The Ninth regiment, New York volunteers (Hawkins' zouaves)

Front matter

ANTIETAM

TO THE MEMORY OF THE BRAVE MEN OF THE NINTH NEW YORK INFANTRY (HAWKINS' ZOUAVES) WHO FOUGHT UPON THIS FIELD, AND ESPECIALLY TO THOSE WHO DIED HERE THAT THEIR COUNTRY MIGHT LIVE."

THE

Introduction

Chapter I. Derivation of Name Zouaves — Organization of the New York Zouaves in i860, with Copy of Original Pamphlet Containing By-Laws, Committees, etc 21

" [I. Organization of Civil Club— Drill Master Serg't Benzoni — First Shot of the Civil War— Firing on Fort Sumter — First Offer of New York Troops— Organization of 9th N. Y. Volunteers— Field Officers— Castle Garden — Riker's Island — Severe Drills — New Uniform — Inspection by Gen'l John A. Dix — Off for Fortress Monroe — Presentation of Flags in Fifth Avenue — Arrival at Newport News 32

" III. Advance on Big Bethel— The First Battle of the War — General Carr's Account of Battle of Big Bethel — Account of Major Winthrop's Death by a Southerner — Forces Engaged and Losses Sustained — Zouaves to the Front — Colonel Phelps and his Peculiarities — Right General Guide Herbert and His Grave Error — Two Zouaves Attempt to get a " Pull " with Colonel Phelps 55

" IV. Reconnaissance by Companies A and F— Skirmish with the Enemy — Trouble about the Relative Rank of Officers — Decided by Drawing Lots — General Butler Superseded by General Wool — Special Order for

CONTENTS.

Expedition to Hatteras Inlets — Three Companies of the Ninth Join Expedition — Arrival off Hatteras — Bombardment of Forts — Surrender — Amount of Material Captured 70

Chapt. V. Colonel Hawkins Assumes Command of Post — Correspondence Between Colonel Hawkins and General Wool— Expedition to Beacon Island — Lieut. -Colonel Betts and Five Companies Rejoin Regiment — Surrender of Gunboat " Fannie " — Attack on 20th Indiana — General Williams Supersedes Colonel Hawkins — Construction of New Forts — Antipathy of Men to Williams — Boys " Scouting " for Fresh Pork Seriously Alarm the General — Major Kimball and Two Companies Arrive from Newport News— Arrival of Burnside Expedition — All Ready for Roanoke Island — Rations from the Sea — Wine Labels Passed as Currency — Robbing Potato Houses 84

" VI. Underway for Roanoke Island — Arrival — Engagement with the Forts — Landing of the Troops — Bivouac in the Mud for the Night — Stealing Bed from Beneath the Colonel — Army Moves on the Enemy — Major Kimball's Fear that the Men Might Weaken — Arrival in Front of Battery — Order to Charge the Works — Colonel De- Monteil Killed — First Bayonet Charge of the War — What Curie Saw — Reflections — Extracts from Reports of Generals in Command — Capture of Captain Wise — More Rain — Description of Prisoners ... 119

CONTENTS.

Chapt.VII. Expeditions to Nag's Head and Winton, N. C. — Ninth Regiment Garrisons Roanoke Island — Resignation of Lieutenant- Colonel Betts — Expedition under Major Jardine — Expedition to South Mills — Terrific March — Battle of South Mills or Camden — Heavy Loss of the Ninth — Death of Adjutant Gadsden — Return to Roanoke — Retrospection—General Reno's Report of Battle — Colonel Hawkins' Report I cj

" VIII. Ninth New York Garrisons Roanoke Islland — Recreation the Order of the Day — Practical Uses of Captured Powder —

Company K's New Battery Tactics

Innocently Getting Square with the Company Cook — Testimonial to Col. Hawkins — Parade and Drill of Ninth Under Command of Non-Commissioned Officers — New Recruits Troubled with " Lapsy Palls " Cured by Sergeant Horner— Lieutenant Flusser, U. S. N., Captures Plymouth and Company " F " Detailed to Garrison Town — Runaway Slaves Returned to Owner — Wessel's Brigade Relieves Company " F "—Enemy Attack and Defeat Wessel, Re-Capture Plymouth and Kill Flusser — Burnside Leaves for Fort Monroe— Ninth Leaves Roanoke for Norfolk — Camp for Contrabands— Losses of Burnside Expedition i 92

" IX. Farewell to Roanoke Island — Arrival at Old Fort Norfolk, Va.— Off for Fortress Monroe — Arrival at Falmouth, Va. — Drills and Dress Parades a Prominent Feature — Rumors of Disaster —

CONTENTS.

Army Deserts Fredericksburg and Detroys Stores — Pope's Campaign and Disastrous Failure — McClellan Again in Command of Army of the Potomac — Disorder in Washington — Camp at Meridian Hill — Off for the Maryland Campaign — Description of March — Skirmishes With the Enemy — Arrival at Frederick City, Md. — Hospitality of Inhabitants — Fire in Jail — On to Antietam — Battle of South Mountain — Coolness of Major Jardine Under Fire — Death of General Reno and Comments on His Soldierly Qualities — Arrival Near Antietam — Night Before the Battle 238

Chapt. X. Lieutenant Graham's Letter Descriptive of the Battle of Antietam — Attack on the Stone Wall — Great Bravery of the Troops — Ordered to Retire and Lieutenant- Colonel Kimball's Protest— General Wilcox in Person Peremptorily Orders Kimball to Fall Back — Assistance to the Wounded — McClellan's, Burnside's, Fairchild's, and Kimball's Reports — Mr. Kirkley's Statements of Total Killed in the Civil War, and Proportion of Wounded to Killed — General Longstreet's Comments on the Battle and Comparison with Other Notable Engagements — Percentage of Regimental and Brigade Loss of the Ninth Regiment 281

" XL Retreat of the Army of Northern Virginia — Apathy of Fifth Corps — Camping on the Antietam— Recruits for the Ninth — Their Reception and Treatment by Lieutenant-

CONTENTS. ix

PAGE

Colonel Kimball and his Tribute to the Old Regiment — Captain Whiting— Visit from President Lincoln— The Loaves and the Good Zouaves — Hospital Arrangements—The Band Plays "Annie Laurie" for the Sick Men— Promotion of Surgeon Humphreys — Across Elk Ridge to Pleasant Valley— " Tenting on the Old Camp Ground" ^ - Q

Chapt. XII. Clothing and Camp Equipage Left at Meridian Hill — Cleanliness — Knapsacks Recovered — Knapsack Drill — Hunger, Cold and Marching — Three Columns Abreast — Company G as Headquarter's Guard— Company K Joins General Kautz —General Burnside Relieves General Mc- Clellan of the Command of the Army- Scattering a Quartermaster's Train — Good Artillery Shooting— Thanksgiving Day at Falmouth — Battle of Fredricksburg — Stragglers — Winter Quarters in Virginia— On to Fortress Monroe 354

" XIII. Establishment of Camp at Newport News —The Ninth Assigned as Provost Guard- Concentrating Troops- Sutlers' Trials- Rum as a Disturber of Martial Discipline — Review of the Ninth Corps— Horse Racing and Baseball— Enroute to Fortress Monroe and Portsmouth — Telegrams—Borrowed Tents in Suffolk— An • Unwarranted Tragedy — The Use of Countersigns— Death of Brigadier-General Corcoran — Ominous Thunders of Mutiny Calmed by General Getty— Removal to Fort Nansemond — Under Fire —Fake Bullets— Capturing a Battery— A

CONTENTS.

Lost Yankee in Rebel Lines— The Last Day — General Orders No. 27— Disappointment of Recruits — Mustered Out 397

Chapt. XIV. The Recruits Left at Suffolk— Lack of Military Control — Volunteering for the Fight — Camp Rumors — Private Reconnoitering— The Man of Straw— Uncertainty and Anxiety Among the Men — Transferred to the Third New York — Bossing the Regiment— Off for Field Service — Campaigning in South Carolina— Army of the James — Army of the Potomac — Men of the Ninth Distinguish Themselves — Regiment Dwindles Away — Call for Second Battalion— A New Ninth Organized— Formation of 178th New York Volunteers — Ordered to Virginia — New Ninth Recruiting— The July Riots— Jardine and White Wounded — Rescued— Battalion at Fort Hamilton— Seventeenth New York— Ordered to the Front— Provisional Brigade — Service of 178th — Service of 17 th — Men Who Served in Other Regiments 433

" XV. Introduction to the Third Georgia — Various Meetings on the Battlefield — Seeking Old Foes After the War— The Ninth Visits the Third— Incidents of the Visit to Georgia — Speeches — Reception of the Third Georgia by the Zouaves— How They were Treated by their Old -Time Foes — Banquets — Sightseeing — Excursions — Departure of the Georgians 46;,

CONTENTS.

PAGE

Chapt XVI. Ceremonies at the Dedication of the Monument Erected on the Battlefield of Antietam in Memory of the Dead of the Ninth New York Volunteers — Preliminary Work of the Committees— Journey to the Battlefield — Comrade Richard's Invocation — Comrade Graham's Introduction — Address by Colonel Hawkins — Unveiling the Monument — Oration by Rev. Clark Wright, of Company F — The Presentation to General Carman — Revisiting Points of Interest — The Return 493

"XVII. After Muster-Out— Desire of the Men of the Regiment to Retain the Flags — Manner in which they were Cared for — Reasons why they Should be Transferred to the State — Correspondence with the Governor— Names of Survivors who were Present at the Ceremony — Reception of the Delegation by Governor Roosevelt — Lieutenant Graham's Remarks — Governor Roosevelt's Reply — Major DeBevoise's Sketch of Service — Taps— The End 555

Muster-out Roll rgy

Errata 6^,

INTRODUCTION.

In the taking of Fort Sumter the rebels served their first notice upon the people of the loyal States of the coming of one of the most momentous events known to the history of any nation, and when two days later President Lincoln called for the levy of seventy-five thousand troops, it was like giving an order by the president of a great railway company to the maker of toy engines, for a like number of mogul locomotives. The call of the President found the Governors of States about as well prepared to fill his order as would have been the makers of the toys.

The patriotic uprising, however, was complete. Millions of heads, hearts and hands were willing to do and to serve, but the great "how to" had to be learned, and there were but few teachers to show the way.

There were thousands of well disposed, perfectly inexperienced patriots who honestly believed that the matter of making a good fighting machine out of a thousand perfectly raw recruits would be an easy one. Possibly the makers of the Ninth New York Volunteers were in

2 NINTH REGIMENT, NEW YORK J'OEUNTEERS.

several important respects an exception to the general rule obtaining in relation to inexperience. In its field and staff there were three who had seen service in the United States Army, two as officers and one as a private; and in the line those captains and lieutenants who were educated in the "Old Company" were well up in the Manual of Arms, Bayonet Exercise, and School of the Company, and theoretically, knew something of the School of the Battalion. In addition to this stock of professional quantities and qualities on hand, there was youth, no end of patriotic enthusiasm, ardent desire to learn, sincere wish to serve well, and a striving for a high plane of excellence in the performance of soldierly duties. With this capital on hand, the " Ninth" launched itself upon the difficult undertaking of organizing a body of eight hundred very young men into a regiment of fighting soldiers.

April 15th, 1861, President Lincoln issued his first call for seventy-five thousand troops — it ought to have been a million, and possibly would have been for that number had not Secretary Seward earnestly advised that the war would be over in sixty days, the South did not intend to fight, was rising for a scare, etc., etc. All this in face of the historic fact that secession sentiment in many parts of the South had been

INTRODUCTION persistently propagated for more than a quarter of a century, and that for many years their political leaders had been waiting for a pretense to commence an open revolt against the Union. A wise statesman would have noted these facts and acted accordingly. But the really large minded patriotic statesman, equipped to deal with great national questions, was not in evidence. In his place there were no end of cunning politicians, some of them more or less patriotic, but the better of them were trained with a strong bias in favor of self.

Within three days from the printing of the President's call for troops, the enrollment book of the coming regiment showed over two thousand names of enlisted men. With the recording of names the work of selecting men of the kind wanted, young, strong, sound, of medium size, was carried forward, so that on the morning of the nineteenth of April, the number of men allowed by the State had been selected and were ready to be mustered into the service as a regiment of Volunteer Infantry.

From this time on there was everything to do and nothing to do it with. Quarters had to be secured, rations supplied, clothing, arms and equipments obtained, and nearly eight hundred perfectly raw recruits drilled and instructed in the whole round of difficult duties which go towards the making of an efficient and reliable soldier. Fortunately there were willing hands and plenty of unselfish desire behind them for all the work there was to do. Imperceptibly, department lines were drawn. The coming young officers of the line keeping with the men, teaching marchings and facings, maintaining order and enforcing camp regulations. Later on the lieutenant-colonel, an accomplished tactician who had served in the National Guard of the State, gave efficient instruction in battalion drills.

In the meantime the much worried and bepuzzled young individual who was destined to command was working with all his might, trying to make some headway with the business part of the enterprise, which included everything involving the expenditure of money from the purchase of a gaiter buckle to the leasing of an island and the building of barracks. Progress, however, was rapid and satisfactory, for May 15th found the regiment comfortably housed in their new barracks at Riker's Island, clothed, equipped, armed, and well provided with all the soldiers necessities allowed by the regulations. Two weeks more of incessant drill and hard work in other directions brought the regiment to a most satisfactory degree of efficiency, so that when the time came to depart for the seat

IN TROD UCTION.

of war all was in readiness for the move. The first and most difficult stage had been successfully passed, and already, the coming veterans, with the years of boys, were feeling the consequences of their position and appreciating the value of their earnest labor intelligently bestowed. The next stage was the landing at Newport News and the continuation, under the schooling of Colonel John Wolcott Phelps, of the First Vermont Volunteers, of the character-forming so successfully commenced in New York. The accident of reporting to such an officer as Colonel Phelps was an exceptional piece of good fortune in the history of the regiment. He was a graduate of West Point, had served twenty-three years in the artillery, and beyond all doubt was one of the most accomplished officers ever graduated from that school. As a classical scholar and a master of several modern languages, he was without rival in the regular army; he was also well up in pure mathematics and thoroughly well posted in all the various branches of his profession. In addition to his great acquirements he was a thoroughly honest, unselfish, conscientious gentleman, with common sense, and a perfect appreciation of justice, patriotic to the core, and of exceptional capacity for work.

This brief tribute, possibly a little out of place, is due to an officer, whose teachings and example had very much to do with the making of a regiment of efficient soldiers, and is here set forth to make a degree of appreciation due to a noble man.

From the landing at Newport News to the end of August, hard work was the order of the day; but before that time instruction had become so effective and discipline so habitual, that the regiment was ready for effective work. In short, within three months from the date of the first muster into the service, it had become a completely serviceable organization for serious business in the field.

If other regiments were not able to accomplish a like result the fault was with the officers, many of whom were ignorant of the duties demanded, naturally inefficient, and with no disposition for hard work. With such material as we have already, good officers can make good regiments in three months, and in the event of pressing necessity in half that time.

The exceptional work — out of routine sort — at Newport News, was the purgation, or pushing out, of inefficient officers who had been elected, under State laws by their men, to the company commission grade. This labor was so successfully performed that within six weeks from the landing, three very worthless captains and twice as many lieutenants had passed on to other fields of usefulness. Soon as their march towards the North commenced, the great advantage of their absence became apparent. More of this sort of work had to be done before the regiment was completely freed from its shoulderstrapped dead wood, but it was performed gradually, not so much again in any one short period of time. Soon after the system of weeding out had been thoroughly inaugurated, a plan regulating promotions was set in operation. It related to the line, non-commissioned staff and orderly sergeants. The senior first lieutenant succeeding to the first vacant captaincy, the senior second lieutenant to the first vacancy among the firsts, and the ranking orderly sergeant taking the place of the second lieutenant promoted. This order of promotion proved to be most efficacious and had very much to do with the making of the regiment.

But the labor of establishing it was not like living in a bed of roses fanned by gentle zephyrs. Practical politics pointed a fire in the rear in the way of granting commissions without consulting regimental commanders; not wanted outsiders were frequently commissioned to the regiment, and the inefficients in it were often, out of their turn, jumped over the heads of the more deserving who were entitled to their promotion. An unlooked for incident, of a most disgraceful nature, which occurred in the Autumn of 1861, proved to be the beginning of the end of this unwarranted interference from the authorities at Albany.

Early one evening in the month of July, Colonel Phelps sent for the colonel of the Ninth to come to his tent at once, as he wanted to see him in relation to an important emergency. When there he was told there was danger of an emeute among the men of the First New York Volunteers. A certain captain named Barnard had returned from Old Point in a state of intoxication, and soon after his arrival in camp, without provocation, had wantonly shot and seriously wounded one of the favorite non-commissioned officers, and the Colonel of the Ninth was ordered to hold his regiment in readiness to put down any uprising that might occur. Although among the men and non-commissioned officers, threats were freely and openly made, better counsels prevailed and there was no disturbance. For some reason the criminal was not tried, his victim recovered, and his would-be murderer disappeared.

The incident was a day's talk, then forgotten and nothing more was heard of the chief actor, until upon a certain day in the October following, he appeared at Hatteras Inlet commissioned as a Captain in the Ninth Regiment. His advent proved to be a great regimental surprise that called for prompt and decisive action, which was promptly taken. Neither the would-be Captain or his commission were acknowledged, and he was ordered to return immediately to Old Point Comfort, and the following letter was sent to General Wool : —

Fort Clark, Hatteras Inlet, N. C, October 8, 1861.

General John E. Wool, Commanding Dept. of Va.,

Fortress Monroe, Va.

Sir : — I do not acknowledge the right of Governor Morgan to appoint and transfer officers, over my head, into my regiment, and I will resist the appointment and transfer of Captain Barnard, even though it cost me my commission.

If Captain B. should in the end succeed in obtaining a command in my regiment, I shall then, if not dismissed before, resign my commission. With very great respect,

I remain your faithful servant,

RUSH C. HAWKINS,

Col. Comg. Ninth Regt. N. Y. Vols.

The gauntlet was thrown, the contest on, and sink or swim, was to be fought to the finish, apparently against enormous odds, by an obscure young volunteer colonel, single-handed, who had neither influence or hope of favor, but he was sure of being right at least morally, and had no fear. With the enforced leaving of Barnard, regimental peace was restored and the daily routine went forward about as usual. But peace which blesses was not to endure, for again, October 22nd, it was disturbed by the lO NINTH REGIMENT, NEW YORK VOLUNTEERS.

appearance of the same evil spirit. This time it was accompanied by a special order from General Williams, commanding at Hatteras Inlet, assigning him to the command of a company in the Ninth Regiment. This time the regimental blood was superheated, and the order promptly disobeyed in the most emphatic manner. A prompt arrest of the hot-headed Colonel followed, charges preferred, and nine days later he was ordered to proceed to Fortress Monroe for trial by court martial.

Soon after his arrival at department headquarters, he sought and obtained an interview with one of the aides of General Wool, who after reading charges and hearing a full circumstantial account of the whole affair, from the shooting at Newport News to the arrest, frankly stated that the victim of orders was clearly in the right, and that he would see what could be done with the General. The quoting of an official letter is the better way of stating the measure of his success : —

Headquarters Department of Virginia.

Fort Monroe, Va., November 5, 1861.

Colonel: — The Major General commanding the Department directs

me to inform you, that the charges preferred against you by Brig.

General Thomas Williams are dismissed, and you are hereby released

from arrest. t am gi r> mos t respectfully,

Your obedient servant,

WM. D. WHIPPLE, Asst. Adjt. Genl. Col. Rush C Hawkins, Ninth Regt. N. Y. Vols.,

Fortress Monroe, Va.

Following the release there was a long interview with General Wool, who being an officer of long experience and provided with common sense, and knowing how to deal with those, who in defense of right sometimes take the short cut to justice, disregarding regulations and orders, said in effect, that a colonel was responsible for the good name and efficiency of his command, and it ought to be a part of his official duty to keep disreputable men from obtaining commissions in his regiment. There was no doubt about which side the moral supported, but orders had been disobeyed, the matter to be settled was an important one and he would order the offending officer to Washington, to present his side of the case to the President for his decision, and also to obtain from the Administration instructions in relation to present occupation of North Carolina coast, and future operations in its inland waters.

The stay in Washington lasted eight days ; the matters for consideration involved two Cabinet meetings and several interviews with President Lincoln. The permanent occupation was decided upon and future operations outlined, but the President would not pass upon Gov. Morgan's power to make appointments of commissioned officers to regiments in the field without consent of colonels commanding. In this particular instance he thought the Colonel was right, but he could not afford to get up a quarrel with the Governor upon whom he most relied to assist in putting down the Rebellion. ''Tell General Wool I leave this matter in his hands for him to arrange with the Governor, so there will be no more trouble." It was never known what General Wool did, but there were never any more appointments without the consent of the colonel of the regiment. In the meantime, Barnard had been placed in command of a company, but the men of the whole regiment made his position so unpleasant that he feared bodily harm, resigned, and was never heard of afterwards. It was ascertained that this individual was of Baltimore, where he had kept a very low groggery — a resort for criminals — and that generally, he had a most unsavory reputation, coupled with a strong suspicion that he had been engaged in criminal practices.

This unpleasant incident has been set forth in extenso for the sole purpose of showing what an earnest officer, intent upon doing his whole duty to the Government, had often to contend with. During the whole contest the demoralizing political fire from the rear was quite as efficient as the other from the front in retarding progress towards the better military organization. No doubt the majority of the Governors were patriotic and desired to do their best, but they were politicians who could not stand up against the pressure from without. Their working constituents had to be rewarded, and in the far too numerous regiments from all the States a commissioned officer's place could always be made for a devoted henchman. These were two of the prominent reasons, among the many, why it took years to make an army out of the best possible material, instead of months.

During the administration of the War Department, by that notoriously corrupt politician, Simon Cameron, of Pennsylvania, one of the faithful from a rural part of that State appeared in Washington pressing his claim for a foreign mission. There being no vacancy among them a fat consular appointment was asked for, these also were all filled, and the worker being disappointed and disconsolate appealed to Cameron for relief. That official sympathized with him, said he appreciated the valuable services performed in the mountain district, and as reward offered the best he had to bestow, and promptly tendered a brigadier general's commission, which was declined by the homeworking patriot because he preferred peace to war, but he had heard that the position of purchasing and contracting quartermaster at Harrisburg,

Philadelphia, and other places in Pennsylvania was pleasant and profitable and he would prefer one of those.

From the inception of the regimental idea, it had been determined to form it upon purely up to date military basis, and in order to accomplish the better results in that direction, absolute control by a single head was the one dominant essential, and it was the spirit behind and supporting that determination which caused the firm resistance against giving a place in the line to a thoroughly disreputable and unfit character, which if permitted would have been a stain upon the reputation of the whole organization.

There were also other important ideals to be developed : manliness, cleanliness, honesty, sobriety and clean-cut individuality. All of these qualities are essential to the make-up of a perfect soldier, no matter what uniform he may wear. Along these lines in many respects, long before the term of service had expired, success was so marked that there were at least fifty men in the ranks who could have commanded the regiment as efficiently as any officer in it. But over and above all these separate qualities there was developed an all prevailing and overruling esprit de corps, which both as to conduct and soldierly appearance kept the whole up to a very high level. The regimental spirit was such that its members were always ready for any emergency, fun, frolic, gymnastics, theatricals or serious work in the field ; with them disaster never brought despondency. Grief for those who had fallen was the ever present incentive for better work in the future ; but there was never discouragement or want of confidence in capacity to perform whatever duty might be commanded. A Union general who witnessed the demeanor of the survivors a day after the terrible struggle and loss at Antietam, suggested that after the words "Toujours Pret" (the regimental motto), the words " Nil Desparandum " might appropriately be added.

The last day of the march from Antietam to Falmouth was a very muddy one, and by the time the army reached the grounds appointed for going into camp it presented an appearance plainly showing its intimate contact with the fields of Virginia mud. But notwithstanding unfavorable conditions for show purposes, General Sumner then commanding the right Grand Division, ordered an afternoon full dress parade of his whole command. The Ninth growled but went to work with a will, brushing, eradicating mud spots, chalking those on the white duck gaiters, blacking shoes, burnishing arms, etc., etc. The parade was over and the three corps of which it was composed dismissed, excepting the Ninth New York, which was ordered to remain ; no one concerned knew what was coming, but there was some trembling in boots, and particularly about the time that General Sumner with full staff rode to opposite the center of the regimental line, saluted the commanding officer and asked " Whose regiment is this?" Upon receiving the answer he took off his hat and in a loud tone of voice said: "This is the first regiment of soldiers I have seen in many years," and then after complimenting in most flattering terms the officers, who at his request had gathered around him, left the field. This was the honest outspoken expression of a brave old soldier who had adorned our army for more than a third of a century of notable service.

It is needless in this connection to write it, but it may as well be stated, that this unconditional compliment was an enormous feather, not white, in the caps of the "Boys"; it put them upon their best behavior, and its influence lasted to the end of the term.