Life in tent and field, 1861-1865

Front matter

-^0

Webster

Binghamton

Introduction

It is hoped that the reader of this story may share to some extent the interest which the writer found in recalling events of more than half a century gone. The present generation has been so absorbed in the recent European War that our Civil War seems like ancient history.

The feeble old veterans who gather on Decoration Day are ghosts of a bygone age. The stories which they rehearse of the mighty events in which they were a part are no longer listened to with interest by the general public.

There are some, however, and their number is increasing, who are pleased to recall the privations and the patriotism of those who fought for the preservation of the Union and made it possible for this country to take a deciding part in the World War.

I trust that the frequent use of the first personal pronoun may be pardoned, in view of the fact that the events here related consist mostly of personal reminiscences written almost exclusively from memory.

Contents

Slavery the Moral Cause of the Civil War, Also the Underlying Cause of the European. Changes in the Art of Warfare The Underground Railroad. Repeal of the Missouri Compromise. Border Ruffians. Free-soilers. War in Kansas

PAGE

II

II. Preparation for College at Phillips Exeter Academy The Abolition of Slavery. Enter Yale in 1857. Northern Chivalry. Attack in the United States Senate on Charles Sumner by Preston Brooks. Anson Burlingame. John Brown of Ossawatomie and Attack at Harper s Ferry. Wendell Phillips. Connecticut Election in 1859. Abraham Lincoln i7

III Cavalry. The Ira Harris Guard. Sixth New

York Cavalry. General Thomas C. Devin. Plain Fare of Soldiers. Daniel S. Dickinson. Story of Horatio Seymour 27

IV Unpreparedness. Regiment Ordered to York,

Pennsylvania. Major Carwardine. Captain Hannahs. Incident at Annapolis. Cavalry Equipment 3i

V The Peninsular Campaign. McClellan Made Commander in Chief. His Treatment of the Inhabitants. Unfavorable Reports in Regard to Him. Letter of the Author to His Mother 40

VI. Battle of Williamsburg. "Les Enfants Perdus." Raid to Gloucester Court House. Magruder Evacuates Yorktown. Some Amusing Events 48

VII. The Famous "Seven Days' Fight." Retreat of the Army to Malvern Hills. President Lincoln Visits McClellan— Tells a Characteristic Story 54

8 Contents

CHAPTER VAG^

VIII. Pleasant Life on the Peninsula. Confederates Rout the Fifth Pennsylvania Cavalry. William and Mary College Burned. Captain Hannahs Assassinated in Williamsburg 6i

IX. The Destruction of William and Mary College —

Not Done by Union Soldiers 66

X. Author Promoted to First Lieutenant. General Burnside and Battle of Fredericksburg. Laying of Pontoon Bridge. Horseback Ride with a Virginia Girl. A Malodorous Story ... 77

XI. Fight of the Sixth New York Cavalry at Todd's Tavern. Hooker's Plans for the Destruction of Lee's Army. General Devin Orders Keenan's Charge Which Saved the Army from Destruction. He Says Nothing About the "Noble Smile." Stonewall Jackson Killed . 86

XII. Invasion of Maryland. Pursuit of Lee. Colonel

John S. Mosby. Gettysburg 94

XIII. Pursuit of Lee loi

XIV. Veteran Furlough io6

XV. General Grant Made Commander in Chief . . 109

XVI. Sheridan's Raid to Richmond 112

XVII. Promotion. Explosion of Petersburg Mine. Sheridan Ordered to the Shenandoah Valley . . . 119

XVIII. Sheridan in the Shenandoah Valley 123

XIX. Attack by Mosley. The Author Wounded . . 126

XX. Campaign in the Shenandoah Valley. Sheridan's

Ride 137

XXI. Expedition to Join Grant Before Richmond . . 144

XXII. General Warren Relieved. Lee's Surrender . . 150

XXIII. Our Last March. The Grand Review .... 156

XXIV. Closing Scenes i^g

ILLUSTRATIONS

Brevet Major Edward P, McKinncy .... Frontispiece

FACING PAGE

General Thomas C. Devin 28

Major-General Phillip H. Sheridan 112'

General George A. Custer i44

CtL\PTER I

SLAVERY THE MORAL CAUSE OF THE CIVIL WAR, ALSO THE UNDERLYING CAUSE OF THE EURO- PEAN. CHANGES IN THE ART OF WARFARE. THE UNDERGROUND RAILRO.\D. REPEAL OF THE MISSOURI COMPROMISE. BORDER RUF- FIANS. FREE-SOILERS. WAR IN ICANSAS.

In any endeavor to trace the underlying cause of the European or World War, we should not lose sight of the fact that our Civil War was the outcome of a constantly growing sentiment against human slavery, and that Europe imbibed from this countr)' the same spirit, which eventually brought the whole world into conflict.

In this countrv' the issue was between the supremacy of negro slaver}^ and its complete abolition. In Europe it was between the power of the few over the lives of the people and the abolition of the aristocracy.

Today there is no one who asserts the "divine right of Kings." If there is a King left in Europe

II he is disposed to apologize to the people for the title.

"Yet I doubt not through the ages One increasing purpose runs, And the thoughts of men are widened With the progress of the suns."

We who are now living cannot measure the advance which the world has made. In fact in some ways it may seem that civilization has gone backward. We believe that future historians will give the present era credit for the longest step forward of any of the centuries. Almost all the great progressive periods in the World's history have followed an era of bloodshed. Whether universal peace can be brought about by a "League of Nations," and if it can, whether such a peace will contribute to the advance of mankind, is doubtful. It takes sweat and blood to break the bonds which have bound mankind for centuries.

In the physical aspects of warfare since our Civil War there have been considerable changes, owing to the advance in Science and to new inventions. The use of airplanes in the late war enabled the combatants to make observations of each others' movements to such an extent that the armies of both sides were compelled to conceal themselves underground. This, with the

The Cause of The Civil War 13

great numbers of men engaged in the European War, and the universal use of telephones, which covered every acre of ground, prevented the use of cavalry, especially on the Eastern front. For this reason the late war lacked much of the romance of the Civil War.

The writer of these reminiscences, at the outbreak of the Civil War in 1861, entered the Army as a Lieutenant of Cavalry and served with the Cavalry Corps of the Army of the Potomac until the general muster out in 1865.

Most writers on the Civil War have written as historians or as military critics. I shall not attempt anything so profound, but I hope to create some interest in the story of events in which I had a part or which came under my personal observation.

I will very briefly recall some of the events which led to the Civil War.

For many years prior to the election of Lincoln in i860, Negro Slavery had been the ruling question in the politics of the Nation. The South was determined that the new States which were being opened in the Southwest should be slave States. They also demanded the right to take their slaves into and out of the free States without interference, and that the laws of the Northern States should compel the return of escaped slaves to their owners.

In the North the public conscience was being more and more awakened to the injustice of human slavery. Early in the fifties some of the extreme radicals of the South were threatening secession unless their demands were complied with. In the North a large body of influential citizens led by the most gifted orators were advo- 'cating the abolition of slavery. In Rochester, New York, Fred Douglas, a runaway slave, published a newspaper called the North Star, openly advocating the abolition of slavery.

Slaves were aided into Canada through Pennsylvania and New York, via the so-called Underground Railroad. This was a series of connecting stations extending from Mason and Dixon's line to Canada. The existence and location of these stations were kept absolutely secret except to the very few. At night when all were supposed to be asleep a peculiar knock was heard on the door of a certain house. When the door was opened by the master of the house, two men, one white and the other black, were standing outside. The white man, after a few passwords, disappeared in the darkness. The black man was drawn into the house and the door locked. If there was no immediate pursuit the slave was fed, a horse harnessed, the slave delivered to the next station, the horse and wagon returned to the stable and the master of the house to his bed

The Missouri Compromise 15

before daylight. In some cases where pursuit was hot the slave was kept concealed until danger passed.

In 1854, under the leadership of Stephen A. Douglas, the "Missouri Compromise," under which for thirty years slavery had been confined to territory South of latitude 36° 30', was repealed, and the Kansas-Nebraska bill passed, authorizing the first settlers of new territory to determine whether it should be slave or free. The direct object of Douglas and the Southern Democrats in passing this bill was to make the large territory of Kansas, which was now opened to settlement, a slave State.

The Antislavery party of the North were not idle. Before the final passage of the bill, emigrants from New England were furnished with "Beecher Bibles," as Springfield muskets were called, and rushed into Kansas. A society called the "New England Emigrant Aid Company" was incorporated under the laws of Massachusetts, and the rich lands of Kansas were the coveted prize of the adventurous spirits, who, rifle in hand, poured into Kansas.

This movement was fiercely resented by the Southern slave-owners. The Missourians especially, as the new territory adjoined their own State, had not anticipated any difficulty in making Kansas a slave State. Alarmed by the increasing numbers of "Free-Soilers,'" as the Northern settlers were called, a body of five thousand Border Ruffians rushed across the border from Missouri at the time of the March election in 1855, took possession of the polls and elected a Legislature and Member of Congress. The Free-Soilers would not recognize this Legislature but proceeded to elect their own Legislature and Member of Congress.

For two years there was civil war in Kansas. The entire country was on fire with excitement, but neither the North nor the South was prepared for war, and the most prominent leaders on both sides put forth their best efforts to effect some kind of settlement.

Chapter II

PREPARATION FOR COLLEGE AT PHILLIPS EXETER ACADEMY. THE ABOLITION OF SLAVERY. ENTER YALE IN I 857. NORTHERN CHIVALRY. ATTACK IN THE UNITED STATES SENATE ON CHARLES SUMNER BY PRESTON BROOKS. ANSON BURLINGAME. JOHN BROWN OF OSSA- WATOMIE ANT) ATTACK AT HARPER'S FERRY. WENDELL PHILLIPS. CONNECTICUT ELEC- TION IN 1859. ABRAHAM LINCOLN.

I was prepared for college at Phillips Exeter Academy, Exeter, New Hampshire, in 1855- 1S56-1857. while blood was running in Kansas. During my Senior year many eloquent speakers, including such men as Wendell Phillips. Ralph Waldo Emerson and Theodore Parker, spoke in Exeter in a new town-hall on the subject of the Abolition of Slaver}" and the Kansas outrages. I well remember an address by Emerson, at which a man got up from in front and walked out amid profound silence. Emerson looked at his watch and said that he found that he had been speaking: more than an hour and would stop. The entire audience requested him to go on and he continued nearly an hour longer. Nearly all the students of the Phillips Exeter Academy attended this series of lectures and became deeply interested.

Among my classmates was Sam Fessenden, a son of Senator Fessenden from Maine, afterward Secretary of the Treasury under Lincoln. Sam was a small, slight, fair-haired youth of about seventeen years. His sympathy got so wrought, up that he ran away from school, went to Boston, obtained from the Free-Soil Committee a "Beecher's Bible," and went to Kansas to fight the Border Ruffians. Many of my class in Phillips Exeter, of whom a number were Southerners, were afterward engaged in the Civil War on one side or the other.

I entered Yale College in 1857 in the Freshman class, and was graduated in 1861. There were several Southerners in my class. If there was any hostile feeling toward them. Northern "chivalary" did not permit its expression. In i860 a Secession flag appeared one morning on the turrets of Linonia Hall. This, however, disappeared soon after dawn, and the incident was dropped. Later another Secession flag appeared on Fort Hale, a little fort, relic of colonial days, in New Haven Harbor. This, too, was removed without causing very much excitement.

While the question whether Kansas should be

The Attack on Senator Sumner 19

slave or free was in hot dispute, the Thirty-fourth Congress assembled. In the Senate Charles Sumner of Massachusetts was a leading member, and held much the same rank among Senators as Senator Lodge holds at the present time, only the Democrats were then in large majority. Like Lodge, he was a cultivated scholar and his reputation was not confined to this hemisphere. Although Sumner knew his personal danger, in a two-days' speech he denounced the crime against Kansas and all who supported it, in such scathing terms that the Southern members were frantic with anger.

Preston Brooks of South Carolina, a member of the House of Representatives, encouraged by his Southern colleagues, took on himself the task of personally chastising Senator Sumner. He made a brutal and cowardly attack from behind on the Senator, who was seated at his desk in the Senate Chamber and unable to rise, and beat him over the head and shoulders with a heavy cane, felling him to the floor and inflicting injuries from which Sumner never recovered. This infamous assault was applauded by many Southern people. Women embraced Brooks with kisses in reward for his chivalry.

Anson Burlingame, a member from Massachusetts, in a speech before the House, characterized the deed as the work of a coward in such bitter terms that Brooks was stung to the quick and challenged him to a duel. Burlingame chose rifles for weapons and designated Canada as the dueling: ground. Brooks backed down with the excuse that he could not go to Canada.

Among the Free-Soilers who were engaged in fighting the Border Ruffians in Kansas, a prominent figure was John Brown, or as he became known, "John Brown of Ossawatomie." Brown raised a company of volunteers, in which were his four sons. He called them the "Free-State Regular Volunteers of Kansas," and while he received some outside aid he spent his own means in their support.

John Brown was compelled to leave Ossawatomie, where he had made his home, and where his experience of the murderous gang of Border Ruffians so embittered him against the institution of slavery that his life was not weighed in the balance.

On October 17, 1859, the world was startled by news of an attack by twenty men on the United States Arsenal at Harpers Ferry. Harper's Ferry is a small town on the Virginia side of the Potomac, where the Shenandoah, breaking through the mountains from the South, joins the Potomac. It is one of the most picturesque spots in America and a fit setting for John Brown's wonderful exploit.

John Brown 21

John Brown sacrificed his life and that of three sons, and though "his body Hes moldering in the grave his soul goes marching on." His professed object was to start a rebellion of the slaves, in which he failed, and he was promptly hung at Charlestown, Virginia.

Brown was a very religious man, of superior mind and absolute devotion to what he considered his duty. By most people he is called a fanatic. Some, however, consider him a seer who foresaw, in his self-sacrifice and the sacrifice of his three sons, the liberation of his country from the curse of human slavery.

Wendell Phillips of Boston was known throughout the country as the most finished orator of the times. In those days every city and every village had its Lyceum, before which weekly lectures were given, attended by throngs of people. No lecture course was complete without Wendell Phillips, and his engagements were made a year or more in advance. He was one of the most ardent antislavery speakers and had a great influence in arousing the people of the North to an abhorrence of human slavery.

A laughable incident occurred in 1858. Wendell Phillips, while delivering one of his characteristic lectures in the South Church on College Street in New Haven, to a large and intensely interested audience, was interrupted after one of his bitter sentences, by a loud and emphatic hiss from the gallery. Phillips stopped, and for a moment there was profound silence, until a clear voice rang out from the opposite gallery, — "Go on, Mr. Phillips, it's only a Freshman." After the applause and laughter which followed there was no more hissing.

We had in college a student, originally from the South, who was indebted to the North for his education. His father was at that time a minister of one of the New Haven churches, and some of the family had married in the North. The young man had talent, was prominent in scholarship, in debate, and in athletics. At one of Wendell Phillips' lectures he arose in his seat, accused the speaker of rank heresy, and made some rather offensive remarks. Mr. Phillips listened patiently until he had finished; then with perfect courtesy replied in such a smooth and sarcastic way that our young man had to retire in confusion. When the war began, this young man returned to Richmond and became an officer in the Southern Army. After the Battle of Five Forks I met him marching along the road in company with five thousand other prisoners in charge of Brayton Ives, one of my classmates in Yale, then Colonel of a Connecticut Regiment of Cavalry.

The State election in Connecticut in 1859 was

Lincoln Elected i860 23

considered by the different political parties of the country to have an important bearing on the coming Presidential election. Almost every political orator of note from all quarters — East, West, North and South — gave addresses in New Haven. These were attended by large bodies of students. One of the speakers was Abraham Lincoln, who at that time was comparatively little known. * The universal verdict of the students was that Lincoln's speech was the best political speech delivered during the campaign.

The Presidential election was held Tuesday, November 6, i860. Lincoln was elected by an immense majority. His election was the signal for the secession of several of the slave States, South Carolina in the lead.

In December, the first shot, the signal for war, was fired on the United States forts in the Harbor of Charleston, South Carolina.

In the winter of 1 860-1 861, after the act of secession by South Carolina, companies for the purpose of military drill were formed by the Yale students. Officers and drill-masters were chosen from among their own number. No assistance nor encouragement was given by the authorities at Washington — none was to be expected. The Government under President Buchanan was too feeble even to resent the attack on Fort Sumter, and Buchanan was loyal only to the Democratic party, of which the disloyal South formed a majority.

The students from the South, who graduated with me in 1861, were aided by the college authorities in getting to their homes through the hostile lines.

It was my intention, while in college, to take a course in Civil Engineering, and I made arrangements with Professor Mahan at West Point for private instruction. My well laid plans, however, were changed by the course of events.

On July 25, 1 861, E. D. Morgan, Governor of New York, at the request of President Lincoln, issued a proclamation calling for a volunteer force of twenty-five thousand men to serve for three years, or during the war. Regiments of infantry at that time consisted of ten companies of one hundred men each. Twenty-five regiments were soon under way.

The country was not then prepared for conscription and the Government was not strong enough to enforce one. In the Northern States, while there were some Copperheads, as those opposed to the war were called, the great majority were loyal and ready to fight for the preservation of the Union. The Incentives to enlistment in the late war would not have filled the ranks with volunteers as in the Civil War,

Every Northern State was called upon to fur-

Organization of Regiments 25

nish its quota of volunteer regiments. Men of influence were authorized by the Governors to raise regiments and were appointed Colonels. These newly appointed Colonels were assisted by others of local influence in getting volunteer enlistments. When sufl^icient men were enlisted to form the nucleus of a Company, an election was, held and a Captain chosen by ballot. In most cases the man who had been active in getting the enlistments was chosen Captain. First and Second Lieutenants were sometimes chosen by ballot and sometimes appointed by the Governor on the recommendation of the Colonel.

It would seem that regiments so organized could not prove as efficient as the regiments we sent abroad, who had the benefit of many months' training under experienced oflficers before sailing for France, and of a second course of drilling on French soil before going to the front. It is, however, remarkable in how short a time both ofl^cers and men became well disciplined and well organized troops. The world has never seen better or more heroic regiments than were sent into the field during the Civil War.

What was most lacking was a General Staff — generals trained in tactics and capable of handling large bodies of men. In too many cases generals were appointed who had been prominent in politics and had no other qualifications.

Lincoln Is credited with saying at one time when he had kept a general waiting while he gave audience to a private soldier "that he could make plenty of Brigadier Generals but could not make a private soldier."

Chapter III

CAVALRY. THE IRA HARRIS GUARD. SIXTH NEW YORK CAVALRY. GENERAL THOMAS C. DEVIN. PLAIN FARE OF SOLDIERS. DANIEL S. DICKIN- SON. STORY OF HORATIO SEYMOUR.

In August, 1 86 1, after my graduation fromH college, I received letters from a classmate urging me to raise a company for an Artillery Regiment then being formed in Elmira, New York.

I started to enlist men, but by the time I had secured the requisite number the Regiment had been completed. I had an offer of a commission in a Cavalry Regiment then being formed on Staten Island, and consented to join it provided the men I had secured were willing. I called them together and every one agreed to stand by me. This Regiment was called the "Ira Harris Guard," so named after Ira Harris, a United_j States Senator, and organized at his solicitation, under orders from the War Department, to meet the need of Cavalry to oppose the mounted troops of the South.

Cavalry Regiments were composed of twelve 27

Companies of one hundred men each, besides Regimental and Company officers. One Regiment of the Ira Harris Guard was first organized, and Colonel O. DeForest of New York City was assigned to its command. Cavalry was a popular arm of the service, and DeForest continued to accept Company after Company until he had more than enough Companies for one Regiment. He doubtless expected to get enough Companies for a Brigade and to become Brigade Commander with the title of Brigadier General, but was ordered into the field with the first twelve Companies, and his Regiment became the Fifth New York Cavalry.

r Governor Morgan ordered the completion of another Regiment by adding to the Companies left by DeForest, enough to make up the twelve Companies requisite. This Second Regiment was known throughout the war as the Sixth New York Cavalry, and Thomas C. Devin was appointed

l^to its command.

Devin had been Lieutenant Colonel of the First Regiment of New York State Militia in New York City. At the outbreak of the war he had command of a Cavalry Regiment three months in West Virginia. Throughout the war he bore a high reputation among army officers. He rose by sheer merit to be a Brigadier General and

GENERAL THOMAS C. DEVIN

Soldiers Had No Luxuries 29

Major General by brevet, although men with a political backing, but no established military reputation, were at times appointed over his head. Few volunteer officers rendered more meritorious service than General Thomas C. Devin.

While on Staten Island the Companies of the~^ Sixth New York Cavalry had daily drill in Company Evolution and in saber exercise, and received clothing, tents, camp equipment and sabers. Each Company was marched three times a day to the cook house for meals, which were eaten standing at long board tables in a rough shed, open at one side. The fare was very plain but sufficient. We_^ had no pies, cakes, jam, nor dainties of any kind. There were no contributions from patriotic citizens, no cigarettes, no peanuts — from Red Cross canteens — to help win the war.

The Company of which I became Second Lieutenant, became Company "G." When it left Binghamton we had a farewell dinner, and the men were addressed with kindly advice by Daniel S. Dickinson. Mr. Dickinson had been a prominent United States Senator, widely known as "Scripture Dick" because of the frequent quotations from the Bible in his speeches. He was a War Democrat, a staunch supporter of Lincoln's Administration, and stood high in the Councils of the Nation. In his native city his memory is held by all in loving remembrance for his kindly disposition and interest in all the affairs of the city, as well as for his recognized ability.

Horatio Seymour, ex-Governor, and one of the most prominent Democrats in New York State, was opposed to the war, and openly hostile to the Administration. To escape the storm of obloquy which broke on the heads of all Copperheads, as those were called who sympathized with the South and opposed the Administration, Seymour retired from Utica, his home city, and hid himself from the public. Some of his friends called for him to come out and show himself, without avail. Daniel S. Dickinson, in one of his speeches, said Seymour was like the man who was chased by his wife and hid under the bed. His wife ordered him to come out, and he answered, "No, while I have the spirit of a man I won't come out from under this bed."

In 1862 I met Mr. Seymour in a little hotel in Wisconsin where he was looking after some property. He was a good talker. He spoke very kindly of Mr. Dickinson and related this story on himself.

Chapter IV

UNPREPAREDNESS. REGIMENT ORDERED TO YORK, PENNSYLVANIA. MAJOR CARWARDINE. CAP- TAIN HANNAHS. INCIDENT AT ANNAPOLIS. CAVALRY EQUIPMENT.

In the latter part of December, 1861, the Sixth New York Cavalry Regiment was ordered from Camp Scott on Staten Island, to York, Pennsylvania. Simon Cameron, then Secretary of War, was a Pennsylvanian and favored his own State.

On the morning of December 23, tents were taken down, all regimental paraphernalia packed in wagons, and the Regiment formed in line. There we stood all day in a drizzling rain. The Quartermaster, whose duty it was to provide transportation, had reported that vessels would be at the dock early in the morning to take us to Elizabethport, New Jersey, and urged the greatestj haste in getting on board. It was nearly night when the vessels reached the dock and we were embarked on two barges in tow of a tug. We were out all night on the decks of the barges, exposed in wet clothes to a piercing wind. This engagement with the elements was more fatal than any battle in which the Regiment was engaged during the war. Thirty men are reported I to have died from the exposure that night. This disaster was due to want of experience, lack of preparation, and bad management on the part of the Quartermaster's Department. r" From Elizabethport we were taken by rail to York, Pennsylvania, where we spent the rest of the winter in barracks. During our stay in York, Colonel Devin instructed the officers in the movements of Company, Battalion, and Regiment, and had daily drills in dismounted movements.

In March the Regiment was moved to Perryville, Maryland, where some horses were provided, enough to mount Companies "D," "H" and "K." These mounted Companies were sent to the Peninsula under Major Clarkson, with orders to report to General Sumner commanding the Second Corps of McClellan's army. To complete the Battalion, Company "F" was ordered to Washington, where it was to be mounted preparatory to joining Companies "D," "H" and L^'K" on the Peninsula. At my urgent request I was assigned to duty with this Company.

Company "F" was first under command of John Carwardine, a young Englishman who was a finelooking soldier and who became very popular. In

How Horses Were Supplied 33

the organization of the Regiment, Carwardine was made Major, and D. C. Hannahs became Captain of Company "F." Some months later Carwardine resigned and went home to England. One of the officers of the Regiment, after the war, visited him in England and found him an Earl of the realm. When he joined the Sixth New York Cavalry he was a second son, but hearing of the death of his father and older brother, he returned home to take possession of his title and estate.

Captain Hannahs was a graduate of Yale College, of winning address and superior refinement of manners. We were acquainted in college and became most intimate friends. At my request I was assigned to duty with his Company. My relations to the officers of Company "G" were not congenial and the assignment to Company "F" gave me an opportunity to get at once into active service.