Sixty-one
miles to
Williamsport.
From the Regimental History:
Wednesday Oct. 9 [Darnestown] Orders received to march
to-morrow. Much joy thereat.
Notwithstanding our beautiful camp, we were glad to break the monotony
of camp life. The hats are
disappearing. The comical shapes into which some of them are
turned excites a good deal of merriment.
Thursday, Oct. 10. Marched to Hyattstown, fifteen miles, and
bivouacked. Another batch of hats
gone. We now march like veterans, it is said.
 Friday Oct. 11.
Marched to Frederick City, thirteen
miles, and bivouacked in a jail-yard. It rained
hard. The few hats that remained seemed to be
ashamed of themselves. During a temporary cessation of the
rain we had dress parade before a large crowd
of people who had gathered about us.
Saturday, Oct. 12 At 1 P.M. resumed the march in company with the
[Twelfth] Indiana regiment and Captain
Matthew’s battery, [2nd Pa.] which accompanied us from Darnestown.
Bivouacked at Boonsboro’ after a march of seventeen miles. During the
last two days a pleasant rivalry
had been excited as to the marching abilities of the two
regiments. Although we were much heavier loaded
than the Twelfth, we were in too good shape to be beaten.
Both regiments enjoyed the excitement.
Sunday, Oct. 13. Marched at 9 A.M. for Williamsport, sixteen
miles, where we arrived about 4 P.M.
Pitched our tents for the first time since leaving Darnestown. Wondered
what had become of General
McClellan’s order, of September 15th, about marching on
Sundays. Later on, when his downfall was
announced, it was no surprise to the men who marched this
day.
Monday Oct. 14. Put things to rights in camp. Paymaster
arrived; he to whom we all bow with obsequious
respect. A paymaster’s arrival will produce more joy in camp than is
said to have been produced in heaven
over the one sinner that repenteth.
Tues., Oct. 15. Received the first installment of mint-drops
from the government, and found them a balm
for every woe. They threw a lustre on the camp such as we had
not seen since the last brass-mounted hat
had departed. Company B detailed for provost duty in the town. (Drawing by
Charles Roundy courtesy of the Army Heritage & Education
Center, Carlisle, Pennsylvania).
Two
Letters Describing
the March to Williamsport
|
Chelsea Telegraph and Pioneer, November 9,
1861.
(Letter
transcriptions taken from the now defunct web-site
"Letters of the Civil War").
THIRTEENTH MASSACHUSETTS
Williamsport, Md., Oct. 30th, 1861.
To the Editor of the Chelsea Pioneer:
We
started for this place with six other Cos. Of this Regt. Oct.
10th and after marching 15 miles – passing through Clarksburg – we
arrived at Hyattstown, where we
bivouacked for the night in a drizzling rain. The next
morning we took up our line of march for Frederick
City – arrived at Frederick at 6 o’clock p.m., and slept on the
“Frederick County Fair
Grounds.” During the night it commenced to rain, so we all
crept into the pens and stalls
previously used for hogs and horses; but we were glad to get any place
to sleep, as we had marched 14 miles
that day. Next morning we left for Boonsboro’, distance 16
miles; after six hours’ marching,
we arrived at Boonsboro’. There we encamped for the night,
and on Sunday evening, Oct. 13th, we
arrived at this place (Williamsport), after marching 61 miles with
knapsack, - the longest march we have
experienced. We were all tired enough to lie down and
sleep. But after a march there is always
plenty of work to be done, - such as pitching tents, unpacking wagons,
bringing wood and water for our supper,
&c., so it was very late before we could get asleep.
Tuesday, Oct. 15th, - Capt. Cary is
appointed Provost marshal of Williamsport, and Co. B
are the Provost Guard. We have better times than the rest of
the Regt., as we are quartered in a large
stone house in the town and manage to keep warm and
comfortable. We have very heavy frost, and
sleeping in tents is not very desirable.
Friday, Oct. 25th. This morning
about 2 o’clock, six Cos. Of our Regt. with
three Cos. of cavalry and two pieces of artillery crossed the river
into Virginia, and went insight of
Martinsburg. On the road they encountered the enemy’s
pickets, and were fired upon by them.
Our boys returned the fire, and shot one secesh horseman through the
thigh. He was made prisoner, and brought
to our quarters. He told me that he had been in the Confederate army
three days, and was pressed into it.
But this is the story most of them tell when they are caught.
Yesterday a deserter from the Martinsburg
mounted rifles came across the river and delivered himself up to the
Provost marshal, saying he wished to join
the Union army. Every day some of them desert and come across
at various points of the river.
We are expecting to have hard fighting very
soon; reinforcements are expected here every
day, to join us and cross the river.
Chelsea Boy
Co. B., 13th Regt., M.V.
|
Letter
of James Ramsey, Company E; giving details
of the march.
|
Head Quarters 13th Regt. Rifles, Mass. Vol.
Williamsport, Md. Oct. 13th 1861.
Dear Father,
I received a letter from Ella and from John
McCrilles on our march from Darnestown to
Fredricks city about 5 miles from our old camp. I was glad to
hear from home it cheered me up for 60
miles march. It took us two days to march to Fredrick, the
first night of our march we encamped near
Hyattstown in a wood and it rained pretty hard. The next
evening we reached Fredrick and encamped in the
Fairgrounds. I slept the first part of the night on the roof
of a sheep pen but it rained so hard that I
was soon soaked through and had to leave my bed and go to some dryer
quarters. I went into the barracks
occupied by the Maryland volunteers they were very kind to us they give
up their beds to us and built fires in
the barracks. The barracks are very strong built, they were
built by the English in the time of the
revolution. Next morning I went out of the camp and took a
walk around the city it is not very large city
it is about a mile long. There was a peace meeting in one of
the halls and some of our boys went into it
and give three cheers for the union and the president of the meeting
called for order and said put them out,
our boys called them rebels and the president had to adjourn the
meeting. We left Fredricks at one o’
clock and marched 16 miles that day in 6 hours only resting 4 times we
halted that night in Boonsborough on our
way from Fredricks to Boonsborough we passed through Middleton a very
pretty town we were escorted through by a
company of Home guards the ladies presented the officers with
boquets. By the way, We were marching with
an Indianna regiment, the 12th. When we started they thought
they were going to walk over us but they
soon found out their mistake before we made our first halt for the
night we left them way behind they said that
they had marched with the Mass 12th and 2d, and had left them behind
but we could beat anything in marching, we
marched into Fredricks with them they started next day two hours before
us for Boonsborough without knapsacks
we marched with knapsacks and was a half hour behind them.
That night we had to sleep out on the ground it
was pretty cold our cooks were cooking all night for the rest of the
march. Next morning and Sunday
morning but we had to march all the same we started with the Indianna
and when we come into Williamsport they
were a half a mile behind us and they are called the best marching
regiment in the division but I gess they
arnt now they found their match this time. When we were in
Boonsbourough our 2d Lieut was informed
that there was a gun belonging to our regiment in possession
of one of the inhabitants he took three men
with him and went to the house and searched the house and found all of
the equipments a knapsack and
haversack. The gun was marked with the name of Stewart on the
strap. Stewart used to belong to our
company, when we marched through Boonsbourough on our way to Sandy Hook
we missed him and thought he had
deserted. We enquired of the man if he knew anything about
Stewart, he said he heard a gun fired that
night up in the woods and when he went up there he found the knapsack
hung up in a tree and the other
things laying around we think their is foul play for on that
same march when we passed through Middleton
the rear guard was about a mile behind us and they were fired at by a
man but they did not think anything of it
at the time. Oct. 14th. Last night it was quite
cold here and we had all we could do to keep warm.
To day our company is on guard. I am on the third relief
which goes on at one o’clock and stays
till three. There are three regiments ordered to report to
Gen’ Banks. We have heard Gen
Banks with all of his command has crossed the river and taken
Leesburg with a gun fired the same day we
left Darnestown. Williamsport is a very pretty place it is
right on the river bank our camp is back on a
hill as I set now in my tent writing I can see some of the
houses and the sp steeple of a meeting house
and the Virginia side of the river they say there is a brigade of
rebels encamped over their. We expect
to march over before this week is over. The people of
Williamsport say they will build barracks for us if
we stay and guard the town. We may stop here
sometime. I hope so. We are only six miles from  Hagerstown
and hereafter you must Direct
your letters to Williamsport Md. No division you must not
direct them to Washington. We are 80 miles or
over from Washington so they would not send a mail that distance with a
railroad. I have a great many
things I would like to say about our march but I have not got time to
spare one thing on the road from
Boonsborough there is a place in the road called the Devil’s backbone
the road is about the usual width
and on each side is a river running in opposite directions till one of
the rivers breaks through the road and
runs into the other at the top of the road it is about a hundred feet
down to the river but the road runs down
hill till the two rivers meet here is a plan of it.
There is a rough sketch of a view
from where I am setting. The mountains in
the distance are in Virginia.
Direct your letters
Jas -
Company E 13th Mass regt
Williamsport, Md.
Ps Give my love to all.
I will write soon again
From your
Son
James.
|
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The
Camp at
Williamsport.
Letter
of James Ramsey, Company E.
|
Williamsport, Md Oct 23d
Dear Mother
I received your letter dated
the 21st 6 oclock
this morning I was glad to hear from you. Since I wrote to
you last we have moved our camp about a half a
mile from where it was before. there we could have been
shelled from the hills in Virginia now we are
protected by a hill. I like the camp ground we are in now for
some reasons, we are nearer water then we
was before. We have made an underground stove in our tent we
have made it of stone the stove part is in
the centre of the tent and covered by a large flat stone.
There is an underground flue for the smoke to
be carried out of the tent at the end of the flue is a barrel with the
bottom knocked out which serves as a
chimney. We built the first fire in it last night it worked
very well You want to know if I want
any under clothes or a blanket I can get plenty of under
clothes and another blanket. I have not
got that box yet but I may get it if it is directed right. If
a box or paper is directed to Washington it
is throne one side when it gets to Washington such is the doings of our
splendid republican government and I
gess I aint the only one that thinks so either. If you direct
the papers to the place I am in I will get
them if I don’t happen to be at the place at the time they will send
them after the regiment. If
you can get a heavy gray blanket and think it is worth while to send it
you can put it in a box and send it by
Adams express (and no other) to Hagerstown Md here
is the direction written large and very plain
Jas F. Ramsey
Company E. 13th Regiment Mass Vol
Hagerstown, Md.
Care of Capt. Pratt.
Direct letters to Williamsport, Md.
I should like to have Hugh’s
daguerotype I had a daguerotype sent to me in
a letter this morning it was taken on sheet iron about this
size. (Drawing) have you got the one I
sent to you I hope so. I was not in that fight I was 26 miles
from it only three companies are
there. I. K and C. There is some talk of
going over into Virginia I hope it is true. To day
it is pretty cold and windy there are plenty of nuts in the
woods. Last [night] some of the men had a
bivoac fire and they sat around it and cracked nuts and told stories. I
gess they had a good time. I was
pretty tired myself and went to bed early. sometimes I wish I
was at home to see the folks from New York.
I am enjoying myself very much. I never was so healthy and
fat most of the men envy me I have
gained 15 lbs. It is dinner time I cannot think of
anything more to write just now. I wish you
would send me a map of the seat of war. Give my love to all
Kiss Hugh for me
From your son James.
|
Companies
C, I & K rejoin the regiment from Harper's Ferry.
From
Austin Stearns memoirs “Three Years with Company
K” Fairleigh-Dickinson University Press; 1976, Used with Permission; (
p. 39-42).
At night we tied up at the mouth of
Antietam Creek, and resumed our journey the next
morn. When tired of riding, all we had to do was to jump off
and travel on the tow-path. Co. C, who had
the start of us by several hours, reached Williamsport before dark,
where the regiment was drawn up to receive
them, and with the band playing and colors flying they escorted them to
camp, where coffee and soft bread were
in waiting. Speeches were made and Co. C were lauded to the sky. I and
K did not arrive till after dark; only a
messenger was there to pilot us to camp, no band, no speeches, no
welcome awaited us, who had for nine long
weeks worked hard and gained for the regiment an honorable name. Co. G.
came over with coffee and in many ways
showed their interest in us; tired and without tents we laid our weary
selves down to sleep. Company C
were the lions of the hour, not enough could be said in their
praise. Chaplain Gaylord preached on the
following Sabbath, taking for his text Co. C. He could hardly
find words to express the fullness of his
love and gratitude for that noble company. “I thank God for
Co. C.,” he said; not a word did
he utter about I and K, who had labored hard and exposed their lives in
an equal degree with the favored
company. The reason for this was [that] we did not belong to the
“Fourth Batt.” That fever was
raging very hard at this time.
Our camp was about
a mile from the village in a pleasant grove just off the
Hagerstown Pike. After being here a few weeks we built
houses, as we were rather cramped for room in our
tent. We lay around within a circle with our feet
inside. If anyone from the side fartherest from
the door wanted to go out – nine times out of ten, he would step on
every man’s gut as he went out;
then there would be language used neither complimentary or of a high
order.
The second mess
thought they did not need a house, so they dug out the earth
to the depth of two feet within the tent and battened up the sides and
thought they were comfortable for the
winter. As long as the weather remained fair they
were all right, but there came a storm of rain
and the wind blew, and one night when they were sleeping sound and
thought they were all right, the earth
around the tent gave way, and down came the tent; the water ran in and
filled the hole. Out from the
debris crawled the half drowned boys, more like fish-worms than
soldiers. They got permission to go to a straw
stack a short distance from the camp. I was one of the boys of our mess
who opposed building a house, thinking
a tent would do as well; after the experience of the 2nd mess I was
heartily glad that we were so comfortably
housed.
Our cooking was
done by men detailed for that purpose, in a building or shed
made for that purpose and called the cook house.
Company
K Cook House, from W.H.
Forbush's diary. The oven
is marked with an 'X' lower right. Pictured (left to right)
is presumed to be: Dan Warren, John Flye,
& Alden Lovell, (seated).
Stearns continues:
We built an oven where we
could bake meat and beans. On the whole we lived quite
comfortably. Lyman Jones, John Flye, Dan Warren, and Alden Lovell were
the cooks for a considerable portion of
the time.
Lovell wore a pair
of over-alls which by long wear had become pretty well
saturated with grease. We used to have a good deal of sport over them,
and with him, by advising him to try
them out and make a soup, as we thought they would make a richer one
than we had had for long time, but he
would not listen to our advise and we did not have the pleasure of
partaking of an over-all soup.
Provost
Guard Duty;
Description of the Town; Letter of John B. Noyes, Co. B
MS Am 2332 (19) By Permission
of the Houghton Library, Harvard University.
Williamsport, Md., November 1, 1861
Dear Mother,
As I have a good opportunity this evening to write a few lines I take
it. Since my arrival at this place
I have written a letter to you dated the 19th, one to George of the
23d, one to Charles dated the 27th &
one to father dated the 25th ult. I have received Martha’s
letter of the 18th (on the 30th) and
fathers of the 25th on the 28th ult. In one of my letters I
asked you to send my mittens, and a pair of
stockings by express. I hope you have not sent the package,
as I have no use for the stockings as
Chandler has given me a couple of pairs of the same kind as the one you
sent me. I shall need no more for
months to come. As to the gloves I hope you will send them
forthwith, as it is by no means a warm
operation standing guard at dead of night. The stockings you
& Martha make for me will do when I get
home where I may need them. Besides there is no knowing how
long the war may last, though I hope it will
be of short duration.
I have never given you a
description of the town of Williamsport which contains within
it a goodly number of secessionists. How many open ones the
vote next week will show. We came to
Williamsport by the high road which leads from Boonsborough &
does not pass through Hagerstown, and
encamped just outside the village. As you come from camp to our
quarters you pass by the Eagle Hotel, which is
a moderate size boarding and drinking establishment. A large
number of exiled Virginians including a
sheriff of Berkley County make this hotel their exchange. The
sheriff is a very intelligent gentleman,
but most of the “crowd” are tradesmen & farmers of very
moderate attainment, their chief
occupation now being to sit all day in the bar room, taking a glass now
& then, and to walk by way of
variety 3 times a day to the dining room for the purpose of supporting
their constitutions. When their
money and credit is gone they will probably join the 1st Va. Regt, or
enlist in some of the many cavalry
companies hereabouts. I have been on guard at the town
twice. My duty is to see that no soldier
procures the draft, that oft, inebriates. Passing up the
street some distance you arrive at Wilson’
s grocery store which is at the corner, a street running by at right
angles with the main one. This store
is Post 7. I have been there twice on guard.
Turning the corner to the left you walk a few rods and
halt at the Globe a very respectable hotel where you get a dinner for
38 cents quite as good as what you pay 25
cents for at the other hotel in the place. Crossing the
street and walking towards the main street you
pass Ma’m Longs candy and fruit store & turn in at the
apothecary’s shop and post office.
The store is well stocked for Maryland & the Post Master is a
union man to the back-bone. Having
deposited your letter you leave and drop in at Parker’s a couple of
doors below. Parker’s I
say, for by this name a very neat oyster saloon is distinguished, in
memory of the School Street palace.
I come here occasionally & take a very comfortable seat before
a glorious soft coal fire. The best
lager beer in the village is to be found here. You cook the
oysters yourself in a chafing dish.
Though 25 cents is not a very exorbitant price for this delicate dish,
still not so many oysters are called for
as would be acceptable to my palate. Lager unfortunately is fluid and
disappears with mysterious
rapidity. If in a hurry we rapidly walk down the street and
enter Culbertson’s at the corner to buy
some cheese. (Culbertson’s is the dry-good cheese &
butter store of the place; all stores here
being variety stores. Crossing the main street you
enter the door of the Potomac the largest hotel
in Williamsport. I haven’t sat guard here and do not know the
frequenters of the place. Suffice it
to say that in the rear of the building we draw all our
water. From the “Potomac” to our
barracks is but a short distance. Crossing the street again
you pass by a house where, when we first
came, over a hundred pies a day were baked and eaten by our
company. Very nice pumpkin and apple pies the
good women of the house supply us with. But we do not now
patronize them as at first, for now we fare
well out of Uncle Sam, where as at the first naught but tough salt beef
greeted hungry stomachs, - salt beef
not to feast upon while milk is 3 cents for 3 half pints. Next to the
pie house is the old brick house, (the
front of which bears vestiges of mastic,) which constitutes our
barracks. Going up 3 or 4 steps you enter a
room used for the storage  of salt. The next
room on the same floor has a large fire
place. The room which was very dirty, was cleaned by 5 or 6 boys and is
now occupied by them. They sleep in
bunks made by themselves. From this room by a stair case you
ascend to the story above where are two
rooms and a roomy entry. My mess occupies the smaller room
which has a fine place and two windows opening
upon the South East. As there is not room for the whole mess
to have separate places here I spread my
blanket in the entry with Chandler. Occasionally however I
occupy the place of one on guard in the mess
room. A bench 10 feet long, prigged from the guard of the
next building where the quartermaster’s
stores of the 1st Va. are kept, is placed on one side of the room
opposite the fire place. This with
several nail kegs and boxes form our sitting accommodations.
A couple of shelves have been set up opposite the fire place. Between
the windows is a board fixed on hinges,
which serves alternately as a writing desk and a dining
table. Opposite the desk at which I now am
writing is another wall table which also serves as a desk.
Tin mugs canteens, haversacks, & various
articles of clothing hang from the nails on the walls. Guns
hang from nails, or are placed in the
corners, or on the tables and shelves and bench, late papers, a few
magazines including Harper’s &
Atlantic for November, and a ten cent novel or two are laid.
The knapsacks line two opposite sides of the
room, - the bench & fire side. On the mantle piece
you would notice two or three small bottles of
ink, a pen or two, brush broom, blacking brush and a small  mirror. Let four
boys be seated around a board playing whist, two or three at a table
writing, & two or three reading and
you will form quite an accurate picture of my mess room. The
other room is as large as two of ours, but
has no fire place. An immense stove however warms the 4
windowed room. This room occupied by two
messes sports a couple of tables, prudently covered by two red
blankets. Short benches abound.
Pleasant as the rooms are in the day time, give me the entry to sleep
in especially where the rooms are heated
as they are apt to be at this period of the year. Going down
stairs & out of the outside door you
turn to the left and immediately ascend a flight of 8 or 9 steps to a
platform & thence enter the guard
house, quite a large room from which a door opens into the office of
the Provost Marshall, the sanctum
sanctorum of the establishment. Passing through the guard
room you find yourself in an entry on one side
of which is the turnkeys room & the other the orderly’s; before
you a narrow entry leading to a door
in the rear of the house, opening upon a platform with steps leading to
the yard below where at all times in
the day men may be seen pitching quoits with horse shoes. – Secession
prisoners & their guard
mingling contentedly in the same spot. If you don’t want to
see the game of quoits walk up stairs
and call on the non coms, who have a pleasant front room at the head of
the stair case. They have plenty
of room and indulge in cots of various descriptions. Over the
guard house Mess. I live in a smaller
room. The two rooms looking upon the yard are occupied by
prisoners. A cellar kitchen with supply
rooms completes the view of our barracks, not half so good as we might
to have, but which will be better
furnished when we are certain of taking up winter quarters
here. I have described the rooms; suffice to
say of our occupancy of them that we have to stand, which means to sit
guard every other day.
Roll call is at 6 1/2. How slow we have got to be answering
that call! Breakfast at 8 % (o’
clock) Guard mounting at 9 %. Roast beef at 1 % Drill
commenced to day from 3 to 5 P.M. Peas or
trencher at 6 %; tattoo at 8 1/2; taps at 9 or 9 ½ I don’t
know which.
Our Regiment is at last together, Co. C, I & K returning last
night. To day I visited the camp &
talked over the battle, in which Co. C had been engaged, with Corporal
Russell, late of Cambridge Law
School. He said it was providential that no more were killed
as the bullets rattled around them like
hail. By order every one in Co. C shifted for himself, protecting
himself by stores, trees, & what not,
lying on the belly when the enemy fired. By marching solidly
the Wisconsin men lost almost all who
suffered in the engagement. At one time the Company fired
upon a Company of cavalry, at within 100 feet,
yet they could not tell whether they shot any or not. After
the fire they picked up a sword, a couple of
guns & a blanket or so which very likely belonged to wounded
men. The Co. destroyed an iron foundry
by fire which was used to make arms or cannon balls. This was
in Virginia. Add Williamsport to all
the letters you now send, and direct to J.B. N. Co. B. 13th Regt Mass.
Vols. Williamsport, Md. as father
has done in his letter of the 30th ult. just received. Do not
add “Gen’l Bank’s
Div” as this delays the letters several days. As this letter
may interest all, though I thought it
might particularly interest you, I expect it to be considered as a
reply to Martha’s and Father’s
letters. That is to say they need not wait to have me answer theirs if
they have any news to transmit. Send me
my world regularly.
With regards to friends I am Your Aff. Son
John B.
Noyes |
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A Freak
and a Fiend.
By C. E. Davis, Jr.
The following article, written by Charles
E. Davis, Jr. was printed in the Thirteenth Massachusetts Regiment
Association, [Circular #20] Dec., 1907.
This article describes some of the locals
encountered in Williamsport when Company B, did
provost duty there.
Our regiment reached
Williamsport, Md., early in October. The town was
situated on the north bank of the Potomac river and prior to the war
had acquired an unenviable reputation by
reason of its being the winter rendezvous of canal boatmen who made the
place lively with drinking and
gambling, to the very great annoyance of the good people who resided
there and whose feelings were often
outraged by disturbances that grew out of cards and alcohol a
combination that rarely brings pleasure or
happiness to a peaceful community. Affairs were said to be in a
wretched state when we arrived, and a guard was
requested for protection. A provost-marshal was thereupon appointed and
a detail of men from Company B to act
as 
provost guard with headquarters in one of the houses on the main street
of the town. There were about a dozen
“secesh” prisoners confined in the same building, awaiting discharge or
commitment to some more
secure prison. For a few weeks the guard patrolled the streets at night
as police officers, with loaded guns
and with orders to arrest any persons disturbing the peace. After a few
weeks of this duty we were transferred
to the bar-rooms, where we remained all day. Our instructions were to
prevent soldiers from drinking, and
citizens from drinking too much. The custom of drinking in that town
was very much aggravated by the quantity
that many men imbibed on each occasion. A man would fill a large
tumbler with whiskey and another with water.
The whiskey was generally new and swallowed with rapidity immediately
followed by water, which latter was
called by the odious name of “chaser.” We had read
considerable about southern ladies,
their beauty and general attractiveness, and our curiosity was quite
excited to see some evidences of this
distinction. There were some pretty girls in Williamsport and we had
the pleasure of meeting and becoming
acquainted with some very charming people during the five months we
were stationed there, but the person whom
we have selected for consideration belonged to a very exclusive set and
few ladies in the town were admitted to
her society. Her name was Marie Antoinette Lydia Corbay.
Our acquaintance began on the first
night we were on guard in town. While standing after midnight on the
corner of the main street she approached
us and with upraised fist remarked that she could lick any
Massachusetts "nigger-lover” with one hand. On
close examination we believed her and proceeded at once to transfer our
Commonwealth affections to some other
race. "Niggers" having been wiped off the schedule of complaints
against our State she referred to others,
ending up with wishing we were all in h--l. In physical strength she
was much our superior and we had a feeling
of gladness when the interview ended. The next time we had the pleasure
of meeting her was while stationed in
the bar-room of the Eagle hotel. It was during the morning, after the
early drinkers had subdued their thirst,
and an interval of quiet had occurred before the eleven o'clockers
appeared, that she made her appearance. Our
interest in "southern ladies" was renewed and we carefully inspected
her appearance. Marie Antoinette Lydia Cor bay was not
a beauty and
took no pains to supply the defect. She was about five feet eight
inches in height, with light hair, strongly-marked features, broad
shoulders, and a strong body. Her hair was
cut after the fashion adopted by Richard the Third.
She had the same
nervous gait that Richard had and was also like him in disposition,
though she discarded the use of the hump as
being unfeminine. She resembled that tribe of Amazons we read about as
inhabiting the forests and banks of the
mighty river of that name and who are very unlike the Amazons we have
seen on the Boston Theatre stage. Marie
Antoinette Lydia Corbay was a person
of simple tastes. She wore a calico dress, no hat or extra
covering except a long narrow woolen scarf which she wore hanging
untied from her neck. She wore her overcoat
on the inside and when it became too thin for protection she swallowed
another one. Her manly breast differed
in contour from her sisters of the Boston Theatre and her general
appearance was otherwise noticeable from the
fact that she wore no hoops as did the rest of her sex in the early
sixties. A less independent woman would
have shrunk from so violent a contrast with the prevailing fashion. In
spite of her Amazonian resemblance she
could speak English, Scotch, and Irish with fluency and could accept a
drink of whiskey in many other
languages. She had none of the polish that people have acquired by a
residence in the French capital. She
didn't require it because in the exclusive set to which she belonged
veneer was not considered an evidence of
gentility. On taking a seat beside us she announced that
after she had had three drinks she felt like a
"son-of-a-gun;" a remark that we felt no inclination to dispute. We
were invited to drink but declined on the
score that we had never tasted liquor, which wretched lie was protested
by the blush on our face and prompted
her to say we were a d--d liar. She made other remarks that would have
seemed disagreeable if repeated in New
England. She was charmingly frank, as southern women are said to be. It
is difficult for a person brought up in
New England, enduring the rigor of a fickle climate, to appreciate so
artless a nature. So much depends upon
the point of view that what is considered beautiful in one locality is
hideous in another. Very likely we might
change our opinion after becoming more familiar with the grace and
polish attributed to southern ladies, but at
this time we declined to believe she was one not withstanding she
repeatedly said she was.
Marie
Antoinette Lydia Corbay was fond of
cards and,
as bridge-whist was at that time unknown, she made choice of poker as a
game fit for her intellectual
abilities. Not finding the ladies of Williamsport to possess sufficient
capacity to play the game as it should
be played, she was obliged to seek the companionship of men, among whom
we are told were several members of the
Thirteenth. The familiarity growing out of this communion led
to her being called "Lid Corby," though
familiarity is said to breed contempt. As she believed in the
freedom of women she was obliged to submit
to the liberty taken with her name by the men with whom she associated,
and so when they called upon " Lid " to
" ante up " she expressed no offence beyond a few casual remarks that
any lady might possibly make on being
reminded of her negligence.
Among
the people who came to Williamsport to
spend the winter was Mr. John Henry Pott, a gentleman who had traveled
much about the world, having enjoyed the society of many brilliant and
renowned men, without diminishing his respect for lesser
lights. Like many great men, the affection felt for him found
expression in the abbreviation of his name, as everybody called him
“Jack” Pott instead of Mr. Pott. He had no
occupation, so far as we have heard, was never seen about town, which
fact, to those un- acquainted with him, lent an air of mystery to his
habits. In the evenings he might be seen at a game of poker, though he
played very little, preferring to watch the game. Now and then he would
take a hand in response to earnest demands of others, and at the close
of an evening when urged he would join in a final round of hands.
 His winnings he
distributed among the lucky
ones. Those who
were unlucky at cards received no sympathy from “Jack” Pott. Marie
Antoinette Lydia Cor
bay took a great shine to Mr. Pott, but received very little
encouragement, and so transferred her
affections to Mr. Hall, another gentleman who was spending the winter
in Williamsport, and with whom, for some
time previous, she had been flirting. His name was Albert Coe
Hall, but people generally called him
“Al” Coe Hall. He was very proud of his middle name. He was always seen
at card parties where poker
was played, and was a very pleasant and companionable person. He was
often seen walking about town or in hotels
and bar-rooms and frequently visited our camp, about a mile from town,
where he was sure to meet a warm
welcome. Although a charming companion he often proved a
treacherous friend.
Not to prolong the account of this "southern lady" we must
proceed to say that Marie Antoinette Lydia Corbay,
presuming on the rights which she claimed
for her sex, became boisterous and unruly, wholly oblivious to the
rights of others and so was arrested,
brought to the guard-house and placed among the other prisoners, all of
whom were men and all occupying one
room. Among the prisoners confined in the building
occupied by the provost guard was a man named
Speroe, whose reputation was un-savory. He was commonly mentioned as
“Old Speroe” by people in
Williamsport, but on the opposite side of the river he was designated
as "an old reprobate," while some called
him a “fiend.” The unanimous feeling was that he was a terror. His
arrest and confinement was
considered by many as a protection, and the government was criticised
for its mercy
in preventing his being hanged.
No one unacquainted with the situation
can form an accurate conception of the persecutions
to which people living on the border-line of the two armies were
subjected during the civil war. Persons having
a grudge against a neighbor found an easy means of venting their spite
by turning informer and reporting
stories about their neighbors, often with the grossest disregard of
truth. During the first year of
the war officers were easily impressed with stories related by these
"informers," but as time wore on
experience taught them to be cautious about accepting statements
uncorroborated by facts. Persons with union or
secesh sentiments suffered alike in persecution by their neighbors.
 Speroe took upon
himself the duty of
punishing union women on the Virginia side of the Potomac river, their
husbands being away, by making them
disrobe and dance while he sat with a loaded gun and watched them.
Those who refused to obey he drove into the
river to be drowned. Many horrible stories were told of his doings so
that other prisoners confined in the same
room despised him. He was the only one among the number who had a
mattress, which he had procured prior to our
coming, and which excited a lot of wrangling and disturbance that
frequently required the efforts of the guard
to quell. The house was heated by fire-places, so that it was necessary
to have wood prepared daily, and it was
our occasional duty to take the prisoners out into the yard and make
them chop wood for the whole house. Speroe
objected to this labor, because, as he said, he was a "southern
gentleman." One day we reminded him that
his deeds were not those of any kind of a gentleman, much less a
"southern gentleman," whereupon he assailed us
with an axe, but he came in contact with a bayonet which slipped into
his flabby flesh so easy that we were
surprised. His screams brought the guard and he was soon
relieved of the axe, which he held in a
threatening attitude.
Now when
Marie Antoinette Lydia Corbay was
thrust
into the room her eye lighted on old Speroe, and she assailed him with
language too picturesque to be repeated,
recounting the deeds in which he had played the hero, and then made for
his corner, hauling him from his bed,
and while he begged and screamed for mercy smacked him first on one
side of the head and then on the other with
the flat of her hand. She was very strong and her hand was like that of
a longshoreman. Having relieved her
rage she again hauled him from the mattress and kicked him into the
middle of the room, throwing his boots and
clothes after him, then laid down on the vacated bed and went
peacefully to sleep while he groaned in the
middle of the floor.
When
a man proclaims himself to be a gentleman
it is pretty safe to believe that his conscience assures him that he is
not one. Gentlemen
do not announce themselves as such, for "actions speak louder than
words." Prior to the war we had read with much delight the works of
Gilmore Simms and had acquired a love for the southern gentleman
because of his sweetness of character, his generous impulses, often
ruinous we admit, but self-sacrificing. His high breeding and courtly
manners were often ruled by his emotions, but he was honest from the
ground up. To have 'a fiend like Speroe calling himself a southern
gentleman was an outrage we could not endure with patience, therefore
we experienced a feeling of satisfaction to see him basted by Marie
Antoinette Lydia Cor bay, though it
may argue our lack of Christian forbearance.
On the
first of March, 1862, we crossed the river into Virginia,
leaving old Speroe to the consideration of our successors, and our
interest in him ceased. Two years or more
after our departure from Williamsport we learned that Marie Antoinette
Lydia Corbay, being
impressed with the idea that divided skirts were more suitable for one
of her disposition, had adopted the
habit later worn by Dr. Mary Walker, commonly known as trousers, and
proved conclusively that she was a freak
The
39th Illinois
For a brief time the fortunes of the 39th Illinois
Regiment intersected with the 13th Massachusetts. Following
the attack on Fort Sumter some patriotic
Chicago citizens met to see if something could be done to help the
government. In less than six weeks
1300 recruits were organized, eager to be mustered into Federal service
as a result of this meeting.. The
regiment had taken on the name “Yates Phalanx” in honor of Illinois
Governor Richard Yates. The
government in Washington could not accept their services at this time,
as presently the requirement for
troops had been met. This broke up the initial organization
with some companies leaving to join other
organizations still looking to fill their ranks.
When the Federal forces were defeated in battle at Bull Run,
July 21st, the Federal Government made its
2nd call for troops. By August 10th, 806 Chicagoans were
organized into the 39th; they were
partially equipped and drilling. Company H was not yet full
and continued to recruit to fill its
ranks. October 11th the regiment moved to the training camp 'Benton
Barracks' in St. Louis. Two weeks later
Colonel Ward H. Lamon arrived from Maryland with orders for General
Fremont to send the regiment to
Williamsport to be joined with ‘Lamon’s Brigade,’ Army of the Potomac,
under General Banks.
The 39th Illinois Regiment left Missouri for Maryland October 31st.
By train the 900 men traveled 36
hours to reach their destination of Hagerstown, Maryland. En
route in Pittsburg they received an
enthusiastic welcome and collation. Afterwards, the train proceeded to
Harrisburg where the men transferred to
cars on the Cumberland Valley RR. The train arrived in Hagerstown,
midnight, November 1st. The falling rain
kept them bottled up inside the cars until morning. On
November 2nd the 39th Illinois Regiment trudged in
a drenching rain storm 6 miles toWilliamsport. They were
quartered in vacant warehouses along the canal.
John Noyes of Company B,
wrote "the 39th Illinois Regiment arrived here from
St. Louis on the 2nd inst. and is attached to Col. Leonard's Brigade.
They marched here from Hagerstown
in a driving storm with overcoats on and were thoroughly wet through,
from top to tow."
The regiment was
un-armed. The guns they received in St. Louis were un-
acceptable and they waited for Col. Leonard in command of the post to
supply them. (field and
staff of the 39th Illinois pictured; from their official history).
Measles
Outbreak in
the 39th Illinois
The following
reminisence is from the book "The History of the 39th
Regiment, Illinois Volunteer Infantry, "Yates Phalanx" in the War of
the Rebellion, 1861-1865, by Charles M.
Clark, M.D.
"Dr. De Normandie On Guard"
Soon after we arrived at Williamsport,
Md., an extensive epidemic of measles broke out in
our regiment. About five hundred members of the regiment had the
disease,—most of them, however, in a
mild form; and as it was mild and very pleasant weather, only about
ninety were obliged to be taken care of in
the hospital.
Of course there
was no regular hospital in a small village like
Williamsport, consequently Surgeon Blake was obliged to extemporize a
hospital. The ninety patients in this
hospital were very sick and caused the attending surgeons a great deal
of anxiety. Among others, Company A had
quite a number of very sick members. Captain Munn, of this Company,
afterwards Major of the regiment, was very
solicitous about his men, and anxious that they should have the best of
care. He, like many other officers, had
recruited his company from among his neighbors and acquaintances, and
was prompted by his warm heart and
patriotic zeal to promise the wives, sisters, and sweethearts of the
recruits that he would see that they were
well taken care of, and especially when they were sick or wounded; and
now it seemed to these officers the time
had come for the fulfillment of these promises.
Surgeons Blake and
Clark fully appreciated the responsibility so suddenly
thrown upon them, and were obliged to make very stringent rules for the
government of the hospital, and in
order to prevent interference with their duties, Surgeon Blake issued
an order that no one should visit the
hospital unless having a pass either from the Surgeon or Assistant
Surgeon. . As soon as these officers learned
this fact they were very angry, and boldly announced that no d—d
surgeons were going to interfere with
their looking after their men, and that they would soon convince these
surgeons that they would visit the
hospital when they pleased.
Consequently a
number of officers, headed by Captain Munn, in a very
determined and boisterous manner started for the hospital. Upon
arriving at the door of the hospital they were
halted by a guard, who of course had not seen much real service, and as
his superior officers demanded to pass,
the guard was trying to persuade them to desist and first get a pass;
but Captain Munn told the guard that lie
would give him to understand, and also Surgeon Blake, that no d—d
surgeon could keep them from visiting
their men when they pleased. De Normandie, who was then hospital
steward, hearing the noise at the door of the
hospital went to ascertain what the trouble was, and Captain Munn
informed him; the Dr. stepping back a few
feet, placed the gun to his shoulder, saying,
"Captain Munn, you are my friend and the captain
of my company, and you ought to know better
than to attempt to force a guard; and I can assure you that unless you
have a pass from one of the surgeons you
cannot enter this hospital, and if you attempt it I will put a bullet
through your body or the body of anybody
else who attempts it."
Captain Munn afterwards said that the
"old Doc," as he called him, showed by his eye that
he meant business. These officers, now more enraged than ever, started
for the headquarters of the commander of
the regiment, Colonel T. O. Osborn. As it happened, Colonel Osborn,
with the Colonel of the Thirteenth
Massachusetts Regiment, and other officers, was visiting Surgeon Blake
at his quarters, and while pleasantly
conversing about affairs of the command in rushed Captain Munn with his
fellow officers, and in great
excitement began to abuse the surgeons and especially Surgeon Blake,
telling the Colonel what an outrage had
been committed towards himself and comrades. To the great chagrin of
both Captain Munn and his comrades, the
Colonel coolly informed them that he had no control over the medical
department of the regiment, and advised
them to go to their quarters and look at the army regulations, and see
what sort of a position they had placed
themselves in.
On the next
morning after this episode, as Surgeon Blake was sitting on the
front porch of his quarters, he saw coming down the street a little
squad of officers, but they looked very
meek and were apparently in very earnest conversation about some
serious affair. When they saw the Surgeon,
Captain Munn called him one side, and in a most anxious manner asked
him what he was going to do about the
affair of last night. The Surgeon, with an apparently offended air,
very coolly said to the Captain that he had
not yet determined what he would do about it. Whereupon the Captain in
an excited manner replied that he had
heard that the Surgeon intended to have them all court-martialed; and
then in a most imploring way, said:
"Blake, do you
know that if you call a court-martial we shall all be shot?
The regulations say that to attempt to force a guard while in active
service shall be punished by death! For
God's sake, let's settle the matter. We made d—d fools of ourselves,
and will assure you that we will
never be guilty of such foolishness again." Surgeon Blake, after
keeping them on the anxious-seat for a few
days, never had occasion to mention the matter again. This incident did
more to establish discipline in the
regiment than anything that ever happened to it. It is gratifying to be
able to state that every man who was
sick at that time recovered, and that this severe attack of sickness
thoroughly established the surgeons in the
confidence of the entire regiment, which was never lost during the war.
Letter
from
Company K.
Copies of the Westboro Transcript, December 22nd,
1860 - January 10th 1863, are stored on
Microfilm at the Westboro Public Library.
|
Westboro Transcript, November 30, 1861.
From Co. K. – A letter from ‘Camp Jackson,’
under date of Nov. 20th and
21st, says: ‘The Thirteenth have just been down to the
village to escort off the Illinois Regiment.
The Illionians (I refer to this particular Regiment) are as shabby a
set as I ever saw. Only two
companies of them had any guns, and what they did have were
rusty. They had a band of music with them;
but their so called ‘music’ was even a greater misnomer than the
energetic blasts
‘executed’ by the Westboro Band of a year ago.
(Whew!) I think we were taken down there
more for the purpose of stimulating our pride by showing us how we
looked beside other Regiments then simply to
do escort duty. Positively and without boasting,
Massachusetts troops do make the best appearance of any
in the service.
While returning to camp we drilled in a
movement called ‘street firing.’
It is a neat movement and with the practice we have has we are vain
enough to think we could clean a street in
a ‘thorough and workmanlike manner.’
‘Possibly the next letter I write you may be
from Western Virginia. Col.
Leonard has gone to meet and consult with Gen. Kelly, whose brigade is
a part of Rosecranz’s force.
If we join him we shall see some fighting very soon.
‘The Col. tells us that we can have Lieut.
Hovey for Captain by petitioning for him,
which we shall probably do, as he is a splendid officer.
‘Since I commenced writing our officers have
brought in for our Thanksgiving dinner
eight turkeys, a lot of nuts and a box of raisins.
‘This is Thanksgiving morning, and the boys
are picking turkeys all over the
camp. During the day a match game of ball is to be played, -
the right wing of the regiment against the
left wing. Three men are to be selected from each company,
making fifteen men on a side. Co. K, is
in the left wing which is to be the winner, of course.
(digital
transcripton by Brad Forbush).
|
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Thanksgiving
in Camp,
November 21, 1861.
Thanksgiving
with members of the 13th Mass., 1861. This
photo was shared with Art Rideout by Thomas Traxler; descendant of
William G. Ward, Company G. (It has
been heavily touched up in photoshop).
Thanksgiving;
Hagerstown Herald & Torchlight.
|
Hagerstown Herald of Freedom &
Torchlight
November 27, 1861.
13th Massachusetts Regiment – Its
Thanksgiving Day. Thursday last having been
the day designated by the Governor of Massachusetts for Thanksgiving,
the soldiers of the 13th Regiment from
that State, now encamped near Williamsport, paid their respects to the
day in an old-fashioned frolic.
Thanksgiving day originated with our Pilgrim forefathers, and was held
in commemoration of their landing upon
Plymouth rock, in 1620. It was an appropriate and special
recognition of the Providence of God, in
bringing them safely through the perils of a long and adventurous
voyage; and in New England it is still
associated with such reminiscence, although they are gradually receding
from public attention, and the day
partakes more of the modern sentiment as it prevails with us.
This innovation upon time-honored custom
the brave sons of old Massachusetts now in our midst fully illustrated
by devoting the day to a grand festival,
which terminated at night in a joyous dance upon a large platform
erected for the purpose in their camp.
We understand that the Regiment was paid off on the previous day,
which, in addition to the presents of pumpkin
pie, turkeys, &c. received from home, enabled its members to do
the occasion ample justice. It was a
curious sight, however, to behold these descendants of the old pilgrim
fathers celebrating a Thanksgiving day
within full view of Virginia, the land of Secesh, and the “mother of
statesmen,” but they came from
their far-off homes as the defenders of the stars and stripes, and we
honor them as friends and loyal citizens,
while we despise the traitors who have dishonored that flag and
rendered necessary the presence of an armed
soldiery upon the soil of Washington County.
(Newsclipping
courtesy of Timothy Snyder; digital
transcription by Brad Forbush).
|
Thanksgiving;
Letter of John
B. Noyes, Company B.
|
MS
Am 2332 (22) By Permission of the Houghton Library,
Harvard University.
Williamsport Md. November 22nd ‘61
Dear Father & Mother,
Your letter
of the 14th inst. was received on the 17th. I
concluded to wait till after Thanksgiving before writing to
you. Perhaps you will like to have me answer
your note before telling how I spent my first Thanksgiving day in Md.
I am sorry to
hear of the death of Mrs. Campbell. She has long
been feeble and a great care to her friends, who on that account must
feel the loss the more. Miss Popkin
must feel quite lonely these long winter nights. I suppose
Martha will cultivate her acquaintance even
more now than ever. From life to death is but a single step,
and I am glad that cousin Sumner rejoices in
a second grand daughter. May he live to have a grandson to
relieve somebody of a gold watch, if for
nothing else. But who is that somebody ? I have
forgotten if I ever knew. Alice’s
sinking hope of getting the watch are again revived. Who knows but the
tortoise may yet win the race? What is
Mr. White’s name and address? So Dr. Whitney is not going
home. I don’t know what
reports you have heard of the Surgeon I have seen nothing in him to
unfit him for his duties. He is not
very popular, in the Regiment, partly owing to his infirmities, that is
his fatness, and partly to the fact
that Dr. Heard, the Ass’t. Surgeon is the favorite. Hurd is a
slim built man, very dark in
complexion, quick, active, and more neat in attire than his superior
officer. Of two Doctors, one must in
time fall under when their patients are the same. The chief
complaint against Dr. Whitney, however is his
giving too much quinine to those affected with the chills.
Several men in our Company haven’t
ceased to shake since we left Antietam & will not feed on
quinine. Now Dr. Hurd prescribed for those
cases, although his sickness prevented his constant
attendance. Dr. Whitney agreed with Hurd on the
quinine subject; that is on its use, and the benefits to be derived
from it by those affected with chills &
typhoid fever. So you see Dr. Whitney suffers where Hurd
should bear the burden, unless we adopt the
principle “qui facit per alesin(?) facit per se.” Dr. Zeller,
as he informs me himself,
agrees with Dr. Whitney with regard to the applicability of quinine in
the cases I have mentioned, and in
addition is very favorably impressed with the knowledge, and attention
to patients displayed by him. It
is worthy of note that notwithstanding the fact that several of our
Reg’t. have been very sick, some with
no expectation of recovery, not one has died from disease.
This fact speaks much for the merits of the
Dr. as a physician. No one doubts his abilities as a surgeon.
Indeed the Dr. asserts what is true when he
states that the men have not followed his prescriptions & have
refused to take the quinine they talk so
much about. I do not intend to praise the Surgeon, I only say
that the only complaints I have heard are
on the subject of quinine. Surgeons are almost invariably
unpopular. There is a petition to remove
the Surgeon of the 39th Ill. Regt. As to drinking, no man in
our Co. has seen him drunk, & I do not
hear that complaint made against him. He believes in making
some men do duty who say they are unable
to. Perhaps the Dr. is right. Perhaps also he is
obliged to act as he does by orders he is bound to
obey.
Allyne’s
package arrived safe. The stockings were very
acceptable and are much better than those I have by me. The
mittens are ne plus ultra. I did not
see Allyne as I was on picket the night he came, and he started
immediately for Washington. The pair of
stockings not quite finished will do to send next spring. The
catalogue sent by father reached me
yesterday morning. I have given it to Zeller. No
apples came with it. There may be some by
the time I get home. Meantime what of the pears?
Stephen wants to hear from me. Why
does’nt he write then? I believe he has not written for some
months, save just before I left
Darnestown which letter I immediately answered. He is somewhat remiss
in his correspondence. I wrote him
a day or two ago & the letter being a business one like the
last one he answered. It makes very
little difference as to Stephen’s writing and visiting habits, whether
he has plenty or no time. He
is sometimes busy when he has absolutely nothing to do.
Perhaps you recollect my old friend Geo. D. Rice,
son of M.M. Rice, lately deceased. His brother Edmund is
Captain, and now acting Major of the 19th Mass,
Col. Hank’s Regt. George has been on a business tour among
the western soldiers, and has seen most
of the camps out west, including Kentucky. He is now visiting
the camps on the Potomac. For the
last week he has been in Williamsport, but is going directly home in a
day or two. By him I shall send a couple
of pair of woolen and two or three cotton socks besides my Horace, the
gem of my books. I don’t
want the Horace lent. Put it in my bureau drawer.
Next Summer I may want a pair or so of the summer
socks. I send also $15.00 in treasury notes by the same
hand. Perhaps Rice can give you some
interesting information about the affairs hereabouts.
And now for
Thanksgiving. Of course it was a holiday. Some
spent it one way, some another. Co. E. had a dinner at the
Globe, for their friends at home sent them
Turkeys, plum puddings &c. Other companies fared
differently. In my company one mess dined
together down town. No others of that mess could get out of
the lines on passes. Never the less by
hook, or by crook four of our mess dined together at the
Eagle. Six others in 3 different parties got out
of the lines & rendezvoused at Parker’s. I was
one. We had the parlor of the
establishment which was the front 2nd story room, the gayest looking
room I have yet seen in Md. We invited in
one of our men who was stationed at the Eagle on guard. We
had no cranberry sauce. That was because
we had plenty of others such as peach, apple & pear; for one of
the Co. had cranberry sauce in his box
which came from home a couple of hours before dinner time. I
did’nt have the folks at home at the
table; that was impossible, we however made ourselves at home, if we
could not bring you to us. A roast
turkey & chicken, a la Massachusetts graced the board, into
which we soon made inroads with fixed knives
and forks. Floating island succeeded the main staple of the
dinner. To that home made pudding &
mince pies. We could not proceed to the sardines and nuts we
had at hand, but turned our attention to, -
dulce est despere in loco – champagne, and cigars. After
dinner we sauntered round the streets, and
finally five of us rode up to camp in a hack !! and were
landed at our tents. Perhaps others may
have had as good a dinner as I did, but they did not drive up to camp
in that luxurious style. The hack
ride was free of expense, the driver fancying my looks. I got
to camp just in time to witness the pig-
tail chase which was a failure, owing to the fact that the tail was not
greased. Dress parade followed
the pig-tail scrape. No one wanted supper. In the
eve’g. came the ball, for which a board
floor had been made in the grove near the Col.’s tent. Only
half a dozen ladies graced the
floor. The ball did not amount to a great deal, though it
well rounded off a very pleasant day.
There are very few girls in Willliamsport – very few indeed.
Such was the day & so I spent
it. When I was in town A.M. & P.M. a base
ball game between the right & left wings of the
Reg’t. was played by three men from each Company. A mule race
followed which was said to be
successful. I forgot to mention that the Chaplain had
services, which however four fifths of our company
did not attend. Among the majoritie I regret to say, pars
magnus fui. Various are the rumors which
fill the camp. Scarcely one who believes any of
them. The latest is that we are to march for
Cumberland, 80 miles from here. This report seems to have
several roots to it, besides one or two
branches. Still incredulous, I do not allow any expectation
of an 80 mile march to disturb my
sleep. I received a letter from Charles just as I was
wrapping my blanket around me for dreamless
slumbers. This was the end of Thanksgiving. I am
out of postage stamps. With love to all
Your Aff. Son
John B.
Noyes.
(I
apologize for mistakes in transcribing the latin.
If any readers have corrections please let us know - webmaster). |
Pictured
are John Theodore Heard, Asst. Surgeon, Allston
Waldo Whitney, Surgeon, & Servant. This photo was in
W.H. Forbush's diary. The original image
was flopped. Through the miracle of photoshop the image has
been corrected, but the handwriting still
corresponds to the original mirror image. The regimental
history; "Three Years in the Army" was dedicated
to Whitney.
Surgeon Allston Waldo Whitney of
Framingham proved his skill on the battle field as Noyes would later
attest. His reputation as a confident and
successful surgeon spread among combat surgeons in the field. During
most of his service he served as Surgeon
in chief of brigade or division. He was captured June 1, 1863 while in
charge of a hospital in Falmouth Va, and
released from Libby Prison, somewhat thinner, in November of that year.
He died November 11, 1881. The
regimental history "Three Years in the Army" was dedicated to him.
Asst. Surgeon J.
Theodore Heard’s record from the reg’t. history
is as follows:
Age 25 born, Boston; physician; mustered in as
asst.-surg., July 16, 1861; mustered out as
surg., Oct. 25, ’65; promoted to surg., U.S. Vols., May 1, ’62;
brevetted lieut.-col., March 13,
’65; May 1, ’62 assigned as brig. Surg., 1st Brig., 2d Div., 1st A.C.
(then Durea’s brigade
of McDowell’s Corps); Oct. 28, ’62, assigned as surg.-in – chief, 2d
Div., 1st A.C.; Nov. 10,
’62, assigned as medical director of the 1st Corp, Army of the Potomac,
commanded by Gen. John F.
Reynolds, remaining in that position until the 1st Corps was
consolidated with the 5th Corps under Gen. Warren,
March 23, ’64; March 25, ’64, assigned as surg. –in-chief of
artillery reserve, Army of
the Potomac; Aril 30, ’64, assigned as medical director, 4th Corps,
Army of the Cumberland; promoted to
lieut. – col. by act of Congress ( dated Feb. 25, ’65), March 13, ’65;
residence, 20
Louisburg square, Boston.
Thanksgiving;
Letter in the Westboro Transcript.
|
Westboro Transcript
Dec. 7, 1861
Camp Jackson, Williamsport, Md.
Nov. 28th 1861
Mr. Editor, - Thinking a few stray items
from the 13th would be of interest to some of
your numerous readers, I take the liberty to note them down hoping that
they may prove crumbs of comfort to the
unenlightened.
Thanksgiving was a notable affair with us,
or as the boys have it ‘a big
thing,’ the weather was splendid, and they made themselves comfortable
in almost every conceivable
way. Foot balls were kicked, bat balls were batted, greased
pigs were chased and caught, the tilt was in
full blast on horse back and foot, the air was filled with shouts and
ebullitions of mirth, and all went merry
as a marriage bell, our thanksgiving dinners allow me to say can't be
beat easily. Turkeys and chickens
graced every mess pan and to give you something of an idea of the
extent of our feasting I will state that Co.
F. had 22 turkeys and 14 chickens, these were all stuffed and cooked by
our neighbors of Williamsport.
This I think is about a fair sample of the whole, though Co. E of
Roxbury was more fortunate than the rest of
us in having had an excellent dinner all ready for the table brought to
them by some of their friends in
Roxbury; the weight of the whole I believe was about 1500
pounds. During the day our excellent Chaplain
delivered an eloquent discourse on Temperance, Virtue, Patience
&c., which was well received by the men and
we trust was as seed sown on good ground. In the evening
there was a social hop by the boys with a very
slight sprinkling of ladies from Williamsport and Hagerstown.
Another feature peculiar to this Regiment is
a “picture gallery,” conducted by
Crosby, (George Crosby-B.F.) formerly of Union Block, Marlboro; this
was also in active operation on
Thanksgiving day, and since; and probably many a wife, mother and dear
one has received “shadows”
which they will hold sacred until the return of the soldier from the
war. Yesterday four companies, A, B,
H, and E, left our camp for Hancock, which lies up the river about 24
miles – What the movement means, or
how long they are to be gone, or any thing in regard to them, or us, in
the future, is a perfect blank.
Truly, we live in a blissful state of uncertainty. Co. F. has
at present 20 men stationed at Hagerstown,
under Provost Marshall C. F. Morse. Co. I, is here
with us, and also Co. K, generally in good
health, I believe, with the exception of prevalent colds. I
believe I have gleaned most of the items of
interest.
(digital
transcription by Brad Forbush).
|
Thanksgiving;
Letter of
Edwin Rice; 13th Mass Band
|
Williamsport,
Maryland
November 28th 1861
Viola,
I suppose you will be looking for a letter
from me. Haven’t heard as you have gone to Walpole but suppose so.
Thanksgiving passed
off very well with us. The stuff which was sent to
the Band from Marlboro we took downtown to a hotel and put some more
with it and had a first rate dinner. We
had the Adjt., Capt. Pratt of Co E, Lieut. Frost, Co E, Lieut.
Richardson of Co G. The Lieut. Col. and Chaplain
were invited but could not be present. We bought all the extras besides
what was sent to us, and we had to pay
a dollar a plate for what there was there, 24 of us. As there was
nothing said about the price, we paid the
bill and took away what was not eaten.
Last Saturday,
myself and 7 others of the Band crossed the river with
Capt. Carey on the ferry. The boats cross every day. No one except the
soldiers are allowed to cross over
unless they are pretty well known. When we came back there
were three or four men, one women, and three
children coming over with us. They come over every day and are mostly
from Martinsburg.
Tuesday, Companies
A, B, E, and H had sudden orders to start for
Hancock, 27 miles from here up the river. They left about 6
p.m. They expected to get there the
next morning. A part of Company D has gone down the river 17
miles to dam no. 4 and part of Company F is
at Hagerstown. Since we in this vicinity were paid off, the
Illinois boys have gone to Hagerstown on a
drunk and raised the Old Harry and frightened the citizens half to
death and so a detachment of Company F were
sent there to keep them straight.
The nights are
quite cool now. Last night there was such a heavy white
frost that the ground looked as though it was covered with snow. I
don’t think the men suffer much from
the cold except those who are on guard as they have fires in their
tents nearly all the time. The horses, I
should think, would suffer a good deal from the cold. As wheat straw is
plenty around here they have lots of
that to sleep on, but they have no blankets.
Yesterday it was
cold and rained nearly all day. In the morning it
hailed nearly an hour. It has got to be so chill around here
that I hope we shall move soon for some
other place.The trraveling now is quite bad except on the turnpikes as
the ground freezes a little every night
and then thaws during the day and makes it very muddy traveling.
Today is Thanksgiving in this state and
tonight there is going to be a Thanksgiving Ball downtown. I
should like to go to it and see what kind of
a thing it is but don't suppose I can.
I received a letter
from Henry, Tuesday morning. My ear does not
trouble me any now. I received a paper and some pills from Mother
yesterday. The blanket which Mother
sent is a first rate one. I think it is beter than a bed
blanket would be for me to use. I saw some horse
blankets the other day that they asked $1.75 a piece for. I
had rather have mine than three of them.
They were coarse and were not more than 2/3 as large.
Gassett had a
letter this morning and it said that Sidney Learning was
going into my old place of business. Hope he won't give much
for the goods in there and hope he will be
used better than I was.
Yours,
Edwin Rice
P.S. The
companies have had orders to pack up and cook two days
rations, and to have 25 rounds of cartridges dealt out. The
Band has not had any orders yet. We may
all leave tonight or may stay 2 or 3 weeks. If we go anywhere
it will be to Hancock.
(Gassett
is Foster Gassett of the Band).
|
Return to
Top of Page
Picketing
the River -
Detachments from the 13th Mass.
From Three Years in the Army; Estes &
Lauriat, 1894 by Charles E. Davis, Jr.:
The duty which we performed this winter
was a very important and difficult one, as General
Stonewall Jackson, at his own request (according to the official
reports of the Confederacy), received orders
to do all the damage he could to the dams of the Chesapeake and Ohio
canal, and to harass the enemy in any way
his genius could suggest. General Jackson was no sluggard, as
the world knows, and he made it lively for
us to prevent him from carrying out his purposes. While we were at
Williamsport, Colonel Leonard was in charge
of all the troops on the Potomac, from Harper’s Ferry to Oldtown, a
distance of more than one hundred
miles, by the river, while the duties of the regiment included guarding
the Potomac river from Harper’s
Ferry to Sir John’s Run, a distance of more than fifty miles.
The work was so well done as to
prompt a commendation from General Banks. Prior to our arrival, this
part of the river was protected by troops
supplied with the old smooth-bore musket of a very antiquated pattern
with too little power to carry a bullet
across the river, so that they were a constant source of
ridicule by the enemy, who were much better
armed, and who amused themselves by coming down to the river daily, and
placing the thumb of the right hand to
the nose, and the thumb of the left hand to the little finger of the
right hand, would make rapid motions with
the fingers, to the great exasperation of the Union men, who were
powerless to prevent it. After we were placed
there with our Enfield rifles, there was less time spent in arranging
their fingers, and more in the use of
their feet. As they tried one point after another from Falling Waters
to the end of our line of fifty miles,
they were prompted to inquire what regiments were guarding the river,
and when the oft-repeated answer was
“the Thirteenth Mass.,” they were astonished at our number, and were
interested to know what arms
we carried. A Virginia paper, published in Martinsburg,
brought across the river by a Union man,
contained an editorial warning the people about “trusting themselves
too near the river, as there was a
regiment from Massachusetts, several thousand strong, with a gun that
could carry like a piece of
artillery.”
In order to carry
out so extensive a system of pickets it was necessary to
make large and frequent details of men from each company, the
particular dates of which are omitted, and only
the larger ones mentioned.
Nov. 5. Co. D sent to
Hagerstown. Returned on the 7th. All of Company B, except
twelve men, returned from provost duty in town, to camp.
Nov. 26. Companies A, B, E, and H sent
to Hancock.
Dec. 7. Company C sent to Dam No. 5.
Dec. 8. Co. G sent to Dam No. 5 to
relieve Co. C. Company K sent to Dam No. 4, but
was overtaken by an order to return. Co. C sent to Dam No. 5,
but returned before night.
It was D--n the hats in summer and Dam No. 5 in
winter.
Skirmish
at Dam No. 5;
December 7 - 8, 1861.
Drawing by
artist Henry Bacon, Co. D, accompanied this article in
Leslies Newspaper. After the war Bacon studied fine art in
Paris & became a noted European artist.
Frank
Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper
January 18, 1862.
(Letter
transcriptions taken from the now defunct web-site
"Letters of the Civil War").
THIRTEENTH MASSACHUSETTS.
DAM NO. 5
Scene of the late
Skirmish between the Rebels and a Company of the Massachusetts
13th Regt. of Rifles
On Saturday,
December 7, 400 or 500 rebel infantry, with six pieces of
artillery, made their appearance at Dam No. 5, nine miles above
Williamsport, Md., with evident intentions of
destroying the dam, so as to prevent the navigation of the canal for 18
miles below. They commenced firing at
the dam, which firing was heard at Williamsport, where the 13th was
stationed. Col. Leonard immediately
dispatched one company of riflemen, who took position at the lock
opposite during Saturday night. On
Sunday morning the rebels again commenced their work of destruction,
but were soon answered by the rifles, when
they precipitately retreated, leaving for a time their guns, but
finally succeeded in carrying them off.
The engagement lasted for several hours. The 13th had one man wounded,
receiving five shots in the legs, but
who will recover. The rebels lost seven men, and 15 or 16 men wounded,
without accomplishing anything towards
the destruction of the dam.
Accompanying this is
a sketch of the lock-keepers's house, shelled by the rebel
artillery during the skirmish, and behind which some of the 13th
riflemen were stationed.
A correspondent of a
Boston paper who was present gives the following account:
 "On
Monday night
last, at Williamsport, our 1st
Lieutenant, Palmer, now in command of the company, received orders to
hold himself in readiness to march at a
moment's notice for Four Locks, about 10 miles up the river from
Williamsport. Accordingly, on Tuesday morning
we started, and arrived here about two p.m. We found a company of the
1st Virginia regiment occupying the only
suitable building for quarters, and as that company were not to leave
until the following day, Lieut. Palmer
took possession of a barn, where, after supper, we turned in, as we
supposed, for the night, having previously
relieved the Virginia company's pickets, according to orders. About 10
o'clock we were awoke by the report that
our up-river pickets were attacked, and Lieut. Brown immediately
started with a squad to their assistance,
while the rest of us went to bed again. In about two hours
from that time our pickets, who had been
stationed at Dam No. 5, sent up word that the rebels were at work
destroying the dam. Lieut. Palmer
immediately turned out all the men left in camp, and we started at
double-quick in a bee line over hills, rocks
and fences for the dam, and on arriving there found the rebels at work
as reported.
We commenced firing
upon them, and continued to do so until daybreak, when we
discovered that they had erected barricades across the dam, in such a
manner that it became necessary for us to
go down the river a short distance, and come up under the bank, in
order to bring them under the range of our
rifles. We managed, after sharp firing and much exposure, to drive them
from their position, when they took
shelter in an old stone mill near the dam, and battered out loopholes
with crowbars, and opened a severe fire
upon us. Meanwhile, about 200 sharpshooters (cavlary) came down into
the woods on the other side, and opened on
our left flank, sending their balls with remarkable accuracy. We,
nevertheless, held our ground, keeping well
covered by trees and fences, and called upon them to come over, which
they appeared to have no idea of doing,
and seemed to dread our rifles, from the distance they kept from the
river. The firing was kept up all day, and
at night a strong guard was posted at the dam, to repel any attempt
which might be made in the night to destroy
it. Early on Wednesday morning one piece of artillery and one
company of the 1st Virginia regiment
arrived to our assistance. The artillery opened fire on the mill, and
soon drove the rebels out, and as they
left we gave them the Enfield bullets to their sorrow, killing and
wounding, as we think, quite a number. About
two p. m., all being quiet at the dam, we returned to camp, and on the
way, by invitation of a loyal
Marylander, partook of the best dinner we had eaten since we left
Massachusetts. We had just reached
headquarters when intelligence was received from our pickets at Little
Georgetown, two miles above here, that
the rebels had appeared opposite in strong force, numbering as many as
three regiments; that they had yelled
across the river that they should cross that night at all odds, asking
if 'we didn't want some more Bull Run
soup,' etc. Lieut. Palmer, with a squad, went to their assistance, and
had fired several volleys at the rebels,
when they suddenly opened fire upon us from a masked battery, throwing
three shells directly through a barn
which our pickets made their headquarters. Our boys stood
their ground, however, and about nine o'clock
that evening the rebels withdrew their cannon, thinking it of no use to
fight the 'miserable yellow-bellied
Yankees,' as they called us. During the night the old mill at the dam,
where the rebels had taken refuge during
the day and night previous, was discovered to be on fire, and as no one
who had an interest in the property
seemed disposed to put it out, in a few hours nothing remained but a
heap of blackened ruins. It isn't known
who started the fire, but some fearfully accurate guesses could be made
by certain parties if they were so
disposed.
On Thursday we wore
out Uncle Sam's shoe leather travelling up and down the
river, to see if any fresh adventures would turn up, but all was quiet
until three o'clock in the afternoon,
when the rebels again made their appearance at Little Georgetown, with
their flag flying, and having a large
number of boats with them. They swore they would cross that night, and
Lieut. Brown was left there with a
detachment to watch them; but the night passed and 'nary cross' took
place.
On Friday, all being
quiet and no rebels in sight, Captain Kennedy, of the
Virginia 1st regiment, Lieut. Palmer, Mr. Palmer, Mr. Stanhope (who
built the dam), and myself, crossed the
river in a crazy old skiff, to examine the dam where the rebels had
been at work. We found it not very much
injured, although they had been at work at it for three days. It is a
splendid work, and cost, I was informed,
about $200,000. During these four days we ate little and slept less,
but we liked the excitement, and our
lieutenants, Palmer and Brown, seemed to grow fat on it. Both
lieutenants are very popular with the company, as
they are afraid of nothing, and the boys are always ready to follow
where they will lead. All is quiet here
now, and we are ready for the next affair that may turn up."
[Contributed by Timothy Snyder] |
The man wounded, mentioned above, was
James Kennay, Company C. His wound is not
listed in the roster, but was listed in corrections to the roster
published in the 13th Regiment Association
Circulars, (#8, Dec. 1895) to read: "wounded at Dam no. 5 in
the winter of 1861." Kennay was shot in
several places but survived and was commissioned a 2nd Lt. in the 57th
Mass. in 1864. Warren Freeman
writes about 'Kenny's' recovery in letters home December 21st (see
Hancock page), & Jan. 10th: "James Kenny
came into our tent yesteday; he is getting along well - he is very
weak, but does not suffer much pain from his
severe wounds; three rifle balls struck him, making six holes, all
flesh wounds; five balls passed through his
overcoat; it is said here he stood a "right smart chance" of losing his
life."
On Dec. 11th, Company K was sent to Dam No. 4, but was overtaken by an
order to return. Co. C was sent to
Dam No. 5, but returned the same night.
Return to
Top of Page
The
Story of 3
Captains.
Newly
commissioned Captain William H. Jackson was the hero of the
day
for the part he and Company C took in the Battle of
Bolivar Heights October 16th. The present
camp at Williamsport was named Camp Jackson in his honor. His
star continued to shine brightly for
several months before loosing some of its
lustre, first with his company, then with the rest of
the regiment.
Mysterious Captain Schriber, (Company I) had worked
his
way into the good graces of Major General Nathaniel Banks, and gotten
himself appointed Aide du Camp for the
General. His quick rise to power was underway. It
would end suddenly in August with a fiery
descent. His absence cleared the way for First Lieutenant
Moses Poore Palmer to take his rightful place
as Captain of Company I.
Captain William P.
Blackmer's speedy departure from the regiment following
the battle of Bolivar Heights created a vacancy to be filled in Company
K. Austin Stearns explains how
Captain Charles Hovey was appointed.
Letter
of Captain
Schriber
"GLC03393.21
Captain Shriber to Colonel Leonard, 31
October 1861. (The Gilder Lehrman Collection. Not to be
reproduced without written permission.)"
Muddy Branch Camp :
Headquarters Gen. Banks Division:
October 31st 1861.
To Colonel Leonard 13th Mass. Vols.
Commanding Forces
At
Williamsport
Maryland
Colonel,
Major
General Banks desires me to state to you that he wishes me to stay
with him as an Asst. Aide de Camp on his Staff for a short time longer,
as he is at present almost entirely
reduced of Staff officers, but he expects Major Perkins and 2 more
Regular officers in a week or so. You will
therefore be kind enough to report me.
On special duty.
I shall be truly happy to meet you, Colonel, again as it is now a long
time since I had the pleasure to talk to
you - but I fear that I shall not be much longer connected with your
excellent Regiment, as the Governor of
Rhode Island has offered me the Command of his 6th Battery of Light
Artillery with the view of becoming Major
as soon as the 8th will be formed and drilled –
As much as I desire to advance, which is only natural, as much shall I
feel the parting from You and your
officers, the dear 13th and Massachusetts – had I any view what ever
for promotion in our State Troops, I
would stay, because I feel as if I tore myself from a new home away,
but those who have taken an interest in me
in Boston are now away and I can not hope for anything –
Trusting, Colonel, to meet you and your Staff, to whom please convey my
very warm compliments, soon at
Will’pt. I beg to believe me Colonel to be
With greatest Respect
Your
Most obedient Servant
RC. Shriber
Capt. 13th Mass Vol. Asst. Aide de Camp of
Bank’s Division.
|
Letter
of First-
Lieutenant Moses Palmer.
|
Westboro Transcript, Dec. 14, 1861
Williamsport, Md.,
Camp Jackson, Nov. 20, 1861.
Mr. Loring, - Dear Sir: I believe you told me in your letter
that if we needed any thing in our Company
to let you know what it was, and you would attend to it. -
Now it is coming on cold weather, and we are
in want of Woolen Gloves and Towels. If you could send us,
say 90 pairs of Gloves, and 90 Towels, our
Company would be very thankful. We are in want of something
to keep the men’s hands warm this cool
weather, and if you can do any thing in this line, just send them along
as soon as possible. We do not
like here, as well as the Ferry; the boys are getting tired of doing
nothing but drill.
Col. Batchelder said yesterday, at our
monthly inspection, that Company I, was the best
Company on the field; their guns and quarters were in the best shape of
any Company here. – Four of our
Companies are up the river – A, B, E, and H. I hope they will
have as good luck as we had when we
were away. Company I, has gained for the Regiment about all
the glory it has had so far. Capt.
Schriber is away; has been absent about six weeks. We get
along finely. Our boys are in good
spirits, and there are but a few sick. I suppose we shall get
into winter quarters soon; that is, if we
do not move forward into Virginia. After we get into winter
quarters you must come out and see us
sure. We will try and make your visit as pleasant as
possible. A good many of the Boston people
have been out here to see their Companies from Boston. This
is a muddy place, and just like all the rest
of Maryland.
I should be happy to hear from you, and still more so to see you out
here.
Yours truly,
M. P. Palmer
(digital
transcription by Brad Forbush). |
Captain
Charles H. Hovey,
Company K.
From Austin Stearns memoirs “Three Years with Company K”
Fairleigh-Dickinson University Press;
1976, Used with Permission, (p. 43-44).
"We were without a Captain; it was time to have
one; Lieut
Bacon aspired to the place. There were a few of the boys wanted he
should be, thinking they would have an easy
time. A petition was circulated to get signers for him. Those who
brought it to our mess said if we did not
have him we should have to have the seniour Lieut. of Co. A.
[Lt. Samuel Neat] Of the two evils, we
chose the least, signing for Bacon. After doing so,
some of us went out and enquired of the Field,
Line, and Staff, and learned that the Col. wanted to promote Lieut
Hovey of Co. D. Another petition was
circulated for him without consulting the friends of Bacon, [and] the
result was [that ] we had Hovey for
Captain. Our nine weeks stay at Harpers Ferry gave us no time to drill,
[so] when we came to the regiment we
were one of the poorest drilled companies. The Boston Companies looked
upon us with an air of superiority.
Hovey, on taking command, said, if we pay strict attention to drill, he
would do his best to make us second to
none in point of drill, or anything that goes to make a soldier. He
said he was satisfied the material was
there, and all it needed was to be brought out, and he would do his
best to bring it out. His predictions
were all filled."
On Nov. 6, 1861, first Lieutenant
Charles H. Hovey, Co. D was promoted Captain of Company
K. Hovey proved to be an able officer. He served
all three years with the regiment and completed
his service with the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel. (photo of Capt. Hovey
courtesy of the Westborough Historical Society, Westborough, MA).
Return
to Top of Page
Letter
of Edwin Rice;
13th Mass Band
According to private John B. Noyes, his
best friend William F. Blanchard was accidentally shot by an Illinois
man with a pistol. Noyes was at
Hancock, and wouldn't have known the details when he wrote: "One of my
mess, Blanchard is at the point of
death, accidentally shot by a pistol in the hands of an Illinois
soldier. He was well educated &
perhaps the best informed man in the mess, had studied Virgil &
was thoroughly versed in same departments
of history. He was an indefatigable devourer of knowlege and
had known good society. Add to this a
thorough knowledge of common seamanship & extensive travel and
observation. I write as though he were
dead. Indeed he may be. There are conflicting reports."
The 13th Mass roster states Blanchard was
wounded November 28th, 1861. Edwin Rice who was in camp
& close to the hospital was able to report
on Blanchard's recovery. [William Blanchard, pictured
left].
Rice also mentions
the death of a third man in the newly arrived troops of
the 39th Illinois. A measles epidemic was raging through the
ranks of that regiment, but their history
states the 3 men died of other causes. They are listed as Lt.
Joseph Richardson; of typhoid fever,
Private William Parrish, Co. G; organic disease of the heart; and Priv.
Henry Hosington, Co. B; turberculosis.
A touching tribute to the 13th Mass is given in the
following anecdote from the 39th Illinois history:
"While here,
First-Lieutenant Joseph W. Richardson, of Company A, was taken
sick with typhoid fever. He received the best of care at the Globe Inn,
where he was quartered, but after a
painful illness he succumbed to the disease, November 17th,
1861. The ladies of the house contributed a
very pretty wreath of flowers, and the regimental colors, furled with
crape, were hung at the window of the
room where he lay. He was buried with military honors on the
banks of the Potomac river, between two
hostile armies—the friends and foes of the Union.
"The regiment had
no arms at this time, and upon request to Colonel
Leonard, commanding the Thirteenth Massachusetts and the Post, to send
a firing party, he responded with his
whole regiment, which turned out with the Thirty-Ninth to do the last
sad offices for the dead lieutenant.
This, perhaps, is the only instance during the war where two regiments,
at the front, attended the burial of a
soldier, no matter of what rank. Chaplain McReading read the impressive
burial service of the Masonic Order, to
which the deceased belonged, and soon after the hills echoed the salute
which Massachusetts fired over the
grave of a patriot son of Illinois."
Letter of Edwin Rice
|
Williamsport,
Maryland
December 2nd 1861
Viola,
I received your letter which was mailed
the 28th, Saturday night. I should have
written to you yesterday but I wrote to Mother and that took about all
the spare time I had.
For a week
past we have had a considerable rain. Last Friday it
rained nearly all day and it was quite warm too. Saturday it
was very pleasant overhead and very
unpleasant underfoot. Yesterday it was cool and cloudy and I
thought that by this morning we might find
some snow on the ground. But it cleared off last night and this morning
it is very cool but pleasant.
What kind of
a place have you got? What sort of a place is
Walpole? Seen anything of “Tab Lass” yet? When I
wrote you last, I thought we might
leave here, and hoped we might. But we are still here and if
the different reports are true we shall stay
here during the winter. I heard yesterday that the Q.M. was
going to look up some lumber to build
barracks to live in this winter. Another report is that four companies
are going to Sharpsburg and the other
two were going to Hagerstown where the headquarters will be.
The Band will stay where the headquarters
are.
Blanchard who
was accidentally shot is much better. The doctor
knows where the ball is, but it is so far in that he cannot get it out
the way it went in. John Burnap of
Co K is very badly breached and the doctor says that he cannot live but
a short time longer. He has been
so about a week. Gassett has got a very bad cold, and has
been spitting blood this morning. He is feeling
pretty blue.
The Chaplain
got back from Boston Saturday afternoon and yesterday
instead of preaching a sermon, he gave a short account of his
adventures in Boston. John Brown has just
come in and says he heard the Chaplain say that we should know by
Wednesday where we shall stay this winter. He
thinks it will be about a mile from here in or near a large wood lot,
in huts. It takes three days for
letters to come here and I suppose about the same to go to
Mass. I haven’t written Uncle Edwin for
some time. I don’t like to write letters unless I get answers
to them. Haven’t had one
from him since September 22nd.
The Illinois
39th buried another of their men last Friday
afternoon. This is the third one that has died since they
have been here.
It is so cold
here today that my feet have got cold whilst sitting in
the tent with a fire in it all the time.
Had a letter
from Wm. Piper Saturday night. He wrote that Willis was
having a good time. He says his patriotism is not up to the
sticking point this cold weather.
I don’t know
as I can think of anything more to write
about. It will not take much colder weather to put a stop to
our playing outdoors. There is always
a little water in the valves of our horns and one of these days they
will be freezing up. One morning
last week, 2 or 3 horns did freeze up.
Good Bye,
Edwin Rice
|
Death
of John S.
Burnap, Company K
There were two
deaths in the 13th Mass camp. John S. Burnap, age 21
died Dec. 10th, and George C. Haraden, age 18, died December 22; both
of Company K. On the home-front,
the townspeople continued to worry and provide for the comfort
of the boys away from home.
|
Westboro Transcript
December 14, 1861
Westboro
Company K, has at length been visited by
death. John S. Burnap died at the Camp Hospital,
Williamsport, on Tuesday, 10th inst., at 5 o’clock A.M., after a
painful illness of nearly a
fortnight. His father was with him at the time of his death,
having left home the previous Thursday in
response to a summons by telegraph. Deceased was the elder
son of Albert J. Burnap, a well known citizen
of this place, and was twenty one years and four months of age.
He was entitled by reason of threatened
physical disability, to be honorably excused from
military service; but ignoring his privilege he promptly responded to
the government’s call for aid, and
marched to the field with as patriotic impulses, as high hopes and as
firm a purpose as those which animated
his comrades. The spirit was indeed willing, - but the flesh
was weak. After a brief but faithful
service of four months the young soldier sank under the hardships and
exposure of the Camp, and died a martyr
to the sacred cause.
At the time of writing the body had not
arrived in town.
Among the goodies lately sent out to Co. K,
was a large cheese donated by Mr. And Mrs.
Emory Bowman. So pleased were the boys with the gift that
they passed a special vote of thanks to Uncle
Emory and his wife. Two cheeses sent out by Dea. Lyman
Belknap were also handsomely acknowledged.
People may rest assured that such kindness is not thrown away.
(digital
transcription by Brad Forbush).
|
Letter
of Edwin
Rice; December 15th
This is the only known image of the 13th Mass Band in
service, taken at
Hagerstown,
Maryland, December 11th 1861, by photographer E. M. Recher, at his
Hagerstown Public Square studio. Bandleader 'Tom" Richardson, age
26, is
standing to the left. Next to him is Edward Bond. Edwin
Rice, age 22, stands behind Bond, 3rd from left.
Stephen A. Howe, age 20 is next, then Silas Ball, age 24, behind
him. Francis Knapp, (or Frank), age 25, the founder of the
band, is standing
in the center of the photograph. Charles F. Witherbee, age 21, is
tucked behind Knapp in the back. Charles H. Williams, age 32, is
the tall man with the full beard. Charles was married to Sophia Forbush
of Westboro, who was my Great-Great-Grandfather William Henry Forbush's
little sister. The two men were brother-in-laws serving in the
same regiment. Next is Thomas Lane, age 47, behind
Williams. Foster W. Gassett, age 28, next to Williams, James B.
Fuller, age 20, and Austin B. Lawrence, age 32, on the end with the
bass drum. In the front row are, William R. Witherbee, age 21,
(brother of Charles) William G. Howe, age 23, James M. Holt, age 24,
John Brown, age 30, and Frank W. Loring, age 28.
Other band members listed in the roster but not pictured
here were, Edward P.
Richardson, age 24; John
Viles, (arrangement), age 44; and, Frank O.
Ward, age 20. This photograph has been enhanced in
Photoshop by webmaster Brad Forbush. The
original is very washed out. It comes from the booklet "Civil
War Letters of Edwin Rice" Edited by Ted
Perry; 1975. The key to the names is referenced from an anotated
copy of this image at the Army Heritage Education Center, (AHEC) in
Carlisle, PA. There were still some discrepencies in the
identification. I have alternate images of 5 of the bandmembers,
as well as a positive id for Francis Knapp, who was mis-labeled, which
helped me to sort out the problems.
|
Williamsport,
Maryland
December 15th 1861
Viola,
I received your letter Monday night and
should have answered sooner if I had anything in
particular to write about. The general complaint here seems
to be “nothing to write about”,
though I suppose that those who belong to the companies find more to
write about than we who belong to the
Band.
It is thought
in camp now that there is a larger force of the rebels
from dam No. 4 to dam No. 5 than there has been since we have been
here. Wednesday, Co’s I and K
were ordered down to dam No. 4 but before they had got down there they
were ordered back. A capt. and 9
men of an Indiana company who are stationed there crossed the river and
were taken by some rebel cavalry who
were concealed in the woods. An attack was expected and they
sent up for reinforcements. About 2
o’clock yesterday morning Co’s D and K were ordered up to dam No.
5. They came back last
night without seeing anything or anybody on the other side of the
river. We expect to hear soon of battle
between Gen. Kelly and the rebels near Martinsburg. The 39th
Illinois have at last got their arms and
equipment and I have heard that they were going to join Gen. Kelly’s
forces.
Burnap of Co
K died last Tuesday morning. The Chaplain preached a
funeral sermon Tuesday afternoon down town. Co K with the
band attended it. The Chaplain made a few
very good remarks. We played the Vesper Hymn, Russian Hymn,
Dead March, a dirge Come ye Disconsolate and
Peace Troubled Soul. His father was here and took the body to
Massachusetts on Wednesday.
Wednesday the
band went to Hagerstown to have a photograph taken.
The artist could not take a photograph outdoors, and so we cuddled up
into a heap in his room and he took us
the best he could which is not saying a great deal for him.
We got them last night. I have one
which I am going to send home and am going to get another one and send
to you.
Kennedy
{Kennay} who was shot a week ago today at dam No. 5 is getting
along pretty well considering his wounds. He was wounded in
his thigh, hip, and calf. I heard the
doctor say that Blanchard was getting along very well, and would get
well.
I bought a
Harpers for December yesterday and as soon as I finish this
I am going to enjoy myself for a time reading it. The time
during the day passes away pretty slow but the
weeks pass away so fast that it does not seem as though there were more
than 4 days in a week. I am
expecting another box from home with a few things in it.
The boy that Tom
had did not like it
very well so he left. He is with Seargent Paff, the boss
teamster. Paff has a brother here who is going
home in a few days. The boy (Jim Brown) told me this morning
that he was going with him. He says he
will have to go to Greencastle in Pennsylvania before he can get onto
the cars, as he will not be allowed to
take the cars in Hagerstown. He is, I should judge, about 12
or 14 years old. His masters’
name is or was Bill Poole and lives in Poolesville. He says
Mr. Paff is going to send him to school after
he gets to Boston where Mr. Paff belongs. If he only had some
education he would make a pretty smart boy.
(Sgt. William Pfaff, pictured right).
I don’t think
of anything to write about now. Oh yes, we had a
very good time at Hagerstown. We were there nearly all
day. We took our horns with us and played a
number of pieces which seemed to take very well. The best
piece we have got, we got of the Illinois
band. It is “Then You’ll Remember Me” from the opera of the
Bohemian Girl. It is
not very hard but is the best tune I ever heard a band play.
It is a serenade.
The Illinois band is not a very good one.
Yours &c
Edwin Rice
|
Return to
Top of Page
Oliver
H. Walker
|
Head Quarters 13th Regt. Rifles, Mass. Vol.
Camp
Jackson
Williamsport, Md Dec. 2nd/61
(?)
Dear Father
and Mother
I put a
little note for you in a package that I have sent to Julia to
day but I have thought it also better to write you by mail, because a
note is a poor return for your kind
letter that was most gladly received though long time in
coming. I should have answered it before I know,
but very many reasons have I to allege for the why and wherefore of my
not writing. I did receive that box long
ago. It came to me when we were in Camp at Monocacy and I do not know
how I came to be so stupid as not to
acknowledge its receipt. It was most welcome and the cake was
pronounced excellent by all hands. I
also believe that I have forgotten to thank Edward for the Balsom and
slippery elm that he so kindly sent to
me. He wrote to me some time since saying that he was trying
to get an appointment in the Navy, and I was
much pleased to receive a letter from him a few days ago, stating that
He is going as Surgeon’s Mate in
the U.S. Ship Huron. I am very glad for him and feel that he is well
placed. I think it the duty of every
capable young man who desires to serve his country in her hour of
trial, to place himself in as good a position
as possible, and I am truly glad that Ned is not going in a humble
capacity.
You tell me that Martha wondered that I
did not write to her. I have been obliged to
neglect her as well as others of late, but she has heard from me since
you wrote me, and I must be more prompt
to you all in future. Until I received your letter I was not aware of
the arrival in New England of Uncle and
aunt Hilton. I am very much relieved to hear that this is so. I have
heard all sorts of stories; that Uncle
Oliver and Henry Wirren? went in the rebel army; that Uncle was killed
at Bull Run, and a great deal more of
the same; now if the rest? can only get away as safely how nice it will
be. Julia wrote me that she has
seen Aunt Ellen and was much pleased with her; she said she thought her
very pleasant and chatty. I fancy
she must be as chatty as ever. I wish with you that I could
see your dear little birds, I do not know
when I shall come to take mine away. I do certainly think
that little Cherry has done very well, she is a
fine little Mother. You ask when I heard from Lizzie
Ball. I wrote to her some time since, but have
not heard a word from her in reply, most probably one of the letters
miscarried. I was thinking a few
days ago of the same subject that you mention, the time several years
ago when you were a bride. It does
not seem to be so long ago, I can not realize that so long a time has
passed, and I seem to be a great deal
younger than I am when I think how near??? and yet how far away the
happy days of child hood are.
Father asks me if I do not need my
flannels. I am beginning to need them, now that
winter is on us. And if you please you may send them to me as
soon after you receive this as you can do
so conveniently. My two under shirts are all that I need, if
you will please put them in a box they will
come to me safely. Julia is to send me some little articles and I have
asked her to send them with the
flannels, so you can make a little package together. Please
direct to “Oliver H. Walker Co. C.
Capt. Jackson, 13th Regt Mass. Vols. Williamsport Md. via
Hagerstown” Adams & Co’s
Express. I will pay the expense. Please send as
soon as convenient. And write me a good long
letter and send in the box. When did you hear from Grandpa
and Grandma. Please let me know.
Do take good care of your health both of you. My regards to
Joseph and to all friends and with much love
I am your son Oliver
|
In mid-December,
1861, Oliver H. Walker obtained a commission in the 24th
Massachusetts Volunteers and left the 13th Regiment. He wrote
home on December 10th, "I have received an
appointment in the 24th Regiment as Orderly Sergeant, and leave for
Annapolis tonight to join my new company."
Then, from the 24th Regt. on December 29th; Camp
Foster, Maryland:
"The Regiment is going South in Gen. Burnside's
Expedition... my place is really the one
involving more labor than and quite as much responsibility as, any
other in the company; and it takes some
little time to fit myself perfectly in the position so that everything
will work smoothly. I am gald to
say however that my experience as a private in the 13th Regt. has
proved beneficial to me...I like my company
very much, the men are smart and willing, mostly young men, many from
the country and are just the stuff for
which to make good soldiers. My Officers are splendid young
men and are just such men as I should select
to be over me...an officer in my position is hardly watched and
severely tried and this knowledge if none other
would keep me humble or at least free from anoyance...
"We are destined
to make a heavy stroke (as I believe) with this division
and our Regiment will have an honorable past, perhaps one of much
danger, and some of the young and brave who
hold commissions here can hardly fail to fall in the struggle, and sad
hearts will be in many proud homes in
Boston; those who fight in the ranks have dear ones at home also, and
if any of us fall, there will be weeping
for us also..."
Burnsides
expedition to Roanoak Island was a success. Oliver followed
the successful fortunes of Union campaigns in North Carolina, South
Carolina and finally St. Augustine, Florida
through 1863, when Lieutenant Walker of the 24th Mass, was mortally
wounded in action, December 30th of that
year.
Twelve of his letters are in the Pierce Civil War Collection, Navarro
College, Corsicana, Texas.
Return to
Top of Page
Stonewall
Attacks Dam No. 5.
 Col.
Leonard's vigilance continued. From the
Regimental history the following pickets are listed:
Dec. 14. Companies D and K sent to Dam
No. 5, but returned the same night.
Dec. 17. Company I sent on picket (to
Four Locks)
On Dec. 17
Confederates showed up again at Dam No. 5. This time
Stonewall Jackson was leading them in person. For several
days he tried to throw the Union troops off
guard, while dam-wreckers worked away at destroying the structure.
With Colonel
Leonard acting Brigadier, Lieutenant-Colonel N. Walter
Batchelder was in command of the regiment in camp.
During Stonewall Jackson's second attempt to
destroy Dam No. 5, of the Chesapeake & Ohio Canal,
(Dec.17-21) he sent a diversionary force to Falling
Waters, in an attempt to draw away federal troops from his true object.
In response, Lt.-Col.
Batchelder was dispatched to Falling Waters. His
report to Col. Leonard describes what happened.
(Photo of
Lt.-Col. Batchelder).
Report
of Lieutenant
Colonel N. Walter Batchelder, commanding regiment.
"GLC03393.31
N.W. Batchelder to Colonel Leonard, 21
December 1861. (The Gilder Lehrman Collection. Not to be
reproduced without written permission.)"
Head Quarters 13th Regt. Mass Vols
Camp Jackson near Williamsport, Md.
December 21, 1861.
Colonel,
It is with pleasure that I have to report to you the result of the late
skirmish with the enemy, near Falling
Waters.
In obedience to orders received from you on the night of the 18th inst,
I marched my command, consisting of
Cos. C, D, & G of this regiment, with a section of Capt. Best’s
battery under command of Lieut.
Crosby, in the direction of Falling Waters. Arriving on the
main road, Co C was deployed as skirmishers
on both sides of the road, and advanced very cautiously, expecting
every moment to meet the skirmishers of the
enemy. Companies G & D, with the artillery in front,
followed on the road, in the rear of Co C.
I advanced in this way until we arrived at the road leading to Falling
Waters. Co G was then ordered to
deploy on the Downesville road and Co C on the road to the right
leading to Falling Waters. Co D acted as
a reserve. One gun was planted in the main road sweeping the
Downesville road and the other was planted in a
field to the left of the main road, so as to command the road leading
to Falling Waters.
We remained in this position until near morning when Co D was sent to
Falling Waters, to reinforce Co K.
At this time, considerable firing was heard from the direction of Co
K’s pickets on the river, and heavy
firing from Dam No 5. The enemy appeared to be in
considerable force, but made no attempt to cross the
river. The section of artillery before mentioned, was then
ordered to Falling Waters, where they opened
fire on the enemy, but with little effect. The enemy replied
with their guns, and finding ours of little
or no use, owing to their short range, they were ordered to retire out
of range of the enemy’s fire. We
remained in this position during Wednesday and until Thursday P.M. when
we were reinforced by a Parrott gun
from Lieut Ricketts command, which was immediately sent down to the
river. Several shots were fired at a
large barn (which appeared to be a rendezvous for the cavalry of the
enemy) one or two of which took
effect. The gun was then sent to Falling Waters, and having
taken up a good position, immediately opened
fire on the enemy, who were seen in large numbers behind some hay
stacks. They consisted of Infantry and
cavalry; several well directed shots, caused them to dispurse in every
direction. Company G. Capt Fiske,
was ordered in from the Downesville road at 7 o’clock P.M. on Thursday
and ordered to picket the river,
connecting with the line of pickets opposite Falling Waters.
Company K was then ordered in and sent to camp. Everything
remained quiet during Thursday night.
Friday morning at 10 A.M. Co D returned to Camp, together with the
three guns. In the afternoon, the
enemy having entirely disappeared, the remaining Companies of my
command, C & G, took up the line of march
for the camp, where they arrived at 8 o’clock P.M.
I am happy to state that there were no casualties on our side, while
the loss of the enemy must have been
considerable.
N.W. Batchelder Lt-Conl
To Col S. H. Leonard
Com Post. |
Letter
of Charles B. Fox,
Company K.
December 22 Jackson departed and things remained
relatively quiet for the next two weeks.
Second Lieutenant Charles B. Fox, Company K, writes to his father and
describes the situation in camp.
|
Charles Barnard Fox to Rev. Thomas Bayley
Fox, letterbook, 23 December 1861, Fox Family
Papers, Massachusetts Historical Society; used with permission.
Camp Jackson Md. Dec. 23/61.
I shall try to remit about $50- per month if
possible. Circumstances are rather
against me for saving, as Capt. Hovey and Lieut. Bacon wish to live
rather higher than I care about doing, and
besides, as they both have private servants, a division of expenses
brings some what more to my share than
belongs there – However, I don’t complain for it might be worse by
far. Dr. Heard has
returned to his post, rather soon for his own good I fear, but much to
my satisfaction for Dr. Whitney, by
reason of much drinking, is at times entirely unfit for his position
and duties. And the times come quite often
I fear. If our officers are not careful the Regt. will lose more men
from disease than in the field. Some
exposure cannot be helped, but unnecessary evils should be
avoided. Our guard quarters for the last month
have been uncomfortable in the extreme, and yet no effort has been made
to improve them. The officers do
not suffer much, it is the enlisted men. The crying evil in our
regiment, in my opinion is, to use a common
phrase, “Muchness of Whiskey” – But I did not commence this to fill it
with grumblings, and
will hold up, though sometimes I feel awfully like grumbling.
If this war is to continue, a more thorough
system must be observed in our volunteer regiments – Nothing but strict
observance of the regulations
will ever make them serviceable as they should be. Now an officer who
tries to do his duty, only incurs the ill
will of men favored and flattered by those who wish popularity. I think
Senator Wilson’s bill, abolishing
the differences between Volunteers and Regulars, will if a good one in
its conditions, pass. From the
movements of the rebels in this neighborhood, I think the intention is
to decoy us over the river and then meet
us with a much superior force. I don’t think they will succeed – Col.
Leonard is not I think, to be
entrapped that way. They annoy us very much however, as the distance
from Dam No. 5. to Falling Waters, owing
to the bend of the river, is about 15 miles on our side of the Potomac
and only about 4 on theirs. The
consequence is that we have occasionally to move around rather
lively. I do not believe Jackson’s
force opposite is over 9000 – and he will hardly attempt crossing as
yet, with that. If he does he
ought to be very severely whipped. Their advantages for re-inforcing
are superior to ours however, and Gen.
Banks needs to keep his eyes open. They have an especial
dislike to the 13th Mass. as they say “
they can go nowhere, from Harper’s Ferry to Hancock, without some of
them turning up within 24 hours with
those damned rifles.” Rather profane but very true, for we
have bothered them with the long range
of our guns exceedingly.
|
Report
of Colonel
Leonard to Major-General Banks.
On Dec. 24th Col. Leonard was able to report to
General N.P. Banks "I have the honor to report
everthing quiet all along my line." On the 30th he sent the
following report:
|
(Banks
Papers; Library of Congress).
Head Quarters
Williamsport Md
Dec. 30, 1861.
Major Gen’l Banks
Com’g Div’n U.S.A.
Sir,
Your
communication came duly to
hand having received them last evening on my return from Hancock,
having been there in Company with Capt.
Shriber A.D.C. I have given him all the information in regard
to the troops, positions and regiments that
I was possessed of. Mr. Spates has not called upon me neither
has he commenced operations yet, and I
cannot ascertain what his intentions are. The Arms received for Lamon’s
Brigade, were two thousand of the
Springfield rifled Muskets. One Thousand were delivered to
the 39th Illinois Vols. And I have about
six hundred on hand. Two Thousand French Rifles came also and they have
been sent to Hancock by
Gen’l Kelley’s order. They are I believe for two Pennsylvania
Regiments. The Rebels
have again appeared at Dam No. 5. and at Falling Waters. The force I
have not yet learned but it is evidently
smaller than before. I think their intentions are to destroy
the rail road from Bask Creek, as they are
running cars to that point. I have sent a Parrott Gun to try and stop
them. I am momentarily expecting an
attack from them, and feel fully able to take are of them. I will Keep
you fully advised as to their movements.
I send you
two more applications for furloughs.
I have the honor to be
Yours Very Resp’y
S. H. Leonard
Col.
Com’g Post.
|
Return to
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Letter
of Edwin Rice;
Christmas Eve
|
Williamsport,
Maryland
Eve of December 24th 1861
Viola,
I received my box and a letter from
Mother last night. The box was nearly two weeks in
coming. She did not write much.
The weather
since Saturday has been pretty cool. Yesterday it
rained, hailed, and snowed, and froze. It was a disagreeable
day outside but was comfortable in the
tents. Yesterday morning the trees were all iced over and the
limbs of the trees would keep breaking off
and the ice would rattle down on the tents. Last night it
cleared up a little and the wind blew very
strong during the night. We expected it would blow the tents
down but it did not. It is bad weather for
the horses.
There is not
much doubt now but that we shall quarter in this vicinity
during the winter. The Quartermaster has received orders to
get the lumber to build barracks with.
It is reported that this regiment has done more picket guard duty than
any other regiment in Bank’s
division.
There has
another death occurred in Co K. George [Harraden] died
in the hospital yesterday morning of the dropsy. He had been
sick about two weeks and it was thought that
he was getting better as he sat up nearly all day on Sunday. He died
quite suddenly. Funeral services are
to be held this afternoon. His body is to be sent to Westboro.
The rebels
are pretty quiet around here now, though they are still at
Falling Waters and dam 4. Co F is at dam 5 and Falling Water
and Co G is at dam 4. We got our
winter regulation blankets. They are between 5 to 6 feet wide
and 8 to 9 feet long. They are first
rate blankets. Mother sent me some sausages, butter, a small
loaf of bread, a sponge cake, a mince pie
and a lot of apples, some shirts and drawers.
I received a
letter from Henry last Saturday. He did not write much but
from what he did write I should think that soldiering with him was not
what it was before he left the
fort. I suppose he feels about the same as we did when we
first got to Sharpsburg.
He will feel
better after he gets settled down the same as we
have. If we can’t get what we want, we take what we can get,
and thank our Stars that it is not
worse.
I haven’t
read that piece by Mr. Bird, but shall this evening. I
have just received the paper which you sent me. Uncle Edwin
sent me a Boston Journal of the 16th which I
got this morning.
The troops
that are around Washington, I don’t think have the
luxuries that we do, such as milk, eggs, chickens etc. I don’t mean to
say that I have all those things
for I don’t.
Yesterday I
did a little tailoring. I put two pockets in my
overcoat. Had better luck than I expected and flatter myself
that they are done pretty well.
As tomorrow
is Christmas and to be in season, I shall wish you a Merry
Christmas.
Yours,
Edwin Rice
|
Returns
for
December
|
(Letter
transcriptions taken from the now defunct web-
site "Letters of the Civil War").
Roxbury City Gazette
January 16, 1862.
Returns from
the 13th regiment, for the month of December, have been
recieved at the State House. Two men have died of disease -
John S. Burnap and Geo. C. Haraden, of Co. K,
at Williamsport. Charles F. Mose, 2d Lieutenant, is Assistant
Commissary at Hagerstown. Capt.
Rob't. C. Schriber is Acting Aid-de-Camp to Gen. Banks.
Charles H. Hovey promoted to be Captain of Co. K.
Col. Leonard commands a brigade. Lieut.-Col.
Batchelder is in commmand of the regiment. Major
Gould has reported to the Commissary General at Washington.
The Mass.
13th are feared by the rebels, as will be seen by the
following conversation, which took place between the rebels on one side
of the Potomac River, and Co. C, [13th]
on the other: - "What regiment is guarding that place?'
"Mass. 13th.' 'Where in time aint the Mass.
13th? We have travelled up and down this river for fifty
miles, and everywhere we find the Massachusetts
13th, and every man appears to carry a small cannon on his back.'
(digital
transcription by James Burton).
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To read a very thorough article about Jackson's
attempt to destroy Dam No. 5, follow the
link from the 1861 page on this website.
İBradley
M. Forbush 2009.
Page Updated March 10, 2014
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