_The Pigeon-hole General and his Adjutant under Charges--The Exhorting
Colonels Adieu to the Sunday Fight at Chancellorsville; Reasons
thereof--Speech of the Dutch Doctor in Reply to a Peace-Offering from
the Chaplain--The Irish Corporal stumping for Freedom--Black Charlie's
Compliments to his Master--Western Virginia at the Head of a Black
Regiment._
"HEAD-QUARTERS, ---- DIVISION.
"---- ARMY CORPS, _7th May, 1863_.
"General Orders, No. 22.
"The term of service of six of the eight Regiments forming my
Division is about to expire. In the midst of the pressing duties of
an active Campaign there is but little time for leave-taking, yet I
cannot part from the brave officers and men of my command without
expressing to them the satisfaction and pride I have felt at their
conduct, from the time when I assumed command, as they marched
through Washington, in September last, to join the Army of the
Potomac, then about to meet the Enemy, up to the present eventful
period.
"The cheerfulness with which they have borne the unaccustomed
fatigues and hardships which it is the lot of the soldier to
endure; their zealous efforts to learn the multifarious duties of
the soldier; the high spirit they have exhibited when called on to
make long and painful marches to meet the enemy, and their bravery
in the field of battle have won my regard and affection. I shall
part from them with deep regret, and wish them, as the time of each
regiment expires, a happy return to their families and friends.
"---- ----,
"Brig. Gen'l Com'g Division."
However profound the _regret_ of the General at parting, he must, from
the phraseology of the above Order, have been conscious, that in his own
conduct was to be found the reason that such regret was not in the least
reciprocated by his command. So completely had he aliened the affections
of officers and men that the ordinary salute in recognition of his rank
was given grudgingly, if at all. When there is no gold in the character,
men are not backward in proclaiming that they consider
"The rank is but the guinea's stamp."
As their campaign approached its close, he added studied insult to long
continued injury. His inconsistency, and willingness to make use of a
quibble for the accomplishment of tyrannical purposes were shown by his
non-approval of the requisition for dress coats, when it was handed in
by the officer in command of the Regiment, a short time after the
removal of the Colonel and Lieutenant-Colonel for refusing to obey the
order requiring it. Charges had been preferred against his
Adjutant-General for repeated instances of "Drunkenness upon Duty,"
"Disgraceful Conduct," and "Conduct unbecoming an Officer and a
Gentleman." They were returned to the Brigadier, through whom they had
been submitted, with an insulting note, in which the General took
occasion to state, by way of pre-judgment, that the charges were
malicious and false, notwithstanding the scores of names appended as
witnesses;--and that no _Volunteer Captain_ had a right to prefer
charges against one of his Staff; and that it was the duty of the
Brigadier to discountenance any charges of the kind. They were again
forwarded, with the statement of the Brigadier, that the charges were
eminently proper, and that he himself would prefer them, should
objection be taken to the rank of the officer whose signature was
attached. But pigeon-holing was a favorite smothering process at
Division Head-Quarters, and the drunken and disgraceful conduct of the
Adjutant-General remains unpunished.
Charges supported by a large array of reputable witnesses, ranking from
Brigadier to Privates, were preferred against the General himself, for
"Drunkenness," "Un-officerlike conduct," "Conduct tending to mutiny,"
and the utterance of the following treasonable and disloyal
sentiments:--
"That he wished some one would ask the army to follow General
McClellan to Washington, and hurl the whole d----d pack into the
Potomac, and place General McClellan at the head of the
Government,--that the removal of the said General McClellan was a
political move to kill the said General; and that the army had
better be taken to Washington, and turned over to Lincoln."
The charges and specifications, of one of the latter of which the above
is an extract, alleged that the offence was committed at Camp near
Warrenton, about the time of McClellan's removal. Whether they too have
been pigeon-holed at Division Head-Quarters is not known. Attention to
their merit was promised by superior officers. The patriotic sacrifices
of our citizen soldiery are surely worthy of an unceasing and unsparing
effort to procure loyal, temperate, and capable commanders. A timely
trial, besides affording a salutary example, might have done much in
preventing the disgraceful Rebel escape at Williamsport, which alone
dims the glory of Gettysburg.
* * * * *
The last that was seen of the exhorting Colonel and his Adjutant, was
their sudden exit from the wood at Chancellorsville, in an early stage
of Sunday's fight,--the one with a slight wound, and the other with a
headache caused by the cannonading, as alleged. A performance which has
not, thus far, brought the coveted star.
* * * * *
"I propose the health of the Assistant Surgeon," said the Chaplain, at a
supper given by the Sutler on the day of our muster out, and the
occasion of the presentation of a costly sword to our worthy
Colonel,--proposing thereby to make an advance towards healing their
differences. The Doctor could not escape; and winking, as usual with him
during excitement, he rose to his feet.
"My ver goot kind friend, the English language he am a shtranger to me.
No shpeak so goot as Shaplain, but py tam," and the Doctor struck the
table until the plates rattled--"was py the Shaplain over six month,
and my opinion is, Shaplains, women, and whiskey not goot for soldiers."
The Doctor's look and tones were irresistibly ludicrous, and a roar of
laughter at the expense of the Chaplain ran round the board.
* * * * *
The Regiment returned with ranks sadly thinned. Many of the survivors;
among them, most of the Field and Staff, the poetical and the preacher
Lieutenants, and privates Tom and Harry,--have re-entered service. The
two latter now carry swords.
* * * * *
Bill the cook is the presiding genius of a restaurant; his face, in the
way of reminding one of hot stews and pepper-pot, his best sign.
Charlie, his assistant, was last noticed in a photographic establishment
in Philadelphia; inclosing a full length card portrait of himself in
uniform, as a Corporal in a Black Regiment, for the benefit of his
master's family in Dixie.
* * * * *
The little Irish Corporal was heard to tell a brawling peace man,--as he
menaced with the stump of an arm,--lost at Chancellorsville--in a saloon
a short time after his return, to "hould his tongue; that the boys who
had lost limbs in defence of the country were the chappies to stump for
freedom, and that they would keep down all fires in the rear, while our
brave boys are fighting in front."
* * * * *
A late mail brings the news that our Western Virginia Captain is soon to
take the field at the head of a Black Regiment, and that the happiest
results are anticipated from his enforcement of military law and
tactics, as learned by him under "Old Rosy," in Western Virginia.
* * * * *
Thus we go on. Necessity hastens the progress of civilization and
freedom. Desolating war--protracted by mistaken leniency--has educated
the nation to a proper sense of the treason, and nerved it to the
determination to crush it by all possible means and at every hazard. The
man who has heretofore objected to Negro enlistments, acquiesces when
his own name appears upon the list of the Enrolling Officer. The day
that saw the change in the miserable, not to say treasonable, policy of
alienating the only real friends we have had in the South, and their
successful employment as soldiers, stands first in the decline of the
Rebellion. Its suppression is fixed, and is to be measured by the vigor
with which we press the war.
"Vengeance is secure to him
Who doth arm himself with right."
THE END.
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TRANSCRIBER'S NOTES:
The author, "A Citizen-Soldier", is pseudonym for William H. Armstrong.
"Old Pigey" is believed to be based on General Arthur A. Humphreys.
This text has been edited to standardize representation of censored
words. Additionally, hyphens have been added to some phrases, to provide
consistency.
"=" has been used in this text edition of the book to indicate where
the original book used bold fonts; + has been used to indicate a font
change.