Fort. Almost before we were aware of it we were at the celebrated
gates, which are built of stone and formed part of the line of defence
projected at the time the Fort was built. There are niches or sentry
boxes in each gate, where undoubtedly the sentries found shelter from
the weather. We tramped up the hill to the Fort and were struck at
once by the peculiar substance with which it is built. On Anastasia
Island across the bay are quarries from which this substance "Coquina"
or shell rock is dug. Double walls were built of stone and broken
stone and Coquina were rammed down between them. This wall being of
such peculiar composition would impact the shot, and would prevent it
from splintering or cracking. We entered over the drawbridge and were
confronted by the arms of Castile and Aragon over the portcullis. Here
was legitimate Spanish prey. Why not capture it? But the eye of the
Ordnance Sergeant is upon us. The pulley and beams which raised and
held the drawbridge across the moat are still in the walls. We are now
in the court or assembly place. On the right are two guard rooms and
a dungeon. In this dungeon Osceola was confined and niches cut in the
wall by him for the purpose of looking out on the court are shown.
The next door contains an old Spanish lock of considerable size. The
iron framework of the door is still intact, but has been filled in
with new wood. The next room is the chapel and a niche for the patron
saint Augustine. Here mass was said and marriages performed. A part
of the timbers supporting the choir loft is still there. In the next
room holes in the wall indicate where crosses, thumb-screws and other
instruments of fiendish torture of the inquisition were placed. Rings
to which chains were attached are still in the walls. A torch was now
lighted and we entered from the last room into one of utter darkness,
save a window for ventilation eighteen feet from the ground. It was
from this room that the two Seminole chiefs, Wildcat and Hadjo escaped
through that very window, the bars of which were scarce twelve inches
apart, and made a leap of thirty feet to the ground on the outside.
The guide called to us to follow, and led us through an aperture six
feet high and two and a half feet wide. This room is five feet by
twenty and fifteen feet high. We take this size from our guide, for
we can see nothing. Then he bade us stoop low and follow closely. We
were beginning to have a creepy feeling about the roots of our hair,
and this increased after emerging from an entrance four and a half by
three feet wide. The air is oppressive and the sepulchral tones of the
guide announces that this room was not known to exist until it had been
in possession of the United States for fourteen years. It is twenty
feet long, thirteen feet wide and seven feet high. With the entrance
closed, death would occur in about fifteen minutes. In the outer room
through which we stumbled, tradition says two skeletons, male and
female, were found hanging in cages nailed to the wall. The incredulous
are shown the nail holes. These dungeons were used probably to a
considerable extent during the inquisition. At each of the four corners
of the fort is a watch tower, named respectively St. Peter, St. Paul,
St. Charles and St. Augustine, into each of which curiosity led us.
[Illustration]
The broad terreplein furnishes one of the finest promenades imaginable,
the ocean being plainly visible over Anastasia Island, while the
freshest of sea breezes neutralize the intense heat of the sun.
One hundred and ninety-one years is the record of labor on this
fortification. For sixty years the Appalachian Indians were compelled
to work upon it and to their efforts are probably due the immense labor
of construction.
We had now "done" the Ancient City pretty thoroughly, so we again took
our carriage, obtained another square meal and boarded the train,
arriving in camp as taps were sounding. The Spaniards were fond of
bombast and high-sounding phrases. Here is a proclamation issued by the
Governor upon landing in St. Augustine:
"I, Panfilo de Narvaez, cause to be known to you how God created the
world and charged St. Peter to be the Sovereign of all men in whatever
country they might be born. God gave him the whole world for his
inheritance. One of his successors made it a gift to the King and Queen
of Spain so that the Indians are their subjects. You will be compelled
to accept Christianity. If you refuse and delay agreeing to what I
have proposed to you, I will march against you. I will subject you to
obedience to the Church and his Majesty. I will obtain possession of
your wives and children. I will reduce you to slavery, and the blood
be upon your own head. Amen."
When Menendez landed, he took possession of the whole Western
Hemisphere in the name of the King of Spain, and this present year has
seen the grand finale of the act begun with great pomp in 1565.
One Sunday afternoon in the Y.M.C.A. tent General O.O. Howard made an
address to the boys which was brimming with patriotism and recited a
pathetic anecdote of a young lieutenant of artillery who at Gettysburg
was wounded and bled to death. I was very proud to grasp the left hand
of the old hero whose eyes had flashed fire in a dozen fierce and
bloody battles of the civil war.
In due course of events the mess-house became a reality. It was 48 by
18, roofed over, the sides being open. It contained two long tables and
seated about one hundred. Here the boys would congregate. The incoming
mail was distributed here, and the assorting of the laundry also.
Brigade drills in battle formation took place now quite frequently.
This formation consists of sending out scouts, flankers, firing line,
supports and reserves. At 7.30 a.m. the companies were formed into
battalions, the battalions into regiments, and the regiments into
brigade while they marched towards the field. Our brigade (the First)
consisted of the First North Carolina, Second New Jersey and Second
Illinois. As we passed out of our camp we met the First North Carolina,
which preceded us, and the Second Illinois followed as we passed their
camp. Route step had been ordered, for it was hot and the order from
General Burt was to make it as little burdensome as possible. It was a
very picturesque march. The men rolled up their sleeves, loosened their
gunslings, and thrust their arms between them and the barrels with the
butts up, barrel pointing down across the thigh. Others carried their
rifles reversed to the above, then again laid them across the top of
both shoulders.
[Illustration]
Imagine the picture those three thousand men made winding in columns
over bridges, through defiles, over fields, and through pine groves.
Here we see the head of the column going up that hill with General
Burt and staff leading. The General is a small man, has a light grey
moustache and keen eyes. He does not get excited,--always has a calm
expression. His staff are around him, all men of superior build but
inferior rank. Every once in a while one of these will receive an order
and instantly scurry away. Now come the men of the First North Carolina
in uniforms of dark navy; but suddenly our view is shut out, for we are
passing through an unused railroad cut and we see only a short distance
ahead of us.
[Illustration]
But see! There goes the first battalion of our own Second across that
high railroad bank, and then they disappear down its side. We look
sharp now, for we are going over a corduroy road over a stream. This
is made of tree trunks with their branches thrown between to fill up
the angles. Then we go up a hill, and spread out before us in the
fine groves, are the North Carolinians in battle array along a wire
fence. The first and third battalions of our regiment move in behind
them and form on their left, being a continuation of the firing line.
Our battalion is the support of our regiment. Looking back, we see
the Illinois boys trudging over the ground we have just left. We are
getting thoroughly interested in the movements. The Second Illinois
marches past, taking up a position to the left of our firing line.
We now have two lines, firing line and supports. Then the positions
are changed. The Illinois boys are sent chasing towards the St. Johns
river, and their cheers can be heard. We advance our columns, and soon
come up with the men from the Windy City. The General has seen enough
and orders a rest. The bugle kindly sounds the retreat and we pass over
again the same ground that made our advance so picturesque.
In the course of the first of these drills we had to get across a small
stream by jumping on a board laid in the middle, and making another
leap for safety. This process delayed our line so that the order was
again given for double time to close up the gap. Double time under the
best of conditions is bad enough, but at 9 a.m. on that morning the
heat was fierce. We ran about one thousand yards and then felt as if a
downy bed at home would just about fill the bill. However, we got over
it all right and it has now become part of our stock of anecdotes.
A rifle range had been established about two miles from camp under the
able supervision of Lieutenant-Colonel Currie, assisted by Capt. Geo.
E. Wells and the men of G Company. The range was used by the regiments
composing the Seventh Army Corps, each one going to the range once in
every twenty-five days. It was in many respects similar to our State
range at Sea Girt; but instead of a background of sea and sky which did
not afford any relief to the eyes upon the long ranges, we had here
dense pine trees and a high hill behind the targets, which brought them
out very distinctly. These targets were in the shape of a man kneeling
and the same size as those used at Sea Girt. They revolved instead of
sliding up and down when struck. Corporal Rusk, Artificer Doerflinger,
and Private Val. Greuter of our company were employed for two weeks in
their construction.
[Illustration]
Thursday, July 26th, we were hustled out early, and each man received
five blank cartridges. We all knew what that meant, and our blood
tingled through our veins in great shape. We marched in company with
one battalion of the Second Illinois to the grounds in the near
vicinity of our range and immediately formed in battle array. We were
opposed by the First North Carolina and two battalions of the Second
Illinois. Scouts and flankers were sent out from our company, the
latter in charge of Sergeant Van Roden. Skirmishers under Sergeant
Dabinett then advanced. The balance of the company were ordered to
deploy and lie down. Soon shots were fired in front, then came shots
from the right, as the scouts met the enemy and were driven in. Heavy
volleys followed, and nearer and nearer they came. The trees and
undergrowth were so thick we could not see very far ahead. Finally a
volley was fired on our right center, then we saw Sergeant Dabinett
and his skirmishers running in, perspiration streaming down their
faces. Immediately the supports returned the fire and we were soon
enveloped in smoke. Lieutenant Brunner's command rang out, and we
deployed, extending the firing line,--all were now in action. Our boys
were remarkably steady in their volley firing. Additional flankers were
thrown out on our left and it was quite amusing to see the enemy's
heads duck when a dozen shots were fired at them from an unexpected
quarter. This finally brought forth a volley from the enemy, who had
been under cover, whereupon we fell back to the main body, while the
enemy advanced; but the recall was sounded and the "battle" was over.
July 31st Private Guy L. Fake was appointed Colonel Hine's orderly.
This was a position highly prized by the men, as the best appearing
private was selected to fill it from the guard detail of over fifty.
[Illustration]
A party of our boys went crabbing in the St. Johns river and brought
back 201 crabs. These were distributed and we had quite a feast.
Company F's men caught 225. The residents told us they were unfit to
eat, but we proved to them that they were.
We found in our travels very few fruits and vegetables where we had
expected to find an abundance. In the market in Jacksonville we could
see plenty of vegetables; but when we intimated to the dealers that
the potatoes, cabbages, onions and carrots looked about like they did
farther north, they laughed and said: "Well, I shouldn't wonder, for
they came from New Jersey and Pennsylvania." A great many of the small
fruits, such as blackberries, raspberries and strawberries, came from
Georgia. Peaches alone were plentiful. Persimmons were occasionally
seen. Tropical fruits, of course, were very abundant. The orange trees
in this section were killed by the great frost of 1895, but were
beginning to bear again. The tree was as common a sight as our pear and
apple trees. Watermelons were so plentiful that the market was glutted
with them, and 5 cents would buy as large a one as could be lifted. The
storekeepers cautioned us not to buy the small ripe ones. They having
been of slower growth, contained more of the impurities of the soil and
were consequently more liable to cause fevers. After August 1st the
sale of melons was prohibited.
The sweet potatoes were considerably darker than those grown farther
north and much sweeter. The colored people made very good pies out of
them, which they peddled in the camp. These pies were quite similar
to our pumpkin pies in appearance. With this scarcity of fruits and
vegetables it was no wonder that we jumped for joy when a box was
received from home which contained, among other things, a can of
preserved blackberries and three solid cucumbers, the seed of which
latter had been planted by the writer when home on furlough the day
before the regiment started south.
PART FIFTH
AUGUST 1898
ITS BRIGHT AND GLOOMY DAYS
[Illustration]
[Illustration]
On Tuesday evening, August 2d, the officers of the regiment gave a lawn
party in camp. A platform was built in front of Colonel Hine's tent,
and trees and shrubbery surrounded it in such a natural way that one
would have thought it had been placed in a grove. The affair was quite
successful and was graced by the presence of General Lee and staff,
with the Generals and Colonels of the different brigades and regiments
encamped here, besides notables from Jacksonville.
Thursday, August 4th, we had another sham battle, and this time we
were the attacking force, composed of our regiment and one battalion
of the First North Carolina. Opposed to us on the defensive were
two battalions of the First North Carolina and the Second Illinois
regiment. About one mile from camp our advance guard came upon the
enemy concealed in a ravine, along which they had deployed, and a
rapid exchange of shots took place. Company after company of our
regiment were deployed on the run to their skirmish lines. As each
company arrived it immediately engaged the enemy. Our company being
last in order of march, we had longer to run, and we were placed far on
the enemy's right. In fact, we succeeded completely in turning their
right flank back, so that their whole line was like a bent bow. Our
company pushed through and over fences and came upon the enemy lying
behind a fence at the rear of a house. Here the fire was the hottest,
and at one time our lines were within fifty feet of each other, but
just able to see through the bushes that lined the yard.
The boys nicknamed this "the back-yard skirmish." Reinforcements
arriving, we gradually extended our lines, so that the foe were having
a hot fire upon three sides at once. Expecting a general advance along
the lines at this time, we held our fire, as only ten blank cartridges
had been given us and we had used up nearly all of them. We lay on
the ground in the hot sun, perspiring from every pore, expecting every
minute to receive the word. Rapid firing was going on on our extreme
left and center and away off to the right the volleys were thundering.
[Illustration]
This was a sore temptation to the boys, who every once in a while
popped away wherever they saw a head emerge from the tall grass, and
it delighted them greatly to see the individual drop as he heard the
report, seemingly ashamed to find that the other fellow had the "drop"
on him. Sudden cheering from the center was the signal for our advance.
This time we only ran about ten yards and then dropped like a flash,
for the enemy was about to pour a volley into us. Just at this moment
the bugle sounded the "cease firing" and then the "assembly." When
the firing ceased we had our opponents nearly surrounded. One man was
hurt slightly with a bayonet. It was a great victory for the Second
New Jersey. Lieutenant Brunner, the only one of Company L's officers
present, had a hard time trying to keep his command under control,
and succeeded extremely well, deserving the highest praise, the
non-commissioned officers and men conforming to his commands promptly
and with energy.
Friday morning at company drill Lieutenant Brunner sent the first
platoon out through the woods and five minutes later the second to
find the first. The second, under Sergeant Van Roden, took a short cut
to intercept the first, which was under Sergeant Charles Dabinett,
and this was what happened: We (the second) took post behind a shed
in a deserted yard. I was stationed with four men along a fence from
which some of the boards were missing. Sergeant Collins, with Private
Craig and two others, went out and as the first platoon appeared these
four set up a great shouting, luring them on past our ambuscade. The
long legged men of the first were so intent upon coming up with the
second, represented by Sergeant Collins and three men, whose heads
only could be seen above the tall grass and bushes, that one section
under Corporal Cohen went fairly and squarely into the trap set for
them. But, unlike the rough riders, they could not get out again, for
my detail, getting in their rear and being reinforced by the rest of
the platoon, they were soon disarmed. The first section with Sergeant
Dabinett coming to their relief were also taken into camp.
Lessons of this sort were likely to be of great benefit to the boys,
especially as parts of our company were usually thrown out as flankers
for the regiment, and taught them to be on their guard continually.
[Illustration]
Towards the middle of August the climate began to tell on the boys.
During June the ground was very dry and the atmosphere was clear and
full of the odor of pines. In July the rains commenced, and hardly did
the torrent cease before the sun set everything steaming. Vapor at
night rose from the ground in greater quantities and it was not long
before the hospitals were taxed to their utmost. In a great many cases
home sickness would lead the way, while in others it was excesses. The
number became so great that details from each company were sent to the
hospital as assistants.
The sickness was also felt among the officers. During Captain Ely's
leave of absence Lieutenant Blake was taken down with malarial fever
and procured leave to go up the St. Johns to weather the malady. In
the midst of this season of sickness (although not the worst by far)
occurred the passing away of Private Jacob Kotzenberg of typhoid, the
first patriot of our command and the second in the regiment, just
upon the eve of dawning peace. He was buried with honors near his
home after befitting services, both at Jacksonville and Rutherford.
This death stirred our people greatly and set them all to thinking.
The peace preliminaries had been signed and our victorious armies and
navy enjoined from making further hostile advances. The return of the
soldiers was eagerly discussed, for it was felt that others in our
southern army might pass away at any time.
One week had hardly passed when two more of our comrades gave up their
lives. Dread typhoid hovered over the camp and only the most hardy
withstood its withering touch. These devoted lives were Private Henry
Newman of Paterson and Corporal Bennett Cohen of Rutherford. The latter
was my tent-mate and warm friend and I knew him best. At no other time
during our service had such a desolate feeling spread over our camp.
It rained frequently, the nights were gloomy and damp, and some of our
most popular boys had gone to the hospital.
Our folks at home were clamoring for our return. Horrible stories were
afloat there of our treatment. The unhealthfulness of the camp was such
and lately such terrific downpours of rain had flooded everything, that
camps on lower ground had become untenantable, so one morning when
we found that our neighbor, the Second Virginia, had packed up and
moved farther west, we felt that something must be done to break the
monotonous gloomy aspect. Our boys were sickening rapidly, and only a
few days before one of our most popular corporals had been taken from
the street a hopeless case. We knew it as we saw him depart and pitied
the poor fellow.
Soon after our arrival at camp orders had been issued prescribing a
method of drying the ground under the tents, which had been provided
with board floors. Strange to say, this order had been overlooked up
to the present time, when it was enforced, and during the day the
tents were shifted and the floors raised. Lime which was obtained at
the Commissary's was liberally sprinkled around. The deaths in our
Company proved that it was not the best thing in the world to sleep
near the ground, from which rose malarial vapors. Sergeants Clift,
Dabinett, Collins and Baxter, and Corporals Rusk and myself slept on
cots and in hammocks and we kept good health, while, on the other hand,
Corporals Cohen and Roe and Privates Kotzenberg and Newman had slept
on the ground. One evening my hammock broke and I lay on the floor the
rest of the night. The next morning I awoke with a decidedly heavy,
listless feeling and made haste to mend my hammock, for I attributed
that feeling to lying so near the earth. The camps all around had their
tent floors two and three feet off the ground, and in nearly all the
regiments which were under trees platforms were built in them on which
the boys slept.
[Illustration: PABLO BEACH, FLA.
"AND SOON NOT FORTY MEN OUT OF 101 ANSWERED THE ROLL."]
One morning, instead of a monotonous drill, the Company marched out
into the country past the camps of regiments which had departed. In the
Fourth Illinois camp the pools of water were knee deep and a bridge had
been built to connect two battalions. This Regiment suffered greatly.
It was under such conditions as these that the welcome order was
received directing our Company to proceed to Pablo Beach on provost
duty. This beach is one of the finest along the Atlantic coast and
extends for eighteen miles north and south. Parties frequently make the
trip to St. Augustine in carriages along its entire length. Bright and
early Friday, August 23d, baggage and knapsacks were loaded on army
wagons and eight o'clock found us moving towards Jacksonville to take
ferry and train to the seashore. The handsome uniform of our regiment
was always a subject of remark whenever we turned out for parade. This
consisted of buff campaign hats, dark blue blouse, light blue trousers,
with white stripes for the officers and non-coms, brown leggings, and
in beautiful contrast was our red blanket in a roll from the left
shoulder to the right hip. Our fancy friends of the Twenty-second and
Twenty-third New York Regiments could not beat that combination.
[Illustration]
Our spirits had been rising higher and higher and on the boat songs and
jests livened things up. A curious incident of this trip is the fact
that we crossed on the old ferryboat "Commodore Barney," built in 1857
for passenger service between New York and Brooklyn. It was transposed
during the civil war, so the story runs, into a mushroom gunboat and
stationed somewhere near Norfolk, Va. It was used also as a transport,
and five years ago it took the trip south. On our left, tied up to
wharves, were the filibusters "Three Friends" and "Dauntless," both of
which did about as much toward bringing on the war as anything else. On
the east side of the river were two wrecks, one a ferryboat, the other
a sloop, both of which have been laying there for years and apparently
in pretty good condition yet, typical of the want of energy to build up
and prosper in spite of obstacles so often seen in the far south.
We were loaded on lumber cars. The smoke from the engine nearly
suffocated us as we shifted in our seats to relieve ourselves from
the rocking and jolting we got from the uneven tracks and springless
cars. We covered the seventeen miles in about forty-five minutes. This
included stops to take on wood for the engine. This stopping for wood
must always be included in the time of traveling on the railroads of
the Black belt, and it never failed to bring forth bright comments
and jests from the boys, who found a great deal of amusement in it.
We arrived safe and sound. It was this trip, however, that completely
broke me down and I reported at the hospital soon after our arrival.