GLAZIER RE-ENTERS THE SERVICE.
Glazier's determination to re-enter the army.--Letter to Colonel
Harhaus.--Testimonial from Colonel Clarence Buel.--Letter from
Hon. Martin I. Townsend to governor of New York.--Letter from
General Davies.--Letter from General Kilpatrick.--Application for
new commission successful.--Home.--The mother fails to recognize
her son.--Supposed to be dead.--Recognized by his sister
Marjorie.--Filial and fraternal love,--Reports himself to his
commanding officer for duty.--Close of the war and of Glazier's
military career.--Seeks a new object in life.--An idea occurs to
him.--Becomes an author, and finds a publisher.
Home, with its rest, its peaceful enjoyments and endearments, was no
abiding place for our young soldier while his bleeding country still
battled for the right, and called upon her sons for self-denying service
in her cause. He had registered a vow to remain in the army until
relieved by death, or the termination of the war. His heart and soul
were in the Union cause, and finding that at the expiration of his term
of service he had been mustered out, he had determined before proceeding
to his home to apply for another commission, and, if possible, resume
his place at the front.
The following letter, which we think stamps his earnest loyalty to the
cause he had espoused, and for which he had already suffered so much,
was addressed to his friend and patron:
Astor House, New York,
_January 10th, 1865_.
Colonel Otto Harhaus,
Late of the Harris Light Cavalry:
Dear Colonel: Having reached our lines, an escaped prisoner, on the
twenty-third of last month, I at once took steps to ascertain my
position in the old regiment, and regret to say, was informed at
the war department that as my term of service had expired during my
imprisonment; and, as I had not remustered previous to capture, I
was now regarded supernumerary. I wish to remain in the service
until the close of the war, and so expressed myself before I fell
into the hands of the enemy. Fourteen months in rebel prisons has
not increased my respect for "Southern chivalry"--in short I have
some old scores to settle.
I write, Colonel, to ascertain if you will be kind enough to advise
me what steps I had better take to secure a new commission in the
Cavalry Corps, and to ask if you will favor me with a letter of
recommendation to Governor Fenton. It was suggested to me at
Washington that I should place my case before him, and, if I
conclude to do so, a note from you will be of great value.
I learn through Captain Downing that I was commissioned a first
lieutenant upon your recommendation soon after my capture. If so, I
avail myself of this opportunity to acknowledge my deep sense of
the favor, and to thank you very cordially for remembering me at a
time when I was entirely dependent upon your impartial decisions
for advancement in your command.
I made my escape from the rebel prison at Columbia, South Carolina,
November twenty-sixth, 1864, was recaptured December fifteenth by a
Confederate outpost near Springfield, Georgia; escaped a second
time the following day and was retaken by a detachment of Texan
cavalry under General Wheeler; was tried as a spy at Springfield;
escaped a third time from Sylvania on the nineteenth of December,
and reached the Federal lines near Savannah, four days later, and
twenty-eight days after my escape from Columbia. I was at General
Kilpatrick's headquarters on the Ogeechee, December twenty-sixth.
The general was in the most exuberant spirits, and entertained me
with stories of the Great March from Atlanta to the sea. He desired
to be remembered to all the officers and men of his old cavalry
division in Virginia.
I expect to be mustered out of service to-day, and if so, shall
start this evening for my home in Northern New York, which I have
not visited since entering the army three years ago.
Soliciting a response at your earliest convenience,
I have the honor to remain, Colonel,
Very respectfully, your obedient servant,
Willard Glazier.
Impatient of delay in the gratification of his ardent and patriotic
desire to rejoin the army, Glazier also addressed an earnest letter to
Hon. M. I. Townsend, of his native State, accompanying it with the
following glowing testimonial from his late superior officer and
companion in arms, Colonel Clarence Buel:
Saratoga Springs, New York,
_February 14th, 1865._
Hon. Martin I. Townsend:
Dear Sir: It is with great pleasure that I introduce to your
acquaintance my friend Lieutenant Willard Glazier. He entered the
service as a private in my company in the "Harris Light Cavalry,"
and was promoted for services in the field to his present rank. I
considered him one of the very best and most promising young
officers whom I knew, and his career has only strengthened my
opinion of his merits. After a period of long and gallant service
in the field he had the misfortune to be taken prisoner in a
desperate cavalry fight, and has but recently returned home after
escaping from a terrible confinement of more than a year in the
prison pens at Richmond, Danville, Macon, Savannah, Charleston, and
Columbia. I wish you would take time to hear the modest recital
which he makes of his experience in Southern prisons, and of his
escape; and I feel sure you will agree with me, that he is worthy
of any interest you may take in him.
He is desirous of re-entering the service as soon as he can procure
a commission in any way equal to his deserts; and I told him that I
knew of no one who could give him more valuable aid than yourself
in his patriotic purpose. I do most cordially commend him to your
consideration, and shall esteem anything you may do for him as a
great personal favor. With very sincere regards,
I am, your obedient friend and servant,
Clarence Buel.
Hon. Martin I. Townsend, on receipt of Colonel Buel's flattering
introduction, at once interested himself in Glazier's behalf; and after
fully investigating his military record handed him the following to the
Governor of New York State:
Troy, New York,
_February 15th, 1865._
His Excellency R. E. Fenton, Governor of New York:
Dear Sir: Willard Glazier, late of the "Harris Light Cavalry," who
served with honor as a lieutenant in that regiment, is a most
excellent young patriot, and has many well-wishers in our city. He
desires to enter the service again. I take the liberty to solicit
for him a commission. No appointment would be more popular here,
and I undertake to say, without hesitation, that I know of no more
deserving young officer. His heart was always warm in the service,
and he now has fifteen months of most barbarous cruelty, practised
on him while a prisoner, to avenge.
Very respectfully yours,
Martin I. Townsend.
His former commanders, Generals H. E. Davies and Judson Kilpatrick, also
bore their willing testimony to the qualifications and merits of our
young subaltern in the following handsome manner:
Headquarters, First Brigade, Cavalry Division,
Near Culpepper, Va.,
_February 16th, 1865._
To His Excellency Hon. R. E. Fenton:
Lieutenant Willard Glazier, formerly of the Second New York
Cavalry, served in the regiment under my immediate command, for
more than two years, until his capture by the enemy.
He joined the regiment as an enlisted man, and served in that
capacity with courage and ability, and for good conduct was
recommended for and received a commission as second lieutenant. As
an officer he did his duty well, and on several occasions behaved
with great gallantry, and with good judgment. Owing to a long
imprisonment, I learn he has been rendered supernumerary in his
regiment, and mustered out of service. I can recommend him highly
as an officer, and as well worthy to receive a commission.
Very respectfully,
H. E. Davies, Jr.,
Brigadier-General U. S. Volunteers.
Headquarters Cavalry Command, M. D. M.,
Near Savannah, Georgia, _December 27th, 1864_.
Lieutenant Willard Glazier, Harris Light Cavalry:
Lieutenant: I take great pleasure in expressing to you my high
appreciation of your many soldierly qualities. I well remember the
fact that you were once a private in the old regiment I had the
honor to command; and that by attention to duty and good conduct
_alone_, you received promotion. You have my best wishes for your
future advancement, and may command my influence at all times.
Very respectfully and truly yours,
Judson Kilpatrick,
Brigadier-General, U. S. Volunteers.
His application was crowned with success, and upon the twenty-fifth of
February, 1865, he received his commission as First Lieutenant in the
Twenty-sixth Regiment, New York Cavalry.
Not until this important matter was satisfactorily arranged would our
young lieutenant turn his face towards home. He had been absent about
three years, and a report had reached his family that he had died in
prison at Columbia.
With his commission in his pocket, he now allowed thoughts of home to
occupy his mind, and proceeded thither without the loss of a moment. On
reaching the homestead which had been the scene of his birth, and of the
adventures of his boyhood, he knocked and entered, and his mother met
him at the threshold. Three years between the ages of sixteen and
nineteen, especially after vicissitudes and sufferings such as he had
endured, effect changes in the features and height and general
appearance, much more pronounced than a similar interval would produce
at a later or an earlier period of life. The mother did not recognize
her son; and seeing this, he did not announce himself, but inquired if
any news had recently been received of her son Willard, who, he said,
was in the same regiment as himself. She answered that her son was
_dead_--she had seen his name in the death-record of the prison of
Columbia, and asked earnestly concerning him. By this time his sister
Marjorie, with three years added to her stature, but still in her teens,
entered the room, and, looking fixedly at the stranger's solemn
countenance, exclaimed, with a thrilling outcry: "Why, that's Will!" The
spell was broken, and mother and son, sister and brother, amid smiles
and sobs, embraced, and the young soldier, "who was dead and is alive,"
was welcomed to the fond hearts of those who had grieved over his loss.
Filial and fraternal love was a trait in Glazier's character which
claims a few words. A dutiful son and an affectionate brother, he had
never neglected an opportunity of assisting and furthering the interests
of his family. Before entering the army he had contributed of his scant
earnings as a teacher towards the education of his three sisters, and
during his service in the war had, from time to time, as he received his
pay, made remittances home for the same unselfish purpose. On being
mustered out of the army, the government had paid him the sum of $500,
and this sum he now generously handed over to his parents to be also
expended in perfecting the education of his sisters.
Lieutenant Glazier now hastened to report himself to the commanding
officer of his regiment, and displayed all his wonted energy and
devotion to the cause of the Union. He served faithfully and honorably
until the mighty hosts of the Federal army melted back into quiet
citizenship, with nothing to distinguish them from other citizens but
their scars and the proud consciousness of having SERVED AND SAVED
THEIR COUNTRY.
* * * * *
This brief history of the military career of a remarkable man would not
be complete without some account of his life subsequent to the
dissolution of the great army of volunteers. Willard Glazier's conduct
as a soldier formed an earnest of his future good citizenship--his
devotion to duty at the front, a foreshadow of his enterprise and
success in the business of life.
Having been honorably mustered out, he lost no time in looking about for
an occupation. Joining the volunteer army when a mere youth, his
opportunities of learning a profession had been very limited, and he
consequently now found himself without any permanent means of support.
His education had been necessarily interrupted by the breaking out of
the war, and his chief anxiety, now that the struggle was over, was to
enter college and complete his studies.
This desire was very intense in our young citizen-soldier, and absorbed
all his thoughts; but where to find the means for its accomplishment he
was at a loss to discover. In ponderings upon this subject from day to
day, an idea suddenly occurred to him, which formed an epoch in his
life, and the development of which has proved it to have been the basis
of a successful and useful career. The _idea_ that has borne fruit was
this: During the period of his service in the war he had kept a diary.
Herein he had recorded his experiences from day to day, adding such
brief comments as the events called for, and time and opportunity
permitted. This diary he always kept upon his person, and while on a
long and hurried march, or in a battle with the enemy, his _vade mecum_
would be, of necessity, occasionally neglected, no sooner did the
opportunity offer than his mind wandered back over the few days'
interval since the previous entry, and each event of interest was duly
chronicled. Again during the period of his confinement in Southern
prisons, sick, and subjected to most inhuman treatment and privation,
and while escaping from his brutal captors, concealed in the swamps
during the day, tired, hungry, and cold, his diary was never forgotten,
albeit, the entries were frequently made under the greatest
difficulties, such as to most men would have proved insurmountable.
This journal was now in his possession. He had stirred the souls of
relatives and friends by reading from it accounts of bloody scenes
through which he had passed; of cruelties practised upon him and his
brother-patriots in Southern bastiles; of his various attempts to
escape, and pursuit by blood-hounds and their barbarous masters. The
story of his war experiences entranced hundreds of eager listeners
around his home, and the idea that now occurred to him, while anxiously
pondering the ways and means of paying his college fees, was, that his
story might possibly, by the aid of his diary, be arranged in the form
of a book, and if he were fortunate enough to find a sale for it, the
profits would probably furnish the very thing he stood so much in need
of.
Prompt in everything, the thought no sooner occurred to the young
candidate for college honors than he proceeded to reduce it to action.
He forthwith commenced arranging the facts and dates from the diary;
constructed sentences in plain Saxon English; the work grew upon him;
he "fought his battles o'er again;" was again captured, imprisoned and
escaped; the work continued to grow, and at the end of six weeks' hard
application, always keeping his _object_ in view, Willard Glazier, the
young cavalryman, found himself an author--_i. e._, in manuscript.
Not a little surprised and gratified to discover that he possessed the
gift of putting his thoughts in a readable form, he now felt hopeful
that the day was not distant when the desire of his soul to enter
college would be realized.