Transcriber’s Note
Italic text displayed as: _italic_
[Illustration: CLEVELAND LIGHT ARTILLERY
Camp Putnam, Marietta, Ohio, May, 1861]
Reminiscences
of the
Cleveland Light Artillery
[Illustration: Drawing of a cannon]
Cleveland
Cleveland Printing Company
1906
Contents.
PAGE
I. The Acorn from which Grew the Oak. 3
II. A Prompt Response to War’s Alarms and the
Artillery Goes to the Front. 20
III. The Campaign in Western Virginia. 37
Independent Companies. 76
Barnett’s big regiment. 77
“Commissary” Harry Bingham. 79
IV. 81
Muster List 94
Senate Bill 101
CHAPTER I.
THE ACORN FROM WHICH GREW THE OAK.
The First Regiment Ohio Volunteer Light Artillery—whose guns
thundered on nearly all the great battlefields of the War for the
Union, 1861-5—owed its existence to a process of evolution. It was
the result of a growth during a period of more than twenty years.
The Cleveland Grays, an independent military company, was formed in
1837. It was composed of active, intelligent, patriotic young men
who displayed from the first a laudable pride in the organization,
and an ambition to bring it up to the highest possible standard of
excellence. Their most praiseworthy efforts were rewarded by a full
measure of success, and the company was soon celebrated far and near
for its fine appearance, excellent drill, and perfection of military
discipline.
In 1839, for the purpose of field instruction, the Grays held an
encampment on a vacant lot at the present corner of Superior and
Erie streets. As compared to its proportions of today, Cleveland was
then scarcely more than an overgrown village, and the territory in
the vicinity of the spot designated above—now covered, and for miles
beyond, with business houses and dwellings—was almost in its primeval
state. By invitation of the Grays, Major Fay’s Light Artillery
Company, of Buffalo, famous in those early days for its skill in the
art of gunnery, was present at the encampment. The fine evolutions of
this command and its proficiency in working and handling artillery
attracted much attention and awakened a lively interest in that arm
of military science.
The Grays caught the artillery fever and at once decided that they
would have a gun squad. No sooner said than done, and nine members of
the company were detailed for that purpose, as follows:
David L. Wood,
Edward S. Flint,
Edward A. Scovill,
Richard Dockstader,
Frank Krieger,
F. H. Utley,
James A. Craw,
James B. Wilbur,
C. J. Merriam.
David L. Wood was appointed Sergeant of the Gun Squad. He had
formerly lived in Buffalo and had served as a gunner in Major Fay’s
company, but had removed to Cleveland and was an active and zealous
member of the Grays. A six-pound iron gun was obtained and mounted on
a carriage which, as well as the caisson, was of home manufacture,
made at the expense of the company. The early drills were held in
a large barn situated on Erie street opposite the cemetery. The
building was owned by the Ohio Stage Company, which, before the
days of railroads, was operating its lines of public conveyance.
These premises were used for five or six years, when more commodious
quarters were provided.
In 1840 there was a great gathering at Fort Meigs—a military station
at the rapids of the Maumee river, near Perrysburg, Ohio, built
by General William Henry Harrison in 1813. A number of military
companies from various parts of the West attended the meeting—among
them the Cleveland Grays with its gun squad. The members of both
organizations distinguished themselves by their accuracy in drill and
their soldierly bearing, for which they bore away a large share of
the honors.
Stimulated by their success to greater exertions the young
artillerists continued their practice with the greatest assiduity,
attaining a perfection that was in the highest degree creditable,
and they fairly deserved the plaudits that were so freely bestowed
upon them whenever they appeared in public. Valuable instruction
and assistance were received from members of Major Fay’s company,
before mentioned. The drill was in the French style of tactics then
in vogue, and generally known as “flying artillery.”
In 1845 the gun squad “seceded” from the Grays, forming a separate
organization known as the Cleveland Light Artillery, with two
12-pound guns, and a large increase in its active membership. David
L. Wood was chosen captain. Among those who at this early day
belonged to the company were James Barnett, W. E. Lawrence, Seymour
Race, W. H. Hayward and W. E. Standart, all of whom remained in
active membership and were prominent during the war as members of the
First Ohio Light Artillery.
The increase in the company, both in size and equipment, made it
necessary to have better quarters. An armory was built on Bank
street, in the rear of what is now the block next north of the
Mercantile National Bank, and the company evacuated the old Erie
street barn. It was at this time fully organized as a mounted battery
of two pieces, with caissons, harness, and everything complete, all
of which equipment was provided at private expense, as were also
the uniforms of the men. Whenever the battery appeared on public
occasions or went out for field practice all expenses including the
use of horses were borne by the company.
On September 10, 1846, a large military encampment was held at
Wooster, Ohio, in which the Cleveland Light Artillery was invited to
participate. The company, fully mounted and equipped, made the march
from Cleveland to and from that place, the distance both ways being
something over one hundred miles. This would not have been considered
much of a march during the war, but it was the first campaign of the
company, and was a great event in those days. During their stay at
Wooster the artillerymen received the highest encomiums for their
excellent appearance and drill.
July 4, 1847, a great river and harbor convention was held at
Chicago. The artillery accepted an urgent invitation to attend, going
by lake on the steamer Sultana, a boat famous at that day, commanded
by Captain Gilman Appleby. While there the company gave several
exhibitions, acquitting itself with such credit as to win unstinted
praise. The effect was to stir up the military spirit in Chicago to
such a degree that a light battery was at once organized there. The
Cleveland company furnished an instructor and otherwise assisted in
equipping the battery.
The Chicago company owed its existence in a great measure to the
Cleveland Artillery. It grew and prospered, and early in the war
became the nucleus of the First Regiment Illinois Light Artillery,
as the Cleveland company did of the Ohio regiment. Indeed, it may
fairly be said that the influence of the Cleveland Artillery was
a wide-spread, and a potential factor, through the removal of its
members from time to time, in awakening an interest before the war
in that arm of the military service. During the war there was no
inconsiderable number of artillery officers who entered the army from
other states, whose first instruction was received years before,
while members of the old Cleveland battery. Its complement of men was
usually from seventy-five to one hundred, and during the twenty years
and more of its existence many of these dropped out of the ranks and
were widely scattered, their places being filled by others. The seed
thus sown produced an abundant crop of artillerymen.
General Barnett tells that in the fall of 1863 he was directing
the march of some artillery through one of the valleys between the
mountain ranges near Chattanooga. The weather was cold and wet and
the roads wretched. He came upon a Missouri battery stuck fast in
the Tennessee mud. Gun carriages and caissons were sunk to the hubs
and obstinately refused to budge an inch, despite the floundering
efforts of the panting horses and the picturesque profanity of the
drivers. Animals and men were wet and bespattered, and about equally
discouraged. The captain, in a despairing condition, sat on his horse
surveying the scene, apparently caring little whether there were any
stars left in the old flag or not. Gen. Barnett doubled teams with
him and at length succeeded in “yanking” him out of the mire. In
conversation with him the general learned that the captain was an
old-time member of the Cleveland artillery, and it was in consequence
of what he learned in that company that he was induced to raise a
battery and go to war in earnest.
In October, 1847, A. S. Sanford was elected captain of the Artillery
and continued in that position for four years. David L. Wood was then
again chosen and continued in command until a short time before the
breaking out of the war.
The Cleveland Light Artillery was so successful and popular that in
1851 it was doubled in strength and its armament was increased to
four guns. At this time there was no organization of the militia
of Ohio, and very little had been done by the state authorities
to foster and encourage the military spirit. Few could then have
believed that ten years later the tocsin of war would be sounded, and
that more than three hundred thousand men from Ohio alone would march
to the tented field—and not for holiday or “feather-bed” soldiering,
either. It is safe to say that Ohio will never again be found in a
state of such unreadiness—but may the good Lord deliver us from any
more war! The survivors of the First Ohio Light Artillery will all
devoutly say Amen to this. Like all the rest who served in the Civil
War, they know when they have had enough.
After much urging and coaxing the state authorities did at length
consent to lend a helping hand. When the Cleveland Artillery was
enlarged to a four-gun battery the state furnished the guns and
harness. The company supplied everything else, including caissons,
uniforms, and equipments of every kind. It still retained its status
as an independent organization. In fact there was no law of Ohio
authorizing artillery companies in any shape, and the small aid
that was grudgingly extended to the Cleveland battery was more of a
gratuity than anything else.
But the company continued to prosper just the same. Its membership
was composed of excellent material, including young men from many
of the best families of the city. All were earnest and ambitious
in their efforts and they soon reached a high state of skill and
efficiency in handling their guns and in all the details of the
tactics in which they were instructed. They had showy uniforms
for public occasions, with plenty of red in them, suggestive of
sanguinary scenes, and presented a really gorgeous appearance when
parading the streets. They won the applause of the multitude, the
smiles of the fair, and admiring yells from the small boys. For
in those ante-bellum days a cannon on wheels was regarded with
unspeakable awe; and a man in military dress awakened the liveliest
emotions in the popular mind.
In February, 1852, the company was first called upon for military
duty. On the 17th of that month a serious riot occurred at a medical
college situated at the corner of Prospect and Ontario streets.
The trouble grew out of the exposure of some human bones from the
dissecting room. A citizen who imagined them to be the remains of
his daughter, whose body he thought had been stolen for dissection,
gathered a formidable mob of excited people and moved upon the
college with the avowed purpose of razing it to the ground and of
hanging the doctors and students to the nearest lamp posts. The
sheriff soon found that he had more on hand than he could manage and
ordered out the Light Artillery to his assistance. The members of
the company responded with alacrity and promptly appeared upon the
ground, unlimbering their pieces they double shotted them in full
view of the rioters, who were warned that if they did not instantly
disperse the guns would be fired. The men stood at their posts, ready
to fire at the word, but the rioters broke and fled from the scene,
in a slate of confused demoralization. For precautionary reasons the
battery remained on duty, “holding the fort,” for forty-eight hours,
by the end of which time the excitement had abated and there was no
repetition of the hostile demonstration.
This incident clearly showed the value of such a body of trained men,
to meet emergencies liable at times to arise in a rapidly growing
city, where sudden excitement, often without reason, leads unthinking
men to acts of lawlessness, which set the civil authorities at
defiance. The company had fairly won its first victory, fortunately a
bloodless one. Its members were highly complimented for their prompt
response to the call and their cool steadiness in the face of the
excited mob. It was an occasion to test the stuff they were made of,
though not to be compared with the scenes of carnage that some of
those men faced without flinching in after years.
The people of Cleveland began to feel a pride in the Light Artillery,
and to give the company substantial support and assistance. Again it
became necessary to have more commodious quarters, and sufficient
funds were contributed by the citizens and the members of the company
to build a new armory. The building was erected in 1852, near the
present junction of Ohio and Hill streets. The use of the ground on
which it stood was given by Mr. John Walworth.
The fame of the company went abroad throughout the land and
invitations were received from far and near to attend large public
gatherings. In 1852 an excursion was made by lake to Sandusky, at
the request of citizens of that place, by whom the artillerists
were handsomely entertained. In September of the same year the
anniversary of the Battle of Lundy’s Lane was celebrated by an
immense assemblage of people with great pomp and ceremony at Niagara
Falls. The Cleveland Light Artillery, accompanied by a large number
of its friends, went by steamer to Buffalo. There the horses were
hitched to guns and caissons and the company marched to the Falls,
attracting much attention along the route. The battery took an
active part in the celebration, dividing the honors with Major Fay’s
“crack” Buffalo company of artillery. In 1853 the Cleveland company
attended by special invitation a large encampment of the New York
state militia at Syracuse, commanded by General Swan. The battery was
warmly received and was a prominent feature of the encampment.
The Ohio street armory was occupied for two or three years when, the
location being for various reasons undesirable, it was decided to
move once more. Quarters were secured near the business center of the
city, in a brick building on Frankfort street, a few rods west of
Bank street, occupied after the war by Montpellier’s Variety Theater.
Here the battery continued to abide until it went to the “front” in
1861.
At this time the company was in better condition than ever before.
In good quarters, with full battery equipment and fine uniforms, and
in an admirable state of discipline, it was everywhere recognized as
a model organization. On February 22nd, 1856, the Light Artillery
and the Cleveland Grays, upon invitation of the Rover Guards of
Cincinnati, attended a great military gathering in that city, to
celebrate the anniversary of Washington’s birthday. There were
present a large number of the best drilled and equipped independent
companies of Ohio and other states. None of them surpassed the
Cleveland contingent in excellence of drill and martial bearing.
During the next three or four years annual encampments were held
for practice in gunnery and field evolutions, and in the various
duties of camp life. Frequent excursions continued to be made, in
response to invitations received from all parts of the country. The
citizens of Cleveland showed their increasing appreciation of the
high standing of the company and the honor it had conferred upon the
city by tendering its members occasional banquets which were largely
attended, and were occasions of much social enjoyment. These unsought
recognitions were most gratifying to the artillerymen and incited
them to the utmost efforts to “go on unto perfection.”
It should be borne in mind,—as a fact in the highest degree
creditable to the company—that during all this time, embracing
a period of twenty years, the large expenses pertaining to the
organization, such as the purchase of uniforms and equipments
of every kind, the building or rental of quarters, the cost of
transportation and the employment of horses, were cheerfully paid by
the members of the company, with some assistance from time to time
by the citizens of Cleveland. The state furnished no part of the
equipment except the guns and harness, and these only for a portion
of the time.
Below is given a complete roster of those whose names were borne
upon the roll of the company at different times during these years.
The names of the nine originally detailed from the Grays to form the
Gun Squad have already been given. The list which follows embraces
all who joined and served in its ranks from that time until the
reorganization of the battery under the militia law of Ohio. The
older residents of Cleveland and vicinity, who were familiar with its
people of thirty and forty years ago, will recognize in this roster
the names of many who are now, or were in the past, distinguished as
honorable and public-spirited citizens, who attained high positions
in business, professional or political life. A large part of the
old members of the Light Artillery are now dead. A considerable
number of these made the supreme sacrifice of life upon the altar
of patriotism, during the War of the Rebellion. Some of those whose
names appear removed to other parts of the country and rose to
prominence in the various walks of life. Some, including two of
three of the detail from the Grays in 1839, yet live in and around
Cleveland, commanding the highest respect and esteem of their
fellow-citizens.
These gray-haired survivors have long had an organized association to
perpetuate the memories of “auld lang syne.” Regularly each year, on
Washington’s birthday, they meet around the social board and recall
reminiscences of the past. They hold in tender remembrance their
comrades who died for their country, and upon the annual recurrence
of Decoration Day they never omit to strew flowers upon the graves
of those who sleep in the beautiful cemeteries of Cleveland. The
association is gradually diminishing in number, as one by one its
members yield to the infirmities of age, but as long as any of them
remain these yearly gatherings will be continued.
The list of members of the old Cleveland Light Artillery is as
follows, including all whose names were on its roll from the
beginning till the reorganization under the state law, in 1860:
Andrews, J. S.
Adams, S. E.
Abbey, H. G.
Ashcraft, S. F.
Adams, M.
Barnett, James
Bond, M. P.
Bond, T. N.
Brown, Ben.
Beardsley, E. S.
Bliss, Stoughton
Bingham, Henry
Bradburn, Charles
Bennett, James
Bennett, John A.
Brown, J. C.
Burwell, H. F.
Berry, William
Bradford, Charles
Beardsley, Clint.
Babcock, C. H.
Bynnar, C. E.
Benjame, John
Bills, George W.
Bocking, R. C.
Blake, I. W.
Berry, Alfred
Baldwin, N. A.
Beck, D. D.
Bull, John
Born, C. P.
Beckel, F.
Broat, J. H.
Burkhardt, J. H.
Cowan, William
Cowan, John.
Calkins, G. W.
Casement, John S.
Craw, James A.
Crawford, Randall
Coon, John
Cowdry, C. W.
Cowdry, J. M.
Craigen, William
Cate, William
Champlain, Wm. A.
Chapman, W. H.
Craig, William
Crawford, Frank
Chapin, E.
Curtis, A. F.
Clayton, D. B.
Crable, John
Cummings, B.
Dockstader, Richard
Dockstader, W. J.
Dunham, C. H.
Dexter, B. F.
Douglass, R. B.
Dunn, J. E.
Dumont, W.
Ensworth, J. W.
Ensworth, Jere
Eddy, F. H.
Eldridge, George D.
Edgarton, W. P.
Flint, Edward S.
Freeman, J. H.
Feickert, C.
Geer, Hezekiah
Green, J. M.
Gerlacher, J.
Gruninger, Fred
Gardner, O. S.
Grimshaw, J. W.
Hayward, W. H.
Harmon, J. C.
Hill, James
Higby, Charles
Harbeck, J. S.
Houghton, D. W.
Haskill, J. R.
Hilliard, William
Haidenburgh, J. H.
Ingersoll, John
Jones, Samuel
Johnson, J. W.
Krauss, G.
Kelley, George
Kittell, William
Krieger, Frank
Lawrence, W. E.
Lyon, W. A.
Langell, S. F.
Lucas, M.
Leonard, Charles
Lewis, E. H.
Lewis, S. J.
Marshall, Alex.
Machette, Thomas H.
Merwin, A.
McDole, N. K.
McOmber, J. H.
Merriam, C. J.
Miller, W. L.
Miller, James
McMurphy, P. F.
Mastick, H. A.
McIlrath, James
Matthews, H.
Marshall, Geo. F.
Newell, N. M.
Noble, H. M.
Nelson, S. N.
Nelson, N.
Pickersgill, William
Palmer, Horace
Perry, J. S.
Paddock, T. S.
Potts, W. H.
Potts, R. C.
Pynchon, J. B.
Patrick, C. L.
Pratt, D. M.
Price, David
Prentiss, W. W.
Pelton, F. S.
Race, Seymour
Rice, Percy W.
Reese, C. S.
Redhead, N. W.
Ruple, D. S.
Robinson, J. T.
Robison, W. S.
Ruff, Peter
Rodder, C. B.
Russell, C. L.
Scovill, O. C.
Scovill, Edward A.
Standart, W. E.
Standart, W. L.
Standart, S. H.
Standart, Geo. W.
Simmonds, W. R.
Sholl, W. H.
Seymour, Belden
Strong, J. T.
Sterling, J. M. Jr.
Sterling, E.
Simmonds, S. J.
Selden, C. A.
Sturges, S. B.
Sanford, E.
Sanford, Nelson
Sanford, J. R.
Sturtevant, S. C.
Stevenson, M.
Smith, Pard B.
Sweeny, Thomas T.
Stevens, W.
Sheldon, W. B.
Silsbee, S.
Story, J.
Smidt, N.
Schent, D.
Shields, J. C.
Taylor, D. C.
Thompson, T. J.
Towner, W.
Umbstaetter, D.
Utley, F. H.
Wood, David L.
Walworth, John
Walworth, William
Whittemore, M. C.
Whittemore, H. L.
Warmington, William
White, N. D.
Winslow, John
Wilbur, J. B.
Wehl, V.
Weidenkopf, N.
Werlig, A.
Wilson, F.
Before entering upon the reorganization of the Artillery, it will be
fitting to pay deserved tribute to the memory of David L. Wood, who
served as its commandant for seventeen years, and to whose zeal and
ability the company was so largely indebted for its honorable and
successful career. He was born in Litchfield county, Connecticut,
August 14, 1817. While yet a lad his parents removed to Buffalo,
where he learned the trade of a printer. Early in 1839 he removed
to Cleveland and at once identified himself with the Grays. His
connection with Fay’s Artillery Company in Buffalo, his detail from
the Grays as sergeant of the Gun Squad, and his subsequent services
in the battery have already been mentioned. Under the law passed in
1859 to organize the militia of Ohio he was appointed by Governor
Chase to the responsible position of Quartermaster General of the
state. So faithfully and efficiently did he discharge the duties of
the position that he was reappointed by Governor Dennison and was at
the head of that most important department of the state executive
when the war broke out in 1861. He displayed great energy and ability
in fitting for active duty the troops that so rapidly responded to
the call. But the true military spirit was strong in him and nothing
could satisfy him but active service in the field. He resigned his
position at Columbus and having been by the President commissioned
a captain in the Eighteenth United States Infantry—“Regulars”—he
went to the front in December. His regiment was afterward assigned
to Thomas’s corps, Army of the Cumberland. In the historic cedar
thicket at Stone River, where the Eighteenth was so fearfully
decimated, he was severely wounded. When partially recovered he asked
to be placed on such duty as he could perform and was put in charge
of a recruiting station at Marietta, Ohio. When John Morgan made
his famous raid into Ohio, Captain Wood took command of a hastily
organized company and joined in the pursuit of the rebel troopers,
bearing an honorable part in the action at Buffington Island. Soon
after this, although still suffering from the effects of his wound,
he applied for permission to rejoin his regiment in the field, but it
was not granted by reason of his disability and he was placed on the
retired list.
He went to Cleveland where he was several times elected a Justice
of the Peace. In 1876 he removed to New York, in the hope that the
climate might prove more favorable to his failing health. He grew
worse, however, and in April 1881, he returned to Cleveland. He was
almost immediately prostrated by severe illness, which terminated
fatally a few days later. On May 2nd he died, sincerely mourned by a
wide circle of friends, and particularly by his old comrades of the
Cleveland Light Artillery, with whom he was so long and intimately
associated.
Many will remember that for two or three years before the war, as
the fast-growing sentiment against slavery became more active and
aggressive in the North, there were mutterings that boded ill for
the peace of the nation. Those whose ears were alert heard sounds
that seemed to presage the fierce conflict that finally burst upon
the country in all its savage fury. These “signs of the times”
had the effect, everywhere, to arouse the state authorities from
their lethargy and measures were taken to encourage and promote the
organization of military companies. In 1859 the Legislature of Ohio
passed a militia law. The friends of the Cleveland Light Artillery
had for years been hammering at the law-givers, urging the importance
of state aid to such organizations. At last the idea found its way
into the minds of the state officials and members of the Legislature,
that an emergency might arise when a few serviceable cannon, and
trained men to use them, would be found “mighty handy.” So in the
new law they authorized the formation of artillery companies, each
to consist of a captain, lieutenant, two sergeants and twenty
privates, with one gun and caisson. The law further provided for the
organization of artillery regiments, each to contain not less than
six of such one-gun companies.
In compliance with the terms of this law the Cleveland Artillery—four
guns—was at once reorganized into four companies, and there were
added one in Brooklyn, Cuyahoga county, and one in Geneva, Ashtabula
county. These were immediately organized into a “regiment”—though
its strength in men and guns was only that of a single battery after
things were placed upon a war footing. The following field and staff
officers were elected and commissioned by the Governor August 1, 1860:
Colonel—James Barnett.
Lieutenant Colonel—Stephen B. Sturges.
Major—Clark S. Gates.
Surgeon—C. E. Ames.
Quartermaster—Amos Townsend.
Quartermaster-Sergeant—Randall Crawford.
The companies of the regiment were commended as follows:
Company A, Cleveland—W. R. Simmonds.
Company B, Cleveland—John Mack.
Company C, Brooklyn—J. S. Andrews.
Company D, Cleveland—P. W. Rice.
Company E, Cleveland—Louis Heckman.
Company F, Geneva—Dennis Kenny.
The organization was officially designated as the “First Regiment
of Light Artillery, Third Brigade, Fourth Division, Ohio Volunteer
Militia.”
The first public appearance of the newly born “regiment” was at the
unveiling of the statue of Commodore Perry, in Cleveland, September
10th, 1860. The occasion was an imposing one, and a number of
military companies from abroad were present and participated in the
parade, notably organizations from Rhode Island, which was Commodore
Perry’s native state. The visiting troops and distinguished guests
accompanying them were hospitably entertained during their stay in
Cleveland by the members and friends of the Artillery and the Grays.
A few months later the pomp and glory of a holiday pageant were
exchanged for the stern realities of “grim visaged war,” and the guns
of the Cleveland Light Artillery were hurling shot and shell into the
ranks of the rebels south of the Ohio River.
Mr. Lincoln was elected President in the fall of 1860. As the
political campaign of that year progressed the result was
foreshadowed by the strong drift of public sentiment at the North.
The “fire-eaters” of the South wrought themselves into a high
state of excitement over their prospective defeat and for a month
before the contest was decided made lurid threats of secession and
revolution in such a contingency. The northern people were slow to
believe that these declarations were anything more than “wind.” Even
when they began to take definite form, after the election, the number
was yet small who believed there would be a conflict of arms.
The success of the Republican party in the election was made the
pretext for the great revolt. Six weeks later South Carolina packed
her knapsack and marched out of the Union. Six other states followed
closely upon her heels, and in a short time four more. Beaten at the
ballot-box they determined to try the cartridge-box, but—as those
most interested in this volume will remember, for they helped to
make it so—this experiment was equally unsatisfactory to them in its
outcome.
By the time the “cotton” states began to secede, and the people of
the South to show great activity in the organization of military
companies, the impression became quite general throughout the North
that the situation was critical and there was serious trouble
ahead—and not very far ahead, either. The great “coming event” of the
century was “casting its shadow before.” Every day but strengthened
and intensified the determination, through the great, loyal North,
that at all hazards the Union should be preserved and the flag
protected from dishonor.
During the winter of 1860, months before the North was aroused by
the mighty reveille that sounded amidst the echoes of Sumter, many
independent companies then existing made a voluntary offer of their
services, provided they should be needed. Among the first to show a
desire to “get there” early and secure front seats was the Cleveland
six-gun “regiment” of artillery. As soon as there began to be a
smell of powder in the air the members of this organization promptly
developed an appetite for war. They sent to the Adjutant General of
Ohio a fervid communication tendering their services and stating that
they might be depended upon to respond instantly to the call of duty.
In two or three days an answer was received. The Adjutant General
commended their patriotism in the highest terms, and in the name of
the state thanked them effusively for their noble offer, but added
that he had no idea they would be called upon, _as it was not at all
probable that any cavalry or artillery would be required_! No doubt
this official’s views soon underwent a most radical change. But his
depressing letter had the effect of the proverbial “wet blanket” upon
the more enthusiastic artillerists, who were beginning to actually
suffer for a scrimmage. They were afraid it wasn’t going to be “much
of a shower,” after all! Nobody will say that during the ensuing
four years there was not enough to go around; everybody who wanted
any of it had abundant opportunity to supply himself. But after the
Cleveland boys heard from the Adjutant General some of them really
mourned over the prospect of “getting left.”