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 LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 
 
 
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William Douglas Hamilton'. 
 1832-1915. 
 
General W. D. Hamilton, 
 1861-1865. 
 
Recollections of a 
 
 Cavalryman of the Civil War 
 
 After Fifty Years 
 
 1861 — 1865 
 
 BY 
 WILLIAM DOUGLAS HAMILTON 
 
 CAPTAIN OF INFANTRY, 1861-1862 
 MAJOR OF CAVALRY, 1862-1863 
 LIEUT-COLONEL OF CAVALRY, 1863 
 COLONEL OF CAVALRY, 1863-1865 
 BREVET BRIGADIER GENERAL, 1865 
 
 COLUMBUS, OHIO 
 THE F. J. HEER PRINTING CO. 
 
 1915 
 
9Uu 
 
 Z'-e. 
 
Y 
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 EARS ago at one of the reunions of the Ninth 
 
 Ohio Cavalry it was vo'ted that I shofUild write 
 
 f^ a history of our regiment. I was so occupieid 
 
 in business then that I oould not find time to comply 
 
 with their wishes. Now that I have had sufficient 
 
 time I have carried out their request. 
 
 With the help of some of my old comrades, I 
 have undertaken to dig through the accumulated 
 memories of fifty years and record incidents, — 
 many of them commonplace enough to us then, but 
 to which time has added a charm which warms our 
 hearts to each other and to this dear land of ours. 
 
 As a regiment the Ninth Ohio Cavalry, which be- 
 longed to the Army of the West, opeirated most of 
 the time under general orders on its own responsi- 
 bility. Often stationed quite in advance of the in- 
 fantry, we were thus brougiht into close touch with 
 the Southern people, and as a result dislikes on both 
 sides were very much modified. 
 
 Professional historians have written of the cam- 
 paigns and battles of the Civil War. The incidents 
 here preserved are side-lights on its dark backg^round 
 but they helped in a small way to modify the bitter- 
 ness of it all. 
 
 This story !has been written for the benefit of 
 those who will come after us, and in the hope that 
 
 (iii) 
 
iv PREFACE. 
 
 there will never be any call for the youth of our 
 country to further develop the art of war. This wish 
 is more sincerely felt since there is a very dear 
 grandson and namesake of mine* now in the senior 
 class at the Military School at West Point, and my 
 cherished hope and faith is that he may be assigned 
 to the development, rather than to the defence, of our 
 God-given resources, and that there may never arise 
 any national problems that may not be settled by the 
 wisdom' of our advancing civilization without recourse 
 to tjhe barbarity of arms. The miany schools, colleges 
 and churches in^ this great country dedicated to the 
 humanities and the higher arts of peace should in time 
 insure this. 
 
 This record is inscribed to the memory of my 
 fallen comrades, and with an affectionate greeting to 
 tJhe few who remain, I bequeath it to our children. 
 
 W. D. H. 
 
 * Douglas Hamilton Gillette. 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 "War is a game, which, were their subjects wise, kings 
 would not play at." — Cowper's Task. 
 
 THE world stands aghast at the deplorable con- 
 dition of Europe today. A continent divided 
 into independent states which are now being 
 over run, their boundaries changed, their cities burned, 
 their defenders butchered, their families starved and 
 their territory absorbed to feed the ambition of 
 despotic rulers. 
 
 Our fore-fathers in forming a government out 
 of a number of colonies then existing, wisely pro- 
 vided that they should remain together and be 
 known as the United States of America, and that each 
 new state should make its laws conform to the laws 
 of the general government. 
 
 The existence of slavery at length caused trouble 
 and the Southern States revolted. Earnest statesmen 
 did what they could to prevent war. A committee of 
 senators from the State of Delaware, waited upon 
 President Lincoln in 1861 to try to find some plan to 
 avoid war. Mr. Lincoln suggested the plan adopted 
 by Great Britain for abolishing slavery in her colonies 
 in the West India Islands, by paying the owners $300 
 for each slave, and Mr. Lincoln suggested $400 in 
 our case as the price. This was submitted to the Sen- 
 ate of Delaware, but was rejected by a majority of one 
 vote. 
 
 (V) 
 
Vi INTRODUCTION. 
 
 In 1864, after much blood had been shed, Alex- 
 ander H. Stephens of Georgia, wrote to Mr. Lincoln 
 on the same subject, inclosing a letter signed "Jeffer- 
 son Davis, President of the Southern Confederacy". 
 This letter Mr. Lincoln returned, saying he could not 
 entertain a paper signed in that way. The next year 
 the trouble was settled at Appomatox. 
 
 The question had been fouglit out gallantly by 
 both sides, and when the end came there was no ex- 
 ultation on one side, nor humiliation on the other, but 
 mutual respect and the unity of the States was es- 
 tablished, and our hope is, that the benefit conferred 
 mpon our nation and the world, may atone for the 
 blood and treasure that it cost. The records at Wash- 
 ington can show the value of the treasure lost, but not 
 Df the heartache and suffering nor the blood that was 
 
 shed. 
 
 It was estimated in 1861 that there were 3,000,- 
 000 slaves in the South, wihioh at $400 each would 
 aggregate $1,200,000,000 (One Billion, Two Hundred 
 Million Dollars). All this, if accepted, would have 
 been distributed in the South. The financial cost of 
 the war as shown aggregated $8,000,000,000 (Eight 
 Billions of Dollars), nearly seven times the estimated 
 value of the slaves without counting the terrible de- 
 struction of property to which the South was sub- 
 jected. 
 
 In addition to this, is the increased cost of the 
 military system it is now considered necessary to main- 
 tain, including a standing army, costing annually 
 
INTRODUCTION. Vll 
 
 $93,000,000; a navy, $125,000,000; and pensions at 
 presient $150,000,000. This last will decrease, but the 
 military expense is likely to increase unless we change 
 our military policy. 
 
 Military science has so changed since the intro- 
 duction of improved weapons, that less tim'e is needed 
 in the drill and manual of arms. This was illustrated 
 in the South African War where the untrained Boers 
 so often proved too much for the well drilled soldiers 
 of the British Army. 
 
 Now that our Indian wars are ovier, our standing 
 army should be kept at the lowest limit. Professional 
 soldiers are not citizens. They do not vote. They 
 farm a class by themselves whose chief ambition is a 
 strong army. The officers incline to a guild of their 
 own which tends to an aristocracy. In successful wars 
 they are looked upon by the masses as heroes, and their 
 leaders are elevated to the head of the government. 
 This, in the world's experience, is dangerous to a re- 
 public and tends to monarchy. The rise of the Roman 
 Republic and the downfall of the Roman Empire is 
 a well known illustration. 
 
 A powerful navy is a grave and expensive responsi- 
 bility, needed principally to protect our lately acquired 
 dependencies, thrown on our hands accidentally by our 
 navy. While these Islands furnish a good field for 
 our missionary work, they are likely to complicate 
 our relations with other nations and require an ex- 
 tensive navy to protect them. 
 
 Our inland ownership covers the heart of a con- 
 
VIU INTRODUCTION. 
 
 tinent lying between two Oceans, forming the East 
 and West boundaries, with 3000 miles of land be- 
 tween. 
 
 The grandeur of its mountains, with the wealth of 
 its minerals and the fertility of its soil will make at- 
 tractive homes for our descendants for centuries. We 
 can afford to let the crowded nations of Europe 
 quarrel among themselves over their boundary lines 
 and extend their possessions among the Islands of the 
 sea, we do not need them. It is the Eagle and not the 
 Sea gull that is the emblem of our nationality. 
 
 With the Panama canal under our control, we 
 will not need a double navy to defend our east and 
 west coasts. The money required to build one modern 
 battleship, which is out of data in about ten years, 
 would build 20 submarines to defend our coast, any 
 one of which could sink a battleship in half an hour, 
 or it would build 1,000 miles of first-class highway the 
 distance from New York to Chicago at a cost of $15,- 
 000 per mile : and half the money spent every year 
 on our war equipment, militarism and allied expenses 
 would, according to our best engineers, construct a 
 continental highway from Baltimore to San Francisco 
 over a grade not exceeding 2j%, with roadbed 25 ft. 
 wide, surfaced with asiphalt, with stone bridges and 
 culverts, free to the public, and still have enough left 
 for branch roads. 
 
 We have at present 48 states in the Union, all 
 happily under one general government. Land grants 
 have been given by Congress to all of the states and 
 
INTRODUCTION. IX 
 
 territories with a provision that military instruction 
 be inckided in the college curriculum. The Ohio State 
 University has at present 1600 young men under mil- 
 itary instruction. Physical as well as mental train- 
 ing is required. They are divided into four battalions 
 in charge of a West Point officer, capable not only of 
 giving instruction in modern drill but in engineering 
 and mechanics during at least two years of their col- 
 lege course. In addition to this, it might be provided 
 that a military teacher, named by the Secretary of 
 War, be added to the faculty of every college having 
 at least 400 students subject to military instruction 
 This would prepare at least 200,000 young men every 
 two years, all of them made familiar with a soldier's 
 life and duties and most of them well qualified to 
 assume the duties of a commissioned officer when 
 ever needed. By this means the nation would be 
 assured of more than a million of well equipped young 
 men, ready at its call to meet any emergency. This, 
 added to the militia of the different states subject to 
 the call of the president, would give us as much in- 
 fluence among the nations of the world as if we were 
 supporting a standing army of half a million men, and 
 this without the cost of maintaining them until needed. 
 We would thus create a powerful influence in pre- 
 paring the way for the more perfect work of tlie 
 Hague Tribunal for the suppression of war among the 
 nations, and make the incidents as recorded in 
 the following pages, read like a strange story of a 
 bygone age. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 Chapter 1. page. 
 
 Family History 1-4 
 
 Chapter 2. 
 The Scotch Colony 5-8 
 
 Chapter 3. 
 The Call to Colors — Organization of Company "G," 
 
 32nd O. V. L.— Life on Cheat Mountain 9-15 
 
 Chapter 4. 
 Our First Battle — Our night march and expe- 
 rience on Gum Road — Our first death — Removal 
 of camp to Beverly 1&-22 
 
 Chapter 5. 
 Battle of Camp Alleghany 23-30 
 
 Chapter 6. 
 
 Advance from Cheat Mountain and our experience 
 
 with foreign adventurers 31-35 
 
 Chapter 7. 
 
 Arrested hy order of General Fremont — Winchester 
 and Harper's Ferry — First Battalion, Ninth 
 Ohio Cavalry 36-43 
 
 Chapter 8. 
 
 The Knights of the Golden Circle — Service in East 
 Kentucky — Fullington, the East Tennessee 
 
 Scout 44-54 
 
 (xi) 
 
Xll CONTENTS. 
 
 Chapter 9. page. 
 
 Raid on Big Creek Gap — Holding the enemy 
 in East Tennessee during General Saunders' 
 reconnoisance around Knoxville — The Morgan 
 Fox Chase 55-60 
 
 Chapter 10. 
 
 Knoxville Campaign — Visit of Paymaster at Glas- 
 gow, Ky., and organization of Burnside's 
 command for the Knoxville Advance — Battle at 
 Campbell's Station and capture of Knoxville 61-67 
 
 Chapter 11. 
 
 Organization of the Second and Third Battalions — 
 Ordered to report to Camp Dennison to receive 
 the Second and Third Battalions of the regiment 
 — Six week in camp under drill 68-84 
 
 Chapter 12. 
 Ordered to the Field — ^^Ordered by General Grant 
 to report by water to Nashville — Orders 
 changed at Louisville to march through Ken- 
 tucky 85-89 
 
 Chapter 13. 
 Patrol of the Tennessee River — Assignment to left 
 wing Sixteenth Army Corps, commanded by 
 General Granville M. Dodge — Trouble with ord- 
 nance office at Nashville about ammunition set- 
 tled by Grant — Union of the three battalions at 
 Athens, Alabama — ^Capture of Captain Hetzler 
 and one-half of Company "G" on Jack Peters' 
 Plantation 90-98 
 
 Chapter 14. 
 The Affair at Center Star — Failure to capture 
 
 enemy at Center Star and the consequences 99-103 
 
CONTENTS. XUl 
 
 Chapter 15. page. 
 
 The Florence Campaign — And interesting incidents 
 
 with which it was connected 104-123 
 
 Chapter 16. 
 Battle of Decatur 124-129 
 
 Chapter 17. 
 
 Rousseau's Raid — Reach Sherman's Army at Vining 
 Station July 23, 1864 — Interview with General 
 Thomas 130-143 
 
 Chapter 18. 
 
 Preparing to remount the Command — Affair at Big 
 
 Shanty 144-151 
 
 Chapter 19. 
 
 Sherman's Grand March— Battle of Buckhead Creek. 152-161 
 
 Chapter 20. 
 
 Battle of Waynsboro— Attempt to Liberate Prisoners 
 
 at Millen Prison 162-167 
 
 Chapter 21. 
 
 Siege of Savannah — Hog Island — Ordered to burn 
 railroad bridge across the Altamaha River, 
 thirty miles below Savannah — Sister's Ferry on 
 Savannah River — Visit from Dr. King 168-177 
 
 Chapter 22. 
 
 Descent on South Carolina — In Barnwell first night 
 
 In South Carolina— Battle of Aiken 178-189 
 
XIV CONTENTS. 
 
 Chapter 23. page. 
 
 Battle of Averysboro and capture of Colonel Rhett — 
 Battle of Bentonville — Through the Turpentine 
 Forest of North Carolina — Kilpatrick's escape — 
 Known by many of the boys as "Kilpatrick's 
 Shirt-tail Skedaddle" 190-199 
 
 Chapter 24. 
 The last Engagement of the War 200-214 
 
 Chapter 25. 
 
 Service in North Carolina after the close of the War. 215-225 
 
 Chapter 26. 
 Subsequent trip to the South — "Among; Loyal Moun- 
 taineers" 226-255 
 
 CHAPtER 27. 
 
 Visit to Florence, Alabama, after twenty-five years.. 256^264 
 
 Chapter 28. 
 Recent Correspondence — Memorial Address at 
 Athens, Ohio, May 30, 1886, before the 
 G. A. R. Post, the Faculty and Students of the 
 Ohio University and citizens of Athens — An Ad- 
 dress given June 8, 1908, at Memorial Services, 
 with flowers on the graves of the Confederate 
 Dead at Camp Chase, Ohio — Incident in which 
 Captain Brooks of Knoxville, Tenn., saved the 
 life of an indiscreet Northern "Drummer," in 
 1861 — A near view of Lincoln by Jonathan F. 
 Linton, editor of The Daily Union City 
 Chronicle of Illinois, in 1865, and a friend of the 
 President ; Mr. Linton also served at R. Q. M. 
 in the 30th III. Vol. Infantry 265-305 
 
ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 PAGE. 
 
 Ashley, Edw. M., Q. M. Sergt 71 
 
 Black, Chas. W 34 
 
 Black, J. Morton, Orderly and Aide 16 
 
 Brown, Thos., Capt 71 
 
 Cochran, Thos. J., Lt 128 
 
 Coe, Albin, Capt 71 
 
 Curren, A. J 132 
 
 Daniels, Jos., Capt 68 
 
 Ely, Wm. B., Lt 128 
 
 Gamble, Jas. L., Sergt. Co. "G" 145 
 
 Gatch, A. P., Capt 132 
 
 Hamilton, Arthur T., Adj 9 
 
 Hamilton, Henry 9 
 
 Hamilton, Robt. J 9 
 
 Hamilton, WiUiam 9 
 
 Hamilton, William Douglas Frontispiece 
 
 Hamilton, Gen. W. D Opposite Frontispiece 
 
 Henderson, Wm., Capt 270 
 
 Hill, Geo. H., Sergt •• 128 
 
 Hogue, Elijah, Capt 61 
 
 Iliff, Thos. Corwin, Sergt 271 
 
 Irvine, Jas., Maj 68 
 
 Kinnear, Wm. R., Corp 270 
 
 Mann, E. L., Capt 191 
 
 Mills, Warner, Capt 39 
 
 (XV) 
 
XVI ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 PAGE. 
 
 Moffit, Robt. H., Hospital Stewards 186, 188 
 
 Morrison, Henry A., Lt 68 
 
 Nachtrieb, Michael, Musician 128 
 
 Pinney, Chas. H., Asst. Surgeon 68 
 
 Rownd, Robt. M.. Chief Bugler 185 
 
 Selser, Volney 34 
 
 Sickinger, Robt 132 
 
 Sniff, Albert, Sergt 20 
 
 Spencer, Harry L., Sergt 76 
 
 Spencer, Wm 34 
 
 Stewart, John M., Lt 65 
 
 Swing, P. F., Capt 152 
 
 Thirty-second Regt.. O. V. 1 12 
 
 Van Ottanger, Max, Lt • • 71 
 
 Winnett, W. S., Capt 65 
 
CHAPTER I. 
 Family History. 
 
 My father, William Hamilton, belonged to the 
 Orbiston branch of the Hamiltons of Scotland. The 
 family estate bordered on the River Clyde, sixteen 
 miles above Glasgow. 
 
 It was on this estate, near the beginning of the 
 19th century that the celebrated socialist, Robert 
 Dale Owen, established his "Industrial Community" 
 and obtained funds to erect extensive cotton mills to 
 be operated on his plan of ^'common ownership" the 
 failure of which involved the estate and caused it to 
 fall into the control of the Hamiltons of Dallzell, an- 
 other branch of the family. The ruins of this enter- 
 prise still stand on the property, a monument to the 
 blighting influence of a visionary enthusiast. 
 
 In the spring of 1838, my father and mother with 
 three little children, myself, aged 6, my brother John, 
 aged 4, my sister, Marion, aged 2 years, with three 
 servants sailed from Glasgow with Captain Coffin in 
 the good ship William Tell, bound for New York. 
 Three years prior to this (in 1835) my father's 
 brother Robert, and my mother's brother, Robert 
 Jack, two young men, had preceded us to select a 
 location in the New World. They reached Pittsburg, 
 
 (1) 
 
2 RECOLLECTIONS OF A CAVALRYMAN. 
 
 at that time an industrial center of Scotch enterprise 
 and thrift. From there they traveled on foot to 
 Zanesville, and along the "National Road" to Co- 
 lumbus, Ohio, looking for good land, on good roads, 
 near good coal. All this v^as rather difficult to find 
 in those days. They finally selected a location a few 
 miles west of Zanesville, between the villages of 
 Gratiot and Brownsville, Licking County, where my 
 Uncle Robert Hamilton bought a farm. My mother's 
 brother, being an only son, had an "expectancy" at 
 home but wanted to see the country. 
 
 Our trip across was before the days of great 
 ocean steamers and we were subject to the usual dis- 
 comforts of a six weeks' sail, but we children were 
 supplied with plenty of good fresh milk from the 
 Captain's cow for our oatmeal porridge, and were 
 quite happy when not sea-sick. 
 
 We landed in New York at the "Battery." After 
 a short stay among friends in that growing city we 
 boarded a steamer which took us up the Hudson 
 river to Albany. Here we were transferred to a 
 railroad for Schenectady — twelve miles, it being at 
 that time the only piece of railroad between New 
 York and the great West. The speed of the train 
 did not prevent one of our men from jumping off 
 the car while the train was drawn up a grade by a 
 stationary engine at the top, and running forward to a 
 pump to get a pitcher of water for the children, as 
 the day was warm and we were thirsty. 
 
 At Schenectady we boarded a packet boat on the 
 
FAMILY HISTORY. 3 
 
 Erie Canal drawn by three good horses, driven 
 tandem at a lively pace and changed at relay stations 
 every ten miles, this being the **fast line limited." 
 Three days' delightful travel brought us to Buffalo, 
 where we took a lake steamer for Cleveland. We 
 found the short, jerky waves of that shallow, land- 
 bound lake more disturbing than the long, rolling 
 swell of the ocean, and we were glad, after spending a 
 night in that young city of five thousand inhabitants, 
 to be consigned to the quiet waters of the Ohio Canal 
 to begin the last stage of our long pilgrimage. 
 
 The charm of woodland and prairie along the 
 northern stretches of this water-way did not impress 
 my boyish mind so much as did some of the inci- 
 dents of the journey. 
 
 On one occasion my dear little sister, Marion, 
 ventured unnoticed by her nurse too near the prow 
 of the boat and fell overboard, causing quite an ex- 
 citement among the passengers. Her clothes kept her 
 afloat until the boat had almost passed her. I well 
 remember the heroic plunge of the helmsman into the 
 waist deep water to save the "drowning child" and 
 the beaming smile upon his face on receipt of the 
 thanks and reward my father gave him. It was mid- 
 summer, and the sight of the tall, growing corn and 
 strange fruit interested us all. The captain had roast- 
 ing ears for dinner which I thought very fine, and 
 their peculiar flavor remained a memory to be re- 
 newed every year on tasting my first roasting ear of 
 the season, and sometimes lingered pleasantly during 
 
4 RECOLLECTIONS OF A CAVALRYMAN. 
 
 the stirring times of the great war when that food 
 was sometimes about our only article of diet. 
 
 The village of Nashport, between Newark and 
 Zanesville, near the Licking river, marked the end 
 of our voyaging, for we found my uncle's wagon and 
 driver waiting for us, and we finished the remaining 
 ten miles across the rugged "Flint Ridge" where we 
 were shown great old pits which we were told the 
 Indians had dug for a peculiar flint out of which they 
 formed their arrow heads. A three hours' drive 
 brought us to the National Road, then five years old, 
 which we were all delighted to see for it was in sharp 
 contrast with the rough wagon track over which we 
 had just passed. We were soon welcomed by our 
 Uncle Robert and his charming young wife, the hand- 
 some daughter of a good English family near Zanes- 
 ville, who was a kind aunt to us until she died two 
 years ago. 
 
 Here we spent the winter and I was sent to school 
 in a log cabin about a mile away in the woods. It 
 was the surprise of the school that the little Scotch 
 lad six years old could read the Testament and **say 
 the ten commandments off the book." 
 
 The Bible is a school-book in Scotland. 
 
 In the spring my father bought a fine 200-acre 
 farm across the line in Muskingum County, and this 
 became the home of our family. 
 
CHAPTER 2. 
 The Scotch Colony. 
 
 Soon others of our friends came from Scotland ; 
 other farms were bought and a Scotch colony was 
 established about the year 1840 around the villages 
 of Gratiot and Brownsville, two miles apart. Schools 
 and churches were founded and Sunday schools were 
 established. Profanity and drinking were unknown. 
 Saloons which had flourished during the construction 
 of the National Road gradually disappeared and not 
 one has been able to live in either village during the 
 last sixty years. 
 
 In 185 1 I became a student of the Ohio Wesleyan 
 University at Delaware, Ohio, where I took an ir- 
 regular course, teaching school at home part of the 
 time. I then became a student of law under Judge 
 Buckingham of Newark and completed the course in 
 the Cincinnati Law School under Judge Bellamy 
 Storer in 1858. In the spring of 1859 I became the 
 junior partner in the law firm of Ball and Hamilton 
 in Zanesville, Ohio. 
 
 This partnership was terminated in 186 1 by the 
 opening of the civil war. I had been taken ill with 
 typhoid fever and was lying at my father's house on 
 the farm when the news of the attack on Fort Sumter 
 
 (5) 
 
6 RECOLLECTIONS OF A CAVALRYMAN. 
 
 set the North on fire. The President called for 75,000 
 volunteers for three months, as it was supposed the 
 trouble could be adjusted by that time. Recruiting 
 offices were opened in nearly all the county seats in 
 the state. 
 
 Three companies were soon organized in Zanes- 
 ville, and a fourth was commenced in our vicinity. 
 One day Ulysses Westbrook, one of my village 
 schoolmates, came to my room and told me that this 
 company was being recruited by himself and Albert 
 Spaulding of Zanesville, who belonged to a military 
 company and understood military drill, and that about 
 fifty men had been enlisted. But other companies 
 were ahead of them and he despaired of completing 
 their company in time. *'But," said he, "if you will 
 come and help us and say you will take the captaincy, 
 I think we can fill it up in time to be accepted." 
 
 During my slow convalescence I had plenty of 
 time to talk to my father and determine my duty in 
 case of a rupture between the states, so I replied, 'T 
 will come and help you if I can, but I know but little 
 of military affairs and Spaulding should be the cap- 
 tain." 'That is very good," returned Westbrook, "but 
 nearly all the men are my recruits. They don't know 
 Spaulding and they all know you and there are a 
 good many other young men around here who will 
 join us if you will go. We are to have a meeting to- 
 morrow night at Brownsville. If you will come to 
 the meeting we will send a carriage for you. The 
 meeting was held in the street and I talked from a 
 
THE SCOTCH COLONY. 7 
 
 Store box, urging the duty of the young men in the 
 present crisis, and seven added their names to the 
 roll. 
 
 Little by little the company roll was increased, but 
 before the full number was secured, the Ohio quota 
 was filled, and we were left out. A number of the 
 boys accepted appointments to fill vacancies in the 
 more fortunate companies and our efforts at that time 
 were ended. The disastrous battle of Bull Run and 
 the President's new call for troops revived our ac- 
 tivities. I was notified by Governor Dennison that 
 my company would be received on enlistment for 
 three years or during the war. 
 
 The community of which our little Scotch colony 
 formed a part was generally loyal to the government. 
 Although the institution of slavery was abhorred they 
 were not inclined to interfere with the recognized 
 rights of the southern states. Still the ill advised acts 
 of that section produced an alarmed feeling of sor- 
 row and foreboding. They relied with hopeful con- 
 fidence upon the wisdom of the president-elect who 
 was now to take the helm of the crippled Ship of 
 State to guide it through the reefs which threatened it. 
 
 As Mr. Lincoln passed through Newark on his 
 way to Washington for his inauguration my father 
 was one of a number that gathered to meet him, but 
 he came home disappointed and apprehensive, saying 
 that when the train stopped a tall, ungainly man ap- 
 peared on the platform and in a very ordinary way 
 said in substance as follows : "My Fellow Citizens : — 
 
8 RECOLLECTIONS OF A CAVALRYMAN. 
 
 It gives me pleasure to see so many good citizens 
 of the great state of Ohio, and of your city with so 
 many nice, happy-looking children before me." He 
 then looked out upon the distant hills and remarked, 
 "You have a beautiful country with its forest and 
 hills. The state I come from is level but I was born 
 in Kentucky and always loved the hills." He did 
 not allude to where he was going nor what he was 
 going to do. And my father said with a sigh, "I 
 don't think he knows very well himself. I fear we 
 have elected a man who is not great enough to realize 
 the responsibilities he has to meet." But later events 
 showed in that simple, evasive speech the intuitive 
 wisdom of that wonderful man. 
 
Robert J. Hamilton, 
 Mortally Wounded Dec. .11, 
 18(U, at Camp Alleghany. 
 
 In Memoriam. 
 
 Died of Exposure on Cheat 
 Mountain, Dec. 11, 1861. 
 
 Hexrv Hamilton. 
 
 Adj. Arthur T. Hamilton, 
 
 Mortally Wounded in Battle. Aiken, 
 
 Mar. 11. ISCl. 
 
 William Hamilton, 
 Died of Exposure and Starva- 
 tion, Andersonville, 18ti4. 
 
CHAPTER 3. 
 The Call to the Colors. 
 
 Enemies were following the president-elect eager 
 to report and misconstrue his every word. A plot was 
 laid to take his life as he passed through Baltimore 
 and he knew it. A few weeks later, however, the 
 people here were willing to meet the issue and the 
 president's call for 75,000 three months' men to quell 
 the disturbance was eagerly responded to, as above 
 related. 
 
 The rush to the colors produced by the first call 
 for troops was modified by the seriousness of the 
 outlook now, and the virulent opposition of the "Cop- 
 perheads" (so-called). This made recruiting for this 
 second call difhcult. The opposition to the new ad- 
 ministration, which had been checked by the Fort 
 Sumter insult, was revived. Sneering intimations 
 were circulated that the whole afTair was "a scheme 
 of the abolitionists to free the niggers," and the in- 
 justice of carrying on a war against the southern 
 states and the crime of attempting to destroy the 
 vested rights of these people was heard on every 
 street corner, and gathering place in the country. But 
 recruiting went on all the same. Meetings calling for 
 volunteers were held in our country school houses 
 
 (^0 
 
10 RECOLLECTIONS OF A CAVALRYMAN. 
 
 encouraged by our ablest men. But if an officer had 
 intimated that it was to free the "niggers" he could 
 not have secured a man. 
 
 Our little Scotch colony contained at this time six- 
 teen young men within the military age; of these 
 fourteen entered the service during the war. Two 
 Hamiltons from my father's family, myself and 
 youngest brother, Robert, leaving only my brother 
 John to care for our home affairs. In my Uncle 
 Robert Hamilton's family there were five boys; of 
 these, William, Henry, Arthur and Daniel volunteered, 
 leaving James, the youngest, at college. He after- 
 wards became a Presbyterian minister. Of Mr. 
 Black's family there were three; Dr. James Black, 
 who became a surgeon in the 76th O. V. L, Charles 
 W., and Morton Black; their cousin Mr. Morton's 
 son, Robert; Mr. Miller's only son, John Miller, 
 killed at Vicksburg; and John H. Bell. William 
 Craig, a cousin of ours from Scotland, volunteered 
 and served with us, but returned to Scotland after 
 the war. Ten of these went with me in the beginning. 
 
 The village of Roseville furnished a contingent of 
 thirteen to our company. The unlucky tradition of 
 this number was not borne out in their history, for 
 these thirteen, all faithful and efficient soldiers, messed 
 together, slept together, marched together, fought to- 
 gether and endured together all the hardships of four 
 long years, including Vicksburg and the grand march, 
 and returned together, unbroken in number, spirit and 
 self-respect. 
 
THE CALL TO THE COLORS. II 
 
 When the roster of our company neared com- 
 pletion, the men were gathered into camp on the old 
 Fair Grounds at Zanesville, August 13th, 1861. Here 
 we began the A B C of our military education. 1 had 
 been chosen Captain; Albert Spaulding, First Lieu- 
 tenant ; and Ulysses Westbrook, Second Lieutenant. 
 
 One day a young stranger came into camp and 
 introduced himself as Sheldon Guthrie of New 
 Orleans, a relative of the prominent and highly re- 
 spected family of that name in Zanesville. As he 
 wished to enter the service, his uncle, Austin Guthrie, 
 sent him to me. He said he had five years' train- 
 ing in a military company at home, for such had long 
 been the fashionable athletics of the young men of 
 the South. He frankly asked a lieutenancy, but said 
 he would be content with whatever I could give that 
 would be of most value to the company. He was a 
 serious and self-possessed young man and deeply im- 
 pressed with the advantage the South possessed 
 through the years of military training its young men 
 had received. He responded gladly to my invitation 
 to visit us for a few days, and the next morning when 
 I gave him a squad to drill I noticed with satisfaction 
 his familiarity with the regulations, and the prudent 
 ability with which he applied his knowledge. 
 
 After his enlistment I appointed him First Sergeant 
 of the company and I have always felt that much of 
 the good military character which our company main- 
 tained was due to his efficiency; and I am pleased to 
 record that he served throughout the war and com- 
 
T2 RECOLLECTIONS OF A CAVALRYMAN. 
 
 manded the regiment as Lieutenant Colonel at its close. 
 He afterwards returned to the South, and died in 1912. 
 This company was the first three-year company that 
 entered the service from Muskingum County. 
 
 On September ist, 1861, I received an order to 
 report with my company to Colonel Thomas H. Ford 
 at Mansfield, Ohio. As the company of one hundred 
 men marched in column to the railroad station, the 
 streets were lined with fathers, mothers, sisters and 
 sweethearts, laughing, cheering and crying; and with 
 prayers for our safety they bade us good-bye. All 
 this impressed us with the solemn importance of the 
 mission we had undertaken. On September 4, 1861, 
 our company was mustered into the United States 
 service and assigned as Company "G" to the 32nd 
 O. V. I., Colonel Thomas H. Ford commanding. 
 
 We were then sent to camp Dennison near Cincin- 
 nati where we received our equipment, and were armed 
 with old, long-barreled, large-calibered, muzzle-load- 
 ing muskets. These had been discarded by the Austrian 
 government and bought for our use, as the best that 
 could be got at that time. Conspirators in Buchanan's 
 administration had transferred to the southern states 
 all the artillery and small arms they could secure. The 
 Secretary of War (Floyd) sent an order to Pittsburg 
 for the shipment of a large consignment of new artil- 
 lery to New Orleans. This was prevented by the 
 citizens of that loyal city. 
 
 After ten days of drill practice we were ordered on 
 the loth of September, to Cheat Mountain Gap for 
 
o 
 
 n 
 
 c 
 
 p 
 
 CO 
 
 c 
 
 p 
 
THE CALL TO THE COLORS. 1 3 
 
 the purpose of checking the advance of Brigadier 
 General R. E. Lee into western Virginia. While we 
 were preparing for this movement I received a tele- 
 gram from home saying that my father was danger- 
 ously ill. I went home at once and two days after my 
 arrival he died. He had been seriously concerned 
 about the prospect of his adopted country's trouble. 
 He had given two of his three sons to the chances of 
 war. In the delirium before his death he talked of 
 war and pictured scenes of strife as if he were with 
 Colonel Ford and the regiment. In a lucid moment 
 he called me to him and said, "William, take good care 
 of Robert and be a father to him in my place." Then 
 looking up with a confident smile, he died. 
 
 After the funeral my brother Robert and I, with 
 some others of the company, followed the regiment to 
 its station at Cheat Mountain Gap in western Vir- 
 ginia, a dreary place of an altitude of 2,500 feet and 
 covered with a thick growth of pine trees, except a 
 clearing of about three acres on which stood an old 
 log cabin known as "Soldier White's Tavern." This 
 served as a stopping place for travelers on this, the 
 principal road to east Virginia, and was the only 
 habitation for twenty miles through the mountains. 
 
 We found the boys of our regiment with axes hard 
 at work clearing ground for our tents. A place to 
 drill was out of the question. 
 
 The 9th and 13th Indiana and the 25th Ohio Regi- 
 ments had, the week before, repulsed the enemy com- 
 manded by Brigadier General Robert E. Lee in an 
 
14 RECOLLECTIONS OF A CAVALRYMAN. 
 
 attempt to break through the Gap. In this irregular 
 battle General Bushrod Washington, the last male sur- 
 vivor of the Washington family, and an intimate 
 friend of General Lee, was killed. 
 
 The enemy had fallen back to their camp across 
 Cheat river on the Staunton pike ten miles east of the 
 Gap, and, as it was expected that they would renew 
 the attack, our regiment had been hurried forward to 
 re-enforce the brigade, which now consisted of about 
 four thousand raw recruits. 
 
 We were not soldiers except in name; four thous- 
 and boys from the country, under the command of an 
 Indiana lawyer who, we were told, had seen some ser- 
 vice in the Mexican War, and whom we learned to 
 know as Brigadier General Kimball. Four thousand 
 sons of honest tradesmen and farmers, just from com- 
 fortable homes, unaccustomed to the rigors of camp 
 life, were thus huddled together on a desolate moun- 
 tain top where the winter had already begun. We had 
 little knowledge of military duty and no opportunity to 
 drill except in the use of the axe, with which most of 
 the boys had served their apprenticeship. Trees had to 
 be cut, places cleared for tents and a hospital built for 
 the sick. A portable sawmill was sent from Zanesville, 
 Ohio. Logs had to be cut and carried to the mill on 
 handspikes over the rough and rocky ground on the 
 mountain sides. A driving snow storm began to sweep 
 the mountain. The boys had been furnished with only 
 one blanket each and an oil cloth *'poncho" to keep 
 them warm. The only water we could get was melted 
 
THE CALL TO THE COLORS. 1 5 
 
 snow. Now as I look back through the sunlight and 
 shadow of more than fifty years all this remains in my 
 memory as a weird dream of a former existence. 
 
 I studied as best I could to learn the duties of an 
 officer and familiarize myself with the hardships of an 
 enlisted man. Sometimes I went out with the pickets 
 to see how the sergeant placed his men. Once during 
 a snow storm I remained all night at a post near the 
 enemy's line. We formed a shelter of brush by the 
 side of a log. In the morning the snow was ten inches 
 deep. When the officer of the guard came around and 
 saw me he exclaimed, in surprise, "Why, Captain, what 
 in the world are you doing here ?" I replied that I was 
 taking lessons in the duties of a soldier's life. I con- 
 sidered it for the good of the service that my men 
 should belive implicity that I would not ask them to 
 do anything I did not understand, nor go anywhere 
 that I would not be willing to be with them. 
 
CHAPTER 4. 
 Our First Battle. 
 
 On October 3d, General Kimball decided to attack 
 the enemy. With that purpose in view orders were is- 
 sued to the different regiments to have their companies 
 in line fully armed, and with two day's rations, ready to 
 march at one o'clock in the morning. This was serious 
 business, but, at the hour named. Company "G" was 
 in line, and as First Sergeant Guthrie, who had already 
 committed our muster roll to memory, called the names 
 in the dark, all answered but one private. I went to his 
 tent and found him looking around in a dazed manner. 
 I said, "George, what is the matter with you ? Why are 
 you not in line?" ''1 can't find my cartridge box," he 
 stammered. I saw it at his feet and told him to buckle 
 it on and get into line. He looked at me and with a 
 trembling voice replied, ''Captain, I feel that I am not 
 prepared to die." I somewhat impatiently told him to 
 buckle on his cartridge box, fall into line and do his 
 duty for that was all God required of him. George 
 obeyed, answered to his name, and before the war 
 closed the poor boy tested my theology, for he gave his 
 life for his country in the line of duty. 
 
 The brigade as now formed consisted of the 9th and 
 13th Indiana, the 25th and 32d Ohio, and marched in 
 
 (16) 
 
J. MoRTox Black, 
 Orderly and Efficient Aide, 9th O V. C. 
 
OUR FIRST BATTLE. 1 7 
 
 the order named, General Kimball commanding. The 
 road wound zig-zag down the mountain which was 
 covered with timber. The night was dark and still. 
 Now and then a frightened deer could be heard leaping 
 away through the underbrush, and the wicked screams 
 of disturbed catamounts calling to each other from the 
 opposite mountain sides, and great horned owls began 
 the sentinel's challenge, "Who, who (goes there?") Be- 
 fore we reached the foot of the mountain the moon 
 arose, and orders came to reverse arms lest its rays 
 reflecting upon our polished muskets might betray our 
 coming. All this seemed to come like weird warnings 
 from a strange world, and caused the boys to feel that 
 they were a long ways from home. 
 
 The enemy's camp was situated upon the same road 
 across the Cheat river about a mile from the foot of 
 the mountain. A road known as the '*Gum Road" 
 running parallel with the river, intersected the main 
 road at the foot of the mountain. Here our command 
 halted at 4 o'clock in the morning for an hour's 
 rest. I was then ordered to take my company 
 to the right, along this road about a mile, to pre- 
 vent or give notice of a flank movement of the 
 enemy from that direction. After marching about 
 that distance we came to a spur of the mountain 
 about 3CX) yards from the river. At its foot a large 
 white pine tree, nearly three feet in diameter and with- 
 out a limb for more than a hundred feet, had fallen 
 diagonally toward the road in our direction. I placed 
 
l8 RECOLLECTIONS OF A CAVALRYMAN. 
 
 my company behind this ready-made breast-work and 
 waited somewhat nervously for the coming of the 
 enemy. Presently we heard distant footsteps among 
 the leaves, and soon a whisper from the men, "Lis- 
 ten, they are coming." We saw dimly in the river 
 fog an armed man walking — then another — then a 
 third. I now was confronted by my first military prob- 
 lem. What should I do? If these men in military 
 overcoats were the advance of an approaching force 
 and I fired upon them the main body would be warned 
 and make their disposition either to attack or flank us. 
 If ordered to halt and surrender they would probably 
 fire upon us and thus report our presence. If they 
 were scouts they must be captured with as little noise 
 as possible, and I decided to try this myself. I di- 
 rected Lieutenant Westbrook to keep the men hid 
 until I ordered, "Halt." He was then to cover the 
 foe with his guns, but not fire. Slipping quietly over 
 the log, I started cautiously at right angles to intercept 
 them. Bravely enough I prepared to cover them with 
 my pistol, but to my surprise a strange rebellion took 
 possession of my legs. They wobbled like two sticks 
 trying to support a load. This feeling increased the 
 farther I got from our log. I had the men covered 
 with my pistol, but I did not know then nor have I 
 ever been quite sure whether I had it cocked or not. 
 They grew in my eyes to at least seven feet in height. 
 I tried to order them to halt, but my mouth would 
 not go off. About that time, however, I heard the 
 cocking of a hundred guns behind the log; then my 
 
OUR FIRST BATTLE. I9 
 
 mouth let loose. By this time the three men in front 
 took in the situation and when I succeeded in ordering 
 them to lay down their arms, they did. Thinking that 
 I might get some important information, I demanded 
 to what regiment they belonged. The tall sergeant (I 
 was sure he was 7 feet) replied with a quizzical smile, 
 "The 13th Indiana. What is yours?" 
 
 I have been consoled by old hunters who told me 
 that it was a case of "buck-fever" that had upset me. 
 My men thought I did a brave act and cheered me on 
 my return, and it was nearly a year before I had the 
 courage to tell them how scared I was. That did not 
 lessen the shame for the unsoldierly weakness I felt, 
 and, for other reasons my tactics on that occasion 
 would not merit the approval of military critics. The 
 proper place for a captain in time of danger is with 
 his company. I should have sent a subordinate with 
 proper support, and kept the company in hand to 
 meet any emergency. But, after all, the experience 
 was valuable, for it began a confidence between my 
 company and me that continued as long as we were 
 permitted to remain together. 
 
 On the approach of daylight the battle began at 
 the ford. We heard the roar of contending artillery 
 and fire of musketry for the first time, October 3d. 
 1861. 
 
 About 10 o'clock a courier came with orders to 
 return. We found the brigade in column returning 
 to our camp on the mountain. The damage in sight 
 as the result of the engagement was a lot of broken 
 artillery and wagons, some disabled guns drawn by 
 
20 RECOLLECTIONS OF A CAVALRYMAN. 
 
 crippled horses which had been struck by pieces of 
 exploded shells, and a few dead and wounded men in 
 the ambulance for which we were detailed as rear 
 guard on the way to camp. The papers throughout 
 the North reported that on October 3d General Kim- 
 ball had made a "very successful reconnoisance in 
 force against the enemy on Cheat river." 
 
 All that night, however, the command was kept at 
 work preparing to receive the enemy in case they 
 should incline to return the call, which however they 
 did not do. Cold weather and snow soon came to our 
 cheerless camp. Our tents were poor shelter from the 
 mountain storms. We could not even drill to keep 
 warm but were employed in cutting logs to build win- 
 ter quarters. These were carried by the men and 
 put upon the ground we had cleared for that pur- 
 pose. Larger logs were cut and carried in the same 
 way as before to the mill and sawed into lumber for 
 roofing, flooring, tables and sleeping bunks, into which 
 the men were huddled with but little covering. All 
 this was a fearful experience for boys who had just 
 left comfortable homes in Ohio. 
 
 OUR FIRST DEATH. 
 
 A hospital was soon established, built like the 
 cabins but upon a larger scale. This was soon 
 crowded and the men began to die. John Crosland 
 was the first of our company to go. We made a cof- 
 fin of green boards for his body which I kept in my 
 tent all night. I wrote a notice of his sickness and 
 death upon the lid and sent it with his body to his 
 
Sergeant Albert Sniff, 
 Co. "G," 32d O. V. I. 
 
 Prominent minister in M. E. Church, died Sept. 1, 1904, 
 whose daughter, Miss Madge, rendered valuable assist- 
 ance as stenographer in compiling this book. 
 
OUR FIRST BATTLE. 21 
 
 people near Uniontown, also a copy to the Zanesville 
 Courier. I give this in marked contrast to the way 
 we disposed of the dead later on. 
 
 Many became so dangerously ill that Colonel Ford 
 procured an order to move his regiment down the 
 mountain twelve miles to the town of Beverly for 
 better accommodations, and here new quarters had 
 to be built. While we were at work on these build- 
 ings Colonel Ford received an order from General 
 Milroy, then in command, dated December loth, to 
 report with his regiment back to the Gap to join in 
 an advance on the enemy stationed at Camp Alle- 
 ghany, thirty miles east of the Gap on the road to 
 Staunton. 
 
 At this time many of the line officers and all the 
 field officers, except the Colonel, were either sick or 
 absent. The Colonel showed me the order, saying 
 that neither he nor the regiment was able to make the 
 trip and that he was going to so report. 
 
 I knew that there was not the best feeling exist- 
 ing between the Colonel and General Milroy and that 
 this refusal would work an injury to both him and 
 the regiment, and I suggested that he send a copy of 
 the order to the different companies with a statement 
 of the regiment's condition, but calling for volunteers 
 for the expedition. This he said he would do if I 
 would go in command. I told him I was willing to 
 go, but as the Captain of Company "G" I was not the 
 ranking officer and not entitled to command. The 
 Colonel replied, 'T will arrange that matter. Those 
 who are ready for duty and whose commissions ante- 
 
22 RECOLLECTIONS OF A CAVALRYMAN. 
 
 date yours I will detail on some other duty and then 
 place the volunteers under your command and give 
 you a note to General Milroy explaining our condi- 
 tion here." 
 
 This was arranged, and about two hundred of the 
 best men and officers of the regiment, including fifty 
 of my own company under Lieutenant Westbrook, 
 reported for duty. We started ^at afternoon, De- 
 cember nth, 1861, with three days' rations and one 
 blanket each and marched six miles to Huttonville, 
 where we bunched together for the night in the fence 
 corners of a meadow at the foot of the mountain. 
 At 10 o'clock the next morning I reported to General 
 Milroy in the gap at the top and gave him Colonel 
 Ford's note. After dinner the brigade, consisting of 
 the 9th and 13th Indiana, the 25th Ohio and the de- 
 tachment of the 32d O. V. I., started over the road 
 of our night march six weeks before. We crossed 
 Cheat river and rested in the camp recently occupied 
 by the enemy. 
 
 I was surprised to find no empty bottles nor packs 
 of cards, but Sunday school papers, and, in one case, 
 a Testament with a mother's blessing written on the 
 fly leaf, and letters written by fathers, mothers, sis- 
 ters and sweethearts, all full of affection; some of 
 them from mothers urging their dear sons not to for- 
 get their prayers. These were addressed to the boys 
 of the I2th Georgia Regiment. This was a revelation 
 which went far to modify my feelings towards the 
 Southern people. 
 
CHAPTER 5. 
 Battle of Camp Alleghany. 
 
 At 2 o'clock A. M. December 13th, 1861, the com- 
 mand started, as it was General Milroy's hope to take 
 the enemy by surprise. When within three miles of 
 their camp, which was located on a plateau of the 
 Alleghanies, Colonel Moody was ordered to take his 
 regiment quietly around to the rear of the camp and 
 begin his attack when he heard our guns. 
 
 After a short rest we proceeded — our detachment 
 in front, followed by the 25th O. V. I. and the 13th 
 Indiana. In a strip of timber when nearing the camp, 
 our skirmishers encountered the enemy's pickets and 
 were fired upon and one of our advance badly 
 wounded. He was carried back along our column. 
 The men were so tired and sleepy that they were 
 marching almost mechanically, but were aroused by 
 the firing and were so badly affected by the sight and 
 the groaning of the wounded man that I sent word 
 to the Lieutenant commanding the skirmish line not 
 to send wounded men back along the column as it 
 had a bad effect upon the men. 
 
 Beyond the timber there was a field rising at an 
 angle of about fifteen degrees up to the plateau. On 
 this plateau the timber was still standing and back of 
 
 (23) 
 
24 RECOLLECTIONS OF A CAVALRYMAN. 
 
 it their barricades were constructed. We pressed 
 forward as rapidly as possible, driving the pickets 
 before us, and one of these we captured. We formed 
 into line, hoping to find the enemy unprepared, but 
 they were kneeling in line on the brow of the hill 
 waiting for us. My command formed our left flank; 
 the 13th Indiana, the right ; and the 25th O. V. I. the 
 center. When we came within close range they arose 
 with a terrible yell and fired upon us. But they made 
 the mistake common to all raw soldiers; in their ex- 
 citement they fired too high. We halted long enough 
 to return the fire but made the same mistake, for the 
 same reason. But the battle was on. We could 
 scarcely see them for the smoke, but the noise was 
 terrific. The men became confused and began 
 to waver. I myself felt uncomfortable until a brac- 
 ing thought came to me, and I called out, "Steady, 
 boys, keep steady. Remember we are making half 
 this noise." The brave fellows cheered and rushed 
 forward with shout, driving the enemy into the tim- 
 ber toward their works; and the roar of the battle 
 and the shouting was all along the line. 
 
 Close on our right a big, burly fellow of the 25th 
 was pressing ahead and shouting as he turned, "Come 
 on, boys, come on. Lets give 'em h-U". Soon a ball 
 from the front hit him in the heel ; he threw his gun 
 in the air and limped across our line shouting, "Oh, 
 Lordie, Oh, Lordie," in such a dismal way as to 
 raise, a laugh, which, however, helped to steady the 
 nerves of all the boys that saw him. 
 
BATTLE OF CAMP ALLEGHANY. 25 
 
 We had driven the enemy to the edge of the tim- 
 ber but saw reinforcements coming from their works 
 to attack our right flank. Nothing had been heard 
 from Colonel Moody, who should have been on hand 
 to give them something else to do. They charged our 
 right flank in force. The 13th Indiana held them for 
 a time but was overpowered and began slowly to fall 
 back. I called to our boys to take to the trees and 
 hold their ground. This; they did for a while, but the 
 enemy was pressing the 25th regiment hard and soon 
 we had to fall back to the woods, fighting as well as a 
 retreat would permit. The lack of Colonel Moody's 
 help made the day a failure. 
 
 Earlier in the battle, George Harvey, one of my 
 men, called to me and said there was something the 
 matter with his gun — it would not "go off" and had 
 hurt his shoulder the last time he fired. I told him to 
 throw it down and find another one. After the fight 
 he brought his gun to me to examine. The muzzle 
 was slightly spread, showing two small cracks. Upon 
 unbreeching the gun we found a Minnie ball at the 
 bottom of the barrel with the point down. We used 
 round balls in our muskets, while the enemy, with 
 better arms, used Minnie balls. It was plainly evident 
 that at the instant Harvey had fired, a ball from the 
 enemy had entered his gun and produced the effect 
 he had complained of. 
 
 Bullets have been known to meet in the air, but 
 this is the only instance I ever heard of during the 
 
26 RFXOLLECTIONS OF A CAVALRYMAN. 
 
 war in which a bullet of one side crossed the line to 
 hide itself in the barrel of the other. 
 
 We listened anxiously for Colonel Moody's guns, 
 but his guide was misled in the darkness and the 
 troops which he was to engage were free to rein- 
 force those opposing us. 
 
 They concentrated on our right flank and center 
 which began to fall back across our rear. I ordered 
 my men to follow slowly, which they did. They had 
 been fighting well in the front, and I learned after- 
 wards that S. H. Prior, one of my best and bravest 
 men, had been killed while pressing forward. It is 
 a strange fact that two nights before the battle he 
 came to me and said, "Captain, I have a presentment 
 that I will be killed in the next engagement ; it troubles 
 me and I have come to tell you and to ask if you 
 would join me in prayer." This was a remarkable 
 incident ; but I took his hand and we walked out to a 
 log and knelt together there. 
 
 The yells of the enemy quickened our pace, but 
 my brother Robert at my side with his tall comrades 
 of the first platoon, said, "William, let us not run." 
 We all walked instead, at a lively pace, it is true, but 
 in good order. In a short time my brother stopped 
 and said, "William, I am hit." I caught him and 
 asked, where. He replied, "On my leg somewhere. 
 I don't know exactly where." I took him by the arm 
 and he tried to walk, but fell. I told the boys to 
 spread a blanket on which we laid him, and four of 
 
BATTLE OF CAMP ALLEGIIAXV. 27 
 
 his comrades carried him down the hill. Six of the 
 first platoon to which he belonged walked behind with 
 me, all armed and determined to protect him at any 
 cost. The enemy made a rush with a shout, and Rob- 
 ert said, 'Tut me down, boys, put me down. Don't 
 get captured." But they all replied, "Not much, we 
 will never leave you, Robert !" 
 
 I bitterly thought of the injunction which my 
 father had given me on his death-bed three months 
 before when he feebly said, "Take good care of 
 Robert, my son; take good care of the boy and be a 
 father to him." This hour was the only time during 
 the war in which I ever courted danger, and I remem- 
 ber the wish that I were as big as a barn that I might 
 shelter the brave young boy from their flying bul- 
 lets. His comrades carried him from the field, while 
 we maintained a guard retreating slowly behind him. 
 The enemy soon left us, preferring to follow men 
 whose backs they saw. We carried Robert to the 
 wagons where we made a fire, for his foot was 
 cold. The ball had gone through his leg just below 
 the knee and had broken the smaller bone and cut the 
 nerve. The surgeon said, 'Tt is a bad wound." 
 
 Shortly^ after this, Coloneli Moody's guns were 
 heard on the far side of the enemy's camp, but it was 
 too late. Some of the dead were left on the field but 
 the wounded were brought off. I did not then know 
 that Sam Prior was killed. Their wounds were 
 dressed; they were then placed in wagons because 
 we had no ambulances. I filled one of them with my 
 
28 RECOLLECTIONS OF A CAVALRYMAN. 
 
 brother and four other wounded; gave my horse to 
 Lieutenant Westbrook and drove the team myself on 
 our return that cold December night. 
 
 This was the saddest trip I ever made. The 
 mountain road was rocky and rough. The moaning 
 of the wounded men and their continual plea for 
 water made the night dismal. Water could be pro- 
 cured only by breaking the ice in the horses' foot- 
 prints of the night before. When we arrived at mid- 
 night at the Mountain Gap two of the boys in the 
 wagon were dead. On my return to our camp at 
 Beverly next day I found that my counsin, Henry 
 Hamilton, whom I had left very low, had died, and 
 his body had been taken home by his brother Arthur, 
 the day before. The father was notified and came 
 but missed the wagon on the mud road between Graf- 
 ton and Beverly. 
 
 On examining my brother Robert's wound, our 
 surgeon, Dr. Brundage, asked me if we had an ex- 
 perienced surgeon at home. I told him we had and 
 asked why he inquired. He said, "This wound is a 
 bad one for which the books prescribe amputation 
 and I would rather not take such a responsibility." I 
 got a common springless wagon, laid him on straw, 
 the best I could find ; then I wrapped him in blankets 
 and drove him forty miles to Grafton where I put 
 him on the cars for Zanesville. 
 
 After an examination there, Dr. Hildreth said, 
 "The leg should have been amputated before, blood 
 poison has begun and there is now not more than 
 
BATTLE OF CAMP ALLEGPIANY. 29 
 
 one chance in twenty to save his life. If it is 
 not done, there is no chance." The doctor explained 
 the situation in the presence of mother, my brother 
 John and me. Robert was told. He replied, "I am 
 willing to submit to whatever you think best. His 
 leg was taken off, but mortification had begun. He 
 suffered but little in the week he lived. He was fond 
 of music, and after singing one of his favorite Sun- 
 day school songs in a gentle, sweet voice, he bright- 
 ened up as he turned his head to me and said, "Wil- 
 liam, they can't say we played the coward, can they?" 
 
 He died at noon the next day. We started home 
 with the body in the afternoon, the hearse draped 
 with the flag for which he had given his life. Two 
 companies of the 78th O. V. L, then organizing at 
 Zanesville, were detailed by Colonel Leggett as an 
 escort through the city. On reaching home at 9 P. M. 
 it was found that it would not be advisable to wait 
 until morning, and at midnight we laid his body to 
 rest beside the grave of his father, made three months 
 before, and that of his cousin Henry who died in camp 
 the day that Robert was shot. 
 
 This was a severe beginning of the war expe- 
 rience for our family, and well calculated to increase 
 a feeling of bitterness towards the men who had 
 brought on the war. But I could not feel a hatred 
 for the soldier whose bullet had struck down my 
 brother. One of the regiments we were fighting 
 was the 12th Georgia, in whose deserted camp we 
 found the letters which had impressed me with the 
 fact that they religiously believed that they were fight- 
 
30 RECOLLECTIONS OF A CAVALRYMAN. 
 
 ing for a just cause for which their mothers were 
 praying, and I felt even then that I could in sadness 
 take the hand of the young soldier who fired the shot, 
 in recognition of the fact that he was as faithful to his 
 teachings as I was to mine. 
 
 One of the greatest friends we had while our 
 company remained in Beverly was Mrs. Arnold, the 
 wife of the most prominent citizen of the town. She 
 was a strong Union woman and a faithful friend of 
 our sick and wounded boys, often taking them home 
 and caring for them, supplying delicacies which they 
 could get nowhere else. Mrs. Arnold was especially 
 interesting to us as being the sister and only near 
 relative of Stonewall Jackson, the greatest military 
 genius of the South, but of whom she seldom spoke 
 except to express regret that he had taken up arms 
 against his country. In her declining years she made 
 her home at Shepard's Sanatarium in Columbus, 
 Ohio, and one of the interesting features of our re- 
 union here was the informal reception she always 
 gave to the boys of Co. G. She died in 1912. 
 
 While at Beverly we had an opportunity to resume 
 company drill and to become familiar with the duties 
 of a soldier, especially that of camp and picket guard, 
 upon which the safety of the camp depends. 
 
 On one occasion I induced the picket guard to let 
 me through the line at night without the countersign. 
 Next morning I put him under arrest for doing it. 
 This was a lesson that was never forgotten. I should 
 have been sent in under guard to headquarters by the 
 Sergeant. 
 
CHAPTER 6. 
 
 Advance from Cheat Mountain and our Experience 
 With Foreign Adventurers. 
 
 When the spring of 1862 opened, our troops were 
 ordered to advance on the Staunton road into the 
 Shenandoah Valley, but Company "G" of the 32d 
 Ohio was to remain at Beverly until the sick and 
 wounded could be removed. 
 
 On April 20th an order came from the colonel to 
 bring my company via Grafton on the B. & O. R. R., 
 to Martinsburg and report to the regiment on Cedar 
 Creek in the Shenandoah Valley. En route I received 
 an order to stop off temporarily at New Creek, now 
 called Keyser, to protect the railroad, for it was ru- 
 mored that the enemy was coming to tear it up at 
 that point. Here I was put in charge of a new style 
 of battery, consisting of twenty small steel guns of 
 one pound caliber for sharp shooting artillery prac- 
 tice. Some two weeks afterwards two foreign officers 
 appeared and presented an order from General Fre- 
 mont, then in command of the Army of the Shenan- 
 doah Valley, appointing them captain and lieutenant 
 respectively in the American Artillery, and directing 
 them to proceed to New Creek and take command of 
 an infantry company with a battery of artillery which 
 
 (31) 
 
^2 RECOLLECTIONS OF A CAVALRYMAN. 
 
 they would find there. The captain then produced an 
 order directing me to turn over my company to Cap- 
 tain Von Otto by order of Major General Fremont. 
 
 The captain was very gracious and told me he be- 
 longed to the Austrian nobility and was an artillery 
 officer on temporary leave of absence. His order 
 gave him authority to draw on the post quarter- 
 master for horses to take the company and battery to 
 General Fremont's headquarters at Cedar Creek. 
 
 This whole proceeding seemed to me arbitrary and 
 I felt that General Fremont was not warranted 
 in depriving me of my command without a cause 
 and taking my company from the regiment to 
 which it belonged without the knowledge of the 
 colonel under whose order I was acting, simply to 
 accommodate some foreign adventurers ; but as I was 
 anxious to reach Cedar Creek and read a copy of the 
 order to the company and put them under the orders 
 of Captain Von Otto. General Fremont was better 
 known in Europe at that time than any man in our 
 army, having once been a candidate for the Pres- 
 idency. He became surrounded by a lot of idle ad- 
 venturers known as "Soldiers of Fortune", who 
 rushed over here to assist us in our domestic troubles 
 of which they knew little and cared less. They came 
 to instruct us in the science of war, by which they 
 hoped to reap some glory and a comfortable share of 
 American gold. 
 
 One of them came to our camp in West Virginia 
 the year before, when General Fremont was com- 
 
ADVANCE FROM CHEAT MOUNTAIN. 33 
 
 manding that department. He claimed to be a major 
 from some European army and had an authority from 
 Fremont to be placed in command of scouting parties 
 in search of the enemy, and ''bring on a fight," the 
 ''bloodier the better," and "get his name up" as he said. 
 But he was not given a chance and soon disappeared. 
 
 I was therefore not favorably impressed with 
 Captain Von Otto and his Lieutenant, nor with the 
 prospective value of the services and military instruc- 
 tion that Austria was about to furnish through the 
 services of these men. Their manner and imperfect 
 English when they undertook to instruct the com- 
 pany made their efforts seem ridiculous and the men 
 would laugh at their mistakes. This would cause 
 them to lose their temper and storm and swear until 
 the drill became a farce. The arrogant way in which 
 they treated the men destroyed respect. 
 
 As the captain was tall and slim he was referred 
 to as "Tongs," while the lieutenant who was short 
 and thick was known as "Tubs." "Tongs" and 
 "Tubs" were the names by which they were known 
 with the company, and this, the boys said was "the 
 long and short of it." 
 
 Their idea of the relations maintained among of- 
 ficers was good enough, but their manner toward the 
 enlisted men was overbearing and generally objec- 
 tionable and not calculated to secure discipline nor re- 
 spect from American volunteers. 
 
 One hot day, for example, the captain dismounted 
 
34 RECOLLECTIONS OF A CAVALRYMAN. 
 
 with polite ceremony to talk to me, but with an over- 
 done imperiousness he called to a soldier near by, 
 ''Here, fellow, hold my horse." The boy, I may men- 
 tion, had been one of my school pupils and was one 
 of my best soldiers. He is now the Honorable 
 Charles W. Black, a prominent citizen of Iowa and 
 late member of the state legislature. He obeyed 
 promptly, but the flies were troublesome, and the 
 horse with a sudden turn switched the captain slightly 
 with his tail. Thereupon he became furious, cursed 
 the boy and drew his sword as if to strike him. Of 
 course I stopped him, saying that would not do in the 
 American Army. Turning to me he was prompt to 
 apologize. "Oh, don't apologize to me," said I, 
 "speak to the boy". But this suggestion was quite 
 foreign to his ideas of army discipline. The familiar 
 relations between American officers and volunteer 
 soldiers disgusted him, while his assumed superiority 
 over the men disgusted them, and efficient coopera- 
 tion was impossible. I felt sure that in this whole 
 affair General Fremont had transcended his authority, 
 that the President would not knowingly permit it, and 
 I determined to make the issue before the war de- 
 partment in Washington. 
 
 About the middle of June, Captain Von Otto re- 
 ceived an order to report with his new command to 
 General Fremont near Cedar Creek and transporta- 
 tion was provided. The company's rifles had been 
 boxed and I ordered Lieutenant Westbrook to have 
 them put in a car. On arriving at Martinsburg, in- 
 
Chas. W. Black. VVm. Spencer. Volney Selser. 
 
ADVANCE FROM CHEAT MOUNTAIN. 35 
 
 Stead of turning them in to the post-quartermaster as 
 Captain Von Otto had suggested, Lieutenant West- 
 brook placed our rifles in the wagons. After three 
 days march we arrived at Cedar Creek. The battery 
 was placed in camp; I then reported to Lieutenant 
 Colonel Sweeney, commanding the 32d O. V. L then 
 at Cedar Creek. The colonel was a West Point man 
 but his poor health had interfered with his field ser- 
 vice. When I explained how I had been relieved and 
 my company given to a foreigner he was indignant 
 and said, "I have had no notice of this nor that your 
 company has been detached from my command, and 
 I order you to report with your men to your place in 
 the regiment." 
 
CHAPTER 7. 
 
 Arrested by Order of General Fremont. — Win- 
 chester and Harper's Ferry. — First Battalion, 
 Ninth Ohio Cavalry. 
 
 This I did, and as I expected, General Fremont 
 had the company ordered back to Captain Von Otto 
 and issued an order placing me in arrest. I was given 
 three days in which to prepare for trial for dis- 
 obedience of orders. Colonel Sweeney took me to the 
 headquarters of our brigade commander. General J. 
 Saunders Piatt, where we met the general and his 
 adjutant. Colonel Don Piatt, the well known writer 
 and war correspondent. To both of them I gave a 
 detailed statement of what had occurred. They be- 
 came deeply interested and sent to General Fremont's 
 headquarters for a copy of the order depriving me of 
 my command and giving it to Captain Von Otto. 
 
 A feeling existed throughout the army that the 
 foreign element was having too much influence with 
 Fremont. The pompous and ceremonial style of 
 most of these adventurers was more in keeping with 
 that of a foreign court than of an American camp. 
 Our officers were becoming sick of it, and often when 
 returning from business interviews at headquarters 
 they could be heard repeating that wicked formula, 
 "Damn the Dutch." Much interest was aroused when 
 
 (36) 
 
ARRESTED BY GENERAL FREMONT, ETf. yj 
 
 my case became known and it was intimated that per- 
 haps the General might do well to look after his own 
 affairs. 
 
 I received plenty of assistance in preparing my de- 
 fence. On the morning of the day set for the trial we 
 noticed the General's splendid escort of loo men 
 standing by their horses in line in front of head- 
 quarters. A negro in charge of his magnificent white 
 horse stood at the head of the line. Soon General 
 Fremont appeared in full uniform with sword buckled 
 by his side. At a given signal the bugler sounded the 
 call to mount. All as one man sprang into saddles, 
 and as the bugle sounded, "Fours right into column, 
 March", they followed their leader at a gallop. And 
 thus the flag of the General passed over the hill to- 
 ward Washington and was seen in the valley no more, 
 for the President had relieved him of his command. 
 Fremont was too radical for the times and lacked the 
 patience of Lincoln. 
 
 My friends and I went back to headquarters. Gen- 
 eral Schenck of Ohio, the ranking general, had al- 
 ready been placed in command. At the proper time I 
 reported for trial. He asked what the case was. 
 When I told him, he looked at the entry docket, and 
 told me the case was dismissed and that I was to 
 resume the command of my company in the regiment. 
 
 The next day being the 4th of July, our brigade 
 celebrated by reading the Declaration of Independence 
 on the field where, later on, the defeat of an army was 
 to be turned into victory by the arrival of a single 
 
38 RECOLLECTIONS OF A CAVALRYMAN. 
 
 man, as immortalized in Read's poem, "Sheridan's 
 Ride." 
 
 The following day the entire brigade proceeded 
 under orders to Winchester. Although this town was 
 less than ''twenty miles away" that march was the most 
 fatiguing that I ever endured. The sun was like 
 a furnace in blast. The limestone road was nearly an 
 inch deep in dust; and this, stirred up by the tramp 
 of four thousand men, filled the air so that it was 
 distressing either to breathe or to see. The 
 springs along the way were entirely insufficient, and 
 our thirst became almost unendurable. We reached 
 Winchester that night with many of the men in am- 
 bulances. 
 
 After a few days' rest we began building fortifi- 
 cations on the hills behind the town. These were 
 afterwards captured and retaken many times during 
 the course of the war by the opposing forces. The 
 brigade, under command of General Saunders Piatt, 
 was engaged in this work for about a month. 
 
 On the 15th of July some of the boys of Company 
 "G", imposing on the leniency and good nature of 
 Lieutenant W^estbrook, who was officer of the guard, 
 that day, persuaded him to permit them, against orders, 
 to go through the lines on a private foraging expedi- 
 tion, their object being to capture some choice honey 
 they knew of in the vicinity. They got the honey, one 
 man carrying the hive and the other two beating off 
 the bees as they came out of the box, but on the way 
 back they were fired upon by a party of rebel scouts. 
 
Capt, Warner Mills. 
 
ARRESTED BY GENERAL FREMONT, ETC. 39 
 
 They all ran but Nelson Croft who was carrying the 
 hive, stumbled and fell. The other two, supposing 
 he was killed, hurried into camp aand so reported. A 
 searching party was sent out from headquarters, but 
 no trace of the missing man could be found. There 
 was no help for the poor lieutenant. Here was a 
 clear violation of a well known military law with dis- 
 astrous consequences. He begged me to intercede 
 for him but I could not help him and he was dis- 
 missed from the service. The health of my First 
 Lieutenant was such that he had been of little ser- 
 vice to the company and had resigned at my sugges- 
 tion. Westbrook had taken his place, and Sergeant 
 Guthrie became first, and Sergeant Mills, second lieu- 
 tenant. Company "F" of our regiment at its own 
 request was taken from the regiment and given a 
 battery. 
 
 I was asked by Colonel Ford if I could secure an- 
 other company in old Muskingum County as good as 
 the one I had. I told him I thought I could as quite 
 a number of the boys in my company had friends at 
 home who had written asking if places could be 
 found for them. It was thought that Winchester 
 could now be held. General Milroy, who commanded 
 at the battle of Camp Alleghany and who was now 
 in command at Winchester, approved of the plan and 
 I was detailed on recruiting service with authority to 
 select three enlisted men to assist me. I named Ser- 
 geant William Sims, Arthur T. Hamilton of Com- 
 pany "G" and Thomas Cochran of Company "B" and 
 
40 RECOLLECTIONS OF A CAVALRYMAN. 
 
 we proceeded at once to Columbus and secured 
 recruiting commissions from Governor Tod. In less 
 than three weeks we had 53 men. By this time Stone- 
 wall Jackson had driven the Union forces out of 
 Winchester into Harper's Ferry and captured with- 
 out a fight about 11,000 men, including our regiment 
 and my company — the most humiliating affair of the 
 war! 
 
 Lieutenant Guthrie was so affected by the humilia- 
 tion that he shed tears like a child, and his chagrin 
 was increased when he found in one of the Louisiana 
 regiments, a number of men of the New Orleans com- 
 pany to which he had belonged. 
 
 I reported to Governor Tod that I could not con- 
 tinue to recruit for a paroled regiment and asked for 
 other orders. He said to remain, nominally at least, 
 on recruiting service and if anything occurred by 
 which he could use me he would call for me. In 
 about two wrecks he sent for me and said he had a call 
 from Washington for two regiments of cavalry. 
 
 "I will select two camps, one in Cleveland, the 
 other in Zanesville," he said. "I will give you the 
 organization of the 9th Regiment with headquarters 
 at Zanesville. An order will be issued that the drafted 
 men who will go as volunteers will have the privilege 
 of selecting their commands; otherwise they will be 
 assigned to the regiment having the most need of 
 them. The best men who have been drafted will go 
 as volunteers and will prefer to ride. This will give 
 you an advantage, and with the volunteers you will 
 
ARRESTED BY GENERAL FREMONT, ETC. 4I 
 
 be able to enlist throughout the country, will secure 
 material to make a first-class regiment." 
 
 I thanked the governor but said that these men 
 were recruited for the 32d O. V. Infantry where they 
 already had a large number of friends, and as they 
 were not as yet mustered in they might refuse to go. 
 ''Not very likely," replied the governor, *'as all boys 
 like to ride horseback." "Besides," I said, "I know 
 very little about the cavalry service, and have a poor 
 opinion of it from what I have seen." "You know a 
 horse when you see one?" he asked with a twinkle in 
 his eye." "I was brought up on a farm," I said. 
 "That is about as much as any of them can say," he 
 replied. 
 
 This order from the governor explains how I be- 
 came a cavalryman. I was censured at the time by 
 boys of the 32d O. V. I. and their friends at home 
 for leaving the regiment, but afterwards when they 
 had learned how little a soldier in the service has to 
 do with his own disposal, any feeling that they may 
 have had was forgotten. And by the time the war 
 closed the company was better and more efficiently 
 officered under Captain Mills than when I was taken 
 from it. I am glad to say that my name is still borne 
 upon its muster roll and called at the annual reunion 
 of the survivors as Captain Hamilton to which I am 
 proud to answer whenever I can. 
 
 On October ist, 1862, "Camp Zanesville" was 
 opened to receive the drafted men. Recruiting of- 
 ficers from regiments in the field arrived to secure 
 
42 RECOLLECTIONS OF A CAVALRYMAN. 
 
 men to fill vacancies in their respective commands. 
 The Governor issued, as I recommended from time 
 to time, commissions for recruiting the Ninth Ohio 
 Volunteer Cavalry. Skeletons of the different com- 
 panies were made up, and recruiting was prosecuted 
 vigorously. 
 
 The Tenth Ohio Volunteer Cavalry was assigned 
 to Captain Smith of the regular army, to be recruited 
 at Cleveland. 
 
 On November ist I received an order from Ad- 
 jutant General Hill to report the number of recruits 
 I had in camp. This I interpreted literally, under- 
 standing it not to include the fifty-three infantry 
 volunteers and a number of new recruits living in the 
 county, to whom I had given leave to visit their homes 
 until called for. I reported six hundred and forty 
 men, embraced in seven companies, which I had or- 
 ganized. I then received an order to send three of 
 my companies, "A", "B" and *'C" to report to Cap- 
 tain Smith of the Tenth O. V. C at Cleveland. This 
 singular and unexpected order was explained by the 
 fact that Governor Tod had received a *'Hurry" call 
 from Washington for a regiment of cavalry, and as 
 Captain Smith had reported seven hundred recruits, 
 he could, with the three companies from me, take the 
 field before I could. 
 
 This is the only instance during the war in which 
 I felt that I had not received fair play from the Gov- 
 ernment. The Tenth Ohio Volunteer Cavalry was 
 now completed and fully organized which enabled Cap- 
 
ARRESTED BY GENERAL FREMONT, ETC. 43 
 
 tain Smith to be mustered as a Colonel of Cavalry and 
 remain on detached duty at Washington while his 
 regiment served through the war under command of 
 Lt. Colonel Sanderson. 
 
 My new companies, as '*A", "B", **C", and ''D" 
 were organized as the First Battalion of the Ninth 
 Ohio Volunteer Cavalry, the first named company 
 being composed of Muskingum County men, including 
 the fifty-three originally recruited for the Thirty- 
 second Infantry. 
 
 On November 15th I was ordered to Camp Denni- 
 son, and on the 19th of November the battalion was 
 mustered and commissions were issued as follows: 
 
 W. D. Hamilton, Major, Age 30. 
 
 Co. A. Age. Co. C. Age. 
 
 Wm. Sims, Captain.... 31 E. Hogue, Captain 38 
 
 John W. McCumber, 1st Wm. Winnett, 1st. Lieut. 25 
 
 Lieut 35 John Stuart, 2nd. Lieut. 44 
 
 Thomas Cochran, 2nd. 
 Lieut 26 
 
 Co. B. Age. Co. D. Age. 
 
 John Williamson, Captain 36 E. Hoagland, Captain.. 48 
 
 James B. Daniels, 1st. S. Hill, 1st. Lieut 36 
 
 Lieut 36 A. T. Hamilton, 2nd. 
 
 R. D. Mason, 2nd. Lieut 27 Lieut 20 
 
 We received our horses and full cavalry equip- 
 ment with blankets and clothing for the men, and the 
 ensuing four months were devoted to drilling horses 
 and men, as well as officers, in the line of their duty. 
 
CHAPTER 8. 
 
 The Knights of the Golden Circle. — Service in 
 East Kentucky. — East Tennessee Scout. 
 
 While recruiting at Zanesville, a young man about 
 my own age, whom I knew slightly, called on me, 
 saying he had concluded to enter the service, and 
 thought that he would like to join my command. I 
 was a little surprised, and felt somewhat compli- 
 mented, he was above the average in intelligence 
 and ambition. He had been something of a politician 
 and a disciple of Vallandigham, whose influence in 
 opposition to the war had made the draft necessary 
 in Ohio. 
 
 Among my recruits were a number of drafted 
 men who had become volunteers for the privilege of 
 choosing the regiment in which they should serve. I 
 told this young man that I would be glad to have him 
 with me, that while he would have to come as a 
 private, I would see that his worth was properly 
 recognized. He said that was all he wanted, and so 
 I took his name. Later on I appointed him acting 
 quartermaster sergeant, and he proved energetic in 
 supplying the men with proper clothing to protect 
 them during the extremely cold weather of the Jan- 
 uary that followed. 
 
 (44) 
 
KNIGHTS OF THE GOLDEN CIRCLE, ETC. 45 
 
 One morning the assistant I had given him came 
 to my quarters and handed me an unfinished letter, 
 the substance of which was as follows : 
 
 "Dear Jake : 
 
 I have been here now about two months, and have made 
 the friendly acquaintance of most of the men of this com- 
 mand. Many of them were drafted. They don't like the drill 
 nor their officers, and complain that they can hardly keep 
 from freezing. I feel sure that when I get the word, I can 
 bring with me more than half the men fully armed." 
 
 When we remember the secret intrigues of the 
 agents of the confederacy in Canada about this time 
 to liberate the rebel prisoners confined at Johnson's 
 Island and elsewhere, the significance of this paper 
 can be realized. 
 
 I asked the soldier who brought the letter to ex- 
 plain it. He said that the sergeant was writing at his 
 desk when one of the boys came to get a blanket. 
 The sergeant hastily crumpled up the sheet he was 
 writing on and threw it in the stove as he went to get 
 the blanket. 
 
 'T had just put some fresh coal in the stove", he 
 said, "and so got it out before it took fire." 
 
 "Why did you do that?" I inquired. 
 
 "Well," said he, "I don't understand the sergeant. 
 He does a good deal of writing that he is very care- 
 ful about it and seems to have secret talks with some 
 of the men." 
 
 "Do you know of any dissatisfaction among the 
 men?" I asked. 
 
46 ■ RECOLLECTIONS OF A CAVALRYMAN. 
 
 "No," he replied, "except that some of them com- 
 plain that the barracks are cold." 
 
 "Do they complain of their officers?" 
 
 "I never heard any complaints". 
 
 I thanked him for the paper, and told him to say 
 nothing about it. Next day I happened to meet the 
 sergeant near my office and invited him in. We 
 talked for a while casually about Zanesville acquaint- 
 ances, and presently I mentioned one, Jake Parkison, 
 a recently defeated candidate for sheriff on the Dem- 
 ocratic ticket, asking: 
 
 "Have you heard from Jake Parkison lately?" 
 
 He flushed and seemed ill at ease, but replied, 
 
 "No, I don't know much about Jake." 
 
 "Don't you ever write to him?" said I. 
 
 "No." 
 
 "Isn't this your writing?" 
 
 He stared and was silent. 
 
 "You know your own writing and so do I, and I 
 take it that you are writing to Jake Parkison. Now, 
 explain it," said I. 
 
 "Oh, Major," he floundered, "I didn't mean any- 
 thing. It was cold and I hadn't anything to do and 
 just scribbled without any purpose." 
 
 "It was a surprise to me when you proposed to 
 join my command", said I. "I understand it now. 
 It has been known for some time that there is an 
 organization in the North whose purpose is to thwart 
 the efforts of the government to put down this re- 
 bellion. Your friend Jake is at the head of it in 
 
KNIGHTS OF THE GOLDEN CIRCLE, ETC. 47 
 
 Muskingum County and you joined my command for 
 the purpose of co-operating with him. Now, I place 
 you under arrest, and will file a charge of treason 
 against you." 
 
 The wretched man was overwhelmed. He fell on 
 his knees and implored me for the sake of his wife 
 and his child, and for God's sake, not to do so. I 
 sent for his captain and directed that the accused be 
 held in the camp guard house until further orders. 
 With my permission he sent for his father, an igno- 
 rant but honest well-to-do German farmer, who at 
 first did not seem to appreciate the seriousness of his 
 son's offense. But when he learned the punishment 
 for treason his terror and anguish were great. 
 
 "Oh, my God, my God", he exclaimed. "You 
 won't have him hanged. He is my only son." 
 
 He went on to say that he had worked hard for 
 this boy, and he had two good farms he intended to 
 leave the young man, but that he would give me one 
 of them if I would let him go free. I told him not to 
 say that, but assured him his son should have a fair 
 trial, but that I could do nothing more nor less. 
 
 The young man was turned over with a report of 
 the facts in the case to the provost marshal in Cin- 
 cinnati, where he remained in jail while we were at 
 the front too busy with the enemy to give him any 
 attention. 
 
 In the meantime the deep laid plans of the agents 
 of the confederacy and the "Knights of the Golden 
 Circle" to liberate and arm the Johnson's Island 
 
48 RECOLLECTIONS OF A CAVALRYMAN. 
 
 prisoners were frustrated by the capture of the con- 
 spirators who had quietly taken control of a revenue 
 cutter, and steamed into Sandusky Harbor, and who 
 were as quietly arrested by the secret service officers 
 just as they had risen from the banquet tables to drink 
 to the success of their enterprise. Their whole scheme 
 thus proved a failure; they were made prisoners and 
 the leader was hanged. 
 
 Our sergeant was finally discharged from prison 
 and sent to join his command after the taking of 
 Savannah. I sent him to his company, but none of his 
 old companions would bunk or mess with him, and 
 during our march through the Carolinas, he was cap- 
 tured while foraging, and we saw nothing more of 
 him during the war. 
 
 An account of this incident was published in the 
 Zanesville Courier at the time, and shortly afterward 
 Parkison concluded that he could find more con- 
 genial company in the South. He was mistaken in 
 the character of the southern people, and disap- 
 pointed in the reception which his story earned him, 
 he never returned to Ohio, and died in Tennessee. 
 
 On April 12th I received an order to report with 
 my command to General Wilcox commanding the De- 
 partment of Eastern Kentucky, at Lexington. 
 
 We crossed the Ohio river at Cincinnati, and on 
 the evening of the 15th went into camp a few miles 
 beyond Georgetown, in a field where the blue grass 
 was about eight inches high. We picketed our horses 
 so that they could eat what grass they wanted, though 
 
KNIGHTS OF THE GOLDEN CIRCLE, ETC. 49 
 
 we carried corn with us. While our own suppers 
 were being prepared, a man with a broad rimmed, 
 soft, white hat came galloping up from a fine country- 
 house in the vicinity and called out : 
 
 "Where is the boss of this here caravan?" 
 
 When I was pointed out to him, he dashed up and 
 haughtily repeated his inquiry. 
 
 "I am the man you are looking for," I replied. 
 
 ''Well, sir," he continued, "I am Dick Osborne, 
 Sah. This is my land, Sah; two thousand acres, and 
 I want to know by what authority you break into my 
 field in this mannah and take possession of it without 
 my permission, Sah. I presume you are Yankees from 
 the North. Mr. Morgan and his men have visited me 
 and have shown themselves to be gentlemen. We 
 southern men are gentlemen, Sah, an' expect to be 
 treated as gentlemen." 
 
 'Well, Sir," said I, "we are gentlemen from the 
 North, and we are here by authority of the United 
 States government. We are instructed to procure 
 from the region through which we pass such provision 
 for our horses as is needed. In the morning I shall 
 call at your residence and give you a voucher for 
 what I have taken, which will be paid by the govern- 
 ment when you prove your loyalty, but I suggest that 
 your friendship for Mr. Morgan will not help you 
 any." 
 
 Our visitor became quite affable before he bade 
 us good night, even inviting me to come and spend 
 
 4 
 
50 RECOLLECTIONS OF A CAVALRYMAN. 
 
 the night at his house, which, of course, I declined 
 to do. 
 
 When we reached Lexington I reported to Gen- 
 eral Wilcox, and received orders to proceed to Clay 
 County to protect the Unionists of Eastern Kentucky ; 
 to consult freely with the Honorable John C. White, 
 a Union member of the Kentucky legislature, to 
 watch the movements of the enemy at Cumberland 
 Gap to prevent work at the salt works, and to guard 
 against disturbance in that locality. 
 
 While stationed at London, Kentucky, two men 
 of Company "C" deserted in the night. They were 
 drafted men between thirty and forty years of age, 
 "Vallandigham Democrats", and had no heart in the 
 war. I sent four horsemen in pursuit, who overtook 
 them about eighteen miles from camp, on the road 
 to Ohio. I explained to them how desertion was re- 
 garded in military law; how it was visited with the 
 severest punishment, even death; and then directed 
 their captains to place them in the guard house, and 
 have them "bucked and gagged" as provided in the 
 regulations, for two hours a day until further orders. 
 
 This disgraceful punishment was inflicted by seat- 
 ing the culprits on the floor, and placing a two foot 
 stick under the bend of knees, and over the bend of 
 his arms, his hands being tied together firmly. 
 Another stick about eight inches long was placed 
 across his open mouth, and fastened with cords be- 
 hind his neck. So the man remained "bucked and 
 gagged." 
 
KNIGHTS OF THE GOLDEN CIRCLE, ETC. 51 
 
 In the afternoon I went out to the guard house 
 and saw these two men sitting on the floor in that 
 condition, and I then concluded that for a serious 
 violation of military law a man might be shot, but I 
 would never again subject an American soldier to a 
 humiliation like this. Yet, strange to say, it was not 
 infrequently resorted to in our volunteer army. 
 
 Accordingly I sent for the captain and changed the 
 punishment, ordering that fifty pounds of broken 
 stones be put into grain sacks, that one should be 
 fastened on the back of each man, and that they 
 should thus be marched over the parade ground for 
 two hours a day for two weeks; and the case was 
 explained in an order published to the command. 
 
 These were the only desertions I had during the 
 war, and the most severe punishment I ever inflicted 
 for anything. 
 
 I had been given as a scout and guide a Tennes- 
 seean by the name of Fullington. He was a deputy 
 sheriff of Claiborne County and a member of the First 
 Tennessee (loyal) Infantry, — a typical mountaineer, 
 with an inveterate hatred of the "rebels." 
 
 One evening the pickets brought in a prisoner in 
 citizens' clothes, who had been caught slipping around 
 inside of our lines. I questioned him in the presence 
 of Fullington. He was a simple-minded mountaineer 
 about twenty-five years old. He admitted that he be- 
 longed to a rebel regiment, and said his colonel had 
 told him that if he would find out how many men we 
 
52 RECOLLECTIONS OF A CAVALRYMAN. 
 
 had and what we were doing, he would give him a 
 thirty day furlough to go home. 
 
 "Do you know what a spy is?" I asked, "and 
 what his punishment is if caught?" 
 
 He said that he did not. I told him that the laws 
 of war require that he be hanged, "and," said I, "you 
 have been caught trying to enter our line as a spy." 
 
 Fullington was becoming interested. The prisoner 
 looked up in a dazed surprise and asked : 
 
 "Are you going to hang me?" 
 
 Fullington's eyes glittered with an odd brightness 
 as he watched me. I replied, "I have not determined 
 what to do, but if I decide to hang you, it will be at 
 six o'clock tomorrow morning." 
 
 Fullington's expression was jubilant. The pris- 
 oner looked about him in sorrowful half-comprehen- 
 sion, then with a long drawn sigh, asked : 
 
 "Would you let me write a letter ?" 
 
 "To whom do you want to write?" 
 
 "My wife," he said. 
 
 "Have you any children?" 
 
 "Yes, two." 
 
 "Well, you may write, but I must see the letter." 
 
 I gave him pencil and paper and sent him under 
 guard to an old log school house within the camp. 
 Fullington came forward with a look of satisfaction 
 and said: "I'd like you to put that fellow in my 
 charge." The letter he wrote was a mere pitiful 
 scrawl, bidding his wife good bye, with a kiss for the 
 babies, and the hope that he would not be forgotten. 
 
KNlCiUTS OF TJIE GOLDliN CIRCLE, ETC. 53 
 
 The next morning some wagons were to go back to 
 Lexington for supplies, and I sent the prisoner with 
 a note to headquarters, very much to the disappoint- 
 ment of Fullington, \vho, after watching the wagons 
 as they started off, came to my tent and sat down with 
 the famiHar manner of equaHty which all mountain 
 people carry, and began sadly : 
 
 "Well, I don't understand you Northerners at all. 
 It looks like you don't know what war is. We think 
 war means killin'. Ef you had a let me have thet 
 chap, I'd ha saved you all this bother. We had some 
 schoolin' down here afore you'ns come down to help 
 us. You may think I hain' got any feelins, and 
 neither have I fer that breed o' cattle. We had some 
 experience in Tennessee afore we seen any soldier 
 f'm the North. Ol' Harris sent his militia up to the 
 mountains to press us into his damned rebel army. 
 They wuz too many fer us, an' we had to leave our 
 homes and make pens in the woods to sleep in o' 
 nights. Our cabins wuz w^atched, 'n' our families 
 abused. We had some bloody fights when we met, 
 en' I can say my rifle done its share. But I had to 
 leave, en' I went to camp Dick Robinson and jined 
 the Union army. 
 
 '*On th' night I left, a rebel gang come to my 
 cabin door en' as't my wife whur I wuz. She tole 
 'em she didn't know — which wuz true. They tole 
 'er, hit wuz a damn lie, thet I hed been seen thet 
 evenin', en' ef she didn't tell whur I wuz, they's a 
 gion' tuh burn down the damn house. She wouldn't 
 
54 RECOLLECTIO^iS OF A CAVALRYMAN. 
 
 tell, and they up en' burnt hit down; 'en hit was 
 twelve o'clock at night, en' the snow was four inches 
 deep on the mountain. En' with half drunk yells en' 
 curses they left her a standin' by our burnin' cabin, 
 with six little children, one o' 'em six months ol', an- 
 other, two ye'rs, and all o' 'em in thin cloze, a havin' 
 to find the neardest neighbor's cabin three miles away 
 through the woods. That night's tramp killed my 
 wife, and two o' my children. You may think I'm 
 wicked in my bitterness, — well — mebby, but hit's 
 the religion o' my life t' meet them damned scoundrels 
 in a battle er single handed, I don' care which, en' get 
 a chanst t' give 'em a bloody pass t' th' hell where they 
 belong in, wherever that is ! 
 
 "You people f'm the North don' seem to have no 
 feelin' in this war; but then you got no personal ac- 
 counts to settle. But hit's different 'ith us in the 
 mountains, en' we're a hopin' the war wont let up till 
 we c'n git some little satisfaction fer whut's ben done 
 tuh us." 
 
 Whether or not poor FuUington ever got his meas- 
 ure of satisfaction, I do not know, for he was with 
 us but a short time.* 
 
 *I have learned with regret that in one of these bitter 
 Mountain broils since the war that brave Fullington was 
 killed. 
 
CHAPTER 9. 
 Raid on Big Creek Gap. — The Morgan Fox Chase. 
 
 In June 1863, it became necessary to open railroad 
 communications between Chattanooga and the East 
 by way of Knoxville, which at that time was held by 
 the enemy. General Saunders of Kentucky was di- 
 rected to organize a cavalry force, and make recon- 
 noisance around that important city to learn some- 
 thing of the strength of the enemy and the defence 
 of the place. This force included my battalion of the 
 Ninth Ohio Cavalry then in camp at London, Ken- 
 tucky, and the Forty-fourth Ohio Mounted Infantry 
 under Colonel Sam Gilbert, a personal friend and very 
 able officer, whose son, Cass Gilbert, is the well-known 
 architect of New York City. Colonel Gilbert was or- 
 dered to cross the Cumberland River at Williamsburg, 
 make a detour to the left, cross Pine Mountain Gap, to 
 the east and make a feint on Big Creek Gap, East 
 Tennessee, where a force of the enemy was stationed. 
 The object of this detour was to attract the enemy's 
 attention, and to keep them from disturbing General 
 Saunders in his effort to get around Knoxville. 
 
 Colonel Gilbert directed me to move by way of 
 Pine Mountain Gap while he crossed by another 
 route. The gap was known to be held by the enemy, 
 
 (55) 
 
56 RECOLLECTIONS OF A CAVALRYMAN. 
 
 and when I reached a farm house at the foot of the 
 mountain at about ten o'clock, as had been designated, 
 we concluded that this force was a pretty strong one, 
 judging by the size of the parties sent down to the 
 farm house for forage. 
 
 I dismounted the battalion in the shade of an 
 orchard and had our horses fed. Then with the ad- 
 vance guard, consisting of fifty men, I quit the main 
 road and led them up by a cow path, leaving our 
 horses to rest half way up the mountain with a guard. 
 I gave twenty-five men to Sergeant John Axline and 
 instructed him to make his way quietly around the 
 side of the mountain in the woods above the gap, 
 while I with the remainder followed the cow path to 
 its intersection with the road below. 
 
 The leaves were thick on the trees, and we moved 
 in single file, reaching the road about two hundred 
 yards below the station in the gap. Here four men 
 leading their horses up the mountain, came around a 
 bend of the road within fifty yards of us. They had 
 been down firing on our pickets. I stepped into the 
 road above them and behind cocked pistol called on 
 them to halt. My men hurried forward, cocking their 
 guns as they ran; the horsemen cried out, "Don't 
 shoot, we surrender." I told them to come quickly. I 
 was anxious to add them to our party as I saw men 
 on the rocks above trying to get a shot at us. 
 
 Sergeant Axline with his men had got above the 
 road as directed, but was discovered in the woods by 
 the cracking of a stick, and, in the belief tliat they 
 
RAID ON BIG CREEK GAP. 57 
 
 were being surrounded, the entire command of the 
 enemy fled down the mountain on the other side, and 
 so left the gap open for us. 
 
 Our four prisoners were armed with double bar- 
 reled shot guns loaded with ball. They were sur- 
 prised at the good treatment we gave them. They 
 took the oath not to fight against the "Yanks", 'for 
 they hadn't known they were such nice people.' The 
 young lieutenant told me it was his twenty-first birth- 
 day. He rode a fine horse which he offered to present 
 me. I thanked him, but said that the horse now be- 
 longed to the United States Government, but that 
 after turning him in to the quartermaster, I would 
 have him appraised and buy him back; and this I 
 did later on, paying forty dollars. His gun was a 
 double barreled German fowling piece, and as it was 
 of no use to the government, I sent it home as a pres- 
 ent to a friend; and it is the only piece of southern 
 property I ever appropriated. 
 
 I ordered the command up from the orchard and 
 passed through the gap. We went into camp on the 
 other side, where Colonel Gilbert and his command 
 joined us. In the morning the colonel said that my 
 command was entitled to the advance, and we formed 
 in the usual marching order with an advance guard, 
 following the extreme vidette. The enemy was not 
 far away. Here Fullington was in his glory. I rode 
 forward to ask him about the road. He heard me 
 coming and looked back. He was a picturesque 
 figure — tall and slim, and rode with short stirrups 
 
58 RECOLLECTIONS OF A CAVALRYMAN. 
 
 which enabled him to rise in his saddle and look about 
 to good advantage. His carbine was cocked and rested 
 on his thigh in readiness. When he saw me coming, he 
 sang out, '*Go back, Major, go back. The damn scoun- 
 drels are not far ahead, and the fun'U begin in a min- 
 ute, and you'll be needed back there with the men." 
 I learned what I wanted to know, and waited until 
 the head of the column came up. In a few minutes 
 we heard firing ahead, and I ordered the first com- 
 pany forward in a gallop. When we came up I 
 found Fullington's horse standing in the road, and 
 he was up on the side of the mountain in the timber. 
 I heard a shout from the enemy ahead: "There's ol' 
 Fullington, God d — n his soul," to which the response 
 was given "Come out from behind that tree, you 
 d - - n cowards." Then turning to me he exclaimed, 
 "Major, dismount half your men en' put 'em up both 
 sides on the mountain, an' we'll give 'em the devil for 
 shore." I thought of Washington's counsel to Brad- 
 dock, and followed the suggestion. In this style we 
 pushed forward under Colonel Gilbert's command 
 and drove the enemy before us, in spite of the fire of 
 a field piece which they opened on us whenever op- 
 portunity permitted, until night came and we reached 
 the brow of the hill that overlooked their camp at 
 Big Creek Gap. Here we went into camp for the 
 night, building fires enough, in full view of the troops 
 at the gap, to cook supper for a force of twice the 
 size we had. 
 
RAID ON BIG CREEK GAP, 59 
 
 In the morning we saw the troops in force in the 
 gap, getting ready to resist our attack, so we knew 
 they had not gone to bother Saunders at Knoxville. 
 We spent the day threatening to make an attack. 
 Next day we started back to camp at London, Ken- 
 tucky, after a very fatiguing and successful raid, hav- 
 ing given General Saunders ample time to make his 
 Knoxville trip a success. 
 
 On the long, hot and weary return march, with 
 nothing left in my pocket but a piece of raw bacon 
 which made me sick to taste, I became too weak to 
 ride safely. Our surgeon, Dr. Finch, gave me a drink 
 of whiskey and water. This supported me until we 
 reached camp. I have always thought it the proper 
 treatment under the circumstances, and that it should 
 always be provided for by the medical department at 
 least. 
 
 After supper and a good night's sleep I was in 
 good shape again. 
 
 Next morning we received the cheering news of 
 the battle of Gettysburg and the fall of Vicksburg. 
 
 On the evening of July 5th, we had arrived at our 
 camp at London, Kentucky. I received an order to 
 report at once to General Carter at Stanford, Ky., 
 twenty-five miles distant, and to burn any stores I 
 had that would delay my start. Having no wagons, 
 we accordingly burned all that could not be carried on 
 our horses, including some tents and horse feed. We 
 marched all night; and on arriving I was ordered to 
 be ready next day to join in the chase after Morgan; 
 
6o RFXOLLECTIONS OF A CAVALRYMAN. 
 
 to Open communications with headquarters, and se- 
 cure instructions as to my movements by telegraph 
 whenever a station could be reached. This I did. 
 Other cavalry forces were sent out in different direc- 
 tions, and a grand fox chase was begun. 
 
 En route I received an order to make a forced 
 march to intercept Morgan at Danville, Kentucky. 
 In execution of this order we covered a distance of 
 fifty-seven miles in twenty hours, stopping thirty 
 minutes about noon by a wheat field, that the horses 
 might be fed on the sheaves of wheat, and the men 
 on the blackberries which we found in abundance in 
 the fence corners along the road, a common sight in 
 Kentucky ! 
 
 Morgan was compelled to turn toward the river 
 and got over into Ohio where he and his army were 
 captured by "Buckeyes" about the twenty-fifth of 
 July, 1863. 
 
Capt. Elijah Hogue, 
 
 Company "C," 9th O. V. C. 
 
 Succeeding Major Wm. Sims, Resigned from Disability. 
 
CHAPTER 10. 
 
 Knoxville Campaign. 
 
 I was then ordered to report with my command 
 to Glasgow, Kentucky, to join the expedition under 
 General Burnside in his advance into Tennessee for 
 the capture of Knoxville. 
 
 When we reached Green river which in past 
 ages had cut an almost perpendicular channel more 
 than fifty feet deep and from three hundred 
 to four hundred feet wide for miles through 
 the shale formation of that region, we found that 
 the wagon bridge had been burned and there was no 
 possible way of crossing except on a railroad trestle 
 which spanned the chasm and upon which boards 
 had been laid lengthwise but with no side protection. 
 The water was surging more than fifty feet below. 
 To attempt to cross this looked as fearful as enter- 
 ing into a battle, but there was no help for it. 
 
 I dismounted the command, covered my horse's 
 eyes with my handkerchief and led him to the trestle, 
 directing the men to follow, keeping close up in single 
 file. 
 
 The horses were tired enough to move quietly and 
 the mule teams followed. All went well until the last 
 six-mule team had nearly reached the other side. 
 
 (61) 
 
62 RECOLLECTIONS OF A CAVALRYMAN. 
 
 when one of the mules stumbled and fell off the 
 bridge, pulling the mule in front ofif with him. 
 Both were stripped of their harness as they fell. They 
 struck on a bank of sand at the bottom. When I 
 reached the place I found the mules badly hurt in- 
 ternally and unable to get up. They looked up at 
 their driver with an expression in their eyes as if 
 pleading for help, and he stood by with tears running 
 down his face and sorrowfully repeating, "My poor 
 pets, my poor pets." 
 
 The wagon had been brought over by the wheel 
 mules, and was taken the rest of the way by the four 
 remaining ones. And after the column started the 
 wagon master ended the suffering of the fallen mules 
 with his pistol. 
 
 In spite of the bad reputation this much abused 
 servant has acquired, there are few animals that re- 
 spond more kindly to kind treatment. He was our 
 standby in the army. 
 
 While at Glasgow, Ky., we received three months' 
 pay, which, as usual, I urged the boys to send home, 
 that they might have something to begin with when 
 the war was over; and some twenty thousand dollars 
 in packages addressed to the folks at home were 
 brought to me. In company with a number of my 
 officers I carried it twelve miles to the Mammoth 
 Cave Railroad Station, from which I sent it home by 
 express, taking a receipt for each package. 
 
 We then visited Mammoth Cave, which was about 
 three miles distant. We found that the nearer we 
 
KNOXVILLE CAMPAIGN. 63 
 
 approached the cave the less the natives knew about 
 it; but we were very much interested in examining 
 this wonderful curiosity of nature. 
 
 We returned to Glasgow next day, where I dis- 
 tributed the receipts, but one for $200, to Captain 
 Daniels of Company ''B" was missing. The follow- 
 ing morning I returned to the railroad station and 
 hunted in vain for the lost package. It had required 
 two hours or more to register and get receipts for 
 the three hundred packages, and we could not ac- 
 count for the missing one, which had probably been 
 stolen by one of the many loafers about the station 
 at the time. I reported the loss to Captain Daniels, 
 and made it good to him the next pay day. 
 
 While encamped at Glasgow I learned that some 
 gambling had been going on. I sent for the parties 
 implicated. I found four losers but only one winner. 
 He looked like a man who had seen a good deal of 
 the world; the losers, like young country boys who 
 had seen very little of it. Very few greenbacks were 
 found in the crowd. The man of cards said he had 
 sent his money home ; the others said they didn't have 
 any to send home. In examining the gambler's out- 
 fit, however, $200 in gold coin was found. He said 
 he found it while foraging. I brought out all the 
 facts in the presence of the entire battalion, telling 
 them that gamblers could be found in uniform who 
 had entered the service not to put down the rebellion, 
 but to rob the boys who were trying to do it. I then 
 called up the man who had won the money and those 
 
64 RECOLLECTIONS OF A CAVALRYMAN. 
 
 who had lost it, and distributed the gold to each of 
 the losers in proportion to his loss. I then ordered 
 them to send it home, and directed their captain to 
 isee that they did it. 
 
 Major General Burnside with his command, about 
 10,000 strong, crossed the Kentucky river at "Ji"^" 
 town," whose principal claim to notice is that it was 
 the birthplace of "Mark Twain". It was also a county 
 seat, and had been held by the rebel cavalry, and the 
 Court House had been used as their stable. 
 
 The march across the Cumberland Mountains was 
 a dreary one. The land is underlaid with coal, but 
 the surface is poor and thin. The region was sparsely 
 settled, the inhabitants making a meager living out of 
 cultivating small clearings scattered here and there 
 along the different roads. Word had reached them 
 that the "Yankees were coming", and they were in 
 a state of happy expectancy. They were too poor to 
 be secessionists ! The men had been hiding out to 
 keep from being pressed into the rebel ranks ; and the 
 cross roads were lined with men, women and children, 
 gathered in from miles around to see the Yankee 
 troops. As the great, long blue columns of cavalry, 
 infantry and artillery came in sight, they became wild 
 with excitement and enthusiasm, shouting, and sing- 
 ing hymns, and hailing us as their deliverers. The 
 old men waved their straw hats, and the women their 
 gingham sun-bonnets, with joyful tears of welcome. 
 Mothers would come close to the column as we halted 
 and ask if we had seen their "Henry", their "Tom", 
 
Capt. \V. S. WlNNETT, 
 
 Second Captain of Co. "C,"' 9th 
 O. V. C. 
 
 Lt. John M. Stewart, Co. "C. 
 
KNOXVILLE CAMPAIGN. 65 
 
 or their *'Sam", thinking of course we knew them for 
 they had *'jined the Yankee Army". Bashful 
 daughters of the mountains, barefooted and sun- 
 burned, stood apart in groups, and gazed in wonder 
 and admiration at the strange and imposing vision of 
 the long column of blue-clad horsemen with carbine 
 and clanking sabre at their sides. ''La, there they come! 
 There they come! Haint they purty!" and "Land 
 Sakes, haint the' a sight of 'em!" and "Won't they 
 make them Johnnies run!" were their frequent 
 exclamations. 
 
 The enemy waited for us in force at Campbell's 
 Station, ten miles out from Knoxville, and in a stub- 
 bornly fought battle were defeated. Knoxville was 
 evacuated, and occupied by General Burnside. My 
 friend, Colonel Sam Gilbert of the Forty-fourth 
 Mounted Infantry, who was an excellent executive as 
 well as a field officer, was appointed Post Com- 
 mander, and I was made Provost Marshal. 
 
 The Knoxville Campaign has become American 
 history, and it is not necessary to discuss it in this 
 personal narrative. 
 
 Will say, however, that here for the first time 
 wire fence was used to obstruct a charge against 
 artillery, and it is reported that in dredging the river 
 thirty years after the bombardment, a twenty 
 pound shell was found in the bottom of the river with 
 the powder still dry, as the shell exploded on being 
 tested in a fire. 
 
66 RECOLLECTIONS OF A CAVALRYMAN. 
 
 But the result was a great disappointment to many 
 of the citizens of Knoxville who confidently expected 
 that Longstreet with his 20,000 men would promptly 
 re-take the city. Many families busied themselves 
 preparing something good for their soldier friends 
 who were with that popular southern general; and a 
 great deal of fine food and delicacies went to waste 
 because they did not come. It will be remembered 
 that Longstreet found Fort Saunders in the way, 
 and his effort to pass it cost him over a thousand men 
 in less than half an hour. 
 
 It is well known that in the beginning the state 
 of Tennessee had voted a majority 60,000 strong 
 against secession; this came principally from the 
 mountain section. The powers in control at Nash- 
 ville, however, were not satisfied with the result of 
 this vote, and Governor Harris ordered a new elec- 
 tion, and called out certain of the state militia in 
 order to control it. As a result, the state of Tennessee 
 was given to the South. The militia of the diflferent 
 states, as it was then constituted, owed their allegiance 
 not to the President, but to their respective governors. 
 
 1 was told that a Captain McCall of the state 
 troops from one of the eastern counties of Tennessee, 
 received an order from Nashville to report with his 
 company to the provost marshal at Knoxville, fully 
 armed and equipped. On arriving here he reported 
 as directed, and was told to take his company out to 
 the stockade to guard some prisoners. 
 
 They proceeded accordingly, but soon afterwards 
 
KNOXVILLE CAMPAIGN. 67 
 
 were seen returning. The company was halted in 
 Hne before the provost marshal's office, and Captain 
 McCall entered. ''Mr. Provost Marshal," said he, 
 "I supposed that I should find a lot of roughs, black- 
 legs and outlaws in the stockade. Instead, I find only 
 a number of good citizens from my neighboring 
 county, and my old friend, Captain Brownlee. Brown- 
 lee and I were captains in the same regiment in Mex- 
 ico. I saw him lead the Tennesseans under the Stars 
 and Stripes up the heights of Chapultepec. He tells 
 me that you'ns are tired of that old flag and want a 
 new one, and because they don't, you've got them all 
 in that pen out there. I'm here, sir, to tell you, they've 
 a right to their choice of flags. I've got a hundred 
 squirrel hunters from the mountains, fully armed, in 
 line right here. Everyone of them can send a bullet 
 through the head of a squirrel in the top of a tree, 
 and we're going out and pull down your stockade and 
 the men in it are going home like we are, and any 
 body that don't like it had better keep away." 
 
 With that he returned to the stockade and put his 
 words into effect; and both captains with new com- 
 panies took their place afterwards under the old Flag 
 of the Union. And this is the way the old Scotch- 
 Irish blood of the mountains maintained the loyalty 
 of East Tennessee. 
 
CHAPTER II. 
 Organization of the Second and Third Battalions. 
 
 On November loth, while in Knoxville, I received 
 an order to report to Camp Dennison to take command 
 of the other two battaHons which Governor Tod had 
 secured for me. I placed the First Battalion in charge 
 of Captain Sims, of Company "A", and proceeded by 
 way of Cumberland Gap to Camp Dennison to meet 
 the officers and men. Here I remained a week and 
 then reported to Governor Tod at Columbus to ex- 
 press my thanks and receive instructions. He gave 
 me a commission of Lieutenant Colonel, dated No- 
 vember 19th, 1863, and directed me to return to Camp 
 Dennison and open a school of instructions for both 
 officers and men. 
 
 Quite a number of both had seen service in the 
 infantry. We drilled for a month on foot, and then 
 horses were secured and were distributed among 
 the companies by color, so that we had three companies 
 on black horses ; three on bay ; one, sorrel ; one, gray ; 
 and the band of sixteen pieces, on cream colored 
 mounts. 
 
 On the 26. of December, 1863, I was commis- 
 sioned as Colonel, and the regiment was fully organ- 
 ized as the Ninth Ohio Volunteer Cavalry commis- 
 sioned as follows: ^ggj 
 
Chas. H. Pixxey, 
 
 Asst. Surgeon. 
 
 Jos. Daniels, 
 Capt. Co. "B." 
 
 Maj. J as. Irvine. 
 
 Lt. Henry A. Morrison, 
 Co. "A." 
 
THE SECOND AND THIRD BATTALIONS. 
 
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Q. M. Sergt. Edw. M. 
 Ashley, 
 
 Lt, Max Van Ottanger, 
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 Capt. Thus. Brown, 
 Co. "F." 
 
 Capt. Albin Coe, 
 Co. "E." 
 
THE SECOND AND THIRD BATTALIONS. 
 
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THE SECOND AND THIRD BATTALIONS. 
 
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Sergt. Harry L. Spencer, 
 Co. B, 9th O. V. C. 
 
 Now residing at Oskaloosa, Iowa, and one of the most suc- 
 cessful and prominent business men of the state. 
 
THE SECOND AND THIRD BATTALIONS. 
 
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THE SECOND AND THIRD BATTALIONS. 
 
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 64. 
 
 
 
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82 RECOLLECTIONS OF A CAVALRYMAN. 
 
 I think it proper to concede in this connection that 
 in the age of the officers the regiment was certainly 
 not a model one according to Napoleon's idea of a 
 model army in which the enlisted men should be 
 under twenty and the officers under twenty-five years 
 of age. But this w^ould require that they be com- 
 manded by a field marshal like himself and fighting 
 simply for glory, as he was. 
 
 I think, however, that the limit of enlistment by 
 draft or otherwise a country with the extensive and 
 growing population which we have should be reduced 
 to forty years instead of forty-five, and should include 
 volunteer officers as well. I was, as shown by our roster, 
 the youngest field officer in the regiment and younger 
 than any of the captains when we took the field. In 
 the 1st Battalion the captain of Company "D" was 
 forty-eight years — a minister whom I had known 
 from my boyhood and who placed my name on the 
 church record when I was sixteen years old. He or- 
 ganized a company largely of his own parishioners and 
 placed them under my command against my earnest 
 advice, as I told him it would be embarrassing to both 
 of us. He was very able as a minister, but after a 
 year's service in command of a company during 
 which he proved his courage beyond a question, he 
 realized that he was unable to acquire proficiency in 
 the drill. On the organization of the regiment he 
 was appointed Chaplain but his health failed and he 
 resigned before the war closed. 
 
 The first captain of Company "F" was fifty-eight, 
 
THE SECOND AND THIRD BATTALIONS. 83 
 
 and the captain of Company ''I" was fifty-nine years, 
 both prominent men at home who had organized their 
 companies through their influence and offer to take 
 the field with their men. What they knew about mil- 
 itary tactics was learned under the old militia school 
 which was of no value in our war. One of them re- 
 mained with his company until near the close of the 
 war. He was well liked by his men as he took good 
 care of them, but was of little value in the field. The 
 other died in a hospital in Nashville July 17, 1864. 
 
 His 2nd Lieutenant, Wm. P. Gardner, was the 
 son of Judge Gardner of Toledo. Although but nine- 
 teen years old, he seemed born for the army. He 
 was a student of military matters, and had the ap- 
 pearance and culture of a West Point man. He be- 
 came an efficient officer of the company, although his 
 manner made him unpopular with the men, until their 
 first engagement, when his coolness under fire and 
 his success in handling the company changed their 
 estimate. Before he entered the service he had been 
 at work on an improvement in breech-loading artillery 
 about which he had occasionally talked with me. In 
 January, 1865, when we all felt the war would soon 
 be over, he decided to resign and complete the model 
 of his gun and take it for inspection to the War De- 
 partment at Washington. He did resign, completed 
 his plan and submitted his gun to the War Depart- 
 ment which turned it down. But not discouraged, 
 he went to London and submitted it to the British 
 Admiralty. The gun was accepted and he was em- 
 
84 RECOLLECTIONS OF A CAVALRYMAN. 
 
 ployed to superintend its construction. When Gen- 
 eral Gordon, known as ''Chinese" Gordon, was sent 
 to India to quell the insurrection they armed him 
 with the Gardner gun. With it he drove the hosts 
 of the enemy before him, took the city of Khartoom 
 and held it until the ammunition and supplies were 
 exhausted and the city fell. General Gordon was 
 murdered two days before the arrival of re-inforce- 
 ments. But the value of the Gardner gun was es- 
 tabHshed and Mr. Gardner was given a high salary to 
 remain in the employ of the government, where, after 
 a very successful career, he died a few years ago. 
 
CHAPTER 12. 
 
 Ordered to the Field. 
 
 On February 6th, 1864, I received an order from 
 General Grant at Louisville, directing me to brmg my 
 command with full equipment by water to Nashville. 
 This included nine covered wagons with six mules 
 each, all of which were supplied by the quarter- 
 master's department; and in proper order our gay 
 fleet of seven river steamers started from the wharf at 
 Cincinnati, a large crowd cheering as the band on the 
 first boat struck up 'The Star Spangled Banner, 
 while the Stars and Stripes were unfurled on the 
 flag staff. The steamers wheeled into column behind 
 the flag ship, and as I looked upon this naval display 
 I felt myself inflating with the rank of a commodore! 
 This inspiring start however got a back-set when, 
 on reaching Louisville a few hours later, I was 
 handed a dispatch from General Grant, directing me 
 to disembark my command, and march through Ken- 
 tucky to Nashville by a route given. I learned sub- 
 sequently that depredations were being committed m 
 Kentucky under the belief that the supply of troops 
 from the North had been exhausted. We remained 
 in Louisville some days, awaiting supplies, and then 
 started on the march for Nashville. 
 
 (85) 
 
86 RECOLLECTIONS OF A CAVALRYMAN. 
 
 We camped the first night near Bardstown, Ken- 
 tucky. The next morning, I was accosted by a 
 citizen, who informed me that three of my men had 
 broken into and robbed his house. He gave me the 
 letter on their caps, and they were soon found, the 
 stolen property recovered and returned to him. Two 
 of the culprits were young boys from a country vil- 
 lage; the other, the leader in the escapade was older, 
 a hard looking man from about the wharves in Cin- 
 cinnati, who had been recruited for the ist Battalion, 
 but not yet been mustered into service. That evening I 
 directed their captain to bring them to my quarters, 
 and a "Drum Head Court Martial" was held. A 
 trunk had been broken open with the butt end of a 
 carbine, and pillaged. Among the plunder was a 
 razor. After we had learned the facts, I called for 
 the stolen razor, and had the hair on one side of the 
 head of each man cut and shaved from the line of 
 the nose to the back of the neck. I told the leader 
 that, as we were soldiers not burglars, he could be of 
 no value to the regiment except to show the result 
 of misconduct. I then took his arms and accoutre- 
 ments, gave him a day's rations, and placed him in 
 front of the regiment standing in line. Between two 
 files of soldiers we marched him down the line in 
 front of the drum and fife playing the "Rogues' 
 March," and sent him away. This was radical treat- 
 ment but I thought by the looks of the man that his 
 influence in battle would be as injurious as in camp. 
 In the case of the two boys the lesson was effective, 
 
ORDERED TO THE FIELD. 87 
 
 for they both became good soldiers and conducted 
 themselves well thereafter. One of them is now a 
 good, industrious and respected citizen of Columbus, 
 Ohio, and a warm friend of mine. 
 
 On February 15th, I reported at General Grant's 
 headquarters in Nashville, and was assigned a place 
 for a camp by Colonel Potter, General Grant's adju- 
 tant general, about two miles out of the city on the 
 "Granny White Pike", here the command passed a very 
 satisfactory inspection. 
 
 While here two of my officers, Captain Gatch and 
 Lieutenant Peter F. Swing asked permission to call 
 on General Grant, as their company, "L", was from 
 Clermont County where Grant was born, and these 
 officers were distantly related to him. 
 
 Some time afterward, in telling about their call, 
 Captain Gatch said that General Grant talked with 
 interest of the old home and old friends, and said he 
 was glad they felt it their duty to enter the service, — 
 "For the war is far from settled and most of the 
 young men of the North will be needed." He then 
 asked, "Who is your colonel? What is his military 
 experience, and what sort of a man is he?" The 
 young officers had learned one lesson on military 
 courtesy which was to speak well of their command- 
 ing officer ! They told him of my first year as an 
 infantry captain, and my second as a major of 
 cavalry, and of the discipline maintained in the regi- 
 ment, mentioning that neither drinking nor gambling 
 was permitted. "Does he drink himself?" the general 
 
88 RECOLLECTIONS OF A CAVALRYMAN. 
 
 asked, and, "Does he handle cards ?" Upon their an- 
 swering in the negative, he went on to say : 'The dis- 
 cipline of an army depends not so much on the orders 
 issued by its officers as upon the example set by 
 them, and especially upon the personal character of 
 its colonels and captains, who are principally respon- 
 sible for the efficiency of an army. 
 
 One day while in camp some of the boys told me 
 that in a house near by were some refugees who were 
 sick and starving. I went and found an old man and 
 wife with two married daughters, two daughters-in- 
 law and eight grand-children. They had traveled on 
 foot from one of the mountain counties of East 
 Tennessee. The old man said : 
 
 "Our 'men-folks' had to leave home and sleep in 
 the woods to keep from being forced into the South- 
 ern army; and now they have gone to jine you'ens. 
 It wasn't safe for me and the 'women-folks' to stay, 
 and we tuck all our truck and victuals and started 
 six days ago to come here. When we had nothing 
 left to eat some good folks helped us. But some of 
 the young'ens tuck sick and we had to leave most of 
 our truck and carry 'em. We had nothing to give 'em 
 to eat and they grew worse. We got here yesterday 
 and went into this empty house, but we've been up 
 most of the night with the children." 
 
 A young woman was sitting on a stool in a corner 
 of the room beside what appeared to be a bundle of 
 old clothes on the floor. She turned them down and 
 
ORDERED TO THE FIELD. 89 
 
 I saw the wasted form of a little girl — the child was 
 dead. 
 
 Another mother showed me her little son lying in 
 a corner weak and delirious. All were suffering from 
 starvation; but no complaints were made, no tears 
 were shed : sorrow had gone beyond the help of tears. 
 
 The old man had been told that if he could get to 
 Nashville the Government would take care of them, 
 but he did not know where to find the "Government." 
 
 I went back to camp and arranged to have some 
 rations and hot coffee taken over, while I found the 
 "Government" in the form of the Post Commander; 
 and these poor, helpless, starving families were pro- 
 vided for while their brave, God-given protectors 
 were fighting in our ranks. 
 
CHAPTER 13. 
 Patrol of the Tennessee River. 
 
 We were assigned to the left wing of the Six- 
 teenth Army Corps, commanded by General Gran- 
 ville M. Dodge, and ordered to Athens, Alabama, to 
 patrol the Tennessee river for fifty miles between 
 there and the shoals below Florence. It had been re- 
 ported that the rebel General Forrest was on the 
 other side of the river and would probably make an 
 attempt to cross. 
 
 I made out a requisition for the necessary am- 
 munition and also for 100 carbines to arm the recruits 
 for the First Battalion. This I presented at the ord- 
 nance department, but the officer declined to fill the 
 requisition, saying: 
 
 "It lacks the approval of the chief of cavalry." 
 
 I replied, "The chief of cavalry, with whom I am 
 acquainted, is in Chattanooga for two days but will 
 sign it on his return. In the meantime General Rous- 
 seau commanding this post will vouch for me until 
 the chief of cavalry returns." 
 
 The officer said, "I cannot take any chances," and 
 continued with a very superior air, "The papers sent 
 in to Washington by the Army of the West, as a rule, 
 have been so carelessly prepared that the government 
 
 '90) 
 
PATROL OF THE TENNESSEE RIVER. 9I 
 
 has had to employ five hundred extra clerks to over- 
 haul and correct them. I have been detailed here to 
 bring order out of the confusion, and I will not recog- 
 nize any papers that are defective in any way. The 
 regulations provide that your requisition shall be 
 signed by the chief of cavalry and I will not recognize 
 any other authority." 
 
 "How about General Grant?" said I. 
 
 "He is not the chief of cavalry," he said. 
 
 "But," said I, "It has been reported that General 
 Forrest is about to cross the Tennessee river and I 
 have orders to proceed to Athens, Alabama, to report 
 his movements and hold him in check until a suf- 
 ficient force is ready to meet him. I can not do this 
 without ammunition." 
 
 "You don't have to," he replied. "The regula- 
 tions provide that a command must be properly 
 equipped before being ordered out, and all you can 
 do is to wait for the return of the chief of cavalry." 
 
 I left the office to lay the matter before General 
 Grant. I went up to his headquarters in the city, a 
 large, old-fashioned private house with two large 
 rooms in front and a hall between, and without the 
 usual armed guard before the door. I called on 
 Colonel Potter, the adjutant general, whom I knew, 
 and explained the situation. He said: 
 
 "You must have that ammunition. Do you know 
 General Grant?" 
 
 I replied, "I have never seen him." 
 
()2 RECOLLECTIONS OF A CAVALRYMAN. 
 
 The colonel said, *'He is in the next room; come 
 and I will introduce you." 
 
 The general and a citizen were standing at a win- 
 dow talking. He wore a common army blouse, with 
 no mark of rank that I remember. When I was in- 
 troduced he said pleasantly, "Well, Colonel, what can 
 I do for you?" I explained the situation and told of 
 my unsuccessful interview with the ordnance officer, 
 about the ammunition. 
 
 "Where is he from?" asked the general. 
 
 I replied, "He says he's from the Army of the 
 Potomac." 
 
 "From the Army of the Potomac, is he? What is 
 his name?" 
 
 I replied, "His name is Stoddard." 
 
 "Well, he must be a very correct young man. 
 However, you must have the ammunition." 
 
 He took up a pen and paper and wrote a note 
 which he told me to hand to Captain Stoddard. He 
 asked if there was anything else I wanted. I then 
 told him I had just arrived with two battalions of 
 cavalry recently organized in Ohio, that my First 
 Battalion, with which I had been in General Burn- 
 side's campaign, was in Knoxville. "Their horses 
 were used up," I said, "and they are doing guard 
 duty dismounted. "I have tried to have them relieved 
 to join the other battalions at Athens, but the com- 
 manding officer at Knoxville declines to give them 
 up. I have a hundred men with me recruited to fill 
 that depleted battalion. I would like to have the 
 
PATROL OF THE TENNESSEE RIVER. 93 
 
 three battalions united, and an order on the Post 
 Quartermaster for horses and the necessary equip- 
 ment to prepare the First Battalion for duty with the 
 other two." The general immediately turned and 
 rang a bell, and Colonel Potter came in. ''Colonel, 
 wire General Foster at Knoxville to turn over the 
 First Battalion of the Ninth Ohio Cavalry, now under 
 his command, to Colonel Hamilton when he arrives, 
 and see that transportation is furnished them to 
 Athens, Alabama; also instruct the quartermaster 
 here to furnish horses and equipment for the First 
 Battalion." Then turning to me, he asked, 'Ts there 
 anything else needed?" I told him there was not, 
 thanked him and took my leave. The slip of paper he 
 had given me, read : 
 
 "Captain Stoddard, 
 
 Ordnance Department. 
 
 You will honor Colonel Hamilton's requisition or I must 
 
 find some one that will. __ ^ ^ 
 
 U. S. Grant, 
 
 Major General Commanding." 
 
 Upon receipt of this, Captain Stoddard ordered 
 the requisition filled without further controversy. 
 
 I was very much impressed with General Grant, 
 he seemed so plain and unassuming. He knew what 
 should be done and the simplest way of doing it ; and 
 his gentle and considerate manner did not indicate 
 the heartlessness which his enemies ascribed to him. 
 
 The following incident that occurred after the war 
 may be given as illustrative of his real temperament. 
 
94 RECOLLECTIONS OF A CAVALRYMAN. 
 
 In the spring of 1866 I was visiting a Mr. Curry 
 at his beautiful country home near New York harbor, 
 on the Jersey shore, some five miles from the City 
 Hall. His family and ours had been friends in Scot- 
 land. He had been a strong and active supporter of 
 the government during the war. 
 
 One night after attending a lecture in the city, 
 Mr. Curry and I had taken the ferry for the Jersey 
 shore, when we noticed some excitement at the far 
 end of the boat, and it was said that General Grant 
 was on board. Mr. Curry was quite interested, and 
 said that he would like to see him. We went back, 
 and found a great crowd with faces all turned toward 
 a man sitting at the side of the boat, and were shout- 
 ing, "Hurrah for General Grant!" He was seated on 
 a bench among the other passengers, bundlled in an 
 overcoat and pulled down over his eyes was a soft felt 
 hat with a gold cord on it — the only mark about him 
 of a military character. The crowd was wild, but no 
 one ventured to intrude upon him. Mr. Curry said he 
 would like to meet him, and urged that I go up and 
 speak to him. With some reluctance I consented, 
 •for I did not suppose that he would remember me. 
 'We made our way through the crowd. As he looked 
 up I said: "General Grant, you probably don't re- 
 member me. I commanded the Ninth Ohio Cavalry 
 under General Sherman. My name is Hamilton, and 
 I want to introduce my friend Mr. Curry, a strong 
 friend of yours and of our government." The gen- 
 
PATROL OF THE TENNESSEE RIVER. 95 
 
 eral greeted us cordially, but seemed very sad, and 
 turning to me he said : 
 
 "I lost Potter today," "In what way?" I asked. 
 He replied : ''I had just taken Fred up to school at West 
 Point. When the return train arrived, there was a 
 rush, and after we had got a seat, I discovered that 
 I had left my satchel in the depot. Potter ran out 
 to get it. The train had started but there was a 
 sudden stop, and I heard an outcry, a man killed. I 
 thought at once of Potter, and hurried out. There he 
 lay. He had slipped and fallen under the wheels. The 
 blood was flowing and he was so mangled I wouldn't 
 have known him but for his uniform. Poor boy. He 
 enlisted in my regiment in Galena, Illinois, as a private 
 when I was a Colonel, and has been with me ever 
 since, ready at my call in every battle I was in. And 
 now that he should lose his life through a trivial 
 oversight of mine!" And his voice trembled as he 
 spoke. 
 
 All this time the crowd was pressing around, 
 shouting, 'Thee cheers for General Grant, the Hero 
 of America!" and "Three cheers for General Grant, 
 the Hero of the World !" And to it all he was thor- 
 oughly oblivious. A young lady had unknowingly 
 •seated herself beside him, and had listened to him 
 with intense interest. When the boat reached the 
 dock, he arose to go, and she inquired timidly, "Gen- 
 eral Grant, may I shake hands with you ?" He turned 
 •and said, "Why, certainly. Sis, if you want to." He 
 
g6 RECOLLECTIONS OF A CAVALRYMAN. 
 
 looked SO tired and worn, that my friend Curry in- 
 vited him to spend the night with us, but he said he 
 was needed in Washington; he had been delayed by 
 the unfortunate death of Colonel Potter, and must 
 go on. 
 
 Going back to the regiment at Nashville; after 
 receiving my ammunition and equipment for the re- 
 cruits of the First Battalion, I proceeded with the 
 two battalions to Pulaski, Tennessee, and reported to 
 General Dodge, who directed me to make my head- 
 quarters at Athens, Alabama, in execution of the 
 orders already received. 
 
 After establishing camp at that point, I placed 
 Lieutenant Colonel Cook in command to carry out 
 the orders received, and proceeded to Knoxville to 
 get the First Battalion. 
 
 The horses were worn out by the Knoxville Cam- 
 paign and I obtained an order from General Foster, 
 in compliance with General Grant's instructions, to 
 take the men to Nashville to be remounted. This 
 consumed two weeks, after which I returned to 
 Athens with the battalion on fresh mounts. 
 
 Lieutenant Colonel Cook had received orders 
 from General Dodge to take four companies to the 
 Mussel Shoals twenty-five miles down the Tennessee 
 river, and to search for stock and supplies supposed to 
 be in that vicinity. 
 
 He remained at the Mussel Shoals until I arrived 
 at Athens, but had sent Captain Hetzler with Com- 
 
PATROL OF THE TENNESSEE RIVER. 97 
 
 pany '*G," our gray horse company, twenty-five miles 
 'farther down the river to examine the country. 
 
 On the night of April 13th, 1864, Captain Hetzler 
 camped his men in a cotton gin house on the Jack 
 Peters Plantation, four miles below Florence, and 
 'left them there, while he himself spent the night at 
 the plantation house some distance away. Two men 
 were detailed as horse guards, but no pickets were 
 put to protect the camp. 
 
 A confederate regiment which happened to be on 
 the other side of the river at the time learned of the 
 presence of the company, and sent a force across in 
 'a ferry boat in the night, surrounded the gin house, 
 killing one of the two horse guards, and quickly 
 capturing the lieutenant and thirty-nine sleeping men, 
 with forty gray horses. 
 
 I arrived at Athens with the First Battalion on 
 the following day, and learned of the catastrophe 
 from some members of the company who had been 
 out scouting, and had not been captured, Taking a 
 battalion I started at once for that locality. At Mussel 
 Shoals I found Colonel Cook, still in camp, having 
 taken no action in the case. I ordered him to follow 
 me with two companies ; but on reaching the place, 
 all I could learn only increased my chagrin. Not 
 more than two companies of the enemy had crossed 
 over. They had compelled a darkey to guide them to 
 the gin house in which our men were sleeping; the 
 capture was made without a fight. Captain Hetzler 
 
 7 
 
98 RECOLLECTIONS OF A CAVALRYMAN. 
 
 was found and captured at the plantation house, 
 where he was sleeping. The men were taken across 
 in the ferry boat and the horses made to swim. 
 
 We afterward learned that the thirty-nine men 
 were sent to Andersonville ; and near the close of the 
 war eight of them were exchanged and reached the 
 regiment, broken in health and spirits, reporting that 
 all the others had died from exposure and starvation 
 while in that horrid prison. 
 
 The lieutenant (Knapp) who was confined else- 
 where, escaped from his prison, and although chased 
 with bloodhounds, he succeeded, through the assist- 
 ance of a darkey, in reaching our lines after we 
 reached Savannah. 
 
 Captain Hetzler, who was a physician before en- 
 tering the service, never returned to the regiment, 
 but is understood to have taken up the practice of 
 medicine in Missouri after the close of the war. 
 
 I had always tried to impress upon the men that 
 parties of soldiers properly armed should never sur- 
 render ; that brave men are never cruel and cruel men, 
 never brave; and although they might be well treated 
 by their captors, they would be almost sure to find 
 cruel men among prison guards. 
 
CHAPTER 14. 
 
 The Affair at Center Star. 
 
 I returned to Athens to give attention to the wel- 
 fare of the regiment, and the cultivation of cordial 
 relations among the men and officers of the old and 
 new battalions. Shortly afterward an epidemic of 
 smallpox broke out, and we lost thereby ten or twelve 
 good men. Vaccination was resorted to, which in 
 some cases proved about as bad as the disease itself. 
 
 While here I learned from scouts that a mounted 
 battalion of the enemy had crossed the river, and 
 were camped at the Mussel Shoals near Center Star, 
 where Lieutenant Colonel Cook had been stationed 
 with four companies the month before. I inquired 
 of Colonel Cook as to the situation of the camp and 
 its approaches and learned that, as the scouts had re- 
 ported, the camp was near the ford and the islands; 
 and that two roads starting a mile apart on the Flor- 
 ence road, converged at the ford. On each of these 
 roads cavalry pickets of the enemy were stationed 
 about a mile from their camp. I told Colonel Cook 
 that here was a fine chance to return the compliment 
 they had paid us at the Peters' plantation; that I 
 would take the two companies, and would give him 
 two, including Company "B" of the First Battalion 
 
 (99, 
 
100 RECOLLECTIONS OF A CAVALRYMAN. 
 
 'and Major Williamson, a very capable officer who 
 had formerly been its captain; we would move at 
 bne o'clock a. m. by the Florence road to the en- 
 trance of the first road. Here he would halt his 
 command while I proceeded to the second road. At 
 precisely four o'clock we were to move forward simul- 
 taneously on the two roads ; and the fire of the 
 enemies' pickets on either column, would be heard by 
 both and be the signal for an immediate charge by 
 both columns. We would thus come in upon them, I 
 on one side and he on the other, and have them 
 cornered. 
 
 We saw that our watches agreed, and at the hour 
 named, I moved forward. I drew the picket fire 
 'first, and at once charged. When I reached their 
 camp they were mounting in great haste, and head- 
 ing toward the river near the mouth of the first road. 
 Expecting the charge of Cook's column, I felt sure 
 that we had them. However, they reached the river 
 without opposition, and crossed to the island, from 
 'which they returned our fire from the cover of a 
 dense cane brake. We, finding that we could pro- 
 ceed no farther, took position along the river behind 
 the old unfinished canal bank which had been built 
 by the government some years before the war under 
 the supervision of Capt, Gothal. 
 
 I found that nothing could be accomplished, how- 
 ever, and ordered the men back out of danger, for 
 some wounds had already been received and one man 
 killed. When I reached higher ground, Colonel Cook 
 
THE AFFAIR AT CENTER STAR. lOI 
 
 had just arrived, and in reply to my question what had 
 become of him, he said he had not heard the picket fire 
 upon us, but that he had encountered a strong picket in 
 ambush, and had dismounted some men to get them 
 out from under cover, before advancing. I was thor- 
 oughly disgusted and went to Major Williamson for 
 an account of the occurrence. 
 
 "I heard the picket fire, on your road, and was 
 ready to charge," said the Major, "but Colonel Cook 
 ordered me to dismount some men and clear the road 
 before we tried to pass. We also heard your guns 
 in the enemy's camp before we got started, and then 
 we came forward at a common trot. And I now 
 want to say right here that while I don't want to 
 speak disrespectfully of my superior officers I will 
 resign rather than serve under that man again !" 
 
 Lieutenant Colonel Cook was a fine looking and 
 plausible man of thirty-eight. He had been a private 
 in the Mexican War, and a captain of infantry earlier 
 in the Civil War; had commanded a company at the 
 ill-fated battle of Perryville, Kentucky, in which, it 
 was claimed, he had handled his company well. Gov- 
 ernor Tod had given him a recruiting commission and 
 the general management of the two battalions he was 
 recruiting for me; issuing commissions on his recom- 
 mendation, and had given him the promise of a lieu- 
 tenant colonelcy on the completion of the regiment. 
 
 In the beginning, I had been unfavorably im- 
 pressed with two or three of the officers he had selected 
 for the two new battalions, but Governor Tod had 
 
I02 RECOLLECTIONS OF A CAVALRYMAN. 
 
 asked me to try them in the field since he had promised 
 them commissions; but assured me that if I found it 
 necessary to call on him, he would give me all the as- 
 sistance he could. And I desire here to record to the 
 memory of Governor Tod that he faithfully kept his 
 promise. 
 
 The affair at Center Star was the first opportunity 
 I had to test the efficiency of Colonel Cook, in the 
 face of the enemy. During the six months he had 
 been with the regiment, whenever he had been called 
 on to tax either his body or his nerve, he had man- 
 aged to prove his disability by a certificate from his 
 friend, the assistant surgeon. Dr. Thorpe. But this 
 affair was beyond excuse. I, at once, wrote to the 
 governor setting forth the facts. He endorsed my 
 letter and forwarded it to Stanton, Secretary of War 
 at Washington; and an order was immediately pub- 
 lished dismissing Lieutenant Colonel Cook from the 
 service. 
 
 About six weeks afterwards Major Plettner, an- 
 other of the objectionable officers, who, as ranking 
 captain of the new battalions, had been promoted to 
 major on the organization of the regiment, was dis- 
 missed in the same way, for similar reasons ; and the 
 assistant surgeon found it advisable to tender his res- 
 ignation. 
 
 In two other instances, after a meeting with the 
 enemy, the resignation of officers was, at my sug- 
 gestion, handed in. And the reputation the regiment 
 maintained was by reason of the fact that objec- 
 
THE AFFAIR AT CENTER STAR. IO3 
 
 tionable officers were promptly weeded out and the 
 vacancies supplied by the promotion of better men 
 from the ranks. 
 
 I believe from 4 years experience in the army that 
 fully 10 per cent of both officers and men were of no 
 value to the service except to count. And that of the 
 2,600,000 names entered upon the pay roll during 
 the war at least 260,000 were a dead weight to the 
 service, and the money spent in their support should 
 be charged to "Profit and Loss" as one of the wastes 
 of war. 
 
CHAPTER 15. 
 
 The Florence Campaign. 
 
 In April, 1864, I received an order from General 
 Sherman through General Granville M. Dodge, to 
 take my command to Florence, Alabama, and from 
 that point as headquarters, to continue the patrol of 
 the Tennessee river, obtaining subsistence from the 
 surrounding region and to exhaust the supplies found 
 in that locality. 
 
 The valley of the Tennessee for miles both above 
 and below Florence was a very fertile district, and 
 had been General Forrest's unfailing source of sup- 
 plies for his cavalry in their raids upon the Union 
 forces in Tennessee. 
 
 We took only two days rations and a fair supply of 
 sugar and coffee, and moved down to Florence, es- 
 tablishing our camp two miles below the town on 
 Cypress Creek on the plantation of Captain Coffee, 
 whose fine home could be seen in a grove of trees on 
 an eminence above the creek. Captain Coffee was a 
 son of General Coffee, a distinguished officer of the 
 War of 1812, and second in command to General 
 Jackson at the battle of New Orleans. The son, 
 Captain Coffee, had been a captain in the confederate 
 army, but had resigned by reason of wounds received 
 
 (104) 
 
THE FLORENCE CAMPAIGN. IO5 
 
 in the battle of Shiloh, and remained out of the serv- 
 ice under the law passed by the Confederate Congress, 
 which exempted from military service all planters 
 owning forty or more slaves, this being to enable 
 them to raise supplies for the army which were badly 
 needed. This was a great relief to the wealthy 
 planters but it had a bad effect upon the rank and 
 file of the southern army, for it drew the line between 
 the men who brought on the war and those who were 
 compelled to do the fighting. 
 
 The morning after our arrival I made a detail of 
 scouts in charge of officers to canvass the country 
 for eight or ten miles in every direction on the north 
 side of the river, noting the roads, the different plan- 
 tations, the names of the owners, and their visible 
 supplies, as far as possible; and especially to visit 
 and examine the plantation of Jack Peters, on which 
 half of our gray horse company had been captured. 
 In the evening the officers in charge made quite a 
 satisfactory report as to the quantity of supplies of 
 every kind in sight. 
 
 Next morning a detail of lo teams — 6 mules each 
 — was sent out on the different roads, each in charge 
 of a sergeant and guard, to gather from the different 
 plantations corn and hay and oats for the horses ; 
 and the store houses belonging to the cotton mills 
 were prepared to receive the supplies. 
 
 I instructed the men that in their intercourse with 
 people they must never allow the "soldier" to outrank 
 
I06 RECOLLECTIONS OF A CAVALRYMAN. 
 
 the "gentleman." That we had to restore the Union 
 as well as to crush the rebellion. 
 
 The following day the teams were sent with in- 
 structions to secure bacon, hams, beef and other 
 meats, corn meal, flour and other supplies for the 
 men, and to the consternation of the people we began 
 to carry out the object of the expedition. 
 
 The Jack Peters plantation comprised 6,000 acres 
 extending from the river back into the highlands. 
 Peters, the owner, was a bachelor about sixty-five 
 years old. originally from one of the New England 
 States, an unpopular citizen, hard and close, but suc- 
 cessful financially. He had come there many years 
 previously with some money, and now besides his 
 land, he had some five hundred slaves of all ages and 
 shades of color, some of whom were said to be rela- 
 tives of his own ! 
 
 I stationed a company on this plantation to patrol 
 the river below, and instructed the officers to see to 
 it that their camp was kept properly guarded, to make 
 their men comfortable and to gather their subsistence 
 from this plantation for both horses and men. 
 
 Some days afterwards I rode down to see them, 
 and Peters, hearing I was there, sent for me. I rode 
 over to see him and found him sitting on the veranda. 
 A rather good looking and cleanly dressed quadroon 
 girl was leaning against the door frame a short dis- 
 tance from him. When he saw me he said in a loud, 
 imperious voice, *T want to let you know. Sir, that 
 the men you sent here are injuring my property." 
 
THE FLORENCE CAMPAIGN. W/ 
 
 "In what way?" I asked. 
 
 "Well, sir," said he, they are feeding their horses 
 on my corn and hay; they are taking my bacon and 
 sweet potatoes, and even chickens, without leave. 
 They are burning my fence rails to cook their victuals 
 and keep up fires at night ; and they are talking mis- 
 chief to my overseer and people; and I want you to 
 take them away, Sir, the sooner the better." 
 
 "Two weeks ago," I replied, "a part of a com- 
 pany of my command was captured on your planta- 
 tion while their captain was asleep in your house. 
 My men suspect that you or your overseer know 
 something about it. I sent this company here to do 
 just what you are complaining of; and it is only be- 
 cause I have not sufficient evidence that the enemy 
 got some word from you, that your house is still 
 standing; and although I have given orders not to 
 burn your premises, if you are not very careful your 
 house may yet go up in smoke." And with that I 
 turned and left him. 
 
 I will say here, that my experience in command 
 of cavalry operating at a distance from the heavy 
 bodies of infantry, brought me into intimate acquaint- 
 ance with the character and mode of life of the 
 southern people. Nearly all planters, "to the Manor 
 born," looked upon their slaves with a paternal in- 
 terest, having care for their health and comfort. This 
 interest was generally responded to by the warm- 
 hearted and faithful servants, and it was with a 
 sense of shame I learned that some owners who were 
 
loS RECOLLECTIONS OF A CAVALRYMAN. 
 
 said to be oppressive taskmasters had come from the 
 North, expecting to find an easier road to wealth 
 through the forced toil of slaves. They tried to get 
 as much work from the easy-going and good-natured 
 blacks as was obtained from the paid white labor of 
 the North. 
 
 The planters led the easy life of English country 
 gentlemen; many of them were descendants of 
 good families from the British Isles. They were 
 hostile to a society composed, as they thought, of in- 
 ferior representatives of the mixed nationalities of 
 Europe, who were impelled with the feverish am- 
 bition to accumulate wealth, even — by outwitting 
 friends, which they understood was the com- 
 mon spirit that pervaded the North and I felt 
 that while it was a great thing to put down the re- 
 bellion and preserve the unity of the States, it was 
 also great to obliterate the prejudice that had grown 
 up between the two sections, and to pave the way 
 for the development of a homogeneous people. 
 
 It was my practice to go about through the camp 
 at supper time, to see what the men had to eat. On 
 the third evening, I found one of the companies in 
 quite lively spirits, with a good supper, and a large 
 assortment of valuable silverware to eat it with. 
 
 I asked the sergeant in charge of the forage team 
 where he got the silver. He said he inquired of a 
 colored man where he could get corn, and was 
 told that down by the river there was a big limestone 
 cave full of it. He drove down and found it as he 
 
THE FLORENCE CAMPAIGN 
 
 109 
 
 had been informed. The corn was still in the husk; 
 in filling his wagon bed, he uncovered the silver- 
 ware, and so brought it along. 
 
 There was a large quantity of knives, forks, 
 spoons of different sizes, and fine dishes of different 
 kinds, engraved with the name **W. H. Key," and 
 marked "Sterling." 
 
 On reaching my quarters I sent for the captain 
 and directed him, when the men cleaned up the things 
 after supper, to gather up that silver and bring it to 
 my quarters. This was done, and I had the silver 
 wrapped in packages and placed in charge of the 
 sergeant with orders to deliver it to Mr. Key, the 
 owner, who, I learned, lived on a plantation seven 
 miles down the river. 
 
 Next morning I sent the silver with a note to the 
 owner, telling how my men had found it, and saying 
 that if he had any more valuables hid out anywhere, 
 he should take them to his house, as they would be 
 safer there. 
 
 That afternoon a colored man brought me a note 
 from Mr. Key, in which he thanked me for the re- 
 turn of the silver and expressed surprise that a 
 Yankee would do a thing like that; adding, however, 
 that as some of the more valuable and highly prized 
 pieces were still missing, he had gone to the cave, 
 but had not found them, and he was uncertain 
 whether my men or some colored men had taken 
 them. 
 
 I sent for the sergeant and asked him whether or 
 
no RECOLLECTIONS OF A CAVALRYMAN. 
 
 not the men had taken all the silver they had found. 
 He said they had not; that there were some large 
 pieces which they had re-buried under the corn in 
 another part of the cave. I had him make me a 
 diagram of the cave, and mark the spot. I then sent 
 for the captain and told him to go in the evening 
 when the men were at supper and see if there was 
 not some more silver among the men, which they had 
 secreted the night before; if so, to bring it to me. 
 This he did and found some. 
 
 Next morning I wrote another note to Mr. Key, 
 enclosing the diagram of the cave, and explaining 
 the facts; and returned the silver gathered up the 
 night before. In the afternoon I received another 
 note of thanks from him, in which he said that he 
 had gone to the cave and found the silver as I had 
 described, and closed with a request that he might be 
 permitted to come to camp and thank me personally 
 for my unexpected kindness. I wrote in reply that I 
 would be glad to meet him. 
 
 The next day a typical southern planter, about 
 forty years of age, came to my tent and was intro- 
 duced by my friend Mr. Martin of the cotton mill, 
 as Mr. W. H. Key, who I learned was a prominent 
 man familiarly known as "Buck" Key. 
 
 "I was the more surprised," said he, "at your 
 kindness, for I suppose you had been told that I was 
 a rebel." 
 
 "Oh, I don't know," said I, *''but that would have 
 
THE FLORENCE CAMPAIGN. Ill 
 
 made no difference. I suppose you are all seces- 
 sionists down here." 
 
 ''Now, let me correct you there," said he, "I sup- 
 pose I may properly be called a 'rebel,' but I am not 
 a secessionist. The original secessionists belong to 
 South Carolina; they are the followers of John C. 
 Calhoun. My family and I are old time Whigs, fol- 
 lowers of Henry Clay of Kentucky, who did not be- 
 lieve in secession. But we have been driven to rebel- 
 lion by the encroachment of the North, and I see no 
 way but to fight it out." 
 
 "Mr. Key," I replied, "I thank you for what you 
 have taught me today. I never realized the differ- 
 ence between a 'rebel' and a 'secessionist.' My father's 
 family, also, were old time Whigs and followers of 
 Henry Clay," and, cordially giving him my hand, I 
 continued, "vSo that after all I suspect we are half- 
 brothers in politics." 
 
 We spent an hour very pleasantly in my tent, and 
 as he arose to go, extending his hand again, he said, 
 "By the way. Colonel, I have an order from the 
 major general commanding our department at home, 
 who is my wife, to invite "that Yankee" to dine with 
 us, if after making his acquaintance I think him a 
 proper person to be introduced into our family, for, 
 fortunately or unfortunately, I am not sure which, 
 we have a family of six children of whom all but the 
 next to the youngest are daughters; and in these 
 troublous times my wife is cautious about inviting 
 
112 RECOLLECTIONS OF A CAVALRYMAN. 
 
 Strangers to the house; but I would be glad to have 
 them meet you at our home. When can you come?" 
 
 I replied : "You may give my compliments to the 
 major general commanding your department and say 
 that I appreciate the honor offered and will be glad 
 to come at any time." 
 
 "I have carte blanche," he said, "Can you come 
 tomorrow ?" 
 
 "Name the hour." And two oclock was named. 
 
 "I will be there," said I. 
 
 His plantation embraced some two thousand acres 
 of cotton land on the river. A few miles below this, 
 on the other side, a rebel regiment, which had been 
 recruited in that locality, was stationed. 
 
 The next morning I made a detail consisting of a 
 lieutenant and fifty men, and set of¥. We came in 
 sight of the place from a rising strip of timber over- 
 looking the extensive plantation. A large white 
 house was situated in the center of a grove of trees 
 some distance from the road. It was a beautiful 
 April day. I ordered the lieutenant to dismount his 
 men quietly in the woods and watch that no one ap- 
 proach the house while I was there. 
 
 I found Mr. Key awaiting me on the wide 
 veranda, and was introduced to ^Irs. Key, who, with 
 cordial welcome, invited me into the parlor where 
 Mr. Key left us. She was a fine looking lady, easy 
 and refined in her manner, and in all respects a typical 
 planter's wife. She was too well bred to betray any 
 
THE FLORENCE CAMPAIGN. II3 
 
 unusual excitement about the presence of one whom 
 they had been taught to regard as a dangerous enemy. 
 
 The conversation was frank and pleasant. After 
 a while a little black eye peeped in about the height 
 of the door knob, and the mother, looking around, 
 said, ''Come in, Lottie come in, don't be afraid. This 
 is not one of the bad Yankees you have heard about ; 
 this is a good Yankee." The little girl came in 
 timidly, keeping her back close to the wall until she 
 got her mother in line between her and me ; then com- 
 ing forward, slowly, she placed her chin on her folded 
 arms across her mother's knee, and looked at me 
 curiously. Soon, however, we became friends and 1 
 had her on my knee. 
 
 When dinner was announced I was introduced to 
 the older daughters, and invited into the dining room. 
 I had been told that the young ladies were handsome, 
 and had dressed myself with care accordingly. Be- 
 ing a young man and a Yankee, I felt it my patriotic 
 duty to make as good an impression as possible, even 
 upon the ladies. Mr. Key took his seat at the head 
 of the table and began carving, while I devoted my- 
 self in my best form to the daughters, who were quite 
 attractive. The dinner was excellent, although Mrs. 
 Key said that their table was very much restricted by 
 reason of General Forrest's troops which had been en- 
 camped upon their property recently, the General him- 
 self being the guest. 
 
 While I was complimenting the dinner, a servant 
 
 a 
 
114 RECOLLECTIONS OF A CAVALRYMAN. 
 
 opened the door and said that there were some 
 soldiers out doors. A change of expression came 
 over the faces of us all. Mr. Key got up from the 
 table and u^ent out. The ladies looked at me with 
 alarm. Soon Mr. Key returned and said that they 
 were Yankee soldiers. I asked what they wanted. 
 
 He replied, "A sergeant asked for the key to my 
 smoke house." 
 
 "What did you tell him?" 
 
 "I told him that you were in the house, and he 
 answered, That is all right, but we want the keys to 
 the smoke house all the same.' A sergeant and six 
 men with a six-mule team are out there waiting." 
 
 "Well, Mr. Key," said I, "I know of no alterna- 
 tive but for you to give him the keys." 
 
 He replied, "It is just as you say," and left the 
 room. 
 
 All the family were looking at me, and I looked 
 at my plate, but I think none of us felt very hungry 
 just then. 
 
 After a while Mr. Key returned. 
 
 "Well," said I, "How did you get along with the 
 boys? How did they treat you?" 
 
 "They treated me personally well enough, but the 
 sergeant wanted the keys. I opened the smoke house 
 door, at his suggestion; he looked in and asked if 
 that was my entire supply of meat. I told him it 
 was. He inquired the number in my family and I 
 told him. He then showed his men what pieces of 
 meat to take. I noticed they were mostly hams. He 
 
THE FLORENCE CAMPAIGN. II5 
 
 asked then for the keys to my corn crib, and I left 
 him finishing the load with corn." 
 
 Mr. Key sat down, took up his knife and fork 
 and resumed his dinner. The silence had become op- 
 pressive. I laid down my knife and fork, and slowly 
 straightened up. 
 
 ''Mr. Key, I must confess this is the most embar- 
 rassing position I ever was in, in my life. Here I am, 
 invited to your house, as a gentleman, seated at your 
 table as a guest, and my men are out there robbing your 
 smoke house and corn crib and I know it, and I do 
 not forbid them. The fact is they are acting strictly 
 under orders I received from my commander, Gen- 
 eral Sherman. They seem severe, but under the cir- 
 cumstances are unavoidable. The war cannot be 
 carried on without supplies ; and, after all, it is more 
 humane to destroy the supplies of the enemy than to 
 kill the soldiers, especially in a civil war like this. 
 General Sherman knows that your region here has 
 been a valuable source of supplies for the forces of 
 General Forrest who has been resting here and feed- 
 ing his troops between his raids into Tennessee, which 
 have resulted in the death of so many good men on 
 both sides, and he will do this so long as your sup- 
 plies last. And, Mrs. Key, allow me to suggest that 
 if your family had been boys instead of these hand- 
 some girls, you would probably have cause to mourn 
 the death of some of them, instead of simply re- 
 gretting the loss of the corn and bacon. I sent back 
 your silver because I had no orders to take silver. 
 
Il6 RECOLLECTIONS OF A CAVALRYMAN. 
 
 and if I had left it among my men it might have 
 crippled their efficiency by injuring their discipline, 
 and being family plate, it . could not be used to 
 strengthen the confederate cause." 
 
 They began to realize the truth of what I had 
 said, and with fine courtesy, continued the cordiality 
 they had shown me in the beginning. I left them as 
 friends and was almost glad that the embarrassing 
 occurrence had taken place just as it did. They in- 
 vited me to come to see them whenever I could. I 
 found my escort had enjoyed a fine afternoon, and 
 we returned to camp in good time. 
 
 A few days later I was introduced by Mr. Martin 
 to Governor Patton, who owned a plantation in the 
 vicinity. He was a rather delicate looking gentle- 
 man and reminded me of a college professor. He 
 was Lieutenant Governor of Alabama when the state 
 seceded; and had earnestly opposed the step, as an 
 old Henry Clay Whig, but as he told me, he had gone 
 with his state. 
 
 He had called to see me, he said, at the request of 
 his wife. All his able "help" had left him, and there 
 was none at home except the old servants who had 
 taken care of him when a child and their grand- 
 children. 
 
 'T was in a field," he said, "trying to plow some 
 ground, with the only team the war had left me, that 
 they might plant it in corn, when a corporal and two 
 of your men rode up. They told me to unhitch the 
 
THE FLORENCE CAMPAIGN. II7 
 
 horses, and after trying them, they took one and left 
 the other, saying it was of no account to them. My 
 wife, who was near by, saw it and was greatly grieved, 
 and suggested with tears that I go down and see the 
 Yankee officer, — perhaps he might do something 
 about it. I know the rules of war in the enemy's 
 country, and I expect nothing. I came only to sat- 
 isfy her. Our own people took the best of my stock." 
 '1 suspect, Governor," I replied, "that your wife 
 has more faith in the Yankee's heart than you have. 
 My men were acting under my orders and if they left 
 a horse in your tield it wasn't worth much. But it is 
 time your field was plowed, if your people are to 
 raise any corn this year. I think I can help you. I 
 have some horses whose backs have been so injured 
 during our night marches when saddle blankets were 
 lost that they cannot get well in time to be of use to 
 us, but their shoulders are good. Come out and look 
 at them, and pick out one." He chose modestly, but 
 I told him to take a better one. He selected another, 
 that one would do, said I, but no horse that my men 
 had left could keep up its end of the double- 
 tree with that one. 'Tick one that can." He chose 
 another. "Now that will make you a good team, but 
 hereafter when their backs gtt well, some other 
 soldier may want one or both of these. Select an- 
 other and turn it out in a back field with the one my 
 men left you, and you and the old folks will be able 
 to tend your corn." 
 
Il8 RECOLLECTIONS OF A CAVALRYMAN. 
 
 We found some leading ropes and he went home 
 with three horses that were an encumbrance to us, but 
 could be made of value to him. 
 
 The feeling born of the war still existed among 
 the people, but I sent a guard consisting of a non- 
 commissioned officer and three men to each planta- 
 tion house within reach of the river, and this was 
 changed every few days. My men were eager for 
 the detail, as they thus made acquaintances, and often 
 were given something good to eat. I told them, how- 
 ever, that none but gentlemen would be sent on this 
 duty, for I wanted to let the people know that we 
 had good people in Ohio; and the captains had in- 
 structions to detail none but those who showed by 
 their deportment that they had been well raised at 
 home. This had the effect of stimulating a proper 
 ambition among the men and did much to elevate the 
 regiment in public estimation; and more to cultivate a 
 high order of discipline than methods of punishment 
 commonly resorted to. 
 
 One day, shortly after we established camp, the 
 corporal of the guard brought a young lady on horse- 
 back, to headquarters wanting to go through the lines. 
 I asked her where she lived, what her name was, 
 where she was going, what for, etc., all of which she 
 answered very pleasantly. She seemed to enjoy the 
 experience and her black eyes sparkled with its 
 novelty. In fact, I asked her more questions than 
 the regulations require, just because of her bright 
 eyes. 
 
THE FLORENCE CAMPAIGN. I IQ 
 
 I learned that she was going to town to see some 
 relatives. The next day she was again brought in 
 by the corporal from the opposite side of the camp, 
 and I began the catechism again. She had been visit- 
 ing an aunt in town, two of whose sons were at the 
 time attending the University of Edinburgh, Scot- 
 land. Her name had been given as "Mrs. McQuire." 
 I asked where her husband was. She replied that she 
 had none, that she was a widow and lived with her 
 mother, Mrs. Collier, who also was a widow, on their 
 plantation some miles down the river. In a few days 
 she came again on her way to town, and was brought 
 to my headquarters again, when we talked at greater 
 length. She remarked, "I understand that you arc 
 Scotch." 
 
 *Who told you that?" I asked. 
 "The guard you were kind enough to send down 
 to our house. You see our people are also Scotch." 
 Her father who, I had learned, was at one time 
 governor of the state, but had died some years before. 
 She had an older sister at home whose husband. Cap- 
 tain Simpson, was a quartermaster in the regiment 
 across the river. Her mother had asked her to invite 
 me to come and see them. I told her I should be de- 
 lighted to do so, if she and her sister would promise 
 not to invite their friends across the river to come 
 over and capture me. She laughed and promised 
 that they would not. I went down afterwards with a 
 scouting party and called on the family. 
 
 Mrs. Collier and her two daughters lived alone 
 
120 RECOLLECTIONS OF A CAVALRYMAN. 
 
 with their servants, as they preferred to take some 
 personal risk rather than leave their home unoc- 
 cupied and exposed to the lawlessness of the times. 
 I had a very pleasant call. They insisted 
 that I was not a Yankee but a Scotchman. 
 I said, however, "I am a Yankee from Ohio 
 — or rather, a Buckeye grafted on the stem 
 of a thistle. In early life I was fed on oatmeal por- 
 ridge and the Shorter Catechism, in an atmosphere 
 where it was considered a sin to "Whussel on the 
 Sawbath Day." But I was educated as a Yankee, 
 and am now neither better nor worse than the aver- 
 age Yankees of the North who are honestly trying to 
 keep the nation from going to pieces." 
 
 They seemed puzzled and said that there was 
 surely something wrong about all this ; and they ex- 
 pressed a wish that I could meet the colonel and 
 some of their friends across the river, and proposed 
 that they would give a party and invite some of their 
 officers over and if I would bring some of mine to 
 meet them at supper, all would spend the evening to- 
 gether. 
 
 "Would you be willing to come?" they asked. 
 
 "Oh, certainly," said I, "but your officers would 
 not come. They would be at a disadvantage exposing 
 themselves on the wrong side of the river without 
 having as much faith in us as would justify the ven- 
 ture." 
 
 So that in spite of their gracious proposal we 
 
THE FLORENCE CAMPAIGN. I2I 
 
 unfortunately were not permitted to meet and arrange 
 the terms of peace ! 
 
 Captain Cofifee also invited me to his house, and 
 my acquaintance with him and his family was in- 
 teresting and pleasant. They had only one child, 
 Mary, a sweet little girl of about ten years ; and we 
 soon became great friends. 
 
 One day when I called, I found her sitting by 
 her mother plaiting rye straw from a bundle on her 
 knee. 
 
 ''What are you doing, Mary?" I asked. 
 
 "1 am trying to make a hat." 
 
 "Who for?" I asked. 
 
 ''Why, for myself," she said. 
 
 "If you will give me some straw, I will help you." 
 
 "Do you know how to make a hat?" 
 
 "Of course, I do." 
 
 "Do you know what the fashion is in the North ?" 
 
 "Oh, I know all about it." 
 
 I drew up a chair and sat down beside her; she 
 gave me a bundle of straw and we went gayly to 
 work. It took us several afternoons to finish that hat, 
 and we had great fun over it. "After all," she said, 
 "the only way to get a new hat is to make one, for 
 the cruel Yankees won't let the ships bring us any new 
 hats." 
 
 I had given instruction that while the men and 
 horses were to fare liberally, the different planta- 
 tions should be allowed to retain sufficient provisions 
 
122 RECOLLECTIONS OF A CAVALRYMAN. 
 
 for their own real needs. So that we came to 
 be looked upon simply as one of the burdens of a 
 cruel war; and they met the inevitable without com- 
 plaint like a high-spirited people. 
 
 I called frequently at the Key's plantation. Mr. 
 Key displayed a new interest in the war, and wished 
 to learn more from our point of view. Although this 
 was in the spring of 1864 the South had not lost faith 
 in the final success of their cause. Their papers had 
 been misleading, but new light had begun to break 
 in upon them, and they suspected that they had been 
 entertaining an incorrect view of the northern people. 
 They had also noticed some diflference, in character 
 and deportment between Forrest's men and mine. 
 
 "Your men," said Mr. Key, "we have found, are 
 orderly and polite. We never hear them quarrel, and 
 they always speak with the highest respect of their 
 officers; and while we thank you for the guards you 
 send to our houses, we feel that we scarcely need 
 their protection. We would like to know more about 
 the home life of your officers and men." 
 
 I told him that allowance should be made for the 
 fact that Forrest's men received their pay only in a 
 currency that had but little value. And discipline in a 
 modern army cannot live long without money. I 
 gave him an account of the organization of my regi- 
 ment, saying that it might be regarded as fairly 
 representative of the people of Ohio. 
 
 "Many pi the boys", said I, "are our neighbors' 
 sons, and went to school to me in the winter and 
 
THE FLORENCE CAMPAIGN. 123 
 
 worked on the farms in the summer. I have also 
 the sons of merchants, manufacturers, bankers and 
 professional men, and we all were taught that work 
 is honorable. The social organization of the South, 
 we regard as unnatural, and not consistent with a 
 democracy such as this nation was intended to be. 
 My father reared his family comfortably on a farm 
 of two hundred acres. It takes two thousand acres 
 and a hundred slaves to supply the wants of your 
 family. This, we think, discredits labor, and dooms 
 your sons to idleness." 
 
 Once afterwards when I called I found him in 
 the barnyard, and two of the daughters were milking 
 the cows. 
 
 ''Ah, Colonel," he remarked, ''you find us prac- 
 ticing at the lessons you have been teaching us. We 
 have been thinking that perhaps it might be well to 
 try and get ready for any change that may be ap- 
 proaching." 
 
 After a campaign of nearly a month I was ordered 
 to Decatur and left that locality with the good will 
 of its citizens none of whom had been deprived of 
 their necessary supplies or subjected to any humilia- 
 tion. But Forrest's base of operations was destroyed 
 which was submitted to without much regret. 
 
CHAPTER i6. 
 Battle of Decatur. 
 
 On the 2nd of May ('64) I was ordered with my 
 regiment to Decatur, Alabama, about sixty miles up 
 the Tennessee river from Florence, and some 130 
 miles below Chattanooga, and the only point held by 
 Union forces below that point. 
 
 On my arrival here I found a regiment of infantry 
 and a small fort with a battery of artillery. My orders 
 were to patrol the south side of the river above and 
 below Decatur. 
 
 The rebel General Roddy with a mixed command 
 of one brigade of infantry and mounted men, had 
 been making frequent demonstrations in that locality 
 with the purpose of taking the post at Decatur so 
 as to have full control of the south side of the river. 
 General Sherman, however, considered it important 
 to be held, in view of his proposed advance toward 
 Atlanta. 
 
 Our respective scouts had frequent encounters, 
 but seldom at close range. The enemy's force was 
 increased and it seemed to be their determination to 
 drive us back across the river. To prevent this an 
 infantry brigade under command of Brigadier General 
 Davidson was sent to our assistance. 
 
 (124) 
 
BATTLE OF DECATUR. 125 
 
 The enemy frequently attempted to capture our 
 outposts, consisting of a sergeant and a squad of men 
 dismounted some distance in advance of our infantry 
 pickets, and a mounted vidette kept under cover as 
 much as possible some two hundred yards in advance. 
 
 One midnight a big, strong prisoner was brought 
 to my quarters, bleeding from a shot in the face, and 
 moaning piteously. It seems that the vidette was 
 sitting on his horse under a tree in the dark, and 
 saw dimly what at first he thought was a hog, across 
 the road, in the woods, behind a fence. It was slowly 
 moving toward the picket post. He became convinced 
 that it was a soldier and fired. The man, — for such 
 it proved to be, — cried, *'Oh, I am shot !" At the 
 picket post he told the sergeant that he had been 
 coming in to give himself up, for he was tired of the 
 war. His gun was found, however, in the morning 
 lying loaded and half cocked behind the fence where 
 he was shot. Although he declared he was on his 
 feet when shot through the cheek, we found the bullet 
 hole in a thin rail near the ground, and he must have 
 been on his hands and knees when the vidette fired. 
 I sent him to the doctor at the hospital and he was 
 taken care of. 
 
 An order had been issued by the post commander 
 that in case a general attack was made, a gun should 
 be fired from the fort, and this would be a notice for 
 all the forces to turn out without further orders. All 
 the companies were notified of this arrangement. 
 
 At daylight on Sunday morning, the 8th of June, 
 
126 RECOLLECTIONS OF A CAVALRYMAN. 
 
 the alarm gun was fired. Ten companies of the 
 Ninth Regiment were promptly in the saddle, and we 
 dashed forward to the point of attack. The mounted 
 officer of the picket guard, who was from our 
 Regiment, met me and pointed out the position and 
 formation of the enemy's line which was in a field 
 to which a road from the town lead. On one side 
 of this road was a heavy body of timber, on the other 
 a fence and corn field, leaving no way to attack the 
 enemy except by charging along the road in column 
 for a quarter of a mile. 
 
 This I decided to do, and placing myself with 
 Captain Walter Morrison at the head of the first 
 company ("E"), I ordered the bugler to sound the 
 charge. The men responded with a shout and drew 
 their pistols as the horses dashed forward. The 
 enemy held their fire until we came well within reach, 
 then opened upon us. On this first volley, I received 
 a shot in the right foot. 
 
 The woods and the cornfield gave them a narrow 
 frontage through which to fire at us, and before they 
 could reload their pieces, we were upon them with 
 pistol and sabre. They were thrown into confusion, 
 lost their formation in the center, and rushed pell 
 mell across the narrow field into another body of tim- 
 ber, where they re-formed behind an old rail fence. 
 
 T rode into the open to see their position and 
 ordered the companies to form from column into line 
 as they came up, and to charge as I directed. 
 
 My orderly and watchful aid, Morton Black, 
 
BATTLE OF DECATUR. 127 
 
 suddenly called out, "Look out, Colonel." It was 
 Sunday morning. I had dressed for Sunday inspec- 
 tion, and was therefore rather conspicuous in full 
 uniform. I followed his glance and saw three puffs 
 of smoke rise from near the bottom of the fence 
 across the field, and at the same instant felt the pass 
 of one bullet at my right, and another on my left. 
 The third disabled my horse. I called tor another and 
 in changing, found that the shot received in the road 
 had lamed me. I had not had time to give attention 
 to it, except to feel that I could still move my toes. 
 
 In our charge by companies in line I noticed near 
 me E. B. Gatchel of Company "F" who dashed for- 
 ward, yelling, "Come on, boys, there's dead loads of 
 'em over there." He had not gone far when a bullet 
 struck him in the lower jaw. He did not fall from 
 his horse but saying, "They've plugged it to me, boys," 
 put his hand to his face, stopped his horse, slowly dis- 
 mounted and lay down. 
 
 Approaching a planter's house surrounded by 
 trees, I saw a woman pulling at a wounded man to get 
 him behind a big white oak tree, for protection from 
 our charge. I called to her to leave the man, run to 
 the house and get into the cellar, if there was one, 
 for this was no place for a woman. She had not 
 realized the danger until she saw the line of horse- 
 men almost upon her. They gave her the right of 
 way however, as she left the wounded man and ran 
 for dear life. 
 
 We broke and scattered the second line of General 
 
128 RECOLLECTIONS OF A CAVALRYMAN. 
 
 Roddy's forces, and they fled into the thick woods. 
 On returning, we met General Davidson and his brig- 
 ade of infantry who had arrived during the second 
 charge. When I reported to him, he said, **That was 
 handsomely done, Colonel." 
 
 In this affair we lost no men killed ; we gathered 
 up our few wounded and those the enemy left, who 
 were taken to a hospital, and we returned to head- 
 quarters. 
 
 The surgeon examined my wound, and found that 
 the ball had hit the iron bolt of my wooden stirrup, 
 bent it and split the wood, striking a large spur 
 buckle. It had glanced off, leaving a deep impression 
 on my boot, but not going through the leather, and 
 my foot was badly swollen. The surgeon directed that 
 cold water be poured on my foot during the rest of 
 the day, to allay the swelling, after he had let the 
 blood out of the wound. I went about on crutches 
 for a time, but was not off duty, chiefly for the reason 
 that I had no field officers present to take my place. 
 
 While here, Michael Nachtrieb, an artist and mem- 
 ber of the band from Wooster, Ohio, found a prepared 
 canvas on which he asked to paint my portrait. I 
 have the painting still and value it in memory of a 
 genial comrade who proved himself as proficient in 
 art as he was in music, both of which, however, 
 were more to his liking than the care of his horse, 
 which on inspection day was tested by the use of a 
 white pocket handkerchief. One morning Mike ap- 
 peared on a new horse, for which he had traded with 
 
Michael Xachtrieb, 
 Musician. 
 
 Sergt. Geo. H. Hill, 
 o. 1. 
 
 Lt, Thos. J. Cochran, 
 Co. "C," 9th O. V. C. 
 
 Lt. Wm. B. Ely, 
 Co. "L," Uth O. V. C. 
 
BATTLE OF DECATUR. 12^ 
 
 one of the boys. I reprimanded him, saying that the 
 horse was not as good as his old one. ''Not quite," 
 he said, "but it was a clean one, Colonel!" 
 
 Some time after the war I met Judge Woods of 
 Florence, formerly a colonel in the confederate army. 
 Speaking of the Decatur engagement, he told me that 
 Major Ferguson, afterwards a prominent lawyer in 
 Memphis, was criticised at the time by General Roddy 
 because his line gave way on our second charge. Fer- 
 guson replied, "What was the use, Gennul, the mo' 
 we fiahed, the wuss they got!" And the Judge said 
 this reply became one of their stock army jokes. 
 
CHAPTER 17. 
 Rousseau's Raid. 
 
 In the spring of 1864, Sherman began crowding 
 Johnston back from Chattanooga toward Atlanta ; and 
 during this movement, the Ninth Ohio Cavalry 
 operating in connection with a brigade of infantry 
 held Decatur, guarding against a flank movement of 
 the enemy in that direction and protecting Sherman's 
 reinforcements at this, the only available crossing of 
 the Tennessee river below Chattanooga. 
 
 When Sherman crossed the Chattahoochee in his 
 advance on Atlanta it became necessary to cut the 
 railroads over which supplies were brought to that 
 city and to Johnston's army. The most important of 
 these was the road reaching Salem, Alabama, Mont- 
 gomery and the southwest. At Salem were situated 
 the confederate government shops which furnished 
 most of the artillery and ordnance supplies for the 
 confederacy. This road also extended down through 
 a rich farming region which furnished the commissary 
 supplies. Johnston had so effectually guarded it for 
 miles out of Atlanta that Sherman had been unable 
 to reach it. 
 
 On the 6th of July I received a dispatch from 
 General Rousseau commanding at Nashville, directing 
 
 (130) 
 
ROUSSEAU S RAID. 
 
 131 
 
 me to meet him there the next morning. When I 
 arrived he showed me an order from General Sher- 
 man, directing him to organize a cavalry force of 
 about two thousand five hundred men, and start 
 as soon as possible from Decatur for the purpose of 
 cutting the Salem Railroad anywhere outside of a 
 hundred miles from Atlanta. 
 
 "This," said General Rousseau, "will require a 
 march of about three hundred miles. How many good 
 men and horses can you furnish?" 
 
 I replied, "I can furnish five hundred men and 
 horses." General Rousseau then said, "I will be at 
 Decatur on the ninth with two thousand men besides, 
 and will organize the force so as to be ready to start 
 on the tenth." 
 
 I returned to Decatur, called a meeting of the 
 officers and explained the project; said that I had 
 promised five hundred good men and horses, and 
 directed the officers of each company to make such 
 selections as would aggregate that number. When the 
 general arrived with two thousand men, my quota was 
 added, and the entire command was divided into two 
 brigades. 
 
 Colonel Harrison of the Eighth Indiana cavalry 
 was placed in command of our brigade and I was 
 given the other. 
 
 As I had no field officers of my regiment with 
 me I was compelled to put the ranking captain, Wil- 
 liam Stough, in command. 
 
 We started on the morning of July loth and after 
 
132 RECOLLECTIONS OF A CAVALRYMAN. 
 
 a rapid march of three days it was found that quite 
 a number of both horses and men of the command 
 would be unable to stand the trip, and 300 horses and 
 men were sent back to Decatur under command of 
 Captain Daniels of Co. B. 
 
 On reaching the Coosa river, we found a force of 
 the enemy on the other side ready to dispute our 
 passage. 
 
 There was a field of green corn adjoining the 
 road on that side and a small ferry boat fastened to 
 the bank. 
 
 Here we went into camp and in the night sent 
 over some men to bring over the boat, and sent over 
 Captain Gatch with 30 men who concealed themselves 
 in the cornfield. In the morning when we were pre- 
 paring to cross, a force of the enemy's cavalry came 
 to dispute our passage. But Captain Gatch and his 
 men were waiting for them and when in close reach 
 opened a fire which reduced their force by one officer 
 and twenty men and horses. And we crossed the 
 river without opposition. But from that time on 
 General Clanton with his cavalry force kept us un- 
 pleasant company during our march. He would not 
 stand for a fair fight but hung on our skirts capturing 
 stragglers and forage parties. 
 
 To avoid him we traveled mostly in the night, often 
 changing directions to mislead him. We had no sup- 
 plies except the men could find and quite a num- 
 ber of stragglers, especially from the 9th O. V. C, 
 which was the largest in the command. Captain 
 
Capt. a. p. Gatch, Co. "L. 
 
 A. J. CuRREN (Left). 
 Robert Sickinger (Right), 
 
ROUSSEAU S RAID. 133 
 
 Stough had beeil a fine infantry officer but was nearly 
 50 years old and although rather slow for the cavalry 
 in his care, his men straggled and were captured. 
 Irvin Dorn, my chief bugler, found whiskey, got drunk 
 and went to sleep and was captured. His bugle fell 
 into the hands of General Clanton. The General's 
 widow returned it to me years afterwards and I still 
 have it. 
 
 Eight men of one of my companies left the ranks 
 without leave, to find something to eat and were cap- 
 tured and sent to Andersonville. 
 
 A very interesting account of the affair was given 
 by Comrade Daniel Moses of Co. K., one of the 
 survivors, and read before the schools of Fremont, 
 in which he gave a most vivid account of the suffering 
 in Andersonville prison, an extract from which was 
 sent in a letter to me for publication in this book. Con- 
 ditions were such in my regiment that it became 
 necessary that I should take direct command and 
 General Rousseau felt it necessary to relieve me for 
 that purpose. This was mortifying but conditions 
 made it necessary. After that there was no more 
 trouble. 
 
 When we came to the Tallapoosa river which recent 
 rains had swollen, although it was dark we could 
 dimly see the water rushing along among large 
 boulders almost covered. The head of the column 
 halted, and when I came up the captain in the lead 
 said he could not make out the ford. I rode to a 
 cabin near by and woke up a negro to come and show 
 
134 RECOLLECTIONS OF A CAVALRYMAN. 
 
 US the ford. He was terribly frightened and said he 
 could not tell where it was. I ordered him to put on 
 his clothes and come quickly or it would be the worse 
 for him. I put him on a strong horse, told him to 
 start across and that I would keep close to him. He 
 begged piteously, but I told him the boys would shoot 
 him if he did not go. I then told the captain to follow 
 us with his company, and to station men about fifty 
 feet apart on the line of the ford. I let the negro 
 see the gleam of my pistol, and we started, and slowly 
 stemmed the rushing torrent, among the rocks until 
 finally we struck the opposite bank; all got safely 
 through except one poor darkey and his pack mule 
 which were washed over a half submeiged boulder 
 and disappeared under the flood ; and we were unable 
 to rescue either of them. Ever after we referred to 
 the crossing of that river in that night, with a shudder, 
 for the thought of it was as unpleasant as that of any 
 battle we were ever in. 
 
 We passed on through a wild region, in which 
 the city of Birmingham now stands, and on July 17th, 
 reached the Salem Railroad at Lochapoka, twenty-five 
 miles east of Montgomery, Alabama, at two o'clock 
 in the morning. We slept by our horses in a strip 
 of timber until daylight, and after finding some corn 
 for our horses and making our breakfast ofif the forage 
 of the day before, the column started toward Mont- 
 gomery, Colonel Harrison's brigade in advance, the 
 Ninth Ohio and the Sixth Kentucky Cavalry in the 
 rear. 
 
ROUSSEAU S RAID. 135 
 
 When we had gone about half a mile I found Gen- 
 eral Rousseau sitting on his horse at the side of the 
 road waiting for me. He said, ''I am going to destroy 
 the road toward Montgomery and burn a large rail- 
 road trestle six miles below here. You will turn your 
 regiment and the Sixth Kentucky back to Lochapoka, 
 and from that point tear up the railroad track toward 
 Atlanta. Don't stop till you hear from me. If Clan- 
 ton attacks you, fight him; if he is too much for you, 
 fall back on me. But unless it becomes necessary, 
 don't stop the work." 
 
 I thanked the general for this evidence of his con- 
 fidence and turned the head of my column toward At- 
 lanta, a hundred miles distant. As I re-entered the 
 village, I saw the head of General Clanton's column 
 coming in at the other end. I ordered the buglers to 
 sound the ''Charge" and the command dashed for- 
 ward. The movement was a surprise which the enemy 
 did not understand, and they fell back in confusion. 
 I sent the Kentucky regiment after them while we 
 halted and proceeded to organize our wrecking force. 
 
 The railroad was built on the old plan with wooden 
 stringers, six by eight inches and probably fifteen feet 
 long, mortised into the ties and held in place by wooden 
 wedges ; and on these stringers, iron straps one inch 
 by two and a half inches were spiked. 
 
 Half the entire command I placed on guard; and 
 of each four men of the remainder, dismounted num- 
 bers one, two and three for a working force, in- 
 
136 RECOLLECTIONS OF A CAVALRYMAN. 
 
 structed number four to follow closely with the 
 horses. 
 
 I arranged the men in working squads. Two men, 
 placed in the lead with axes, which we had found in 
 the village, drove out the wedges, and a sufficient num- 
 ber following with hand spikes lifted and brought the 
 timbers with the iron rails together in the center of 
 the track; other squads gathered and piled on these 
 all the ties, fence rails and other combustibles at hand ; 
 others started fires and saw that it did its work. 
 
 The duty assigned to the mounted force was to 
 protect these working men, for which they were some- 
 times needed in the front, sometimes at the rear, and 
 again, at either side. Each of the men in charge of the 
 horses kept as close to his working comrades as con- 
 venient, so that in case of an attack in force, they all 
 could quickly mount. At intervals the workers and the 
 defenders changed places, and the work was rushed 
 as fast as possible. 
 
 The way led through a poor country thickly over- 
 grown with bushes and scrub timber, through which 
 it was difficult to handle cavalry or to watch their 
 movements. Clanton was about us all day and oc- 
 casionally tried to stop our work. Early in the day 
 he made an attack from the front, which, however, we 
 repulsed, and one of his men was left dead on th.e 
 track. 
 
 At noon we approached the town of Auburn, 
 which we learned contained a confederate hospital, 
 and a stock of commissary and quartermasters' sup- 
 
ROUSSEAU S RAID. 137 
 
 plies. The negroes that came out to us, told us that 
 there were soldiers in the town, and that the officers 
 were arming everybody and getting ready to fight us. 
 As yet we could see nothing of the town on account of 
 the growth of brush, but when close to it, I stopped the 
 work, mounted all the men, formed in lines as best I 
 could, and ordered all the buglers along the line to 
 sound the "Charge." The rush through the thickets 
 could be better heard than seen. The men who had been 
 collected to oppose us, broke on our first fire, and scat- 
 tered in every direction. I then ordered the force 
 back to resume the work, and I took possession of the 
 store houses and proceeded to distribute the supplies 
 among our men. These included clothing, underwear, 
 shoes, tobacco and provisions. After the whole com- 
 mand was supplied, I sent word to the citizens to come 
 and help themselves to what they wanted. This 
 changed the excitement. Women and children, white 
 and black, came rushing to help themselves. A well 
 dressed lady, that I noticed, came with a colored ser- 
 vant, and pointed out some hams, which she ordered 
 him to take to the house. "Haint got time. Missus, 
 haint got time," replied the negro, eagerly grabbing 
 what he wanted for himself. The lady then proceeded 
 to help herself as the others were doing. 
 
 About this time a whistle was heard in the distance, 
 and I was told that a train of soldiers was coming 
 from Atlanta. We had cut the wires in the morning 
 to prevent the giving of information. I sent Captain 
 Catch with his company ahead to learn and report the 
 
138 RECOLLECTIONS OF A CAVALRYMAN. 
 
 facts, and put the remainder of the men to barricading 
 the streets. Tliis alarmed the negroes and women, 
 who anxiously inquired if we were going to fight right 
 there among them. I replied that it looked like it, but 
 that they should not be alarmed ; if any of them were 
 hurt it would be by their friends, not by us! Soon, 
 however, a courier came from Captain Gatch to say 
 that the train consisted of a locomotive and two cars, 
 with men to repair the telegraph line, and that he had 
 let them come on past him, and had then torn up 
 the track behind them, and had captured the train. 
 
 We set fire to the rebel storehouses and the 
 railroad station, and proceeded with our work on the 
 track. On reaching the train, we took the sledge ham- 
 mers found there, broke up the breakable parts of 
 the engine, and set fire to the cars. The men were 
 treated kindly. 
 
 The engineer came to me and said that he was 
 from the North and had been running on the road 
 when the war broke out ; that he was not in sympathy 
 with the rebellion, but had no way of getting home. 
 He would hke to stay with us, and would give us all 
 the help he could. I asked him what state he was 
 from. He replied, "Massachusetts", and I concluded 
 from the way he "guessed" instead of "reckoned" 
 that he was telling the truth. 
 
 We continued the work of tearing up the track 
 and twisting the rails until twelve o'clock that night, 
 leaving a line of blazing light behind us as far as w^e 
 could see. At midnight we had reached West Point 
 
Rousseau's raid. 139 
 
 Junction, fifteen miles from Lochapoka, from which 
 we had started in the morning. 
 
 While seated on my horse among the men still 
 working, I heard a voice inquiring for Colonel Ham- 
 ilton. It was an aid from General Rousseau, who had 
 sent him to find me, to present his compliments and 
 say he wanted to see me. I asked where the general 
 was, and he replied, "Back there among the men." 
 
 When he saw me he called out, 
 
 "Hamilton, are you going in to Atlanta tonight?" 
 
 "I don't know," I answered, "my orders, as I un- 
 derstand them, were to keep at work until I heard from 
 you, and whether that would take me in to Atlanta or 
 not I was not certain." 
 
 "Well, sir," he said, "I want to thank you for 
 your day's work. You have made this expedition a 
 success. I saw a dead rebel or two by the road as I 
 came. Did you have much trouble?" 
 
 I told him I had had a skirmish or two. 
 
 "Well, I will take pleasure in giving you and your 
 command proper credit in my report. I was not very 
 successful on the other end. When I reached the rail- 
 road bridge I found it guarded by a company in a 
 block house, and as I had no artillery, I could not 
 dislodge them. Call oiT your men and let them sleep 
 till morning. I see a house with a porch yonder, let us 
 lie down and take a nap." 
 
 This we did, lying on our saddle blankets with our 
 saddles for pillows. 
 
 Next morning, the 21st of July ('64) the entire 
 
140 RECOLLECTIONS OF A CAVALRYMAN. 
 
 command started northeast for our lines about At- 
 lanta, and by night we reached the village of Lafayette. 
 Rumors were thick that the enemy's troops were hunt- 
 ing us. We found a little corn for our horses that 
 night, but nothing for our own suppers. The men 
 were ordered to keep their horses bridled, and to lie 
 down beside them ready for an attack. Next morning 
 we found some more corn for our horses, and after 
 feeding, started again northeast to meet our friends. 
 
 We traveled all that day (the 22nd of July) to the 
 sound of the great battle in which McPherson was 
 killed. In the afternoon we came upon a Union picket 
 post — a lieutenant and a platoon of men all cleanly 
 dressed in blue. They welcomed us with guns at a 
 salute as we passed. My eyes filled as I returned it, 
 and I thought them the handsomest men I ever saw. 
 A feeling of restfulness came over me to which I 
 had been a stranger for these thirteen days and nights. 
 
 The day after our arrival, I felt myself unfit for 
 duty, and lay in my tent all day, by advice of the 
 surgeon — the only instance of this kind during my 
 four years of service. 
 
 The third day I received an order to report my 
 regiment to General McCook, who had been ordered to 
 make a raid south of Atlanta. This, I was told, would 
 require an expedition of several days. I ordered the 
 different companies to prepare for the trip as well as 
 they could, and we started in column. But in the 
 meantime I asked for the inspector of cavalry to ex- 
 amine my command as to its fitness for such a duty. 
 
ROUSSEAU S RAID. I4I 
 
 On his arrival, I rode with him along the column and 
 told him of the character and extent of the service the 
 regiment had performed, and after his inspection he 
 reported its condition to General McCook. 
 
 The general then directed me to proceed with his 
 column along the river about ten miles to where the 
 pontoon was being laid for him to cross, and to re- 
 main there for two days, after which I was to take 
 up the pontoon, and return with it to Vining Station, 
 where I could go into camp and rest my command. 
 
 The morning after our return, I went across the 
 river to report to General Thomas. The battle of the 
 22nd. of July had occurred in that vicinity, and the 
 scene before me was disheartening. Broken wagons, 
 dismounted artillery, dead horses and mules, and other 
 debris of the battle strewed the ground as far as one 
 could see. Trees here and there were shattered by 
 cannon balls. Long ridges of freshly turned earth 
 showed where soldiers had been buried side by side 
 in one common trench. Skulking camp followers, and 
 straggling soldiers completed the gruesome picture. 
 The air was filled with a sickening stench. I was 
 told by the stragglers that it had been a bad fight, 
 and that we had got the worst of it. 
 
 When I reached General Thomas's headquarters 
 on the right beyond the battlefield, I found the general 
 sitting on a camp stool in front of his tent in the shade 
 of a canopy of green branches. He was in his shirt 
 sleeves and his straw hat lay near him. 
 
142 RECOLLECTIONS OF A CAVALRYMAN. 
 
 After the formalities, in which I reported the re- 
 turn of my regiment to his command, he invited me 
 to a seat. I remarked upon the desolate appearance 
 of the scenes I had passed, saying that it looked de- 
 pressing. 
 
 "Ah, well", said he, "It always does in the rear 
 after a battle, but up at the front you will find the 
 boys in the rifle pits cheerful, confident, and in good 
 humor. It was a hard fought battle, and we lost Mc- 
 Pherson, but the enemy failed in their purpose and got 
 badly worsted." 
 
 Presently a man rode up on an ill favored horse, 
 with an old bridle, and a blanket for a saddle. He 
 was barefoot, and coatless and wore an old straw hat. 
 Dismounting, he saluted and asked, "Is this General 
 Thomas?" At the general's reply, he continued, "I 
 a^m Colonel Jim Brownlow of the First Tennessee 
 Cavalry. I desire to apologize for my appearance by 
 stating that I was with General McCook yesterday 
 when we were attacked by a Tennessee rebel force. 
 My regiment occupied the rear of the column and we 
 were cut ofif. I ordered a charge, cut through their 
 lines and made for the river, giving orders to cross. 
 At the point we struck it, the bank was too high for 
 the horses. I called to my men to leave them and 
 take to the water. They are mountaineers and many 
 of them could not swim, so I stripped to give what 
 assistance I could. Though the enemy was firing on 
 us, it was through a thicket of bushes that skirted the 
 
ROUSSEAU S RAID. 
 
 143 
 
 river, and most of us got across. I picked up this 
 rig and came to report." 
 
 The general said not a word until the colonel had 
 finished then he asked, 
 
 "What became of McCook?" 
 
 The colonel replied, "He kept straight ahead. The 
 Johnnies let him go and took after me." The gen- 
 eral seemed satisfied, and asked the colonel what had 
 become of his men. He answered. 
 
 'T don't know where in the devil they are." 
 ^ "Yours is the First Tennessee Cavalry, you say", 
 said the general. *T have no doubt they are around 
 in the mountains somewhere. You go to the quarter- 
 master and get a pair of shoes and some clothes, and 
 have a good night's rest. Your mountaineers will all 
 be back in the morning." 
 
 A few years ago I told this story in Knoxville 
 to the colonel's mother, the venerable and bright 
 widow of "Parson Brownlow". She laughed and said 
 naively, "Jim told me that same story and showed me 
 the shoes that General Thomas gave him." Mrs. 
 Brownlow died a year ago at the age of ninety-five, 
 at Knoxville. 
 
CHAPTER i8. 
 
 Preparing to Remount the Command. 
 
 During the latter part of the Atlanta campaign the 
 horses of the cavalry were badly used up by too much 
 work and too little food, and I obtained an order to 
 take four hundred of my men to Nashville and draw 
 1, 600 horses for my own and other commands. 
 
 September 21st I detailed four hundred men with 
 their arms, and we proceeded in a train of box cars. 
 About midnight, shortly after passing Big Shanty, a 
 station in the mountains, we passed through a long 
 deep cut, in which the top of the cars reached about 
 to the level of the surrounding surface. In this cut, 
 a force of rebels had placed an iron "frog" on the 
 track, and the engine and a number of the forward 
 cars were ditched. The rebels stood on the bank 
 above the track and opened fire on the train. The 
 cars were full of men, riding both inside and on top, 
 mostly asleep. The officers were sleeping in a box 
 car in the rear. The jolt and firing woke us. I 
 pulled on my boots, which had been my pillow, and 
 threw open the side door. The night was so dark 
 that I could not see, but I climbed to the top of the 
 cut, coming up near the rebels who were firing on the 
 train. A number of the rear cars were still on the 
 track, and the men on top were returning the rebels' 
 
 (144) 
 
Sergt. J as. L. Gamble, 
 Co. "G," 9th O. V. C. 
 
REMOUNTING THE COMMAND. 145 
 
 fire. I saw, however, that they were firing too high, 
 and called out, ''Ninth, Ohio, fire lower !" 
 
 The boys responded with a yell, and I heard two 
 or three call out, 'The colonel's out there, give it to 
 'em boys!" A rebel near me overheard this, and 
 shouted to his companions, "God, Boys, there's a whole 
 regiment of 'em". And at that they all broke and ran. 
 We found three of the cars wrecked, and a few of 
 our men were badly hurt, some by the wreck, and 
 some by the shots of the enemy. 
 
 One of the boys had the flesh on his leg so torn 
 in the wreck as to expose the bone from the knee to 
 the ankle. The surgeon, Dr. Finch, was unable to 
 dress the wound in the dark. He called for a light, 
 but there was none to be found, until John Branden- 
 burg of Company "L" came running up with some 
 candles. He said he was the last one to leave the 
 camp. Just as he was ready to start he noticed a 
 bundle of candles and thought of taking them, then 
 hesitated thinking the delay would probably cause him 
 to miss the train. But something seemed to impel 
 him to go back and gather them up, and with the 
 bundle of candles under his arm he reached the train 
 just as it was pulling out. 
 
 Another of the injured was a boy about eighteen 
 who had been lying on his back sound asleep on top 
 of a car; evidently his lips had been closed, for a 
 ball had crossed his mouth, and without touching 
 his teeth, had cut both his upper and lower lips. I 
 
 10 
 
146 RECOLLFXTIONS OF A CAVALRYMAN. 
 
 consoled him by saying that this might get him a fur- 
 lough to go home ; that his sweetheart would he glad 
 to see him, and particularly interested in the rapid 
 healing of his wound. 
 
 A bullet passed through the sides of one of the 
 cars and killed a colored cook who was lying asleep 
 within. 
 
 In the meantime the 'wrecked cars had taken fire, 
 and by the light of these the surgeon was better able 
 to dress the injuries of the wounded. 
 
 We were detained two days before we could get 
 another train to take us forward. Then we proceeded 
 to Nashville, but finding no horses there, went on to 
 Louisville where the government had a large corral 
 of them bought especially for the cavalry. \A'e re- 
 mained there fully a month, selecting and testing 
 horses. Many of these, we learned, had been rejected 
 more than once, but had been taken back and craftily 
 doped and d,octored by the dealers until they looked 
 good enough to be accepted. 
 
 The magnitude of those brazen rascalities would 
 make common swindling seem innocent pastime, for 
 these grafters were defrauding the government and 
 jeopardizing the lives of honest men, by furnishing 
 drugged and worthless horses to be used against the 
 splendid cavalry of the South. 
 
 After a months' hard work assisted by the veter- 
 inaries, we finally selected 1,600 horses, and with each 
 man riding one and leading three, we started for 
 Atlanta. 
 
REMOUNTING THE COMMAND. I47 
 
 Nov. 2nd. On approaching Nashville I received 
 despatches from that post directing me to come with 
 all the horses as soon as possible, as Forrest, in the 
 supposition that all the troops had gone to the front, 
 was reported crossing the Tennessee river. I arrived 
 that afternoon. 
 
 Oct. 3rd. General Rousseau and General Steedman 
 were at work arming the commissary and quartermas- 
 ters' clerks, and all the available employees of the gov- 
 ernment, and scouring the stables of the city for horses 
 and saddles. We worked all night to equip my extra 
 horses, which, with those that could be found in the 
 city, gave us i,8oo cavalry. The improvised companies 
 and other availables added another 1,200 of infantry. 
 These men were armed and loaded into a hundred 
 government wagons, and after 'breakfast the cavalcade 
 started, my cavalry in the lead, General Steedman in 
 command of the infantry following, and General 
 Rousseau in command of both. It was a picturesque 
 turn-out. The first day's march was more like a hilar- 
 ious frolic than serious advance against the enemy. 
 On the second, we found signs of the enemy; and the 
 wagon contingent began to complain of the roughness 
 of the road and wanted to quit. Our scouts reported 
 the enemy retreating, and wagon contingent felt bet- 
 ter. jWe were, as a matter of fact, not strong enough 
 to meet Forrest in an open engagement. All we could 
 do was to make a show such as would drive him back 
 across the river. We finally came in sight of his rear 
 guard which was re-crossing the river at the Shoals. 
 
148 RECOLLECTIONS OF A CAVALRYMAN. 
 
 They waved their hats at us as they reached the 
 other side, and with considerable relief we greeted 
 them in reply and started on our return to Nashville, 
 and the campaign was ended and the glory ours. 
 
 The only loss we suffered was that of a number of 
 doped horses that I had drawn in Louisville, had 
 given out and were returned to the post at Nashville 
 as unserviceable. 
 
 Nov. 13th, I then proceeded to Chattanooga, and 
 on my arrival reported to the commandant of the post, 
 who had a telegram from General Sherman for me to 
 report with my command to General Kilpatrick in 
 front of Atlanta. But ,1 was two days behind the time 
 expected, and was told thalt I could not get through; 
 that Sherman had started south, and the rebel army 
 Vvas moving north ; that all supplies for forty miles this 
 side of Atlanta had been brought to Chattanooga, and 
 that a train was running night and day removing them 
 out of Hood's reach. 
 
 At Chattanooga I found a hundred and twenty of 
 my regiment, who, on inspection, had been found un- 
 fit for duty on Sherman's contemplated march, and 
 had been sent back from Atlanta under command of 
 Major James Irvine. This contingent became part of 
 the force under General Thomas which defeated Gen- 
 eral Hpod in the series of engagements ending at Nash- 
 ville. After this they joined us at Savannah, com- 
 ing by way of New York and the sea, and were with 
 us on the return march through the Carolinas. 
 
 Major Irvine said that the army was already mov- 
 
REMOUNTING THE COMMAND. 149 
 
 ing and that our boys were anxiously looking for us 
 with the horses. After making proper provision for 
 the major and his men, I learned that the supply train 
 above mentioned would start back for a load about 
 four o'clock in the afternoon. 
 
 I told the colonel in command ^of the post that I 
 had determined to go through. He earnestly advised 
 against the risk, but I started my mounted men for- 
 ward under Lieutenant Colonel Stough, instructing 
 him to follow the railroad and when he came to the 
 last station to be reached by the train, to leave a 
 company with my horse and push on without delay, 
 that I would come by the train and overtake him. 
 
 In the meantime Brigadier General Ben Harrison 
 with his chief of stafif had arrived from, home from a 
 leave of absence, and reported at headquarters on his 
 way to Atlanta, inquiring at what time the train left. He 
 learned from the commandant what the situation was, 
 and that the train in removing the supplies would go 
 only a'bout half way to Atlanta. He said that his 
 brigade was with Sherman and that he must get to it. 
 He was told there was no possiWe way ; but learning 
 of my plans, he hunted me up and asked to go along. 
 He said that his adjutant general was with him and 
 had a wagon load of stuff from the sanitary com- 
 mission for the boys ; that he would make a requisition 
 for a wagon and team, and two saddle horses, if I 
 w^ould furnish the protection. I told him if he were 
 willing to take his chances with me, I would do the 
 
150 RECOLLECTIOXS OF A CAVALRYMAN. 
 
 best I could, and at four o'clock we started. About 
 eleven o'clock the train stopped at Cass Station, and 
 the conductor told us that he was to go no farther. 
 
 My command had passed abjout an hour before. I 
 found a captain and his company waiting with my 
 horse; the general got his team and horses and we 
 moved forward to overtake them. In less than an 
 hour we came to a picket post, which I found to my 
 surprise, to be composed of my men. I asked why 
 they were there, and the corporal said that they had 
 struck a rebel force and had a ''brush" ; that two of our 
 men had been wounded, and the surgeon Dr Finch was 
 dressing their injuries in a nearby house where we 
 could see a light. The command was camped, just 
 ahead. The surgeon brought forward the wounded 
 men, and they were put on their horses. The lieuten- 
 ant colonel reported that the enemy was camped not 
 far away. We called in the pickets, mounted the 
 men as quietly as possible, and moved out. 
 
 By daylight we reached the Etowah river, distance 
 about eighteen miles. The bridge had been burned and 
 the bank was too steep for a wagon to pass, so that it 
 was necessary to dig it down and throw in some brush 
 and earth in order to make a way for General Harri- 
 son's wagon. 
 
 When we had gotten across, we met a courier from 
 General Kilpatrick, with three scouts, who had been 
 sent to find me. Their horses were all afoam, and they 
 said they had been chased by some of Hood's cavalry. 
 
REMOUNTING THE COMMAND. 151 
 
 The courier gave me a message from General Sher- 
 man directing rne to report with my command to Gen- 
 eral Kilpatrick in front of Atlanta. 
 
 We reached the Chattahoochee river about three 
 o'clock in the afternoon (November i6th), found a 
 pontoon waiting for us, and we all crossed over. The 
 pontoon was then taken up and sent forward. When 
 he had gotten his wagon safely across, General Harri- 
 son rode up and thanked me for the assistance I had 
 given him, and with a formal salute, bade me "Good 
 bye." And thus his chance for the presidency was 
 saved ! 
 
 I overtook our cavalry division and found the other 
 half of my regiment that evening as they were going 
 into camp and my extra horses were distributed as 
 needed in the command. During my absence the part 
 of the regiment remaining in command of Major 
 Bolwus took a creditable part in the cavalry fight at 
 Jonesboro, November 15th. 
 
CHAPTER 19. 
 
 Sherman's Grand March. 
 
 General Kilpatrick, to whom I had reported, was a 
 young man, a graduate of the class of 1861 at West 
 Point. He was of small stature, energetic and ambi- 
 tious, a great talker, with a vocabulary which he did 
 not learn at Sunday School, but was a dashing officer 
 whose enthusiasm inspired his men. 
 
 I was assigned to the second brigade commanded 
 by Colonel Smith D. Atkins of the Ninety-second 
 Illinois Mounted Infantry. This brigade was com- 
 posed of the Ninety-second Illinois, the Ninth Mich- 
 igan Cavalry, and the Ninth and Tenth Ohio Cavalry. 
 The last named, it will be remembered, had been or- 
 ganized in Cleveland at the time I was recruiting the 
 Ninth and contained three of my companies, as they 
 still claimed. It was commanded by Lieutenant Col- 
 onel Sanderson, a deserving officer, who remained 
 lieutenant colonel because the regiment's first office 
 was still held by Colonel Smith of the regular army on 
 detached service. The Ninety-second Illinois was 
 commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Van Buskirk ; the 
 Ninth Michigan, by Colonel Acker. Lieutenant P. F. 
 Swing of my regiment, and one of my best officers, 
 was detailed on the staff of Colonel Atkins and re- 
 mained a very efficient officer during the campaign. 
 
 (152) 
 
Capt. p. F. Swing, Co. "F," 
 
 For the Past Twenty Years a Prominent Jud^e in 
 
 Cincinnati, Ohio. 
 
Sherman's grand march, etc. 153 
 
 General Sherman had decided, after hearing the 
 reports of the country, that it would take a strip of 
 country forty miles wide to support his army in its 
 march. His force was divided accordingly into four 
 columns of 15,000 men each which marched by paral- 
 lel routes ten miles apart. The position of the cavalry, 
 consisting of 5,000 horsemen, by general orders, was 
 to be at all times between the infantry and the enemy. 
 
 For three days we encountered no opposition. On 
 the fourth we saw the enemy was gathering in our 
 path. The work of the cavalry then began; and'' it 
 continued more or less actively, during the entire 
 march, either by brigades, regiments, companies, or 
 squads, as occasion required. 
 
 Details had been made from the different infantry 
 commands to forage throughout the country for sup- 
 plies ; these ''bummers" became ubiquitous, — nothing 
 could escape them in their ravenous hunt for some- 
 thing to eat, from the finest flock of Cashmere sheep 
 to a sitting hen and when horses or mules were found, 
 they were captured to bring in the spoils. 
 
 One evening I saw a jolly soldier coming to camp 
 riding on a mule, with chickens hanging on one side, a 
 ham of meat on the other, a bag of flour in front, a hen 
 and oat sheaves tied behind. In one arm he hugged 
 his hat full of honey comb, with the other he guided 
 his mule, while, dragging behind was a slaughtered 
 shoat with a rope through his nose and tied to the 
 mule's tail. He was voted a premium by the company 
 and mentioned for promotion! (by the boys). 
 
154 RECOLLECTIONS OF A CAVALRYMAN. 
 
 On one occasion while my regiment was in the 
 advance, I came to a fine plantation house by the road. 
 The owner, a dignified gentleman, was sitting in his 
 shirt sleeves, on the porch ; while the "bummers" were 
 gutting his house. Flour was scattered on the floor 
 of the porch and in the front room, they were rushing 
 through the house with hands full of cakes and pies, 
 with mouths and faces smeared with preserves. I dis- 
 mounted and drove them out, and apologized to the 
 owner, regretting that he should be treated in such 
 a manner. 
 
 "Oh," said he, "I know what war is. This isn't 
 the first time I've been raided. All I ask is that when 
 you get into South Carolina, where I suppose you are 
 going, you will treat them just the same way." 
 
 This illustrates the feeling against South Carolina 
 which had been so active in bringing on the war. 
 
 On another occasion when my regiment was in the 
 advance, as we came up to a house, the "bummers" 
 were after the chickens. Just as I came up a soldier was 
 chasing a rooster around the front porch. The chicken 
 was almost fagged out and he was about to^ reach 
 it with his sabre, when a woman very much excited, 
 rushed to the porch and screamed out, "Let that 
 chicken alone ; you dirty Yankee, it belongs to me. Let 
 it alone, I tell you." And looking at me, called out, 
 "Take your nasty Yankee thieves out of my yard and 
 let my things alone. What business have you down 
 here tearing up our country? Get these scoundrels 
 out of here, I tell you. I hope God Almighty will kill 
 
SHERMAN'S GRAND MARCH, ETC. 155 
 
 every one of you." "Well, madam," said I, "He is 
 about the only one that can do it. But we are here to 
 let you see what war is. You women of the South in 
 your wild enthusiasm have been urging your young 
 men to the battle field where men are being killed by 
 the thousands, without remorse, while you stay at 
 home and sing of the 'Bonnie Blue Flag.' But you 
 set up a howl when you see these Yankees down here 
 getting your chickens. Many of your young men have 
 told us that they are tired of the war and would quit, 
 but you women would shame them and drive them 
 back." 
 
 While talking, a small column of smoke was seen 
 coming out of the roof of a barn across the road, filled 
 with cotton. The woman gave a frightened look 
 and asked in a more subdued manner, "Are you going 
 to burn my cotton?" ''Yes", I replied. "Your gov- 
 ernment claims your cotton to be shipped abroad 
 and sold for money to carry on the war and we think 
 it better to destroy the cotton than to let it be sold 
 for that purpose." I left her with the advice to keep 
 quiet and neither she nor her house would be injured. 
 
 In order to impede our progress. Governor Brown 
 of Georgia called out all the militia he could control, 
 and wrote a strong letter to President Jefferson Davis, 
 ordering the troops returned to the defense of the 
 state, calling attention to his right under the Confed- 
 erate Constitution to do so. Davis in his reply ad- 
 mitted the constitutional right, but declined to return 
 the troops because they were needed at the confeder- 
 
156 RECOLLECTIONS OF A CAVALRYMAN. 
 
 ate capital, and "necessity", as he said " is above law." 
 This correspondence was published in the Georgia 
 newspapers; an evidence of the absurdity of "States 
 Rights" for which the South was fighting, and it was 
 greatly enjoyed in our camps. 
 
 Nov. 22d. The only considerable battle our in- 
 fantry had was fought by the command of General 
 Charles C. Walcutt, of Columbus, Ohio, against the 
 gathered forces of Governor Brown's militia. I was 
 marching to the left of Walcutt's brigade about a 
 mile away, and halted ; expecting to be sent for ; but 
 the attacking force was repulsed without need of 
 assistance. 
 
 As the army progressed southward, corduroy roads 
 through the cypress swamps had frequently to be con- 
 structed by the pioneer corps to enable the army to 
 pass through. This was a slow process, which the 
 enemy took advantage of by lying in ambush until a 
 considerable part of the command had crossed, then 
 making a cavalry dash upon the rear. 
 
 It was our business to prevent this and to hold 
 them back. One day I was guarding the rear of Gen- 
 eral Jefiferson C. Davis' command, the Fourteenth 
 Corps, as he was passing through one of these swamps 
 on a long corduroy road. The enemy had gathered 
 for trouble. There was a cleared field adjoining the 
 swamp, but an open thicket of scrub oak surrounded 
 the field. The rear and the wagons occupied the field 
 while the troops went through. My regiment occupied 
 the scrub timber outside of which the enemy was 
 
SHERMAN S GRAND MARCH, ETC. 1 57 
 
 massing. A squad of dismounted Ninety-second Illinois 
 Regiment with the Spencer carbines was stationed in 
 the brush near the mouth of the corduroy road. When 
 the wagon train began to move the Johnnies undertook 
 to make a capture, but were held back until all the 
 train had started through. The enemy had not yet 
 been able to advance beyond the scrub timber and I 
 sent the ist. Battalion, under command of Major Mc- 
 Cumber, to follow the train; then the second, under 
 command of Major Bowlus; holding the enemy as 
 best I could with the third. The enemy again made 
 an advance but the last battalion still held them in 
 check, assisted by the squad in the brush with their 
 Spencer carbines. 
 
 I finally ordered three of my companies, one at a 
 time, to take the road while the fourth kept up a fire. 
 At last the enemy crowded us too much, and I or- 
 dered the men to break for the corduroy road, every 
 man for himself ; and a rush was made. A company 
 of the enemy rushed in from the right, firing as they 
 came and yelling, ''Run, you damned Yankees, we've 
 got you." We ran, but one of my men was mounted 
 on a mule and fell behind. When the mule heard the 
 noise in the rear he stopped — looked around at the 
 advancing horsemen and began to He Haw. His rider 
 kicked and whipped but to no effect. I rode up and 
 told him to jump and run, which he did, saying feel- 
 ingly as he threw himself off, "Damn a mule anyway." 
 The fact is, our business seemed to regard that kind 
 of language as a prayer rather than profanity. I told 
 
158 RECOLLECTIONS OF A CAVALRYMAN. 
 
 him to take hold of my stirrup and keep up and with- 
 out any harm we made good time together under the 
 range of the Spencer guns till we reached the timber. 
 Here we found a corps of pioneers cutting trees. 
 They were working in their shirt sleeves two men to 
 a tree, and had them more than half cut through. 
 These were soon thrown across the road as we passed 
 and we were safe. 
 
 On November 24th ('64) the cavalry division 
 marched from the west, or right flank of the army, 
 to the east, or left flank, as it was thought that troops 
 had been sent from Richmond against Sherman's 
 columns. 
 
 It was learned that General Hampton had arrived 
 from Richmond with two brigades of cavalry, and 
 had joined General Wheeler. A determined opposi- 
 tion to our advance now began. 
 
 On November 28th our brigade went into camp in 
 a body of timber. The enemy had been following us 
 as usual and camped not far in our rear. At two 
 o'clock A. M. we received orders to move out quietly, 
 the Ninth Ohio Cavalry in the rear. 
 
 The enemy however discovered the movement and 
 opened on us with artillery. My regiment, being the 
 last to move, the men had to sit quietly on their horses 
 in the woods while cannon balls and bursting shells 
 played havoc with the trees above them, cutting ofif 
 limbs which fell in the darkness around them, produc- 
 ing a feeling of horror and helplessness worse than an 
 open battle could create. The firing, however, was at 
 
SHERMANS GRAND MARCH, ETC. 159 
 
 random and in the dark, and no serious damage was 
 done except to the trees. The next day we moved 
 forward pressed by the enemy with unusual vigor. 
 
 When the cavalry division reached Buckhead 
 Creek, General Kilpatrick placed the Fifth Ohio Cav- 
 alry armed with Spencer repeating rifles in position 
 with the artillery to keep the enemy occupied while the 
 division crossed the bridge, which was then destroyed. 
 
 Beyond this bridge, General Kilpatrick decided to 
 make a stand and took a well chosen position on a plan- 
 tation about two miles from the crossing. Murray's 
 brigade was placed on the right, and Aitkins' brigade 
 on the left. The Ninth Ohio Cavalry with a section 
 of artillery, was on the extreme left of the latter brig- 
 ade. Our horses had been tethered in a strip of wood 
 in our rear. The men took position behind a barri- 
 cade consisting of a fence built three rails high, on 
 which other rails were laid, one end resting on the 
 ground toward the enemy, the other on the fence. 
 
 The usual orders were given to throw out a skirmish 
 line from two to three hundred yards in front of our 
 position. The space between the brigade line and 
 Buckhead Creek contained some brush and timber, 
 but in front of my position there was a clear field slop- 
 ing to the creek. 
 
 When all had been made ready, the Fifth Ohio 
 Cavalry was withdrawn, and soon the enemy crossed 
 the creek and were plainly seen forming in line for a 
 charge. A skirmish line in our case, although ordered, 
 was more of an obstruction than a benefit. So I di- 
 
l6o RECOLLECTIONS OF A CAVALRYMAN. 
 
 rected the lieutenant of skirmishers to place his men 
 prone upon the ground not over a hundred and fifty 
 yards in front of the line; to hold his fire until the 
 enemy got well within reach, then rise and fire one 
 volley and fall back to our line as fast as possible in 
 order to clear the way for the artillery and line fire. 
 They executed this order with their accustomed bra- 
 very and with good effect. The men of the Ninth were 
 not armed with Spencer repeating rifles, but with 
 breech loading Burnside carbines. The guns of my 
 section of artillery were loaded with grape sho't. 
 
 When the order to fire was given, the cannon and 
 the carbines opened with a roar that was terrific. 
 When the smoke permitted the effect was apparent, 
 wounded men and horses floundering; but the ad- 
 vance continued, and they received the second volley 
 within a hundred yards of our barricade. My men 
 were cool and deliberate, for they felt that the charge 
 would fail at the rail barricade. A third volley dis- 
 organized the enemy and they fell back in confusion, 
 every man for himself. 
 
 They rallied in the distance, however, and pres- 
 ently an officer mounted on a beautiful gray horse 
 started forward with a battalion, evidently intending 
 to get around ,our left flank. It 'was a daring and 
 splendid effort and a fine sight. He rode ahead of 
 his men, waving his sword and shouting encourage- 
 ment. Artillery and carbines were instantly trained 
 on them. They hesitated and some of them fell back. 
 The others, also, wavered, and another volley from our 
 
SHERMAN'S GRAND MARCH, ETC. j^j 
 
 carbines turned them back. The officer tried to rally 
 his men, and as he turned toward them, private Toole 
 of ,the Ninth Ohio, a former British soldier and a 
 capital shot, said to me, "Colonel, shall I take him?" 
 
 I hesitated, but it was war, and I told him he might 
 try. Several of the other boys heard what was said, 
 and saddles 'were emptied by the shots that followed' 
 I sa'w the ,gray horse stumble and the head of his 
 gallant rider sink foi^ward on his breast— and they 
 both went down together. His daring attempt was a 
 failure. But a feeling of sorrow came over me to 
 see that brave man fall. 
 
 The attempt to flank us was not renewed, and the 
 attack failed all along our line. Such was General 
 Hampton's introduction to our cavalry of the West 
 It was learned that they had lost in killed and wounded 
 nearly 300 men. 
 
 11 
 
CHAPTER 20. 
 Battle of Waynesboro. 
 
 On Sunday morning, December 5th., our cavalry 
 division received orders to attack the rebel force under 
 Wheeler and Hampton located near Waynesboro. 
 
 We moved out in column of regiments. The Fifth 
 O. V. Cavalry on the right, the Ninth O. V. Cavalry 
 on the left, the Tenth O. V. Cavalry, the Ninth Mich- 
 igan and the Ninety-second Illinois Mounted Infantry 
 in the center. The enemy fell back slowly until they 
 reached the line of barricades which they had thrown 
 up along a body of timber during the night. 
 
 This was Sunday morning; the day was calm and 
 beautiful. The sun was shining, birds were singing 
 and all Nature seemed at rest. I thought of the good 
 folks at home on their way to church. After a while 
 orders came, "Column into line." I formed my regi- 
 ment accordingly as provided by the army regula- 
 tions, — fighting men in front with the flag in the cen- 
 ter, line officers in proper place under direction of the 
 field officers, each behind his battalion, while I and 
 the chief surgeon, Dr. Finch, occupied the rear and 
 center in this holiday display. 
 
 As we passed a strip of timber we saw the enemy 
 hi line waiting for us. As we approached they opened 
 
 (162) 
 
BATTLE OF WAYNESBORO. 163 
 
 a Straggling fire; bullets begun to fall near us, and I 
 remarked to the doctor that we seemed to be in more 
 danger than the men in line. Soon a staflf officer came 
 at full gallop, saluted and said, "Colonel Atkins pre- 
 sents his compliments and directs that you charge the 
 enemy's line at once." 
 
 I ordered my bugler to sound the charge. This 
 was repeated by the company buglers. The companies 
 began to move in an awkward, irregular line, looking 
 back for me. I remarked to the doctor that the regula- 
 tions were better for a parade than for a fight, and, 
 giving spur to my black horse, he dashed through the 
 line with his usual spirit. Waving my hat, I called, 
 *'come on, boys." A shout went up all along the line, 
 and the glitter of their sabres following the fire of 
 their carbines showed the mettle of the men, when the 
 charge was on. 
 
 A squad of officers in my front looked on with 
 less dread than I liked to see, but my horse would not 
 slack his pace. I tried to cover them with my pistol, 
 and fired twice. (I never fired but four shots at the 
 enemy during the war and feel thankful to believe 
 1 never killed anybody.) The officers turned and left 
 our front and soon led in a retreat, for our entire 
 brigade was on them. 
 
 During the charge that broke the enemy's line 
 I came up to a horse in his death struggle, 
 and lying at the foot of a tree near by was a young 
 Confederate soldier, shot in the head, but still breath- 
 ing. His youthful appearance disturbed me as I 
 
164 RECOLLECTIONS OF A CAVALRYMAN. 
 
 passed, and when the battle was over I returned and 
 found him. He was not more than seventeen years 
 old and very neatly dressed. I noticed a tooth brush 
 in his pocket (unusual for a soldier). I dismounted. 
 He was dead ; but his handsome form was still warm. 
 I kneeled on one knee beside him and laid back his 
 hair and found that a ball had reached his brain. 
 Something was the matter with my eyes as I looked 
 on that innocent boy and remembered my young 
 brother who fell a year before, and thought that 
 another mother's heart would soon be breaking. 
 
 We drove the enemy through the town toward 
 Buckhead Creek. When we were firing supported 
 by the Ninth Michigan and the Tenth Ohio, Kilpat- 
 rick ordered a halt, much to the disappointment of 
 the men, as it was thought that twenty minutes more 
 would have given us about five hundred prisoners. 
 Not many of our men were killed in this charge. 
 None in my regiment, although we had a few 
 wounded. In a cavalry fight there is not much danger 
 as long as one can see the tails of the enemy's horses ! 
 
 I think it proper to say that my memory as to some 
 of the dates in this march is refreshed by an account 
 written by a committee of the Ninety-second Illinois 
 Regiment appointed shortly after the war, to chronicle 
 the doings, especially of their regiment, in Sherman's 
 Gfand March. 
 
 On December 8th, after the battle of Waynesboro, 
 it is there reported that the command began the march 
 at 2 o'clock A. M., the Ninth Ohio Cavalry holding 
 
BATTLE OF WAYNESBORO. 1 65 
 
 the rear. At daylight the enemy showed considerable 
 spirited dash, constantly attacking the rear guard. 
 The country was generally level and sandy, with 
 streams crossing the wood and emptying into the 
 Savannah river. These streams always had swamps 
 on each side of them filled with dense growth of black 
 gum. Neither animal nor wagon could get through 
 these swamps except on corduroy roads. 
 
 We slept when and how we could. I remember that 
 when sleeping one night under my poncho I dreamed 
 1 was in swimming. When I awoke found it had 
 been raining and I was lying in about two inches of 
 water, and had no other clothes at hand. 
 
 ATTEMPT TO LIBERATE THE PRISONERS AT MILLEN 
 
 PRISON. 
 
 Most of the country thus far had been fine, and 
 the weather delightful. Cattle, hogs, sheep, chickens, 
 turkeys, hams, sweet potatoes and peanuts were found 
 in abundance. 
 
 General Kilpatrick decided to make a forced march 
 ahead in an attempt to liberate the Union prisoners at 
 IVIillen. In approaching the town from the west side 
 of the river, we were received by a serenade from 
 three batteries of heavy artillery stationed on the op- 
 posite side of the river, while the last of the prisoners 
 were being stowed into box cars and sent to other 
 prisons. 
 
 Kilpatrick decided to return toward Louisville 
 leaving me to tear up the railroad approaching the 
 
1 66 RECOLLECTIONS OF A CAVALRYMAN. 
 
 town on our side of the river. We began the work 
 about a mile distant from the town. A battery opened 
 on us as we began work, and eighteen pound solid 
 shot began to sing over our heads, but I called to the 
 boys, 'Tay no attention to the shots. They can't hit 
 us." Soon a ball came ricocheting along the track 
 toward where I was standing. It was plainly seen, 
 and I left the grade in lively style, for which I received 
 the laughing cheer of the boys. 
 
 Sherman's destination was still a mystery to the 
 enemy. For some days he remained quiet, seemingly 
 waiting to concentrate his forces. General Beard's 
 Division began to move toward Augusta; Atkin's 
 Cavalry Brigade moving on the right flank. Colonel 
 Murray's Cavalry Brigade on the left, and for two 
 days this line of march was kept up with flags and 
 cavalry guidons flying. This was a grand sight, but 
 it was a feint. While the enemy's force was gathering 
 to defend Augusta, Sherman's way was opened for 
 his march on Savannah. 
 
 The desolation produced is almost inconceivable 
 it was begun by the enemy themselves. The inhab- 
 itants had nearly all fled leaving the helpless colored 
 people who had no where to go. 
 
 Part of the rebel troops went before us destroying 
 what they could not use in an effort to starve us, and 
 creating a panic among the inhabitants by telling them 
 to flee, for the Yankees were coming. Much of the 
 fighting was done among the foragers from each side. 
 
 One evening half of a nice, well-cooked turkey 
 
BATTLE OF WAYNESBORO. 1 67 
 
 was brought to my quarters. I asked the boys where 
 they got it. They said, "We ran into a squad of John- 
 nies who were cooking it in a house. We ran them off 
 and continued the cooking. Soon they came back with 
 more help and retook it. We Ht out but came back 
 with reinforcements and when the fight was over the 
 turkey was ''done cooked." This is a piece of it." 
 
 Fires from burning bridges and buildings filled 
 with cotton had marked the pathway of our different 
 columns. For sixty miles before we reached the sea 
 the country was sterile and full of swamps, providing 
 but little to support animal life. To provide for this 
 Sherman had given orders tor fill wagons with corn 
 when it could be found, to gather up the cattle and 
 drive them along for food. In passing through the 
 swamps some of the hungry cattle would venture out 
 for something green to eat, and through weakness 
 some would sink in the mud and drown. Next day 
 I saw hungry soldiers perched upon their dead bodies 
 cutting chunks of meat to be broiled on sticks for 
 their supper at night. I have seen old colored camp 
 followers lying by the road suffering from starvation 
 and the boys had nothing to give them. It was surely 
 from scenes like these that Sherman was inspired to 
 declare the terrible truth that ''War is Hell." 
 
CHAPTER 21. 
 Siege of Savannah. 
 
 The army has arrived in front of Savannah and 
 the work of the cavalry is over. It was a glorious 
 thing to see our great floating sqiiadron lying quietly 
 in the bay in full sight, loaded with much needed sup- 
 plies which it was waiting to furnish us, while the 
 great folds of the Stars and Stripes from the mast 
 heads gave us a welcome in the name of an exultant 
 nation. 
 
 A camp was selected on the Savannah river, about 
 three miles above the city, on a large plantation known 
 as the Stockton place. It belonged to a very prom- 
 inent family of that name, which included Commodore 
 Stockton of the Old Navy. It embraced a large island 
 devoted to the culture of rice and known as Hog Is- 
 land. At this time the rice was unthreshed and was 
 found in large stacks resembling sheaf oats. There 
 was also a large mill for hulling the rice. I was 
 camped with my regiment behind the infantry on this 
 plantation. 
 
 In taking possession I found the fine housei de- 
 serted, the family having fled at the approach of the 
 Yankees, and the premises occupied by Yankee sol- 
 diers and a swarm of darkies. The costliest furniture 
 
 (168) 
 
SIEGE OF SAVANNAH. 1 69 
 
 and household adornments were strewn about the place 
 by the soldier vandals. I saw an elegant piano out of 
 doors already split into firewood. 
 
 I was disgusted with the sight of such vandalism, 
 but was told to take a look at the premises, I was 
 shown a stone jail with iron barred windows and 
 strong locks for the doors. Handcuffs and other ap- 
 pliances for punishment were hung around the walls. 
 Another building resembled a school room with 
 benches, and a large desk at one end. This was, 
 in reality, a plantation court room. Upon inquiry I 
 was told that the plantation had been practically an 
 independent municipality, forming and executing its 
 own laws. The subjects of the law were the planta- 
 tion slaves, said to number nearly a thousand of all 
 ages ; the owner and overseers were the officers of 
 the court. It was the knowledge of this fact, received 
 in part from the darkies, that prompted the vandalism. 
 
 While we were in camp on this plantation, forag- 
 ing parties from both armies were sent on to Hog 
 Island, as the enemy held the other side of the river. 
 Comrade Clark E. Calligan of Co. H. 9th. O. V. C. 
 now living in Chicago, furnishes the following inci- 
 dent, which is corroborated by John Brandenburg and 
 others, who give other incidents occurring at the time 
 we were located there. 
 
 **^A party from our regiment under Lieutenant 
 Briner of Company 'H' went to a rice mill near camp 
 where we left our horses, and getting a large eight 
 
170 RECOLLECTIONS OF A CAVALRYMAN. 
 
 oared boat, rowed over to the island. Irrigating 
 •canals had been cut through it, which, through the in- 
 fluence of the tides, made it peculiarly valuable for rice 
 culture. In one o'f these canals we crossed the island ; 
 then pushed through the river to the South Carolina 
 side to see what we could find. Here we left our boat 
 and a guard. The night had been dark, but by the 
 time we had gone a mile or so back from the river it 
 was getting light and we found some sheep. Just 
 as we had finished dressing the first one, the rebels 
 fi'red land we had a skirmish which brought help from 
 some other foragers. The rebels left and we loaded 
 the mutton into the boat and started back. As the 
 tide was low we had to go around Hog Island and 
 the big guns from Savannah opened on us and the 
 shells or balls could be seen skipping on the water 
 toward us. But we put all our strength to the oars 
 and arrived safely at the rice mill. Seeing that the 
 enemy was beginning to gather here, we mounted and 
 rode back to camp only to find that the cavalry had 
 eone. There was no one to direot us and we wandered 
 around for iseveral days be'f ore finding the camp which 
 had moved to the seaboard near Ft. McCallister." 
 
 These skirmishes were of frequent occurrence dur- 
 ing the siege. 
 
 Dec. 17. I received an order to proceed about 
 thirty miles down the coast to destroy a long trestle 
 over the Altamaha river. We encamped for the night 
 in a grove on a large plantation near the coast. A 
 
SIEGE OF SAVANNAH. 17^ 
 
 fine, white frame house was standing empty, but there 
 was plenty of corn in the crib and bacon in the smoke- 
 house. 
 
 In the meantime an intelligent old colored man 
 came to me and asked if he could gather up the corn 
 that our horses might leave. I asked where he lived. 
 He pointed to a row of cabins, saying he and his peo- 
 ple lived there, and that he had charge of things on 
 the plantation since his master and his family had 
 left. I asked where they had gone. He said he didn't 
 exactly know, somewhere away from the Yankees. I 
 told him that he might have the corn we left. He then 
 said that some of the boys had lost their blankets and 
 as the night was cold they had taken some from him. 
 He wondered if he might get them back in the morn- 
 ing. I told him he should have them back. 
 ''Were the boys rough with you?" I asked. 
 "Oh, no sah, but cle night wus too cold to sleep 
 out an' we'ens had a house to sleep in, an' I wus glad 
 to help de boys whut I could. We be'n lookin' fo' 
 you ian' prayin' fo' you to come fo' a long time, an' 
 now we know dat de good Lawd an' Massa Linkum 
 hab sent you." 
 
 "But what good do you think all this is going to 
 
 bring to you?" 
 
 Looking up with trusting affection to the Nation's 
 
 emblem on my shoulders, he said, 
 
 "Ah, Massa, dah's freedom whar de eagle flies." 
 The eloquence of that reply, so unlooked for by us 
 
 but so striking and so true, brought sympathetic tears 
 
172 RECOLLECTIONS OF A CAVALRYMAN. 
 
 to more eyes than mine. I asked him how old he was. 
 He said he was eighty-two. I said he was too old to 
 expect much from the Lord and Massa Lincoln. 
 
 ''It's not fo' myself I be'n prayin' excep'n to 
 die free. My Massa ben' good to me all my life. We 
 wits the same age an' we growed u^p as boys togedder. 
 He tuk me fo' his body serbant an' I wus nevah 
 whipped onct. When he married Missus, I married 
 Jane an' ouah chillun growed up togedder. Now we 
 both hab gran chillun all hab been kin'ly treated and 
 well cared fo'. But I 'spec' we'll soon both be in 
 Hebben togedder. Fo' years I be'n wonderin' whut 
 would happen to ouah chillun then. They alls too 
 many to be kep' togedder. I knowed mine would be 
 sold an' I dreamed J saw 'em workin' on de sugah 
 plantations fahaway, undah de whip of a cruel over- 
 seah. But t'anks to de Lawd and Massa Linkum's 
 eagles I know now dat will nevah be." I wiped my 
 eyes and with a feeling of reverence ordered the men 
 to mount. 
 
 After destroying , the bridge and trestle on the Al- 
 tamaha river we returned and went into camp ten 
 miles below the city on the bay near Ft. McCallister. 
 During the siege this fort had been ;the only obstruc- 
 tion between us and our floating supplies. For four 
 years it had bid defiance to our navy. It was strongly 
 built and furnished with heavy artillery toward the 
 sea, but was never expected to repel an attack from 
 landward. Its defence from that quarter had evi- 
 dently been increased but not enough to withstand 
 
SIEGE OF SAVANNAH. 1 73 
 
 the impetuous charge of General H'azen's Brigade- 
 mostly Ohio men — made December 12th, 1864. 
 I Here we found our fleet anchored near the coast 
 and ''Lighters" engaged in hringing abundant sup- 
 plies to shore for us. 
 
 I now had a call from Lieutenant Still well of the 
 Navy, who had command of one of the vessels. He 
 was the son of Judge Stillwell of Zanesville and had 
 a ^brother in my command. He was dressed in a nice 
 clean naval uniform, in m-arked contrast to my ap- 
 pearance in a dirty, w(orn-out colonel's uniform, with 
 gray shirt, old hat and boots. The contrast was too 
 much and with some embarrassment I began to 
 apologize. He took my profifered hand, saying, *'None 
 of that, my dear Oolonel, none of that. We should 
 take ofif our hats to you. You have split the confed- 
 eracy in two, while we were waiting, and it is falling 
 apart." 
 
 The m.en got a rest of a few days in camp during 
 •which they were ordered to do their washing and get 
 themselves ready for the paymaster. 
 
 The surroundings here were entirely new. Among 
 other strange things they found piles of fresh oyster 
 shells which had evidently furnished oysters for some 
 of the Southern troops. Encrusted on the large shells 
 our men found smaller ones in which were still living 
 oysters. These were eaten with relish. 
 
 There was plenty of water in a lagoon near 
 by and one of the bays took his gun and a bucket tb 
 get some. Soon a shot wias fired, which was against 
 
174 RECOLLECTIONS OF A CAVALRYMAN. 
 
 orders, and a corporal ran out to isee ,what the trouble 
 was. He found that the boy had got mixed up with 
 an alligator which had been lying on the edge of 
 the water. Thinking it was ,an old log, the boy had 
 put his foot on its back while he filled his bucket. As 
 the beast moved off he jumped back and put a bullet 
 in him and was trying to head him off from getting 
 into deep water. A rope was brought and got over 
 his nose and he was .pulled out and dragged in triumph 
 into camp, grunting like a hog. He was found tO' be 
 nearly seven feet long, but was not considered suitable 
 for a pet. 
 
 Altogether it was a new experience for these 
 Buckeye boys. They had taken an honorable part in 
 one of the most daring and brilliant campaigns in 
 history, and after a march of three hundred miles 
 through the enemy's country, sweeping all opposition 
 before them, now found themselves encamped by the 
 sea, washing their dirty clothes, — in stagnant water 
 with fresh oysters in the shells on ,one side, and 
 fresh alligators in the swamp, on the other. 
 
 In the meantime the paymaster made his appear- 
 ance and the army was paid off before their advance 
 into the Carolinas. 
 
 January 25th, 1865, I was ordered up the Savan- 
 nah river into camp at Sister's Ferry, sixty miles from 
 Savannah, and received orders to be ready to cross 
 the river on February 3rd. In the meantime a steam- 
 boat brought up a load of oats in bushel sacks which 
 was unloaded on an island for the horses of the com- 
 
SIEGE OF SAVANNAH. 1 75 
 
 mands which were to cross there on a pontoon bridge 
 laid for that purpose, as other commands were 
 arriving. 
 
 The morning was wet and I heard some of the 
 boys calling. "Come out of that hat ! I know you're 
 there, I see your legs dangling down." I looked and 
 saw a civilian on horseback dressed in black with a 
 "plug" hat and an umbrella. On his approach 
 I was surprised to see Rev. Dr. William King, an 
 old neighbor of ours when we were country boys 
 together, and afterwards classmates at college. He 
 was then President of Cornell College in Iowa. As 
 he rode up and dismounted, I expressed my surprise 
 and pleasure at meeting him and asked particularly if 
 'he came to join my command. "Not exactly," he 
 said, seating himself on a ca'mp stool. "You know 
 I am trying to run a college up in Iowa and we are 
 hard up for funds and as I heard the army had re- 
 ceived ,six months' pay recently I came down think- 
 ing that I might raise some funds for my college. 
 "'I am glad to see you, Will," I said, "I hope you 
 will stay with us a while. I want to give you a sight 
 of what a soldier's life is, for which they receive 
 $13 a month. I have a number of boys who left col- 
 lege to do what they could to save the country, and if 
 their lives are spared they expect to go back and enter 
 college again and prepare themselves for civil life. 
 Others are looking forw^ard to a busmess life. I have 
 urged them every pay day to send their money home, 
 as they would need it to begin their life work in 
 
176 RECOLLECTIONS OF A CAVALRYMAN. 
 
 •coinpetiitiion with the men who, inetead of helping to 
 put down 'the rebehioin, stayed at home ^nd have 
 been making money 'hand over fist' during the in- 
 flated business conditions which the war has pro- 
 duced. On the last pay-day I carried twelve miles 
 to a railroad $20,000 of boys money and ex- 
 pressed the different packages, with letters to their 
 folks at hom,e, that the money may be put on interest 
 for them against their return. "Don't you think, look- 
 ing at all this, that it is a little hard for these boys to 
 divide the meager pittance they get, to support boys 
 in college who might have been in the ranks here? 
 ''But", I said, "suppose you stay a day or so with me 
 and see how you like it." Said he, "where will you 
 stay tonight?" "I don't know, but we will find a 
 place. It may be at the root of a tree somewhere", 
 on the South Carolina side and we expect to have it 
 lively over there. He thought, however, that he would 
 take a look among the infantry. 
 
 The hour arrived and I gave the order to move. 
 The pontoon had been extended to the island and from 
 there to the opposite shore. The oats in bushel sacks 
 were unloaded and the advance column crossed, each 
 man taking a sack of oats. 
 
 On the other side an old narrow corduroy road 
 stretched for three miles through a low savanna. This 
 road became iso (broken by the artillery that the mules 
 in the baggage train were worn out and the wagon 
 master camie forward and reported that they refused 
 to pull. I went back and found mud holes in the 
 
SIEGE OF SAVANNAH. 1 77 
 
 broken road nearly filled with sacks which the boys 
 had let fall in their efforts to get their horses past. 
 The mules were too tired to pull, and I ordered the 
 battalion forming the rear guard to dismount, feed the 
 horses out of their sacks, then sit down on the sacks 
 with the bridle reins over their arms and try to get 
 some sleep till morning. I gave the same instructions 
 to the teamsters, and went forward to where the ad- 
 vance had reached higher ground and directed the 
 men to make themselves as comfortable as they could. 
 I then found two rails and placed them slanting up 
 against a cypress root to keep me out of the mud ; 
 put my saddle across the upper end of the rails, 
 spread my horse blanket over them, threw one leg 
 across each, and spread my oil cloth over me to pro- 
 tect me as much as it would from the fallino- rain. 
 
 o 
 
 I went to sleep, only regretting that my old friend, 
 the college president, was not sleeping beside me. 
 
 la 
 
CHAPTER 22. 
 Descent on South Carolina. 
 
 Next morning the mules were in better humor and 
 we got everything safely landed in South Carolina. 
 
 After some skirmishing with the enemy we pro- 
 ceeded about fifteen miles to the town of Barnwell, 
 the county seat of Barnwell County. It was composed 
 chiefly of the beautiful homes of planters whose cot- 
 ton plantations were located in the country in charge 
 of overseers. The town contained fine churches, 
 school houses and other public buildings and the 
 streets were lined with majestic trees. 
 
 February 6th on approaching the suburbs I noticed 
 a crowd of women, my lieutenant in charge of 
 the advance was halted by a committee of ladies who 
 addressed him. I saw him point back to the head of 
 the column and pass on. When we came up some 
 of them asked if I commanded these troops. She 
 then asked if I was a Mason. I told her I was not. 
 She asked if any of my officers were. I inquired why 
 she asked. She replied that they were the wives of 
 Masons and had been instructed that when the 
 "Yanks" came (with a sneer on the term) they were 
 to inquire for the Masons, who would protect them. 
 "Where are your husbands?" I asked. 
 
 (178) 
 
DESCENT ON SOUTH CAROLINA. 1/9 
 
 ''With General Hampton", they repHed. 
 
 ''Well," said I. "1 am not a Mason, but if there 
 are any ]\Iasons in my command they will not ignore 
 their sworn duty to the government by reason of their 
 masonry. We may not be Masons but we are gentle- 
 men and you may depend upon it that you will be 
 treated as gentlemen always treat ladies." 
 
 The command went into quarters on the edge of 
 this town of Barnwell. My quartermaster selected a 
 house for headquarters. When I and my stafif came 
 up we found the family very much alarmed and ex- 
 cited. The mother said none of the family were at 
 home except herself and two daughters with the ser- 
 vants. The house was large and I told her we would 
 confine ourselves to one room and give her no trouble. 
 This was recluctantly agreed to. The company officers 
 looked after the pitching of their tents and other 
 duties as usual. Strong pickets were properly distri- 
 buted and guards placed at different points through 
 the town with the usual orders. 
 
 We went to our headquarters and found supper 
 ready. The staff was composed of pleasant young 
 officers who had somewhat allayed the fears of the 
 lady and her daughters. I did what I could to assist, 
 and after a while all parties felt more comfortable. 
 
 My attention was called to a house across the street 
 from which the furniture and other valuables were be- 
 ing removed and piled up on a vacant lot near by. I in- 
 quired of our hostess what that was for, and was told 
 
l8o RECOLLECTIONS OF A CAVALRYMAN. 
 
 that the woman who owned it believed we would burn 
 her house, and although an invalid, she was helping the 
 servants in the work. I at once went over to assure 
 her that nothing of, the kind was intended, but she 
 rebuffed me vindictively, calling the Yankees a set 
 of vandals, and saying she didn't believe a word I 
 said. She could get only her women to help her and 
 was tugging with them at the work. **Now," said I, 
 ''Madam, if you are determined to do this I will have 
 a detail of men do the work for you. They will pile 
 the furniture under your direction and in the morning 
 before we leave, will put the things back as you wish. I 
 made the detail and had thev work done, while she 
 watched that they did not steal anything, and next 
 morning we put the furniture back as I had promised. 
 
 The history of the Ninety-second Illinois gives an 
 account of the burning of cotton and the destruction of 
 other property in this town. But we spent a very 
 pleasant evening across the way. In becoming better 
 acquainted their fear left them and the young ladies 
 proposed cards, which were brought, and a lively 
 evening was passed during which their troubles were 
 forgotten. 
 
 When we left next morning they asked for our 
 address in Ohio, and after the war I received a letter 
 from this lady, thanking me for all the kindness we 
 showed them, but saying that the result of the war 
 they had been ruined financially. They had heard 
 contributions were being made in the North for South- 
 ern needs and it had occurred to her that perhaps 
 
DESCENT ON SOUTH CAROLINA. l8l 
 
 we might help her. ''What we most need," she said, 
 -is blankets and clothing of any kind. We have no 
 
 pride left." . 
 
 I procured a large chest which our good neigh- 
 bors, the ladies of Putnam, Ohio, joined in filhng with 
 things we thought most needed. This was prompt y 
 forwarded to assist in their relief, and was thankfully 
 
 received. , 
 
 Sherman's campaign in South Garolma was a rad- 
 ical one. He ''had it in" for that "hot bed of rebel- 
 lion " In passing through that state his restrictions 
 were somewhat relaxed, and his infantry, followmg 
 the cavalry emphasized the spirit of the orders he 
 issued. In telling my men of the orders I added that 
 they should never forget that a true soldier is by 
 nature a gentleman. 
 
 The war storms which the people of South Caro- 
 lina had themselves encouraged and on which they 
 had looked for three years at a distance, came on 
 them like an avalanche at last. Kilpatrick's full 
 division united to sweep through the west and tear 
 up the railroad, while the infantry burned the cotton 
 in the east. All this combined to change the condition 
 
 of the state. 
 
 On the 8th. of February the cavalry began to de- 
 stroy the railroad at Blackwell, sixty miles west of 
 Charleston. The day was cold and wet. The Ninth 
 Ohio went into camp near the town and we obtained 
 a room in a house nearby. The owner was a very 
 quiet, sensible and gentlemanly man. He did not 
 
l82 RECOLLECTIONS OF A CAVALRYMAN. 
 
 neglect southern hospitality. We had our own pro- 
 visions but he placed a colored man at our service who 
 was quite intelligent. He made a fire for us, as the 
 day had been wet and cold, brought water to wash, 
 and everything he could porcure for our comfort, and 
 when he could do nothing more stood at the door 
 seemingly hesitating to leave. He then looked at me 
 and said, "Massa, might I talk a little wid you?" 
 
 ''Certainly", I replied. 
 
 Said he, "I would like to get yo' advice on some 
 t'ings. I wus bo'n an' raised in Charleston. I be- 
 longed to massa all my life. He 'lowed me to lurn. 
 I read de papahs I brings to him. I 'spect what's 
 comin' an' dat de darkies will be free, an' I wants to 
 know if I might go erlong wid youins as a cook o' 
 servan', or stay wid my massa." 
 
 ''Has your master been good to you?" I asked. 
 
 "Oh, yessah, but I'm nothin' but a slave. I wants 
 to belong to mysef." 
 
 I told him by all means to stay with his master 
 and wait for the coming of the time he had been 
 praying for. "We have had a harder time," I said, 
 "in bringing that day to you, than you have ever had." 
 
 By the courtesy of our host our supper had been 
 spread on his dining room table, as he wanted to have 
 a talk. He told us his home was in Charleston and 
 lie had come up here to get away from the excite- 
 ment of the war. "This seems to be an impossibility", 
 he said. "It is a great calamity to both sections and 
 has been brought on by a lack of knowledge of each 
 
DESCENT ON SOUTH CAROLINA. 183 
 
 other. Your people, unfortunately, have a misconcep- 
 tion of the true relation between master and servant 
 in the South. There are, it is true, rare cases in which 
 that relationship has been abused, but," he went on to 
 say in the presence of his servant (who had consulted 
 me, in the room and who was then standing behind my 
 chair with a white apron on) 'T have owned slaves 
 all my life and have always been kind to them; and 
 there is not one of them up to this time that wants 
 to leave me. They would rather stay with me now 
 than try to make a living for themselves." His silent 
 servant heard it all. 
 
 Next morning and for three days the whole cav- 
 alry command continued the work of railroad de- 
 struction, and on February loth, we camped about five 
 miles east of the town of Aiken which since then Has 
 become a popular winter resort. 
 
 Next morning, February nth, Kilpatrick left the 
 1st. and 3rd. Brigades in camp and continued the work 
 on the railroad, protecting the detail for that purpose 
 with the 2nd Brigade moving in line by regiments ; 
 92d Illinois to advance with Kilpatrick and staff, 9th. 
 and loth. O. V. C. following, and the 9th. Michigan 
 in the rear. General Wheeler fell back offering but 
 little opposition. 
 
 The country was level with timber and cornfield 
 alternating. Kilpatrick ordered me to form my regi- 
 ment in line behind a fence dividing a strip of timber 
 from a large cornfield, while he with the 92nd. Illinois 
 
184 RECOLLECTIONS OF A CAVALRYMAN. 
 
 pushed forward, driving the enemy through the corn 
 stalks into a body of timbers, beyond which was the 
 town of Aiken. Here Wheeler made a stand and ac- 
 tive firing began. I ordered my men to lay down 
 every alternate panel of fence in front of them. 
 Major Irvine, commanding on my extreme right flank, 
 soon sent word that a force of the enemy was moving 
 in a strip of timber around his right. It developed that 
 General Beauregard had reached Aiken by trains in 
 the night with his entire command on his way to 
 join Johnston, but as we could go no further, he had 
 unloaded his force to help Wheeler. 
 
 Kilpatrick had got into the town and he and his 
 body; guard were almost surrounded before he was 
 aware of the fact. They escaped capture only by a hasty 
 retreat with a close chase in the cornfield. A rebel 
 officer at the head of his company was seen so close to 
 Kilpatrick that he had his saber drawn in an efifort to 
 reach him when Captain William Henderson, who 
 since the war has been a prominent citizen of Ala- 
 bama, and who was commanding Company *'D" on 
 the left flank, ordered his men to fire on the rushing 
 crowd, and turned them back. Kilpatrick sent an 
 order to me to fall back as fast as possible. 
 
 My command was under cover in the timber and 
 I was on the right flank with Major Irvine, who had 
 sent me word that the enemy was flanking him. when 
 the officer rushed up with Kilpatrick's order. He was 
 closely followed by an orderly sent from the surgeon 
 
Robert M. Rownd, 
 Chief Bugler, 9th O. V. C. 
 
DESCENT ON SOUTH CAROLINA. 185 
 
 to beg me to hold until he could gather up the 
 wounded and the artillery officer sent word to hold 
 until he could save his guns. In the meantime part 
 of the Ninety-second Illinois were holding their 
 ground but were about to be surrounded and my com- 
 rade hearing General Kilpatrick's order to me to fall 
 back were turning to the rear, but as I reached the 
 center of the line I ordered "Right about." My young 
 bugler Bob Rownd was in his glory as he sounded the 
 charge. The enemies' bullets rattled among the dry 
 cornstalks as we drove the surprised enemy back into 
 the roads. They evidently thought that reinforce- 
 ments had arrived. The men of the Ninety-second 
 Illinois, were relieved but the enemy recovered and 
 Lieut. Henry Morrison, one of my best young officers 
 who commanded Co. A, of the Ninth Ohio, rode up to 
 me saying, ''Colonel the enemy is moving in force 
 around our right flank. Hadn't we better fall back?" 
 I answered ''Yes", and told him to reform that com- 
 mand in the rear of the Ninth Michigan, and directed 
 the adjutant to notify our officers to form their com- 
 panies in the rear and we would fall back alternating 
 by regiment until we reached the support of the other 
 brigades and I would so notify the Tenth Ohio and 
 the Ninth Michigan and we would fall back in as 
 good order as possible as we had learned by this time 
 that Wheeler had been reinforced. 
 
 I would not try to give the impression that the re- 
 treat was carried out as methodically as this plan 
 would indicate, but it was better than a stampede. 
 
1 86 RECOLLECTIONS OF A CAVALRYMAN. 
 
 which it prevented. In it there occurred an example 
 of the difference between the training of a regular 
 and volunteer officer. 
 
 When my Second Lieutenant, Henry Morrison, of 
 Co. A. came and told me what was occurring on his 
 front, he acted as a regular officer; when he advised 
 me what to do, he acted like a volunteer but in this 
 affair he was practically right in both cases. 
 
 Some years afterwards while spending a night in 
 Rockmart, Georgia, I met a merchant who was a cap- 
 tain in General Wheeler's command and who was in 
 that battle. He said his attention was directed by 
 General Wheeler to my fine black horse all white with 
 sweat, and that he was told by the General to get him 
 out of the way. 
 
 He also told me that General Beauregard had ar- 
 rived by train with 12,000 men en route to join General 
 Johnston, and that one of the cavalry generals had 
 been relieved of his command from his lack of energy 
 in that battle. 
 
 In that engagement our regiment suffered one of 
 its most severe losses. My cousin, Adjutant Arthur 
 T. Hamilton, while riding his horse on the railroad 
 bed, directing some of the men, was struck by a ball 
 that went through his leg near the knee joint, killing 
 his horse. He was taken up with his saddle and 
 bridle, by hospital steward Robert H. Moffitt. 
 
 I found him among the other wounded in an old 
 cabin. He smiled and said he was not much hurt. I 
 told him the war would soon be over and he would be 
 
Robert H. Moffit, 
 Hospital Steward, 9th O. V. C. 
 
DESCENT ON SOUTH CAROLINA. 187 
 
 safe in the hospital out of danger till the close, and 
 we would go home together. 
 
 The wounded were placed in ambulances and sent 
 to the infantry. Two days later I learned from the 
 surgeon that his wound was not doing well, as signs 
 of blood poisoning had appeared. I turned over the 
 command to Lieutenant Colonel Stough, who com- 
 manded the regiment through South Carolina, and de- 
 voted myself to his care. I saw that his wound was 
 carefully cared for and I held him in my arms for 
 hours as the ambulance jolted over corduroy roads 
 made by the pioneer corps, through the swamp lands 
 of South Carolina. During this time blood poisoning 
 had fully developed and the adjutant was plainly 
 growing weaker. After traveling in this way for one 
 hundred and seventy-five miles with the infantry we 
 reached the town of Cheraw where the army was 
 crossing the Pedee river on a pontoon into North 
 Carolina. This took most of a day. During this 
 time I held the adjutant in my arms. In the afternoon 
 he looked up at me and smiled faintly and I saw he 
 was dyingj 
 
 I had a box made and a grave dug in the town 
 cemetery, and when all was over I washed his face 
 and hands and wrapped him in his blanket like a 
 soldier. 
 
 We buried him at midnight by the fierce light of 
 a burning town. I noticed General Sherman pass by 
 with a column of his infantry as we filled the grave, 
 
1 88 RECOLLECTIONS OF A CAVALRYMAN. 
 
 and I heard a soldier say, 'They are planting another 
 one." 
 
 I left him in his grave and rode with my orderly 
 twelve miles up the river in a dark night through a 
 drizzling rain to find our regiment, which had crossed 
 on a pontoon into North Carolina in advance of a 
 column of infantry which was crossing when we ar- 
 rived. Here we had to wait in the rain an hour be- 
 fore we could reach the pontoon. But after crossing 
 we could not track our regiment in the dark. We 
 tied our horses to a tree and lay down at the roots 
 until daylight. In the morning we found our regi- 
 ment. The boys looked at me in silence as I with a 
 heavy heart rode along the moving column, and I 
 heard them whispering to each other as we passed. 
 "The adjutant is dead." 
 
 I have been thus minute in my account of the 
 death and loss to the regiment of that dear young of- 
 ficer, for he was loved and trusted as one of the kind- 
 est and bravest officers of the regiment. xA.nd as Sher- 
 man said of McPherson, **He fell like a gentleman, 
 booted and spurred." A captain's commission had 
 been issued to him on the day he was shot but he died 
 without knowing it. His body was afterwards re- 
 moved by the government and now lies in the National 
 Cemetery at Florence, South Carolina. 
 
 March 5th. During my absence the brigade had 
 crossed the Edisco river burning the cotton on its line 
 of march, and camped within twenty miles of Colum- 
 bia, then passed through Lexington, destroying cotton 
 
Hospital Steward Robt. H. Moffit. 
 Now a Prominent Physician at Harrisburgh. Pa. 
 
DESCENT ON SOUTH CAROLINA. 189 
 
 and laying waste the country until they reached the 
 Saluda river; the enemy hanging on our flanks but 
 offering little opposition. March 6th, the command 
 reached the Pedee river, which forms the northern 
 boundary of the state. 
 
CHAPTER 23. 
 
 Battle of Averysboro and Capture of Colonel Rhett. 
 
 — Battle of Bentonville. — Through the 
 
 Turpentine Forests of North Carolina. 
 
 — Kilpatrick's Narrow Escape. 
 
 In the meantime the enemy had been concentrating 
 their forces and met us at Averysboro. The battle 
 began in the afternoon of March 13th. We lay on our 
 arms through the night. The ground was low, wet 
 and overgrown wnth brush and scrubby timber. The 
 battle was renewed at daylight on the 14th by both in- 
 fantry and cavalry. I was on my horse on the left 
 flank of our line which was pressing the enemy slowly 
 back, when two o-f the cavalrymen brought back a 
 finely dressed officer on foot as a prisoner. I asked his 
 name. In a spirit of untamed defiance, he replied, 
 *T am Colonel Rhett, Sir, in command of the Con- 
 federate Artillery, and I wish to explain that I was 
 on the left of our skirmish line when I saw three men, 
 and in the fog I took them for General Hampton's 
 men and called to know where he was. They came 
 up and covered me with their guns, saying they were 
 Yankees and directed me to come with them, and I 
 was too far from my men to decline." 
 
 General Kilpatrick soon came up and asked who 
 
 (190) 
 
Capt. E. L. Maxn, 
 Co. "F," 9th O. V. C 
 
BATTLE OF AVERYSBORO, ETC. IQT 
 
 I had. I told him who he was and how he was cap- 
 tured. When the identity of each was known some 
 hot words passed between them. Colonel Rhett said, 
 bitterly, '1 was taken through a mistake of my own 
 and you have the advantage of me now, but you d — d 
 Yankees will not have it your own way very long in 
 South Carolina. There are 50,000 fresh men ready 
 and waiting for you." Kilpatrick replied, "Yes and if 
 that is true we will have to hunt the swamp to find the 
 d — d cowards." 
 
 Colonel Alfred Rhett was the son of Barnwell 
 Rhett, the editor of the Charleston Alercury, the lead- 
 ing newspaper of the South, and a strong supporter 
 of his intimate friend. John C. Calhoun. He was a 
 typical representative of South Carolina aristocracy, 
 the young men of which had been formed into an 
 artillery brigade and were known as the Confederate 
 Regular Heavy Artillery, 3,000 of them. They had 
 been assigned to guard duty in Charleston Harbor, 
 and the son of Barnwell Rhett was given command 
 with a commission of colonel. 
 
 General Kilpatrick directed me to place him in 
 charge of an officer and send him to General Williams's 
 headquarters. I put him in charge of Lieutenant Mann 
 of my regiment who got two guards from his com- 
 pany and started with him. On the way the colonel 
 asked tlie lieutenant if his men would shoot him in 
 case he tried to get away. The Heutenant remarked 
 if he wanted to make the experiment he might try it. 
 He didn't, however, and on arriving at General Wil- 
 
192 RECOLLECTIONS OF A CAVALRYMAN. 
 
 liams's headquarters he was turned over to Captain J. 
 B. Foraker of the general's staff foir safe keeping. 
 
 Here he was treated with the "distinguished con- 
 sideration" that the South Carolina gentleman felt was 
 his due. He was introduced to the general and mem- 
 bers of his staff, taken to their table and given com- 
 fortable quarters. Ail this was a new experience to 
 him. It was one in which he learned that he could 
 not dominate, but he could not desist from making 
 himself offensive by his ill concealed bitterness and 
 conteniipt for the Yankees. 
 
 March 15th. It was learned that one of Gen- 
 eral William's staff officers had been captured, his 
 money, watch and part of his clothes taken and 
 that he had been treated with indignity. This outrage 
 caused a change in the treatment o^f Colonel Rhett. 
 Altho he was perhaps the best dressed man in either 
 Army, order w^as received to place him among the 
 common prisoners. It was said that the staff officers 
 invited him to exchange the patent leather boots which 
 he wore for a pair of stogy shoes which he was told 
 he would find more comfortable to march in : and 
 it was said that there was a contest among the mem- 
 bers of the staff for his boots, until it was found that 
 although the colonel was a good sized man, there 
 wasn't a man of the staff who could get his boots on. 
 
 March 16, 1864, our cavalry was marching on the 
 left flank of the infantry about three miles distant, 
 when the enemy turned and miade a dash on the ad- 
 
BATTLE OF AVERYSBORO, ETC. I93 
 
 vance 'brigade of the First Division of the Fourteenth 
 Corps of our infantry. This brigade received the 
 shock and fell back fighting to where the line of the 
 Second Brigade was forming and throwing up such 
 barricades as they could, to receive them. Here the 
 two united brigades made a strong fight, other troops 
 came up to their assistance and the battle was on in 
 deadly earnest. 
 
 General Kilpatrick gave the order, "Right Ob- 
 lique" to the cavalry and we moved at a gallop to the 
 sound of the cannon. The brigades were formed in 
 easy reach to await orders, as at that time the battle 
 was in the timber. 
 
 The 9th O. V. I. was formed on the extreme right 
 near where the Averysboro prisoners were lying under 
 guard. Among them I noticed Colonel Rhett lying 
 on the ground looking dirty and woe begone. He 
 watched with deep interest the progress of the battle. 
 Word came that a regiment had been taken, and think- 
 ing it was one of ours, a bright look of joy came over 
 his face, as he raised on his elbows to look. But when 
 he saw a column of gray coming out of the smoke be- 
 tween two columns of blue with muskets at right shoul- 
 der shift, he lay back with a look of despair. 
 
 I met his elder brother, Barnwell Rhett Jr., at his 
 home in Huntsville, Alabama, since the war, who told 
 me that his brother Alfred was dead. At his request 
 I wrote an account O'f his brother's capture from our 
 standpoint. I found him very pleasant, but the only 
 
 13 
 
194 RECOLLECTIONS OF A CAVALRYMAN. 
 
 man in the South to say that it would have been better 
 if they had won. 
 
 In the battle of Bentonville, which was the closing 
 heavy battle of the war, our loss in killed and wounded 
 was 1,604. The enemy's, as reported, was 2,343. Our 
 badly wounded were gathered into a building near by, 
 which soon resembled a slaughter house. A dozen sur- 
 geons and attendants in their shirt sleeves stood at 
 rude benches cutting off arms and legs and throwing 
 them out of the windows, where they lay scattered on 
 the grass. The legs of the infantry could be distin- 
 guished from those of the cavalry by the size of their 
 calves, as the march of 1,000 miles had increased the 
 size of the one and diminished the size of the other. 
 
 Another room was filled with the severely 
 wounded w^hose moans and cries were heart rending. 
 Some in agony uttered curses on the men who brought 
 on the war ; others were trying to send dying messages 
 to loved ones at home ; and many in earnest prayer 
 were imploring God's favor. I noticed one 
 poor boy covered with blood which was flowing from 
 a cruel wound in his breast which had been badly torn 
 by a piece of a shell. Amidst the confusions of 
 sounds I heard him calling plaintively for his mother 
 and Jesus in turns. "Jesus," he cried, "have mercy 
 on me. I don't think I have been a very bad boy. Oh, 
 do have mercy on me. dear Jesus." 
 
 When I returned his eyes were closed and all was 
 still. 
 
BATTLE OF AVERYSBORO, ETC. IQS 
 
 It added bitterness to the hearts of these brave 
 boys and their friends to think that so near the end 
 of the long weary march that closed the war they 
 should be stricken down in battle almost within reach 
 of home. 
 
 In our march through North Carolina we were 
 in the home of the long leaf pine which has given 
 turpentine to the country and the name of 'Tar Heel 
 State" to the fine old commonwealth of North 
 Carolina. 
 
 Here are extensive forests of trees from twenty 
 inches to three feet in diameter and at least seventy 
 feet without a limb, but spreading at the top with a 
 dense mass of interlocking limbs, clothed in evergreen 
 leaves so dense as to exclude the sun. The ground 
 is covered from 4 to 6 inches deep with "pine 
 needles" rotting at the bottom but soft and clean on 
 the surface. 
 
 The turpentine is obtained by tapping these trees 
 as we boys used to get molasses from our sugar trees 
 long ago. But they cut notches deep enough to hold 
 about a quart of sap, which is gathered into barrels 
 and becomes the turpentine of commerce. 
 
 The war had stopped all this, and the notches were 
 found full of coagulated sap, which from different 
 sources, had oozed out and whitened the bark on the 
 trunks of the trees higher up. Our foragers had set 
 fire to the turpentine in the notches and the blaze ex- 
 tended to the resin on the bark, causing a smoke which 
 could hardly escape through the green canopy above, 
 
196 RECOLLECTIONS OF A CAVALRYMAN. 
 
 but hung like a pall over our heads, while the fire below^ 
 lighted up the trunks of the trees that seemed to be 
 surpporting a roof, creating a feeling of awe as though 
 we were within the precincts of a grand old cathedral. 
 
 A cabin was standingj by the side of a sluggish 
 stream ; the water was black with the stain of decay- 
 ing pine leaves. The cabin was filled with barrels of 
 resin and tar. All had been set on fire. The burning 
 contents found their way to the water and floated wind- 
 ing down the stream like fiery serpents of ancient 
 mythology. As our column came quietly in to dis- 
 mount for the night all besmeared with pine smoke, 
 the vision was complete. It seemed as though some- 
 how I had got into "Dante's Inferno" and my only 
 wonder was that these mounted demons as they came 
 filing in should look so much like men ! 
 
 One evening a few days later, while I was at sup- 
 per, my foragers brought a prisoner to my quarters. 
 He was an honest young countryman about six feet 
 tall and nineteen years old. He was dressed in a 
 rebel uniform, and was without an overcoat, although 
 the weather was rather cold. The boys said they got 
 him in a house. 
 
 "Where do you belong?" I asked. 
 
 'T am a Tar Heel, Sah." 
 
 "Where are you going?" 
 
 "I was just goin' home to see my folks and get 
 something to eat when these Yanks got me. One of 
 them got my overcoat. I don't know who it was, but 
 I can lick the d d man that took it." 
 
BATTLE OF AVERYSBORO, ETC. 1 97 
 
 "If I would give you your supper and let you go," 
 I asked, *'where would you go?" 
 
 "Vd hunt up the man that stole my overcoat and 
 lick him and then go to my regiment." 
 
 "Would you fight us again if you got a chance?" 
 
 "Of course, I would. That's what I enlisted for." 
 
 "Well, then we will keep you here. I think you 
 are an honest boy with good mettle in you. Come, as 
 you say you are hungry. If you will sit down here 
 you shall have a good supper with me but we will try 
 and keep you from killing any of us." 
 
 I don't think he ever found his overcoat. 
 
 Kilpatrick received orders from General Sherman 
 to cross the Cape Fear River with his entire command 
 and move on Lexington. Heavy rains had fallen and 
 the roads were so swampy that a long corduroy bridge 
 was found to be under water. The artillery horses 
 of the Second Brigade broke through. The night was 
 dark and wet. To get the gims forward ropes were 
 brought and fifty men were required to pull each of 
 them through. This kept us at work all night. Next 
 morning we breakfasted on a near by plantation. We 
 fed the horses on corn which we found in a crib and 
 parched some for ourselves, which, with honey we 
 took from a bee hive was all we had for breakfast. 
 While eating this, Captain Estes, Kilpatrick's adjutant 
 general, reached us on foot in his shirt sleeves, out 
 of breath, saying that the Third Brigade, which had 
 marched three miles in advance, had been attacked 
 before daylight and their headlquarters, with tiheir 
 
198 RECOLLECTIONS OF A CAVALRYMAN. 
 
 horses and equipment, had been captured; that the 
 general and most of the staff had broken for the brush, 
 half dressed, and he had run back to hurry us up. We 
 were not in very good condition to hurry, but soon 
 found that we were not needed. Lieutenant Colonel 
 Stough of the Ninth Ohio with his four hundred dis- 
 mounted men were camped close by. 
 
 When we arrived, however, we found a strange 
 condition of things. General Kilpatrick and staff 
 had been marching with the Third Brigade three 
 miles in advance. Knowing that fact, General 
 Wheeler made an attack before daylight and captured 
 headquarters with all its property, the artillery and 
 most of the staff* officers, although General Kilpatrick 
 made his escape half dressed into the swamp near by. 
 
 But it so happened that about four hundred dis- 
 mounted cavalrymen of our brigade had exchanged 
 their carbines for Springfield rifles and had been 
 marching with the wagon train as infantry under 
 command of Lieutenant Colonel Stough of the Ninth 
 O. V. C, assisted by Lieutenant Louis Geague. Co. E., 
 and Sergant Rice infantry men and good officers, and 
 by officers from other regiments having dismounted 
 men. They had encamped behind a swamp not far from 
 Kilpatrick's headquarters with Colonel Spencer of the 
 3rd Brigade. In the morning before daylight the enemy 
 made an attack and captured the headquarters and 
 the battery belonging to the 3rd Brigade, including a 
 number of the officers. General Kilpatrick, however, 
 escaped, partly dressed, and remained under cover. 
 
BATTLE OF AVERYSBORO, ETC. I 99 
 
 In the meantime Colonel Stough rushed his men to 
 the rescue, and, after firing a volley from his Spring- 
 field rifles, charged with the bayonet, re-taking the 
 captured battery. This determined attack the enemy 
 mistook as coming from the 14th Corps which they 
 knew had encamped near by. Officers retook the bat- 
 tery and opened with canister and the enemy were 
 driven from the field and the headquarters of the 
 3rd Brigade were retaken. When the sun arose the 
 head of the 14th Corps appeared in sight. The 
 enemy lost a large number of men in killed and 
 wounded, including a number of officers. 
 
 This timiely and dramatic afifair released Colonel 
 Spencer and his staff, enabled General Kilpatrick to 
 return from his seclusion and finish his toilet, and 
 smothered the ridicule which the infantry tried to at- 
 tach to the affair by referring to it as "Kilpatrick's 
 Shirt-tail Skedaddle." Colonel Stough and the dis- 
 mounted men of our brigade received great credit for 
 this timely dash and Colonel Stough was complimented 
 with the brevet rank of Brigadier General. After 
 the war Lieutenant Geague wrote me that General 
 Kilpatrick had called on him in his western home and 
 spoke in admiration of the affair, saying at the same 
 time that the Ninth Ohio was one of the best dis- 
 ciplined volunteer cavalry regiments that he ever com- 
 manded. 
 
CHAPTER 24. 
 The Last Engagement of the War. 
 
 March 17th, 1865, General Johnston evacuated 
 Goldsboro and intrenched his forces on the road 
 leading to Raleigh. This gave us undisputed con- 
 nection with the North. Here the Ninth Ohio 
 exchanged their Burnside breech loading carbines 
 for the more effective seven shooting Spencers. We 
 also secured a number of convalescents who were 
 waiting for us, and quite a number of recniits who 
 presented themselves too late to be of any value to 
 the service and most of whom had been induced to 
 volunteer by the large bounties they could secure and 
 through the conviction that the war was about over. 
 
 One of them who had been in our brigade about 
 a week, got some whiskey and a horse and with a 
 comrade took a ride to the country. He overtook an 
 old citizen carrying a jug, which he demanded, think- 
 ing it contained whiskey; and when the old man de- 
 clined to do this, he shot him. This recruit was 
 promptly arrested, tried by ''Drumhead" Court Mar- 
 tial next day and ordered shot. 
 
 A box was made that day ; next morning marching 
 orders were received and when all was ready the divi- 
 sion started on the road to Raleigh. The man was 
 put in an ambulance and brought out under guard 
 
 (200) 
 
LAST ENGAGEMENT OF THE WAR. 201 
 
 behind the command to a vacant spot outside of the 
 city, riding on his box to where a grave had been dug. 
 Here the brigade of four regiments was ordered up m 
 the form of a hollow square. The man was brought 
 in the ambulance to the grave beside which the box 
 was placed. He was made to kneel on the box, and 
 after he had cast a look around, he was blindfolded. 
 A detail of eight soldiers took their places ten steps 
 in front of him; eight loaded guns were given them— 
 seven with ball, and one blank. When all was ready 
 I heard him say, "Schoot me schrait in the breast, boys. 
 Schoot me schrait in the breast. I think it will be 
 
 better for me." 
 
 The guns were leveled and the white napkin tell. 
 I saw his blouse ''fly" out from his back as seven balls 
 went through him and he fell upon his coffin. He 
 was buned where he fell. At the sound of the bugle 
 "Fours right. Forward March" was given and the 
 tragedy was over. It was learned that the man was 
 from Canada, and had been making a business of 
 
 Bounty Jumping. r j u 
 
 But when he, like others of his class, found the 
 Confederacy dying, he enlisted to be in at the death. 
 Among the convalescents who reached us was my 
 young cousin, Daniel Hamilton, a younger brother to 
 the late adjutant. He had been taken down with ty- 
 phoid fever at Decatur, Alabama, before the Rousseau 
 raid and was unable to join us in the Grand March, 
 but obtained permission to meet us at Goldsboro. 
 
 When taken sick at Decatur he was cared for and 
 
202 RECOLLECTIONS OF A CAVALRYMAN. 
 
 nursed back to health in the home of a Mrs. Austin. 
 a poor widow, who was as kind hearted as she was 
 loyal. Her son then 6 years old is now Hon. R. W. 
 Austin, an able Republican member of Congress for 
 the 2d district of Tennessee. 
 
 Although scarcely able for duty, Daniel Hamilton 
 was anxious to be with his brother and came happy 
 in the thought of meeting him. When he learned that 
 he had been killed in battle and that the body was 
 buried in South Carolina, the sudden look of despair 
 that broke the poor boy down kindled anew the sorrow 
 that filled my own breast w^hen his brother fell. I took 
 Daniel with me as an assistant to my orderly, Morton 
 Black. They had been bosom friends from ahildhood 
 and reared under the same influence. 
 
 But Morton had seen more service in the field and 
 understood matters better. To illustrate this, the or- 
 derly told me one morning that we had no butter. I 
 told him to go out and find some and to take Dan 
 with him. After riding some distance through a pretty 
 good country, Morton's practiced eye lighted upon 
 a plantation house in a grove surrounded by green 
 fields. He remarked, *'This is where I think w^e 
 can find butter." They both went galloping up to the 
 gate and Morton called to dismount. Dan drew up his 
 horse and said, ''Morton, have you any money? — I 
 haven't a cent!" 
 
 This became a great joke in the regiment, but can- 
 not be fully appreciated by any one who never fol- 
 lowed Sherman to the sea. 
 
LAST ENGAGEMENT OF THE WAR. 203 
 
 On approaching Raleigh the city was surrendered 
 without ooposition by the Mayor and a committee of 
 citizens who came out to meet us. When General Ki - 
 Patrick entered the city at the head of his column al 
 was quiet. But a squad of rebel outlaws led by a rebel 
 lieutenant was engaged m robbing houses and cursmg 
 the ''Damned Yankees." . 
 
 W'hen the column appeared, all mounted their 
 horses and left in a hurry, but the lieutenant, who 
 waited until Kilpatrick was within gun shot. He 
 drew his pistol and fired six shots at the head of the 
 column then mounted his horse and left with the oth- 
 ers A squad of horsemen was sent in pursuit and 
 overhauled him. Kilpatrick ordered a rope, and he 
 was hung to the nearest tree. 
 
 He died a vile marauder or a bold patriot, depend- 
 ing on who tells the story. But in either case-like a 
 
 spectacular fool. 
 
 On April 15th., 1865. a terrible storm prevailed 
 which raised the waters so that the streams became 
 almost impassable. Our brigade received orders to 
 halt We built barricades and went into camp. Next 
 day General Atkins received orders to press forward. 
 I now quote from Mrs. Cornelia Spencer, a South- 
 ern lady who was there at the time, published a his- 
 tory of the war in 1866. 
 
 'The bridge across New Hope river had been 
 washed away but some stringers were left. General 
 Hampton's cavalry occupied the other side. The Ninth 
 
^04 RECOLLECTIONS OF A CAVALRYMAN. 
 
 O. V. C, the leading regiment of General Atkins' 
 brigade, crossed a hundred dismounted men over the 
 river on the remaining stringers and were scarcely 
 over when they were furiously charged by Hampton's 
 cavalry. A heavy skirmish occurred in which several 
 were killed on both sides." 
 
 General Atkins report of the affair was that the 
 men of the 9th. Ohio crossed on the stringers, took 
 possession of a rebel barricade by a sudden dash 
 and held it against four separate charges of Hamp- 
 ton's Cavalry, using their new seven shooting Spencer 
 carbines to such effect that the enemy withdrew leav- 
 ing a number of men and horses wounded and dead 
 on the field, although the Ninth lost not a man either 
 killed or wounded. 
 
 Some of these men were of Company '*G", com- 
 manded by Lieutenant Knapp, who was taken prisoner 
 on the Peters' plantation near Florence a year before, 
 but had made his escape. 
 
 In this affair I was not present as I had been 
 ordered to follow Wheeler who was moving by his 
 right flank with the apparent design of getting around 
 our left, and I was ordered to move on a parallel line 
 about a mile distant with all my command but Com- 
 pany "G" to watch his movements. And this brought 
 on the last battle of the war of which I gave a full 
 account in a paper read before the Cincinnati Com- 
 mandery of the Loyal Legion in 1907, and which 
 includes our three weeks' experience while stationed 
 
LAST ENGAGEMENT OF THE WAR. 205 
 
 in Chapel Hill, and an account of the effect the murder 
 of the president at that time had upon the army and 
 the terror it produced among the citizens. 
 
 I will close this description of our military opera- 
 tions by inserting a copy of that paper, entitled 
 THE LAST SHOT OF THE WAR. 
 The Confederate historian, Pollard, in his history of the 
 Rebellion, which, with complacent incorrectness he '=^"; The 
 War Between the States," says that on 'h^ 16'^ /ay of Ap I 
 1865, a portion of Wheeler's cavalry covernig 'he r'^'?'/;"; 
 o£ Johnston's army, was ordered to move round to the rear 
 of Sherman's army, to gain what i"f°™-"°" ,*;>'.~" ' '" 
 regard to his position. He proceeds to say that th s force 
 was met near Chapel Hill, North Carolma, l,y the Ninth Ol o 
 Volunteer Cavalry, of Kilpatrick's command, on the morning 
 
 of the 17th, and a sharp ^"S^'f "^"' °""7^' ™'"*P,deral 
 ever, was suddenly ended by the withdrawal of the Federal 
 
 ^°'^Tn this affair he says their own loss was twelve men 
 wounded, and four killed. The enemy's loss was ""t ascer- 
 Ta^ed He then says the Confederate forces retired by way 
 of Chapel Hill, after learning that hostilities were e"ded by 
 agreement between Generals Johnston and Sherman, and that 
 our gallant struggle for independence had been given up^ and 
 the last blood of the noble sons of the South had been offered 
 on the altar of a Lost Cause. 
 
 As it is proper for the truth of history that the details 
 of this last engagement be correctly given, I wi" state that 
 at the time mentioned, the Second Brigade of K.lpatnck s 
 forces, occupied the extreme left of Sherman^ army some 
 welv miles from his headquarters at Durham's Station^ 
 My orders were to keep a strict watch to Prevent a flank 
 movement of the enemy. I became aware that Wheeler was 
 s nd ng a force by his right flank evidently to reach our 
 
206 RECOLLECTIONS OF A CAVALRYMAN. 
 
 rear. I moved my command on a parallel line, one or two 
 miles distant. That night the enemy went into camp on the 
 south side of a cypress swamp, about one-fourth of a mile in 
 width. 1 encamped a short distance on the other side. There 
 was a corduroy road cut through the timber in the swamp, 
 which the enemy had taken the precaution to guard, by plac- 
 ing a section of artillery at the other end. In the night I 
 received a dispatch stating that General Johnston had re- 
 quested a conference with General Sherman, but as yet noth- 
 ing had been arranged, and I was directed to press the 
 enemy with vigor in the morning, but in such a way as not 
 to expose my men too much, as the war was evidently draw- 
 ing to a close, and Sherman did not want any more men 
 sacrificed than could be avoided. I informed my officers of 
 the nature of the dispatch, and directed that they have the 
 companies in line by 4 o'clock in the morning with a full 
 supply of ammunition. 
 
 The Ninth Ohio Volunteer Cavalry had recently been 
 armed with seven-shooting Spencer carbines, and the men 
 were eager to use them. I directed that in all the companies 
 but two, after counting off, they should dismount numbers 
 1, 2 and 3, and let number 4 take the horses, the others to 
 form as infantry and move quietly to the edge of the swamp, 
 in which the water was one or two feet deep and covered 
 with a heavy growth of cypress trees, then in young leaf. 
 The officers in charge were to enter the water with their 
 men and move forward in line, wath instructions to keep 
 well under cover, until they draw the fire of the enemy's 
 outposts, then to open fire with all the energy the conditions 
 would allow. That I, with the remaining companies, would 
 charge over the corduroy road and strike their right flank 
 as soon as the enemy moved their artillery. The men took 
 the water before it was light and soon drew the enemy's fire. 
 The water was not very cold, and the novelty of the situation 
 increased their enthusiasm, and the men moved steadily for- 
 ward, firing upon the camp of the enemy with such thunder- 
 
LAST ENGAGEMENT OF THE WAR. 207 
 
 mg noise as to indicate that a full brigade vyas in action. 
 The artillery was soon turned upon them, which gave me 
 the opportunity I waited for, to dash with the mounted men 
 over the corduroy road and attack their flank. The men 
 who had gotten through the swamp mounted their horses 
 which had followed me over the corduroy road and my 
 entire command pressed forward. The enemy at length fell 
 back, delivering an irregular fire, which we were returning 
 when a courier rode up to me with a dispatch from General 
 Kilpatrick, stating that a flag of truce had been a.-eed upon 
 that terms of surrender were being prepared, and hostilities 
 should be suspended. From the movements of the enem> , 
 1 inferred a similar dispatch had been received. They retired 
 bv way of Chapel Hill to Hillsboro, where they went into 
 cLp, and the war was ended. The "last shot had been 
 fired at the Confederacy, and we had the honor to be in at 
 the death !" without the loss of a man. I was ordered to 
 proceed next day to Chapel Hill. The terms a-anged by 
 General Sherman were disapproved however, at Washington 
 and the official surrender did not take place until the 26th 
 
 °^ l^can best describe our joy and enthusiasm by recalling 
 to your remembrance your own feelings, my Companions 
 of the Legion, when the sunshine of that welcome news 
 brightened the heavens for us. As for myself after my 
 joy that the end had come, my second thought was that 
 four out of six of my kindred had been sacrificed to bring 
 about that day, and only I, the oldest, and one other, the 
 youngest, would ever receive a welcome home to share in 
 the blessings purchased at such a cost 
 
 The next day we moved eight miles into Chapel Hill, i 
 established headquarters in a house on the outskirts of the 
 town, and camped the command in a grove near by _ 
 
 Chapel Hill was, and still is, the seat of the University 
 of North Carolina, with, at that time, a population of about 
 2,500 inhabitants. 
 
208 RECOLLECTIONS OF A CAVALRYMAN. 
 
 Like most college towns, it contained a large class of 
 intelligent and cultivated people. Here we learned that four 
 of their soldiers had been killed and ten or twelve wounded 
 in this last engagement. The killed were buried, and the 
 wounded were being cared for by their people, and although 
 we did everything in our power to allay their feeling of 
 aversion, it was plainly seen that we were not welcome. 
 
 On the morning of the 20th of April, I noticed an un- 
 usual commotion in the town. Soon the telegraph operator 
 brought me a dispatch stating that last night the President 
 was shot, and had died that morning; that Secretary Seward 
 had been stabbed while lying on a sick bed, and was thought 
 to be fatally injured; that his son was badly wounded while 
 trying to defend him, and that an attempt had been made 
 upon the life of the Vice-President. I gasped for breath. A 
 shadow of darkness and horror came over me. I became 
 dizzy and leaned on a fence for support. Tears ran down 
 my cheeks, and I bitterly exclaimed as in prayer, Great God, 
 has it come to this? Is it possible that after we had met 
 them in open battle and shot to death their purpose to destroy 
 the Nation, that they are going to steal upon us like cowards 
 with murder in their hearts like this? The news flew 
 through the camp in a moment. Men gathered in squads 
 and talked low, with a threatening look of vengeance. Citi- 
 zens, pale with alarm, came in squads to see me with the 
 anxious inquiry whether their town would be burned, and 
 begged to assure me that they had no knowledge that such 
 a terrible event was contemplated, and prayed that we would 
 do them no harm, for they were very sorry that such a 
 calamity had fallen upon the country. "Gentlemen," I re- 
 plied, "we are all broken up and staggered by this frightful 
 news ; it may be that some of your reckless leaders in the 
 desperation of their failure have rashly determined upon a 
 guerrilla warfare and secret assassination, but I can hardly 
 believe it. I am rather persuaded that it has been the crazy 
 act of a band of irresponsible adventurers, who have stricken 
 
LAST ENGAGEMENT OF THE WAR. 209 
 
 down (had they but known it) the truest and ablest friend 
 the South, in this, her sore extremity, could ever have. Go 
 home at once, and assure your families for me that, although 
 my men are terribly excited over this event, they are neither 
 guerrillas nor cut-throats, but American soldiers with the 
 common instinct of true American citizens, and that your 
 homes and property will not be disturbed by them." A 
 reaction of feeling resulted, the citizens became more cordial, 
 and met us with more friendly recognition. 
 
 In a day of two, Professor Hubbard, of the University, 
 called and invited me with one or two of my officers to dinner. 
 Here we had the pleasure of meeting two very charming 
 ladies, in the persons of his wife and daughter. The husband 
 of the latter was a Confederate officer, at that time a prisoner 
 in Fortress Monroe. The dinner was frugal, but well ordered. 
 I took occasion to compliment the white bread, saying that 
 it was something new to us, and certainly very good. Mrs. 
 Hubbard remarked with a smile that it ought to be, as the 
 barrel of flour cost her one thousand dollars, and she had 
 scraped the bottom of the barrel at the last baking, and did 
 not know where the next was to come from. 
 
 Two or three days afterward my scouts reported that 
 they had found eighteen barrels of flour in a mill out in the 
 country marked "C. S. A." I sent three teams to bring 
 it in, and did what any gentleman would have done 
 under the circumstances : I directed my commissary lieu- 
 tenant, who was rather an elegant fellow, to black his 
 boots, put on a white collar, if he had one, and trim himself 
 up, and take a barrel of flour down to Mrs. Hubbard with 
 my compliments. This little act of courtesy brought from 
 the daughter the next morning a beautiful specimen of the 
 fragrant' magnolia in full bloom, and an invitation for me 
 and the lieutenant, with another officer or two, to meet some 
 friends at the house of Professor Ritter the next evening. 
 
 14 
 
2IO RECOLLECTIONS OF A CAVALRYMAN. 
 
 This was appreciated and accepted. On this evening we met 
 a number of young people of the town, chiefly from the 
 college families. One of the most attractive was the daughter 
 of a former Governor of the State and President of the 
 college. She was also a second cousin to Governor Zeb. 
 Vance, of the State. By the way, the old families of the 
 Carolinas are very exclusive, and trace a blood relationship 
 among themselves after the style of the leading families of 
 England. Miss Swain was as brilliant and original as she 
 was elegant and attractive. I became the especial target of 
 her attack. "Well," said she, "you Yankees have got here 
 at last. We have been looking for you for some time, and 
 have a curiosity to know what you are going to do with us. 
 You have destroyed our country and our means of support ; 
 you have burned our fences and many of our homes and 
 factories ; you have disorganized and robbed us of our labor ; 
 you have killed or disabled our young men, at least the best 
 of them, but the women are all here ; what are you going to 
 do with us?" The expression on her strangely bright face as 
 she presented this formidable indictment almost paralyzed me. 
 but I recovered enough to venture modestly the suggestion that 
 it might be well for us to follow the example of the ancient 
 Fabians, who, after they had overrun a neighboring province 
 and killed the men, began the reconstruction of the country 
 by marrying the woman ! "Well," she said, "the North has 
 assumed the responsibility, and we are at your mercy ; but I 
 suppose you will let us have something to say about that." 
 We passed quite an interesting evening. It seemed to be 
 their wish to learn all they could in regard to the in- 
 truders. It was claimed by Miss Swain that in a social way 
 they were at a disadvantage. The Northern officers had the 
 means of learning the character and social standing of the 
 Southern people, while they themselves could stand upon the 
 temporary prominence their rank gave them and assume 
 a high position among us, while they might belong to a 
 very ordinary class at home. I frankly admitted this was 
 
LAST ENGAGEMENT OF THE WAR. 211 
 
 true in some instances, but said we had plenty of gentlemen 
 in the army whose standing did not rest upon appearances, 
 but was the result of their personal energy, high character 
 and ability, and I said it would give me pleasure to present at 
 her convenience a very gallant friend of mine, who is a good 
 representative of this class, and who, like myself, is a 
 bachelor, and always expected to remain one; "but. Miss 
 Swain, I have been thinking, since I have had the pleasure 
 of meeting you, that if there is a lady in the State of North 
 Carolina that could make him change his mind on that sub- 
 ject, you could." She bowed her thanks and inquired his 
 name. I replied that it was General Smith D. Atkins, of 
 Illinois, commanding the Second Brigade. She said she 
 would be at home to-morrow evening. The meeting was 
 arranged accordingly, and one or two other lady friends 
 were asked to be present. 
 
 The next day I called on the General and told him that 
 I had made an appointment for him in a social way for that 
 evening. He replied that he did not want to make any social 
 calls, that we were not here for anything of that kind. I 
 replied that in my opinion, he was entirely wrong, that the 
 war was over and it had been decided that we were to remain 
 one people — North and South. That it was now as much 
 our duty to break down the unfortunate prejudice which 
 existed between us as it had been to break down the rebel- 
 lion, and we should devote our best endeavors to bring about 
 a reconciliation between the sections. He then inquired 
 where I wanted him to go. I told him that it was to Gov- 
 ernor Swain's. He had already met the Governor, who had 
 been one of the Committee of Three to meet our forces on 
 our approach to Raleigh, and to offer the surrender of the 
 city. He consented to make a short call, and we spent a 
 very pleasant evening at the house of the Governor. I gave 
 my attention to the ladies of the previous evening, while the 
 General devoted himself to Miss Swain. About 10 o'clock 
 I suggested that perhaps it was time to go to camp. He 
 
212 RECOLLECTIONS OF A CAVALRYMAN. 
 
 replied that it was not late. Some time afterward I repeated 
 the suggestion. He responded, "Yes, in a few minutes." 
 After another interval I said if we remained much longer 
 we would have trouble, as I had not the countersign. He 
 replied that he had it. I called at his headquarters the next 
 afternoon, and was told that he had gone down to Governor 
 Swain's on some matter of business. It was the old, old 
 story. A feathered arrow from the ancient bow had pierced 
 the heart the modern bullet had failed to reach. After the 
 war he came back and they were married, and reconstruction 
 in its best form was begun in North Carolina. 
 
 War teaches us to value peace. Peace is the dream of 
 the philanthropist. We all sympathize with the aim of The 
 Hague Court of Arbitration; but, after all, war is not the 
 greatest calamity that can befall a nation. In the frailties of 
 human nature there are some diseases that nothing else will 
 cure. The nations which have reached the highest plane of 
 development have been the most warlike. 
 
 Civilization and even Christianity have followed in the 
 pathway of armies. 
 
 In all animated nature the spirit of war is universal, and 
 the survival of the strongest rather than the fittest is the rule. 
 The average man will fight, and there is a limit to provocation 
 beyond which if he doesn't fight women despise him, and the 
 best men lose faith in him. So it is with nations. 
 
 The lion and the unicorn rampant and the eagle with out- 
 stretched pinions are the cherished emblems of progressive 
 civilization. 
 
 For centuries China has remained as unmoved as a frozen 
 sea, until she was shaken by an upheaval a few years ago. 
 Now she is getting unwieldy proportions into the column 
 of modern progress, and even permitting the introduction of 
 modern thought. 
 
 The ingenious energy we displayed during the Civil War 
 has been contagious, and the overturning of the old methods 
 among the nations is America's contribution to the world's 
 
LAST ENGAGEMENT OF THE WAR. 213 
 
 advancement. It is said that we are a restless people, but 
 unrest is the secret of advancement. 
 
 A stagnant pool loses its vitality and becomes offensive. 
 The water of Lake Michigan washes the city of Chicago, but 
 becomes cleansed in its journey through the canal. The angry 
 torrents that dash through the rapids into Lake Ontario are 
 purer than when they left Lake Erie. Even so, our beloved 
 country, with all her remaining faults, is grander, better and 
 purer than she was in the sixties, because in her efforts at 
 purification she passed through her crimson Niagara. 
 
 On April 29th, General Kilpatrick came to Chapel 
 Hill from Durham's Station and reviewed the brigade 
 for the last time. On May 3rd. we bid farewell to 
 Chapel Hill and marched twelve miles to Hillsboro. 
 
 The confederate cavalry had been paroled but were 
 permitted to retain their horses and side arms. They 
 marched by our side on itheir way home, enemies no 
 longer, but chatting with us as friends. The Boys in 
 Gray were somewhat downcast and dispirited, but no 
 gibes were uttered by the Boys in Blue. They had 
 met on many a hard fought battle field, and had ac- 
 quired that affectionate respect which brave men have 
 for each other. 
 
 On May 4th, the brigade continued its march 
 from Hillsboro to Company Shops, a railroad town, 
 and camped for the night in a strip of woods nearby. 
 Two of the boys of the Tenth O. V. Cavalry, in clear- 
 ing away a brush heap for their tent, found fresh dirt, 
 and by digging uncovered some small boxes filled with 
 gold coins. They became excited and called a few of 
 the Ninth and Tenth boys that were camped nearby 
 
214 RECOLLECTIONS OF A CAVALRYMAN. 
 
 to show what they had found. It was quietly agreed 
 among them to fill their pockets and wait till morning 
 to determine what to do. But the word got out and 
 the gold rapidly disappeared. 
 
 In the morning there was an excitement in the 
 town. The railroad had extensive shops and bank lo- 
 cated there. The bank officials, hearing that the Yan- 
 kees were coming, had taken the unwise precaution to 
 box the gold and hide it under a brush heap and the 
 boys, forgetting that the war was over, still claimed 
 the privilege of foragers. 
 
 The bank officials became alarmed and called on 
 General Kilpatrick and explained the situation, saying 
 that $80,000 in gold was deposited in the boxes which 
 men had found. The general at once issued an order 
 to return the money, but after an apparent diligent 
 search only $30,000 was recovered. The general 
 stormed publicly, the men smiled privately, and the 
 march continued. 
 
 But the undiscovered $50,000 became troublesome 
 wealth to the boys who had it. Although gold at that 
 time stood at a premium of more than twice the value 
 of greenbacks, many of the boys were willing to trade 
 for greenbacks, as they could be more easily hid. 
 Others deserted and broke for home. This they found 
 was a mistake for they were marked on the rolls as 
 deserters, and pay due them was with-held and their 
 claim for pensions sadly interfered with. 
 
CHAPTER 25. 
 
 Service in North Carolina After the Close of the 
 
 War. 
 
 We reached Greensboro that evening May 5th and 
 took possession of two hundred confederate cannon 
 which we found parked there. I went into camp, put 
 out -uards as usual while raising the flag over my 
 tent ""a fine looking officer dressed in a confederate 
 captain's uniform came up and introduced himself as 
 Captain Kearny, late of General Beauregard's staff, 
 and asked if I was Colonel Hamilton. I answered, 
 -Yes" Then he said, "The guard that you were 
 kind enough to send to our house said you were from 
 Zanesville, Ohio." I told him I was. He said, Our 
 family was originally from Zanesville. I am a nephew 
 of Captain Kearny and am now at my aunt's Mrs. Col- 
 onel Wilkes, who was a daughter of Mrs. Van Buren 
 of Zanesville, and I have been sent to mvite you to 
 dine with us. I told him that I knew both the 
 Kearny and the Van Buren families and would take 
 pleasure in accepting her kind invitation ; and after 
 putting matters in order, I joined him m a walk of 
 about one square and a half and was introduced to 
 Major and Mrs. Wilkes, and to the captam s sister, 
 
 Miss Mary Kearny. 
 
 (215) 
 
2l6 RECOLLECTIONS OF A CAVALRYMAN. 
 
 Major Wilkes was the son of Commodore Wilkes 
 of our old navy. He had been an engineer on the 
 construction of the B. & O. railroad at Zanesville, 
 where he met and married Miss Van Buren. The 
 entire connection were Virginians and had identified 
 themselves w^ith the southern cause, although they had 
 all gone to school in Zanesville. 
 
 Miss Mary was a very bright, black-eyed girl of 
 about twenty-five, who did the entertaining in the 
 absence of the others. She was a fine talker and an 
 enthusiastic Southerner, and of course the subject of 
 war was uppermost with her. She seemed to be quite 
 curious about my opinion of things. 
 
 "What do you think of General Lee?" she began. 
 
 "I have a very high opinion of him ; he is a refined 
 gentleman and a highly educated and superior military 
 officer." 
 
 "What is your opinion of Stonewall Jackson?" she 
 asked. 
 
 "I consider him a military genius — a modern 
 Cromwell, with the power of holding the unbounded 
 confidence of his men." I replied. 
 
 Miss Mary was somewhat surprised and non- 
 plussed, but continued by asking, 
 
 "What do you think of General Joe Johnston?" 
 
 I replied, "I know a little more about him, as I 
 was with Sherman who opposed him. As a military 
 strategist and a gentleman I think he could be classed 
 with the other two." 
 
IN NORTH CAROLINA AFTER THE WAR. 2X7 
 
 "I suppose you have met a number of our officers," 
 she said, "What do you think of them generally?" 
 
 ''As a rule they are very gallant and courteous gen- 
 tlemen," I answered. 
 
 Miss Kearny seemed disappointed in failmg to 
 induce a discussion, but she continued, 
 
 "What is your opinion of the southern army gen- 
 erally?" . 
 
 I replied, "I will have to admit that it was a hne 
 
 army." 
 
 "Do you think there was ever a finer or a braver 
 
 set of mien?" 
 
 "I don't think that there ever was," said I. 
 
 After studying a while she came with the chal- 
 lenge, 
 
 "Won't you admit that General Lee is a greater 
 
 man that General Grant?" 
 
 I replied, "In some things I presume he is. But, 
 Miss Kearny, do you see that flag out there? What 
 
 flag is that?" 
 
 "Oh, that is the Yankee flag." 
 
 "No, I beg your pardon", said I, ''you are mis- 
 taken. That is the flag of the United States. Don't 
 you think that the men who carried that flag for one 
 thousand miles around through the center of your con- 
 federacy, and who can keep it flying there m the 
 center of North Carolina in spite of General Lee and 
 the finest army the world ever saw, are entitled to 
 some consideration?" 
 
2l8 RECOLLECTIONS OF A CAVALRYMAN. 
 
 Fortunately just then, supper was announced and 
 we adjourned to the table, and the subject was not 
 resumed. 
 
 The brigade proceeded south to near Charlotte. 
 Our headquarters were established at Concord and we 
 remained in control of the country during the inter- 
 regnum until August. Everything was quiet and 
 peaceable and the troops cultivated the friendship of 
 the people and enjoyed the rest. 
 
 We selected a nice location for a camp a mile from 
 the town, and laid it ofif regularly, the head of each 
 company fronting the road. Our duty was to preserve 
 the peace until civil government could be established. 
 Patrols selected from our best men were sent out each 
 day to canvass the country for miles around. They 
 were instructed to cultivate the friendship of the 
 people and to pay for everything they got. 
 
 Our camp was pitched in an open grove contain- 
 ing a variety of evergreens and bushes of different 
 colored leaves. To give the men something to do out- 
 side of their regular military duty, which had lost its 
 attraction, I suggested to Company ''A'', mostly boys 
 from our^ old home, that they try to see how orna- 
 mental they could make their quarters. The 
 other boys looked on with some curiosity until a 
 spirit of rivalry prompted the other companies to fol- 
 low suit. Each made improvements to surpass the 
 other until the camp became a picture, with arches of 
 evergreens at the head of each company fronting the 
 road. The center company placed as their motto the 
 
IN NORTH CAROLINA AFTER THE WAR. 219 
 
 word, "Concord" in flowers. The companies on either 
 side followed their example, choosing "Union" and 
 mottoes of their own, formed with evergreens and 
 flowers which were renewed as required. This spirit 
 of emulation extended to the messes of the different 
 companies until the camp became a thing of beauty 
 and a center of general attraction. 
 
 The market people brought their supplies to us be- 
 fore they visited the other less attractive regiments 
 of the brigade. The m^en came -^vith their apples and 
 potatoes; the women, and especially the girls, with 
 their buttter and eggs, for which they received a fair 
 price and fair smiles thrown in. The latter, however, 
 were returned with interest each day when the girls 
 brough fresh flowers to renew the company mot- 
 toes. 
 
 In matters of importance among the people we 
 consulted a committee of leading conservative citizens 
 and their suggestions were generally followed. 
 
 There was one case, however, that caused some 
 excitement. A general order had been issued from 
 Washington that to make a contract valid the parties 
 thereto must have taken the oath of allegiance to the 
 government of the United . States before a provost 
 marshal. 
 
 One afternoon some other officers and I were 
 invited to attend a wedding in the village. The con- 
 tracting parties were a widow and a widower. The 
 ceremony was to take place in a large one-roomed log 
 house, a temporary partition in which was made with a 
 
220 RECOLLECTIONS OF A CAVALRYMAN. 
 
 number of bed sheets stretched across. Behind this the 
 bride elect with her attired maids were awaiting the 
 hour. Shortly before the appointed time a number of 
 officers and citizens came in with the minister and 
 bridegroom, all of which were seated in due form. The 
 bridegroom went behind the curtain and soon appeared 
 with the blushing bride on his arm. The usual ques- 
 tions were asked and the ceremony was about to be 
 completed when an officer arose and asked if the 
 bridegroomi had taken an oath of allegiance to the 
 United States government, and it was found that he 
 had not. The parties had to be seated until a mes- 
 senger was sent to bring the provost marshal, but after 
 an hour's hunting, he could not be found, and the 
 afifair had to be postponed until the next day. 
 
 It was intimated that he hid on purpose. But of 
 that I had no knowledge, and so far as I know, this 
 was the only instance of "heartless oppression" that 
 came to light while we remained in control in North 
 Carolina. 
 
 It was while stationed here that I was surprised to 
 receive a commission of Brevet Brigadier General 
 from Washington, at the recommendation of General 
 Kilpatrick and General Sherman. I say surprised, 
 because it was unexpected. I had never applied for 
 that nor any other promotion during the war. 
 
 My chief adviser in local affairs was Colonel Vic- 
 tor Barringer, a prominent citizen and a leading law- 
 yer in the state. He had served on the staff of his 
 brother. Major General Rufus Barringer, a broth- 
 
IN NORTH CAROLINA AFTER THE WAR. 221 
 
 er-in-law of "Stonewall" Jackson, but who was 
 at that time a prisoner at Fortress Monroe, having 
 been captured in one of the recent battles near Rich- 
 mond. The colonel had resigned from the service by 
 failure of health. I found his counsel always wise 
 and conservative, and the citizens were surprised and 
 gratified at the treatment they received from the 
 Yankees. 
 
 I was frequently a guest at his home. Mrs. Bar- 
 ringer was a delightful lady born in Philadelphia and 
 jointly prided herself on her ability as a cook and 
 housekeeper, although she complained that the war had 
 destroyed the means of proving it. I told her that, 
 on the contrary, it had given her the opportunity of 
 demonstrating that fact under the most unfavorable 
 circumstances. 
 
 "But it has reduced us to poverty," she said, "and 
 I don't know how we will be able to live." 
 
 "Mrs. Barringer," I remarked, "I have a plan to 
 help you. I have found as a rule that Southern 
 women are not good cooks, all this being left to ser- 
 vants. Most of them will now have to learn to do 
 their own cooking, and I will make what might be 
 called a Yankee suggestion — that you get up a south- 
 ern cook book adopted to southern conditions. We 
 have plenty of these in the North, but the field is 
 open for them in the South and you can supply the 
 want." "Do you think so?" she said. "I have been 
 wondering how I could help the colonel, and I believe 
 I will try." 
 
222 RECOLLECTIONS OF A CAVALRYMAN. 
 
 Mrs. Barringer published the Southern Cook 
 Book. She sent me a half dozen copies for which I 
 sent her $5.00. 
 
 The Barringers of North Carolina were of an old 
 Whig family of the Henry Clay school. They did 
 not favor secession in the beginning, but finally yielded 
 to the pressure and entered the service. The colonel 
 read me some letters from his brother in prison in 
 which he took strong grounds in favor of a reunited 
 country, and urged his brother to co-operate with the 
 powers at Washington to re-organize civil government 
 in the South. 
 
 At that time I had been named as one of the three 
 delegates from the army to attend the Republican 
 Convention at Columbus, Ohio, to present the name of 
 our Department Commander, General Jacob D. Cox, 
 for governor. 1 stated to the colonel that a man of his 
 brother's prominence entertaining such views, should 
 be among his friends at home rather than confined in 
 a prison, and that with his consent I would take the 
 letters with me to Washington and submit them to 
 ex-governor Dennison, then Postmaster General; 
 which I did, explaining the situation in North Caro- 
 lina as I found it. And General Barringer was soon 
 released by order of the president. 
 
 I met him subsequently in Chicago as a delegate to 
 the National Convention which nominated General 
 Garfield for president. My friend, Colonel Barringer, 
 stood high as a constitutional lawyer and was after- 
 wards selected by President Johnson as one of a com- 
 
IN NORTH CAROLINA AFTER THE WAR. 223 
 
 mission to revise the statutes of the United States, and 
 he took up his residence in Washington. Some years 
 afterwards the Khedive of Egypt, after a visit to the 
 leading nations of Western Europe, imbibed modern 
 ideas of government and invited France, England and 
 the United States each to select a man to be ap- 
 pointed on a commision of three to revise the laws of 
 Egypt. Colonel Barringer was selected as the United 
 vStates representatives. He removed to Cairo where, 
 after some years, the commission completed that 
 arduous work. Here the colonel and his good wife 
 remained until his death some years ago, after which 
 Mrs. Barringer made her home in Washington where 
 I had the privilege and pleasure of spending a most 
 interesting afternoon in her company five years ago. 
 
 On July 26, 1865, our regiment was mustered out 
 of service. All government property in our charge 
 was turned over, and with happy hearts we entered a 
 train of box cars on our way home. 
 
 The last act of vandalism however was committed 
 against the state of Virginia. But it was perpetrated 
 in view of her stubborn resistance during the war. 
 As the long train was passing alongside of a water 
 melon patch in that proud state, in water melon time, 
 two of the rear cars, by some accident, became de- 
 tached from the train which continued at least a half 
 mile before the conductor discovered the accident. In 
 the meantime, the boys, instead of trying to stop the 
 train, broke for the water melon patch. When the 
 train got back the vandals placed a guard over the engi- 
 
224 RECOLLECTIONS OF A CAVALRYMAN. 
 
 neer to keep him quiet until each one had received a 
 reasonable share of Virginia water melons for himself 
 and friends. The engineer was released, and a shout 
 went up, "Good Bye, Johnnies." 
 
 A steamboat was waiting at Fortress Monroe to 
 take us to Baltimore. After spending a part of a day 
 we were placed on a B. & O. R. R. train of good 
 passenger cars for home. Word had gone out that 
 we were coming, and when we crossed the Ohio river 
 our regimental flag was raised on the leading car. One 
 or two companies had been recruited in the east part 
 of the state and as the train came to the different 
 stations, crowds were waiting for us. We were re- 
 ceived by waiting friends with mingled shouts and 
 tears on both sides. Tears of joy — for sorrows were 
 put away under the wonderful fact that the war was 
 over and we were coming home. 
 
 We reached Camp Chase where we rested a day 
 and were paid ofif in greenbacks, which our services 
 had helped to make good. Many photographs were 
 taken and exchanged, and our hearts at parting over- 
 flowed with an emotion which few generations of men 
 are permitted to feel. 
 
 I stood at the gate to shake hands with the boys 
 as they passed out, and many of them laughed through 
 their tears as they said, "Good bye. Colonel." 
 
 That night I gave a supper at the American Hotel 
 to my officers who had, while in Baltimore, been kind 
 enough to procure a beautiful table service of silver 
 
IN NORTH CAROLINA AFTER THE WAR. 22'5 
 
 as a parting memento, on which they had engraved 
 the legend, 
 
 "A true soldier and a gentleman are synonymous" 
 
 that being, as they said, the motto I had always im- 
 pressed upon my command and which formed the 
 basis in my scheme of deportment. I speak of it now, 
 after fifty years, that the few survivors of those dark 
 and lawless days may recall the motto that inspired 
 the high order of discipline that had made punishment 
 almost a stranger in the ranks of the Ninth Ohio Vol- 
 unteer Cavalry. 
 
 15 
 
CHAPTER 26. 
 
 Subsequent Trip to the South. 
 
 After the excitement that followed the close of the 
 war had subsided, I began to take stock to learn what 
 there was for me to do. Of my young contem- 
 poraries at the Zanesville Bar of five years before, few 
 had offered their services to the country, but had de- 
 voted themselves to their profession and now con- 
 trolled the legal business in the county. Besides I 
 found conditions had so changed the statutory laws as 
 well as the practice that it would be necessary to begin 
 my studies again. 
 
 To me at thirty-three years of age, having given my 
 energies exclusively to an entirely different line of 
 thought, the practice of the law had lost its attraction, 
 especially when I thought that I would have to take 
 my place at the ''foot of the class." 
 
 After the death of my father in September 15th, 
 1861, my brother John took charge of our home af- 
 fairs. The home family now consisted of our mother 
 with the two younger daughters. Our oldest sister, 
 Marion, the little Scotch heroine of the Ohio Canal 
 episode, and her sister Anne, our first Buckeye rel- 
 ative, were both happily married, leaving the two 
 younger sisters in my brother's charge. 
 
 While in the service I sent home each pay day 
 
 (226) 
 
SUBSEQUENT TRIP TO THE SOUTH. 227 
 
 most of my salary, to my brother. This he wisely 
 invested, so that when the war closed he turned over 
 to me the accumulated amount which, with my inter- 
 est in the estate, amounted to $12,000. 
 
 While sitting in my hotel puzzling over my plans 
 for the future, General Willard Warner, an old New- 
 ark friend of mine and late of General Sherman's 
 staff, aroused me saying, "Hamilton, what are you 
 thinking about?" When I told him and asked him 
 the same question, he said he had received a letter 
 from his brother-in-law, General W. B. Wood, of 
 Newark, who was then on the staff of his brother, 
 General Charles Wood, of Newark, then in command 
 at Mobile, Alabama, stating that fine plantations in 
 the South were offered for very low prices, and sug- 
 gesting that he come down and invest. ''When and 
 which way do you think of going?" I asked. He 
 said, ''On Tuesday next." After a further talk I told 
 him I would go. 
 
 After a pleasant visit with General Sherman at St. 
 Louis, we proceeded to Mobile, Alabama. Here we 
 arranged with General Wood our plans which were 
 that we would visit and examine certain plantations 
 which we found advertised for sale, and if we de- 
 cided on anything, the purchase would be made on 
 the basis of four distinct interests. The fourth to be 
 taken by Captain Wright, of Granville, late Quarter- 
 master of General Wood's regiment, the 78th O. V. 
 Infantry, who had the most money. Every 
 night we would look over the advertisements and select 
 
228 RECOLLECTIONS OF A CAVALRYMAN. 
 
 the places each would examine. This campaign was 
 interesting and instructive but not very profitable. We 
 found the men discouraged and the women bitter. In 
 a feeling of pique they had offered their homes for 
 sale, but not to the Yankees. 
 
 One evening we read a very attractive description 
 of the home of Lieutenant General Stephen D. Lee, 
 late of the Confederate army, and cousin to General 
 Robert E. Lee. It was decided that I should call 
 and examine the place. I got a horse, and after riding 
 some miles, I came to Cjuite a beautiful place. I asked 
 a fine looking gentleman who appeared on the veranda 
 if this was w^here General' Lee lived. "That is my 
 name, sir" he replied. "Will you come in ?" I hitched 
 my horse and told him my business. He invited me 
 into his office. I told him about seeing his advertise- 
 ment and that I had come out to see the place. 
 
 The general was tall, fine looking, of easy manners 
 and cordial address. He gave me a detailed descrip- 
 tion of the plantation, but was rather slow about nam- 
 ing the price. I had told him my name and that I was 
 from Ohio. The universal topic of the times was dis- 
 cussed and the forlorn condition of the South, but 
 he had hardly determined to give up his home, which 
 fact he discovered when the test was made. 
 
 After spending an hour with the general in which 
 we discussed the war and its results very freely and 
 quite pleasantly, I arose to leave. He said, "Not at 
 all. I will have your horse put away and you will stay 
 to dinner." This was arranged although it was not 
 
SUBSEQUENT TRIP TO THE SOUTH. 229 
 
 eleven o'clock, and the longer I stayed the more I was 
 pleased with my visit. 
 
 When dinner was announced I was introduced to 
 Mrs. Lee as Mr. Hamilton from Ohio. Mrs. Lee was 
 a typical Southern lady, elegant in her manner and 
 lively in conversation. 
 
 The war was the topic at the table. She gave her 
 opinion freely of the Yankees. Said she had never 
 met any of them and hoped she never would, certainly 
 not as a guest in her own house. The general, who 
 was seated at one side, looked over at me with a mis- 
 chievous smile. I laid down my fork and knife, 
 turned, and looking at her and solemnly remarked. 
 
 "Mrs. Lee, if you did but know it, you have one 
 at your table right now. I fought you four years." 
 
 Shaking her finger at me with a suspicious twinkle 
 of her eye, she said, 'T suspected it all the time." 
 
 "Yes," said I, "and I fought you well too. Your 
 folks had sixty-five chances to shoot me and never hit 
 me but once and that was a poor shot." 
 
 "Yes," she replied, looking at me up and down, 
 leisurely, "it certainly was a very poor shot." 
 
 "I thought so myself, at the time said I, "but you 
 must remember, Mrs. Lee, that a man can't make a 
 very good shot, when he has to turn around to take 
 aim" ! 
 
 A hearty laugh from the General and a disgusted 
 smile from Mrs. Lee closed the discussion. 
 
 I discovered that, after all, these southern planters 
 were not anxious to sell their homes. Their adver- 
 
230 RECOLLECTIONS OF A CAVALRYMAN. 
 
 tisements were rather designed to impress the outside 
 world with the ruin produced in southern homes by 
 northern invasion. 
 
 I spent the next Sunday in Montgomery where I 
 attended services in the Presbyterian church. It 
 was the leading church and the finest congrega- 
 tion in the city. I was given a seat and in looking 
 around I wondered if this was a masquerade. I never 
 saw a congregation so strangely dressed. Four years 
 of blockade, during which few attempts had been 
 made to get in suitable clothing, had driven the 
 ladies to utilize anything in their homes that they 
 could convert into wearing apparel. Window curtains, 
 lambrequins and bed linen helped to compose the ma- 
 terial of which some of their dresses and bonnets 
 were made. The men presented a little better appear- 
 ance as they had resorted to cast-ofif suits which were 
 passable. But I noticed the aged minister had on an 
 old broadcloth coat, a relic of better days. 
 
 I do not remember the text, but I think it was 
 taken from the Lamentations of Jeremiah. The ser- 
 mon was an argument to convince his hearers and him- 
 self that there was a God. (But why He had forsaken 
 them in their sore calamity he could not understand.) 
 "For the past four years," he said, ''prayers have gone 
 up from thousands of our churches and from tens of 
 thousands of our family altars for the success of our 
 cause. But here we are apparently all broken and 
 forsaken. Notwithstanding all this, I still cling to the 
 beliefs that there is a God and that God is just. I 
 
SUBSEQUENT TRIP TO THE SOUTH. 23I 
 
 will cling- to that belief; but why he has deserted us 
 in this, our sore extremity, is more than I can con- 
 ceive. It may be right, and my faith in God compels 
 me to concede that it must be right, though you 
 and I, my beloved friends, may never live to see the 
 merciful justice of it all, we must at least pray that 
 these little children may." 
 
 This dear old man seemed to forget that in the 
 far off North there were far more than a thousand 
 churches and ten thousand family altars from which 
 ascended prayers that our beloved country might be 
 brought through the dark gloom, relieved from the 
 deadly cancer that came with its birth. Again he 
 might have remembered that the government of 
 Heaven is not a republic, where justice is determined 
 by the vote of the majority, but we are taught that it 
 is a kingdom, governed by a King, which after all is 
 the ideal form of government, provided we could find 
 a king who, like the King of Heaven, is all-wise, all- 
 just, unchangeable, without avarice, and who will live 
 forever. We are taught to ofifer prayer to our Ruler 
 in Heaven not that it will change his course toward 
 us, butj it is designed to change our course toward 
 "H]im> Who Changeth Not," that through the study of 
 His character we may become more like Him. 
 
 I. heard that sermon nearly fifty years ago. His 
 prayer has come true ; the children of that gloomy hour 
 now see the light and recognize the wisdom of^ the 
 only Ruler that makes no mistakes. 
 
232 RECOLLECTIONS OF A CAVALRYMAN. 
 
 During my visit to Montgomery I took occasion to 
 call on Governor Patton of Florence, Ala., to whom 
 I had given some damaged horses when stationed 
 there. He was President of the Senate when the state 
 seceded, which, as an old line Whig, he opposed, 
 but finally went with the state during the war. He, 
 however, strongly favored acceptance of the result and 
 was nominated and elected governor on the Union 
 ticket and was inaugurated two days before I arrived. 
 
 When I called at' the Capitol I was told by the 
 janitor that unless I had special business with the Gov- 
 ernor I could not be admitted, as he and the Military 
 Governor, Parsons, with their staffs were busy adjust- 
 ing matters in the senate room up stairs. I told him 
 I had no business, but on leaving took a card and 
 asked him to hand it to Governor Patton, after which 
 I took a look at the beautiful surroundings of this, the 
 first Capital of the Confederacy. 
 
 I soon heard a call and saw the janitor waving his 
 arm saying that he had instructions to bring me up. 
 As I entered the senate door, Governor Patton, and 
 his staff were seated at desks on one side of the cham- 
 ber and the Military Governor, Parsons and staff on 
 the other. The governor left his seat and shook hands 
 with me in the middle of the floor; then turned and 
 called, "Parsons, come here. Come up here all of 
 you on both sides. I want to introduce you to a Yan- 
 kee, and it gives me pleasure to say to him in your 
 presence and to you in his presence that he and his 
 command did more to reconcile northern Alabama to 
 
SUBSEQUENT TRIP TO THE SOUTH. 233 
 
 the new order of things than he knows of — for he 
 proved to us that there were gentlemen in the North." 
 We shook hands all around, and it has 
 given me pleasure to think that those three 
 sore backed horses at Florence helped to give a 
 Union Governor to Alabama. While here I learned 
 of a beautiful plantation, consisting of 1,500 acres on 
 the Alabama river. It belonged to a Mr. Pratt, a 
 northern carpenter who came south years ago and 
 amassed a fortune making cotton gins, and who had 
 gone north to try to raise funds to bridge over the 
 financial depression, but had authorized his son-in-law, 
 Mr. De Bartinlaben to sell the river plantation. This 
 eentleman drove me out to see the place. It was divided 
 into forty acre lots enclosed by osage-orange hedges. 
 The land was level, sloping down to the river and 
 could be bought for $15,000 which we considered 
 cheap. 
 
 At this time I learned that an old navy friend of 
 mine had died suddenly while in charge of the steam- 
 boat transportation of captured cotton stored along 
 the rivers, and I was asked by letter from his widow 
 to go to New Orleans to look after his affairs. 
 
 My friends concluded to await the return of Mr. 
 
 Pratt. 
 
 I took a steamboat on the Alabama river for 
 Mobile, en route for New Orleans. The night was 
 rather cold and the accommodations poor. I found a 
 seat by a stove in a large, empty room, and wrapped 
 myself in my overcoat, pulled my soft hat down to my 
 
234 RECOLLECTIONS OF A CAVALRYMAN. 
 
 eyes and made myself as comfortable as I could. Sit- 
 ting around the stove I noticed a half dozen men, 
 evidently ex-Confederate soldiers from twenty-five to 
 thirty years of age, bronzed looking and bearded. 
 They were putting in the time telling stories of 
 the war. Across from them a young man was seated. 
 He seemed to be about eighteen years of age, six feet 
 tall and would weigh about two hundred pounds. He 
 was listening intently to the stories he heard and 
 finally joined by saying: 
 /^ ''I reckon, boys, I've killed as many Yankees as 
 
 ^ \(^" any of you." 
 
 ' When asked what battles he was in, he said, "I 
 
 \^ wasn't in none." They asked how he came to kill so 
 
 many Yankees. He replied, 'T was a guard at Ande£- 
 
 \ sonville and was instructed when a damned Yankee 
 
 got across the dead line to shoot him, and I obeyed 
 
 orders." 
 
 I had been sitting quietly listening. When this 
 young man got ofif the story of his Andersonville 
 work, I sized up the men who heard him and decided 
 that they had been good soldiers. 
 
 "Well, boys," said I, ''I reckon I have heard the 
 whistle of as many Yankee bullets as any of you, and 
 I say that any man that could do a thing Hike that 
 and then brag about it has no business in the company 
 of brave men." 
 
 In the silence which followed one could have heard 
 a pin drop. The men looked at the Andersonville 
 
SUBSEQUENT TRIP TO THE SOUTH. 235 
 
 hero, at each other, and then at me, and one of them 
 remarked, 
 
 "Damned if I don't agree with that sentiment." 
 
 Soon the young man left the room and was seen no 
 more that night. I was detained 6 weeks in New Or- 
 leans. 
 
 In the meantine, on the return of Mr. Pratt, the 
 cotton plantation was bought for $15,000 cash, Mr. 
 Wright advancing most of the money, and I found 
 on my return that he inclined to keep a half interest, 
 which left me out. To this I did not object, as I 
 had changed my plans. 
 
 Since then I learned that Mr. De Bartinlaben in- 
 vested the $15,000 in mineral land where Birming- 
 ham now stands, and had made and lost two or 
 three fortunes. 
 
 After two years trial the cotton plantation proved 
 a failure ; the first year the Alabama river flooded it — 
 the second year the cotton worm took the crop. In the 
 meantime however General W. B. Wood, who had 
 been a leading lawyer at home, was appointed U. S. 
 District Judge in Alabama by President Johnson. He 
 afterwards was elevated to the Supreme Bench of the 
 United States by President Hiayes. General Willard 
 Warner became a citizen of Alabama and repre- 
 sented that state in the United States Senate. 
 
 I think however, I have been more fortunate than 
 either of them., for I came home and married, May 
 loth, 1866. Miss Sarah Cheiver Abbot an ante-war 
 friend, one of the fairest and brightest of Zanesville's 
 
236 RECOLLECTIONS OF A CAVALRYMAN. 
 
 lovely daughters, of an old New England family. My 
 Alabama associates are both dead, while we are blest 
 with four affectionate children and six grandchildren, 
 lovely boys and girls in whose healthy veins there 
 flows the untainted blood of Bannockburn and 
 Bunker Hill combined, and during forty-eight years 
 neither death nor a family sorrow has ever cast a 
 shadow on our home. 
 
 In the spring of 1867 we moved to Newark, Ohio, 
 and went into business with an old family friend. 
 This was merged into the coal and iron busi- 
 ness in the Hocking Valley. Afterwards with some 
 friends I took a trip through the South which re- 
 sulted in making an investment near Knoxville, Ten- 
 nessee, which has caused me to spend a large part of 
 my time in East Tennessee. I have thus become fairly 
 well acquainted with the physical and political con- 
 ditions of that region. By reason of this business con- 
 nection I have made many very pleasant business and 
 social acquaintances, especially among the old soldiers 
 of both the Blue and the Gray, and have heard a num- 
 ber of interesting incidents illustrating the condition 
 of things, especially of the mountain people of the 
 South. 
 
 When we entered Knoxville in August, 1863, 
 under Gen. Burnside, it was an active town of about 
 five thousand inhabitants. Being located on the 
 border line, it had developed some very able and 
 bold men on both sides of the great issue. When the 
 war was over the citizens united in an effort to attract 
 
SUBSEQUENT TRIP TO THE SOUTH. 237 
 
 capital and enterprise to that locality. In May, 1895, 
 among other things it was arranged to hold a reunion 
 of the Blue and the Gray. 
 
 The committee of arrangements invited General 
 Longstreet to represent the South, and General Gib- 
 son of Ohio was asked to represent the North. Gen- 
 eral Longstreet was selected because he commanded 
 the twenty thousand men (known as one of the best 
 corps in the Southern Army) to retake the city from 
 Burnside, which, after a bloody siege, he failed to 
 do and for which he was censured. At the reunion 
 he had a paper defending himself, read by his sec- 
 retary, as, by reason of a wound in the neck, he could 
 not read aloud. It was the impression of a good 
 many of the Southern people that General Long- 
 street's dislike to Davis rather interfered with his 
 energy in this campaign, which was against his judg- 
 ment. 
 
 A great crowd of the old boys, both of the Gray 
 and the Blue, attended the reunion. Alen, women and 
 children lined the streets, and a most cordial feeling 
 was everywhere shown. The great hall was crowded 
 and General Gibson received a hearty cheering as he 
 took the stand. He appeared at his best and was 
 unusually happy in his style, even for him. 
 
 He aroused the greatest enthusiasm between the 
 Blue and the Gray when he said, "Boys, there was 
 never a battle fought during four years of one of the 
 most wonderful wars in history in which Americans 
 did not get the best of it. And no better evidence of 
 
238 RECOLLECTIONS OF A CAVALRYMAN. 
 
 the courage of both sides could be given than the fact 
 that the result produced no arrogance on one side nor 
 humility on the other, but developed a mutual respect 
 and friendship between the sections that nothing but 
 such a war between brave men could produce." 
 
 At the close of the public ceremonies carriages 
 were furnished and the visiting strangers were taken 
 to different places of interest, including the home of 
 the widow of that dauntless defender of the Union, 
 Parson Brownlow. Mrs. Brownlow was a bright and 
 vigorous woman who most heartily sustained her hus- 
 band in his fight for the Union. She died during the 
 month of January, 191 3, at the age of ninety-five. 
 ^ General Longstreet expressed a desire to visit his 
 old headquarters, which, at the time of the siege, was 
 about two miles from town, the home of a prominent 
 Union family by the name of Armstrong who still 
 owned the property. 
 
 It was from the cupola of this fine, brick house 
 that one of Longstreet's sharp shooters, at a range of 
 three-fourths of a mile, killed General Saunders, 
 commanding the skirmish line of the Union Cavalry. 
 
 Mrs. Armstrong, at the time of Longstreet's ad- 
 vance, was alone with a pair of little twin children, 
 her husband having been taken by the enemy. She 
 was a brilliant, high-spirited woman. When Long- 
 street's staff took possession of the house, they as- 
 signed her a back room for herself with her children 
 and the nurse. They took charge of everything else 
 
SUBSEQUENT TRIP TO THE SOUTH. 239 
 
 without consulting her, and she was very free in ex- 
 pressing her opinion of their actions in appropriating 
 her bed room, kitchen, furnishings and household sup- 
 plies, all of which she opposed with a good deal of 
 energy. But when they took charge of her silver 
 chest she expressed herself with so much vigor that 
 they told her if she did not go to her room and 
 keep still they would send her husband through the 
 lines where she might never see him again. She re- 
 plied with undaunted spirit, ''Well, do so if you think 
 best, but leave that chest. I could get another hus- 
 band a good deal easier than I could get another silver 
 chest like that." The young gentleman of the staff 
 laughingly acknowledged they were beaten and let 
 her keep the silver. 
 
 When on this later visit, the carriages drove up to 
 the door, Mrs. Armstrong met General Longstreet, 
 and, giving him her hand with a smile of welcome said, 
 *'Well, General Longstreet, on your last visit to my 
 house I was sorry to see you come and glad to see 
 you go, but this time I am glad to see you come and 
 shall be sorry to see you go." 
 
 She then invited us into the parlor and showed the 
 general the bullet holes in the window panes made 
 during his former visit, and carefully patched since 
 then; also where they struck the plaster in the wall 
 opposite, and where the bullet holes still remain. 
 
 Mrs. Armstrong was still living four years ago 
 (1910) and I had the pleasure of meeting her at Mont 
 
240 RECOLLECTIONS OF A CAVALRYMAN. 
 
 Vale Springs. She was apparently as full of life as 
 ever and talked over former times with her old time 
 animation. 
 
 THE LOYAL MOUNTAINEERS. 
 
 The following incident illustrating the character 
 and loyalty of the mountain people was given me by 
 my friend Hon. Will. A. McTeer, former major in the 
 7th Tennessee Union Cavalry, now a prominent lawyer 
 of Marysville, Blount County, and I have ventured 
 to insert the following lines as a prelude to a beautiful 
 story. 
 
 From the Great Smoky Mountains where Braves met in 
 Council, 
 
 And pines cleave the clouds where the thunder is born ; 
 Where the eagle's scream answered the wail of the panther, 
 
 And rocks in the storm from their moorings are torn ; 
 
 Down through the gorges the wild torrent rushes 
 To gladden the coves where dark laurel grows; 
 
 Where the sweet scented muscadine twines on the bushes, 
 And the valleys are green where the Tennessee flows; 
 
 Here the wigwam once sheltered the proud Cherokee; 
 
 Now cabins are standin<j where Saxons are found; 
 Here the rifle and axe taught their sons to be free, 
 
 And foes should take care how they tramp on their 
 ground. 
 
SUBSEQUENT TRIP TO THE SOUTH. 2^1 
 
 AMONG LOYAL MOUNTAINEERS. 
 
 Honoring the Stars and Stripes in East Tennessee Saved 
 THE Lives of Confederates. 
 
 By Will A. McTeer, Marysville, Tenn. 
 
 At the outbreak of the civil war the people of East Ten- 
 nessee adhered almost solidly to the Union. The valley, 
 nested among the mountains, through which one of the prin- 
 cipal lines of railway ran, connecting the ends of the Con- 
 federacy, and situated near the heart of the proposed new 
 Government, was an important position. The loyalty of the 
 people to the old flag was a menace to the Confederates, and 
 a cause of bitterness and anxiety. The authorities made the 
 great mistake of endeavoring to force the loyal men of the 
 mountains to the support of the cause. Hatred most intense 
 was the result, and many men died rather than yield to the 
 pressure brought to bear upon them. 
 
 The Confederate authorities first attempted to disarm 
 the people, and for this purpose sent troops through the 
 country, taking up the hunting rifles wherever they could be 
 found. These rifles were as dear as the apple of the eye to 
 the mountain men. From the days that Daniel Boone "cilled 
 the bar" in 1760, on the Wautauga, to the beginning of the 
 war, it was regarded as a matter of household necessity that 
 each male inhabitant from 18 years and upwards should own 
 a rifle. 
 
 Shooting matches were held, where the men of a whole 
 community met and practiced marksmanship, and the best 
 marksman was an honored man, while the poor marksman 
 was regarded with something akin to disgust. From these 
 practice matches they got to loving their guns as the lover 
 esteems his sweetheart. 
 
 So they regarded any interference with the right to own 
 and keep their hunting rifles as an unwarranted interference 
 
 16 
 
2^42 RECOLLECTIONS OF A CAVALRYMAN. 
 
 with the divine rights inherited by American citizens, which 
 none dare question. 
 
 As the clouds of war grew darker, and the thunders 
 from the battlefields pealed louder throughout the land, this 
 loyal element within the boundaries claimed by the Con- 
 federacy became more and more a menace and object of 
 hatred on the part of the Confederates, which hatred was 
 fully reciprocated. The Union men first met boldly and fre- 
 quently for counsel and "muster" or drilling. These gather- 
 ings were provoking to the Confederacy, and steps were taken 
 as speedily as possible to put a stop to them. As armed, 
 equipped and trained soldiers were stationed in the the 
 country, the meetings of loyalists were necessarily more 
 secret. 
 
 There was something remarkable that so many persons 
 could keep a secret so well as did the loyalists in regard to 
 when and where they would gather. 
 
 One of these meetings was held just above Little River 
 Gap, in Chilhowee Mountain, in Blount County. It was very 
 near the present site of the town of Walland. A more beau- 
 tiful place could scarcely be found. The mountain peaks run 
 high above the little plateau, east, west and south, while the 
 limpid waters of the river come rushing by like molten 
 crystals, the soft murmurings mingling with the gentle moun- 
 tain zephyrs, filling the place, with sweet melodies and in- 
 spiring the spirit of patriotism and liberty. At that time the 
 locality was sparsely settled, the inhabitants dwelling in little 
 log mountain houses, but with spirits of loyalty and patriotism 
 as unconquerable as death itself. 
 
 On one occasion there were something like 1,500 men 
 meit there from the coves and adjacent country. To add to 
 the interest of the occasion, as well as to keep the fires of 
 patriotism burning the brighter, there was a flag raising. A 
 tall and beautiful pole was brought to the spot, and a large 
 and well made flag— the old stars and stripes— sewed together 
 
SUBSEQUENT TRIP TO THE SOUTH. 243 
 
 in secret by some of the loyal women, was attached to that 
 pole, and it was reared and planted there, where the men 
 of the locality could climb the hills about them, and with 
 tender and loving emotions look upon the old flag and in 
 their retirement give vent to feelings of love for the banner 
 that had led their fathers to victory up the sides of King's 
 mountain. 
 
 The writer was then only seventeen years old, but was 
 present and took part in the flag raising; while his father, 
 being one of the militia colonels, was drillmaster, and, rather, 
 master of ceremonies. That was a big day and will never 
 be forgotten while any of the parties who were there are 
 living. At that time a company of Confederate cavalry was 
 stationed at Marysville, the county seat, and was scouring the 
 country for rifles, taking them wherever they could be found. 
 
 In 1873 the writer was a delegate and in attendance at 
 the International Sabbath School Convention held in Atlanta. 
 The delegates were seated by states, a banner being placed 
 to show where each was to sit. At an interval a delegate 
 from the Florida delegation inquired for East Tennessee 
 delegation. He was informed that the writer was from East 
 Tennessee, and from Blount County. Smiling, he said, "Why 
 I once knew every hog path in that county! My name is 
 White, and I am a brother of Capt. White, who commanded 
 a company of cavalry, taking in the guns in Blount County, 
 in the early part of the war. I was a lieutenant in the com- 
 pany." He then related some of his experiences in the county, 
 and said that he had an experience that was striking and 
 beautiful, and as well as can be remembered, the story will 
 be given in his own words : 
 
 'T was ordered one day to take a detachment of men 
 and go to Tuckaleechee Cove, and take up all the rifles of 
 the Union men in that locality. I was boarding at the time 
 with Judge Wallace, over on the hill, east of the town, who 
 resided in a brick house. I ordered the detachment of men 
 to prepare for the march, with rations, and mounting my 
 
2f44 RECOLLECTIONS OF A CAVALRYMAN. 
 
 horse rode over to the Wallace residence to get something 
 I wanted to take along. Being in readiness and about to 
 mount my horse for starting, the Judge came up, having 
 heard by some means of the order that had been given me. 
 He told me that he had a request to make. He said, 'As 
 you pass up Little River, through Chilhowee Gap, just as 
 you emerge from the narrow mountain pass between the 
 points of the mountain peaks, at the left side of the road, 
 you will find the Stars and Stripes floating from a tall pole. 
 Now, let me ask you not to disturb that flag. The mountain 
 men placed it there; it belongs to them, and if you leave it 
 undisturbed, you will be kindly treated on your trip; but 
 as sure as you touch it or interfere with it, you will have to 
 get out of those mountains. Now, don't disturb it.' 
 
 "I said nothing to the men about it, and as we went up 
 the narrow defile, suddenly we came to the opening, and there 
 floated at the top of a tall pole the Stars and Stripes in all 
 its grandeur. I looked around and saw a number of the men 
 with their guns raised as if to shoot, I halted the squad and 
 made them a little speech, telling them to lower their guns. 
 That was the flag under which we were born, and under 
 which our fathers had fought, and many of them died. While 
 we were then engaged in efforts to establish a new Govern- 
 ment, and were fighting under a new flag, still, that was the 
 flag of our fathers and let us honor it for its history and 
 for the memory of the blood poured out so freely by our 
 brave ancestors in its defense ; that, instead of doing it any 
 injury, I proposed that we salute it. 
 
 "Then, following my leadership, they rode in single file, 
 forming a circle around the pole, when we lifted our hats, 
 and reverently bowed our heads. Tears streamed down the 
 faces of a number of the men as we stood in this attitude 
 before the old flag. Silently the circle was broken, and 
 forming, twos, we went on. We knew nothing of any one 
 being in sight, but the news of our saluting the flag went 
 faster than we traveled, and appeared to be known almost 
 
SUBSEQUENT TRIP TO THE SOUTH. 245 
 
 spontaneously all over that Tuckaleechee Cove. We were 
 never treated with more hospitality and kindness by any 
 people. They prepared us dinners of the best they had, fed 
 our horses, took us into their homes, and were lavish in 
 their acts of kindness. But they did not bring out their guns, 
 and we could not find them. 
 
 "We afterwards learned that honoring that old flag had 
 saved us from a bloody reception, where it would have been 
 almost a miracle if any of our party would have been left 
 to tell our side of a sanguinary contest, and instead had led 
 us to a most kind and hospitable treatment. As we stood 
 around and saluting the flag, without our knowledge, we 
 stood inside of the trap ready set, and all that was needed 
 was for us to spring the trigger, by any insult that we might 
 officer to that banner." 
 
 To the mind of the writer there are few stories of the 
 war of more touching beauty. The personal knowledge of 
 the writer of the truth of part of the story, to his mind, 
 makes it the more charming, and he has all reason to believe 
 that the entire story is true in every particular. It is one of 
 the few instances where a scene of tender pathos stands out 
 in the grim visages of dreadful war, as the face o^a lovely 
 maiden in the den of lions. " 
 
 Major McTeer states that when the war was on these 
 mountaineers put their rifles above their cabin doors and 
 entered the Union army. Their wives and daughters kept up 
 the work on the farm — planting corn, making fence and feed- 
 ing stock. They formed a rifle company and every Saturday 
 took down the family guns for drill and rifle practice. 
 
 They kept a mounted detail to scout the country to 
 gather news and watch for strangers. 
 
 When it was known that Sherman's forces were coming 
 from Chattanooga to meet Longstreet and relieve General 
 Burnside's men in Knoxville, this entire company in com- 
 mand of their captain, a lady cousin of Major McTeer's, as- 
 
2^46 RECOLLECTIONS OF A CAVALRYMAN. 
 
 sembled in line to salute the marching column and received 
 the ringing cheers of the boys as they passed. 
 
 After Appomattox when the tables were turned, in- 
 stances of retaliation were not infrequent, some- 
 times assisted by a rather liberal interpretation of the 
 law. 
 
 I became acquainted with a prominent land owner 
 on the Little Tennessee river by the name of Boyd 
 McMurray, and had occasion to look into the title 
 to his farm. I learned that during the war this 500- 
 acre farm, of which 200 acres was fine bottom land, 
 was owned by a ''southern sympathizer", who had 
 two sons in the Southern Army. Another man in the 
 same county, had no farm, but had a son a ser- 
 geant in the Union Cavalry. 
 
 One evening when returning along the river with 
 a scouting party, the sergeant stopped to get some 
 corn fodder in a field for their horses. One of the 
 farmer's sons, who happened to be at home, shot the 
 sergeant from behind a distant tree. The party has- 
 tened to camp and gave the alarm. The captain 
 mounted his men and dashed back to the place. The 
 man who did the shooting was gone, but the dead 
 sergeant was found lying in the cabin of a darkey, 
 who said that the soldier who shot him dragged him 
 by his hair to throw him into the river, but became 
 alarmed and took to the woods. The darkey had 
 brought the body to the cabin. The captain burned 
 every building on the farm but the negro's cabin, and 
 took the sergeant's body on a horse to camp. The 
 
SUBSEQUENT TRIP TO THE SOUTH. ^47 
 
 owner of the farm fled with his family to North Caro- 
 lina. 
 
 After the war a damage suit was brought by the 
 father of the sergeant against the father of the boy 
 who shot him, and a judgment was obtained in the 
 Court of Common Pleas for $4,000 damages, and the 
 farm was sold at sheriff's sale to McMurray. 
 
 During the war McMurray was a tenant; on an 
 island farm belonging to Mr. McGhee, a member of 
 a wealthy family, all of whom were ''southern sym- 
 pathizers". In the fall of 1863, when the southern 
 troops occupied the country, Mr. McMurray had a 
 lot of hogs on the island feeding, which the commis- 
 sary officers wanted to buy, but the cautious possessor 
 of the McMurray name said that his hogs were feed- 
 ing on corn which had to be fed on the island and 
 that the hogs were not ready for market. Two weeks 
 later, when we took Knoxville under General Burn- 
 side, the hogs were found to be quite fat and ready 
 for market, and McMurray, after a three days' drive 
 of twenty miles, reached Knoxville with his hogs just 
 ahead of Longstreet's army, and received $800 in 
 honest greenbacks for them. 
 
 After being penned up in the city for a week dur- 
 ing the siege, he returned home with the money in his 
 pocket and with his views of secession modified. This 
 money he put out on interest until after war, and it 
 enabled him to make the bid that got the farm where 
 he still lives, and is one of the leading citizens and 
 best farmers in the country. 
 
24S RECOLLECTIONS OF A CAVALRYMAN. 
 
 This locality is filled with weird legends of by- 
 gone days. Here, in full view of the "Gregory Bald" 
 and "Fodder Stack" mountains, is where "Charles Ed- 
 gar Caddock", that well known female writer, created 
 the legend of "The Prophet of the Great Smoky 
 Mountains." 
 
 Here, during the war, a squad of North Carolina 
 cavalry scooped down into the valley and captured an 
 old Union soldier and started back across the moun- 
 tains. They were pursued, and looking across a bend 
 in the road near the top of the mountain, they saw 
 the Union Cavalry in hot pursuit. As they found their 
 captive in the way, they hastily tied him to a tree and 
 shot him, then mounting their horses scattered among 
 the rocks and made their escape. When their pur- 
 suers reached the spot they found their comrade dead 
 and his murderers beyond reach. They dug a hole 
 as best they could and covered the body. Soon after- 
 wards it was discovered that some animal had un- 
 covered an arm and eaten the flesh ; ever since it has 
 been regarded as a part of the religion of those loyal 
 mountainers, in passing that lonely spot to lay another 
 stone upon "Shaw's Grave." 
 
 The besetting sin of the honest mountaineers was, 
 and still is, "Apple Jack" and corn whiskey. They 
 claim that their heavy monotonous food creates a de- 
 sire for a stimulant which the lack of food variety 
 fails to supply. 
 
 After the war I made the acquaintance of Mr. 
 George Powell of Chestnut Flats in the mountains 
 
SUBSEQUENT TRIP TO THE SOUTH. 249 
 
 forty miles from Knoxville, a leading citizen, a man 
 of fine appearance and more than ordinary natural 
 ability, who owned a large apple orchard in that lo- 
 cality which was unfailing in producing a large crop 
 of apples. 
 
 ''Before the war," he said, "the nearest market for 
 them was over a rough mountain road forty miles to 
 Knoxville. A trip there with anything we could raise 
 would bring a poor return for the time and trouble 
 of making it. Our apples and corn were converted into 
 "Apple Jack" and corn whiskey, and the offal fed to 
 hogs. The hogs and whiskey could be got to market 
 and were the only product of our farms for which we 
 could get money to pay our taxes and buy what little 
 store goods and ammunition we needed — for we had 
 plenty of game." 
 
 Before the opening of the war, Mr. Powell exerted 
 a strong influence for the Union. When Governor 
 Harris of Tennessee ordered the second vote on the 
 question of secession, he brought a home-made flag 
 with him to the polls and nailed it above the door of 
 the voting place in the presence of the crowd, in 
 which there were some strangers; then stepping 
 aside with his gun (they all had them) he said, 
 "Boys, that is the old Stars and Stripes. My 
 sisters and I made it yesterday and I have nailed it 
 above that door today. It is the only flag we know, 
 and I'll simply say that if any man should attempt to 
 tear it down, I'll kill him." There was no disturb- 
 
250 RECOLLECTIONS OF A CAVALRYMAN. 
 
 ance that day for Powell was known as one of the 
 best shots in the mountains. 
 
 When the war came he and many of his neighbors 
 promptly volunteered in the 3rd. Tennessee Union 
 Regiment. Before the regiment left camp the colonel 
 ordered it out for a shooting match, and fifty of the 
 best marksmen were selected as sharp shooters under 
 the lead of George Powell, who rendered distinguished 
 services until the close of the war. 
 
 "When the war was over," he said, "my comrades 
 and I came back to what was left of our mountain 
 homes and returned to our former method of life. A 
 tax had been put on whiskey and it had gone up in 
 price. Highly encouraged we began its manufacture 
 as before the war. It was a great surprise to us when 
 the government officers came and took our whiskey 
 and destroyed our stills. We became enraged to think 
 that the government for which we had sacrificed all, 
 should turn on us in that way. We got new stills and 
 hid them in the mountains and continued our work 
 at night, putting out pickets as we did during the war 
 to give notice of the approach of the enemy. When 
 one of us was captured and went to the penitentiary 
 he went proudly without a whine, and after serving 
 his time and returning, he was received more as a 
 hero than a culprit. After paying several fines I got 
 tired of that mode of life, and I was advised by the 
 authorities who were my friends to take out a license 
 properly that I might utilize my crop of apples. This 
 
SUBSEQUENT TRIP TO THE SOUTH. 2$! 
 
 I did for some years, but finally gave it up and have 
 advised my friends to do the same, as it induces a 
 violation of law and is an injury to the neighborhood." 
 
 I traveled on one occasion with a very respectable 
 looking middle aged man. When I told himi I was 
 from Ohio he said Ohio was a great state, and he 
 was surprised to see such fine land and beautiful 
 homes on the railroad between Cincinnati and Cleve- 
 land. He thought it finer than New York. I re- 
 marked, 
 
 ** You have been in New York, then, have you ?" 
 
 ''Yes," he said, "I have been through there twice. 
 I had a son in New York." 
 
 We had become quite sociable and I asked him in 
 what business his son was engaged. He replied with- 
 out a blush. 
 
 "He was in the State Penitentiary three years for 
 moonshining." 
 
 In many cases it seems like the height of ingrati- 
 tude for our government to treat these mountaineers 
 in this manner. Still, there is a redeeming side to it. 
 
 Some years ago when at home I went with some 
 friends to our State prison in Columbus to see a convict 
 from that locality in Tennessee with which I was fa- 
 miliar. It was during work hours, but I called for the 
 surgeon, a friend of mine, whose call for a prisoner is 
 not confined to leisure hours. I told him we had come 
 to see a prisoner belonging to a locality in Tennessee 
 from which I had just come and known at home as 
 "Cale" Hughes. 
 
^52 RECOLLECTIONS OF A CAVALRYMAN. 
 
 When he was brought we found a big strong man, 
 twenty-five years old. He knew me and asked about 
 the folks on Chestnut Flats. He said he had not 
 heard from them since he came here a year ago. 
 '*When you go back and see my folks, tell my wife 
 that I am well, get plenty to eat and weigh 190 pounds. 
 I weighed only 160 pounds when I came." 
 
 One of my friends remarked, ''They must treat 
 you pretty well here. What do you work at?" 
 
 He said, 'In the hollow ware factory, and I am 
 well treated." 
 
 I remarked, "You don't get any whiskey now, do 
 you?" 
 
 "No, he replied, "but I am better without it." 
 
 He was asked how much he drank at home. 
 
 "Oh, I reckon," said he, "we used about two gal- 
 lons a week." I told him that his step father was 
 getting up a petition to get him out. 
 
 "Well," said he, "tell him when you go down, not 
 to do it. I would rather serve out my time, honest, 
 I'm better here. I attend night school and am learn- 
 ing to read. I couldn't read when I come, and now 
 some good people come every Sunday to see us and 
 give us books to read. No, tell Pap not to mind the 
 petition. I would rather stay here and serve my time 
 out, honest." 
 
 I happened to be in Knoxville in 1892 at the time 
 of the dedication of a monument to the memory of 
 the confederate dead who fell during the campaigns 
 around Knoxville. While here I had the opportunity 
 
SUBSEQUENT TRIP TO THE SOUTH. 253 
 
 and great pleasure of meeting the Confederate Lieu- 
 tenant General E. Kirby Smith who had been invited 
 to act as Grand Marshal on that occasion. After 
 frightening Cincinnati and creating the ''Squirrel 
 Hunters" he had been selected by the Powers at Rich- 
 mond to take entire command of the Trans-Mississippi 
 Department, after the Federal forces had secured con- 
 trol of the river, and cut off communication beyond. 
 
 After the catastrophe in the East and hearing the 
 terms of surrender he accepted the same, disbanded 
 his army and gave up the struggle. 
 
 A large company attended the ceremonies at the 
 dedication of the monument where the dead were 
 buried. The marching column composed of both 
 men and women, each with a bunch of flowers, pro- 
 ceeded to the field of the dead. At my request I was 
 given a bunch of white flowers and I marched arm in 
 arm with a Confederate colonel near the head of the 
 column and deposited my flowers at the base of the 
 shaft as a token of my respect for the courage and 
 devotion of the dead. 
 
 An able and touching address was delivered by 
 Honorable C. T. Gates Jr., of Knoxville, son of a Con- 
 federate soldier, and since then Attorney General of 
 the state. He gave a full measure of praise to the 
 men of both armies, who in that tremendous struggle 
 had displayed a devotion without selfishness and a 
 courage without malice. 
 
 General Smith was entertained at the hotel where 
 i stopped. There was also a young Kentucky captain 
 
2'54 RECOLLECTIONS OF A CAVALRYMAN. 
 
 of the regular army at the hotel on recruiting service 
 who was very much interested in General Smith. 
 During our very pleasant interview the captain said 
 he could not understand why it was that the Con- 
 federates never followed up any of their victories. 
 The general replied, ''1 have often thought of that 
 myself. I have concluded that it was for two 
 reasons : First, because the mettle of the men on both 
 sides was so nearly the same that when we gained 
 a victory we were generally too nearly exhausted to 
 take proper advantage of it. The other was, as it 
 now seems, that the Almighty was not in harmony 
 with our purpose." 
 
 The general then related a most interesting incident 
 which, with southern gallantry he attributed to the 
 great influence of women in important public affairs. 
 
 Said he, ''One of the ablest and most earnest 
 discussions on the question of the right of secession 
 that I ever listened to was between Lieutenant Colonel 
 R. E. Lee and Captain George H. Thomas shortly 
 after the secession of South Carolina. Lee was 
 Lieutenant Colonel in the 23rd U. S. Cavalry, I was 
 a Major and Thomas, a Captain in the same regiment. 
 This occurred in our regimental headquarters after the 
 secession of South Carolina and I speak of it to 
 illustrate the influence of women in the great affairs 
 of life. Thomas favored secession ; Lee, with a 
 calmer cast of mind, argued for the preservation of 
 the Union. Both asked for and received six months' 
 leave of absence. Lee went to Arlington, Virginia, 
 
SUBSEQUENT TRIP TO THE SOUTH. 255 
 
 where he found his wife, family and friends all 
 enthusiastic advocates of secession ; and he was finally 
 persuaded to give his sword to the Confederacy 
 against the earnest advice of General Scott. Captain 
 Thomas went to Troy, New York, the home of his 
 wife and friends. Here he was induced to change 
 his mind; and he returned to Washington and took 
 his orders from Lincoln. While I," he said, ''being 
 from Florida believed with Thomas that I owed my 
 duty first to my state. I met the argument that I had 
 been educated at West Point by the fact that my 
 state paid her share of the cost. In this doctrine I 
 believed so honestly that when I received a letter from 
 my nephew and namesake, E. Kirby Smith, of Ohio, 
 who had just graduated from West Point, asking 
 what he should do, I promptly wrote to him, 'Seek an 
 assignment for duty in your state, and do all you can 
 to maintain the reputation of your family, for the 
 record shows that thirteen of our family were grad- 
 uated at West Point and served with credit in. the 
 Army of the United States." 
 
 Young E. Kirby Smith took the advice of his 
 uncle and received an appointment as Colonel of the 
 43rd O. V. Infantry and served with great credit until 
 he was killed in the battle of Corinth. 
 
CHAPTER 27. 
 
 Visit to Florence, Alabama, Twenty-five Years 
 After the War. 
 
 While looking into the mineral resources of 
 Alabama in the spring of 1889, I reached Florence on 
 Saturday with a view of spending Sunday there. 
 
 After dinner at the hotel I interviewed the land- 
 lord, and learned that Mr. W. H. Key and his wife 
 were still on the plantation, and that their daughters 
 were all married. The oldest was the wife of Dr. 
 Conner of that place. "Yonder he comes now," said 
 the landlord. I went out and met three gentlemen 
 and asked. 
 
 "Which of you is Dr. Conner?" 
 
 One of them replied, "I am Dr. Conner, Sah." 
 
 "Well," said I, "Doctor, I was going to your house. 
 Not to see you, however, but to see your wife." 
 
 "Ah," said he, "are you an acquaintance of hers?" 
 
 "I don't know whether I am or not. I was just 
 going around to see. I once knew the family but it was 
 a good while ago, and I don't know| whether your 
 wife would remember me or not." 
 
 He inquired my name. I told him it was Hamilton. 
 
 "What, not Colonel Hiamikon from Ohio?" 
 
 I replied that it was. He stopped and took my 
 
 (256) 
 
VISIT TO FLORENCE, ALABAMA. 257 
 
 hand, saying, "Is it possible? I have heard my wife 
 talk about you a hundred times. Come right along." 
 
 As we ^approached a neat cottage a lady was 
 standing on the porch and the Doctor said, 
 
 ''Maggie, do you know this gentleman?" 
 
 She looked at me and said, ''No, I do not." 
 
 "Look again ; he says he used to know you a good 
 while ago. Try if you can't remember him. He says 
 his name is Hamilton." 
 
 "What, Colonel Hamilton from Ohio?" 
 
 She jumped from the low porch and met me with 
 both hands extended, saying, 
 
 "I am powerful glad to see you, Colonel. Come 
 right in. When did you come and where are you 
 stopping?" 
 
 I told her. 
 
 "Have you had dinner?" 
 
 I told her I had. 
 
 "Have you a grip or anything?" 
 
 I said I had. 
 
 She turned and said, "Doctor, send a boy to the 
 hotel for the coloneFs grip. Now," she says, "come 
 in and we'll have a talk. I have so much to say and 
 ask. Father always comes up Saturday afternoon to 
 see to his cotton bales and when he comes I will 
 have no chance." 
 
 She brought in her three children; the oldest a 
 pretty girl nearly grown. 
 
 "I wantf you to see them and want them to see 
 you. They have heard about you so much." 
 
 17 
 
2f58 RECOLLECTIONS OF A CAVALRYMAN. 
 
 The doctor was in the Confederate service when 
 my command was there, but I found him a frank, 
 open-hearted Southerner, and glad toi see me. 
 
 In a short time Mr. Key was seen across the street 
 among his cotton bales, the doctor said he would 
 go and bring him over. I said I would go along. 
 
 When we reached the cotton lot the doctor said, 
 "Mr. Key, here is a gentleman who says he used to 
 know you.'* 
 
 He looked at me quite closely and said, 
 
 "He has the advantage of me. I believe I don't 
 know him." 
 
 I did the same thing and said, "I don't know you 
 either. There was a time, however, when we knew 
 each other, but I notice it has been snowing around 
 the heads of both of us since then." 
 
 When the doctor told him my name, he let go his 
 horse to greet me. 
 
 "When did you come down ?" 
 
 I told him. 
 
 "H'ow long are you going to stay?" 
 
 I said I thought to stay over Sunday if his people 
 would let me. 
 
 "Let you," said he, "you will stay with us two 
 weeks at least and we will have a hunt. (He kept 
 hounds). 
 
 He then called up a colored man and said, 
 
 "Jack, go home and tell your Mistress that Col- 
 onel Hamilton from Ohio will be out to dine with us 
 at six o'clock. Now, Colonel, we will go over to the 
 
VISIT TO FLORENCE^ ALABAMA. 259 
 
 house for a while and see the folks there; then we 
 will go down street. I usually go home about four, 
 but we will not get off that soon today. You have 
 friends who will want to see you, for you are re- 
 membered here as one of the few cherished traditions 
 of the war." 
 
 It was Saturday afternoon and the streets were 
 full of people, old and young. After an hour with the 
 doctor's family, Mr. Key suggested that we go down 
 street. 
 
 The town was bordering on a boom and business 
 was active. Some strangers were there, but most of 
 the middle aged men were Confederate soldiers. 
 Never in all my life was I the subject of such cordial 
 greetings. I began to realize to some extent what the 
 feelings of a hero might be. A new generation had 
 come and I was one of the traditions of their child- 
 hood. The boys and girls stood around and whispered 
 to each other as they looked at me. I noticed a gentle- 
 man coming who was introduced as Captain Patton, 
 President of the First National Bank and son of 
 Governor Patton, who was now dead. He said as he 
 took my hand, 
 
 " I want to shake hands with you Colonel Hamil- 
 ton, for the kindness you showed my mother when 
 I was in th^ army." 
 
 I remarked, 'That is very nice of you, Captain, 
 but really I don't remember showing her any special 
 kindness." ' 
 
 "Oh, no," said he, "I suppose not, but she does." 
 
260 RECOLLECTIONS OF A CAVALRYMAN. 
 
 "Well," I replied, ''I can account for all this only 
 by the fact that I happened to be here at a time when 
 a little kindness went a great ways." 
 
 Shortly after that I was introduced to Captain 
 Campbell, President of the Second National Bank, 
 who came to tell me that his wife wanted to see me. 
 I asked who his wife was. He replied that she was 
 the daughter of Captain Coffee on whose place I had 
 my cam.p. \ 
 
 "Oh, yes, I remember." 
 
 And as we were talking he said, "Yonder she 
 comes now." 
 
 I saw a colored man driving a carriage occupied 
 by a very fine and handsomely dressed lady with a 
 nice twelve year old boy at her side. We went out to 
 the carriage and the captain began an introduction, to 
 which I paid no attention, but reaching her my hand, 
 said, 
 
 "What became of that hat?" 
 
 With a hearty laugh she said, "Do you remember 
 that hat?" 
 
 D told her I could never forget it in the world. 
 She then introduced me to her son who was just 
 about the age she was when she and I were engaged 
 in the hat business. She asked how long I was going 
 to stay. I said I thought of leaving on Monday. 
 
 She said, "You will not do any such thing. I am 
 going to make a dinner for you and it is to be next 
 Thursday, and if I were to invite all your friends it 
 would take all that time to get ready." 
 
VISIT TO FLORENCE, ALABAMA. 261 
 
 At five o'clock Mr. Key got a horse and we rode 
 out eight miles to his place and found dinner waiting. 
 Mrs. Key received me with her old-time cordiality and 
 after we had washed and rested a few minutes a very 
 charming lady came in to welcome me and escort me 
 to dinner. 
 
 It was my little Lottie who sat on my knee when 
 told not to be afraid of that Yankee, twenty-five years 
 ago. She took my arm and led me to a chair and a 
 plate, beside which she had placed a silver goblet 
 with the name ''Lottie" engraved on it. She took 
 it up and said, "This was my first birthday present; 
 it was one of the lot that your men found in the cave 
 and that you returned, and I want you to drink out 
 of it tonight." 
 
 She had married a year before. Her husband 
 was a doctor in Florida, and she had come home on 
 her first visit just two weeks before. 
 
 I spent a number of days very delightfully with 
 Mr. Key and his family. We drove each day here 
 and .there over the beautiful country — fine i cotton 
 land, among refined country people. 
 
 The culture of cotton with free labor was being 
 solved with less friction than they had feared. It had 
 vexed both races alike, but after twenty-five years' 
 experience the conviction was general that when 
 fairly organized they could do better with free labor. 
 As a rule the former slaves did not want to leave 
 good masters, and the plan was for two or three to 
 join in taking a lease on a ten or twenty acre cotton 
 
262 RECOLLECTIONS OF A CAVALRYMAN. 
 
 lot, the owner furnishing teams, tools and reasonable 
 supplies during the working months and dividing the 
 crop equally at the end of the year, the working party 
 to pay the cost of supplies out of their half of the 
 crop. 
 
 The by-product of the cotton and the seed had in- 
 creased the value of the crop far beyond what it was 
 worth before the war, and a great responsibility had 
 been taken from the planters. The general feeling was 
 that they and the country were approaching a better 
 condition of things that they ever expected. 
 
 Mrs. Campbell sent out her invitations for Thurs- 
 day afternoon. Here I had the pleasure of meeting 
 a number of my former acquaintances, among whom 
 was the handsome black-eyed widow who came on 
 horseback to get through my lines long ago. She was 
 as bright as ever, although a little more robust. She 
 had married again and now was the wife of Colonel 
 Collier, the well known editor of the Nashville Amer- 
 ican, and was on a visit to her friends in Florence. 
 
 Referring to her mother who had died some years 
 before, she said, 
 
 "Mother was an old-fashioned Presbyterian and be- 
 lieved firmly in special Providence. She often gave 
 an instance in which you figured — that once when we 
 were living alone on the plantation, two rough look- 
 ing strangers came to the house looking for something 
 to eat, which we gave them. The}^ then demanded 
 money. We told them we had none. They became 
 very abusive, ransacked the house, opened the 
 
VISIT TO FLORENCE, ALABAMA. 263 
 
 drawers, taking anything they wanted. While they 
 were upstairs, two soldiers rode up and asked if this 
 was where Mrs. Collier lived, saying they belonged 
 to the 9th Ohio Cavalry and that Colonel Hamilton 
 had sent them as guards to our house. The men 
 upstairs heard them; they jumped from an upper 
 window and broke for the woods in too big a hurry 
 to take anything with them. Mother always believed 
 that God put it into the mind of Colonel Hamilton to 
 send those guards at that time." 
 
 I met her older sister and her husband, Captain 
 Simpson, who was a quartermaster in the regiment 
 across the river when I visited the mother and sisters 
 and they proposed a union supper at which we should 
 meet and hold a conference with a view of closing the 
 war. The captain was at this time a leading lawyer 
 of the county and an elder in the Presbyterian church. 
 
 Florence had long been the seat of a female 
 seminary. But this had been closed during the war, 
 after which it had been re-opened. One of the teach- 
 ers was a guest at Mrs. Campbell's dinner. 
 
 After the dinner she took a seat beside me and said 
 she wanted to tell me how much she felt she was 
 indebted to me. "I am, as you were told, from the 
 North." "My home is in Troy, New York. 
 After the war closed it was decided to re-open the 
 seminary here. I saw an advertisement in one of our 
 Northern papers for a superintendent to take charge 
 of it. As I had some experience in that line and had 
 a desire to try the South for a while, I answered the 
 
264 RECOLLECTIONS OF A CAVALRYMAN. 
 
 advertisement, which resulted in my employment with 
 one assistant. 
 
 "The school was opened. Girls fromi the town and 
 vicinity came. As schools had been disorganized 
 during the war I found them quite deficient in scholar- 
 ship, but filled with a bitter hatred of the Yankees, 
 and I think I would have given up the school in 
 disgust had it not been for you and your Yankee 
 regiment. For with all their bitterness it was the 
 fashion tO' speak well of you. So I took heart and 
 with a good deal of patience and forbearance I have 
 succeeded in causing them to concede that there are 
 'others' entitled to fair treatment, and I now have a 
 good school and plenty of good friends here." 
 
 The company spent the afternoon as a "Committee 
 of the Whole" discussing the war and its results. A 
 number of young people were there under the lead of 
 Mrs. Campbell's young son, a very bright boy of twelve 
 years, who insisted that I should tell some Yankee 
 stories. I told him I would if he would tell some 
 Johnnie stories. He said he would, and the contest 
 was quite amusing. At its close he said with a laugh, 
 
 "I have just been thinking how you and I could 
 make lots of money, Colonel." 
 
 "How?" said I. 
 
 "Why by getting up a show and going around 
 telling war stories." 
 
 "That is a capital idea," said I. "You certainly 
 are a born Yankee." 
 
CHAPTER 28. 
 
 Recent Correspondence. 
 
 (From Florence, Alabama, Times.) 
 
 The following letter kindly shown us by Mrs. 
 W. P. Campbell, will recall to the older citizens of 
 Florence an interesting period of the war between the 
 states, when the Federals occupied this territory. 
 
 Colonel Hamilton is recollected as a humane com- 
 mander, a true soldier, who never forgot that he was 
 making war on soldiers only, and not on citizens ; and 
 who won the respect and esteem of even his enemies 
 by his high-minded, soldierly bearing. Twenty-five 
 years later Colonel Hamilton visited Florence, when 
 he was cordially entertained by those from whom he 
 had received consideration in the trying times of war. 
 
 The letter was dated at Columbus, Ohio, May 26, 
 1913, and was addressed to the postmaster at Florence. 
 It is as follows : 
 
 "Dear Sir : — I write to make inquiry about some of the 
 old citizens of Florence and vicinity. 
 
 "In the spring of 1864, I, with the Ninth O. V. Cavalry, 
 of which I was Colonel, was stationed about a month near 
 Martin's Cotton Mills on Cypress Creek, within two miles 
 of Florence with orders from General Sherman to guard the 
 Tennessee River against the enemy who had captured part 
 
 (265) 
 
266 RECOLLECTIONS OF A CAVALRYMAN. 
 
 of a scouting force of my regiment one night two weeks be- 
 fore while encamped on the Jack Peters' plantation below 
 town. 
 
 "My orders were to prevent further raids in that locality 
 and to exhaust the resources which had been furnishing sup- 
 plies for General Forrest and his men. While here I made 
 the acquaintance of the families of W. H. Key, Captain 
 Coffee, Mrs. Collier, Governor Patton and others. On my 
 second visit, 25 years afterwards, I had the pleasure of 
 meeting a number of old friends and quite a number of new 
 ones, among whom were the ex-Confederate Dr. J. C. Conner, 
 who married Mr. Key's oldest daughter ; Captain Campbell, 
 who married the daughter of Captain Coffee; and Captain 
 Patton, son of Governor Patton. 
 
 "Since the war I have spent a good deal of my active 
 life in the South, and I am writing at the request of my old 
 comrades, my 'recollections of a cavalryman during the Civil 
 War. My command met the soldiers of the South more than 
 sixty times under fire, and I can frankly say, with no disgrace 
 on either side. But I have always felt that, after all, the 
 greatest good I accomplished for our common country was 
 in the bloodless campaign around Florence ini the spring of 
 1864. 
 
 "I write, therefore, to ask if you will kindly hand this 
 letter to any of the last three gentlemen named who may be 
 within reach, as I would prize a letter from any of them at 
 
 t^^s time. uYouj-s very truly, 
 
 "(Signed) W. D. Hamilton.'' 
 
 I received in answ^er to my letter a charming note 
 from Mrs. Campbell who was hostess at the dinner 
 given me nearly twenty-five years ago, and my partner 
 in the hat business fifty years ago; also a letter from 
 the Captain in which he told me that Captain Patton 
 
RECENT CORRESPONDENCE. 267 
 
 and Dr. Conner were both dead, but that I still had 
 friends in Florence, and cordially suggested another 
 visit, stating with extreme Southern courtesy, the be- 
 lief that if all the northern troops had been like the 
 officers and men of the 9th O. V. Cavalry, the war 
 would have closed sooner than it did, and in a 
 way that would have prevented the existence of the 
 ''Carpet Bag" Government, which became a disgrace 
 to the North and a humiliation to the South. 
 
 During my visit to that beautiful region I met 
 many returned confederate soldiers whom I found 
 frank and cordial. Florence was developing as a 
 manufacturing town. Partnerships between former 
 antagonists had been formed. 
 
 Owners of the large plantations were generally 
 leasing their cotton land to their former slaves on 
 terms which were satisfactory to both, the owners 
 taking a general oversight of the work and supplying 
 what was necessary during the growing of the crops 
 on terms agreed upon, and all candid men admitted 
 that the change was working better than they expected. 
 In the preparation of these reminiscences, I opened 
 correspondence as follows : 
 
 I have received many letters from my old com- 
 rades giving accounts of events, and their experiences 
 during our service together. Many of these are too 
 personal and would be out of place in book form, but 
 to those who have written them I extend a comrade's 
 thanks. 
 
268 RECOLLECTIONS OF A CAVALRYMAN. 
 
 Quite a number give accounts of the same 
 occurrences, and it is interesting to notice how the 
 stories vary in detail, given from different standpoints, 
 although they generally agree in the main. I give 
 extracts of such as may be of general interest. 
 
 Letter from Captain Wm. Henderson, of Com- 
 pany "D", 9th O. V. C, who enlisted from Wooster, 
 Ohio, but who, like myself, was born in Scotland. His 
 present home is at Miller's Ferry, Alabama, where 
 he has lived ever since the war. This letter is dated 
 January 20, 1914. 
 
 "I am pleased to know that you are writing a history of 
 the 9th O. V. C. It served most of the time as an inde- 
 pendent command, detached from the infantry, and seldom 
 attached to any other cavalry force. We served mostly in 
 mountain regions in advance of the infantry, watched by 
 'bushwhackers' and subject to attack from the enemy's cav- 
 alry, and the strictest discipline was necessary. 
 
 "You had a method of discipline peculiarly your own, I 
 remember in the beginning, while you were taking the 2nd 
 and 3rd Battalions through Kentucky, some men had broken 
 into a house in Bardstown the first night, and took what 
 they wanted, including a razor the leader found in a trunk 
 he broke open. With this you had one-half of their heads 
 shaved and the leader, an unassigned recruit, drummed out 
 of the Regiment to the music of the 'Rogues March.' I 
 mention this as it impressed upon the men the standard you 
 set for the 9th O. V. C. 
 
 "I am writing from memory. Since I began we found 
 an old memorandum book that I had in the army, and I will 
 copy something that I found in it, written in reference to 
 yourself. I will copy it for your grandchildren." 
 
RECENT CORRESPONDENCE. 269 
 
 "March 13, 1864, 
 ''Camp Near Columbia, Tennessee. 
 
 "Our Colonel Hamilton is a very excellent gentleman. 
 He possesses all the qualifications of a good commander. A 
 fine nature, intelligent, possessed of true courage, rather 
 stern, courteous and kind, watching the interests of the men 
 more like a father than an officer." 
 
 "On Rousseau Raid. Arrived at Ashville, Alabama, 
 July 13th. Fed and shod horses. Colonel Hamilton made a 
 speech to the regiment on discipline, which was good and 
 well received." 
 
 "Janunry 28, 1863. Colonel Hamilton assembles his men 
 and in an earnest and eloquent manner informs them of the 
 intended campaign in the Carolinas. Shows them the difficul- 
 ties to overcome, and the desperate character of the enemy 
 we are likely to encounter in great numbers. Then to en- 
 courage them he described in a happy manner their past 
 achievements, making them feel proud that they belonged to 
 the Army of the West, to this cavalry division and par- 
 ticularly to the 9th O. V. Cavalry, which had never retreated 
 from an enemy. He also instructed them never to surrender. 
 Better die like men than be starved like dogs." 
 
 The Captain proceeds: 
 
 "On the day of the fight at Aiken, March 11th, I made 
 this note in my memorandum book : 'War is horrible, but 
 what a grand game. How electrified we feel while we charge 
 the opposing ranks. The enemy seem as chaflf while we feel 
 like a hurricane which nothing can withstand'." * * * 
 
 "You ask about my affairs since the war. My plan from 
 babyhood was to be a farmer. In the fall of 1865 I and some 
 friends purchased 1,940 acres of cotton land in Alabama, 
 eighty miles west of Selma. I studied cotton culture care- 
 fully. It had been the practice under slave labor to abandon 
 land, when worn out, as worthless. We found that with 
 
270 RECOLLECTIONS OF A CAVALRYMAN. 
 
 proper fertilizers this could be redeemed. I worked success- 
 fully and now pay taxes on 600 head of cattle and 8,000 acres 
 of land which I have bought and set the example of redeem- 
 ing. I have raised 1,000 bales on 2,000 acres, this being con- 
 sidered a good average crop." 
 
 "Replying to your question about politics : I did not 
 have time to take part in state politics, but it was urged that 
 in many parts of the state bad men were organizing and that 
 if the good men of the state did not take hold the country 
 would be ruined. I had belonged to a Union Regiment that 
 was popular in the northern part of the state, and I was 
 elected a member of the legislature for three years. My 
 votes and protests against every swindling bill that came up 
 are on record, and when I reached home I felt happy that I 
 did not have a dishonest dollar in my pocket. I was elected 
 Judge of Probate and served six years. When I went into 
 office the debt on the general fund of the county was $36,000. 
 When my time was out there was $1,200 in the treasury and 
 the taxes for that year had not been collected." 
 
 "We have three sons and one daughter, all educated in 
 the North. When the daughter was married, she received 
 from the people of the county many valuable presents, but 
 the thing that filled my eyes and warmed my heart was a 
 present from the Daughters of the Confederacy." 
 
 "Wm. Henderson." 
 
 University Park, Denver, Colo., Jan. 6, 1914. 
 
 General W. D. Hamilton, 
 
 Columbus, Ohio. 
 
 My Dear, Dear General and Life- Long Friend: 
 
 How the days have rolled into years since first I grasped 
 your hand and looked into your good face and cheerfully 
 obeyed your commands. I was sixteen and, if I am correct, 
 you were thirty. I can never forget and may I ever treasure 
 the memory of your influence and words in forming my life 
 
Capt. Wm. Henderson, 
 Co. "D." 
 
 0)RP. Wm. R. KiNNEAR, Co. "E. 
 
Sergt. Thos. Corwix Iliff, €o. "A." 
 Subsequently Rev. T. C. Iliff, D. D., of the M. E. Church. 
 
RECENT CORRESPONDENCE. 27I 
 
 during my soldier boy days — 1862-5. I rejoice that kind 
 
 Providence has spared you to pass the eightieth mile-stone 
 
 with mental faculties strong and body fairly well preserved. 
 
 Now in my sixty-ninth year I scarcely experience ache or 
 
 pain, and probably never did more effective service than the 
 
 year 1913, traveling 44,000 miles without accident or missing 
 
 an appointment. Tomorrow I leave for Idaho and Oregon 
 
 and return in two weeks. I hope and purpose some day to 
 
 stop long enough in Columbus, Ohio, to see you and talk over 
 
 stirring events of our soldier life. 
 
 Mrs. Iliff joins me heartily in the kindest regards and 
 
 good wishes. . , . , 
 
 Always smcerely yours, 
 
 (Signed) Thomas Corwin Iliff. 
 
 I think it not out of place in this connection in 
 view of Dr. Ilifif's subsequent career to explain that 
 after I had served a year as Captain of Co. G. in 
 the 32nd. O. V. I. and while recruiting for the 9th. 
 O. V. C. Tommie's father and mother brought him 
 to camp and told me that he insisted on going to the 
 war ; that he had volunteered once but they had taken 
 him out as he was too young. As he still insisted upon 
 going they brought him to me and his' mother told 
 me he was a member of church, in which he took an 
 active part. She wanted me to know this and asked 
 me to take care of him as well as I could. 
 
 It was perhaps six months afterwards when pass- 
 ing his tent, I heard him swear, but I seemed not to 
 hear him. Next day I passed his quartersi and in- 
 vited him to take a walk. When we passed beyond 
 hearing of the boys, I took him by the arm and said. 
 
2/2 RECOLLECTIONS OF A CAVALRYMAN. 
 
 'Tommie, I heard you yesterday." "I thought you 
 did," he repHed. 
 
 "I expect you think that I am going to scold you, 
 but I am not. This is a hard and unnatural life for 
 us all. I never swore an oath in my life, yet at times 
 I am tempted to do it here. But I am trying the best 
 I can to do as I was taught at home. You remember 
 what we promised your mother, and I know it com- 
 forts her to think of it. I have always thought that 
 to swear was a sign of cowardice often used to fan 
 a feeble spark of courage to the fighting point. It 
 lowers a boy in the friendship of anyone worth know- 
 ing and stands next to lying among the things to be 
 avoided." 
 
 Tommie was a brave boy and although among the 
 youngest he closed his army life as Sergeant in his 
 company. 
 
 He now ranks as a Major General in the Methodist 
 
 Church. 
 
 His career in civil life and as a minister in the 
 Methodist Church has been but the development 
 of that energy acquired in the four years of rough 
 schooling which antedated his college life. 
 
 Dr. Iliff has devoted a life of energy and unusual 
 ability in development of the great West, under the 
 influence of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and 
 especially in the territory of Utah, where he became 
 the great leader in opposition to polygamy, as repre- 
 sented by the Mormon Church. Through his good 
 
RECENT CORRESPONDENCE. 273 
 
 work polygamists were excluded from the hails of 
 Congress. 
 
 In recognition of his services in the church the 
 honorary degree of Doctor of Divinity was conferred 
 by his Alma Mater, The Ohio University. Hd has 
 not forgotten his army life, but has taken an active 
 part in Grand Army affairs. He has been Chaplain 
 in Chief of the G. A. R. and Department Commander 
 of the Department of Utah, and his lecture on the 
 "Sunny Side of Army Life" has been considered one 
 of the best on the American platform. 
 
 LETTERS FROM MY COMRADES. 
 
 General Land Office, 
 Washington, D. C, Apr. 4, '14. 
 Gen'l W. D. Hamilton : 
 
 My Dear General : 
 
 I learn that you are preparing a history of the 9th O. V. 
 Cavalry. Such a publication would be greatly valued in 
 reviving many almost forgotten scenes. 
 
 My service in the 9th was in a subordinate capacity and 
 I saw things in a limited circle which would scarcely interest 
 a reader. Fifty years have dimmed our memories. Rut I 
 recall your inspection of Company "F" at Camp Dennison. 
 You asked, as we stood in line, for those who had never fired 
 a gun to step to the front ; also those who had never shot a 
 squirrel or other game. Those who had never owned a gun 
 or rode a horse, all these in turn were called to show them- 
 selves. I was amazed at the answers given ; so many never 
 fired a gun, so few had ever killed any game and so many 
 were strangers to a horse, and their unmilitary appearance 
 gave me a fear for the future. 
 18 
 
274 RECOLLECTIONS OF A CAVALRYMAN. 
 
 If you had apprehensions for the work in hand you did 
 not show it, but praised their awkward drill and attempts to 
 march. You went to work faithfully with both men and 
 ofiEiceTS. They were eager and quick to learn and in a few 
 months you had a command equal to the best. 
 
 I know of what I speak, for as a sergeant I had been 
 sent with a squad to patrol the Tennessee River to the 
 Mussel Shoals. One evening when I saw the outlines of 
 some mounted men approaching us through the timber, I 
 gave the command "Left front into line" to my men, who 
 responded with the care and promptness of veterans. In call- 
 ing "Halt; who comes there?" I found it was our Colonel 
 with Company "L," who had given us this chance to make the 
 test whether we were soldiers worthy of the Buckeye State. 
 And you gave me a personal compliment which I have never 
 forgotten. But I shared it with the boys who drank with me 
 from the same canteen. 
 
 Some time ago I heard of your sickness, but I hope you 
 have recovered and I sincerely hope that you may be spared 
 to your family and friends and to the men who bear you that 
 inexpressible love born in the stress of war. 
 
 Your comrade, 
 
 F. A. Weaver. 
 
 Comrade Daniel S. Moses of Company "K", now 
 of Fremont, Ohio, gives an interesting account of the 
 capture of eight of our regiment v^hile out foraging 
 on the Rousseau Raid, describing their treatment in 
 the different prisons in which he and they were incar- 
 cerated, most of them dying, one at a time. He says 
 that on the day of our national election, an arrange- 
 ment was made in the Andersonville prison to take a 
 vote of the prisoners on the question of peace or war. 
 Two boxes were furnished ; beans were the tickets — 
 
RECENT CORRESPONDENCE. 275 
 
 the white ones for McClellan, the black ones for 
 Lincoln. Those of the men who could stand were 
 drawn up in line to vote. This resulted in 1050 for 
 McClellan and 3014 for Lincoln. This was disappoint- 
 ment to the officers of Andersonville prison, who 
 thought the starving men would do anything that might 
 stop the war and let them go home. 
 
 Comrade Edward Butts, company "H", tells the 
 story of the rebel scout who approached our picket 
 post at Decatur and got shot by the mounted vidette. 
 private Clampett. Sergeant Howe was in charge of 
 the post and sent the wounded man into camp. I have 
 already given this story. He also relates the following : 
 
 "While the regiment was encamped at Nashville, near 
 Mt. Olivet Cemetery, some of the boys chalked their names 
 and regiment on the marble tombstones. This lead the colo- 
 nel to make a speech on the subject of deportment. He said 
 in substance: 'I infer from seeing your names in the grave- 
 yard that some of you are thinking about death. That is 
 right, but do not be in a hurry; we have work to do before 
 our names are placed on tombstones — very important work. 
 I would urge you to guard your health and your deportment; 
 to confine yourselves at all times strictly to duty and to go 
 nowhere nor do anything that you would hesitate to tell your 
 mother.' The colonel named a sergeant to whom all the boys 
 who had defaced the stones should report, and he would 
 march them to the cemetery and see that every boy removed 
 his name. I have thought of this speech many times since 
 then."- 
 
 F. M. Overmyer, Company "K" (Captain Albin 
 Coe) writes: 
 
276 RECOLLECTIONS OF A CAVALRYMAN. 
 
 "While we were at Decatur, in May, 1864, a detail from 
 our regiment, with the 10th Iowa Infantry and a part of an 
 Ohio Battery, was sent out on a scout. I was detailed as 
 orderly to the colonel commanding. We reached the rebel 
 pickets in a clump of bushes. I pointed them out to the 
 colonel, and we charged. They fired a volley and fled to give 
 the alarm. I was sent with an order to hurry up the artillery. 
 When I got back the fight was on, and I came so near getting 
 killed by a shot from the enemy's artillery that I gasped for 
 breath. Our captain turned his artillery on them with deadly 
 effect, and we raised a yell as they lit out. 
 
 "In August, 1864, when in front of Atlanta, Company 
 'K' was sent out for picket duty under our beloved Captain 
 Albin Coe. The enemy were everywhere, and while on duty 
 on a picket post we had to keep hid. About 12 o'clock I heard 
 a noise, and although it was very dark I detected a man who, 
 when he saw me, prepared to strike, but I downed him with a 
 punch from my gun. He claimed that he was not a soldier 
 and pointed to a house nearby, saying he had just been up 
 there to see his girl." 
 
 Comrade Overmyer has sent me quite an inter- 
 esting list of his army experiences, a number of which 
 are told by other comrades, and I wish I could include 
 more. 
 
 John Brandenburg of Company "L", gives quite 
 an account of the number of boys that were killed or 
 captured in our raids and skirmishes with foraging 
 parties. Also an account of the 300 men and disabled 
 horses which on the fourth day of the Rousseau Raid 
 were sent back under Captain Daniels from the Coosa 
 river. He tells how on their return they crossed the 
 Tennessee river, half a mile wide, in two long canoes 
 
RECENT CORRESPONDENCE. 277 
 
 while leading their horses swimming on each side of 
 the boats. After working all night, they arrived on 
 the other side at 7 A. M., next morning, without an 
 
 accident. 
 
 George F. Hill, Company "F", tells of the fight 
 at Center Star, Ala., as he saw it. 
 
 "I was out with a scouting party under Sergeant C. M. 
 Cunningham and saw a party of the enemy coming down the 
 hill towards the river ahead of us. We saw a horseman 
 come galloping after them. We all fired, but he kept rushing 
 on. Sergeant Cunningham fired again and shot his horse. 
 The man seemed to turn a complete somersault but he 
 alighted on his feet and started to run. He made a short cut 
 for the river, but it was scarcely light and he jumped into a 
 mud hole up to his hips. As we rode up he drew two 
 revolvers and fired, but hit no one. Sergeant Ames was 
 ahead and ordered him to surrender. He unbuckled his belt 
 and handed his revolvers to Ames, saying, 'I will give my 
 arms to the man I surrender to.' Sergeants Ames and Cun- 
 ningham hauled him out of the mud as a prisoner. 
 
 "He proved to be a captain in the rebel battalion of 250 
 cavalry that we were after. We soon heard firing below, and 
 Sergeant Cunningham put spurs to his horse saying, 'Come 
 on, boys,' and down the old canal bed we went to where we 
 saw Colonel Hamilton on his big black horse in the midst of 
 the fight, directing the men with a coolness he always dis- 
 played in a fight. The enemy soon took to an island in the 
 river and was out of our reach. The battalion commanded 
 by Lieutenant Colonel Cook failed to get there until too late 
 to give any assistance or we would have captured the entire 
 command." 
 
 Mr. E. J. Hammer, Bradentown, Florida, May 
 ist, 1914, writes: 
 
278 RECOLLECTIONS OF A CAVALRYMAN. 
 
 "I have been h^re since last fall, doing some editorial 
 work on the Bradentown Herald. I like both the work and 
 the town. There are many old Union soldiers around here, 
 while the old Johnnies are as friendly as though we never 
 fought against them. The bitterness of defeat seems to have 
 passed. 
 
 "You ask for a story for your book. I enclose some- 
 thing which you may use or throw in the waste basket, as you 
 think best. 
 
 "I remember, while at Decatur, Alabama, one morning 
 about sunrise the alarm gun at the battery gave the pre- 
 arranged signal of an attack. In a minute the first Sergeant 
 Oviatt of our Company 'F' was dragging the boys out of bed, 
 some of them by the heels. In about five minutes we were 
 ready. Colonel Hamilton was already mounted, and we were 
 ordered forward without waiting for the laggards. As we 
 passed the infantry pickets' line we found the Johnnies in the 
 woods and to my boyish eyes it seemed there must be ten 
 thousand of them. 
 
 "Without waiting to count the enemy, the colonel or- 
 dered a charge, and we charged across the field over logs and 
 fences, Colonel Hamilton in advance. Where he went we 
 were always sure to find such of his men as could keep pace 
 with his bay horse. 
 
 "The Johnnies didn't like our looks and after firing fell 
 back across a field, behind a fence in the woods, and greeted 
 us with a volley which sounded like a swarm of bees. I was 
 on the left of our line. A clump of trees was about midway 
 between us and the rebel line. We sat on our horses, blazing 
 away at the rebels, when something grazed my left ear and 
 struck a sapling a few feet behind me. I ducked, of course, 
 and, seeing a curl of smoke rising from a clump of bushes, 
 fired into it with some more of the boys. 
 
 "I got scared — badly; tried to shelter myself behind the 
 sapling; then got behind George Sherman, and tried to keep 
 up my end of the shooting. But when Sherman wanted to 
 
RECENT CORRESPONDENCE. 279 
 
 know what the h — 1 I was doing, 1 found 1 was firing over his 
 head. His angry exclamation brought me to my senses and 1 
 got back to my place. But I don't think there ever was a 
 worse scared boy than I was. 
 
 "The colonel ordered another charge and away we went 
 across that field. As we passed that clump of bushes one of 
 the boys called out, 'There he is. We got him,' and there lay 
 the Johnnie that so nearly got me. We chased that bunch of 
 rebels several miles through the woods, getting a number of 
 prisoners, and finished the job by eating their breakfast 
 which was cooking on their camp fires when we got there." 
 
 Philip Hans writes : 
 
 "I was with the dismounted men and convalescents, 
 about 125, just before the march to the sea, who were sent 
 back from the front under Major Irvine, Lieutenants Fan- 
 ning and Cochran, of our regiment. We were sent to Nash- 
 ville to join the forces under General Thomas, who was 
 opposing the advance of General Hood. During the battle' at 
 Franklin our detachment of about one hundred men, under 
 command of Major Irvine, after some exchange of shots with 
 the enemy, fell back to the picket line behind a fence from 
 which we kept up a fire for about half an hour. We were 
 then ordered to fall back slowly, and reached the infantry 
 line, but were soon ordered back to our former position. We 
 were then taken to support a battery, which soon stopped 
 firing as our infantry had taken position in front of it. Next 
 morning we were ordered to fall back on Nashville, where we 
 remained in support of a battery. After the battle we left 
 Nashville to join our regiment under General Sherman, by 
 way of New York and the sea, and were reunited in the 
 march through the Carolinas, under General Kilpatrick." 
 
 Wilson C. Starkey, of Diller, Nebraska, writes : 
 
 "Being confined in the hospital at Nashville, I was pre- 
 vented from joining you in Sherman's march to the sea, but 
 was able to join the detachment of our regiment in the battles 
 
28o RECOLLECTIONS OF A CAVALRYMAN. 
 
 against Hood at Franklin and Nashville. The detachment 
 under Major Irvine was then ordered to proceed by way of 
 New York and the sea to join you at Savannah, arriving just 
 in time to join a brigade of dismounted men and foot it 
 through the Carolinas. I took part with our dismounted men, 
 marching with the cavalry. We had a hard time at Aiken 
 and again at Fayetteville, where Hampton's men in blue over- 
 coats surrounded Kilpatrick's headquarters early in the morn- 
 ing while he was sleeping ; but he escaped half dressed. 
 
 "Our dismounted men, armed with Springfield rifles and 
 bayonets, were encamped behind a swamp nearby. Lieutenant 
 Colonel Stough, in command, ordered us to double quick, and 
 after firing one volley we charged with the bayonet, with 
 heavy loss to the enemy and retook Kilpatrick's camp, en- 
 abling him to complete his toilet. But we had to let go three 
 hundred prisoners which we had been guarding, and they got 
 away during the fight. We then plodded on twenty miles to 
 Goldsborough. 
 
 "My father had enlisted in the 80th Ohio, which was at 
 Goldsborough. I went to your tent and asked if you would 
 give me a pass to go and see my father, and you did. When 
 I returned to my tent the orderly sergeant told me I was 
 detailed with two other comrades to guard cattle that we had 
 gathered on our march, some of which were butchered daily 
 for the regiment. 
 
 "We argued the question of authority of a pass from the 
 colonel or a detail from the captain. This was settled by 
 comrade Robert Deams, who volunteered to take my place 
 and I to take his place when called for duty. Our march was 
 a forced one, and the boys with the cattle lost ground, were 
 captured and murdered. Not one of the comrades— Louis 
 Langbough, George Miller and Robert Deams— has ever been 
 heard of since. That pass from you saved my life. 
 "I remain, yours truly, 
 
 "Wilson C. Starkey, 
 "Private Co. C, Qth O. V. C" 
 
RECENT CORRESPONDENCE. 28I 
 
 Ferndale Ranch, P. O. Baggs, Wyoming, 
 
 April 1(), 1914. 
 Dear Colonel : 
 
 I see by the National Tribune that you are writing a his- 
 tory of the dear old 9th Ohio Cavalry and calling for stories 
 from the boys, and I send the following short one : 
 
 I belonged to Co. B, 1st Battalion. On our march from 
 Pulaski to Knoxville, Tenn., we captured a hive of bees, being 
 fond of honey. A blanket was procured and tied carefully 
 around the hive, which was lifted up to one of the boys, and 
 we continued the march with the taste of honey in our 
 mouths. 
 
 Soon the bees found a way out and joined actively in the 
 march, making it as hot as ever the Johnnies did ; the boy 
 threw down the hive, for an aeroplane corps of the enemy 
 opened fire in our faces, aiming at the eyes. We made a gal- 
 loping retreat with swollen faces, and when we came blinking 
 into camp we could scarcely see to put up our tents, and we 
 all agreed that honey was "no good." Andrew Davis. 
 
 ^ „ TT Osage. Kansas. 
 
 Dear Colonel Hamilton : 
 
 On one occasion, I. with a scouting party, was sent out 
 under Major Irvine. Sergeant Wicken, Albert Joy. W. F. 
 McLaughlin and myself were sent in advance, and when near 
 the enemy's camp we found the pickets asleep and captured 
 them all. When our battalion came up we took the enemy by 
 surprise and captured seven more. 
 
 On another occasion, while scouting near Goldsboro, 
 N. C, for provisions, our party came to a house and found 
 the mother and daughter frightened and crying, as everything 
 in the house had already been taken, and they thought they 
 would have to starve; so we boys divided with them all we 
 had, very much to their surprise and thankfulness, 
 
 Samuel Michael. 
 
282 RECOLLECTIONS OF A CAVALRYMAN. 
 
 I have ventured to add the following letter 
 recently received from Mr. L. A. Cormley, a prominent 
 citizen of Upper Sandusky, Ohio : 
 
 My Dear Colonel: 
 
 I have been very much interested since learning that you 
 were writing a history of the 9th O. V. C. I was a member 
 of Company "F" of that regiment and am proud of the record 
 it made. And for the past fifty years I have been thankful 
 that my soldier life was spent in it. 
 
 I enclose a statement I made at a reunion of our old 
 company at Upper Sandusky two years ago, which I have 
 reason to believe expresses the universal sentiment of your 
 men ; and I ask that you lay aside any personal delicacy you 
 might have in its publication, and for the influence it may 
 have upon the lives of our descendants and upon our military 
 service, I earnestly request that you include it in the record. 
 
 "I do not think there was a regiment in the entire army 
 that was under better discipHne with less show of it than the 
 9th Ohio Cavalry. It was the pleasure of both officers and 
 men to be governed by the instructions of Colonel Hamilton, 
 and not from fear of punishment, but from the respect and 
 love they bore their commander. As a soldier and a man he 
 exemplified the life he taught us to follow, and I do not 
 believe there is a comrade of the regiment living today but is 
 a better man because he served with Colonel Hamilton." 
 
 I have ventured, at the suggestion of some of my 
 friends, to close this story of the war by including in 
 a different form, a reference to some of its results and 
 the valuable lessons it has brought to our reunited 
 country, as given in two memorial addresses ; the one 
 for the Union, the other for the Confederate dead. 
 
RECENT CORRESPONDENCE. 283 
 
 MEMORIAL ADDRESS. 
 
 Delivered May 30, 1886, Before the Grand Army Post of 
 
 Athens, Ohio, the Faculty and Students of the 
 
 Ohio University and Citizens of Athens. 
 
 In Memory of the Union Dead. 
 
 "With uplifted hand I do solemnly swear that I will bear 
 true allegiance to the United States of America, that I will 
 support and defend its constitution, and its laws. That I will 
 obey the orders of the President and the officers appointed 
 over me during my term of enlistment. So help me. God." 
 
 My comrades — God bless you — do you remember that 
 oath? We all took it. It was a deed of trust upon our 
 lives, given to our government, to be returned or foreclosed 
 at its pleasure. Ours was returned to us, but the conveyance 
 was foreclosed upon our comrades whose memories we meet 
 to honor today. 
 
 It is right and proper, my fellow-citizens, on occasions 
 like this that we should consider for a few moments the 
 causes which made our offer and their sacrifice necessary. 
 
 At the close of the war which brought them independ- 
 ence, a convention of the thirteen colonies was called in 
 which all local concessions required to effect a union were 
 agreed to. except the question of slavery, which had existed 
 in the Southern States from their be-ginning. And, after a 
 heated discussion and the powerful pressure of the desire to 
 form a union, the convention agreed upon a compromise by 
 ignoring it; and since then, for nearly a century, the finest 
 culture, the highest civilization and the purest Christianity 
 in modern life has been yoked to the veriest barbarism of the 
 dark ages. The brightness of the one made the darkness of 
 the other more discernible. 
 
 The union was unnatural — the conflict inevitable. The 
 thrift of honorable labor in the North became pitted against 
 the arrogance which owned the wasteful slave labor of the 
 
284 RECOLLECTIONS OF A CAVALRYMAN. 
 
 South. The one with an active growing population created 
 wealth and opened new states in the north and west. The 
 other with a population increasing, not so much in white intel- 
 ligence as in black ignorance, was wasting the soil by aban- 
 doning their worn-out cotton fields rather than to acquire a 
 knowledge of how to improve them. 
 
 It was therefore found necessary, in order to maintain 
 the balance of power in Washington and to find fresh soil for 
 their cotton growers, to bring on a war with a sister republic 
 by which a vast expanse of virgin territory was taken from 
 the semi-barbarism of Mexico and given to the slavery of the 
 United States. 
 
 But the South fell behind in the power of a voting popu- 
 lation and in the memorable election of 1860 the slave power 
 was defeated. But they had control of the government at 
 Washington and one of their unsuspecting tools was president. 
 They held the reins of government until the 4th of March, 
 1861, while maturing their plans. They quietly distributed the 
 arms of the nation among the arsenals of the South. Our 
 little army was ordered to distant outposts to bring on a war 
 with the Indians. They had been careful to keep their state 
 quota of students full at West Point. Our ships of war were 
 sent on useless voyages to foreign seas. They threw down 
 the gauntlet of war apd declared that they would not be gov- 
 erned by the will of a majority unless they were that majority. 
 They held the States Rights sponge filled with political chlo- 
 roform to the nose of the President, while treason ripened in 
 their southern soil and state after state passed ordinances of 
 secession. He freely said they had no right to go but since 
 they had gone secession was an "established fact" and he 
 knew of no power to bring them back. 
 
 Oh, my countrymen ! In that sad hour the sun of our 
 glory was darkened and the veil was rent in the temple of 
 liberty. Their Catilines were proclaiming treason in our fed- 
 eral halls, cheered by hosts of co-conspirators. 
 
RECENT CORRESPONDENCE. 285 
 
 Oh, saddest day in all the history of governments. 
 What ! a nation — our nation — our dear beloved republic — torn 
 asunder and robbed in full view of delighted European mon- 
 archies. And Freedom wept, crying, "Is there none to save?" 
 
 From the fresh, green prairies of Illinois an honest man, 
 elected by an honest majority of his fellow-citizens, stood on 
 the steps of the nation's capitol and took a solemn oath to 
 support the constitution and maintain the integrity of the 
 states. 
 
 The imbecile wail of his predecessor was sounding from 
 the lakes to the gulf — "Gone, but no power to bring them 
 back." While from the mouths of a battery of rebel artillery, 
 trained on Fort Sumter, seventy-five thousand men of the 
 North sprang into line in a day and took up the gauntlet, say- 
 ing, "We will see about that." And the war was on. 
 
 Thus we were brought to the opening of one of the 
 most v^^onderful tragedies in history; great in the magnitude 
 of issues involved; great in the number and character of the 
 men engaged ; great in the rapidity with which loyal citizens 
 came from workshops and farms to be schooled in' the art of 
 war amidst the smoke of battle, under the very guns of the 
 enemy; and greater still, in the tracings we can see of the 
 finger of God guiding it all. 
 
 In all this, history furnishes no parallel; the great civil 
 war in England was waged for sixteen years, draining the 
 blood of her noblest families to determine the absorbing 
 question whether the occupant of the throne should wear the 
 red or the white rose. Ours was for national existence. 
 It was not to disturb slavery in the Southern States. Under 
 the constitution we had no right to do that, and the recruiting 
 officer who would have avowed that could not have raised 
 a company. The masses in the North were not prepared for 
 the abolition of slavery. If it were wrong the South was 
 responsible. They said, "We are not our brother's keeper." 
 They did not recognize the brotherhood of man set forth in 
 the invocation in that prayer universal given to all races of 
 
286 RECOLLECTIONS OF A CAVALRYMAN. 
 
 men — ''Our Father — which art in Heaven." It was not given 
 to nations to inherit immortality, nor did Heaven provide a 
 divine sacrifice for the sins of a commonwealth. Yet nations, 
 as well as men, must bow to that divine law, "Without the 
 shedding of blood there is no remission of sins." 
 
 Lincoln became immortal when he penned the proclama- 
 tion of freedom, but that proclamation had first to be written 
 by the points of a hundred thousand bayonets dripping with 
 our dearest blood. Had we been successful in the beginning 
 and gained the battle of Bull Run, we might have crushed the 
 rebellion then, but God's purpose would not have been accom- 
 plished. The first two years were required to prepare us, not 
 only for the war but for the results of the war. 
 
 Our armies were composed for the most part of brave 
 men but they were undisciplined. Our officers were intelligent 
 but inexperienced. Repeatedly defeated in the east and oper- 
 ating without] system in the west, we were becoming discour- 
 aged. Our friends were beginning to fear for us, while our 
 detractors resolved that the war was a failure, and began plot- 
 ting treason in the North against us. Foreign nations whose 
 commerce was interrupted became impatient and proposed to 
 recognize the Confederacy. "Man's extremity became God's 
 opportunity." When we were prepared to have the rebellion 
 crushed upon the terms of the Almighty, He brought forward 
 the man. We saw him coming from Belmont, with dyed gar- 
 ments from Shiloh. His path was by the way of Donelson 
 and Vicksburg and his footsteps shook a continent. He 
 reached our right flank at Chattanooga and stepped to our 
 front in the Wilderness. The days of our wavering were 
 past. With a sublime faith in God, in the justice of his cause, 
 and in himself, he threw his veteran legions on the battle 
 front and grimly proclaimed amidst the thunder of his artil- 
 lery, "I will fight it out on this line if it takes all summer." 
 That blast upon his bugle horn was worth a thousand men. 
 Drawn by the attraction of his genius kindred spirits came to 
 his aid. 
 
RECENT CORRESPONDENCE. 287 
 
 Thomas, with the invincible will of a Wellington, grap- 
 pled with the enemy and overthrew him on the bloody fields 
 of Franklin and Nashville. Sheridan, with the irresistible 
 dash of a Charlemagne, swept the valley of the Shenandoah, 
 while Sherman rivaled Xenophon in his grand march to the 
 sea, and gave to history a grander Anabasis. 
 
 The roll of the drum and the clash of the saber were 
 hushed on the fields of Virginia and the two great leaders 
 of the opposing armies met beneath that famous apple tree; 
 a sword and a pen lay on the table between them, for their 
 work was done. And the flag that floated in majesty over 
 them— thank God — was the Stars and Stripes. 
 
 The war was over but our nation was torn and bleeding ; 
 cities and villages of the South sacked and lying in ashes. 
 Blackened belts leading to battle fields marked the pathway of 
 armies. Flocks of expectant buzzards were floating slowly on 
 the poisoned air, or half asleep, were perched on deadened 
 trees — waiting ; half of the country exhausted and prostrate : the 
 channels of peaceful industry broken and destroyed. Twelve 
 hundred thousand of the young men of the nation under arms, 
 drilled in the art of war, but almost strangers to the arts of 
 peace. The timid said, when these lawless men were turned 
 loose upon an unprotected county, its ruin would be complete. 
 I have stood on deck, in mid-ocean, and watched the 
 angry billows when lashed into fury by a storm. I have stood 
 upon the trembling shore when the storm had spent its fury, 
 and watched the surging waves come hissing landward, and I 
 thought that every living thing would be submerged. But 
 they came and broke away upon the reclining sand, and the 
 air was purified and th^ grass made green by the fresh vigor 
 of the dissolving spray. Even so were these great armies dis- 
 solved, and the communities gained new life and energy as the 
 soldier became absorbed into the better citizen through the 
 gentle influences of loving homes. 
 
 Our ranks were not filled, like most of the armies of 
 Europe, with thriftless adventurers who enter the service to 
 
288 RECOLLECTIONS OF A CAVALRYMAN. 
 
 hedge against the bitter dividends of a profigate youth, whose 
 bravery is often the result of the low estimate they place upon 
 a disappointed life. 
 
 A southern paper, describing the bloody repulse of the 
 Union army at Fredericksburg, spoke of the gallant charge of 
 a Wisconsin regiment whose color-sergeant fell mortally 
 wounded on the front of his line, close to their breast-works. 
 When his command was driven back he raised upon his elbow, 
 but could not follow. Taking something from his breast, he 
 held it, looking while his life-blood oozed away. When buria' 
 squads went out to gather up the dead, they found a great. 
 strong man, with bronzed cheek and bearded face. In one 
 hand he still grasped the colors of <his regiment ; in the other, 
 a little letter, on which his eyes were fixed with tenderest 
 gaze, for on that sheet was written in a childish hand : 
 
 "I love you, papa." 
 
 This was the kind of blood shed on our battle-fields, that 
 made the war so costly. In all nations, "the bravest are the 
 tenderest," and the poet sings : 
 
 ''Go watch the foremost ranks in danger's wild career, 
 Be sure the hand most daring there, 
 Has wiped away a tear." 
 
 Never were such vast armies on both sides bound by so 
 many loving and refined ties at home. Scarce a bullet struck 
 a soldier but broke a woman's heart. I look upon the sweet 
 faces before me now, all radiant with beauty and lovely as 
 the flowers they bear. Visions of a quarter of a century rise 
 before me. I see once more the bright, sweet faces which 
 smiled so proudly on us then, making us feel we had a land 
 worth fighting for. And I say it now, in loyal faithfulness to 
 the dear girls who brought us flowers then, that their forms 
 were just as beautiful, their faces just as lovely, their eyes 
 just as bright and their hearts just as warm as the fair ones 
 whose presence cheers us today. 
 
 As a nation we entered the war without supplies, and 
 
RECENT CORRESPONDENCE. 289 
 
 with neither money nor credit. Necessity taugiht us self-help. 
 We placed a tariff upon such articles as we could produce at 
 home. This encouraged manufacturing — foreign capital and 
 labor came to our assistance. Our own capitalists joined in 
 developing our own resources. Our towns became busy work- 
 shops, and our lands were opened to furnish supplies. The 
 shoddy clothing bought in England and France for our first 
 soldiers gave way to substantial goods made from our own 
 material in our own factories and paid for with our own 
 greenbacks. The old Austrian muskets which we used for two 
 years — to get whipped with — were changed for improved 
 weapons of our own invention made from the best material 
 from the factories of New England. The lead we used came 
 from our own mines, the powder from our own laboratories. 
 We created a navy of iron-clads and monitors upon new prin- 
 ciples which revolutionized the navies of the world. The 
 churches and loyal women gave us the Sanitary Commission, 
 bringing such food and clothing as the sick and wounded 
 needed, and ministering io their wants with a tender devotion 
 such as none but woman knows. This came as a blessing to 
 the soldier then, and in the good fellowship it produced 
 among the churches has remained a blessing ever since. Thus 
 Victory leading gentle Peace came to us at last by the light 
 of workshops and forges, where weary men sweat ; guided by 
 the hum of sewing machines, where patient women toiled ; 
 starting from the altars of the churches, where devoted moth- 
 ers prayed. A carpet of grass now covers the rifle pits which 
 marked our battle line. And a mantle of charity is being 
 woven over the bitterness of the past. 
 
 The recent ovation to the fallen southern chieftain was 
 given as a farewell to the principle they fought for. In its 
 place there remains only a sentiment of the heart, fitly repre- 
 sented in their own minds, by that frail old man — the last of 
 his race — whom they wished to look upon once more and 
 show to their children as the hero of the future novelis-t who 
 
 19 
 
290 RECOLLECTIONS OF A CAVALRYMAN. 
 
 will weave golden threads of romance into tales of the strug- 
 gle of a brave people for a lost cause. And I would scarcely 
 ohide them for showing that strange faithfulness of the 
 human heart which prompted them to cling to the idol which 
 betrayed and ruined them. Some of their orators use lan- 
 guage which their calmer moments would condemn, but they 
 are Americans, and I would rather have them err on the side 
 of arrogance than exhibit a cringing weakness. We learned 
 to know them as a brave and generous people, whose faults 
 were chiefly the outgrowth of the vicious institution they 
 fought to perpetuate. They are now thanking God, with us, 
 that the nation is free and reunited. My comrades, we were 
 guided in a way we knew not, to become the ministers of God, 
 in unfolding his designs to the nations, and those who sleep, 
 his priests, inasmuch as they gave their lives for human lib- 
 erty and their country's redemption. We are not blind to the 
 faults which make us unworthy of this exaltation. We do 
 not forget the moral wounds received from an enemy w'hose 
 darts were more to be dreaded than the bullets of an open 
 foe, for which our government — at least — with all its grateful 
 liberality, can make no provision. But partial evil must yield 
 to universal good, and when the mellow light of the future 
 shall cast a halo of romance upon the armies of the Union, 
 our children's children, with partial judgment, it may be, will 
 give us more credit than we deserve, but it will inspire within 
 their hearts an honest pride of ancestry and teach them a 
 proper self-respect which we hope will make them ever ready 
 to uphold their own and their country's honor. 
 
 My countrymen, the past is secure with all its stirring 
 memories. But w'hat of the future? We who once did some- 
 thing to save the republic may be pardoned for our anxiety 
 when we see signals of danger. 
 
 The unnatural impetus which our war gave to foreign 
 immigration has continued. From thirty millions we have 
 reached sixty millions of people. The demand for labor has 
 been more than supplied. We are subjected to an influx of 
 
RECENT CORRESPONDENCE. 29I 
 
 population coming faster than we can absorb and Americanize. 
 The channels of distribution have become clogged, hordes 
 of beings, strangers to our language and customs, are crowd- 
 ing our great cities, and remain today as a foreign and undi- 
 gested substance in the stomach of the nation. We k'vied a 
 tax upon foreign imports to protect our native industries. I 
 submit, my fellow-citizens, whether it would not be wise to 
 place a tariff upon foreign immigration, to protect our native 
 labor. A nation's first duty is to its own citizens. A proper 
 per capita tax levied upon every immigrant over ten years of 
 age would go far to protect us against a very dangerous class, 
 while it would exclude but few who would be of any value to 
 us. New York today is politically a foreign city, controlled by 
 foreign elements whose leaders divide their time between rob- 
 bing the government they live in and plotting mischief against 
 the countries they came from. Our laws protect us against 
 the importation of infectious diseases, but we have no quaran- 
 tine against pauperism and moral leprosy. Ocean steamers 
 have been receiving subsidies from foreign corporations by 
 which their useless and criminal classes have been shipped to 
 our shores like cattle, and distributed among our great cities 
 at five and six dollars a head. Here is the origin of our labor 
 troubles today. They come from under an oppression which 
 has squeezed the higher aspirations of manhood out of them 
 and left a residuum of sullen defiance to all wholesome 
 restraint. Strangers to any kindness ever shown them, they 
 come filled with a spirit of communism and atheism, and look 
 upon capital, law and labor with equal disgust. Their fanati- 
 cism has become epidemic, infecting the whole system of 
 American labor, until capital has been driven from the chan- 
 nels of. trade to seek safety in the vaults of the banks and the 
 bonds of government. 
 
 But this evil bears a more poisonous fruit which ripens 
 at our elections. By our too liberal franchise t'hey are given 
 the right to vote before they have a care except to see how 
 much they can get for their votes. In this way our whole sys- 
 
292 RECOLLECTIONS OF A CAVALRYMAN. 
 
 tern has been brought into such contempt that within the past 
 year in our own state desperate men have attempted to rape 
 the ballot-box — smother the voice of the majority, check the 
 legislation of the state and defy the people's will. Self- 
 preservation is the first law of nations. In all nations the 
 man who destroys or endangers the life of the sovereign is 
 deemed worthy of death. Who is our sovereign? In whom 
 rests the supreme power of this republic? The blood of those 
 we meet to honor today was shed to determine that. When 
 we laid down our arms, my comrades, we thought that ques- 
 tion settled. On behalf of the veterans living today, and in 
 the names of the fallen ones whose graves will be fragrant 
 with flowers tonight. I ask, what should be done with the 
 man or men who would dare thus to over-ride the will of the 
 majority? My surprise that they can be found is exceeded by 
 my amazement that they go unpunished. Is there not danger 
 that a nation may become too refined to punish crime? The 
 men who tamper with the ballot-box are not behind Jeff Davis 
 in treason. He defied the majority — they changed it. He 
 openly stabbed; they secretly poisoned our sovereign. His 
 power to harm us is gone, but they are at large with the 
 poison still within their reach. My countrymen, let us not be 
 deceived. The future assassin of our republic will not her- 
 ald his approach by artillery in the harbor of Charleston. The 
 old guard will soon be gone. Each year transfers thousands 
 from the march to the camping ground. Within the past year 
 a platoon of thirteen from our own camp-fire have fallen by 
 the way. We will soon turn over our colors to these younger 
 men. of another generation, and we pray you to remember 
 that between right and wrong there is an eternal conflict ; that 
 the picket posts of the nation can never be withdrawn nor 
 neglected. Preserve the flag unsullied that we have loved and 
 tried to make the embodiment of all that is good in govern- 
 ment. You are proud of it. You admire its beautiful design. 
 To you it is tlie emblem of your nationality. To us it is more 
 than that. We look upon its starry field and remember the 
 
RECENT CORRESPONDENCE. ^93 
 
 long, weary nights we marched or lay unsheltered in the 
 swamps of Georgia, and stood on picket posts on the lonely 
 mountains of Virginia, when we listened at midnight to the 
 wild scream of the catamount in the jungles, and watched the 
 morning star at it rose over the camp of the enemy and 
 seemed to our strained and weary eyes to vibrate among the 
 branches of the distant trees, and we could scarcely tell 
 whether it was one of the friendly stars of heaven or a signal 
 from the magazines of hell. And those stripes with their crim- 
 son hue, in them we see the stains of our brothers' blood and 
 some of us, our own. And those bands of white, how pure 
 they look. Why not? They were washed by our mother's tears. 
 Glorious emblem of liberty. I see it in memory borne by our 
 blue battalions marching to the sea : I hear once more the joy- 
 ful shout of the captive escaped from frightened prison guards 
 as, coming to meet us, they hail it in the distance. I listen 
 again to the hallelujahs of a race no longer slaves as they wel- 
 come it, the herald of coming freedom. And long as it floats 
 over mountains and shipmasts may our loyal descendants bring 
 flowers on this day to commemorate its costly coloring. 
 
 On occasions like this there is a holiness in flowers. 
 They come to us as angels from the realm of nature to give 
 expression to our tenderest sympathies. They are the mute 
 companions of our purest thoughts; their petals open to the 
 breath of sighs and drink in nourishment from our falling 
 tears. They are the stars which shine beneath us and by their 
 fragrance give us thoughts of heaven, inspiring in our waver- 
 ing breasts by their perennial bloom, faith in a second life, a 
 hope of immortality. 
 
 "We bring fresh flowers to soothe the captive's cell ; 
 We clothe in flowers the altars where we pray, 
 
 We deck the bride beneath the marriage bell, 
 And strew the graves where rest our de-arest clay." 
 
 Then 
 "Let us gather a wreath from the garden bowers, 
 
 And cover our comrades' graves with flowers." 
 
294 RECOLLECTIONS OF A CAVALRYMAN. 
 
 ADDRESS GIVEN JUNE 8, 1899, AT MEMORIAL 
 SERVICES AT CAMP CHASE, OHIO. 
 
 For the Confederate Dead. 
 
 My Friends : It is easy to hate our enemies. It is natu- 
 ral to retain a spirit of enmity against those who have in- 
 jured us. 
 
 It is the mission of Christianity to give us lessons of for- 
 giveness ; and the Son of God came from heaven to teach us 
 not only to forgive our enemies but to love them. 
 
 In this, there is an inference that we ourselves may have 
 given cause to make enemies, and that there is something good 
 and lovable even in those who differ from us. 
 
 It is not our province to discuss the cause of our civil 
 war. It is enough for us to know that these men buried here 
 were innocent. It cannot be traced to the men who took the 
 field on either side. Its origin was embodied in the constitu- 
 tion and grew out of the unfortunate existence of slavery 
 when it was formed, and came down to us through nearly a 
 century of bitter legislative contention and was finally dis- 
 posed of in that bloody court of which we and they formed 
 a part. 
 
 During all this time the social relations between the sec- 
 tions became less and less cordial and the business intercourse 
 more and more strained. 
 
 We cultivated the habit of belittling all that was good and 
 magnified all that was bad in each other, so that when the con- 
 test came it was a struggle between the so-called mechanics 
 and small-fisted farmers of the North and the domineering 
 slave drivers of the South. 
 
 The war brought destruction and left untold sorrow, but 
 it cleared away the obstacles to a better knowledge of each 
 other. 
 
 Our former impressions were entirely upset by the won- 
 derful courage and nobleness of character displayed on both 
 sides. 
 
RECENT CORRESPONDENCE. 295 
 
 Never were armies composed of men more earnest in 
 their efforts, intensified if possible during the last two years 
 as the forces of the South were driven back to become the de- 
 fenders of their homes against the increasing strength of a 
 powerful invading army. 
 
 It is little wonder that the women of the South whose 
 homes were ruined, and the women of the North whose sons 
 lie scattered in unknown graves should retain a feeling of 
 bitterness. Heart wounds were given which saddened the 
 life of a generation, and have magnified the task of conciliation 
 which the best men and women on both sides have under- 
 taken and which these floral tributes to the Confederate dead 
 today are designed to promote. 
 
 On occasions like this we feel there is a holiness in flow- 
 ers. They are the mute companions of our purest thoughts 
 and give expression to our tenderest sympathies. They are 
 angels from the realm of nature employed to bear our mes- 
 sage of affection to the dead. 
 
 The fraternal spirit which prompts our presence here 
 today is the harbinger of a time when the American people 
 will gather annually, bringing the roses of the North and the 
 magnolia blossoms of the South as a tribute to American val- 
 or, to strew on the grave of every soldier who fell in battle 
 or died in prison for a cause which he had been taught from 
 pulpit and from family altar to believe was right. 
 
 We do not need to approve the cause they defended but 
 we honor the courage they displayed. I look upon our good 
 president, Mr. McKinley of Ohio, Gen. Jno. B. Gordon of 
 Georgia and Gen. Joe Wheeler of Alabama as the inspired 
 prophets of reconciliation, and I will include the noble com- 
 pany of ex-confederate soldiers of Kentucky who recently 
 united in sending a floral shield containing the banner of stars 
 and stripes born aloft by the supporting arms of the Blue and 
 Gray as their contribution to our Memorial day. 
 
 It may be that the spirits of those we desire to honor are 
 far beyond the reach of these tokens of our remembrance but 
 
296 RECOLLECTIONS OF A CAVALRYMAN. 
 
 like the influence of prayer, the act will serve a benediction 
 to ourselves and prompt us in the spirit of that heroic poem 
 at Gettysburg *'to highly resolve to dedicate ourselves anew 
 to the work" of healing the wounds and cementing the bonds 
 that unite our common country. 
 
 It should be the mission and first duty of every lover of 
 his country to encourage social and business intercourse be- 
 tween the sections, that we may become better acquainted 
 with and appreciate the good qualities of each other. 
 
 I have mingled much with the people of the South and 
 have a high regard for them. They trace with just pride their 
 descent from the Clans of Scotland, the Cavaliers of England 
 and Huguenots of France. Coming down through one hun- 
 dred and fifty years almost unchanged by immigration which 
 they never courted, they have contributed their full share to 
 the development of a distinctive type of American character 
 which leads the Saxon race in courage, oratory and invention. 
 
 Their mode of life made them courtly and hospitable. 
 Their gallantry and pride made them elegant and brave. They 
 had been educated to believe that their peculiar institution 
 was right, that it had the protection of the constitution, and 
 tlie sanction of the divine law. When the crisis came they 
 flew to arms to maintain their view of the constitution even at 
 the expense of the Union, while we of the North took up 
 arms to preserve the Union even at the risk of the 
 constitution. 
 
 We frankly concede to the South all that they claim in 
 the way of fortitude and courage. That their field marshals 
 were unsurpassed in history; that their field and line officers 
 were gallant gentlemen and that the rank and file of their ar- 
 mies displayed courage and endurance which added lustre to 
 the American character. 
 
 We do not forget, however, that they were met on more 
 than a hundred battle fields and finally vanquished' by armies, 
 also American, greater and better equipped, it is true, but 
 
RECENT CORRESPONDENCE. ^97 
 
 composed of officers and men whose courage were at least 
 equal to their own. 
 
 The result of the struggle has sealed the fate of slavery 
 throughout the world, but the greatest blessing it brought 
 to the South was the liberation of thd white race and the re- 
 moval of the embargo that slavery had placed upon south- 
 ern development. All classes frankly admit that they would 
 not leave the Union now nor reinstate slavery if they could. 
 They met their reverses without humiliation like a brave 
 people, and when nothing was left of their former life they 
 began anew without a murmur, proud of their pride and their 
 poverty. They never ceased to be loyal to themselves and 
 their traditions and cherish with a natural and pardonable 
 pride the memory of their fallen heroes and loved ones, and 
 although they feel, as many of us do, that the extension of 
 the franchise to the ex-slaves was premature and the cause 
 of nearly all thein later troubles, yet they have shown during 
 the Spanish war that they are no less loyal to the Stars and 
 Stripes then we are. More than this it would be ungenerous 
 for us to ask. 
 
 For more than one hundred years after the defeat of 
 the last of the Stuarts on Culloden's bloody field the faithful 
 Highlanders cherished the memory of their fallen prince. 
 Their war-like songs even yet express loyal devotion to Royal 
 Charlie. Yet those Highland Clans are among the most loyal 
 to their queen today and her most trusted defenders, and it 
 was the mounted grandsons of the tartaned followers of the 
 Stuarts, who shattered Napoleon's old guard and sealed the 
 fate of Waterloo. 
 
 A broad and generous fraternity is the lesson for us all 
 today. 
 
 Our brothers of the South are working manfully to meet 
 the new conditions which confront them. In the olden time 
 "Cotton was King", and their ample source of wealth, their 
 climate and soil combined to produce a cotton which gave 
 
298 RECOLLECTIONS OF A CAVALRYMAN. 
 
 them the markets of the world. They feared no competi- 
 tion and sought no other industry. 
 
 The vast resources of their heaven-favored land lay 
 dormant. The magic voice of a hundred mountain streams 
 had been calling for generations "There is a power in me. 
 Come build your mills by my side and I will spin and weave 
 your cotton at home." The unmelted iron in unnumbered 
 hills had been calling, ''There is a power in me ; come with 
 your skilled labor and build furnaces and rolling mills and 
 I will make your towns and cities centers of industry and 
 wealth." The testimony of the marble rock was added, say- 
 ing, "There is a power and beauty in me. Come with your 
 artists and chisels and I will help to bring elegance and re- 
 finement to your homes." 
 
 The weary slave of the cotton field as he leaned for rest 
 on his hoe, had no ear attuned to hear these voices. The 
 easy going master as he rode to the hunt or the races, might 
 perhaps have heard but he cared not to listen, and the years 
 went by in wasteful idleness till the struggle came and all 
 was changed. After thirty years of bitter training, a new 
 South has stepped into the arena of industry as our com- 
 petitor. 
 
 Capital and skill have gone to the aid of their new born 
 energy. The voices of nature have been listened to. The 
 music of four hundred thousand spindles is heard in the 
 cotton mills of Georgia, and a new brand of goods has been 
 introduced into the markets of Boston and Liverpool. The 
 furnaces of Alabama are competing with those of Pennsyl- 
 vania in the market of Pittsburg. The marble quarries of 
 Tennessee rival those of Vermont in the markets of the 
 North and have recently sent some of their products to the 
 ports of Italy. 
 
 Phoenix like, out of the ashes of their buried past they 
 are rising to a grander future and they will yet thank an 
 All-wise Providence that when they tried to tear down the 
 
RECENT CORRESPONDENCE. 299 
 
 emblem of our common Nationality, two million men were 
 inspired to offer themselves for its protection. 
 
 In the better light of a third of a century both sections 
 are learning to look upon the civil war not as a heated partic- 
 ipant in its events, but rather as a thoughtful student of its 
 results. We can now see that God was preparing the nation 
 through a sacrifice of blood to become his consistent agent 
 in the difficult task of advancing civilization in the dark 
 places of earth, and in extending Christian liberty among the 
 islands of the sea. 
 
 It was the training of the civil war that made the un- 
 paralleled achievements of the past year possible. 
 
 The sons of the Blue and the Gray fulfilled the promise 
 of their fathers when they fell into line side by side to test 
 the power of Spain. And they have divided the honors of 
 a most brilliant campaign on land and sea between them. 
 
 It is time that we bury all bitterness of the past when 
 we reflect that in the scales with which anxious nations are 
 weighing us today, the character and ability of Robt. E. Lee, 
 Jos. E. Johnston and Stonewall Jackson will be estimated 
 side by side with Grant, Sherman and Sheridan and the sol- 
 dierly qualities of both armies will be equally considered in 
 determining the nation's place among the powers of the 
 earth. 
 
 My fellow citizens of the Gray and the Blue, as we dis- 
 tribute these flowers on the graves of more than two thou- 
 sand of the nation's confederate dead, I feel that we should 
 thank God that we and they were permitted to belong to that 
 generation of soldiers who were selected to work out His 
 plans, however mysterious, for the regeneration of the Re- 
 public. 
 
 In closing I quote the language of Gen. Gordon at the 
 late Confederate reunion at Charleston, South Carolina, when 
 he said : "I feel the power of your confidence to pledge in 
 the name of every Confederate and son and daughter of 
 Confederates, the South's eternal loyalty to every cause for 
 
300 RECOLLECTIONS OF A CAVALRYMAN. 
 
 the upbuilding of American manhood, the perpetuity of 
 American freedom, the unity of the American people and by 
 all these agencies we may accelerate the onward march of the 
 American Republic in its benign progress." 
 
 Men and women of the North, we should be encouraged 
 to pay some regard to the graves of our comrades which 
 the fortune of war has placed in our keeping, to hear such 
 sentiments expressed by the foremost living Confederate 
 and endorsed by that great assembly of his comrades, and to 
 know that they would join us heartily in expressing the 
 patriotic sentiment of our great American poet: 
 
 "One flag, one land, one heart, one hand. 
 
 One nation, evermore, 
 
 Sail on, oh Ship of State, 
 Sail on, oh Union strong and great. 
 
 Humanity with all its fears, 
 
 With all its hopes of future years 
 Is hanging breathless on thy fate." 
 
 INCIDENT IN WHICH CAPTAIN BROOKS, 
 OF KNOXVILLE, TENN., 
 
 Saved the Life of an Indiscreet Northern "Drummer" 
 
 IN 1861. 
 
 While Knoxville contained a number of strong Union 
 men, the feeling generally was so much against the govern- 
 ment that early in 1861 a traveling man from the North, 
 while spending a night in the city, expressed himself so bit- 
 terly against the South that a crowd proposed to hang him 
 from the town bridge in defiance of the police, who were in 
 sympathy with the movement and could not be found. The 
 mayor, anxious to avoid scandal, had the man returned to jail 
 for safe; keeping and sent for Captain W. B. Brooks, a well- 
 known young man, who while in City College had been cap^ 
 
RECENT CORRESPONDENCE. 3OI 
 
 lain of, a military company of college boys, and asked him if 
 he could get the man safely out of the city in the morning. 
 The captain replied he thought he could if given his own 
 way. This the mayor promised. The captain then sent for 
 some local members of this old company, to report to him at 
 six o'clock in the morning at the jail, under arms. 
 
 The boys reported as directed and, while the crowd 
 was gathering, he explained the situation to the boys, saying 
 that he was acting under instructions from the mayor to 
 protect an innocent man from an excited mob, who wanted 
 to hang him. He then placed sixteen boys in line in front 
 of the jail and ordered them to load their guns with full 
 cartridges, and await orders. Then, turning to the crowd 
 across the street, he said: "I am ordered by the mayor to 
 protect a prisoner who has done no harm, and I will give you 
 five minutes to go away quietly and make no disturbance, for 
 I will order the 'boys to fire upon any who are found on the 
 ground after that time. At the end of the time given they 
 were all gone. They might perhaps have risked the caution 
 of a platoon of older men, but they would not risk the boys. 
 Captain Brooks displayed in this affair the ability of a true 
 soldier. 
 
 He afterwards entered the Confederate service and was 
 shot through the lungs at the battle of Chickamagua. For 
 months he laid at home suffering with supposed consump- 
 tion until, in a paroxysm of coughing, he brought up a piece 
 of his blouse, after which he got well. 
 
 Ever since then he has been one of the prominent citizens 
 and one time mayor of the city, and today is one of its lead- 
 ing citizens, both in church and state. 
 
 The following paper was prepared at the request of some 
 citizens of Ottawa, Illinois, to be read at the celebration of 
 the fiftieth anniversary of the famous Lincoln-Douglas de- 
 bates, of 1858. As it corrects some erroneous notions as to 
 
302 RECOLLECTIONS OF A CAVALRYMAN. 
 
 his appearance and general make-up, it is worthy of some 
 consideration on this the anniversary of his birthday. 
 
 A NEAR VIEW OF LINCOLN. 
 
 By Jonathan F. Linton. 
 
 An old acquaintance of the President. 
 
 Lincoln has been uniformly described as being uncouth, 
 awkward and abnormal, while, in fact, he was an exception- 
 ally good-looking man, being symmetrically developed phys- 
 ically and morally. He had a strong and kindly face that 
 could not but favorably impress all who saw him. He was as 
 self-possessed and easy in his manners as any man I ever 
 knew. He was without a trace of awkwardness. 
 
 It is the fashion to mourn over the fact that Lincoln's 
 only schooling was gained during a six months' term in a 
 backwoods cabin school-house, and to regret that he could 
 not have had the advantages of a university education. This 
 is taking a very narrow view of the case. Pioneer life was 
 not without its compensations. Abraham Lincoln was in 
 reality a finely educated man. His education was of the kind 
 that gave him the right point of view, and specially fitted him 
 for the great tasks that de\'olved upon him in after years. 
 Had he given eight years of his life to the primary schools, 
 four more years to the high school, and six more 
 to the university, he never could have been, even ap- 
 proximately, the man that he was, The education he 
 received during the first twenty years of his life made him 
 the peer of any man of his years in the country. It fitted 
 him to be a capable business man at twenty-one years of age, 
 an influential politician when twenty-three and a most use- 
 ful member of the State Legislature at twenty-five— having 
 been elected to that body as a Whig by a large majority in 
 a Democratic district. He served three terms in succession. 
 He was the Whig candidate for speaker during the last two 
 
RECENT CORRESPONDENCE. 3O3 
 
 terms. He opposed all pro-slavery measures while in the 
 Legislature. 
 
 When thirty-one he was chosen to represent his party 
 throughout the state on the stump in opposition to Douglas, 
 who then was the acknowledged champion of the Democrats ; 
 and then again two years later. He acquitted himself so 
 well in these contests that the people sent him to Congress 
 in 1846, when thirty-seven years of age, to represent a dis- 
 trict that, normally, was largely Democratic. He was the only 
 Whig representative from Illinois in Congress at that time. 
 President Fillmore, in 1849, tendered him the Governorship 
 of Oregon, then a territory, which he declined. During those 
 years he was the acknowledged leader of the Whig party in 
 Illinois and the party's choice for the United States Senate 
 twice and Vice-President once. 
 
 It is a fact that no man better endowed, through edu- 
 cation or practical experience in governmental affairs, than 
 Abraham Lincoln was ever elected President in this country. 
 No President has ever given us abler state papers, and no 
 other President has ever enriched our literature with so pre- 
 cious a gem as the Gettysburg address. With no desire to 
 lessen our estimate of the value of a collegiate education, we 
 must admit that had Lincoln been a college-bred man he 
 could never have filled the place he did in the life of our 
 country, never could have been the master of pure English 
 that he was, and never could have composed his Gettysburg 
 address. Valuable as a collegiate education is. it cannot com- 
 pensate entirely for a lack of the knowledge that comes from 
 actual contact with the world. 
 
 The people of Illinois admired Lincoln for his ability, 
 had an abiding faith in his honesty, and, in addition, simply 
 loved him. Lincoln was not what could be called a conven- 
 tional man in either his habit of thought or method of life. 
 He had respect for popular opinion, but was not ruled by it. 
 He was honest with himself and with the public. When he 
 addressed an audience he did not seek to say that which he 
 
304 RECOLLECTIONS OF A CAVALRYMAN. 
 
 thought they would like best to hear. He simply aimed to 
 give them a fair understanding of what were his honest con- 
 victions upon the subject being considered. He was a close 
 reasoner and had the happy faculty of making his statements 
 so clear that anyone could understand them. In addressing 
 an audience he never indulged in oratorical tricks of any 
 kind. He simply stood up and talked straight at the people, 
 articulating €very word so distinctly that all could hear and 
 understand. 
 
 Douglas was an orator with a national reputation and 
 knew that his friends were on the lookout for some brilliant 
 oratorical flights whenever he addressed them, and would be 
 disappointed if he failed to meet their expectations. In the 
 historical debates of 1858 Douglas seemed to cultivate ap- 
 plause, while Lincoln gave his attention to the making of 
 convincing arguments. While Douglas' hearers were taking 
 in his oratory they were losing the thread of his argument. 
 Lincoln's hearers were not incommoded in that way. 
 
 All who saw Lincoln during the last two or three years 
 of his life were impressed by the extreme melancholy cast 
 of his countenance. A man of his wide sympathies could 
 not but be weighed down by the untold suffering that the war 
 entailed. He knew that the miseries of the war fell more re- 
 lentlessly upon innocent children, women and the aged than 
 they did upon the active soldier. He knew of the mistakes 
 of some of our generals and of the incompetency of others. 
 He knew of dishonesty and grafting in many departments. 
 The Union forces met with many discouragements, a knowl- 
 edge of which to a great extent was necessarily kept from the 
 general public, while the details all came direct to him. 
 While his courage was unfaltering, he could not but feel for 
 the sorrows of the helpless sufferers. 
 
 I was through the South soon after the close of the war, 
 and at different times since, and talked freely with the 
 people about the war and its results. Not once did I hear 
 a harsh judgment of Lincoln from any one of them. I really 
 
RECENT CORRESPONDENCE. 305 
 
 believe that Lincoln's death was as sincerely mourned by the 
 greater part of the white population of the South as it was 
 by the people of the North. Wherever I went it was the 
 uniform expression that in Lincoln's death the people of the 
 South lost their best friend. Lincoln would have had the 
 courage and the ability to prevent the maladministrations 
 that characterized the reconstruction period. 
 
 THE END, 
 
 '20 
 
PERSONAL OPINIONS OF PROMINENT 
 
 MEN. 
 
 FIRST CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH. 
 Washington Gladden, Pastor Emeritus, 
 
 631 EAST TOWN STREET. 
 
 Columbus, O., Aug. 14, 1914. 
 I have read much of the manuscript copy of General 
 Hamilton's story of the war, and have found it very interest- 
 ing The simplicity and directness of the narrative, its vivid 
 reproduction of the scenes and events which it describes, the 
 absence of egotism, all make it readable and convmcing. 1 
 have been especially touched with the stories of General Ham- 
 ilton's dealings with the Southern people. If the spirit which 
 finds expression in them had prevailed in the years following 
 the war, the problems of reconstruction would have been 
 
 simple. ,j- , 1 r 
 
 The noble introduction to the volume, a soldier s plea tor 
 
 peace, is not the least valuable part of it. 
 
 I hope the book will find a place in all public libraries. 
 (Signed) Washington Gladden. 
 
 THE OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY, 
 W. O. Thompson, President. 
 
 Columbus, O., Aug. 14, 1914. 
 General W. D. Hamilton, 
 87 E. 4th Ave., 
 
 Columbus, Ohio. 
 
 Mv Dear General Hamilton: 
 
 I am very much pleased with the "Outline of Contents" 
 for your book, and as a former Brownsville boy acquainted 
 
 (307) 
 
308 PERSONAL OPINIONS. 
 
 with many, if not all of the Scotch Colony, am pleased that 
 this bit of local history has been so well written up. 
 
 Your experiences in the South during the war and after 
 the war are written up in the same easy style and make a 
 distinct contribution to the literature of the Civil War. The 
 book will commend itself to students of the future and should 
 find a place in public libraries and in colleges and university 
 libraries. 
 
 Very truly, 
 
 (Signed) W. O. Thompson. 
 
 THE OHIO STATE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND HIS- 
 TORICAL SOCIETY, 
 Museum and Library Building, 
 corner high street and fifteenth avenue. 
 
 Columbus,, Ohio, Sept. 17, 1914. 
 
 I have had the privilege of reading the manuscript of 
 some of the chapters of the "History of the 9th Ohio Volun- 
 teer Cavalry," during the civil war, by General William D. 
 Hamilton. General Hamilton has made a distinct contribu- 
 tion to the war literature. He writes a very natural, simple, 
 straight- forward story, which is both informing and enter- 
 taining. 
 
 While the main theme of the book is the history and 
 deeds of the regiment under his command, that history is 
 delightfully embellished by personal anecdotes and experiences. 
 The work, however, will not only be read with interest by 
 the friends and personal acquaintances of the General, but its 
 historical value will recommend it to the reader in general. 
 
 E. O. Randall. 
 
ADDENDA. 3O9 
 
 January 30, 1915. 
 
 I have just received a letter from comrade Wm. R. 
 Kinnear, the well-known inventor and manufacturer of 
 Brooklyn, N. Y., formerly of Columbus, Ohio, where as a 
 boy of 17 years he volunteered in Company "E," Ninth O. 
 V. C, in which he served with all the enthusiasm and courage 
 of youth until the close of the war. He says : "As a cor- 
 poral I led our advance April 15th across a swollen stream, 
 through mud and rain, followed by Sergeant Vandeveer and 
 a stronger force to engage the enemy's skirmishes in what 
 proved to be the last engagement of the war." At my request 
 he sent me a photo of himself with a short outline of his 
 activities since the war. "This has been chiefly along the line 
 of metals and manufacture of machinery for its use. I made 
 the first stamped steel ceiling in existence, and the Kinnear- 
 Gager Company of Columbus is still producing it. I invented 
 a steel rolling door, which is in general use in our cities, and 
 the Kinnear Manufacturing Company of Columbus is ship- 
 ping annually a million dollars worth abroad. I have invented 
 machines for the use of rolling mills which will save millions 
 in the cost of labor. I have received in all over 200 patents 
 along the lines on which I have been working." 
 
 Like all truly useful men he has a warm heart, and 
 closes his letter with an affectionate tribute to his old com- 
 mander, which I deeply appreciate. 
 
 W. D. H. 
 
^vS^f- 
 
I