"HEROES OF THREE WARS."
Literary zeal.--"Heroes of Three Wars"--Extract from preface.--Sale
of the work.--Extracts: Washington.--Winfield Scott.--Zachary
Taylor.--Grant.--Sheridan.--Kilpatrick.--Press reviews, a few out
of many: Boston "Transcript."--Chicago "Inter-Ocean."--Baltimore
"Sun."--Philadelphia "Times."--Cincinnati "Enquirer."--Worcester
"Spy."--Pittsburg "Gazette."
By this time our soldier-author found himself not only famous, but,
through the enormous sale of his books, in comparatively affluent
circumstances. His literary zeal, however, was not yet spent, and work
succeeded work with a rapidity almost without parallel, while the extent
of their sale exceeded anything hitherto known in the literary world.
"Heroes of Three Wars," issued by Hubbard Brothers, Philadelphia, the
latest production of his pen which he has as yet published, comprises
original and life-like sketches of the brave soldiers of the
Revolutionary, Mexican and Civil Wars; and the stories are told in a way
that is not easily forgotten. In the wide field presented by these three
important epochs in the history of our country, Glazier has labored to
inculcate in the minds of young Americans the virtues of gallantry, true
worth, and patriotism; and his work is valuable as presenting to the
student in a small compass, so much of interest in biography and
history.
In the preface to the work he observes: "Washington, Scott and Grant are
names that will live forever in our history; not because they were the
subjects of a blind adulation, but because their worth was properly
estimated, and their deeds truthfully recorded. The time for deifying
men has long since passed; we prefer to see them as they are--though
great, still human, and surrounded with human infirmities; worthy of
immortal renown, not because they are unlike us, but because they excel
us and have performed a work which entitles them to the lasting
gratitude of their countrymen. Another object of this book is to group
around these three generals, those officers and men who climbed to
immortality by their side, shared their fortunes, helped to win their
victories, and remained with them to the end." Again: "Biographies
possess but little value unless they give living portraits, so that each
man stands out clear and distinct in his true character and
proportions."
Several thousand copies of this valuable work have already been called
for by the public, and it bids fair to equal its predecessors in amount
of circulation. As a specimen of its style, we present to the reader the
following extract from the biographical sketch of Washington:--"There is
a singular unanimity of opinion in ascribing to George Washington an
exceptional character. It was certainly one of peculiar symmetry, in
which a happy combination of qualities, moral, social and intellectual,
were guided to appropriate action by a remarkable power of clear
judgment. It was just the combination calculated to lead a spirited and
brave people through such a trying crisis as the American Revolution.
His star was not dark and bright by turns--did not reveal itself in
uncertain and fitful glimmerings--but shone with a full and steady
luminosity across the troubled night of a nation's beginning. Under
these broad and beneficent rays the Ship of State was guided, through a
sea of chaos, to safe anchorage. The voyage across those seven eventful
years was one that tried men's souls. Often, appalling dangers
threatened. Wreck on the rocks of Disunion, engulfment in the mountain
waves of opposition, starvation and doubt and mutiny on shipboard--these
were a few of the perils which beset their course. But a royal-souled
Commander stood at the helm, and discerned, afar-off, the green shores
of liberty. On this land the sunshine fell with fruitful power. The air
was sweet with the songs of birds. Contentment, peace, prosperity,
reigned. Great possibilities were shadowed forth within its boundaries,
and a young nation, growing rapidly towards a splendid era of
enlightenment, was foreseen as a product of the near future. It took a
man with deep faith in the ultimate rule of right and in humanity, to
occupy that position; a man with large heart, with unselfish aims, with
prophetic instincts, with clear and equalized brain. George Washington
possessed all these qualities--and more!"
The following is from the admirably graphic sketch of the sturdy
soldier, Winfield Scott: "On the twenty-fifth of the same month (July,
1814), a little below that sublime spot where the wide waste of waters
which rush over the Falls of Niagara roar and thunder into the gulf
below, and where Lundy's Lane meets the rapid river at right angles, was
enacted the scene of conflict which took its name from the locality, and
is variously called the battle of 'Lundy's Lane,' or 'Niagara.' The
action began forty minutes before sunset, and it is recorded that the
head of the American column, as it advanced, was encircled by a
rainbow--one which is often seen there, formed from the rising spray.
The happy omen faithfully prefigured the result; for when, under the
cloudy sky of midnight the battle at length terminated, the Americans
were in possession of the field, and also the enemy's cannon, which had
rained such deadly death into their ranks. In this action General Scott
had two horses killed under him, and about eleven o'clock at night he
was disabled by a musket-ball wound through the left shoulder. He had
previously been wounded, and at this juncture was borne from the fray.
He had piloted Miller's regiment through the darkness to the height on
Lundy's Lane, where the enemy's batteries were posted, and upon which
the grand charge was made that decided the battle. Throughout the action
he was the leading spirit of the occasion, giving personal direction to
the movements of his men, and lending the inspiration of his presence to
all parts of the field."
Of Zachary Taylor, our author writes, in his masterly way: "The blaze of
glory which is concentrated upon the name and life of Zachary Taylor,
reveals a hero as true in metal, as sterling in virtue, as intrepid in
action, and tender of heart, as ever lifted sword in the cause of honor
or country. On him has fallen that most sacred mantle of renown, woven
from the fabric of a people's confidence, and lovingly bestowed--not as
upon a being of superior race to be worshipped, but because he was a
leader from among themselves--truly of the people. He was honored with
their fullest trust in his integrity, and with their largest faith in
his uprightness as a man. As Daniel Webster truly said, the best days
of the Roman republic afforded no brighter example of a man, who,
receiving the plaudits of a grateful nation, and clothed in the highest
authority of state, reached that pinnacle by more honest means; who
could not be accused of the smallest intrigue or of pursuing any devious
ways to political advancement in order to gratify personal ambition. All
the circumstances of his rise and popularity, from the beginning of his
career, when, amid blood and smoke, he made the heroic defence of Fort
Harrison, to the wonderful battles of Palo Alto, Resaca, and Buena
Vista, and at last the attainment of the Presidential chair--all repel
the slightest suspicion of sinister motive, or a wish for individual
aggrandizement. The unwavering rule of his life--his guide in every
action--was the simple watchword, 'duty.'
"As to his qualities of leadership, they shone out in high relief, from
first to last. In the war of 1812, he was only a captain, yet at Fort
Harrison he inspired the scanty garrison with a belief in his power, and
they gave him their devoted support. In the Florida campaign he
commanded only a brigade, yet he seemed to infuse into every soldier the
most courageous bravery. In the beginning of the war with Mexico, he
marched into action at the head of a single division, and when this
force afterwards swelled into an army, it did not prove too much for the
resources of its commanding general. The frowning heights and barricaded
streets of Monterey, bristling with ten thousand Mexicans, did not daunt
him. What though he had only six thousand men with which to hold them in
siege? The assault was fearlessly made, the streets were stormed, the
heights were carried, the city was won--and kept!
"The brilliant victory of Buena Vista, where five thousand Americans
hurled back and repulsed a tumultuous Mexican horde of twenty thousand,
only reiterates the same marvelous story of superior leadership."
* * * * *
"Fresh from these splendid achievements, he received the nomination for
President over the names of Henry Clay, Daniel Webster, and General
Scott. It was a spontaneous expression of the people's confidence,
unheralded and unsought. And when he was triumphantly elected over the
Democratic and Free-soil candidates--General Cass, Martin Van Buren, and
Charles Francis Adams--he accepted the high office in a spirit of
humility and simple compliance with duty."
In the sketch of General U. S. Grant's life, our author has written with
a masterly hand the outlines of the grand career of his favorite
general, the salient points of which are given with a soldierly energy
and dash befitting the theme. Thus the chapter commences:
"The occasion often creates the man, but the man who _masters_ the
occasion is born, not made. Many are pushed to the surface, momentarily,
by the pressure of events, and then subside into common levels; but he
is the true commander during a crisis, who can wield the waves of
difficulty to advantage, and be a sure pilot amid the on-rush of events
when they thicken and deepen into a prolonged struggle.
"When, during the late war, our country needed a leader to face and
quell the threatened danger of disunion, and conduct her armies to
successful issues; and when Government entrusted those momentous issues
to Ulysses S. Grant, 'the man and the moment had met,'--the occasion had
found its master.
"Napoleon said that the most desirable quality of a good general was
that his judgment should be in equilibrium with his courage. To no
commander of modern times could this rule apply with more force than to
Grant. A man of no outward clamor of character, no hint of bluster or
dash, quiet-voiced, self-controlled, but not self-asserting, he yet
displayed vast power as an organizer, as a tactician, and in masterly
combinations of large forces so as to produce the most telling effects.
It has been truly said of him that no general ever stamped his own
peculiar character upon an army more emphatically than did Grant upon
the Army of the Tennessee. It was the only large organization which, as
a whole, never suffered a defeat during the war. It was noted for its
marvelous persistence--its determined fighting qualities--and had the
reputation of being sure to win any battle that lasted over a day, no
matter what the odds against it. It was at Grant's recommendation that a
united command was concentrated in the Mississippi Valley--which
concentration has since been acknowledged to have been the basis of all
our subsequent victories.
"Generosity, mildness and kind-heartedness, shone as conspicuously in
Grant's character as his firmness and great generalship. Simplicity of
manner and kindness of heart are always characteristic of the true hero.
'The bravest are the tenderest,
The loving are the daring.'
"The rapid and bold descent upon Fort Donelson, the unconquerable
determination exhibited at Shiloh, the brilliant capture of Vicksburg,
and the high military science displayed at Chattanooga Valley, Look-out
Mountain, and Missionary Ridge--these have never been surpassed in
military history, in splendor of execution, or judiciousness of
combination."...
For brevity and comprehensiveness we commend the following unique
paragraph on the genealogy of his subject:
"The great-grandfather of Ulysses was Captain Noah Grant, who was killed
at the battle of White Plains, during the French and Indian wars, in
1776. His grandfather, Noah Grant, Jr., fought at Lexington as
lieutenant of militia, and afterwards, during the Revolution. His
father, Jesse, emigrated from Pennsylvania to Ohio, and was married at
Point Pleasant, Ohio, June, 1821, to Hannah Simpson, whose father was
also from the Keystone State. Ulysses was born the following year, April
twenty-seventh, 1822."
We quote again from the sketch of Grant:
"On the sixth of February the brilliant reduction of Fort Henry, on the
Tennessee, was accomplished by Foote, and Fort Donelson, twelve miles
distant, was next in line. Grant and Foote were co-operating by land and
water; but Foote did not meet here with the same success that attended
him at Fort Henry. It was the fifteenth of February, and Grant had spent
two or three days in making an investment of the high and wooded bluff
from which frowned the guns of Donelson. Before daybreak, on the
fifteenth, he had gone on board the flag-ship of Foote, in consultation
as to the time and manner of attack, when the enemy swept from their
works and fell upon the Union lines with tremendous force. The fighting
became furious at once, and for some time the battle-line swayed to and
fro, between victory and defeat. It was desperate work; brigades and
regiments were repulsed and by turns advanced--the brave commands
disputing every inch of the rocky and difficult battle-field. When Grant
reached the scene it was 'to find his right thrown back, ammunition
exhausted, and the ranks in confusion.' With quick inspiration he took
in the situation at a glance, comprehended that the enemy had exhausted
his greatest strength, and ordered an immediate attack by the left on
the Confederate works in front. General Smith was in command of this
portion of the army, and had not actively participated in the conflict.
He therefore brought fresh troops to the assault. McClernand was also
ordered to reform his shattered ranks and advance. The combined forces
charged with splendid valor up the rocky steeps, in the blaze of a
withering fire poured down upon them from the fort. They did not falter
for a single instant, but reaching the summit, swept over and into the
Confederate works with ringing cheers. On the next morning a white flag
was seen flying from the fort, and under its protection, proposals for
an armistice were sent in. Grant replied that unconditional surrender,
and that immediately, must be made, or he would move on their works at
once. Thereupon, Buckner, who was in command, surrendered the fort with
its thirteen thousand men. This splendid victory blazoned the name of
Grant all over the country, and he immediately became the people's
hero."
* * * * *
"His next achievement, the capture of Vicksburg, was wonderful indeed.
Its natural strength of position on a high bluff, one hundred feet
above the water level, added to the formidable array of defences which
bristled defiance to all foes, made Vicksburg a very citadel of power,
and the fifty thousand men stationed there under Pemberton and Price did
not lessen the difficulties to be overcome. A fort, mounting eight guns,
sentineled the approach to the city from beneath, while the heights
above were guarded by a three-banked battery. Eight miles of batteries
lined the shore above and below Vicksburg. Grant made several fruitless
attempts to get to the rear of the city by digging canals across the
strip of land on which it stood, and making an inland route; but each
one, after herculean labor, had been abandoned. He now decided on the
bold enterprise of running the gauntlet of these batteries with his
transports. This desperate feat was successfully accomplished; but
before he could land his troops at Grand Gulf, which he had selected as
his starting-point, it was necessary to run its batteries as he had
those of Vicksburg, land his troops farther down the river, and capture
the place by hard fighting. He waited for nothing. Hurrying forward the
moment he touched land, his object was to take Grand Gulf before the
enemy could reinforce it.... After conquering Grand Gulf, where he
expected Banks to join him, he was confronted with the refusal of that
general to co-operate with him. In this dilemma nothing but a
master-stroke of genius could wring success from the materials of
defeat. He saw what was before him, and with true inspiration became the
master of circumstances. At the head of his brave command he pushed
inland, aiming to crush the enemy 'in detail before he could concentrate
his forces.' By a rapid series of brilliant marches, battles and
victories, Grant had, at last, on the nineteenth of May, succeeded in
completely investing Vicksburg. The whole plan from its outset was
brilliant to an extraordinary degree, and the tireless persistence and
energy shown in its accomplishment, stamped this man as a very Gibraltar
of military genius.
"An assault on the enemy's works at first, had proven a failure, and now
the wonderful siege began. For forty-six days the digging and mining
went patiently forward, while screaming shells and booming shot produced
a reign of terror in the city, until at last, Pemberton could hold out
no longer and surrendered his starving garrison to the superior prowess
and strategy of Grant. It was the morning of the fourth of July when our
troops took possession of Vicksburg, and ran up the stars and stripes
from the top of the court-house. The soldiers, standing beneath it, sang
'Rally round the Flag,' and Grant became more than ever the popular
hero. On the thirteenth of July, Lincoln wrote him a letter of 'grateful
acknowledgment for the almost inestimable service' he had rendered the
country. In September he was placed in command of the 'Departments of
the Ohio, of the Cumberland, and of the Tennessee, constituting the
Military Division of the Mississippi.'
* * * * *
"Grant assumed the duties of his high office [the lieutenant-generalship
of the army] without flourish of any sort, and proceeded to inaugurate
the successive steps of his last great campaign. The military resources
which centered in his hand were stupendous, but had they fallen under
the control of a man less great than he, their very immensity would
have rendered them powerless. The splendid army of the Potomac was on
the move by May third, and the last march to Richmond had begun. Then
came the three-days' battle of the Wilderness, on the south bank of the
Rapidan, bloody and terrible and strange, during which some of our
troops were fighting continuously for forty-eight hours; and following
close after came also Spottsylvania, which was the result of an endeavor
to cut off Lee's retreat. This, too, was a desperate conflict, where
precious blood flowed in rivers. Then followed the race between the two
opposing armies, for the North Anna. After crossing this river, and
finding the Confederates occupying a fortified position on the South
Anna, Grant 'swung his army around to the Pamunky, and pitched his
head-quarters at Hanover Court House,' These masterly flank movements,
in which he manoeuvred his vast army with such ease, exhibited his
marvelous genius in stronger light than ever before. From the Pamunky he
advanced to the Chickahominy, and, after the battle of Cold Harbor, made
a rapid but quiet change of front on the night of the twelfth of June,
and two days afterwards crossed the James and advanced against
Petersburg and Richmond. The attack, at first a success, failed through
a blunder, not Grant's; and then began the long siege which ended at
last in the evacuation of Petersburg and Richmond. Nowhere was the joy
more heartfelt over these results than among the released captives of
Libby Prison.
"Lee made a desperate endeavor to escape the 'manifest destiny' that
pursued him, and led his army a 'race for life.' But Grant, close on his
track, environed him on all sides, and the surrender at Appomattox
became inevitable. When, at the final scene, Lee presented his sword to
Grant, the great general handed it back to him, saying, 'it could not be
worn by a braver man.'"
* * * * *
We present the reader with the following extracts from the sketch of
General Sheridan. It will be observed that the author is extremely happy
in the selection of his subjects, his aim evidently being to include
those only whose reputation for heroism is unquestioned and national.
"Sheridan is probably the most intense type of 'soldiership' brought to
light by the last war. Nor can any other war furnish an individual
example that will surpass him in fiery concentration. In battle he is
the very soul of vehement action--the incarnate wrath of the storm. No
historian can ever portray the man so truly as did the remarkable
victory of Cedar Creek--a result solely of his extraordinary power. The
marvelous will-force with which he could hurl himself in the front of
battle, and infuse his own spirit of unconquerable daring into the
ranks, is phenomenal, to say the least."
* * * * *
"When Grant became Lieutenant-General, Sheridan was given the command of
the cavalry of the army of the Potomac, and all his subsequent movements
evinced wonderful daring, skill and energy. No trust committed to his
charge was ever misplaced, no matter what its magnitude or importance.
"When the Confederate Generals Ewell and Early were sent into the
Shenandoah Valley, and went so far north as to threaten Washington,
Grant consolidated the four military divisions of the Susquehanna,
Washington, Monongahela and West Virginia, into the 'army of the
Shenandoah,' and placed Sheridan in command. He defeated Early at
Opequan, September nineteenth--for which he was made brigadier-general
of the United States army; defeated him again at Fisher's Hill on the
twenty-second, and on October the nineteenth occurred the battle of
Cedar Creek.
"The position of Sheridan's army at this time was along the crest of
three hills, 'each one a little back of the other,' The army of West
Virginia, under Crook, held the first hill; the second was occupied by
the Nineteenth Corps, under Emory, and the Sixth Corps, with Torbet's
cavalry covering its right flank, held the third elevation. Early,
marching his army in five columns, crossed the mountains and forded the
north branch of the Shenandoah River, at midnight, on the eighteenth. He
knew that Sheridan had gone up to Washington, and wanted to take
advantage of his absence to surprise the unsuspecting camp. The march
was conducted so noiselessly that, though he skirted the borders of our
position for miles, nothing came to the ears of our pickets, save in a
few instances where a heavy muffled tramp was heard, but disregarded as
of no consequence.
"The gray gloom of early morning hovered over the camp, when a
reconnoitring force from Crook's army was preparing to go out. Suddenly,
a wild yell burst through the fog which hid from view the Confederate
army. A withering musketry fire and the clash of arms quickly followed.
Before our surprised and panic-stricken troops could be formed in
battle-array, the enemy were upon them, and after a short and sharp
encounter, the army of Western Virginia was thrown into utter rout--a
mass of fugitives flying before the pursuing foe back towards the second
hill where the Nineteenth Corps was encamped.
* * * * *
"The Nineteenth Corps attempted to arrest the Confederate advance, but
the enemy getting in our rear and enfilading us with our captured
batteries, the troops broke ranks and fell back in confusion towards the
encampment of the Sixth Corps, on the third hill in the rear.
* * * * *
"Sheridan, meantime, was at Winchester, where he had arrived the night
before, intending to go on to Cedar Creek the next morning. As he sipped
his coffee at breakfast he did not for an instant dream of the terrible
rout and disaster hovering at that moment over his army. When he rode
out of Winchester the vibrations of the ground under the heavy
discharges of artillery in the distance gave the first intimations of
danger. But he was not yet alarmed, knowing the security of his
position. As he went onward, however, the thunder of the cannon
deepened, and then the terrible truth flashed upon him. He dashed spurs
into his horse and was soon tearing madly along the road, far ahead of
his escort.
"For five anxious hours the desperate struggle had gone on, when
Sheridan arrived on the field, encountering first the stream of
fugitives surging northward. They turned about as they saw their
invincible leader flying towards the front, and even the wounded along
the roadside cheered him as he passed. Swinging his cap over his head,
he shouted: 'Face the other way, boys!--face the other way! We are going
back to our camps! We are going to lick them out of their boots!'
"It was about ten o'clock when, with his horse covered with foam, he
galloped up to the front. Immediately, under his quick commands, the
broken ranks were reformed, and when the Confederates made their next
grand charge across the fields the terrific repulse that met and hurled
them back showed the turn of the tide, and compelled them to relinquish
the offensive. For two hours Sheridan rode back and forth along the
line, seeming to be everywhere at once, infusing into the men his own
daring courage and enthusiasm. Shouts and cheers followed him; and
though the tired soldiers had been fighting for five long hours and had
eaten nothing since the night before, his presence was both food and
inspiration, and everything seemed to be forgotten in an all-controlling
impulse to follow their glorious leader to victory.
"Early retired his troops a short distance after their repulse, and
began throwing up breastworks. But the intrepid Sheridan had no notion
of allowing him to retain that position. He meant to regain Cedar Creek
and rout the enemy. At half-past three a bold charge was made. An awful
musketry and artillery fire was poured into the advancing Union columns,
and, at first, the lines broke and fell back; but Sheridan rose at once
to the needs of the crisis, and with superhuman efforts restored order
and resumed the advance. Then came 'the long-drawn yell of our charge,'
and 'everything on the first line, the stone walls, the tangled wood,
the advanced crest, and half-finished breastworks, had been carried.'
"The panic-stricken enemy was sent flying in utter rout through
Middletown, through Strasburg, through Fisher's Hill, and to Woodstock,
sixteen miles beyond. Early was thus effectually driven out of the
Shenandoah Valley, and permanently crippled.
"This wonderful victory, due to Sheridan's personal presence alone, put
a crown on his head which few warriors could pluck from the heights of
Fame."
* * * * *
"On March the fourth, 1869, he received the promotion of
lieutenant-general, and was appointed to the command of the Division of
the Missouri, of the Platte, and of Texas, with head-quarters at
Chicago."
* * * * *
The name of Kilpatrick kindles enthusiasm in the breast of every
cavalryman of the late war, and our author, having served under him, has
sketched his life, _con amore_, in vivid and thrilling language, and
with a keen appreciation of his great merits as a cavalry leader. The
following extract will confirm our view:
"Like the French Murat, Kilpatrick seems to have been born to become a
very demi-god of cavalry. Daringly heroic on the field, he displayed a
supreme genius for war, especially for that department of the service
whose alarum cry is, 'To horse!' and whose sweeping squadrons, with wild
clatter of hoofs, seem to the fervid imagination to be making a race for
glory, even though it be through the gates of death.
"It is quite in keeping with everything about Kilpatrick that he should
choose the cavalry as a vehicle for his high ambition and noble
patriotism. Such energies as his could scarcely be content with less
dash or less brilliance of action. The beginning of his war career was
one of romance, and his previous life indicated an unusual range of
abilities. He first figures as the boy-orator, speaking in favor of a
Congressional candidate, with all the fresh warmth and enthusiasm of his
young nature. Then we see him as cadet at West Point, from which he
graduates fifteenth in his class and is given the honor of
valedictorian. The day of graduation is hastened a few months by the
startling guns of Sumter, which proclaim treason rampant, and fire all
loyal breasts with a desire to rush to the rescue of their country's
beloved flag. The impatience and enthusiasm of Kilpatrick could not be
restrained, and through his influence a petition was signed by
thirty-seven of his class to be allowed to graduate at once and go to
the front. The request was granted, and that day was one of especial
significance at West Point. It was also one of equal significance in his
life; for the little chapel, where had rung out the words of his
farewell address, also witnessed the sacred ceremony of his marriage
with the lady of his love, and on that evening the young soldier and his
bride took the train for Washington and the front. We know little of the
bride except that she was enshrined in her husband's heart, and that her
name--'Alice'--was inscribed on the silken banner under which he fought,
and so gloriously led his troopers to victory and renown. No one can
tell how much that name may have had to do with his future marvelous
success. To natures like his, the magic of a name thus loved, fluttering
aloft in the smoke of battle, becomes talismanic, and inspires almost
superhuman heroism."
* * * * *
"When McDowell marched to Falmouth, he was once more at the front, and,
in conjunction with Colonel Bayard and the First Pennsylvania Cavalry,
made a brilliant night-attack on Falmouth Heights, routing Lee's cavalry
and capturing the place. For this dashing achievement Kilpatrick
received the thanks of the commanding general. Afterwards, under Pope's
command, he made his first famous raid in breaking up 'Stonewall'
Jackson's line of communication with Richmond from Gordonsville in the
Shenandoah Valley, over the Virginia Central Railway. At Beaver Dam,
Frederick's Hall, and Hanover Junction, he burned the stations,
destroyed the tracks, and daringly attacked the enemy wherever he could
find him. These events took place during July and August, 1862, and the
boldness of the operations, in the very heart of the enemy's country,
filled the North with Kilpatrick's fame....
"When Hooker was placed at the head of the Army of the Potomac, the
cavalry was reorganized under Stoneman as chief, and that general, in
the following campaign, assigned to Kilpatrick the work of destroying
the railroad and bridges over the Chickahominy. Four hundred and fifty
men were given him for the work; but with this small force he brought to
the difficult mission his usual skill, and, avoiding large forces of the
enemy, raided to within two miles of Richmond, where he captured
'Lieutenant Brown, aide-de-camp to General Winder, and eleven men within
the fortifications.' He says: 'I then passed down to the left to the
Meadow Bridge on the Chickahominy, which I burned, ran a train of cars
into the river, retired to Hanover-town on the Peninsula, crossed just
in time to check the advance of a pursuing cavalry force, burned a train
of thirty wagons loaded with bacon, captured thirteen prisoners, and
encamped for the night five miles from the river,' This was the manner
of his conquering quest, until on the seventh he again struck the Union
lines at Gloucester Point, having made a march of about 'two hundred
miles in less than five days, and captured and paroled over eight
hundred prisoners.' In the accomplishment of this splendid feat he lost
only one officer and thirty-seven men.
"At Chancellorsville, when Lee came into Maryland and massed his cavalry
at Beverly Ford, Pleasonton was sent forward on a reconnaissance, and
met the enemy in battle at Brandy Station. This is renowned as the
greatest cavalry battle of the war. General Gregg arrived upon the field
at half-past ten in the morning, and though his noble squadrons fought
well and bravely, these columns were rolled back, and for a moment, all
seemed lost, and overwhelmed by the superior numbers of the foe. But at
this crisis, Kilpatrick, posted on a slight rise of ground, unrolled his
battle-flag to the breeze, and his bugles sounded the charge. He had
under his command, the Harris Light, Tenth New York, and First Maine.
The formation for an onset was quickly made, and the disciplined
squadrons of these three regiments were hurled upon the enemy. But the
Tenth New York recoiled before the murderous fire of the enemy's
carbines. So did the Harris Light. Kilpatrick was maddened at the sight.
He rushed to the head of the First Maine regiment, shouting, 'Men of
Maine, you must save the day!' Under the impulse of this enthusiasm,
they became altogether resistless, and in conjunction with the reformed
squadrons of the two other regiments, swept the enemy before them, and
plucked victory, with glorious valor, from the very jaws of defeat. On
the next day Kilpatrick was made brigadier-general."
* * * * *
Having presented extracts from "Heroes of Three Wars," and ventured to
express, incidentally and briefly our own humble opinion of the merits
of this work, we will now, in confirmation of our judgment, give some
reviews of the Press--a few out of many. Throughout the North the work
was hailed with not a little enthusiasm, by soldiers and civilians
alike--as a work of decided literary merit, and one written in a fair,
truthful, and loyal spirit, replete with much valuable historical
information of a character not otherwise easily attainable, and
calculated to accomplish much good among the rising generation.
The Boston _Transcript_ says:
"The bivouac, the march, the hand-to-hand conflict with bristling
steel, the head-long charge, the ignominious retreat, and the
battle-field after the bloody assault, with its dead and wounded
heroes, are all excellently portrayed, and with an ease and vigor
of style that lend a peculiar charm to the book, and rivet the
attention of the reader from cover to cover. It is really
refreshing to meet with such a work as this in these degenerate
days of namby-pamby novels, so enervating to mind and morals.
Captain Glazier's work elevates the ideas, and infuses a spirit of
commendable patriotism into the young mind, by showing the youth of
the country how nobly men could die for the principles they
cherished and the land they loved."
The Chicago _Inter-Ocean_ writes as follows:
"It is correct in facts, graphic in its delineations, and in all
its makeup is a most admirable volume. It will do the young men,
and even those older, good to glance at these pages and read anew
the perils and hardships and sacrifices which have been made by the
loyal men who met and overthrew in battle the nation's enemies.
The book is of absorbing interest as a record of brave deeds by as
brave and heroic men as ever answered a bugle's call. The author
writes no fancy sketch. He has the smoke and scars of battle in
every sentence. He answered roll-call and mingled amid the exciting
events he relates. No writer, even the most praised correspondents
of the foreign journals, have given more vivid descriptions
soul-stirring in their simple truthfulness, than Captain Glazier in
his 'Heroes of Three Wars.'"
The Baltimore _Sun_ writes:
"'Heroes of Three Wars' is written by the masterly hand of one who
has evidently enjoyed a personal acquaintance with many of the
subjects introduced, and is not only thoroughly imbued with the
spirit of his work, but as thoroughly inspires his readers. Captain
Glazier has familiarized himself with all of the details of
interest in the lives of a grand galaxy of heroes, and has put on
paper, in a condensed and graphic form, a clear picture of what he
has treasured up in his own mind. We know of no book that contains
so faithful a presentation of our brave defenders in so condensed
and satisfactory a form."
The Philadelphia _Times_ observes:
"The soldier-author does his work in an artless, patriotic,
beautiful style, and gives to his readers a real and not an
imaginary idea of army life in all its lights and shades. Captain
Glazier has laid his countrymen under lasting obligations to him,
especially in this new book, 'Heroes of Three Wars.'"
The Cincinnati _Enquirer_ remarks:
"Captain Glazier rises above the conventional war-writers' idioms,
and gives his work a place in literature and history. Here is found
the stern actuality of war's fearful tug; here the beautiful pathos
of pure manly sentiment flowing from the heart of many a brave soul
on the battle's eve; here the scenes of sad and solemn burial where
warriors weep. The din of battle on one page, and the jest at the
peril past on the next--the life-test and the comedy of camp--these
alternatingly checker the work over, and give the reader a truer
insight into the perils and privations of our brave defenders than
any book we have read."