THE WINTER OF 1861.

 

I.

 

INTO THE NATIONAL SERVICE.

 

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When Governor Curtin, in May, had approved the bill inspired by himself in April, authorizing the organization of Reserve Volunteer Corps, he had been determined that when the Corps should be called upon to enter the National service it should do so as a unit. When requested by General Scott to send reinforcements to General Wallace at Cumberland, he had done so within a few hours. Still he held before himself the intention of forcing the Government, when accepting the various regiments, to receive them as a corps under the com­mand of General McCall. By June 25th he received letters that indicated that the Government would accept the regi­ments, but would not accept any officer ranking above Colonel. Governor Curtin, determined to preserve the Corps' unity, again urged the acceptance of General McCall. On July t3th he was advised that the infantry regiments could be accepted, with the regiment of cavalry; but not the artillery. At the same time he was confidentially informed that McCall could be appointed a Brigadier-General of Volunteers.

General McCall, becoming acquainted with the status of the case, partriotically resigned the command of the Corps; but at the same time declined the proffered Brigadier-General­ship. Governor Curtin, inflexible and cool, again communi­cated with the Government, urging in the strongest terms that

 

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a Major-Generalship be given to General McCall, so that the spirit of the Corps might be preserved, and that it might enter the service as designed by him.

This letter was written on the 13th of July. The time of the three months' troops, in the vicinity of Washington, was nearly up, and an offensive movement by General McDowell, who commanded them, would have to be made promptly, if they were to do battle before being mustered out. In reality there was no reason to suppose that these green troops could end the contest; but action was necessary. Hence McDowell's march towards Bull Run was commenced.

Then Governor Curtin again offered his Reserve Corps to the Government. The seriousness of the situation confronting them commenced to be realized by the authorities. Should the short-term troops be victorious they would still shortly be mustered out. Should they be defeated and mustered out after such defeat, the case would be still worse. Moreover, in Pennsylvania there were fifteen regiments, equipped by the State, ready for service, anxious to be accepted for a term of three years, if the war did not end sooner, drilled by competent officers and of selected physique. Such a body must of neces­sity be worth securing, even at a sacrifice. On the 19th day of July Governor Curtin received the following message:

 

"Washington, D. C., July i9, 1861.

"Governor Curtin:

 

"The Secretary of War desires me to communicate the "following as his instructions: With the exceptions of the "regiments of Colonel Biddle and Simmons, assemble at once "all other regiments, given in your despatch of yesterday, at "Harrisburg, where they will be immediately mustered into "service. They will then immediately proceed to the seat of "war as previously ordered. Their services being imperatively

 

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"demanded there. If it is not done promptly these regiments "will be prevented from taking part in the battle, and the "responsibility will rest on yourself.

"L. THOMAS, Adjutant-General."[1]

 

The Governor realizing that he was accomplishing his end, devoted his whole energy to moving the troops to the National capital. Before he could do this, however, the Union troops had been defeated at Bull Run. Then at last the Government awoke. Ladies in Washington had driven out, on the 21st of July, to see the new made soldiers of the Government over­throw the despised Southern troops; but with horror witnessed their defenders come flying back, disordered and in confusion. No more was the war to be regarded as a triumphal march, or a- battle as a spectacle. The conflict was to be to the bitter end. Reinforcements were required immediately, if the vic­torious enemy, whose flags waved within sight of the Capitol, was to be prevented from seizing the seat of government. Telegrams poured in on Curtin begging him to expedite the movement of his troops. "To-morrow won't do for your regi­ments. We must have them to-night."[2]

Colonel Biddle of the Bucktails, down at New Creek, W. Va., hearing the reports, telegraphed

 

"New Creek Bridge, Va., July 25, 1861.'

"Governor Curtin:

 

"We trust, Governor, that you will have us ordered to

 

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"join General M'Call's division at Washington. The Ohio "troops are near enough to amply protect this line.

"CHARLES J. BIDDLE, Colonel Commanding."[3]

 

The regiments of the Reserve Corps were forwarded as fast as possible, and upon their arrival at Washington and Baltimore, owing to their magnificent appearance, were wel­comed as saviours.

On August 1st, Governor Curtin received notice from McCall that the entire Corps had been placed under his com­mand. He had been appointed a Major-General, and Penn­sylvania's "War Governor" had accomplished his design. Under its own General, the Corps had been taken into the service of the United States, intact.[4]

The exigencies of the situation made it advisable to send two regiments to the assistance of General Banks in the vicinity of Harper's Ferry, and on July 26th, General Scott telegraphed to Colonel Biddle:

 

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"Hasten with the two Pennsylvania regiments to join the "force at Harper's Ferry."[5]

On July 28th, however, the Second Regiment was ordered to Sandy Hook[6] to strengthen General Banks' force; so that upon the arrival of the Bucktails and the Fifth regiment at Harrisburg, while the Bucktails were ordered to Sandy Hook, the Fifth regiment proceeded towards Washington.

Upon arriving at Harrisburg, Colonel Biddle ordered his regiment into camp. Preferring a camp of his own to quarters in Camp Curtin, he selected a site near the river. Efforts were made to get the regiment into shape. Letters to be placed on the men's caps were obtained, as were also blue overcoats, cot­ton-flannel drawers and other necessary clothing. The ques­tion of guns made serious trouble; some of the men were anx­ious to obtain Minnie rifles, but others knowing more about the matter were determined not to accept such weapons. On the 2nd, delegations from each of the companies met, and appointed a committee, of three men from each company, to interview the officers, and find out their intentions. They were determined to enter the army as a rifle regiment, or remain out. On the 5th, one company was marched up to the arsenal to receive guns. Upon seeing that they were Minnies, they de­clined to take them, and returned to camp empty handed. Their decision was expressed bluntly. They would not accept such weapons; in fact they would leave the army first. The details of the dispute are somewhat hazy; but at all events, on August 6^th, they accepted Enfield and Springfield guns, some receiving one kind and some the other. Both these makes

 

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were muzzle loaders, and many were the disputes as time went on, as to which carried the more accurately.

During the few days spent at Harrisburg, there was much of interest to see. Camp Curtin was filled with new regiments, and these raw recruits looked upon the Bucktails, who had been fighting and scouting for six weeks, as veterans. By request, one evening Colonel Biddle marched the Bucktails down to the parade ground.

It having been announced the day before that they would be put through dress parade, the camp was crowded with visitors. The ground itself was smooth, hard and clean; the men had taken great pains with their personal appearance; and their Colonel had confidence in their ability. As the companies wheeled into line, the movement was executed with the ac­curacy and precision of machinery; and when the Colonel put them through the manual of arms their execution was as near perfect as possible. "Order---arms," he commanded. The blow of the butts of the guns on the hard ground was so like the report of a six-pounder, that the soldiers and citizens watching, broke into cheers. Never at any future time did the regiment acquit itself so well, and each man felt fully repaid for his efforts when he noted the proud smiles upon the faces of Colonel Biddle and Lieutenant-Colonel Kane.

On August the 8th, through Special Orders, No. I68, by order of Major-General Banks, the Bucktails were assigned to the First brigade, Colonel George H. Thomas, commanding.[7] Accordingly at io A. m. on that date, tents were struck, by noon the regiment had boarded the railroad cars, and next morning was in Baltimore. Leaving the cars at 7 A. m. the men were to march through the city to another railroad, which ran to their destination. Colonel Biddle, anxious to avoid

 

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trouble, ordered his men to march with empty guns. Remem­bering the experience of the Massachusetts troops, that had been assaulted in Baltimore on April xgkh, many secretly dis­regarded the order and loaded their muskets. The precaution proved unnecessary, the march being uneventful. Boarding the railroad once more, before night they disembarked at Sandy Hook.

At this point the Bucktails found the Second regiment. This regiment had been having an unpleasant experience. When it had arrived General Banks had inquired on whose orders it had come. Ascertaining that it had come on its own authority, he then declined to have ~ anything to do with it, though he assigned it camping ground. The men were shortly brought under the influence of a report, that as they, as State troops, had crossed the border line without being mustered into the United States service, they were free. As is usual in such cases the trouble was increased by officers who hoped to profit by it. Rations were bad and quarters were worse. When an at­tempt was made to muster the regiment into the United States service, about a fourth refused to hold up their hands. The next morning the attempt was repeated; those who already had been mustered by holding up their hands, being ordered to do so again. It seemed, to these latter, harder to get in than out, and a number declined. A third of the regiment was thus lost and sent home in disgrace. Eleven officers were detailed to conduct them, the order reading "this order is peremptory and "must not be disobeyed." On arriving at Philadelphia, Gov­ernor Curtin refused at first to receive the officers and then showed them a telegram from General Banks' Assistant Adju­tant-General, stating that they, as well as the men, had been sent home, having refused to take the oath. They soon convinced the Governor that the telegram was false; but on re-

 

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turning to camp they found that the men, who had been mus­tered twice before they left, had been made to go through the ceremony a third time; and further, that as after the third muster the men had been informed that their absent officers would not return, and that they, the men, would be transferred to other companies, some companies, naturally disgusted, had left almost in a body.[8]

The Bucktails had little to do while at Sandy Hook. Lieu­tenant Harrower, with a squad conducted some rebels to Fort Henry on August the 14th; but with this exception nothing seems to have occurred. Rations were "much as before, except­ing that bread was dispensed with."

On August I6th, orders were received to march. On the 17th, a rainy day, the regiment marched to within two miles of Jefferson, a distance of about 13 miles. On the I8th, it covered 6 males, reaching Point of Rocks; on the I9th, passing Buckeys­town, it arrived at the Monocacy river; and on the 21st, camped at Hyattstown. Upon this march, the regiment suffered through the contemptible acts of secessionist sympathizers. Disregarding the codes of civilized nations, wells were pois­oned, and, in one case at least, a soldier asking for buttermilk at the rear of a house, was given a glass in which deadly poison had been put. At least three of the Bucktails died in a few days from being poisoned, and numbers were made danger­ously ill.[9]

At Hyattstown some recruits were received, and here the

 

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Nineteenth New York got into trouble. The men in this regi­ment had enlisted as they supposed for three months; but the Act of New York, of April 16, 1861, provided that the volun­teers enlisted under it, should be liable to be turned over to the United States Government "at all times."[10] The men expected to be mustered out on the 22nd, but the Government desired their services for two years, and so requisitioned the State of New York. Disappointed though they were, they would prob­ably have acquiesced, had they been treated with less display of force, or had the matter been fully explained to them. But on the morning of the 22nd, the Bucktails were ordered out with fixed bayonets, while Colonel Thomas' cavalry, dis­mounted, formed a parallel line with them. At the far end of the line thus formed Perkin's Rhode Island battery was unlimbered. Then the Nineteenth New York was marched, unsuspectingly, into the lane and commanded to stack arms. This done, they were told that the Government had need of their services, and that those who were loyal would advance and take their guns. Stung by the indignity of the circum­stances 203 men refused. Colonel Thomas then ordered the recusants under arrest. Shortly after, the Bucktails were ordered to mount guard over them, the quarters in which they were placed being described as an old "cow-pen." General Banks treated the mutineers with extreme consideration. On several occasions he addressed them himself, wisely but firmly. The efforts of the officers and their Chaplain also had effect. Ultimately all but 23 returned to their commands. Further persuasion being useless, on September 17th, twenty-three members of Company A, of the Bucktails, conducted the re­cusants to Fortress Monroe, where they were sentenced to

 

 

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hard labor for two years. By Special Order of November 21, 1861, they were released upon consenting to serve in the Second New York, in which regiment they made good reputations.[11]

On August 29th, the Bucktails marched to near Darnes­town. Colonel Thomas was detached from the brigade and Colonel Biddle succeeded him in command. While at Darnes­town each company received two bugles. As this apportion­ment resulted in more bugles than men with ability to blow them, the result was far from pleasing. [12]The companies took turns at guard duty; two being required to guard the camp and one the Nineteenth New York mutineers.

By this time, too, the men were making advances both in cookery and in obtaining food; though their methods were still crude. A mess-pan of green corn and potatoes was looked upon as a delicacy. When the guards were forbidden to pass any in, midnight parties stole out to dig potatoes and husk corn. "Beef was scarce, pork plenty, rice and beans as usual, with "once in a while some pressed vegetables which were used to "make soup with." Their "rations were half flour, half hard

 

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"crackers and in a while some Indian meal." The flour con­stituted a difficulty. At first it was cooked by making a thick dough by mixing it with water, and then frying it in grease. This method answered "very well"; but the slap-jacks that were attempted by the would-be-chefs were "as heavy as lead."[13] If they were heavier than bread fried in grease, their weight must have been great indeed. Later on an oven was built and soda provided. One of the company volunteered to help and expectations ran high. Then they "had some light bread, but "it was sour, but this went some better than before."

On September 25th, the Bucktails and the Second regi­ment broke camp, and marching 15 or 20 miles reached Tenal­lytown, at which place the other regiments of the Pennsylvania Reserve Corps were congregated, under the command of Ma­jor-General McCall, as a division of the Army of the Potomac.[14]

When he had established his command in pleasant camps, General McCall had instructed his officers to use all possible diligence in instructing their regiments in military matters. The entire Corps proved remarkably apt, and it has been said that it contained Sergeants fit to be Generals, and Privates competent to command brigades. A provisional brigade organi­zation had been made, the troops had passed in review before President Lincoln and General McClellan; and had been pre­sented with regimental flags by Governor Curtin, purchased through money donated by the Pennsylvania Society of the Cincinnati.[15] Then on September 16th, the brigade was regu-

 

 

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larly organized. The First brigade commanded by Brigadier­ General John F. Reynolds, consisted of the regiment of cavalry, and the Fifth, First, Second and Eighth regiments; the Second brigade, commanded by Brigadier-General George G. Meade, consisted of the Bucktails, the Fourth, Third, Seventh and Eleventh regiments; the Third brigade, commanded by Colonel McCalmont[16] of the Tenth, consisted of the Tenth, Sixth, Ninth and Twelfth regiments.

Not long after the arrival of the Bucktails at Tenallytown, they noticed that visitors to their camp were not as frequent as to others; while the vendors of pies, apples, peanuts and such like commodities rarely penetrated within its precincts. It seems that the reputation of the regiment had preceded it, and upon its arrival men of other regiments, intent on adding to their food supply, committed their depredations under the protection of a bucktail in their caps. It is too much to say that no Bucktail ever violated the laws of property; but it is certain that they were made to father many sins not their own. Colonel Biddle prevailed upon Headquarter authorities to issue an order prohibiting the wearing of bucktails, by men not enrolled in his regiment, under penalty of arrest. Such was the effect, that but little time elapsed before the regiment ceased to be regarded as a band of Ishmaelites.

When the Bucktails came into camp on September the 25th, they were hard up, financially. The State had paid them up to the time they had returned to Harrisburg after their cam-

 

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paign in Maryland and Virginia.[17]When they left for Sandy Hook it was supposed they were under the orders of the Gov­ernment and that they would be mustered in promptly. But though nearly two months had elapsed they had not been mus­tered. When the pay-roll was made out, it was therefore necessary to leave the column, "date of muster" blank. The Adjutant-General, or the Paymaster, thereupon notified Colonel Biddle, that his regiment was not in the service, but that be would send a mustering officer immediately. Colonel Biddle inquired if the muster would date from the time the regiment entered the service of the United States, and was informed that the muster would date from the date the muster was made that it was impossible to ante-date any muster. Colonel Biddle promptly notified the authorities that if he and his regiment were not then in the United States service, they never would be. Further, that he would immediately march his regiment back to Harrisburg, as at that place, at least, no question would be raised as to his regiment having been mustered. The au­thorities knew that the Bucktail Colonel was a man of his word, and they also knew that the regiment had been actually per­forming service under the orders of the National Government: hence a compromise was effected. The pay-rolls were made out "Mustered into service by order of the Secretary of War." This was the only muster ever made of the Bucktails.[18]

 

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On October 9th, the division was ordered to cross the Potomac and enter the State of Virginia. To the Bucktails was given the advance. The troops were ordered to carry two days' cooked rations and sixty rounds of ammunition, quite a heavy load for the majority of the regiments who had had no active experience. By the night of the 10th camp was established at Langley, on the southern bank of the Potomac, some ten miles northwest from Washington, while in honor of the loyal Gov­ernor of the State, the men named it "Camp Pierpont."

The location of the new camp caused the division of Penn­sylvania Reserves to become the right of the Army of the Potomac, which by the end of October must have numbered over 150,000 men. This force was concentrated in the vicinity of Washington. On October 18th, having received informa­tion, which later proved to be incorrect, that the Confederates had abandoned the vicinity of Leesburg, General McClellan ordered General McCall to make on the following morning a reconnaissance to Dranesville. By the evening of the 19th, two brigades laid at Difficult Creek, the third with the Bucktails, sleeping at Dranesville itself.[19] The next day reconnaissances were made in all directions. Companies A, G, H, I and K, under command of Lieutenant-Colonel Kane, moved in the direction of Hunter's Mills. Marching along the crest of a hill the party sighted a squad of cavalry on another hill some ten or twelve hundred yards away. The enemy passed behind the shelter of some trees, but one of them, bolder than the rest, stepped in front of the cover. The distance which separated him from the Bucktails warranted his considering himself safe. Yet Lieutenant-Colonel Kane looked around and calmly ordered three men to pick him off. They dropped to their knees,

 

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took aim and fired. Useless as the attempt to hit a man at such a distance seemed, the volley was successful, the cavalryman being shot through the back of his head, the ball coming out at the eye.[20] Carrying his body with them, the Confederates made off, after a sharp skirmish.[21]At 8 A. M. on the 21st, General McCall was ordered by General McClellan to return to camp, and did so. Had this order not been issued, it is possible the massacre at Ball's Bluff, later in the day, would have been averted.[22]

After the Bucktails had returned to Camp Pierpont the weather commenced to get cold, a heavy frost occurring on the 25th. On the 28th, General McCall reviewed the troops, but

 

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with this exception little happened of interest. Winter caps and winter coats were received, also new cartridge boxes

then as rain and snow became more frequent the men worked at their winter quarters and erected fire-places.

Some time during this month, Brigadier-General Edward O. C. Ord reported for duty to General McCall, and was as­signed to the command of the Third brigade.

Colonel Biddle had been elected a member of Congress, and felt it to be his duty to resign his military commission, in order to take his seat untrammeled. A Brigadier-Generalship was offered to him, but he declined it, believing that he could best serve his country in its legislative body. Leaving the Bucktails on November the 25th, his resignation was officially accepted on December 12th, 1861. There was a sugges­tion made that the regiment should immediately elect Lieu­tenant-Colonel Kane to the Colonelcy ; but he, remembering that he had once before resigned the position, felt that he would prefer to let the men see how he administered the office before seeking election. The vacancy therefore was not filled.

The vicious nature of the law that permitted the men in the Reserve Corps to elect their own officers, was already com­mencing to bear fruit in the creation of jealousies and the formation of cliques. The Bucktails probably suffered less than others, still they did not escape.

The principal promotions in the regiment to the middle of December were as follows

L. W. Gifford, Second-Lieutenant, of Company C,[23] was

 

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promoted to Captain of Company C, to succeed Captain John A. Eldred, who resigned; and First-Sergeant Oscar D. Jenkins was promoted to Second-Lieutenant.

W. R. Hartshorne, First-Lieutenant of Company K, was transferred to the Signal Corps.[24] Chandler Hall, First-Lieu­tenant of Company H, was promoted to Captain and Acting Quartermaster, U. S. V. To fill the vacancy, John D. Yerkes, Orderly-Sergeant, was elected First-Lieutenant. Second-Lieu­tenant Evan P. Dixon, being thus passed over resigned from the service and shortly after Joel Swayne was elected Second­ Lieutenant.[25]