Incidents and adventures in rebeldom; Libby, Bells-Isle, Salisbury

Dedication

To all soldiers who defended the Union from "sixty-one" to ''sixty-five" when "The bloody hand of Treason sought its overthrow." To the memory of the noble dead on many bloody fields and to those heroic martyrs who "Suffered death before dishonor" in the prison hells of the South, this work is respectfullv inscribed by the author.

TWO COPIES RECEIVED.

SECOND COPY,

Preface

As the events herein narrated are true and veracious facts no apology or excuse is necessary for their publication. Let the work be judged according to its merits or demerits. I believe that the criticism on McClelland's conduct is fully justified bv the evidence produced. Enthusiastic and unreasoning hero worshippers of whom I was one of the most radical had erected Gen. George B. McClelland upon a high pedestal of fame, loyalty and patriotism and were enthusiastically paying devotion to the shrine they had so unthinkingly erected. And yet they were unknowingly paying homage to the most secret, wily and specious traitor that this century has produced. He laid siege to Yorktown when its ramparts were defended by wooden guns manned by a corporal's guard of rebels. He camped in the swamps of the Chickahominy for three months while twenty thousand of his soldiers died of disease, and never made an effort to take Richmond. During all this time he was howling for more men, when he well knew he had plenty of men and that the government had no more men to spare him. The battle of Malvern Hill afterward conclusively demonstrated that there never was a time during the entire campaign when his army could not have defeated the rebel army and taken Richmond. Lee's army being defeated he ordered a retreat on Ivichmond and McClelland's victorious army was ordered by him to retreat on Harrison's Landing, and thus were the victor and vanquished fleeing from each other at the same time. On Lee being informed of McClella.nd's retreat he returned and occupied the battle ground. All of McClelland's delays were purposely made by him to avoid striking a death blow at the rebellion before the rebels were fully prepared to successfully resist it. I have no motive or desire to malign the dead but the facts as set forth in this work are made to correct the false praise and flattery so lavishly bestowed upon this miserably incompetent general by historians and hero-worshippers ; to vincHcate the bravery and devotion of the noble old Army of the Potomac' and that coming generations may know the actual truth and execrate him as his basen,ess and treachery so richly merit. This work has been compiled from the vivid recollections of the events as they occurred during the civil war, and now after the lapse of thirty-four years the memory of them seems as fresh and green as though they had occurred but yesterday. I appreciate fully this grand era of brotherhood and goodfellowship now so happily arrived at between the two sections of our re-united country and therefore beg indulgence from the reader for any seemingly too vigorous language which may occur within this work, 'but truth impels me to say that the cruelties perpetrated upon the defenceless prisoners of war fully justify its use.

THE AUTHOR.

'The vSprcter of the Rebel Prison Hell."

Contents

PAGE.

At Camp Wilkins 14

At Fredericksburg 1862 25

CHAPTER I. The Coming Struggle

There come scenes and incidents into almost every human hfe, which so electrify the whole being, mental, moral and physical, that the impress of them is never effaced ; and so it happened, on a beautiful spring morning in the month of April, 1861. The hurly-burly of the exciting presidential campaign of i860 — when that wonderful westerner, Abraham Lincoln, had been chosen chief executive — had subsided, and the calm which succeeds the storm had come, and notwithstanding that there was to be heard, now and then, the rumbling of complaint from the southland, which fell upon the ear of the law-abiding, peace-loving citizens of the north, like the diapason of the dying thunders when the summer shower is overpast. But alas ! there was to be a fearful awakening from the supposed security, which it was thought had been secured to the nation in the election by constitutional methods, of a president who, according to usage, should preside over the destinies of the country for the term of four years next succeeding. But the institution of slavery, of which the immortal John Wesley said "it is the sum of all villainies," had so ingrained itself into the web and woof of southern thought and action, that the people of that section had come to regard it as inseparable from their happiness and prosperity. Indeed they professed to believe, and so declared to the world, that they proposed to build a Re^- public, the chief corner stone of which should be the institution of human slavery, and with that fearful heresy, which had grown with their growth, and strengthened with their strength, fastened upon them, until it had become their nemesis to lure them on to certain destruction.

They trained their guns upon historic Fort Sumter, and when, at high noon of that calm and lovely April day in 1861, the lanier of that cannon was pulled, its brazen throat brayed

Incidents and Adventures in Rebeldom.

out the clialleng-e of reliellion, and its rever1)erations were heard around tlie civihzed world ; and the cause of human freedom everywhere stood breathless with amazement, and although the cheeks of i)atriots blanched, and trembling seized their frames, it was not the blanching of fear, nor the tremor of cowardice. Oh ! no, it was rather a prescience of the fearful sacrifice which they so clearly saw must be made in blood and treasure, to vindicate before the world the inspired teachings of the Declaration of Independence tint all men arc inherently possessed of certain inaliena1)le rights, among which are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. So we say armed rebellion had thrown down the gauge of liattle and thus were we of the north not only put upon our mettle as patriots, but our position was well defined. We contended no longer for an abstract dogma, or capricious w liim, but for the salvation of our country, and its beneficent instituti<)ns.

As the reverberations of Ruffln's cannon went sounding through the land, waking the country from profound peace to the realities of civil war, (the first shot was fired upon Sumter by Edward Ruft^n of \^irginia), the whole nation, but yesterda)' wrapped in the habiliments of a profound peace, now fiew to arms and the dread alarms of war waked the echoes on hill and dale, and from the rock-ribbed coast of New England, to the golden horn of the Pacific, preparation for the on-coming struggle was the all-absorbing order of the day. ( )](! men upon wliom advancing age had laid the hea\\' tribute of (lecre])itude, forgot their years and rushed to arms, and the youth of the land, in the first blush of youngmanhood, docked to the rendezvous, and offered themselves willing sacrifices upon their country's altar, to serve and to die if need 1)e in order that armed rebellion should be crushed (nit and Old Glory made again to shake her starry folds in every breeze that springs from mountain top or billows crest over every foot of soil, made sacred by the blood of our fathers, in freedom's cause.

With patriotic motives burning high within me, T with

First Enlistment. 13

many thousands oi my country's sons, donned the blue of a soldier boy with a faint conception of the hardship, danger and exposure we were to endure, but with a rugged and unfaltering determination to sustain our beloved country in its struggle with the cohorts of rebellion to the bitter end. I was nineteen years old, strong and vigorous, and my comrades were all young and hearty men, and with unquenchable patriotism those who survived the tirst three years of service with few exceptions re-enlisted for another three year term. Part of the time we were attached to the First Corps under McDowell, but the most of our service was in the Fifth Corps of the Army of the Potomac of which the Pennsylvania Reserves composed the Third Division.

On April 22d, 1861, the writer enlisted in Captain S. D. Oliphant's company which was organized at Uniontown, Pa., for the three months' service. On our arrival at Pittsburgh. Pa., we found the quota for the three months' men already filled, so we at once re-enlisted for three years, or during the war. I pause here to say that the company (Oliphant's) was known as the Fayette Guards, and in proof of the kind of material of which it was composed will add a list of the names of the men who were promoted from it into the three vears' organization by which we were absorbed :

S. D. Oliphant promoted to lieutenant colonel.

T. B. Gardner promoted to major.

S. p.. Ramsey promoted to first lieutenant.

H. H. Patterson promoted to second lieutenant and adjutant.

W. Searight promoted to captain.

H. C. Dawson promoted to captain.

H. H. Macquilton promoted to second lieutenant.

J. W. Sturgis promoted to second lieutenant.

\\> were temporarily cjuartered on board the river steamer Marengo, which lay at the foot of Market street, and were drilled in a puljHc hall at the corner of Market and Water streets. We were boarded at the Girard House, on Smithfield street. This hotel was at the time kept by a gen-

14 Incideiits and Adventures in Rebeldom.

tlemaii by the name of Fell. We were afterwards removed to Camp Wilkins, (the old fair grounds), which we occupied for some len.s^th of time, in common with Colonel McLain's Erie Resriment. This Erie Regiment had been uniformed in suits of gray consisting of jacket and pants, and they soon l)ecame worn and ragged, and all appeals for clothing had been refused. One genius among them whose pants had been entirely worn away at the seat, determined to appeal to the public which he did in the following original manner. It was the custom for crowds of visitors to come lo camp on Sundav and the Erie man having painted the words "The last resort" in l)ig black letters on a large shingle, attached a cord to it and hanging it over the seat of his pants, went parading around camp among the visitors. This novel walking advertisement of their necessities soon brought the desired clothing, and T think thev were mustered as the Eightv-Third. P.V.

Here we received our assignment as Company G, Eighth P. R. \ . C, Colonel Geo. S. Hayes conunanding. Soon after we were sent to Camp Wright which was located on the Allegheny River above Pittsburgh.

After a short sojourn here we received marching orders ; accordingly we were marched to Pittsburgh, where, after passing that most trying ordeal of leavetaking of the loved ones left behind, we took the cars on Liberty street and headed for the seat of war. This was on the 21st day of July, the day of the first battle of Bull Run. The tidings from the bloody field were flashing northward over the mag"- netic wires, and the news was not of a reassuring- character ; excitement ran high, and any man, or woman, who that day wore a snn'lc, was looked upon with grave suspicion, and in order to put a check upon the exuberance of expression of any sympathizer with the cause of the Confederacy, there were hempen nooses decorating all the lamp-posts along Liberty and Penn avenues. But w^e sped on, and without incident worthy of note arrived at Harrisburg, Pa., where we were hastily armed with old Harper's Ferry muskets.

Departure to the Front. 15

These muskets will be remembered by the old soldiers as the g-iin that the boys of '61 used to say, "The fellow who stood at the butt end was in more danger than the one who was shot at." We were supplied with a few rounds each of fixed ammunition, in order that we might be ready to fight our way through Baltimore in case we should be attacked as some of the New England troops had been a few days previously, but fortunately no opposition was offered.

We remained for a few days in the outskirts of the city of Baltimore and then moved on to the capital of the nation, and encamped at Meridian Hill, where we were formally transferred from the state to the United States service, for the term of three years or during the war, saicl transfer beingmade on the 2Qth day of July, t86i.

The first fatal shooting accident in the regiment occurred while in camp at Meridian Hill. Our muskets had been loaded wath buck and ball in anticipation of an attack from the rebel element while passing through Baltimore, and it became necessary to extract these charges. To do this a ball screw is attached to the end of the ramrod and inserted in the muzzle of the gun, screwed into the bullet and the charge withdrawn by pulling out the ramrod. A man in Company B neglected to remove the cap from the nipple of his gun and in pulling out his ramrod the cock of his piece caught on a small pine tree at the butt of the musket, discharging it. The charge, ramrod and all struck him in the ])it of the stomach and passing obliquely through his body came out at the back of his neck. I was standing nearby and ran to his assistance but he was dead when I reached liim. Our next move brought us to a place called Tennelly Town where we proceeded to construct a formidable fortification known as Fort Pennsylvania, and some ten miles distant at the great falls of the Potomac, our command was inducted into the mysteries of picket duty.

I had forgotten to mention that the arrival of our command and other troops from Baltimore, at Washington, was highly opportune, as the Secessionists of both these cities

1 6 Incidents and Advevtiires in Rebeldojn.

liad l)Ccome asi^ressive and threatening- to the safety of the cai)ita] ; this dan^^e^- to Washington was greatly enhanced h^• the recent defeat of the Union forces at Bull Run. 1'he arrival of this well organized division had the effect of restoring confidence, and assured for the time-being, the safety of the capital. The wisdom and foresight of Governor Curiin and the legislature of the state in organizing and equipping the Pennsylvania Volunteer Reserve Corps, and holding them in readiness for an emergency, was now fully vindicated. After the danger which had menaced the city had subsided our command crossed the Chain Bridge, and built at Camp Pierpont, on the south side of the Potomac River, our winter quarters. It was while we ^^'ere in camp here that the Battle of Drainsville was fought and won ; this occurred on the 20th of December, 1861, and was the first victory recorded for the Army of the Potomac.

The prisoners captured here were Alal^amians and they were the first rebels I had seen in armed rebellion against the authority of the Ignited States, \\diile at Pierpont M. P. Miller of my company l)ecame insane from reading yellow back novels of the Claude Duvall species. Commodore Jones, of South Sea Exploring Expedition fame, owned a mansion nearby and Aliller having secured a long, rustv oldfashioned navy cutlass there, belted it around him and returning- to cam]) at dress parade, took position in rear of Colonel Hayes and with his rusty blade imitated all the movements of the colonel, .\fterwards he took to the woods and running- to tlie Potomac plunged in. He was saved from drowning and removed to the Insane Hospital at Washington, where he died.

Grim-visaged War. horril)le in all its aspects, nevertheless finds some mitigation in the character and disposition of those who make up the rank and file of its legions. Every company in all our vast army probably had one or more indi\iduals. who, by their ])ranks and idiosyncrasies made even the life of the soldier on the march and in the field tolerable, by injecting something v)f the ludicrons into the most ser-

Gaskell ami the Snakes.' 17

ions and disheartening circumstances. Well, Company D, of the Eighth Reserves, had one of the aforesaid geniuses in the person of one, Bud Gaskell. This man Gaskell numbered among his varied accomplishments a mysterious power over the reptile family, and as a matter of fact he could and did handle snakes with perfect impunity. Bud was a fine specimen of physical manhood, in short he was an active athlete, and hence his practical jokes were usually endured by his victims with more complacency than would otherwise have been the case. While our command lay at Tennelly Town and Pierpont, Bud in some manner secured two snakes of fair dimensions which he carried constantly about his person ; sometimes they were secreted in the sleeves of his blouse, sometimes in his iiat, and revolting as it may seem, I have seen him with his pets in his mouth. Colonel Hayes, of the Eighth, was a special victim of Bud's pranks, and although he frequently expiated his fun by a sojourn in the guardhouse, he was insuppressible. The colonel being a man of nervous temperament, naturally hated the sight of a snake, yet Bud would approach him, extending his paw for a shake with a genial "how do' do. Colonel," when down would come one of Bud's snakes into the colonel's hand, then of course it would become necessary for the redoubtable Bud to adjourn for the time being. I once saw this fellow approach the colonel with a snake coiled within his mouth, its head protruding from between his lips, its tongue darting out. and in order to secure the officer's attention, he says "Granny ! let me kiss you." On this occasion the colonel was the first to beat a retreat. There being abundance of timber in the vicinity of our camp, we had constructed cabins of a very comfortable character, from the trunks of these trees. Each one of said cabins was embellished with a huge stick chinmey, dau1:)ed within and without with mud to render them fire proof, yet it not infrequently happened that the mud dried, and crumbled off, leaving the sticks exposed to the blaze. So one day as the colonel stood talking near his quarters with Captain Connor, he discovered the chinmey

of his cabin to be on fire. He called to his negro man to bring a bucket of ^vater. and extinguish the flame ; the negro seized a bucket of water and climbed nimbly up the corner of the building, followed closely by the ubiquitous Gaskell, who seemed so very anxious to be of service in the emergency that his motive was not questioned, but alas ! just as the negro dashed the water into the chimney. (laskell feigned a slip of the foot and fallmg against the poor darky, sent him, bucket and all, crashing down the chimney into the hot ashes on the hearth below. There was a wild yell from within the cabin, and instantly tliere sped through the door, covered, wool, face and clothing, with ashes, the negro, who made good time to a creek nearby, into which he plunged, thus saving himself from serious consequences from his burning clothing. Meanwhile Gaskell. to give color of accident to the matter, suft'ered himself to roll off the roof to the ground, whence he gathered himself up. and with distorted face and limbs, and groanings which would almost move the heart of a stepmother, he limped off to his tent as though the Inuxlen of the disaster had fallen upon him. The colonel looked on in amazement and turning suddenly to Captain Connor, he said "Captain where in h — did vou get

that fool."

Gaskell, like many another soldier, was possessed of a weakness for stimulants which sometimes got the better of him. Shortly after the episode with the darky, myself with several others, among whom was Gaskell, were detailed for camp guard duty, and as we were falling into line I ol)served that Gaskell was counting the fries from the head of the column and he finally fell in as No. 23. This number being designated as Headquarter guard, of course brought the redoubtable Gaskell's beat in front of the colonel's tent, and as battalion drill was to be held that day in a field about one mile distant from the camp, our hero no doubt thought he saw an opportunitv for a speculation of which he proposed to make use. Accordingly as soon as the troops had proceeded to the drill ground Gaskell entered the tent and confiscated the

Gaskell and the ColoneV s Whisky. 19

colonel's whisky 1)ottle, and proceeded at once to convert its contents to his own use. The colonel, on his return to camp, being desirous of a little something to strengthen and stimulate the inner man, proceeded to where he had left his bottle, but he looked in vain for it. He probably mistrusted what had become of it, for, coming out of his tent, he beheld Gaskell staggering up and down his beat, holding his gun to its place on his shoulder withjioth hands. x\s is usual on such occasions, there were standing about a large lot of comrades waiting to see the fun. But the colonel, not wishing to have it generally known among the boys that he was given to the use of wdiisky as a beverage, restrained his wrath for a short time, but it appeared that the longer he watched Gaskell, who was evidently drunk on his wdiisky, the madder he became, so when he could restrain his ire no longer he shouted out, ''Gaskell ! you d m scoundrel and thief, you

stole my catsup." Whereupon Gaskell cocked his eye upon him, with a comical leer as he said, spelling the words and pronouncing them in a drawling tone, "G-a-t-s-u-p. catsup, but it wasn't that ! it was r-o-t-g-u-t. rotgut ;" but that sort of orthography was too much for the colonel, so he roared, "go to your tent, sir ! you wooden-headed thief, you ; I will allow no such scoundrel as you are to stand guard at my tent." So Gaskell staggered off to his quarters singing, "When Johnny comes marching home again," and probably as the colonel difl not care to have it bruited abroad that he kept whisky in his (|uarters, that was the last of that matter, but poor Gaskell never had the chance of standing guard over the colonel's tent again. But w^oe to the peddlers who frequented the camp wdien Gaskell was ofT duty. Many a camp peddler's heels flew up. tripped by him. while their wares were scattered broadcast, to be gathered in by the hungry boys, who were ever ready to profit by Gaskell's tricks.

At Tennelly Town our camp was located on a hill side, and one day a man drove in with a covered wagon, in which he had a barrel of ice cream, which he was vending" at ten hicidents and Adventures in Rebeldom.

cents per saucer, and Gaskell was very anxious for some of that cream, but he was short the ten cents, but here again his wits stood him in good stead : he secured his game by deftly removing a linch-pin from the hinder axle, and giving the horse a cut with a brush, over went the wagon, out tuml^led the barrel, and starting to roll down the hill was arrested in its mad career by the ever present Gaskell, who dived into the contents of that barrel clear up to his middle, and came up smiling witli his arms folded low across his breast, and a pyramid of ice cream resting upon them.

hS^ ^

Gaskell and the Ice Cream.

which towered high above his head, and thus he made for his quarters, eating as he ran, and shedding ice cream at every jump.

Gaskell's favorite trick was to spring astride a horse behind a mounted orderly or citizen, with his snakes up his sleeves, and reaching his hands in front of the rider's face the squirming reptiles under his very nose would so afifright him that he would fall from his horse into the dustv road and Gaskell after riding a short distance would slip back over the animal's rump and hanging on to his tail would reach forward his feet and lock them around the hind lees of the horse

At Alexandria. 2i

and bring him to a stop, and then dropping Hghtly to the ground, scamper off to avoid any unpleasant consequences.

At the Battle of Fredericksburg our command was so nearly annihilated that it was ordered back to Alexandria, Va., to be recruited and re-organized. During this time we did patrol duty in that city. The government had established a contraband camp at that point in which was kept several thousand negroes ; it also happened that Nixson's circus had gone into winter quarters there, and Gaskell, true to his instincts managed to steal a clown's fantastic suit which was decorated with horns, fringes and bells. One evening he dressed himself in this outfit and put in a sudden appearance in the negro camp performing acrobatic feats. The terrified negroes thinking the devil himself had dropped down among them, men, women and children fled precipitately through the street, scattering in every direction. Gaskell, for this trick, was confined for a time in the slave pen. The negroes were employed by the government to perform labor on the fortifications, and many of them were so frightened that thev never returned to their work aeain.

CHAPTER II. The Colonel Excited

I will now relate two incidents which occurred at Tennelly Town and Pierpont showing the excitable nature of Colonel Geo. S. Hayes. Post guard No. 8 w^as stationed immediately in the rear of the colonel's tent. The guards had been instructed, in case it became necessary, for them to leave their beats during their turn on duty to call the corporal of the guard to take their place during their temporary absence. So late in the night the guard near the colonel's tent raised the cry "Corporal of the guard post No. 8." The cry was repeated by the next guard and so on until it reached No. I wdiich w^as at the headquarters of the guards. The corporal failing to respond, the guard continued repeating the cry. The colonel jumped out of his bunk, and hastily l)uckling on his sword, rushed up to the guard house, where he found a man soundly sleeping on the ground. Roughly shaking him he demanded if he were the corporal of the guard. "No, sir," cjuickly came the answer, "I am the sergeant of the guard." "Well then," says the colonel, "where

in h is the corporal of the guard?" "He's out calling the

relief sir," said the sergeant. "Come with me cjuick," said the colonel, "there is something seriously wrong at post No. 8." So they hurriedly made their way to the guard and the colonel excitedly said to him, "sentry, wdiat is the matter with you ? What are you raising all this hullabaloo about ?" "Why," said the sentry, "I want a drink !" "Drink!

H and d ," says the colonel, "are you going to

arouse the whole Army of the Potomac whenever you want a drink ? Sergeant arrest that man and place him in the guard house. I'll learn you to want a drink while on duty," and the colonel w-alked off to his tent, while the sentry w^as marched off to the guardhouse.

Another striking and ludicrous example of the colonel'.^

The Colonel Excited. 23

excitable nature occurred at Camp Pierpont. The colonel had the regiment out drilling- on a gently sloping hillside and gave the command to nre by file from right to left. Now the colonel was mounted on a horse that would not stand fire and at the first crack of a gun he turned tail and fled, notwithstanding the strenuous exertions of the colonel to hold him, but each additional shot lent wings to his flight and he carried the colonel over the hill and out of sight. Meanwhile the firing proceeded and finally the head and shoulders of the colonel could be seen above the brow of the hill excitedly swinging his sword and yelling, "Cease firing ! Cease firing," accompanied by numerous cuss words to add emphasis to his orders. But the men were enjoying the situation and could not hear his orders, and whenever they fired a new volley the head and shoulders of the colonel would suddenly disappear again. They finally ceased their fire and allowed the raging colonel to approach, who instantly ordered the regiment to camp, threatening to buck and gag the first man that fired oft* his gun on the way back.

I shall not attempt a discription of the many battles in which we participated, only in so far as may be necessary to the explanation of incidents properly coming within the province of a work of this nature.

On learning that the enemy had evacuated Manassas, the reserves broke camp at Pierpont on March loth, 1862, and marched for that point. This march, owing to the inclemency of the weather, was the hardest, most exhausting and fatiguing that the reserves ever experienced during their term of service and was caused by the stupid blundering of some one high in authority.

This senseless and worse than useless march was made from our camp at Pierpont during one of the most terrific storms of sleet and rain which it was ever my misfortujie to encounter, and to add to the aggravation of the situation, when we had almost reached Manassas, our objective point, here came the order to countermarch on Alexandria, and on reaching that point during a heavy snow fall we were iDaded upon platform cars, and sent l^ack to Bull Run. This experience was simply awful ; it was a regular Burnside stick-in-the-mud with additional horrors. The roads throughout this section of the country had been transformed into rivers of mud, axle deep, and rain and sleet continued in ceaseless down-pour night and day. Men, completely exhausted, fell out of rank, and dropping dow^n in the fence corners, died of fatigue and exhaustion. I remember one night while on our return march we halted in a piece of woodland, completely fagged out, the down-pour continuing ; the ground was reeking with water, so that lying down was impractical, so setting to work we felled a hickory tree and building a fire against it, I sat down before it with my cap drawn over my eyes, and immediately fell asleep. On awakening I found the leathern frontis entirely burned from my cap. On resuming the march, it being impossible to follow the roads on account of the depth of the mud, we were obliged to take to the fields and woods, and as the paths formed by the advance became impassable, those in the rear would be obliged to start a new one and thus we struggled on.