Part 127
A. They seemed to be. The most trouble I had was with young men that claimed to be clerks in the railroad office, who broke through the lines. While I was there, two or three passenger trains were run in from the west, coming in off the Pan Handle and Fort Wayne road, going east. They were some little while getting along; but they went on east. There was some trouble with the passengers on them, because they wanted to see what was going on. I held that position until some time after the firing at Twenty-eighth street, when I got orders from General Brinton, through Major Pettit, to move into the railroad shops connecting with the round-house. I knew the ground, as I had been there several times before, and I supposed we were going through this yard out to Liberty street, and going back to Pittsburgh; but when I got inside, General Brinton ordered me to take possession of the shops there on the left or on the west, and put one regiment in there and some other troops in the office, and put a guard over the gate. There was a double wagon gate there. I had no time to detail a regular guard, so I instructed Captain Ryan, of the Fencibles, to take charge of the gate. In the meantime, Breck's Battery came in, and the First brigade went into the round-house and took possession of that. In about ten minutes, a train was going to run back on the Allegheny Valley road, which runs besides this railroad office or repair shop. When the cars came back--it was some local train--they were just filled with rioters, who were brought back right into Pittsburgh, and they were yelling and hooting and hallooing, and then this crowd gathered around the gate. We had no orders to fire on them at all, and we paid no attention to what was said by the mob. Along about dark, I was talking to General Brinton, when a man pushed himself in, and we ordered him out, and eventually pushed him out. Then a row began, and a couple of pistol shots were fired, and two men were shot, and Captain Ryan came to me and said that my men cannot stand this to be fired at, and without returning the fire. I told him I could not give an order to fire; but that I would ask General Brinton; but he said he could not give an order, that he was under the orders of General Pearson, and that we must first ask General Pearson if we couldn't open fire on the rioters. We run the Gatling guns, in the meantime, so as to command the gate. General Pearson said no, you must not fire a shot, and of course, when he said no, we had nothing else to do. He left about nine o'clock, and when he left General Brinton gave orders if anybody came near the gate to order them away, and if they didn't go, to fire on them. We remained there until they began to run the cars down on us. At first we supposed they ran the cars down to shoot this field-piece off--we supposed that was their idea--but we soon found it was on fire. The general then ordered me to take a detail of men up into the third story of this office, which had windows facing east, and we went up there, and put guards in the second and third stories, and in that way covered the field-piece. We stayed around there until daylight. During the night I think I saw pretty near every dispatch that General Brinton got, and I don't think I was away from him ten minutes at any one time during the night. I saw every dispatch, and was cognizant of their contents. I passed the scout in and out through my lines--this man that carried the dispatches to General Latta--and I know the instructions from General Latta were to hold the position as long as we could, and I know of the dispatch to move east out Penn avenue. When the eastern buildings had got afire, they came and told me that it was necessary to vacate, that the fire had got so hot that they couldn't stand it, and when the First regiment formed, we could hardly see the lines for the smoke and cinders. There had been some cars filled with corn whiskey that had run down and got afire. We got the fire out; but they had blocked the gate so that we couldn't get the field-pieces out. The general then instructed me to have the brass guns spiked, to have them dismounted, and to destroy the powder. The powder was taken into the round-house and soaked in water, so that it couldn't be used, and the ammunition was thrown away, and the pieces were spiked. The Gatlings being much lighter, we found an entrance on the west of this repair-shop, and we moved the Gatlings through the repair-shop out to Twenty-sixth street. When we marched out I was at the head of my brigade. We must have got a half a mile or so, and there was some firing into the lines, and one or two men were wounded. I then went back, and you couldn't see any great number of rioters anywheres near us. I suppose within one or two Philadelphia blocks you could not see anybody; but you could see the crowd back that far. Every now and then there would be a shot coming from a doorway or a window as we passed along the street. Nobody would fire directly at us from a window as we passed along--either from the corners of the streets or the windows; but the firing was all after we passed, after we got by half a block or a block--then they would let into us. About this time a street car was coming up the street, and I don't know why, but I was looking at it, wondering whether it was going to try to get through the lines, when the first thing I heard was two rifle shots from the car, and two men of the Sixth regiment fell dead, one on top of the other. The shots were fired by two men apparently lying on their stomachs--lying on the cushions, and firing out the windows.
Q. Did the street car stop after they fired?
A. That I cannot say. I recollect, at that time, that the Gatling gun was opened, and I ordered my men to separate, so that they could fire into it, and they did fire. Just before that the driver of the street car had uncoupled the horses, and left the car standing. I have heard since that those two men were killed; but, of course, I cannot testify to that.
Q. Those two men in the car?
A. Yes; along about that time this man they called the bad angel--he would fire and then run into a house, and run back through the yard, and come out again and fire. He would fire coolly. I saw him twice drop on his knee and fire, just the same as if he were firing at a target. I heard Captain Ryan hallooing "shoot that man," and they fired at him, but, as he was firing out of door-ways or from behind trees, it was almost impossible to hit him. We were moving all the time. I cannot say positively whether Lieutenant Ash was shot previously to that time or not, but I recollect seeing him stagger. I suppose I noticed it more particularly because he was a personal friend of mine. I saw him stagger and fall into the gutter on the north side of the street, and throw up his hand and say, you are not going to leave me, and I ran back with three or four men, and carried him ahead apiece, until some men of the regiment ran their pieces under him, and brought him on, and he was carried on the limber of the Gatling up to the arsenal. By that time I concluded my brigade had enough of that, and I sent word to General Brinton, asking him if I could not change places with the First brigade, and he sent word back, yes, and I changed places at the turn of the street. The reason why I asked to be relieved was, that every man in the brigade had been on duty all night--every man. We had the lumber-yard to cover, and the railroad offices, and the repair shop, and the men had been up all night. I took the right of the line then, and I don't think that there was a shot fired after we changed position in the line.
Q. Where was Lieutenant Ash wounded?
A. In the leg. He bled very freely. I didn't suppose that he was mortally wounded, and I think if there had been anybody there to take care of him, he might have got through.
Q. He was left at the arsenal?
A. Yes; that is about the story, until we got to Sharpsburg. We had nothing to eat all the way along. When we got to Sharpsburg, along about ten and a half o'clock, Major Wilson then, Colonel Wilson now, went into a store and bought a couple of boxes of crackers. I recollect it, because he gave one to my brigade, and one to the First brigade. That was all we got until about twelve o'clock.
Q. While you were down at the round-house, guarding the trains that were to move out, was there any attack made upon your line by the rioters?
A. No.
Q. Was there any firing by your men?
A. No; there is not a shot fired--they were rather troublesome. There was a considerable crowd there, but Captain Ryan kept them back. I might say that my orders were to keep all citizens off. I met a gentleman coming through, and told him to get out, and had some considerable difficulty. He said he was the sheriff of Allegheny county. That was away back at Twenty-sixth street. He was all alone--no posse with him or anything.
By Mr. Means:
Q. You say no posse was with him?
A. No; and he didn't seem to want a posse.
By Mr. Lindsey:
Q. That was after the firing at Twenty-eighth street?
A. I think it was right after the firing.
Q. The sheriff was going towards the depot then?
A. Yes; and making pretty good time.
Q. State whether there was any insubordination on the part of the troops during the night in the round-house?
A. I heard that some of the troops were dissatisfied--that they wanted something to eat, and didn't think they were treated right, and all that. I didn't see anything of it, and I was among them all night long.
Q. Was there any refusal to obey orders?
A. No; no man refused. There was, perhaps, a little hesitation when I asked some men to do a little piece of business, but they went and did it.
Q. What was that?
A. I wanted some car wheels put across the track. It was a rather open space, and they didn't seem to like it much, but they went and did it.
Q. Have you anything else to say?
A. I might say that I saw the scout going out all night long, carrying messages back and forward.
By Senator Yutzy:
Q. Did you consider the firing by the troops justifiable?
A. I can only say that if I had had command I would have fired sooner than they did.
Q. You would have given the order?
A. Yes; I gave the order to fire going out Pennsylvania avenue. I always considered when attacked you have the right to return the fire.
Q. You have had some experience in the army?
A. Some little.
Q. How much?
A. Four years.
Q. And you think that most any troops would have fired under such circumstances without orders?
A. I have my own opinion, and I think if I had been in the lines, I would have fired.
Q. If struck with a brick, you would have fired?
A. I think so. I will say simply this: I think if the troops had been sent to Pittsburgh three days sooner, it would have been a great deal better. They had been playing with the Pittsburgh troops before we got there.
Q. Did you see Colonel Norris when he joined General Brinton's command?
A. I did.
Q. Did Colonel Norris give General Brinton any orders?
A. No.
Q. Did you hear the conversation between them?
A. I did.
Q. If he had communicated any orders to General Brinton, you would have heard them?
A. I certainly should. I might say that I was standing with General Brinton, when Colonel Norris drove up. He jumped out of the carriage, and he seemed very glad, indeed, to see General Brinton and all hands, and we went over and sat along side of the road, and I heard all the conversation. I would have been very apt, if any orders had been given, to pay some attention, because I was anxious about the situation myself, and particularly as I was personally acquainted with Colonel Norris.
Q. You are certain he gave no orders to go to any point from where he was then?
A. Not that I know of; and I think if such orders were given, I would have heard them.
Q. Were you present during the entire conversation?
A. Yes.
Q. All the time?
A. I think so.
Q. Do you know of any orders having been received by General Brinton from any one or by the hands of any one to make any movement in any direction?
A. Yes; we had one about going out of Pittsburgh, to go east.
Q. After you left the round-house?
A. No; I saw the orders that night. I heard or read all the orders that came. The orders were, as I understood, to take a train down at the work-house, and join the command at Blairsville Intersection. I know we got an order after we were in the round-house, or rather an instruction that Colonel Lyle--we supposed that colonel, and the detachment under Colonel Rodgers, were with Colonel Guthrie, and would join us about daybreak.
Q. Did General Brinton receive any orders to move his command to Torrens station?
A. Not that I am aware of.
Q. Or to join Colonel Guthrie?
A. Not that I am aware of.
By Senator Yutzy:
Q. The brass guns at the round-house--whose command did they belong to?
A. To General Pearson's.
Q. Couldn't you have saved those guns, and taken them with you?
A. If we had any way of getting them out, and if we had horses to haul them.
Q. It was not possible to take them out where they were, and take them along by hand?
A. It might have been done, but under the circumstances, no. If there had not been any firing there, we might have cleared the track, and got the gate open.
Q. Couldn't you have taken those guns out of the same gate you took the Gatling guns out?
A. No; it would have taken a long while, because the shop was full of timber and all kinds of material, which would have had to be cleared out of the way, and it is not much of a joke to run a twelve pounder by hand. We might have taken a crowd and have dragged them a short distance, but not a long distance. It was as much as the men could do to drag the Gatlings.
Q. No horses were provided for those guns?
A. Not that I saw.
Q. Did Captain Breck have charge of those pieces?
A. Yes.
Q. Did he turn them over to General Brinton?
A. Of course, he was under General Brinton's command.
Q. Do you know whether Captain Breck's command retired to the round-house with your command?
A. I don't know, but I suppose they did. I cannot say positively.
Q. Did many of your men--the rank and file--have experience in the army as soldiers?
A. Yes.
Q. About what proportion of them?
A. I suppose thirty-three per cent. of them, anyhow. I should judge so.
Q. What character of men were the balance of the troops composed of generally?
A. I would just as lief depend on them, I think, as regular soldiers.
Q. You would depend on them just as soon?
A. Or a little sooner, I think.
Q. In what business were those men before they went out with you, as a general thing?
A. Most of them were mechanics.
Q. And some clerks?
A. Some.
Q. Professional men?
A. Very few.
Q. Men accustomed to manual labor?
A. Yes; and accustomed to three square meals a day, too.
Q. Could you expect men, taken from their homes as those men were, to be as efficient, so far as endurance is concerned, as men accustomed not only to military discipline, but to service in the field?
A. Why certainly not. If you have ever been in the service, you know how long it takes to break men in, before you get them into shape.
* * * * *
Louis D. Baugh, _sworn_:
By Mr. Lindsey:
Q. Where do you reside?
A. In Philadelphia, No. 2009 Chestnut street.
Q. State what your rank was in the National Guard in July last?
A. I was commissary of the First division, with the rank of major. I was then and am yet.
Q. Did you accompany the troops under General Brinton to Pittsburgh?
A. I did. I went with the first detachment.
Q. Were you at Twenty-eighth street during the firing?
A. No.
Q. What was your particular duty?
A. It is the duty of the commissary to feed the men--to supply them with rations.
Q. Where were you during Saturday?
A. When the column was ready to move to Twenty-eighth street, General Brinton ordered me to remain to procure subsistence for the men.
Q. When did you re-join the command?
A. On Sunday afternoon, about three o'clock.
Q. At what point?
A. At the work-house.
Q. Of Allegheny?
A. Yes.
Q. Did you have any orders for General Brinton?
A. I had none, sir.
Q. Did you have any conversation about orders with him?
A. Yes.
Q. What did he say?
A. The moment I arrived, he asked me for orders, once or twice, and I told him I had no orders, or had received none, and he sent me back for orders.
Q. To whom?
A. General Latta.
Q. Did you go back?
A. Yes.
Q. Where did you find General Latta?
A. At the Monongahela house.
Q. What orders did you get?
A. Do you want the order?
Q. Yes.
A. I took him the following order:
"_Major General R. M. Brinton, commanding First division National Guard of Pennsylvania, bivouacked near Claremont station, West Pennsylvania division, Pennsylvania railroad_:
"You will move your command by rail to Altoona, where the rest of your division now is, and there remain for further orders. I leave, _via_ Erie, for Harrisburg to-night. Will be at Erie to-morrow night, on the rail Tuesday, and Harrisburg Wednesday. Have ordered Mr. Creighton, superintendent of the West Pennsylvania division to furnish transportation. Make requisition for more ammunition on Harrisburg by telegraph, and communicate further as to transportation with Mr. Gardner.
"JAMES W. LATTA, _Adjutant General_."
Q. What time did you take that to General Brinton and deliver it to him?
A. The written order?
Q. Yes?
A. I read that order to another officer, who reached him early in the morning, one or two o'clock. I reached him about eight o'clock.
Q. What morning?
A. Monday.
Q. With that order?
A. Yes.
Q. And delivered it to him?
A. Yes; I handed him the written order. When the order was given to me, I asked for it in writing. There were two of us together, and I gave the other staff officer the contents of the order, and told him if he reached him first to give it to him.
Q. Who was that staff officer?
A. Major Lazarus.
Q. Where did you find him on Monday morning?
A. On the railroad.
Q. Where?
A. I don't know the place, but I guess it is a little off Claremont.
Q. A major of whose staff was Major Lazarus?
A. General Brinton's. He was in the room when I got this order. I read it to him, and, as the mob was very great, I said if you reach him first, give him this order, and if I reach him first, I will carry it with me.
* * * * *
E. DeC. Loud re-called:
By Senator Yutzy:
Q. On your retirement from the round-house, did you cover the retreat a part of the way?
A. I had the left of the line as long as there was any firing going on.
Q. Did you, on your march, see any policemen on the street?
A. I did.
Q. Tell us what you saw them do?
A. I saw, I suppose, at least fifteen or twenty-five of them standing on a kind of low porch that looked to me something like a station-house, or as if it might be, as we went out, and they seemed to make no effort to keep the peace whatever. They were standing there, and after we passed, I heard the crack of a pistol. I cannot say positively that they fired it; but they certainly made no effort whatever to preserve the peace there. They were in full uniform, too.
Q. Did the sound seem to come from that direction?
A. Yes; right behind me. At that time I was on the right flank.
Q. How far were you from the police when you heard the shot fired?
A. Half a block I suppose--perhaps not that far. They were standing on a porch elevated, perhaps, two or three feet.
Q. You judge from the sound that the shot came from the police?
A. If it didn't come from them, it came from very near them.
Q. Did you see any arms in their hands?
A. No.
Q. Did you see any pistols in their hands?
A. No; I was in the street and they were just the width of the pavement from me.
Q. Is that the only place where you saw police?
A. That is the only place where I saw police.
Q. And you say that they made no effort to arrest any of the parties following you?
A. Not that I saw, and I would have been very apt to see it. I think there were enough of them there to have stopped it.
Q. Did you hear them make any remarks as you passed?
A. No; but they didn't seem to be very particularly pleased over the troops being there.
Q. But they said nothing?
A. No; but I could judge from the expression of their faces that their remarks were not at all complimentary. That was the inference I drew.
By Mr. Means:
Q. Did you have any communication with the citizens of Pittsburgh--did you go out into the crowd among the rioters at any time?
A. No.
By Senator Yutzy:
Q. Do you know of any citizens' committee that waited on General Brinton or that waited on your command to have a conversation in relation to this riot?
A. No; I heard that a committee came out to see General Brinton while we were at the hospital, when we got back a second time, and I understood that they just came out to pay their compliments to him.
Q. It was after you got back to Pittsburgh?
A. Yes; the first time nobody came near us--not a soul. In Sharpsburg some men came out, and said they were very sorry that so many were killed, and they seemed to be very kind.
Q. Is there anything you know that you have not yet testified to of interest to us or that might be important in the making up of a full history of this affair?
A. No; I don't know of anything more that I can say about the matter. I only had my own brigade to look after, and I can only tell what happened there. I can only say this, that I was very much surprised when we were put into the round-house and those shops.
Q. Surprised at your being stopped in the round-house?
A. Yes; a question has been asked that perhaps I can throw some light on. It was about what kind of a cap or head-covering General Pearson had on. He had a blue blouse on with a fatigue cap.
By Senator Reyburn:
Q. Did he have soldier straps on?
A. I think so, but cannot say positively--I know he had.
By Senator Yutzy:
Q. Did he have a sword or belt?
A. I didn't see any.
By Senator Reyburn:
Q. Did he have a white vest on?
A. I cannot say that.
Q. Could you have seen a white vest if he had had one on?
A. If he had turned right around to me I could have seen it. We all had white vests on, as we didn't have time to get anything else. He might have had no vest at all on. It was hot weather, and it was dark.
Q. How close were you to him?
A. About as near may be as to this gentleman here, [indicating a party in the room sitting near by.]
Q. Almost touching him?
A. I could have touched him if I had wanted to. He walked out with me to the wash-stand, I recollect. I don't know what he had on when he went out. All of his staff with him had fatigue suits on.
* * * * *
Louis D. Baugh re-called:
By Mr. Means:
Q. Were you dressed in uniform when you went to Pittsburgh?
A. Yes.
Q. Did you wear that uniform all the time?
A. No; I took it off, by orders of my superior officer.
Q. Did you mingle with the crowd after you dressed yourself in citizen's clothing?
A. Yes. I attempted to get to the round-house to General Brinton, and I started up from Union Depot hotel.
Q. Did you have any conversation with citizens of Pittsburgh, or with the rioters or the strikers?
A. I had no conversation with them, because I kept myself very quiet, listening to what they said.
Q. What did they say?
A. They wanted every damned Philadelphia soldier to go home in a box. That they would tear them to pieces. Then I went on apiece. I didn't want to get into that crowd.
Q. Who were they?
A. People of Pittsburgh.
By Mr. Lindsey:
Q. What people?
A. Part of the crowd along the street.
Q. In the vicinity where the riot was going on, or down in the city?
A. In the street running from Union depot to the round-house.
By Senator Reyburn:
Q. Parallel with the railroad?