A»U ,<^1 ^-^^ijik*''^''^^ U-^ ^^^r^^ Book OJ4 *Mi^^>'W ^i^t^ ■±:W'^W ^ ^^ ^ *^ vr^- 1:^^ Vii/ '^ ' ^ VV >^^ V|^ '^^^" ^'v ^]!^^%i. • ^'-^■'1 '-" '^ >• m^ 3*% >^'> ^1^ IS *^^^ f^^-sf^^^ i^ =ik¥''M\!%f''- HISTORY Fifty-second Regiment Massachusetts Volunteers BY THE CHAPLAIN J. F. MOORS ( A."-,. 10 1893 BOSTON Press of George H. Ellis, 141 Franklin Street 1893 CoV.'^ _-.l^ COPYRIGHT BY J. F. MOORS lS93 r TO THE MEMBERS OF THE 52D REGIMENT. ;^' /^^ RATEFUL for many acts of kindness extended to me, it I gives me great pleasure to put on record some of thie incidents of our brief but eventful campaign in Louisiana. 1 hope you will receive this in the spirit of charity and good will which has marked all your intercourse with the chaplain. J. F. M. 6 HISTORY OF THE 52D REGIMENT {e) That Chaplain Moors be requested to arrange the material and prepare the book for publication. (/) A sub-committee was appointed of one from each company to secure the facts for the personal sketches, which they have done according to the best of their ability, though in many cases they have been unable to secure the returns. J. B. Whitmore. CONTENTS. I. Organization and Camp Miller 9 II. The "Illinois," 16 III. Baton Rouge, 29 IV. Baton Rouge, with an Account of the Plaque- mine Expedition, 43 V. Baton Rouge, 61 VI. The March to Port Hudson, 68 VII. March back from Port Hudson, 81 VIII. The Cotton Raid, 91 IX. Baton Rouge to Brashear City, 98 X. Up the Teche.— Brashear City to Indian Ridge or Irish Bend, iii XI. Up the Teche. — Indian Ridge to Opelousas, . . 121 XII. Opelousas to Barre's Landing, 129 XIII. Down the Teche, 140 XIV. Letters from New Orleans, 147 XV. New Iberia, 153 XVI. Port Hudson and Clinton, 159 XVII. Before Port Hudson, and the Assault on the 14TH OF June, 164 XVIII. Port Hudson, 177 XIX. The Surrender of Port Hudson, 186 XX. Col. Greenleaf's Account of a Foraging Expedi- tion TO Jackson Cross-roads, 193 XXI. Within Port Hudson and the Journey Home, . . 201 Roster of the Regiment. Notes. HISTORY OF THE ^2D REGIMENT MASSA- CHUSETTS VOLUNTEERS. ORGANIZATION AND CAMP MILLER. [Greenfield to New York, Sept. 13 to Dec. 20, 1862.] September, 1862. — The war was dragging slowly, wearisomely on, and a half-year had passed since the stars and stripes had been assailed by rebellious foes in the harbor of Charleston, S.C., a year and two months since the disastrous defeat of (he Union Army at Bull Run. The first impulse of enthusiasm resulting from the firing upon Fort Sumter in April, 186 1, had carried us hopefully through the first campaign, which ended in disaster and shame in June, 1861. Then came the real hour of trial. This country never saw so dark a week as that which followed that dis- grace. " Are our men cowards when danger is to be faced ? " was asked. "Will the North give up in despair, and yield principle and honor ? " " No," was the emphatic reply. " We know we are right, and we will prevail." Armies melted away like dew before the sun, but new ones sprung up to take their places. Fifty thousand failed in June, 1861. Two hundred thousand are in camp in December of that year. Disaster followed next year on the peninsula ; but the strength and courage of the loyal North had not been exhausted, and in the public mind the determination was stronger than ever to put down the rebellion and maintain, at all hazards, the unity of the nation. On the fourth day of August, 1862, an order was issued from the War Department for a draft of three hundred thousand troops, t-o serve nine months ; but the people and the State offi- cials were opposed to a draft, and it was not resorted to, and the call was for three hundred thousand volunteers. The quota de- manded of Massachusetts under this call was nineteen thousand and ninety men. The great number of men already in the ser- vice made it more difficult to secure the additional nineteen thou- lO HISTORY OF THE 52D REGIMENT sand and ninety. The demand for so large a force made this one of the hardest and most anxious years of the war, alike to the State and national government. But the work of recruiting was entered upon with great alacrity and enthusiasm. It was ordered that Hampshire and Franklin Counties should raise a regiment, to be designated the Fifty-second. It is the story of this regi- ment I am to try to tell in these pages. Enthusiastic war meet- ings were held in every town and village of these two counties. Every device was used to stir to greater heat the already awakened flame of loyalty and patriotism. We shared the universal spirit of the loyal North. The nation was fully aroused. Defeat at first had been needed to accomplish this result. No one thought of giving up, but joined in the exultant shout, "We are coming, Father Abraham, three hundred thousand more." I hope I may be able to give the outlines, at least, of a picture of army life; for, though our experience was not a long one, it was varied. We saw almost every variety of soldier's life. We had an experience of the crowded transport, of monotonous camjD life, of the exhausting march, of the terrible battle, of dishearten- ing defeat, and of exulting victory. We knew what it was to have our blood thrill at the sound of inspiring music : we knew what it was to have the blood chill at sights of mortal agony. We saw a portion of army life in all its aspects, except as prisoners of war. We lost but two men as prisoners, and one of them reached home before the rest of us : the other was never heard of after he was captured. The most earnest and soul-stirring appeals were made to the young men to heed this call of their country in this hour of peril. The appeal was to their pride, their love of adventure, their heroic desire to do something in the great cause to which so many thou- sands of their countrymen had given their lives. The most gener- ous promises were made to the young men on condition of their enlisting. They should have all the places of profit and honor their fellow-citizens could furnish if they returned in safety. If the fortunes of war were fatal, the public would watch over those dependent on them, and see to it that they had every comfort a grateful people could bestow. And every new recruit left the war meeting loaded with bouquets of choice flowers, bestowed by those he looked upon as the fairest and bravest of his acquaint- ance. With this overflow of patriotic zeal, the ranks were speedily filled, and on the thirteenth day of September the regi- ORGANIZATION AND CAMP MILLER H ment was gathered together at Greenfield, with James L. Hartwell as Post Commander, and a camp organized as Camp Miller, named in honor of Major Ozro Miller, of the loth Regiment, who had been killed at the battle of Fair Oaks, a personal friend of Col. Greenleaf. None of the companies had received their full quota when they entered on camp life, but recruits came in ; and, when the regiment was mustered and took the oath of allegiance, the ranks were nearly full. Capt. H. S. Greenleaf, of Shelburne Falls, Co. E, was chosen colonel, and Lieut. Richmond was promoted to the vacant place. Capt. J. J. Storrs, of Amherst, Co. G, was chosen lieutenant colonel, Henry Winn, of Shelburne Falls, was elected major. J, M. Decker, formerly lieutenant colonel of the loth Massachu- setts Regiment, became adjutant ; E. C. Clark, of Northampton, quartermaster; Dr. F. A. Sawyer, of Greenfield, surgeon; Dr. J. H. Richardson, of Chesterfield, assistant surgeon ; Rev. J. F. Moors, of Greenfield, chaplain ; Dr. Henry M. Sabine, of Lenox, was added to the medical staff April 20, 1863 ; Henry M. Whit- ney, of Northampton, sergeant major; Edward A. Whitney, of Northampton, quartermasfer sergeant ; William W. Ward, of Worthington, commissary-sergeant ; George D. Clark, of North- ampton, hospital steward. The ten companies were officered as follows : — Co. A. — Alanson B. Long, Greenfield, captain; Eben S. Hurl- burt, Bernardston, ist lieutenant; Franklin C. Severence, Green- field, 2d lieutenant ; W. Scott Keith, Greenfield, orderly sergeant. This company mustered 95 men. Of this number Greenfield furnished 62 ; Bernardston, 19 ; Gill, 5 ; Shelburne, 3 ; Leyden and Northfield, 2 each ; Hawley and New Salem, i each. Total, 95. 7 died in service. 3 were discharged for disability. Co. B. — Alvah P. Nelson, Colrain, captain ; Leonard B. Rice, Charlemont, ist lieutenant; John W. Buddington, Leyden, 2d lieutenant ; Arthur A. Smith, Colrain, orderly sergeant. This company mustered 94 men. Of these Colrain furnished 41 ; Charlemont, 20 ; Heath, 9 ; Leyden, S ; Rowe, 7 ; Monroe, 5 ; Halifax, Vt., 3 ; Adams, i. Total, 94. Died in service, 14. Discharged, i. Co. C. — Mark H. Spaulding, Northampton, captain; Edwin C. Clark, Northampton, ist lieutenant, commissioned quartermaster; John R. Hillman, Northampton, ist lieutenant; Luther A. Clark, 12 HISTORY OF THE 52D REGIMENT Northampton, 2d lieutenant; Henry H. Strong, Northampton, orderly sergeant. Mustered 95 men. Of these Northampton furnished 79 ; East- hampton, 3 ; Cummington, 3 ; Williamsburg, 2 ; Ware, South Deer- field, Worthington, Northfield, Orange, Conn., Goshen, Westfield, and Springfield, i each. Total, 95. Died in service, 10. Deserted, 2. Co. D. — Fred M. Patrick, Conway, captain (resigned Oct. 29, 1862); Horace Hosford, Conway, captain; Samuel F. Edwards, Deerfield, ist lieutenant; Oliver P. Egerton, Conway, 2d lieuten- ant ; Edward J. Hosmer, Deerfield, orderly sergeant. The company mustered 96 men. Of these Deerfield furnished 39; Conway, 32 ; Whately, 17; Buckland, Lynnfield, South Had- ley, New Salem, Hawley, Colrain, Prescott, Leverett, i each. Total, 96. Died in service, 16. Co. E. — Halbert S. Greenleaf, Shelburne, captain (promoted colonel) ; Josiah A. Richmond, Shelburne, captain ; Ansel K. Brad- ford, Plainfield, I St lieutenant; Samuel H. Blackwell, Waterville, Me., 2d lieutenant; Samuel A. Little, Buckland, orderly ser- geant. Mustered 91 men. Of these Shelburne furnished 27 ; Buckland, 26; Hawley, 17; Ashfield, 10; Charlemont, 2 ; Plainfield, Water- ville, Me., Cheshire, Colrain, Northampton, Chesterfield, i each ; Heath, 3. Total, 91. Died in service, 10. Discharged, 3. Co. F. — Lucian H. Stone, Montague, captain ; Alphonso Ballou, Orange, ist lieutenant; Marshall S. Stearns, Northfield, 2d lieutenant ; Samuel H. Crandall, Shutesbury, orderly sergeant. Mustered its full quota of 100 men. Of these Orange furnished 29 ; Montague, 28 ; Northfield, 22 ; Leverett, 9 ; Shutesbury, 7 ; Erving, 4; Wendell, i. Total, 100. Died in service, 13. Discharged, 2. Co. G. — Samuel S. Storrs, Amherst, captain (promoted lieu- tenant colonel) ; George L. Bliss, Northampton, captain ; Justin P. Kellogg, Amherst, ist lieutenant; Asa A. Spear, Amherst, 2d lieutenant ; James W. Stebbins, Sunderland, orderly sergeant ; Edgar J. Pomeroy, Sunderland, orderly sergeant at last. Mustered 86 men. Of these Amherst furnished 42 ; Sunder- land, 24; Pelham, 11; Leverett, 2; Montague, 2; Shutesbury, Wendell, Conway, Northampton, Bernardston, i each. Total, 86. Died in service, 8. Discharged, 4. ORGANIZATION AND CAMP MILLER 13 Co, H. — VVilliam Perkins, Hadley, captain; S. Alonzo Will- iams, South Hadley, ist lieutenant; Malcolm Bridgman, Granby, 2d lieutenant ; H. Weston Smith, South Hadley, orderly sergeant. Mustered 93 men. Of these Hadley furnished 37 ; South Hadley, 32 ; Granby, 16; Holyoke, 2 ; Hinsdale, N.H., 2 ; Chico- pee, Williamsburg, Whately, Burke, N.Y., i each. Total, 93, Died in service, 12, Deserted, i. Co. I, — Charles E. Tileston, Williamsburg, captain; Lucius C. Taylor, Chesterfield, ist lieutenant ; James W. Clark, North- ampton, 2d lieutenant ; Edward F. Hamlin, Northampton, orderly sergeant. Numbered 90 men. Of these Williamsburg furnished ;^2 ; Ches- terfield, 19; Cummington, 15; Northampton, 10; Greenwich, 6; Whately, 4 ; Hawley, Hatfield, Goshen, i each. Total, 90. Died in service, 8. Discharged, 2. Co. K. — Edwin C. Bissell, Westhampton, captain; Lewis Clapp, Easthampton, ist lieutenant ; Henry P. Billings, Hat- field, 2d lieutenant ; Martin L. Williston, Northampton, orderly sergeant. Numbered 90 men. Of these Easthampton furnished 37 ; Hatfield, 24; Southampton, 14; Westhampton, 12; Northamp- ton, Shutesbury, Southboro, i each. Total, 90. Died in service, 11. Discharged, 3. ORDERS FOR SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 16. Officer of the Day, Capt. Nelson. Officer of the Guard, LlEUT. Kellogg. Officer of the Picket, LiEUT. Williams. To-morrow being the Sabbath, divine service will be held on the ground at two o'clock. Dress parade immediately afterward. Headquarters, Camp " Miller," Special order ) Nov. 15, 1862. No. 21. S The colonel having received marching orders for Wednesday morning, the 19 of Nov., 1862, commanders of companies are ordered to have their companies in readiness to march at that time. By command, James L. Hartwell, Lieut. E, C. Clark, Co77imanding Post. Acting Post Adjiitattt. 14 HISTORY OF THE 52D REGIMENT But few of the men or officers had any practical knowledge of military affairs, and the time at Camp Miller was diligently spent in securing the requisite information. On the whole, camp life here was easy and pleasant, though, when rain or a snow-storm came, and the tents were drenched with water, there was not a little grumbling at the hard lot the men thought they were endur- ing. It was afterward, when they encountered the real hardships of the soldier's life, that the boys looked back upon Camp Miller with changed feelings. The regiment remained at Camp Miller till November 20, and in a cold rain-storm were taken by rail and steamboat to New York. Of life at Camp Miller not much is to be said. The days were spent in company and battalion drill ; and in the nights, if some of the farmers in the neighborhood lost their poultry and their green corn, it was no more than could be expected. Instead of attempting to recall the experiences of nearly thirty years ago, I have preferred to avail myself of letters written at the time to friends at home and journals kept from day to day, several of which have been placed at my disposal. As far as possible I want "the boys" to tell their own story in their own way. I make here some extracts from the journal of Charles Church, Co. H. "The morning of September 30 was a momentous event in our lives. We gathered in front of the old hotel in South Hadley, and nearly the whole population of the village were on hand to bid us good-by and God-speed. We were supplied with plenty of food, huge bouquets, medicine, writing material, and many other things we thought necessary, but afterwards found superfluous. Amid the cheers, tears, and good wishes of the assembled crowd, we climbed into the big wagon, and started off. We knew not what was before us, or we should have shown some feeling not becom- ing bold soldier boys. But we yelled for all we were worth, waved our hats and bouquets, and were off for Northampton, where we took the cars for Greenfield. Our camp was known as Camp Miller, in honor of Major Miller of the loth Massachusetts and a great friend of our colonel, who wore the sword carried by the major when killed at Fair Oaks. "I went on guard the next day after our arrival. It was a comical experience. Coming to a fellow on beat, he was found with his musket across his arm, as though he had been hunting. In his unengaged hand he held a huge turnip, and, as he passed ORGANIZATION AND CAMP :\IILLER 15 his beat, gnawed away at his turnip. It was quite a distance from the place where the turnip grew, but he communicated his order to the new guard who had come to relieve him in this way. ' You wanter walk from that ere stick to this ere one ; and, if you are hungry, go over there and get a turnip.' We experienced here our first snow-storm. The snow fell eight or ten inches, but the Greenfield people provided stoves for every tent." Daniel W. Lyman writes to the Northampton Gazette, Oct. 28, 1862 : — "The week has been of considerable interest at Camp Miller. The uniforms have been distributed, and the men are quite satis- fied with their new suits from Uncle Sam. A beautiful banner was presented to Co. A, in behalf of the ladies of Greenfield, by Miss Ella Grinnell. On Sunday, Capt.— that is. Rev.— Mr. Bissell, preached in the Second Congregational Church. On Thursday last, the 20th, we broke camp at Greenfield. The morning dawned upon us with a cloudy sky and a drizzling rain. The morning was spent in packing, and at 2 p.m. came the order to "fall in." The regiment formed into line and marched to the station by a cir- cuitous route, that we might be seen by the good people of that town. The great crowd assembled to see us depart." '■'■Camp Aliller, November 20. — The day was rainy and unpleas- ant ; but precisely at a quarter to three the regiment, numbering 930 men, formed a line with their knapsacks, haversacks, and can- teens on, when the adjutant read the order for their departure for New York. Then Col. Greenleaf's clear and manly voice gave the word ' Attention, battalion, right first by sections, march ! ' And under the escort of the Greenfield band it marched to the depot and passed into the cars. Thousands of people thronged the streets, ladies waving their handkerchiefs and the soldiers cheering them. Thousands were gathered about the station, where the regiment remained for about half an hour. There were tender parting scenes during the time, — mothers parting with their only sons, wives with husbands, and sisters with brothers. In this reg- iment the very flower of Franklin and Hampshire Counties have gone, many of them, to find their graves far from friends and home, but all tilled with that love of country that makes them will- ing to risk all for its welfare." — Greenfield Gazette. II. THE "ILLINOIS." [New York, November 20, to Baton Rouce, La., December 17, 1S62.] If "the boys" thought they were playing soldier, and were oil for a prolonged picnic, they were disabused of that idea when they reached New York. The rain fell in torrents : no provision had been made for their coming. They marched, dirty and hungry, through the muddy streets to the Park, and toward morning are let into the City Hall to get what rest they can on the stone floor, — at least they are out of the rain and the mud. The next day they march eight or nine miles through Broadway and Grand Street over the ferry into Brooklyn to their camp on the old Union race track. No tents, no overcoats : it was dreary and dismal enough. The next day was Sunday, and the tents came, and the men were busy pitching them in long rows. They floor them with rails from the fences near by, and carpet them with straw and hay, and in spite of rain and cold, raw winds, a measure of comfort is at- tained. Thursday was Thanksgiving Day, and a strange Thanks- giving it was to us. We ought to have had a religious service, but did not till dress parade, when the chaplain, arrayed out with new clothes and sash, read the Governor's proclamation and offered prayer. "In New York, where we landed, the rain had ceased to fall; but it was a cold wind and a hard march of ten miles. Our clothes were wet, weighed double what they ought to have done, and we were green at our work. When we arrived at the Park on Long Island, the ground was frozen solid, no tents had been provided, and we had to sleep on the ground with no shelter but our bla:nkets. It seemed to us that we had been on the down grade continually; but we were a jolly crowd, and, when anything unusual occurred, some one would shout, * Who takes the next bouquet ? ' — one of the numerous stock phrases used at recruiting. " After we had been in camp long enough to get immensely hungry, some loads of cakes, cookies, and pies, were driven into camp. The boys were not overloaded with money, but they all THE " ILLINOIS 17 took a notion just then to wearing haversacks. So they were filled up by the rear of the wagons, while some one bartered with the driver at the front. A good deal of food changed hands in that way, but not much money. It is sad, no doubt ; but hungry men will steal when food is within their reach." — Church's yoiinial. The New York Mercury, November 26, pays this compliment to the 52d Regiment, and describes the interesting scene of the presentation of a flag to the regiment : — "This regiment, commanded by Col. H. S. Greenleaf, em- barked yesterday on board the steamer ' Illinois,' bound south on the Banks expedition. It had been remarked that during their stay in the city none have been found intoxicated. During two days and nights after their arrival they stood in the mud and rain, marched to Union course, their tents not having arrived, and but few words of complaint were uttered. We speak for this regiment a good name wherever they may be placed. It is made up of a splendid body of men, raised principally in Franklin and Hamp- shire Counties. On Tuesday last the regiment was presented with a magnificent flag. The regiment was drawn up in a square, and Col. C. K. Hawks made the presentation speech, of which the following is the substance : — "* Col. Greenleaf, Officers and Soldiers 0/ the c^2d Regiment, — It is my agreeable duty, as it is my pleasure, to present to you in trust a stand of national colors. It was expected that our distinguished fellow-statesman, the commanding general of the expedition, Gen. N. P. Banks, would have performed this agreeable task; but his engagements are such as to preclude the possibility of his presence, and I, as a mutual friend of the donor and recipient, have under- taken it. Would that I possessed the language to express in adequate terms the sentiments my heart would utter ! . . , The colors bear the same relation to the soldier as honesty and integ- rity do to manhood. It is the guiding star to victory. When in the smoke and din of battle the voice of the officer is drowned in the roar of artillery, the true soldier turns his eye to his color, that he stray not too far from it, and, while it floats, is conscious of his right and strength. In the name of our friend, I present you with this banner, the emblem of our country. On the one side, a full Union, with every star set and not a stripe erased ; on the other, the insignia of the State from which you hail, the staff composed of the bundle of rods by which we are taught to read, " In unity there is strength." With full confidence that you will guard and l8 HISTORY OF THE 52D REGIMENT protect it, and return it with its honor unsullied, I now present it to you. Take it, guard it as you would the honor of the mother, wife, or friend you leave behind. Take it, and with it the prayers and blessings of every Union-loving woman, man, and friend you leave.' " Col. Greenleaf responded as follows : — " ' Accept, sir, my sincere and heartfelt thanks. Language would fail, were I to attempt to express the affection I bear the star-spangled banner or the sorrow I feel that it is being dis- graced and trodden under the feet of rebels and traitors. I accept the gift as presented not for myself alone, but in trust as a flattering testimonial, as a good will towards the 52d Regiment, which I have the honor not only to command, but in this instance to represent. Whether we shall prove as worthy of this valuable consideration at your hands, time and future events will deter- mine ; but of one thing you may be assured, that it will be our anxious endeavor so to act in the work that is before us that neither you nor any other friend shall have occasion to blush at the records of our deeds. We go forth on our country's call, not to make for ourselves beds of roses, but to give battle to the un- natural foes of our country, and to vindicate with our lives the loyalty we profess. We go about the work that is given us to do, carrying with us the fondest recollections of home and kindred and friends. Even now, as we recall the many delights and associa- tions of the past, our dear New England hills, our homes, our wives, our children, our parents, our kindred, and linger for a moment in the old orchard, in the meadows by the brook near the old well, under the old elm, and around the family hearth- stone, forgetting all else, we exclaim with the Irish bard, — " ' " Long, long be our hearts with such memories filled, Like the vase in which roses have once been distilled. You may break, you may shatter the vase if you will, But the scent of the roses will hang round it still." ' " Friday, November 28. — We are ordered off, but shall hardly get aboard ship before evening. All sorts of rumors about where we are going. On Board the Sfeamer "■' I/linois." — We are in pretty close quarters, but are as comfortable as can be expected on board a vessel with 1,200 men. Lieut. Edwin C. Clark, of Co. C, has THE '•' ILLINOIS " 19 been appointed quartermaster. I sent ashore Sunday morning more than five hundred letters. "Saturday, JVov. 29, 1862. — The bunks for privates are all below the main deck, and after this fashion : the floor is all cov- ered, except the alley-ways ; then a tier of shelves or boards put about twenty inches above them, then another set of men, then more shelves above them, and so on, one above the other, all in the dark, where the men are obliged to stay most of their time, and not allowed on the upper deck and only in one part of the ship. There is too much difference between officers and privates. The bunks are so near each other we cannot sit up in them. Our rations are hard bread twice a day, an allowance of four crackers to a meal. Have not used a knife, fork, or plate since I left Camp Miller." — Corp. Stowe/Z's yournal. Dear yudge Mattoo?i, — At three o'clock on Friday we formed into line, and marched to Brooklyn. No time for supper. We were crowded into a barge, and put aboard this steamer at nine o'clock. We have 1,200 men on board, stowed away like cattle. I do not know the terms aboard ship. I only know that we are four stories deep, swarming with life. My time is very busy with letters. I sent off seven hundred the day before yesterday and four hundred yesterday. "Dec. 3, 1862. — We hauled in our anchors, and steamed out of New York Harbor. We have a splendid boat, the ' Illinois,' but are very much crowded. It was a novel experience to most of us. No land in sight, and we knew not when there would be. The sea became very rough, and multitudes were very sick. The fact is, most of us were dry-land sailors, though some had crossed the Connecticut River once or twice. I was detailed for guard, and ordered, with others, to report to the adjutant on the hurricane deck. He tried to form us into line for what we came to know afterwards very well, — namely, guard moujiting; but, every time the steamer pitched over one of those huge waves, away forward we all went, and most of us brought up lying on our stomachs, and, when the head came up, we went rolling and staggering back like drunken men. The adjutant laughed and scolded in the same breath, although I think he enjoyed the situation. At last he cried out, ' Well, if you can't stand still, sit down and see if you can sit still long enough to be counted.' "Our quarters are crowded, food was poor, somewhat limited in quantity : the condensers were not large enough for such a multi- 20 HISTORY OF THE 52D REGIMENT tude. So our tea and coflfee were well flavored with salt water and grease. As we sailed up the Mississippi, we saw fine groves of orange-trees well laden with fruit. Negroes were plenty on the levees, who waved their tattered hats and rags, and cried out, ' Bless de Lord ! ' They always did so, unless when called to do some work; and then their lips would stick out so that you might hang your hat on them, and they had 'the wus misery in their bowels ' you ever saw." — ChurcJi's journal. Following is an extract from an address delivered by Col. Greenleaf at a reunion of the regiment at Williamsburg, Aug. 14, 1883: — Comrades of the z^2d Regitnetit, — As probably is already known to many of you, I was requested some time ago, by our worthy Chairman of the Executive Committee, to give you to-day a chap- ter or two of our army history, which, he had been informed, I had prepared and delivered elsewhere ; and it affords me pleasure to say that I am now here to comply with that request. But I think it proper that I should premise my unpretending effort by saying that this paper, which I now propose to read to you, was originally prepared at the request of the George H. Thomas Post, Grand Army of the Republic, of Rochester, N.Y., and that it only takes us down to Brashear City on our return march from Barre's Landing ; and that, although I have since continued this imperfect narrative down to the time we took passage on board of the old river steamer " Choteau " for our home voyage up the Mis- sissippi, it is my purpose to leave you to-day at Barre's Landing, as I prefer not to weary you with too long a story at any one time, and do not wish to trespass upon the time that justly belongs to others. And I may say here that my main object in these opening chapters was simply to give my Rochester friends some little idea of the military service rendered by a regiment of Massachusetts volunteers, composed of as good material as was ever mustered into the service of the United States. I wish to tell a plain, straightforward story of the army experiences of the 52d Regi- ment, without exaggeration and without undue embellishment. And I think it but due to you and to me to say further that, had I originally prepared this paper for you instead of preparing it for veteran strangers, I should naturally have generalized less than I have, and have been more personal in many respects than I now THE "ILLINOIS 2 1 am ; but such as I have I now give you, with now and then a brief interpolation, without further preliminary. I presume, however, you will not expect me to generalize, altogether, in what I have to say to-day, but rather that I will describe, as best I may, some events which came under my own observation during our brief term of military service ; and this I propose to do, although I must say that I have little expectation that such scenes as deeply interested and affected me, in those dark days that " tried men's souls," can be so described by me as to make them of any particular interest to the world at large. But, however this may be, the 52d Regiment of Massachusetts Volunteer Militia, numbering nine hundred and thirty strong, which, by virtue of a military commission, I had the honor to command, sailed with Gen. Banks from New York Harbor, on his famous expedition to the Department of the Gulf, on the second day of December, a.d. 1862. This regiment, together with the i8th New York Battery, better known, perhaps, as " Mack's Battery," of Rochester, N.Y., em- barked on the stanch ocean steamer " Illinois," and steamed for twenty-four hours in a southerly direction, under sealed orders ; no one of the twelve hundred souls on board, in the mean time, knowing whither we were bound, or when, if ever, we should again return to our Western Massachusetts or Green Mountain homes. We had on board, in addition to the regiment and battery al- ready mentioned, several distinguished gentlemen — Union refu- gees from the State of Texas — who, by permission of Gen, Banks, had taken passage with us in the expectation that we were to be landed at Galveston. These gentlemen, — and among them I remember especially, and with pleasure. Judge William Alex- ander and Col. Haynes, of Texas Cavalry fame, — these gentle- men, together with the commissioned officers of both commands, occupied the steamer's cabin, and were made comparatively com- fortable and happy throughout the voyage. But not so with the rank and file : these poor fellows, notwithstanding the most urgent protests made by myself, the surgeon, and by influential personal friends of the regiment, to Gen. Banks, were packed on board very much like sardines in a box, or, not to exaggerate, we will say very much like so many Coolies on a Cuban slave-ship, so that, with a very rough sea, — such as is to be expected on the Atlantic coast in the month of December, — with nearly every one 22 HISTORY OF THE 52D REGIMENT on board sea-sick, not even excepting the commissaries and cooks, with hundreds in the "hold" who were not only painfully sea-sick, but were also much of the time nearly stifled from the effect of bad odors and worse air, — one can better imagine than describe the discomfort, yea, misery, suffered by these unfortunate human cattle on that memorable voyage to New Orleans and Baton Rouge. But at the appointed time — when twenty-four hours at sea — our sealed orders were broken, in the presence only of the cap- tain of the steamer, the captain of the battery, and the colonel of the regiment, to find that the " Illinois," with all on board, to- gether with the numerous other vessels of the fleet, was to report, with the least possible delay, for further orders at Ship Island in the Gulf of Mexico. Up to this time many of us, but especially our distinguished Texas friends, had been led to believe that our expedition was destined for some point on the coast of Texas ; but now it seemed clear that our first objective point was else- where, — and this much to the surprise and disappointment of the latter, who were anxious to return and help sustain the Union cause on the soil of their own State. I recall one most tragic event on the passage. When about midway on our voyage, we had what I many times had read about, but never before witnessed, — "a burial at sea," — the most solemn and impressive of any kind I had ever witnessed before, or that I have since attended. The poor lad Richmond, of Co. E, who had died from the effects of sea-sickness and too close confinement, the night pre- vious, was sewed up tightly in his woollen blanket, and placed in a horizontal position on a wide plank, one end of which pro- jected a little over the larboard bulwarks, while the other end, a little higher, rested on an old box or other thing adapted to the purpose. Heavy weights were attached to the feet. Then, there, in the early morning, with the stars and stripes at ''half-mast" floating over the inanimate dead, and with hundreds of mourning comrades with uncovered heads and pale faces, gathered around, the chaplain of the regiment extemporized an eloquent dis- course, earnest, tender, and admirably suited to the occasion. A fervent prayer to " the Giver of every good and perfect gift " was offered, an appropriate hymn sung by a choir of comrades standing near, and then, with only the clear blue sky above us, and naught but the mad waves of the ocean around us, so far as THE " ILLINOIS 23 the eye could reach, a kinsman, Capt. Richmond, gently lifted the higher end of the plank, the soulless form plunged into the sea, the blue waves thereof closed over it, and the soldier-lad was lost to sight forever ! I also remember a serio-comic incident of the voyage. One day, when we had been several days at sea, and all were suffering great discomfort, as I was going the rounds of the ship to see for myself that the actual condition of the command was no worse than it need be, I passed down into the "lower hold," where, even in the daytime, it was quite dark, except under the several open hatchways ; and, as I groped my way along between the many rows of " bunks " from the "stern" to the forward part of the vessel, brushing against some unhappy sea-sick fellow at almost every step until I approached the open " forward " hatchway, and while the darkness yet concealed my presence, I heard the voices of several men from under the hatchway, who were talking in a very loud, angry, boisterous way. Among the angry voices I recognized the familiar one of private Niles, Co. I, a comical, good-natured soldier, not supposed to be at all vicious. I heard him first cursing " the cooks " ; then the " quarter- master " ; then, still more violently, "the captain"; and finally, just as I emerged from the darkness, came a full, round, very pro- fane expletive applied to "the colonel"! I took no notice of what I had heard — of what the men must have known I had heard — except to say, in a quiet, pleasant way: "You seem ex- cited, boys. What is the trouble ? Can I do anything for you ? " " Yes, you can, colonel," says Niles, who was standing with his back to me as I approached, — " yes, you can. Just look at them d d old gravel stones for potatoes, and say if you think we ought to be starved into eating them ! " holding up his hands, with three, medium-sized potatoes in each one. "Why," said he, "it is enough to make the chaplain smear to be served with such 'grub ' as this. The potatoes have not been cooked at all ; and our beef and pork are quite as bad when served to us." Said I, " Let me see those potatoes." He handed them to me, and I found them as he said, nearly as hard as brick-bats : they were perfectly raw. I asked, " Is this the condition in which your potatoes generally come to you ? " " Yes, colonel, it is." Then I said, " Well, boys, this is all wrong ; but you shall no longer be kept on raw food if I can prevent it, and I think I can. Let me take those potatoes 24 HISTORY OF THE 5 2D REGIMENT to * the quartermaster and cooks ' " ; and, with the hard, raw things in my hands, I turned to leave, when Niles loudly exclaimed, "There, I told you so. Didn't I tell you that the colonel would set things right as soon as we reported the matter to him ? " Where- upon I turned back, and said : " Why, Niles, I thought I heard you cursing and swearing about the colonel as I came up, a mo- ment ago ! " " Ah ! " said he, as quick as a flash, " I didn't mean you, colonel. I meant the lieutenant colonel!''^ And the poor fel- lows had a hearty laugh, in spite of their disagreeable surround- ings. Our strong, swift steamer was among the first of the fleet to reach the rendezvous designated in our sealed orders. We ar- rived at Ship Island, and dropped anchor the eleventh day of December, having been nine days on the passage. Soon other vessels began to arrive, and by the thirteenth nearly the whole squadron had come to anchor. On that day we received further orders, and steamed away for the mouth of the Mississippi, and thence moved up the river, passing many fine sugar plantations, and the two celebrated forts, Jackson and St. Phillip, on the way to New Orleans, where we learned for the first time that Gen. Banks had come to relieve Gen. Butler, and to take com- mand of his Military Department. We found lying quietly at anchor in the middle of the stream, apparently as harmless as the other vessels, the famous flag-ship " Hartford," with her great admiral, Farragut, on board ; also, his renowned frigates and sloops of war, "Mississippi," "Richmond," " Pensacola," and " Albatross," all of which afterwards rendered conspicuous service in the river or at Mobile Bay. I had spent some months in New Orleans, on different occa- sions, before the war ; and the town looked quite familiar to me, although full of Union soldiers, and but few of its old inhabitants were to be seen on the streets or in any of its public places. Remaining here but a day or two, we proceeded up the river to Baton Rouge, a beautiful town of some seven thousand inhabi- tants, situated on the east bank of the river, one hundred and thirty miles above New Orleans, and there disembarked and went into camp ; most of the enlisted men and some of the officers having been constantly on shipboard from the second to the seven- teenth day of December, with what sad effect our hospital re- ports made painfully clear to us shortly after. I have not these reports to refer to ; but my recollection is that THE "ILLINOIS 25 within a week or ten days from the time of landing the 52d Regiment alone had one hundred men in the hospital, and the regimental records show that by September, 1863, — that is, after our return, — we had buried nearly this number, who had died from disease alone, contracted in the service, and which, in the opinions of our surgeons, as well as in my own, was directly traceable to the inhuman confinement on shipboard heretofore described. From Corp. Stowell's journal : — '■'■ On Board the Steamer '■ Illinois.^ December 12. — On Tuesday afternoon, December 2, we weighed anchor, and soon were quietly sailing down the bay. Our fifes and drums played ' Yankee Doodle ' and 'The Girl I left behind me.' Early Friday morning the wind began to blow and the ship began to rock, and then came the sea-sickness which I shall not attempt to describe. It would not have taken a large force to capture us at that time. It is amusing to go over the ship in the night-time, and see the various places the men sleep in. Here is one sitting on a box, another on a barrel. There was a box on deck with some augur holes in it. Open it, and you find a soldier quietly sleeping there." ^'■December 6. — Oh, we have had a dreadful time of it ! On Fri- day the non-commissioned officers of Co. F were all unfit for duty. It commenced blowing in the morning, and by noon blew a perfect gale, and on the increase till eleven at night. Such a sight I never wish to see again. In the first of the storm the little Testaments were out pretty thick ; but it soon got too hard for that, and nearly all were sea-sick. The worst was at night. All the men were sick and groaning through the night, — sick as death. "One poor fellow is on deck, sewed up in his blanket, and will soon be lowered to his resting-place in the deep. The burial service of the Shelburne boy Richmond has just taken place. His comrades sang two or three pieces, the chaplain read from the Bible, offered prayer, and with uncovered heads we saw the poor fellow slide down the plank. I pray that I may be permitted to die among my kindred and be buried in my native land." " December 9. — The water gave out two days ago. We have none but what is condensed from the sea water. A very small allow- ance of that, and poor enough." '''' December 14. — We have had what we call a cracker pudding. Took two barrels of hard tack, put it into a caldron with some 26 HISTORY OF THE 52D REGIMENT salt and water, and boiled it until it became soft, served with a little water for drink." Daniel W. Lyman, Co. K, wrote to the Northampton Gazette: — " U.S. Transport '' Illinois^ Gulf of Mexico. — On the morning of the third day a stiff breeze was blowing, which soon increased to a gale. The heaving of the ship brought out all the sea-sickness, and but few escaped. Such a scene as we presented on board I shall not attempt to describe. I never witnessed the like before, and I hope I never shall again. This Sabbath morning was a sad one to our regiment. Richmond, of Co. E, was stricken with typhoid fever, and died in less than a day after he was taken ill. The funeral services were held on the hurricane deck, and his re- mains consigned to a watery grave. No other services were held through the day, except in the evening a few who had the love of Christ in their hearts started a prayer-meeting ; and, though the surroundings were anything but pleasant, it mattered not, for God was with us. The next Sunday we were at the mouth of the Mis- sissippi River. Religious services were held on deck, and the chaplain preached an appropriate discourse from the text, ' Put on the whole armor of God.' After a brief stop at New Orleans, where we did not land, we started again up the river for Baton Rouge. Our guns that had been boxed up during the voyage were now taken out, and forty rounds of ammunition given out to every man. We were accompanied by several gunboats, especially one turtle-shaped thing called the ' Essex.' At noon orders came for the 5 2d Regiment to land, which they did cheerfully, having been on board the steamer nineteen days. We marched to the top of the bluff and stacked our guns, leaving our baggage on the boat. At roll-call at eight in the ev^ening we were ordered to sleep with our belts on and to lie on our arms, and turn out at four in the morning. The night was pleasant, but cold, and we were very uncomfortable without our blankets ; but morning came at last, and with it the warm sun. '•'•December 19. — Yesterday we were marched out two miles on picket duty. The night was cold, and we had to keep very still and quiet. No rebels were seen through the night, though we hourly expected them. "We are now comfortably settled in camp ; and, should the rebels attempt to capture us, they would find us ready for them. Every- thing about the city looks like desolation. There is no business going on, the public buildings are deserted, grass is growing in the streets." THE "ILLINOIS 27 Rev. James K. Hosmer, Co. D, was appointed one of the color guard, with the title of corporal, and after his return published his notes under the title of " The Color Guard," which is regarded as one of the best accounts of soldiers' life that the war produced. I am permitted to make extracts from this journal, and only regret that I cannot make them more complete. " On the '•Illinois.^ — Have I mentioned that now our places are assigned? The non-coms (please read it non-commissioned, and not non-compos) — for some high-minded privates declared it might well mean that — have assigned to them an upper cabin over the quarters of the officers. The privates are in front, on the lower decks and in the hold. Five sergeants of our company and two corporals have a state-room together, perhaps six by eight feet. Besides us, two officers' servants consider that they have a right here. Did any one say elbow ' room ' ? Below there are three tiers of bunks, with narrow passages among them. The men lie side by side, with but two feet or so of space. " This morning I took breakfast in the berth, which is din- ing-room, study, and parlor as well. Sergt. S. carves a lump of boiled beef with my dirk. 'Just the thing for it!' he exclaims. There has been no end to the grumbling. We have all been sea- sick, and responsibilities which the disordered stomach should shoulder have been thrown on the food. This brings me to speak of what I have noticed again and again, since we became soldiers, that the first to complain of their rations are those who have come from the poorest circumstances. Those who at home have been forced to live on the coarsest food are now first and loudest in their outcries against the rations. "We left Ship Island yesterday (Saturday), having lain at an- chor there since Thursday. Sergt. S. was one of the few who went ashore, and came back smacking his lips, telling great stories of a hoe-cake with butter which he bought of a contraband. He must have had a good supper, and became the pet of the non-coms for that evening ; for they made him repeat the story again and again, endeavoring from the lusciousness of his description to realize the actual sensation which the palate of the sergeant had experienced. All day long transports laden with troops were arriving. The decks of all were dark with troops. We hear from some the drum and fife, from others the strains of a full band, and from every regiment cheer after cheer, as they round the point of the island, pass in among the ships, and finally cast anchor. Word was 28 HISTORY OF THE 52D REGIMENT passed Saturday night that we were bound to New Orleans. The day is beautiful as we ascend the river. We pass a plantation belonging, as we are told, to Judah P. Benjamin. We come within a stone's throw of the orange groves and the balconies. A crowd of negroes, of all sizes and both sexes, rush to the bank to shout and wave their hands. As night is falling, we can begin to see the lights of New Orleans. Ed and I sit on the paddle-box watching the light of the hostile city in chains under our cannon. The fine band of the 41st on the 'North Star' play 'Twinkling Stars are laughing light,' and other pieces to the delight of all of the transports. One of our fellows offered to swop our band for theirs, which caused a joke on board the 'Illinois'; for we are rather lame in point of music. " A certain creeper, the pest of camps from time immemorial, has made its appearance on the ' Illinois,' and has been the staple horror on the latter part of the voyage. Some one must yell out the enquiry if the 41st know anything about them. The answer comes pealing back, 'We have got them with U. S. marked on their backs.' So go the jokes through the evening. "Here are the great peacemakers of the city. We find frigate after frigate, grim, dangerous, silent ; our flag at the stern, with formidable batteries all in perfect trim and trained against the city. Blue tars crowd the decks, watchmen with spy-glasses are on the tops. Should secession grow ripe again and the watch behold the dust arising from ' an emeute,' New Orleans would be blown into shreds and splinters. "We cast anchor again, the day goes by, we buy oranges ripe and sweet from boats which come alongside. While the hope of landing fades and fades." III. BATON ROUGE. [Dec. 17, 1862, TO Jan. 20, 1S63.] From Col. Greenleaf's address: — "Shortly after we landed, the 52d Regiment was formally as- signed to the 2d Brigade of Grover's Division, 19th Army Corps, as were also the 24th Connecticut, Col. Mansfield, the 41st Massachu- setts, Col. Chickering, and the 91st New York, Col. Van Zandt. "We here went to work at once, and with a will, to add to our small stock of military knowledge. The days were spent in com- pany and regimental drills, and the nights in studying the tactics and army regulations. We spent the winter thus, and in perform- ing the well-known routine duties of camp life." Chaplain's letter : — Baton Rouge, Dec. 17, 1S62. My dear Friends of the Sunday-school^ — It is almost a month since I left home. We have been on board the steamer "Illinois " more than two weeks, and have made a voyage of twenty-three hundred miles from New York. The men were very much crowded, but going to sea was new business to most of them. They enjoyed it for a few days while the novelty lasted. After that we had a hard storm, and most of the men were sea-sick. The chaplain took his turn with the rest. We spent a couple of days at Ship Island, as desolate a place as can be imagined. We did not land there ; for just as we were making arrangements to do so came orders to sail, but in what direction we did not know. We sailed south, and next morning, which was Sunday, found ourselves at the mouth of the Mississippi River, and sailed up that river more than a hundred miles to New Orleans. We all enjoyed it very much. The disa- greeable rockings and pitchings of the vessel were over. The men felt well, the weather was as pleasant as a June day at home, and the country was so new and strange that it made it the pleasantest day we had seen since leaving Massachusetts. The banks are low, and are covered with tall, coarse grass. The men were on the lookout for alligators, but did not see any. About ten o'clock we 30 HISTORY OF THE 52D REGIMENT passed Forts Jackson and Phillip, where there were a great many Union troops, who cheered us as we passed, we cheering lustily in return. \^'hen we had passed the forts, I tried to have a religious service. There were several hundred present, but there was so much to attract the notice of the men I could hardly get their at- tention. While reading from the Bible, I found I had lost the eyes of my congregation : I found they were all gazing upon the shore. Looking in that direction, I saw that we were passing an orange grove. The trees were loaded with luscious ripe fruit. It was not strange that the attention of the men was called off from the preaching. It is my opinion that the boys and girls in our Sunday- school would have done the same. We passed many orange plan- tations, then came sugar plantations, immense fields of sugar-cane. Some of it was cut, and many acres are not and will not be. The men are in the secession army, and the negroes will not work. There were no signs of Sunday anywhere. The negroes would cheer us as we passed, but the white people were very still and sullen. We reached New Orleans just before sunset, and it was a splendid spectacle. One large vessel after another sailed majestically up the river, all crowded with Union soldiers, who cheered each other lustily. The bands were playing on all the boats, the flags were un- furled, and, on the whole, it was a very grand and inspiring specta- cle. Monday we spent at New Orleans. We were not allowed to land, but toward night the colonel told me I might go to the post- office and carry the letters which had been written on board. They were in a large box, and numbered about three thousand. It took two men to carry them. On my return, finding the boat was not going to sail for some time, Capt. Bissell and I took a stroll through the city. All the great places of business were closed. Some whole streets were as empty as if there were no people in the neighborhood. The next morning, Tuesday, all was hurry and confusion ; for we were or- dered to sail at once, but in what direction we did not know. By twelve o'clock all the steamers, eight in number, with some formi- dable-looking gun-boats, were ready for the start. The sail up the river was very like that of the Sunday previous. We had, on the whole, a delightful sail. The only drawback was that we were in rebel territory, and might get peppered with bullets at any moment. The men were ordered to secure their arms, fill their cartridge boxes, and load up their guns. At night orders were given to have breakfast at daybreak, and, with two days' rations, ready to BATON ROUGE 3 1 meet the enemy at any moment. Everything looked like active work. In view of what was behind and before us, our voyage and the impending battle, our distance from home, the uncertainty of the future, it was natural enough that the religious element was a good deal stirred within us. So a prayer-meeting was held late in the evening down in the hold of that crowded ship. There was no room for men to stand ; but, taking my position where two narrow alleys met, I could see rows of heads sticking out of the bunks on either side, one above another, far down each of the alleys, as the men lay stretched out at full length. We had as earnest, hearty, whole-souled a meeting for prayer as I ever attended. The place, the position of the men, the circumstances, all made it as impressive as possible. After the meeting I turned into my bunk and slept as well as I could in the confusion till five o'clock, when the hurrying of the men on deck and the raising of the cannon from the hold of the vessel awakened me. Hurrying on deck, I could see that we were near Baton Rouge, the capital of Louisiana. We moved up quite near the town. One of the famous iron-clads preceded us. Pres- ently we saw the flash and heard the boom of the big guns of the gun-boat, then another and another in quick succession. We were reminded that we were in Rebeldom, but there was no response to our firing. Hardly any of the inhabitants appeared in sight. A few women and children, chiefly negroes, came out of their houses to look at us. The town had, evidently, sur- rendered. The Confederate troops who had been here had ske- daddled, and, we are told, are but a few miles away to make an attack upon us when we land. The gun-boat anchored near the shore. We sprang from our steamer upon the gun-boat, and from that to the shore, where we formed hastily into line, and rushed up the bank to the high ground on which the city is built. It was a curious change. Instead of being assailed by a rebel force, as we anticipated, as we hurried across the open space in front of us, the grasshoppers hopped out of our way and the robins were singing in the adjoining trees. But we soon saw the desolation that war had made. There are many stacks of chimneys standing, which is all that is left of what, before the war, were beautiful dwellings. Some earthworks are here, thrown up a year ago, when the Union army held the city ; and these our regiment took possession of, in the hope that they would be of some service in case we were attacked, as there are indications that we should be very soon, quite likely before morning. 32 HISTORY OF THE 5 2D REGIMENT One good house is standing in this part of the city. It was closed, and the furniture gone. The colonel and his stafT have taken possession of this house. In one room I found a little table and a chair. These I have appropriated, and so am able to write you this long letter. It is the first time I have sat in a chair, at a table, since I left home. We shall spread some blankets on the floor, and sleep well, if the " rebs " will let us. The men are busy pitching their tents close to the house. They have torn down the fences to make floors for the tents. It is sad to see a city in such ruins as this, and to witness such a destruction of property : it would be sadder still to have a terrible battle, as we anticipate we may have. I dread to think of it. The men had a hard night of it. They had hurried from the boat without their blankets, and there was no means of securing them. So at roll call, at eight o'clock, they were ordered to sleep with their belts on, and to lie on their arms, and turn out at four o'clock for roll-call. The night was pleasant, but cold ; and it was very uncomfortable sleeping without our blankets, — indeed, there was very little sleep for us. We walked about most of the night to keep from freezing. In our room we were very busy. The order came to be ready for action. We were liable to be attacked at any moment. The doctor had his instruments and medicine ready, and men detailed to carry stretchers which were brought into our room. Then we lay down and slept as well as we could on the hard floor, without blankets. But no rebels came ; and to-day we are disposed to laugh at our preparations for a foe, which, for aught we know, is miles away. Still, we are in the enemy's country, and have to be very watchful. To-night we have a good fire and our blankets, and a hard floor will not trouble us. A good many men are suffering from colds contracted largely that first night on shore. The water, too, is very unhealthy. We hope to get a mail soon. We have not heard from home since we left New York. From Church's journal : — "The morning of December 17 found us opposite Baton Rouge. Forty rounds of cartridges, with two days' rations, were issued. War began to show his face. Some queer things took place while the shelling of Baton Rouge was going on. W"e were to land at once, as we supposed, to fight as soon as we were on shore. Some of the officers appeared to have lost their pride in their shoulder- straps, and seemed to be pleased with very small badges of their BATON ROUGE 33 ranks. Not so Col. Greenleaf, who appeared in his most showy uniform. Some of the boys had absurdly bought tin vests as a protection against rebel bullets, but they were all thrown aside when we came to actual work." Says the chaplain in the Greenfield Gazette: — December 31. — Baton Rouge is the capital of the State, and before the war must have been a beautiful town. The 52d is en- camped on the edge of the plain on which the city is built. East of the camp is a good parade ground. At the right is a good two- story house, unfurnished, which the officers of the regiment oc- cupy. The town, what there is left of it, is a deserted, desolate place. The streets are forsaken, the stores are closed. To the east of us are a large number of stacks of chimneys, which are all that is left of what six months ago were elegant residences. The health of the regiment is much the same as that of other regiments. Our men still suffer from their eighteen days' confine- ment on shipboard. Our first night on shore was a hard one. The men were without blankets : the night was cold and damp. The men laid on their arms, and many took cold. The changes of climate, of living, and especially the water, have impaired the health of many of the men. There are about twenty in the hospi- tal, and nearly a hundred under medical treatment. The hospital, a deserted hotel and club-room, where the sick are as well cared for as they can be in camp. But the camp is a sad place to be sick. There is a great deal of homesickness and heart-sickness in the hospital. The weather has been delightful, and continues so. The heat in the middle of the day is often oppressive. The men throw off their coats, and move about listlessly, as at home on a hot day in spring. The roses are in full leaf, the buds are just ready to open in the yards. The evenings and nights are chilly, cold, and veey damp. The most prominent building we saw as we approached was the State House. The interior had been sacked and desolated when our troops took possession here a year ago. On Sunday there was an alarm of fire, and it was soon discovered that it pro- ceeded from the interior of the State House. Co. A, situated there, did what they could to check the flames ; but, in spite of them, the interior was burned out. Only the blackened, scorched, and windowless walls remained of the edifice which was the pride of the city and of the State. There are more than a thousand poor, miserable contrabands 34 HISTORY OF THE 52D REGIMENT within our lines under the care of Lieut. Stearns, of Northfield. They are as happy and careless, as ragged and dirty, a set of beings as can be imagined. What is to be their fate is one of the mys- teries which time alone can determine. Do you ask how many troops we have here, and what we are here for ? You can answer that question as well as we. One morning we were aroused from our slumbers by the "long roll," and were soon in line of battle ; but, after standing in the cold an hour, and as no enemy appeared, we were ordered back to our quarters. The scene was a little exciting, but the men were decidedly cool before it was over. Corp. Stowell writes home : — '•'■ December 2(i. — The army is just the place to give a man an appetite and make him rugged, if he is only tough enough to en- dure the hardships. We are called up every morning at half-past four, and ordered into line with all our equipments, and sometimes are dismissed as soon as roll-call, sometimes kept on the line for hours, and get chilled entirely through; and that is what makes so many sick." '''' December 2<^. — Last night it was excitement all night. The State House was set on fire about dark, and burned through the night. It makes me mad to be put under such restrictions in regard to using rebel property. They, would allow us to starve rather than touch anything that belongs to the cussed rebels. I wish I could have the command of this army for the remainder of the nine months. We never can do anything towards stopping the rebellion so long as we are so careful of the rebels. They destroy our lives and property at sight, while we dally along and try to do nothing to aggravate them." To the Greenfield Gazette and Courier : — • Baton Rouge, December zc). — Our regiment drills three hours a day, which may be considered a short day's work ; but we have no time to spare after getting our guns and clothes clean and our accoutrements in good order. We have not been troubled as yet to kill time. The morning roll-call is at five o'clock, breakfast at seven, guard mounting at eight, drill from nine to ten, from eleven to twelve, from half-past one to half-past two, dinner at twelve, dress parade at half-past four, evening call at eight. Five or six hundred negroes have come into the city since we landed. They come from the plantations around this city. They usually run away in the night. Co. A has been detailed as guard for provost BATON ROUGE 35 duty. Their quarters are at the State House, where there are several rebel prisoners. The ladies of Baton Rouge supply them (the prisoners) with such luxuries as they can obtain. Since its organization in September, Co, A has furnished, besides its com- pany officers, a chaplain, surgeon, adjutant, two sergeants, and three corporals. Private Henry S. Gere, Co. C, has been ap- pointed brigade postmaster. He is acting postmaster for the whole camp. It is an excellent position for the editor, and we congratulate him on his good fortune. Baton Rouge, Jan. i, 1S63. My dear Wife, — The health of the regiment has improved a little, I think, since we landed. There are none very sick. Sammis, of South Deerfield, is ill, but I think he will recover; the same with Capt. Long and Capt. Stone. We have just received the account of the terrible reverse our army has received at Fred- ericksburg. In view of our hardships and these reverses, you nat- urally ask, Do I repent engaging in the enterprise ? I reply confi- dently, "No, not for a moment." However the contest terminates, I do not regret that I put my hand to the work. If it shall termi- nate, as I still hope and pray it will, I shall rejoice that I had a part in it. If it shall turn out disastrously, I shall have no re- proaches that it was through my fault. Jan. 2, 1863. — . , . Capt. Long admitted me very cordially to his mess. I feel now as though I had something to depend on. His quarters are at a gentleman's confiscated house near the ruins of the State House, so I walk half a mile to my meals. Yesterday being New Year's, our darky cooks prepared, what they call, a bang-up dinner, — a baked chicken, some fresh beef, tough as a bull's hide, some toast, lemonade, and hominy. We had a table cloth, some crockery plates, and a blessing asked, and, on the whole, a civilized dinner. We have been put into the 2d Brigade with the 41st Massachusetts Regiment and the 24th Con- necticut. Gere and I have been talking this morning about send- ing for our wives. If you were here now, it would be very pleas- ant for a week, possibly a month ; but, before you could get here, we may be far away and far less pleasantly situated. I hardly know what we could do with you if you were here. This is a very good room, but in addition to the inconvenience of sleeping on the floor is that of sharing it with seven or eight men. The house has not a closet, and, of course, no cellar. 36 HISTORY OF THE 52D REGIMENT January ii, 1863. My dear Sunday school Scholars^ — Let me tell you of to-day as a specimen. I rose at seven. A toilet which consists of pulling on one's boots and washing one's face is soon performed. A walk of half a mile brings me to the house occupied by Capt. Long. He is living in clover, as he says. As the morning is cool, the captain has in his private room a little fire. On entering, you are amazed at the costly and elegant furniture. The bed-posts, for instance, are of solid mahogany, at least ten inches in diameter. Breakfast is served in the dining-room, which, like the bedroom, contains marks of former magnificence. The occupant fled at the approach of the "Yanks," and took what he could ; but he could not carry away his costly bedsteads, sideboard, extension table, etc., and now we use them as complaisantly as if we owned them. The breakfast is served by the "intelligent contraband," and has been cooked by his wife, and consists of corn-cake and molasses. Our keen appetites call it a good breakfast. Shortly after preparation is made for a religious service, which is to be in the Court House, where Co. A is quartered. The chaplain grows red and hot with indignation when he finds that no notice has been given of the service except to Co. A. The sergeant-major hurries through the camp, and gives the notice. He finds half the men washing themselves or their clothes, the other half writing letters. Half an hour behind time the chaplain goes to the extempo- rized desk, and finds before him a congregation of about seventy- five men; women, none ; children, none. On the table a bouquet of delicate, half-open roses, gathered from the yard outside. The singing is good. The prayers are tender with grateful memories of home and friends. The sermon from Proverbs xxiii. 25. All very pleasant and somewhat hom.elike. After the service a couple of hours is spent in the general hospital, going from one to another sick couch, and speaking such words of cheer and hope as could be spoken. After reading the eighty-first Psalm, a prayer is offered and words of faith and trust spoken. Some of the patients are sound asleep through the service ; some listen ; many do not. It is a painful, sad service. There are about thirty of our regiment in the hospital. Jonathan Slate, of Bernardston, is quite sick : so is Hall, of Co. E ; the same with Roberts, of Am- herst; Montague, of Sunderland; Morgan, of Co. H; and others more or less ailing. On leaving the hospital, a call came to pack BATON ROUGE 37 knapsacks and take forty rounds of ammunition and be ready to fall in at a moment's notice. Hastening back to quarters, I find all stir and animation. News is received that a large force of the enemy are near at hand, and we may expect an attack at any mo- ment. Aides-de-camp are hurrying about on fast horses, deliver- ing and receiving orders. The chaplain, having no orders to give or receive, except to have his knapsack packed that he may be ready for anything that occurs, sits down to look over the day's accumulation of letters, some two or three hundred in all. In the mean time the regiment is called out and hurried to the ramparts, where they are put through a pretty sharp practice of lying down and in that position going through all the processes of loading and firing their guns. At last they were dismissed to their tents, with orders to be ready to assume their positions behind the parapets at a moment's notice. The supper of hominy and molasses and coffee completes the feeding for the day,— not rich food, but wholesome, — and a quiet evening, not knowing what the night will bring forth. The coun- try and the climate are delightful. Birds are singing in the trees, butterflies are on the wing, the grass is green in the fields. But hark ! there is a steam whistle. A boat is coming up the river. Will it bring a mail ? We must know, so we hasten to the muddy levee to find there is no mail. But there probably will be to-mor- row. But what will be on the morrow ? Shall we have a bloody battle, and death and wounds, and all that ? or is this alarm only a little practice which the soldiers need ? I strongly suspect the latter. In either case, we shall be likely to hear the long roll before morning. Now the evening is past, and you have learned somewhat of how I am spending my time. The days are much alike, — much in them that is pleasant and much that is sad. We all long for home and peace. And that is the hope and prayer of your friend and pastor, J. F. Moors. To my wife : — January 5. — Yesterday a boat came up, saying that the rebels had attacked a party of our men at Plaquemine, twenty miles below here; and four companies of our regiment — namely, Cos. E, G, H, and K — have been sent down to guard the place. Co. A is still doing police duty in the city, so five companies are gone. More than a hundred are on the sick list, sixty are required for guard duty, seventy for picket, so we have but few left in the camp. 38 HISTORY OF THE 52D REGIMENT I have suffered very much lying on the floor, which is very thin, and the air came up through it to such an extent that I could not keep warm. I resolved not to sleep there any longer, and confiscated an old sofa, on which I spread my blanket, and slept warm and comfortably. I have lived lightly for a few days, and am getting around with- out taking any of the doctor's camphor and opium pills. I can take care of myself better than most can, for I can better command my own time. I have confidence in the doctor that he will take good care of me if I am sick. I shall defer all account of this expedition to Plaquemine till its return. On Saturday afternoon I wanted a place for religious meet- ings. They must be held in the evening, and the air is too chilly and damp for out-of-door services. I thought of the second story of the old foundry, standing a little way from us, — a large, un- finished room made to store the wooden patterns used in the shop below. The windows are sadly broken by musketry and the walls battered by shells. Getting twenty men to help me, we cleared out half of this room, arranged boards for benches, and soon had a comfortable church extemporized, in which we have earnest meetings in the evening, from one hundred to two hun- dred present, with one candle to make the darkness visible. January 12. — Back to camp to attend the funeral of Norman Roberts, of Amherst, who has been sick ever since we landed. A prayer and Scripture reading in the presence of the whole regi- ment, then a procession of soldiers with arms reversed and muffled drums, the body in a covered United States baggage wagon drawn by mules, members of Co. G without arms, and the chaplain on horseback, — a solemn and impressive service, more so because it is our first. I told the colonel it was not well to make so much of a parade at a funeral. It depressed the spirits of the men. A few should be detailed for this service and not the whole regiment. Nothing can be more sad or solemn than these processions, with their funereal music, wending their way to the old cemetery, whose fences have been torn down, whose paths have been grown over, and the whole appearance of the place telling of war and its rav- ages. Hundreds of U.S. soldiers are buried here. A board is the only sign that marks their resting-place. On returning, the 5 2d was out on the parade ground for battalion drill. As Dolly and I felt well, I thought it was a good time to drill her and my- BATON ROUGE 39 self a little in military tactics, so, managing to keep in the rear of the battalion, we capered about till I was tired. Before leaving the ground there came the long roll. " To your posts ! " was the order. And in an instant the 5 2d were on the double-quick for their position on the parapets. There they stood for an hour, when they were dismissed, I suppose it was to give a little prac. tice, which the men stood in need of. January 13, 1863. Afy dear Wife, — Hurrah ! hurrah ! the long-waited mail has come at last ! An immense excitement over it ! The first we have received ! The letters are a month old, but we are glad enough to get them. Continue to send the newspapers, and ask your friends to do so. They occupy a great many odd moments, and, when we are done with them in camp, they do good service in the hospital. There are many sad, weary hours among that crowd of sick men ; and newspapers beguile them better than anything else. yanuary 17. — The most remarkable thing of the last two days has been the very cold weather, I rarely suffer more than I have the last two nights, Thursday night was windy and cold, last night still and colder. The top of the ground was frozen, and ice formed as thick as window glass. "Not bad," you will say: "a Yankee ought to stand that." It is these sudden and severe changes that tell so hard upon the health of men deprived of the comforts of home. In my last I told you, I believe, that there was a young man in Co, C — James Graves — sick in the hospital, — a little, gentlemanly fellow, almost womanly in his refinement. He lay on the floor between two rough men, who were very sick, one of them fretful, complaining, and profane, I felt very sorry for Graves. He is a Sophomore in Yale College. I asked the sur- geon to allow him to come to my room, and he was brought in upon a stretcher yesterday, and I am taking such care of him as I can. He is not very sick, but needs quiet and care ; and these I can give him, Frank Ball, also, is sick in our room. Sergt. Hos- mer is sick, and his brother is taking care of him in the captain's room upstairs. Last night I was up with Graves a good deal, es- pecially to keep up the fire. About midnight Rev. J. K. came to my room, and wanted to know if I had some dry sticks of wood to swap off for some green ones. His wood was burned up, and he had just come in from chopping some green sticks, and wanted some dry ones to kindle. Mem. — Ministers should get in wood enough at night to last till morning. 40 HISTORY OF THE 52D REGIMENT From Stowell's journal : — " Have been out drilling in the manual of arms. We have been forbidden to destroy any property. I wish they would make a clean sweep as far as we can, and not waste our time and lives in taking care of that rebel truck. •* Went out on picket duty yesterday. We are on for twenty- four hours. One company from each regiment go out about three miles, and are left, three in a place, along in the woods. Three others, with myself, act as scouts. The orders to pickets are very strict in regard to firing a gun or taking property, — hens or any- thing else. Our captain repeated the orders to us after we were posted ; but we thought we discovered a twinkle in his eye which meant, ' If you can do anything and I not know it, why, do it.' Just at night six pigs came into our lines, two of which were quietly hung up by their heels in a very few minutes. The next morning I started with my rifle, went outside the lines about two miles, found a good fat threeyear-old heifer, drove her into our lines, and shot her, then, with the help of three or four others, cut her up, put her in our haversacks. We also killed a shoat and a sheep, which we put in our sacks, out of sight, so, when we marched in for inspec- tion, we had the appearance of being empty-handed. Our captain said not a word, nor asked any questions, but ate his share of the pig this morning with a good relish. " We are preparing for a big battle twenty miles above us at Port Hudson, We expect a bloody fight, as the rebels are strongly entrenched. '■'' jfanuary 13, 1863. — Yesterday was a happy day to most of us. We received a mail for the first time since we left New York. One poor fellow from Orange had letters telling him his wife was dead. He takes it very hard. " The folks at home will never know what the soldier has to endure. Take my last guard, for instance. In the first place, the mud was two or three inches deep, and there we must stay twenty- four hours. We have some little tents to go into half the time ; but we are not much better ofif for them, for the rain comes through, and the mud is as bad inside as out. When night comes, we can stand up or lie down in the mud with all our equipments on ; for no one is allowed to take them off during the twenty-four hours he is on guard. " But we have some good things here to eat. Co. F drew a bar- rel of flour, and yesterday we had a rarity for dinner and supper. BATON ROUGE 41 We took half of it and put it in the big cauldron we make our coffee in, and made a minute pudding. We then took some mo- lasses, vinegar, water, and made a pailful of good sauce. " Last Sunday we thought the rebels had come, sure enough. Our pickets came rushing in, telling us that they had been sta- tioned about three miles out, and that the rebels had appeared in force. The long roll sounded, and we started double-quick for the parapet. There we stayed under arms until night, but no rebels appeared." To Mrs. Moors : — Co. A are living in clover. They are in better health than any other company. They are on provost duty in the city, and Capt. Long is provost-martial. On the whole, I think the health of the regiment has improved within a few days; but we have a good many sick. I just hear that Gleason, of Co. B, is dead. The colonel and Capt. Stone dined with us to-day. We had what John Contraband calls a bang-up dinner, with table-cloth and crockery plates ; and we have found some plated silver forks. We had chicken, sweet potatoes, brown bread, and a rice pudding. It was a triumphant success, especially the portion of the dinner over which I presided. You must look to your laurels, or I shall have a cook-book out before you do. We bought two pounds of butter for a dollar, strong enough to draw a load of wood up my driveway on High Street. ya)i. 19, 1863. — I wrote a sheet on Saturday, and have not had time to write a word since. We buried Gleason just at sun- set. These deaths have a depressing influence upon the men, especially upon those in the hospitals. The Whitneys watched with my two patients. I had a good sleep, so as to be ready for my Sunday duties. At dress parade on Saturday I urged a bet- ter attendance on the preaching service, which is entirely volun- tary. I gave notice that the service to-morrow would be at 10.30 A.M. I hurried up to get my sick men washed and laid back upon the floor. About nine it was announced that a steamer was com- ing, I started some >en to the levee to see if there was a mail for us ; and, lo! theyjeturned bearing a bouncing big one, — about three bushels, — whichVas emptied upon our floor, and we went to sorting it with a will. At ten o'clock I sent to the colonel that the mail would be better for the men than my sermon, and that the drums better not beat the assembly's call. Continue to send the newspapers. After I have read them, they go to the hospital. 42 HISTORY OF THE 52D REGIMENT No service to-day, but prayers at dress parade. After looking to the sick boys and the supper, I went to the Court House, and had a service, — about a hundred present, — then to the hospital, and back to quarters at nine o'clock to get the sick boys in my room to bed, — as we have to call it, — though it is upon the floor. I was up at twelve, and sat up three hours ; and Whitney sat up the rest of the night. Arthur Ball, Co. D, detailed to take care of the chap- lain and his horse, is ill. So our first care is of him, so that he may be able to take care of his brother Frank, who is pretty sick. Graves is better. If it were not for this sickness, we should be in splendid condition. We begin to feel quite at home here. In our room we have added one thing after another, till we have as much as we can take good care of. I have to be " orderly " for the non-coms. H. W. W. calls me the widowed parson in care of four orphan boys. Tuesday P.M. — My time is fully occupied. Graves is better, begins to take a little broth. Frank Ball is no better, is wander- ing in his mind. The sickness in the regiment is on the increase. One hundred and fifty of our six companies are sick, and as many more not well. Four companies in the 52d Regiment are at Plaquemine. Two deaths have occurred to-day, — Hall, of Haw- ley, and Lorenzo Payne, both young men, both dying of typhoid fever. It takes hold of the young men fearfully. One funeral at two this afternoon, and I am just going out to the other. I took a horseback ride with Henry Whitney, to whom I am getting greatly attached. I shall have to send Frank Ball to the hospital. I am too busy to take care of him, and Arthur is not well enough to do it. January 20, i A.M. — Frank is restless and delirious. He is quite sick. A steamer has just arrived, and we hope for another mail. The rumor is that we are to move in the morning. I hope it is not so, but probably we are to be sent further from the river. It is the common opinion that our proximity to the river is one cause of so much sickness among us. We have some fun withal. Day before yesterday Lieut. Hurl- bert was prowling about the back kitchen of Capt. Long's head- quarters. He found a nicely packed box. With an axe he knocked the boards off, and found the dinner service of the estab- lishment, — nice earthen white ware. Coming into the dining- room, he whirled our tin plates and cups into, the corner, and set the table out with the new-found crockery. So now I sit down to as well-furnished a table as my wife has ; namely, that of the Sec- retary of State of Louisiana. IV. BATON ROUGE, WITH AN ACCOUNT OF THE PLAQUEMINE EXPEDITION. [Jan. 20 TO Feb. ii, 1S62.] Corp. Hosmer writes : — " The chaplain was sick lo-day, so T conducted the services for two of the men, one a boy I knew well at home, — Frank Ball. He will never see again his pretty cottage home under the trees by the Connecticut. We were forced to bury them hurriedly, for it was late, and, I fear, with a less feeling of solemnity than we once had on such occasions. Funerals have been so frequent of late, sometimes three or four a day, that they lose their impres- siveness. Most all the deaths have been among the boys. We do not suffer as some men of the regiments are suffering close by us ; but it is enough to cast a shadow, and make us feel the insecurity of life. But let me turn from these things. We are, after all, not a gloomy set. The spirits of the men are often high, and there is much fun going forward. " A great character in the camp is one Niles, a fellow with many crotchets in his brain, — too many for it to remain in a normal, healthy state. He ought hardly to have passed a medical exami- nation ; but he is a fellow of infinite jest, and his pranks and say- ings keep up the spirits of the regiment. He has wit. When that fails, he blunders into capital hits, sparing no one, from the colonel down. Seeing some officers looking at a big hole in a hollow tree, he came up, and peered with his queer, whiskered face into the hole. ' That is a big hole, Niles,' said one of the ofificers. ' Yes,' said Niles, ' next time the long roll is sounded, if it isn't full of officers, I will come here and hide.' By far the most amusing thing I have seen since I became a soldier was Niles's parody of Col. Birge, of the 13th Connecticut, — a veteran regiment, which went through its admirable drill close to our camp, and whose commander, at such times, threw himself with unusual energy into such work. I heard great laughter and shouting on the parade ground the other day, and, going out, saw Niles mounted on a lean, long-eared jackass, which he would cudgel with a club until 44 HISTORY OF THE 52D REGIMENT the animal gave up his obstinacy and went off at an ungainly gallop. Niles rushed to one side of the field and then to the other, and roared out his orders, — 'Close column by division, on second division right in front!' — then whack would go the stick, and Niles, eager as if in battle, would gallop off to the other side of the field, — ' Head of column to the left, deploy column on first com- pany ! ' etc., — an admirable caricature of the efficacy of Col. Birge, who was always at full gallop, keeping his regiment on the double- quick. Niles drilled his imaginary command for some time, when a sergeant, shocked at the indecorum, started after him at full speed ; but Niles's time had not yet come. As the pursuer ap- proached, Niles's ungainly steed reared and brayed ; and, while dodging his heels, the pursuer measured his length in the mud, leaving Niles, in his shabby uniform, to go on caracoling and shouting his orders." From Stowell's journal: — '■'•January 20. — There are six of our company on picket duty, and- we are stationed near together ; and I can leave my post a short time if necessary. So I took a man, and went into the woods near by. My gun accidentally went off, and hit a cow right in the head. We took out what six of us could carry into camp to-mor- row, brought it near our posts, and hid it ; for an officer will come around once or twice to see if everything is all right. Our rations have been pretty hard lately. We should have had nothing but hard-tack. As it is, we shall get along well enough for dinner and supper to-morrow. I was lucky enough to find an old rusty pan, which I can clean up ; and it will be nice to fry our meat in. When we reached camp yesterday, we found everything in hubbub. Tents were struck, baggage packed, and all the brigade ordered to leave immediately : where to, we did not know ; but we were marched out of the city about two miles, and dropped down into a mud hole, — the most unhealthy place I ever saw. The ground is half-covered with water. We have got our tent raised up and floored in good shape. '•'■Jatiuary 22. — We went to a rebel's house near by, took his doors off before his eyes, took his hammer and hand-saw, some sugar and a good spider, and think ourselves fixed up in good shape. Of course, it makes a man look ugly to see us break the doors of his house to make floors for our tents, but might, with rifles to back it, makes everything right. We are most pleased with our spider. We can make most all kinds of victuals with the help of that. BATON ROUGE — PLAQUEMINE EXPEDITION 45 " January 24. — Here I am sitting by a good fire in an old house. I am acting sergeant. Have a lot of men, part of whom I have picketed out ; and the rest are lying on the floors, snoring like good fellows. I have boarded the windows, so no light can get out ; and the wood in the fireplace is crackling in good shape. We shall not be cold to-night; for, when the fire gets low, on goes a chair, a door, or something else. I cannot help but rather like this business. A man feels so independent and saucy. " Somebody's cow won't come up to-morrow morning. I do not know whose it is; but her hind-quarters are hanging up here, and will form part of our breakfast. Usually, it is hard bread and tea for breakfast, bread and water for dinner, and bread and tea for supper again. So we think to-morrow will be about time for a little beefsteak. " January 25. — When we got home from picket dut}', we found Co. D was about having a funeral. I laid aside my gun, put on my dress coat, and attended. It is unusual to have much notice taken when a soldier dies ; but in this case there were two brothers, one a corporal and the other a sergeant. The corporal was a Unitarian minister at Deerfield, His brother was taken sick about a week ago with the fever that all have here. The cor- poral was with him all the time, and took the best care of him ; but he had to die. The corporal had a rough coffin made for his brother. The body was brought out, and placed in a gun-box. The sergeant's gun and equipments were laid upon the coffin, then his cap, and a little bunch of flowers at a place opposite them. The corporal stood alone by the coffin through the service. He was not the only mourner. It brought tears to the eyes of nearly every one, the colonel and the other officers in particular. He was twenty-one years of age, and one of the finest men of the regiment. If I have prayed a sincere prayer, it is that I might get home alive, and die among my friends. If not, I want to die by the bullet, and not by disease. " Our chaplain made a speech to us on dress parade last night, and its subject was ' Cultivate- a Cheerful Spirit' ; and it is just so. If a man makes the best of everything, he will be much happier than if he look on the dark side all the time." To Mrs. Moors : — January 21. — This morning came an order to move about a mile from the river. Frank Ball was sent to the hospital, very sick. We put Graves in the convalescent hospital, in the wing 4.6 HISTORY OF THE 5 2D REGIMENT of this building. Everything is gone from the house, except our " duds." I expect to have a long quiet night of it. It is a relief to get rid of the sick men. Now we are to go back to tents again. Ball and I are to have one to ourselves, — a good wall tent. Capt. Long lends me a confiscated stove. It is a great deal more quiet here than in the house we have just left; but the men are grumbling about our new location, it is so wet and swampy. The fear is that it is not healthy. I am feeling very well, nothing but a good night's sleep wanting to put me in first- rate condition. Friday, jfanuary 23. Under a Magnolia Tree. — I moved yes- terday, and it occupied all day. The ground here is low; but my tent is very pleasantly situated under a big magnolia, whose green leaves are intertwined with the long, gray, pendulous Spanish moss, which gives it a very pleasant look. Dolly is picketed the other side of the tree, and so is my constant companion, day and night. I wish I could send you a photograph of it. The Co. E. boys put a good floor into my tent, and also a box for me to sleep in, which would be very well if it were not so suggestive of a coffin. I hope I can get some hay to put in before a great while. From the Gazette and Courier : — jfanuary 23, 1S63. — Sunday was a day of rejoicing among us. In the morning a mail-bag containing about two and one-half bushels for the 52d was laid on the floor of the chaplain's room, and as soon as possible distributed among the eager crowd, impa- tient to get news from home. We have a good deal of sickness, as you have doubtless heard. Seven have already died of typhoid fever. I find that war has its two sides. If you start from our camp with two or three compan- ions, all well mounted, and ride about this town an hour, say from 4 to 5 P.M., about the time for dress parade, hear the inspiring music of the bands, the stirring bugle-call, the martial drum and fife, and see the long lines of soldiers, the cheerful-looking camps, the polished guns and well-trained horses of the batteries, and meet well-dressed officers mounted on horses all grand and ele- gant, you might fancy that going to war was very fine, and that the young men missed a great deal who did not enlist. I3ut stop at that building where you see the red flag. It is a hospital of the 52d Massachusetts Volunteers. Mount the stairs, and look about you. In this room on the right are ten men, most of them on the floor. Some have boxes made in the plainest way of a few boards. BATON ROUGE PLAQUEMINE EXPEDITION 47 Some of them are filled with the dried Spanish moss. Here is a man suffering with fever ; the next one has dysentery ; the next one is weak and exhausted, without any particular disease. Go to the next room, it is the same. The third, and it is a repetition of what you have seen before. Go across the way, and you find two or three rooms with patients who are recovering. By the time you have spent two or three hours in these rooms you will be persuaded that war has its dark side, — dark, dark enough. Our regiment is weakened, not only by sickness, but by the ab- sence of four companies down the river and a great many de- tailed men. To Mrs. Moors : — Saturday Evening, Jan. 24, 1863. The last two days have been among the happiest and the sad- dest I have experienced, — happiest because I feel so well and am enjoying my mode of life very much. Yesterday we re- ceived a large mail for our regiment, which was very welcome. I said these days were the saddest, too. The news from Vicks- burg is very disheartening. The fate of that place determines ours. In the regiment the aspect of affairs is enough to make men sober. The fever ! oh, the fever ! Longfellow's chapter in "Hiawatha" just expresses it. We have had three deaths within twenty-four hours, and I am sorry to write that Edward Hosmer's was the last. He died at ten o'clock this a.m., and is to be buried to-morrow at ten. He was very much beloved and respected by his company and the regiment. He was, you know, the orderly sergeant of Co. D. Thompson, of Bernardston, and Culver, of Shelburne Falls, are both dead. Graves, whom I have called my little pet, was doing nicely when he left me, but now is not as well. Lewis, of Co. A, is sick ; and so is Merriam. Horace Allen is broken down with home-sickness. To tell you of to-day will tell you how I am spending my time. Rose at six, blacked my boots (which is a military requirement and no little labor in this sticky clay), made my bed, swept the floor of my tent, put to rights gen- erally, and rode to town to breakfast, then to deliver letters, and then to the river to water Dolly. A boat had just arrived with a regiment of eleven hundred negroes, — a splendid regiment, worth, I believe, any two regiments on the ground. They are officered by colored men, which, I am told, is likely to give great offence to the white officers here. I sat for a while to see them disem- bark, and then to the hospital, where I spent an hour and a half I' 48 HISTORY OF THE 52D REGIMENT visiting, briefly, every man who was awake, and trying to say something to him to cheer and help him. It is a hard service, and draws severely upon one's sympathy. Then to the post-office with a haversack of letters I had brought from camp. At one back to dinner, and from there to the funerals of Thompson and Cul- ver, who were buried together, and with no escort ; then to see J. K. H., to make arrangements for Ed's funeral to-morrow ; then with J. K. H. to the cemetery, to select a place of interment ; back to camp at four, to look up the boys whose parents had writ- ten to me concerning them, and at seven to have a delightful quiet hour, writing this. I stayed with Hosmer till half-past nine last evening. He wanted I should stay all night to watch with Ed ; but I felt that I needed the night for sleep, as I am to have a very busy day tomorrow. J. K. is the manliest man there is in the regiment. He bears this trial nobly, says he should rather Ed had fallen in battle, but, seeing the lack of nurses, he shall vol- unteer for that service. He has nursed Ed very tenderly and skil- fully. You talk of eating hard-tack and salt junk out of sympathy, but you need not ; for I eat neither now. We live well enough, — plainly, indeed, but good enough. I have put some hay into my box, and so sleep splendidly. I have told you that the town was deserted. It is not so now. Many of the inhabitants have come out of their hiding-places, and the streets swarm with soldiers and negroes. The contrabands come in more freely than they did before the Emancipation Proclamation. I suppose people want to know of me when we are to move upon Port Hudson, why we do not move at once, how many soldiers we have, how many the rebs have, etc. I have one answer to make. I know nothing about it. I did not come here to plan or execute campaigns, nor to criticise those who have that duty to perform. I came to be chaplain to the 52d Regiment, and in doing this even imperfectly I have all that I can do. The 52d is badly demoralized. Look at it 1 Nine hundred and thirty when we left Greenfield, two hundred and fifty are at Plaquemine, one hundred and fifty sick, fifty to take care of the sick, one hundred and fifty detailed for special service, leaving two hundred and fifty for the available force of the regiment. About that number out for inspection to-day. The order was given, " Field and staff officers to the front ! " The chaplain bravely marched in solitary majesty from the rear to the front, and was in- BATON ROUGE PLAQUEMINE EXPEDITION 49 spected and passed muster. It is bedtime, and a splendid bed of hay and husks loose in the box. Thursday P.M.— I fear Mr. Allen will not see his son Horace again, or, if he does, will find little satisfaction in him. He is losing his mind. He can do nothing. There is nothing the matter with him but home-sickness. The doctor is trying to get him dis- charged and sent home. To-day we have another funeral, Samuel Cowles's, Co. I. After my visit to the hospital this morning, I took a long ride with the colonel, to visit all the picket stations. Beginning at the river, they extend around the whole city at a dis- tance of a mile or two from the camp. The pickets are posted in squads of three or four together, and the squads between twenty or thirty rods of each other, so that no one can approach without being seen and challenged. I enjoyed the ride very much. There were a few ditches to jump, but Dolly leaped them bravely. I re- turned to attend Cowles's funeral. Under the Magnolia Tree, Jan. 27, 1863. . . . Sunday has been a busy day with me. Hosmer wanted to have the funeral of Ed out here at the camp (he died in the house by the river), and it was arranged for 10.30. But there was a blunder about the ambulance, and they were not ready till nearly one. The service was held in front of my tent. The body v/as dressed as for dress parade, and looked quite natural. A hymn was sung, and prayer offered. The whole service was very impres- sive. A procession was then formed, Co. A doing escort duty, with arms reversed and drums muffled ; then the body in an am- bulance ; then J. K. with some white flowers in his hand, which he deposited upon the coffin ; then the officers and men of Co. D, the chaplain on Dolly, with several soldiers of other companies. At the grave Co. A attempted to fire a salute, but bungled it so much I did not blame Dolly for being frightened. After a late dinner I went to the hospital, read a chapter and offered prayer in three of the wards, and prayed with the sickest men at their bedsides. Then back to camp to preach a short sermon at dress parade upon cheerfulness, which some of the men stand in special need of. The sickness does not increase as to numbers, but it does in severity. There are from eighty to ninety reported sick every day in quarters. Do you ask what causes so much sickness ? I reply, Bad water, improper food, exposure to the night air on guard and 50 HISTORY OF THE 52D REGIMENT picket. You write about my not exposing myself to rebel bullets. I am ten times more exposed to fever than to rebel bullets. Last night there was a hard rain. It pattered nicely upon the roof of the tent, and rattled the leaves of the magnolia. There are great expectations on that barrel. We expect to see it to-morrow. Under the Magnolia Tree, January 31. . . . The long-looked-for box came this afternoon. It was unloaded in front of my tent. A great crowd soon gathered round, and were full of eulogium upon the splendid packing. "There was labor and skill in that," was the exclamation from many. Some of the things sent amused us very much. Sugar, for instance, which is as cheap here as dirt and almost as plenty. Soap and candles, too, are furnished gratuitously to all the men. (There are some inconveniences in living in a tent. I have just tipped over my inkstand into my slippers.) Bridget's apples came as sound and fresh as when they were put up. You must tell her how much obliged I am for them. I put on the old hat you sent at once, label and all, to the great amusement of " the boys " ; for the contrabands wear just such hats with their master's name pinned to them. You must thank everybody for the things sent. A funeral this afternoon of Marcus Rowland, of Conway. I asked Mr. Hosmer to attend it, for I was quite worn out. Arriving at the hospital, he found two more of our men had just died, — Frank Ball and Arnold of Co. F. Mr. Hosmer officiated at How- land and Ball's burial, the other will be held to-morrow. So we have had three deaths to-day. Most of those that die are under twenty-one years of age. I think the doctor does his best for them. There are fewer new cases, and I hope the worst is over ; but to-day one man has come down with scarlet fever. Under the Magnolia Tree, Feb. 2, 1863. My dear Wife, — Attended the funeral of Arnold, Co. F. Had service at the hospital, and prepared for one at the camp; but it rained so hard I had to give it up. On Saturday Horace Allen was brought before the medical directors to be examined for a discharge. The novelty of the place and the hope of going home excited the poor fellow, and he brightened up and answered all the questions asked him very BATON ROUGE PLAQUEMINE EXPEDITION Ci promptly. They put him through the manual of arms ; and he did well in it, — better, Capt. Long said, than he had ever known him to do it before. The result was the directors told the captain to take his man back and put him to work. The poor fellow was too simple to be cunning or wise. With regard to O. R., he has been as uncomfortable a member of Co. A. as they could have. He has shirked everything, complained of everything. He has done his best to make trouble between the captain and his men ; and now the poor fellow is sick, and not a friend in the regiment to care for him or pity him. He cries and groans, and is the biggest baby we have ; and the boys only laugh at him. I went to see him this morning, and told him I thought a little pluck was as needful to bear a stomach-ache as to fight a battle. I don't know how sick he is. He thinks he is going to die at once. The boys think one-quarter of his trouble is a cold and three-quarters hypo. Daniel VV. Lyman writes to the Northampton Gazette: — " We are still a broken regiment. Four companies that have been sent down the river to Plaquemine have not yet returned, and nothing has been heard from them till this noon, when we were surprised by the sudden appearance of our orderly Williston, in good health and spirits, with a handsome baked turkey in one hand and a beautiful double-barrelled shot-gun in the other. The turkey was just in season, and went right to the spot; for it took the place of hard-tack. One of the party relates a foraging expe- dition where they took from one place eighty chickens and five or six dozen eggs. The planter owned a sugar plantation, and had on hand about one hundred hogsheads of sugar; but the boys could not take that on their backs very well, and had to leave it behind. "The regiment has left our pleasant location on the bank of the river, and marched back a mile and a half to a dismal-looking place. It was no small job to make the spot inhabitable. " January 22. — Our location, which looked so dismal when we saw it yesterday, has been wonderfully improved by the use of a little Yankee mettle. Our streets have been levelled, cook-houses built, and we are ready to live again. Col. Greenleaf has been trying to get the regiment together; and, if his perseverance holds out long enough, he will doubtless succeed. He has endeared himself to the regiment, and will do all he can to make our posi- tion comfortable. He visits the hospital daily ; and his cheering 52 HISTORY OF THE 52D REGIMENT words and pleasant smile have, we doubt not, done more good many times than the doctor's medicine. We had a grand foraging expedition the other da}', and, among other things, brought back six or seven gallons of molasses, and had great fun making ' lasses candy.' If the 'lasses' could have helped about it, we should have had more fun still." From Stowell's journal : — '■^February i, — On picket we stopped an old rebel going into town on horseback. We sent a man with him ; but the man did not go more than ten rods before he made the old rebel get oflE and go on foot, while he got on and rode. '■'■February 15. — It is as warm here as I ever saw it in July at home. Yesterday we had the hardest day's work to do we have yet done. Gen. Grover ordered out a train of thirty wagons to confiscate commissary stores, and called for two hundred of the best men of the 52d Regiment for an escort. We were to go into the country about five miles beyond the pickets. We stood the march out very well, but every man was wet through with the sweat and about played out. The mules trotted most of the way ; and the men were forced to keep up, though the mud was quite deep. We were marched in in just an hour, and such a heated set of men I never saw. Quite a number fell out, and had to be sent for with carts, and are now under the surgeon's care. " Many are sick. Measles are plenty, and hospital grows larger, still we are in good spirits. Does a mule bray, you see all our camp crying out: 'A mail, a mail! The "Iberville" is coming!' That was our mail-boat, and had a very heavy whistle which could be heard a long way, and sounded very much like the bray of a iackass. Whenever this was heard, the chaplain would mount his black horse and ride over to the landing. Sometimes he walked back, the mare nearly covered with mail-sacks. When the mail was not so large, he rode between the sacks ; and every man in camp would have the letters before the chaplain slept." THE PLAQUEMINE EXPEDITION. "The morning of Jan. 3, 1863, brought sounds of heavy firing from Plaquemine, a place twenty miles below Baton Rouge. Rumors of a battle there, in which gun-boats were playing a promi- nent part, filled the camp. Orders came for Cos. C, G, H, and K to prepare at once to go down the river with three days' rations, and re-enforce our troops there. Excitement and bustle filled the BATON ROUGE PLAQUEMINE EXPEDITION 53 quarters of these companies as they prepared for their first real work of soldiers. About an hour before sundown, with Lieut. Col. Storrs in command, they went on board the steamer ' Morning Light,' and started down the river. About seven o'clock Plaque- mine was reached, and the troops were landed under cover of two gun-boats, and found the town abandoned by the enemy. The companies were posted for the night in advantageous positions in different parts of the town, and were soon comfortably housed in deserted stores and other buildings. Picket duty and foraging occupied most of the time. January 9 was an exciting day. The pickets had hardly been posted in the morning, when the whole detachment was startled by rapid firing at the bayou on the west side of the town. All the companies were instantly under arms, and went double-quick to support the pickets on the roads leading into town and at the bayou. The rain was pouring in torrents all the time. At the bayou firing was brisk for a few minutes, and the woods on the opposite side contained many rebels. They finally disappeared, and quiet reigned about the town. The alarm was caused by a scouting party; for the many rumors which had been heard led our boys to believe that a strong attempt was to be made to drive them out of town. On Sunday, January 11, many members of the companies, mindful of their New England bring- ing up, went to the Presbyterian church to attend service. They far outnumbered the natives in the congregation. The minister announced that he would not preach under military restrictions (though no one had imposed any), and that there would be no ser- vices in that house so long as United States troops occupied the place, and dismissed the congregation. Rev. and Capt. Bissell, who was in the congregation and who had had some experience in preaching at home, at once arose, and announced that he would preach there in the afternoon. At the appointed hour he held a real New England service, preaching a fine discourse. On subse- quent Sundays he held services in the same church, which were well attended by the boys, a few natives venturing in. "A cavalry companj', under command of Capt. Perkins, came into town a day or two after our boys, and aided in picket duty. The companies were but scantily supplied with rations, and forag- ing was indulged in on a large scale. An abundance of chickens, geese, milk, eggs, sweet potatoes, etc., were brought into the camp, and so officers and men lived on the fat of the land. Nearly all of the officers provided themselves with fine horses. Foraging 54 HISTORY OF THE 52D REGIMENT expeditions were organized to cross the bayou and visit planta- tions two or three miles away, in sight of rebel pickets. On the 23d of January came the most memorable foraging expedition of all. The stock of edibles was nearly out, and something must be done to fill the larder. A lieutenant, with twenty men from Cos. C and G, started in a new direction down the river. About three miles below the town was a fine plantation owned by a rebel colonel, his wife left in charge. It was soon evident that the boys had struck a rich vein. Poultry of every kind was abundant. Pigs roamed at will, potatoes, eggs, and various things good for hungry men were everywhere. Soon there was such a babel of sounds as would have totally eclipsed the ancient Babel. Turkeys gobbled, hens cackled, geese screamed, pigs squealed. Stone- wall Jackson's foot cavalry were nothing compared with the way the boys ran with all sorts of winged denizens of their race. The boys had the best of the race every time. Soon an enormous pile, fit to tempt the palate of an epicure, appeared in front of the plan- tation home. An ancient African was pressed into service, and politely invited to hitch up a mule team. After some excuses on his part, and the use of powerful arguments to show him the folly of these excuses, he was persuaded- to accept the invitation. Pres- ently he appeared on the scene, under the protecting care of two or three of the boys, with a mule as ancient as himself hitched to what was once a cart. Into this vehicle, with many a tug and groan, went first a full-grown hog which had accidentally, or other- wise, run against a Co. C bayonet in one of the races above de- scribed, then went in an almost countless number of feathered contestants which had been vanquished in the same race. Pigs, potatoes, eggs, sugar, molasses, were piled in on top. Who ever saw a more miscellaneous lot of edibles in one cart, or more in- viting to hungry men. All previous foraging had been out-for- aged. Everybody was loaded with the consciousness of having had a part in a great achievement. The ancient African was just mounting the cart, after ineffectual attempts to decline an invita- tion to drive the fruits of victory to town, and all were assembling to return to camp, when, lo ! Lieut. Col. Storrs, with cavalry Capt. Perkins at his heels, appeared on the scene. To his eager inquiry, ' What does all this mean ? ' comes the quick answer, ' We are carrying the war into Africa.' That hardly satisfied the colonel. His conscience required a money equivalent for the good things received. So he told Lieut. G. that he must pay for all the prop- BATON ROUGE PLAQUEMINE EXPEDITION 55 erty the squad had taken. The lieutenant scratched his head, looked with amazement at the contents of the cart, and then at the colonel, and finally told him that his pocket-book was as empty as the chicken roost on that plantation ; and he must, for obvious reasons, decline to pay. The colonel then turned to the men, and told them that they must make up among themselves the value of all they had taken. What a look of blank amazement came on every face ! The paymaster had not been around since enlist- ment. Continental soldiers at the close of the Revolution were not more destitute of money than these men. Every man pro- tested that he could not raise the value of the smallest Confed- erate ' shinplaster.' Then chimed in the gallant cavalry captain. ' It is a shame,' he said, ' to forage. My men never do.' And when the lieutenant told him he was mistaken, that there was not a day in the week and hardly an hour in the day when his men did not go inside the picket lines with poultry dangling from the sides of their horses, and that they boasted that they had not drawn a ration from the government within a month, he replied, ' But they always pay for what they take.' If the gallant captain had not been killed a few months after in Port Hudson, it would have been perfectly proper to characterize his statement as — a whopper. Finding that his command was impecunious to an amazing degree, the colonel ordered the whole proceeds of the expedition driven to town, and turned over to the acting quarter- master, to be issued as rations to the men. Grins take the place of the troubled looks on the faces of the men ; and some one called out, 'Why, colonel, that was the very thing we started out to do.' It would be pleasant to know whether the colonel sus- pected that the splendid truss of chickens he helped dispose of the the next day at the officers' mess had arrived on that old mule- cart. When the colonel made some inquiries later in the day about the expedition and the reason for it, he was told that, when Uncle Samuel sent a detachment of his boys into a hostile coun- try and then forgot to send them rations, they could not live on air for an indefinite length of time ; and his eyes were also opened to the fact that, for the three weeks he had been enjoying the splendid fare at the officers' mess, he had eaten nothing but for- aged rations. And we observed that rations were more plentiful from that time on, "January 27 Pomeroy, of Co. K, died; and on February 3 Waite, of Co. C, also died. February i the cavalry company was 56 HISTORY OF THE 52D REGIMENT ordered away; and on February 6 two batteries of the ist U.S. Artillery landed at Plaquemine, and we felt easier. The next day four regiments of infantry arrived from Baton Rouge, under com- mand of Col. Payne ; and our companies received orders to return to the regiment by the first boat. On the afternoon of February 8 they embarked on the ' Iberville,' and reached Baton Rouge about midnight ; and the next morning they rejoined the regiment. " Perhaps it was his experience at Plaquemine that led to this story about Lieut. Col. Storrs. The lieutenant colonel offered to bet he could take Port Hudson with the 5 2d Regiment alone. When asked how he would do it, he replied, ' Put them in camp within five miles of Port Hudson, tell them not to touch it, and within two weeks they would steal the whole of it.' " From Jesse L. Delano's journal : — " One of the most disagreeable, dismal, muddy, and rebellious places in Louisiana in 1863 was Plaquemine. On the west bank of the Mississippi, about twenty miles below Baton Rouge, four companies of the 52d were ordered, and landed about dark on the evening of January 5, and found that almost the entire population, except the colored people, were strong secessionists, and had aided the rebellion in many ways. Rations had not been fur- nished us. We must provide them for ourselves. Found a place which abounded in poultry of all kinds, and our camp soon re- joiced in a stock of oranges, chickens, ducks, geese, and turkeys. We just revelled in chicken soup, roast turkey, and are not con- science-smitten at the way in which we secured them ; for we found the spirit of rebellion so strong that we felt justified in get- ting what we wanted if we could find it in the hands of traitors to our beloved country. Sugar plantations abounded about Plaque- mine. Every one had an extensive sugar mill, and its storehouses filled with sugar and molasses. We all had a weakness for sugar, and the government's supply of three ounces a day seemed to us unnecessarily small. One planter who lived near the village came and claimed to be a Union man, and was afraid the rebels would steal his sugar, of which he had a large quantity in his storehouse. The colonel granted him liberty to draw it to the wharf, and send it to New Orleans. Eighty hogsheads of it were then drawn and unloaded on the wharf, and waited for the steamer to come along and take it aboard. The boys wanted at least one hogshead of that sugar for their use ; and, while the soldier on guard was walk- ing in one direction and looking steadily ahead, six or eight of the BATON ROUGE PLAQUEMINE EXPEDITION 57 boys laid hold of a hogshead and rolled it rapidly away in the other direction, where other men waited with boxes and barrels, to which the sugar was rapidly transferred, to carry to our quar- ters. The empty hogshead was rolled into the river and floated down the stream. The next day a search was made for one miss- ing hogshead of sugar, but nothing could be found of it ; for it was securely hid under the piazza floor of the house occupied for our quarters. We learned afterward that the owner of the whole cargo proved to be a traitor, and the government confiscated and took the whole amount when it arrived at New Orleans. Another planter by the name of Desoby applied to the provost-marshal for a guard, so that the negroes and the soldiers could not carry away his sugar. He claimed to be a strong Union man. The provost-marshal sent a guard on the condition that he would give them flour, and furnish them sweet potatoes, meat, and poultry as often as they wished. Delano and Whitmore were detailed to guard the sugar. They stayed two days ; but, finding the old man did not keep his part of the bargain, they returned to camp, leav- ing the sugar unguarded. He, finding that his sugar was rapidly disappearing, went and implored the provost-marshal to send back the guard, and he would furnish everything he had agreed to. They were accordingly sent back, and immediately drove off the negroes that were stealing the sugar. The old man was so thank- ful he said they might each of them have a barrel of sugar. So they procured two of the largest barrels they could find, got a darky to tamp the sugar while they shovelled it in till the barrels were full. The next day the old man got permission to ship the whole lot to New Orleans ; but he was soon arrested for aiding the enemy, and the government confiscated all his sugar. The steamboat captain kindly took Whitmore's and Delano's barrels to New Orleans free of expense, and delivered them to Gen. An- drews to send on to the late Rev. Erastus Andrews, of Sunder- land ; and by him they were shipped to a friend at New York, and eventually arrived home when sugar was selling at 20 cts. per lb." Baton Rouge, February 11. Mr. Eastman, — I have no report to make of battles lost or won. It has not been the fortune of the 52d yet to meet the enemy. Yet do not fancy that we lead an idle, listless life here. On the con- trary, our camp is usually a hive of busy industry. When we came on our present camping ground, it wore a most unpromising look. 58 HISTORY OF THE 5 2D REGIMENT It was low and swampy, covered with a thick growth of under- brush and brambles and a few large trees. Now everything is cleared up except the large trees, and several of them have fallen ; and we have a neat, picturesque camp. We are, apparently, doing nothing, — that is, we have made no forward movement; and you at home are asking very impatiently why we do not move on Port Hudson. Let me answer your question by asking another. "Have you a solid stone wall on your premises? Why don't you get up some fine morning, and go and butt your head against that stone wall ? " It would not pay, would it ? Neither would it pay for us to butt our heads against the strong fortifications of Port Hudson. We are not ready yet for such a movement. The health of the regiment is improving, though there are sixty re- ported sick in the hospital and seventy in quarters. There have been three deaths to-day. The box that was sent from Greenfield came through safely in a little more than two weeks, and was cordially welcomed. Half of the articles were spoiled. Some pies had outlived their useful- ness when they arrived. It needs to be repeated that pies, cakes, and jellies are not worth their cost to send to the soldiers. It will be gratifying to the friends of Co. A to know that there has not been a death in their company. They have, however, just now more cases of measles than any other company. The regiment are generally in good spirits. D. W. Lyman writes to the Northampton Gazette: — ^^ February ii. — The report had spread that the four companies were to return to-day. When they came up, they were greeted with three hearty cheers. They speak in glowing terms of the land of Plaquemine, a land flowing with milk and honey. " The question has been for some time past and is now discussed, ' Is it best to arm the negroes, and will they make good soldiers?' To the above question my answer would be in the affirmative. I have been very much disappointed in the negro population in this part of the country. They are more intelligent as a class than I expected to find them. A portion of them are industrious, with a deal of common sense ; and many want to go in and help what they can toward putting down the rebellion, and I hope they will have a chance to do so before long. '■^ March 12. — Our regiment, and indeed the whole army, has been on the qui vive for the last three or four days, waiting for the BATON ROUGE PLAQUEMINE EXPEDITION 59 order to march ; and on Wednesday, after everything was packed, the cooks were ordered to prepare two days' more rations, which was done and we were ready to march. But it turned out not to be a march to Port Hudson, but a grand review, after which we re- turned to camp with orders to be ready to move at twenty minutes' notice. Tuesday morning Co. A rejoined the regiment, and com- panies are once more together, but not all. Thirty who went into camp with us now rest beneath the sod, and will nevermore return home to receive a happy welcome." On Thursday, the 12th, everything seemed to be ready for a start. "Now," said the boys, "we will see what Port Hudson is made of." All superfluous baggage has been sent to the rear. The order to "fall in " was given about nine o'clock. The 52d boys bravely shouldered their knapsacks, containing only what they thought indispensable, swung over one shoulder the haversack filled with two days' rations, and over the other the cartridge-box with forty rounds of ammunition, and were confident that they could march to Port Hudson, twenty miles away, capture it, and return the next day. The bands played their best, and on we start. But how is this ? The column is headed to the south : Port Hudson is supposed to lie in the opposite direction. At last it entered our heads that it was a grand review we had come for, and no march on Port Hudson after all; and a grand review it was, — very pleasant "to those on horseback who did not get un- horsed in jumping a deep ditch, very tiresome to those on foot who had some forty pounds' weight to carry. We marched about in the heat for two hours, and then back to camp, more wearied and no wiser than when we left it. From Hosmer's " Color Guard " : — "The other day I watched Nims's battery at drill. The cannon and caissons are all out. I pass in front of the muzzles that they have drawn up for a start. To-day Capt. Nims does his own bugling. ' Toot ! toot ! ' a chain of notes, and then all go on the gallop. ' Toot ! toot ! ' now they stop and limber. ' Toot ! toot ! ' off again by the right flank. Swords waving, harnesses jingling, and horses kicking with the excitement. All done to a little chain of clear bugle-notes. Every horse as ready as if those notes lin- ger on in some way to that great rattling of the battery. Rather ungracious business, Capt. Nims, blowing your own trumpet, but you do it very well. " We are at last ready for a start. Gen. Banks comes up with 6o HISTORY OF THE 5 2D REGIMENT a multitudinous staff. Now is the time for splendid steeds, — coursers fitted for an Homeric chariot, like the war-horse of Job, his neck clothed with thunder, — arching necks, prancing limbs, fetlocks spurning the furrow, blacks and grays prancing and rear- ing from well-filled cribs ; for each horse has had his nose in a gov- ernment crib. Banners droop, drums roll a salute. The general removes his cap. He is splendid ; his staff behind splendid, glit- tering with bullion and lace. All is splendid. But the color guard thinks it is rather hard work to look at even a splendid spectacle in heavy marching order, Down the line on a full canter now come the general and his brilliant staff. After they are passed, the whole division defiles before them, regiment behind regiment drooping its ' good-morning ' to the general in its dipping colors as the lines wheel, pass before him, receiving a wave of his cap in re- turn, horn and bugle, drum and fife, filling the air with glorious sound, the great host, with rhythmic foot-beat, moving mightily onward." /.^, ^?^crzn scarce ; and we were a hard-looking crowd, so sunburnt as to look like mulattoes, out at the elbows, out at the knees, out of money, out of patience, — nothing plenty but hard marching, lice, and fleas. "One day an effort was made to skin the hind legs of an alliga- tor, which had been shot an hour or two before. Eight or ten of us were standing around to witness the operation. When the knife penetrated the thick hide, Mr. Alligator swung around his long tail, and we very unanimously lay in the dust. 'Golly, massa soger ! ' said an old darky : ' dat critter won't die till de sun go down.' And he did not." XII. OPELOUSAS TO BARRE'S LANDING. [April 20 to May 10, 1S63.] From Col. Greenleaf : — "When the brigade reached Vermillion Bayou at sundown, the six remaining companies of the 52d Massachusetts could muster but fifty-nine men with the colors, the 24th Connecticut but one hundred and fifty, etc., by far the greater number of each com- mand having fallen out by the way, from sheer physical exhaus- tion. " Veterans all understand the necessity for preserving the proper intervals between regiments and brigades on such a march, and that no regimental or brigade commander has any alternative but to bear aloft and carry forward his colors, however hot the ad- vance may make the pace. And thus the physical energies of man and beast were taxed to the utmost in reaching Opelousas, and apparently to little purpose, as we took few prisoners and captured little property ; but we did make things lively for Gen. Taylor. We at least demoralized his army and scattered his forces." Gen. Banks gives a more cheerful account of the enterprise. GEN. BANKS'S REPORT TO GEN. GRANT. OrELOUSAS, April 23, 1863. We have pushed with vigor the expedition upon which we were engaged. Our success has been complete. We have utterly de- stroyed the army and navy of this part of the Confederacy, and made it impossible for the enemy to reorganize his forces for some months to come. The infantry is completely dispersed. We have captured two thousand prisoners, one thousand stand of arms, ammunition, ordnance stores, etc., twenty heavy guns, demol- ished his founderies at Franklin and New Iberia, and the salt- works below Iberia. We have captured two steamers and several boats, and compelled the destruction of ten or twelve transport steamers. The capture of the fortifications at Butte a la Rose opens to us completely the Atchafalaya to Red River. 130 HISTORY OF THE 52D REGIMENT * At the same time Gen. Banks issued a proclamation of thanks to the army for the vigor with which they had conducted the cam- paign and the success which had attended their efforts. The colonel's account : — " After resting a few days at Opelousas, Grover's division was ordered to Barre's Landing, on the Courtableau, a tributary of the Atchafalaya, nine miles distant, and near the head of steam navi- gation for Mississippi River boats, where it set to work at once to * gobble' up the products of the country, — cotton, sugar, molasses, horses, cattle, mules, etc., — to ship to New Orleans everything {nearly everything) but the live stock. But soon the army was ready to move on to Alexandria on the Red River ; and yet it was regarded important that a considerable force should be left at Barre's Landing to continue the service of seizing the products of the country, shipping the same to New Orleans, receiving and for- warding other troops and supplies for the main army above, and last, though not least, receiving and guarding Gen. Butler's his- toric 'contraband of war.' "Accordingly, at this time the colonel of the 52d Regiment re- ceived an order from the general commanding, appointing him commandant of the post, and charging him with these somewhat important duties. "The army moved forward, but the general was kind enough and considerate enough to allow me to retain the six companies of my regiment as a part of the post command. " Soon after I had been assigned to this command, and just as Gen. Grover was leaving the landing with his division, I was waited upon by his quartermaster, Capt. F. W. Perkins, — a gentle- man and scholar as well as soldier, — and was informed by him that, while engaged in the general confiscation business with which he had heretofore been specially charged, he had made the acquaint- ance of a genuine Union man, — a wealthy planter residing about two miles from the post, — who had voluntarily delivered to him his cotton, sugar, and molasses, and hauled it to the steamboat landing himself, taking the quartermaster's receipt therefor ; and that, in addition to this, the planter had actually saved him and his foraging squad from capture while on confiscating duty, by giving him timely warning of the presence of the enemy, w'ho was lying in ambush for him ; that, on being thus warned, he procured additional force, and dispersed the enemy ; that, in consideration of this double service rendered, as well as in consideration of the OPELOUSAS TO BARRE S LANDING I3I fact that he had already parted with much property, he promised the planter that he would not molest him further ; and that, on learning that he (Capt. Perkins) was to move on with Gen. Grover, while I was to remain, he had given the planter a letter to me, setting forth these facts, and commending him to my favor and consideration, not then expecting that he would be able to see me in person ; but that, having the opportunity, he improved it to see me. " I answered the quartermaster that I was willing to accept his statement of the case, and disposed to act upon his suggestion ; that I was disposed to discriminate always, so far as possible in such matters, between the loyal and disloyal citizen, and that I saw no reason why I should make an exception to the rule with his friend, the planter. The quartermaster — noble fellow! met a tragic death — thanked me, and left; and a day or two later the Union man and planter came with his letter. " I found the letter as represented, and the planter confirmed the statements made to me by the quartermaster. I promised to protect him (the planter) from further molestation ; and, with a cordial invitation for me to visit him on his plantation, he left me. A few days later a delegation of negroes — intelligent, healthy, hearty-looking fellows — waited upon me, as they said, 'to advise with me about the situation.' They had noticed men, women, and children of their people flocking to the post by the thousand, and that they were protected and fed when they reached us. They wanted my advice with regard to their own coming, also, with their families. I asked them whence they came and to whom they be- longed. They answered that they came from a plantation about two miles away, and that they belonged to 'Massa Gantt,' — our Union friend and planter. "I then asked them if 'Massa Gantt' was kind to them. They said he was. If he fed and clothed them well. They said he did; that they had no fault whatever to find with his treatment of them, but they ' wanted to be free.' I answered them that they could come within our lines, with their families, if they wished, and that, if they came, they should be protected the same as others ; but that, from what I had learned of ' Massa Gantt ' before and from what they had just told me, my advice to them would be to re- main, for the present, just where they were. I told them I had little doubt that they would all be free when the war should be over, wherever they might be, but that, if they undertook to follow 132 HISTORY OF THE 52D REGIMENT the fortunes of the army with their families, I feared but few of them would live to return. And I predicated the latter statement on what I had known of the great mortality which had prevailed among negroes when congregated in camp in large numbers. The death-rate had been fearful : they had died off like diseased sheep. "These ' Gantt ' negroes thanked me for my advice, said they should act upon it, and bowed themselves out of headquarters. A week or two later I accepted Mr. Gantt's invitation, and visited him at his house. I then and there saw some of the negroes again, — saw how they fared, how they lived, etc., — and was con- firmed in the opinion that I had given them wise counsel. Time passed on. Gen. Banks was advised that Gen. Gardner had, as anticipated, reduced his force at Port Hudson. Accordingly, he hastened from Alexandria with the main army, recrossed the Mississippi, and formally invested the offending town." To my wife : — Opelousas, April 25, 1S63. We have had a hard, long march to this place. The rebels were on the run ; and, the faster we marched, the less chance they had to turn back and fight us. So on, on we went. The days were hot, the roads good, the fields on every hand were covered with herds which told us that the rebels were not starving. We halted once where several dead horses told of a sharp skirmish. A house near by was completely sacked by our boys. I am sorry to say the 52d helped. They destroyed everything they could lay hands on. That night I slept with the men of Co. H, and our horses came up at night, and of course I felt stronger. It was with some diffi- culty, however, I rode. My jaundice made me so sleepy that I could hardly keep my seat. April 20. — Next day was Sunday. We were roused up early, and had breakfast, but before we were through with it there came another shower. I had a present of some chicken broth, which was a great refreshment. We spent the day in a dreary, hot, wearying march, twenty miles, to Opelousas. We must make it in two days, and make all manner of detours in order to cross the streams where the rebels had burned the bridges. We had to wade the horses and guns through the bayous. The last day we w^aded the whole army through a large pond with water two feet deep. We reached Opelousas at sundown on Monday, April 20, tired and OPELOUSAS TO BARRE S LANDING I33 jaded as we possibly could be. We could hardly hav^e stood it another da3^ We had accomplished our part of scattering the rebel forces. It was good policy, doubtless, to push us on in that way, but a hard one for our regiment. The next day Banks issued an order which was read at dress parade, in which he congratu- lated us upon the success of the movement and the great things we had achieved. The rest here has been very grateful. The drawback is the miserable water, not fit to use. We have to drink water that you would not suppose a pig would drink, — muddy, slimy, nasty, hot. Yesterday I bathed in a mud-puddle that removed one layer of dirt and replaced it by another. We are living well just now, plenty of poultry and fresh beef. Whitney and I eat out of the same tin plate. We have allied our forces. We have two cups, one plate, two spoons, between us. Fortu- nately, he does not swear nor use tobacco. We have left an awful scene of desolation behind us. In spite of the orders not to pillage, burned and sacked houses mark our course. We are getting impatient to have the time come for our return home, but I do not regret coming ; but I do want to see something accomplished. The only looting I have observed in which the 5 2d Regiment have taken a part has been on this march. Looting is a very dif- ferent thing from foraging. The latter is securing, without pay to the owner, the necessary food for the support of an army while in a hostile country, and can be defended by the necessities of war. Looting is stealing and destroying all property the men can lay their hands on, without any idea of benefit to themselves. We have done a good deal of foraging, of course, but never till this march any looting that I have observed. Our men had be- come careless of the rights of property, and it must be confessed there were provocations for looting. For instance, one day on this march we were passing a large, fine-looking plantation house. A guard of Union soldiers was placed there, as was usually done, to protect the place from molestation from the army passing by. But the owner came out in a great rage, cursed the guard and the officer who placed it as well as the army and the Union govern- ment, whereupon the officer removed the guard, and left the place to its fate. The soldiers at once rushed into the house, and ran- sacked it from basement to attic, broke up the furniture, including a nice piano, carried off such articles of ornament as they fancied, and left the place a desolate wreck. Of course, the boys were to 134 HISTORY OF THE 52D REGIMENT blame; but the owner, by his intemperate rage, brought the evil upon himself. Barre's Landing, April 27, 1S63. Everything promised a quiet Sunday, and that implied a relig- ious service, which we have not heard for about two months. Ball came back this morning with about fifty others, who had been left sick at Bayou Boeuf. He has been a long time on the way. Saturday p.m. came an order to prepare to move next morning at six o'clock from Opelousas. Just after we started Booth, of Co. B, who had been ill for several days, fainted, and fell by the wayside. His companions saw that death was nigh. They waited a little while till they were sure that life was extinct, then dug a grave, wrapped the body of their comrade in his blanket, covered it over, and hurried on to join their places in the ranks. The chaplain was in the advance, and too far away to reach, so the poor fellow found a lonely grave by the wayside, with no religious service and nothing to mark the spot. We moved directly east from Opelousas, and were brought up by the breaking of a bridge over the road as the cavalry was passing. About three o'clock in the afternoon we reached this place at the junction of the Teche and Bayou Courtableau, called Barre's Landing, ten miles east from Opelousas and thirty or forty from Port Hudson. It is a good camping ground, with good water; and I am off with others for a bath. We found first-rate bathing, water quite decent, not an alligator nor a moccasin in sight all the while. When we reached here, there was a rumor that blackberries could be found in a field. So, with my tin cup, I rushed in with the others, and filled it half-full with green ones, then filled the cup with sugar and water, kindled a fire on the ground with twigs, sat down by it, and stewed them. You can have no idea how good they were. I only regret that the stock of blackberries was so soon exhausted. I took supper with the colonel, who is very kind, and is as popu- lar as ever with the men. His popularity is well deserved. After supper I went to see a Texan on a trained horse lasso some cattle. He did it very skilfully. This morning I found near the camp an old carryall, and with some assistance drew it into camp, and made it my headquarters. It protects me from the sun, for we have as yet no tents. I hope I can keep it. We are now in the heart of a great cotton and sugar growing region. We are gather- ing them in in great quantities, to be loaded on steamers for the market. We employ several mule teams a day. Gen. Banks, I OPELOUSAS TO BARRE's LANDING 135 am told, estimated the cotton and sugar to be obtained in this region at $10,000,000. It will take a great while to gather it all in. I prefer to stay here in this lonely, out-of-the-way place than to march as we have been. Sunday seems to be the day chosen for extra work. We are here, guarding this landing-place, where we are hauling in an im- mense quantity of cotton, to be sent to New Orleans. We have had no religious service for six weeks. I am getting much better. The regiment is a good deal scattered. It is a miserable life that we are leading, but I am now quite at my ease. May I, 1863. — I have just heard of Perrigo's death. He died at Bayou Boeuf, a hundred miles at least from here. He was a good fellow. I am sorry to hear of his death. You ask about my clothing. Well, it is a little dilapidated. My stockings are out at the toes, and so are not convenient for pull- ing on my boots ; for that process is likely to leave the stockings at the top of my boots. I have not any undershirt except the one I had on when the extra baggage was sent away. Constant wear and occasional washing in these dirty puddles have rendered it rather thin in texture. To-day the whole back came ofif. What is left of it — that is, the front and arms — Ball washed ; and I pro- pose to adorn myself in it if it grows cool to-night. The military cap, which has often done duty as a night-cap, is in a shocking bad condition ; but a man here is braiding me a palm-leaf, which is easily obtained. The swamps are full of it. He will have to split it with his jack-knife, and it will be rather green at first ; but it will gradually fade to a respectable white. My solitary pair of trousers is decidedly the worse for wear. I have found that my relations with lizards, fleas, and possibly snakes, would be less intimate if I wore my trousers at night, so they have clothed my lower extremities ever since I left Greenfield. They have not quite passed the power of my needle ; but, when they do give way, it will be like the " Deacon's One-hoss Shay." The color, too, has become a little uncertain, — hardly pass now for army blue. Meals taken in the open air, without a table, run great risks of scattering grease and molasses, which abound in this country, into your lap. The march in the rear of an army, where the dust is so dense you can see but a little ways before you, enables the dust and the grease to form intimate relationships. There are no chairs, of course ; and the trousers frequently bear from place to 136 HISTORY OF THE 52D REGIMENT place marks of the various geological strata through which we have passed. The beauty of my overcoat is sacrificed to its utility, for I spread it under me at night ; and the time I spent in the pig- pen imparted to it some odors which linger about it, as do those of the flowers about the shattered vase. On the whole, I am well ofif for clothes. About the only thing in which the regiment at present is uniform is in having two large holes or patches in the seat of their trousers. I wish we could make our appearance in Greenfield streets in our present rig. I am sure you would all be entertained. It is May Day: the sun is hot. We have talked of crowning a queen of May, but the only queen we could find was Dr. Sawyer's black cook. — a very good woman, doubtless; but we could not get up much enthusiasm for her. From the Gazette and Courier : — Barrcs Landifig, May 4. — We have had eight weeks now of service in the field ; and active service it has been. We have had no fighting, but we have had a great deal of hard marching. Every march we have made has been harder than any previous one. Camp Miller was the life of princes; Camp Banks, a good deal harder; our first camp at Baton Rouge, harder still ; the second, harder than the first; and since then we have been in the field, learning by experience the hard lessons of war. This is a big country, as level as it can be. You don't know how we sigh for a good-sized New England hill. The boys and girls at home could know nothing of coasting here, even if they had the snow. On our marches we have generally had good roads. In the long march from Berwick Bay to Opelousas we marched over plains unfenced and which were covered with herds of cattle, which find grand pasture there. It does not look as if the rebels were in danger of starving. They have plenty of fresh meat and corn- meal. Our men have been busy here at Barre's Landing bringing in cotton. More than four thousand bales have been brought in, and sent by boat to New Orleans. Our regiment has dwindled away almost to a point. We are like a big snake, with the head here, the folds at New Iberia, Brashear City, Bayou Bceuf, and New Orleans, and the tail at Baton Rouge. Four of our com- panies are at New Iberia, under Capt. Long, one of the most pop- ular and efficient officers we have. Dr. Richardson was sick, and left behind at Bayou Boeuf. Now Dr. Sawyer is sick, and is going to Brashear City. So we are OPELOUSAS TO BARRE S LANDING I37 quite destitute of doctors, except as we use those of other regi- ments. May 7. — This is a fine level country. I have not seen a hill or stone since I came into the State. The land is fertile, bears great crops of cotton, corn, and sugar-cane, and produces more alligators, snakes, lizards, scorpions, negroeg, to the acre than any other State in the Union. There have been three thousand colored people brought here since we came. I am provoked to see that some of the newspapers at home are croaking fearfully about the Banks expedition, — that it has proved a failure, as many thought it would, the waste of time and money, that Banks is a coward, and so on. Now the man that says this is a rebel at heart; for it is false, every word of it. When the facts of the expedition are known, every honest man will say that it has been thus far emi- nently successful. At Barre's Landing we spent most of the month of May, as peaceful and uneventful a month as possible, alike removed from war and civilization. Here we gathered in contrabands by the thousands — a picturesque crowd — and cotton in great amounts. It was a prolonged picnic. The boys, in gathering cotton for the country's use, gathered in chickens at the same time for their own use. Cooking utensils were not abundant : our tin pot was our main dependence. I told the boys one morning that, if they found a kettle lying around loose anywhere, they might bring it along. At night one brought the very thing I needed, — namely, a coal hod, — which served my purpose admirably. There was no lack of poultry just then, some pork and potatoes could be secured at the sutler's, and the commissary furnished hard-tack ; and such delicious stews as we had ! Cannot get such living any where else. Before my stew was quite cooked, the boys would come up to see if they could get the loan of the chaplain's coal-hod for their own stew. The coal-hod became a great favorite in the regiment. Prolonged fasts on the previous march had prepared good appe- tites for the luxuries Barre's Landing furnished. I have gone somewhat extensiv^ely into the hen business. I keep some hens tethered to stakes about the camp, and they furnish us some fresh eggs ; but the hens are consigned to the coal-hod on the first rumor of breaking up camp. Their missing places are soon sup- plied. I think the planters in this region must have come to the conclusion that the Yankees were fond of poultry, and had good appetites. I wrote one sermon at Barre's Landing; but it was not 138 HISTORY OF THE 52D REGIMENT upon the subject of stealing chickens. Such a topic would have made a disturbance in camp. J/