"BATTLES FOR THE UNION."
"Battles for the Union."--Extracts.--Bull Run.--Brandy
Station.--Manassas.--Gettysburg.--Pittsburg Landing.--Surrender
of General Lee.--Opinions of the press.--Philadelphia "North
American."--Pittsburg "Commercial."--Chicago
"Inter-Ocean."--Scranton "Republican."--Wilkes-Barre "Record of
the Times."--Reading "Eagle."--Albany "Evening Journal."
"Battles for the Union,"--published by Dustin Gilman and Company,
Hartford, Connecticut--was the next work that emanated from our soldier
author's prolific pen. The most stubbornly contested battles of the
great Rebellion herein find forcible and picturesque description. "I
have endeavored," Glazier writes in his preface to this interesting
work, "in 'Battles for the Union' to present, in the most concise and
simple form, the great contests in the war for the preservation of the
Republic of the United States;" and as evidence of the manner in which
this task was undertaken, we shall again present to the reader some
passages from the work itself.
As an illustration of descriptive clearness and force, combined with
conciseness and simplicity of narrative, we present the opening of the
chapter on Bull Run:
"The field of Bull Run and the plains of Manassas will never lose their
interest for the imaginative young or the patriotic old; for on this
field and over these plains are scattered the bones of more than forty
thousand brave men of both North and South, who have met in mortal
combat and laid down their lives in defence of their principles.
"On the twenty-first of July, 1861, was fought the battle of Bull Run,
the first of a long series of engagements on these historic plains. The
battles of Bristoe, Groveton, Manassas, Centreville, and Chantilly
succeeded in 1862, and in the summer and autumn of 1863 followed the
cavalry actions at Aldie, Middleburg, Upperville, and New Baltimore.
"No battle-ground on the continent of America can present to the
generations yet to come such a gigantic Roll of Honor. Here also was
displayed the best military talent, the keenest strategy, and the
highest engineering skill of our civil war. Here were assembled the
great representative leaders of slavery and freedom. Here Scott,
McDowell, Pope, and Meade on the Federal side, and Beauregard, Johnson,
and Lee on the Confederate side, have in turn held the reins of battle
and shared both victory and defeat.
"The action which resulted in the fall of Fort Sumter developed
extraordinary talent in the rebel General P. G. T. Beauregard, and
brought him conspicuously before the Confederate government. Called for
by the unanimous voice of the Southern people, he was now ordered to
take command of the main portion of the Confederate army in northern
Virginia. He selected Manassas Junction as his base of operations, and
established his outposts near Fairfax Court-House, seventeen miles from
Washington.
"General Beauregard's forces, on the line of Bull Run, numbered on the
sixteenth of July nearly forty thousand men, and sixty-four pieces of
artillery, together with a considerable body of cavalry. The threatening
attitude of this force, almost within sight of the National capital, led
General Scott to concentrate the Union forces in that quarter with a
view to meeting the Confederates in battle, and, if possible, giving a
death-blow to the rebellion.
"Ludicrous, indeed, in the light of subsequent events, was the general
conviction of the hostile sections, that a single decisive engagement
would terminate the war. Little did the Unionists then know of the
ambitious designs of the pro-slavery leaders, and still less did the
uneducated, misguided masses of the South know of the patriotism,
resources, and invincible determination of the North. On both sides
there was great popular anxiety for a general battle to determine the
question of relative manhood: and especially on the side of the South,
from an impression that one distinct and large combat resulting in its
favor, and showing conspicuously its superior valor, would alarm the
North sufficiently to lead it to abandon the war. The New York
_Tribune_, which was supposed at that time to be a faithful
representative of the sentiment and temper of the North, said, on the
nineteenth of July, 1861: 'We have been most anxious that this struggle
should be submitted at the earliest moment to the ordeal of a fair,
decisive battle. Give the Unionists a fair field, equal weapons and
equal numbers, and we ask no more. Should the rebel forces at all
justify the vaunts of their journalistic trumpeters, we shall candidly
admit the fact. If they can beat double the number of Unionists, they
can end the struggle on their own terms.
"A field for the grand combat was soon found, but its results were
destined to disappoint both the victors and the vanquished. The South
had looked forward to this field for an acknowledgment of its
independence; the North for a downfall of the rebellion."
The chapter on "Brandy Station" affords several illustrations of our
author's glowing descriptive power, thus:
"The words Brandy Station will ever excite a multitude of thrilling
memories in the minds of all cavalrymen who saw service in Virginia, for
this was the grand cavalry battle-ground of the war.
"On these historic plains our Bayard, Stoneman, and Pleasanton have
successively led their gallant troopers against the commands of Stuart,
Lee, and Hampton. The twentieth of August, 1862, the ninth of June,
twelfth of September, and eleventh of October, 1863, are days which
cannot soon be forgotten by the 'Boys in Blue' who crossed sabres with
the Confederates at Brandy Station.
"Converging and diverging roads at this point quite naturally brought
the cavalry of the contending armies together whenever we advanced to,
or retired from, the Rapidan. Being both the advance and rear-guard of
the opposing forces, our horsemen always found themselves face to face
with the foe on this field; in fact, most of our cavalrymen were so
confident of a fight here, that as soon as we discovered that we were
approaching the station we prepared for action by tightening our
saddle-girths and inspecting our arms.
"Upon the withdrawal of the Army of the Potomac from the Peninsula,
General Lee, contemplating the invasion of Maryland and Pennsylvania,
started his army northward with the view, no doubt, of driving Pope
from northern Virginia, and carrying the Confederate standard into the
loyal States. The battle of Cedar Mountain temporarily checked his
forward movement and compelled him to retire to the south bank of the
Rapidan. The reappearance of rebel skirmishers at the various fords of
the river on the morning of August the eighteenth, 1862, was an evidence
to our pickets that the enemy was about to resume hostilities.
"General Pope at once ordered his artillery and infantry to retire
beyond the Rappahannock, while General Bayard, commanding the cavalry,
was charged with covering the rear of the retiring army. We disputed the
advance of the rebels so stubbornly that they found no opportunity to
interfere with the retreat of the main column. The morning of the
twentieth found the 'Harris Light,' Tenth New York, First Pennsylvania,
First Maine, First Rhode Island, and First New Jersey Cavalry,
bivouacked at Brandy Station.
"The engagement opened at six o'clock by an attack of Stuart's cavalry
upon the 'Harris Light' acting as rear-guard of Bayard's brigade.
"This preliminary onset was speedily repulsed by the 'Harris Light,'
which regiment kept the enemy in check until General Bayard had gained
sufficient time to enable him to form his command at a more favorable
point, two miles north of the station, on the direct road to the
Rappahannock. Here the 'Harris Light' led by Colonel Kilpatrick and
Major Davies, again charged the advanced regiments of the Confederate
column, thus opening the series of memorable conflicts at Brandy
Station, and adding fresh laurels to its already famous record. A deep
cut in a hill, through which the Orange and Alexandria Railroad passes,
checked our pursuit, else we should have captured many prisoners. The
First New Jersey and First Pennsylvania coming to our relief enabled us
to reform our broken squadrons, and, as Pope had instructed General
Bayard not to bring on a general engagement, the cavalry now crossed the
Rappahannock and awaited the orders of the general-in-chief."
The following description of "Manassas or Second Bull Run" shows great
mastery of his subject, and the possession of a facile and impartial
pen:
"On the twenty-ninth of August, 1862, the storm of battle again broke
over the plains of Manassas, and surged furiously along the borders of
Bull Run creek and down the Warrenton pike. The figure of General Franz
Sigel stands out in bold relief against the background of battle, the
first actor appearing on the scene in this drama of war and death.
"The time is daybreak, and the rosy light of early dawn, so peaceful and
so pure, flushes the sky in painful contrast to the scenes of strife and
bloodshed below.
"At noon on the day previous, General Pope had ordered Reno, Kearney and
Hooker to follow Jackson, who, through the miscarriage of well-laid
plans, had been allowed to escape in the direction of Centreville.
McDowell's command, then on the way to Manassas, was ordered to march to
Centreville, while Porter was directed to come forward to Manassas
Junction. The orders were promptly executed by the various commands,
excepting that of Fitz-John Porter, who unaccountably on loyal
principles, remained inactive during the ensuing contest. Kearney drove
the enemy out of Centreville, and in their retreat along the Warrenton
Road they encountered the division of King, McDowell's advance, marching
eastward to intercept them.
"A sharp fight took place, terminating to the advantage of neither, and
at night the contestants bivouacked near the battle-field.
"On the night of the twenty-eighth, Pope's forces were so disposed that
twenty-five thousand men under McDowell, Sigel and Reynolds, were ready
to attack Jackson from the south and west, and the corps of Reno,
Heintzelman, and Porter, consisting of an equal number of troops, were
to complete the attack from the east. Lee was pushing forward his forces
to support Jackson at Thoroughfare Gap, and it was necessary for the
Union army to use all possible celerity of movement, in order to make
the attack before the main movement of the Confederate army under Lee
could come up. But this combination failed like many another, and during
the night King's division fell back towards Manassas Junction, at which
place Porter's Corps had recently arrived, and the road to Gainsville
and Thoroughfare Gap was thus left open to Jackson. A new arrangement of
troops became therefore necessary."...
There are several fine passages in the description of the battle of
Gettysburg which show graphic power, and penetration into the motives of
the leaders. The story of this sanguinary struggle for victory is well
told throughout. We extract the following:
"Night came on to close the dreadful day. Thus far the battle had been
mostly to the advantage of the rebels. They held the ground where
Reynolds had fallen, also Seminary Ridge, and the elevation whence the
Eleventh Corps had been driven. They also occupied the ridge on which
Sickles had commenced to fight. Sickles himself was _hors du combat_
with a shattered leg, which had to be amputated, and not far from twenty
thousand of our men had been killed, wounded, and captured. The rebels
had also lost heavily in killed and wounded, but having gained several
important positions, were deluded with the idea that they had gained a
victory.
* * * * *
"During these days of deadly strife and of unprecedented slaughter, our
cavalry was by no means idle. On the morning of the first, Kilpatrick
advanced his victorious squadrons to the vicinity of Abbottstown, where
they struck a force of rebel cavalry, which they scattered, capturing
several prisoners, and then rested. To the ears of the alert cavalry
chieftain came the sound of battle at Gettysburg, accompanied with the
intelligence, from prisoners mostly, that Stuart's main force was bent
on doing mischief on the right of our infantry lines, which were not far
from the night's bivouac.
"He appeared instinctively to know where he was most needed; so, in the
absence of orders, early the next morning he advanced on Hunterstown. At
this point were the extreme wings of the infantry lines, and as
Kilpatrick expected, he encountered the rebel cavalry, commanded by his
old antagonists, Stuart, Lee and Hampton. The early part of the day was
spent mostly in reconnoitring, but all the latter part of the day was
occupied in hard, bold, and bloody work. Charges and counter-charges
were made; the carbine, pistol and sabre were used by turns, and the
artillery thundered long after the infantry around Gettysburg had sunk
to rest, well-nigh exhausted with the bloody carnage of the weary day.
But Stuart, who had hoped to break in upon our flank and rear, and to
pounce upon our trains, was not only foiled in his endeavor by the
gallant Kilpatrick, but also driven back upon his infantry supports and
badly beaten.
"In the night, Kilpatrick, after leaving a sufficient force to prevent
Stuart from doing any special damage on our right, swung around with the
remainder of his division to the left of our line, near Round Top, and
was there prepared for any work which might be assigned him.
"Friday, July third, the sun rose bright and warm upon the blackened
forms of the dead which were strewn over the bloody earth; upon the
wounded, who had not been cared for, and upon long glistening lines of
armed men, ready to renew the conflict. Each antagonist, rousing every
slumbering element of power, seemed to be resolved upon victory or
death.
"The fight commenced early, by an attack of General Slocum's men, who,
determined to regain the rifle-pits they had lost the evening before,
descended like an avalanche upon the foe. The attack met with a prompt
response from General Ewell. But after several hours of desperate
fighting, victory perched upon the Union banners, and with great loss
and slaughter, the rebels were driven out of the breast-works, and fell
back upon their main lines near Benner's Hill.
"This successful move upon the part of our Boys in Blue was followed by
an ominous lull or quiet, which continued about three hours. Meanwhile
the silence was fitfully broken by an occasional spit of fire, while
every preparation was being made for a last, supreme effort, which it
was expected would decide the mighty contest. The scales were being
poised for the last time, and upon the one side or the other was soon to
be recorded a glorious victory or a disastrous defeat. Hearts either
trembled, or waxed strong in the awful presence of this responsibility.
"At length one o'clock arrived, a signal-gun was fired, and then at
least one hundred and twenty-five guns from Hill and Longstreet
concentrated and crossed their fires upon Cemetery Hill, the centre and
key of our position. Just behind this crest, though much exposed, were
General Meade's headquarters. For nearly two hours this hill was plowed
and torn by solid shot and bursting shell, while about one hundred guns
on our side, mainly from this crest and Round Top, made sharp response.
The earth and the air shook for miles around with the terrific
concussion, which came no longer in volleys, but in a continual roar. So
long and fearful a cannonade was never before witnessed on this
continent. As the range was short and the aim accurate, the destruction
was terrible.
* * * * *
"Gradually the fire on our side began to slacken, and General Meade,
learning that our guns were becoming hot, gave orders to cease firing
and to let the guns cool, though the rebel balls were making fearful
havoc among our gunners, while our infantry sought poor shelter behind
every projection, anxiously awaiting the expected charge. At length the
enemy, supposing that our guns were silenced, deemed that the moment for
an irresistible attack had come. Accordingly, as a lion emerges from
his lair, he sallied forth, when strong lines of infantry, nearly three
miles in length, with double lines of skirmishers in front, and heavy
reserves in rear, advanced with desperation to the final effort. They
moved with steady, measured tread over the plain below, and began the
ascent of the hills occupied by our forces, concentrating somewhat upon
General Hancock, though stretching across our entire front.
* * * * *
"General Picket's division was nearly annihilated. One of his officers
recounted that, as they were charging over the grassy plain, he threw
himself down before a murderous discharge of grape and canister, which
mowed the grass and men all around him as though a scythe had been swung
just above his prostrate form.
"During the terrific cannonade and subsequent charges, our ammunition
and other trains had been parked in rear of Round Top, which gave them
splendid shelter. Partly to possess this train, but mainly to secure
this commanding position, General Longstreet sent two strong divisions
of infantry, with heavy artillery, to turn our flank, and drive us from
this ground. Kilpatrick, with his division, which had been strengthened
by Merritt's regulars, was watching this point and waiting for an
opportunity to strike the foe. It came at last. Emerging from the woods
in front of him came a strong battle-line, followed by others.
[Illustration: Battle Of Gettysburg.]
"To the young Farnsworth was committed the task of meeting infantry with
cavalry in an open field. Placing the Fifth New York in support of
Elder's battery, which was exposed to a galling fire, but made reply
with characteristic rapidity, precision and slaughter, Farnsworth
quickly ordered the First Virginia, the First Vermont, and Eighteenth
Pennsylvania in line of battle, and galloped away and charged upon the
flank of the advancing columns. The attack was sharp, brief and
successful, though attended with great slaughter. But the rebels were
driven upon their main lines, and the flank movement was prevented. Thus
the cavalry added another dearly earned laurel to its chaplet of
honor--_dearly earned_, because many of their bravest champions fell
upon that bloody field.
* * * * *
"Thus ended the battle of Gettysburg--the bloody turning-point of the
rebellion--the bloody baptism of the redeemed republic. Nearly twenty
thousand men from the Union ranks had been killed and wounded, and a
larger number of the rebels, making the enormous aggregate of at least
forty thousand, whose blood was shed to fertilize the Tree of Liberty."
The following peroration to the glowing account of the battle of
Pittsburg Landing, we quote as an illustration of the vein of poetry
that pervades his writings:
"Thus another field of renown was added to the list, so rapidly
increased during these years; where valor won deathless laurels, and
principle was reckoned weighter than life.
"Peacefully the Tennessee flows between its banks onward to the ocean,
nor tells aught of the bloody struggle on its shore. Quietly the golden
grain ripens in the sun, and the red furrow of war is supplanted by the
plowshares of peace. To the child born within the shadow of this
battle-field, who listens wonderingly to a recital of the deeds of this
day, the heroes of Shiloh will, mayhap, appear like the dim phantoms of
a dream, shadowy and unreal, but the results they helped to bring about
are the tissue of a people's life; the dust he treads is the sacred soil
from which sprang the flowers of freedom, and the institutions for which
these men died, make his roof safe over his head."
We conclude our extracts from the volume with a part of the chapter on
"The Surrender." The story is told without flourish of trumpets, and in
a manner to give no offense to the vanquished, while its strict and
impartial adherence to truth must recommend it to all readers:
"The last act in the great drama of the war took place without dramatic
accessory. There was no startling tableau, with the chief actors grouped
in effective attitudes, surrounded by their attendants. No spreading
tree lent its romance to the occasion, as some artists have fondly
supposed.
"A plain farm-house between the lines was selected by General Lee for
the surrender, and the ceremony of that act was short and simple. The
noble victor did not complete the humiliation of the brave vanquished by
any triumphal display or blare of trumpets. In his magnanimity he even
omitted the customary usage of allowing the victorious troops to pass
through the enemy's lines and witness their surrender. The two great
commanders met with courteous salutation, General Lee being attended by
only one of his aides. General Grant sat down at a table in the barely
furnished room and wrote in lead-pencil the terms of capitulation, to
which Lee dictated an agreement in writing. His secretary, Colonel
Marshall, and Colonel Badeau, the secretary of General Grant, made
copies of the agreement from the same bottle of ink.
* * * * *
"The final situation of the Confederate army before its surrender was
indeed desperate--its environments hopeless. Hemmed in at Appomattox
Court House, on a strip of land between the Appomattox and James rivers,
the Union army nearly surrounded it on all sides. Sheridan was in front,
Meade in the rear, and Ord south of the Court House. Lee had no
alternative other than the wholesale slaughter of his reduced army, or
its surrender to Federal authority. He wisely chose the latter.
"The decisive battle of Five Forks had put his army to rout, and sent it
in rapid retreat towards the junction of the Southside and Danville
railroads at Burkesville. The Union troops pressed forward in pursuit,
and it became a vital question which would reach the junction first.
Between Petersburg, their point of starting, and their destination, at
Burkesville, the distance was fifty-three miles. The roads were bad, and
the troops tired with two days' fighting; but they pushed on with
determination in this race which was destined to decide the fate of two
armies.
* * * * *
"It was Palm Sunday, April the ninth, 1865, when the capitulation was
signed, in the plain frame dwelling near Appomattox Court House.
"One is often struck with the curious coincidences--the apparent
sympathy between nature and important human events. The dying hours of
Cromwell and Napoleon were marked by violent storms. Omens in earth and
sky were the precursors of the death of Julius Caesar and King Duncan. A
great comet heralded the opening of the war, and Palm Sunday--the day
which commemorates the victorious entry of Christ into Jerusalem,
ushered in the welcome reign of peace. The time was auspicious; the
elements were rocked to sleep in a kind of Sunday repose. The two
armies, so long in deadly hostility, were now facing each other with
guns strangely hushed. An expectant silence pervaded the air. Every
heart was anxiously awaiting the result of the conference in the
historic farm-house.
"When at last the news of the surrender flashed along the lines,
deafening cheers rose and fell for more than half an hour, over the
victorious Union army. Other than this, there was no undue triumphal
display of the victors over the conquered foe.... The shout of joy which
was sent up that day from Appomattox Court House echoed through the
entire North. Cannons boomed forth their iron paeans of victory; the glad
clash of bells was heard ringing 'peace and freedom in,' and bonfires
flamed high their attestation of the unbounded delight everywhere
exhibited. The day of jubilee seemed to have come, and rejoicing was the
order of the hour. The storm of war which had rocked the country for
four long years, was now rolling away, and the sunlight of peace fell
athwart the national horizon. The country for which Washington fought
and Warren fell was once more safe from treason's hands, and liberty was
again the heritage of the people."
The Northern and Western press, as heretofore, again bore its flattering
testimony to our author's diligence, truthfulness and loyalty to his
colors; and to the surprising facility with which a soldier could
sheathe his sword and wield a pen, charming alike the veteran by his
details of valor, and the mother, wife and sister by his stories of
pathos from the battle-field.
The following is from the Philadelphia _North American_:
"'Battles for the Union.'--Thoroughly representative of the courage
and ability shown on either side in the great struggle that lasted
from the close of 1860 to April, 1865. It is not the purpose of the
author to present a standard and critical work like the works of
Jomini, Napier and Allison; nor to include a discussion of
political questions. His aim is rather to furnish a vivid and
correct account of the principal battles in such simple and
intelligible terms that every reader may gain a precise idea of
each. His style is rather graphic and vigorous than ornate. He
introduces effective details and personal episodes. His facts are
gleaned from a variety of sources as well as from personal
knowledge; and though proud of his own cause and of his companions,
he does not belittle their renown by decrying the valor or the
intelligence of his opponents. The conflicts themselves will never
be forgotten. It is desirable that they shall be kept vivid and
clear in the minds of the rising generation, to cultivate a correct
idea of the necessity of personal valor and of military preparation
and capacity, as well as impress a serious idea of the momentous
importance of political issues. Captain Glazier's volume is
excellently fitted to instruct and interest everywhere."
The Pittsburg _Commercial_ says:
"Commencing with the siege and final surrender of Fort Sumter, the
author traces the progress of the Union armies through all the
chief battles of the war, giving vivid and glowing descriptions of
the struggles at Big Bethel, Bull Run, Wilson's Creek, Ball's
Bluff, Mill Spring, Pea Ridge, the fight between the 'Merrimac' and
'Monitor,' Newbern, Falmouth Heights, Pittsburg Landing,
Williamsburg, Seven Pines, Fair Oaks, Malvern Hill, Cedar Mountain,
Brandy Station, Manassas or Second Bull Run, Chantilly, Antietam,
Corinth, Fredericksburg, Stone River, Chancellorsville, Aldie,
Upperville, Gettysburg, Vicksburg, Port Hudson, Falling Waters,
Chickamauga, Bristoe, New Baltimore, Fort Fisher, Olustee, Fort
Pillow, Cold Harbor, Fort Wagner, Cedar Creek, Waynesboro,
Bentonville, Five Forks, and down to the surrender of Lee. Captain
Glazier has evidently had access to the official records of the
war, and his narrative of the great events are therefore accurate.
The book is one the reading of which will make the blood tingle in
the veins of every soldier who took part in the late war, while it
will deeply interest every lover of his country. As a book for
boys, it has few, if any, superiors."
The Chicago _Inter-Ocean_ writes:
"'Battles for the Union' is such a history as every soldier and
every man who has a pride in his country, should wish to possess.
Captain Glazier was no carpet knight. He shared the glories of the
Harris Light Cavalry in camp and field, earning his promotion from
the non-commissioned ranks to the command for which he was so
admirably fitted. There is the scent of powder in what he writes,
the vivid reality of sight and understanding. We are particularly
charmed with his style, which is plain, blunt, direct, and free
from strain or affectation. He describes the fights as they were
fought; individual deeds of bravery as they were performed; the
march and its trials; the defeat and its causes; the victory and
its effects. With the ardor of a young patriot, and the generous
admiration of a good soldier, he feels as great a pride in the
successes of a rival corps as in his own. Nor is this an unworthy
feature of his work, because the army was full of little, and
sometimes not particularly friendly, rivalries. Willard Glazier's
chapters, in which every battle may be regarded as a separate
picture, read like a grand panoramic view of gallant deeds and
warlike pageantries. If the author occasionally covers up a clear
defeat, excusing it with graceful art; if he feels disposed to
over-estimate a slight advantage, and to claim a victory where the
battle was evidently drawn, he errs upon the side of love for the
Boys in Blue, and pride in the flag under which he fought. The work
is divided into forty-four chapters, each containing a different
battle. We confidently recommend these graphic and life-like
pictures to the notice of our readers. They are thrilling as the
sound of the trumpet, and soul-inspiring as the songs of Ossian. We
call the reader's attention to the description of the combat
between the 'Merrimac' and 'Monitor' in chapter eight. It is
something which will fill with pride the sailor's heart."