Martial Deeds of Pennsylvania, Samuel P. Bates, 1876 - Part 2, Chapter 1, 385-
426

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                         MARTIAL DEEDS OF PENNSYLVANIA
                                       by
                                SAMUEL P. BATES.

                     PHILADELPHIA: T. H. DAVIS & CO., 1876.

MARTIAL DEEDS OF PENNSYLVANIA - 385 

                              Part II.  BIOGRAPHY.

MARTIAL DEEDS OF PENNSYLVANIA - 386 

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MARTIAL DEEDS OF PENNSYLVANIA - 387 

                                   CHAPTER I.

                              THE KILLED IN BATTLE.

EDWARD D. BAKER, Colonel of the Seventy-first regiment, was born in London, 
England, on the 24th of February, 1811. When seven years of age he came with his 
parents, who were Quakers, to Philadelphia. He was early left, with a younger 
brother, and orphan with no near relatives to whom he could look for protection 
or aid. He had, however, learned the handicraft of his father, that of a weaver, 
and he found work in a small establishment in South street, where he earned 
sufficient for their support. He had, consequently, few opportunities for school 
education; but he was fond of reading, and eagerly pursued a general and 
desultory course, acquiring a good acquaintance with the standard English poets. 
While yet in boyhood, he removed to Illinois, where he embraced the tenets of 
the religious sect known as Campbellites, and became an ardent travelling 
preacher. At the age of nineteen, he married the widow of a distinguished member 
of that body. Burdened with the cares of a family he left the itineracy and 
commenced the study of the law, upon the practice of which he soon entered, and 
with signal success. He early developed great power in forensic debates, in 
which he subsequently disputed the palm with Douglas and Lincoln. He was 
elected, in 1846, as member of the lower house of Congress. But, in 1847, the 
Mexican War breaking out, he only took his seat long enough to record his votes 
in favor of sustaining the Government, when he hastened to join his regiment, 
the Second Illinois volunteers, which he had raised, and of which he was 
Colonel. He distinguished himself at Cerro Gordo, and when General Shields was 
wounded, took command of his

MARTIAL DEEDS OF PENNSYLVANIA - 388

brigade, and led it to the close of the action. He was also in the battles of 
Vera Cruz, Puebla, and the City of Mexico. He had besides seen some desultory 
service in the Black Hawk war. While engaged in embarking troops upon a steamer 
near Mobile, Alabama, for service in Mexico, and in the act of bravely quelling 
a riot between mutinous soldiers, he was dangerously wounded in the neck and 
throat.  
  After his return from Mexico he was again elected to Congress, and in 1850, 
upon the death of President Taylor, who was his intimate personal friend, and 
whose cause in the recent campaign he had devotedly championed, he delivered a 
famous eulogy upon the Life and Character of his Departed Chief. In 1851, he 
went to Panama on business, where he was stricken down with the coast fever, 
which came near proving fatal. The tide of emigration was just then setting 
towards the golden shores of California, and thither he determined to go. He 
accordingly removed with his family, with the design of making the Pacific coast 
his permanent home. He soon acquired a reputation for eloquence unsurpassed, and 
took a leading rank at the California bar. Over the dead body of his friend 
Broderick, who had fallen nominally in a duel, Colonel Baker delivered an 
eloquent and most impressive eulogy, in which he declared that Broderick had 
been assassinated because "he was opposed to the extension of slavery and a 
corrupt administration."  
  In 1860, he removed to Oregon, and was elected a member of the United States 
Senate. This was an arena where his forensic powers had full scope. It was at a 
period when a drama was enacting, the most tragic, stirring, and grand known to 
American history. Amid the stormy scenes of that body, where the opening acts of 
the rebellion were transpiring, where treason was plotted, and treasonable 
speech was defiantly uttered, he was a master spirit, and met rebellious threats 
with no cowering or timid front. When Mr. Lincoln came to be inaugurated, his 
lifelong friend, Colonel Baker, came forward and presented him as the President 
elect, to the assembled thousands of his fellow citizens. The firing upon the 
flag at Sumter aroused him to bursts of unwonted eloquence, and in the great war 
meeting convened at Union Park, in New York, on the 20th of April

EDWARD D. BAKER - 389

following, he spoke in a strain of impassioned oratory, which, flashed upon the 
wires of the telegraph to the remotest hamlets of the Republic, roused the 
nation to a sense of impending danger. He said on that occasion: "The majesty of 
the people is here today to sustain the majesty of the constitution, and I come 
a wanderer from the far Pacific, to record my oath along with yours of the great 
Empire State. The hour for conciliation has passed, the gathering for battle is 
at hand, and the country requires that every man should do his duty. Fellow-
citizens, what is that country? Is it the soil on which we tread? Is it the 
gathering of familiar faces? Is it our luxury, and pomp, and pride? Nay, more 
than these, is it power and majesty alone? No, our country is more, far more 
than all these. The country which demands our love, our courage, our devotion, 
our heart's blood, is more than all these. Our country is the history of our 
fathers - our country is the tradition of our mothers - our country is past 
renown - our country is present pride and power - our country is future hope and 
destiny - our country is greatness, glory, truth, constitutional liberty - above 
all, freedom forever! These are the watchwords under which we fight; and we will 
shout them out till the stars appear in the sky; in the stormiest hour of 
battle.  
  "I have said that the hour of conciliation is passed. It may return; but not 
to-morrow, nor next week. It will return when that tattered flag (pointing to 
the flag of Fort Sumter) is avenged. It will return when rebel traitors are 
taught obedience and submission. It will return when the rebellious confederates 
are taught that the North, though peaceable, are not cowardly - though 
forbearing are not fearful. That hour of conciliation will come back when again 
the ensign of the Republic will stream over every rebellious fort of every 
confederate state. Then, as of old, the ensign of the pride and power, and 
dignity and majesty, and the peace of the Republic will return. . . . 
  "The blood of every loyal citizen of this Government is dear to me. My sons, 
my kinsmen, the young men who have grown up beneath my eye and beneath my care 
are dear to me; but if the country's destiny, glory, tradition, greatness, 
freedom, govern-

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ment, written constitutional government - the only hope of a free people - 
demand it, let them all go. I am not here now to speak timorous words of peace, 
but to kindle the spirit of manly, determined war. I speak in the midst of the 
Empire State, amid scenes of past suffering and past glory; the defences of the 
Hudson above me; the battle-field of Long Island before me, and the statue of 
Washington in my very face - the battered and unconquered flag of Sumter waving 
in his hands, which I can almost now imagine tremble with the excitement of 
battle, and as I speak, I say my mission here to-day is to kindle the heart of 
New York for war - short, sudden, bold, determined, forward war. The Seventh 
regiment has gone. Let seventy and seven more follow. Of old, said a great 
historian, beneath the banner of the cross, Europe precipitated itself upon 
Asia. Beneath the banner of the constitution, let the men of the Union 
precipitate themselves upon disloyal, rebellious confederate states. . . . Let 
no man underrate the dangers of this controversy. Civil war, for the best of 
reasons upon the one side, and the worst upon the other, is always dangerous to 
liberty - always fearful, always bloody; but, fellow-citizens, there are worse 
things than fear, than doubt and dread, and danger and blood. Dishonor is worse. 
Perpetual anarchy is worse. Traitors and secessionists are worse. To have star 
after star blotted out - to have stripe after stripe obscured - to have glory 
after glory dimmed - to have our women weep, and our men blush for shame 
throughout generations yet to come, - that and these are infinitely worse than 
blood. People of New York, on the eve of battle, allow me to speak as a soldier. 
Few of you know, as my career has been distant and obscure, but I may mention it 
here to-day, with a generous pride, that it was once my fortune to lead your 
gallant New York regiment in the very shock of battle. I was their leader, and 
upon the bloody heights of Cerro Gordo, I know well what New York can do when 
her blood is up. . . . 
  "The national banners leaning from ten thousand windows in you city to-day, 
proclaim your affection and reverence for the Union. You will gather in 
battalions,

EDWARD D. BAKER - 391

      Patient of toil, serene amidst alarms,
      Inflexible in faith, invincible in arms;

and as you gather, every omen of present concord and ultimate peace will 
surround you. The ministers of religion, the priests of literature, the 
historians of the past, the illustrators of the present, capital, science, art, 
invention, discoveries, the works of genius - all these will attend us in our 
march, and we will conquer. And if from the far Pacific, a voice feebler than 
the feeblest murmur upon its shore may be heard to give you courage and hope in 
the contest, that voice is yours to-day; and if a man whose hair is gray; who is 
well nigh worn out in the battle and toil of life, may pledge himself on such an 
occasion and in such an audience, let me say as my last word, that when, amid 
sheeted fire and flame, I saw and led the hosts of New York as they charged in 
contest upon a foreign soil for the honor of your flag; so again, if Providence 
shall will it, this feeble hand shall draw a sword, never yet dishonored - not 
to fight for distant honor in a foreign land, but to fight for country, for 
home, for law, for government, for constitution, for right, for freedom, for 
humanity, and in the hope that the banner waves, there glory may pursue and 
freedom be established."  
  Moved by that spirit which was first in his heart, and intent on acting 
patriotism as well as talking it, though a senator of the United States, he 
obtained authority from the War Department, and immediately set about raising a 
regiment, not for ninety days - for he understood too well the nature of the 
contest to harbor a hope that the war would soon be over -  but for three years. 
It was the first regiment ordered for the long period. He called it the 
California regiment. There were, indeed, a few officers who had been with him in 
that state, but it was wholly recruited in Pennsylvania, in the counties of 
Philadelphia and Chester. The states were not prepared, at this time, to accept 
troops for the war, and this organization was treated as belonging to the 
regular army, its returns being made accordingly. When it came to be recognized 
by this Commonwealth, it was known as the Seventy-first Pennsylvania. Its camp 
was established at Fort Schuyler, in New York harbor, where it was organized and      

MARTIAL DEEDS OF PENNSYLVANIA - 392

drilled.  The command and care of the regiment, until it should take the field, 
was intrusted to the Lieutenant-Colonel, Isaac J. Wistar, and Colonel Baker 
still kept his place in the Senate, where a foe not less daring but far more 
subtle was to be met.  Senators who were at heart with the secessionists, and 
who were in full fellowship and correspondence in their secret conclaves, still 
held their seats, and by their inflammatory speeches and predictions sought to 
encourage the rebellious, and scatter firebrands and discord among the people of 
the loyal states.  As late as August, 1861, Mr. Breckenridge, of Kentucky, who 
still held his place, in speaking upon the bill for the suppression of 
insurrection, said: "Gentlemen mistake when they talk about the Union.  The 
Union is only a means of preserving the principles of political liberty.  The 
great principles of liberty existed long before the Union was formed.  They may 
survive it . . . . I venture to say that the brave words we hear now about 
subjugation and conquest, treason and traitors, will be glibly altered the next 
time the Representatives of states meet under the dome of the capitol . . . . 
You may look forward to innumerable armies and countless treasure to be spent 
for the purpose of carrying on this contest, but it will end in leaving us just 
where we are now . . . . War is separation, in the language of an eminent 
senator, now no more.  It is disunion - eternal, final disunion . . . . Fight 
for twelve months, and this feeling will develop itself.  Fight for twelve 
months more, and you will have three confederacies instead of two.  Fight for 
twelve months more, and we shall have four."
  The burning love of the national honor, dignity, and perpetuity in the breast 
of Baker would not allow him to suffer such sentiments to pass unrebuked.  After 
examining and refuting in a logical and conclusive manner the objections which 
Mr. Breckenridge had made to the bill, he thus replied to the general drift of 
his speech: "I would ask him, what would you have us do now - a confederate army 
within twenty miles of us, advancing, or threatening to advance, to overwhelm 
your Government, to shake the pillars of the Union; to bring it around your 
head, if you stay here, in ruins?  Are we to stop and talk about an uprising 
sentiment in the North against the war?  Are we to

EDWARD D. BAKER - 393

predict evil, and retire from what we predict?  Is not the manly part to go on 
as we have begun, to raise money, and levy armies, to organize them, to prepare 
to advance; when we do advance to regulate that advance by all the laws and 
regulations that civilization and humanity will allow in time of battle?  Can we 
do anything more?  To talk to us about stopping, is idle; we will never stop.  
Will the senator yield to rebellion?  Will he shrink from armed insurrection?  
Will his state justify it?  Will its better public opinion allow it?  Shall we 
send a flag of truce?  What would he have?  Or would he conduct this war so 
feebly, that the whole world would smile at us in derision?  What would he have?  
These speeches of his, sown broadcast over the land - what clear, distinct 
meaning have they?  Are they not intended for disorganization in our very midst?  
Are they not intended to dull our weapons?  Are they not intended to destroy our 
zeal?  Are they not intended to animate our enemies?  Sir, are they not words of 
brilliant, polished treason, even in the very capitol of the Republic?
  "What would have been thought if, in another capitol, in another Republic, in 
a yet more martial age, a senator as grave, not more eloquent or dignified than 
the senator from Kentucky, yet with the Roman purple flying over his shoulders, 
had risen in his place, surrounded by all the illustrations of Roman glory, and 
declared that advancing Hannibal was just, and that Carthage ought to be dealt 
with in terms of peace?  What would have been thought, if, after the battle of 
Cannae, a senator there had arisen in his place and denounced every levy of the 
Roman people, every expenditure of its treasury, and every appeal to the old 
recollections and the old glories?  Sir, a senator [Fessenden], himself learned 
far more than myself in such lore, tells me, in a voice that I am glad is 
audible, that he would have been hurled from the Tarpeian rock.  It is a grand 
commentary upon the American Constitution that we permit these words to be 
uttered.  I ask the senator to recollect, too, what, save to send aid and 
comfort to the enemy, do these predictions of his amount to?  Every word thus 
uttered falls as a note of inspiration upon every confederate ear.  Every sound 
thus uttered is a word, and falling from his lips, a mighty word,

MARTIAL DEEDS OF PENNSYLVANIA - 394

of kindling and triumph to a foe that determines to advance.  For me, I have no 
such word, as a senator, to utter.  For me, amid temporary defeat, disaster, 
disgrace, it seems that my duty calls me to utter another word, and that word 
is, sudden, forward, determined war, according to the laws of war, by armies, by 
military commanders clothed with full power, advancing with all the past glories 
of the Republic urging them on to conquest.
  "Sir, it is not a question of men or money in that sense.  All the men, all 
the money, are in our judgment well bestowed in such a cause.  When we give them 
we know their value.  Knowing their value well, we give them with the more pride 
and the more joy.  Sir, how can we retreat?  Sir, how can we make peace?  Who 
shall treat?  What commissioners?  Who would go?  Upon what terms?  Where is to 
be your boundary line?  Where the end of the principles we should have to give 
up?  What will become of constitutional government?  What will become of public 
liberty?  What of past glories?  What of future hopes?  Shall we sink into the 
insignificance of the grave - a degraded, defeated, emasculated people, 
frightened by the result of one battle, and scared at the visions raised by the 
imagination of the Senator from Kentucky upon this floor?  No, Sir; a thousand 
times, no, sir! . . . There will be some graves reeking with blood, watered by 
the tears of affection.  There will be some privation; there will be some loss 
of luxury; there will be somewhat more need for labor to procure the necessaries 
of life.  When that is said, all is said.  If we have the country, the whole 
country, the Union, the Constitution - free government - with these will return 
all the blessings of civilization; the path of the country will be a career of 
greatness and of glory such as in the olden time our fathers saw in the dim 
visions of years yet to come, and such as would have been ours now, to-day, if 
it had not been for the treason for which the senator too often seeks to 
apologize."
  For a time, Colonel Baker's regiment was at fortress Monroe, but was not 
included in the column that participated in the affair at Big Bethel.  After the 
Battle of Bull Run it was brought up to Washington, and was posted in the 
fortifications upon the Vir-

EDWARD D. BAKER - 395

ginia shore.  It was afterwards upon the front line in the advance of the army 
upon Munson's Hill.  Early in October it was sent to Poolsville, Maryland, where 
Colonel Baker was placed in command of a brigade, in which his own regiment was 
embraced, and which was employed in guarding the fords of the Potomac.  It was 
in the division commanded by General Charles P. Stone.
  On the 20th of that month, General McCall had a brisk fight with the enemy at 
Dranesville, Virginia, only a few miles from the position occupied by Colonel 
Baker's brigade, but on the Maryland side, in which he was victorious, 
completely routing the enemy.  On the evening of the same day, Colonel Devens, 
of the Fifteenth Massachusetts, was ordered by General Stone to send a scouting 
party across the river at Harrison's Island, opposite Ball's Bluff on the 
Virginia shore, and reconnoitre towards Leesburg.  Captain Philbrick with twenty 
men was despatched, who reported a small camp of twenty tents, and no other 
troops in sight.  Whereupon Colonel Devens was ordered to cross with a part of 
his regiment to destroy it, and Colonel Lee, of the Twentieth Massachusetts, was 
sent over with picked men to take position on the Bluff, to cover the retreat of 
Devens, should he be worsted.  General Stone seems to have been desirous of 
cooperating with General McCall, whom he supposed to have been in permanent 
possession of Dranesville, for the expulsion of the enemy from the Potomac.
  A battalion of Baker's regiment, consisting of eight companies, under command 
of Lieutenant-Colonel Wistar, was ordered to the island on the morning of the 
21st, with directions to go to the Virginia shore to the assistance of Devens 
and Lee, provided the fire indicated hard fighting, and Colonel Baker was 
directed in that contingency to cross and assume command of all the troops sent 
over.  Devens with five companies moved to near Leesburg without finding the 
rebel camp reported, but had a skirmish, early in the morning, with a force of 
the enemy, in which he had one killed and a number wounded.  Devens retired 
towards his supports near the Bluff, and was followed up by the foe, who were 
being rapidly reinforced, the rebel General Evans, with a body of five thousand 
men, being upon Goose Creek

MARTIAL DEEDS OF PENNSYLVANIA - 396

within easy supporting distance. Colonel Baker found the means for transporting 
troops entirely inadequate, consisting of an old scow, a small metallic boat, 
and two small skiffs.  Meantime Devens was being pushed back; and soon after the 
arrival of Colonel Baker upon the island, a person came down from the Bluff to 
the water's edge, and cried out: "Hurry over; we can see three regiments of 
infantry coming down from Leesburg."  Baker stood for a moment in a thoughtful 
manner, as if considering the whole problem; when, seeming to come to a 
decision, he shouted back: "Then there will be the more for us to whip."  Every 
energy was now taxed to push troops across from the island to the Bluff, and 
Colonel Baker himself soon went over and assumed command.  Colonel Lee says: 
"Between one and two o'clock: I heard a voice behind me inquiring for Colonel 
Lee, and Major Revere, I think, said, pointing to me, 'There he stands.'  I 
turned around, and a military officer on horseback presented himself, bowed very 
politely, and said: 'I congratulate you upon the prospect of a battle.'  I bowed 
and said: 'I suppose you assume command.'  I knew it was Colonel Baker."  He was 
followed by the battalion of his own regiment, and a part of the Tammany, and 
immediately proceeded to form his line of battle, giving the right to the 
Fifteenth Massachusetts, Colonel Devens, with two howitzers; the centre to the 
Twentieth Massachusetts, Colonel Lee; and the left to the Tammany and his own, a 
rifled piece being posted to rake the only road that led to the Bluff.  The 
ground on which he stood was cleared, but on three sides it was hemmed-in by 
dense forest, and on the fourth, to the backs of the men, was the Bluff 
overhanging the river and the island.
  The action commenced soon after two o'clock, the enemy apparently in heavy  
masses, but concealed from view by the wood in which they had taken position, 
completely hemming in the little Union force, only about 1600 in number. "The 
fight went on," says Captain Young, of Colonel Baker's staff, "on the part of 
the enemy systematically.  They would give terrible yells in front and on our 
left; none on the right.  They would yell terribly, and then pour a shower of 
bullets everywhere over the field."
  Horses were soon sent to the rear, and Colonel Baker instructed

EDWARD D. BAKER - 397

his men to lie down and shield themselves as much as possible, though he himself 
was moving on every part of the field, even in front of the line, and into the 
woods, a fair mark by his erect form and venerable appearance for the enemy's 
sharpshooters, of which numbers had climbed to the tree-tops from the first, and 
kept up a constant fire, especially singling out officers wherever they 
appeared.  At the opening of the battle the officers of the two howitzers upon 
the right were wounded, and the guns were withdrawn and tumbled over the Bluff.  
The gun upon the left was in like manner unmanned almost before it got into 
position.  Seeing it standing idle when it might do great execution, Colonel 
Baker put his own shoulder to the wheel, and, with the help of Colonels Wistar 
and Cogswell, loaded and fired it several times with marked effect, opening 
lines through the solid ranks of the enemy.  He was composed and thoughtful, 
moving upon the field with his sword drawn while his left hand was thrust into 
his bosom; but he was extremely solicitous.  In the midst of the fight, a 
dispatch came from General Stone well calculated to quench what little hope of 
success had previously inspired his efforts.  It read thus: "Sir, four thousand 
of the enemy are marching from Leesburg to attack you."  A sufficient time had 
elapsed for them to be upon his front, and he knew by the pressure on all sides 
that they had already arrived.  To Colonel Wistar, who said to him "We are 
greatly outnumbered in front," he replied: "Yes, that is a bad condition of 
things."  The hopelessness everywhere was apparent to the officers.  "I retired 
to the left," says Captain Young, "and Colonel Coggswell came to me and said,  
'I am acquainted with you and I want you to stay with me on the left.  I don't 
care what anybody says, we are all gone to hell; but we must make a good fight 
of it.'"  Colonel Baker was, however, composed and resolute, and conducted the 
battle in every part with a most determined and unyielding valor.
  When the enemy's plan of battle was developed, he seemed intent on bringing 
his strength to bear on the Union left, where Colonel Baker's regiment stood.   
This was first discovered by two companies of skirmishers under Captain Markoe, 
who while advancing into the wood, were unexpectedly confronted by the entire

MARTIAL DEEDS OF PENNSYLVANIA - 398

Eighth Virginia regiment, which suddenly rose up and charged with the bayonet.  
Heroically Markoe met it, and by a steady fire checked it, and not until two-
thirds of these two companies and all their officers had fallen, did they give 
ground.  Regiment after regiment came forward upon the left, but, being met by 
the steady aim and deadly volleys of Colonel Wistar's men, they were as often 
checked and driven back.  In the midst of the fight a staff officer, Captain 
Stewart, came from General Stone with the glad tidings that General Gorman with 
5000 men was advancing to their relief from Edward's Ferry; but they never came.  
At length, at about four o'clock, Baker having combated with unexampled heroism 
greatly superior numbers, the enemy prepared to deliver a crushing charge with a 
force judged to be 2500 strong.  It soon appeared on the top of the hill, its 
right wing closed in column, its left deployed in line.  It had no sooner come 
in full view than the left delivered a volley, and the right charged with a yell 
down the hill.  The two lines soon came to close quarters, and the Twentieth 
Massachusetts, in the midst of which Colonel Baker was, gave way, and that 
gallant officer, before whom listening senates had been held breathless and 
spell bound, and who in the face of danger knew no fear, fell pierced with many 
bullets and expired without a struggle.  He had often enjoined upon his officers 
that, if he was slain they should not allow his body to fall into the enemy's 
hands.  Captains Harvey of his staff, and Bierel of Company G, no sooner 
discovered that their idolized leader had fallen, than they headed a counter-
charge, and with a yell rushed with the bayonet upon the advancing foe, with 
such terrible effect, as to stay the whole rebel line, and to thrust it back 
until the body of the fallen chief had been recovered and borne away in safety.  
The condition of the Union soldiers, which before had been hopeless, was now 
desperate.  The leader fallen, and many of the bravest and the best gone down in 
the fight, the only alternative was for the survivors to cut their way out or 
surrender.  Colonel Coggswell, who succeeded to the command, proposed to fight 
through to Edward's Ferry.  But the way was completely cut off by strong bodies 
of the enemy, and the only escape was by the Bluff.  Here, to the dismay of all, 
it was found that no means of recrossing the river were left, the

EDWARD D. BAKER - 399

only boat having been swamped.  Few surrendered, and from the steep declivity 
down which they retired, a sharp fire was poured into the rebels as they showed 
themselves above, until late at night.  Darkness favored the retreat, and each 
for himself chose his own way; some up the river, some down, some stripping and 
plunging into the deep stream, where many perished.
  The body of Colonel Baker was brought off, and transported to the Maryland 
side before the rout had begun.  The manner of his death is quite 
circumstantially described by Lossing.  "Eye-witnesses say that a tall, red-
haired man appeared emerging from the smoke, and approaching to within five feet 
of the commander, fired into his body the contents of a self-cocking revolver 
pistol.  At the same moment a bullet entered his skull behind his ear, and a 
slug from a Mississippi Yager wounded his arm and made a terrible opening in his 
side.  Captain Bierel of the California regiment, who was close by Baker, caught 
the slayer of his friend by the throat, just as he was stooping to seize the 
Colonel's sword, and with his pistol blew out his brains."
  Colonel Lee says: "Colonel Baker went to the left and passed into the woods.  
After a moment he came out of the woods on my front and left.  The enemy were 
perhaps within fifty or seventy-five feet of the position in which he stood.  
There was a heavy firing there, and Colonel Baker was shot by a man with a 
revolver - shot in the temple - at least I supposed so, for as he was borne by 
me dead, I saw that his temple was bleeding.  He passed to the rear a dead man."
  Concerning the cause of the disaster in this affair much speculation has been 
indulged.  A radical defect was in not having cavalry with which to scour all 
the approaches for a long distance around, and to ascertain what was in their 
front.  The second was in not having thrown up some protection for men and guns, 
in a good position for defence, which should have been done by Colonel Lee at 
the outset, on first reaching the Maryland shore, and have been continued by 
Colonel Devens.  In a later day, men have rushed forward under the sheeted fire 
from musketry and artillery in well-manned breasworks, and with their tin cups 
and finger-ends have dug rifle-pits, sheltered themselves, and held their 
ground.  The inadequacy in trans-

MARTIAL DEEDS OF PENNSYLVANIA - 400

portation, and the lack of an officer on the Maryland shore, to have had 
complete and entire control over such transportation, and to have forwarded men 
and ammunition as they were wanted and were called for, - the allowing a few 
isolated troops to be surrounded, and to fight for four hours without supporting 
them from right or left, when a sufficient force was within three miles, - and 
more than all, ordering such a demonstration with the understanding that General 
McCall with a strong column was at Dranesville in short supporting distance, and 
then withdrawing the latter entirely, just as the demonstration under Baker was 
opening, and without giving any notice of the withdrawal, - are all 
circumstances that would not have been allowed to occur in well-ordered military 
operations.
  But the valor with which the troops fought, in an open, exposed position, 
against overwhelming odds, and even against hope, has never been questioned.  
Indeed, it is scarcely matched in the whole catalogue of heroic actions even in 
the most martial ages.  That a body of troops who had never before met a foe in 
mortal conflict should display such undaunted courage would seem incredible, did 
we not know the heroism of their leader, and the devotion which his fearless and 
lofty bearing upon the field had inspired.
  The death of no officer during the whole war caused so profound a sensation, 
and such a feeling of real grief throughout the entire nation as that of Colonel 
Baker, and the sorrow was only exceeded by the tragic death of the good 
President himself.  The words which he had uttered but a few short weeks before, 
"There will be some graves reeking with blood, watered by the tears of 
affection," when he was pleading with the fervor and devotion of his great heart 
for the integrity and the well being of his country, seemed prophetic of his own 
sacrifice.  His body was taken to Washington, and at the Capitol, amid places 
which had been familiar to him, solemn services were held, and the most gifted 
and eloquent of his associate Senators spoke in his eulogy.  Mr. Summers said: 
"He died with his face to the foe. . . . Such a death, sudden, but not 
unprepared for, is the crown of the patriot soldier's life."  From Washington it 
was borne to New York, where, with flags at half-mast, and buildings mournfully

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draped, escorted by the military, and followed by many honored citizens, it 
moved to the sad strains of martial music to the pier of the steamer Northern 
Light, where it was embarked for Panama, and thence taken to its last resting-
place on the far Pacific coast.

JOHN T. GREBLE, Lieutenant-Colonel in the regular army, and the first officer in 
that service who was killed in battle in the late war, was born at Philadelphia 
on the 19th of January, 1834.  He was the eldest son of Edwin, and Susan 
Virginia (Major) Greble, both of whose ancestors early settled in Pennsylvania, 
and were active for the patriot cause in the Revolutionary war.  He was educated 
in the public schools of Philadelphia, graduating at the High School at the age 
of sixteen, with the degree of Bachelor of Arts in 1850, and receiving the 
Master's degree in 1854.  From his earliest years he had displayed a strong 
predilection for the military profession, his favorite amusement in childhood 
being the movement of toy soldiers in imagined conflict.  This taste becoming 
known to the representative in Congress from the district where he lived, his 
appointment as a cadet at West Point was solicited, and obtained from President 
Taylor.  Ignatius L. Donnell, who was a classmate and intimate friend, in a 
quaint, but evidently heartfelt estimate of Greble's character, conveys some 
idea of the respect which he had thus early inspired.  "He has," says Donnell, 
"very strong good sense; sees very well into the actions of others, and will 
never do a disgraceful thing. . . . He is generous to a fault. . . . He is 
energetic and an excellent confidant. . . .His fault is not vanity. . . . He is 
brave, and dares do all that may become a man.  He is inclined to religion. . . 
. In short, he is the embryo of a bold, honorable, true man; one that will be a 
glory to his name, and an honor to his country; and one that will always be my 
friend."  Among his classmates were Ruger, Howard, Weed, and Abbot, on the Union 
side, and G. W. C. Lee, Deshler, Pegram, J. E. B. Stuart, Gracie, S. D. Lee, 
Pender, Villepique, Mercer, and Chapman on the rebel.  The device for the class 
ring was a mailed hand holding a sword with the legend, "When our County calls," 
leaving it in doubt whether the wearer would forsake, or defend it.

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  On graduating he was sent to Newport barracks, Kentucky, as brevet Second 
Lieutenant in the Second artillery.  In a letter addressed to his parents in 
grateful remembrance of their influence upon his life and character, is a 
tribute to them which it were well if all children could bear to their parents.  
"And now," he says, "my thoughts carry me to my happy home in Philadelphia; to 
the kind influences which surrounded me there; to the loving hearts which so 
dearly cherished me.  How kind both father and mother in fostering and providing 
for my ambition; inciting me to study; and supplying every want. . . . For what 
is polite or refined in my composition, I am indebted to you and my much loved 
sisters; whatever is affectionate is but what has been taught me by the love of 
all at home."
  He had not been long at Newport before he was ordered to rejoin his regiment, 
then in Florida.  The war which had been waged against the Seminole Indians for 
seven years had ended in 1849; but it was deemed necessary to keep a force of 
observation upon the border, and in preparation for their ultimate removal.  His 
letters from the scene of his duty show keen discernment of the country and its 
inhabitants.  His description of one portion is amusing.  "I have," he says, 
"noticed the topography of the country through which I have passed.  Go a little 
way, and you see pines.  Go a little further, and you see pines; and a little 
further, and you see pines.  Look as far as you can, and you see pines.  It is a 
glorious country!"
  His duties were very severe, taking him through the Everglades, and subjecting 
him to much exposure.  But however disagreeable the service, or arduous, it was 
always faithfully performed.  He often came in company with Billy Bowlegs, the 
chief of the Seminoles, who entertained a high opinion of his valor.  When 
Greble, on one occasion, was alone with the chief, conversing about Florida 
affairs, the latter said: "If war should come between your people and mine, I 
will tell all my young men not to kill you.  I will kill you myself.  You must 
be killed by a chief."
  While in camp at Fort Myers, engaged in drilling recruits, one of the number 
died.  There was no chaplain to solemnize the rites of burial.  He could not 
bring himself to be content with

JOHN T. GREBLE - 403

consigning the body to the grave without some service.  After many misgivings, 
he finally decided himself to officiate, and read over the dead body of his 
comrade the impressive funeral service of the Protestant Episcopal Church.  He 
sought the opinion of his mother respecting the propriety of his course, saying 
in his letter, "I thought it was better than to place the body in the ground 
without any religious exercises."  The mother answered: "It was better, much 
better, my dear son, and far more impressive to his comrades than it would have 
been had they walked away from his grave without hearing those comforting words.  
Besides, these men will regard you with far more respect for having done so, 
than if you had allowed them to deposit their lost comrade in the narrow tomb 
without one word."  General Hartsuff, who was then a brother officer, in 
speaking of Greble's life in Florida said: "He was constantly and actively 
engaged in the sometimes exciting, but oftener tedious, hard, and laborious duty 
in pursuing and wearing out the crafty and almost ubiquitous Indians, until the 
autumn of 1856, when his company was ordered out of Florida.  This kind of duty, 
which is the most difficult and aggravating, offers fewer points, and tries more 
true soldierly qualities than any other.  Lieutenant Greble developed in it the 
truest and best qualities of the good soldier and officer, winning the esteem 
and admiration of his brother officers, and the perfect confidence of the 
soldiers. . . . He never shrank from any duty, but always met it more than half 
way."
  In December, 1856, he was ordered by Jefferson Davis, then Secretary of War, 
to duty at the West Point Academy as assistant Professor of Ethics.  This was 
distasteful to him, as he preferred active duty with his command; but he soon 
became reconciled, and here not long after, was affianced to a beautiful young 
woman, the daughter of Professor French, whom he subsequently married.  In 
October, 1860, he was relieved from duty at the academy, and was ordered to join 
his company, then on duty at Fortress Monroe.  With his wife and two children, 
he took up his abode in two of the casemates of the fortress, which he had 
fitted up so as to be comfortable, and even beautiful.  In April following, war 
opened, and all the women and children were

MARTIAL DEEDS OF PENNSYLVANIA - 404

ordered away from the fortress.  He sent a notice of the order to his father at 
Philadelphia, who replied: "Your letter of the 17th was received about ten 
minutes ago.  I was in hourly expectation of receiving one from you, and 
anticipated its contents.  Send your family on to me; they shall be most 
welcome, and I will take good care of them as long as the trouble shall last.  
It is needless to say to you, be true to the Stars and Stripes!  The blood of 
Revolutionary patriots is in your veins, and it must all be drawn out before you 
cease to fight for your country and its laws." . . .
  General Butler was soon after put in command at Fortress Monroe, and commenced 
preparations to defend strategic points upon the James and to plan operations 
against the rebel capital.  Greble was promoted to Lieutenant, made Master of 
Ordnance, and sent, with other troops, to Newport News, charged with the 
responsible duty of superintending the construction of military works there, and 
instructing three thousand volunteers in artillery practice.  In a few days a 
battery was put in position which completely commanded the ship-channel of the 
James, and the mouth of the Nansemond.  Magruder, who had deserted his flag, and 
was now in chief command of the enemy in the immediate front, was evidently 
intent on seizing the positions at Newport News and Hampton.  To this end he had 
occupied Big and Little Bethel.  General Butler determined to break up and drive 
away the hostile forces at these points, and General Pierce was ordered to 
proceed on Sunday, the 9th of June, with a strong column to effect this purpose. 
Lieutenant Greble was to accompany it in command of two light guns.  When the 
latter was shown the general plan of operations, he was much troubled; for he 
saw at a glance its inherent defects.  "This is," he said, "an ill-advised and 
badly-arranged movement.  I am afraid no good will come out of it.  As for 
myself, I do not think I shall come off the field alive."
  The troops were to commence the movement at a little after midnight. Advancing 
in the darkness, and proceeding from different points, they unfortunately 
mistook each other for the foe, and one party not having been apprised of the 
watchword, they twice fired into each other.  The enemy occupied a strong

JOHN T. GREBLE - 405

position on the banks of Back Creek, where formidable earthworks had been thrown 
up.  Between nine and ten in the morning, Peirce had arrived in front of this 
position, near Big Bethel, and determined to attack.  The advance was boldly and 
resolutely made under the immediate direction of General G. K. Warren; but the 
foe was well posted, and his fire soon began to tell upon the advancing column.  
Unable to stand the ordeal, it fell back; and now was seen the skill and valor 
of Greble.  Fearing the effect of a counter-dash by the foe, he stood by his 
guns, sighting them himself, and dealt double charges of canister with such 
rapidity and effect as to silence the rebel artillery, and to deter an advance 
for at last two hours.  In the meantime Peirce had prepared for a second 
assault.  It was made, and for a time with the prospect of success; but again 
having fired into each other, and a portion of the attacking force having been 
thrown into confusion, it was finally withdrawn.  The day was lost; but Greble 
still maintained his position.  Only five of his men were left, and he could 
work but one gun.  He was appealed to by an officer to withdraw, or to dodge, as 
others had done.  His reply was, "I NEVER DODGE!  When I hear the bugle sound a 
retreat I will leave, and not before."  That order soon came; but it had 
scarcely been received, when he was struck by a ball from the enemy's gun a 
glancing flow on the right side of the head.  "Sergeant!" he exclaimed, "take 
command - go ahead!" and then fell dead by the side of his gun.  His body was 
placed upon the piece and taken back to Fortress Monroe.  In his pocket was 
found a note in pencil, evidently written on the field, addressed to his wife, 
in which he said, "God give me strength, wisdom, and courage.  If I die, let me 
die a brave a honorable man; let no stain of dishonor hang over me or you.  
Devotedly, and with my whole heart's love."  His remains were removed to 
Philadelphia, where, amid the tolling of bells and the booming of cannon, and 
profound demonstrations of approbation, all business in the city being 
suspended, he was laid to rest.
  Tokens of esteem and appreciation were freely offered to his memory.  Officers 
of the army at Fortress Monroe in their resolutions said, "The heroic death of 
this gallant officer fills us all

MARTIAL DEEDS OP PENNSYLVANIA - 406

with admiration and regret, Standing at his piece in the open road in front of 
the enemy's battery till shot down, he served it with the greatest coolness, and 
most undaunted courage." The Select and Common Councils of Philadelphia tendered 
the use of Independence Hall for his obsequies, and in most eloquent and 
impressive resolutions declared, "Our city is called to deplore the loss of a 
most worthy citizen, and our country, one of her noblest defenders." His 
companions in the artillery, in their homely, honest way, were unstinted in 
their praise of him.  Lieutenant Lodor, in a note written just after the battle, 
said: "Just think of poor John Greble's death! Was it not awful, Bill? He was a 
noble man; one of the kind you don't often meet in this world; modest -
particularly so - unassuming, retiring; a perfect disposition, and, withal, as 
brave as a lion. Oh, I tell you it was grand the way he stood there and took the 
fire of the whole battery, and just as cool and quiet as at a drill.  The 
volunteer officers cannot praise him enough. They think him a brave of the first 
order." In a conversation long afterwards with Robert Dale Owen, President 
Lincoln is reported to have said, "that of all those who had fallen, or who had 
distinguished themselves in the present contest, it was his deliberate judgment, 
that not one had acted so heroically nor deserved so well of his country as 
Lieutenant Greble."
  In recognition of his services and his valor the ranks of Brevet Captain, 
Major, and Lieutenant-Colonel were conferred by the unanimous consent of the 
Senate of the United States; and Secretary Stanton, in forwarding the 
commissions to the father of the deceased, wrote: "I have the pleasure of 
inclosing to you the commissions conferred in honor of the memory of your son 
John T. Greble, the first officer of the regular army who perished in the war 
for the suppression of the Rebellion. His distinguished character, his gallant 
conduct on the field where he fell, and his devoted sacrifice to the cause of 
his country, will make his name and memory illustrious."

SENECA GALUSHA SIMMONS, Colonel of the Fifth Reserve regiment and Major of the 
Fourth United States Infantry, was born on the 27th of December, 1808, in 
Windsor county, 

SENECA G. SIMMONS - 407

Vermont.  He was the son of Alfred, and Deborah (Perkins) Simmons.  His boyhood 
was passed for the most part upon a farm, he receiving only such advantages of 
education as could be obtained from a country school.  At the, age of fourteen 
he left his native state, and entered the military school of Captain Partridge, 
then located at Middletown, Connecticut, in which he remained several years, 
accompanying that school on its removal to Georgetown, District of Columbia. 
While there, he received from President Jackson, the appointment of cadet at 
West Point. He graduated with distinction in 1834, and was assigned to the 
Seventh Infantry.  In the following August he married Miss Elmira Adelaide 
Simmons of Harrisburg.
  Previous to joining his regiment, in the autumn of that year, he was assigned 
to topographical duty, under Major McNiell, and assisted in the survey of the 
harbor of Apalachicola, Florida.  During the summers of 1835-36, he was engaged 
under Colonel Long upon surveys in the State of Maine; first on the coast, and 
then on a contemplated line of railway between Belfast and Quebec, Canada. In 
the winter of 1837, he joined his regiment, and shortly after received the 
appointment of Aid to General Arbuckle, then in command of the Department of the 
Southwest.  He was also made Assistant Adjutant-General, which position he held 
for several years, retaining it after General Taylor assumed command, and until 
relieved by Colonel Bliss, the General's son-in-law.  His regiment was then, the 
spring of 1842, serving in Florida, and thither he immediately repaired.  At the 
conclusion of the Florida war, his regiment was detailed for duty in garrisoning 
Gulf posts, and he was stationed at Fort Pike, Louisiana, where he remained 
during the years 1842-43, transacting in addition to the duties of his position 
in his company, those of Commissary and Quartermaster to the Post.  When his 
turn came for being detailed on recruiting service he was ordered to Syracuse, 
New York, and was engaged in that duty until the opening of the Mexican war.  On 
his arrival in the enemy's country, he was immediately assigned as Assistant 
Commissary and Quartermaster at Matamoras.  During the year 1847, he remained at 
his post; but on being promoted to Captain he rejoined his regiment then en 
route for the city of Mexico.

MARTIAL DEEDS 0F PENNSYLVANIA - 408

  At the close of the war, and the return of the troops, his regiment was 
stationed at Jefferson Barracks, Missouri. A portion of the command, including 
his own company, was ordered for special duty to Fort Leavenworth, Kansas.  
While here he received a severe injury, which seemed for a time likely to prove 
fatal, and from which he never entirely recovered.  One knee was frightfully 
crushed, and the wound, after some years of intense suffering, resulted in 
permanent lameness; but not to such an extent as to unfit him entirely for duty.  
While yet upon crutches, he was, in 1857, sent upon recruiting service to 
Pottsville.  While here he so far recovered as to attend to active duty, and was 
sent to take command of Fort Arbuckle, upon the frontier.  His regiment was soon 
afterwards sent to Utah.  As the labor was likely to prove too arduous for him 
in his crippled state, he sought and obtained a furlough, and joined his family 
in Harrisburg, where he was living at the outbreak of the Rebellion.  When 
troops were called, Captain Simmons was made mustering officer for Pennsylvania 
volunteers.
  Upon the organization of the Reserve Corps, he was chosen Colonel of the Fifth 
regiment, though personally unknown to any of the officers of that body.  His 
first service was to march, in connection with the Bucktail regiment and some 
artillery, to the support of General Wallace in West Virginia, and thence to 
Washington, where he drilled his regiment and prepared it for service in the 
division.  In September of this year, he was promoted to Major of the Fourth 
Infantry, but preferred to remain with the volunteer troops.  He was at Beaver 
Dam Creek and Gaines' Mill, in both of which desperately fought battles, he 
escaped unhurt. At Charles City Cross Roads, on the 30th of June, 1862, while 
leading the First brigade with unexampled valor, he fell in the thickest of the 
fight, breathing his last upon the field of honor.  No braver man drew sword in 
any cause.  In person, he was nearly six feet in height, of strong and robust 
frame, florid complexion, brown hair, heavy beard, light-blue eyes; his face 
presenting ordinarily a calm and benevolent expression; but when excited, every 
feature seemed to flash fire, and woe to the man who, having disregarded his 
orders, attempted

CHARLES ELLET, JR. - 409

to persist in an improper course of conduct.  To him, however, who was willing 
to acknowledge his fault, the Colonel at once relaxed his sternness, and 
received the offender as though no offence had been committed.
  The poet N. P. Willis, in writing to the Home Journal, from a visit to the 
camps of the army, said: "I had never before thought that water could embellish 
a soldier.  As we sat in our hack, at the outer edge of the encampments, 
watching an incipient rainbow, and rejoicing in the prospect of holding-up, a 
general officer rode past with his aid and orderly, on the return to his tent, 
just beyond.  Of a most warlike cast of feature, his profuse and slightly 
grizzly beard was impearled with glistening drops, and, with horse and 
accoutrements all dripping with water, he rode calmly through the heavy rain 
like a Triton taking his leisure in his native element.  It was the finest of 
countenances and the best of figures for a horseman.  He looked indomitable in 
spirit, but unsubject, also, to the common inconveniences of humanity - as 
handsome and brave when tired and wet, as he would be when happy and dry! I was 
quite captivated with the picture of such a man, and did not wonder at the 
comment which was appended to the reply, by a subaltern officer of whom I 
inquired his name, 'General Simmons,' said he, 'a man whom anybody would be glad 
to serve under.'"

CHARLES  ELLET, JR., Colonel of Engineers, was born on the 1st of January, 1810, 
at Penn's Manor, Bucks county, Pennsylvania.  He early devoted himself to the 
business of a Civil Engineer, and eventually became one of the most eminent of 
his profession, some of the greatest triumphs of engineering skill being the 
products of his devise.  The wire suspension bridge across the Schuylkill below 
Fairmount, the first of the kind constructed in this country, the suspension 
bridge across Niagara river below the falls, and that at Wheeling, West 
Virginia, were all the fruit of his active brain.  The improvement of the 
navigation of the Kanawha river, and the construction of the Virginia Central, 
and Baltimore and Ohio railroads found in him a master spirit, before whom 
difficulties vanished, and in whose hand victories were achieved.

MARTIAL DEEDS OF PENNSYLVANIA - 410

  When the war commenced, he was residing at Washington, and immediately 
interested himself in the cause of the Union.  Original in designing, and rapid 
in executing, he became impatient with the Union leaders, and himself drew a 
plan for cutting off and destroying the rebel army at Manassas, in the fall of 
1861.  This plan, on being presented to General McClellan, was rejected by that 
commander; whereupon Ellet wrote two pamphlets severely censuring the dilatory 
and inefficient conduct of the Union chief.  He early projected plans for 
constructing steam rams, for use in the navy, providing them with powerful beaks 
for running down and piercing opposing crafts.  His plans were rejected by the 
Navy Department; but, on being presented to the Secretary of War, were approved 
and adopted by him, and Ellet was sent to the Ohio to transform river-boats into 
rams.  On the 6th of June, 1862, Colonel Ellet's fleet attacked a force of rebel 
rams, off the city of Memphis, and, after a contest stubbornly maintained, Ellet 
was triumphant, having run down, blown up, destroyed, or captured seven of the 
eight vessels composing the rebel force.  Ellet was the only man injured on the 
Union side.  He received a wound from a rifle ball in the knee, that proved 
mortal, expiring near Cairo, on the 21st.  Colonel Ellet was the author of 
several important works, chiefly devoted to the Improvement of the Navigation of 
the Mississippi and Ohio rivers, Internal Improvements of the United States, 
illustrating the Laws of Trade, and Coast and Harbor Defences by the use of 
steam battering rams.  He was buried at Laurel Hill, Philadelphia.  His wife 
dying of grief - broken hearted - within a few days, was laid in the same grave. 
She was the eldest daughter of Judge William Daniel, of Lynchburg, Virginia.

JAMES CAMERON, Colonel of the Seventy-ninth (Highlander) regiment, New York 
Volunteers, was born at Maytown, Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, on the 1st of 
March, 1801.  At the age of nineteen he entered the printing office of his 
brother, the Hon. Simon Cameron, at Harrisburg, where he served a faithful 
apprenticeship, and in 1827 removed to Lancaster, where he became the editor of 
the Political Sentinel, studying law in the

JAMES CAMERON - AMOR A. McKNIGHT - 411

meantime in the office of James Buchanan, afterwards President of the United 
States.  He was with the army of General Scott in Mexico, and, after his return, 
settled upon an estate on the banks of the Susquehanna, near Milton, 
Pennsylvania, where he was living in retirement when the Rebellion broke out.  
At the solicitation of the soldiers of the Highlander Regiment, he accepted the 
commission of Colonel of that organization.  At the battle of the first Bull 
Run, he was of Sherman's brigade, Tyler's division, and at the crisis of the 
struggle, bore himself with the greatest gallantry.  Again and again he led his 
men with the cry, "Scots, follow me!" in the face of a withering fire of 
musketry and artillery, until stricken down mortally wounded, expiring on the 
field of his heroic exploits. "No mortal man," says an eye-witness, "could stand 
the fearful storm that swept them."
  The body of Colonel Cameron was subjected to indignity. It was rifled of 
valuables, and portraits of cherished ones, and thrown rudely into a trench with 
numbers of others, without any mark by which it could be identified.  Friends of 
the family who went to the field to recover it were taken captive and thrust 
into the Richmond prison pens, where, for several months, they languished.  It 
Was finally recovered, and received Christian burial, amid many demonstrations 
of respect and affection.

AMOR ARCHER McKNIGHT.  Early in the Rebellion, rebel officers, mindful of their 
repute for chivalry, sought opportunities for its exemplification; but later in 
the war, soured by frequent defeat, and grown heart-sick by hope long deferred, 
the actors and sympathizers in the direful work eschewed the much-vaunted claim, 
and did not hesitate to mutilate the body of a Dahlgren, treat with barbaric 
cruelty prisoners of war, send pestilence and fire into northern cities, and 
finally come stealthily from behind upon the Chief Magistrate of the nation, and 
shoot him down in cold blood. When Colonel McKnight fell on the gory field of 
Chancellorsville, on that fearful Sabbath, ushered in with the lurid flames of 
war, of the 3d of May, 1863, a sudden turn in the fortunes of the day cut

MARTIAL DEEDS OF PENNSYLVANIA - 412

off the possibility of rescuing his body, and it remained in the hands of the 
enemy. His prowess on that field had been sorely felt by the foe; but when the 
lifeless form of such an antagonist was seen, it disarmed hostile feeling.  The 
old Kearny badge which he wore was the symbol of gallantry, and they recognized
in him a true type of his old master, a veritable Kearny.  His body was taken up 
and properly disposed.  It was followed to the grave by a guard of honor, many 
officers being present.  Their bands played mournful music. Over his remains a 
salute, due to his rank, was fired, and his grave was marked so as to be
recognized by sorrowing friends.
  Amor Archer McKnight, son of Alexander, and Mary (Thompson) McKnight, both of 
Scotch-Irish descent, was born at Blairsville, Pennsylvania, on the 19th of 
April, 1832.  His education was obtained at the common schools and the academy 
in Brookville, where he proved himself an apt scholar.  He early acquired a 
taste for books of an elevated character, and as his scanty means would allow, 
collected a small library.  His father died when he was but a mere lad, and as 
the eldest of the children, he labored assiduously for the support of the 
widowed mother and dependent family.  He learned the printer's trade at 
Blairsville, at which he worked zealously.  Attracted to the law by his taste 
for exalted subjects, he subsequently commenced its study in the office of Hon. 
W. P. Jenks, of Brookville, since president judge of that district, but was 
still obliged to set type one-half of each day for his support.  At the age of 
twenty-one, he was admitted to practice, and soon after, entered into 
partnership with G. W. Andrews, Esq., as a practising attorney at the Jefferson 
county, bar.  The firm at once took a high rank, and its business was extensive 
and laborious.  McKnight early evinced a liking for military duty, and at the 
breaking out of the Rebellion, was captain of a militia company known as the 
Brookville Guards.  He promptly tendered his company, and with it, served in the 
three-months' term in the Eighth regiment.  At the expiration of this period, he 
was authorized by the Secretary of War to recruit a regiment for three years.  
After encountering many difficulties, his efforts were finally rewarded with 
success, the officers whom he had gathered about him having secured the

AMOR A. McKNIGHT - 413

full complement of hardy men; and on the 28th of September, 1861, it was 
mustered into service as the One Hundred and Fifth regiment.  The indomitable 
energy manifested by their leader was caught by his men, and this organization 
soon became noted for its excellence.
  In the battle of Fair Oaks, before Richmond, Colonel McKnight fought under the 
immediate eye of General Jameson, the veteran officer who commanded the brigade, 
and received from him the warmest commendation. "During the time McKnight was 
engaged on the Richmond Road, the line had been gradually giving way about a 
quarter of a mile to his right.  Just as McKnight succeeded in routing the force 
in his front, the line gave way entirely at the point above indicated, and the 
rebel force came pouring into the Richmond Road directly in his rear, and while 
the gallant McKnight was pursuing the South Carolina chivalry towards Richmond, 
the rebels were pursuing a portion of our forces towards the Chickahominy . . . 
. No other evidence of the valor displayed by this heroic little band is 
necessary, than a list of the killed and wounded.  General Kearny's horse and 
mine were both killed.  A parallel to this fighting does not exist in the two 
days' battle, nor will it exist during the war."
  In this battle, a ball struck the watch of Colonel McKnight, which glanced 
off, causing a slight wound.  He was soon after stricken with fever, and not 
until told by his physicians that he would die if he remained in the field, 
under the influence of the deadly miasmas of the Peninsula, could he be 
prevailed on to relinquish his command.  Failing to obtain a furlough, he 
tendered his resignation, and retired to Philadelphia.  By careful nursing and 
attendance, he was, at the end of two months, so far recovered as to be able to 
again take the field, and was recommissioned Colonel of his old regiment.  While 
absent at this time, he was impatient of the delay in again reaching the front.  
His greatest wish and most ardent desire was to be with the boys of the One 
Hundred and Fifth regiment.  He said he had been instrumental in taking them 
into the war, and he wished to share their toils and fortunes.  With the 
exception of a short leave of absence in March following, this was his only 
absence

MARTIAL DEED$ OF PENNSYLVANIA - 414

from his command.  While at home during his furlough in March, he remarked that 
he would not survive to again return.  Little did his friends think that this 
was the language of prophecy.  But so it proved. On the field of 
Chancellorsville, while leading on his brave men against the veterans of 
Stonewall Jackson - nerved to unwonted deeds of valor to avenge the fall of 
their idolized leader, who had a few hours before received his mortal hurt - 
Colonel McKnight, while in the act of waving his sword above his head to cheer 
on his men, was struck in the arm, the missile passing on through his brain, 
killing him instantly.  Strenuous efforts were made to recover his body, but 
they proved fruitless, and he sleeps on that gory field - the scene of his 
daring valor.  At his death, Colonel McKnight was already in a fair way of 
promotion.  The excellence of his regiment and his own coolness and courage on 
the field, had attracted the attention of his superior officers, and he had at 
intervals been called to the command of a brigade, and had been recommended for 
appointment as a Brigadier.
  He was one of those men who had come up to manhood through the rough school of 
experience.  He had learned to set a true value on those qualities which, in any 
walk of life, win success.  When he entered the army, he went with the feeling 
that he was personally responsible for accomplishing what the nation had 
undertaken, and in his struggles with the great problem at the very threshold of 
the momentous contest, he seemed to have fathomed its mysterious depths, and 
fearlessly announced his sentiments in advance of all others.  When, in January, 
1862, before leading his regiment to the field, the Hon. J. K. Moorhead, in 
behalf of his Excellency Governor Curtin, presented the command with the State 
Colors, Colonel McKnight in reply, after returning thanks for the gift, and 
referring to the responsibilities imposed in defending it, said: "The 
intelligent American soldier enters upon this conflict with entirely different 
emotions from those possessed by the combatants in the ordinary wars between 
nations.  He feels that the war has been wantonly and unprovokedly commenced by 
those who have always basked in the favor of the Government - commenced not

AMOR A. McKNIGHT - 415

to assert the majesty of the law, but to violate it - not to protect freedom, 
but to enforce the perpetuation and enlargement of degrading servitude - not to 
preserve the Government, but to destroy it.
  "To defeat such a nefarious plot, the citizen soldier has left the comforts of 
home to endure the privations of camp; and while he hazards his life without 
hesitation, he also expects that no unnational or squeamish regard on the part 
of those who order and conduct the war will deprive our forces of the assistance 
we might derive from those unwilling serfs who escape from the enemy; and that, 
casting aside the pusillanimous fear which dreads the stigma of a name, they 
will promptly punish and weaken our opponents by removing from them and the 
country that institution which is not only the cause of the present 
difficulties, but has ever been a source of annoyance and irritation.
  "Should such be the policy pursued, the war will not have been for nought; the 
earnings of the tax-payer, which are being so lavishly emptied into the National 
Treasury, will have been expended to some practical purpose; and the soldier, 
whose blood is now offered as the occasion presents, will know that it has been 
done to preserve liberty to himself and friends, and to protect them from the 
moral debasement which would result from the enlargement in our midst of a race 
who are degraded because their condition is base."
  To execute the purpose which is here sketched, and which he cherished as the 
real object of the struggle, he labored with the earnestness and assiduity of a 
life and death aim.  Says a member of his command: "At Camp Jameson, Virginia, 
he would convert the officers of the regiment into a school every evening, and 
would have them study tactics and discipline, and then recite them to him.  On 
these occasions, he would impress upon their minds the necessity of study to 
become good officers; and would not only have his officers study, but applied 
himself to the work with all the power of his great mind.  Seldom did he lie 
down until the small hours of the night and his own exhausted strength told him 
too plainly that man must have some rest; but his repose was short, for four 
o'clock soon came, and with it arose the Colonel and at once resumed his daily 
labors."

MARTIAL DEEDS OF PENNSYLVANIA - 416

  Colonel McKnight was thirty years eleven months and fourteen days old when he 
died just upon the threshold of life.  He was six feet in height, of commanding 
presence, blue eyes, brown hair, and possessed of a remarkably attractive and 
intelligent countenance. His mother died before his entrance to military life. 
He left two brothers. He was unmarried. His loss in the community in which he 
lived was deeply felt, and his death sincerely mourned. His old instructor in 
the law, Judge Jenks, says of him, "A braver, truer, nobler man than Amor A.
McKnight could not be found in the service."

MARK KERN, Captain of battery G, First artillery, which he  aided in recruiting 
at Philadelphia, was commissioned its First-Lieutenant in July, 1861.  Shortly 
after, he was promoted to Captain, and until the day of his death led that noble 
battery with unexampled skill and heroism.  At Beaver Dam Creek, it was brought 
up from its position in reserve just in time to do most effective service, when 
the enemy was pressing on in massed columns, and confident of sweeping 
everything before them.  But canister from the double-shotted guns of Kern drove 
them back and saved the field.  On the following day Kern was posted upon 
commanding ground on the left at Gaines' Mill.  For a time the Union infantry 
held the front and covered his pieces; but it was finally swept back, and they 
were in danger of capture.  Then it was that the spirit of Kern was tested.  
Again and again the enemy charged on him, but his guns, admirably posted, did 
fearful execution.  With a persistence rarely equalled the enemy assaulted, and 
made that battery the object of his most determined efforts.  Finally, when he 
could no longer hold out, on account of the enemy swarming upon him, he retired 
behind a new line of battle, losing two of his guns, himself being wounded.
  At Charles City Cross Roads the execution of his guns was even more deadly and 
destructive than on previous fields.  The ground was open for a long distance in 
his front, and as often as the enemy attempted to advance, Kern scourged them 
with terrible effect.  The struggle on this part of the field was continued for 
over two hours, the enemy gaining no advantage.

MARK KEEN - PETER B. HOUSUM - 417

Finally, the ammunition running low, General McCall ordered Kern to send his 
caissons to the rear, and soon the battery followed.  The fidelity which Captain 
Kern displayed in the most trying positions caused him to be selected for 
critical duty.  At four o'clock P. M. on the evening of the 30th of August, on 
the Second Bull Run battle-ground, he was attacked - the first on the part of 
the line which he held, to feel its power.  The rebel tactics of massing and 
delivering assault after assault, at whatever sacrifice, were here repeated, and 
upon Kern they fell with terrible power, the shocks carrying swift destruction.  
So long as his supports remained firm, he was triumphant; but when they failed, 
having himself again received a severe wound, he was forced to yield, and fell 
into the enemy's hands, where he soon after died.  Three of his men were killed 
and twenty-one wounded.  Four guns, two caissons, two limbers, and twenty-seven 
horses were lost.  For the short space of time that he was in active service, it 
was his lot to play as important, if not a more important part, than any 
commander of a battery in the Potomac Army.  In all places he acquitted himself 
manfully, and fell in the very front of the battle.

PETER B. HOUSUM, Colonel of the Seventy-seventh regiment. "It was the banner 
regiment at Stone River," said General Rosecrans, as he reined in his steed in 
front of the Seventy-seventh Pennsylvania, while passing his army in review just 
previous to the second grand advance against Bragg. "Give my compliments to the 
boys," said he, "and tell them that I say, 'It was the banner regiment at Stone 
River.' They never broke their ranks." It was at Stone River, while leading this 
regiment, that Colonel Housum was killed.
  He was born on the 22d of September, 1824, in Berks county, Pennsylvania.  His 
father was George L., and his mother Elizabeth (Burknard) Housum, both natives 
of Berks county.  He received a good English education at the public schools, 
and by close application during his leisure hours, attained to a high degree of 
proficiency in mathematics and civil engineering, for which he evinced a decided 
taste.  His occupation was that of a millwright.  In physical stature he was 
five feet ten inches, and

MARTIAL DEEDS OF PENNSYLVANIA - 418

was possessed of a sound constitution. He was married on the 25th of September, 
1846, to Miss Lucy E. Elmenston.
  For fifteen years previous to the Rebellion he had served as First-Lieutenant 
of a uniformed militia company, and in the three months' service was Captain of 
company A, Second Pennsylvania regiment.  He recruited a section of a battery at 
Chambersburg, for three years' duty, which, after having been consolidated with 
a section raised in Erie, was organized for service with the Seventy-seventh 
regiment, of which body he was made Lieutenant-Colonel.  The first of the only 
three Pennsylvania infantry regiments sent to the Western armies, in the early 
part of the war, it was assigned to duty with the force in Kentucky, then under 
command of General Buell.  On the field of Shiloh, he bore a part for the first 
time in a great battle, and beheld the horrors which war carries with it.  When 
the fighting opened he was with his command twenty miles off, toilsomely wending 
his way over heavy roads towards the field, Grant having been attacked by Sidney 
Johnston before Buell could form a junction with him. Hastening forward, it 
moved upon the field on the morning of the second day, passing over the ground 
where three out of the five of Grant's divisions had, the day before, been 
crushed and his entire army well-nigh annihilated.  At one P. M. the Colonel of 
the regiment, Stumbaugh, having succeeded to the command of a brigade, 
Lieutenant-Colonel Housum assumed that of the regiment, and led it throughout 
the severe fighting which followed.  In the final charge, which decided the fate 
of the day, and swept the enemy hopelessly back, he was upon the front line, and 
took many prisoners, among them, Colonel Battles of the Twentieth (rebel) 
Tennessee.
  After the battle, the Union troops encamped upon the field, the sickening 
odors from which soon became intolerable, occasioning disease, from which 
Colonel Housum was a sufferer, and for a long time prostrated.  At Stone River, 
on the last day of the year 1862, he was in command of his regiment, and was 
posted on the extreme right of Rosecrans' line, where the enemy, having secretly 
massed his troops under the cover of darkness, attacked at dawn with 
overwhelming power.  Colonel Housum had divined this strategy, having detected 
in the confused sounds

PETER B. HOUSUM - 419

that came to him, that a constant movement of troops across the front of the 
Union line towards the right was in progress.  He accordingly ordered his men to 
stand to their arms throughout the weary hours of that long night, and when, at 
length, the blow was given at dawn, he was ready to receive it, and to deliver a 
counter-blow, which fell with stunning effect upon the too confident foe, who, 
counting unreservedly on a complete surprise, had anticipated an easy victory.  
But the other regiments upon the left, being less vigilant, the attack came upon 
them while unprepared, and they soon gave way.  Left without support or 
cooperation, it was impossible for this single body to long hold out against a 
determined and strong assailant, and it was borne back.  But reforming at right-
angles to the main direction of the Union line, and connecting with the next 
division, which stood firm, Colonel Housum prepared to advance.  In his front 
were Edgarton's guns in possession of the enemy, having been captured in the 
confusion which resulted from the first surprise.  To retake them and bring them 
in became a darling project with Colonel Housum.  He ordered a charge, which was 
heroically executed, and the guns, after a brief struggle, were recovered.  
Stimulated by this success, the assault was continued, being directed upon the 
enemy's own guns; but before they could be reached the rebels rallied in great 
strength, and everything was lost; Colonel Housum himself receiving a wound, 
from which he soon after died.  In his last moments his thoughts were of his 
men, and the success of the conflict.  Comprehending the nature of his hurt, he 
exclaimed, "I am mortally wounded.  See to it that my brave boys do not yield an 
inch!"  To his Adjutant he said, and they were the last words he uttered, "Stay 
by my brave boys of the Seventy-seventh."
  Of his character as a soldier, one who was with him throughout all his 
campaigns, and who, from his own sterling qualities, knew how to estimate valor, 
says, "He never faltered, and when without regular rations for days, he never 
murmured, but strove to do all in his power for the relief of his men.  He was 
cool, brave, and unassuming, and no one of his rank in the Army of the 
Cumberland stood higher in the estimation of his superior officers."

MARTIAL DEEDS OF PENNSYLVANIA - 420

LANSFORD FOSTER CHAPMAN, Major of the Twenty-eighth regiment, was born at Mauch 
Chunk, on the 13th of September 1834.  His father, Joseph Henshaw Chapman, was a 
native of Northampton, Massachusetts, and his mother, Martha Probasco Woolley, 
of Chester county, Pennsylvania.  The son was educated at the common schools of 
Mauch Chunk, and spent one term at the Wyoming Seminary, an institution of some 
note in Luzerne county.  At the age of fifteen, manifesting a taste for civil 
engineering, he joined a party engaged is locating a railroad at Summit hill, 
and was subsequently employed in surveying several other roads in the anthracite 
coal regions of the central part of the state, either as assistant or engineer-
in-chief.  On the 1st of May, 1850, he was married to Olive A. Jackson, of 
Carbondale.  A short time previous to this he had abandoned civil engineering, 
and had embarked in the lumber business on the Lehigh river, in which he 
continued to the breaking out of the Rebellion.
  His military education previous to taking the field was limited to a year or 
two of service in a militia company known as the Cleaver Artillerists, in which 
he was a Lieutenant.  Upon the issue of the President's call for 75,000 men, he 
was among the first to rally, and in two days three full companies were raised 
at Mauch Chunk.  But such a number could not be accepted, and the question 
became not who will go, but who is willing to stay?  He was not of the number 
chosen to go.  In June, in conjunction with J. D. Arner, and his brother C. W. 
Chapman, he set about recruiting a company for three years' service, and of this 
he was commissioned Captain.  Having placed his company in camp, he put it to a 
severe course of discipline.  Of camp-life he soon tired, and having heard of 
battles, "he longed to follow to the field some war-like chief."  His desire was 
gratified, for his company was accepted by Colonel John W. Geary, a soldier of 
the Mexican war, and made the color company of his regiment, - the Twenty-eighth 
Pennsylvania.
  The regiment vas first stationed on the upper Potomac, and Captain Chapman, 
when the troops under General Banks were ordered to cross into Virginia, made 
himself useful by his engineering skill in constructing a rope ferry, and 
afterwards in

LANSFORD F. CHAPMAN - 421

laying a pontoon bridge, the task being a difficult one on account of high 
water, six men having been drowned by the upsetting of a boat in attempting to 
take the heavy hawser across.  With his company he participated in the stirring 
campaign in the Shenandoah Valley in the fall and winter of 1861, and in the 
valley of Virginia with Pope in 1862.  At Antietam, on the 17th of September, 
the regiment was subjected to severe fighting, and performed efficient service.  
Captain Chapman was struck by a fragment of shell and sustained considerable 
injury, but in a short time was sufficiently recovered to be again at the head 
of his company.
  In January, 1863, he was promoted to the rank of Major, and at once took 
command of the regiment, and retained it until, on the field of 
Chancellorsville, at ten o'clock on Sunday morning, May 3d, when the battle was 
at its height and raging with unparalleled fury, he fell dead at the head of his 
troops, leading them on and encouraging them to deeds of valor by his intrepid 
example.  Eagerly did his comrades strive to rescue the body of their fallen 
leader, but in the fitful changes of the fight they were compelled to leave it 
upon the field, and it fell into the hands of the enemy.  Many times afterwards 
were his remains sought by his friends; but in the tangled wilds of that 
desolate region, where the dead were strewn thick on every hand, it was 
impossible to identify the place of their interment.
  When, in May, 1865, the war being ended, the Union troops with joyous step 
were on the homeward march, General Geary turned aside at Chancellorsville to 
search for the anxiously and long sought grave of his old companion in arms.  
The correspondent of the New York Tribune was on the ground with the 
disinterring party, and in a communication thus described the scene: "The most 
notable case of recognition was the discovery of the remains of the heroic Major 
Chapman of the Twenty-eighth Pennsylvania volunteers, one of the finest 
regiments in the Second division of the Twelfth corps, which at the time of his 
death he was commanding.  Major Chapman fell in sight of General Geary, and that 
thoughtful commander was the first to identify his remains, although they had 
several times been sought by his friends, but in vain. Knowing the spot where he 
fell, and

MARTIAL DEEDS OF PENNSYLVANIA - 422

finding a grave near, General Geary at once supposed it to be that of the 
lamented officer, and directed the disinterment.  An eager crowd of friends of 
the deceased gathered around the spot, and as each shovelful of earth was laid 
aside, one and another identified some token.  The teeth, hair, and size of the 
body all coincided with those of Major Chapman.  In addition to these evidences 
there were several others equally strong. The coat was identified by the officer 
who ordered it from the maker.  The buttons had been cut off by rebel 
desperadoes, and the pants were missing.  Men who had been taken prisoners near 
the spot knew that the body of Major Chapman had been thus despoiled.  It was 
known moreover that no other field officer had fallen near this position.  
Stronger evidences than these could scarcely be in a case of this kind.  By 
order of General Geary the bones were carefully taken up and placed in a cracker 
box, the only receptacle which the moment afforded, and now they follow the 
command to Alexandria, whence they will be transported to the North." 
  On the 27th of May 1865, they were laid peacefully to rest in the quiet 
cemetery at upper Mauch Chunk by sorrowing friends.  A beautiful monument 
erected by his family marks his last resting-place.  His memory is fondly 
cherished, not only by his relatives, but by a large circle of acquaintances.  
Among many letters of condolence which his family received, the following 
paragraph from one written by Daniel Kalbfus, Esq., will illustrate their tenor: 
"I never can forget him.  He was a true man, a brave soldier, a finished 
scholar, and a perfect gentleman.  He was my friend, and his friendship was very 
warm.  A man of his years, talents, social and political attainments, will be 
missed in Carbon county, for, in my judgment, there were few like him.  Brave to 
rashness, I knew that he would win honor at the head of his regiment, or die 
nobly fighting there, and so it proved." 
  Nearly six feet in height, and of noble proportions, enjoying perfect health, 
induced by habits of sobriety, he was a shining mark for the destroyer.  As a 
boy, he was a Cadet of Temperance, and when arrived at man's estate was a Son of 
Temperance, and no one was more consistent to his professions.

JOHN W. McLANE - 423

In his family relations he was fortunate, and a wife and two children, a girl 
and a boy, the objects of his warmest affections, are left to grieve his loss.

JOHN WHITE McLANE, Colonel of the Eighty-third regiment, was born in Clearfield 
county, Pennsylvania, August 24th, 1820.  He was the son of Dames H. and Phebe 
(Fleming) McLane.  The family removed to Erie, in 1828.  After a few years of 
instruction received chiefly from his maternal grandmother, and a brief season 
at the Erie Academy, he was placed in the store of his uncle, William Fleming.  
In 1842, he organized and commanded the Wayne Greys, a volunteer company, 
favorably known throughout western Pennsylvania for their admirable discipline 
and soldierly bearing.  This company, in competition with many others from 
Pennsylvania, New York, and Ohio, was awarded the prize-banner at the encampment 
at Meadville, September l0th, 1844. 
  When the Mexican war broke out, McLane was residing temporarily at Fort Wayne, 
Indiana.  During his brief sojourn in that city, the ruling passion had 
manifested itself in the formation of a military company, which, now that troops 
were needed, promptly volunteered for the war, and marched to camp at New 
Albany, where they were attached to, and became part of the First regiment, 
Indiana Volunteers, Colonel James P. Drake.  This regiment was engaged chiefly 
in performing garrison duty at Matamoras and Monterey, and saw but little real 
service save repelling the attacks of the Mexican cavalry and guerillas, in 
marching to the latter place.  The Wayne Greys volunteered their services to the 
Governor, for the same war, and placed their arms in condition; but the State 
quota being full, were not called out.  After the war, Captain McLane engaged in 
farming and mining.  In 1859, he formed a fine volunteer organization, known as 
the Wayne Guard of Erie.  On the l0th of September, 1860, the company took part 
in the imposing ceremonies incident to the inauguration of a monument to the 
memory of Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry, the hero of Lake Erie, at Cleveland, 
Ohio.  Captain McLane was officer of the day upon that occasion, and, 
representing the Guards, presented an elegantly mounted cane, 

MARTIAL DEEDS OF PENNSYLVANIA - 424

made from the wood of Perry's Flag-ship, the Lawrence, to the Hon. George 
Bancroft, the orator of the day. 
  "I well remember" says Mr. Isaac G. Morehead, who has kindly furnished the 
matter for this sketch, "the spirit exhibit Captain McLane on his return from 
witnessing the inauguration of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United 
States.  Meeting a group of young men, members of the Wayne Guard, in the Park, 
he said: 'Boys, you may as well think the matter over, and make up your minds 
what you are going to do, for we are going to have a fight. I am going into it, 
- to lead my company, I hope; if not, I'll go as a private.  We will fill up our 
ranks and March to Pittsburg, or some other point, and help to make a regiment.  
Most of the group smiled incredulously at the idea of a war with our own people; 
but the Captain said, 'It will come.'  Returning home on the night of the 13th 
of April from a brief journey, I was awakened in the morning by the noise of 
fife and drum, and the tramp of marching men.  Bells were ringing and cannon 
firing.  Strange sounds to break upon the ear on Sabbath morning in a quiet 
little city!  Sumter had been fired upon, and the Captain had commenced his 
work.  When all others seemed stunned and appalled, he went to work easily and 
quietly as though anticipating all that was occurring.  Flags were flying 
everywhere.  Anxious, determined-looking men were talking in groups, or 
hurriedly leaving town to rouse the people in the quiet country places.  In four 
days, Captain McLane's company had grown to 1600 men.  Men of all trades and 
professions were there.  The plow was left with its point in the earth, the pen 
and the hammer were dropped, law-books and briefs were left upon the table."  
McLane abandoned his office of Sheriff of the county - refused the office of 
Commissary-General of Pennsylvania tendered him by Governor Curtin, which he 
said a lame man could administer - and as Colonel, at the head of his regiment, 
amid the cheers of assembled thousands, in a furious storm of rain and snow, 
took up the march to Pittsburg.  The regiment was known as McLane's Independent 
Regiment, and at camps Wilkins and Wright, was drilled during the three months 
of its service in a very effective manner.  Scarcely had the regiment reached 
home, when news of the disaster of

JOHN W. McLANE - 425

Union arms at Bull Bun was received.  Colonel McLane immediately telegraphed 
General Cameron, then Secretary of War, and received authority to recruit a 
regiment for three years.  On the 8th of September, the men "were mustered into 
the service by Captain Bell of the regular army, and on the 16th, headed by 
Mehl's brass band, they started for Washington.  They went into camp near that 
city, and, on the night of the 1st of October, crossed the Long Bridge into 
Virginia.  At Hall's Hill, they were placed in Fitz John Porter's division in 
the Third brigade, commanded by General Butterfield.  Here the regiment settled 
down to hard work, and that discipline was perfected which gave them their 
reputation, and fitted them for winning immortal glories on every great battle-
field of the Army of the Potomac.  None who heard, in those days, that clear 
ringing voice of Colonel McLane, can ever forget it.  His men never 
misunderstood his orders.  There was something so energizing in his voice, in 
the full, firm tone, that gave such entire assurance to the men, something so 
electric - far beyond the ordinary acceptation and use of the word - that it was 
a proverb, "McLane can lead those men anywhere."  He was born to command.

      Proud was his tone, but calm; his eye 
      Had that compelling dignity, 
      His mien that bearing haught and high, 
      Which common spirits fear." 

Marching up the Peninsula, their first fighting was at Hanover Court House; and 
they fought well.  On the morning of the 27th of June, 1862, they were on the 
extreme left of our line at Gaines' Mill.  They stood firm all of that terrible 
day.  Every attack upon the left was repelled; but toward evening, Colonel 
McLane was informed that our lines were forced in the next brigade on the right.  
"I cannot believe that," said the Colonel," for the Sixty-second Pennsylvania is 
in that brigade."  But when the unwelcome truth was made evident, the Colonel 
said:  "Well, we will change front, boys, and fight it out here."  But in 
changing front, Colonel McLane and his Major, Naghel, were both killed.  The 
retreat now became general, and but a small portion of Butterfield's brigade 
remained on the field. The courier that had 

MARTIAL DEEDS OF PENNSYLVANIA - 426

been sent with the order to retreat was killed on the way.  The Eighty-third had 
been directed to hold this position, and retreat without orders was not to be 
thought of.  Major Von Vegesack, an Aid of General Butterfield, came at last, 
with an order to retire.  He found them with the glare of battle upon their 
faces.  Their blood was up, and there they stood savagely and desperately 
fighting over the dead body of their beloved leader, Colonel McLane.  They paid 
no attention to the order of retreat.  While the Aid stood there, vehemently 
repeating his commands, the Eleventh South Carolina appeared moving past in 
front.  With the sublimity of impudence, the Eighty-third, surrounded almost as 
they were, and their retreat endangered, sent out Lieutenant White with a 
handkerchief tied to his sword, to demand their surrender.  This, of course, was 
indignantly refused, and before the officer returned to his regiment, he heard 
the order given in his rear, accompanied by the click of hundreds of muskets, 
and, dropping instantly upon his face, a volley passed over him, killing and 
wounding a number of the men.  Suffering severely from a flanking fire, the 
retreat was at last ordered by Captain Campbell, and the Eighty-third turned 
sullenly from the field and crossed the river, leaving one-half of the regiment 
dead or wounded.  When the war was over, and the Eighty-third were marching from 
the scene of Lee's surrender to Washington, they encamped near this historic 
field.  Colonel Rogers, then in command of the regiment, raised the bones of 
Colonel McLane, and forwarded them to Erie; and on the 19th of May, 1865, his 
bereaved widow and children, surrounded by a vast concourse of people, followed 
his remains to the Cemetery on the hill; the volley was fired, - earth to earth, 
ashes to ashes, - and the soldier was at rest.  He fell early in the war; but 
his faithful work and perfect discipline lived after him, and produced great and 
glorious fruit.