(59) At Moorefield the Twelfth was assigned to Gen. Cluseret's brigade
of Milroy's division, and on the 17th Gen. Cluseret started on an
expedition to Strasburg, Va., the Twelfth being part of his command.
We marched 26 miles the first day, camping on Lost River, four miles
from Wordensville. That night was cold and stormy. The wind blew so
that it made the soldiers' blankets flap as they lay under them trying
to get a little sleep, and it was so cold that in some cases they had
to get up in the night to go to the large fires they had made to get
warm. That night it froze so hard that the creek was frozen so as to
bear up a horse, but not quite the artillery. There was some
difficulty in getting it over the creek. It was to this bleak and
inhospitable place that the eccentric genius, "Barney" Wiles of
Company D, alluded when he spoke of "the place where fire froze and
turkeys chewed tobacco."
(60) The second day the command marched through Wordensville to Capon
Springs, 18 miles, encamping there for the night in the Mountain
House, a magnificent building of 410 well finished rooms, situated
right in the midst of rather a dense forest. Owing to the torturous
mountain roads we were close to this building before observing it.
Making a sharp turn in the road, its grand proportions flashed upon us
suddenly, as if by magic. The water in these springs is quite warm,
and much steam was arising from it that cold weather.
(61) We had good quarters that night, having nice mattresses on which
to sleep. But we had to get up very early in the morning to resume our
march to Strasburg. Surgeon Bryon of the Twelfth, in a half-jocular
and half-earnest way, protested against getting up so early, saying
"It's not the ideal thing, and I don't believe in it--this thing of
getting up at midnight to stuff victuals and start out on a Rebel
hunt."
(62) After "stuffing victuals" we pushed out for Strasburg, a distance
of 18 miles, where the Rebel Gen. Jones was, with a small force, which
retired before the advance of Cluseret's brigade, leaving only his
rear-guard to skirmish with the advance, as it entered the town.
(63) Gen. Cluseret was a spirited, dashing Frenchman, who afterward
figured prominently in belligerent affairs in Paris, after its
evacuation by the Prussians, in the late Franco-Prussian War. And it
was a picturesque sight to see him in his corduroy pantaloons, on
nearing the town, dashing ahead of the infantry with a very small
body-guard, while some skirmishing was going on with the cavalry. Some
prisoners were taken here.
(64) On nearing Strasburg we got our first sight of the far-famed
Shenandoah Valley, which had already been the scene, so far in the
war, of some bloody battles, and was destined to be the scene of some
far more bloody. And at the same time we got our first view of the no
less famed Blue Ridge.
(65) We camped at Strasburg that night. This was a small town of quite
ancient appearance, situated on the north bank of the North Branch of
the Shenandoah River, and at the base of the Massanutten Mountain,
lying to the south. The next day the command marched six miles to
Middletown. We remained here until the 24th.
(66) Our movement from Moorefield had been a rapid one, and all
subsistence and camp equipage had been left behind, except what the
men could carry. So we had, in part, while at Middletown, to live off
the country, regular foraging details being sent out for the purpose
of getting subsistence, which were fairly successful. And we had to
extemporize such quarters as best we could, while staying at
Middletown. We built up rail-pens, filling them in and covering them
over with straw for quarters. They answered very well for that
purpose, as the weather was then quite fine for that season of the
year.
(67) On the 24th the command marched to Winchester, Va. For a little
while, until our tents arrived, we occupied the abandoned Rebel winter
quarters at that place, made of cedar brush. It appeared that when the
Johnnys vacated their quarters they were not entirely abandoned--we
found other occupants of them. It was here that we made our first
acquaintance with "grey-backs." We found them companions whose
acquaintance was hard to cut. They seemed to be no respectors of
persons. It was not an uncommon sight to see a Colonel with his shirt
off looking industriously for the little enemy, just the same as
though the said Colonel were a fellow of low degree. As Artemas Ward
would perhaps have said, he, the "grey-back," was a "little cuss," who
seemed to love war against the human species for its own sake, not
caring a continental whether he attacked a Union soldier or a Reb.
(68) When the regiment started on the raid by way of Strasburg, a part
of it was left behind at Moorefield. This detail of about 75 men, and
about the same number of the Tenth West Virginia Infantry, the latter
under command of Capt. Darnell of the latter regiment, and the whole
under command of Capt. J. W. Moffatt of Company G of the Twelfth,
struck tents and started for Winchester with a wagon train of supplies
for Cluseret's command, leaving Moorefield the 28th. At Wordensville,
four miles out, they were attacked by Rebel cavalry. The _Wheeling
Intelligencer_ of June --, 1865, in a sketch of the history of the
Twelfth, said of this affair: "They were attacked by about 300 of
Imboden's cavalry, and, notwithstanding the largely superior force of
the enemy, Capt. Moffatt repulsed them handsomely, driving them
several miles, and conducted the train safely to Gen. Cluseret at
Winchester."
(69) The _Intelligencer's_ statement regarding this affair is not
strictly correct, for the Rebels captured 52 horses from the train. No
blame attaches to Capt. Moffatt, however, as he was a brave and
faithful officer.
(70) After this attack and repulse Capt. Moffatt and his train-guard
had no further trouble. On the route they crossed the south branch of
the Potomac, passed through Romney, crossed Lost River, passed through
Blue Gap, crossed Capon River, and on the fifth day out, January 1st,
1863, arrived at Winchester, the train-guards of the Twelfth rejoining
here their regiment. This was the day on which the President's
Emancipation Proclamation was to take effect, but strange to say the
colored people of Winchester seemed utterly ignorant of the fact that
there was such a thing as any proclamation of freedom.
(71) One was struck with the number of colored people in this town
with white blood in them. They were of all shades of color, from, say
half white to nearly white. An incident in this connection is perhaps
deserving of a place. After we had been in Winchester for some time,
and had begun to get a little acquainted, Surgeon Bryan of the Twelfth
one day got into a conversation with a lady of the city, and,
pertinent to the subject of the conversation, remarked that he could
scarcely distinguish the negroes from the whites.
(72) "How is that," inquired the lady, "are the white people so dark?"
(73) "Oh, no;" he replied, "it is not that the whites are so dark, but
that the blacks are so white."
(74) To go back a little, some skillful maneuvers by Gen. Cluseret,
shortly after his arrival at Winchester from Strasburg, should be
mentioned. One day there seemed to be some signs of an attack by Gen.
Sam Jones. And it appeared as though our General wished to avoid, at
that time, an attack from the enemy; so he moved the bulk of his
brigade, consisting in all of about 2,500 men, over a ridge to the
north, a half mile distant, out of sight; then he brought them in view
again, on the ridge several hundred yards to the right, marched them
along the southern slope of the ridge, and passed over it out of
sight, at the same place as before. Thus making it appear that two
columns had crossed the ridge instead of one.
(75) This maneuver was calculated to deceive the enemy if he viewed it
from a distance, for some of our own men looking on from a distance,
thought we were getting reinforcements. Some of the citizens of the
town remarked afterward, it was said, that they thought that Gen.
Cluseret's strategic handling of his brigade on that occasion was well
done.
(76) Winchester at the time of our occupancy of it was a rather pretty
old town pleasantly situated, and of about 6,000 inhabitants. It was a
place of historic associations, among which may be named the fact that
it was the burial spot of Gen. Daniel E. Morgan of Revolutionary fame,
and it was destined to have still further historic associations.
(77) The citizens were almost universally disloyal; and the women
especially took particular pains, on our coming among them, to show
their hostility toward, and aversion for, the Yankees, by pulling
their veils over their faces on passing the men on the street, and
other like demonstrations. But time and association have their
influence, and after awhile these manifestations of dislike and enmity
almost entirely ceased. In fact, on entering their houses the women
would treat you courteously, and in some instances, it is remembered,
that they used, in a half pleasant, half tantalizing way, to sing for
and at us their Rebel songs, such as "The Bonny Blue Flag," etc., and
then apologetically ask us to not be offended at their doing so.
(78) The women here were notably handsome and fine looking, so much so
as to be the subject of remark among our soldiers to that effect. A
little incident may be here pertinently given. There was an old
colored woman in the town, who used to work for the boys. On one
occasion there was an allusion by some of them, in her presence, to
the fact that there was a general concurrence of opinion among both
officers and men that the white women of Winchester were quite
handsome. The old colored woman did not quite relish this compliment
to the white women, and said that if they were handsome in appearance
they were not pretty in disposition, adding, "Indeed, honey, they
could just cut your hearts out." Perhaps it was not without reason
that this negress entertained this opinion.
(79) There were more than 1,000 Rebel dead buried here, many of whom
had been wounded at the Battle of Antietam, and died of their wounds
at this place.
(80) This post was destined to be our winter quarters for the
remainder of the winter. We spent the time here in guard, picket and
fatigue duty, the latter duty being in part, work on the
fortifications; and in drilling, target practice, and an occasional
scout, filling in the interims growling, playing cards, corresponding,
reading the papers, and occasionally talking on politics and disputing
about the Emancipation Proclamation. Something about this last matter
will be mentioned further along.
(81) The arrival of the mail was always looked forward to with
especial anxiety and interest by the boys. So eager were they to hear
the news from home, some of the men in some of the companies, who
could not write, inducing others to help them in their efforts, so
applied themselves to learning to write that they were enabled to do
their own corresponding before the war was over. The army was in this
particular, as well as in some others, a good school for some of the
boys.
(82) Citizens used to come into camp at this place to sell pies,
cakes, etc., to the soldiers, and the boys would sometimes cheat them
shamefully. In one instance at least, a soldier passed a label taken
from a bottle of Perry Davis's Pain-killer for money. Where a peddler
of pies could not read and the boys paid in scrip they, in making
change, would very likely take more money than they gave. It is not to
be wondered at, in view of the simplicity and lack of intelligence on
the part of many of the whites of the South, that they manifested the
ignorance they did, implied in the question "What are you alls coming
down here to fight we alls for?"
(83) Even the citizens of apparently general intelligence seemed to
have very hazy ideas of the real nature of the war. On one occasion a
lady of Winchester, who did not seem to be of the ignorant class,
asked the question, "How long do you intend to carry on the war
against us?" and when told that the war would be prosecuted until the
people of the South submitted to the authority of the United States,
she seemed to regard the idea with horror and repugnance, and as a
thought not to be entertained for a moment, throwing up her hands and
exclaiming "Oh! Oh!"
(84) Possibly this lady's conception of the war, and that of thousands
of others in the South, was that it was a fight to satisfy a spite or
grudge, and after a sufficient revenge should be taken the war would
stop. They seemed to have very little idea of the deep devotion to the
old flag, on the part of the Union soldiers, and the loyal citizens
generally, that made them willing to stand by it at any sacrifice; and
perhaps no understanding of the demands of the future welfare of the
nation, requiring the maintenance of the Union, and appealing to all
Unionists to fight the war to a successful issue, if it was among
human possibilities.
(85) Our present occupancy of Winchester continued for three months.
During that time little of important interest took place. The cavalry
here had some brushes with the Rebel cavalry. On one or two occasions
some Pennsylvania cavalry (either the Twelfth or Thirteenth) was sent
down the valley from the direction of Strasburg, pell-mell into
Winchester by the Rebel cavalry, some of the former, in one instance
at least, losing their hats in their hasty retreat.
(86) A reference to a diary kept by one of the boys, under date of
February 27th, says that on that day our cavalry had an engagement
with the Rebel cavalry ten miles out on the Strasburg road, in which
our force was rather worsted, losing about 200 men.
(87) During March we received some reinforcements, three regiments and
a twelve-gun battery of Regulars. On March the 17th the voters of the
West Virginia troops marched to the nearest point of that proposed
State, to vote on the question of the adoption of the constitution.
(88) On the 27th we struck tents and marched to Berryville, about ten
miles distant. This was a small town, on the road to Harpers Ferry,
and near the Shenandoah River. Two days later two regiments, the Sixth
Maryland and the Sixty-seventh Pennsylvania Infantry, reinforced us at
this place.
(89) There were guerrillas, whose retreat was just across the
Shenandoah River in the Blue Ridge, that were very bold and annoying
at this place, frequently firing on the outposts. On the night of
April 8th they captured two cavalry pickets and five horses of our
command. On the night of the 21st a detail of 40 men under command of
Lieut. David Powell of Company H, all of the Twelfth, crossed the
river into Loudoun County, Virginia, and captured the desperate and
dangerous Capt. Lapole and seven of his men of these daring
guerrillas, bringing them in safe to camp as prisoners, receiving
therefore the hearty thanks and commendation of the commander of the
post at Berryville.
(90) A comrade tells the story of the capture as follows:
(91) While the Twelfth West Virginia Regiment lay at Berryville, Va.,
during the months of March and April, 1863, the pickets, outposts and
reconnoitering parties were constantly annoyed and harassed by
frequent attacks from guerrilla bands, under command of Capt. Lapole,
a noted desperado belonging to Mosby's command. Quite a number of men
had been killed by this Captain and his party. To capture them was no
trifling undertaking.
(92) Lieut. David Powell of Company H had been made provost marshal of
the command. In this position he had an opportunity to quiz and learn
from all parties who came to his office the whereabouts of Capt.
Lapole and his men. At length a negro man, name forgotten, came and
wished a permit to buy some sugar and coffee of the post Sutler.
(93) On inquiry Lieut. Powell learned that he was from the east side
of the Shenandoah River, where Capt. Lapole and his men always made
their escape after making their attacks. At once the Lieut. suspected
that the negro man had been sent to obtain the articles he desired,
and took him into a back room to question him. The negro stoutly
denied that he had been sent by Lapole or any of his men, but admitted
that he knew Lapole and quite a number of his men, and after close
questioning said that Capt. Lapole and seven of his men were at his
master's home and would remain there for the night.
(94) At this Lieut. Powell told him if he would give such information
as would lead to Capt. Lapole's capture he would give him $50. This
was increased to $80 by Gen. Milroy. The negro at once acceded to the
proposition, and agreed to join in the work of his capture, and
admitted that Capt. Lapole and his men had sent him for the coffee and
sugar. He was allowed to purchase his articles and return to his home,
with the understanding that if Capt. Lapole and his men remained at
his master's he would come to the eastern bank of the river and light
three matches in succession. Then someone would cross the river and
learn all the facts respecting Lapole and his men. At the appointed
time the lights flashed across the river and Lieut. Wycoff of the
First New York Cavalry crossed the river, and learned that Lapole and
his men were there at his masters and would remain all night.
(95) Lieut. Powell accompanied by Lieut. Thos. H. Means of Company H,
came to the river, and while there signals were displayed from an
upper window of a farm house, which display Lieut. Powell with a part
of his command, went to the house to put a stop to. On going to the
house he found quite a number of the fair sex collected, and a
bounteous supper prepared for the boys on the other side of the river.
(96) Lieut. Powell allowed his men to eat at the first table and then
after giving strict orders that no lights should be exhibited from the
house that night, he took from the house a negro guide and made for
the river again. But on his return, Lieut. Means and his men could not
be found, and no one dared to make a noise to call him.
(97) Presently he came across Lieut. Wycoff, who had secured a leaky
old boat and was waiting for Lieut. Powell and his men. As soon as
Lieut. Powell came he, Wycoff, told him what the negro had done and
said. At once Lieut. Powell entered the boat with three other
men--Samuel McDaniel and Harvey Haddox (the latter was afterward
killed in the assault on battery Gregg, in front of Petersburg, Va.)
as rowers of the boat. The other soldier was Elijah McIntosh, all of
Company H, (McIntosh died at Winchester, October, 1864, from an
overdose of morphine given him by a drunken doctor of the regiment.)
Then the oarsmen returned and brought two others over until there were
twenty-eight men in all on the east side of the river. With these
twenty-eight men Lieut. Powell pushed on to where Lapole and his men
were lodging for the night.
(98) McDaniel and Haddox took charge of the boat and started down the
river, which was fearfully high and rabid, and the night was so dark
that no one could see an object ten feet away. Thus three miles had to
be traveled down the river, before coming to the house where the men
sought, were to be found.
(99) Before reaching the house the chickens were crowing for day and
already the dawn of light was beginning to show above the mountain
height. (Blue Mountain.)
(100) The negro guide made a mistake and led to the wrong house, not
more than four hundred yards away. The noise here in bursting open the
door was loud, but fortunately not loud enough to waken the sentinel,
who, not more than twenty minutes before had been permitted by his
Captain to lie down and sleep, for he had announced the dawn of day
and all quiet.
(101) Lieut. Powell had divided his men into two sections--the first,
was to move on to the house, and then open order and quickly move
around the house, so as to enclose it. The other section was to rush
with all their force against the door, and if possible mash it in upon
the men who were sleeping on the floor. The first crash, the door flew
from its hinges and fell within upon the now frightened foe.
(102) Without firing a shot, the whole crew cried for quarter. A light
was struck and just as the light flamed up, one of the men fled up a
stair way. When pursued he was found close in by the side of a fat
chubby girl who had been sleeping alone upstairs. When requested to
come forth, he quickly obeyed and begged for quarter. The girl was
heartily scared. Some of the men were for capturing her, but on closer
view they decided that she was a woman and ought to be left to finish
her morning nap.
(104) All the prisoners, Capt. Lapole and seven men were properly
searched, their arms secured, and a rapid fall back upon the river was
made, where the two men with their boat was in waiting. Lieut. Wycoff
had also secured another boat.
(105) Lieut. Means and his men were on the other side; also, two
pieces of artillery were planted to secure a safe crossing of the
river, against an attack from Mosby and his men, who were only a mile
or so distant.
(106) Lieut. Powell saw all his men and his prisoners safely across,
then he the last of all, came across, having with his brave men,
accompanied one of the most daring feats of the war. The crossing of
the river alone, was one of the most perilous adventures one could
undertake.
(107) After crossing the river, and forming his men, Lieut. Powell
marched with his prisoners to Berryville, where he securely placed
them in the county jail, under a vigilant guard. He and his men
received the complimentary notice of Col. McReynolds, commanding post;
of Gen. R. H. Milroy, commanding at Winchester, Va., and of Gen.
Robert Schenck, who commanded the northern part of Virginia and of
Maryland.
(108) Lapole, the morning after his capture, proposed that if he could
be allowed fifty yards, and then a chance for escape, he would allow
six or eight men to shoot at him. But when told there were that many
men in the command who could kill a deer 100 yards running, he gave up
the matter as a dangerous undertaking.
(109) He was afterward tried by a military court at Fort McHenry at
Baltimore, and was sentenced to be hung, which sentence was executed
on the 8th of May, 1864, one year and one month after his capture.
(110) The negro who informed, was literally shot to pieces afterward,
by Lapole's comrades in their guerrilla warfare.
(111) The men who crossed the river and captured Lapole, did their
duty nobly. Not one of them failing in a single duty assigned them.
(112) It was a mortification to Lieut. Means, that he did not get to
cross the river and to share the danger with others.
(113) The men who participated in the capture of Lapole and his men,
were largely volunteers from the several companies of the regiment.
There was never any need of a detail when it was known that Lieut.
Powell was to command.
(114) A company of the Twelfth, on the night of the twenty-ninth went
out from camp a few miles to a house to capture some "bush-whackers"
supposed to be there; but they failed to get any.
(115) In this connection may be told a little joke on Sergeant James
Porter, who was of the detachment. There was a beautiful girl at the
house, whom the sergeant got to see, and with whose beauty he was it
seemed, much impressed. It appeared that the matter rested upon his
mind; and the next day, though a quiet man, he referred to her beauty
in evident admiration, saying, "Boys that was a mighty pretty girl
that we saw last night, and I have a notion to go back there."
(116) Our stay at Berryville now May ninth, came to a close. The
regiment at this date received orders to proceed to Clarksburg, W.
Va., to protect that place, which was threatened with an attack by a
rebel force under Gen. Jones, who was raiding the country about there
generally.
(117) We started on our march to Clarksburg in the afternoon, to go by
way of Harpers Ferry to take the cars there, to the former place. We
marched through that old town of Charlestown, W. Va., near Harpers
Ferry, which old town is destined to be historic, and a noted place
for long years to come, because of its association with the name of
John Brown, of Osawatomie, whose memory is world-wide. As showing the
extent of the name and fame of John Brown, an incident is here given
in substance, as related some years ago by the late Thomas Hughes,
"Tom Brown of Rugby," then ex-member of parliament.
(118) It was after our late Civil War that he, Thomas Hughes, was one
day walking along in London, not far from London bridge, when he heard
a sound of voices that arrested his attention. He listened and soon
discovered that the sound proceeded from a regiment of British
soldiers crossing the bridge singing, "John Brown's body lies
mouldering in the tomb," etc. In writing about this occurrence he
indulged in this reflection. That when such men as he should be
forgotten, the name of John Brown would still be remembered.
(119) It was perhaps between nine and ten o'clock at night--that night
in May--when we passed through the old town. The lights were out, the
streets deserted, the citizens apparently had retired for the night;
and the town seemed wrapped in slumber. There was nothing to disturb
the quiet of the night, and the solemn stillness of all about, but the
monotonous tramp, tramp of the soldiers as they marched; when suddenly
the quiet was broken; Company A, at the head of the regiment struck up
the song of "John Brown," and other companies taking it up soon all
were singing.
(120) Pretty soon windows were hoisted, shutters were thrown open and
lights flashed out on the streets. It seemed as if the citizens of the
old town were startled! Possibly they thought the spirit of John Brown
had come back from the spirit world to haunt them.
(121) A few years before the soldiers of Virginia was here to see that
John Brown should be hanged, that human servitude in the land might be
made more secure. Then the moral atmosphere of our land was murky with
greed, selfishness and prejudice. Men's understandings were perverted;
they called wrong right, and preached it as a holy thing. It was
almost true, that he had no friend, that dared proclaim the fact, and
that none were so poor as to do him reverence. Then, too, there were
distant rumblings of a coming storm, but the cloud on the horizon was
no larger than a man's hand.
(122) Today the storm of war had burst upon the land with threatening
fury. The whole country was turned into a field of war. There were
other soldiers on duty now. They were fighting to maintain the Union
of their fathers, "shouting the battle cry of freedom," and every step
they took was leading to the doom of slavery.
(123) The thunder and lightning of war was clearing the moral
atmosphere. Men saw things differently now; and while the men of the
old Twelfth, like many others, gave a sort of superficial disapproval
of the conduct of John Brown, deep down in their hearts, in these
perilous times which were anew trying men's souls, they felt an
admiration for the old hero who died bravely, in an insane attempt to
free from bondage a despised race; and hence, they sang with gusto the
John Brown war song, as they marched through that town in the Valley
which will suggest his name for generations to come.
(124) Considering the wonderful contrast between the spectacle of this
regiment's then singing the battle hymn whose refrain is, "But His
Soul Goes Marching On," and that which was to be seen there only a few
years before, the incident was a most extraordinary and impressive
one.
(125) On the eleventh, we arrived to within five miles of Clarksburg,
where the enemy had destroyed a railroad bridge. We got off the cars
here, got our dinner and marched the same day to Clarksburg. The Rebel
Gen. Jones made no attack on the place. During this stay at this
place, Mr. Nathaniel Wells, of Brooke county, brought tickets out from
Hancock county, for the soldiers of the latter to vote.
(126) We remained at this place doing picket duty, and drilling nearly
every day, with nothing particular occurring, until June second, when
we had orders to march, taking a freight train for Grafton on the
Baltimore and Ohio railroad, where we were paid on that day two months
pay. The next morning we took the cars at this place for Martinsburg,
arriving there the following night; and in the morning following, we
started on the march up the Valley Pike for Winchester, more than
"Twenty miles away" arriving on the fifth at that place. We camped on
the southwest of the town. Here at this time we drew shelter tents.
This appeared like getting down to business--looked like stripping for
a fight.