THE
SEVENTH REGIMENT:
A RECORD.

BY

MAJOR GEORGE L. WOOD.

NEW YORK:
PUBLISHED BY JAMES MILLER,
(SUCCESSOR TO C. S. FRANCIS & CO.,)
522 BROADWAY. 1865.

Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1865,

By JAMES MILLER,

In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States, for the Southern District of New York.

AUTHOR'S PREFACE.

The following pages were written for the purpose of making a permanent record of the facts within the author's knowledge relating to the Seventh Ohio Regiment. The work was undertaken with the belief that the doings and sufferings of the regiment were of sufficient magnitude and importance to entitle it to a separate record. It has been extremely difficult to obtain facts, on account of so large a portion of the members still being in the service. The book is, therefore, written principally from memory. If it serves to perpetuate in the minds of the public the hardships, as well as long and faithful service, of this gallant regiment, then the object of the author is accomplished.

Warren, May, 1865.

PREFACE.

This preface to the history of the Seventh Ohio Volunteer Infantry is written at the request of the accomplished author of the book; but without having read it, seen it, or heard its contents. I have, however, such confidence in the ability, honesty, candor, good judgment, and good taste of my old friend and "companion in arms," that, for myself, I take his work on trust, and in cheerful faith commend it to others.

But was there a demand for another book on the war? Or were the doings and sufferings of one regiment, among the thousands engaged in the war, of such interest as to demand a separate history? These are questions the author doubtless weighed carefully before he began to write; and his answer to them is his book. I agree with him. This nation has a deep, and will have a lasting, interest in the war. We have been making history of unrivalled, perhaps of unequalled, importance to the world during the past four years. We ourselves cannot comprehend the magnitude of the work we have been doing, or, rather, that God has been doing through us. The successful revolts of the Netherlanders against the tyranny of Philip II.—of the Puritans against the tyranny of Charles I.—of the republicans against the tyranny of George III., dwindle to insignificance (important as they were) in comparison with the successful revolt of the loyal, Union-loving, freedom-loving citizens of this Republic against the tyranny of treason and slavery. It was a great fight for a great cause, and God has given us a great victory. There was not a nation on earth that was not interested in the conflict. Ay, it concerned our common humanity. All this will be seen more clearly and felt more deeply twenty, fifty, a hundred years hence than now. But to transmit and perpetuate the fruits of this victory we must have records of the war—many records, made from many different points of view, and of many kinds, great and small. The history of this war is not yet written, perhaps cannot be successfully written for many years yet. And that it may one day be written as it should be, every regiment that has a story to tell should tell it. These regimental histories will be invaluable to the Bancroft who, fifty years hence, shall write the history of this war. The world is only beginning to understand the true character and vocation of history—to make the past live in the present; not in great pageants, not in processions of kings, princes, and mighty conquerors, but in the common every-day speech and deeds of the people. When Merle d'Aubigné would write the History of the Reformation, he wrote to Guizot for counsel. Guizot encouraged him, and counselled him to proceed, but added, "Give us facts, incidents, details." This counsel chimed with the purpose and genius of d'Aubigné, and the result was a history that, though it discusses doctrines and themes commonly held to be dry and uninteresting, has for old and young, and men of all classes, all the charm of romance. In this, his "facts, incidents, details," equally with his fascinating style, lies the charm of the histories of Macaulay. But that historians may write such histories—that the historian of this war may write such a history, the "facts, incidents, details" must be on record. There is a demand, therefore, for another book, for many other books, on the war.

In addition to this, every regiment of the grand Army of the Union in this war has its own history, of peculiar interest to its own especial friends. And I have faith in what Dr. O. W. Holmes once said: "I would not give a fig for a man every one of whose geese were not better than any other man's swans." To us of the old Seventh "all our geese were swans." Whether others believed in us or not, we had faith in ourselves and in one another; we were a mutual admiration society of a thousand and odd men. And the fact is, that, for some reason, but what I cannot say, the Seventh Regiment, from the day it was mustered into service to the day it was mustered out, was always the pride and pet of Ohio, of Northern Ohio especially. In this respect it never had a rival. True, it was a well-disciplined, gallant, fighting regiment; but so were many others. True, it had brave and accomplished officers; but so had many others. True, it had in the ranks men of refinement, education, and high social position; but so had many others. I am at a loss to account for it, but the fact nevertheless was as I have stated it; and as its deeds corresponded with its renown, its doings, of all others, demand a permanent record. And, if I am not mistaken, the reader of the following pages who shall follow the Seventh from the day it was mustered into service, in Cleveland, in 1861, to the day the pitiful remnant of it, after tramping and fighting over almost half the Union, were mustered out of service, in Cleveland, in 1864, will find in them ample compensation for his time.

F. T. B.

Chicago, Ill., May, 1865.

CONTENTS.

THE
SEVENTH REGIMENT.

CHAPTER I.
The fall of Sumter. — Civil war begun. — Preparations by the South. — Nobility.

On a gloomy day in April, 1861, the telegraph flashed the news over the country that Fort Sumter, a fortress belonging to the United States, had been fired upon by a body of rebels, and thus inaugurating all the horrors of civil war.

By the great mass of people, civil war in our hitherto peaceful country was entirely unlooked for. It burst so suddenly, that the entire country was convulsed. The people had become so accustomed to clamor in Congress and elsewhere, that they looked upon these threats to dissolve the Union as mere bravado.

After the first clash of arms at Fort Sumter, both North and South drew back in alarm, as if in fear of the coming storm. The Southern people, however, better prepared by education for scenes of strife and bloodshed, received the news of the inauguration of civil war with less alarm than did those of the North. The latter received it with a fearful dignity, conscious of the power to crush the rebellion. The South, with that arrogance that becomes her so well, expected to make an easy conquest. Long-continued exercise of power in national matters, had taught her to look upon the people of the Free States as her inferiors, needing but a master-stroke for their subjugation,—willing to lay down their arms, and seek safety in dishonor. They had taken us for a race of cowards, because we had given way to their selfish demands in our public councils, for the sake of peace. To be sure, we had some daring spirits in Congress who met these bullying traitors, making them feel the full force of Northern valor. But these were isolated cases, and won the respect of the Southern people to the persons of the actors rather than to the North as a people. They looked upon these spirited examples as rather proving the fact of our want of chivalry than otherwise, and therefore were not corrected in their false estimate of a people whom they were about to meet on bloody fields.

One reason the South had for cherishing so mean an opinion of the North as a military power, was on account of her having entirely neglected the cultivation of the art of war. She had so few representatives in the army and navy, that they were both almost entirely within the control of the South.

This control the latter had exercised for years, until her people came to look upon themselves as the only persons in the country fit to bear arms. They flattered themselves that they were the army, and we but a rabble, to be dispersed beyond the hope of reorganization at the first clash of arms. But in this strife, like all others where aristocratic privilege comes in contact with the freedom of democracy, these arrogant lords were to meet with a bitter disappointment; they were to be made to respect the strong muscle and brave hearts of the so-styled plebeian North.

This avowed hostility of the South to the North had caused the former to take a military direction, and forced her into a course of policy which, however outrageous it might appear, was yet a matter of necessity in her attempt at independence. The first step was to put herself upon a war-footing. This she had been perfecting for several years. The next was to get the Government so in her control as to make it powerless in the incipient stages of the rebellion, that it might gain sufficient strength to withstand the first shock, and thus gain precedence.

During a period of thirty years the South was gradually assuming a war-footing. The militia was organized; independent companies were formed with no warlike object, as was generally supposed, but really to resist any encroachment of the Federal Government upon what the leaders deemed the rights of the Southern people. The election of Abraham Lincoln to the presidency was not the cause of civil war, but only its apology. There had existed in the minds of the Southern people a desire for an independent government, which would give the aristocracy a firmer footing. In other words, the Federal Government was too democratic. But it was necessary that these conspirators have some apparently good reason for civil war; else the people who were at heart right, would desert them at a time when they were most needed. The time for the inauguration of civil war was therefore most fitly chosen. The people were made to believe that the inauguration of President Lincoln was a sufficient reason; and thus the dream of thirty years of these disunionists was at last realized. The apology for the war had been substituted for its cause, and the mass of the Southern people made eager to meet those on bloody fields whom they were led to suppose were about to deprive them of their rights and precipitate them into ruin.

There is always a class styled the nobility in every nation. But the true nobility in America is that class who have won that distinction by noble deeds; who are great, not in titles and garters of nobility, but in great achievements: not that class who base their right to that title upon the number and character of human beings they may own. The American people hold that distinction must be given to those by whom it is merited; and that it cannot be the subject of monopoly. Each person, however mean his birth, has the same right to enter the list for the prize as he who was born of a higher rank. It is this freedom, which is given to all, that has caused the Northern States to make such rapid progress towards civilization and greatness; and it is the crippling of this great principle that has cast a shadow over the enslaved South. One great object of the leaders of the South had been to arrest the rapid growth of the North, which, they were conscious, would one day throw them into a helpless minority, for they could not themselves keep pace with this rapid progress. Their ambition was to have capital control labor, while the laboring classes were to be subservient to the capitalists, and a sort of serfdom forced upon them. The wealthy class were to live in luxury and indolence upon the unrequited toil of their slaves. These facts, the leaders of the wicked rebellion, which they were to inaugurate, were careful to conceal from their followers. This was so well done, that the people of the South thought that these imaginary wrongs of the Government, which had been pictured to them by their masters, was the true reason of their attempt at separation from the Union. It is hoped that the masses will soon see the difference between serving a privileged class of aristocrats, and being members of a free Republic.

CHAPTER II.
The President's call for troops. — Organization of the Seventh. — Its departure for Camp Dennison. — Its reorganization and departure for the field.

On Monday, April 15, the President issued a call for 75,000 volunteers for three months' service. The States responded immediately to this call in double the number required. Never in the history of the world was such a response witnessed to the call of any country. Men left their implements of husbandry in the fields and rushed to the recruiting stations. The executives of the States were pressed with applications to raise companies and batteries under the call of the President.

Under this call thirteen regiments of infantry were assigned to Ohio. In fifteen days 71,000 troops were offered to Governor Dennison to fill the quota of the State. Camps were now established at different points in the State, and troops ordered to rendezvous. Camp Taylor, at Cleveland, Ohio, was organized on the 22d day of April, and by the 27th contained several thousand troops. Of these, the city of Cleveland had three companies of infantry; Trumbull County, one; Mahoning County, one company of infantry and a section of artillery; Portage County, two; Lake County, one; Lorain County, one; Huron County, one; while the city of Toledo was represented by an entire regiment. The latter part of April these detached companies were formed into a regiment, constituting the Seventh Ohio. It contained the right material for a fighting regiment. The majority of its members were of a floating class, fond of adventure, while many were of the best class. The regiment, as a whole, combined rare military talent. Many of its officers and privates were skilled in tactics; and those who were not, immediately set themselves about acquiring the necessary information, rather by practice than study; for, with some exceptions, it was not a scholarly regiment. The members took too much the character of adventurers, to indulge in close study or profound thinking. But for practical purposes, I doubt whether the regiment had a superior in the State. It readily acquired discipline while on duty; but while off duty, its members were not over-nice in their conduct, seldom indulging in sports that were absolutely wrong, but, at the same time, gratifying that propensity for fun which characterized them through their entire career. It contained no drones; there was no companionship in it for such.

On a beautiful Sabbath in early May, as the morning, with its freshness, was dispelling the damps and shadows of the night from city and country, a regiment was seen passing down the streets of the city of Cleveland. The sweet strains of music and the heavy tramp of the soldiers alone broke the silence. There was nothing but this martial bearing, which marked the carriage of the members of the regiment, to distinguish them from the multitude which was hastening in the same direction; for there were no arms and no uniforms. Each member was dressed in his citizen's garb, and there was no attempt at military evolutions. It was a simple march of determined men to the defence of their country. Solemnity and a becoming absence of unnecessary enthusiasm marked the occasion with sublimity and grandeur. The faces of those brave men were saddened with the thought of the perils which lay before them, and the endearments that were behind. They were marching to perform a sacred trust, confided to them by their countrymen. "This was the first march of the gallant Seventh." Arriving at the depot of the Cleveland, Columbus, and Cincinnati Railroad, it took a train of cars for Camp Dennison, where it arrived in the afternoon of the next day. Here they were totally unprepared to receive it, no barracks having been erected, although one hundred men had been sent there for that purpose several days previous. The ground was perfectly saturated with water from a three days' rain, and the camp in what had been a cornfield. But notwithstanding these difficulties, by sunset the regiment had constructed barracks, and were comparatively comfortable. In a few days the companies began to drill in earnest, and their advancement was correspondingly rapid.

On the 11th day of May the regiment was ordered to elect, by ballot, three field-officers. The candidates for colonel were, E. B. Tyler, of Ravenna; a former brigadier of militia, and James A. Garfield. The former was elected. Garfield afterwards became colonel of the Forty-second regiment, and, in command of a brigade, defeated Humphrey Marshall in Kentucky, for which he was given a star. Captain W. R. Creighton was elected lieutenant-colonel, and J. S. Casement, of Painesville, major.

On the 13th day of May, the President having issued a call for 42,032 volunteers for three years, a meeting was held in the Seventh Regiment, when all but one of the officers were in favor of organizing under this call. The subject being brought before the regiment on the following day, about three-fourths of the command enlisted for the three years' service. Recruiting officers were sent home, and by the middle of June the regiment was full. It was mustered into the three years' service on the 19th and 20th of June.

The companies were officered as follows: Company A, O. J. Crane, captain; A. C. Burgess, first-lieutenant; D. A. Kimball, second-lieutenant. Company B, James T. Sterling, captain; Joseph B. Molyneaux, first-lieutenant; H. Z. Eaton, second-lieutenant. Company C, Giles W. Shurtliff, captain; Judson N. Cross, first-lieutenant; E. Hudson Baker, second-lieutenant. Company D, John N. Dyer, captain; Charles A. Weed, first-lieutenant; A. J. Williams, second-lieutenant. Company E, John W. Sprague, captain; Arthur T. Wilcox, first-lieutenant; Ralph Lockwood, second-lieutenant. Company F, D. B. Clayton, captain; John B. Rouse, first-lieutenant; A. C. Day, second-lieutenant. Company G, F. A. Seymour, captain; W. H. Robinson, first-lieutenant; E. S. Quay, second-lieutenant. Company H, Joel F. Asper, captain; Geo. L. Wood, first-lieutenant; Halbert B. Case, second-lieutenant. Company I, W. R. Sterling, captain; Samuel McClelland, first-lieutenant; E. F. Fitch, second-lieutenant. Company K, John F. Schutte, captain; Oscar W. Sterl, first-lieutenant; C. A. Nitchelm, second-lieutenant. H. K. Cushing was appointed surgeon, and F. Salter assistant surgeon. John Morris was appointed quartermaster, Louis G. De Forest, adjutant, and Rev. F. T. Brown, chaplain.

Camp Dennison was well calculated for a camp of instruction. It is separated into two parts by the track of the Little Miami Railroad, while the river of the same name flows along its border. It is situated between sloping hills of some magnitude, in a slightly undulating valley. In summer it is beautiful; in winter, gloomy.

Soon after being mustered into service, the regiment was reviewed by George B. McClellan, then major-general of Ohio militia, commanding the Department of the Ohio. Immediately after, we were ordered to join his forces in the field.

Accordingly, on the afternoon of the 26th of June, the regiment took the cars for Columbus, Ohio, under command of Lieutenant-Colonel Creighton, Colonel Tyler having gone in advance. Arriving in Columbus late at night, it was transferred to the Central Ohio Railroad, arriving at Bell air in the afternoon of the succeeding day. It was immediately ordered across the river to Benwood, a small station on the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, a few miles below Wheeling. Here the regiment was, for the first time, supplied with ammunition. It encamped on the common, after the pieces were loaded. Much fatigued by their long ride, the men threw themselves upon the hard ground, and were soon enjoying a sound sleep.

In the mean time Major Casement was superintending the transportation of the baggage and supplies across the river to a train of cars in waiting.

Here and there the dusky forms of men were seen grouped over the fires, which were dimly burning, discussing the stories which were floating about camp, with no apparent starting place, of ambuscades, masked batteries, and other concealed horrors.

Early on the morning of the 28th of June, three trains of cars were slowly conveying the regiment into the wilds of Western Virginia, where war, in its madness, was to confront it.

It arrived at Grafton early in the afternoon, and taking the Parkersburg branch of the railroad, it arrived at Clarksburg before the close of the day, and encamped in the outskirts of the village. The entire regiment occupied tents, which were looked upon with much more favor than densely crowded barracks.

While encamped at this place, a stand of colors was presented to the regiment, the gift of the Turners, a society of Germans in Cleveland.

Near thirty miles from the village of Clarksburg is the small hamlet of Weston, then a notorious haunt for rebels. In the place was a bank, in which the deposits, to the amount of about thirty thousand dollars, still remained. The authorities were desirous of procuring this treasure. The undertaking was intrusted to the Seventh. It was proposed to surprise the town early in the morning, before any one was astir to give the alarm.

In the afternoon of the last day of June, the regiment wound its way through the village, across the river, on to what is called the Clarksburg pike, leading to Weston. The clay was intensely hot, and the men entirely unused to marching. At sunset but little distance had been made, and all were much fatigued, but still the gallant band pressed onward. Weary and footsore, it moved on till daylight, when some considerable distance intervened between it and the village. Men were beginning to fall out by the wayside, unable to proceed further. At this unfortunate moment the river appeared in view, which makes a bend to the road, about a mile from Weston. On the opposite side of the road was a gradual slope of cultivated land, with here and there a clump of trees. From behind one of these a man was seen to emerge, and being taken for one of the enemy's scouts, the command was given to "fire," when several pieces were discharged, without injury, however, to the object of their aim. A double-quick was now ordered, when the men, unable to proceed with their knapsacks, scattered them along the road.

Arriving at the town the right wing made a detour to the left, while the left wing made a similar one to right, deploying as they went. In this manner the village was entirely surrounded. The first intimation the citizens had of the presence of the military was the playing of the "Star Spangled Banner" by the band stationed in the park. A guard was placed over the bank, and a member of the regiment detailed to look to the business.

The Union citizens were overjoyed at the presence of the Federal forces. They prepared a breakfast for the entire regiment, and other charitable acts, which attested their devotion to the Union cause. The regiment encamped on the bank of the river, near the cemetery.

During the first days of our stay at Weston many arrests were made of disloyal citizens, a few of whom were sent to Columbus, Ohio, to await the action of the Federal Government.

At this time a small force, under command of Lieutenant-Colonel Pond, of the Seventeenth Ohio Volunteers, was besieged at Glenville, a small village on the banks of the Little Kanawha, by a superior force of rebels, under command of Major Patton, assisted by Captain O. Jennings Wise. Companies H and B were sent to his relief. After a fatiguing march of two days and one night they opened communication with Colonel Pond, the rebels withdrawing at their approach.

Six more companies of the regiment arrived at Glenville on the following day, Colonel Tyler being fearful that the first detachment might meet with a reverse. Several other regiments arrived about the same time, but left soon after.

During the stay of the regiment at this place, many scouting expeditions were sent out; on which occasions many dangers and hardships were encountered.

Just before our arrival at Glenville, a Union lady rode in the saddle through the rebel camp, with the stars and stripes in one hand and a pistol in the other, while she defied the rebel host. Being pursued, she sought refuge in our camp, and finally accompanied the advance of our forces to her home, with the proud satisfaction of seeing the old banner once more planted on her native soil. During the progress of the war she had suffered many perils. At one time she went to visit her brother, who was concealed in the woods, for the purpose of giving him food, when she was challenged by a rebel picket. She wheeled her horse, and, by hard riding, escaped, the rebel bullets passing harmlessly over her head.

Private Adams, of Company C, was wounded while on picket, being the first casualty in the regiment produced by the enemy. About the same time Captain Shurtliff had a horse shot from under him, while riding in the vicinity of the camp, and within the Federal lines.

Some difficulty was experienced at this place in procuring supplies. The regiment was fed for some time on corn meal and fresh beef. A mill, however, was soon set in operation, and supplies of flour and meal were furnished in abundance.

CHAPTER III.
The pursuit of General Wise. — Tyler ordered to menace Gauley Bridge and threaten Wise's communications.

On the 11th day of July General Rosecrans, by order of General McClellan, marched his brigade eight miles through a mountain-path to the rear of the rebel force, occupying the crest of Rich Mountain, commanded by Colonel Pegram. This movement resulted in the fighting of the battle of that name. The rebels were completely defeated, and made a precipitate retreat towards Carrick's Ford, where, on the 13th, they were again routed, with the loss of their general.

In the mean time the rebel General Wise had occupied the Kanawha Valley, with a few regular troops and a considerable force of militia.

The advance of this force extended as far down the river as Buffalo, while numerous incursions were made by the rebel cavalry in the vicinity of Point Pleasant, a village situated at the junction of the Kanawha with the Ohio River.

To oppose this force General Cox was sent with a brigade of Ohio troops. His main force passed up the river in boats, while a sufficient force was kept on each flank to prevent surprise.

General Wise gradually retired at the advance of this force until, arriving on the banks of Scarey Creek, he threw up some breastworks, and awaited the approach of the Union troops.

While these movements were being executed in the valley, Colonel Tyler was ordered to advance with a brigade by the way of Sutton, to menace Gauley Bridge, and threaten Wise's communications.

On the 22d of July the Seventh Regiment moved out of Glenville, on what is called the Braxton road, towards Bulltown, where it was to be joined by Colonel Tyler with the Seventeenth Ohio, two companies of the First Virginia, with Captain Mack's battery, United States Artillery, and Captain Snyder's section of twelve-pounders, making a force of fifteen hundred.

We arrived at Bulltown in the evening of the next day, meeting with no resistance from the rebels, who were scattered in small parties through this entire region of country. We had expected to meet with opposition at the ford, on the Little Kanawha, some twenty miles from Glenville, but with the exception of a small band of guerillas, who were very careful to keep the river between ourselves and them, we saw no rebels.

It was not until the evening of the 25th that we broke camp, and then to cross a range of hills only, into the valley of the Elk, where we remained until the 27th of July.

At this camp we learned of a rebel force at Flat Woods, distant six miles, in the direction of Sutton. On the 27th we moved out, in a heavy rain, to attack their camp, but at our approach they fled in dismay.

We remained at Flat Woods till the following Sunday, when we moved on to Sutton, a distance of ten miles.

Sutton, the county-seat of Braxton County, is situated at the base of a high range of hills, on the right bank of the Elk River. The river is crossed by a suspension bridge. Back of the village, and about two hundred feet above it, is a fine table land, with a range of hills for a back ground. This table land was to be approached only by a narrow defile fronting the river, which was easily defended; for a battery properly planted would command every approach for a mile around; besides, the enemy would have to cross the Elk River under fire. Nature had made the position a strong one.

The command, now swelled to about two thousand, encamped on this table land, with the two companies of the First Virginia, and Mack's Battery thrown forward across the river, to keep open the road in front.

The command at once proceeded to erect fortifications, Captain Asper being sent to the front of Captain Mack's position on the Summerville pike, with instructions to select a proper position, after which to erect a fortification commanding the road. Finding a point where the road makes a sharp angle, the captain constructed the work, which, although of no account during the stay of the regiment at Sutton, afterwards proved a good point of defence, when the wreak garrison stationed there was attacked.

The second day of August, the regiment left Sutton, and crossing the river again advanced towards Gauley Bridge. The day was one of the hottest, which, added to the hilly nature of the country, made the advance difficult. Both officers and men fell out of the line, unable to proceed, being so oppressed by the heat, and wearied by the difficult state of the roads. At night we had crossed but one range of hills, and found ourselves in the valley of the Little Birch River, at the foot of Birch Mountain. The following morning we again took up the line of march, reaching the Great Birch River at early twilight, having made but a few miles during the day.

In the afternoon we were joined by our chaplain, who, when we were at Glenville, volunteered to make his way across the country with a message to General Cox. And now, after an absence of more than two weeks, on a perilous message, he was again with us, as fresh and light-hearted as when he left for his daring enterprise. He joined us by the way of Gauley Bridge, having been the first to make the trip. Alone, through a country infested by murderous bands of guerrillas and outlaws, he traveled more than a hundred and fifty miles. Before such deeds of individual heroism, all but the grandeur and magnitude of large battles fade into obscurity. In such single exploits there is a stern, silent daring, that obscures the maddened bravery of a battle-field.

From our chaplain we learned that General Wise had left the valley, burning the bridge over the Gauley River, after crossing his command. He had become frightened and fled. And thus the rebel general, who at Charleston had said: "By G—, the stars and stripes shall never wave over this town again;" on the Wednesday following exclaimed: "The enemy are on us, why the h—ll don't you pack my wagon," and, taking counsel of his fears, fled in dismay.

But let us return to the Seventh Regiment, which we left at its camp near the Big Birch River.

On the morning of August 6, we broke camp, and taking a mountain road arrived at Summerville on the following Wednesday, and encamped on Addison Hill.

The country about Summerville is beautiful in the extreme. It is slightly undulating, having more the appearance of an open country, or in some respects a prairie, than of a valley between two very high ridges. It is sufficiently rolling to hide the mountains which separate the Gauley from the Elk River.

At our former camp we were surrounded by very high, precipitous mountains, with large rocks projecting from their summits. After passing over Powell Mountain, we came into the valley of the Gauley, and after marching a short distance, entirely lost sight of these mountains, over whose rocky crests we had, but a short time before, pursued our slow and weary way.

The contrast between this camp and the one at Big Birch was striking. Here we were reminded of Ohio, our native State, the one which had more attractions for us than any other; while at the latter camp we were constantly reminded of some lonely country, described only by the novelist, and inhabited alone by robbers and outlaws. And yet, upon this mountain region, nature was lavish with her charms. The scenery is grand beyond description. Peak after peak rises, one above another, until the tired eye arrows dim in its endeavor to trace the outlines of the distant mountain, and seeks the beautiful valley, wherein to restore its lost vision.

From the top of Powell's Mountain, the beauty of the scenery is lost sight of in its magnificence. This mountain is the highest in Western Virginia, and commands the finest view. The first time I ascended it was on horseback. When near the top we struck into a bridle path, and, urging our horses into a gallop, we were soon at the base of the projecting rocks. Below, a lovely panorama was open to our view. The side of the mountain, as well as the distant valley, seemed covered with a carpet of green, for both were densely wooded, and in the distance the foliage seemed to blend with the earth. We could see far away into the smaller valleys, and from them trace the ravines, in which the small rivulets make their merry descent from the side of the mountain.

At last, tired of gazing at this beautiful spot in nature's varied scenery, we again urged our horses forward, and, after partially winding around the mountain, we were at the very summit of this mass of earth, rocks, and herbage. We now obtained a view of the opposite side of the mountain from which we had ascended, where beauty expands into sublimity. We could plainly trace the course of the Kanawha River, as on its banks the mountains rise higher, and are more abrupt, while beyond they lessen into hills, and the hills waste into a valley. On the side of the distant hills we could see an occasional farm, with its fields of golden grain ready for the harvest. On the very top of this mountain was living a family.

Notwithstanding their great height, these mountains seemed fertile; and the farms are apparently as good as those in the valley. Springs frequently make their way out of the rocks by the roadside. Water is abundant in any part of these mountains, and springs more common than in the valley.

Near the top of Powell's Mountain, in a kind of basin, is a very fine farm. It is well watered, and well timbered, and quite fertile. The owner lives and flourishes in this quiet home, and, I should say, is quite as happy as if in a city. He has become accustomed to the loneliness of his mountain retreat. The wild scenery has become familiar—its very wildness has a charm. He is content with two visits each year to the distant settlement. It is literally true that "home is where the heart is."

Although this country was well supplied with provisions of every kind, we were not allowed to appropriate any of it. The property of rebels was considered sacred. The authorities were confident of putting down the rebellion through clemency, and, therefore, were both ready and willing to put our soldiers upon half rations, rather than incur the ill-will of traitors. When prisoners were captured, they had what was called an oath of allegiance administered to them, when they were liberated, to again rob and plunder. Occasionally we captured a horse, but it was invariably given up, on the owner taking this oath of allegiance. In view of this moderate method of dealing with them, they risked nothing in prowling about our lines, for they knew that they had only to take this oath to procure an honorable discharge; while the soldiers of the Federal army, if they stole but an onion to make a piece of hard bread palatable, were subjected to the severest punishments. Experience has finally taught us, that hard blows alone will conquer a rebellion, and that to reduce a foe, starvation is quite as good as the bayonet.

I do not know that any one was criminal in this early practice of clemency towards rebels; it seemed rather to be a sort of national weakness, growing out of the universal opinion that the rebellion was, at the greatest, but a weak effort of a deluded people; and that kindness, connected with a show of strength, rather than its exercise, would induce them to return to their former allegiance. It seems to be, at this day, of little consequence why this practice prevailed, or who was responsible for it, as it has almost entirely ceased.

On the 11th day of August, Captain John W. Sprague was given a leave of absence, to go to his home, and was intrusted with dispatches to General Rosecrans. He was to proceed by the way of Sutton and Clarksburg. When near the Big Birch River he was suddenly confronted by a band of rebel cavalry, belonging to Colonel Croghan's Second Georgia Regiment, who was not far from the spot, with his entire command. The mail carrier and two dragoons, who accompanied Captain Sprague, attempted to make their escape; only one, however, was successful; the mail carrier receiving a mortal wound in the attempt.

Securing their prisoners, the rebel cavalry crossed the Gauley River, and were soon out of reach of the Federal forces. An unsuccessful attempt was made to rescue the captors; but infantry, of course, could make but a fruitless attempt at recapturing prisoners in the hands of well-mounted cavalry.

This occurrence spread a gloom over the entire camp. One of the best officers of the regiment had been captured almost within our lines, and borne away to a Southern prison, to endure the privations of prison life, with the fond anticipation of seeing home and friends blighted and withered. To be lost to one's country, within the prison walls of her enemies, when the arm of every true patriot is needed in her defence, is a sad fate.

I am not inclined to blame any one for this unfortunate occurrence, though it may occur to the mind of the reader that good generalship would require that the commandant of a body of troops, in the heart of an enemy's country, should know whether or not the cavalry of that enemy was hanging on his flank and rear. And then, again, it may be urged with truth that the command was almost entirely without cavalry, though it was furnished with one company, as well as one of Snake Hunters, as they were called. The legitimate business in the army of the latter was scouting. They had no other duty to perform.

But however these facts may be, yet true it is that a regiment of the enemy's regular cavalry was not only hanging on the flank of our column, but occupied our rear—thus severing our communications, and cutting off our supplies.

On the 15th day of August we again moved forward, after first sending a company down to Hugh's Ferry. We proceeded through a densely wooded country, abounding in laurel and pau-pau, arriving at Cross Lanes, two and a half miles from Carnifex Ferry, on the Gauley River, in time to prepare our camp before night.

Soon after our arrival Captain Schutte, of Company K, was on picket duty at Carnifex Ferry. During the day the captain, for some unknown reason, conceived the idea of a scout across the river. Selecting fourteen of his men, he crossed over to the opposite bank, and, taking the main road, immediately pushed into the country. The march was made, apparently, without any apprehension of the presence of an enemy; at least, no steps appear to have been taken to prevent a surprise. All went well, however, until the party had made a distance of several miles, when, the first intimation they had of danger, they were fired upon by a party of cavalry, concealed in an adjacent thicket, and all but four of the party killed or wounded—Captain Schutte being wounded mortally. The survivors conveyed him to an old building, and, at his own request, left him. He expired soon after, and was buried on the spot by the rebels. The four men fled towards the river, and, being pursued, took to the woods. One, being separated from his companions, was pursued to the bank of the river, and was only saved by throwing himself into the stream from the projecting rocks. He concealed his body under water, keeping sufficient of his face above to sustain life. He could plainly distinguish the conversation of the rebels, and knew by it that they were in search of him. Here he remained during the day, and at night dragged himself upon the rocks. The next morning, tired and hungry, he floated himself down stream by clinging to the almost perpendicular rocks, until, arriving opposite a house, he was hailed by a woman, to whom he made known his condition. She immediately unfastened a canoe, and, paddling directly across the river to where he was lying, half famished in the water, helped him over its sides, and conveyed him to the other shore. Before they landed, however, the rebels discovered them, and gave the order to "halt." It not being obeyed, they fired, the bullets sinking harmlessly into the water. In a moment the two were lost to view in the pau-pau, which lined the river bank. The woman guided the soldier to her home, where she cared for him during a short illness, which succeeded his escape. When he was sufficiently recovered to join his command, he found the regiment had abandoned Cross Lanes, which had been occupied by the rebel forces. He returned to his former retreat, where he was concealed until the day of the disaster to the Seventh, when, taking advantage of the confusion into which the rebel forces were thrown during the affair, he escaped towards Gauley Bridge, which place he reached in safety the following day.

CHAPTER IV.
The skirmish at Cross Lanes. — Gallant conduct and final escape of the Seventh Regiment.

The occupation of Cross Lanes was considered by the authorities of the gravest importance. It was contiguous to three fords on the Gauley River, which, when possessed by the Federal forces, was a perfect protection to the left of the army occupying Gauley Bridge. Carnifex Ferry was immediately south two and one-half miles. There was a road leading from the vicinity of Gauley Bridge, on the south bank of the Gauley River, which unites with the Sunday road, crossing the river at this ferry. This road afforded the enemy a means of gaining the left of our forces, at Gauley Bridge. The occupation of Cross Lanes, therefore, by the enemy, would sever the communication between our forces at the above point, and the main army under Rosecrans, occupying the country from the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, along Cheat Mountain.

Carnifex Ferry, was a point easily defended against a much superior force. Indeed, it had so many natural defences, that it elicited exclamations of surprise from men accustomed to the selection of places for defence. The current of the river was rapid, while the abrupt rocks on its banks afforded secure hiding places for a considerable body of troops. It was quite impossible to bring artillery to bear in such a manner on the position as to interfere materially with troops concealed there. It seems to be the opinion of most persons familiar with the place, that it would be quite impossible to dislodge a body of troops properly posted on the north bank of the river at this ferry, provided a stubborn resistance was made.

It was for the purpose of preventing the crossing of the enemy at this point that the force of Colonel Tyler was ordered to Cross Lanes. By keeping pickets well on the line of the river, to watch any advance of the enemy, the regiment was entirely safe at its camp, from which it was comparatively easy to re-enforce any portion of the line. But for some reason, the commanding officer failed to visit the ferry in person, until the afternoon of the day on which a peremptory order was received to report with his command at Gauley Bridge. Hitherto he had been entirely unable to give correct information, as to the probability of his being able to hold the ferry. He was ordered to abandon the position, because his dispatches were such, that they created an uneasiness in the minds of Generals Rosecrans and Cox, as to the propriety of trusting him to hold so important a position. Here was the fatal mistake. A lesser error had already been made, in withdrawing all the forces from Tyler, other than the Seventh. Had these forces remained, the position would probably not have been abandoned, as all would have felt secure. When the order to withdraw was received, the commanding officer regretted it as much as any one. But the mischief was already done; the order was imperative. On that evening, Monday, the regiment left Cross Lanes at 11 o'clock P.M., and the next day, by noon, was at Twenty Mile Creek, some eight miles from Gauley Bridge.

On the Wednesday morning following, Colonel Tyler reported in person to General Cox. In the mean time, the general having become satisfied that Colonel Tyler could be trusted to hold Cross Lanes, and being confident that the contemplated attack of the enemy on Gauley Bridge had been abandoned, ordered him to return as soon as the troops were rested, expecting him to start back, at least the next morning. But Tyler did not move. On Friday afternoon, General Cox, on learning that he had not moved, was much excited, and said to an officer present—

"He must move; he must move at once; it is all important that Cross Lanes be held, and Floyd be kept on the other side of the river; ride back to camp and tell him from me, to move early in the morning, and with speed, to secure the position."

The order was delivered in nearly the same language as given, but notwithstanding its directness, he did not move till noon on Saturday, and then made a distance of only fourteen miles, over good roads, encamping at the foot of Panther Mountain, after having fallen back from Peter's Creek, on learning of the presence of the enemy.

On arriving in camp, a dispatch was sent to General Cox, representing to him that the enemy were in force in front, and asking instructions. On Sunday morning at about 3 o'clock, a courier arrived with an order from General Cox, substantially as follows: The force in your front cannot be as large as you estimate it. Advance cautiously, feeling your way; if the enemy is too strong, fall back, if not, occupy Cross Lanes at once, as it is of the utmost importance.

About nine o'clock Sunday morning, August 25th, the regiment moved towards Cross Lanes, casting lots as to which company should be left in charge of the baggage. It fell upon Company F, which was temporarily commanded by Lieutenant Kimball. The entire day was occupied in reaching Cross Lanes. It was not until dark of that day that the regiment went into camp.

In the days' advance some slight skirmishing occurred with the enemy's cavalry videttes, but beyond these few horsemen no enemy was encountered, the regiment encamping in apparent security near the church, after having driven away a cavalry picket of the enemy.

Companies were sent out on picket, as follows: Company A, on the road leading to Summerville; Company K, on the road leading to Carnifex Ferry; Company C, on the road leading in the opposite direction, while Company E was sent on a diagonal road leading to a ferry some distance below Carnifex. The balance of the command remained near headquarters, which were established in the church.

Each company on picket was divided into three reliefs, with instructions to be vigilant.

The silence of the enemy, together with his neglect to attack, created the impression that he had withdrawn his forces to the other side of the river, fearing that this small force was but the advance of a well-equipped army. But these theories were destined to fade into sadder realities, as the shadows of night melted into morning.

Nothing occurred during the night to disturb the general repose. A short time before day fires were kindled, and those who were up had pieces of meat on sticks, which they were roasting. Some had obtained green corn during the night, which they were also roasting. Before day had fairly dawned, the command was almost entirely astir. As it became sufficiently light to distinguish objects at a considerable distance, several musket shots were heard in the direction of the river, followed in quick succession by others. It soon became evident that a determined attack was being made on Company K. About this time a column of rebels was seen advancing from the river road, across the fields, towards Company A's position on the Summerville road. Arriving in the vicinity of this road, the column halted, formed in line of battle, at the same time swinging round its right to the Summerville road, driving Company A back to the point where the roads cross. In the mean time Companies B, D, G, H, and I were ordered to the support of Company K; but on arriving at the cross roads, Company K was seen falling back in some confusion, before a superior force, therefore they remained at that point. Meanwhile a heavy fire was opened from a dense wood opposite the church, to resist which Company K, having been joined by Companies A and C, which had advanced to its support on the ferry road, took position on a hill midway between this belt of timber and the crossing of the roads. From this point these companies delivered several effective volleys, which soon drove the rebels from their position. Taking advantage of this partial check of the enemy, Captain Crane ordered a charge, which resulted in piercing the lines, and the capture of a stand of rebel colors. The three companies now escaped, with a loss, however, of Captain Shurtliff, Lieutenant Wilcox, and Lieutenant Cross, taken prisoners, the latter being severely wounded in the arm.

During this time the rebel column from the direction of Summerville had advanced so as to lap over the road opposite the Ferry road, exposing the companies occupying the road in front of the church to an enfilading fire, at the same time being exposed to a severe fire from the front, from a column of infantry and cavalry coming up the Ferry road. These companies were now ordered to rally on a hill near the church. In executing this movement Companies D and H passed through a corn field, exposed to a deadly fire from almost every direction. Soon after reaching this field Captain Dyer, Company D, fell dead, pierced in the heart by a rifle bullet. Lieutenant Weed succeeded him in command. On reaching the hill these companies attempted to rally, but being in an open field, combated by a much superior and partially hidden foe, were compelled to fall back to a piece of woods skirting the road. The balance of the command, other than those who had followed the fortunes of Captain Crane, now joined them, and soon organized for a systematic retreat.

Captain Crane and his followers, after putting some distance between themselves and the enemy, crossed the Gauley road, and hastened to the mountains, where they would be entirely free from the attacks of cavalry, and where they would have a chance, at least, of partially defending themselves against attack from the rebel infantry.

Arriving in the mountains, they took a direction as nearly as possible towards Gauley Bridge, where they arrived in safety, meeting with little of adventure on the way. Thus a small body of Federals had fought their way out from the very grasp of the enemy, and, eluding pursuit, traversed a mountain range, with no guide, over rocks and deep gorges, arriving safely within the Union lines. Their arrival, however, did little to cheer the hearts of those in camp, for they were a small body compared with those still unheard from.

The news of the sad disaster to the Seventh had already been sent to the friends at home; universal gloom had settled over the camp, and the prospect looked dark for saving the organization, even, of a regiment which was the pride of the Western Reserve.

A flag of truce was sent to Cross Lanes to ascertain, if possible, the fate of those left behind. Chaplain Brown and Surgeon Cushing were selected to undertake this enterprise. They, however, returned without having accomplished their object.

One dark, rainy night, as if nature was in sympathy with the feelings of those in camp, the band commenced playing a patriotic air in front of the colonel's quarters, accompanied with cheers. I knew that this indicated good news. Hastening to the spot I learned that a dispatch had just arrived from Charleston with the comforting news that four hundred of the regiment had arrived in safety on the Elk River, twelve miles from the above place. But let us accompany these four hundred heroes in their march from the battlefield.

Organizing the troops, Major Casement, being first in rank, Colonels Tyler and Creighton having already escaped, assumed command. Losing no time the detachment immediately took up the line of march. Avoiding all highways, and keeping well in the timber, they moved on for some time, when, considering themselves out of immediate danger, they ventured out to the road, to find themselves only three miles from the place of starting. It was now concluded that it was not advisable to attempt reaching Gauley Bridge, as the enemy would be likely to interpose a considerable body of troops between them and that point. It was considered to be more practicable to make in the direction of Elk River, and by this means reach Charleston. This course being adopted, the command crossed the road and took to the mountains. Very soon after a party of rebel cavalry came dashing down as if in pursuit, barely missing the object of their search.

The command, aided by a compass, took their course over the mountains in a direction which they supposed would ultimately lead them to the banks of the Elk River.

During the afternoon Captain W. R. Sterling procured a guide, who conducted them by narrow pathways, in which they were compelled to march single file, towards a house which was situated at some distance on the mountain. Night setting in, before reaching the spot, without even a star visible to light them on the way, the column halted, and passed the word back for a candle. The line extended for nearly half a mile, and it was not until the last company, H, had been reached, that one was procured. On its arriving at the front, it was discovered that the head of the column had arrived on the brink of a deep chasm, into which it would be sure death to plunge. One step more, and the unlucky leader of the line would have been precipitated into the dreadful crater. But these daring adventurers were spared the misfortune of such an accident.

Two hours of valuable time having been lost, the line now pressed forward, each man holding on to the man preceding him. About midnight the house was reached, and the weary band laid themselves down; not, however, to sleep, for the only provisions they had had during the day was roasted corn, for in the morning they were attacked while preparing breakfast, which they were compelled to abandon. The woman of the house was kept cooking the good old-fashioned corn-dodger, and by morning the command was tolerably well fed, and ready for the toilsome as well as hazardous march of the succeeding day.

As the day again dawned, the line moved on. Procuring another guide during the day, they arrived, in early evening, on the banks of the Elk River, without any adventure worth relating. Before halting they forded the river, which was, at the time, waist deep. Company B was sent out on picket, under command of Lieutenant Molyneaux. The instructions were to establish a chain of pickets, at short intervals, along the road leading up the river. In case of an attack, the outer picket to fire and fall back on the next, when another volley was to be delivered, and so continue until the camp should be finally reached. The position selected for the camp was at the base of a range of abrupt hills, which were not accessible to cavalry, while many difficulties would present themselves in the way of a force of infantry advancing to an attack from that direction. The river ran at the very foot of these hills, too deep to cross in the face of an enemy, and sufficiently wide to present a decided obstacle in the way of an attacking party on the opposite shore. The command felt, therefore, comparatively safe in this retreat. As it afterwards proved, they were not mistaken; for it was ascertained that, at the time the pickets were being stationed, seven hundred rebel cavalry were a short distance up the river; indeed, they were so near that a party of rebel officers heard the lieutenant give the instructions to the outer picket. One of these officers, when afterwards taken prisoner, being questioned by Molyneaux as to their reason for not attacking, remarked that it would have been quite impossible for them to reach the camp in case his instructions to the picket should be carried out; and he and his brother-officers agreed in the opinion, that the orders would be carried out; for no body of troops, after having made so stubborn a resistance as at Cross Lanes, would afterwards lose all by a want of vigilance or a disobedience of orders. True it is that they did not attack, but suffered the camp to remain quiet, and the command to move off at leisure in the morning.

A dispatch being sent to Charleston, on the following day a provision-train met them twelve miles from the latter place. In due time the command arrived at Charleston, weary and foot-sore from their long and toilsome march.

CHAPTER V.
Reflections on the Skirmish at Cross Lanes. — Battle of Carnifex Ferry.

The occasion for the affair at Cross Lanes was brought about by a series of blunders. The first blunder was committed by the officer who ordered all the forces, with the exception of the Seventh Ohio, from a position which enabled them to guard the ferries of the Gauley. If it was deemed important to hold these ferries at all, it was certainly advisable to retain a sufficient force to guard against surprise and capture. But then, what would be considered a sufficient force? To settle the question, it is necessary to take into account the size of the army occupying the country, as well as the size of that of the enemy. Neither army was large, and both were much scattered, scarcely more than a brigade occupying one position. A regiment, therefore, may perhaps be considered a sufficient force for an outpost.

The army in Western Virginia was at no time sufficiently large to accomplish any thing, under the best generalship, beyond simply holding the country, and preventing invasion; and it was only for the want of a moderately sized army that the rebel general failed to drive back our forces. But the rebel authorities had no men to spare for the purpose of winning barren victories; so the armies of Western Virginia were left to watch each other, with an occasional skirmish.

At the time the affair at Cross Lanes took place, our army occupied a front of many miles, as did also the rebel army. It was quite impossible to collect, in case of emergency, more than about six thousand men. But, however it may be as to the first point, it is clear, secondly, that the commanding officer at Cross Lanes committed an error in not making a personal inspection of the grounds, adjacent to the camp, immediately on his arrival. It is always considered highly important that those in command should know precisely the ground their commands are expected to defend, and not to trust to chance or a battle to develop favorable points of defence or attack. By reason of this want of knowledge, rumors as to the presence of the enemy in force created uneasiness and alarm, which was entirely natural, although without cause. While in this state of feeling, the commanding officer sent dispatches to Generals Rosecrans and Cox, which created the impression that their author was not to be trusted to hold these ferries. Those generals attributed this alarm to a want of personal courage, they being well informed as to the strength of the position at Cross Lanes. It was not, however, a want of courage, but simply a failure on his part to understand the real strength of the position, by reason of not having visited it in person.

When the order to withdraw came, Colonel Tyler regretted it as much as any one; for he had that day examined the position, and knew that he could hold it against any force the enemy could bring to the attack. But this knowledge was obtained too late: lying on his table was a positive order to withdraw. Reason said hold the position; military law, which was higher in authority, said abandon it; so the place was evacuated. The third and irremediable error was committed in not returning to Cross Lanes when ordered. If that had been done, the consequences resulting from the withdrawal would have been entirely checked. The order to return was given on Wednesday, with the expectation that it would be acted upon as soon as Thursday morning; but it was not until the Saturday noon following that the command started. There was no reason for this delay. The regiment had marched but eighteen miles in as many days, and could, without any injustice being done it, have returned the day the order was given. Even had the command moved as late as Friday, with dispatch, it would not have been too late, as it seems to be well settled that Floyd did not cross over any considerable body of troops until Saturday.

In the way of criticism on this affair, it has been said that, had a spirited dash been made on the enemy on Saturday evening, the rebels could have been driven across the river. I think this claim subject to many doubts. In my opinion a reconnoissance should have been made that night, instead of falling back to Panther Mountain. This would have resulted in the discovery of their position and force, and thus given the command an opportunity to take advantage of the night to withdraw. Had this been done, the ferry might possibly have been reached.

The result of these blunders was the fighting of two engagements, with a heavy Federal loss, while the enemy suffered less. One of these, Carnifex Ferry, has been dignified with the name of battle, while the other is considered but an affair.

After the repulse of the Seventh, Floyd intrenched himself on the bank of the river, near the ferry. About two weeks later, "Rosecrans came down with his legions," comprising about four thousand men. Approaching the vicinity of the ferry, he threw forward General Benham's brigade, with no design of bringing on an engagement, however; but the line unwittingly advanced to within a short distance of the enemy's works, when a sheet of flame shot along their entire line. The unequal contest lasted five hours, when the Union forces withdrew, hungry and supperless, with a loss of fourteen killed, and one hundred and four wounded. The loss of the enemy was about twenty wounded.

The troops awoke in the morning to find the rebel works abandoned. Thus ended the battle of Carnifex Ferry, no less a blunder than Cross Lanes.

General Benham was censured for having attacked their main works, when he was ordered to make a reconnoissance only. But when it is understood that the commanding general sent up reinforcements, the blame, if there was any, attached itself to him.

The loss to the Seventh, at Cross Lanes, was one killed, twenty wounded, and ninety-six taken prisoners. Several of these were recaptured at Carnifex Ferry, when Rosecrans attacked Floyd. Among the number was Lieutenant Cross, Company C. The loss to the enemy has never been known. There is no doubt, however, that it was considerable. They attacked in large numbers, confident of an easy victory, therefore very little caution attended their movements. But instead of a flag of truce, accompanied by an offer to surrender, they were met by a shower of bullets, which must have told fearfully on their heavy columns. The fact that they were thrown into such confusion as to permit our men to escape, shows that they were too severely punished to follow up their victory.

The force of Floyd has been variously estimated: some having placed it as high as six thousand; while, in his official report of the engagement at Carnifex Ferry, Floyd himself places it at only two thousand. His force was probably four thousand, of all arms, with ten pieces of artillery. This entire force must have been in the vicinity at the time of the affair at Cross Lanes.

The following is an unofficial list of the loss in the regiment:

Killed.—Captain John N. Dyer.

Wounded.—Corporal Frank Dutton, N. J. Holly, Thomas Shepley, Thomas J. Scoville, Sergeant H. G. Orton, Joseph W. Collins, B. Yeakins, Lewis J. Jones, Thomas S. Curran, William Meriman, B. F. Gill, William S. Reed, David M. Daily, Robert J. Furguson, James R. Greer, E. J. Kreiger, Sergeant James Grebe, John W. Doll, William W. Ritiche, Fred. W. Steinbauer.

The following is a list of those taken prisoners:

Sergeant W. W. Parmeter, Sergeant E. R. Stiles, Sergeant G. C. C. Ketchum, Sergeant F. F. Wilcoxson, Sergeant Edward Bohn, Sergeant A. Kolman, Sergeant E. W. Morey, Corporal C. F. Mack, Corporal J. G. Turner, Corporal T. A. Mohler, Corporal S. M. Cole, Corporal E. C. Palmer, Corporal Charles Bersett, Privates Albert Osborn, Charles Weber, Alex. Parker, R. Bears, L. Warren, A. M. Halbert, H. Keiser, S. B. Kingsbury, E. Kennedy, A. Hubbell, C. C. Quinn, C. Burrows, E. Evans, W. H. Scott, C. H. Howard, Charles Carrol, T. B. Myers, George Sweet, John Massa, J. F. Curtis, W. E. Bartlett, W. Cherry, John Bark, John Hann, L. M. Blakesly, Z. Fox, J. Butler, F. S. Stillwell, G. W. Downing, G. C. Newton, William Biggs, Mathew Merkle, J. Sheloy, H. Huntoon, G. W. Williams, George C. Robinson, H. Wessenbock, J. C. Rafferty, J. Snyder, W. W. Wheeler, C. Haskell, J. W. Finch, James Johnson, H. Johnson, L. C. Logue, A. Scoville, P. Wildson, F. Boole, John Miller, P. Jenkins, John Smith, J. Wolf, Theodore Burt, A. Schwartz, G. A. Akerman, Charles Sahl, G. W. Thompson, F. Williams, M. H. Whaley, Z. Larkins, T. Hebbig, Z. A. Fuig, F. A. Noble, J. Hettlick, J. McCabe, L. Beles, E. R. Smith, F. A. Rubicon, John Smith, E. Smith, H. Smith, D. N. K. Hubbard, H. Wood, Charles Ottinger, R. S. Beel, N. D. Claghorn, H. Thompson, N. Freidenburg, M. Levullen, S. Gill, fifer.

CHAPTER VI.
Charleston and the Kanawha Valley. — A double murder. — Colonel Tyler assumes command of the post.

After the engagement at Cross Lanes, five companies of the regiment remained at Gauley Bridge, while the balance were at Charleston. The latter part was commanded by Colonel Guthrie, of the First Kentucky Regiment. At this time it was the seat of justice for Kanawha County, and contained upwards of three thousand inhabitants. It is a neat village, situated on the north bank of the Kanawha River, at a point where the Elk empties into it. There is a fine suspension bridge over the latter stream, which the rebels undertook to destroy in their flight. Charleston is three hundred and eight miles west of Richmond, and forty-six miles east of the Ohio River. It was named after Charles Clendenin, an early settler, and an owner of the soil on which it is built.

The Valley of the Kanawha is famous for its beautiful scenery. The mountains on either side of the river sometimes rise to the height of five hundred feet and more, and are liberally supplied with rich beds of minerals and coal. At their base is located the famous Kanawha salt works. They commence near Charleston, and extend for about fifteen miles above it. Before the rebellion they gave employment to nearly six thousand persons. The following extract will be of interest:

"It is a curious fact, and worthy of philosophical inquiry, that while the salt water is obtained by boring to a depth of from three hundred to five hundred feet below the bed of the Kanawha, it invariably rises to a level with the river. When the latter is swollen by rains, or the redundant waters of its tributaries, the saline fluid, inclosed in suitable "gums" on the shore, ascends like the mercury in its tube, and only falls when the river returns to its wonted channel. How this mysterious correspondence is produced is a problem which remains to be solved. Theories and speculations I have heard on the subject, but none seem to me to be precisely consonant with the principles of science."

Before the presence of the army interrupted the manufacture of salt, these works yielded about two million bushels annually, and are capable of yielding much more with an increase of capital.

While Colonel Guthrie commanded the post at Charleston a most disgraceful tragedy was enacted. An order had been issued that no liquors of any description should be sold or given to the soldiers or employees of the Government. During the time this order was in force, a party of drunken rowdies from the First Kentucky Regiment stopped at the grocery of an old man, and asked for some beer; when refused, they demanded it. Being again refused they threatened violence, and proceeded to put their threats into force, when a son of the old man, occupying a room above, was brought to the window by the old gentleman's cries for help, and, seeing his father thus set upon by a mob, from the repeated assaults of which his life was endangered, fired a revolver, the contents of which took effect on one of the assaulting party, producing instant death. He was at once arrested and lodged in jail, around which a strong guard was placed to prevent his being taken out and hung.

That night Colonel Guthrie, in a speech made to the excited throng, which had collected around the jail, said, in substance, that the life of the criminal should be taken if he had to do it with his own hand. Similar remarks were made by others, among whom was a captain who afterwards sat as judge-advocate on the trial.

On the morning after the affair the members constituting the court-martial assembled "in all the pomp and pride of glorious war," decorated with all the paraphernalia belonging to an officer's equipment, but to declare a prejudged opinion.

During the trial the prisoner was as immovable as a statue, evincing in his appearance a want of hope, as well as a preparation for the worst. He made no defence. The announcement of the sentence of death produced no change; he preserved a stoical appearance to the last.

When the hour of execution arrived the prisoner was brought to the gallows in a heavy wagon, guarded by a double file of soldiers, who were laughing as gayly as if on their way to some place of amusement. During the afternoon the sun had shone through a cloudless sky; but just before this terrible scene was enacted, the heavens were draped with heavy clouds, and the rain fell in torrents, casting a gloom on all around. The wretched victim ascended the gallows with a firm tread, and addressed a few words, in a fearless tone, to those assembled around. As the rope was being adjusted around his neck, the crowd involuntarily gave way, showing that, although they had been clamorous for the enactment of the scene, yet when the time came, they had not the nerve to witness the death-struggle of their victim. There was but little movement of the body after the fatal drop fell. This last scene was sickening in the extreme, and all of us, moved by a common impulse, turned and walked away in silence, our hearts being too full for utterance.

This is one more testimony against the safety and justice of the death penalty.

On the 19th day of October, Colonel Tyler took command of the post at Charleston. He issued the following proclamation:

"In assuming the command of this post, one of my principal objects will be to maintain order, and to see that the rights of persons and property have the protection guaranteed by general orders from department headquarters. To the faithful execution of this my entire energies, together with the force at my command, will be given. To this end I have established Camp Warren, where officers and soldiers are required to be at all times, except when on duty which calls them away, or on leave of absence, which will only be granted at headquarters. Commissioned and non-commissioned officers will be held personally responsible for any violation of this order by members of their companies. Drunkenness, marauding, boisterous and unsoldierlike conduct are strictly forbidden. To prevent this, the sale of intoxicating liquors, directly or indirectly, to those in the service of the United States, is positively and emphatically prohibited; and I call upon the citizens to aid me in detecting those who violate this order. The quiet of your town, the protection of your property—in fact your lives and the lives of your families—depend much upon the sobriety of our officers and men; therefore, it becomes your duty as well as your interest to lend me your aid in the execution of this order.

"E. B. Tyler,
"Colonel Commanding Post."

Under the rule of Colonel Tyler the post at Charleston assumed order and quiet. Under the former commandant drunkenness was common, while marauding parties were free to patrol the streets on their errands of mischief. The property of the citizens was at the mercy of these gangs, while their lives were not unfrequently placed in jeopardy. The people, therefore, were much gratified with the change of rule. Camps were now established at some distance from the village, while no soldiers were permitted to visit it unless they first obtained a pass from headquarters, which, being established in town, was difficult to procure. A provost-marshal was appointed, with a proper guard subject to his orders. This guard was instructed to arrest all soldiers found in the streets of the village without a proper pass, as well as those committing any depredations on the property or persons of the citizens, with or without a pass.

About the middle of October the companies at Gauley Bridge came down to Charleston. During their stay on the Gauley they performed much duty at the outposts; several times being under the enemy's fire, though none were injured. The detachment suffered severe loss, however, from sickness. Lieutenant Robinson was among the number; he died of fever; his loss was greatly felt by the regiment. When the news of his death reached his company, they wept as for a brother.

CHAPTER VII.
Floyd establishes batteries on Cotton Hill. — Driven off by the forces of general Cox. — Benham's failure to intercept his retreat. — His pursuit. — Skirmish at McCoy's Mills. — His final escape.

Near the last of October General Floyd very suddenly appeared on Cotton Hill, an abrupt eminence lying between the Kanawha and New rivers, at the junction of the Gauley with the latter stream, which form the Kanawha. The enemy immediately commenced shelling Gauley Bridge. General Cox, who was some distance up New River, near the headquarters of General Rosecrans, was ordered to proceed to Gauley Bridge and to assume direction of affairs. He was also ordered to direct General Benham, who was expected to arrive very soon with a brigade, to cross his forces, at night, over the Kanawha River, and to carry the summit of Cotton Hill by storm. A picket post had already been established across the river by direction of General Cox. Benham protested against the movement, and refused to execute the order received through General Cox, but proceeded to confer, by telegraph, with General Rosecrans, receiving in reply the same orders. Benham still protesting against attempting to execute what he termed so hazardous a movement, at his own request was permitted to pass down the river to the mouth of Loop Creek, from whence he was to undertake a flank movement. Colonel Smith joined General Benham in his protest, declaring the attempt to storm these batteries as sheer madness. It is significant that General Cox afterwards stormed and carried Cotton Hill, with barely a regiment of troops.

Floyd had constructed a line of fortifications at Dickerson's, on the road to Fayetteville, which was his only avenue of retreat in case of disaster.

Soon after General Benham arrived opposite Loop Creek, he was joined by five hundred selected men from the Seventh from Charleston. This detachment of the regiment, having arrived on boats, was ordered to disembark, and take up their position at the mouth of Loop Creek. The following morning it moved up the creek some eight or ten miles, where it took up its position at an old log barn. Lieutenant-Colonel Creighton being in command, Colonel Tyler having remained at Charleston, was instructed to picket the roads well in his front, as well as the mountains lying between; and also to scout the country in the vicinity, for the purpose of finding out the position of the camp of the enemy, as well as his numbers. The latter part of the order was well executed, and there can be no doubt that Benham was possessed of accurate information of the enemy.

After the third day of our occupation of this position we were joined by a detachment of the Forty-fourth Ohio, under command of Major Mitchell, and the Thirty-seventh Ohio, under command of Colonel Seibert. Soon after, all of this force, with the exception of eight companies of the Thirty-seventh Regiment, was ordered forward under command of Lieutenant-Colonel Creighton.

Proceeding for some distance on a road leading to the front, we struck into a bridle path, and after passing through a wood, began ascending a mountain. Single file, the command clambered up its steep and rocky sides. Arriving on its summit we could see the heads of a line of men extending for a mile beneath us. Descending the opposite side with some difficulty, we marched some distance from the foot of the mountain, and found ourselves at Cassady's Mills, a point from which the command was to debouch on to the Fayetteville pike, should Floyd attempt a retreat. But the movement, on the part of Benham, was so tardily executed, that the balance of the command never arrived at this point; but instead, the forces, other than the Seventh Ohio, were ordered away that night; leaving a detachment of five hundred men, with no support, within three miles of a well-equipped army of the enemy. We were so near that we could plainly hear the bugle calls in Floyd's camp. Had Benham's entire command been at that point, the retreat of the rebel army could have been intercepted. Previous to this, Floyd had been driven back to his intrenchments at Dickerson's, and all that was necessary to his capture, was an attack on his rear on the part of Benham. But he either feared to make the attack, or was too slow in doing it. The former is probably true. That night the rebel general passed within three miles of our position, and escaped with his entire army, together with the artillery and baggage.

On the 12th of November, Benham arrived at Cotton Hill, but to find the forces of General Cox in possession. On the afternoon of the 13th, he pushed on after Floyd's retreating army, arriving within four miles of Fayetteville, at about eleven o'clock P.M. Here, evidences of the hurried retreat of Floyd began to multiply. The fences were lined with hides, but recently stripped from the carcasses of cattle, while in many places the beef itself was left suspended from the fence.

On the morning of the 4th, we pushed through Fayetteville before day, in the pursuit. Floyd had but a few hours the start. Six miles ahead we took breakfast, consisting of two army crackers to each man. After which we pushed rapidly on. About noon, our skirmishers, the Thirteenth Ohio, overtook the rear-guard of the enemy, when sharp firing occurred, which continued during an advance of several miles, resulting in the mortal wounding of St. George Croghan, colonel of the Second Georgia cavalry, and formerly of the United States Army. The colonel was taken to a house close by and left, where he was found in a dying condition by our men. Having been a class-mate of his at West Point, Benham stopped and passed a few words with him. When recognizing the general, Croghan appeared to be much affected; and is reported to have said that he knew he was fighting in a bad cause, and that he had been driven into the army much against his wishes, for he was still attached to the old flag. He soon after expired.

While this conversation was being carried on between officers so differently circumstanced, the Union forces had pressed the rebels so closely, that the latter, to save their baggage train, were compelled to make a stand. The Seventh Ohio was ordered to act as reserve, but when the action grew hot, was ordered forward, with instructions to send out two companies as skirmishers, which was immediately done; Companies A and K being sent forward.

About this time two pieces of rifled cannon were brought to bear on the rebels, when they turned and fled, leaving six killed on the field. We were so near, that we plainly heard the retreat sounded by their bugles. From this time their retreat became a rout. In their flight, they cast away every thing that would encumber their retreat. We were now on the banks of a stream, over whose rocky cliffs numerous wagons, with their contents, had been hurled. It was supposed, that several pieces of cannon shared the same fate.

The pursuit was continued with much vigor, until a late hour in the evening, when General Schenck, having but just arrived at the front, ordered it discontinued. This was the second error of the campaign. Schenck, with his fresh troops, instead of ordering the pursuit to cease, should have pressed with vigor. The enemy encamped but a short distance in our front, on Three-mile Mountain. This position could have been carried with ease, with the combined forces of Schenck and Benham, with comparatively little loss. But the pursuit being the result of a blunder, resulted in a blunder.

A little after midnight the command fell back, arriving at Fayetteville in the afternoon of the same day, after a fatiguing march over the worst road that could be imagined, and with no provisions other than beef with a very little salt. The Seventh marched to its old camp, four miles out on the road to Cotton Hill. The officers and men lay on the hill-side that night, exposed to a violent snow storm, with no other covering than their blankets, except the snowy sheet that nature spread over them during the long hours of night.

During the night a demonstration was made on a drove of pigs which were lurking close by; and it would not be strange if the soldiers could relate tales of their descent on poultry yards and bee-hives. True it is, that some first-class honey found its way into camp.

The next day, marching over Cotton Hill, we arrived at our camp near the mouth of Loop Creek. Embarking on the following day, we arrived at Charleston on the 18th, after an absence of fourteen days.

CHAPTER VIII.
Reflections on the Institution of Slavery.

While at Charleston, we were deeply impressed with the profound interest the slaves were taking in passing events. That down-trodden race, who had for years suffered every injustice at the hands of their white oppressors, were now the first to assist the Federal commanders. Through darkness and storm, they carried information, and acted as scouts and guides on occasions when it would try the heart and nerve of their white companions.

From my own observation, I am confident that the slaves of the South, were just as well informed with regard to their relation to their masters, as we were. They were, from the very first, impressed with the idea that this rebellion was to work some great change in their condition. They were watching, with great interest, every movement of troops, and were continually asking questions, as to the disposition to be made of them; thus evincing an interest in military affairs, of which their masters little dreamed. It is well enough to talk of the deep devotion of slaves to their masters; but the latter have found ere this, I trust, that this devotion on which they have relied, has not prevented them from cutting their throats, when it was in the line of their duty, and by means of which they could gain their freedom. An instance of this great devotion on the part of a slave for his master, was related to me while at Charleston.

A Mr. R—— owned a colored servant by the name of John; he enjoyed the unlimited confidence of his master, who was in the habit of trusting him as he would one of his children. This confidence was reciprocated by a like devotion on the part of the slave for his master. One day a neighbor told Mr. R—— that his John was about to run away, as he had repeated conversations with his servants on the subject. Mr. R—— flew into a passion, feeling very much grieved that his neighbor should think, for a moment, that his John, whom he had raised from infancy, should prove so ungrateful as to leave him. The only attention he paid to this timely warning was, to put still greater trust in his servant. One day, shortly after this, John was missing; not only this, he had been so ungrateful as to take his wife and three children. The last heard from faithful John was, that he was safe in Ohio. Now Mr. R—— is a very good man and a Christian, and treat his servants very kindly; but that God-given principle, a desire for personal liberty, actuated him in connection with other men of fairer complexion. John, undoubtedly, left his old home and master with regret, but home and friendship, when compared with freedom, were nothing.

I was once told by a colored man, in whom the utmost confidence could be placed, that there has been for years an association among the negroes, which extends throughout the South, the purpose of which was one day to liberate themselves from slavery. He said that hundreds of slaves who, apparently, were as innocent as ignorant, were tolerably well educated, and were secretly bending every energy to bring about an insurrection, which should end in their being released from bondage. When asked if the field-hands were members of this association, he said they were; and although possessing less information than those living in the cities and villages, yet they were aware of what was going on; and after their work was done at night, they often met in their cabins, and talked over the prospect before them. He also said, that in the larger cities of the South this association had regular meetings and officers; that they awaited only the proper time, when a tragedy would be enacted all over the South, that would astonish the world.

When we reflect that revolts have been common in the South, and that they have been attended by partial success, it does not require a great stretch of the imagination to believe that this association did really exist. The fact of the intense feeling of hatred cherished by the people of the South against Northern fanatics, as they were termed, who came amongst them, is strong evidence in favor of the existence of some organized course of policy among the negroes. The outward appearance of the slave is usually gentle in the extreme, although his inward feelings may be agitated to such a degree, that in a white man they would burst forth in the wildest passion. Therefore, this hatred of the South to the opponents of slavery must be traced to a fear of some secret organization, the object of which lay deeply buried in the reticent minds of the slaves. The Southern mind was more deeply agitated, from the fact of the want of this outward emotion on the part of their slaves; for had this strong desire for liberty, which was awakened in them, burst out in wild enthusiasm, it would have been readily checked by the severe punishment of individuals; but it was this secret working of this deep-laid desire for freedom that troubled them. The most guilty were, to all outward appearance, the most innocent.

While the Federal army occupied the country, the slaves were much less guarded in what they said. One of these slaves, an old man, was passing a tent one day, when a soldier said to him that he belonged to Jeff. Davis. With a knowing look, he replied: "I did; but now, massa, I belong to Uncle Sam." A colored woman, who had been a slave for years (as she is very old), came into our room one day, and taking up a paper, asked if we wanted it. Some one said to her, as she was about leaving the room, that she had better not be seen with that paper, as it was not the sort her mistress admired. Said she, "I know what missus likes; I can take care of it;" and slipping it under her apron she left the room. That slave could read and write, and yet her master knew nothing of it. So it is with many others. It may be asked how they acquire this knowledge. They gain it in a great many ways. Many of them learn of their masters' children, with whom house-servants spend a great deal of time. Having acquired a slight knowledge, it stimulates them to greater exertion. They obtain scraps of newspapers and parts of books, and thus gain a great deal of information entirely unobserved. The slave knows how to keep secrets; consequently, any scheme that is on foot is seldom discovered. Few persons, at the commencement of the rebellion, had the least conception of the vast resources and power of the slave population of the South. And it was not until they had fed and clothed the Southern armies for two years, and by this means kept them in the field, that it was acknowledged. Had it not been for its slaves, the South, long ere this, would have been compelled to yield obedience to the Government. The rebels appreciated and used this element of strength from the beginning. The Federal Government, through the influence of weak-minded politicians, rejected it; thus throwing an element of its own strength into the hands of its enemies.

Notwithstanding this harsh treatment, the slaves proved true to the Government; and finally, through the medium of this faithfulness, their vast services were acknowledged, and they have not only been taken into the private service of the country, but they have been admitted into the army, to swell its numbers, until the strength of their mighty arms, and the nerve of their fearless hearts, are felt by the enemies of the country on every battle-field. What a glorious thought! thousands of the oppressed fighting for the redemption from slavery of a race which has ever worn the chain. When it is remembered that by this strife questions are to be settled which have ever disturbed the harmony of this country, and not that only, but questions which, when settled, will release millions of our fellow-men and women from the power of the oppressor, ought we not to be thankful that we are permitted to make great sacrifices in so good a cause?

CHAPTER IX.
The Seventh ordered to the East. — Expedition to Blue's Gap. — Skirmish on the Blooming pike.

After Floyd was driven from Cotton Hill, very few rebels remained in that portion of Virginia. Many troops were sent to Kentucky and elsewhere. Among the number was the Seventh Regiment. It was ordered to join the forces under command of General Kelley, which were operating on the upper waters of the Potomac, with headquarters at Cumberland, Maryland.

Accordingly, on the twelfth day of December, the regiment embarked on steamers, and after paying its respects to General Cox, by way of presenting arms and cheers, it moved down the river; thus leaving forever the scene of its past dangers and privations. Little had, apparently, been accomplished, during its summer campaign; but perils had been braved, privations had been suffered, and obstacles had been overcome. Many graves had been dug and filled with the pride of the regiment. These were left as a record of its patient suffering in that wild waste of hills. There was a sort of sadness attending the leaving of all this for a new field of operations. But the soldier's life is one continued change; and, therefore, he readily adapts himself to circumstances.

At Parkersburg the regiment left the boats, and took a train of cars, which conveyed it to Green Spring Run, a station on the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, sixteen miles from Romney, Virginia. Here it remained without tents for several days, when it was ordered to Romney, to which place it proceeded immediately. It was now given a good ground for its camp, and furnished with Sibley tents, which were both warm and roomy. The weather being very fine for the time of year, the health and spirits of the soldiers rapidly improved.

During the occupation of Romney, quite a force of "bushwhackers" had collected at Blue's Gap, which were under command of Colonel Blue. This force of bandits had annoyed the Union citizens for some time. It was finally resolved to break it up. The force chosen to do this work consisted of the Fourth, Fifth, Seventh, and Eighth Ohio, Fourteenth Indiana, and First Virginia, with Danver's two companies of cavalry, and a section of Howard's Battery, in all about two thousand five hundred men, under command of Colonel Dunning of the Fifth Ohio. A little past midnight of January 6th, the force moved out from their camp. The night was bitter cold, but the march was rapid; and just after daybreak, the vicinity of the gap was reached, to find that the rebels were tearing up the flooring of the bridge leading over the stream coming through the gap. The skirmishers drove this force away, and then advanced over the bridge, followed by the Fifth Ohio, which took possession of Blue's house. Procuring a negro woman for a guide, the force advanced to assault the rebel stronghold on the mountain. On reaching the place, the intrenchments were handsomely carried, the rebels standing for five rounds only, when they broke, and fled down the side of the mountain. Their flight was so rapid that many of the fugitives ran on to the Fourth Ohio, which was at hand, and were captured. But they were hardly worth taking, for an uglier set of ragamuffins the mountains of Virginia, or the whole world even, could hardly produce. Blue's property was utterly destroyed. The loss of the enemy in this affair was forty killed, and as many taken prisoners, together with all their stores, wagons, and ammunition. A number of cattle were also taken and driven back to Romney. On their return, the Federals fired several houses, which was a lasting disgrace to all those taking part in it. General Kelley was justly indignant at this conduct.

Nothing further occurred to break the ennui of camp and picket duty until the 10th, when an order came to break camp and prepare for a march. Immediately following this order, all was bustle and confusion, in anticipation of an advance. There being a lack of transportation, some tents and commissary stores were burned. In early evening, the regiment marched into the town, where it was compelled to wait, through a fearful storm of sleet, until midnight, when, instead of an advance, the entire force rapidly fell back through Springfield to Patterson's Creek, on the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. This camp was soon converted into a mud-hole. If all of Virginia had been canvassed a worse place for a camp could not have been found. After a few weeks contest with this everlasting snow and mud, an order came, on the 5th of February, to march, which was hailed with universal joy.

The force passed down the railroad late in the afternoon, for a short distance; when, leaving the tents and baggage, it took a road to the right, and before night halted in a grove by the roadside. After a few hours spent in preparing and eating supper, it moved off in the direction of Romney, the Seventh in the advance.

All night we marched, over mountains and streams, through snow and sleet. In the morning we came to a halt at an old tannery, and after remaining through the day, fell back four miles and bivouacked on the banks of the Little Cacapon River. Tired and wet, the soldiers lay down to rest on their bed of rails and straw, to gather strength for the morrow. At last, day dawned, rainy and gloomy, and the command moved five miles to the rear, to a place called the Levels,—a very high table-land, exposed to severe wind and storm, which never fails to visit that region. The regiment was ordered to bivouac, and soon the pine forest was converted into a village of green houses, with hot fires roaring and crackling before them.

We remained here some fifteen days, within three miles of the tents; but for some reason, better known to those in command, we were left on a hilltop, exposed to the cold winds and snows of February, in brush shanties. During some of the time it was so cold that a crust formed on the snow sufficiently hard to hold up a person. During this time the commanding officer of our brigade occupied a house close by, which was very convenient as well as comfortable.

The regiment, while here, did very little duty; in fact none, with the exception of one brigade drill in the snow, which only vexed the command, without accomplishing any good.

Colonel Sprague, formerly captain of Company E, now paid the regiment a visit, the first time he had met his old comrades since his capture. Following that had intervened his long imprisonment. The meeting was a pleasant one.

On the 13th of March the regiment left camp, and, taking the Bradford pike, crossed a range of hills, at the foot of which is the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. Taking this road, Pau-Pau Station was reached before night. Here we found quite a number of troops.

General Lander advanced with one brigade on the Blooming pike. Soon the advance-guard, consisting of a part of a regiment of cavalry, came on to an intrenched camp of militia. The general, taking command in person, ordered a charge; but barely a dozen of these horsemen could be made to follow their brave leader. But, nothing daunted, Lander, followed by his staff and a few of the cavalry, dashed over the intrenchments, when some fifty rebels surrendered; Colonel Baldwin, their commander, giving himself up to Lander, after the latter had seized him by the shoulder, despite the revolver which the rebel colonel held in his hand.

On the return of this expedition, the Seventh was ordered out on to the pike. After advancing for nearly two miles, it halted by the roadside, where it remained in the mud and snow till the following afternoon, when it went into camp close by.

CHAPTER X.
Gallantry of Lieutenant O'Brien. — Death of General Lander. — The Seventh escort his remains. — The occupation of Winchester.

During the occupation of the country about Pau-Pau Station, the troops were kept active. Skirmishes were of frequent occurrence. One of them is deserving of mention. A reconnoissance was being made by Lieutenant O'Brien, of Lander's staff, accompanied by twenty or more cavalry, when they were met by a band of rebels, who immediately fired a volley; following which, they demanded the small party of Federals to surrender. O'Brien, riding to the front, declined, at the same time emptying the saddle of the foremost rebel with a revolver, which he had in his hand ready for use. The lieutenant soon after received a fatal wound in the shoulder, from the effects of which he died some weeks after. Seeing their leader disabled, the Union cavalry hurried him to the rear, at the same time presenting a determined front. When he had arrived at a safe distance they fell back, fighting as they went. They thus brought the gallant O'Brien safe to headquarters.

O'Brien was a writer of some note. Before the war he was a contributor to several periodicals, among which was the Atlantic Monthly. For these magazines he wrote many elegant things, which their readers will probably remember.

On the first day of March, the monotony of life in camp was broken by an order to march. We moved out of camp, followed by the entire division, on the road leading to Winchester. Towards evening we crossed the Big Cacapon River, and after ascending a spur of the Shenandoah Mountain, filed into a grove of pines, and remained till the following afternoon, when an order was given to fall back. On returning to our camp, we found that the retrograde movement was occasioned by the sudden death of General Lander. The brave soldier and able commander expired while his troops were moving on an important position of the enemy,—a campaign which his fertile brain had conceived, and which his daring and dash were to put into successful execution. No wonder, then, when the spirit of its leader took its flight, that the division was recalled. None were found competent to succeed him in the command of an expedition which had occupied his every thought while he had been connected with the department.

On Monday, March 3d, the Seventh regiment escorted his remains to the cars, in the presence of fifteen thousand troops, drawn up in line to pay their respects, for the last time, to all that was left of a commander whom they loved, and a soldier whom they admired. This slow, sad march of the Seventh, to the strains of a solemn dirge, was impressive. We returned to camp with the reflection that a master spirit had taken its departure.

After the death of General Lander, Brigadier-General Shields was given the command of his division. He arrived soon after.

The forces under General Banks, occupying the country in the vicinity of Harper's Ferry, were ordered to make an immediate advance on Winchester, General Shields was directed to co-operate in this movement. He was ordered to move on Martinsburg, when General Banks crossed the Potomac.

Early in March the division moved down to the railroad, when on the same day it took the cars for Martinsburg. On arriving at Back Creek, ten miles east of Hancock, the bridge was found to be destroyed. The command now bivouacked, while a party was set at work repairing the bridge. The work progressed so slowly, that on the 10th the command moved on in advance of the train, passing through Martinsburg, and encamping some two miles out on the Winchester pike.

On the following morning the column pushed vigorously forward to assist General Banks in his attack on Winchester. The rebels, however, instead of giving battle, fled as the command approached the city. Shields, therefore, was ordered to encamp his troops before reaching Winchester. The camp of the Seventh was about three miles north of the town, on the Martinsburg road. The balance of the division encamped in the immediate vicinity.

Winchester had for a long time been occupied by the rebels. The extreme left of Beauregard's army, under command of General Johnston, had taken possession of the place, when the rebel troops first occupied Virginia. From this point, troops were immediately sent forward to occupy and destroy the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, as well as to menace our lines in the direction of Harper's Ferry and Cumberland. The possession, therefore, of the place by the Union forces was of great importance. It not only resulted in the protection of this very important railroad, but so menaced the left of the rebel army as to require its commander to detach a large force to the Shenandoah Valley, and thus materially weakening his main army. Under a leader less able than Jackson, it would have greatly taxed his energies to hold the valley. But under this indomitable general the army was enabled to make a good show of resistance to the advance of the Federal forces.

Winchester, the county seat of Frederick County, is seventy-four miles west of Washington. The town is laid out in regular order, the streets crossing at right angles. The place possesses some little of historical interest. During the French and Indian War, Washington made it his headquarters; and he also mentions it as one of the points which he touched while on his mission to the French authorities on the Ohio River. After the engagement at Great Meadows, July 4, 1774, Washington returned to the place to recruit his regiment. It was also the base of operations for the forces engaged in the reduction of Fort Duquesne. During these wars a fort was built under the direction of Washington, and named Fort Landon. A part of it is to be seen at this day. While this fort was being constructed, Washington bought a lot in Winchester, had a blacksmith shop built on it, and brought his own smith from Mount Vernon to do the necessary iron-work for the fort. A well was sunk in this fort to the depth of one hundred and three feet, the water from which now runs over the top. The labor of erecting this fort was performed by Washington's own regiment. The famous General Morgan, the leader of the American forces at the battle of the Cowpens, is buried here.

CHAPTER XI.
A Reconnoissance to Strasburg. — Battle of Winchester. — Utter defeat and rout of Jackson's army.

Immediately after the occupation of Winchester, the enemy's cavalry advance becoming troublesome, a plan was laid for its capture. Colonel Mason, of the Fourth Ohio, was sent out on the road to Front Royal, with a brigade, composed of infantry, cavalry, and artillery, with instructions to proceed until he arrived at the last road leading to the right before reaching Front Royal; which road he was to take, and by it strike the rear of the enemy at Middletown, a small hamlet equally distant from both Winchester and Strasburg. He was soon after followed by General Shields, with six thousand men, who moved on the direct road to Middletown. Colonel Mason's command, arriving at this place in advance of Shields' column, encountered the enemy's pickets, and drove them to Cedar Creek Bridge, which, having covered with combustibles, they fired. When the troops of Colonel Mason arrived in the vicinity, they were opened upon by a battery, to which they replied; with no effect, however, as the distance was too great. Shields coming up with his division soon after, the entire force bivouacked for the night.

Early the following morning the command crossed the river without opposition; but on arriving at Strasburg, the enemy opened fire from a battery planted on a hill beyond the town. Shields, suspecting that the entire force of Jackson was in the vicinity, made his dispositions for immediate battle. The Seventh being ordered out on the road beyond the town, were fired upon by a masked battery, but none injured. After having been exposed to this fire for half an hour, it was withdrawn. Soon after, our artillery was got into position, and after thirty pieces of cannon had belched forth their fire, the rebels fled in haste. During this fire, Mason's cavalry advanced so far out on the road, that they were mistaken for the enemy by Captain Clark, of a battery of regulars; he therefore sent a shell among them, with such accuracy as to kill a few horses, and slightly wound one man.

An advance being ordered, the pursuit was continued for five miles, when the command returned to Strasburg, and encamped for the night. On the following morning it fell back to its old camp, the Seventh marching twenty-two miles in seven hours, with but one halt.

This reconnoissance to Strasburg leaving no doubt on the minds of both Banks and Shields that the enemy was not in the front in force, the first division of Banks's corps, on the 20th, commenced its movement to Manassas, in accordance with a letter of instruction from General McClellan, of the 16th. General Banks did not follow this division immediately, but remained at Winchester until twelve o'clock on Sunday, the 23d, when he started for Harper's Ferry.

All this time Shields thought he was being trifled with by the rebel General Ashby.

On Saturday, the 22d, there had been a good deal of firing in the early part of the day, but what occasioned it did not seem to be well understood, except to those engaged. But during the afternoon it was thought prudent to make all needful preparation for battle, so as not to be surprised in case it should prove that a greater force than Ashby's was in front. Therefore the whole division was ordered up; the third brigade, however, did not pass through the town. Shields went to the front, followed by the first and second brigades. As these forces emerged from the city, the rebel cavalry made a dash at the pickets, who fled in some confusion through the little hamlet of Kernstown, but rallied soon after, and by a well-directed volley of musketry emptied several rebel saddles. This success enabled them to retire in safety. The rebel cavalry soon after advanced, when a sharp skirmish ensued. Our pickets having been re-enforced by several detached companies, were enabled to maintain their ground. In the mean time the rebels opened on our lines from a battery planted on an eminence; immediately after which a Union battery wheeled into position, when a spirited artillery duel took place. While directing the fire of this battery, Shields was struck on the arm by a fragment of a shell, fracturing the arm, and producing a painful wound. He, however, continued in the field for some time after the accident occurred, but was finally taken to a house close by, and his arm dressed, after which he was taken to town in an ambulance.

The firing having ceased, the first brigade went into camp on the spot, while the second brigade encamped in the rear. The third brigade filed into an open field near where they were stationed during the operations in front.

During Saturday night a strong picket was kept well out to the front, while the remaining troops slept on their arms. Nothing occurred during the night to disturb the several camps.

Morning dawned bright and pleasant. The stillness which rested over the field of the previous day's operations, gave token of the intention of the belligerents to respect the Sabbath-day. In view of the general quiet, the second and third brigades were ordered back to their camp on the Martinsburg pike.

It was nearly noon when the Seventh arrived, and before the men had barely time to eat a hurriedly prepared dinner, it was again ordered forward. This time the march was rapid. The distant booming of cannon, induced many a disturbed reflection as to what lay before us. As we passed through Winchester to the south, we emerged into an open plain. This was crowded with people, as were also the house-tops. They had assembled, apparently, for the purpose of seeing the Union army defeated and crushed, and to welcome the victors into the city.

Arriving on the field, we found our forces occupying a commanding position in rear of a range of hills overlooking Kernstown; while the batteries, posted at intervals on the crest of these hills, were maintaining a heavy fire on the right of the enemy's position, which alone seemed to give evidence of any purpose to advance. The left of our line was held by the Second brigade, Colonel Sullivan; while the centre and right were held by the First brigade. Colonel Kimball, commanding the division, was stationed on a commanding eminence, from which several batteries were pouring their shot and shell into the enemy whenever he showed himself within range.

Up to this time, the main fighting had occurred in front of our left; but soon after a battery opened in front of the right, from a piece of timber, which our batteries were unable to silence. It became evident, from this, that the heavy skirmishing which the enemy had kept up from their right was simply a feint, for the purpose of drawing the greater part of our force to that part of the field, when a spirited onslaught would be made on the other flank, which was expected to turn our right wing, and thus give them the victory. It was a conception worthy the genius of a Jackson, but it was entirely unsuccessful, as no troops were sent to that part of the field beyond what ordinary prudence required; but on the contrary, becoming satisfied of the intention of the enemy, Colonel Kimball resolved to charge this battery. The work was assigned to the Third brigade. Colonel Tyler, calling in the Seventh, which had been supporting a battery from the time it arrived on the field, formed his brigade in column, by divisions, and immediately moved forward; at the same time changing direction to the right, and passing up a ravine, shielded by a piece of timber which skirted it on the side towards the enemy.

After arriving at some distance to the right, the column changed direction to the left; and after a march of nearly a mile, it arrived on the flank, and partly in the rear of the enemy. It had now reached an eminence in a dense wood. In front, the battery which was the object of our movement was playing vigorously upon the First brigade, to which a spirited fire was returned by Robinson's Battery, which had wheeled into position on the extreme right. This acted as a cover to the movements of our brigade. Breathless, and with anxious hearts, we awaited the return of our scouts, which would be the signal for a plunge into the unknown. We were not kept long in suspense, for in a few minutes the order was given to change direction to the left, and the column moved forward, preceded by a line of skirmishers. After marching in silence for some distance, the sharpshooters opened a destructive fire on us from behind trees. We were immediately ordered to charge; and, with a prolonged yell, the command, led by the Seventh Ohio, swept like a torrent down the hill. A ravine now lay in front, and, at a short distance, a slight eminence, and still beyond, a solid stone wall, behind which, in three lines, nine regiments of the enemy lay concealed. It was a fearful moment. The rebel artillery, in the rear of this stone wall, had been turned upon the advancing column. The grape and canister was tearing the bark from the trees over our heads, while the solid shot and shell made great gaps in their trunks. Under our feet the turf was being torn up, and around and about us the air was thick with flying missiles. Not a gun was fired on our side. The head of the column soon reached the ravine, when a deafening discharge of musketry greeted us. A sheet of flame shot along the stone wall, followed by an explosion that shook the earth, and the missiles tore through the solid ranks of the command with a fearful certainty. The brigade staggered—halted. With breathless anxiety we anticipated a counter-charge by the rebels; but it came not. Victory to our arms followed that omission on the part of the enemy. The order being given to fire, the column recovered from the confusion into which it had been temporarily thrown. The Seventh now advanced to the eminence beyond the ravine; and, from a partial cover, maintained the unequal contest till the other regiments could form and come to its support. The One Hundred and Tenth Pennsylvania Regiment was thrown into such confusion, that it was of little service during the remainder of the day.

An order was given to the Seventh to prolong its line to the left. An attempt was made to execute the order, when the left wing, passing over a fence into an open field, received such a well-directed fire as to compel it to fall back to its old position.

During this part of the contest, the rebels endeavored to extend their left, so as to flank us on the right. To meet this movement, Tyler ordered the First Virginia to move to the right. Passing into an open field, it was exposed to a cross-fire, which soon drove it back to the timber.

The roar of musketry was now deafening. The dying and the dead were lying thick upon the hillside, but neither army seemed to waver. The confusion attending the getting of troops into action had ceased. The great "dance of death" seemed to be going forward without a motion. The only evidence of life on that gory field, was the vomiting forth of flame and smoke from thousands of well-aimed muskets. From that blue column, which rolled and tumbled in its ascent from the battle-field, the unerring bullet sped on its errand of death. But other regiments are seen coming to the rescue. The right wing of the gallant Eighth Ohio takes position on the left, followed by the no less gallant Thirteenth and Fourteenth Indiana, Fifth and Sixty-seventh Ohio, and Eighty-fourth Pennsylvania. These regiments opened a heavy fire, which was replied to by the enemy in gallant style.

The battle now raged fiercely until near night, when the enemy began to show signs of giving way. At this the Union forces advanced a little, at the same time delivering their fire with accuracy. As the shades of evening deepened into night, the enemy began to fall back. At this crisis, Colonel Kimball ordered a charge along the whole line, when the retreat became a rout. In their flight, the enemy left in front of the Third brigade two pieces of artillery and four caissons.

That night the Seventh bivouacked on the spot now made historic by its gallantry. The wounded were being brought in all night long, while the dead were lying in heaps around us, their increasing distortions and ghastliness adding new horrors to the battle-field.

At early dawn the next day, we were ready to renew the work of blood and carnage; but there was no occasion; the victory of the day before was complete, the rebels had no desire of renewing the contest. They gave the advancing column a few parting salutes from a battery, and then beat a hasty retreat. We followed them that day to Cedar Run, where just at night a slight skirmish occurred, with some loss to the rebels. The following day the Union forces occupied Strasburg, when the pursuit ceased.

CHAPTER XII.
General Shields' anxiety for laurels. — Summing up of the battle. — Losses in the Seventh.

After the battle of Winchester, General Shields showed a disposition to appropriate the laurels won by others to himself. In a letter to a friend at Washington, he claimed that, after the reconnoissance to Strasburg, on the 18th, he fell back hurriedly, for the purpose of deceiving the enemy into the belief that his force was small; and that after arriving at Winchester, he moved his division beyond the town, so as to create the belief in the minds of the citizens that most of his force had been sent away. Now the fact is, this reconnoissance was greatly the result of accident. The original design of it was to capture the enemy's advance; this failing, the force proceeded to Strasburg for the purpose of discovering whether or not the enemy was in force in the vicinity. It was clearly shown by this advance, what was afterwards well known, that nothing but a small cavalry force occupied Strasburg, and that Jackson was some distance up the valley. The hurried march of the division back to Winchester, was also the result of accident. The command marched left in front, which brought a regiment in the advance whose colonel cared little for the comfort of his men; hence the rapid march. Shields reached Winchester in advance of the command, having gone on before. After our return there was no change of position, as our tents had not been disturbed, and we reoccupied them as they were before leaving. If Jackson was deceived, the credit of it is not due to Shields, for he was confident to the very last that there was no other force in his front than Ashby. Even as late as Sunday noon, when in reality the battle had begun, he ridiculed the idea of Colonel Kimball calling for so many troops, remarking, that "Kimball wanted more troops than was necessary for the force in front of him." He also boastfully said, that "Jackson knew him, and was afraid of him."

His friends tried to make it appear that it was by his direction that the troops were manœuvred on the field of battle. Now the fact is, he was four miles away, and in such a condition from a wound that he compelled one of the best surgeons of the division to remain with him till long after the battle, against the request of the medical director, who represented to him, in the most earnest manner, that the wounded were suffering for the want of medical attention. In thus retaining a surgeon for his own purpose, while the wounded were suffering for medical aid, he was criminal in the extreme. He committed an offence which ought to have deprived him of his commission.

Colonel Kimball was mainly instrumental in achieving the victory, assisted, of course, by those under his command. The skilful manner, however, in which the troops were managed was entirely due to him; and the authorities regarded it in that light, for he was immediately made a brigadier-general, as were both Tyler and Sullivan.

The number of rebel forces engaged in the battle of Winchester has been variously estimated. They probably numbered sixteen regiments of infantry, four full batteries of artillery, together with one of four guns; in the aggregate, twenty-eight pieces and three battalions of cavalry, under Ashby and Stewart;—in all, eleven thousand men. The Union forces consisted of thirteen regiments of infantry, four full batteries of artillery and a section; in the aggregate, twenty-six pieces, and a battalion of cavalry;—in all, nine thousand men.

The rebel army was the attacking force, yet the engagement between the infantry was on ground of their own choosing, by reason of the Third brigade charging one of their batteries. It was in the vicinity of this battery, which was at least a mile in advance of our selected line of battle, that the fighting occurred which turned the tide of battle. At this point the enemy had every advantage of position. He was securely posted behind a stone wall, and in a belt of timber extending along a ridge; while our forces were compelled to advance across a plain exposed to a galling fire from infantry and artillery; and it was not until they arrived within eighty yards of his line that any thing like a fair ground could be obtained. Jackson, the famous commander of the no-less famous "stone-wall brigade," a sobriquet it had obtained at Bull Run, was fairly beaten; and that, too, by a force without a general, and of inferior numbers. The victory was so complete, that the enemy left two hundred and twenty-five dead on the field. Their killed and wounded amounted to nearly nine hundred, while their loss in prisoners was upwards of two hundred and fifty: adding stragglers and deserters to these figures, and it will swell the number to about two thousand. The Fifth Virginia rebel regiment was nearly annihilated: there was hardly sufficient of it left to preserve its organization.

The loss to the Seventh was fourteen killed and fifty-one wounded: but few were taken prisoners, and those by accident. The following is the list:

Killed.—Orderly-Sergeant A. C. Danforth; Corporal A. C. Griswold; privates, Charles Stern, James Carroll, James Creiglow, Allen C. Lamb, Stephen W. Rice, E. G. Sackett, Reuben Burnham, Louis Carven, Elias Hall, John Fram, Fred. Groth, James Bish.

Wounded.—Captain J. F. Asper; Lieutenant Samuel McClelland; Sergeant-Major J. P. Webb, and Sergeant A. J. Kelly, mortally; sergeants, A. H. Fitch, E. M. Lazonny; corporals, Ed. Kelley, William Saddler, Geo. Blandin, William E. Smith, Benjamin Gridley; privates, Fred. Hoffman, Daniel Clancey, Leander Campbell, Joseph Miller, Hampton Gardner, Arthur Lappin, Thomas Fresher, Duncan Reid, Joseph Smith, Albert E. Withers, Charles Fagan, O. H. Worcester, W. Coleman, Stephen Kellogg, John Gardner, F. M. Palmer, F. A. Warner, Daniel Kingsbury, Richard Winsor, John Milliman, John Atwater, Geo. Anness, Fred. Bethel, Charles W. Minnick, Moses Owens, Arba Pritchell, Edward Thompson, Edward E. Tracy, A. A. Cavanaha, S. Bishop, Owen Gregory, James Hunt, W. McClurg, H. M. McQuiston, D. O'Conner, P. Tenny, Richard Phillips, T. B. Danon, Wm. Birch, Henry Clemens.

CHAPTER XIII.
Pursuit of Jackson up the Valley. — March to Fredericksburg, and return to Front Royal.

About the 1st of April the command left Strasburg, under command of General Banks, driving the rear-guard of the enemy through the little village of Woodstock, and taking a position on the banks of Stoney Creek, four miles beyond the latter place. It remained here until the 17th, during which time the enemy kept up an artillery fire across the creek, which resulted in the killing of several men in the division of General Williams.

On the morning of the 17th the command crossed the creek, and stormed the enemy's battery on the opposite shore. The early dawn was brightening up the eastern horizon with tints of red; and, as the command emerged from the bridge, and ascended the steep hill beyond, their bayonets glistened and sparkled. After firing one volley, the rebels fled in haste, leaving the Federal forces to advance without opposition. After falling back beyond the north branch of the Shenandoah River, they made a stand, and endeavored to burn the bridge, but were prevented by the Union cavalry. A flank movement being ordered, and partly executed, the rebels again abandoned their position. The Federals now pressed on to within a short distance of New Market, where they encamped.

Here the command remained ten days, when it moved two miles south of the town, and on the 3d of May advanced to within a few miles of Harrisonburg, but on the following day fell back about five miles to a good defensive position.

The tents were now ordered to be turned over to the quartermaster; and on the following Monday we wound our way through Brook's Gap, in the Massanutten Mountains, towards the smoky tops of the Blue Ridge, and thus leaving forever the beautiful valley of the north branch of the Shenandoah. Towards evening we crossed the south branch of the same river at Columbia Bridge, and moved on in the direction of Luray, encamping near that place. The next morning the command moved on down the river until night, when it encamped. In the evening a hard rain storm came up, which continued for several days. In early evening of the following day the command reached Front Royal, a small village situated at the base of the Blue Ridge, near the junction of the two branches of the Shenandoah River. The following morning we crossed the Blue Ridge, and immediately encountered the enemy's cavalry, which annoyed us for several days. On the 17th we arrived at Warrenton, a delightful village in Fauquier County. We remained in this camp until Monday morning, when we again took the line of march for Fredericksburg. We reached Falmouth, on the north bank of the Rappahannock River, on the 23d of May. The corps of McDowell was in the immediate vicinity, numbering thirty thousand men, and one hundred pieces of artillery.

When we arrived on the Rappahannock, we learned that this force of McDowell's, now numbering forty-one thousand men, was ordered down to Richmond, to form a junction with the right wing of the grand army under McClellan. There were then only about twelve thousand of the enemy in front of Fredericksburg. It was about fifty miles to the extreme right of the army in front of Richmond.

On Saturday the President and secretary of war came down for the purpose of arranging the details. Shields' division was greatly in need of shoes and clothing, while the ammunition for the artillery had been condemned, and another supply, which had been ordered, had been very much delayed. It was therefore arranged that the force should start early on Monday morning, both the President and McDowell being averse to starting on Sunday.

That evening the President and secretary of war left for Washington. Very soon after, General McDowell received a telegram, to the effect that Jackson was making a raid down the Shenandoah Valley, with a prospect of crushing the forces under General Banks. Soon after this dispatch, another arrived from the secretary of war, by order of the President, containing instructions to send a division after Jackson. Here was the fatal blow to the campaign against Richmond. McDowell promptly ordered General Shields' division to move, and at the same time telegraphed the President that it was a fatal blow to them all.

Little things control momentous events. Jackson's army of twenty thousand veterans checkmated an army of one hundred and fifty thousand men. In defending Washington, we lost Richmond; but Jackson risked his own communication to break ours. Results more than realized his expectations. Without risk there is little gain. Jackson adopted this adage into his tactics, and endangered his army to save it. Events proved his sagacity.

In time of war the capital of a country, unless far removed from the seat of war, is in the way. The City of Washington was a fatality. It stood between the army and victory. Jackson knew this, and profited by it. When this general menaced Washington, our army let go its hold on the Confederacy, to make it doubly safe. The campaign against Richmond was abandoned, but Washington was endangered still. The valleys and swamps of the Chickahominy were paved with the bodies of heroes—the little rivulets were swollen with the best blood of the land—an army of cripples were given to charity;—and for what? That the City of Washington might be safe. We have since then fought the ground over again from Washington to Richmond; another graveyard has been planted; and this time for a purpose. Washington has been set aside by the new commander, and Richmond made the objective point.

CHAPTER XIV.
The march on Waynesboro'. — Two brigades encounter Jackson at Port Republic, and after five hours' fighting are compelled to fall back.

Nearly the entire corps of General McDowell followed the division of General Shields. The latter took the direction of Manassas Junction, and from there passed down the railroad, through Manassas Gap, arriving at Front Royal on Friday noon, after a sharp engagement with a small force of rebels.

Soon after, Shields stationed one brigade on the Luray road, another to watch the fords of the Shenandoah, another was sent out on the Strasburg road, while the remaining one occupied the town. On McDowell's arrival, Shields, with his entire division, was ordered out on the road to Strasburg, for the purpose of intercepting the retreat of the enemy. But, instead of taking the road which he was ordered to take, he crossed over the north branch of the Shenandoah River on the road to Winchester. It then being too late to repair the mischief, and get ahead of Jackson, Shields was permitted to go in the direction of Luray, and follow up Jackson as far as he thought advisable, with the single instruction, that, in no event, should his division be separated; so that each brigade would be in supporting distance of all the others.

On the second day we arrived in the vicinity of Columbia Bridge, and pitched our tents for the purpose, as we supposed, of enjoying a night's rest; but towards evening an order was received to fall back six miles. Arriving at this new camp, we again pitched our tents; but just at dark we received an order to move forward to the camp we had but just left. We arrived about midnight, and slept on the ground; thus wasting the strength of the command in a needless march of twelve miles.

On the following morning, June 7th, the Third brigade, by an order to move on Waynesboro', took up the line of march, arriving in early evening on the banks of Naked Creek, where it went into camp. Colonel Carroll's Second brigade had passed over the road some time before.

The command had nothing but flour and beef for supper, and nothing for breakfast on the following morning; but being assured that some hard bread was in waiting, some six miles ahead, it cheerfully pressed forward at four o'clock A.M., and at about two o'clock the same day, reached the vicinity of Port Republic, where Colonel Carroll's brigade had met with a repulse the day before.

Port Republic is situated at the junction of two forks of the south branch of the Shenandoah River. Jackson's whole army was in the vicinity of the place, the most of it occupying the west bank of the river. In rear of Jackson's position, at Cross Keys, were General Fremont's forces. At the latter place, on the previous day, Fremont had defeated Jackson, with heavy loss to the latter.

Jackson having thus failed to beat back Fremont, was compelled to cross the river at Port Republic, and, defeating Shields' command, pass through a gap in the mountain to Gordonsville.

When General Tyler's command arrived on the field, Lieutenant-Colonel Daum, chief of artillery, advised an immediate attack; but the general wisely concluded to await the order of General Shields. Selecting a good position for defence, the command bivouacked for the night.

Early in the morning of June 9th, the enemy was seen to debouch into the plain in our front, when our artillery, under Captains Clark, Robinson, and Huntington, opened a heavy fire upon him. This force moved into the woods on our left, and passing up a spur of the Blue Ridge, threw themselves rapidly forward, with a view of turning that wing of the army. Two companies of skirmishers and two regiments of infantry were sent into the woods to counteract this movement. The skirmishers having become warmly engaged, two more regiments were sent forward to their support. The enemy now abandoned his intention, and coming out of the woods, swept across the field to our right, uniting with a column which was advancing to the attack.

During this time, the Seventh was supporting a section of Huntington's Battery. This new movement was directed against the position occupied by it. When arriving within range of the guns, the enemy charged. The regiment reserved its fire until the rebel column approached within easy range, when, by order of Colonel Creighton, the regiment, which had hitherto been concealed by the tall spires of wheat, rose to its feet, and delivered its fire. This shower of lead made a fearful gap in the lines of the advancing column. It staggered, and finally halted. The Seventh now plunged into the midst of the foe, when an awful scene of carnage followed. After a short struggle, the enemy was pressed back, followed by the exultant victors. The Fifth and Twenty-ninth Ohio regiments did gallant service in this charge. When the enemy had been pressed back for half a mile, the column halted, reformed, and then fell back to its old position.

The enemy now made a furious attack on the extreme right of the division, to meet which the Seventh changed front on the Fourth company. The enemy was soon driven back in great confusion, and with heavy loss. Immediately recovering from this temporary check, he made an onslaught on the centre, which resulted in his repulse, with greater loss than in any previous attack; the Fifth Ohio alone capturing a piece of artillery and many prisoners.

During these operations, the enemy sent a heavy column against our left; and debouching from the timber, came down with such rapidity as to overwhelm the small force of infantry supporting four guns of Clark's Battery. This force, endeavoring to make a defence, came near being captured. The guns, of course, fell into the hands of the enemy. The Seventh and Fifth Ohio regiments were now directed to regain the position. Moving by the left flank to the rear of the position under a heavy fire, these two regiments dashed up the hill and over the guns, into the midst of the terrified rebels. Five color-bearers had now been shot down, while advancing as many rods. Lieutenant King seized the colors and pressed forward, followed by the regiment, which sent volley after volley after the fugitives, the firing ceasing only when the rebels were covered by a friendly hill. We were soon ordered to drive them from this position, which was done in gallant style, the command charging up the steep sides of the hill, in the face of the foe.

A large column of the enemy was now seen advancing from the bridge to the scene of action. It was therefore thought advisable by General Tyler to withdraw from the field during this check of the enemy, and before these re-enforcements could be brought into the contest.

This movement was executed under the direction of Colonel Carroll; and, with few exceptions, the retreat was as orderly as the advance.

After falling back some miles, we met the balance of the command under General Shields, who assumed the direction of the forces. Eighteen miles from the battle-field, the command halted for the night; and, on the third day, reached the vicinity of Luray, where it went into camp.

The importance of this engagement has been underrated. Great and beneficial results to the Union army would have followed a victory; as it was, a great disaster succeeded. The impetuous Jackson having thus prevented McDowell's forces from uniting with the grand army, dashed down in front of Richmond, and hurling his army against the right wing of McClellan, gave the Federal army its first check, which finally resulted in its overthrow. McClellan expecting McDowell, received Jackson. Had the former formed a junction with him, the grand army would have entered Richmond; but receiving Jackson, it entered Washington. This failure to intercept Jackson was due to General Shields' disobedience of orders. His entire division should have been on the ground on Sunday, or none of it; and on its arrival, he should have burned the bridge: then the capture of Jackson would have been rendered probable, but, as events occurred, it was impossible. A part of the division not being in supporting distance, rendered the burning of the bridge a necessity; but Shields regarded it differently. His order to save the bridge was the extreme of folly. To make himself a name, he came near sacrificing his command. On Sunday, Colonel Carroll's forces were in a position to have burned the bridge. Soon after, the enemy commanded it, with eighteen pieces of cannon. Early in the day it was safe to approach it—afterwards, madness.

This bridge in his possession, gave the enemy an opportunity to debouch on to the open plain. When there, the advance of Shields' division was liable to be crushed. The preservation of the bridge rendered it certain that he would be there, because this plain lay between him and safety. To avoid entering it, was to surrender. The shrewd Jackson chose to enter it. When there, he turned upon Tyler, and overwhelmed him; then moved off at his leisure. The defeat of Tyler was certain; his escape, marvellous. Jackson anticipated an easy victory, but met with a stubborn resistance. This mistake of Jackson saved Tyler.

When McDowell saw that the pursuit of Jackson was a failure, he endeavored to collect his forces at Fredericksburg, for the purpose of carrying out his original intention of joining McClellan; but Jackson was there before him, and the grand army had been beaten back.

Had the forces of Generals Banks and Fremont been left to take care of Jackson, and thus left McDowell with his 41,000 men free to go down to Richmond, the labor of historians would have been lessened.

Soon after the battle of Port Republic, General Shields was relieved of his command. This order received the approbation of both officers and men.

The following is a list of killed and wounded:

Killed.—Sergeant William Voges; corporals, Geo. R. Magary, Julius Ruoff, L. R. Gates, John H. Woodward; privates, Adolf Snyder, Romaine J. Kingsbury, John Mulligan, John Reber.

Wounded.—Captain Geo. L. Wood; First-lieutenant A. H. Day; sergeants, Virgil E. Smalley, Samuel Whaler, James R. Loucks (mortally), Chas. L. King, Wm. Lanterwasser (mortally); corporals, Townley Gillett (mortally), Holland B. Fry, Mark V. Burt, A. C. Lovett, Cyrus H. DeLong, A. C. Trimmer, Charles Knox; privates, J. H. Burton, S. E. Buchanan, Isaac Maxfield, Charles Keller, F. Keller, Edwin B. Atwater, M. N. Hamilton (mortally), Daniel S. Judson (mortally), Wm. H. Pelton, Benjamin F. Hawkins, Lawson Hibbard, James L. Vancise, John Atwater, Jay Haskins, Leroy Chapman, Sylvester B. Matthews, Alfred W. Morley, Lawrence Remmel, George K. Carl, Franklin Eldridge, George Geyelin, John T. Geary, Ira Herrick, Marion Hoover, W. W. Rogers (mortally), Edwin Woods, Morris Osborn, G. W. Parker, M. Eckenrode, D. L. Hunt, William Frasher, Anthony Williams, John Smith, James Decker, Michael Campbell, Philip Anthony, John Colburn, John Hummel, John Luetke, John Schoembs, Conrad Sommer, John Voelker, Herman Fetzer.

CHAPTER XV.
Battle of Cedar Mountain. — Gallantry of the regiment, and terrible loss.

After a few days' rest at Luray, the regiment marched to Front Royal, and soon after left for Alexandria, where it arrived on the 27th of June. It went into camp on a beautiful hill, just outside the fortifications.

Remaining in this camp for a month, the regiment was ordered to join the forces under McDowell, at Warrenton. It arrived there on the morning of June 26th, and soon after reported to General Banks, at Little Washington.

General Tyler had now been relieved from duty with the Third brigade, and General Geary placed in command.

As early as the 16th of July, the advance of Jackson's forces was at Gordonsville; and by the 1st of August reached the vicinity of the Rapidan River. To meet this movement, General Pope, commanding the Army of Virginia, ordered forward the corps of General Banks; and on the 8th of August ordered General Sigel's corps to Culpepper to co-operate with Banks' forces; but Sigel, instead of moving promptly forward, sent a courier to know what road he should take, when in fact there was but one. This delayed the movement of his corps for several hours, so that it was impossible to get it in position in time to render any assistance to the forces under Banks.

On the 7th day of August, Crawford's brigade, of Banks' corps, had been pushed forward in the direction of Slaughter Mountain, to support General Bayard, whose brigade of cavalry was being driven back in that direction by the enemy; and on the 9th, to support this movement of Crawford, Banks was directed to take up a strong position a short distance in his rear. Rickett's division, of McDowell's corps, was posted three miles in rear of Banks' position, and within easy supporting distance.

Desultory artillery firing was kept up all day on the 9th; yet General Banks, apparently, did not think the enemy were in force, for, during the afternoon, he left the strong position which he had taken, by order of General Pope, and advanced to assault the enemy, believing that he could crush his advance before the main body came up.

The enemy was strongly posted, and sheltered by woods and ridges; while Banks had to pass over an open field, which was swept by the fire of the enemy thus concealed.

The intention of Jackson, in this advance, was to crush a detachment of Pope's army before the balance could come to its support. Banks, in thus advancing to the assault, aided him in his design, which otherwise would have been an entire failure.

Cedar Mountain, the position occupied by Jackson, is thus described: "The mountain is one of remarkable beauty. At a distance of four or five miles from its base it seems to rise like a perfect cone from the plain below, and from its base to its summit scarcely a deflection is to be observed in its outline form—a perfectly straight line, as if nature had formed it in the same manner that school-boys form sand-hills. The sides of the mountain are covered with a heavy growth of timber: its summit is reached by a poor road. The height of the summit is, perhaps, eight hundred feet above Cedar Creek."

Early in the day of the 9th, General Geary's brigade was sent to hold Telegraph Hill, from which our signal-officers had been driven. To approach this hill was sure slaughter; but the veteran brigade moved on, through a storm of shot and shell, and occupied the position.

Thirty pieces of cannon on our side, and as many on the side of the enemy, were belching forth their fire. There was no part of the Federal lines but that was swept by this fire.

A little after three o'clock the Seventh Regiment was ordered over the crest of the hill, into a cornfield beyond. While advancing to this position, a most terrific cannonade was directed against it. It seemed as if every cannon was being directed against this band of heroes; but it never faltered in this march of death, moving coolly on, regardless of the missiles that were tearing through its bleeding ranks. Comrades were falling, and brothers dying; the mangled, bleeding victims of the fury and violence of war were left thick, making the ground sacred on which they fell; but the line wavered not. Reaching a low place, the regiment halted, and the boys threw themselves upon the ground; and thus for a long hour they lay, in an open field, exposed to a hot sun, with a hail-storm of grape, canister, and shell falling thick and fast around them. Men gave up their lives so gently, that it was almost impossible to tell the living from the dead. The fatal missile struck its victim, leaving the lifeless clay in the same attitude which the living body but just before occupied. During that fatal period death assumed a real character, while life seemed but a dream.

The engagement had now become general. The brigade of General Prince had advanced on the left of Geary, occupying the prolongation of the line. Artillery replied to artillery, musketry to musketry, bayonet to bayonet, in this deadly strife. Daring warmed into rashness, and bravery into recklessness.

About four o'clock the regiment was ordered into a meadow, which position it promptly occupied, although the fire had not slackened, and carnage marked its advance. After dressing the lines, the regiment opened fire; and there it stood without a support, facing, in a death-struggle, three times its number. The fiery Creighton received a wound which compelled him to leave the field. The noble Crane was disabled; and the brave Molyneaux, for the moment, took command. Seeing the regiment nearly surrounded, and exposed to an enfilading fire, which was fast thinning the ranks, he ordered it to retreat; but heroic young Clarkey, mistaking it for an order to charge, dashed gallantly forward, at the head of his command. After understanding the order, he had barely time to fall back before the wings of the rebel host closed in.

Slowly and sadly the remaining few of the regiment fell back, keeping their faces to the foe. Only one hundred and sixteen, out of three hundred and seven, returned to the rear unhurt; and many of these were disabled from service by severe exposure to the intense heat of the sun, and lack of water. The regiment retired to a hill, and was not again brought into action during the afternoon. At night, however, it was ordered out on picket. After advancing to Cedar Creek it was challenged, and no one answering, it received a terrible volley from the front and both flanks. It fell back to the cover of a piece of woods, and finally to the rear, about a mile, where it bivouacked.

As night settled upon this field of carnage, Banks' entire corps withdrew to the position it occupied early in the day; but the artillery kept up an intermittent fire until near midnight. General Jackson, from his mountain-top, could see every movement of troops, and was enabled to calculate just how long it would take to re-enforce General Banks. Had he not been so imprudent as to come down from his mountain fastness, and attack the Federal forces after night, his loss would have been comparatively little. But as Banks retired, he moved twelve thousand men on to the battle-field, and kept them there during the night; at the same time advancing one battery through the woods into the open field beyond the battle-ground. From this position it opened on the division of Union troops occupying the advance. As soon as the first flash of his guns was seen, Major Davis, chief of artillery in McDowell's corps, ordered two batteries into position, and opened on the enemy. These batteries, being very close, and getting good range, did fearful havoc among the rebels. It is said that General Hartsuff sighted one of the guns that did the most execution. After the battery had retired, Major Davis' guns shelled the battle-field. The enemy being massed in small space, this fire told fearfully on their ranks. After firing about one hundred shells, and the enemy not responding, Major Davis ordered his guns silenced, little dreaming that he had left more dead rebels on the field than all the random artillery firing of the afternoon.

Many deeds of daring were performed at this battle. Captain Ash, of General Pope's staff, riding up to a battery with an order from the general to stop firing, saw that it was a rebel battery; he, however, had sufficient presence of mind to give the order, and ride off. It was obeyed; the battery ceased to fire, and soon after moved off. Captain Ball, of McDowell's staff, did the same thing, and with a like result.

The following incident is from the pen of a correspondent of an Eastern paper:

"Just after the firing of musketry became interesting, I noticed a private soldier coming off the field, and thinking perhaps he was running away to avoid danger, I rode up to him, when I found he had two fingers of his left hand shot away, and a third dreadfully lacerated. I saw at once that he had at least a hand in the fight. I assisted him to dress his wound as well as my limited knowledge of surgery would permit, he, in the mean time, propping up my pluck by his quaint remarks. Said he: 'I don't care a darn for that third finger, for it warn't of no account, no how; but the 'pinter,' and t'other one, were right good 'uns, and I hate to lose 'em. I shouldn't have come to the rear, if I had been able to load my gun; but I wasn't.' After I had dressed his hand, he looked over in the direction of the firing, and stood a moment. Turning to me, he said: 'Stranger, I wish you would just load up my shooting-iron for me; I want to have a little satisfaction out of them cusses for spilling my fore paw.' I loaded his gun for him, and he started back for the top of the hill at a double-quick, in quest of satisfaction. His name is Lapham, of the Ohio Seventh."

During the action, General Banks was leaning against a tree, when a cannon-ball struck it about eighteen inches above his head, passing entirely through. It has been his singular fortune to meet with many narrow escapes. While riding through Winchester, on his retreat before Jackson, a rebel, from a window above, took deliberate aim at him, but was shot by a private of a Massachusetts regiment before he could fire.

The loss to the regiment in this engagement was very heavy, and shows with what determination it maintained the contest. It went into the engagement with three hundred and seven, rank and file, and came out with a loss in killed and wounded of one hundred and ninety-one,—a loss of more than sixty-two per cent.

The following is the list:

Killed.—Lieutenants, James P. Brisbine, Joseph Ross, Frank Johnson; sergeants, C. P. Bowler, Moses Martin; corporals, J. J. Evans, D. W. Wright; privates, Joseph T. Blackwell, William Adams, Edward Burnet, E. S. Shepherd, Charles G. Hettinger, Charles Masters, Benjamin F. Gill, H. F. Dinger, H. Hight, John J. Hensher, Henry C. Case, M. Eckenroad, N. H. McClurg, C. C. Miller, G. B. Swisher, E. Fox, James Stephenson, Alvin H. Benton, John Manning, Michael Waldof, James Ray, Frank Miller, John Weeland.

Wounded.—Colonel William R. Creighton, Lieut.-Colonel O. J. Crane, Adjutant J. B. Molyneaux, Captain William R. Sterling; lieutenants, Henry B. Eaton, W. D. Braden, S. S. Reed, Marcus Hopkins; sergeants, Z. P. Davie, J. S. Cooper, J. C. Jones, A. S. Allen, Arvin Billings, George W. Barnette, E. M. Lazarus, James R. Carter, E. G. Taylor, G. W. Moore, Charles A. Brooks; corporals, M. D. Holmes, Henry J. Brown, L. Wilson, Joseph Trotier, William E. Smith, Thomas C. Brown, Frank J. Ware, Clark Wilson, C. H. Buxton, Norman L. Norris, F. A. Davis, Albert A. Smith, James Alexander, Benjamin Gridley, W. T. Callors, Robert M. Brisk, A. C. Trimmer, Christopher Nesper, James Grobe; privates, A. M. Clinton, Thomas Sherwood, Edward St. Lawrence, Arthur Laffin, Leonard Walker, Jacob C. Gaycly, F. N. Brund, Abraham Ginter, John G. Parsons, Henry Hatfield, Andrew J. Crippin, Charles E. Preble, John H. Galvin, F. Creque, Philip Kelley, T. Hammond, E. Lown, William Cammel, John Boyle, James Dixon, Samuel E. Garden, Jacob E. Hine, Benjamin Hasfield, Frank Henrickle, P. E. Hill, William L. Latch, Jacob Marks, Thomas C. Riddle, John Stone, Ernest Zincker, Franklin Gaskill, N. Badger, George Carrathurs, T. P. Dixon, Henry Fairchild, J. M. Rofflige, M. Richmond, Theodore Wilder, Oliver Wise, A. Colwell, William Gardner, John Frank, S. E. Hendrickson, N. R. Holcomb, E. Hobday, W. Lapham, F. Manley, John McAdams, H. H. Rhodes, J. Harnner, Joseph L. Clark, James Kelley, William W. Mecker, Charles Himpson, John Wickham, J. Roberts, J. R. Green, Edward E. Day, Lewis Owens, S. A. Fuller, D. G. Burthroff, J. M. Holcomb, Frank Strong, E. G. Meekins, H. Wallace, M. S. Gibbons, J. Donthit, S. Reed, Arthur Adams, Ezra Brown, Ira M. Barlow, George M. Caldwell, George W. Carter, John Downer, Thomas Ely, Sherman Collinger, Stephen H. Hopkins, Daniel Jones, Perrin D. Loomis, David C. Nunemaker, J. L. Oviatt, G. Russell, N. Twitchell, Ralph Winzenried, John C. Fox, A. Inskeep, James Kincaid, John Lentz, R. D. Murray, John Pollock, E. S. Mathews, A. Shaffer, C. Glendenning, Alfred Jackson, Hiram Deeds, Ira S. Ray, Richard Freeman, Samuel Knap, John Fishcun, James A. Tell, William Kelley, T. D. Williams, Charles Smith, George A. Earl, Maskell Bispham, Frederick Michael, Henry Schmid, John Hammond, William Pfahl, John Pike, George Sahl, George Zipp; George Rogers, musician.