MILITARY: Sabre Strokes of the Pennsylvania Dragoons in the War of 1861-1865 - Chapter 4 Contributed for use in the USGenWeb Archives by Judy Banja Copyright 2005. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/pa/pafiles.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/pa/1pa/1picts/dornblaser/sabre-strokes.htm ________________________________________________ SABRE STROKES of the PENNSYLVANIA DRAGOONS in the WAR OF 1861-1865. INTERSPERSED WITH PERSONAL REMINISCENCES By T. F. DORNBLASER 38 SABRE STROKES. CHAPTER IV. OUR FIRST CAVALRY MARCH - FROM JEFFERSON VILLE TO BARDSTOWN, KY. OUR regiment was very glad to obey marching orders from this "Muddy Camp." The Union forces, under Grant and Thomas, were moving on Fort Donelson and Bowling Green. On Sunday morning, January 20th, 1862, the order was given to strike tents and be ready to move by nine o'clock. Rumors reached us of General Thomas' victory, at Mill Springs, the day before, and to-day he was still pressing his advantage, and succeeded in routing the enemy so completely, that his opponent, the Confederate General Crittenden, was placed under arrest by his superiors, for criminal neglect and mismanagement in resisting the attacks of the Union troops. This was the most important victory yet gained in the West, and up to that time, it was the most decisive victory of the war. It was, perhaps, the first time in the history of our civil contest, that the boasted chivalry of the South was crestfallen and compelled to acknowledge the equality, if not the superiority, of Northern courage. It brought General Thomas out of his former obscurity, and PENNSYLVANIA DRAGOONS. 39 laid the foundation for that illustrious fame which he was destined to achieve. Such cheering news from the front made us all the more eager to have a hand in the fray before the fight was all over. During the first few months there was considerable lamentation for fear we should be compelled to return home without delivering a shot or a sabre-stroke. But it is altogether safe to say that the majority of us were much more anxious to see the "elephant" the first time than the second. The work of packing had to be done in a hurry. Most of our company were excellent horsemen, accustomed to the saddle; but how to pack bed and board, household goods and three days' provender on horseback, was a mystery yet to be solved. To leave anything behind was not once thought of; the castaway clothing of other regiments had to be gathered and lugged, that nothing be lost. Two woollen blankets and a coverlet brought from home were hurriedly rolled into a bundle two feet long and a foot thick, which was strapped on the saddle behind; the rubber dolman overcoat, carpet sack with several suits of underclothing, shaving tools, shoe-brush and blacking, and perhaps a sheep-skin, had to be packed in front. The side-pockets, or saddle-bags, were filled with crackers and forty rounds of ammunition. The dragoon then girded himself with a heavy 40 SABRE STROKES. cavalry sword; on one shoulder hung a monstrous shooting-iron, and on the other a haversack holding three days' rations. Thus equipped the horses were led into line, each with a nose-bag dangling on his neck containing a feed of oats, and a weight of one hundred and fifty pounds on his back. The command is given. "Attention: Prepare to mount: MOUNT! " Each trooper was expected to obey the command with his accustomed agility. The scrambling to get into the saddle was highly amusing to a disinterested spectator. Some sat astride the stern of the ship, but how to get over the rear bundle was the difficulty. Short-legged men had to lead their horses to the nearest fence, and from the top rail drop down amidships. When once mounted, it was only a question of time as to how we should dismount. The inconvenience and discomfort arising from so extensive a barricade in front and rear, was compensated in part by the sense of security one felt in the presence of an enemy with small shot. Bidding adieu to our Hoosier camp, we marched in column of fours to Jeffersonville, and crossed the river to Louisville on the ferry, by companies. Our saddles remained in position very well as long as the column moved on the walk, but upon entering the streets of Louisville, the command was given to "Close up." The first company that crossed the river was a PENNSYLVANIA DRAGOONS. 41 mile in advance, and it was necessary to make a cavalry charge to overtake them. As soon as the horses began to gallop, the rigging of the ship and the passenger on the upper deck began to slide backward, notwithstanding the pilot held on to rein and mane for dear life. The sight was indeed ludicrous to the multitudes of spectators lining the streets on either side. The people in their Sunday dress were just returning home from the morning services in the sanctuary. The serious impressions of the sermon were for the time being forgotten, and the most devout could not resist smiling at the awkward performance of these gay cavaliers. Now and then a saddle would turn earthward toward the centre of gravity, leaving the rider and his bundles, mud-splashed, in the middle of the road. The colored population, which was very dense in the suburbs of the city, enjoyed the performance hugely, and frequently gave expression to their feelings by vociferous outbursts of laughter. This first bloodless charge will never be forgotten by those of our boys who were under the painful necessity of casting anchor in the middle of the street for repairs, at high noon on that memorable Sunday. We encamped that night ten miles south of Louisville, in a beautiful grove near Fern Run. The teams were delayed in crossing the river, and did not reach camp until dark. Some spread their 42 SABRE STROKES. blankets in the open air, while the wiser portion went to work and put up tents to shelter them from the threatening clouds. Before break of day on Monday morning, the ground was covered with four inches of snow, and those outside began to hunt for shelter. It continued raining and snowing all day, and we almost wished ourselves back in winter quarters on the other side of the Ohio. On Tuesday morning we pulled out again for Bardstown. Had the experience of yesterday over again in packing and getting started. We marched eighteen miles before stopping. The day was warm and sunshiny. We went into camp in good time, had our tents pitched and coffee drank before dark. We settled down to having a good sleep that night, but soon after we were snugly fixed to enjoy our rest, it began to thunder, and rained furiously all night. Between showers next morning, we had just time enough to huddle together our wet blankets and begin another day's march. All day it continued raining and sleeting, and the increasing cold wind from the North sent a chill to the very bone, making it, all in all, one of the most disagreeable days you meet with in a lifetime. Some of our strongest men laid the foundation of disease during this first march, which so soon claimed them as victims of the great destroyer, camp fever. We passed through Bardstown at 3 p.m., and PENNSYLVANIA DRAGOONS. 43 encamped in a white oak grove a few miles east of town. It was with some difficulty that the wagons reached the camp ground. A squad of soldiers from each company was sent to the rear to pry them out of the mud. This camp was christened "Camp Thomas," in honor of his recent victory at Mill Springs. Many of his wounded soldiers lay in the hospitals of Bardstown. Five other regiments of infantry and cavalry were quartered in this vicinity. It was intended to be a camp of instruction. The lash of military discipline was laid on with all the vim and precision of "old regulars." The day was literally crowded with calls to duty from reveille to tattoo. The forenoon was occupied in sword exercise and company drill, the afternoon in batallion and regimental drill under command of Major Wynkoop. Any one failing to turn out on drill or dress parade without a doctor's permit was, without trial by judge or jury, at once remitted to the guard-house. Strict orders were issued from headquarters, forbidding the soldiers, under pain of severe penalties, to molest any domestic fowl, or lay violent hands on the innocent porkers that amused themselves daily in rooting around the outskirts of the camp. Notwithstanding all this flourish of red-tape, there were in due time several hogs reported missing. A general search was at once instituted. Each cap- 44 SABRE STROKES. tain was required to examine the quarters of his own company, and try, if possible, to find the uncircumcised Philistine who was guilty of eating hog. No such man, however, could be found in the "Seventh Cavalry." This hog business became quite serious, however, before we left "Camp Thomas." An account taken from the "Louisville Democrat" of that date will sufficiently explain how some of the boys in a neighboring regiment fared in this business: "On the twenty-first of January, 1862, the First and Second Kentucky Regiments encamped on the grounds of Mr. Southerland, a prominent citizen of Bardstown. Next morning two young men from the Second Kentucky were found by Mr. S. near his house, with a hog which one of them had killed. He gave them a gentle admonition (it is said), which they were not disposed to receive. Mr. S. called to his assistance Adjutant Bayles and Lieut. Col. Buckstuhl of the Fourth Kentucky Cavalry, who arrested the young men and compelled them to drag the bloody carcass into camp, where they were taken into custody and put through the usual 'cord-wood drill.' One of these soldiers, deeply stung by the disgrace, nursed his wrath and sought an opportunity for revenge. Early on the morning of the twenty-third, a soldier with gun in hand came to the back-yard and sent a servant into the house, to report to PENNSYLVANIA DRAGOONS. 45 Mr. S. that some of the boys had killed a heifer the night previous, and that the Colonel desired him to come to his headquarters and receive pay for it, as he did not want any more of his boys punished. In a few hours after, the soldier returned and sought an interview with Mr. S., urging him to go along to camp by a retired way. Mr. S. was absent all day, which excited some uneasiness in the family. His son Henry started in the direction his father was seen to go with the soldier, and within about four hundred yards of the house, he came upon the body of his father, cold in death. A large ball had passed through him from back to breast. The guilty soldier, Samuel H. Calhoun, confessed his crime, and on the fifth of February, 1862, between the hours of two and three p.m., he expiated his guilt upon the gallows in the presence of five thousand troops. . ." This was the first execution of this character which we boys had ever witnessed, and although twenty years have elapsed, the impression is still quite vivid. The month of February was very disagreeable; scarcely two days passed over our heads without rain or snow. Much sickness prevailed in camp. Some mornings no less than two hundred men marched up to the doctor's quarters for their "quinine." The camp diarrhoea became epidemic to an alarming extent. The cause was traced to the im- 46 SABRE STROKES. pure, and as some claimed poisoned water used by the soldiers. These springs were afterwards guarded, and no one allowed to use any water from them. Our company officers were nearly all on the sick list. Our First Lieutenant, John Leidy, was so severely taken with this disease that a furlough of thirty days was granted him but the nursing of kind hands at home brought him no permanent relief, and in consequence, he was compelled in April, 1862, to resign his position in the army. Our second lieutenant, H. H. Best, was prostrated by camp fever. He was taken into a private family near our camp, and nursed with all the gentleness and care possible in his own home; but we had gone only a few days on our march toward Nashville, when the sad intelligence reached us that his remains were being removed to Salona, Pennsylvania, for interment. The premature death of this young and gallant officer was extremely sad. By his uniform courtesy and large-heartedness he had endeared himself to every member of the company. His loss was sorely felt among the boys; but greater still was the sacrifice laid upon the altar of our country by a patriotic father, and a loving wife and mother. Several private soldiers, Clough, Calhoun, and Brittan, were discharged in the month of March, on account of disability. The news of the capture of Fort Donelson on the sixteenth day of February, reached our camp PENNSYLVANIA DRAGOONS. 47 on the following day. The demonstrations of joy were immense, and cheer after cheer went up for the old " Stars and Stripes." Again the boys were eager for the fray. Our regiment had passed the "special" and "general inspection," which was such a bugaboo to the uninitiated. Mortal fears were again entertained that the war would be over before we should snuff the enemy's powder. On the twenty-seventh of February, just one month after our arrival in Bardstown, we were ordered to report for duty at Nashville as soon as possible.