-;>'' jlailitary 0rder of tbe Ltoyal Ilegion of the United States COMMANDERY OF THE StATE OF PENNSYLVANIA Jn QYlemomm JAMES FOWLER RUSLING Brevet Brig.-General U. S. Volunteers Died at Trenton N. J. April 1 1918 [military Drder of the lioyal Ltegioi) of tfee United ptates Headquarters Commandery of the State of Pennsylvania ! Circular No. 3. Series of 1919. f Philadelphia, March 3, 1919. Whole No. 874. JAMES FOWLER RUSLING. First Lieutenant and Quartermaster 5th New Jersey Infantry August 24, 1861; discharged for promotion June 20, 1862. Captain and Assistant Quartermaster U. S. Volunteers June 11, 1862; honorably mustered out September 17, 1867. Lieutenant-Colonel and Quartermaster (by assignment) May 27, 1863, to July 7, 1863. Colonel and Quartermaster (by assignment) April 29, 1865, to January 1, 1867. Brevetted Major, Lieutenant-Colonel and Colonel U. S. Volun- teers March 13, 1865, "for faithful and meritorious services during the war"; Brigadier General February 16, 1866, "for faithful and meritorious services during the war." Elected November 10, 1880. Class 1. Insignia 2110. Council of the Commandery May 6, 1908-1909. Born April 14, 1834, at Washington, N. J. Died April 1, 1918, at Trenton, N. J. Companion James F. Rusling served in the United States Army frorti August 24, 1861, to September 17, 1867 — over six years. He participated in the campaigns and most of the battles of the Army of the Potomac until November, 1863; served in the Department of the Cumberland until May, 1865, and then inspection duty for the War Department until September, 1867. He was with McClcllan during the Peninsula campaign — Yorktown, Williamsburg, Fair Oaks, Savage Station, White Oak Swamp, Malvern Hill; with Pope at second Bull Run and Chantilly; with Burnside at Fredericksburg; with Hooker at Chancellorsville; with Meade after Gettysburg; with Sherman at Atlanta; with Thomas at Nashville. He everywhere dis- tinguished himself by intelligence, fidelity and courage. His ability won for him in two years advancement from the lowest rank through all the intermediate grades to the one next to the highest in his department, becoming Special Inspecting Quartermaster, Army of the Potomac, on General Meade's staff, 1863. When the operations shifted to the South he was transferred to the Army of the Cumber- land, and as Chief Assistant Quartermaster at Nashville had charge of the immense depots there supplying Sherman for his great march to the sea. After the close of hostilities, as Inspector of the Quar- termaster Department, he visited the South and the West, including the Pacific Coast. He was made Bvt. Brigadier General February 16, 1866, "for faithful and meritorious services during the war," and continued in the service until September 17, 1867. He was the only volunteer oflficer appointed on a board of regulars to revise the "Rules and Regulations of the Army" and prepare a "Manual of Instructions to Quartermasters." In his five successive promotions, from First Lieutenant to Brigadier General, he was on the staff of and recommended by Generals Mott, Heintzelman, Sickles, McClellan, Hooker, Meade, Thomas, Sherman and Grant. He enjoyed the regard of Quartermaster General Meigs, Secretary Stanton, Presidents John- son and Lincoln. After the war he settled in Trenton, N. J., and took up the prac- tice of the law there, which he continued until shortly before his decease. He was interested in all public affairs and did much to aid in the development and improvement of the city in which he lived. He was active in the Methodist Church, making possible the erection of many new churches in Trenton. He was trustee of State Street M. E. Church twenty-eight years, and vice-president of the board. For thirty years he devoted much time to the affairs of and was vice- president of the General Missionary Board of the Methodist Episcopal Church. For thirty-six years he was a trustee of Pennington Semi- nary, of which he was a graduate, serving as president of the board and being accounted one of its most earnest friends. He was an alumnus of Dickinson College (1854), A. M. 1857, and received the degree of Doctor of Laws from his Alma Mater in 1890. He was a trustee of the college until the time of his decease, over thirty-nine years. He was an author, orator and scholar. "Across America; or, The Great West and the Pacific Coast" (1875) passed through two editions. "Men and Things I Saw in Civil War Days" (1899) was highly commended by the press for its vivid pictures of the military leaders with whom he had personsal contact. His "European Days and Ways" appeared in 1902 and was most favorably commented upon. He was a frequent speaker at literary, political and religious gatherings, and his addresses on "The March of Methodism" and "Abraham Lincoln" were delivered in nine different states. General Rusling was the son of Gershom Rusling and Eliza Budd Hankinson and came of English and Scotch-Irish ancestry. Three of his ancestors were officers in the Continental Army. His great grandfather. General Aaron Hankinson, served with gallantry and distinction under General Washington at Brandywine and German- town; another grandfather, William McCullough, was Brigade Quar- termaster and afterwards Lieutenant-Colonel, serving in the Conti- nental Army nearly four years; afterwards Member of Assembly, New Jersey, five years, and of Council New Jersey four years, and Judge of Sussex and Warren Counties for thirty-five years. In 1853 General Rusling married Mary Freeman Winner, daughter of the Rev. Isaac Winner, D.D., who died the same year. After the war, in 1870, he married Emily Elizabeth Wood, daughter of Isaac Wood, of Trenton, N. J., who with their two children, James Wood Rusling and Mrs. Arthur L. Bates, of Meadville, Pa., still survive him. General Rusling attained more than a local reputation. He was a loyal friend, a brave and efficient soldier, a faithful public officer and citizen and accomplished scholar — a gallant Christian gentleman! WASHINGTON A. ROEBLING. JOHN SCHOONOVER, WALTER GEORGE SMITH, Committet. By command of Colonel H. G. Cavenaugh, U. S. A. Commander John P. Nicholson Brevet Lieutenant-Colonel U. S. V. Official Recorder Recorder Gen. James F. Rusting. MEN AND THINGS I SAW IN CIVIL WAR DAYS JAMES F. RUSLING, A.M., LL.D. Brigadier General (by Brevet) United States Volunteers NEW YORK : EATON & MAINS CINCINNATI : CURTS & JENNINGS TWO COPIES RECEIVED. l.n»r«ry of Congrttt, Offlc. of tb« Df'iP- tPOO ll«f/tt«r of Copyright^ 47GG9 Copyright by EATON & MAINS, J899. t.^'^ / ^ d-^" SECOND COPY* Eaton & Mains Press, 150 Fifth Avenue, New York. n s-t.1 i- PREFACE This volume embodies many of my observations and experiences in our great Civil War. My first thought was to put these into historic form and chronological order. But ultimately I concluded to give them rather as portraitures and pictures of our great commanders mainly — as here. It was my good fortune to come into contact with nearly all of these, from McClellan to Grant; and hence these sketches. A part have appeared before, in Tlie Christian Advocate, of New York, and elsewhere; but these chapters have all been revised, rewritten, enlarged, and otherwise improved, as I trust; and hence this vol- ume as a whole may be considered new — much of it entirely new. Chapter XV, I have hesitated about somewhat; but finally concluded to pubhsh, as not without some his- toric value. This chapter consists of old Army letters, as written home in 1861 to 1865; and while of moderate in- terest to some, it is believed nevertheless they will give realistic and vivid pictures of Army life to many — es- pecially to our younger Americans. The illustrations are from photographs picked up during the war, or selected with care since then. Sherman's photograph is of special value ; as see page The basis of the whole volume is, ist, An excellent memory; 2d, A diary and journal kept during most of the war; 3d, The memoirs of Generals Grant, Sherman, Sheri- 3 Preface dan, McClellan, Joe Johnston, and others; 4th, A History of the Civil War in America, by Comte de Paris, Swin- ton's Army of the Potomac, Badeau's Life of General Grant, and like pubHcations; and 5th, Our War Records, both Union and Confederate, pubhshed by authority of Con- gress. Perhaps I should add just a word as to myself and my opportunities for such observations and experiences. Briefly, then, I was born April 14, 1834, at Washington, Warren County, N. J.; was graduated at Dickinson Col- lege, Carhsle, Pa., 1854; Professor at Dickinson Semi- nary, Williamsport, Pa., 1854-58; admitted to the bar of Pennsylvania and New Jersey, 1857-59. My Army record as follows: Aug. 24, 1861, 1st Lt. and R. Q. M., 5th N. J. Vols. Infantry. Nov. 30, 1861, Act. Brigade Q. M., 2d N. J. Brigade. June II, 1862, Capt. and A. Q, M. U. S. Vols., same Brigade. Oct. 15, 1862, Division Q. M., 2d Div. 3d Corps. May 27, 1863, Lt. Col. and Corps Q. M., 3d Corps. July 31, 1863, Inspector Q. M. Dept. Army of the Potomac. Dec. I, 1863, Chief Asst. Q. M. Department of the Cumberland. April 29, 1865, Colonel and Inspector O. M., Dept. United States. Feb. 16, 1866, Brigadier General (Brevet) U. S. Vols. Sept. 17, 1867, mustered out and resumed practice of Law.^ ' See Appendix, p. 391. 4 Preface These various appointments were at Regimental, Bri- gade, Division, Corps, Army, Department, and General U. S. A. Headquarters, respectively, both in the East and in the West, at post and in the field; and (I beg pardon for saying) afforded facilities and op- portunities that fell to the lot of but few officers, whether Regulars or Volunteers. How well (or ill) I profited by them appears in this volume, and is sub- mitted w^th diffidence to the reader, as the observa- tions and experiences of a Staff Officer of Volunteers, 1861-65. J. F. R. Trenton, N. J., 1899. 5 CONTENTS. CHAPTER I. PAGE Abraham Lincoln 9 CHAPTER n. Andrew Johnson 19 CHAPTER HI. George B. McClellan 24 CHAPTER IV. Ambrose E. Burnside 41 CHAPTER V. Joseph Hooker 52 CHAPTER VI. George G. Meade : 67 CHAPTER VII. George H. Thomas 80 CHAPTER VIII. William Tecumseh Sherman 106 CHAPTER IX. Philip H. Sheridan 123 CHAPTER X. Ulysses S. Grant 135 CHAPTER XI. Robert E. Lee 149 CHAPTER XII. Campaigning and Soldiering 159 CHAPTER XIII. A Great Quartermaster 174 CHAPTER XIV. The Angel of the Third Corps 190 CHAPTER XV. Some Army Letters 195 APPENDIX 355 INDEX 397 Abraham Lincoln, 1863. MEN AND THINGS I SAW IN CIVIL WAR DAYS CHAPTER I Abraham Lincoln My first knowledge of Mr. Lincoln was in 1857, when he dawned upon the nation as "The Rail-splitter of Illi- nois." This was when he was nominated there for United States Senator, and conducted his great debate with Stephen A. Douglas, then widely known as "The Little Giant of IlHnois." Mr. Lincoln struck me then, in the progress of that debate, as a really great Amer- ican: sagacious, far-seeing, and with a broad grasp of principles. And I was still more impressed with this in i860, when he became the Republican nominee for Pres- ident, and won as "Honest Old Abe." My first real sight of him was in February, 1861, when he came East, and halted at Trenton, N. J., en route to Washington, D. C, to be inaugurated. I was then re- siding in Trenton, a practicing lawyer, as now. I stood within a few feet of him, in our State House there, when he significantly said, in the course of his brief remarks, that while he meant peace and hoped for peace, "it might become necessary to put the foot down firmly [and he brought his great foot down with a stamp] ; and if it does, you will stand by me, won't you?" And he was answered by the people with wild applause, that shook the very dome of the Capitol. On March 4th following, I was in Washington, D. C, and stood directly in front of Mr. Lincoln, not fifty paces away, in the midst of fifty thousand people, when he de- 9 Men and Things I Saw in Civil War Days livered his first inaugural, from the east front of the Capitol; and declared it to be his duty and purpose to "repossess and occupy our captured arsenals and forts;" and, with the vast multitude assembled there, cheered him to the echo. It was reputed he had weakened, under the menace of Secession, and that in his inaugural he would go back on his platform and record; but as he read on, wdth his spectacles far down upon his nose and glancing out occasionally over them, the real nature and fiber of his mind and heart more and more appeared, and before he concluded nobody could doubt where he stood as President. Not Washington could have been more patriotic and sagacious, nor Andrew Jackson more unyielding. As Mr. Lincoln read on, Stephen A. Douglas stood near by, leaning against a pillar of the Capitol, with his hat off and long hair thrown back, gazing out over the vast assemblage like a lion in repose, and smiling his ap- proval as the crowd cheered. That night I attended the inauguration ball, and shook hands with both Lin- coln and Douglas. With the change of administrations, soon the nation breathed freer — now that Buchanan at last was out and Lincoln was in. Then came the firing on Fort Sumter, Mr. Lincoln's first call for troops, and the great uprising of the North (April, 1861); but I still lingered in my ofBce. Then came Bull Run, and other calls for troops; and soon afterward I closed my office and found myself in camp at Washington, D. C. (August, 1861). It was not long before Mr. Lincoln visited our camp (5th Regt. N. J. Vols., 2d N. J. Brigade), as he was in the habit of riding or driving daily among the camps; and I seldom rode into Washington that I did not see him about the White House, or the War or Treasury Departments. Here he was always unattended, and gen- Abraham Lincoln erally alone, and walked along with the serious air of a country lawyer intent on business. His face had become graver, and his look more determined. But he was still chatty and cheery, when meeting an acquaintance (a member of Congress or a brigadier general) ; and cracked many a joke or told "a Httle story," as best suited to the occasion. In December, 1861, our brigade was ordered down the Potomac, on the Maryland side, opposite Cockpit Point, Va., to a place significantly called "Rum Point" — though we found no "rum" there. It was not a village even, but only a projecting point of land. Here we joined the other two brigades of General Joseph Hooker, and with them constituted the famous "Hook- er's Division" of the Army of the Potomac, and subse- quently (in the spring and summer of 1862) made the Peninsula and second Bull Run campaigns under "Fighting Joe." I saw no more of President Lincoln, until after the bloody blunder of Fredericksburg (December, 1862). Then Hooker was given command of the Army of the Po- tomac, and soon afterward (I think along toward spring) Mr. Lincoln came down from Washington and attended one of our grand reviews. It was a great day for Gen- eral Hooker — Major General commanding the Army — and he was equal to it. I suppose' fully sixty thousand men were in line or more — infantry, cavalry, artillery, wagon trains, etc. But as the artillery saluted the Pres- ident, the mule trains took fright, and in spite of quarter- masters, wagonmasters, and teamsters, went thundering- down upon our well-ordered lines pell-mell — almost as bad as a Confederate cavalry charge. How the panic- stricken mules did "whee-haw" and the army wagons "rattlety-bang" that day over the Stafford plains! It was like another battle of Fredericksburg, on a minor II Men and Things I Saw in Civil War Days scale! Mr. Lincoln was on horseback, of course, by the side of General Hooker, with Hooker's brilliant staff trailing after them like the tail of a comet, and appar- ently enjoyed our comical discomfiture and skedaddle to the full. On this occasion, as on all similar occasions, when visiting the Army, Mr. Lincoln was dressed in citizens' black, with tall silk hat, long frock coat, and high top boots with spurs, and, though not a bad rider, "With his gaunt, gnarled hands, His unkempt, bristling hair, His garb uncouth, his bearing ill at ease, And lack of all we prize as debonair," was yet anything but a handsome horseman in the midst of our brigadier generals, colonels, captains, lieutenants, etc., well mounted as a rule and resplendent in gold lace and brass buttons on review, however plainly attired on the march or in battle. The next time I saw Mr. Lincoln was on Sunday, July 5, 1863 — the Sunday after the battles of Gettysburg and Vicksburg — and it happened on this wise: Gettysburg was fought on July i, 2, and 3, 1863. In the great conflict of Thursday, July 2 — (held by many to have been the real battle of Gettysburg, because of the heavy fighting and tremendous Confederate losses, which sapped the life of Lee's army) — General Daniel E. Sickles, of N. Y., com- manding the Third Corps, had lost his right leg, and on the Sunday following (July 5) arrived in Washington, D. C, with his leg amputated above the knee. He was taken to a private dwelling on F Street, nearly opposite the Ebbitt House; and here I found him in a front room on the first floor, resting on a hospital stretcher, when I called to see him, about 3 p. m. I was then a Lieutenant Colonel on his staff, and naturally anxious to see my chief. Abraham Lincoln We had not been talking long, when his orderly an- nounced his excellency the President; and immediately afterward Mr. Lincoln walked into the room, accom- panied by his son "Tad," then a lad of perhaps ten or twelve years. He was staying out at the Soldiers' Home; but, having learned of General Sickles's arrival in Washington, rode in on horseback to call on him, with a squad of cavalry as escort. They shook hands cordially, but pathetically; and it was easy to see that they both held each other in high esteem. They were both born politicians. They both loved the Union sincerely and heartily. And Sickles had already shown such high qualities, both as statesman and soldier, that Lincoln had been quick to perceive his weight and value in the great struggle then shaking the nation. Besides, Sickles was a War Democrat, astute and able; and Mr. Lincoln was too shrewd a Republican to pass any of these by in those perilous war days. Greetings over, Mr. Lincoln dropped into a chair, and, crossing his prodigious arms and legs, soon fell to ques- tioning Sickles, as to all the phases of the combat at Gettysburg. He asked first, of course, as to General Sickles's own ghastly wound; when and how it hap- pened, and how he was getting on, and encouraged him; then passed next to our great casualties there, and how the wounded were being cared for; and finally came to the magnitude and significance of the victory there, and what General Meade proposed to do with it. Sickles, recumbent on his stretcher, with a cigar be- tween his fingers, puffing it leisurely, answered Mr. Lin- coln in detail, but warily, as became so astute a man and soldier; and discussed the great battle and its probable consequences with a lucidity and ability remarkable in his condition then — enfeebled and exhausted as he was by the shock and danger of such a woimd and amputation. 13 Men and Things I Saw in Civil War Days Occasionally he would wince with pain, and call sharply to his orderly to wet his fevered stump with water. But he never dropped his cigar, nor lost the thread of his nar- rative, nor missed the point of their discussion. His in- tellect certainly seemed as strong and astute as ever; and in an acquaintance with him of now over thirty-five years I never saw it work more accurately and keenly. He certainly got his side of the story of Gettysburg well into the President's mind and heart that Sunday after- noon; and this doubtless stood him in good stead after- ward, when Meade proposed to court-martial him for fighting so magnificently, if unskillfully (which remains to be proved), on that bloody and historic July 2d. "No," replied Honest Old Abe; "no, we can't do that. General Sickles may have erred ; we are all liable to ! But at any rate he fought superbly! He gave his leg — his life almost — for the Union! And now there is glory enough to go around for all." When Mr. Lincoln's inquiries seemed ended General Sickles, after a puff or two of his cigar in silence, re- sumed the conversation substantially as follows: "Well, Mr. President, I beg pardon, but what did you think about Gettysburg? What was your opinion of things while we were campaigning and fighting up there?" "O," replied Mr. Lincoln. "I didn't think much about it. I was not much concerned about you!" "You were not?" rejoined Sickles, as if amazed. "Why, we heard that you W^ashington folks were a good deal excited, and you certainly had good cause to be. For it was 'nip and tuck' with us a good deal of the time!" "A^es, I know that. And I suppose some of us were a little 'rattled.' Indeed, some of the Cabinet talked of Washington's being captured, and ordered a gunboat or Abraham Lincoln two here, and even went so far as to send some govern- ment archives abroad, and wanted me to go, too, but I refused. Stanton and Welles, I believe, were both 'stam- peded' somewhat, and Seward, I reckon, too. But I said: 'No, gentlemen, we are all right and we are going to win at Gettysburg;' and we did, right handsomely. No, General Sickles, I had no fears of Gettysburg!" "Why not, Mr. President? How was that? Pretty much everybody down here, we heard, was more or less panicky." "Yes, I expect, and a good many more than will own up now. But actually General Sickles, I had no fears of Gettysburg, and if you really want to know I will tell you why. Of course, I don't want you and Colonel 'Rusling here to say anything about this — at least not now. People might laugh if it got out, you know.. But the fact is, in the very pinch of the campaign there, I went to my room one day and got down on my knees, and prayed Almighty God for victory at Gettysburg. I told Him that this was His country, and the war was His war, but that we really couldn't stand another Fredericksburg or Chancellorsville. And then and there I made a solemn vow with my Maker, that if He would stand by you boys at Gettysburg, I would stand by Him. "And after thus wTestling with the Almighty in prayer, I don't know how it was, and it is not for me to explain, but, somehow or other, a sweet comfort crept into my soul, that God Almighty had taken the whole business there into His own hands, and we were bound to win at Gettysburg! And He did stand by you boys at Gettys- burg, and now I will stand by Him. No, General Sickles, I had no fears of Gettysburg, and that is the ivJiyr Mr. Lincoln said all this with great solemnity and im- pressiveness, almost as Moses might have spoken when 2 15 Men and Things I Saw in Civil War Days he came clown from Sinai. When he had concluded there was a pause in the conversation, that nobody seemed disposed to break. Mr. Lincoln especially seemed to be communing with the Infinite One again. The first to speak was General Sickles, who, between the pufifs of his cigar, presently resumed, as follows: "Well, Mr. President, what are you thinking about Vicksburg, nowadays? How are things getting along down there?" ''O," answered Mr. Lincoln, very gravely, 'T don't quite know. Grant is still pegging away down there. As we used to say out in Illinois, I think he 'will make a spoon or spoil a horn' before he gets through. Some of our folks think him slow and want me to remove him. But, to tell the truth, I kind of like U. S. Grant. He doesn't worry and bother me. He isn't shrieking for reinforcements all the time. He takes what troops we can safely give him, considering our big job all around — and we have a pretty big job in this war — and does the best he can with what he has got, and doesn't grumble and scold all the while. Yes, I confess. I like General Grant — U. S. Grant — 'Uncle Sam Grant!' [dwelling humorously on this last name.] There is a great deal to him, first and last. And, Heaven helping me, unless something- happens more than I see now, I mean to stand by Grant a good while yet." "So, then, you have no fears about Vicksburg either, Mr. President?" added General Sickles. "Well, no: I can't say that I have," replied Mr. Lin- coln, very soberly; "the fact is — but don't say anything about this either just now — I have been praying to Al- mighty God for Vicksburg also. I have wrestled with Him. and told Him how much we need the Mississippi, and how it ought to flow unvexed to the sea, and how that great valley ought to be forever free, and I reckon i6 Abraham Lincoln He understands the whole business down there, 'from A to Izzard.' I have done the very best I could to help General Grant along, and all the rest of our generals, though some of them don't think so, and now it is kind of borne in on me that somehow or other we are going to win at Vicksburg too. I can't tell how soon. But I believe we will. For this will save the Mississippi and bisect the Confederacy; and be in line with God's laws besides. And if Grant only does this thing down there — I don't care much how, so he does it right — why, Grant is my man and I am his the rest of this war!" Of course, Mr. Lincoln did not then know that Vicks- burg had already fallen, on July 4, and that a United States gunboat was then speeding its way up the Miss- issippi to Cairo with the glorious news that was soon to thrill the country and the civilized world through and through. Gettysburg and Vicksburg! Our great twin Union victories ! What were they not to us in that fate- ful summer of 1863? And what would have happened to the American Republic had both gone the other way? Of course, I do not pretend to say that Abraham Lin- coln's faith and prayers saved Gettysburg and Vicks- burg. But they certainly did not do the Union any harm. And to him his serene confidence in victory there, because of these, was a comfort and a joy most beautiful to behold, on that memorable July 5, 1863. I never saw Mr. Lincoln again. In November, 1863, while serving at General Meade's headquarters (Army of the Potomac), I was suddenly ordered West to Ten- nessee (Department of the Cumberland) by Secretary Stanton; and I was still there in 1865, when Mr. Lincoln v/as assassinated. But this conversation made a deep impression upon me, and seems worthy to be recorded here. Clearly it settles the questio vexata of his religious faith forever. Perhaps it should be added that I made 17 Men and Things I Saw in Civil War Days notes of it shortly afterward, and have ofteui told it since, and now give it here as literally as possible — much of it ipsissima verba} The talk afterward took a wide range, but Mr. Lincoln said nothing conflicting with the above, and left the pro- found impression upon both General Sickles and myself that in these two great national emergencies he walked and talked with Jehovah — or at least believed he did. Did he not take like counsel on other occasions, as be- fore Antietam and Chattanooga and Appomattox? For W'hatever he may have been in earlier years and under narrower conditions, it seems certain that our great conflict as it proceeded — involving a whole con- tinent and a vast people, with world-wide and time- long results — sobered and steadied him, and anchored him on God as the Supreme Ruler of nations (as a like experience sobered and anchored William of Orange and Cromwell and Washington) ; and in the end Abra- ham Lincoln became a ruler worthy to rank with even these. Of all the great figures of our Civil War, Abraham Lincoln alone looms up loftier and grander as the years roll on ; and his place in the pantheon of history is secure forever. As was well sung of a true knight of old: *' His good sword is rust; His bones are dust; His soul is with the saints, we trust." ' See Appendix, p. 355. 18 Andrew Johnson, tS64» Andrew Johnson CHAPTER II Andrew Johnson My first chapter being on Abraham Lincoln, it seems fitting to follow it with one on Andrew Johnson. I became interested in Andrew Johnson before the war, as a senator from Tennessee, and an advocate of the Homestead bill, when all other Southern senators, I be- lieve, were hostile to it. This bill proposed to divide our Western Territories into small farms of one hundred an(l sixty acres each, and to give them to actual settlers there, and therefore was in the interests of free labor, and, of course, the South opposed it because it was hos- tile to slave labo: . Johnson, nevertheless, courageously supported it. Congress after Congress; but it never be- came a law until the Southern statesmen seceded, and then the Republican majority placed it on the statute book, and under its wise and beneficent provisions the great West soon became an empire of small farmers. I always thought Andrew Johnson deserved credit for his manly advocacy of this bill, antagonistic as it was to his own section. Therefore, I was not surprised to see him take his stand by the Union in the dark winter of 1 860-6 T, when the whole South, as a rule, went drift- ing to treason and rebellion. I saw him first in March, 1861, in the Senate Chamber at Washington, D. C. I think it was March 3. On the invitation of an old and valued friend from Trenton, N. J., now a millionaire several times over (Samuel K. Wilson, Esq., the best friend I ever had), I had gone down there to "see Lincoln inaugurated," in common with many Republicans from the North, and on March 3 19 Men and Things 1' Saw in Civil War Days found myself and friend in the Senate gallery listening- to the Southern senators as they made their farewell speeches. Among the rest was Wigfall, of Texas. He said, in substance, in his most bitter and eloquent style: "The Star of the West, flying your flag, swaggered into Charleston Harbor with supplies for Fort Sumter. South Carolina struck her between the eyes, and she staggered back; and now, what do you propose to do about it?" He sat down, and for a time nobody re- sponded. It was a bitter taunt and defiance to the Union, and yet Seward and Sumner and Cameron and Chandler and Crittenden and all the rest sat silent, until the silence grew painful. Then suddenly up rose Andrew Johnson, and in the midst of a stillness that could almost be felt he said, sub- stantially: "Mr. President, I will tell the senator from Texas what I would do about it. I speak only for my- self. But if I were President, as James Buchanan today is, and as Abraham Lincoln tomorrow will be, I would arrest the senator and his friends on the charge of high treason; I would have them tried by a jury of their countrymen, and, if convicted, by the eternal God, I would hang them!" He sat down as if shot, and for a minute or so the silence was even profounder than be- fore. Then away up in one corner of the gallery an vuiknown man sprang to his feet and, waving his hat, shouted out: "Three cheers for Andrew Johnson!" Three thou- sand Northerners crowded the galleries, but we rose as one man and gave three mighty cheers, such as the American Senate had never heard before. Of course, it was a "breach of the privileges of the Senate," and John C. Brcckenridge (a double-dyed traitor), who sat in the Vice President's chair, immediately ordered the galleries cleared. Again that unknown man called out: Andrew Johnson ^'And now three cheers lor the Union!" and we gave these even mightier than before, amid the tossing of hats and waving of handkerchiefs; and then we filed out into the corridors of the Capitol, men shouting and hurrah- ing, and some even crying like children. This was my first personal experience of Andrew Johnson, and, I con- fess, greatly impressed me in his favor. Soon afterward he went home to Tennessee by way of Virginia, with his life threatened en route because he w^as a Union man ; and I did not see him again imtil No- vember, 1863, when I was ordered to Nashville, and found him there in office as military governor of Tennessee. He had his headquarters in the classic State Capitol there, which he had fortified and barricaded and filled with troops (loyal East Tennesseans); and stood ready for legislation or battle, as the day might bring forth. From then on to February, 1865, when he left for W'ashington to be inaugurated as Vice President, I saw a great deal of him, and he always bore himself as a hero and a statesman. From early morning until late in the afternoon he was usually in the Executive Chamber, listening to the pathetic tales of the refugees and freed- men, who crowded to him for counsel or relief from all parts of Tennessee; or else he was devising ways and means for their shelter and subsistence, or providing for their due enrollment in Union regiments and batteries. There was no one so humble or ragged or destitute, that he could not approach his excellency with his tale of woe, and no one left his presence without aid or com- fort of some sort. He early recognized the importance of freeing the slaves, and enlisting them on the side of the Union, and our freedmen had no truer friend in Ten- nessee than Andrew Johnson during all those dark days. In personal appearance and deportment he was a Men and Things I Saw in Civil War Days model American statesman of those years, and was greatly honored and esteemed by all who came in con- tact with him — except rebels and traitors. Of course, these latter hated him bitterly, with an intensity of hatred inconceivable to Northerners. But, all the same, Andrew Johnson held on his course, and in the darkest hours there (as after Chickamauga and before Nashville, when the hearts of men like Stanton and Grant even misgave them) he " Bated no jot of heart or hope, But still bore up, And steered right forward." It is enough to his credit to say that he possessed the absolute confidence of Rosecrans, of Thomas, of Sher- man, of Grant — of all who commanded out there — as well as of President Lincoln; while the rank and file of our Union troops were enthusiastic in his behalf. In February, 1865, he left for Washington, and I did not see him again until August of that year,- when I hap- pened to be in Washington, and called at the White House to pay my respects to him as President. He was apparently the same simple, affable, approachable Amer- ican citizen as previously, patriotic and Union-loving to the core. How he afterward came to cast himself into the arms of his old enemies, during our baleful period of reconstruction, has always been to me a mystery and a puzzle. In September or October, 1865, I was one of a com- mittee of Jerseymen to call upon him, in the interest of our freedmen and of the Fifteenth Amendment, and he was still stanch and steadfast in their behalf. When afterward he turned his back upon them (though once posing as their "Moses"), and upon all his own Union record, it was as if the sun had gone out at midday or another star had fallen — like Lucifer, son of the morn- 22 Andrew Johnson ing, or Julian the Apostate, or Benedict Arnold. Indeed, hiiman politics is a queer profession and often a sad busi- ness. How often a disappointed statesman in his declining years turns upon his life record, and seeks to rend it and his old friends to pieces, and to tear down and destroy what he was a lifetime in building up; as z'idc Webster, Seward, Sumner, Greeley, and Andrew Johnson — not to mention others elsewhere or of more recent times! God save any man from such a fate! In 1866-67 I was absent, South and West, on long tours of army inspection, and did not see President Johnson again until September, 1867. Meanwhile he had become embroiled with Congress and General Grant, and had "swung around the circle" to the other side; while I had continued ''steadfast in the faith" as a Republican. My army service was now ended, having resigned and been ordered mustered out, and I called at the White House to say "good-bye." He kindly asked about my future, and made proffer of his services ; but we were now traveling on different roads, and, of course, I could not avail myself of his good offices. I never saw him afterward, but can never forget his sterling patriotism and superb heroism in the days when they were most needed. Personally, he was certainly honest and incorruptible. He was loyal to his friends and true to his word. He had absolute faith in the peo- ple, and meant well by the repubHc. And with all his errors and mistakes (due largely to his time and section and education — or rather want of education), I have nevertheless always kept a warm place in my heart for Andrew Johnson. Abraham Lincoln loved and trusted him. And had Abraham Lincoln lived, Andrew John- son would have turned out a different man. 23 Men and Things I Saw in Civil War Days CHAPTER III George B. McClellan When the war began, in April, 1861, I had no fancy for soldiering, and after debating the question well concluded I would do my fighting best at home. But after Bull Run I thought I saw clearly we were in for a four years' job at least, and in August, 1861, decided to enter the service. Accordingly, I joined the Fifth New Jersey, as a first lieutenant, and in the last days of August found myself in camp at Washington. General McClellan had already assumed command of the Army of the Potomac, and, fresh from his victories in West Virginia, was being heralded as our "Young Napoleon." We now know that these West Virginia victories did not amount to much, and that Rosecrans really did the business there — what there was of it. But compared with Big Bethel and Bull Run, and our other military exploits at that time, they loomed up like Ma- rengo and Austerlitz. As McClellan was in chief com- mand, of course he got the credit ; and soon became the hero of the hour. As my first commander, I saluted and honored him; and in many respects he was indeed the beau ideal of a soldier. He certainly took hold of the green and awkward Army of the Potomac with intelligence and skill, and soon put new life and vigor into it. Our de- moralized regiments and brigades were reorganized and divisioned; our disorganized batteries were rehorsed and equipped and put to drill; our forts were overhauled; and our line of defenses extended and strengthened. Though his headquarters were in a house in the heart of 24 Gen. George B, McCIellan, J862. George B. McClellan Washington (a military mistake, as I always thought), yet he was in the saddle a portion of each day, and all parts of the army soon became familiar with his presence and person. His inspections and reviews were of week- ly occurrence, and, notwithstanding current criticisms, were a constant and valuable school of drill and disci- pline to both officers and men. McClellan was then a moderate-sized man, apparently about thirty-live years of age, with a sharp, quick eye, a clear-cut nose, dark brown hair, mustache, and im- perial; and he sat upon his handsome horse like a born centaur. His uniform and horse equipments were modest; his bearing was dignified and soldierly; and though his jaw and chin lacked massiveness and strength, yet, on the whole, it goes without saying, he made an excellent impression in all our camps. This continued well into the fall — that superb fall of 1861. But when autumn was over and past, and a hun- dred thousand of us — the very flower of the North — all volunteers, not a drafted man or a substitute among us — now well drilled and disciplined, still lay idle within the defenses of Washington, while the Confederate flag floated unchallenged within view of the Capitol, it is not to be wondered at that we began to lose faith in our young Napoleon; and w^hen winter wore on, and still nothing was attempted (except the fiasco of Ball's Bluflf and the sacrifice of poor General Baker), we naturally grew impatient and disappointed. His slow and uncertain movement in the early spring of 1862 against Centreville, where he found only ''Quaker guns" instead of the impregnable fortifications he anticipated, did not help his waning reputation. And when afterward we sailed down the Potomac and landed in the mud before Yorktown, and settled down to a slow siege, instead of marching straight after the re- 25 Men and Things I Saw in Civil War Days treating enemy, a good many of us made up our minds that Richmond was yet a long way off under "Little Mac." A month's delay before Yorktown, where our fighting was chiefly with the spade and shovel, in bottomless mud, while a division or two of Confed- erates were permitted to hold our great army at bay, until they got ready to retire, did not add to our good humor. Then came Williamsburg, with "Little Mac" fourteen miles to the rear,^ "superintending the embarkation of troops," according to the Comte de Paris (Vol. II, page 1 8); which a brigade commander or an aid could have done quite as well or better! Here he allowed Hooker, with his single unsupported division, to engage the whole rear guard of the Confederate Army, much his superior, while the rest of our Army (one hundred and twenty thousand strong)- looked on;andonlythe timely arrival of Kearny, marching to the sound of the enemy's cannon, and full of first-class fighting qualities, saved us from rout and ruin there. It is true, Hancock came in at the finish and occupied some redoubts near Fort Magruder. But his fighting was small and loss inconsiderable (only thirty-one men) compared with Hooker's, who here lost some fifteen hundred men in killed and wounded — the very flower of his division.^ Yet McClellan telegraphed to Washing- ton that Hancock was superb, "his conduct brilliant in the extreme;" and barely alluded to Hooker and Kearny — h,e believed they had done some fighting and "lost considerably on our left!"^ It is true he corrected this a week afterward (May ii), and did them partial jus- tice.^ But they never forgave him for being "fourteen * JVar Records, vol. xi, part i, p 22. ^ Comte de Paris, vol. ii, p. 14. tVar Records, vol. xi, part iii, p. 130. 3 H'nr Records, vol. xi, part i, p. 22, 23. * Ihid., vol. xi, part i, p. 448. 5 Ibid., vol. xi, part iii, p. 164, 163. 26 George B. McClellan miles" in the rear, and ignorant of their terrific fighting and terrible losses. And, singularly, he repeats this in- justice in his "Official Report of the Peninsular Cam- paign"^ and also in his ''Own Story" p. 33. Williamsburg over, we crept up the Peninsula at the rate of four or five miles a day, when we ought to have made forced marches (twenty or thirty miles a day), and finally sat down at Fair Oaks, astride of the Chicka- hominy, as if specially inviting the attack we soon got. It was only God's Providence, and Sumner's pluck, and Hooker and Kearny's magnificent fighting, that saved us from utter ruin there. As it was, we got a thorough drubbing on Saturday, as we deserved; but recovered our ground on Sunday. And both Hooker and Kearny always said we could then have marched straight into Richmond, had McClellan but given the order. I remember seeing Hooker and Kearny in fierce con- verijation about this, soon after noon of that sweltering Siinday; Hooker on horseback and Kearny in his shirt sleeves, with his hat off and a red bandanna about his neck, standing under his tent-fly by the roadside and gesticulating violently with his remaining arm — both of them amazed and excited at McClellan's orders. But instead of advancing and attacking Richmond, we halted at Fair Oaks and lay there over a month, in the heart of the Chickahominy Swamps ; our only drink- ing water polluted with the dead and decaying bodies of both men and horses, and the very atmosphere fetid and heavy with miasma and malaria. We here lost more men from fever and disease than a pitched battle would have cost us. We buried our dead on the battlefield (nearly a thousand of them) in shallow graves, and burned the bodies of our dead horses, because the ground was too swampy to bury them, and our only 1 War Records, vol. xi, pait i, pp. 22, 23. 27 Men and Things I Saw in Civil War Days drinking water was from springs and swamp-holes vitiated by all these. Fair Oaks! it has always seemed to me rather like a synonym for Tophet or Purgatory. I always look back to my army life there as a hideous and horrible nightmare. Its only redeeming feature to me was, that w^hile encamped there I received my first pro- motion (at the hands of Abraham Lincoln), and rejoiced in the double bars of a captain (June 1 1, 1862) ! Then came our "Seven Days' Battle," and "strategic change of base," so called, to Harrison's Landing, with our superb fighting at Savage Station, Glendale, and Malvern Hill, when we could again have gone straight to Richmond — the Confederates were so thoroughly used up — had anybody been present after Malvern Hill to give the order. But "Little Mac" was again absent — on a James River gunboat. Why was he not in the midst of his bleeding yet victorious army, and ready to lead it "On to Richmond?" As we quitted our lines at Fair Oaks (monuments of labor and industry — great achievements with the spade) late at night, June 28, with orders to destroy our bag- gage, tents, and surplus stores, but not to burn them (lest we should disclose our movements to the enemy), one of the headquarters staff officers remarked to me: "W^hy, Captain, this is only a strategic change of base!" "Well, yes, Major," I replied, "I hope so. But it looks to me more like a skedaddle." And so it proved. McClellan's original order for this movement — to the Third Corps at least, whether to the rest of the army or not — was a field telegram ; and was handed to me to read by our Adjutant General, for my guidance and instruc- tion. This was just after dark Saturday, June 28, 1862, about 8 p. m. In substance it said: 28 George B. McClellan "The general commanding directs that the trains be loaded with ammunition and subsistence, and dispatched as promptly as possible by Savage Station, across White Oak Swamp, in the direction of James River. All trunks and private baggage, and all camp equipage, will be abandoned and destroyed, but not burned. The gen- eral commanding trusts his brave troops will bear these privations with their wonted fortitude, as it will be but for a few days." I had been up all the night before, and in the saddle for two days mostly, and had just "turned in" for a night's rest; but I dressed quickly, and was again soon on horse- back. I was then Brigade Quartermaster (Third Bri- gade, Hooker's Division, Third Corps). We proceeded to carry out this order, and the other twobrigades of our division did the same. We cut and slashed our tents with knives, and ripped them to pieces — many of them new Sibley and hospital tents. We chopped and broke the tent-poles. We knocked our trunks and valises to pieces with axes and spades. Our surplus clothing was cut and torn to rags. Our headquarter of- ficers doffed their old uniforms, in which they had been campaigning so far, and donned their best ones — resolved that, if they had to abandon any, they would leave the old ones— and I did the same. But nothing was set on fire that night, lest the Johnnies should learn of our movement prematurely. Then we loaded up our wag- ons with ammunition and rations, as ordered, and started them for the James River, and in due time with- drew from our lines and followed after them. The next morning the rear guard set fire to our abandoned stores and property, and there was a general conflagration at Fair Oaks. etc. I give these facts so precisely, because this "Baggage- destroying Order" was never published by General Mc- 29 Men and Things I Saw in Civil War Days Clellan, and his friends have ventured to deny it. The copies of it issued to our brigade, I have always under- stood, were burned up at Bristoe Station, in August, 1862, when Stonewall Jackson captured a train of cars there, containing among other things all the official desks and baggage of our brigade, and set fire to every- thing. But I recorded the substance of it in my private journal, for Saturday, June 28, 1862, and have the record still.i In- 1864, when McClellan was running for President, and this "Order" was denied, I published the above in the Neiv York Tribune, and challenged contradiction; but it never came. I did the same in the Century Maga- zine for May, 1889, with like result. The only explana- tion I have ever heard is, that this order was issued to a part of the Army, but not to the rest, because of protests from leading officers that it might demoralize the troops, and so was afterward suppressed as uncanny, if not unmilitary. It is strange that no copy has ever been produced. Was none preserved by any officer? Or were all burned up at Bristoe, as aforesaid?^ At Harrison's Landing, of course, we were safe — under the secure shelter of our gunboats. Or, as "Little Mac" phrased it July i, 'T fear I shall be forced to aban- don my material to save my men under tlic cover of the gunboats." (War Records, Vol. XI, Part 3, p. 280.) The same day he telegraphed, "Rodgers will do all that can be done to cover my flanks (with his gunboats)." And again, "More gunboats are much needed." (Ibid, pp. 281, 282.) And still again, 'T shall do my best to save the army. Send more gunboats." (Ibid, p. 280.) Lee certainly had the Army of the Potomac now where he wanted it — where it did not menace Rich- ' Also in my letters home. See chap, xv, p. 28 " See Appendix, p. 359. 3^ George B. McClellan mond, and was fairly eliminated. How he must have laughed at "Little Mac," and his "strategic change of base!" To show his contempt for the whole business, garrisoning Richmond well, he marched leisurely down the Valley, hoping to take Washington by a coup; and he would have done so, had it not been for General Pope and his gallant if unsuccessful fighting. Then came our promenade down the Peninsula and back to Yorktown again, after all our heavy fighting and frightful losses, and our tardy reembarkation back to Alexandria; with "Little Mac" in the rear, as usual, when he should have been at the front, hurrying his troops forward. He took "a savage satisfaction in be- ing the last to leave" Harrison's Landing; he "remained constantly with the rear guard;" he "remained on the Chickahominy until the bridge was removed" (his "Ozvn Story,'' pp. 468-9): and was among the last to arrive at Yorktown, when he should have been among the first there, and hastening our reembarkation. He seems to have misconceived the entire "situation." Ordinarily his position in the rear would have been right, had our rear been in danger or even seriously menaced. But, once under way down the Peninsula, Lee paid no attention to our humiliating retreat — he was after "bigger game" — and, therefore, McClellan should have left the care of his rear guard to some good division or corps commander, and hastened back to Washington, to see how best he could help there. Had Lee taken Washington, no man can tell what would have happened — probably the recognition, if not the triumph, of the Confederacy. But, thanks to Hooker, Kearny, Reynolds, Heintzelman, McDowell, and others, who rushed their commands to the front, ready or not ready. Pope was saved; and saving Pope then and there Ti'xeant saving the republic. 3 31 Men and Things I Saw in Civil War Days Hooker landed at Alexandria, and so eager was he to succor Pope, he marched immediately to the front, with his field officers on foot — their horses being yet on ship- board somewhere down the Potomac — and Kearny, I think, did the same. Franklin (one of McClellan's fa- vorites) landed, and, after leisurely reequipping his corps, called on Pope for cavalry to patrol his advance, and when he foimd Pope had not any, marched as far as Annandale. five or six miles out, August 29, and halted, because "detachments of the enemy's cavalry were re- ported"' between Alexandria and Centreville, and Mc- Clellan did not deem it ''safe for Franklin to march beyond," notwithstanding his splendid corps then numbered over ten thousand infantry, two squadrons of cavalry, and several batteries of artillery.^ What did he want of cavalry to "patrol his advance?" He was strong enough to march anywhere there, with Pope all beyond him, and only "detachments of the enemy," if any, between. Had he pushed on to Centre- ville, August 29, as he should have done (and might have done), he would have arrived in time to save Pope pos- sibly in his great battle of August 30. But, as it was, he "halted at Annandale," and did not reach Centreville until the evening of the 30th, after the battle was over. Of course, there were wild reports of the enemy's cav- alry being between Alexandria and Centreville at that time — McClellan's headquarters abounded with such ru- mors. And yet, about that time, I myself marched from Alexandria to Centreville. at the head of my brigade headquarters wagon train, without seeing or hearing of a Confederate soldier. T had been absent on "sick leave" from Harrison's Landing, and returning found this wag- ' Comte de Paris, vol. ii, p. 294; IVar RecordSy vol. xii, part 2, pp. 710, 722, 723, 739, 740. McClellan's Own Story, pp. 514, 516, 517. War Records^ vol. xi, part i, P- 99- 32 George B. McClellan on train, with the horses of the field officers of my bri- gade, at Alexandria, while their owners were at the front, marching and fighting on foot. Knowing how trying this must be, I obtained an order from McClellan's head- quarters to pass the lines, and hastened to Centreville, via Fairfax: Court House. I was told at McClellan's headquarters that I could not get there; that the coun- try was infested with Confederates; that Mosby's cavalry would "'gobble" me up, and the like. But I said I would take the chances! And so, interrogating all "'contra- bands" en route, and scouting through all the dangerous- looking places, I arrived at Centreville, safe and sound; with only a handful of teamsters and camp followers! It is true, this was two or three days afterward; but the "situation" was still substantially the same, as reported then and there. Pope certainly fought sturdily and gallantly, and was loyal to the core. But he was outnumbered at first ; and his supports afterward came up by piecemeal, and he was beaten in detail, before he could get his incongruous commands together and weld th6m into one. The verdict of history must be, that neither Fitzjohn Por- ter nor Franklin supported him cordially — refraining therefrom, either consciously or unconsciously, because of McClellan. Their telegrams and dispatches at that time, as well as their actions (and inactions), go to show this.^ I have always thought that both Porter and Franklin, as well as McClellan, should have been severely dealt with, because they then "failed to do their utmost" for the Union cause. For a less offense England shot Ad- miral Byng in 1757, and by that act did much to make her navy the greatest sea power of modern times. Porter, it is true, was court-martialed and dismissed — • See Appendix, p. 360. 33 Men and Things I Saw in Civil War Days and afterward restored. But the judgment of his most thoughtful comrades was, that he was dealt with too leniently — many have always held he ought to have been "shot to death with musketry" — and they have regret- fully seen little since in his "newly-discovered evidence," so called, to change their opinions. So, McClellan's telegrams and letters to both Lincoln and Stanton, from the Peninsula and afterward, bordered on insubordina- tion, not to say mutiny; and how the President and Sec- retary endured their disrespect, not to say insolence, will astonish and amaze our future historians.^ Nevertheless, Pope was defeated, and now what was to be done? Poor Kearny had fallen at Chantilly, the idol of his division and the pride of the Army. Had he lived, doubtless he would have succeeded Pope. But Burnside was held inadequate. Hooker and Meade had not yet approved themselves; and so, as a dernier ressort, McClellan was allow^ed to drift into the command again. Then came Antietam — only a drawn battle, when it should have been a great and complete victory. By sin- gular good luck (or kindly providence), Lee's "plan of campaign" fell into McClellan's hands ;2 and had he moved with celerity, Lee's army would have been struck while badly scattered, and beaten in detail — easily, if not overwhelmingly. But "Little Mac" sauntered along up into Maryland, at the rate of five or ten miles a day. after his manner, when he ought to have marched twenty or thirty: and when finally he struck the Con- federates they had pulled themselves together, and just missed whipping him. Nevertheless. Antietam was a victory, after a sort — Lee yielding the field at night and retiring into Virginia. It served to rehabilitate "Little Mac," and kept him in ' See Appendix, p. 361. * War Records, vol. xix, part 2, p. 281. Comte de Paris, vol. ii, p. 318. 34 George B. McClellan command until his extraordinary delay afterward (when he ought to have been whacking and hammering away at Lee's retreating army) finally exhausted the patience of President Lincoln even, and relegated our "Young Napoleon" to the peaceful lines of Trenton, N. J., whence, singularly, he never emerged. In 1864, Grant, indeed, thought somewhat of calling him to a command again; but it never materialized. And yet General McClellan was a brave man. a Chris- tian gentleman, and an American of fine parts in many ways. I myself have seen him calm and erect and cheery in exposed positions, amidst a very storm of shot and shell, while everybody else was seeking cover. Notably did this occur on the left at Fair Oaks, Wednes- day, June 25, 1862. There was a reconnoissance in force that day, chiefly by Hooker, to feel the enemy and advance our picket line. It was a superb June morning, with a slight breeze among the trees. The spectacle was magnificent, as Hooker swept' down across the fields, his line half a mile long, his colors streaming in the breeze, his bayonets glittering in the sunlight; but with- out a drumbeat. The movement cost us, first and last, about three hundred men in killed and wounded, and re- sulted in nothing — a piece of useless slaughter — our line returning to where it started from. But. in the midst of our advance. IMcClellan and his stafi" (in- cluding the French princes)^ rode over from head- quarters, to view the afi^air from a redoubt to the left of the Williamsburg Road — called redoubt No. 3. Here also were General Heintzelman, and many stafif of- ficers of the Third Corps — myself included. The Con- federates, from a lookout station on some lofty tree, saw ' They joined the Army of the Potomac in the autumn or winter of 1861, and left and re- turned to France !;non after we reached Harrison's Landing, in July. 1S6?. " Rats leave a sinking ship," and evidently these gallant young Frenchmen did not want to be there, if the Army was going to be captured. Clearly they had lost faith in " Little Mac ! " 35 Men and Things I Saw in Civil War Days this gathering of officers at redoubt No. 3, and soon began paying their comphments to us in the shape of shot and shell. At first the shells fell short or passed over us, exploding harmlessly in the air, or went wide of the redoubt. But presently they got our range, and pretty soon shell after shell came screaming straight at the redoubt, and every officer dodged or fell flat or leaped down iiito the ditch, except McClellan, who sat erect on the parapet, smoking a cigar and laughing heartily at our various misadventures. Fortunately the shells burst without injuring anybody; but McClellan's conduct throughout was fine, and nobody doubted his courage afterward. Indeed, McClellan was popular with the army, as a whole, down to the vevy last. His manners were simple and unaffected. He was always in uniform, but readily approachable. His personal life and character were be- yond reproach. He read Latin and Greek well, and spoke both French and Spanish like a native. He was a verv connoisseur in art. He knew all West Point could teach him, and indeed was an adept in all branches of the military profession, except the last and most important one of all, and that is, Jioiv to fight and conquer. As an organizer, and drillmaster, and disciplinarian, \ve did not produce McClellan's equal during the war. The Army of the Potomac was far and away the best drilled and disciplined and equipped army we had. But there he seems to have ended — with no power of getting on his legs and marching straight after the enemy and whipping him. He never knew when to take the initia- tive, and lacked aggressiveness and fighting energy: and so he never "got there," w^hen he ought to have won every time, or nearly so. He never seemed to know the Aalue of time — a vital element in campaigns and battles. He alwavs underestimated himself, and overestimated 36 George B. McClellan his antagonist^ — a capital mistake in military afifairs. And so he finally acquired the sobriquet of McClellan the Unready, or our Little Napoleon. I think history will declare, when she comes to sum him up finally, that he would have made an excellent Chief of Staff or perhaps a good Corps commander. But as commander in chief of the army, where he had to think and plan and act for himself and compel others to act, and where at times he had to take tremendous risks, clearly he w^as not a success; and it is amazing how tender contemporary history has been of him and his deeds, or rather want of deeds — if not misdeeds. As a candidate for the Presidency against Abraham Lincoln, he was, of course, a war man on a peace plat- form; and bound to be defeated, after the signal success of Sherman at Atlanta, and the brilHant victories of Sheridan in the Valley. As Governor of New Jersey he did fairly well. His administration, of course, was free from scandals; but it was marked by the same limita- tions as his army career, and not even his best friends ac- counted him a Napoleon iii civil afifairs. I regret to say these plain things of my first com- mander — he was so good a soldier and so nice a gentle- man. But I must state the truth of history, as we then lived and made it ; and this is how General McClellan always impressed me (and many others of his comrades) in those historic war days. Our Southern friends still account him the "greatest Yankee general." But when you ask them how soon he would have conquered their rebellion, and ended our war for the Union, they only look wise and venture no reply. His losses on the Peninsula were certainly appalling; • As at Yorktown and Fair Oaks, where he reported the Confederates as 120,000 to 180,000 or 206,000 strong, when they never had half that number. Where were his spies and scouts, and Secret Service funds ? Comte de Paris, vol. ii, p. 83 ; McClellan's Otvn Story, p. 437, 442, 444, etc. ; \Var Records, vol. vi. part i, p. 28-51, etc.; vol. xi, part 3, p. 71, 86, 102, 115, i43_. 259 266, 280, 281, 282, 286, 292, 299, 315, 338. A good many references, but very inter- esting reading ! 37 Men and Things I Saw in Civil War Days but it appears difficult to present thern accurately. His "Ofificiai Report," 7\ugust 4, 1863, does not agree with his "Army Returns" in 1862; and the War Department does not seem able to give the facts precisely. At least, this is the reply I received to two different letters sent there in February, 1898. He reached the Peninsula April 2, 1862. His "Return" for April 30, 1862 (before Yorktown), shows his strength present for duty, in- cluding Franklin's di\'ision (still on transports), as 112,- 392; his special duty, sick, and in arrest, 5,850; being a total of 118,242 present, besides 12.136 absent, making a total aggregate of 130,378. About June 12 he was reinforced by McCall's division of Pennsylvania Re- serves, 9,501 strong, increasing his total to 139,879. His losses, in action, April 5 to June 24, including Yorktown, Williamsburg, Fair Oaks, etc., were 1,513 killed, 5.746 wounded, and 1,217 captured or missing; a total of 8,476. His losses, in action, from June 25 to August 23 (the date he left the Peninsula), including the "Seven Days' Battle," etc., is given by the War Depart- ment as 1,750 killed, 8,122 wounded, and 6,100 captured or missing ; a total of 1 5,972. This would make his total losses, in action, 24,448. His "Tri-Monthly Return" for July 10, 1862 (at Har- rison's Landing),^ gives his present for July as 99,776, and his total aggregate (present and absent) as 157,038. Add to this "99.776 present," his losses in action, as above given, and we ha\e a total of 124,224. But his total strength on the Peninsula, or men received in all while there, as above given, was 139.879; which would leave only 15,655 as his losses from sickness and dis- ease. This seems small, when one remembers our frightful sickness both at Yorktown and Fair Oaks, as well as Harrison's Landing. However, even this 1 IFar Records, vol. xi, part 3, p. 312. 38 George B. McClellan would make his total losses both from battle and disease 40,103. On July 13, 1862, Mr. Lincoln telegraphed him from Washington: "I am told that over 160,000 men have gone into your army. When I was with you the other day (at Harrison's Landing) we made out 86,500 remain- ing, leaving 73,500 to be accounted for. I believe 23,500 will cover all the killed, wounded, and missing in all your battles and skirmishes; leaving 50,000 who have left otherwise. Not more than 5,000 of these have died, leaving 45,000 of your army still alive and not with it.^ On July 15 General McClellan answered this from Harrison's Landing, cjuestioning whether he had re- ceived "160,000" men present in all; but giving his then present for duty as 88,665, and his present and absent as 144,407. He gave his sick as 16,619, ^"^ ^""i^ ab- sentees as "about 40,000."^ These figures, it will be noticed, differ from his "Re- turn" of July 10 (above quoted) by about 11,000 men present. But Mr. Lincoln's estimate of "23,500" as his losses in action does not vary much from mine above (24,448); though I think his guess of "5,000" as having died from disease is more than twice too small. The "absentees" were not all deserters, by a long shot. But thousands of them were good officers and men, who had gone home on furlough or "sick leave," or otherwise, after our bloody and exhausting battles, etc., on the Peninsula, because of the want of hospital accommoda- tions, medical attendance, etc. : and they never returned because of death or prolonged disability, incapacitating them for further service. From all which, after much searching of the records ' IV/ir Records, vol. xi, part 3, p. 319. * Ibid, p. 321. 39 Men and Things I Saw in Civil War Days and my own actual experience there, and much talk with others there, I think it fair to conclude as follows: McClellan's total strength on the Peninsula, or men actually re- ceived, at least ^160,000 His losses in action 25,000 His losses from disease. ... 25.000 50,000 Remaining 1 10,000 Present July 15, as per his above report to Mr. Lincoln 88,665 Absentees 21,335 It is true that Mr. Lincoln puts these "absentees" at '"45,000," and McClellan at "about 40,000." But it is l3elieved that, with the foregoing explanations, the above figures of 21,335 ^^^ more nearly accurate. This makes his total losses, then, from both battle and disease, as 50,000, instead of "40,103," as above figured out ; and this it is believed cannot be far wrong. Li other words. General McClellan lost otw third of his army on the Peninsula, and gained nothing whatever; the Army of the Potomac returning again to Alexandria in August, whence it moved late in March. Even as, ingloriously, "The King of France, with fifty thousand men, Marched up the hill, and then marched down again." Well might Robert E. Lee air his sometime Latin, and serenely sing, "Partitrimif monies nascitur ridiculus musr ' His "Return." July lo, gives his aggregate, present and absent, as 157.038, even then Mr. Lincoln's estimate of " 160,000" of course was furnished him by the Adjutant-General, U. S. A., and made up from actual " Returns" in the War Department. 40 ^»lll 1; rl c m 1 1 1 i^l^^^^^^^H ll Gen. Ambrose E. Burnside, 1862. Ambrose E. Burnside CHAPTER IV Ambrose E. Burnside My next commander was General Burnside. Antietam was fought September i6 and 17, 1862; and Lee, dazed but not defeated, fell back into Virginia again. Here he was allowed to rest and recuperate, ad libitum, until November i, or thereabouts, before McClellan got ready to pursue him — a delay inexcusa- ble from every point of view. It is true, that "Little Mac" alleged his array was terribly bad off: short of hcirses, short of wagons, short of rations, clothing, shoes, and about everything. But if he whipped Lee at Antietam, the Confederates, beaten and retreating, must certainly have been far worse off; as was indeed the fact, of course. Lee recrossed the Potomac on the night of September 1 8, without McClellan knowing much about it, if indeed suspecting it. Nevertheless, September 19, he tele- graphed the general in chief (Halleck) at Washington as follows:^ ■'I have the honor to report that Maryland is entirely freed from the presence of the enemy, who Jias been driven across tJic Potomac. * " '•' "G. B. McClellan, Major General Commanding." "Driven" by wJwm, and ivhcn? Certainly not by Mc- Clellan; for in his "Ozvn Story,'' page 620, he says: "On the night of the eighteenth the enemy, after passing* troops in the latter part of the day from tlieVirgiiiia sJiore to their position behind SJiarpsbnrg [Maryland], as seen * McClellan's Otvn Story, p. 621. 41 Men and Things I Saw in Civil War Days by our officers [evidently to mislead McClellan], sud- denly formed the design of abandoning their posi- tion and retreating across the river. [And this] was effected before daylight [apparently without his knowl- edge]. vSo Lee was back safe into Virginia again, and of course both Lincoln and Stanton (and the country) ex- jDCcted to see jMcClellan cross the Potomac instantcr and march sharply after him. They both wrote and tele- graphed him accordingly, but without result. The weather was superb — the exquisite autumnal weather of Virginia — and they daily became more urgent. Finally, October i — two weeks of invaluable time having been lost — Mr. Lincoln himself paid him a visit, and patiently queried why he did not hasten after Lee. History will be surprised to learn that nothing came of this. even. And so, at last, as a dernier ressort, on October 6, Halleck telegraphed him as follows : "The President directs, that you cross the Potomac and give battle to the enemy, or drive him South. * * =^ He is very desirous that your army move as soon as pos- sible. -^ * * I am directed to add, that the Secretary of AVar and the general in chief fully concur with the Pres- ident in these instructions."^ Did he go now? O, no! He still complained of his equipage, supplies, horses, etc. ; and two iveeks afterward — two weeks of golden opportunity — on October 21 was again ordered as follows: "Your telegram has 1)een submitted to the President. He directs me to say, that he has no change to make in his order of the 6th instant. * * ='= The President does not expect impossibilities, but he is very anxious that 1 JSIcClellan's Own Story, p. 628. 42 Ambrose E. Burnside all this good weather should not be wasted in inactivity. Telegraph zvhcii you will move."^ Did he move now? No, not yet! But on October 25 was again prodded as follows (in reply to a telegram that some of his horses were worn down, "fatigued," etc.): "To ]\1ajor General McClellan:! have just re- ceived your dispatch about sore-tongued and fatigued horses. Will you pardon me for asking what the horses of your army have done since the battle of Antietam, that fatigues anything? A. Lincoln."^ Did he move now? No, he did not budge yet! It seems incredible, but he actually did not cross the Po- tomac himself imtil November i,^ although he did, in- deed, start some of his divisions across October 26 — the day after Mr. Lincoln's characteristic and laconic dis- patch. But the Sixth Corps — the last one over — did not cross until November 2;* and it was not until No- vember 7 that "Little Mac" finally reached Rectortown, near AVarrenton, Va.^ Here he received orders from President Lincoln — his titanic patience at last ex- hausted, and no wonder — to turn the Army of the Po- tomac over to General Burnside. who was already pres- ent in command of the Ninth Army Corps, and his second in command as next ranking ofificer. This change of our commanders, it must be admitted, was not altogether satisfactory; and there was some talk of making General McClellan military dictator, and of "marching upon Washington and taking possession of the government," and of pitching Lincoln and his Cabi- net and Congress into the Potomac, etc.*' But this was confined to a few favorites and "feather-heads" of "Lit- » McClellan's 0?(;« 5'^or)', p. 640. « 7/5/^., p. 643. ^ Tbid.,-p. 63^. * fiici., p. 646. ^ ^farl< these dates — Sept. i8th, Lee defeated and " driven " across the Potomac; but MrClellan did not cross until Nov. i — sz.r weeks wasted ! * McClellan's Own Story, p. 652. 43 Men and Things I Saw in Civil War Days tie Mac's" (the army, as a whole, was thoroughly loyal), and duly evaporated with the early departure of General JMcClellan for the historic lines of Trenton, N. J. It must be confessed, General Burnside was not wel- come to us; but we accepted him and awaited his orders, as the best Mr. Lincoln could do under the circum- stances. He had served creditably at first Bull Run, and won distinction at Roanoke Island, without much real fighting or actual generalship; and had just fought bravely at Antietam, if not very skillfully. And here he was now in command of the Army of the Potomac — one hundred and twenty-five thousand strong — a job requir- ing first-class brains. Now, what was to be done, and how was he to do it? Burnside sat still a few days, studying the situation and gathering up the reins, and then suddenly decided to change the plan of campaign and make a dash at Fredericksbiu-g, and beat Lee into Richmond that way. It was not a bad move, and held the potency and promise of success if rapidly executed. But Lee beat him in the foot race to Fredericksburg, and soon had his ragged Confederates in a stronger position than ever at Marye's Heights and elsewhere there, with the broad and un- fordable Rappahannock flowing between us. Of course, Burnside blamed somebody else for not getting our pontoons there in time to cross the river be- fore Lee arrived. But he was the responsible com- mander, with ample powers and ofTlcers, and should him- self have known how to make things "come to pass." ]\Iy own division did not get to Antietam; it was too much used up by the Peninsula and Pope campaigns, and was left at Alexandria to recruit and help man the defenses of Washington. Nor did we get up to War- ren ton. But we marched first from Alexandria (I re- ceived my second promotion here, to division headquar- 44 Ambrose E. Burnside ters, October 15, 1862) to jManassas Junction, where we guarded the rear of the army while it switched over to Fredericksburg, and then joined it at Falmouth, by way of Fairfax Court House and Wolf Run Shoals, early in December. I think this was the worst march I made during the war. Much of it was in the midst of a wild December storm of wind and rain and sleet, through fathomless Virginia mud, and the sufiferings of the troops were indescribable. After the first day or so, many of our poor fellows became barefoot, and for a week or more after we arrived on the heights of Stafford I saw hun- dreds of our men standing guard or walking their weary rounds as sentries in the snow, with their feet bound up in grain bags or cofifee sacks. Valley Forge (the Amer- icans were in winter quarters and had good log huts there) could not have been much worse than Falmouth^ in those early December days before our supplies got up. But the Quartermaster Department bestirred itself, and soon the army was again thoroughly equipped, and in superb fighting trim. Of course, we had to have our inevitable "Review,"^ and Burnside — portly and handsome, smiling and cour- teous, with his side-whiskers, mustache, and beautiful white teeth, but without dash or grip in his face — sat erect on his dark-brown bobtail horse, while a hundred thousand of us marched past, scanning him closely. I do not think there was an officer or a man of us that felt safe in his hands. But we were there to "obey orders,'* and to do and die. if need be, for the Union. Now came the so-called battle of Fredericksburg. It was rather a foreordained slaughterhouse, and our brave boys the predestined victims. Lee had been given all the time he wanted, to fortify every hill and flood every ravine; and so all he had to do was to sit still and see us 45 Men and Things I Saw in Civil War Days march into his traps, or knock our heads against his works. We belonged to the Left Grand Division (Franklin's), and crossed the Rappahannock December 12, about three miles below Fredericksburg, while the Center and Right Grand Divisions crossed at Fredericksburg. Our crossing was not seriously opposed, because Lee wanted us to come over to his side, to save him the trouble bf crossing over to ours. We had fifty thousand men there on the left, as good soldiers as ever fought. But Frank- lin lacked either inclination or ability to handle them, or had not precise orders as to when and how he should attack (as he always claimed — something was always at fault when Franklin had to act), and so little came of our movement there. Our only possible hope of success was to attack at once, before Lee's supports there got up. But we lay quiet all that day and night, while the Confederates (Hill and Ewell) marched day and night to reinforce that part of their line. When on the 13th Ave tardily advanced we found fifty cannon in position, and Stonewall Jackson and Longstreet confronting us. Meade, with his gallant Pennsylvanians (he had only about five thousand men), accomplished something — he always was a good soldier — but he was left to be en- filaded by Confederate artillery and crushed by Con- federate infantry — while the rest of us stood idly by for •want of fighting orders. Franklin was far in the rear, as usual, with no real grasp of the battlefield, and Burn- side miles away at Falmouth, and losing his head there. Of course, we fell back after heavy losses, and the Con- federates did not pursue; they wanted us to try it again. Here poor General Bayard perished, struck by a pass- ing Confederate shell while sitting under a tree in the midst of his staff, awaiting orders. He was a gallant Jerseyman; my own old school friend; already distin- j- 46 Ambrose E. Burnside guishecl as a cavalry leader, and worthy to rank with Sheridan, had he hved. He was to have been married shortly, and his last moments were spent in speaking of his fiancee and of his beloved parents. Meanwhile, the rest of the army had attacked in front of Fredericksburg. A mist hung over the river and the valley all the morning; but toward noon this lifted, re- vealing the Confederate heights bristling with bayonets and cannon, and swarming with soldiers. The key of the position was Marye's Hill, just back of Fredericksburg, and we were ordered to assault that impregnable height at all hazards and whatever cost. During the morning I had been sent with a report or dispatch to Burnside's headquarters, and while gallop- ing through a wood road my horse slipped on a root extending across the road, and fell heavily upon me. He was a large, jet black, handsome fellow, captured at Fair Oaks in June, in the rush of the battle there, and we both came down so hard I thought my right leg broken and done for, for sure. Neither of us could rise. But, for- tunately, a squad of stragglers happened to be near, cooking a pot of coffee, and, rushing to our assistance, they soon got us on our feet again. I was badly shaken up and in great pain; but presently managed to cHmb into the saddle again, and ride on to headquarters. Here all was confusion and indecision, and I was de- tained considerably. But as I rode back over the brow of a hill overlooking the Rappahannock, en route to my division, as the fog lifted and the sun came out bright and clear, across the river I beheld our lines in motion — French and Hancock — and soon on the double-quick with a rush and a cheer they attacked the whole Con- federate front there. It was indeed a gallant sight; never one more so. Without a glass I could count the banners and distin- 4 47 Men and Things I Saw in Civil War Days guish the brigades from where I sat on my horse. How the muskets gleamed, and the bayonets flashed, and the flags streamed in the glorious sunlight! But scarcely had they started forward before the whole Confederate heights were a circle of fire. A hundred cannon were in skillful position there, and shot and shell opened great gaps through our regiments. But still our lines swept onward till the Confederate infantry opened, and then suddenly a cloud of smoke like the breath of hell rolled over the battlefield, and our brave boys disappeared from sight. It was a constant earthquake. It was a live volcano. The roar of battle was deafening and con- tinuous even from where I sat; but it did not last. In twenty minutes or so it was all over. The cloud slowly lifted, and our men were back in their lines again — what were left of them. The field was strewn with the dead, and the dying. Riderless horses galloped wildly at will. The wounded were being borne to the rear. Thousands of men had become cripples for life; and thousands of firesides were desolate forever. Ah, me! but it was a pitiful spectacle; and I turned and rode on to my divi- sion, sick at heart over such useless slaughter of brave men. But Burnside was not yet satisfied. He thought French and Hancock did not know how to do it ; though they had sacrificed one third of their men. Down at the Phillips House, on the opposite or Stafford side of the river, a mile or more away from the battlefield, he strode up rind down the terrace, and, shaking his fist at Marye's Hill, still thundering with artillery, insanely declared: "That height must be carried before nightfall!" So he sent for Fighting Joe Hooker, and ordered him to take it. A smaller man than General Tlooker would have blind- ly obeyed the order; but he first sent an aid to inquire 48 Ambrose E. Burnside about it, and then he himself (ever thoughtful of his men) recrossed the river under a heavy artiUery fire, and endeavored to dissuade Burnside from such a useless butchery. His only answer was "to obey orders," and so, of course, Hooker went in, with all his accustomed ardor and intrepidity. But he might as well have stormed the fiery mouth of hell. Night came on in the midst of the furious fighting. " Cannon to right of them, Cannon to left of them. Cannon in front of them, Volleyed and thundered ; " but Hooker did not give it up until thousands more of our brave boys were hors de combat. First and last, we left over six thousand men at the foot of Marye's Hill and up its bloody slope; and, al- together, lost at Fredericksburg over twelve thousand men;^ while the Confederate loss was about half as much more. Burnside, however, was not yet content, and meditated another attack next day at the head of his own old corps (he was no coward), but was finally per- suaded to give this up. We lay still the next day, and the next, with only oc- casional artillery firing and skirmishing; and finally on the night of the fifteenth Burnside made up his mind to withdraw, and before morning we had recrossed the Rappahannock and were back in our old camps again, or well on the way to them. Why Lee did not attack and destroy us and our pontoon bridges, in the midst of our night retreat, I do not know. Suppose he had trained his artillery on our bridges or bridge-heads? If he did not know of our retreat, he must have been kept poorly informed by his pickets. If unable to profit by ' Our exact losses were i2,:t53 men, of whom i,i8o were killed, 9,028 wounded, and 2,145 taken prisoners. — Comte de Paris, vol. ii, p. 596. 49 Men and Things I Saw in Civil War Days it, he must have been used up worse than we knew, or else have "lost his head" also in the magnitude of his \ictory. Now what was to be done? Evidently, General Burn- side did not know. But after pondering various proj- ects, he finally decided to cross the Rappahannock again, above Fredericksburg, and try conclusions again with the Confederates. This was his famous "Mud ]\Iarch" in January, 1863. The campaign began all right — it was splendid weather; but a general thaw and rain set in soon afterward — the bottoms dropped out of the Virginia roads — and our pontoons and artillery seemed bound for China. After floundering around for three or four days in fathomless mud, with scores or hundreds of men attempting to haul a single piece of artillery, besides the horses, the advance was counter- manded, and back we went to our old camps again. Of course, his generals (and the army) by this time were criticising him considerably, and his only plan to meet this was to request the President to dismiss General Hooker and others from the service, and relieve General Franklin and others from their commands. A brilliant idea, surely — magnificent strategy, splendid tactics — worthy of such a commander in chief! And Mr. Lincoln responded by relieving Burnside himself, and placing the gallant Hooker in command ! I do not want to be unfair or unkind to poor General Burnside. He was certainly loyal and patriotic, and meant to do his best. But I think history will declare he was utterly incompetent for such a great command, and ought never to have accepted it. It is true, he dis- trusted himself, and was averse to accepting it. But then no man ought ever to accept such a job, if he thinks he cannot accomplish it. A due self-confidence is es- sential to success in any line of business, but in none 50 Ambrose E. Burnside more so than in military affairs. A favorite maxim of Frederick the Great was: "The tools to him who can use them." But he never will use them, if he thinks he can- not. Grant selected Sherman as his right arm and Sheridan as his left, because they believed they could k7/z> the enemy. It is to General Burnside's credit, that he did not disappear when relieved, like General McClel- lan, but later on went out to Tennessee and tried it again with a smaller command. But here also he got . into trouble, and would have been compelled to capitu- late to Longstreet at Knoxville, had not Sherman marched promptly to his relief the very day Grant and he finished up Bragg at Chattanooga. Sherman, in- deed, knew well the value of time. He did not even ride into Chattanooga (to see and enjoy the victory a little, as most generals would have done),'but instantly put his column in motion, with orders to make forced marches to East Tennessee (without overcoats or blankets even, though late in November, and bitter cold), and thus saved the day at Knoxville. General Burnside no doubt would have done well as a brigade or division commander, wliere he would have had somebody else to do his thinking and furnish him orders. But to swmg an army of one hundred and twenty-five thousand men ; to think and plan and execute great things on a great scale, sometimes instanter—m short, to take the initiative and win against such a Confederate gamecock as Robert E. Lee— evidently this was a job beyond his caliber; and good and clean as he was in many respects yet history will find it hard to forgive him for the Slaughter House at Fredericksburg. 51 Men and Things I Saw in Civil War Days CHAPTER V Joseph Hooker My next commander, and personally most beloved of all, was General Hooker; or "Fighting Joe Hooker," as we used to call him. J first saw him in December, 1861 , when my brigade reported to him in lower Maryland. He was already in command of a New England brigade and a New York brigade there, and our brigade (Second New Jersey— his Third Brigade) completed his division, that became so well known afterward as Second Divi- sion, Third Corps, or "Hooker's Division," Army of the Potomac. General Hooker was then in the prime of manhood, with steel-blue eyes, sandy hair, and clear-cut features- well set-up, but not corpulent— about six feet high; sol- dierly in his bearing and movements, and the beau ideal of a division commander. His talk was brilliant and in- cisive, and instinctively he impressed all who came in contact with him as an ofificer who knew zvhat to do and how to do it, and confident of accomplishing it. I well remember his first inspection of our brigade, and how thoroughlv he overhauled us. It was on a bright Sunday morning in December, 1861, at Rum Point, Md., op- posite the Confederate batteries at Cockpit Point, Va. And as he went through us, regiment by regiment, there did not seem to be a defect in a uniform or gun or 1 knapsack or mule team, that his eagle eye did not de- tect, nor a well set-up officer or soldier that he did not I compliment and praise. He was a West Pointer: he had distinguished himself in Mexico; and it was fair to expect great things of him 52 .1 Gen. Joseph Hooker^ 1863. I Joseph Hooker in the future. The winter of 1861-62 he devoted to drill and discipline — everybody had to "toe the mark" — and to winning the confidence and affection of his officers and men ; and it is safe to say, that when we landed on the Peninsula in the spring of 1862, there was no finer di- vision in the Army of the Potomac. It approved itself at Williamsburg in May, where it received its "baptism of fire."^ It distinguished itself at Fair Oaks in June, where it helped greatly to save the day. It marched and fought like a Macedonian phalanx or a Roman le- gion, with bent brow and firm front, in the memorable ''Seven Days' Battle" from front of Richmond to James River, in June and July, 1862. Indeed, in all the Penin- sula campaign, there was no hard marching or heavy fighting that Hooker did not participate in, and every- body felt that, whatever else happened, his division at least was sure to be bravely and skillfully commanded. Hooker himself was always present on the field, alert and vigilant, conspicuously mounted on a white horse — with flaming eyes, florid face, and high shirt collar, that soon wilted down when we got engaged — but as cool and collected under fire as if directing a parade or a picnic. In every engagement he always seemed to know ex- actly what to do and zvhen to do it; and it goes without saying, his men always went into action with alacrity and intrepidity, because they knew he would not put them in improperly, or fight them blunderingly, or im- peril them unnecessarily. He was never ordered to at- tack, that he did not obey promptly and intelligently. He was never called on for support, that he did not re- spond cheerfully and gallantly. Ever ready, ever will- ing and eager, always equal to the occasion, he never missed a battle or skirmish in the Peninsula campaign 1 See p. 26. 53 Men and Things I Saw in Civil War Days when it was his duty to be present, and hence early ac- quired the sobriquet of "Fighting Joe Hooker," and well deserved it. He did not fancy this himself, as he said it implied mere brute courage, whereas he claimed capacity for command. But the name, nevertheless, came and "stuck" all through the war, because it aptly described his surface characteristics; that is, his readi- ness to fight and ability as a tighter. When we were ordered back from the Peninsula, Hooker's division was one of the first to reach Alexan- dria, and, heeding the call and distress of poor Pope, with gallant Phil Kearny's division hastened loyally to the front, while Porter's and Franklin's divisions lagged lamentably behind. Had they moved as promptly as Hooker's and Kearny's, our second Bull Run might have resulted quite differently. Hooker, indeed, did not even wait for his private baggage, nor for the horses of his field and staff officers, but, recognizing the great need of General Pope, marched at once to Warrenton and fought gallantly by his side at both Bristoe and Manassas. Poor Kearny (peace to his ashes and tears to his memory!) did the same, and then fell at Chantilly the next day but one afterward, in the midst of a twi- light reconnoissance (September i). But, all the same, he baffled Lee's plans and headed off Stonewall Jackson on the march for Fairfax Court House, and thus saved our line of retreat to Alexandria and Washington. Hooker was deeply touched when he heard Kearny had fallen (they were close friends and dear to each other), and we were all wkelmed in a common grief. He was our Chevalier de Bayard, the idol of his division and pride of the army; our Phil. Sheridan of 1862, with a great career before him. T was only a short distance away when he fell; and I think Chantilly (fought in an evening thunderstorm) was the saddest hour I saw in 54 Joseph Hooker the service, before the supreme tragedy of Lincohi's assassination. General Lee showed the gentleman and chivalrous foe he was by sending Kearny's body into our lines under a flag of truce (September 2), "thinking the possession of his remains may be a consolation to his family."^ And in this he only voiced the common sentiment of both armies toward the heroic Kearny. Subsequently he also sent his sword, horse, and saddle by request of Mrs. Kearny.^ Hooker's division did not make the Antietam cam- paign — it was too much used up — but was left behind at Alexandria to recruit its thinned ranks and worn energies. Mr. Lincoln, however, would not dispense with Hooker himself, and so he promoted him to the command of the First Corps, z'icc McDowell, relegated to Washington. Here General Hooker also acquitted himself well, but was severely wounded and borne off the field in the very hour of victory.^ He was unable to report for duty again, until we reached Falmouth (De- cember, 1862), but here he was assigned to the com- mand of the Centre Grand Division — one third of the whole army — and still further demonstrated his ability by handling it ably and skillfully at the bloody battle of Fredericksburg. Hence when, after Fredericksburg and the "Mud March," Burnside was inevitably relieved, Mr. Lin- coln naturally appointed General Hooker to succeed him. What else, indeed, was there to do? Kearny was dead, or doubtless he would have been called to the command; Hancock and Meade had not yet "won their spurs;" Sumner (of the Right Grand Di- vision) was too old and obstinate, and had never yet 1 War Records, vol. xii, part iii, p. 807. 2 Ibid., vol. xix, part ii, p. ;i8i. See also Appendix, p. 369. _ _ 01 n ^ There is a story that the corps commanders at Antietam, disgusted with McClellan, were about putting Hooper in command over his head, but the messenger found Hooker too badly wounded to sit his horse, and so the whole scheme came to naught. 55 Men and Things I Saw in Civil War Days shown much head on his shoulders; Franklin (of the Left Grand Division) had again shown only irresolution and indecision, if not disinclination; and therefore the only thing to do was to place General Hooker in com- mand. He had some enemies, it is true, chiefly because of his sharp criticisms of McClellan and Burnside. But he had also ardent and enthusiastic friends, who believed in him thoroughly, as both officer and man. And above all, he believed thoroughly in himself, and this in military affairs (and all human affairs) is often more than "half the battle." General Hooker at once assumed command (about February i, 1863), and none too soon. The Army of the Potomac was, indeed, then in a bad way. It had not been paid for six months. It had lost heavily in killed and wounded at Fredericksburg, with no adequate re- sults. Above all, it had lost its morale, and was fast los- ing its organization. General Hooker officially reported he found nearly three thousand officers and over eighty thousand soldiers on the rolls "absent, with or without leave." The Proclamation of Emancipation (just pre- viously issued), while all right per se, had, nevertheless, caused bitter dissensions, particularly among the line officers, and these he quickly stopped by prompt court- martial and dismissal. I knew of many who publicly de- clared, that "they did not enlist to fight for the niggers, and they were going to resign and go home." But a few courts-martial soon ended all that. The desertions he cured by "shooting to death with musketry" in a few of the more flagrant cases, and then getting Mr. Lincoln to issue a proclamation of pardon to all who returned voluntarily to the ranks by a given date. He devised a system of furloughs, whereby all of us in turn might spend a few days at home. He abolished the clumsy organization bv Grand Divisions — an invention 56 Joseph Hooker of Buniside, and worthy of him — and returned to the simple and more effective organization by army corps, as instituted by McClellan and practiced by Grant and Sherman. He invented the corps "badges," or, rather, adopted the invention of poor Kearny, who first insti- tuted them on the Peninsula, in order to identify his own troops as the "Red Patch Division," and Hooker now wisely diversified and extended these to the whole army. My own Division soon became known as the "White Diamonds." He increased and improved the rations. He set up brigade bakeries — to give us fresh bread, in lieu of "hard- tack." He reequipped and reclothed all who needed it; he weeded out incompetent and unworthy officers; he looked sharply after everything that could make for drill and discipline and organization; he rode constantly through our camps and hospitals and among our bat- teries and wagon trains, and saw everything that was going on (and not going on), and thus it was not long before everybody felt that the eye and hand of a master- ful commander was upon him. And so, when in May, with the Virginia dogwoods all in bloom, we set out for Chancellorsville, it was a common remark by shrewd observers, that the Army of the Potomac was never in better heart and trim. At Chancellorsville, General Hooker's strategy was good, but his tactics failed. His plan, indeed, was ex- cellent, and his generalship of a high order, until the surprise and rout of the Eleventh Corps (indifferently commanded by Howard, and badly handled by Sigel, Schurz, and others) and his own grievous disability ruined everything. In the very crisis of the battle there — in the very pinch of the campaign — while standing on the porch of the Chancellor House, overlooking the hotly contested field, a Confederate cannon ball struck 57 Men and Things I Saw in Civil War Days a pillar of the porch against which he was leaning, and the pillar in falling knocked him senseless. I saw and talked with him myself shortly before this, and he was alert and confident as usual. But now he was uncon- scious or helpless for hours — dazed, half paralyzed, not a tithe of himself — just when his brain and hand were most required, and his next in command (Couch) knew not how to gather up the reins suddenly and direct the battle. Hence things drifted, and hence we fought Chancellorsville by piecemeal, and did not put in half our troops, and hence were worsted there (notwith- standing John Sedgwick's brilliant work down at Fred- ericksburg), when we ought to have won a great and telling victory. Its only comfort to me personally was, that it brought me another promotion (Lt. Col. and Chief O. M. 3d Corps, May 27, 1863). But bad as Chancellorsville was, and in some respects it was really melancholy, it nevertheless was not a blun- der and a disaster like Fredericksburg. If baffled and defeated, at least we were not discouraged and demor- alized, and soon were ready to try conclusions again with our Confederate friends. Grievous as were our losses, they did not begin to compare with Lee's; for he there lost his great lieutenant, Stonewall Jackson, his right arm hitherto, and was never able to replace him afterward. Hooker still held the respect and esteem of the army, if not its full confidence, and the masterly way in which he followed up and checkmated Lee in June, 1863, from the Rappahannock to the Potomac, in the beginning of the great Gettysburg campaign, won our hearty admiration. Indeed, Hooker always claimed that Mearle only followed out his plans substantially, in fighting as he did at Gettysburg. It must be remem- bered that Meade was only three days in command be- fore our great battle of Gettysburg, with much to learn 58 Joseph Hooker in many ways; and had Hooker been there and suc- ceeded so well, it is hardly credible that, with his energy and self-reliance, Lee would have got back into Virginia again so easily, after being whipped so thoroughly up there in Pennsylvania. I saw a good deal of General Hooker after he was re- heved from the command of the Army of the Potomac, and he always chafed bitterly over it and scolded much, but he did not sulk. He was still ready for duty, there or elsewhere, and when, after Chickamauga (September 19, 1863), he was ordered West with the Eleventh and Twelfth Corps (soon after consolidated into the Twen- tieth), he showed his accustomed intelligence and energy by moving his entire command — over twenty thousand strong, with their artillery, ammunition, baggage, etc. — by rail from Washington, D. C, to Bridgeport, Ala. — nearly a thousand miles in six days — a feat unparalleled during the war. He asked for me to accompany him (I was then serv- ing as Inspector at Army headquarters), but Stanton was still angry with him, and characteristically replied: *T will give General Hooker no more officers until he gets West and docs something!" Hooker then went in person to the White House, but Mr. Lincoln gave him a like reply. And so he went West. Here he was prompt to report to Thomas and Grant, and did much to relieve Chattanooga, and fought his famous "Battle Above the Clouds" — the very poetry of the war — at Lookout Mountain. His actual fighting at Lookout did not amount to very much ; but it was scenic and dra- matic — "Above the Clouds" — and gave him a world- wide and historic fame. In the spring and summer of 1864. he participated ac- tively in the great campaign and battles of General Sherman from Chattanooga to Atlanta, and there was 59 Men and Things I Saw in Civil War Days hardly an important engagement from the Tennessee to the Chattahoochee, that he did not have a hearty and heavy hand in. His last battle was at Peach Tree Creek, in front of Atlanta, where the gallant McPherson fell — young in years, but full of honors. Sherman now made the mistake (as I have always thought) of putting How- ard in McPherson's place, over the head of Hooker — his superior in rank as well as large military qualities; and Hooker unfortunately committed the still greater mis- take — the error of his lifetime — by instantly resigning and retiring to Cincinnati. How^ard then commanded the Fourth Corps, and was commanding it well. But he had failed Hooker at Chancellorsville, and I suppose Tlooker, conscious of rectitude and of his own greater qualities, could not endure to see Howard (his junior in rank also) thus promoted over him. Of course, it was human to refuse to submit to such treatment. But it Avas not war, nor good military politics, and I think Hooker keenly regretted it always afterward. Unquestionably, Sherman was a little jealous of Hooker, or, at least, was not fair to him in this assign- ment of commands after his loyal and brilliant services both East and West. But. all the same, Hooker would have stood better in history had he "accepted the situa- tion," and fought the war through to its finish. Suppose he had stuck to it, and gone on to Savannah, and up through the Carolinas. and been in at the final surrender of Joe Johnston, and appeared in the Grand Review^ at Washington? He would indeed have been welcomed as "Fighting Joe Hooker:" and what an ovation he Avould have been given b>' the Army and the nation! Altogether, I confess, T have always thought well of General Hooker, and have tried to say it here. His in- tellect was of a high order — broad, keen, alert, vigorous — and what he did not know of the art of war and prac- 60 I Joseph Hooker tical soldiering is hardly worth knowing. He was open and accessible to everybody; but he also knew how to as- sume authority and exercise command. One could not be long in his presence without feeling the mastery of his mind and will, while the charm of his manner was something indescribable. As a division commander, he certainly did not have his superior in the Army of the Potomac. As a corps commander, his conduct at An- tietani speaks for itself. As an army commander, he was unfortunate at Chancellorsville; but otherwise and elsewhere he showed high military qualities, and I sin- cerely think deserves higher rank in history than he has . hitherto received. In his later years, after the war ended, he was para- lyzed both mentally and physically, and so was unable to "write himself up," in the Century and otherwise, as others did. Had he lived and been himself, unquestion- ably we would have heard the other side of the story; for he held "the pen of a ready writer." But, all the same, he was a great and illustrious American soldier, and I dare to lay this tribute upon his grave. He was my comrade and good friend always, from 1861 to his de- cease, and I honored and loved him much. And every officer and soldier of "Hooker's Old Division," at least, will hurrah, foi him forever! As illustrative of his chivalric nature and fine soldierly character, I beg to add the following. In the winter of 1861-62, on the lower Potomac, our camps soon became places of refuge for ^Maryland slaves, and their aristo- cratic owners (largelv disloyal) procured a general order from McClellan to retake them wherever found, and commanding officers were instructed accordingly. A party of slave owners rode up to Hooker's headquarters one day, and reported several of their slaves in the camp- of a Massachusetts regiment in his division, and, citing 61 Men and Things I Saw in Civil War Days General McClellan's order, demanded the surrender of their "property." "Yes,' said Hooker, "I have seen the order, and yonder is the Massachusetts camp. And if your slaves are there and choose to go with you, and the Massachu- setts boys are content, I have no objections. But if they refuse, and a row occurs over there, I fear you will get into the guardhouse — the same as any other marauders." "But, General Hooker, are you not going to appre- hend our slaves for us?" "Why, bless my soul, no! I am Brigadier General U. S. Vols., and no 'nigger-catcher!' I was born and bred in New England!" It is needless to say, that the poor fugitives were safe, and McClellan's famous (or rather infamous) "Maryland slave order" soon became a dead-letter in all Hooker's camps. So, in December, 1861, he sent for me one day, and when I reported in person said he thought of putting me under arrest, for "disobedience of orders." But when I explained it was only quasi disobedience, and that I Avas right and the order wrong, he complimented me on my non-compliance with it. and wound up by in- viting me to "take a little commissary" and to dine with him ! This was my first interview with General Hooker, and it goes without saying we remained friends ever afterward. So, after the bloody battle of Williamsburg in May, 1862, where Hooker lost fifteen hundred men in killed tmd woimded, and Hancock only thirty-one. and yet McClellan gave the credit chiefly to Hancock,^ Hooker rode over to our headquarters one night, and sitting around our Jersey camp fire, with Lieutenant Colo- • See p. 26. 62 Joseph Hooker nel Mott, of the Fifth New Jersey (afterward Gen- eral Mott), and myself, and others, after discussing Mc- Clellan's extraordinary dispatch considerably — some of us quite excitedly — he summed it all up humorously thus: "I say, Mott, it seems to me you and I, and your Jersey Blues and the Excelsior Brigade, were not at WilHamsburg at all! Hancock did the business!" And he laughed gayly and rode homeward. So, in September, 1862, after his cruel wound at An- tietam, when he lay at Washington, out at the Asylum (the superintendent of which was his old friend, and so had invited him there for rest and treatment), a party of us rode over from Alexandria one day to call upon him, and among other things urged him to recommend Colo- nel , of a certain New Jersey regiment, for promo- tion to brigadier generalship. He heard us all through patiently, and then burst out wrathfully with: ''I will not do it! I will never do it! He is a good officer and a gallant man, as you say. But he is not fit to be trusted with the good name and fame of his brother ofificers, and I will never recommend him for brigadier general." We continued to urge him, when again he answered: ^'Why, of all men, you are the last ones to recommend him. Do you know he once reported you for 'absence without leave,' when he hadn't anything to do with you — out of spite and pure ugliness — when you were really 'absent on sick leave' by my orders and General Heint- zelman's? I never said anything about it; but when his report passed through my hands (at Harrison's Land- ing), I took good care to exonerate you. And the 'Old Pirate' is not fit to be trusted with the reputations of my officers; and he never shall be, more than he is now, with my consent." Naturally, we were astounded, as this was the first we knew of this business. But, all the same, we urged: 5 63 Men and Things I Saw in Civil War Days "Well, that was long ago — is now ancient history — and it didn't harm anybody! Promote him anyhow — he is so good a soldier and so capable an officer." But Hooker would not listen to us, and promoted three other colonels of our brigade (Mott, Revere, and Carr) over his head, and Colonel never did get to be brigadier general to the end of the war! This was very like General Hooker. He had a keen sense of jus- tice and great affection for his officers and men, and in return they believed in and trusted him, and would fol- low him to the cannon's mouth — and over the cannon! So, also, I remember another experience with him in January, 1863. A Lieutenant V , in a New Jersey regiment, was ill with typhoid or some other camp fever, and his father, a leading citizen of Trenton, N. J., came down to look after him. The next day he called to see mc, and said his son was sure to die if he remained in camp, but that if he could get a "leave of absence" he would take him home, and thought he might save him. I told him this was next to impossible, under existing or- ders. He said he had just lain all night by the side of his son, to keep him warm (the weather was so raw and cold), and a few more such nights in a tent would kill his boy, and couldn't I do something to help him in the premises? His distress was so great, I said I would try, but warned him against overconfidence, as few "leaves" were being granted, and they had all to go through regimental, brigade, division, corps, and grand division headquarters, and be approved by all these, be- fore they would be considered by Army headquarters. However, I drew up an application for"leave," and had the lieutenant sign it, and got it approved at regimental, brigade, and division headquarters, and then mounting our horses we rode over to corps headquarters, where it was also cheerfully approved. Much elated, we rode 64 Joseph Hooker on to grand division headquarters, and reached there soon after dark. I called on the adjutant general, and stated our business, but he said it was after office hours, and Genera] (our grand division commander) had given orders not to be disturbed — he was engaged. I asked him where the general was — our business was ur- gent — involved life or death, probably — and couldn't we possibly see him? He pointed us to a large tent, and said we could do as we pleased, but he advised vis to re- turn next day. As this would involve staying at Acquia Creek or Washington over Sunday, and cost two or three days, and might prove fatal to his son, the father objected, and so we made bold to approach the general's tent and knock, when we found him "engaged" in a game of cards with two other major generals, and a bot- tle of "commissary" between them, of course! I apologized for the interruption, and, introducing myself and the father, stated our business briefly, but I was cut short with the curt reply that it was too late for business, and we must return next day. I tried to ex- plain, and persisted, but was again rebuffed; and as we retired from "the presence" of this distinguished major general, the father's heart sank within him. We mounted our horses and rode dejectedly away — all our hard work for nothing! But, suddenly, I remembered Hooker, and broke out with: "Let's go up to head- quarters, and see General Hooker. I know it is unmili- tary to go there without the approval of the grand di- A'ision commander. But let's go up there and see Hooker anyhow, and see if he won't cut 'red tape' and grant this 'leave,' under the circumstances." And so we rode on to headquarters — got there along toward midnight of a dark and dismal night — and found General Hooker still in his office tent, hard at work over his correspondence. As his sentry halted 65 Men and Things I Saw in Civil War Days us, Hooker recognized my voice, and called out through the tent door cheerily: "Come in, Rusling! Sentry, it is all right! Let 'em come in!" And so we went in, and told our story briefly, pretty much as above — "with naught extenuate and naught set down in malice" — and when we got through, the grand old man — his face flushed and eyes blazing — exclaimed: "Where is the pa- per? Let me have it. I'll show General a 'leave' can be granted without his approval, in a case like this." And so he took the application, and indorsed the "leave" upon it, in his own handwriting, with verbal or- ders to report it to the adjutant general (poor Seth Williams). Thanking him for his kindness, we bowed ourselves out and rode happily back to our own head- quarters. And this, too, was "just like General Hooker." And it was just such fine acts of chivalry and courtesy, that endeared him to everybody that came in contact with him — civilians as well as soldiers. Perhaps I should add, that Lieutenant V left next morning, carried on a stretcher to the railroad at Falmouth, and, after an absence of a month or so, re- covered and returned to duty; but soon had to resign, and subsequently died of this same army disability, or its sequences. And so, O General Hooker — good friend, brave heart, generous soul, great commander — hail and farewell! 66 Gen. Meade, 1863. George G. Meade CHAPTER VI George G. Meade My next commander, and always highly esteemed, was General Meade. He was a West Pointer also, and by birth a Pennsyhanian. He had served with credit in Mexico, and stood high in the Engineer Corps of the Regular Army. His first command during the Civil War, I think, was a brigade of Pennsylvania Reserves, from which he was duly promoted to division and corps commander and rank of major general. He fought well on the Peninsula, he distinguished himself at Fred- ericksburg and Chancellorsville, and when in June, 1863, Lee was invading Pennsylvania, and it was decided to relieve General Hooker, Mr. Lincoln naturally turned to Meade, because, in addition to other qualifications, he was also a Pennsylvanian. Evidently "Old Abe" thought there was going to be hard fighting up there in Pennsylvania, and who so likely to defend her well as a gallant son of her own soil? General Meade was then tall and slender, gaunt and sad of visage, wath iron-gray hair and beard, ensconced behind a pair of spectacles, and with few popular traits about him, but with a keen and well-disciplined intellect, a cool and sound judgment, and by both education and temperament was every inch a soldier. He surely had need to be all this; for in three days after assum- ing command, Gettysburg was precipitated upon him, with all its awful cares and tremendous responsibilities. How well he met these, and how much he deserved the proud title of "Conqueror of Gettysburg," is now mat- ter of history. Plis stout fight there is one of the great 67 Men and Things I Saw in Civil War Days battles of history, and will rank forever with Marathon, Platsea, Waterloo, and the other great fields whereon the destinies of the hnman race have been staked and won. The mere fact that he there faced Robert E. Lee, and whipped him, in a sqnare stand-np fight of three days' duration — their two armies not greatly differing in actual strength "present for duty" — alone settles his fame forever as a military commander, discuss him otherwise as we may. The first day at Gettysburg Lee struck our right, and, elated by Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville, thought he was going to have things pretty much his own way, but was amazed at our stubborn resistance — all honor to John Buford and John F. Reynolds, and much honor to Howard and Hancock! Poor Reynolds fell — to the grief of the whole army — a brilliant and capable officer, who had already been offered the command and declined it, but doubtless would have succeeded to it, had he lived and Meade have fallen or proved incapable. The second day Lee struck our left, and made a terrific struggle for the mastery there (called by many the real battle of Gettysburg, because the Confederates lost so heavily and were so badly shaken up), but gained noth- ing of substantial value — thanks to Sickles, Humphrey, Warren, and the gallant Third Corps. The third day, still confident, Lee aimed straight at our center, believing he could pierce it and ruin us, hazarding everything on the cast of a die — on that superb charge of Pickett's division, one of the finest exploits in mili- tary annals, far surpassing "The Charge of the Light Brigade" at Balaclava, immortalized by Alfred Tenny- son; but was himself bloodily repulsed and reduced to the verge of ruin. For all this General Meade deserves the highest credit. How well he swung the Army of the Potomac, 68 I George G. Meade about eighty thousand strong then, and fought it right, left, center, and ah together as it had never been fought before! History will not permit anyone to detract from his just deserts on those three great days at Gettysburg — especially on that last great day, when three hundred cannon shook both earth and sky, and the whole countryside from Seminary Ridge to Cemetery Hill was as the gaping mouth of hell. How magnificent, how terrific it all was, and how superbly Meade held the reins and guided us safely through ! But after Pickett's awful repulse, or rather his anni- hilation — for out of his five thousand men less than one thousand got back to the Confederate lines, and out of twenty-two mounted officers, only two — it is not so clear that Meade ought not to have made a "counter- thrust" (Lee and his great lieutenant, Longstreet, ex- pected this), and he certainly was in fault in not follow- ing the Confederates up more sharply, hacking and whacking away at them as they fell back from Gettys- burg to Williamsport, with a baggage and supply train ''seventeen miles long" literally filled with their wounded and dying — "one long wail of misery and an- guish for seventeen miles," as the Confederate General Imboden, in command of it, wrote afterward. Here at Williamsport, Lee found the Potomac at freshet height from July rains, impossible to ford, and with his pontoons swept away, and had Meade hit him promptly and heavily, as he was well able to do with his victorious and reinforced army, it is hard to say what might not have happened. It is clear that Mr. Lincoln and his Cabinet expected much just then, and had good reason to do so.^ It was certainly a great opportunity, big with vast possibilities, such as come to men but once in a century or so. For had Lee been compelled to sur- ' IVar Records^ vol. xxvii, part iii, pp. 529-553, 567-605, 612, 645, etc. 69 Men and Things I Saw in Civil War Days render then and there, the war would have ended in 1863, instead of 1865, and there would have been no Wilderness campaign, and no Sheridan in the Valley, and no Sherman's March down to the Sea in 1864. But Meade called a council of war, which, of course, did nothing, as usual. Then he reconnoitered a week, and called another council of war, and then decided to ad- vance next morning, notwithstanding his council of war advised otherwise.^ But "next morning" Lee w-as not there! Like the shrewd and capable commander he was, on arriving at Williamsport and finding the Potomac unfordable, Lee did not sit down in despair (as a lesser man might well have done), but he promptly set to work to collect canal boats and to improvise pontoon bridges out of these and other materials, pulling down houses, tearing down mills, cutting down trees, etc., and by thus taking advantage of our tardiness, the very night Meade made up his mind to attack (July 13), Lee crossed the Potomac successfully, and was safe back in Virginia again. How it must have delighted his Confederate soul — even as Antseus gained new vitality and strength whenever he touched his mother earth ! But Meade, disgusted — as he might well have been, seeing how he had been "euchred" and the country dis- appointed — now tendered his resignation, like the man he was. But he was continued in command, and promptly crossed the Potomac also, and followed Lee down to the Rapidan (warding him ofT from Washington and Alex- andria), with now and then a brisk attack, but no serious action, and there both armies came to a mutual halt. I saw much of General Meade during his delay at Wil- liamsport (being on duty temporarily at Army head- quarters), and know he was greatly anxious and ' }Var Records^ vol. xxvii, part iii, p. 703. 70 George G. Meade troubled over what to do and how to do it. Halleck: was urging- him to attack every day — ahnost every hour — "hit or miss,"^ But Halleck was safe in the War De- partment at Washington, eighty miles away, while Meade was in the field at the head of the army, and keen- ly alive to his duties and responsibilities. This must be said for General Meade, that if he sat still, Washington at least was safe beyond peradventure, and this was an important factor in the game he was then play- ing. He had just fought a great battle and won a great victory, and was it now wise to hazard all this by another great battle, which might go wrong, as battles sometimes do and will ? Besides, he would now have to attack, and Lee would be on the defense, on interior lines, and he might give us another Fredericksburg over again, which would have been most disastrous there and then. No doubt Meade weighed all these things well. But the fact that he at last decided to attack, when it was a week too late, I think history will hold as due proof that he ought to have attacked immediately, when he found I-ee in such desperate straits, with a defeated and de- pleted army, and the unfordable Potomac at his back, and had he done so the chances are he would have covered himself and the army with imperishable renown. Had Meade been a greater or a lesser soldier, unques- tionably he would have done so. As it is, let us be thank- ful he was what he was, and at least conquered at Get- tysburg. I well remember that week or so at Williamsport. At Army headquarters w^e were all on the qui vive every day, and eager for action. Each day we expected something big to happen, but nothing came of it. On the night Lee escaped (July 13) we were ordered to breakfast at dawn, and to be in the saddle by 7 a. m. But next morn- • War Records, vol. xxvii, part iii, p. 605, etc. 71 Men and Things I Saw in Civil War Days ing, as we mounted, a dispatch was received from How- ard, that the Confederate works in his front "were evacuated;" and soon an officer came galloping- down the road, w4th the news that Kilpatrick had entered Wiliiamsport at 8 a. m., and the Confederates were al- ready safe across the Potomac. Lee had begun his movement at midnight,^ leaving Jeb Stuart to cover his withdrawal and retreat with his cavalry; and by day- light was mostly over. Our advance struck his rearguard at Falling Waters, and captured some two thousand pris- oners, etc.^ But what might we not have accomplished had we struck Lee the day before or a week before ? At headquarters, I am sure, there was a general feeling of disappointment and regret, not to say cha- grin. Having nothing better to do, with two or three other officers, however, I rode on up the Wiliiamsport road, exploring the beautiful country there and inspect- ing Lee's abandoned works, etc., quite down to the river, and thought then, and have always thought, that Meade here missed a great and golden opportunity. About August I, 1863, I was assigned regularly to duty at headquarters. Army of the Potomac, and con- tinued there until about November 10. I saw much of General Meade during this period, and came to have a high appreciation of his mind and character. I found bimi to be a conscientious and hard worker; as a rule, rising early and retiring late. He did not seem to care much for "Reviews." but believed greatly in reports and inspections, and by means of these and his own keen ob- servations kept himself well informed as to the character and condition of all parts of the army. He was not so- cial — had few. indeed, of the popular arts that Hooker possessed — was habitually grave and reticent. But he ' IVar Records, vol. xxvii, part iii, p. looi. * Ibid., p. 698. 72 George G. Meade was accessible for all needed purposes, and constantly grew in the estimation of capable and worthy officers. Of course, we lived in tents, and as the autumn came on our huge headquarter camp fire became a point of reunion for all headquarter officers, especially after nightfall. Here every evening you would find Meade, with his hands clasped behind him and his head bent forward, with his fatigue cap or old slouch hat well down over his eyes, chatting gravely with Humphrey, his chief of staff, or Seth Williams, his adjutant general, or Ingalls, his chief quartermaster, or Hunt, his chief of artil- ler)'-, or Warren, his chief engineer, or other general officers that happened alorfg, and midnight often found his solitar}^ candle still burning in his tent and the commander in chief hard at work there. As a rule, he was a better listener than talker. Ingalls and Hunt were the great talkers there, and they both talked exceedingly well, and Warren, too, was keen and bright. What campaigns they planned and un- planned! How they outwitted Lee and ended the re- bellion again and again! What camp stories they told! What old soldier "yarns" they spun! But no space for them here. Meade's sense of humor was not large, but he was keen and intelligent, his mind worked broadly and comprehensively, his patriotism was perfect, his sense of duty intense; and he would willingly have laid down his life at any time had our cause required it. In manner he was often sharp and peremptory, but this was because of his utter absorption in great afTairs. While thus serving here in October, 1863. we had our famous "see-saw" campaign, from Culpeper to Centre- ville, and back again. Lee suddenly advanced to turn our right, with about forty thousand men, and we im- mediatelv retired behind the Rappahannock, and kept it up until we reached the heights of Centreville, though 73 Men and Things I Saw in Civil War Days "\ve numbered over sixty thousand men.^ Here we halted two or three days, with Bull Run in our front, in- viting Lee to attack us, but he was too wary to take such risks. Evidently Gettysburg had been enough for him! Then he retired again behind the Rappahannock, and we "chasseed" back after him, and were both soon in our old camps again near Warrenton and Culpeper, without much barely fighting on either side. This cam- paign has been much criticised, but if Meade erred at ail it was on the safe side, and in war as in civil life prudence is often "the better part of valor." Clearly he did not want to fight a third Bull Run, on the same unlucky ground substantially of McDowell and Pope's sad re- verses, but preferred the safer and infinitely stronger line of Centreville. So, Lee knew better than to "butt his brains out" against the heights of Centreville, and wise- ly retreated when he found he could not catch ]\Ieade napping nor decoy him into a losing battle. During this movement to the rear, on October 13, as we neared the Rappahannock," General Meade ordered me to take charge of our immense wagon trains, and hasten their crossing below Rappahannock Station. The consolidated trains of the Army of the Potomac then averaged al^out fifty miles. I found them all cross- ing by a single ford, and at once directed new fords to be constructed, by cutting down the banks of the river, etc., and soon had several trains crossing simultaneously and rapidly, and at dusk rode into headquarters near Catlett's Station, and reported our trains practically over. But I was myself thoroughly exhausted, having been in the saddle all day and most of the previous night and day, and after a meager supper was soon sound asleep. In an hour or so, however, along about nine o'clock, an orderly roused me with : ' See Appendix, p. 368. 74 George G. Meade ■'General Meade's compliments, and he wants to see you immediately." Reporting to him, he said our trains had gone into park for the night at Brentsville, about ten or twelve miles distant, with orders to move on next day to Fair- fax Station, to the rear of Centreville; but that the Con- federate cavalry were working round in that direction, and he feared that they might raid or "gobble up" our trains, unless they were started at once for Fairfax, and he wished me to proceed immediately to Brentsville and take charge of affairs there. I hesitated; hinted I was used up, dead-beat with fatigue, etc. ; but he cut me short by saying I had managed the trains so well at the Rappahannock that day, that he was going to intrust me with this Brentsville job also. And then he added, by way of parting benediction : "Good-bye, Rusling! The Rebs are reported ofif in that direction, and you may bring up in Richmond be- fore I see you again!" "No, I won't either. General," I rejoined, kindling up (evidently as he intended); "I will go through all right, and put the trains through, too." He gave me his hand, and smiled gravely down from behind his glasses (I was only a young fellow then, and of moderate stature compared with Meade's), and bade me take what escort I wanted. But I chose only four cavalrymen, for secrecy and speed, and was soon in the saddle again and off for Brentsville. Once out of camp, we abandoned the main road, and struck straight for Brentsville by the byways and planta- tion roads, depending on an "intelligent contraband" as guide, that I picked up at the first cabin, with a promise o£ five dollars if he piloted us safe through, or a bullet through his head if he misled or betrayed us. "All right, massa," he answered, displaying his 75 Men and Things I Saw in Civil War Days ivories; "I'll take dat five dollars; fer I was gwine wid 3'ou Yankees, anyway!" I mounted him behind one of the cavalrymen, and though the night was pitch dark we reached Brents- ville safely before midnight. Here we found the teams ungeared and ever) body fast asleep; but soon had the trains on the road again and off briskly for Fairfax Sta- tion. With the trains thus well in motion, and their corps quartermasters well instructed, I threw myself on the ground by a flickering camp fire, and went heavily to sleep, and slept till after sunrise of a superb October morning, and, then waking up, found our vast trains still rolling on and on. I breakfasted with some officers on a cup of coffee, hard-tack, and fried pork, and then smoked a pipe and lounged on the porch of the Brent s- ville tavern (its proprietor, of course, in the Confederate service) until the last train was well on its way, and then, mounting my horse, started for Centreville. I struck the railroad again at Bristoe about noon, and with my little escort (minus the "contraband," whom I had turned over to the trains as a teamster — no doubt he made a good one) was jogging leisurely along to- ward Manassas, btit had not got a mile away from Bris- toe before I heard brisk firing back there, and found the Confederates under A. P. Hill had swooped in just to my rear, and would certainly have "gobbled" me up had I been only a few minutes later. It was a narrow escape — a rather "close call," as old soldiers say — but an es- cape, nevertheless. As it was, they ran into the Sec- ond Corps, and struck it heavily. But Warren handled them so roughly, and showed such good generalship by posting his men in a railroad cut and some eld earth- works there, that they were soon glad to withdraw, with a severe loss both in killed and wounded. Of course, I was cut off and could not reach \\^arren, 76 George G. Meade and so I rode on to headqfiarters at Centreville and re- ported to Meade that same afternoon. He seemed glad, and congratulated me on my safe return, and I was glad to find my tent pitched, and to get a good "square meal" and a night's unbroken rest again. This was on October iz|, 1863. The Comte de Paris, in his admirable History of the Civil War in America (the best yet written). Vol. Ill, pages yyy, 778, in speaking of our trains here, says : "They were retarded and not able to reach Brents- ville (October 15), and were thus greatly exposed." But he is mistaken, as our last wagon left Brentsville before noon of the fourteenth, and rolled into Fairfax Station safe and sound before nightfall, as above stated. Meade's order, "The trains will move to the vicinity of Brents- ville," is dated October 13, i p. m. (War Records, Vol. XXIX, part II, page 305), and that same night I rode to Brentsville and hastened thence to Fairfax Station as above stated. We got back to Warrenton and Warrenton Junction again about November i, and both armies practically re- sumed their old lines. Lee had gained his object, which evidently was to haffie and bully Meade and lead him to waste a month of magnificent weather, in which he should have been campaigning and fighting. Doubt- less Lee thought we would now go into winter quarters; but after about a week Meade decided on a new move- ment against Lee's right, by way of Kelly's Ford and Mine Run, hoping ultimately to seize the heights of Fredericksburg by surprise and move on Richmond by that route.* In the early morning of the day we moved, as I was about mounting my horse to accompany head- quarters — we had breakfasted about daylight — I was • Meade could not divest himself of the idea that Fredericksburg was the true route to Richmond. Soon after arrivine; at Warrenton he recommended this and urged it repeat- edly. But Mr. Lincoln replied: " I have constantly desired the Army of the Potomac to make Lee's Army and not Richmond its objective point." And Grant afterward adopted the same phraseology. — IFar Records, vol. xxix, part iii, pp. 201, 202, 207, 208, 361, 409, etc. n Men and Things I Saw in Civil War Days handed a telegram from the War Department, directing me to proceed at once to Tennessee and report to Gen- eral George H. Thomas. I sought General Meade, and handing him the telegram, asked him what it meant? Expressing surprise, he said he "hardly knew what; was sorry to lose me, etc. ; but it is a safe rule always to obey orders — especially when they are signed by Secretary Stanton !" And then he added, as a crumb of comfort (for I was reluctant to go West — all my friends were in the East): 'Tt will likely lead to promotion, young man! George Thomas needs good officers out there!" And so, shaking- hands and kindly bidding me "good- tye," and ''good luck to you!" he mounted his horse and rode to the front, while I, shaking hands with the stafif and bidding everybody good-bye, within an hour took the cars at the nearest railroad station, with my horses and baggage, and before noon was back in Washington and £n route to Nashville. This seemed to me at the time a great misfortune — one of the most untoward events of my life — as if I was ^'banished to Botany Bay" — and I could not understand it. It caused me many a bitter hour, as I traveled westward. But in the end it made me full colonel, and brigadier gen- eral (by brevet), and on the whole was the luckiest thing that could have happened to me. It brought me into con- tact with Grant and Sherman and Thomas, and their great operations in the West, and broadened and helped me on many lines and in many ways ever afterward. And so, ''Hail and thanks" to Edwin M. Stanton, after all! I never saw General Meade again. I did not get East again until August, 1865, and it so happened our paths never crossed each other afterward. The affair at Mine Run (November. 1863), above alluded to, though at first "big with promise, ended in a fiasco, and we were soon back at Brandv Station and Warrenton, with the two 78 George G. Meade armies facing each other, Hke grim gladiators, on the line of the Rapidan again (December, 1863).^ Here the Army of the Potomac went into winter quarters, the weather getting to be bad, and Meade not knowing what better to do. Clearly Lee had outmaneuvered and outwitted him, and the campaign of 1863 closed with the honors in Lee's favor, notwithstanding his ghastly repulse at Gettysburg. Nevertheless Meade was continued in command of the Army of the Potomac in 1864 ^i^d until the close of the war; and on the whole, history will declare he commanded it well. It is true, his command in 1864-65 was mainly nominal ; for Grant was there himself, and in supreme command — overseeing and directing everything — with his eye and hand on everybody, and vowed to victory. But Meade must have shown high qualities, of both loyalty and generalship, or Grant surely would not have tolerated him even thus. He was certainly a great and able com- mander, if just a little too prudent at times; and as the conqueror of Gettysburg, and last commander of the Army of the Potomac, his fame is secure forever. To Pennsylvanians, at least, he will always be a hero and an idol ; and to all others, a great and illustrious American, while time lasts or history endures. 1 How disappointing this was to Mr. Stanton is shown by his following brief telegram to General Butler, at Fortress Monroe, Dec. 2 : " Meade is on the back track again with- out a fight." — Pl''ar Records, vol. xxlx, part ii, p. 537. 6 79 Men and Things I Saw in Civil War Days CHAPTER VII George H. Thomas My next commander, and always greatly honored and esteemed, was General Thomas. Not Lorenzo Thomas, Adjutant General United States Army, but George H. Thomas, Major General United States Army, and Com- mander in Chief of the Army of the Cumberland. They differed considerably. The one was a Delawarian, and worthy of Delaware — the home of the whipping post still — smootlibore and narrow-gauge, a master of red tape. The other was a Virginian, and worthy of the home of George Washington and Thomas Jefferson — big-souled, broad-gauged, built on the plan of Plu- tarch's men. Large-framed, clear-headed, judgmatical, I think George H. Thomas resembled George Washing- ton in body, brain, and soul more than any ofificer I met during the civil war. In some respects, indeed, he was an abler man than our American Fabius; but whether, on the whole, he could have swung things so well as George Washington did during our American Revolu- tion may, of course, l)e doubted. Though a Virginian, "native and to the manor born," and with the air and bearing of a real Virginian, Thomas, unlike Robert E. Lee, chd not resign his commission and desert his colors when Virginia seceded (or tried to). He had graduated well at West Point, and served honorably and creditably in Mexico, and now stood loyally by the Lniited States, though tempted much to accept a Virginia or Confederate commission. Doubt- less the fact that he had married a New Yorker had something to do with it. A good wife always anchors 80 Gen, George H. Thomas, 1864. George H. Thomas a good man to ofood things. But, however this may be, in the dark winter and spring of 1861, when Southern- born officers by the score were resigning and flocking over to Jefferson Davis, Thomas was always "faithful among the faithless found," and certainly this was remem- bered to his credit in after years by Abraham Lincoln and Edwin M. Stanton. At first, in 1861, he was only a colonel of regulars under General Patterson, at Harper's Ferry, Va. Think of his masquerading there as colonel, when he ought to have been major general and commander in chief! Had he been so, in the light of his subsequent career, it is not too much to say that Joseph E. Johnston would never have slipped away from his vigilant eyes and firm fingers to reinforce Beauregard at Manassas, and our first Bull Run would likely have resulted the other way. Later, in August, 1861, he was made Brigadier Gen- eral of Volunteers and ordered West, and there soon distinguished himself by the handsome victory of Mill Springs, Ky., January, 1862. This Avas the beginning of his long and uninterrupted career of successes, until ulti- mately he became celebrated as "the Union general who never lost a battle." It was no fault of his that his fine division did not get up at Shiloh or Pittsburg Landing in time to do much service. But at Stone River, or Murfreesboro (December 31, 1862, to January 2, 1863), he commanded our center, and bore the brunt of the awful conflict there, and shared with Sheridan and Hazen the honors of that bloody field — such as they were. When Rosecrans, dispirited (as well he might be) at the close of the first day's fight, summoned a coun- cil of war and submitted the question as to whether they should retreat or try it again, Thomas's sturdy answer was, "This army cannot retreat," and wrapping himself in his blanket he turned over and went calmly to sleep, Men and Things I Saw in Civil War Days and thus assured our subsequent substantial victory there. It was, indeed, a "bloody field." We lost 12,000 out of 43,000 men engaged, and Bragg 10,000 out of 47,000. But Bragg held twenty-eight of our guns cap- tured in action; and it was only sheer pluck and "clear grit" on our side, that induced the Confederates to yield the field at last. In the masterly advance from Murfreesljoro to Chick- amauga, Thomas was ever vigilant and gallant, and on that fateful field (September 19-23, 1863), when Rose- crans, Crittenden, McCook, and others had drifted to the rear (Rosecrans, indeed, into Chattanooga — more shame to him), Thomas still stood like a lion at bay in command of our center and left wing, and saved the Army of the Cumberland from ruin and dishonor, and, indeed, then and there well won the sobriquet of the "Rock of Chickamauga." Chickamauga, in some re- spects, was not unlike Gettysburg, as anyone can see who visits the field there now. When Thomas at last stumbled back on Snodgrass Hill there, his position was much akin to that of Meade's at Cemetery Ridge, and Longstreet ought to have recognized this — having been whipped at Gettysburg only the July before. No Con- federate power on earth could have driven Thomas from Snodgrass Hill, had the rest of the army here rallied to his support. Of course, Rosecrans, having lost his head, was now relieved, and also, of course, by common consent, the command at Chattanooga was now turned over to Thomas, and right well did he vindicate his promotion. He had been tendered the same when Buell was relieved in October, 1862, but declined it. To Grant's anxious telegram from Louisville, en route from Vicksburg to Chattanooga, "Hold on to Chattanooga at all hazards. ^^'ill be with you myself in three davs," his heroic reply 82 George H. Thomas was (so characteristic of the man), "We will hold the town //■// zvc starve!" And they did come pretty nearly to starving— lost over ten thousand horses and mules, and the troops reduced to half rations— before Sherman arrived with relief and Grant got things well straight- ened out there. In our final struggle about Chattanooga (November 23-25. 1863), Thomas commanded our center, and with Sheridan, Wood, and others swept magnificently up the heights of Alissionary Ridge, stormed the Confederate center, charged their apparently impregnable artillery, crushed their gallant infantry, and whelmed Bragg in one universal ruin. Poor old Bragg— obstinate'^'and chuckle-headed to the last! He thought he had us "Yanks" in a trap there, sure, and was going to bag us all for sure ! But what more could he expect, with four such adversaries as Grant, Sherman, Thomas, and Sheri- dan all present on the field, and all four "pulling true" as a team of thoroughbreds against him. In the great Atlanta campaign of 1864 Thomas com- manded the Army of the Cumberland still, and how much Sherman depended on and was indebted to him will be seen when I say that, out of the ninety-eight thousand seven hundred and ninety-seven men compos- ing Sherman's triple army (of the Cumberland, the Ohio, and the Tennessee), Thomas commanded sixty thou- sand seven hundred and seventy-three. In all the opera- tions and actions from Chattanooga to Atlanta, indeed, Thomas handled his troops with consummate ability and conspicuous gallantry, and had the full confidence of that great soldier. General Sherman. Indeed, Sherman took no important step there without first consulting Thomas, and trusted him fully as to both strategy and tactics. He never had to give him precise orde'rs and detailed instructions as lesser lieutenants, but only in- 33 Men and Things I Saw in Civil War Days dicated his objective points, and then with general sug- gestions left him large liberty of action — a wise course with such a lieutenant. And Thomas never abused this confidence, but rather amply justified it by sound judg- ment and soldierly conduct, that endeared him more and more to his men every mile of the campaign from Chat- tanooga to Atlanta. With the capture of Atlanta (September 2, 1864)^ — a genuine and great feat of arms that saved the fortunes of the war and reelected Abraham Lincoln — Sherman decided to strike next at Savannah; but he must needs also take care of Tennessee and Kentucky, and this grave task he now intrusted unreservedly to General Thomas. Thomas, of course, would have preferred to go "Marching through Georgia" by the side of his illus- trious chief. But, good soldier that he was. he uncom- plainingly retraced his steps, first to Chattanooga, and then back to Nashville. Here he took upon himself the conduct of the memorable campaign and battle of Nash- ville — his first independent command — and disclosed qualities, I venture to say, that placed him in the very forefront of military commanders. He was the one colossal figure in all that region, during all that period ; and now let us see zvJiat he did and hozu he went about it. His first duty here, of course, was to watch Hood, and divine where he was going to strike, and then to check- mate and destroy him, if possible. Hood, gallant and prompt soldier that he was, quickly gathered up his Confederates, and. feigning first to attack Chattanooga, nevertheless aimed straight for. Nashville. This hand- some city, the Athens of the South, was then our great depot of supplies for all that region — what Washington was to us in the East — and Hood hoped to capture this and push the war back to the Ohio, as a good set-ofif to * " Atlanta is ours and fairly won," as Sherman telegraphed. 84 George H. Thomas Sherman's audacity. Had he succeeded, Sherman's superb march down to the sea would have been largely neutralized, and his own great campaign of 1864 have gone down to history as "magnificent" indeed, "but not war." Sherman, gifted with genius, was not uncon- scious of this. But, great soldier that he was, he trusted Providence and "took the chances." But this was only because he had first taken the measure of Thomas, and held his chosen lieutenant assuredly equal to the grave business in hand. Meanwhile, General Thomas, once back at Nashville (October, 1864), and sure of Hood's objective point, first pushed Schofield out with the best troops he had — the Fourth and Twenty-third Corps and Wilson's Cavalry, all good troops — to watch and worry Hood and retard his advance — and then set to work himself with hercu- lean energies to reinforce and further fortify Nashville. Had he had his own old Army of the Cumberland com- plete, which he had done so much to drill and discipline, he would have been supremely confident. But Sherman had taken the flower of this with him, and it was now Thomas's hard duty to pick up the odds and ends at the rear — scattered garrisons of posts and depots, railroad guards, white and colored troops, green regiments en rente from the North, etc. — and to fuse and weld these into one homogeneous and fighting whole, in aid of Schofield's hard-pressed force.* Without a grumble or complaint (z'ide McClellan on the Peninsula), he quickly concentrated all these at Nashville, and next armed five thousand out of the fourteen thousand quartermaster employees then there (many of them old soldiers), and sent them into the trenches. Then he called out the citi- zens, white and colored. Union and Confederate, and set them to work on his extended fines. But his "Morning * JVar Records, vol. xlv, part ii, p. 17. 85 Men and Things I Saw in Civil War Days Reports" showed he still lacked numbers; and so he called on his old chief, Rosecrans (then commanding in Missouri), to lend him A. J. Smith's corps — eleven thou- sand as fine troops as ever marched or fought — and on the arrival of these his mind and heart cleared fairly up. I had seen and talked with him daily (some days several times a day) from his arrival at Nashville Octo- ber 3, and a cloud of anxious care rested always on his brow. Habitually, during all that period, he wore his military hat pulled down over his grave gray eyes — was reticent and gloomy; but now his hat lifted, his broad brow cleared up, and his strong and massive face began to shine with the fierce light of impending battle. I hap- pened in his quarters the night General A. J. Smith ar- rived at Nashville, by way of the Cumberland, from St. Louis, with thirteen transports and eight armored gun- boats swarming with veteran soldiers, and I shall never forget the scene. It was the night of the battle of Frank- lin (November 30), and our news of matters there was as yet uncertain.^ Ji-^c^ge Campbell, of the United States Supreme Court, then residing at Nashville, gave a recep- tion that night, and on my way to it I dropped into Gen- eral Thomas's headquarters (about nine o'clock), to in- quire more about Franklin. Thomas, his hat up and face all aglow, handed me a telegram from Schofield, an- nouncing that he had defeated Hood; putting thirteen of his general officers alone and over six thonsand of his men liors de combat — a terrific blow to the Confederates — but \\'as now falling back on Nashville in pursuance of his orders. Thomas eagerly inquired if I had any news from A. J. Smith. I answered, no; that I had sent a swift steamer down the Cumberland early in the after- noon to hurry him forward, but it was not yet time for his arrival. ' War Records, vol. xlv, part i, p. 34; part ii, p. 17. 86 George H. Thomas "Well," he said, "if Smith does not get here tonight, he will not get here at all; for tomorrow Hood will strike the Cumberland and close it against all transports." I replied, he need not fear, for Smith would certainly ''arrive soon;" and went on to Judge Campbell's. About midnight 1 left Judge Campbell's, and on my way back dropped in at Thomas's headquarters again, and there I found Schofield and T. J. Wood just arrived from Franklin, and all three in conference over what was. to be done next day. Wood was still on crutches, from a wound received in the Atlanta campaign ; but in com- mand of his corps, and handling it ably and gallantly. Thomas introduced me to the other two, and again eagerly inquired about A. J. Smith. "O," I replied, "he is all right. Just as I came in I heard his steamers tooting along the levee!" And, even as I spake, the door opened, and in strode General A. J. Smith, a grizzled old veteran but a soldier all through. They all four greeted each other eagerly; but Thomas (undemonstrative as he was) literally took Smith in his arms and hugged him; for he now felt abso- lutely sure of coping with Hood, and defeating him duly. They first discussed Franklin, and rejoiced over it, and then Thomas spread his maps on the floor and pointed out his Nashville lines, explaining their bearings and sig- nificance. I left them at i a. m.. all four down on their knees and examining attentively the positions to be as- sumed next morning, as Schofield and W^ood fell back on Nashville and Smith marched out from the Cumber- land. The next morning I rode down to the levee, to take a look at our new friends. They were a rough-looking set. bivouacked all along the levee, and cooking coflfee. I rode up to a group, and asked who they were and where they were from. 87 Men and Things I Saw in Civil War Days "We are 'Smith's guerrillas !' "^ the answer was. "We have been to Vicksburg, Red River, Missouri, and about everywhere else down South and out West, and now we are going to Hades, if old 'A. J.' orders us!" Now came the siege of Nashville proper. Nashville is beautifully situated on the Cumberland River, which here makes a sharp bend north, and within this bend, on the southerly side of the river, lies the goodly city itself. Hood at once stretched his forces across this bend, occu- pying the crests of a series of hills, three or four miles from the city — his flanks covered by cavalry — and thus boldly confronted Thomas, who occupied a similar but better series of hills, nearer, of course, to Nashville. Thomas had the advantage of position, as his line was shorter, and many of his hills were also heavily fortified, and had been for a year or two. Their fighting strength, however, was not dissimilar, about fifty thousand men each — Thomas rather less, all told, of real efifectives, though reported more. But Hood had the advantage here, as his troops were mainly well-seasoned veterans, the flower of the Southwest, toughened and tried by arduous campaigns and bloody battles, the survivals substantially of the Atlanta campaign; while Thomas's were many of them green and mixed troops, as I have heretofore stated. Hood thus sat down seriously before Nashville, cut- ting our communications with everything south and west, and immediately began feeling our lines, as if meaning to attack. Next he planted batteries on the Cumberland, and thus closed that artery for supplies to everything but armored gunboats. Our only line of communication still left open was the Louisville and Nashville Railroad to the north, already overwhelmed 1 This was their usual name, because of their wide service and rapid work. IVar Records^ vol. xlv. part ii, p. 235. George H. Thomas with locomotives and cars withdrawn from Nashville and below, and a slender and precarious hne at best; a single track road, nearly two hundred miles long, liable to be cut by guerrillas at any moment, and which Forrest was only waiting tor the Cumberland to fall to cross and smash at his pleasure. We were thus pretty thoroughly cooped up and penned in for a time ; and people at a distance, who knew little about our strength or the state of our supplies, naturally enough grew nervous.^ There was, however, no real cause for alarm at any time, especially after Hood let his first forty-eight hours slip by without assaulting. Had he attacked at once on arriving, and massed heavily on our right — the v^'eakest point in our line at that time, though afterward made one of the strongest — he might have given Thomas some trouble; though he could hardly have succeeded in his enterprise. In fact, our last reinforcements (Smith from St. Louis and Steedman from Chattanooga) gave us such a happy preponderance of both infantry and artillery, that, from the hour they were both safely in, nobody there who knew much of affairs ever seriously doubted our ability to hold Nashville at all hazards and against all contin- gencies.^ Steedman, indeed, like Smith, got in just in the nick of time "to save his bacon." In truth, Steed- man did not save his entirely, as a few of his last cars, loaded udth troops, were attacked and captured by the daring Forrest, almost within sight of Nashville. Gen- eral N. B. Forrest, though an uneducated man, was yet one of the most distinguished and successful of all the Confederate cavalry leaders. He it was who, when asked one clay the secret of success in war, replied: "To git thar fustest with the mostest men !" ' War Records, vol. xlv, part ii, pp. i6, 17. 2 See chap, xv, p. 376, 383. Men and Things I Saw in Civil War Days And so, with our forces all up, with everybody at work and all in good heart and trim, we soon had two goodly lines of works constructed, encircling Nashville on the south and west; frowning with forts and redoubts, and bristling with rifle pits, and covering our whole outlying hills, as I have said, from the Cumberland around to the Cumberland again. We were thus ready to receive Hood, and prepared at all points to meet his attack, so early as December 5 or 6 — Franklin being fought No- vember 30. Thomas now waited; but Hood did not come. He tempted him with reconnoissances, but he would not re- spond; he peppered him with round shot, but he would not answer; he complimented him with shell, but he did not reply. Hood evidently had the strange notion that Thomas would either evacuate without fighting, or would be starved into a surrender by the cutting of his communications; and, therefore, that all he had to do was to make good his investment, and strike as he was able at the Louisville Railroad, a la Sherman at Jones- boro when aiming at Atlanta. He singularly mistook his man. He forgot he was dealing with "The Rock of Chickamauga." A novice in warfare might have known Thomas better. His forces all in hand and his works well completed, with fair sup- plies of all kinds on hand and abundance of most, Thomas's once anxious brow had long since cleared thoroughly up; and it was now apparent to all, who hap- pened much at headquarters, that " Old Pap Tom,'^ as his soldiers were fond of calling him, prudent commander as he was, would soon be "spoiling for a fight!" The battle of Nashville would have been delivered now, instead of later; for General Thomas was now fully ready. He was confident of his men, and knew his men 90 George H. Thomas to be confident of him; but one thing more was yet needed, to make his anticipated victory double sure, and that was cavalry.^ He had plenty of cavalrymen, and tolerably good cavalrymen, too, but only about half enough horses; their animals having broken down and been used up in the hard campaign so far from Georgia and Alabama back into Tennessee, and others were not to be had anywhere, in the regular way, within the re- quired time. To get them from the North, by purchase and requisition, might take a month or longer, and this would never do. So he issued an order to seize and im- press all serviceable horses within our lines, in Tennessee and Kentucky,^ at all hazards and whatever cost; leav- ing the government to settle for them afterward. Within a week he had his dismounted cavalrymen re- njounted and ready for business. I think this "seizure" resulted in over seven thousand fresh horses, but I am not sure as to the exact figures. But Thomas, and Wilson, his chief of cavalry, I personally know, were greatly delighted to secure these "mounts." Now, at last, General Thomas was ready and eager to move; but unluckily a heavy rain now set in, and Jack Frost happened along, and soon the whole Nashville hills were aglare with ice — impracticable for cavalry, artillery, and infantry alike. "Both armies were ice-bound," said Thomas in his Report.^ Neither man nor beast could now keep his feet, and so Thomas for some davs yet was still further compelled to "nurse his wrath to keep it warm." Grant in the East, a thousand miles away, could not under- stand this, and impatient at what seemed Thomas's in- decision and delay, telegraphed him repeatedly from ^IVar Records, vol. xlv, part ii, p. 17. ^He did this December 2. It was authorized by Secretary of War December 2. but ordered by Thomas before his authority arrived. IVar Records, vol. xlv, part ii, p. 29. See al