WAR REMINISCENCES CHAPTER 40

 

Captain William Saxton, Co. C, 157th Regiment, New York Volunteers.

Cortland Evening Standard, Saturday, October 17, 1903.

WAR REMINISCENCES.

By Captain Saxton of the 157th Regiment, N. Y. Vols.

CONFEDERATES ON THE RETREAT.

Comparative Losses of the Two Armies at Gettysburg—Some of the Losses from this Regiment—Burying the Dead—Vicksburg Heard From—Entertained at a Convent—Pursuing the Rebel Army on Its Retreat South.

CHAPTER 40.

   To the Editor of The Standard:

   Sir-- When the disorganized wreck of Pickett's and Pettigrew's division reached Lee's position, General Lee had the manhood to acknowledge that he had made a mistake, and said to them "It is all my fault; get together and let us do the best we can toward saving that which is left of us," and with drooping head and disheartened spirit he proceeded to reorganize his line preparatory to repelling a counter charge should Mead make one.

   Farnsworth's brigade of Kilpatrick's cavalry came up and moved around to the left of the Union army and was joined by Merritt's brigade of Buford's division from Emmetsburg.

   At 5 p. m. after Longstreet's defeat, Kilpatrick ordered General Farnsworth with his brigade to charge the Confederate right. This he did, riding a mile through the Confederate lines from south to north. The charge was of no benefit to the Union side and General Farnsworth lost his life, being the only Union general killed inside the Confederate lines.

Effort to Gain Union Rear.

   On the right of the Union army and left of the Confederates about three miles east of Culp's hill, Confederate General Stuart, with his cavalry, attempted to gain our rear and play havoc with our trains, He was met by our General Gregg with his cavalry and a very severe cavalry fight occurred in which General Custer, with his Michigan brigade, successfully met a charge of the Confederates and drove them from the field. At night Stuart withdrew, leaving the field in our possession.

Confederates Retreat.

   Lee's forces were withdrawn from the town, Devil's Den and the Peach Orchard and he had lost the battle of Gettysburg, the greatest battle of the civil war and of modern times.

   In this battle there were actually present on the, Union aide about 85,000 men and on the Confederate 71,000. In the attacks Lee concentrated more troops than the Union side had at those particular points opposed to him.

Comparative Losses.

   The Union army lost 3,155 killed, 14,529 wounded and 5,365 missing or captured; total 23,049. Of the killed only those who died on the field are counted. If those who were mortally wounded and subsequently died were reckoned among the killed it would swell the number to 5,091. The losses on the second day were more than the losses of the first and third days combined.

   The Confederate loss was 2,592 killed, 12,709 wounded, 5,150 captured; total, 20,451; although Alexander Stephens' history says the losses were as follows:

   Union, 2,834 killed, 13,523 wounded and 6,643 missing—total, 23,000; Confederate 5,000 killed, 23,000 wounded and 8,000 missing—total, 36,000.

   This number of wounded does not include the slightly wounded, as General Lee had ordered that in the reports only those who were unfitted for duty should be reported wounded; neither does the list of killed include those who, being mortally wounded, fell into our hands and subsequently died. Had the losses on each side been reported in the same manner they would not have differed very materially.

   The Army of the Potomac captured thirty-eight battle flags and lost seven pieces of artillery.

Loss in the 157th.

   I cannot refrain from here giving a list of the killed and mortally wounded in the One Hundred Fifty-seventh New York during this battle: Lieutenant Colonel George Arrowsmith, Lieutenant Joseph F. Henney, Adj., (two); Company A—Privates Lewis B. Leigh and James F. McLaughlin (two); Company B—Sergeant William Harrington and Privates William L. Bart, Eugene W. Campbell, Timothy Dean, Harrison H. Whitman and Andrew Yan (six); Company C—Corporal Henry Coffin and Corporal Jerry Johnson and Privates Frederick G. Brooks, Dallas W. Gazlay, Simeon Rainbow, Isaac Rorabacker and John Smith (seven); Company D—Sergeants I. Leroy Markham and Clark Stickney and Privates William W. Carpenter, George W. Conner, Emory Gifford, John B. Owen, Morris I. Shattuck and Amos C. Topping (eight); Company E—Captain Jaron K. Backus, Corporal James E. Joyner, Privates Miles A, Culver, Francis E. Eaton, Thomas Haley, John P. Houpt, Alfred D. Wilson, (seven); Company F—Corporal Daniel M. Torrey (one); Company G—Captain Harrison Frank, Privates Albert D. Bridge, John A. Hart, Luzerne E. Johnson, James McDugall, Durrell More (six); Company H—Captain George A. Adams, Corporal Philander Stone, Privates Eugene McKevitt, Joseph G. Wiggans (four); Company I—Lieutenant Randall D. Lower, Corporal Horace Anguish, Privates Jonas Bonney, John Butler, Albert Hatch, Parden Patrick, Martin Snyder, Henry L. Wenbau, (eight); Company K—Privates Broughton Hough, Wallace Patchin, James L. Pierce (three); total, fifty-four, or twelve per cent. You will notice seven of them are from Company C.

   I do not have the names of those of our regiment who were wounded or taken prisoner, neither do I have the names of the seven men (including myself) who were all that were left of Company C. One I distinctly remember was Leroy Dyer. He went through the fight all right and marched back with us as far as Hagerstown. There he was taken sick and sent to the hospital at Annapolis and among the first notices I received after arriving in South Carolina was an official communication from the hospital stating that he was dead. The tremendous nervous strain of those three days of fighting was too much for him and when it let up he collapsed.

Letter on Battlefield.

   I wrote a letter to my father on the third day while we were at the rear, giving an account of the losses in our company and of the regiment so far as l knew, and sent it by one of the teamsters who mailed it at York, Pa. This letter reached Cincinnatus, N. Y., on Saturday the 4th, and was the first definite news that had reached them from the battlefield. They knew a great battle was in progress, but did not know any of the particulars. The good people were so hungry for news from their boys that this letter was read from the pulpit in all the churches the next day. Hon. B. F. Tillinghast started early on Monday morning for Gettysburg to render what assistance he could to the wounded and dying of our company. When he arrived, we of the living had marched away, but a great army of dead and wounded were left behind. Pause a moment and think. Let your minds take in, if possible the awful fact that more than thirty-three thousand men were killed and wounded in that one battle.

   "Passed away before life's noon.

   Who shall say they died too soon?

   Ye who mourn, O cease from tears!

   Deeds like these outlast the years."

Vicksburg Surrenders.

   July 4—This was the day Vicksburg surrendered. We did not know it then but learned of it afterward. The One Hundred Fifty-seventh squad moved up toward the front. Our forces occupied the town and a good many prisoners were marched to the rear past us. In the afternoon it rained hard and we got quite wet.

Burying the Dead.

   Sunday, July 5.—We marched to the front. The Confederates had gone. Our forces were occupied burying the dead and caring for the wounded. We were not taken to where the worst fighting had been done and so were spared the awful sight that there presented itself. One of Company C's men, Mason K. Messenger, was detailed with the prisoners and he told me of the awful sights and stench that arose. We saw enough of the wreck of that battle to satisfy our curiosity in that direction for a life time. Dead horses swollen to bursting in that July sun were lying all around. It took a large force of men working several days to burn and bury the dead animals. Broken gun carriages, knapsacks, haversacks, guns and other wreckage were strewn thickly around. It was a great relief when toward evening we started in the direction of Emmetsburg and camped in a piece of woods about 11 p. m. The rain had made the roads very muddy.

Some Pleasant Soldiering.

   July 6—Continued our march at daylight and near night stopped at Emmetsburg. Fifteen men and myself were detailed to guard the fine buildings of the St. Mary's convent managed by the Sisters of Charity. We were quartered in a large barn. The sisters were very kind and thoughtful, and each man on post was furnished a nice lunch some time during his two hours duty. This continued throughout the night with each relief. That was the kind of soldiering the boys liked, but the good sisters, not being military men, did not know they had overlooked one who could enjoy a good lunch as well as any private could and that was the sergeant of the guard. The only satisfaction the sergeant could get out of it was that he knew personally that it was not always thus, and so he had no scruples in filling his canteen with good fresh milk from several Jersey cows stabled in said barn. In fact he felt so well pleased that he actually delayed giving orders to fall in the next morning until each guard had filled his canteen from the same source.

   July 7.—We marched away at 3 o'clock with blessings on the Sisters of Charity. Whether they returned those blessings when they came to milk those cows I am unable to say.

   These good sisters were among the first to arrive on the Gettysburg battlefield with a wagon loaded with provisions and other necessities for our poor wounded, and they were untiring in their labor of love, caring for the wounded of both sides.

Pursuing the Johnnies.

   Evidently we were after the Johnnies in earnest for they marched us long and hard. The One Hundred Fifty-seventh squad was provost guard. When within five miles of Frederick City we turned to the right without regard to roads and marched through the fields over the Catoctin mountains. When we reached the top we could see Middletown and it seemed only a short distance away; but by the time we had reached the foot of the range on the western side it was dark and we seemed farther away than two hours before. It now began to rain hard and it seemed as though Middletown was receding from us.

   We plodded on in the downpour and some time after 9 o'clock we reached the town, and in the darkness I selected a barn for my headquarters and Company C boys appropriated the haymow for a bed chamber. We had made one of the longest marches in our history, some thirty-two miles or more.

   July 8.—By the move the day before Meade had thrown his army between Lee and Washington. When we awoke the next morning it was still raining and I went to the house and reported where we had lodged and for 25 cents secured a first-class breakfast—the first regular home meal I had enjoyed since I first crossed the Potomac.

   After doing ample justice to the good woman's breakfast I hunted up the regiment and as it still continued to rain, went back to the barn and slept during the forenoon.

   The first Corps passed through town and I saw some of the Seventy-sixth New York boys who were left, also my friend Charley Bowen of the Forty-fourth New York of the Fifth Corps.

   We then marched to Boonsborough, west of the other part of the range of the Blue Ridge mountains, where there was some cavalry fighting. On the 9th we were relieved by the Sixth Corps and marched back to Boonsborough Gap. Saw my cousin, Henry Gould, one of the One Hundred Fifty-fourth New York, and learned something of the losses in his regiment. They lay right back of us in the cemetery at Gettysburg.

Major Carmichael in Command.

   Quite a number of changes were made in our corps; among them, the One Hundred Fifty-seventh squad was transferred to the second brigade of the first division. Colonel Brown took command of brigade and Major Carmichael of the regiment. This was only a temporary arrangement. We marched about five miles beyond Boonsborough.

   July 11.—Drew sixty rounds of cartridges and secured some guns for some unarmed men who returned to us from detail.

   July 12.—Marched at daylight in the direction of Hagerstown. When within two miles the regiment was deployed as skirmishers and soon met the Johnnies and a hot skirmish ensued. The Confeds ran a battery out on the gallop and shelled us with "great vigor all along the line," as the colonel used to say. Fortunately, none of the One Hundred Fifty-seventh were hit. We drove them through the town and General Custer, with his brigade of cavalry coming up, chased them still farther back toward Williamsport, where they had thrown up entrenchments. This was the first and only time I ever saw General Custer with his long yellow hair.

   We stayed in the city all day and were quartered in the town hall. The citizens seemed very glad to see us and brought out bread and butter, pie and other good things to eat.

   At night we moved back and joined the brigade not far from the old Antietam battle ground.

   The 13th we lay still all day. The 14th we marched back through Hagerstown and on to Williamsport on the Potomac, but Lee's army had gotten safely across, except a few prisoners that were taken. Another rain during the night.

   July 15.—At daylight we are on the back track again, disappointed. The men had been very anxious to press Lee's army and capture or destroy it before he crossed back into Virginia again. I have never met an enlisted man yet who was in the battle of Gettysburg who at that time did not have this great desire to pitch into Lee again and destroy his army. All wondered why Mead did not rush at him.

   We passed through Hagerstown again, and at night reached Middletown once more. It had been very hot and many fell out. We made a march between twenty-five and thirty miles.

   July 16.—As soon as daylight came we started toward Jefferson. Passed on through the town and stopped within a few miles of Harper's Ferry. W. S.