Colonel Perry. Formation and character of the regiment. Luther B.
Wyman, Esq.
Among those to whom the call to arms came with especial force, was the
Rev. James H. Perry. He had received a military education from his
country, and his country needed his services, and although for many
years his mission had been one of peace and good will, his country's
needs were an urgent call, and, like the prophets of old, he girt on
his armor and prepared for battle.
His was a singular history. Born in Ulster County, N.Y., June, 1811,
he early developed great physical and mental strength. That he
naturally inclined to a military life, he gave evidence by the fact
that, while yet a youth, he was prepared for entrance to West Point,
the appointment to which had been promised him by President Jackson
for political services rendered by his father. But the wishes of
the President were thwarted during his first administration, and it
was not until his second election that he secured to young Perry the
appointment by sending the warrant to him by special messenger from
Washington. In the mean time, the young man had not been idle, but
had prepared himself for and entered upon the practice of the law,
was married, and seemed settled in his life work. His early tastes,
however, and his natural inclinations, decided him upon the acceptance
of the appointment.
At West Point his independent and manly character brought him into
frequent difficulties. The terms "Mudsills" and "Chivalry," and those
of similar import, were, even at that early period, used to distinguish
the Northerners from those of Southern birth, and while many of the
Northern youth submitted tamely to the assumptions of the Southrons,
Perry, who was not of a yielding disposition, and recognized no
arbitrary claims to superiority, asserted his right to equality, and
maintained it with such courage and ability that he soon became the
acknowledged leader of his party, and his strength and skill were
often called into requisition to repel attacks, which were the more
vicious and dangerous because it was soon apparent that no one of his
fellow-students could cope with him on equal terms. In one of these
encounters, he barely escaped with his life, having, without suitable
weapons, to protect himself against the attack of several, who were
well armed and specially prepared for the contest. Court-martialled for
participation in this affair, he was sentenced to dismissal. President
Jackson not only annulled the sentence, but sent him a letter of
commendation.
Soon after leaving West Point, he offered his services to the Texan
government, which was then engaged in its struggle for independence. In
his endeavor to raise a regiment he was only partially successful, but,
with a considerable number of followers, he joined the revolutionary
forces, when his natural abilities and military education soon secured
to him a prominent place in the little army. We are not able, if space
would permit, to give a detailed account of his experiences while in
the Texan service. We only know that he held a high and honorable
position through the whole struggle, which was finally decided by the
battle of San Jacinto.
This proved the turning-point in his career. A short time previous,
the forces under Santa Anna had been guilty of an unprovoked and
cold-blooded massacre, which so outraged the feelings of the Texan
officers that they bound themselves by the most solemn oaths to take
the life of Santa Anna, whenever and wherever they should encounter
him. The battle of San Jacinto, which secured the independence of
Texas, and led to its annexation to the Federal Union, occurred soon
after. In this battle, Colonel Perry commanded the Texan left, and,
although the Mexican army outnumbered many times the revolutionary
forces, in the final charge it was completely routed. In this charge,
Colonel Perry found himself opposed by Santa Anna in person, as he
thought, and, in compliance with the oath which he had taken, he sought
and slew him. Learning soon after that he had been misled by the
description given him of the Mexican commander, and that he whom he
had slain was a brave and honorable officer, especially esteemed for
his high character, he was so grieved and shocked that he left the
Texan service abruptly, and all the offices and honors to which he was
entitled by reason of his eminent services, and wended his way back
to the North, carrying with him a burden of regret and sorrow, from
which, in all the varying experiences of his after life, he never fully
escaped. A dark cloud overshadowed his life ever after, and at times he
seemed to suffer intensely.
Whether it was under the influence of this feeling that he was led to
turn so completely from his chosen profession to seek in the ministry
a relief from this burden, or subjected to religious influences at a
time when he was unsettled in respect to his future, he felt called to
this special field of labor, we cannot tell. We do know, however, that
in a short time he prepared himself for the work, and for upwards of a
quarter of a century devoted himself to it with unwavering zeal. For
the most part, his labors were confined to the states of New York and
Connecticut, where he occupied some of the most important pulpits of
the Methodist-Episcopal Church.
In his new calling he exhibited marked ability, being distinguished
no less for his earnest piety, and the zealous discharge of the duties
of his office, than for the intellectual vigor which characterized his
pulpit utterances. Several times in the course of his ministry, he was
selected to represent his brethren in the general conferences of the
church, and we cannot doubt the statement which we find in the short
sketch of his life, from which we have gathered many facts relating to
him, that in the ministry, as in the profession of arms, he found few
equals and very few superiors.
At the time of the breaking-out of the war, he was the pastor of the
Pacific Street Methodist-Episcopal Church, in the city of Brooklyn,
having previously ministered to several others of the most prominent
congregations in the same city, in all of which he is remembered with
the highest respect and most tender affection. From Dickinson College
he received the degree of D.D., and, at the time of our introduction
to him, was in the pride of his strength, a man of noble form, of
impressive manner, quiet and deliberate in his utterances, and clear
and steadfast in his purposes. He had then embarked in the service of
his country, and there was no looking back to more congenial employment.
The news of the bombardment of Fort Sumter was received while the
conference of which he was a member was in session. Immediately rising
in his seat, he said: "I was educated by the government; it now needs
my services. I shall resign my ministry, and again take up my sword."
His resolution was loudly cheered by the conference. Accepting the
command of an organization, which had for some time been recruiting,
by authority from the Secretary of War, under the title of Continental
Guards, he infused into it new life and character. As companies formed,
the regiment took its place as a part of the state quota, and was known
as the 48th New York State Volunteers.
Under the State law, all officers, before receiving their commissions,
were subject to examination by a military board appointed for the
purpose; but, by the courtesy of the Governor, Colonel Perry was
allowed to select his own officers, without the intervention of this
board; and those whom he selected were sworn into service with the
companies as fast as they were formed, without examination. He took
personal charge of the enlistments, sending out to those places where
he was well known, and as a result, the personnel and morale of the
regiment were far above the average of those who entered the service.
Indeed, I believe I should not trespass upon the truth, should I
venture the statement, as the result of observations extending over
more than three years, among troops from all sections of the North and
West, that no regiment entered the service of the United States, during
the war, which could claim superiority over the 48th, in the character
of its officers and enlisted men.
While this result was due, in a large measure, to the influence of
Colonel Perry's name and character, more especially in respect to the
officers (and we cannot overestimate this influence), to Lieut.-Col.
William B. Barton, and Quartermaster Irving M. Avery belongs the credit
of originating the organization, and preserving it for a considerable
period under circumstances most perplexing and embarrassing. It
happened in this wise. Being personal friends, and fired with the
enthusiasm which prevailed so generally, they conceived the plan of
raising a company, and opened a recruiting station for that purpose.
The number of recruits soon passed the limits of their early ambition,
and they found themselves with several hundred men on their hands; and
the problem as to how to secure them, and at the same time provide them
with food and shelter, taxed to the utmost their energies, as well as
the pecuniary resources of themselves and friends. Both were young,
and with limited means, and their conduct under the circumstances
illustrates most happily the generous impulse of enthusiasm which
seized upon the people of the North, and for a time shut out all those
baser and meaner motives which developed among certain classes during
the progress of the war.
By most persistent efforts among the wealthier citizens of Brooklyn,
and at the War Department at Washington, and at great pecuniary risk
to themselves and their immediate friends, they succeeded so far in
the enlistment of men, and the provision for their needs, that they
felt warranted in looking forward to a regimental organization. It was
then that they cast about for a suitable commander, and were led to
approach Colonel Perry, with whose previous history they were somewhat
acquainted, with the result as indicated in the foregoing pages.
When we take into consideration the circumstances of these two young
men, and the nature and extent of the difficulties they encountered, at
one time feeding and housing several hundred men out of their scanty
resources, for a considerable period entirely alone and unaided in
their work, we feel that they may well take to themselves a full share
in the achievements of the regiment, whose birth and early life were so
largely the results of their personal exertions and sacrifices.
It is scarcely to be wondered at that the regiment received the
appellation of "Perry's Saints," for while many, both officers and
men, were very far from being saint-like in tastes or disposition,
the term was not altogether without significance. As an illustration,
Captain Knowles, of Company D, was both teacher and preacher, when word
was received that Dr. Perry was raising a regiment. In a short time
he joined him with a company taken from school and parish, of which
he became the captain. I remember very well that at the time of the
re-enlistment as veterans, when I was temporarily in command of the
regiment, a member of that company, a private, came to me to inquire
about the terms of re-enlistment, stating that he had a farm worth
several thousand dollars, and other property; that he had not been home
during his term of service, and he not only wished to see his friends,
but to be assured, by personal examination, that his interests were
well cared for by those to whom they were entrusted. Satisfied that the
terms of re-enlistment would be carried out, and that he would have
the furlough promised, he did not hesitate, and as a veteran served
faithfully to the end of the war. He illustrates the quality of Company
D.
They were called the "Die No Mores," from the fact that while in Fort
Pulaski, in their social meetings, the hymn of which this forms a part
was their favorite. Poor Paxton! the brave and noble fellow! how fond
we were of him, and how much we missed him. Even now I seem to hear
him, as he calls to his company, in that terrible attack on Fort
Wagner, "Come on, Die No Mores, follow me, Die No Mores." And they
followed him, out of the darkness and tumult of that bloody night, into
the light and peace of a better life, as we trust; unto Him who hath
said to all men, "Follow me, and thou shalt die no more."
But comparisons are odious. Each company in the regiment had its
characteristics, and all were excellent; and their officers, almost
without exception, were men of education and refinement. In the work of
forming the regiment, and preparing it for the field, Colonel Perry was
not left alone, but was materially assisted by many influential friends
from among his parishioners, who liberally provided whatever was
necessary, and did all in their power to lighten his burdens and remove
obstacles. The same men were the generous friends of the regiment
during its whole term of service. Among them, the most prominent, and
the most constant, was Luther B. Wyman, Esq., of Brooklyn, for whom
our first camp, at Fort Hamilton, was named, and who will always be
held in affectionate remembrance by the members of the 48th. He was
a gentleman of high social qualities, of cultivated tastes, of wide
influence and considerable means, and his personal friendship for
Colonel Perry induced an active interest in the regiment which he was
forming. He sought to promote its welfare and secure its rights, as
well as to minister to its comforts, to such an extent that he was
known as its special friend and patron. While engaged in service at
the front, we were assured of a zealous friend at home, whose interest
at the State House was powerful to secure us against the intrigues of
political managers, who too often found convenient places for friends
and followers in the offices which became vacant through the casualties
of war.