Sleepers 10th Massachusetts Battery: The History of the 10th Massachusetts Battery of Light Artillery in the War of the Rebellion E-Book

John D. Billings

• Herausgeber: Charles River Editors
• Kategorie: Geisteswissenschaft
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 648

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2018

Beschreibung

Sleepers 10th chronicles the history of the unit during the Civil War. John D. Billings, a native of Canton, Massachusetts, also authored Hardtack and Coffee.

Leseprobe

Introduction

Soon after the close of the Civil War, Major J. Henry Sleeper, for his own information and enjoyment, obtained permission from the Adjutant General of the U. S. A., to have an exact copy of the Morning Report Book of the Tenth Massachusetts Battery made. For various reasons the historian of the company in preparing its history some years since made but slight use of this book. The lapse of time has shown the survivors of the Battery that this omission on the part of their historian was a mistake; that many of them could have been materially aided in establishing their claims for a pension had these records been available, and that other historical material omitted should have found place in the volume. Acting on this idea at the last meeting of the Battery Association a committee was chosen, consisting of John D. Billings, Maj. Milbrey Green and Lieut. Charles E. Pierce and given full power to print the contents of the Morning Report Book with such other valuable historical material as seemed desirable.

That committee, after careful deliberation, decided it to be the part of wisdom to publish these Morning Reports, adding to them the history written many years ago carefully revised and corrected with its roster made accurate and complete. The committee also voted to include in the volume such portraits of members as can now be obtained and as many camp and battlefield sketches as are available, with a mortuary list to date, thus embracing compactly the Battery’s story as full and complete as it can now ever be told and more complete than most of the stories that have been written.

No attempt has been made to correct orthography or supply omissions in the records of the Morning Reports. They are reproduced as written (save the daily reports of the number of men and horses present which are omitted.) A few hiatuses in the narrative are due to the breaking off of pieces of the leaves in using, the book having been reduced to tinder in the safe of Major Sleeper during the great Boston fire of 1871.

The work of compilation, composition, and correction, though approved by the whole committee, was devolved on one who hereby assumes all responsibility for whatever faults the volume shall be found to have.

Preface

At the close of the war in 1865, John P. Apthorp, a member of the Company whose story is herein narrated, prepared for publication a manuscript history which he had designed to print In the autumn of that year; but when the work was complete, and his canvass of the members for subscriptions had been made, their response was so limited and inadequate to the outlay necessary for its issue that he abandoned the enterprise. That manuscript was made the basis of the present work. About thirteen years since it came into my hands by the courtesy of its author, with the object, on my part, of joining with one or two other members of the Company in assuming the expense of its publication. But a careful reading of it led us to the unanimous conclusion that thorough revision was necessary before doing so.

At the first reunion of the Company, held in Boston, in January, 1879, a committee on history was appointed, consisting of William E. Endicott and myself, to be joined by such others as we might designate. For obvious reasons most of the labor necessary in its preparation was devolved upon one individual; and that one hereby releases all others from responsibility for its faults.

In proper relation to the story of the Battery it has seemed desirable to incorporate so much of the history of brigades, divisions, corps or the army as shall serve to show members of the company causes and results of movements and campaigns which, at the time of their occurrence, were little understood.

My information in relation to the detailed history of the Battery not derived from the above manuscript was taken in large measure from my personal diary, and an almost unbroken series of nearly three hundred letters written home during our term of service.

I am under obligations to Maj. Gen. Winfield S. Hancock for ready access to his duplicate copies of official reports of operations of the Second Corps, as well as for the likeness of himself which adorns the volume; to Maj. Gen. A. A. Humphreys for duplicate copies of his official reports of operations of the Secoqld Corps; to the late Maj. Gen. William H. French for official reports of campaigns of the Third Corps during our connection with it; to the Hon. William Claflin for a complete set of government maps which have enabled me to trace with accuracy our lines of march in nearly all the movements in which we participated; to Maj. J. Henry Sleeper for his many kind offices during tlhe progress of thle work; to my associates of the committee, Messrs. William E. Endicott, Charles E. Pierce, Willard Y. Gross, George M. Townsend, and G. Fred. Gould, for the information and kindly criticism they have contributed; and to many more whose assistance has been less important only in degree.

In the prosecution of my researches, I have examined a large mass of war material, and have sought information by correspondence from commanders or eye-witnesses on both sides. I am also indebted to the past officers who have contributed their portraits.

With this introduction I now submit this volume to my surviving comrades and their friends, hoping that they will find enough of interest and value in its pages to make them lenient towards its defects. If they fail to do this no one will more sincerely regret it than their friend

The Author. Cambridge, Mass., July 19, 1881.

Chapter 1: August 12 to October 14, 1862.

   * Origin of the Battery

     — going into camp — incidents and experiences of life in home camp.

It was mid summer of 1862.

The disastrous failure of the Peninsular Campaign had shrouded the country in gloom. Thousands of the flower of the nation’s youth who, burning with the most ardent and unselfish patriotism had been marshalled in the ranks of the magnificent Army of the Potomac, had crossed another river never to return. It was one of the darkest periods in the history of the Civil War. A triumphant enemy was likely to be an aggressive one. The disaster must be repaired and that right speedily. Then it was that President Lincoln, cast down but not destroyed, issued his call for 300,000 more volunteers and under this call the following special order was issued from the State House in Boston:

   Special order no. 614.

   Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Headquarters, Boston, Aug. 12, 1862.

   Henry H. Granger is hereby authorized to raise a Battery of Light Artillery under U. S. Order No. 75, Battery to be full by 16th inst.

   The Captain will be designated hereafter.

   By command of His Excellency John A. Andrew, Governor and Commander-in-Chief.

   (Signed)

   Wm. Brown, Asst. Adjt. Gen’l.

The foregoing is a correct copy of the original order by which authority was given to recruit the Company afterwards known as the Tenth Massachusetts Battery.

In the Boston Journal of August 13, 1862, appeared the following notice:—

   Henry H. Granger has been authorized to raise a battery of light artillery to be filled by the 16th inst. As this is a popular arm of the service, there is no doubt of his ability to raise a company by the time specified.

So far as can be ascertained this is the first public notice of the company. In subsequent issues of the same paper occurred these notices:—

   Tenth Massachusetts Battery.

   [Aug. 14, 1862.]

   50 more men wanted for the Tenth massachusetts Battery. Apply immediately to 17 Old State House or 16 Howard Street.

   H. H. Granger, Recruiting Officer.

   [Aug. 18, 1862.]

   The 10th Massachusetts Battery recruiting by Lieut. H. H. Granger, is rapidly filling up, over 125 men having already enlisted. A splendid opportunity is here offered to those who wish to enlist in this popular arm of the service for three years.

   Tenth Massachusetts Battery.

   [Aug. 23, 1862.]

   The 10th Battery, H. H. Granger commanding, is full, and has been ordered into camp at Lynnfield to-day. They will leave Boston at 12 o’clock on the Boston and Maine R. R. J. Webb Adams of this city has been appointed Junior 1st Lieutenant.

   [Aug. 23, 1862.]

   The 10th Battery for three years service, recruited by Capt. Granger, left Boston for Camp Stanton at Lynnfield via Boston and Maine R. R., in the noon train to-day

As the above notices show, a recruiting office was opened at the Old State House, and also at 16 Howard Street, and but few days elapsed before the Company was recruited to the required standard of one hundred and fifty-six men. The readiness with which men rallied was undoubtedly due in large measure to the gentlemanly bearing and personal magnetism of the recruiting officer, Mr. Granger, whose many estimable qualities as a man won the affection of all who came in contact with him; and this regard, implanted thus early in the hearts of the men, continued unabated to the day of his death.

About thirty members of the Battery came from Worcester County, the home of Mr. Granger, thirty more from Charlestown, and the same number from Marblehead. The remainder were furnished by Boston and towns lying within a radius of twenty miles of it.

August 23 was the day fixed upon for the Company to go into camp. On the morning of that day, about a hundred men assembled at the Eastern Railway Station in Boston. At the command, ‘Fall in, Tenth!’ we formed line and went on board a train standing near to receive us, bound for Lynnfield, at that time one of the rendezvouses established for the reception of regiments and companies prior to their departure for the seat of war. This assemblage of men constituted the first tangible evidence that there existed such an organization as the Tenth Massachusetts Battery.

While sailors ers and seamen, blacksmiths and tailors, carpenters and teamsters, clerks fresh from the pen or yardstick, teachers, hard-handed laborers, policemen and restaurant keepers. All these, with men of various other callings, combined to make up a motley collection of tastes, interests and prejudices, such as war always assembles. But all these differences of calling and taste were to be sunk in a common unity of purpose and interest. Henceforth we should know each other as soldiers and soldiers only. While we were getting, acquainted the train moved on and in due time arrived at Lynnfield.

Here those whose duty it was to provide accommodations had nothing ready, thus giving us our first lesson in patient waiting, a lesson which soldiers have to learn early and practise long. There was the camp, it is true; but it was surrounded by sentries, armed with rusty muskets, whose valor we did not care to test by trespassing on their beat. While waiting outside the lines, a heavy shower came up, and we concluded, while hugging the lee side of contiguous buildings and becoming drenched to the skin, that we were having a fair initiation into the experiences of a soldier’s life. Sunshine again appearing, our prospects brightened materially. A company of one of the regiments in camp, going away on furlough, vacated its quarters for us. These consisted of two rows of tents, known interchangeably by the names of Sibley and Bell Tents; the former derived from the name of the inventor, the latter given from their resemblance to huge bells. They were pitched in two rows of six each, with a park between about four rods wide, at the head of which stood two wall tents occupied by the officers.

These tents, located by themselves near a pleasant piece of woods, formed a more inviting camp than had been anticipated, and we were not long in accommodating ourselves to them. Those who had been familiar with the culinary art took possession of the cook-house that stood near by, and in due time were dealing out tin dippers of black coffee and slices of bread, thus introducing us to the simple fare of army life.

Supper disposed of, we examined the interior of the tents. They were found to be supported by a central pole resting on an iron tripod. A plentiful supply of straw covered the ground. On this a dozen men in each stretched themselves, feet to the centre, and passed the first night, not in slumber, but in telling stories and shivering in the chill night air. The next day was the Sabbath, and camp life began in earnest. The guard, hemming us in on all sides, was at first rather chafing to free American citizens, but we accepted it as an annoyance inseparable from the service into which we had voluntarily entered. Some of us were detailed for guard around our own camp, while others went as supernumeraries to relieve the regular sentries at the central guard-house, and whiled away the hours in watching over certain wayward and drunken soldiers from the infantry near us, whose ambitious propensities to beat the guard over the head with a club, bite off the fingers of the corporal who remonstrated, and divers other offences against law and decency, had consigned them to confinement in the stall of an old stable, now dignified by the name of guard-house. So, in one way and another, we were inducted to our new employment. During the week our uniforms arrived, and with many jokes on the good clothes furnished us, we doffed the garb of civil life, and donning the uniform of light artillerymen, became genuine soldiers in appearance so far as uniformity of dress could make us so.

This pleasant camp, however, was not destined to be our home long. In a few days a portion of the troops encamped with us were ordered to the seat of war, and those remaining were to be removed to Boxford. So, packing up our effects and getting down to the station promptly at nine o’clock in the morning, according to orders, we were fairly seated in the cars by five o’clock in the afternoon, and under way at sundown. After several hours ride, during which the train had the singular faculty of going backwards as much as forwards, and standing still more than it did either, we were landed in Boxford about ten o’clock at night, to find the ground soaked with rain, and the beans that had been stewed for our supper by an advance guard, sour as vinegar. While some of the men were striving to make themselves comfortable for the remainder of the night in the cars, which had been left standing near the camp-ground, a voice came ringing through the train: ‘Any of Captain Garlic’s men here?’1 Again and yet again was it repeated in anxious tones at every door, although greeted with the jeers and execrations of the would-be slumberers within; but the captain with the fragrant name seemed to think his reputation as a soldier depended on immediately gathering all his flock under his sheltering care, as a hen gathers her chickens under her wings; for when some of us left the cars for fresh air without, before we had fairly touched the ground, the same inquiry concerning the whereabouts of Captain Garlic’s flock assailed us. We sought boxes and boards on which to sleep raised from the wet ground, and were just dropping off into dreamland when a gentle touch on the shoulder drove us well-nigh frantic, followed as it was by the same disgusting inquiry, and we then and there wished the whole Garlic clan and all its satellites, present or prospective, were in the sunny South. Some even gave him and his men direct marching orders to the fervid heats of a less favored clime. At last the interrogatory ceased, and we passed what little remained of the night in comparative quiet; but whether the indefatigable captain ever succeeded in collecting his truant flock, or found any end to his restless search, we never knew.

In the morning Camp Stanton was established at Boxford. Here we pitched our tents and remained about six weeks, changing our location once during our stay. On the 9th of September we were mustered into the service of the United States by Lieut. M. Elder of the regular army, and received one month’s pay in advance.

During September the Boston Journal made the following notes regarding us:

   [Friday, Sept. 5, 1862.

   An order was promulgated yesterday that the 10th Mass. Battery, Lieut. H. H. Granger acting commander, should be mustered into the service Tuesday next, and that they should proceed to Washington on Wednesday, Sept. 10. The Battery is full and the boys are anxious to go; and such of them as are on furlough are requested to note the above arrangement and govern themselves accordingly.

   Marriage in camp.

   [Sept. 11, 1862.]

   On the evening of the 9th inst. Mr. Tobinas Beck of Charlestown was married at Camp Stanton, Boxford, to Miss Sarah Kilgore of Hampden, Me., by Benj. S. Barnes, Esq., J. P. The occasion brought together a great many of the ladies of Boxford and of the friends of the bridegroom and bride.

   The officers of the 10th Mass. Battery, of which the bridegroom is a member, were also interested spectators of the ceremony. Bond’s Band volunteered their services and the whole party, military included, having formed a square, the ceremony was performed under the bright, shining moon. The happy pair afterwards received the congratulations of all present and then proceeded under escort to the house of the officiating magistrate where they were well entertained. The occasion was one of much enjoyment and interest.

   Tenth Massachusetts Battery.

   [Thursday, Sept. 11, 1862.]

   The 10th Mass. Battery was mustered into the United States service on Tuesday afternoon (Sept. 9) by Lieut. M. Elder, U. S. Mustering Officer.

While encamped here that disposition of the company to hang together which afterwards became proverbial, cropped out quite conspicuously; whether in rescuing a comrade from the Philistines of the Forty-first Regiment, among whom he was receiving a rough handling, or in taking one from the hands of the camp guard into whose power he had fallen for running in or out of camp without a pass, there was the same tendency displayed to stand by one another. Affairs finally came to such a pass that ‘Battery Boys’ were allowed to go and come at will, with none to molest or make afraid. Passes to leave camp soon became an obsolete formality. It is true that trains could not always be taken with safety at the camp-ground without them, owing to the presence of provost guards; but there was another station about two miles away, and some of the more wary walked as far as Topsfield, a distance of six miles, in order not to be summarily cut off from their semi-weekly or tri-weekly visits to home and loved ones.

Daily drill was inaugurated and carried on, all things considered, with a fair measure of success. One day we received the compliments of the officer J. Henry Sleeper of the day for proficiency, and the next, drew down upon our defenceless heads the wrath of Col. Jones, the unpopular post commander, for setting his authority at defiance.

Oct. 1, J. Henry Sleeper, the newly appointed Captain of the Company, arrived. He had been pronoted to this position from a first lieutenancy in the First Massachusetts Battery. By his interference we were relieved from camp guard,— a change which we heartily appreciated, having never taken kindly to it.

Capt. Jacob Henry Sleeper was a Bostonian by birth, son of the Hon. Jacob Sleeper of the Governor’s Council. He was twenty-three years of age and entered the army at the beginning of the war as 1st Lieutenant in the Fifth Massachusetts Infantry, where he won praise from his superiors for coolness and bravery in the first battle of Bull Run. Almost immediately after his time was out he joined Captain Porter’s First Massachusetts Light Battery as Lieutenant and gained much credit for dashing bravery, coolness under fire and skill as an artillerist. Thus highly recommended he was appointed commander of the Tenth.

The following letters are self-explanatory:

   Headquarters Artillery Brigade, 1st Div. 6th Army Corps, Camp near Harrison’s Landing, Aug. 4, 1862.

   Lieut. J. H. Sleeper of Porter’s Battery ‘A,’ Mass. Vol. Art’y has been under my command some months. During that time I have observed him in the camp, on the march and on the battlefield, and it gives me pleasure to state that on all occasions and in all situations he has acquitted himself as a soldier should. He is an excellent officer and a good artillerist.

   (Signed)

   E. R. Platt, Captain 2d Artillery, Comd’g Artillery Brigade.

   Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

   Adjutant General’s office.

   Boston, Sept. 9, 1862.

   Lieut. J. Henry Sleeper, Porter’s Battery, Mass. Vols.

   Lieut.,—I am directed by His Excellency the Governor to inform you that you have been appointed and commissioned as Capt. of a new Battery now organized in this Commonwealth known and designated as the 10th Battery of Mass. Volunteers, and you are requested to get leave from your — superior Officers and to report at once to these Head Quarters, where you will be ordered to take command of the new Battery.

   Respectfully Yours,

   (Signed)

   Wm. Schouler, Adjt. General of Mass.

The non-commissioned officers, with the exception of the second corporals, were now appointed; and our daily drill was carried on with two six-pounders, with which we waked the echoes of the camp and neighborhood at sunrise every day. But this peaceful state of affairs could not be expected to last forever, and, with the early days of October, there came rumors of orders to leave for the South.

Morning reports.

1862.

Sept. 11. Charles I.. Bisbee, Henry B. Winslow, Moses K. Davis, William Buckman, George H. Strickland, John A. Stearns, Peter Savory, Jr., Henry L. Wheelock, eight recruits over maximum, transferred to Col. Jones, Com—by order of Lieut. M. Elder, Mustering Officer.

Sept. 14. The above eight recruits return to the care of the commander of the Tenth Massachusetts Battery.

Sept. 23. George H. Strickland, one of the recruits, discharged on account of disability.

Oct. 1. Capt. J. Henry Sleeper came into camp and took command.

Oct. 3. Charles H. Bisbee, Henry B. Winslow, John A. Stearns, Moses K. Davis, Peter Savory, Jr., William Buckman and Henry L. Wheelock, seven recruits, transferred to Fifth Massachusetts Battery.

Oct. 4. Samuel Abell received a surgeon’s furlough Sept. 27, and it was extended to Oct. 4. Not being able he did not return to camp.

1 A captain in the 40th Massachusetts infantry.

Chapter 2: October 14 to 17, 1862.

   * The journey to Washington

     — incidents by the way

     — Philadelphia Union Refreshment Saloon.

The time spent in our own State may be regarded as the infancy of our organization. Song and sport prevailed, and from the appearance of the camp one would hardly have supposed it occupied by a body of men assembled with the serious purpose of devoting themselves to the deadly earnestness of battle. But when, at last, positive orders to depart for the seat of war came, the spirit of the scene changed. Men had run guard and taken furloughs for the last time, and all felt that the play of the past few weeks must now give place to the stern work and discipline of active service. Several false alarms were at last followed by positive marching orders; and October 14, 1862, saw us with well-stuffed knapsacks fairly under way. Our march through Boston called forth quite enthusiastic demonstrations from the citizens, which were continued until our arrival at the Old Colony Railway station, where we were to take the cars.

These notices appeared successively in the Boston Journal:—

   Marching orders.

   [Saturday, Oct. 4, 1862.]

   The 10th Massachusetts Battery in camp at Boxford have received marching orders for Monday, Oct. 6, and will probably reach this city about 1 o’clock. The following is a list of the  officers:—Capt., J. Henry Sleeper; Senior 1st Lieut., Henry H. Granger; Junior 1st Lieut., J. Webb Adams; Senior 2nd Lieut., Asa Smith; Junior 2nd Lieut. Thomas R. Armitage; First Sergeant, Otis N. Harrington; Quartermaster Sergeant, S. Augustus Alden; chiefs of Pieces with rank of sergeants, George H. Putnam; Philip T. Woodfin; Charles E. Pierce; Samuel J. Bradlee; Chandler Gould; George F. Gould. Gunners with the rank of Corporals; Andrew B. Shattuck. Charles W. Doe, John H. Stevens, George M. Townsend, Joseph H. Currant, Benjamin F. Parker; Guidon, William H. Fitzpatrick; Artificer. Amasa D. Bacon; Buglers, Joshua T. Reed, John E. Mugford; Company Clerk, Benjamin E. Corlew.

   The departure of Sleeper’s Battery.

   [Monday Oct. 13, 1862.]

   The 10th Mass. Battery, Captain Sleeper, now at Boxford will certainly leave for the seat of war at 10 o’clock tomorrow forenoon. The horses for the battery have all been inspected and placed on board the car. The field pieces will be supplied the company on their arrival at Washington.

   Departure of the 10th Massachusetts Battery.

   [Oct. 14, 1862.]

   The Tenth Massachusetts Battery, Captain J. Henry Sleeper, arrived in the city at 1 o’clock this afternoon from Camp Stanton, Boxford, and marched up State and Washington Street en route for the Old Colony and Fall River Railroad Depot. The company is composed of fine looking men who are thoroughly uniformed and provided with all the equipment necessary until they arrive in Washington. The Company received a cheering reception and hearty Godspeed from the citizens along the route.

   The Tenth Battery.

   (Special despatch to the Boston Journal.)

   [Wednesday, Oct. 15, 1862.] Jersey City, N. J. Oct. 15, 1862.

   The Tenth Mass. Battery arrived here safely at 8 o’clock this morning and left on the New Jersey R. R. at 9.45.

At the Old Colony station occurred the final leave-takings from a few of the wives, parents, and friends who had succeeded in eluding the vigilance which would have denied them this last privilege. There were brave struggles made to appear calm, but the tears would come, and as the train moved away, the last view of a wife or mother to some, was a frantic gesture of the hand and streaming eyes that told how great the sacrifice to those who must stay at home and wait.

We arrived at Fall River about dark, and found the steamer ‘State of Maine’ in readiness to receive us. After unloading our one hundred and ten horses from the forward cars, in which they had been shipped at Boston, and getting them unwillingly aboard and safely stored on deck, we took possession of the ample accommodations of the boat and made ourselves as comfortable as circumstances would permit. There was little sleep to be had that night, and many of us, though ordered to remain below, spent much time on deck, enjoying the brilliant starlight and weird phosphorescence of the dark waters until morning broke, and the attractions of New York harbor, which we were then entering, charmed our gaze.

It has been remembered of this voyage, by some of the comrades, that we drank water from a large ice-tank, in which, some, who professed to know whereof they spoke, declared that deceased soldiers had been packed and brought from Fortress Monroe early in the war. It is so much easier, removed from the event by a lapse of seventeen years, to vouch for the truthfulness of this statement than to prove its falsity that we shall pass it by unquestioned, leaving each comrade of the Battery whose eye meets the above to supplement the statement for himself with any facts in his possession.

In passing up New York harbor we sailed near the steamer Great Eastern, then anchored there, and obtained a very good view of her gigantic proportions.

We were not destined, however, to land at New York, but were headed directly for the opposite shore, and disembarked at Jersey City, amidst a perfect Babel of apple, peach, and pie women. Here, after stowing away the horses so closely that they could do but little at kicking and biting, we again took cars, bound for Philadelphia. All day long we rolled on through New Jersey, with its brick-red soil, its extensive level fields now mostly harvested, its fruited orchards ripening in the October sun, and its patriotic inhabitants greeting us as we rode along with hearty tokens of good-will. Tired, hungry and thirsty, we reached Camden late in the afternoon, and, crossing the ferry, entered Philadelphia, fittingly named the City of Brotherly Love. Nowhere else on the route were such ample preparations made for our comfort as here. Ushered first to a long row of basins with an abundance of water to wash off the grime of travel, we were then shown into a hall filled with tables laden, not with luxuries, but what was far more to our taste, plenty of plain, wholesome food, and overflowing dippers of hot tea and coffee.

Waiters were on every hand as obliging and assiduous in their attentions as at a hotel; and all this the Volunteer Relief Association, composed of citizens of Philadelphia, furnished from their own pockets to every regiment and battery that passed through their city during the entire war, whether they came at morning, evening, or the midnight hours. Warm were the praises on the tongue of many an old veteran at the front for the noble-souled people of Philadelphia, as he called to mind the cheering spot in his experience at the Philadelphia Union Refreshment Saloon.1

When supper was ended, we began our march across the city, with such a hand-shaking with old and young of both sexes, and such a God-speed from all the population, as came from no other city or town through which we passed, and this was continued until our arrival at the Baltimore depot. Could the wives and sweethearts left behind have seen the affectionate leave-takings at this place, it might have aroused other than patriotic emotions in their breasts. We recall at this moment the slight figure of Company Tailor Barker as it appeared extended on the pavement full-length, the result of a misstep while making an ambitious attempt to salute a young lady standing near the procession; and the sad picture that he presented in camp for some weeks afterwards as he tenderly dressed his nose, which had been wounded by contact with an unfriendly paving-stone at the ‘Fall of Man,’ rendered him the mark for frequent jests from those conversant with the facts.

By midnight we were under way, the cars containing the horses having been drawn across the city without change. The dim gray of morning found us at Havre-de-Grace, where, in the black remnants of the old bridge burned while the mob held sway in Baltimore, and in the fires of the picket guards stationed along the road, we began to recognize the first indications of war. Near this place we saw our first persimmon tree loaded with its golden fruit, so beautiful to the eye, but so execrable to the taste at this season of the year. Later when the fruit had become fully ripened by the frosts, we formed better opinions of it.

Having arrived at Baltimore, we were greeted by waving handkerchiefs and other tokens of welcome, and could but contrast the peaceful and apparently loyal attitude of the city at this time with its state of wild tumult when the Sixth Massachusetts Regiment passed through a year and a half before. The elements of rebellion here reduced to such thorough subjection, we accepted as an augury of what would ultimately be accomplished throughout the entire South. Each car containing a portion of the company was drawn across the city by eleven horses in tandem, the driver, from the front platform, with blast of horn and crack of whip urging his ponderous team to livelier gait. Having breakfasted at a saloon something like that at Philadelphia, we waited till long past noon for the Washington train. When at last it was provided, we no longer found luxurious passenger-cars, but common box-cars, ventilated by knocking out alternate boards in the sides, and furnished with rude plank seats. An engine drew us a mile or two out of the city, and then left us to our fate. Three or four hours afterwards just as the sun was setting, a nondescript object came puffing and wheezing along the track and attached itself to our train. It was apparently a machine of three stories. The first of these consisted of four driving-wheels, about three feet in diameter, upon which the whole rested. The second contained the boiler; and the third, directly over this, comprised the pilot-house and tender. The driving-wheels were moved by pistons which worked vertically, and the whole structure rattled as if in momentary danger of flying apart into its original atoms. It maintained its cohesion, however, and we began to move along. Dodging his way as best he might, and waiting at nearly every station for any trains likely to arrive within an hour, our engineer finally succeeded in rolling us into Washington about two o’clock Friday morning. Having disembarked in pitchy darkness and a pouring rain, we were ushered into a commodious barn-like building, known as the ‘Soldiers’ Rest,’ and throwing ourselves on the floor, were soon sound asleep.

Morning reports.

1862.

Oct. 14. Started from Boxford at 11.30 o’clock en route for Washington, D. C., with orders to report to the Adjutant General. At Boston we took a special train in which there were 111 horses turned over to us by Capt. McKim.

Oct. 17. Arrived in Washington and encamped near Bladensburg Tollgate about 6 o’clock P. M.

1 The above institution was organized shortly after the ‘Cooper Shop’ was opened. This movement of relieving the hunger and hardship of the soldiers originated with the women of Philadelphia, who, as early as the latter part of April, 1861, when the troops began to pass through that city, formed themselves into a committee and collected and distributed refreshments among them. They were aided in the work by the gentlemen, and as the troops increased in numbers the necessity of better accommodations was felt. It was then that William M. Cooper (firm of Cooper and Pearce), whose wife was one of the pioneers in the movement, gave up first a part, then nearly all of his establishment, for four years to the purpose of assisting the soldiers.

The ‘Union Saloon’ was established later, but the two worked in perfect harmony to the end of the war. They were located near each other, and a committee from each worked without friction in arranging for the reception of troops.

See History of the Cooper Shop Volunteer Refreshment Saloon, by James Moore, M. D.

Chapter 3: October 17 to December 26, 1862.

   * Washington

     — camp Barry — organization — drill — incidents.

‘Everything is a hundred years behind the age here,’ was the general exclamation the next morning, as daylight gave us our first view of the surroundings. The Capitol loomed up grandly with its massive proportions, a few hundred yards distant, but was so surrounded by wretched Southern hovels and dirty beer-shops, instead of the costly dwellings and clean streets which would have distinguished the locality in a Northern city, that it seemed like a precious jewel cast into a basket of rubbish. The noble structures reared by the government, which in a city otherwise beautiful would be its highest adornment, now seemed by contrast like the ornaments of a belle dangling from the unsightly rags of a beggar.

After getting fairly waked up, we made it our first business to look after the interests of the poor horses that had been boxed up in the cars for two days and nights without a mouthful to eat or drink during that time. They were sorry-looking creatures indeed, gaunt with hunger, bruised and bitten in their quarrels, and evidently pretty well used up. A few (lays of feeding and fresh air, however, brought them back to good condition again.

About nightfall we were ordered to our future quarters at Camp Barry, named for Gen. Barry, an artillery officer.1 The camp was situated a mile or so from the Capitol at the toll-gate of the Bladensburg pike. The Eleventh Massachusetts Battery, already here, greeted us with a cup of coffee all around, and furnished shelter for many of us, while the rest passed the night on the ground. Many of the Battery men will recall an incident which happened the next morning while a few were still sleeping on the ground; but we will refer the general reader, for particulars concerning the warm bath innocently administered to the ear of our late comrade George L. Clark, to any one of the original members, who made the camp resound with laughter for days after, whenever the matter was mentioned.

On the 17th of October we established our camp on an eminence of the field in which we had passed the night, having been provided with ‘A’ tents (so called from their shape), which accommodated four men each. Having got fairly established in camp, the work of organization, begun in Boxford, was carried on to completion. The non-commissioned officers, already alluded to as appointed at Camp Stanton, have been given in the roster. Six other corporals, called chiefs of caissons, were appointed on our arrival at Camp Barry. They were as follows:

Lewis R. Allard,

James S. Bailey, Jr.,

William B. Lemon,

William H. Starkweather,

Tobias Beck,

George A. Pease.

The duties of the first sergeant were mainly executive, consisting in taking charge of all general or special roll-calls, in exercising an oversight of stable duties, and in calling for details of men under the direction of the Officer of the Day or Commander of the Battery. The duties of the quartermaster sergeant consisted chiefly in supplying rations for the Company and subsistence for the horses, upon requisitions signed by the commander of the Battery. To each chief of piece was committed a body of men called a Detachment, in which were a first and second corporal, the former, known as gunner, sighting the gun in action and issuing the immediate orders to the gun’s crew. The second corporal had charge of the caisson and its ammunition. These detachments were a distribution of the Company into six divisions as nearly equal as possible, and to each was assigned a gun and caisson.

Two detachments with their pieces and caissons constituted a Section, which was commanded by a lieutenant. The men composing the detachments were classified as Cannoneers, Drivers and Spare Men. To each driver was committed a pair of horses that it was his duty to care for and drive. There were three drivers to a piece and three to a caisson. A gun’s crew included a sergeant, two corporals, and seven cannoneers. The duties of the corporals have already been stated. The duties of the cannoneers, who were designated by numbers, were as follows: number One sponged the gun and rammed home the charge; number Two inserted the charge; number Three thumbed vent, changed the direction of the piece by the trail handspike at the beck of the gunner, and pricked the cartridge; number Four inserted the friction primer with the lanyard attached into the vent, and at the command fired the gun; number Five assisted the gunner at the trail in limbering and unlimbering, and carried ammunition to number Two; number Seven furnished ammunition to number Five, and number Six had charge of the limber, cutting fuses, fitting them to shells and delivering the ammunition, one round at a time, to number Seven.

The spare men were to take the place of any who might become disabled in battle or by disease, and also had the care of spare horses.

Besides the six guns and caissons there were a portable Forge and Battery Wagon, which constituted a part of the regular outfit of the Battery. Each was drawn by six horses. The forge was in charge of a blacksmith called an Artificer,2 who had one assistant. Their duties Assistant Artificer consisted in doing all the shoeing and any other repairs that came within their province.

Alvan B. Fisher

The battery wagon was in charge of a mechanic also styled an artificer. It was filled with carpenter’s tools and extra equipments of various kinds likely to be needed in the ordinary wear and tear of service.

In addition to the foregoing, three Army Wagons, each drawn by four horses, were supplied to carry the forage, rations and camp equipage. Later in our experience, when horse-flesh became scarcer, each of these was drawn by six mules, and Messrs. Slack, Johnson, and Abbott learned a new tongue, which, although mastered with some difficulty, eventually became, with the aid of a little of the ‘black snake,’ a powerful agent in toning down or spurring on the recalcitrant mule.

An Ambulance, drawn by two horses, designed to carry the sick and wounded, completed the materiel of the Battery. Two Buglers, Joshua T. Reed and John E. Mugford, had been appointed to sound the calls for the various camp duties and for movements in drill, and William H. Fitzpatrick was selected as Guidon, or standard bearer.

All other preliminaries having been properly arranged, the horses were distributed to the drivers, and taken to the Washington Arsenal to be fitted with harnesses and to draw back guns and caissons. The former having been accomplished, with no trifling amount of opposition on the part of some of the animals, they were hitched to an old worn-out battery of small brass guns furnished us for drill. It may be added that two or three of the horses, acting as if conscripted, obstinately refused duty, and only yielded the contest with their lives, giving way in a few days to the rigors of a discipline to which they would not submit.

The following Monday regular drills began. At first the movements were slow and executed at a walk; but as they became familiar, we manoeuvred with a promptness and precision that would have reflected credit on older batteries. These drills, with one or two exceptions, always took place either on Capitol Hill or near the Toll-house at Camp Barry.

As time wore on, other batteries came and joined us, until a large brigade of artillery was assembled here. Among them was the Twelfth New York Battery, of which Lieut. Adams afterwards had temporary command. The mild, clear autumn days, which we had improved by four or five hours drill a day, were beginning to give place to the alternate frosts and drenching rains of a Southern winter, when we exchanged our ‘A’ tents for the Sibley pattern, now provided with conical stoves to set in the centre. This caused us to think we were to spend the winter here; but in a very few days there came rumors that we were to go to Texas. These were renewed at short intervals, until Texas became the veriest bugbear, for we were bitterly opposed to going into any section of the Gulf Department. On the 17th of December we received orders to exchange the unserviceable guns we had drilled with for a new battery complete in all its equipments.

The new guns, known as the Rodman,3 were of steel, had a three-inch rifled bore, and carried an elongated shell of about ten pounds weight. With this outfit for active service came fresh batches of rumors. The Ninth and Eleventh Massachusetts batteries had left Camp Barry for parts unknown, and we should probably go next. This prospect of a change was not wholly displeasing to us, for, although we were not anxious to go to Texas, we were desirous of leaving the brigade, as it was under the charge of a man who had the faculty of accomplishing the smallest amount of service with the greatest amount of inconvenience to the men under his control. In his discipline he was a most rigid martinet and exacted unflinching obedience to disgusting requirements. The neighborhood of his headquarters was disgraced daily by the presence of victims undergoing his varied and villanous tortures; in short, his love of display, his absurd regulations, an undue parade of his ‘brief authority,’ and his outrageously severe punishments of trivial offences, caused the name of Maj. Munroe to be execrated by all soldiers who were ever so unfortunate as to come under the dominion of this small-souled officer.

We have not forgotten in this connection that the constraints of military service were yet new to us, and that in consequence we bore the exactions it permitted with less patience than afterwards. Nevertheless, looking back through our entire term of service, it is our calm, deliberate conviction, sustained by the judgments of history, that the war was greatly prolonged, the loss of life much increased, and the service in many other ways suffered material detriment, by the appointment of officers morally and intellectually unfit for their positions, to whom love and justice, the very foundation principles of all lasting control over men, seemed entirely unknown.

But whatever drawbacks the discipline of Camp Barry interposed to our happiness as individuals, it must be admitted (not, however, as in any way due to the management of the Post Commander) that we became good soldiers here. The frequent and vigorous drills of our efficient Captain made us, on the authority of a no less competent judge than Gen. Barry himself, accomplished as artillerists, and of this education we were reasonably proud.

Leaves of absence were frequently granted to go up into the city, and even as far as Alexandria, when approved by Gen. Casey.

In the earlier part of our sojourn here it was decided to build a stable large enough to accommodate eight hundred horses, and details of men for this purpose from the various batteries then in the brigade were ordered to report to David R. Stowell, our artificer, who was to have charge of its construction. A violent rain-storm and wind threw down the stables when only partly finished; but they were afterwards carried on to successful completion. As we were told there would be an extra allowance of forty cents per day made for our labor, we looked upon the enterprise as something desirable, especially as it exempted us from all camp duties; but as the wages expected never came to hand, the question of interest to the detail from the Battery afterwards was, why not?

With the arrival of Thanksgiving there came to many of the men boxes freighted with good things from home. Capt. Sleeper generously added to the occasion a contribution of six turkeys, which, with others already purchased, enabled us, so far as eatables affected the subject, to pass the day in a manner at least approximating its accustomed dignity and importance.

December 13th the bloody battle of Fredericksburg was fought, and we recall at this moment the sadness that pervaded our camp on the two succeeding days, when we saw over across on Capitol Hill the long line of ambulances passing slowly along, depositing their suffering loads of human freight, from that disastrous field, in the Lincoln hospitals just erected here as if in anticipation of this very event.

At Camp Barry the practice of baking our beans in the ground in a hole dug and thoroughly heated for the purpose was initiated, and this innovation on the previous custom of stewing them became so popular that it was ever after adopted whenever our stay in a camp was long enough to permit it.

Our situation was now becoming daily more vexatious from continued innovations on former customs and the principles of common sense, when the long expected and now much desired order to move was received. It arrived Christmas day, which this year came on Thursday. The evening was spent in packing up and making all necessary preparations for departure on the morrow.4

At this place we took our first lesson in sundering tender ties that had grown up between ourselves and the little conveniences we had devised and arranged to make camp life more cosy and comfortable. The amount of baggage we could take was necessarily limited, and such a selection should be made as would result only in the ‘survival of the fittest.’ any little knick-knacks sent from home must be left behind, or in some inconceivable way taken along; and this experience was repeated over and over again in our subsequent history, more especially when about to leave winter-quarters. No one not a soldier can appreciate the emotions of the soldiers when the time came for them to part with the little seven-by-nine huts they had made their homes for a few weeks,—structures rude enough at best, but to which they were none the less attached,—fitted up with bunks, closets, shelves, fireplaces, and other such conveniences; intimately associated, too, with social pastimes and dreams, and news of home and dear ones. These they must leave to go, whither? to return—in all probability never; for in the uncertainties attending the duration of human life in active service, that very day might be their last on earth. Can it be wondered at, then, that like the Indians, as stated by Story, they should turn and take a last sad look at the roofless houses they were leaving behind?

Morning reports.

1862.

Oct. 18. Received from Quartermaster Dana, 14 horses, 3 baggage wagons and 1 ambulance—making in all 125 horses.

Oct. 19. One horse died from influenza and cold, contracted while being transported.

Nov. 4. Senior 2nd Lieut. Asa Smith arrived in camp and reported for duty.

Nov. 5. One horse died from cold, &c.

Nov. 7. James J. Woodard left camp without leave.

Nov. 8. One horse died from inflammation and influenza.

Nov. 11. One horse died from stoppage and one horse strayed and never found.

Nov. 15. Private Jonathan E. Childs died at Emory Hospital of typhoid fever. Six horses condemned and returned to quartermaster Dana.

Nov. 16. George M. Dixon was carried to Ebenezer Hospital.

Nov. 21. Samuel Abell still remains at Boston, sick. Received from Quartermaster Dana 12 horses.

Nov. 23. Alonzo N. Merrill sick in quarters and George K. Putnam finger jammed badly.

Nov. 24. George K. Putnam sick in quarters.

Nov. 25. George K. Putnam, A. A. Blandin and Franklin Ward sick in quarters. One horse died of * *

Nov. 26. George K. Putnam, Charles E. Prince and A. N. Merrill sick.

Nov. 27. James Dwight, Charles E. Woodiss, J. L. W. Thayer, S. A. Hanson sick in quarters. George M. Dixon sent to Emory Hospital.

Nov. 28. Franklin Ward and George K. Putnam  sick in quarters. A. B. Fisher assigned to extra duty since Sept. 9, 1862 (?) by Major Munroe, by request of Captain * *

Nov. 29. Prince sick in quarters. Nov. 30. Prince returned to duty.

Dec. 1. Sergt. Woodfin sent to Post Hospital. Corp’l Starkweather sick in quarters. J. J. Woodard deserted Nov. 7, 1862.

Dec. 2. Three wagoners, Chas. E. Bruce, Alvin Abbott and F. A. Chase detailed on extra duty.

Dec. 3. Corp’l Starkweather returned to duty.

Dec. 4. One horse died of inflammation of the bowels.

Dec. 6. Ward, Putnam and Woodfin returned to duty.

Dec. 7. John W. French, Alvin B. Fisher, Chas. E. Bruce, Alvin Abbott, F. A. Chase and Charles Slack detailed on extra duty as per Special Order No. 17, Headquarters Camp Barry, from Oct. 17, 1862. H. B. Winslow and Franklin Ward sick in quarters.

Dec. 8. H. B. Winslow returned to duty.

Dec. 10. M. G. Critchett, John Pedrick and R. B. Wendall sick in quarters.

Dec. 11. M. G. Critchett returned to duty.

Dec. 12. Chas. N. Packard and Joseph Cross sick in quarters. One horse shot, disease glanders, by order of Capt. * *

Dec. 13. Chas. N. Packard returned to duty. The Battery, books, quarters, stables &c., &c., were fully inspected by Col. Webb.

Dec. 14. Chas. E. Bruce relieved from extra duty and pay the 12th and Roswell Bemis takes his place and pay as ambulance driver and extra duty man from Dec. * * Joseph Cross and John Pedrick returned to duty.

Dec. 15. R. B. Wendall returned to duty.

Dec. 19. Franklin Ward sent to Emory Hospital. R. B. Wendall and George W. Park sick in quarters.

Dec. 20. Geo. W. Park returned to duty. One horse died of gravel in foot which caused fever. No. 1 on inspection report.

Dec. 21. R. B. Wendall sent to Post Hospital.

Dec. 23. James Peach sick in quarters.

Dec. 25. H. B. Winslow, 2nd., sick in quarters.

Dec. 26. Received 12 horses from Quartermaster Dana. Six horses condemned and turned over to Quartermaster Dana. Started for Poolsville, Md., about 10.30 o’clock. H. B. Winslow and R. B. Wendall left in hospital at Camp Barry.

1 Died July 18, 1879.

2 Amasa D. Bacon held this position throughout our term of service.

3 In honor of Maj. Gen. Thos. J. Rodman, their inventor.

4 The preparation for departure was temporarily enlivened by Capt. Sleeper’s tent taking fire and burning down.

Chapter 4: December 26, 1862, to June 24, 1863.

   * On the march

     — Poolsville — camp life — discontent — drill — incidents — Benson’s Hill — alarms — retrospect.

Friday morning, Dec. 26, about 10.30 o’clock, we turned our backs on Camp Barry with little reluctance, and moving up Maryland Avenue past the Capitol into Pennsylvania Avenue, thence on through Georgetown, we entered the main road leading to the upper Potomac. The weather had been mild for several days, and the roads being dry and hard enabled us to move along easily. The tempting persimmon trees near the roadside, bending with their luscious fruit, now fully ripened by the frost, allured the cannoneers to frequent excursions from the main body. At noon we halted in a grove near a running stream and prepared and ate dinner. Thus far the journey seemed more like a holiday trip than the advance of a military detachment.

At 3 P. M. we halted for the day and put our guns ‘In Battery.’ A stack of unthreshed oats near by, for which certificates of indebtedness were given to the owner, furnished supper for the horses and excellent beds for many of us, while others slept between the folds of the tarpaulins. These latter were large squares of canvas used to cover the guns and caissons. They were frequently employed afterwards for a night’s shelter when on the march, as they afforded protection from storms, and could be folded and strapped upon the limbers at short notice.

Passing on through Darnestown, Tenallytown, and Rockville, we bivouacked one more night, and the next day, Sunday, Dec. 28, about 11 o’clock A. M., arrived at Poolsville. This was a little settlement, of strong secession proclivities, on the upper Potoillac, near Edwards Ferry, interesting as the scene of frequent guerrilla raids. In the most recent of these Maj. White and a party of his followers, who belonged in this neighborhood, had surprised and captured a body of fifty or seventy-five Union cavalry one evening while they were at church in the town, the officer in command having neglected to leave any one on guard. One of tile assailing party fell. His grave is still to be seen (1879) in the little cemetery near the church.

Partly through the influence of a Mr. Metzger, the postmaster, who, except one Dr. Brace, was the only Union man in the town, more troops were at once sent, and we found already encamped here the Fourteenth New Hampshire and Thirty-ninth Massachusetts regiments, commanded by Colonels Wilson and Davis, respectively. ‘How are you, Boxford?’ was the greeting from the latter regiment as soon as we were recognized, and it seemed like meeting old friends to fall in with those who had been encamped with us on the soil of Massachusetts.

We were now considered to be in the enemy’s country, and great vigilance was thought necessary. On the second morning we were aroused at 4 o’clock, and turning out in the darkness, hastily harnessed, only to find when everything was ready, that it was a hoax to see how quickly we could be on hand in an emergency. Such artifices are frequently resorted to by officers when either they or their commands, or both, are ‘green.’

At first we pitched our tents on a level tract of land outside and near the town, but it being considered by Dr. Brace too flat to be healthy, we moved soon afterwards to a rise of ground a few rods distant. Here we laid out a plan for a permanent camp. From the quarters occupied by Gen. Stone’s troops prior to Ball’s Bluff disaster, and from the barn-yards and rail fences of the neighboring farmers, we obtained materials for building a stable; this was erected around three sides of a square and thatched with straw. The walls were constructed by setting up rails a foot apart and weaving among them huge ropes of straw twisted by hand. Thus comfortable quarters were made for the horses. This structure was finished towards the last of January, and occupied the centre of the camp. The tents were arranged as at Boxford, six on either side, removed from the wings of the stable by a street about two rods wide. Within the square stood the harness racks, while in front the Battery was ‘parked.’

The weather being pleasant for some days after our arrival, our drills were resumed with the customary vigor. In one of these a sham fight was had between the Battery and a body of ‘Scott’s Nine Hundred’ cavalry that had recently encamped near by. As the contest waxed warm and men became excited, Frank Loham, No. Two man on the second piece, was quite seriously wounded in the face and breast by a premature discharge.

Once in a while the whole or a part of the Battery was taken out for target practice. On one of these occasions a distant pig-pen was the object aimed at, and immediately after a well-directed shot, the occupant, who, it seemed, was at home, issued forth very promptly, attended by her family unharmed, but amazingly astonished. On another occasion the colors were set up as a target, and the staff was cut in halves by a ball from a spherical case shot.