Elmira a Place of Rendezvous.—Arrival of Troops.—Organization
of the Thirty-third.—A Beef Incident.—Presentation of a
Flag.—Mustering into the United States Service.
The reader will remember that Elmira had been designated as the point of
rendezvous for volunteers from the central and western portions of the
State. Battalions, Companies and squads flocked hither daily, and were
consolidated into regiments. In this manner the 12th, 13th, 19th, 21st,
23rd, 26th and 27th, among other regiments, were formed. The plan and
arrangements for consolidation were to a certain extent left with the
various commands, each one being permitted to select and act upon its own
regimental organization.
On the 17th of May the officers of eight of the previously described
Companies met and decided upon forming themselves into a regiment, the
two other Companies afterwards joining them. On the 21st the organization
was rendered complete by the election and appointment of the following
field and staff officers:
Colonel—ROBERT F. TAYLOR, Rochester.
Lieutenant Colonel—CALVIN WALKER, Geneva. Resigned at Camp Lyon.
Major—ROBERT J. MANN, Seneca Falls. Resigned at Camp Griffin.
Adjutant—CHARLES T. SUTTON, New York City. Resigned at Hagerstown.
Quarter-Master—H. L. SUYDAM, Geneva. Resigned at Camp Lyon.
Chaplain—Rev. G. N. CHENEY, Rochester. Resigned at Camp Lyon.
Surgeon—T. RUSH SPENCER. Resigned at Camp Granger.
Assistant Surgeon—S. S. MULFORD, Cherry Valley. Resigned at
Stafford Court House.
The regiment was designated as the Thirty-third New York State
Volunteers, and assigned to barrack number five, at Southport, where it
remained until the departure for Washington.
The entire change in the mode of life occasioned some uneasiness, at
first, on the part of the men. They were not made up of the refuse
material of our large cities, “the scum that rises uppermost when the
nation boils,” but had come from homes supplied with every comfort. A few
days, however, served to inure them to the change, and they learned to
sleep soundly in the rude hammocks, and thrive on the plain bill of fare.
As a general thing they were supplied with wholesome and nutritious
food; but an occasional oversight would occur, when, woe to the unlucky
purveyor. On one occasion some meat was sent to them, which, imparting
a suspicious odor to their olfactories, the boys immediately collected,
and bearing it away to a prepared receptacle, deposited the stuff with
all the funeral pomp and ceremony which formerly attended the burial
of Euclid at Yale College. The funeral oration abounded in not the
most complimentary allusion to the Commissariat, who, improving on the
wholesome advice administered, ever afterwards furnished the Regiment
with beef that would pass muster.
The principal event connected with the sojourn of the Thirty-third
here, was the reception of a splendid banner from the patriotic ladies
of Canandaigua. The Regiment being formed into a hollow square, Mrs.
Chesebro, of Canandaigua, stepped forward and presented the flag to
Colonel Taylor, in the following felicitous remarks:
“Colonel Taylor, and Members of the Ontario Regiment: In behalf of the
wives, mothers and daughters of Canandaigua, I ask your acceptance of
this Regimental Banner. On the one side is the coat of arms of our noble
Empire State; on the reverse, the Seal of old Ontario, adopted by your
forefathers shortly after the Revolution, in 1790. And who—seeing the
sudden transformation of her peaceful citizens into armed soldiers—can
doubt the loyalty and patriotism of the men of Ontario? Soldiers! in
assuming the name of a time-honored county as the bond of union for
this Regiment, you assume to emulate the virtues which characterized
the pioneers of civilization in Western New York, and like them, let
forbearance and moderation actuate your motives and temper your zeal.
Let the thought that brave hearts at home, have, with more than Roman
heroism, parted with those most dear to them, inspire each soul to acts
of courage, and nerve each arm to deeds of daring. And though ‘the pomp
and circumstance of war’ are, to woman’s timid nature, but other terms
for death and desolation, this banner is the assurance of our sympathy
with the cause of Liberty and our Country. Bear it forth with you in
the heat of battle, where each soldier may fix his eye upon it, and if
it comes back riddled with bullets and defaced with smoke, we shall
know that a traitor has answered with his life for every stain upon it.
Bear it forth, as you go, followed by our best wishes, and our earnest
prayers; and may the God of Battles preserve and bless you, and crown
your efforts and those of all our brave defenders of the stars and
stripes with speedy and signal victory! Take it, and may God’s blessing
go with you and it.”
Colonel Taylor responded:
“Mrs. Chesebro, and Members of the Committee from Canandaigua: I thank
you most heartily for the beautiful gift which you have presented to the
Thirty-third Regiment. It shall be most gratefully prized as a token of
the kind interest and loyalty of the ladies of Canandaigua; and I promise
that it shall never be dishonored or disgraced. But, unfortunately, I am
not much given to talking; my business lies in another direction; and
I am willing to let the acts and doings of the Ontario Regiment speak
for me. I have the pleasure of introducing to you the Chaplain of the
Thirty-third, the Rev. Mr. Cheney, who will address you more fully.”
He then introduced Chaplain Cheney, who addressed Mrs. Chesebro and the
delegation accompanying her, as follows:
“I think that I hardly need an introduction to those who hail from
Canandaigua; and although I might well wish that the part I now undertake
to discharge, had been conferred upon one better able to do justice to
the occasion and the theme, yet, belonging as I do by birth and early
associations to Ontario County, the task is to me one of pleasantness.
And when I strive, as I now do, to return most heartfelt acknowledgments
to the ladies of Canandaigua for this token of interest and confidence
in our Regiment, I only strive to utter the sentiment which fills every
soldier’s breast this moment.
“It is an old proverb, and one which has been more than once graven
on the warrior’s shield “NOT WORDS BUT DEEDS,” and I would be mindful
of the spirit of the saying; and yet I hazard nothing in assuring the
patriotic women of Canandaigua that they shall never see the day when
they will regret the confidence which they have placed in the men of the
Thirty-third. It may be, that in the fortunes of war no opportunity will
be given them of great distinction, and I cannot promise for them that
under these colors they shall win bloody fields and achieve splendid
victories. I cannot promise in their behalf, feats of arms which future
poets shall sing, and future historians record; but I can, and I do
here pledge them, never, in camp or in field, to bring disgrace on this
banner, nor on the name ‘ONTARIO’ which its folds display. I cannot
promise you a glorious and safe return of this Banner, but I think that
I can, in behalf of every man in these ranks, declare that death shall
be welcome sooner than its dishonor. Storms may disfigure it, shot may
pierce and rend its silken folds, brave blood may wet and stain its blue
and gold, but the men of the Ontario Regiment will guard it with their
lives; and their arms shall be nerved, and their souls inspired, not only
by the love of their imperilled country, but also by the remembrance of
the confidence and expectation which the gift implies. They will guard
it. They will fight for it, not only because it is entrusted to their
keeping by loyal women, but also because it comes to them from that
beautiful old town which never yet has been dishonored by a traitor-son,
but which has been famous in all the land as the home of Spencer, and
Howell, and Sibley, and Worden, and Granger, and others whose names are
part of the history of our State and Country.
“Perhaps we do not appreciate the part that woman bears in every great
struggle for national existence. We are too apt to consider all as
achieved by the work and sacrifice of men. And yet, noble and heroic
as they are who go forth to battle for the right—not less noble and
heroic are their loved ones, mothers, sisters, wives, who give them up
in the hour of need, and who at home, without surrounding excitements
to sustain them, without any prospect of renown to reward them, watch,
labor and pray to the God of Hosts in behalf of that cause for which
they have bravely but tearfully risked their heart’s dearest treasures.
Who can estimate the influence of loyal women in our country’s present
struggle? Not the less potent in that it is for the most part unobtrusive
and beneath the surface; an influence manifested not in bloody smiting,
but in humble labors to alleviate the necessities and miseries of war, in
words and acts of inspiring encouragement.
“Bear, then, to the ladies of Canandaigua our heartfelt gratitude. Tell
them that their trust shall not be dishonored. Tell them that their gift
shall not be in vain, but that by its influence, cheering on our men to
true and loyal heroism, it will be gratefully remembered and cherished as
one of the powers and instrumentalities by which, we trust to God, that
ere long from the rock-ribbed coast of Maine to the Keys of Florida,
‘The Star Spangled Banner in triumph shall wave,
O’er the Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave.’”
The Elmira Cornet Band then discoursed a patriotic air, after which the
Regiment returned to the barracks and partook of a sumptuous repast,
provided by the citizens of Elmira.
This beautiful banner, which has ever been the pride of the Regiment,
was made of the finest blue silk, bearing upon one side the Coat-of-Arms
of the State of New York, and on the reverse the Seal of the County of
Ontario, adopted in 1790. Over this seal appeared in bold gilt letters,
the words: “Ontario County Volunteers.” Surmounting the staff was a
highly finished carved Eagle, with spread pinions—the whole forming one
of the most elegant battle-flags ever wrought by fair hands.
Six hours were allotted each day to drilling, though, owing to the
absence of arms, the men were confined, during the entire time of
sojourn at Elmira, to the rudimentary principles of the manual. Books,
newspapers, and other reading material, purchased and contributed by
various benevolent associations, whiled away many hours which would
otherwise have hung heavily.
Meanwhile our forces were being massed on the Potomac, and the men
became anxious to depart for the seat of war. They had enlisted to
fight the rebels at once, and, unexperienced as they were in military
matters, could not understand the necessity of devoting so much time to
preparation. Not that they chafed under discipline, but longed to be up
and at the miscreants who had dared to fire on their country’s flag, and
were then menacing its capital.
Friday, July 3d, the Regiment was drawn up in front of the barracks,
and Captain Sitgreaves, a regular officer, proceeded to muster it by
companies into the United States’ service for two years, dating from May
22d, the time at which it was organized.
All those who desired to do so, were permitted to visit their homes on
the 4th, with the understanding that they should return immediately.
Arms and equipments were for the first time furnished on the 6th and
7th, and preparations made for an immediate departure to Washington, via
Harrisburg. A long train of freight and cattle cars were drawn up to
receive the men, but Col. Taylor declined to “embark” his command in any
such vehicles, and passenger cars were furnished in their stead.