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— THOMAS SHERIDAN |
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BOOK |
/A
HISTORY
OF
The Eighth Regiment
VERMONT VOLUNTEERS.
i86i--i86«y
; J'^J'1 •
BY GEO. N. CARPENTER.
ISSUED BY THE COMMITTEE OF PUBLICATION.
BOSTON:
PRESS OF DELAND & BARTA. 1886.
H533
C3
COPYRIGHT 1886
BY N.
Illustrations by Forbes 6° Co., Boston.
TO THE PEOPLE
OF HIS NATIVE STATE, THIS MEMORIAL OF
PATRIOTIC SERVICE
IS
DEDICATED BY THE AUTHOR.
M176S70
COMMITTEE'S PREFACE,
AT several reunions of the Eighth Vermont Regiment of U. S. Volunteers, the opinion was freely expressed that a regimental history ought to be published, in order to preserve in a per manent form the records of its service and achievements. In pursuance of this idea, committees were appointed at different times to obtain materials for such a volume and solicit contribu tions to the work from members of the command. Although some progress in this direction had been made, no decisive action was taken until the reunion held in Montpelier in June, 1885. At that meeting the subject was agitated afresh, and ex-Gov. Barstow offered a resolution that the undersigned constitute a committee of publication, with power to prepare and print the contemplated book.
To make the enterprise immediately practicable, ample pecuniary aid was pledged, subject to the order of the com mittee, and the material already in the possession of the regi mental secretary, Dr. C. M. Ferrin, and a member of the committee, was placed in their hands to be used as a basis for the history, and the work was inaugurated by the choice of George N. Carpenter as historian.
As the result of their labor the committee now offer their comrades this volume, which, in unpretentious style, tells a simple story of the organization of the regiment, and its military
COMMITTEE'S PREFACE. V
career in camp, on the march, and in battle ; with many incidents and relations which have a peculiar interest for the regiment, or those members of it more immediately concerned.
Believing that such a book as they have prepared should be strictly a regimental history, and not a criticism on the conduct of the war, the committee have sought to exclude from its pages all irrelevant matter, and have avoided reference to the troops with which they served, and to the general movements and progress of battles, except when the story could not be clearly set forth without so doing. Within the prescribed scope, too, certain limits have been observed, so far as its pages are concerned. The book deals solely with the creditable deeds of officers and privates, and, on the ground that nothing else deserves to be preserved in such a permanent form, con signs all else to oblivion.
Having been at great pains to verify every important state ment by the accounts of reliable comrades, who could indorse it from personal knowledge, and to ransack the memories of those who participated, for accurate details of battles and marches, the committee feel justified in pronouncing the history accurate and reliable in all essential respects. At the same time it is to be regretted that the book must, of necessity, lack somewhat in fulness of detail, owing to the lapse of so many years since the events narrated took place. This feature will be particularly noticeable in the lists of wounded, and those taken prisoners, which, though corrected and enlarged up to the very moment of going to press, are still incomplete.
The committee desired to embellish the pages of the book with portraits of all the officers who held commissions in the regiment. They regret, therefore, that some who were invited to furnish' pictures for this purpose have declined so to do ; they fear, also, that others may have failed to receive the notices which were mailed to all whose addresses could be ascertained, or to their friends in cases where the officers were not living. It is a pleasure, however, to include in the list of illustrations the portraits of several officers who, though not belonging to the Eighth Regiment, were known and greatly
vi COMMITTEE'S PREFACE.
esteemed by its members. The excellent portrait of Gen. Philip H. Sheridan accompanies the fac-simile of his autograph letter ; another inset shows the familiar face of Gen. W. H. Emory, under whose command the regiment accomplished some of its most valuable service ; the thoughtful, kindly features of Gen. Godfrey Weitzel also find a place near the warm personal letter in which he has paid the regiment a sincere, discrim inating compliment.
The great amount of patient labor involved in the preparation of this work, the extent of which those who have undertaken it alone can appreciate, has been cheerfully done, to the end that the survivors of the regiment, their families, and the public, might possess a true record of what their patriotic service cost the Eighth Regiment from the state of Vermont.
STEPHEN THOMAS. GEORGE N. CARPENTER. HERBERT E. HILL. S. E. HOWARD. BOSTON, May i, 1886.
AUTHOR'S PREFACE.
IN compliance with the wish of comrades and the committee of publication, the author consented to act as historian of his regiment. The work, undertaken as a labor of love and con scientiously performed, has been far more exacting than was anticipated at the outset, and often full of discouragement. No means have been neglected to make the story as complete as possible, and whatever success has been achieved is due to those who have kindly furnished the facts set forth in these pages. If anything essential has been omitted, the author begs to remind readers that no one man can have witnessed all the movements of a single body of troops, and the full history of the regiment would contain the personal experience of every one who belonged to it.
The author desires to acknowledge his indebtedness to all who have aided by contributions and otherwise in the prepara tion of the work. And especially would he express his obligations to ex-Gov. Barstow for valuable aid ; to Gen. Thomas for information which could be furnished only by the highest officer in command ; to Col. Hill for his description of the battle of the Opequon, and the thrilling accounts of the morning and afternoon engagements at Cedar Creek ; to Capt. Howard for the careful preparation of the statistical tables, and his account of the battle at Winchester ; to Col.
Vlll AUTHOR'S PREFACE.
Fred. E. Smith for letters, valuable papers, and important suggestions. He desires to mention particularly Dr. C. M Ferrin, Capt. John Bisbee, Lieut. James Welch, Lieut. Porter, Sergt. A. P. Hawley, Sergt. W. E. Hallada^ C. A. Dean, and Charles E. Hardy, who have aided him in various ways.
He is under obligations to Capt. F. H. Buffum for permis sion to adapt for the work maps published in the valuable history of the Fourteenth New Hampshire Regiment, and to Mr. C. M. Barrows for his able professional services in revising and editing the manuscript and superintending its publication.
CONTENTS.
PAGE.
INTRODUCTION - i
PART I.
ORGANIZATION 9
CAMP HOLBROOK 17
GOING TO THE FRONT 24
NEW ORLEANS . • 32
PART II.
ALGIERS 40
RACELAND 50
BOUTEE STATION 53
DES ALLEMANDS 55
SHOOTING THE GERMANS 63
BRASHEAR CITY 74
PART III.
BATTLE OF THE COTTON 82
PART IV.
BISLAND 97
ALEXANDRIA 106
PART V.
PORT HUDSON 112
THE FIRST ASSAULT 114
THE SECOND ASSAULT 123
THE SURRENDER 132
INCIDENTS OF THE SIEGE . 134
PART VI.
BAYOU TECHE AGAIN 137
A VETERAN REGIMENT 143
ON A FURLOUGH : 146
GOING NORTH 152
CONTENTS. PART VII.
To THE SHENANDOAH THE VALLEY
PART VIII.
BATTLE OF OPEQUON ................. 168
As OTHERS SEE Us .... ............. 172
CAPT. HOWARD'S STORY ................ 175
COL. HILL'S STORY .................. 184
INCIDENTS ..................... 195
PART IX.
FISHER'S HILL .................... 199.
TOM'S BROOK .................... 202
PART X.
BATTLE OF CEDAR CREEK ............... 205
THE MORNING FIGHT ................. 214
THE AFTERNOON FIGHT ................ 220-
INCIDENTS OF THE FIGHT ............... 229
PART XL
NEWTOWN ..................... 236
SUMMIT POINT .................... 238
MUSTERED OUT ................... 245
IN RETROSPECT ................... 249
PART XII.
THE EIGHTH VERMONT IN CIVIL LIFE .... ...... 252
SKETCH OF GEN. THOMAS ............... 253
Gov. HOLBROOK .................. .263
MILITARY HISTORY OF COMMISSIONED OFFICERS 265
PROMOTIONS OF ENLISTED MEN 276-
OFFICERS OF THE REGIMENT 281
BATTLES AND SKIRMISHES 281
NON-COMMISSIONED OFFICERS AND PRIVATES WHO DlED FROM
DISEASE, ETC 283
ORIGINAL ROSTER 286
RECAPITULATION 319
APPENDIX.
DEDICATION OF MONUMENT AT WINCHESTER . . 321
DEDICATION OF MONUMENT AT CEDAR CREEK 331
PORTRAITS AND OTHER ILLUSTRATIONS.
PAGE.
GEN. STEPHEN THOMAS Frontispiece.
Gov. FREDERICK HOLBROOK 18
CAMP HOLBROOK 20
CARROLTON SIGNAL STATION 42
GROUP OF OFFICERS 52
^FATHER" ISAAC BLAKE 66
GROUP OF OFFICERS ' 84
BATTLE OF THE COTTON 88
BATTLE OF PORT HUDSON 114
CAPT. H. E. FOSTER 116
LIEUT. S. F. SPALDING 126
LIEUT. COL. C. DILLINGHAM 138
Q. M. FRED E. SMITH 140
MAJ. J. L. BARSTOW 150
GROUP OF OFFICERS 152
GEN. G. WEITZEL .' . . 154
MAJ. H. M. POLLARD 164
BATTLE OF OPEQUON 168
CAPT. G. O. FORD 194
LIEUT. COL. H. F. BUTTON 198
GROUP OF OFFICERS 200
GEN. P. H. SHERIDAN 204
BATTLE OF CEDAR CREEK 208
GEN. W. H. EMORY 214
DEFENCE OF THE FLAGS 218
SHERIDAN'S AUTOGRAPH LETTER 220
COL. J. B. MEAD 244
GROUP OF OFFICERS 248
COL. H. E. HILL 320
MONUMENT AT WINCHESTER 330
INTRODUCTORY.
To a majority of the loyal people of the Union the armed revolt of 1 86 1 came as a surprise and a shock. They knew, indeed, that the slave-holding states were determined to per petuate and extend their peculiar institution if possible, and that it was the one paramount issue that controlled political action at the South. They were not blind to the grave disaf fection felt at every attempt to limit slavery by legislation ; but the hot sectional debates on the floor of congress, and the angry threats of Southern leaders, sounded quite too distant and vague to shake the popular faith that the mighty nation could hold each state fast in a compact of perpetual union. Even when South Carolina had passed an ordinance of secession, Dec. 20, 1860, and six sister states had followed her bold exam ple, the opinion prevailed at the North that in some way the breach would be closed, and the disputes settled or compro mised.
A few far-seeing men who knew the Southern mind more intimately took a different view. One of this class was Judge Stephen Thomas, of Vermont. Being a prominent man in the state and an active worker in the Democratic party, his sense of the gravity of the national problem was deep and prophetic. He had been an honored delegate to all the national Demo cratic conventions since 1848, and was present at that stormy session held in Charleston, S. C., April, 1860, which rent the
2 THE EIGHTH VERMONT.
party in twain and raised such bitter sectional disputes between the factions. Often in public debate and private interview had he tried to convince the Southern politicians that the North did not seek to trespass on their rights or meadle with any local issue of the slave states. He had discovered with pain that their ears were deaf to the appeals of reason and patriotism ; that the infatuated leaders spoke flippantly of the Union with its glorious memories ; he had marked the cool indifference with which they referred to the possibility of dividing the nation and setting up an independent confederacy on Southern soil. Knowing, as few of his Northern fellow-citizens did, the intensity of Southern hate, the hotspur spirit of the leaders, and the military capacity and resources at their command, he fore saw with alarm and sorrow that the government of the United States would soon be called upon to maintain its rights against a giant armed rebellion.
When, therefore, Governor Fairbanks called an extra session of the General Assembly, on the twenty-third of April, 1861, it was with a heavy heart that Judge Thomas went to Montpelier to meet his colleagues in the House. Fort Sumter had fallen, a civil war was fairly begun, President Lincoln had called for volunteers to enter the loyal army, and the legislature of which he was a member was to consider what response Vermont should make in this dire emergency.
Judge Thomas was the only Democratic member of the special committee to which was referred the various bills for raising, arming, and paying troops for the national de fence. He was also a member of the Committee on Ways and Means, which had under consideration an important bill author izing the governor and treasurer of the state to borrow such a sum of money as the legislature at this extra session might vote to appropriate for military purposes. How much money to appropriate was the first question to be decided, and the assembly and the people awaited with deep anxiety the recom mendation of the committee.
After this committee had organized and was ready for busi ness, a motion was made to report a bill appropriating half a
THE EXTRA SESSION. 3
million of dollars, and a very earnest discussion followed. Every member had spoken his sentiments on the motion except the judge, who sat in the rear of the committee-room listening intently to every word that was uttered. At last the chairman called upon him. Rising from his seat and stepping forward near the table, where he could command the gaze of every member, Judge Thomas gave utterance, in a very impressive manner, to convictions which no other speaker seemed to have shared with him. The solemn prophecy of his words was well- nigh startling, as he told them that the country was on the eve of a gigantic contest to preserve the Union. He knew well the spirit and temper of the Southern leaders. They were dead in earnest to destroy the Federal government, and establish a confederacy of which human slavery would be the chief corner stone. It was not enough that in his inaugural address, Presi dent Lincoln plainly told them it was not his purpose to inter fere with the institutions of any of the states ; they wanted absolute separation. He felt that they would use every possi ble means to accomplish their end. That meant war, and we should find them " foemen worthy of our steel." "Gentlemen of the Committee," said he, in closing his remarks, " I am not only in favor of appropriating five hundred thousand dollars for this war, but I am in favor of appropriating one million of dol lars. It will require a million, and I am not sure but that sum will be needed before the next regular session of the legis lature in October. I therefore move to amend the bill, by making the governor, lieutenant-governor, and treasurer a com- ' mittee to borrow at once five hundred thousand dollars, with authority to borrow another five hundred thousand when it shall be needed."
The earnestness and candor of this unexpected speech, con vinced every member of the committee that the judge was right, and without further debate it was voted to report the sum he had named, and the bill thus amended was adopted.
When the House took up the appropriation bill for consider ation, it was no more prepared than was the committee to accept the radical view of the secession movement presented
4 THE EIGHTH VERMONT,
by Judge Thomas. At first there was some mild opposition to the provisions of the bill, and objections were raised by dif ferent members. The legislature ought to be very cautious about voting to expend the enormous sum of one* million of dollars, — there was no way of raising such an amount except by direct taxation, and that was a doubtful expedient, — and other equally formidable obstacles were suggested, showing how little those who uttered them realized the true situation of national affairs, One of the principal arguments against the bill was made by a brilliant member, who was one of the ablest debaters in the House. He closed his speech with these words : " I tell you, Mr. Speaker, and gentlemen of the House, if you put a million of dollars into one side of the scale and the patriotism of the people into the other, the million of dollars will vastly out weigh the patriotism."
This base rating of the loyalty of the sons of Vermont roused Judge Thomas to defend his position in one of the most impassioned and telling speeches ever heard in the state-house. Hastily taking the floor, he repeated with a terrible emphasis what he had already declared in the meeting of the committee, about the nature of the approaching struggle between the North and South, and the vast importance of the issues at stake. To him it was nothing less than a contest for the per petuity of the free government bequeathed to them by their fathers ; and when the gentleman said that a million of dollars would outweigh the patriotism of the people of Vermont, he felt disgusted at his ignorance of the popular mind.
At this point the author of the odious libel interrupted the speaker, and tried to pla'ce a different construction on his words, without retracting his assertion. But paying no heed, to this digression, Judge Thomas proceeded to urge upon his hearers the duty of the hour, in the most earnest and eloquent lan guage he could command. He reminded them that theirs was among the first loyal states to speak, and it was of the utmost importance that she should set a good example to sister states, and give no uncertain sound. Prompt, bold action would have the effect to encourage patriotism and dishearten traitors.
RINGING WORDS. 5.
When the honor and life of the nation were" threatened, there was but one right thing for every loyal citizen to do. He would not consent to have it said, in the state of his birth, among the Green Mountains, in the land of Ethan Allen, that monqy could outweigh patriotism. The gentleman was alto gether wrong, and did not know the people, if he believed what he had said to be true.
Again the member who had made the unfortunate remark sought to modify its meaning and make it less offensive. But the sturdy judge refused to yield him quarter, and persisted that there was no uncertain meaning in the demands of patriot ism. He did not vote for the state officers named in the bill before the House ; yet he would trust them as loyal citizens of Vermont, and he had the most undoubted faith in the people behind them. Rising to the demands of the occasion, the speaker held his audience spell-bound, while, with vehe ment and eloquent words, he pleaded for his imperilled country, and the honor of the free institutions which made this the best government under heaven. Nothing could resist the trenchant logic of his argument, as he pictured in vivid colors the sacri fices that must be made for the salvation of the Union, and ended his speech with the following telling period :
" Until this rebellion shall have been put down, I have no friends to reward and no enemies to punish ; and I trust that the whole strength and power of Vermont, both of men and of money, will be put into the field to sustain the government."
While Judge Thomas was speaking, every eye was fixed upon him, and men listened with the closest attention, until he sat down and the spell of his eloquence was broken ; then they burst forth in enthusiastic applause, which told more plainly than words could have said it, that he had won the day. The vote upon the bill was taken immediately, and every member voted " Yes."
The Senate bill authorizing the raising of four Vermont vol unteer regiments for immediate service in " protecting and defending the constitution and the Union," soon came up for consideration in the House, and again the clear-headed, far-see-
6 THE EIGHTH VERMONT.
ing patriot of the Democratic party gave shape and tone to the action of his colleagues. He moved to amend the bill, making the number of regiments six instead of four. But on this point, also, a majority of the House were conservative and objected, showing how little they realized the strength of the revolt to be put down, or the magnitude of the army that would be required to do it. It was claimed that if Vermont should raise three regiments, and the other loyal states con tributed proportionally, it would put into the field a larger army than could ever be needed.
In answer to this plausible argument Judge Thomas replied, that the true policy was not to calculate how few men from each state the President can get along with ; but they should ask, " How many men can Vermont raise at once and put into the field ? " Thus, by showing the national strength at the outset of the campaign, the enemy will be intimidated, and bloodshed and treasure saved. The effect of his speech caused the House to so modify and amend the Senate bill that the governor of the state was thereby authorized to recruit two regiments with out delay, and four others whenever in his judgment their ser vices should be needed. Subsequent events showed that not only the force thus provided for was immediately needed, but that before the next legislature convened the entire six regi ments were ready to be put into the field, together with the first regiment of Vermont cavalry.
But there remained yet another duty to be performed before the House could discharge the special business which it had met to transact. Legislation reached its guarding hand still further, and considered what compensation would be due from the state to those who should volunteer to engage in military service. And yet again it was the potential thought of Judge Thomas that advocated a liberal policy towards the defenders of the country. The bill to be acted upon was entitled "An Act to authorize the embodying and equipment of a volunteer militia, and provide for public defence." This was duly referred to a special committee, of which the judge was a member, and while deliberating upon it he told the committee that Vermont
GENEROUS PAY. j
had always stood at the head of all the states in caring for her soldiers. She was the only state which made the pay of her soldiers engaged in the war of the Revolution equal to specie ; that in the war of 1812 she paid her volunteer militia five dollars a month in addition to the pay they received from the United States, and it should not be said that Vermont was less liberal then than she had been in the past. " The only ques tion now," said the judge, "is, what sum of money would be equal to five dollars in 1812, when money was less abundant, and consequently more valuable than it is to-day ? " He thought it would require at least seven dollars to equal five in 1812, and he therefore moved that non-commissioned officers, musicians, and privates receive, in addition to the compensation paid them by the United States, the sum of seven dollars a month each, to be paid them by the state.
This important motion was approved by the committee, and the act thus amended passed the House ; and in complying with its generous provisions three million, one hundred and forty-six thousand ($3, 146,000) dollars were subsequently paid to the enlisted soldiers and their families.
It goes without saying that, in urging upon his associates his view of the situation, Judge Thomas rightly estimated the sentiment that pervaded the land of Ethan Allen. Nobly did Vermont offer her best blood and treasure on the altar of our common country in the hour of peril ; bravely did her patriotic sons haste to the front in defence of the dear old flag. A quarter of a century has elapsed since war's dread tocsin sum moned them to arms. Sun and rain have bleached the blood stained fields where they fought, and clothed with verdure the graves of the fallen. The horrors of battle are followed by the blessings of a securer peace. And now in gratitude for the service rendered, one who knows its history attempts, as a labor of love, to record the sufferings and achievements of one of the most prominent regiments that loyal New England sent forth to conquer the Great Rebellion.
The Eighth Vermont.
ORGANIZATION.
THE insurgent frenzy of the South had become organized, defiant rebellion ; the seventy-five thousand volunteers who responded to the call of President Lincoln on the fifteenth of April, 1861, had served their three months at the front and returned home ; the three hundred thousand called for a month later were in the field ; a military way had been opened through Annapolis to the national capital; the Union arms had suf fered a disastrous rout at Bull Run ; the aristocracy of England was seeking a plausible pretext to urge the recognition of the Confederacy as a belligerent nation ; and sagacious men in the loyal states were beginning to realize that the opening conflict was no mere summer campaign, when Gen. Benj. F. Butler of Massachusetts was ordered to take command of the depart, ment of New England, and to raise in those states a force to operate in the far South.
In pursuance of his instructions he at -once made a special demand on the patriotism of the people; and in October, 1861, he visited the governor of Vermont at Montpelier, to ask his co-operation in the work of raising the troops required for this service. The answer of the Green Mountain boys was the
10 THE EIGHTH VERMONT.
Eighth Regiment and two batteries, promptly marched into camp and reported ready for duty — a brave contribution to the Union ranks, when it is remembered that the state had already sent one cavalry and six infantry regiments to the front, and was recruiting a seventh, when the request of Gen. Butler laid an additional burden upon its sturdy shoulders.
Thus began the history of a band of volunteers, whose faith ful and heroic service in the great struggle to maintain the honor of the national flag, it is desired to place on record in this volume. Its military career was peculiar and in some respects unique, since the regiment was recruited under direct order of the general government with very little assistance from local authorities, was formed in the short space of less than three months and sent into camp in midwinter, and its brigade and corps relations were with troops from other States than its own during the entire service.
As soon as Gen. Butler's wishes were made known, with prompt alacrity the state sanctioned the undertaking by the passage of a special legislative act ; and thus armed with full power to operate, the next step was to secure as commander of the proposed regiment a man who stood high in the public confidence, and would push the business in hand with the utmost vigor. After a brief consultation, the general was con vinced that Hon. Stephen Thomas, formerly judge of probate in Orange county, was the right man, and lost no time in tendering him the colonelcy, and urging him to accept it without delay. At first Judge Thomas hesitated to assume so grave a military trust. He was bred to the quiet habits of civil and profes sional life ; he felt the 'claims and pressure of its manifold cares and held his own abilities in modest esteem. He was ready to sacrifice, he shrank from no privation or danger, but the glories of the man of war had no attraction for him. The spell of indecision was of short duration, however, for patriot ism and the earnest desire of personal friends overcame every scruple, and Judge Thomas put his hand to the plow, never to look back until the armed revolt against his beloved country was suppressed.
RECRUITING OFFICERS. II
His commission was dated November 12, 1861, and from that time he ceased to ply the vocations of peace, and entered upon his new official duties with the utmost enthusiasm and unwearied devotion. His potent energy was everywhere felt ; he traversed the length and breadth of the state, making pub lic addresses, and urging on the work of enlistment with the greatest ardor. In the choice of capable staff-officers Col. Thomas was very fortunate, and it was on his recommendation that Mr. Fred E. Smith, of Montpelier, was appointed quarter master, to supplement his efforts. This officer's commission was issued on the twenty-third day of November, and he proved a most efficient co-laborer in the preparatory work of procuring supplies and equipping the men as they came into camp, thus relieving his superior officer of the details involved in the rapid purchase and distribution of uniforms and other supplies.
As an indispensable part of the machinery of enlistment, the colonel appointed in different parts of the state the following recruiting officers :
CHARLES B. CHILD, Derby Line, November 18.
HENRY E. FOSTER, St. Johnsbury, „ 18.
CYRUS B. LEACH, Bradford, „ 19.
EDWARD HALL, Worcester, „ 18.
HIRAM E. PERKINS, St. Albans, „ 19.
SAMUEL G. P. CRAIG, Randolph, „ 18.
HENRY F. DUTTON, Townsend, „ 18.
WILLIAM W. LYNDE, Marlboro, „ 18.
JOHN S. CLARK, Lunenburg, „ 19.
In compliance with their instructions these gentlemen began at once the business of enlistment, and as fast as they were filled the companies chose their commissioned officers, and were assigned places in the regiment corresponding to the dates of these elections.
Company A was recruited by Luman M. Grout and Moses McFarland, 'in Lamoille county and the town of Worcester, in Washington county, and was originally intended for the Sixth Regiment ; but before the ranks were entirely full the
12 THE EIGHTH VERMONT.
men were ordered to report at Montpelier, where the adjutant general of the state wished to separate them and assign them to different companies in the Sixth, which lacked a maximum number. To this distribution, however, the members resolutely objected, declaring that they had enlisted to serve together; consequently they were ordered back to Hyde Park, to remain until the full complement of men was recruited. The maximum was reached Nov. 13, and the following officers were imme diately elected : Captain, Luman M. Grout ; First Lieutenant, Moses McFarland ; Second Lieutenant, Gilman Rand.
Company B was recruited by Charles B. Child, of Derby Line, assisted by Stephen F. Spalding, Fred. D. Butterfield, and John Bisbee, during the months of November and Decem ber. It was to their advantage that Mr. Spalding had already served with the ninety-days' volunteers who answered to the first call of the President, and was familiar with military tactics ; for as fast as the members enlisted he began to drill them at Derby Line, and prepare them to assume at once the duties of active service. The required number of men was obtained on the I4th of December, and they elected : Captain, Charles B. Child ; First Lieutenant, Stephen F. Spalding ; Second Lieutenant, Fred D. Butterfield ; and on reaching camp at Brattleboro, the company was assigned to the left of the line.
Company C was raised in Caledonia county, and principally in the town of St. Johnsbury. It was recruited by Henry E. Foster, was organized about ten days later than Company B, and had the honor to be the color company of the regiment. On the 25th of December the men elected as commissioned officers : Captain, Henry E. Foster ; First Lieutenant, Edward B. Wright ; Second Lieutenant, Frederick J. Fuller.
Company D procured a majority of its members from Bradford, and the complement was filled with small detach ments of men from Fairlee, West Fairlee, Corinth, Topsham, Newbury, and Thetford, all adjacent towns in Orange county. The company was recruited by the men who subsequently
COMPANIES. !3
served as its commissioned officers, and was organized Decem ber 28th, by the choice of : Captain, Cyrus B. Leach ; First Lieu tenant, Alfred E. Getchell ; Second Lietitenant, Darius G. Child.
Company E had its recruiting station at Worcester, in the county of Washington, and the men who superintended the enlistment were afterwards elected as its officers. It organized on the first day of January, 1862, and chose: Captain, Edward Hall; First Lieutenant, Kilbourn Day; Second Lieutenant, T. P. Kellogg.
Company F was the sixth in the regiment to report at Brattleboro, reaching the camp on the eighth day of January. The members were recruited mostly in Franklin county, and completed the organization by electing the following officers, January 3d : Captain, Hiram E. Perkins ; First Lieutenant, Daniel S. Foster; Second Lieutenant, Carter H. Nason.
Company G was the second company recruited in Orange county, under the efficient direction of Samuel G. P. Craig and John B. Mead, of Randolph, who displayed great activity in their efforts to enlist men for the service. In six weeks this company was full, and elected officers on the seventh day of January, as follows : Captain, Samuel G. P. Craig ; First Lieu tenant, Job W. Green ; Second Lieutenant, John B. Mead.
Company H was raised in Windham county, under the superintendence of Henry F. Dutton, of Townsend, assisted by A. B. Franklin, W. H. H. Holton, S. E. Howard, and W. H. Smith. It was organized January I7th, by the choice of officers : Captain, Henry F. Dutton ; First Lieutenant, Alvin B. Franklin, Second Lieutenant, W. H. H. Holton.
Company I was recruited by William W. Lynde, of Marl boro, with the help of George N. Holland and George E. Selleck. The men enlisted during the months of December and January, and rendezvoused at Williamsville, where they were drilled in military tactics by Mr. Selleck. On the seven-
I4 THE EIGHTH VERMONT.
teenth day of January the company organized, and elected as officers : Captain, William W. Lynde ; First Lieutenant, George N. Holland ; Second Lieutenant, Joshua C. Morse.
Company K was the last to report in camp, and completed the number required for the Eighth Regiment. It was recruited by John S. Clark, of Lunenburg, and elected its three commissioned officers January 22d : Captain, John S. Clark ; First Lieutenant, A. J. Howard ; Second Lieutenant, George F. French.
The field and staff officers of the regiment, appointed and commissioned by the governor, are given below, with the dates of their respective commissions :
Colonel, .... STEPHEN THOMAS, Commissioned November 12, 1861.
Lieut. Colonel, EDWARD M. BROWN, January 9, 1862.
Major, .... CHARLES DILLINGHAM, Quartermaster, FRED E. SMITH, Adjutant, . . . JOHN L. BARSTOW, Surgeon, .... GEORGE F. GALE, Ass't Surgeon, H. H. GiLLETT, Chaplain, . . . REV. FRANCIS C. WILLIAMS,
January 19, 1862. November 23, 1861. February 19, 1862. November 23, 1861. December 10, 1861. December 20, 1861.
Col. Thomas appointed the following non-commissioned staff : Sergeant Major, George N. Carpenter ; Quartermaster Sergeant, J. Elliot Smith ; Commissary Sergeant, Lewis Child ; Drum Major, Gershom H. Flagg ; Hospital Steward, Samuel H. Currier, M. D.
The First Battery was chiefly raised through the exertions of George W. Duncan, /of South Shaftsbury, and George T. Hebard, of Chelsea, who were appointed for that service November 19, 1861. It contained one hundred and fifty-six men, including officers, and as the result of an election held January 16, 1862, the following choice was made : Captain, George W. Duncan ; First Lieutenants, George T. Hebard and Henry N. Colburn ; Second Lieutenants, Salmon B. Hebard and Edward Rice. It reported to Col. Thomas in Brattleboro, on the twentieth day of January.
A PECULIAR REGIMENT. 15
The Second Battery was recruited by Lensie R. Sayles, and contained one hundred and thirty men, and was mustered into service December 16, 1861, having previously elected officers as follows : Captain, Lensie R. Sayles ; First Lieutenants, C. D. Smith and Benj. N. Dyer ; Second Lieutenants, John A. Quilty and John W. Chase. This battery went into camp at Lowell, Mass.
The following abstract of a report furnished by an officer of the regiment, gives in detail the arduous work of organization that devolved on the quartermaster and his assistants :
The Eighth Regiment and the First and Second Batteries of artillery were raised by authority of the legislature of the state, and were recruited, armed, and equipped by Col. Thomas, under direct instructions from the United States government, through Gen. B. F. Butler. These troops consequently stood in entirely different relations to the state from other volunteers who went from Vermont. Regiments enlisted by the state received care and supplies from state officials, but the troops raised by Col. Thomas could not look to Vermont for any aid, and the responsibility and labor of providing for them devolved wholly upon him and his staff. In a very important sense they belonged to the general government, and not to the state where they enlisted, and must look to the general government for whatever they required. They were not entitled to share in the state aid which was so lavishly provided for other, Vermont troops. On leaving for the front, the only state property they took with them was a lot of " sectional houses " which the men never wanted, and did not use after leaving Camp Holbrook.
Being thus thrown on their own resources and compelled to obtain supplies as best they could through red-tape avenues, the members of the Eighth Regiment developed as young Ver- monters of spirit are apt to do under such circumstances. The experience made them self-reliant, rugged, able to meet and endure the hard life in store for them. In their veins flowed the best blood of the Green Mountain state ; and being forced to depend upon their own exertions, such men
!6 THE EIGHTH VERMONT.
were bound to make a reputation for ability and bravery, and achieve a fame that would be the glory of the state.
In order to encourage and promote rapid enlistments, Col. Thomas and Quartermaster Smith were continually on the move among the recruiting stations, from Brattleboro to Derby Line, working days and travelling nights ; holding war meetings and making addresses ; contracting for supplies and transporta tion, paying bills, and seehig that the work was pushed forward with the utmost vigor.
It was fortunate that, in selecting his staff, Col. Thomas chose practical business men, some of whom had previously served the state in organizing and furnishing other outgoing regiments.
To make a proper estimate of the case, it must be borne in mind that the regiment bivouacked in the middle of a Vermont winter of unusual severity, amid deep snows, when the thermom eter ranged from ten to fifteen degrees below zero. Their only shelter was a lot of cheap sectional wooden houses, less conven ient and comfortable than tents would have been. Their mess- house was a rough shed, and the hospital for the sick was but little better. Under such inhospitable conditions the men resolutely and patiently set themselves about the task of learn ing the duties of the soldier, and practicing the necessary daily drill. Is it any wonder that a regiment that displayed such devotion, endurance, and industry, proved efficient in the ser vice and Biade its mark in the army ?
The "winter of their discontent" was not unrelieved by amusing and pleasant experiences, as when Col. Thomas found in the village certain ddalers who continued to supply "evil spirits " to his men, after being warned to desist. He did not wait for the slow and quibbling course of the prohibitory law, but confronted the offenders with a file of soldiers with fixed bayonets, and the sellers were glad to make satisfactory terms.
One day some mischief-loving assistant in the cook's depart ment intimated to the boys that the meat that was cooking for dinner was hurt. Maj. Frank Goodhue heard the report and sought counsel of Quartermaster Smith as to the proper course
GOING INTO CAMP. if
to be pursued, for the exasperated boys threatened to pull down the cook-house. It was agreed that the regiment should be told, as they were falling in for dinner, to observe the quality of the beef, and if it proved to be bad and furnished by the caterer knowing its condition, they might raze his quarters to the ground. What shouts went up from the tables, when, on marching in, they found not only wholesome meat, but every man a bowl of savory oysters, hot from the suspected stew-pan.
The Eighth Regiment have many grateful recollections of kind attentions from the ladies of Brattleboro, and especially of necessities and delicacies sent to their quarters for the sick.
On the 8th of December, Quartermaster Smith was ordered to Brattleboro to secure grounds, arrange barracks, and make all necessary preparations for the reception of recruits at the beginning of the new year. From that time until the regiment quitted the state, his labors were manifold, and his duties required close attention and the utmost exertion day and night.
CAMP HOLBROOK.
Seldom do civilized men experience a more abrupt and thorough change in their mode of existence than did Uncle Sam's raw recruits on quitting their homes for the first trial of camp life. To take an outing in midsummer, and dwell in tents for a few bright days, as Whittier and his three friends did on Salisbury beach, or as many others have done, in abso lute abandon, and ruled by no law more exacting than one's own sweet will, may be restful and poetic. It is quite another thing — be you volunteer or conscript, it is all the same — to march into camp to the martial beat of a drum, there to surren der your personal liberty, and obey the iron-hearted despot who in ancient times was styled the dread god of war. Those only who have tried it can realize what it is to forsake all the wonted ways of civil and social custom, — family, business, society, church, scene, however simple or prosaic, — and form new and strange associations under the pressure of a rigorous
!8 THE EIGHTH VERMONT.
law, that forbids indulgence and ease, and reduces one's imped imenta and rations to the limits of bare necessity.
When the boys of the Eighth Regiment turned their backs on the comforts of their own firesides, and* said farewell to all their dear ones, it was a change to chill anything less temper ate than true Yankee patriotism, for them to bivouac in the dead middle of a hard Vermont winter, in rude wooden build ings standing on the open plain like very bleak-houses to cut the northern blast. Used to all the devices by which Green Mountain farmers know so well how to rob the frost-king of his icy terrors, it was a real sacrifice, a genuine test of pluck, for them voluntarily to adopt a mode of life in which paucity of comforts and manifold trials were the common lot.
The place selected for a camp was a short distance south west of the village of Brattleboro. The elevation was high, and the field afforded ample room, both for the quarters of the soldiers, and a parade ground for company and battalion drills. It was christened in honor of Governor Holbrook, and proved to be so well adapted as a place of temporary rendezvous for the state troops, that it was retained and used for that purpose until the close of the war.
As already intimated, the winter of 1861-62 was one of unu sual severity ; snow began to fall very early in the season, and came to stay, for each new storm added to its depth, and the weather was extremely cold. To increase their discomfort, the portable wooden buildings in which the men were quartered were by no means fitted to resist the inclemency of such a winter, being constructed in a hasty manner, like summer houses at the beach. They were heated with large wood stoves, and the sleeping berths for the use of the men were ranged on each side, one above another. Through the day the occupants huddled together, and by burning a very liberal supply of fuel, managed to keep themselves comfortably warm, in an atmosphere reeking with the steam from damp garments, and tobacco smoke ; but at night, when they had laid themselves away upon the shelves of bunks provided for them, and were disposed to sleep, it was found that a degree of heat necessary
LEARXIXG THE TACTICS. jg
to keep those in the lower berths warm nearly suffocated their comrades in the dormitories over their heads. The natural result of this ill-conditioned regimen was that scores of boys fell sick with severe colds, and the surgeons not only had a little foretaste of army practice, but soon had a hospital full of patients ; chills and fever attacked a large number, and shortly after the measles and mumps broke out in the camp.
Still, to the credit of the brave boys be it said, they seldom made any complaint, even though camp fare did not compare favorably with the abundance and variety with which their own tables at home were spread. It is true that their ideas not unfrequently differed from those of the cook about the best way of preparing certain delicacies, but they were too well-bred and considerate to intrude their personal preferences upon his notice, unless they were exasperated by finding too much sea soning in the broth ; and the only time that a strongly pro nounced murmur escaped their lips was, when the surgeon tried to deceive them with sundry doses of " preventatives " surreptitiously mingled with the soup.
The bare details of that training process which rapidly con verts a force of undisciplined citizens into a regiment of soldiers, drilled in military tactics and equipped for a campaign, would make very monotonous reading. But, common as such experience became during the first years of the war, each act of this metamorphosis was novel and deeply interesting to the fresh recruits ; even the awkward manoeuvres and the inevitable blunders displayed during the process of martial education had a fascination for the learner, which might seem almost unaccountable in the retrospect, after he became a veteran in the service. But, simple as the task may appear, it was no boys' play for even the most earnest in those schools of tactics to curb the native waywardness of the free citizen, and compel eyes, hands, and feet to obey with promptness and pre cision the stern commands addressed to the ear. They were no more at ease in blue uniforms than was the rural David going forth to fight Goliath in a coat of mail. A gun in their hands was an awkward weapon, more likely to harm themselves than
20 THE EIGHTH VERMONT.
to hurt anybody else ; and, in this case, as always happens when full-grown men attempt to learn new movements, they dis covered how to do it long before the muscles would respond, and it was often like taking some stronghold of an enemy to bring their limbs into subjection, and make them and their equipments
. . . . "but as the hands Of loyal vassals toiling for their liege."
One of the amusing incidents in the earlier camp experience transpired when Quartermaster Smith issued to the future soldiers the stock of clothing furnished by the government for their use. It was clear that Uncle Sam's contracting tailor who made the garments had no idea of measuring the man and then fitting his suit ; he seemed rather to expect that, having made the uniforms according to certain patterns, it would be the duty of the officers who distributed them to fit each wearer to his clothes, as Procrustes, the Attic highwayman, fitted victims to his bed. As a fact, however, when the time came to exchange the citizen's dress for the soldier's garb, it provoked a deal of hilarious mirth to see a square-shouldered, portly man struggling to encase his ample limbs in trousers scant enough to please a dude ; while a lean, light-weight comrade fairly lost his corporeal identity in the baggy capacity of a fat man's coat. Nor were the seams of these new garments always equal to the strain to which they were subjected, so that in the course of the first week after they were donned, many of the wearers had to resort to the spools and cushions thoughtfully provided by a loving wife or mother, 'and turn bushelman. Whether these government suits were warm enough for service in Camp Holbrook at the season of midwinter need not be too curiously questioned, since they were quite equal to resisting the milder air at the mouth of the Mississippi, a few weeks later ; but for real comfort, so long as they tarried in Brattleboro, it were better had each man been clad, like the doughty warriors of the renowned Mynheer Michael Paw, in ten pairs of linsey-woolsey breeches.
CD
o-
-^^^J • ••..•".'.::•..•• • ' : ': : "' •' .::.:!:::i !.':':';
THE FIRST DRESS PARADE. 21
But on entering the camp, every company, whether disposed to make its discomforts a subject of sport or complaint, was at once subjected to a rigid course of military discipline, which was not relaxed until they ceased to be soldiers. Morning naps were disturbed by the reveille, followed by the roll-call ; unaccus tomed ears soon became used to the various calls for policing the camp, detail for the day, sick call, guard mounting, and com pany drill. For some time the daily drill consisted simply of marching and other company movements ; but about the middle of January guns and knapsacks were received, and then the regiment, by squads and companies, was exercised every morning in the manual of arms. At first the handling of muskets was awkward business, and even those who took pride in the use of "shooting irons" in the capacity of hunters, were as likely as their less expert comrades to accompany the " right shoulder shift" with a right elbow punch, or to let the breech of a gun drop heavily on some protruding toes, when the command came : " Order arms ! " But patient effort in due time conquered the annoyances of the "awkward squad," and on the sixteenth day of the month the regiment, proud of its military achievements, held its first dress parade. It must in candor be admitted that the performance was not an entire success ; but the next was an improvement, and very soon it came to be the common practice for friends of the soldiers and citizens of Brattle- b.oro to repair to the camp every pleasant afternoon to witness this interesting spectacle. No one who was present will ever forget the praiseworthy efforts of the drum corps to master the various scores ; or, when Adjutant Barstow had brought his men to parade-rest, how proudly kind-hearted Drum-Major Flagg led his band up and down the line, beating the air with his drawn sword as a baton.
Nor was it in the ranks alone that a rigid course of instruc tion in arms was pursued ; the commissioned officers, too, needed lessons, and several evenings each week they assembled at the headquarters of the colonel, and were taught the manual of arms and the various regimental movements. In this business Col. Thomas was ably assisted by Lieut. Col. Brown and Maj.
22 THE EIGHTH VERMONT.
Dillingham, both of whom had served in the Army of the Potomac.
At length the novelty of the situation wore off, the men became habituated to their new mode of life,4:he reins of author ity were drawn a little tighter, members who were home on short furloughs were recalled, and everything was put in readiness to break camp whenever the order should be received. There was some delay, however, in mustering the regiment into the service of the United States, for Gov. Holbrook would not consent that it should be done until the recruiting expenses had been paid by the general government. But on the eighteenth day of February, arrangements being completed, the transfer was formally effected, and the regiment was mustered into the great loyal army of the Union, the muster rolls being dated January 2 ist, at which, time the regiment was full.
Then followed restless days of waiting for orders to go to the front. The men were on the qui vive of expectation, and the camp was full of rumors as to their destination. One day it would be reported that the regiment would embark at once for Port Royal ; the next day it seemed equally probable that Fortress Monroe would shortly throw its impregnable walls around the untried soldiers ; then this rumor in turn faded be fore a later one, that Camp Holbrook was to be deserted for the battle-ground of the Army of the Potomac. These and many equally reliable pieces of news had their run like epidemics through the lines, and then died out, until by and by the men came to the conclusion that such speculations were vain, since no reliable information on the subject had yet been made public.
Meanwhile, February 2ist, the enlisted men received the first instalment of their state pay, which was at the rate of seven dollars a month ; and seven days later the sum was aug mented by the receipt of the wages due them from the United States.
Every detail was now carefully attended to, and the regiment appeared to be about ready to move, when the medical stores were found to be scanty, and another delay was caused, while
ROSTER OF OFFICERS. 23
Col. Thomas and Surgeon Gale, after persistent demands, suc ceeded in obtaining a limited supply for their use.
It is a curious comment on the public opinion prevailing at that time, that when the regiment was on dress parade on the fifteenth day of the month, Col. Thomas read to them a tele gram just received, announcing the capture of Fort Donelson by Gen. Grant, and told the men that unless they started for the front at once, the army of the west would end the war and have all the honor. How little did any man realize at that time the gigantic strength of the new-fledged confederacy ! The brave men whose eager faces looked resolutely southward on that bright winter afternoon, could not read in the horo scope of the near future the years of hardship, and fighting, and glory awaiting them, or the sacrifice of noble blood that must be made, before the insulted Union flag could wave again above the reddened field.
In less than thirty days after this speech, so touching to soldierly pride, the looked-for order came, the camp was deserted, adieus were said, and the brave boys of the Eighth Vermont, with cheers of loved ones ringing in their ears, were hurrying to the front as fast as steam and wind could carry them ; storm-blast and snow-bank were exchanged for tropic sunshine, and a life of waiting for the excitement and peril of real conflict.
On the 4th of March, 1862, the whistle blew, and a long train rolled away from the station at Brattleboro, bearing the regiment and the First Battery to tide-water, while hundreds of assembled friends and citizens waved back their signals of fare well, as the space widened between them and the dear faces they might never look upon again.
The regiment left the state with the following roster of
FIELD AND STAFF OFFICERS :
STEPHEN THOMAS Colonel.
E. M. BROWN Lieutenant Colonel.
CHARLES DILLINGHAM Major.
JOHN L. BARSTOW Adjutant.
FRED E. SMITH Quartermaster.
GEORGE F. GALE Surgeon.
H. H. GlLLETT Ass't Surgeon.
REV. FRANCIS C. WILLIAMS Chaplain.
24 THE EIGHTH VERMONT.
NON-COMMISSIONED STAFF :
GEORGE N. CARPENTER Sergeant Major.
J. ELLIOT SMITH Quartermaster Sergeant.
LEWIS CHILD Commissary Sergeant,
GERSHOM H. FLAGG « . Drum Major.
DR. S. H. CURRIER Hospital Steward.
LINE OFFICERS:
L. M. GROUT Captain. )
MOSES McFARLAND First Lieutenant. > Company A.
G. S. RAND Second Lieutenant. ;
C. B. CHILD Captain. )
STEPHEN F. SPALDING First Lieutenant. > Company B.
FRED D. BUTTERFIELD .... Second Lieutenant. )
HENRY E. FOSTER Captain, i
E. B. WRIGHT First Lieutenant. > Company C.
F. J. FULLER Second Lieutenant. )
C. B. LEACH Captain. )
A. E. GETCHELL First Lieutenant. \ Company D.
.D. G. CHILD Second Lieutenant. )
EDWARD HA LI Captain. )
KILBURN DAY First Lieutenant. > Company E.
T. B. KELLOGG Second Lieutenant. )
HIRAM E. PERKINS Captain. )
D. S. FOSTER First Lieutenant. > Company F.
C. H. NASON Second Lieutenant.}
S. G. P. CRAIG Captain. )
J. W. GREEN First Lieutenant.** Company G.
JOHN B. MEAD Second Lieutenant.}
H. F. DUTTON Captain. )
A. B. FRANKLIN First Lieutenant. > Company H.
W. H. H. HOLTON Second Lieutenant. )
W. W. LYNDE Captain. )
G. N. HOLLAND . .... First Lieutenant. > Company I. J.C.MoRSE Second Lieutenant.}
JOHN S. CLARK . Captain. )
A.J.HOWARD First Lieutenant. > Company K.
G. F. FRENCH Second Lieutenant. 1
GOING TO THE FRONT.
The route of the train which bore the regiment southward lay all that day in the picturesque valley of the " winding and willow-fringed" Connecticut, opening its rugged arms in wide and wider levels of fertile meadow, from the point where it enters the Bay State to the coast where the sea receives it. White gleamed the lessening peaks of their native hills as the
THE CONNECTICUT VALLEY. 2$
gallant sons of Vermont were rapidly whirled beyond eye-reach of outlines long familiar, and dearer than all others, even when clad in an envelope of snow ; but the winter glories of the richest valley in New England allured them with a long pan orama of swimming river skirted with ragged sheets of ice, the guard of eternal hills standing on the right hand and on the left, the snug villages and occasional city with roofs and steeples flashing back the icy sunbeams. Calmly old Tom and Holyoke gazed down upon them as they passed, and said, "Two genera tions have lived since the Deerfield massacre, and your hot blood will cool soon enough. Lo ! we watch out the ages." The waters pulsing athwart the dam that turns the mighty current upon the laboring wheels of Holyoke mills, gave a leap as the freight of consecrated patriots hastened past to save the honor of the nation ; and no object in nature, except the cold lips of the heartless ocean, failed to respond that day to a touch of the loftiest sentiment that has ever swayed the hearts of men.
All along the lines of the railroad over which they traversed, their coming had been anticipated, and often as the train neared a village or a solitary neighborhood of farmhouses, signals of encouragement and miniature flags were displayed, in token of a hearty God-speed from all the inmates. A halt was made at Northampton, where a burst of enthusiasm was excited by the exhibition of a rebel flag which a Massachusetts regiment serving in North Carolina had captured and sent home. On reaching Springfield the migrating boys in blue were tendered a warm reception by the assembled citizens, and entertained with generous refreshment, prepared and served by the ladies of the city ; and as the train moved on again a thousand loyal voices shouted their thanks and farewells to the parting crowd.
The low sun had set and it was twilight when the train reached the wharf at New Haven, where the steamer Granite State lay waiting to receive the soldiers on board. Men and baggage were transferred to the boat, the giant engine took its turn at the laboring oar, and the weary men, after a sound night's sleep, woke up in full view of New York. As the
26 THE EIGHTH VERMONT.
Sound steamer neared the dock two staunch sailing vessels, the James Hovey and the Wallace, were seen at anchor in East river, which the regiment learned were prepared to take them to sea, they knew not whither. As soon «as a landing was made a detail of men was left to transfer the baggage to these vessels, and the regiment, refreshed and in excellent spirits, marched to City Hall park and were served with morning rations. During the day they were greeted by a large number of sons of Vermont resident in the city, and in the afternoon six companies of the regiment were ordered on board the Hovey, while the remaining four with the First Vermont Battery were bestowed on the Wallace. Before going aboard, however, the resident Vermonters requested Col. Thomas to march the regiment up town, where they proposed to tender their soldier brothers a collation, but it was impracticable ; and in the evening the colonel and his staff, with the line officers, accepted an invitation to an elegant banquet at the Metropolitan Hotel, in the course of which ringing patriotic speeches were made by Hon. E. W. Stoughton, Col. Frank E. Howe, and other citizens of New York, and also by Col. Thomas in behalf of his regiment. This kindly courtesy tendered by personal friends on the eve of their departure to engage in the perilous work before them, was deeply appreciated by the officers, and will never be forgotten by the survivors of the regiment. Col. Thomas, Major Dillingham, Assistant Surgeon Gillett, and Quartermaster Smith, accompanied the troops on the Hovey, and Lieut. Col. Brown, Adjutant Barstow, and Surgeon Gale, those on the Wallace.
It was regarded as a, critical time for such craft as the Hovey and Wallace to put to sea, on account of the danger to be apprehended from Confederate gun-boats. It was known that the rebel iron-clad Merrimac was already equipped for the work of destruction in Atlantic waters, and sent out specially to prey upon Federal commerce, and menace the Union navy. There were many fearful stories current about the formidable character of this vessel, and the intention of the Confederate government to send her up the northern coast to destroy loyal
UNDER SEALED ORDERS. 27
cities and shipping. What if the defenceless sailing vessels that bore the Eighth Regiment should chance to encounter this terrible monster on the high seas, was a question to make the timid turn pale, especially as they had not even ammuni tion for their rifles. Indeed, so strong a hold had this idea taken of the public mind, that Col. Thomas was repeatedly warned against exposing his men to the threatened danger ; even Governor Seymour protested that it was unsafe for him to venture out without suitable convoys to resist the enemy in case of attack. But the brave commander met all such objec tions with the reply that he had orders to sail ; and, like a good soldier, he should obey them, leaving the responsibility where it belonged. Accordingly, on the afternoon of the Qth instant, the Hovey and the Wallace swung into the stream and were towed down to Sandy Hook, where they were anchored for the night, and made ready to put to sea early the following morn ing. Meanwhile the men were busy writing farewell letters home, and there was no little solicitude about their destination, for they sailed under sealed orders, which could not be opened until the ships had passed out of sight of land.
There is very little that admits of extended description in this voyage down a boisterous coast at that most inclement season of the year. Nearly the entire passage was tediously rough, and the men, most of whom were never afloat on salt water before, were prostrated with seasickness. Both vessels were blown many miles out of their course by a heavy and protracted gale, and parted company before the first night closed in upon them. On breaking the seal it was found that the regiment was ordered to report to Brig. Gen. Phelps, at Ship Island, in the Gulf of Mexico, so that the first land seen after Sandy Hook disappeared from view was the Florida coast. The daily experience on board these crafts included the many discomforts incident to an over-crowded cabin, a stormy pas sage, and general prostration. Nothing was seen of the for midable Merrimac, and only once, near the end of the voyage, did anything occur to arouse the slightest fear of attack. One day a steamer was sighted on the horizon, apparently bearing
28 THE EIGHTH VERMONT.
down upon the Hovey, which brought the New York rumors so forcibly to mind that a sensible quiver of trepidation seized upon the nerves of some of the half-exhausted men ; but the captain ran up his flag, and soon had the pleasure of seeing the stars and stripes displayed from the approaching gun-boat. Both ships weathered Key West on the first day of April, and twenty-seven days after leaving Sandy Hook, the Hovey arrived at Ship Island, and there was great cheering among the boys when, a few hours later, the Wallace hove in sight and dropped anchor beside her. Inquiry showed that, barring sea sickness, the pas sengers on the former vessel had enjoyed excellent health ; but several men on the Wallace were quite ill during the voyage, and one of their number, Enos L. Davis, of Company I, died and was buried at sea with the customary service.
Ship Island, on which the Eighth Regiment made its first landing, is simply a bar or mound of clean white sand rising out of the northern waters of the Gulf of Mexico, in nearly the same latitude as New Orleans, and northeast of the deltas of the Mississippi. It is about seven miles in length and from half a mile to a mile in width. Most of this sandy area is bare of vegetation, though' there is a small growth of timber at the eastern extremity, and wild grass covers some of the depres sions or basins here and there on the general surface. The surface is low, and during the prevalence of very high tides or severe and protracted storms, the sea has been known to break over the entire island.
From this description it would not seem to be a place peculiarly fitted for a 'military camp, but just the reverse. Gen. Butler, however, found it better suited to his purposes at that time than any other he could command, and had fixed his headquarters on the highest ground it contained. A force of soldiers could easily be provisioned there from the Federal transports, and as to water, it was only necessary to sink a barrel into the sand to obtain an ample supply that was fresh and sweet. But, as it happened, the Eighth Regiment had scarcely pitched their tents before a storm set in which proved
ON SHIP ISLAND.
29
to be one of the most terrific that had visited the place for many years. One half the bar was soon submerged, and the spot on which the men had chosen to bivouac was swept by the in-rolling seas, and the soldiers were forced to retreat with all their belongings from point to point, before an advancing foe which cared no more for their guns and bayonets than did the Atlantic Ocean for Mrs. Partington's broom. Several members of a Western regiment encamped hard by were killed by the sharp lightning, and there was grave reason to fear that, if the storm lasted twenty-four hours longer, the entire army would be swept into the sea, to meet the same inglorious fate that threatened the fleet of yEneas, when pursued by jealous Juno.
As soon as its quarters were permanently fixed, the regiment resumed daily -drill in military movements. There were then eighteen thousand troops on the island, and on the ninth day of April Gen. Butler ordered them all out for inspection and review. This was the first grand parade in which the Eighth Regiment had ever participated, and the march and counter march along the shore gave the new recruits some idea of the manoeuvring of large bodies of soldiers.
The sojourn on Ship Island was on the whole monotonous, although the movements of the gun-boats, and the occasional arrival of a prize ship, captured while attempting to run the blockade, afforded some diversion ; and one day a squad of Confederate prisoners, the first the Vermont boys had seen, were landed on the island, where they underwent a very rigid inspec tion by hundreds of curious eyes. It was true, of course, that a live rebel was only a Southern citizen dressed in Confederate gray ; but somehow the Green Mountain boys, in spite of that fact, gorgonized the captives as though they had been as many ferocious cannibals from the South Pacific, or specimens of the strange beings whom Baron Munchausen encountered during his famous adventures in foreign lands.
Gen. Phelps, who had been in "command of the troops on the island before the arrival of Gen. Butler, was from Vermont, and went out with the First Regiment, who were ninety-days men. Many of them, by the way, re-enlisted in the Seventh and
30 THE EIGHTH VERMONT.
Eighth, and were pleased on reaching Ship Island to find themselves again under their old commander. Gen. Phelps was a man of great integrity and simplicity of character, whose straightforward honesty was only equalled *by his disgust for display and shams. One incident will illustrate this pecu liarity.
A regiment of New York zouaves had landed on the island, and as the general was sauntering thoughtfully along one morn ing a young officer in fantastic uniform saluted him. Gen. Phelps turned and surveyed him with apparent surprise, and asked curtly :
" Who are you ? "
" I'm a zouave."
" What is that ? "
" An officer of a zouave regiment, sir."
" An officer ! I thought you were a circus clown."
A temporary device for relieving the tedium of this insular life was the issuing and reading of a small newspaper, called the News Letter. The regiment brought among the baggage a com plete printing-press, and when Gen. Butler was apprised of the fact, although it seemed to be a rather singular engine of war, he ordered it to be set up, and put in order for use. Private Eastman, of Company K, who was a practical printer, took charge of the business, and established his printing-office near the headquarters of Col. Thomas, and thenceforward published the orders as they were issued, in due and regular fashion.
Thus far the Eighth Vermont had taken no part in the great national struggle. Theirs had been the negative duty of getting ready for action and waiting for a summons. But the time was close at hand when they must join their comrades in the thick of the fight, and know what it meant to be under fire. Capt. Porter's mortar-boats had anchored below Forts Jackson and St. Philip, and Farragut's gun-boats were in position, when on the eighteenth of April, the sound of heavy cannonading to the westward apprised the camp at Ship Island that the bombard ment had begun that was soon to open the Mississippi for the
A FIGHT FOR ENTRANCE. 3!
free entrance of the Union navy. For three successive days the fleet pounded away at the fortresses guarding the water approaches to New Orleans, and then Capt. Farragut called together his captains for consultation, and it was determined that an attempt should be made to run past the forts. It was an exploit full of difficulty and danger, and the chief hope of success lay in taking advantage of the opportune moment, and pushing up the river with rapidity and caution ; for no one on board knew what obstacles they would have to encounter, or what snares the enemy had prepared for them. But the hand of present duty pointed northward, and, the orders being given, preparations were quickly made. Shortly after one o'clock on the morning of the twenty-fourth instant the signal for action was heard, and in the course of the next two hours the fleet was in motion. The fight that ensued was a desperate one, but in due time Farragut's flag-ship Hartford and nine other boats passed up and out of range of the guns of the forts, when they immediately encountered a fleet of a dozen Confederate gun boats, and a sharp engagement took place.
The plucky Union captain was victor, as all the world knows, and passed on up the channel of the river, meeting with no further resistance until he reached Chalmette, about three miles below New Orleans. Here land-batteries sta tioned on each bank of the stream opened fire upon the fleet ; but after a short engagement their guns were silenced, and Farragut pushed on again. Above this point -the gun boats ran among vessels freighted with burning cotton and boats loaded with timber all ablaze, which the- disconsolate enemy sent down upon them. But these obstacles did not hinder a fleet that had just run a gauntlet of shot and shell, and about noon, during a violent thunder-storm, the defi ant people of the Crescent City were astonished to see the Yankee boats drop anchor in their harbor. But the Confederate troops, persuaded that they could no longer hold the position, had set fire to the shipping and wharves, stores of goods, and other combustibles, and fled from the city ; so that for miles the approach of the Union vessels was between parallel lines of
32 THE EIGHTH VERMONT.
blaze and smoke. New Orleans, therefore, offered no armed resistance to the entrance of the marines, and the next day Capt. Bell,' with a detachment of a hundred men, went ashore and raised the American flag above the United States mint.
After Farragut had passed up the river, Capt. Porter contin ued to bombard the two forts, while Gen. Butler, co-operating with him, threw a force in the rear, bringing his guns also to bear directly on the strongholds of the enemy. Unable to hold out longer, and seeing no chance to escape, the Confederates surrendered to Capt. Porter on the 2/th instant, and communi cation was opened with Gen. Butler, who immediately placed the works in charge of a garrison of his own troops. Then taking two regiments of infantry and a battery, he steamed up the river and reached New Orleans on the first day of May. There Capt. Farragut received his hearty congratulations and immedi ately turned over the captured city to the general, who went ashore and established his headquarters at the St. Charles Hotel.
It was there that Butler found the first work for his Green Mountain regiment waiting on Ship Island, and orders were sent for them to break camp and come to him without delay. A number of the men were sick in the hospital when the sum mons was received, and were left behind in charge of Chaplain Williams. Two had died, and found their last resting-place in the shifting sands of that lonely island. They were Charles S. Lamb, of Company D, and Corporal George Walker, of Com pany G.
NEW ORLEANS.
Once more the Eighth Regiment with the baggage were crowded on board the James Hovey, and, after some delay in getting a tug to tow them up the river, started for New Orleans. Their progress inland was full of excitement and delight. As the ship slowly passed under the walls of Forts Jackson and St. Philip, the men were aware, of course, that a stubborn battle had been fought there, but could not then realize that it was
UP THE MISSISSIPPI. 33
the scene of a naval achievement that made the brave Farragut one of the great heroes of history. Over the forts so recently surmounted by Confederate colors, the stars and stripes were floating ; and the regiment gave them a rousing salute, which was answered by the garrison. To the untried soldiers this was the gate of war, which once passed, they felt assured that there would be no more idle suspense for them. But the momentary thought of what a baptism of fire and blood might be in store for them was quickly dissipated, as the rich landscapes of lower Louisiana opened to their gaze. On either hand, as far as the eye could penetrate, stretched the broad and level country, clothed with tropical vegetation, and bright with spring-time colors ; the air was fragrant with the odors of flowers, and melodious with the songs of strange birds. The banks of the river were lined with negroes, staring in wide-mouthed wonder at the Yankees ; and above the quarantine were extensive sugar plantations, and the houses of their opulent owners, separated by a wide street from the cabins of their slaves. In the nearer view were large magnolia trees in full bloom, and orange groves bearing tempting fruit, while beyond stood forests of live-oak, weird and gray with their long beards of pendent moss. The water was very high, and whenever the channel lay near the bank, the men discovered that they were floating at a level of some fifteen or twenty feet above the houses and gardens along the shore, which were protected from inundation by strong levees.
The accommodations for officers on board the vessel were rather limited, and at dinner the table had to be set over two or three times before all could be served. By the time the second lieutenants reached the table there was a " plentiful lack" of the viands they craved. Feeling aggrieved on this account, they assembled on deck, and held an indignation meeting, giving free vent to their personal sentiments on the subject. They also violated the rules of propriety by singing an old song, which began :
" In yonder stall there lies a mule,
We picked his eyes out one by one.v 3
34 THE EIGHTH VERMONT.
Considerable amusement was caused by the singing ; but when the indignant officers sent a committee of complaint to Col. Thomas, he reprimanded them for their conduct, and directed them to make no further disturbance. •
Passing Chalmette, where Gen. Jackson won an important vic tory over the British, in the war of 1812, the men were on the qui vive for their first sight of the Crescent City, whose smould ering wharves still sent up a cloud of smoke in the distance. It was a moment of intense excitement when the Hovey reached New Orleans, late in the afternoon of the. i2th instant ; nor did it abate, when, in the course of the evening, the men were ordered ashore, to find the strange streets crowded with people, going hither and thither in aimless confusion.
The chivalry of the South was full of defiant hatred of the northern invaders, and the disappointed citizens expressed the intense bitterness of their feelings in every conceivable way. Above the general tumult, as the troops entered the streets, could be heard the loud strains of " Bonny Blue Flag," and other secession songs ; and for a counter-irritant, Col. Thomas ordered his band to strike up " Yankee Doodle." After the line had been formed in the street, orders were given to load the muskets in readiness for any emergency that might arise, and the regiment marched slowly, without opposition, to the Union Cotton Press, where it was quartered for the night. A strong guard was detailed for the neighborhood, under strict orders, and both officers and men slept on their arms. To further insure their safety, Col. Thomas issued very strict orders against leaving the quarters for any purpose, and, in spite of the various alluring 'temptations of a great city, there was little disposition to disobey the recognized authority. A mem ber of one of the companies, however, tried to get outside by running the guard, and refused to stop when challenged. For this piece of folly he paid the penalty of his life, — the sentinel was firm and fired upon him, inflicting a severe wound that proved fatal in a short time. It was a hard case, but the stern lesson put an end to all attempts to run the night guard ever after,
AX ANXIOUS XIGHT. 35
That first night at New Orleans will never be forgotten. The colonel was vigilant ; the men quiet and determined ; the sentinels were on the alert ; and every precaution was taken against being surprised by an armed force or a city mob. The enforcement of strict military discipline was no longer a sham practice, and the peace-loving sons of Vermont began to realize that they were now in an enemy's country, where no one could be trusted, — the objects of murderous hate in a strange city, and liable at any moment to have to fight for their lives. There was very little sound slumber in camp that night ; and, though no disturbance was attempted, the boys were never more glad for the sweet daylight than when the next morning dawned upon their anxious eyes.
After the regiment had established itself in permanent quarters at the Mechanics' Institute building, and the members began to appear in public, and pass to and fro in the discharge of their assigned duties, the bitter hatred which their presence aroused in the hearts of the citizens began to show itself in numberless ways. People watched their movements with inexpressible disgust, and cast upon them frowns of intense malignity whenever they passed. There was murder in their defiant eyes, but evidently they did not dare to attempt any acts of personal violence against the boys in blue. The instructions given the troops by General Butler in regard to their bearing towards civilians were very rigid. They were to avoid as far as possible whatever would provoke their passions ; they must pass through the streets in silence, take no offence at threats and insults, and if fired upon simply cause the arrest of the guilty parties ; privates must be respectful, and no officer was permitted to appear on the street alone, or without side arms. These wise and humane restrictions were often very galling to the pride of the independent sons of New England, and it would not be a surprising thing if, under the pressure of repeated . provocation, resentment sometimes got the better of prudence, and the loyal soldiers became exasperated. The situation also imposed on the boys a severe test of vigilance. Not knowing the full strength of the enemy,
36 THE EIGHTH VERMONT.
or what expedients the maddened citizens might devise to wreak vengeance on the detested " Yanks," it was necessary to be constantly on the alert lest the smothered fires of revolt should burst forth in riot and violence. Consequently every thing must be kept in readiness for instant action, and night after night the men slept on their arms.
Then, too, the air was full of wild rumors, which contained no one could tell how much truth. It was said that Gen. Lovell, who had evacuated the city on the approach of Far- ragut's fleet, would soon return with a strong reinforcement and capture the city. In the same connection it was asserted that all the able-bodied citizens were secretly drilling in the use of fire-arms, and would co-operate with Lovell's troops whenever he should appear ; in this case, of course, it would be easy to destroy the Union vessels lying in the harbor, and thus cut off all hope of retreat, while the Confederate soldiers over whelmed Gen. Butler with superior numbers and made his men prisoners of war. Wrought upon by these and like rumors, it was easy for the Union soldier, as he passed from place to place executing the commands that devolved upon him, to imagine he saw treachery lurking in the eyes of every haughty South- erner he met, and that some subtle strategy was about to make him its victim.
But the descendants of Ethan Allen, if they had not then seen service of any very serious character, had learned one lesson pretty thoroughly, which was that it is not a soldier's business to reason why, or to make reply ; but simply to obey orders, and, if his time came, to die. They went quietly about their appointed duty, and presently came to the conclusion that while they remained in the city, they were not very likely either to be obliged to use weapons or to perish by means of them.
Police and provost duty was the first service outside the camp that fell to the lot of the Eighth Regiment, and in carrying out these necessary orders large details were made each morning to protect public and private property, to seize concealed arms, arrest suspicious and disorderly persons, and
ESTABLISHING TELEGRAPHS. 37
attend to a great variety of other duties. The military district was commanded by Maj. Dillingham.
Gen. Butler was fertile in expedients for accomplishing the work which the government had sent him to do in New Orleans, and it very soon occurred to him to utilize the telegraph lines in and about the city for the benefit of his military operations. These were in a demoralized condition, like everything else that would be apt to afford aid and comfort to the detested Yankees. The Confederates, before evacuating the city, had destroyed or secreted the apparatus of the telegraph offices, cut wires, and done all that lay in their power to render the lines inoperative.
But with his wonted energy, the general determined to have the system in working order, and caused inquiry to be made among the regiments for a soldier whose ability and experience would qualify him to take charge of the telegraph offices and lines. The result was that Quartermaster Sergeant J. Elliot Smith, of the Eighth Vermont, was ascertained to be a suitable person; and by order of Gen. Butler, issued May I7th, he was made a lieutenant on his staff, and appointed military superin tendent of all the telegraph lines running from New Orleans, and charged with the duty of putting all the lines in order, at the earliest possible moment.
Lieut. Smith was a young man of marked ability and energy, and set about the work to which he had been assigned with great vigor. He was allowed a detail of about forty men to assist him, among whom were the following from his own regi ment : George C. Bates, George W. Packard, Henry C. Sher man, B. H. Upham, Wm.'A. Tinker, Frederick Wild, William Kinsley, and Rufus Kinsley. But as this force included no trained operators, he was obliged to open a school of telegraphy and instruct them.
The first lines put in order were those running from the city to Camp Parapet ; to Milnburg on Lake Pontchartrain ; to the passes at the mouth of the Mississippi, the quarantine sta tion, and Eorts Jackson and St. Philip ; to Berwick Bay and Thibodeaux ; to Rigolets ; and to Donaldsonville.
38 THE EIGHTH VERMONT.
On the 23d instant, Gen. Weitzel appointed Smith superin tendent of the fire alarm telegraph of the city, in addition to the office he already held. After the promotion of Quar termaster Sergeant J. Elliot Smith, Wnt. H. Gilmore was appointed to that position.
During the first week that the Union troops occupied the city, the people showed their animus by closing the stores and other public places against the wearers of the blue ; but the desire for trade and gain presently unlocked their doors again. At first, when a Union soldier ordered refreshments at any of the restaurants, and offered a greenback in payment therefor, it was refused by the indignant proprietor, who declared he would take nothing but coin or Confederate money. This exhibition of southern venom was also short-lived ; for when the rebel troops failed to reappear, and it was found that the Yankees had come to stay, Confederate scrip was at a discount, and traders were glad to take any kind of Uncle Sam's money at par. One day Quartermaster Smith came upon a resident of the city who had been a native of Vermont and an intimate friend of his during their boyhood. But so strong was the sectional feeling entertained by this "northern-born Southerner,"" that he re fused to renew the old friendship under the circumstances ; but said : " I shall be glad to see you if you come in citizen's dress."
But the prejudice of the male population did not express itself in so many spiteful ways as did that of the southern women. In them the spirit of hostility knew no bounds, aad they improved every chance that offered to insult and abuse the northern soldiers. ' They wore' small confederate flags fastened conspicuously to their dresses, or waved them in their hands in public places ; if a Union officer entered a street car containing southern women, they would rise and leave it ; and to avoid meeting soldiers on the sidewalk, they would step into the street, and show their intense hatred by every look and act. A southern lady, for example, dropped a delicate lace handker chief, as she entered a street car. A Union officer picked it up and politely offered it to her, but she refused to take it,
ORDER XO. 28. 39
and withdrawing herself with a look of bitter scorn, said : " I would never receive it after being contaminated by your touch." The officer, without replying, raised the car window and dropped the offending scrap of embroidery into the street. All this hostility and evil treatment the Vermont boys bore with commendable patience, winning thereby the approval of their commander ; and it was not until one of these women so far forgot her ladyhood, not to say her sense of decency, that she spat in the faces of two Federal officers who were quietly walking along the street, that Gen. Butler issued the famous order, of which the following is a transcript :
HEADQUARTERS, DEPARTMENT OF THE GULF.
NEW ORLEANS, May 15, 1862.
General Order No. 28. — As the officers and soldiers of the United States have been subject to repeated insults from the women (calling themselves ladies) of New Orleans, in return for the most scrupulous non-interference and courtesy on their part, it is ordered that hereafter, when any female shall by word, gesture, or movement, insult or show contempt for any officer or soldier of the United States, she shall be regarded and held liable to be treated as a woman of the town plying her avocation.
By command of
MAJOR GENERAL BUTLER. GEORGE C. STRONG,
Ass't Adjutant General, and Chief of Staff.
The effect of this much-criticised order was precisely what its author desired. The forbidden outrages ceased, there was an end of insults to Union soldiers, and it proved very useful as one means of restoring quiet to the city.
JI.
ALGIERS.
AFTER the Eighth Vermont had spent about a month in New Orleans, Col. Thomas received orders to transfer his regi ment across the river and relieve the Twenty-first Indiana, commanded by Col. McMillan at Algiers. Leaving Company D behind as a provost guard for the city, the colonel complied with his instructions, and on the 3ist of May, 1862, estab lished his headquarters at the old Algiers depot ; and, as there were no other troops stationed on that side of the river, he 'assumed command of the district, and acted in a semi-civil as well as military capacity. Under this authority Col. Thomas began to prosecute the work before him with characteristic vigor. Capt. Charles B. Child, of Company B, was appointed provost marshal, and pickets were thrown out as far as La Fourche Crossing.
In their retreat the Confederate army had destroyed the track of the New Orleans and Opelousas Railroad, and the colonel at once called for a force of volunteers to repair and put it in running order. There happened to be a number of men in the regiment who were practically acquainted with that kind of work, and by their exertions both the road and the rolling stock were put in condition, so that military trains began to ply regularly between Algiers and La Fourche. Civilians were not allowed to use the cars, unless they first obtained permission from the proper authority, and a strong guard was placed on board of all moving trains, to protect them against sudden attacks of outlaws and guerillas, who might be prowling
THE NEGRO QUESTION. 41
about the unsettled portions of the route. Lieut. Day, of Com pany E, who was a practical railroad man, acted as engi neer, and different members of the regiment took their turns as conductors.
The forces commanded by Gen. Butler had not been long in the service, before the negro question was brought to their notice in a very direct and forcible manner. During the summer large numbers of blacks, who had run away from their masters, crowded into the camps and craved protection. They had very crude and indefinite notions of the great struggle in which the nation was- involved, ,but firmly grasped the idea that uMassa" Lincoln was the God-sent Moses, who was to deliver their race from bondage, and that escape into the Union lines was the first step on the road to freedom. What to do with these ignorant masses that had thrown themselves upon the soldiers for protection, was a perplexing question. The senti ment of the regiment was not unanimous. Part, recognizing human slavery as an unmitigated evil, felt that it would be wrong under any circumstances to remand the fugitives back into servitude ; others contended that a body of troops, in the discharge of their proper duties, could not lawfully interfere with private property, or undertake to decide on the justice of an alleged owner's claim. But very naturally the sympathies of the soldiers prompted them to render every reasonable aid to any colored brother whom they found groping his way to freedom ; and when the Eighth Vermont found a crowd of negroes upon their hands, as was frequently the case, the men could not find it in their hearts to comply with the orders of the war department, in force at that time, and return the help less fugitives to their masters.
To illustrate the prevailing state of feeling in the ranks : One day a negro, who had escaped from a plantation down the river, came into camp and sought protection. He com plained of cruel treatment, and showed the recent marks of a chain upon his ankles, the sight of which stirred the indignation of the men. He seemed willing to work, and one morning.
42 THE EIGHTH VERMONT.
while he was helping to police the camp, his master appeared and ordered him to return to the plantation. This the black man refused to do, and thereupon the master drew from his pocket a heavy leathern strap and began to beat him*with it. The negro ran and the master pursued, keeping close to his heels and rain ing blows upon him at every step. This spectacle was more than the Yankee boys could witness unmoved, so they too joined in the race, and every time the master struck his slave they would give him a kick. This treatment had the desired effect, for the master, finding himself likely to get badly worsted if he continued to press his claim, ceased flogging the man and left the camp without him.
But that was not the end of the matter, for Lieut. Col. Brown, regarding this conduct of the men as a grave breach of army discipline, ordered the adjutant to form the regiment into line. He then addressed some severe language to the men, tel ling them that they " came into the service to obey orders, and not to interfere with personal property, whether in slaves or anything else." This speech only intensified the feelings of the men, and strengthened their resolution not to return the fugitive slaves. The officers of the regiment were indignant at this assumption of personal authority ; and, to their credit as men, Col. Thomas and Adjutant Barstow, knowing the cause of the alarm, remained in their quarters. The subject was finally decided by the proper authorities at Washington, who issued an order forbidding soldiers to return escaped slaves, and when such fugitives appeared in camp the officers had no alter native but to provide for them.
But while these instriictions made it plain enough what could not be done with the contrabands, it did not dispose of the question, how the multitudes, who were flocking into the Union camps in every quarter of the South, should be provided for, and the officers of the Eighth Vermont continued to have this vexed problem thrust upon their attention.
After being at Algiers a few weeks, the number of able- bodied men in the regiment was much reduced by sickness, and it became necessary to procure the services of three or four
THE XEGRO QUESTION. 43
colored cooks. For this purpose the colonel ordered that a limited number of negro candidates for the situations be allowed to come into camp, in order that the places might be filled by selection. The matter soon became noised abroad, and on the following • Sunday morning the approaches to the camp were found to be full of colored people, all desiring to offer their services as cooks. On they came, a miscellaneous assortment of all ages and sizes, arriving in squads and families, on foot, in carts, and on mules, until the quarters were literally crowded with negroes, none of whom had any intention of returning to the places from whence they started. It was a hard matter to choose the needed cooks out of such a promiscuous and sable mass, and a still more serious question with Col. Thomas what should be done with them all. One thing was certain, he had no means of making suitable provision for them ; consequently he resorted to a little strategy to get them to go aboard a steamer, and then shipped them to Carrolton, where they would be under the jurisdiction and care of Gen. Phelps. Having disposed of the intruders and cleared the c.imp, the colonel congratulated himself, as he composed his limbs to rest that night, on the success of his little scheme. But the next morn ing another crowd of negroes began to pour into camp about sunrise, and continued to come until there seemed to be no end of them, and again the colonel was at his wits' end. The crowds about the commissary quarters came to be a great nuisance, and the quartermaster was exceedingly troubled to know who was going to make " provision returns " for the camp so suddenly increased from one thousand to three thousand, and still increasing. On reporting the case to the chiefs of com missary and quartermaster's departments, this order was returned: "Gen. Butler orders that you find them quarters and give them rations ; and when the war is over we will go to Washington and see to settling the accounts."
While pondering upon the case, and hesitating whether to report it to Gen. Butler or take the responsibility upon his own shoulders, he met Gen. Weitzel, and related the case to him, observing that he had changed his mind and was of the opinion
44 THE EIGHTH VERMONT.
that he ought to utilize them in some way. " You are not the only one," replied the general, "who has come to that conclu sion;" and intimated that Gen. Butler had modified his opinions on that question. Encouraged by this cheering information, Col. Thomas called on his superior officer at once, and laid the matter before him. He found Gen. Butler disposed to take a very reasonable view of the case, and received authority to feed the black men, care for their sick, and employ them for any service in which they could be made available.
Nor was the contraband question allowed to rest with simply providing for the necessities of the colored men. Gen. Butler was not content until he had solved the problem of making them a direct factor in the work of suppressing the rebellion. With commendable forethought he cast about him for a plausi ble pretext to convert them into soldiers, and found an order issued by the Confederate governor, and another from Gen. Lovell, for raising a colored regiment. He further strength ened his case by announcing that Gen. Jackson authorized raising colored troops to serve in the war of 1812. These pre cedents were sufficient, and he issued immediate orders to recruit two regiments from the fugitives who had come within the Union lines. These were officered with white men selected from the older regiments, and proved to be excellent troops.
'In the early part of the month of June, Lieut. Col. Brown was detailed by Gen. Butler to lay aside the sword for the pen, and take editorial charge of the Delta, one of the regular newspapers issued in the city of New Orleans. This, with the other local papers, was a radical secession sheet, and the gen eral, finding it impossible to secure the publication of army orders in any other way, seized the office and plant of the Dclta> and converted it 'into an official organ of loyal senti ments and military commands. Lieut. F. D. Butterfield, of Company B ; Lieut. G. F. French, of Company K ; Charles F. Russell, of Company A ; H. C. Abbott, of Company C ; C. G. Tarbell and George H. Graves, of Company G ; O. N. Web ster, of Company I ; H. K. Stoddard, of Company K ; were detailed for the signal service.
HAPS AND MISHAPS. 45
There is one phase of volunteer campaign life which would make a very entertaining volume, if it could be fully and skilfully written ; if all the ludicrous happenings, vexatious accidents, and unusual experiences of even a single regiment could be vividly described and published in a book, it would make an invaluable souvenir for every survivor. It is these seemingly minor events that served to break the daily monotonous round of camp life, and the remembrance of them that gives spice and piquancy to the reunions of old comrades in arms. In such material the career of the Eighth Vermont was not lacking, and probably every member who reads these simple annals will be able to recall many that the writer has overlooked or been obliged to omit in so brief a history. But a few samples are here introduced by way of illustration, that may provoke a smile, as the veteran recalls to mind the strangely interesting days when they occurred.
The boys had not been long stationed at' Algiers before they discovered that " rebs " were not the only enemies who might surprise them and attack the camp, for one quiet afternoon a number of wild Texas steers suddenly made a descent upon the tents, followed by herdsmen on their ponies, galloping close to their heels. The creatures had strayed away from a drove in the neighborhood, and for a short time they made a lively charge, bursting into the tents, overturning kettles, and thrust ing their lawless horns into everything that came in their way. It was not safe to fire upon them, lest some missing shot should glance and wound the men ; and there was no alternative but to keep out of the way of the half-crazed steers, and allow them to turn things topsy-turvy, until the drivers could capture them with lassos.
One day the cook of Company H was in a towering rage over an innocent looking mule belonging to the quartermaster's department, because the beast, in the exercise of the peculiar pedal functions for which his race is noted, had made a plunge right through the cooking tent and utterly ruined the soup pre pared for that day's dinner.
On another occasion some men were driving a herd of cattle
46 THE EIGHTH VERMONT.
past the camp, when one of the animals suddenly disappeared and could not be found, though the men in charge made a most thorough search in all the vicinity. The fact was that some of the Yankee soldiers, hungry for a taste of fresh beef, had hurried the creature around the corner of the old depot building, where it was slain, divided among •the companies, and secreted piecemeal, and all so quickly done that the drovers never knew what became of it.
Guard-mounting in the morning at Algiers seemed to be a very interesting spectacle to both soldiers and citizens, and was watched with eager curiosity. It was Adjutant Barstow's duty to see that the business was properly executed according to the prescribed army regulation, and he was much annoyed if anything unusual happened to interrupt the decorum of this matutinal observance. No one then present, however, has probably forgotten the time when an insane man undertook to assist at^ this exercise. After the adjutant had inspected the guard and was returning to report to the officer of the day, he found the lunatic standing in his place, and brandishing a drawn sword which he had obtained from Major Dillingham's quarters. The demented man imagined himself invested with official power, and the wild look in his eyes told but too plainly the danger of any attempt to oust him by force from the place he had usurped. But Adjutant Barstow was equal to the occa sion. Addressing the insane man, with a smile of approval, he said : " You have acted your part well, sir ; now step aside and let me try it." This had the desired effect, for the insane man appeared pleased and walked away without attempting any mischief, and the next day was taken to an asylum.
It was no uncommon thing during the first summer of cam paign life for members of the regiment to have severe attacks of home-sickness. One of this class of sufferers, fearing per haps that his malady might prove fatal if he remained in that climate, determined to find some means of getting released from the service. So he feigned to be a fool, and every morning would take a rod and line and fish hour after hour from the wharf. He never caught anything, and when asked by com-
FUN-LOVING OFFICERS. 47
rades what he was fishing for, he invariably answered, " Not much." So well did he play his part that the impression soon became general that he was under-witted, and he was accord ingly discharged. But when the official papers were placed in his hand, he held them up, and with a look of greater intelli gence than any one had ever before seen on his face, said : "These are what I was fishing for."
It is not often that the boys in the ranks have a good chance to uget the laugh" on their superior officers, but that event came in the experience of the Eighth Regiment, when Adj. Bar- stow and Lieut. Spalding, of Company B, started one fine day for a saddle ride into the country. As they trotted along, Spalding, who was full of good humor, said to his companion, pointing to some trees by the roadside some distance ahead, u Suppose on reaching that covert we imagine ourselves ambus caded, draw our revolvers, fire at the enemy, and make our escape." The fun of the thing suited the adjutant, and he readily assented. Accordingly when they reached the place, Spalding shouted, "The rebels!" and both men whipped out their weapons and began to shoot at the imagined foe. But their horses did not seem to appreciate the humor of the joke, or else were in no mood to enjoy it ; for at the first shot they wheeled so suddenly that their riders were unseated, and thrown, while they galloped back to camp, leaving the disgruntled heroes to be taken prisoners, or to retreat, as best they could.
Apropos, another incident comes to mind, illustrative of the versatile humor of Lieut. Spalding. He was officer of the guard one night, and, after tattoo had sounded, he invited Adju tant Barstow and the writer to make the customary rounds with him. At that time there were several thousand contrabands in and around the camp, many of whom were quartered in large warehouses near the river, where they held nightly religious meetings, and kept up the noisy fervor of their grotesque prayers and weird singing until a late hour. It was past mid night when the three officers entered one of these negro assem blies to quiet the noise, and found the pious excitement at its greatest height. Striking a dramatic attitude, Lieut. Spalding
48 THE EIGHTH VERMONT.
uttered in a stentorian voice, " Were I ten thousand times a prince, I would not trespass on the ashes gf the dead." The words of Shakespeare abruptly broke the flow of a negro mel ody like a thunder clap, while startled worshippers on all sides cried out, " Dar be no dead heah, Massa ! " "If you don't stop this noise," pursued the lieutenant, "there will be a great many of you dead." It is needless to add that quiet reigned in that warehouse for the rest of the night.
By order of Gen. Butler, Col. Thomas organized a court to try a number of petty cases, where citizens of Algiers had been arrested for various misdemeanors. Quartermaster Smith was appointed judge, and Maj. Dillingham was commissioned to act as judge-advocate. Considering the variety of cases, which included everything that might be expected to come before a civil as well as a military tribunal, from the two women quarrel ling about the ownership of a pig, to the citizen who was arrested while attempting to convey stores to the enemy, and who threatened the life of a railroad engineer if he did not remove a small Union flag from his engine, business was dis patched with very little delay, and most of the convicted offen ders abided the sentence of the court. But one man, who had been sentenced to be committed to Ship Island for six months, appealed from the decision to higher authority. But his expe rience was much like that of Shylock contending for justice. •Gen. Butler, after patiently hearing the case, doubled the
sentence.
"At midnight, in his guarded tent,
The Turk' lay dreaming of the hour, When Greece, her knee in suppliance bent, Should tremble at his power."
His rude awakening at the sentry- cry,
" To arms ! they come ! The Greek ! the Greek ! "
though more tragic, was not less startling than that experienced by the Eighth Regiment at the same still hour, in the guarded camp at Algiers. For a soldier, whose night visions could not have been as bright as the last dream of the Moslem slain by
FALSE ALARMS. 49
Marco Bozzaris, yelled out in his sleep, "The rebels are coming ! " Instantly every man sprang to his feet, to hear the long roll for the first time at midnight, and, in the sudden con fusion, scarcely knowing what he did. Officers came rushing forth bare-headed, with sword-belts buckled round their legs, boots on the wrong foot, and uniforms all awry ; men were crowding and fighting each other for the possession of equip ments, or running to and fro frightened, or half-awake ; while above the din and bustle was heard the call of the orderly sergeants : " Fall in ! fall in, boys ! " To add to the panic, the contrabands, scared half out of their senses, raised their vocif erous jargon to swell the general tumult. It seemed a long time before the orders of the officers were obeyed, and the regi ment was formed into line to resist the expected attack ; and Col. Thomas kept them standing there some half an hour, while he investigated the source of alarm, when he dismissed the command, telling them to " go back to sleep like good little boys." But false alarms were sometimes even more annoying than in the case just described. An officer, who had been prospecting outside the lines one day, returned and reported that, in taking an outlook from the top of a tree, he discovered a force of one hundred or more rebels in camp within a short distance. Early the next morning Col. Thomas took the regiment, except a guard left for the camp, and started out to capture the alleged rebels. Following the guidance of the officer who claimed to have discovered them, the men tramped all day long through swamps and woods, sometimes in ditches and water up to their knees, — actually swimming canals, and felling trees for tem porary bridges. Thus they forced their way with the greatest difficulty to an open road, where they -had agreed to meet a portion of the command ; but on arriving, so great was their exhaustion that no amount of urging would induce them to go another step. Col. Thomas therefore dispatched a messenger to camp, with orders to the quartermaster to procure a boat and come to their relief. In this way the command was returned to camp about midnight, disgusted with the undertaking, and vexed at the failure.
50 THE EIGHTH VERMONT.
June 6th, First I^ieut. E. B. Wright, Company C, resigned, and the vacancy was filled by the promotioti of Sergeant Maj. Geo. N. Carpenter.
RACELAND.
The first baptism of blood, that trying ordeal to which every thoughtful volunteer looked forward with dread, came to part of the Eighth Vermont on the 22d of June. Two days before, Company H, which was stationed on the extreme out post of the railway, had fallen back from La Fourche Crossing to Bayou des Allemands, when Capt. Button, hearing that some parties were engaged in tearing up the track, sent a detachment of thirty men, under Lieutenants Franklin and Holton, up the road to Raceland. They were conveyed in a passenger car, which was slowly pushed ahead of a locomotive, while Sergeant Smith with six men preceded the car on foot, as an advance guard. While thus moving cautiously forward, they were sud denly surprised by the report of musketry from the woods beside the track, and a shower of minies came rattling down upon them. Officers Franklin and Holton were severely wounded at the first fire, and the advance guard sprang on board the train, while the engineer quickly reversed his en gine and ran back with all possible speed. The secreted enemy, then emerging from their coverts, continued to fire upon the receding trairi until out of gun-shot range, and it was returned from the windows of the car with fatal effect. Ser geant Wm. H. Smith was wounded in the arm, and after he boarded the car a second ball hurt his eye ; two of his squad also were killed outright and left behind. The result of the engagement was six Confederates killed and many others wounded, while the Union loss was as follows : Killed, Corporal Henry McClure, Corporal John W. Saunders, Private L. M. Richardson, Private M. W. Wellman, and Fireman Stoats, of the train ; wounded, Lieut. A. B. Franklin, Lieut. Wm. H. H. Holton, First Sergt. S. E. Howard, Sergt. W. H. Smith, Sergt.
" YES, i 'j/ KILLED:^ 5 1
George M. Allard, and Privates Clark B. Akeley, Ebenezer Oaks, Jr., Andrew J. Wood, Calvin L. Cook.
As soon as the train returned to Des Allemands, Capt. But ton ordered Sergt. Smith to take the wounded to the hospital at Algiers, and report the affair to Col. Thomas, and their arrival at camp caused a great excitement. The colonel immediately dispatched Companies A, C, and I, to relieve Company H at Des Allemands ; but the enemy did not advance upon that out post, nor did they again appear at that place later on.
Among the incidents of this encounter with the enemy is told the following : On the retreat of the train Orderly Ser geant Howard, who was examining the wounded men, found Sergt. Allard apparently very badly hurt, and in reply to his inquiries the sufferer said : " Yes, I 'm killed." Howard tried to reassure the poor man, but it was of no use, for Allard insisted that he was shot straight through the breast, and that the bullet was lodged close to his spine just under the skin. An examination seemed to confirm this view of the case, for there was the wound in front, and the lead was plainly to be felt beside the spinal column, and his comrades felt convinced that his case was very critical. When the car reached Des Alle mands, however, and the wounded sergeant had been carefully helped out and deposited on the floor, Corporal Hilliard, who was something of a nurse, while trying to minister to his com fort, made the discovery that the ball, instead of penetrating the bone, had glanced and plowed its way just under the skin to its lodgment on the other side, and that Allard's chest was as sound as ever. With a pocket-knife he easily liberated the missile, and the doomed soldier was instantly relieved, and took a new lease of life.
On the twenty-fourth of June, Surgeon George F. Gale resigned, and was succeeded by Dr. H. H. Gillett, and Sam uel H. Currier was appointed assistant surgeon. Dr. Gale was well known in the state of Vermont as one of the fore most men in his profession, was an accomplished scholar, and a gentleman of character and dignity. Governor Holbrook had appointed him surgeon of the regiment on account of his emi-
52 THE EIGHTH VERMONT.
nent abilities, but the short time which he remained with them afforded very little opportunity for ttie display of pro fessional skill. After his resignation was accepted, and before his return for home, the line officers signed resolutions which were handsomely engrossed, assuring him of their confidence, and regret at his departure.
A few weeks later the following promotions were made: July 22 — Sergeant Dennis Buckley, Company D, to second lieutenant, vice D. G. Child, deceased. July 23 — Orderly Ser geant L. M. Hutchinson, Company A, to second lieutenant, vice G. S. Rand, deceased. July 24 — Orderly Sergeant A. J. Sargent, Company K, to second lieutenant Company E, vice T. P. Kellogg, deceased.
On the last day of August, a bloodless expedition was undertaken for the capture of cattle in St. Charles parish, about thirty miles above Algiers. Word was brought from Gen. Butler that a small force of the enemy was collecting cattle in that region to send across the Mississippi for the sustenance of the Confederate army, and there appeared to be a very good reason why those prospective beef supplies should be secured for the benefit of the Union camp. Consequently Col. Thomas, with Companies A and C, a section of artillery, and a company of cavalry, started late in the afternoon to execute Gen. Butler's commands and possess himself of the coveted supplies. - After an all-night march they came upon the enemy's rear at an early hour in the morning, when the cavalry began at once a sharp skirmish, and the artillery shelled a piece of woods and a sugar-cane field to drive out the enemy. About two thousand cattle, sheep, and mules fell into their hands, together with about twenty prisoners ; and without making any halt, Col. Thomas ordered his command to face about and return, driving their booty before them. On the way back they were joined by large numbers of negroes, who had escaped from the plantations, bringing their mules along with them, and soon the moving procession stretched from three to four miles. The march was made as rapidly as possi ble through the night, for the plundered enemy followed close
:•-"
.,.
A FATAL SURPRISE. 53
behind, and it became necessary to stop occasionally and exchange a few shots with them, while the contrabands hurried on the drove of live stock. But prisoners, steers, sheep, mules, and darkies, were safe within the Union lines at ten o'clock next morning ; and Col. Thomas was highly complimented on the success of his dashing exploit.
BOUTEE STATION.
The Confederates under Colonel McWalters, whom the bril liant night sally of Colonel Thomas had deprived of their cattle, determined to revenge their loss. To that end they marched toward Boutee station, where a small detachment of the Eighth Regiment was on guard, and easily overpowered and captured them. At that time daily trains were run be tween Algiers and Des Allemands, and those going up and down the track passed each other at Boutee station. This fact being known to McWalters's force, which was fifteen hundred strong, they turned the switches the wrong way on the morning of September 4th, and concealed themselves on either side of the track to await the arrival of the trains.
To lessen the danger while running between Des Allemands and Boutee station, where the track was very much exposed, a strong guard accompanied each train over that part of the line, well armed to resist any sudden attack that might be made upon it. Captain Clark, of Company K, in charge of sixty men and a twelve-pound gun, was detailed to escort the Des Allemands train on the fatal morning of the 4th, the soldiers riding on platform cars. All unconscious of the fate in store for them, they approached Boutee station as usual, keeping a sharp lookout but seeing no signs of danger. Suddenly the concealed enemy sprang to their feet, and with a fiendish yell poured a murderous fire upon the unprotected men, who were forced to run the gauntlet of leaden rain. The artillery men were instantly cut down, and the twelve-pounder could not be used ; but Captain Clark ordered his men to fire upon the Con-
54 THE EIGHTH VERMONT.
federates as they issued from the woods in all directions, while the engineer, who fortunately was unhurt, kept the train in motion, and it ran upon a siding. The firing was rapid on both sides, and the Union soldiers, owing to their exposed position, were falling rapidly, as the cars moved onward where they might soon pass out of range, but for the misplaced switch, which the enemy had so turned as to run the train off at the end of the side track.
At this critical moment, however, when it seemed as though every chance of escape was cut off and the entire force must perish ingloriously, Private Louis J. Ingalls, of Company K, made a quick heroic dash that saved the day. Taking in the situation at a glance he leaped to the ground, ran forward through a shower of balls, turned the switch, let the train pass on, and boarded his car again. It was a wonder that he was not shot down, for his clothing was riddled with bullets, but the only wound he received was a ball through the neck. The immediate danger was thus averted ; but out of that terrible fire but twenty-five of Captain Clark's command escaped un scathed ; thirteen were killed outright, two others were fatally shot and died next day, while twenty were more or less severely wounded, some of whom fell off the train and were captured by the enemy. The names of the slain were, Sergeant James E. Thayer, and Privates Simon K. Bailey, John S. Col- grove, Wm. R. Gray, Fred Greenwood, Henry McGookin, Levi Brust, of Company E ; Privates Charles R. Car roll, George J. Carson,, Joseph Leary, Charles F. Stone, Auguste Laymont, of Company K ; Private Sylvanus F. Ailes, of Company A. The two who died of their wounds on the following day were George Clapper, of Company C, and George Farrver, and John F. Departhy, of Company G. The wounded were Lewis J. Ingalls, Gilbert Lead, George W. Hill, Ezra S. Pierce, Chauncey M. Snow, Charles H. Presby, Arthur M. Raymond, Charles H. Farnam, Henry ' Raseblade, and Ethan Shores, all of Company K. Benjamin Morse, Company E, was wounded and taken prisoner ; George Poor, Company E, died of his wounds.
A SURRENDER. 55
Scarcely were the survivors of this tragic slaughter beyond reach of the Confederate bullets, when they confronted the up train from Algiers, and luckily both were brought to rest in time to prevent a collision. By this means the latter escaped the fate intended for it, and both trains made the best pos sible speed to Algiers.
DES ALLEMANDS.
Bent on the work of destruction, the enemy then set fire to the station buildings and houses in the vicinity, and then pushed rapidly up the track towards Des Allemands. This place was held by a portion of Companies E, G, and K, under command of Capt. Hall, of Company E.
On coming in sight of the pickets stationed about half a mile from Des Allemands, the Confederate commander sent the sergeant in command under a flag of truce to inform Capt. Hall of the operations at Boutee station, and that his force was suffi cient to surround the Union men on all sides. Consequently he demanded an immediate surrender in order to prevent needless bloodshed. As a reply to this summons, Capt. Hall dispatched Lieut. Greene with a flag of truce to meet Col. McWalters, while he held a hasty consultation with his officers, and decided what course to pursue. But while the question of surrender was under discussion, they saw the Confederates marching towards them in close column with Lieut. Greene in front of them. There was no time to lose, and Capt. Hall, aware that his force was quite inadequate to successful resistance, and that his supply of ammunition was low, surrendered himself and his command, prisoners of war. Besides Capt. Hall, the force con sisted of Lieut. Sargent, of Company E ; Lieutenants Greene and Mead, of Company G ; and one hundred and thirty-seven privates.
Lieut. Morse, of Company I, who had command of the artil lery at Des Allemands, made his escape when the force sur rendered, and, taking a boat, rowed some three miles up the bayou, where he found a vacant house in which he rested a while, and then hiding in a neighboring cane-field, slept there
56 THE EIGHTH VERMONT.
through the night. There he also spent the following day, waiting for the appearance of troops from, Algiers, and was once obliged to secrete himself in the sugar-cane to avoid being discovered by some rebel scouts who were prowling about in the vicinity. The next day, while strolling cautiously along, he fell in with a negro who told him that the rebels were searching for him ; and just then a party of them came in sight and fired several shots after him. But Morse fled to the cover of the woods and escaped ; then after wandering several days through the swamps, he finally reached the Mississippi, and was taken on board a boat and landed at New Orleans. From that city he crossed the river and reported to Col. Thomas at Algiers. On reaching camp he was hatless and shoeless, and suffering severely with malaria, which kept him confined in the hospital for several weeks with a slow fever.
As soon as the trains brought the news of the Boutee station attack to Algiers, Col. Thomas reported the case to Gen. Butler, who immediately ordered Col. McMillan and the Twenty-first Indiana to go up the river by boat and form a junction with Col. Thomas at Boutee station. In prosecution of the same plan, Col. Thomas started with his regiment by rail. The night was very dark, and the train had gone scarcely a dozen miles when the engine struck an ox which had strayed on to the track, and the cars were derailed and most of them wrecked. Alonzo Sil ver, of Company A, was killed, and William Rollins and Calvin W. H. Smith, of Company A, were more or less hurt. His progress thus thwarted, , Col. Thomas saw that it would be impossible to reach his destination in time to meet McMillan, * and returned to Algiers, intending to go forward by water, and march across the country. But Gen. Butler countermanded the order, and the next day the colonel withdrew his pickets to with in twelve miles of his camp.
During the attack at Boutee station Corporal George W. Hill, of Company K, received five shots in his legs and hips, but recovered, and was afterwards made first lieutenant, and con tinued in the service until the close of the war. Edward H. Raserlade, another unfortunate member of the same company,
SWEET GIRL GRADUATES. 57
received six gun-shot wounds at the first fire of the enemy, and fell off the car. He jumped up, however, and tried to escape, when a Confederate officer dealt him a sabre blow on the head and a cut on the shoulder, which felled him again to the ground, where he was left behind for dead, or nearly so. There he lay all night, weak and faint from hunger and loss of blood, and was rescued by the Twenty-first Indiana, on its arrival next day, and sent to Algiers.
Another bloodless campaign, but bearing a more agreeable termination, was undertaken about the middle of September. Rumor was brought to the camp that a small Confederate force was massed at Thibodeaux, and three companies under Maj. Dillingham were detailed to investigate the report. Crossing Bayou des Allemands in boats, they followed the railroad track to La Fourche Crossing, where a strong guard was left, and the main force pushed on to Thibodeaux, about three miles distant. Few people were to be seen in the streets on their arrival, stores were closed and blinds shut on dwelling-houses, and Confed erate soldiers, if there had been any, as well as civilians, had apparently deserted the place. Maj. Dillingham found an iron foundry containing models and patterns for manufacturing arms, which he destroyed. Then, marching his command to the out skirts of the town, he came upon a young ladies' seminary, from the windows of which peered the eager faces of the school girls, intent on getting a good look at the terrible Yankees. Quartermaster Smith accompanied the party, and both the major and himself being noted for gallantry toward the fair sex, a halt was ordered, while the band was directed to discourse sweet music for the delectation of the curious maidens of Dixie Land. Having thus paid a delicate compliment to their pretty auditors, the men gave three cheers for the " sweet girl grad uates," three more for the dear old flag, and marched away to the strains of " Yankee Doodle." On the return an old cannon, which the enemy had hidden away, was discovered, and the boys brought it home as a trophy.
After the disasters at Raceland, Des Allemands, and Boutee
58 THE EIGHTH VERMONT.
* station, a very sharp lookout was kept at all the outposts, and a.
mounted picket was organized. In the assignment of forces Company H was stationed for a time at a place called Company Canal, located on the Mississippi river, about ten miles above New Orleans. Into their camp one morning. a man came riding in hot haste from the south, who reported that the negroes on a plantation some two or three miles distant had risen against their white overseer, and were trying to murder him. To save himself the overseer had locked himself into a small building on the premises, but his pursuers were firing at him through the shutters and were likely to kill him unless he received help. The messenger was in great terror, and begged for soldiers to go to the rescue of his friend before it was too late. In response to his request, Capt. Button detailed a party of six or eight men, who mounted horses loanedt hem by the outpost pickets, and hastened with all speed toward the scene of the trouble-
Keeping their informant close at hand, they warned him that any treachery on his part would be fatal to him, and had nearly reached the plantation, when they met a procession of negroes following a mule cart driven by an old negro, and lying in the cart was the dead body of the overseer. It was a sad spectacle, for the prostrate form was that of a young and handsome man, whose clean white shirt front was drenched with the deep crim son that had hardly ceased to flow from his veins.
The negroes evidently expected the Yankees to approve their fiendish action, supposing that the Union army had been sent there to kill their old masters, and would rejoice at any means employed to get rid of them. They declared that the over seer had been a hard master, and very "outrageous," what ever that might signify, on which account they were confident that their murderous act was entirely justifiable. They further explained that the shots fired through the shutters of the house into which he had fled for refuge took effect, and when he attempted to rush out and escape, the old negro who was driving the cart fired a charge of buckshot into his breast and killed him. But to their apparent surprise, Capt. Button repri manded the murderers severely, and had the old man and
A TR UE IVOMA N. 5 9>
% several of his accomplices placed under arrest and sent to Gen.
Butler at New Orleans.
The letter which is here inserted with a brief preface will carry its own lesson straight to the heart of every mother who reads it, and plead eloquently for the exercise of a charity broad enough to believe that there were honest secessionists, who loved their enemies and tried to do them good.
When the regiment went up the Opelousas Railroad in October, 1862, Orderly Sergt. S. E. Howard, being ill, was left behind in charge of a picket-post near the residence of Col. Sparks, at Company Canal. He was suffering severely with chills and fever, contracted in that malarious climate, and on learning his condition, Mrs. Sparks warned him against exposure, and kindly urged him to sleep at her house and receive medical attendance. But Howard respectfully declined to accept the proffered courtesy, until he was seized with a violent congestive chill which left him almost dead, and in this condition his comrades carried him to her house.
Mrs. Sparks realized the desperate nature of the case, and the need of prompt and vigorous treatment. But she had no medicines, and could procure none short of New Orleans, which was ten miles away. Her husband was infirm, and all her negroes had left her except a few old decrepit men. To add to the perplexity, it was four o'clock in the afternoon, and the rain was falling in torrents.
Would a stranger be likely to face such obstacles in order to save the life of an enemy, who had come there for the sole pur pose of destroying a government for which she had sacrificed so much ? She did ; and, with the help of a friend who lived half way between her house and the city, the medicine was obtained. Mrs. Sparks dispatched one of her old servants with a message to this friend, who was none other than the wife of the late col lector of the port of New Orleans, Mr. Hatch. He absconded at the breaking out of the war, taking with him a large amount of United States funds, and Mrs. Hatch was a most violent secessionist, and a cordial hater of Yankees. But when the
60 THE EIGHTH VERMONT.
message from her friend reached her, the kind woman's heart within her overcame all other consideration, and Mi's. Hatch set out for the city in the darkness and storm, got the needed prescription, and herself carried it to the bedside of the sinking Union sergeant. It cost her a night journey of fifteen miles, in the course of which she had to cross and recross the Mis sissippi river, and expose herself to storm and clanger.
For six weeks Sergt. Howard remained in that house, a very sick man, and Mrs. Sparks and Mrs. Hatch were both unre mitting in their care, and no mother could have nursed him more tenderly. After his recovery it afforded him great pleasure to be able to show them some acts of kindness, and he desires in these pages to record a tribute of gratitude to his noble, self-sacrificing benefactors.
Sergt. Howard was not the only member of the Eighth Ver mont to whom Mrs. Sparks ministered during a period of illness. Alfred Read, of Company E, was sick, and died at her house during the autumn of 1862 ; and the following letter which she addressed to the mother of the young man, in Vermont, soon after his death, needs no comment.
COMPANY CANAL, LA., 1862.
Dear Mrs. Read: Although you and I are strangers — may perhaps never meet in this world — my thoughts and heart have been with you the last few days. This perhaps may seem strange, as our countries are at enmity, and at war with each other.
I am a mother, and know np enemy in sickness or death. I sympathize with you deeply in the loss of your son Alfred. It was my privilege to nurse your dear child in his last illness ; it was indeed a pleasure to me to administer to his comfort in his last severe suffering.
He was a patient, good boy; I stood by his bedside day and night, conversed much with him ; he frequently spoke of his dear mother and wished he was with you. He was aware of his situation, felt that he could not live, said he knew there was a better world, where he would be happy. He would be glad to see his friends, " but" said he, "I will meet them after death."
This, my dear Mrs. Read, should be a great comfort to you, — that your son should have a hope beyond the grave. What a consoling thought to par ents, that we are only separated a short time from our children ; we are to
A REBEL MOTHER. 6 1
live in this world but a few short years at most ; here we have no abiding- place, but seek one which is to come. Soon time with us will be no more, and eternity will dawn upon us. Should we not then consecrate all our energies and powers to preparation for that everlasting life beyond the grave, where we will be free from all the cares of this world, our children and friends restored unto us ? Be not cast down at the ways of God; He has taken your dear Alfred for a wise purpose. Can you not exclaim, in the language of the Bible : " The Lord gave, and the Lord taketh away ; blessed be the name of the Lord " ? " He is able to heal your wounded heart ; look unto Him in every trouble and sorrow." " Like as a father pitieth his chil dren," so pitieth He us, weak, frail, and inconsistent as we are. He is a present help in every time of trouble or need.
The last few hours of your son's life he was unconscious; a kiss was imprinted upon his cold cheek for his mother; his manly form is now no more to be seen, his eyes forever closed to the perplexities of this sinful world, his seat left vacant at your table, his voice no more to be heard amid the loved ones at home. May you and your family be enabled to bear this sad bereavement with Christian fortitude and resignation, feeling it to be the will of God.
This most unnatural war is convincing us more and more every day of the truth of the Bible, — the father is in arms against the son, and the son against the father, — each believing themselves pursuing the path of duty.
How many homes are now made sad by the loss of father, husband, son, brother, or some near and dear friend. Would to God the trouble could be -settled ! I have two dear sons in the Confederate army ; have not heard from them the last four months, and know not that they are alive. It has been my earnest prayer that they may be spared a soldier's death. I feel an all-abiding faith in the promises of Christ, and am willing to leave all things in his hands; he has promised to work all things together for good to "those that put their trust in him." Were it not for this hope I could not bear the troubles of this world.
I have everything to be thankful to God for, and hope that you and I, with all those who are near and dear to us, may so live on earth that we may be prepared for the blessed mansions above.
May you accept this letter in the same spirit it is written, by a sympa thizing stranger and mother.
Yours respectfully,
A REBEL MOTHER.
The fate of Union prisoners captured by the Confederates was usually hard, and often pitiful in the extreme ; nor did members of the Eighth Vermont who fell into their hands form any exception to the rule. On the Qth of September,
62 THE EIGHTH VERMONT.
ex-General Wickliffe came into the Federal lines under cover of a flag of truce, bearing dispatches from G*n. "Dick " Taylor, who threatened to execute a number of the prisoners taken at Des Allemands on the 4th of September ; but Gen. Butler's forcible and threatening reply caused the inimical commander to change his mind and spare the victims.
The men whom Capt. Hall surrendered at Des Allemands were placed in charge of a guard of Texas rangers, and marched a distance of one hundred miles to Camp Pratt, near New Iberia. There they remained about six weeks, when they were sent to Vicksburg, Miss., and kept in a jail-yard which was the Andersonville of the Southwest. There they remained several weeks in a wretched condition ; for the rebels had robbed them of all their clothing and blankets, except a few rags that were not worth stealing, and they were compelled to subsist on the meanest food and sleep on the bare ground with out any covering to protect them. It was late autumn, the most uncomfortable season of the year in that latitude, and they were exposed to storm and cold with no fires to keep them warm. Capt. J. W. Smith, of Company K, thus writes of their prison life :
" Our rations consisted of corn ground with -the cobs, and not sifted,, which was prepared by mixing in a barrel, like food for swine, without salt, and baked on the top of a stove, the outside being burned black while the middle was raw. This was dealt out sparingly.
" One fifth of our number died soon after getting back to our lines, and not one half ever returned to their companies for duty; and to cap the climax, after we had our paroles, and were waiting for the boat to take us to our lines, we were compelled to cast lots, and two of our number were selected to remain and be shot, in retaliation for some guerillas executed by Gen. McNeil, in Missouri. The lots fell upon Sergt. Wills and Private Spear. Two days later the whole party, with the exception of the two selected to be shot, were put on the exchange boat and taken to New Orleans. Reach ing there on November u, they were at once sent to Ship Island to remain until they were exchanged.
"It was an exciting moment when the line was formed at Vicksburg, and the men all knew that two of the party were to be selected by lot to be shot ; and it was a touching parting when their comrades took Sergt. Charles R. Wills, of Randolph, and Edward Spear, of Braintree, by the hand, and bade them good-by."
AN ATROCIOUS CRIME. 63
Sergeant Wills writes that "they were confined in prison cells for several months, when finally they were reprieved by Jeff. Davis." So deeply were they affected on hearing this good news, that, in the enthusiasm of the moment, Wills gave three cheers for the President of the Confederate States of America. He was the only man of the Eighth Vermont who ever cheered for that dignitary. They were both exchanged, and Sergeant Wills returned to the regiment, but Spear died before reaching the Union lines.
On the first day of October Dr. Cyrus H. Allen was ap pointed assistant surgeon of the regiment.
SHOOTING THE GERMANS.
The saddest event connected with the capture of Union troops at Bayou des Allemands was the shooting of seven of. the Germans who had enlisted into the Eighth Vermont from New Orleans. It will be recollected that those Teutonic members of the regiment were residents of Louisiana at the time they volunteered to enter the army, and the only charge ever pre ferred against them was that they joined the Federal troops instead of the Confederate. These seven happened to be among the prisoners surrendered by Capt. Hall, and were recognized by some members of the Confederate guard who had formerly known them. As soon as this information reached the Confederate headquarters, it was ascertained or assumed that their names had been enrolled for conscription at New Orleans, and as a consequence the Confederacy had a claim on them for military service. On this flimsy pretext the poor Germans were arrested as deserters, and denied even the common civilities that humane victors «.re wont to extend to prisoners taken in war.
In vain the doomed men protested their utter innocence of the crime laid to their charge, and pleaded that the act of enlist ment was an exercise of their rightful privilege as citizens of the United States. Their cruel captors would not listen or
64 THE EIGHTH VERMONT.
show them any mercy. Without allowing the Germans to communicate with their friends or make afly preparation for their own defence, a court martial was ordered to try the cases, which went through a farce of hearing testimony, and returned a quick verdict of guilty. So they were condemned to be pub licly shot as deserters. The sentence was simply an atrocious, cold-blooded murder ; but no one who knew or cared for them dared to interfere with its execution, or lift a voice of remon strance against this high-handed, brutal wrong, which the "barbarism of slavery" had so well fitted the Southerners to exercise.
It was a pitiable spectacle when these seven adopted sons of America were marched forth to meet a felon's death. Brightly the October sun smiled upon a land of unsurpassed natural beauty, where every leaf and flower reflected the grateful warmth ; but it did not touch the stony hearts of Confederate military despots, nor were they moved by the sight of those heart-broken men going to their own execution as martyrs to loyalty and a noble cause. But the eye of the Eternal saw that bloody deed, and the immutable law which shall eventually right every wrong took notice.
Under some trees beside the railroad track a long trench had been dug, and on the brink the seven Germans were ranged, that their dead bodies might drop into it when they fell. Seventy enlisted Confederates from the state of Louis iana were detailed to do the death work. Several of them, unwilling to take part in such revolting and doubtful business, had hired substitutes. But when the command was given a volley of seventy muskets was fired, and the victims expired without a struggle. There was one blank cartridge fired, and let us try to think, for humanity's sake, that each one of those forced executioners clung to the hope that the harmless shot was his. Into the open grave the warm bodies were hastily thrust, and just enough earth was thrown upon them to hide them from the face of the accusing sun. Their names were : Bernard Hurst, Deidrich Bahne, John Leichleiver, Michael Leichleiver, Michael Masman, Frank Paul, Gustave C. Becher.
A BROKEN-HEARTED FATHER. 65
Col. Homer B. Sprague, of the Thirteenth Connecticut, in his account of this tragic affair, writes thus :
" The desolate spot has a mournful interest and we often visited it. Over grown with weeds, it is yet easily recognizable beside some trees, nearly abreast with the earthworks on the right side as you go from Algiers. The traveller who has either sentiment or patriotism will hardly restrain his tears, when he stands there and listens to the strain of the father's anguish, as he shovelled the dirt away, to find the mouldering remains of his hand some and noble boy. Will not the great Republic some dajr rear a monu ment to mark the last resting-place of the seven martyrs, who died for her at Bayou des Allemands, in the summer of 1862 ?"
The "handsome and noble boy" to whom Col. Sprague alludes was an only son, whose aged father at first objected to the enlistment of his much loved child, and he called on Col. Thomas to consult about it. " I cannot bear," he said, with deep feeling, " to have my son enter an army to fight against the government of the United States ! I dislike to have him go into the army at all, but I fear it is the only way he can be kept out of the Confederate service ; therefore I consent that he shall go with you to save the cause of the Union." The tears rolled, down his cheeks and he trembled with emotion, as he added : " It is hard to let him go, for he is all that I have."
Who can portray the heart-rending grief of such a father, when, a few days after the execution, he searched out the body of his son among its fellows in the dust, and with trembling hands tenderly bore it away to a consecrated resting-place ? The idol of his love, the staff of his age, had fallen, and who could comfort him ?
When Col. Thomas heard the story of the shooting of these men he reported the facts to General Butler, who declared, in a forcible manner : " By the Eternal ! it shall cost them fourteen lives." The colonel also made a report of the affair in writing, and asked for a court of inquiry, to investigate the deed ; but before action was taken, Gen. Butler was superseded by Gen. Banks, and the government never sought to punish the instiga tors of this military murder.
To this day there remains in the treasury of Vermont the 5
66 THE EIGHTH VERMONT.
state pay of seven dollars a month due these enlisted Germans. But it has never been drawn, and since thenvar closed, though every effort has been made to find the lawful claimants, nothing has been heard from them.
Wm. H. Brown and Dennis Kean, of Company G, surren dered by Capt. Hall, were recognized on reaching Vicksburg as deserters from the Confederate army, and were consequently shot March 7, 1863, on the same day that the gun-boat Diana was captured by the enemy.
Before the regiment broke camp at Algiers Orderly Sergeant George E. Selleck, of Company I, was promoted to second lieutenant, vice J. C. Morse.
All his comrades will recollect Andrew McKenzie, who was drowned at Algiers, and how he became a member of Company B. After the company was full he wished to enlist in it, and it was agreed that if he would go South with them, the boys would share their rations with him until a vacancy occurred. He went, and at New York one man deserted the ranks, and McKenzie took his place.
The promotions from the Eighth Vermont to other regi ments, made during the fall and early winter months, are here given, with as full data as could be obtained ; it is probable, however, that some are omitted, because the records are not at hand : Oscar W. Goodridge and Charles W. Blake, of Com pany A, were made captains of colored volunteers. Sergts. Augustine P. Hawley and Henry C. Abbott, Company C, cap tains of Second Louisiana Volunteers. Serg. L. I. Winslow, Company H, captain — . Rev. Isaac Blake, fifer Company B, chaplain Third Colored Regiment. Edward D. Mooney, Com pany B, lieutenant Fourth United States Colored Troops. Michael B. Tobin, Company A, second lieutenant colored regi ment. Hiram P. Harney, Company B, and James Noyes, Company C, were made second lieutenants of the colored national guards raised under direction of Col. Thomas. Sergt. Harvey O. Kiser, Company A, and William K. Crosby, L. K. Chamberlin, Elijah K. Prouty, Horace W. Kennedy, and Hiram L. Whipple, of Company C, were made second lieu-
ISAAC BLAKE, Co. B.
LEAVING ALGIERS. 67
tenants of Louisiana Volunteers. Lucius W. Bissell, Com pany G, first lieutenant Third Louisiana National Guards, January, 1863. Stillman Smith, Company H, second lieu tenant Second Louisiana Volunteers. Capt. H. E. Perkins, Company F, major United States colored regiment. Lewis R. Titus, Parker J. Noyes, and Sumner W. Lewis, Company C, lieutenants in United States colored regiments. Warren B. Stickney, Company H, lieutenant Ninety-ninth United States colored infantry, and then appointed superintendent of first public colored schools in New Orleans. In 1885 he was appointed superintendent of the Freedmen's Bureau, in Lou isiana. William S. Peabody, Company D, lieutenant United States colored troops. Rufus H. Clark, Charles B. Fullington, Harvey L. Smith, William G. Westover, and Charles G. Wood, of Company A, were also promoted and received commissions in other regiments. Azariah T. Wild, Company D, quarter master third colored regiment. First Lieut. J. C. Morse, Com pany I, resigned October 25, 1862. ' First Lieut. A. J. Howard, Company K, died November 18, 1862, while he was acting quartermaster. Assistant Surgeon S. H. Currier resigned October 20, 1862.
The members of the regiment will have pleasant recollections of Charles W. Blake, or " Father " Blake, as he was familiarly called, who enlisted as fifer in Company B. He often held evening religious meetings in camp, and at Algiers he fre quently preached to the colored people. Chaplain Williams found him a helpful assistant in taking care of the sick and wounded, and he often said the funeral service over a dead comrade. When "Father" Blake was promoted to the chap laincy of a colored regiment, all felt that it was a merited compliment to a faithful soldier and a noble man.
For weeks the Eighth Vermont had occupied a camp at Algiers, and felt that wherever they might be detailed for tem porary service, this was in one sense a home to which they could return and rejoin their comrades. But when Gen. Weit- zel assumed command of the brigade to which the regiment
68 THE EIGHTH VERMONT.
belonged, they were transferred to a new field of operations, and the old camp was broken up and desftrted. Before the movement began, however, Gen. Weitzel selected his staff offi cers, and complimented both* the Eighth Regiment and the officer, by detailing Quartermaster Fred E. Smith for his acting commissary of subsistence.
Having received orders from Gen. Butler to advance into the La Fourche district and drive out the Confederate forces con centrated between Donaldsonville and Thibodeaux, Gen. Weit zel proceeded thither by boat, leaving only the Eighth Vermont behind. This movement began on the 24th of October, and the troops landed at Donaldsonville, followed down the bayou, and meeting the enemy at Labadieville, defeated them and cap tured two hundred and fifty prisoners.
In his report of this engagement, Gen. " Dick " Taylor says :
" In the last days of October the Federal Gen. Weitzel brought up a force of some four thousand from New Orleans, landed at Donaldsonville, and advanced down the La Fourche, on the west bank. There were Con federates on both sides of the bayou, but, having neglected their floating bridge, they could not unite. With his own, the Eighteenth, the Crescent, Col. McPheeters, and the four-gun battery of Capt. Ralston, — in all five hundred men, — Col. Armand resisted Weitzel's advance at Labadieville, eight miles above Thibodeaux. The fighting was severe, and Armand only retired after his ammunition was exhausted ; but he lost many killed and wounded, and some few prisoners. Col. McPheeters was among the former, and Captains Ralston and Story among the latter.
" The loss of the Federals prevented Weitzel from attempting a pursuit, and Mouton, who deemed it /necessary to retire across Berwick bay, was not interrupted in his movement."
On the same day that the brigade took its departure, the first regiment of native colored guards reported to Col. Thomas at Algiers. He also received orders to proceed up the track of the New Orleans and Opelousas Railroad, dislodge the enemy at Bayou des Allemands, and form a junction with Weitzel at La Fourche Crossing. In aid of this plan Admiral Farragut had sent a fleet around to Berwick bay, under command of Commodore Buchanan, to intercept the crossing of the enemy at Brashear City.
IN LINE OF BATTLE. 69
In the afternoon of October 25th Col. Thomas started in pursuance of his orders, and marched his two regiments seven miles along the railway, where they bivouacked for the night. For the next twenty miles the long unused track was found to be so overgrown with thick grass that the locomotive of their construction train was impeded, and could make no headway. But the orders were to open the road as they went along, and put it in running order, and some plan must be devised for removing the troublesome grass. There seemed to be but one way of effectually doing this, and that was to pull it up with their hands, as the boys had often done with weeds in their gar dens at home. At first the men thought that grubbing up grass was rather undignified work for soldiers ; but soon the white regiment taking the lead fell to work with a will, and the colored men followed their good example without complaint. As the men proceeded they found it necessary to rebuild cul verts that had been destroyed, and replace rails that had been torn up, so that they were two days in reaching Boutee station, where they halted for the night.
At that point Col. Thomas was informed by the negroes that the forces of the enemy were massed at Bayou des Alle- mands, and had the place well fortified. On resuming the march next morning, therefore, he purposed to continue the track repairs as he went forward, attack the enemy when he came upon them, and sleep in Des Allemands that night. As a precaution he ordered two pieces from a Massachussetts bat tery to be mounted on a platform-car in front of the engine, and loaded, ready for action if required. The manual labor of that day proved to be much the same as that already expe rienced — the men had to straighten and spike down rails, cut timber in the woods for sleepers to replace those that were miss ing, remove trees and other obstructions which had been put upon the track, and, for a change, pull up grass. In the middle of the afternoon they approached a curve in the road which, when rounded, would bring them in sight of Des Allemands ; and there a halt was made while the colonel formed his men for action. The artillery-men took places on the platform-car by
70 THE EIGHTH VERMONT,
their guns ; the Eighth Vermont was to move to the attack on the right of the track, and the colored regiment on the left.
Feeling uncertain how the native guards would behave under fire, and whether their courage could be relied on, Col. Thomas went down in front of the regiment, before ordering an advance, and addressed the colored men. He told them, in substance, that they were about to meet the enemy, and that not a man must falter ; " for," said he, " if one of you hesitates, I shall shoot him on the spot." Then he reminded them that they were to fight for the glory of God, and the salvation of their country ; to avenge the blood that had flowed from the lacerated backs of themselves, their mothers, wives, and sweethearts ; and woe to the man who flinched. While speaking, the colonel was shrewdly noting the effect produced by his words, and was gratified by seeing them close their lips with firm determination, and show by their earnest looks that they would do their duty.
Everything being ready, the skirmishers were ordered to advance, and at the word of command the train and troops moved forward. Pressing eagerly on, the skirmishers soon reached the bayou, only to find it a deserted and smoking ruin ; and on the arrival of the main body, instead of an enemy to attack, they found evidence on every hand that the Confed erates had fled at their approach. But they had first set fire to everything about the station and the long bridge across the bayou, and in their haste had left behind four pieces of artillery, which were seized as trophies. Referring to this matter, Gen. Taylor says: "A few days after the Des Allemands affair I
was called north Minute instructions were given
Col. Waller. The danger to be guarded against was pointed out, .... and this trap Waller fell into. Most of his men escaped by abandoning arms, horses, etc."
Once more, therefore, the men addressed themselves to the business of repairing the railroad, and spent two days in re building the burned bridge and making it safe and passa ble. A train was dispatched to Algiers for tools and tim ber before the job could be finished, and then the force
DISOBEYING ORDERS. 71
pushed forward to La Fourche Crossing without any serious delay.
In his report to the adjutant general of Vermont, Col. Thomas thus tersely sums up the work accomplished during that march: "The command pulled the luxurious grass over twenty miles of track, built eighteen culverts from ten to twenty feet long, rebuilt what was estimated four miles of track, rebuilt a bridge 475 feet long, drove the enemy from the road, and captured seven cannon, all in one week, for which they received from Maj. Gen. Butler a high compliment for energy and skill."
On the 1 8th of November the regiment met with a great loss in the death of Lieut. A. J. Howard, acting quartermaster, and his place was subsequently filled by the promotion of Lieut. S. E. Howard.
At La Fourche Crossing the troops halted for a day, and then Gen. Weitzel ordered Col. Thomas to continue his recon struction march to Brashear City, and put the road in order as he advanced. At Bayou Boeuf he found that the enemy had burned another bridge which was 675 feet in length. But his men were already used to bridge-building, and set about the work at once, actually cutting the timber in the adjacent woods and preparing it for use. In five days the job was finished, and the train passed across the new structure in safety. During this period Col. Thomas, aware that squads of the enemy were prowling about the country, threw out his pickets up and down the bayou, with strict orders to use every means to prevent surprises and sudden attacks.
There was considerable excitement one night within the lines, because Private Hutchins, one of the pickets, shot an officer for refusing to obey a challenge to "halt, dismount, and give the countersign." Complaint was immediately made to Col. Thomas, who, on investigating the case, found that the blame lay with the injured party. He, with a brother officer, being under the influence of liquor, refused to obey the order of the sentinel, and Hutchins fired, as he was bound to, giving the defiant officer an ugly wound in the shoulder. It
72 THE EIGHTH VERMONT.
was a trying ordeal for a private ; but next morning Col. Thomas sent for Hutchins, told him he did fust right, and, to show his appreciation of a soldier who obeyed orders, promoted him to be sergeant of Company E.
About twenty paroled prisoners came into camp one even ing at Bayou Boeuf, who had been ordered to report to Col. Thomas, by Commodore Buchanan, commander of the fleet at Brashear City. The headquarters of the colonel and Adjutant Barstow were in a small room of a house near the track, and thither the prisoners went and showed their paroles. Col. Thomas received them pleasantly, invited them in, and seated them about the room as best he could. He then seated himself on a box in the middle of the room, so as to face as many of the prisoners as possible. It was already dark, and he held in his hand a tallow candle, while Adjutant Barstow sat in a corner near a table on which was another candle, and the dim lights flared in the faces that huddled together before them.
" Gentlemen," said the colonel, " I want to talk with you a little. You are not obliged to answer any more than you have a mind to ; but I always tell men to begin with, that what they do say must be the truth ; they must n't tell me a lie. Talk as much or as little as you choose ; but understand, whatever you tell me must be exactly the truth ; — because if you tell me a lie I can catch you in it, and I will punish you for it as quick as though you were spies. 'Do n't know but I would hang you be fore you got out of this room. This is what I tell my own men and every man who comes in contact with me."
Having uttered this speech in a stern voice, and produced as he thought the desired effect, the colonel changed his tone, and in a familiar way inquired what their occupations were before they enlisted into the Confederate service. In this way he soon drew forth the information that they had been common labor ers when they enlisted, and to what companies they belonged. " In this pleasant way, I chatted with the prisoners perhaps twenty or thirty minutes," said Col. Thomas, relating the
STAMPS. 73
affair, "for I had addressed them pretty sharply at first, and wished to quiet any nervousness that my words might have caused. Remember, I sat there in the centre of the group with that weird light in my hand and my eyes on the men before me; and when they were at their ease and had grown quite communicative, suddenly I threw the light up over my head out of the way of my eyes, and demanded in a loud, stern voice : ' How many of you had a hand in shooting my men at Des Allemands ? ' No one answered, and I said, ' There are four of you,' looking round on all of them. ' Remember what I told you about lying. You did — and you — and you — and you,' I shouted in quick succession, pointing them out as I spoke, and every one said 'Yes.' 'There is one more,' I said. 'You, sir, are the man,' and my finger was pointed directly at him. But he denied. ' Take care, ' I shouted, with all the energy I could throw into my voice. But he still said 'No,' and the others agreed with him. " You are not the man,' I added, still keeping my eyes fixed sternly on him, ' I made a mistake ! ' He was nearly frightened to death, but I felt convinced that he was innocent. Then the men made a clean breast of it, and told me all they knew about the shooting of the seven Ger mans, and I believe it to be the only correct account I ever received."
Company C took with them from Vermont a colored barber by the name of Stamps, who served them as a cook, and at intervals plied his tonsorial vocation. He was allowed consid erable freedom, and when the regiment was at Bayou Boeuf he went outside the lines, and did sundry foraging on his own account. At length it began to be suspected that Stamps was not over-scrupulous in the choice of plunder ; for two old ladies called at headquarters one day complaining that a colored man, wearing the Federal uniform, had robbed them of their table- silver and other valuables. Col. Thomas was loth to believe that any one in his command had been guilty of such theft, but the ladies insisted that they had followed the robber into camp, and on seeing Stamps, identified him as the culprit.
Stamps was accordingly subjected to close questioning, and
74 THE EIGHTH VERMONT.
after some equivocation admitted that he had taken a few things, but refused to restore the stolen property. The colonel insisted, but Stamps was stubborn. Finally the commander resorted to a favorite method of persuasion, and threatened to hang him if he did not yield. But Stamps was not scared, or, if he was, did not show it, and the order was given to throw a rope over the limb of a tree, stand the prisoner on a barrel underneath, and place the rope around his neck.
" Now," said the resolute colonel, " I will give you just two minutes to tell where the silver is that you stole." Stamps remained quiet for about half the probationary time, and did not utter a word. Apparently he was quite indifferent to the feeling of a noose tightening around his throat. The last sixty seconds were rapidly ticking away on the dial of the colonel's watch, and there were signs that the doomed man had something on his mind to which he wished to give expression before the barrel should be kicked from under his dangling form. " Tell 'em up in Vermont," said he, "tell 'em old Stamps lived poor, but died rich." This was too much for the gravity of Col. Thomas, and he ordered the man taken down and placed under a guard. But old Stamps never told where he had secreted his ill-gotten gains.
One incident which comrades of the Eighth Vermont fre quently mention when recalling the days at the Bayou Boeuf, was the explosion of an ammunition train. It was moving up the railroad, and was near the La Fourche Crossing, when the train suddenly " blew up, " scattering the fragments in a lively manner. Private Peabody, of Company D, was killed, and Lieut. C. H. Nason, of Company F, was hurled into the air and landed in an adjacent cane-field, severely hurt.
BRASHEAR CITY.
Col. Thomas and his regiment finished the work of repairs, and reached Brashear City on the 8th of December, 1862, hav ing begun the expedition October 26th. Eighty miles of track had been put in running order, and railway and telegraphic com-
CONFEDERATE RETALIATION. 75
munication was opened from Algiers on the Mississippi to Berwick bay. At this terminus of the road the troops went into camp and remained more than a month, garrisoning the place, and doing picket duty up and down the bayou. Details were also made from time to time to operate the railroad, and Capt. H. E. Foster, of Company C, was appointed superintend ent of motive power.
Several important promotions were made while the regiment tarried at Brashear City. Lieut. Col. Brown, who had been detailed from his command since May, resigned, and was dis charged from the service; and on the 23d 'of December Maj. Charles Dillingham was promoted to the vacancy. Capt. L. M. Grout, of Company A, was made major ; First Lieut. Moses McFarland was made captain of Company A, Second Lieut. L. M. Hutchinson was made first lieutenant, and Corporal A. K. Cooper was made second lieutenant.
It may have detracted somewhat from the pleasure of official promotions, that about the time those just mentioned were made, the camp were informed of the proclamation issued by Jefferson Davis, the Confederate president, wherein he recounted the offensive acts of Maj. Gen. Butler, at New Orleans, such as the execution of Mumford for tearing down the Union flag, the confiscation of private and corporate property, and the order to send southern women to prison, and in retaliation declared " that all commissioned officers in the command of said Benja min F. Butler be declared not entitled to be considered as soldiers engaged in honorable warfare, but as robbers and criminals deserving death, and that they and each of them be, whenever captured, reserved for execution."
Incidents both grave and ludicrous in character were continu ally happening during the stay at Brashear City, and the daily experiences and life of the soldiers were not unlike those at Algiers a few weeks earlier in the season. One day a gentle man named Van Patten came into camp. He formerly lived in New York, but had married a wife near Bayou Boeuf, and was returning from a visit to his plantation. He made himself quite agreeable, and related a description of the retreat of the rebels
76 THE EIGHTH VERMONT.
on the approach of the Eighth Vermont, that was given him by an old negro who had always lived on his pla<?e. Part of it ran thus :
" Why, Massa van Patten, do n't you tink dat deze Suverners come runnin' one day and drivin' all de niggers an' de mules away ; and dey said dat dey had burned de bridge so bad dat de d — d Yankes could n't build it dis yeah. And now do n't you tink, it wa' n't mo' dan' tree or fo' days, de fust ting I knowed, 'long come de ole injine, puffin and snortin,' all cov ered wid doze Norvun fellahs."
A singular accident hapened at that station, one day, to a man who was crossing the track to go on picket duty. His toe caught under the rail, and he was thrown flat on his face, while the rifle which he was carrying across his shoulder fell directly under him, and was discharged by the hammer striking on the opposite rail. The ball passed under him from his head the entire length of his body, and wounded his foot.
On another occasion Orderly Sergt. Howard and Private Smith, of Company H, procured a boat and rowed down the bayou some three miles, where they found a plantation and a number of slaves. They told the negroes they had come away from the far North to liberate them ; and in spite of the remon strance of the owner, they brought the entire squad back with them into camp. Referring to this incident in later years, Sergt. Howard is fond of telling his friends that he was the first offi cial emancipator of slaves in the department of the Gulf.
During the period of his military service, Col. Thomas did not altogether lay aside his vocation of judge, for it was an event of almost daily occurrence for parties arrested on petty charges to be brought before him for examination. Among a squad of such officers there appeared one morning a tall, sober- looking man, who had been caught by a sentinel in the colored regiment, in the act of running the picket guard. His sable captor was called in and ordered to state his charge in detail, which he did as follows :
" Well, Massa Colonel, dis man was stealin' by de lock ob de canal, and I called out to him to halt, and he did n't halt ; but
A CLERICAL PICKET-RUNNER. 77
he passed on to go under de shade ob de masonry. I pinted my gun at him and tole him to stop and come back. He said he wanted to go ober dar, and would make it all right wiv me, if I would let him go 'long ; and he den spoke in der low voice, and said he would give me one half dollar. But I would n't take none of his money So I captured him, and brung him in."
"You must feel quite flattered at such a report," observed the colonel ; " where were you born ? "
"Well, sir, I was born in New England," replied the prisoner.
" What ! born in New England, and trying to run my pickets ? "
"But please remember," said the accused, "that I wanted to get home and attend to my profession."
"What is your profession ? " said Col. Thomas.
" I am a minister of the Gospel," replied the man solemnly.
The colonel eyed him sharply, as though taking an inventory of the clerical prisoner's intellectual and spiritual outfit, then continued forcibly :
" A minister of the Gospel, — a New England born man, — and down here disobeying the laws of the land, trying to steal by my pickets, and go over to the enemy ! What, sir, do you think will become of a man who does such things against the law of the best country the sun ever shone upon ? "
The man began to realize that it was no ecclesiastical tribu nal before which he was arraigned.
"Where do you think you will go to," added the colonel, "when you die?"
"Well, colonel, I humbly hope to reach heaven at last," he drawled out, with much nasal cant in his tone ; but the next words from the stern questioner startled him.
" Sir, do you think Gen. Washington and Ethan Allen would allow any such d — d scoundrel as you to. go to heaven, after trying to jump my picket lines ? "
Maj. Dillingham, who was near by, interrupted him with the query :
" Do you think that Gen. Washington is in command there, colonel ? "
78 THE EIGHTH VERMONT.
" By the eternal ! sir, I do think he has got something to say about such d — d villains coming into triose quarters," was the colonel's emphatic answer.
A good story is told by one of the boys, who must have been in a position to know whereof he spoke, concerning a gallant young man who championed the cause of an injured lady, with a loyal devotion worthy of a knight of chivalry. She came into camp one day from Bayou Boeuf, claiming to be a staunch Union woman, whose husband was a relative of ex-Secre tary Chase. She complained that she was molested by thieves, who entered her premises at night and robbed her of live-stock and family stores, and she asked for the protection of a guard. Col. Thomas, having satisfied himself that she was a deserving, woman, detailed a young commissioned officer who was just recovering from a severe illness, with instructions to remain at her house and recuperate, and if he found robbers prowling around the place at night, to shoot 'em.
Deeply sensible of his great responsibility, this young man- did not permit slumber to visit his eyelids during the first night spent at the lady's house, but there was no disturbance. But the next night weariness overcame him, and he slept pro foundly till morning, and then rose to find that a sleek grunter was missing from the well-stocked swine-yard. The discovery roused him to sleepless vigils during the third period of his noc turnal watch, and about midnight he heard a short, angry " woof ! woof!" which warned him that the defenceless swine were again endangered. Seizing his ready revolver, the youthful brave crept noiselessly to the spot whence the sound came. It was very dark, and he approached .within a few feet of several men, who were conversing in suppressed whispers, and a moment later he observed one of them trying to dispatch one of the hogs with an axe.
It was time to interfere, and pointing his weapon in the direction of the party as nearly as he could, he fired five shots, at the same time stamping with his foot and shouting : " Come on, boys, we've got 'em !" The robbers gave a fright ened yell, and scurried across the field, and the guard fell back
GENERAL BUTLER. 79
within the house and reloaded his pistol. Soon there was a loud knocking at the front door, and in reply to his challenge, " Who 's there ? " he was told that his firing had been heard at the picket station near by, and the officer in command wished to know what the trouble was. Being admitted, the officer further explained he had just met some fugitives who escaped into a corn-field, but one of their number, a desperate character named Pickens, who had been the curse of the neighborhood, was severely wounded, and made prisoner. There was no more petty thieving on those premises ; and although the lady could not consistently reward her champion with her hand, after the manner of ladies in the tales of knight errantry, Adj. Barstow tendered the youth a little supper on his return to camp, and,, in a felicitous speech, complimented him for his prowess, and dubbed him "the hero, not of Cowpens, but of hog-pens."
It is fitting that a word should be said in this volume con cerning Gen. Butler. During the first eight months of active service the regiment was under his command, doing duty in the department of the Gulf. For several weeks the men were under his immediate supervision in the city of New Orleans, and his considerate care for them won the high regard of both officers and privates. Gen. Butler, too, came to know and to confide in the regiment and its leader, Col. Thomas, whom he soon placed in command of the west bank of the Mississippi.
Concerning the relations between Gen. Butler and the army serving under him there can be but one opinion. He realized the dangers to which they were exposed in that sickly, semi-tropical climate, and did all that was in his power to shield them. He considered their inexperience in military duties, he insisted that the sick and wounded should have the best of care, and that the dead should be suitably buried and honors paid to their memory.
The Eighth Regiment on their part felt the utmost confidence in the ability and devoted loyalty of their major general. They believed him humane as well as brave ; they respected him as an officer and loved him as a man. From personal knowledge of
80 THE EIGHTH VERMONT.
the facts, they gladly indorse the statements in the general's farewell address to the citizens of New Orleans: "I found you captured, but not surrendered ; conquered, but not orderly ; relieved from the presence of an army, but incapable of taking- care of yourselves. I restored order, punished crime, opened commerce, brought provisions to your starving people, reformed your currency, and gave you quiet protection, such as you had
not enjoyed for many years I found the dungeon,
the chain, and the lash your only means of enforcing obedience in your servants. I leave them peaceful, laborious, controlled by the laws of kindness and justice."
To this it may be added with equal truth that he and his sol diers patiently endured obloquy and insult until he could cure it ; he prevented the yellow fever from visiting the city for many years ; he revived the ruined business of the city and added millions to its wealth ; he cleansed and improved the streets and thoroughfares ; he gave remunerative employment to the poor, and bettered the condition of the colored popu lation, both slave and free.
Besides caring for the welfare of a great city, Gen. Butler was prompt and efficient in the work of putting down the Rebellion, and opening to commerce the great waterway of the Mississippi.
Twenty-four years after his visit to Vermont for the purpose of raising troops, Gen. Butler bears grateful testimony to the character and nvorth of the men who responded to his call,, in the following letter :
BOSTON, November 16, 1885.
Dear Sir : I have your letter, saying that the history of the Eighth Ver mont is about to be published. No regiment has a better one. I have the most kindly and grateful remembrances for the state of Vermont — Gover nor Fairbanks, as is my memory — in enabling that regiment to be raised; and I believe a special act of the legislature was- passed that it might be raised. I have a very vivid remembrance of the kindness with which I was treated by the executive and legislative branches of the government of the state of Vermont in that regard, when I visited its capital in pursuance of the instructions of the President to have a regiment raised for southern service. The recruiting of the Eighth was promptly done, and no better
GENERAL BUTLER. 8 1
men as a body ever entered the service of the United States. It went to Ship Island, thence to New Orleans, when the army took possession, thence it was sent across the river to take possession of Algiers, thence thrown out as an out-post regiment to hold the line of railroad and keep open our communications with Bayou Teche, and thence it joined Weitzel's expedi tionary force in which the whole of Western Louisiana was captured, as against the forces of General Dick Taylor. I remember the high enco mium given to the regiment by General Weitzel, and the regiment never had anything else for its behavior in any position in which it was placed. I would speak of its officers by name, but they will appear in your history, and there is no need of specifying the officers where all did their duty so nobly and well. I am,
Very truly.
Your friend and servant,
BEXJ. F. BUTLER. GEORGE N. CARPENTER, ESQ..
31 Milk Street, Boston, Mass.
III.
BATTLE OF THE COTTON.
THE Eighth Vermont rested in camp at Brashear City after the opening of the railroad in November ; but on the eighth of January, 1863, they were ordered to move to Camp Stevens near Thibodeaux. Two days later a second order came to return again to Brashear City, equipped with three days' cooked rations. This meant business, though the men did not know at that time its full import. But some new expedition was on foot* in which the entire brigade was expected to engage.
Gen. Banks, in carrying out the plans already matured by Gen. Butler, whom he superseded in the department of the Gulf, had learned that the rebels under Gen. Taylor had a formid able gun-boat in the Bayou Teche, called the Cotton, and were preparing other boats for offensive warfare. He consequently ordered Weitzel to unite with the naval force in the bayou, and destroy this dangerous craft.
That gun-boat, which, had been the terror of the Teche, was named after John L. Cotton, a wealthy planter of Louisiana. He was originally an ardent Union man, and opposed secession to the last, as did nearly all the citizens of the Attakapas country. But after the state legislature passed the ordinance of secession, he espoused the Confederate cause with equal enthu siasm ; and as a contribution to the defences of the newly organized government, he fitted out a river steamer which he owned, equipped it as a gun-boat, and presented it to the Con federacy. The full name of the boat, therefore, was the John
ADVANCING ON THE COTTON. 83
L. Cotton ; and it was partially iron-clad and carried a heavy armament. The commander was Capt. Fuller, a western steamboat man, ''one of the bravest of a bold, daring class.'* He fought manfully, and, after his pilot had been killed, and his own arm broken, he worked the wheel with his feet and steered his boat.
In pursuance of orders, the infantry went on board trans ports at Brashear City, on the morning of January 13, and steamed up the bayou, while the artillery moved along the shore road. There was some slight skirmishing with the enemy that evening, and the troops landed and bivouacked in line of battle.
The plan adopted for the next morning was for the fleet to proceed up the bayou and open the attack, to be immediately followed by the land forces as a support. The troops were to move up the right bank ; but just before they started Gen. Weitzel rode in front of the Eighth Vermont and read to them a dispatch he had received, containing resolutions of thanks and commendation for the service they had rendered, passed by the legislature of their own state. The message was greeted with cheers ; and before departing the general remarked that he knew of no more opportune time to present those encouraging words, and he hoped the regiment would prove themselves worthy of the confidence reposed in them. The purport of this compliment was not lost, and every man in the lines knew that it meant hot work ahead.
Col. Thomas then rode up and clown the lines, speaking words of encouragement. Gen. Weitzel had ordered him to detail an officer and sixty men as sharpshooters, to advance and pick off the gunners from the deck of the Cotton. At once more than twice the required number of volunteers sprang forward at his call, from which a selection was made, and Capt. Button, of Company H, volunteered to lead them. Pre liminaries being arranged, Quartermaster F. E. Smith, then of Gen. Weitzel's staff, provided a transport on which the regiment embarked and moved up the stream. Soon the guns of the fleet began to be heard, and Col. Thomas, anxious to support the attack, became impatient of the slow progress of the boat,
84 THE EIGHTH VERMONT.
and ordered a landing to be made. The first two attempts to bring the boat to the bank failed on account of the shallow water, and much precious time was consumed by the delay. But the third succeeded, and when the last man had passed the gang-plank, the regiment was in line to march. Capt. Button and his sixty men, however, remained on board, and were landed near the gun-boats, about two miles further up the bayou. Col. Thomas then marched rapidly by the flank along the old road, running nearly parallel with the bayou, and separated from it by cane-fields and a thick growth of trees.
At this time the situation of the fleet was unknown to the regiment. Col Thomas was simply making a rapid advance in obedience to orders ; but whether his trusty soldiers, as they hurried forward that morning, were to confront only a naval force, or batteries and rifles, was an unsolved problem. The brisk fire from the gun-boats could be distinctly heard not far away, but the men, as they pushed on in a double-quick march, did not know Commodore Buchanan's fleet and the Cotton were facing each other, separated only by impassable obstructions placed there by the enemy, that the shots were delivered at short range with telling effect, and that the rebel gun-boat was supported by Semmes's battery on the one side, and infantry on the other.
Meanwhile the Union fleet, being hard pushed, were on the lookout for the approach of the regiment and the sixty sharp shooters ; and as soon as the boat carrying the latter came within hailing distance of the rear gun-boat of the fleet, the commander asked if Capt. Button could send a message to Col. Thomas. Being answered in the affirmative, he said in an excited manner : " Run, for God's sake, and tell Thomas if those rifle-pits are not cleared in five minutes the Calhoun is lost. She is aground, Buchanan is killed, and her gunners have been driven away from the guns." On hearing this startling message, Orderly Sergeant S. E. Howard, by whom this account is furnished, sprang into a small boat and was instantly set ashore, when he ran with all his might towards the advancing
av THE RUN. 85
regiment, and at the same time Capt. Button made all haste to land his men.
But Col. Thomas was apprised of the peril of the fleet by a speedier messenger, before the arrival of the swift -footed young orderly. Capt. Cook, who was on the lookout from one of the vessels, caught the attention of Thomas, and motioned him to come down to the boats. Adj. Barstow was, accordingly, dis patched thither. He learned that the unsupported Calhoun (Buchanan's flag-ship) was at the front, exposed not only to the guns of the Cotton, but to a cross-fire from a line of rifle-pits on the bank, and galloped back with the news. Instantly the regiment was formed in line of battle, and the men started on the run. As they passed an open shed in the edge of the cane- fields they were ordered to throw off all their heavy equip ments without halting, and the adjutant was ordered a*gain to ride down to the boats and get what information he could about the location of the land force in their front.
As Barstow galloped back he saw that Company A, com manded by Lieut. McFarland, were thrown out as skirmishers, but not deployed, and that the troops were nearing a cluster of buildings comprising a large sugar-house and brick-kiln, which stood on rising ground. Knowing that the rifle-pits must be just on the other side, he ordered three lads, belonging to Com pany A, to run up and peer round the corner of the kiln, and bring him word how the enemy was located. But instead of returning the boys became excited, climbed to the top of the kiln and began to fire at the rebels, who were so intent on destroying the gunners on the Federal gun-boats, that they knew nothing of the danger which threatened to annihilate them from the rear. At that moment Button and his sixty picked men came rushing up between the regiment and the bayou, their guns trailed and the men running like a squadron of charging cavalry.
The moment had come for a brilliant dash ; with the brave McFarland on the right and the gallant Button on the left, the entire regiment swooped down on the surprised riflemen, and literally wiped them out in an instant. The scared Johnnies
86 THE EIGHTH VERMONT.
who a moment before were hiding so securely in their pits, while they dealt a murderous fire at the Union gunners, threw away their guns and fled to the cane-fields «in utter confusion. Seven were killed outright, twenty-seven were wounded, and fifty-seven made prisoners, while the Eighth Vermont lost not a single man. It is probable that the entire force in the pits would have been captured had they not received warning of the charge from the boys who fired at them from the kiln. As it was, more than two hundred stand of arms were taken, and the enemy was utterly routed.
This brilliant and successful onslaught was watched with intense delight by the crews on the gun-boats, and as the regi ment swept past, they gave them cheer upon cheer. Gen. Weitzel, too, was so much pleased with their gallant behavior, that he named them his right bower. Nor was it any fault of the brave Vermonters that they were not there in time to protect the Calhoun and save the life of her much-loved commander and trusty gunners. "We moved so fast," said Col. Thomas, referring to the event, "that we outstripped Button's boat, and the rest of the brigade dubbed us the Vermont Cavalry."
The impetus of the charge carried the lines somewhat beyond the rifle-pits, where a momentary halt was made, while the prisoners were placed under guard, and Col. Thomas ordered some negroes who were at hand to bury the Confeder ate dead. At this time, too, a member of Company C, who was so short of stature that he went by the name of " Little " Danforth, brought to the colonel a very tall prisoner and asked what he should do with him.
"Take him to the rear," was the answer.
"But he says he is all tired out and can't travel," persisted " Little " Danforth.
They looked, and the " reb " had flung himself on the ground, feigning to be perfectly exhausted.
"Put a bayonet through him, then," said Thomas, sternly.
On hearing this order, the prisoner sprang nimbly up and trudged on ; but the sequel afforded Col. Thomas a deal of amusement, and showed the trusting simplicity of the tender-
THEY DISCOVER A FORT. 87
hearted youth who made the capture. That night " Little " Danforth went to the headquarters of the fatherly old com mander, and asked in a tone of deep solicitude : " Col. Thomas, did you really mean to have me put a bayonet through that prisoner? "
Soon the order to advance was given, and the main body of the regiment moved along the open fields, while Button's men kept close to the bayou, and Company A gradually bore a little to the right. After marching something more than a mile they came to a line of earthworks, around and behind which the bayou made a sharp bend. Lieut. McFarland was detailed to inspect them, and found them deserted ; and in the near vicinity was a bridg'e across which the fugitive riflemen might have made their escape. In a few moments an enfilad ing shot came from the left and fell between two men, and was shortly followed by several more. The source of these missiles proved to be a Confederate redoubt or fort on the opposite side of the bayou, partially hidden from view by the trees that fringed the bank.
Warned by these signals of danger, Col. Thomas retired his men beyond range of the enemy's guns, at the same time send ing Adj. Barstow to recall Capt. Button, and Capt. Grout to bear a like message to Lieut. McFarland. But before they retreated, Barstow and Button penetrated to the bank of the bayou, to ascertain if they could whether Gen. Weitzel with his brigade had also advanced as far on the opposite side. They neither saw nor heard anything of his forces, and there were no signs of troops, except a mounted officer and an orderly, who were silently gazing at them across the stream. At first it was impossible to tell whether they were friends or foes ; but soon the officer turned his horse so as to place the sheltering trunk of a large cypress tree between himself and the two who watched him ; then Barstow said, " He is a rebel."
The withdrawal of the advance lines seemed to have been taken by the enemy as a signal that the regiment could not be decoyed any nearer, and immediately they opened their mounted guns upon them. But the troops steadily retired out of range
88 THE EIGHTH VERMONT.
of the shot and shell, and found near them a large sugar- house and other buildings, which would afford them some pro tection. Meanwhile Col. Thomas learned that Gen. Weitzel's force was a mile below his own on the other side, and also received orders to hold his position until morning. It was a post of extreme danger. Just on the other side of the bayou was a hostile force, whose size they could not estimate, though beyond a doubt it was many times their own ; and across a bridge covered by the enemy's guns, this force could be thrown upon them at any moment. The brigade was bivouacked at least a mile below, and could not cross the bayou without boats, while the fleet was still farther away. In a word, no help could come to them in case of an attack, and it looked very much as though they were left alone, at the mercy of a foe who would delight to cut to pieces and destroy them. Indeed, Gen. Weitzel was well aware of their dangerous situation, and had been solicitous all day for the safety of his " right bower." In this perilous situation night and a rough " norther " overtook the lone regiment, clouds enveloped them in inky darkness, while a cold, drizzling rain chilled the weary men to the bone.
But Col. Thomas was equal to the occasion. He knew that, under cover of night, the next best thing to being strongly reinforced would be to make the enemy believe such was the case. So he planned an adroit and, as the result proved, very successful strategy. He caused a line of fires nearly two miles in extent to be built from the bayou on one side to the swamp on the other ; and by keeping these ablaze through the night deceived the rebels into thinking that either he was in command of a formidable army, or that his numerical strength had been greatly augmented during the evening.
This imagined army, like the hosts which the wizard Merlin summoned out of the impalpable air to confront his foes, appalled the Confederates quite effectually ; and presently the fact that the deception was complete was announced by a herald of flame. About eleven o'clock in the evening the dreaded Cotton came slowly down the Teche, wrapped in a brilliant sheet of fire, burned to the water's edge, and sank just below
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RETURN OF THE REGIMENT. 89
the rebel fort. Fearing that their strong gun-boat would fall into the hands of the ghostly army created by the magic of burning bushes, the enemy had abandoned and set her on fire. Thus by most unexpected means was the grand end of the expedition accomplished, and the brigade was ready to return to camp next morning.
At that time, of course, the apparent result of the strategy devised by Col. Thomas was assumed to be the true one ; and it is gratifying, now that years have elapsed, to have the assumption confirmed by testimony from the enemy's side. During the years 1878 and 1879, Sergt. Brown, of Company H, worked with an ex-soldier who was in the Confederate ranks, and a member of a Louisiana regiment which participated in the engagement of the Cotton. After the twain had become well acquainted, they often talked over their army experiences together ; and one day the ex-Confederate asked Brown how large a reinforcement the Eighth Vermont received the night after the charge on the rifle-pits. He could hardly credit the statement, when Brown told him they were not reinforced at all, and assured him that the rebel officers in command on the other side of the bayou were so certain of it, that they burned the Cotton to prevent it from being captured. Their own force, he said, included three regiments of infantry, two squadrons of cavalry, and two batteries ; and their plan was to attack Col. Thomas that night, if he had not, as they supposed, received aid.
Early the next morning orders came from Gen. Weitzel for the regiment to fall back to the first transport, and embark for Brashear City. He complimented them for their bravery, and said that, since the Eighth Vermont had done all the fighting, they should not walk back. But before this welcome message was received, officers on the lookout from the top of the sugar- house saw long lines of rebel cavalry advancing toward them over the ground traversed by McFarland's skirmishers the day before. Consequently a strong rear guard was maintained while the regiment retired, setting fire to store-houses filled with corn and forage supplies as they went.
90 THE EIGHTH VERMONT.
The brigade moving on the other side was already far down the bayou, closely pressed by the enemy ; and the gun-boat with the gallant Eighth on board would havei>een attacked by riflemen, had she not backed down, keeping up at the same time a continuous raking fire on either side, which kept the foe at a respectful distance.
Accounts of the dash and heroism of the Eighth Vermont soon found their way into the newspapers all through the loyal states, and laid the foundation of the enviable fame which the regiment subsequently achieved, and nobly sustained until the close of the war. Vermont was proud of her gallant sons, and their reputation for prowess was firmly established. The story of that day's service was published also in more permanent records, and historians of the war paused in their stories to pay the regiment a well-deserved tribute. Horace Greeley, in his voluminous work, says, after describing the preliminary movements :
" By this time the Eighth Vermont had gained the enemy's rear, and was making a rapid clearance of the rifle-pits, while the batteries of the First Maine, and the Fourth and Sixth Massachusetts, supported by sharpshooters from the Seventy- fifth and One Hundred and Sixtieth New York, had flanked the defences on the other side, and were sweeping the decks of the Cotton, whose crew beat a retreat, as did most of the rebels on land."
Comte de Paris, the French writer on the war of the Rebellion, says in his history :
" The Eighth Vermont,' being first to land, was to advance and attack the principal works of the Confederates in the rear. .... Buchanan, on boardt he Calhoun, didnot permit himself to be intimidated, and, immovable on the bridge of his vessel, steered it directly against the enemy's works. A shower of balls fell around him and he was soon mortally wounded. But his daring had not been without effect : whilst he was thus oc cupying the enemy, the Eighth Vermont reached the gorge of the work, and captured the breastworks by which it was de fended. The garrison, entirely occupied by the novel combat,
CAMP STEVENS. 91
did not even make an effort to resist this new attack, but dis persed at once." This statement, though incorrect in some particulars, pays a glowing tribute to the daring of the men who saved the day and " did all the fighting."
Where so much was due to individual courage and prudence, it would be difficult to decide who of Col. Thomas's officers and men were most deserving of credit. Each in his sphere, from commander to the last private in the ranks, seemed bent on doing his duty, and accomplishing the work to which the regi ment had been assigned. Nothing could exceed the spirited dash of Capt. Button and his picked sixty, or Lieut. McFarland and his thirty-five ; but equally brave was Sergeant Howard, when he leaped ashore from the boat of the Diana, and, running through a storm of bullets, carried the message to his colonel. Capt. Grout and Lieut. Spalding were also very efficient, and Capt Lynde, of Company I, who was acting quartermaster, was at the front doing duty through the entire day. Adj. Barstow was in this, as in every engagement where he served, simply Col. Thomas multiplied, and his care for the men will be grate fully remembered by every survivor of the regiment. Orderly Sergt. S. E. Howard, of Company H, who carried the message from the gun-boats to Col. Thomas, was promoted to second lieutenant, his commission dating January I3th, 1863, the same day the expedition started up the bayou.
The regiment returned to Camp Stevens without the loss of a man, and enjoyed a quiet rest of several weeks, during which time George O. Ford, of Company K, was promoted to second lieutenant, his commission being issued Feb. iQth. On the 2/th the camp was menaced by a large force of the enemy, and compelled to fall back to Bayou Boeuf. The gun-boat Diana was captured by the Confederates on the 7th of March, and Adj. J. L. Barstow was commissioned captain of Company K on the 2ist. On the 2d of April the regiment was ordered to join the brigade at Brashear City, prior to another expedi tion up the Teche under Maj. Gen. Banks. On the same day John M. Pike, of Company G, was commissioned second lieuten ant, and Second Lieut. John B. Mead was promoted to first
92 THE EIGHTH VERMONT.
lieutenant ; on the fifth of the following month these two offi cers were again promoted, Mead becoming captain, and Pike first lieutenant. At this time, also, Weitzel'* reserve brigade was reorganized, and composed of the Eighth Vermont, Twelfth Connecticut, and Seventy-fifth, One Hundred and Fourteenth, and One Hundred and Sixtieth New York. From that time the Eighth Vermont, Twelfth Connecticut, and One Hundred and Sixtieth New York were destined to serve together until the close of the war.
Early the following April a half-famished colored man appeared in camp, and gave the boys what some one very properly styled a Sunday evening entertainment. An officer of the regiment gave a long description of it in a letter written to a friend, and it presents so good a picture of the typical contraband on first coming within the Union lines, that a liberal abstract of the epistle is herein transcribed :
" An old negro, dressed in dirty-white, coarse flannel, very much patched, a coon-skin hat which I should think would have roasted his black head, and boots run down at the heels and out at the toes, came into camp about nine o'clock, [Sunday night] and said that he started at dark on Friday from Martinsville on the Teche, in a little row-boat, taking with him a shot-bag full of half dollars rolled up in his blanket. This money constituted his entire worldly fortune, which he had been thirty years in accumulating.
"The negro reports that Capt. Fuller, who was wounded on the Cotton, was at his ' massa's ' house, and told him he should attack Gen. Weitzel on Sunday or Monday night, by water and by land. The old slave was so afraid that ' de Yankees' would be taken by surprise, and beaten, that he set out to give ' Massa Gen'l Wyzle ' warning. He pulled his boat all night, and at eight o'clock Saturday morning was in Grand Lake, when he espied Capt. Fuller with two gun-boats and about twenty-five flat-boats, apparently making ready to transport troops across the lake.
" Hastily sliding his boat into the weeds where it would not
DICK'S STORY. 93
be discovered, he lay down in the bottom to watch opera tions. Directly the marines began firing, evidently for prac tice ; and the old man thus described the manoeuvres : ' One ob de boats wiv wheels on de side turned roun' middlin' quick, and fired right smart. Yes, sah ! I could see de hot inn dey techt off de big guns wiv. But dat odder ole black boat, wiv de wheel behine, she aint much 'count nohow. No, indeed, massa, she aint much 'count, kaze it tuck so long to turn 'er roun.' She fired off one side, and den let on de steam to turn roun', and she went so slow — chou ! — chou ! — chou ! — 'way roun' de lake. Oh, golly ! dis ole nigger did larf den, and said to hisself, "Diclc, guess you git 'way now. When clem Nor- vuners see dat boat, dey will jes ' shoot 'er all tah pieces, afo' she c'n turn roun' to shoot off de odder side wonst."
" ' Yes, indeed, Dick seed 'er sure nuff, and looked at her clus, and cud heah ole Cap'n Fuller cussin' 'n swearin ; oh, good Massa above ! how he did cus dem men kaze dey cudn' turn roun' quicker. But he said he was gwin tah play you all some trick. He 'lowed ez how he wud "drive every d — d Yankee 'way from heah ;" and he's got a big parcle of men, and dey is pow'f '1 ugly. Yes, massa, I'm tellin' de trufe. And so I laid dere till nigh 'bout seben o'clock Saturd'y ebenin', afo' I cud git 'way, and den I pulled all night agin, and did n't hab nuffin t' eat But I kep sayin ' : " Go ahead, ole Dick ; tell 'em what ole Fuller is gwin t' do ; and if ye die from bein' hungry, no mattah, kaze you '11 be doin' some good, and den