Could McDowell Have Moved Faster ?

     It is interesting to read soldiers' letters to get a feel for what was happening as history unfolded.  It is especially interesting if the writer has a keen eye for observation and detail.

Stonewall Jackson's Valley Campaign;

Late May, 1862

          One of the criticisms of the Union forces trying to cut off Stonewall Jackson during his 1862 Valley Campaign, was that they moved too slow.  John B. Noyes, a private in Co. B, 13^th Mass. Vols, [Hartsuff’s Brigade] participated in the march and he agrees McDowell moved too slowly. 

     Here is the setup:

     General McClellan’s 100,000 troops are closing in around Richmond, the Confederate Capital. General McDowell is close by at Falmouth, with 50,000 troops about to join them.  In an attempt to draw off some of the pressure around Richmond, General Lee sends General Richard Ewell’s troops to the Shenandoah Valley to join forces with Stonewall Jackson and create a disturbance there.  Lee hoped the disturbance would draw away some of McDowell's forces to the valley.  The ploy worked.

     General Nathaniel Banks, greatly reduced army was holding the Valley for the Union.  His forces were outnumbered by the Confederates two to one.  When Jackson and Ewell surprised a small outpost at Front Royal, Va. on May 22, Banks’ small army was spread thin.  Jacksons’ force swept down on the small garrison at Front Royal and captured 700 of the 1,000 men posted there.

     Banks was taken off guard.  Positioned 10 miles west of Front Royal at Strasburg, he was loath to retreat, but had little choice.  Jackson could advance to Winchester and surround him.  By early morning the next day Banks was racing back to his supply base at Winchester 20 miles north.  His army made a gallant stand from a strong position on two hills southwest of the town on May 25th, but the 15,000 Confederates eventually broke the lines of the 6,000 Federals.  The defeat turned into a Union route, but a masterly retreat nonetheless.  Banks’ army didn’t rest until they crossed the Potomac River into Maryland 35 miles north.  The sometimes dis-organized Jackson, couldn’t pursue because he could not locate his Confederate Cavalry, who like the tired and hungry infantry had stopped to pillage the Union supplies left behind by ‘Commissary Banks.’

     The next day Jackson deployed his army to threaten points north, particularly the Union Garrison at Harper’s Ferry.  President Lincoln and the Washington authorities were panicked.   Lincoln ordered General McDowell in the East, and General Fremont in the West to join forces in the Valley in hopes of capturing Jackson with a ‘pincers’ movement.  McDowell complied with the President’s order, but, understanding the Confederate motives, he told the President, in a telegram March 24:

“I obeyed your order immediately, for it was positive and urgent, and perhaps as a subordinate, there I ought to stop; but I trust I may be allowed to say something in relation to the subject, especially in view of your remark, that everything now depends upon the celerity and vigor of my movements.  I beg to say that cooperation between General Fremont and myself to cut Jackson and Ewell there is not to be counted upon, even if it is not a practical impossibility.  Next, I am entirely beyond helping distance of General Banks; no celerity or vigor will avail so far as he is concerned.  Next, that by a glance at the map, it will be seen that the line of retreat of the enemy's forces up the valley is shorter than mine to go against him.  It will take a week or ten days for the force to get to the valley by the route which will give it food and forage, and by that time the enemy will  have retired.  I shall gain nothing for you there, and shall lose much for you here.  It is, therefore, not only on personal grounds that I have a heavy heart in the matter, but that I feel it throws us all back, and from Richmond north we shall have all our large masses paralyzed, and shall have to repeat what we have just accomplished.  I have ordered General Shields to commence the movement by to-morrow morning.  A second division will follow in the afternoon.  Did I understand you aright, that you wished that I personally should accompany this expedition?  I hope to see Governor Chase to-night and express myself more fully to him.

Very respectfully,

Irvin McDowell.”

     McDowell sent two divisions under General Shields and General Ord to the Valley.  The 13^th Mass were with General Ord. 

The March

     General Shield’s 10,000 men arrived at Front Royal May 31^st, in time to cut off Jackson who was still north of Strasburg.  But Shield’s hesitated, because Gen’l Ord was still a days march behind, and Fremont’s force had not yet appeared from the west. 

 James I. Robertson, jr.  wrote in “Stonewall Jackson,  The Man, The Soldier, The Legend” :  Jackson had no way of knowing that the Union “celerity of movement” necessary for his entrapment had turned into a comedy of errors.’  The author then relates Fremont’s blunders and Shield’s hesitation to attack.

     Way down the chain of command, a private in the ranks, yet a Harvard Graduate and astute observer who would one day prove a very capable officer in the 28^th Mass., Private John B. Noyes, complained in letters home, that McDowell could have quickened his advance to Front Royal.  He placed all the blame on McDowell, as at that time, hatred of McDowell was rampant among the officers and men under his command.  (The source of this contempt will be the subject of a future post.)

     In the midst of the campaign on June 8^th Noyes wrote his Father* about McDowell’s move from Falmouth to Front Royal :

     "Perhaps the insensate lollygagging of somebody who kept us on the R.R. from Alexandria to Manassas six hours longer than was necessary, that wasted a whole day at Manassas, a second between that place and Thoroughfare Gap by delaying the cars did not occasion the escape of Jackson.  Why in spite of all this delay we were not twelve hours late.   It took us just seven days to proceed from Falmouth to Front Royal.  The men could have performed the journey better in much less time.  Let us see.  We left Falmouth Sunday afternoon.  The brigade should

have been in Alexandria at 10 A.m. Monday, at Manassas at two o’clock, at Thoroughfare Gap at 3 o’clock of the same day, that is to say at Thoroughfare Gap in 24 hours.  This would have been allowing a large margin for the delay in transporting large bodies of men.  It takes but six hours to sail from Alexandria to Acquia Creek, and an hour or so to ride from thence to Manassas, and another hour to ride to Thoroughfare Gap which is but four miles from Alexandria.  We should have then had two days rations in our haversacks.  Instead of being there on Monday, we did not arrive till Thursday, about five o’clock.  The rebels did not destroy the water building I believe til Thursday A.m., or Wednesday, P.m. when Shields who started from Falmouth on Saturday overland was at the heels of the rebels. Tuesday and Wednesday would have brought us to Front Royal, not without having captured small parties of secesh.  We then would have been some 48 hours ahead of Jackson, and placed him between us and Fremont and crushed him.  As it was we were a half or a whole day late, perhaps I ought to say twelve hours.  Shields beheld the rear guard of Jackson retreating some six miles from Front Royal on Sunday A.m.  He came Saturday  P.M. but was compelled to await our coming before he could proceed with his eighteen regiments of infantry and 36 cannon."

     Noyes puts all the blame on General McDowell but for the wrong reasons, sighting professional jealousies as the reasons for McDowell’s delay.  In his letters home, Noyes continued to berate General McDowell for a myriad of other failings as a commander.

     Still, McDowell’s troops, as well as Fremont’s, did tarry, which allowed Stonewall Jackson to escape.   On May 30^th, Jackson’s forces “were nearly twice as far from Strasburg as the converging forces of Fremont and Shields.”**   On May 31^st Jackson reached Strasburg ahead of the Yankees.  He continued to push his exhausted army south and not only escaped, but out-witted and out-fought the pursuing Federal troops under Fremont and Shields. 

*MS Am2332 (52); Houghton Library, Harvard University

** “Battle Cry of Freedom, by James McPherson; p. 458.

Connecting Links

     It was difficult selecting a topic to post this March.  In February I pushed to finish and publish the latest webpage for my website, which had to do with Jackson’s 1862 Valley Campaign;  To Front Royal and Back.    Then I turned my attention to a presentation scheduled for March 10th at the West Valley Civil War Roundtable.  The topic of my talk was titled “Nine Weeks at Harper’s Ferry.”  It’s based on this page of my website, Nine Weeks at Harper's Ferry, but drew heavily on my ‘John Brown’ blog posts from October.

     It was fun putting together my first ‘PowerPoint’ Presentation for the talk.  I got to incorporate all sorts of interesting pictures into the slide show.   Naturally, for me, I had too much material and didn’t get through it all.   But the talk was successful nonetheless.  This took up all my time in early March and I didn’t know what new subject of interest to post here on the blog.   The subjects of these two projects, the 13^th Mass at Harper’s Ferry in 1861, and Jackson’s Valley Campaign of 1862 seemed widely divergent; you might say they were ‘myles’ apart.

     My efforts to research Shields’ and Fremont’s pursuit of Jackson up the Shenandoah Valley, kept bringing me to this website;  Myles Keogh.   I was impressed and eventually solicited the author’s opinions on the campaign, and so made another important Civil War friend and contact.

      As it turns out there is a connecting link between these two stories, and that is ‘Captain’ R. C. Schriber of the 13^th Mass.  Words like ‘idiot’ and ‘fraud’ generally follow mention of his name.

     Schriber commanded Company I, 13^th Mass., at the Ferry in 1861, and he was also on General James Shields’ staff in the Valley Campaign of 1862.   He was conspicuous enough to earn detailed mentions in 3 books; "Three Years in the Army" (1894) by Charles E. Davis, Jr; "Three Years With Company K" by Sgt. Austin C. Stearns, [deceased] (1976); and "The Strange Story of Harper’s Ferry" by Joseph Barry, (1903).  Perhaps there are more.  These authors only hint at Schriber’s subsequent career with a Maryland Brigade, but at ‘Myles Keogh’  I found some correspondence from Colonel Samuel S. Carroll addressed to Lt-Col. Schriber of Gen. Shields’ staff, and had one of those ‘Aha!’ research moments. "So that's where he went !"

     Schriber always gets a good laugh whenever I give talks on the regiment and the March 10^th presentation was no exception.  So, for this post, I offer up excerpts  from my late presentation on R.C. Schriber of the 13^th Massachusetts Infantry and the 1st (?) Maryland Cavalry.

Mysterious Captain R. C. Schriber

     At Harper’s Ferry in September 1861, there was a skirmish at Beller’s Mill, (near the town) in which Companies I & K went a ways up Shenandoah Street to some flour mills.   They stayed about 2 hours, then encountered some Rebel cavalry on the way back.  As Company I came down Shenandoah Street shots rang out from the hill above the town.  This may be the skirmish in which Captain Schriber distinguished himself.  At first fire he jumped into the Shenandoah River to hide behind a stone wall that protected the Winchester and Potomac Railroad from the river.  The wall protected him from the bullets, but the strong current of the river nearly drowned him.

     His fine clothes were damaged.  A red sash he wore left a permanent stain on his uniform which no amount of washing could remove.  “It would appear as if his uniform eternally blushed for the cowardice of the unworthy wearer.” *

     Schriber was attached to the regiment at Fort Independence shortly before it left for the seat of war.  He passed himself off as a military officer with experience fighting against the Russians in the Crimean War, and Massachusetts Governor, John Andrew, appointed him Captain, to the 13^th Mass.  The claim of war service was highly doubted by those in Company I, under his command.

     At Harper’s Ferry he kept his headquarters on a canal boat, so as to be ready to retreat at any time, his men said.

     He had a good deal of trouble with his men.  Some were in the guard house about all the time. One day he was drilling his company in the manual of loading and firing.  He told them he would put every man in the guard house if they didn’t do exactly as he wanted.  Then he gave the commands…

     “Ready… Aim…   Aim Higher !”

     About ½ mistook his command for “Fire!” ;  and they fired.    Austin Stearns said it was fun to watch the “Dutchman” rave and shout language “not generally heard on drill.”

     His uniform was loaded down with medals and merit badges and the red sash.  After the river incident he lost caste with his men.  Austin Stearns said of him, “He could have fraud wrote after his name and not over express it.”

     Joseph Barry reports his conduct toward the ladies of the town was “disgraceful,” and there is evidence in the original field books of Company I, that he was dealing in illicit horse trading.

     But Captain Schriber’s ambitions could not be contained by the 13th regiment.  By late October he had manipulated his way onto Major-General N. P. Banks’ staff.

     He rose to the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel with the 1^st Maryland Cavalry, (Gen. James Shields’ division) but was eventually drummed out of the service for fraud.  He is mentioned in the war department’s ‘official records’ a few times.  One is his report on the battle of Kernstown, explaining his modest role in commanding the troops to victory.  Another mention is found in a  quote of General Shields referencing “deterioration in the situation; Col. Schriber is at work.”

     Here is 13^th Mass Historian Charles Davis’s sketch of Schriber:

     “The appointment of this officer to our regiment was an instance of attempting to graft foreign fruit to a native tree.  As it proved a lamentable failure, no apology is necessary for showing him up as a warning to future governors in making such attempts.  The fact that he had expressed a contemptuous opinion of Yankees doesn’t count for much,  but that was no reason why he should make himself conspicuous by peculiarities in dress or manners.  Eccentricities of this kind were unbecoming in a man of such mediocrity as he.

     Evidently the air we breathed was unsuitable for a man of his expansive nature, and we were glad when he shook the dust of the Thirteenth from his feet.  …We watched his career with interest as he sailed aloft, unconscious of his elephantine conceit, soaring higher and higher until he reached the rarefied air of a lieutenant-colonel in a Maryland brigade, where swindling and conduct unbecoming an officer were frowned upon.  Having reached this giddy height he exploded like the sky-rocket, whose flight he so much resembled, and like it plunged to earth again, followed by the fiery tears of his mysterious friends.  He was dismissed from the service, and is, probably, now in ‘Fair Bingen on the Rhine’ relating the heroic deeds he performed in Yankee land to save the Union.”

Note:  *Quote is from Joseph Barry's "Strange Story of Harper's Ferry."
To read more about Capt. Schriber see the link to my website page "Nine Weeks at HF" above.

The Monterey Pass Battlefield Association

One Continuous Fight; The Monterey Pass Battlefield Association; & The 'Other' Regiment.

Lee's Retreat from Gettysburg
Even people with little interest in the Civil War have heard of Gettysburg and the great battle that happened there.  But has anyone heard of the midnight Battle at Monterey Pass that directly followed?

Until 1999, Lee's retreat from Gettysburg was given little attention.  That's when Ted Alexander, Chief Historian at Antietam National Battlefield edited a special issue of North & South magazine on the subject.  Historians Eric Wittenberg, Steve French, and Kent Masterson Brown contributed detailed pieces on the fighting that followed Gettysburg as General Meade's Union Cavalry pursued the retreating Rebel Army to Williamsport, Md.  Some of these historians have since collaborated on a scholarly study of the retreat in detail, with analysis; "One Continuous Fight, The Retreat from Gettysburg and the Pursuit of Lee's Army of Northern Virginia, July 4-14, 1863; by Eric Wittenberg, J. David Petruzzi, and Michael F. Nugent; published by Savas-Beati; 2008.  http://www.gettysburgretreat.com/

Ted wrote the forward.  I'm reading the book now.  There were so many actions that took place in this ten day period that one trooper described it as 'one continuous fight,' hence the title of the book.

The Midnight Battle at Monterey Pass; July 4-5, 1863
Picture a midnight fight on a dark mountain top; a violent thunderstorm is raging; Yankee troopers and horse artillery are slowly advancing to capture a long Confederate wagon train of supplies and wounded, jamming narrow mountain roads and trying to cross the mountain before the Federals capture them.  A very small band of Confederates assisted with a battery of light artillery are blasting away at the Yankees trying to delay their advance.  It's so dark the soldiers can barely see their own hands in front of them.  Lightening and canon blasts point the way forward and define enemy targets.   Panicked teams drag wagons over the mountain cliffs, carrying with them screaming wounded.  Picture a wild Cavalry charge down the mountain. The troopers feel as if they are flying because they can't see the road below them.  This is the drama of the battle.

The Battlefield Association
I turned to the internet to see if I could find the route taken to Leitersburg by the 1st Vermont Cavarly the morning of July 5th.  The flanking ride is detailed in the book but the route was left off the accompanying map.  My search led me to John Miller and the Monterey Pass Battlefield Association.
http://www.emmitsburg.net/montereypass/index.htm

John and several others are trying to preserve the history of Emmitsburg by conducting tours, raising awareness and purchasing land.  I found the map I needed at this site and I wrote to John.  I told him my ancestor participated in some of the fighting during the retreat.

3rd U.S. Artillery

William Henry Forbush transferred out of the 13th Mass while in the hospital recovering from a wound received in the Battle of 2nd Bull Run, Aug. 30, 1862. He enlisted in 'Flying Battery C,' 3rd U.S. Artillery on Dec. 11, 1862.  He joined the unit in January, 1863 and started a diary.   (I've done so much research on the 13th Mass that I refer to this unit as the 'other' regiment.  It's been difficult to learn much about them.)  The battery was in reserve at Westminster, Md. during the battle of Gettysburg, but participated in the cavalry pursuit afterward.  William wasn't at Monterey Pass, but he mentions it.  He did participate in the engagement at Smithburg the next day.  Smithburg? you ask, what's that?  Boonsboro?  Jones Crossroads?  These engagements are hardly known today.

John Miller responded to my email with a color photo of Gardenhour's Hill where Williams battery was positioned July 5th.  Diary entries for the week read:

Saturday [July] 4.  Left Westminster Md. and came through Emmetsburg Md. and laid on the road all Night.  The Cavalry burnt a train of wagons and took the wagon Guard prisernors.

Sunday 5.  Came to within 1/2 mile of Smithsburg Md. and we came on the Rebels.  We opened on them with our whole Battery and they with a Battery.  Their Shells struck in the Town but done us no harm.

Monday 6. We came to Boonsboro Md. and the left Section went to a Rebel train of wagons and burnt them about 4.esn [dozen] number and charged through Hagerstown.  Hung a spy and then Laid in the woods that Night.

Tuesday 7.  The Section came back here.  Laid in Camp at Boonsborough Md. all Day. At Night had Orders to get ready to march but the Order was countermanded. Pleasant Day but Rainy Night.

Wednesday 8.  Started about 12 A.M. and Skirmeshed with the Rebels until dark then came back to the other side of Boonsboro and halted for the Night.

The Region Today

Much of the area is unchanged.  This is documented in 'One Continuous Fight' which features a section on touring the battlefield sites, complete with photos and GPS co-ordinates.  But time marches on and some of the sites are slowly disappearing.  After nearly150 years these little known areas are beginning to disappear, just as they are beginning to receive attention.  Gardenhour's Hill is marked for development and will soon be gone.  I'm hoping to get there to see it before that happens.  You might want to do the same. Check out the association and read about the Battle at Monterey Pass!

Drum Barracks Civil War Museum

Southern California does have some important Civil War history.  It is represented by the Drum Barracks Civil War Museum in Wilmington, California, which is part of the City of Los Angeles. You can read about California’s role here:  
http://www.drumbarracks.org/

This week I received notice that the Mayor and Los Angeles City Council are planning to layoff Susan Ogle, the Director of ‘the Drum,’ sometime between now and July 1^st.

I quote from Loran Bures’ message; Commander, Gen. W. S. Rosecrans Camp No. 2; Department of California & Pacific; Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War:

“On the eve of the Civil War Sesquicentennial (150th anniversary), it is, at best, short-sighted to eliminate the only full-time, onsite staff member of the only truly tangible connection that Southern California has to the Civil War, and California’s contribution to save the Union.  It would be next to impossible to find someone as knowledgeable and dedicated to the Drum Barracks as Susan Ogle.  The next several years will bring many opportunities to present and remind the people of Southern California and beyond about the sacrifices made by our ancestors to save the Union.  The Drum Barracks is the natural focal point for many of these activities. 

Most likely the Drum Barracks would be consolidated under the Director of the Banning Museum.  Needless to say we are concerned with the prospect of the Drum being only "slightly" managed.  The prospect of not having the artifacts supervised full time is inconceivable.”

James F. Ramsey, Co E, 13th Mass; at the Drum
There is a connection to the 13^th Mass at the Drum Barracks.  Long time Massachusetts resident James F. Ramsey  and several members of his family settled in Inglewood, CA, some years after the war.  An original letter dated April 19, 1870 hangs on the wall of the museum.  The letter is addressed to James F. Ramsey, (company E, 13^th Massachusetts Volunteers) from Massachusetts Governor William Claflin; thanking Ramsey for his service in suppressing the rebellion and maintaining the integrity of the nation.   James Ramsey and his wife Ella are buried side by side at Inglewood Park Cemetery.  His descendents preserved his letters, (many of which are featured on my website, 13thmass.org) and donated the letter of appreciation to the Drum Barracks.

If You Want to Help
I’m passing on Commander Bures’ plan of action for those concerned.  If you would like to help keep Susan on at the Drum here is what you can do.  Time is of the essence, the layoff could happen as soon as February 19^th.

Write a personal letter to each of the following City officials, expressing your concerns about the pending layoff of Susan Ogle as the Director of the Drum Barracks Civil War Museum and its impact(s).  

First email your letter, and then send it by U.S. Mail. If you belong to a Civil War group mention it.  Please note that phone calls and emails are simply counted - they do not take note of your specific comments.  Letters are the most effective and have the most impact, unless they are form letters, which again, are simply counted.

Janice Hahn

Councilwoman, 15th District

City of Los Angeles

638 S. Beacon Street, Suite 553

San Pedro CA  90731

(310) 732-4515

Janice.hahn@lacity.org 

Jon Kirk Mukri

General Manager

Department of Recreation and Parks

221 N. Figueroa Street, Suite 1550

Los Angeles, CA  90012

(213) 202-2633

JonKirk.mukri@lacity.org

Mark Mariscal

Superintendent, Pacific Region

Department of Recreation and Parks

1670 Palos Verdes Drive North

Harbor City, CA  90710
Mark.mariscal@lacity.org 

Since the Drum Barracks and the land it sits on is the property of the State of California, except for the north portion of the parking lot which is owned by the City of Los Angeles, and is a California Historical Landmark, we should also voice our concerns with our state legislators.  It is leased to and operated by the City of Los Angeles.

To find your State Assembly member and Senator visit:

http://www.legislature.ca.gov 

Out of Staters:
The following two legislators’ districts include the Drum Barracks, but it is best to write your own state legislators first.  If you are not a resident of California, I would still encourage you to write to the following two legislators.

Jenny Oropeza

Senator, 28th District

2512 Artesia Blvd., #200

Redondo Beach, CA  90278-3279

(310) 318-6994

http://dist28.casen.govoffice.com 

Warren Furutani

Assemblymember, 55th District

4201 Long Beach Blvd Suite 327

Long Beach, CA  90807

(562) 989-2919

http://democrats.assembly.ca.gov/members/a55/default.aspx 

Los Angeles County Residents:
If you are a resident of Los Angeles County, also please write a letter to Supervisor Knabe.  I know that this is a City of Los Angeles decision, but the Drum Barracks is located in his district, and he takes an active interest in everything that is happening in his district.

Don Knabe

Supervisor, 4th District

County of Los Angeles

822 Kenneth Hahn Hall of Administration

500 West Temple Street

Los Angeles, CA  90012

(213) 974-4444

don@bos.lacounty.gov 

Maryland Pies

Introduction
     Sue and I watched the movie Julie & Julia last night.  It tells the true story of  Julie, who decided in 2002, to cook all of Julia Child’s French recipes in a year, and write a daily blog about the experience.  Her blog became popular.  A year later she received all kinds of offers from magazine editors and book publishers and TV show producers.  And since movies are like real life, (n’est pas ?)  now I’ll know what to expect when 13thMass blog turns 1.

     After the movie I commented to Sue, (who constantly uses the internet to find recipes and cooking tips) “Wow, cooking is a hot topic.   I should write about cooking.”

     "Yes." she replied.

     I could do a Civil War cook book.  But it has already been done; several times.  (The sausage/ham meatloaf is really good).  I do have a lot of food stories though.  The soldiers often wrote about food in letters, diaries and memoirs; because they were often hungry.  Here is one of my favorite food stories from the chronicles of the 13th Mass; about Maryland pies.  The following recipes didn’t make it into the cook book; fortunately.
  
"MARYLAND PIES."
By Clarence H. Bell.

     Austin Stearns wrote in his memoirs  "To appreciate a Maryland pie one must eat it.  One of some kinds would be a great plenty."     The following excerpt from an article in the military magazine 'Bivouac', circa 1885 sheds more light.

     All the latter half of 1861, the Thirteenth was quartered in different parts of Western Maryland, and as the population of that region was of a thrifty nature, our camps were often thronged with hucksters of both sexes, who catered to the dainty appetites of those not yet thoroughly broken to army fare, and whose finances were not wholly depleted.  Various were the wares that tempted the greedy — roasted chickens, boiled eggs, biscuits - but more than all else, pies.  And the resources of that section in the line of pies were remarkable.  When it is remembered that a large body of New Englanders sojourned there for so many months, it is to be wondered at that none of the receipts for the filling of pies were brought away; for in all the development of talent in the building of pies, and the subterfuges for filling those pies – to keep the crusts from too intimated contact- Western Maryland “takes the cake.”

     We had become used to custard and pumpkin pies of so thin a texture that we suspected the filling to have been put on with a paint-brush, when one day a new variety appeared in the shape of elderberry pies.  The unwary bought one, for there is always the first step in folly – be sure they never bought another.  The purchaser would take a liberal bite, but the slow mastication, and the haste to get behind a tent, or other convenient shield, to unload both mouth and hand, proved that elderberry pies were not appreciated.  If ever a new purge is needed, certainly this delectable combination is to be recommended.  The regiment was a full one, and a great many elderberry pies were palmed off upon our unsophisticated members, ere we became thoroughly introduced to the novelty.

     Human life is a progress.  There are gradations both upward and downward.  From one lane of happiness, we can look forward and upward to a higher, to which we may attain; and in the opposite degree, there are depths of misery into which one may fall, only to find, later on, a depth yet lower.  We had vainly imagined that elderberry pie was the bottomless pit of misery into which a pie-addicted individual could be decoyed, when one day there blossomed on our visions yet another variety.  The rustic peddler passing into camp was greeted with: “What have you got to sell, old man?”  “Pies,” was the answer, as he deftly lifted the napkin, exposing a basket well filled with nicely browned pastry, very tempting in its outward appearance.

The numbers that gathered about, had the money in hand and the exchange was very rapid.  “What kind of pies do you call these, old fellow?” 

“T’martusses.”  “What?”  “T’martusses - t’martusses.”

Somehow or other, we could not comprehend the dialect, nor could our minds grapple with the compound the peddler informed us the pies were made of.  It was only when we crossed our legs and sat down on the ground to supper that we realized the conundrum.  A single mouthful solved the doubt – demolished the expectation of a pleasant repast, and made us long for the elderberry, as the pie of paradise compared to our new acquaintance.  Talk about the ingenuity of our Yankee housekeepers!  One stands but little chance of loss in wagering that in all of the eccentricities of our New England kitchen discoveries, no Yankee matron ever hit upon green tomatoes as filling for pies.  Just imagine, if you can, the change from joy to poignant grief, as a tired guardsman lays down a ‘hard-tack,” and bites into a well-browned pie stuffed with green tomatoes very stingily sprinkled with sugar.  Ah, “T’martusses Pie!”  Many long years have elapsed since our first and only introduction to thee, but the misery of our meeting yet lingers in the volumes of memory.  Thou wer’t the dessert in the oasis of our army fare, crossed just once – we never went there again.  “Lost to sight, to memory dear” – very dear – about twenty-five cents worth.

Short Service

     New recruits joined the 13^th Mass in the field several times during their service.  About 90  joined them in the field near Culpeper, Virginia on August 18^th 1862 with another 40 or so joining the regiment September 10^th outside Mechanicsville, Md. just before the battle of Antietam.*   The adjutant Generals report credits all 123 of these recruits to the month of August, 1862.   (None are listed for September).    Regimental Historian Charles Davis wrote in the regimental history, September 10th:    “We received anther lot of recruits to-day, and a fine looking set of men they were.  It is a notable fact that this batch of recruits was the last in which we had any feeling of pride.  Up to and including this time we had been fortunate in our recruits.  They were a credit to the State and reflected honor upon the regiment; they were in such marked contrast to those who followed that the fact is worth mentioning.”

     These new men came to the regiment just before several hard marches and deadly battles.  Those that arrived August 18th near Culpeper arrived just in time to endure an arduous retreat with severe actions at Thoroughfare Gap, August 28^th  and 2^nd Bull Run, August 30^th.    Those that arrived September 10th fought at Antietam, September 17^th.   Samuel Shelton Gould was one among the September group.  Warren H. Freeman of Company A wrote that Gould was with the company only a few days before his death at Antietam.   He writes,  "Samuel S. Gould stood within five feet of me when he was mortally wounded; he had been in the company but four or five days.   He was fresh from College, and I got quite well acquainted with him; he was a wide-awake, noble fellow, about as tall as I am.  He has relatives in West Cambridge. ...We had forty-one men in our company, twenty-one of whom were killed or wounded. …After I had fired forty rounds I went to Gould and got some of his cartridges; he was living, but not able to speak; he died before the battle was over.  During most of the day we were between 300 and 400 yards of the rebel lines – a good easy range for our rifles.”

     Gould’s story is exceptional; I outlined it in a previous post.   He was a Harvard student, who took to sea to see the world inbetween studies.  The following information is followed closely from “Harvard Memorial Biographies,” edited by Thomas W. Higginson; 1866.

     His father was headmaster of the Winthrop School, Boston, when Samuel Shelton Gould was born January 1, 1843.   Samuel attended Boston schools until his twelfth year, studying Latin for two of them.   When his parents moved to Dorchester he completed his preparatory studies at the Roxbury Latin School.  In 1858 at age 15 he entered Harvard College.  After a year he decided to leave school to see the world.   He went to sea as a common sailor on the ship ‘Peabody’ bound for Melbourne, Australia.  He brought along several Latin and Greek text-books and remarkably kept up his studies during his spare time.  His plan was to “re-enter College on his return with as little delay as possible.”  Samuel kept up a daily journal where he recorded his surprise at the mean tasks, drudge-work and poor food aboard the Peabody.   There was little opportunity to learn more of the “difficult parts of the work,” one of his personal goals.   The grumbling of the veteran sailors reinforced his idea that these were unusual conditions for a sailing ship.  When at Melbourne he chose not to return to America on the Peabody and instead sailed a few days later for the Peruvian port of Callao, on the American vessel ‘Commonwealth.’

     The work was harder on the Commonwealth, and the food worse, but the experience was better, because as an ordinary seaman young Samuel was now learning the more intricate parts of the job.  There was less time for study on the Commonwealth but Gould kept at it.

     At Callao the Captain revealed the true destination of the Commonwealth was up the coast to Chinca Island to harvest guano; seagull feces and urine, used as fertilizer.  Naturally, this was repulsive work for sailors.  Gould and another mate approached the Captain and requested a discharge from the vessel.   The Captain refused.  Words were exchanged and Gould demanded recourse with the American consul in Callao. The Captain struck him and the Second Mate beat him badly.   Samuel jumped ship that night.

     In a few days he joined the crew of a Boston ship, the ‘Rival,’ bound for Cork, Ireland.   He got on well with the officers and had a pleasant experience, even with 20 days severe weather sailing ‘round Cape Horn.  The rest of the voyage was pleasant and he continued his studies, and his journal:

     Tuesday, June 26th. — Forenoon below; finished the first volume of Macaulay's England.   I am glad to say that, in spite of the contrary predictions of my friends before I left home, I have not as yet neglected my reading and study, though my time has been much more limited than I expected, and consequently I have not accomplished nearly all that I could wish.  Greek and Latin I have kept at with a constancy of which, under all the circumstances, — hard work and scarcity of rest, — I think I may be justly proud.  I find that I have lost none of my ability to read them easily, but from the want of grammars I feel that my knowledge of them is not nearly as exact as it once was.  The Holy Bible, — the reading of which has been a daily duty and pleasure to me, — John Foster, De Quincy, Macaulay, Shakespeare, Tennyson, and Dickens have formed my leisure reading, if that time which I have stolen from my sleep can be called leisure.  I can fairly say that they have been my greatest pleasure ever since I left home.  I hope that a year's time, and possibly less, will see me again so situated that the bulk of my time, and not the spare minutes only, may be given up to them.  I have been like the mother in Tom Hood's ' Lost Child,' who did not know the love she felt for her child till she lost it.  I only hope that I may not, like her, forget it as soon as I find it."

     From Ireland Samuel sailed to New Orleans, and then made passage for home in a schooner.   The ship nearly wrecked in a storm off Cape Hatteras in March, but Gould arrived safely home in April, 1861 after an absence of nearly 2 years.  He followed up his desire to re-enter College and devoted the next three months catching up on the studies he had missed his sophomore year.   He re-entered Harvard as a junior in July 1861!  

     Believing he had a part to play in the great struggle now underway he promised to enlist should the President again call for troops in the future.  That opportunity came in the summer of 1862 and Samuel Gould joined the 13^th Mass as a recruit.   “During that time he attended and addressed several of the war-meetings in Cambridge and Boston and the fire of his words were inspiring.”

     He joined the regiment in the field near Mechanicsburg, Md., September 10^th.   At Antietam, Samuel Gould was still unarmed but assisted the stretcher-bearers removing  wounded men from the battlefield.  In short order he found a rifle and “joined his company at the front, and very soon fell, shot through the heart.”

     Samuel Gould’s story made me wonder how many others from this batch of new recruits were immediate casualties.  Charles H. Bingham of Company 'C' was one of them.  He joined the regiment in mid-August; was wounded at Antietam and received his discharge soon after.  But he survived the ordeal and wrote several interesting articles about his short war time experiences.  I counted 17 of these summer recruits who died between August and early January 1863.   I wonder what their stories were.   It would be difficult to discover something about some of these younger recruits, who served so briefly, with little time to form relationships with their comrades in arms.  Who will tell the story when the boys in blue are gone?  I offer the names of these unfortunate recruits who sacrificed everything for the cause of the Union. If anyone has information to share about any of these men please leave a comment.

Company A
William F. Barry; age 18; born Boston, clerk; KIA Sept. 17, 1862, Antietam.


Amos H. Bronsdon; age 38; born Milton, Mass., painter; died January 19, (or 20) 1863.

N. Stanley Everett; age 19, born Milton, Mass., clerk; died Sept. 21, 1862  at Alexandria, Va.

Samuel S. Gould; age 19; Boston, student; KIA Sept. 17 1862, Antietam;  
Warren H. Freeman of Company A wrote to his father “Samuel S. Gould stood within five feet of me when he was mortally wounded; he had been in the company but four or five days. He was fresh from Harvard College, and I got quite well acquainted with him; he was a wide-awake, noble fellow, about as tall as I am. He has relatives in West Cambridge. We had forty-one men in our company, twenty-one of whom were killed or wounded. My rifle was so hot that I could hardly touch the barrel with my hand, but it worked well; that was the reason I was able to fire so many rounds. Some of the boys only fired thirty times; their rifles got foul, and it took a long time to load. After I had fired forty rounds I went to Gould and got some of his cartridges; he was living, but not able to speak; he died before the battle was over. During most of the day we were between 300 and 400 yards of the rebel lines, - a good easy range for our rifles.”

Charles R. Nelson; age 29; born Brooklyn, NY, mariner; KIA Sept. 17, 1862, Antietam.

John P. Shelton; age 18; Boston, student; died of wounds Sept 18, 1862. (Shelton is pictured to the left.)

Company B
Charles T. Linfied; age 21, born South Weymouth, Mass., conductor, died of wounds Aug. 30, 1862,  2^nd Bull Run.

George F. Wakefield; age 19; born Boston, machinist; KIA Sept. 17, 1862, Antietam.

Company C
George E. Bigelow; age 22; born Boston, clerk; died of wounds Dec. 19. 1862. 

Company D
Charles R. Armstrong; age 22; born Boston, clerk; Co. D, age 22, KIA Dec. 13, 1862, Fredericksburg.

Ira Bowman, age 32, born Littleton, NH, silversmith; died of wounds Oct. 6, 1862.

William D. Dorey, age 21, born Boston, stevedore; wounded at Manassas, Aug. 30, 1862, died of wounds October 2, 1862 at Philadelphia.

Albert A. Hazeltine; age 24; born Springfield, Mass., painter; died of wounds Nov. 15, 1862.

Edmond H. Kendall; age 30; born Sterling, Mass., clerk; KIA Dec. 13, 1862, Fredericksburg.

Charles A. Taylor (or Charles J.); age 30; born Boston, teacher; KIA Dec. 13, 1862, Fredericksburg.

Company H
William H. Baker; age 20, born Weymouth, Mass., student; KIA Aug. 30, 1862, 2^nd Bull Run.

Company K
Hollis Holden; age 44, born Newfane, VT,  farmer; KIA Sept. 17, 1862, Antietam.

*Names of men in from the Adjt. General’s report were checked against the revised roster of the regiment in the 13^th Mass Association Circulars.  I counted 123 recruits credited to Aug. 1862.  Charles Bingham, one of the recruits wrote "Aug. 13th 1862 with one hundred or more "raw recruits," I left Camp Cameron, Boston..."  John B. Noyes writes about 90 recruits joined the regt. Aug. 18.  Then later says 60 came at Culpeper and 50 came at Mechanicsville.  Sam Webster wrote about a hundred joined Aug. 18, then Sept. 9 "some recruits, left behind by the other lot, join us."  Of the 123 I counted, (perhaps with some error) a split of 90 arriving Aug. 18 and 40 on Sept. 9 would be a good estimate.

Corrections & Reflections

Well before January gets away from me I thought I should make my first post for 2010.  I did write the draft for a post on the scintillating subject of css.  (computer coding language).  It was supposed to be funny.  It wasn't.  So to kick off the new year I'll toot my own horn.  This is for those of you who are not facebook friends, or familiar with my website, or my yahoo group for 13th Mass descendants, (because I already announced this to them). The current issue of America's Civil War has my first published article within its pages; "The Three Ponies of Company B."

And, since blogging is new to me, I thought it would be a good time to make some minor corrections to past posts here at my blog; along with some thoughts for future posts.  On the "McDowell" post I wrote he ordered Colonel G. K. Warren's brigade north of the Warrenton Turnpike on August 30, 1862, thus committing one of the most egregious tactical errors of the battle of 2nd Bull Run.  That sentence itself is an egregious error.  It was Brigadier General Reynold's division that was ordered north of the turnpike.  Warren's small brigade was left behind and cut up by the attacking Confederates.  I've since corrected the mistake !

Next up; when I sited author Larry Tagg's excellent book "The Unpopular Mr. Lincoln" on the same post about McDowell, Veronica (or Kim using Veronica's email) of Savas-Beatie Publishing commented on my post and left a link to their site.  The link wasn't live.  (Blogger has a terrible html post editor). So if you want more information about the book or it's author here is the link:

http://www.savasbeatie.com/results.html

Third, regarding the same post, reader Will Hickock wrote me and pointed out I had made an error regarding General McDowell's hat. (Maybe I should just remove that post) I appreciate the comment as I don't want to spread mis-information.  The correction is noted in the comments for that post, but for the record, I thought McDowell's tall kepi was the notorious 'hat' he wore, but in fact it was something quite different:

I found this reference to McDowell's hat in "Return to Bull Run" by John J. Hennessy, p.7-8:  "Some men even questioned Mcdowell's loyalty, suggesting that the prominent hat he wore, "which looked like an esqimaux canoe on his head, wrong side up," served as a covert signal to the enemy that he was present and "all was well." Such assertions were ridiculous,but the fact remained that he was disliked and largely mistrusted." A footnote adds "For debate over McDowell's obnoxious hat see the National Tribune, issues of November 12, 1891, March 31, 1892 2nd April 14, 1892.

I haven't found the National Tribune articles yet so maybe that's a post for another day.

I think that wraps up the corrections.  I have lots of new ideas for future posts, including biographies of certain members of the 13th Mass with some interesting stories, and perhaps comments on the circulars, the great resource where a lot of my material comes from. I have a "Mother's Day post in mind, one for Halloween, and posts for Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, Antietam and maybe even Fredericksburg.  I also plan to talk a bit more about my particular research for the website.  If anyone has suggestions I'll accept those too if reasonable.  And of course stay tuned for the css post ! (That is if I can make it funny)  ZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzz...