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/ 
 
 PERSONAL EXPERIENCES 
 
 IN THE ■ • ^ 
 
 CIViL/WAR ; ^ 
 
 BY 
 
 FREDERICK TOMLINSON PEET 
 
 WITH THE SEVENTH NEW YORK REGIMENT 
 Private in Co. H, April 18th— June 3rd, 1861 
 
 WITH FIRST (BERDAN'S) SHARP-SHOOTERS 
 Second Lieutenant op Co. H, August 1st, 1861— July 8nd, 1862 
 
 PRISONER TO THE CONFEDERATES 
 JULY 1st— July 18th, 1862 
 
 IN THE UNITED STATES MARINE CORPS 
 SECOND Lieutenant, June 14th, 1862— August 31st, 1864 
 First Lieutenant, September 1st, 1864— August 28th, 1869 
 
 fifty copies — privately printed 
 
 New York 
 1905 
 
^^s. 0/!ve^ //. O^^^T^ 
 
 ^7. 
 
PREFATORY NOTE. 
 
 After much urging I have persuaded my 
 uncle to write these Recollections of his army 
 life, which I print, not so mvich as adding to 
 the history of the period, though they are not 
 without value for that, but mainly because of 
 the personal interest in them which will be felt 
 by all his relatives and friends. Such records 
 should be cherished in the family for many 
 generations. 
 
 I have added in foot-notes a few quotations 
 from letters, etc., which explain, or add inter- 
 est to, the narrative. R. T. 
 
 New York, March, 1905. 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 THE BREAKING OUT OF THE WAR. 
 
 The causes which led to the War of the 
 Rebellion are too well known to be referred to 
 by me, but there were peculiarities of the situ- 
 ation which readers of history may not thor- 
 oughly appreciate : such was the intense 
 bitterness of feeling between the two political 
 parties, beginning many years before, and in- 
 creasing in intensity until the election of 
 Buchanan and the defeat of Fremont in 1856, 
 and the election of Lincoln in i860. 
 
 The Democratic party of the North espoused 
 the cause of the Slaveholders of the South, and 
 were apparently as fierce in their hatred of the 
 Abolitionists as were those south of "Mason 
 and Dixon's" line ; and even in the Whig and 
 Republican parties, before '61, to be called an 
 
ii INTRODUCTION. 
 
 "Abolitionist" was oftcu a term of reproach. 
 I have known the time, in Brooklyn, during 
 the Kansas troubles, when the Rev. Henry 
 Ward Beecher's platform in Plymouth Church 
 was guarded by members of his church, armed 
 with revolvers, to protect him from a threat- 
 ened attack, and this during Divine service, as 
 I remember it. To show how long this state 
 of affairs had been growing, I will give an 
 instance in which my father had a part, taken 
 from the Brooklyn Eagle : 
 
 " It was early in the '30s, not long after the 
 riots in New York (sometimes called the 
 Abolition Riots, caused by the opposition of 
 many to the teachings of Dr. Cox and others, 
 seeking to abolish slavery, when the commu- 
 nit}' was in a feverish state upon an3-thing 
 like abolition or favoring the colored people), 
 that at the anniversary of the Sunday Schools 
 of Brooklyn, the School of St. Ann's Church 
 
INTRODUCTION. iii 
 
 marclied to the place of assembly, and at the 
 end of the procession of girls, before the col- 
 umn of boys, came two large classes of colored 
 girls. Immediately the committee in charge 
 called upon the Superintendent, Mr. Frederick 
 T. Peet, and said that it would never do to have 
 those colored girls march in the procession of 
 white scholars, and before the white boys, and 
 insisted that they should march with the col- 
 ored Schools which were then coming on the 
 ground. The reply of Mr. Peet was, ' They 
 are members of our School, they sit and wor- 
 ship with us on Sundays; St. Ann's can leave 
 the procession and return to its own church, 
 but those who worship with us on Sundays 
 shall walk with us on week days.' " 
 
 In 1855 I entered the Military Academy of 
 Mr. Marlborough Churchill, at Sing Sing, 
 N. Y., and graduated in 1858. I was then 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 seventeen j^ears of age, and well drilled in 
 military matters, as far as the schools of the 
 company and battalion were concerned. 
 
 The rnmbling of the coming storm found 
 my immediate family strong adherents of 
 the Free Soil policy, as represented b}' Fre- 
 mont and Da3-ton, and Lincoln and Hamlin. 
 They were not extreme Abolitionists — per- 
 haps not Abolitionists in any sense — but they 
 believed that the Territories of our country 
 were for free men, as the country as a whole 
 was free and slaver}^ only local. 
 
 After the election of Lincoln, in i860, came 
 the secession of South Carolina and other 
 States. Then all eyes turned to Fort Sumter, 
 where the gallant Anderson held the fort. 
 
 The "Star of the West," sent with re- 
 cruits and provisions to Major Anderson, was 
 fired on by the rebels, January 9th, 1861, and 
 forced to return. This was the first shot in 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 the war, and the North sprang to its feet, real- 
 izing at last that war was inaugurated. The 
 crowds around the bulletin boards of the Post^ 
 Times, Tribtine, and Herald were immense. 
 I remember how excited I felt when I read of 
 their firing on the Old Flag. 
 
WITH THE SEVENTH REGIMENT 
 AT WASHINGTON. 
 
 The Seventh. Regiment, N. G. S. N. Y., the 
 crack militia regiment, was ordered to Wash- 
 ington when it became known that the Sonth 
 Carolina troops had fired upon Fort Sum- 
 ter. In Company H was my cousin, Henry 
 W. Hubbell (who is, at the time I write, a 
 Colonel in the U. S. Artillery, and soon to be 
 Brigadier-General). April i8, 1861, five days 
 after the first bombardment of Sumter, I en- 
 listed in that company, and on the next day we 
 started for Washington. 
 
 Under command of Col. Lefferts, we left 
 the armory and marched down Broadway en 
 route for the Capitol. The ovation was inspir- 
 ing ; Broadway was blocked with a crowd so 
 
2 PERSONAL EXPERIENCES IN THE CIVIL WAR. 
 
 large and demonstrative that the band could 
 scarcely be heard. 
 
 I remember seeing some old gentlemen in 
 front of the regiment, marching ahead of the 
 band, and trying to help the police clear the 
 street. All Broadway was a mass of cheering 
 spectators, and flags were waving from most 
 of the windows ; it was an experience not to be 
 forgotten. At Jersey City, while waiting to 
 board the cars, another ovation met us ; men 
 and women shouting and waving handker- 
 chiefs, some giving praj'er-books, and Bibles, 
 and bouquets, and some ladies throwing their 
 handkerchiefs to the boys. One pretty little 
 girl gave me a red, white and blue rosette, 
 which I have just found, some 43 years after, 
 in one of my letters. 
 
 That evening, a few hours after leaving 
 Jersey Cit}', a man came down the aisle of the 
 car, holding a telegraph message aloft and 
 
WITH THE SEVENTH REGIMENT. 3 
 
 shouting my name. I took the message, and 
 found it to be from my brother William, 
 telling us that the Sixth Massachusetts Regi- 
 ment, which had started ahead of us for 
 Washington, had been attacked in going 
 through Baltimore, and many had been killed. 
 This was the first many of us had heard of it, 
 and we naturally expected a repetition of the 
 riot. Fortunately, however, we were not sent 
 through Baltimore, but took the steamer 
 " Boston," at Philadelphia, April 20th, for An- 
 napolis. She would accommodate 700, and 
 our regiment was full; and so closely 
 packed were we, that I think I never up to 
 that time had passed such miserable and 
 uncomfortable nights. The weather, fortu- 
 nately, was perfect. Of course, the rations 
 were not all we could wish, but in those days 
 we expected hard work and rough times ; and 
 salt horse, as it was called, with black coffee 
 
4 PERSONAL EXPERIENCES IN THE CIVIL WAR. 
 
 and hardtack, and waiting an hour in line to 
 get it, was taken with thankfnlness if not 
 with relish. 
 
 We reached Annapolis in two da5'S, and 
 as we came into the harbor we saw a 
 steamboat agronnd, and on it was General 
 Butler drilling the Eighth Massachusetts 
 Regiment. No time was being lost on that 
 boat b}- inaction. That afternoon we landed. 
 I was a wreck. I had not slept since leaving 
 New York, and I can never forget m}- relief 
 when the Sergeant ignored me in making up 
 the guard for the night. 
 
 April 24th we started out for our march to 
 the " Junction." The night was beautiful. 
 For a while I eujo^-ed the new experience, but 
 as the hours passed, and ni}- feet swelled in 
 my new boots, pleasure merged into weariness 
 and weariness into torture. It seemed as if 
 I had been marching all m}- life. I had not 
 
WITH THE SEVENTH REGIMENT. J 
 
 liad a good night's rest since leaving home, 
 and before we reached the Junction it really 
 seemed to me I had gone partly crazy. I have 
 had some good long tramps since then, but I 
 never suffered as I did that afternoon and 
 night. I think the distance was twenty miles. 
 I, as most of the regiment, was totally unused 
 to hard work of any kind. I am sure that I 
 did not suffer so much when, later, I was 
 wounded and supposed to be dying. As the 
 last mile was tramped, about five in the 
 morning, I could hardly stand on my feet. 
 But the Junction was reached, and soon we 
 were en route by train for Washington. 
 
 On our arrival, April 25th, we were posted 
 at the Capitol, in the Hall of Representatives. 
 I slept on the Speaker's desk, having for 
 my bed some damask curtains and Brussels 
 carpets I had found in an adjoining room. 
 
 On April 26th we were sworn into the 
 
6 PERSONAL EXPERIENCES IN THE CIVU. WAR. 
 
 United States service for thirty days, by 
 General AIcDowell. 
 
 The Capitol at that time was in a panic. 
 The Sixth Massachusetts Regiment, which 
 was mobbed in Baltimore, was the first, and 
 we and the Eighth Massachusetts Regiment 
 the next, to enter the cit}'. The rebel flag 
 could be plainh' seen flying in Alexandria, 
 and before we arrived the rebs were in evi- 
 dence, and the Union men did not know how 
 soon the}- might take possession of the city. 
 
 So we were welcomed in proportion to 
 the fears of a rebel occupation. Our coming 
 cleared the atmosphere, and the people saw 
 that the North meant to hold the city at all 
 costs. Day by da}'^ the troops poured in, until 
 Washington was a great militar}- camp. The 
 streets were cut up b}- artiller}- and cavalrj', 
 which were camped, for the most part, a mile 
 or so outside the cit3\ 
 
WITH THE SEVENTH REGIMENT. J 
 
 Our regiment, later, also was camped 
 outside the city, on 14th Street, "Camp 
 Cameron " it was called after the Secretary of 
 War. Our drills and parades called out the 
 youth and beauty of the city, for we were in 
 the pink of condition, well uniformed, and 
 well drilled, with a superb band. 
 
 In the evening of May 2 2d we were ordered 
 to be ready to march at a moment's notice. 
 Rations were served, and forty rounds of 
 ammunition. The rumor that Alexandria was 
 to be occupied was in the air, and we 
 expected to take the lead. As it turned out, 
 Ellsworth's Zouaves had the honor ; they went 
 by boat. 
 
 At I o'clock, A. M., on May 24th, we 
 assembled and marched through the city, and 
 I remember how still and white the sleeping 
 city looked. As we came to Long Bridge we 
 passed a battery of regular artillery, drawn up 
 
 [3] 
 
8 PERSONAL EXPERIENCES IN THE CIVIL WAR. 
 
 to command the approaches from the south. 
 It was commanded by an officer who, a few 
 days later, resigned and went south. He was 
 probably ready to turn the guns on us, if 
 circumstances had turned out differently. 
 
 Well, we tramped across the bridge, and soon 
 were on the sacred soil of Virginia. We 
 halted a few miles this side of Alexandria. I 
 remember taking some rails from the zigzag 
 fence and leaning them against the lower 
 rail, and dozing off until awakened by the 
 approach of a horse on the run. I raised up, 
 and as the man passed he shouted out, 
 "Alexandria taken and Ellsworth shot ! " 
 
 I do not remember whether we went any 
 further, but know that we all took a hand in 
 building one of the forts outside of Washing- 
 ton, and that the Chaplain handled a shovel 
 with the best of us. 
 
 We later returned to Washington, and 
 
WITH THE SEVENTH REGIMENT. 9 
 
 on May 31st went home to New York, where, 
 on June 3rd, we were mustered out of the 
 United States service. 
 
AS A SHARP-SHOOTER. 
 
WITH THE SHARP-SHOOTERS IN 
 THE PENINSULA CAMPAIGN. 
 
 WOUNDED AND A PRISONER. 
 
 After the return of the Seventh Regiment 
 I made application for a Lieutenancy in a vol- 
 unteer regiment of infantry which was being 
 organized up the State. Gov. Morgan was 
 a business partner of my brother-in-law, Mr. 
 John T. Terry, and would have obtained for 
 me the desired position, but I heard that the 
 regiment had been changed from infantry to 
 heavy artillery, and so dropped the matter as 
 far as that regiment was concerned. 
 
 The terrible Battle of Bull Run was fought 
 and lost July 31, 1861. 
 
 It is difl&cult for me to give you to-day an 
 adequate idea of the gloom, dismay, and 
 
12 PERSONAL EXPERIENCES IN THE CIVIL WAR. 
 
 despair which settled over the North that 
 night. 
 
 I remember the faces of those on the street 
 and on the ferry-boat ; they looked as if they 
 had been bereft in their dearest family ties. 
 Personally, I felt that nothing now was left 
 me but to go at once to the front, if not as an 
 officer, then as a private. I intended to enlist 
 the next day, for I imagined, of course, that 
 Washington would be taken, probably Balti- 
 more and Philadelphia, and possibly New York. 
 
 Fortunatel}^, in the morning affairs looked 
 better. Washington was still in our hands, 
 and we all took a great breath of relief, were 
 thankful it was no worse, and with renewed 
 hope and determination set our faces again 
 to the task of saving the Union. 
 
 Some little while after, I was coming from 
 New York one morning, and met Mr. George 
 G. Hastings on the bridge over Montague 
 
WITH THE SHARP-SHOOTERS. I3 
 
 Street. We stopped for a chat, when he asked 
 me what I was doing. I told him I was wait- 
 ing to get a Lieutenancy in the army. He 
 said he was raising a company of Sharp- 
 shooters for Colonel Berdan's regiment ; had 
 a First Lieutenant, and offered me the position 
 of Second Lieutenant. I accepted on the spot. 
 
 His company, partly formed, was camped at 
 Weehawken Heights, in New Jersey, and a 
 few days after I reported for duty. 
 
 The regiment was formed of companies 
 from many States ; four from New York, three 
 from Michigan, one from New Hampshire, 
 one from Vermont, and one from Wisconsin. 
 Ours was Company H, from New York State. 
 
 They were a fine lot of men and well 
 officered. Captain Hastings and William W. 
 Winthrop, the First Lieutenant, were lawyers 
 by profession. Captain Hastings having 
 studied law in the office of my brother 
 
14 PERSONAL EXPERIENCES IN THE CIVIL WAR. 
 
 William. His home was ou the southwest 
 corner of Pierrepont and Hicks streets, Brook- 
 lyn, so we were near neighbors ; my home 
 being on Columbia Heights, between Clark 
 and Pierrepont streets, on the river side, and 
 I will state here that the place was bought by 
 my father in 1828, of a Mr. Codwise, for ten 
 thousand dollars ; the lot was sixty feet front, 
 and ran from Columbia to Furman street. 
 Some years before I was born, the house was 
 made a double one, and the family occupied it 
 until a few 3'ears ago, living in it some sixt}^ 
 odd years. 
 
 I found Mr. Winthrop a man of exceptionally 
 fine character, and I deemed myself fortunate 
 in being associated with such company offi- 
 cers. I was soon ordered to Glens Falls and 
 Cooperstown on recruiting duty. 
 
 I was fairly successful, and on m}' reti:rn, 
 about November i, 1862, our company, which 
 
WITH THE SHARP-SHOOTERS. 15 
 
 was about full, was ordered to Washington. 
 On our arrival there we found the other com- 
 panies of the regiment camped about a 
 mile out on Fourteenth or Fifteenth Street. 
 Our men were a fine lot and all good shots, 
 as they were obliged to make a string of 
 thirty inches in ten shots at two hundred 
 yards with their rifles ; an average of three 
 inches from centre of bullseye. At first, most 
 all came with their target rifles, which later 
 were changed to Colt's breech-loading rifles, and 
 later to Sharp's, and I think we were the first 
 regiment in any army to use breech-loaders. 
 
 Our life at Washington was a round of 
 drills and instruction. Later the Second 
 Regiment was formed, we being the First 
 United States Sharp-Shooters, and received as 
 such by the United States, although after- 
 wards each State received credit for its quota 
 of Sharp-Shooters. 
 
 I-M 
 
l6 PERSONAL EXPERIENCES IN THE CIVIL WAR. 
 
 About this time I made up my mind to try 
 to get a Lieutenancy in the Regular Service. I 
 first thought of the Army, but later decided to 
 try for the Uuited States Marines. I was 
 greatly indebted to Governor Morgan, and to 
 my brother, Mr. Terry, for their kindness in 
 the matter. My cousin, Edward H. Wright, 
 son of Senator Wright, of New Jersey, helped 
 me much at this time. He was a gallant 
 soldier, first served as Aide-de-camp on General 
 Scott's staff, and then on staff of General 
 McClellau. I was greatly indebted to him 
 for his kindness then in Washington, and 
 later, when friends were needed and I a pris- 
 oner at Richmond. 
 
 While in camp at Washington I was, with 
 the rest of the regiment, sworn into the 
 United States service, January i, 1862, for 
 three years. 
 
 Waiting in Washington was tedious, but 
 
WITH THE SHARP-SHOOTERS. \^ 
 
 at last, in the Spring of 1862, we received 
 marcliing orders, and with the rest of the 
 army marched, on March 19th, into Virginia. 
 We stopped at Alexandria long enough to see 
 the hotel in which Ellsworth was shot, and to 
 see the slave pens, etc., and then camped some 
 miles to the south. 
 
 I remember an Irish soldier — who was a 
 little under the influence of liquor — was 
 going to shoot me, as he said I was an aristo- 
 crat; he was a straggler from one of the 
 volunteer regiments camped some miles 
 further south. 
 
 On March 2 2d the army took boats for Fort 
 Monroe and the Peninsula. After a delight- 
 ful trip on the transport " Emperor," we 
 arrived safely, and our division was camped 
 at Hampton, March 25th. It was a sleepy, 
 historic old place, where I enjoyed the beauti- 
 ful Spring weather, the strawberries and 
 
l8 PERSONAL EXPERIENCES IN THE CIVIL WAR. 
 
 oysters, and was as happy in my new life as 
 youth, health and a fairly good conscience 
 could make me. 
 
 Lieutenant Winthrop was a brother of Theo- 
 dore Winthrop, author of '' John Brent," 
 "Cecil Dream," "Love on Skates," etc., who 
 at the beginning of the war was one of the 
 most promising young American writers of 
 the day. He had gone South the year before 
 under General Butler, and been killed at a 
 fight at Big Bethel, a place some ten miles or 
 more from Hampton. Winthrop told me that 
 when, under flag of truce, he went to get his 
 brother's body, he met a Confederate officer 
 who apologized for being in the infantry, as 
 it was the ambition of the young Virginians 
 to be in the cavalry.* 
 
 *A letter of this period describes his first encounter with 
 
 the enemy. 
 
 Camp Porter, near Hampton, 
 March 30. 1863. 
 .... Our men have been on picket duty every day and 
 night since our arrival. We are used only as Sharp-Shooters; 
 
WITH THE SHARP-SHOOTERS. I9 
 
 At this time we were in General Martin- 
 dale's Brigade of Porter's Division of 
 Heintzelman's Corps. 
 
 On April 4th the army began to move 
 toward Yorktown. We again took the lead. 
 Our march to Big Bethel was a repetition of 
 our reconuoisance, only this time we had 
 80,000 to 90,000 men instead of 8,000 or 
 10,000. About noon, April 5th, some miles 
 beyond Big Bethel, we came to an open space 
 devoid of trees, and I saw ahead of me a 
 
 two or three are stationed with each group of pickets, ready 
 to shoot. 
 
 Wednesday night we were awakened at twelve o'clock, and 
 ordered to pick twenty men for duty and report at six o'clock 
 with one day's cooked rations. Our men, with those from 
 the other companies, made some 150 Sharp-Shooters. It 
 proved to be a reconnoissance in force. Our men were divided 
 into two parties, to lead the two divisions of 5,000 men each. 
 At nine o'clock we took the lead, each division on a different 
 road for Big Bethel. 
 
 Our company had the left wing. We skirted the woods, 
 beat the woods, traveled through swamps, got wet, dried 
 again, still saw no rebels. Our men did not give out, though 
 they were not relieved all day. Were ordered to search a 
 house, but found nothing contraband. We reached Big Bethel 
 at twelve o'clock, but the rebels had left. Our men were first 
 in the ramparts, and had the fun of shooting a rebel horse- 
 man. We, with some cavalry, pushed several miles further 
 on ; had some good shots and killed a few. Our men behaved 
 well, and received the praises of the General. ... I suppose 
 no man in the army marched as much as I did that day ; it 
 was certainly tweuty-eight or thirty miles. 
 
20 PERSONAL EXPERIENCES IN THE CIVIL WAR. 
 
 number of horsemen. At first we did not 
 know who they were, for our own cavalry 
 might have been ahead of lis. As we showed 
 up they made signs to us ; but I thought a 
 shot or so would tell the tale, and I ordered 
 the men to open fire. At the first discharge 
 the horsemen threw themselves on the off- 
 side of their horses and galloped away. 
 
 Our fire had been heard by those in the 
 rear, and soon the head of the column came 
 up on the double quick. Just then I heard 
 the long roll sounded, and discovered what I 
 had failed to see before — quite an earthwork 
 off to our right. As the oflScers and troops 
 came up, we were withdrawn from the front. 
 General Porter ordered the regiments formed, 
 but on their approach the Confederates evac- 
 uated the fort, and we continued our march 
 towards Yorktown. 
 
 The next day, in the morning, we passed 
 
WITH THE SHARP-SHOOTERS. 21 
 
 several old camps of the enemy, and before I 
 was aware of our proximity to Yorktown, I 
 heard a gun off to our right, and found we 
 had reached the object of our march. York- 
 town was before us, and as far as we could see 
 to the right and left extended a line of fortifi- 
 cations, which commenced firing. I remember 
 seeing one of the projectiles distinctly, coming 
 toward us. It seemed to me it was going to 
 hit me in the ear. It was tumbling over and 
 over. Ahead of me and about fifty feet away 
 were two or three officers or soldiers, and the 
 projectile was about to cut one of them in 
 two when the man dropped on his knees, and 
 it passed within a foot of his head and buried 
 itself in the ground, and fortunately did not 
 explode. It was a lucky escape. 
 
 Our regiment was at once sent to the front, 
 and we occupied ourselves in firing at the 
 men working the guns on the fortifications. 
 
22 PERSONAL EXPERIENCES IN THE CIVIL WAR. 
 
 Later Company H was withdrawn and kept 
 in reserve in a little hollow some two hundred 
 yards to the rear. Later in the afternoon, 
 some of the men, against orders, lighted a 
 fire ; the smoke drew the enemy's fire. 
 First a ricochet shot, which skipped over us ; 
 then came a shell, which wounded some men 
 and killed one of the best men of my com- 
 pany. I had the body carried to the rear and 
 read the burial service over him and buried 
 him then and there. 
 
 During the siege our regiment was camped 
 with the army, a mile or so to the rear, and 
 every few days it was my turn to take twenty 
 Sharp-Shooters and spend the day in the rifle- 
 pits well out to the front. 
 
 On April nth I was in charge of my 
 twenty men and was in the rifle-pits, which 
 were near the road running to Yorktown. On 
 the left of the road was a farm-house, out- 
 
WITH THE SHARP-SHOOTERS. 23 
 
 buildings and peach orcliard, our pits being 
 some hundred feet or so ahead of the orchard, 
 and extending to the left for say six hun- 
 dred or eight hundred feet. During the 
 morning I visited the rifle-pits, making good 
 time between them under fire of the rebel 
 pickets. We amused ourselves by firing at 
 the enemy in their rifle-pits, and on the fortifi- 
 cations, or behind the curtain of earth which 
 connected the several forts. It worried them. 
 Once I took one of the target rifles and tried 
 my luck at some men I could easily see. It 
 was a telescopic rifle, and I found it difiicult to 
 hold it steadily ; the cross on the end of the 
 glass moved about with every breath I drew. 
 I must have come fairly close to them, for a 
 reply came in the shape of a projectile from a 
 small rifled cannon, and passed just over my 
 head and went through the house in the rear. 
 At this time I could see a movement of troops 
 
 [51 
 
24 PERSONAL EXPERIENCES IN THE CIVIL WAR. 
 
 in front of me in the fortifications, and I sur- 
 mised that some movement of the enemy was 
 to be expected. There had been heavy firing 
 on the picket lines, both left and right, all the 
 afternoon. I sent a man to the rear asking 
 for reinforcements, but neither the man nor 
 troops came. I sent again, with a more urgent 
 report, and later heard that the reserves had 
 been sent to both mj' flanks and there was no 
 more to give me. 
 
 At this time old California Joe, one of our 
 Sharp-Shooters, came straggling in, and told 
 me of an attack on my right. Our position 
 was a bad one. We were way ahead of our 
 line of pickets, and isolated ; on our right 
 and left was a long stretch of country ; in fact, 
 I never saw any connecting pickets on either 
 side. Behind us, and say five hundred yards, 
 and to the right of the road, were two guns 
 with a slight embankment in front of them. 
 
WITH THE SHARP-SHOOTERS. 25 
 
 under charge of a Sergeant. I think they 
 were part of a regular battery ; they had been 
 exchanging shots with the Confederates all 
 day. 
 
 Soon after hearing the report of California 
 Joe I got up on the rifle-pit to see if I could, 
 with the help of my glass, find out what the 
 rebs were about. To my surprise, I saw a 
 large force had left their intrenchments and 
 were coming up on the double-quick. I at 
 once gave orders to open fire. At our first 
 discharge the rebs opened fire with their big 
 guns, and some shots passed quite near me. 
 I was standing on the top of the pits, and had 
 a good view, Avhen, to my surprise, I saw the 
 left of my line had abandoned their pits and 
 were making good time to the rear. The 
 reason was apparent. The rebs were flanking 
 them, and it was all the}' could do to escape 
 capture. Of course, we followed, having noth- 
 
26 PERSONAL EXPERIENCES IN THE CIVIL WAR. 
 
 iug else to do. We fell back a couple of fields. 
 At this time the Sergeant in charge of the 
 guns on our right approached, and asked who 
 was in command. I told him I was, and he 
 said if we fell back further his guns might 
 be in danger. So I halted the men along 
 the road and at right angles behind the 
 the fences. By this time the enemy had 
 possession of our rifle pits, and it seemed to 
 me there must have been a regiment of them. 
 I saw some field officers on horseback, and 
 taking a rifle from one of the Pennsylvania 
 men, I fired at one of them, but the arm was 
 a clumsy Belgian gun, and I missed. 
 
 The firing was now brisk. All my men were 
 lying down, and firing as fast as possible. The 
 balls came like bees. I fancy I got my share 
 of attention, for I was standing up, the only 
 figure to be seen. Musket balls never seemed 
 to scare me, while shell and cannon shot 
 
WITH THE SHARP-SHOOTERS. V] 
 
 always made me feel like dodging. Our 
 shots soon brought a regiment, the Sixty- 
 third Pennsylvania, under Colonel Hayes. 
 On their arrival the fire slackened, and I 
 asked the Colonel to go ahead and retake the 
 pits. His reply was: " There they are, boys — 
 fire!" As they were in column of company, 
 all they could do was to break ranks and join 
 my men at the fence. They poured in a lot 
 of lead, but he did not advance, and the rifle- 
 pits were never taken back until we took 
 Yorktown. 
 
 While at Yorktown, about April 20th, 
 orders came for me from the Secretary of the 
 Navy, to report at once to headquarters of the 
 United States Marine Corps at Washington, 
 for examination for a Second Lieutenancy. Our 
 men had only lately been paid off, and hearing 
 I was going North, wished to take the oppor- 
 tunity offered of sending some of their pay 
 
28 PERSONAL EXPERIENCES IN THE CIVIL WAR. 
 
 to their families. So it turned out I started 
 North with several thousand dollars in my 
 satchel. No one interfered, and I .sent the 
 several amounts to their destinations. 
 
 I reported at Washington — had onl}' one 
 night to book up, but managed to pass my 
 examination. 
 
 I spent the night of April 24th at my home 
 in Brooklyn, and was soon en route back to 
 Yorktown. I remember spending Sunday at 
 Baltimore, and attended service in the morn- 
 ing. When it was over, I stood on the steps 
 of the church to see the celebrated Baltimore 
 beauties. Some of the ladies as they passed 
 me stepped aside and drew in their dresses. 
 One remarked : "I reckon he will be greener 
 before he gets back." I was dressed in my 
 green uniform, which showed service, and a 
 nice-looking young officer I was, I doubt not. 
 
 After my return to the regiment, April 28th, 
 
WITH THE SHARP-SHOOTERS. 29 
 
 our duty went on as visual. Our trenches 
 were about completed, and the fire from them 
 was continuous. All the night of May 3-4 
 the roar of the cannon was unusually heavy. 
 Early in the morning of the 4th our Sergeant- 
 major, being on the picket-line, saw a man 
 coming in. He proved to be a deserter, and 
 reported Yorktown evacuated. The General 
 was so pleased with our Sharp-Shooters that 
 he gave them permission to go into Yorktown 
 at once, and we were the first over the fortifi- 
 cations.* 
 
 On May i8th we embarked on steamer 
 " State of Maine,'' and proceeded up the York 
 River to West Point. Being delayed there some 
 days on account of bad roads, stormy weather. 
 
 *In a letter dated that day — Sunday, May 4th, 1863 — after 
 describing the taking ot Yorktown as above, he says: "A 
 rebel cavalry ofiicer reported that during the fight of April 
 5th our men shot all but eight of one company, and our 
 bullets fell so thick upon a camp half a mile within their 
 intrenchments that they were obliged to move off, and that 
 we are regarded with the utmost fear and horror. Hurrah for 
 the Sharp-Shooters !" 
 
30 PERSONAL EXPERIENCES IN THE CIVIL WAR. 
 
 etc., we reached New Bridge, on the 
 Chickahominy, May 2ist, and thought our- 
 selves fairly on the way to Richmond.* 
 
 Our army was separated by the river, we 
 being on the right flank, north of the river. 
 General Sumner's Corps being next on our 
 left on the south side. At this time we be- 
 
 *He thus describes this journey in a letter written a few 
 days later : 
 
 In Camp at Harker's Mills, 
 "Twelve Miles from Richmond," 
 May 34, 1H63. 
 
 .... We left White House about 5 A. ai. on Tuesday, and 
 arrived at Tunsall's Station at Vi o'clock. Here we encamped 
 for the night in a dismal rain storm. We remained two 
 nights and one day. The country about there is perfectly 
 enchanting. There are little hills, deep ravines and rich 
 meadows. 
 
 You would be surprised if you could see the regiment 
 marching along, seemingly in good order, and at the word 
 "Halt!" being given, see them disappear in the woods to 
 obtain a minute's rest and coolness, for when marching the 
 hot sun is perfectly .scorching. It seems almost to knock one 
 down. 
 
 Marching from Tunsall's Station, we marched some five 
 miles that day, and encamped at Cypress Hill. Next day we 
 struck tenls, and after a very thorough day's work, pitched 
 our cani[) where we now are. Strawberries are only twelve 
 cents a quart, and very good ones at that. Sweet potatoes 
 never were better than those we have. They tuake up for our 
 want of beef and pork. 
 
 .... All day wc have heard cannon firing in the direction of 
 Bottom's Hridge ; I don't suppose it amounts to much ; at most, 
 only the shelling out of some rebels on the Chickahominy. 
 Bottom's Bridge is some three or four miles from us, and also 
 New Bridge, about the same distance in another direction. 
 
WITH THE SHARP-SHOOTERS. 3I 
 
 longed to General Martindale's Brigade, of 
 Morell's Division of Porter's Corps. 
 
 A few days after our arrival, May 27th, 
 we were ordered to be ready to march at an 
 early hour, with rations and sixty rounds of 
 cartridges. This meant business, and we 
 were up before dawn. Our destination was 
 Hanover Court House ; and after a march of 
 some sixteen miles, the Sharp-Shooters 
 skirmishing ahead of the Division, we arrived 
 at an open place a few miles long and about 
 half a mile broad. I remember, as we arrived 
 at the head of the woods the Sharp-Shooters 
 were halted. Soon an officer arrived with a 
 brass field-piece, and unlimbered just beyond 
 us a few feet ahead. I soon saw the reason, 
 for on the ridge of ground running from 
 right to left came a long line of gray-coats. 
 They were marching from our right to our 
 left. I saw the lieutenant sight the gun and 
 
 [6] 
 
32 PERSONAL EXPERIENCES IN THE CIVIL WAR. 
 
 hold the lanyard in his hand, and wondered 
 why he did not fire. But as the column 
 reached a certain point he fired and we rushed 
 forward, but the enemy had dropped behind 
 the ridge and disappeared in the woods to the 
 left. 
 
 Firing being heard on our right, near 
 the Court House, we were hurried there, but 
 too late to take part in the fight. Then we 
 were double-quicked back, and as we passed 
 the spot where we had seen the gun dis- 
 charged I saw two dead men ; one had his 
 leg cut off near the thigh as cleanly as if cut 
 with a knife, and the other was lying with the 
 face in his hands. We had no time to wait, 
 and did all possible to join our troops on the 
 extreme left. The musketrj^-firing was like a 
 roll of thunder ; it must have been the last 
 efforts of the Confederates before leaving. It 
 seems that our troops had struck the 
 
WITH THE SHARP-SHOOTERS. 33 
 
 enemy as they were leaving on the left, and a 
 fierce fight was the result. 
 
 We lost some men. Colonel Berdan had 
 two horses shot under him. Our loss was 
 considerable, but I suppose we had the most 
 men, for we remained on the field. The 
 Forty-fourth New York lost heavily. The 
 Colonel, who was an old Seventh Regiment 
 man, was badly wounded. 
 
 It seems that General McClellan had heard 
 that General Brant, of North Carolina, was 
 marching to join Lee, and he sent General 
 Porter to attack and capture him. 
 
 Years afterwards, when dining with 
 General Auchmuty, General Morell's Chief-of- 
 Staff, he told me, in talking over the Hanover 
 Court House fight, that he had been instructed 
 by the General to order General Martindale to 
 bring his brigade through the woods to our 
 right, and report at the Court House. When 
 
34 PERSONAL EXPERIENCES IN THE CIVIL WAR. 
 
 he gave his orders General Martindale turned 
 about and said : " I do not hear j^ou, sir ; I do 
 not hear you," and refused to obey. He was 
 sure the woods through which he was ordered 
 to march were full of rebs, and, as it turned 
 out later, he was right. No notice was taken 
 of the disobedience to orders. 
 
 I remember as we moved towards the 
 Court House, we lost sight of one of our Sharp- 
 shooters, a very handsome man, large, with a 
 fine, flowing beard. He did not put in an ap- 
 pearance until we were camped that night. 
 His return was greeted with such comments 
 by the men that he disappeared, and I never 
 heard of him again ; he was a coward. When 
 we were at Yorktown, General Porter said he 
 did not blame a man for being afraid, but if 
 he was, he had better go home. 
 
 The march back to camp, near New* Bridge, 
 was accomplished next day. While on the 
 
WITH THE SHARP-SHOOTERS. 35 
 
 march we met tlie Sixth Regiment Cavalry, 
 and I saw several of the regiment unhorsed 
 in jumping a stream. It was some time before 
 our cavalry was equal to that of the South, but 
 it came about in time. 
 
 After reaching camp on the Chickahominy, 
 our life went on as usual ; picket duty every 
 other day or so. The Confederate pickets 
 were not over a couple of hundred yards dis- 
 tant from us, and all our officers were ordered 
 to put on a private's blouse and take a musket, 
 as the orders from both sides were to fire only 
 at officers. The butternut color of the South- 
 ern soldiers' uniforms made it very difficult 
 for us to see them. 
 
 One day I was officer of the guard over the 
 house and family of Dr. Gaines, a fierce rebel, 
 who lived there with his wife. He had a 
 fine vegetable garden. General McClellan 
 gave him a guard to protect him and 
 
36 PERSONAL EXPERIENCES IN THE CIVIL WAR. 
 
 his belongings from our soldiers. The 
 old doctor was very pompous, and would 
 hardly deign to speak to any of the officers, but 
 I heard that some one in his house had been 
 signaling to the enemy, and I placed a sentry 
 under his window, with orders to shoot the 
 first man who attempted it again ; so he had 
 no use for me. And when, in the morning, I 
 saw our Chaplain coming from the house 
 eating some soft bread, I asked Dr. Gaines if 
 I could get some for myself, as I had had 
 nothing but hardtack for months. He re- 
 plied, with great dignit}^, that he knew 
 nothing about such things, that Mrs. Gaines 
 must be applied to. Mrs. Gaines was more 
 agreeable, and gave me a treat in the shape of 
 some rolls and good butter. Old Gaines told 
 us he would dig up the bodies and legs of our 
 soldiers buried in his garden, and throw them 
 in the Chickahominy, after our departure. We 
 
WITH THE SHARP-SHOOTERS. 37 
 
 heard that he later entertained the Confed- 
 erate officers with the wine which we had 
 guarded for him, a large stock of which was 
 stored in his cellar. 
 
 Our regiment was at this time scattered 
 over the arm}^, and our company was ordered, 
 May 31st, to General Sumner's Corps, on the 
 south side of the river. Here we were on 
 picket most of the time. I remember one 
 day placing a picket at the nearest permanent 
 picket point to Richmond, seven miles away. 
 June nth. General " Jebb" (J. E. B.) Stuart 
 made his celebrated raid around our army. 
 Passing our right wing, he got well to the 
 rear, destroyed our stores at White House, 
 tore up railroads, passed behind us, and 
 finally escaped into Richmond by passing 
 our left flank. We had all the cavalry out, 
 but he was too quick for us. 
 
 General Prim, the Spanish General, came to 
 
38 PERSONAL EXPERIENCES IN THE CIVIL WAR. 
 
 see the army. My cousin, Colonel Wright, 
 acted as interpreter. We were all drawn up 
 in review, and when he came to the Sharp- 
 shooters, he asked what those ragged fellows 
 were. Our green clothes were prettj' well 
 faded, but our rifles were in order. 
 
 I remember the night of June 24th a 
 number of our officers were in one of the small 
 forts we had built to cover the front of the 
 army, they being connected by a curtain of 
 earth. The night was beautiful, and the 
 rebel pickets were attacking all along the 
 line. One of the officers said that if he had 
 command he would attack that night ; that the 
 noise in front was made to draw off our atten- 
 tion from a movement contemplated b}' the 
 rebs in another direction. The officer was 
 right, for next da}' General Lee started to 
 turn our right, and began the seven days' 
 fight, which lasted until McClellan had placed 
 
WITH THE SHARP-SHOOTERS. 39 
 
 his arm)' on the James River at Harrison's 
 Landing. Stonewall Jackson was expected to 
 help in the matter, but for some reason for 
 once he failed to put in an appearance on 
 time. He arrived, but a day or two late for 
 the success of the Confederates. 
 
 General IMcClellan's headquarters were not 
 far off, and the next day I called on my cousin, 
 Colonel Wright. He was in a big circular 
 tent, with Colonel Marcy and Colonel Astor, 
 of New York City. That day, June 25th, 
 when returning to my company, I met Colonel 
 Berdan, and he handed me a letter which con- 
 tained my orders from Mr. Welles, Secretary 
 of the Navy, to report at once for duty to 
 Colonel Harris, Commandant of the United 
 States Marine Corps at Washington, and 
 notifying me that my commission as Second 
 Lieutenant, United States Marine Corps, was 
 in the hands of my brother in New York. 
 [7] 
 
40 PERSONAL EXPERIENCES IN THE CIVIL WAR. 
 
 On hearing the contents of the letter, 
 Colonel Berdan offered me a Captaincy if I 
 would remain with the regiment, which I 
 declined, and while we were talking the first 
 guns of the seven days' fight were heard, way 
 off on our right. I told the Colonel that while 
 I would not give up my commission in the 
 regulars, I would not leave the regiment while 
 any fighting was going on ; so we parted. I 
 sent in my resignation on my arrival in camp, 
 but it was not accepted until the army had 
 reached Harrison's Landing, on the James, 
 July 2d, and strange as it may seem, I was an 
 officer in the Army and Navy at the same 
 time. 
 
 That same da}' I saw General Hooker's 
 Division march out towards Richmond, and 
 all day long we heard his guns as he drove 
 the Confederates back. It was said at the 
 time that the Confederates started to take 
 
WITH THE SHARP-SHOOTERS. 4I 
 
 their archives out of the city ; and later, years 
 afterward, at a dinner given to General 
 Hooker in Valejo, California, he told me he 
 believed he could have taken Richmond if he 
 had been backed up by the rest of the army. 
 
 A few days after, June 29th, we were with- 
 drawn from our position; the battle of Gaines' 
 Mill had been fought and the Confederates 
 repulsed, and Porter had started his corps 
 toward the James River ; we followed. As we 
 started back, I heard some of the men in the 
 company talking about the change of base 
 from the York to the James, when one man 
 sang out, " Change of base be damned ! It's a 
 retreat !" Well, if it was a retreat, it was well 
 executed. 
 
 We marched back some miles, and took a 
 position at the further side of a large open 
 plain, such as is so often seen in Virginia, 
 with woods on all sides. Pickets were thrown 
 
42 PERSONAL EXPERIENCES IN THE CIVIL WAR. 
 
 out in tlie woods towards Richmond, and we 
 waited the attack, expecting the whole of 
 Lee's army would soon be on us. 
 
 That was a grand army under McClellan. 
 I remember seeing the men, after stacking 
 arms, quietly eating their breakfast of hard- 
 tack and salt beef, as unconcerned as if no 
 enemy was within miles of them, and yet all 
 expecting each moment to hear the pickets 
 tell us that Lee was on them. 
 
 General McClellan certainly arranged his 
 change of base well. While one division was 
 acting as rear guard, the other divisions and 
 corps were marching to the rear, so each time 
 the enemy attacked he met fresh men. After 
 each attack, the enemy having been repulsed, 
 the division or corps fell back, another 
 division being placed on some chosen ground 
 to meet the next attack. 
 
 I saw a beautiful sight that morning. On 
 
WITH THE SHARP-SHOOTERS. 43 
 
 our right was a road leading behind us to the 
 Chickahominy, our company being on the 
 extreme right and a short distance from the 
 road. Suddenly I heard a confused noise, 
 and from the road came a regiment of artillery 
 on the jump. As they came into the plain 
 they filed left on the gallop, with a rush and 
 roar of clanking iron, some one hundred 
 yards ahead of us, and when the last gun 
 came they covered our line from end to end ; 
 at a bugle-call, they wheeled into position, 
 unlimbered, and every man and horse stood 
 as if on parade. It was a fine sight; the 
 alignment was perfect. 
 
 I did not hear who they were, for our com- 
 pany was ordered off to the rear, by the road, 
 to watch the river, and give notice if a cross- 
 ing was attempted. I could see the glint of 
 the sun on the muskets of the Confederates, 
 but no men were visible. I^ater I was sent 
 
44 PERSONAL EXPERIENCES IN THE CIVIL WAR. 
 
 to report to the General, and found the place 
 vacant ; they had forgotten all about us and 
 marched on. It did not take me long to re- 
 turn, and soon we were double-quicking after 
 the division, which we managed to overtake 
 before it reached Savage Station, which was 
 on the railroad, and was one of the open 
 places I have before mentioned, surrounded 
 by woods, maybe half a mile each way. 
 Pickets were placed in the woods in the rear, 
 and here again we -waited an attack. Our 
 company was stationed near some building in 
 the centre of the field, and it was not long 
 before we heard the pickets well ahead of us 
 and a little to our right. As the firing in- 
 creased supports were sent in, and apparentl}' 
 the rebs were tr3-ing to turn our left flank. 
 More troops were forwarded, until the fight 
 became general for a long distance to our 
 left. I remember seeing a number of 
 
WITH THE SHARP-SHOOTERS. 45 
 
 women coming from the houses and wring- 
 ing their hands and crying. I asked them 
 what they were crying about, and they 
 said, " for the dear boys who will be kilt." 
 They were the wives, apparently, of some 
 soldiers of the Irish Brigade, which had just 
 been sent into the fight. They were the only 
 women I saw with the army, and how they 
 lived in camp I cannot imagine. 
 
 Another amusing incident occurred. The 
 day was very hot, and in the dust in the 
 middle of the plain came an ofiScer on a hard 
 gallop, apparently with orders. While we 
 were looking at him he was about to pass, 
 when a shell hit him, and horse and rider 
 went down with a crash, when, to our amaze- 
 ment, he got up, kicked at his horse until he 
 was up, mounted, and galloped away. 
 
 It was late in the afternoon before the 
 attack had been repulsed. I heard at the time 
 
46 PERSONAL EXPERIENCES IN THE CIVIL WAR. 
 
 that General Sumner wished to push his ad- 
 vantage, but was not permitted to do so, as it 
 probably would have interfered with the plans 
 of the General commanding. 
 
 We took up our march to the rear late in 
 the afternoon or evening. It was a beautiful 
 night, and we saw about the whole of it ; for 
 mile after mile we marched. I think I was 
 asleep part of the time. Some men fell out, 
 and a rear guard was detailed to wake them 
 up and keep them moving to save them from 
 capture. At last we passed over White Oak 
 Swamp bridge and dropped asleep. A few 
 hours after we were routed out, cooked our 
 breakfast, consisting of hardtack and pork, 
 and coffee and sugar mixed, which we boiled 
 together ; it was strong and black and no one 
 slept after drinking it. 
 
 This was the morning of Jul}^ 30th. We 
 were just falling in to continue our march, when 
 
WITH THE SHARP-SHOOTERS. 47 
 
 suddenly the air seemed full of shots — there 
 must have been a regiment of artillery firing 
 at once from the woods behind the stream 
 which we had crossed the night before, and 
 only a short distance away. At the further 
 side of the plain was a train of pontoons which 
 had just started, but the shells stampeded 
 the mules, and the train was set on fire by 
 those in charge and destroyed. I never 
 understood why it was done, for certainly the 
 trouble with the mules was no reason why so 
 much property should be burned. 
 
 We were in such an open space as I have 
 previously spoken of; where we were was a 
 mound, say a few hundred yards across and 
 maybe twenty feet high. Near by, to the 
 rear and left, was a poor-looking farmhouse ; 
 below us a short distance was the stream, with 
 its bridge destroyed by our troops after 
 passing it ; beyond this, thick woods— in fact, 
 [8] 
 
48 PERSONAL EXPERIENCES IN THE CIVIL WAR. 
 
 woods on all sides. At the first discharge of 
 the rebel artillery our men fell in as quietly 
 as if on parade ; no emotion, no excitement. 
 We were formed around the front side of the 
 mound and a battery of artillery was quickly 
 unlimbered on the top. We were with Cald- 
 well's Brigade, Richardson's Division of Sum- 
 ner's Corps, and the brigade remained all day 
 lying down at the foot of the mound. There 
 was a group of officers, General Meagher, of 
 the Irish Brigade, and his staff, and some 
 others on horseback just behind the mound, 
 and as I chanced to look at them I saw a shell 
 fall in the middle of the group ; none were 
 hurt, neither horses nor men. It was extra- 
 ordinary. Shells can generally be seen when 
 coming towards you but not when going away 
 from you, and I often thought how different 
 they sounded coming and going. 
 
 The day was hot and the plain dusty, and 
 
WITH THE SHARP-SHOOTERS. 49 
 
 the shells and shrapnel tore it up in all direc- 
 tions, but the guns as a rule were aimed a 
 little too high. I saw a shrapnel burst over 
 my head, and it tore up the ground one or 
 two hundred feet by ten or fifteen ; the 
 dirt showed exactly where the pieces struck 
 the earth. All day the shell and shrapnel 
 came from the wood ; we expected an attempt 
 to cross the river, and we were there to re- 
 pulse it. 
 
 I was lying dawn on the left side of the 
 mound when, on looking around, I saw 
 Captain Gregory, Adjutant of the Sixty-first 
 Regiment, New York, a Brooklyn boy, taking 
 the saddle off his horse. I asked him what he 
 was doing ; he said his horse was wounded. 
 He placed the saddle on the ground and laid 
 down behind it. The horse started off, eating 
 the grass, and I saw a hole in his side where 
 a piece of shall had entered. It could not have 
 
50 PERSONAL EXPERIENCES IN THE CIVIL WAR. 
 
 hurt him at the time, but it must have been a 
 mortal wound. 
 
 Right in front of me, not fifty feet away, 
 was Colonel Barlow, of the Sixty-first New 
 York, a young officer and a very brave one. 
 All day long he sat there, with the shells 
 bursting over his head. Once I saw him 
 picking his teeth while a piece of shell passed 
 over his horse's back and not a foot from him. 
 At this time General Meagher rode up ; he 
 had a straw hat on with a green ribbon — the 
 Irish colors. As he came up to Colonel Barlow 
 he said, " Colonel Barlow, you are the bravest 
 of the brave." And so he was. He was after- 
 ward a Major-General and commanded a corps 
 in the army. 
 
 We lost some men that day, but not many, 
 as the shells, as a rule, burst over us instead 
 of before us. 
 
 In the afternoon General Sumner rode on 
 
WITH THE SHARP-SHOOTERS. 5I 
 
 the mound ; for a wonder, no shells hit him or 
 his staff. He seemed half-asleep, and his head 
 was nodding. I thought at the time that the 
 staff, who were jogging along behind him, 
 must have had an uneasy time. General 
 Sumner was a splendid specimen of a soldier, 
 tall, with white hair and large black eyes. 
 
 We remained all day at the mound, heavy 
 firing being heard to our right and left, and 
 at 6.30 or 7 P. M. we were withdrawn 
 and took up our march towards the James 
 River. 
 
 After some miles we seemed to be entering 
 the zone of conflict ; we met stragglers, some 
 wounded and some unhurt. We passed the 
 remains of a light battery, two or three guns 
 and a few horses, on the right of the road, 
 apparently knocked out of action. Next we 
 came to a long pile of knapsacks, all in line 
 and piled up three feet high ; they must have 
 
52 PERSONAL EXPERIENCES IN THE CIVIL WAR. 
 
 been left there by a brigade before going into 
 action. 
 
 It was now nearl}^ dark, and abont 8 P. M., 
 June 30, 1862. Smoke hung over the ground 
 and, strange to relate, I saw the flashes of 
 some artillery going up in the air as if firing 
 at the sky. I never quite understood wli}- this 
 was done. Whether they were Union or Con- 
 federate guns we could not tell, as the fighting 
 had been very severe all da}', and the lines 
 were much broken. 
 
 As we left the road to enter an open space, 
 a man came towards us ; his face was all red 
 with blood. He shouted, " Go in boys, and 
 give them hell !" — and in we went. 
 
 Colonel Barlow at once deployed in line, 
 and as he picked iip a rebel flag from the 
 ground, shouted, " Fight as you did at Fair 
 Oaks, and that's all I'll ask of you !" 
 
 I do not remember what became of the bal- 
 
WITH THE SHARP-SHOOTERS. 53 
 
 ance of Caldwell's Brigade. The Sixty-first 
 was there, and Colonel Barlow asked Captain 
 Hastings to go in on the right of his regi- 
 ment, as he was short of men. This we did, 
 although it was the first time our men had 
 acted in line as infantry, our duty being in 
 skirmishing and picket mostly. Ivieutenant 
 Winthrop was away, and I acted as First 
 Lieutenant. 
 
 By this time we had reached a position in 
 the field on a rise of ground. Below us, may- 
 be one hundred and fifty or two hiindred feet 
 away, was a stone or bush fence ; we could 
 not tell which in the dark. As I said before, 
 the line was so broken no one knew who 
 might be ahead — our men or rebs. Just as 
 we reached the crest a voice from the fence 
 sang out, "What regiment is that?" No 
 reply being made, came, " If you do not tell 
 I'll pour a volley into you !" Captain Hast- 
 
54 PERSONAL EXPERIENCES IN THE CIVIL WAR. 
 
 ings sang out, "The Sixty-first New York," 
 when the repl}'' came, " Throw down your 
 arms and surrender, or I'll blow 3^ou all to 
 hell !" Our men set up a shout and a laugh. 
 The Colonel ordered " Lie down !" Down we 
 dropped, to let the first fire go over us, but we 
 were so near, and in profile against the skj', 
 that the rebs shot low. The flashes from their 
 muskets extended well beyond our right. 
 
 I raised up on my arms to see what was 
 going on, and a ball struck me just front of 
 my right shoulder. I thought it was the size of 
 a grape shot, and that it had struck me in the 
 breast and gone out at my back. I had no 
 pain, for when I felt it, it was over. I lost 
 consciousness ; and when I came to myself the 
 men, or what remained, were all standing up 
 and firing away at the rebs. 
 
 I called on a man to help me, and managed 
 to get away to the rear. I saw a number of 
 
WITH THE SHARP-SHOOTERS. 55 
 
 stragglers ; asked one or two to give me a 
 hand, but none did so nntil I saw a man 
 in a green coat. I called him, and learned 
 he was from the Minnesota company, and 
 that Captain Drew and his two Sergeants had 
 just been killed while ahead of his company. 
 They had crawled up to a ridge and 
 were looking over when all three were 
 killed. 
 
 This account is being written June 30, 
 1904, just forty-two years after the battle of 
 "Fraser's Farm", " Glendale," or "Charles 
 City Cross-Roads," as it is called by all three 
 names, and I have the ball in me yet. Some 
 twenty years ago it was nearly the cause of 
 my death, and since then it troubles me, off 
 and on. I think it was a round musket-ball, 
 as the hole was about the size of a dime, and 
 the rebs, many of them, loaded with ball 
 and buckshot. As near as I can make out, 
 
 [9] 
 
56 PERSONAL EXPERIENCES IN THE CIVIL WAR. 
 
 tlie ball is between my upper ribs and my 
 shoulder- blade. 
 
 I was taken to Nelson's, or Fraser's, farm- 
 house, and propped up against the house, 
 where I remained that night. Inside there 
 were some General officers in consultation. 
 
 The night was warm, and I was not in 
 great pain, except that I could only take very 
 short breaths on account of the pain in my 
 chest. The doctors took a look at me, and 
 had about decided to take off my right arm at 
 the shoulder, but I told them I had two lame 
 brothers and they had better keep me whole. 
 They said I would probably die, as I was shot 
 through the lungs, and so I concluded to die 
 with both arms on. I was told if I coughed 
 it would be the end of me, so I did not cough. 
 In front of me as I leaned against the house I 
 saw a government shoe, and in it was a foot, 
 thrown on the grass a few feet from me. 
 
WITH THE SHARP-SHOOTERS. 57 
 
 Later the troops passed the house. With 
 the Sixty-first came Company H — or what was 
 left of them — and Captain Hastings had a 
 chat with me. He left Privates Martin and 
 McCormick, of my company, to stay and take 
 care of me, as they did, and good men they 
 were. I bid the captain goodby, sent my love 
 to my mother — for I did not expect to live — 
 and the boys marched on to Harrison's Landing. 
 
 Next day, July ist, I was taken inside 
 the house, which I found full of our wounded. 
 It may have been that day or the day after, 
 when the shells from our Union guns came 
 tearing about the house. Our troops had 
 reached Malvern Hill and covered the top 
 with artillery. At this time I think I must 
 have been a little out of my head, for I re- 
 member sending one of my men to feel the 
 walls of the house to see if they could resist 
 the shells. 
 
58 PERSONAL EXPERIENCES IN THE CIVIL WAR. 
 
 Of course, tlie Confederates appeared on the 
 lieels of our troops, and we were prisoners the 
 morning after I was wounded. I was told 
 that day that Jeff Davis was passing the 
 house, but I was too ill to go to the window. 
 The next day, however, when General " Jebb " 
 Stuart and his staff passed, I had a good look 
 at him, and a fine-looking soldier he was. He 
 had a large, flowing, yellowish-red beard, sat 
 his horse well, and wore a broad-rimmed felt 
 hat ; he looked like a large man, of pleasing 
 expression of countenance. 
 
 Some of the rebs tried to get our men to 
 desert and join their cause, but without suc- 
 cess, although the poor fellows were all badly 
 wounded, and weak in consequence. 
 
 I think it was on the third day that Dr. 
 Skelton, one of our surgeons, who had stayed 
 to take care of the wounded, came to me and 
 asked if I knew a Sharp-Shooter o£5cer who 
 
WITH THE SHARP-SHOOTERS. 59 
 
 was going into the United States Marine 
 Service. I told him I was the man ; he then 
 said he was in Colonel Berdan's tent at York- 
 town when I came in to get leave of absence 
 to go to Washington for my examination. 
 When the doctor knew who I was, he had me 
 removed to the upper floor of the house and 
 gave me a room ; he laid me on the bed, with 
 the result that it gave me such pain that he 
 quickly bolstered me up in a sitting position. 
 I could hardly breathe lying down, and then 
 with great pain. That night the doctor gave 
 me some morphine, and I really think I en- 
 joyed myself. I suffered but little, and al- 
 though I cannot remember sleeping, yet I 
 seemed rested in the morning. 
 
 At this time antiseptic treatment of 
 wounds was unknown, or not practiced, and 
 one of the most unpleasant features of being 
 wounded on the field was that the flies, of 
 
6o PERSONAL EXPERIENCES IN THE CIVIL WAR. 
 
 which there were myriads, lighted on the 
 wounds of the men and laid eggs, and the 
 heat of the body hatched them in an incred- 
 ibly short time — a few hours only — and from 
 the eggs came maggots, about one-half inch 
 long, black, with white heads, or vice versa, 
 and proceeded to dine off you. There was 
 hardly a wounded man in the farmhouse that 
 was not eaten more or less b}' them. I remem- 
 ber seeing some officers pouring some fluid on 
 their wounds and the worms dropping out the 
 other side; I was very careful, and only one fly 
 "lit" on me, and he did not stay long; but my 
 Sergeant, who was shot in the back while lying 
 down, was badly eaten, as he could not see 
 them when they "lit" on him. This seems 
 very horrible to write about, but we paid little 
 attention to it at the time. We were lucky 
 to be alive, and were getting accustomed to 
 our environment. 
 
WITH THE SHARP-SHOOTERS. 6l 
 
 A few days after my promotion to the second 
 story, an officer of a New Jersey regiment — 
 Quartermaster, I think he was, came into the 
 room. He was a good-looking man, with black 
 hair and red cheeks, and told me the doctors 
 would not look after him as he was not 
 wounded, but that he was badly off with 
 bowel trouble. We chatted awhile, and, as he 
 left me, he seemed giddy and took high steps, 
 and in a moment fell to the floor. I called for 
 help, and soon a young doctor came in. He 
 looked at him, and apparently did not know 
 what to do. I explained the man's trouble, 
 but all to no purpose. My poor friend was 
 dying. I asked him what sort of a doctor was 
 he. He said he did not know much about 
 medicine ; but he was complimented by a 
 General officer lately for the way he cut off a 
 leg. Soon Dr. Skelton arrived, but the man 
 was dead. 
 
62 PERSONAL EXPERIENCES IN TIIF. CIVII, WAR. 
 
 M}^ trousers being well worn out, I took 
 those of an Assistant Surgeon who died in my 
 room. The}' had a gold welt on the side, and 
 I was called '* Doctor " for a long time after. 
 I maj' have taken his coat, with Staff shoulder 
 straps, but I forget. On the table in mj- 
 room was a little Presbyterian hymn book, 
 I should sa}' it was an inch and a half 
 thick, and bored clean through by a rifle 
 ball. One of the doctors had it in his pocket. 
 There was a young man in the house who 
 was quite a curiosity to the doctors. He had, 
 as the}- said, a six-pound iron ball in his 
 stomach. How they told the weight I do not 
 know. I inquired some weeks later and heard 
 he had lived for weeks and at last died in 
 Libbj^ Prison. 
 
 I remember the Fourth of July, hearing the 
 rebel bugles, and missed the old flag. Some 
 days later QuU' 6th or 7th) we were put in 
 
WITH THE SHARP-SHOOTERS. 63 
 
 wagons and sent to Richmond. We reached 
 Libby Prison late in the afternoon. I had 
 kept my revolver and tried to smuggle it into 
 Libb}', but I was searched and it was taken ; 
 also my watch and money ; but later the watch 
 and money were returned to me. I had $io 
 in greenbacks and $io in Georgia money. I 
 remember the guard told me the Georgia 
 money was as good as the greenbacks, and at 
 that time it had a fair valuation.* 
 
 *It seems proper to insert here some quotations from letters 
 written at the time to his family. 
 
 One from Colonel Wright, dated 
 
 Headquarters, Army of the Potomac, 
 July 3, 1863, Wednesday. 
 
 My Dear Uncle : — It is my sad duty to have to inform you 
 that your gallant boy, Frederick, was seriously wounded on 
 Monday afternoon while protectinj< the passage of White Oak 
 Swamp. His Colonel speaks of his modesty and courage in 
 the highest terms. He held the post of honor, and while 
 bravely defending it fell, with his face toward the enemy. 
 His comrades rushed to his assistance, but he begged them 
 not to remain. He told the Sergeant "not to mind about 
 me." The enemy are always kind to the wounded, and I 
 trust your brave boy is now a prisoner in their hands. I will 
 use every effort to aid him. In the rapidity of our movements 
 I have not yet been able to get any further news of him. I 
 pray God with my whole heart that you may receive good 
 news from your son. 
 
 [10] 
 
64 PERSONAL EXPERIENCES IN THE CIVIL WAR. 
 
 Libb}^ Prison was a large, square, wooden 
 building, three or four stories liigh, situated 
 on. the banks of the river. 
 
 I was taken up to the second story, which 
 was occupied mostly by wounded officers. As 
 I came in I saw Gregory, Adjutant of Sixty- 
 first New York. He called out, " Hello, Peet ! 
 Come and join our mess." The mess consisted 
 of four or five officers, one of whom was a 
 Bucktailed rifleman, from Pennsylvania ; he 
 
 From the Captain of his Company, George G. Hastings. 
 
 Camp on James River, 
 July 3, 1863. 
 
 .... I cannot say that there is not j^reat danger that 
 Fred's wound was mortal. The musket ball entered at the 
 shoulder and lodged in his lunjjs. 
 
 .... I had to take a short and sad leave of him, but two 
 of the Company voluntarily staid with him, expecting to be 
 taken prisoners, but unwilling to leave him without friends. 
 
 Fred was convinced that his wound was mortal ; though it 
 was less painful than manj' gun-shot wounds it made breathing 
 very difficult. 
 
 He had no important message to send home, he said, 
 except to tell his mother that he thought of her when he was 
 inaction; she was always in his mind during the fight; and 
 that he died in the faith of Christ. 
 
 .... He was a brave, frank, noble fellow. Everybody 
 liked him. The Company would do more for his plea.sure 
 than for that of any of his officers, and were aiTectionately 
 attached to him. He bore himself bravely and with coolness, 
 and encouraged others to stand up bravely in the action when 
 bullets were pouring iu like a hail storm. 
 
WITH THE SHARP-SHOOTERS. 65 
 
 had a hole shot in his head, but he seemed not 
 much the worse for it. 
 
 While my wound had been doing fairly 
 well I was very weak and growing weaker 
 every day, being also troubled with diarrhoea. 
 I could eat but little. We had something 
 which looked like coffee, but did not taste like 
 it. I think it was chiccory. We were 
 permitted to send a man to the city to buy 
 food, but, as I could not eat what we obtained, 
 I have forgotten what we had. I needed a 
 
 From Lieutenant W. W. Winthrop of his Company. 
 
 Camp near Harrison's Landing, 
 July 16, 1862. 
 .... If he is indeed gone, we who saw how he never 
 neglected his morning and evening prayer and reading of 
 Scriptures, who knew his uniform kindliness and ingenuous 
 frankness of heart, as well as devotion to principle which was 
 most marked, can fully believe he has gone to the land where 
 there is no war, no anguish, no mourning, but always rest 
 and peace. Personall}-, I was strongly attached to your 
 brother. We occupied the same tent together for many 
 months and had no differences. I alwa3'S found him generous. 
 Often has he taken my place on duty when I had been 
 detailed under some regular service or on my desire to devote 
 my time to some other business or to social pleasures. ... It 
 is gratifying to me, as it will be to you, to know that on this 
 occasion, as well as on all others in which he has been under 
 fire from the enemy, your brother behaved like a true and 
 gallant soldier and leader of men. 
 
66 PERSONAL EXPERIENCES IN THE CIVIL WAR. 
 
 handkerchief and the man brought back a 
 piece of white cloth which looked like a napkin, 
 about a foot square, for which I paid a dollar in 
 greenbacks. I was so ill with my complaint 
 that I took little interest in what went on 
 about me. Every morning the Medical Direc- 
 tor of General Porter's Corps, who had been 
 captured, made a round of the room, but he 
 never stopped long with me ; he looked at the 
 wound and passed on ; and day by day I grew 
 
 Among the official records referring to the battle is the 
 following from the report of Captain Hastings of his 
 Company : 
 
 " Lieutenant Peet of my Company, though suffer- 
 ing from sickness, entered eagerly into the battle and 
 conducted himself with great bravery and perfect 
 coolness. He fell wounded while encouraging a 
 charge of our men. 
 
 "Dated, Camp at Harrison's Landing, 
 
 "Julys, 1863." 
 
 It seems proper to say in connection with these words 
 concerning his bravery in action, that under any other 
 circumstances he would probably have been brevetted and 
 honored, but he was in the unfortunate condition of fighting 
 with the Army while he was an officer in the Navy at that 
 particular time. The Army Department could not honor him 
 because he did not belong to their body, and the Navy were 
 restrained from doing so because he was not fighting under 
 them.-R. T. 
 
WITH THE SHARP-SHOOTERS. 6/ 
 
 weaker. The doctors did what they could for 
 me (they were prisoners themselves), but to 
 no purpose. They had no nourishing food 
 and but few medicines. What could they do ? 
 There must have been a hundred wounded 
 officers in the room, from Brigadier-Generals 
 to Second Lieutenants. There were a number 
 whose legs had been amputated, and I saw 
 several with both legs off sitting in chairs, 
 looking like skeletons, shaking and trembling 
 continually. Once I heard a crash, and on 
 looking found that one of them without legs 
 had fallen from his seat. 
 
 I had been in the prison a few days when a 
 visitor was announced. He said his name was 
 Meade and he was a Captain in the Confederate 
 Quartermaster's Department. He asked if I 
 was the son of Mr. Frederick T. Peet, of 
 Brooklyn, Senior Warden of St. Ann's Church. 
 I told him I was, and he said his wife had sent 
 
68 PERSONAL EXPERIENCES IN THE CIVIL WAR. 
 
 him to see me, also that she was the daughter 
 of Mr. Sands, Junior Warden of St. Ann's. I 
 remembered then that ^Ir. Sands' j-oungest 
 daughter had married a Southerner and had 
 gone South. He was polite but not cordial, 
 maybe because I called him Mr. instead of 
 Captain, but he was in mufti. He asked 
 what he could do for me. I told him I needed 
 a shirt, as I had on my blue woolen one, the 
 front of which was stiff with blood. He said 
 he had none to spare, but offered me money, 
 which I declined, thanking him for his 
 kindness. He then left me. 
 
 A few days after an officer came up and 
 asked if I was Lieutenant Peet of the Sharp- 
 Shooters. He was a dignified, pleasant fellow. 
 He said a flag of truce had come i:p that 
 morning from General McClellan to General 
 Lee, and among other matters Major Marcy 
 had asked the authorities to find out if I was 
 
WITH THE SHARP-SHOOTERS. 69 
 
 dead or alive, and, if alive, to see that I had 
 proper care, etc. This, of course, came from 
 my cousin, Colonel Wright, who was on the 
 General Staff. The officer was not in uniform, 
 but said he was Lieutenant or Commander Jones 
 of the Confederate Navy. I think he was one 
 of the officers who was with Jeff Davis when 
 captured and who previously had made a 
 record by shelling our coast. He was a 
 pleasant gentleman, and I thanked him for 
 his kindness.* 
 
 As days went by I became weaker, as I could 
 eat but little. I lost flesh and strength, but 
 
 *From Colonel Wright. 
 
 Headquarters, Army of the Potomac, 
 July 11, 1863. 
 .... This moruing I was ordered out to meet a flag of 
 truce from the enemy. It was borne by Lieutenant Wood of 
 the Confederate Navy, a sou of my good friend. Dr. Wood, of 
 the Army. From him I could learn nothing of Fred, but I 
 seut word to Colonel Chilton, my wife's uncle and Aide to 
 Major-General Lee of the rebels, giving him a description of 
 Fred and asking that some news might be seut to us of him. 
 Lieutenant Wood assured me that all means should be used 
 to find out the whereabouts of Fred. If I should receive a 
 reply I shall not fail to inform you of its import at the 
 earliest possible moment. 
 
70 PERSONAL EXPERIENCES IN THE CIVIL WAR. 
 
 as I had a good constitution and was in the 
 best of liealth when wounded I did not feci 
 like giving up. As I remember it I was the 
 onl}' one who received visitors, at least near 
 my part of the room. Some days later an 
 officer was presented to me as Medical Director 
 of General I,ee's Staff. He said he was sent 
 by Colonel Chilton of Lee's Staff (his Chief of 
 Staff, I think,) to look after me. He said that 
 Colonel Chilton wished it to be understood 
 that it was not done on account of any good 
 feeling towards me or for Colonel Wright, but 
 solely on account of the kindness shown by 
 Senator Wright, Colonel Wright's father, 
 to Miss Emily Mason, who was a near rela- 
 tive of his. She was the aunt of Colonel 
 Wright's wife, and at the beginning of the 
 war was visiting the family in Newark, New 
 Jersej^ She was a fierce secessionist, and once 
 remarked that she wished she had the North 
 
WITH THE SHARP-SHOOTERS. 7' 
 
 on one neck and she would chop it off. She 
 was a very handsome, cultivated woman, one 
 whom every one admired, but she was the 
 fiercest rebel I ever met. But to go back to 
 the surgeon. He asked me if I was well 
 enough to be exchanged and to go North. 
 I told him I was, most assuredly. He 
 said he would arrange for my parole and left 
 
 me. 
 
 A few days later (July i8) I found there 
 was to be a general parole awaiting exchange 
 of prisoners, and I with my two Sharp-Shooters, 
 Martin and McCormack, and a number of 
 others were loaded into wagons and started 
 for the James. In my wagon was Captain 
 Stanhope of the Twelfth Infantry. As we 
 left the city a handsome Confederate artillery 
 of&cer rode by and recognized Captain 
 Stanhope. It seems they were at West Point 
 together. He was about the best looking 
 
 [11] 
 
72 PERSONAL EXPERIENCES IN THE CIVIL WAR. 
 
 officer I had seen in the Southern Army. 
 Well dressed, gauntlet gloves, coat and 
 trousers well made — in fact, he looked as trim 
 as if he had just come from parade. Stanhope 
 asked hira what he was doing. He said he 
 commanded the Washington Light Artillery 
 which was parked over in the woods, and that 
 it was a year ago that day that he fired the 
 first shot at Bull Run. 
 
 After a time we reached the steamer 
 " Louisiana " and found Colonel Sweitzer of 
 McClellan's Staff in charge. In a short time 
 we were off Harrison's Landing. Cousin 
 Colonel Wright came on board and brought 
 me some delicacies in the shape of marmalade 
 and jelly. He was very kind, and I thanked 
 him for all he had done for me, which I shall 
 never forget. I was a shadow of m}"- old self, 
 and could not have weighed much over lOO 
 pounds, for I was weighed when I thought 
 
WITH THE SHARP-SHOOTERS. 73 
 
 myself well and I only weighed about 120 
 then.* 
 
 We took passage on the "Euterpe," a com- 
 fortable steamer. The trip to New York was 
 all that could be wished. I could eat but little, 
 and as they would not let me have iced lem- 
 onade or iced water, I made it up by eating ice, 
 which was not denied me. On our arrival at 
 
 * Letter from Colonel Wright. 
 
 Headquarters, Army of the Potomac, 
 July 20, 1863. 
 You have doubtless heard that our brave Fred is alive. 
 Yesterday, through the kindness of Colonel Chilton, of 
 General Lee's Staff, Fred was sent off among the first of the 
 wounded from Richmond and is now on board of the Louisiana 
 off this place. I shall go out and see him to-day. 
 
 .... I send you a copy of Colonel Chilton's note. 
 
 "July 16, 1863. 
 "Sir : — Just received yourmemorandum respecting 
 Lieutenant F. T. Peet. Had I known of his condition 
 before, kindnesses shown by your father and mother 
 to Miss Mason would have induced me before leaving 
 the field to have ministered to his wants. As it is, I 
 have engaged Surgeon Culleu, employed in removing 
 the paroled wounded and sick, to look him up to-day 
 and send him off with the first. The doctor recalls 
 his name as among the wounded. Temporary sick- 
 ness deters me from giving personal attention to this 
 matter. 
 
 " (Signed) R. H. Chilton." 
 S P. M. I have just seen Fred on board the steamer 
 Louisiana. I find him looking quite bright, full of heart and 
 courage. Such good-natured pluck as he has is sure to bring 
 recovery. 
 
74 PERSONAL EXPERIENCES IN THE CIVIL WAR. 
 
 New York, my father and brother William 
 came off iu a rowboat, and soon I was at 
 home again in the care of my famil3^ 
 It soon showed its good effects. I gained 
 daily, and in a few months I Avas able 
 to report mj'self for duty at Headquarters 
 United States Marines, at Washington, having 
 been exchanged during my convalescence.* 
 
 *My uncle, when reading the proof of this pamphlet, dis- 
 covered that I had inserted the letters and reports concerning 
 his capture and supposed death. In spite of his objections, I 
 allow them to remain, though he says "he takes no stock in 
 all this buncombe about his bravery, etc." — R. T. 
 
IN THE MARINE CORPS. 
 
WITH THE MARINE CORPS 
 
 AT CHARLESTON HARBOR; AND OV 
 
 THE STEAMSHIP "NIAGARA." 
 
 December 8, 1862, being able to return to 
 duty, I reported to Colonel Harris, Com- 
 mandant United States Marines, at Washing- 
 ton, D. C. I remained there seven months. 
 Our work consisted mostly in drill, guard, 
 and ofJEcer of the day duty. While off 
 duty we were the recipients of many social 
 favors. As is often the case in wartime, when 
 money is plenty, and ofl&cers of all grades in 
 evidence, the social life was rather fervid. 
 Balls and receptions was the order of the night 
 and day, and our life became a round of gaiety. 
 There is to an extent a certain feeling of 
 comradeship, or clannishness, among the regu- 
 
76 PERSONAL EXPERIENCES IN THE CIVIL WAR. 
 
 lar officers of the Army and Navj', and I soon 
 became acquainted with all of the prominent 
 Regular officers, and with many in the Volun- 
 teer service. I especially recall Admirals 
 Porter and Farragut, and Generals Phil. 
 Kearney, Sherman and Custer ; also Cameron 
 and Stanton, Secretaries of War, Chase, Secre- 
 tary of the Treasury, and Vice-President 
 Colfax ; often, too, I called upon Secretary 
 Welles of the Navy. The social status in 
 those days was rather strictly kept among the 
 Army and Navy, and the old residents of the 
 city ; and we seldom met the politicians. Re- 
 ceptions were given mostly by the heads of De- 
 partments of State, War, Navy, &c. At this 
 time I remember seeing some General officers 
 of the Confederate Army on Pennsylvania 
 Avenue. They, of course, were prisoners ; but 
 the difference between our treatment of prison- 
 ers and theirs struck me at the time. 
 
WITH THE MARINE CORPS. 77 
 
 I was ordered from Washington to Brook- 
 lyn Navy Yard, July 23, 1863, which gave 
 me the opportunity of seeing much of my 
 family. 
 
 I was ordered soon to the Marine Battalion, 
 bound for Charleston Harbor. It consisted of 
 500 or 600 men, commanded by Colonel Rey- 
 nolds, one of the best officers of our corps. My 
 Captain was Charles G. McCauley, and my 
 First Lieutenant, Robert H. Mead, son of 
 Captain Richard Mead, United States Navy, 
 retired, and nephew of General Mead, of the 
 Army of the Potomac. We left New York City 
 on the steamer "Arago," August ist.* 
 
 *He describes this voyage in a letter dated: 
 
 United States Transport "Arago," 
 off Charleston Bar, August 4, 1863. 
 
 Here we are at last, somewhere between Charleston and 
 Port Royal. Our voyage has been as pleasant as could be 
 wished for, the vessel, Captain, and even the weather have 
 been all that we could ask. Most of the time we sat upon the 
 deck, for, although there are few finer ships than the "Arago," 
 yet the staterooms are intensely warm, and to-day the water 
 in my bowl was nearly boiling (literal truth). 
 
 .... To-day we descried several vessels, one apparently 
 making for us. She caused quite an excitement, for she was 
 
78 PERSONAL EXPERIENCES IN THE CIVIL WAR. 
 
 On our arrival at Charleston, August 4tli, 
 we were quartered on the different ships of the 
 fleet. I was on the " Wabash." 
 
 Charleston is on a large bay, in the centre 
 of which was Fort Sumter ; on our right, as 
 you look at the city, was Sullivan's Island, 
 with Fort Moultrie, and on the left Morris 
 Island, behind which, to the south, lay Folley 
 Island, with Stono Inlet to the south. At the 
 northern end of Morris Island, near the bay, 
 was Fort Wagner, and at the end of the Island 
 nearer Charleston, Battery Gregg, and oppo- 
 site, across the channel, nearer Charleston, was 
 Fort Johnson, all in the hands of the rebels.* 
 
 the image of tbe "Alabama." She turned out to be, as nearly 
 as we could judge, au English gunboat. 
 
 At 6 o'clock P. M., we arrived off Charleston. The block- 
 aders were all there, ready to slip cable. We stopped near 
 the " Ossipee," and gave them the mail. Guns are now being 
 planted on Morris Island. In about ten days the arrange- 
 ments will be completed, when Sumter will be knocked to 
 pieces ! 
 
 *The constant excitement in which he lived during this 
 summer, may be inferred from a letter dated: 
 
 United States Frigate "Wabash," 
 
 August 9, 1863. 
 I am at present, and will be until the assault is made upon 
 
WITH THE MARINE CORPS. 79 
 
 After a few days, our troops were landed 
 and camped to the southern end of Morris 
 Island, and we had built a line of earth- 
 works fronting Fort Wagner, at the other 
 end of the island ; and one running parallel 
 from our works to Wagner. The Navy had 
 an earthwork, armed with Navy guns, and com- 
 manded by Captain Bunce. It was called Bat- 
 tery Bunce, and manned by blue-jackets. The 
 Army was commanded by General Gilmore, 
 and had in it several regiments of colored 
 troops. Later the troops were commanded by 
 General Terry. We had a regular Battery, 
 
 Fort Wagner, on the " Wabash." Our quarters are much pre- 
 ferable to those of the Array The program for the 
 
 daily expected attack is as follows : Sumter is to be reduced 
 by I'and batteries and iron-clads, after which, or at the same 
 time Wagner will be attacked by Gilmore lu the front, and 
 by our battalion of marines in the rear. We are to lie along- 
 side of the "Ironsides" in boats. At a signal, we wiU land 
 and form on the beach, between Wagner and Gregg, under 
 fire from Moultrie, Wagner, Gregg, Cummings Point, and 
 possibly Fort Johnson, on Stono Inlet, and Fort Sumter. After 
 landing we will storm Wagner in the rear. If the expedition 
 is not successful, we will all be gobbled up or killed, for you 
 see we can not retreat, or we will get into Fort Gregg and 
 Cummings Point. The fate of Wagner will be decided by this 
 time next week ! 
 
 [12] 
 
8o PERSONAL EXPERIENCES IN THE CIVIL WAR. 
 
 commanded b}^ Gu}' V. Henry, whom I had 
 known in Washington, and Lieutenant Theo- 
 dore K. Gibbs, an old Seventh Regiment man, 
 from New York City. Our battalion was 
 camped near the sea, on the sand; behind us 
 was a high lookout built of wood, from 
 which observations of the enemy could be 
 made. 
 
 The blockading fleet, under command of 
 Admiral Dalgren, was continually at work 
 bombarding Sumter, Moultrie, Wagner, and 
 Gregg. Also the guns from our land batteries 
 kept up a continual fire on Sumter and Wag- 
 ner. After a time Sumter looked like an earth- 
 work ; the bricks, or stones, of the walls were 
 hammered into one mass of masonry. I saw 
 the flag on Sumter shot awa\^ three times. All 
 this time we were pushing our parallels nearer 
 to Wagner. Fort Johnson, just over the water 
 from Battery Gregg, was doing all possible to 
 
WITH THE MARINE CORPS. 8l 
 
 hinder our work by mortars, whicti would be 
 so discharged that the bombs would pass 
 beyond Wagner and explode over our men 
 digging the parallels. In the night it was a 
 beautiful sight to see the twinkling of the 
 fuse as the bombs went into the air. They 
 looked like stars. Up, up they would go in a 
 curve to a great height, then as slowly come 
 twinkling down, and when near the earth 
 would burst into flame, only, maybe, loo feet 
 or so beyond the fort. Such accuracy was 
 astonishing when we consider there is no 
 pointing of the mortar. All is regulated by 
 the amount of powder and the fuse. 
 
 There was a man, and a brave man, too, 
 who used to sit in a chair on the upper works 
 of Wagner every day in the afternoon, 
 apparently reading a paper, entirely careless 
 of our fire. Day after day our gunners sought 
 to knock him over, but he sat there apparently 
 
82 PERSONAL EXPERIENCES IN THE CIVIL WAR. 
 
 unconcerned ; but at last a shell or shot hit 
 him. It was while the General was on the 
 lookout watching the bombardment, and he 
 sent his congratulations to the gunner. But 
 it seemed too bad to kill him, even if he did 
 show his contempt of us by his actions. 
 
 I remember an amusing incident which 
 occurred that summer. There was a side- 
 wheel steamer called the " Pilot," I think, 
 which had been run out of Charleston by a 
 colored man, and for his pluck he was given 
 command of her. I think she had no guns, 
 but was engaged in general work for the 
 Army and Navy. The Captain considered 
 himself a Navy officer, and had a great idea 
 of discipline on his ship. So one day as he 
 was coming to anchor he shouted, " Fo'castle, 
 dere ! " " Aye, aye, sir," came the reply. 
 " Let go de starboard anchor." The answer 
 came, "Dere ain't no cable attached." "No 
 
WITH THE MARINE CORPS. 83 
 
 matter, sir ; fust thing to do is to obey orders. 
 Let go de starboard anchor." And away it 
 went. 
 
 Our parallels were within a few feet of the 
 ditch and we were ready to attack Wagner. 
 We were ordered to be ready at four A. M. 
 September 7th, and up we went, expecting to 
 storm the fort. The marines were up at the 
 front. But the Confederates had gotten wind of 
 the attack and evacuated the fort a short time 
 before our arrival. Some of them were 
 captured by our Navy patrol boats when 
 crossing the water between Forts Gregg and 
 Johnson. We soon had possession of all the 
 fortifications on the island, and then guns 
 were turned on Sumter. I think the marines 
 were the first in Wagner, for I remember 
 seeing no one but ourselves there, although I 
 may have forgotten if others were present. 
 When I reached the Fort I was surprised to 
 
84 PERSONAL EXPERIENCES IN THE CIVIL WAR. 
 
 see tlie havoc our big shells had made. The 
 
 ramparts were badly torn and some guns 
 
 dismounted, and the ditches seemed full of 
 
 fifteen-inch shells which were fired by our 
 
 monitors. I saw a pile of dead Confederates, 
 
 all without heads. They must have lost their 
 
 heads while serving the guns. I then went 
 
 into the bomb-proofs. Here I saw a dead 
 
 soldier ; he was well dressed in gray, and was 
 
 a remarkably fine looking man. He had a 
 
 gold ring on his finger, and he must have 
 
 been a man out of the common run, for he had 
 
 a splendid head and his features showed 
 
 refinement. As I was looking at him a man 
 
 near me picked up a rebel flag. I saw it had 
 
 a cord attached to it, and warned him to be 
 
 careful. I took the line and followed it into 
 
 the magazine. I presume it was expected 
 
 some of us would grab the flag and haul at 
 
 the rope and in doing so blow up the magazine, 
 
WITH THE MARINE CORPS. 8$ 
 
 but I cut the rope on seeing where it led. 
 After taking Wagner and Gregg the Army 
 and Navy turned their attention to Sumter. 
 The marines were to go with the Navy, and it 
 was a question which arm of the service shorild 
 first be in the attack. Our Admiral sent word 
 to General Beauregard to surrender the fort. 
 He replied, " If you want it, come and take it." 
 The Confederates must have guessed our 
 purpose, for they reinforced Sumter at once. 
 Volunteers were called for among our 
 officers, and all the Lieutenants volunteered. 
 Our Captain, Charles G. McCauley, said he 
 would not volunteer, for he knew he would be 
 ordered to command us, and it was so. But 
 one of us had to remain, and Mead and I 
 threw up a cent to see who should go; he 
 won, and I remained with the balance of my 
 Company. It was fortunate for me I lost, for 
 Mead's boat was wrecked at the foot of the 
 
86 PERSONAL EXPERIENCES IN THE CIVIL WAR. 
 
 fort by hand-grenades, and Lieutenant Brad- 
 ford, our Quartermaster, who had obtained 
 permission to go, was killed and all in the 
 boats were captured. 
 
 After the capture of Morris Island, the 
 Army then being under command of General 
 Terry, most of us were moved to Folley Island, 
 adjoining it to the south. Here we had a 
 beautiful Camp.* 
 
 Colonel Reynolds was then in command 
 and our camp was the cynosure of all the 
 
 *He thus describes the camp in a letter dated 
 
 Folley Island, October 11, 1863. 
 
 Saturday last we struck tents and came by steamboat to 
 this island. We are now very pleasantly situated on the 
 Bouthwestern corner. Before us is Folley River, which 
 separates us from James Island. On our left, the south, is 
 Stono Inlet, at the head of which can be seen through the 
 trees the village of St. Grieville with its white church steeple 
 and picturesque houses, making altogether quite an enchant- 
 ing little picture. Our camp is pitched on a slight eminence 
 covered with large pine trees, which afford shelter to all, but 
 to me, especially, brings reminiscences of my Virginia 
 campaign, which, strange as it may seem, appears now very 
 pleasant. 
 
 .... There is a detail of 100 men every few days for the 
 "Pawnee." I expect to go on board to-night. My only 
 objection to it is my want of nice clothes. My shoes are 
 worn out, and I am the happy possessor of only one white 
 shirt. 
 
WITH THE MARINE CORPS. ^7 
 
 army. Near us was a brigade commanded by 
 General Ames. I bad known him in Wash- 
 ington when Captain in the regular artillery. 
 One day I took Lieutenant Lowrey, one of our 
 officers, and we called on the General. He 
 was very pleasant, and before we left offered 
 each of us the command of a regiment in his 
 brigade. He said he was courtmarshalling 
 the Colonels of two Connecticut regiments 
 and would be glad if we would take the 
 command. I thought this quite a compli- 
 ment, as I was only twenty-two years of 
 age and a young-looking fellow at that. We 
 decided not to accept, as it would have required 
 a good bit of work in Congress to have us 
 transferred to the Army, and we were not 
 certain that it could be done. 
 
 While at Folley Island, about October ist 
 I was ordered to take fifty men and report to 
 Captain Balch of the "Pawnee", of which John 
 
 [13] 
 
88 PERSONAL EXPERIENCES IN THE CIVIL WAR. 
 
 W. Philip, later Admiral, was the Executive 
 Officer. She was lying in Stono Inlet 
 just south of Folley Island. They were 
 expecting an attack and needed more men. 
 I was there for a couple of weeks and slept 
 " in the country " as it was called, i. e.: I had a 
 cot slung in the ward-room. 
 
 We remained at Folley Island until Decem- 
 ber ; upon the 5th of which month I arrived at 
 the Marine Barracks, Philadelphia, being trans- 
 ferred thence to Brooklyn Navy Yard, Decem- 
 ber 9th, 1863. While on duty in Brooklyn, 
 the United States Steamship " Niagara" — 
 bound for Europe after the Confederate Cruiser 
 " Alabama " — lay off our home, in the East 
 River. She was commanded by Commodore 
 Thomas T. Craven, an old friend of our fam- 
 ily. Mr. French, the Second Lieutentant of 
 Marines, was not anxious for sea service and I 
 applied and obtained the position April 26th, 
 
WITH THE MARINE CORPS. 89 
 
 1864. Captain Joseph Baker commanded the 
 Marine Guard of fifty men.* 
 
 We left New York, June ist, 1864, and 
 were almost a month crossing the Atlantic, 
 seldom using steam and continually on the 
 lookout for the "Alabama;" speaking all 
 vessels we met to learn of her whereabouts. 
 When off the Banks of Newfoundland we came 
 upon a fleet of Yankee fishermen, and the 
 Commodore sent the Paymaster in a boat to 
 get a supply of fresh cod-fish. The fishermen 
 first thought we were Jeff Davis coming after 
 them, so they said, and were so glad to see who 
 we were that they almost gave away the fish. 
 Later in the day when the Commodore heard 
 
 »The "Niagara" was a full-rigged ship of 4,582 tons, 
 364 feet long and 60 feet beam, with auxiliary screw. She 
 had a flush deck and all her guns were on the spar deck. 
 She carried twelve 1.50-pound Parrot rifles. She was 
 a very pleasant ship with good quarters for the officers and 
 rigged like a clipper. Before the war she had been sent to 
 help lay the first Atlantic cable. During the war she 
 was changed by having an overhanging bow put upon her and 
 looked much like a clipper ship although her size showed that 
 she was a man-of-war. — R. T. 
 
90 PERSONAL EXPERIENCES IN THE CIVIL WAR. 
 
 of the price paid, he turned about and ran back 
 for several hours to give them more money, but 
 we could not sight them and started for the 
 English Channel. It was a beautiful day, 
 June 25th, when we reached there and took on 
 a pilot. He was an odd-looking fellow, had a 
 silk hat on, and a tippet around his neck. He 
 looked more like a landsman than a sailor. 
 The first question we asked was : 
 
 " Have you heard of the ' Alabama.' " 
 
 He replied : 
 
 " She was sunk off Cherbourg 3festerday 
 morning by the ' Kearsarge.' " 
 
 We sailed on to Flushing and Antwerp 
 where we arrived June 27th. The first 
 week in July we left there and cruised 
 in the English Channel, looking for the Con- 
 federate cruiser " Florida." We failed to find 
 her and were back at Antwerp July i6th. 
 On the 29th we left there again and sailed 
 
WITH THE MARINE CORPS. 9^ 
 
 to Liverpool. While there we heard that the 
 rebel vessel the " Georgia " had been bought 
 by some Englishmen and was running down 
 the coast ; so we changed the appearance of 
 our ship by painting the funnels, put a white 
 stripe along the sides and rigged stump top- 
 gallant masts, like an English boat, and left 
 on the 5th of August. We reached Lisbon on 
 the nth; sailed again on the 14th, and the 
 next day met the "Georgia" off the coast of 
 Portugal ; we brought her to, put a prize crew 
 on board and sent her home. She was sold in 
 Boston and only brought the cost of her ma- 
 chinery. My share was $100. She was sent 
 home in charge of Master McGill, a volunteer 
 officer; and while on her voyage the crew 
 became convinced she was haunted. All night 
 long could be heard in the bowels of the ship 
 a tapping, tapping. No one could tell the 
 cause, nor locate the sound ; it went on night 
 
92 PERSONAL EXPERIENCES IN THE CIVIL WAR. 
 
 after night until the crew were thoroughly 
 frightened. But all things have an end, and 
 the tapping ended when several of the engi- 
 neers were found drunk. It seems that they 
 found that their quarters were next to the 
 spirit room, which was made of iron, and they 
 had spent their time in relays cutting a hole 
 in the iron bulkhead. 
 
 Later we sailed North and in the first part 
 of October were again at Antwerp. 
 
 In the meantime I had been promoted to 
 First Lieutenant, my commission being dated 
 September ist, 1864. 
 
 October loth we ran down to Flushing and 
 anchored. I was on deck just after dinner, 
 about 2 P. M., when some of the ofiScers were 
 speaking of a steamer which was coming down 
 the " Skeldt." She was a long, low, lead-col- 
 ored affair and looked like a blockade runner. 
 As she passed us she merely slowed down to 
 
WITH THE MARINE CORPS. 93 
 
 drop her pilot and steamed away at a great 
 rate. Some of the volunteer officers said they 
 had heard that she had an iron-clad on board 
 in sections. Others, that she was a blockade 
 runner, &c. 
 
 While we were talking near the skylight of 
 the Commodore he came on deck. It seems 
 he had heard what had been said. He 
 inquired of the officers about the reports, and 
 said it was very strange that his officers heard 
 all these things and he was not informed. He 
 turned to Mr. Biglow, the Executive Officer, 
 and asked how long it would take to get under 
 weigh. " About fifteen minutes," was the 
 reply. *' Get under weigh, Mr. Biglow," said 
 the Commodore in his deep voice, and every 
 one jumped to their posts. The fires were 
 banked, and it was extraordinary how quickly 
 we got steam up. And soon we were after 
 her as fast as our engines could drive us. We 
 
94 PERSONAL EXPERIENCES IN THE CIVIL WAR. 
 
 must have used our sails, for we overhauled 
 her opposite Brighton in the Channel. A shot 
 brought her to. We put a marine guard on 
 board of her, and in the morning began to dig 
 out her cargo. The night before, on bringing 
 her to, the Commodore dispatched an officer to 
 communicate by wire with our Consul at 
 Antwerp to find out if she carried contraband 
 goods, and at the same time sent Lieutenant 
 Lloyd Phoenix to London to see our Minister, 
 Mr. Adams. 
 
 The morning after the capture Commodore 
 Craven was quite ill and was not able to leave 
 his cabin. The Executive Officer, Mr. Biglow, 
 and others, I among them, went on board to 
 have a look at her. She had no name on 
 anything on her, except on her papers, in 
 which she was called the " Cicerone." She 
 was bound for a West India port, with some 
 general merchandise. Her Captain was a 
 
WITH THE MARINE CORPS. 95 
 
 little devil of a Spaniard, a villainous-looking 
 man, and the third officer and men were of 
 like ilk, but the second ofi&cer was a big fellow 
 and rather more prepossessing. The cabin 
 aft liad nothing in it but a great number of 
 chairs all piled up aft. On my return to our 
 ship I heard some of the sailors say that she 
 was a slaver ; they said they could tell it by 
 the arrangement between decks. We held her 
 all day, the blue jackets digging into her hold 
 and piling the contents on deck, but nothing 
 of a compromising nature was found. All this 
 time the Captain was much excited and stormed 
 about the ship, cursing the Yankees in Spanish. 
 It was about midnight when the lookout 
 hailed a boat. It contained the officer who 
 had been sent to communicate with our Consul 
 at Antwerp. He had received a reply that 
 there was nothing contraband on board. The 
 guard was at once withdrawn, and in a minute 
 
 [14] 
 
96 PERSONAL EXPERIENCES IN THE CIVII. WAR. 
 
 she was out of sight. An hour later Mr. 
 Phoenix reported. He had not seen our 
 Minister, Mr. Adams, as he was out of London, 
 but the Secretary sent word that the 
 " Cicerone " was a noted slaver, and to hold 
 her at all hazards. It seems the English 
 cruisers had been after her for a long time, 
 and she had slipped through the fleet and 
 passed up the channel and gone to Antwerp, 
 right under the noses of the Channel fleet. 
 
 November 5th we returned to Antwerp and 
 remained there some months. While at Ant- 
 werp our ship was visited by thousands daily. 
 The Commodore often called on me to take 
 charge of the guests, as he did not like to talk 
 French, so I made many pleasant acquaintances. 
 I took a trip up the Rhine to Cologne, Coblentz, 
 Weisbaden and Paris. 
 
 February 5th, 1865, we started after the 
 rebel ram "Stonewall," which had just 
 
WITH THE MARINE CORPS. 9/ 
 
 received her guns and ammunition at sea. 
 She was built at Copenhagen for the Confed- 
 erate service, had twin screws, some heavy 
 guns (one a 300-pound Armstrong), two 
 turrets which were heavily armored and she 
 had a long iron ram forward. We ran down 
 the coast to Corunna as we heard she had gone 
 to Ferrol, the Spanish navy yard in the Bay of 
 Biscay. On our arrival, February nth, we 
 found that she was as reported at Ferrol. Later 
 the " Sacramento," a ship of war, came in 
 under commaud of Captain Walke. We were 
 kept informed of the " Stonewall's " movements 
 by our Consul at Ferrol, while the " Niagara" 
 and "Sacramento" stood by to go to sea at 
 a moment's notice. Ferrol harbor is a beautiful 
 spot. It is a circle of half a mile or less in 
 diameter, surrounded by mountains. The 
 approach is through a deep cut in the moun- 
 tains, very narrow, with abrupt sides of rock and 
 
98 PERSONAL EXPERIENCES IN THE CIVIL WAR. 
 
 trees. On tlie 21st we got under weigh Avitli all 
 lights out in the ship and made our way across 
 the bay, some seven miles, to the entrance of 
 the strait which leads to Ferrol. It was 
 rumored about ship that the Commodore 
 might ram the "Stonewall" if she happened 
 to be in the way, but on our arrival we saw 
 her on the opposite side of the harbor. 
 
 Next morning we ran back to Corunna, to be 
 ready to leave if the "Stonewall" came 
 out. We heard that some recruits for her were 
 expected daily in a steamer, and we ran out 
 for a day to intercept them, but they did not 
 turn up. One day, when we were at dinner 
 there, we heard the cr}' " The ' Stonewall ' is 
 coming out ! " At once we beat to quarters, 
 and I remember how quietly the ofl&cers left the 
 table, buckling on their swords. No one would 
 have imagined that the}- expected to engage 
 the most formidable ship in the Confederate 
 
WITH THE MARINE CORPS. 99 
 
 Nav3^ I caused a laugh among the officers by 
 taking my meerschaum cigar-holder, a large, 
 handsome affair, which Mead bought in Paris, 
 and sending a bo}' down in the hold of the 
 ship to place it where it would not be broken, 
 in case we got into hot quarters with the 
 enemy. The "Sacramento" was first under 
 weigh, and making straight for the " Stone- 
 wall " — we followed as quickl}- as possible, onl}^ 
 a short wa}' behind — our men at the guns 
 stripped to the waist, the magazine opened, 
 the sick ba}' in readiness, and the deck 
 sprinkled with sawdust. Both ships were doing 
 all possible, but we could neither of us steam 
 over nine knots or so. Accompanj-ing the Ram 
 was the Spanish ship " Conception." Before 
 we could reach the Ram she turned and ran 
 in, keeping well within the three miles of 
 neutral water, so we went back to our an- 
 chorage. 
 
lOO PERSONAL EXPERIENCES IN THE CIVIL WAR. 
 
 On March the 24th, the " Stonewall " ran 
 out again, accompanied by the frigate " Con- 
 ception," at 10 o'clock in the morning ; we 
 followed with the '' Sacramento ; " when she ran 
 back to her quarters in Ferrol, having been 
 out forty-five minutes. Next day, the 25th, at 
 about 8 A. M., she again appeared, with the 
 Spanish frigate. The day was absolutely 
 calm, and our pilot said we might wait a 5^ear 
 and not have such another day. As the 
 " Stonewall " was much faster than either of 
 our ships — could turn on her heel in three or 
 four minutes, was heavily plated with iron, had 
 a heavy ram forward, and a 300-pound rifle 
 in one of her two turrets — it seemed only sen- 
 sible for Commodore Craven to wait a while 
 and see if the breeze would not spring up. 
 With the use of our sails we could nearly 
 double our speed. As it was, it took her, I 
 think, ten or fifteen minutes to turn around, 
 
WITH THE MARINE CORPS. lOI 
 
 maybe less. But we had to make a large 
 sweep to turn ; and we knew our guns had 
 been condemned by a Navy Board at home, at 
 least the 150-pound Parrots, and when firing 
 them the elevating screws were liable to break. 
 We had arranged a lot of wedges, to be used 
 in an emergency, so as to elevate or depress 
 our guns, should the screws break. I men- 
 tion these particulars of the Confederate Ram, 
 and of our ships, to show why it seemed to the 
 Commodore and Captain Walke proper to wait 
 awhile and see if we could not be helped by a 
 little wind. Still, I think we would have gone 
 out, had not our Consul at Ferrol wired us 
 that the Ram had left her boats and spars at 
 Ferrol. No breeze came, and we remained wait- 
 ing; but instead of her turning back to Ferrol^ 
 she left in the night for Lisbon. We had gone 
 after her twice, and once had cruised outside; 
 any of which times she could have had all the 
 
102 PERSONAL EXPERIENCES IN THE CIVIL WAR. 
 
 fighting she wished. So, all we can say is, that 
 it turned out badly for us. Commodore Craven 
 was courtmarshalled. His Court, which took 
 place at Washington, was comprized of the best 
 officers we had in the service. It there was 
 shown that it required more courage to remain 
 than it did to go out. The Court would not 
 condemn the Commodore, as expected by the 
 Department, and he was released from arrest 
 and returned to duty. The Court would not 
 take away the right of the commanding officer 
 to use some judgment of his own in such cases. 
 We started at once for Lisbon, steaming 
 as fast as possible, but we had to hold up 
 several times for the " Sacramento " to catch 
 up with us. It took lis twelve hours longer to 
 reach Lisbon than it did the " Stonewall," and 
 both our vessels used sails as well as steam. 
 We were fifty hours on the passage, which we 
 reached on the 27th. The "Stonewall" lay 
 
WITH THE MARINE CORPS. I03 
 
 opposite the city. We anchored in the Tagus 
 opposite Belum Castle, an historic old fort, 
 from which Columbus sailed on his voyage of 
 discovery. Next morning we saw the " Stone- 
 wall " getting up steam, and we went to 
 quarters as it was possible she might try to 
 ram us as she passed. I saw old "Ramrod" 
 Page, her Commander, in a gray suit, pacing 
 back and forth on his turret as she passed, 
 and that was the last we saw of the "Stone- . 
 wall." She sailed to Havana, but the war 
 was then over. She was afterwards sold to 
 the Japanese Government. 
 
 When the "Stonewall" ran out the Com- 
 modore was on shore at the residence of our 
 Minister, Mr. Harvey. In the afternoon we 
 got under weigh to change our anchorage 
 nearer to the city. As we swung around Fort 
 Belum opened fire upon us. At the time I was 
 the only officer on the quarter-deck, except the 
 
 [15] 
 
104 PERSONAL EXPERIENCES IN THE CIVIL WAR. 
 
 oflBcer of the deck and the Commodore and our 
 old Signal Quartermaster, who half-masted the 
 ensign to show we did not intend to go ro sea. 
 He, with the Commodore and I, were on the 
 port side aft. I remember the shots coming very 
 near us. I ducked, and the Commodore did not. 
 We were struck several times, once in the stern- 
 post ; our funnels also were struck, and one 
 shot came very near shelling some sailors 
 amidships. 
 
 Later a Portugese officer came off to 
 apologize, but the Commodore was very angry 
 and he went awaj' badly snubbed. The author- 
 ities also apologized and saluted our flag 
 from Belum Castle, and, strange to say, they 
 hauled down their flag and, substituting "Old 
 Glory, fired twenty-one guns, which we 
 returned, running up the Portugese flag to 
 the fore. 
 
 We remained for some weeks in Spanish 
 
WITH THE MARINE CORPS. I05 
 
 waters, and while there obtained news of the 
 surrender of Lee to Grant, April 9th, and the 
 consequent end of the war. 
 
 While on shore leave some of us visited 
 Lisbon, thence we went up to Seville, where I 
 attended a bull-fight. It was a brutal show. 
 We also visited Cadiz. We were charmed with 
 the beauty of the country and enjoyed the inter- 
 esting historical features of these old Spanish 
 cities. We also visited Funchal, Madeira, where 
 we were from April 28th to May 4th. May 
 nth, as we lay at Lisbon in company with the 
 " Kearsarge," there entered the harbor a fleet of 
 Russian ships, carrying the body of the Czar- 
 evitch, who had died at Nice. One morning our 
 ofl&cers, as well as those of the English frigate 
 " Defiance," lying in the harbor, were invited 
 to the Russian flag-ship to attend the funeral 
 services, which were being held daily. We 
 met the King of Portugal and his brother 
 
I06 PERSONAL EXPERIENCES IN THE CIVIL WAR. 
 
 and suite. The corpse was placed between 
 decks on a grand platform over six feet high 
 covered with a heavy pall of stuff worked with 
 gold. During the service each person was given 
 a large wax candle, and I remember I was in a 
 terrible way — on my knees with a lighted can- 
 dle in one hand, and my plumed hat in the 
 other, when my nose began to itch and I had 
 no wa}^ of easing it. I could not drop the can- 
 dle or my hat. But after a time it ended, as 
 all things do, and I scratched my nose and was 
 happy. A few days later we followed the 
 Russian fleet north intending to go with them 
 to Kronstadt. But our ship was so slow by 
 steam, that we often had to signal " Hot 
 journals ; " and finally left them in the Eng- 
 lish Channel and reached Plymouth May 
 17th. 
 
 On May 20th, we were at Flushing. After 
 which we cruised in the English Channel for 
 
WITH THE MARINE CORPS. I07 
 
 some weeks, returning again to Flushing July 
 1st. Here we found Admiral Goldsborough 
 and fleet. We left Flushing July lOth and came 
 to anchor in Queenstown harbor July 1 1 th. We 
 visited Blarney Castle, and received much atten- 
 tion from the Cork ofi&cials. August 15 th we 
 went up the Channel and I paid a visit to 
 London. 
 
 August 24th we reached Lisbon, whence 
 we sailed for home on the 28th, and arrived at 
 Boston September 21st, 1865 — our long cruise 
 of one year and iive months at last ended.* 
 
 *Lieutenant Feet's experience in the service after this was 
 uneventful. He was ordered to the Marine Barracks at Bos- 
 ton, September 29th, 1865; to Philadelphia, November 0th, 
 1865 ; to Brooklyn, February 7th, 1866 ; to Mare Island, Cal., 
 October 15th, 1867, where he remained until he resigned, 
 August 28th, 1869. 
 
 His only present association with these eight and one-half 
 years in the United States service lies in his membership in 
 the " L,oyal Legion," and in the "United Service Club ; " and 
 in the rebel bullet in his shoulder. — R. T. 
 
272 93 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
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