up through the fields toAvard the toll-gate. At this point h& 
 kiicAv that they would receive the heaviest of the enemy's fire. 
 He directed that the Jine of battle still lying in front of the stone 
 
 2 
 
1.8 
 wall and viHe })its to the left of the plank-roud should ris(! ii]) at 
 that instant and go forward with a cheer, and at douhh^-ijuick. 
 
 In this |)hm there was an adinirahle ealeiilation and combina- 
 tion of what may he called the moral effects and which are of 
 miu^h im})ortance in a movement of this kind. The advance of 
 our left eohinin on the ])hink-i'oa(1 he knew would he a leni])ting 
 target for the rifle ])its on their left, and that In the tinu' the 
 head of t he column a|»[)i-oaclicil the toll-gate thev would no (Touht 
 draw the entire fire from the riile pits ; that both columns would 
 attract the full attention of the batteries on the heights, that the 
 fire would i-each its highest intensity as the heads of the columns 
 reached the toll-gate, ami then, if at all. they would couiini'iice 
 to wa\ei'. and a single cheer from an adv;incing line of American 
 soldiers delivered as the Sixtli Corps knew liow to deliver it, 
 would not only i)ut new }ieaTt. into the men (-(trnposing the 
 columns, but strike dismay to the defenders of flu! rille pits who 
 would have already discharged their volley lire. 
 
 The result was as he expected, 'I'he nu'u went forward 
 gallantly at •* trail arms.*' The artillery t,(n-e through our ranks, 
 the men neither halted nor hesitated, 'i'he left column, by the 
 very force of the tire on its front and Hank, hent towards the 
 plank-road and the heads of the two columns came together at 
 the toll-gate. There, for an instant, as when a strong, ({uiet 
 stream moving in a new chaniud meets with sonu) sudden 
 ^hstaele, there was a monuuitary pause and the men clustered 
 round the frame building at the toll-gate seemed to hesitate, and, 
 for an instant, it was doubtful whetlier they could advance. Out 
 •upon the clear summer air rang the cheer of Newton's men. Up 
 at double-quick they sprang. The men in the rifle juts who h ad 
 forgotten the line of battle in their zeal to destroy the advancing 
 
19 
 
 <;olumus, saw their danger. The men of the columns burst like 
 u mountain torrent over all harriers. Taking up the cheer of the 
 line of battk^ they pressed forward nuignificently, victoriously, 
 and before the enemy were aware of the fact, still firing from 
 their batteries on the hill, tlicir attention distracted by the smoke 
 of their own gujis, by the cheering of the line of battle and its 
 udvance, the Hag of the Sixth Maine Volunteers, supported by 
 that reginuMit and its sister regiment, the Fifth Wisconsin, was 
 •planted, standing oul iii)oii the breeze between the guns of the 
 Washington liglit artillery of Louisiana as their last discharges 
 were made. 
 
 The morning dew was yet fresh u|)on the grass on tliat pretty 
 slope which led from the city limits to this crest of death ; the 
 blood of oTU' thousand galhvnt men was mingled with it. Many 
 <if them cold in death, numy of them writhing in the agony of 
 painful wounds. There were distant homes, some of tliem 
 among the Green Mountains and by the lakes of this very State, 
 Avhere expectant wiv(!S were looking forward to the unknown 
 agony yet to c»nne. There were distant hearths where little 
 children plaved, some of whom may now be listening to my voice, 
 who knew not tliat at that moment on a grassy slope in far 
 Virginia a cloud iiad fallen on their young lives never to be lifted 
 again. There were hearts in many homes that day that were 
 ready to break as tliey wearily waited for news from the front. 
 Nevertheless the war went on, and tlie twenty thousand gallant 
 men who swei)t that crest, less the one thousand Ideeding on its 
 slope, went forward under Jolin Sedgwick. 
 
 Our advance was spitefully resisted. At Salem chapel, mid- 
 way between Fredericksburg and Ohancellorsville, the enemy 
 strongly reinforced from, the main army under Lee confronting 
 
30 
 
 Hooker, reinforced also by the troops who lined the river above 
 Fredericksburg and who fell back upon the carrying of Marye's 
 Heights, made a final stand. Brooks, God bless him ! Old com- 
 mander of the Vermont Brigade, true-hearted gentleman, 
 unequalled soldier, rough and ready, beloved of men, robust and 
 strong and prompt, went forward with his division of the red 
 cross througli the thick undergrowth that covered the mild 
 ascent that led to Salem Heights. The sunken road across the 
 crest at right angles to our line of march, filled witli the rebel 
 infantry, checked for the moment his advance, but he swept 
 forward gallantly and well, pierced their line and for a moment, 
 and held the crest. 
 
 His Hank and rear were assailed by the enemy, who overlapped 
 him, and he was forced back through the undergrowth out 
 into the clearing, followed closely and viciously until he was 
 enabled to re-form under cover of our batteries, which, with 
 grape and canister, rapidly served, checked the enemy under 
 the personal supervision of Sedgwick. The next division, as fast 
 as it arrived, was put into action, and the whole line again 
 advanced, steadily forcing its way up the crest, until at last night 
 set in and there Avas the silence of death. All night long those 
 two armies lay in the position in which they had fought during 
 the closing liours of the day. There was no interchange of 
 soldiers' bandinage ; there was not a picket shot to disturb the 
 silence. No fires were lighted upon either side, and the men lay 
 down coffceless on their grassy beds. Here und there the 
 stretcher-men moved around silently bringing in their wounded 
 or gathering in the dead. There was but one sound that dis- 
 turbed the stillness. From (he direction of Cluincellorsvillc we 
 could hear (ho low ruml-k' of artillery, telling of marching- 
 
21 
 
 columns. Strange but not unexpected rumors reached us from 
 our rear that the city of Fredericksl)urg and Marye's Heights, 
 which we liad carried so gallantly and at such a cost, were 
 re-occupied by the enemy, re-enforcing from the direction of 
 Richmond. The situation of the corps was critical. Howe's 
 division was formed in line of battle facing to the rear and toward 
 Fredericksburg to resist an attack from that direction. Brooks and 
 Newton remained on the field facing towards Chancellorsville, and 
 the two lines thus formed in opposite directions, about two miles 
 apart, were connected by a skirmish line of troops supporting fre- 
 quent batteries. Everything indicated that the Sixth Corps would 
 be overwhelmed by an attack from all sides at early daylight. 
 Oeneral Sedgwick, when all his arrangements were completed, 
 lay down in the wet grass with his head pillowed on his saddle ; 
 but he slept not. Three times during the night he telegraphed 
 to General Hooker, sending the dispatch to the river at Banks 
 Ford, a few miles above Fredericksburg, with which point we 
 still held communication. There was a certain pathos in those 
 dispatclics that none who do not realize the situation can appre- 
 ciate. 
 
 " I have reached this point," he said, "in obedience to orders. 
 My advance is checked. The enemy is strongly reinforcing from 
 your direction. I can plainly hear the rumble of their artillery. 
 My losses are heavy. I will be, no doubt, attacked in strong 
 force at daylight. Can you help me ?" 
 
 This was the burden of the dispatches three times repeated 
 during that still and anxious night. No answer came until eight 
 o'clock of the following day. In the meantime the enemy wasted 
 the hours in preparation. On that morning a staff officer of 
 "General Sedgwick, whose personal relations enabled him to speak 
 
22 
 
 freely, jnxl wlmse youth, no donht. inspired liim somewhat with 
 a sentiment of enthusiasm, remarked to tlie (ieneral that the- 
 situation seemed gloomy. Tiie (Jenei-al (piietly assented, with- 
 that pleasant merry twinkh- in his eye whieii all who knew him 
 will remember. Our yountr ffiend then remarked : 
 
 "(icneral. it looks as if Uu^ Sixtli Corjjs was iioin^- to close; its. 
 career to-day." 
 
 '•^ It has somewhai that appearance,"' said the General, 
 ''Then.'" said our yon n^i- officer, with mucli honest intensity^ 
 " If tlie Sixth Oorps noes out of existence to-day. 1' hope it will 
 be with a hiaze of glory that will light the history of this war for 
 all time."' 
 
 The (Jeneral <pnetly smih^l and hending forward said : 
 " 1 will tell you a secret ; there will be no surrendering." 
 The long houi-R went by and at eight o'clock came a strange- 
 message from the commanding (Jeneral. 
 
 •■' Yon are too far away foi- me to direct. Look to the safety- 
 of jour coi-])s. Fall l)ack on Fredericksburg or cross the river at 
 Banks Ford, as you deem best." 
 
 But to the strong and earliest a])]K"al, '* Can you helj) me- 
 strongly if 1 am attacked,"" there was no rejdy. In the direction 
 of Chancclloi-sviljc there was the siloice of death. Xot an 
 answering gun rcjilicd to the crash of onr artillery which echoed 
 from ever\ battery. The enemy on onr front, in fact 1 may say 
 on oui- three fronts, replied. 'I'lie cuinman<lers of the ol her cor})S 
 who stooil inactive near ('hancellor:;\ ilU' heard the incessant roar 
 of the artillery m-ar Salem cha|)( I. They chafed almost to 
 mutiny, because while this gallant little band, less than one-fiftb 
 of the ai-niy. was contending against these desperate odds, six 
 cor])s stood idle within the sound of tiieir guns. Setjgwick and 
 
2d 
 Hooker Imve ])as,sed awuv, und havf undorgoru' that final judg- 
 ment from wliich there is iio appeal. I am not here to say one 
 word in dis]»aragement of the dead, nuieh less of a gallant soldier 
 like (reneral J(jsei)h Hooker, but I do stand here to vindicate the 
 memory of one of the ])urest men, one of the truest patriots, one 
 of the best and l)i-a\('st — aye, and greatest soldiers that ever 
 honored any land by a life of honorable service and a glorious 
 deatii upon the held of battle. It has been stated before a com- 
 mittee of the National (Jongress, whose sole business seenied to 
 be during the several years of their continuance, to dishonor the 
 names of the best and truest of our soldiers, that Sedgwick's 
 failure to obey the orders of Hooker was one of the chief causes 
 of the failure of the Chancellorsville campaign, Tliis statement 
 was priiu-ipally nuide by a man who still lives and wlu)m there- 
 fore I am at full liberty to answer. Daniel Butterfield, Major- 
 General, chief of staif of the Army of the Pot(jmac, absent from 
 every i)ositiou of danger during all these operations, controlling- 
 at the okl head((uarters at Falmouth Pi-of. Lowe, the chief of 
 balloons, and doing a large correspondence in 1^'aiioleonic style 
 by telegraph and stenographer, has stated before this committee 
 that General Sedgwick's delay was the primal cause of the failure. 
 General Sedgwick's order to advance to Gliancellorsville and be 
 there at daylight included another and more impt)rtant commis- 
 sion. He was directed to make this march, impossible in itself 
 in the time allowed — impossible if the marcli was unresisted. He 
 was ordered to capture Fredericksburg and everything in it,. 
 which he did. He was ordered to carry Marye's Heights, which 
 he did magnificently. He was ordered to advance u})on the plank- 
 road, which he did. He was also ordered to destroy any force 
 that might intervene between him and the General commanding. 
 
24 
 
 This he galhmtly attempted, and did as much in the line of 
 destruction as it was jiossible to do with the force at his com- 
 mand. The same dispatch which ordered him to destroy any 
 intervening force informed him that the army commanded ])y 
 Oeneral Robert E. Lee was between him and tlie position lie was 
 ordered to occupy at daylight. Now an order to destroy General 
 Lee and his army was very easy to issue. Its execution, as some 
 of you gentlemen will perhaps remember, was attended with con- 
 siderable difficulty ; and when it is considered that during the 
 thirty-six hours that Sedgwick was struggling to execute this 
 part of the order, the main body of our army, consisting of six 
 corps, never tired a shot, although within sound of Sedgwick's 
 guns, I submit that any man who says that the failure could in 
 any degree whatever be attributed to Sedgwick, insults every 
 soldier of his command and dishonors the memory of the dead. 
 
 When the day came, Lee overestimating, as appears from his 
 report made subsequently, the extent of Sedgwick's forces, failed 
 to make his attack in force until about five o'clock in the after- 
 noon. He believed that Sedgwick was accompanied by Reynolds' 
 Corps, and he liesitated to attack until he could withdraw a suffi- 
 cient force fr(mi Hooker's front to make his victory certain. The 
 main attack was made in the al'tenioon about five o'clock, from 
 the direction of Fredericksburg, and made galhmtly and with 
 vigor. One brigade of Howe's division, strongly posted, received 
 the assault and was broken. Then, as on many other days in the 
 long Avar for the Union, the farmyards and the workshops, the 
 schoolrooms and the colleges, the mountains and valleys, the city 
 by the lake, and the liamlcts on (be liills of the Green Mountain 
 State, spoke out to the world for ••freedom ami unity," spoke 
 from the barrels of two thousand gleaming muskets and by the 
 
'^5 
 
 riugiiig cheers of two thousand of the !)cst and l)nivest men that 
 ever served a State. The Vermont Brigade on the flank of Neill's, 
 hokling the woods which flanked also the rebel advance, poured 
 in tlieir steady contribution of well-directed bullets on the 
 advancing masses of the rebellion, and the Sixth. Corps and the 
 army and the Union were saved by Vermont. The night came 
 doAvn upon anxious hearts. The battle was over, nor gun nor 
 C'olhr was lost; but the position of the old corps was still as 
 critical as ever. I pass over the melancholy history of the hours 
 that followed, filled as they were with contradictory orders, one 
 revoking the other, and a third renewing the first. The Sixth 
 Corps crossed the river that night, making their passage over the 
 pontoons lighted by the bursting shells which the enemy, with 
 very creditable practice, Avas dropping in the vicinity of the 
 bridges, and the next day Hooker, far above, recrossed the river, 
 and this campaign was over. Sedgwick lost five thousand men 
 in his honest endeavor to execute that part of the order which 
 directed him to destroy the army commanded by General Lee ; 
 the combined loss of all the other corps scarcely exceeded this. 
 Then came the regular and periodical change in commanders, the 
 annual picnic into Maryland and Pennsylvania, the panic in 
 AVashington. and at last Gettysburg. 
 
 On Cemetery Ridge, amid gravestones, shattered l)y shot and 
 shell, behind hasty earthworks of fence rail and dirt, (uir gallant 
 brothers of the Second Corps, under the fire of one hnndred and 
 eighty guns and against the very flower of the invading army, 
 made this Union an immortal thing and the name of Hancock a 
 cherished memory that will live forever in the hearts of the 
 American people. 
 
 The long nio-ht march of the Sixth Corps from Manchester to 
 
26 
 
 the field of rjettysl»ur<r iiiid its timely arrival to retrieve tlni 
 disaster that Siekles liad suffered, were principal .features of our 
 Maryland eutn|)ai<>n. 
 
 We had n)aiiy marches tliat were prolouiicd and tedious ; many 
 that were forced hy (hiy and niulit hotli hefore and aftei- the _i,n-ea.t, 
 deeidin.i;- hattlc. It was (htrini;- the period 1 have heen descrihin_i,^ 
 too, tliat this W'l-niHiit liriixadc. Iioldin^j; the skirmisii line at 
 Beaver Dam. I'cpulsed a full line <d' hnttle attack twice i\'peated. 
 It w'iis durinji tliis tijue. too. that •Seil.uwick directed nu- to ■• put 
 tlie Vermonters jdiead and keep everythinij well (vlosed u]).'' 
 
 It was not theonly time that he com|)limented the soldiers from 
 A'^ermont. 11 is coniplimcnls many tinu's cost theiu very <h>ar, 
 for tliey were the hijjh compliments of placing- them on many 
 battle fields in the forenn)st position of danger ; of ])hieiniJ: upon 
 them (he Avhole reliance of the corps. On many a (hiy In' 
 watched them as the troops moved out of ca.m|) in tiie mornin;^ 
 or (th)sed the hmji' dusty march of tlie day. and when on one occ^a- 
 sion in the W'ildi'rness. after thi' Sixth Coi-ps had suffei-ed a serious 
 disaster on the day previous, wiien the \'ermont Hi-iiia<h' return- 
 ing after heavy losses, from tlu'ir march to thi' assistance of the 
 Second ('or}>8. saw the Genei-al ri(h' ahmir the lines as tliey were 
 eotninu- into bivouac, they hurst fortli in a heai'ty. spontani'ous 
 clieer that touched him lo the Aery heart : and when thecheenn 
 sul)sided (MK' of ihem steppeil to the fi'out and calle(I out with a 
 comic and yet fouchin,^' emphasis. " 'I'lii-ee more for old Tncle 
 John !" Tlu' (ieneral's hron/ed face flushed like a girl's, and as 
 the staff lauiihcil al hi> emliarrassnu'ut it spi-ead aloni^- the ]im>s 
 an<l the whole l)ripidc lauiihed and cheered as if llu-y were just 
 returnin.ir from a sumuu"i-"s picnic and not from a hluody field, 
 wearv. w<»rii. and with decimated ranks. Nor had thev rest that 
 
night ; all night long they labored with the pick and shovel, and 
 the next nioi-iiing eanie the long, wenrv mareh. with hghting 
 and intrenching, agitin night marches or labor in the trenches : 
 and through it all there was neither rest nor shelter. There was 
 no word of cinnj)laijit ; then' was no nnirniui- of discontent ; and 
 the steady yeomanry that made iij* this old brigade indulged in 
 occasional flashes of humor scarcely to l)e expected from the solid 
 citizens of conservative New England. 
 
 The cohu-ed troo])S who had joined ns at the (Hitset of this 
 caini)aign for the iirst time, were green and inexperienocd. 
 They were, therefore, withheld from an a(;tive part in it ; not, I 
 sup])ose for jiny tenderness for them, but sinii)ly because the 
 work then to be done could only be committed to veteran soldiers. 
 When, therefore, one hot and dusty summer morning, Vernnmt. 
 was digging in the earthworks, the colored division of Burnside's 
 corps passed through our lines ; they looked very well in their 
 new uniforms, but they seemed to fret and be discontented evei> 
 under the burdens of their knapsactks. Thus far they had n> i. 
 fired a shot nor turned a shovelful of earth. A stalwart, 
 citizen of Vermont, leaning ui.on his sj.mle as the division went 
 by, solemidy removed his hat and bowing low with great dignity, 
 said: "Good morning, gentlenum ; you must tin. I this work 
 exceedingly fatiguing T 
 
 The troo])s of the corps, owing to the long and trying marches 
 which they had been compelled t(. make, accpiired the habit of 
 calling themselves -Sedgwick's foot cavalry." and nuiintained 
 that they were kept on the gallop all the time. It was a joke 
 among them that Sedgwick never stopped until his horse gave 
 out, and on one occasion, in Virginia, w.ien he had disnu.unted 
 by the road side and stood on a little l)ank leaning on the fence 
 
38 
 
 watching the troops as they went by, men in tlie ranks constantly 
 called out, " Come on, we'll wait for you. Get another horse ; 
 we are in no hurry." 
 
 For some time the General did not notice these cries nor under- 
 stand their significance. At last he turned to me and said, 
 " What do they mean l)y ' Get another horse ; we'll wait for 
 you ?' " I explained to him the significance of the language, and 
 as I did so he laughed heartily, whereupon in the ranks they 
 cried out, ''Seethe old fellow laugh," and immediately the whole 
 column took it u^d with enthusiastic cheers. 
 
 These things I mention chiefly to show the relationship 
 between the commander and his troops. He could appreciate 
 their humor, knowing that no thought of disrespect ever entered 
 it, and a single smile from him went like a sunbeam through 
 long columns of tired men until it broadened into a laugh, and 
 culminated in cheers that came fi-om tlu' true hearts of as gallant 
 soldiers as ever served a patriot cause. 
 
 After the Gettysburg!! campaign, Warrcnton and Hazel river, 
 a winter of delights ! when the Sixth Corps lived and revelled 
 for six long months. There were horse races and cock fights, 
 and balls attended by fair women from home. There Avere festiv- 
 ities such as only an army knows liow to organize and enjoy. 
 Everywhere picnics by day, and dancing by night. Each corjvs 
 vied Avith the other as to the extent of its hospitalities. Each 
 . corps claimed to have the fastest horse, the best fighting cock, to 
 be visited by the pretties! ladies aiul to ])c altogether the best 
 corps in the army. This extravagant claim, of course, was only 
 true as to one corps, the Sixth, although lam free to say as some 
 of you may remember, that in the matter of horse racing the 
 Second Corps got the best of us on one mumoi-able occasion and 
 
•^9 
 reduced the speculative officers of the Sixth to absohite penury 
 until the next arrival of the paymaster. A last desperate effort to 
 redeem our fortunes by sustaining at large odds a favorite chicken 
 imported from the good city of Boston only added to our dis- 
 asters ; and when that unfortunate bird was laid away with 
 funeral honors after only one round, the Sixth Corps decided 
 almost unanimously that all this style of ^dissipation was highly 
 immoral and should therefore be discouraged. 
 
 Through all this winter those who had occasion to live near 
 and around John Sedgwick saw the sweeter and more touching 
 traits of his character. Modest as a girl, unassuming, gentle, 
 just, pure in heart and in word, he endeared himself to the men 
 who followed him and was loved by all with a love surjiassing the 
 love of woman. No picture that I can draw can give to you who 
 know him not an adequate conception of how lovable that man 
 was. 
 
 Through all this winter of delights no man looked forward to 
 the future except to plan amusements for the ensuing winter ; 
 for, strangely enough, we had got the idea that this war was to 
 be continued indefinitely and during the rest of our lives. 
 
 We were not prophets nor the sons of i^rophets. What knew 
 we then of the lurid fires that would lighten the AVildernesa 
 within a few short months. The angel of deaih hovered over 
 many but no prophetic shadow fell from his wings. Already 
 was his mark upon the great center of our circle, and yet in all 
 our plans for the following winter, in all our discussions as to 
 what we were to do to amuse ourselves and our visitors, Sedgwick 
 was the central figure. Amid the rain and snow, aiul the mud 
 and the frost, among our canvas cities our fires burned cheerily 
 and our hearts were light. Letters came and went from home and 
 
30 
 vi^iitors by the tlKmsand sliaivd our li<(.-,j)it;ilitios. Tlie Sixth 
 Corps ]io;i(l(|Uii.rt(!rs, hecausci it \v;is Sodirwick's. was a ooiitral 
 point of interest. Xotliino: distui'lu'd iis cxcepf the ocf^asional 
 report that oiir cliief was io he taken fi-oin us to eotnniaiid the 
 Army of th'- I'otouiac. This ciitninaiid. Iiowever. altiiou'oh )iot 
 f(U-niully offered, he had si ill on se\ci-al oceasioiis most per- 
 Mstently declined. It was a wintci- of deliu'lits. hut nevertheless 
 tlie day came when from niajor-L;cnei-al to lirunimer boy there 
 was not a d it eye in the Sixth ( 'orps of the Army of the Potomac. 
 
 On our line of battle at Spottsylvauia where on the dav jirevi- 
 ous we had made an unsucci-ssful attack and sntTcT'ed heavily, 
 near a section of artillei-y at a fatal anifle in oui- works, (leneral 
 Sedirwiek stood with (Jen. Whittier. den. Tompkins and myself, 
 directing the movement of oui' men then occn[)ying the rifle pits. 
 It was in the early morning and a certain feeling of gloom ])cr- 
 vaded the army. Sedgwick had sle})t the ]trevious night 
 unsheltered by tent or blanket. He seemed in excellent Bi)irits 
 altliongh a little discouragi'd by the slow ]>rogress of the 
 campaign which seemed to be desperate fighting day after da)' 
 with indecisive results. A few minutes before lie luid spoken of 
 some of the young officers of his staff in tender and kindly terms 
 of affection. 
 
 He said a few jesting word.s to some of the men who passed. 
 
 before him as they moved into the rifle ])its. His manner, 
 attitude and gesture! as he stood indicated to the enemy thai he 
 was an officer of rank ami authority, lie wttre no unii'orm, not 
 even a sword. l^'i-(tm aci'oss the lit tie valley which separated us 
 from the enemy's line, from one of t.luMrshar[» shooters concealed 
 in the woods in front of us came the swift messenger of death. 
 Slowly, without a word, with a sad smile ui)on his lijjs, John 
 Sedijwick fell and his great heart ceased to beat. 
 
Ills life Mood pouriiiii' in " strono", stcjidy streum from the 
 wound spirted over iiio. 1 iiiiidc ;m ett'ort to siistiiiii him as lie 
 fell and in doin,;,^ so fell with him. 
 
 Ileuttei-ed no word and made no siy-n. It seemed to me if I 
 could hut make him heai' and call his attention to the terrihle 
 ctTeel his fall was ha\ iiiii' on «>"f men luf would hy foreo of his 
 p:i-eat will rise up in spite of death. I ealled vaJidy in his ear — 
 he made no answer. 
 
 His favorite aid. (ieiieral Charles .\. Wliittier. hent over him 
 with streciniintr eyes, (xeiieral 'I'ompkins. the chief of the artillery, 
 and his surg(H)ii Dr. Ohlensidilaii'er raised, him partly from the 
 gnuind and the pale and anxious faces of the men in the long 
 line of rifle pits wei-e hent eaucrly toward the group, hut such 
 was the foi-ce of discipliut' thai altlKUigh these uuni's hearts were 
 filled with a great sorrow, although tlicy knew tliat a terrihle 
 blow had fulled upon them, none left the ranks, and the silence 
 ■which follows a great ti-agedy fell u}>oti the summer woods of 
 8pottsylvania <jn that morning of saddest memories. 
 
 It was my duty to re[)ort at general headquarters that the 
 Sixth Corps was without a commander, for (leneral Kicketts who 
 was next iji rank, understanding that it had lieen the desire of 
 Gen. Sedgwick that his old associate (Teiu^'al Horatio (J. Wright 
 of the first division shoidd succeed him, had informed me that 
 he declined to assume the comnumd. When I readied gen- 
 eral headquarters and dismounted in froTit of the tent of the 
 adjutant general of the army, the gentle and much loved Seth 
 Williams, there were in that tent Gen. Williams and Gen. Hunt, 
 the chief of artillery, and Col. Piatt, the judge advocate general 
 of the army, and other old veteran officers who had. served 
 through many years of warfare. 
 
32 
 
 As tliey fiaw me covered with blood, (I en. Williams started 
 forward and said hut one word, "■ Sedgwick ?"' 
 
 I could not answer. Each one in that tent, old grey bearded 
 Avarriors, burst into tears and for some minutes sobbed like 
 children mourning a father. 
 
 They built a boAver of evergreens among the pine woods and 
 laid him out upon a rough bier made for him by soldier haiuls^ 
 and all day long there were strong men weeping by this funeral 
 couch. They came from all parts of the army, the old and the 
 young, the well and tlie wounded, oificers and men, to take then- 
 last look at the beloved chieftain. Many thousand of brave men 
 who composed that army were familiar with death in all its 
 forms. Not once nor twice had they seen strong men stricken 
 into sudden death. Not once nor twice had they beheld men of 
 high rank, in high command, fall amid contending hosts. They 
 had, ])erluips, grown hardened and indilferent to what was 
 necessarily of frequent occurrence and the common expectation 
 of all. But when the news went that day, like an electric shock, 
 along the lines of the Army of the Potomac that John Sedgwick 
 was dead, a great loneliness fell upon the liearts of all, and men 
 that scarcely ever heard his voice, many that scarcely know him 
 by sight, wept bitter tears as if they had lost an only friend, and 
 all recalled how on many occasions, hearing on right or left or 
 rear the thunder of hostile guns,*all anxiety passed away f)-om 
 the minds of men at the simple remark, "It must be all riglit> 
 Uncle John is there." 
 
 The Sixth Corps went on and served through the war. It 
 stood all day long at the loody angle under a fire that cut dcnvn 
 tlie great Irecs in our front. It stood up in the withering 
 slaughter of Cold Harbor. It crossed the great river to tlu^ 
 
;^:5 
 
 dismal contest before Petersburg. It swept the valley under 
 Sheridan as with a broom, and massed in a mighty column of 
 brigades, it broke through the stubborn lines of Petersburg, and 
 snapped this rebellion in twain. You, men of Vermont, led that 
 column on that memorable day in the spring of '65. You bore 
 your part in all the events that I refer to like gallant soldiers and 
 patriots ; but not all the glories that succeeded the 9th of May, 
 not all the triumphs achieved by your valor in the later fields of 
 the war, not all the tame years that have followed since, have 
 effaced the memories (jf that one day in Spottsylvania when we 
 all realized the fact that all our marches yet to be made, all our 
 battles yet to be fought, all our deeds whether good or ill would 
 never again win A\'ord of praise or censure from the silent lips of 
 the great man that we loved and honored as only soldiers know 
 how to love and honor leaders like Sedgwick. 
 
 Back to tbe (piiet churchyard of Cornwall Hollow, which the 
 boy had left so many years ago, came, accompanied by all the 
 evidences of a nation's sorrow, the lifeless body of that great and 
 simple-minded hero. 
 
 He sleeps ])eneath a simple monument erected by a sister's 
 love ; but his memory will nevei die among men who love their 
 kind and who believe that 
 
 " A country's a thing men must die for at need." 
 
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