Show Troops?

The Barnum & Bailey Greatest Show on Earth. [Portraits of P.T. Barnum [and] J.A. Bailey ( New York, Cincinnati : Strobridge & Co., Lith., 1897; LOC:  LC-USZC4-921)

He’s looking at you, kids (1897 poster)

We know that Phineas Taylor Barnum was on the lecture circuit early in 1863, but apparently the South has not heard anything of his exploits since the beginning of the war. A Richmond newspaper from 150 years ago surmised the great showman was using discharged Northern soldiers for pro-Union demonstrations.

From the Richmond Daily Dispatch June 3, 1863:

Barnum Redivivus.

For nearly two years past we had been wondering at the total eclipse of that great Yankee luminary and representative man, Phine[a]s T. Barnum. That this celebrated man should be absent from the roll of Yankee Major-Generals we could easily understand, the effect of Confederate bullets on the Yankee constitution being thoroughly appreciated by that worthy; but that such a chip of the old Plymouth block should remain at home in inglorious case, whilst the Butlers and the Yankees were achieving elsewhere unfading laurels and cramming their pockets with untold plunder, was something wholly unaccountable. We are indebted to the New York Tribune for a solution of this strange phenomenon. Barnum still lives — his inventive genius yet shines with undiminished lustre; but from an exhibitor of woolly horses and mermaids he has now become the great engineer of the Northern Loyal Leagues and the patent manufacturer of Yankee enthusiasm. In his editorial account of the meeting of the Loyal League at Utica, Greeley thus unconsciously lets the cat out of the bag:

Phineas T. Barnum, half-length portrait, seated, facing right, with Tom Thum (no date recorded on caption card; LOC: LC-USZ62-44525 )

PT and Tom Thumb

“More than one thousand of those in attendance were soldiers, honorably discharged from service on the expiration of their respective terms of enlistment, and now rallying under the flag for which they had braved privation, peri[l], and death, to proclaim their invincible resolve that the Union must be preserved. Of these soldiers, about half went up from this city, on invitation, the expense of their transportation being defrayed by a subscription here, while at Utica the noblest women ministered to their wants with a bounteousness and sapidity which left nothing to desire. Their breakfast, dinner, and supper were good enough for an Emperor; and had they been twice as numerous all would have had enough and to spare. We are sure our soldiers will long cherish a lively and grateful remembrance of the hospitalities of the loyal women of Utica, and that they returned to our city more eager, if possible, than before to serve and save their country. And as the burden of defraying the cost of their trip was generously assumed by Mr. Leonard W. Jerome, we trust others will gladly contribute to divide and lighten it.”

Civil War envelope showing Columbia, eagle, shield, state seal of New York, and banner with message "New York loyal to the Union" (between 1861 and 1865; LOC:  LC-DIG-ppmsca-34646)

loyal envelope

The devoted patriotism which impelled the aforesaid discharged soldiers “to rally again under the flag,” to ride, free of expense, to Utica and back; the reckless daring with which they stormed and carried the successive meals, “fit for an Emperor,” set before them by the “noblest women of Utica,” and the “glorious” feelings with which they sallied forth, forgetful of the disabilities which had procured their discharge from the Yankee service, ready “to serve and save their country,” present to the mind a succession of grand and overpowering images, forming all together a picture of unsupportable moral sublimity. Pity that the effect of the whole should be somewhat marred by the concluding paragraph, in which Leonard W. Jerome, (Barnum, of course,) delicately calls upon an admiring public “to divide and lighten the cost,” there by practically ignoring the fact stated by Greeley just above, that the “expense of their transportation had been defrayed by a subscription here.” The slight discrepancy between these two apostles of freedom, however, being reducible to a mere question of dollars and cents, which may have gone to swell the famous Slievegammon fund of the Tribune philosopher, to the permanent injury of P. T’s pocket, it is not our purpose to endeavor to clear up; but the bold and original expediency of having a lot of discharged soldiers always on hand, ready for shipment, whenever and wherever wanted — this happy conjunction of free dinners and free speech, of beefsteaks and buncombe, is a conception worthy of the genius of the great Connecticut showman, and should secure for him the first vacant seat in Abraham’s Cabinet.

I don’t know why the Dispatch assumes Leonard W. Jerome is Barnum, but it sort of makes sense that he wouldn’t mind if others helped pick up the tab for the veterans’ travel expenses. And P.T. Barnum was pro-Union. According to The Life of Phineas T. Barnum by Joel Benton at Project Gutenberg (Chapter XXXVI), Mr. Barnum had been a life-long Democrat, but “in 1860 his political convictions were changed, and he identified himself with the Republican party.” He was involved in Wide-Awake meetings during the 1860 presidential campaign. After Fort Sumter, ” Barnum was too old for active service in the field, but he sent four substitutes and contributed largely from his means to the support of the Union.”

After First Bull Run, Barnum investigated a peace meeting. The incident presaged, in a way, the use of troops at political meetings:

After Bull Run, July 21st, 1861, “Peace Meetings” began to be held in different parts of the North, and especially in Connecticut. At these meetings it was usual to display a white flag bearing the word “Peace,” above the national flag, and to listen to speeches denunciatory of the war.

One of these meetings was held August 24, 1861, at Stepney, ten miles north of Bridgeport, and Mr. Barnum and Elias Howe, Jr., inventor of the sewing machine needle, agreed to attend and hear for themselves whether the speeches were loyal or not. They communicated their intention to a number of their friends, asking them to go also, and at least twenty accepted the invitation. It was their plan to listen quietly to the harangues, and if they found any opposition to the government or anything calculated to create disaffection in the community, or liable to deter enlistments,—to report the matter to the authorities at Washington and ask that measures be taken to suppress the gatherings.

As the carriages of these gentlemen turned into Main street they discovered two large omnibuses filled with soldiers who were home on a furlough, and who were going to Stepney. The lighter carriages soon outran the omnibuses, and the party arrived at Stepney in time to see the white flag run up above the stars and stripes. They stood quietly in the crowd, while the meeting was organized, and a preacher—Mr. Charles Smith—was invited to open the proceedings with prayer. “The Military and Civil History of Connecticut, during the war of 1861-65,” by W. A. Croffut and John M. Morris, thus continues the account of the meeting:

Elias Howe (1867; LOC:  LC-USZ61-96)

money to burn

“He (Smith) had not, however, progressed far in his supplication, when he slightly opened his eyes, and beheld, to his horror, the Bridgeport omnibuses coming over the hill, garnished with Union banners, and vocal with loyal cheers. This was the signal for a panic; Bull Run, on a small scale was re-enacted. The devout Smith, and the undelivered orators, it is alleged, took refuge in a field of corn. The procession drove straight to the pole unresisted, the hostile crowd parting to let them pass; and a tall man—John Platt—amid some mutterings, climbed the pole, reached the halliards, and the mongrel banners were on the ground. Some of the peace-men, rallying, drew weapons on ‘the invaders,’ and a musket and a revolver were taken from them by soldiers at the very instant of firing. Another of the defenders fired a revolver, and was chased into the fields. Still others, waxing belligerent, were disarmed, and a number of loaded muskets found stored in an adjacent shed were seized. The stars and stripes were hoisted upon the pole, and wildly cheered. P. T. Barnum was then taken on the shoulders of the boys in blue, and put on the platform, where he made a speech full of patriotism, spiced with the humor of the occasion. Captain James E. Dunham also said a few words to the point. * * * * ‘The Star Spangled Banner’ was then sung in chorus, and a series of resolutions passed, declaring that ‘loyal men are the rightful custodians of the peace of Connecticut.’ Elias Howe, Jr., chairman, made his speech, when the crowd threatened to shoot the speakers. ‘If they fire a gun, boys, burn the whole town, and I’ll pay for it!’ After giving the citizens wholesome advice concerning the substituted flag, and their duty to the government, the procession returned to Bridgeport with the white flag trailing in the mud behind an omnibus. * * * * They were received at Bridgeport by approving crowds, and were greeted with continuous cheers as they passed along.”

As a state legislator in 1865 Barnum spoke in favor of a Connecticut state constitutional amendment granting suffrage to negroes:

… I agree with the gentleman that the right of suffrage is “dearly and sacredly cherished by the white man”; and it is because this right is so dear and sacred, that I wish to see it extended to every educated moral man within our State, without regard to color. He tells us that one race is a vessel to honor, and another to dishonor; and that he has seen on ancient Egyptian monuments the negro represented as “a hewer of wood and a drawer of water.” This is doubtless true, and the gentleman seems determined always to KEEP the negro a “vessel of dishonor,” and a “hewer of wood.” We, on the other hand, propose to give him the opportunity of expanding his faculties and elevating himself to true manhood. …

You can read a modern quick bio of Mr. Barnum at The Barnum Museum.

The Loyal Union League meeting in Utica, New York was apparently also controversial in the North based on this rejoinder by a basically pro-Republican newspaper.

From The New-York Times June 1, 1863:

THE UTICA CONVENTION

It is very amusing to observe the vigorous and united attempts of the journals in the Copperhead interest to disparage the Loyal State Convention at Utica The Albany Argus and Atlas teems with paragraphs of all shapes and sizes seeking to prove that it was a failure, that nobody was there, that it was an overwhelming McClellan demonstration, &c, &c. If it was so small an affair, why make so much fuss about it? And if it was a McClellan meeting, why abuse it? This excessive anxiety to belittle it, proves that somebody is hurt.

Civil War envelope showing Union soldier with flag and sword trampling the Confederate flag (between 1861 and 1862; LOC: LC-DIG-ppmsca-34718)

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“the hardest thing I ever saw”

150 years ago today a detachment from the Army of the Potomac crossed the Rappahannock once again to probe Confederate strength on the other side. Members of the 50th New York Engineers tried to build a pontoon bridge as the battle commenced. The Battle of Franklin’s Crossing (or Deep Run Battle) was the first clash in the Gettysburg campaign. It was “a small fight” that had a big impact on at least one member of the 50th NY Engineers (not to mention the killed and wounded).

Ponton [i.e. pontoon] bridges at "Franklins crossing" 2-1/2 miles below Fredericksburg, Va., laid April 29th 1863 - from plain above river bottom Bridges were laid here in Decr. 1862 & in April & June 1862 [i.e. 1863]. (by Andrew J. Russell, 1863 May 2; LOC: LC-DIG-ppmsca-31500)

bridgework at Franklin’s Crossing (photo May 2, 1863)

From a Seneca County, New York newspaper in 1863:

From the 50th Regiment.

CAMP NEAR FALMOUTH,
June 6, 1862[3][1]

DEAR WIFE:

*** As soon as we were paid off, we had orders to go and lay a bridge across the river just below Fredericksburg. The news had come in camp that the Rebs. had left the city, but when we got there we found lots of them. We started with our boats, and as we commenced to unload them, the Rebs. opened fire on us. Our men fired all their cannon at once. They were loaded with grape and cannister, – the shot went in among them like hail, still they kept marching on toward their rifle pits, where they could get out of sight. When they got there, they sent the shot into us. We had eighteen men wounded in our regiment. I don’t think there were any killed, but I am not sure, as there are some missing.

It is hard to see the men fall by your side, when you can’t fire back. Well, they kept up their fire for about two hours. By that time, we had all our boats in the river and commenced crossing. We had landed about one thousand men on the opposite side, and directly they made a charge up the hill, when the Rebs. surrendered and came to them, and we brought them across in the boats. Some of them escaped, but our men were close on their heels. I went across in one of the first boats, and I got on the hill in time to see the Rebs. taken prisoners. I saw a wounded man and went to him; it was a Rebel officer. He was shot just below the heart. He asked me for a drink of water, and I gave it to him. Then he wanted me to hold up his head. I tell you, it was hard to see him. He wanted me to take him across with me. I went and got a stretcher and put him on it, and two men carried him down to the river. We halted there, and he asked me to hold his head up. I did so, – he grasped hold of my hand and shook it, and said, “it is too bad.” He put his hand in his pocket and gave me a book with $160 in it, but an officer came up and took the money away from me. The he raised his head and got hold of my hand, and said, “Sergeant, I am dying.” He shook my hand and fell over dead. That was the hardest thing I ever saw, – he never spoke a word to any one but me, – I couldn’t help thinking of it, and could not sleep last night. Col. Pettis [2] says I was entitled to the money, and that he will get it again. He would like to have seen the man take it from me. Well, it was rebel money, and was good for nothing more than a keepsake. There was a letter in the Rebel officer’s pocket with his name on it. He was a married man and has a little girl; his folks expected him home in a few days, but they will never see him again. I suppose they will feel bad when they hear of it. He was a fine looking fellow. On the field there were some with their arms, some with their legs, shot off, and others shot in every imaginable way. **

Your affectionate husband,

GEORGE.

Here’s a possibility for our letter-writer:

George H. Bellows

George H. Bellows

There is evidence that Military Examination Boards were set up to monitor the competence of Union officers. Perhaps Sergeant Bellows got in a little over his head.

  1. [1]a handwritten 3 on the clipping at the Seneca Falls, NY public library
  2. [2]Col. William H. Pettes
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Norfolk parasol spy

I loved watching The Wild Wild West as a scared youngster. I guess back in the 1800s a parasol could be used for more than clunking U.S. agents over their heads.

From the Richmond Daily Dispatch June 4, 1863:

The arrest of Miss Hozier at Norfolk.

The arrest of Miss Hozier, at Norfolk, with a plan of the fortifications there, and a full statement of the Federal forces and their position, was published yesterday. The young lady lives a few miles this side of Suffolk, and had been to Norfolk on a visit. The Norfolk correspondent of the Philadelphia Inquirer gives some interesting particulars of the arrest:

As she was embarking upon the noon train from here for her home, she was accosted by several members of the Provost guard, who informed her that her presence was immediately needed at the headquarters. She replied that she had been there, and was furnished with a pass to proceed home. This was so; but it was merely a rose by which to entrap other guilty parties. She refused to accompany the guard or leave the car, maintaining that the right to go home had been guaranteed her. The excitement was beginning to run high, when one of the guands reminded her that if she did not comply peaceably she would be taken at all hazards, even if force had to be used. This seemingly cooled the high spirit of the lady, and she yielded, though with apparent reluctance. She was disarmed of her parasol, a most important trophy, which was the silent and positive witness of traitorous persons’ doings. It, with its fair owner, was delivered to the proper authorities.

She underwent a strict examination, and the parasol a strict dissection. Ingeniously concealed in the handle was a long compressed roll of thin paper, upon which was an extremely minute description of our forces, with the exact number at each point, the best modes of entrance and exit, by which certain captured could be made. Localities were marked down, fortifications traced and enumerated. The number of Monitors and gunboats in the locality were spoken of, and it was asserted that; the Union forces at Suffolk would shortly abandon that place and fall back within a short distance of Norfolk. The movement of troops in the vicinity of West Point was given in considerable detail. A drawing of the country accompanied the letter. The roads, streams, &c., were marked with great precision. Everything was mentioned with great accuracy and very minutely. The information would have been of untold value to the rebels, and it seems extremely strange how so much could be obtained so correctly by the abetlors of our enemies.

There are other parties implicated along with Miss Hozier. Two of them have also been arrested. One is Mrs. Webb, an elderly lady, from whose house the document came. The alleged writer is a Mr. Stubbs, and attorney-at-law, and who was, for three years, the Mayor of Norfolk. He is now in custody. The intercepted documents were addressed to the commander of the Confederate forces on the Blackwater. Miss Hozier had been delegated to run them through the blockade, and have them forwarded to him for whom they were intended. The whole was a well-laid scheme. It contemplated a capture of Norfolk, pointing out the ways which it could be done, and giving encouragement to the rebel soldiery to make their appearance at an early day.

The places where Gen. Vi[e]le and Governor Pierpont resided were designated, and it was recommended that a “Morgan raid” he made to carry off the “bogus Governor” of Virginia. A way was given showing how this might be done, but it is unnecessary to unfold it to loyal readers.

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Draft trumps geometry

How do you beat the Confederate strategy of using interior lines to concentrate its troops at any threatened point? The New-York Times says to use overwhelming numbers at multiple points simultaneously. The Conscription Act of 1863 is conveniently giving the Lincoln administration authority to draft millions of men for this purpose.

From The New-York Times June 3, 1863:

An Early and Large Conscription.

We trust that the Administration will spare no pains to complete the preparations for the conscription by the earliest day possible, and that the conscription when made will be on an extensive scale. The great mistake of the war thus far has been the endeavor to wage it with an insufficient force. It requires no professional eye to see that, during the first year, the rebel army positively outnumbered our own; and through the second year we have had at no time a material preponderance; — for the calls that were made by the President last Summer were nearly balanced by the universal conscription ordered soon after by the rebel Congress. The expiration of the service of the nine months men and of the two years men is fast reducing our numbers to a figure actually below that of the rebel forces. Until this relative strength of the armies is vastly changed, so that we shall have a very great numerical preponderance of soldiers, this war will continue to drag on without result.

The rationale of the rebel system has become so plain that no man of the slightest discernment can mistake it. It all lies in the principle of concentration. Acting on the defensive, the rebels have also the advantage of operating on interior lines. “While we are on the rim of the circle, they move at pleasure over the comparatively short distances within; and, when threatened at any point, they without delay combine their forces, and meet us in at least equal, if not superior, numbers. They do not hesitate to uncover the most important points in order to do this. In fact they have no alternative. When we advance in any direction, they must then and there have a force large enough to cope with us, or we would at once rush to our prize. Of course, they have done their best to disguise this necessity. It is now a settled fact that, in many instances, they have concealed the transfer of their troops by keeping up an imposing line of pickets long after every man behind them had been sped scores of miles away. It is not to the credit of our Generals that they have ever been deceived by such beggarly devices. It ought at the very outset to have been made an axiom that, from the very necessity of the case, the rebels, with their limited numbers, when threatened by an advance upon any point, must concentrate, and that this concentration must occasion a great weakness at all other points.

Plainly there can be but one method of meeting this system of the rebels, and that is an advance upon them with strong force, in different directions, at the same time. This drives the rebel commander at once into a fatal dilemma. He cannot concentrate at any one point without sure ruin at another; and yet, if he does not concentrate, he is just as sure to incur ruin by fighting us in detail with largely inferior forces. Had this indisputable truth been recognized and acted upon, Richmond would have inevitably fallen at HOOKER’s last advance. In fact it might have been grasped by us at any time since the war began.

But the prime requisite for this method is a large preponderance in numbers. If the advance were to be made, for instance, in two directions, the army operating in each should be strong enough to give full employment to the combined rebel force. Thus, the check of the advance in the one direction could be obtained only at the cost of the success of the advance in the other direction. With proper activity and concert of movement on our part, there could be no failure.

We trust we have seen the last attempt to penetrate interior lines in a single direction. In theory it is absurd, and in practice it is suicidal. Richmond must be taken as Pari3 was taken — by joint advance movements with heavy columns in different directions. NAPOLEON, the greatest warrior of modern times, was helpless before that simple operation, and it is certain that LEE could not withstand it.

It would seem that the Government must have been so taught by hard experience, that it will no longer trust to half-measures. For two years it has maintained the contest, practically, as the man with one hand tied behind him fights the boy. This may be legitimate sport for amateurs, but it does not suit a nation struggling for its life. It is high time that the mighty superiority of the loyal part of the country in strength should be turned to some practical account. The Executive, by the act of Congress, is clothed with a power to put into the field any number of men necessary — one, two, nay three millions, if need be. No physical effect can be more surely calculated upon from a physical cause, than the speedy crushing of this rebellion from the force that this Conscription bill empowers the Government to wield. We trust that the Administration will flinch from no responsibility in the promptest and most effectual use of this means. The great body of the people, we are sure, will cheerfully sustain any extent of conscription necessary for the speedy completion of the war. It is only when the Government hesitates and falters that the people fail it — never, when it is bold.

factasy – American Civil War points out that moving the Confederate capital from Montgomery to Richmond put a big Union target a lot closer to the circumference of the imaginary circle. Military History Online describes the effectiveness of Confederate use of railroads in conjunction with interior lines.

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Back at it

And now a corps commander

General Richard S. Ewell--General Ewell, of Jackson's Corps, was severely wounded in the conflict with King's division on August 28 (llus. from Century Magazine, 1886; LOC:  LC-USZ62-121086)

Stonewall’s “proper successor”

On August 28, 1862, during the Second Battle of Bull Run, Confederate General Richard Ewell’s left leg was “shattered by a Minie ball”. The leg had to be amputated. He convalesced until May 1863 when he assumed command of one of the three corps in the Army of Northern Virginia. Ewell, a trusted and effective lieutenant of the late, revered Stonewall Jackson, was warmly greeted by the troops that he would be commanding.

From the Richmond Daily Dispatch June 1, 1863:

Gen. Jackson’s successor.

The following letter from a member of Hays’s Louisiana brigade, gives some idea of the satisfaction in the army at the appointment of Gen. Ewell to the command of Gen. Jackson’s old corps:

Camp near Hamilton’s Crossing,
May 29th, 1863.

For some time past considerable interest was manifested throughout the corps as to who would succeed the late and lamented General Jackson in command of the same. There were, of course, many surmises and much speculation on the subject. Early’s division, firmly attached to their former commander, knowing and appreciating his valor and soldier-like qualities, espoused the cause of their favorite chieftain, Gen. R. S. Ewell, and, encouraged by the fact that Gen. Jackson, the sagacious and valiant leader, had in his last moments designated him as a proper successor, felt sanguine as to the result. Nor were they doomed to disappointment. On yesterday reliable information reached camp of his promotion; to-day he arrived, and, as might have been supposed, was received more warmly and cordially. Lieut. Gen. Hill, Gen. Early, and the many officers of the army to whom he has during his military career endeared himself, were present to greet the hero once more returned to the service of his country. Gen. Hays’s Louisiana brigade was present in martial review to receive him, and claimed the honor of escorting their former and favorite commander to his temporary abode. Amidst deafening cheers and the rolling sounds of martial music he was once more ushered into active service. May an all-wise Providence shield him, and give victory to the cause of which he is so glorious a champion.

Louisiana.

Harry Thompson Hays brigade was also known as the “Louisiana Tigers”.

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Heading North … and Back South

More Two-Year Men Come Home; Captain Ashcroft Heads back South

From a Seneca County, New York newspaper in May 1863:

The return of the 19th Regiment.

This Regiment returned to Auburn on Tuesday [May 23] last, having served out its term of enlistment. The Regiment left Newbern, N.C. on the 20th inst., and arrived in New York on Saturday of last week. A very large assemblage of people were at the depot in Auburn to greet these brave and hardy warriors. The Nineteenth was made up mostly of volunteers from Cayuga county, and left for the seat of war under Col. JOHN S. CLARK. It served under PATTERSON in Virginia, in the early part of the campaign, but soon after the first Bull Run battle was changed into an artillery regiment, and sent to North Carolina. The regiment returned some 520 strong, under the command of Col. C.H. STEWART. Capt. ASHCROFT’s company from this place belonged to this Regiment, and about one-quarter of Capt. AMMON’s company were also Seneca falls boys.

Gen. J.G. Foster (between 1855 and 1865; LOC: LC-DIG-cwpbh-00905 )

General Foster: remember the ‘left behind’

Here’s a summary of the last days of the two-year recruits in the 19th Infantry/3rd Artillery[1]

In his parting order General John G. Foster, through his Assistant Adjutant general, urged the soldiers to return:

… The commanding General hopes that, after a brief enjoyment of home, the memory of the brave deeds in which they have participated in this Department, and the memory of their friends left behind, will induce many or all of them, officers and men, to return again to the Department of North Carolina. …

The regiment reached Auburn, New York on May 26th, but apparently the train from New York City made great time:

Plans were laid for a grand reception; but the battalion arrived before it was expected, and there was only time to marshal Capts. White’s, Swift’s, Rhodes’s and Barber’s military companies under Col. J.B. Richardson, Nos. 1, 3 and 4, fire companies and hook and ladder company to greet the returned heroes at the New York Central depot and escort them to the Exchange Hotel on Genesee street, where J.N. Knapp, the Provost Marshal, made them an address, and a collation was provided for them. The city was hung with flags in their honor and the populace, proud of them beyond expression, thronged the streets. Two or three days afterwards, the battalion had a dress parade in front of the Court House and was addressed by Secretary Seward. The men were formally mustered out on June 2d. They were paid off on the 6th.

When I started reading through the newspaper clippings in the Seneca Falls, New York public library from 1860 and early 1861, I realized that Zouave organizations were in the area before the Civil War. James Ashcroft’s name was prominent as a Zouave leader. He formed a non-Zouave company for the 19th Infantry right after the loss of Fort Sumter. While stationed at Fort Hatteras he organized some unionist North Carolinians.

From a Seneca County, New York newspaper in May 1863:

Capt. J.E. Ashcroft

Arrived home from Fort Hatteras, N.C., on Friday evening of last week, having been absent something over two years. Capt. ASHCROFT recruited a company in this village at the commencement of hostilities, which was attached to the old Nineteenth Regiment, afterwards the 3d N.Y. Artillery. He has been in command at Fort Hatteras for nearly a year past, while his old company has been under the charge of Lieut. RANDOLPH. During his command at Fort Hatteras he has raised a company of North Carolinians, which has been placed under Capt. CHARLES GRAVES, who went out with Capt. ASHCROFT as his Orderly Sergeant. Capt. A. has been assigned to the command of Battery B, 3d Artillery, now at Hilton Head, S.C. He will return in the course of a few days.

Captain Ashcroft would spend another year with the 3d Artillery.

James E. Ashcroft

troop organizer – back South for a year

\

Charles C. Graves

Captain Graves led North Carolinians

There is evidencethat Charles Graves was promoted to major of the 1st North Carolina.

  1. [1]Hall, Henry and James Hall. Cayuga in the Field. 1873.Aurora, New York: Talbothays Books. Print. pages 166-67.
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Up to the army

Private David M. Thatcher of Company B, Berkeley Troop, 1st Virginia Cavalry Regiment, in uniform and Virginia sword belt plate with Adams revolver and cavalry sword (between 1861 and 1865; LOC:  LC-DIG-ppmsca-32680)

Private Thatcher of the 1st Virginia Cavalry – vote counts

Up in New York State plans were in the works to pass legislation and/or amend the state constitution to allow New York soldiers to vote in the 1864 elections. Virginia already allowed soldiers to vote in the field, and a Richmond newspaper determined that the troop tally would be decisive in the 1863 gubernatorial race.

From the Richmond Daily Dispatch May 30, 1863:

The elections.

The State elections will probably, many of them, remain in doubt for some time. The choice of Governor, from the returns received, lies between Messrs. Smith and Flournoy. The result must be settled by the army vote, and it will be some time before it can be received. So is it with reference to the Lieutenant Governor, for which Messrs. Price and Imboden are the leading candidates Several of the Congressional Districts are left in the same situation. The army has the casting vote.

For Congress, Messrs. Wickham, in the Richmond District, and Collier, in the Petersburg District, have such majorities as to settle the question and fix them as the representatives elect. Mr. Bocock had no opposition in the Buckingham District, and Mr. Rives none in the Albemarle District. In the Augusta District the contest between General Baldwin and Governor Letcher has been very animated perhaps the most excited in the election. This may be kept in doubt, also, by the army vote. In the Montgomery District the contest is also likely to be close. Mr. Edmondson, for so many years the representative in the Federal Congress, opposes Mr. Staples, member of the last Confederate Congress. Walter Preston, member from the Abingdon District, is opposed by the famous Fayette McMullan, who has been canvassing industriously for the position. In the district composed of Caroline, &c., which now includes Culpeper, Messrs. James Barbour, jr., and Dejarnette are the candidates. The other districts are entirely in the hands of refugees and soldiers in the army. In the Winchester District, Mr. Boteler, the present representative, was opposed by Col. Holliday. Shenandoah and Hardy counties are the only counties in the district in which polls could be held.

The leaders in the governor’s contest, William Smith and Thomas Stanhope Flournoy, were both Confederate soldiers. On May 29, 1863 the Dispatch published some early returns. Flournoy won pretty decisively in the three Richmond wards that had reported.

According to William Smith’s memoirs (page 50) there was not “conclusive evidence” that he was elected governor until after Gettysburg when he was stationed at Hagerstown. However, he was the presumptive victor before the invasion of Pennsylvania and “Great solicitude was then manifested that Gen. Smith
should retire from the army, and thus escape the casualties
of the field”.

Larry Tagg’s The Generals of Gettysburg: The Leaders of America’s Greatest Battle points to some evidence that Smith won the soldiers’ vote because the soldiers wanted to get him off the field:

At Gettysburg, there was the prospect that Smith soon might resign to become Governor of Virginia, an office for which he was an active and favored candidate. One soldier expressed the opinion that “Extra Billy” got a heavy vote in the Army because the Virginia soldiers wished to get rid of him as a commander–by the time of the Gettysburg campaign, it was becoming apparent that Smith’s generalship was deficient. No one questioned Smith’s courage, but Early judged it advisable at times to keep Smith’s brigade in close proximity to Brig. Gen. John Gordon’s so that Gordon could exercise what amounted to a joint command. Early’s concern was personal, because Smith’s brigade had once been his own, and he didn’t want to see its splendid record ruined by the incompetence of its commander. In fact, Smith’s skills in the field seemed to be deteriorating–he was the oldest man on the field, showing the wear and tear of the army’s campaigns.

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not going “show the white feather”

Catching up a bit with the NY 126th Infantry from Seneca County, New York newspapers in 1863.

The 126th Regiment is still at Centreville, Va., doing picket duty. The boys were not in the fight at Fredericksburg.

From a Seneca County, New York newspaper in May 1863:

Promoted.

We are pleased to learn that Quartermaster Sergeant JOHN STEVENSON, of the 126th Regiment, has been promoted to the Second Lieutenancy in Co. I, vice Chas. C. Babbitt resined [sic]. Everybody in this county knows JOHN, and, as a matter of course, all will be gratefied [sic] to hear of his good fortune. He will never show the white feather, we venture to assert.

John Stevenson, Jr.

not totally in synch with story

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Enthusiasm helps make the difference

Hartwell Compson, Civil War Medal of Honor

zealot

From a Seneca County, New York newspaper in May 1863:

Promoted.

We are glad to learn that H.B. COMPSON, son of Mr. Jonas Compson, of Tyre, has been promoted to a 2d Lieutenancy in the 8th N.Y. Cavalry. Young COMPSON enlisted as a private in the late Capt. Sisson’s company, and by his faithfulness, zeal and proficiency in the particular branch of the service to which he belongs, he won for himself an important position. His many friends will be pleased to hear of his promotion. His commision [sic] is dated back to the 29th of last December.

Hartwell Thomas Benton Compson continued to be promoted throughout the war. He received the Medal of Honor for his heroic conduct during the March 2, 1865 Battle of Waynesboro, Virginia. “During fierce hand-to-hand combat, Major Compson personally captured the headquarters flag of Confederate general Jubal Early. For this action he would receive the Medal of Honor.”

After the war Compson eventually followed the “Go West, Young Veteran” mantra and settled in Portland. Oregon. His grave (until recently unmarked) is located in the Grand Army of the Republic Cemetery.

Hartwell B. Compson

“faithfulness, zeal and proficiency”

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Memorialized

33rd New York Infantry (between 1861 and 1865; LOC: LC-USZ61-2121)

members of the 33rd during its two years South

On Tuesday, May 12, 1863, only about a week after its costliest engagements (during the Chancellorsville campaign), the 33rd New York Infantry Regiment received the word that it was officially being sent home [1]. It left the front on Friday, May 15, 1863 and reached Elmira, New York on Sunday, the 17th. On the 23rd of May the regiment took a boat up Seneca Lake to Geneva, where they were warmly greeted and feted:

…As the little steamer conveying the men hove into sight, they were greeted with the thunder of artillery, mingled with the chimes of the various church bells, and, on disembarking at the wharf, were met by the village authorities and a large deputation of citizens. After a few moments spent in congratulation, the Regiment formed in procession, and marched through the principal streets to the park …

Speeches and a huge meal at the barracks followed. On the next morning the regiment took the train to Canandaigua and was again treated to congratulatory speeches and a “sumptuous banquet”. Colonel Robert F. Taylor returned a flag the ladies of Canandaigua had presented the 33rd two years before. The colonel noted the extraordinary measure his men took to keep the ladies’ flag aloft, except once “when the color-bearer sank from sheer exhaustion on the field.”

33d New York Infantry (between 1861 and 1863; LOC: LC-USZ62-70353)

fighting for the flag(s)

On June 2, 1863 “Captain Beirn, of the regular service, assembled the Regiment on the green in front of the [Geneva] barracks, mustered it out of the service by Companies, and the Thirty-third passed into history.”

As can be seen from the following, the companies from Seneca Falls didn’t wait the week to leave Elmira and get home.

From a Seneca County, New York newspaper in May 1863:

Arrival of the Thirty-Third Regiment.

The gallant and glorious old Thirty-Third Regiment arrived at Elmira on Sunday last, after an absence of two years in the service of their country. The two companies from this place, Capts. Tyler and McGraw, are now at home enjoying themselves with all the freedom of times gone by. The boys look remarkably well, and their friends all seem pleased to see them once more. The Regiment will be mustered out in a very few days, their time being up to-day. We shall speak more at length of the Regiment in our next issue. In the meantime we publish the following complimentary orders, issued from the Army of the Potomac, upon their departure from home:

Gen. Martin T. McMahon, U.S.A. (between 1860 and 1865]; LOC: LC-DIG-cwpbh-03178)

Martin T. McMahon congratulates the 33rd for General Sedgwick

HEADQUARTERS 6th ARMY CORPS,
May 13, 1863.

Special Order No. 120.

The term of service of the 33d New York Vols. having expired, they will proceed at once to Elmira, N.Y., the place of enrollment, where they will be mustered out of the service. Upon their arrival there, their arms, equipments and public property will be turned in to the proper officers. The Quartermaster’s Department will furnish transportation from Falmouth.

The General commanding the corps congratulates the officers and men of the 33d New York Vols. upon their honorable return to civil life. They have enjoyed the respect and confidence of their companions and commanders; they have illustrated their term of service by galant deeds, and have won for themselves a reputation not surpassed in the Army of the Potomac, and have nobly earned the garatitude of the Republic.

By command of Maj. Gen. SEDGWICK,

M.T. MCMAHON,

Ass’t Adj’t. Gen’l.

         ___________

Gen. Albion Howe, U.S.A. (between 1860 and 1865; LOC: LC-DIG-cwpbh-03169)

And Howe’s parting words: Come Back!

HEADQUARTERS 2d DIVISION, 6th CORPS,
May 14, 1863,

General Orders, No. 26.

By the rules of enlistment, the term of service of the 33d Regiment N.Y. Vols. expires to-day, and they are entitled to an honorable discharge from the service of the United States. Yet the General commanding the Division cannot let this regiment depart without expressing his regret at their leaving, and hopes that they will speedily reorganize and join this command, to serve their country once more and to the end of this war, with the same spirit as they have served for the last two years. To say that this regiment, in camp, on the march, and in all the many hard battles in which they were engaged, have done their duty and behaved gallantly, is but a weak expression of the acknowledgement of their good service. They have earned for themselves the approbation and confidence of their commanders, and fully deserve the gratitude of their country.

By order of Brig. Gen. Howe.

CHAS. MUNDER, Major and A.A.G.

         ___________

33d New York Infantry (between 1861 and 1865; LOC: LC-USZ62-99872)

” fought nobly for our country and suffered bravely for the cause.”

HEADQUARTERS 3d BRIGADE 2d DIVISION,
6th ARMY CORPS, May 14th, 1863.

CIRCULAR.

The Brigadier-General Commandind [sic] the Third Brigade, cannot part with the 33d New York Volunteers, without expressing to the officers and men of that gallant Regiment, who have fought under his eye and command with so much honor and distinction, his regret at our separation, his well wishes for your future.

No words can express what you must feel – the sense of having fought nobly for our country and suffered bravely for the cause. The memory of those who have fallen is tenderly cherished, and your Brigade Commander bids you “God Speed” in anything you may undertake in the future.

Sincerely,

THOMAS H. NEILL,

Brig. Gen. Com’g 3d Brigade

Home from the War (Harper's Weekly, 6-13-1863)

Home from the War (Harper’s Weekly, 6-13-1863)

The image of the soldiers at home was published in the June 13, 1863 issue of Harper’s Weekly and can be seen at Son of the South.

General Sedgwick’s Assistant Adjutant General was Martin Thomas McMahon, who in 1891 was awarded the medal of honor for his heroism at the Battle of White Oak Swamp.

The mortality rate of the 33rd: “The total enrollment of the regiment was 1,220 members, of whom 47 were killed or died of wounds during the term of service and 105 died from accident, imprisonment or disease.” About 12.5%.

33rd New York Infantry (between 1861 and 1865; LOC:  LC-USZ61-2124)

before “the Thirty-third passed into history.”

  1. [1]This summary is taken from Judd, David Wright The story of the Thirty-third N.Y.S. Vols, or, Two years campaigning in Virginia and Maryland . Rochester: Benton & Andrews, 1864. Print. pages 322-349.
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