Martial Deeds of Pennsylvania, Samuel P. Bates, 1876 - Part 1, Chapter 6, 141-
157

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                         MARTIAL DEEDS OF PENNSYLVANIA
                                       by
                                SAMUEL P. BATES.

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

MARTIAL DEEDS OF PENNSYLVANIA - 141

                            PART I.  GENERAL HISTORY.

                                   CHAPTER VI.

                               THE GREAT UPRISING

DANGERS now rapidly multiplied, and complications hourly thickened.  On the 20th 
of April, 1861, the day following that in which the Massachusetts soldiers and 
General Small's Brigade of Pennsylvanians were attacked in Baltimore, Governor 
Curtin, recognizing the gravity of the dangers with which the State was 
threatened, issued the following Proclamation:  "Whereas, an armed rebellion 
exists in a portion of the States of this Union, threatening the destruction of 
the National Government, periling public and private property, endangering the 
peace and security of this Commonwealth, and inviting systematic piracy; and 
Whereas, adequate provision does not exist by law to enable the Executive to 
make the military power of the State as able and efficient as it should be for 
the common defence of the State and General Government, and Whereas, an occasion 
so extraordinary requires prompt legislative power, Therefore, I, by virtue of 
the power vested in me, do hereby convene the General Assembly of this 
Commonwealth, and require the members to meet at their respective Houses at 
Harrisburg, on Tuesday, April 30th, at noon, then to take into consideration and 
adopt such measures in the premises as the present exigencies may demand."  The 
seriousness of the situation was greatly enhanced by the fact that on the night 
previous to the issue of this call, all the lines of telegraph, and also all the 
great railroad thoroughfares leading to Washington, had been destroyed.  The 
State was thus left open to attack, the General Government being unable to 
defend even its own Capital.

MARTIAL DEEDS OF PENNSYLVANIA - 142

  In his Message at the opening of this extra session, the Governor said:  "The 
insurrection must now be met by force of arms; and to re-establish the 
Government upon an enduring basis by asserting its entire supremacy, to 
repossess the forts and other Government property so unlawfully seized and held, 
to ensure personal freedom and safety to the people and commerce of the Union, 
in every section, the people of the loyal States demand, as with one voice, and 
will contend for, as with one heart, and a quarter of a million of 
Pennsylvania's sons will answer the call to arms, if need be, to wrest us from a 
reign of anarchy and plunder, and secure for themselves and their children, for 
ages to come, the perpetuity of this Government and its beneficent institutions. 
. . .  It is impossible to predict the lengths to which the madness that rules 
the hour in the rebellious States shall lead us, or when the calamities which 
threaten our hitherto happy country shall terminate. . . .  To furnish ready 
support to those who have gone out, and to protect our borders, we should have a 
well-regulated military force.  I, therefore, recommend the immediate 
organization, disciplining, and arming of at least fifteen regiments of cavalry 
and infantry, exclusive of those called into the service of the United States.  
As we have already ample warning of the necessity of being prepared for any 
sudden exigency that may arise, I cannot too much impress this upon you."
  A bill was accordingly drawn, which after being duly considered and matured, 
was passed on the 15th of May, that gave the Governor the means and the 
authority to put the State in attitude to defend its southern border against the 
sudden incursions of the enemy, and to fly to the aid of the General Government 
in an emergency.  By its terms the borrowing of $3,000,000 on the faith of the 
Commonwealth was authorized; the appointment of one Major-General and two 
Brigadier-Generals, and a grand staff; the terms of service of the Adjutant, 
Quarter-master, and Commissary-Generals were fixed for three years; soldiers 
were forbidden to leave the State to volunteer, and troops were prohibited from 
moving beyond the limits of the Commonwealth until fully armed and equipped; 
Associate Judges and County Commissioners were constituted a Board to meet 
monthly

THE GREAT UPRISING - 143

and provide relief at the expense of the county, for any in destitute 
circumstances dependent upon soldiers called into the military service, to meet 
which demands the Commissioners were empowered to make temporary loans; pensions 
were granted to the widow or minor children of one falling in the service; 
county and municipal officers who wished to enlist were allowed to appoint 
deputies; and the establishment of a military professorship in universities, 
colleges, and academies of the Commonwealth was authorized.  These provisions 
indicate the earnestness which, at that early period, the Legislature 
manifested, and the enlarged and humane views by which it was swayed.
  But the most important provision of the law was that, in compliance with the 
recommendation of the Governor, which authorized the formation of the Reserve 
Volunteer Corps of the Commonwealth, that eventually achieved a wide reputation 
as the Pennsylvania Reserves.  The duty of raising this corps was entrusted to 
the Commander-in-chief, and the officers of the grand staff.  It was to consist 
of thirteen regiments of Infantry, one of Cavalry, and one of Light Artillery, 
to serve for three years unless sooner discharged, to be liable to be called 
into the service of the State to suppress insurrection or to repel invasion, and 
further, to be liable to be mustered into the service of the United States at 
the call of the President.  The Governor was to establish camps of instruction, 
and armories, and was to designate the time when the soldiers should attend upon 
instruction.  When not in camp, nor in the field, they were to hold themselves 
in readiness to rendezvous upon the instant of warning.
  The plan as provided in this bill would have given the Commonwealth the 
advantage of the instant service of a body of 15,000 picked troops, trained and 
disciplined by frequent and efficient drills, had it been executed as intended.  
Camps were established at West Chester, at Easton, at Harrisburg, and at 
Pittsburg, and George A. McCall, an experienced soldier, was appointed Major-
General, under whose direction the corps was rapidly organized.  Under the order 
of General Patterson for twenty-five regiments, while he was in command of the 
Department of Washington, and while cut off from communication with the 
Government, considerable progress had been made in recruiting, and when

MARTIAL DEEDS OF PENNSYLVANIA - 144

that order was countermanded, the work was not arrested, as there seemed a 
certain prospect that more troops would be needed; and when on the 15th of May, 
three weeks after the order of Patterson, the act providing for the Reserve 
Corps was passed, many troops were in readiness to enter it.  To make it really 
the representative of the entire State, the Commander-in-chief made an estimate 
of the number, apportioned according to population, which could be received from 
each county.
  But an event was soon to occur which eclipsed in pressing necessity the 
immediate defence of the southern border of the State.  On the 21st of July was 
fought the first battle of Bull Run, in which the Union arms suffered a 
disastrous defeat.  The field was within hearing of the National Capital, and 
the beaten army was largely composed of troops whose time had already ended, or 
would soon expire.  Great consternation prevailed lest the foe, animated by 
victory should immediately march upon the Capital, while few troops were left to 
defend it, and capture or disperse the officers of the Government.  In this 
extremity the President called for the Reserve Corps, which, thanks to the 
intelligent policy of Pennsylvania, was in readiness to march.  It arrived upon 
the front at a moment of dire extremity, and entered the breach, assuring safety 
to the city and Government.  Having thus been taken into the service of the 
United States, and incorporated with the National army, it never again returned 
to the exclusive service of Pennsylvania; and during the three years of its 
duty, whether upon the march, or on the field of carnage, wherever hardships 
were to be borne or danger met, it maintained a reputation for courage and 
gallantry unsurpassed, the name of Reserves carrying gladness to friend and 
terror to foe.
  Thus the enterprise of the authorities of Pennsylvania in providing for State 
defence, was circumvented upon the very threshold of its inception, and the 
border was left unprotected, except by the enrolled militia and volunteers who 
came at the Executive's call.  Previous to the passage of the act for the 
organization of the Reserves, the President had called for thirty-nine regiments 
of infantry and one of cavalry to serve for three years or the war, and under 
this requisition four regiments were recruited and organized from Pennsylvania, 
which were mustered into the

THE GREAT UPRISING - 145

United States service in advance of the Reserves.  Hence, in numbering the new 
levies after the twenty-five regiments of three months' troops, these four were 
interposed, which caused the First of the Reserves to be the Thirtieth of the 
line.  The Thirteenth of the Reserves was a rifle regiment known also as the 
Bucktail, which was consequently for Forty-second of the line, the artillery, 
the Fourteenth Reserve, the Forty-third, and the cavalry, the Fifteenth, the 
Forty-fourth.  This duplicate numbering occasioned some confusion and was the 
source of numberless mistakes.  To add to the complication, there were two of 
the three months' regiments, the Eleventh and the Twenty-third, which, when they 
came to be organized and recruited for three years, though composed for the most 
part of new men, like a knife with a new blade and a new handle, retained their 
old designations.  Hence when the Eleventh regiment was spoken of, there was 
always doubt whether the Eleventh three months', the Eleventh three years', or 
the Eleventh Reserve, Fortieth of the line, was meant, and there was a 
possibility that the Eleventh cavalry, One Hundred and Eighth of the line, or 
the Eleventh militia, might be intended.  In making up the records of the men 
belonging to the several regiments, frequent errors were discovered in official 
documents traceable to this cause, and some instances occurred in which it was 
impossible, with the data at hand, to decide with certainty to what regiment 
they belonged.  To render this subject intelligible a table is given in which a 
statement of the entire force of the Commonwealth is exhibited, to which the 
reader is referred.
  In a message addressed, on the 8th of May, to the Legislature at its extra 
session of 1861, the Governor informed that body that the Society of the 
Cincinnati of Pennsylvania had presented to him the sum of $500 to be used 
towards arming and equipping its volunteer troops, and asked that the manner of 
its use should be directed by statute.  That Society was one whose original 
members were the representatives of the most exalted patriotism.  They were the 
surviving soldiers of the Revolutionary army, who, when they saw the great work 
to which they had addressed themselves accomplished, when a long and sanguinary 
struggle, borne by a people meager in numbers and with insignificant

MARTIAL DEEDS OF PENNSYLVANIA - 146

resources, finally had terminated triumphantly, gathered themselves together and 
pledged lasting friendship, and hearts responsive to the woes and wants of any 
who should be left destitute, or his widow, or his orphans.  WASHINGTON was at 
its head, and MIFFLIN, and WAYNE, and REED, and CADWALADER, sainted names, were 
of them.  That gift, though small in amount, was like a voice from patriot 
tombs, conjuring the soldiers of the present to fidelity to their trust.  It was 
appropriately devoted to the purchase of flags to be carried at the head of the 
regiment, an inspiration in battle, and a perpetual reminder of the heroism of 
the men to which it allied them.
  The following resolutions were passed on the 16th:  "Whereas, in the present 
unprecedented circumstances of the country, suffering under a treasonable 
assault upon our constitutional liberties, this expression of patriotism, by a 
society founded by Washington and the illustrious chiefs of the Revolution, and 
embracing in its present organization their immediate and lineal descendants, 
and which is so honorably, closely associated with the hallowed memories which 
cluster around the early struggles and checkered history of our Republic, 
demands special recognition and approval, therefore, Resolved, That the Governor 
be and is hereby directed to expend the said money in the purchase of regimental 
flags having the coat-of-arms of the State. . . .  That the Governor be 
authorized and directed to convey to the patriotic donors the acknowledgments of 
this Legislature, for the generous contribution thus spontaneously made towards 
the preservation of that Union which was established by the labors and 
sacrifices, and cemented by the blood of the gallant founders of their honored 
Association."
  That the gift might be made the more significant, and might be a perpetual 
witness to all the soldiers of the State of its origin, a joint resolution was 
adopted instructing the Governor to ascertain how the regiments from 
Pennsylvania, during the war of the Revolution, of 1812, and of Mexico, were 
numbered, among what division of the service they were distributed, and where 
they distinguished themselves in action, and to procure regimental standards for 
troops now in the field or that may hereafter be recruited, and have them 
inscribed with the numbers of the afore-

THE GREAT UPRISING - 147

time regiments, have painted thereon the arms of the Commonwealth, and the names 
of the actions in which those regiments had won renown, and providing that all 
these standards, "after this unhappy Rebellion is ended, shall be returned to 
the Adjutant-General of the State, to be further inscribed, as the valor and 
good conduct of each particular regiment may have deserved, and that they then 
be carefully preserved by the State, to be delivered to such future regiments as 
the military necessities of the country may require Pennsylvania to raise."
  When, at the conclusion of the war, these flags were returned to the hands of 
the Governor, their condition gave little hope that this last provision would be 
executed.  On that bright May morning, in 1861, when this resolution was 
discussed and moulded into form, the actors in the scene had little conception 
of the countless multitude, making the solid earth tremble with their tread, who 
were to be called to the field, of the roar of battle, filling the heavens with 
sulphurous smoke, which was to resound from one end of this broad continent to 
the other, for the space of four long years, of the whole land filled with 
mourning for the myriads who, on the one side or the other, were to fall, or 
that these same flags would be rent and seamed with the hail of battle, and 
wrapt in the fiery billows of the conflict until many of them should be 
unrecognizable, and have not a shred left whereon to emblazon their story.
  The attempt to hold the Shenandoah Valley by detached troops posted at 
Winchester or at Harper's Ferry, even though numbered by many thousands, to 
prevent the advance of the enemy across the Potomac, as in the case of Patterson 
in 1861, proved fruitless whenever an invasion of Maryland was attempted in 
force, and disasters of the most startling character to the Union arms were of 
frequent occurrence there throughout the greater portion of the war.  On the 
25th of May, 1862, a force of the enemy under Generals Ewell, Edward Johnson, 
and Stonewall Jackson, advancing down the valley, attacked General Banks who had 
been left at Winchester with about 4000 men.  Spirited actions were maintained 
with the rebel vanguard, but from paucity of numbers the Union troops were 
speedily compelled to give way.  Banks had with him a train of 500 wagons.  
These

MARTIAL DEEDS OF PENNSYLVANIA - 148

he struggled to save, and finally succeeded in crossing the Potomac with about 
450, the remainder having been destroyed to keep them from the enemy's hands, 
but with the loss of nearly a quarter of his force in killed, wounded, and 
missing.  The moment this concentrated attack of the enemy was discovered at 
Washington, presuming that the movement was for invasion, the President called 
on the Executive for the militia of Pennsylvania to meet the threatened danger.  
An order was promptly issued to the Major-Generals, and other officers of the 
State forces, and with alacrity and promptitude the citizen soldiery came 
flocking to the standard.  But before they could be brought together at the camp 
of rendezvous, it was ascertained that the enemy's column had been checked by 
movements upon either flank by the forces under Fremont and McDowell, and that 
the necessity for immediate aid from the militia was past, when, on the 27th, 
the order was countermanded, and an acknowledgment of the patriotic zeal which 
had been shown was tendered.
  But early in September, the rebel Army of Virginia in all its force, having 
beaten McClellan upon the Peninsula, and routed Pope upon the plains of 
Manassas, did cross the Potomac, and the danger of a protracted invasion of 
Pennsylvania, and the making it the seat of war, seemed imminent.  As threatened 
twice before, the passage of the Potomac was made from the Shenandoah Valley.  
The rebel Commander-in-chief, General Robert E. Lee, had no sooner planted his 
army on Maryland soil, than he addressed a proclamation to the people of that 
State, in which he said:  "The people of the Confederate States have long 
watched with the deepest sympathy the wrongs and outrages that have been 
inflicted upon the citizens of a Commonwealth allied to the States of the South 
by the strongest social, political, and commercial ties.  They have seen with 
the profoundest indignation their sister State deprived of every right, and 
reduced to the condition of a conquered province. . . .  Believing that the 
people of Maryland possessed a spirit too lofty to submit to such a Government, 
the people of the South have long wished to aid you in throwing off this foreign 
yoke, to enable you to enjoy the inalienable rights of freemen, and restore 
independence and sovereignty to your State.  In obedience to this

THE GREAT UPRISING - 149

wish, our army has come among you, and is prepared to assist you with the power 
of its arms in regaining the rights of which you have been despoiled."
  From the tenor of this proclamation it will be seen that a general uprising by 
the people of Maryland was anticipated, and the purpose of a permanent 
occupation foreshadowed.  For how could they hope to "throw off the foreign 
yoke," and "restore independence and sovereignty," that is the independence and 
sovereignty of the rebel Government, unless a force of arms was maintained in 
their midst sufficient to repel any power which could be brought against them?  
But though the rebel leader was supreme in the State, and for many days held 
absolute sway, there was no rallying to his support, as he had anticipated.  No 
foreign yoke was felt which they desired to throw off, as they already enjoyed 
that independence and sovereignty which was their choice.  They gave him 
unmistakably to understand that his offer was gratuitous, and the grey-haired 
Barbara Fritchie, of "Fredericktown," whose courage the poet Whittier has 
immortalized in song, dared even to shake the Union flag in the leader's face.
  A force of nearly 14,000 Union troops, under Colonel Dixon H. Miles, had been 
occupying the mouth of the Shenandoah Valley, which retired, as the enemy 
advanced, to Harper's Ferry, where they were shut up and the place invested by 
an army under stonewall Jackson, and General Hill, estimated at 35,000 men.  
After a feeble resistance Miles surrendered, and, at the very moment of 
yielding, was instantly killed by the explosion of a shell.  By this act, 
commonly regarded as one of disgraceful cowardice, or worse, nearly 12,000 men 
were surrendered prisoners of war, involving a loss of 11,000 stands of small 
arms, 1800 horses, and seventy-three pieces of artillery.  Again was the 
futility of attempting to hold this highway of invasion by detached force 
demonstrated.
  As soon as the result of the second battle of Bull Run was know, attention was 
at once directed to the defenceless condition of Pennsylvania.  It was an hour 
of gloom for the whole country, and especially so to this State.  The drain upon 
the population by the frequent and heavy calls for troops to fill the national

MARTIAL DEEDS OF PENNSYLVANIA - 150

armies, had left but a small part of the men fit for military duty to carry on 
the ordinary avocations of life.  On the 4th of September, the day following 
that on which the combined Union forces fell back to the defences of Washington, 
Governor Curtin issued his proclamation, calling upon the people throughout the 
Commonwealth to rally for organization and drill, and to hold themselves in 
readiness to move at the moment of need.  He recommended the formation of 
squadrons and companies, and that there might be opportunity for regular and 
systematic drill, advised that all business be suspended after three o'clock of 
each day, and that all classes, irrespective of rank or condition, should unite 
in the work of preparation.
  To the counsel of the Executive good heed was given.  The lawyer left his 
briefs, the judge the bench.  The voice of wisdom was hushed in the schools.  
The furrow stood half turned.  The water flowed lazily by the mills, whose 
spindles it was wont to keep whirling in endless attune.  The hammer at the 
forge was silent and in all the walks of business where was accustomed to be 
heard the steady hum of industry, a Sabbath silence reigned.  On the field of 
rendezvous stood shoulder to shoulder the man of rare culture and he with the 
horny hands of toil.
  On the 5th, the enemy crossed the Potomac at the various fords, and stood in 
force upon the Maryland shore; but authentic intelligence of his movements was 
slow in reaching the North.  On the 10th, the Governor issued a General Order, 
calling on all able-bodied men to enroll, effect complete organizations, supply 
themselves with arms and sixty rounds of ammunition to the man, tendering arms 
to such as were unable to procure them/ and, on the following day, acting under 
the authority of the President, he called for 50,000 men, directing them to 
report by telegraph for orders to march.  "This call," says the Governor, in his 
message to the Legislature, "was promptly responded to, and a large force was 
sent forward to the Cumberland Valley and its vicinity.  The first part of this 
force, consisting of one regiment and eight companies of infantry, moved from 
Harrisburg on the night of the 12th of September, and was followed by other 
regiments as rapidly as they could be organized and transportation provided.  
The command of the whole force

THE GREAT UPRISING - 151

was taken by Brigadier-General John F. Reynolds, who left his corps in the Army 
of the Potomac at my urgent request, and hurried to the defence of his native 
State, for which he is entitled to the thanks of the Commonwealth.  Of the 
volunteer militia, 15,000 were pushed forward to Hagerstown and Boonsboro, in 
the State of Maryland; 10,000 were posted in the vicinity of Greencastle and 
Chambersburg; and about 25,000 were at Harrisburg, on their way to Harrisburg, 
or in readiness and waiting for transportation to proceed thither."
  In the meantime, the advance of the invading army was arrested by the prompt 
movement of the Army of the Potomac.  On the 14th, the enemy, who had taken 
possession of the passes of the South Mountain, was met and routed.  Pushing 
rapidly forward, the Union Army came up with the main body of the foe, 
concentrated upon a neck of ground partially encircled by the Potomac and 
Antietam streams, and during the afternoon and evening of the 16th, and day of 
the 17th, a fierce battle was fought, in which the enemy was worsted, and driven 
back into Virginia, the field, with the rebel dead and wounded, remaining in the 
hands of the victorious Army of the Union.
  The militia of the Commonwealth, though unable to participate in the struggle, 
reached the neighborhood of the field of strife in time to have been called into 
action, had their services been needed, proving their patriotism by their prompt 
response to the call and the readiness with which they seized the musket and 
transformed themselves from citizens to soldiers.  On the 20th, General Reynolds 
issued an order for the return of these troops to Harrisburg, where had been 
established the general camp of rendezvous, and on the 24th they were disbanded 
and returned to their homes.
  A few days after the battle General McClellan addressed, from his headquarters 
at Sharpsburg, the following letter of acknowledgment, to Governor Curtin, and 
through him to the people of Pennsylvania; "I beg to avail myself of almost the 
first moment of leisure I have had since the recent battles, to tender to you my 
thanks for your wise and energetic action in calling out the militia of 
Pennsylvania for its defence, when threatened by a numerous and victorious army 
of the enemy.  Fortunately, cir-

MARTIAL DEEDS OF PENNSYLVANIA - 152

cumstances rendered it impossible for the enemy to set foot upon the soil of 
Pennsylvania, but the moral support rendered to my army by your action was none 
the less mighty.  In the name of my army, and for myself, I again tender to you 
our acknowledgments for your patriotic course.  The manner in which the people 
of Pennsylvania responded to your call, and hastened to the defence of their 
frontier, no doubt exercised a great influence upon the enemy."
  Governor Bradford, of Maryland, on whose soil the great struggles had 
occurred, and whose people the rebel General had proclaimed he had come to 
assist in throwing off a foreign yoke, issued a general order, dated at the 
Executive Department at Annapolis, September 29th, 1862, in which he said:  "The 
expulsion of the rebel army from the soil of Maryland should not be suffered to 
pass without the proper acknowledgment and cordial thanks of her authorities, to 
those who were chiefly instrumental in compelling that evacuation.  I would 
tender, therefore, on behalf of the State of Maryland, to Major-General 
McClellan, and the gallant officers and men under his command, my earnest and 
hearty thanks for the distinguished courage, skill, and gallantry with which 
that achievement was accomplished.  It reflects a lustre upon the Commander-in-
chief, and the heroism and endurance of his followers, that the country 
everywhere recognizes, and that even our enemies are constrained to acknowledge.  
To Governor Curtin, of Pennsylvania, and the militia of his State, who rallied 
with such alacrity at the first symptoms of an invasion, our warmest thanks are 
also due.  The readiness with which they crossed the border, and took their 
stand beside the Maryland brigade, shows that the border is, in all respects, 
but an ideal line, and that in such a cause as now unites, us, Pennsylvania and 
Maryland are but one."  
  A tribute could not have been more cordially or gracefully rendered to the 
promptitude and patriotism displayed by the citizens of Pennsylvania, who thus 
came to the rescue in this critical emergency than was this, and its value was 
enhanced by the evident sincerity and heartfelt gratitude which pervaded its 
every utterance.  But if the words of the Governor, the chosen representative 
and mouthpiece of the people of the State, were pleasing 

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to Pennsylvania, to the army, and indeed to the entire North, with what leaden 
weight must they have fallen upon the ears of the foe, who had been led to 
believe that Maryland was rendering unwilling obedience to Union rule, and was 
ready for revolt when the opportunity should be afforded?  The result of this 
invasion dissipated a delusion which had been filling the minds of the 
insurgents from the time when the mob in Baltimore had cut off communication 
with the North, to the triumph of the Union army on the field of Antietam, and 
with which they were never afterwards
troubled.
  For nearly six weeks the Union army remained upon the north bank of the 
Potomac.  On the 19th of October, General Stuart, of the rebel army, with 1800 
horsemen, under command of Generals Hampton, Lee, and Jones, and four pieces of 
flying artillery, crossed the Potomac at McCoy's, between Williamsport and 
Hancock, and headed for Pennsylvania.  As he struck the national road he learned 
that General Cox, with six Ohio regiments and two batteries, had just passed in 
the direction of Cumberland.  Pushing forward he passed through Mercersburg at 
noon, and arrived before Chambersburg after dark.  Determining not to wait until 
morning to attack, he sent in a flag of truce demanding its surrender.  He found 
the town defenceless, and immediately entered; 275 Union sick and wounded 
soldiers were found in hospital and paroled.  The troopers were busy gathering 
horses; but with this exception, the night was passed in quiet.  On the 
following morning the column was early astir, Hampton, who led, taking the road 
towards Gettysburg.  Before departing, the rear guard notified the citizens 
living in the neighborhood of the warehouses to remove their families, as they 
were about to fire all public property.  In one of these was a large amount of 
ammunition, captured from General Longstreets' train, but which was for the most 
part worthless.  There were also stored some Government shoes and clothing, and 
muskets.  At eleven o'clock the station-house, round-house, and machine shops of 
the railroad, and the warehouses near, were fired, and the last of the rebels 
took their departure.  Fire companies were quickly brought out, but it was 
dangerous to approach.  In a little time a terrible explosion told that the 
flames had reached the powder, and for 

MARTIAL DEEDS OF PENNSYLVANIA - 154

hours shells were exploding incessantly.  After crossing the South Mountain, the 
rebel column turned back eight or ten miles in the direction of Hagerstown, and 
then entered Maryland by way of Emmittsburg.  Before reaching Frederick, it 
crossed the Monocacy, passed at night through Liberty, New Market, and Monravia, 
cutting the line of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad at the latter place, 
intercepted at Hyattstown a portion of McClellan's wagon train, and after a 
sharp skirmish near Poolsville, escaped across the Potomac at White's Ford, 
incurring scarcely any loss, and carrying off all his booty.
  Some incidents of the rebel stay at Chambersburg were pleasantly narrated by 
Mr. Alexander McClure, in an article contributed at the time to the Chambersburg 
Repository, which paper he then edited.  It was evening, and in the midst of a 
drenching rain, that they came.  After going out with two others, Messrs. 
Kennedy and Kimmell, on behalf of the citizens, to respond to the demand of the 
rebels for the surrender of the town, and informing them that there was no 
military force there to oppose them, Mr. McClure hastened to his own home.  "It 
was now midnight," he says, "and I sat on the porch observing their movements.  
They had my best cornfield beside them, and their horses fared well.  In a 
little while one entered the yard, came up to me, and after a profound bow, 
politely asked for a few coals to start a fire.  I supplied him, and informed 
him as blandly as possible where he would find wood conveniently, as I had dim 
visions of camp-fires made of my palings.  I was thanked in return, and the 
mild-mannered villain proceeded at once to strip the fence and kindle fires.  
Soon after a squad came and asked permission to get some water.  I piloted them 
to the pump, and again
received a profusion of thanks.
  "Communication having thus been opened between us, squads followed each other 
closely for water, but each called and asked permission before getting it, and 
promptly left the yard.  I was somewhat bewildered at this uniform courtesy, and 
supposed it but a prelude to a general movement upon everything eatable in the 
morning.  It was not a grateful reflection that my beautiful mountain trout, 
from twelve to twenty inches long, sporting in the spring, would probably grace 
the rebel breakfast table; that 

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the blooded calves in the yard beside them would most likely go with the trout; 
and the dwarf pears had, I felt assured, abundant promise of early relief from 
their golden burdens.
  "About one o'clock, half a dozen officers came to the door and asked to have 
some coffee made for them, offering to pay liberally for it in Confederate 
scrip.  After concluding a treaty with them on behalf of the colored servants, 
coffee was promised them, and they then asked for a little bread with it.  They 
were wet and shivering, and seeing a bright, open wood-fire in the library, they 
asked permission to enter and warm themselves until their coffee should be 
ready, assuring me that under no circumstances should anything in the house be 
disturbed by their men.  I had no alternative but to accept them as my guests 
until it might please them to depart, and I did so with as good grace as 
possible.  Once seated around the fire, all reserve seemed forgotten on their 
part, and they opened a general conversation on politics, the war, the different 
battles, the merits of generals in both armies, etc.  They spoke with entire 
freedom upon every subject but their movement into Chambersburg.  Most of them 
were men of more than ordinary intelligence and culture, and their demeanor was 
in all respects eminently courteous.  I took a cup of coffee with them, and have 
seldom seen anything more keenly relished.  They said they had not tasted coffee 
for weeks before, and then they had paid from six to ten dollars per pound for 
it.  When they were through, they asked whether there was any coffee left, and 
finding that there was some, they proposed to bring some more officers and a few 
privates who were prostrated by exposure to get what was left.  They were, of 
course, as welcome as those present, and on they came in squads of five or more, 
until every grain of browned coffee was exhausted.  They then asked for tea, and 
that was served to some twenty more. . . .         
  "In the meantime, the officers who had first entered the house had filled 
their pipes from the box of Killickinick on the mantel - after being assured 
that smoking was not offensive - and we had another hour of free talk of matters 
generally.  When told that I was a decided Republican, they thanked me for being 
candid; but when, in reply to their inquiries, I told them that I cordially 
sustained the President's Emancipation Proclamation, 

MARTIAL DEEDS OF PENNSYLVANIA - 156

they betrayed a little nervousness, but did not for a moment forget their 
propriety.  They admitted it to be the most serious danger that had yet 
threatened them, but they were all hopeful that it would not be sustained in the 
North with sufficient unanimity to enforce it. . . .  They all declared 
themselves heartily sick of the war, but determined never to be reunited with 
the North.  At four o'clock in the morning the welcome blast of the bugle was 
heard, and they rose hurriedly to depart.  Thanking me for the hospitality they 
had received, we parted, mutually expressing the hope that should we ever meet 
again, it would be under more pleasant circumstances."
  The year 1862 proved one of endless activity.  The camps at Harrisburg, at 
Pittsburg, and in the neighborhood of Philadelphia were kept constantly alive 
with troops, preparing for the field, and reminded one of hives at swarming 
time.  From the middle of April, 1861, to the close of the year 1862, a period 
of a little more than twenty months, there were recruited and organized, 111 
regiments for a service of three years, including eleven regiments of cavalry 
and three of artillery; twenty-five regiments for three months, seventeen 
volunteer regiments for nine months, fifteen of drafted militia, and twenty-five 
of militia called out for the emergency - a grand aggregate of 193 regiments, 
embracing in their ranks over 200,000 men.  In the work of bringing out so vast 
a body from the peaceful avocations of life, to swell the ranks of the National 
armies, there was exhibited a patriotism and a firmness unsurpassed.  Mothers 
encouraged their sons to enlist, and sisters wrought industriously in preparing 
the outfit of the departing ones, exemplifying the stern heroism of that matron 
of old who brought forth the shield, and giving it her son, bade him return with 
it, or on it.  Nor was it a stoical resolve that actuated them.  The tenderest 
emotions were stirred, and it was not without the most bitter pangs that loved 
ones were seen directing their footsteps to the field.  They were daily 
remembered at the hearthstone, and followed by the prayers of purest and holiest 
affection.  
  A voice heard above the stirring appeals of the Executive of

THE GREAT UPRISING - 157

the Commonwealth, or of the Nation, a voice more potent than that of the 
rostrum, or the promptings of honor on the field of strife, moved all hearts.  
The son of Bryant in his thrilling strain, Our Country's Call, which seemed more 
aptly addressed to Pennsylvania, from its physical figuration, than to any other 
State, expressed the sentiment which
inspired and moved the gathering hosts:

  "Lay down the axe; fling by the spade;
  Leave in its track the toiling plough;
  The rifle and the bayonet blade
  For arms like yours are fitter now.
  And let the hands that ply the pen
  Quit the light task, and learn to wield
  The horseman's crooked brand, and rein
  The charger on the battle-field.

  "Our country calls; away! away!
  To where the blood-stream blots the green;
  Strike to defend the gentlest sway
  That Time in all his course has seen.
  See, from a thousand coverts - see,
  Spring the armed foes that haunt her track;
  They rush to smite her down, and we
  Must beat the banded traitors back.
 
  "Ho! sturdy as the oak ye cleave,
  And moved as soon to fear and flight,
  Men of the glade and forest, leave
  Your woodcraft for the field of fight.
  The arms that wield the axe must pour
  An iron tempest on the foe;
  His serried ranks shall reel before
  The arm that lays the panther low. 

  "And ye who breast the mountain storm
  By grassy steep or highland lake,
  Come, for the land ye love, to form
  A bulwark that no foe can break.
  Stand like your own grey cliffs that mock
  The whirlwind, stand to her defence:
  The blast as soon shall move the rock,
  As rushing squadrons bear you thence. 

  And ye whose homes are by her grand,
  Swift rivers, rising far away,
  Come from the depths of her green land
  As mighty in your march as they;
  As terrible as when the rains
  Have swelled them over bank and bourne,
  With sudden floods to drown the plains,
  And sweep along the woods uptorn.

  "And ye who throng beside the deep
  Her ports and hamlets of the strand,
  In number like the waves that leap
  On his long murmuring marge of sand,
  Come, like that deep, when o'er his brim,
  He rises all his floods to pour,
  And flings the proudest barks that swim
  A helpless wreck against the shore.

  "Few, few were they whose swords of old
  Won the fair land in which we dwell;
  But we are many, we who hold
  The grim resolve to guard it well.
  Strike for that broad and goodly land,
  Blow after blow, till men shall see
  That Might and Right move hand in hand,
  And glorious must their triumph be."