In the early part of June, it became clear that the officials of the
confederacy were so much encouraged by the result of Hooker's campaign,
that they had determined upon sending Lee into Pennsylvania.
A reconnoissance by the Cavalry under Buford and Gregg, south of the
Rappahannock, delayed Lee for a few days.
As soon as it was known that Lee was on the way, the people of
Pennsylvania felt what the consequence _could_ be, and feared what it
_might_ be. The State was divided into two Military Districts. The
Department of the Monongahela, west of the Laurel Ridge Mountains,
was commanded by General Brooks, Headquarters, Pittsburg; and the
Department of the Susquehanna by General Couch, Headquarters,
Chambersburg.
On June 14th, Milroy was forced out of Winchester, leaving behind siege
guns, 8 field pieces, 6000 muskets, ammunition and stores.
June 15th, the President called on Maryland and West Virginia for
10,000 militia, each; Ohio for 30,000, and Pennsylvania for 50,000, for
six months' service.
June 16th, Jenkins' rebel cavalry, 950 strong, occupied Chambersburg,
and withdrew on the 18th.
19th, portion of Rhodes' rebel cavalry entered McConnelsburg and sacked
the town.
21st, Pleasanton drove Stuart beyond Middletown, through Upperville and
Ashby's Gap.
23d, rebel forces again occupied Chambersburg, the Union troops in the
town falling back.
26th, rebel advance reached Carlisle, the militia under General Knipe
retiring.
* * * * *
Lee's forces were well under way down the Valley, when Hooker took down
his tents opposite Fredericksburg.
From the start to the finish it was a race, but not from the foe. There
were no obstacles worth the mention for Lee to encounter, none for
Hooker.
Lee went upon that side of the mountain, Hooker upon this. Across the
Potomac went Lee, and across the Potomac came Hooker--at different
points.
The Army of the Potomac had marched before, but never before, nor
after, as it did through the night after crossing into Maryland. Along
the tow-path, dark, wet and slippery; strength all gone, and the
muscles expanding simply to get rid of the contraction.
Such was the character of the march, that at times the nearest comrade
on the walk would not be within ten paces to the front or rear.
What had been lost at the start must now be made up, for Lee was well
on toward every Pennsylvania soldier's home.
On June 27th, at Frederick, Maryland, the order was promulgated
assigning Major-General Meade to the command of the Army of the
Potomac, and Hooker thereby relieved.
On the night of June 30th, at Taneytown, came the order detailing the
Regiment to guard the Supply Train.
The next morning, Colonel Opp, knowing that his men were averse to
such duty, made special request of the Brigade Commander to revoke the
order, but without success.
July 1st, started with the train, which was then moving with the
Column from Taneytown on the road to Emmettsburg, and while on the way
word came that the Cavalry and the 1st Corps had encountered Lee at
Gettysburg, and that Reynolds had been killed.
Immediately following this announcement came the order for the Supply
Trains to report at Westminster.
The Supply Trains were an important factor in army organization. They
did good service in the camp, along the march, and on the field.
Without them even Gettysburg would not have been a Field of Monuments.
At least twenty regiments of the Army of the Potomac did guard duty
with the trains on the 1st, 2d, and 3d of July, 1863. That duty was
quite as necessary of performance, fully as important, carrying with it
as much of possible danger, as was actually encountered by regiments
engaged on the field, and as much of actual danger as did not fall to
the lot of several of the regiments who were no more on the field than
were the troops with the trains, and which regiments wrote Gettysburg
on their battle flags without a question as to its being rightly there.
When the State of Pennsylvania placed upon her Statute Books the Act
that gave to every Pennsylvania Command having a part in the Battle
of Gettysburg a Memorial Stone, I had no doubt as to the 84th coming
within the terms of the Act, and no doubt as to the duty of its
Soldiers to see that its Monument was placed.
The Regiment had been, from the time of its entry into the service, a
part of the Army of the Potomac, even before all the troops in Virginia
were so designated, and continued to be till the end of the War.
Failure of recognition under this Law of the Commonwealth, as a part
of the Army of the Potomac, would have left the Regiment unrecorded to
the world as of any army up to and including the time of Gettysburg.
But comment of our own is unnecessary. The statement of General Carr,
the Brigade Commander, covers all points, and coming from an individual
thoroughly competent to pass judgment, and yet free from the slightest
degree of interest that might possibly induce bias, ought to, and does,
answer all question and resolve all doubt.
(The following letter was written by General Carr in response to a
communication asking simply for a statement by him of the duty on which
the Regiment was ordered in connection with the Battle of Gettysburg.
The tribute thus tendered to the Regiment not only evidences the high
regard had by General Carr for the officers and men of the 84th, but
is indicative of the feeling entertained and expressed by Shields,
Carroll, Ricketts, Whipple, Pierce, Mott, and other General Officers,
in whose immediate command the Regiment was placed between October,
'61, and July, '65.)
OFFICE OF AMERICAN CHAIN CABLE WORKS,
_Troy, N. Y., October 28, 1887_.
GENERAL JOHN P. TAYLOR, President,
Board of Commissioners Gettysburg Monuments,
Philadelphia, Pa.
Sir:--I have the honor to present the following statement, in
reference to the part taken by the 84th Regiment Pennsylvania
Volunteers in the Gettysburg Campaign.
The 84th Regiment was in the 1st Brigade, 2d Division, 3d Corps, Army
of the Potomac, during the movements of that Army from Fredericksburg,
Va., to Emmettsburg, Md. On the morning of the 1st July, the Regiment
was detailed by an order from my headquarters to guard the supply
train that was then located between Emmettsburg and Gettysburg. The
Regiment remained on duty with the train until relieved by another
Regiment on the 6th July, when it reported to me for duty while at
Williamsport.
The duty performed by the 84th Regiment during the three days'
fighting was as essential and important as that of any other Regiment
of my command; it was a duty they were ordered to perform over which
they had no control, but as good soldiers obeyed the command. When
Colonel Opp received the order he sent his Adjutant, Lieutenant
Mather, to me with a request to have the order rescinded, which of
course was not granted.
The 84th Regiment was one of my best and most reliable commands. The
officers and men were always ready and willing to do their duty.
To deprive this Regiment of the recognition it is entitled to, upon
that memorable battle field, would in my opinion be a very great
injustice.
I would respectfully suggest that the monument be erected at a
point near where my headquarters were previous to the second day's
engagement. It was near the Emmettsburg road, directly in front of the
Roger's house, as you will see upon the map of the field.
The inscription should state the whereabouts of the Regiment on the
1st, 2d and 3d of July, 1863, and the actual duty it was performing.
I am, Very Respectfully,
JOSEPH B. CARR.
This statement is a Monument in itself. No Regiment ever received, or
could have had, more emphatic endorsement of its service.
The State Commission on Gettysburg Monuments had no doubt of the full
right of the 84th to participate with all other Pennsylvania regiments
that took part in the Battle of Gettysburg, and promptly said so.
On the night of the 4th, the Regiment was ordered from Westminster to
rejoin the Brigade, and reported to General Carr on the 6th.
While at Westminster there was constant apprehension of attack by
rebel cavalry, and the picket guards were under strict orders to be
continually on the alert to avoid surprise.
During the night of the 13th and the morning of the 14th, Lee crossed
his army over the Potomac at Williamsport, closely followed by the
Union cavalry, the advance of the Army of the Potomac.
On July 24th, the Regiment took part in clearing the Gap at Wapping
Heights, the rebels contesting every step until forced into the Valley,
when they went on a run, and we returned through the Gap to rejoin the
column.
The return was much like the going, excepting that there was not
the necessity for haste, and with this difference of feeling. The
rebel army had started North elated by Chancellorsville; it returned
depressed by Gettysburg.
The Union Army had not been depressed by Chancellorsville (it never was
by any defeat), but was more than pleased with Gettysburg.
The walk did not stop until the Army of the Potomac was again between
the Rappahannock and the Rapidan.
* * * * *
July, August, and September having passed by, and October being well
under way, Lee, having nothing to gain by remaining quiet, again put
his army in motion, this time bound for the road that led to his
Country's Capital, but not with patriotic intent.
By this time the Army of the Potomac had become well grounded in the
ups and downs which lie between the Rapidan and the Potomac.
Foraging had become a thing of the past in this now agricultural and
animal forsaken portion of our Land. In fact, at the time when anything
was to be found here, it was not permitted to be taken. It was not
until later on that the conclusion was arrived at that Union Armies
were not organized and maintained to guard crops for rebel army use and
the sustenance of a southern confederacy.
Thousands of Union Soldiers might lie in unknown graves, and tens of
thousands might be sent home cripples for life, but not an ear on the
stalk, or a grain in the crib, an animal on the hoof, or his parts in
the smoke-house, must be taken by the Union Soldier, lest treason might
not have abundance.
All that was left of what once had been, were the names of the places
along the route--Rappahannock Station, Catlett, Bristoe, Manassas,
Thoroughfare, Haymarket, Union Mills.