Martial deeds of Pennsylvania

THE GBEAT UPBISING. I53

to Pennsylvania, to the army, and indeed to the entire North, with what leaden weight must they have fallen upon the ears of the foe, who had been led to believe that Maryland was render- ing unwilling obedience to Union rule, and was ready for revolt when the opportunity should be aflforded? The result of this invasion dissipated a delusion which- had been filling the minds of the insurgents from the time when the mob in Baltimore had cut off communication with the North, to the triumph of the Union arms on the field of Antietam, and with which they were never afterwards troubled.

FIRST BAY OF THE BATTLE OF QETTYSBUB.G. 237

that First corps on that blood-washed field to count for nought in the final winning? Shall Doubleday, and Howard, and Stein- wehr, have no credit for taking and holding that impregnable fortress on Cemetery Hill, where the battle was finished ? Is the taking up and fortifying that ground no part of that great struggle ? Ay ! rather was the fighting of that first day, and the planting immovable footsteps on the fastnesses of Ceme- tery Hill, The Battle of Gettysburg. As well might it be said that the fight made by the gallant Sickles himself, and the glorious Third corps, baptized in blood as it was, con- stitutes no part of the battle. As well might the struggles of McCook and Johnson, and Davis and Sheridan, and Rosseau and Negley be gainsayed in the Battle of Stone River ; or the opening of the contest by Hooker in the Battle of Antietam. No, no ! The glories of that battle cannot be divided, and apportioned, and parcelled. They are parts of one great whole. Who knows of the battle of Oak Ridge ! How does it become the mouth to say that Reynolds fell at the battle of Willoughby Run!

CHARLES F. TAYLOR. 433

rebels who immediately took them prisoners. ■ They were both paroled at Petersburg, and at once sent into the Union lines. Their request to be exchanged was not granted, and they re- mained- prisoners on parole until November, during which time Captain Taylor was commandant of Camp Parole, at Annapolis. He was not released until after the battle of Antietam, when — Colonel McNeil having been killed, and Colonel Kane having been promoted to Brigadier-General — he was advanced to Colonel, then but twenty-one, among the youngest who held that com- mission in the Union army. In the battle of Fredericksburg, he was wounded, the loss in the regiment being very severe. At Gettysburg the Bucktails were in the First brigade, commanded by Colonel McCandless. At the moment when the fortunes of the day on the left of the field seemed utterly lost, brigade after brigade, and division after division, having been pushed forward, only to be hurled back mangled and bleeding, McCandless was ordered to charge and check the impetuous onsets of the foe. In two lines he advanced, Taylor having the left of the second line. The swamp, formed by Plum Run, presented a serious impedi- ment ; but, having passed it in the face of a murderous fire, he swept on, and having crossed the stone wall upon the verge of the wood, dashed through it to the edge of the Wheatfield, where, while in the act pf steadying and encouraging his men, he was shot through the heart by the bullet of a sharp-shooter. His body was carried back, and taken to his home near Ken- nett Square, where it was buried with impressive ceremonies. A tasteful monument rests over his grave — the tribute of sol- diers and friends.

WASHINGTON BROWN. 437

minutes he became delirious, and shortly after breathed his last, joining in the spirit-land his many comrades whose last earthly struggle was on the bloody field of Antietam.

GEOBOE B. BAYARD. 429

In the desperate engagement at Fredericksburg, on the 13th of December, he had the honor of opening the battle, and hold- ing the enemy in check until the infantry could come up, when he was withdrawn and posted on the extreme left of the line, his left flank abutting upon the river. " There," says the life, " he was engaged all the morning of the 13th, more or less with the enemy's skirmishers and advance. His last directions, before leaving his troops to go to the headquarters of General Franklin, Avere given to his artillery officer to change the position of some of his guns. A little before two o'clock he rode to headquarters, to receive such orders as General Franklin might deem proper to give. He found the General in a grove of trees, with some of his staff and other General officers. The enemy were then throwing their shells at and around this grove. General Bayard, soon after he arrived, having dismounted, seated himself at the foot of a tree, but with his face towards the quarter from whence the shells came. He was warned by a brother officer of his needless exposure, and invited to change his position. This he did not do, but remained for some time participating in the conversation of those around. In a little while, however, he rose from his seat, and hardly stood erect, when he was struck by a shell just below the hip, shattering his thigh near the joint." In this frightful condition, with mind still clear and active, he lingered until noon of the following day, arranging his business and send-

GEOBOE B. BAYARD. 429

his bed ; but when he learned the disasters which had befallen his regiment, — the Colonel and Major dead on the field, and more than half its numbers gone down in the battle, — he determined to rejoin it. His strength was insufl&cient to bear up under the fatigues of the march, and he was finally carried insensible from the field. He was taken in a hospital ship to New York, and thence to his home in Erie. On his return, in October, he took command of the regiment, having been chosen and commis- sioned Colonel during his absence. He participated in the battle of Fredericksburg, and while on the advance line in front of the enemy, the command of the brigade devolved upon him. He was, for several weeks. President of a court-martial, and was ten- dered the position of Judge- Advocate-General of the Army of the Potomac. But this honor, which many young ofiicers would have coveted, he declined, saying : " I enlisted to fight." In the action at Ashby's Gap, on the 21st of June, preceding the battle of Get- tysburg, in which Vincent commanded a brigade, the enemy were routed and a Blakely gun captured. For his skill in this affair, he received the formal thanks of General Meade. The army was now on its way to Gettysburg. On crossing the Pennsyl- vania line, Vincent became much excited, riding up and down the column, encouraging the men and reminding them that they were now to fight on their own soil. On the 2d of July, the second day of the battle, Vincent was ordered to seize Little Round Top, and hold the narrow valley between it and Big Round Top. After heroically repulsing repeated assaults, while reconnoitring the position of the enemy from a huge rock directly fronting the Devil's Den, then held by the enemy's sharp-shooters, he fell mortally wounded. On the following day, his appointment by the President as Brigadier-General, was sent to him. He lingered till the 7th, and expired on the field. On entering the service, he had written to his young wife : " If I live, we will rejoice over our country's success. If I fall, remember you have given your husband to the most righteous cause that ever widowed a woman," — a sentiment that is worthy to be inscribed upon his tomb.

CHARLES F. TAYLOR. 433

rebels who immediately took them prisoners. ■ They were both paroled at Petersburg, and at once sent into the Union lines. Their request to be exchanged was not granted, and they re- mained- prisoners on parole until November, during which time Captain Taylor was commandant of Camp Parole, at Annapolis. He was not released until after the battle of Antietam, when — Colonel McNeil having been killed, and Colonel Kane having been promoted to Brigadier-General — he was advanced to Colonel, then but twenty-one, among the youngest who held that com- mission in the Union army. In the battle of Fredericksburg, he was wounded, the loss in the regiment being very severe. At Gettysburg the Bucktails were in the First brigade, commanded by Colonel McCandless. At the moment when the fortunes of the day on the left of the field seemed utterly lost, brigade after brigade, and division after division, having been pushed forward, only to be hurled back mangled and bleeding, McCandless was ordered to charge and check the impetuous onsets of the foe. In two lines he advanced, Taylor having the left of the second line. The swamp, formed by Plum Run, presented a serious impedi- ment ; but, having passed it in the face of a murderous fire, he swept on, and having crossed the stone wall upon the verge of the wood, dashed through it to the edge of the Wheatfield, where, while in the act pf steadying and encouraging his men, he was shot through the heart by the bullet of a sharp-shooter. His body was carried back, and taken to his home near Ken- nett Square, where it was buried with impressive ceremonies. A tasteful monument rests over his grave — the tribute of sol- diers and friends.

WASHINGTON BROWN. 437

In the battle of Fredericksburg, Captain Brown was wounded in the right arm, near the shoulder. Calling to one of his men, he requested him to tie a handkerchief tightly above the wound, and using his knife for a tourniquet, he seized his sword in his left hand, and again led on his men, cheering them in the fight, until from loss of blood he became too weak to stand, when he was carried from the field. He was unable to obtain surgical assistance, and for three days the wound remained undressed — a fatal and unaccountable delay. When finally it was examined, it was found to be past relief When told by the surgeon that he must lose his arm, he cheerfully assented, and it was ampu- tated at the shoulder. Three days thereafter, having endured great suffering and grief at the separation from friends and family, he died. His father was with him through all, and ministered to him with paternal care. His last words were : " 0 Lord, receive my spirit ! Good-bye. I am gone." Thus passed to his rest as brave a man as ever filled a soldier's grave.

PRELIMINARIES TO THE BATTLE OF GETTYSBURG UNDER HOOKER.

In his confidence the whole army and the entire South shared, and on the morning of the 3d of June, just one month from the close of the Battle of Chancellorsville, Lee put his columns in motion for a campaign in the North. He, however, skilfully masked his movements, leaving Hill's corps to occupy his old camps upon the immediate Union front, upon the Rappahannock, and to hold, apparently with his accustomed strength, the in- trenchments along all the heights, and sending clouds of cavalry to hover upon his right flank. He also exercised unceasing vigil- ance to prevent any one from crossing the river who could carry intelligence of his purposes into the Union lines, and all of Hooker's scouts who had been sent across to ascertain what movements were in progress were seized, not one of them returning.

CHARLES ELLET, JR. 409

IMOR Archer McKnight. Early in the 'Rebellion, rebel offi- cers, tnindful of their rfepute for Hchivalry, sought op portunities for its exemplification 5 but later in the war, soured by frequent defeat^ and grown heari>sick by hope long deferred, the actors and sympathiizerfe in the ' direful work eschewed the much-vaunted claim, and did not hesitate to mu- tilate the body of a Dahlgreny treat with barbaric cruelty prison- ers of war, send pestilence arid fire into northern cities, and finally come stealthily from behind upon the Chief Magistrate of the nation, and ghoot him down in cold blood. When Colonel McKnight fell on the gory field of Chancellorsville, on that fearful Sabbath, ushered in with the lurid flames of war, of the 3d of May, 1863, a sudden turn in the fi>rtunes of the day cut

CHARLES ELLET, JR. 409

from his command. While at home during his furlough in March, he remarked that he would not survive to again return. Little did his friends think that. this was the language of prophecy. But so it proved. On the field of Chancellorsville, while leading on his brave men against the veterans of Stonewall Jackson — nerved to unwonted deeds of valdr to avenge the fall of their idolized leader, who had a few hours before received his mortal hurt— Colonel McKnight, while in the act of waving his sword above his head to cheer on his men, was struck in the arm, the missile passing on through his brain, killing him instantly. Strenuous efforts were made to recover his body, but they proved fruitless, and he sleeps on that gory field— the scene of his daring valor.

LANSFORD F. CHAPMAN. 421

In January, 1863, he was promoted to the rank of Major, and at once took command of the regiment, and retained it until, on the field of Chancellorsville, at ten o'clock on Sunday morning. May 3d, when the battle was at its height and raging with unparalleled fury, he fell dead at the head of his troops, leading them on and encouraging them to deeds of valor by his intrepid example. Eagerly did his comrades strive to rescue the body of their fallen leader, but in the fitful changes of the fight they were compelled to leave it upon the field, and it fell into the hands of the enemy. Many times afterwards were his remains sought by his friends; but in the tangled wilds of that desolate region, where the dead were strewn thick on every hand, it was impos- sible to identify the place of their interment.

OENERAL HISTORY.

Vll.-^Preliminaries to the Battle of Gettysburg under Hooker 158

OENERAL HISTORY.

VIII. — Preliminaries to the Battle of Gettysburg under Meade 188

OENERAL HISTORY.

X. — Marshalling for the Second Day at Gettysburg , 238

OENERAL HISTORY.

XV.— The Conduct of the Battle of Gettysburg 325

THE MILITIA— CAPTUBE OF MORGAN. 365

The spring campaign of 1864 opened early in May on the part of the Army of the Potomac, General Grant,, who had been made Lieutenant General and placed in command of all the armies of the United States, accompanying it, and having the general direction of its operations. The ^Battle of the Wilderness, Laurel Hill, Spottsylvania, North Anna, l^ethesda Church, Cold Harbor, and Petersburg followed in rapid succession and with , terrible destruction of life, In the meantime General Sigel had been left in command of the Department of West Virginia, and by his order, simultaneously with the movement of Grant into the Wil- derness and Sherman towards Atlanta, General Crook moved from Kanawha for the destruction of the Virginia and Tennessee rail- road, and General Averell, with another column, pushed out from Beverly to cooperate with Crook. Sigel in person, with 8500 troops, moved up the valley, and at New Market met the enemy under Breckenridge, where Sigel was defeated and retired to Cedar Creek. He was soon after relieved, and General Hunter succeeded him, who, having repaired losses and stripped to light marching order, again, commenced an adv?ince up the valley. At Piedmont a battle was fought in which Hunter gained a hand- some victory, and the rebel commander, William E. Jones, was

EDWIN A. GLENN. 455

UY H. Watkins, Lieutenani>Colonel of the one Hundred and Forty-first regiment, was born in Bradford county, Pennsylvania. He was active in recruiting company B, and was its Captain. When the regimental organization was effected, he was appointed Lieutenant-Colonel. In the battle of Fred- ericksburg this regiment was with Franklin's grand division, where it sustained some loss. At Chancellorsville it formed part of Graham's division. Sickles' corps, and when the enemy attacked the Twelfth corps, Graham was sent to its support. As the regiment came under fire. Colonel Watkins, while in the act of mounting, and when one foot was already in the stirrup, had his horse killed by a cannon shot. In the midst of the fierce fighting in which the Third corps was involved on the following morning, he was severely Avounded and fell into the enemy's hands. After his exchange, and before his wounds were sufficiently healed to take the field, he was nominated by President Lincoln as Paymaster in the army, and the nomination was promptly confirmed by the Senate ; but he declined the honor, preferring to lead and share the fortunes of his men. At the opening of the spring campaign of 1864, he took the field, and in all of the desperate fighting, of the Wilderness campaign, and until the army had arrived before Petersburg, he escaped un- harmed ; but while leading his regiment in a charge upon the enemy's works, on the 18th of June, he was instantly killed. He was characterized as among " the bravest of the brave."

MARTIAL DEEDS OF PENNSYLVANIA.

Returning with the corps to the Army of the Potomac for the spring campaign of 1864, he had passed unharmed through the terrible battles of the Wilderness, Spottsylvania, and the North Anna, and had entered upon that at Cold Harbor, when he was struck by the fire of a sharp-shooter, and instantly killed, while leading on his regiment in a daring charge against the hostile works. In acknowledging the reception of a flag presented at his home in Norristown, before setting out for the front, he said : " We will return with this flag in honor, or fall in its defence." That promise he redeemed, laying down his life a sacrifice to that glorious standard ; and he who had withstood the hardships of the service and the bullets of the foe for three full years of active duty, was instantly cut ofl" in the very prime of manhood, and at an hour of greatest promise. It seems that he had a presentiment that he Avas to fall, and had given all needful direc- tions what to do in case his forebodings should be verified. At the moment the fatal shaft was speeding on its death-dealing way, an incident occurred in a far-off hospital, connected with this event, most strange and marvellous. Captain Bisbing of

MARTIAL DEEDS OF PENNSYLVANIA.

this regiment had been mortally wounded in the battle of the Wilderness, and was at the time lying in the hospital at George- town, District of Columbia. He had been quiet upon his cot for some time, when he suddenly started up and cried out in a clear voice, " Lieutenant, Lieutenant," the title by which Lieutenant- Colonel Schall had been known in the regiment, meaning thereby Lieutenan1>Colonel, Hartranft having but recently been confirmed Brigadier-General. A wounded Lieutenant lying near him re- sponded, inquiring what was wanted, when Captain Bisbing said, " I do not want you, but Lieutenant-Colonel Schall, for I have seen him fall and I want to know whether he is dead or not." The Captain himself died on the 5th. Whence he had gained this prophetic vision is perhaps beyond the comprehension of mortals.

DAVID B. BIRNHY. 567

enemy marching to meet their assailants. And now commenced one of the most remarkable and hotly-contested campaigns of the war. Massive army corps were hurled against massive army corps, and not an inch was gained on either side without desper- ate fighting and the loss of myriads of brave men. Until the keen blasts of winter swept the hills and valleys of Virginia, and the cold breath of the ocean chilled the blood of the contestants, was this struggle maintained in all its sanguinary horrors. In the three days of battle in the Wilderness, in the two weeks of fighting before Spottsylvania Court-House, in the heroic charge across the North Anna on the 23d of May, at Cold Harbor during the first days of June, in the assault on the intrenchments before Petersburg on the 16th of June, and in the advance upon the Weldon Railroad, the division of Birney was where the fighting was sternest, and in all he led with the heroism of the bravest and the skill of the most renowned captains.

JOEN F. BALLIEB. 653

At the expiration of his term, on the 14th of October, 1864, he was mustered out of service. On the 25th of April, 1865, he was brevetted Colonel, to date from August 1st, 1864, by the President, " for gallant and distinguished services at the battles of Spottsylvania and the North Anna." Upon his retirement from the army he resumed the practice of his profession, and

JAMES TEARNEY.—AMOR W. WAKEFIELD. 8G5

To the time of the action before Spottsylvania Court House, on the 10th of May, 1864, the casualties in the command had been comparatively light. But on the evening of that day, in a charge which lasted but a few minutes, greater losses were sustained than in all the three years of its previous experience. Sixty five were killed, including the Colonel and Lieutenant- Colonel, and one hundred and ninety-five wounded and missing. Captain Wakefield came forth from the fearful ordeal unscathed. At Cold Harbor the fighting was desperate, and here he was less fortunate, receiving a severe wound. In June he was promoted to the rank of Major, and subsequently to that of Colonel. After a service of over four years, he was mustered out at the expira- tion of his term. General Irwin, the original commander of the regiment, thus speaks of him : "At Cold Harbor and Spottsyl- vania he highly distinguished himself in command of the regi- ment, and won the praise of General David A. Russell, one of the best soldiers in the army. I considered Colonel Wakefield an

SAMUEL K. SGHWENK. 907

the brigade from serious disaster. Again on the 12th of May, in the battle of Spottsylvania Court House, he greatly distinguished hiinself, so as to draw the attention and admiration of the whole brigade." At the North Anna, and fit Shady Grove he was alike conspicuous, always upon the advance line, where dangers thick- ened and peril was most imminent. In the severe fighting at Cold Harbor he was severely and at the time thought mortally wounded. A ball entered the side, split and traversed a rib bone, carrying away a, portion of the vertebra. It was treated by men eminent in the medical profession, the case being re- garded as remarkable, many months elapsing before he could move about. In the meantime an examining board had pro- nounced him permanently disabled, and the order for his discharge on account of " physical disability from wounds received in action " had been issued. On the day following that on which this was promulgated. Governor Curtin had ordered his promo- tion to Lieutenant-Colonel. On six several occasions he went before the examining board to have the revocation of the order of discharge recommended, before he succeeded, and then with his wounds still open. He proceeded immediately to the field and assumed command of his regiment, with the rank of Major. At the retaking of Fort Steadman and in the '.final capture of Petersburg he was engaged, leading his troops with mark:ed skill and enterprise. He was promoted to the rank of Colonel and Brigadier-General by brevet for "skilful and meritorious services during the war." Upon the occasion of laying the corner-stone of the national monument at Gettysburg, in July, 1865, Colonel Schwenk's regiment was selected, upon the recom- mendation of General Grant, to represent the infantry of the army. At the muster out of service, on the 30th of July, only 134 men and two officers, out of 940 who originally went forth, remained. In his farewell order to his men he said : " The story of the old regiment, with the incidents of the past four years, will always be remembered and cherished with the memory and virtues of our noble comrades, whose remains are mouldering in ten different States. Your deeds of valor and trials of endurance, with the achievements of thirty-two battles, will brighten many pages in the annals of your country's fame."