Part 49
A. Lieutenant Colonel Glenn. He assembled my regiment in the city, and reported to the Union depot.
Q. You say you were accompanied by Colonel Smith?
A. Colonel Smith.
Q. What regiment?
A. He is connected with another regiment.
Q. During the day, what companies were on duty at the foot of the hill?
A. They were not under my command. I never knew what orders they had that were detailed. I do not know to-day what their orders were. I know what duty they were performing. I was never down on the railroad myself until I was ordered off the hill. We were there when the Philadelphia troops came there, and we were witnesses of the conflict. About two o'clock in the afternoon I received an order--I think it was about that time--the only order I received from the time I had got an order to go to Twenty-eighth street--I received an order to have my command in readiness to move, at a moment's notice, on board a train. I immediately sent my commissary, Captain Wallace, to provide rations. While there was no explanation of that order, I understood his meaning that we should take charge of a freight train. I had the provisions there. The captain got the provisions at Twenty-eighth street, three days' rations, and we remained, momentarily expecting an order to move down the hill and get on board a train. At the time that the Philadelphia troops came out----
Q. Before you come to that--did I understand you to say that you had no knowledge of what orders those companies had that were detailed, and sent down to the crossing of the railroad?
A. They were detailed away from my command, and I had no knowledge of what was to be done.
Q. Who did they report to?
A. They reported to General Brown. I know what duty they were performing there--could see it all. I might just say here that I had great apprehensions of the whole matter. They were not the impressions I had since. Those were what I had then. I want to say this: that I gave orders distinctly and positively that my men should not be allowed to talk with, or in any way have any conversation with, the strikers, and I say, also, that that order was positive. Of course, men sometimes were away; it was a pretty hot day, and they had to go for water, and occasionally, perhaps, they talked; but I do not think my orders were violated at all in any respect. I stayed with my men all day long watching their behavior, and at this time I received an order to get my men ready to go on a train. I felt pleased at this, for I thought those who were at the head of affairs understood the situation. I had my doubts before that whether they did. Though we did not go on the train, we were there, ready to go on after the firing was over.
Q. Give us the circumstances of the affair; how it occurred--you were present there at the time, were you not?--as briefly as you can?
A. I would say, first, that the Philadelphia troops came out in as grand style as ever men went to any duty, and their position was good. There can be no exceptions taken to the position. They moved up the tracks. My recollection of the matter is that there was one company in advance of the First regiment. I did not know it was the First regiment at that time. I know that from the report. They moved, and they were formed in line and marched to the left to the round-house, cleared the tracks, and then the rear rank was about faced, and cleared the track, leaving an open space. Two other companies were brought up, and a Gatling gun brought up to that space, and the company in advance marched right into the crowd. They were as determined men as ever stood before anybody. I looked very earnestly, and with a good deal of solicitation, when the stones were thrown and pistol shots fired. I could not see whether there was many or not. There was a great deal of confusion, and the firing began and was kept up--a continuous firing.
Q. You say that pistol shots were fired from the mob?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. And stones thrown from the mob and other missiles?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Was there any firing from the troops before that?
A. There was not a shot fired until after they were attacked. The first thing I saw--I knew it was coming. I was not disappointed a particle in regard to the whole matter--the company charge bayonets on the crowd, and the first thing I saw was a man in the mob take hold of a gun, and one man wrenched the gun away from him, and struck him with the bayonet with a good deal of force.
Q. That is, one of the soldiers?
A. Yes; and then the pistol shots were fired. It was all done in a moment, and then the fire began by the soldiers.
Q. Was there any command given to fire?
A. It was too far away for hearing the command; but I may say it was effectually done, and if that was so, it was only a pity the command had not been given.
Q. Was it a volley or was it a scattering fire?
A. It was a scattering fire, but it extended all along the line. We were immediately in front of the rear rank that faced to the rear, and received a good share of the fire.
By Mr. Lindsey:
Q. Was there a rush made by the mob towards the troops before the firing began?
A. The thing had been gathering momentum from ten o'clock. It was not a mob--the mob in front--that I was afraid of at all. It was the feeling that existed there, apparently strong outside, and when the mills closed that afternoon, it seemed to me they just came up there in hundreds.
By Senator Yutzy:
Q. Rolling mills, iron mills, and so forth?
A. Yes, sir; the crowd accumulated rapidly. They were going and coming all the time, and they were there in force.
Q. The mill hands are generally at leisure on Saturday afternoon?
A. I think they came right out of the mills, when they closed down. A great many, perhaps, came there out of curiosity, but there was a great many added to the mob down on Twenty-eighth street. The crowd increased rapidly at that time.
Q. From what you saw, would you consider an order to fire justifiable?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. What took place after that?
A. The crowd ran away. Those that were on the hill side came up and devoted themselves to the carrying away of the wounded for a time. The Philadelphia troops moved up and took their position by the crossing, at Twenty-eighth street, and placed their Gatling gun in position there, and I ordered my companies, Captain Glenn and Captain Nesbitt, up in line of battalion. The crowd down the road, that had been there, collected again. However, they did not make any attempt to force themselves on to the railroad. The Philadelphia troops would strike terror into the crowd and they would run away for a time, and then would find there was no danger, and then they would come back.
Q. When did you go after that?
A. Five or six o'clock, after quiet had been restored, and the wounded had all been carried away, I received an order from General Pearson, to assist Colonel Howard, in moving Breck's guns to the round-house, and then go to the transfer office, and hold it against any attack. I sent that order--it was a written order--with my adjutant, to General Brown, who was with Colonel Howard, on my right and front, and reported to him that I was ready to move, in obedience to the order. However, I want to say, that was very reluctantly done.
Q. What was reluctantly done?
A. That movement by me. That was done, because their officers and their commands were there. Captain Breck came to me at that time, and said he had such an order, and asked me if I would not see General Pearson, and protest against the matter. I said to him that there were my men immediately in my line, and he commenced to explain the situation that he could be in, and I said to him, "Captain, I won't allow any discussion of that kind here." I told him to step to one side, and this order reached me, just at that time, and after I read the order, I found Captain Breck was waiting and I went to him. He asked me if I had concluded to do anything in the matter, and I said to him, we will obey the order. I felt then it was a great mistake.
By Mr. Lindsey:
Q. For what reason?
A. I did not think we had any business down on Twenty-eighth street.
Q. You went down to obey the order?
A. We obeyed the order. However, just immediately at that time the Philadelphia troops began moving into the round-house, commencing on the left, and moving in all the way up, and Captain Breck took this battery, and then went away, and left me on the hill. When I moved up they were all in the round-house, and the mob was pressing down this track. I moved down the hill. Had to go down by a flank movement. I anticipated trouble then, because I knew by their actions--they hooted and jeered and taunted the soldiers--the Philadelphians--as they went away. I anticipated trouble. However, we marched down by the gate-way, and marched through the crowd, and to the transfer station. Upon my arrival at the transfer station, I took a view of the station myself. Colonel Howard came and asked me in regard to the matter. Colonel Howard asked me if I would take command of the station. I told him General Brown was here, and he was in authority. I told him that I would throw out pickets on my front. The transfer station was separated by tracks in between. Colonel Howard was on the side next to the hill, and I was on Liberty street, and I told him I would take care of my side; that he could dispose of his own troops. We remained there, and the most of them went and laid down to sleep. It was dark, and most of my men, except those on duty, went to sleep. During the night General Brown came to me, and said that the place was untenable, and he advised me to get out of it. We commenced to consult about the matter, and I told him there was no trouble there, that it was a good place to rest, and that if we got into any trouble we could get out of it. A short time afterwards he and Colonel Howard came back, and I had the situation in my own mind, and had sent my officers out on the hill side, and at that very time I had sent Doctor McCandless, surgeon on my staff. He was well acquainted with the hill side in that part of town. I sent him up there to look at the situation--it is a very ragged hill--to see in case there was a necessity to pick out the best way, of a return by the way of the hill side to my old position on the hill side. When General Brown and Colonel Howard came to me, I told them what I had done, that I expected that our position was such we could not do any fighting, but we could from the hill side, and I had sent officers out to select a way by which we could get out, if necessary. There was no immediate danger. About ten o'clock General Brown came to me again, and said we must get out. He had information that we must leave that place. Says I, "General Brown, you cannot persuade me to leave this, I will obey your orders, but I do not see any necessity for leaving this position at this time." He immediately ordered me to take my command, and go to the Union depot. I formed my command, and we started, but the road was full of cars, and we had to go out the best way we could. We got out into the open track below, and when I got out there, I halted the advance of the regiment, re-formed and marched into the Union depot in good order.
Q. Will you please tell me about how far it is from the transfer station to the round-house, where the Philadelphia troops were?
A. From the transfer station?
Q. From where you were stationed?
A. I have very little knowledge as to the location of that transfer depot. I never passed through there, except going east on the train at night, but I do not think it is very far, probably two hundred yards.
Q. That is where you were stationed, about two hundred yards from the round-house?
A. I should think so. That is my idea of the distance there. When I arrived at the Union depot, I was pretty disgusted with the thing--had been all day, for that matter. After I re-formed my men, I had expected to get some rations. I knew my commissary was there getting some, and I sent an officer to inquire and find out. General Brown, I went to him, and asked him for orders, and to my utter astonishment he told me I could dismiss my command.
By Mr. Lindsey:
Q. Did you obey him?
A. Not then. I called around my officers--those that were nearest to me--surrounded the general, and protested in the strongest terms that I was allowed to, in regard to the matter, that it was a disgrace to the officers and men that I had there willing to do their duty; that it was a disgrace also to desert the Philadelphia troops. The general was a little startled at my talk, and he says, "You remain here a few minutes, and I will see you again." He left me, and I did not see him again.
By Mr. Means:
Q. I would like to know where and when your regiment was disbanded?
A. When and where it was disbanded. It was disbanded a few minutes before eleven o'clock at the Union Depot hotel, by myself, in obedience to General Brown's order. And I want to say this in regard to that matter: After I remained there awhile, I went up to the office of the Union Depot hotel, and inquired for General Pearson, and they told me that the general was not there. I inquired for General Latta, and they told me he was not there. I wondered where he could have gone to, and I saw Mr. Murdock, who is one of the officers, and he made the same reply; and I had great confidence in him.
Q. Your head-quarters is here at the market-house, isn't it?
A. I had my head-quarters at my office. That is, our armory.
Q. Your regiment was not brought there, then, as a regiment, and disbanded?
A. Not that night. No, sir; because I had four companies who had to go home by railroad.
Q. Were any of the companies brought down here and disbanded?
A. That night?
Q. Yes, sir?
A. No, sir. I directed my staff officers to notify the commanding officers of companies that their services were not needed, and to take their men to the armories and dismiss them.
By Senator Yutzy:
Q. What the captain wishes to get at is, did your men break ranks there at the Union depot?
A. I had a company in the next day at ten o'clock.
Q. They marched out by companies?
A. Yes, sir.
By Mr. Means:
Q. What I want to get at is this: If your regiment was disbanded at the Union depot; and after that, did you not have command of them as a regiment?
A. Well, sir, I dismissed my regiment at the Union depot. I also sent word to the companies who had to leave the city--I had four companies--that they were perfectly safe, and they better not go away till morning.
Q. What did they do with their arms, when you dismissed them?
A. They took them home, except one company; they could not get away that night, and stayed there. At ten the next day, I had three companies that went out on the eleven o'clock train.
By Mr. Means:
Q. The companies that left lived in the rural districts; they took their arms with them to their homes?
A. I think they all did, so far as I know, except one company.
Q. And they remained in the city?
A. That company was a home company, and remained at the Union depot until ten o'clock next day, before it left.
By Mr. Lindsey:
Q. How many rounds of ammunition had you?
A. I think we had about eight or ten rounds to a man. It was not very equally divided, but we averaged that during the morning. We had received our ammunition, our share of the ammunition, by requisition, a few weeks before that time, and had sent out to the arsenal, and they had not received it, and it was left at Captain Fox's armory, in Lawrenceville, and on that morning, I think that we hadn't enough, and I sent out a wagon and had a box of a thousand rounds brought in, and it was carried up from the crossing to my regiment, and a great many of the strikers came up to see what kind it was, and that was the only time that any of them was up there in any considerable number. That is, if there were any up there, they were strikers away from the fold. They came up, and I allowed them to remain there until the ammunition was distributed and issued, so that they could see what it was. Then I ordered them down the hill and they went. A few minutes after that one of their number, I presume him to be one of their number, came up and commenced to me about our being there, and I asked him who he was, and he said he was a striker, and that they were armed and that they were going to fight for their rights.
Q. This was on Saturday?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Before the Philadelphia troops came out there?
A. Yes, sir; he said they were armed and they were going to fight for their rights. I heard him, and told him if that was all the business they had up there he had better get down the hill, or I would arrest him. He left. That is the only man I talked to that day outside of my own regiment.
By Mr. Means:
Q. Did you know who that man was?
A. No; I did not know him.
By Mr. Larrabee:
Q. At the time your dismissed your troops at the Union Depot hotel, about eleven o'clock, was the whole number with you that you took out in the morning?
A. No, sir; there was not.
Q. What had become of those that were not there?
A. I dismissed some men early in the day of Saturday morning, men whom I think were not in a condition to do service there under the circumstances.
Q. For what reason?
A. There was two of them got something to drink and got drunk. I think they were drunk, and I relieved them from duty and sent them away. That was one thing I had great care about. I believe that a commander is responsible for the morality of his men, and I was looking after that particularly on that occasion.
Q. How many less men did you have at night?
A. I had between thirty and forty.
Q. That were missing--some of those went off on their own account?
A. No, sir. I dismissed one company entire. I had one company after the firing of the troops--a great many of the killed and wounded were killed immediately in front of my line, and I saw the men raising their guns to fire, and I ordered my men to lie down, and I think I saved the lives of some of them by so doing. Immediately after that there was a great deal of excitement, and the crowd down on the hill side came rushing back and got in the rear of my line. I ordered the captains to examine the men to see that they had not loaded their arms. I did not anticipate that that was the end of it, but I wanted to know whether any of my men had loaded their arms under the excitement, and I found it was reported that some of them had. I saw some myself, and this company--the lieutenant had an altercation and tussle, and took a gun--the man refused to obey, and the lieutenant took hold of the gun and took it from him. It created a panic in the company, and they ran back of the line for a few yards, and I sent Colonel Glenn to see what the trouble was, and the men were a good deal excited. Afterwards the captain came to me and I sent an order to have them remain there in that position, and the captain came to me afterwards and asked me to order them back into the line, which I refused to do. I determined to send them home. I dismissed twenty-eight men in one company. I want to say that I believe I did these men a great injustice. Some of these men tried to get back here at night. I did not know the circumstances, and I supposed that under the excitement of the firing that they had run back. And when the matter was explained to me afterwards, I believe I did them a great injustice. I know I did, because they did service after worthy of all praise.
By Mr. Larrabee:
Q. Did any of your men straggle off and desert?
A. Some men went away--not many.
Q. How many men had you at night, or about how many, when you dismissed the regiment?
A. I had about one hundred and forty-six men and twenty-seven officers. I had my men counted before I dismissed them. I was not deceived in regard to them from first to last.
Q. What was the captain's name of that company you sent off?
A. Captain Graham.
Q. Were they veterans as a general thing--had seen service?
A. Which?
Q. These men in the company.
A. I could not answer that; some of them were, I know that. All my officers are old veterans, except one.
Q. You have seen service in the war?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. In what capacity did you serve in the army?
A. Orderly sergeant.
Q. For how long were you in the service?
A. From September, 1861, until the last day of May, 1861.
Q. When you were wounded?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. What explanation did you have from General Brown for disbanding the regiment or dismissing the regiment at that time?
A. There was no explanation of it at that time.
Q. Did you think that that order of General Brown's to dismiss the regiment could be justified on any grounds?
A. No, sir.
Q. You dismissed your regiment upon that order, simply because you consider it your duty to do so. You obeyed orders?
A. Yes; I obeyed orders.
Q. Where was the Nineteenth regiment at that time?
A. I only saw one of the officers of the Nineteenth regiment at the Union depot, and that was Captain Bingham.
* * * * *
General A. L. Pearson, _sworn_:
By Mr. Lindsey:
Q. Where do you reside?
A. I live in the city, sir.
Q. What is your profession?
A. I am a member of the bar of this city.
Q. Member of the National Guard?
A. Yes; I command the Sixth division National Guard.
Q. With what rank?
A. The rank of major general.
Q. Were you in the late war of the rebellion?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. How long?
A. I entered the service in the beginning of 1862, as captain, and went through the intermediate ranks of major, lieutenant colonel, colonel, and was afterwards brevetted brigadier and major general--commanded a brigade at the end of the war.
Q. Were you in the city on the 19th of July last?
A. Yes, sir; I was.
Q. State when you first heard of the disturbance among the railroad employés, and your connection with it thereafter?
A. On the evening of the 19th July--Thursday, I believe--I was going home-I live just at the Allegheny arsenal--I live on Thirty-ninth, just directly opposite the Allegheny arsenal--going out in the street car, and I observed numbers of men standing up along the railroad. At that time I knew there was no difficulty. Had not heard of any strike or any disturbance of any kind or character. I suppose I retired about half-past nine o'clock. In the neighborhood of ten, or probably half-past, a carriage drove up to my door, and the bell rang, and I went to the door and found a telegraph dispatch from General Latta, asking if I knew anything relative to the disturbance on the Pennsylvania railroad. The messenger who was in the carriage requested me to go with him. Who the gentleman was I do not know. I went with him.
Q. What time was the message received at the office?
A. That is what I cannot tell you.
Q. Did not notice that?
A. I did not notice it. I supposed it had just been received, and brought directly from the office to my residence. I received it probably a few minutes after ten--between ten and eleven. I got in the carriage and accompanied the gentleman down to Mr. Pitcairn's office, which is at the corner of Twenty-sixth and Liberty avenue. When I got there I think Mr. Scott was present, who was the solicitor of the road, and several other gentlemen. They told me about the difficulties, and stated that they had sent to Sheriff Fife. At that time I knew of no difficulties. Did not know there were any troubles at all, and I waited a long time, and I presume it was in the neighborhood of twelve o'clock when Sheriff Fife arrived, and they talked over the situation of affairs, and at the request of the sheriff I accompanied him to Twenty-eighth street, walking up the track.
Q. Twelve o'clock at night?