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UlBRARY OF CONGRESS,! 
 
 
 
 UNITED STATES OP AMERICA, f 
 
Wtnfield 
 
 THE LAWYER'S SON 
 
 HOW HE BECAME A MAJOR-GENERAL. 
 By Rev. CT WfDenison, 
 
 L A T K CHAPLAIN U. S. V U L U N T E E R S. 
 
 PHILADELPHIA ' 
 
 Ash MEAD & Evans 
 
 No. 724 Chestnut Streei- 
 1865 
 

 Entered, according to Act of Congress, m the year 1864, by 
 
 ASIIMEAD & EVANS, 
 
 In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States, for the Eiistem 
 District of Penns'ylvania. 
 
 Stereotyped by J Kaoan k Son. 
 
To 
 
 Benjamin Franklin Hancock, Esq., 
 
 or Norristown, Pennsylvania, the Judicious Parent, the Upright 
 
 Citizen, the Devoted Patriot, this Memoir of the Life 
 
 of his Son, Major-General Winfield Scott 
 
 Hancock, is respectfully inscribed, 
 
 by the Author. • 
 
 (iii) 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 In the preparation of this Life of Major Gene- 
 ral Hancock, the author has been abundantly 
 supplied with authentic materials. His researches 
 for early historical facts have been • aided by a 
 large number of living witnesses, to whom he thus 
 publicly tenders his grateful obligations. 
 
 All the pages of the volume, including names, 
 dates, i^laces, descriptions of scenes and reports 
 of engagements, are intended to be historically 
 correct. They will be found wholly free from 
 partizan matter. The constant aim of the writer 
 has been to present to his countrymen, of all 
 classes, the old as well as the young, a literal 
 transcript of the career of one of the most skilful 
 and successful officers in the patriot Army of the 
 United States. 
 1* . 
 
ILLUSTRATIONS, 
 
 I. 
 
 Pago 
 ORIGINAL LIKENESS OF GENERAL HANCOCK, frontispiece. 
 
 From a Photograph furnished for this work by his family. 
 
 11. 
 
 THE CADET HORSE, 43 
 
 Designed by White. 
 
 III. 
 
 "JINEING THE PINT," 56 
 
 An original design of Cadet Hancock's, at West Point, 1843. 
 
 lY. 
 
 BATTLE OF GETTYSBURG, 202 
 
 Drawn by White. 
 
 (vii) 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 Preface, ....... 
 
 CHAPTER I.— His Birthplace, 
 II. — His Boyhood, 
 III. — His Boyhood, continued, 
 IV. — How he was made a Cadet, . 
 V. — His Career at West Point, 
 VI. — His Native County, 
 VII. — His First Campaign, 
 VIIT. — His Promotion, 
 IX. — Ordered to Florida, 
 X. — In the War for the Union, 
 XI. — Beginning the Union War, 
 XIT.— His first Fight for the Union, 
 XIII.— In the Campaign of '62, 
 XIV.— At Yorktown, 
 
 Page 
 V 
 
 11 
 21 
 
 29 
 41 
 
 53 
 59 
 63 
 75 
 
 82 
 92 
 100 
 106 
 118 
 128 
 
 (ix) 
 
X 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 » 
 
 —At Williamsburg, . 
 
 Page 
 . 140 
 
 XVI. 
 
 —His Letters Home, 
 
 . 148 
 
 XVIT. 
 
 —Returning from the Peninsula, 
 
 . 153 
 
 XVIII. 
 
 —At Antietam, 
 
 . 157 
 
 XIX. 
 
 — Before Fredericksburg, 
 
 . 166 
 
 XX. 
 
 —At Cbancellorsville, . 
 
 . 182 
 
 XXI.- 
 
 —At Gettysburg, . 
 
 . . .189 
 
 xxir. 
 
 —In the Gettysburg Fight, . 
 
 . 197 
 
 XXIII. 
 
 —His Public Testimonials, 
 
 . 209 
 
 XXIV. 
 
 —Ordered to Washington, 
 
 . 217 
 
 XXV. 
 
 — In the Campaign with Grant, 
 
 . 226 
 
 XXVI.- 
 
 — At Spottsylvania, 
 
 . 238 
 
 XXVII.- 
 
 —Across the River Po, . 
 
 . 246 
 
 XXVIII.- 
 
 —On the Chickahominy, 
 
 . 260 
 
 XXIX.- 
 
 —In the Chickahominy Battles, 
 
 . 268 
 
 XXX.- 
 
 —In Front of Petersburg, 
 
 . 280 
 
 XXXI.- 
 
 —His New Movements, . 
 
 . 296 
 
 XXXII.- 
 
 —Conclusion, . . . . 
 
 . 311 
 
WINFIELD, 
 THE LAWYER'S SON. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 HIS BIRTH-PLACE. 
 
 "When real nobleness accompanies the imaginary one of birth, tho 
 imaginary seems to mix with the real, and becomes real too." — Greville. 
 
 ON the 14th of February; 1824, in a retired part 
 of the county of Montgomery, near Montgomery 
 Square, Pennsylvania, Winfield Scott Hakcock 
 was born. lie is the son of Benjamin Fkanklin 
 and Elizabeth Hancock, who are also natives of 
 Montgomery county. His twin-brother, Hilaey 
 Baker, is a resident of Minneapolis, Minnesota, 
 where he has been for some years engaged in the 
 practice of law. The only remaining brother, Major 
 John Hancock, was in the Army of the Potomac, 
 at the time of the commencement of this volume. 
 These three are all the children of this branch of the 
 Hancock family. 
 
 (11) 
 
12 W INFIELD, THE LAWYER'S SON. 
 
 At the age of four years Winfield removed, with 
 his parents, to Korristown, Pennsylvania, a beautiful 
 borough, finely located on the sloping banks of the 
 Schuylkill river, about twenty miles from Philadel- 
 phia. It is the shire town of Montgomery county. 
 In the year 1864 it contained a population of 9000. 
 The court house is well situated, on a commanding 
 eminence, and built of the handsome gray marble 
 of the vicinity. Its spire, which resembles that of 
 some modern churches, is seen from a considerable 
 distance, and forms an attractive object in the central 
 portion of the town. There are seven churches, 
 some of which are quite elegant in appearance. The 
 streets are nearly all wide, straight, and generally 
 laid out at right angles. Some of them are finely 
 shaded with trees. One of the principal thorough- 
 fares has beautiful rows, the clean trunks and shady 
 branches of which reflect credit on the common sense 
 and good taste of the citizens. The banks, newspa- 
 pers, hotels, markets, and other toAvn appliances, be- 
 token the activity and conveniences of the people. 
 Of the weekly journals there are four, which circu- 
 late wid'ely through the adjacent country, while the 
 daily papers of Philadelphia and New York find 
 numerous and constant readers, in a few hours after 
 they leave their presses. The public schools, which 
 
SKETCH OF NORRISTOWN. 1^ 
 
 have been established several years, are abundant 
 and well conducted. There are two large seminaries, 
 finely situated in the outskirts of the town, which 
 afford the best facilities for male and female education. 
 
 Owing to its being favored with a court house, and 
 the strong stone jail 'appurtenance thereunto belong- 
 ing,' Norristown has a liberal supply of gentlemen 
 of the legal profession. Their numerous signs give 
 evidence of the things signified in all the most 
 frequented places. A somewhat amusing instance 
 of the abundance of this highly valuable class of 
 the community, in this quarter, occurred with the 
 author. 
 
 We were returning from a visit to the market, 
 whither we had gone before sunrise, in order that we 
 might note its peculiarities in these war times, and 
 had jvist turned a corner by the court house, when a 
 countryman accosted us : 
 
 " Maybe you're a strenger in Norristown ?" 
 
 "Yes, sir," was our reply. 
 
 ''Maybe you was 'quirin' 'boat the prices in mer- 
 ket?" 
 
 " Yes, sir," we again answered. 
 
 "Maybe you're a lawyer?" said he, looking at us 
 with great reverence. 
 
 "No, sir!" we replied, not a little surprised at the 
 
14 WINFIELD, THE LAWYER'S SOX. 
 
 question, aiid quickly adding : " What made you. 
 think so?" 
 
 "Why, strenger," he concluded, continuing to look 
 steadily at us, "you've got such a honest face!" 
 
 Completely overcome, we turned away, and passed 
 hurriedl}^ down Court House Hill. Ever since that 
 eventful moment we have had a most exalted opinion 
 of the lawyers of Norristown. How Avidely-known 
 and well-established must be the integrity of these 
 champions of jurisprudence, when a common stran- 
 ger in the streets is supposed to be one of their num- 
 ber by the honesty of his looks ! 
 
 The public bridge across the river Schuylkill, at 
 this place, is one of the longest and most substantial 
 in Pennsylvania. It leads to the neat village of 
 Bridgeport, where the canal flows along the banks, 
 and where, just above, a dam spans the stream, down 
 the sides of which the waters pour their crystal flood, 
 like a thin sheet of transparent glass hung over a 
 parapet. In the centre of the river is a lovely island, 
 the green summer verdure, of Avhich is reflected in 
 the passing waters; and whose romantic reaches be- 
 yond remind the beholder of the days when the 
 Schuylkill was the sporting current of the Indian, 
 when its groves echoed to his wild halloos, and the 
 hill-sides and valleys smoked with his wigwams. 
 
VALLEY FORGE. 15 
 
 Now the dash of the water-wheel and the ripple of 
 the canal-boat have taken the place of the paddling 
 canoe. The savage shout has died away, and in its 
 stead we hear the roar of engines on the railroad, and 
 the clatter of machinery in the factories along the 
 river. The smoke of the lodge has long since passed 
 into thin air, and its space is supplied by the black 
 vapor that rises from the tall chimneys of the busy 
 iron forge, or the white steam of the lime-kiln. The 
 Minie rifle has supplanted the bow ; the axe of the 
 pioneer has driven out the savage hatchet ; the winding 
 wild- wood path of the red man has become a country 
 road, a turnpike, a railway ; and a large town stands 
 on the rude plots where the aborigines reared their 
 solitary huts. The naked foot of barbarism has been 
 lifted from the soil, and the shod step of civilization 
 is in its place where beautiful Norristown flourishes 
 to-day. 
 
 A few miles west from the Schuylkill is one of the 
 most memorable spots in American revolutionary 
 history. It is the Valley Forge. Here it was that 
 the scattered remnants of the patriotic Continental 
 army, under Washington, went into their scanty win- 
 ter quarters. The British General, Sir William 
 Howe, had vainly endeavored, with a much superior 
 force, to draw the commander-in-chief into an unequal 
 
IQ WINFIELD, THE LAWYER'S SON. 
 
 engagement. His object was the complete conquest 
 of Pliilaclelpliia and the adjacent territory. But 
 Washington was too cautious to be allured from his 
 stronghold in these Pennsylvania hills ; although to 
 remain there, through that unusually inclement sea- 
 son, was sure to cause him and his brave troops a 
 great amount of suffering. 
 
 The battle of Grermantown had been fought by 
 Washington, with La Fayette and Pulaski, at that time 
 just introduced to our republican army. Germantown 
 is but a few miles east of Norristown, on the fine ridge 
 of country lying toward Philadelphia. The battle 
 took place on the 4th of October, 1777; and 
 although the American soldiers were enduring much 
 from sickness and privations, they attacked the in- 
 vaders with such valor that they would have com- 
 pletely won the day but for an unforeseen withdraAval 
 of aid, for which it was impossible for Washington 
 to be prepared. 
 
 At the struggle of the Brandywine, which took 
 place not many miles from Korristown, on the 
 11th of September, in the same year, the Americans 
 fought equally well; but the smallness of their force, 
 and the wounding of La Fayette, had compelled a 
 retirement from the field. The determined will and 
 skillful strategy of Washington, fighting a strong, 
 
VALLEY FORGE 17 
 
 fresh force of tlie enemy, with disabled columns, kept 
 Sir William Howe at bay from Philadelphia. It was 
 not until the last extremity had come, that the revolu- 
 tionary troops steadily and slowly retired to the 
 Valley Forge. Here was passed that winter of ter- 
 rible trial. Without suitable food or clothinsf, worn 
 down by repeated marches and battles, deprived of 
 the comforts of home, driven into poor little shanties 
 for protection against the piercing cold, the patriots 
 of that day have gilded those hillsides and glens of 
 Pennsylvania with the glory of their deeds. It was 
 here that the selfish spirit of mean and cowardly men 
 added to the sufferings of the brave soldiers. At 
 the time when starvation seemed to be staring them 
 in the face, when their feet were yet sore and swollen 
 with their shoeless conflicts in the drifted snows, there 
 were wretches base enough to rush through the sad 
 and gloomy camp, crying "Beef! Beef! Give us 
 beef!" It required all the courage and force of cha- 
 racter of Washington to check this unpatriotic out- 
 break, and convince the soldiers that to endure as 
 brave men should was finally to succeed in the great 
 struggle. In the 'dead waste and middle' of that 
 fearful winter, the Father of our Country retired 'to 
 the grove near his headquarters ; and, spreading his 
 well-worn army cloak on the frozen ground, poured 
 
18 W INFIELD, THE LAWYER'S SON. 
 
 out the agony of his tried soul in prayer to the 
 Deity. At that very moment treason was doing its 
 worst against him. Attempts were being made to 
 supplant liim in command. Our oppressors abroad, 
 uniting witb traitors at home, were doing all in their 
 power to scattei^the Continental forces, and give up 
 the country to the foe. It was not so to be ! The 
 Valley Forge, Avhile it was the dark, icy grave to 
 many of our early heroes, became, also, in the spring- 
 time, the open door of hope, from which sprang fortli 
 new legions to do battle for Eepublican freedom. 
 Well may it forever be a sacred spot. Pennsylvania 
 has many glorious Eevolutionary memorials ; but the 
 Yalley Forge stands first among them all. 
 
 Surrounded by sucli associations as these, Winfield 
 Scott Hancock was born. The name given him at his 
 birth was indicative of the estimate put on love of 
 country by his parents. That of Hancock is associated 
 witb everything that is noble and self-sacrificing in 
 the early annals of the Eepublic. John Hancock, 
 the Massachusetts mercbant, will be remembered with 
 gratitude by patriotic Americans, as long as a page 
 of the history of our land remains. He was one of 
 the most determined chamjDions of the Kevolution 
 that the American colonies contained. Of the fore- 
 most men of his time, it was for him to say : 
 
PATRIOTIC ASSOCIATIONS. 19 
 
 " Thy spirit, Independence ! let me share, 
 Lord of the lion heart and eagle eye! 
 Thy steps I follow Avith my bosom bare, 
 Nor heed the storm that howls along the sky. 
 Immortal Liberty! whose look sublime 
 Has blanched the tyrant's cheek in every varying clime." 
 
 Hancock was among the first, while yet a young- 
 man and in the possession of a large fortune, to strike 
 a blow against the royal oppressors of his native 
 land. His life was declared to be forfeited, by a pro- 
 clamation of the British Grovernment. But he escaped 
 the fury of a brutal soldiery, to enlist, with Adams, 
 Otts, and other patriots of that day, in the work of 
 prep ring for an armed resistance to foreign aggres- 
 sions. Immediately after the battle of Lexington, he 
 was chosen President of the Provincial Congress, in 
 Massachusetts ; and subsequently to be the successor 
 of Peyton Eandolph, of old Yirginia, as President of 
 the General Congress, which met at Philadelphia, and 
 issued the Declaration of Independence, July 4th, 
 1776. On that immortal roll of worthies his name must 
 ever stand conspicuous. The record there made was 
 nobly attested all through his life, and in the hour 
 of his death. Virtuous, modest, courageous, learned, 
 dignified, rich, he gave up all for his country; and 
 has left a name on the pages of history Avhich every 
 
20 WINFIELD, THE LAWYER'S SON. 
 
 Aincricaii may well aspire to imitate and be proud 
 to honor. 
 
 Coupled with the name of Hancock, the subject 
 of our biography bears that of Winfield Scott. 
 It is a pleasure to be able to record here the fact that 
 the venerable Lieutenant- General acknowledges the 
 compliment paid him, and has repeatedly expressed 
 his deep personal interest in the career of the Penn- 
 sylvania boy who still so worthily bears his distin- 
 guished name. 
 
CHAPTER IL 
 HIS BOYHOOD. 
 
 " The first sure symiitom of a mind in health 
 Is rest of heart, and pleasure felt at home." 
 
 Young. 
 
 WE must now introduce the reader to the home 
 of Winfield, at Korristown. It was the year 
 1835. His father was at that time a school teacher, 
 and engaged in fitting himself for the profession of 
 the laAV. The home of the boy was a good one. 
 
 How much is included in these few short words ! 
 The true homes of America are its chief glory. They 
 are the only sure social foundations of the Eepubli- 
 can temple. In every such country the boys of to- 
 day, when properly qualified, are the electors of to- 
 morrow. As they decide the franchise, so the destinies 
 of the nation may be deckled. An American boy, 
 rightly educated, may justly aspire to any position 
 within the compass of man to attain, or of man to 
 bestow. Hence the incalculable importance of earlj? 
 
 instruction in America ; hence the immense interests 
 
 (21) 
 
22 \nNFIELD, THE LAWYER'S SON. 
 
 of society and government that cluster around the 
 hearth and shrine of the American home. 
 
 Such was the home of Winfield. His parents 
 were sincere Christians. The altar of worship stood 
 like a sanctuary within their doors ; mid every day 
 their family bowed with them before it. Morning 
 and evening the incense of devotion ascended from 
 that house. Kor did this hallowed home influence 
 stop at the threshold. Impressed on the memory and 
 heart; it went out into the duties of life. It made 
 itself a motive in their thoughts, heard in their 
 voices, and felt in their actions. It was not irresisti- 
 ble ; it was not all-controlling ; but, like the subtle 
 air, it penetrated to every spot ; and even if its pres- 
 ence could not always regulate, it was always acknow- 
 ledged as able to do so, if its inherent power for good 
 should be allowed free sway. 
 
 It was in the domain of such a home as this that 
 Winfield received his earliest impressions of charac- 
 ter. The uniform record of him, in his boyhood, 
 is, that he Avas obedient to his parents, truthful and 
 courteous, cheerful, soci^'ble, and manly. 
 
 A gentleman sitting in the office of Winfield's 
 father, heard quite a tumult among the boys in the 
 street. There were shouts and other signs of per- 
 
HIS BOYHOOD. 23 
 
 sonal conflict, which drew Mr. Hancock and his friend 
 to the door. 
 
 "Come herC; my son/' said the father, calling out 
 Winfield from the crowd. 
 
 The boy immediately obeyed, and came marching 
 directly to the ofi&ce door, his flushed face turned full 
 on that of his father. 
 
 "What is the matter, Winfield?" inquired Mr. 
 Hancock. 
 
 " Why, that big boy, out there, tried to whip me ; 
 and / luasnH going to let him !^^ 
 
 " But he is a great deal larger than jou are, my 
 son." 
 
 " I know he is, father ; but he shan't whip me, for 
 all that !" 
 
 It required some skill on the part of Mr. Hancock, 
 aided by his visitor, to convince the lad that it was 
 not his duty to go out and resume the fight, against 
 all odds. 
 
 Another domestic scene, of an entirely different 
 character, serves further to illustrate the boy. 
 
 Winfield and* Hilary had come in together in the 
 evening — for, being twins, they were then very sel- 
 dom separate — and found their mother engaged in 
 family affairs that would require her to remain up to 
 
24 WINFIELD, THE LAWYER'S SON. 
 
 a late hour. The father was necessarily absent; and 
 she was alone with the children. 
 
 The two little boys moved about the house, attend- 
 ing to their tasks, as usual, until the time came to 
 retire. The rooms were all still, save that in which 
 the mother was engaged. The streets were almost 
 vacant, and nearly quiet. The boys stood and looked 
 at each other. They were tired of play. They had 
 finished their studies. They had done their home 
 errands. Both of them saw at a glance the state of 
 the case ; and, simultaneously, they hit on a happy 
 expedient. They immediately called a council of 
 two — a twin council of twin brothers — and unani- 
 mously decided the following propositions : 
 
 First. It is the decision of this council that mother 
 is not to be allowed to sit up alone. 
 
 Second. The council will sit up with her. 
 
 Third. The council shall divide the time into 
 watches of one hour each. 
 
 Fourth. Each member of the council shall keep 
 awake one hour, and sleep one hour, watch and 
 watch, until mother puts us to bed. 
 
 These articles of agreement, having been duly as- 
 sented to by both the high contracting parties, were 
 fi\ithfully carried out; until both members of the 
 
HIS BOYHOOD. 25 
 
 council, at a late hour, were tenderly led to their 
 youthful slumbers. 
 
 The attachment existing between Winfield and his 
 schoolmates developea itself in a great variety of 
 ways, reflecting credit on his juvenile propensities. 
 He was always regarded as a leader among the boys 
 at Norristown. When the time came to organize 
 the occasional village accompaniment of an amateur 
 boy militia, he was at once selected, by common con- 
 sent, to hold the distinguished post of captain. The 
 memory of this little body of Home Guards is cher- 
 ished with pride by many of its members, to this 
 day. The matrons look back with pleasure on the 
 fact that their hands helped to equip the juvenile sol- 
 diers ; and that when they appeared on parade, with 
 mimic colors and music of tiny drum and flageolet, 
 they cheered them on their marches, and served 
 them freely with the required rations of lemonade 
 and doughnuts. 
 
 The haymo^\Ts and orchards in Norristown and 
 vicinity will bear witness to the innocent raids of 
 these budding patriots. In justice to them, it must 
 be added that their depredations were never of a 
 very serious character. They were generally wel- 
 come whenever they entered their temporary bar- 
 racks, or Tcamp-grounds ; and usually found ample 
 
26 WINFIELD THE LAWYER'S SON. 
 
 opportunities to display their imitation martial deeds. 
 Captain Winfield — perhaps OAving to the significant 
 fact that he bore the name of the then principal gen- 
 eral of the United States arnty — always 'ruled the 
 roster/ whether it assumed the form of a brigade, a 
 regiment; or a battalion. His military experience, 
 at the ripe age of twelve years, carried him triumph- 
 antly through every duty, — muster, parade, drill, 
 inspection, and review. His personal appearance 
 always commanded respect, at the head of his little 
 troop. One peculiarity of paternal reverence often 
 saved him trouble in the way of discipline. He 
 always handed offenders over to their mothers. This 
 was a capital idea of Captain Winfield's. It not only 
 enabled him to avoid all the vexations of a court-mar- 
 tial, but it gave satisfaction to all concerned ; for if a 
 good mother cannot bring a soldier to terms, who 
 can ? 
 
 The boy-circle of Winfield in Norristown had its 
 social singing-school. Here, again, his companions 
 clustered around ; for he was as popular in musical 
 as he was in military affairs. His aid was especially 
 valuable in this association, for its general manage- 
 ment was conferred on his father, as chairman of a 
 committee. On one occasion, when the singing-books 
 were being given out, it so happened that a soiled 
 
ins BOYHOOD. 27 
 
 copy fell into the liancls of- a playmate of Winfield. 
 Before lie was aware of the defacements, the lad liad 
 written his name in the book, and thus it was too 
 late to change it. 
 
 "Leave this matter to me," said Winfield ; "I'll 
 see what can be done. You shall have a good book 
 in the place of this." 
 
 "Thank you," replied his school-fellow; "but how 
 will you do it?" 
 
 "Let me manage that," Winfield quietly added — 
 "you may be sure I will do it right; for father, you 
 know, is committee-man." 
 
 Without saying more, he took the soiled volume, 
 and carefully erased the name his fellow-scholar had 
 written in it. He then placed the book back in the 
 pile, where he knew it must pass through the careful 
 hands and under the scrutinizing eye of his father. 
 
 The time came. The school was all assembled and 
 seated. The books were again to be given out. Mr. 
 Hancock passed them, as usual, giving to each scholar 
 his book, with his name in it. Directly he came to 
 the soiled one. The name was erased ! 
 
 "Who erased this name?" quietly asked the dig- 
 nified chairman of the committee, holding up the 
 book, and showing the defaced page. 
 
28 WINFIELD, THE LAWYER'S SON. 
 
 "I did it, sir," promptly replied Winfield, standing 
 up in his place. 
 
 "What did you do it for?" continued the father. 
 
 "Because I didn't want that boy to have a soiled 
 book, when I knew there were plenty of good ones, 
 not used." 
 
 Mr. Hancock looked an instant at Winfield, and, 
 with a calm smile, put back the soiled book in its 
 place behind him. Giving the school-mate a perfect 
 copy, he added : 
 
 "Take your seat, Winfield." 
 
 That simple act of the lawyer's son spoke volumes. 
 His attachment for his comrade determined his pur- 
 pose to do him a favor. He was ready to do it, even 
 if he had to ask it publicly of his fixther — a com- 
 manding gentleman, the personification of dignity, 
 especially when presented to a school of youth, to 
 supervise tlieir treatment of books. The promptness 
 of his response to the question of his father, in the 
 presence of the school, resulting in the protection of 
 his school-fellow and obtaining him the de*sired book, 
 strikingly illustrates, through the boy, the genius and 
 energy of the man. 
 
CHAPTER III. 
 
 HIS BOYHOOD, CONTINUED. 
 
 *'0h! the joy 
 Of young ideas, printed on the mind, 
 In the warm, glowing colors fancy spreads, 
 On objects not yet known, when all is new." 
 
 H. More. 
 
 IT is the opiiiion of tliose wlio knew Winfield best 
 in his boyhood, that he chose the military life 
 from an inherent love of it. At that early period of 
 which we are now writing, he could, of course, have 
 no idea of what was before him. His parents had 
 not the slightest intention of devoting him to the 
 profession of arms. When, on pleasant Saturday 
 afternoons, released from the confinement of the 
 school-room, he gathered his fellow-scholars around 
 him, and, with music and banners, marched and coun- 
 termarched with them through the streets of the then 
 comparatively small village of Norristown, little did 
 his family or those who looked on the mimic parade 
 imagine that the modest, cheerful, amiable youth be- 
 fore them would rise to the dignity of a Major 
 3* (29; 
 
30 JVIXFIELD, THE LAWYER'S SON. 
 
 General in one of the greatest armies of the world. 
 When the miniature battles followed, the snow-ball 
 engagements, the hay-bank barricades, the wooden 
 swords clashing, the corn-stalk guns charging, the 
 scantling embankments were carried by stove-pipe 
 artillery, it was hardl}^ supposed by the curious spec- 
 tators that the}^ were but the preludes to grand and 
 gallant realities, in which that youthful commander 
 should bear so conspicuous and enduring a part. 
 
 In the juvenile band he met for other purposes, 
 he was as affectionate and social as he was energetic 
 and commanding in military matters. It was here 
 that his genius shone in a beautiful sphere. He was 
 very fond of scientific experiments. There are por- 
 tions of his father's house that contain good illustra- 
 tions of his taste in this particular,^ — the original 
 home-made electric battery, the collections of geo- 
 logical and mineral specimens, the drawings, sketch- 
 ings and paintings. 
 
 In the prosecutioti of his scientific studies, he was 
 happy in opportunities to administer or to witness 
 the administration and effects of nitrous oxide, or 
 exhilarating gas. He was in the habit of gathering, 
 with his twin brother, an amateur class of students, 
 to whom these and other experiments always afforded 
 
HIS BOYHOOD. 31 
 
 pleasure. Win field was invariably selected to be the 
 grand lecturer on tbese august occasions. 
 
 "And still they gazed, and still the wonder grew, 
 How one small head could carry all he knew." 
 
 With him, however, it was a serious matter. He 
 entered the arena of science with a keen relish for 
 it, and a firm purpose to excel in it. He was amused, 
 with the rest ; but it was the amusement that rejoices 
 in scientific combinations secured, and a prognosis 
 chemically fulfilled. 
 
 On one of these occasions, a playmate whose given 
 name was Washington, well knoAvn to be a good 
 singer, was desired to take the gas at the hands of 
 Professor Winfield. The attempt to induce him to 
 sing, while under the influence of the exhilaration, 
 had been repeatedly tried by others, but always failed. 
 At length the juvenile Professor determined to try his 
 own skill in the case. 
 
 Proceeding to administer the gas slowly, at regular 
 intervals, he placed his mouth near the ear of the 
 pupil, and breathed, in a clear, distinct whisper : 
 
 " Sing, Wash ! — sing ! — sing ! — sing !" 
 
 In an instant the effect was produced. The lad 
 sprang forward, and throwing himself into the atti- 
 tude of a singing master, ivith arm erect, as if beat- 
 
32 WINFIELD, THE LAWYER'S SON. 
 
 ing time and tuning-fork in hand, he began, in the 
 old tune of St. Martin's : 
 
 On Jo-ordan's sto-ormyba-anks I stand, 
 
 And ca-a-st a wi-i-shful eye 
 To Ca-na-an's fai-i-r and ha-a-ppy land, 
 
 Where my-y posse-e-ss-ions lie." 
 
 " Well done !" exclaimed the delighted young Pro- 
 fessor, as he saAv his scientific victory ; while all the 
 company joined in the applause. 
 
 It now came the turn of Professor Winfield him- 
 self. "What trait would the gas make him display ? 
 We shall see. 
 
 A powerful charge of the subtle element was admin- 
 istered to him. On the removal of the stop-cock, he 
 stepped gravely forward, like a clergyman in a pul- 
 pit, about to lead in some part of divine service. 
 There was a general disappointment, for a moment. 
 Pausing, slowly, he remained motionless, his eyes 
 fixed steadily on the floor, his right hand placed 
 firmly beneath his chin, his left foot slightly ad- 
 vanced. In Ais position he remained an instant, as 
 if he were a statue, when, springing up, like an eagle, 
 he swept across the area, stretched out his arms to 
 their full extent, clenched his fists, and prepared for 
 active battle. The nearest portion of the audience 
 
HIS BOYHOOD. 33 
 
 incontinently fell back, or the tlirentened bloAvs might 
 have caused ' somebody to be hurt.' 
 
 Instantly, as the living effect passed off", he resumed 
 his wonted habit of mingled dignity, courtesy, and 
 energy. 
 
 These characteristics of the practical student were 
 well developed in Winfield. At the village academy 
 he acquired and maintained the position of an honest, 
 truthful, obedient, courageous boy. It Avas his cha- 
 racter, also, in the community. While popular with 
 his fellow youth and fond of their society, there was 
 something about this boy that led men of thought 
 and reflection to take an interest in conversing^ with 
 him. Many a time was he received with pleasure in 
 the cluster of the citizens who were wont to gather 
 in the store opposite his father's residence, and by 
 whom the affairs of the day were discussed. It is 
 worthy of remembrance that he loved to be among 
 and listen to them. He was never known to intrude 
 an opinion or to hazard a remark of his own ; but as 
 he stood there, with his modest, unassuming manner, 
 the expressions of his face, as conversations pro- 
 gressed, clearly indicated on which side his convic- 
 tions were, and that, if called upon, he was ready to 
 enforce them by every means in his power. It was 
 here, among these debating and enquiring free citi- 
 
34 WIN FIE LB, THE LAWYER'S SON. 
 
 zens, til at Winfield learned some of his best concep- 
 tions of the safeguards of our country. Here he 
 saw, in the record of passing events thus laid before 
 his opening mind, the practical application of those 
 vital forces of which he had learned at school, and 
 the relative value of which he now beheld wrought 
 out into shape b}^ those before him, in the movements 
 of society. He learned the worth of freedom to all 
 mankind by what he saw of its enjoyment among 
 those immediately around him. Free himself, he 
 longed in his young heart to give freedom, guided 
 by law, to all the human race. 
 
 He was now fifteen years of age. His progress in 
 his studies had been all that could be expected. As 
 he advanced, new opportunities were presented for 
 the development of his powers. The celebration of 
 the anniversary of our national independence called 
 him out in a new field. He was selected to read the 
 Declaration in public on that day. It Avas an occa-- 
 sion of deep interest in the town. The largest church 
 was crowded with people, and the schools were well 
 represented. One of the pastors, Avho had always 
 expressed pleasure in the marked genius of Winfield, 
 when it was known that he was to be the reader of 
 the Declaration, took him aside to his shady garden, 
 and there taught him on what to lay the emphasis, 
 
HIS BOYHOOD. 35 
 
 where to pause, when to raise and how to lower his 
 voice. It would be a graphic picture to witness that 
 reverend divine now calling the Major General be- 
 fore him again, to hear how he would to-day delineate 
 the immortal document he read in the grove, more 
 than a quarter of a century ago, and which he has 
 since so often and so bravely periled his life^ on the 
 field of battle, to maintain. 
 
 When Winfield was eleven years of age, there 
 came to Norristown a poor little boy who was com- 
 monly called 'Johnny.' His father had died when 
 he was but three years old, and he was placed in 
 charge of a relative of the familj^ He grew np with 
 the other boys of the place, and at the age of nine 
 became one of the playmates of Winfield. By de- 
 grees there was formed an attachment between them. 
 They saw something in each other that they liked. 
 
 As is too often the case, not only with children but 
 older persons, this unfortunate child was neglected, 
 and occasionally tyrannized over by his associates. 
 This was one of the reasons why Winfield resolved 
 to stand by him. Having ten pennies at his disposal 
 where Johnny had one, he made it a rule, whenever 
 occasion served, to divide with him. When they 
 met, before or after school, and recreation was the 
 object, Winfield would say : 
 
S6 WINFIELD, THE LAWYER'S SON, 
 
 " Come, Johnny, I have some pennies ; let us go 
 together and get something." 
 
 Thus the thoughtful generosity of Winfielcl and 
 the affectionate gratitude of Johnny made both boys 
 happy, 
 
 Sometimes larger boys would gather around Johnny, 
 and tantalize and threaten him. He was the youngest 
 and smallest among them. On all such occasions, 
 Winfield, when within sight or hearing, would 
 promptly and bravely come to the rescue. 
 
 ^'Look here !" he would say to the aggressor, "you 
 are larger and older than Johnny, and ought to be 
 ashamed to take advantage of him, on account of his 
 age and size." 
 
 "What business is it to you, Winfield Hancock?" 
 came the angry question. 
 
 " I will make it my business," was Winfield's de- 
 cided reply. "Stand your ground, Johnny; they 
 shan't hurt you !" 
 
 Occasionally, when this manly reinforcement 
 brought threats on his own head, he would boldly 
 add : 
 
 "If 3^ou want to take hold of a boy, why don't you 
 find one of my size ? Let little Johnny alone !" 
 
 His magnanimous courage always carried the day. 
 
 It was in this spirit that he obtained that control 
 
HIS EARLY FRIENDS. 37 
 
 over other boys, some of them older than himself, 
 that distinguished his boyhood. Yery frequently, 
 when juvenile difficulties occurred, and it seemed im- 
 possible to adjust them amicably, the general cry 
 would arise : 
 
 " Oh, leave it to Winfield ; he'll settle it." 
 The young judge invariably accepted the office, and 
 mounted the bench, on the spot. It is worthy of 
 record that his decisions, whatever they might be, 
 always gave satisfaction. 
 
 In after years little Johnny came as a carpenter's 
 apprentice to the city of Philadelphia. He was 
 still so poor that when he crossed the bridge, then 
 standing at the head of Market street, he had but a 
 solitary penny in his pocket. But he had a good 
 trade ; and immediately went to work. It was not 
 long ere he was at the head of a gang of men. By 
 continued industry he prospered in business, and be- 
 came a rich man. Entering a new field, he was 
 chosen a member of the Philadelphia city govern- 
 ment, and took his seat in the Councils, respected and 
 confided in by all who knew him. 
 . In the same course of time, Winfield, his playmate, 
 had become a Major General in the Army of the 
 United States. But they who had thus been boys 
 
88 WINFIELD, THE LAWYER'S SON. 
 
 together, did not forget each other when they became 
 men. It was the pleasant duty of John William 
 EvEKMAN., Esq., for the government of Philadelphia, 
 to introduce a series of resolutions commending 
 the patriotism, courage, and skill of Major Greneral 
 WiNFiELD Scott Hancock. These resolutions were 
 passed unanimously by both branches of the City 
 Councils, and it devolved on 'little Johnny' to be 
 chairman of the committee that took them, elegantly 
 engrossed, to the now distinguished friend of his 
 early years. 
 
 The Councilman and the General met at the capital 
 of the nation. How changed the scene now from 
 that of their boyhood in the borough of Norristown ! 
 They came together, in the presence of the accompa- 
 nying members of the delegation, in one of the par- 
 lors of Ayillard's hotel. With what cordiality the 
 two playmates greeted each other ! 
 
 At the close of a mutually agreeable conversation, 
 the General said : 
 
 " We meet here, Mr. Everman, in our official ca- 
 pacities; but, sir, I desire to see more of you. I 
 must leave, soon, for my post in the army. Come 
 and visit me there, sir ; and be sure and make my 
 headquarters your home, during your stay." 
 
 This early friendship of boyhood continues to the 
 
BIS EARLY FRIENDS. 39 
 
 present day. It has been repeatedly revived by nu- 
 merous pleasant memorials. When General Hancock 
 was last at Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, aiding, by his 
 powerful personal influence, in the- great work of ob- 
 taining reinforcements for the noble Army of the 
 Potomac, he was waited upon by Mr. Everman, in 
 company with other gentlemen of the Philadelphia 
 city government. The pages of the records of the 
 past were often reviewed by the two friends on this 
 occasion. It was here the General was informed that 
 he was voted the freedom of Philadelphia, and that 
 the. sacred area of old Independence Hall — the room 
 in which the Decraration of American Independence 
 was signed — had been opened to his use, for the re- 
 ception of himself and his visits from the people. 
 
 The scenes of that occasion will long be remem- 
 bered in Philadelphia. The honor is one seldom con- 
 ferred on any American citizen. ISTo one but a Presi- 
 dent or Ex-president of the United States, or a serv- 
 ant of the Republic similarly distinguished, has ever 
 enjoyed it. Here, within these .consecrated walls, the 
 two friends — Winfield and little Johnny — enjoyed 
 the renewal of the friendship of their boyhood days. 
 As the crowd gathered around him, to do him honor 
 for his brilliant services on the field of battle, to up- 
 hold the 'Union our patriot fathers had met here to 
 
40 WINFIELD, THE LAWYER'S SON. 
 
 establish, tlie General bent down close to bis friend, 
 and whispered in bis ear : 
 
 " You sball bear from me again." 
 
 A gentleman approaching touched on the political 
 questions of the day. 
 
 " I know no politics/' said General Hancock ; " es- 
 pecially in such a presence as this," — looking rever- 
 ently on the portraits of the fathers of the Eepublic, 
 bung around the old ball — firmly adding : 
 
 " A good soldier knows no party but his country." 
 
 In receiving the Philadelphia resolutions, forwarded 
 by Mr. Everman, the same noble impulse guided the 
 pen of the General. By bis direction they were en- 
 closed to Mrs. Hancock, at her residence at Long- 
 wood, St. Louis county, Missouri, who acknowledged 
 them from the friend of her husband in a beautiful 
 and appropriate letter. A copy was placed in the 
 bands of the parents of the General, where they or- 
 nament the family mansion, overlooking a portion 
 of the youthful playgrounds of Winfield and ' little 
 Johnny,' at Norristown. 
 
CHAPTER TV. 
 
 HOW HE WAS MADE A CADET. 
 
 "Statesman, yet friend of truth; of soul sincere. 
 In action faithful and in honor clear." 
 
 Pope. 
 
 AT the time of wliich we are now writing, there 
 resided in a populous part of Montgomery 
 county, Pennsylvania, a gentleman well known for 
 his extensive influence in political circles. His 
 deep interest in the arrangement of public matters 
 induced him to take long and frequent rides through 
 different parts of the county, and places adjacent. 
 He once represented that district in the Congress of 
 the United States. His type of character led him to 
 be strong in his likes and dislikes ; to be decided in 
 his friendship and equally decided in his enmity. 
 
 For quite a number of years, in the prosecution 
 
 of his profession, he had employed one of the best 
 
 horses in that section of the country. With his 
 
 trusty sfeed, when a pressing occasion demanded, he 
 
 4^ (41) 
 
42 WINFIELD, THE LAWYER'S SON. 
 
 was accustomed to start off; at times in tlie middle of 
 the night, reach the dwellings of the members of his 
 party he desired to see, rouse them from their slum- 
 bers, communicate the intelligence or counsel he 
 thought of importance, and then, after driving or 
 riding miles in his solitary routes of duty, to return 
 to his office as the first beams of day gilded the sur- 
 rounding landscape. Many a public movement has 
 been announced in the papers, many a political event 
 has controlled the party destinies of that district, and, 
 to some extent, of the state and country, which had 
 its unknown origin in the midnight journeys of this 
 Montgomery county traveller. 
 
 Like other somewhat eccentric men, having no 
 wife to love, he loved his horse. The noble animal 
 was his companion in all these secret trips. It had 
 become accustomed to his night approaches in the 
 comfortable stables ; it had sped for him, either bear- 
 ing him on its back or drawing him in his vehicle, 
 through highways and byways ; it had patiently and 
 quietly waited for him, through summer and winter, 
 in sunshine and in storm, at the places selected by its 
 master foi* his strategic interviews ; and had thus, in 
 many ways, enabled him to accomplish objects that 
 were dear to his heart. 
 
 But, strong and enduring as is the horse, it cannot 
 
HOW HE WAS MADE A CADET. 43 
 
 last forever. There came a time when the good steed 
 of our friend, while it retained all its wonted fineness 
 of mould and form, gave signs of age. "While suit- 
 able for short excursions, and as useful as ever for 
 occasional drives, it could no longer withstand the 
 long, and rapid, and repeated journeys to which for 
 years it had been subjected. The owner, touched by 
 the discovery of the fact, with a spirit that did him 
 honor, decided to withdraw the animal from such 
 active service. He took it to Philadelphia, and pre- 
 sented it to a professional acquaintance, then resid- 
 ing there, with the mutual understanding that the 
 faithful creature should be employed only in light 
 and easy duties — such as would especially benefit 
 the recipient of the horse — until its death. 
 
 Time passed on. One day, when the lawyer was 
 on a visit to Philadelphia, he discovered, as he stood 
 near the Montgomery Hotel, a handsome horse, 
 harnessed to a heavily loaded dray, quivering with 
 excitement under his load, covered with foam, and a 
 driver lashing him furiously with a large whip. 
 Looking a moment at the suffering animal — ^panting 
 there in the dry, dusty streets, in the middle of the 
 month of July — he perceived it was his own former 
 favorite! Pushing to the driver, and seizing his 
 
44 WINFIELD, THE LAWYER'S SON. 
 
 lifted whip, just about to descend on tlie lacerated 
 back of the poor creature, he exclaimed : 
 
 " Hold ! What are you about, flogging that horse 
 in that brutal manner?" 
 
 The driver began to reply, when he again cried 
 out: 
 
 "Where did you buy the animal?" 
 
 " Of ," (naming the party to whom 
 
 the lawyer had presented it.) 
 
 "What did you pay?" 
 
 " Seventy -five dollars." 
 
 " And he took that money, for this horse !" 
 
 " Yes, sir ; I paid him cash down." 
 
 " You did ? Well ; you may come down yourself, 
 now." 
 
 The driver descended from his dray, and stood, 
 looking with wonder at his questioner, while he, in 
 turn, looked, with something rather different, at him. 
 
 " Now, tell me," he resumed, as calmly as possible, 
 " why did you strike such a handsome horse in that 
 way?" 
 
 " I know it's handsome, sir ; quick yet, in a light 
 buggy; but, then, the critter ain't strong; its too 
 old, 'squire." 
 
 " So, then ; you cut and lash a noble horse because 
 he's old, do you ?" 
 
HOW HE WAS MADE A CADET. 45 
 
 " I've been cheated; 'squire, by the man I bought 
 on." 
 
 " Been cheated, eh ? I think you have ! 
 
 "And you are not the only one who has been 
 cheated about that horse. 
 
 "What will you take for the animal?" 
 
 " I'll take a hundred dollars ; for it'll be some 
 trouble for me to get another who'll sell as well." 
 
 " My friend ! here are your hundred dollars. The 
 horse is mine — again ! I have always held that 
 beautiful creature to be worth more than twice as 
 much. I would not take five hundred, now 1" 
 
 "Then you've made a good bargain, 'squire." 
 
 " Yes ; a very good bargain ; tho'I have been sold, 
 myself; but this is the last time this horse will ever 
 be. 
 
 " Take it out of that dray, as quick as your hands 
 will let you ! Go ! get a dray horse, that will bear 
 loading and thrashing better than this one !" 
 
 The still wondering drayman instinctively obeyed, 
 and the horse, yet trembling and wet with fatigue 
 and blows, was led to the stables of the Montgomery 
 Hotel, where several days and nights of rest and 
 care were required to restore the usual appearance 
 and qualities. At the end of that time the revived 
 pet was again in its old home, suitably enlarged for 
 
4:6 WINFIELD, THE LAWYER'S SON. 
 
 the purpose, and receiving its full share of wonted 
 kindness. 
 
 Now it happened that at the time this occurrence 
 was taking place, the party who had thus summarily 
 disposed of the present of our legal friend, removed 
 a portion of his family into Montgomery county. 
 His reason for doing so was that he heard a cadet 
 was about being selected there for West Point, and 
 he thought by that device to secure the appointment 
 for his son. He had no right to solicit the favor. 
 He was not a resident of the district, never had 
 been, and never expected to be. His temporary 
 location there was a subterfuge, a ruse ; as mean an 
 act as his selling the present of his friend, to be 
 treated brutally in its old age. 
 
 The lawyer discovered the base trick, as he had 
 discovered that practiced on him in the matter of his 
 equine favorite ; and, with his usual promptitude, 
 determination and sagacity, he proceeded at once to 
 thwart the trickster. We shall see how handsomely 
 he did it. With the eccentricity and shrewdness 
 peculiar to him, he determined that his horse, who 
 had shared with him in suffering, should participate 
 with him in his punishment of the wrong-doer. He 
 at once mounted the animal, and proceeded to the 
 
HOW HE WAS MADE A CADET. 47 
 
 liouse of the then member of congress for that dis- 
 trict, the Hon. Joseph Foknance, told him the facts 
 of the case, and took the steps necessary to carry his 
 patriotic plan into effect. 
 
 Late that same night he rode up to the door of 
 Air. B. F. Hancock, in ISTorristown. Without stop- 
 ping to dismount, he at once began : 
 
 " Good evening, Mr. Hancock !" 
 
 "Good evening, sir," was the courteous answer, as 
 Mr. Hancock, who had been roused from his sleep, 
 came to the steps of his of&ce. 
 
 " Mr. Hancock ! would you like to have your son 
 Winfield sent to West Point, as a cadet ?" 
 
 " Eeally, sir, I hardly know what to reply to such 
 a question. It is a very sudden one to be proposed 
 at this time of night. I have not thought of the 
 thing." 
 
 " Well, I wish you would think of it ; for I have 
 it in my power to send him." 
 
 " Winfield is rather young for such a position." 
 
 " He is as old as the boy who another man is try- 
 ing to get in !" 
 
 " That may be." 
 
 " Yes, sir ; I Icnoiv it to be so ! Winfield is a smart 
 boy, Mr. Hancock ; a very smart boy ; a great deal 
 smarter than that other one ; he has the talents for 
 
48 WINFIELD, THE LAWYER'S SON. 
 
 it, sir ; just the talents ; and, if you will say the 
 word, he shall go." 
 
 " I thank you for the offer ; but you must grant 
 me time to reflect upon it. 
 
 " Call to-morrow morning, and I will give you an 
 answer." 
 
 The family of Mr. Hancock are early risers. 
 They were up betimes ; and the cadet consultation 
 was duly held. It is due to the mother of Winfield 
 to record the fact that she took that active part in it 
 becoming her position. Unintentionally to herself 
 she had nourished some of the early military pro- 
 clivities of the boy. She had helped to equip him 
 in his juvenile uniform, when at the head of his 
 miniature company of ISTorristown volunteers, while 
 his father had been busy with other affairs. She 
 knew well the bent of the mind of the boy. Win- 
 field himself was consulted in the matter ; and the 
 decision was made. 
 
 The pawing hoofs of the venerable steed on the 
 pavement in front of the house told that the appli- 
 cant for Winfield was soon again at the door. The 
 moment it opened, the clear voice of the still mounted 
 lawyer made the earnest inquiry 
 
 " Well, Mr. Hancock ! Avhat do you say ? I am all 
 ready to complete the business. Shall Winfield go ?" 
 
HOW HE WAS MADE A CADET. 49 
 
 "Yes, sir!" was the quiet response. 
 
 In an instant more tlie horse and rider were gal- 
 loping down the street, across the adjacent bridge, 
 to the temporary residence of the incumbent con- 
 gressman. 
 
 The secret history of that early morning ride by 
 that Pennsylvania civilian, on that petted old horse, 
 of his interview with that member of congress, of 
 their mutual conference and conjectures with regard 
 to young Winfield, is all locked up in the past. 
 What anticipations for the future of the boy glowed 
 in the bosom of that rider are all buried with him 
 in the grave. All unknown to us noAV are the hopes 
 he indulged of the career of the cadet ; how fondly 
 he may have imagined him realizing all his expec- 
 tations ; succeeding in the admission ; passing the 
 ordeal of three years of stud}^ ; receiving his com- 
 mission and entering the army of the nation ; serv- 
 ing the requisite term in subordinate positions, 
 through drill, discipline, and the privations of camp, 
 fortress, and march; encountering hunger, disease, 
 fatigue and battle ; perhaps rising to eminence among 
 the sons of the Republic who should graduate with 
 him from those classic and warlike enclosures ; until, 
 in bright perspective, the name of his youthful ]?ro- 
 
50 WIKFIELD, THE LAWYER'S SON. 
 
 tege might be honored and distinguished in American 
 military annals. 
 
 That solitary rider on that patriotic mission passed 
 near the hallowed shades of the Yalley Forge, and 
 the vicinity of the sanguinary battle-ground of Paoli. 
 The winding road carried him beside the silent grave 
 of many a revolutionary hero, dying, unknown, in 
 the early struggle of the colonies, for his God, for 
 freedom and native land. The little hillocks were 
 green with beauty as he galloped by them, and their 
 sods seemed to whisper approval to him, in every 
 bending blade of grass. Going in the light of the 
 morning sun and returning in the cool shadows of 
 the evening, the spirits of the heroic dead seemed to 
 hover around him, as they ever do around all con- 
 trolled by the loftiest purposes of the human heart. 
 Beyond Avere the hillsides and gorges where Wash- 
 ington, like an invincible eagle at ba}^, gathered his 
 chosen troops around him, and resolved to suffer, 
 and, if need be to die, in all the horrors of an half- 
 starved and half-naked winter camp, rather than sur- 
 render up the symbols of national liberty and hope 
 committed to his hands by the American people. 
 Here was the bridle-path he traversed, in his high 
 emprise of duty. There he had his headquarters in 
 the canvas tent. Yonder he counselled with the he- 
 
HO IF HE WAS MADE A CADET. 51 
 
 roic Steuben and Knox, through the cold, dark nights, 
 when the stars lighted up their vigils at the altar of 
 freedom, and the fires of the bivouacs of her armed de- 
 fenders glowed on the darkness of their lines beyond. 
 Born in the entrenched mountain passes ; sheeted in 
 the towering drifts of snow ; nursed at the breast of 
 famine ; shielded by the bleeding arms of patriots ; 
 soothed by the lullaby of the icy cradle of liberty, 
 that rung with steel as it rocked in the stormy winds ; 
 guarded by brave hearts, warm with the noblest re- 
 solves that ever lived in the souls of men ; and, above 
 all, overshadowed by the outspread wing of an Al- 
 mighty Protector," the infant Genius of American In- 
 dependence here passed in safety its first fearful 
 ordeal of the Eevolutionary War. How bravely the 
 native patriotism of our fatliers arose from that 
 gloomy sepulchre at the Valley Forge, and how 
 sternly it renewed its proof of resurrection, history 
 has abundantly attested. Immediately after these 
 scenes followed the deeds of valor they performed in 
 the ensuing spring, at Trenton, on the banks of the 
 Delaware ; compelling our enemies, with all their su- 
 perior land and sea force, to retire from Philadel- 
 phia ; and winning, against great odds, the glorious 
 victories of Princeton and Monmouth, on the bloody 
 sands oriSTew Jersev. 
 
52 WIN FIELD, THE LAWYER'S SON. 
 
 On the return of that rider to Norristown, from 
 amid such associations as these, in old Pennsylvania, 
 the preparatory steps were completed with Mr. FoK- 
 NANCE, the then member of Congress for that district, 
 which resulted in making WiNFiELD Scott Han- 
 cock a United States Cadet. 
 
 So singular was the cause of the beginning of his 
 public career. The rider and the horse are long 
 since dead ; but how mysterious is the part they per- 
 formed in thus preparing the way of one of the most 
 distinguished of the military men of America ! 
 
 " This is Thy work, Almighty Providence ! 
 Whose power, beyond the stretch of human thought, 
 Revolves the orbs of empire." 
 
CHAPTER V. 
 
 HIS CAREER AT WEST POINT. 
 
 " Had I a dozen sons — each in my love alike — I had rather have eleven 
 die nobly for their country, than one voluptuously surfeit out of ac- 
 tion." — Shah'S2)€are. 
 
 AMERICAN history will always endorse the wis- 
 dom of tlie Father of our Country in the selec- 
 tion of West Point as a school for military purposes. 
 Washington was deeply impressed with the vast 
 strategic importance of that post during the Revolu- 
 tionary War. The treasonable attempt of Arnold to 
 betray it into the hands of the eneni}^, during the ab- 
 sence of the Commander-in-chief, at ria]-tford, Con- 
 necticut, to confer there with our French ally, Ro- 
 chambeaU; on a plan for the then ensuing campaign 
 of 1779, has shown its relative position as a means 
 of internal defence, in a very striking light. It was 
 eminently fitting that he should early designate this 
 stronghold as a suitable spot for the establishment of 
 a school for the instruction of American youth in the 
 great work of national protection. Located on the 
 5* (53) 
 
54 WINFIELD, THE LAWYER'S SON. 
 
 navigable waters of the Hudson river, in the midst 
 of the most commanding hills, with a healthful and 
 abundant country immediately surrounding it, having 
 every facility for the construction of fortifications, 
 the management of the engines of war and the move- 
 ments of a sufficient number of troops, no military 
 institution of its class in the world excels it. 
 
 A¥iNFiELD Scott Hancock entered West Point 
 as a cadet on the first of July, 1840, at the age of 16. 
 At that time there were among his fellow cadets, most 
 of them his seniors in age and entrance, such of our 
 nation's military men as Lt. Gen. Geant, Gens. 
 JuDAH, Pleasanton,- Hakdie, Eeynolds, Oed, 
 Ingalls and Augue. His studies were of a nature 
 to develop his talents in the right direction. Plans 
 of fortifications, sections of embrasures, casemates, 
 cannon and carriages, occupied his pen and pencil to 
 advantage. Those who have -seen the specimens of 
 the skill and patient industry of Winfield, in works 
 of this description, attest to their excellence. 
 
 The personal popularity which so marked him at 
 home continued with the young cadet during the 
 whole of his career at West Point. He frequently, 
 after his graduation, expressed the opinion that he 
 entered the academy too young; but it is not sup- 
 posed that many agree with him. 
 
ms CAREER AT WEST POINT. 55 
 
 While at West Point he was seen and conversed 
 with for the first time by General Scott. It was the 
 pleasure of the chieftain to express his satisfaction at 
 the progress the modest youth was making. His 
 kind expressions on that occasion will always be re- 
 membered by all who heard them. 
 
 The studies and service of West Point embrace a 
 practical period of three years. During each term 
 the cadet is regarded, as he was at his entrance, as a 
 soldier of the nation, sworn to her defence by force 
 of arms for four years after the time of his gradua- 
 tion, and then to be held as indirectly expected to 
 do duty under her colors. As he advances in studies 
 he increases his military drill and practice ; passes 
 through tests in the different arms of infantry, cav- 
 alry, and artillery ; and learns, by actual service in 
 amateur camps, the value of exercise, drill and dis- 
 cipline in the manual of arms, the camp, and the 
 field. Experience has now abundantly proved the 
 practical value of this national military school. 
 
 These are not the pages on which to record any 
 additional testimonies in favor of the usefulness of 
 West Point Academy to the nation. The war of 
 1812, through all its vicissitudes, attested the fact ; 
 it was repeated again in Mexico ; and it has been fre- 
 quently and strongly reaffirmed during the national 
 
56 WINFIELD, THE LAWYER'S SON. 
 
 conflict witli tlie great rebellion of '61-4. If some 
 of tlie sons of tlie Republic, educated carefully at her 
 expense at West Point, have ungratefully turned 
 against her^ and cruelly stung the bosom that warmed 
 them into military life, the great body of the cadets 
 have been and still are bravely true to the glorious 
 ensign of the Union. 
 
 The dry, quiet humor of Winfield developed itself 
 at West Point; as it did in his boyhood at Korris- 
 town. In spite of all conventional rules, it would 
 occasionally find vent in various ways. One of these 
 humors of the cadets in which he took part was to 
 welcome outsiders, who were sometimes under the 
 impression that they had only to offer themselves at 
 the gates and they would be admitted at once to enter 
 the ranks. This delusion was humorously dispelled 
 by the accompanying engraving, which Avas designed 
 and drawn by Cadet Hancock. (See engraving, 
 '^JiNEiNG THE PiNT.") It is introduced here not 
 merely to show one of the pleasantries of the Acad- 
 emy, but the talents of General Hancock, as a deline- 
 ator. In the West Point Album, that has been po- 
 litely placed at our disposal for the purpose, are 
 several other original specimens of his genius as an 
 amateur artist, while the large drawings of forts, 
 navy yards, and arsenals, displav in a favorable 
 
HIS CAREER AT WEST POINT. 57 
 
 light his scientific attainments. Among these we 
 have several elegantly drawn and finely colored out- 
 lines of public buildings, at West Point, and national 
 works at other places, with sketches of nature, cha- 
 racters and scenes that do marked credit to his 
 talents 
 
 The youth of our country, who aspire to do her 
 service — and what true American youth does not ? — • 
 may well profit by the juvenile example and cadet 
 experience of Winfield Hancock. He had no advan- 
 tages over many a lad reading these pages. He had 
 to contend with the same obstacles that beset others. 
 The secret of his success, thus far, was that he was 
 obedient to his parents ; he was found in his place at 
 school ; he profited by the examples set before him 
 by his Christian parents ; he neither despised nor 
 shunned the duties connected with the instructions 
 of the holy day ; he learned to prize honesty, virtue, 
 truth, magnanimity, as above all price ; and when, 
 therefore, he entered the trying arena of a great na- 
 tional military institution, to contest for the guerdons 
 of learning, self-control, position and power among 
 men, he was in a good measure prepared for the 
 ordeal. 
 
 Young American readers ! the destinies of this 
 o-reat nation are soon to be committed to your 
 
58 WINFIELD, THE LAWYER'S SON. 
 
 hands. Yon are to frame and execnte its laws ; to 
 raise, eqnip, and maintain its defences ; to educate its 
 masses, of which you yourselves are to be a part ; to 
 earn and manage its finances ; to produce its crops, 
 conduct its manufactures, display its arts, sail its ships, 
 and represent it in all foreign lands. In a short time 
 you are to fill the places of your fathers, who, in a 
 single generation of thirty years, will have all passed 
 away. 
 
 Be worthy, then, as Winfield was, of the high 
 trust about to be consigned to your control. Be up- 
 right, be industrious, be obedient, be patriotic; and 
 you will be fitting sons of the great American Re- 
 public. 
 
CHAPTER VI. 
 
 HIS NATIVE COUNTY. 
 
 " The chief office of history is to rescue virtuous actions from the ob- 
 livion to which a want of records might consign i\nim:'— Tacitus. 
 
 rilHERE is much of deep historical interest in old 
 \_ Montgomery county, Pennsylvania. Before 
 young WiNFiELD, one of her choicest native sons, 
 had gone from her abode to his cadetship at West 
 Point, before he had begun to reflect lustre on her 
 name by his brilliant and patriotic career, the history 
 of the county was well worthy of honorable mention. 
 The settlement of this county was one of the ear- 
 liest in the central part of the United States. As 
 long ago as 1640, nearly half a century before the 
 grant of William Penn was given to the first English 
 proprietors, there were settlers along the banks of the 
 Schuylkill and its tributaries, beyond the present 
 boundaries of Norristown. The Plollander, the 
 Swede, the Welshman, the German, the Englishman, 
 were its primeval colonists, following in the track of 
 the Algonquin, who then held supreme sway over all 
 
 (59) 
 
60 WIKFIELD, THE LAWYER'S SON. 
 
 the land, from the Hudson to the Delaware, and from 
 tlie Catskills to the Alleghenies. 
 
 Opened to civilization, it was separated from Phila- 
 delphia in 1784. It covered an area of 317,440 acres 
 — the manor of Norriton, now the borough of 
 ISTorristown, then embracing, in the grant of William 
 Penn to his son, 7,482 acres. The whole of this town 
 site was valued, in 1704, at a little over $3,000. The 
 present extent of the county is 30 miles in length, 
 17 miles in breadth, and 490 square miles. Its pop- 
 ulation in 1864 is 60,000. 
 
 No county in Pennsylvania has justly more pride 
 of character than Montgomery. Its founders were 
 men of tenacious religious faith, fixed purpose, great 
 industry, and determined perseverance. In the inte- 
 rior townships there are many of the people who 
 hold to the language which their ancestors brought 
 across the ocean, with a tenacity that no changes of 
 time, no inroads of progress, can relax. The tongues 
 their fathers spoke centuries ago they speak to-day. 
 A quiet, rural, thriving people, they are successful in 
 their pursuits and hospitable to strangers. Around 
 them, and all through the valley of the Schuylkill, 
 the advance of the age has been steadily onward. 
 The navigable streams ; the manufacturing water- 
 courses ; the mines of iron, coal, and lead ; the quar- 
 
HIS NATIVE COUNTY. 61 
 
 ries of marble, limestone; slate, and sandstone ; the 
 foundries, kilns, factories, and forges, filling the rail- 
 way, the river and the canal with their busy fruits 
 of enterprise ; all unite to present a picture of Mont- 
 gomery which the historian is grateful to be able to 
 record. 
 
 There are parts of this county that must ever be 
 gloriously memorable in revolutionary annals. In 
 1777, after the defeat of the American army at Bran- 
 dywine, the region of Montgomery was much fre- 
 quented by Washington and his patriot troops. On 
 the 17th of September, of that year, the Americans 
 moved to the north, toward the Schuylkill, by way 
 of Yellow Springs, and encamped on the Perkiomen. 
 All this spot, from Parker's Ford to Norristown, from 
 Norristown to Swedes' Ford, from Swedes' Ford to 
 Perkiomen, from Perkiomen to Whitemarsh, from 
 Whitemarsh to Paoli, from Paoli to the Yalley Forge, 
 is now sacred ground. It is to be remembered for- 
 ever as one of the oldest battle-fields of liberty. 
 
 The encampment of Sir William Howe, when 
 Washington was fighting him for the protection of 
 Philadelphia, was at one time on the present site of 
 Norristown. Washington was at that moment but a 
 few miles above. The cruel massacre of Paoli might 
 have been shared by the then little settlement of Nor- 
 6 
 
62 WINFIELD, THE LAWYER'S SON. 
 
 ristown, but for tlie special interposition of the 
 Almiglity. An unexpected storm changed the whole 
 nature of the campaign, and led the way for the with- 
 drawal of the enemy from that section of the country. 
 
 The remains of the revolutionary breastworks at 
 Swedes' Ford will always stand as a memorial of the 
 stubborn defence made against invasion by our pa- 
 triot fathers. It was here the foreign invaders were 
 met, and the fording of the troops of Washington 
 protected. Only a short distance from this line of 
 the county of Montgomery, the Father of our Coun- 
 try passed, with his brave little army, to those terri- 
 ble scenes at the Valley Forge, of which we have 
 spoken in previous chapters. It was over this soil, 
 now forever made consecrate by their touch, that the 
 patriot soldiers tracked their way in blood to their 
 wintry quarters, and to their future achievements for 
 American independence. 
 
 A fitting spot for the birthplace of Winfield 
 Scott Hancock. From this historic point we now 
 begin to trace his entrance on a more public career. 
 
CHAPTER VII. 
 
 HIS FIRST CAMPAIGN. 
 
 "I do not think a braver gentleman, 
 More active valiant, or more valiant-young, 
 More daring, or more bold, is now alive. 
 To grace this latter age with noble deeds." 
 
 Shakupeare. 
 
 ON the 30th day of June, 1844, Cadet Hancock 
 graduated at West Point, standing number 
 eighteen in his class. He was promoted to a brevet 
 second lieutenancy in the Sixth United States Eegu- 
 lar Infantry, July 1st, 1844, and on the 18th of June, 
 1846, received his commission as full second lieuten- 
 ant in the same regiment. 
 
 His first posts of duty in the army were in the far 
 West — in the region of the Washita, on Eed Eiver. 
 The valley of the Eed Eiver borders on the Indian 
 territory, and contains extensive prairies, among 
 which are large tracts of fine timber. The soil is 
 equal to any in the world for fertility and durability. 
 At the time Lieutenant Hancock was stationed in 
 
 (63) 
 
64 WINFIELD, THE LAWYER'S SON. 
 
 that quarter, tlie hostile Indian tribes were quite 
 troublesome to the settlers on the frontier. It re- 
 quired skill and tact as well as courage on his part 
 to discharge his important trust with propriety. 
 
 On being transferred from the Red Eiver of the 
 South, at Fort Towson, he was ordered to Fort 
 "Washita, our most western military station. He 
 continued at this post in the discharge of his rou- 
 tine garrison duties until the spring of 1847, when, 
 on the breaking out of the war with Mexico, he was 
 ordered with his regiment to the front. 
 
 Ilis first' part in battle was taken on the 20th of 
 August, 1847, at Churubusco. The army of the cen- 
 tre, under General Scott, had entered Mexico, via 
 Yera Cruz, and was co-operating with the army of 
 occupation, under General Taylor. The spirit of the 
 Mexican government and people had been aroused, 
 war having been formally declared against the United 
 States. The victories of Taylor had signally pre- 
 " pared the way, and the movements of our troops 
 were onward. 
 
 The Sixth United States Infantry, of which Win- 
 field was now second lieutenant, was in command of 
 Colonel J. S. Clarke, in this battle. 
 
 The severe defeat of Santa Anna at Buena Yista, 
 
HIS FIRST CAMPAIGN. 65 
 
 by General Taylor, had induced that Mexican chief 
 to make the most extensive preparations for opposing 
 the victorious advance of General Scott. Vera Cruz, 
 the principal Mexican town on the seaboard, had 
 fallen ; and, after winning several other victories to- 
 ward the interior, the army of the centre was now on 
 its way to the capital of Mexico. Two strong posi- 
 tions had to be taken before the city could be assaulted 
 — Molino del Eey, (the King's Mill,) and the castle of 
 Chapultepec. In the advance on this important point, 
 Lieutenant Hancock drew his sword in his earliest 
 fights for his country. He was under the immediate 
 command of Captain Hoffman, of the Sixth Infantry. 
 The assault was made on the works of the enemy 
 by the platoon in charge of Lieutenant Hancock, in 
 company with Lieutenants Armistead, Sedgwick, 
 Buckner, and Eosecrans — the last named ha,ving vol- 
 unteered for the occasion from the Fifth Infantry. 
 
 By order of General Worth, the battalion of the 
 Sixth Infantry, in command of Captain Hoffman, 
 formed in column and repeatedly charged the battery 
 of the enemy. Lieutenant Hancock was now under 
 fire for nearly the first time, like others of our ofiicers 
 and men. The Second Artillery, under Captain 
 Brooks and Lieutenants Daniels and Sedgwick, aided 
 
 materially in our assault. The charge of our troops 
 6* 
 
66 WINFIELD, THE LAWYER'S SON. 
 
 was continued until tlie enemy was driven from the 
 field. 
 
 At three o'clock in the morning of the 8th of Sep 
 tember, 1847, he moved with the troops on the as- 
 saulted batteries. The grey light of coming day had 
 not yet tipped the heights around, when the two 
 twenty-four-pounders placed in position opened on 
 the solid stone walls of the enemy. No reply came ; 
 and it was at first supposed that the Mexicans had 
 abandoned the post. It soon appeared, however, that 
 they had only changed their place of defence, and 
 were beginning, from a new and unexpected point, to 
 pour grape and round shot on our advancing flanks. 
 It is inferred, from some circumstances afterwards 
 revealed, that the Mexican commander had been in- 
 formed of the manner of our approach by foreign 
 spies. The assault of the enemy was severe ; cutting 
 down our men in large numbers, killing and wound- 
 ing eleven out of fourteen of our ofl&cers, and a like 
 proportion in the ranks. On perceiving their tempo- 
 rary advantage, the Mexicans rushed on our lines 
 with their usual savage ferocity, and murdered our 
 wounded troops in cold blood. 
 
 Eeinforcements were now thrown rapidly forward 
 by General Worth, who resolutely attacked the Mexi- 
 can flank. The Mexican General Leon, who headed 
 
HIS FIRST CAMPAIGN. 67 
 
 a spirited sortie from the walls of Molino del Eey, 
 was wounded, several ofl&cers of liigli rank were 
 killed, and the enemy driven back. The access to 
 the foe was sought in a variety of ways. The 
 walls were scaled by our daring men, the top of the 
 building reached by cutting holes in the solid stone, 
 by means of their bayonets ; the main gate was soon 
 forced, and the troops rushed through with a shout 
 that woke the echoes of the space beyond. A combat 
 ensued, hand to hand. Door after door fell before 
 the intrepid Americans ; rank after rank of the Mexi- 
 cans were swept before them ; until a white flag of 
 surrender appeared on the battered parapets. 
 
 It was a sanguinary battle — by many considered 
 the most so of any during the Mexican war. The 
 enemy had a very strong position, entrenched on a 
 commanding hill, surrounded by massive stone walls, 
 and outnumbered us three to one. But we carried 
 the post against all these odds, capturing eight hun- 
 dred prisoners, although at a fearful loss of life in 
 our own ranks. 
 
 The next battle in which the young Lieutenant 
 participated was that of the castle of Chapultepec. 
 The edifice stands on a high, rocky promontory, 
 nearly precipitous, and commands the entire country 
 for miles around. The western slope is the only 
 
68 W INFIELD, THE LAWYER'S SON. 
 
 point where the approach is at all gradual, and this 
 is covered by a dense chapparal and forest, where the 
 ground is ragged with rocks. 
 
 On the 13th of September, of the same year, the 
 battalion of the Sixth Infantry to which then Adjutant 
 Hancock was attached, moved out from the conquered 
 post of Molino del Key toward Chapultepec. It was 
 at the early dawn. The shadows hung deep from 
 tree to tree, from rock to rock. A large force of 
 Mexicans lay hidden in the darkness. Our men felt 
 their way along, when, coming all at once into a com- 
 paratively open space, they found themselves con- 
 fronted by the frowning battlements of the castle. 
 The fight began instantly. An American color- 
 bearer rushed forward to the ramparts, followed, with 
 loud cheers, by a body of our men, who quickly 
 placed ladders against the embattled walls, and be- 
 gan to scale them. Shout now followed shout as 
 the soldiers sprang up the ladders and bounded over 
 the wall, in the very face of the enemy. The Mexi- 
 cans were taken completely by surprise. They stood 
 a moment in suspense, astonished at the audacity of 
 the Americans, and then dashed down, some of them 
 headlong, over the precipitous rocks. Shot and shell 
 poured in upon the works, like an iron torrent;^ 
 and it was not long ere the strong castle was a mass 
 
HIS FIRST CAMPAIGN. 69 
 
 of ruins. A large number of prisoners surrendered 
 to our gallant troops — among them General Bravo, 
 and the surviving students of the Mexican National 
 Militar}^ School. 
 
 The part taken by the Sixth Infantry in this bril- 
 liant battle is worthy of special mention. It was all 
 the time actively engaged, including the command 
 of Lieutenant Hancock, moving out from Molino del 
 Eey by the left flank, and soon reaching the grove 
 at the base of Chapultepec. A portion dashed up 
 the hill in advance, of whom Hancock was one — the 
 remainder joining from the left base of the castle, 
 whither it had been detached to cut off the retreat 
 of the enemy — until the whole regiment, with a 
 grand huzza, swept into the thickest of the fight. 
 The colors of the command were advanced into the 
 enclosures of the castle, and the troops rallied gal- 
 lantly around them. Entering the streets beyond, 
 they found themselves confronted by a breastwork 
 of masonry, and a large body of the enemy posted 
 behind it. From this barricade and the tower and 
 windows of the adjacent church, the street was 
 swept by the fire of artillery and infantry. But our 
 men moved steadily on. They passed to the rear, 
 flanking the Mexicans, and reaching a large building, 
 which they entered by force, and, commanding the 
 
70 WINFIELD, THE LAWYER'S SON. 
 
 balconies, poured their shot with telling effect on 
 the foe. 
 
 The Mexicans were forced back in disorder, aban- 
 doning every position they had held. Onr men now 
 seized new points, forcing their way with their bayo- 
 nets and such missiles as could be used for the pur- 
 pose, tearing holes in the houses with crowbars and 
 pickaxes, until they had formed a garrison around 
 them. Every movement they made brought their 
 fire nearer the enemy. The picked marksmen of the 
 Sixth, joined now by others of the Eighth, did terri- 
 ble execution. Officer after officer fell rapidly before 
 their deadly aim. The two opposing forces at this 
 moment were not more than thirty yards apart from 
 each other. 
 
 Soon the disordered Mexicans began to waver ; 
 then they broke and fled up the streets in dismay, 
 our men pursuing with all their speed. It was lite- 
 rally a race for life. The crashing of shells, the 
 tumbling of walls, the roar of cannon, the whistling 
 of bullets, the shouts of the advancing victors as 
 they rushed through the sulphurous clouds surround- 
 ing them, the flashes of their guns blazing like light- 
 ning from their serried ranks, gave the scene one of 
 the most thrilling aspects of the war. The hard- 
 
HIS FIRST CAMPAIGN. 71 
 
 fouglit day was won ; and the Sixth regiment rested, 
 with their comrades, on their victorious arms. 
 
 Thus fell the castle, citadel, and town of Chapul- 
 tepec. The Mexicans had barricaded their streets, 
 intending to make secure use of the barricades and 
 the adjacent houses to keep our men at bay. They 
 supposed they would be able to destroy us all, by 
 means of their protected fire. They had not calcu- 
 lated on our leaving these defences unattacked, thus 
 preventing exposure in the open streets, and burrow- 
 ing our way under cover, to their rear, through the 
 dismantled walls of their own houses. 
 
 The enemy fought desperately during this terrible 
 contest of four days. But it was all in vain. At the 
 end of the fourth day the whole garrison was surren- 
 dered, the Mexicans, as some return for their acknow- 
 ledged valor, being permitted to march out with the 
 honors of w^r. 
 
 In the reports of the officers in command of the 
 attacking force, the conduct of Lieutenant Hancock is 
 repeatedly mentioned. In August, 1848, he was bre- 
 veted first lieutenant for his gallant and meritorious 
 bearing in these actions — his brevet dating from the 
 20th of August, 1847. 
 
 It was his privilege to be present when commis- 
 sioners reached the American camp with proposals 
 
72 WINFIELD, THE LAWYER'S SOX. 
 
 of peace. Terms of accommodation were proposed 
 by them, but General Scott refused to listen to any 
 but those of surrender. The morning following their 
 arrival, on the 14th of September, 1847, the old hero, 
 at the head of six thousand men, regulars and volun- 
 teers, marched into the conquered city, and the colors 
 of the United States waved from the palace of the 
 Montezumas. A treaty of peace was negotiated at 
 Guadaloupe Hidalgo, on the 2d of February, 1848 ; 
 and on its ratification at Washington, which occurred 
 soon after, the Mexican war was brought to a close. 
 
 The part taken by Lieutenant Hancock in this war 
 was further acknowledged in a series of resolutions 
 adopted by the Legislature of his native State; in 
 which his name, with those of other Pennsylvania sol- 
 diers, was mentioned with honor, and the document 
 containing them placed in his hands. 
 
 He remained with the American army as it with- 
 drew from Mexico, serving a portion of that time 
 under Brigadier General Cadwalader, at Toluca. 
 Before leaving, he was made Eegimental Quarter- 
 master of the Sixth regiment. He was among the 
 last of oar troops that left Mexico, and saw the Mexi- 
 can flag take the place of ours, when the city was 
 turned over to the Mexican government. He was 
 next stationed on the Upper Mississippi, at Fort Craw- 
 
IS A GAIN ST A TIONED. 73 
 
 ford, Prairie clu CHen, Wisconsin, where he remained 
 until the summer of 1849. 
 
 Fort Crawford is pleasantly situated on an elevated 
 part of Prairie du Chien, on the site of the old French 
 town of that name, overlooking the Mississippi river, 
 flowing in front of it. The rapid settlement and 
 extension of our Northwestern frontier having ren- 
 dered this post of little value, in a military point of 
 view, it was abandoned by the government of the 
 United States a few years after Lieutenant Hancock 
 left it. The buildings still stand, all desolate and 
 lonely, in view of the passer-by on the river. The 
 silent spot is as quiet now as it was when the Indian 
 first planted his foot on the shore, or his canoe had 
 skimmed along the waters in front — an emblem, at 
 once, of the advance of the power of civilization and 
 the retreat of the wild savage before it. The de- 
 scendants of the emigrants who first penetrated these 
 once unbroken wilds will call to mind, as they look 
 on the ruins of the old fort, the days when their 
 ancestors roamed the forests beyond, or sped their 
 way along the bosom of the Father of Waters. How 
 changed the scene in the rapid march of years ! The 
 steamboat is on the river — the rail-car is on the land 
 — but the Indian and the pioneer, where are they ? 
 
 Prairie du Chien is a point of some importance in 
 
74 WINFIELD, THE LAWYER'S SON. 
 
 the West. It has been for several years the western 
 terminus of a railway, connecting the Mississippi 
 with the East. It is now the starting point of ano- 
 ther road, running still further West through the 
 prairie land. The town is beautifully located, and 
 the capital of Crawford county, Wisconsin. It is 
 about one hundred miles west of Madison, the capital 
 of that fine and growing State. 
 
CHAP TER VIII. 
 HIS PROMOTION. 
 
 "With master-spirits of the world, 
 
 The brave man's courage, and the student's lore, 
 Are but as tools his secret ends to work, 
 Who hath the skill to use them." 
 
 Joanna Baillie. 
 
 DUEING tlie year 1849 Lieutenant Hancock was 
 promoted to tlie post of regimental Adjutant. 
 This position he retained until the autumn of 1855, 
 being stationed throughout the whole of that period, 
 six years, at St. Louis and Jefferson Barracks, Mis- 
 souri. The Barracks are on the Mississippi, about 
 twelve miles below St. Louis. He was on the staff 
 of Brigadier General N. S. Clakke, an accomplished 
 soldier and gentleman, then commanding the Sixth 
 Infantry, and with whom he had served in Mexico. 
 
 On the 24th of January, 1850, he was married to 
 Miss Almika Eussell, daughter of Mr. Samuel Rus- 
 sell, a much esteemed merchant of St. Louis. She 
 is a lady of good sense and accomplishments, worthily 
 filling the position she has been called to occupy. 
 
 (75) 
 
76 WINFIELD, THE LAWYER'S SON. 
 
 They have two interesting children — a boy^ named 
 from his grandfather, Russell, now fourteen years 
 old, and a daughter, of eight, named Ada Elizabeth. 
 The wife and children of the then Lieutenant — now 
 General — Hancock have been but rarely separated 
 ffom him, until the present rebellion. They are now 
 residing at " Longwood" — the elegant and delightful 
 home of the RussELLS, a few miles from St. Louis. 
 
 In the month of November, 1855, through the ex- 
 ertions of the Honorable Johk Cadwalader, (then 
 member of Congress for the district in which his 
 birth-place is situated,) he was appointed an Assist- 
 ant Quartermaster, with the rank of Captain. 
 
 In the summer of 1842, while yet a cadet, Winfield 
 first returned home from West Point — a furlough of 
 two months being allowed each cadet in the middle 
 of the four years' term. It was pleasant to the young 
 officer, now about eighteen years of age, to revive the 
 scenes of his boyhood. He had not forgotten home. 
 His father had accompanied him, two years before, 
 as he entered the Academy, and he now greeted him, 
 with the mother by his side, to the dear homestead 
 of other days. Instructions and counsels were re- 
 newed. The worship at the family altar revived the 
 sacred impressions of truth within his heart. Here, 
 too, the proofs of his earlier devotion to science were 
 
REVISITS HOME. 77 
 
 reviewed ; the specimens he had labelled were re- 
 examined ; the home-made galvanic apparatus he had 
 helped to construct, and which had served to illustrate 
 his private lectures before his classmates, and his 
 more public performances in the old academy then 
 on Airy street, was tenderly handled, and carefully 
 readjusted, ere it was passed by in silence ; and the 
 whole paraphernalia of his incipient love of learning 
 were more safely placed away in the recesses of the 
 mansion, where they still remain. 
 
 The large, two-storied brick building on Airy street, 
 Norristown, will long be remembered as the spot 
 where Winfield and his associates of early days went 
 to school. It was situated at the end of DeKalb 
 street, looking down the whole length to the bridge 
 crossing the Schuylkill, half a mile in front. The 
 site was commanding, and well adapted for such a 
 purpose. The view on all sides was very fine. The 
 town lay on the gentle slope beneath, with here and 
 there a spire jutting up against the sky, in the fore- 
 ground. At the sides and in the rear the cultivated 
 fields and gardens spangled the landscape with grass 
 and flowers, while overhanging trees skirted the 
 edges with their variegated fringes of beauty. The 
 lovely Schuylkill swept gently on in the distance, its 
 surface dotted by an occasional boat, and its mirrored 
 
 7* 
 
78 WINFIELD, THE LAWYER'S SON. 
 
 waters reflecting tlie multiplying and ever-changing 
 pictures of earth and sky. The modest hills stood 
 silent beyond, clad in their sweet robes of misty blue, 
 as if reluctant to cast their shadows too long or too 
 deeply on the quiet rural scene. Happy school-boy 
 days ! Who can forget them ? Who would forget 
 them, if he could ? 
 
 The principal of the academy, in the period when 
 Winfield was one of its scholars, was Mr. Eliphalet 
 Roberts — now a teacher in Philadelphia. His inte- 
 rest in the subject of this biography was always 
 strong and deep. We shall have occasion, in the 
 course of these pages, to show with what propriety 
 General Hancock recognized the teacher of his boy- 
 ish years, when we come to speak of his public re- 
 ception in that city, during his visit of the year 1863. 
 
 Mr. Roberts was succeeded in the academy and as 
 a teacher to Winfield by Mr. William Hough, who 
 was himself deeply interested in scientific subjects, 
 and who took peculiar pleasure in fostering Win- 
 field's love of chemistry and electricity. 
 
 When the Norristown High School was established, 
 under the superintendence of Mr. Ashbel G. Harned, 
 Jr. — a gentleman who was very popular and success- 
 ful as a teacher — Winfield was among his most favor- 
 ite pupils. He remained at this school, making good 
 
REVISITS HOME. 79 
 
 progress in his studies, until just previous to his 
 leaving home to become a cadet. 
 
 But with all these scholastic advantages, let it 
 never be forgotten, especially by our young readers, 
 that very much that Winfield was, and now is, he 
 owes to the influence and instructions of home. Both 
 his parents are deservedly much respected for their 
 great moral and religious worth ; for their useful and 
 unselfish lives. Their part in life has been, and still 
 is, an earnest one — whether for the benefit of their 
 family or mankind at large. In the pursuit of busi- 
 ness, in the performance of duties of every kind ; 
 superintending or teaching in the Sunday school^ 
 which is at the distance of a mile from their resi- 
 dence, across the river ; attending to the intellectual 
 wants, the spiritual aspirations of scores of these dis- 
 tant children, through the heat of summer and the 
 cold of winter ; visiting the sick, caring for the poor, 
 relieving the oppressed ; thus are the lives of the 
 honored father and mother of Winfield ripening into 
 the fruitage of holy deeds, and preparing for the 
 awards of a glorious immortality. The chief charac- 
 teristics of his father are energy, perseverance, cau- 
 tion, sound judgment, and good sense. His opinions 
 have ever been highly valued by all who know him. 
 No man has been more frequently called to adjudicate 
 
80 WINFIELD, THE LAWYER'S SON. 
 
 responsible cases, to allay exciting difficulties, to set- 
 tle estates, or to manage the trust funds of the people. 
 The life of Benjamin Franklin Hancock is an honor 
 to his name. 
 
 Mrs. Hancock, the mother, possesses equally marked 
 traits of character, of a different type. A kinder, 
 more benevolent, unselfish woman it would be ex 
 tremely difficult to find. Her name is a sweet savor 
 of sincere Christian piety wherever she is known. 
 
 It is perfectly safe to say that many of the promi- 
 nent traits in the distinguished character of General 
 Hancock may be directly traced to the moulding 
 influence of his parents. 
 
 His military education and life, and the opportu- 
 nity afforded by his influential part in the suppression 
 of the great rebellion, have developed in a remarka- 
 ble degree the qualities that began to show them- 
 selves in his boyhood, and that Avere guided and fos- 
 tered at home. His ability to command, his facility 
 in controlling great masses of armed men, his skill 
 in the use of means, his patient industry in overcom- 
 ing difficulties, his dashing energy to accomplish 
 great objects in the midst of -danger, may all be 
 ' traced back, like living streams from the living foun- 
 tain, to the hidden power of that one word — Home. 
 
 The old two-storied school house nearDeKalb street 
 
REVISITS HOME. 81 
 
 has been swept away by the march of improvement. 
 Not a vestige of it remains ; and even its site is 
 now hidden from view, being demanded by the exten- 
 sion of the street; for the purposes of travel. Here, 
 where whole generations of children have studied 
 and played together, where the hum of busy search- 
 ers after knowledge has sounded from the quiet walls, 
 like the music of bees in and around the silent hive ; 
 where the gray-haired or more juvenile teachers have 
 filled their tripod with alternate jo3^s of victory and 
 sorrows of defeat ; where from this spot, once so sacred 
 to learning in other days, have gone forth the boys 
 who have filled their places in society, grown old as 
 the teacher was, and passed, like him, away, — all now 
 is given up to the rush of business, the passage of 
 hurrying or tardy feet, the roll of wheels, and the 
 tramp of horses. But, with all these and other 
 changes, forever cherished shall be the memory of 
 the old Airy street school-house in Norristown. 
 
CHAPTER IX. 
 
 ORDERED TO FLORIDA. 
 
 " Be it thy aim to be useful in private, than, rather, in thy youth, to 
 be too conspicuous." — Proverb. . 
 
 DUEING the year 1856, when Winfield filled the 
 post of Quartermaster, ranking as Captain, of 
 the Sixth United States Infantry, he was stationed 
 in Florida. A part of this time of service was spent 
 near Saint Angustine. This is a commanding posi- 
 tion, a city, port of entry, and capital of St. John's 
 county. It is two hundred miles east of Tallahassee, 
 and one hundred and sixty south of Savannah. It 
 has the distinction of being the oldest town in the 
 United States, having been settled by the Spaniards 
 in 1565. Its location on the navigable waters of 
 Matanzas Sound, only two miles from the Atlantic 
 ocean, (from which it is separated by the island of 
 Anastasia,) gives it a marked commercial and naval 
 importance. 
 
 The city stands on a plain, only a few feet above the 
 
 (82) 
 
ORDERED TO FLORIDA. 83 
 
 level of the ocean. The streets are nearly all built 
 on the old Spanish pattern, being only from ten to 
 eighteen feet wide. The houses and public buildings 
 are usually low, the former being not more than two 
 stories high, and all made of durable materials, the 
 stone or shell mixture of the sea shore. The upper 
 stories of the dwellings and stores project over the 
 streets, so that passengers crowd along the narrow 
 side-walks under the hanging verandas, while the 
 horses, mules, and cattle straggle and jostle their way 
 through the narrow avenues. Beside the county 
 buildings there are four churches, a newspaper, and 
 a United States land office. 
 
 The harbor of Saint Augustine is safe and com- 
 modious, but the bar at the entrance prevents the 
 approach to the wharves of large ships, having 
 only nine or ten feet of water, at low tides. The 
 climate is mild and pleasant ; the cool, refreshing 
 breezes from the contiguous sea rendering the spot a 
 favorite resort for invalids. Beautiful trees abound 
 — the olive, the palm, the orange, and the lemon. 
 The loveliest birds of the continent crowd the air, 
 while choice fish and game are in abundance. Navi- 
 gation is carried on between St. Augustine and New 
 Orleans, Savannah, and other sea-ports, so that the 
 town has become one of the largest in Florida. 
 
84 WIN FIELD, THE LAWYER'S SON. 
 
 The location of Winfield was at Fort Meyers, in 
 tlie vicinity of Saint Augustine, where he remained 
 in active service until the year 1857. 
 
 It was at this place he occupied his talents as a 
 delineator in making drawings of the ground-plans 
 of the old Forts and adjacent surroundings — a 
 woi'k that still remains at the home of his parents 
 — a worthy sign of his skill and industry as a 
 draughtsman. 
 
 On the 7th of November, 1856, having been as- 
 signed to more active duties in the United States 
 Quartermaster General's Department, for the Western 
 District, he was ordered to the United States territory 
 of Utah, on the slope of the Pacific ocean, and to 
 accompany General Harney on his expedition to 
 Kansas and the regions beyond. 
 
 Many persons, especially those abroad, who are 
 aware of the existence of the crime of pol3^gamy in 
 Utah, are not conversant with the fact that it is 
 several thousand miles distant from the natioual 
 government, at Washington. Bad as the influence 
 of that crime is on its immediate participants, and on 
 the aboriginal tribes around, it should be remembered 
 that those Avho practice it are mostly foreiguers, and 
 that the United States are no more responsible for it, 
 in a governmental point of view, than is England for 
 
IN CALIFORNIA. 85 
 
 the superstitions of her colonies in India. There is 
 a moral obligation resting on all Christian people to 
 root out and scatter forever this disgraceful evil; but, 
 so long as its upholders maintain an organization in 
 unison with the national constitution, called a ^repub- 
 lican form of government,' they cannot be purged 
 by force of arms. The time will surely come when 
 this great violence to the civilization and Christianity 
 of the nineteenth century will be removed. 
 
 From Utah Captain Hancock was transferred to 
 California, and stationed at Benicia. He was for 
 some time in the Quartermaster's Department there, 
 in intimate association with that superior United 
 States officer, General Silas Casey. 
 
 Benicia is located at an important point on the 
 Pacific slope of the Union, and was at one time the 
 capital of California. It stands on a commanding 
 eminence, at the junction of the Strait of Karquenas 
 with the Bays of San Pablo and Suisun. The waters 
 of the vicinity are all navigable for quite large ves- 
 sels, which extend their voyages up the river to Sac- 
 ramento, the present State capital. 
 
 The appearance of the country around Benicia is 
 remarkable. Not a tree or shrub is to be seen in all 
 its borders. The high mountain called 'Monte Dia- 
 blo,' or Devil's Mountain, presents one of the wildest 
 8 
 
86 WINFIELD, THE LAWYER'S SON. 
 
 objects in the world. Its jagged sides, its black, tow- 
 ering peaks, its cavernous cliffs, where the spent vol- 
 canic action of bygone ages has left its deep lines 
 on the rifted chasms, where the thick clouds hang 
 their sulphurous vapors, where terrific thunders roll 
 and lurid lightnings flash, and where the upper winds 
 sweep with melancholy music the chords of the lofty 
 trees that crown the cold, barren summit, all unite to 
 render this mountain a prominent feature in the land- 
 scape to the traveller, as they have long caused it to 
 be a centre of superstitious reverence and dread to 
 the ignorant aborigines. On these awful and dreary 
 heio-hts their Avild imao-inations have reared the 
 throne of the satanic presence, and surrounded it 
 with the spectral illusions of a spirit-land. The 
 voice of the raging winds on the towering peak is to 
 them the speaking of their infernal deity. The crash- 
 ing thunder is the echo of his wrath, and the light- 
 ning's blaze is the glare of his kindled eye. For 
 ages past they have not dared to go up the sides of 
 their' deified mountain beyond a certain point; and 
 here, like the children of Israel in the desert, around 
 the base of Blount Sinai, they have paused and stood 
 aghast with trembling awe. Even to this day, only 
 here and there a solitary pilgrim pierces through the 
 thick veil that hangs over these fearful heights; and, 
 
IN CALIFORNIA. 87 
 
 casting aside the superstitions of the past, and gazing 
 on the glorious picture of the handiwork of the true 
 Deity that lives and glows on every hand beneath 
 him, with Christian adoration 
 
 '* Looks through nature up to nature's God." 
 
 To reach Benicia, Captain Hancock had crossed a 
 large portion of our North American continent. He 
 learned much of the country on the great plains, its 
 people, its climate, its resources, its mineral treasures, 
 its rivers and inland seas ; until, leaving the almost 
 extreme southern shore of our Atlantic possessions, 
 he stood in sight of those on the almost northern 
 verge of the Pacifi-c. 
 
 From this post he was transferred to the old Span- 
 ish town of Los Angeles — or the town of the angels 
 — located in the part of the West known as Lower 
 California. Here he was stationed for two years, 
 still occupying his responsible position in the Depart- 
 ment of the Quartermaster General of the United 
 States. 
 
 Los Angeles is located in one of the most beauti- 
 ful regions in America. The coast ranges of mou.n- 
 tains lift their breezy summits above its site, while 
 teeming hillsides slope away toward the sea, and 
 flowery valleys and fruitful plains skirt the scene be- 
 yond. The climate is one of the most delightful on 
 
88 WIN FIELD, THE LAWYER'S SON. 
 
 the earth. The warm airs of the plains, cooled by 
 those from the mountains as they meet and mingle 
 together in friendly intercourse, produce an atmo- 
 sphere which it is the perfection of refreshment to 
 inhale. The soil around produces a variety of the 
 most different seeds and fruits ; potatoes and oranges, 
 corn and figs, wheat and lemons, pears and pome- 
 granates, melons and dates, wheat and rice, tobacco 
 and grapes, cotton and buckwheat, sugar-cane and 
 apples', grow and flourish side by side. The moun- 
 tain breast of a bank may be painted Avhite with dis- 
 solving snow, while the slope toward the valley is all 
 variegated with the hues of flowers. 
 
 In this salubrious and genial clime Captain Han- 
 cock made his home for two years. The great mining 
 interests of the rich region adjacent drew many 
 American and other settlers around him, and his 
 position required the exercise of much executive 
 ability. His influence was sensibly felt, and became 
 quite extensive through all that part of Lower 
 California. 
 
 AYhen the rebellion of 1861 broke out in the United 
 States, his voice and example were potential in arous- 
 ing and extending the spirit of patriotism among the 
 people. The peculiar character of a large portion 
 of the immigrants to that section, especially those 
 
IN CALIFORNIA. 89 
 
 from the seceded and disaffected States of the Union, 
 rendered them uneasy in the crisis that had so unex- 
 pectedly broken on the nation. Many of this class 
 were Southerners by birth and education. Their 
 kindred and their property left behind were in the 
 South. They sympathized with secession ; their 
 hearts were with the rebels, and they longed for op- 
 portunities to take up arms in their cause. Popular 
 outbreaks of the most violent nature were constantly 
 threatened on every hand. There was the most 
 imminent danger that the whole of that large and 
 rich region of country would be swept away from 
 its moorings to the Union, and borne down by 
 mob violence into the vortex of treason to the 
 old flag. 
 
 At this critical moment it demanded all the cool- 
 ness, calmness, and courage of Captain Hancock to 
 do his part in quelling the rising storm. Should it 
 prevail to any extent, his own department would be 
 the first to feel and suffer from its fury. The sup- 
 plies and munitions of war his command was enabled 
 to furnish, were tempting prizes to the traitorous 
 bands that were forming and holding their gather- 
 ings all around him. Some went so far as to boast 
 of what they would do in possessing themselves of 
 the United States commissary articles and means of 
 8* 
 
90 WINFIELD, THE LAWYER'S SON. 
 
 •iefence committed to "his charge ; while others, more 
 openly rampant, threatened to tear down the national 
 colors. 
 
 In the midst of all this tem^pest of passion and 
 fanaticism, Hancock stood firm. His personal influ- 
 ence, as we have said, was great, and he exerted it 
 now to the utmost. He rose to the emergencies of 
 the occasion, and appealed directly to the patriotism 
 of his countrymen. AVith the seditious aliens who 
 were active in fomenting disturbances, who had 
 nothing in common with the citizens who controlled 
 the government by their votes, he was bold, strong, 
 firm ; yielding not an inch to their insolent demands, 
 and presenting the courage of a patriot heart and 
 the force of a gallant arm to their treasonable 
 threats. 
 
 Thus Hancock met these distant and isolated 
 traitors in one of their own strongholds. Thus he 
 upheld, on that far-off Pacific slope, the flag of his 
 country, the integrity of the Union, and the rights 
 of man. His course in Lower California met the 
 approval of the government and of all our country- 
 men who are conversant with its high merits. His 
 name will ever be honored on account of it, not only 
 on the shores of the Pacific, but those of the At! an- 
 
IN CALIFORNIA. 91 
 
 tic, all througli tlie United States. He had tlie hap- 
 piness to witness the subsidence of this incipient 
 rebellion, and to hear the crj awake and continue to 
 resound on every hand : 
 
 "Forever float that standard sheet! 
 
 Where breathes the foe but falls before ua? 
 With freedom's soil beneath our feet, 
 And freedom's banner waving o'er us !" 
 
CHAPTER X. 
 
 IN THE WAR FOR THE UNION. 
 
 " Take heed 
 
 How you awake our sleeping sword of war! 
 
 We charge you, in the name of God, take heed !" 
 
 Old Play. 
 
 AT his own earnest request, Quartermaster Han- 
 cock was transferred from his responsible but 
 comparatively quiet post on the Pacific, to the more 
 active scenes that stirred the pulses of the Atlantic 
 coast, at the middle of the year 1861. His position 
 in California was one of great relative importance; 
 but the routine duties of a Quartermaster had never 
 been suited to the energetic and courageous character 
 of such a man as he has proved himself to be. As 
 soon, therefore, as the necessary ojfficial preliminaries 
 could be effected, he was on his way to the field of 
 battle. 
 
 In the month of September, 1861, he landed in 
 New York. Without stopping even a moment to 
 visit his parents, at Norristown, although he had now 
 
 (9L>) 
 
IN THE WAR FOR THE UNION. 93 
 
 been absent from them over two years, in a distant 
 part of ttie country, lie pushed on, within a few hours 
 of his arrival, to Washington, and immediately re- 
 ported himself to the War Department, ready for 
 active service. His mind was deliberately made up 
 to the great issue. His life was again in his hand 
 for his beloved country. His valuable services were 
 at once accepted, and he placed in the front of the 
 fight. 
 
 Here let us pause a moment, and take a survey of 
 the field. 
 
 When, in the month of N'ovember, 1860, a large 
 majority of the voters of America had declared the 
 present incumbent constitutionally elected President 
 of the United States, it was clearly the duty of the 
 minority to abide by the law, and yield obedience to 
 the verdict. If they had been fairly outvoted at this 
 election — and it is not pretended by any one but 
 they were — the fundamental oaths, the democratic 
 canons of the country, affirmed that the government 
 should still be maintained, the laws administered, the 
 powers and emoluments of office transmitted, until a 
 new trial should confirm or reverse the result. The 
 same sacred right of suffrage had been enjoyed by 
 all the electors of the nation. Three parties, with 
 distinct national issues, were in the arena; but all 
 
94 WINFIELD, THE LAWYER'S SON. 
 
 three openly swore allegiance to the same national 
 standard, and vowed devotion to the same national 
 Union. Secession, Disunion, Rebellion, were not in 
 that presidential canvass. The election, with its 
 greatly increased vote, with all the momentous and 
 exciting issues at stake, was one of the most quiet 
 ever held in the country. ISTo one was molested in 
 public or private discussions of the vast questions 
 involved in the contest. There was not a life lost at 
 the polls, where millions of men, each one as free and 
 as good as another in the eye of the law, marched to 
 the ballot-boxes of their voting precincts, and cast 
 their votes for the candidates of their choice. No one, 
 in all that vast host of qualified sufiragants, of equal 
 peers, yea, of reigning sovereigns, could with pro- 
 priety rudely ask or threaten his fellow at the polls : 
 
 "Under which king, Bezonian ? 
 Speak, or die !" 
 
 Every intelligent elector was his own king. Every 
 responsible vote he cast was his own royal edict. 
 
 We have said the questions of Secession, Disunion 
 and Eebellion were not in this great constitutional 
 contest of voters. It is not to be understood by this 
 historical statement, however, that the relative value 
 of, and purpose to continue, the Union, were not 
 passed upon by the people in that election. On the 
 
IN THE WAR FOR THE UNION. 95 
 
 contrary, they were so passed upon, and tliat, too, 
 in tlie most decided, unequivocal manner. That 
 vote of that large majority of the American people 
 was, in fact, a strong, clear, emphatic constitu- 
 tional endorsement of the Union of the States by 
 the highest power in the land known to the laws. 
 It was the sovereign verdict of the United States 
 that the United States should continue. It was 
 the constitution re-indorsing the constitution. It 
 was the Union again pouring its own life blood 
 through the living cycle of the Union. It was a 
 national salute to the national flag, wherever it floated, 
 around the world.- Could anything of the kind be 
 more nationally significant? Could anything be 
 more nationally potential? 
 
 Thus stood the case when the final announcement 
 of the decision was flashed along the electric wire, 
 from the Atlantic, on the East, to the Pacific, on the 
 West ; from the inland seas, on the North, to the 
 Gulf of Mexico, on the South. 
 
 What then? What became the duty of the ma- 
 jority ? What became, also, the duty of the minority ? 
 It was the duty of the one to assume the reins of gov- 
 ernment, and conduct the public affairs of the country 
 in the spirit and precepts of its founders ; with becom- 
 ing gravity to count and publish the votes of the 
 
96 WINFIELD, THE LAWYER'S SON. 
 
 different electoral colleges^ in the consecrated halls 
 of the several legislatures ; to sign, seal, certify and 
 forward the official ballot to the national archives, in 
 the national capital, and make proclamation of the 
 nation's choice ; to inaugurate the man of that choice 
 with all the solemn forms and rituals of law known 
 to the constitution and established by the precedents 
 of the fathers ; to require that chosen man, and his 
 associates in the offices in which, as the vicegerents 
 of the people, the people had just placed them, to 
 take upon their souls, in the presence of Almighty 
 God and of all witnesses, the most sacred oaths ever 
 administered from man to man, the record of which 
 is to be forever on high. 
 
 Thus elected, thus inaugurated, by the virtue of 
 the power they derived from their constituents, the 
 people of America, what could or. can these men do 
 but obey their commands? Have a majority of this 
 people declared by their votes that they hold their 
 Union to be a mere confederation of States? No. 
 Have they admitted, for a moment, since they became 
 a distinct nation, that they held their constitution to 
 be a mere treaty between independent sovereignties ? 
 No. Have they delegated the powers invested by them 
 in a consolidated nation, to be divided up between 
 thirty-six or more distinct nationalities ? No. Have 
 
IN THE WAR FOR THE LWION. 97 
 
 tliey, at any time, given up tlieir right, entrnstecl to 
 their national rulers, to declare war and make peace, to 
 negotiate treaties, to establish a currency, to regulate 
 commerce between the separate States, or to punish 
 treason, as a nation ? No. 
 
 What then ? The United States are a nation — a 
 nation intact, sovereign, independent ; composed of 
 States that are separate as to their State rights, yet 
 as to the Union in a nation, 
 
 " Distinct, as the billows, yet one, as the sea." 
 
 This was the view, and the only view, taken of our 
 national existence by the great Father of our Coun- 
 try, and by all the patriots and statesmen who founded 
 the Eepublic. To put in practice as a nation any 
 other doctrine than this, is deliberately to commit 
 national suicide, and lay the last hope of liberty and 
 constitutional government on the American continent 
 in the darkness and silence of the grave. 
 
 The election of a constitutional President of the 
 United States having, then, been constitutionally de- 
 clared, with all the solemnities of national law, what 
 moral insanity, what political frenzy, what intellectual 
 madness must have possessed those leading men of 
 the Southern part of our Union, who, because they 
 were fairly defeated in a fair election, without wait- 
 ing for the action of the government their fellow- 
 
98 WINFIELD, THE LAWYER'S SON. 
 
 citizens of the Eepublic had thus chosen, lifted the 
 black standard of treason against the nation of their 
 fathers and ours, and plunged the whole land, includ- 
 ing millions of helpless women and little children, in 
 all the horrors of a fratricidal war ! 
 
 " Patriot and faction, 
 Like oil and water mix, when strongly shaken; 
 But never can unite — disjoined by nature." 
 
 It was in this spirit that Captain Hancock enlisted 
 in the war for the Union. He had seen in California, 
 and in other parts of the country, the malign influ- 
 ences that began the war on the part of Disunion. 
 He saw now that one or the other must perish. To 
 refuse to fight under the flag that had made him all 
 that he was as a military man, and that was sacred to 
 him and all other patriots by all its glorious antece- 
 dents, was not only to prove himself the vilest of 
 ingrates, but it was to participate in the crimes of 
 those guilty men who, having failed in their attempts 
 to continue to rule the country, were now madly bent 
 on its ruin. As a patriot, bearing the honored names 
 of a patriot soldier and statesman, his course was 
 plain. He heard the trumpet call of duty, and hasted 
 to obey the summons. His cadet vows were yet upon 
 him, and gratefully and proudly he renewed them at 
 the altar of the Union. Pie at once accepted the post 
 assigned him, and entered with noble ardor on that 
 
IN THE WAE FOR THE UNION. 99 
 
 career for the complete suppression of the rebellion, 
 which we shall continue further to depict. 
 
 With all his brilliancy and dash as a soldier, Han- 
 cock did not participate in the scenes of war we are 
 describing; from a mere love of fighting. He chose 
 the profession of arms in his youth from a conviction 
 of duty. He now continued in it, in his manhood, 
 actuated by the patriotic belief that ^resistance to 
 tyrants is obedience to Grod.' 
 
 We put on record here his avowal of the princi- 
 ples that guide him in all contests for our country. 
 They are contained in a recent letter of his to a friend, 
 to whom we and our readers are deeply indebted for 
 many of the important facts embodied in this volume. 
 
 These are his own words : 
 
 "My politics aee of a peactical kind. The 
 
 INTEGKITY OF THE COUNTKY. ThE SUPKEMACY OP 
 
 THE fedeeal goveenment. An honoeable peace. 
 
 Far dearer the grave, or the prison, 
 Illumed by one patriot name, 
 
 Than the trophies of those who have risen 
 On liberty's ruin to fame." 
 
CHAPTER XL 
 
 BEGINNING THE UNION WAR. 
 
 "Shall I ask the brave soldier, who fights by my side, 
 In the cause of mankind, if our creeds agree?"' 
 
 Moore. 
 
 AT the time of his reporting for duty in Wash- 
 ington, in the month of September, 1861, Captain 
 Hancock was thirty-eight years of age. He had served 
 his country in the various positions assigned him in 
 the army during a period of seventeen years. The 
 most of this service had been rendered in Mexico, or 
 west of the Mississippi river, and in the everglades 
 of Florida. 
 
 In all the ranks of the army, among of&cers and 
 men, he stood deservedly high. By his strict devo- 
 tion to duty, his invariable courage, energy and pa- 
 triotic enthusiasm, he had secured the confidence and 
 attachment of all who knew him. Correct in his 
 personal habits, polite, affable, friendly with all, un- 
 selfish and hospitable, he was a favorite wherever he 
 went. 
 
 (100) 
 
BEGINNING THE UNION WAR. 101 
 
 He had liis own opinions on all national questions, 
 and was prepared to express and defend tliem. Al- 
 though never a politician, and not even a voter, his 
 sympathies and convictions had always been with the 
 Democratic party. But, like a true patriot, he never 
 gave up to party what was due to mankind. He was 
 firm and conscientious in the belief that Secession 
 was Disunion ; that Disunion was civil war — a crime 
 against the honor, welfare and happiness of the 
 American people. He had proved his stand on this 
 issue by his patriotic course against the first dawn- 
 ings of every attempt at Disunion, in California. By 
 his personal presence and voice on that occasion, he 
 had not only stemmed the incipient risings of the 
 foul tide of treason, but he had rendered signal ser- 
 vice to the Union by addressing the inhabitants in 
 public on several occasions, and organizing and 
 directing that public sentiment which exerted so 
 potential an influence in maintaining the loyalty of 
 that part of the Golden State in which he resided. 
 
 He proclaimed everywhere, and was always ready 
 to maintain the opinion — if need be, with his trusty 
 sword — that no grievances of which the citizens of 
 the Southern States might justly complain, could 
 warrant or empower them to revolt against the con- 
 
 «titutional government of the nation. His great- 
 9* 
 
102 WINFIELD, THE LAWYER'S SON. 
 
 grandfather and grandfather had both fonght in the 
 war of the Ee volution and in that of 1812, with 
 Great Britain, to establish and perpetuate the Union 
 of the States. It was not for him, who had sprung 
 from such an ancestry, who had received such patri- 
 otic lessons in his bojdiood, who had taken such ob- 
 ligations and acquired such a national education in 
 the Military Academy belonging to all the Union, 
 and who had already done valiant service under the 
 time-honored flag of his country, basely now to prove 
 recreant to all these inspirations of duty, with igno- 
 minious cowardice to sheathe his sword in ignoble 
 ease, or with infamous treachery to wield it against 
 the dear-bought liberties of his native land. 
 
 Acting on these high-toned convictions as an Amer- 
 ican patriot, he had offered his services, at the moment 
 of the first outrages of the rebellion, to the Governor 
 of Pennsylvania. As a native of the State, as a 
 thoroughly-educated soldier of the Regular Army, 
 as an officer of established bravery and popularity 
 with his troops, his valuable services would have 
 been gladly accepted in such a command. But be- 
 fore the arrangement could be consummated he was 
 on duty at Washington, in the service of the United 
 States. Here he was immediately assigned to the 
 post of Chief Quartermaster, on the staff of General 
 
BEGINNING THE UNION WAR. 103 
 
 Egbert Akdeeson", the hero of Fort Sumter, who 
 had been placed in command of the Union forces in 
 his native State of Kentucky. 
 
 While preparing to comply with this order of the 
 War Department, only a very few days after his return 
 from his post in California, he was proposed to the 
 government by General McClellan, then General- 
 in-Chief of the army, for a commission as Brigadier 
 General. This proposal was made unexpectedly to 
 Captain Hancock:, and without any solicitation on 
 the part of his friends. The appointment was de- 
 cided on his merits alone, and as such made by Presi- 
 dent Lincoln, on the 23d of September, 1861. It 
 was at once accepted, and the new Brigadier prepared 
 himself for active service. 
 
 His experience in the cause of his country had 
 already been varied and extensive. In Mexico, on 
 the frontiers, among hostile Indians, in Florida, fight- 
 ing the brave and wily Seminoles, associated with 
 such commanders as Generals Worth, Harney, Colo- 
 nels Clarke, Brown, James Monroe, and others, 
 he had acquired a knowledge of military affairs, 
 of-strategy, and the best methods of commanding 
 men, that he was now enabled to turn to good account 
 for his country. His campaign to Fort Leavenworth, 
 in 1856-7, had been productive of peculiarly import- 
 
104 WINFIELD, THE LAWYER'S SON. 
 
 ant results. From Florida to Kansas, and while 
 remaining in the latter State, until the spring of 1858, 
 he had signalized his skill and devotion as a soldier. 
 
 The expedition of General Harney to Utah having 
 been abandoned by the government; Captain Hancock 
 had been ordered to proceed, as Chief Quartermaster, 
 to the occupation of Fort Bridger, one of the out- 
 posts of our Western frontier. From this point he 
 accompanied his old regiment, the efficient and pop- 
 ular Sixth Infantry, through their long march across 
 the continent to Benicia, California. This march was 
 probably the longest continuous one ever taken by 
 any body of infantry troops. It carried them through 
 an immense tract of wild, savage country, where 
 inimical Indians swarmed, at times, on every hand. 
 The deep snows of the Sierra Nevada range of moun- 
 tains — ^the hi oiliest summits of which have an elevation 
 of sixteen thousand feet, and whose line extends all 
 through the State of California, from the town of Los 
 Angeles to the Cascades of Oregon — had to be en- 
 countered and overcome, the troops and horses sup- 
 plied with rations, and the peculiar surprises and 
 sudden dangers of that weary route of thousands of 
 miles, constantly guarded against. 
 
 For the skillful management of the onerous duties 
 of his department, all through this difficult march, 
 
BEGIXNING THE UNION WJH. 105 
 
 Captain Hancock received and justly deserved great 
 credit. 
 
 It was now toward tbe close of the month of Sep- 
 tember, 1861. The army of the United States was 
 not then fully organized. There was much inexpe- 
 rience and occasional demoralization among our raw 
 troops. With all their patriotism and general intel- 
 ligence, as citizen soldiers, they could not always be 
 depended on in sudden emergencies and moments of 
 critical danger. In the responsible work of their 
 organization, drill, discipline, and setting in the field 
 of action, General Hancock was called to take a 
 prominent part. His remarkable traits of character, 
 now ripened into full manhood, here displayed their 
 worth in the service to the greatest advantage. He 
 was at home, in his own chosen field. We shall see, 
 as we progress, how worthily he continued to fill his 
 role. 
 
CHAPTER XII. 
 
 HIS FIRST FIGHT FOR THE UNION. 
 
 "Death, to the hero, when his sword 
 Has won the battle for the free, 
 Sounds like a prophet's trumpet word; 
 And in its hollow tones are heard 
 The thanks of millions yet to be." 
 
 Fitz Greene Hallech. 
 
 ri^HE beautiful fall of September, 1861, dawned 
 I on tlie country. The national forces were now 
 nearly organized. Troops were arriving at the front 
 from all the free States, and gradually taking part in 
 the conflict. The most busy fields of action at that 
 time were in Missouri and Western Virginia. In 
 the last-named region, especially, the traitors in arms 
 were very belligerent, being constantly stimulated by 
 their allies in civil life all around them. It was 
 soon perceived that the contest for the supremacy of 
 the Union in that section would be prolonged and 
 severe. 
 
 Fighting had taken place early in this month at 
 
 (106) 
 
HIS FIRST FIGHT FOR THE UNION. 107 
 
 several points along tlie Western Virginia lines. At 
 Boone Court House; Boone county — named in honor 
 of the old pioneer, Daniel Boone, of Kentucky — the 
 Union troops had encountered a body of armed rebels 
 and signally defeated them. This point is only about 
 two hundred miles, in a direct line, west from Eich- 
 mond. But the contest there speedily convinced the 
 rebels that the Union would not consent to allow any 
 part of the Old Dominion it could control to pass, 
 without a struggle, under the black flag of secession. 
 Our troops, fresh and comparatively undisciplined 
 as they were, fought well on this occasion. We 
 drove the enemy at all points, routing them totally, 
 killing thirty, wounding a large number, and taking 
 over forty prisoners. None were killed on the Na- 
 tional side, and but six were wounded. The town 
 was burned during the engagement. 
 
 A picked body of the Charleston, South Carolina, 
 Home Guards, who had penetrated through the She- 
 nandoah country to within a short distance of Har- 
 per's Ferry, Virginia, were attacked by the Thirteenth 
 regiment of Massachusetts Volunteers. The despised 
 ' Yankees' performed their parts so well on the ' chiv- 
 alry' that they soon drove them, pell-mell, killing 
 three, wounding five, and capturing twenty prisoners. 
 These, with the wounded, were brought into camp by 
 
108 WINFIELD, THE LAWYER'S SON. 
 
 the Massacliusetts boyS; who greeted them blandly 
 with the song 'Gay and Happj^' 
 
 Victories were being won by the Union arms in 
 different parts of the country. We had captured 
 Forts Hatteras and Clark, on the coast of North Car- 
 olina, possessed several important points on the West- 
 ern waters, and done the enemy considerable damage 
 in Missouri, while he was pursuing the Fabian policy 
 of masterly inactivity by remaining in his trenches 
 in Virginia. 
 
 The patriotic feeling of the country was steadily 
 rising. Large popular meetings were held, presided 
 over by the civil authorities, and addressed in earnest 
 and courageous strains of patriotism by eminent men 
 of all parties. General Rosecrans — formerly, it will 
 be remembered, a fellow Lieutenant with General 
 Hancock, in Mexico — had won a decided victory near 
 Summersville, Virginia. The effect of this victory 
 was marked, through all that region to which Han- 
 cock was at that time assigned. The rebel General 
 Floyd — notorious as the prominent secessionist, 
 who, when the nominal Union Secretary of War, at 
 Washington, had treacherously sequestrated all the 
 government arms and munitions of war under his 
 control to the base purposes of treason — was then in 
 position near the summit of Carnifax mountain^ with 
 
mS FIEST FIGHT FOR TEE UNION. 109 
 
 five tliousaiid rebel troops and sixteen pieces of artil- 
 lery. The rear and extreme of both flanks of the 
 enemy were inaccessible. The front was masked 
 with heavy forests and a dense jungle. The brigade 
 commanded by General Benham — one of the most 
 accomplished and energetic of all onr soldiers — was 
 in the advance, and assailed the enemy with such skill 
 and force that they were driven, on a number of occa- 
 sions, from their guns. Several companies of picked 
 Irish troops, led by Colonel Lytle, of the Tenth Ohio, 
 charged the battery, in the face of the liottest fire 
 that the rebels could pour from the heights. A Ger- 
 man brigade, under Colonel McCook — son of the old 
 patriot Judge Daniel McCook, of Kentucky, who 
 has given himself and four sons to the war for his 
 country — followed in the assault with great bravery, 
 and, for a time, silenced the battery. 
 
 Floyd, as usual with that consummate traitor, fled 
 during the night; but the depth of the adjacent river 
 over which he passed in his flight, and the obstruc- 
 tions thrown by him in his way, prevented a success- 
 ful pursuit. He left his camp, however, as a trophy 
 to the Union, including his own equipage, together 
 with wagons, horses, large quantities of ammunition 
 and fifty head of cattle. 
 
 In Hardy county, Virginia, the rebels had been 
 10 
 
110 WINFIELD, THE LAWYER'S SON. 
 
 serioTisly worsted in several hard-fought engage- 
 ments. A number of camps were captured from 
 them, containing large supplies of guns, uniforms, 
 ammunition, horses, teams, and grain. 
 
 On the 13th of September, of this year, the battle 
 of Cheat Mountain had been fought and won by the 
 Union forces. The rebels had erected a strong fort 
 on the summit. This our troops succeeded in sur- 
 rounding, where they cut the telegraph wire to pre- 
 vent its being used by the enemy. This position 
 was deemed by the rebels one of the most command- 
 ing in Western Virginia. But they could not stand 
 against the shells of the Union batteries ; they precipi- 
 tately fled before our artillerists, leaving their dead 
 and wounded behind them. 
 
 The introduction of General Hancock to his new 
 field was the signal for continued activity. His best 
 energies were all taxed to prepare his command for 
 constant duty. 
 
 The army was now rapidly reaching its appropriate 
 proportions. The command of Hancock was conse- 
 quently assuming a relative importance. His Brig- 
 ade consisted of the Forty-ninth Pennsylvania, Forty - 
 third New York, Fifth Wisconsin, and Ninth Maine, 
 in the Division of General W. F. Smith. On the 
 
HIS FIRST FIGHT FOE THE UNION. m 
 
 9th of October, 1861, his Brigade held the advance 
 position on the Potomac, occupying Lewinsville. 
 
 The first battle at this point had taken place on 
 the 11th of the preceding September. On the morn- 
 ing of that . day a party consisting of several detached 
 companies of infantry, a company of cavalry, and 
 Captain Griffin's battery of light artillery, the whole 
 in command of Colonel Stevens of the New York 
 Highlanders, broke camp, and started for the enemy. 
 The rebel pickets retired beyond Lewinsville, as 
 our troops advanced. Having accomplished the 
 object of their reconnoissance, our men were about to 
 return, when a large force of the enemy, consisting of 
 two regiments of infantry and Colonel Stuart's regi- 
 ment of Yirginia cavalry, with a battery of four 
 pieces, were seen approaching. The line of battle 
 was immediately formed. The enemy commenced 
 shelling in front, and were promptly replied to by 
 Griffin. Every opportunity was now given the rebels 
 to meet us in the open field ; but they very prudently 
 kept under the coverts of the woods, doing what exe- 
 cution they could at a respectful distance. 
 
 The national forces now brought into action a 
 thirty -two-pound gun, which speedily and effectual] v 
 silenced the batteries of the enemy. He was evi- 
 dently gjad to show signs of retiring. At this mo- 
 
112 WINFIELD, THE LAWYER'S SON. 
 
 ment the gun was brought to bear on their cavalry, 
 who now appeared in the open road, which sent them 
 flying and reeling from their saddles in all directions. 
 
 The movement was a success, and the troops en- 
 gaged returned to camp in good order, where they 
 received the congratulations of the General in com- 
 mand. 
 
 These preliminary engagements with the rebels 
 showed their near approach and constant activity. 
 They were out in every direction, scouring the coun- 
 try for conscripts and supplies. Even at that early 
 period of the war, Disunion began to feel its growing 
 necessities for men, provisions, and munitions. Their 
 forays became more and more frequent, as their wants 
 steadily increased. At the commencement of the 
 rebellion they had plunged into Avar with reckless 
 ferocity, and their troops had all the advantage over 
 ours of mnch greater experience, drill, and discipline. 
 The whole Southern country had been transformed 
 into one great camp. Every arms-bearing citizen 
 was held to be a soldier ; every crop was regarded as 
 pledged to the warlike purposes of treason. In the 
 cities of the South, especially, the dangerous charac- 
 ter of the institution of slavery, where large masses 
 of slaves were liable to assemble together under the 
 influence of those of their class who had by any 
 
HIS FIE ST FIGHT FOE THE UNION. 113 
 
 means obtained the boon of freedom, it had been the 
 custom for years to maintain regular bodies of troops, 
 many of whom were well-mounted cavalry, ready to 
 be ^lled out, at the tap of the drum, to put down a 
 servile insurrection. The commanders of these 
 drilled bands of men were the leaders, to a great 
 extent, of the rebellion. Their seat of war had 
 been transferred from their slave marts and planta- 
 tions to the lines confronting the Union colors. They 
 not only fought desperately, but they fought method- 
 ically. Their best men were soldiers by birth, by 
 profession, and practice. 
 
 Against these chosen myrmidons of the slave 
 power the nation had hurriedly assembled, at the call 
 of duty, such regular troops as could be spared from 
 important frontier and central posts, and the hardy 
 volunteers who had rushed from their homesteads 
 and farms, their shops and ships, from road-side and 
 sea-side, to defend the national honor and preserve 
 the national life. Is it any wonder that, at the first 
 onset, our undisciplined ranks, fight as portions of 
 them might, would show signs of precipitancy, and 
 inexperience ? Nay, is it not a wonder that at the 
 commencement of this war, like our fathers beating 
 back with their untried columns the serried veterans 
 of Englaud, we should have fought as well as we did ? 
 
 10* 
 
11^ WINFIELD, THE LAWYER'S SON. 
 
 At the time General Hancock engaged in his first 
 fight on the lines of the Potomac, and in other parts 
 of Virginia, spies and rebel emissaries swarmed all 
 around him. He was constantly on the alert for 
 these decoys of the enemy. 
 
 A few weeks after he had gone to the front, three 
 companies of the Cameron Dragoons, under Major S. 
 E. Smith, commanded respectively by Captain Wil- 
 son, Company F, Lieutenant Stetson, Company H, and 
 Lieutenant Hess, Company C, were sent out on a 
 scout along the roads leading to Fairfax Court House 
 and Hunter's Mills, Virginia. Arriving at a point 
 about a mile distant from Fairfax Court House, these 
 three officers, with eight privates, encountered an 
 equal number of the rebel cavalry. They immedi- 
 ately attacked the rebels, but they fled in haste to a 
 contiguous cover of woods. In the hurry of the 
 chase they passed through a fruit orchard, when one 
 of the rebels dismounted, and resting his five-shooter 
 against a tree, fired three shots at Major Smith. All 
 of them passed him. 
 
 The party now attempted to draw the rebels from 
 their woody cover, but in vain. Soon after they 
 joined their companions of the main body, and rode 
 on to Hunter's Mills. When near the latter place. 
 Captain Wilson and Lieutenant Stetson discovered 
 
HIS FIRST FIGHT FOR THE UNION: 115 
 
 a rebel — the same who had been trying to kill the 
 Major with his carbine from behind the shelter of a 
 tree — now endeavoring to escape. They dashed after 
 the man, and soon returned with him as a prisoner 
 to camp. He was immediately brought to the pres- 
 ence of General Hancock, who recognized him, bj? 
 his appearance, to be a dangerous spy. 
 
 " Your name is Vollin, I believe ?" said the General. 
 
 "Yes, sir ;" replied the rebel, for a moment thrown 
 off his guard. 
 
 "Ah ! Vollin — or Villain — I am glad to see you. 
 We have been looking for you for some time past." 
 
 Mr. Vollin, or Villain, was appropriately cared for. 
 The General had dealt with secessionists before. 
 
 "You are aware of the fate usually awarded to 
 spies, Mr. Vollin ?" continued Hancock. 
 
 "I — sup — pose — I — am," stammered the guilty 
 wretch. 
 
 " Then you will please prepare for it at your earli- 
 est convenience, Mr. Vollin ! Good morning, sir." 
 
 The brigade of General Hancock was specially 
 serviceable in the work of procuring supplies. On 
 different occasions hay, corn, sheep, and beef cattle 
 were brought in by his men, to the evident disgust 
 of the rebels and to the satisfaction of all who had 
 the right to share in the spoils of war. The enemy 
 
116 WINFIELD, THE LAWYER'S SON. 
 
 soon found that their foraging parties were not the 
 only ones in the field. 
 
 On the 21st of October he accompanied and took 
 part in the reconnoissance made bj the heavy de- 
 tachment sent out from his camp to Flint Hill, Vir- 
 ginia. The party consisted of portions of Mott's and 
 Ayres's batteries, and companies of the Fifth Regu- 
 lars, and from Colonel Freeman's regiment of artillery 
 attached to the Division of General W. F. Smith. 
 This timely movement resulted in discovering the 
 position of the rebels, and the apparent number of 
 his forces in the vicinity. It was one of the first 
 reconnoitring parties in which Hancock participated 
 in his new position of Brigadier General. 
 
 The spirit that animated the Union troops under 
 Hancock, at the time of which we are now writing, 
 is well illustrated by an incident. It is one of many 
 of a similar character then taking place. 
 
 After the battle of Ball's Bluft; of the 21st of Oc- 
 tober, in which the gifted and gallant Senator Ed- 
 ward D. Baker so nobly fell for his country and 
 liberty, the brave soldiers who had borne themselves 
 so steadily in that fight were publicly addressed : 
 
 " Soldiers !" said the speaker, " these are terrible 
 gaps that I see before me in your ranks. They remind 
 me, and you all, of our dead on the field of battle ; 
 
HIS FIRST FIGHT FOB THE UNION. 117 
 
 of our wounded comrades in the hospitals ; of kin- 
 dred and friends weeping at home for those who 
 filled the vacant places that once knew them, but 
 that shall now know them no more forever. 
 
 Soldiers ! I ask you now and here, in full view of 
 all this, are you ready again to meet the traitorous 
 foe ? Are you willing again to peril your lives for 
 the liberties of your country ? Would you go with 
 me to the field to-morrow ? Would you go to-day ? 
 Would you go this moment ?" 
 
 There was but the pause of an instant, when the 
 reply, "Yes!" "Yes!" "Yes!" came with a shout 
 from the thousands of the line. 
 
 The commander was answered. 
 
CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 IN THE CAMPAIGN Oi^ '6 2. 
 
 " When we manage by a just foresight, 
 Success is prudence, and possession right." 
 
 Thomson. 
 
 THE campaign of the Union forces in Virginia 
 during the winter of 1862, with all its quiet, 
 possessed a great relative importance. The public 
 sentiment of the country, which had been almost 
 wildly enthusiastic at the first outbreak of the rebel- 
 lion, was now beginning to settle down on a calmer 
 basis. There was as much real patriotism in the 
 land, but it was not so demonstrative as it had been. 
 Our contest was beginning to assume an overshad- 
 owing importance im the eyes of the European na- 
 tions. The leaders of opinion there were evidently 
 much surprised at the extent of the preparations so 
 readily and continuously made by the United States. 
 Our successes, notwithstanding the manifest disad- 
 vantages under which we fought, had more than 
 
 (118) 
 
IN THE '62 CAMPAIGN. 119 
 
 equalled our own expectations. The sentiments of 
 the masses of tlie most intelligent people of Europe 
 were turning strongly in our favor, although the aris- 
 tocracy and their allies endeavored, by the most infa- 
 mous falsehoods, to mislead and silence it. The 
 wicked hope was indulged by the rebels at home and 
 their sympathizers here and abroad, that the vast 
 multitude of the laboring classes, who were suffering 
 so bitterly for want of work in consequence of the 
 famine of American cotton, would rise in revolt 
 against their own rulers, and thus, on the plea of 
 domestic revolution and anarchy, compel foreign 
 governments to intervene in American affairs. This 
 would have exactly suited the rebels. It was their 
 constant inspiration, their unfailing aspiration, by 
 day and by night. Such an intervention as they 
 thus hoped, prayed and plotted for, would have 
 brought us into war with England and France, com- 
 pelled the opening of our blockaded ports, supplied 
 the rebels with money and munitions of war, divided 
 the North, and secured an ignoble peace in the cer- 
 tain destruction of the ¥nion. 
 
 But the operations of this gigantic and nefarious 
 plot were no sooner commenced than they were dis- 
 covered and thwarted. By the special . fa vor of that 
 Divine Providence which, in the language of Jeffer- 
 
120 WINFIELD, THE LAWYER'S SON. 
 
 SON, 'ever manifests its interest in the affairs of na- 
 tions/ our crops had been more abundant that year 
 than ever before. We had enough not only to sup- 
 ply the wants of the people at home, to furnish the 
 vast rations required for our immense army and 
 navy, but we were able to begin to send those car- 
 goes of food to the starving operatives abroad, the 
 reception of which during that year, and the early 
 part of the year following, by these victims of the 
 wicked rebellion in America, at once opened their 
 eyes to the true nature of our great struggle, and 
 made the vast majority of them, as they are at this 
 day, our firm and devoted friends. The threatened 
 foreign revolt in favor of the aristocratic and slav- 
 ocratic treason of America was thus nipped in the 
 bud. It was literally choked in its very birth with 
 the fulness of bread sent to its needy cradle by the 
 American Union. The occupation of the alien and 
 native plotters for the overthrow of our Republic, like 
 that of Othello, was all gone. 
 
 " The cloud-capped towers, the gorgeous palaces, 
 The solemn temples," 
 
 which the charlatan oligarchs, the sham aristocrats 
 and lying priests of American slavery had thus madly 
 endeavored to rear on the ruins of the United States, 
 were speedily dissolved; 
 
IN THE '62 CAMPAIGN. 121 
 
 "And, like an unsubstantial pageant faded, 
 Left not a wreck behind." 
 
 This impious spirit of sympathy with the most 
 wicked rebellion the world ever saw, has since shown 
 itself, and will probably continue to show itself, in 
 various ways, at different times and places ; but, like 
 a serpent with its head crushed to the earth, while it 
 may endeavor to 'drag its slow length along,' it must 
 sooner or later die the accursed death it so richly 
 deserves. Liberty must finally triumph. Man, every- 
 where, must yet be free. 
 
 The encampment of the great body of the Union 
 force immediately in front of Washington, had the 
 effect not only to afford complete protection to the 
 national capital and to secure the mobilization, the 
 drill, and discipline of large masses of raw troops, 
 but it drove the rebels into positions they were poorly 
 prepared to occupy. It was stated, on good rebel 
 authority, that some portions of the army under their 
 General Lee, were reduced to the last extremities. 
 On one occasion he was entirely out of provisions, 
 not having the means to cook the next meal for him- 
 self, or to serve the next ration to his soldiers. His 
 outposts were abandoned, one after another, and he 
 made the best of his way to his winter quarters. In 
 this expedient he was compelled to take the only 
 11 
 
122 WINFIELD, THE LAWYER'S SON. 
 
 position he could maintain in all that part of Vir- 
 ginia he endeavored to occupy. This was the first 
 lesson of the kind taught the haughty leaders of the 
 rebellion ; and it is evident that its effect was not lost 
 upon fhem, nor on those they so madly led into dan- 
 ger in so bad a cause. 
 
 Several important skirmishes occurred during this 
 winter. The rebel foraging parties were frequently 
 met by those of the UnioU; affording fresh opportu- 
 nities to prove the mettle of our men. On one occa- 
 sirn the rebel General Stuart, on whose vaunted 
 prowess much dependence was placed by his associ- 
 ates and followers in treason, was met by the Union 
 General Ord, and severely worsted. Stuart had with 
 him in his foray four regiments of infanty and a six- 
 gun battery ; but he was completely routed, losing- 
 many in killed and prisoners. 
 
 The spring of 1862 opened on the country under 
 a steady advance of the Union cause. Our limits 
 confine us more particularly to those events in which 
 General Hancock took an immediate part. The xery 
 important rebel position at Port Eoyal, South Caro- 
 lina, had been captured late the preceding fall. 
 Several battles had been won in Missouri, Kentucky, 
 at Fort Pulaski, Georgia, and on the Western waters, 
 and a new impulse given to the navy b}^ the launching 
 
IN THE '62 CAMPAIGN. 123 
 
 of several of the new iron Monitors. The pulse of 
 the people beat stronger than ever for the Union. 
 
 The Union forces under General Banks were ad- 
 vancing through the Yalley of the Shenandoah, and 
 the general aspects of the campaign were favorable ; 
 but the first great movement of the spring of '62 was 
 that made on the Virginia Peninsula, in the direction 
 of Richmond. 
 
 The period of muster and drill in encampment had 
 passed. The commanding General of that portion 
 of the national forces known as the army of the 
 Potomac, addressed his troops with the assurance 
 that he considered them ^magnificent in material, 
 admirable in discipline and instruction, excellently 
 equipped and armed,' and led by commanders who 
 were all that could be desired. Heroic exertions, 
 rapid and long marches, desperate conflicts and se- 
 vere privations were announced as before them. 
 
 It was now the middle of March, and the glorious 
 news had come of the victory of Buknside over the 
 rebels at Roanoke Island and Newbern, North Caro- 
 lina. By this victory we had captured three light 
 batteries of field artillery, forty-six heavy siege guns, 
 large stores of fixed ammunition, three thousand 
 stands of small arms, and several thousand prisoners. 
 
 The important preparations for the contemplated 
 
124 WINFIELD, THE LAWYER'S SON. 
 
 onward movement were completed in March, and 
 near the close of that month the army was transferred 
 from its camp, fronting Washington, to the Peninsular 
 region extending from Fortress Monroe, in Virginia, 
 up the waters of the James and York rivers. 
 
 Our first reconnoissance in that direction resulted 
 in our occupying the commanding and somewhat 
 celebrated position of Big Bethel. It was at this 
 point, about a year before, that one of our first bat 
 ties occurred with the enemy — resulting, in conse- 
 quence of false information given by scouts, in the 
 death of Major Theodore Wintpirop and Lieuten- 
 ant John T. Greble — two of the most accomplished 
 and gallant soldiers in the United States army. 
 
 The occupation of this post by our troops was a 
 surprise as well as a disadvantage to the enemy. A 
 strong detachment of infantry, cavalry and artillery 
 was detailed for the purpose, accompanied by two 
 companies of Berdan's Sharp-shooters, in the advance. 
 Rebel spies, as usual, were met at various points of 
 the route. Every bush, and house, and fence was 
 carefully watched for the peering eye or rifle of some 
 hidden rebel. But only women and children were to 
 be seen. If there were any of treason's belligerents 
 about, they were too closely hid to be seen by our 
 advance. Some of the Union yeomanry looked good- 
 
IN THE '62 CAMPAIGN. 125 
 
 naturedly at us from their fields, door-yards and 
 piazzas, as we passed silently on. 
 
 There are numerous comfortable and handsome 
 mansions in this vicinity. The soil and climate are 
 highly favorable to agriculture, and the associations 
 of the route gave a peculiar interest to the march. 
 But the most of the mansions and plantations were 
 deserted, their late occupants having taken service in 
 the rebel army. 
 
 As our troops passed from the open country into 
 the woody interval occupied by the works of Big 
 Bethel, they found that the enemy had deserted them. 
 This was rather a surprise to us: for, after the boast- 
 ing we had heard that the chivalry neverjwould run, 
 whatever might be the odds against them, we ex- 
 pected, of course, they would make a stand here — 
 especially as their works were strong and well sur- 
 rounded for defence. 
 
 There were five breastworks in the fortification, 
 each a few rods in length. Three of them mounted 
 one gun. The other two were of greater dimensions, 
 mounting six guns each. On the right flank was a 
 dense grove, which afforded material protection. 
 The broad space in front, a part of which was marshy 
 and miry, sloped toward the York river, and was 
 fully commanded by the guns. 
 11* 
 
126 WINFIELD, THE LAWYER'S SOK 
 
 It was soon perceived that there were armed rebels 
 on the opposite shore of the stream. A few shots 
 sent among them by oar sharp-shooters caused a 
 speedy stampede. In their flight they attempted to 
 tear up the planks of the intervening bridge ; but a 
 few more shots taught them to be more accommodat- 
 ing to travellers. The planks partially removed were 
 soon replaced ; but the rebels had gained so much 
 the start, and ran so fast, our men could not catch 
 them. 
 
 In one of the contiguous houses a trick was dis- 
 covered, which, considering it was done by a chival- 
 rous Virginian, is almost equal to anything of the 
 kind achieved by a despised ' Yankee.' As oar troops 
 entered they were accosted by the lady occupant : 
 
 " What do yer want here ?" 
 
 " We are looking for rebels, madam." 
 
 " Well ! there ain't none in this house ! An' you'n 
 better clear out, mighty quick !" 
 
 " It is our orders to search eyery house, madam ; 
 and we cannot leave until we have searched yours." 
 
 " Sarch my house, yer mean Yankees ! I should 
 like to see yer do it !" 
 
 " You will have that pleasure, then, madam ; for 
 we shall certainly look through your premises, from 
 garret to cellar." 
 
IN THE '62 CAMPAIGN. 127 
 
 "Yerwill? Well, if yer will, jer must. But'n yer 
 Won't find nobody 'yere but a pewer old sick un." 
 
 " Is it a sick man, madam ?" 
 
 "No! yer 'quisitive critters! It's my husband's 
 aunt Betty. Been sick for goin' on ten yeres." 
 
 ''Where is she?" 
 
 " Up charmber, there !" 
 
 Without more ceremony our troops passed into the 
 attic, and there, between the sheets, half-hidden by a 
 bed-rid crone, they found an armed rebel, lying at 
 his length, with his boots on ! He had not even 
 taken the trouble to brush them, nor in any way to 
 arrange his dress as he sought his couch, being 
 covered from head to foot with spatterings of mud 
 and water. The ' sleeping beauty,' as our men called 
 him, was tenderly rolled out on the floor, and made 
 a prize of war. 
 
CHAPTER XIV. 
 AT YORKTOWN. 
 
 "With common men 
 
 There needs too oft the show of war to keep 
 The substance of sweet peace." 
 
 King Henry VIJI. 
 
 ON the 15tTi of April, 1862, the national troops 
 advanced from Old Point Comfort, Virginia, 
 where they had landed from Washington, toward 
 Yorktown. This memorable spot, it will be recol- 
 lected, is the site of the surrender of Lord Cornwal- 
 Lis to General Washington, near the close of the 
 Eevolutionary war. It is one of the oldest towns in 
 the country, the capital of York county, and situated 
 on the right bank of the York river, about seventy 
 miles south of Eichmond. English settlers first 
 reached there in the year 1705. It was once quite a 
 flourishing place ; but the deleterious influences at 
 work have been its bane for more than a century. 
 It now numbers only forty houses within its precincts. 
 The position is commanding, especially with refer- 
 
 . (128) 
 
AT YORKTOWN. 129 
 
 ence to the passage of vessels^ and the rebels had 
 resolved to make the most of it. They threw up 
 strong entrenchments, mounted some of the largest 
 guns they could command, especially those stolen 
 from the United States Navy Yard at the contiguous 
 port of Norfolk; and garrisoned it with- about ten 
 thousand picked troops, under Magruder, one of their 
 most energetic and unscrupulous commanders. This 
 arrant traitor had served for many years in the Union 
 army, had received his education at the national mili- 
 tary school, at the expense of the American people, 
 and, with all his crude vagaries, was considered one 
 of our best artillery officers. He was one of those 
 common, artful men who keep up a seeming of war 
 by means of bluster; who love to fire guns for the 
 mere purpose of making a noise ; and who hold a 
 continuance of peace by a show of power which they 
 do not possess. 
 
 It was emphatically so at Yorktown. But the 
 Union army, not being aware how comparatively 
 inferior the defences and small the garrison of York- 
 town really were, passed on to its conquest with 
 almost its entire strength. 
 
 The advance was begun on the 4th of April, with 
 General Morrill's brigade, of General Porter's divi- 
 sion, in the night; two companies of the Third Penn- 
 
130 WIN FIELD, THE LAWYER'S SON. 
 
 sylvania cavalry and a portion of Berdan's Sliarp- 
 shooterS; who liad just rendered snch effective service 
 at Big Bethel, deployed as skirmishers. The advance 
 rested at a spot, within six miles of Yorktown, and 
 at ten o'clock on the morning of the 5th they were 
 in front of the ramparts of the .enemy. 
 
 Magruder, according to his invariable custom of 
 bluster, soon opened fire, regardless of consequences. 
 He was promptly replied to by the batteries of Cap- 
 tain Grif&n, the Third and Fourth Ehode Island and 
 Fifth Massachusetts, who sent back two shots for every 
 one from the rebels. The cannonading continued 
 briskly until sunset. 
 
 The fight was resumed the ensuing day, the brig- 
 ade of General Hancock being early in the field, and 
 taking an active part. The artillery firing was con- 
 stant on both sides. Every attempt of the rebels to 
 make sorties and charges resulted disastrously. They 
 were always glad to retreat behind their entrench- 
 ments. The great body of our men had never been 
 under fire, but those in view of the vigilant eye of 
 Hancock were kept bravely up to the work, his expe- 
 rience in artillery practice being of great service. 
 As the sun of the afternoon, deflecting from the water, 
 glanced on our bright pieces, they afforded a good 
 mark for the enemy, who made the most of their 
 
AT TORKTOJVK 131 
 
 position behind their high ramparts. ISTew troops 
 coming on the ground, relieved the exposed and 
 wearied gunners. The Sixth Ehode Island battery 
 and Fifth Massachusetts, arriving in the height of 
 this part of the engagement, rendered most important 
 service. It was quite near sundown when the last 
 gun was fired. Our men always took care to have 
 the closing shot. 
 
 On a subseqent day General Hancock led in person 
 a portion of his brigade into the open field in front 
 of the enemy. It was one of the most exposed posi- 
 tions yet occupied by our army. His object was to 
 drive a body of rebels from a piece of woods they 
 occupied, in close proximity to the national works. 
 The troops advanced through the open area, in the 
 face of a deadly fire, drawing themselves directly to- 
 ward the enemy, on their hands and knees. They 
 were now within close musket-range. 
 
 The rebels, who were cunningly secreted behind 
 trees and stumps, were anxious to induce our men to 
 rise to their feet in order that they might have a bet- 
 ter chance to shoot them down, while they themselves 
 were under cover. To accomplish this object one of 
 the rebel Captains shouted the word "Charge!" — in 
 the vain hope that the Union boys would spring to 
 their feet at the sound, and run. But he and his rebel 
 
132 WINFIELD, THE LAWYER'S SON. 
 
 allies were very mucli mistaken. We did nothing 
 of tlie sort ; but, on the contrary, kept our recum- 
 bent position unchanged, qyqvj man with his gun 
 loaded and cocked, his bayonet fixed, and steadily 
 advancing on the foe. 
 
 Again came the rebel Captain's command : 
 
 "Charge bayonet!" 
 
 This time the rebels rose to their feet, as if to rush 
 forward upon us. But before they had moved an 
 inch a command came from Hancock's side : 
 
 " Fire !" 
 
 The well- aimed rifles blazed in an instant in the 
 very faces of the rebels. They fell back in dismay, 
 leaving their dead and wounded behind them on the 
 field. 
 
 During the skirmish a new rebel battery, Avhich 
 had been erected only the previous Sunday nighj, 
 opened on our men, witli the intention of driving off 
 the advance. But the guns of Hancock soon silenced 
 and dismantled it. 
 
 This was a sudden and severe lesson to the rebels. 
 They had foolishly supposed, it seems, that the na- 
 tional troops were all, or nearly all, especially the vol- 
 unteers, terribly afraid of the idea of being charged 
 upon by rebel steel. They even went so far in 
 their folly as to suppose that if thev should only cry 
 
AT YORKTOWN. ^ 133 
 
 to their men, in the face of our advancing columns, 
 the word " Charge !" we should instantly take to our 
 heels and scamper from the field. 
 
 This experience with the brave men under Han- 
 cock taught them a different and very salutary lesson. 
 
 It is evident from the history of the comments 
 made upon it by the rebel presses, that the position 
 at Yorktown was held to be of the greatest import- 
 ance to the continued success of the rebellion. One 
 of the editors, speaking by authority, on the 15th of 
 April, says: 
 
 " The issue at Yorktown is tremendous. When 
 the battle does come off it will be a fearful one, for 
 the stake is enormous. Confederate leaders and sol- 
 diers feel that the issue involves the fate of the coun- 
 try. The contest cannot long be deferred. The news 
 of a terrible battle may startle us at any moment. 
 
 "Wave, Richmond! all thy biinners wave, 
 And charge with alPthy chivalry! 
 
 '' Not only the fate of the temporary seat of govern- 
 ment, but of Eastern Virginia, and even more than 
 that trembles in the balance. 
 
 " We presume that President Davis himself will 
 be on the field, as he has intimated." 
 
 Immediately after the appearance of this fiery out- 
 burst of- chivalric eloquence, the rebels began the 
 
13 J: WIN^IELD, THE LAWYER'S SON. 
 
 construction of large fortifications on the Gloucester 
 side of Yorktown. The works were in sight of the 
 Union gunboats. About one thousand men were at 
 work on the fortifications; but the arrival of the 
 gunboat Sehago, with a hundred-pound rifled Parrott 
 gun, soon dispersed the rebels. She threw her shot, 
 at the distance of three miles, which were so well 
 aimed that they could be seen falling in the midst of 
 the rebels and exploding with fatal effect. The killed 
 and wounded were carried off by the enemy in con- 
 siderable numbers, and the remaining combatants 
 were glad to hide themselves under the cover of the 
 adjacent woods. At every attempt to renew their 
 work they were driven back, and finally compelled 
 to abandon it. 
 
 Our assaults on the Yorktown works now con- 
 tinued for several daj^s in succession. The weather 
 was favorable for operations, and our army made the 
 most of it. Occasional attempts at sorties were made 
 by the enemy — on one evening with a force of three 
 thousand men — but they were invariably repulsed 
 with severe loss to the rebel garrison. 
 
 By two o'clock in the afternoon of Monday,. April 
 17th, a section of Union artillery was planted within 
 L;i1f a mile of the rebel works, near the river, and 
 
AT YORKTOWN. 135 
 
 well supported by infantry. The rebel works were 
 assailed from this point with good effect. 
 
 On the morning following the rebels advanced 
 with a force of one thousand men, and commenced 
 to strengthen one of their batteries located about 
 three miles to the left of Yorktown. A battery was 
 very soon brought to bear on them, when they were 
 not only reduced to terms of quiet, but compelled to 
 beat a very hasty retreat. A brisk fire was kept up 
 by our guns for four hours ; during which the rebel 
 cannon were dismounted without the ceremony of 
 being unlimbered. 
 
 The Union gunboats advanced nearer to the seat 
 of the action as it progressed. On the 24th of April 
 one moved up Wormley's creek, early in the morn- 
 ing, and threw her shells with force at the rebel 
 works. At a distance of four miles the shells ex- 
 ploded in the midst of the enemj^. 
 
 A dashing movement was made on an advanced 
 lunette of the rebels, early in the morning of April 
 28th, by company H, of the First Massachusetts 
 regiment. The works were carried, and the enemy, 
 consisting of two companies of infantry, driven back. 
 Our men moved over open, soft ground, some six 
 hundred yards, receiving the fire of the rebels at a dis- 
 tance of fifty yards; they did not return it, but rushed 
 
^1^1^ WINFIELD, THE LAWYER'S SON. 
 
 over the ditcli and parapet in the most gallant man- 
 ner. The rebels were not prepared for so chivalrous 
 an act from the scorned Northrons. They broke and 
 ran in all directions the moment they saw the heads 
 of our men coming up the glacis and over the sum- 
 mit. "We took a number of prisoners, and effectually 
 destroyed the works. 
 
 On the 2d of May the Union siege batteries opened 
 on the whole length of the enemy's line. The effect 
 was very severe. Our own works had been con- 
 structed with great care, and the guns placed in posi- 
 tion were of the heaviest calibre suitable for such a 
 siege. The firing was kept up on both sides, for a 
 time, with great animation, although the loss of life 
 was comparatively small. 
 
 Our environment of the rebels had been complete. 
 The Union parallels and batteries had gone up day 
 by day, night by night, within point-blank range 
 of the enemy. His fire had been unceasing, and, at 
 times, vexatious. But it was not long ere we had 
 more than one hundred siege guns and mortars in 
 favorable positions for the reduction of the walls. 
 
 The sending of a war-balloon from our side on the 
 afternoon of the 3d of May, and the display of large 
 signal lanterns in the evening, gave the enemy cer- 
 tain ranges for their guns, which opportunities they 
 
AT TORKTOWN. 137 
 
 promptly improved. But at tlie hour of midnight 
 the shelling from the fort slackened, and bright lights 
 in the vicinity of the water batteries of the rebels 
 attracted our attention. Near daylight followed a 
 series of minute guns from inside the works. As 
 the morning advanced, and they grey mist lifted from 
 the waters of the river and the adjacent lowlands, 
 floating away like gossamer in the breeze from Hamp- 
 ton Eoads, it was discovered that the vaunting chiv- 
 alry had deserted its flaunting colors, and fled from 
 the sacred precincts their treason had polluted. York- 
 town was evacuated ! 
 
 At six o'clock ^on the morning of the 4th of May, 
 detachments of Union troops from Massachusetts, 
 New York and Pennsylvania marched over the ram- 
 parts and occupied the deserted fort. In a moment 
 more the national ensign, full and free, floated from 
 the abandoned flagstaff^ and the victorious troops 
 greeted it with hearty cheers. 
 
 The victory was complete and a great one. The 
 rebels had occupied Yorktown with over ten thou- 
 sand of their picked men. They had kept at work 
 for months three thousand slaves, building fortifica- 
 tions and locating guns. The works were of the 
 strongest kind then constructed in the country. They 
 formed an immense connected fortification, with its 
 
 12* 
 
138 WINFIELD, THE LAWYER'S SON. 
 
 numerous salient angles. The ditches were deep, the 
 parapets lofty, and difficult to scale. The water bat 
 tery below commanded the river on the Yorktown 
 side, while that at Gloucester Point, on the opposite 
 shore, was equally effective. The guns were the best 
 that could then be obtained — a portion of them in 
 most commanding positions being Dahlgrens, Colum- 
 biads and sea-coast pieces of good range. An im- 
 mense area in front of the works, over which the 
 Union troops would have been compelled to march, 
 in case an assault had been attempted, was swept 
 completely by the rebel fire. Deep gorges, ravines 
 and swamps were all around and inside the fortifica- 
 tions, presenting the most formidable natural obsta- 
 cles to our advancing columns. 
 
 The occupation of Yorktown gave us possession, 
 with the fort, of eighty guns in all, and a large amount 
 of material of war. There were four magazines in a 
 good state of preservation. 
 
 On arriving inside the fort the tents of the rebels 
 were found standing in all directions. Some of these 
 were daubed on their sides with vulgar caricatures 
 of the Union troops ; but, unluckily for their boasted 
 high-toned honor, the delineators had not dared to 
 stay to defend their characteristic specimens of chival- 
 ric art. These gallant knights of pigment and hog- 
 
AT YORKTOWN. 139 
 
 bristles preferred to leave their galleries to be ad- 
 mired by the eyes of the loathed 'Yankees/ acting 
 on the impulse of the old distich : 
 
 " He who fights, and runs away, 
 May live to fight — another day." 
 
 It was rumored that Mr. Davis, the President of the 
 so-called Southern Confederacy, and the rebel Generals 
 Lee and Beauregard, were present in Yorktown, 
 while the closing part of the siege was in progress ; 
 and that, after much altercation, they ordered the 
 evacuation. On the memorable night of that dis- 
 tracted council, while the Union guns were thunder- 
 ing at the gate for admission, the already conquered 
 rebels, with murderous treachery, secretly buried per- 
 cussion torpedoes in all the passages and approaches. 
 A splendid specimen of chivalry ! A single explo- 
 sion sufficed to uncover the infamous plot, and to 
 thwart completely its 'high-toned' intentions. 
 
 But the works were ours. Another gateway to 
 Richmond, the heart of the rebellion, was entered 
 and possessed ; and it remains in the hands of the 
 Union to this day. There, with all its sacred Revo- 
 lutionary records, may it remain forever ! 
 
 General Hancock was breveted Major in the United 
 States Regular Army for his meritorious conduct at 
 Yorktown, his brevet dating from the 4th of May, 1862. 
 
CHAPTER XV. 
 
 AT WILLIAMSBURG. 
 
 "Actions, looks, words, steps, form the alphabet by which you may 
 spell characters." — Lavater. 
 
 THE battle of Williamsburg, Virginia, was fougbt 
 on the 4tli of May, 1862. The Union advance, 
 leaving Yorktown in the possession of a sufficient 
 garrison, reached the rear of the rebels, under one 
 of their best leaders, General J. E. Johnson, on the 
 morning of that day. The battle commenced imme- 
 diately, and was continued, at intervals, until after 
 sundown. 
 
 The march from Yorktown to Williamsburg had 
 been made with much caution. It was a surprise to 
 the enemy. He had no idea we would leave our en- 
 trenched works at the former place so soon after 
 possessing them. White flags skirted the road as 
 our troops passed on. The male occupants of the 
 houses had nearly all fled, leaving behind their 
 women, children, and servants. 
 
 In the vicinity of Williamsburg the rebels had 
 
 (140) 
 
A2' WILLIAMSBUJIG. Ul 
 
 thrown up strong entrenchments. Their force had 
 been materially increased by additions from Eich- 
 mond and other camps. It Avas evident they were 
 bent on making a determined stand. 
 
 The morning of onr approach was dark and dreary. 
 The rain fell in torrents. Hooker, Smith, Kearney 
 and. Heintzleman were among the first to enter the 
 action. It raged during the day, and by four o'clock 
 in the afternoon was at its height. Many of the offi- 
 cers and men were under fire for the first time, in the 
 open field of battle. Several of the youngest of the 
 former were subject to the most trying ordeals of 
 their courage and presence of mind, as they rode, in 
 the position of Aids, among the descending showers 
 of shot and shell. 
 
 General Keyes came up with a divison of reinforce- 
 ments at a critical juncture, aided by that venerable 
 officer, General Casey. Couch, followed by a consid- 
 erable body of cavalry and artillery, joined in the 
 fight at this point, on the left, while Hancock was 
 pressing the enemy on the right. Our troops fought 
 with heroic valor. The vacancies rapidly made in 
 the lines were as rapidly filled ; and the surging col- 
 umns pressed steadily on, meeting the enemy face to 
 face, shot for shot, man for man. 
 
 Gen€ij-al Hancock had called for reinforcements, and 
 
142 WIN FIELD, THE LAWFER'S SOX. 
 
 tlie troops nobly responded. Just as the sun was 
 going down, while the torrents of rain were yet fall- 
 ing, Hancock made that brilliant charge that must 
 forever associate his name with peculiar honor in 
 the battle of Williamsburg. The enemy had massed 
 a strong force on his front, and had made several 
 fearful chasms in his nearest ranks. Eiding to the 
 centre, and quickly passing the words, " Fix bayo- 
 nets!" he paused at the chosen point, and waving his 
 hat, gave the memorable order to his officers : 
 
 " Gentlemen ! Charge !^ 
 
 The brilliancy and effect with which that courteous 
 order was obeyed at that instant will never be for- 
 gotten. The rebels were swept before it, like chaff 
 before a whirlwind. Officers, men, horses, artillery, 
 were borne back in confusion and dismay, rendering 
 the rout of the foe one of the most signal ever wit- 
 nessed on any field of any war. All the works on 
 the right of the Union line were captured at a blow. 
 The rebels were flanked on their left, and rolled up 
 over the earth like a parchment scroll. The move- 
 ment was masterly. The success was complete. As 
 the news of it ran along the lines, and reached the 
 headquarters of the army, cheer followed cheer on 
 all sides, and the enthusiasm of the troops kindled 
 before it as a harbinger of victory. The most hearty 
 
AT WILLIAMSBURG. 1-13 
 
 congratulations surrounded Hancock from all his 
 associates, and his character for brilliancy and dash 
 as a soldier took a nobler hue than ever from that 
 moment. 
 
 Eeinforcements now continued to press forward. 
 As night closed in we had full possession of all the 
 fortifications on our front. Hancock passed the night 
 before them, on the field. The brave troops around 
 him rested on their victorious arms. Neither their 
 General nor they heeded that they were wet with the 
 drenching rain, spattered with mud, weary and hun- 
 gry. Through the descending rain of that stormy 
 night, their watchfires were kindled only to show 
 them the conquered enemy beyond. They demanded 
 to be led again by Hancock in another charge. The 
 veterans among them thought of their bivouacs with 
 him in Mexico, when he was a young Lieutenant ; 
 and they longed to follow him now as a General to 
 ncAV fields of glory. The darkness could not hide 
 from their vision the dear old flag ; the chilly night- 
 air could not dampen their ardor in its defence ; the 
 presence of a large rebel force, just in front, could 
 not check their purpose to stand or fall for the Union 
 which that traitorous horde had aimed to destroy. 
 
 Noble army of martyrs for American Liberty ! It 
 required lill the coolness and discipline, all the vigor 
 
144 WINFIELD, THE LAWYER'S SON. 
 
 and persuasion of Hancock, to keep them that night 
 within his lines. Had he but given the word, they 
 would have rushed forward with hini, again and 
 again, in fiery onsets on their country's foes. 
 
 The following morning came with a bright and 
 bracing air. Our troops were better prepared than 
 ever for the renewal of the fight. But the word 
 soon came from Hancock, still in the advance on the 
 right, that the rebels had fled. They had availed 
 themselves of the darkness and storm of the night to 
 steal away, leaving their deserted fortifications for our 
 advancing forces to enter. 
 
 This opening field fight of that campaign afforded 
 many striking illustrations of the republican nature 
 of the struggle on the Union side. Among our offi- 
 cers were several gentlemen of foreign birth, and 
 some native born of great wealth and high position 
 in American society. Of these, as the morning broke 
 after the battle, Count de Paris could be seen plough- 
 ing his way knee-deep through the Virginia mud, 
 with his bag of corn on his shoulder, which he had 
 just filled at a neighboring crib, and with which he 
 was to feed his horse. Mr. Astor, of New York, on 
 the staft' of the Commanding General, might be dis- 
 covered washing the mud from his steed, and attend- 
 ing to grooming and culinary matters generally, on 
 
AT WILLIAMSBURG. 145 
 
 his own account. In the hospitals and on the field, 
 officers and men were helping each other indiscrimi- 
 nately ; together bearing the burdens as together 
 they shared the honors of war. 
 
 The works captured from the enemy by the brave 
 exploit of Hancock were found to be of a formidable 
 character. The gallant charge he made was not a 
 mere bloody display of valor. Its results were 
 tangible, and valuable to the cause. The enemy had 
 come upon him with a furious onset. They evidently 
 calculated that he would fall an easy prey to their 
 yelling assault. A man with less invincible courage, 
 with less firmness of resolution than he, would have 
 fallen back, and waited for still more reinforcements. 
 But the moment the additional troops he sent for 
 rallied around him, that moment he advanced — giv- 
 ing assault for assault, and closing the day with his 
 steady charge of the deadly bayonet. Not until 
 the enemy was close upon him, not until he could 
 see their eyes peering into those of his own men, not 
 until they had swept far across the open field that 
 intervened between the opposing lines, did he give 
 the memorable order that has so honorably associated 
 his name with the victory of that day. 
 
 It is admitted on all hands that the bearing of the 
 foe was most gallant. His ranks were composed of 
 13 
 
146 WIIVFIELD, THE LAWYER'S SOX. 
 
 Virginia, Georgia and North Carolina troops, who 
 literally strewed the ground with their dead ere they 
 yielded to the impetuous valor of Hancock. Acres 
 of felled and tangled trees, long lines of strongly- 
 built entrenchments, showed the fixed purpose of 
 the rebels to hold their ground to the last. Their 
 ammunition was abundant and their fire most gall- 
 ing. But for the unexpected dash made on them by 
 Hancock, where, at the point of the bayonet, their 
 works were wrested from them, they would have re- 
 mained for a long time in a strong position of defence. 
 
 Immediately opposed to Hancock, leading the 
 picked body of the enemy, was the rebel commander 
 Longstreet, who had been a lieutenant with him in 
 some of the severest fights in Mexico. In his front, 
 almost face to face, Avas Early, who had been, also, a 
 fellow officer with him on those distant fields. What 
 a place for such a meeting ! 
 
 The brilliant success of Hancock was gained with 
 a loss of not more than twenty killed and wounded. 
 His engagement decided the fortunes of the day. 
 The falling back of the enemy gave the Union a 
 thousand wounded and three hundred uninjured 
 rebel prisoners. Thus far seventy-one large guns 
 were captured, many tents, and a great amount of 
 ammunition. 
 
AT WILLIAMSBURG. 147 
 
 With a barbarity almost without a parallel in the 
 annals of civilized warfare, the rebels signalized their 
 defeat bj placing torpedoes within their abandoned 
 works, near their flagstaffs, magazines and telegraph 
 offices; and secreting them in carpet-bags, barrels 
 of flour, provisions, boxes, and other available spots 
 liable to be reached by our troops. Murderous em- 
 bodiments of their most wicked treason ! 
 
 It is not pretended that the battle of Williamsburg 
 partook of the nature of a great general engage- 
 ment. It w^as more like a brilliant and successful 
 skirmish of an army on the advance. The rebels 
 speak of it in their reports as 'a handsome affair.' 
 In the official despatches of Generals Hooker, Smith, 
 Couch, Kearney, Birney and Heintzleman — all of 
 whom, with Generals Peck, Jameson, Devens, Casey, 
 Graham, Berry, Stoneman, and others, won fresh lau- 
 rels on that day — it is placed in its true light, as a 
 preliminary fight of much importance, whose effect 
 was as beneficial on the spirits of our own men as it 
 was desponding to those of the enem}^ 
 
 To the gallant and lamented General Philip 
 Keaeney is especial honor due for his great aid in 
 the restoration of the fortunes of the day, on the 
 hard-foup;ht field of Williamsburo-. 
 
CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 HIS LETTERS HOME. 
 
 "Give me my home! to quiet dear, 
 
 Where hours untold all peaceful move ; 
 So fate ordain, I often here 
 
 Would list the tones of those I love." 
 
 Mrs. Opie. 
 
 THE advance of the Uoion army up tlie Virginia 
 Peninsula, continued General Hancock at the 
 front. He participated, with his accustomed gal- 
 lantry, in the battles of Garnett's Hill, Savage Sta- 
 tion, White Oak Swamp, and several skirmishes of 
 an important character. 
 
 While thus occupied in the field of battle for his 
 country, the General seized a moment to write a hur- 
 ried letter home. It shows the heart of the true 
 man, in the camp of the gallant soldier : 
 
 "U. S. Camp, near Richmond, 23a of May, 1862. 
 " My Dear Mother: 
 
 I wrote to father a few days ago. It has been some time since I 
 heard from him or you. I presume some of your letters have missed 
 me, in consequence of the changes of the field. 
 
 (148) 
 
HIS LETTERS HOME. 149 
 
 I am well ; and so, also, is brother John. We are not in Rich- 
 mond yet, but trust we shall be there, all in good time. 
 
 I hope that God, in his good mercy, will permit both your sons 
 to reach that city, in safety and in honor. 
 
 I have not much time to write. Give my best love to father. 
 And believe me 
 
 Your devoted son, 
 
 WiNFiELD S. Hancock." 
 " Mrs. Elizabeth Hancock, 
 
 Norristown, Pa." 
 
 This confiding tribute to his mother is of the same 
 class with all his letters home. While at one of his 
 Western posts, early in the service; at the age of 
 twenty -three years, he writes to his twin brother : 
 
 "Newport Barracks, Ky., May 5, 1847. 
 '* My Dear Hilary: 
 
 I was exceedingly glad to find, on my arrival here from Fort Scott, 
 two long and interesting letters from you. The only thing that 
 grieves me is that I cannot get to Mexico. I made an application 
 to-day to join the army going to the front. Whether the Adjutant 
 General will favor it or not I do not know ; but think it doubtful. 
 
 I am actively engaged as Superintendent of the recruiting service 
 for the Western Division, and acting as Assistant Inspector General ; 
 but, though my services are said to be useful, I still want to go to 
 Mexico. 
 
 Your affectionate brother, 
 
 WiNFIELD," 
 
 How different might have been his career, had his 
 
 13* 
 
150 WINFIELD, THE LAWYER'S SON. 
 
 going to Mexico continued to be 'doubtful' ! But all 
 his doubts on that subject Avere soon after removed. 
 In a few weeks he was ordered to the front. From 
 there he writes to his father : 
 
 "Tacubaya, Mexico, August 26, 1847. 
 *'My Dear Father: 
 
 I feel thankful that I am able to write to you from this place. We 
 have had to fight desperately to get here. It has been the theatre 
 of a sanguinary battle. I left oflf my last letter to engage in prepa- 
 rations for it." 
 
 In the following October he writes from Mexico : 
 
 " I am exceedingly anxious to see you all. I send you some of 
 the plans of our engagements." 
 
 Writing to his brother Hilary, under date of City 
 of Mexico, December 6, 1847, he says : 
 
 '* My Dear Hilary : 
 
 I am again made happy by the arrival of three letters from home. 
 
 You ask me whether I have been in battle? I answer, proudly, 
 yes ! Beside being in several skirmishes, on the road fr.:m Puebla 
 to Vera Cruz, — in all of which I can truly say I have endeayored to 
 do my duty, — it was my part to participate in the battles of San 
 Antonio, Churubusco, Molino del Rey, and the conquest of the City 
 of Mexico. I only missed the fight of Chepultepec by being sick 
 in my tent, and off duty, at the time. I shall always be sorry that 
 I wa8 absent. I was lying ill with chills and fever, directly under 
 
HIS LETTERS HOME. 151 
 
 the fort, at the time the action began. I could not remain still 
 under the firing; but, wrapping my blanket about me, I crept to the 
 top of tho roof of the nearest house, watched the fight, and had 
 strength enough to cheer with the boys when the Castle fell. The 
 balls whizzed around me, but I kept my post, doing what I could ; 
 and when I learned that the colors I saw hoisted on the conquered 
 walls were those of my own regiment, my heart beat quick at the 
 glorious sight. 
 
 The winter has set in here, and some chilly days are the conse- 
 quence. The summits of lofty Popocatapetl are capped with more 
 snow than is usual at this season. No snows, however, are on the 
 plains. Here the roads are open and many of them beautiful. The 
 Almada, or great Square of the Capital, is far superior to anything 
 of the kind in the United States, The carriage road on the outskirts 
 is splendid, and, at times, crowded with gay equipages. It is, also, 
 a fashionable resort for walks. Its age is three centuries. 
 
 Give my love to father, mother, brother John, and all my other 
 friends. Winfield." 
 
 He again writes his family from near Toluca, Jan- 
 uary 5th, 1848: 
 
 "We have another snow mountain overlooking us — the Neviado. 
 When the wind blows from that direction it is bitterly cold. But 
 January is the end of the Mexican winter. The days begin to grow 
 warmer as the month advances, although the nights continue chilly. 
 There are no fire-places, and consequently no fires ; as we more 
 Northern-born find, to our great discomfort. 
 
 The Valley of Toluca is most beautiful, and very fertile. Like 
 all the other Mexican valleys I have seen, it is perfectly level, as 
 if it had once been the bottom of a large lake. Some of these won- 
 derful areas look like the craters of extinct volcanoes. In the Valley 
 
152 WINFIELD, THE LAWYER' ti SON. 
 
 of Mexico one of the remaining lakes is twenty miles long and 
 fifteen broad. 
 
 The variety of fruits produced here is astonishing. On one of the 
 market days, recently, over fifty diflferent kinds were on sale. Think 
 of opening a fine, fresh, ripe watermelon, in the month of January! 
 
 Love to all. Winfielb." 
 
 All his letters to his friends are written in this free 
 and affectionate style. They contain, beside his de- 
 scriptions of places and landscapes, his expressions 
 of personal interest, fall and correct accounts of his 
 battles, and graphic drawings of the fields. It would 
 be pleasing to give longer extracts, did the extent 
 of our volume admit of it. These will suffice to 
 show the character of the writer, inasmuch as he 
 wrote Avithout the remotest expectation that his let- 
 ters would ever appear in print. 
 
 In what a pleasing light do these unstudied epis- 
 tles present the subject of this memoir ! His love 
 of home, of kindred, of country, of the cause in which 
 he has enlisted, his quiet devotion to duty in the 
 midst of battle and danger, show the man as he is, 
 and reflect new lustre on the niche of fame where his 
 valor has placed him. 
 
CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 RETURNING FROM THE PENINSULA. 
 
 " They come ! they come ! 0, waiting souls ! 
 They gather in their might; 
 Their hearts are leal, their words are true, 
 They battle for the right." 
 
 Anoiu 
 
 DURING tbe -operations of the Union army im- 
 mediately before Eichmond, in the spring of 
 1862, General Hakcock had taken his usual active 
 part. His brigade had continued in the division of 
 General Smith, now a part of a new provisional army 
 corps, in command of General W. B. Franklin. He 
 was posted on the right of the main body, aiding in 
 conducting the siege. His duties were peculiarly- 
 arduous in those pestilential swamps of the Chicka- 
 hominy. He shared in all the dangers and fatigues 
 of the principal attacks, and rendered important aid 
 by his regular army experience in conducting the 
 safe withdrawal of the men under his command. 
 At the. fierce battle of Gaines' Mills, Hancock was 
 
 (153) 
 
154 WI^ FIELD, THE LAWYER'S SOX. 
 
 in charge of an independent body of troops, tempo- 
 rarily attached to his brigade. His position was in 
 the extreme advance, his picket line extending across 
 an intersecting ravine. At this point he met and 
 overcame a terrific fire of the enemy, massed in five 
 regiments; keeping them at bay, and thereby pre- 
 venting them from pushing on to another part of the 
 field they were anxious to reach. 
 
 Late in the afternoon of the 27th of June, the 
 enemy, being reinforced, commenced to attack the 
 lines of Hancock more furiously than ever, from the 
 south side of the stream. It was evidently their 
 purpose to force him back, and thus- separate him 
 from the main portion of the army. The attack was 
 opened with a heavy artillery fire of grape, shell, 
 r(Aind shot and shrapnel. It Avas the most furious 
 onset made by the rebels in that portion of the field. 
 The cry ran along the lines of the enemy: 
 
 "No quarter to the Yankees! Into the river with 
 them ! Shoot them down in the water !" 
 
 This fier}^ assault was led by General Toombs, of 
 Georgia, formerly for several }' ears a member of Con- 
 gress, and for some time a Senator of the United 
 States. The enemy came forward with a yell and a 
 dash, calculating to drive everything before them. 
 There were five regiments of infantry, yelling and 
 
12 E TURNING FROM THE PENINSULA. 155 
 
 surging to and fro, like a horde of savages. The 
 figlit became^ in places, one of hand-to-liand; and 
 there was no spot where the opposing forces were 
 more than ten paces apart. The attack was as short 
 as it was fierce ; but it ended in the complete repulse 
 of the rebels. They were driven back, with all their 
 yells and clatters, leaving nearly three hundred killed 
 and wounded on the field. 
 
 This brief but sanguinary fight is known as that 
 of Garnett's Hill. 
 
 On the following morning the enemy renewed the 
 attack, with all the fury of armed men balked of 
 their prey. But they were again signally repulsed, 
 with loss ; leaving a Colonel, Lieutenant Colonel, and 
 other officers and men of the Seventh and Eighth 
 Georgia regiments, prisoners in our hands 
 
 General Hancock continued to hold the enemy in 
 check at this important point until three o'clock of 
 the morning of the 28th of June, when he rejoined 
 the remainder of the division of General Smith, and 
 participated actively in the obstinate battles of Sav- 
 age's Station, on the 29th, and of White Oak Swamp, 
 on the 30th of the same montli. 
 
 For his services at Garnett's Hill he was again 
 recommended for appointment as Major General of 
 Volunteers, by the commander of the army. He was 
 
156 WINFIELD, THE LAWYER'S SON. 
 
 recommended, subsequently, for three brevets in the 
 Regular Army, for meritorious conduct during tbe 
 Peninsular campaign. 
 
 On his return from the Peninsula, General Han- 
 cock prepared at once to take part in the defence of 
 Washington, made by General Pope against the ad- 
 vance of the rebel army, under Lee. But before he 
 could reach the field of action, the Union army had 
 withdrawn to a better position for the immediate 
 protection of the city. 
 
 The particulars of the career of Hancock in front 
 of Eichmond, in the campaign of '62, are thus care- 
 fully narrated here, in order that it may be seen with 
 what pertinacity, skill and courage he continued to 
 act his part. 
 
 We must now go with him to the battle of An- 
 tietam ; where the unusual honor was conferred upon 
 him of being made a division commander, during 
 the engagement. 
 
CHAP TER XVIII. 
 
 AT ANTIETA3L 
 
 " For freedom's battle, once begun, 
 Bequeathed by bleeding sire to son. 
 Though baffled oft, is ever won." 
 
 Bijron. 
 
 ON the 27tli of June, 1862, the brevet of Colonel 
 in the Eegular Army was bestowed on Hancock, 
 for distinguished conduct in the Peninsular campaign. 
 His next service was in command of his brigade at 
 the battle of Antictam, in Maryland, which was 
 fought on the 17th of September, of the same year. 
 
 This battle was one of the most baffling in its im- 
 mediate character of any of the war ; and yet its 
 results have been eminently beneficial to the Union 
 cause. 
 
 The transfer of the seat of operations from the 
 front of Washington to the Maryland line had much 
 enlarged the sphere of the Army of the Potomac. 
 It became necessary not only to cover the National 
 Capital with an adequate force, but Baltimore, Phila- 
 14 (157) 
 
158 WINFIELD, THE LAWYER'S SON. 
 
 delpliia, and important interior towns, even as far 
 west as Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, required protection. 
 The enemy were on the alert in all directions, de- 
 manding the most vigilant efforts of our patriotic 
 troops to meet and overcome them. 
 
 The first prizes to be fought for by the rebels and 
 to be defended by the patriots were Washington, 
 Baltimore, the Cumberland Yalley, Harper's Ferry 
 and Philadelphia 
 
 On the 16th of September the rebels were posted 
 on the heights in the rear of Antietam creek. This 
 stream rises in the southern pa*t of Pennsylvania, 
 and pursuing a southerly course through a portion 
 of Maryland, empties into the Potomac. The coun- 
 try contiguous is broken, and beyond are the passes 
 of the South Mountain range. The principal roads 
 in the vicinit}^ lead to and from Sharp sburg, Hagers- 
 town, Harper's Ferry and Baltimore. The body of 
 the rebels occupied strong positions among the hills, 
 commanding the valleys and plains below, for a con- 
 siderable distance. Their artillery was well posted 
 on all the principal heights. 
 
 It Avas the design of the Union commander to 
 attack the enemy on their left. The Pennsylvania 
 troops were among the first to advance. The posi- 
 tion of affairs, as our men swept into the areas before 
 
AT ANTIETAM. 159 
 
 the rebel guns, was intensely trying ; but their valor 
 sustained them well to the close of the hard-fought 
 engagement. Our loss in killed and wounded, espe- 
 cially in officers, was large, several generals being 
 carried from the scene of action. 
 
 In the valley of Antietam, where some of the hot- 
 test engagements of the battle were fought, we were 
 crowded into a narrow space, and subject to a galling 
 fire from the protected batteries of the enemy. It 
 was found to be almost impossible to enfilade them, 
 in consequence of the abruptness of the hills. These 
 steep slopes were lined with rifle-pits and breast- 
 works, from which the rifles and guns swept large 
 portions of the whole of that part of the field. 
 
 As our troops continued to advance, determined to 
 drive the enemy from their strongholds, the slaughter 
 was fearful. But they pressed on to every point 
 where there was any possibility of meeting the foe 
 on equal grounds. The rebels were now strongly 
 reinforced, battery being added to battery, as if they 
 were determined, in return, to make a wholesale 
 butchery of the brave men so exposed before 
 their fire. 
 
 The battle over the entire field was much of it of 
 this description. It was one of the most unequal 
 fights on •record. Our artillery was promptly filed 
 
160 WINFIELD, THE LAWYER'S SON. 
 
 into action, and handled with great courage and skill ; 
 but it lost immensely in every assault by the vast 
 superiority of position obtained by the rebel gun- 
 ners. Our batteries could not be brought into good 
 point-blank range without the greatest difficulty; 
 and, when they were, the rebel embankments afforded 
 them such protection that the most telling shots pro- 
 duced but little effect. 
 
 The first day closed on a conflict in which nearly 
 two hundred thousand men had been hotly engaged 
 for fourteen hours. 
 
 Harper's Ferry was disgracefully surrendered in 
 the midst of the battle ; thus cutting off a large sup- 
 ply of troops and munitions, at the same time fur- 
 nishing a strong strategic point to the rebels, and 
 materially interfering with the successful prosecution 
 of the plans of the Union generals. But, with all 
 these disadvantages on our side, the enemy were 
 driven out of their entrenched mountain passes, com- 
 pelled to fight and submit to defeat in the more open 
 country, and to withdraw, subdued, thwarted, hum- 
 bled, from Maryland to Virginia. 
 
 The part taken by Hancock in the battle of Antie- 
 tam was characteristic of the man. He was prompt, 
 vigilant, courageous in every portion of the engage- 
 ments in which he participated. His own native 
 
. AT ANTIETAM. 161 
 
 hills of Pennsylvania were just beyond the field. 
 The capital of the nation was liable to be assailed by 
 an unscrupulous enemy. The large cities of Baltimore 
 and Philadelphia were to be defended. The honor 
 of the Army of the Potomac was to be maintained. 
 These grave contingencies found him fully prepared. 
 
 On the night of the 17th of September, in the 
 presence of a large and embattled force of the enemy, 
 he slept on the field, with the brave troops who 
 had won the day. By the morning of the 19th 
 General Lee had withdrawn beyond the reach of pur- 
 suit, with an acknowledged loss of about fourteen 
 thousand men, in killed and wounded. 
 
 During the height of the battle an incident occur- 
 red in his immediate command, which strikingly 
 illustrates the character of Hancock. It took place 
 on the night of September 16th. One of the new 
 regiments, now for the first time in action, was in 
 position on the brow of a commanding hill. The 
 shots of the enemy raked it in such a way that the 
 men were lying close to the ground, their rifles in 
 hand, well loaded. They had done what they could 
 on their line, and were now waiting additional orders. 
 The commander of the regiment and all his officers 
 were prostrate on the earth, with the men, among 
 whom th^ rebel balls occasionally ploughed deep fur- 
 14* 
 
162 WINFIELD, THE LAWYER'S SON. 
 
 rows, scattering the soil and stones in all directions. 
 Tlie moon was riding higli in the heavens ; but the 
 smoke of battle, which had not at that point ceased 
 with the coming on of night, dimmed its shining 
 rays. It was sufficiently clear, however, to distin- 
 guish persons and places with considerable readiness. 
 
 At this moment Hancock rode np to the prostrate 
 regiment. Looking around for the Colonel, who 
 could not be distinguished at once in the dim light 
 of the moon, and through the smoke of battle, he 
 enquired : 
 
 "Who commands this regiment?" 
 
 " I do, sir !" replied the new Colonel, bobbing up 
 his head from its hole in the ground, and then, as an 
 unfriendly shot whizzed by his ear, bobbing it back 
 again. 
 
 jSTow, the Colonel was a truly brave man, with all 
 the shrewdness of a Yankee. Having been bred to 
 
 the law, and never under fire before, it took him some 
 
 « 
 
 time to 'master the situation,' and to be able to 'de- 
 fine his position.' At that interesting period of his 
 military novitiate, as one of his 'high privates' 
 quaintly remarked, 'things looked kinder skeery.' 
 
 In his lowly posture, the Colonel had forgotten to 
 rise and tender his superior the customary salute. 
 
 General Hancock, still mounted, and his staff around 
 
AT ANTIETAM. 163 
 
 him, at once saw the state of ^the case,' although he 
 did not then understand all its legal attitudes and 
 bearings. With his usual courtesy, he again en- 
 quired : 
 
 "How many men have you on duty. Colonel?" 
 
 "About eight hundred, I guess!" the Colonel re- 
 plied, bobbing up his head, turning his face half-way 
 toward the General, and quickly bobbing it back 
 again to his covert. 
 
 "Are you ohout ready for an advance. Colonel?" 
 quietly continued Hancock, now beginning to smile 
 at the ludicrous scene. 
 
 "I rather guess Ave shall be," came a smothered 
 voice from the hole, " when we're ordered to." 
 
 " Perhaps Generaf Hancock may order you to !" 
 politely interposed one of Hancock's aids, as he 
 pointed with his drawn sword to the commander of 
 the division. 
 
 "General Hancock !" exclaimed the Colonel, spring- 
 ing to his feet, and saluting in his best manner. 
 
 " I beg you pardon, General ! I feel ashamed to 
 be caught in this position. It is my first fight, 
 sir. General ! I await your orders. I will follow 
 you anywhere !" 
 
 The General and staff now indulged in a good- 
 natured, laugh, in which the Colonel heartily joined. 
 
164 WINFIELD, THE LAWYER'S SON. 
 
 As we have said, lie was really a brave man, and 
 bad not the slightest idea of shirking his duty. But 
 he saw, in a moment, how he and his new troops 
 must appear in that position to Hancock. While the 
 General and staff were sitting cahiily on their horses^ 
 on the brow of the hill over which poured the rebel 
 shots, he and his regiment had been lying on their 
 faces, fiat on the ground. 
 
 " Regiment !" he shouted, with a lusty voice, from 
 which every shake and tremor had now fled : " Up, 
 men ! Front face ! Present arms !" 
 
 The whole command rose at the word, sprang into 
 position in line, in good order, and gave the salute 
 in true militar}^ style. The General returned it with 
 his accustomed grace ; and, after giving the Colonel 
 some additional instructions, passed with his staff 
 along the front of battle. 
 
 It is due to that Colonel to state here that he re- 
 peatedly distinguished himself on that and other 
 occasions ; and, after being wounded in a hand-to- 
 hand fight, he has received and now worthily wears 
 the honors of his native State. 
 
 The scene will always be remembered by those 
 who took part in it, as somewhat relieving with quiet 
 humor the hard features of war. 
 
 In the light of an impartial history it is clear that 
 
AT AKTIETAM. 265 
 
 the rebels have not the slightest right to claim a tri- 
 umph at Antietam. Our loss was a severe one, owing 
 to the unassailable positions of the guns of the enemy ; 
 but their loss was much greater, and their with- 
 drawal, under the circumstances, was a confession of 
 defeat. 
 
 "How sleep the brave, who sink to rest, 
 With all their country's wishes blest! 
 When Spring, with dewy fingers cold, 
 Shall oft frequent their hallowed mold, 
 She there shall press a fairer sod 
 Than Fancy's foot hath ever trod. 
 By hands unseen their knell is runo-- 
 By lips unseen their dirge is sung ; 
 There Honor comes, a pilgrim grey, 
 To dress the turf that wraps their clay; 
 And Freedom shall awhile repair, 
 To dwell, a weeping hermit, there." 
 
CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 BEFORE FREDERICKSBURG. 
 
 " The gods, in bounty, work up storms about us. 
 That give mankind occasion to exert 
 Their strength." Addison. 
 
 THE Army of the Potomac returned from its Pe- 
 ninsular campaign in the fall of 1862. In No- 
 vember of that year it arrived at Falmouth, Virginia, 
 having made the march from Warrenton, a distance 
 of forty miles, in two days and a half. 
 
 The ultimate object of the rebels was still the con- 
 quest of Washington. Encouraged by their allies in 
 treason, at home and abroad, compelled by the impe- 
 rious demands of their necessities, they remained as 
 long as possible in the vicinity of the national capi- 
 tal. A strong column of the enemy, under the justly 
 distinguished rebel General Thomas J. Jackson, had 
 swept down suddenly on our rear, and placed the 
 whole Union force, large as it was, at a temporarv 
 disadvantnge. For many days the tide of battle hnd 
 
BEFORE FREDERWK^B URG. 1^7 
 
 beat furiously against the patriot army. Unac- 
 quainted with the country, surrounded by swarms of 
 rebel spies, exposed to those deadly malarias of the 
 lowlands and swamps to which the great majority of 
 them were wholly unaccustomed, the heroic valor of 
 our troops was suddenly called to encounter the most 
 tearful odds of any that had yet been forced upon 
 them. 
 
 The fights in which Hancock had participated at 
 Savage Station, Fair Oaks, and at other assailable 
 points, were bitter and sanguinary. But in every 
 encounter he came off victorious. He had hardly 
 received the message to prepare for action at the lat- 
 ter place, ere the enemy was charging all around 
 him. His vigilance was equal to the emergency. 
 The rebel artillery was most furious in its attack on 
 his extended lines. A strong brigade of picked men, 
 with a characteristic yell, burst on his pickets and 
 dashed headlong at his principal battery. The bul- 
 lets showered on his devoted camp, from all direc- 
 tions. The smoke from the contending guns filled 
 all the air of the open spaces, and the sulphurous mist 
 of musketry hung like a cloud along the edges of the 
 dim forests. The Union men answered the wild 
 yells of the rebels with lusty cheers, and drove them 
 
168 WINFIELD, THE LATFYEB'S SON. 
 
 back at every onset. Two Georgia regiments were 
 nearly cut to pieces by Hancock''s guns. He cap- 
 tured a considerable number of prisoners ; among 
 whom was one of the most notorious of the Southern 
 secessionists, Colonel Lamar, of Georgia. He had 
 once been a member of the national Congress. A 
 Lieutenant Colonel shared his captivity. 
 
 The perilous fighting of those memorable days 
 must ever iill a bloody page in the volumes of Ameri- 
 can history. Men never fought more bravely, never 
 suffered more terrible privations from hunger, expo- 
 sure, thirst and fatigue, than did those columns of 
 Union troops in all those closing scenes of that Pe- 
 ninsular campaign. The unflinching valor of our 
 men was admitted on all hands by the enemy. 
 
 One report of these battles states that the following- 
 conversation took place between our own and some 
 rebel officers. The Union officers asked : 
 
 "Did your men respect Yankee fighters?" 
 
 "Yes!" was the prompt reply. "They quite sur- 
 prise us." 
 
 "You admit, then, there has been no faltering 
 among us on the Chickahominy ?" 
 
 "Certainly we do! There never could have 
 been better fighting than yours in any part of the 
 world." 
 
BEFORE FREDERICKSB UR G. 1 09 
 
 Among all these acknowledged deeds of valor, the 
 name of Hancock must ever stand conspicuous. 
 
 The object of the rebels in following rapidly on 
 after the Union army was, if possible, to intercept it, 
 cut off its supplies, and then dash into Washington. 
 They were perfectly familiar with all the Southern 
 approaches to the capital. Their leaders in political 
 affairs had been wont to rule it by approaches from 
 the Southern side ; why should they not possess it 
 now, with arms, from the same direction ? On all 
 of their advances friends and allies surrounded them. 
 There were plenty of traitors in our own camps. In 
 Washington they occupied some of the most lucra- 
 tive posts of the government ; they swarmed through 
 all the avenues; they chatted and whispered, they 
 wrote and plotted in some of the most fashionable 
 circles of society ; and even in the darkest and filthi- 
 est purlieus of vice. Government plunderers were 
 their secret counsellors ; pimps and courtezans were 
 their ready spies. Traitors, swindlers, peculators, 
 stock-fanciers, all through the land, stood ready to 
 aid them in the complete subjugation of the capital 
 of the nation at the feet pf the South. New Eng- 
 land was to be sloughed off, as a pestilential plague- 
 spot on the body politic. New York was to become 
 
 ^ free city, and form a treaty of amity and alliance 
 15 
 
170 WINFIELD, THE LAWYER'S SOX. 
 
 with the confederated traitors. The "West was to 
 assume Mr. Calhoun's attitude of 'masterly inactivity' 
 toward the rebellion ; and, satisfied with its great 
 interior empire and the free navigation of the Mis- 
 sissippi, was to be active only in fighting and keep- 
 ing out of the new Confederation; the loathed and 
 hated East. 
 
 It was a barbaric tiara of treason, with which to 
 adorn the ' grim-visaged front' of a wicked rebellion, 
 on whose crimson crest Washington was to glitter 
 as the central star. It was to be a triple crown of 
 despotic power, emblazoned with the South, the Cen- 
 tre and the West ; and the red hand of the Confede- 
 racy, its fingers yet dripping Avith the heart's blood 
 of the Eepublic, was to hold the keys. 
 
 The march of the Army of the Potomac to Fal- 
 mouth, Virginia, in the middle of November, 1862, 
 was one of the first of those strategic movements 
 that resulted, ultimately, in the protection of Wash- 
 ington. In all that march, however, and while going 
 into camp, our troops were seriously annoyed by the 
 enemy. By making detours through by-roads, val- 
 leys and woods, we avoided those contests in which 
 we must invariably have fought at a disadvantage. 
 
 The great object of the rebels — acting, no doubt, 
 under the immediate orders of Lee — was to possess 
 
BEFORE FREDERICKSBURG. 171 
 
 themselves of our guns. These, they well knew, 
 would be eminently useful to us in the defence of 
 Washington, and they were determined, if possible, 
 to wrest them from us. Their most practiced sharp- 
 shooters were numerously detailed to pick ofi* our 
 gunners and horses, so that, in the miry roads of the 
 fall season, the weapons might become an easy prey. 
 
 General Buenside, at that time in command of the 
 Army of the Potomac, completely deceived the enemy. 
 They had no idea he would take the route he did. 
 It was their expectation and hope that he would 
 march for the defence of the capital by the way of 
 Gordonsville, wh-ere they were prepared to assail him, 
 in front and rear, from behind their strong entrench- 
 ments. 
 
 Our forces advanced in three columns — Hancock 
 being on the extreme right of the line. His disci- 
 pline of his troops was perfect, and his march made 
 in good order. Few stragglers were anywhere to be 
 seen ; and he passed on rapidly in advance of the 
 main body. The region through which he advanced 
 was fearfully desolate. The fiery foot-prints of war 
 had been there twice before. 
 
 Falmouth is one of the oldest towns in Virginia. 
 It was' settled as early as the year 1717. The houses 
 have an 'antiquated appearance, and but little active 
 
172 WINFIELD, THE LAWYER'S SON. 
 
 business is transacted within its precincts. There is 
 no public building in the town of any note. The 
 old-fashioned brick dwellings; with their quaint dor- 
 mer windows, carry you back to the days when Vir- 
 ginia was a colony of England, and when this ancient 
 town stood on the outskirts of civilization in the land 
 of Pocahontas. 
 
 The troops of General Hancock swept rapidly 
 through this region, fording rivers and ascending 
 high hills in their march. The soldiers were in good 
 spirits, singing gaily their army songs, and reposing 
 unbounded confidence in their leader. The head 
 waters of the Eappahannock soon came into view, then 
 the contiguous heights of the Blue Ridge of moun- 
 tains, tliat put out their spurs from this region to the 
 shores of the Chesapeake Bay. The historic travel- 
 ler looks in vain for the signs of the English Fal- 
 mouth of Henry the Eighth, for the Castles of Pen- 
 dennis and Saint Mawes, and the opening view of 
 the British Channel. 
 
 The principal importance of Falmouth lies in the 
 fact of its close proximity with the larger town of 
 Fredericksburg, another of the old but more enter- 
 prising Virginia settlements. It is the county-seat 
 of Spottsylvania. Its location is on the right bank 
 of the Rappahannock river, and has some advantages 
 
m THE FREDERICKSBURG BATTLE. 173 
 
 for manufactures and commerc-e. The tide water 
 here terminates, at a distance of sixtj-five miles north 
 of Eichmond. The railway from "Washington to 
 Richmond passes through Fredericksburg, rendering 
 it an important point for the possession of an army 
 m time of war. 
 
 General Lee had telegraphed to the inhabitants of 
 Fredericksburg the fact of the near approach of the 
 Union troops. We approached the town in four col- 
 umns — infantry, cavalry, and artillery. Its surrender 
 was demanded on the 21st of November, 1862, by 
 General Sumner, then commanding the right division. 
 A correspondence ensued between him and the civil 
 authorities, at the termination of which preparations 
 were commenced for shelling the town. The delay 
 of the rebels in surrendering, for which every oppor- 
 tunity that courtesy could demand was afforded them, 
 prompted an attack from the Union batteries. Mean- 
 while, General Lee had reached the spot, making it 
 as defensible as possible, on his march toward Wash- 
 ington. 
 
 On the ensuing 13th of December the battle opened. 
 It was fiercely contested on both sides, the rebels 
 having every advantage in position and massing of 
 force. 
 
 The shelling of the two previous days, and the 
 15* 
 
174 WIXFIELD, TEE LAJVTEE'S SON, 
 
 landing across tlie river of bodies of picked men, had 
 done the enemy considerable damage. The passage 
 of the stream was repeatedly made, and under cir- 
 cumstances well calculated to test the valor of our 
 patriot troops. In consequence of the impossibility 
 of lowering the range of our batteries on the bank 
 so as to reach the town in , front to advantage, the 
 houses and walls in that vicinity afforded protection 
 to the sharp-shooters of the enemy, who were busily 
 engaged picking off our gunners. Notwithstanding 
 thiS; the cannonading continued from a line of fire 
 supplied by one hundred and seventy-nine guns, 
 ranging from ten-pounder Parrotts to four-and-a-half- 
 inch siege guns, posted along the convex side of the 
 arc of the circle, formed by the bend of the river and 
 land opposite the doomed town. 
 
 The part of Hancock, in command of a division, 
 was everything that became him. His troops were 
 among those who performed the daring feat of cross- 
 ing the river in open boats, scaling the opposite 
 banks, in the face of a deadly fire, and driving off 
 the enemy from their lurking places. They scattered 
 up the streets at our approach, throwing away arms 
 and accoutrements in their rapid flight. The shouts 
 of our men swept across the water as they witnessed 
 this gallant action, while returning cheers came back 
 
IiY THE FREDERICKSBURG BATTLE. 175 
 
 from the brave fellows who at such imminent peril 
 had won the day. 
 
 Next followed the work of throwing pontoon 
 bridges across the river. Our men plunged waist- 
 deep into the stream, and worked as men do who are 
 under the sacred inspiration of patriotic duty. In 
 less than half an hour the first bridge was completed, 
 and a body of troops thrown across. The attempt 
 to shell them from the rebel batteries was a signal 
 failure. 
 
 The principal force of the enemy in Fredericks- 
 burg consisted of Mississippians, South Carolinians, 
 and Floridians. ~ 
 
 A few months previous to this engagement. General 
 Hancock, being still in the advance, had reached 
 Bolivar Heights, on the line of the Potomac, early 
 in the morning, and driven the enemy before him. 
 He passed on to Charlestown, Virginia, which he 
 occupied. When at a distance of a mile and a half 
 from the town, the rebels had opened their batteries 
 on him ; but he used his guns to such advantage that 
 they were glad to retire. 
 
 Following up this success, he entered Snicker's 
 Gap, Virginia, still driving the rebels. A column of 
 their infantry advanced to retake it, but the fire of 
 the guns of Hancock rapidly dispersed them. 
 
176 WINFIELD, THE LAWYER'S SON. 
 
 These reconnoissances discovered the whereabouts 
 of the enemy, and prepared the way for the part 
 which Hancock subsequently took in the battle of 
 Fredericksburg. Ever on the alert, ever prompt at 
 the call for action, he was in every part of the field 
 occupied by his division, cheering and animating the 
 men by his gallant bearing. 
 
 The passage across the Eappahannock was made 
 by General Buknside, then in chief command, under 
 the greatest local disadvantages. Deceived by a feint 
 of the enemy, who had purposely withdrawn a part 
 of his force in front, apparently leaving his defences 
 unprotected, Burnside threw his men over the river, 
 only to be drawn before the batteries on the hills 
 beyond Fredericksburg, from which the most deadly 
 and continuous fire was poiired into our unprotected 
 ranks. It was placing them in the bottom of a great 
 basin of land, to be fired upon by the shielded guns 
 on the commanding ridges above. The crossing was 
 hardly accomplished ere the hidden reserves of the 
 enemy were brought rapidly to the front, and massed 
 on our extended lines with terrific slaughter. The 
 Union troops were swept down before the long files 
 of protected batteries, like grass before the scythe of 
 the mower. 
 
 The crests in the rear were reached by an ascending 
 
IN THE FREDERICKSB UR G BA TTLE. 1 7 7 
 
 advance that had to be fought, every inch of the way, 
 in the face of ti galling fire. The country and en- 
 trenchments beyond were nearly hidden by a dense 
 fog, rendered more impenetrable by the clouds of 
 smoke, belching from the rebel guns, that hung like 
 a pall on the fortified hills. Every step was made 
 by the men in uncertainty as to the numbers and 
 positions of the enemy. It was only known Lee was 
 before them, and that he was prepared at all points 
 for assault or attack. Our own lines were more or 
 less detached, being sent forward in separate bodies, 
 whose means of communication were imperfect at the 
 base, and liable to be fatally interrupted. If the 
 rebels could have been outflanked and reached by 
 means of an attack in the rear, the position would 
 have been widely different, and the result, no doubt, 
 equally so. The attack on our part was all that 
 could be expected of brave men. It was steady, 
 vigorous, dashing ; but the exposure was too great 
 for success. By the contingencies of the fog and our 
 delay in throwing over the bridges, the enemy had 
 ample time to mass his forces, to complete his de- 
 fences, to bring up his reserves, and to place his bat- ' 
 teries in such positions that they could sweep every- 
 thing before them. 
 
 During the two days in w^hich the Union army 
 
178 WINFIELD, THE LAWYER'^ ISDN. 
 
 stood in order of battle before Fredericksburg, advanc- 
 ing to the very front, and into the flash, and heat, and 
 iron deluge of the descending rebel fire, the courage 
 of the men was admirable. Their stand was one of 
 the boldest ever taken by any army ; and bravely 
 they mxaintained it to the last. The courage with 
 which that contest was so long maintained against a 
 numerous army strongly entrenched, the skill and 
 strategy with which our troops were crossed and re- 
 crossed, in the face of the sweeping fire of the enem}^, 
 will ever reflect credit on the Army of the Potomac. 
 The course of General Hancock on that occasion 
 exhibits his prudence as well as valor in a most 
 striking light. He is generally associated, as he well 
 deserves to be, with dashing deeds of brilliant valor ; 
 but his course at Fredericksburg, as at other points, 
 proves his caution to be equal to his courage. ISTo 
 officer is more careful than he of the lives of his men. 
 He regards, as he should, these enlisted fellow-citi- 
 zens as committed to his care, and that he is respon- 
 sible that their lives shall not be thrown away. When, 
 therefore, the whole army crossed the Eappahannock 
 and drew up in order of battle before the entrenched 
 legions of Lee, the first movement of Hancock Avas 
 to halt as many of his troops as he could command 
 in a sheltered valley. Here he gave them an oppor- 
 
IN TUB FREDERICKSBURG BATTLE. 179 
 
 tunitj, as a strict tactician, to pause, survey the field, 
 and prepare for the deadly onset. The arms were 
 stacked, and the men bivouacked for several hours. 
 They needed the rest. They fought all the better 
 for being granted it by the Greneral. 
 
 The instant the time for decided action arrived, the 
 division of Hancock was advancing. He moved for- 
 w^ard close to the river, and remained in that position 
 all night. In less than two hours from the time his 
 troops were in motion the head of the column had 
 crossed the river. When it reached the post assigned 
 it, directly in front of the enemy, the men were ankle- 
 deep in mud. It was toward the beginning of win- 
 ter, and the chilly winds were sweeping through the 
 valley of the Eappahannock. But so perfect was the 
 discipline of Hancock, that, while camp-fires were 
 forbidden, the wet and cold ranks maintained their 
 positions in the line. Together officers and men, 
 with Hancock at their head, laid down on the Avet 
 and frosty ground, with no pillow but the muddy 
 earth and no covering but the cloudy sky of a De- 
 cember night. With a fortitude and equanimity of 
 which history furnishes but few parallels, these heroic 
 men bore the privations of that dismal scene, planting 
 their colors in the darkness, and resolving to stand 
 by them to the last through every trying hour. 
 
180 WIN FIELD, THE LAWYER'S SON. 
 
 The battle began with the rising of the sun of the 
 followino^ mornino^. As soon as the division advanced, 
 Hancock ordered skirmishers to be thrown out on 
 the left flank, the column still advancing under a con- 
 tinuous fire of shot and shell. Eegiment after regi- 
 ment coming up and deploying in line of battle drew 
 down a sweeping fire from the hidden foe. But our 
 force remained at the front, and continued so, during 
 the action. Every attempt that was made by the 
 enemy to break through Hancock's line was imme- 
 diately repulsed. The men halted on the march 
 through the uj^per parts of the city only to form 
 more perfect lines of battle, and do the more execu- 
 tion in the attack. His voice was heard above the 
 roar of conflict, calling on the men who survived: 
 " Close up, men ! Steady ! Close up ! Forward !" 
 In the midst of the fearful scenes of carnage that 
 followed, the care of Hancock for the hospitals, and 
 those wounded who could not reach them, showed 
 the character of the man. The buildings selected 
 for hospital service were watched over with tender 
 care, and as safely guarded as the exciting circum- 
 stances of the moment would permit. While wounded 
 himself, and remaining in the heat of the battle, he 
 was constantly allowing suflterers to. retire from the 
 field and recross the river. But every permission of 
 
IN THE FREDERICKSBVRG BATTLE. 181 
 
 this kind was coupled with tlie firm command that 
 every man whose wounds would admit of it, must 
 return to the fight. Hundreds of his division, by his 
 good management, were recruited and re-engaged in 
 the action in this way. His troops fought well to 
 the close, and were brought off in good order. 
 Such, was Hancock at Fredericksburo-. 
 
 IG 
 
CHAPTER XX. 
 AT CHANCE LLORSVILLE. 
 
 "When Nelson fought his battle of the Nile, it was the result, alone, 
 that decided whether he was to kiss a hand at court or a rod at a court- 
 martial." — Cvlion. 
 
 IF the battle of Chancellorsville; Yirgioia, is to be 
 judged by its immediate results, it was disas- 
 trous to the Union arms. If it is to be judged by 
 its ultimate effects on the American army and peo- 
 ple, it was a success to the Union cause. It was a 
 fearfull}^ bloody battle ; in some respects one of the 
 most so ever fought by any people, in any age. 
 
 The enemy had temporarily succeeded in the Na- 
 poleonic movement of massing large bodies of his 
 troops in the centre of our most exposed position. 
 lie did not conquer us; he could not justly claim a 
 victory; but he had, for a time, weakened a part of 
 our power for offensive warfare. 
 
 This battle was fought in the first week of Alay, 
 1863. The country in which it occurred is nearly 
 
 (181') 
 
AT CHANCELLORSVILLE. 183 
 
 all wild and unfrequented. Parts of it are still a 
 dense, unbroken wilderness. The army of tlie Union 
 was commanded by General Hooker; 'that of Dis- 
 union by General Lee. The advance made by our 
 forces was amons: the tans:led forests and dark inn- 
 gles of the dismal wastes of Stafford. In some places 
 they were completely surrounded by hidden foes, who 
 peered upon them unseen from behind dark thickets, 
 and fired at their uncovered columns from their des- 
 olate refuges among the munitions of rocks. 
 
 Never was a country more capable in itself of be- 
 ing defended ; never was one more difficult to over- 
 come. It Avas like a woody Sebastopol in the wilds 
 of Virginia ; an inland Gibraltar of the West. 
 
 The Union troops moved into these environed fast- 
 nesses, that bristled with rebel bayonets in every 
 thick- set wood, and frowned with lebel artillery in 
 every rocky pass. Their march was taken up at an 
 early hour in the morning, and by seven o'clock the 
 army was well massed in the outskirts of that gloomy 
 battle-field. 
 
 On the 2d of May General Hancock, then in com- 
 mand of a division, posted his men in the most 
 guarded manner. Surprises and ambuscades were to 
 be looked for, on every hand. The skirmishers Avere 
 thrown out by him in all directions, and abattis and 
 
184 WINFIELD, THE LAWYER'S SON. 
 
 rifle-pits placed in front. The whole of his line was 
 on the edge of a deep, dark Avood, where it remained 
 in battle arrdy during the Avhole of that night. 
 
 Early in the morning of the following day the di- 
 vision moved forward. The attack on the enemy 
 immediately began. Notwithstanding their protec- 
 tion in the v/oods, they were driven out of them, then 
 from their rifle-pits, then along the rude plank road 
 that lay beyond. A large column, massed in the 
 distance, seeinsr the retreat, rushed backward with 
 speed, and, for a time, fairly fled out of sight in the 
 jungles. Eifle-pits were constructed rapidly along 
 the enemy's lines, and skirmishing was kept up by 
 Hancock, at a distance of onl}^ a few hundred yards 
 in front of our works on the extreme right. 
 
 At ten o'clock that morning, the skirmish line ex- 
 tended some distance down the Fredericksburg road, 
 directly fronting and 'close to the hidden position of 
 the rebels. They had opened a brisk fire on our lines, 
 at this point, on a previous occasion, keeping up their 
 infantry volleys for four successive hours ; but our 
 resistance had been so general and so firm, it gradu- 
 ally slackened off, and then died away. Every 
 attempt to break our lines had proved futile. Volley 
 had been met by volley; battery by battery; our 
 men growing more energetic and determined at each 
 
AT CHANCELLORSVILLE. 185 
 
 assault, until the rebels were satisfied they could not 
 move us from our position, and sullenly withdrew. 
 They did not yell once. 
 
 These men were in the immediate command of 
 Hancock. He led them in person, placed them in 
 the field under his own eye, and remained to take 
 part in every engagement. His breastworks were 
 well coDstructed as an offset to sudden assaults from 
 the coverts of the woods, while his skirmishers, in 
 rifle-pits, were well posted to prevent surprises. The 
 men behaved well. Every attempt to enfilade them 
 was promply met and repulsed, and every savage as- 
 sault to capture our colors was hurled back in defeat. 
 Much credit is due to the management of the Union 
 batteries, on all these occasions. 
 
 A part of the way to the battle-field had to be pur- 
 sued in open boats, where the navigation was tedious, 
 and the line of march everywhere exposed to the 
 wily foe. Arrived on the ground, our men took their 
 positions with a coolness and courage worthy of the 
 highest praise. They knew not the number of their 
 secreted enemy ; they could only tell by the rattling 
 rifles and roaring cannon that they were near, and in 
 strong force. Dashing on toward them in and 
 through the forests, our men repeatedly captured 
 their earthworks, and conclusively proved to them 
 10* 
 
186 WIKFIELD, THE LAWYER'S SON. 
 
 and the world what we could do, with anything like 
 equal numbers and a fair field. 
 
 Hooker, Meade, Eeynolds, Couch, Howard, Birney, 
 Slocum and Sickles were active in this engagement, 
 and were remarkable for the promptness with which 
 their plans were carried out, even against the fearful 
 odds that opposed them. In the position he occupied, 
 Hancock's part was not neglected. His troops were 
 among the most valiant and successful of any in that 
 bloody battle. 
 
 In the height of the closing scenes of this terrible 
 drama of carnage, the division was ordered to strike 
 directly across the front of an advancing column of 
 rebels. This column came sweeping furiously on, 
 with its wonted rebel yell, almost demoniac in its 
 character, in the shape of one of Napoleon's wedges 
 of war. The design was to thrust it, with the utmost 
 violence, in the centre of the Union lines favorably 
 situated for the purpose. At this moment Hancock 
 dashed directly across the field, in the face of the 
 advancing rebels, striking their iron wedge with great 
 force at the designated point, staggering its momen- 
 tum, laying many rebels dead in their impetuous 
 march, and breaking the effect of the intended blow. 
 In half an hour from the time Hancock struck the 
 yelling column, it was in flight from the field. 
 
AT CHANCELLORSVILLE. 187 
 
 The final result of Chancellorsville was a bitter 
 disappointment to the rebels. They were not only 
 foiled, disconcerted, cheated of their longed-for prey, 
 but they found they had met a foe, even in the 
 underbrush and rocky ravines, the briery wilds and 
 lurking darkness of those dim woods, fully equal 
 to their steel. Lee discovered, to his cost, that he 
 might slaughter us from behind his ambuscades; he 
 might entangle us in the forests and through the 
 winding by-paths with which he was familiar ; but 
 he could not and did not conquer us in an honorable 
 fight. The passage of our army across the river, in 
 the face of imminent danger, is admitted by the rebel 
 authorities to have been well done ; and the re-cross- 
 ing, with a furious enemy close in the rear, was as 
 masterly a piece of military strategy as was ever 
 performed. 
 
 The rebels lost in this battle five thousand prison- 
 ers, fifteen stands of colors, seven pieces of artillery, 
 nine thousand wounded, and a large amount of com- 
 missary stores and munitions of war. 
 
 By the 6th of June our army was safely across the 
 river, at Falmouth. In looking back from this point 
 over the field, we find that the division of General 
 Hancock, in its imminent position on the extreme 
 left, did all that brave men, well led, could have done. 
 
188 WINFIELD, THE LAWYER'S SON. 
 
 Tlieir losses were among the severest of that scene 
 of terrible carnage. He not only held his own, in 
 the very front of the fight, but drove the enemy, at 
 all points. No men, on any field of battle, conld 
 have been handled better than his were. His praise 
 was on every tongue ; and the despatches of those in 
 superior command speak of his deeds with the highest 
 satisfaction. 
 
 It was immediately after this engagement that 
 President Lincoln, as Commander-in-chief, assigned 
 General Hancock to the command of his favorite 
 Second Corps in the Army of the United States. 
 
 The traitors now proceeded afresh in their wicked 
 designs for the destruction of a Union that had never 
 done them wrong ; for the overthrow of a constitu- 
 tion that had ever provided ample protection for all 
 their rights. They massed their scattered forces 
 anew, and prepared for a raid further north — the 
 domineering onset and fitting conclusion of which 
 we now proceed to describe. 
 
CHAPTER XXI. 
 
 AT GETTYSB URG. 
 
 "Out of this nettle, danger, we pluck this flower, safety." 
 
 Henry IV. 
 
 rj^HE invasion of the States of Maryland and Penn- 
 JL sjdvania, in the year 1863, by the large and 
 picked force under the rebel General Robert Edward 
 Lee, mast always occupy a conspicuous place in the 
 history of the great American rebellion. In some 
 respects it may be regarded as the turning point in 
 the war. By a series of fortuitous circumstances 
 the rebels had won several important victories. 
 Flushed with these temporary successes, pressed for 
 immediate supplies by the brilliant conquests won 
 over their western bases by General Grant and Com- 
 modore Foote, they turned, like hungry vultures in 
 quest of fresh prey, on the tempting and compara- 
 tively unguarded lines of the more Northern border 
 States. The successful invasion of these States would 
 not only redeem what they had already lost, and 
 
 (189) 
 
190 WINFIELD, THE LAWYER'S SON. 
 
 what they had serious premonitions of losing, at the 
 South and West, but it would supply their plundering 
 hordes from, the teeming valleys and fertile plains 
 and rich mountain mines of the central region of the 
 country ; it would force beneath their trampling feet, 
 and yield to their clutching hands, armed with incen- 
 diary torches, the stores and shipping, the factories 
 and dwellings of the populous cities of the Union. 
 What a splendid prize for the ambitious traitors! 
 With what fond delight the hearts of boasting chivalry 
 gloated over the glorious prospect that opened before 
 them ! 
 
 It was known to the invaders that large bodies of 
 the defenders of the Union had returned to their 
 homes, their terms of service having expired. They 
 entertained the belief that the force they might meet 
 would be composed exclusively of the undisciplined 
 yeomanry of the regions first to be ravaged, who, 
 they imagined, would fall an easy prey to their ad- 
 vancing veteran legions. They anticipated, and not 
 without reason, that many sympathizers in their 
 unnatural and wicked treason would hasten to meet 
 them, with open arms, as they crossed the border. In 
 the Atlantic cities, they knew, were large numbers 
 of aliens, sworn subjects of foreign monarchs, who 
 had sought our country only to witness or hasten its 
 
AT GETTYSBURG. l!ji 
 
 dismemberment; who were ready to join, at a mo- 
 ment's warning, with anybody and everybody who 
 wonld be most certain to secure its destruction as a 
 Eepublic. They were led on in this foul work of 
 treason and crime by the master military spirit of 
 the traitors in arms — a man who had drawn his very 
 life-blood from the breast of the mother he was now 
 seeking to stab to the heart, and whose companions 
 in the guilty foray were commanded by subordinates 
 of equal venality. Every one of the matricidal in- 
 grates had been nursed by the United States. One 
 had occupied a seat in the Congress of the nation; 
 and all of them, from the highest to the lowest in 
 rank, who had shared the instructions of our national 
 military schools, had been in part sustained there from 
 the tributes paid for their education by the people 
 of the commonwealths they were at that moment 
 aiming to destroy. The United States cadets in that 
 invading force were, at the instant of invasion, under 
 the most solemn oaths to defend those States against 
 all comers ; to uphold the flag whose folds waved 
 over them when they drank at the fountain of know- 
 ledge it guarded, and whose familiar stripes and stars 
 now fluttered so reproachfully and yet so gallantly 
 before their eyes, from the Union lines in front. 
 In spite -of all this, in spite of the uncalled-for 
 
192 WINFIELD, THE LAWYER'S SON. 
 
 nature of the rebellion, in spite of the fact that a 
 considerable proportion of the citizens about to be 
 outraged on the Pennsylvania line, and through the 
 contiguous region, were non-combatants, in principle 
 and practice, as their fathers had been before them, 
 on came the ruthless invaders. If, unlike the bar- 
 baric Assyrian, their cohorts were not 
 
 " gleaming with purple and gold," 
 
 they were like him in coming 
 
 "as a wolf on the fold." 
 
 Early in June, 1863, this rampant force of inva- 
 ders, followed by a long train of plunder wagons, 
 came sweeping down from the seat of war in Vir- 
 ginia to the doomed States of Pennsylvania and Ma- 
 ryland. The chief traitors in Eichmond, in conjunc- 
 tion with their allies in the invading army and among 
 their fellows in treason at the North, had blatantly 
 given out that the invasion, this time, was to be a 
 success. The free States were to be conquered ; the 
 capital of the nation was to be taken and held. They 
 knew the country was comparatively unprepared for 
 it. They were as well aware as we could be that our 
 most reliable troops were nearl}^ all employed on a 
 distant and dangerous service. They numbered, 
 when the invasion commenced, — they did not num- 
 ber quite so many when it ended, — an effective force 
 
AT GETTYSBURG. 193 
 
 of 90,000 infantry, 10,000 cavalry, over 4,000 artil- 
 lery, — an aggregate of 105,000 men, of all arms. 
 
 On the 28tli of June, hungering for plunder and 
 thirsting for patriot blood, they formed their angry 
 line of battle on the heights and among the passes 
 around the town of Gettysburg. This now memora- 
 ble place is situated on elevated ground, in the midst 
 of a fertile farming countr}^ It is one hundred and 
 fourteen miles west of Philadelphia, and thirty- six 
 south of Harrisburg, the capital of Pennsylvania. 
 Its location gives it a peculiar importance. It stands 
 like an interior gateway between the North and South. 
 Its college and seminary, its churches, newspapers, 
 banks, and manufacturing establishments, award it a 
 controlling influence through much of the region 
 where it stands. It contains a population of nearly 
 5,000. 
 
 The rapid and near approach of the rebels soon 
 established the fact that this handsome and retired 
 yet unfortified Pennsylvania borough was to be the 
 theatre of a sanguinary fight. In the sudden emer- 
 gency the most that could be done was to gather 
 hastily such of the militia of the country as might 
 be thrown forward to the field. This vast disparity 
 between the character of the threatened attack and 
 
 the means at hand for defence was startling to all 
 17 
 
194 WINFIELD, THE LAWYER'S SON. 
 
 concerned. To the assailant it promised an early 
 victory ; to the assailed a fearful defeat. It is no 
 wonder that alarm sjDread on every hand among the 
 borderers. Unprotected families and property de- 
 manded the first care of the citizens, ere they could 
 arm and prepare to march, all untried as they were, 
 to meet the invaders. The only reliable hope for 
 confronting and beating back the columns of Lee 
 was in the Army of the Potomac ; and that army, at 
 the critical juncture of the first approach of the 
 enemy, was supposed to be at a comparatively great 
 distance. It was not until that noble host, then in 
 commaild of General Hooker, and at the time of the 
 action led by General Meade, came on the ground, 
 that the work of defence assumed a definite shape. 
 
 The appearance of Meade was, to a large portion 
 of the rebels, like the coming of Banquo's ghost to 
 Macbeth. Lee, of course, supposed that Hooker 
 would pursue him ; but he had not calculated on the 
 alacrity with which our Potomac veterans flew to the 
 rescue of the perilled border of the Susquehanna. 
 He thought only of Fredericksburg and Chancel- 
 lorsville. He had not heard, then, from Gettysburg 
 or Vicksburg. As his myrmidons moved down to 
 the site of the battle and began to deploy in action, 
 where they expected and hoped only to meet the raw 
 
AT GETTYSBURG. 195 
 
 volunteers, hurriedly brought against them, it was 
 with ill-disguised astonishment they gazed on the 
 dust-covered lines of veterans directly in front. 
 
 " The Army of the Potomac !" " The Army of the 
 Potomac !" passed, in gasping tones, along the rebel 
 ranks. 
 
 " Ah ! they are here !" 
 
 That splendid army was indeed there ; and right 
 bravely did it prove its presence through every day 
 and hour of the succeeding battle. 
 
 The limits of our volume, and the space necessarily 
 occupied by other topics of interest to the general 
 reader, will not allow us to narrate all the scenes we 
 should be happy to place in these pages connected 
 with this signal action. It began on the morning of 
 the 1st and closed on the evening of the 3d of July — 
 the salvos of its glorious victory, in chorus with those 
 of Yicksburg, appropriately ushering in the natal 
 day of our nation's independence. 
 
 It is impossible, in this work, to do the justice 
 they so richly deserve to all the parties who distin- 
 guished themselves on this memorable field. Meade, 
 Eeynolds, Sedgwick, Hancock, Slocum, Butterfield, 
 Doubleday, Pleasanton, Couch, Gibbon, Graham, 
 Sickles, Warren, and a host of others, are all worthy 
 '^f honorable mention. The name of Eevnolds de- 
 
196 WINFIELD, THE LAWYER'S SON. 
 
 serves especial remembrance ; for it was lie who was 
 first to withstand the surging horde as it swept over 
 the heights ; it was he who gave the enemy his first 
 decided check ; and he was the first general ofiicer 
 who fell on the Union side. All honor to his memory 
 — and to that of the heroes who fell around him on 
 that and succeeding days, and whose patriot dust has 
 been so Avell enshrined in the National Cemetery at 
 Gettysburg, 
 
 The lightnings may flash, the loud thunders rattle, 
 They see nut, they hear not, they're free from all pain ; 
 
 They sleep their last sleep, they have fought their last battle, 
 No sound shall awake them to glory again. 
 
CHAPTER XXII. 
 IN THE GETTYSBURG FIGHT. 
 
 "A valiant man 
 Ought not to undergo or tempt a danger; 
 But worthily, and by selected ways, 
 He undertakes by reason, not by chance." 
 
 Jonson. 
 
 THE position of Greneral Hancock, in command 
 of the Second Army Corps, was near the centre 
 of the most active part of the field of battle. His 
 right was near the Emmitsbnrg road, and his left ex- 
 tended toward the granite spur of Eound Top. It 
 was emphatically a post of honor, for the headquar- 
 ters of the commanding Greneral were immediately 
 in his rear. The lines of Longstreet, under Hood, 
 McLaw, Pickett, Garnett, and Anderson, were directly 
 in front. Barksdale, one of the most active of the 
 rebel generals, was in the advance. Cemetery Hill 
 — now so appropriately occupied as the site of the 
 great National Cemetery of our Union heroes — was 
 
 17* (197) 
 
1U8 WINFIELD, THE LAWYER'S SON. 
 
 on his right flank, beyond which was the rebel corps 
 of Bwell; under Early and Khodes. In the rear was 
 a body of rebel cavalry/ commanded by the energetic 
 Generals Wade Hampton, W. H. F. Lee, and Jen- 
 kins, flanked by several batteries of the enemy. The 
 brigade of "Walker — formerly Stonewall Jackson's — 
 extended, as the battle advanced, close to the rear, in 
 front of the Twelfth Union Corps, under Slocum, 
 aided by Geary, Wadsworth, and Steinwehr. Sedg- 
 wick, with the Sixth Corps, was on Hancock's imme- 
 diate left wing, and Doubleday, with his splendid 
 battery, on the right. 
 
 The plan of the field, prepared by Elliott, under 
 the direction of David Wills, Esq., of Gettysburg, 
 by authority of Governor Cuktin, contains a minute 
 and correct sketch of every position occupied by both 
 the contending armies, during the whole of the three 
 days. The subsequent labors of Mr. Wills, in organ- 
 izing and completing the measures that have resulted 
 in the establishment of the National Union Ceme- 
 tery, are well worthy of the high praise that is so 
 generally bestowed upon them. 
 
 On the arrival of General Hancock the Union 
 troops, composing the second division of the Eleventh 
 Corps, under General Steinwehr, had been ordered 
 by Major General Howard to occupy the command- 
 
IiV THE GETTYSBURG FIGHT. 199 
 
 ing eminence of Cemetery Hill. At this time Han- 
 cock was in command of the entire field, having been 
 temporarily assigned to the post by General Meade, 
 who had not then reached the lines. He at once sta- 
 tioned the troops so as to be prepared for any sudden 
 assault the enemy might make. It was a critical 
 moment. Our men were arriving rapidly, yet worn 
 down with the fatigue of long and forced marches. 
 Bat their valor Avas fully equal to the emergency. 
 They repulsed the attack of the rebels, and, main- 
 taining their strong position, were soon reinforced by 
 the arrival of the Twelfth Corps, under Slocum, and 
 a part of the Third, under Sickles. 
 
 The death of Reynolds, in the opening of the fight, 
 while bravely leading on the old First Corps, check- 
 ing the advance of the rested columns of the rebels 
 thrown against the fatigued and smaller ranks of the 
 Union, had cast a gloom over the scenes which closed 
 the first day's battle. Early on the morning of the 
 2d of July, the Commander-in-chief arrived on the 
 ground. He was pleased to recognize and approve 
 the dispositions made by Generals Hancock and How- 
 ard, in the sudden emergencies of the hour. The 
 positions taken by these Generals, and those of their 
 associates in command, were regarded as favorable, 
 and preparations were immediately made for a vigor- 
 
200 WINFIELD, THE LAWYER'S SON. 
 
 ous attack on tlie enemy. The whole Union army 
 was at ■ once concentrated at Gettysburg. By seven 
 o'clock in the morning of that clay, the Second Corps, 
 in the immediate command of Hancock, was posted 
 at the front. The distance between him and the foe, 
 at this moment, was but little over a mile. 
 
 '' The click of hammers closing rivets up," 
 
 the clangor of trumpets, the roll of drums, the tramp 
 of armed men marching and countermarching, on 
 both sides, could be distinctly heard in the opposing 
 camps. The pickets of Union and disunion looked 
 each other in the face ; and the flags of liberty and 
 slavery flapped defiance at each other. The great 
 battle was at hand. 
 
 It is but the just tribute of truth to history that 
 the fact be recorded here, that the position of General 
 Hancock on that memorable field, at that thrilling 
 moment, was one of paramount importance. The 
 arrival of the Second Corps, followed by the Fifth 
 and Sixth, was most opportune. But for that arrival, 
 it would seem that the day must have gone against 
 us. It checked the eager advance of the enemy, 
 gave our troops time for much needed rest, and ren- 
 dered the numbers of the contending forces more 
 nearly equal. 
 
 At the hour of four o'clock in the afternoon of the 
 
IN THE GETTYSBURG FIGHT. 201 
 
 2d of July, tlie battle was resumed, by the opening 
 of the rebel batteries on our nearest lines. General 
 Sickles was wounded, and his command forced back. 
 At this perilous juncture Hancock, surrounded by 
 his associates, came to the rescu.e. The enemy was 
 in turn driven from the field, and our success ren- 
 dered complete. Every desperate attempt of the 
 rebels to break our lines, and, especially, to possess 
 themselves of our ammunition and supply trains, was 
 bravely met and nobly overcome. 
 
 The morning of the third day broke over the field. 
 At early dawn our artillery opened fire, which con- 
 tinued several hours ; but near midday no movement 
 whatever was made on either side. At this hour, 
 following a silence more awful in such a spot than 
 all the thunders of battle, the rebel batteries directed 
 a deadly fire against the Corps of Hancock. Lee 
 had vainly imagined this to be his most favored point 
 of attack. Dashing from behind the woods of Ceme- 
 tery Eidge, the flower of that part of the enemy's 
 force swept onward to the very muzzles of Hancock's 
 guns. His well-tried Corps, aided by Doubleday and 
 Stannard, met the shock with all their wonted cool- 
 ness and courage, and hurled the foe back in con- 
 fusion. 
 
 It was- at this moment the scene occurred of which 
 
202 WIKFIELD, THE LAWYER'S SON. 
 
 our artist has given tlie reader the graphic illustra- 
 tion that accompanies these pages. The Thirteenth 
 Yermont regiment, Colonel Eandall, was in a position 
 to render assistance to one of our endangered batte- 
 ries. General Doubleday, riding rapidly up, drew 
 off a portion of the command. They quickly obeyed 
 his summons, and rendered such support to the ar- 
 tillery that the guns were not only saved but enabled 
 to continue to supply effective service. The remain- 
 der of the regiment was in line of battle, ready for 
 action, at a moment's warning, when a rebel battery 
 opened in a new and powerful position, doing us con- 
 siderable damage. 
 
 General Hancock, perceiving the crisis at a glance, 
 galloped to the Yermonters, through repeated showers 
 ,of shot and shell from the enemy, and saluting and 
 addressing Eandall, as he pointed with his sword to 
 the rebels and their guns, enquired; 
 " Colonel ! can you take that battery ?" 
 The Colonel lifted his cap, returning the salute, 
 and quickly replied : 
 " I can, General !" 
 
 In a moment more came the Colonel's order: 
 " Thirteenth Yermont ! Forward ! Double-quick !" 
 The Green Mountaineers wheeled at the word, and, 
 with fixed bavonets, rushed on the batteries of tlie 
 
m THE GETTYSBURG FIGHT. 203 
 
 enemy. Colonel Eandall, a gentleman somewhat 
 advanced in years, kept his cap waving in his hand, 
 his few remaining locks streaming in the wind, 
 as he rushed in front, cheering, at the top of his 
 voice : 
 
 " Forward ! men ! forward !" 
 
 Hancock was near them as they dashed on to within 
 firing distance of the battery, and poured among the 
 rebels ten volleys from their well-aimed rifles. 
 
 " Charge !" cried Eandall, his tones clear and strong 
 above the roar of the rebel cannon : 
 
 " Come on, boys ! Now or never !" 
 
 Instantly the men sprang toward the gunners, 
 every bayonet fixed, and doing its work. They 
 rushed over the belching mouths of the guns, leaped 
 along the caissons, and, with a mountain shout, drove 
 the rebels from the hill, and brought off every piece 
 to the Union rear. 
 
 This gallant deed was scarcely achieved, ere Grene- 
 ral Hancock rode along the lines again, and enquired : 
 
 "What regiment is this?" 
 
 "The Thirteenth Vermont, sir," answered Colonel 
 Randall, still holding his cap in his hand. 
 
 "You have done yourselves great honor," con- 
 tinued Hancock. " The whole army will render you 
 thanks." 
 
204 WINFIELD, THE LAWYER'S SON. 
 
 It was not long after this brilliant acliievement 
 that the General was wounded. He was laid bleed- 
 ing on the grasS; surrounded by anxious groups of 
 officers and men. The breastworks of the enemy 
 were but a short distance o% and the battle w^as still 
 raging. 
 
 "Shall we not carry you to the rear, General?" 
 enquired Colonel Vesey, who was near him. 
 
 " ISTO; I thank you, Colonel," said Hancock, waving 
 his hand gracefully, in the midst of his pain, calmly 
 adding : 
 
 " Attend to your commands, gentlemen ; I wall 
 take care of myself." 
 
 In connection with a preceding charge on Han- 
 cock's Corps occurred the death of the rebel General 
 Barksdale. Our forces had been pushed forward to 
 meet the enemy, Avho were dashing furiously on our 
 lines. After the rebels had been repulsed, some cap- 
 tured prisoners informed Colonel Yesey, then in com- 
 mand of the captorS; that their General had fallen, 
 and was lying in front, on the ground. The Colonel 
 immediately advanced his line of skirmishers until 
 they came to the place designated. There they found 
 the rebel General, stretched on the grass, weltering 
 in his blood and writhing in agony. They raised 
 him up carefully and carried him to the rear of our 
 
IN THE GETTYSBURG FIGHT. 205 
 
 lines. He was speechless; and died about two hours 
 after. 
 
 By the afternoon of Friday, July 3d, the storm of 
 the battle had ended. The retreat of the enemy be- 
 gan immediately after his discomfiture. He literally 
 stood not upon the order of going, but went — and 
 that so rapidly, that he left nearly eight thousand 
 prisoners, and sick and wounded, in our hands. The 
 aggregate loss of Lee was thirty-seven thousand men 
 — among whom were seven Generals killed in the 
 battle, and six wounded. He lost in prisoners, in- 
 cluding the wounded, thirteen thousand six hundred 
 and twenty-one. Of trophies there were three guns, 
 forty-one colors, and of small arms twenty -four thou- 
 sand nine hundred and seventy eight. 
 
 Such was the battle of Gettysburg. Of the part 
 taken in it, from its beginning to its close, by General 
 Hancock, his friends may well cherish a grateful re- 
 membrance. The influence of this victory over the 
 invaders of his native State will always be felt, and 
 the gallant deeds of her son be cherished, not only 
 through Pennsylvania, but in all the land. 
 
 During the severest part of the third day's battle, 
 
 there was a period when the troops in command of 
 
 General Birney were in imminent peril. A large 
 
 force of the enemy, sweeping furiously down from 
 
 18 
 
206 WINFIELD, THE LAWYER'S SON. 
 
 the contiguous hills, had nearly environed him in 
 their deadly embrace. General Hancock, perceiving 
 the danger from his centre, placed himself at the 
 head of a picked division, and dashed rapidly for- 
 ward to the scene. His gallant approach was noticed 
 by all; and those who were nearest to him among the 
 participants in the sanguinary struggle, felt sure 
 that some important and brilliant movement was in 
 hand. 
 
 Approaching the disordered lines, he bowed po- 
 litely to the commander, and said : 
 
 " General Birney ! you are nearly surrounded by 
 the enemy." 
 
 "I know it, General Hancock," replied Birney; 
 " I am doing my best against a superior force." 
 
 "I have brought you these reinforcements," con- 
 tinued Hancock, waving his hand toward the rapidly 
 coming troops. 
 
 " You will place them, at your discretion. General 
 Birney; and I will hold you responsible for their 
 lives. General Willard, in immediate command, will 
 fight the men." 
 
 The balls of the infuriate enemy, who had been 
 bitterly disappointed at the reception given him by 
 the lines of Hancock, were flying through the air 
 
IN TEE GETTYSBURG FIGHT. 207 
 
 like a driving storm of hail. General Hancock coolly 
 maintained his seat on horseback, and watched, for a 
 few momentS; the dispositions made of the reinforce- 
 ments he had so opportun^y brought. 
 
 Bowing gracefully to the parting salute of the 
 Generals and others in command, he turned the head 
 of his horse toward another part of the hotly-con- 
 tested field. At that moment a ball passed n.ear him, 
 and struck directly in the forehead of General Wil- 
 lard, who fell dead at his feet. The look of Hancock 
 at that thrilling instant is indescribable. He gazed si- 
 lently on his fallen and gallant companion in arms, and 
 then glanced his searching eye to note its effects on the 
 men. Every man was at his post, fighting bravely 
 still, as the new commander stepped forward to the 
 vacant place. Again he waved his hand as a signal 
 of adieu to the heroic troops who were standing up 
 so bravely for the old flag, and dashed onward to- 
 ward the next post of duty and danger. As the two 
 Generals, Hancock and Birney, rode rapidly along, 
 reviewing the lines, giving orders and words of en- 
 couragement, the brave fellows who lay wounded in 
 their path would raise themselves up from the crim- 
 soned grass, and answer with cheers : 
 
 " General ! we're driving them ! Hurra !" 
 
208 WINFIELD, THE LAWYER'S SON. 
 
 Regardless of their own sufferings, they rejoiced 
 thus in the triumph of our country, some of them 
 amid the very agonies of death. 
 
 " It was more than we^ could bear," said General 
 Birney, relating the scene, as he remembered how his 
 own tears, and those of the dashing Hancock, fell 
 among those dying heroes. 
 
 "What gem hath dropped and sparkles o'er his chain? 
 The tear most sacred shed for others' pain; 
 That starts at once, bright, pure, from pity's mine, 
 Already polished by the hand divine." 
 
 It is no wonder to us, when we become familiar 
 with such incidents as these in the career of General 
 Hancock, that he should be so dear to the hearts of 
 his men. When the roar of battle was the loudest, 
 he Avas sure to be present, if in his power to be. 
 Where his gallant soldiers fell the fastest, he was 
 always certain to be near. The humblest man in the 
 ranks never passed unnoticed. His manly, command- 
 ing presence acted like a charm wherever seen, and 
 his well-chosen words passed like an electric force 
 from rank to rank. 
 
CHAPTER XXIII. 
 HIS PUBLIC TESTIMONIALS. 
 
 " His martial fortunes 
 
 Made him a debtor for some courtesies, 
 Which bind the good more firmly." 
 
 B)fron. 
 
 THE brief sojourn of General Hancock with his 
 parents, in Norristown, during a part of the 
 summer of 1863, was as agreeable as the state of his 
 severe wound would permit. On his reaching home 
 from the battle-field of Gettysburg, the citizens 
 flocked around to pay him their respects. His posi- 
 tion in the railway car, where he was placed at length 
 on a stretcher laid over the backs of the seats, drew 
 to his side many sympathizing friends, who united 
 to testify their warm admiration of his character. 
 Arrived at the station, in Norristown, he was met by 
 a detachment of the Invalid Guards, who tenderly 
 placed him on their shoulders, and bore him through 
 the streets. The inhabitants along the route, as may 
 well be supposed, were deeply moved at the sight. 
 
 18* (209) 
 
210 WINFIELD, THE LAWYER'S SON. 
 
 Not knowing the extent of his wounds, and seeing 
 him thus prostrate in the hands of soldiers, marching 
 with a steady step on the side-walks, they watched the 
 scene with peculiar interest. The boy of other days 
 had now come -as a Major General of the Army of the 
 United States, bearing on his. person a wound that 
 attested the love he bore his native land. The door- 
 ways and windows of the silent route were crowded 
 with anxious faces, down some of which coursed the 
 tears of sympathy. 
 
 What a change to Winfield from the days of his 
 youth ! How thickly the thoughts of boyhood, of 
 school, of playmates and familiar scenes, crowded the 
 mind of the gallant soldier ! With what tender wel- 
 comes he was greeted at the threshold of the family 
 mansion, and with what affectionate care he was 
 borne to his quarters under the parental roof! Gren- 
 tle assiduities, found only within the hallowed pre- 
 cincts of home, smoothed his couch of pain, and 
 ministered to him there. Here let us draw the cur- 
 tain, and leave him to repose. 
 
 His recovery was gradual, but sure. In a short 
 time his active energies were again at work. His 
 mind soon reverted from that sick-room, from his 
 own physical sufferings, to the condition of his coun- 
 try, and his duties in the service. As he gained in 
 
mS PUBLIC TESTIMONIALS. 211 
 
 strength, his fellow-citizens waited upon him, as op- 
 portunity offered, and testimonials of personal friend- 
 ship were added to those of a public character. His 
 fellow townsmen took immediate steps to testify their 
 appreciation of his signal services. At the instiga- 
 tion of several of his youthful companions, and 
 others, under the direction, principally, of B. C. 
 Chain, Esq., a service of gold and silver plate was 
 prepared, and subsequently presented to him. The 
 set consists of nine pieces, elegantly embossed, and 
 bears the following inscription : 
 
 TO 
 
 MAJOR GENERAL WINFIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 
 
 FROM 
 CITIZENS OF HIS BIRTH-PLACE, 
 
 NORRISTOWN, 
 
 JIONTGOMERY COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA. 
 
 July 4fh, 
 
 1864. 
 
 Crowning the inscription on each piece is the badge 
 of the Second Corps — the Trefoil, or three-leaved clo- 
 ver — a peculiar plant, called by some the 'none-such,' 
 indicative of rare honor, and a choice ornament in 
 the architecture of the temple of fame. 
 
 The cost of this beautiful and appropriate testimo- 
 nial was sixteen hundred dollars. Its value to the 
 
212 WINFIELD, THE LAWYER'S SON. 
 
 recipient cannot be computed in silver or gold. It 
 was a pleasant reminder to him of the days spent as 
 a boy in ISTorristown, and a proof, more precious than 
 jewels, that his playmates had not forgotten them, 
 nor the manly part he took in their youthful scenes. 
 They had ever regarded him as a leader among them ; 
 and this valuable memorial was a renewed assurance 
 that they now held him worthy to be a commander 
 in the patriot army of the nation. 
 
 The moment the state of his health would permit, 
 he resumed his labors for his country. He had a 
 good right to feel that the wound he bore was an 
 honorable one ; that he had won it bravely in a noble 
 cause. Every view taken of the part he bore in the 
 battle that caused it, abundantly confirms this state- 
 ment. 
 
 In reviewing the field of Gettysburg, the country- 
 men of Hancock must ever be impressed with the 
 great value of his services on that occasion. On the 
 fall of the lamented Eeynolds, Hancock had pro- 
 ceeded at once to Gettysburg, and assumed command 
 of the three Army Corps then in that vicinity — the 
 First, Third and Eleventh. It had been contemplated 
 to give the enemy battle at a place called Pipe creek ; 
 but, on arriving on the ground, Hancock was con- 
 vinced that Gettysburg was a much better place for 
 
ms PUBLIC TESTUIONIALS. 213 
 
 an engagement. The disposition of the whole army- 
 was made at that point, therefore, by his immediate 
 direction. When he reached the field of action, at 
 two o'clock, in the afternoon of the first day, every- 
 thing was in confusion. Our troops were prema- 
 turely retreating in all directions. He immediately 
 put forth his utmost exertions; and, being well 
 seconded by his staff, succeeded in restoring order, 
 and posted the troops at those advantageous points 
 w^hich they continued to occupy during the fight, and 
 at which they won the victory. Their positions near 
 the Cemetery, connecting the lines with Gulp's Hills 
 and along the commanding ridges, to the base of 
 Eound Top, were the strongest that could be assumed 
 by our side ; and all of them were made by order of 
 General Hancock. It was on this line that the crown- 
 ing battle of Gettysburg was fought and won. 
 
 The reports of these positions were made in full 
 detail by Hancock to General Meade, when he came 
 on the ground. Kot one of them was materially 
 changed, all through the succeeding battles. Their 
 great advantages were at once admitted, and the suc- 
 cess which attended them is a conclusive proof of the 
 military skill of Hancock. 
 
 His subsequent part in the action of the left centre 
 is well known to all. The repulse of the fierce 
 
214 WINFIELD, THE LAWYER'S SON. 
 
 assault at that point was the key note of the day. 
 Yictorioiis there, against the most desperate onslaughts 
 of the picked legions of Lee, he was prompt to send, 
 unasked, the support that was needed in other direc- 
 tions. It was while engaged in a splendid repulse 
 of the enemy, aiding the weakened columns of the 
 right wing against the rebel main attack, that he fell 
 seriously wounded. From this spot he was borne 
 from the field, when the victory was pronounced com- 
 plete, to his Norristown home. 
 
 The wound was of such a nature as to compel him 
 to employ an amanuensis, whom he directed to write 
 to his family and parents. Under the kind care he 
 received he recovered sufiiciently to leave Norristown 
 for West Point. How natural the transition ! On his 
 way thither, stopping at the Fifth Avenue Hotel, in 
 New York, he writes home, under date of September 
 15, 1863, requesting that certain military documents 
 should be arranged and forwarded, in order that he 
 might hasten his return to the field. 
 
 The receptions that' had greeted him in his native 
 county, in Philadelphia, and other places, were fol- 
 lowed up in the Metropolitan City. Public atten- 
 tions welcomed him, on every side. We can well 
 understand how cordial must have been his greeting 
 at old West Point. What a contrast was there between 
 
HIS PUBLIC TESTIMONIALS. 215 
 
 his former and present sojourns in that national mili- 
 tary school ! His fellow cadets were all gone ; some 
 of the professors had followed them ; but the scenes 
 of other days came freshly back upon him, and he 
 lived again in the haunts and studies of the past. 
 
 As soon as possible he reached his wife and chil- 
 dren at ' Longwood/ near St. Louis, Missouri. Writing 
 to his father from that city, under date of October 
 12th, '63, he says : 
 
 " I threw aside my crutches a few days after my arrival, and now 
 walk with a cane. I am improving, but do not yet walk without a 
 little 'roll.' My wound is still unhealed, though the doctors say it 
 is closing rapidly. I find some uneasiness in sitting long on a chair, 
 and cannot yet ride. The bone appears to be injured, and may give 
 me trouble for a long time. I hope, however, I may be well enough 
 in two weeks to join my Corps. 
 
 I am busy in trimming up the forest trees in the lawn of ' Long- 
 wood,' which covers nearly eleven acres. I know it is not the best 
 time ; but still it will do. 
 
 Alice and the children send their best love to you and mother. 
 
 Please give my best love to mother, and I remain, as ever, 
 
 Your aflfectionate Son, 
 
 WiNFiELD S. Hancock." 
 "ToB. F. Hancock, Esq., 
 
 Norristown, Pa." 
 
 Every true parent in the land must prize such 
 epistolary expressions as these from such a man as 
 General Hancock. They show him as he really is. 
 
216 WINFIELD, THE LAWYER'S SON. 
 
 Every youth, too, should learn a lesson from them, 
 never to be forgotten. 
 
 The people of St. Louis united with their fellow- 
 citizens elsewhere to do him honor. We shall speak 
 in another part of this volume of the tribute they 
 paid to his valor as a soldier and his worth as a man, 
 in the elegant sword presented to him as a public tes- 
 timonial from the Western Sanitary Fair in that city. 
 
CHAPTER XXIV. 
 ORDERED TO WASHINGTON. 
 
 "Honor and shame from no condition rise; 
 Act well your part — there all the honor lies." 
 
 Pope. 
 
 ON the 15tli of December, 1863, Hancock was 
 again ordered to Washington. His Gettysburg 
 wound was not yet healed, but he obeyed the order 
 with alacrity, and immediately reported himself for 
 duty at the War Department. 
 
 It was during this period that he was talked of in 
 influential circles for the command of the Army of 
 the Potomac. There is no impropriety in stating 
 that it was at one time seriously contemplated to 
 place him in this position. He, however, did not 
 seek it ; neither did his friends seek it for him. On 
 the contrary, he disclaimed all such desire ; and the 
 most active of his immediate counsellors were stren- 
 uous in their efforts to dissuade him from accepting 
 the command. On all becoming occasions he ex- 
 pressed the opinion that General Meade was the man 
 
 10 • (217) 
 
218 WINFIELD, THE LAWYER'S SON. 
 
 for tlie post ; and that if he were continued in ac^ve 
 command and properly supported by the authorities 
 and the country, he would win great victories. Pass- 
 ing results have shown the wisdom as well as mag- 
 nanimity of General Hancock in this matter. He 
 well knew by experience the obstacles in the way to 
 success with that army, at that peculiar juncture; 
 and, therefore, as we have said, he did not seek the 
 appointment; neither did he desire his friends to seek 
 it for him. There is good reason for stating, how- 
 ever, that if General Meade had made a request to 
 be relieved, General Hancock would have relieved 
 him. 
 
 He was soon detailed to the responsible work of 
 increasing the ranks of the army, by his personal 
 presence and exertions. Authority was given him 
 to augment his Corps to fifty thousand effective men. 
 His headquarters were established at Harrisburg, the 
 capital of his native State, and he immediately pro- 
 ceeded to the work among his fellow Pennsylvanians. 
 His language and measures on the occasion were well 
 chosen, and to the point, his object being to recruit 
 in all the States represented in the Second Corps. 
 
 Addressing the people of Pennsylvania, from his 
 headquarters, at Harrisburg, under date of January, 
 15, 1864, he says: 
 
RECRUITING. 219 
 
 *'I have come among you as a Pennsylvanian, for the purpose «f 
 endeavoring to aid you in stimulating enlistments. This is a matter 
 of interest to all the citizens of the State. I earnestly call upon 
 you all to assit<t, by the exertion of all the influence in your povrer, 
 in this important matter. 
 
 To adequately reinforce our armies in the field is to insure that 
 the war will not reach your homes. It will be the means of bring- 
 ing it to a speedy and happy conclusion. It will save the lives of 
 many of our brave soldiers, who would otherwise be lost by the 
 prolongation of the war, and in indecisive battles. 
 
 It is only necessary to destroy the rebel armies now in the field, 
 to insure a speedy and permanent peace. Let us all act with that 
 fact in view. 
 
 Let it not be said that Pennsylvania, which has already given so 
 many of her sons to this righteous cause, shall now, at the eleventh 
 hour, be behind her sister States in furnishing her quota of the men 
 deemed necessary to end this rebellion. Let it not be that those 
 Pennsylvania regiments, now so depleted, that have won for them- 
 selves so much honor in the field, shall pass out of existence, for want 
 of patriotism in the people. 
 
 WiNFiELD S. Hancock, 
 
 Major General U. S. Volunteers." 
 
 His success in recruiting was equal to the expecta- 
 tions formed. Subsequent events have well attested 
 the efficiency of his measures. Facilities for carrying 
 out his patriotic design were ofiered him in the cities 
 of New York, Albany, Boston, and other places. 
 
 At Philadelphia, in the ensuing month of February, 
 public demonstrations of respect awaited him. The 
 city government passed a series of resolutions, intro- 
 duced by one of his former playmates at Norristown, 
 then a member of the Councils, John W. Everman, 
 Esq., of which we here present a copy : 
 
220 WINFIELB, THE LAWYER'S SON. 
 
 Select anil <?i:ommon CTouncils ) 
 
 of the \ 
 
 City of Philadelphia. ^ 
 
 WELCOME 
 
 TO 
 
 MAJOR GENERAL WINFIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 
 
 Resolved, By the Select and Common Councils 
 
 OF the 
 
 CITY OF PHILADELPHIA, 
 
 That the THANKS of the Citizens of Philadelphia are eminently 
 
 due and are hereby tendered to 
 
 MAJOR GENERAL HANCOCK, 
 
 for his brilliant services in the cause of the UNION, during the 
 present unholy Rebellion against the authority of the Gov- 
 ernment AND People of the United States. 
 Resolved, That the use of JJiitrepentrence ?i^all be granted to Major 
 General Hancock, for the reception of his friends ; and in 
 order to afford the Citizens of Philadelphia an opportunity to 
 testify their personal regard for him, and their appreciation 
 of his gallantry and patriotism. 
 Resolved, That the Mayor of Philadelphia and the Presidents 
 of Councils be requested to carry these resolutions into effect; 
 and that the Clerks of Councils be requested to furnish a 
 copy of the same to General Hancock. 
 
 Alex'r J. Harper, 
 [City Seal.] President of the Common Council. 
 
 James Lynd, 
 President of the Select Council. 
 Attest: Wm. F. Small, 
 
 Clerk of Common Council. 
 
 Approved February 18th, 1864. 
 
 Alex. Henry, Mayor. 
 
mS PUBLIC RECEPTIONS. 221 
 
 The reception of the General and his friends fol- 
 lowed soon after, in Independence Hall. The papers 
 of the day describe the scene as one of the most im- 
 posing that ever occurred within the walls of the 
 sacred old Temple of American Liberty. 
 
 On the ensuing 22d of February, the anniversary 
 of the birth-day of Washington, General Hancock 
 reviewed the volunteer troops of Philadelphia and 
 vicinity. The parade passed off in the most spirited 
 manner. The appearance of the General on the field, 
 surrounded by a brilliant staff, passing along the line 
 with the troops arranged as if in battle array, was 
 full of excitement, and called forth the loud plaudits 
 of the immense throng of citizens who witnessed the 
 display. Some idea of his presence in action could 
 be formed by the gallant bearing of the General on 
 this popular occasion. 
 
 At the close of the review an incident of a per- 
 sonal character occurred, which we narrate here, as 
 in keeping with the man and the scope of our book. 
 
 The General had dismounted, at the close of the 
 day, and was about passing up the steps of the La 
 Pierre House, surrounded by the officers who escorted 
 him, when his eye caught that of one of his teachers 
 in Norristown, Mr. E. EobeetS, who was standing, 
 
 with his daughter, near the entrance to the hotel. 
 :^9* 
 
222 WINFIELD, THE LAWYER'S SON. 
 
 The General paused, and extending his hand to the 
 two friends of his early years, expressed his pleasure 
 at meeting them, and introduced them to the gentle- 
 men present. It was a singular but agreeable meet- 
 ing between the old teacher and the now distinguished 
 scholar. 
 
 '' Call and see me at the hotel, Mr. Eoberts, when 
 I am more at leisure," said the General. "When I 
 am a little stronger from the effects of my wound, I 
 will return the call." 
 
 At the appointed time, the teacher and scholar met 
 again. As Mr. Eoberts entered the private room of 
 the General, at the La Pierre, he was lying on his 
 couch, suffering from the fatigue to which the review 
 of the previous day had subjected his wounded limb. 
 But he rose at once to pay the respect due from a 
 good scholar to a good teacher. 
 
 "Do not rise, General Hancock," said Mr. Eoberts; 
 " I feel, sir, that you are laying me under too much 
 obligation by doing so." 
 
 "No, Mr. Eoberts," the General replied, "I shall 
 always feel, sir, that I am under obligations to you." 
 
 " It is sufficient honor for me. General, to have had 
 you for a scholar." 
 
 " No, sir. I feel that my teachers have all honored 
 me. Beside, sir, you are much the older man of the 
 
mS PUBLIC RECEPTIONS. 223 
 
 two ; and my parents always tanght me to reverence 
 grey hairs." 
 
 " I did not have grey hairs when you first knew 
 me, General." 
 
 " True, sir. Our mutual obligations were formed 
 when we were both younger than now. But I can- 
 not omit to use my anatomy now, even if it is im- 
 paired. Let me be ever so old, I can never forget 
 my school-teachers. I feel that my experience in life 
 has proved this to be true : as is the teacher, so is the 
 school-boy ; as is the school-boy, so is the man." 
 
 Other parties calling in, this interesting interview 
 was closed. But not long after the Greneral took his 
 son Kussell with him, and called on his old teacher. 
 
 "This gentleman, my son," said the General, "is 
 one of the teachers of your father, when, like you, 
 he was a boy. Eemember always to respect the 
 teacher of your youth ; and, should you live to be- 
 come a man, you will never regret it." 
 
 It is this spirit of the man that stamps the name 
 of Hancock with peculiar honor. He was always 
 the same among his soldiers. An officer of the staff 
 of another distinguished General, in alluding to this 
 attribute of Hancock's character, says of him : 
 
 " The attachment that he manifests for his brave 
 soldiers is remarkable. While he despises a coward, 
 
224 WINFIELD, THE LAWYER'S SON. 
 
 if the humblest man in tlie ranks should be the first 
 to enter Eichmond, as a conqueror, General Hancock 
 would be among the first to do him honor." 
 
 Passing from Philadelphia to New York, he was 
 received in the latter city with much distinction. The 
 Governor's Eoom, in the City Hall, was placed at his 
 disposal, for the reception of his friends, and every 
 measure adopted that could be to aid him in procur- 
 ing recruits for his Corps. A large number of his 
 troops were from the Empire State. They were so 
 much attached to his person, and their acquaintances 
 at home so participated in the feeling of attachment, 
 that when he presented himself to the people he was 
 claimed by them as a New Yorker. This impression 
 became so common, for a time, that one of the publish- 
 ers of that city announced a volume on his life, as a 
 New York General. 
 
 Passing to Albany, the capital of the State of New 
 York, the Legislature paid him an oflB.cial tribute 
 of respect for his distinguished services to the 
 country. 
 
 The same honors were bestowed upon him in Bos- 
 ton, the capital of Massachusetts, where the General 
 Court invited him to their Representative Chamber, 
 and where the merchants and other citizens waited 
 upon him at the City Exchange. His agreeable man- 
 
HIS PUBLIC RECEPTIONS. 
 
 295 
 
 ners, added to his well-known courage and skill in 
 battle, created the most favorable impressions wher- 
 ever he went on his tour of duty through New Eno-. 
 land. Patriotic applause greeted him at every point, 
 and a considerable number of fighting recruits flocked 
 to his standard. 
 
CHAPTER XXV 
 
 in THE CAMPAIGN WITH GRANT. 
 
 "Great actions are the legitimate result of great designs." — La 
 Roiichefoiicauld. 
 
 ON the 18tli of March, 1864:, the General, while 
 still actively engaged in recruiting his Corps, 
 writes to his father from Harrisbnrg, Pennsylvania : 
 
 *' I have just received an order from the Secretary of War, to re- 
 port without delay to him for instructions, prior to rejoining my 
 command in the field. I have but time to notify you of the fact." 
 
 Such was the modest announcement of his entrance 
 on that great campaign with Lieutenant General 
 Grant, in which he has borne his part with so much 
 propriety. 
 
 His position at the head of the Second Army Corps 
 was one in which he felt at home. He knew the 
 men,' and they knew him. A large proportion of 
 them were citizens of his native Pennsylvania, and 
 had enlisted in the service of the United States under 
 him as their commander. His presence among them 
 
 (22G) 
 
IN THE CAMPAIGN WITH GRANT. 227 
 
 always excited entliusiasm, and his fearless exposures 
 of his person inspired them to deeds of valor. As 
 a leader he resembled Murat ; but, while he had all 
 the dash and brilliancy; he displayed the attributes of 
 a true patriot enlisted in a far better cause than that 
 of any Marshal of France. His convictions of the 
 justice of the war for the American Union were firm 
 and resolute. It was, therefore, with the ardor be- 
 coming the great occasion before him, an occasion 
 on which he felt was staked the very life of the Ee- 
 public, that he proceeded to the front and resumed 
 his command. 
 
 The army marched from Culpepper Court House, 
 Virginia, on the 3d of May, Hancock leading the 
 advance. This post of honor was eminently his due. 
 In all the previous battles in which he was engaged 
 he had won it by merit on the field. At the sanguin- 
 ary fight at Fredericksburg, he had proved how wor- 
 thy he was to occupy it by the skill with which he 
 fought his men. On that occasion, out of five thou- 
 sand under his command, two thousand fell around 
 him, killed or wounded, including over one hundred 
 and fifty commissioned officers. He was much ex- 
 posed on the field, and had three of his Aids wounde(^ 
 by his side. When the report came in from a flag 
 of truce sent to the enemy to make arrangements for 
 
228 WINFIELD, THE LAWYER'S SON. 
 
 the burial of our deacl^ it was found tliat tlie men 
 nearest tlae rebel works, far in advance of the Union 
 lines, were largely composed of the division of Han- 
 cock. No other troops but his, and those of Kim- 
 ball's brigade, had ventured so close to the face of 
 the foe. 
 
 It was- immediately after these signal services, as 
 a leader of the advance, that he was nominated by 
 General Buknside as Major General of Volunteers. 
 His appointment to that rank dates from November 
 29th, 1862. 
 
 In the battle of Chancellorsville, where our whole 
 army was so exposed to the hidden and furious on- 
 slaughts of the rebels, he occupied the advance of 
 the extreme left wing. Through all the savage as- 
 saults made upon him he held his position firmly, 
 and handled his command with such judgment and 
 energy, as to elicit the admiration of all who Avit- 
 nessed his movements. 
 
 His position at Antietam and Gettysburg was pre- 
 cisely the same — in the advance. At th« latter place 
 his line of battle was thrown forward for a mile and 
 a half in the immediate front of a large body of the 
 centre of the enemy, composed of their best troops. 
 It was on this position of Hancock that Lee opened 
 his principal fire from his batteries of one hundred 
 
IN THE CAMPAIGN WITH GRANT. 229 
 
 and fifty guns. The whole of the left and of the 
 left centre withstood this tremendous cannonading 
 with unflinching valor, with Hancock at their head. 
 It was toward the close of this assault, that he, and 
 General Gibbon, temporarily commanding the Second 
 Corps, received their severe wounds. 
 
 It is not surprising, in view of such facts as these 
 and others like them in the history of General Han- 
 cock, that he should be assigned to an active position 
 at the front by so justly distinguished a man as Lieu- 
 tenant General Grant. Neither is it to be wondered 
 at that he should have filled his post so well in the 
 last campaign for the conquest of Richmond. 
 
 His first battle under Grant was that fought in the 
 Wilderness. This action took place on the 5th of 
 May. The scenes connected with it are among the 
 most exciting of any in military history. 
 
 Our troops had gone forward to the fight with an 
 ardor that was truly irrepressible. 
 
 "Hark! I hear the tramp of thousands, 
 And of armed men the hum : 
 Lo ! a nation's hosts have gathered 
 Round the quick alarming drum. 
 Saying, ' Come, 
 Freemen, come, 
 Ere your heritage be wasted !' 
 
 Said the quick alarming drum." 
 
 The scene of war was reached in a few hours' rapid 
 20 
 
280 WINFIELD, THE LAWYER'S SON. 
 
 marching. The battle began on the 5th of May. On 
 placing his troops in the field, Hancock found a strong 
 force of the enemy massed against him. He im- 
 mediately commenced the attack. 
 
 The spirits of the men were worthy at that mo- 
 mentous hour of their cause and their commander. 
 The country around has been already described as 
 among the wildest parts of one of the wastes of Vir- 
 ginia. Its surface is thickly dotted with densely 
 wooded hills, inters^Dersed with marshy lowlands, and 
 sandy desert plains. It was settled as long ago as 
 1675, the county bearing the name of Old Stafford, 
 in England. It is separated from the adjoining State 
 of Maryland by the Potomac river, and supplied 
 mainly by the Eappahannock. 
 
 Into this well-named Wilderness Hancock marched 
 his patriot men, and pitched battle against the ene- 
 mies of our country. At the first attack the traitors 
 fell back ; but, adopting their familiar Napoleonic 
 tactics, they soon after massed their forces, and made 
 a combined furious attempt to break our main centre, 
 directly between the Second Corps, under Hancock, 
 and the Fifth, under Warren. It was all in vain. 
 They were hurled back in confusion. 
 
 On the following Thursday the battle was resumed 
 with new vigor. Hancock occupied the extreme left 
 
IN THE WILDERNESS. 231 
 
 wing, with a cavalry support resting on a point be- 
 tween Parker's Store and Shady Grove Church. 
 
 The attack was commenced by the rebels on Fri- 
 day morning, Longstreet striking with all his might 
 at Hancock. They had fought together, before, in 
 Mexico. The Second Corps bore their brunt of the 
 battle with all their wonted steadiness. The General 
 was at every post where his presence was needed, 
 cheering on his men, standing, at times, like a pri- 
 vate in the ranks, and aiding to hurl back the surg- 
 ing columns of the foe thrown so furiously against 
 him. Every inch of the desperate assault was con- 
 tested along the whole line, and, by a wise combi- 
 nation of forces, the order of battle was maintained, 
 and the enemy repulsed, with great slaughter. 
 
 The part taken by the Corps of Hancock is well 
 attested by the number of its slain and wounded, in 
 officers and men. Among the former were General 
 Hays, commander of the Second Brigade, Third 
 Division, who fell mortally wounded on that bloody 
 field of glory ; and Getty, Gregg, Owen, Bartlett, and 
 Carroll, were wounded. While in the act of rallying 
 his men, in the front of the battle, Hancock was 
 again wounded, but maintained his position on the 
 field. The enemy rushed upon him in solid masses, 
 line sweeping on behind line. Some portions of the 
 
232 WINFIELD, THE LAWYER'S SON. 
 
 ground on his front were fought over four or five 
 times in succession. 
 
 The arrival of reinforcements, under Burnside, 
 Avith the Ninth Corps, was most opportune. His ap- 
 pearance was loudly cheered by the brave men who 
 had so nobly met and overcome the enemy. His 
 colored troops rendered effective service in guarding 
 exposed points, while the great body of his men par- 
 ticipated with signal success in the severe battle of 
 Friday. 
 
 Our cavalry, under Custer, Gregg, Merritt, Davis, 
 and others equally deserving of mention if their 
 names were at command, pursued the retreating 
 columns of Lee. The battle became general toward 
 the close of Saturday, in which we held our own 
 against considerable odds, and, at certain points, con- 
 tinued to drive the enemy. 
 
 Hancock pushed forward his advance. On the 
 ensuing Sunday he reached Al sop's farm, where a 
 severe engagement ensued. In the evening, as the 
 result of this battle. Grant advanced his entire lines 
 — Hancock on the right. The forward movement 
 brought us into a position for the employment of our 
 guns, and on Monday ensued that sharp artillery con- 
 flict in which the brave and accomplished Sedgwick 
 
IN THE WILDERNESS. 233 
 
 fell in his ramparts, wliile personally engaged in the 
 location of his cannon. 
 
 The ensuing Tuesday, May 10th, witnessed a ter- 
 rific battle. Our troops were still advancing, driving 
 the rebels before them, turning their flanks at every 
 point, and convincing them, if they needed any con- 
 victions on that subject, that one patriot was at least 
 equal to one traitor. The old and idle boast that the 
 rebels could whip us, at the rate of one man to our 
 four, faded away in those sanguinary fields of Vir- 
 ginia, like the dissolving views of an illusory pic- 
 ture. Never was a man more taken by surprise than 
 Lee. He found to his severe cost that 
 
 " The best laid schemes o' mice and men 
 Gang aft a-gUy." 
 
 He schemed for the massing of his legions on our 
 weak points; hoping, with his infuriate charges, to 
 break our lines, and sweep everything before him. 
 But he found Grant fully prepared for him, on all 
 hands. That brave General and consummate strate 
 gist was ready to meet mass with mass, strategy with 
 strategy, battle with battle, until, outflanked and out- 
 generalled, the wily Lee was forced sullenly to 
 retreat. 
 
 Hancock, on the extreme right wing, was in exactly 
 the position to guard against every cunning device 
 
234 WINFIELD, THE LAWYER'S SON. 
 
 of the eneraj^; and, by his coohiess, watchfulness and 
 courage; to prevent every attack on the flank that 
 Lee might attempt. This was one of the favorite 
 movements of the rebel invader of unprotected States, 
 the chivalrous raider on the peaceful dwellings, stores, 
 barns, hen-roosts and fields of non-resistant border- 
 ers. He met this valiant chevalier of plunder in 
 several hard -fought battles at these points, and, in 
 every instance, had the pleasure to join with his com- 
 patriots, Warren and Burnside, in compelling the 
 boastful traitor to fall back still further to the rear. 
 
 On Thursday, the 12th of May, he made that splen- 
 did dash, which resulted in the capture of an entire 
 division of the enemy, four thousand strong, two 
 rebel Major Grenerals, a large number of colors, and 
 thirty cannon. 
 
 It was on this occasion that a personal interview 
 took place between Hancock and the rebel Major 
 Generals George H. Stuart and Ed. Johnson, in the 
 tent of the conqueror. The gentlemen had known 
 each other in former years. They had been cadets 
 together at West Point, and fellow officers in the 
 Army of the United States. 
 
 As the rebel prisoner- Generals entered the tent of 
 Hancock, the following dialogue ensued : 
 
INTERVIEW WITH REBEL GENERALS. 235 
 
 Hancock. — " All ! Johnson ! Is it yon ? Let ns 
 shake hands." 
 
 Johnson. — " Hancock ! this is dreadful." Accept- 
 ing the hand so courteously proffered him, he burst 
 into tears, and added : 
 
 " I should have much preferred death to captivity." 
 
 Hancock. — " I sympathize with you, Johnson ; but 
 such, you know, is sometimes the fortune of war. 
 You have fought well, and have no reason to feel 
 personally disgraced. It might have been my lot to 
 be your prisoner." 
 
 Johnson. — " I know that ; but to be taken in such 
 a wholesale manner is hard to bear. It is rough." 
 
 Hancock. — " You know you will be treated like a 
 gentleman, Johnson ; and held under the laws of war, 
 with which you are familiar." 
 
 During this conversation Stuart was moving nerv- 
 ously around, his countenance the picture of dejection 
 and chagrin. 
 
 Hancock, who had sought to speak with him be- 
 fore, now approached him, with his hand extended. 
 
 Hancock. — " How are you, Stuart ?" 
 
 Stuart. — " I am General Stuart, sir ! of the Army 
 of the Confederate States." 
 
 Hancock. — " I am well aware of that, General ; but 
 
236 WINFIELD, THE LAWYER'S SON. 
 
 I think I can venture to address you as an acquaint- 
 ance of other days." 
 
 Stuart. — "Under present circumstances, sir, I de- 
 cline to take your hand." 
 
 Hancock. — O ! very well, sir ! you can suit yourself 
 in that matter ; and, as my prisoner, you will certainly 
 suit me. 
 
 Under any other circumstances, sir, I should not 
 have offered you my hand !" 
 
 The chop-fallen look of Stuart at this instant can 
 be better imagined than described. Whatever his 
 feelings may have been under the courteous rebuke, 
 all who witnessed it felt that Hancock was as cutting 
 with the edge of his satire as he is with that of his 
 victorious sword. He had beaten his prisoner with 
 valor in the field, and he now conquered him again 
 with gentlemanly bearing. 
 
 It was with an increased relish for his patriotic 
 duties in the field that, after this interview, Hancock 
 resumed his position in the ensuing fight. All day 
 Thursday, and from sundown until near daylight of 
 Friday morning, he was in action. He shared in the 
 contest for a long line of rebel rifle-pits, in front, 
 which he had the satisfaction of seeing wrested from 
 the hands of the enemy. 
 
 The signal victories won in the Wilderness are 
 
IN CONCERT WITH THE CAVALRY. 237 
 
 largely attributable to the cavalry arm of the service. 
 AltlioiTgli an infantry officer by position, Hancock 
 had repeatedly tested, in the vigorous practice at West 
 Point, and in several of the fields of action in which 
 he had engaged, the efficiency of this arm, especially 
 in great strategic movements. He was much indebted 
 to it for his commanding positions at the front. B}^ 
 their rapid evolutions in the face of the enemy, by 
 dashing along by-paths and through forests and jun- 
 gles, not accessible to infantry or artillery, they pre- 
 pared the way for those steady advances and vigorous 
 assaults that have rendered the Union armies so famous 
 in the annals of American military history. 
 
 Nor this alone. Our cavalry have not only con- 
 tributed largely to every success, by concerted action, 
 but they have made numerous independent move- 
 ments — especially in the vicinity of Eichmond, and 
 in the brilliant campaign in the Valley of the She- 
 nandoah, in 1864, under that splendid cavalry officer, 
 General Philip Shekidan — that have won them im- 
 perishable honor. 
 
 Cheers for the Union cavalry ! 
 
CHAPTER XXVI. 
 
 AT SPOTTSYLVANIA. 
 
 "He courted fame j but as a spur to brave 
 And noble deeds. He who despises fame, 
 Will soon renounce the virtues that deserve it." 
 
 Malkt. 
 
 ON the 18tli o May, 1864, the order came from 
 the Lieutenant General; through his efficient 
 associate in command, General Meade, for the entire 
 line of battle to be advanced to Spottsylvania Court 
 House, Virginia. 
 
 At this important strategic point the rebels had 
 thrown up strong entrenchments. Here Lee waited 
 in grim determination a direct attack on his front. 
 "We shall see, as we progress, that he was doomed to 
 meet now one of the first of the series of those bitter 
 disappointments that mark his last luckless campaign 
 in the Old Dominion. His hidden purpose was so to 
 entrench himself in the path he supposed we would 
 inevitably take, so to lie in ambush behind embank- 
 ments that could not be enfiladed, that, when our men 
 
 (238) 
 
AT SPOTTSTLVAmA. 239 
 
 were thrown against his impregnable works, we 
 should be so decimated before his secreted and pro- 
 tected cannon and rifleS; that we should be driven 
 back, defeated, from exhaustion of strength. Yain 
 and impotent conclusion ! He had not calculated on 
 the stern valor, on the persistent energy, on the skil- 
 ful and well-practiced strategy now in the field for 
 that glorious Union of States he was so wickedly 
 aiming to destroy. He had forgotten, apparently, 
 what, of all other men, he, from his long practice, 
 should have remembered, that powerful flank move- 
 ments constitute a game of war, at which at least two 
 accomplished commanders can play. 
 
 Grant immediately determined, as he approached 
 Spottsylvania, to turn the right of Lee, attack him in 
 the rear, and thus force his further retreat to the rebel 
 capital — evidently his ultimate end. 
 
 The fighting on Thursday and Friday of this week 
 was very severe. The lines of Hancock, being then 
 far in the front, were repeatedly attacked by the 
 enemy, and as often repulsed. The division of his 
 Corps commanded by General Seymour was exposed 
 to a heavy fire, and suffered considerably. But the 
 rebels were handled with still greater severity, and 
 again compelled to retreat, leaving their dead and 
 wounded in our hands. The iron old Second Corps 
 
240 WINFIELD, THE LAWYER'S SON. 
 
 noblj stood its ground, at every point, under tlie im- 
 mediate lead of Hancock, wlio was vigilant and 
 active, as usual, in all parts of tlie field. He was 
 again wounded in this action, but kept his position 
 at the post of duty. 
 
 On Saturday the Second Corps again advanced 
 beyond the Wilderness Tavern, and formed line of 
 battle against the enemy at Spottsylvania Court 
 House. At daylight he passed through this strategic 
 point, and found the rebels entrenched a short dis- 
 tance beyond. Heavy skirmishing was imm-ediately 
 commenced, and by Sunday morning the whole army 
 of Grant was in vigorous pursuit of Lee. The proof 
 that we held the field was shown in the fact that we 
 now occupied Fredericksburg as a depot for our 
 wounded, and a base of supplies. Our headquarters 
 at the noon of Sunday were twenty miles south of 
 the previous battle-field. 
 
 The stand made by Lee in the vicinity of Spottsyl- 
 vania was a strong one. But he was not permitted 
 to hold it long. Sedgwick, Wadsworth, and other 
 brave soldiers, had fallen ; but our army of kindred 
 heroes pushed gallantly on, compelling Lee to retreat 
 to the banks of the North Anna river. 
 
 At this point another severe battle was fought. 
 The right of the rebels was crushed. Three brigades 
 
AT SPOTTSYLVANIA. 241 
 
 and four guns were captured. Hancock crossed the 
 River Po, under a tremendous enfilading fire, driv- 
 ing the enemy before liim. and establisliing himself 
 on the south bank. The possession of Spottsylvania, 
 after a hotly contested fight, carried us out of the 
 Wilderness ; although, in retreating, in consequence 
 of their greater familiarity with the broken and wild 
 country, the enemy had the advantage of us. By 
 the necessities of the position, we could not drive on 
 as fast as the foe could be driven. Hancock, holding 
 the extreme right of our line, took possession of the 
 Block-House road, and thus prepared the way for the 
 continued advance of the main army. Breastworks 
 were thrown up by his men, and every disposition 
 made for any attack the enemy might make. But 
 they prudently abstained from all assaults at this 
 point. One after another their wild yells died away ; 
 and it soon became evident that sullenness and des- 
 pondency reigned among them. Hancock had added 
 another line to his entrenchments in the open ground 
 contiguous to Todd's Tavern, a portion of his heavy 
 artillery working all night to accomplish the feat. 
 The sight of these brave cannoniers thus at work for 
 their country is described by one who witnessed it 
 as extremely picturesque. The lanterns of the armed 
 workmen hung in festoons from the wild cherry trees, 
 21 
 
242 WINFIELD, THE LAWYER'S SON. 
 
 flashing tlieir lights among the May blossoms of the 
 branches. The batteries were harnessed up among 
 the patriot diggers, who laid aside their pickaxes and 
 spades occasionally to look to their guns and bayonets. 
 Thus passed the watchful night of war. As the sun 
 rose scouts reported the enemy still in front, but in 
 small force; and at noon Hancock had again ad- 
 vanced and- taken possession of his new field. 
 
 A light-horse battery of the enemy, on the ap- 
 proach of our troops at a bi'isk charge, quickly 
 limbered up, and posted off in hot haste. It was well 
 for them that they did. A lively engagement ensued, 
 during which the rebels made the best use in their 
 power of a secreted position they held in an adjacent 
 wood. They dared not meet us there in the open 
 field. Some of them who ventured out were taken 
 prisoners, and in other parts of the battle ground 
 considerable supplies and munitions of war were 
 captured. ' 
 
 The marching of Hancock to form a junction with 
 Sedgwick and Warren had been well done. He 
 moved in line of battle by the left flank to mass, 
 fighting every foot of the way against an entrenched 
 enemy, who was determined, at all hazards, to pre- 
 vent the strategic movement of our General. Every 
 position that he took he obstinately held, completely 
 
A T SPO TTS YL VANIA . 243 
 
 foiling the rebels^ and effecting his junction at the 
 desired time and designated place. The great object 
 was attained by the exertion of his utmost skill and 
 vigor. The part he had to perform was realized by 
 him, and all, to be a severe one ; but abl}^, bravely, 
 successfully he performed it. He took the rebel line 
 of rifle pits at a most critical moment, and five stands 
 of colors. It is admitted that his heroism and skill 
 in these preliminary engagements did much toward 
 saving our army. 
 
 By his passage of the Po Hancock secured a 
 coigne advantage over the enemy. He enfiladed the 
 entire rebel position, commanding their roads, on 
 which their trains were passing. It was a bold 
 move ; but like the dashing character he had so nobly 
 won. His two divisions thrown over the river con- 
 nected with the right of Wareen. By this junction 
 the rebels were driven from their coverts in the 
 woods, where we had been txposed to some damage 
 from their shells. A general attack followed along 
 the entire line, continuing for several hours. The 
 enemy could not withstand our charge, but fell back 
 in confusion, leaving a large number of killed, 
 wounded, and prisoners, on the field. 
 
 Early in the morning of the 12th of May, fighting 
 was resumed by Hancock. In one of his brilliant 
 
244 WINFIELD, THE LAWYER'S SON. 
 
 charges, for wliich he has become so justly famous, 
 he dashed on the division of Hill, planted in its en- 
 trenchments, five miles below Spottsylvania Court 
 House. At the head of his gallant Corps, fired with 
 the energy peculiar to him, he charged on the foe at 
 the double quick. His appearance on this occasion 
 is described as the impersonation of the heroism of 
 war. Cheering his men as he placed himself at their 
 head, receiving their cheers in return with the wav- 
 ing of his sword, he gave the word " Charge !" with 
 a shout that rang along the lines like the clangor 
 of a trumpet. The steady columns swept onward at 
 that familiar word, and followed their great com- 
 mander into the very centre of the breaking lines of 
 the rebels. They wavered, staggered, fell back, step 
 by step ; then broke into a confused mass, and fled 
 in all directioDs. Colors struck the ground, horses 
 tumbled headlong in the wreck, shattered cannon 
 ploughed the reeking ea^th, bayonets crossed in wild, 
 discordant clatter, heaps of confused bodies strewed 
 the crimson grass on every side ; while over all, 
 louder than the roar of guns, ••amid the advancing 
 standards of the Union, all unfurled and flapping in 
 the smoky, air, rose on high the shout — " Victory !" 
 "Victory!" 
 
 As our columns dashed over the field, Hancock 
 
A T SPOTTSYL VANIA. 245 
 
 Still at their head, the prisoners and trophies of war 
 were gathered around him. They numbered three 
 thousand men^ — among whom were one Major Gene- 
 ral, two Brigadier Generals, fifty officers, and twelve 
 pieces of artillery. 
 
 The result of the battle was a flag of truce from 
 Lee, and the capture of despatches, in which he con- 
 fessed that he was short of supplies. It was evident 
 that he must fall back on Kichmond, as his final base. 
 
 The valor of Hancock in this splendid engage- 
 ment has been well characterised as sublime. He 
 placed himself at the head of his entire Corps ; every 
 division, every brigade, every regiment, being under 
 his eagle eye. His orders were his own, from first 
 to last. Every movement was his, from the begin- 
 ning to the close of the fight. His presence was 
 seen, heard, and felt, in all parts of the field ; until 
 the enthusiasm of his men, as they rushed eagerly 
 on the enemies of their land, knew no bounds. His 
 associates in command rallied around him with a 
 readiness that never wavered, a skill that never failed, 
 a courage that never faltered. The whole mass 
 moved together, like a terrific engine of war in the 
 grasp of one strong hand, and controlled by the will 
 of one gifted mind. What wonder that he achieved 
 so gloripus a victory ? 
 
 21 * 
 
CHAPTER XXVII. 
 
 ACROSS THE RIVER PO. 
 
 "Let us, then, be up and doing; 
 With a heart for any fate. 
 Still achieving, still pursuing, 
 Learn to labor and to wait." 
 
 Longfelloio. 
 
 THE pursuit of the retreating army of Lee was 
 made with as much rapidity as an unfavorable 
 change in the roads would permit. Hancock, still 
 again in the advance, had • accomplished the feat, de- 
 scribed in another chapter, which resulted in the cap- 
 ture of Major Generals. Edward Johnson and George 
 H. Stuart, and a large portion of their commands. 
 
 The fatigue of our army was great, and the line 
 of march was much impeded by a fall of rain of 
 thirty-six hours' duration. The glorious success of 
 Hancock had inspired all hearts, and the resolution 
 to achieve new victories over the galled and retreat- 
 ing rebels was instantly formed. As the rain ceased 
 and the sun broke forth on the day that witnessed 
 
 (246) 
 
ACE OSS THE RIVER PO. 247 
 
 the close of the last splendid achievements of the 
 Wilderness, the order to advance again was obeyed 
 with alacrity. Our men were in high spirits, and 
 impatient to meet the foe in any field he might 
 choose. 
 
 The characteristic despatch of Hancock to Lieu- 
 tenant General Grant, includes, in a few words, the 
 progress thus far made : 
 
 "Headquarters Second Corps, May 12th, '64. 
 ** General : I have captured from thirty to forty guns. I have 
 finished up Johnson, and am now going into Early. 
 
 W. S. Hancock.' 
 
 Thirteen of the captured guns were brought to 
 General Grant's headquarters. The remainder were 
 placed at different points in our rear. 
 
 At daylight of the morning of this attack the 
 brigade of General Barlow, of Hancock's Corps, 
 appeared like a wat apparition before the rebels. 
 They had advanced and steadily driven the enemy; 
 and, before they were aware of it, had reached their 
 entrenchments, directly in front. With a dash they 
 charged on the works, swept over them, and, before 
 the rebels had time to fire a gun, captured the whole 
 command. The rebels were compelled to surrender 
 by the butts of the muskets in the hands of our brave 
 men. 
 
248 WINFIELD, THE LAWYER'S SON. 
 
 By anotTier advance of Hancock, on tlie ISth of 
 May, the fact was developed that Lee had fallen back 
 four miles. The charge of General Bieney's divi- 
 sion, of the Second Corps, which aided materially to 
 produce this auspicious result, was one of the most 
 splendid of any made during the war. Every regi- 
 ment in his command covered itself with honor. 
 Rebels were surprised in their strongholds in the 
 woods, and several stands of colors captured from 
 them. 
 
 The two armies were now on the main road leading 
 from Fredericksburg to Richmond, but the condition 
 of travelling rendered it impossible to make any 
 movement to advantage. Reinforcements continued 
 to arrive, and the most confident expectations of final 
 success were felt and expressed on the Union side. 
 The position of Lee was still strong, and the state of 
 the Aveather was much in his favor. But the indom- 
 itable Grant was determined to pursue him. Rest 
 and recruiting were needed by our troops. 
 
 Our advance, under Hancock, possessed one of the 
 strongest keys of the whole rebel position, and the 
 most desperate efforts were made by them to regain 
 it ; but all in vain. He proved himself as tenacious 
 in holding his point as he was dashing in winning it. 
 No language can describe the desperate energy with 
 
STILL AD VANCING. 249 
 
 wMcli his troops had carried the day. Barlow, 
 BiRNEY, Gibbon", Mott, and others, had won the 
 highest distinction on this field ; and the men they 
 commanded were entitled to bear with them their 
 imperishable laurels. The breastworks captured in 
 this advance were very strong ; the ditches in front 
 were deep and wide ; and the rebels defended their 
 position as if they held it to be impregnable. It was 
 reserved for Hancock to undeceive them. 
 
 Several important reconnoissances followed, and 
 preparations were made for another general advance. 
 
 On the 18th of May the roads had considerably 
 improved, and active operations were immediately 
 resumed. Large reinforcements had reached the 
 Union army, and the spirits of the men continued 
 elastic. Skirmishing began by Birney's division, 
 of Hancock's Corps, shell being thrown in the con- 
 tiguous Avoods to feel the position of the enemy. 
 
 Early in the morning of this day Hancock made 
 another of his brilliant charges, with the most bene- 
 ficial results. His attack was begun from our 
 right wing, and was prosecuted with such vigor 
 that the enemy were forced back a considerable 
 distance. He carried their line of entrenchments, 
 and all attempts to dislodge him proved utterly fu- 
 tile. Our lines continued steadily to advance. Lee 
 
250 WINFIELD, THE LAWYER'S SON. 
 
 was again taken entirely by surprise. He had not 
 anticipated and was evidently not prepared for tliese 
 repeated and powerful assaults on liis flanks. While 
 our feints in front with artillery completely deceived 
 him, he found us more than a match for him in the 
 strategy of flanking, and was again compelled to 
 withdraw. Hancock had advanced successfully upon 
 him, turned his left flank, driven his sharp-shooters 
 out of their rifle-pits, captured fifteen guns, and a 
 large body of prisoners. 
 
 Not long after this successful assault, the rebels 
 attempted to turn our right. But they were promptly 
 met by the Heavy Artillery, under that brave and 
 energetic of&cer. General Tyler, who was ably sup- 
 ported by the division of General Birney, of the 
 Second Corps, and handsomely repulsed. Although 
 tliese troops of Tyler were just arrived on the field, 
 from garrison duty at Washington, and had never 
 been under fire before, they conducted themselves 
 with so much steadiness, managed their guns with 
 such skill, and were handled in so admirable a man- 
 ner by their General, that they kept the enem}^ at 
 bay until the reinforcements of Biristey and Craw- 
 ford arrived, and joined with them to drive the 
 enemy from the field. 
 
 At half-past eleven o'clock in the night of Friday, 
 
STILL ADVANCING. 251 
 
 May 20th, Hancock again rapidly advanced, in pur- 
 suit of a portion of the rebels in command of Long- 
 street, one of his former fellow lieutenants in the 
 Army of the United States. His pursuit was as 
 rapid as the condition of the roads would permit, and 
 soon developed the fact that the enemy had retreated 
 beyond the Korth Anna river. Hancock, on the 
 extreme left, had driven them from the entrenchments 
 they occupied previous to this advance. The Second 
 Corps, under cover of night, had bivouacked within 
 the breastworks from which they had previously 
 captured their prisoners. The veterans had used 
 their bayonets with such effect that the iield of their 
 march was like a review. They were again in the 
 vanguard, with Hancock at their head. Marching 
 on the road parallel with the river Ny, the troops 
 continued to advance southward, still pursuing the 
 retreating foe. By daylight of the 21st they reached 
 Guinea's Station, on the Fredericksburg and Eich- 
 mond railroad; from thence pushing onward, until 
 by nightfall the head of the column had reached 
 Bowling Green. 
 
 The effect of this movement was to turn the right 
 flank of Lee, and compel him to retreat still again, 
 to find his hiding places on the banks of the South 
 Anna. 
 
252 WINFIELD, THE LAWYER'S SON. 
 
 At the position attacked by Hancock the rebels 
 had thrown up strong entrenchments. They were in 
 considerable force at the point where he had crossed, 
 and made a determined resistance. But his pertina- 
 cious courage and skill overcame them, and they 
 were compelled to flee. Before dark of the day of 
 his attack he had forced them out of their works, and 
 driven them across the stream. 
 
 Wakrej^ and Burnside were on the same line 
 
 with Hancock, and their two Corps, the Fifth and 
 
 Ninth, won equal distinctions with the Second, on 
 
 that gallant onward march into the heart of the 
 
 enemy's country. 
 
 « 
 The divisions of Barlow, Birney and Gibbon, in 
 
 the Second Corps, Avere close on the heels of the flee- 
 ing rebels at the North Anna. Skirmishing began 
 on the front of Birney's division, and soon became 
 general along the entire line. At this point Han- 
 cock ordered Birney to charge the enemy. It was 
 done, in most splendid style. The works were car- 
 ried, the bridge taken, the rebels driven in confusion, 
 and our guns placed so as to command the position. 
 The gallant conduct of that division on this occa- 
 sion drew forth warm praises from General Hancock. 
 He complimented it on the field in the most cordial 
 
STILL ADVANCING. 253 
 
 manner, and was himself received with enthusiastic 
 cheers by the troops. 
 
 Over a thousand prisoners were captured by this 
 combined advance. 
 
 The position now assumed by Lee was one of the 
 strongest he could obtain. He had not yet crossed 
 the South Anna, but was entrenched between that 
 and the Forth Anna. But he soon found the differ- 
 ence between his stand here, in these comparatively 
 low and open lands of Virginia, and that he had 
 made on the heights of Fredericksburg. He could 
 no longer hide himself to advantage, but was com- 
 pelled to the onset of a fair field. 
 
 At this point he concentrated all his available 
 force, and was evidently prepared for a stubborn 
 defence. 
 
 Geant, on the other hand, was by no means idle. 
 It is well known that it is not his nature to be, on all 
 such occasions. He gathered his army more closely 
 in hand, adding to his regular force the independent 
 command of General Burnside, known as the Ninth 
 Corps. As the Lieutenant General, in supreme com- 
 mand of the field, he had made his dispositions with 
 Sherman, Butler, Canby, Hunter, Sheridan, and 
 others, and was now prepared for such an advance 
 as would be sure to intercept the retreat of Lee. 
 
25 J: WIN FIELD, THE LAWYER'S SON. 
 
 From, their base in the vicinity of the Rapidan, 
 the rebels had been driven a distance of over fifty 
 miles. Through all this long march of pursuit the 
 Union army had fougnt its way in triumph. At 
 every point the commanders had vied with each other 
 in the meritorious discharge of their high duties. 
 Our province is to speak, especially, of Hancock ; 
 but in depicting his valiant deeds we are not to be 
 understood as undervaluing those of other equally 
 brave men. We should be happy to describe them, 
 too, did the limits of our volume allow us. 
 
 It is the position of Hancock at the front, in this 
 memorable and triumphant march, and the signal 
 manner in which he discharged the high responsi- 
 bilities laid upon him, that demand the narration of 
 his heroic deeds; that make the task of recording 
 them so agreeable, and that cause the lesson taught 
 by this part of his life to be so instructive. 
 
 The advance of the Second Corps, under Hancock, 
 was one of the signals of the retreat of that part of 
 the enemy immediately on his front. Ewell and 
 Longstreet, who were in that position, had heard 
 from him before, at Gettysburg. When he moved, 
 therefore, both these distinguished rebel Generals 
 withdrew. 
 
 At the passage of the North Anna, while the Corps 
 
STILL ADVANCING. 255 
 
 of Wakken crossed witli but little opposition, that 
 of Hancock encountered a severe figlit. He met 
 the enemy at Chesterfield bridge, where strong works 
 had been thrown up, in a commanding position. 
 These had all to be carried, and then the obstacle of 
 an intervening creek overcome, ere he could plant 
 his colors on the opposite bank. Gorges and ditches 
 were immediately on his front ; rifle pits and frown- 
 ing embankments beyond. 
 
 For the conquest of these difficult points the 
 division of General BiRNEY was detailed ; and nobly 
 did he perform the task assigned him. With Gib- 
 bon on his left, Barlow on his right, and supported 
 in the rear by Tyler's splendid Heavy Artillery, he 
 marched to the attack. The open space in front was 
 swept over by his men at double quick, under a ter- 
 rific fire of infantry and artillery ; they reached the 
 redans without a pause, and drove out the rebels at 
 the point of the bayonet. 
 
 The enemy were thunderstruck at this unexpected 
 and rapid movement, and large bodies of them fled 
 headlong in dismay. The whole Corps of Hancock 
 immediately massed, and held the head of the bridge 
 until the time came for a still further advance, and 
 preparations were completed for the capture of the 
 rifle-pits and entrenchments in front. 
 
256 WIN FIELD, THE LAWYER'S SON. 
 
 Grant immediately executed another flank move- 
 ment. The position of Lee was such that to attack 
 his fronts at a disadvantage, would cause an unneces- 
 sary loss of life, while, by flanking him, he could 
 compel his further retreat. The movement by flank 
 was executed with such skill, secrecy, and rapidity, 
 that it was all accomplished before Lee was aware 
 that Grant had thought of it. The South Anna, 
 with all its grim array of embankments, its rifle pits, 
 its hidden ambuscades, was left to frown in its soli- 
 tary neglect, while the victorious army of the Union 
 marched steadily on. By Sunday, the 29th of May, 
 it had swung around its base, and on the morning 
 of Monday, the 30th, occupied a new field, in the 
 region of the Pamunkey river. 
 
 This was a most disagreeable surprise to Lee. He 
 had calculated on our throwing ourselves, over broken 
 plains, and through miry morasses, on his strong 
 earthworks, which he had taken the trouble to build 
 directly in the way he desired us to take. How 
 could the Lieutenant General, the stubborn Grant, 
 be so very disobliging? How dare he take the 
 liberty thus to move his army about at will, over the 
 sacred soil of Virginia ? Why did he not consent 
 to be led, as a sheep to the slaughter, in the com- 
 modious pens he had been so kind as to construct on 
 
STILL ADVANCING. 257 
 
 the convenient banks of the South. Anna ? Was it 
 chivalrous in him. to flank off from his proud and 
 valiant foe in this secret manner ? Clearly not. The 
 whole thing was wrong. The movement was all 
 disgraceful, cowardly, mean. It was not according 
 to Hoyle. 
 
 Be all this as it may, Gkant did it ; and most 
 nobly did his great and gallant army sustain him in 
 doing it. 
 
 On the morning of the 27th of May, at the early 
 hour of four o'clock, the whole command had been 
 set in motion, the glorious old Second Corps still in 
 the advance. The march was made with a celerity 
 on the part of the men that showed their hearts were 
 in the work before them. Lee was outgeneralled 
 on his own chosen ground. Our troops struck off in 
 a new direction, passing through a region not before 
 trodden by the feet of contending armies, during this 
 war for the Union, in which they found the most 
 abundant supplies of provisions, cattle, and horses. 
 
 By the evening of May 30th, the whole army was 
 safely across the Pamunkey, the head of the column 
 being within four hours march of the rebel capital. 
 The movement was the most astonishing to Lee of 
 any Grant had yet made. On the first of June we 
 occupied a front of three miles on the South bank 
 
 22* 
 
258 WINFIELD, THE LAWYER'S SON. 
 
 of the river, having had several cavalry engage- 
 ments with the enemy in that vicinity, in all of which 
 we drove them. 
 
 Fighting was resnmed on the Mechanicsville road, 
 sonth of Totopatamoy creek, and between that 
 stream and Hawes's Shop. The bridges over the 
 Little Eiver and the Sonth Anna were destroyed by 
 our cavalry, under Wilson, and the Union head- 
 quarters established in the place long before selected 
 by the Lieutenant General. 
 
 General Hancock made his attack on the lines of 
 the enemy the moment he received the order. It was 
 toward evening of the 30th of May, and the darkness 
 soon set in. But he pressed on to the front, assailed 
 the new works the rebels had thrown up, and carried 
 them by assault. When the morning broke over the 
 field, the Union colors were seen floating from the 
 conquered ramparts. This was a strongly entrenched 
 skirmish line of the enemy, and held by Hancock 
 in the face of a deadly fire. The distance from that 
 point to Eichmond was but fourteen miles. 
 
 On the night of the 31st of May, a desperate as- 
 sault was made on- the lines of Hancock. The sud- 
 denness of the movement which brought him to the 
 banks of the Pamunkey, would not allow him to en- 
 trench as much as was desirable. But he was pre- 
 
STILL ADVANCING. 259 
 
 pared for the furious onslauglit, though it came on 
 him suddenly and in darkness. 
 
 His brave hosts were rallied with a celerity and 
 skill that proved the soldierly qualities of the Gene- 
 ral, and the enemy everywhere repulsed. They made 
 not the slightest trifle by their midnight motion. On 
 the contrary, it put our men more completely on the 
 alert, led to reinforcements at all weak points, and 
 made us more than ever masters of the field. 
 
 The fight was sharp ; but so signal a victory to us 
 that it not only drove off the enemy discomfited, but 
 left several hundred prisoners in our hands. He 
 continued to hold the rifle-pits from which he had 
 driven the rebels the previous evening, and was pre- 
 pared to defend his position at all points. Our whole 
 line was immediately advanced along his front, and 
 by daylight the army was so massed at that position 
 as to resist successfully every attack. 
 
CHAPTER XXVIII. 
 ON THE CHICK Alio MINY 
 
 "I have, thou gallant Trojan! seen thee, oft, 
 Laboring for destiny, make gallant way- 
 Through ranks of Grecian men. I've seen thee, 
 As hot as Perseus, spur thy Phrygian steed, 
 Despising many forfeits and subduements." 
 
 Goriolanna. 
 
 LEE was now on the north bank of the historic 
 Chickahominy. This little stream, which occu- 
 pies so prominent a place in American military an- 
 nals, is located in the south-eastern part of Yirginia. 
 It rises in the county of Hanover, and falls into the 
 York river, about eight miles above Jamestown — 
 one of the oldest English settlements in America. 
 It divides Henrico and Charles City counties on the 
 right, from Hanover, New Kent and James City 
 counties on the left. It has to be ajDproached and 
 crossed by armies reaching Eichmond from the direc- 
 tion taken by the army of Grant. It is capable of 
 being strongly defended, and is remarkable for the 
 
 several sanguinary engagements that took place in 
 
 (260) 
 
ON THE CHICKAIIOMINY. 261 
 
 its vicinity between the Union and rebel armies 
 during tlie years 1861, '62 and '64 
 
 Our line of battle had now been formed on a 
 radius within a few miles of Kichmond. Lee, with- 
 out waiting for our renewed attacks, had stealthily 
 retreated before our advancing legions. The capture 
 of the ford at Taylor's Bridge by Hancock had en- 
 abled us to stretch our columns above and beyond 
 the strategic point at Sexton's Junction. In moving 
 on the Yirginia Central railroad, he had been furi- 
 ously attacked by Lee, and severely repulsed him. 
 The conduct of the Fifth Corps, under Waeken, at 
 this place, had been complimented by General Meade, 
 and that of the division of Birney had received 
 similar encomiums from Hancock. The arrival of 
 BuRNSiDE and Weight — the latter now command- 
 ing the Corps of noble old Sedgwick — had brought 
 large reinforcements, and the ground taken from the 
 enemy was firmly held. By .repeated assaults the 
 rebels attempted to retake the bridge from Hancock, 
 but they were foiled and driven back on every occa- 
 sion. Constant fighting and skirmishing had been 
 continued by the Second and Ninth Corps, the head- 
 quarters being located at Jericho Mills. 
 
 From these points began another of those high 
 strategic movements for which the Lieutenant General 
 
262 WINFIELD, THE LA}VYER'S SON. 
 
 is so deservedly famous. Swiftly and silently he 
 withdraws, under the feint of an attack on the Vir- 
 ginia Central, from before the strong entrenchments 
 of Lee^and moves directly in a contrary manner from 
 what the enemy expected. The wily rebel comman- 
 der was again utterly deceived. Our troops rapidly 
 crossed the Pamunkey, swept on through Hanover- 
 town, at a distance of only fifteen miles from the rebel 
 capital, and soon reached the strong strategic point 
 and convenient base of supplies, at White House. 
 
 The fights on Totopatomoy creek had all resulted 
 in our favor. The rebels were forced back at every 
 point, and our whole army was soon in its chosen 
 position. 
 
 Lee was again on the Chickahominy. It had be- 
 come, once more, his line of battle. He hoped, in 
 maintaining it, to drive and keep our whole force in 
 the unhealthy swamps beyond, where all our mili- 
 tary movements would have to be made under the 
 greatest disadvantages. But the strategy of Geant 
 was fully equal to the emergency. By his rapid 
 flankings he had moved just where he wanted to go, 
 avoiding all battles which he would have fought at a 
 disadvantage, saving the lives of his men, keeping 
 up their spirits by continued advances, and outgene- 
 raling and mystifying the enemy. 
 
TOWARD THE JAMES. 263 
 
 The battles of Cold Harbor and Bottom's Bridge, 
 which preceded our victorious approach to the James 
 River, had been sanguinary in their character ; but 
 they were short and successful. 
 
 The attack at Cold Harbor was made at five o'clock 
 in the afternoon of the 1st of June. The Second 
 Corps, under Hancock, was in position to resist any 
 sudden assault that might be made on our rear. The 
 gallant Sixth Corps led the van, assisted by Smith, 
 Wareen, Burnside and Hancock. It was in all 
 respects a brilliant aflair. The battle continued until 
 after dark, and resulted in our carrying the enemy's 
 works at all points. Repeated attempts were made 
 by the rebels to retake them, but in vain. In 
 every instance they were repulsed, with heavy loss 
 on their side. Several hundred rebel prisoners were 
 taken during the night, and other injuries inflicted 
 on Lee that were evidently severely felt. 
 
 We were now approaching the rebel stronghold 
 more closely than ever, and the resistance of the enemy 
 was every hour becoming more fierce and more deter- 
 mined. The rebel front was formed on our line only 
 five miles distant from Richmond. The thunder of the 
 guns could now be heard, as they never had been heard 
 before, in the ears of the confederated traitors. Gaines' 
 Mills, Mechanicsville, Fair Oaks, and other spots near 
 
26-i WIN FIELD, THE LAWYER'S SON. 
 
 Riclimoncl; made memorable in history by the con- 
 flicts there of the Union forces with armed treason, 
 clustered around, and by their battle memories 
 aroused anew the enthusiasm of our ranks. All the 
 rebel defences constructed at various intersecting 
 points had been rendered useless by the strategy of 
 Geant, and the approaches of Lee to Richmond were 
 seriously endangered. 
 
 The rebel commander was still strong, still wily, 
 still courageous ; but his forces had been fearfully 
 decimated, even when assailed by us behind his en- 
 trenchments, and his communications with other parts 
 of his rebellious field were daily and hourly growing 
 
 "Small, by degrees, and beautifully less." 
 
 The rebels vainly and boastfully asserted that 
 Grant had declined the gage of battle. But he had 
 done nothing of the kind. He was always ready for 
 battle, and always delivered it, when he thought 
 proper. He did not, however, deem it wise to fight 
 on the ground chosen by the enemy, when he could 
 fight so much better on ground chosen by himself. 
 The truth is, his strategy, skill and generalship were 
 too much for the boasted Lee ; reluctant as rebel pub- 
 licists and sympathizers, the aiders and abettors of 
 the rebellion, were to admit it. 
 
 Grant started froni AY^shington to reach the 
 
TOWARD THE JAMES. 265 
 
 James river, in his own way. He had marked out 
 his line of battle to suit himself, not the rebels ; and, 
 as he naively expressed it in his famous dispatch to 
 the Secretary of War, he was determined "to fight 
 it out on this line, if it should take all summer." 
 
 The rebels had expended a prodigious amount of 
 labor — the most of it performed by the unpaid hands 
 of their slaves — in erecting strong fortifications, re- 
 newing the ambuscades of old Manassas, Bull Eun, 
 and Ball's Bluff, all along the line which they were 
 extremely desirous to have Grant adopt and pursue. 
 But he, obstinate man ! deliberately insisted in flank- 
 ing these formidable works, passing by and beyond 
 them, and leaving them as useless lumber on the 
 deserted field. It was a very inconvenient, disagree- 
 able and damaging operation for the rebels. But 
 alas ! for them. There was no way in which they 
 could prevent it. 
 
 The water-base of the Union army being opened 
 at White House, near the James, the rebel embank- 
 ments outflanked and rendered harmless, a long and 
 unhealthy campaign on the Chickahominy being 
 avoided, the conquest of Eichmond now became an 
 object of pursuit from another point of strategy. 
 We shall see how successfully that conquest is finally 
 
 accomplished. 
 23- 
 
266 WINFIELD, THE LAWYER'S SON. 
 
 On Monday, the 31st of May, our line extended 
 from tlie Pamunkey, immediately in front of Han- 
 over Court House, to beyond Totopatomoy creek. A 
 strong assault was made by tbe enemy in tbe evening 
 of this day, in whicb Hancock was called into action. 
 He commenced by a diversion on the rebels witb a 
 heavy cannonade, that lasted for a number of hours, 
 the position of the enemy being assailed by several 
 batteries, and six Cohorn mortars. Hancock's Corps 
 occupied the right centre, Weight, the worthy suc- 
 cessor of Sedgwick, holding the extreme right, 
 Waeren the left centre, and Burnside the extreme 
 left. In this position the attack was made by BiR- 
 NEY, under Hancock, and well sustained. Birney 
 advanced on the right. Barlow on the centre. The 
 first line of the enemy was carried by a brilliant 
 charge, in which a considerable number of prisoners 
 were captured from the traitor Breckinridge. 
 
 Thus the Union forces fought their way to the 
 banks of the James, and the contiguous region. 
 Eichmond was to be approached through its out- 
 posts. Whether it was to be conquered by a direct 
 assault, or reduced by a continued siege, was yet to 
 be determined, 
 
 A severe assault was made on our lines on the 
 evening of Friday, the 3d of June. The troops first 
 
TOWARD TEE JAMES. 267 
 
 attacked were those of Smith's brigade, Gibbon's 
 division, Hancock's Corps. It was a sharp attack, 
 and began with the customary rebel yells. The 
 battle raged with great fury for some time ; but the 
 enemy were gallantly repulsed, and prevented for 
 that day from trying their assault again. They were 
 driven back still further, their entrenchments occu- 
 pied, and lost over three hundred prisoners, beside 
 many killed and wounded. 
 
 The Heavy Artillery of Hancock, under Tylek, 
 rendered signal service on this occasion. The latter 
 General was severely wounded. 
 
CHAPTER XXIX. 
 
 IN THE CHICKAHOMINY BATTLES. 
 
 " How are the mighty fiillen, 
 In the midst of the battle." 
 
 Holy Writ. 
 
 IN reviewing the battles leading from the Potomac 
 to the James, from Washington to Eichmond, in 
 which General Hancock took so active a part, we 
 continue to find much to admire in his character as 
 a soldier. These battles constitute a series of engage- 
 ments, among the most sanguinary of any on record. 
 The purpose to advance on the part of the patriot 
 army was fixed and unyielding. The purpose to 
 resist was the same on the part of the rebels. Nothing 
 carried the day for us and secured our steady progress 
 toward our noble object, the suppression of armed 
 rebellion, but the courage and endurance of the 
 Union armies under Grant, co-operated with at other 
 points by the distinguished Generals Sherman, in 
 Georgia, Sheridan, in the Valley of the Shenandoah/ 
 
 (268) 
 
IN THE CHICKAHOMINY BATTLES. 269 
 
 and the equally distinguished Admiral Fareagut, 
 on the Atlantic coast. 
 
 Our space will not allow us to review in detail 
 all the battles in which Hancock occupied so promi- 
 nent a position. We can only follow him as he ad- 
 vances with the main army, and incidentally describe 
 such scenes in which he was an actor, as come under 
 view in our limited pages. 
 
 One of the features of his career in this campaign 
 that cannot fail to attract attention, is the promptness 
 with which he always moved. When he received an 
 order, for instance, to move on a given line at thirty 
 minutes past four o'clock in the morning, at thirty- 
 one minutes past that hour he was in motion. There 
 was no delay — not even that -of a moment. His 
 attacks and conquests were of a similar character. 
 Sometimes in thirty minutes from the time he moved, 
 he had fought and won the field. His men were so 
 accustomed to his rapid movements that lines of bat- 
 tle six miles in length responded to his calls, as if 
 formed immediately around him. Here is the secret 
 of his power as a great Greneral. His lines were 
 always well in hand. His power was never scattered. 
 In all this promptness of energy, he was perfectly 
 responded to by every one of his commanders, who 
 richly deserve to share with him the gratitude and 
 
 23* 
 
270 WINFIELD, THE LAWYER'S SON. 
 
 praise of a ransomed country. Special mention is 
 due liere to Colonel Tompkins, Chief of Artillery in 
 the Second Corps, as well as to the cavalry, for their 
 invaluable services in securing our continued ad- 
 vance. It is not too much to say that the artillery 
 practice of the United States army is among the best 
 in the world. 
 
 On the 7th of June the advancing siege lines of 
 Hancock had materially increased the uneasiness of 
 the enemy. They could not understand what he 
 meant by continuing to approach so near to their 
 front line of battle. It was not necessary to his pur- 
 pose that" they should. Every attempt they made to 
 feel our lines met only with repulse and capture. 
 Under cover of the thick fog peculiar to that part 
 of the country, they had advanced to within pistol- 
 shot range of our works, intending to make a dash 
 and surprise us. But our pickets were on the alert. 
 A sheet of flame from the entire line of the division 
 of the Second Corps commanded by Gibbon drove 
 back the invaders in confusion. The fire from our 
 ranks enfiladed their progress, and they fell back in 
 confusion, leaving many of their number dead and 
 wounded on the field. 
 
 The exposure of General Hancock at this point 
 was so imminent, that Lieutenant McCune, of his 
 
IN THE CHICKAHOMINY BATTLES. 271 
 
 Staff, had his leg shot off, while standing near the 
 General's headquarters. But he held his ground on 
 the extreme left of our line, stretching along the road 
 leading to Dispatch Station, while the cavalry pickets 
 of the dashing Shekidan guarded the banks of the 
 Chickahominj. 
 
 It was evidently the firm purpose of the rebels to 
 turn the position of Hancock. They opened their 
 most furious fire on his lines, keeping up the rattle 
 of musketry and roar of artillery with a steadiness 
 and perseverance rarely equalled. The attempt was 
 clearly made to break the brigade of Smith, in the 
 Second Corps, in the hope of penetrating to the main 
 army. Delusive hope ! It was doomed to share the 
 fate of those that had gone before it. Through all 
 the darkness of those hours of the thunder of battle, 
 the noble old Second stood to their guns ; and, when 
 the morning broke, their gallant lines were intact as 
 of yore. 
 
 A change of base was effected for strategic pur- 
 poses, from the White House, near the junction of 
 the York and Pamunkey rivers, on the 10th of June, * 
 to Harrison's Landing and other suitable points on 
 the James. This object of Geant had thus been 
 accomplished. Up to this moment both armies had 
 continued to occupy their relative positions. 
 
272 WINFIELD, THE LAWYER'S SON. 
 
 During the night of Saturday, Hancock had made 
 a successful attack on the rebels at Bottom's Bridge. 
 The cannonading was heavy, and the result auspicious 
 to our arms. The Chickahominy was crossed at this 
 point, at a distance of only about twelve miles from 
 Eichmond, seven miles northeast of Four-Mile creek, 
 on the James river. Hancock, after a desperate 
 fight, had succeeded in dislodging the enemy, carry- 
 ing the bridge at the point of the bayonet. It was 
 securely held by his Corps, and the whole army safely 
 crossed the stream at that point and at other bridges. 
 The Second Corps marched at once to a selected sta- 
 tion on the James. 
 
 The whole movement was executed with consum- 
 mate skill ; and reflects the highest credit not only 
 on the Lieutenant General, but on all concerned. 
 Like other strategic plans of this memorable cam- 
 paign, it took the wily rebels completely by surprise, 
 and was all the more effective on that account. The 
 bridges generally occupied were those of our own 
 pontoons. The rapidity of their preparation, and 
 the speed with which so large an army crossed such 
 a river in perfect safety, show to advantage the mili- 
 tary skill which prevails in the American army. 
 
 By this masterly movement our army was now on 
 the banks of the James, on which Richmond is situ- 
 
ON THE JAMES. 973 
 
 ated, and occupying a strong position at tlie south 
 of tliat doomed city of traitors. Little or no oppo- 
 sition had been made to our crossing. Our cavalry 
 had several skirmishes, the result of reconnoissances, 
 to feel the positions of the enemy. If they were 
 aware of our proceeding they did not attempt to 
 interrupt it. Perhaps it was best for them that they 
 did not. 
 
 The post of duty assigned to Hancock was that 
 the farthest up the river — the nearest toward the 
 rebel capital. At this point he threw out his ad- 
 vanced pickets, and . proceeded to entrench. All 
 around him were signs of the ravages of war ; but 
 there were portions of the country still clothed in 
 green, and smiling in the sunny rays of June. Some 
 fields of grain had not been trodden by the march 
 of armed men, horses and trains of artillery, and the 
 forests towered up in the distance in all their primeval 
 beauty. Nearly all the adult population had been 
 ruthlessly conscripted into the armies of treason, 
 leaving the houses to be occupied by the old people 
 and children; while the neglected fields told too 
 plainly a sad tale of the havoc and neglect that the 
 wickedness of the revolt had poured over them, like 
 a desolating tide of fire. 
 
 While thus patriotically occupied in the field of 
 
274 WINFIELD, THE LAWYER'S SON. 
 
 duty, Hancock was not forgotten by his friends at 
 home. It is pleasant to turn away from the scenes 
 of carnage and suffering that accompany the move- 
 ments of armieS; and contemplate the grateful pro- 
 ceedings of his fellow-citizens in the peaceful walks 
 of life. 
 
 At the time he was thus bravely fighting for his 
 country, the public Fairs of the United States Sani- 
 tary Commission were being held, in different parts 
 of the country. This Commission is composed of 
 volunteer citizens of the Eepublic, who formed them- 
 selves into an association for the purpose of aiding 
 the government in caring for our brave soldiers in 
 the fields and hospitals, and our equally brave sea- 
 men in the navy. They had held several festivals 
 and other appropriate gatherings, at which large 
 sums of money were raised by the free-will offerings 
 of the people, and abundant supplies procured for 
 the necessities of our sick and wounded heroes. To 
 further this good object, several expedients had been 
 resorted to, especially at the instigation of patriotic 
 ladies, to swell the funds of this most commendable 
 purpose. Among these the managers of the Mis- 
 sissippi Yalley Sanitary Fair adopted the plan of 
 presenting a sword to General Hancock. The amount 
 necessary to procure this elegant gift was all obtained 
 
MORE HOME TESTIMONIALS. 275 
 
 from among volunteer donors, while the act of de- 
 ciding the sword to be his, elicited a competition that 
 largely swelled the gross receipts for the noble object 
 in view. 
 
 The following is the correspondence on this sub- 
 ject : 
 
 "Saint Louis, Missouri, June 18tli, 1864. 
 
 Major Genei^al W. S. Hancock; 
 
 Sir: — 
 It is with great pleasure I announce to you that the handsome 
 sword donated to the Mississippi Valley Sanitary Fair, to be voted 
 for by those who make donations in voting, has been awarded to 
 you ; there having been a large plurality of votes in your favor. 
 
 It is highly gratifying to the people of Saint Louis, who regard 
 you as more than half a citizen, that the sword has been awarded 
 to you, as an humble but respectful appreciation of your gallant 
 and distinguished services in the field. 
 
 That success may continue to attend your noble efforts to crush 
 out the rebellion against our country, is my earnest and heart- 
 felt prayer. 
 
 You will please indicate the disposition you wish made of the 
 sword, which awaits your order. 
 
 Vei'y respectfully and truly yours, 
 
 James E. Yeatman, 
 Chairman Executive Committee, 3Iississippi Valley Sanitary Fair.^* 
 
 Reply of General Hancock 
 " Headquarters, Second Army Corps, June 27, 1864. 
 My Dear Sir: — 
 
 Your favor of the 18th instant, informing me that the handsome 
 sword donated to the Mississippi Valley Sanitary Fair has been 
 awarded to me, is received. 
 
276 WINFIELD, THE LAWYER'S SON. 
 
 Such a mark of consideration, from the citizens of Saint Louis, 
 is truly gratifying. Having married in that city, and residing 
 there for many years, I regard it as a home. 
 
 Only the soldier can fully appreciate the benefit of your noble 
 efforts in behalf of the Sanitary Commission. The effects of its 
 kind ofiices in ameliorating our wants and sufferings are felt, with 
 a grateful remembrance, through every part of our vast army. 
 I am, sir, very respectfully, 
 
 Your obedient servant, 
 
 W. S. Hancock, 
 Major General United States Volunteers. 
 To James E. Yeatman, Esq., Chairman of the Executive Com- 
 mittee, Western Sanitary Commission, Saint Louis, Missouri. 
 
 P. S. Please send the sword to Mrs. W. S. Hancock, Caronde- 
 let, Missouri. 
 
 W. S. H.» 
 
 At tlie great Central Sanitary Fair, iield with such 
 marked success in the city of Philadelphia, during 
 the current month of June, 1864, the citizens of the 
 States especially represented, Pennsylvania, New 
 Jersey, and Delaware, manifested their deep interest 
 in General Hancock, and their high appreciation of 
 his services for the country, by the presentation of a 
 splendid full set of horse equipments, valued at five 
 hundred dollars, manufactured for the occasion, ]by 
 Messrs. Mag-e, of Philadelphia. 
 
 The correspondence on the subject has not yet ap- 
 peared. It is known that the General has expressed 
 
MORE HOME TESTIMONIALS. 277 
 
 liis grateful appreciation of tlie handsome gift, 
 especially on account of the application of the money 
 derived from it in the Fair, to the relief of our suf- 
 fering troops and sailors. 
 
 Several other gentlemen, actuated by similar 
 motives of patriotism and personal good will, took 
 measures to present him a commodious dwelling in 
 Philadelphia, the particulars of which reflect much 
 credit on the parties concerned. From considerations 
 of delicacy we abstain from inserting all the names 
 of parties in this place, with regard to this honorable 
 and generous proceeding. 
 
 The Coal Exchange of Philadelphia, through the 
 personal exertions of John R. Blackiston, Esq., 
 Davis Peaeson, Esq., and other gentlemen, gave a 
 practical proof of their good will by placing at the 
 disposal of General Hancock the handsome sum of 
 fifteen thousand dollars, to be used by him at his 
 discretion, in the work of procuring recruits for his 
 Corps. 
 
 Mr. Peaeson followed his proofs of attachment to 
 the General by raising, in connection with his own 
 liberal subscription, the sum of twenty-four hundred 
 dollars, with a view to presenting him another elegant 
 sword and accoutrements. But, in consequence of his 
 
 having received a similar present from Saint Louis, this 
 24- 
 
278 WINFIELD, THE LAWYER'S SON. 
 
 testimonial was deferred. The amount subscribed is 
 still retained ; and a much larger sum is being added 
 to it, by his Philadelphia friends, with a view to 
 making him a durable gift, that will be especially 
 prized by liis family. 
 
 It was perfectly natural and proper that the citi- 
 zens of Saint Louis should feel a peculiar interest in 
 General Hancock. Beside their high appreciation 
 of his character as an officer, they had known him 
 among tbem as a resident. As a General, they re- 
 garded his brilliant military achievements as fully 
 equal to the best of those of the most distinguished 
 commanders of Napoleon — Murat, Bessaix, Junot, 
 and DuROC. They felt that the nation owed him a 
 debt of gratitude, which would be well repaid ; but 
 their attachment to his person was originated and 
 cemented by still other causes. 
 
 He had come among them from his campaigns in 
 Mexico, and by his modest bearing, his gentlemanly 
 courtesies, his skillful attention to his duties, had 
 won all their hearts. It was nearly seventeen years 
 since he first came to Missouri — a young Lieutenant 
 and Aid to General Clark, then in command of Jef- 
 ferson Barracks. Here he had married the only 
 daughter of the late Mr. Samuel Eussell, one of 
 the oldest and most highly esteemed merchants of 
 
MORE HOME TESTIMONIALS. 279 
 
 Saint Louis. The name of this gentleman is never 
 mentioned but with respect among all who knew 
 him. His house, on Fourth street, in that city, was 
 for years the seat of generous and elegant hospitality ; 
 while his career as a merchant exerted a wide-spread 
 influence in the prosecution of Western trade. Here 
 General Hancock had resided, for several years ; 
 here his children were born ; here his character as a 
 soldier and a gentleman had been regarded with 
 pride. Nothing of the kind, therefore, could be more 
 becoming, than that St. Louis should honor herself 
 by honoring him with an elegant and costly sword. 
 
CHAPTER XXX. 
 
 IN FRONT OF PETERSBURG. 
 
 "Then, if you fight against God's enemy, 
 God will in justice ward you as his soldiers. 
 If you do swear to put a tyrant down, 
 You sleep in peace; the tyrant being slain." 
 
 Shakapeare. 
 
 WE are now to take our stand with Hancock, 
 in front of Petersburg, Virginia. The inter- 
 mediate steps by which, he reached this important 
 point are passing into the current history of the 
 country. His Corps moved, in conjunction with that 
 of Wakken, across the intervening region, until 
 they arrived at the position of most strategic value. 
 He was in the advance of the extreme left, on the 
 fifteenth of June, and immediately opened on the 
 enemy. The outer works assailed were pronounced 
 by competent judges to be more difficult to capture 
 than those taken from the enemy at Missionary 
 Ridge and Chattanooga. 
 
 (-80) 
 
TN FRONT OF PETERSBURG. 281 
 
 It seemed natural that the old Second Corps should 
 be among the first to make the attack on these new 
 and powerful strongholds of the rebels. It was 
 still meet and fitting that they should be in the ad- 
 vance. Their well-tried guns were among the earliest 
 to wake the echoes of Petersburg. 
 
 Up to this time the rebels at Eichmond had no 
 correct idea of our movements. They were not at 
 all aware of our having crossed the James. It was 
 their expectation — their fond hope — that we should 
 take the old route, by way of Malvern Hills, where 
 they were prepared to greet us with secret embank- 
 ments, ambuscades, and surprises ; if possible to 
 drive us back, and keep us through the summer in 
 the pestilential swamps of the Chickahominy, and 
 contiguous streams. They did not dream that by a 
 bold movement Geant would again change his whole 
 base, dash across the James river in darkness and 
 silence, and plant himself opposite their intrench- 
 ments in front of Petersburg, and south of Eichmond. 
 They awoke to the discovery of the fact that the 
 arduous and gallant deed was done — and they knew 
 it not! Their defences at a strong strategic point 
 were not only now to be assailed, but both Peters- 
 burg and Eichmond were to be virtually besieged, 
 
 24* 
 
282 WINFIELD, THE LAWYER'S SON. 
 
 and the long lines of communications with other 
 parts of the rebellion seriously endangered. 
 
 Large rebel reinforcements were now sent rapidly 
 forward to confront us. By placing a strong force 
 across the Appomattox river, in the immediate 
 vicinity of Petersburg, the enemy prevented us from 
 the speedy capture of that place, except at a greater 
 sacrifice of life, on both sides, than the Lieutenant 
 General felt warranted in making. 
 
 The next strategy of Grant was the possession 
 of the contiguous railroads. By shutting up con- 
 siderable bodies of rebel troops in Eichmond and 
 Petersburg, he prevented Lee from employing them 
 against us at other points, and prepared the way for 
 those movements in certain directions which he knew 
 would greatly weaken the military power of the re- 
 bellion. Saving his men from severe losses by direct 
 attacks and defences, he could enclose the enemy 
 wdthin their entrenchments ; and then, by gradually 
 cutting off their supplies, either compel an evacua- 
 tion or surrender. He had already inflicted consider- 
 able damage on some of their lines of communica- 
 tion; but the facilities for repairing then enjoyed by 
 the rebels, in consequence of the secret assistance 
 they derived from their sympathisers abroad, enabled 
 them to keep the most active of them in occasional 
 
m FR ONT OF PETER SB UR G. 283 
 
 use. The lines of our army were gradually and 
 steadily being drawn over all this net- work of rebel 
 roads ; but they were not yet sufficiently strong and 
 compact to be completely effective in holding them. 
 
 The Second Corps had been advanced toward 
 Petersburg, resting its right wing on the Jerusalem 
 plank road, running across from the railroad to Nor- 
 folk and Weldon. In the absence of Hancock, who 
 was kept from the field by the breaking out, in con- 
 sequence of his severe duties, of his Gettysburg 
 wound, there was a gap allowed to occur between 
 his Corps and the Sixth. Taking advantage of this 
 fact, revealed to them by spies, the enemy made a 
 dash on his lines, and inflicted some damage. It is 
 due to General Bikney, who was in temporary com- 
 mand of the Second Corps, at the time, that he should 
 be exonerated from all blame for this reverse. It 
 was not owing to any lack of vigilance or courage 
 on his part, but to the occurrence of fortuitous cir- 
 cumstances not in the power of man to prevent. 
 
 The twentieth Massachusetts regiment of volun- 
 teers, attached to the Second Corps, rallied at the 
 call of danger, and rendered great service on this 
 occasion. It was in command, at the time, of Cap- 
 tain Patten, to whom much credit is due for the 
 manner in which he came to the rescue, and whose 
 
284 WINFIELD, THE LAWYER'S SON. 
 
 m 
 
 coolness and daring prepared the way for the gradual 
 rescue of the Corps from its sudden exposure. 
 
 Hancock was in his tent, suffering extreme pain. 
 As the cry came to him — 
 
 " The Second Corps is attacked !" he rushed from 
 his couch, in his night dress, and, calling an ambu- 
 lance, rode directly to the front. 
 
 "What is the matter with the Second Corps?" he 
 asked, in tones that betokened the deepest feeliDg. 
 
 " We are assailed by a superior force, in mass ; cut 
 off from support on the left flank !" replied one of 
 his Aids, who had galloped ahead of him, to the 
 scene of danger. 
 
 In a moment more Hancock, wrapped in his army 
 overcoat, sword in hand, was mounted and rushing 
 to the field. But by the time he reached the centre 
 of the fight, and had begun to rally his men, the 
 enemy had been driven back, and the danger was 
 passed. Some losses were experienced, but they 
 were soon repaired, and plans were instantly laid for 
 preventing any such occurrence in the future. 
 
 The brave old Corps could still sing : 
 
 'Though some may sleep 'neath Virginia's sod, 
 We still bear the flag of the free, my boys; 
 And thosfe who are true to our land and God, 
 Will meet at the last reveille, my boys." 
 
IN FR ONT OF PETER SB UR G. % 85 
 
 It is a strong proof of tlie confidence reposed in 
 Han-cock by G-rant that in the attacks first made 
 on Petersburg his command was materially enlarged. 
 In addition to his own Corps, detachments from the 
 forces under Smith and Burnside were placed at 
 his immediate disposal. His main attacks were be-l 
 gun by the Division of Birney, who conducted him- 
 self with his usual gallantry. The enemy were re- 
 peatedly driven from strong positions, with severe 
 losses in men and guns. Birney's troops behaved 
 in the most splendid manner in their assaults, win- 
 ning the highest admiration from all their fellow- 
 soldiers. His division advanced, under a heavy fire, 
 to within a few hundred yards of the enemy's works, 
 and his guns commanded the city. 
 
 Lee now rapidly crossed the James, reinforced 
 Beauregard, in command of Petersburg, and post- 
 poned, though he could not prevent its ultimate 
 capture. Severe fighting ensued ; but every attempt 
 to drive us from our siege position was a signal 
 failure. Our lines continued to extend ; our works 
 gradually grew more numerous, extensive, and power- 
 ful ; and it was soon evident that our grasp, at this 
 vital point of the rebels, could not and would not be 
 loosened, until victory ensued. 
 
 The health of Hancock speedily improvQ.d, and 
 
286 WINFIELD, THE LAWYER'S SON. 
 
 he immediately resumed his more active duties in 
 the field. He had placed his artillery in the most 
 commanding positions, and was doing his work with 
 his usual vigor. 
 
 The distinguished honor of making the first direct 
 assault on Petersburg was assigned to the Second 
 Corps, in conjunction with the troops from Bermuda 
 Hundred, under Smith. Hancock was ready with 
 his men, and eager for the brave attempt ; but a delay 
 in furnishing him supplies caused a detention of 
 several hours, which prevented the success of the 
 measure. It was soon after found that the arrival 
 of reinforcements had much strengthened the enemy ; 
 and the peculiar location of the city would defer its 
 capture by any other method than a regular siege. 
 On this basis Grant noAv laid his plans ; and, with 
 his usual reticence and coolness, proceeded to carry 
 them into effect. 
 
 A much needed opportunity for rest was afforded our 
 great army. Entrenching, bombarding, mining, was 
 now the order of the day and night. The latter pro- 
 cess was conducted in a manner that must always at- 
 tract the attention of military historians. The ground 
 was dug in such an angle as to form a subterranean 
 gallery, and the miners were pushed forward by their 
 pickaxes and spades under the solid earth, the exca- 
 
IN FRONT OF PETERSBURG. * 287 
 
 vations being made without tlie "use of coffer works, 
 or frames of any kind. Dangerous as this process 
 was, it prevented the enemy from hearing our pro- 
 gress under their works and beneath their feet. Si- 
 lently, steadily, in a darkness illumined by only a 
 few army lights, our brave men dug their way; no 
 sound of hammers being heard in their under-ground 
 march, the opening to their mine being adroitly hid- 
 den from view ; and occasional fusilades of musketry 
 and salutes of artillery deluding the watchful rebels 
 from our secret purpose. 
 
 As a still further foil to the enemy, the Second 
 Corps was ordered over the Appomattox, aided by 
 other troops, who together formed a junction at Point 
 of Eocks. This so attracted the attention of the 
 rebels, that they were completely divested of all idea 
 as to where and how any mining operations might 
 be going on. At the same time a detachment of 
 cavalry, under Sheridan, crossed the James, at Jones' 
 Neck, whose open movements, followed by a line of 
 four hundred empty army wagons, so completely 
 deceived Lee that he at once detached a special force 
 to intercept us. 
 
 The Second Corps, and its allies, performed their 
 part with skill. The rebels were drawn on after 
 
288 'Enfield, the lawyer's son. 
 
 them; in a bootless pursuit, leaving the entrench- 
 ments at Petersburg still more exposed. 
 
 At this moment; while the attention of the enemy 
 is completely diverted, and while many of our own 
 men are wondering what is to come from the unex- 
 pected movement; the mine is sprung. The explo- 
 sion is tremendous. Immense masses of earthworks 
 and of the adjacent enclosure are thrown high in the 
 air; and a wide breach is made in the enemy's de- 
 fences. The attacking parties rush forward with 
 determined valor ; but, for want of adequate support, 
 at this most critical juncture, they are too much ex- 
 posed to achieve all the results that such an explosion 
 had warranted us to expect. The enemy recover 
 from the shock just in time to bring their heaviest 
 and best posted guns to bear on our exposed columns, 
 and the advantages we had hoped to gain by this 
 great strategic movement are suddenly wrested from 
 us. But the experience gained by this explosion 
 was invaluable, and we shall see that it was success- 
 fully employed on several future occasions. 
 
 It was a gratifying coincidence that soon after the 
 occurrence in the advance, in which, during the ab- 
 sence of Hancock, the Second Corps met with some 
 losses, he should have the honor in person to repay 
 them. Immediately on resuming his active command 
 
IN FR ONT OF PETER SB UR G. 289 
 
 he commenced forward demonstrations. He issued 
 an earnest address to his troops, in which he adjured 
 them to haste to wipe out any reproach that might 
 be supposed to rest on their long-honored colors. He 
 called upon them to follow him again in repulsing 
 the traitorous enemies of their country, and to win 
 back their guns. Nobly, enthusiastically his brave 
 men responded. In a few hours only after he entered 
 the field again an attack was made on the rebels, in 
 which the Corps captured four guns of heavier calibre 
 than those they had lost. The deed was done. Their 
 honored name was re-established. 
 
 Immediately on receiving the announcement of 
 this gallant capture, General Meade dispatched this 
 congratulatory note to General Hancock : 
 
 "Headquarters Army of the Potomac, ] 
 
 9 A. M., July 27, 1864. j 
 General Hancock: 
 
 Youi' dispatch of twenty minutes past seven is just received. 
 
 I congratulate you and your gallant Corps on your success, and 
 
 trust it will be continued. 
 
 Geo. G. Meade, 
 
 Major General. 
 
 For some weeks previous to this characteristic oc- 
 currence, the troops of Hancock had been among the 
 most active of any engaged in the siege. The divi- 
 sions of. BiRNEY, Barlow and Gibbon were fre- 
 
 25 
 
290 WINFIELD, THE LAWYER'S SON. 
 
 quentlj in motion, inflicting severe blows on the 
 rebels, at every assailable point. In consequence of 
 the character of the rebel entrenchments,' it was dis- 
 covered that general advances along our whole line 
 were inexpedient. The gains were not commensu- 
 rate with the losses of men and time. Baelow's 
 division, in conjunction with a detachment of sharp- 
 shooters, was sent out on important reconnoissances, 
 and steps were continually taken to possess ourselves 
 of the contiguous railroads, for the purpose of more 
 effectually cutting off the supplies of the enemy. 
 The rebels were frequently encountered in consider- 
 able force, and in every case driven back. By com- 
 bining on our rear and massing on our flanks the 
 wily Lee succeeded in inflicting losses upon us, occa- 
 sionally, especially at points where the Corps had not 
 been able, owing to the nature of the country, to 
 complete their junctions ; but they were soon repaired, 
 and the lines of entrenchment were drawn closer and 
 closer around the walls of Petersburg. 
 
 The activity of our cavalry, under Wilson, con- 
 tinued to be felt at all points. He succeeded in 
 reaching several parts of the enemy's railroad com- 
 munications, and in cutting them asunder. Their 
 rations were growing less and less reliable, smaller 
 and smaller in quantity. Large bodies of rebel 
 
IN FR ONT OF PETERSB UR G. 291 
 
 raiders were sent into comparatively new regions, to 
 procure those indispensable supplies, tlie want of 
 wliicli was now so much felt by Lee in his camps, and 
 by the traitors in Kichmond and other besieged 
 places. 
 
 General Hancock had resumed the active com- 
 mand of his Corps on the evening of the 27th of 
 June. General Birney, who had so well conducted 
 himself at its head for the past few weeks, now re- 
 sumed his position in the Third Division. 
 
 Demonstrations were soon began to be made for 
 the complete possession of the Weldon railroad. The 
 occupation of this important means of communica- 
 tion would leave the besieged rebels only one perma- 
 nent railroad — the Danville — and such outside roads 
 as the country afforded. Many and difficult prepara- 
 tory steps were essential to secure this important 
 result. 
 
 At daylight of Saturday, July 30th, the Union 
 forces opened on the traitors with a battery of one 
 hundred guns. Hancock had recrossed the James, 
 and was prepared to take part in the contemplated 
 assault. He had been operating to advantage for 
 two days on the north bank of the river, and now 
 joined his forces with those of Sheridan and Kautz, 
 on the south side of the Appomattox. He had come 
 
.292 WINFIELD, THE LAWYER'S SON. 
 
 to the rescue at tlie most critical moment. His rapid 
 movements in tlie direction of Malvern Hill had re- 
 sulted in the capture of several guns and a considera- 
 ble body of prisoners. 
 
 The position of the campaign after the explosion 
 and assault was as formidable as ever. Our lines 
 were still advancing; the coils of war were being 
 drawn more and more closely around the enemies of 
 our country. 
 
 It was now the 30th of July. Gratifying intelli- 
 gence came pouring in of the operations of Sheeman, 
 at Atlanta, and of Farragut, at Mobile Bay. The 
 spirits of our men, in spite of the intense heats and 
 droughts they were called to encounter, and their 
 losses by repulses at the open jaws of death in the 
 explosion of our mine, were still exultant, and every 
 movement was onward. 
 
 The great aim of Grant was the complete and 
 final possession of the Weldon railroad. All his 
 strategy now tended to this important point. 
 
 On the 9th of August came the glorious news that 
 Admiral Farragut had passed the forts in Mobile 
 Bay, which the boastful and arrogant rebels had 
 boldly and loudly predicted he could not pass. Sta- 
 tioned at the mast-head of his gallant flag-ship, the 
 Hartford, with his speaking trumpet placed, by means 
 
IN FEONT OF PETERSBURG. 293 
 
 of tubes, on the deck, he had swept into the waters 
 of the eneni}^, attacking them at every assaikxble 
 point, sinking and capturing their ships, taking pos- 
 session of their forts, and planting the national flag 
 on the ramparts from which, with so much of treason- 
 able infamy, it had been hauled down. The nation 
 was electrified at the welcome intelligence, and shouts 
 of jo}^ ran along the Union lines in front of Peters- 
 burg. New successes were granted us in the variable 
 Valley of the Shenandoah, and the movements of 
 Sherman, in Georgia, were highly encouraging. 
 
 The continued and skillful strategy of Geant 
 completely deceived the rebels. They were being paid 
 off in their own coin. Greater familiarity with their 
 location and wily stratagems had prepared the way 
 for those strategic movements which surprised and 
 annoyed theni to a degree they had never experi- 
 enced before. But greater and more signal defeats 
 awaited them. Instead of ending his campaign be- 
 fore Petersburg, the rebels found, to their deep grief 
 and ill-dissembled chagrin, that he had but just be- 
 gun it. Gradually, but surely, one after another, 
 their insulting sneers at the Lieutenant General died 
 away ; and they were reluctantly forced to confess 
 that Lee had, at last, met a foeman worthy of his 
 steel, ^ye thought he was more than worthy. 
 
294 WIN FIELD, THE LAWYER'S SON. 
 
 On Saturday, August IStb, the Corps of Hancock 
 was tlirown across the James, at Deep Bottom. This 
 was the same point at Avhieh he had made a success- 
 ful feint movement, on a previous occasion. It haxl 
 been sent to City Point, on special service, and em- 
 barked on transports. Conjecture as to its ultimate 
 destination had been busy, as usual ; but all doubt 
 was dispelled by its passing up the river, and landing 
 at Dutch Gap. A little after sunrise, on Sunday 
 morning, Birney advanced, with Foster's division, 
 and drove the rebels a considerable distance. The 
 lines of the enemy were broken, and a capture made 
 of nearly a hundred prisoners. 
 
 The cavalry, under Gregg, had now cleared the 
 road for Hancock, and he steadily advanced. He 
 posted his Corps on the Newmarket road, which leads 
 directly from Malvern Hill to Eichmond — distant, at 
 that point, only about ten miles. 
 
 Birney, now promoted, and most deservedly, too, 
 to the command of the Tenth Corps, made a gallant 
 assault on the front of the enemy, carrying their 
 works, which guarded the approaches to Eichmond 
 in that direction, capturing six pieces of cannon and 
 two mortars. 
 
 The position of the rebels was a strong one, and 
 they parted with it very reluctantly. But the*skilb 
 
IJSr FR ONT OF PETER SB URG. 295 
 
 fill manoeuvring of Hancock had enabled liim to 
 ' reacli their front in a way thej were not all prepared 
 for ; and there was no resort left them but to with- 
 draw. Our troops held the position. 
 
 But little hard fighting took place, as the strategy 
 of Hakcock rendered it unnecessary. The enemy 
 were taken by surprise, and our loss was small. 
 
 The whole movement was a perfect blind to the 
 rebels. Our troops, which they saw moving down 
 the river, on transports, during the day, turned back 
 again at night, and, surprising the enemy in their en- 
 trenchnients, captured them with ease. 
 
 As the. Second started on this imaginary voyage, 
 their bands struck up gaily, and gave to the winds 
 several martial and playful airs to be wafted to rebel 
 ears. They thought we were bound to Charleston, 
 perhaps to Washington, it might be to Mobile, per- 
 adventure to Atlanta. But when we returned 
 that same night, up the still waters of that same 
 river, in silence and in darkness, they woke to their 
 sad, mistake, as our men charo^ed with a victorious 
 shout on their works, and carried everything before 
 them. By daylight of the next morning the splen- 
 did artillery of the Second Corps could be heard 
 along the rebel lines, its thunders waking from their 
 fitful slumbers the guilty dreamers of Richmond. 
 
CHAPTER XXXI. 
 HIS NEW M0VE3IENTS. 
 
 "A boding silence reigns, 
 
 Dread through the dull expanse ; save the low sound 
 That, from the mountain, previous to the storm, 
 Rolls o'er the muttering earth.'' 
 
 The Seasons. 
 
 THE Union forces operating on the north bank 
 of the James, in the middle of August, re- 
 mained for a time in boding silence. Their position 
 was one of great strategic importance. It was a 
 mystery to the rebels. They dared not attempt to 
 dislodge it, for they knew not how large a support 
 might be awaiting them in its rear ; and yet it did 
 not seem to them of sufficient magnitude to warrant 
 its long continued advance. 
 
 This habit of mystifying the rebels by his move- 
 ments had become a fixed one with Grant. It was 
 like a second nature with him. Heretofore, in nearly 
 every instance, the enemy could read our plans of 
 battle, discern and predict our campaigns, before we 
 
 (296) 
 
HIS NEW MOVEMENTS. 297 
 
 had begun to develop or enter upon them. ]N"ow 
 however, the case was widely different. If Lee was 
 wily, Gkant was equally so. If Lee was good at 
 strategy, Geant was better. If Lee was great at 
 manoeuvring, Gkant was greater. The history of 
 the war will abundantly prove all this to be true. 
 
 There was a period, during this diversion of Han- 
 cock and BiENEY, when the advance front of our 
 lines was within six miles of the rebel capital. The 
 .object of the reconnoissance was soon attained. It 
 w^as to protect our men, working, at Dutch Gap, on 
 the canal, being constructed there to aid our ap- 
 proaches to the city. The cavalry of Geegg was 
 posted on the Charles City Eoad, protecting our 
 right wing, the left flank of which extended to the 
 banks of the James. Lee was prevented, by this 
 means, from interfering with our workmen, and 
 taught that we knew, as well as he, that there was 
 more than one way of advancing on his base. By 
 this extension of our forces we could assail both 
 Eichmond and Petersburg at the same moment ; and 
 the better watch the immediate movements of the 
 enemy. If it were true, as the rebel leaders and 
 their sympathisers so blatantly asserted, that ' Eich- 
 mond could not be taken,' Geant, his Generals, and 
 his army, could not see it in that point of light. 
 
298 WINFIELD, THE LAWYER'S SON. 
 
 Our continued progress had further developed the 
 position of the enemy. In a spirited engagement 
 we had captured four hundred more prisoners, and 
 killed two general officers — Chamblin and Gherrard 
 — their bodies being left in our hands. All our 
 plans and combinations were proved to be effective ; 
 the signs of its coming doom were concentrating 
 more and more closely around the focus of the re- 
 bellion. It was evident to all reflecting minds that 
 there must be more severe fighting, and that Kich- 
 mond and vicinity were yet to contain many other 
 sanguinary fields, ere the war could be brought to 
 an honorable and permanent close. 
 
 It was now past the middle of August. Many 
 attacks were made on our lines, but they were in- 
 variably repulsed. Obstacles to the progress of the 
 Union arms that had been potential in former cam- 
 paigns, failed to retard us now. The siege of Eich- 
 mond was a fixed fact. Nothing seemed to relax our 
 hold on the central power of the enemy. Every 
 thing transpired to prove that the final victory over 
 the army of Lee would terminate the struggle in the 
 complete restoration of the Union. 
 
 On the morning of the 18th of August, our troops 
 made a most important movement. They crossed 
 from their seemingly quiet position, and, by rapid 
 
HIS NU W MO VEMENTS. 299 
 
 advances, captTired and held certain strong points on 
 the Weldon railroad. Severe fighting ensued ; but 
 we held all that we had gained, capturing a consider- 
 able number of prisoners from Heth's, Mahone's, and 
 Hoke's divisions — some of the best of the rebel 
 forces. 
 
 Meanwhile the continued efforts of the rebels to 
 dislodge us from the north bank of the James, were 
 all futile. We remained in our positions, and en- 
 trenched. 
 
 There was a surprise of our lines on the Weldon 
 road during the night of the 20th of August, in 
 which we lost some guns and prisoners. But it was 
 soon recovered from them ; and, while our entrench- 
 ments were increased and materially strengthened, 
 other measures were promptly adopted to prevent a 
 similar occurrence in the future. 
 
 The tenacity of Geant exceeded any thing pre- 
 viously displayed by him, in any of his movements. 
 At each attempt of the enemy to move him from his 
 hold, he grasped it all the more firmly. He was 
 furiously attacked during several successive days ; 
 and each engagement gave him a new victory. We 
 more than regained the number of prisoners we had 
 lost in the previous surprise. At the last of these 
 onsets four rebel Generals were killed and wounded. 
 
300 WINFIELD, THE LAWYER'S SON. 
 
 It was perfectly evident tliat the enemy could not 
 dislodge us from the coveted strategic points. By 
 the 25th of August it became apparent that they had 
 desisted, at least for the present, from all attempts to 
 repossess them. 
 
 Comparatively quiet possession of the road now 
 being obtained, our forces proceeded thoroughly to 
 destroy all those portions of it under their imme- 
 diate control. The work was quickly and effectually 
 done. Our men divided their forces to the best ad- 
 vantage. A part worked night and day in complet- 
 ing fortifications ; the soldier of one hour was the 
 digger of the next; the musket and the spade inter- 
 changed with each other in the ramparts, at regular 
 intervals ; while the silent cannon, glistening in the 
 sun, or glimmering in the light of army lanterns, 
 pushed out their open mouths over the heads of the 
 men, as their grim defenders, ready to plead for the 
 continuance of their industry, at a moment's warning. 
 
 The Welden railroad was ours. 
 
 Richmond papers, coming within our now pro- 
 tected lines, acknowledged, with ill-concealed shame, 
 their loss of this important position. They taunted 
 us with endeavoring to starve them out of their 
 stronghold ; as if they had not attempted the same 
 thing with us, every time they had the opportunity. 
 
DEFENDS THE WELDON ROAD. 301 
 
 The first division of the Second Corps were among 
 the most active of all our troops in destroying this 
 necessary means of rebel communication. They 
 were accustomed to labor ; and these fighting work- 
 men were not ashamed to work hard here, in so good 
 a cause. They completely destroyed the road ; tearing 
 up and burning it, from the first point of conquest 
 to Eeams's station, and for a distance of three miles 
 be3^ond. The whole line held by our forces at that 
 place was nearly eight miles. 
 
 Another desperate attempt was made by the rebels 
 to regain possession of the road toward evening of 
 the 27th of August. The attack was made on Han- 
 cock, who was stationed at an exposed point, isolated 
 from the main line — as was so often his position, far 
 in the advance. 
 
 The attack began south of Eeams's station, and 
 was made with great desperation. But he met it 
 with all his unflinching valor, and gave it a severe 
 repulse. It was a combined assault on his centre 
 and left. Support was out of the question. He 
 took up the gage of battle single-handed, and fought 
 it out on that line. The fight was one of the fiercest 
 of any field, of any campaign. But he met the 
 enemy at every point, and drove them, routed, from 
 26 
 
302 WINFIELD, THE LAWYER'S SON. 
 
 the field. Their dead and wounded^ which were 
 numerous, were left in our hands. 
 
 This attack was evidently intended to be simul- 
 taneous against Hancock, by Wilcox on his centre, 
 and lieth on his left. They had expected to find 
 him scattered, busy at the work of railroad destruc- 
 tion, and, comparatively, unprepared. They were 
 mistaken. He was ready for them. Exposed as his 
 position was, he defended it with such vigor and 
 skill that they were completely foiled. 
 
 Forming in the adjacent woods, placing their artil- 
 lery so as to be ambushed, and, at the same time, to 
 enfilade our lines, the enemy flattered themselves with 
 a sudden scare on the part of Hancock, and an easy 
 conquest on theirs. He very soon undeceived them. 
 Their cannonading was heavy, lasting a considerable 
 time. They then massed under cover, and charged 
 on our unprotected columns. But our men dropped 
 their work instantly, seized their rifles with a rush, 
 swept into line like a wave of the sea rolling on the 
 even beach, and met the shock of arms without a 
 Vv^aver. Bayonet clashed with bayonet, sword with 
 sword, in rapid succession. Hand to hand, foot to 
 foot, shoulder to shoulder, face to face, our men held 
 every inch of their ground, taking not a step back- 
 ward from the foe, but hurling him in defiance along 
 
DEFENDS THE WELDON ROAD. 803 
 
 tlie earth, in every instance, where there was any- 
 thing like an equality of forces. In one or two cases, 
 where the numbers of the enemy Avere overpowering, 
 and a slight ■ foothold was gained by them, our men 
 rushed from one w^eak point to another, strengthen- 
 ing each other's hands, cheering one another to the 
 CD set, until the union was secured, the rebels w^ere 
 driven back, and our original position regained and 
 held. Oar troops rushed from right to left, in aid 
 of the assailed columns, beating back the repeated 
 assaults from the weaker points, and massing into 
 stronger lines of defence. 
 
 General Gibbon displayed great courage and 
 presence of mind on this occasion. He checked the 
 yelling rebels in the midst of one of their most 
 furious onsets, and hurled them back in confusion. 
 General Gregg, with his dismounted cavalry, render- 
 ed important service. His improvised infantry were 
 handled in the most handsome manner ; meeting the 
 ■enemy in a way for which they were not prepared. 
 The command of Miles, which was the first assailed, 
 won high distinction,' notwithstanding its scattered 
 condition. The General and his staff officers behaved 
 with great gallantr}^, and received the commendation 
 of Hancock, on the field. 
 
 his severe fight was continued through the after- 
 
304 WINFIELD, THE LAWYER'S SON. 
 
 noon, until dark ; the enemy being held in check 
 by artillery, dismounted cavalry, and skirmishers. 
 General Hancock speaks of it as acknowledged to 
 have been one of the most determined and desperate 
 conflicts of the war ; resembling Spottsylvania in its 
 character. Had there been more troops at his com- 
 mand, at the moment, the victory would have been 
 still more decisive. 
 
 A considerable number of prisoners were sent 
 forward from the divisions of Wilcox and Heth. 
 
 The enemy disappeared from the hard-fought field, 
 evidently much discomfited, leaving his dead and 
 wounded in our hands. Their losses were admitted 
 by prisoners to have been greater, in proportion, 
 than any they had experienced during the war. 
 
 The object of Hancock in the temporary occu- 
 pation of his portion of the road was attained, and 
 our onward movements continued to progress. The 
 rebel press acknowledged severe losses in this fierce 
 action with Hancock, four of their general officers < 
 being among the number. The destruction of the 
 road contiguous to Eeams's Station by the Second 
 Corps had been so thorough that the rebels were 
 compelled to transport all their stores from that point 
 by means of army wagons, over difficult byways. 
 They would have had but little even of these with 
 
NEW UNION TRIUMPHS. 305 
 
 which to supply their increasing wants, had it not 
 been for the support afforded them by their foreign 
 allies, who managed to evade our blockade at Wil- 
 mington. The best of their arms and munitions of 
 war had come to their diminished camps from this 
 alien source ; their dependence for them on other parts 
 of the traitorous States being now materially lessened 
 by the capture of more Southern positions. The 
 strong point of Atlanta, Georgia, was rendered com- 
 paratively useless to the rebellion, by the consum- 
 mate strategy and invincible courage of Sheeman, 
 in co-operation with the indomitable Faeragut, at 
 Mobile, Alabama, and the gallant Sheeidan, in the 
 Yalley of Virginia. The glorious news soon came 
 that Atlanta Avas ours. The rebel General Hood, on 
 whom so much dependence had been placed by the 
 Confederate authorities, was compelled to evacuate 
 that south-western stronghold, leaving in our pos- 
 session all its defences, a large number of prisoners, 
 and an immense supply of munitions of war. 
 
 Eepeated attempts continued to be made by Lee to 
 regain possession of the much needed Weldon road. 
 But they all failed. Every attack was gallantly re- 
 pulsed, and we held on. The spirits of the army re- 
 mained as exultant as ever. There was no such word 
 as fail in all our increasing ranks. President LiN- 
 
306 WINFIELD, THE LAWYER'S SON. 
 
 COLN issued a special Order, as Commander in Chief 
 of the Army and Navy, recapitulating the victories 
 won by General Sherman and Admiral Farragut, 
 returning thanks to the soldiers and seamen con- 
 cerned, for their glorious achievements, and calling 
 on the people of the United States to assemble in 
 their respective places of public worship, to render 
 thanks to Almighty God for these signal proofs of 
 the Divine favor on the Union arms. A salute of 
 one hundred shotted guns was ordered by General 
 Grant, in honor of these great victories. 
 
 Meanwhile, as the summer closed, and the month 
 of September came upon us, our advance toward 
 Kichmond steadily continued. It was as rapid as 
 such siege approaches could be made, consistent with 
 a due regard to the lives of our men, and our bases 
 of operations. Every day of the months devoted to 
 the conquest of the rebel capital had been profitably 
 employed. N"ot an hour, not a moment, had been 
 lost in idle inactivity or supine indifference. The 
 army and the navy efficiently co-operated with each 
 other, and the prospect of ultimate victory over the 
 rebellion was as cheering as ever. The capture of 
 Richmond, noAV undertaken in downright earnest, 
 was prosecuted with vigor, although the plans con- 
 templated and put in operation by the Lieutenant 
 
NEW UNION TRIUMPHS. 307 
 
 General, could not, with propriety, be made known 
 to the American people, quietly pursuing their avo- 
 cations at home. Delays, which they could neither 
 understand nor appreciate, were necessary to the suc- 
 cessful termination of the closing scenes of the great 
 rebellion. 
 
 Vigorous measures were constantly in progress. 
 By the middle of September large masses of Union 
 troops were stationed at different points on the rail- 
 roads, a few miles South of Petersburg. Our left 
 line, in strong force, was pushed across the "Weldon 
 road, to a mile beyond it, on the west. The move- 
 ment was a cause of some excitement among the 
 rebels, who watched its progress with the deepest 
 interest. General Geant does not appear to have 
 taken the trouble to inform them what it all meant. 
 Probably he was of the opinion that they would find 
 it out themselves, in due time. At all events, they 
 took the hint sufficiently to strengthen their entrench- 
 ments in that immediate neighborhood. 
 
 In order to render our operations more effective, a 
 railroad was constructed by our able engineer corps 
 from City Point, on the James, only a few miles south 
 of Richmond, to a convenient terminus on the Wel- 
 don road. This means of communication was soon 
 opened to great advantage, the arrival of the first 
 
308 WINFIELD, THE LAWYER'S SON. 
 
 trains of cars, suitably loaded, being received with 
 cbeerino^ all alono- our lines. It was another stretch 
 of the conquering chain of war that was environing 
 Richmond — a chain that the rebels had forged with 
 their own guilty hands, and from the coils of which 
 they were soon to find there was no escape. 
 
 Large reinforcements continued to swell the Union 
 army under Gkant, who quickly massed them on 
 his left, immediately confronting the rebel right. 
 Where they came from, and what the hero of Yicks- 
 burg was going to do with them, seemed to pass the 
 rebel comprehension. His movements, on all hands, 
 continued to be to them a profound mystery. This 
 was exactly what he intended. When the time 
 should come — and he, of all men, knew when that 
 time would come — he was prepared to encircle Peters- 
 burg, as he had Yicksburg, with a grasp that would 
 either compel its evacuation or destruction. For rea- 
 sons creditable to his noble soldierly qualities, he 
 much preferred the former to the latter alternative. 
 
 Matters remained in this favorable condition, when, 
 after a short visit to the headquarters of General 
 Sheeidan by the Lieutenant General, the Army of 
 the Shenandoah suddenly moved on the enemy, and 
 won the splendid victory before Winchester, Virginia, 
 which occurred on the 19th of September. By a 
 
NEW UNION TRIUMPHS. 309 
 
 series of rapid engagements, commencing, very pro- 
 perly, at Bunker Hill, Sheridan drove the rebels from 
 all their positions, killing large numbers, capturing 
 several thousand prisoners, a large supply of provi- 
 sions and many munitions of war. The rout of the 
 enemy was complete, continuing through a series of 
 battles, at different points, to Staunton, Virginia, when 
 the town was possessed, with all the adjacent region, and 
 much rebel government property destroyed,* Every 
 position was temporarily held for strategic purposes, 
 and a blow inflicted on the rebellion in that quarter 
 of the country from which it never could recover. 
 
 The effect of this brilliant victory on the army 
 before Eichmond can be well conceived. It cheered 
 every loyal- heart. It strengthened every patriotic 
 arm. It had been won in accordance with plans pre- 
 viously laid down by Gkant, and was designed to 
 aid him in his immediate movements on the rebel 
 capital and its surroundings. 
 
 On the 30th of September another onward move- 
 ment began. The Tenth Corps, under Bieney, co- 
 operating with other selected bodies of veteran 
 troops, moved on the strong entrenchments of the 
 enemy, at Chapin's Farm, the nearest point to Eich- 
 mond yet reached, and carried them by storm. The 
 rebel line was found to be thin, and the embankments, 
 
310 fVINFIELD, THE LAWYER'S SON. 
 
 wliich were among the strongest thrown np around 
 the rebel capital, were defended by only a small force. 
 The subsequent attempts made by the enemy to re- 
 take these commanding approaches to Eichmond 
 were so easily repulsed that the impression began to 
 prevail in certain quarters that Lee would evacuate 
 his capital and thus surrender his base of operations. 
 But Graxt, and those who better comprehended the 
 strategy^of the wily rebel leader, knew better than 
 this. He and they were perfectly assured that there 
 must be much more severe fighting at this point, 
 before the rebellion would be subdued. 
 
 On the 2d of October, Hancock advanced a por- 
 tion of his Corps to a point considerably nearer the 
 enemy. He took possession of the Boynton road, 
 over which the enemy had been carrying their sup- 
 plies, in wagons, to Petersburg. Two lines of works 
 were found unoccupied. A skirmish line opposed 
 our advance, but gradually fell back before the con- 
 tinued attacks of our troops. 
 
CHAPTER XXXIL 
 CONCLUSION 
 
 "Get and preserve a good name, if it were but for the public service." 
 — Fuller. 
 
 IN reviewing Hancock'^ history, tlie fact may 
 with propriety be recorded here that, by the act 
 of President Lincoln, he had been made a Brigadier 
 General in the KeguLar Army of the United States, 
 his rank to be dated, as such, from the 12th of Au- 
 gust, 1864, for gallant and distinguished services at 
 the battles of the Wilderness. Spottsylvania, Cold 
 Harbor, and in all the operations of the army in Vir- 
 ginia, under Lieutenant General Grant. 
 
 AS A BOY. 
 
 It will not, of course, be claimed for him that he 
 was a faultless child. He had his faults and frailties, 
 like all other children. He was no better than any 
 other boy can be who reads this true history of his 
 life. This much can be truthfully recorded of him, 
 for the instruction of other American youth; he was 
 
 (311) 
 
312 WINFIELD, THE LAWYER'S SON. 
 
 obedient to bis parents. He was honest in his deal- 
 ings. He was modest, cheerful, buoyant in his man- 
 ners ; obtaining an influence over his playmates by 
 his frank, open, courageous demeanor. All his 
 school-fellows who were worthy of his love, loved 
 him in return ; and persons more advanced in life, 
 when he was young, some of whom still survive, look 
 back on his boyhood with affectionate interest. 
 
 AS A CADET. 
 
 There was nothing remarkable in his cadetship. 
 He is remembered by those who knew him at West 
 Point as a quiet, untissuming Pennsylvanian youth, 
 for whom no special credit was claimed. He was 
 strict in conforming to the rules, quick in acquiring 
 learning, ambitious to excel in drill and discipline, 
 fluent in expressing what he learned, amiable in his 
 deportment, adding some graceful accomplishments 
 to his list of studies as a draughtsman, and excelling 
 as a sketcher of scenery and characters, as is shown 
 by his drawing, in another part of this volume. The 
 whole of that sketch, to which the reader is referred, 
 was drawn by General Hancock, while a cadet at 
 West Point. It is designed to hit off a class of per- 
 sons who are in the habit of boring the cadets, by 
 applying to be received into the Academy. The 
 scene is a literal one, as true as it is graphic. 
 
CONCLUSION. 313 
 
 A greenhorn approaclies a drummer, wlio is gazing 
 at him with astonishment, and asks : 
 
 " How d'ye do, boy ? Where's your capting ? I 
 want ter jine the Pint !" 
 
 The looks of the parties around, the marching of 
 the other applicants, who, in the distance, are seen to 
 be put through the motions by the cadet officer of 
 the day ; the groupings of the scene, the dresses and 
 expressions, are all precisely as executed by Cadet 
 Hancock, and preserved in his Album. 
 
 He graduated with credit as a cadet, enjoying the 
 confidence and esteem of all his classmates. It is 
 due to West Point Academy to say that he owes all 
 that he is as a military man to the superior culture 
 and discipline of that institution. 
 
 AS A JUNIOE OFFICEK. 
 
 It is not by any means pretended that there was 
 anything very remarkable in young Lieutenant Han- 
 cock, when he took his place in the line of the Sixth 
 United States Regular Infantry. His fellow officers 
 around him had equal positions in the militarj^ school 
 they had just left. Some of them had graduated with 
 higher honors. He was fighting imder the same flag 
 with them when he drew his sword, for the first time, 
 in battle, on the shores of Mexico. All that need be 
 said of him as a junior officer is this — he did his duty. 
 
314 WINFIELD, THE LAWYER'S SON. 
 
 AS A COMMANDER. 
 
 In this position lie was ever found at his post, dis- 
 charging his duty faithfully. He was severely tried, 
 and found equal, as a patriot commander, to the 
 great cause in which he had enlisted with all his 
 heart. 
 
 It is not the slightest disparagement to his com- 
 patriots in this noble struggle, to quote the appro- 
 priate testimony of Lieutenant General Grant : 
 
 "I always know where to find Hancock." 
 
 When he returned to his Corps, in the spring of 
 1864, and was preparing to lead the advance, his 
 officers and men gathered around him, and tendered 
 him a voluntary salute of welcome, with music and 
 banners. A song of congratulation on his return 
 was composed for the occasion, and sung with loud 
 acclaim by the strong voices of his thousands of gal- 
 lant soldiers. The following is the closing verse of 
 this heart-felt, soldierly welcome : 
 
 "Welcome back, Oh! General, brave,' 
 
 Welcome to your Corps again ! 
 Trumpets sound and banners wave, 
 
 Shouts ascend from gallant men. 
 Many a hard-contested field 
 
 Proved you a true-hearted man : 
 Ay ! many a field saw foemen yield, 
 
 Where Hancock led the van !" 
 
CONCL USION. 3 1 5 
 
 At tlie terrible conflicts of the WildernesS; wlieii 
 the men of the Second Corps were falling by thou- 
 sands, their patriotic devotion to him and their cause 
 was poured out with their life's blood. 
 
 In one of the field hospitals we met a group of 
 these noble fellows^ just brought in^ wounded, bleed- 
 ing, dying. 
 
 "How goes the battle, boys?" asked one of these 
 gallant sufferers of a wounded comrade, borne from 
 the front. 
 
 " All right !" replied the bleeding hero ; " We're 
 driving them !" 
 
 " They've broke in upon us pretty rough 1" said a 
 true Yankee, as he limped along, with a dismal 
 wound, to his stretcher. 
 
 "Ar-r-ah! but they'll niver git thrrough the ould 
 Sicond Cowrps ! You may bit ye're life o' that; my 
 boy !" cried a brave Irishman, at the top of a voice 
 half stifled with the flow of blood in his throat. 
 
 "Lie still, Maurice," quietly and soothingly said 
 one of"4he surgeons. " You must lose your arm, my 
 good fellow !" 
 
 "Lose my arrm, is it?" returned the enthusiastic 
 Hibernian, more excited than ever. "Will! I'm 
 ready to do that for Hancock, any day ; and, if need 
 be, I'll lose both my arms for the Union. Hur-r-ah 
 
316 WINFIELD, TEE LAWYER'S SON. 
 
 for the Stars and Stripes, rny boys ! and tlie Sicond 
 Cowrps foriver !" 
 
 A break bad occurred on a road in our lines,, 
 tbrougb which the enemy pressed with all the com- 
 bined power Avithin their reach. They anticipated a 
 certain victory as they swooped down on our unpro- 
 tected columns, and planted their colors defiantly on 
 our front. At this perilous moment Hancock dashed 
 forward, with the greatest promptness and energy, 
 determined on a rescue of his troops. 
 
 Hat in hand, he raised himself in his stirrups, and, 
 spurring forward, with his staff around him, shouted, 
 at the top of his voice : ' ' 
 
 " We must hold this road, to the last extremity ! 
 Stand your ground, men ! Stand your ground !" 
 
 " They are enfilading our breastworks !" exclaimed 
 one of his command. 
 
 " Then we must meet them behind the breast- 
 works, and drive them out !" continued Hancock, 
 with tremendous emphasis. 
 
 Turning to a body of troops, who seemed disposed 
 to waver, he thundered : 
 
 " Ko flinching there ! What can the country hope 
 from cowards?" 
 
 No better proof of the valor with which he fought 
 his command, and of the brave alacrity with which 
 
CONCLUSION. 317 
 
 they followed his lead, can be found than the well 
 established fact that the Second Corps lost not less 
 than thirty thousand men from the opening of the 
 campaign with Gkant to the front of Petersburg. 
 Twenty-five thousand of these gallant fellows had fol- 
 lowed him to victory and death before he had crossed 
 the James river. 
 
 When, on another occasion, already alluded to, 
 before Petersburg, in which his Corps was over- 
 powered on a portion of its lines, he left his sick 
 couch, and placed himself at their head, the effect of 
 his presence, though scarcely able to sit on his horse, 
 was magical. 
 
 "Hancock! Hancock is here!" rang along the 
 front. 
 
 " Hancock is sick !" was the response. 
 
 "Sick or well, he's with us! Don't you hear his 
 voice?" 
 
 At that moment his clarion notes 'sounded out, as 
 strong and clear as ever : 
 
 " Eally, men ! rally ! By the left flank — march ! 
 Steady ! — steady ! to the front !" 
 
 His orders being rapidly obeyed, quickly oame 
 another : 
 
 " Charge '" 
 
 27^ 
 
318 WINFIELD, THE LAWYER'S SON. 
 
 It was done, instantly; the enemy fled, and tlie 
 lost ground was triumphantly retaken. 
 
 During one of the fiercest battles of the Wilder- 
 ness, late in the evening. Colonel Caekoll, commaiid- 
 ing a brigade in his Corps, was seriously wounded. 
 A previous commander of this brigade, the gallant 
 General Ai^exandee Hays, had just been killed, his 
 body placed in an ambulance, and carried from the 
 field. 
 
 ^' You are wounded, Colonel Caeeoll," said Han- 
 cock, riding up to his side. 
 
 '^Yes, Greneral," replied the Colonel; "but I shall 
 not leave the front." 
 
 "Who will command your brigade, Colonel?" 
 
 " I'll command it myself, sir !" promptly added 
 the Colonel, rising and giving the salute. 
 
 It should be remembered that through all the 
 vigorous campaign of Hancock with GEANT,he was 
 himself a wounded man. He did^not complain, or 
 allow his duties to be in any way neglected ; but his 
 wound was still serious, and would have caused many 
 other men to have retired from the fight. When 
 laid aside in hife tent, he still maintained his hold on 
 his command of the Second Corps. IsTothing of im- 
 portance was allowed to transpire without his notice. 
 A rest of a few days brought him again into the 
 
CONCLUSION. 319 
 
 saddle, and to the front of battle. A piece of bone 
 was taken from liis wound, where it had been chafing 
 his flesh constantly, and depriving him, at times, of 
 the sleep so much needed by a man in such a 're- 
 sponsible position. But he would not, and did not; 
 yield his post in the fights, until completely pros- 
 trated by disease. 
 
 The soldiers who served under others always 
 united to bear testimony to his worth. 
 
 " Did you ever serve under General Hancock?" 
 we enquired of an old war-worn veteran, just from 
 Louisiana. 
 
 " No, sir," he answered us ; ''I will not tell a lie. 
 I never served under General Hancock ; but, sir, 
 he's a noble man." 
 
 Such uniform testimony as this from the men 
 of other Corps is peculiarly valuable. 
 
 The rapidity of the movements of Hancock as a 
 x3'^mmander is shown most strikingly in his position 
 in support of Warren, in the battle fought early in 
 May, 1864, near Parker's store. The moment the 
 order for support came, his whole Corps was in 
 motion. By two o'clock of that day he had marched 
 the whole distance from his position on the Brock 
 road, and precisely at the time designated he was in 
 line of battle, fronting the enemy. As the command 
 
320 WINFIELD, THE LAWYER'S SON. 
 
 marcliecl, often at tlie double quick, tlie sound of 
 rebels guns in the distance, responding to those of 
 Warren, quickened the pace of the Corps. They 
 ^rushed on, with shouts that made the welkin ring, 
 the music pouring forth its loudest strains, and the 
 colors flapping proudly in the rushing air. It was 
 just like Hancock and his gallant men. He had 
 command, at that moment, of troops from nearly 
 every Corps in the Avhole army, and handled them 
 with most consummate skill. 
 
 ■During th^ height of this engagement Hancock's 
 line was the grand centre of attraction. All his 
 movements were watched with the keenest interest 
 by Lieutenant General Grant and General Meade. 
 His caution in every movement was equal to his 
 valor. He was very careful not to extend his lines 
 too far, especially on his left, as he was wisely appre- 
 hensive — as it proved, afterward, correctly so — that 
 Longstreet might make a sudden attack in that direc- 
 tion. By holding his strong position, and keeping 
 his men well in hand, he beat back the enemy until 
 sufficient reinforcements arrived to secure a final 
 victory. 
 
 His conduct on this tremendous field is described 
 by those who saw it as magnificent. Prompt in 
 arriving, ready, in a mom.ent after, for fight, he 
 
CONCLUSION. 821 
 
 dashed at once on the wily foe. His labors m mass- 
 ing his men had been herculean. With a quickness 
 of perception, a grasp of thought, peculiar to his 
 character, he had divined the whole purpose of the 
 rebels, and was instantly prepared to meet it, at every 
 point. Nothing of the kind could be more exciting 
 than the whole scene. His entire combined com- 
 mand was to be hurled in solid columns on the enemy. 
 How vast the importance that his every movement 
 should be directed right ! A single mistake, in sach 
 a crisis, might derange his whole plan, and lose the 
 day for his country. 
 
 As quickly as he had moved his gallant troops, so 
 quickly he formed them in line of battle ; and just 
 as quickly he issued his orders. It was the thunder- 
 bolt of war launched with the electric flash, from the 
 wire in his hand. It was the crash of the avalanche 
 of battle, that his skill had poised on the towering 
 cliff of his noble purpose. It was the roll of a wave 
 of valor poured forth from his sea of thought, that 
 was to bear down all before it ; the swoop of an eagle 
 from a mountain eyrie of vision, where his eye had 
 grasped all the. field, and was sure of his prey. No 
 wonder that he conquered. 
 
 But, with all this brilliancy of execution, the 
 caution of Hancock was fully equal to his dashing 
 
322 WINFIELD, THE LAWYER'S SON. 
 
 courage. Not a point was neglected. Not a lino 
 was left un covered. Kot a defence was allowed to 
 remain unavailable. His heroism, that knew no fear, 
 slione side by side with his modesty and grace, on 
 that terrific area of carnage. There was impetuosity ; 
 but it was sobered by calmness. There was invinci- 
 bility ; but it was graced by modesty. There was 
 enthusiasm, rising to its utmost height; but it was 
 controlled by a wise caution. There was the trans- 
 port of action, the shout of command, in the midst 
 of the roar and clangor of conflict; but it was 
 chastened by a prudence that valued human life, and 
 that would not needlessly waste or even put it in 
 peril. 
 
 In saying all this, however, we repeat our desire 
 not to be understood as claiming for Hancock more 
 than we most cheerfully accord to many other Ameri- 
 can of&cers. The names of his compatriots in the 
 glorious war for our Union are passing, with his, into 
 history ; and the historians now live who will do 
 them all justice. We speak of Hancock as we do, 
 because the facts abundantly warrant it; and because 
 we have carefully studied his character. * 
 
 Through all the varying circumstances of his life, 
 thus far, from boyhood to manhood, from the quiet 
 scenes of his own native Pennsylvania, to the embat- 
 
CONCLUSION. 323 
 
 tied fields of war and victory, we have traced his 
 career, and striven to write with an impartial pen. 
 We have marked his course with candor. In battle, 
 especially, where he appears to the best advantage, 
 there is but one testimony of all his witnesses — that 
 he possesses those remarkable combinations of cour- 
 age and skill, of daring and promptness, of energy 
 and caution, of command and modesty, which must 
 forever place him on the pages of American history 
 as one of the master military spirits of the age. 
 
 THE END. 
 
EAKCOCK, THE PEIDE OF THE BOLD SECOND 
 COBFS. 
 
 [The following "Farewell bong" waswittenby 
 Jsurgeon liawrence Keynoids, of the 63d N. Y. 
 Voltin tears, on a recent occasion wtenMajorQene. 
 ral Hancoc]£ was leaving the aimy:] 
 As with sorrow the lone loying motiier is parting, 
 Her tond favorite child, thougii a yonng, happy 
 bride; 
 As grieves the true friend, when his comrade is 
 starting, 
 For wealth or for glory, o'er ocean's dark tide; 
 So is sorrow's dark shadow onr hearts now op- 
 pressing, 
 For the hero who giiides us to conquest no more; 
 So each eye ponrs a tear, and each bosom a bless- 
 ing, 
 For Hancock, the pride of the bold Second 
 Corps. 
 
 "We remember the perils from which your skill 
 saved us, 
 How you felt lor your troops, as the sire for the 
 soi.; 
 How, when foemen loud cheering, with gallant 
 pride braved us. 
 Ton led the fierce charge, and the victory won; 
 Tho' lile' s pathway may lead thee to still brighter 
 glory, 
 Forget not ycur comrades in battles of yore; 
 For pure is the record, and glorious the story. 
 Of Hancock, tte pride of the bold Second Corps. 
 
 Farewell, Oh! how painful to burst our connec- 
 tion, 
 But duty compels it, and sadly we part; 
 But naught can e'er sever the bond ol affection, 
 That binds to biave Hancock the true soldier'* 
 heart. 
 A? gold to the miser; as his bride to the lover, 
 Art thou to the friends who may see thee no 
 more— 
 "We'll think of thee, Hancock, we'll love thee 
 forever, 
 Then remember, brave Chieftain, thy bold Sec- 
 ond Corps.