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THREE YEARS IN THE FEDERAL CAVALRY.
[Illustration: Willard Glazier]
THREE YEARS
in the
FEDERAL CAVALRY.
BY
WILLARD GLAZIER,
AUTHOR OF "THE CAPTURE, THE PRISON-PEN AND THE ESCAPE," "VIRGINIA'S
BATTLE-FIELDS," ETC., ETC., ETC.
Illustrated.
NEW YORK:
R. H. FERGUSON & COMPANY, PUBLISHERS,
138 BLEECKER STREET
1870.
Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1870, by
_WILLARD GLAZIER_,
In the Office of the Librarian of Congress at Washington.
The Trow & Smith Book Manuf. Co.
205-213 E. 12TH STREET,
New York.
TO
THE GALLANT AND UNASSUMING SOLDIER,
MAJOR-GENERAL HENRY E. DAVIES, JR.
WHOSE STAR ALWAYS SHONE BRIGHTEST ON
THE FRONT LINE OF BATTLE,
THIS VOLUME IS RESPECTFULLY
dedicated
BY
THE AUTHOR.
PREFACE.
I have for a long time intended the publication of this book, for I
thought that such a work would not only be found interesting to the
public, but would do justice to the brave men with whom it was my
fortune to be associated during the dark hours of the rebellion. To
serve them is and ever will be my greatest pleasure.
The remarkable features and events of our late Cavalry movements in
Virginia and elsewhere, visible to me during the campaigns of the Army
of the Potomac, were noted daily in my journal. From that diary this
story of our raids, expeditions, and fights is compiled.
My descriptions of battles and skirmishes, in some cases, may seem too
brief and unsatisfactory; to which I can only say that scores of
engagements, which to the participants appear to be of vast importance,
have very little general interest. On the other hand, however, it is to
be regretted that where our gallant horsemen have done the most
brilliant things, it has been impossible for me, in many instances, to
secure reliable and detailed accounts with which to do them full
justice.
WILLARD GLAZIER.
NEW YORK, _October 8th, 1870_.
CONTENTS.
PAGE
CHAPTER I.
THE WAR FOR THE UNION.--CONTEST BEGUN.
1861.--Enthusiasm of the North.--Washington Threatened.--Bull Run,
and Its Lessons.--General Scott and the Cavalry.--Enlistment
under Captain Buel.--The Harris Light Cavalry.--Leaving Troy,
New York.--Captain A. N. Duffie.--Drilling and Fencing at
Scarsdale, New York.--Bound for the Seat of War.--Philadelphia.
--Baltimore.--Washington.--Camp Oregon. 19
CHAPTER II.
CAMP-LIFE AND ITS INFLUENCES.
1861.--Our unmilitary Appearance.--First Equipage.--My Black
Mare.--Good and Evil Influences.--News-Boys.--Mail-Bag.--
Letter-Writing.--The Bugle Corps.--Camp-Guard.--Guerillas
under Turner Ashby.--Mounted Drill.--Laughable Experiences
with Horses.--Southern Egotism.--Northern Fancies. 27
CHAPTER III.
PREPARATIONS FOR ACTIVE SERVICE.
1861.--First Advance.--"Contrabands," their Hopes and Treatment.
--Union Ranks Filling Up.--Promotion.--Foraging and its
Obstacles.--Scouting and its Aim.--Senator Harris visits the
Command.--Ball's Bluff.--Recruiting Service.--Interesting
Incidents.--Camp Palmer.--"Contrabands" at Work.--Drilling
near Arlington Heights.--Colonel George D. Bayard.--Fight at
Drainesville. 39
CHAPTER IV.
THE ADVANCE TO THE RAPPAHANNOCK.
1862.--"All quiet along the Potomac."--Preparations.--Army of the
Potomac Moves!--Capture of the "Quaker Guns" at Centreville.
--Return to Defences.--Guerillas.--Their Attacks and Stratagems.
--The Bovine Foe.--Picketing: how it is done.--Sufferings.--
McClellan to the Peninsula.--Virginia Weather and the People.
--General Augur's Advance to the Rappahannock.--Lieutenant
Decker's Bravery and Death.--Night Charge on Falmouth Heights.
--Fredericksburg Surrenders.--How Citizens regard us.--Guarding
a Train to Thoroughfare Gap.--Fight and Captures at Flipper's
Orchard.--Shenandoah Valley.--The Fifth New York Cavalry,
First Ira Harris' Guard.--Death of Turner Ashby.--Strange
Cavalry Tactics.--Personal Bravery of Captain Hammond.--End
of the Peninsular Campaign. 49
CHAPTER V.
POPE'S CAMPAIGN IN NORTHERN VIRGINIA.
1862.--Kilpatrick at Beaver Dam.--Captain John S. Mosby.--Return
of the Raiders.--Complimentary Orders.--The Harris Light at
Anderson's Turnout.--Rebel Account of the Scare.--General
John P. Hatch, his Misfortunes and Justification.--
Reconnoissances.--Battle of Cedar Mountain.--Hospital at
Culpepper.--General Stuart in Close Quarters.--His Adjutant-
General Captured.--Death of Captain Charles Walters.--Pope
driven back and waiting for Reinforcements.--Kilpatrick's
Fight at Brandy Station.--Waterloo Bridge.--Bristoe Station.
--Manassas Junction.--Battle of Groveton.--Second Bull Run.
--Chantilly and Death of Kearny.--General Pope resigns. 72
CHAPTER VI.
REBEL INVASION OF MARYLAND.
1862.--Result of Pope's Campaign.--Rest and Recruit at Hall's
Hill.--"My Maryland;" Its Invasion.--Offensive Policy of
the Rebellion.--Pennsylvania and the Whole Country Aroused.
--Battle of South Mountain.--Harper's Ferry.--Colonel Miles.
--His Treachery and Death.--Bloody Battle of Antietam.--
Drilling Recruits.--The Harris Light again at the Front.--At
Chantilly.-- Sudley Church.--Leesburg.--McClellan again
Relieved from Command. 95
CHAPTER VII.
McCLELLAN SUCCEEDED BY BURNSIDE.
1862.--Burnside's First Campaign.--Army of the Potomac in Three
Divisions.--Advance from Warrenton to Falmouth.--General
Stahel's Raid to the Shenandoah.--Laying Pontoons across
the Rappahannock under Fire.--Battle of Fredericksburg.--
Daring Feats and General Heroism.--Death of General Bayard.
--The Hospitals.--Sanitary and Christian Commissions.--Camp
"Bayard."--Camp-Fires.--Winter Quarters.--Friendly Relations
of Pickets.--Trading.--Pay-Day.--"Stuck in the Mud." 105
CHAPTER VIII.
ORGANIZATION OF A CAVALRY CORPS.
1863.--General Hooker assumes Command of the Army of the
Potomac.--Demoralization.--Reorganization.--A Cavalry Corps.
--General George D. Stoneman in Command.--Death of Sergeant
May.--Forests of the Old Dominion.--The Cavalryman and his
Faithful Horse.--Scenes in Winter Quarters.--Kilpatrick.--
His Character.--Qualifications of the True Soldier.--A New
Horse.--A Mulish Mule.--Kilpatrick's Colored Servants in
Trouble.--Terrific Hail-Storm.--Major E. F. Cooke Honored.
--Colonel Clarence Buel. 124
CHAPTER IX.
REBEL CHIEFS AND THEIR RAIDS.
1863.--Rebel Raids by Stuart, Imboden, and Fitz-Hugh Lee.--John
S. Mosby, Guerilla Chief.--His Character.--His Command.--
Daring and Plunder.--Aided by Citizens.--Condition of the
Country Favorable for their Depredations.--Our Picket Lines
too Light.--Attacks on Pickets at Herndon Station, Cub Run,
and Frying-Pan Church.--Miss Laura Ratcliffe, Mosby's
Informant.--Mosby at Fairfax Court House.--Capture of General
Stoughton.--Fight at Chantilly.--Mosby lauded by His Chiefs.
--Mosby beaten at Warrenton Junction.--Severely whipped at
Greenwich, where he loses a Howitzer captured from Colonel
Baker at Ball's Bluff. 143
CHAPTER X.
CHANCELLORSVILLE AND STONEMAN'S RAID.
1863.--Review of the Army by the President.--Deserters Punished.
--Sports and Pastimes.--Stoneman's First Move.--Storm.--
Reconnoissance to Warrenton.--Another Move.--Other Storms.
--Catching "Rabbits."--Stoneman's Great Raid on Lee's
Communications.--On the Virginia Central Railroad.--
Kilpatrick at Louisa Court House.--He Marches upon
Richmond.--Bold Advance near the City.--Important Captures.
--Retreat over Meadow Bridge.--Destructions.--Bushwhackers.
--Happy Rencounter.--Safe Arrival at Gloucester Point.--
Public Prints.--Battle of Chancellorsville.--Heroism and
Defeat.--Stonewall Jackson Falls.--Hooker Injured.--Retreat.
--Orders. 161
CHAPTER XI.
FROM YORKTOWN TO FALMOUTH.
1863.--Curiosity Satisfied.--Pastimes on the York River.
--Religious Services; their Influence.--Raid to Mathias
Court House.--Sickness and Recovery.--From Gloucester
Point to Falmouth.--Exciting Details.--Correspondence of
Mr. Young.--The Press.--With the Army of the Potomac
again.--Cavalry Fight at Brandy Station.--Bold Charge of
the First Maine Cavalry.--The Chivalry fairly Beaten.--
Death of Colonel B. F. Davis, Eighth New York Cavalry.--
Interesting Letter of a Rebel Chaplain.--Casualties.--
What was Gained by the Reconnoissance.--Pleasonton and
Kilpatrick Promoted.--Rebels Raiding in Maryland. 203
CHAPTER XII.
SECOND INVASION OF MARYLAND.--GETTYSBURG.
1863.--Invasion of the Northern States.--Kilpatrick at Aldie.
--The Bloody Battle.--Daring Deeds.--Colonel Cesnola,
Fourth New York Cavalry.--Incidents.--Victory.--Advance
to Ashby's Gap.--Pleasonton's Official Report.--Rebel
Movements on Free Soil.--Difficulties in the North.--The
Cavalry Corps Crosses the Potomac at Edward's Ferry.--
General Meade succeeds Hooker.--Orders.--Changes in the
Cavalry.--Movements.--Kilpatrick's Fight with Stuart at
Hanover Junction.--Solemn and Laughable Scenes.--Buford's
Division Opens the Fight at Gettysburg.--Death of General
Reynolds.--First Day's Repulse.--Second Day.--Rebel
Advantages.--Third Day.--Last Grand Effort.--Death of
General Farnsworth.--The Republic just Saved. 225
CHAPTER XIII.
RETREAT OF THE REBELS FROM GETTYSBURG.
1863.--National Rejoicing.--The Enemy Retreating.--Feebly
Pursued.--Reconnoissances.--Kilpatrick Gives the Enemy a
Fourth of July Entertainment at Monterey Pass.--Storm and
Terror.--Immense Train Destroyed, and Hosts of Prisoners
Taken.--Pitiable Condition of Stuart's Cavalry.--Battle of
Hagerstown.--Captains Penfield and Dahlgren Wounded.--
Wonderful Exploits of a Union Scout.--Kilpatrick and Buford
at Williamsport.--Cavalry Fight at Boonsboro'.--Stuart
Defeated.--Hagerstown Retaken.--Orders to Advance, One Day
Too Late.--Kilpatrick Chases the Flying Foe.--Fight at
Falling Waters, Last Act in the Drama.--Great Bravery of
Union Troops.--Last Vestige of the Invaders Wiped Out.--
Bivouac and Rest. 267
CHAPTER XIV.
KILPATRICK'S GUNBOAT EXPEDITION.
1863.--Escape of Lee into Virginia.--Reasons.--Cavalry Advance into the
Valley _via_ Harper's Ferry.--Riot in New York and other Northern
Cities.--Again Across the Potomac on "Sacred Soil."--Blackberries and
Discipline.--Mails.--Battle of Manassas Gap.--Mosby Again, and His
Bands.--Kilpatrick's Gunboat Expedition on the Rappahannock.--Cavalry
Captures Navy.--Complimented by Superiors.--General Advance of the
Army.--Third Cavalry Battle at Brandy Station.--Stuart's Cavalry Worsted
at Culpepper Court House.--Sharp Artillery Practice at Raccoon Ford, on
the Rapidan.--Special Duties and Special Dangers.--Good Living Along
the Hazel and Robertson Rivers.--Important Reconnoissance and Raid.
--Hard Fighting and Narrow Escape.--Needed Rest Received.--The
Paymaster.--Rebel Plan of Attack Foiled by a Citizen Informer.
--Suspicious Activity on Our Front. 298
CHAPTER XV.
CAPTURE OF THE AUTHOR.
1863.--Fight at James City.--Music of Retreat.--Fourth Cavalry
Fight at Brandy Station.--Critical Situation.--Kilpatrick
Undaunted.--Davies and Custer.--The Grand Charge.--The
Escape.--The Scene.--Subsequent Charges and Counter-charges.
--The Cavalry Routed.--The Rappahannock Recrossed in Safety.
--Infantry Reconnoissance to Brandy Station.--Comical Affair
at Bealeton Station.--Thrilling Adventure of Stuart.--His
Escape.--Battle of Bristoe.--Casualties.--Retreat Continued.
--Destruction of Railroad by the Rebels.--Kilpatrick at
Buckland Mills.--Unpleasant Surroundings.--Sagacity and
Daring.--The Author's Capture.--Fall, Insensibility, Change
of Scene.--The End.--Introduced to Prison Life. 327
List of Illustrations.
PAGE.
1. Portrait of the Author, Frontispiece.
2. Our Cavalry Leaders, 17
3. Cavalry Column on the March, 37
4. Night Attack on Falmouth Heights, 61
5. Burial of Captain Walters at Midnight, during Pope's
Retreat, 87
6. Federal and Rebel Pickets Meeting on the Rappahannock, 119
7. Cavalry Scouting Party Halting for the Night, 173
8. Cavalry Fight at Brandy Station, 215
9. The Cavalry Bivouac, 277
10. Cavalry Battle at Buckland Mills, Va., and Capture of
the Author, 323
[Illustration: OUR CAVALRY LEADERS.
Bayard-Davies-Gregg
Stoneman-Sheridan-Pleasonton
Buford-Kilpatrick-Custer
J.A. O'Neill,
N.Y.]
THREE YEARS IN THE FEDERAL CAVALRY.
CHAPTER I.
THE WAR FOR THE UNION.--CONTEST BEGUN.
1861.--Enthusiasm of the North.--Washington Threatened.--Bull Run, and
Its Lessons.--General Scott and the Cavalry.--Enlistment under
Captain Buel.--Harris Light Cavalry.--Leaving Troy, New York.--
Captain A. N. Duffie.--Drilling and Fencing at Scarsdale, New York.
--Bound for the Seat of War.--Philadelphia.--Baltimore.--
Washington.--Camp Oregon.
The eleventh of April, 1861, revealed the real intention of the Southern
people in their dastardly assault upon Fort Sumter. The thunder of Rebel
cannon shook the air not only around Charleston, but sent its thrilling
vibrations to the remotest sections of the country, and was the
precursor of a storm whose wrath no one anticipated. This shock of arms
was like a fire-alarm in our great cities, and the North arose in its
might with a grand unanimity which the South did not expect. The spirit
and principle of Rebellion were so uncaused and unprovoked, that
scarcely could any one be found at home or abroad to justify them.
President Lincoln thereupon issued a call for seventy-five thousand men
to uphold and vindicate the authority of the Government, and to prove,
if possible, that secession was not only a heresy in doctrine, but an
impracticability in the American Republic. The response to this call was
much more general than the most sanguine had any reason to look for. The
enthusiasm of the people was quite unbounded. Individuals encouraged
individuals; families aroused families; communities vied with
communities, and States strove with States. Who could be the first and
do the most, was the noble contention which everywhere prevailed. All
political party lines seemed to be obliterated. Under this renovating
and inspiring spirit the work of raising the nucleus of the grandest
army that ever swept a continent went bravely on. Regiments were rapidly
organized and as rapidly as possible sent forward to the seat of
Government; and so vast was the number that presented themselves for
their country's defence, that the original call was soon more than
filled, and the authorities found themselves unable to accept many
organizations which were eager to press into the fray.
Meanwhile the great leaders of the Rebellion were marshalling the hordes
of treason, and assembling them on the plains of Manassas, with the
undoubted intention of moving upon the national capital. This point
determined the principal theatre of the opening contest, and around it
on every side, and particularly southward, was to be the aceldama of
America,--the dreadful "field of blood."
The first great impulse of the authorities was in the direction of
self-defence (and what could be more natural and proper?), and
Washington was fortified and garrisoned. This done, it was believed that
the accumulating forces of the Union, which had become thoroughly
equipped and somewhat disciplined, ought to advance into the revolted
territory, scatter the defiant hosts of the enemy, and put a speedy end
to the slaveholders' Rebellion. But the hesitation and indecision which
prevailed in our military circles were becoming oppressive and
unendurable, and hence the cry of "On to Richmond!" was heard from the
Border States to the St. Lawrence, precipitating the first general
engagement of the war. Our defeat at Bull Run was a totally unexpected
disaster, which, for a time, it was feared, would chill the enthusiasm
and greatly weaken the energy of the North. But though the South was
much strengthened and emboldened by their victory, our defeat had its
own curative elements: it taught us that the enemy was determined and
powerful, and that to overcome him the ranks of the Union army must be
filled with something besides three months' men, or men on any very
limited term of enlistment. Other lessons were also gained: our men had
formed some acquaintance with the citizens and the country; they had
learned the importance of a more thorough discipline and organization;
and those who had gone forth as to a picnic or a holiday, sat down "to
count the cost" of "enduring hardness as good soldiers." The nation
discovered that this struggle for life was desperate and even dubious,
and it was thoroughly aroused.
Under the military regime of General Winfield Scott, the cavalry-arm of
the service had been almost entirely overlooked. His previous campaigns
in Mexico, which consisted mainly of the investments of walled cities,
and of assaults on fortresses, had not been favorable to extensive
cavalry operations, and he was not disposed at so advanced an age in
life materially to change his tactics of war. What few regiments of
cavalry we had in the regular army were mostly broken up into small
detachments for the purpose of ranging our Western frontiers, while a
few squads were patrolling between the outposts of our new army,
carrying messages from camp to camp, and pompously escorting the
commanding generals in their grand reviews and parades.
But the Black Horse Cavalry of Virginia, at Bull Run, unmatched by any
similar force on our side, had demonstrated the efficiency and
importance of this branch of the service, and our authorities began to
change their views. The sentiment of the people at large seemed to turn
in the same channel, and a peculiar enthusiasm in this direction was
perceptible everywhere. It was as though the spirit of the old
knight-errantry had suddenly fallen upon us.
I was in Troy, New York, when the sad intelligence of the reverse to our
arms at Bull Run, was received. This was followed quickly by another
call for volunteers, and I decided without hesitation to enter the army.
In accordance with my resolve I enlisted as a private soldier at Troy,
on the sixth day of August, 1861, in a company raised by Captain
Clarence Buel, for the cavalry service. To encounter the chivalrous
Black Horse Cavalry, of Bull Run fame, it was proposed to raise a force
in the North, and as Senator Ira Harris, of New York, was giving this
organization his patronage and influence, a brigade was formed, whose
banners should bear his name.
Originally the regiment to which my company was assigned was intended
for the regular army, and was for some time known as the Seventh United
States Cavalry; but the Government having decided to have but six
regiments of regular cavalry, and as New York had contributed the
majority of the men to the organization, we were denominated the Second
Regiment of New York Cavalry, "Harris Light." This regiment was
organized by J. Mansfield Davies, of New York, as colonel, assisted by
Judson Kilpatrick, of New Jersey, as lieutenant-colonel. The men were
mostly from the States of New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Vermont,
Pennsylvania, and Indiana.
_August 13._--To-day Captain Buel's company of Trojans was summoned
together for the purpose of leaving for the South. Under a severe,
drenching rain we were drawn up in line fronting the residence of
General John E. Wool, when the old veteran delivered a most heroic
address, which led us quite to forget the pelting rain, and prepared us
for our departure. The boys then found a very pleasant shelter on board
the Vanderbilt, bound for New York City. The day following all the New
York State men rendezvoused at 648 Broadway, and were mustered into the
service of the United States by Lieutenant-colonel D. B. Sackett, of the
regular army. At four o'clock P. M. we were ordered aboard a
train of cars, and told that our destination was Camp Howe, near
Scarsdale, twenty-four miles north of the city, between the Harlem and
East rivers. We reached the place just in time to pitch our tents for
the night--an operation which was not only new and strange, but
performed in any thing but a workman-like manner. We had every thing to
learn, and this was our first lesson in soldiering.
Captain A. N. Duffie, of Co. A, a Frenchman and graduate of the military
school of St. Cyr, France, is in command of the camp, and is to be the
superintendent of our discipline and drill. He is undoubtedly well
qualified for this position.
_August 16._--This morning we commenced the inevitable drill on foot, as
we are still without horses. We find this exercise very severe, and yet,
in view of its great importance, we accept it with a good degree of
relish. Our drill-master is thorough and rigidly strict, after the
fashion of the French schools. We cannot avoid learning under his
tuition. In the afternoon we were set to policing camp. This comprises
the cleaning of one of the roughest farms in the country of stone. And
as a remuneration to the owners for the use of this most unsightly of
God's forsaken ground, we are compelled to build stone fences--a very
unpleasant introduction to military life, and an occupation which by no
means accords with our ideas of a soldier's duties. But our hands toil
with a protest in our hearts, and with a certain resolve that this kind
of fencing must not long continue.
After a week spent in drill and the stone-wall enterprise, we were all
surprised one morning with an order to fall into line to receive a
Napoleonic harangue from Captain Duffie. So many and even loud had been
our protests, and so glaringly manifest our rebellious spirit on the
subject of fortifying a farm in the State of New York, that the captain
undoubtedly feared that he might not be very zealously supported by us
in his future movements, and so, like Napoleon, on assuming command of
the army of Italy, he sought to test the devotion of his men. After
amusing us awhile in his broken English, and arousing us by his touching
appeals to our patriotism and honor, at length he shouted, "Now as many
of you as are ready to follow me to the cannon's month, take one step to
the front." This _dernier resort_ to pride was perfectly successful, and
the whole line took the desired step. We were then ordered to be ready
to leave camp at eleven o'clock that morning, which was on the twentieth
of August, assured that Washington, D. C., was our destination.
Our ranks were quickly broken, and all due preparation made for our
departure. After marching to Scarsdale we took cars and were soon landed
in the metropolis, through the principal streets of which our command
passed to the Jersey City ferry. Without much delay we reached
Philadelphia in the evening, where we were bountifully supplied with
rations by her proverbially generous and patriotic people. True to the
instinct of "Brotherly Love," the citizens are making arrangements such
as would indicate that millions of Union soldiers might be fed at their
tables. Here we spent the night. The next morning at 6.30 we were on our
way southward. A brief halt was made in Baltimore, whose streets still
seem to be speaking of the blood of the brave Massachusetts men. And as
we march along, we can but recall the poet's prophesy:
"And the Eagle, never dying, still is trying, still is trying,
With its wings upon the map to hide a city with its gore;
But the name is there forever, and it shall be hidden never,
While the awful brand of murder points the Avenger to its shore;
While the blood of peaceful brothers God's dread vengeance doth
implore,
Thou art doomed, O Baltimore!"
At 4 o'clock P. M. we beheld the dome of the nation's capitol,
and, after landing, we were marched to the eastern part of the city, and
pitched tents near Camp Oregon--named thus in honor of Colonel Edward D.
Baker, who represented that Territory in the Senate of the United
States, previous to his acceptance of a military commission, and who is
now in command of the famous California regiment which occupies this
camp.