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 THE ARMY OF THE POTOMAC 
 
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 THE PHANTOM COLUMN 
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 BY 
 
 HORATIO C. KING 
 
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COMPLIMENTS Cr 
 
 Horatio C. KiNo, 
 
 375 Fulton St., Br««ki>n, n. y. 
 
 THE ARMY OF THE POTOMAC. 
 By Gen. Horatio C. King, LL.U. 
 
 (Extract of Letter from Mrs. McCLellan on readiiiy the foUowirnj article.) 
 
 Jefferson, " The Jeflfereoa," August 31, 1897. 
 Dbar Gknbral King : 
 
 I must send you a line to thaulc you tor the beautiful article you have written 
 on my husband. It is one of the most satisfactory that has been written, and I 
 cannot tell you how touched I am that you have written it. So many cruel things 
 have been written about him that I appreciate this more than I can tell you, ae 
 what you have said, you have said so well. * • * * 
 
 Ag-ain thanking you f<->r what you have done, I am, dear General King, 
 Yours very sincerely, 
 
 ELLEN M. McCLELLAN. 
 
 The ignorant and idiotic cry from the rear of " On to 
 Richmond !" had precipitated an engagement at Bull Run 
 between raw and undisciplined recruits. Both sides were 
 defeated, but the Union forces realized it first and with- 
 drew to Washington to commence the real study of war. 
 And the first requisite was a competent instructor. 
 Western Virginia had been attracting considerable atten- 
 tion, for there McClellan and Rosecrans had been carrying 
 on some warfare in a practical way as laid down by the 
 rules of war. McDowell having voluntarily relinquished 
 the command without dishonor, the young engineer from 
 Ohio was called to Washington the day after the battle 
 of Bull Run. The North, awakened to the fact that war 
 is not a picnic, responded promptly and lavishly to the 
 call for men and munitions, and McClellan began at once 
 the difficult task of organizing the mass of raw civilians 
 into a magnificent and cohesive army. Educated to the 
 profession of war, he exhibited at once his marvelous 
 abihty for organization and discipline, and the hetero- 
 geneous mass which gave to Washington the appearance 
 of being in the hands of a uniformed mob, soon felt the 
 force of his genius. With rare skill he fashioned that 
 grand machine which was not changed in any material 
 detail until, flushed with victory, it saw the beaten and 
 almost starved veterans of that seemingly invincible Army 
 
of Northern Virginia lay down their arms at Appomattox 
 and melt away like snow under the influence of an April 
 sun. A third of a century has passed away, and with it, 
 happily, the passions which animated the critics of the 
 first commander, who lived long enough to witness a 
 great change in public sentiment, and to have his patriot- 
 ism and ability almost universally acknowledged. The 
 silly aspersions upon his loyalty are confined now mainly 
 to the generation of ill-read youths who were in their 
 swaddling clothes when he was standing as a wall against 
 the vast hosts which fiaimted the " stars and bars " almost 
 in sight of the Capital, which he saved by his hard-won 
 victory at Antietam. One fact is universally conceded, 
 namely : that no commander of prominence ever had 
 more completely the devoted affection of his army, it 
 was the magnetic influence which Napoleon exercised, 
 and which gave to McClellan the loving sobriquet with 
 which he was always mentioned, "Little Mac." It accom- 
 panied him through all the vicissitudes of his active com- 
 mand ; it followed him into retirement and throughout 
 his life ; and when the sudden summons came, taps were 
 sounded and the lights were out, no man of that great 
 army who served under him but dropped a tear for 
 " Little Mac," the brave commander, the thoughtful friend 
 and the Christian gentleman.* 
 
 * A notable exhibition of this aflfection came under my personal 
 observation. The Society of the Array of the Potomac was organ- 
 ized in New York City in 1869. McClellan, Burnside, Hooker, 
 Meade, Sheridan and many other distinguished officers were present. 
 It was naturally expected and an effort was made to have the first 
 four presidents the four commanders of that army in the order of 
 their service. 
 
 Unfortunately, party feeling, so soon after the war, still ran high 
 and it made itself conspicuous when the nominations for president 
 were made. McClellan seemed to be the natural selection, and as 
 his name was most frequently mentioned, he, with characteristic 
 modesty, called General Burnside to the chair. McClellan, Meade, 
 Sheridan, Hancock, Pleasonton, Slocum, Humphreys and Burnside 
 were all placed in nomination. Sheridan asked to be excused as 
 he had nominated Meade, but his name was not withdrawn. On 
 
The first call for seventy-five thousand troops seemed 
 preposterously large, and untried officers found them- 
 selves confronted with a difficult problem. Those were 
 fortunate who were not called upon to solve it until later 
 
 the first ballot the vote stood: McClellan, 164; Sheridan, 142; Meade, 
 III ; and Humphreys and Burnside, each i. 
 
 No candidate having received a majority, a second ballot was 
 taken, with this result : Sheridan, 204 ; McClellan, 152 ; and Meade, 
 34. Sheridan was then conducted to the chair amid general 
 acclamations, while McClellan and many of his adherents quietly 
 left the hall. Sheridan, though very popular, had not commanded 
 the Arm}^ of the Potomac, and McClellan no doubt felt the slight 
 very deeply. But he made no exhibition save a continuous absence 
 from the reunions until the meeting in Washington, D. C, in 
 1883. Oil this occasion he attended the banquet and responded to 
 the toast of " The Army of the Potomac. " When he arose to speak 
 and his presence was then first made known, his old comrades, of 
 whom about four hundred were present, arose en masse, and for at 
 least five minutes an enthusiasm which beggars description en- 
 sued. At length, quiet being restored, he proceeded to make the 
 first public reply to his critics and detractors. He reviewed his 
 connection with that army from the time he took command in 
 Washington until his retirement. He spoke of them as "more to 
 me than mere comrades, more than brothers in arms, 3'ou were as 
 my very children. " The address, which occupies less than three 
 pages of the printed report, was calm, dispassionate, but full of 
 pointed and patriotic allusions. He was frequently interrupted by 
 cheers and wild applause, and no one present had any doubt after 
 that of the place he held in the hearts of the men who followed him 
 in the great struggle. In closing he said : ' ' That army which it 
 was my fortune to organize and create, which, under my command, 
 became an army of veterans, which under me first received its 
 baptism in that sea of fire and blood through which for four long 
 years it plunged with uplifted banners, and bearing on its bayonets 
 the life of the nation until it emerged at Appomattox — the Grand 
 Army of the Potomac — I, as its earliest and only living commander, 
 am proud to believe stands the equal of any of the historic armies 
 of the world, in efiiciency, in valor and achievement. I was right 
 when in the beginning of our campaign I said to you that that man 's 
 measure of honor and glory would be filled to overflowing who 
 could say that he belonged to the Army of the Potomac." I be- 
 lieve this was his first and last appearance, for a few years after he 
 joined the ranks of the living on the ' ' other side of the water. ' ' 
 
in the war, when they had learned by experience how to 
 manage and manenver large bodies of men. Some bril- 
 liant soldiers failed in their hrst efforts, who, had they 
 been summoned later to command, would have won un- 
 fading laurels. It is not necessar}^ to name them. They 
 are known to all who are familiar with the history of the 
 war. McClellan is numbered as one of these. There 
 never was a nation before which contained so many 
 theoretical warriors, who, with pens dipped in gory ink, 
 fought grand battles in the retirement of their dingy 
 sanctums, or told how unsuccessful engagements might 
 have been grand victories had General This and That 
 only done thus and so ; and the merchant at his desk, the 
 lawyer in the forum, the preacher in his study, and the 
 schoolboy in his pinafore pointed out the mistakes of the 
 generals, and showed how easily they might have pierced 
 the center or doubled up the flanks, and bagged the entire 
 Confederate army on each and every occasion, when the 
 soldiers who were on the gi-ound were unable to accom- 
 plish that very desirable result. The great trouble was 
 that these suggestions were in the nature of a post 
 mortem, which, while it may benefit science, is of small 
 importance to the corpse. 
 
 His first efforts were directed toward weeding out in- 
 efficient officers, and several hundred were sent to their 
 homes. Regiments were formed into brigades and brig- 
 ades into divisions. As few officers at that time were 
 competent to command a greater force than a division, 
 the organization of corps was deferred until later. In fact, 
 he directed every detail necessary to perfect the complex 
 machine which was to remain practically intact until the 
 close of the war. 
 
 Nur did he overlook the importance of fortifications 
 and intrenchments. It has been charged that McClellan 
 depended too much upon the pick and the spade, but the 
 country reaped the benefit of his foresight and skill as an 
 engineer and digger when Early's entrance into Wash- 
 ington was barred only by the magnificent line of fortifi- 
 cations which were built by McClellan's orders and under 
 
his supervision. Later, our troops profited in every 
 engagement by improvised defenses of earth, stone, rails 
 and trees, and never lost an opportunity to work like 
 beavers and dig like moles when in the presence of a 
 wily, skillful, brave and powerful foe. A great marshal 
 of France once said that " Whoever has committed no 
 faults has never made war," and it is not claimed by any 
 one that McClcllan was infallible ; but subsequent history 
 proved that his plans, in their general characteristics, 
 were the best, and especially the plan which made the 
 James River the base for the approach to and final cap- 
 ture of Richmond. It is true that the second great com- 
 mander chose the land route, but his famous and persistent 
 march by the left flank finally brought him to the James 
 with the loss of a greater number than General McClellan 
 had under his command at any time on the Peninsula. 
 Grant had the men, and the hammering process was con- 
 sidered sufficiently disastrous to the Confederate army 
 to justify our sacrifice ; for it was said that at that time 
 the South had already robbed the cradle and the grave 
 to fill its depleted ranks. About one point there has 
 never been any dispute. When McClellan left Alexandria 
 for the Peninsula, the army of McDowell, near Fred- 
 ericksburg, some forty thousand men, was under his 
 command and was expected to co-operate with him. But 
 his force was scarcely landed at Yorktown before the 
 authorities at the Capital withdrew that force from 
 McClellan's control, lest by uncovering Washington the 
 Confederates might make a dash and capture it. It was 
 not until Grant took supreme command, with the positive 
 assurance from President Lincoln that he would not be 
 interfered with by the civil authorities, that they learned 
 the truth of McClellan's statement that the place to pro- 
 tect and defend Washington was in front of Richmond. 
 
 His original plan, known as the Anaconda plan, was the 
 plan adopted by his immortal successor as general-in- 
 chief, and indeed the only rational plan by which to con- 
 quer over so vast a territory. 
 
 It was undoubtedly McClellan's purpose to attack the 
 
Army of Northern Virginia at Manassas, and to attempt 
 the capture of I^ichmond by the land route. The long 
 delay in front of Manassas aroused much dissatisfaction, 
 but the impracticability of following an enemy through 
 one hundred miles in his own territory, and keeping up 
 communication with a base of supplies, asserted itself. 
 McClellan thereupon surprised the country by quietly 
 transferring his entire army to a new base on the James 
 River, thus compelling the Confederates to return to the 
 protection of their menaced Capital. The withdrawal of 
 McDowell's force from active co-operation was a serious 
 blow. But the advance up the Peninsula was made. 
 Yorktown was evacuated, Williamsburg was won, and 
 soon the Union forces were encamped in sight of the 
 spires of Richmond. There is not space here to give the 
 movements and engagements in detail. The unchecked 
 advance, the subsequent reverses, the skillful retreats, 
 with the magnificent battle of Fair Oaks, and the terrific 
 repulse of the enemy at Malvern Hill, which are among 
 the most noted engagements of the war, can receive but 
 passing mention here. At Fair Oaks the enemy lost their 
 leader — Johnston — and seven thousand men, while our 
 loss was but five thousand, and it was learned subse- 
 quently that the people of Richmond momentarily awaited 
 the tramp of our forces in the streets of their Capital ; and 
 had our own army, after its terrible struggle of seven 
 days' continuous fighting, been reinforced and thus en- 
 abled to assume the offensive, it could even then have 
 marched into that stronghold. In the campaign, our loss 
 was a little over fifteen thousand, while the Confederate 
 loss was over nineteen thousand. Victory was on the 
 side of the Confederates, for the siege of Richmond was 
 raised, but the morale of our army was not destroyed, or 
 its confidence in its leader shaken. Had the army been 
 then reinforced, even if placed under another leader, it is 
 asserted by soldiers of acknowledged wisdom and experi- 
 ence, that ultimate success would have been reached 
 within a year — some say six months. Says Swinton, in 
 summing up the results of the campaign : '• For the com- 
 
mander to have extricated his army from a difficult situ- 
 ation, in which circumstances quite as much as his own 
 fault had placed it, and in presence of a powerful, skillful 
 and determined adversary, to have transferred it to a 
 position whence it could act with effect, was of itself a 
 notable achievement. For the army to have fought 
 through such a campaign was creditable, and its close 
 found inexperienced troops transformed into veteran 
 soldiers ; and, if alone from the appeal which great suffer- 
 ing and great sacrifices always make to a generous people, 
 the story of that eventful march and arduous retreat, 
 when, weary and hungry and footsore, the army marched 
 by night and fought by day through a whole week of toil 
 and never gave up, but made a good fight and reached 
 the goal, cannot fail to live in grateful remembrance." 
 
 The authorities at Washington, deeming further efforts 
 on the Peninsula useless, withdrew the army, leaving 
 McClellan practically without a command. A new com- 
 mander was called from the West to lead the discomfited 
 but not dispirited forces. 
 
 I was on duty in the defenses south of Washington 
 when General Pope fought and lost the second battle of 
 Bull Run. Only those who were present can realize the 
 consternation, amounting almost to panic, which existed 
 in that city when the stragglers from that army, hatless, 
 shoeless and ragged, swarmed by thousands in the streets 
 of the Capital. It was the darkest period in the history 
 of the war. Demoralization ran riot, and the authorities 
 were wild with excitement and fear. All eyes were 
 turned toward the little commander whose army had but 
 recently been taken from him. Had he been less a man 
 and a patriot, he would have rejected the oflfer to resume 
 command of his army ; but he did not. His reassignment 
 acted like magic. Immediately out of chaos came order; 
 the nation once more breathed freely, and courage took 
 the place of despair. Active traitors, cowards and mal- 
 contents who had been stirring up sedition and opposition 
 in the rear, and who were more dangerous to the safety 
 of the Union than the open and avowed enemies with 
 
lO 
 
 arms in their hands, were again cowed and dared not 
 carry on their schemes for dissolution in the light of day. 
 With scarce two weeks to equip and rehabilitate a dis- 
 pirited army, he met the exultant enemy at Antietam, 
 and defeated and drove them across the Potomac. He 
 has been censured for not following up this victory, and 
 so was the gallant Meade because he did not capture or 
 drive the enemy into the river after the grand repulse at 
 Gettysburg. On both occasions the great and glorious 
 Army of the Potomac had been sorely pressed by three 
 days of most terrible fighting, and the commanders, 
 uninformed of the demoralization of their foes, were un- 
 willing to risk a pursuit which they feared might deprive 
 them of the immeasurable benefit of their victories. But 
 both had accomplished great results : they had driven 
 back the invaders of the North and saved the nation. 
 
 The enemy crossed the Potomac, and sought rest in 
 the Shenandoah Valley. Of the seventy thousand men 
 with which Lee entered Maryland, thirty thousand were 
 killed, wounded or prisoners of war. The invasion had 
 utterly failed of its purpose in rallying Marylanders to 
 the Confederate standard, for the people were apathetic, 
 and, instead of receiving a welcome as friends, the}^ found 
 themselves under the disadvantage, which confronted 
 our troops almost always during the war, of campaigning 
 in an enemy's country. After a month spent in replen- 
 ishing supplies and putting the army in condition for an 
 advance, McClellan, by a skillfully concealed movement, 
 reached Warrenton, completely severing the Confederate 
 army, a part of which had been detached to Culpeper, 
 while the rest remained in the Shenandoah Valley. Here 
 was McClellan's opportunity, and it was his purpose to 
 fall upon each wing and beat it in detail, when the order 
 came from Washington relieving him from the command 
 of the army. The order was summary and brief : " By 
 direction of the President of the United States, it is 
 ordered that Major-General McClellan be relieved from 
 the command of the Army of the Potomac, and that Major- 
 General Burnside take command of that army." No 
 
]^lAjoi< (iKXEKAi. A. H. lUKXSinK, r. .S. A. 
 
II 
 
 reason was assigned, and the order fell like a thunderbolt 
 upon the troops, who loved this commander as they never 
 loved one before or after. The scene was memorable, 
 and characteristic of the man. It is related that Burnside 
 was in McClellan's tent when the order was received. 
 McClellan opened the dispatch, and reading it, passed it 
 quickly and without any manifestation of emotion to 
 Burnside, saying: "Well, Burnside, you are to command 
 the army." Burnside, who felt his inability and shrank 
 from the responsibility, was almost overcome with emo- 
 tion. But I have not space to prolong the interview. 
 McClellan withdrew in a few days, and his active career 
 as a soldier was ended. Of this sudden and arbitrary 
 removal Swinton, in his history of the Army of the 
 Potomac, says : " Having accomplished his work of ex- 
 pelling Lee from Maryland, he entered, after a brief 
 repose, on a new campaign of invasion, and it was in the 
 midst of this and on the eve of a decisive blow that he 
 was suddenly removed. The moment chosen was an in- 
 opportune and ungracious one, for never had McClellan 
 acted with such vigor and rapidity, never had he shown 
 so much confidence in himself or the array in him. And 
 it is a notable fact that not only was the whole body oi 
 the army, rank and file as well as officers, enthusiastic in 
 their affection for his person, but that the very general 
 appointed as his successor was the strongest opponent of 
 his removal." 
 
 --"^General Burnside reluctantly assumed command, and 
 after remaining ten days at Warrenton formed the six 
 corps of the Army into three grand divisions of two corps 
 each, placing the right, the center and the left grand divi- 
 sions under Generals Sumner, Hooker and Franklin 
 respectively. In spite of the opposition of the authorities 
 at Washington, General Burnside changed the line of 
 maneuver and on November 15, 1862, moved toward 
 Fredericksburg. On the 17 the advance reached Fal- 
 mouth, and the army in a tew days took up a position on 
 the north side of the Rappahannock. On the nth and 
 1 2th of December the troops crossed over, and on the 
 
12 
 
 1 3th commenced the disastrous battle of Fredericksburg. 
 The Confederates were fully prepared, the character of 
 the ground being most favorable to the defense. The 
 action of that day was sufficiently convincing to the prin- 
 cipal corps and division commanders of the necessity of 
 recrossing the river, but Burnside determined to renew 
 the conflict on the following day. Preparations were 
 accordingly made, but, yielding to the entreaties of 
 Sumner, Burnside desisted. The troops remained in 
 position on the 14th and 15th, and on the night of the 
 15th, in a violent storm, they retreated to their camps on 
 the north side of the Rappahannock, completely outwit- 
 ting Lee, who still awaited a renewal of the onslaught. 
 The Army of the Potomac lost twelve thousand, three 
 hundred, in killed, wounded and missing, and the Army of 
 Northern Virginia five thousand, three hundred and nine. 
 This battle has been fitly described as the " most bloody 
 and the most useless of the war." 
 
 On the 19th of January, 1863, Burnside essayed another 
 crossing above Fredericksburg, but a heavy rain came on, 
 and the celebrated abortive " mud march " was aban- 
 doned. No other movement of importance was or c(juld 
 be made under Burnside, in whose ability to command so 
 large a force the army had lost confidence. Both Generals 
 Franklin and Smith wrote the President advising against 
 the advance to Richmond by that route and recommend- 
 ing a return to the Peninsula. President Lincoln, while 
 refusing to accept this suggestion, relieved the situation 
 by retiring Burnside and placing General Joseph Hooker 
 in command. It is notable that Burnside never lost the 
 respect and affection of the army, and his subsequent 
 career served to endear him still more closelv to his 
 troops and to the country. 
 
 Hooker had gained a great reputation as a corps com- 
 mander, and much was hoped for. The army at this time 
 numbered about 120,000 artillery and infantry, 12,000 
 cavalry and 400 guns. It comprised seven corps — the 
 First (General Reynolds), Second (General Couch), Third 
 (General Sicklesj, Fifth (General Meade), Sixth (General 
 
13 
 
 Sedgwick), Eleventh (General Howard), and Twelfth 
 (General Slocum). The reorganization left out several 
 most valuable officers whose loss was greatly felt and de- 
 plored. Hooker awaited the return of good roads and 
 better fighting conditions, and on the 27th of April the 
 movement began which culminated in the bloody and 
 disastrous defeat at Chancellorsville. Concerning this, I 
 shall not enter into particulars, but will commend the in- 
 quirer to the published account of Colonel A. C. Hamlin, 
 who has made an exhaustive examination and study ot 
 this field and conflict. His work will serve, to some ex- 
 tent, at least, to set at rest many disputes, and in the 
 minds ot some, at least, to place the blame for the failure 
 of this brilliantly planned but badly executed battle where 
 it properly belongs. The death of Stonewall Jackson 
 was an irreparable loss to the Confederate army, and 
 from this time on the cause of the South began to wane. 
 
 The army, not knowing why it was beaten, was again 
 on the north side of the Rappahannock, strong in its abil- 
 ity to overcome the rebellion, but distrustful of its leader. 
 Flushed with victory, Lee took up the offensive and de- 
 termined to carry the war again across the border. 
 Hooker had ho alternative but to follow him on interior 
 lines and endeavor to head him off. There were spirited 
 cavalry engagements at Beverly's Ford, Brandy Station 
 and Aldie, in which the cavalry showed their mettle and 
 developed Lee's intentions. The Confederate force 
 pushed along into Maryland and Pennsylvania, its ad- 
 vance raiders levying contributions on York, and threat- 
 ening the capital of the Keystone State. Hooker finding 
 himself embarrassed by the refusal of General Halleck to 
 comply with his request for more troops and the evacua- 
 tion of Harper's Ferry, asked to be relieved on the 27th 
 of June, and on the following morning General Meade 
 was placed in command. He at once commenced to con- 
 centrate the army to meet Lee, and the various move- 
 ments finally brought the two great forces face to face at 
 Gettysburg. Here the war reached high-water mark. 
 After three days of desperate fighting, a new emphasis 
 
14 
 
 was given to the nation's birthday, for the 4th of July 
 found the beaten Confederates in full retreat, no more to 
 return to Northern soil, except as peaceful citizens of a 
 redeemed and reunited nation. 
 
 Gettysburg was the Confederate Waterloo. With the 
 coincident fall of Vicksburg and the cutting of the Con- 
 federacy in twain, all hope of success through foreign 
 recognition or other means was dashed. Lee retired to 
 the Shenandoah Valley, followed by Meade, and after 
 various diversions attended with unimportant results, the 
 victorious Army of the Potomac drove the enemy across 
 the Rapidan and took up a position at and near Culpeper 
 Court House, on the north side of the river. The Elev- 
 enth and Twelfth Corps were detached and sent to Ten- 
 nessee. Various strategic movements were undertaken 
 by Lee, but no general engagement was brought on, 
 though the affair at Bristol would have been so considered 
 earlier in the war. There was a handsome brush also at 
 Rappahannock Station, where the Confederates lost 1,500 
 prisoners, four guns and eight standards, and an unsuc- 
 cessful attack at Mine Run. The army then went into 
 winter quarters at Culpeper, the cavalry keeping ofl" 
 ennui by two raids, in one of which (a reckless attempt to 
 enter Richmond and release Union prisoners) the brave 
 Colonel Dahlgren lost his life. 
 
 On the 2d of March General Grant was confirmed as 
 lieutenant-general and on the loth he was assigned to the 
 command of all the armies of the United States. He at 
 once went to General Meade's headquarters, and after 
 due consideration concluded to remain in the field with 
 the Army of the Potomac. It then comprised three corps, 
 the First under General Hancock, the Fifth under Gen- 
 eral Warren and the Sixth under General Sedgwick, to 
 which was added the Ninth Corps under General Burn- 
 side, but recently returned from East Tennessee. General 
 Sheridan was transferred from the West to command the 
 cavalry, General H. J. Hunt was chief of artillery. Major 
 J. C. Duane chief engineer, and General Rufus Ingalls 
 chief quartermaster. The division commanders were : 
 
IS 
 
 of the Second Corps, Barlow, Gibbon, Birney and Mott ; 
 of the Fifth Corps, Griffin, Robinson, Crawford and 
 Wadsworth ; of the Sixth Corps, Wright, Getty and 
 Ricketts ; of the Ninth Corps, Stevenson, Potter, Willcox 
 and Ferrero ; of the cavalry, Torbert, Gregg and Wilson. 
 The command numbered about 140,000 available men. 
 
 On the 3d of May the most bloody of all the campaigns 
 of the war was inaugurated. The movement by the left 
 flank is immortalized in song and story, and the epigram- 
 matic sentence of Grant, " We will fight it out on this 
 line if it takes all summer," takes position alongside of the 
 sententious "Vent/ Vidi ! Vict /" oi Caesar. The battle 
 of the Wilderness, May 5 to 7, was a drawn battle. Our 
 loss was 15,000 and that of the Confederates about 8,000. 
 His greatly superior force, however, enabled Grant to 
 push on. At Spottsylvania there was another terrific en- 
 gagement, regarded by careful historians as the fiercest 
 and most sanguinary of the whole war. The breastworks 
 on both sides were frequently lost and retaken. After 
 twenty hours of fighting, Lee withdrew and reformed his 
 lines. Our loss was about 8,000, and that of the Confed- 
 erates, who came out from behind their entrenchments, 
 was probably equally as great. Here the noble Sedgwick 
 fell. Efforts, however, to dislodge the enemy, after ten 
 days' maneuvering, proving fruitless, Grant again took 
 up the line of march. Forty thousand men had fallen, 
 and the outlook was not encouraging. Sheridan with the 
 cavalry had gone on a raid, and succeeded in defeating 
 the Confederate cavalry at Yellow Tavern, killing General 
 J. E. B. Stuart, the ablest cavalry leader in the Southern 
 armies. Co-operative movements were also going on in 
 the Shenandoah Valley and at Bermuda Hundred, but all 
 eyes were turned upon the Army of the Potomac. Grant 
 crossed the North Anna, but finding that route impracti- 
 cable, recrossed and passed on across the Pamunkey, 
 where he struck his new base of supplies by the York 
 River. But there was still more fighting to be done to 
 secure Cold Harbor, which it was necessary if practicable 
 to hold. The fearful repulse here resulted, in the incred- 
 
i6 
 
 ibly short space of ten minutes, in the loss of 13,000 men, 
 while the Confederate's loss was claimed to be less than 
 2,000. The army was then withdrawn to the south side 
 of the James River preparatory to the siege of Richmond. 
 The overland campaign had been again unsuccessful and 
 the intrepid army found itself, in June, 1864, practically 
 where it was in the summer of 1862 and Richmond still 
 defiant. The failure of Butler to capture Petersburg by 
 assault rendered a long siege necessary. The mine fiasco 
 and the attack on the Weldon road, the fights at Reams 
 Station and Hatcher's Run, were among the principal 
 features of the siege. 
 
 Meanwhile, the anaconda was rapidly tightening its 
 hold upon the Confederacy. Sheridan in the Shenandoah 
 Valley with the cavalry, the Sixth, the Eighth and part of 
 the Nineteenth Corps, had redeemed that section, and in 
 March, after destroying the railroads and canal eti route, 
 came out at City Point. Winchester and Cedar Creek 
 are a part of the laurels of the Army of the Potomac, and 
 the corps shipped to the West also gave a most satisfac- 
 tory account of themselves. Lee created a diversion by 
 an attack on Washington, but the opportune arrival of 
 the Sixth Corps saved the city. 
 
 At length everything was ready, and General Grant 
 fixed March 29 as the day for the final movement for the 
 capture of the Confederate Capital. The Army of the 
 Potomac was reinforced by the iVrmy of the James, under 
 General Ord. It comprised two divisions of the Twenty- 
 fourth Corps (General Gibbon), one division of the 
 Twenty-fifth Corps (General Birney), and a small body of 
 cavalry, a division only in name, under General McKenzie. 
 The organization of the Army of the Potomac at this 
 time, under General Meade, included the Second Corps 
 (General Humphreys), Fifth Corps (General Warren), 
 Sixth Corps (General Wright), Ninth Corps (General 
 Parke), and Sheridan's cavalry. The division commanders 
 were: of the Second Corps, Miles, Hays and Mott ; of 
 the Fifth, Grifiin, Ayres and Crawford ; of the Sixth, 
 Wheaton, Getty and Seymour; of the Ninth, Willcox, 
 
17 
 
 Potter and Hartranft; of the cavalry, Merritt (command- 
 ing corps), Devin, Custer and Crook. 
 
 The development of the enemy at Five Forks, and the 
 three days of pitched battle, the flight of Davis from 
 Richmond, the general advance of the army and capture 
 of Richmond, the rapid pursuit of Lee and running hght, 
 the sanguinary conflict with the rear guard at Sailors' 
 Creek, and the surrender at Appomattox, completed the 
 work of as magnificent an army as the w^orld ever saw. 
 
 Its duty done, it returned to Washington to receive the 
 nation's plaudits in one last grand review, and then it 
 melted away into peaceful pursuits, to enjoy the blessings 
 which it helped to secure and perpetuate. 
 
 In the address of the late General Francis A. Walker 
 before the Society of the Army of the Potomac at Port- 
 land, in 1890, he depicted with masterly hand that great 
 review, and, in concluding, said : " Yes, comrades, our 
 day is over. Mustered out of service, enfeebled by years, 
 disabled by wounds, we are no longer to be counted even 
 among the military reserve of the country. Another war, 
 should it occur, would have to be fought by younger and 
 stronger hands than ours. But no one can take from us 
 our certificates of honorable discharge, or diminish the 
 part we had in the nation's deliverance. Whenever we 
 see the statue of one of our heroes dedicated amid the ap- 
 plause of thousands, and the thunders of cannon, when- 
 ever we see some crippled veteran halting in his steps, 
 each of us may stand up and proudly cry : ' I, too, was of 
 the Army of the Potomac !' " — From Frank Leslie's Illus- 
 trated Magazine. 
 
Major-CiICxkrai, Joskph Hooker, U, vS. A. 
 
THE PHANTOM COLUMN; 
 
 BY 
 
 Gen. HORATTO C. KING, LL.D. 
 
 *Read at the Re-union of the Society of the Army of the Potomac at 
 Niagara Falls, N. Y., September i, 1898. 
 
THE PHANTOM COLUMN. 
 
 Under the stars the veteran lay, 
 
 His wearied form upon the sod ; 
 The a^ed sire had tramped all day 
 
 Over the fields where armies trod. 
 The full-orbed moon from cloudless skies 
 
 Poured silver sheen on shrub and trees. 
 The patriot slept, his weary eyes 
 
 Soothed by the gentle evening breeze. 
 
 In dreams the slowly circling years 
 
 Rolled swiftly back on Memory's wings, 
 And war with all its pomp and tears. 
 
 Its grim and ghastly happenings. 
 Passed in review, and one by one 
 
 The grand array of noble men, 
 Their conflicts past, their battles done, 
 
 The old man's vision filled again. 
 
 The roll of drum, the scream of fife, 
 
 The blare of bugles rent the air. 
 The gallant dead awoke to life 
 
 And filled the landscape everywhere ; 
 The restless charger, mad with fear, 
 
 Rushed blindly o'er the gory plain, 
 And shrieking shot alarmed the ear. 
 
 And thickly fell like drops of rain. 
 
 McClellan. 
 
 From out the dread confusion rose 
 
 The form beloved, to all most dear, 
 Of little Mac, in calm repose, 
 
 And to the roll call answered " Here ! " 
 Before him surged the restless tide 
 
 Of battle desperate and wild ; 
 Antietam's meadows, far and wide, 
 
 Beheld our emblem undefiled. 
 
23 
 
 His brain it was that formed the plan; 
 
 His hand that shaped the vast machine 
 That from the crude, untutored man 
 
 Made living bulwarks, stern of mien ; 
 And twice when foes demoniac 
 
 The hearts of patriots unnerved. 
 He drove the stubborn rebels back — 
 
 The nation's Capital preserved. 
 
 Sleep, soldier, still in honored rest." 
 
 Thy voice is silent, but thy name 
 In comrades' hearts the tenderest 
 
 Shall Hve to everlasting fame. 
 And to thy grave in countless years 
 
 Shall loving generations press 
 To dew the grass with grateful tears 
 
 And evermore thy memory bless. 
 
 BURNSIDE. 
 
 With varying fortunes rolled the battle's tide, 
 And hope and fear held counsel side by side. 
 Here on the left must fall the desperate fight. 
 And take the pressure from the faltering right. 
 Once peaceful stream now trembling with the shock 
 Of angry armies standing firm as rock, 
 Thy limpid waters will be crimson dyed 
 With blood fraternal, and thine emerald side 
 With lifeless bodies thickly shall be strewn 
 Ere yonder sun shall tell the hour of noon. 
 
 See on yon crest the glistening bayonets rise 
 
 And flash defiance in their foemen's eyes ! 
 
 And now again the angry cannon roar. 
 
 And hell itself holds carnival once more. 
 
 " Forward ! now charge ! Press onward to the ridge ! 
 
 And gallant Burnside firmly holds the bridge. 
 
 Lo ! darkness steals upon the hideous sight 
 
 And covers horror with the shield of night: 
 
"■"4^ 
 
 Major Ghnkkal (iicoKCri-; G. Mhad:*:, I'. vS. A. 
 
23 
 
 The day is ours ! Antietam's bloody plain 
 With war's battaHons ne'er shall shake again. 
 
 Comrade, farewell ! Thy race was nobly run. 
 
 A grateful country calls thee " Favored Son ; " 
 
 And babbling sires, in ages far away, 
 
 Shall tell the story of that fateful day 
 
 When Burnside took the bridge, and joyful cry, 
 
 " In truth it was a famous victory ! " 
 
 Hooker. 
 
 Where Rappahannock's muddy current flows 
 
 Swift to Potomac's clearer waters, rose 
 
 With magic speed a city vast and dense, 
 
 Alive with agents of God's recompense. 
 
 The dingy tents o'erspread the extended plain. 
 
 Through miles of streets the wearied eye in vain 
 
 Sought limit to the scene. Along the banks 
 
 The frowning batteries stood in sullen ranks, 
 
 While gayly fluttering from unnumbered masts, 
 
 Saluted by the bugle's piercing blasts, 
 
 The old flag floated, whose resplendent stars 
 
 Still shone undaunted o'er the " Stars and Bars : " 
 
 No stripe besmirched, each brilliant star in place, 
 
 The glorious emblem of God's noblest race. 
 
 The ancient town that burrowed in the hills. 
 
 Unhappy victim of war's desperate ills. 
 
 Lay sleeping all unconscious of the flood 
 
 That on the morrow stained its streets with blood. 
 
 And now the bugle and the rattling drum 
 
 Arouse the soldier from his dream of home. 
 
 The neighing steeds, impatient for the fray, 
 
 Awake the echoes of the dawning day. 
 
 " By right flank, forward ! " and the mighty mass 
 
 The surging waters of the river pass. 
 
 And at the head, all heedless of the foe. 
 
 The impassive features of our " Fighting Joe." 
 
24 
 
 Farewell, courageous heart! thy honored name 
 Is written high upon the roll of fame. 
 And youthful patriots shall thy valor know 
 While lingering o'er the deeds of " Fighting Joe." 
 
 Meade. 
 
 Fair were the fields that peaceful July day 
 And sweet the air with scent of new-mown hay ; 
 And Gettysburg's serene, enchanted plain 
 Emblazoned shone with waves of golden grain. 
 
 The western ridge where sweet embowered stood 
 The sacred shrine, half hidden in the wood, 
 Recked not of war, but echoed with the tread 
 Of God's sweet messengers of peace who led 
 The thoughts from earthly things to things above. 
 And taught the wayward heart that God is love : 
 While far across the fields of ripened grain 
 Another ridge uprose from out the plain ; 
 And in its bosom, freed from earthly woes, 
 The dead of ages lay in calm repose. 
 
 Relentless War that cruelly would blot 
 With brother's blood this consecrated spot. 
 
 The vast battalions whetted for the fray 
 By frequent combats, fierce from day to day. 
 Now face to face in hostile posture stand 
 Intent to drench with blood their native land. 
 
 Lo ! from their midst a puff of smoke and then 
 
 The quick advance of twenty thousand men, 
 
 A solid line of veterans clad in gray. 
 
 With rigid nerves and earnest for the fray ; 
 
 In dreams a vigorous nation rose to sight. 
 
 The " Stars and Bars " emblazed in glorious light. 
 
25 
 
 On, on they came, nor faltered in their tread, 
 
 Each man a hero — giants at their head. 
 
 We stand enthralled at courage so sublime — 
 
 No nobler record on the page of time — 
 
 And saddened hearts in deepest sorrow pause 
 
 To mourn such courage in so sad a cause. 
 
 With bristling bayonets glistening in the sun, 
 The stubborn ranks, inspired by victories won, 
 Pressed grimly on, unmindful of the storm 
 Of shot and shell that felled full many a form, 
 Until an earthquake shook the startled earth, 
 As though the fiends of hell were given birth. 
 The Federal guns now belched volcanic wrath, 
 Which carried untold misery in its path. 
 Still on they came ; the gaps they quickly close. 
 " Now fire ! " and from our serried ranks there rose 
 A wild hurrah, and swift the leaden hail 
 Fell on the rebel lines. See ! now they quail ! 
 " Strike ! strike ! for freedom and your native land ! 
 And bayonets clashed in contests hand to hand. 
 Oh, fierce the struggle, but they break ! they fly ! 
 And God to Freedom gives the victory ! 
 
 Napoleon's sun went down at Waterloo, 
 And Wellington's immortal rose to view : 
 While history lasts the grateful eye shall read 
 Our Wellington in brave, victorious Meade. 
 
 Here on this field a dire darkness fell 
 On Southern hopes, and history will tell 
 With caustic pen how vengeful was the hate 
 That spurred their leaders to more bitter fate — 
 That filled the beauteous Southern hills and dales 
 With countless graves and Sorrow's saddest wails. 
 The cause was lost; thrice happy day for her! 
 From slavery redeemed, she rises conqueror. 
 
26 
 
 Under the stars the soldier slept, 
 
 And fast the phantom column passed ; 
 Hancock and Kearny by him swept, 
 
 And Doubleday with columns massed ; 
 And Couch, Ord, Slocum, Reynolds too, 
 
 And Warren, Sedgwick, and the brave 
 Old VVadsworth marched in grand review 
 
 The path of glory to the grave ; 
 And Sheridan, and last of all 
 
 Immortal Grant, and by his side 
 The martyred Lincoln, at whose call 
 
 Unnumbered thousands fought and died. 
 
 A smile lit up the old man's face, 
 
 A benediction lingered on his tongue, 
 
 " God bless our land ! God bless our race ! 
 And then the curtain down was rung. 
 
Tho Tjnvffofit Trtanrnfu-e Com nff'>^y 
 in if><- Wot hi 
 
 The Mutual Life 
 
 Insurance Company of New York 
 
 RICHARD A. McCURDY, President 
 
 Assets, Dec. 31, 1897 = = $253. ''86,437 66 
 Liabilities = - - = = $ 178.243 07 
 
 Surplus = = = = $35,508,194 59 
 
 Paid to Po!icy=holders since 
 
 organization = - = $462,997,250 71 
 
 Income in 1897 = = = 54.162,608 23 
 
 increase of Income in 1897 = $4,459,91296 
 
 increase of Surplus = = = $5,774,679 ^9 
 
 and 
 
 Decrease of Expenses = = $146,178 31 
 
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 
 
 013 706 614 2 
 
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LlBRftR^ nW^Sflll 
 
 ««13l«e 61A 21, 
 
 :i\\»^ 
 
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 peRiiuliffe*