1864 and the following winter, is drawn by Corporal Charles H. Barnes
of Co. I, who was wounded the 8th of May and, two weeks later, while
going from Fredericksburg to Belle Plain Landing, on his way with
others to Washington and Convalescent Camp, was captured, carried
to Richmond and shut up in Libby Prison, where he passed through
the usual experience of being searched, etc. Three weeks later in
company with more than a thousand fellow prisoners, he was started for
Andersonville, Georgia; having ninety of them in an ordinary box car
was pretty close work, since they could neither sit nor lie down, so
had to stand. At Goldsboro they were unloaded and like cattle turned
into a pasture without supper or shelter, but unlike cattle they
could not eat the grass about them; rain was falling hard and, wet to
the skin, they had to stand closely together for the sake of warmth.
Starting again in the morning they reached Andersonville, just a week
after leaving Richmond, the cars running only about three miles an
hour, any greater speed being provocative of accident:--
I was wearing a pair of boots that came to me from home the day I was
taken prisoner and I hated to part with them, but I got so hungry when
on the cars that I traded them with one of the guards for a dozen
biscuits and a pair of old shoes full of holes. I ate the biscuits
pretty quick, and still was as famished as before, and I wished I
had the boots back to trade again. We were told that it was a lovely
place inside of the stockade, but we found it quite the reverse.
There were 39,000 men within the enclosure living in holes and tents
made of pieces of old shirts, blankets and anything they could get
that would hold together. When we marched in, we had to stand a while
before assignment to some place in which to stay, when some of the
men, already initiated, said that we had better be looking for places
to camp in, we having thought that some sort of shelter would be given
us. So we hunted around and found a soft bit of earth which some
fifteen of us occupied; ere long some of the old timers came round to
see if we had anything they might wish. On waking, the next morning,
each man found his pocket cut, but the thieves got nothing, since
every man was dead broke.
There were two stockades, one inside the other, about twenty feet
apart and as many feet high in most places; along the top were
shelters for the guard and about twelve feet from the inner wall was
the dead line. It was made of scantling nailed on the top of posts,
about four feet in height and if a prisoner touched it, which he
was quite likely to do, the guards would shoot him if they could. A
small brook ran through the middle of the yard; sluggish generally,
it became a raging torrent after severe rains. One day some of the
stockade fell over into the water and some of the prisoners swam out
to the floating logs and so raced out to freedom, for they were going
too rapidly to be recaptured. For our first twenty days it rained
nearly all the time and the only cover our party had was a piece of
an old blanket, which as many as possible would put over their heads
while the rest ran around trying to keep warm until the time came to
exchange, an all day and all night series.
After some searching I found four members of my own regiment, they
having a tent made of old shirts and parts of old blankets which
they had pinned together with broken sticks. Three of the boys could
scarcely move on account of the scurvy, but one of them asked me to
come in and stay with them, which I was glad to do, though I had to
lie at their feet until one of them passed on, only a few days later.
Shortly afterwards the other ones died and two of the Thirty-ninth had
what was left which, while it did not keep out the rain, did keep off
the direct sun, a no small comfort in that terribly hot place. We had
two half pieces of blankets, nearly used up and almost covered with
what Robert Burns called "crawlin' ferlies," the fearful pests of our
lives. I undertook one day to wash my shirt, trying first one corner
of it which went to pieces, so I dried the garment carefully and
without further effort at washing wore it almost nine months.
First and last many tunnels were dug, in several of which I bore a
hand; I don't know how many succeeded in getting out but there must
have been several hundred; bloodhounds were put on their track and
those who were brought back were put in the chain-gang. Among so many
men there must be some bad ones, a few very bad; they even resorted
to murder in their efforts to secure what some of the prisoners
possessed. To rid themselves of this terrible set of evil men a
vigilance committee of the well disposed was organized and by sheer
force of numbers, overpowered and sentenced to death six of them. The
rebels, to their credit, furnished material for the gibbet and the
execution took place, much to the relief of those who had to continue
there.
Our drinking water came from holes in the ground four or five feet
deep; while it was pretty clear, there were many dead maggots in the
bottom, though we did not mind them, thinking the water so much better
than that in the brook. One day in August a stream of water broke out
just inside of the inner stockade; it ran all of the time, but the
dead line was between us and the water; we procured boards and made a
trough and then got permission to put it up, so that we had fine water
all the rest of the time we were there. To this day it is known as
the Providence Spring. Aside from scurvy, severe enough to loosen my
teeth, I was not sick a day while in the prison. Our rations for the
most part were a pint of boiled rice without any salt for twenty-four
hours and oftener it would be forty-eight, for every time Captain Wirz
discovered a new tunnel he would punish all of us by skipping our
rations. Occasionally we would get some small black beans, such as the
planters raised for their hogs; these we would try to cook with green
pitch-pine with results that can be imagined. I have blown myself
black in the face many a time trying to cook them and then had to eat
them raw.
There was a sick call every day and when a man answered the same, all
he got for his pains was a dose of sumach berries. No matter what the
complaint might be the remedy was always the same, for it was all they
had to give. Sometimes a man could be seen buried up to his chin; he
had the rheumatism and if he could endure the antidote two or three
days, he would come out cured. One boy, to get some extra food, told
the captain one day where a new tunnel was in progress, and after the
officer had gone out, the men shaved one side of his head and on his
breast and back put big placards, bearing in big black letters the
word "Traitor." He was then marched all over the camp and tormented
almost to death; the enemy finally took him outside, which was just
what he wanted.
After Stoneman's raid, the rebels thinking Andersonville no longer
safe began to distribute us elsewhere and I sampled the bull-pen of
Savannah, Ga.; the stockade of Millen, also in Georgia; and then was
sent back to Savannah where I was paroled and sent down the River,
to go on board a Union steamer; the sight of the Stars and Stripes
brought tears to every eye. On board, our heads were shaved, we
were bathed, clad anew and were judiciously fed; our old clothes
went overboard. After reaching Annapolis I tipped the scales at
seventy-five pounds, less than half my weight when I enlisted. After
a brief stay in Parole Camp, I was paid off and sent home on a thirty
days' furlough, where I was sick all of the time, but I returned to
the camp at the end of the time to be furloughed again, this time for
sixty days. On getting back to camp the second time, and wearying of
it, I put my name down among those to be returned to their regiments
and I reached mine the day after Lee surrendered.
REGIMENTAL VETERAN ASSOCIATION
The beginnings of the Association seem to have been lost in the
interval between 1867 and the present; it is agreed, however, that the
first four meetings were held in Boston hotels and that they were not
very largely attended. The time was too near the date of getting home
and the pleasures of that supreme event far outweighed any rehearsal
of common dangers in war-experiences. Of the 5th gathering, the first
basket picnic of the veterans of the Thirty-ninth and their lady
friends, there is in substance the following account:
Downer's Landing, Hingham, was the place and Thursday, August 17th,
the date; the party, numbering 300, left Litchfield's Wharf at 9.15
a. m. on steamers "Wm. Harrison" and "Emeline," arriving about 11
o'clock; a half mile walk brought all parties to the "Melville Gardens"
which had been hired for the day. Noon saw the tables spread with
the many good things brought by the members. Before repairing to the
hall for dancing, Colonel C. H. Porter, President of the Association,
introduced as speakers, Lieut. Colonel Hutchins, Major Graham, Captain
Brigham, Lieuts. Mulligan and Mills, Sergeants Eames and Gardner. At
3 p. m. came a dress parade with one hundred and fifty men in line,
Colonels Porter and Hutchins dividing the honors of commanding. A
letter was read from General G. K. Warren, regretting his inability to
be present, a disappointment to the veterans, as they had expected to
meet their former commander once more; everyone of the Regiment and,
for that matter, every regiment in the Fifth Corps, holding the officer
in the highest esteem. On the formation of the line and led by Edmunds
Band, the company marched back to the landing, reaching Boston at 5.15
o'clock, all happy and conscious that the presence of the ladies had
added no little to the enjoyment of the day.
The reunions of 1872, '73 and '74 were held in Boston Hotels; in 1875,
Oct. 6th in Woburn was held the most notable of the Association's
gatherings thus far, General Warren being the distinguished guest and
Company K, along with citizens of Woburn, the hosts. There were present
166 men with General Peirson at their head; drum corps and brass bands
furnished music and everyone joined heartily in the reception to the
eminent soldier. At the rooms of the selectmen, the public had a chance
to meet General Warren. At the armory the meeting was called to order
by Captain Hutchins and the chief feature was the presentation to
General Warren of a magnificent Maltese Cross in Gold, the badge of the
Fifth Corps, the cost $100.00 having been met by the veterans. In the
afternoon a banquet was served in Lyceum Hall to more than four hundred
guests, the good people of the town having vied with each other in
making the occasion memorable. At the post prandial exercises, remarks
were made by Captains Hutchins and Tidd; there was an extended address
by J. A. Harvey, Co. C, followed by the introduction of Sergt. Abijah
Thompson, Co. K, as Toastmaster, who read an original poem after which,
and the playing by the band of "Hail to the Chief," General Warren
spoke briefly to the following effect, "I rise to acknowledge the kind
attentions I have received to-day. Those who have spoken have referred
in such kind terms to me, and your marks of approbation have been so
many that I do not feel prepared to speak for the Fifth Army Corps, as
I could wish. I hope you will excuse me. I shall carry from this place
a sense of having been honored more than I deserve. (Cries of no, no.)
The feelings which this day has inspired will always remain, and you
have laid on me a debt of gratitude I never can repay." Col. C. H.
Porter responded for General Peirson, letters were read from General J.
C. Robinson, and Colonels Farnham and Tilden of the Sixteenth Maine;
further responses to toasts were given by Maj. Ambrose Bancroft of the
Thirty-second Regiment, Capt. J. P. Crane of the Twenty-second, Capt.
C. S. Converse of the Fifth, Lieut. John L. Parker of the Eleventh and
others, the exercises terminating in an evening's levee which lasted
till midnight.
The Centennial year, 1876, found the veterans 150 strong in Natick, the
guests of Co. I.; 1877, August 28th, Co. D of Quincy did the hospitable
act with 220 comrades present. In 1878, Co. E of Somerville, on the
6th of Sept, helped celebrate the 16th anniversary of the departure
of the Regiment with 225 veterans in attendance, the event gaining
unwonted interest through the presence of General John C. Robinson who
had been the Division Commander of the Regiment at the Wilderness and
at Spottsylvania, losing there a leg; there was a spirited address by
Mayor Bruce of Somerville, an extended historical paper by Col. C. H.
Porter with speeches of greater or less length by Gov. A. H. Rice,
Gen'l N. P. Banks, Collector Beard, Secretary Pierce, Speaker Long,
General Peirson and others, the celebration continuing with music and
dancing till after midnight. A pleasant feature of the afternoon was
the presentation of an elegant punch bowl and ladle to General Robinson
by Lieut. C. K. Conn to whose words the General responded so happily
that all recognized him as a good talker as well as fighter.
[Illustration:
Newport Sept. 1. 1878
Capt. Chas H Porter
No. 27 State Street
Boston Mass
My dear friend
I am very sorry that the necessity for being in New York City on
the 6th prevents my being with you at Somerville.
The 39th Massachusetts have been exceptionally kind to me, and I
am grateful for it. I have got hard work to do to set right the
record of my army career, and the recollection of this friendly
feeling helps to keep up my nerves for going through with the
undertaking.
I hope you will all have a fine day and a happy one.
Yours truly
G. K. Warren]
August 27th, 1879, found the survivors of the Thirty-ninth in Taunton,
guests of Co. F with Capt. J. J. Cooper president of the day and 125
veterans on hand; Adjutant O. A. Barker welcomed the old soldiers to
the city and after a short business meeting, line was formed for the
Agricultural Fair Grounds where Hiram Maxfield of Silver Springs fame
served one of his imitable clambakes. In 1880, Sept. 15th, Medford was
the entertaining place with Co. C at the front, Jas. A. Harvey being
President. Oct. 5th, '81, the "old boys" came back to Woburn again,
the reception being in the hands of the following named men of Company
K., C. K. Conn., Geo. E. Fowle, Capt. L. R. Tidd, A. L. Richardson,
J. F. Ramsdell, A. P. Barrett, J. Fred Leslie, A. Thompson and A. R.
Linscott. Again Woburn has the honor of entertaining General G. K.
Warren and he is accompanied by General J. C. Robinson, the valiant
Division Commander, along with General Peirson, the ever popular
regimental commander. At the dinner which was served in Lyceum Hall,
remarks were made by those named above, Col. Porter and others. Before
another reunion, General Warren will have passed away.
The regimental line formed again in Natick, Oct. 10, 1882; again Co. I
plays the role of entertainers with fully 150 survivors to honor the
occasion. Dinner was served in Concert Hall; Col. C. H. Porter spoke
at length in praise of General Warren who had died the 8th day of the
preceding August; resolutions of sympathy and respect were passed by
the veterans and a contribution was made to a Fifth Corps fund to honor
the General's memory. Remarks followed by Comrades Barrett, "K"; Beck,
"C"; Locke, "E"; Eames, "C"; Oliver, "E," and others. 1883 brought the
veterans to Quincy again with Co. D. Point Shirley in Winthrop was the
place of meeting, August 26, 1884, with Co. H as entertainers. Roxbury,
the home of Co. B, entertained next, Sept. 23, 1885. Company G came to
the front Sept. 16, 1886, at Nantasket. The ladies of Somerville, in
behalf of Co. E, furnish the dinner for the reunion of 1887, Sept. 6th.
Through the selection of the Executive Committee, Bass Point was the
place of meeting in 1888. Sept. 11, 1889, brought the clans to Medford,
once more, with Co. C.
Sept. 24, 1890, the beginning of another decade, brings the veterans
to Woburn, the home of Co. K, for the third time. As usual, great
preparations were made for the reception, the principal guests, aside
from the veterans themselves, being the widow and daughter of General
Warren, and General Peirson and wife who with the wife of Mayor
Johnson and the wife of the Hon. John Cummings formed the receiving
line in the hall of the Y. M. C. A. The formalities of the occasion
were conducted by Colonel C. H. Porter and Sergeant Abijah Thompson,
"K," and 166 survivors pressed forward, glad of the opportunity of
grasping the hands of their friends. Dinner was served in Lyceum Hall.
The after-dinner exercises were presided over most happily by Sergt.
Thompson who introduced Mayor Johnson, General Peirson, the Hon. John
Cummings, Colonel Porter and others. Company A was the host Sept.
7, 1891, at the old Lynnfield camping-ground, and the occasion was
rendered notable by the following paper, prepared for the day by Lieut.
Elbridge Bradshaw of Co. H:
A VACATION IDYL
Some thirty years ago, leading a sedentary life and gradually sinking
into a semi-bituminated condition, my medical adviser, alarmed at my
symptoms, ordered travel and change of scenery. Having learned that
Virginia contained more travel and scenery to the square mile than
any other spot on the globe, I determined on visiting that State.
Being of a timid nature and fond of Company, I joined myself to
about a thousand other invalids, similarly afflicted, and seeking
the same remedy, forming ourselves into a methodical organization.
For convenience we divided ourselves up into groups of one hundred
men each, using for purposes of distinction the first eleven letters
of the alphabet, omitting the letter J. For menial service, i. e.
to look after our physical wants, each group hired for such purpose,
six servants, viz. a captain, two lieutenants, with a cook, a drummer
and a bugler or fifer, the latter two being hired to wake the
excursionists in the morning. To keep these captains and lieutenants
in order, we placed over them a colonel, a lieut. colonel and a major,
at the same time they being our head servants or butlers. These people
added to themselves an adjutant to run errands, a chaplain, a doctor
and a pill-driver. To insure a faithful discharge of duty, from each
group were chosen a dozen fellows called sergeants and corporals who
were set over the others.
Virginia at this time being in a tumultuous condition, and the U.
S. Government having heard of our organization's plan of travel and
objective points, invited us, through its Chief Magistrate, to walk
over Virginia as peace officers, punching the heads of belligerants
and arguing with the discontented, an invitation which we accepted.
When President Lincoln secured our services he loaded us with
benefits, first massing us at Lynnfield, giving us canvass houses to
protect us from the dew and damp, sweet straw to nestle in, a pretty
blue uniform, a belt to keep us from bursting, an iron toothpick, a
tube of iron with a wooden handle, a little black bureau, in which to
keep our collars, cuffs and bric-a-brac, a black cotton pantry for
provisions and plates, with a round tin vessel for whiskey. Uncle Sam
also gave our servants (the shoulder-strapped ones) toasting forks to
stick pigs with and red sashes with which to gird their persons when
running and chasing the pigs down. Rendered proud and arrogant by
their good clothes and shoulder straps, our servants rose on us and
captured our organization, styling themselves our superior officers,
and our entire body the Thirty-ninth Regiment of Massachusetts
Volunteers. To give the usurpation a flavor of legality, they procured
from Governor Andrew commissions indicating officially their rank
and authority. On the whole they exercised their powers with great
moderation and kindness.
Though to the last, we suffered them to think themselves our
superiors, yet in reality, they still continued to be our servants,
caring for our food, clothing and morals, furnishing us clean, airy
lodgings having adequate fire-escapes, so that in fact we had nothing
on our minds worth mentioning and all we had to do was to travel and
fight; in a word, take our pleasure. They also taught us many pretty
and amusing tricks; how to stand up straight in rows to be shot at;
to abstain from whiskey (with quinine in it); to use the pickaxe and
spade with the least expenditure of muscular energy and, in mud and
night marches, to say our prayers without even stopping. As soon as
we could march without scalping each other's heels, we left Lynnfield
for active service and mighty active it proved on the start, our first
engagement being a footrace against time through Boston. We left
Lynnfield with cooked rations, meaning saltpork and hardtack.
How dear to this heart is the old army hardtack,
As Lynnfield's reunion presents them to view;
When eaten with raw pork or fried into doughnuts,
The rations that beat him, are scat'ring and few.
How oft in our marches, he's braced up our courage,
As with gnawing and growling we've hobbled along;
Oh! well may the hardtack, the old army hardtack
Prove a classical theme for an old veteran's song.
That dear army hardtack was a limber old codger,
In the hands of a Thirty-ninth's amateur cook;
In his grip, the old hardtack took metamorphosis
Not mentioned by Ovid, nor in Parloa's cook-book,
As a pudding or pie in a cob-house as a dumpling,
As a fry or a toast, or a raw on the shell;
That old army hardtack, that blessed old hardtack!
For every recipe turned out equally well.
I have eaten high banquets at Young's and at Parker's,
I have tasted their beef, roast turkey and lamb;
But all of these dishes are flat and insipid,
Beside the old hardtack of dear Uncle Sam;
For the old army hardtack is seasoned with memories
Of battles and sieges when wearing the blue;
Of marchings and flankings and digging of trenches,
And loving communion with old comrades too.
The old army hardtack speaks, too, of dear comrades,
Whose faces are missing to-day in our line;
Their battles all fought, their warfare all ended,
But whose virtues still live in mem'ry's pure shrine,
Then cheer the old hardtack, the square army hardtack,
Who was flinty and wormy at times, I must own,
But when at Mine Run, he took a vacation,
His absence was greeted with many a moan.
Chorus.
The old flinty hardtack, the iron bound hardtack;
The moss-covered hardtack, we all knew him well.
Travelling the next three years through Virginia and its environments,
we were often obstructed by mud and other earthern impediments,
and the scenery was much disfigured and frequently obliterated by
sulphurous clouds of smoke, hence excursioning for health and pleasure
was, on the whole, a failure. Speaking for myself, individually, the
climate didn't agree with me a bit. This I attribute largely to the
horizontal metallic showers with which that region was infested and
against which no ordinary cotton umbrella was an adequate protection.
Indeed the atmosphere was so impregnated with little pellets of lead
and ragged chunks of cast iron, that my system must have absorbed
about fifty-five pounds of old junk and brought it home with me for,
on my return, I weighed 190 lbs. against 135 when I left Lynnfield.