\' '^... <*^ av <>. v*^ .^^i- ,^-> '^><. ^^ \ ci- Q.^ ^«,% ^^- ,^^ .V * 4^^ ^^?^^5^d^ -s'^'^ x/ ^ -./' .^N ■ft'' '"^A v-^ ' •^'oo'' r^''' '^Vm*' ^*^^'\,.. .'^' '^^' .^\^ . "^b. v'?-- ^.<^^ r^ c^. ^\.N^ .0^ y\' I n ^ '<'; %. .^^^ 0^" M \V 'V'. 0^ ■"oo"* \^~^ "^^^ ' xO°-<. .0'' ,/•-: -^^ -^ A V 1 fi ^ .^^ $^ %.^ '/- '^P. ,-A^' o. -% ,/\ "00 .\ ^A >^ .-^^ -^^ X^^^.. ''.I .'%: -S'^^ ,* ^v^ ^ .-,0 "^j rO^ "^0^ '^ /? <■> «'- .cV>' % '•■>! ->- 0' > e®[L@G^[E[L ymOS i/^Ki[L©lRlii^. gudi, iiiuljoat fosj^iial, atilJ |rison; THBILLmG RECORDS HEROISM, ENDURANCE, AND PATRIOTISM DISPLAYED IN THE UNION ARMY AND NAVY DURING THE GREAT REBELLION. BY AUTHOB OP "life op ABRAHAM LINCOLN," "THE YOUNG CAPTAIN, *' OUK MARTYRED PRESIDENT," ETC. " Be a hero in the strife." — Longfellow. ^ The Lord hatli done great things for us, whereof we are glad." — Ps. cxxvi. 3. 6" BOSTON: C. M. DINSMOOR AND COMPANY. 18 66. Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1865, By Mrs. P. A. Hakaford, In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the District of Massachusetts. 'VT) SOUTH-^VZST. By the flag of my country, through weaJ or through woe, On the tempeiit- tossed ocean while battling the foe, In the morning of hope when with victory 'tis crowned, Through the night of despair when with mourning 'tis bound, Through Jlaine'e dreary winter, on Texas' hot sand, Hy the flag of my country undaunted I-ll stand." * m (^'''^j^rnLE the patriot soldiers of the Potomac Army were bravely defending the flag, the soldiers of the Western armies were no less valiant. Fort Donelson, Pittsburg Landing, Shiloh, Vicksburg, and other now historic names, telling of bloodshed and of glory, bring up the memory of patriotism and of valor such as* might make any people proud. The attempt will be made in this chapter to present a iav^' pictures of battle and other scenes in connection with Western and South-western campaigns. One of the important battles fought by our Western army was that of Fort Donelson, in February, 1862. A writer * The first stanza of a song by J. M. F., dedicated to that gallant stan- dard-bearer of the Second Massaclmsetts, who, when five ensigns had been ehot down, seized the tattered flag, and bore it on to victory. BA TTLE-SCEXES. — WEST AXD SO UTH- WEST. 245 in the " Chicago Post" gives the following description of the final struggle and the victory : — " Field of Battle, Foet Do>-elson, " Sunday Night, Feb. 16. " The day is ours. All honor and glory to onr brave vol- unteers of the West I They have wiped out the disgrace of Bull Run. They have taken a position stronger than Ma- nassas, and gained a position more important in its results and its moral effect than any that has yet been won. But they have bled terribly to gain it ; and the blackening corpses that strew the heights around this fortification fur- nish terrible evidence of the unflinching courage and awful determination with which they fought. " How shall I describe that fight, — that series of terrible engagements constituting one grand battle, beginning on Thursday morning, and terminating in glorious triumph on the Sabbath morn ? No one person could behold it all, nor in any possible way qualify himself to testify as an original witness to the many events that were transpiring at one and the same time on different parts of the extensive and mountainous field. Those who have seen both, say that the ground, in its unevenness and wooded character, much resembles that of Manassas, but that the inequalities are greater, the hills higher, the ravines deeper, and roads (where there were any) muddier. It was a region extending for some five or six miles around the extensive fortifications. " In order to gain a correct idea of the battle, it will be necessary to have a correct idea of the character and extent 246 FIELD, GUNBOAT, HOSPITAL, AND PRISON. of the rebel fortifications. The fort (so called, though prop- erly an intrenched camp) crowns the summit of a hill one hundred feet high, on the left bank of the stream, just where its general course turns toward the north. It encloses an area of about a hundred and sixty acres. The hill slopes gradually down to the river ; and on its face, some thirty or forty feet above the water, is a range of water-batteries, mounting twelve guns, — eight thirty-two pounders, one ten- inch shell-gun (manufactured at the Tredegar Works, Rich- mond), one immense rifled gun (from the same works), and two sixty-four-pound howitzers. " These constitute the defences of the place against as- sault by water. On all other sides of the fort, the ground sinks immediately into a deep ravine, where, and on the op- posite side-hills, the ground is covered with felled trees. Across this ravine, intrenchments and ranges of rifle-pits are thrown up on the surrounding hills, in such a way, that each hill is made an independent redan, yet supported by and supporting each of its fellows. I am told that the engineer, Capt. Dixon, who constructed the works, selected as his plan that of the famous Russian engineer, Totleben, for the works in the Crimea. It is said by skilful engineers in our army, that, if the rebels had had a force sufficient to man all parts of the fortificatjons, an army of three hundred thou- sand could not have dislodged them. " But their strength was their weakness. Instead of hav- ing an army of fifty thousand, the least number tliat would be required, they had less than twenty-four thousand. Many of their officers say they had only twelve thousand ; but the BA TTLE-SCEKES. — WEST A ND SO UTH- WEST. 247 figures show fully fifteen thousand. This force was insuffi- cient to defend all parts of the extensive works against a force of more than double their number. " But the Southerners fought bravely and desperately, if not at all times quite honestly. When, on the first day of the battle, our infantry on the right attempted to storm their position on one of their fortified hills, they repulsed them, because they were able to. shoot in safety from rifle-pits ; while our soldiers were in the open field, or sheltered only by thin woods. " But, when they came out of their pits after us, we stood on equal terms ; and our boys, after some hard fighting, drove them back. If our soldiers did not stand their bullets where tliey had no chance to play back, theirs did not stand our bullets in a fair stand-up fight. And the next day showed that the rascals w^ere not w^illing to take their chances of being shot, even in their rifle-pits ; for they had placed a parapet of logs on their breastworks, with a crack wide enough to shoot through, thus protecting their heads from the never-failing aim of Birge's sharpshooters. These fellows, wath their heavy Western rifles, would clip the whiskers of a squirrel at eight hundred yards. " The results of the fighting on Thursday w^ere, that our troops were repulsed on the right flank, and the enemy gained possession of the ground which Gen. McClernand had occu- pied for three days. The gunboat 'Carondelet' had wasted about a hundred shot and shell at long range, without doiug them any damage. The enemy were highly elated and con- fident. 248 FIELD, GUNBOAT, HOSPITAL, AND PRISON. " On Friday, ten thousand fresh troops arrived, and en- tered the field ; but fighting between the infantry was not resumed till towards evening. The gunboats opened their batteries at three, p.m., and poured a terrific storm of shot and shell until half-past four, when two of them were tem- porarily disabled, and the cannonading ceased. The rebels fired three shots afterward, and then set up a yell of exulta- tion which shook the liills around. " About three o'clock, p.m., the turning-point of the strug- gle arrived. Gen. Smith, who commanded our left wing, ordered a charge upon the enemy's breastworks in front of hrm. The Second Iowa and Seventh Illinois and another regiment dashed up the declivity in face of the enemy's musketry, drove the rascals aut of their pits, and dashed over the breastworks. Other regiments followed ; and speedily the hill was in our possession. The enemy was completely outflanked. The position commanded his line in such a manner as to render it impossible for him to hold the neighboring heights. He must abandon his rifle-pits, and fight honestly in the open field, or retreat into his fort. " Nobody expected, however, that he was going to give up quite so soon. Our soldiers went to their cold rest, con- fident in their ability to whip the rebels the next day ; but they expected to fight for it. Not a man in the army but expected with the coming daylight to snatch his musket, and re-enter the combat. There had been during the bloody day one circumstance, which, to many of the thinking ones, cast a shade of gloom upon their spirits. The gunboats BA TTLE-SCENES. — WEST AND SO UTH- WEST. 249 had not renewed the hombardment. Why was it? Were they disabled? or vrere the rebel batteries too much for them? In either case, land forces must fight and con- quer alone. They laid down to sleep feeling that they could do it. " At daylight Sunday morning, Commodore Foote opened a gun upon the fort. Three or four shots were fired ; but no response was heard. Then it was reported a white flag was flying, and then that the enemy had got away during the night. A tug started with a flag of truce, and ran up to the fort ; and the news came back, that the rebels had surren- dered. Such was the fact. The rebel commanders, Pillow, Floyd, Buckner, and Bushrod Johnson, had held a council of war during the night, at which it had been decided to sur- render ; and no sooner had this decision been arrived at, than Floyd, true to his instincts, took his brigade, and ran away. " Pillow also ' skedaddled,' as did a portion of Forest's Kentucky cavalry brigade. Such was Pillow's haste to de- part, that (a rebel officer tells me) he knocked two men off the boat with his sword who were trying to go with him. Buckner and Bushrod Johnson remained, and are among our prisoners. " The spectacle presented as our troops entered the place was one to which no description can do justice. As our fleet of transports, preceded by the gunboats, moved slowly up toward the fort, the rebel soldiers collected in groups and squads, and gazed upon them in apparent wonder." A writer in the "New -York Tribune" thus depicts 250 FIELD, GUNBOAT, HOSPITAL, AND PRISON. the horrors of war as displayed at the Fort-Donelson battle : — " The distance between the two armies during the three days, in many cases, was so slight, that we could not bring off our dead ; and the wounded who could neither walk nor crawl remained where they fell until Sunday morning, some even till late that day. A prisoner told me that some Ger- mans lay wounded before their earthworks on Friday night, calling for help and water, and that they went out to bring them in ; but, it being moonlight, our men fired on them, and they were obliged to go back. It was early Sunday morn- ing when they ventured out again, and brought them in. They were still alive, but blue with cold, and covered with frost and snow. They did what they could for them ; but it Avas not much, and for this reason : For a week, they had been guarding their earthworks, three miles in length ; and, from Thursday, they had been out in force night and day. Many of them in the rifle-pits froze their feet and hands. On the boats, I saw young officers whose slaves pulled off their stockings ; and, as they did so, the skin from various parts of their feet came along with them. In passing from their works to their quarters, they frequently had to wade sluices waist-deep, and then lie down to sleep in their wet clothes. The least result was violent cold. In addition, our gunboats kept them in constant alarm, and their artillerists were worn out with constant watching, " The Eleventh Illinois, suddenly coming upon the enemy, was forced to retreat beneath an awful shower of balls. The major then called for volunteers to bring off the wounded. BATTLE-SCEXES. — WEST AND SOUTH-WEST. 251 Twenty or thirty started, crawling ; and tliey brought off a few, but some of them were wounded in the attempt. Again volunteers were called for ; and they approached amid an awful fire, when one of our wounded beckoned them away. The attempt was madness. Just then, the leaves took fire ; and, covered, by the smoke, our men rushed in and saved a few more : but their clothes had taken fire, and some perished miserably. Those who were left, of course, perished. " The severity of the cold is well illustrated by the state- ment made by our field-officers, who rode from post to post during the night, that, in the morning, their clothes were so stiff, that, could they have been taken off, they would have stood alone. It is doubtful wdiether suffering was greater, though it Avas longer, in the retreat of the French from Moscow. " Most of the horses of many of our batteries were shot down. They had been well trained, and stood fire well. The horse is the most intelligent of all animals. lie has a think- ing eye : it sparkles with inquiry as you approach him. He loves music ; and, in the horrors of battle, he is not afraid. Herodotus calls the horse a stranger ; perhaps because he was so little understood. " Saturday morning, when the enemy came out in heavy columns, and three times were driven back with tremendous slaughter, some batteries were ordered to positions which the enemy had a little while before occupied. The horses hesitated not to tread on the wounded, dying, and dead ; and the ponderous artillery-wheels crushed limbs and skulls, 252 FIELD, GUXBOAT, HOSPITAL, AXD PEISOX. It was an awful sight to behold weak, wounded men lifting their feeble hands beneath the horses' hoofs. Sighs, at least, are due to the noble horses which fell. Going over this part of the field on Sunday, where the dead lay thickly, and where the track of the artillery could be traced, some words of the old poet came to mind : — ' So the fierce coursers, as the chariot rolls, Tread down whole ranks, and crush our heroes' souls ; Dashed from their hoofs, while o'er the dead they fly, Black, bloody drops the smoking chariot dye ; The spiky wheels through heaps of carnage tore. And thick the groaning axles dropped with gore/ '' The town of Dover, containing perhaps one hundred houses, must be considered a part of the battle-field, as it was within the rebel lines. Every room contained sick, wounded, or dead men. The inhabitants had fled. Some of our soldiers were sacking it, contrary to express orders. I saw plates, knives and forks, and articles of fine fe- male wearing apparel, on the floor ; bloody rags were every- where, and often pieces of raw human flesh cut away by the surgeons ; and you could not open a door without hearing groans. No matter how grand or how low, how retired or how public, the house might be, it was all the same. Thun- der and lightning, cholera or other pestilence, or the most awful earthquake, could not have caused such a scene of horror." These are horrible pictures ; but, alas ! they are true. Yet while our gallant defenders were full of pluck, and true to their country, on the battle-field, they were not inhuman ; BATTLE-SCENES. — WEST AND SOUTH-WEST. 253 nor were there instances wanting of humane action on the part of both Federals and Rebels. Both were, doubtless, sometimes humane and hospitable, except in the stern hour of conflict. B. F. Taylor, in the " Chicago Journal,'* says, — " Now and then a little human smile brightens war's grim visage, like a flash of sunshine in an angry day. I remember one that I wish I could daguerrotype. The amenities of battle are so few, how precious they become ! Let me give you that little ' touch of nature that makes the whole world kin.' A few months ago, the Third Ohio, be- longing to Streight's command, entered a town en route for Richmond, prisoners of war. TTorn doTATi, famished, hearts heav}', and knapsacks light, they were herded, like dumb, driven cattle, to wear out the night. A rebel regiment, the Fifty-fourth Virginia, being camped near by, many of its men came strolling about to see the sorry show of poor supperless Yankees. They did not stare long, but hastened away to camp, and came streaming back with colFee-kettles, corn-bread, and bacon, the best they had, and all they had ; and straightway little fires began to twinkle, bacon was suf- fering the martyrdom of the saint of the gridiron, and the aroma of coffee -rose like the fragi*ant cloud of a thauk- oflTering. Loyal guests and rebel hosts were mingled. Our hungry boys ate, and were satisfied ; and for that one night our common humanity stood acquitted of the heavy charge of total depravity with which it is blackened. Xight and our boys departed together. The prisoners in due time were exchanged, and are now encamped T\dthin rifle-shot of 254 FIELD, GUXBOAT, HOSPITAL, AND PRISON. Kelly's Ferry, on the bank of the Tennessee. But often, around the camp-fires, I have heard them talk of the Fifty- fourth Virginia, that proved themselves so immeasurably better ' than a brother afar off; ' heard them wonder where they were, and discuss the chance that they might ever meet. TThen they denounced the ' damnable Johnny Rebs,* the name of one regiment, you may be sure, was tucked away in a snug place, quite out of the range of hard words. " And now comes the sequel, that makes a beautiful poem of the whole of it. On the day of the storming of Mission Ridge, among the prisoners was the Fifty-fourth Virginia ; and on Friday it trailed away across the pontoon-bridge and along the mountain-road, nine miles, to Kelly's Ferry. Arrived there, it settled upon the bank, like wasps, await- iug the boat. A week elapsed, and your correspondent fol- lowed suit. The major of the Third Ohio welcomed me to the warm hospitalities of his quarters ; and almost the first thing he said was, ' You should have been here last Friday : you missed the denoument of the beautiful little drama of ours, Avhose first act I have told you. Will you believe ? — the Fifty-fourth has been here. Some of our boys were on duty at the landing when it arrived. " What regiment is this ?" they asked ; and, when the reply was given, they start- ed for camp like quarter horses, and shouted, as they rushed in and out among the smoky cones of the Sibleys, " The Fifty- fourth Virginia is at the ferry ! " The camp swarmed in three minutes. Treasures of coffee, bacon, sugar, beef, preserved peaches, every thing, were turned out in force ; and you may believe they went laden with plenty, at the double-quick, to BATTLE-SCENES. — WEST AND SOUTH-WEST. 255 the ferry.' The same old scene, and yet how strangely changed ! — the twinkling fires, the grateful incense, the hun- gry captives : but guests and hosts had changed places ; the starlit folds floated aloft for the bonny blue flag ; a debt of honor was paid to the uttermost farthing. If they had a triumph of arms at Chattanooga, hearts were trumps at Kelly's Ferry. And there it was that horrid war smiled a human smile ; and a grateful, gentle light flickered for a mo- ment on the point of the bayonet. And yet, should the Fif- ty-fourth Virginia return to-morrow, with arms in their hands, to the Tennessee, the Third Ohio would meet them on the bank, fight them foot to foot, and beat them back with rain so pitiless, the river would run red." The following extract from a letter by " Carleton," giving credit to some Western regiments which fought at Mill Springs, Ky., may be of interest to many readers : — " Exaggerated statements have been made relative to ZollicofFer's force. I think, from all information received, that he had about seven thousand men in the fight. The forces of Gen. Thomas engaged were the Tenth Indiana (which sustained the fight nearly an hour before re-enforced), Fourth Minnesota, Ninth Ohio, and "VYalford's Cavalry. Other regiments came up just as the rebels fled ; but these regiments achieved the victory. Each one of these regiments arrived upon the ground in the nick of time. They were not encamped in a body, but were separated each about a mile from the others. The Tenth Indiana was obliged to fall back at first to save itself from being surrounded. There was no running, but a deliberate retreat, and a return-fire 256 FIELD, GUNBOAT, HOSPITAL, AND PRISON. for every volley from the enemy. They fell back till joined by the Fourth Kentucky, which closed upon their left flank just in season to prevent Zollicoffer's right wing from closing in their rear. Then the stand was made and held. The enemy, being baffled there, attempted to outflank Thomas's right wing ; and there the Second Minnesota came up just at the right moment. It was, throughout, a series of fortuitous circumstances and well-timed movements on our part. " There was very close fighting. A portion of the rebels were behind a brush fence when our line advanced, and they fought hand to hand across the fence. The Fourth Ken- tucky, at the moment of Zollicoffer's death, was about fifteen paces from the right of the ' Mississippi Butcher.' "The battle was fought by Gen. Thomas's forces, and not by Gen. Schoepff's, or a portion of the last-named troops, as has been stated by some persons who were igno- rant of the facts. Col. Monson, of the Indiana Tenth, was in command of the second brigade, which did the fighting ; and to him belongs the credit of the victory. Gen. Thomas did not arrive upon the ground till the battle had raged a long while ; but he did not interfere with Col. Monson's plans, which were made wuth admirable judgment and pre- cision. He is represented to have been very cool, watching every movement with great complacency. He was at Rich Mountain, in Western Virginia, and was highly praised for his admirable bearing. The Tenth Indiana thus far stands probably first on the roll of fame. They fought bravely at Rich Mountain ; and here, at Mill Springs, they were in at the beginning, the middle, and the end. BATTLE-SCENES. — WEST AND SOUTH-WEST. 257 " When the rebels gave way, Col. Monson proposed that they be followed to their intrench me nts. Gen. Thomas hesitated. 'What shall we do for provisions?' he asked. ' Oh, never mind provisions ! now is the time to pitch in,' said Monson. Thomas acquiesced ; and the troops passed on, only to find the rebels swifter-footed than they, and the road strewed with blankets, guns, knapsacks, caps and coats, with cannons and caissons, wagons and provisions. They came close upon the intrenchments at night, but were too much exhausted to attempt an attack ; and rested on their arms. " I need not recapitulate what followed, — how they found the camp deserted, how the batteries set the steamboat on fire ; for it is an old and familiar story. The prisoners taken tell hard stories of their ofiicers. They report, that, when the officers were escaping across the river in some flatboats, a soldier sprang into the water, and grasped the sides ; and that the officers drew their swords, and cut off* the fingers of the man ! I give it as it was told me by one who had it from the lips of the prisoners. He reports that a large number were drowned. "It is not pleasant to hear such a story, or accept it as truth ; but panic-stricken men will do almost any thing. It is related by the historian of Old Newbury, that, when the news of the battle of Lexington reached that town, there was great excitement. Men ran through the streets, crying that the red-coats were at Ipswich, cutting and slashing all be- fore them ; that the inhabitants immediately packed up their valuables, and prepared to get across the river ; that one 17 '2bS FIELD, GUXBOAT, HOSPITAL, AXD PEISOX. man had his family in a boat, and one of his children, an infant, cried, and he exclaimed. ' Throw the brat overboard, or we shall all be found out and killed ! * A lady seized what she supposed to be her infant, which was lying on the bed. and ran in great terror till exhausted ; when, stopping to rest a moment, she discovered that she had a big black cat in her arms ! It is possible, therefore, that the state- ments of this prisoner may be correct." Among the duties of our soldiers, sometimes, were those of raiders. — men who would fearlessly scour the country, crippling the enemy, and, while failing to engage in battle with the foe, would yet do much to aid the cause of liberty. A few details of the great raid in Mississippi, by Col. Grierson's cavalry, may be of interest : — "In obedience to orders of Col. B. H. Grierson. com- manding the first cavalry brigade. Col. Edward Prince moved with his regiment, the Seventh Illinois Cavalry Vol- unteers, five hundred and forty-two ofiacers and men, from Lagrange. Tenn., at ten o'clock, a.m.. on the 17th of April, on the Ripley Road, and camped on the plantation of Dr. Ellis, four miles north-west of Ripley, Miss., distance about thirty miles. " The order of march for this day was to be as follows : Sixth Illinois in advance, Lieut.-Col. Reuben Loomis com- manding, followed by the Seventh Illinois and Second Iowa ; but the Sixth Illinois, taking the wrong road near Lagrange, was thrown to the west, and did not rejoin the command till near camp. As the Seventh Illinois was just going into camp, Col. Prince discovered a party of five or BA TTLE-SCEXES. — WEST AXD SO UTH- WEST. 259 six rebels crossing a field ; and immediately sent a party in pursuit, who captured three of the number. *' The march of the 22d was terrible, because the swamps of the Okanoxubee River were overflowed. After moving four miles south of Louisville, they marched a distance of eight miles through a swamp. On each side of the road were enormous trees ; and the water was everyAvhere from three to four feet deep, with, every few hundred yards, a mire-hole, in which frequently, for a few moments, man and horse were lost to view. The Seventh Illinois, being in the rear, found these holes almost impassable, from the action of the large body of cavalry which had preceded them ; and they were compelled to leave drowned some twenty noble animals, whose strength was not equal to such an emergency. The men so dismounted removed their saddles, placed them on some other led beasts, and pushed onward cheerfully. "At ten o'clock, p.m.. Col. Blackburn, of the Seventh Illinois, was sent forward with two hundred men to Decatur ; which place he passed through at four, a.m., of the 24th, and captured two trains of cars and two locomotives at Xewton Station at seven o'clock. The rest of the com- mand arrived at nine o'clock. The bridges and trestles were found burned six miles each side of the station, seventy-five prisoners captured and paroled, two warehouses full of commissary-stores utterly destroyed by fire, and also four car-loads of ammunition, mostly for heavy artillery. The bridges, &c., on the east side of the station, were 260 FIELD, GUNBOAT, HOSPITAL, AND PRISON. destroyed by the secood battalion of the Sixth Illinois, under Major M. H. Starr. The whole command left Newton at eleven, a.m., of the 24th, and marched through Garlandville to the plantation of Mr. Bender, about twelve miles from Newton, where they encamped. The distance traversed on the 23d and 24th was eighty miles, and all this without scarcely stopping. " Although Col. Prince had marched his regiment forty- one miles, — during a large portion of the time through drenching rain, — he believed, that as the citizens were arm- ing themselves, and the news about them w^as flying in all directions. Pearl River should be crossed, and the New- Orleans and Jackson Road reached without any delay what- ever. He therefore obtained permission from Col. Grierson to move directly forward, w^ith two hundred picked men of his regiment, to secure the ferry across Pearl River before the enemy should be able to destroy it. The distance to the river was thirteen miles, and from there to Ilazlehurst's Station was twelve miles. The remainder of the two regiments were to come forward as soon as they were sufficiently rested. " Col. Prince started with the two hundred at one, A.M., and reached the bank of the river before daylight ; when, contrary to his information, the flatboat was upon the opposite side of the river. Not daring to call out, he spoke to a volunteer, who, with a powerful horse, undertook to swim the river ; but the rapidity of the swollen stream car- ried him below the landing, where there was a quicksand, and he ])arely returned to shore with his life. BATTLE-SCENES. — WEST AND SOUTH-WEST. 261 " A few moments later, a man came down from the house, toward the river, and, in true North-Carolina accent, asked, in a careless way, if we wanted to cross ; to which he got a reply, — in a very capital imitation of his twang, — that a few of them did want to go across, and that it seemed harder to wake up his nigger ferryman than to catch the conscripts. The proprietor took the bait, apologized for the detention, and woke up his ferryman, who immediately brought over the boat, which thenceforward became the property of Uncle Sam ; the proprietor all the while believing he was lavishing his attention on the First Regiment of Alabama Cavalry, fresh from Mobile ! The breakfast given to the Alabama colonel that morning was highly relished and appreciated ; but too much time was not spent over it, and the importance of speed was clearly proved only half an hour afterwards, when they caught a courier flying to the ferry with the news that the Yankees were coming, and that all the ferries were to be immediately destroyed. " At Hazlehurst Station, Col Prince succeeded in captur- ing a large number of cars ; four or five being loaded with shell and amnumition, and others with army-stores. The whole of this property was utterly destroyed. " And here comes one of the most amusing episodes of the whole affair. Capt. Forbes, who, it will be remembered, had been sent to Macon from near Starkville, rejoined the command just as they had all crossed Pearl River. Having been unable to take Macon, he followed their trail to Newton, where he was informed that they had gone to En- terprise, on the Mobile and Ohio Railroad. He followed on 262 FIELD, GUNBOAT, HOSPITAL, AND PRISON. to that place, and marched with his little squad into town, where he found about three thousand rebel troops just get- ting off the cars. He promptly raised a flag of truce, and boldly rode forward, demanding the surrender of the place in the name of Col. Grierson. " The commanding rebel ofi&cer. Col. Goodwin, asked one hour to consider the proposition, and wished to know where Capt. Forbes would be at that time. The captain answered that he would go back with the reply to the reserve, which he did pretty rapidly, after having shrewdly ascertained the strength of the enemy. It is not known whether Enter- prise ever surrendered or not, or whether the rebel colonel is still trying to find the ' reserve ' to make his penitent bow ; but one thing is certain, that Capt. Forbes, with his little squad of thirty-five men, did not intend to take those three thousand rebel prisoners that time at least, and was laugh- ing in his sleeve many miles off while those Enterpris-ing people were trembling in their boots. " This noble band of heroes arrived at Baton Rouge about noon of May 2, where their triumphal entry creat- ed a furor of joyful excitement that will not cease till it has thrilled every loyal heart upon this continent ; ay, every heart that loves liberty and human bravery throughout the civilized world. " Some idea of the endurance of these men can be gleaned from the fact, that during the last thirty hours, in which they had ridden eighty miles, fought two or three skirmishes, destroyed bridges, camps, equipage, &c., swam a river, and captured forty -two prisoners, and quantities of horses, BA TTLE-SCENES. — WEST AND SO UTH- WEST. 263 they had scarcely halted at all, and went through these ter- rible exertions without food for man or beast ! During the last night, it was observed that nearly the entire column, worn out almost beyond human endurance, were fast asleep upon horseback, except when a sharp report of a carabine told of the nearness of the enemy ; and all this was ren- dered without one w^ord of murmur or complaint from any lip, either of officers or privates. " The only casualties and losses among them wdiich we have to deplore are one killed, and fourteen wounded, — all of the Seventh Illinois. " While several of our scouts were feeding their horses at the stables of a wealthy planter of secession proclivities, the proprietor, looking on, apparently deeply interested in the proceeding, suddenly burst out with — " ' Well, boys, I can't say I have any thing against you. I don't know but, on the whole, I rather like you. You have not taken any thing of mine except a little corn for your horses, and that you are welcome to. I have heard of you all over the country. You are doing the boldest thing ever done : but you'll be trapped, though ; you'll be trapped ; mark me ! ' " At another place, where our men thought it advisable to represent themselves as Jackson's Cavalry, a whole company was very graciously entertained by a strong secession lady, who insisted on whipping a negro because he did not bring the hoecakes fast enough. " On one occasion, seven of Col. Grierson's scouts stopped at the house of a wealthy planter to feed their jaded horses. 264 FIELD, GUNBOAT, HOSPITAL, AND PRISON. Upon ascertaining that he had been doing a little guerilla business on his own account, our men encouraged him to the belief, that, as they were the invincible Van Dorn Cavalry, they would soon catch the Yankees. The secession gentle- man heartily approved of what he supposed to be their in- tentions, and enjoined upon them the necessity of making as rapid marches as possible. As our men had discovered two splendid carriage-horses in the planter's stables, they thought, under the circumstances, they would be justified in making an exchange ; which they accordingly proceeded to do. '' As they were taking the saddles from their own tired steeds, and placing them on the backs of the wealthy gue- rilla's horses, the proprietor discovered them, and at once objected. He was met with the reply, that, as he was anxious that the Yankees should be speedily overtaken, those after them should have good horses. " ' All right, gentlemen,' said the planter : ' I will keep your animals until you return. I suppose you'll be back in two or three days at the farthest. When you return, you'll find they have been well cared for.' " Our soldiers were sometimes asked where they got their blue coats. They always replied, if they were travelling under the name of Van Dorn's Cavalry, that they took them at Holly Springs, of the Yankees. This always excited great laughter among the secessionists. Our scouts, how- ever, usually wore the regular secesh uniform." The Army of the West cannot be mentioned without a thought of Gen. Fremont, who was such a favorite with our Western soldiers, and who so reluctantly obeyed the sum- BATTLE-SCENES.— WEST AND SOUTH-WEST. 265 mons to leave them. This is not the place to discuss his merits as a man or a leader ; but at least it may be said that in him the slave had a friend, and that his proclamation of freedom has to-day all the grandeur of a mighty and a fulfilled prophecy. The following extract from a letter in the " Boston Jour- nal " may interest many by its personal allusions : — " On returning from a visit to the arsenal this morning, I had the pleasure of witnessing the presentation of a flag to the body-guard by Mrs. Fremont. It was a piece of good fortune wholly unexpected ; but, looking up Chateau Avenue as we passed along, we noticed an unusual crowd before the * palatial mansion of Mrs. Brant,' and, of course, wished to see what was going on. " The body-guard were drawn up in two long lines in front of the house, with drawn swords, all looking straight- forward, very fierce and solemn, — the celebrated, dashing, daring Major Zagonyi at their head, on a magnificent horse, which he caused to jump about in a most extraordinary manner. " There were so many about the house, it would have \C been impossible for me to have seen any thing, if the awe- inspiring sentries on either side of the gate had not been so much modified by the eloquence of a friend as to allow me the privilege of entering the yard, where I had a fine view of every thing. " Mrs. Fremont did not appear for some time. The guard sat patiently on their horses, solemn and immovable. I sat, impatient, conversing with one of the guard, who, being de- 266 FIELD, (JUNE OAT, HOSPITAL, AND PRISON layed at Warsaw on account of illness, was not one of those who made the brilliant but reckless dash into Springfield. He was very communicative, and pointed out those who had fought most bravely. I stared in mute astonishment at an orderly-sergeant, who, he assured me, had killed nine men ! His imperfect English was extremely amusing. He said that ' the first horse the sergeant rode was badly wounded. He yumped off that, and yumped on to a second : that was immediately killed. He yumped off that, and yumped on to a third, which Avas soon killed also. Then he yumped back on to the wounded horse, and soon got a bad wound himself.' " The two sons of Gen. Fremont, fine black-eyed little fellows of ten and twelve, also attracted my notice. They were in military dress, and stood on the steps talking with the officers, apparently great favorites. The oldest accom- panied his father to Warsaw and Springfield. " At last, there was a general whisper of ' She's com- ing ! ' and I started up to see the ceremony. The staff formed a double semicircle around the door ; Gen. Fremont, his wife, and Major Zagonyi, in front. ' Madame,' as they call her, then presented a handsome flag, draped with crape, to the major, who replied briefly, and then received a few congratulatory words from the general himself. Then, com- mitting the colors to the care of the orderly-sergeant who had fought so gallantly, he mounted his fiery steed once more, and made a pleasant, touching address to the body- guard. Three hearty cheers were then given for Fremont, three more for ' Madame ' (who responded by a most gra- BATTLE-SCENES. — WEST AND SOUTH-WEST. 267 cious bow, taking off the slightly jaunty black hat she wore), and the scene closed. "Every one — every lady at least — will like to know how 'Jessie' looked, and how Major Zagonyi impressed your correspondent. She is tall and stout, with a striking face, — not handsome at all; but meet her anywhere, and you 'vvould feel sure that she was no common person. There is an entire forgetfulness of self, an entire absence of af- fectation and embarrassment, that is charming. She pre- sented the flag with the same careless ease that you would feel in giving a bouquet to a friend. Her features are large, and slightly coarse ; but her dark, handsome eyes, full of life and intelligence, and a very pleasant smile, fully atone for that. The soldiers are devoted to her. She has taken great interest in them ; visiting their barracks, and going to the hospitals, where she shakes hands with as many as pos- sible, adding for each a kind, cheerful word. " But I am running away from Major Zagonyi, who cer- tainly deserves a description. He is rather short and slen- der, with a sharp, wide-awake face, brown hair, cut close, dark eyes, full of fire, and such a mustache !" Horace Greeley, in his " History of the American Con- flict," thus refers to the gallant major, who Avas at Spring- field with only three hundred companions, and was to meet there twelve hundred infantry and four hundred cav- alry : — " Zagonyi did not quail. To his officers he said, ' Fol- low me, and do like me !' To his soldiers, — " ' Comrades, the hour of danger has come : your first 268 FIELD, GUNBOAT, HOSPITAL, AND PRISON. battle is before you. The enemy is two thousand strong, and you are three hundred. If any of you would turn back, you can do so now.' " Not a man stepped from the ranks. He then added, * I will lead you. Let the watchword be, The Union and Fremont I Draw sabres ! By the right flank ; quick trot ; march ! ' " With a ringing shout, the third battalion dashed eagerly forward. "A miry brook, a stout rail-fence, a narrow lane, with sharpshooters judiciously posted behind fences and trees, — such were the obstacles to be overcome before getting at the enemy. A fence must be taken down, the lane traversed, the sharpshooters defied, before a blow could be struck. Ali was the work of a moment ; but, when that moment had passed, seventy of their number were stretched dead, or writhing on the ground. Major Dorsheimer, an aide to Fre- mont, who came up soon after, thus describes the close of the fight : — " 'The remnant of the Guard are now in the field under the hill ; and, from the shape of the ground, the rebel fire sweeps with the roar of a whirlwind over their heads. A line of fire upon the summit marks the position of the rebel infantry ; while nearer, and on the top of a lower eminence, to the right, stand their horse. Up to this time, no Guards- man has struck a blow ; but blue-coats and bay horses lie thick along the bloody lane. Their time has come. Lieut. Maytheuzi, with thirty men, is ordered to attack the cavalry. With sabres flashing over their heads, the little band of he- BA TTLE-SCENES. — WEST AND SO UTH- WEST. 269 roes spring toward their tremendous foe. Right upon the cen- tre they charge. The dense mass opens, the blue-coats force their way in, and the whole rebel squadron scatter in dis- graceful flight through the corn-fields in the rear. The boys follow them, sabring the fugitives. Days afterward, the enemy's horse lay thick among the uncut corn. "' Zagonyi holds his main body until Maytheuzi disap- pears in the cloud of rebel cavalry ; then his voice rises through the air, "In open order, charge!" The line opens out to give play to their sword-arm. Steeds respond to the ardor of their riders ; and quick as thought, with thrilling cheers, the noble hearts rush into the leaden tor- rent which pours down the incline. With unabated fire, the gallant fellows press through. The fierce onset is not even checked. The foe do not wait for them : they waver, break, and fly. The Guardsmen spur into the midst of the rout, and their fast-falling swords work a terrible revenge. Some of the boldest of the Southrons retreat into the woods, and continue a murderous fire from behind trees and thickets. Seven Guard horses fall upon a space not more than twenty feet square. As his steed sinks under him, one of the offi- cers is caught around the shoulders by a grape-viue, and hangs dangling in the air till he is cut down by his friends. The rebel foot are flying in furious haste from the field. Some take refuge in the fair-ground, some hurry into the corn-fields ; but the greater part run along the edge of the wood, swarm over the fence into the road, and hasten to the village. The Guardsmen folloAv : Zagonyi leads them. Over the loudest roar of battle rings his clarion voice, " Come 270 FIELD, GUNBOAT, HOSPITAL, AND PRISON. on, Old Kentuck ! * I'm with you ! " and the flash of his sword-blade tells his men where to go. As he approaches a barn, a man steps from behind the door, and lowers his rifle ; but, before it has reached a level, Zagonyi's sabre-point descends upon his head, and his life-blood leaps to the very top of the huge barn-door. " ' The conflict now rages through the village, in the pub- lic square, and along the streets. Up and down the Guards ride in squads of three and four, and, wherever they see a group of the enemy, charge upon and scatter them. It is hand-to-hand. No one but has had a share in the fray.' " Zagonyi wisely evacuated the town at nightfall, know- ing that, by night, he was at the mercy of the rebels if they should muster courage to return and attack him. Of his three hundred men, eighty- four were dead or wounded." Passing from Zagonyi's brilliant charge at Springfield to the great battle at Pittsburg Landing, " Carleton's " descrip- tion of the scene on the night of Buell's advance to the re- enforcement of Gen. Grant and his weary soldiers, who had fought well, but were exhausted, is here given. It is taken from the first of his series of battle-histories for the Ameri- can youth, whose value will only increase as years go on. He says, " Through the night, the shells from the gunboats crashed along the rebel lines. So destructive ivas the fire, that Beauregard was obliged to fall back from the position he had won by such sacrifice of life. There was activity at the Landing. The steamers went to Savannah, took on board McCook's and Crittenden's divisions of Buell's army, * Of the Guard, one hundred were Kentuckians. BA TTLE-SCENES. — WEST A ND SO UTH- WEST. 271 and transported tliem to Pittsburg. Few words were spoken as tliey marched up tlie hill in the darkness, with the thousands of wounded on either hand ; but there were many- silent thanksgivings that they had come. The wearied sol- diers lay down in battle -line to broken sleep, with their loaded guns beside them. The sentinels stood, like statues, in silence on the borders of that valley of death, watching and Avaiting for the morning. " The battle-cloud hung like a pall above the forest ; the gloom and darkness deepened ; the stars, which had looked calmly down from the depths of heaven, withdrew from the scene, — a horrible scene ! for the exploding shells had set the forest on fire. The flames consumed the withered leaves and twigs of the thickets, and crept up to the helpless wounded, to friend and foe alike. There was no hand but God's to save them. He heard their cries and groans. The rain came, extinguishing the flames : it drenched the men in arms, waiting for daybreak to come to renew the strife ; but there were hundreds of wounded, parched with fever, restless with pain, who thanked God for the rain." Again Mr. Coffin w^rites : — " On the Sabbath after the battle, the chaplains of the regiments had religious exercises. How different was the scene ! Instead of the cannonade, there were prayers to God ; instead of the musketry, there were songs of praise. There were tears shed for those wdio had fallen ; but there were devout thanksgivings that they had given their lives so freely for their country, and for the victory they had achieved by their sacrifice. 272 FIELD, GUNBOAT, HOSPITAL, AND PRISON. " One of the chaplains, in conducting the service, read a hymn, commencing, — *Look down, O Lord ! O Lord, forgive; Let a repenting rebel live ! ' But he was suddenly interrupted by a patriotic soldier, who cried, ' No, sir ; not unless they lay doAvn their arms, every one of them/ *' After the battle, a great many men and women visited the ground, searching for the bodies of friends who had fallen. Lieut. Pfieff, an officer of an Illinois regiment, was killed, and his wife came to obtain his body. No one knew where he was buried. The poor woman wandered through the forest, examining all the graves. Suddenly a dog, poor and emaciated, bounded towards her, his eyes sparkling with pleasure, and barking his joy to see his mistress. When her husband went to the army, the dog followed him, and was with him through the battle, watched over his dead body through the terrible contest, and, after he was buried, remained day and night, a mourner ! He led his mistress to the spot : the body was disinterred. The two sorrowful ones, the devoted wife and the faithful brute, watched beside the precious dust till it was laid in its final resting-place beneath the prairie-flowers." * * Two Kentucky regiments met face to face, and fought each other with terrible resolution; and it happened that one of the Federal soldiers wounded and captured his brother, and, after handing him back, began BATTLE-SCENES.— WEST AND SOUTH-WEST. 273 Among the battles fonglit by the Army of the South-west was that of Prairie Ridge, Benton County, Ark., in 1862. A correspondent of the " New-York Herald " thus describes the final day of the three-days' struggle : — " Daybreak and sunrise at last ; not the bright clear sun that rose over Austerlitz, and cheered Napoleon to his great victory, but a dull, copper-tinted globe, slowly pushing itself up through the murky cloud of cannon-smoke, that even the long hours of a winter night had not dispelled. The heavens soon became overcast, as if the elements them- selves foreshadowed an impending calamity. " The fortune of the day was depending upon Gen. Sigel ; and that officer calmly but carefully prepared his command for the conflict. Our whole force was concentrated to the north of our camp ; and what till then had been our rear became our front. Col. Carr's division was placed in the centre, occupying the road a short distance on either side. The enemy during the night had planted some of his bat- teries on an eminence about two hundred feet high, sloping away to the north, but precipitous on the side in our front. Batteries and large bodies of infantry were posted at his right base of this hill, and at the edge of some timber to its left. Infantry and cavalry, with a few guns, were posted firing at a man near a tree ; when the captured brother called to him, and said, " Don't shoot there any more! — that's father! " A Federal volunteer and a Eebel soldier were found dead, with hands clasped. It is supposed that they fell side by side, mortally wounded, and, making friends, died in peace. What a contrast to the spectacle around I 18 274 FIELD, GUNBOAT, HOSPITAL, AND PRISON. on his extreme left beyond the road ; and, to oppose these, Col. Davis was sent to our extreme left. " It was apparent, that, if we could dislodge the rebels from this hill, the victory would be with our banners. With the skill of an expert in military science, Gen. Sigel ar- ranged his columns for the coming action. His foremost line was driiwn up in battle-array, with infantry, cavalry, and artillery, all in their proper positions. At a suitable distance in the rear his reserves were placed, ready to be brought forward at any needed moment. A level, open field, of great extent, gave splendid opportunity for an im- posing display. It had last been a corn-field ; and the white and withered stalks were still on the ground, forming a fine background for the dark-blue uniforms worn by our men. Throughout the morning, skirmishing and light encounters had transpired with the portion of the enemy opposed to our centre and right ; but, on the left, not a gun was fired until the whole of Gen. Sigel's command was in readiness. " At a little past eight o'clock, the decisive portion of the engagement commenced. Along the entire line, the can- noneers stood to their guns ; and, at the word of command, fire was opened. A brisk cannonade was kept up for up- wards of two hours, with occasional intervals of from five to fifteen minutes' duration. The sharp booming of six, twelve, and eighteen pounders followed each other in rapid succession. " The shot from the rebel batteries were well directed, but failed of execution equal to those from ours. Several guns were disabled and taken to the rear, and their places BATTLE-SCENES. — WEST AND SOUTH-WEST. 275 speedily supplied by others. During the cannonade, Col. Carr's and Col. Davis's divisions advanced slowly upon the enemy until they held the edge of the timber, where the rebels had position in the morning. A battery of three guns, in front of a wooded space on the left of the road, at length became troublesome ; and orders w^ere issued for a bayonet charge to capture it. Just at this moment, a gust of wind blew away the smoke from the front of the rebels, revealing their exact position. The Twelfth Missouri was designated for the honor of taking the battery, and nobly acquitted themselves, advancing at the pas de charge under a terrible musketry-fire, possessing themselves of the guns, and hold- ing them until their supports came up. TavcIvc of their men were killed in this charge, and a large number w^ounded. Another gun was shortly after taken in the timber near by, and still another spiked piece on the extreme right of Davis's division. " After sustaining a heavy cannonade for two hours and a half, the rebels showed signs of a desire to leave the ground. Their batteries were withdrawn from the hill, and their infantry was fast melting away ; large numbers of them, as we since learn, fleeing in terror at the fearful fire under which they had stood. The Eighteenth and Twenty- second Indiana Regiments were ordered to charge, and did so in gallant style ; but the rebels were too quick for the movement to succeed in taking the guns. Their infantry fled in disorder ; and their artillerymen had barely oppor- tunity to attach their horses to the guns, and move them from the field. It was useless to pursue with cavalry, the 276 FIELD, GUNBOAT, HOSPITAL, AND PRISON, country being too densely wooded to admit of using this arm of the service. The entire line moved forward to the sup- port of the Indiana regiments ; and, up and down its entire length, the air resounded with cheer upon cheer from our exultant troops. The enemy had been driven from his strong- hold, and victory was upon our banners. "Gen. Sigel went in pursuit of the fleeing rebels, fol- lowing their main body for twelve miles, and capturing a considerable quantity of wagons, supplies, &c., several ammunition- wagons, a load of powder, and nearly a thou- sand stand of arms. They fled too rapidly to permit of a capture of the entire force ; and, on the morning of the 9th, Gen. Sigel's division returned to camp. A portion of the rebels fled to the eastward, felling timber across the road to prevent pursuit. Another portion turned to the westward, fleeing by the way of Bentonville towards the sunny South, When last heard from, they were in camp eight miles to the southward. A flag of truce came in to-day to arrange for burying the dead, and making exchange of prisoners. "The appearance of the hill and woods shelled by Gen. Sigel's division attests the terrific shower of missiles that fell upon them. Walking over the ground immediately after the flight of the enemy and the pursuit of our forces, I found it thickly strewn with dead and wounded, most of them having fallen by the deadly artillery projectiles. On the hill, where the cannonade had been severe, trees, rocks, and earth bore witness to its fierceness. Fifteen wounded rebels lay in one group, and were piteously imploring each passer- BATTLE-SCENES. — WEST AND SOUTH-WEST. 211 by for water, and relief for their wounds. A few rods from them was another, whose arm had been torn off by a can- non-shot, leaving the severed member on the ground a few feet distant : near him was the dead body of a rebel, whose legs and one arm had been shattered by a single shot. Be- hind a tree, a few yards distant, was stretched a corpse, with two-thirds of its head blown away by the explosion of a shell, and near it a musket broken into three pieces. Still farther along was the body of a rebel soldier, who had been killed by a grape-shot through the breast. A letter had fallen from his pocket, which, on examination, proved to be a long and well-written love-epistle from his betrothed in East Tennessee. It was addressed to Pleasant J. Williams, Churchill's regiment, Fayetteville, Ark. Around him in all directions were his dead and dying comrades, some stretched at full length on the turf, and others contorted as if in ex- treme agony. " The bursting of shells had set fire to the dry leaves on the ground, and the woods were burning in every direction. Efforts were made to remove the wounded before the flames should reach them, and nearly all were taken to places of safety. Several were afterwards found in secluded spots, some of them still alive, but horribly burned and blackened by the conflagration. " The rebels, in nearly every instance, removed the shoes from the dead and mortally wounded both of their own army and ours. Of all the corpses I saw, I do not think one-twentieth had been left with their shoes untouched. In some cases, pantaloons were taken, and occasionally an 278 FIELD, GUNBOAT, HOSPITAL, AND PRISON. overcoat or a blouse was missing. A large number of the killed among the rebels were shot through the head, while the majority of the dead were shot through the breast. *' Col. Hendricks of the Twenty-second Indiana was killed while gallantly leading his men in the action of the 7th, under Col. Davis. Two of the German regiments illustrated the Teutonic love of music by singing one of the songs of Fader- land while they stood under fire of the rebel batteries on the morning of the 8th. The Illinois regiments were not promi- nent in the action, with the exception of the Thirty-fifth, Col. William Smith (wounded), and he Thirty-sixth, Col. Greu- sel ; but they were all prompt to execute every order which they received. The Forty-fourth Illinois was in the pursuit of the rebels, and returned, bringing nearly a hundred pris- oners and as many horses. " There are no data, as yet, by which we can estimate the loss of the enemy. Their dead and wounded on the ground were much more numerous than ours ; at least one- half or two -thirds more. For ten miles on the road by which they retreated, the houses were full of wounded. The whole line of buildings on the route hence to Keetsville is one grand hospital. Our entire loss is estimated at a little more than a thousand, of whom about one-fourth are killed." Gen. Grant and the Army of the "West conquered Vicks- burg. An account of the siege of that city is given in the following spirited poem : * — * By Mrs. Caroline A. Hayden. BATTLE-SCENES. — WEST AND SOUTH-WEST, 279 " Day broke ; and on the crested hill Avhere heavy earthworks frowned, In narrow gorge and valley fair where stillness reigned profound, Along the edge of dark ravines, and up the craggy steeps Of summits where the crispy grass and blackened rock-moss creeps, 'Neath gloomy battlements that fling their shadows miles away. Are gathered countless numbers in battle's grim array, "Watching now the curling, wreathing smoke from many a hamlet green ; And now the spires of Vicksburg, for the first time dimly seen. There was silence, oh, so deep and still ! as if the very air Were loath to stir the silken banners trailing idly there, — The dear old stars and stripes below ; and up on many a height The blood-red bars of treason, flaunting proudly in their sight. Oh ! long before the sun shall gild yon city in its pride. Pull many a messenger of death along our ranks shall glide ; Yet firm the solid columns stand, and breast the battle's shock. As if each separate form Avas cut from out the quarried rock. While yet the glancing sunbeams kiss each lofty spire and tree. The clarion's blast is thrilling forth, wild, glorious, and free ; And, ere its sound had died away, another, wilder still, Comes hissing with a shower of lead from valley, glade, and hill. The air is rent with fearful yells while charge on charge is made; The firm earth trembles at each shock of heavy cannonatle ; And, when the curling vapor lifts, it shows our dauntless men With trailing muskets sweeping onward to the front again. On, on, through rifts which Death has made, through sheets of flaming fire, Through rifle-pit and deep morass, through blood and slime and mire, Adown the steeps of dark ravine, and up the ragged sides Of beetling clitFs, where scarcely even the hardiest plant abides. To gain yon towering battlement, down its traitorous ensign tear. And plant the glorious stars and stripes with shouts of victory there ! 280 FIELD, GUNBOAT, HOSPITAL, AND PRISON. *Tis noon, and still our army ranges seven miles in length ; 'Tis night, and still our army proves its undiminished strength : For, though the battle-field is strewn with heaps on heaps of slain, A countless host, with nerves of steel, for vengeance yet remain ; And tireless feet, and watchful eye, and dauntless hearts, now wait Bound that beleaguered city, struggling wildly with its fate. The hush precedes the tempest : they will rally yet once more, With the strength of desperation, more reckless than before; Will pour their murderous volleys out, until the air is rife With sulphurous smoke, and hideous sounds of wailing, death, and strife. But God has given us a Grant; and when again we rest, 'Twill be to plant the stars and stripes on yonder green hill's crest; And, though a legion more should fill yon proud beleaguered towers, They must yield ; for Right is on our side, and Vicksburg must be ours." The victory was not gained at Vicksburg without severe fighting, and the loss of many noble men. One of the most touching incidents in connection with it is that told of a dying drummer-boy, who did not fail to do an errand to Gen. Sherman with all needful accuracy. George H. Boker has put the incident into most vivid pictorial-poetical form, as follows : — BEFORE VICKSBURG, May 19, 1863. BY GEORGE H. BOKER. While Sherman stood beneath the hottest fire That from the lines of Vicksburg gleamed, And bomb-shells tumbled in their smoky gyre, And grape-shot hissed, and case-shot screamed, Back from the front there came, Weeping and sorely lame, BATTLE-SCENES. — WEST AND SOUTH-WEST. 281 The merest child, the youngest face, Man ever saw in such a fearful place. Stifling his tears, he limped his chief to meet ; But when he paused, and tottering stood, Around the circle of his little feet There spread a pool of bright, young blood. Shocked at his doleful case, Sherman cried, " Halt ! front face ! Who are you ? Speak, my gallant boy ! " " A drummer, sir, — Fifty-fifth Illinois." " Are you not hit ? " — " That's nothing ! Only send Some cartridges : our me"n are out. And the foe press us." — " But, my little friend" — " Don't mind me ! Did you hear that shout ? What If our men be driven ? Oh for the love of Heaven, Send to my colonel, general dear ! " " But you ? " — " Oh ! I shall easily find the rear." " rU see to that," cried Sherman ; and a drop Angels might envy dimmed his eye, As the boy, toiling toward the hill's hard top. Turned round, and, with his shrill child's cry, Shouted, " Oh, don't forget! We'll win the battle yet ! But let our soldiers have some more. More cartridges, sir, — caliber fifty-four ! " One brilliant episode of the operations of the Army of the West was the " Battle of the Clouds," as the assault of Lookout Mountain has been called. 282 FIELD, GUNBOAT, HOSPITAL, AND PRISON. Gen. Grant gave Ger. Hooker permission to assault the rebels on the mountain with all his force. " This order was received about noon on the 25th of November ; but, before nightfall, he had planned and had executed an attack which was as brilliant as daring. Two months' observation of the mountain, from his camp in the valley, had given him full knowledge of all its outlines, its roads, &c. ; and it is easy to believe that the plan which Hooker decided upon had had for some time a place in his mind. It was as unique in conception as it proved successful in execution. A small force, under Osterhaus, was ordered to make a feint upon the enemy's rifle-pits at tlie point (or ' nose,' as Rosecrans calls it) of the mountain, while, with Geary and Ireland and Crafts and Whitaker, he moved up the valley until in rear of the enemy's position, ascended the side of the range until the head of his column reached the palisades, marched forward, taking the rebel w^orks in flank and rear, and secured about thirteen hundred prisoners. The enemy fled around the nose of the mountain, closely pursued to a position on the opposite side, where Hooker again attacked. After one or two des- perate eflTorts, the rebel works were carried ; but it was at such a late hour (midnight), that it was impossible to dislodge them from a position controlling a mountain-road, by which they evacuated during the night. The mountain thus assaulted is fourteen hundred feet above the Tennessee River, and was held by a force of at least six thousand strongly forti- fied. He must be a regular mountaineer, who can, unopposed, make the ascent of the mountain without halting several times to rest ; and the story of the assault seems incredible BATTLE-SCENES.— WEST AND SOUTH-WEST. 283 to one standing on the summit, where the rebels were posted, and looking at the rough ascent over which Hooker charged." * This wonderful passage in the history of the Chattanooga campaign has been made the subject of a song written by our consul at Venice, W. D. Howell, Esq., which is as follows : — " Where the dews and the rains of heaven have their fountain, Like its thunder and its lightning our braves burst on the foe, Up above the clouds, on Freedom's Lookout Mountain, Kaining life-blood like water on the valleys down below. Oh ! green be thy laurels that grow, Oh ! sweet be the wild-buds that blow, In the dells of the mountain where the braves are lying low. Light of our hope, and crown of our story. Bright as sunlight, pure as starlight, shall their deeds of daring glow, While the day and the night out of heaven shed their glory On Freedom's Lookout Mountain whence they routed Freedom's foe. Oh ! soft be the gales when they go Through the pines on the summit where they blow. Chanting solemn music for the souls that passed below." And thus may close this chapter, in which the writer has desired to twine a chaplet of unfading laurels for the broAvs of our Western and South-western heroes. More might have been said of Corinth, luka, Shiloh, Atlanta, and other places which have so lately won historic fame, but limited space forbade. Enough, however, has been recorded here to show that our pioneer-boys fought bravely, and did not fight in vain. * Harper's Monthly, October, 1865. 284 FIELD, GUNBOAT, HOSPITAL, AND PRISON. CHAPTER VI. HOSPITAL-SCENES. ♦ Into a ward of the whitewashed walls, Where the dead and the dying- lay, Wounded by bayonets, shells, and balls, Somebody's darling was borne one day; Somebody's darling so young and so brave, Wearing yet on his pale, sweet face, Soon to be hid by the dust of the grave, The lingering light of his boyhood grace. Matted and damp are the curls of gold Kissing the sun of that fair young brow; Pale are the lips of delicate mould : Somebody's darling is dying now. Back from the beautiful blue-veined brow Brush all the wandering waves of gold; Cross his hands on his bosom now: Somebody's darling is still and cold. Kiss him once for ' somebody's ' sake; Murmur a prayer soft and low; One bright curl from its fair mates take, — They were somebody's pride, you know. * Somebody's' hand hath rested there: Was it a mother's, soft and white ? And have the lips of a sister fair Been baptized in those waves of light ? HOSPITAL-SCENES. 285 God knows best I He was ' somebody's ' love ; * Somebody's ' heart enshrined him there ; * Somebody ' wafted his name above, Night and morn, on the wings of prayer; ' Somebody ' wept when he marched away, Looking so handsome, brave, and grand; 'Somebody's' kiss on his forehead lay; ' Somebody ' clung to his parting hand. • Somebody's ' watching and waiting for him, Yearning to hold him again to their heart ; And there he lies with his blue eyes dim, And the smiling childlike lips apart. Tenderly bury the fair young dead, Pausing to drop on his grave a tear; Carve at the wooden slab at his head, ♦ Somebody's darling slumbers here.' ' ' Anonymous. (4, ANY of these " darlings " filled our hospitals during the war ; and often they were tenderly- nursed : for the work which Margaret Fuller Ossoli inaugurated in Rome, when Italian patriots struck an unsuccessful blow for liberty, and which Florence Nightingale continued in the Crimea, was nobly taken up by Dorothea L. Dix, and her band of assistants, Avhose name was Legion, but who were a band of angels instead of demons ; till, at this hour, to have been a nurse in a hospital is a title-deed to respect and honor. All the nurses were not perfect ; but many, perhaps most, were worthy of a place beside Miss Nightingale, whose very shadow the sick and wounded soldiers of the Crimea would fain kiss. One of those good nurses has given, in a volume whose only fault is its brevity, entitled " Hospital Sketches," a graphic picture of scenes constantly 286 FIELD, GUNBOAT, HOSPITAL, AND PRISON. occurring amid hospital-life. Both witty and pathetic, its irresistible humor sometimes moves the risibles, and anon its pathos calls forth a tear. With the wish that the whole could be enjoyed by the reader, the following extracts are given. After telling of the arrival of some eighty wounded men, she goes on to say, — " I pitied them so much, I dared not speak to them ; though, remembering all they had been through since the rout at Fredericks, I felt ready to be handmaid to the dreariest and dirtiest of them all. Presently Miss Blank tore me from my refuge behind piles of one-sleeved shirts, odd socks, bandages, and lint ; put basin, sponge, towels, and a block of brown soap, into my hands, with these ap- palling directions : — " ' Come, my dear, begin to wash as fast as you can. Tell them to take off socks, coats, and shirts ; scrub them well ; then put on clean shirts ; and the attendants will finish them off, and lay them in bed.' " If she had requested me to shave them all, or dance a horn- pipe on the stove-funnel, I should have been less staggered ; but to scrub some dozen lords of creation at a moment's no- tice was really — really . However, there was no time for nonsense ; and having resolved, when I came, to do every thing I was bid, I drowned my scruples in my wash-bowl, clutched my soap manfully, and, assuming a business-like air, made a dab at the first dirty specimen I saw, bent on performing my task vi et armis if necessaiy. I chanced to light on a withered old Irishman, wounded in the head, which caused that portion of his frame to be tastefully laid HOSPITAL-SCENES. 287 out like a garden, the bandages being tlie walks, his hair the shrubbery. He was so overpowered by the honor of having a lady wash him, as he expressed it, that he did nothing but roll up his eyes, and bless me in an irresistible style, which was too much for my sense of the ludicrous : so we laughed together. And, when I knelt down to take off his shoes, he ' flopped ' also, and wouldn't hear of my touching ' them dirty craters. May your bed above be aisy, darlin', for the day's worrk ye are doon ! Whoosh ! there ye are ; and, bedad, its hard tellin' which is the dirtiest, the fut or the shoe.* It was ; and, if he hadn't been to the fore, I should have gone on pulling, under the impression that the ' fut ' was a boot ; for trousers, socks, shoes, and legs were a mass of mud. This comical tableau produced a general grin ; at which propitious beginning I took heart, and scrubbed away like any tidy parent on a Saturday night. Some of them took the performance like sleepy children, leaning their tired heads against me as I worked ; others looked grimly scandalized ; and several of the roughest colored like bashful girls. One wore a soiled little bag about his neck ; and, as I moved it to bathe his wounded breast, I said, — " ' Your talisman didn't save you, did it?' " ' Well, I reckon it did, marm ; for that shot would a* gone a couple a' inches deeper but for my old manamy's camphor-bag,' answered the cheerful philosopher. " Another, with a gunshot wound through the cheek, asked for a looking-glass, and, when I brought one, re- garded his swollen face with a dolorous expression, as he muttered, — 288 FIELD, GUNBOAT, HOSPITAL, AND PRISON, " ' I vow to gosh, that's too bad ! I warn't a bad-look- ing chap before ; and now I'm done for. Won't there be a thunderin' scar ! and what on eartli will Josephine Skinner say?' " He looked up at me with his one eye so appealingly, that I controlled my risibles, and assured him, that, if Josephine was a girl of sense, she would admire the honorable scar as a lasting proof that he had faced the enemy ; for all women thought a wound the best decoration a brave soldier could wear. I hope Miss Skinner verified the good opinion I so rashly expressed of her ; but I shall never know. " Having done up our human wash, and laid it out to dry, the second syllable of our version of the word ' war-fare* was enacted with much success. Great trays of bread, meat, soup, and coffee, appeared ; and both nurses and at- tendants turned waiters, serving out bountiful rations to all who could eat. I can call my pinafore to testify to my good will in the work ; for in ten minutes it was reduced to a perambulating bill of fare, presenting samples of all the refreshments going or gone. It was a lively scene, — the long room lined with rows of beds, each filled by an occupant whom water, shears, and clean raiment, had transformed from a dismal ragamuffin into a recumbent hero with a cropped head. To and fro rushed matrons, maids, and con- valescent ' boys,' skirmishing with knives and forks, retreat- ing with empty plates, marching and countermarching with unvaried success ; while the clash of busy spoons made most inspiring music for the charge of our Light Brigade. HOSPITAL-SCENES. 289 * Beds to the front of them, Beds to the right of them, Beds to the left of them : Nobody blundered. Beamed at by hungry souls, Screamed at with brimming bowls. Steamed at by army rolls Buttered and sundered. With coffee, not cannon, plied, Each must be satisfied, Whether they lived or died : All the men wondered.' " Very welcome seemed the generous meal after a week of suffering, exposure, and short commons. Soon the brown faces began to smile, as food, warmth, and rest did their pleasant work ; and the grateful ' thankees ' were followed by more graphic accounts of the battle and retreat than any paid reporter could have given us. " At five o'clock, a great bell rang ; and the attendants flew, not to arms, but to their trays, to bring up supper, when a second uproar announced that it was ready. The new- comers woke at the sound ; and I presently discovered that it took a very bad wound to incapacitate the defenders of the faith for the consumption of their rations. The amount that some of them sequestered was amazing ; but, when I suggested to the matron the probability of a famine hereaf- ter, that motherly lady cried out, ' Bless their hearts ! why shouldn't they eat ? its their only amusement : so fill every one ; and, if there's not enough to-night, I'll lend my share 19 290 FIELD, GUNBOAT, HOSPITAL, AJVD PRISON. to the Lord by giving it to the boys/ And, whipping up her cofFee-pot and plate of toast, she gladdened the eyes and stomachs of two or three dissatisfied heroes by serving them with a liberal hand ; and I haven't the slightest doubt, that, having cast her bread upon the waters, it came back but- tered, as another large-hearted old lady was wont to say. " Then came the doctor's evening visit, the administra- tion of medicines, washing feverish faces, smoothing tum- bled beds, wetting wounds, singing lullabies, and prepara- tions for the night. By eleven, the last labor of love was done, the last ' good-night ' spoken ; and, if any needed a reward for that day's work, they surely received it in the silent eloquence of those long lines of faces, showing pale and peaceful in the shaded rooms as we quitted them, fol- lowed by grateful glances that lighted us to bed, where rest the sweetest made our pillows soft, while Night and Nature took our places, filling that great house of pain with the healing miracles of Sleep, and his diviner brother Death." Miss Alcott bears the following testimony to the patience of those who were under her care : — " It is all very well to talk of the patience of woman,. and far be it from me to pluck that feather from her cap ; for. Heaven knows, she isn't allowed to wear many : but the pa- tient endurance of these men, under trials of the flesh, vvas truly Avonderful. Their fortitude seemed contagious ; and scarcely a cry escaped them, though I often longed to groan for them, when pride kept their white lips shut, while gi'eat drops stood upon their foreheads, and the bed shook with the irrepressible tremor of their tortured bodies." HOSPITAL-SCENES. 291 Hospitals and hospital -scenes can never in future be mentioned in our land witliout the mind's reverting to the noblest charity the world ever knew, — the Sanitary Commis- sion. Armed and equipped for its country's service by the loyal women at home, through their various general and auxiliary societies, this Commission gave comfort and ma- terial aid to hundreds of thousands among our brave de- fenders, and doubtless saved many thousands of valuable lives. No language can express what the Federal forces o^'e to the Sanitary Commission ; and in this obligation many a rebel shared. The following touching incident is but one among many similar scenes witnessed by the em- ployes of the Sanitary Commission : — " A rebel prisoner asked a clean shirt for his young com- rade, whose fresh but bloodstained bandages told of a recent amputation just above the knee. One of the Sanitary Com- mission gave the shirt, but said the boy must first be washed. ' Who will do that?' — ' Oh ! any of those women yonder/ A kind-looking woman from Philadelphia was asked if she was willing to wash a rebel prisoner. ' Certainly,' was the prompt reply : ' I have a son in the Union army ; and I would like to have somebody wash him.' With towel and water in a tin basin, she cheerfully walked through the mud to the tent. Careful not to disturb the amputated leg, she gently removed the old shirt, and began to wash him; but the tenderness of a mother's heart was at work, and she began to cry over him, sa}ang that she imagined she was washing her own son. This was more than he could bear. He, too, began to weep, and to ask God to bless her for her 292 FIELD, GUNBOAT, HOSPITAL, AND PRISON. kindness to him. The scene was too much for the by- standers ; and they left the Northern mother and the South- ern son to their sacred grief, wishing that tears could blot out the sin of this Rebellion, and the blood of this unnatural Avar." The noble self-sacrifice of our loyal women, who left the comforts of home for the dreary hospital and its often un- pleasant duties, cannot be too highly commended ; and the value of their presence to many a sick, wounded, and dying soldier, can never be computed. They were truly minister- ing spirits ; and in the land of angels alone can they ever be fully appreciated. The following incident, given by Prof. Hackett in his excellent " Memorials of the War," illus- trates the value of their presence in one case : — " Among the many brave, uncomplaining fellows who were brought up to the hospital from the battle of Freder- icksburg, was a light-eyed, intelligent youth, sixteen years old, who belonged to a Northern regiment. He appeared more aifectionate and tender, more refined and thoughtful, than many of his comrades, and attracted a good deal of attention from the attendants and visitors. Manifestly the pet of some household, which he had left, perhaps, in spite of entreaty and tears, he expressed an anxious longing for the arrival of his mother, who was expected, having been in- formed that he was mortally wounded, and failing fast. Ere she arrived, however, he died. ^ But, before the end, almost his last act of consciousness was the thought that she had really come ; for as a lady sat by his pillow, and wiped the death-sweat from his brow, HOSPITAL-SCENES. 293 just as his siglit was failing, he rallied a little, like an ex- piring taper in its socket, looked up longingly and joyfully, and, in tones that drew tears from every eye, whispered au- dibly, 'Is that mother?' Then, drawing her toward him with all his feeble power, he nestled his head in her arms like a sleeping infant, and thus died, with the sweet word ' mother ' on his quivering lips." Those " little gifts," how they have cheered our soldiers ! Prof. Hackett felicitously calls these gifts, and their inscrip- tions, " The Current between Home and Camp ; " and goes on to say, — " Some of the marks fastened on the blankets, shirts, and other gifts sent to the Sanitary Commission for the soldiers, showed the thought and feeling at home. Thus on a home- spun blanket, Avorn, but washed as clean as snow, was pinned a bit of paper, which said, ' This blanket was car- ried by Miles Aldrich (who is ninety-three years old), down hill and up hill, a mile and a half, to be given to some sol- dier.* " On a bed-quilt was pinned a card, saying, ' My son is in the army. Whoever is made warm by this quilt, which I have worked on for six days and the greater part of six nights, let him remember his own mother's love.' " On another blanket was this : ' This blanket was used by a soldier in the war of 1812. May it keep some soldier warm in this war against traitors ! ' " On a pillow was written, ' This pillow belonged to my little boy, who died resting on it. It is a precious treasure to me ; but I give it for the soldiers.' 294 FIELD, GUNBOAT, HOSPITAL, AND FEISON. " On a pair of woollen socks was written, ' These stock- ings were knit by a little girl five years old ; and she is going to knit some more, for mother says it will help some poor soldier.' " On a box of beautiful lint was this mark : ' Made in a sick-room, where the sunlight has not entered for nine years, but where God has entered, and where two sons have bid their mother goodrby as they have gone out to the war.' " On a bundle containing bandages was written, ' This is a poor gift ; but it is all I had. I have given my husband and my boy, and only wish I had more to give ; but I have not.' On some eye-shades was marked, ' Made by one who is blind. Oh, how I long to see the dear old flag you are all fighting under ! ' " Kindred to all these was this impromptu, by a lady of Sa- lem, Mass.,* now first published. It was placed on a pair of stockings for the army. " Go forth on thy mission, this work of my hand ; Make warm the cold feet that now shivering stand ; For they wander fx-om home and loved ones to-day : But tell the brave hearts that for them we pray ; That our work with our prayers shall follow them now. Till the wreath of the victor is placed on their brow ; That our Father will guide their feet from all harm, And shield by his love from danger and storm ; That he'll give the strong arm the strength of his might, And peace to the cause that is right in his sight." * Mrs. II. G. Farmer ("Mabelle"). HOSPITAL-SCENES. 295 The lady who thus helped to form the above links be- tween home and camp or hospital, was then, and is still, an invalid ; having been much of the time, for several years, confined to her room and bed. Yet she did enough for our sick and w^ounded soldiers to shame those in health who did nothing. She planned, and, by the efficient aid of her hus- band and many friends, conducted, a Fair in the city of Sa- lem, in 18G4, which brought her eight hundred dollars for the use of the soldiers. This sum was faithfully expended : a part of it was used to provide a library for Jefferson Bar- racks, Missouri, in response to a call from Mr. C. H. Tal- madge ; and three hundred dollars of it, at least, went to our soldiers through an agent of the Christian Commission, — E-ev. J. W. Dadmun. Such devotion to country cannot go unappreciated. Our soldiers were cheered by it, and her own heart was blessed. *' Carleton " WTote concerning the Fair, to the " Boston Journal," as follows : — " One of the many affecting incidents in connection with this enterprise is that of a little blind girl, wdio heard of what this lady had undertaken, and her sympathy was at once aroused. What could she do for the soldiers ? The active brain and tender heart soon found work for the will- ing hands. Various kind of bead and needle work were soon fashioned into forms of beauty by her delicate sense of touch. Her heart was in the work, and she did what she could. When the articles were finished, she gathered them up in her arms, and Avas led by two little girls to a house 296 FIELD, GUNBOAT, HOSPITAL, AND PRISON. where the contributions were being collected ; and there she presented her gifts to the soldiers' Fair." The " New-Bedford Mercury" sends the following: — " Yesterday forenoon, a poor woman, earning but twenty- five cents a day by sewing, entered a grocery-store in the west part of the city, and paid for ten packages of corn- starch, to be sent to the City Hall, and thence to the sick and wounded soldiers of the army. ' Verily I say unto you, that this poor widow hath cast more in than all they which have cast into the treasury.' " That these self-denying ones did not give in vain, no candid mind can doubt. Through those noble charities, the Sanitary and Christian Commissions, those benefactions were honestly and liberally dispensed. Yet there were some opposed to the elder Commission, and undoubtedly without sufficient cause. It has been thought by some that the Christian Commis- sion was needed to care for the souls of the soldiers, because the Sanitary Commission " cared for none of these things.'* This is a mistake. Many of the agents and nurses be- longing to the Sanitary Commission were earnest and active Christians ; and the sick and wounded did not lack for friends in them, who would point them to " the Lamb of God, who taketh away the sins of the world." The following remarkable narration, having reference to a hospital visit, is from the "New-Bedford Mercury," and believed to be reliable in every particular : — " Elizabeth Comstock, a lady of English birth, and a resident of Michigan, is an eloquent preacher of the Society HOSPITAL-SCENES. 297 of Friends. For some years, she has devoted herself par- ticularly to visiting prisons and hospitals, and, with the self- denying spirit of a Fry or a Howard, has ministered to the miserable inmates. She was in attendance at the recent Yearly Meeting of Friends at Newport, and, at the close of it, was urged to visit Salem, and spend last First Day with Friends there. This invitation she declined, saying there were no hospitals or prisons there ; and to these was her mis- sion. Soon after, however, yielding to a strong impression upon her own mind that it was her duty, she announced that she would go to Salem. She attended Friends' meeting, and preached; her subject being 'the Value of Early Religious Training.' Illustrative of this, she narrated the following touching incident : — " Soon after the terrible battle of Fredericksburg, some year and a half since, she visited one of the hospitals in the vicinity of Washington, going from ward to ward, and from cot to cot, comforting and consoling the wounded sufferers. Upon one bed lay a young man, with eyes closed, and ap- parently insensible. The attendant remarked, that it would be useless to speak to him, as he had been constantly deliri- ous since his arrival, and had now relapsed into a death-like stupor. But the good lady, full of motherly, Christian sym- pathy, stopped by the bedside, and repeated Dr. Watts's hymn, in her sw^eet tones, — * Jesus can make a dying bed Feel soft as downy pillows are/ &c. "As she closed, the young man looked up with an intelli- gent smile, and, seeing a female form, said, 'I knew you 298 FIELD, GUNBOAT, HOSPITAL, AND PRISON. would come, mother, and speak to me of Jesus.' By his side the good woman remained, we believe, till the spirit left him, catching his last accents on earth, ' Mother, I am going to Jesus.' "But the most remarkable part of our story is to come. As the meeting broke up, and the Friends were leaving, the preacher's attention was arrested by a female face in the throng ; and she remarked to a friend, ' That must be the mother of the young soldier of whom I spoke.' They met, the preacher and the mother ; and, upon comparing notes, the fact was established that it was the son of that mother to whom Elizabeth Comstock had ministered in his dying hour, and had thus brought to her the first knowledge of his death. Our readers can imagine the consolation thus given by the assurance, that, in his dying hour, the young soldier thought of his mother, and coupled her name with that of Jesus, whom she had taught him to revere. Who shall say that the Good Spirit did not lead Elizabeth Comstock out of her chosen path of labor to carry comfort to the heart of that Salem mother? " Volumes might be filled with incidents of thrilling interest which have occurred at our hospitals, both among the rebel as well as among the loyal soldiers. The loyal hearts at home deserve great credit for their effi- cient aid to the agents in the field. The great Sanitary Fairs of our large cities furnished thousands of dollars to carry on the work ; and, as we have seen, even children and invalids lent their little aid, made " mighty through God," to save their Country in her hour of peril. The benefactions of loyalists HOSPITAL-SCENES. 299 are worthy of mention and remembrance, and make one proud of a country whose inhabitants are so liberal and benevo- lent. One of our religious papers thus sums up the money in various ways laid upon the altar of patriotism and human- ity : — ''The total contributions from states, counties, and towns, for the aid and relief of soldiers, amounted, during the war, to $187,209,608.62. The contributions of associations and individuals for the care and comfort of soldiers were $24,- 044,863.96 ; for sufferers abroad, $380,040.74 ; for sufferers by the riots of July, for freedmen and white refugees, $639,633.13 ; making a grand total, exclusive of expendi- tures of the Government, of $212,274,248.45." The Soldier's Friend, — To no single individual in our land, so far as private contributions and personal efforts are concerned, can the title of " The Soldier's Friend" be more appropriately given than to Count L. B. Schwabe, at the pre- sent time a resident of Boston, Mass. We have endeavored to obtain from him some facts with regard to his munificent charities during the past four years ; but he persistently re- fuses to parade his generous deeds before the public gaze. We are consequently obliged to give but a meagre account of one, who, though a native of a far-distant country (Ger- many.), and independent of any claims, which we, as a people, could make upon his generosity, has been one of the truest and most liberal friends which the officers and soldiers in our army have had during the late Eebellion. In a thou- sand ways, frequently untold and unknown, his generous 300 FIELD, GUNBOAT, HOSPITAL, AND PRISON. bounty has found its way to some soldier or officer, some company or regiment, some camp or hospital, in some part of the land. We know that he now has in his possession thousands of letters of thanks and recommendations, which he has received from our most distinguished generals and the governors of States, but which he is not willing to make public. Count Schwabe is now creating a most magnificent me- morial of our heroic dead, — The National Gallery of Fallen Heroes ; in which work he is engaged with all the enthusiasm of his ardent nature and the resources of his generous purse. This gallery he designs shall be an endur- ing monument to the memory of the gallant men who have laid down their lives for their country. Several of the por- traits already completed were on exhibition at the Mechanics' Fair in Boston, and attracted universal attention for their excellence, and truthfulness to nature. These portraits are in oil, life-size, and from the hands of the best artists. They represent officers and men of all ranks in the army and navy, and from every loyal State. Secretary Stanton, who was present at the opening of the fair, spoke of them in the warmest manner, congratulated Count Schwabe on the suc- cess which has thus far attended his effiDrts to form such a gallery, and expressed his desire to be present at its inau- guration. The interesting theme is left with the pleasant thought, that, in the book of heavenly remembrance, no act of mercy, or deed of divine charity or loyal devotion, will be unre- corded. PRISO^'^-^ORRORS. 301 CHAPTER Vn. PEISON-HORBOES. " In the prison cell I sit, Thinking, mother dear, of you, And our bright and happy home so far away; And the tears they fill my eyes, Spite of all that I can do. Though I try to cheer my comrades, and be gay. Chorus.— Tramp, tramp, tramp, the boys are marching: Cheer up, comrades ; they will come ; And beneath the starry flag We shall breathe the air again Of the free land in our own beloved home. In the battle front we stood When their fiercest charge they made. And they swept us off, a hundred men or more ; But before we reached their lines They were driven back dismayed, And we heard the cry of victory o'er and o'er. Chorus. — Tramp, tramp, tramp, &o. So, within the prison-cell, We are waiting for the day That shall open wide the iron door; 302 FIELD, GUNBOAT, HOSPITAL, AND PRISON. And the hollow eye grows bright, And the poor heart almost gay, As we think of seeing home and friends once more. Chorus. — Tramp, tramp, tramp," &c. — Anonymous. © HIS popular song, which was first sung at the Cen- tennial celebration at Ashfield, June 21, 1865, has been sung in cot and hall, by road and fireside, with tearful eyes and aching hearts, because it pictured (alas ! too truly) the sulFerings of Union soldiers in rebel prisons, starving to death, but longing for liberty. It is a matter of profoundest mystery to all, except those who understand, in a measure, the baleful influence of slavery even upon the whites, how our " Southern brethren " could ever be so cruel to their prisoners of war. But the testi- mony is too strong to be denied ; and from nameless graves at the South, and graves at the North untimely filled, goes up to heaven the cry against the pitiless cruelty of Southern captors. The record of rebel atrocities is dark and damning. There is no language but that of Scripture to express the character of those who tortured their prison- ers unto death, following them with merciless hatred even unto the grave : they were truly " earthly, sensual, dev- The following extracts from the " Report of the Com- mittee appointed by the United-States Sanitary Commission to investigate the Treatment of Union Prisoners by the Re- bel Authorities " will unfold a horrible tale of barbarities, fit for the dark ages, with their blind superstitions, rather than for the nineteenth century, with its light and freedom : — PRISON-HORRORS. 303 " In entering upon tlieir duties, the commissioners had no other wish than to ascertain the truth, and to report the facts as they were. For this they endeavored to collect all the evidence within their reach, and to hear and record all that could be said on every side of the subject. They were accompanied by a United-States commissioner ; and in every case the testimony was taken on oath or affirmation before him, or, in his absence, before other officers equally empowered. " Tlie commissioners, at the very outset, were brought face to face with the returned captives. They first visited the two extensive hospitals in Annapolis, occupying the spacious buildings and grounds of the Naval Academy and St. John's College, where over three thousand of them had been brought, in every conceivable form of suffering, direct from the Libby Prison, Belle Isle, and two or three other Southern military stations. They also visited the West's Buildings Hospital, and the Jarvis General Hospital in Baltimore, where several hundreds had been brought in an equally dreadful condition. " The photographs of these diseased and emaciated men, since so widely circulated, painful as they are, do not, in many respects, adequately represent the sufferers as they then appeared. " The first fact developed by the testimony of both officers and privates is, that prisoners were almost invariably robbed of every thing valuable in tlieir possession ; sometimes on 804 FIELD, GUNBOAT, HOSPITAL, AND PRISON. tlie field, at the instant of capture ; sometimes by the prison authorities, in a ' quasi official way,' with the promise of return when exchanged or paroled, but which promise was never fulfilled. This robbery amounted often to a stripping of the person of even necessary clothing. Blankets and overcoats were almost always taken, and sometimes other articles ; in which case, damaged ones were returned in their stead. This preliminary over, the captives were taken to prison. " The Libby, which is best known, though also used as a place of confinement for private soldiers, is generally un- derstood to be the officers' prison. It is a row of brick buildings, three stories high, situated on the canal, and over- looking the James River ; and was formerly a tobacco warehouse. The partitions between the buildings have been pierced with doorways on each story. The rooms are one hundred feet long by forty feet broad. In six of these rooms, twelve hundred United-States officers of all grades, from the brigadier-general to the second lieutenant, were confined for many months ; and this was all the space that w^as allowed them in which to cook, eat, wash, sleep, and take exercise ! It seems incredible. Ten feet by two were all that could be claimed by each man, — hardly enough to measure his length upon ; and even this was further abridged by the room necessarily taken for cooking, washing, and clothes-drying. '' At one time, they were not allowed the use of benches, chairs, or stools ; nor even to fold their blankets, and sit upon them : but those who would rest were obliged to huddle on PRISON-HOEROnS. 305 their haunches, as one of them expresses it, ' like so many slaves on the middle passage/ After a while, this severe restriction was removed, and they were allowed to make chairs and stools for themselves out of the barrels and boxes which they had received from the North. " They were overrun with vermin, in spite of every precaution and constant ablutions. Their blankets, which averaged one to a man, and sometimes less, had not been issued by the rebels, but had been procured in different ways, — sometimes by purchase, sometimes through the San- itary Commission. The prisoners had to help themselves from the refuse accumulation of these articles, which, having seen similar service before, were often ragged, and full of vermin. In these they wrapped themselves at night, and lay down on the hard plank-floor in close and stifling con- tact, — ' wormed and dovetailed together,' as one of them testifies, ' like fish in a basket.' The floors were recklessly washed late in the afternoon, and were therefore damp, and dangerous to sleep upon. Almost every one had a cough in consequence. " There were seventy-five windows in these rooms, all more or less broken ; and in winter the cold was intense. Two stoves in a room, with two or three armfuls of wood to each, did not prove sufficient, under this exposure, to keep them warm. " The regulations varied, at different periods, in stringency and severity ; and it is difficult to describe the precise con- dition of things at any one time ; but the above comes from two oflacers, Lieut.-Col. Farnsworth and Capt. Calhoun. 20 306 FIELD, CWNBOAT, HOSPITAL, AND PRISON. As it happens, they are representatives of the two opposite classes of officers confined in the Libby. The former, coming from Connecticut, and influentially connected at the North, was one of a mess to which a great profusion of supplies, and even luxuries, were sent. The latter, coming from Kentucky, and being differently situated, was entirely dependent upon the prison-fare. These officers were there during the same season, but never became acquainted. The accounts of each, found in the evidence side by side, are here combined, and run together. " From their statements, it appears that the hideous dis- comfort was never lessened by any variation in the rules, but often increased. The prison did not seem to be under any general and uniform army regulations ; but the captives were subject to the caprices of Major Turner, the officer in charge, and Richard Turner, inspector of the prison. " It was among the rules, that no one should go within three feet of the windows, — a rule which seems to be general in all Southern prisons of this character, and which their frequently crowded state rendered peculiarly severe, and difficult to observe. The manner in which the regulation was enforced was unjustifiably and wantonly cruel. Often by accident, or unconsciously, an officer would go near a window, and be instantly shot at without warning. The re- ports of the sentry's musket were heard almost every day ; and frequently a prisoner fell, either killed or wounded. It was even worse with a large prison near by, called the ' Pemberton Buildings,' which was crowded with enlisted PRIfiON-IIORRORS. 307 men. The firing into its windows was a still more common occmTence. The officers have heard as many as fourteen shots fired in a single day. They could see the guards watching an opportunity to fire ; and often, after one of them had discharged his musket, the sergeant of the guard would appear at the door, bringing out a dead or wounded soldier. " So careless as this were the authorities as to the effect of placing their prisoners in the power of the rude and brutal soldiery on guard. It became a matter of sport among the latter ' to shoot a Yankee.' They were seen in attitudes of expectation, with guns cocked, watching the windows for a shot. Sometimes they did not even wait for an infraction of the rule. Lieut. Hammond was shot at while in a small boarded enclosure, where there was no window, only an aperture between the boards. The guard caught sight of his hat through this opening, and aiming lower, so as to reach his heart, fired. A nail turned the bullet upward, and it passed through his ear and hat-brim. The officers reported the outrage to Major Turner, who merely replied, ' The boys are in want of practice.' The sentry said ' he had made a bet that he would kill a damned Yankee before he came off* guard.' No notice was taken of the occurrence by the authorities. The brutal fellow, en- couraged by this impunity, tried to murder another officer in the same way. Lieut. Huggins was standirig eight feet from the window, in the second story. The top of his hat was visible to the guard, who left his beat, went into the street, took deliberate aim, and fired. Providentially he 308 FIELD, GUNBOAT, HOSPITAL, AND PEISON. was seen : a warning cry was uttered. Huggins stooped, and the bullet buried itself in the beams above. "Very much the same thing is mentioned as happening to the prison-buildings at Danville. A man was standing by the window, conversing with Private Wilcox : at his feet was the plac^ where he slept at night, close under the win- dow, and where his blanket lay rolled up. He had his hand on the casement. The guard must have seen his shadow, for he was invisible from the regular beat, and went out twenty feet to get a shot at him. Before the poor fellow could be warned, the bullet entered his forehead, and he fell dead at the feet of his companion. Almost every prisoner had such an incident to tell. Some had been shot at them- selves a number of times, and had seen others repeatedly fired upon. One testifies that he had seen five hundred men shot at. "The same brutal style of 'sporting,' while on guard, seems to have prevailed wherever the license was given by this cruel and unnecessary rule. Capt. Calhoun mentions, that while he and his companions were on their way to Kichmond from North-eastern Georgia, where they were captured, they stopped at Atlanta ; and, just before they started, a sick soldier, who was near the line beyond which the prisoners were not allowed to go, put his hand over to pluck a bunch of leaves that were not a foot from the boundary. The instant he did so, the guard caught sight of him, fired, and killed him. " Another instance of equal skill in ' shooting on the wing ' will be noticed in the case of the soldier who only PRISON-HORRORS. 309 exposed his arm an instant in throwing out some water, and was wounded, fortunately not killed, by the rebel bullet. Something. of the same kind was related in the course of conversation, but is not in the evidence, as happening at the Libby, when an officer was shot while waving his hand in farewell to a departing comrade. " But there were cruelties worse than these, because less the result of impulse and recklessness, and because de- liberately done. There opens now a part of the narrative which is as amazing as it is unaccountable. The reader will turn to the heart-rending scenes of famine which the testimony before the Commission has exposed. " The daily ration in the officers' quarter of Libby Prison was a small loaf of bread, about the size of a man's fist, made of Indian-meal. Sometimes it was made from wheat-flour, but of variable quality. It weighed a little over half a pound : with it was given a piece of beef weighing two ounces. But it is not easy to describe this ration, it was so irregular in kind, quality, and amount. Its general charac- ter is vividly indicated by a remark made in conversation by one of the officers. ' I would gladly,' said he with em- phatic sincerity, — ' gladly have preferred the horse-feed in my father's stable.' " During the summer and early part of the fall, the ration seems to have been less insufficient, and less repul- sive, than it afterwards became. At no period was it enough to support life, at least in health, for a length of time ; but, however inadequate, it was not so to such a remarkable degree as to produce the evils which afterward ensued. 310 FIELD, GUNBOAT, HOSPITAL, AND PRISON. " It Avas about the middle of last autumn that this process of slow starvation became intolerable, injurious, and cruel to the extent referred to. The corn-bread began to be of the roughest and coarsest description. Portions of the cob and husk were often found ground in with the meal. The crust was so thick and hard, that the prisoners called it ' iron- clad.' To render the bread eatable, they grated it, and made mush out of it ; but the crust they could not grate. Now and then, after long intervals, often of many weeks, a little meat was given them, perhaps two or three mouthfuls. At a later period, they received a pint of black peas, with some vinegar, every week : the peas were often full of worms, or maggots, in a chrysalis state, which, when ihey made soup, floated on the surface. " Those who were entirely dependent on the prison-fare, and had no friends at the North to send them boxes of food, began to suffer the horrible agony of craving food, and feeling themselves day by day losing strength. Dreams and delusions began to distract their minds. Although many were relieved through the generosity of their more favored fellow-prisoners, yet the supply from this source was, of course, inadequate. Capt. Calhoun speaks of suffering 'a burning sensation on the inside, with a general failure in strength. I grew so foolish in my mind, that I used to blame myself for not eating more when at home. The subject of food engrossed my entire thoughts.' " Capt. Stevens, having received a box from home, sat down and ate to excess, and died a few hours afterward. PRISON-JIOERORS. 311 ' A man had a piece of ham, which I looked at for hours, and would have stolen if I had had a chance.' " One day, by pulling up a plank in the floor, they gained access to the cellar, and found there an abundance of pro- visions, — barrels of the finest wheat-flour, potatoes, and turnips. Of these they ate ravenously, until the theft was discovered. "But the most unaccountable and shameful act of all was yet to come. Shortly after this general diminution of rations, in the month of January last, the boxes, which before had been regularly delivered and in good order, were withheld. No reason was given. Three hundred arrived every week, and were received by Col. Oiild, commissioner of exchange ; but, instead of being distributed, they were retained, and piled up in warehouses near by, and in full sight of the tantalized and hungry captives. Three thousand were there when Lieut.-Col. Farnsworth came away. There was some show of delivery, however, but in a manner especially heartless. Five or six of the boxes were given during the week. The eager prisoner, expectant perhaps of a wife's or mother's thoughtful provision for him, w^as called to the door, and ordered to spread his blanket, when the open cans, whether containing preserved fruits, condensed milk, tobacco, vege- tables, or meats, were thrown promiscuously together, and often ruined by the mingling. " It is stated that for oiFences, whether trivial or serious, the prisoners were consigned to cells beneath the prison, the walls of which were damp, green, and slimy. These apart- ments were never warmed, and often so crowded, that 312 FIELD, GUNBOAT, HOSPITAL, AND PRISON. some were obliged to stand up all night. It was in these dungeons that the hostages were placed." Well might the poet*s lyre give forth most sad and plaintive notes at the knowledge of such barbarity. Our brave boys died by scores and hundreds ; but, alas ! — " Not on the battle-field Did they their brave lives yield, In gallant onslaught 'gainst a treacherous foe ; But slowly, day by day, Their warm blood oozed away In lingering agonies but God may know ! "* The horrors of Libby Prison were duplicated at Aaderson- ville. The following is the evidence of Dr. John C. Bates, a contract-surgeon employed by the rebels in the Andersonville Hospital, given on the trial of Wirz, the rebel prison- keeper : — " I was ordered to report to J. H. White, the surgeon in charge ; but, hearing he was injured by a railroad accident, I reported to R. A. Stevenson. On going into ward fifteen of the hospital, I saw a number of men, and was rather shocked. Many of them were lying partially naked, dirty, and lousy in the sand ; others were crowded together in small tents, the latter unserviceable at the best. I exam- ined all who were placed in my charge. On further inves- tigation of matters, to make myself acquainted with the mode of doing business, the disagreeable feeling at first made on me wore off more or less, as I was becoming more * Miss L. L. A. Very. PmSON-HOEEOMS. 313 familiar with the effect of misery. I inquired into the ra- tions, and talked about them. I felt disposed to do my duty, and aid all the sufferers I could. They frequently asked me for a teaspoonful of salt, or for orders for a little sifting that came out of meal, as they wanted to make some bread. If I found something better than siftings, I ordered it. I spent considerable of my time in writing orders. The meat ra- tion was cooked in a different part of the hospital. The men would gather round me, and ask for a bone. Of clothing we had none : the living were supplied with the clothing of those who died. There was a prolific crop of vermin and lice. I understand the term ' lousy ' from prison-experience. On retiring from the hospital, I examined myself. It was impossible for a surgeon to leave there without bringing some with him. As to medical attendance, I found the men desti- tute ; and of clothing, bedding, and fuel, there was only a par- tial supply. As the officer of the day, sliortly after I arrived there, I was in supreme command ; and it was my business to rectify any thing wrong. I found the men, as a general thing, destitute, partly naked, sick, and diseased. Their dis- position only was to get something to eat. They asked me for orders for potatoes, biscuit, siftings of meal, and other things. The following morning, I sat down, and made a report on the condition of things I found at the hospital. The report was sent up. Being a novice, for some of the things I said, I received a written reprimand, signed by Dr. Dillard for Dr. R. A. Stevenson. Medicines being scarce, I gathered up a large quantity of what were the best attainable, — anti- scorbutic, as well as to soothe the alimentary canal, and to 314 FIELD, GUNBOAT, HOSPITAL, AND PRISON. cure complaints of gangrene. I think the reports were not heeded. My attention was called to a patient in my ward who was only fifteen or sixteen years of age. I took much in- terest in him, owing to his youth. He would ask me to bring him a potato, bread, or biscuit, which I did. I put them in my pocket. He had the scurvy and gangrene. I advised him not to cook the potato, but to eat it raw. He became more and more emaciated, his sores gangrened ; and for want of food, and from lice, he died. I understood that it was against orders to take any thing in to the prisoners ; and hence I was shy in slipping food into my pockets. Others in the ward came to their deaths from the same causes. When I went there, there were two thousand or two thousand five hundred sick. I judge twenty or twenty-five thousand persons were crowded together. Some had made holes and bur- rows in the earth : those under the sheds were doing comparatively well. I saw but little shelter, excepting what ingenuity had devised. I found them suffering with scurvy, dropsy, diarrhoea, gangrene, pneumonia, and other diseases. When prisoners died, they were laid in wagons, head-fore- most, to be carried off. I don't know how they were buried. The effluvia from the hospital was very offensive. If by ac- cident my hand were abraded, I would not go into the hos- pital without putting a plaster over the affected part. If persons whose systems were reduced by inanition should perchance stump a toe, or scratch the hand, the next report to me was gangrene, so potent was the regular hospital gan- grene. The prisoners were more thickly confined in the stockade, like ants and bees. The dogs referred to were to PRISON-HORRORS. 315 hunt the prisoners who escaped. Fifty per cent of those who died might have been saved. I feel safe in say- ing seventy-five might have been saved, had the patients been properly cared for. Tlie effect of the treatment of the pris- oners was morally as well as physically injurious. There was much stealing among them. All lived each for himself. I suppose this was superinduced by their starving condition. Seeing the dying condition of some of them, I remarked to my student, ' I can't resuscitate them ; the weather is chill- ing : it is a matter of impossibility.' I found persons lying i dead sometimes among the living: thinking they merely slept, I went to wake them up, and found they had taken I their everlasting sleep. This was in the hospital. I judge it was about the same in the stockade. There being no dead-house, I erected a tent for that purpose : but I soon found that a blanket or quilt had been clipped off of the canvas ; and, as the material could not be readily supplied for repairs, the dead-house had to be abandoned. I don't think any more dead-houses were erected. The daily ration was less in September, October, November, and December, than it was from the 1st of January to the 20th of March. The men had not over twenty ounces of food for twenty-four hours." Of course, there were sometimes gleams of sunlight in those dreary prison-cells ; but the hours of brightness were " few, and far between," while the night of horror generally settled down upon the occupants, — a night of dense, star- less, rayless obscurity, — a darkness which, like that of Egypt, could be felt. 316 FIELD, GUNBOAT, HOSPITAL, AND PRISON. A member of an Illinois veteran battalion* was cap- tured, with three hundred and seventy others, by the rebels, and taken to Andersonville, but, after some months of im- prisonment, escaped. From his own account, published in the " Woodstock Sentinel," the following is taken : — " We were then turned over to the Alabama State troops, and marched across the country to Columbus, some thirty miles, and treated more like brutes than human beings. If a man became tired, and began to straggle, or stop for a drink of water, they would take out their revolvers, and threaten to shoot us ; and at night they camped us where we could get neither water nor wood. We arrived at Colum- bus, Oct. 10, and, the next morning, took the cars for Ander- sonville. While at Columbus, we found a paper, in which notice was given that there would be eight thousand Union soldiers in that day ; and, when we (three hundred and seventy men) marched into town, they asked where the eight thousand were. We told them that they had gone the other way ; and that Sherman had taken them, instead of Hood. " There we bought a pail of water, for which we paid fifty cents : and while some eight or ten were standing about it, drinking, the officers rode up, and ordered us away; but, as we did not move quite quick enough to suit them, oue fired his pistol among us. Fortunately no one was hurt. Oct. 11, we arrived at Andersonville. After taking our names, searching us closely, and taking our knapsacks from * Frank E. Haiiaford, of Woodstock. PRISON-HORRORS. 317 us (fortunately we had but little money for them, as we had not been paid for a long time), we were counted into squads of a hundred, and turned into the bull-pen, where we re- mained just one month ; and good Lord deliver me from ever getting in such a place again ! I have heard and read of the horrors of a prison-life ; but I never could be- lieve from another one-half of what I have seen. I saw many there who seemed lost to all reason ; and I have seen men lay there in the sand, and die, and others begging to be shot to end their misery, with no one to help them in the least. Oh ! I saw far more suffering there than I ever saw on the battle-field. From the last of March, 1864, to Sep- tember, there were fifteen thousand men died at Ander- sonville, as I had it from those who were there, and kept account of the dead that were carried out each day. " There was a gang there called the Raiders, who, when they saw a prisoner come in with any thing they wanted, would kill and rob him. Finally the rebel officers refused to serve any more rations until there was a stop put to it. Then the prisoners took a lot of them, organized a court- martial, tried them, and sentenced five to be hung. A gal- lows was erected in the centre of the prison, and they were launched into eternity. This put a stop to it in a measure." The narrative of Lieut. Ilanaford's escape is of such in- terest, that the closing portion of it is here given. He, with four others, started from a place in Georgia, about twelve miles from Thomasville, where the cars which contained prisoners were detained in the woods, because the locomo- tive gave out. He says, — 318 FIELD, GUNBOAT, HOSPITAL, AND PRISON. "We threw our blankets over our shoulders, and walked boldly out through the guard-lines, though trembling with fear. We ate our supper just before we started, and took with us one quart of meal, one quart of beans, an old tin pail, and a gourd, for five of us. This was on the night of the 11th of December. We found no place where we dare make a fire to cook any thing, until the third night after we started ; consequently we fasted until then. We happened to have one prairie-match with us, with which we struck a fire. There is seldom a match to be found there. On the fourth night, we Avere compelled to go in search of fire and food. As good luck would have it, we came to a house where they had had a fire outside during the day ; and there we found an iron kettle without a bail. We hunted around, and found a rope, and put through the ears ; then scraped up some coals from their fire, and put them in the kettle, which two of us took on a pole ; and in that we did our cooking by day, and carried our fire by night, never losing it but twice on our journey. Then the way we got it once, we went to a man's house in the night, and told them we had a team broke down, and wanted to get a light to see to mend it up : so the good woman gave us a torch-light ; and then, when we had searched the potato-hole and chicken-roost, we were all right. Twice we were hunted by blood-hounds ; but a kind Providence delivered us from them. While in prison, we procured a map from which we drew a sketch of the southern part of Georgia ; and this, with the stars, was our only guide. We used all the caution possible ; never spoke to a person on our way, except when we called for the light ; PRISON-HORRORS. 319 never allowed ourselves to speak above a whisper, or step on the ties, when Avalking on the railroad. " After travelling about two hundred miles by land, we came to St. Mary's River, where we found two small boats, which we confiscated ; broke open a blacksmith-shop near by, and found the oars, and some other things of use, which we confiscated also : but on the river, as well as the land, we were obliged to travel by night, and hide in the woods and swamps by day, and rob potato-holes, hen-roosts, bee- hives, &c., for our subsistence, and drag our boats into the woods and swamps with us every morning. After we took to the river, we were rather short of provisions ; and what we got we had to go back some four or six miles in the country for (in the night at that), as most of the plantations on the river were deserted as far up as our gunboats went. " While on the river, we suffered a great deal from cold, as we were poorly clothed ; and some nights we Avere obliged to lay by on that account. On the night of Jan. 31, we went ashore, on account of cold, in what proved to be the town of St. Mary, twelve miles from Fort Clinch ; found an unoccupied house, procured fuel, went in, closed the doors, and made a fire in the fireplace. After getting well warmed, went out to get something to eat ; but there was nothing to be found. The whole town was unoccupied ; we were the only inhabitants : so we went back to our fires, and staid there until morning, and concluded we would lay by that day, and go back far enough to get something to eat, as we had been living on half-rations some two or three days. We 320 FIELD, GUNBOAT, HOSPITAL, AND PRISON. started out, and had not gone far, when I chanced to find a spy-glass. Oh, what a treasure it proved to us ! It was truly a God-send to me. We knew we had travelled a long distance, and were footsore and weary, our shoes nearly worn out, but supposed we had still many miles to travel. I raised the glass to my eye, looked southward, and saw a flag waving. The glass was not very clear, and I could not tell whether it was our flag at first, or not. I looked again : truly it was our flag. Words cannot describe the joy I felt when I beheld once more that glorious old banner floating in the breeze from Fort Clinch. We then took our boats, and started ; and I doubt if ever men worked with a better will than we, or if ever a boat cut through the water faster than ours by a single pair of oars. In less than two hours, we were within our lines, at Fernandina, Fla., having travelled about two hundred and eighty miles in twenty-three days." A Detroit paper thus speaks of one who was starved to death by the rebels : — "There died in this city on Tuesday, of starvation, a man named Edgar B. Trumbull. We relate his story as told just before his death. He belonged to the first cavalry, was taken prisoner at the same time as the lamented Brodhead, and was sent, along with five thousand others, to Belle Isle, N.C., where they were confined in a space about as large as two ordinary city-lots. All the food allowed them was five ounces each of musty bread per day, to be washed down with an equal proportion of miserable water. Under this kind of treatment, his one hundred and eighty pounds of PRISON-HORRORS. 321 flesh wasted away to seventy-five pounds of skin and bones, when he was exchanged. By taking large potions of whiskey and quinine, he succeeded in keeping body and soul to- gether until he reached this city, where he died in a few hours," Since the close of the war, successful efforts have been made to bury properly the victims of the rebels in Ander- sonville. The following, from the '' Springfield Republi- can," concerning prison-horrors, is appropriate in this chap- ter. We cannot wonder that our brave men died there. " The sad duty of recovering and interring the remains of .the poor fellows who died or were killed at the Ander- sonville prison-pen by rebel starvation and barbarity has been completed. Capt. James M. Moore, to whom the work was intrusted, has returned to Washington, and re- ports that he has buried, and designated the graves by head- boards, — on which were painted the name, company, and regiment of the deceased, — about thirteen thousand Union soldiers. The dead were usually buried in trenches, each trench containing about one hundred. The cemetery, which comprises in all about fifty acres, is situated about three hundred yards from the prison stockade. A neat white fence has been erected around it, and an abundance of trees have been planted to shade the graves of those who would have been more than thankful for a bit of shade when con- fined in the prison -pen. By means of a stake at the head of each grave, as made by the rebels, which bore a number corresponding with a similar numbered name upon the Andersonville hospital -recbrds, the bodies of all but 21 322 FIELD, GUNBOAT, HOSPITAL, AND PRISON. about five hundred of our prisoners were recognized, and proper headstones placed above their remains in the new cemetery. " Capt. Moore found the prison-pen in a perfect state of preservation, just as it was left by the rebels ; and even the dead-line could be plainly seen. Near the enclosure also were the dog-kennels, where the blood-hounds were kept that were used to hunt up those prisoners who had made their escape. The inhabitants in the vicinity call the place the most unhealthy in all Georgia ; and indeed there is but one house in Andersonville proper. One of Capt. Moore's party died of the fever before they could complete their work and get away. Andersonville at present is guarded by a small force of Federal soldiers ; and a superintendent is left in care of the buildings and grounds, who will see that every thing that pertains to the place is carefully preserved. Miss Clara Barton returns with Capt. Moore ; and the whole party deserve great credit for the way in which they have performed their delicate and arduous duties." Miss Barton, the annalist of our Union martyrs, said at that time, — " Two hundred and seventy-six bodies were recovered yes- terday from the ground known as outside of the ' dead-line,' or, as it was generally known to the public, outside of a prohibited line, beyond which they had accidentally strayed for the purpose of procuring a little fresh water, or the roots of shrubs or trees, to allay the pangs of thirst and hunger, and for so doing were barbarously murdered." Much more might be adduced to show that the treatment PRISON-HORRORS. 323 of prisoners aud of Union men by the rebels was such as to call down upon the authors and perpetrators of such cruel wrongs the obloquy of the world, and that vengeance of Heaven which aways follows the violated laws of justice and humanity. The Sanitary Commission's report concerning the suffer- ings and privations of United-States officers and soldiers, and a volume entitled "Atrocities of the Rebellion," by a Southern Unionist, who barely escaped with his life, con- tain proof enough to blacken the pages of Southern history, so that no partial historian. can ever bleach or whitewash it. To use the language of the author of the latter volume, in his preface, " It may be said that the atrocities recorded in this book are isolated and extreme cases, and do not present a fair view of tlie matter. Would that this Avere true ! But so far is this from being true, that the picture is altogether too faint. The atrocities related are only specimens ; mere selections from an immense mass of hideous deeds of bar- barism. Were the whole to be recorded, the mind Vv^ould tire of and recoil from the recital ; were the whole to be recorded, volumes would be required. Barbarism has characterized the Rebellion from the beginning to the present hour in every state and county and town and village and hamlet. It originated in barbarism ; has been prosecuted with barbarism ; and may its overthrow be the overthrow of barbarism, and give place to a higher civilization and a purer Christianity ! " The loyal heart beats sadly over the record of these in- famous deeds, and remembers with pain the horrors of 324 FIELD, GUNBOAT, HOSPITAL, AND PRISON. guerilla warfare, the atrocious attack on sleeping and de- fenceless men in Kansas, and all the many acts of diabolical barbarity ; and mourns, as well it may, " Man's inhumanity to man." Alas ! the chariot-wheels of moral progress seem to have been greatly retarded in this age of unparalleled intellectual advancement ; the inhabitants of a nominally Christian land thus " crucifying the Son of God afresh," and putting him to an open shame. Can the broken-hearted ones, who sigh for the absent whom angels released from the prison-hor- rors of the South, lift toward heaven, with tearful eyes, but forgiving hearts, a petition in the spirit of Him who prayed on cross-crowned Calvary, " Father, forgive them : they know not what they do"? It may be so, but only when they hear rumbling along the heavens, and then burst- ing in thunder-tones upon their ears, the assurance, " Ven- geance is mine, I will repay, saith the Lord ; " or when, in the stillness of that hour of spirit-communion with God, when the soul has truly " fellowship with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ," they hear the whisper of Im- manuel, " Forgive, and ye shall be forgiven." As we peruse these records of battle and prison horrors, how blessed the thought that the promised day sliall come, when "the sword shall be beaten into the plough-share, and the spear into the pruning-hook, and the nations shall learn war no more " ! " Fly swiftly round, ye wheels of time, And bring the welcome day ! '* CHRISTIAN LIFE IN THE ARMY AND NAVY. 325 CHAPTER VIII. CHRISTIAN LIFE IN THE ARMY AND NAVY. ** Am I a soldier of the cross, A follower of the Lamb ? And shall I fear to own his cause, Or blush to speak his name ? " ^"jy HE profession of arms is not necessarily one antago- (CJ ) ^^^^^^ ^^ *^^ possession of a Christ-like spirit, or the practice of Christian virtues. England had her " Havelock and his saints " to prove this ; and America has had her scores and hundreds who have been valiant soldiers in the Union army and navy, and, at the same time, faith- ful servants of Christ Jesus. Above the radiant banner of their beloved land, they have seen the sacred splendors of the cross of Christ. No temptation of the camp, no privation or suffering in the hospital, no scene of reckless carnage on the battle-field or loathsome horror in the prison-cell, has been sufficient to cause their trust in God to waver, or the light of their faith in Christ and immortality to flicker in the gloom of doubt, or die out in the darkness of despair. The promise, " My grace is sufficient," has been graciously fulfilled to the soldiers of Christ and Liberty ; and the weary, feeble, wounded, suffering, dying soldier has been 326 FIELD, GUNBOAT, HOSPITAL, AND PRISON. able to say, " I can do all tilings through Christ which strengtheneth me." In the present chapter, it is designed to present some examples of faith and Christian effort as evinced by men in the Union army and navy. The first is from the interesting pages of Prof. Hackett's memorial volume : — " Among the men at the New-England Rooms, in New York (says a visitor to that place), is one from Michigan. He was shot in the head at Malvern Hill, and the optic nerve was carried away ; so that he has become stone-blind. He is now well, in his general health ; but will never see again. He is one of the happiest men in the land. He is a person of cheerful, but open and decided piety. ' Happy as the^day is long ' has its literal and expressive meaning as applied to him. It is delightful to listen to him as he speaks of what he did for the old flag while he could see, and still more to observe how he strives to be useful still, since his injury, in such wRys as he can. He feels his way from couch to couch ; drops, as he moves along, fitting words of sympathy and counsel ; cheers up the despondent ; and makes the heart glad. Those connected with the rooms assure me (says this visitor) that the tone of his happy speech and pious resignation impress all who have an opportunity to see and hear him." The lamented Admiral Foote was a man of the Have- lock stamp. Prof. Hackett says of him, "Hardly any one has appeared on the stage of action during the war more distinguished for the highest qualities of the patriot, hero, and Christian, than Admiral Foote." CHRISTIAN LIFE IN THE ARMY AND NAVY. 327 Another anecdote in point, from the " Memorials," is entitled " Last Interview of the Heroes," and is as fol- lows : — "While at Gettysburg (says a visitor to that place), I learned the following incident .from the lips of Prof. Stoever : ' At the close of the bloody battles of the 2d and 3d of July, while thousands of the soldiers were lying wounded side by side, and before even the officers could seek out and speak to their bleeding and dying friends, the command came to pursue the flying Confederates. Major-Gen. Howard, at the head of the eleventh army corps (who has been called the Havelock of the American army), hastened to the bedside of Capt. GrifFeth of his staff, between whom and the general a strong personal attachment existed, to take his last fare- well. He closed the door ; and, after a brief interchange of sympathies, the general took his New Testament, and read to him the fourteenth chapter of John. The consolatory words have been often heard at the bed of the dying, giving strength to the soul for the last conflict. " Let not your heart be troubled : ye believe in God ; believe also in me. In my Father's house are many mansions : if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you : and, if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also." " ' The general then knelt in prayer, and commended his wounded friend to the compassionate God and Father of all those who trust in him, and, rising from his knees, clasped him in one long, fond, weeping embrace. Thus parted the 328 FIELD, GUNBOAT, HOSPITAL, AND PRISON. heroes. One went to pursue the rebels against his Govern- ment : the other died in a few days in perfect peace, cor- dially acquiescing in God's will, and firmly relying on the merits of his Saviour.' " The following anecdote is from the same volume, all whose pages demonstrate the value of the lives and ser- vices of those who have been soldiers of Liberty in our land : — " When Col. Herman Canfield was wounded at the battle of Pittsburg Landing, knowing that his wound would be fatal, he expressed a wish to his young brother-in-law that he might be taken to his home and family. But, as the bat- tle raged, the enemy pressed upon them ; so that they were in momentary fear of being made prisoners. The surgeon, chaplain, and others who Avere looking after the wounded, were taken and borne away. Strange as it may appear, the two relatives were left unmolested. Alone, and in such a condition, the moment was one of anxiety and of trial to them both. His brother-in-law was not able, without aid, to convey him to a place of safety ; and he expressed a fear that he should not be able to comply with his request. To this apprehension the colonel calmly replied, ' Never mind, Charley : Jesus will take me home.' " Oh ! what child-like trust, what Christian faith, is there expressed ! Plaving lived near to God, and long trusted in his sure promises, he had no doubts now. He knew that the Lord of hosts was present on the battle-field as well as in the peaceful home. As he lay there, with his life-blood ebbing from a ghastly wound in his lungs, he testified of CnmSTIAN LIFE IN THE ARMY AND NAVY. 329 the goodness of God, and showed with what fearlessness a Christian may yield his soul to Him who gave it. " At last assistance arrived, and the wounded man was borne on a stretcher through low, marshy defiles, and over rough, pathless woodland, toward the Tennessee. At night, they encamped upon its bank. It was the last night he passed upon earth : a dark and fearful one it was to his companions. A storm raged about them : the very elements seemed pouring forth their sad requiems for the dying and the dead. During the vivid flashes of lightning, they had glimpses of the agonized features of their loved commander. And many were their anxious inquiries ; but he assured them, that, though his physical sufferings were great, his soul was at peace with God, and he knew he soon would be at rest. Doubtless he caught glimpses of that brighter world, where darkness and death cannot enter, because God is the light and life thereof. What that brave soldier and Chris- tian suffered during that night of agony, none but God can know. He did not murmur at his fate, and thought not his life too great a sacrifice for the cause in which he fell. " The following day he was removed to a hospital-ship, where his wounds were carefully dressed ; but he gradually grew weaker, until evening, when, leaving tender messages for his loved wife and children, he calmly committed his soul to God, and Jesus took him home." The following digest of letters contributed by H. C. Gannett to the '' United-Service Magazine " for October, 1863, shows the state of religious feeling and effort in the navy : ■ — 330 FIELD, GUNBOAT, HOSPITAL, AND PRISON. United-States Steamer " South-Carolina." We hold service on board Sundays ; and I am happy to state that many of our ship's company appear inclined to serve God. I have also set apart for the service of God a portion of Tuesday and Friday evenings, and hope we shall be rewarded with the grace and love of God. Remember this ship's company in your prayers. Trusting in the Al- mighty Father, who alone rules the universe, and spreads out the seas, I remain yours, J. W. Magune. United-States Steamer " Sonoma." Some of our men seem neither to fear God nor man ; and do not like us much, because we read the Testament and Psalms on deck. Our profession, and rebuke of swear- ing, cause talk about the ship ; but I care not. I feel more determined than ever to serve my God and King. There are several religious men on the vessel besides myself. William T. Walcott. United-States Steamer " Genesee." In trying to follow in the footsteps of our blessed Re- deemer, we get along with the crew nicely. The books and tracts which you gave us have been distributed freely among the crew, all of whom seem to read with interest the printed truths they contain. Our prayer to God is that those Avho read may be benefited thereby. We go on deck with our Bibles ; and, to all who would like to listen to the reading of it, we give an earnest iuvitation to join us. Some are pleased to listen, while others laugh and scoff. We are not CHRISTIAN LIFE IN THE ARMY AND NAVY. 331 cast down, neither are we discouraged : for the Lord he is our God ; in him do we trust. G. W. Marston. Simple and unpretending as these records are, they show an amount of religious feeling which it is pleasant to know existed among our brave sailor-boys. Nor, as we have seen, were their officers deficient in genuine piety. Another anecdote of one akeady mentioned may illustrate this : — ^ " It has been mentioned, as characteristic of Commodore Foote, that he prayed as if every thing depended on God, and fought as if every thing depended on man. On a cer- tain occasion, says the correspondent of a St. Louis paper, the commodore was present at a meeting on the Sabbath, shortly after one of his signal victories, when the minister of the church failed to appear, and the audience was kept waiting for the opening of the service. It seemed as if the opportunity for instruction and worship would be lost. The elder of the church was unwilling to officiate. Under these circumstances, Commodore Foote, on the impulse of the moment, went up to the pulpit, read a chapter in the Bible, prayed, and delivered a short discourse from the text, ' Let not your heart be troubled : ye believe in God ; believe also in me.' It was unexpected to the people ; nor was their wonder less when they saw his self-possession, his readiness, and the pertinence of his remarks. He seemed to be as much at home in the pulpit as he was on the deck of the ' Cincinnati ' during the bombardment of Fort Henry. The 332 FIELD, GUNBOAT, HOSPITAL, AND PBISON. audience were miicli affected at hearing the voice from which so lately rang out the word of command 'In worst extreme, and on the perilous edge Of battle when it raged/ lifted up in humble acknowledgment to Heaven for the recent victory, and in earnest supplication for protection and suc- cess in days to come. Some of his own soldiers were among the hearers. They were expecting to be called to go into battle again at any moment. Tiiey could have heard noth- ing from any one better fitted to tranquillize their minds, and nerve them for the conflict. " On coming down from the pulpit, the minister, who had arrived just after the prayer, approached, and tendered his thanks ; but the commodore rebuked him for his tardiness, and also for his neglect to take the pulpit immediately on his arrival." Prof. Hackett also says, "Commodore Foote, the pray- ing commodore, as he has been truthfully called, acted often as his own chaplain. The following sketch of the services on his flatboat, on a certain Sunday, was given in a letter from the Mississippi fleet. It affords another proof of the anxiety of this noble man for the spiritual welfare of those who served under him, and of his conviction that he would have better soldiers in them, if he could lead them to honor God, and trust in him. " ' The sailors, clad in their clean, plain blue uniforms, congregated on the forward port-side. We look around us, and a scene presents itself very different from the ordinary employment of warlike men. Here, in line on the star- CHRISTIAN LIFE IN THE ARMY AND NAVY. 333 board, we see the marines drawn up in line, as at ease, with their muskets and fixed bayonets resting on their left shoul- der. In the foreground is the capstan, covered with the " Union Jack," its blue field and white stars adorning the patriotic pulpit. Around it stand Flag-ofiicer Foote, Lieut. Phelps, Col. Buford, and other officers. As the flag-officer approaches, he is saluted by all hands, who stand with un- covered heads. The gay, glittering, showy uniforms of the officers are in striking contrast with the plain garb of the seamen and marines. The flag-officer, in a few brief and eloquent remarks, reminds us that this is the Sabbath, — the day set apart for rest, and the worship of the Most High. It is the first religious service, we are told, held on this flag- ship, because, on the last Sabbath, we could not perform it, owing to an engagement with the enemy, which could not be avoided. " 'In the course of his address, he urged us to bear in mind our duty, to be prepared to meet our Maker ; and hoped that all, officers and men, would refrain from intemperance, profanity, every immoral practice, and be ready to give their account to God, let the summons come when and as it might. He also offered up a prayer from the Episcopal service. The services were impressive and interesting. While Flag-officer Foote was praying, "Our Father who art in heaven," the report, and zip, zip, zip, of shot or shell from the enemy's guns, could be distinctly heard by all present. The flag- officer was calm and unmoved, however : he went forward eloquently and feelingly with the service, until all was con- cluded in due form.' " 334 FIELD, GUNBOAT, HOSPITAL, AND PRISON. In answer to the question, " Can the soldier be a Chris- tian?" read the following from the " Soldier\s Friend : " — " At a prayer-meeting of soldiers in the tent of the Christian Commission, in September last, a wounded soldier arose, and, commencing with the above proposition, said, ' I find that a great many of my comrades do not believe that a soldier can be a Christian ; but I hnoio that they are mistaken, for I have tried it, and have found that it has power to give peace to the soul, and lift it above the fear of death. I do not believe that God saves his children from the deadly bullet by any miracle ; and' yet I have stood calm and peace- ful while bullets rattled thick as snow-flakes about my head. And in that hour of danger, when death was reaping a rich harvest, I have looked up, and my heart has said, " Father, not my will, but thine, be done. I stand here in defence of my country and the dear flag. I desire to do my duty to it and to thee ; and, in the consciousness of thy friendship and thy presence, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil." Yes, comrades, a man can be a Christian and a soldier ; and the Christian soldier is the happiest and serenest in every time of trouble and every hour of danger.' " One peculiar feature in connection with the war of the Rebellion deserves special notice ; viz., the revival spirit which was manifested among the soldiers from time to time. Faithful men of God were among the chaplains, who did not fail to speak to men of duty and destiny ; of God's great goodness, and man's obligations. Private soldiers as well as officers were among the praying souls of many churches ; CHRISTIAN LIFE IN THE ARMY AND NA VY. 335 and, when they went to camp, they carried their religion with them. Some of them labored in season and out of season for the moral and religious benefit of those around them. And the ever-waiting spirit came in ans'wer to prayer, — prayer from the camp and hospital, and prayer from pious friends at home too ; and many a heart which had long resisted the influences of divine grace amid old scenes and familiar haunts, there, away from home and the dear ones of the family circle, — the heart that longed for the commu- nion of loved friends on earth so far away, — learned to confide in and hold sweet commimion with its Father in heaven. 336 FIELD, GUNBOAT, HOSPITAL, AND PRISON. CHAPTER IX. LAST HOURS OF SOME OF FREEDOM'S CHAMPIONS. " Rest, soldier, rest^ thy task is done ; The battle calls no more for thee : Thou hast a nobler victory won Than Spartan at Thermopylae I Rest thou in peace : the flag still wares,— The dear flag of thy love and pride : Its stars watch o'er our myriad graves, And guard our heroes who have died." Dr. Arthur E. Jenks, HE closing hours of a human life are always full of interest. Though they can scarcely be regarded as a criterion of character, and hopes concerning the fitness of the soul for companionship with angels, based only upon the final acts or words of the parting spirit, may be to the last degree fallacious, yet, as every act and word of each immortal is the result of influence, and exerts in- fluence, being a part of the divine chain which links all worlds and all time in one grand whole, all have a measure of interest for the thoughtful mind ; while those which pre- cede or follow momentous changes must have a peculiar charm. It may be pleasing, and perhaps also instructive, to pause over the death-hours of some of Freedom's noble champions, and learn how Christian heroes sometimes die, LAST HOURS OF FREEDOM'S CHAMPIONS. 337 cheered by an ever-brightening hope, and sustained by a trust that never faltered. To speak of all who passed on to eternal life thus cheered and supported would be a task of too great magnitude for these pages. The flowers must be gathered here and there for the bouquet thus to be placed on martyr-graves. And first may be remembered the earliest victims of the Hebellion, — "our Massachusetts dead in Baltimore." "It is said that one of them, Ladd, struck by the fatal ball, struggled, stood erect, with his face towards the blue sky above him, his dying eye having caught for the last time a glimpse of the flag, and, extending his hands in joyful greeting, cried out with unfaltering voice, ' All hail to the stars and stripes ! ' and expired. In his agony of glory, he spoke for a continent. " From that moment, the pavement on which he fell, the city where he so gloriously died, the States with their homes and hearts, were consecrated to Liberty and Union. And now the acclaim sounds forth from millions of hearts, from coast to inland, from mountain-top to peaceful vales and outstretching prairies. Age and infancy, manhood and wo- manhood, the hopeful nations, the good and brave, chant that anthem, and catch up the inspiring strain, ' All hail to the stars and stripes M " * Among the earliest martyrs was Col. Ellsworth, who commanded a regiment of Zouaves. The following, from the " Bugle Blast," is an account of his last moments. The regiment of Zouaves formed a part of the thirteen thousand * H. P. Shed, Esq. 22 338 FIELD, GUNBOAT, HOSPITAL, AND PRISON. troops sent across the Potomac to Alexandria on the 24th of May, 1861. They reached Alexandria ; and " after detail- ing Company E, Capt. Leveridge, to destroy the railroad track leading to Richmond, Col. Ellsworth directed the adjutant to form the regiment, and then with his aide, Lieut. Winser, and a file of men, proceeded, in double-quick time, up the street for the telegraph-office, to cut the wires. " Having proceeded about three blocks. Col. Ellsworth's attention was attracted by a large secession flag flying from the roof of the Marshall House, kept by J. W. Jackson. He entered the hotel, and inquired of a man there, ' Who put that flag up ? ' The man answered, ' I don't know ; I'm a boarder here.' '' Col. Ellsworth, Lieut. Winser, the chaplain of the regi- ment, a volunteer aide, and the four privates, w^ent up to the roof; and Col. Ellsworth cut down the obnoxious flag. As the party were returning down the stairs, Francis E. Brownell, a private of Company A, being foremost, they met the man in the hall who had said he was a boarder, but who proved to be the landlord, Jackson, having a double-barrel gun, which he levelled at Brownell. Brownell struck up the gun with his musket ; and Jackson, at the same instant pulling both triggers of the gun, lodged the contents of both barrels in the body of Col. Ellsworth, who was descending next to Brownell. " Col. Ellsworth, who was at that time rolling up the flag, received the fatal charge between the second and third ribs, and immediately fell forward upon the hall floor, and exclaiming, ' My God ! ' instantly expired. LAST HOURS OF FREEDOM'S CHAMPIONS. 339 " Brownell instantly levelled his musket at Jackson's head, and fired. The ball struck on the bridge of the nose, and, crashing through the skull, killed him on the spot. As he fell forward, Brownell followed the shot by a bayonet-thrust through the body, pinning him to the floor." Thus was Ellsworth's death speedily avenged. Thus fell an officer^ in the peaceful discharge of his duty, by the hand of a ruthless murderer. How die the privates ? Let the following thrilling incident, which occurred at City-Point Hospital, answer : — " A chaplain of the Christian Commission, while moving through the long line of sufferers, administering the conso- lation of the gospel, approached the bedside of a gallant fellow who was severely wounded. His earthly march was nearly ended : but, when the chaplain asked him if he was prepared to die, he motioned for pencil and paper, and with a tremulous hand wrote, ' I am prepared to go to heaven ; my trust in Jesus Christ is perfect ; ' and, immediately un- der, these words of assured victory over the grave, ' Come, rally round the flag, boys ! ' The chaplain took the paper, and, standing up, read it with a loud voice. Just as he concluded, a soldier, who had recently lost a hand, sprang from his bed, and, weaving the mutilated stump in the air, burst forth with the glorious song his dying comrade had suggested. The effect was electric. A thousand voices took up the chorus, and the place of suffering was made to fairly rock with thunder of melody. As that vast soldier- choir ceased singing, the chaplain turned to look upon the dy- ing brave. He w^as just in time to catch the last faint smile 340 FIELD, GUNBOAT, HOSPITAL, AND PRISON. that flickered across tlie sunburnt face, as the soul was wafted on the strains of that Union-music to the throne of Liberty." The following incidents were published in a Christian- Commission pamphlet : — " On the damp ground at Falmouth lay a poor sufferer, whose body gave him no rest. Said he to the Rev. A. S. Twombly, ' Please talk to me about those things (meaning God and heaven) some more.' — ' I continued,' says Mr. Twombly, ' the conversation I had begun ; when, turning about, I found him indeed tranquilly asleep.' " " A dying boy from Venango County, Penu., said to a del- egate, as he took his hand and placed it on his breast, ' Stay with me, oh ! stay witli me, and talk of Jesus until I die.' He fell asleep in that same Jesus at sundown." " A young man from Vermont, suffering excruciating pain from the loss of his leg, said to tlie same delegate, '• My sufferings are beyond language to describe ; but the sweetness of the precious Jesus you have brought me ex- ceeds them.' With these words he closed his eyes on his earthly trials, to look upon the face of his Saviour." Among our fallen heroes was Col. Baker, who fell at Ball's Bluff. He was a senator from California, and laid aside the toga for a sword, under the sense of duty. Thus speaks the " Cincinnati Commercial " concerning him and his last hours : — " The writer met Col. Baker, in June last, on a steamer going from Baltimore to Fortress Monroe. He said he did not expect to survive the war; that, in his judgment, he LAST HOURS OF FREEDOM'S CHAMPIONS. 341 never should see the shores of the Pacific again. This was hardly so much a presentiment on his part as a calculation. He said the troops were green, and it would be necessary for the officers to expose themselves. He had seen ser- vice, and would feel it a duty to lead his regiment. The enemy had plenty of sharpshooters, and he presumed they would pick him off. He said he believed it would be his fate to die at the head of his regiment ; and so he died. " It may illustrate the temper and character of the man to mention, that after saying with as perfect calmness as he could have named the most trivial circumstance, that he be- lieved it would be his fate to fall in battle, and that he should never see his home on the Pacific again, he retired from the guards, where he had been engaged in conversa- tion, to the cabin, and, seating himself at the piano, played, with grace and skill remarkable for a gentleman amateur on that instrument, several touching airs, among them the fa- vorite of the English soldiers before Sevastopol, — sweet and mournful ' Annie Laurie.' " Thus " Carleton " narrates the manner of his death : — " The force behind the hill suddenly came over it, yelling and whooping like savages. Col. Baker was in front of his men, urging them to resist the impending shock. He was calm and collected, standing with his face to the foe, his left hand in his bosom. A man sprang from the rebel ranks, ran up behind him, and, with a self-cocking revolver, fired six bullets into him. Two soldiers in front of him fired at the same time. One bullet tore open his side ; '342 FIELD, GUNBOAT, HOSPITAL, AND PRISON. another passed throngh his skull. Without a murmur, a groan, or a sigh, he fell dead. " But, as he fell, Capt. Beirel, of the Califoruia regiment, leaped from the ranks, and blew out the fellow's brains with his pistol. " There was a fierce and terrible fight. The Californi- ans rushed forward to save the body of their beloved com- mander. They fell upon the enemy with the fury of mad- men. They tliought not of life or death. They had no fear. Each man was a host in himself. There was a close hand-to-hand contest, bayonet-thrusts, desperate struggles, trials of strength. Men fell, but rose again, bleeding, yet still fighting, driving home the bayonet, pushing back the foe, clearing a space around the body of the fallen hero, and bearing it from the field." * As one thinks of the noble souls that " counted not their lives dear unto them," and passed away gloriously to their re- ward, he wishes for the privilege of covering acres of paper with the record. Only a meagre report can, however, here be given. Many stars in our brilliant constellation of heroes must be barely named ; and many more, stars, too, " of the first magnitude," cannot be named at all. Tliere was Gen. Lyon, who fell at the head of the First Iowa Eegiment, which had lost its colonel, while making a gallant charge upon the enemy. The soldier-astronomer, Gen. Mitchell, — a devotee of science, whose writings are both popular and useful, — * Following the Flag. LAST HOURS OF FREEDOM'S CHAMPIONS. 343 " His mighty life was burned away By Carolina's fiery sun : The pestilence that walks by day Smote liim before his course seemed run. The constellations of the sky — The Pleiades, the Southern Cross — Looked sadly down to sec him die, To see a nation weep his loss." Tlie martyr-cliaplam, Arthur Buckminster Fuller (a brother of one of America's representative women, Marga- ret Fuller, Countess d'Ossoli), who fell at Fredericksburg, Dec. 11, 18G2. The loyal heart will never forget his noble patriotic words as he rushed forward to cross the river under fire of the enemy : " I must do something for my country. " The " Knightly Soldier," how brave and noble ! His last words, except words of cheering to his men, were, " I do trust Jesus fully, wliolly ; " and so the name of Major Henry W. Camp is embalmed forever. Young Sneider, son of a veteran missionary, who was shot near Petersburg. His farewell words will sound through the ages : " Tell my brother to stand by the flag, and cling to the cross of Christ.'^ Young Trask, the late editor of the " Kansas State Jour- nal," who fell in the rebel raid at Lawrence. His answer will not soon be forgotten. When asked, '' What will you do if the guerillas invade your State? " his reply was brave and characteristic, " I'll die for Kansas !" 344 FIELD, GUNBOAT, HOSPITAL, AND PBISON. " O fateful prophecy ! fresh young lips, That uttered it half smiling ! did no drear Forecast of evil, like a dark eclipse, Blanch their bright bloom the while, as with a mortal fear ? * ril die for Kansas ! ' Ay ; and he has died, — Died in the freshness of his young renown : Oh ! reverently, my country, yet with pride, Give him his well-earned due, — a martyr's name and crown." * The following newspaper record is of unusual interest, because it describes the patriotism of John Goldsmith Hanson, a great grand-nephew of Oliver Goldsmith, the celebrated poet : — " When his grandmother and aunt urged on him the dan- gers of a soldier's life, he repeatedly said, ' God can defend me on the battle-field as well as in any other place. I can be a Christian soldier.' His spirit was a cheerful, un- complaining one. He bore the hardships of a soldier's life without a murmur, jesting over his discomforts. He sur- vived a dreadful attack of typhoid-fever, which confined him four months to the hospital. In the midst of camp-life, he wrote, ' I read my Bible every day.' His first battle-field was at Culpepper, Aug. 9 ; and his last letters describe the part his regiment took in the engagement. The concluding words of the letter are, ' The Union forever I ' He was not heard from again till his name appeared among the list of the killed. A letter from a friend describes his death as in- * Mrs. Caroline A. Mason. LAST HOURS OF FREEDOMS CHAMPIONS. 345 stantaneoiis. . He was shot through the head ; and the same volley killed his friend, J. R. Mitchell." One brave fellow, named Broad, from Concord, Mass., a member of the Massacluisetts Fifty-seventh, must be men- tioned, though more briefly than his heroism deserves. See- ing an officer lying in front, who had nearly lost his leg by a solid shot, and being assured, that, if he was brought in and cared for, his life might be saved, this hero said, " I have neither wife nor child to suffi^r if I am killed ; and, if I can save that man's life, I will do it." He went therefore, and brought him in safely, but was himself wounded, so that he died shortly after.* Brave Ulric Dahlgren, whose beautiful portrait adorns this volume, should receive in these pages more than a pass- ing notice ; and from the columns of the " American Volunteer" the following article is taken, to vindicate the character of one unjustly aspersed, and to assist in preserv- ing unimpaired the memory of one of the most gallant and honored of the young heroes of the late Rebellion. The article is from the pen of Major Sidney Herbert, aide-de- camp, who was associated with Col. Dahlgren in the army. " I hare yet to learn that the written programme of Col. Dahlgren, which designed the burning of Richmond, the ravaging of its women, and the murder of President Davis and all his cabinet, has ever been disavowed or denounced by the Washington ( 1 ) Government, or by the newspapers that support it." — Geokge Augusta Sala. " The above paragraph forms a poi^tion of this gentle- * A letter in the " Boston Journal," from Capt. H. H. Buttrick, nan-ated the above heroic deed. 346 FIELD, GUNBOAT, HOSPITAL, AND PRISON. man's introduction to a scurrilous publication entitled ' Belle Boyd in Camp and Prison.' The character of the author of the book, — Belle Boyd herself, — and the vile calumnies which its pages contain, would deter us from any notice of tliis infamous slander of one of the noblest and bravest heroes of this or any age of civilized warfare, were it not for the high literary reputation of its English author. He has once visited our country, and, while here, enjoyed, as we believe, to its fullest extent, the hospitality of our leading literary characters. And yet, in the hour of our deepest distress and greatest peril, he lends his name and literary talents to as vile a slander (which he repeats in his extended introduction to the book) as ever was aimed at a chivalrous and humane, but defeated and slaughtered foe. But, thank God ! the foul slander lives only as a lasting reproach upon those who welcomed its birth, nourished its infancy, and then gave it wings to fly. And we now call upon all true Americans, as they have regard for the honor and fair fame of their heroic and lamented dead, to forever set their faces against this vile slanderer of our country, her cause, and her fallen heroes. Let him write, henceforth, if he must write for American readers, for the men and women whose cause he so readily espoused and so earnestly defended. " Of Col. Dahlgren's last gallant exploit, which proved so fatally unsuccessful, and in which he lost his own life, his father, Rear-Admiral J. A. Dahlgren, then in com- mand of our naval force at Charleston, thus tenderly but severely and justly speaks, in a letter which bears date July 24, 18G4. He says, ' I have patiently and sorrowfully LAST HOURS OF FREED03rS CHAMPIONS. 347 awaited the hour when I shoukl be able to vindicate fully the memory of my gallant son, Col. Ulric Dahlgren, and lay bare to the Avorld the atrocious imposture of those, who, not content with abusing and defacing the remains of the noble boy, have knowingly and persistently endeavored to blemish his spotless name by a forged lie. " ' That hour has at last come. I have before me a pho- tolitho copy of the document which the inhuman traitors at Richmond pretend was found upon the body of my sou after he had been basely assassinated by their chivalry at midnight, and who, on the pretext that this paper disclosed an intent to take the lives of the arch-rebel and his counsel- lors, and to destroy Richmond, have not hesitated to commit and commend the most shocking barbarities on the remains of the young patriot, and to exult like dastards over his sad fate. " ' I can now affirm that the document is a forgery, — a barefaced, atrocious forgery, — so palpable, that the wicked- ness of the act is only equalled by the recklessness with which it has been perpetrated and adhered to ; for the mis- erable caitiiFs did not confine themselves to the general terms of a mere allegation, but published the paper in all the pre- cision of a photographic facsimile^ as if not to leave a doubt or cavil. I felt from the first just as if I knew the fact that my son never wrote that paper, — that it was a forgery ; but I refrained from giving utterance to that faith until I had seen a sample of the infamous counterfeit, and, having seen it, could say, as I say now, that a more fiendish lie never was invented. 348 FIELD, GUNBOAT, HOSPITAL, AND PRISON. " ' It is well known that the cruel usage practised on the Union soldiers who were imprisoned at Richmond had be- come a theme at the North, and that their release from slow and horrid death was the object of the expedition. My son had just returned from a visit to me off Charleston when he learned of the project. Every one was aware that he was in no condition to take the field just then : for he had lost a leg by a wound received in a charge through Hagerstown, pending the battle of Gettysburg ; and the consequent illness nearly cost him his life. The vigor of his frame had carried him through the crisis ; but the wound was not perfectly healed : he was still weak, and could only move on crutches. " ' No sooner was he apprised of what was contemplated than he sought to join the enterprise, in remembrance of comrades pining in loathsome dungeons, — of men with whom he had ridden side by side amid the deadly conflict ; and, a strong conviction of their sufferings animating every pulse of his gallant heart, he felt that duty called him there, and the reluctant consent of the authorities was at last yielded to his earnest entreaties. " ' It is not my purpose here to narrate the whole course of this noble enterprise ; that will be the duty of a future day : but no one had seen Col. Dahlgren in his full vigor sit his charger more gracefully, or better endure the incessant and multiplied hardships of that ride, by day and by night, in shine and storm. " ' The failure of his column to connect with that of (ren, Kilpatrick led to the failure of the expedition, and the LAST HOUBS OF FREEDOM'S CHAMPIONS. 349 death of as noble a soldier as ever gave life to a great cause. " ' The gallant youth fell, pierced by many balls, at the head of his men ; and, even while his brave spirit lingered about its scattered tenement, the chivalry began to strip him of his clothing. Whether the detestable purpose was accom- plished before he was dead, I know not ; nor whether the infamous wretches paused to make sure that life was extinct before they severed a ring given by a departed sister, and deeply prized by the heart that is now as still as her own. *' ' It was not until daylight disclosed the utter helplessness of the survivors that the victors took heart of grace, and consummated their brave deed by marching the wearied and famished troopers along the road, regardless of the fact that this led them by the body of their young chief, just as it lay, stripped, and covered with mud, but yet honored by the sad tokens which it exhibited of love and loyalty to the cause of his country. The absent limb told of recent battle-fields ; and the breathless body gave assurance that the last sacri- fice had been made. The young life, rich in promise, had been laid down ; and thus was redeemed the solemn oath of fealty to the Union. " 'No respect for the well-known gallantry of their victim, no feeling for his extreme youth, entered into the thoughts of these atrocious ruffians ; and only when sated with the mournful sight were the relics of the noble dead permitted such sepulture as a hasty grave could afford. 350 FIELD, GUNBOAT, HOSPITAL, AND PRISON. " 'Be it remembered, that, to this time, nothing was known of the forged document. But presently it came to the upper chivalry of Richmond that one of the leaders of the expe- dition had fallen. Frenzied with terror at the possible con- sequences of the success of the undertaking, — for they had every reason to dread that the vengeance of the released prisoners would respect no person, — they sought a pretext for the meditated villany on the body of Col. Dahlgren, in a forgery, which, they thought, would extenuate all disregard of every dictate of manhood and humanity. " ' So they forged the lie, and gave it currency in all the minuteness of a seeming facsimile ; while the original coun- terfeit was so recklessly executed, that the shameful deceit could not fail to be apparent to any one having the least knowledge of Col. Dahlgren's handwriting. " ' So the remains of the heroic dead were torn from the grave, conveyed to Richmond, and there exposed to the taunts and gaze of a mob ; then hurried away, in the obscurity of the night, to some nameless spot, whence it was intended they should never be recovered. There was an ingenuity in the contrived villany, from which the mind recoils with horror. " ' He had not completed the first year of his manhood when he was so basely assassinated ; yet, by his bravery and devotion on many a battle-field, he had won the high but well-deserved rank of colonel of cavalry. He was tall, well-built, and graceful : his frame gave every promise of LAST HOURS OF FREEDOM'S CHAMPIONS. 351 future strength, but, as yet, lacked the development of the matured man, and was divested of all spare flesh by a life of constant activity in the saddle. " ' To the casual observer, he appeared like a very young and a very diffident man, gentle and unobtrusive, a mod- erate talker, and always of pleasant mood. But beneath lay a character of the firmest mould, a constancy of purpose never to be diverted from its object, courage that was never disturbed by any danger, impulses of the purest nature habitually in exercise, producing a course of life unblem- ished by the least meanness, — a good son, a warm friend, dutiful alike to God and man. I can now look back over the whole of his young life, and declare, that in no instance did he ever fail in the most respectful obedience to my least wish. A more perfect and lovely character I cannot con- ceive. '' ' His courage was not of that rampant character so troublesome to friend as well as to foe, but came forth in- stantly at the first sign of danger. To these qualities he added a deep sense of religious obligation, having been carefully trained by a departed mother to the Church and the Sunday School. But in this, as in many other respects, he was not demonstrative. When apparently at the verge of death from a wound, and reminded of the danger, he smiled, and said that he had never gone into battle with- out asking forgiveness of his sins, and commending his soul to his Maker. And so passed away this bright young life, 352 FIELD, GUNBOAT, HOSPITAL, AND PRISON. SO radiant in promise. Nor is it only a father's love and affection that prompts such praise, as the many who knew him will confirm. " ' The last letter that he ever wrote was to myself. It was from camp, just before putting foot in stirrup, and about to set out on the last of a brilliant and eventful career. He directed that it should only be given to me in the event of his not returning. He speaks of the enterprise as "glori- ous, and that he would be ashamed to show his face again if he had failed to go in it." He expressed himself as fully sen- sible of the danger, and concludes thus : "If we do not return, there is no better place to give up the ghost." ' " Such was the brave and generous spirit whose light has been so early quenched forever. That of itself might have sufficed to sate the vengeance even of traitors. The shock- ing cruelty that has been exhibited to his inanimate body, and the perpetration of a forgery to justify it, will, in the end, recoil on the infamous ruffians. " To the gallant young soldier it has been as nothing. He had passed away to his final account, leaving behind him a name far beyond the reach of the chivalry. There are those left, however, — his distinguished father, two lovely and bereaved sisters, and a patriotic and heroic brother, who, with the father, has done good service for the country, — whose pride and pleasure it will be to vindicate his fair fame. He wall ever be remembered as a young patriot of spotless life and purest purpose ; honest, true, and gentle, dutiful to every obligation, unselfish and generous to a fault ; LAST HOURS OF FREEDOM'S CHAMPIONS. 353 an undaunted soldier of the Union, who never struck a blow at an unarmed enemy, but carefully and kindly respected the claims of defenceless women and children ; an accom- plished gentleman, a sincere Christian, a faithful com- rade, who, not recovered from the almost fatal illness conse- quent on losing a limb in battle, went forth to brave every hardship in the hope of aiding in the release of our captive soldiers from the dungeons of a merciless enemy, who, for this, treated his dead body with savage ferocity, and hesi- tated not to forge his name. " Peace to his ashes, where they now finally rest, amid the scenes of his boyhood, and by the side of his sainted mother ! The laurels on the young and fair brow of Ulrie Dahlgren will never fade while there are true men and wo- men in the land to keep them green. The poet has truly said, — * Ulric Dahlgren, in the story Of thy country's grief and wrong, Thine shall stand a name of glory. Bright in history and song.' "On Tuesday, Oct. 31, 1865, his recently recovered body was brought to Washington, where appropriate ser- vices were held, preparatory to its removal to Philadelphia for final interment. The occasion was one of unusual in- terest : but a severe storm prevented the anticipated military display ; and the body, having lain in state at the City Hall, where it was viewed by thousands of sorrowful hearts, was escorted by the nearest route to the Presbyterian Church in Four and a Half Street. The military escort consisted of 354 FIELD, GUNBOAT, HOSPITAL, AND PRISON. • the Eighth Regiment of Hancock's Veteran Vokmteers, detachments of the Seventh, Tenth, Fourteenth, and Eighteenth Regiments Veteran Reserve Corps, and the Hundred and Ninety-fifth and Two Hundred and Four- teenth Pennsylvania Volunteers, all under the command of Brig. - Gen. Gile, of the Veteran Reserve Corps. The pall-bearers occupied the head of the procession, and consisted of the following officers, — Brevet -Brig. -Gen. D. P. Dewitt, Tenth Veteran Reserve Corps ; Brevet-Brig.- Gen. D. B. McKibben, Two Hundred and Fourteenth Pennsylvania ; Brig.-Gen. S. D. Oliphant, Fourteenth Vet- eran Reserve Corps ; Col. J. W. Fisher, One Hundred and Ninety-fifth Pennsylvania ; Brevet-Col. R. E. Johnson, Ninth Veteran Reserve Corps ; Col. Charles F. Johnson, Eighteenth Veteran Reserve Corps ; Col. F. E. Pierce, Eighth United- States Veteran Volunteers ; Brevet-Col. John B. Collin, Seventh Veteran Resei^^e Corps. The coffin was placed before the pulpit, wliich was draped, as were also the galle- ries, with large American flags* The church was darkened, and lighted with gas ; and, as every available seat or stand- ing-place was occupied, the effect was most solemn and impressive. The President, and members of the cabinet, distinguished army and navy officers, clerks, citizens, and ladies, notwithstanding the inclemency of the weather, came together on this mournful occasion to pay their tribute of respect to one of the noblest young heroes that ever drew a sword in a righteous cause. " At the conclusion of the introductory services, which were of a deeply impressive character, the Rev. Henry LAST HOURS OF FREEDOM'S CHAMPIONS. 355 "Ward Beecher delivered a funeral oration, full of eloquent and tender words of eulogy, and marked by his usual vigor aud earnestness. " The burial casket was draped with the national colors, and garlands of flowers were strewn on the top. A splen- did photograph of Col. Dahlgren lay at the head of the bier, as well as the folloAving autograph-letter of Secretary Stanton, which accompanied young Dahlgren's commission as colonel, in which the Secretary thus paid earnest tribute to the hero's gallant services : — " ' Washington, July 21, 1863. " ' Dear Sir : — Enclosed you have a commission for colonel, without having passed through the intermediate grade of major. Your gallant and meritorious service has, I think, entitled you to the distinction, although it is a depart- ure from general usage, which is only justified by distin- guished merit such as yours. I hope you may speedily recover ; and it will rejoice me to be the instrument of your further advancement in the service. " ' With great regard, I am yours truly, " ' Edwin M. Stai^ton.' "The remains were escorted, at the close of the services, to the depot, and were taken by the evening train to Phila- delphia, where they laid in state, in Independence Hall, dur- ing the night. " The final funeral services were held in the morning ; the Rev. J. P. Wilson, of Newark, delivering an appropriate discourse. The body was then removed to Laurel Hill, that 856 FIELD, GUNBOAT, HOSPITAL, AND PRISON. beautiful "city of the dead," — so like our own beloved Mount Aubura, — escorted by six companies of the Seventh Regiment of the first army corps, and two companies of marines and city troops, who acted as a guard of honor. Among the distinguished officers present were Rear- Admi- ral Dahlgren, the father of the deceased, and Gens. Meade and Humphreys. His Honor the Mayor was also of the party. " No loyal heart can fail to thank God with feelings of dcTOut gratitude, as well for himself as for a brave officer and bereaved family, that the mortal remains of the chival- rous young hero were at last recovered from a ruthless burial in rebel soil, and brought home, — back to the scenes of his earlier years, — there to be finally entombed with all the honors due the highest type of Christian knighthood. " A brief career Avas his ; and yet how noble, how sublime, its well-filled record ! How many and how brilliant were his exploits by day and by night ! How well do I remem- ber him — the last time I ever saw his manly face — as he appeared at Gettysburg ! — so brave and hopeful, so full of zeal and patriotic ardor. It is impossible not to be in- spired by his very presence. " Soon after this he was severely wounded, and, when all hope was lost, suffered the amputation of his foot and ankle. In this condition he paid a visit to his father, then in com- mand of our naval force before Charleston. Writing to a friend from that place, he says, ' I stay to take part in the great fight : if I die, what more glorious than the death of men fighting for their country?' Such a death, soon after, LAST HOURS OF FREEDOMS CHAMPIONS. 357 but not then and there, was his fate, — a noble and heroic struggle against all hope of success, and a death and burial such as would disgrace the fiendish warriors of a savage tribe. " Ulric Dahlgren deserved a better fate than this, even at the hands of his enemies ; for they had never found him other than a brave, honorable, and humane foe." Only one more record, and the list will be reluctantly closed. John B. Marsh, a Union soldier, was a prisoner among the rebels, forced into their ranks, and, on deserting, was recaptured, and then shot. He succeeded in giving the following note to a fellow-prisoner : — " Kind friend, if ever you reach our happy lines, have this put into the Northern papers, that my father, Rev. Leonard Marsh, who resides in Maine, may know what has become of me, and what I was shot for. I am to be shot for defending my country. I love her, and am veiling to die for her. Tell my parents I am also happy in the Lord. My future is bright. I hope to speak to you as I pass out to die. "John B. Marsh." " One of the guards told Mr. Shipman, that when young Marsh was placed by his coffin, and ready to receive the fire of his executioners, he was told he could speak a word if he desired to. He took ofi" his hat, and, looking upon them, cried out, ' Three cheers for the old flag and the Union ! ' then, swinging his hat, shouted at the top of his voice, 'Hurrah^ hurrah, hurrah!' and fell a noble martyr to the dear old flag." * * New- York Evangelist. 858 FIELD, GUNBOAT, HOSPITAL, AND PRISON. Tlius have our loyal braves passed on to their reward. We are proud of the record,* — we who love the flag in whose defence they died. Thank God for the hope of meeting those among them whom we knew and loved, where Affection's amaranthine flower blooms in its undying beauty, while the angels will gather the immortal blossoms, and crown the ransomed children of earth with fadeless garlands ! * Many loyal towns are wisely preserving the names of their own heroes by erecting monuments to their memory. An elegant marble shaft, sur- mounted by an eagle, thus commemorates the heroic dead of Reading, Mass. The following ode, written by the author of these pages, was sung at the inauguration of the monument: — Air, — " Pleyel's Hymn." To this sacred spot we come, Half triumphant, half in gloom; Thinking of the brave and blest Gone to share a patriot's rest. Now the marble shaft we rear : Hero-names recorded there, Telling to all coming time Of their patriot deeds sublime. And though far from us repose Some that bravely met our foes, Near or far they all shall be Honored by the pure and free. Lord ! may we life's conflict meet, As they went, with willing feet; Crowned as victors may we rise. Meet our brave ones in the skies I THE MARTYR OF MARTYRS. 359 CHAPTER X. THE MARTYR OF MARTYRS . Great in his grasp of thought, and good as wise, — Not one pale shadow on his fame to rest : Honor, love, trust, and all that good men prize, Were well-worn treasures of his guileless breast. We dare not count our loss, but strive to see Through the thick darkness where God's light may be. Bring for his honored head the laurel-crown ; Low at his feet Spring's loveliest blossoms spread ; On spotless marble grave his fair renown, And write his name among our noblest dead. Deep in the nation's heart his rest shall be, Till time is lost in far eternity." " L.," in the " Boston Transcript." NE of the greatest men of modern times was Abra- ham Lincoln, and one of the best for his time and place. His name is more deeply graven in the hearts of the loyal American people to-day than that of any that adorns the storied shaft of any age. Nor is monu- mental marble needed for a man whose fame belongs not only to his country, but to humanity ; not only to the nine- teenth century, but to the ages. It outshines the sun ; it will outlast the nation ; for it will live as the name of a Messiah, even till all nations shall be merged into that great kingdom whose endless duration was the burden of ancient prophecy, and is still the theme of immortal song. 360 FIELD, GUNBOAT, HOSPITAL, AND PRISON. Born amid the obscurity of log-cabin life in Kentucky, on the 12th of February, 1809, Abraham Lincoln, by dint of untiring effort and undaunted perseverance, aided by a good conscience and pioneer health, rose to eminence as a lawyer and a statesman, and on the 4th of March, 1861, took his seat in the chair of Washington, as the acknowl- edged head of the nation. Then followed four years of sanguinary conflict. The Quaker blood of the new President asked for peace ; but the rebel horde would not accept an olive-branch from him, and saw only in his inaugural address a declaration of war. God reserved for this man, whom he had ordained to be a " Saul among his brethren " in more than one sense, the high privilege of issuing a proclamation, which, in all coming time, should rank wdth the Magna Charta and the Declaration of Independence, — the Proclamation of Emancipation, whereby the chains of slavery were broken, and millions made forever free beneath the glorious banner of our country. This proclamation came in force on New- Year's Day, 1863. For its issue, the colored people of our land now look upon him as their deliverer, — the Messiah who came to proclaim liberty to the captives, the Moses who should lead them to the Promised Land. And truly he was like Moses : for he only saw the land ; he did not stay to possess it. By the ruthless hand of a bar- barous assassin, while seeking a little rest from crushing labors, in Ford's Theatre, at Washington, April 14, 1865, the great and good man was cruelly murdered. The news of the assassination darted along the wires, and a nation's THE MARTYR OF MARTYRS. 861 eyes flashed fire : the intelligeDce of the death of this pre- eminent martyr followed, and a nation wept. And this is no figure of speech. Strong men shed tears as they heard " The President is dead ! " and their home-circles were as one band of weeping mourners for him Avho seemed a per- sonal friend to all. The funeral services all over the loyal North told again the grief at first manifested.* This brief sketch of the life of the martyr of martyrs in our country's struggle is all that can here be furnished. Able pens have written his biography again and again ; and the reader is advised to seek such records of a stainless life and heroic death. * The following hjrmn, by the writer of these pages, was sung in Read- ing, Mass., on the day of the funeral : — Air, — " Mount Vernon." Hushed to-day are sounds of gladness From the mountains to the sea, While the plaintive voice of sadness Rises, mighty God ! to thee. Freedom claimed another martyr; Heaven received another saint. "Who are we, thy will to question ? Lord, we weep without complaint. May we, to thy wisdom bowing-, Own thy love in this dark spell, While with tears a mighty nation Buries one it loved so well I And O Thou who took our leader. With the Promised Land in view, While on Pisgah's height we leave him, Lead us. Lord, the Jordan through ! 362 FIELD, GUNBOAT, HOSPITAL^ AND PRISON. A few incidents, however, in his life, may here be men- tioned. Here is a record of his visit to Antietam, by John W. GaiTett, Esq.,* which reveals the true nobility of the future martyi' : — " By his request, I accompanied President Lincoln, im- mediately after the battle of Antietam, to the scene of that sanguinary conflict, after passing over the Baltimore and Ohio Road from Washington to Harper's Ferry, I continued with him, by his desire, during the memorable period he spent with the officers and soldiers of the Federal army, and among the hospitals, and the wounded upon that bloody field. As in accord with the spirit of your fraternity, I mil men- tion a scene which occuiTed in one of those hospitals, which bedewed many eyes. " The President examined kindly and tenderly into the condition and care of the Federal wounded. He also passed through the hospitals where were placed the Confederate wounded. Many of these hospitals, in view of the large numberof the wounded, were improvised from the barns upon and in the vicinity of the field of battle. Passing through one of these, the middle space of an extensive Switzer barn, where a large number of Confederate wounded lay, the Pres- ident stopped about the centre of the apartment, opposite to a youth of striking appearance, probably of eighteen or twenty years of age. He lay looking very feeble and pallid. He held three straws in his hand, and was feebly moving * Mr. Garrett was presiding at a banquet given by Baltimore merchants to the United-States Convention of Odd Fellows. TEE MARTYR OF MARTYRS. 363 them to keep the insects from his face. The President asked if he had received all necessary attention. He replied that he had ; that his right leg had been amputated. The President responded, ' I tnist you ^viU get well.* The youth, great tears rolling from his eyes, said, ' No ; I am sinking : I shall die.' The President leaned tenderly over him, and said, 'Will you shake hands with me?' I remarked, *This is President Lincoln.' He attempted to raise his hand, and gave it to the President. The President asked him, 'Where are you from?' — ' Fi-om Georgia.' Again the President expressed the hope, still holding his hand, that he would recover. \ No,' said the youth ; ' I shall never see my mother again : I shall die.' The President still held his hand, and fervently ejaculated, whilst he wept, and his tears mingled with those of the sufferer, ' May God bless you, and restore you to your mother and your home ! ' Amid all the sad scenes of that field of carnage, coming forth from that sanctified spot, I said, ' Mr. President, such kindness will make missionaries of good will of the soldiers who return South to their homes.' The President then expressed his wishes generally to those accompanying him, that all the wounded and all the suflTerers should be kindly treated, and, in the course of conversation thereafter, expressed sanguine hopes, that at an early day, instead of such scenes of suffer- ing, scenes of concord and of good feeling, and a restored Union, would be speedily realized." The following letter from the President is also a proof of his sympathy with the bereaved who mourn the loss of 364 FIELD, GUNBOAT, HOSPITAL, AND PRISON. patriot friends. The lady who received this letter was a poor widow, residing in Boston. Her sixth son, when the letter was published, was lying in a hospital. Executive Mansion, Washington, Nov. 25, 1864. Dear Madam, — I have been shown, in the files of the War Department, a statement of the Adjutant-General of Massachusetts, that you are the mother of five sons who died gloriously on the field of battle. I feel how weak and fruitless must be any words of mine which should attempt to beguile you from the grief of a loss so overwhelming ; but I cannot refrain from tendering to you consolation that may be found in the thanks of the Republic they died to save. I pray that our heavenly Father may assuage the anguish of your bereavement, and leave you only the cherished memory of the loved and lost, and the solemn pride that must be yours to have laid so costly a sacrifice upon the altar of Freedom. Yours very sincerely and respectfully, To Mrs. Bixby, Boston, Mass. A. LINCOLN. The manner in which Secretary Seward came to know of the death of President Lincoln was singularly touching. A correspondent of the " Philadelphia Bulletin " says, — '" Mr. Seward had been kept in ignorance of the attack on the President, his physician fearing that the shock would be too great for him to bear ; and all newspapers were ri- gidly excluded from his room. On the Sunday following the assassination, the Secretary had the bed wheeled around so THE MARTYR OF MARTYRS. 365 that he could see the tops of the trees in the park opposite, just putting on the spring foliage ; when his eye caught the stars and stripes at half-mast on the War Department, on which he gazed a while, then, turning to his attendant said, ' The President is dead ! ' The attendant stammered, and changed color, as he tried to say nay ; but the sagacious old man said, ' If he had been alive, he would have been the first to call on me ; but he has not been here, nor has he sent to know how I am : and there's the flag at half-mast.' The old statesman's inductive reasoning had told the truth ; and he lay in silence, tears coursing down his gashed cheeks as the dreadful truth sank into his mind." The following well illustrates the character of the martyr of martyrs. It is from the pen of a con-espondent in the " New- York World." "I am sitting in the President's office. He was here very lately ; but he will not return to dispossess me of this high-backed chair he filled so long, nor resume his daily work at the table where I am wTiting. " There are here only Major Hay, and the friend who ac- companies me. A bright-faced boy runs in and out, darkly attired, so that his fob-chain of gold is the only relief to his mourning garb. This is little Tad, the pet of the White House. That great death with which the world rings has made upon him only the light impression which all things make on childhood. He will live to be a man pointed out everywhere for his father's sake ; and, as folks look at him, the tableau of the murder will seem to encircle him. " The room is long and high, and so thickly hung with 866 FIELD, GUNBOAT, HOSPITAL, AND PRISON. maps, that the color of the wall cannot be discerned. The President's table, at which I am seated, adjoins a window at the farthest corner ; and to the left of my chair, as I re- cline in it, there is a longer table, before an empty grate, around which there are many chairs, where the Cabinet used to assemble. The carpet is trodden thin, and the brilliance of its dyes is lost. The furniture is of the formal cabinet class, stately and semi-comfortable. There are book- cases, sprinkled with the spare library of a country lawyer, but lately plethoric, like the thin body which has departed in its coffin. They are taking away Mr. Lincoln's private effects, to deposit them wheresoever his family may abide ; and the emptiness of the place, on this sunny Sunday, re- vives that feeling of desolation from which the land has scarce recovered. I rise from my seat, and examine the maps : they are from the coast-survey and the engineer de- partments, and exhibit all the contested ground of the war. There are pencil lines upon them, where some one has traced the route of armies, and planned the strategic circumfer- ences of campaigns. Was it the dead President who so followed the march of empire, and dotted the sites of shock and overthrow? *' Here is the Manassas country ; here the long reach of the wasted Shenandoah ; here the wavy line of the James, and the sinuous Peninsula. The wide campagna of the Gulf country sways in the Potomac breeze that filters in at the window ; and the Mississippi climbs up the wall, with blotches of blue and red to show where blood gushed at the bursting of deadly bombs. So in the half-gloomy, half- THE MARTYR OF MARTYRS. 367 grand apartment roamed the tall and wrinkled figure, whom the country had summoned from his plain home into mighty history, with the geogi'aphy of the Republic drawn into a narrow compass, so that he might lay his great brown hand upon it everywhere. And walking to and fro, to and fro, to measure the destinies of arms, he often stopped, with his thoughtful eyes upon the carpet, to ask if his life were real, and he were the arbiter of so tremendous issues, or whether it was not all a fever-dream, snatched from his sofa in the routine ofRce of the prairie State. " There is but one picture on the marble mantle over the cold grate, — John Bright, — a photograph. " I can well imagine how the mind of Mr. Lincoln often went afar to the face of Bright, who said such kindly things of him when Europe was mocking his homely guise and provincial phraseology. To Mr. Lincoln, John Bright was the standard-bearer of America and Democracy in the Old World. He thrilled over Bright's bold denunciations of peer and ' privilege,' and stretched his long arm across the Atlantic to take that daring Quaker innovator by the hand. " I see some books on the table, — perhaps they have lain there undisturbed since the reader's dimming eyes grew nerveless, — a parliamentary manual, a thesaurus, and two books of humor, ' Orpheus C. Kerr ' and ' Artemus Ward.' These last were read by Mr. Lincoln in the pauses of his hard day's labor. Their tenure here bears out the popular verdict of his partiality for a good joke. And through the window, from this seat of Mr. Lincoln, I see, across the 368 FIELD, GUNBOAT, HOSPITAL, AND PRISON. grassy groimcls of the Capitol, the broken shaft of the Wash- ington Monument, the Long Bridge, and the fort-tipped Heights of Arlington, reaching down to the shining river- side. These scenes he looked at often to catch some fresh- ness of leaf and water, and often raised the sash to let the world rush in where only the nation abided ; and hence on that awful night he departed early, to forget this room and its close applications in the abandon of the theatre. " I wonder if that were the least of Booth's crimes to slay this public servant in the stolen hours of recreation he enjoyed but seldom. We worked his life out here, and killed him when he asked a holiday. " Outside of this room there is an office, where his secre- taries sat, — a room more narrow, but as long ; and, oppo- site this adjunct office, a second door, directly behind Mr. Lincoln's chair, leads, by a private passage, to his family quarters. This passage is his only monument in the build- ing : he added or subtracted nothing else. It tells a long story of duns and loiterers, contract-hunters and seekers for commissions, garrulous parents on paltry errands, toadies without measure, and talkers without conscience. They pressed upon him through a great door opposite his win- dow, and, hat in hand, came courtesying to his chair, with an obsequious ' Mr. President ! ' " If he dared, though the chief magistrate and commander of the army and navy, to go out by the great door, these vampires leaped upon him w^itli their Babylonian pleas, and barred his walk to his hearthside. He could not insult them, since it was not in his nature ; and perhaps many of THE MARTYR OF MARTYRS. them had really urgent errands. So he called up the car- penter, and ordered a strategic route cut from his office to his hearth, and perhaps told of it after with much merriment. " Here should be written the biography of his official life, — in the room where have concentrated all the wires of action, and whence have proceeded the resolves which vital- ized in historic deeds. But only great measures, however carried out, were conceived in this office. " As I hear from my acquaintances here these episodes of the President's life, I recall many reminiscenses of his ride from Springfield to Harrisburg, over much of which I passed. Then he left home, and became an inhabitant of history. His face was solid and healthy, his step young, his speech and manner bold and kindly. I saw him at Trenton stand in the Legislature, and say, in his conversa- tional intonation, — " ' We may have to put the foot down firm.' *' How should we have hung upon his accents then, had we anticipated his virtues and Ms fate ! " Death is requisite to make opinion grave. We looked upon Mr. Lincoln then as an amusing sensation ; and there was much guffaw as he was regarded by the populace : he had not passed out of partisan ownership. Little by little, afterward, he won esteem, and often admiration, until the measure of his life was full, and the victories he achieved made the world applaud him. Yet, at this date, the Presi- dent was sadly changed. Four years of perplexity and devotion had wrinkled his face, and stooped his shoulders ; 24 370 FIELD, GUNBOAT, HOSPITAL, AND PRISON. and the failing eyes that glared upon the play closed as his mission was completed, and the world had been educated enough to comprehend him. " The White House has been more of a republican man- sion under his control than for many administrations. Un- couth guests came to it often, typical of the simple Western civilization of which he was a graduate ; and, while no coarse altercation has ever ensued, the portal has swung wide for four years. "A friend, connected with a Washington newspaper, told me that he had occasion to see Mr. Lincoln one evening, and found that the latter had gone to bed. But he was told to sit down in the office, and directly the President entered. He wore only a night-shirt ; and his long, lank, hirsute limbs, as he sat down, inclined the guest to laughter, Mr. Lincoln disposed of his request at once, and manifested a desire to talk. So he reached for the cane which my friend carried, and conversed in this manner : — " ' I always used a cane when I was a boy. It was a freak of mine. My favorite one was a knotted beech stick, and I carved the head myself. There's a mighty amount of character in sticks. Don't you think so ? You have seen these fishing-poles that fit into a cane ? Well, that was an old idea of mine. Dogwood-clubs were favorite ones with the boys. I s'pose they use 'em yet. Hickory is too heavy, unless you get it from a young sapling. Have you ever no- ticed how a stick in one's hand will change his appearance ? Old women and witches wouldn't look so without sticks. Meg Merrilies understands that.' THE MABTYR OF MARTYRS. 371 " In this way, my friend, who is a clerk in a newspaper- office, heard the President talk for an hour. The undress of the man, and the triteness of his subject, would be staples for merriment if we did not reflect that his greatness was of no conventional cast ; that the playfulness of his nature, and the simplicity of his illustration, lightened public busi- ness, but never arrested it. " It will not do to say definitely in this notice how several occasional wi-iters visited the White House, heard the Presi- dent's vieAvs, and assented to them, and afterward abused him. But these attained no remembrance, nor tart reproach, from that least retaliatory of men. He harbored no malice, and is said to have often placed himself on the stand-point of Davis and Lee, and accounted for their defection while he could not excuse it. " He was a good reader, and took all the leading New- York dailies every day. His secretaries perused them, and selected all the items which would interest the President : these were read to him, and considered. He bought few new books, but seemed ever alive to works of comic value. The vein of humor in him was not boisterous in its mani- festations, but touched the geniality of his nature ; and he reproduced all that he absorbed, to elucidate some new issue, or turn away argument by a laugh. "As a jester, Mr. Lincoln's tendency was caricatured by the prints, but not exaggerated. He probably told as many stories as are attributed to him, but not all that are attribut- ed to him. Nor did he, as is averred, indulge in these 372 FIELD, GUNBOAT, HOSPITAL, AND PRISON. jests on solemn occasions. No man felt with such personal intensity the extent of the casualties of his time ; and he often gravely reasoned whether he could be in any way responsible for the bloodshed and devastation over which it was his duty to preside. *' An acquaintance of mine, a printer, once w^ent to him to plead for a man's life. He had never seen the man for whom he pleaded, and had no acquaintance with the man's family. Mr. Lincoln was touched by his disinterestedness^ and said to him, — " ' If I were any thing but the President,! would be con- stantly working as you have done.' " Whenever a doubt of one's guilt lay on his mind, the man was spared by his direct interference. " There was an entire absence, in the President's charac- ter, of the heroic element. He would do a great deed in dis' hahille as promptly as in full dress. He never aimed to be brilliant, unconsciously understanding that a great man's brilliancy is to be measured by the ' wholeness ' and syn^ thetic cast of his career, rather than by any fitfid ebullitions. For this reason, we look in vain through his messages for ' points.' His point was not to turn a sentence or an epi- gram, but to win an effect, regardless of the route to it. " He was commonplace in his talk, and Chesterfield would have had no patience with him. His dignity of character lay in his uprightness rather than in his formal manner. Members of his government often reviewed him plainly in his presence ; yet he divined the true course, while they only argued it out. THE MARTYR OF MARTYRS. 373 " His good feeling was not only personal, but national. He liad no prejudice against any race or potentate ; and his democracy was of a practical rather than of a demon- strative nature. He was not Marat, but Moreau ; not Paine and JeiFerson, but Franklin. "His domestic life was like a parlor at night-time, lit by the equal grate of his genial and uniform kindness. Young Thaddy played with him upon the carpet: Robert came home from the war, and talked to his father as to a school- mate. He was to Mrs. Lincoln as chivalrous on the last day of his life as when he courted her. I have somewhere seen a picture of Henry IV. of France riding his babies on his back : that was the President. " So dwelt the citizen who is gone, — a model in charac- ter, if not in ceremony, for good men to come who will take his place in this same White House, and find their genera- tion comparing them to the man thought worthy of assas- sination. I am glad to sit here in his chair, where he has bent so often, in the atmosphere of the household he purified, in the sight of the green grass and the blue river he hal- lowed by gazing upon, in the very centre of the nation he preserved for the people, and close the list of bloody deeds, of desperate flights, of swift expiations, of renowned obse- quies, which I have written, by inditing at his table the goodness of his life and the eternity of his memory." The following graphic picture, from the inimitable pen of " Carleton," shows how the freedmen regard their great deliverer : — "I was standing upon the bank of the river, viewing the 374 FIELD, GUNBOAT, HOSPITAL, AND PRISON. scene of desolation, when a boat, pulled by twelve sailors, came up stream. It contained President Lincoln and his son. Admiral Porter, Capt. Penrose of the army, Capt. A. H. Adams of the navy, Lieut. W. W. Clemens of the sig- nal corps. Somehow the negroes on the bank of the river ascertained that the tall man wearing a black hat was Pres- ident Lincoln. There was a sudden shout. An officer, who had just picked up fifty negroes to do work on the dock, found himself alone. They left work, and crowded round the President. As he approached, I said to a colored wo- man, — " 'There is the man who made you free/ '"What, massa?' " ' That is President Lincoln.* '"Dat President Linkum?' "'Yes.' " She gazed at him a moment, clapped her hands, and jumped straight up and down, shouting ' Glory, glory, glory ! ' till her voice was lost in the universal cheer. " There was no carriage near ; so the President, leading his son, walked three-quarters of a mile up to Gen. Weitzel's headquarters, — Jeff. Davis's mansion. What a spectacle it was ! Such a hurly-burly, such wild, indescribable, ecstatic joy, I never witnessed. A colored man acted as guide. Six sailors, wearing their round blue caps and short-jack- ets and bagging pants, with navy carabines, were tlie ad- vance guard : then came the President and Admiral Porter, flanked by the officers accompanying him, and the correspon- dent of ' The Journal ; ' then six more sailors with carabines. THE MARTYR OF MARTYRS. 875 — twenty of us all told, — amid a surging mass of men, women, and children, black, white and yellow, running, shouting, dancing, swinging their caps, bonnets, and hand- kerchiefs. The soldiers saw him, and swelled the crowd, cheering in wild enthusiasm. All could see him, he was so tall, so conspicuous. " No wonder that President Lincoln, who has a child's heart, felt his soul stirred ; that the tears almost came to his eyes as he heard the thanksgivings to God and Jesus, and the blessings uttered for him from thankful hearts. They were true, earnest, and heartfelt expressions of gratitude to God. There are thousands of men in Richmond to-night who would lay down their lives for President Lincoln, — their great deliverer, their best friend on earth. He came among them unheralded, without pomp or parade. He walked through the streets as if he were only a private citizen, and not the head of a mighty nation. He came not as a con- queror, not with bitterness in his heart, but Avitli kindness. He came as a friend, to alleviate sorrow and suffering, to rebuild what has been destroyed." The correspondent of a Chicago paper, who accompanied Gen. Grant on his visit to the grave of Mr. Lincoln, thus describes the burial-place of the lamented President : — "We went this morning (Sept. 13, 1865) to Oak Ridge ; and some day we hope to give a detailed account of that wild burial-ground. It is about two miles from the city, and consists of a tract of land of about eighty-eight acres, which is in future to be considered as the Springfield burial-ground proper. The remains are still unburied, and 376 FIELD, GUNBOAT, HOSPITAL, AND PRISON. lie in the reception-house, just as they came from Washing- ton, watered by the tears of the nation. A guard-tent is pitched opposite to this house of the dead, on a rising knoll surrounded by trees. Three sentries guard the sacred re- mains night and day ; and the stone doors are kept open, so that the air may circulate fi-eely through the place. An iron gate protects the remains from a too close intrusion ; although one can see the two coffins, — those of the father, and of the little son who was carried here from Washington with him to their final resting-place." With the mention of the place where our country's martyr of martyrs rests, this volume closes. Its pages contain a glorious record of noble deeds ; and no loyal heart can ponder the endurance, valor, patriotism, and Christian excellence, of the soldiers of the Cross and the Union, without feeling a commendable pride, and, at the same time, a grateful sense of obligation to the patriots of our army and navy ; gratitude also to God for so inspiring their hearts, that, when the nation's life was threatened, they were willing even to die in its defence. May the lessons of the past admonish our nation that righteousness alone exalteth ! and may the peace now secured be perpetual, because based on the immutable principles of justice and humanity ! INDEX. A. A Boy-hero 156 A Brave Standard-bearer C5 Admiral Dupont 152 Admiral Farragut 124 Admiral Foote 150, 151 Alabama 108 A Naval Victory 121 Andersonville 312 Andersonville Cemetery 321 A Patriotic Family 75 Atrocities of the Rebellion .... 323 Attack on Sumter 135 J3. Ball's Bluff 50 Battle before Richmond 177 Before Vicksburg 280 Brownell the Avenger 338 C. Capt. Porter 114 Capt. Richard Derby 172 Capture of Beaufort 135 " ( !arleton's " Letter from Rich- mond 232 Charles Homans • • . • 3(3 Charles Warren 80 Chattanooga 283 Christian-Commission Incidents . 340 "Cincinnati" 115 Col. Canlield 328 Col. Munroe 50 Col. Hendricks 278 Commodore Foote praying .... 332 Count Schwabe's Benevolence . . 299 D. Dahlgren's Ride into Fredericks- burg 197 Dahlgren's Defence 345 Dahlgien'.s Funeral 354 Daylight and a Truce 128 Dead, — en Bivouac 189 Death of a Hero 74 Death of Col. Balcer 340 Deathof Gen. Mitchell 342 Death of .Gen. Lyon 342 Death of Chaplain Fuller 343 Death of Major Camp 343 Death of Sneider 343 Death of Trask 343 Death of a Nephew of Goldsmith . 344 Death ofJohnB. Marsh 345 Destruction of the "Nashville" . . 118 Dorothea L. Dix 286 877 878 INDEX. Eig:lith Massachusetts Regiment . 29 Eleventh Illinois • ... 250 Elizabeth Comstock 2% Ellsworth 337 Emotions during Battle Gl Falmouth 340 Father and Son on the Battle-field . 74 Filteenth Massachusetts Regiment 219 Fifty-fourth Virginia Regiment . . 253 Florence Nightingale 285 Fort Donelson 245 Fort hteadman 229 Fort Sumter 14 Fort Wagner 147 Fredericksburg 202, 20G O. Gen. Fremont 206 Gen. James S. Rice 82 Gettysburg Battle 210 God's Flag 49 Gough's Testimony 80 H. Hero of Gettysburg 220 Heroes of Ball's Bluff 104 Heroic Massachusetts Soldier ... 107 Hervey Dix 58 Hospital Sketches 286 How Gen. Lee went into the War . 18 I. Impromptu, by " Mabelle" . . . .294 Incidents : Antietam 175 Indiana Hero-boy 76 Indiana Soldier 78 In the Wilderness 198 Iowa : Western Patriotism .... 68 J. John B. Marsh 357 John Bright 367 "Kearsarge" 108 L. Last Interview of Two Heroes . . . 327 Last Words of Ladd 337 Letter from J. G. Smith, Jun. ... 166 Letter from Lieut. C P. Abbott . . 1C9 Letter from Sharpsburg, — "Carle- ton" 170 Letter from Col. Dahlgren 352 Letter from Admiral Dahlgren . . 346 Libby Prison 304 Library for Soldiers 295 Lieut. G. P. Stevens 70 Lieut. J. William Grout 72 Lieut. Hanaford's Escape 316 Little Tad 365 m:. Mabelle's Fair 295 Margaret Fuller Ossoli 2S5 Massachusetts Bravery 55 Massachusetts Troops 191 Massachusetts Thirty- fourth . . . .200 Mrs. Fremont 2G5 • 3Irs. Hayden's Poem on Vicksburg 279 isr. Navy Letters 330 New-York Seventh 29 Nineteenth Mass. Regiment ... ISO INDEX. 379 One Leg more for his Country . . 66 Only a Private 8i Picket Guard 188 Pittsburg Landing 270 Prairie Ridge 273 President Lincoln at Antietam . . 362 President Lincoln's Letter .... 364 President Lincoln at Trenton . . . 369 President Lincoln's Playfulness . . 371 President Lincoln with his Children 373 President Lincoln in Richmond . . 374 President Lincoln's Grave ..... 377 Secretary Seward 364 Secretary Stanton's Letter .... 355 Sergeant Kernan 15 Sergeant Frye 69 •' Shenandoah " 155 Sheridan at Five Forks ...... 223 Sheridan's Ride 226 Shooting Prisoners 307 Sixth Massachusetts Regiment . . 46 Soldiers' Prayer-meeting 334 Somebody's Darling 284 South-Carolina Victories 132 Starved to Death 320 Tale of 1861 26 The Call to Arms 17 Massachusetts Soldier's Wife . 22 Gloucester Mother 46 The Marblehead "Woman 45 Patriotic Girl 47 Brave at Home 51 First American Flag in England 49 Enlistment 52 "Monitor" 87 "Monitor "and "Merrimack" 91 " Cumberland " 93 " Congress " 95 "Whitehall" 100 "Cumberland" Heroes. . . . 104 Sailor 107 "Clifton" to the Rescue ... 127 Blowing-up of the " Westfield" 130 Hancock Farmer 202 Blind Soldier 326 Vermont Soldier 340 President's Office 305 Third Oliio 255 Thomas Starr King 47 Thomas F. Power 102 Tlirough Baltimore 24 Tramp, tramp, tramp 301 Trumpet-song 209 XJ. Ulric Dahlgren 345 Unalloyed Patriotism 66 "Wabash" 135 " Weehawken " 140 Z. Zagonyi 266 DINSMOOR & COMPANY, 25 Cornhill, Boston, Ilass. To "whom all orders and Inquiries for the following-named books should be addressed. LIBERAL, TEI13IS alloived to Canvassing Agents of good address, in every city and town in New England, Special Attention given to the supplying of Public and Private Libraries, and to filling orders for miscellaneous books. THE N'E'W AMERICAN CYCLOPEDIA, A POPULAR DICTIONARY OF GENERAL KNOWLEDGE. EdiUd by GEORGE BIPLET and CHABLES A. DANA, AIDED BY A NUMEROUS SELECT CORPS OF WRITERS IN ALL BRANCHES OF SCIENCE, ART, AND LITERATURE. In 16 large volumes octavo. 750 double-column pages in each volume. The leading claims to public consideration which the " New American Cy- clopaedia" possesses may be thus briefly stated: — '* 1. 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It would be too much to expect them to satisfy everybody, or never to be caught tripping; but, in the great questions of religion and politics, they seem to have preserved a happy mean between the outspoken freedom of the partisan and the halting timidity of the man who never commits himself because he never has an opinion. Their contributors represent nearly every Christian creed, every shade of politics, and every part of the English-speak- ing world, from Salt-Lake City to London, and from Mobile to Montreal." TRICE OF THE WOBK. In Extra Cloth, per. vol. In Library Leather, per vol. In Half Turkey Morocco, per vol. In Half Turkey Morocco, flex, backs, per vol. In Half Russia, extra gilt, per vol. . In Full Morocco, antique, gilt edges, per vol. In Full Russia .$5 00 . (i 00 . 6 50 . 7 00 . 7 50 . 9 00 . 9 00 The price of the work will, for the present, remain as above ; but, if there shall be any great advance in paper and material, the price must be increased. To prevent disappointment, orders should be at once forwarded to the agents of tlie work in different parts of the country. To those who have not already subscribed for the AVork. 3Iany persons have omitted to subscribe for the work during its progress through the press, owing to an unwillingness to subscribe for an incomplete work. They may now obtain complete sets in any of the above styles. THE ANNUAL CYCLOPEDIA AND REGISTER OF IMPORTANT EVENTS, FOR THE YEARS 1861, 1862, 1863, AND 1864, EMBRACING POLITICAL, CIYTL, MILITARY, AND SOCIAL AFFAIRS; PUBLIC D0CU3IENTS ; BIOGRAPHY; STATISTICS; COMMERCE; FINANCE; LITERATURE; SCIENCE; AGRICUL- TURE, AND MECHANICAL INDUSTRY. One Volume for each year. Uniform in price and binding with the New American Cyclopaedia. YEi^R, 186 1. This is a cycloineilia of what took place during the year 18(51. It comprises not only all the subjects peculiar to a general work, but also the political and military events of the conflict in the United States. It shows the political principles involved, with the arguments of their respective advocates and op- ponents ; the movements of the leaders of secession, from their first acts to the close of the year ; including the proceedings, step by step, of each of the Southern States; the organization of the Confederate States; the principles upon which that organization was founded , their civil and commercial regiila- tions ; the efforts to fill their treasury, and to organize and equip vast armies ; the counteracting movements of the United States; the ori^anization and equipment of its army and navy; together with all the original documents, from the Messages of the respective Presidents ; the instructions of Cabinet officers; the Messages and Proclamations of Governors ; the important acts and debates of the United-States and Confederate Congresses; the acts of State Legislatures; the Proclamations of commanding officers; the contribu- tions of men and money from each State, North and South; and the details of every battle and every skirmish involving loss of life. YEAR, 1863. Tlie portion of the volume devoted to the United States is full and complete. The "Army Operations," in 1802, consist of a detailed statement, day by day and step by step, of the movements of the armies, the causes of those move- ments, and their consequences. It occupies 150 pages, and is illustrated by official maps of the country, and plans of battles. The details of the internal affairs of the country, embracing the organization of the armies, North and South, their officers, numbers, and condition j the de- bates and important measures of the Federal and Confederate Congresses ; the resolutions of State political organizations, and tlie votes of the citizens ; the Messages of the Presidents ; orders of cabinet officers and commanding generals; the debts of tlie Federal and Confederate ^governments, and their tinancial measures ; tlieir intercourse with foreign nations; the enforcement of martial law, and the exchange of prisoners, — comprise all the important oc- currences in the history of the nation. YEAR 1863. The principles adopted in the previous years have taken eifect; and many new and most important questions arose under them, and were discussed during 1863: such as confiscation; emancipation; indemnity, official and pe- cuniary; the relations of the insurrectionary States to tlie Union; personal liberty ; martial law ; prize ; the liability of Great Britain for damages done by tlie Ahibama, &c., &c. These discussions are embraced in its contents, together with the important civil and political measures of the Federal and State Governments; an accu- rate and minute history of tlie great armies, and their battles, illustrated with maps and plans of actions, taken from official copies ; the debates of the Fed- ei'al and Confederate Congresses ; tinancial measures of the Government, com- merce, &c., &c. ; the proceedings in tlie Confederate States to maintain the war and establish their government ; also all the exciting movements in for- eign countries ; the developments in tlie physical sciences ; the progress in literature; mechanical inventions and improvements; the studendous enter- prises of the Government connected witii the war, such as hospit;ils for the army, the manufacture of ordnance, and the trade regulations in insurrection- ary districts. -Y131AJR 1864. In presenting to the public a new volume of the " Annual C.vclopsedia," con- taining a record of another eventful year, no efforts have been spared to secure its completeness and accuracy, and to preserve it free from every mark of par- tisanship. The portions of each volume devoted to the United States embrace the ope- rations of the armies, step by step and day by day, and the causes and conse- quences of their movements ; also their organization, numbers, and condition; the bebates of Congress on all important questions ; the Messages of the Pres- ident, and public documents of tiie Government; finances; commercial and diplomatic intercourse; emancipation, peace. &c. ; the internal affairs of all the States ; their military enterprise, industry, and prosperity. Under "Foreign Affiiirs," all those countries are noticed which have at- tracted attention during each year. Commercial interests in all branches, in- cluding petroleum, are discussed. Tlie developments of meelianical industry are shown by details of important results and inventions patented. Those brances of natural science in which progress has been made are no- ticed each year, and the developments fully brouglit up. Tiie condition of the principal religious denominations, with their branches, niembrrship, numbers, views on civil affairs, and the spread of their opinions among the nations, is presented. Thegeographical explorations and discoveries are stated. The record of lit- erntare and literary progress is carefully explained. Nor is the large mortal- ity among distinguished men overlooked. The contents are accompanied by a most extensive and complete index. And, to insure a uniform price and regularity in the delivery of the volume to subscribers in all parts of the country, local agents are appointed in all the cities and principal towns in the States and Territories. A HISTORY OF THE WORLD ; FROM THE EARLIEST RECORDS TO THE PRESENT TIME. BY PHILIP SMITH, B.A., ONE OF THE PRINCIPAL CONTRIBUTORS TO THE DICTIONARIES OF GREEK AND ROMAN ANTIQUITIES, BIOGRAPHY. AND GEOGRAPHY. To be published in 8 volumes 8vo., of about 580 pages, each illustrated with Maps and Steel Engravings. FIRST AND SECOND VOLUMES NOW READY. Price, Per Vol., Cloth, $3.50; Sheep, $4.50; Half -Morocco, $5.00. Fl^AJN OF THE ^\roIiK. Since Sir "Walter Ralei ■fcuo r3 ?^5 • 0. ^ M :S I I ra 1 ^ -S5 "o 00 o 9) F' ^' \;'$*^v:,: ■ • o. .0- i, •-> ^' ; '"oo-^ - X*^ "*-- ^•^^^^\../-^.' * xo ■ \' ^^ !^pJ^^ ^ . :^' ^"..-^tfe. '-■ % 4' %. ' ' "~ ' ' x^^' % •^ / 1 > ~''' ' '^ . ^ -j^ .V . ^A V A^^' '^/^. ^, .-^^ ,0 o^ "/^^ \Q ^... U ..-^■^ ^^„f.%f.^>. ■^'^^ •>:^- ■% ,. -?> ,G*^ • 0' ■'i ^ -x ^N.\ c«'^^>?;'^o. .-^ -Tj ^"f^i^j0^ S' ^-. ^' .0- .^' .0^ x^^^. ^"■^r "^^ ■A- V-^ '^^> .^x^ V x\ ■\ .-y )o ^^^^^::'. V'* ■^^ .^^' ,^^^. ->^.^^.V-^'\^ ^^ •x^^' '"^^^ ■^^. .<^'^' V .0 > -.. ^. .^^ t- '-i'-