AN ACT OF HEROISM.
Sergt. Robert Cline of our company, who carried the New York State colors
after saving the flag, found that a comrade had been left wounded near the
enemy’s intrenchments and he heroically faced about and amidst the
whistling bullets went up near the rebel works, found his friend and
brought him into the lines across his shoulder. This little incident is
only one of thousands illustrating what one comrade would do for another.
The casualties of our regiment in this affair were: Six killed, 67 wounded
and 74 missing, and some of the other troops’ losses were greater.
It has always seemed very sad to me to think of the many brave men who
gave up their lives with the surrender of Lee in sight. Among the officers
killed on our side was the brave Irishman, Gen. Thomas A. Smyth, who had
long been one of Gen. Hancock’s gallant officers.
Those who were taken prisoners were recaptured two days later at
Appomattox, and a sorry looking lot they were. Every thing of value and
much of their clothing had been taken from them and they had been hustled
about pretty severely. Their rations had been appropriated by their hungry
captors, and they fasted till they got back into their lines.
Comrade Albert V. Rogers, a member of my company, who was a prisoner the
last two days of the struggle, says, that all the Rebs. gave him to eat
was some corn he stole from a mule. Rogers was at this time suffering from
a gunshot wound in his leg.
GRANT’S FIRST LETTER TO LEE.
This letter was sent through the lines of the 2d corps that evening while
we were in contact with the enemy, the troops being but a few hundred
yards apart. There was a truce of one hour and inside of that time Lee’s
reply came back.
During the night the enemy abandoned the works in front of our corps and
at 5 the next morning the bugles of the 2d corps again sounded “Forward,”
and Gen. Humphreys, our commander, was instructed that any negotiations
pending were not to interfere with the operations of his corps.
Early in the forenoon, Gen. Grant’s second letter was brought to Gen.
Humphreys by Gen. Seth Williams, Grant’s adjutant general, and it was sent
through the lines of Gen. Fitzhugh Lee’s cavalry, who were on the rear of
the confederate columns.
We continued the pursuit all day, covering a distance of over 20 miles,
and about dusk, as we had halted for a rest, a rebel officer brought Lee’s
reply to Gen. Humphreys, who sent it by a courier to Gen. Meade, then
several miles in the rear.
The next morning Grant’s third letter to Lee was sent through the skirmish
line of the 2d corps, and all this time Gen. Humphreys, mindful of his
instructions, kept advancing and pushing back the thin line of wearied
confederates, which called out a protest from Gen. Lee, who sent an
officer twice during the forenoon requesting a halt. Gen. Humphreys sent
back word that his orders were such that he could not comply.
Gen. Longstreet’s corps was scarcely 100 yards from our skirmish line and
Gen. Humphreys issued orders for an advance upon them. Artillery was being
placed in position. The commanders of the contending forces were watching
the movements on either side, couriers and staff officers were riding to
and fro, and just about the time the ball was about to open Gen. Meade
appeared at the front and after issuing orders to suspend operations sent
a messenger to Lee granting a truce of an hour, pending the negotiations
for the surrender.
LEE UNDER AN APPLE TREE.
The officers who delivered Grant’s last note found the confederate
chieftain stretched out on a blanket under an apple tree near Appomattox
court house. The famous tree was removed, bit by bit, and for a long time
the writer carried a piece of it as well as a splinter from the floor
where young Ellsworth fell in the Marshall house at Alexandria, Va. It is
understood that a tablet marks the spot where the tree once stood that
shaded the vanquished leader.
The officers mounted their horses and rode to the court house, where,
meeting a Mr. McLean, Gen. Lee told him that they desired the use of a
room in some house, and Mr. McLean invited the party to his home. Later
the party was joined by Gen. Grant and other distinguished generals from
both sides.
The two great leaders exchanged reminiscences of their service under Gen.
Scott in Mexico, after which the formalities of the surrender were gone
through with. When Gen. Lee had signed his name to the terms of surrender
it is said that with tears in his eyes he whispered in Gen. Grant’s ear
“General, my poor men are starving,” and Grant, like the great modest man
and soldier that he was, motioned to his side the general of subsistence
of the army of the Potomac and quietly told him to “issue, immediately
rations to the army of Northern Virginia.”
Gen. Lee rode back to his troops to tell them what he had done and the
next day issued his farewell orders.
The parting of Lee with his soldiers at Appomattox was most pathetic.
Tears were streaming from his eyes as they crowded around him begging for
a last word and to touch his hand. When he could control himself enough to
speak, he said, between sobs, “Men, we have fought through the war
together. I have done the best that I could for you.” It is said there was
not a dry eye among those who witnessed the sad leave-taking.
GRANT’S GENEROSITY TO HIS FOES.
Gen. Grant’s greatness never shone to better advantage than in the
generous terms accorded his conquered foes, and his modesty and
consideration for the feelings of the confederate soldiers was such that
he never paraded himself among them during the preparations for the formal
surrender.
When the surrender was announced the Union soldiers, shouted, hurrahed,
danced and manifested their joy in all sorts of boyish pranks, but it soon
passed off, and as they beheld the ragged, starved, wearied and sad-eyed
veterans who had followed Lee into the last ditch their joy was turned to
pity and sorrow and the blue divided with the gray their rations and they
drank coffee from the same tin cups and water from the same canteens!
When the papers were all signed and paroles given the confederates and the
Union forces formed in line and faced each other. The veterans of Lee
advanced until there was but a few yards of space between the lines.
“Halt! right dress! front!” was the command from their officers.
The Union forces presented arms, the vanquished returned the salute like
men and soldiers, stacked their guns, unbuckled their battle-scarred
equipments, furled their tattered flags and laid them tenderly across
their stacks of muskets, wiped the tears that many of them shed on their
coat sleeves and went their way to take up life anew, but never to bear
arms against our glorious Union.
STACK ARMS.
“Stack Arms!” In faltering accents slow
And sad, it creeps from tongue to tongue,
A broken, murmuring wail of woe,
From manly hearts by anguish wrung,
Like victims of a midnight dream!
We move, we know not how or why!
For life and hope like phantoms seem,
And it would be relief--to die!