CHAPTER XIX

THE ARMY AT BAKERSVILLE

HIS chapter will be introduced by extracts from letters

TH of Lieutenant Walling, of the sixteenth. He writes

September 29, 1862:

"We are now encamped, one and one-half miles from Bakersville, by the side of a clear brook on which, a little distance below us, is a grist mill from which our messes obtain flour. This is the richest and most beautiful section of Maryland. The valleys are well cultivated and the soil is very rich, as indicated by the many stacks of hay and grain which the large barns cannot hold. Here apples, pears, peaches, plums and quinces are grown in abundance. More than this, one discovers in his wanderings a devotion to the old flag which is heartfelt, and the soldier feels he is among friends. He finds it easy to add to his army ration of bacon, hard-tack and coffee, a boiled potato, a little apple sauce, a pat of butter, and genuine milk for his tin cup of coffee, and these comforts cause him to feel renewed confidence in his surroundings, and greater hope in the final success of his labors. It is no wonder that General Lee and his army longed for the sight of the well filled granaries, and sighed for the rich fruitage of Maryland and Pennsylvania, after the dreary marches and counter marches in battle-scarred Virginia. He came to liberate Maryland from the despotism of the Lincoln government. What must have been his chagrin when none of the inhabitants rushed to his standard! McClellan pursued him so closely that he could not forage, and finally whipped and drove him back to the 'sacred soil of old Virginia.' Lee's greatest

achievement was the capture of Harper's Ferry from an irresolute commander, with its garrison of eleven thousand men and large quantities of ordnance, quartermaster and commissary stores. The haversacks of his dead, which we found on the battle-field of Antietam, were filled with provisions captured at Harper's Ferry. But all these captures went only a short way in compensating him for his losses at South Mountain, Crampton's Pass and Antietam.

"Some of our army look for orders to move, others say we will go into winter-quarters, but that does not seem probable; yet the old army is so depleted that it is in no condition to battle successfully against the enemy at this time. It would be vain to expect to win battles with new troops. In the late engagements the enemy fought desperately."

He writes again on October 4th:

"I see you are impatient and feel as many do in the North that McClellan should move on the rebels. I think the army will move when our noble general gets ready, and you will admit that it will be plenty soon enough. There are many new troops in the field and others are joining us daily. Quartermaster stores are scarce, shoes and clothing are needed, and until they are furnished we will be in no condition to move.

"These cold nights our boys really suffer. One just told me that there are five men in his tent and all the covering they have is one blanket. Our blankets were stored in Alexandria when we came from the Peninsula. The weather is so cold I have worn my overcoat all day. There are but three tents to a regiment, which are occupied by the field and staff, and one tent fly for the officers of each company."

An extract from a letter written by Corporal Cyrus R. Stone, Company F, now a prominent civil engineer in Minnesota, to his uncle, Counsellor B. H. Vary, gives the enlisted man's side of the situation:

"Since we came into Maryland we have had little opportunity to obtain paper or time to write letters. Our knapsacks were left in Alexandria and we have no way of carrying writing materials or even a change of underclothing. Many times our men have gone to the banks of streams, where each would wash his only shirt, then stand with coat buttoned up to watch it dry. Often it has been necessary to put shirts and socks on wet, when the word would come, 'hurry up boys, put your things on wet or dry, we have orders to march.' Thus we have lived since we left Harrison's Landing, only twice remaining two successive nights in the same camp until we reached this one. I have twenty-five cents of my last pay left, and that will be expended for stationery and stamps as soon as the sutler comes up."

On the first day of October, President Lincoln was escorted by General McClellan and staff through the different army corps. No attempt was made to give him a formal review, as his call was accepted as a visit, not an inspection; the soldiers were in no condition to pass in review and he recognized the fact. He saw the men who had come from the Peninsula and had been sent forward in great haste to General Pope; some had reached him in time to join in the great battles fought by his army, and others had only reached Centreville in time to act as a rear guard to his disorganized forces. These were the men who had entered upon the pursuit of Lee's army, driven it from Maryland, and in doing so had suffered great loss in numbers, but no loss in spirit and devotion to the cause in which they had enlisted.

The most important event which occurred, while the regiment was encamped near Bakersville, was the resignation of Colonel Joseph Howland, tendered on account of disabilities from wounds received in the battle of Gaines's Mill. This announcement was received with profound regret by the officers and men of the Sixteenth, as well as by the commanders

of the brigade, division, corps and army, in which he had served and won the confidence and approbation of all by his meritorious conduct and conspicuous bravery in action.

General Howland, for he attained the rank of brigadiergeneral before the close of hostilities, came to the regiment a perfect stranger to every member; even the Colonel who invited him to accept the adjutancy did not know him. Colonel Davies tendered him that position on his staff at the suggestion of his brother, Professor Charles Davies, the mathematician, who, after retiring from the Military Academy at West Point, resided at Fishkill Landing, where he came to know the spirit and fibre of his neighbor, Joseph Howland. Colonel Howland won his way to the hearts and to the consideration of superiors and subordinates by the force of his natural qualities. Approachable, considerate of the rights of others, he permitted no infringement of his own. Quick to decide and prompt to execute, he held the regiment under a taut rein, and it never stumbled nor balked. Faithful to the discharge of every duty, he exacted prompt compliance from others. Conscious of the advantages to be derived from a strict observance of military etiquette, a dignified bearing, and an erect soldierly carriage, he cultivated by practice and precept those habits which promoted self respect and an esprit de corps among his men, tending materially to increase their efficiency. Young himself, and fully recognizing the aggressive and irresistible power inherent in youth, he roused it and led his men forward to accomplishments which the conservatism of middle age would not willingly have undertaken. These natural qualities, supplemented by the graces of a cultured Christian gentleman, made him an ideal soldier and an able commander.

In leaving the regiment he did not relinquish interest in its operations or welfare. Long after his resignation, he continued to pay a bounty of twenty dollars to each recruit

who joined it, in addition to all local, State and Federal bounties, in order that its ranks might be kept full and that it might maintain to the final muster-out the high reputation it had gained under his command. I found in the records and papers relating to the regiment, which Mrs. Howland placed at my disposal while collecting material for this volume, many evidences of his continued interest in the welfare of the members of the Sixteenth who applied to him after the war, and to no meritorious case did he turn a deaf ear.

General Howland died at Mentone, France, April 1, 1886, never having regained the strength lost by the wound received in the battle of Gaines's Mill, June 27, 1862. On the afternoon of Easter Sunday, the 25th of the same month, memorial services were held in the Tioronda Sunday-school, on his own grounds, of which he was the superintendent. The Reverend George L. Prentiss, D.D., of New York, the general's intimate friend and colaborer in church work for thirty years, delivered the Memorial Address. I reproduce two of the testimonials read, first, one from New York's greatest soldier, Major General H. W. Slocum, on whose staff he had held an important and confidential position, and one from General J. J. Seaver, a field officer of the Sixteenth, who succeeded Colonel Howland in command.

"No one of General Howland's comrades knew him more intimately than I did, and no one had reason to appreciate more keenly the value of his services. When I first met him he was Adjutant of the Sixteenth New York Volunteers. It was a position in which he was exceedingly usful, but a brief acquaintance with him convinced me that he would be still more useful in a higher sphere. I persuaded him to accept the position of Adjutant-General and Chief of Staff of the brigade then under my command. He served in this capacity during the darkest days of the war-the days spent in creating armies. The terrible battles and great victories came at a later period; but it was while General