Part 6

It was in the night of the 2nd that some vagrant members of Scott's Nine Hundred, that redoubtable New York cavalry body, which in December had cleaned out Higgins' store, came back to do it again. On guard was F. R. W. Hall of Company F whose brother, Eben A., was performing similar duty in a neighboring building. "Whiskey" was the battle cry of the New Yorkers and they sailed in to wreck things. At first, to oppose them, was only "A little red-headed guard" and they soon found that that _Hall_ could neither be hired nor scared, though he was extremely happy to find soon at his side the brother, supposed to be in another place. Both boys were "Sons of Temperance" and they proved to the rummies that, once at least, prohibition prohibited, for the Halls managed to keep the mob out till Lieutenant Paul appeared with the reserve guard; even then the raiders did not subside, for they formed under their leader preparatory to a fight. Not having their cavalry outfit with them, they gave way to discretion, always the better part of valor; and all the more readily when Lieutenant Paul gave the order to charge, and they rapidly disappeared in the darkness. They had succeeded in smashing all of the windows, however, and almost unroofing Hall, whose gory scalp was proclaimed the first case of bloodshed for the Regiment. Though Higgins might have been a rebel, he doubtless was, the boys were set to protect and they always obeyed orders.

The 5th of January beheld the return of Colonel Davis to the Regiment, the command of the brigade devolving on Col. A. B. Jewett, of the Tenth Vermont, who after all these weeks had discovered that his commission antedated that of our Colonel just one day and there were people so uncharitable as to intimate that he had had the document redated just for this special purpose. Though there may have been those who did not altogether love Colonel Davis, because of his excessive devotion to drill, and the rigors of a soldier's life, all were as one in their admiration of his military bearing and his fitness for the head of the brigade, while his successor was notably lacking in all such characteristics. The Colonel made his first reappearance at dress parade and was greeted with a round of hearty cheers. In the evening he was honored by the Regiment's gathering round his quarters, accompanied by the band of the Fourteenth New Hampshire. The serenade prompted the officer to make a very happy speech, thanking everybody for progress in the past and urging a continuance in the same commendable direction. That the head of the Regiment was deeply interested in the welfare of his command was evident to every man.

The month was not entirely devoid of interest and the sham-battle between the battery and a portion of Scott's Nine Hundred (Eleventh New York Cavalry), on the 6th, roused the admiration of all onlookers to a high pitch; the rapid firing of the guns and the shouts of the charging cavalry gave the boys a notion of what the real thing must be, an impression rendered all the more vivid by the accidental wounding of several of the combatants, through premature discharges and too close proximity of certain ones. The endless round of all sorts of drill was rendered less irksome by the remembrance of those at home who were constantly sending choice bits of food for the delectation of their dear ones in the field and, to crown all, on the 17th, came seventeen barrels of apples for the Woburn company, right from the town that had first produced the famous Baldwin apple, and the generosity of the "K" boys was unstinted in distributing their pomological treasures among their less fortunate friends. Sunday, the 18th, some three hundred or more of the men repaired to the Presbyterian Church for religious service, expecting to hear the Chaplain, but in his stead, Private Batcheller, one of the older members of Company B, preached, a fact well illustrating the diversity of talent among American soldiers.

[Sidenote: Jan. 20, '63]

The "knapsack-drill" of January 20th has lodgement in the minds of many, the Colonel ordering that the 1 p. m. company drill be executed in heavy marching order. Considerable growling and grumbling were heard in the progress of the duty, and at its end Companies F and G gave three rousing cheers for "knapsack-drill," an act that roused the ire of the officer so that the companies were ordered on an hour's drill without cessation. At the end of the battalion-drill, the Regiment was formed in solid square and Colonel Davis very clearly explained to the men his reasons for the heavy task imposed, dwelling on his mortification at the episode of the morning. He said that whatever had been done as yet, it was only a prelude to what must follow and he desired the men to become inured to fatigue through such exercises as those of the earlier hour, concluding his words by the remark that if they would act like men, they would receive corresponding usage from him. The next three days were marked by a very severe rain storm; tents went down before it, and the sheds for the stalling of the wagon-train mules, some one hundred and thirty in number, fell in upon the animals. Covered with straw, and saturated with rain, the burden became too great and the calamity followed, luckily not to the fatal injury of any of the beasts. The 25th being Sunday, it is recorded that some of the men went to prayer meeting and that in the afternoon the Chaplain preached, though his auditors were chiefly from Company A, the one in which he had enlisted. Of the 29th and 30th, it is told that a snow storm that would have befitted Vermont or New Hampshire raged, much to the discomfort of those on guard, while others had not only to clear the company street but to free the parade ground for brigade inspection, the same coming on the afternoon of the 31st and being conducted by Col. Robert Wilson, of the Fourteenth New Hampshire, Colonel Davis acting Brigadier-General, in the absence of Colonel Jewett.

February proved to be a stormy month, severe snow storms reminding the men of the climate at home, but guard rounds had to be maintained, no matter what the weather might be. On Monday, the 2nd, a battalion of the Sixth Michigan Cavalry, Major Kenyon, appeared, and became a part of the local Union force. Armed with the very latest of breechloading carbines, they had every sign of ability to put up a good fight with whatever foe the future might develop. Very likely no event of the month gave the soldiers any more enjoyment than the coming of the paymaster on the 6th, with the money that the Regiment had been looking for so long and anxiously. "He took us all by surprise," says one writer, "coming on the grounds at 3 p. m., with his four-horse team." While a considerable part of the sum received went into the tills of local dealers and of the sutler, by far the larger part was sent home for the comfort of loved ones there, Company K sending thus fully $2300. The payment was only to the first of November, and it was the first coming of the dispenser of Uncle Sam's compensation since leaving Massachusetts. He was employed two days in passing out the money.

[Sidenote: FEB., '63]

One of the episodes of this snowy Poolesville winter was the effort that a certain notable member of Company ---- made to get out of the army. On account of a certain grievance, real or fancied, he simulated insanity so perfectly that there was a pretty general agreement that he had lost his head. Having committed to memory the entire contents of the American First Class Reader, he would station himself in the middle of the parade ground and in the stillness of the night hours declaim from the reader; even Colonel Davis began to think his man had lost his reason. Had the soldier stopped here or had his readiness to say a good thing, regardless of consequences, been under better control, his ruse probably would have succeeded. In the system of rigid camp neatness, a barrel for night refuse was provided for every company, to be carried off each morning; to the increased astonishment of his comrades our declaimer now added fishing to his pranks and most soberly bobbed for bites in the filthy liquid. Finally Colonel Davis, after watching the performance from the tent of a company officer, approached the fisherman and asked what he was doing. "Fishing, sir," was the sober reply. "What do you expect to catch?" says the Colonel; "My discharge, sir." It was there that the man fell down, but he never could resist the temptation to make an apt reply. Plenty of hard work soon restored the orator and emulator of Izaak Walton to all of his normal senses and to becoming a model soldier.

During these days a strange rumor gained credence, viz., that the Regiment, with the Fortieth and Forty-first was to be assigned to the nine months' quota, the Government having found that the State had exceeded its three years' allotment by three regiments. If the origin of such insane propositions could be ascertained a great boon would be conferred upon humanity, since many a man found himself most grievously disappointed when the whole affair was recognized as an illusion. A great snow storm began on the 17th, and for twenty-four hours raged fiercely, changing finally into rain, which effectually removed what otherwise would have occasioned many a backache; the men counted the time well spent in checkers, cards and other camp diversions, in place of regular drill. It was a sorry time though for those on guard. The 20th brought pleasure to the quarters of Colonel Davis, for, on this day, his wife came to pay him a visit. Washington's birthday brought another old fashioned storm of wind and snow, testing fully the texture and endurance of the Sibley tents; fuel was scarce also, and, orders to the contrary notwithstanding, neighboring fence rails found their way into the fireplaces, thus giving a measure of comfort to the shivering occupants. The only official notice of the day was the firing of a salute by Sleeper's Battery, thirty-four guns, the report of which could hardly be heard above the roar of the storm.

As soon as the storm abated there was the usual heavy detail of men from the several companies for the purpose of clearing the streets and parade ground, the wisdom of such procedure had, by this time, become apparent to the men, since they could go about their several duties dry shod, while neighboring regiments plodded with wet feet through the slush and mud which followed the disappearance of the rapidly melting snow. Experience and observation are the best of teachers. A very pleasant instance of camp amenities was exhibited in this month, when First Sergeant Oscar Persons, of Company K, having been promoted to a second Lieutenancy and assigned to Company D, was presented by his late comrades with the equipments essential to his new position. The presentation was made by Lieutenant Wyman, and the recipient very happily responded. The ever obliging band of the Fourteenth New Hampshire accompanied the men on their errand of love, and discoursed music fitting to the occasion. The month ended with the bi-monthly muster for pay, the same making the Government just four months in arrears.

[Sidenote: MARCH 17, '63]

March will not be much, if any, improvement on the preceding month. The demand for fuel to supply heat for cooking and also for rendering the tents comfortable makes it necessary for details to go further and further from camp, and it is very fortunate that so much of the country has been allowed to grow up to forests. All men have to take their portion of the chopping exercise and in the performance of all camp duties. Possibly there was some abatement in drill on account of the weather and consequent condition of the grounds, and if the wearied soldiers were allowed a little more time in quarters, they accounted it no real loss. Pertaining to the variable character of the March weather, and illustrative of certain most admirable racial characteristics, Abijah Thompson, of "K," tells the story of a certain Irishman among the Woburn boys, the very best natured lad in the company, who was on guard duty in the midst of one of the hardest downpours of that torrential period. The weather, however, made no difference with Colonel Davis, for his regular rounds were made, rain or shine; when he neared Patrick the latter faced the officer, presented arms and said, "Good marnin, Kurnel! It's a foin mornin' this, if wan't for the rain." 'Tis said the Colonel laughed so hard he almost fell off his horse. Both February and March witnessed a steady coming into the lines of rebel soldiers, really deserters, whom it was necessary to escort down to the City of Washington. To serve on the squad which thus guarded the men-in-gray to the Capital was considered to be a privilege. Also in this month, the authorities pursuing their investigations determined that several so-called Union citizens of the vicinity were really sympathizers with the South, and for such reasons a Mr. Pleasants and Colonel Leonards were arrested and sent to the old Capital prison.

The 17th was "house cleaning" day and, the tents having been removed from the stockades and everything carried out, the spaces were carefully inspected by the surgeon, the lieut. colonel and Captain J. Henry Sleeper of the Battery; the report of the officers was very complimentary to the Regiment. Whatever the coincidence, the event had no connection with the British evacuation of Boston nor with St. Patrick's day. The two months were notable in the number of furloughs that officers and men obtained for trips back to Massachusetts, not long ones, but sufficient for a taste of home comforts and a sight of the dear ones there. The month ended with the severest storm of the season, the snow falling in great quantities, but at the period of the equinox, snow cannot be expected to remain a very great while and it departed more rapidly than it came. An observer on the spot wrote thus in his journal for the 31st, "Woke up and found the ground covered with snow; realization of the sunny South is very different from what I had fancied it."

April found the Thirty-ninth still in its Poolesville camp, that is, when its members were not out on picket and other duties, the same extending a long way up as well as down the Potomac. The weather was as variable as ever, a mixture of good, bad and indifferent, yet through it all the regiment maintained a fair condition of health. "Many jokes and sells, for it was All Fools' Day," was the entry in a certain diary for the first day of the month, and what nonsense a thousand men of military age could not devise on such an occasion, it would be difficult to imagine. The 2d was the regular New England Fast Day, and a holiday was proclaimed by the Colonel, for which he received the mental if not verbal thanks of all the "boys" who proceeded to enjoy the day to the limit. Probably as large a proportion of the regiment attended the religious services at 11 a. m., conducted by Chaplain French, as were present at similar exercises at home churches in distant Massachusetts. However this may have been, there was no failure in taking part in the races, sparring-matches and various games, or at least witnessing them. The baseball game was between the men of Sleeper's Battery and those selected from the Thirty-ninth with the honors remaining with the Infantry, though the cannoniers were supposed to be particularly skillful in the throwing of balls.

[Sidenote: APR. 11, '63]

The 5th of April found the ground again covered with a heavy fall of snow, and though it departed quickly it left a deal of mud and discomfort generally. The roads and by-paths were not so well drained as the grounds of our Bay State regiment. Thanks to the careful annalist, we know that the new bakery was in working order on the 8th and that the first batch of bread was to be baked that night. Too bad that it had not come earlier or that any necessity for its coming at all existed when the entire camp was so near the army bakery of Washington. Once more rumors became current that moving day was near, and Saturday, the 11th, it was given out that seven days' rations would be drawn on Monday, the 13th, preparatory to departure. A target shoot marked this last Saturday in the Poolesville camp. Sunday was a beautiful spring day, though not as quiet as the day might be elsewhere, for the bustle of preparation was evident on all sides. The ever welcome band of the New Hampshire Regiment made the time pass all the more rapidly with its vibrant melody. There were just two days more in Camp Davis and then came the change.

A RAINY MARCH

The first orders were to the effect that the whole brigade was to move, but these were so far modified that only the Thirty-ninth was to go, though the New Hampshire Regiment followed later. Washington was known to be the destination, and provost duty was understood to be the occupation. The start was made in the midst of a driving rain, a fact, however, which did not prevent the Granite State friends and those of the Battery thronging about to wish their comrades a "God-speed." It was pretty generally understood that the Thirty-ninth was selected as the first to go because of the rasping relations, as to priority of commissions,[D] existing between the respective colonels of the two regiments.

The storm did not prevent the New Hampshire band from turning out to give us a hearty send-off and there was need of it, since the general sentiment, long before the halt for the night came, was "the hardest yet." "Now came an awful march through mud and water up to our knees; many straggled behind, while others found it easier going ahead of the Regiment." A stop for dinner was made in a wood by the roadside, and by patience and care fires were made for the preparation of coffee, and then we were off again till at a distance of fourteen miles from Camp Davis, about three miles from Rockville, a very moist camping place was found in some pine woods, and such rest as saturated garments would permit was sought beneath the protecting cover of shelter-tents though many, utterly miserable in their soaked condition, preferred to stand before great fires which they had coaxed into burning. Others, more thoughtful, but less careful as to orders, had taken the opportunity to seek cover in barns and other places of refuge along the way, some even getting good lodgings in dwelling houses, all confident that they could easily overtake the Regiment after a night's rest and drying. Appreciation of Maryland villages or hamlets was at the lowest ebb, one observer charactering Dawsonville as a place of one house, a blacksmith shop and a few other tumbledown buildings, while Darnstown was considered appropriately named without further comment.

The morning of the 16th came none too soon, and many of the boys who were getting great lessons in the "school of the soldier," started off before the regimental orders to march were given at 9 o'clock, the rain continuing to fall, though not with all the emphasis and continuity of yesterday. Those who had the money and started early enough obtained excellent breakfasts in Rockville, the county seat of Montgomery County, and by far the prettiest village these blue clad wanderers had seen since passing through New Jersey, an opinion coincided with by more than one regiment in subsequent months. Here began a new experience since, thence onward to the Capital, the road was macadamized which, however much dryer it might be for the feet, soon began to make them exceedingly sore, more trying even than the muddy roads thus far encountered. While thus advancing on Washington, the headquarter's wagon was met on its way to Poolesville and, on the order of Colonel Davis, the mail belonging to the Regiment was taken out and distributed to the men, a most cheerful episode in an otherwise very dreary day.

[Sidenote: APR. 16, '63]

Whatever the speed of the men who marched ahead of the Regiment, they were all held up by the vigilant guards at the first post of the pickets who were stationed around the entire city. This was a few miles before reaching Tenallytown and, at the post, the advance stragglers awaited the coming of the main body. Showers had been intermittent throughout the day and, after a march of sixteen miles, the drenched sons of Massachusetts were pleased to reach the above named place, practically a Maryland village, though within the confines of the District of Columbia. In or near the village was a large edifice, used as a retreat for the priests and pupils of Georgetown College during the summer season, and here the bedraggled Regiment found refuge, reaching it through the great fortifications which surrounded the city, portions of which had been seen on the Virginia side of the Potomac, the nearest forts being Reno and Gaines. That straggling was common became apparent when an entire company found ample space in a single room, whose comforts were all the more comfortable as the men heard the rain which persisted through the most of the night.

"Somewhere the sun is shining" never had a more hearty greeting than when, after so many hours of pitiless pelting, the morning of the 17th dawned clear and bright. Naturally there were orders to dry and clean up, the house grates affording opportunity for one, and our own industry accomplishing the other. It was ten o'clock when the start was made, but alas for human expectations! In vain were all of our burnishings, for the mud, Georgetown-way, was simply bottomless, and long ere the latter city was reached, the Thirty-ninth looked even worse than it did when Tenallytown was attained, though in their anxiety to retain the morning's polish, in several cases dividing fences were broken down that men might march between the street-fence and the houses, thus getting out of some of the mud. The ineffective rage of some of the protesting housewives is still remembered. But an excess of mud and water could not efface the results of months of the hardest kind of discipline and when "company front, by the right into line" was heard, it was obeyed with a readiness and unanimity that would have delighted the great Frederick and, baggage-burdened, mud-bespattered and wearied with forty-eight hours of most trying marching, the Regiment acquitted itself most admirably through the streets and avenues of Washington. At last the men realized the value of their arduous labors on the drilling-grounds of Poolesville; they believed in their Colonel and his associate officers, and when they saw their lines as an arrow straight, every one, in spite of all obstacles, keeping perfect step, best of all they believed in themselves.

FOOTNOTES:

[D] Reference to the records of the officers, as given in the archives of Vermont and Massachusetts, shows that Colonel Davis was commissioned August 29, 1862, and Colonel Jewett on the 26th, though the document was not issued until the 30th. Since possession is universally considered nine points of law, it would seem that the burden of evidence was on the side of the Massachusetts Colonel.

WASHINGTON.