E .8 .(1,? NAKRATIVE OF THE FALL & WINTER CAMPAIGN, BY A PRIVATE SOLDIER OP THE 2nd DIV. IST ARSTT CORPS, Containing a Detailed Description of the "BATTLE OF FEEDERICKSBURG," At the portion of the line where the 2nd Div. -were Engaged. THTH ACCURATE STATEMENTS OF THE LOSS IN KILLED, WOUNDED AND MISSING, IN ■EA.CSi RK<3HMK>rT. SYRACUSE: MASTERS & LEE BOOK AND JOB PEINTEBS. . 1863. WeBt« Eeei> filrt» Boa^ Tif^r ^ PREFACE The success of " A Sketch of the Campaign fi-om Cedar Mouataia to Antietam,'- has led the writer to a contiauation of the narrative in this little work, which he has endeavored to reader of more general inter- est than the other. Informition kindly furnished by the Brigade Com- manders, has enabled him to give a better and more detailed descrip- tion of the part sustained by. the Division in the battle of Fredericks- burg, than he could have done from his own personal observation ; and like the Sketch, this Narrative has been submitted to, and received the approval of those best calculated to judge of its truthfulness. With a hope that the fact of its having been written on the march and in camp, subject to frequent interruption and aanoyance, may render criticism more charitable, and it may be deemed worthy the same en- couragement bestowed upon his former effort, he remains Your obedieat servant, CHARLE3 S. McCLEXTHEN. Co. a, 26th Reg't N. Y. V. NAERATIVE. -• — « — ^> — •- During the few weeks of delightful weather wliich fo lowed the battle of Antietam, tlie 2nd, Rickett's Divisior of the 1st, Hooker's army corps, lay pleasantly encainpe / near the banks of the Potomac, some two mi les from Sharp: burg, Maryland, spending the time not occupied in dril picket, and the other duties of a soldier, in r(ft'iewing th battles and other incidents of the Summer's campaign, di: cussing t])e merits of President Lincoln's Emancipatio Proclamation, speculating upon the probable coniiniianc of the war, and wondering what was to be done nex agreeably diversified by baking corn cakes -of meal grate by themselves on old canteens, punctured with the point ( a bayonet. In the meantime we had received new clothing blankets, and other articles necessary to our comfort an efficiency, and considerable accessions in numbers compo ed of recruits, convalescerits from the Hospitals, and tw large new Regiments, the 16th Maine and 136th Pa. Th Division was organized in three Brigades of Infantry, eac with a Battery of Artillery attached as follows : The 1st, Duryeas, under command of Col. McCoy of th 107th Pa., composed of the 97th, Col. Wheelock ; 104tl \ Col. Prey ; and 105, Major Sharpe, — New York Reg meuts ; and the 107th Pa., Lieut. Col. McAllen in con mand. to which was attached the Pa. Battery commanded by Capt. Thompson. The 2nd, Tower's Brigade, command- ed by Col. Lyh^ of the 90th Pa. National Guard ; besides which Regiment, under command of Lieut. Col. Leech, there was the 26th, Lieut. Coh, now CoL Richardson, and 91ih, Col. Koot,--New York Regiments ; the 88th Pa., Col. McLean, and the then recently added 136th Pa., Col. Bayne, with HalFs excellent 2nd Maine Battery of six Wiard Gim? ; and the .3rd, llart^uff's Brigade, commanded by Brig. Gen. Taylor. Tins Brigade, like the 2nd, had five Regiments, the I Ith Pa., Col. Cotter ; P2th xMass., Col. Bates; 13th Mns^., Col. Leonard; 9th N. Y. M., CoL Stiles and the IGtli Maine. Lieut. Col. Tilden ; and La- pi no's 5th llninc Battery of six brass 12 lb. pieces. Tlie whole Division, with the exception of some sickness in the 16th Maine which had not yet become acclimated, were in excellent condition, and would hardly have l)een recognized as the same body of men who reached Hall's Hill, ragged, dirty and dispirited on the night of the 2iid of S.?ptember i)revious. It has become almost proverbial among the soldiers that niarciiing orders and bad weaih»r come together, and the occasion of our leaviiig Sharpsburg proved no exception to the general rule, for on the 26tii of Oct., as we were about striking tents, and packing up to marcli in accordance with orders received, we were visited by a heavy cold rain storm, accompanied by a piercing north-cast wi.nd, the first really uncomfortable or disagreea- ble weather wo had e>i2ierienced since the battle of Chan- tilly on the night of the 1st of Sept. The 1st and 3rd Brigades, as well as the other Divisions belonging to the Corps, marched in this storm, while thf 2nd remained on the ground of the old camp urttl'i 1 o'clock of the following day, when they tookup their line of march througli Sharpsburg, hack towards South Mountain, near the foot of which we halted for the fii-st night of our march, Oct. 27 th. On the morning of tho 28tii, although the roads were still muddy, the sky was clear and the sun shone out cheerfiiUy as we crossed the mountain at, or near Cram])ton's Pass, and co.itinaed our majch through Burkettsviilo. and turning to the riglit took the road; to Berlin, a little place on the river and rail road, six inilos below Harper's Fei'ry. Just as w^ were 'eivin-i- camp at Si.arpsburg, an old lady, from I^m. c^nie waddliii,:>: up to us witli a large and well stuffed carpet bag in each hand, in- quiring for the Gth Pa. R'3sprves. Upon being told they bad marched the day before, and wore tl»en. probably at Hnrper's Ferry, Avhich we then supposed our destination, she seemed much disappoint(;:l and almost ready to uivfi np. She said she had two sons in the 6th. and had walked all the way from Pa., bringing the two carpet bag- filled with cakes, cheese, bologna sausage, onions, &c., which she knew would prove acceptable to them, and now they were gone. She refused all offers from the soldiers to purchase any por- tion of her load, and upon ascertaining tho distance to where we supposed her sons were, concluded to continue her search for them ; so with a soldier on each side of her, who disputed for the privilege of carrying her carpet bags in addition to their already heavy 3oads, on she trudged with us, affording consideralde merriment by the odd man- ner in which she expressed her strange notions of a sol- dier's life. Arriving at Sharpsburg, she left us in the hopes of obtaining a ride iu some of the wagons or am- 8 bulances, enjoining upon us with her last words, if we saw her sons, of whose name or Company we knew nothing, to tell them she was coming. She found her sons I presume, for I saw her a day or two afterwards in Berlin, accom- panied by a stalwart Pa. soldier, who I am sure was bet- ter pleased with this proof of affectionate solicitude on the part of his mother, than the present she had so kindly brought him. Upon arriving at Berlin on the evening of the 28 th, wo found quite an army already encamped there, awaiting their turn to cross the pontoon bridge thrown across the Potomac at that point, and remained until the afternoon of Thursday the 80th. When crossing we marched through Lovettsville three miles from the river, and encamped about the same distance beyond, in the midst of a lovely country a few miles to the eastward of the Blue Ridge, along the side of which we could plainly see our signal stations. On Friday the 31st, we were inspected and mustered in for pay. Our Brigade, by Col. McLean, of the 8Sth Pa., who by main strength succeeded in breaking some of our bayonets, which as they are the strongest and best (with the exception of the sabre bayonet) in use in the army, and there was no probability of their being soon replaced, I looked upon as rather mistaken zeal on his part as an in- spector. We were also served with three day's rations, and three of us drawing together, received nearly 1 lb. salt pork for the three days, making our allowance less than the 27th part of a lb. to a meal ; but as I drew the rations and dislike discussion, I kept all the pork for my- self for fear of^causing a quarrel in the division. Notwith- standing the liberal allowance made and provided by gov- ernment for the subsistence of the army, it is an undenia- ble fact, that the men frequently suffer everything but downright absolute starvation from want of rations. This suffering arises from various causes, the only one of which that could not be easily remedied is the occasional delay in transportation. The others are, the issuing to troops on the march, of rations in larger quantities and for a great- er number of days than it is possible for the men to carry in their haversacks, (and which are necessarily left behind them,) for the purpose of lightening the trains and saving the officers of the department the annoyance of more fre- quent issues ; and the frauds and imposition which, although- I could not prove, I firmly believe to exist in the Depart- ment itself. Saturday, Nov. 1st. This morning a woman came into camp to complain of some soldiers who had broken into and robbed her house while she was absent for a short time, on the day before. She had two sons in the Union Army, one of whom was then in hospital suffering from wounds received while fighting in defense of our cause, and yet men claiming to be, and wearing the uniform of Union soldiers, were carrying off and destroying the little she had, taking things that were entirely useless to them, mere- ly to gratify their love of plunder and destruction. I can assert with pride and pleasure, that the vast majori- ty of the army have too much self esteem and conscien- tiousness to be guilty of such acts ; but there is a sufficient number of infamous wretches, who notwithstanding the vigilance of Provost Guards attached to each Division, are constantly committing outrages which detract from the 1* 10 good Dame of the whole. While in Virginia they always excused themselves by saying the parties plundered are secesh ; but I have seen the same men prying open drawers, destroying valuable papers, breaking mirrors and crockery- ware, stealing cliildren«' shoes and ladies' bonnets, in the houses of good Union people in Maryland, who were busy with their hordes and wagons in bringing our wounded off the battle field ; and who had thrown open their doors, telling the soldiers to help themselves to everything they found to cat or drink. These acts are not committed by the men, who because they swore an occasional oath, made use of ardent spirits, or went fishing on Sunday, were call- ed hard cases at home ; but by men who are totally de- praved by nature, and who now, freed from the restraints imposed upon them by society and the laws at home, give full vent to their lawless inclinations and brutal passions. I am sorry to say too, that I have known instances where Company and Regimental officers encouraged pillaging, screening the ofi'ender and sharing the plunder. I have spoken of this subject somewhat at length, because in com- mon with all others making any pretentions to decency or respectability, I consider it ruinous to discipline and dis- graceful to the service ; and it has nothing whatever to do with the taking of property by the proper departments for government use?, confiscation of property for treason, or any other waste or destruction incidental to the existence of war, and justified by the usages of other civilized nations. I only speak of a system of lawless pillaging in which the. suCferers arc almost invariably the poor, weak and defense- less, the extent of ^\hose offense against the Government consists in living on the SquHi side of th^ Potomac, with- 11 out the means of removing to some more favored locality, while their wealthier neighbors — the instigators and sup- porters of the rebellion — have vamosed, bag and baggage, leaving nothing but their desolate mansions and broad fields behind them. There are many Quakers in this sec- tion of Loudon County, and nearly all the citizens profess to be, and I think really are loyal Union loving citizens. As a proof of this, some two or three Campanies of Volun- teers for the Union army have been raised in this vicinity, who are now doing good service as guides, sconts, in the detection of spies and other dangerous persons within our lines, and other duties best performed by those who are ac- quainted with the roads, inhabitants, &c. The rebels when here last, had taken all the men they found capable of bear- ing arms, forcing them from their labor in the fields, with- out giving them time to go to their houses for their clothing. Between 9 and 10 o'clock in the morning we heard cannonading, said to be m the direction of Union, and marched soon after. Some 4 miles farther on we passed through a little village called Waterford, and continuing our march for a few miles came upon the Leesburgh and Winchester turnpike at Harmony, 2G miles distant from Winchester and 8 or 10 from Leesburirh, when, turninsc to the right and keeping along the turnpike for about 2 niiles, we turned into the fields to the left, and passing what would have made excellect camping grounds, halted at last in as miserable a spot as could have been foupd within 30 miles of the place, where we remained until Monday, the 3d of November. I had at this time been detailed for duty on the Division Provost Guard, and on Sunday, V 3d, was placed as safeguard at the house of ^r* Fv 12 of Purcellville, as a little clump of three or four houses ©n the turnpike was called, and I here learned something of what had occasioned the firing for three or four days pre- vious. It seems Pleasanton's Cavalry with a battery of artillery had been skirmishing with the enemy with varia- ble success for two or three days, until Saturday they had succeeded in driving them from Union, and on through Ashby's Gap where we had heard the last firing. During the fight a shot from our battery had exploded one of the enemy's caissonsi There was at the house three paroled rebel prisoaers, two of them having lost a leg each at the last " battle of Bull Run." I held a long conversation with them, and found they were much like our own soldiers, anxious that the war should be ended, and not very particular upon what' terms. During the day Gens. McClellan and Burnside with their respective staffs arrived and took up their quarters at the house where I was for a few hours, when they again mounted and proceeded to the front, Gen. Burnside re- turning about 10 o'clock at night The rebels had been fortifying Snickersville a day or two before this, but had now evacuated it, and our forces had taken possession without opposition. While here, I heard a conversation which, as it certainly can do no harm and coincides so ex- actly with my own opinion, formed without the same op- portunities for judging correctly, I gladly repeat. It occurred between the officers of McClellan's and Burn- side's staffs, and was introduced by one of them (with the rank of Colonel who formerly held an important position on the staff of Gen. Pope) inquiring of another if he knew 13 when Gen. McDowell's court of inquiry took place. The person addressed replied that he thought it in progress at that time, when the first speaker said he thought it quite probable he would be called as a witness, and continued by saying lie thought Gen. McDowell possessed all the requisite qualifications for a commanding General in an eminent degree ; that in all the acts for which he had been so widely censured, he had been governed strictly by or- ders leceived from the War Department ; spoke of his skill and good generalship on the retreat from the Rapi- dan, and satisfactorily explained many of the charges brought against him by ignorant, prejudiced and irrespon= sible persons. Among other things, he mentioned Mc- Dowe?i as having always been a warm advocate of doing away with the old established and arbitrary precedence of seniority in rank as necessary for the good of the service, and spoke of the patience and manly forbearance with which he had borne his own supersedure and the repeated attacks made upon him by the Northern press, serving his country through all and in whatever position assigned to him faithfully and to the best of his ability, as an honora- ble, high-minded man and a true patriot. On Monday, November 3d, we were again on the move, and leaving the Leesburgh and Winchester pike at Pur- cellville, turned to the left in a southerly direction towards Fillemont. We had not proceeded far, however, before we turned to the right, taking a road which lead« ))y Sill- cotts Springs, crossed the Alexandria and Winchester pike between Snickersville and Fillemont near the latter place, and soon after halte«l for the night. I here saw some of the strongest Union people 1 had met with yet, and who 14 were as bitter in their denunciations of the " Southern ragamuffins," as they called ihcm, as ever a Southern fam- ily could be of tiie " Northern mud&ills." The man of the family had just returned from Maryland, where he had been since the advance of the Southern army, to escape conscription. They gave me a list of prices of some of the most common and necessary articles, and as they may be of interest I give some of them : Ordinary sixpenny calico, $1.00 per yard ; women's shoes, $6.00 per pair; and salt, $11.37 per bushel. On Tuesday, November 4th, much to the regret of the whole Division, Gen. Ricketts left us. Up to this time he had been constantly with us since the first organization of the Division at Fredericksburg, in the fore part of May previous, under command of Major General Ord. Upon the withdrawal of that officer, while on our laborious and fruitless march to Front Royal, soon after he had assumed command of the Division, the reputation which he had ac- quired at the first " battle of Bull Run," (where he was wounded and taken prisoner,) his coolness and bravery in battle, kindness and careful solicitude for the welfare of the troops under his command, together with his courteous and gentlemanly demeanor, all combining to gain for him the admiration, respect and confidence of l)oih officers and men. Of the causes for which he left us at this time I am profoundly ignorant, (although I presume it was })y his own request,) yet I cannot but deem it a matter of regret that he should separate himself from a Division whose in- terests and his own seemed so nearly identified, and which still bears his name. Gen. Ricketts was aucceieded in command of the Divis^ 15 ion by Brigadier General Gibbon, of whom we know but little, although he bears an excellent reputation generally, and is enthusiastically spoken of by his old Brigade in King's Division. Late in the afternoon of Tuesday we marched, passing through Bloomfield, at that time the headquarters of Gen. McClellan, and bivouaced for the night a mile or two beyond. Wednesday, November 5th, when the Division marched, at the earnest entreaty of a man named Carpenter, near whose house we were encamped, I was left behind as a safeguard until the next Division (Brooks', of Franklin's Corp?,) had passed on their road to Upperville. This man had suffered less than most others surrounded by an equal quantity of small stock, still he was loud and bitter in his complaints of the soldiers, and T felt but little sympathy for him when Capt, Whalcn, a Division Quartermaster, came and took his two work horses for Government usa On Thursday, November Glh, I again started on my winding way after the Division, along roads and through lanes, that were so crooked that a person lost all idea of the direction in which we were going, and our notions in regard to the points of the compass became so confused that even the sun itself was looked upon as a doubtful guide, and I was reminded of the story I have heard of the negro steersman of a small coasting vessel, whose master after having pointed out the north star and given him instructions to steer directly for it, went below feeling perfectly secure from mistake or accident. The negro soon after left to himself fell into a deep sleep, during which, the wind veering round, the vessel shifted her oourae, and he awoke to lind himself sailing in exactly tho 16 opposite direction from the «ne pointed out by the captain. He at first looked in vain for the star which was to have been his guide, but discovered it at last directly astern of him, when he called to his master, " Helio, massa, you haf to cum on deck an' show me annudder star, I dun pass dat un long ago." All the roads leading in this direction were filled with troops, trains. torics so common at the present time. On Sunday, the 0th November, salutes were fired, and the troops turned ont for review, upon the occasion of McClellan taking his farewell and Burnside assuming com- mand of the army. At this time it was generally supposed by us that Gen. McClellan had been appointed Command- er in Chief, and our regret at parting with him in the field, even under tV.ese circumstances, was very great ; but v/hen it became known that his connection with the army was to cease altogether, the excitement for the time seriously men- aced the discipline and morals of the army. Officers threatened resignation, men desertion, and all vented their indignation in curses both loud and deep, upon those whom they thought the cause- of or in any way connected with his witlidrawal. These feelings soon gave way to the de- spondency of hopelessness or utter indifi'erence, which in its turn wore off, leaving the officer.-^ and men in the per- formance of their duties with the same cheerfulness, and eating tbeir rations with as good an appetite as if nothing had liappcncd. It is generally tlio case, that when any great popular favorite is displaced by other means than the popular will, some portion of the regret and dissatisfaction of their friends and admirers finds vent in splenetic denun- ciation of, and detraction from the merits of their succes- sor ; it was not to in this case ho\»rever, fcr am^id all the 84 regrets consequent upon the removal or withdrawal of McClellan, and the execration of those supposed to have been the cause, there was no objection raised to Gen. Burn- side, and there is no doubt but the speedy reconciliation of the army to the loss of the former, was owing to the high estimation placed upon the services, and the perfect confi- dence then felt in the talent and integrity of the latter. On Monday, 10th, we again struck tents and marched for Beallton Station, on the Orange & Alexandria Rail Road, between Warrenton Junction and the Rappahanock. The distance from Warrenton village is but little over nine miles, yet notwithstanding most of the officers and men were familiar with this section of the countr*. we were marched by a roundabout way at least fifteen miles before reacliing the station, which we did at last, tired and out of patience late at night. I believe there is but little use in my saying anything about the mismanagement, and lack of judgment sometimes displayed by General officers in marching their commands, and the sel<*ction of camping grounds for them ; it would do no good, and I am like tiie man who swore terribly when one or two pumpkins rolled off his load, but when the end board came out, and the whole waggon load went tumbling down the hill together, remained silent ; and wlien asked why he did not swear then, "Ah/*' says he, " its no use, I can't do the subject justice." Upon the march referred to, a little incident occurred, which though slight in itself, served to amuse me, in spite of my ill humor at being marched so far out of our way. It had been found necessary for the prevention of strag* gling to the front, to send a guard in advance of the Divi- 25 sion immediately following the Gen., and upon this occa- sion I was one of the party detailed for this duty. We had lialted for a few moments to rest, the Gen. and staff riding on ahead, when an officer rode up and inquired for Gen. Gibbons, to which one of our number, a new recruit belong- ing to the 90th Pa., and just from Philadelphia, replied, " Well, I guess he's about three squares ahead." We remained at Beallton one week, and before march- ing again there was some changes made in the different Brigades ; the 88th Pa., Col. McLean, leaving us for Tay- lor's Brigade ; and the 94th N. Y., for Duryeas, of which Col. Root, a young but highly meritorious officer, formerly Lieut. Col. of the 21st N. Y. (Buffalo) Regiment, took com- mand. The 97th N. Y., Col. Wheelock, was also trans- ferred to Taylor's Brigade, while the 16th Maine replaced it in Duryeas' or Root's, and the 12th Mass., a small but excellent Regiment, formerly commanded by Col. Fletcher Webster, was assigned to ours in the place of the two tak- en, leaving us with four Regiments, while each of the other two have five. Here I was placed on guard at the house of a man who had taken the oath of allegiance, and had Union protection papers which afforded just no protection at all, unless shown at the end of a guard's bayonet, and even then was powerless to protect him from some forms of an- noyance. Once while there, a soldier came with a very dull axe, which the old man helped him to grind, turning the stone himself, when to punish him as I suppose, for not having furnished cider, the soldier tried the edge of his axe on one of his finest young apple trees, as he passed it on his way back to camp. At this house I saw a young man who had just returned from Richmond, via. Fredericksburg. 26 He stated there were no troops on the way except in the immediate vicinity of Richmond ; and all the citizens in this section seemed much surprised at the reappearance of our army here at this time, believing their own to be still in the valley of Virginia, or somewhere in the rear of us. We left Beallton on Monday the 17th of November, tak- ing what is called " the old marsh road," towards Fred- ericksburg ; passing through Morrisville and Grove Church we bivouacked for the first night at Deep Run, the line be- tween Fauquier and Stafford Counties, where I saw a man who would prove a great curiosity in any part of the world, but was more especially so in this portion of Vir- ginia, which has always been noted for its fox hunting, horse racing, cock fighting, card playing and whiskey drinking gentry. He was thirty odd years of age, over six feet in height, and declared most positively, in which he was seconded by his wife, that he had never drank a drop of intoxicating liquor, chewed or smoked any tobac- co, played or bet upon a game at cards, or indulged in any of the bad practices, not only common, but almost univer- sal in this part of the world. He was passionately fond of hunting and fishing however, had sliot an eagle the day be- fore, measuring over eight feet from tip to tip of its wings, and gave me some fresh fish from the Run for my break- fast. He had been drafted under the conscription act, but managed to be absent on one of his hunting excursions when they came for him, and although they had left an or- der for him to report at Morrisville, he said he had nothing to report and remained at home. In other words " He could'nt see it." He had six hundred acres of good land, a pretty wife, and two healthy good natured children, said ' 27 lie had never done a day's work in his life, and was upon the whole, secesh or union, war or no war, one of the hap- piest, easiest going fellows I have ever met I shall not divulge the name of this Virginia non-secesh, as I have some notion of trying to engage him for exhibition when the war is over, and I am afraid he would not escape Bar- num as easily as he did the draft. A tiling which struck me forcibly and with surprise was, that in all my conversations with citizens while on the march through Virginia, they invariably spoke of the South Carolina soldiers as the poorest and least to be de- pended upon of any in the confederate service, and I have heard the same opinion expressed by prisoners of war. The 9th Va. Cavalry was frequently spoken of as an active and efficient cavalry Regiment, but all concurred in the state- ments already made in regard to the Black Horse Cavalry. Tuesday 18th, we proceeded on the road to Fredericks- burg as far as Hartwood Church, ten miles from Freder- icksburg, where we found Burnside's and Sumner's old corps already encamped ; and turning to the left took the road towards Stafford Court House, halting for the night seven miles from the Court House, nine from Brooks' Station, and fifteen from Acquia Creek Landing. It rained during the night and next day, and we had not proceeded more than a mile or two on the following morning, before we found the road almost impassable. The soil through this section is a light sandy loom, which, when wet with slight rains makes very good wheeling for light vehicles, but af- fords no sufiicient bottom for the heavy laden supply-trains, ammunition wagons and artillery, which sank almost to their axles in the occasional quicksands along the narrow 28 and crooked road, cut in many places through a dense thicket or undergrowth of young pines. We remained for several hours in a pelting rain, at the bottom of a deep ra- vine we were obliged to cross, while the pioneers of Dou- bleday's Division and our own, were trying to make the road up the hill on the othci' side practicable for the trains, and were forced to leave them behind at last. Ascending the hill and turning to the right, wo soon came upon the Pa. Reserves, encamped in a large hollow or basin almost entirely surrounded by hills upon all sides, and went into camp, the wagons not coming up until the next morning. We remained here several days, the first two or three of which it rained almost constantly, pickets were tlirown out, and large details vv^ere made to work upon the road daily. Sunday the 24th, we marched to near Brooks' Station on the Rail Road, from Fredericksburg to Acquia Creek, and encamped within half a mile of what had been so pleasant a camp in the Spring. Upon returning to a place which had been before visited, the mind naturally reverted to the changes that had taken place in the interim, and with us they were many and sug- gestive. Upon the arrival of our Regiment (the 26th N. Y.) at this place early in the Spring of 1862, after nearly a year spent in drill, working on fortifications, doing picket and garrison duty, we numbeied over nine hundred men eager lo distinguish ourselves in the field, as we had alrea- dy done with the pickaxe and spade ; a fact which Forts Ellsworth and Lyon, proud monuments of our energy and zeal as diggers of mud, fully attest. Under command of a Col., Avhose excellence as a diciplinarian and drill master, together with his fine military bearing, had gained for him 29 our unlimited confitience ; assigned to the command of Brig- ade and Division Generals (Ord and Ricketts) who had al- ready distinguished themselves since the beginning of the war, under these auspices we looked forward to a useful and brilliant campaign, to wliich those that were spared could point back with pride and pleasure. How have those sanguine expectations been realized? Our Col. has proven himself to be afflicted vv^ith a constitutional timidity under fire, that even his pride and ambition for military distinction could not overcome, and which at last forced him to resign under unfcivorable circumstances ; and after long, weary marches, upon which we have seen our com- rades sicken one by one, and battle fields where they have been killed and wounded by dozens, without eliciting even a passing newspaper remark , we return with less than one- third our original number present for duty ; but moralizing is not my forte, and if I go on in this manner I shall soon be unable to extricate myself. Soon after our arrival, the trains commenced runnino: from Acquia Creek landing, thus affording us an easy com- munication with our base of supplies, and the length of time we remained encamped here, during excellent weather for active military operations, led many to suppose we were permanently located here for the winter, and the men com- menced building log shanties, digging log cellars, &c., tax- ing their ingenuity to the utmost, in contriving how they should make themselves comfortable during the severity of the coming winter. About this time, several officers of one of the Regiments in our Brigade were court marshaled, for having appropri- ated the private's rations to their own use, which v/as gen- 30 erally applauded by the men as evidence of the fact, that army regulations applied to officers as well as men, and that we had a General who would enforce them. While at this camp I received six hundred copies of " A Sketch of the Campaign in A^irginia and Maryland," the success of which has led me to the publication of this, and I was both surprised and pleased at the avidity with which the soldiers bought and read it. In offering it for sale, I ob- tained some insight into the character of certain individu- als, of which I should otherwise have remained in ignor- ance. Several of the field officers in the Division had tak- en quite a number of them, and among others I called up- on Col. McLean, of the 88th Pa. He had been absent on sick leave nearly the whole time of which the Sketch treated, leaving the Regiment in command of the Lieut. Col., his brother who was killed at Bull Run, when the command devolved upon Maj. Gial, who was severely wounded at Antietan. The Regiment had lost largely in killed, wounded and from sickness, and had suffered more from want of tents, clothing, blankets, shoes, &c., than any other I had seen in the field ; indeed, I doubt if any Reg- iment could have been found in the proverbially ragged and shoeless ranks of the rebel army, that would have pre- sented a more destitute appearance than they did for weeks after the battle of Antietam, and until within a few days of our march from Sharpsburg, when the Col. return- ed. The Col. was sitting in his tent, when I asked him if I could sell him a sketch of the campaign written by a pri- vate soldier ; " No sir ! " said he, " 1 was all along there, know all about it," He has since ended his military career 31 by resigning before the battle of Fredericksburg. The next was Col. Colter, of the " old eleventh Pa.," an officer who has been present, and distinguished himself upon ev- ery occasion where his Regiment has been engaged, re- maining on the field in command of his Regiment when wounded in the battle of Fredericksburg ; and whose de- termined, unflinching bravery on the field, together with his energy and promptness, in seeing that his men are pro- perly provided for, has made him a general favorite with the whole Division. " Yes sir ! " was his ready reply, " buy anything written by a private soldier." Although the nights were cold, the weather during our stay at Brooks' Station was generally delightful until the 5th December, when we had a cold rain which soon turn- ed to snow, and continued until the ground was covered to the depth of four or five iaches, and was followed by sev- eral days extremely cold weather, causing me to regret my incredulity as to the length of our stay, which had prevent- ed me from fixing up my tent. No day is suffered to pass in the army, without the cir- culation of new and contradictory reports, which are like the wind, no man knowing whence they come ; and at this time they were as plentiful and contradictory as ever — all sorts of stories being told of what other portions of the ar- my were doing, and what was to be done with us. One day the enemy had crossed the Rappahannock, and taken our pickets prisoners in a body ; the next they had evacu- ated Fredericksburg, and we were immediately to advance by that route to Richmond. Some had heard that we were to be shipped at Acquia Creek to join the army in North Carolina, while others had positive information from au- 32 thentic sources, that the New York two years Regiments were to be mustered out of the service, and new Regiments fill their places. The old troops paid but little attention to these reports, well knowing from experience, that men in the service can be certain of nothing faster than it ac- tually occurs ; but the new ones were not a little puzzled in trying to believe them all at once. The arrival of the pontoons, however, settled the question, and it became ev- ident that we were to cross the Rappahannock, and give battle to the enemy at or near Fredericksburg ; so on Tuesday, the 9th December, we again packed up and mov- ed in that direction, crossing the Potomac Creek, and halt- ing for the night a short distance beyond. Wednesday, December 10th. Moved forward on the road to Fredericksburg as far as Gen. Burnside's head- quarters, and turning to the left on the road to Belle Plain, went into camp. At night it was reported that we had orders to move, first at 1 and then at 3 o'clock in the morning ; but at 9 or 10 o'clock the pontoons upon which we expected to cross the river were still blocked in the road near our camp by artillery and wagon trains, offi- cers swearing and hallooing at the drivers, drivers kicking and cursing their mules and each other, the mules braying, (or cheering for Siegel, as the boys call it,) making alto- gether as noisy and discordant an entertainment as ever disturbed the rest of a sleepy soldier. We were awakened on the morning of the 11th by artillery firing in the direc- tion of Fredericksburg ; and as the first faint, gray streaks of the dawn made their appearance in the east, we fell in and took the road towards the river, below the town. Upon arriving at an " old field " just back of the bluffs 33 which overlook the river at this point, we were halted and remained until the next morning. The fire of our artil- lery, which had commenced before daylight, increasing in rapidity and volume until 9 or 10 o'clock, and was di- rected upon the town, woods or anything that might afford shelter for the rebel troops within range of our guns on the opposite side of the river, elicited no reply from any- thing in the shape of artillery ; but a small body of sharp- shooters in that portion of the town near the river, con- tinued to make their appearance occasionally, firing upon our men engaged ia the construction of the pontoon bridges, killing and wounding a number, and seriously re- tarding the progress of the work, until finding the artil- lery ineffectual to put a stop to this annoyance, a portion of the 98th New York crossed the river in boats under cover of our batteries, and succeeded in taking the whole number prisoners. With the exception of these men, and two shanghai roosters that were strutting up and down the opposite bank of the river, lustily crowing their defi- ance of the Yankees, not even the smoke of a single chim- ney gave evidence that the town was inhabited. How the shanghais, before mentioned, escaped capture with the sharpshooters, I cannot well conjecture, as neither of them showed the white feather. At noon, with the exception of an occasional shot, the firing ^ had entirely ceased, but was rene\\'ed afterwards with increased vigor, and kept up until after the capture made by our infantry and the com- pletion of the pontoon bridges. During the day we were also regaled by excellent music, discoursed by the splendid mounted band, attached to Bayard's Cavalry Brigade, which came up after we did, and encamped in the woods 2* 84 in onr rear. The weather was remarkably fine, and, in- spirited by the cannonade, suffering neither from want of rations or the fatigue of a long march, the men retired to rest at night in splendid condition, for whatever ser- vice might be required of them upon crossing the river next day. Early on the morning of Friday, December 12th, we fell in and moved to the bank of the river, about a mile and a half below the town, where they had succeeded in completing two pontoon bridges, and were there halted to await the crossing of Smith's (late Franklin's) Sixth Army Corps. Our Division commenced crossing at about 12 M., but when the 3d Brigade (Taylor's) and the 12th Massa- chusetts, of the 2d, were over we were again halted to allow Bayard's Cavalry Brigade to cross, when the re- mainder of the Division followed ; the 3d Division (Meade's Pennsylvania Reserves) and artillery crossing the lower bridge at the same time. Upon reaching the summit of the bluff on the south side of the river at this point, there extends a gently undulating plain of about a mile and a half in width, through the centre and most elevated por- tion of which runs the Bowling Green turnpike, in a south- easterly direction, and gradually receding from the river. Along the farthest edge of the plain, and at the foot of a long range of hills, whose wooded slopes afforded a cover for the enemy's infantry, splendid positions for the plant- ing of their batteries, and from which our numbers and position in the plain beneath, were as easily discernable as the moves upon a chess board, runs the railroad to Rich- mond ; the ditches and embankments of which formed the first line of the enemy's works. Their position was well 35 chosen, and a strong one, which, taken together with the fact of their having made no opposition to our crossing after the completion of the bridges, seemed to say, "Thus far shalt thou come, and no farther." There certainly seemed but little prospect of success in an attack, except through great superiority of numbers and the well known excellence of our artillery, which must be attended with heavy loss. After crossing, Bayard's Cavalry Brigade was thrown to the front as skirmishers, to ascertain the exact position of the enemy, and we were marched by a flank in the rear of and to the left of Smith's Corps, which had already formed in line of battle between the Bowling Green road and the river. Each Brigade v^^as massed in column of battalions at intervals of 250 paces ; and we remained for a short time in this position, when the lines of Smith's Corps hav- ing been extended on the left, we moved farther down the river to near the large stone residence of Arthur Bernard, halted, and the 2d and 3d Brigades deployed in line of battle, facing eastward and at right angles with the river, the 3d Brigade in front, the 2d (Col. Lyle) in the rear, of that, with the 1st Brigade, under command of Col. Root, massed within supporting distance m the rear. After remaining in this poEjJtion for some time, we were again moved to the right withiu 200 yards of the Bowling Green road, and formed an ^blique line of battle, with our left thrown forward, and our right resting upon the left of Smith's Corps, the brigades retaining their relative posi- tion to each other. .... After having taken this position^^ the 1st and ,3d Divis- ions of our Corps passed in our ^r to the left, of us and formed lines of battle, the 3d (Getf. Meade) with his right resting upon our left, and the 1st (Gen. Doubleday) on the left of the 3d, with his line extending towards the river, facing eastward. During the movements I have endeavored to describe, the fog tinder cover of which we had crossed the river iiad ctisappeared, and the rebels had shown themselves cognizant of our presence' oh their side of the river by a few well-directed shots from one of their batteries, one or 5wO of Nvhich seemed to me ft-om where I stood, to fall ex- jactly 111 the ranks of Doubleday's Division, then to the right of lis. TBej^ were replied to by our long-range guns bn the north bank of the riteir, and much to my surprise soon ceased firing, a continuation of which ffiiist, have re- sulted in considerable loss to some portion of bur troops massed upon the plain. About this time I also distinctly saw through the openings in the woods on the hills to the right and in front 'of us, a body of rebel infantry moving to- wards theit right. While posting pickets in advance there was some little skirmishing, during which some of the 6th Wisconsin, of Doubleday 's Division, were killed or 'wound- ed ; andtow&rds night Gens. Burnside and Franklin, with their respective staffs, passed' down to the leift, their ap- pearance being greeted by as much enthusiasm as would hsite been elicited by "IJttle Mac" himself; after which Wr^iilained quietly resting on our arms in the position Hescffbbd,^ during the bii^ cold night which folio we9^ aV^king in tTEe iSornin^ 'feumb and stiff witH'the cold, tafhe rbar'of the^artitl^y as'it tliimdered forth its not§ of preparatioEitfi53: the hot. day's work before' uS;^'' '''" *'''''"■* ■^'^Oy th^ iMbrniiidi|i|ifc l#!fi, after making- cotfc^ dn§-&es- Mtchiii^ bUr'iBcltiM|Mtetet, the last bnd^r midny )^p&6t w •i'^- fellow whom the setting sun l^ft stark and cold in .. deajth upon tliat fatal field, we remained as we were Until aboui 9 o'clock:, when breaking Iqv the jight of companies to the front into, column, the 8d^ and 2d Brigades crossed the Bowling Green road, and advanced into the, field bejond and about one-third of the distance irom tlie road to the enemy's first line, when. the ^d Brigade^ taking advantage of a slight elevation of the ground in front of them, halted and formed an oblique line with their left thrown forward, and the 2d Brio^ade conformino; to their movement, halted about one hundred vards in their rear. The Pennsylvania Ibat- tery, commanded by Captain Thompsoii, took up their posi; tion upon our ri^ht, the Division, next, u^ on ,^10 left qf Smith's corps moving to the rear at about the same time. On our left was the 2d Maine battery; and at tlie distance of about four hundred yards Meade's Division of Pennsylvania Reserves. In taking this position we were exposed to a heavy iire of shot and shell from tlie, enemy's batteries to the right and in front of us, and were ordered to lie down where we remained for several houi's^ during which-, timj§ we suffered considerable'loss, that in the 2d Bri • 11 G 70 3 6 ^ -'o 1 4 2 Jl^i ______ 124 15 92 34 37 302 t I 92 I 1341 44 I regret my inability to give an exact statement of the loss in batteries attached to the Division, but it was much larger in proportion than that usually suffered by that branch of the service, owing to their exposed position and the short range from the enemy's batteries. The 2d Maine (Capt. Hall) suffered largely, having one of their caissons exploded, killing a number of men and horses, by a shot from one of the enemy's batteries. Of the nine- teen officers present with the 26th New York, besides Ma- jor (now Lieutenant Colonel) Jennings, Capts. Shurley, Co. C, Neill, Co. D., Palmer, Co. E., and Lieuts. Jones, Co. A., (also wounded at Bull Run,) Harlow, Co. B., Hal- sted, Co. C, and Smith, Co. E., were wounded ; Capt. Neill, Co. D., without having received any apparent ex- ternal injury, being struck totally blind by the concussion of a shell. Adj. William K. Bacon, or " our little Adju- tant,'' as he was familiarly spoken of by the men in refer- ence to his youth and sraallness of stature, having recov- ered from the wound received at Bull Run, and rejoined the regiment while on the march from Sharpsburgh, here re- ceived another and fatal wound, and died in the Division Hospital on this side of the river, his early and untimely loss deeply i ogretted by all who knew him. On Sundav, the 14th, in company with others, I visited that portion of \\^'' ^^ id where. our Division had fought, to search for the bodrf^"'*^ comrades, some of whom we found and removed to near is^^^'-^^-ivcr, where we gave them a sep- arate burial, marking ty^T last sad resting place with head-boards obtained IVomVrokcn cracker boxes, and upon which we inscribed their n,\mes, company and regiment. At this time the woufded had been" removed to the field 45 hospitals, but most of the dead remained as they had fall- en, in almost every imaghiable position ; one in particular I passed two or three times without knowing that he was- dead, and uoon havino^ mv attention called to him would hai'dly believe it until I had asked one of the pickets who was kneeling near him, and in almost exactly the same po- sition. He was kneelirig upon his right knee, with his left forearm across his left knee, upon which his head was slightly reclining, and liis right hand still grasped his rifle upon the ground, as if just in the act of rising. The bul- let that had caused his death had gone entirely through his brain, penetrating liis skull in front and coming out at the back of his head. Owing to the near proximity of our pickets to tiiose of the enemy, and the flags of truce al- most constantly on the field after the battle, there seemed to be a greater disposition and better opportunities for the soldiers of the belligerent armies fraternizing with each other than ever before ; and notwithstanding occasioDal skirmishing along the line in whicli each always accused the other of having fired the first shot, mortifying sugges- tions of Bull Run from them, and cutting rejoinders of South Mountain and Antietam from our own men, waiting an opportunity to kill each other, and exchanged papers and tobacco for sugar and coffee with great industry, whenever they had an opportunity. This growing inti- macy was looked upon with great suspicion by the rebel officers, and with good reason, as it always results, as it did in this instance, in the desertion of more or less of their men, and was at last the subject of very stringent orders from our own commanders, who, I presume, disliked 46 this prospect of having the war settled without farther testing their own skill and good generalship. I cannot take a final leave of the. subject of " the battle of Fredericksburg " without relating a little incident, in the vain hope that my manner of telling it may afford the reader some portion of the amusement its actual occur- rence, under my own observation, did me. After the Di- vision had retired to the north side of the Bowling Green road, 1 saw two stretcher bearers come from the front with a very large, heavy man upon a stretcher, and as they passed aear a swampy hollow or ravine, they sat it down and went down into the hollow to get a drink of water. While they were gone, the man upon the stretcher raised himself up, looked around, stood upon his feet, and at last walked off. The surprise of the stretcher bearers at finding him absent when they returned, can better be imagined than described ; they looked in every direction, but in v^aiu; their burtheu was gone. " What could have become of him ?" said one. '* Walked off, 1 suppose,'^ said the other, '' but if 1 had the big loafer here again " (doub- ling his fists at the same time) " I'd fix him so he wouldn't git oft' of another stretcher without help, after our carry- ing him so far when there want nothing the matter." There was some artillery firing at intervals during Sun- day and Monday, the 14th and 15th, but we suftered no loss, and on the night of Monday, the 15th, we re-crossed the river in the silence and darkness of night, and without annoyance from the enemy, whom I do not believe were aware of our absence until the following morning. No one that was present and witnessed the rapidity, regularity and quietness with which this movement was effected, but must 47 liave been forcibly struck with the contrast it bore to the confusion and mismanagement generally attending hurried movements of a large army, even upon occasions where time and good order are equally as valuable and impor- tant. On the morning of the 16th, the whole Division encamp- ed in a large open field to the left of the road running from Fredericksburg to Belle Plain, where upon our first arrival we were visited by some solid shot from one of the enemy's batteries, although the distance from the river must have been at least two miles. Wc remained here untii Saturday tlie 20th, when we again marched, and passing White Oak Church, halted near Fletcher's Chapel where, with the exception of some little shifting, and the few days memorable mud campaign, we have remained since. Trie Brigades are encamped at dis- tances of from half a mile to one uiile from each other, with- in convenient distance of Belle Plain landing, where we ob- tain our supplies ; and with the exception of some difficul- ty in obtaining wood in the 1st and 8rd Brigad.^s, will, I think, compare favorably as to health, comfort and conve- nience, with any other portion of the army. The camp of the 2nd Brigade, owing to the careful and judicious selec- tion of Col. Lyle, is certainly in my opinion, the cleanest, healthiest, and most pleasantly located of any in the whole army. Between high wood covered hills, which afford abundant fuel for our fires, and an excellent protection from the bleak chilling winds of winter, winds our little" smoky valley " with a small stream running through its centre, along the banks of which are springs of clear good water almost at our very doors. You need not laugh ! I mean 48 doors sure etiongli, for immediately upon our arrival here, the men were set to work building log shanties, v/hich, with the aid of cracker boxes, and little odd bits of lumber pick- ed up here and there, and in many instances carried miles, and plenty of Virginia mud to fill up the cracks, they have succeeded in rendering tolerably comfortable habitations for the winter. We now resumed our drills and other duties pertaining to a camp in the field, the monotonous routine of which, made familiar to all by the published letters of volunteers, need no mention here. On the last of December, we were reviewed by G-en. Tay- lor, and on the ist of January, Brig. Gen. Robinson assum- ed command of the Division. We were again reviewed on the 12th of January, and soon after received orders to hold ourselves in readiness, with cooked rations, to march at any time. Details were made to work upon the roads lead, ins: towards Falmouth, indicatins" amove in that direction, with the probable intention of crossing the Rappahannock at some point higher up, and on the 19th, we received or- ders to march on the 20th ; the old proverb of" marching orders, and bad weather," holding good as usual. On the morning of the 20th of January, there was neither snow or rain, but gloomy threatening clouds, and a damp, chilly, northeast wind, fully portended the coming storm, as we reluctantly unroofed our comfortable shanties, and made preparations for another march. Between 11 and 12 o'clock we fell in and proceeded as far as " White Oak Church," when we were halted, and orders were read to the different commands, from Gen. Burnside, stating that we were again about to engage the enemy under more fa- vorable circumstances, aad when the earnest, active zeal, 49 determined bravery, and patient endurance which were en- joined upon all, were certain to be crowned with brilliant and glorious success. The threatening weather, iiowever, seemed to impress the troops with gloomy forebodings, that even these sanguine orders were powerless to remove, and they were received without any demonstrations of applause or enthusiasm. Neither was there on the other hand, any symptoms of demoralization, there was a willingness and determination to do all that human effort could accomplish to carry out the design of their commander, whatever that design might be, but evidently without any clearly defined hope of success. And here let me say a few words about the question of demoralization in the army, as I view it from the stand point of a private soldier, after having seen within less than one month of two years service. There has not, is not, nor ever will be any demoralization in the volunteer armies of the United States, in any way calculated to im- pair its efficiency. The men composing tliese armies will always have strong preferences for certain Commanders, and their own opinions in regard to the wisdom of the course pursued by the administration in the various cam- paigns, and other measures for the prosecution of the war ; and they will freely and boldly assert these prefereaces and opinions, believing that in taking up arras in defense of their country's flag, they are not called upon to resign any of the rights which characterize the American citizen ; but they will at the same time, bravely, patiently, and he- roically endure the fatigue and hardship of the march, the tedious monotony of a life in camp, and the appalling dan- gers of the battle-field, wherever, whenever, and undei* 3 50 whatever leaders the properly constituted authorites of their country may deem it wise and expedient to place them. Upon leaving White Oak Church, we proceeded in a south-westerly direction, sometimes by the road, then across fields, crossing the railroad to Acquia Creek, and on again in the direction of the Rappahannock, at some point above Falmouth. We marched until after dark and halted in an open field, where there was neither wood nor water, just as the threatened storm burst over us. Thick and fast it came, rain, hail, snow and sleet, accompanied by a cold, disagree- able wind, rendering all our efforts to make fires with the little wood we could collect in the dark utterly unavailable. We had neither poles or pins with which to erect our little shelter tents, and were forced to make out the best we could by using our guns, bayonets and rammers instead; but after we did succeed in getting them up after a fashion they were frequently blown down again, and in a short time the whole surface of the field in which were encamped was covered with water, snow and mud, rendering our posi- tion the most comfortless I have ever experienced. I frequently read descriptions of the cries, groans and lamentations of the wounded and dying upon the battle- field, written by persons who were never there; and I passed the night after the ''Battle of South Mountain," amid the dead and dying on the most hotly contested portion of the field, but I have never been able to realize the descrip- tions their imaginations enable them to paint so vividly, as fully as on the night of the 20th of January. Sick, wounded and dying men have neither strength nor energy to swell their lugubrious chorus of woe to such a 51 pitch as mingled with the howling of the winds, and the merciless pelting of the rain, sleet and snow rose on the midnight air like a chant of despair from the infernal re- gions. Let no one think I exaggerate in this description; that would be impossible. Danger, disaster, defeat and the fear of instant death could hardly render us more miserable than we were for the time being, through the combination of circumstances described, added to which was the cer- tainty of morning's finding the roads in such a condition as to frustrate the objects of the movement in which we were engaged, and notwithstanding the discomfort and suf- fering to which we were temporarily subjected. That was the only matter of really serious importance about it, and little incidents were constantly occurring during the night that appealed so strongly to our risibles we " couldn't cry for laughing." Some of the men who had succeeded in getting up their tents immediately upon our first arrival, had spread their oil cloths and blankets and gone to sleep, to be again awakened by the water gradually rising around them, persisted in remaining where they were as long as they could keep their noses out of water, swearing like the gentleman who was refused admission into the ark, there wasn't going to be much of a shower after all. Others whose tents had blown down upon them while they were asleep, had, upon awaking confused and bewildered, be- come inextricably entangled in them, and now crawling', tumbling and rolling about, enveloped in their thoroughly- saturated tents, reminded one in the darkness of the frolic* some gambols of a young hippopotamus. Another who, with misplaced confidence in his own security, had partial- ly undressed himself before lying down, might now be seen 52 shoeless, coatless and hatless in the storm, holding up his tent and hurrying his comrade, who is on his hands and knees in the mud, trying to re-fasten the pins, like the fel- low who held the bear while his friend went home for an axe with which to kill him. Morning came at last, but with it no abatement of the storm; and, although after wringing and folding our blank- ets and tents, we still continued our march in the direction of the day before, it soon became apparent that all efforts to move artillery or the supply and ammunition trains in the then exiting state of the roads would be utterly futile; and after crossing the road running from Falmouth to Cat- lett's Station, we were halted in the woods beyond, where we remained encamped until we received orders to return to^our old camps, at which we arrived on the night on the 23d. Any attempt at description on my part would fail to con- vey any adequate idea of the state of the roads at this time. I have seen twenty horses hitched to one piece of artillery^ where it had sank in the mud until the axles and even the piece itself rested upon the surface. Our own trains never came up with us during the four days, and although they had not proceeded as far as ourselves, did not succeed in returning to camp for two days afterward. Shortly after our return to camp, where we soon re-fitted our shanties, the 90th Pennsylvania and 210 men of the 136th Pennsylvania, 2d Brigade, were detailed for duty at the Landings, leaving the 26th New York, 12th Massa- chusetts and remainder of the 186th Pennsylvania, to fur- nish the same detail for picket in their turn, as the other two brigades of the Division, with five regiments in each, and in some instances it has taken every available man in 53 the 26tli New York, including pioneers, officers, waiters, &c., to fill this detail, the frequent recurrence of which during the severe winter weather has been the greatest foe to our comfort. The 90th and the detail from the IBGth have now been recalled, and five companies of the 26th New York are now doing fatigue duty at what is called the " New Landing," where, as I am one of the number, I hope they may remain until their term of service expires, on the 2d of May, to which period we are looking forward, with the eager anticipation of being then able, for a time at least, to re-visit our friends and homes. Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1863 bj CHARLES S. McCLENTHEN, In the Clerk'3 Office of the District Court, for the Northern District of New rork. "N < LIBRARY OF CONGRESS DDDE3E7E15S