Chapter 69

GLAZIER RE-ENTERS THE SERVICE.

Glazier's determination to re-enter the army.--Letter to Colonel Harhaus.--Testimonial from Colonel Clarence Buel.--Letter from Hon. Martin I. Townsend to governor of New York.--Letter from General Davies.--Letter from General Kilpatrick.--Application for new commission successful.--Home.--The mother fails to recognize her son.--Supposed to be dead.--Recognized by his sister Marjorie.--Filial and fraternal love,--Reports himself to his commanding officer for duty.--Close of the war and of Glazier's military career.--Seeks a new object in life.--An idea occurs to him.--Becomes an author, and finds a publisher.

Home, with its rest, its peaceful enjoyments and endearments, was no abiding place for our young soldier while his bleeding country still battled for the right, and called upon her sons for self-denying service in her cause. He had registered a vow to remain in the army until relieved by death, or the termination of the war. His heart and soul were in the Union cause, and finding that at the expiration of his term of service he had been mustered out, he had determined before proceeding to his home to apply for another commission, and, if possible, resume his place at the front.

The following letter, which we think stamps his earnest loyalty to the cause he had espoused, and for which he had already suffered so much, was addressed to his friend and patron:

Astor House, New York, _January 10th, 1865_.

Colonel Otto Harhaus, Late of the Harris Light Cavalry:

Dear Colonel: Having reached our lines, an escaped prisoner, on the twenty-third of last month, I at once took steps to ascertain my position in the old regiment, and regret to say, was informed at the war department that as my term of service had expired during my imprisonment; and, as I had not remustered previous to capture, I was now regarded supernumerary. I wish to remain in the service until the close of the war, and so expressed myself before I fell into the hands of the enemy. Fourteen months in rebel prisons has not increased my respect for "Southern chivalry"--in short I have some old scores to settle.

I write, Colonel, to ascertain if you will be kind enough to advise me what steps I had better take to secure a new commission in the Cavalry Corps, and to ask if you will favor me with a letter of recommendation to Governor Fenton. It was suggested to me at Washington that I should place my case before him, and, if I conclude to do so, a note from you will be of great value.

I learn through Captain Downing that I was commissioned a first lieutenant upon your recommendation soon after my capture. If so, I avail myself of this opportunity to acknowledge my deep sense of the favor, and to thank you very cordially for remembering me at a time when I was entirely dependent upon your impartial decisions for advancement in your command.

I made my escape from the rebel prison at Columbia, South Carolina, November twenty-sixth, 1864, was recaptured December fifteenth by a Confederate outpost near Springfield, Georgia; escaped a second time the following day and was retaken by a detachment of Texan cavalry under General Wheeler; was tried as a spy at Springfield; escaped a third time from Sylvania on the nineteenth of December, and reached the Federal lines near Savannah, four days later, and twenty-eight days after my escape from Columbia. I was at General Kilpatrick's headquarters on the Ogeechee, December twenty-sixth. The general was in the most exuberant spirits, and entertained me with stories of the Great March from Atlanta to the sea. He desired to be remembered to all the officers and men of his old cavalry division in Virginia.

I expect to be mustered out of service to-day, and if so, shall start this evening for my home in Northern New York, which I have not visited since entering the army three years ago.

Soliciting a response at your earliest convenience,

I have the honor to remain, Colonel,

Very respectfully, your obedient servant, Willard Glazier.

Impatient of delay in the gratification of his ardent and patriotic desire to rejoin the army, Glazier also addressed an earnest letter to Hon. M. I. Townsend, of his native State, accompanying it with the following glowing testimonial from his late superior officer and companion in arms, Colonel Clarence Buel:

Saratoga Springs, New York, _February 14th, 1865._

Hon. Martin I. Townsend:

Dear Sir: It is with great pleasure that I introduce to your acquaintance my friend Lieutenant Willard Glazier. He entered the service as a private in my company in the "Harris Light Cavalry," and was promoted for services in the field to his present rank. I considered him one of the very best and most promising young officers whom I knew, and his career has only strengthened my opinion of his merits. After a period of long and gallant service in the field he had the misfortune to be taken prisoner in a desperate cavalry fight, and has but recently returned home after escaping from a terrible confinement of more than a year in the prison pens at Richmond, Danville, Macon, Savannah, Charleston, and Columbia. I wish you would take time to hear the modest recital which he makes of his experience in Southern prisons, and of his escape; and I feel sure you will agree with me, that he is worthy of any interest you may take in him.

He is desirous of re-entering the service as soon as he can procure a commission in any way equal to his deserts; and I told him that I knew of no one who could give him more valuable aid than yourself in his patriotic purpose. I do most cordially commend him to your consideration, and shall esteem anything you may do for him as a great personal favor. With very sincere regards,

I am, your obedient friend and servant, Clarence Buel.

Hon. Martin I. Townsend, on receipt of Colonel Buel's flattering introduction, at once interested himself in Glazier's behalf; and after fully investigating his military record handed him the following to the Governor of New York State:

Troy, New York, _February 15th, 1865._

His Excellency R. E. Fenton, Governor of New York:

Dear Sir: Willard Glazier, late of the "Harris Light Cavalry," who served with honor as a lieutenant in that regiment, is a most excellent young patriot, and has many well-wishers in our city. He desires to enter the service again. I take the liberty to solicit for him a commission. No appointment would be more popular here, and I undertake to say, without hesitation, that I know of no more deserving young officer. His heart was always warm in the service, and he now has fifteen months of most barbarous cruelty, practised on him while a prisoner, to avenge.

Very respectfully yours, Martin I. Townsend.

His former commanders, Generals H. E. Davies and Judson Kilpatrick, also bore their willing testimony to the qualifications and merits of our young subaltern in the following handsome manner:

Headquarters, First Brigade, Cavalry Division, Near Culpepper, Va.,

_February 16th, 1865._

To His Excellency Hon. R. E. Fenton:

Lieutenant Willard Glazier, formerly of the Second New York Cavalry, served in the regiment under my immediate command, for more than two years, until his capture by the enemy.

He joined the regiment as an enlisted man, and served in that capacity with courage and ability, and for good conduct was recommended for and received a commission as second lieutenant. As an officer he did his duty well, and on several occasions behaved with great gallantry, and with good judgment. Owing to a long imprisonment, I learn he has been rendered supernumerary in his regiment, and mustered out of service. I can recommend him highly as an officer, and as well worthy to receive a commission.

Very respectfully, H. E. Davies, Jr., Brigadier-General U. S. Volunteers.

Headquarters Cavalry Command, M. D. M., Near Savannah, Georgia, _December 27th, 1864_.

Lieutenant Willard Glazier, Harris Light Cavalry:

Lieutenant: I take great pleasure in expressing to you my high appreciation of your many soldierly qualities. I well remember the fact that you were once a private in the old regiment I had the honor to command; and that by attention to duty and good conduct _alone_, you received promotion. You have my best wishes for your future advancement, and may command my influence at all times.

Very respectfully and truly yours, Judson Kilpatrick, Brigadier-General, U. S. Volunteers.

His application was crowned with success, and upon the twenty-fifth of February, 1865, he received his commission as First Lieutenant in the Twenty-sixth Regiment, New York Cavalry.

Not until this important matter was satisfactorily arranged would our young lieutenant turn his face towards home. He had been absent about three years, and a report had reached his family that he had died in prison at Columbia.

With his commission in his pocket, he now allowed thoughts of home to occupy his mind, and proceeded thither without the loss of a moment. On reaching the homestead which had been the scene of his birth, and of the adventures of his boyhood, he knocked and entered, and his mother met him at the threshold. Three years between the ages of sixteen and nineteen, especially after vicissitudes and sufferings such as he had endured, effect changes in the features and height and general appearance, much more pronounced than a similar interval would produce at a later or an earlier period of life. The mother did not recognize her son; and seeing this, he did not announce himself, but inquired if any news had recently been received of her son Willard, who, he said, was in the same regiment as himself. She answered that her son was _dead_--she had seen his name in the death-record of the prison of Columbia, and asked earnestly concerning him. By this time his sister Marjorie, with three years added to her stature, but still in her teens, entered the room, and, looking fixedly at the stranger's solemn countenance, exclaimed, with a thrilling outcry: "Why, that's Will!" The spell was broken, and mother and son, sister and brother, amid smiles and sobs, embraced, and the young soldier, "who was dead and is alive," was welcomed to the fond hearts of those who had grieved over his loss.

Filial and fraternal love was a trait in Glazier's character which claims a few words. A dutiful son and an affectionate brother, he had never neglected an opportunity of assisting and furthering the interests of his family. Before entering the army he had contributed of his scant earnings as a teacher towards the education of his three sisters, and during his service in the war had, from time to time, as he received his pay, made remittances home for the same unselfish purpose. On being mustered out of the army, the government had paid him the sum of $500, and this sum he now generously handed over to his parents to be also expended in perfecting the education of his sisters.

Lieutenant Glazier now hastened to report himself to the commanding officer of his regiment, and displayed all his wonted energy and devotion to the cause of the Union. He served faithfully and honorably until the mighty hosts of the Federal army melted back into quiet citizenship, with nothing to distinguish them from other citizens but their scars and the proud consciousness of having SERVED AND SAVED THEIR COUNTRY.

* * * * *

This brief history of the military career of a remarkable man would not be complete without some account of his life subsequent to the dissolution of the great army of volunteers. Willard Glazier's conduct as a soldier formed an earnest of his future good citizenship--his devotion to duty at the front, a foreshadow of his enterprise and success in the business of life.

Having been honorably mustered out, he lost no time in looking about for an occupation. Joining the volunteer army when a mere youth, his opportunities of learning a profession had been very limited, and he consequently now found himself without any permanent means of support. His education had been necessarily interrupted by the breaking out of the war, and his chief anxiety, now that the struggle was over, was to enter college and complete his studies.

This desire was very intense in our young citizen-soldier, and absorbed all his thoughts; but where to find the means for its accomplishment he was at a loss to discover. In ponderings upon this subject from day to day, an idea suddenly occurred to him, which formed an epoch in his life, and the development of which has proved it to have been the basis of a successful and useful career. The _idea_ that has borne fruit was this: During the period of his service in the war he had kept a diary. Herein he had recorded his experiences from day to day, adding such brief comments as the events called for, and time and opportunity permitted. This diary he always kept upon his person, and while on a long and hurried march, or in a battle with the enemy, his _vade mecum_ would be, of necessity, occasionally neglected, no sooner did the opportunity offer than his mind wandered back over the few days' interval since the previous entry, and each event of interest was duly chronicled. Again during the period of his confinement in Southern prisons, sick, and subjected to most inhuman treatment and privation, and while escaping from his brutal captors, concealed in the swamps during the day, tired, hungry, and cold, his diary was never forgotten, albeit, the entries were frequently made under the greatest difficulties, such as to most men would have proved insurmountable.

This journal was now in his possession. He had stirred the souls of relatives and friends by reading from it accounts of bloody scenes through which he had passed; of cruelties practised upon him and his brother-patriots in Southern bastiles; of his various attempts to escape, and pursuit by blood-hounds and their barbarous masters. The story of his war experiences entranced hundreds of eager listeners around his home, and the idea that now occurred to him, while anxiously pondering the ways and means of paying his college fees, was, that his story might possibly, by the aid of his diary, be arranged in the form of a book, and if he were fortunate enough to find a sale for it, the profits would probably furnish the very thing he stood so much in need of.

Prompt in everything, the thought no sooner occurred to the young candidate for college honors than he proceeded to reduce it to action. He forthwith commenced arranging the facts and dates from the diary; constructed sentences in plain Saxon English; the work grew upon him; he "fought his battles o'er again;" was again captured, imprisoned and escaped; the work continued to grow, and at the end of six weeks' hard application, always keeping his _object_ in view, Willard Glazier, the young cavalryman, found himself an author--_i. e._, in manuscript.

Not a little surprised and gratified to discover that he possessed the gift of putting his thoughts in a readable form, he now felt hopeful that the day was not distant when the desire of his soul to enter college would be realized.