BY E. C. STROUSS.
Departure from Burkesville--Marching Through Richmond--The March to
Washington--Passing Over Old Battlefields--Camp at Bailey's Cross
Roads--Grand Review of the Army of the Potomac--The Order of
March--The Fifty-Seventh Ordered Mustered Out--Names of Engagements
in which the Regiment Participated--Its Casualties--We Start for
Harrisburg--Finally Paid and Discharged--Farewell Address of Our
Field Officers.
The regiment with the corps received orders on May 2d to go to Richmond.
It left its camp at Burkesville accordingly and marching via Amelia
Court House, it reached Manchester on the James river, opposite
Richmond, about 11 a. m. on May 5th. On the 6th it marched through
Richmond with bands playing and colors flying, passing the famous--or
infamous--Libby prison on the way. But few of the men who then marched
with the regiment had ever been prisoners within its walls. Crossing the
Chickahominy river the regiment bivouacked four and a half miles north
of Richmond on the Fredericksburg pike. On the 7th it marched through
Hanover Court House, and across the Pamunkey river, halting for the
night after a march of sixteen miles. On the 8th it marched sixteen
miles and on the 9th, seventeen miles, and halted for the night on the
Po river, near the old battlefield of Spottsylvania. On the 10th it
passed through Fredericksburg and crossing the Rappahannock, camped for
the night on familiar ground near Stoneman's Switch on the Aquia Creek
railroad.
By the 15th the corps had reached the vicinity of Washington and went
into camp near Bailey's Cross Roads. This proved to be the last camping
ground of the regiment, it remaining here until the last of June.
The only things of importance that occurred while in this camp were the
Grand Review of the Army of the Potomac, on May 23d, and the muster-out
of the regiment at the end of June.
On the morning of May 23d we were up early, getting ready to march to
Washington, distant seven miles, to take part in the Grand Review. We
moved by way of Arlington Mills and Hunter's Chapel to Long Bridge,
crossing which our corps (the 2d) was massed on the streets east and
south of the Capitol. The Army of the Potomac (with the exception of the
6th corps, which was on duty at Danville, Va.), was to pass in review
before the President of the United States in the following order, with
the officers named commanding:
Cavalry Corps, Major General Merritt.
Ninth Corps, Maj. Gen. John G. Parke.
Fifth Corps, Maj. Gen. Charles Griffin.
Second Corps, Maj. Gen. A. A. Humphreys.
This force comprised 151 regiments of infantry, 36 regiments of cavalry
and 22 batteries of artillery, which, with the staff department of the
general officers, made about 80,000 men.
Precisely at 9 o'clock a. m. the signal gun boomed out the start. The
cheery bugles of the cavalry and artillery were instantly going, the
drums of the infantry rolled, the bands pealed forth inspiring music,
and the Grand Army of the Potomac was on the march.
The infantry marched without knapsacks, by company front, closed _en
masse_. As the cavalry passed up Pennsylvania avenue, cheers rent the
air, and horses and riders were pelted with flowers. Similar
demonstrations awaited the other parts of the column.
In front of the White House a large stand had been erected, on which
stood the President, members of his cabinet, heads of the military and
civil departments, and foreign ambassadors.
Thousands of people from the Northern states had visited Washington to
see this the greatest military pageant of the nineteenth century, and
which this country may never see surpassed. The streets were crowded to
their utmost, and windows and roofs of houses and every available spot
where the parade could be viewed was filled with spectators.
It was late in the afternoon when the last regiment passed the reviewing
stand. Our brigade was the next to the last in the column. It was
commanded by Brig. Gen. Byron R. Pierce and marched in the following
order:
17th Maine, Col. C. P. Mattox.
105th Pennsylvania, Maj. James Miller.
5th Michigan, Lieut. Col. D. S. Root.
93d New York, Lieut. Col. H. Gifford.
141st Pennsylvania, Lieut. Col. J. H. Horton.
1st Massachusetts Heavy Artillery, Maj. Shatwell.
57th Pennsylvania, Maj. Samuel Bryan.
The weather throughout the day was delightful, and the men being in
light marching order, were but little fatigued, although we had marched
altogether about sixteen miles.
The next day General Sherman's army was reviewed under like
circumstances, the crowd being swelled by the presence of many officers
and men of the Army of the Potomac, who were anxious to see the review
of their gallant comrades of the western armies.
The 6th corps of the Army of the Potomac, and all the artillery that had
not previously been reviewed, passed in review on the 8th of June.
After the reviews were over the government began mustering out troops as
fast as the necessary rolls could be made out, and transportation be
secured to send the men home.
On June 23d orders were received that the 57th was on the list of
regiments to be mustered out. Then for a week there were busy times at
the headquarters of the various companies. Five large muster-out rolls
of each company had to be made out, a discharge paper for each man to be
filled out, company books balanced, and descriptive books verified up to
date.
At last, all the necessary requirements having been fulfilled, the
regiment was mustered out of the United States service on the evening of
June 29, 1865.
According to the records of the War Department the regiment is credited
with having participated in the following battles, viz: Yorktown,
Williamsburg, Fair Oaks, Oak Grove, Glendale, Malvern Hill, Bristow
Station, Groveton, Second Bull Run, Chantilly, Fredericksburg,
Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, Auburn, Kelly's Ford, Mine Run,
Wilderness, Spottsylvania, North Anna, Totopotomoy, Cool Harbor,
Petersburg, Strawberry Plains, Deep Bottom, Poplar Grove Church, Boydton
Road, Hatcher's Run, Petersburg (Watkins' House), Amelia Springs,
Appomattox.
The casualties of the regiment were: Killed, 161; wounded, 432; died of
disease or wounds, 217; total, 810. This total is almost as great as the
original strength of the regiment, which was about 850 officers and men.
The above does not include those who died in prison, as correct lists of
these were never obtained.
The total enlistment in the regiment was 1,711, but this includes the
men who reenlisted, and over 100 who enlisted for the regiment, but
never reported for duty. The regiment also received 150 recruits after
Lee had surrendered and the fighting was over.
At the date of muster-out there were but 97 men of the original regiment
left in the ranks. Chaplain W. T. McAdam was the only one of the
original officers remaining.
On the morning of June 30th we struck tents for the last time, and then
marched to Washington, where we took cars for Harrisburg.
We arrived at the latter place on Sunday morning, July 2d, and marched
out to what was called "Camp Return," adjoining "Old Camp Curtin." Here
the regiment received its final pay and discharges from Maj. W. T.
Asson, Paymaster U. S. A., on July 6th, 1865. On the same day the men
departed by various routes for their homes.
Before disbanding each member of the regiment received a copy of the
following farewell address, which was prepared by Adjutant Thomas E.
Merchant, of the 57th:
HARRISBURG, PA., July 6, 1865.
To the Officers and Soldiers of the old 57th Pennsylvania:
Four years ago our thoughts were turned on war to come.
To-day our thoughts are on war past and peace to come.
The bloody strife is over, and you with many of your fellow soldiers
are now to return to your homes.
We part joyfully, for the life we have led as soldiers has been a
severe one, and we are glad the task is over, and that henceforth we
may enjoy the comforts of peaceful life. Yet the associations we
have formed are very hard to sever, and during our whole course of
life in the future we will revert with pleasure and pride to the
associations and companionships formed during those three or four
years in which the regiment fought twenty-seven engagements and
marched hundreds of miles.
Let us not forget each other. Parting as a band of brothers, let us
cling to the memory of those tattered banners, under which we fought
together, and which without dishonor we just now restored to the
authorities who placed them in our hands.
Till we grow grey-headed and pass away let us sustain the reputation
of the noble old regiment,--for none can point to one more glorious!
Fortune threw together two organizations--the 84th P. V. and the
57th P. V.--to make up the present command. Both regiments have been
in service since the beginning of the strife, and the records of
both will demand respect through all coming time.
Very many of those who have been enrolled with us have fallen, and
their graves are scattered here and there throughout the south.
We will not forget these; and the people of this nation will and
must honor their memory--for how can they avoid it when they see
little children pointing their fingers at the portrait on the wall
and hear them saying: "He died for our country!"
Comrades, God bless you all! Farewell!
GEORGE ZINN,
GEORGE W. PERKINS,
SAMUEL BRYAN,
Field officers of the late 57th P. V. V.
APPENDIX A.
Roster of the Field, Staff and Line Officers of the Fifty-Seventh
Regiment, Pennsylvania Veteran Volunteer Infantry, from date of
organization, December 14, 1861, to date of muster out, June 29, 1865.
This roster is copied from the report of Gen. A. L. Russell, Adjutant
General of the State of Pennsylvania for the year 1866.
Rank and Name. County or Rank From Remarks.
Residence.
Col. William Maxwell Mercer Aug. 24, '61 Resigned March 10,
1862.
Col. Chas. T. Franklin Mar. 4, '62 Promoted to Brig.
Campbell Gen. Nov. 9, 1862.
Col. Peter Sides. Philadelphia Mar. 12, '64 Hon. dis. Nov. 28,
'64. Ap't'd Brevet
Brig. Gen. April 6,
1865.
Col. Geo. Zinn Dauphin Feb. 1, '65 Mustered out with
Reg. June 29, 1865.
Lt. Col. E. W. Woods Mercer Aug. 24, '61 Resigned September
14, 1862.
Lt. Col. Peter Sides Philadelphia Sept. 15, '62 To Colonel.
Lt. Col. T. S. Venango Mar. 12, '63 Hon. dis. March 12,
Stroecker 1863, as Lt.
Colonel.
Lt. Col. Wm. B. Allegheny Sept. 11, '63 Hon. dis. November
Neeper 4, 1864.
Lt. Col. L. D. Venango Nov. 5, '64 Mustered out Jan.
Bumpus 13, 1865.
Lt. Col. Geo. W. Bradford Dec. 15, '64 Mustered out June
Perkins 29, 1865.
Major Jeremiah Culp Bradford Aug. 24, '61 Killed at Fair Oaks,
Va., May 31, 1862.
Major S. C. Simonton Mercer June 1, '62 Hon. dis. January
17, 1863.
Major Wm. B. Neeper Allegheny Dec. 31, '62 To Lieut. Colonel.
Major Samuel Bryan Lycoming Jan. 6, '65 Mustered out June
29, 1865.
Adjt. Wm. B. Neeper Allegheny Aug. 24, '61 To Captain Company
C.
Adjt. Geo. W. Bradford Sept. 27, '62 To Captain Company
Perkins B.
Adjt. Clark M. Lyons Susquehanna Feb. 16, '64 Died June 20, 1864,
of w'nds rec' in
action.
Adjt. Jas. D. Moore Mercer June 21, '64 To Captain Company
I.
Adjt. R. J. Mercer Nov. 5, '64 Commission withheld.
McQuillen
Adjt. Thos. E. Philadelphia April 5, '65 Mustered out June
Merchant 29, 1865.
Qr. Mast. Israel Mercer Aug. 15, '62 Mustered out at ex.
Garretson of term, Dec. 12,
1864.
Qr. Mast. John H. Mercer Dec. 12, '64 Not mustered as
Rodgers Quarter Master.
Qr. Mast. John W. Mercer Nov. 1, '65 Must. out with reg.
Parke June 29, 1865.
Surgeon John W. Clinton Oct. 14, '61 Must. out Sept. 14,
Lyman '64, to be Lt. Col.
203d P. V.
Surgeon H. G. Franklin Oct. 24, '64 Must. out June 29,
Chritzman 1865.
Asst. Surg. A. W. Northumberland Oct. 15 '61 Resigned Aug. 9,
Fisher 1862.
Asst. Surg. D. D. Chester Aug. 1, '62 To Surgeon 133d Pa.
Kennedy Volunteers.
Asst. Surg. J. Franklin Aug. 19, '62 Resigned December
Elliott Miller 20, 1862.
Asst. Surg. Fred R. Mercer Jan. 13, '63 Resigned 1863.
H. Leet
Asst. Surg. T. A. Philadelphia Mar. 21, '64 Dis. for disability,
Downs Mar. 21, '64, to
date.
Asst. Surg. J. K. Bucks Sept. 17, '64 Mustered out June
Cassell 29, 1865.
Asst. Surg. Wm. Jack Indiana Jan. 6, '65 Must. out June 29,
'65. Tr. from 84th
Pa. V.
Chaplain Wm. T. Mercer Aug. 24, '61 Mustered out June
McAdam 29, 1865.
COMPANY A.
Capt. Peter Sides Philadelphia Sept. 4, '61 To Lieut. Colonel.
Capt. J. R. Lyons Susquehanna Sept. 15, '62 Hon. discharged Oct.
4, 1864.
Capt. H. H. Hinds Susquehanna Oct. 5, '64 Hon. dis. as 1st
Lieut. May 15, 1865.
1st Lieut. J. R. Susquehanna Sept. 4, '64 To Captain.
Lyons
1st Lieut. Edson J. Wyoming Sept. 15, '62 To Captain Co. E.
Rice
1st Lieut. H. H. Susquehanna Jan. 7, '63 To Captain.
Hinds
2d Lieut. Edson J. Wyoming Sept. 4, '61 To 1st Lieutenant.
Rice
2d Lieut. H. H. Susquehanna Sept. 15, '62 To 1st Lieutenant.
Hinds
2d Lieut. Jere. C. Wyoming Jan. 7, '63 Killed in action May
Green 12, 1864.
2d Lieut. Geo. L. Susquehanna Mar. 1, '65 Mustered out June
Amey 29, 1865.
COMPANY B.
Capt. S. C. Simonton Mercer Sept. 16, '61 To Major.
Capt. J. W. Mercer Oct. 1, '62 Hon. discharged Oct.
Gillespie 23, 1863.
Capt. Geo. W. Bradford Feb. 15, '64 To Lieut. Colonel.
Perkins
1st Lieut. Israel Mercer Sept. 16, '61 To Quartermaster.
Garretson
1st Lieut. T. O. Mercer Oct. 1. '62 Resigned May 31,
Collamore 1863.
1st Lieut. D. C. Mercer Nov. 4, '64 Mustered out June
Comstock 29, 1865.
2d Lieut. J. W. Mercer Sept. 16, '61 To Captain.
Gillespie
2d Lieut. James Mercer Jan. 6, '63 Hon. discharged Mar.
Burns 17, 1865.
2d Lieut. Wm. H. Mercer April 1, '65 Mustered out June
Bell 29, 1865.
COMPANY C.
Capt. Jere B. Mercer Oct. 1, '61 Resigned June 5,
Hoagland 1862.
Capt. Wm. B. Neeper Allegheny June 1, '62 To Major.
Capt. Sprague S. Mercer Jan. 17, '63 Mustered out at ex.
Hill of term, Nov. 11,
1864.
Capt. M. W. Houser Franklin Nov. 14, '64 Mustered out June
29, 1865.
1st Lieut. Enoch C. Mercer Oct. 1, '61 Discharged June 25,
Cloud 1862.
1st Lieut. Sprague Mercer June 25, '62 To Captain.
S. Hill
1st Lieut. A. B. Mercer Jan. 17, '63 Mustered out at ex.
McCartney of term, Nov. 16,
1864.
1st Lieut. Robt. I. Mercer Nov. 23, '64 Mustered out June
Campbell 29, 1865.
2d Lieut. Sprague S. Mercer April 16, '62 To 1st Lieutenant.
Hill
2d Lieut. M. W. Franklin Jan. 6, '63 To Captain.
Houser
2d Lieut. Geo. W. Bradford March 1, '65 Mustered out June
Miller 29, 1865.
COMPANY D.
Capt. H. W. Caulking Tioga Sept. 4, '61 Resigned Aug. 2,
1862.
1st Lieut. Charles Tioga Sept. 4, '61 Killed at Malvern
O. Etz Hill, Va., July 1,
1862.
1st Lieut. Cyrus P. Crawford May 19, '65 Mustered out June
Slaven 29, 1865.
2d Lieut. W. O. Tioga Sept. 4, '61 Resigned June 25,
Mattison 1862.
2d Lieut. Joseph S. Venango May 19, '65 Must. out as 1st
Sharp Serg. June 29, 1865.
COMPANY E.
Capt. Jas. E. Moore Allegheny Sept. 1, '61 Resigned October 16,
1865.
Capt. W. S. Eberman Mercer Oct. 16, '62 Resigned January 17,
1863.
Capt. Edson J. Rice Wyoming Feb. 28, '63 Killed at
Chancellorsville,
Va., May 3, 1863.
Capt. Edgar Williams Susquehanna Nov. 1, '63 Died May 23, 1864,
of wounds.
Capt. John W. Parke Mercer May 13, '65 Mustered out as
Quartermaster.
1st Lieut. Henry Allegheny Jan. 24, '63 Killed at
Mitchell Gettysburg, July 2,
1863.
1st Lieut. Edgar Susquehanna Sept. 1, '63 To Captain.
Williams
1st Lieut. John W. Mercer Nov. 1, '63 To Captain.
Parke
1st Lieut. John A. Crawford April 18, '65 Mustered out June
Sillaman 29, 1865.
2d Lieut. W. S. Mercer Sept. 1, '61 To Captain.
Eberman
2d Lieut. Henry Allegheny Oct. 16, '62 To 1st Lieutenant.
Mitchell
2d Lieut. Edgar Susquehanna Jan. 24, '63 To 1st Lieutenant.
Williams
2d Lieut. John A. Crawford Mar. 1, '65 To 1st Lieutenant.
Sillaman
2d Lieut. Joseph Crawford April 18,'65 Mustered out June
Freeman 29, 1865.
COMPANY F.
Captain Ralph Mercer Sept 16, '61 Resigned Feb. 3,
Maxwell 1863.
Captain George Clark Mercer Feb. 8, '63 Resigned Dec. 17,
1863.
Captain H. H. Nelson Mercer Dec. 18, '63 Dis. at ex. of term
of service, Nov.
1864.
Captain E. C. Bierce Mercer Dec. 2, '64 Mustered out June
29, 1865.
1st Lieut. Isaac Mercer Sept. 16, '61 Resigned March 14,
Cummings 1862.
1st Lieut. Wm. B. Allegheny Aug. 24, '61 To Adjutant.
Neeper
1st Lieut. George Mercer April 22, '62 To Captain.
Clark
1st Lieut. H. H. Mercer Feb. 8, '63 To Captain.
Nelson
1st Lieut. James F. Bradford Dec. 21, '63 Mustered out June
Ruger 29, 1865.
2d Lieut. George Mercer Sept. 16, '61 To 1st Lieutenant.
Clark
2d Lieut. H. H. Mercer April 22, '62 To 1st Lieutenant.
Nelson
2d Lieut. Lafayette Mercer Feb. 8, '63 Discharged December
Cameron 20, 1863.
2d Lieut. Wm. H. H. Mercer Dec. 21, '61 Mustered out June
Hurry 29, 1865.
2d Lieut. E. C. Mercer Nov. 7, '64 To Captain.
Bierce
COMPANY G.
Captain Geo. S. Peck Bradford Sept. 4, '61 Hon. dis. Sept. 23,
'62.
Captain Chas. W. Columbia April 5, '65 Must. out June 29,
Forrester '65.
1st Lieut. Daniel Bradford Sept. 4, '61 To Captain Co. H.
Mehan
1st Lieut. James M. Bradford May 20, '62 To Captain Co. H.
Darling
1st Lieut. Joseph H. Blair June 9, '65 Tr. from 84th Pa.
Moore V., Must. out June
29, '65.
2d Lieut. Mort. B. Northampton Sept. 4, '61 Resigned October 16,
Owen 1862.
2d Lieut. Pierce Bradford June 9, '65 Tr. from 84th Pa.
Russell V., Must. out June
29, '65.
COMPANY H.
Capt. John Griffin Bradford Sept. 17, '61 Resigned May 7,
1862.
Capt. Daniel Mehan Bradford May 20, '62 Resigned December
31, 1862.
Capt. James M. Bradford Jan. 24, '63 Dis. as of Company
Darling A, June 16, 1864.
Capt. Daniel W. Gore Bradford Nov. 8, '64 Mustered out with
Co. A, June 29,
1865.
Capt. David Larish Sullivan June 9, '65 Tr. to and must. out
Co. G, June 29,
1865.
1st Lieut. Daniel Bradford Sept. 17, '61 Dis. May 9, '62.
Minier Dis. removed Apr.
18, '63.
1st Lieut. Joseph Bradford Sept. 27, '62 Killed at
Brady Chancellorsville,
May 3, 1863.
1st Lieut. Frank V. Bradford Sept. 1, '63 Must. out with Co.
Shaw A. June 29, 1865.
1st Lieut. Wm. A. Mifflin April 7, '65 Hon. dis. June 1,
Wilson 1865.
1st Lieut. W. H. H. Cumberland June 9, '65 Must. out Co. K,
Hurst June 29, '65, as 2d
Lieut.
2d Lieut. Rich. Bradford Sept. 17, '61 Resigned Aug. 8,
Sinsabaugh 1862.
2d Lieut. Geo. W. Bradford Aug. 13, '62 To Adjutant.
Perkins
2d Lieut. R. S. Bradford Sept. 27, '62 Honorably discharged
Edmiston June 23, 1863.
2d Lieut. Daniel W. Bradford Sept. 7, '63 To Captain.
Gore
2d Lieut. Jacob Blair April 7, '65 Mustered out June
Weidensall 29, 1865.
COMPANY I.
Capt. T. S. Venango Sept. 3, '61 To Lieut. Colonel.
Strohecker
Capt. Lorenzo D. Vanango Mar. 12, '63 To Lieut. Colonel.
Bumpus
Capt. James D. Moore Mercer Nov. 5, '64 Must. out with Co.
D, June 29, 1865.
Capt. John R. Ross Wayne.
1st Lieut. George Wayne Sept. 3, '61 Resigned Aug. 8,
Suplee 1862.
1st Lieut. L. D. Venango Aug. 10, '62 To Captain.
Bumpus
1st Lieut. John Mercer April 7, '63 Died May 22, '64, of
Bowers wounds received at
Spottsylvania, Va.
1st Lieut. James M. Philadelphia April 5, '65 Must. out as 2d
Lewis Lieut. June 29,
1865.
2d Lieut. J. R. Mercer Mar. 10, '62 Resigned Aug. 4,
Williams 1862.
2d Lieut. E. S. Mercer May 3, '62 Resigned Aug. 23,
Benedict 1862.
2d Lieut. John F. Mercer Aug. 11, '62 Killed at
Cox Gettysburg, July 2,
1863.
2d Lieut. Henry M. Bradford July 5, '64 Killed in front
Adams Petersburg, Va.,
June 15, '64.
2d Lieut. Cyrus P. Crawford June 18, '64 To 1st Lieutenant
Slaven Co. D.
2d Lieut. Geo. W. Blair April 5, '65 Must. out 1st
Lower Sergeant June 29,
1865.
COMPANY K.
Capt. Cornelius S. Crawford Died June 17, '62,
Chase wds. rec'd Fair
Oaks, Va.
Capt. Alanson H. Crawford June 17, '62 Must. out ex. of
Nelson term, Nov. 4, 1864.
Capt. Ellis C. Crawford Nov. 15, '64 Must. out with Co.
Strouss E, June 29, 1865.
1st Lieut. A. H. Crawford Sept. 4, '61 To Captain.
Nelson
1st Lieut. Thos. J. Crawford Dec. 1, '62 Hon. dis. December
Crossley 30, 1864.
2d Lieut. Chester F. Crawford Sept. 4, '61 Resigned Dec. 10,
Morse 1862.
2d Lieut. John M. Crawford Dec. 1, '62 Hon. dis. June 27,
Robinson 1864.
2d Lieut. Ellis C. Crawford June 28, '64 To Captain.
Strouss
2d Lieut. Isaac Blair June 9, '65 Must. out 1st
Manes Sergeant June 29,
1865.
APPENDIX B.
REPORT OF DR. JOHN W. LYMAN,
Surgeon of the Fifty-Seventh Regiment Pennsylvania Volunteers.
Camp near Poolesville, Md., Headquarters 57th Regiment, Pa. Volunteers.
October 23, 1862.
The 57th Regiment, P. V., was organized at Harrisburg, Pa., and was
mustered into the United States service in the latter part of October,
1861.
While in Camp Curtin the men suffered, like most other newly organized
regiments, from rubeola, in common with the whole camp. Variola was also
present, but by thorough and careful vaccination of the men as fast as
recruited its spread was prevented, only two cases of varioloid
occurring in the regiment. Typhoid fever, incident to the season in that
region, diarrhoea and dysentery, the result of sudden change of diet,
and other habits of life, as well as the crowded state of the camp,
involving imperfect police arrangements, bad sinks, etc., together with
the usual excesses of raw recruits, contributed to keep the sick list of
the regiment, at that time numbering about 800 men, up to the average of
fifty cases in hospital and quarters, or a little over 6 per cent.
During the prevalence of rubeola the regiment was ordered to Washington,
D. C., about the middle of December, and though the intention of the
medical officer was to have left all cases of measles behind, what with
the anxiety of the convalescents to go along, and new cases occurring on
the way, it was found when reaching Washington, that we had no less than
fifteen cases of rubeola in various stages of progress, and in three
days nearly double that number.
The men were very much exposed to the effects of cold during the trip,
being two days and nights in open cars. The site selected for a
camp--near Bladensburg toll-gate--was a bad one, low and wet. The result
was many cases of pneumonia as a complication or sequella of rubeola,
with innumerable catarrhs of all degrees of severity. Four cases of
pneumonia resulted fatally the second week. Many more were sent to the
general hospital as soon as admittance could be obtained for them. At
first admittance was refused for fear of infecting the hospitals.
Stimulants were freely used with benefit in simple rubeola as well as
that complicated with pneumonia.
A change of camp to better ground about the 1st of January, 1862,
together with a full supply of medical and hospital stores, effected a
gradual improvement, but the appearance of mumps among the men before
the measles had entirely disappeared kept the sick list large all
winter, sometimes as great a proportion as 10 per cent. of the whole
command. The men were quartered in Sibley tents, not more than 10 or 12
in a tent, inspected daily, and by great care in cleanliness and
ventilation, typhus fever was avoided, and but few cases of typhoid
appeared.
In February we were moved to near Fort Lyon, below Alexandria, and
placed in General Jameson's brigade, from which time until nearly the
last of August, the military history is nearly identical with that of
the other regiments of the same brigade and its medical history similar.
They were the 63d and 105th Pennsylvania and the 87th New York
Volunteers.
On the 17th of March we were shipped on board transports at Alexandria
for Fortress Monroe, where we were landed at dark during a cold rain
storm, to which the men were exposed during the night, in and by the
roadside, without any protection whatever. The next day and night they
were quartered in open horse sheds. Then for two weeks they were camped
in open fields near Hampton, in shelter-tents, in the use of which the
men were entirely unskilled, a matter of more moment than would at first
appear. The result of the unusual exposure was the appearance of
dysentery to considerable extent among the men, even at that early
season.
On the 4th and 5th of April we were marched from Hampton to within three
miles of Yorktown and confined for one week within short range of the
rebel guns. A heavy rain flooded the tents for four days, during two of
which neither officers nor men had anything to eat. The brigade was then
moved back half a mile into the woods, to a spot in the immediate
vicinity of several large marshes; in fact, the camp itself was little
better than a swamp. For three weeks the men walked in mud, slept in
mud, and drank water from holes scooped out in the mud. The combined
remonstrance of the medical officers of the brigade, that a "month's
continuance in that place would deprive the Government of the services
of one-half the men and officers," was met by the silencing reply: "It
is a military necessity."
The subsequent amount of sickness shows that our fears were well
founded. The malaria imbibed in the marshes and swamps at Yorktown,
together with the excessive amount of labor performed there, on picket
and in the trenches, debilitated our men for months, putting dozens of
them in their graves and rendered hundreds of them unfit for service for
months, many of them for life.
We had one man killed by a shell and five wounded while before Yorktown,
in the skirmish of the "peach orchard," and two by accident, one shot
through the penis and scrotum, above the testicle, and behind the cord
and thigh, by a small sized rifle bullet, recovered rapidly by simple
dressing. One shot through the leg died afterwards in general hospital.
Remainder slight wounds.
On the 4th of May we again marched in pursuit of the enemy, leaving
forty-three sick in hospital and sending four back next day, mostly
cases of remittent fever, some diarrhoea and dysentery.
The 5th we marched nine miles through deep mud and rain to the
battlefield in front of Williamsburg, the last four and a half on the
double quick and a run. The men, exhausted, in profuse perspiration, and
wet to the skin, were obliged to lie on their arms during the night
without either blankets or fires. From that hour the sickness of the
regiment increased frightfully, six or eight new cases occurring daily.
We left twenty-seven men in hospital at Williamsburg, sent six to
transports at West Point when opposite that place, sent sixty away at
Cumberland Landing, left forty-eight at Baltimore Store, and had
sixty-four on the sick list at Bottom's Bridge on the 31st of May.
At the battle of Fair Oaks, on the last day of May, we lost of men and
officers eleven killed and forty-nine wounded. Of the last, twenty-three
were wounds of the upper extremities, two requiring amputation of the
arm, and one exsection of the elbow joints; twelve of the lower
extremities, four of thigh, seven of leg, and one of knee joint, eight
of trunk (three serious); six of head (one serious), and two of both
upper and lower extremities.
While at Fair Oaks from the 1st to the 29th of June, the regiment
suffered greatly from fever and dysentery, the first of miastamic
origin, which, together with the effect of constant apprehension,
rendered the nervous system highly impressible. Hence the marked effect
of the malaria upon the nervous centers, especially the spine, as
evidenced by the almost constantly present--to a greater or less
degree--numbing of the extremities with partial paralysis of the lower,
usually severe pain in the hips and lumbar region, with great depression
of spirits, etc.
The diarrhoea, as well as all diseases resulting from bad digestion or
affections of the digestive organs, were caused mainly, if not entirely,
by improper habits of cooking and eating. Each soldier cooked for
himself, having no other implements than a small tin pail made from
fruit can, a tin cup and a borrowed frying pan. Every leisure moment was
devoted to cooking and eating; meat of every description was fried
instead of being boiled. All regularity in eating was lost, except that
uncertain kind, produced by relief from the routine of duty. Nor can any
remedy be suggested short of the entire removal of the cooking business
from the hands of the soldier, and placing it in charge of a competent
corps organized for that special purpose. Soldiers cannot march and
fight each with a complete stock of cooking furniture on his back.
In an active campaign like that on the Peninsula, officers suffer from
bad cooking equally with the men. Servants are an uncertain kind of
dependencies and often obliged to cook for himself, the officer is of
course as unskilled as the soldier. A regimental mess for the officers
of this regiment under charge of a competent cook, established a few
weeks ago, has already proved decidedly advantageous. A similar
arrangement for the men, for instance by companies, would be found to be
as great an improvement.
For five days before commencing the retreat from before Richmond to
Harrison's Landing our men were almost constantly on duty. On the 29th
of June they skirmished all day, then marched half of the night. The
next day (30th) they fought at Charles City Cross Roads, losing seven
killed and fifty-six wounded, most of whom fell into the hands of the
enemy. They watched until two o'clock a. m., July 1st, then marched to
Malvern Hill, fought there, losing two killed and eight wounded;
remained on picket until 9 a. m. next morning, then marched twelve miles
through deep mud and hard rain to Harrison's Landing, camped at night in
the mud, then moved three miles and camped permanently for outpost duty.
All were exhausted and disheartened, scarcely a well man in the
regiment, two hundred and thirty on the sick list for the first few
days. Scurvy made its appearance to a small extent, yet sufficient to
complicate and multiply other ailments. However, a few weeks' rest,
abundance of fresh vegetables, lemons and ice, and we were ready to
commence the retreat from the Peninsula with two hundred and fifty men
for duty, having lost four by death at Harrison's Landing--two by
typhoid fever, one from entraperitonitis and one from phthisis
pulmonalis.
On reaching Alexandria we immediately moved to the Rappahannock, had no
sickness of moment except two cases of sunstroke, being actively
engaged, yet not overworked.
We had three wounded at Bull Run, one in the hand, one in the hip, and
one in the breast and face. These last two have since died.
The present health of the regiment is good and its moral condition
excellent.
The general conclusions we arrive at are:
First.--That constant seasonable activity is necessary to promote the
health of the regiment.
Second.--Men accustomed to exposure in the open air when attacked by
fever of any kind, recover with much more certainty and much sooner in
tents than in general hospitals in houses, probably because less crowded
and admitting more perfect ventilation, and free access to light.
J. W. LYMAN,
Surgeon 57th Reg't., Pa. Vols.
APPENDIX C.
THE 57th PA. VETERAN VOLUNTEERS.
THEIR SERVICES TO THE STATE AND TO THE NATION.
Address of Col. L. D. Bumpus to His Comrades at Gettysburg, July 2,
1888, on the Occasion of the Dedication of the Battlefield Monument
of the 57th Pennsylvania Veteran Volunteers.
The 57th Regt., Pa. Vet. Vols., which was made up largely of Mercer
county men, dedicated, on Monday, July 2d, one of the finest monuments
on the Gettysburg field.
The exercises were opened with prayer by Rev. Dr. Sayres, Department
Chaplain of the G. A. R., after which Col. L. D. Bumpus, President of
the Monument Committee, introduced Capt. H. H. Hinds, who made a few
remarks on the movements of the 3d corps and the work done by the 57th
regiment. When Captain Hinds had concluded, the audience sang the hymn
"America," after which Capt. D. W. Gore, Secretary of the Monument
Association, introduced Col. L. D. Bumpus in the following speech:
It would not be necessary to introduce the orator for this occasion
to an audience composed of the members of the old 57th regiment, but
as there are many strangers present it would perhaps be proper for
me to say that he is a man who was identified, with the 57th
regiment during the entire history of its eventful existence. He was
with us in our various marches, in our numerous encampments, and in
our many hard-fought battles. He entered the army as a mere boy and
rose from the ranks to the command of the regiment before reaching
his majority. He was known throughout the army as the boy captain.
It is largely due to his tireless efforts that we are enabled to
dedicate this beautiful monument today. He was true to his country,
true to himself, and true to the men of his command. No braver
officer ever drew a sword in defence of the old flag and no man
enjoyed to a greater degree the respect and regard of his old
comrades in arms than does Col. L. D. Bumpus, whom I now introduce
to you as the orator for this occasion.
COLONEL BUMPUS' ADDRESS.
Comrades of the 57th Pennsylvania Veteran Volunteers:
In obedience to your command, I have appeared before you in many
different characters. I have, with you, trudged along on the weary march
and carried my gun, knapsack and forty rounds. And in obedience to your
call, I rose rank by rank, until I had the honor to command the grand
old regiment. Today, in obedience to your call, I stand before you in a
new role; that of orator for this occasion. However well I may have been
able to fill the positions to which you have called me heretofore, I do
not hope to meet your expectations today. I am what President Lincoln
was pleased to call one of the plain people; and you will not be treated
today to any flights of oratory or grand play of words. But I shall try
to speak words of truth with soberness; and whatever else of merit my
remarks may lack, I trust you will do me the justice to believe that
they emanate from an honest heart.
Our good historian, Captain Strouss, has relieved me of the necessity of
going into history, and I shall confine my remarks to the trials and
triumphs of the grand regiment to which we had the honor to belong. I
need not speak of the causes that led to the war, for they were so well
understood by every man who marched in the ranks that they are as
familiar as household words. We are met here today as Pennsylvanians on
Pennsylvania soil, on one of the greatest battlefields of the war; and I
propose to speak of the part Pennsylvania and more particularly the part
the 57th regiment, took in suppressing the rebellion.
When war came, it found us ill prepared. We had a little army scattered
throughout the territories; a weak navy, lying at anchor in distant
waters; a bankrupt treasury, and a government without credit. What added
to the uncertainty of the result, the people of the North were divided
on party issues, and many honest men believed that there was no power in
the Constitution to coerce a State. All these difficulties confronted
President Lincoln, and he was appalled at their magnitude. He called
upon the Governors of several of the loyal States to counsel with him in
his dread emergency. They met at the White House. The President informed
them of the terrible cloud that hung like a pall over our fair land, and
asked their advice about issuing a proclamation, calling upon the people
for troops to put down the rebellion, and with his hands folded behind
him awaited their answer. The six or seven Governors who formed his
auditors had each expressed his opinion, but they were punctuated by too
many "ifs" or "ands." While this was going on, Governor Andrew G.
Curtin, fresh from his mountain home, stood looking through the window.
He had not yet been approached by the President, personally. There was
profound but awful silence in that small but thoughtful party of
distinguished men.
President Lincoln finally broke the silent spell, and, turning to
Governor Curtin, said: "Governor, what will Pennsylvania do, if I issue
my proclamation?" Silence more profound prevailed. It was a momentous
question. It seemed as if the fate of a nation depended upon the reply
about to be made. Manifest destiny seemed trembling in the balance.
Governor Curtin faced the President and said: "What will Pennsylvania
do? Why, sir, if you issue your proclamation, Pennsylvania will give you
a hundred thousand men in one week." Thank God for that noble answer!
Truly Andrew G. Curtin was the right man in the right place. He was the
Richelieu who thwarted the conspirators of the American rebellion.
But how did the boys of 1861 fulfill the promises of Governor Curtin?
The call to arms came, and before that tornado of patriotism which
followed, "men came as the winds come when forests are rended; came as
the waves come when navies are stranded." You all know the story: how
the flag went down amidst the smoke of battle; how the fight was long
and bloody; how, finally, the great waves of Secession, Slavery and
Rebellion rolled across our bordering line and rebaptised the soil of
Pennsylvania with the blood of patriots. And then,
"Through every vale and glen,
Beating like resolute pulses,
She feels the tread of men;
But she stands like an ocean break-water
In fierce rebellion's path,
To shiver its angry surges
And baffle its frantic wrath.
And the tide of Slavery's treason
Dashed on her in vain,
Rolling back from the ramparts of freedom,
In the land: of 'Mad Anthony Wayne.'"
I will not attempt to recount the deeds of the soldiers of Pennsylvania;
to do so would be to repeat the history of the war. For with but few
exceptions there is not a battlefield from Gettysburg to Mobile where
the ground has not been stained with the blood of the soldiers of
Pennsylvania. There is not a State, loyal or insurrectionary, which was
the seat of war, that does not hold within it the honored and sacred
remains of the slain heroes of Pennsylvania. When Beauregard first
trained his murderous guns upon Fort Sumter, Pennsylvania was there.
Pennsylvania volunteers were the first to reach the National Capitol. We
were at Appomattox when traitors fired their last volley; and in all
those terrible intermediate struggles in every rebellious State, in
every important battle on land or water, where treason was to be
confronted or rebellion subdued, the soldiers and sailors of
Pennsylvania were ever found, confronting the one and conquering the
other. Therefore, it was in true historic order that the wicked struggle
to terminate the Union should culminate upon our soil, that its topmost
wave should be dashed against our Capital; that its decisive defeat
should be secured here where literal bulwarks of upheaved slain
preserved the North from the despoiling foot of a traitor, and,
accordingly, the rebellion staggered back from Gettysburg to its grave.
Remember that at Gettysburg the blood of the people of eighteen loyal
States, rich, precious blood, mingling together, sank into the soil of
Pennsylvania, and by that red covenant she is pledged for all time to
Union, to Patriotism and to Nationality.
Comrade, with a record like this have we not much to be proud of? Such
heroism as I have recounted is too sublime for the common language of
humanity; a heroism which is patriotic, and a heroism which is heroic; a
heroism which blends in beautiful symmetry the moral and the physical; a
heroism which will shine with increasing luster as generations pass
away. No longer need we look back through the centuries for deeds of
noble daring. We can point with pride to our own record in the great War
of the Rebellion for achievements that will rival Spartan valor or Roman
fortitude.
The 57th regiment was organized early in the fall of 1861, at Camp
Curtin, Pennsylvania, and in December of that year was ordered to
Washington and went into camp on the Bladensburg pike, near the old toll
gate, and subsequently became a part of the Army of the Potomac. From
that time until you were mustered out, the history of the Army of the
Potomac was your history. You received your first baptism of fire at
Yorktown on April 11, 1862, and from that time until the close of the
war you participated in every important engagement of that Army,
excepting Antietam. That you did your duty faithfully and well your list
of casualties will prove. The records of the War Department show that in
every engagement you lost men and in some of them from forty to sixty
per cent. of the whole number engaged. The original strength of the
regiment was eight hundred and fifty men, and your casualties were over
eight hundred during the war; and at the final muster out but one of the
original officers of the regiment remained to be mustered out with you,
Chaplain W. T. McAdam.
I will now quote from the speech of Hon. Chauncey Depew, before the
Society of the Army of the Potomac. He says: "Each of the great armies
had its distinguishing merit; but in the achievements and in the records
of the Western forces, following the precedent of previous wars, are
largely represented the genius and personality of great commanders." To
the Army of the Potomac belongs the unique distinction of being its own
hero. It fought more battles and lost more in killed and wounded than
all others; it shed its blood like water to teach incompetent officers
the art of war, and political tacticians the folly of their plans; but
it was always the same invincible and undismayed Army of the Potomac.
Loyal ever to its mission and to discipline, the only sound it gave in
protest was the cracking of the bones as the cannon balls ploughed
through its decimated ranks. A good soldier does full honor to his
adversary. Although Americans on the wrong side, no more formidable
force of equal number ever marched or fought than the Army of Northern
Virginia, and it had the rare fortune of being always under the command
of one of the most creative and accomplished military minds of his time,
Gen. Robert E. Lee.
To conquer and capture such an army the captain of the Army of the
Potomac must overcome what the greatest tactician has said was
impossible, "an armed enemy in his own country," with the whole
population venomously hostile; acting as spies; furnishing information,
removing supplies; preparing ambuscades, and misleading the invaders.
But it did accomplish this military miracle. It was hard and trying to
be marched and countermarched for naught; to be separated and paralyzed
at the moment when a supreme effort meant victory; to be hurled against
impassable defenses, and then waste in repairing the mistake. The Army
of the Potomac, was composed of thinking bayonets. Behind each musket
was a man who knew for what he was fighting, and who understood the plan
of campaign, and with unerring and terrible accuracy sized up his
commander. The one soldier in whom he never lost confidence was himself.
This army operated so near the Capitol that Congressmen and newspapers
directed its movements, changed its officers and criticised its failures
to conquer on blue lines penciled on Washington maps. It suffered four
years under unparalleled abuse, and was encouraged by little praise, but
never murmured. It saw all its corps and division commanders sign a
petition to the President to remove its general, and then despairingly
but heroically marched to certain disaster at his order. It saw its
general demand the resignation or court martial of its corps or division
officers, and yet, undemoralized and undismayed, it charged under his
successor in a chaos of conflicting commands. "On to Richmond!" came the
unthinking cry from every city, village and cross roads in the North.
"On to Richmond!" shouted grave Senators and impetuous Congressmen. "On
to Richmond!!" ordered the Cabinet. No longer able to resist the popular
demand, the raw and untrained recruits were hurled from their unformed
organizations and driven back to Washington. Then, with discipline and
drill, out of chaos came order; the self-deserting volunteer has become
an obedient soldier; the mass has become moulded into a complex but
magnificent machine; and it was the Army of the Potomac! Overcoming
untold difficulties, fighting with superb courage, it comes in sight of
the spires of Richmond, and then, unable to succeed, because McDowell
and his corps of thirty thousand men are held back, it renews each
morning and carries on every night in retreat the Seven Days' Battle for
existence; and, brought to bay at Malvern Hill, asserts its undaunted
spirit in hard won victory. It follows Pope and marches and falls back;
pursues enemies who are not before it, and finds foes for which it is
unprepared, and fights and is beaten under orders so contradictory and
councils so divided, that an army of European veterans would have
disbanded. Immediately, it recognizes a general in whom it has
confidence. The stragglers come from the bush and the wounded from the
hospitals; regiments, brigades, divisions and corps reform, and at
Antietam it is invincible and irresistible.
Every man in the ranks knew that the fortified heights of Fredericksburg
were impregnable, that the forlorn hope would charge, not into the
imminent deadly breach, but into a death trap, and yet with unfaltering
step this grand army salutes its blind commander and marches to the
slaughter!
"Theirs not to reason why,
Theirs not to make reply,
Theirs but to do and die!"
Every private was aware of the follies of the Rappahannock campaign. He
knew that the opportunity to inflict an irreparable blow upon the army
of Lee had been trifled away, and that after reckless delays to make a
movement which at first would have been a surprise, conceived by the
very genius of war, was then mere mid-summer madness; and yet this
incomparable army, floundered through swamps, lost in almost
impenetrable forests, outflanked, outmaneuvered, outgeneraled,
decimated, no sooner felt the firm hand of Meade than it destroyed the
offensive and aggressive power of the Confederacy in the three days'
fighting at Gettysburg.
At last, this immortal army had at its head a great Captain, who had
never lost a battle. Every morning for thirty days came the order to
storm the works in front and every evening for thirty nights the
survivors moved to the command of "By the left flank, forward!" and at
the end of that fateful month, with sixty thousand comrades dead or
wounded in the Wilderness, the Army of the Potomac once more, after four
years, saw the spires of Richmond. Inflexible of purpose, insensible to
suffering, inured to fatigue and reckless of danger, it rained blow on
blow upon its heroic but staggering foe; and the world gained a new and
better and freer and more enduring republic than it had ever known, in
the surrender of Appomattox. All the trials and triumphs, all the
hardships and privations, all the defeats and humiliations I have
enumerated you shared in common with the Army of the Potomac.
In addition to this, in March, 1864, upon the reorganization of the
army, the grand old 3d corps, to which you belonged, was broken up; a
corps with a name and a record as brilliant as any organization in the
army, a corps that had furnished a galaxy of names second to none in
brilliancy; such names as Heintzelman, Hamilton and Sickles, Kearny and
Hooker, and Birney and Berry. You must lose your identity, and were
ordered to lay off the badge which you had honored, the old diamond
which you loved; the badge that was put there in obedience to the orders
of the dashing Kearny, and in its stead put on the badge of another
corps. Against these humiliating orders there was no insubordination, no
murmur, or protest; but with heroic courage you marched to victory under
other officers and as a part of another organization. You asked the
powers to allow you to wear the old badge, and, thanks to General
Grant's love of fair play, you were allowed to retain the old diamond,
and from that time until the surrender in every game of war diamonds
were trump, and if you did not have a full hand, you could always be
depended on to take a trick. Another humiliation which you had to endure
as a regiment was in January, 1865, when the regiment, having been
greatly reduced in strength by the severity of the summer's campaign,
was, in obedience to special orders of the War Department, dated January
11, 1865, broken up and consolidated into a battalion of six companies,
and you saw your officers who had risen from the ranks, officers of your
own choosing, officers whom you loved, mustered out and sent home as
supernumeraries. Like Moses of old, who was not permitted to gaze upon
the Promised Land, so some of your officers, after nearly four years of
war, after having passed through more than a score of battles, after
having endured all the hardships and privations that I have enumerated,
within sixty days of reaching the goal for which they had been fighting,
were mustered out and were not permitted with you to stand at Appomattox
and gaze upon the shattered relics of the Southern Confederacy.
Comrades, if I had the time I would like to name each loved comrade who
fell in battle, died of wounds or sank down from exhaustion on the weary
march; and those who died a lingering death of starvation in prison
pens, or died of disease in some hospital, far from home and mother and
friends, and who lie scattered through the South, in graves that only
God shall know until the resurrection morning. I would like to follow
you from the time of your enlistment until the time the regiment came
home, few and worn, with many a powder breath upon its flag and many a
bullet hole through its folds. I would also speak of Sides and Neeper
and Perkins and Lyons and Hill and McCartney and Morse and Crossley and
Comstock and Burns and scores of others who seemed to have borne charmed
lives and who were discharged and sent home when the war was over, but
who have at last been mustered out. They have passed to the other side
of the silent river. They have been made noble by God's patent. They
have responded to the roll-call among men for the last time, until that
day when the names of all the living and the dead shall be sounded
before the Great White Throne.
I would go back through the haze of years to hear the rattling drums,
the bugle's call, the loud hooray, the tramp of soldier boys. I see the
waving flags, the red cheeked lads, the bearded men; I see long lines
marching out to do and die; I hear the mothers' cries, the sobs of
wives, the sisters' wail, the sweethearts' moan; and then comes waiting,
day by day and night by night, the women in darkened homes, the men
amidst the dangers of the field. Today is hope; tomorrow comes the news,
the dreadful news, the battle's crash, the roar of guns, the din of war,
the sharp command, the fire and smoke, the whirl, the charge, the awful
shock, the iron hoof, the swinging sword, the gush of blood, the piteous
groan, the dying hero and the dead. Oh, bitterness of victory! Oh, homes
made desolate! How many hearts the battle breaks that never laid a hand
to sword! How many tears must flow for wrong from eyes that only saw the
right! The lesson that we read in blood is one we never can forget, and
God has taught us this, as long ago he taught the lesson of the cross.
Not for his friends alone was that blood shed, but for his enemies as
well; and by this latter blood not one but all of us shall live; and on
foundations firm as heaven itself the new Republic rises strong and
towering upward to the sky; its glistening summits lift their points
until they touch the far off blue, and overtopping all the world, they
stand up clear against the clouds, so that the very lowest down may see,
and, seeing, know that what they see is Freedom's home.
After nearly four years of war, with the great Rebellion subdued, with
not an armed enemy within our borders, the 57th Pennsylvania Volunteers
was mustered out June 29, 1865, and we write "finis" on the last page of
the military history of one of the grandest organizations that ever took
up arms for the preservation of a "Government of the people, for the
people and by the people."
Upon separating for your homes, your officers issued an address to the
surviving members, from which I quote: "Parting as a band of brothers,
let us cling to the memory of those tattered banners under which we have
fought together and which, without dishonor, we have just now restored
to the authorities, who placed them in our hands. Till we grow
gray-headed and pass away, let us sustain the reputation of this noble
old regiment." That you have observed the injunction of your officers in
that address, the testimony of your neighbors in every place in which
you have lived since the war will prove. When you were discharged you
had but one ambition. In that one supreme moment of triumph, your only
thought was of home and family and friends. You went back into the
localities from which you came, into the ranks as citizens; taking up
the daily burden of life where you had thrown it down when enlisting,
ceasing to be soldiers and becoming again private citizens. There was no
evidence of the contaminating influence of camp life in your characters.
There was no disorder where you went. On the contrary, your presence
became the sign of order. You showed the world that great as you had
been as soldiers, you had never forgotten that you were citizens.
Most speakers who have made similar addresses upon this great
battlefield of the war have made more extended remarks upon the
movements of the army during the three days' fighting here, and some
have censured certain commanders. The battle of Gettysburg has given
rise to a great many controversies, and each commander has been censured
and complimented in turn. Doubleday charges that Howard's troops gave
way; Howard affirms that Doubleday's troops broke. General Meade is
charged with ordering a retreat. One speaker charges that General
Sickles made a great blunder in taking up a position too far in advance,
which well nigh proved disastrous to our army. With all these charges I
have nothing to do. I am not here to censure or find fault. I have only
to do with the part you took as a regiment. Whether, as some speakers
claim, Sickles saved the day and gained a victory by taking and holding
an advanced line on July 2d, until the Roundtops could be occupied, or
whether, as others assert, Hancock, the "Superb," gained the victory by
brilliant generalship and magnificent fighting on the 3d, I will leave
the historian to decide. Suffice it to say, the 57th did her duty by
obeying orders, and that is all that is required of any soldier or set
of soldiers. You went as far as the farthest and left seventy per cent.
of your number behind, when you were obliged to abandon the line. In
regard to the movements of the 3d corps, I will simply read what
President Lincoln wrote to General Sickles in reply to a request that a
court of inquiry should be convened to inquire into his conduct during
the battle. The President writes:
"My Dear Sickles: You ask for a court of inquiry. They say you took
up an advanced position on July 2d. They say you crowded the enemy
and brought on an engagement. I guess what they say is true; but,
thank God, you gained a great victory. There were honors enough won
at Gettysburg to go all round. History will do you justice. Don't
ask for a court of inquiry.
[Signed] A. Lincoln."
Comrades, in all countries and in all ages the people have reared
monuments to the memory of their dead heroes; their deeds of valor have
been told in song and story, and the people have delighted to do them
honor. The great Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, recognizing the services
of her brave soldiers, during the sitting of the last Legislature passed
an act appropriating fifteen hundred dollars to build a monument to each
regiment that participated in the battle of Gettysburg. In accordance
with the provisions of that act, Capt. D. W. Gore, Capt. H. H. Nelson,
Lieut. George Miller, Comrade Theodore Catlin and myself, were elected
as a committee by the surviving members of the regiment to select the
location, submit designs, and erect a monument.
We organized at Gettysburg by electing your speaker chairman, and
Captain Gore secretary. Not knowing the magnitude of the work before us,
July 2d was agreed upon as the day upon which our monument should be
dedicated. Scattered as the members of the committee were, over two
States and the District of Columbia, thus rendering it difficult to
convene them, it was thought best that the chairman and secretary be
authorized to act for the committee. The labor and expense thus devolved
upon us have been considerable. We have been met with many and unlooked
for obstacles; but one by one they have been overcome, and the result of
our work is before you.
As chairman of your committee, in the name of the taxpayers of the
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, I present you with this beautiful
monument, which will stand while generations pass away, as a monument to
the valor and patriotism of the 57th regiment, and to the generosity of
the citizens of this grand old State. Pennsylvania honors herself in
thus honoring the memory of those who fell in her defence. We dedicate
this memorial shaft, not to those who fell at Gettysburg alone, but to
the eight hundred who were swallowed up by the tide of death on other
fields; in prison pens, in hospitals, and on the lonely picket line. We
dedicate it to every member of that grand old regiment, either living or
dead. We dedicate it to our children and our children's children
forever.
And when the few of us who yet survive shall have passed on to "join the
innumerable caravan," may coming generations, as they gather 'round this
granite shaft and read the record chisled here, learn lessons of
patriotism and heroic devotion and here may they gain inspiration and
strength, which shall make them brave defenders of their country's
institutions and her flag, which we so much love.
Comrades, I cannot refrain from saying a few parting words to you. As I
look over this audience, I am reminded that the boys of 1861 are now men
on the down-hill side of life. The hand of time has silvered the hair
and plowed deep furrows in the cheeks of the comrades I see gathered
about me, and this will probably be the last roll-call to which a
considerable number of the old regiment will respond. Soon these
pleasant meetings, these delightful and hallowed associations, with each
and all of us must come to an end. Let us live all the more closely
together, then, in the brief road that remains to us. Let us be truer to
our common name and common fame, so that we shall leave nothing behind
us which will tarnish the polished and war-worn escutcheons of the grand
old 57th regiment. Let us continue to be good citizens. Let us lead such
lives that when we hear the last tattoo and the lights are ordered out
on earth, we shall be awakened by the reveille at the tent of the Great
Commander and bidden to seats at Headquarters.
* * * * *
The following is a letter from General Longstreet to General Sickles:
Gen. D. E. Sickles, Gettysburg, Pa.:
My Dear General Sickles: My plan and desire was to meet you at
Gettysburg on the interesting ceremony attending the unveiling of
the Slocum monument; but today I find myself in no condition to keep
the promise made to you when last we were together. I am quite
disabled from a severe hurt in one of my feet, so that I am unable
to stand more than a minute or two at a time. Please express my
sincere regrets to the noble Army of the Potomac, and to accept
them, especially, for yourself.
On that field you made your mark that will place you prominently
before the world as one of the leading figures of the most important
battle of the Civil War. As a Northern veteran once remarked to me:
"General Sickles can well afford to leave a leg on that field."
I believe that it is now conceded that the advanced position at the
Peach Orchard, taken by your corps and under your orders, saved that
battlefield to the Union cause. It was the sorest and saddest
reflection of my life for many years; but, today, I can say, with
sincerest emotion, that it was and is the best that could have come
to us all, North and South; and I hope that the nation reunited, may
always enjoy the honor and glory brought to it by that grand work.
Please offer my kindest salutations to your Governor and your
fellow-comrades of the Army of the Potomac.
Always yours sincerely,
[Signed] James Longstreet,
Lieut.-Gen. Confederate Army.
APPENDIX D.
Reminiscences of the Fifty-Seventh Regiment, by Gen. William Birney.
Comrades:--It gives me pleasure to respond to your desire for my
reminiscences of the 57th Regiment, Pennsylvania Volunteers. They are
all agreeable.
My first knowledge of it was from the gallant and chivalrous General
Philip Kearny, under whom I had served in the New Jersey Brigade. August
12, 1862, I was exchanged as prisoner of war. August 13, the General
sent for me and offered me the command of the 57th. speaking in very
high terms of the intelligence, bravery and moral stamina of the men.
All it needed, he said, to become one of the best regiments in the army
was drill and discipline. I accepted his offer, was detailed by General
McClellan from my own regiment and corps to General Kearny's, took
command next day at the camp on James river, at Harrison's Landing, and
kept it until October 12. These two months were filled with active
service.
Your historian, in his kindly notice, has given a wrong version of the
only unpleasantness that ever existed between General Kearny and me.
Allow me to correct it. At a division drill, in the winter of 1861-2,
conducted by General Torbert, I commanded a regiment. Receiving a wrong
order from the brigade commander, I executed the movement, as was my
duty. General Kearny, who was on the field, rode rapidly up behind me,
hissed in my ears: "Major Birney, you'd better study your tactics, sir,"
rode off about fifty yards and halted. Being very angry at this
unmerited reproof given me while at the head of my regiment, I followed
him, expressed my resentment in bitter words and went back to my
command. Ten minutes afterward, the General put me under arrest. The
same evening he sent his adjutant to offer me a release if I would
apologize. I refused on the ground that he should apologize first to me.
He preferred charges, I was court-martialed, and, for lack of proof,
acquitted. Not long after that, at an accidental meeting between us, the
General offered me his hand after making a handsome apology for his
haste. His magnanimity gave me occasion to express a conclusion I had
reached on reflection, that my language to him had been insubordinate,
and to express my regrets that I had not kept my temper; if I had waited
for the General to learn the facts from General Torbert and other
witnesses, he would have made amends. From the date of that
reconciliation, we were better friends than ever before.
Before that bad break, he had recommended me for the vacant colonelcy of
the 1st and, on my declining, had procured my appointment as major of
the 4th. He had cordially approved choosing me as teacher of the
Officers' School of Tactics and had shown in many ways his confidence in
me. It was, therefore, with pleasure that I accepted the command of the
57th in his division and corps, though the regiment was not from my
state.
My first special effort was to increase the number of the regiment by
recalling absentees; and this I continued during the whole time of my
command.
Our first honor was being appointed with a Maine regiment to guard the
flank of the army when on its march from Harrison's Landing to Yorktown.
I was in command of both. We were menaced by the rebel cavalry and had
to form the hollow square twice. Nevertheless, we made longer marches
than had been made in the army up to that time, marching in order,
keeping proper rests, and having our water canteens well filled. We
reached our destination in excellent condition, after serving as buffer
for more than two days between our army and the enemy.
Our trip by water to Alexandria was uneventful. Our short stay in that
city was made memorable by the drunken carouse of nearly all the troops.
It was a day of debauchery; staggering and reeling men filled the street
and drunken men the cars which were to take the troops to the Rapidan.
The striking exception was the 57th; it maintained its sobriety and good
order. While I was standing near the regiment and feeling great pride in
it, General Kearny rode by. "Well, General, what do you think of that?"
said I, pointing to the boozy crowd. He shrugged his shoulders but said
nothing. This was the only time I ever knew him fail to make his
expression adequate to circumstances. He could express himself
vigorously, as you all remember. But the Alexandria spree was too much
for him.
We went to the Rapidan on cars and for a few days and one night did a
great deal of marching as part of Pope's army. The night march was to
Bristow's station; and your merit is the greater because it was the very
night when General Porter said his part of the army could not see to
march. Your eyes were good enough. From Bristow's we marched to
Centreville and thence to the battlefield of Groveton. On that day, we
guarded artillery from attacks. Late at night, we marched to what was
known as the "rail barricade," on the extreme right of the Union army,
arriving about 1 a. m. The General had told me I would find two
regiments of our troops there. What I did find there was nothing but a
picket of sixteen Irishmen and a sergeant, posted in a clump of small
trees at the right end of a steep and very high hill, quite level on
top, which seemed to extend a great way to the left. In the valley below
was a rebel camp which, the sergeant said, contained at least two
brigades, two batteries of small artillery and a squadron of cavalry.
The outlook was squally; at daybreak, the rebels would attack; what
could the 57th do against such odds? I at once sent to General Kearny a
report and a request for supports, threw out a company of skirmishers to
the left along the edge of the hill, formed the regiment behind the rail
barricade, ordered the Irish picket to stand fast where they were and
everybody to fire at will and with good aim at any rebel who should try
to reach the top of the hill. I knew that if the enemy should once gain
the level ground with their artillery, the little 57th would be swept
off as by a cyclone. Until about 8 a. m., the firing was continuous, the
enemy making several attempts that failed. From the Irish picket on the
right to the last skirmisher on the left, our line of fire was at least
a half mile long; the enemy probably thought we had a large force. I was
greatly relieved when about 8 a. m., General ----, U. S. A., appeared in
our rear with two brigades of infantry in close order and two howitzers
mounted on mules. "Who is in command here?" asked the General. I
saluted. "You may withdraw your men." I briefly informed him of the
conditions, asking him if he would not send his men to replace mine and
adding that the rebels would follow up my men closely and occupy every
position abandoned by them. His reply was: "You may withdraw them, sir;
we'll attend to the enemy." I ordered my bugler to sound the quick
recall; my skirmishers and the Irish picket came in on the run, and the
regiment, being quite ready, retired on the double quick. It was not
many minutes before the rebels had gained the high ground, placed their
batteries in positron and forced the conceited general to retreat with
heavy loss.
Rejoining our division, we took part in the movements until dark, when
the order came to retreat. To reach the road to Centreville, we had to
march back to a road that ran almost at right angles to ours and crossed
the creek. On our side of the crossing, two hundred yards away, was a
large residence with a front yard of ample proportions. We had occupied
it two hours earlier. As I rode up at the head of our column, an officer
in Confederate uniform passed in the dusk into the yard through the
front gate. The yard was full of rebel soldiers! They had occupied it
after we had left it. I sent the adjutant to keep the regiment moving to
the crossing, to enjoin silence and quicken step. The next ten minutes
were anxious ones with me. The rebels might, at any moment, open fire on
us from the flank. But they were probably as afraid of us as I was of
them. They couldn't see how many we were. When our last man had crossed
the creek, I followed. Within about twenty feet of a yard full of
rebels, I had watched for any movement; but they had not stirred. Not a
word was spoken on either side. We were both glad to get rid of each
other. It was a close rub for the 57th!
We marched in retreat and found the road blocked by General Poe's
brigade. I asked him to let us pass. "No," he answered. "The 57th is
just the buffer I need between my men and the rebels." I made no reply,
but hastening to the regiment, marched it, single file and in silence,
past Poe's brigade by a side path on the left of the road. My orders
from General Kearny were to rejoin him as soon as practicable; and I did
not care to have General Poe use the 57th as I had used the Irish
picket. His brigade was a brave one and well able to defend its own
rear. The good marching legs of the 57th stood us in good stead. Next
morning, as I lay on a stretcher in bivouac at Centreville, below the
road, I was conscious that somebody was looking intently at me. It was
General Poe, on horseback, in the road above, at the head of his
brigade. "How in -- did you get here?" he asked.
At Chantilly, the 57th held the picket line, at midnight, in a heavy
rain, across a large corn field, a few feet only from the picket line of
the enemy. Orders were, that we should withdraw quietly at 2 o'clock a.
m. and follow the other troops in retreat. If the 57th had not been in
good discipline, the movement could not have been successfully made;
there would have been some whispering or noise. As it was, the rebels
did not find out before daybreak that we were gone.
Our march to Washington and thence to the Monocacy was without event
worthy of notice now.
You cannot have forgotten how you forded the Potomac on a sudden march
to Leesburg to surprise the rebels in that town. The water was up to the
necks of all the short men. and all of you had to hold above your heads
your muskets and cartridge boxes. But you got through and succeeded in
capturing and paroling a great many skulkers and shirks who were hiding
in that pleasant Virginia town; how many, I forget, but one of your
officers who was there tells me we paroled more men than were in the
57th. Not much glory in that kind of work, though!
The "Jeb Stuart raid"' around our army was the most striking incident of
our Monocacy campaign. We heard of Jeb before he came. Contrabands and
Union men told us. Ward's brigade was to intercept him. Our brigade was
placed, for that purpose, I suppose, on the brow of the steep hill that
overlooked the road which ran between the hill and the Potomac. The 57th
was next the brow of the hill. The hill was too steep for cavalry to
climb; the road was narrow; the river deep. Jeb Stuart was never in
greater danger than he was in that beautiful morning. When I heard the
distant tramp of his horses, not having received any orders, I galloped
over to General Ward, who was not further off than two hundred yards,
and asked for leave to attack. He said he could not give it without
orders from General Stoneman! I urged the emergency, but he refused to
take the responsibility. And so, I had to stand quietly on that hill-top
and look at the gallant Jeb and his gay horsemen as they went riding by!
The great opportunity of the 57th and of its temporary commander passed
with them; if we had received the leave asked for, the 57th would have
made itself the crack regiment of the army, and its commander would have
sported a star on his shoulder strap eighteen months earlier than he
did. But such are the fortunes of war!
When Colonel Campbell returned to his regiment, I asked General Stoneman
to give me an order to report to my own regiment. He responded by
putting me in command of the 38th New York. Here was a change! But the
New York boys who had run with the machine gave me no reason to complain
of them. In the battle of Fredericksburg, where some of the fighting was
hand to hand, the Sergeant-Major saved me by a timely pistol shot, from
being bayonetted by a rebel soldier.
The only time I ever saw the 57th after I left it was on the battlefield
of Chancellorsville, on the morning General Howard's corps was surprised
and routed by Stonewall Jackson. I had volunteered on General Hooker's
staff, my own regiment being temporarily on detached service, and had
been sent by him to rally the flying troops. The smoky field was covered
by the disordered masses; batteries of artillery were driving on full
gallop in retreat; shot and shell were whistling; fugitives were flying,
and officers trying to make themselves heard in the awful din of cannon
and musketry. Amid the confusion and uproar, I saw but one regiment
moving in order, officers at their posts, companies in line and flag
flying. It was the 57th Pennsylvania! When the men recognized me, they
gave me three cheers, a compliment I have never recalled except with a
full heart and, must I admit it, with grateful tears. The 57th has a
right to be proud of its service, discipline and veteran courage on the
battlefield of Chancellorsville.
And now, I bid you adieu as friends, tried and true. We shall never meet
again; but as long as life lasts, I shall never think of the 57th and
our "auld lang syne" without a heart-thrill of gratitude and pride.
Transcriber's Notes:
Missing or obscured punctuation was corrected.
Typographical errors were silently corrected.