Part 120

A. Yes. The firing lasted about a minute--not over that, and the crowd, the moment the firing commenced, or shortly afterwards, dispersed and went in every direction. I gave the order to cease firing, and my staff officers had the firing stopped, and the ranks, which were somewhat broken, were re-formed, and I sent a staff officer to report to General Pearson. I thought he was on the ground, because it was not certainly--my opinion is, that in three minutes after he gave me the order to clear the tracks, the firing commenced. In the meantime, the Pittsburgh troops on the hill--I had not discovered them before--quite a number of them threw down their arms and left. I went up the hill a very short distance, and I saw what was going on there, and I hunted for General Pearson; finally, I received a note from him, saying he was at Mr. Pitcairn's office at the outer depot, and, that if I wished to communicate with him, to send a staff officer, which I did--Colonel Wilson--and he came back and said that General Pearson desired to see me. I turned the command over to General Matthews, and reported to General Pearson at the office of the Pennsylvania railroad at the outer depot--Mr. Pitcairn's office. I said to General Pearson at the time, that I thought we ought to continue to drive the crowd. I understood that they had gone to the arsenal. Several men came up to me and said that the crowd had gone to the United States arsenal to arm themselves, and I thought, when I found that they had gone away, that they would probably get arms and ammunition, and I proposed to General Pearson that we should follow the crowd. He hesitated some time about it, and finally I grew more imperative in my question, and I said, you must do something, I cannot allow my men to stand on the track with the crowd pushing around me, and not be allowed to fire. We will either have to move from there or attack the crowd. Finally, he said that the Second brigade had been moved into the round-house and machine shops, because he was afraid that they would be burned, and then he told me to move my whole force in, amounting to six hundred men, which I did just at dusk in the evening. We moved in there. They told me to occupy one round-house and the machine and upholstery shops and the lumber-yard, and that General Brown would move into the other round-house at Twenty-eighth street, and I was not aware he was not there until I saw the flames. As soon as I went there, the crowd commenced trying to get into the yard, and I had a guard detailed and put out, and two of them were shot, one through the arm and one other through the leg, while on their beats. I then got down the Gatling guns and prepared to fire them, but thought it would be courtesy to communicate with General Pearson, and tell him what I was going to do; which I did, and he prohibited me from doing so. The crowd were firing pistol balls in at us, and a few rifle balls and a considerable number of stones. I went to General Pearson, and said, "I cannot stand it, we must defend ourselves." He said he would go to the mayor and see him, which would do more good than our bullets would, as he had a great deal of influence over the elements predominant then, and said that he did not want to take life unnecessarily, &c., at the same time we were short of ammunition and rations, only having twenty rounds, and if we were going to be in a state of siege, I thought we ought to have a sufficient amount. General Pearson said he would go and see that we got provisions and also ammunition, and left, saying he would be back in an hour. He went through the lumber-yard, and left us. At the same time he told me to open any dispatches that came for him, and I asked if he had any new instructions. He said, "I want you to hold the place," and after he left I proposed to hold it in the way I thought proper, by firing into the mob at the gates, which drove them away from there, so that presently there were only pistol bullets and a few straggling musket balls. We continued to hold it in that way without receiving any communications from the other world. I expected General Pearson back every moment. I didn't want to take it on myself to move out there, or do anything. About two o'clock in the morning Colonel Snowden, of the Third regiment, called into the round-house, and directed my attention to what he considered a piece of artillery. It was quite dark at the time. We watched it for probably fifteen minutes, when a cloud cleared away, and we decided it was a piece of artillery, around which were quite a number of men who were training the piece. I immediately ordered Colonel Snowden to get fifty men out, and told him to lower their pieces and fire low, and I gave the order. They had got the piece finally into a position to suit themselves, and a man had hold of the lanyard. I gave the order to fire, and when the smoke cleared away eleven of them were lying there.

By Mr. Lindsey:

Q. The mob had it?

A. Yes; it was a brass field-piece that they had captured from Hutchinson's battery, I believe. During the whole night we had a skirmish with those people. They ran cars down loaded with oil, and attempted to set fire to the building, but fortunately some jumped the track and blocked the others. The next morning they ran down cars from the Allegheny side, which came down with their own gravity, but we finally threw a pile of car wheels on the track, and upset the cars. They were burning. They were loaded with whisky, or the most of them with high wines. We put out those fires by fire extinguishers, and also by a hose that we had there. We finally discovered that the building part of the Sixth division was on fire, and it communicated with the building we were in by the oil sheds. They got on fire, and the building we were in got on fire. During the night I had communication with General Latta, finding General Pearson did not return, and told him my situation, and received orders from him--or suggestions they were afterwards styled--in the first place to hold on vigorously, but in case I was obliged to leave there, to go out Penn avenue east towards Torrens station, and that there would be reinforcements sent to us not later than six o'clock in the morning; that part of the command--three hundred--who had failed to join, were at Walls station, and would join Colonel Guthrie at Torrens, and that they would join us. We waited until ten minutes of eight o'clock, when the smoke got so great that the men could scarcely breathe, and we went through the machine shops. We couldn't go out of the gate, the regular gate, on account of the cars that had been upset there and were burning, and I went out, I think, Twenty-third street--I am not very familiar with the streets--with the intention not to leave Pittsburgh, but to go to the United States arsenal, where I certainly could get ammunition and possibly something to eat, as we had nothing but a sandwich and a cup of coffee since leaving Philadelphia, and through the excitement and the loss of two nights' sleep, the men were very much fatigued and thoroughly worn out. We went out towards the arsenal, and probably had gone a quarter of a mile out Penn avenue, when we were attacked. I was at the head of the column, and didn't see the force that was attacking us, but I sent a staff officer immediately to the rear. The firing was all at the rear, and I think four men were killed and some ten or twelve wounded.

Q. On your retreat from the round-house?

A. Yes; these men were shot from street cars, and from out of houses, and from behind chimneys. There was not any regular organized body, or a body sufficiently large to attack, until we got nearly to the arsenal, when--the Gatling guns I had placed between the two brigades, so that we could use them either in rear or at the front--when we opened with one of them, and dispersed the mob. We got to the arsenal, and I went ahead to see the commandant there, and went inside the gate, and went to his house and saw him, and told him who I was, and that my men were thoroughly worn out, and asked permission to form in the yard. The men were very thirsty, and the grounds were shady, and I thought we would wait there until I had orders from General Pearson. But we received positive orders from the commandant that we could not come in. I did not want any altercation with him, so I proceeded on eastward. I had received a communication from General Latta during the night, saying that he had made every attempt to feed us, and that it had been impossible, and I therefore thought that the best thing to do was to get something to eat. We had arrived within a short distance of Sharpsburg, when they told us if we came over there we could be fed. I concluded to do so, and went over there, and just as we got into the town, we were informed that two of the Fourteenth regiment, who had been on the hill, had been wounded seriously there by our shots, and that the people had no friendly feeling for us, and then I concluded we had better go on and wait for provisions, which I proceeded to do, when we were met by two gentlemen, who joined us, one belonging to the Pennsylvania railroad, I believe, who said we could be fed a little lower down, at Claremont, where they gave us coffee and rations; but the rations they brought were berries--not very suitable things for soldiers to eat. We proceeded to Claremont, and there, awaited orders.

Q. Claremont hospital or the work-house?

A. They are both together--that is the work-house or home they call it--it is the poor-house. We were fed, I presume, from both houses--they both sent us out provisions. It has been said that we were ordered to Torrens, and disobeyed orders in not going there; but the orders I received, in regard to Torrens, came just one week after the orders were sent. I got them one week afterwards from Colonel Guthrie, who handed them to me. Colonel Norris is reported to have given us some orders, which I positively deny. I never received them in any way, shape, or form. On the contrary Major Baugh, whom I left at the Union depot, with General Latta, reported to me out there. I asked him "have you any orders," and he said "no; I have not." I said then you will have to go right back to Pittsburgh, and get me some orders.

Q. Who was it?

A. Major Baugh.

Q. What time did he leave General Latta?

A. I cannot say; but he joined me about two o'clock--two and a half o'clock.

Q. On Sunday?

A. Yes.

Q. In the afternoon?

A. Yes. It has also been said that we marched in a very rapid way out that street. It is about four miles, and I left at ten minutes after eight, and arrived at Sharpsburg a little after ten, which amounts to two miles an hour, and in the army three miles was considered fair marching. The orders we received afterwards from General Latta were to proceed to Altoona, which, as soon as I could procure transportation, I attempted to do, and arrived at Blairsville, where I received a dispatch from Mr. Garner saying, I had better not come there, because he had made some arrangements with the rioters. I telegraphed that my orders were imperative, and that I was coming, provided I could get transportation. I got to Blairsville junction. I could not get transportation any further. I immediately telegraphed General Latta, Colonel Scott, and the Governor. I disembarked my troops, and remained there until I got orders to go back to Pittsburgh.

Q. It was on Saturday night you were ordered by General Pearson to enter the round-house? What time did General Pearson leave you?

A. About half past eight o'clock.

Q. What did he leave for?

A. For the purpose of seeing the mayor, for the purpose of getting us rations and ammunition.

Q. Did he leave you in general command after he left?

A. Yes. His instructions to me were to open any dispatches which might come for him, and hold on until I return, his words were.

Q. Hold on until I return?

A. I think those were his words.

Q. It was a verbal order?

A. Yes. He was standing in front of the company shops--inside the yard.

Q. Did you hear from him again that night?

A. I didn't hear from him until about one week.

Q. In his absence, would you have full command yourself?

A. I didn't consider I had full command, because he said he would be back in an hour, and I was waiting for him to return. When I found he didn't return, I opened communication with the Adjutant General of the State for him.

Q. What orders did you receive from him?

A. I received orders to hold on vigorously, that I would be reinforced by Colonel Guthrie's command, and that Colonel Rodgers' men would certainly join me before six o'clock in the morning.

Q. Did it occur to you to march out with your command at any time--out of the round-house--and disperse the mob gathered there?

A. That was discussed. I talked that over with my staff officers, at any rate, but we were ordered to remain there, and I didn't know--I expected General Pearson's return, and that he would bring us information about what was occurring outside. We had no information of any kind whatever. We couldn't tell whether there were ten thousand armed men in the town, or five hundred thousand. We knew that the force we had there was fully armed and had artillery, and we were outnumbered five to one.

Q. Who was it you sent to the Adjutant General?

A. A man named Sergeant Wilson, of the Jefferson cavalry, who was disguised.

Q. Did he bring you any report as to the number of the mob?

A. He didn't bring me any reports as to how many there were, and even if he had, I couldn't trust to a man simply passing through a crowd, because they were on every side. He said that the mob had vowed that they would burn us out or up--if they couldn't capture the place that they could burn us, and they were making arrangements to do that.

Q. What time did they begin to fire the cars?

A. The first I saw of the fire--I didn't know whether they were cars or buildings--but whatever they were, the first light I saw was about eleven o'clock. I may be mistaken in that, but I think it was.

Q. Could you see anything of the number engaged in the burning--the actual burning?

A. No; I couldn't see anything of the burning, because the buildings were on the other side--the Twenty-eighth street round-house was below us, and the buildings were above.

Q. Above Twenty-eighth street?

A. I mean west--nearer the Union depot.

Q. Didn't they burn east of you, also?

A. They might have burned east, but the first light I saw was there, and it seemed too far down for the cars.

Q. They kept burning down towards the Union depot?

A. I don't know. I couldn't see from where I was anything, except the illumination in the sky.

Q. Nor how many men were engaged in the burning?

A. No; on Liberty street and the street--I don't know the number of it--which would have run through the depot had it been prolonged--we could see men marching up and down that street, and could hear them giving commands along Penn street, which ran parallel with Liberty street, and we could see wagon loads of men coming in all the time.

Q. Did you send out any scouts?

A. I sent out two men of the Hutchinson battery, but they never returned. They said they would carry a dispatch to General Latta, and I wrote a note, but never heard of them afterwards. This scout returned, whose idea was that there were a great many, but he couldn't tell anything more than that, as he walked through the crowd. He could not tell whether there were five thousand or twenty thousand in the city--he could only see the street they were in. I thought if he could get back General Pearson might.

Q. You didn't deem it safe to undertake to attack the crowd during the night?

A. I thought I would be superseding my orders if I attempted it. I was ordered to remain there. At no time was I in command in Pittsburgh.

Q. In the absence of General Pearson, you were the highest in rank, or the senior general, were you not?

A. Yes; but I was ordered by him to remain where I was. It was not left discretionary with me.

By Senator Yutzy:

Q. Is General Pearson your senior?

A. Yes.

By Mr. Lindsey:

Q. In his failure to return, would you not be justifiable in acting on your own judgment?

A. I communicated then with General Latta, and received a reply from him, saying they had made every attempt to provision us and get us ammunition, and that it was impossible, and knowing there were three regiments in Pittsburgh, and not knowing their demoralization--I didn't know they were so much demoralized as they were--if they couldn't communicate with us, I thought there must be a very strong force opposed to us, and my orders were to remain where I was.

By Senator Yutzy:

Q. From General Latta?

A. Yes.

By Mr. Lindsey:

Q. What time did you get those orders from General Latta?

A. I received two communications from him by the same man. One of them, I think, about eleven o'clock, and the other about one o'clock. I asked the man to out again, and he said he would not attempt it, that he had been stopped before, and that it was at the risk of his life. He would not attempt to go out again.

By Mr. Means:

Q. As a military man, you received a command from your senior, to hold your position, and you wouldn't have felt like doing anything else but to hold your position--you would have been liable to a court-martial, if you had disobeyed that order?

A. I would.

Q. The responsibility rested with your senior?

A. I told General Latta, in my note, which may have had some influence in his orders to me, that my men were terribly worn out, and had not had anything to eat for over twenty-four hours, and had not had any sleep for two nights, and I didn't think it would have been a wise thing with the amount of ammunition we had to attack that mob that night.

By Mr. Lindsey:

Q. General Latta had no power as a commanding officer, had he? His duties as Adjutant General were simply to marshal, and bring together the forces of the State--the militia forces, and when General Pearson was relieved or was absent, you would be the next general in command--would you not?

A. That is one way of viewing it. I would be, probably. A staff officer does not command troops; but General Latta was acting under the Governor or in his place, and you notice in the Governor's message, he blames me for disobedience of orders which I never received, saying I had refused to return to Pittsburgh by orders of General Latta.

Q. Did you understand that General Latta was commander-in-chief.

A. I did. I would have obeyed any command that General Latta had sent to me; and not only that, I solicited his commands--I asked him what I should do.

Q. What induced you to leave the round-house on Saturday morning?

A. The round-house was on fire, and the men were choking with smoke when we left there, and it was not more than twenty minutes after we left, when the whole thing was a cinder.

Q. How large a crowd did you encounter when you left the round-house?

A. When we left, we came out in perfect order. The moment we came out the crowd fled, and we had no difficulty until we had gone some three or four squares. The crowd had disappeared.

Q. Couldn't you have formed then, after driving the crowd?

A. There was no crowd to drive at that time. We didn't see any crowd except the crowd which ran. My idea was to go to some place where the men could get something to eat. The Third regiment had three rounds of ammunition, and I thought certainly, at the United States arsenal we could get ammunition, and the men could be fed, or we should certainly get ammunition, and get water.

Q. Did it occur to you that it would be good policy to go to the Union depot?

A. Yes; and two of my staff, Colonel Wilson and Colonel Pettit, both advised me to go; but I told them my orders are to go east out Penn avenue, and I am going to obey my orders.

Q. Those were the orders you received from General Latta?

A. Yes.

Q. But your own judgment directed you to take the other course, and go to Union depot?

A. It did.

Q. If you had been acting on your own judgment, should you have gone there?

A. If I had it to do over again, I should go there.

Q. That was your judgment at that time?

A. Yes; but I thought the next best thing was to go to the arsenal. I would then be carrying out my orders, and would remain where General Latta could further instruct me.

Q. You had gone some distance before the firing commenced on your troops--that firing from the house?

A. Yes.

Q. Did you ever ascertain who fired--have you ever been able to learn the names of the parties?

A. We ascertained a few. We killed a few, and I think that a policeman fired on us. Mr. Lennig, who was a member of the Washington Grays at the time, and who is a member of the bar here, when he went back to Pittsburgh, identified this man, and talked to him, and the man acknowledged it--that he did fire.

By Senator Reyburn:

Q. Where did this policeman fire? When you went by the station-house?

A. We went by the station-house, but I didn't see them fire, but Mr. Lennig saw them fire near the cathedral.

Q. Did you see any policeman fire yourself?

A. No.

Q. Did Mr. Lennig?

A. He saw a policeman fire, and identified him when he went back to Pittsburgh the second time.

Q. When you arrived at the arsenal, did you enter at the gate?

A. I entered at the gate. The sentry there allowed me to enter, and showed me where Mayor Buffington was to be found, and I went to his quarters and saw him.

Q. Was he up at the time?

A. He was up. He came out of the house.

Q. How was he dressed when he came out?

A. In citizen's dress. I asked whether he was the commandant there, and he said he was. He was in citizen's clothes.

Q. Was he fully dressed?

A. Yes.

Q. Did you tell him your name?

A. My name and where we had been, and told him I wanted to bring the men in there. He said we couldn't come there, and I asked him where we could encamp.

Q. You are positive about giving him your name?

A. Yes.

By Senator Yutzy:

Q. And rank?

A. Yes; I had an officer with me who will corroborate it.

By Mr. Lindsey:

Q. Whereabouts did you meet him?

A. Right at his house.

Q. At the door?

A. He came on to the steps of a little porch and stepped down to the ground.

Q. Whereabouts is his house situated from the gate as you enter?

A. Probably two hundred feet from the gate.

Q. On the right side of the road leading down through the grounds or the left?

A. It is about two hundred yards from the street where we marched out--where the sentry gate is. A path led down, and Major Burlington turned on his heel, and didn't take the trouble to say he was sorry, but immediately turned on his heel and left.

Q. Where did he go?

A. Back to his house.

Q. Did he afterwards come up to the gate?

A. I never saw him afterwards.

Q. Did you have any wounded at the gate?

A. Yes; we had some three or four men carried in there, and Lieutenant Ash had his leg amputated and died there.

Q. Did he tell you that he would take care of the wounded?

A. No; he never made any remark to me of that kind.

Q. Did Lieutenant Lyon make any such remark?

A. I never knew such an officer was there.

Q. How long did you remain inside of the grounds?

A. I don't think I was there over two minutes--maybe I was longer. The firing was quite heavy after I got in there, and I went down to join my command.

Q. How were you dressed when you met Major Buffington?

A. In a blouse and a cap, with two stars on it, and blue pants. One of my shoulder straps during the night had been torn down, and it hung, and I took it off.

Q. Was the other on?

A. No; I had taken both off when I found one of them was torn.

By Senator Yutzy:

Q. What request did you make of Major Buffington when you went there?