CAMPAIGN UNDER GENERAL STONEWALL JACKSON.
The object of the expedition we were about to make was to drive from
Virginia General W. S. Hancock’s forces, which had crossed the Potomac
on pontoon at Sir John’s Run and taken up their camp at Berkeley
Springs, not far from the Potomac. General Jackson’s plan was to pass
General Hancock’s right flank, get in his rear between the army and
the Potomac, and kill or capture as many as he could. His plans were
similar to the Chancellorsville movement, but we shall see that the
weather knocked us out. We struck tents at 8 A.M. Wednesday, January
1, 1862, and the wind struck a good many of them, blowing them down
before we had a chance to draw the pegs. It was a blustery day, but not
very cold. We moved eight miles to Pughtown, and bivouacked there. On
the morning of January 2 reveille sounded at five o’clock, and before
daylight we were on the move, but made little headway, as the weather
had turned intensely cold, with a light snow. If a man was at the head
of the column he was all right; but after a few companies had passed
over, the snow became as slick as ice, and skating would have been good
if a fellow had had skates. I bivouacked on three cedar rails and built
a rail fire on each side, and the red cedar popped sparks on the cape
of my overcoat, and when I woke up I was afire.
Colonel Maney said that he thought we would get in the fight the next
day. We were ordered to cook up all our rations. On the morning of the
4th we were formed in line and each man supplied with forty rounds of
cartridges. We marched thirteen miles and reached a point three miles
from Bath, or Berkeley Springs, and camped in the woods. It snowed
heavily that night, and was extremely cold. There was little sleep
for us. On the morning of the 5th we moved on Bath, and as we formed
a line a short distance from the town, which was situated on a hill
of considerable proportions, the enemy’s battery opened fire upon us.
General Stonewall Jackson rode upon Old Sorrel. The General wore a
skull cap, a blouse, gray jacket, and the reins hung loosely on Old
Sorrel’s neck; he looked more like a plow horse than a war steed. With
a twinkle in his eye General Jackson said to Colonel Maney: “Colonel
Maney, I want the Virginians [alluding to his old regiment] to take
that battery. They have had some rations since your men.” We yelled
out: “General, we do not want any rations; let us capture the battery.”
General Jackson replied: “Colonel Maney, move your regiment by
companies to the right.” We made a gallant charge, but when we reached
the guns only two of the enemy were in sight. It was a feint to cover
General Hancock’s retreat across the Potomac on his pontoon, but he
could have crossed on the ice, as it was nearly twelve inches thick.
While we moved to the capture of the battery Turner Ashby with his
black horse cavalry charged into the town, capturing a few prisoners.
It was an inspiring sight—the black horses of Ashby charging down the
valley. We captured some rations, which we devoured in short order.
The next day (Sunday) we moved six miles from Bath, and took up our
position opposite Hancock, Md., a beautiful little town on the mountain
side, and General Hancock had occupied the town; but alas! the Potomac
River separated us, and it was filled with floating ice. The next
day about 9 A.M. General Jackson sent a courier across the river. We
watched the horse struggling through the floating ice, and cheered
as it brought the rider safely to the other side. General Jackson’s
order was to move the noncombatants out of town, as he would commence
to bombard at 12 M. At the hour named our batteries opened up a brisk
fire, and General Hancock rushed some batteries behind the Methodist
church and replied furiously. At intervals the dueling was kept up
into the night, and it was a grand sight to see the solid shot moving
as balls of fire. During a part of the cannonading in the daytime I
stood near General Jackson and Colonel Robert Hatton, of the Seventh
Tennessee. Both sat upon their horses as immovable as statues. It was
said of General Jackson that he was a predestinarian. The Presbyterian
boys might have explained the meaning of the term. It was also said
that he was a fatalist. This was a term that I think would have been
difficult for any of the boys to explain. I believe, however, that
General Stonewall Jackson had that faith in God that lifted him above
the field of battle, and, living or dying, he was the Lord’s; then
why should he be disturbed by the roar of cannon or the bursting of
shells? That night a detail was to be made to picket the Potomac,
with orders not to light any fires, because the enemy might fire at us
from the opposite bank. Sergeant J. W. Carter, of Company B, commenced
near the head of the roster for a detail, and many of the boys were
sick. Captain Patterson said: “I cannot excuse any more; the sick
must go to Dr. Buist and get an excuse.” The roll call was continued,
and I was a long way down the list; yet my name was reached, and I
answered: “Am always on hand.” Captain Patterson turned to Sergeant
Carter and said: “How many roll calls has Toney missed since leaving
Big Sewell Mountain?” He replied: “Seventeen.” Captain Patterson said:
“To-night’s duty on picket wipes them all out.” Gallant, chivalrous
John S. Patterson, how I loved him! He was as gentle and modest as
a woman. How my heart ached when I buried him the following October
at Perryville, Ky.! In regard to the missing of roll call, I never
regarded it as a dereliction of duty, therefore on the march from
Sewell Mountain frequently when roll was called I was off foraging. In
army parlance foraging was to send one of the mess out to buy something
to eat, provided he had the money; if he did not have the money, he
was to _take_ the food. It was related of two comrades who lived near
Murfreesboro, and who were sent out by their mess with one dollar to
purchase supplies, that they returned with five cents’ worth of bread
and ninety-five cents’ worth of whisky, and those that liked to imbibe
complained of the purchase of so much bread. In regard to the roll
call, it is a breach of duty to neglect when any service is to be
performed, because it puts an extra and more frequent burden on your
comrades. If I had used the army parlance term, and said “stood picket”
that night, I should have missed it. I ran picket for four hours around
and around a big tree; I had to do it to keep from freezing. I did not
have anything to eat the previous day but some raw corn taken from
artillery horses, and chewed the sprigs of sassafras bushes.
Captain F. S. Harris told me that he had traveled in that section
much since the war, and that a citizen of Hancock, Md., had told him
that on the two nights we were there the mercury was sixteen degrees
below zero; and I do not doubt it. Many of our boys would get in that
stupor which precedes death by freezing, and we would have to seize
them roughly and keep them moving to prevent freezing. When relieved
by another detail, about 3 A.M., I crawled in under an oilcloth and
blanket and got a few hours’ sleep. A fall of snow during the latter
part of the night served to keep us warm. Looking from under the
blankets next morning, we could see many of the boys sleeping beneath
their snowy couches, which resembled graves. A detail of Company C was
made to guard the medical stores of General Jackson, which were in
wagons. The boys found in one of the wagons a cask of brandy. Getting
hold of an auger, they notified the boys in camp to have some kettles
ready. Going under the wagon, they bored through the body into the
cask, and thus filled their vessels. General Jackson relieved them from
duty, but did not punish them. I presume he thought they were excusable
under the weather conditions. We were sorely disappointed in not being
able to engage the enemy. It is true that we forced them across the
river, but they could return in a few days after we left. General
Jackson succeeded in destroying a dam in the Potomac River which fed
the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal, and cut off canal communication between
Cumberland, Md., and Washington, D. C.
On the morning of January 8 reveille sounded very early, and we moved
slowly to Bath over a very slick, icy pike. The next morning there
was another early reveille; and we made only seven miles that day, on
account of the condition of the pike and blockade of wagons. On the
10th we were at Munger’s Cross Roads, awaiting orders. Sunday, January
12, Dr. Quintard preached for us.
On my way to the post-office tent to mail a letter home General S. R.
Anderson hailed me, and asked where I was going. I told him, whereupon
he reached into his pocket and gave me a letter, saying earnestly: “I
wish I could put myself into that letter and be sent home.”
On the morning of January 13 we had early reveille, struck tents, and
moved down to headquarters. Many of our boys were on the sick list, and
when we went into Winchester we had only twenty-five able-bodied men
left in Company B; and other companies were depleted in proportion. Out
of my mess of ten only two of us were ready for duty, and we had the
extra blankets of eight men. The town of Winchester was overrun with
soldiers, and all the houses were filled to overflowing.
On January 14 we started to Romney, Va., which was situated on the
bank of the beautiful south branch of the Potomac. On account of the
ice and sleet we made only a few miles. On the 13th we crossed Capon
River, and made only six miles during the day. The 16th of January we
made only nine miles, and camped within eleven miles of Romney, which
the enemy evacuated, leaving a lot of stores. On January 17 we were
within four miles, and bivouacked with the regiments of Colonels Hatton
and Forbes. Our cavalry occupied Romney, and we had nothing to do
except to go into the town and get some rations. We were given a lot of
provisions and drew quantities of butter, the first and only rations of
butter I had seen issued during the war.
I went into Romney and took dinner at a private house on January 21. I
met Major Yost, our quartermaster, and he said that he had heard that
our brigade was going to Hanging Rock, some three miles from Romney,
to winter quarters. Was the First Tennessee Regiment to go into winter
quarters? We shall see.
Friday, January 24, we moved through Romney and reached Hanging Rock,
and camped one-quarter of a mile from the Potomac. On January 25
Colonel Hatton’s regiment moved down to Suspension Bridge, and camped
near there. Some of our boys who went back to Winchester began coming
into camp on January 26. They thought we would have a fight, and did
not wish to miss it. On January 29 I crossed the south branch of the
Potomac in a skiff, and saw the residence of Colonel Washington, who
was on General Lee’s staff, and who was killed in the Cheat Mountain
campaign. Colonel Washington was the nearest living relative of General
George Washington. We got too near the enemy’s pickets, and had to
wait until nightfall to recross the river. At eleven o’clock at night
our camp was aroused by the beating of the long roll, and we tumbled
out of our tents in quick order. After the regiment was formed, my
company was detailed to picket the ford. January 31 closed a very
disagreeable week; it had snowed or hailed during the entire week.
On February 2 we had orders to be ready to move at a moment’s notice,
as the enemy were preparing to cut us off. On the 4th we moved from
camp as rapidly as the weather and the wagons would permit. On February
5 we camped one mile from Capon Bridge, and on February 7 we reached
our old camp at Winchester, which we left on January 1.
On February 8 I went into Winchester to get some clothing from
Nashville brought by Lieutenant Van Leer. I learned that my package was
lost at Manassas Junction. On February 9 we heard of the fall of Fort
Henry, and this made us fear the loss of Fort Donelson. On the 14th of
February my mess built a chimney to our tent, and we were prepared for
the six-inch snow that fell on the 15th.
Colonel Maney had been to Richmond, and had the regiment detached from
the Virginia army, and ordered returned to Tennessee to support Fort
Donelson. The fatalities of the campaign were three soldiers frozen to
death.