Soldiers' record, 1871-02-18

              T
ONE FLAO.ONK I^AND, ON^IS KEARl, ONE HAND, ONE NATION, EVERMORE!
VOL. n r . NO. 32.] HARTEORD, OON]s[., SATURDAY, EEBRIJAKY 18, 1871. [f2. a Year; Single, 5 Ots.
ioiirs at Dome.
T l l i J NIGHTLY EBYH^W.
Al.MON W. NICHOLSON.
Night; at the hour of twolvo, and tlio (Inuniuor
rose from his jfruve,
And th« soiuul of his rolliiif^ dnim i\[i()ii the air
he j^ave.
With liis cold and Hoshliiss a iius, willi ii.>; boat-iiiU's
(ivtT trim,
Loudly rnlls he iti siicci's.sion n^veille and tal too.
.And the drum it ringctli .•-tningo with its loud and
hollow sonnd;
And arise tVom out I heir <;TuveH the doart warriors
to the ground.
And thoy in tho distant north, there frozen in ice
and Huow :
And. they in the land of Celts, where the warmer
bnrozes blow.
And they in the Nile's dark bed, and iu Arabian
sand«;
They rise IVom their silent graves with their
weapons iu their hands.
Night at the hour of twelve, and tho bugler rose
from his grave,
And a blast from his bugle shrill tlie nightly air
he gave.
Then quick from out their sepulchres the slaugh-tered
horsemen ily.
The sanguinary squadron old, with quaint arms
Hashing higli.
Their grinning, bony skulls from out their black-ened
helmets gaze,
Aud iu tlieir long and flcshless hands their
lengthy swords they raise.
iJiglit at the hour of twelve, and the chief he
'rose from his tomb;
Aud slowly forth he rode along with stall' amid
the gloom.
A little cap upon his head, and simple garb he
wore;
His only weapou by his side, a small sword there
he bore.
T^he(Kio(iu with dimmed and fallow light ilhi-
/• mined all the plain ;
tfhe man with simple g^b appeared unto the
• L
The lines their aruis p^-esented, ana snmiuver^u
Then moved the ubsC T..UU TJAUNDING'the
nightly tii;ld upon.
marshals and tho generals all, encircled
'round him stand,
With wi)isi)ert!d word he doth address tho nearest
ol" the baiul.
The word Hies o'er the leaguered lines, and rings
botli far and nigh ;
'TwiiH'France'and 'St. Helena,' watchword and
battle-cry.
In tho fields of Klysium, this was tho grand
round tho dead
iCitsar made when the twelfth hour of night its
darkness spread.
The
Brigade aud Corps Roiiitions. Nor ilio
splendid times that the Grand Army
have. In fact there is only one thing
they can enjoy, and thnt is to bo tho wile
of a soldier. But I hope the time will
the battle on tho ri}^ht, which had by this
timcaHsumed a fearful magnitude. Along
the western banks of the Antiotara River,
there rims, with a gradual rise of midu-ating
ground, a cioscent-shaped ridge,
soon come when the women can join us. uresenting its concave side to the river,
in our festivities and become associate |i'he top of this ridge spreads out into a
members of the Grand Army. Army lifc?^broMd tablngrouiid of forests and ravines,
was a good school and has well fitted the>, A series
soldiers to go through thick find thin, bravo
the storms of life, and to occupy the vari
THE SIXTEKNTM AT N'riliTAM.
[A paper read by Lt. D. F. BLiikesl(>e hoforo Stud-niuu
Tust i>-2,ofthis city, on ilio eVLMiiiig of Koliruary
.5th, 1871. J
1 was inloiidiug to road tliis eveniug a
reminiscence contuiniug the funuy phases
of army aud prison life, during the late
rebellion ; but a few eveuingd ago 1 had
occasion to read part of it to a small par-ty
composed Uiosily ol ox soldiers and I
found lint those who had not been in
southern prisons failcil i<» appreciate it.
And as iliis audience is uuiupo.'^ed similarly
and of thot^c who havu not evou been iu
the army, 1 IVared a like rcbult, and have
ous positions in society with honor. Per-haps
it would be a good sugge-stion here
to recommend all girls to many soldiers,
for if there should be any unpleasantness
in the family, through their fault, you
could get rid of him above par. There
is a wonderful satisfaction in having been
a soldier, and I suppose there is many a
yoiWg man today sincerely regretting the
mistake in not going to thS war.
The p r o u d l ^ ^ ^ of my life'is my 'Enlist
ment as a soldit^^nid I may:Md to the
16th Conn. f
The 16th T'onu. or^au^elf iiiS^^
month of August, the Oum-mnndof
Gol. Frank Beach of the regular
army. On the evening of the Ipthof
Sep't the regiment eiicainped for the night
on the battlefield of South iVXountain. The
hext .morniug the regiment commenced to
march at 6 o ' c | i | | | AtKeadysville whiln
resting we firsl[pped the shells bursting
in tho distance. All were watching the
peculiar puffs of smoke with great inter-est,
when Adjutant. Burnliam who had
been absent, returned witli the order that
we were wanted at the tVont. This took
us a little by surprise as we did not ex-pect^
to gf) into battle so soon. But on,
went Cn6 bu"iia>-"<.. ,a.tfer.-.a .tedioua
march throngli plouglied fields and forj
^souiiuiiii^^ lMd5ftrTr.t •iryrrdtjr.j^ >v e Tlniifly
joined a^ 'urigado consisting^ of the4th U
1. and •ine cSlli <.n.<.l l l t h 0. V .
After resting awhile we loaded oi"
muskets for the first time, aud marchei
over H hill, and uito a meadow which hx}
lietween two hills. While getting in^,
this position we could plainly see 'b--
rebel gunners load and fire, some of the
shells coming quite near us. At fast wt;
were in the great "line of battle'' of the
"Army ol the Potomac," on its extreme
left, 'it was now 8 o'clock iu the evening
and quite dark ; we were within a few
rods of th« enemy and orders were given
in a whisper ; wo were ordered to mak«
no noise and to rest on our arms ; fur 80
minmes you could have heard a pin dmj)
it was so quiet. A musket was accidi^it-ally
discharged ; in a second ihe troops
were on their feet, with arms at a "ready"
and as thwy stood peering into the dark-ness
ahead you could hear both linuw of
battle rush to aruis for miles.
Occasionally the boom of artillery
was heard, and during the night there
were repeated alarms, so tint the soldiers
on eithei side obtained but little rest.
The hostile pickets on one position of the
line were so near each other, that during
of timbered covered bills sur-wjinded
this ridge ; some of the adjacent
hills had been cleared of the forest, and
JKore covered with orchards and cornfields,
enclosed with fences of rails or. stone.
-Behind this ridge runs ftie road from Ha-gorstown
to Sharpsburg and ' Shepa'rds-ft)
wn. Irfharpstown is just In tke'rear of
the ridge.
Along these hills the rebel lines were
pAstecl, four mile3 in extent. Their po-sition
was exceedingly strong, protecttd
by ravines and forests. Every comma-tid-i'ng
crest bristled with artillery, and the
forests were planted thick with infantry.
'||he extreme right of the rebel line was
^'"ithin three fourths of a . rnile of the Po-mac
; in front, and along their left Hank
wed the Autietam, winding through a
ppded ravine, with banks too high and
with waters too deep to permit a crossing,
except at, two fords, at some distance from
each other. Between these distant fords
there were three bridges ; on the right,
at the center, and Ou t,he left. These
liadges vere strongly guarded. The led
oral troops were oii Jhe east side of the
Antietam, hehind a low range of hills
lying at the base of the Blue Ridge. These
Cininences were generally cammanded by
hights held by the rebels. Geneml
;.„ had certainly chosen a verv strong
ardfl and at any cost, Burnside's "corps
was charging. Geheral Rodman 'ob8erv6s
that the rebels are about to flank us and
getia our rear, and orders the 4th R. 1.
and 16th Conn, to swing to the left that
we may face them, but at this particular
moment the rustling of cornstalks warn-ed
us that the rebels were on us. Col.
Beach gives the order 'Attention'!
While this order was being executed a
terrible volley was fired into us. Volley
after volley in quick succession wag hurl-ed
into our midst. The 16th sptang up
and returned tiie fire with good effect;
some fixed oayonets, advanced, and were
captured. The most helpless c'oufudon
ensued. (Tiir meti fell by scores on every
side. Still our position was obstinately
maintained, until ordered to fall back,
'i'he lebels distjovered the disorder,, and
came on us in heavy column.
While we were falling back to cover
near the bridge we were vSwept by a de-structive
cross fire, the rebels becoming
entangled in this cross-fire extricated
theniiselves and fell back to the stone
wall. The 8th, llth, 16th Conn, and
4th R. I. reformed and were placedr in
position for defence. At^.this time Gen.
Burnside's messenger rides up to Mc-
Olellan. His message is, "I want troops
and guns If you do not send them I can-not
hold my position for half an hour."
McClellan says slowly : "Toll Gen'l Burn-side
ih'it this the battle of the war.
l-lii must hold his ground till dark at
any cost 1 will send him xMiiler's' Bat^
tery, 1 can do no more. 1 have no infan-try."
Ihen as the ujessenger was/riding
away hy called him back. '"Tel'i him if
therefore prepared this, which if it does I the night six of the enemy wore captured.
Tho next morning dawned beautifully;
liltle did wo imagine that bright sun
would be obscured by the smoke ofb.it-ile,
the field we tread ploughed with shot,
fiow with blood, and planted thick with
the dead. Scarcely had the sun risen
when ii shell from tho enemy dropped not
Jiot amuse as much, I hope will be equally
inteiesting. Besides there are many pres-ent
this evening that don't know me as
well as the members of Sled man Post,
and i f i was to be myhCif aguin, those not
knowing me would hardly be iatonvsted.
JVly [)i oviiice is to interest all if 1 can, and
1 hope tho memberii oi Stedman Post; t'ur from our force, which was quietly
who "wei-e promised and expected some i rosting U[)OP. their arms near the crest of
thing funny from mo, will excuse for tho' knoll a short distance from tho ene-beneiit
of those wo have invited to be j [)osition. Immediately another Ibl-pres-
ein. with us this evening. i [owed, a 12 POUIKKM' crashed diagonally
1 am glad to see so many outsiders with through
•lis tins evening, especially the fair SOK. 1 instantly
love gills, 1 always did. But if there is' 'j^'ijo position was changed for one less
any one thing that 1 should dislike more oxposed, but in getting there tho trotips
than another, it would be to be a girl.' vvere obliged to pass urider a deadly fir •
T h e v can't go to the war. And therefore from a rebel battery stationed at short
into a vaHi'y wheie they halted in an
( i r i f w r ^While passing through the
M illie ki I.!!':' men stripped themselves ol
bl iVikets, i - and idl luo-gage that
uu'pede tho progic.is of inarching
^sr th.t IKS.; of liiu.vrins. A{•!CMSi'!l''ig our
cui'.tet ii.v fV-.Juita'ook near l>;., Vk'C march-ed
up U ,&i.cv;p ' lii tlmt ,. t x u t ! almost
iinpossiHTOco saiiiiomit, i,'.^ down on
tho other side and into \!itH^oam river,
which .ve forded and marched to a side
hill. Soon in plain sight, could be seen
a rebel battery dashing intrepidly for-ward
and plantiiig itself directly in r.inge
of the Sixteenth.
By this time the rebel battei'ies were
all roaring. They opened on us in all
their fury, tho air filled with bullets and
fiendish missiles. Hundreds of cannon
were now aimed at us ; lifape and can-nister,
marbles and railroad iron were
showered down like rain. The crest of
the hill was a great protection to the
16th and only about a dc^icen were dis-abled.
A battery was ordered up to en-gage
the enemy, iiut it was whirled back
in less tlmn five minutes, losing every
ollicer, sd'cn men, and five horses. To
.-eo thos(/.'men stand there and be shot
down t\U they received orders to retire
was a ftirful sight It was half past
three o'dock, the 4th R. 1. and the 10th
i/onn. wu'c ordered into a c-ornfield, and
they mo cd forward (piite a distance in
advanccof the army at thei. right; we
liere lai( down letting the shot and BIICH
pass ove us.
In till mean .vhile the Division of A.
P ilill hichhud arrived from Harper's
Ferry ail joined Lee's army wore com-ing
into-his cornfield from the opposite
side uiuiserved ; at tho same tune Co,
11, ( Ca|. Barber,) had been thrown out
in advaf,e as a vidoite to prevent being
they don't know the luxury of coming range distance. In this undertaking the | surpris^. At four o'clock McCIellaii
home from the war. They can't enjoy the 16tb lost three wounded. We lay here sent ortjrs to Burnside to advance, and
pleasures that we have at Uegimental, pornaps tvvohoin s and had a good view of carry tlj batteries in his front at all ha/.
disoiganizcd regii^3,jts, and by his bra
very the unsuppQ«-tt(i i,attej-y \va& rescued
from capture.
The fio;hting was ^ was indeed
a fearful day lor the Sixtci niV; without
having time aUiyweo t^^ » tven the
rudiments of nnHtary Soi^nee, ii was hur-ried
r;»rward and v. as I'oi, ,ed m regimen-tal
line almost for ti.,* fit ^^ time on the
battle field of Antietam. '' 'iloodierft
(lay America ever saw. After . ' t^p^
brigade was relieved, and retired . • )s^
the river to reorganize and be ready u.--
the duties which they might be called up-on
to do when another should come.
Arras were stacked, and the tired soldiers
had laid down to rest. Of all gloomy
nights, I boiieve this was the maddest I
ever experienced. All was quiet and si-lei.
t as the grave. The stacks of straw
the rebels fired burned slow and dimly.
The cries and groans of tho wounded that
lay on the battle field conhi be heard dis-tinctly,
and • the occasional report o'' ar-tillery
sounded solemn and death-like.
The morning of the 18th dawned. The
sun rose obscurely and there was a fair
prospect of rain. The Sixteenth had gone
into I be battle with 940 men. On this
morning we could muster but about 800.
It was a sorry sight that morniiiir as Gen-eral
Burnside rode uj) to encourage the
men. But Burnside supposed, of course,
the battle would be resumed, said he "only
hold out this day, boys, and the war is
ended." Colonel ilarland's brigade was
once more moved fi»rward. and stationed
in line of battle near the bridge which
(ieneral Burnside had been ordered to
hold at all hazards Here they remained
until tho next morning, when the brigade
was crossod, and the Sixteenth detatched
from the brigade to bury their dead, and
care for the wounded who were still ly-ing
upon the field.
The casualities iu the sixteenth were as
follows; Lt. ('ol. F. W. Cheney wounded