O. M. POE,
Captain and Chief Engineer, Army of the Ohio.
As a means for the spiritual welfare of the “boys,” he conceived and
carried out the idea of organizing a military church. Though there were
various religious organizations among the soldiers, and some doubtless
on similar lines, yet this was an entirely original conception with
him. His church took no denominational name, but was made up of all
who were willing to become members. It was completely officered, and
maintained prayer meetings and church services at stated intervals. Two
special revival meetings were held in which about 250 of the “boys” were
converted.
His spiritual ministrations were not limited to the soldiers. Whenever an
opportunity presented itself he would hold services at nearby churches
and school houses. On one such occasion he incidentally, to use his own
expression, “chased seven Johnnies for three and a half miles.” It was
a merry race; like Jehu the entire party rode furiously. But as the
chaplain had more at stake than his companions in the chase, he managed
to maintain his position well in advance of the seven, and was quite
willing to abandon the chase by the time he reached camp.
Not least among the interesting army “experiences” was the homeward
journey. As previously stated, the regiment served over the time
for which they enlisted. The men were impatient and homesick. Their
destitute condition rendered many of them almost desperate. Almost half
of them were barefooted and all were weakened by hunger and exposure.
The morning on which they were to start home the colonel announced
that they would proceed to Barbersville, Kentucky, and that there they
would find a supply of much-needed clothing and provisions. This was a
two-days’ march, which, in itself, was no pleasing prospect under the
circumstances. The promise of food and clothing, however, nerved them for
the ordeal. It was midnight when Barbersville was reached, and to their
utter consternation the promised supplies were not there.
Things were looking blue. The colonel said to Newgent, “You have the
best horse in the regiment. Take a couple of the boys and get out and
find something to feed these men before morning.” He started, not to
forage, but to beg. At the first house he came to be was met by a woman
to whom he stated his mission. She showed him a blood spot on the floor
where her husband had been killed by the rebels, and said that all she
had was a half-bushel of meal, but she was willing to divide. It was all
he secured, though he continued the search until daylight. Returning
to camp, he threw the bit of meal at the colonel’s feet, and fell down
exhausted, dropping at once into a deep sleep.
What happened during the time he slept, when the real situation dawned
upon the men, he could only surmise. The next he knew, the colonel had
him aroused and was ordering him to ride ahead of the regiment to a
little water-mill about twelve miles distant to see what could be found
there, and to arrange if possible to feed the men when they arrived. He
found a few bushels of grain, most of it in a bad condition. When ground
into meal it made just one pint each for the men. After they had eaten
their morsel, the colonel made them a little speech in which he told them
that the next objective point would be Camp Dick Robinson, and for every
man to look out for himself until they reached the camp. This they were
quite glad to do. And when in a few days they met at the camp, they were
in better spirits, and were pretty well supplied for the rest of the
journey.
The next way station was Camp Nelson. Here they were met by the Provost
Marshal who declared the regiment under arrest for pillaging, and ordered
them to stack arms. While the authorities were arranging the details
for taking care of them, the colonel took advantage of the delay.
“Attention, Battalions,” he shouted, “Shoulder arms—forward march—double
quick!” The order was eagerly obeyed. A “double-quick” march was made
to Nicholasville. This was a railroad town. Here they ordered a train
for Cincinnati. The train steamed out of the station with its load of
animated freight just as the Marshal with his guard galloped in sight.
The authorities at Cincinnati were notified by wire to arrest the
regiment on its arrival there, but this was anticipated. So they got off
the train at Covington, crossing the Ohio River by ferry to Cincinnati.
There they got a train for Indianapolis without being detected. The
train was pressed into service to convey them on to Lafayette, the home
of the regiment. They reached the city on Sunday evening, as the church
bells were ringing for the evening services. Newgent, as his custom was,
went to church. Possibly he felt the need of it after what he had gone
through. He went to the First Methodist Episcopal Church, and at the
urgent request of the pastor, delivered the evening discourse to the
delight of the splendid audience.
It should be said in justice to Rev. Mr. Newgent that he was not a
party to any of the irregularities that almost brought his regiment
into disrepute after it had acquitted itself so well on the field. He
remonstrated with the men and exhorted them to better conduct, but when
the pressure of army discipline was removed, the pent-up energies of
these raw backwoodsmen were turned loose along various channels and
could neither be suppressed nor regulated. The officers of the regiment,
with the exception of Newgent, were summoned before the proper military
tribunal at Indianapolis, to answer for their depredations. They were
acquitted, however, being ably defended by Lieutenant-Colonel G. O. Beam.
Whether or not the verdict was a just one, is of no special concern to us
here. Suffice it to say that our subject, though a young man, so ordered
his life as not only to keep himself unspotted from the world, but at the
same time to win for himself the confidence of even the most hardened
sinners. He was exonerated from all blame in advance, and his name was
not brought before the court.