Slavery and Four Years of War Part 40

( 6) _Ohio in the War_, vol. i., p. 93.

( 7) _Battles and Leaders_, vol. ii., p. 736.

( 8) _Battles and Leaders_, vol. ii., p. 744, map.

( 9) _War Records_, vol. xvii., Part I., pp. 158, 170; _Battles and Leaders_, vol. ii., p. 752.

(10) _War Records_, vol. xvii., Part I., p. 176.

(11) _Ibid_., p. 381 (382-4).

(12) _Ibid_., p. 158, 308.

(13) _War Records_, vol. xvii., Part I., pp. 205-8, 302, 322.

(14) _Ibid_., p. 158; Grant's _Memoirs_, vol. i., p. 417.

(15) _Battles and Leaders_, vol. ii., p. 753; _War Records_ (Rosecrans' Report), vol. xvii., Part I., p. 170.

(16) Atlas, _War Records_, Part V., plate 24.

(17) _War Records_, vol. xvi., Part I., p. 978.

(18) _War Records_, vol. xvi., Part I., pp. 966, 970.

(19) _Battles and Leaders_, vol. iii., pp. 603-42.

(20) While the army was ma.s.sed at Dripping Springs, a beef-ox escaped from a herd about midnight, and in wild frenzy rushed back and forth through the army, jumping on and running over the bivouacked sleeping soldiers, seriously injuring many, until a large part of the army was alarmed and called up. He was finally surrounded and bayoneted to death.

(21) Atlas, _War Records_, Part V., plate 24.

(22) _War Records_, vol. xvi., Part I., pp. 862-8.

(23) _War Records_, vol. xvi., Part I., p. 862-8.

(24) _Ibid_., Part II., p. 564.

(25) _Ibid_., pp. 539, 554-5, 560.

(26) _War Records_, vol. xvi., Part II., pp. 554-5, 560.

(27) _Battles and Leaders_, vol. iii., pp. 43, 61.

(28) _Battles and Leaders_, vol. iii., pp. 47, 602.

(29) _Battles and Leaders_, vol. iii., pp. 602, 47.

(30) _War Records_, vol. xvi., Part I., pp. 1092-6.

(31) _Ibid_., Part II., p. 580.

(32) _War Records_, vol. xvi., Part I., pp. 1092-3.

(33) _Ibid_., p. 1040.

(34) _War Records_, vol. xvi., Part I., pp. 1033, 1112.

(35) _War Records_, vol. xvi., Part I., p. 1088.

(36) _Ibid_., Part II., pp. 641, 654.

CHAPTER IX Commissioned Colonel of 110th Ohio Volunteers--Campaigns in West Virginia under General Milroy, 1862-3--Emanc.i.p.ation of Slaves in the Shenandoah Valley, and Incidents

On September 30, 1862, I arrived at Columbus, Ohio, from Louisville, and was at once commissioned Colonel of the 110th Ohio Volunteer Infantry. My regiment was at Camp Piqua, Ohio, not yet organized and without arms or clothing. I found the camp in command of a militia colonel, appointed for the purpose.

The men of the 110th Ohio were for the most part recruited from the country, and were being fed in camp, in large part, by home- food voluntarily furnished by their friends. They were a fine body of young men, but none of the officers had seen military service.

I declined to a.s.sume command of the camp or regiment until clothing and arms could be procured. Three or four days sufficed to obtain these supplies, but only percussion-cap smooth-bore .69 calibre muskets could be obtained. These guns were heavy, long, and unwieldy, and much inferior to the Springfield .58 calibre rifle, but I accepted them temporarily rather than be delayed in the drill and discipline of the regiment, which was impossible without them.

On a.s.suming command, I called the officers of the regiment together and explained to them their duties as well as my own, and especially informed each company commander that he would be required to qualify himself to command his company, and that all times he would be held responsible for its soldierly conduct. A school of officers was established, and the whole camp soon wore a military aspect. The work thus commenced in time transformed these raw volunteers into officers and soldiers as good as ever fought in any war or country.( 1)

The environments of Camp Piqua were not favorable to discipline, but on October 19, 1862, the regiment took cars and proceeded _via_ Columbus to Zanesville, thence by water to Marietta, and from the latter place on foot to Parkersburg, West Virginia, where it first occupied and camped in what was called the enemy's country. An early but severe snow-storm came during the first night of our encampment, and suggested the hards.h.i.+p and suffering which were not to cease until the final victory at Appomattox. Drill and discipline went on satisfactorily. New troops will bravely stand to their work in battle if they can be manoeuvred successfully, and also know how to use their arms. General J. D. c.o.x, in command of the District of West Virginia, with his uniform courtesy welcomed me by telegraph to my new field of operations. In a few days I was ordered to Clarksburg and to a section familiar to me when serving under McClellan.

At Parkersburg I first me the 122d Ohio Infantry, commanded by Col.

Wm. H. Ball. He was my junior in date of muster eight days and, consequently, in more than two years our regiments served together, I generally commanded him. He was not an educated soldier, and did not aspire to become one, nor did he take pains to appear well on drill or on parade, yet he was a most valuable officer, loyal and intelligently brave, possessing enough mental capacity to successfully fill any position. He did not aspire to high command, but at all times faithfully performed his duty in camp and on the battle-field. His loyalty to me, while my senior in years, still claims my grat.i.tude.

His regiment, like the volunteer regiments generally, had in it many men who became prominent in the war, and, still later, in peace. Lieutenant-Colonel Moses M. Granger was a most accomplished officer, and deserved a higher rank. In addition to the distinction won by him as a soldier he has attained a high reputation as a citizen, lawyer, and jurist.

The first surgeon (Thaddeus A. Reamy) of the 122d, though not long in the field, has taken a first place in his profession, as has also its next surgeon, Wm. M. Houston, and its a.s.sistant surgeon, Wilson G. Bryant. Its chaplain, Charles C. McCabe, was one of the best and most efficient in the war. His zeal in the performance, under all circ.u.mstances, of the high duties of his office, and his cheerful disposition, aided in trying times to keep up the spirits and courage of the soldiers. He ministered to the wounded and the dying on the battlefield, and to the sick and disabled in hospital.

He was famed throughout the armies he served with for singing at appropriate times, with a strong, melodious voice, patriotic and religious songs, in which, often even on the march, a large part of the army would join.

He has since achieved success in the Methodist Episcopal Church, in which he is now a bishop. William T. Meloy, D. D., of the United Presbyterian Church--now in Chicago--was a lieutenant in this regiment. He has become eminent for his learning and high character.

Those named of these companion regiments are examples only of others who voluntarily and heroically endured the trying ordeal of war.

A false report that Stonewall Jackson was threatening a raid on the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad at New Creek (now Keyser), West Virginia, caused a precipitate transfer by rail of my command to that place. There I came first under the direct command of Major- General Robert H. Milroy, then distinguished for his zeal for the Union and for personal bravery. He was tall and of commanding presence. His head of white, shocky, stiff hair led his soldiers to dub him the "Gray Eagle." He had much military learning, and had fought in many of the bloodiest battles of the war, notably at the second Bull Run under Pope. He had seen service also in the Mexican War. Notwithstanding his excessive impetuosity, he was a just, generous, kind-hearted man, and possessed the confidence of his troops to a high degree. He incurred the ill-will of Secretary of War Stanton, and, regarding himself as unjustly treated, more than reciprocated the Secretary's dislike. He ardently admired President Lincoln, and only criticised him for delay in emanc.i.p.ating the slaves. He believed the slaves of those in rebellion should have been given their freedom from the beginning of the war. He was so bitterly hostile to slavery and to individual Secessionists, and so radical in his methods, that Jefferson Davis, by proclamation, excepted him and his officers from being treated, if captured, as prisoners of war. He was charged with making a.s.sessments on inhabitants and of requiring them to take an oath to support the Const.i.tution and the Union. He also had the distinction of being mentioned by Davis in a Message to the Confederate Congress, January 12, 1863. There was much correspondence between the opposing authorities on the subject of his mode of conducting the war,( 2) and it seems General Halleck disavowed and condemned Milroy's alleged acts. Much charged against Milroy was false, though it was true he believed in prosecuting the war with an iron hand. He regarded the Confederate soldier in the field with more favor than the Confederate stay-at-home who acted as a spy, or who, as a guerilla, engaged in shooting from ambush pa.s.sing soldiers or teamsters and cutting telegraph wires. He did require certain influential persons who resided within his lines to take an oath of allegiance to the United States and to West Virginia or to forfeit all right to the protection of his division. Further than this he did not go.

At New Creek I first met G. P. Cluseret, a French soldier of fortune, but recently appointed a Brigadier-General. He held a command under Milroy in the Cheat Mountain Division. He a.s.sumed much military and other learning, was imperious and overbearing by nature, spoke English imperfectly, and did not seem to desire to get in touch with volunteers. With him I had my only personal difficulty of a serious nature during the war.

At New Creek a constant drill was kept up. To avoid surprises by sudden dashes, the companies as well as the battalion were taught to form squares quickly and to guard against cavalry. Early in December Milroy marched to Little Petersburg, on the South Branch of the Potomac, and I was a.s.signed to command a post at Moorefield to include Hardy County, West Virginia, Milroy's headquarters being ten miles distant. General Lee ordered General W. E. Jones, then temporarily in command in the Shenandoah Valley, to retake the county we occupied. A feeble effort to do this failed. We were kept constantly on the alert, however, by annoying attacks of Captain McNeil's irregular cavalry or guerillas. Late in December, 1862, it was decided to make a raid into the lower Shenandoah Valley, and, if found practicable, occupy it permanently. I was designated to lead the raid with about two thousand infantry, cavalry, and artillery. This made it necessary for me to be relieved of the command of the post. Cluseret was therefore ordered from Petersburg to relieve me. He arrived late in the evening with his staff and escort, showed his orders, and I suggested that he a.s.sume the command at once. This he declined to do until he ascertained the position of the troops, roads, etc. I provided him comfortable quarters, and everything would have gone along pleasantly but for an unexpected incident.

Before Cluseret's arrival, a lieutenant-colonel of a West Virginia regiment applied for leave to go to Petersburg to visit a lady friend. This I refused, and he undertook to go without leave.

After he had proceeded along the river road by moonlight about three miles, he was halted by a man who, from behind a tree, pointed a musket at him and demanded his surrender and that he deliver up his sword, pistols, overcoat, horse, and trappings, all of which he did promptly, and accepted a parole. The man who made the capture claimed to be a regular Confederate soldier returning from a furlough to his command. With the colonel's property and on the horse he proceeded by a mountain path on his journey. The colonel walked back to Moorefield and related his adventure. I at once ordered Captain Rowan with a small number of his West Virginia cavalry to pursue the Confederate. As there was snow on the ground, his pursuit was easy, and before midnight the Captain had captured him and all the colonel's property was returned to Moorefield.

When the man was brought before me, I made some examination of him and then ordered him taken to the guard-house. At this time Cluseret appeared on the scene, and in an excited way demanded that I should order the prisoner to be shot forthwith. This being declined, he again produced his order to supersede me, and declared he would at once take command and himself order the man shot that night. I could not deny his right to a.s.sume command notwithstanding what had taken place, but I strongly denied his authority to shoot the captive, and insisted that there was no cause for shooting him summarily; that only through a court-martial or military commission could he be condemned, and a sentence to death would, to carry it out, require the approval of the President. (It was not until later in the war that department, district, or army commanders could approve a capital sentence.) Cluseret vehemently denounced the authorities, including the President, for their mild way of carrying on the war, and talked himself into a frenzy. As he was preparing an order to require the Provost-Marshal to shoot the man without trial, I repaired to the telegraph office and made Milroy acquainted with the situation, whereupon he ordered me to retain command of the post until further orders. Milroy, on coming to Moorefield the next day, sustained me, and the soldier was treated as an ordinary prisoner of war. Cluseret pretended to be satisfied, and later succeeded in getting himself a.s.signed to command the expedition to the Shenandoah Valley--not a very desirable one in mid-winter. He reached Strasburg, and moved through the Valley northward to Winchester, but was pursued by a small force under Jones. This made it necessary to reinforce him, and I started under orders for that place _via_ Romney and Blue's Gap, and was joined on the way by Milroy with the body of his division. On leaving Moorefield, on the 30th of December, I with two orderlies rode ahead about a mile to the South Branch of the Potomac to examine the ford, as we had no pontoons, and, having crossed the river, awaited the approach of the wagon train and its guard, which was to take the advance, as no enemy was known to be in that direction. As the head of the train reached the ford Captain J.

H. McNeil (whose home was near by), with about fifty of his guerilla band, attacked it by emerging from ambush on the Moorefield side of the river. A short fight ensued, during which I recrossed the river and joined in it. McNeil was driven off with little loss, but for a brief time I was in much danger of capture, at least.

On this day a colored boy, an escaped slave, whom we named Andrew Jackson, joined me. He became my servant to the end of the war.

He was always faithful, honest, good-natured, and brave. He was a full-blood African, and during a battle would voluntarily take a soldier's arms and fight with the advance lines. He became widely known throughout the Army of the Potomac and other armies in which I served, and was kindly treated and welcomed wherever he went.

He resided after the war in Springfield, Ohio, and died there (1895) of an injury resulting from the kick of a horse.