E 528 .8 Isi Copy 2 IDistoncal Hbbress IRbobe Hslanb Xiobt Hrtiller^ I80H874 '■'% mSXt u 'A < tn tbe Civil anb Spanish Mars JS^ (Beor^e IS, IPecf?, /ID. H). =1 p:S/=r&i{ (7 HISTORICAL ADDRESS DELIVERED AT THE Dedication of the Memorial Tablet ON THE ARSENAL Benefit Street, corner of Meeting Providence, R. I. Thursday, July 19, 191 7 GEORGE B.PECK. M . D. AdjutanI t Veteran Association, P. M. C. A, Late Lieutenant 2d Regt. R . I. Vols. Uj ■i"i!*iM0PpeMnnH|MiMiiii ^ \^ €; ARTILLERY iHAKTERED 1801. E':iiOT BATTERIES. ^^Tlli^f BKt PKSERyiCE hi THE BATTERY A' BATTER\' B BATTEHY C ^BATTERY D' B.\TTERy E BATTERY F BATTERY G . BATTERY H INTH BMimf. OFFICERS 96 ^tAPTAlN CHARLES H.TOMPKINS CAETAIN WILLIAM. H. REYNOLDS ■GAPTAIH.THOMAS R VAUGHAN aRTAIN ^ WILLIAM S; WEEDEN CAPmiN JOHN ALBERT MUNROE CAPTAIN GEORGE E.RANDOLPH CAPmiN JAMES BELGER • CAPE\]N CHARLES D. OWEN CAPTAIN JEFFREY HAZARD CAPTAIN EDWIN C.GALLUP. - OFFICERS Q6 ENLISTED MEK 2277, , KILLEDWDUNDED AND MISSING 17 RILLEDWOUNDED ANDHISSING 362 IN THE W\K WITH SPAIK 1898: .BATTERY A . CAPTAIN EDGAR. R, BARKER. . . - OFFICEKS. 4 ENLISTED HEN 106 THIS TABLET IS PLACED BY THE VETERAN ASSOCIATION R M. C.A. ' . . . ■ ;:i917 .■ ■, ■ HISTORICAL ADDRESS Delivered July 19, 191 7, at the DEDICATION OF THE MEMORIAL TABLET ON THE ARSENAL, Benefit Street, corner of Meeting, Providence, R. L Presumably at this very instant stands on the firing line, somewhere in Prance," cousins at once and allies, fighting their battles and ours, two regiments, whose fame for more than two centuries has been conspicuously and indissolubly entwined with that of Britain — the Black Watch and the Coldstream Guards. The former, some- times known as the 4.26. Highlanders, at Fontenoy, May II, 1745, like the Rhode Island troops at the first Bull Run, lost all but honor; the latter assisted in placing Charles II on his father's throne. Passing unnoticed the services of these, the oldest of Scotia's and of England's troops, in the i8th century and merely observing that in the 19th both were at Waterloo where the Coldstreams 3 won imperishable glory by their stubborn defence of the Chateau Hougomont, that both were in the Crimea and also in India during the Sepoy mutiny where the Black Watch secured immortality at the relief of Lucknow, I ask how must the crippled veterans of these regiments in Chelsea hospital, and those less disabled scattered through- out the United Kingdom, regard the banners under which they fought, how esteem the stripplings, their successors, who have assumed the burdens they have been compelled to lay aside? Identical are the sentiments that prompted the Marine Artillery Veteran Association to erect the tablet we have met to dedicate; identical the interest and the love cher- ished toward those about to enter a conflict from whose pleasures and perils and honors we alas are debarred by the infirmities of age. The Providence Marine Corps of Artillery, now in its 117th year, is the oldest military organization in this county. It assisted in throwing up fortifications for the defence of the town in the war of 1812, in quelling the Dorr Insurrection in 1842, and in crushing the greater rebellion of 1861-5; was mustered into the United States service for a third time in 1898, and is now prepared to cross the broad ocean to assist in preserving the liberties of the human race. In the inter- vals of peace it has supported and strengthened the na- tional government by sending to the Senate Chamber for 4 five successive terms, at a critical period of our history, Henry Bowen Anthony, journaHst, orator and ex-gov- ernor, and later WilHam Sprague; the State by placing in the gubernatorial chair Henry Lippitt, Henry Howard, Royal C. Taft, and the younger Elisha Dyer, and upon the Supreme Bench as Chief Justice that sterling Quaker, William Read Staples; the city by bestowing its mayoralty for 1 8 years on Thomas Arthur Doyle. The Marine Artillery was a power in the land in those days ! It has elevated the character of our citizens through the influence and example of that scholar and scientist John R. Bartlett, for long years Secretary of State, of that charming poet Albert G. Greene, of that eloquent advocate Benjamin F. Thurston, of that delightsome artist Augustus Hoppin, of that soulful musician Eben A. Kelly and of those church pillars James H. Read, Benjamin H. Gladding and Charles F. Wilcox. It has cared for their material interests through the inventions of William A. Harris, the administrative skill of George H. Smith first superin- tendent of city railways, and the business acumen of Cyrus B. Manchester, Cyrus Taft, Tully D. Bowmen, William T. Dorrance, Rufus Waterman and Henry T. Beckwith. Representing these men and countless others of equal worth though less publicly known and as surviving com- rades of the quasi-military duty pertinent to their day and generation, we the Veteran Association, P. M. C. A., have assembled this day to pay our last tribute of respect to those who, counting not their life dear unto them, passed out through yon portals prepared to sacrifice their all for honor, country, God ! To many the crash of rebel shot and shell against the walls of Sumter, April 12, 1861, was as the crackling of thunderbolts in a clear sky. Yet all had not been sleep- ing. Governor Sprague, direct from Magenta and Sol- ferino, had scented the battle from afar and had prepared for the conflict so far as circumstances permitted. In less than 72 hours after Lincoln had called for 75,000 volun- teers for three months service the Marine Artillery as First Battery and numbering 145 officers and men was on its way to the front with complete equipment and carriages freshly painted. At Easton, Pa., it exchanged its six smoothbore pieces for an equal number of James rifled can- non, a Rhode Island invention, thus becoming not only the first volunteer but the first rifled battery in United States forces. Captain Tompkins, tall, erect, blond, fully bearded and barely 27 years, perfectly embodied boyhood's ideal; his subsequent rapid promotion to the colonelcy of the three year regiment with the successful maintenance of his position for more than two years as Chief of Artillery of the Sixth Army Corps, often designated Sheridan's Heavy Cavalry, not less than the brevet of Brigadier for services before Richmond and in the Shenandoah vindicated the 6 judgment. The chances of war limited the Battery's service to marching and outpost duty, having once only the opportunity of tossing a few shells into the enemy's wood. Sixty-three of its enlisted men re-entered the service, nine of whom won commissions. May 24, 1862, Governor Sprague received a telegram requesting him to send cit 07ice all available troops to Wash- ington to repel a threatened attack by Stonewall Jackson. The state, like the national government, was totally unpre- pared. Edwin C. Gallup, a sergeant in the First Battery, chanced to be at the head of our active corps. Not until the 29th did the first detachment of 96 men leave, rein- forced at Washington June 6th by 40 men and on the 9th by 25 more. Not until the 14th did it receive its arma- ment, six i2-pounders. With the exception of a tramp to Cloud's Mills, Va. , to participate in an advance to Richmond by the Great Unready that never materialized, the Tenth Battery spent its three months of service in camp near Tenallytown, D. C. , where its drills were one of the recognized sights of the Capital. Captain Gallup was a gentleman in the technical sense of the term and elegantly entertained his numerous guests while his next in command conducted the evolutions. Six of the enlisted men had served in the First Battery and 28 re-entered the service in various organizations. Battery A, First Regiment Rhode Island Light Artillery, 7 was mustered into service June 6, 1861. Its fame rests not less upon its conduct on the battlefield than on the number of its enlisted men that rose to responsible posi- tions. First Sergeant George E. Randolph became Chief of Artillery of the 3d Army Corps; 5th Line Sergeant Charles D. Owen, Captain of Battery G; Corporal T. Frederic Brown, Captain of Battery B, serving through the entire war despite a severe wound at Gettysburg; and Private Elmer L. Corthell, eventually one of the world's eminent civil engineers, Captain of Battery D ; Sergeant William H. Walcott became a Captain in the 1 7th U. S. Infantry, lost a leg at Gettysburg, and yet remained on duty until January 7, 1865, when he was retired, receiv- ing the brevets of Lt. Col. and Col. , U. S. A. , subse- quently. Of the corporals, William A. Sabin became Captain in the 3d Heavy Artillery; Harry C. Cushing, Captain and Brevet Major in the 4th U.S. Artillery, com- manding for long years the light battery at Fort Adams; while Charles H. Clark, G. Lyman Dwight and George W. Field won regimental first lieutenances. Sergeants Henry Newton and Francis A. Smith secured second lieu- tenancies. First Lieutenant John Albert Monroe organ- ized and drilled the battery and through the instruction and inspiration given insured the reputation of Rhode Island Light Artillery. Noting that Clark had graduated from the English High School but two years before, Owen but 8 one year, and that Monroe and Dwight and Gushing (all my classmates) and Brown and Corthell had left college for the service, and that with a possible single exception all were beardless at a time when it was ttnfashionable for men to shave, you can readily form a pretty correct idea of the Boys of '6i." In view of his subsequent brilliant record I am constrained to add that Brown then possessed the most exquisite complexion I ever saw in man. His delicately pink cheeks, graceful carriage and refined manner were perfectly maidenly! Expected now but not then these men exhibited the utmost coolness at their baptism of fire. Gushing and Dwight quoting from the poets as changing scenes suggested while the latter ventured to call Monroe' s attention to the beauty thereof but lie had too many responsibilities to think on such mat- ters. Eight weeks later Gaptain William H. Reynolds was Lieutenant Golonel of the regiment. The battery was engaged in a dozen pitched battles, has 279 names on its roll and lost 13 killed, 64 wounded. It was mustered out June 18, 1864. Fifty men who had re-enlisted or enlisted to make good losses by disease were transferred to Battery B. That battery had been mustered Into service August 13, 1 86 1. Four months later Gapt. Thomas F. Vaughn resigned. At one time Major and Brevet Brigardier General John G. Hazard, Ghief of Artillery of the 2d Army Corps and later Colonel of the 5th U. S. Vet. Vol. Infantry, was likewise its Captain. Battery B was mus- tered out June 12, 1865, having served three years and ten months. Three hundred and seventy-six were en- rolled; it lost 12 killed, 44 wounded and two missing. Nineteen engagements were ordered to be inscribed on its colors, among them Gettysburg where 7 men were killed, 35 wounded, 65 horses killed or wounded, 5 guns ren- dered useless by rapidity and duration of fire, while the 6th, quite as effectually disabled, now reposes in our State House; Spottsylvania, where it was planted 150 yards from the rebel rifle pits and when the assault was made a section (platoon in modern parlance) accompanied the advanc- ing line to the breastworks and fired over them at the Bloody Angle, the first time a battery was ever ordered to charge; also Ream's Station, where it was well-nigh anni- hilated, losing 4 killed, 52 wounded, 4 guns and caissons and 61 horses. Battery C, Capt. William B. Weeden, was mustered August 25, 1 86 1, and merged with Battery G, December 23, 1864, 44 of the original members having returned home August 27. Its roll bears 225 names; 16 were killed, 26 wounded and 2 reported missing. Eighteen battles are inscribed on its colors, among them the Second Bull Run where it expended 600 rounds of shell and case, and Shepardstown where about 500 more were con- sumed. 10 Battery D was in the service from September 4, 1861, until July 17, 1865. Two hundred and seventy men were enrolled during that period. Of this number 6 were killed and 25 wounded with 5 reported missing at Antie- tam. There, thrown by Hooker 200 yards in advance of the line of battle it absolutely squelched a rebel battery enfilading our lines, compelling its survivors to abandon their pieces i^^ situ. In turn, however, it was forced to fall back by the flank fire of riflemen that had crept into easy range and killed on a single piece every horse but one and killed or wounded every man save the gunner and one cannoneer. All its pieces were brought in although 56 horses had been killed. At the Second Bull Run, when pro- tecting our left fiank with a number of other batteries, the Rebs issuing suddenly from a wood made a charge in force. On their near approach, the first support, though well protected by the sunken road it was occupying, broke and ran like a flock of sheep, as did the second line in rear of the batteries. The artillerymen followed their example, all but Monroe's men who continued hurling cannister until the Johnnies could almost lay their hands upon the pieces. Then he gave the order, "Limber to the rear, caissons left about," which was executed with accuracy and promptness, so that, to the amazement of all others, the guns were literally snaked from out the enemy's grasp. When a distance of some 300 yards had been gained in II the retreat, 'Action rear," was ordered, and again his guns were doing effective work. A second time the bat- tery hmbered up at the last moment only again to unlimber at the proper distance. At that moment Monroe was informed that only a few rounds of solid shot were remain- ing so he reluctantly retired from the field. Every other gun on that flank was lost! The evident value of their previous severe drills shut the mouths of the most com- plaining. Afterward Monroe organized and successfully conducted for nearly a year the School for Artillery at Washington, later serving as Chief of Artillery to the 2d and 9th Corps successively. He attained the rank of Lieutenant Colonel and a commission of Brigadier Gen- eral was made out for him and signed, but was withheld because he would not even postpone his marriage to an Alexandria belle. When nine picked regiments from Longstreet's Corps assaulted Fort Saunders, at Knoxville, November 29, 1863, Sergeant Charles C. Gray, long our State Auditor, rendered such conspicuously valuable ser- vice that Burnside directed his captain to recommend him for a lieutenancy. Randolph's Battery E, was mustered in September 30, 1861, and out June 14, 1865. Three hundred and fifty- five men were identified with it, of whom 12 were killed and 32 wounded. Twelve battles were ordered inscribed on its colors. In the afternoon and evening of June i, 12 1864, It fired 675 rounds at Cold Harbor, and previously (May 10) 530 rounds at Spottsylvania Court House. Moreover, on June 1 7, It fired the first shots into Peters- burg-. Its captain during the last eight months of his army life was Chief of Artillery of the 3d Corps, General Sickles, who held him in the very highest esteem. Battery F, sometimes designated The Class in Geogra- phy because of the multiplicity of its wanderings, how- beit they were confined to two hostile States, served from October 29, 1861, to June 27, 1865. It was a part of Burnside's Coast Division, a semi-naval force, was knocked about on shipboard during the storm off Hatteras that caused serious disaster to the expedition and great anxiety to friends at home, twice landed its battery from vessels by throwing the horses overboard and towing them ashore by small boats and rafting the guns and other property to the land, made numerous raids by land and by water in the Depart- ment of North Carolina, served as cavalry for several weeks after the capture of New Berne and made a repu- tation of which it was justly proud, considerably inside a year. Its subsequent history is practically an intensified repetition. It enrolled 297 men, of whom 10 were killed and 26 wounded. Capt. James Belger had spent most of the preceding ten years as First Sergeant of Magruder's Light Battery in Texas and in Fort Adams. He possessed all the excellencies of the old time Regular including the 13 ability to carry an Indefinite amount of whisky without betraying the fact. Capt. Owen had but attained the age of 19 years, 2 months, 5 days, when appointed to the command of Bat- tery G. Two hundred and eighty-seven men were en- rolled, of whom 8 were killed and 49 wounded. Fifteen engagements were ordered inscribed on its guidon. Seven- teen men received special Congressional Medals of Honor for accompanying the 6th Corps when it pierced the rebel Hnes on the morning of April 2, 1865, and turning the enemy's guns upon themselves. That any unusual cour- age, hazard or skill was involved in this affair is, however, not apparent. Nevertheless its conception contributed largely to the securement of the brevet of Colonel for George W. Adams, then Captain commanding. The Battery served from December 2, 1 861, to June 24, 1865, Most severely of all did Battery H suffer from the evils of the volunteer system and the co-existent curse, bounty jumping. Had the extreme penalty for desertion been rigorously inflicted, not only the State and National treas- uries but the general service would have benefitted im- measurably. As it was, although 319 names appear on its roll, in March, 1863, a detail of half a hundred or more was made from a Vermont brigade to fill its ranks. When the terms of 40 of these men expired near mid- summer, Jeffrey Hazard, who had made a brilliant record 14 in Battery A, and was a typical Christian soldier and gen- tleman, threw up his captaincy in despair of seeing any more real service, for though its wanderings were many and devious it participated in but two battles, the assault on Petersburg and Sailor's Creek. It was then under the command of Crawford Allen, Jr., whose richly gold- embroidered sleeves rendered him well known to the army at large. Its losses were two killed and seven wounded. Its period of service was from October 14, 1862, to June 28, 1865. Barring three days, exactly 33 years after the collapse of the Great Rebellion, consequent upon the surrender of Joe Johnson to William Tecumseh Sherman, William McKinley, at the earlier date Captain and Brevet Major of the 23d Ohio, but at the latter President of the United States, called for 125,000 volunteers to oust Spanish forces from Cuba and the Cuban waters. On the second sub- sequent evening, April 25, 1898, it chancing to be the annual meeting of the Marine Artillery, it was unani- mously voted that the Corps as Battery A, Brigade Rhode Island Militia, tender its services to the Governor for foreign duty. The offer was not accepted until May 27. On June 8, under command of Captain Edgar R. Barker, it left this building for Quonset Point numbering 162 offi- cers and men. During the entire interval the officers exerted themselves to the limit preparing the Battery for 15 service, drilling it in relays the last two weeks day and night uninterruptedly. On June 15, it reported 205 pres- ent and fit for duty. Under date of June 18, the Gov- ernor was advised only no persons could be mustered in and accordingly nearly a hundred men were returned to their homes. Most of these at once sought adventure in the Regular service. On June 25, the Battery was mus- tered into the United States service for two years or the war as Light Battery A, ist Artillery, Rhode Island Vol- unteers. It was mustered out October 26, 1898, never having left camp. No more exasperating, nerve racking duty is required of any soldier than watching others hurled into a fray from which himself is debarred. None can understand the embittering effect unless he has experi_ enced it. Twenty-five per cent, of these men, however, did not propose to be despoiled of their fun, but joining the Regular army and navy visited the Phillipines, one at least pushing on to Pekin at the time of the Boxer uprising. Comrades of the Olive Drab! I have outlined as briefly as possible the record of your comrades of the red cord of the elder daj^s, comrades clU in that alike we have sworn to obey the orders of our superiors, irrespective. Some of the survivors I see before me. Doubt not that they w ill follow your footsteps with the closest attention. Beat their record if you can I Personally I congratulate you 16 on the branch of the service you have selected. Prefer- able as was the light artillery half a century ago far more to be desired is the field artillery of today. I congratulate you upon the perfection of the armament with which you have been and will be supplied. I congratulate you upon your officers who have already proved themselves men you may trust. I congratulate you in that you will presumably defend on foreign soil your mothers and your children, your wives and your sweethearts, your homes, your all, thereby preserving them from the horrors of Belgium and France, of Poland and of Servia, and of Roumania. Especially do I congratulate you in that you will take part in overthrowing a slavery as debasing and as cruel as any that ever existed; as debasing in that it enchained not only body but mind and soul; as cruel in that it is more refined. On a certain occasion a General, addressing the Coldstream Guards, expressed the hope they would do their best. A common soldier, angered by the possibly implied innuendo, exclaimed. You know we will do our best!" With equal confidence I affirm in. this pres- ence I knoiv you will do your best ! You dare not do otherwise! This is the first time the Veteran Association, Providence Marine Corps of Artillery, as a unit, has met you; it may be the last. Certainly, as individuals, we will not dll meet. Whithersoever your footsteps are directed some will succumb to disease. More sure it is a number of us will be missing on your return, for many 17 are living on borrowed time. It, therefore, remaineth for me but to salute you each as an individual — Comrade, Hail! Farewell! and if forever, ?X\V^ forever ^ fare thee well! LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 013 703 676 9 Rhode Island Printing Company