The War of the Union - Document Overview
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RebellionCivil WarWar between the StatesWar of Northern Aggression: the words referred to the same event, but as seen from different perspectives. These titles at first simply gave a name to the climax of the nation's crisis, but later they came to define and be defined by the terrible toll of four years of bloody conflict. Although often talked about as a war between North and South and a war between brothers, this cataclysm engulfed all of America's regions and peoples as it devastated farms and families, strained resources, killed millions, and even scorched the nation's connections with other countries.
The war began with declarations and proclamations as adversaries justified their stands and toed lines in the sand. Then they called in their friends to stand with them as they dared their opponents to step over those lines. The southern states challenged the federal government with their declarations of secession and by arming and drilling their swelling militias. The new president of the United States, Abraham Lincoln, first responded with requests for dialogue and calm deliberation, but when South Carolina, taking the initiative again, fired on Fort Sumter in Charleston harbor on 12 April 1861, Lincoln fired back. On the 15th he issued a call for military volunteers from the loyal states, and then on the 19th, "with a view . . . to the protection of the public peace, and the lives and property of quiet and orderly citizens pursuing their lawful occupations," he proclaimed a blockade against the southern ports. Lincoln hoped that the use of such a naval blanket would suffocate the flames of rebellion; instead, it fanned them.
More southern states seceded and joined the compact that had been formalized between their sister states in March. The government of the Confederate States of America raised armies for defense and appointed ministers to pursue its interests abroad. The Confederacy wanted foreign powers to recognize its independence, for that acknowledgment would undermine the Union's contention that the war was an internal insurrectiona civil warnot a war between states or nations. Recognition was also a prerequisite to indispensable trade connections and perhaps military alliances. The United States government, by employing the diplomatic connections it had established over the years, wielding its economic might, and threatening war against those who intervened, countered the Confederacy abroad by warning other nations away from recognition and intervention. Foreign nations deliberated upon the enticements of the South and demands of the North, and then made their decisions based on their own best interests, not America's. The fact that some nations, especially Britain, contemplated recognition instead of dismissing the southern suit, was another powerful lesson on vulnerability for the United States.
While United States and Confederate ministers skirmished abroad, their governments and citizens focused on the vital, vicious battles being waged on American soil. Initially, many men (and a few women in disguise) flocked to enlist in their state regiments. They were eager to fight in what they were sure would be a short but glorious war. As the war lengthened and its tollhuman casualties, property destruction, social disruptionmounted, however, Americans everywhere began to question the causes and costs. The war, a time of extermination, began a period of self-examination.
Southerners said that they fought so that they, using the words of 1776, would not be slaves. They, even less so than the founders, failed to see the irony in that. Charles T. O'Ferrall, a cavalry officer in the Army of Northern Virginia who later became a congressman for and then governor of the state of Virginia, reflected back on southerners' justifications when he published his memoirs in 1904. O'Ferrall wrote, "in spite of charters, compacts, and constitutions, a people who conscientiously believe they have been oppressed and wronged and can secure no redress have the inborn right to throw off the yoke that galls and strike for their liberties." While he declared, years after the war, that there was "no longer a spirit of revolt or rebellion" in his "bosom," he also said that he was proud to have been a rebel who stood "upon the eternal principles of the Declaration of Independence." If George Washington and his compatriots gloried in the term rebel, then O'Ferrall thought, so should the followers of Davis and Lee.
Northerners also declared that they fought for the ideas and fruits of the Revolution. As Lincoln intoned on 19 November 1863 at Gettysburg:
Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.
Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. . . .
. . . It is for us the living, . . . to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. . . . that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedomand that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.
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Major General George Meade's Account of the Battle of Gettysburg, October 1, 1863
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Headquarters, Army of the Potomac
October 1, 1863
GENERAL: I have the honor to submit herewith a report of the operations of this army during the month of July last, including the details of the battle of Gettysburg, delayed by the failure to receive until now the reports of several corps and division commanders. Who were severely wounded in battle.
On June 28, I received the orders of the President of the United States placing me in command of the Army of the Potomac. The situation of affairs at that time was briefly as follows:
The Confederate army, commanded by General R.E. Lee, estimated at over 100,000 strong, of all arms, had crossed the Potomac River and advanced up the Cumberland Valley, Reliable intelligence, placed his advance (Ewell's corps) on the Susquehanna, at Harrisburg and Columbia . . . my own army, of which the most recent return showed an aggregate of a little over 100,000 was situated in and around Frederick, Md., extending from Harpers's Ferry to the mouth of the Monocacy, and from Middletown to Frederick.
June 28 was spent in ascertaining the position and strength of the different corps of the army, but principally in bringing up the cavalry, which had been covering the rear of the army in its passage over the Potomac. . . .
On the 30th . . . General Buford having reported from Gettysburg the appearance of the enemy on the Cashtown road in some force, General Reynolds was directed to occupy Gettysburg.
On reaching that place on July 1, General Reynolds found Buford's cavalry warmly engaged with the enemy . . . Major-General Reynolds immediately moved around the town of Gettysburg, and advanced upon the Cashtown road, and without a moment's hesitation deployed his advanced division and attacked his enemy. . . .
Up to this time the battle had been with the forces of the enemy debouching from the mountains on the Cashtown road, known the be Hill's corps. In the early part of the action, success was on our side . Wadsworth's division, of the First Corps, having driven the enemy back some distance, capturing numerous prisoners, among them General Archer, of the Confederate army. The arrival of re-enforcements for the enemy on the Cashtown road, and the junction of Ewell's corps, coming on the York and Harrisburg roads, which occurred between 1 and 2 P.M., enabled the enemy to bring vastly superior forces against both the First and Eleventh Corps, outflanking our line of battle, and pressing it so severely that about 4 p.m. Major-General Howard deemed it prudent to withdraw these two corps to the Cemetery Ridge, on the south side of the town, which operation was successfully accomplished; not, however, without considerable loss in prisoners, arising from the confusion incident to portions of both corps passing through the town, and the men getting confused in the streets.
About the time of this withdrawal, Major-General Hancock arrived, whom I had dispatched to represent me on the field, on hearing of the death of General Reynolds. In conjunction with Major-General Howard, General Hancock proceeded to post the troops on Cemetery Ridge, and to repel an attack that the enemy made on our right flank. This attack was not, however, very vigorous, and the enemy, seeing the strength of the position occupied, seemed to be satisfied with the success he had accomplished, desisting from any further attack this day.
About 7 P.M . . . [b]eing satisfied from the reports received from the field that it was the intention of the enemy to support with his whole army the attack already made, and the reports from Major Generals Hancock and Howard on the character of the position being favorable, I determined to give battle at this point; and, early in the evening of the 1st, issued orders to all the corps to concentrate at Gettysburg, directing all trains to be sent to the rear, at Westminster.
At 10 P.M. of the 1st, I broke up my headquarters, which until then had been at Taneytown, and proceeded to the field, arriving there at 1 A.M. of the 2d. So soon as it was light, I proceeded to inspect the position occupied, and to make arrangements for posting the several corps as they should reach the ground.
By 7 A.M. the Second and Fifth Corps, with the rest of the Third, had reached the ground, and were posted as follows: The Eleventh Corps retained its position on the Cemetery Ridge, just opposite the town; the First Corps was posted on the right of the Eleventh, on an elevated knoll connecting with a ridge extending to the south and east, on which the Twelfth Corps was placed, the right of the Twelfth Corps resting on a small stream at a point where it crossed the Baltimore pike, and which formed, on the right flank of the Twelfth, something of an obstacle. The Cemetery Ridge extended in a westerly and southerly direction, gradually diminishing in elevation until it came to a very prominent ridge called Round Top, running east and west. The Second and Third Corps were directed to occupy the continuation of the Cemetery Ridge on the left of the Eleventh Corps. The Fifth Corps, pending the arrival of the Sixth, was held in reserve.
While these dispositions were being made, the enemy was massing his troops on an exterior ridge, distant from the line occupied by us from 1 mile to 1 1/2 miles.
During the heavy assault upon our extreme left, portions of the Twelfth Corps were sent as re-enforcements. During their absence, the line on the extreme right was held by a very much reduced force. This was taken advantage of by the enemy, who, during the absence of Geary's division of the Twelfth Corps, advanced and occupied a part of his line.
With this exception, the quiet of the lines remained undisturbed till 1 P.M. on the 3d, when the enemy opened from over one hundred and twenty-five guns, playing upon our center and left. This cannonade continued for over two hours, when our guns, in obedience to my orders, failing to make any reply, the enemy ceased firing, and soon his masses of infantry became visible, forming for an assault on our left and left center. He assault was made with great firmness, directed principally against the point occupied by the Second Corps, and was repelled with equal firmness by the troops of that corps. . . . This terminated the battle, the enemy retiring to his lines, leaving the field strewn with his dead and wounded, and numerous prisoners in our hands.
On the morning of the 4th, reconnaissances developed that the enemy had drawn back his left flank, but maintained his position in front of our left, apparently assuming a new line parallel to the mountains.
On the morning of the 5th, it was ascertained the enemy was in full retreat by the Fairfield and Cashtown roads. . . .
July 5 and 6 were employed in succoring the wounded and burying the dead. . . . I determined to follow the enemy a flank movement, and, accordingly, leaving McIntosh's brigade of cavalry and Neill's brigade of infantry to continue harassing the enemy, put the army in motion for Middletown, Md.
The result of the campaign may be briefly stated in the defeat of the enemy at Gettysburg, his compulsory evacuation of Pennsylvania and Maryland, and withdrawal from the upper valley of the Shenandoah, and in the capture of 3 guns, 41 standards, and 13,621 prisoners; 24,978 small-arms were collected on the battle-field.
Our own losses were very sever, amounting, as will be seen by the accompanying return, to 2,834 killed, 13,709 . . . wounded, and 6,643 missing; in all, 23,286. . . .
It is impossible in a report of this nature to enumerate all the instances of gallantry and good conduct which distinguished such a hard-fought field as Gettysburg. . . . I will only add my tribute to the heroic bravery of the whole army, officers and men, which under the blessing of Divine Providence, enabled a crowning victory to be obtained, which I feel confident the country will never cease to bear in grateful remembrance.
Very respectfully, your obedient servant,
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Gen. G. Meade, |
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Major-General, Commanding |
Brig. Gen. Lorenzo Thomas, |
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Adjutant-General, U.S. Army, Washington D.C. |
[From
The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Series I, vol. 1, part I (Washington D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1889), pp. 305, 3079, 32425.]
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Robert E. Lee's Account of the Battle of Gettysburg, July 31, 1863
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HEADQUARTERS, ARMY OF NORTHERN VIRGINIA
July 31, 1863
GENERAL: I have the honor to submit the following outline of the recent
operations of this army, for the information of the Department:
The position occupied by the enemy opposite Fredericksburg being one
in which he could not be attacked to advantage, it was determined to draw
him from it. The execution of this purpose embraced the relief of the Shenandoah
Valley from the troops that had occupied the lower part of it during the
winter and spring, and, if practicable, the transfer of the scene of hostilities
north of the Potomac. It was thought that the corresponding movements on
the part of the enemy to which those contemplated by us would probably
give rise, might offer a fair opportunity to strike a blow at the army
then commanded by General Hooker, and that in any event that army would
be compelled to leave Virginia, and, possibly, to draw to its support troops
designed to operate against other parts of the country. In this way, it
was supposed that the enemy's plan of campaign for the summer would be
broken up, and part of the season of active operations be consumed in the
formation of new combinations, and the preparations that they would require.
. . . Actuated by these and other important considerations that may hereafter
be presented, the movement began on June 3. . . .
Preparations were . . . made to advance upon Harrisburg; but on the
night of the 28th, information was received from a scout that the Federal
Army, having crossed the Potomac, was advancing northward, and that the
head of the column had reached the South Mountain. As our communications
with the Potomac were thus menaced, it was resolved to prevent his farther
progress in that direction by concentrating our army on the east side of
the mountains. Accordingly, Longstreet and Hill were directed to proceed
from Chambersburg to Gettysburg, to which point General Ewell was also
instructed to march from Carlisle.
The leading division of Hill met the enemy in advance of Gettysburg
on the morning of July 1. Driving back these troops to within a short distance
of the town, he there encountered a larger force, with which two of his
divisions became engaged, Ewell, coming up with two of his divisions by
the Heidlersburg road, joined in the engagement. The enemy was driven through
Gettysburg with heavy loss, including about 5,000 prisoners and several
pieces of artillery. He retired to a high range of hills south and east
of the town. The attack was not pressed that afternoon, the enemy's force
being unknown, and it being considered advisable to await the arrival of
the rest of our troops. Orders were sent back to hasten their march, and,
in the meantime, every effort was made to ascertain the numbers and position
of the enemy, and find the most favorable point of attack. It had not been
intended to fight a general battle at such a distance from our base, unless
attacked by the enemy, but, finding ourselves unexpectedly confronted by
the Federal Army, it became a matter of difficulty to withdraw through
the mountains with our large trains. At the same time, the country was
unfavorable for collecting supplies while in the presence of the enemy's
main body, as he was enabled to restrain our foraging parties by occupying
the passes of the mountains with regular and local troops. A battle thus
became in a measure, unavoidable. Encouraged by the successful issue of
the engagement of the first day, and in view of the valuable results that
would ensue from the defeat of the army of General Meade, it was thought
advisable to renew the attack. . . .
The preparations for attack were not completed until the afternoon of
the 2d. The enemy held a high and commanding ridge, along which he had
massed a large amount of artillery. . . In front of General Longstreet
the enemy held a position from which, if he could be driven, it was thought
our artillery could be used to advantage in assailing the more elevated
ground beyond, and thus enable us to reach the crest of the ridge. That
officer was directed to endeavor to carry this position, while General
Ewell attacked directly the high ground on the enemy's right, which had
already been partially fortified. After a severe struggle, Longstreet succeeded
in getting possession of and holding the desired ground. Ewell also carried
some of the strong positions which he assailed and the result was such
as to lead to the belief that he would ultimately be able to dislodge the
enemy. The battle ceased at dark.
These partial successes determined me to continue the assault next day.
Pickett, with three of his brigades, joined Longstreet for the following
morning, and our batteries were moved forward to the positions gained by
him the day before. The general plan of attack was unchanged excepting
that one division and two brigades of Hill's corps were ordered to support
Longstreet.
The enemy, in the meantime, had strengthened his lines with earthworks.
The morning was occupied in necessary preparations and the battle recommenced
in the afternoon of the 3d, and raged with great violence until sunset.
Our troops succeeded in entering the advanced works of the enemy, and getting
possession of some of his batteries, but our artillery having nearly expended
its ammunition, the attacking columns became exposed to the heavy fire
of the numerous batteries near the summit of the ridge, and, after a most
determined and gallant struggle were compelled to relinquish their advantage,
and fall back to their original positions with severe loss.
The conduct of the troops was all that I could desire or expect, and
they deserve success so far as it can be deserved by heroic valor and fortitude.
More may have been required of them than they were able to perform, but
my admiration of their noble qualities and confidence in their ability
to cope successfully with the enemy has suffered no abatement from the
issue of this protracted and sanguinary conflict.
Owing to the strength of the enemy's position, and the reduction of
our ammunition, a renewal of the engagement could not be hazarded, and
the difficulty of procuring supplies rendered it impossible to continue
longer where we were. Such of the wounded as were in condition to be removed,
and part of the arms collected on the field, were ordered to Williamsport.
The army remained in Gettysburg during the 4th, and at night began
to retire by the road to Fairfield, carrying with it about 4,000 prisoners.
Nearly 2,000 had previously been paroled, but the enemy's numerous wounded
that had fallen into our hands after the first and second day's engagements
were left behind.
The highest praise is due to both officers and men for their conduct
during the campaign. The privations and hardships of the march and camp
were cheerfully encountered, and borne with a fortitude unsurpassed by
our ancestors in their struggle for independence, while their courage in
battle entitles them to rank with the soldiers of any army and of any time.
Their forbearance and discipline under strong provocation to retaliate
for the cruelty of the enemy to our own citizens, is not their least claim
to the respect and admiration of their countrymen and of the world.
I forward returns of our loss in killed, wounded, and missing. Many
of the latter were killed or wounded in the several assaults at Gettysburg,
and necessarily left in the hands of the enemy. I cannot speak of these
brave men as their merits and exploits deserve. Some of them are appropriately
mentioned in the accompanying reports, and the memory of all will be gratefully
and affectionately cherished by the people in whose defense they fell.
There were captured at Gettysburg nearly 7,000 prisoners, of whom about
1,500 were paroled, and the remainder brought to Virginia. Seven pieces
of artillery were also secured.
Respectfully submitted.
[From
The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records
of the Union and Confederate Armies, Series I, vol. 27, part I (Washington
D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1889), pp. 11419.]
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Reminiscences of My Life in Camp by Susie King Taylor (1902)
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Susie King Taylor, "born under the slave law in Georgia, in 1848," was brought up by her grandmother in Savannah. Her grandmother, by Taylor's description, appears to have been free, or if a slave, one who was allowed a great deal of freedom. This grandmother saw to it that Taylor learned to read and write at a clandestine school. Taylor's accomplishments served her well when Union troops took possession of the sea islands off of Georgia's coast in the spring of 1862, for upon her fleeing to their lines with her uncle's family, she was put in charge of a school for the children of St. Simon's Island. While there she met her first husband, Edward King. Together with her husband, who was made a sergeant, and some of her relatives, Taylor became part of the First South Carolina Volunteers (later known as the 33d United States Colored Troops or 33d United States Colored Infantry), the first black regiment organized by the Union Army. There was still opposition to the recruitment of black troops in the North, but necessity and some white officers challenged the prejudices and fears behind that opposition as they filled their regiments in the South. Taylor later wrote of her experiences to "show how much service and good we can do to each other, and what sacrifices we can make for our liberty and rights, and that there were 'loyal women,' as well as men, in those days, who did not fear shell or shot, who cared for the sick and dying; women who camped and fared as the boys did, and who are still caring for the comrades in their declining years."
* * *
The latter part of August, 1862, Captain C. T. Trowbridge, with his brother John and Lieutenant Walker, came to St. Simon's Island from Hilton Head, by order of General Hunter, to get all the men possible to finish filling his regiment which he had organized in March, 1862. He had heard of the skirmish on this island, and was very much pleased at the bravery shown by these men. He found me at Gaston Bluff teaching my little school, and was much interested in it. When I knew him better I found him to be a thorough gentleman and a staunch friend to my race.
Captain Trowbridge remained with us until October, when the order was received to evacuate, and so we boarded the Ben-De-Ford, a transport, for Beaufort, S. C. When we arrived in Beaufort, Captain Trowbridge and the men he had enlisted went to camp at Old Fort, which they named "Camp Saxton." I was enrolled as laundress.
* * *
The first colored troops did not receive any pay for eighteen months, and the men had to depend wholly on what they received from the commissary, established by General Saxton. A great many of these men had large families, and as they had no money to give them, their wives were obliged to support themselves and children by washing for the officers of the gunboats and the soldiers, and making cakes and pies which they sold to the boys in camp. Finally, in 1863, the government decided to give them half pay, but the men would not accept this. They wanted "full pay" or nothing. They preferred rather to give their services to the state, which they did until 1864, when the government granted them full pay, with all the back pay due.
I remember hearing Captain Heasley telling his company, one day, "Boys, stand up for your full pay! I am with you, and so are all the officers." This captain was from Pennsylvania, and was a very good man; all the men liked him. . . .
I had a number of relatives in this regiment,several uncles, some cousins, and a husband in Company E, and a number of cousins in other companies. Major Strong, of this regiment, started home on a furlough, but the vessel he was aboard was lost, and he never reached his home. He was one of the best officers we had. After his death, Captain C. T. Trowbridge was promoted major, August, 1863, and filled Major Strong's place until December, 1864, when he was promoted lieutenant-colonel, which he remained until he was mustered out, February 6, 1866.
* * *
March 10, 1863, we were ordered to Jacksonville, Florida. Leaving Camp Saxton between four and five o'clock, we arrived at Jacksonville about eight o'clock next morning, accompanied by three or four gunboats. When the rebels saw these boats, they ran out of the city, leaving the women behind, and we found out afterwards that they thought we had a much larger fleet than we really had. Our regiment was kept out of sight until we made fast at the wharf where it landed, and while the gunboats were shelling up the river and as far inland as possible, the regiment landed and marched up the street, where they spied the rebels who had fled from the city. They were hiding behind a house about a mile or so away, their faces blackened to disguise themselves as negroes, and our boys, as they advanced toward them, halted a second, saying, "They are black men! Let them come to us, or we will make them know who we are." With this, the firing was opened and several of our men were wounded and killed. The rebels had a number wounded and killed. It was through this way the discovery was made that they were white men. Our men drove them some distance in retreat and then threw out their pickets.
While the fighting was on, a friend, Lizzie Lancaster, and I stopped at several of the rebel homes, and after talking with some of the women and children we asked them if they had any food. They claimed to have only some hard-tack, and evidently did not care to give us anything to eat, but this was not surprising. They were bitterly against our people and had no mercy or sympathy for us.
The second day, our boys were reinforced by a regiment of white soldiers, a Maine regiment, and by cavalry, and had quite a fight. On the third day, Edward Herron, who was a fine gunner on the steamer John Adams, came on shore, bringing a small cannon, which the men pulled along for more than five miles. This cannon was the only piece for shelling. On coming upon the enemy, all secured their places, and they had a lively fight, which lasted several hours, and our boys were nearly captured by the Confederates; but the Union boys carried out all their plans that day, and succeeded in driving the enemy back. . . .
* * *
We remained here a few weeks longer, when, about April first, the regiment was ordered back to Camp Saxton, where it stayed a week, when the order came to go to Port Royal Ferry on picket duty. . . . We arrived at Seabrooke at about four o'clock, where our tents were pitched and the men put on duty. We were here a few weeks, when Company E was ordered to Barnwell plantation for picket duty.
Some mornings I would go along the picket line, and I could see the rebels on the opposite side of the river. Sometimes as they were changing pickets they would call over to our men and ask for something to eat, or for tobacco, and our men would tell them to come over. Sometimes one or two would desert to us, saying, they "had no negroes to fight for." Others would shoot across at our picket, but as the river was so wide there was never any damage done, and the Confederates never attempted to shell us while we were there.
I learned to handle a musket very well while in the regiment, and could shoot straight and often hit the target. I assisted in cleaning the guns and used to fire them off, to see if the cartridges were dry, before cleaning and reloading, each day. I thought this great fun. I was also able to take a gun all apart, and put it together again.
* * *
One night, Companies K and E, on their way to Pocotaligo to destroy a battery that was situated down the river, captured several prisoners. The rebels nearly captured Sergeant King, who, as he sprang and caught a "reb," fell over an embankment. In falling he did not release his hold on his prisoner. Although his hip was severely injured, he held fast until some of his comrades came to his aid and pulled them up. These expeditions were very dangerous. Sometimes the men had to go five or ten miles during the night over on the rebel side and capture or destroy whatever they could find.
* * *
. . . We had fresh beef once in a while, and we would have soup, and the vegetables they put in this soup were dried and pressed. They looked like hops. Salt beef was our stand-by. Sometimes the men would have what we called slap-jacks. This was flour, made into bread and spread thin on the bottom of the mess-pan to cook. Each man had one of them, with a pint of tea, for his supper, or a pint of tea and five or six hard-tack. I often got my own meals, and would fix some dishes for the non-commissioned officers also.
Mrs. Chamberlain, our quartermaster's wife, was with us here. She was a beautiful woman; I can see her pleasant face before me now, as she, with Captain Trowbridge, would sit and converse with me in my tent two or three hours at a time. She was also with me on Cole Island, and I think we were the only women with the regiment while there. I remember well how, when she first came into camp, Captain Trowbridge brought her to my tent and introduced her to me. I found her then, as she remained ever after, a lovely person, and I always admired her cordial and friendly ways.
Our boys would say to me sometimes, "Mrs. King, why is it you are so kind to us? you treat us just as you do the boys in your own company." I replied, "Well, you know, all the boys in other companies are the same to me as those in my Company E; you are all doing the same duty, and I will do just the same for you." "Yes," they would say, "we know that, because you were the first woman we saw when we came into camp, and you took an interest in us boys ever since we have been here, and we are very grateful for all you do for us."
When at Camp Shaw, I visited the hospital in Beaufort, where I met Clara Barton. There were a number of sick and wounded soldiers there, and I went often to see the comrades. Miss Barton was always very cordial toward me, and I honored her for her devotion and care of those men.
* * *
On February 28, 1865, the remainder of the regiment were ordered to Charleston, as there were signs of the rebels evacuating that city. Leaving Cole Island, we arrived in Charleston between nine and ten o'clock in the morning, and found the "rebs" had set fire to the city and fled, leaving women and children behind to suffer and perish in the flames. The fire had been burning fiercely for a day and night. When we landed, under a flag of truce, our regiment went to work assisting the citizens in subduing the flames. It was a terrible scene. For three or four days the men fought the fire, saving the property and effects of the people, yet these white men and women could not tolerate our black Union soldiers, for many of them had formerly been their slaves; and although these brave men risked life and limb to assist them in their distress, men and even women would sneer and molest them whenever they met them.
I had quarters assigned me at a residence on South Battery Street, one of the most aristocratic parts of the city, where I assisted in caring for the sick and injured comrades. After getting the fire under control, the regiment marched out to the race track, where they camped until March 12, when we were ordered to Savannah, Ga. We arrived there on the 13th, about eight o'clock in the evening, and marched out to Fairlong, near the A. & G. R. R., where we remained about ten days, when we were ordered to Augusta, Ga., where Captain Alexander Heasley, of Co. E, was shot and killed by a Confederate. After his death Lieutenant Parker was made captain of the company, and was with us until the regiment was mustered out. . . .
The regiment remained in Augusta for thirty days, when it was ordered to Hamburg, S. C., and then on to Charleston. It was while on their march through the country, to the latter city, that they came in contact with the bushwhackers (as the rebels were called), who hid in the bushes and would shoot the Union boys every chance they got. Other times they would conceal themselves in the cars used to transfer our soldiers, and when our boys, worn out and tired, would fall asleep, these men would come out from their hiding places and cut their throats. Several of our men were killed in this way, but it could not be found out who was committing these murders until one night one of the rebels was caught in the act, trying to cut the throat of a sleeping soldier. He was put under guard, court-martialed, and shot at Wall Hollow.
* * *
[From Susie King Taylor,
Reminiscences of My Life in Camp (1902; New York: Arno Press and The New York Times, 1968), pp. 1517, 2227, 2930, 4244, 5051.]
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