PASTORATE AT HIGHLAND FALLS
Soon after the close of the war Edward accepted a call to the little
church at Highland Falls, about a mile below West Point. This was his
only charge, and here he spent nine happy, useful years. His first
impressions of the church and congregation may be gathered from the
following letter.
"I found myself in a true orthodox Presbyterian church, for
although the thermometer stood far below zero and the roads were
snowy and unbroken, still the number of ladies present far exceeded
that of the gentlemen. I regarded this fact as a good omen, for if
a pastor can depend upon a few strong-hearted women (not
strong-minded in the cant sense of the phrase), he has only to go
forward prudently to certain success. Summing up the entire
congregation, small and great, it nearly made that number so well
known, alas, in country churches, which is appropriately termed 'a
handful.'
"These good people were thinly scattered over a plain little
audience room that would seat comfortably one hundred and twenty.
The church was bitter cold, and the situation of the pulpit,
between the two doors, seemed designed to chill anything like
enthusiasm on the part of the speaker. The construction of the
building bore evidence that some architect of the olden time
determined to achieve celebrity, in that he placed its back toward
the street, and faced it toward nothing in particular. This, with
minor eccentricities, really entitled the edifice to the
antiquarian's attention. But I intend not a disrespectful word
against the little church, for precious souls have been gathered
there and trained for heaven."
It was in February that Edward received a unanimous call to this
church, and from that time he gave himself up to the work of collecting
funds for the erection of a new building. The majority of the people
were not wealthy and many of them were very poor, but they did all they
possibly could, many giving at the cost of great personal sacrifice.
The brunt of the enterprise, however, necessarily fell upon my brother.
About this time he began giving lectures on his experiences in the
Civil War, often travelling many miles to deliver them, going wherever
there was a chance to make money and so help forward his cherished
object. He also obtained large sums from wealthy city churches and from
friends, through personal solicitation.
At the end of two years Edward and his co-workers felt justified in
laying the corner-stone of the new church. Here is his description of
the ceremony.
"Patient effort seldom fails of its reward, and the day we had long
toiled and prayed for, when we could lay the corner-stone of our
new church, at length arrived. The 16th of September dawned, cloudy
and dubious, like the commencement of the enterprise. The morning
hours brought disappointment and heavy rain, as the two long years
of work and waiting had brought many discouragements. Rev. Dr.
William Adams of New York, who was to have made the address, was
unavoidably detained; and the skies frowned so darkly it was
thought best to defer the ceremony. But before the hour appointed
there was a general brightening up. The clouds broke away and
vanished over Crow Nest and the adjoining mountains. The sun smiled
out in irresistible invitation and the people gathered in such
numbers that it was thought best to go forward with the ceremony.
This we were most anxious to do, as the North River Presbytery had
honored our church as the place of its Fall meeting, and most of
its members could upon this day be present with us.
"As the shadows were lengthening eastward, we gathered among the
evergreens that surround the solid foundation of the new edifice.
It was just such a gathering as we love to see at a
church--representatives from every age and class in the community.
Little barefooted urchins climbed up into the cedars and looked on
with wondering eyes. All right! the church is as truly for them as
for the President, should he honor us with a visit. In a huge block
of granite at the northeast corner of the building a receptacle had
been cut. Around this we gathered. The Hon. John Bigelow, our
former Minister to France, commenced the simple ceremony with a
very happy address. In simple periods of classic beauty he spoke of
church edifices as the highest and most disinterested expressions
of the benevolence and culture of a community; and in words that
were good omens of the future he dwelt upon the beneficent
influences flowing therefrom. The Pastor next came forward, and
stated that a copy of the Scriptures _only_, as published by the
American Bible Society, would be deposited in the stone. In this
solemn and emblematic act we wished to leave out everything that
would take from the simplicity and force of the figure. God's Word
alone in its purity should underlie the material structure, and so
we hoped His Word alone, unmixed and undistorted by human opinions,
would be the foundation of the spiritual church that should be
built there in coming years. Therefore no papers, coins, or records
of any kind, were placed in the sealed box with the Bible. If after
the lapse of centuries this solid wall were taken down, this
solitary Bible, unmarred by pen or pencil, will be a clearer record
than long and formal documents, of a church that sought to honor
God, and not man, and to keep His name before the people, and not
that of some human instrument. With the usual words the massy block
of granite was lowered to its place, and, humanly speaking,
generations will pass away before these leaves again are turned.
"The Rev. Dr. Wheeler of Poughkeepsie, who kindly offered to act in
Dr. Adams's place, spoke in a vein of strong original eloquence
which chained the attention of all for a brief time. As an
impromptu effort it was singularly appropriate and hope-inspiring.
He closed with a prayer, in the fervor of which a lady said that
she could almost see the walls and spire rising to beautiful and
entire completion. Rev. Mr. Teal of Cornwall pronounced the
benediction, and thus closed the ceremony.
"We are building of the blue granite found in abundance upon the
ground. The walls rise from the rocky foundation in massive
thickness of plain, hammer-dressed stone, and thus are in keeping
with the rugged mountain scenery. Time will rather strengthen the
work than weaken it. We build from the rock with the rock, and
trust that the great Spiritual Rock will underlie it all.
"It will cost us twenty thousand dollars to complete the church,
and of this sum we have on hand, or promised, nearly half. The
building is under contract to be finished the first of June next,
and whatever indebtedness there exists will be provided for by a
mortgage. The ladies of the church and the Sabbath-school children
have pledged themselves by fairs and concerts to provide for the
interest of the debt until the principal is paid. The people are
proving that they are in earnest by their deeds. By their hearty
sympathy and cooperation, Mr. Cozzens, the proprietor of the hotel,
and his lady have greatly contributed to our success.
"The guests of the house have been very liberal and attentive, and
show an increasing interest in the enterprise. At a time of
hesitancy and doubt a generous gift of five hundred dollars, from
C. K. Garrison, Esq., of New York, soon after followed by five
hundred dollars more from Richard Schell, Esq., enabled us to go
forward with hope and confidence. Mr. Garrison is a native of our
region, and happy would it be for the country if, following his
example, those who have won wealth and distinction abroad would
return and enrich their birthplace by such noble proofs of their
benevolence. Monuments of this kind perpetuate one's name better
than tombstones. Among the summer worshippers at our little church
under the trees, we have been glad to recognize so long the kindly
face of Rev. J. G. Craighead of _The Evangelist_, and long and
gratefully will our people remember his words from the pulpit and
in the social meeting. Rev. Dr. Robinson of Harrisburgh, Pa., has
also been one of our summer residents, and one that we shall soon
sadly miss."
Four years longer minister and people worked unceasingly in the
interests of their new church, my brother continuing to give his
lectures wherever opportunity offered. One delivered at Providence,
Rhode Island, was quoted at some length in a daily paper of that city,
and is here reprinted.
"The Rev. E. P. Roe, of West Point, lectured last night before a
fair audience, at Harrington's Opera House, under the auspices of
Prescott Post No. 1, G.A.R., on 'Secret Service at the Front; or
Scouting and Guerrillas.' During the war, said the speaker, the
northern people regarded guerrillas as irresponsible bands of
outlaws, living by violence and plunder, and while leaning to and
assisting the rebels, ready to murder and rob without much regard
for either side. The majority of the guerrillas were, no doubt, as
bad as generally supposed, but there were among them trusty and
intelligent scouts, whose employment was to trace out the position
and movements of the Union army, and who, no matter how much
robbing and murdering they might do on their own account, never
lost sight of the main object of their service. The acuteness of
these scouts and the various disguises which they assumed were more
than surprising. As a division of the Union army passed along, an
old citizen might have been seen building a rail fence. Surely that
ancient-looking farmer knows nothing, the passing troops would
readily think. But under that old felt hat gleamed a watchful eye
and listened attentive ears, observing and hearing everything
worthy of remark. As soon as the army passed, he throws down his
rails and slips off to the swamp, mounts a fleet horse, and soon
the numbers, destination and condition of the Union division are
reported at the nearest rebel headquarters. Sometimes the woods on
both sides of the marching column swarmed with prowling guerrillas;
sometimes an affable stranger in Union colors would approach, enter
into conversation with the weary straggler, gain all the
information he could, and then shoot down his informant. They were
very bold in their operations. One day an orderly was riding with
important despatches far within the Union lines, when he was
startled by a mounted rebel, who made his appearance from the
woodside, and who, presenting a pistol at his breast, demanded his
arms and despatches. After, as he imagined, cleaning out the
orderly, the rebel invited him to come along and accept a little
Southern hospitality. The scout rode a little forward, and as he
did so, a quiet grin played stealthfully over his furious
countenance; a little pistol was withdrawn from a side pocket, the
cold muzzle applied to the rebel's ear, and in a very few moments
the rebel was disarmed and on his way to a Northern prison. But the
bold deeds of the rebels in scouting through the Union lines paled
before the achievements of General Sharpe and his bureau of
military information. The promotion of this bureau was recommended
by General Butterfield to General Hooper, in 1863, for the purpose
of ascertaining the numbers, positions, and intentions of the
enemy. To this bureau was gathered all the information of the
signal corps and of the hundreds of scouts and spies who traversed
the rebel army and country. Trusty and intelligent men were picked
from the rank and file of the army and placed under command of
General Sharpe. The first piece of work undertaken by the general
was to obtain a full roster of Lee's army as it lay on the
Rappahannock, the numbers and titles of regiments and the names of
the corps, division, brigade, regimental and company commanders. He
picked out General Heath's brigade of A. P. Hill's corps as the
first one to operate on, and by daringly scouting in person through
the lines of that brigade, conversing with its pickets, and
mingling with its men, he succeeded in obtaining not only a full
list of its officers, and an accurate detail of its strength, but a
correct description of the personal appearance and habits of these
officers. After mastering Heath's division he picked out an
intelligent soldier whom he crammed with all he knew himself about
the division, dressed him up in a rebel uniform, and sent him into
another division of Hill's corps. Of course the man was at once
apprehended and taken before a provost marshal, but made such a
plain statement, giving the names of the officers of the regiments
in Heath's division, to which he claimed to belong, and describing
their personal appearance and habits with more accuracy than
reverence, that he was dismissed, with a reprimand for his want of
respect for his superior officers, and ordered to report back at
once to his regiment. After looking around him and ascertaining
everything worth noting with regard to the command, he returned to
General Sharpe; and thus the particulars, as ascertained by every
new scout, facilitated the means of getting more. At length Sharpe
had a roster of the whole of Lee's army, and could tell its
strength at any time within a thousand or so, that thousand being
the changing mass of stragglers, furloughed, and sick, to whom no
special location could be assigned. He could also tell the name of
every officer in that army, and rebel generals of divisions might
have gone to him for information concerning their own subordinates.
The great usefulness of thus possessing the precise knowledge of
the strength and formation of the enemy's forces was particularly
illustrated at Gettysburg, where the anxious spirits of the Union
commanders were relieved by ascertaining from General Sharpe that
every brigade but one of Lee's army had been engaged in the fight,
and that that general had no reserve with which to follow success
or break defeat. Not least among the resources from which valuable
information was obtained were the contrabands, whose fidelity and
truthfulness were remarkable, considering their want of education,
and consequent lack of intelligence.
"Amusing and interesting instances were given by the speaker of the
hairbreadth escapes and reckless daring of General Sharpe's scouts,
and he concluded an entertaining discourse by paying a hearty and
well-deserved tribute to their patriotic and fearless devotion, to
which was greatly owing, in his opinion, the winning of some of our
greatest victories, and the fortunate issue of the war itself."
In 1868 the church was completed, a building "whose granite walls are
so thick, and hard-wood finish so substantial, that passing centuries
should add only the mellowness of age." Edward would not allow his name
deposited in the corner-stone, as many wished, but since his death a
bronze tablet, with the following inscription, has been placed in the
vestibule.
In Memoriam,
Rev. Edward Payson Roe,
Minister of the
First Presbyterian Ch. of the Highlands.
1866-1875.
Author, Pastor, Friend,
This Building Stands the Monument of
His Earnest Labors.
Erected:
1868.
After the completion of the church the old parsonage was enlarged and
remodelled, and so during his pastorate thirty thousand dollars were
raised and expended in permanent improvements.
While living at Highland Falls Edward continually met the officers and
soldiers of West Point. A soldier at one time was the leader of his
choir, in which was also a quartet from the military band. He writes as
follows of a mountain camp at West Point which recalled some of his own
army life:--
"About the middle of August the Cadet Corps left their airy tent
villas on the plain at West Point, and took up their line of march
for the mountains. The pioneers had preceded, and the road was
practicable not only for infantry, but for carriages and stages
laden with fair ladies from the hotels. The selected camping
ground, though rough indeed compared with the velvet lawns of West
Point, was admirably adapted for the purpose. It was a broken,
uneven field, on the property of T. Cozzens, Esq. Here in the midst
of the wildest mountain scenery the young soldiers experienced, to
quite an extent, the realities of life at the front, minus the
element of danger. But the mimicry was almost perfect, and so
suggestive of bygone days to an old campaigner, that I cannot
refrain from indulging in a brief description.
"A wild, romantic drive of three or four miles through winding
valleys, jagged boulders and ledges, and overshadowing trees,
brought us to the edge of the camp-ground. Along the road ran the
familiar military telegraph, the wire now looped up to a convenient
tree, now sustained by the slender portable pole that bends but
never breaks beneath the seemingly gossamer strand. Just before
reaching the place we struck off upon one of those temporary roads
that we were ever extemporizing in Virginia. First we saw the white
tents through the foliage, then the gleaming of a sentry's musket,
the cover of an ambulance, and in a moment more we were in the
midst of the encampment, and the spell was complete. Through the
strong laws of association the old life rushed back again, and what
often seems a far-away dream was as present and real as six years
ago. But apart from all its suggestiveness to those who dwelt in
canvas cities and engaged in war's realities, the scene was novel,
beautiful, and deeply interesting. Here in the midst of the wooded
highlands was a fac-simile, reproduced in miniature, of thousands
of encampments, created by the Rebellion, in the equally wild
regions of the Southern States. Here were our future generals
learning to apply practically to the roughness of nature the
principles and tactics that might seem comparatively easy on paper
or grassy plain. Sloping down to the right, the encampment bordered
on Round Pond, a beautiful, transparent little lake, fringed with
water-lilies, and mirroring back the rocks and foliage of its
rugged banks. Through the courtesy of Mr. Cozzens we and others
were soon skimming its surface in an airy little pleasure boat. A
quarter of a mile to the left, in full view, with a descent of a
hundred feet, Long Pond glistened in the bright August sun. All
around rose the green billowy hills as far as the eye could reach.
We had hardly noted this beautiful commingling of wood and water
before the stirring notes of the drum announced skirmish drill. On
each side of the camp a squad marched briskly out, and was soon
lost in the forest. Soon from its unseen depths there came a shot,
then another, then several, ending in a rapid, scattering fire, and
I was back again on the skirmish line in Virginia. By this time the
other detachment had reached position, and were 'popping' away in
the old familiar style. The hills caught up the reports and echoed
them down again multiplied a hundredfold.
"Rock, glen, and cavern paid them back;
To many mingled sounds at once,
The awakened mountain gave response;"
and these regions of silvan peace and solitude were disturbed as
they never had been since the days when Washington made West Point
his military base, and Fort Putnam was the chief Highland
stronghold.
"On a high eminence to the right fluttered a signal flag. I shall
never forget the last time that my special attention was called to
that very significant object. It was on a bold ledge of the Blue
Ridge west of Culpepper, Va. We were out on picket, lounging away a
long bright October afternoon, when in the far distance a white
flutter like that of a lady's handkerchief caught the wary eye of
the colonel. Listlessness vanished. All glasses were out, but
practised eyes discovered, not a token of ladies' favor, but a
signal of stern war. Lee was turning our right flank, and then
followed the famous race for Centreville heights.
"But the sun had sunk behind a blue Highland, and the tap of the
drum announcing parade recalled from reminiscences of the past.
Creaking, groaning, crunching up the rough road came stages,
carriages, and wagons of all descriptions laden with fair
ladies, who in bright summer costumes seemed airy indeed, but
from the looks of the jaded horses, were anything but
thistle-downs. The wild mountain camp was soon brilliant with
Fifth Avenue toilets. There was a general 'presenting of arms,'
though not with belligerent aspect, and it required no
astrologer to predict a conjunction of Mars and Venus. Old fogy
that I was, recalling the days of our humdrum soldiering long
and well gone by, here I was in the midst of a brilliant active
campaign, where wounds were given and received, human hearts
pierced to the very circumference--perhaps deeper sometimes. Yon
tall, soldierly figure of the commandant is a secondary one
here. Cupid is the field marshal of the day. With the near
approach of night there was a suspension of hostilities. The
fair invaders gradually drew off their attacking forces, and
soon were lost in the deeper shadows that lay at the mountain
base. The next morning at 8 A.M., the Cadet Corps returned to their
encampment on the plain at West Point."
My brother's attitude toward West Point is clearly shown in the
following vigorous defence of the National Academy which was published
in _The Evangelist_.
"The Military Academy here has lately had an unenviable degree of
notoriety and of severe criticism. Some go so far as to advise the
breaking up of the entire institution. No one so thought when the
gallant Reynolds at the cost of his life made such vigorous battle
at Gettysburg as to check Lee, and secure to us a favourable
position for fighting out the decisive conflict of the war. No one
so advised when a graduate of West Point announced the surrender of
Vicksburg; when another marched from Atlanta to the sea; and
another swept down the Shenandoah Valley like a whirlwind. During
our national struggle for life, trained soldiers did for us what
educated lawyers, physicians, clergymen, and statesmen do for a
community at all times. Next to the courage and patriotism of the
people, we have to thank the skill of West Point, that we are One
Nation to-day.
"There are those who advocate State military schools, in other
words that we have an army officered by men of local interests and
feelings. We shall then have generals to whom a single State is
more than the whole Union. We shall have patriots educated by the
New York ring, and the champions of Tammany Hall. No, the soldiers
and sailors of the United States--as they are in the service of the
whole country--should be educated by the whole country, and upon
their maps State boundaries should be blotted out.
"Others advise, instead of this National Academy, that a course of
military instruction be added to our colleges. But in this way
students would only pick up a smattering of military science, in
connection with a dozen other sciences, that would be quite useless
in time of war. If we are to be fully armed against attack, we need
men thoroughly educated in military science by the Nation, and
therefore bound by every instinct of honor, gratitude, and
association to defend her in her hour of peril.
"Does West Point now furnish such an education and such men? Yes,
as truly as it ever has done; and I think it could be shown that it
was never in better condition than it is this day. But what does
the recent 'outrage' indicate, and what the 'persecution of Cadet
Smith?' Living near the institution, and yet having no connection
with it--nothing to gain or lose--I can form as correct and
unprejudiced an opinion as those who base theirs upon partial,
imperfect reports of isolated incidents. One needs but to visit the
Point daily, or nightly, in order to see that perfect discipline is
maintained. The 'outrage' referred to was the expelling of three
students by the first class. This action no one defends. From no
source have I heard it so severely condemned as by the officers
themselves. If it could have been foreseen it would have been
prevented. In the most quiet communities there are sudden outbreaks
of passion and violence. Is the community where such an event
occurs, and which goes on its orderly way the remaining three
hundred and sixty-four days of the year, to be called 'lawless?' Is
the hasty, passionate act of a few, wrong as it may be, to give
character to all? Moreover, in judging acts we should consider the
motives. In this case they throw much light on the action. The
sentiment of the corps is one of intense disgust at the vice of
lying. A cadet cannot commit a more serious offence against the
received code of honor. The parties expelled were believed to have
been guilty of this offence, and their dismissal was a sudden and
lawless expression of the general anger and disgust. The action was
contrary to the character of a soldier--the man of discipline and
iron rules. But was it contrary to the character of frank,
impulsive youth? Are those who have scarcely reached their majority
to be judged in the same light as cool, grey-bearded veterans? I do
not see how the officers are to blame because they could not
foresee the trouble. Is a careful housekeeper 'reckless' because a
kerosene lamp explodes? Do you say she ought to use non-explosive
material? Then you must send sexagenarians to West Point instead of
boys.
"The same principle applies to the 'persecution.' Critical editors,
and advanced politicians like Ben. Butler, require of a class of
young men gathered from every part of the land what they could
scarcely obtain from the reformers of New England as a body. There
is no use in ignoring the general and widespread prejudice of race.
Many who grieve most at the wrongs of the colored people still feel
that instinctive drawing back from social contact. Do those that
condemn the young men most severely introduce the colored element
largely into their own social circles? If not, then they should not
be so ready to throw stones. Colored cadets sent to West Point must
be treated in precisely the same way as the others. The law forms
them all into a social community with equal rights. Is it to be
expected that the utmost cordiality should be shown by hot-blooded,
unformed, and often unwise youth, having in somewhat intenser form
the same prejudices with those who condemn them? They have probably
acted in the matter very much as the sons of the editors and
ministers and reformers, who have been so severe upon them, would
have acted in like circumstances. That happy day when the
brotherhood of the race shall be honestly and lovingly acknowledged
I fear is yet far distant, nor is it to be hastened by attempting
to force a social intercourse against which there may be a natural
aversion. As far as the officers are concerned, I believe that they
have tried to treat young Smith with strict impartiality, and to
give him every opportunity. The affairs of the Academy seem to go
forward like clock-work. Considering the sore and excited state of
mind among the cadets, their order and subordination have been
remarkable. Of course two hundred and brought together from every
diversity of life, could not be expected to act like nicely
adjusted machines; but with the exception of those two affairs,
what has there been to justify the charges of 'lawlessness' or
'looseness of discipline?'
"In view of its services, it is strange that anyone should speak
seriously of breaking up West Point. It has paid back to the nation
all that has been spent upon it a hundredfold.
"P.S.--May I add a word in regard to the commandant of this post,
who is the officer who has special care of the students in the
Academy. Political attacks do not spare anybody, and during the
recent troubles slurs have been thrown out even against General
Upton. It has been intimated that fear of the authorities at
Washington has made him over-lenient and slack in his discipline
toward the first class, as President Grant and others high in power
have sons in this class.
"These disparaging remarks are made either by those who know
nothing of General Upton's character and antecedents, or else they
are the grossest slanders. Search the army through and it would be
impossible to find a man more utterly devoid of the spirit that
truckles to power. Nature never put into his composition the least
spice of obsequiousness, and one has only to look into the man's
face and hear him speak five words in order to know it. He belongs
to that class of men who pay more attention to the poor and humble
than to the high and haughty.
"I think my testimony in this matter is worth something. During
nearly four years of life in the army, and five years' residence
within one mile of the West Point Academy, I have met with a great
many officers of the volunteer and regular service, and never has a
man more thoroughly impressed me with the fact that he was a
gentleman, and conscientious in duty even to the slightest
particular, than General Upton. Moreover, he is an enthusiast in
his profession, and therefore successful. He is the author of the
Infantry Tactics now in use in our army, and said to be the finest
in the world. From frequent intercourse with the Point, I know that
he maintains a daily discipline among the cadets as nearly perfect
as anything of the kind can be. It is my belief that investigation
of the recent troubles will show that the institution was never
better officered than at present.
"Moreover, General Upton is a sincere Christian--one that lives up
to his profession. His influence in this respect is most marked and
happy upon the corps. We cannot overestimate the importance of the
fact that the officer directly in charge of the young men at the
Point is guided in all respects, not only by strict military honor
and duty, but by the highest Christian principle."