MILITARY: One Hundred and Fiftieth Regiment Pennsylvania Volunteers, Second Regiment, Bucktail Brigade, Chapter 18 Contributed for use in the USGenWeb Archives by JRB & JP Copyright 2006. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/pa/pafiles.htm Table of contents for the book with graphics, may be found at http://www.usgwarchives.net/pa/1pa/military/cw/150-bucktails/150-bucktails.htm ________________________________________________ HISTORY OF THE ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTIETH REGIMENT PENNSYLVANIA VOLUNTEERS, SECOND REGIMENT, BUCKTAIL BRIGADE. BY LIEUTENANT-COLONEL THOMAS CHAMBERLIN, HISTORIAN OF THE SURVIVORS ASSOCIATION. REVISED AND ENLARGED EDITION, WITH COMPLETE ROSTER. PHILADELPHIA: F. McMANUS, JR. & CO., PRINTERS, 1905. PENNSYLVANIA VOLUNTEERS 191 CHAPTER XVIII. CULPEPER - RACCOON FORD - A WOULD-BE INCAPABLE - AN APPEAL TO CAESAR - RESIGNATIONS. ON account of the cold, and indifferent shelter, the first night at Culpeper was cheerless enough, and Christmas morning found nothing in the stockings of the men but half-benumbed feet. Fortunately, the grove in which the regiment was located offered ample material for winter-quarters, and a score of axes, in hands long accustomed to their use, soon cleared the ground and shaped the timber for building purposes. In two or three days, under the commander's supervision, a model camp was completed, as accurate in its alignments and snug in its construction as a well-ordered New England village. To insure proper drainage, the company streets were cleared of stumps, and surface sewers hollowed out on each side, leading down the slope to the little valley below. Then, by incessant raids on the commissary department, enough empty boxes were finally secured to furnish each hut with a substantial floor, - a matter of prime importance from a sanitary point of view. When all was finished, the regiment was justly proud of its camp, which in symmetry and picturesqueness was probably not surpassed by any in the army. Colonel Wister now commanded five regiments, - viz., the 121st, 142d, 143d, 149th and 150th Pennsylvania, - which by the consolidation of the First and Second Brigades became the First, while Colonel Dushane's brigade of Marylanders, previously the Third, became the Second. The morning reports of the 150th showed two hundred and forty-one enlisted men present for duty, and the entire strength of the First Brigade did not equal that of two full regiments. 192 ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTIETH On December 27, Lieutenant-Colonel Huidekoper writes, "General Kenly has taken a great liking to our regiment, and one result is that I secured, out of proper position, a beautiful grove as a site for our camp, and the men are busily felling the trees for their huts. It is raining terribly, and the men are still lying on the ground, tentless. I pity them from the bottom of my heart". On December 29 he continues, "I have been in the saddle nearly all day, hurrying the men in their work of camp-making, so that another storm will find them housed against its fury. I tired out the major's horse this morning and rode mine in the afternoon. Bought some boards on a fence, and hope by tomorrow night to have regimental headquarters attractive enough to make the major glad to return to his 'home and family', as I hope he will do soon (the major was absent on leave). The other regimental commanders laugh when they ask me how I got so nice a place for our camp. "January 1, 1864. At three, Major C and I dined at division headquarters. Owing to weakness from our wounds, we are both housed away from the regiment, but the men make such a racket at night that we must join them as soon as we can get our hut finished. "Colonel Wister received a box of toys this morning, which he intends for presents to the children in Culpeper." The long-awaited resting-time had at last arrived. On New Year's Day, Dixon, of Company A, records in his diary, "The Blue Ridge covered with snow. Clear and Cold". On the 2d he is still more brief: "Very cold last night". Of course, in such weather, with the ground frozen and rough beyond description, drilling was not even thought of, and as both camp and picket details were light, there was ample leisure for reading and reflection, social visits and card-playing, especially the latter. On the 3d the lieutenant-colonel PENNSYLVANIA VOLUNTEERS 193 writes, "Colonel Wister's resignation has been disapproved because of his excellence as a brigade commander. "The major goes to camp to-day, and I follow soon. We have not had a dress parade or held an inspection for ten days, so that the men might work on their huts and camp." On the 7th the same officer notes the fact that the thermometer marks ten degrees above zero, and adds that he and the major "are discussing which shall sit up to-night and tend fire". Some little excitement prevailed for a day or two in the camp of the 150th, immediately after the men had settled down in their new quarters, in consequence of the disappearance of a fine heifer belonging to one of the citizens of the town. Complaint was made at division headquarters, and a patrol was sent out to discover, if possible, what disposition had been made of the carcass. Diligent search was made in the huts of the 150th for traces of the contraband beef, but nothing was found, although nearly every pound of it was hidden away under the floors, and afterwards formed part of savory stews and roasts which filled the camp with grateful odors. There was reason to believe that the officer in charge of the investigation not only had no heart in his work, but was in full sympathy with those who were concerned in the abduction and slaughter of the animal. At all events, his report was such as to relieve the regiment from suspicion of any participation in the affair. General Kenly having gone north on leave of absence about the beginning of the new year, Colonel Dushane was temporarily in command of the division. On the 9th of January the following order was received at regimental headquarters:- SPECIAL ORDER No. 7. A boar& to consist of Major Chamberlin, 150th Pennsylvania Volunteers; Captain Irvin, 149th Regiment Pennsylvania Volunteers; and Captain W. W. Dorr, 121st Regiment Pennsylvania Volunteers, will assemble at the Headquarters First Brigade, Third 196 ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTIETH front, who soon encountered the rebel pickets and drove them back some distance. In a few minutes hurrying lines of rebel infantry came in view, and as soon as within range engaged the Union troops. The latter, in accordance with their instructions, fought in retreat, and, under the protection of well-posted batteries, safely repassed the river. The whole movement was beautifully executed, and the action, which lasted less than half an hour, was in plain sight and offered a most interesting spectacle. The Corps bivouacked in the woods for the night, with a heavy cordon of pickets near the stream. Rain fell in torrents, and in the chill air, with insufficient shelter, both officers and men suffered great discomfort, laying the foundation of many severe colds and other more serious ailments. The next day continued wet, and, the ground having become excessively miry, no further demonstration was made. About four o'clock in the afternoon the troops started on the return march, leaving the pickets in position until after nightfall, when the disagreeable duty fell to Major Chamberlin - who had relieved Colonel Dushane in the morning-of gathering in about four hundred men, scattered along a line of perhaps three miles, and leading them, in Egyptian darkness, over roads in which the mud seemed almost fathomless, back to their quarters at Culpeper. Soon after quitting the front the column encountered and was sharply challenged by a large cavalry outpost, mounted and in line of battle, with carbines in hand, who, not having been informed of the fact that the infantry pickets were still out, mistook the latter for the enemy and were upon the point of firing. Many shoes were left sticking in the mud on this memorable march, and haversacks and canteens whose straps proved unequal to the strain were irretrievably lost. Again peace and quiet reigned in the army, and, the weather continuing fickle, little was asked of officers or men beyond their regular "turn" of camp and picket duty, though dress PENNSYLVANIA VOLUNTEERS 197 parade was observed with the usual formality as often as the conditions warranted. "Poker"-more or less indulged in at all times - suddenly became an absorbing occupation, the private soldier yielding to its fascinations as readily as his superiors, and risking his scanty allowance as heedlessly as the latter their liberal stipend. At the various headquarters - brigade, division, corps and army - the game had immense vogue, and not infrequently members of the staffs lost or won, in a single night, the pay of several months. The epidemic struck the camp of the 150th, along with the rest - in one case with an unfortunate result. Lieutenant Rose, of Company I, in disregard of a well-established regulation, sought play and companionship among some of the enlisted men of his command. This might have passed with a reprimand, had it come to the knowledge of headquarters in a quiet way; but in an altercation which arose one night over the cards, long after "taps" had sounded, blows were exchanged, accompanied by loud and violent language from the lieutenant, whose voice could easily be distinguished by the entire regiment, and in the interest of discipline the commander was compelled to prefer charges against the offender. A court-martial followed, whose sentence of dismissal from the service was duly confirmed, February 23, 1864. During the month of February many ladies visited their friends in the army, and were handsomely entertained at the various headquarters. Excursions on horseback and in ambulances to Pony Mountain and other points of interest were of almost daily occurrence, and review followed review, chiefly - it was thought - for the benefit of these welcome visitors. On the 16th the Third Division of the First Corps was reviewed, on the 21st the Bucktail Brigade paraded in its best regimentals, and on the 23d General Newton exhibited his whole command to a body of distinguished guests. On several afternoons groups of officers and ladies, mounted or in ambu- 198 ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTIETH lances, came from corps headquarters to witness the dress parades of the 150th, whose white gloves, natty uniforms, and perfect handling of the musket had extended its reputation quite beyond the limits of the division. Even General Newton complimented the regiment by his presence on two of these occasions. Immediately after the review on the 23d, the Misses Kennedy, of Washington City, and other invited guests were entertained at dinner by Colonel Wister, at his headquarters in Widow Green's mansion. In the evening the colonel appeared for the last time at the dress parade of his regiment, and at its close took leave of the command in a few words full of feeling. All of the officers and many of the men thronged about him to grasp his hand and wish him well in his career as a private citizen. His resignation dates from the 22d, and on the 24th he left for home. Colonel Wister was a Quaker by descent, and shared many of the virtues of that severe sect, while casting his lines chiefly with the "world's people". From the bluntness and honesty of his ways, the stranger was apt to receive a disagreeable impression at first acquaintance; but once admitted to a footing of intimacy, no one could have desired a better friend or a more genial companion. He was a hater of all shams, and impatient of every form of meanness. As a soldier, he was alert, brave and full of resource - traits which stood him in good stead as a commander. After serving actively for nearly three years, during which he received two wounds, and commanding a brigade for the last seven months, he felt - now that he was about to be relieved from the higher position by the return of Colonel Roy Stone - that his little regiment, which had been reduced by battle and disease to less than two hundred and fifty men for duty, could get along very well without him, and PENNSYLVANIA VOLUNTEERS 199 that he could properly be spared from the field to attend once more to his long-neglected private interests.* There were few companies at the seat of war which did not contain at least one disillusioned youth who had found soldiering anything but the picnic he had painted it, and, dispirited by sickness or chafing under the restraint of military discipline, was ready to adopt almost any measure to compass his return to the parental roof. Receiving little but ridicule from his comrades and meagre allowance of sympathy from his immediate officers, he not infrequently poured his tale of woe into the ears of some one high in authority, in the hope of obtaining the desired relief. President Lincoln no doubt received many communications like the following, which is a verbatim et literatim copy of a document referred down through the "regular channels", starting at the White House and ending at the headquarters of the regiment: - Writen to the President of the United States. CAMP NEAR CULPEPER Feby the 10th 1864. PRESADENT SIR, MR. A. LINCOLN. - I this evning I sit down to write to you (a Soldier Friend!). Mr L, I am a private in Comp. H. 150th Regt. Pa. Vol. I enlisted in the year 1862, September the 1st and sworn into United States Survice on the 4th day September. I was a Stought and heartey Farmer Boy then. My first Sickness was braught on by lying on the ground allthough it was warm wether and on the 28th of Oct. 62 I was taken to Carver Hospital with the Typhoid Fever and where I had a hard Strugle betwene life and deth, and since then I havent ben fit fore a Soldier; and in January I left Carver Hospital fore my Regt I had hered that I was gowing to leave fore Vergina and I *Colonel Wister (who received the brevet rank of brigadier-general at the close of the war, on the recommendation of Major-General Doubleday) died at Germantown, March 19, 1891, at the home in which he was born, in his fifty-seventh year. He was laid to rest in Laurel Hill Cemetery by the surviving field- and staff-officers of his regiment, his coffin draped with its cherished colors, bearing the record of its many battles. 200 ONE, HUNDRED AND FIFTIETH wanted to go with them allthough I was not fit, and I went with them to Bell plain Landing whare we landed on a very fine day and marched about 2 miles where we Encamped we made tents or Shelters from the gum blankets ore Ponshows, and we laid down on the Cold ground which frose that night hard and it rained till near Midnight and then it comenced to snow and it snowed all that day, and I was agane put in the Regt. Hospital and about a Week ore two after I was Detailed fore Teamster in the Ordanence Department. I was sick there about two weekes and then I was In purty good health such as it was I was Teamster about 6 months that was till after the Gs.Burg Battel when we came to Raphanack River there I was taken with the Cronick Diareah and then with Typhoid Fever I was sent to Fairfax Simunary where onder the good care of Dr Huselton I was brought around so I could walk I was then sent from there to Chestnut Hill Hospital whare I Receved very good atension from Dr Budd and on the 18th of January 1864 I left Chestnut Hill Hosp fore my Regt. I arived at Convalescent Camp January the 22d '64 here I aught to have ben Examend but was not although I made an aplication fore it they told me that none ware Examind there at that time they told us that we would be examind at Jenareal Mead Head Quar. but we was not now I am in my Regement agane and not fit fore duty at all as the Typhoid Fever has as I think and the Doctors say Disabled me for life. I am Entirely lame in my left Side the Medical Directors at Convalesants Camp told me to appley to my Capt and to the Comander of the Regt. fore my Discharge well this Evning the Captain Came back from his forlow and came to see me and he wanted to know how I was geting along I told him how it was and Showed him my Sertificates of Dibility but he said he dident no what to due about it he sead he couldent do Enything fore me that he new of he said that the Doctors would be likely to keepe me till the Army Moved and then they would send me of to the Hospital at Washington agane. Now Mr L. I am but a poor farmer Boy. I have lost my health in this Nobel Cause of ours in trying to put down this Rebelion the Tradors of the South they that tore down that Nobel flag of General Washington the Flag that our fore Fathers gave to us. Mr Lincoln I am as I told you a poor farmer son my Mother is a widow she was willing to let me come to help to crush this Rebelion but alas that young man of 20 years that was then in full Bloom is now but a faided flower of the North nothing but a Skeliton that onst wore those Rosey cheeks of helth. I have 8 Brothers and Sisters all younger then myself the next oldest to me PENNSYLVANIA VOLUNTEERS 201 has broken his leg So he is a cripel for life so I am all my Mothers Suport if I was at home where I could get the Comforts of life I think I would get back my health at least so I could Earn my living and be a grate Comfort to my Mother where heare I am only Expence to the Goverment and doeing my Country no good. My kind Friend of Friends you have the power to help me a grate deal you have the power to due it if I am not mistaken which I hope not my Friend will you please see to my case I am in Misery heare last night I had the Eare ache most all night and I have a bad sore throat. will you my dear Friend see to my case fore me you can due it a grate deal fore me; help me fore my poor widow Mother sake healp me out of my misery as I am in misery as long till I can lay in Some beter place than on the -cold damp ground healp me before it is to late and I will bless you as long as there is breath in me. I would willingly help my fellow comrads put down this rebelion but my heath wont permit me to due so. I must close my letter by Sending my blessings of which I ask of god upon you and may god Bless you the Remandier of your life is the prayer of your soldier friend Mr Lincoln if you wish to write to my Captain ore Cornel Address Cornel Wister 150 Reg P.V. Captaine (James) Reisinger of Comp H 150 Regt. Pa Vols if you will write to me and tel me if you can due anything fore me, address Comp. H 150 Reg pa Vol in care of Capt Reisinger Washington D. C. please help me if you can your obedent Survent I hope Mr Presadent that you will foregive me fore my forewardness to you and in Asking of you such a faveret I speake not ill of my Comanders they say that they can not due me enything at all Sir I have Certificates sined and sworne to in my posesion by Reliabel Doctors and if you wish to see them I will send them to you. I am sory to put you to in eny way in trouble of eny kind, but I did not no ho to turn to fore Redress and some of my friends told me to write to the Presadent that there I would get my right. I have a grate Confidence in our Good Presadent hoe has dun a grate deal fore us poor Soldiers Mr Lincoln there are a few more of such men ore boys as myself hear are not fit to be a Solder than I am. 202 ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTIETH This extraordinary petition, embellished with many quaint conceits of ornamental penmanship, utterly failed of its object. The "faided flower of the North" in a few weeks outgrew his complicated ailments, bore his musket manfully, and was counted among the seriously wounded in the fierce encounter of the Wilderness on the 5th of the following May. On the retirement of Colonel Wister, Lieutenant-Colonel Huidekoper was commissioned colonel (February 23), but the strength of the regiment having fallen below the minimum fixed by the War Department, he was not entitled to muster. The loss of his right arm proved so serious a disability that, despite his devotion to the cause and his natural fondness for military things, he deemed it only the part of wisdom to return to civil life, leaving to others the work in which he had already made so heavy a sacrifice. His resignation was sent in on the 2d of March, and three days later he took leave of the regiment, to the great regret not merely of his own command, but of many officers in the brigade, division and corps, who recognized in him one of the ablest tacticians of his rank and one of the best disciplinarians in the army. Captain J. W. H. Reisinger was soon after transferred to another field of service, having received a commission as major in the 25th United States Colored Troops, dating from March 12. The vacancy thus created in his company was not filled until June, when Lieutenant George Bell became captain. In the early part of March a number of bright, spring-like days dried up the mud and drew the troops to the drill-field as naturally as school-boys, under similar conditions, are drawn to the play-ground. Here, it was the school of the company, the battalion, the brigade, which in the course of a week or two gave to each man as thorough a knowledge of the fields around Culpeper as if he had been a local surveyor. Inspections and reviews continued to fill up odd intervals, cavalry and artillery taking their turn with the well-worked infantry in PENNSYLVANIA VOLUNTEERS 203 these frequent diversions. It began to be whispered that important changes were about to be made in the organization of the Army of the Potomac, and that General Grant was to be summoned East to direct its operations in the coming campaign, clothed with powers which would enable him to control all the forces of the Union and move them in concert on one far-reaching plan. These rumors were speedily confirmed. On the 9th of March the grade of lieutenant-general, which had been revived by Congress, was bestowed upon Grant, who lost no time in visiting the army at Culpeper and conferring with General Meade, though he did not transfer his headquarters to Virginia until some weeks later. Meade's plan of reorganization contemplated the consolidation of the First and Third Corps with the Fifth and Second respectively, by which each of the latter would thereafter contain four divisions. On the 17th of March, Major Chamberlin, who had been commissioned lieutenant-colonel on the 6th, to succeed Colonel Huidekoper, and who had been practically in command of the regiment the greater part of the time since the closing days of August, 1863, left the army and returned to civil life. His health had been impaired by exposure during the winter, and the disability resulting from his wounds was such that either hospital treatment or a definitive withdrawal from the field became imperative. He regretfully chose the latter alternative, and, his resignation having been accepted (on surgeon's certificate of disability), turned over the command to Captain George W. Jones, the ranking line-officer. Captain Widdis, who was still a prisoner in the South, was commissioned lieutenant-colonel, to date from March 18, but for some unexplained reason Captain Jones failed to receive his promotion as major until the 30th of the following month. At this time the regiment, numbering a little less than two hundred and fifty men, was in the highest state of efficiency, and-as Colonel Huidekoper had truthfully declared-"gave no more trouble than a brood of chickens".