CHAPTER XII.
MORGANSON'S RAID AND BATTLE OF CHEROKEE RUN.--THE REBEL CAVALRYMEN WHIRL THROUGH INDIANA AND OHIO.--BEATEN AND CAPTURED.--KNIGHTS OF THE GOLDEN CIRCLE CONTINUE THEIR MACHINATIONS.
"If that rebellion Came like itself, in base and abject routs, Led on by bloody youth, guarded with rage, You revered father, and these noble lords Had not been here to dress the ugly form Of base and bloody insurrection." --Shakespeare.
"After the long-continued idleness of the Army of the Center aroundMurphy's Hill, the people began to clamor for a movement of somedecisive character.
"During Gen. Rosenfelt's inactivity, Gen. Silent had moved with theArmy of the West against Gen. Pendleton, who had continued to obstructConception River by holding Victor's Hill, as well as the grand bluffsbelow. Gen. Silent had made some of the most wonderful marches andsuccesses ever known. He had opened ways for the water to flow from theriver into the lands; had cut canals through at different points; hadrun the batteries of an hundred guns with his transports laden withsupplies for his army; marched on the opposite side of the river belowPendleton, crossing his army below the Grand Bluffs in one day andnight; moved out against the enemy, who was in superior force,cutting loose from his own base of supplies, and fought him in sixhardly-contested battles with victorious results each time, and hefinally succeeded in hemming Pendleton inside his fortifications atVictor's Hill and forcing him, with his entire army, to surrenderunconditionally.
"The President had also in the meantime placed Gen. Meader in commandof the Army of the East on account of the constant failure of othercommanders during the Spring campaigns. Soon after assuming commandMeador had gained a great victory over the enemy at Gotlenburg, and haddriven him back across Grand River to his own ground. The enemy hadbecome so encouraged by his victories over our armies heretofore, thathe concluded to try a second invasion of the loyal States.
"The people who desired the success of the Union forces were greatlyrejoiced over the victory at Gotlenburg and in the West by Gen. Silent,and by them Rosenfelt was constantly urged to do something by way ofgiving some activity to his army. But he hesitated and thought the heatof Summer was too great in that climate for his men to march and endurethe fatigues of a campaign. This was so discouraging to his troops thatmany of them sought relief by obtaining a leave of absence and returninghome for a few days. Among those who returned were Gen. Anderson and myson Peter. When they arrived at home all greeted them with many heartywelcomes. My wife by this time had so far recovered as to be up aportion of the day, and the return of the General and Peter seemed torevive her drooping spirits. The children were overjoyed and Aunt Marthawas as much delighted as any of the family, and repeated her confidencein the "good Laud's" having saved the General for some good purpose.Finally she could not restrain herself any longer, and said:
"'Massa Gen'l, what you do wid Ham? Whar is he? I 'spect he be kill andyou done 'eluded you not tell ole Marfa'.
"'No, Martha,' said the General; 'Ham is well. I left him with Capt.Jackson and Capt. Day to take care of our traps.'
"'Well, dat's all right. I feered he kill.'
"'No, Aunty; he is all right.'
"The next day Joseph Dent came in from the farm and told us he hadlearned the night before that a meeting of a few of the leading menhad been held at Windsor, Canada, and that meetings were to be heldat different places in the Northern States by prominent Knights ofthe Circle to consider what was best to be done, and also to appointdelegates to meet somewhere in Canada at a time and place to behereafter designated, and that several propositions were beingconsidered about work which would be undertaken very soon; such asdestroying property, raiding in the North, releasing prisoners, etc.
"This information was of such a character that we deemed it important tohave a full report of what was at the time being done in Canada, asthat seemed to be the base of the enemy's operations for our part of thecountry, and inasmuch as Peter had promised James Whitcomb, now Orderlyto Gen. Anderson, that he would go to Detroit and visit his aged parentsand satisfy them of his innocence should they have learned of hismisfortune in having been court-martialed and condemned, we concludedthat this would be an excellent opportunity for him to pass over toWindsor or elsewhere in Canada and gather what information he could.This being understood, he left at once, desirous that no time should belost during his leave of absence.
"The family being gathered in the parlor that evening, Gen. Andersonsaid:
"'Mary, now give us your experience as a visitor at the White House; howthe President appeared to you, etc.?'
"Mary related what had transpired in a modest way, saying in conclusionthat nothing but the feeling aroused in her breast by the outrage thatwas about to be perpetrated upon that poor, innocent boy could haveinduced her to have undertaken such an expedition. She said she could doanything except to ask favors. Said she:
"'Tom, my dear, you need have no fears about my ever becoming a lobbyistin Washington, or a courtier at the White House. I have tried appealingto the President once, and although successful that time, and treatedcourteously and kindly by that big-hearted and noble old patriot, yet Ihave hardly recovered from my scare up to this time; and now I do hopethat you will never mention this again, for it does really give me apalpitation of the heart whenever the subject is alluded to. I am acoward, I know I am, and am frightened still.'
"'Well, Mary, you did a noble act, and I am the prouder of you for it.'He kissed her and she sank down in her chair overcome with emotion. Wethen changed the subject, and the General entertained us by recitals ofthe trials and vicissitudes of the army. We were all enjoying the visitof the General very much and hoped to have a pleasant time, but afew days after his arrival the country about Allentown became greatlyalarmed and excited.
"Gen. Morganson, of whom I have heretofore spoken, had crossed fromKentucky at or near Louis City into Indiana, and was raiding thecountry, taking horses, wagons, and all kinds of property that couldserve any purpose whatever in aiding the rebellion or in facilitatingits movements. Stores were pillaged, houses plundered, banks robbed, andfarms laid waste. The people were taken entirely by surprise, and theonly thing that could be resorted to to meet the emergency that wasupon them, was for the loyal citizens along the raider's path beforeand behind to assemble and make resistance and obstruction to his march.Gen. Anderson, comprehending the situation, at once gathered togethera few men and started in pursuit of Morganson. He collected men andmaterial as he went. He also aroused the people to action everywhere.Morganson's force was being recruited from the Golden Circle as hepassed through the country.
Morganson's Raid 206]
"That community was never so thoroughly excited before. Many murderswere committed on his line of march, and this one had lost his horses,that one had his house plundered; this town had been sacked, and in someinstances burned, and so on.
"Gen. Anderson made his march as rapidly as he could with raw men andhorses. He finally struck Morganson's rear and forced him to make astand. Gen. Anderson dismounted his men and told every man to coverhimself behind a tree where it could be done. The contest lasted forabout an hour, when a small body of men who had been gathered togetherin advance of the raiders, struck him in the rear, as he was thenfacing, and caused a great stampede, and his force broke in variousdirections through the woods. Morganson turned upon this small force anddrove it back, making his escape. Gen. Anderson followed him up closely,however, forcing him to change his course in the direction of the river.Gen. Broomfield had withdrawn a small force from Kentucky, which finallyjoined Gen. Anderson. Morganson was preparing to cross the river at apoint near an island, the water being shallow there. Gen. Anderson withhis raw recruits and about 100 of Broom-field's men at once assaultedhim, broke his line, and killed and wounded many of his men as they wereattempting to cross the river. After hard fighting for a few momentsMorganson and those of his command that were still with him surrendered.
"This ended the raiders and their foolish exploits. The men who hadvolunteered to follow Gen. Anderson were of all ages and sizes--from theschoolboy to the grandfather. None of them had been in the army or atany time seen service, so that they were without any sort of discipline,with the exception of a few who were at home on furlough from theirregiments, and some of Gen. Broomfield's command. But Gen. Anderson saidthat they fought like veterans, each one in his own way. Morganson andhis command were taken to Camp Chase for safe keeping, and Gen. Andersonreturned to Allentown to enjoy the leave of absence interrupted by theraiders.
"Joseph Dent came in the next morning after Gen. Anderson's return,and told us that when Morganson entered Indiana on his raid the GoldenCircles were notified, and were getting ready to join him and make warall over the State, but that he appeared too soon for them; that onaccount of his (Dent's) illness he had not been able to advise usearlier."
Dr. Adams inquired who this Gen. Morganson was.
Uncle Daniel said: "He was part of Forrester's command, that had raidedaround Rosenfelt so much during the previous Winter and Spring. He hadcrossed the Combination River to the east of Rosenfelt at Carthage,moving nearly due south by way of Greenberry, avoiding all points atwhich there were Union troops. He doubtless believed either that themembers of the Golden Circle were ready to join him, armed and equipped,or that his raid would strike consternation into the hearts of thepeople, inasmuch as our armies were all far away from where he proposedto lay the scene of his audacious exploits. But he made a mistake whenhe began to take horses and other property from all alike, whether Unionmen or rebel sympathizers. This changed the sentiments of many peoplevery rapidly."
Said Maj. Clymer: "What has become of Gen. Morgan-son? I have not heardof him since the war."
"He was killed somewhere in Tennessee soon after his escape from CampChase, so I have been informed.
"During Gen. Anderson's absence in pursuit of Morgan-son, Peter wastraveling rapidly through Canada. He returned the day following Gen.Anderson's from his capture of the raiders.
"The people everywhere seemed to be greatly rejoiced at the General'ssuccess. He received a great ovation from the citizens of Allentown, andthey cheered whenever he made his appearance. This caused him to keepvery close to the house, as he was not fond of demonstration. Thepeople, however, flocked to see him, and many of them could see greatvirtues in our family who, prior to that time, did not know us becausewe were not good enough for their society. So you see their own safetywas the patriotic spark that burned brightly in their bosoms. Butthis is human nature. Selfishness seems to pervade nearly all, as isevidenced every day. Many of those who wanted the rebellion to succeeddid so not because they were really rebels, but because they had saidthat we could not conquer them, and were willing to see our Governmentdestroyed, merely to get a chance in the future to say to every one, 'Itold you so.' These people now want the Government placed in the handsof its enemies for the same reason, so as to say, 'You cannot keep thecontrol out of the hands of such able and brave men as these.' Thus,you see, it is in many merely a selfish pride of former expressedopinions."
"That is a new idea, Uncle Daniel," said Dr. Adams; "but I am not surebut there is much in what you say."
"Yes, Doctor; experience and close observation have taught me manythings that I would have been slow to believe years ago. I am wandering,however, from what I was stating.
"The next evening after Peter's return we were all at tea and while atthe table Aunt Sarah, my good wife, asked Peter the condition of hisfoot. Peter replied that it was nearly well; he did not suffer from itexcept occasionally when he caught cold in it.
"'You must be very careful, Peter,' said she; 'I am fearful about it.You know how your brother James lingered and finally died with a merecut on his hand. I was disturbed about your wound last night in mysleep. I was dreaming about it.'
"'Well, mother,' said Peter, 'you seem to be dreaming somethingconstantly, and will continue to do so, so long as you allow yourself tobe worried.'
"But Peter ceased speaking on the subject, and his face took the sadexpression that seemed to have fixed itself upon him. I then spoke up torelieve the matter and said, 'Wife, you must not worry so much. You arejust able to be out, and I fear you will make yourself sick again. Peterwill take care of himself--at least I hope so.7
"Aunt Martha seemed to be listening to our conversation, and (havingbeen greatly indulged by all our family on account of marked kindness toGen. Anderson as well as to all the rest of the family) here chimed inand said:
"'Marsa Lyon, I tells you dat you is wrong on dat pint. De mans don'tknow how to take kear of demsefs. Now, dars Ham. He's like to get killany day, he am. He don't know nuffin, he don't.'
"Gen. Anderson and Peter laughed when she spoke of Ham getting killed.Peter seemed to lose for the time-being his sad countenance, when heremembered about Ham getting under the brush at Stone Run.
"Aunt Martha knew nothing about Ham's precipitate retreat during thelast battle, so she continued by saying:
"'Jes' see, Massa Tom, de Gen'l dar. Whar he bin if he lef wid de manswhen he got shotted at dat fight at Dolins-burg? He done bin dead sho.Dars whar he bin. I tell you de good Laud know who he trus' him wid; yessah, he do. So he put him wid me and den he make my ole head cifer outde cures what fotched him out. Jes' kase he want Marsa for good work,dat's why. What would Ham do curin' him up? No, sah, he not know how,and de Laud no trus' him.'
"Peter said: 'Aunt Martha, you rather like the Lord, I take it.'
"'Yes, sah, I do. He be good. He fotched de poor darkies out ob workin'all de time for nuffin for dem Sesh, and he know what he doin'. He goin'to let dem Sesh 'spect dat dey whip dem Yanks affer while, but he notlet dem do it. He jes' coaxin' dem on till he git good men hold of dearmy, den dey all git smash up. Jes' like Genl Tom, de Laud save him fordat. Don't you see dat? My! when Marsa Tom git after dem Sesh, dey donegits ebry time, dey do; don't dey, Marsa Lyon.'
"I agreed with her and the rest laughed. She finally cut her speechshort and retired to the kitchen.
"After tea Gen. Anderson gave us quite an amusing account of his littleimprovised army that followed Morgan-son. He said no braver set of menever marched, but that it was very hard to tell his men from the raiderswhen they got together; that some were riding in saddles and somewithout, substituting a doubled up blanket or quilt; some were on oldand some were on young horses; some were on ponies and some on mules,some wore 'stove-pipe' hats, some caps, some straw hats, and some werewithout either. Some had on frock, some dress, and some round-coats,and many entirely without coats of any kind; some with boots, some withshoes, and some entirely barefoot. Take them all in all, they were indress _a la_ Falstaff's troop, but they were a success, and did what theArmy of the Center, under Rosenfelt, had failed to do, and that wasto capture the rebel cavalry. This raid of Morganson was an audaciousadventure, doubtless encouraged by the Knights of the Golden Circle,and had he waited long enough I have no doubt that we would have had anuprising in Indiana that would have been very troublesome to put down.It was quite fortunate that it occurred when it did."
"Yes," said Dr. Adams; "I have no doubt that plans were being perfectedabout that time and later on for a general raiding and plunder of manycities, as well as portions of the North outside of cities, where wecould be seriously damaged."
Uncle Daniel resumed, saying: "During that evening we discussed mattersgenerally, but Peter felt very much disappointed at his being absent inCanada while Gen. Anderson was bagging Morganson. He said that it wasjust his luck to miss everything of this kind, but that he always hadthe luck to get into some hard place in front of the enemy, and usuallyget hurt in some way or other, but that when it came to getting rebelsinto a place where they could be easily whipped or captured or chasedout of the country, the luck seemed always to fall to Gen. Anderson. Heturned to the General, and with a twinkle of the eye asked him if hehad Ham with him to assist in hiving these Sesh. The General laughed andsaid no; that Ham was
back watching out for the Army of the Center andkeeping Gen. Forrester from coming in some morning and taking away ourtrunks and camp equipage. At this they both laughed.
"Peter said: 'Ham will not have quite the trouble that we have all hadheretofore since Forrester's command has been depleted by Morganson'scapture.'
"'No,' replied the General; 'he will only need to watch one of themnow.' The conversation then turned on Peter's trip into Canada.
"I inquired if he saw Mr. and Mrs. Whitcomb. He said that he spent onenight at their house; said they were nice old people, very religious,and lovely in every respect; that they were very proud of their childrenand spoke of James as a brave and good boy. They knew nothing whateverabout his having been in trouble. When he told them that he knew him andthat he was on duty with Gen. Anderson, they were delighted, and askedmany questions about the army, our prospects, etc. They spoke of Seraineas their lovely daughter; knew about her mission, her fondness forHenry, and, in fact, gave him much information about Henry prior tothe war that we did not know. Altogether his stay with them was verypleasant. After hearing about these good people, in whom we all felt aninterest, I insisted on his now giving us a full report of what he hadfound out about the situation in Canada in reference to the conspiracyand conspirators.
"He stated that on leaving Detroit, Mich., he went directly to Windsor,and while there became acquainted with several gentlemen, one fromChicago in particular by the name of John Wall. Peter, having learnedall about the Golden Circle, their signs, passwords, etc., had notrouble in making himself known, and, as he represented that he was fromNashville, Tenn., he got along without being suspected by any one. Walland he became friends at once, and as they had rooms adjacent at thehotel they were together the first night in Peter's room until verylate. Wall knew all about Morganson's raid, but not about his failureand capture. Peter learned that on his way home from the Detroit papers.Wall told Peter that he feared Morganson would not succeed in obtainingmany recruits, as the authorities in Canada at the head of theorganization had not furnished the arms that were promised to theirfriends in Indiana and Ohio; that he was at that time there for thepurpose of procuring arms for Illinois, and that he had been sent thereto see Mr. Jacob Thomlinson and a Mr. C. C. Carey on that business. Hesaid he was to have the arms smuggled through to Chicago, where theywould be subject to the orders of one Mr. N. Judy Cornington, and thatthe intention was to release the prisoners at Chicago and Bock Island ata time to be agreed upon for Camp Chase, Chicago, and other places.At this point Gen. Anderson inquired if Wall was a man about five feeteight inches in height, heavy build, gray eyes and light hair mixed withgray, about half and half. Peter replied in the affirmative. The Generalsaid:
"'He is the same man Wall that I met in company with Cornington, Bucknerand Eagle when I was in Chicago on my voyage of discovery.'
"'No doubt of it,' said Peter. Peter continued by saying that Wall gavehim full particulars as to what was intended. He said that so soon asarms could be procured and the prisoners released it would be made sohot for the Abolitionists, as he called the Union men, that they wouldbe glad to call their army back from the South in order to protectthemselves against fire and plunder in the North; that men were noworganizing to burn many of the cities North, and if that did not bringthe Abolitionists to terms other methods would be resorted to, but thatthe destruction of property would be effective, as the North cared morefor their property than they did for the Government. The next day theymet a man by the name of Tucker, who was on his way to Montreal, wherehe was to meet Jacob Thomlinson and Mr. Carey, in order to consult withthem about what was to be done in the direction mentioned by Wall.
"He said that arms must be procured at once; that the friends North wereready but that no means had yet been provided so that they could act.He thought that if Jacob Thomlinson did not have the arms in Canada heshould at once proceed or send to England for them; that he was readyhimself to perform the journey. To this Wall replied 'That is all thatis wanted in Illinois.' Tucker said that already men were in Englandprocuring and preparing material only recently discovered that wouldburn up all the cities of the North without endangering the partiesapplying it, and should this fail something else must be resorted to;that the Confederacy could not and must not fail. He was in favor ofassassinating every leading man North if absolutely necessary to procuretheir independence.
"Peter met several other Southern men while in Canada, as well as quitea number of Northern men, who were in the conspiracy, and said thatthey all seemed to be imbued with the same feeling and spirit--adetermination to have the rebellion succeed at no matter what cost. Intheir desperation he thought they would resort to any means, no matterhow destructive, barbarous, or murderous. He left Wall and Tucker, andvisited one or two other places, and then returned, as he thought he wasmeeting too many Southern men who might afterwards recognize him. Hisstatement only strengthened what we already had reason to believe.Peter also said that this man Tucker and Wall placed great reliance inValamburg, of Ohio, and Thomas A. Strider and Bowen, of Indiana, andfelt sure that they would arouse the people of the North against theAdministration to such an extent that the war men would be put out bythe people, and anti-war men put in their places, so that a recognitionof the Southern Confederacy would be assured. The only thing that seemedto alarm them was the success of Silent at Victor's Hill and Meadorat Gotlenburg. They said they had fears that these two men were theirgreatest enemies, and would relieve from the Union army all the officerswho were not Abolitionists. They seemed to mean all who were opposed tothe Administration. They appeared to understand but two classes of menin the North--their sympathizing friends, and Abolitionists.
"I made Peter write out his statement and leave it with me. I sent it tothe President, and soon received his thanks through his Secretary.
"Two days later Gen. Anderson and Peter left for their commands, and ontheir arrival at the Army of the Center they were most enthusiasticallyreceived by officers and men. An officer said:
"'General, you had to go home to get a chance at the rebs.'
"'Yes,' the General replied, 'Morganson and his men were merely visitingup North during the vacation.'
"The General found his staff officers, orderlies, and old Ham athis Headquarters. When he had seen them all and inquired as to theirwelfare, he told James Whitcomb about Peter having seen his parents.This delighted the boy very much to think that any of us should careenough about him to seek out his father and mother. Ham, being present,concluded that it was about his time to say a word, so he inquired ofthe General about Martha. The General told him that she was well, andsent love to him, and said she prayed for his safety.
"Ham laughed and said: 'I's not killed yet, but I 'spec' I will be someday; for de nex' time I's gwine right into de fight, so I is. I jes'tell you, Marsa Gen'l, I done sleep on dis, and jes' make up my mind datI fight dem Sesh de berry nex' time we git at em.'
"'Well, Ham,' said the General, 'I am not sure that we will need you todo any fighting; but we would like it if you would stay around wherewe could find you, the next battle in which we are engaged. Will you dothat?'
"'Yes, sah! I will, no mistake, dis time.' He got up pretty close to theGeneral, and said, 'Marsa Gen'l, you didn't tole Marfa 'bout I hidin' inde bush, did you?'
"'No, Ham; we said nothing about it to any one.'
"'Thank you, Marsa Gen'l; thank you, sah. I go now an' look after dehoses; I guess dey hungry.'
"'All right, Ham,' said the General; 'go on.'
"Gen. Rosenfelt at this time was reorganizing and putting his army inshape for a forward movement.
"Gen. Papson had been home, and had just returned and was changingsome of his divisions. In this change he had assigned some three moreregiments to Gen. Anderson, thereby making his division very strong.After the reorganization had been completed, Rosenfelt called severalof his Generals together at his Headquarters and talked over theproposition to advance upon the enemy, and found perfect unanimity amongthem
in favor of an early advance. He then said to them that he shouldmove within ten days. His Quartermasters and Commissaries were putto work and were busily engaged in procuring supplies and having themloaded into the several corps and division train-wagons. Everything wasactive in camp. The horses and mules were being re-shod, and the soundof many anvils could be heard both by day and by night. Officers weresupplying their mess-chests and obtaining extra supplies, as theysupposed there would not be another opportunity very soon. At this timethe Army of the Center numbered some 60,000 effective men, and was insplendid condition as to health, but had grown somewhat lazy afterso long a rest in camp with nothing to do. Gen. Biggs, who was inhis front, had scattered his forces very much, and while he had fewerinfantry than Rosenfelt, he had more cavalry. His cavalry, however, hadbeen diminished by the silly exploit of Morganson, who, as we know, hadbeen captured with many of his men, and those who were not captured hadconcluded that raiding was unprofitable and did not return to Bigg'sarmy again. His force was divided about as follows: Polkhorn was atShell-town with about 20,000 men; Harding was at Waterhouse, to theright some distance, with some 10,000 men; and at Tullahoming, withabout 15,000 men, lay Chatham in a well-intrenched position, his cavalryto the front and left of his army about 8,000 strong. Gen. Bertram,who surrendered Dolinsburg to Gen. Silent, was now holding Knoxburg andChatteraugus with some 18,000 men, about equally divided between the twoplaces.
"Rosenfelt was now compelled to attack his intrenched position or moveto the left, thereby endangering his communication to the rear. This wassomewhat perplexing to him. In marching forward he would be obliged toleave forces behind him to guard his communications, thereby constantlydiminishing his strength, while the enemy in falling back would losenone of his strength. Looking at the situation after he was ready, heagain concluded not to move. This caused a terrible clamor both in andout of the army. Finally he was ordered peremptorily to move forwardagainst the enemy. He obeyed the order, the army was put in motion, anda forward movement began. The question was how to out maneuver Biggs. Afeint was made on Shelltown, which lay in the direct route of his march.This caused Biggs to concentrate his forces at this point. While thismovement was being made our main forces were moved by rapid marches toMunster on the enemy's right, which jeopardized his communications withChatteraugus and the valley south.
"Biggs now finding his forces flanked, and seeing the danger of beingcut off from a junction with Bertram, fled precipitately over themountains to Fayette. Rosenfelt finding that Biggs had retreated in suchhot haste, was deceived into the belief that Biggs had gone into Georgiaat or near Romulus, and on finding that Bertram had left Chatterauguswith his command, concluded that the enemy were re-enforcing the rebelarmy in the East, and therefore thought to push on with force enough toattack and defeat him, at the same time holding the strong points inthe rear. So he sent Gen. Critsinger with his corps to Chatteraugus, andwith the rest of his force marched over the mountain into the valley,intending to have the larger portion of Critsinger's Corps join himin the valley, and then to move south. Instead, however, of Gen. Biggshaving sent any portion of his army to re-enforce the rebel army inthe East, he was concentrating all his forces at Fayette and quietlyawaiting re-enforcements from the East. Gen. Longpath, with a corps of20,000 men, was moving on railroad cars as rapidly as possible to thesupport of Biggs. Gen. Rosenfelt was now on the road between Bridgetonand Fayette without any knowledge as to the whereabouts of Biggs, andyet he was now within fifteen miles of him, and Biggs with somewhereabout 80,000 men was lying in wait for Rosenfelt's advance. Duringthis afternoon a lady came into camp and asked to be shown to Gen.Rosenfelt's Headquarters. When she appeared to the General he at oncerecognized Mrs. Houghton, who had made such a trip just before thebattle of Murphy's Hill, in order to give the General the movements ofthe enemy on his right the night before the assault. The General wasexceedingly glad to see her. She was invited to partake of soldiers'fare, and was very pleasantly entertained. As soon as she could get anopportunity she said to the General:
"'Are yot going to meet Gen. Biggs with your army?'
"The General responded: 'Yes, if I can ever find him.'
"'Well, General, if you continue marching in the direction that you arenow going, you will find him to-morrow.'
"The General laughed and said, 'I hope so; but, my dear lady, he is nearRomulus.'
"'No, General, he is not; he is at Fayette.'
"'At Fayette?' said the General with astonishment. 'You say he is atFayette?'
"'Yes, sir, I do; I saw his camp this day; I was not in the camp, butin sight of it. I have been at Smallwood, some fifteen miles south ofFayette, and know that Gen. Long-path, with his corps from Gen. Law'scommand in Virginia has joined Biggs. The last of these troops passed onyesterday for Fayette, and I was told by a well-informed person that thecorps would increase Bigg's army to between eighty and ninety thousandmen.'
"'Impossible!' said Rosenfelt; 'he would not have more than sixtythousand with these.'
"'Yes; but, General, you must know that 20,000 of the Victor's Hillparoled prisoners captured by Gen. Silent have been collected togetherand organized into a corps under Gen. Stephenson, and are now in campwith Biggs.'
"'Is that so?' inquired Rosenfelt.
"'Yes, General; what I have stated is true, and I hope you will believeme this time. I once before took the chances of my life to give youcorrect information, and had you believed my statement as then madeto Gen. Papson many a poor soldier might be living to-day who sleepsbeneath the sod. I come now as I did then, merely because I love mycountry, and for no other reason. These rebels treat me kindly and neverask me a question which would indicate their suspicion of me. I do notdislike them personally, but I am an inborn Union woman, would make anysacrifice for the preservation of our Government. General, you are inthe greatest danger of having your army destroyed. If I were a man anda General in command of this army I would fall back at once toChatteraugus and make resistance, as they are sure to attack you in avery short time. The understanding with them is that they must crushyour army before re-enforcements arrive to your support from the Armyof the West, that army having cleared that portion of the country of theenemy.'
"Rosenfelt said: 'If you had seen the army and made an estimate of itsstrength, I would then have no doubt, but I am persuaded that you aremistaken as to the whole rebel army being at Fayette. They say so toyou, but there is merely a force there to impede my march. It is a mereoutpost. Their main army is at Romulus, Ga.'
"'Well, General, I should not like very much to see you move on thisoutpost at Fayette, and I beseech you to send your scouts and find outthe exact situation before you make any further movement, as I assureyou that you will not proceed very far on this road without a greatbattle, and one that you will have cause to remember the rest of yourlife.'
"And so he has."
"The General said: 'Well, it is best to proceed with great caution atall times, and inasmuch as I know you feel sure of what you say, andhaving given very correct information heretofore, I will halt for theday and send my cavalry to Fayette and let them clear the town of therebels.'
"'Mrs. Houghton laughed and said: 'General, you had better give ordersto have what will be left of them (if you should send them there withsuch orders) return and let you know which road will be left to you tomarch on, which ever direction you may wish to go.'
"'Yes,' said the General, 'you seem to think we will not be strongenough for the enemy.'
"'General, he has a great army.'
"Gen. Rosenfelt concluded that perhaps he had better be prepared, so heplaced Gen. McCabe's Corps on the right, Gen. Critsinger in the center;Gen. Papson being some ten miles to his left near Cherokee Run, wasallowed to remain. His cavalry, under Gen. Straiter, was ordered to takethe main road to Fayette, and to enter the town if possible; but atall events to feel the enemy and ascertain his position and force. Thecavalry were late in getting in motion, and when they had gone some tenmiles the darkness of t
he night impeded any rapid movement. But theirorders were such that they must move on. Soon they struck the rebelpickets, who retired before them. Finally they approached the rebel campwhich was lighted and stretching out for miles to the east and south.The rebels had discovered the approach of the cavalry and sent tworegiments of infantry on a side road to their rear, who opened on themfrom an unsuspected quarter. This forced Gen. Straiter to strike offto his left, following a road leading from Fayette to the old MissionHouse. By doing this he made his escape with small loss, but wascompletely cut off from his retreat back to Rosenfelt's Headquarters.He traveled all night and struck the left of Gen. Papson's Corps atdaylight, giving this information to Papson, which was at once sent toRosenfelt. Messengers were sent with all dispatch to inform him of thesituation, and not only so, but to say that it looked as though theenemy were about moving, and Gen. Papson thought they would be mostlikely to strike our left. This Rosenfelt did not credit, as he couldnot see, if they intended an attack, why they would not attack ourright. In this he was mistaken. The enemy were intending to turn ourleft, take possession of the Mission House road, and interpose betweenChatter-augus and our army, secure Chatteraugus and Bridgeton, therebytaking possession of the lines of railroad between there and Nashua,forcing Rosen felt away from his base of supplies, and, eventually, todestroy and capture his army.
"Gen. Papson, taking in the situation, ordered one of his divisions,with Straiter's tired cavalry, at once on and across the road in rearof Cherokee Run, holding two of the main crossings, at the same timenotifying Rosenfelt of his position and the reasons for it. In themeantime Rosenfelt had concluded that the information given him by Mrs.Houghton was in part correct. Having said this much to her, she askedto be permitted to go into Chatteraugus, which she could do by crossingover in the rear of the army to the Mission House road. Her request wasgranted, and she started on her way. She had not traveled far beforeshe heard cannonading. She was then sure that the battle had begun.Rosenfelt was greatly perplexed. Finally he agreed to Papson'ssuggestions, and ordered Crit-singer's Corps to the left, and to join onto Papson's right. By this time he could hear the sound of artilleryin the distance, but held McCabe, believing that the attack would mostlikely be made on that road and on his right. Gen. Papson, seeing thatone brigade of the enemy had advanced to the crossing on Cherokee Run,did not hesitate, but ordered Gen. Anderson to attack it, which he didat once. The contest was a sharp one, but the enemy were driven backvery much broken up, with heavy loss in killed and wounded. Papson thenthrew Palmerston's division in on the extreme left, on high ground,covering the road and crossing well with artillery. In the afternoona strong force under Polkhorn advanced, and furiously attacked the twodivisions under Anderson and Palmerston. The contest raged for over anhour.
"Palmerston was driven from his position, and our cavalry, which had beenposted on his left, was broken into fragments. Gen. Anderson changedfront with his left brigade and struck Polkhorn in flank and forcedhim back on his main line. Palmerston was now supported by Sherlin'sdivision and his former position retaken. By this time Longpath had comeup on Polkhorn's left and had assailed violently Critsinger's left, andafter a severe struggle, in which the loss was great on both sides, ourlines gave way and the rebels came through and down the slope of thehill in perfect swarms. Papson, quietly and coolly, as if in church,threw a portion of his corps into the breach and checked the advance.He then adjusted Critsinger's line and moved at once against Longpath'sright and broke it, driving it back in great confusion. He then advancedhis whole line and drove the enemy back for some distance through thewoods on to his reserves, and in this position night closed in on thetwo armies. During the night Rosen-felt came up with McCabe's Corps,which was now posted on a ridge to the right of Critsinger. This beingdone, he had his corps commanders assemble at his Headquarters, now nearPapson. When all were together the manner of the enemy's assault wasstated and various views given as to his number. Some contended that hiswhole army was engaged; some, his right wing only.
"General Papson was of a different opinion. He thought that the day'sbattle had been fought on the part of the enemy by his advance merely;that he was marching rapidly, believing that he could pass aroundour left flank on the Mission House Road, by way of Roseville, intoChatteraugus without much of a struggle, thinking our army all to beon the Bridgeton and Fayette road; that in the morning they would attackwith their whole force; and for that we should prepare during the night.Rosenfelt agreed that all arrangements for a great battle must be madeduring the night. He directed that the lines be adjusted and madeas compact as possible, and all be ready to receive their assault bydaylight in the morning. He then sent out to find his cavalry commander,Straiter. When found it was ascertained that part of his command hadretreated to Roseville.
"The General ordered him to get his command together that night andmove by daylight in the morning around our left, and on the right of theenemy, and attack his right flank; to dismount his men and fight them ashe would infantry, and to fall back on Palmerston's left and there takehis position, and to maintain it if possible. He directed McCabeto refuse the right of his line and to close up on the left withCritsinger. Papson he directed to take command of the left and centerand to advance, if he should drive the enemy in the direction of theMission House road, so as to get the enemy across it if possible. Thetwo armies could be heard during the entire night moving into differentpositions. The movements of the artillery sounded at times as if it wascoming into the other's line. Hospital parties could be heard on bothsides in search of the wounded. The light of the fires could be seen formiles on either side, where the men were getting their scanty mealsand perhaps their last one. Rosenfelt was busy all night in givingdirections for the morrow. He rode all along his lines during the night.
"Biggs intended to make the assault at the opening of day the nextmorning. Polkhorn was to move around and make an assault on our leftand center with one wing of the rebel army, composed of two corps. Thisattack was delayed, however, by a heavy fog that hung over the field,lasting for some two or three hours, giving Gen. Papson time tostrengthen his lines. At length the breathless suspense came to an end.Bolenbroke with a full division had moved around on Papson's left flank(our cavalry failing to get round as ordered) and made a most desperateassault. This was taken up by successive Confederate divisionstoward the center with a view of getting possession of the road toChatteraugus. Gen. Papson was equal to the occasion, and Bolenbroke wassoon hurled back in utter rout, two of his Generals killed--Helmer andDeshling--and many of their men and officers killed, wounded and takenprisoners.
"In the same manner were all attempts to break Papson's line abortive.While these things were going well and Pap-son's command proving itselfthe superior of the enemy, rolling him back in dismay, a terribledisaster befell us on the right, which endangered the safety of ourwhole army.
"In the morning, very early, Rosenfelt, in passing along the lines of hisarmy, discovered that McCabe was stretched out like a string, withno solidity whatever in his line; that Davies with his division wasentirely detached from the main line and isolated; and Critsinger wasalso stretched over entirely too much ground. He at once ordered theproper dispositions to be made, which was not attended to until late,and in changing these divisions the movement was attended with the mostfearful results to our troops, a gap being opened in our front by thewithdrawal of one of our divisions to the rear, the place not beingclosed up, as it should have been. On its discovery by the enemy,Longpath threw Hoadley's division in at this point, at the same timeassaulting our right flank with Bertram's force. By this movement andassault on our flank our whole right wing was utterly disorganized anddemoralized. They rushed in every direction. The commanders seemed to bestampeded and worse demoralized (if such a thing could be) than even themen. The woods swarmed with disorganized bands of men without officers.The whole right became a confused mass, mingling together without anyreference to organization. In this mixed and confused condition theycame
like a rushing torrent through the woods in all directions; butfinally, getting the direction to the northward, they bore everythingalong in the same direction. Rosen-felt, by some means, was carriedalong by this moving mass in the direction of Roseville, and, beingnow separated from the rest of the army, he continued his wayto Chatter-augus, the presumption at least being that he went toChatteraugus in order to collect together and reform his shattereddivisions, that Papson might be properly protected in his looked-forretreat with the remainder of the army.
"When Papson was looked for he was not to be seen coming on the road. Hehad met the shock which came upon him after the General commandingand the whole right wing had abandoned the field, leaving him and hiscommand to take care of themselves. Papson stood like the pillars ofHercules, and met every assault of the combined army of Biggs with hissingle corps. Gen. Gregor came back from the retreating column with hiscommand, as also did several other brigades. They were reconstructedhurriedly and formed in line in support of Papson. He soon distributedthese troops and strengthened his flank. He fell back to a ridge acrossthe road over which the enemy were moving, and here reformed his linesand encouraged his men. Gens. Anderson and Sherlin were gathering andputting in line anywhere that they could do so the men who had beenlost from their commands on the right. The rebels were now advancingon Papson with the assurance of an easy and triumphant march uponChatteraugus, where they expected to make prisoners of Rosenfelt andhis entire army. Papson was still receiving companies and regimentsreturning to the field after finding that a portion of our army stoodits ground. Batteries that had been abandoned on the field by McCabeand Crit-singer in their stampede were gathered and put in position withother artillerymen to work them. Gen. Gregor was moved to the right withhis returned forces (who redeemed themselves at once), he hurled one ofLongpath's divisions from a hill on Papson's right, where a flank attackwas intended by the enemy. By this success we gained the position thatentirely protected our right. Papson now with his small force was in astrong position. The fighting continued on different parts of our line.Palmerston had been again driven from the left and Gen. Anderson againsent to his support. He fell upon the enemy with his command and drovehim back with great slaughter. Palmerston was again re-established, and,with his position strengthened, could now hold it. The battle raged withgreat fury the full length of the line, and never did a Spartan bandstand more firmly than did our gallant men. At four o'clock like amighty tempest in all its most terrible fury did the musketry andartillery of the enemy burst forth upon Papson's devoted columns, theentire rebel forces moving down upon him in solid phalanx. Our forcesreplied with all their artillery. The roar of the artillery, with itsblazing fire, the rattle of the musketry on both sides, equaled any everheard or witnessed. Solid masses boldly marched up in front of Papson'slines, where they were literally mowed down by our musketry anddischarges of shrapnel and canister from our batteries. They wouldrecoil and then move forward again into the very jaws of death. Youcould see them fall almost in heaps, as it were.
"This character of contest continued until darkness set in, our columnsnot moving or swerving in the least. At dark the enemy retreated. Thevictory of Gen. Papson was complete. Had the whole army remained andsupported Papson during the day a great battle would have been won byour army, and Biggs driven out of the country, although his army wasso greatly in excess of Rosen-felt's in numbers. As the battle closedPapson received orders from Rosenfelt at Chatteraugus to fall back toRose-ville, which was done. They encamped there for the night.Gen. Anderson and staff were worn out and hungry. They hunted theirHeadquarters, but Headquarters were not there. Old Ham was nowhere to befound, and no provision had been made for anything to eat. Gen. Andersonwas greatly annoyed, but thought perhaps there was some excuse for it,as most of the men seemed to get lost during the day.
"Capt. Day and my son Jackson said to the General: 'Perhaps he is withRosenfelt, assisting him in reorganizing the army in Chatteraugus.'Matters were really too serious for jokes to be very amusing orinteresting at that time, so the conversations on the subject of Hamand his whereabouts ceased. The next day they marched to Chatterauguswithout disturbance from the enemy. Many of our men remained on thebattlefield that night (compelled to do so from exhaustion) and came onto camp next morning without the enemy coming in sight. Gen. Rosenfeltstated his loss at 16,000, and Biggs admitted his to be 18,000. The armyof Rosenfelt was all collected and concentrated at Chatteraugus.
"When Gen. Anderson came into camp he had a search made for Headquarterswagons and tents, as well as for Ham. Finally one of the orderlies foundHam down under the bank near the river and brought him to Gen. Anderson.When Ham saw the General he was delighted and called out: "'My Laud,Marsa Gen'l, I 'spected you done dead!' "'Yes,' said the General; 'butit seems you did not wait to see.'
"'No, sir; dat am so. I staid doe, Marsa Gen'l, jes' as long as anybodyelse do whar I been. I tell you, our mans all git, dey do; and when Iseed dat big Gen'l what's ober all ob you'uns (what am his name)--whenI seed him a gittin' from dar, I 'eluded it war about time for dis olenigga to march on dis way, too. Dat Gen'l, he not ride slow, I tellyou; he go fas'. And, afore de Laud, I 'spected you ebery one killedor cotched by dem Sesh; den whar's de use ob me stayin' any mo' at datplace, Marsa Gen'l?' "'Well, Ham, did you ever study law?' "'No, sir;I 'spect not; I dunno what it am.' "'I think you would have made agood lawyer, Ham.' "'Well, Marsa Gen'l, de truf is, ole Ham no good fornuffin'. I cannot stand dis fitin'; dat am de truf, Marsa Gen'l. So, yousee, I is no good. I stay all right jes' as long as it am all quiet; butwhar am de use ob me stayin' by myself?'
"The General laughed and said that was too good to keep. He let Ham off,sending him out with Capt. Day and Jackson to get some tents and campequipage from the A. Q. M. The next day he amused himself telling Papsonand Sherlin what Ham said about 'no use for him to stay by hisself whende big Gen'l gone.' They all enjoyed the joke except those that camein early. Ham came back after a while to the General and begged him topromise not to tell 'Marfa,' and then went off satisfied.
"Biggs soon followed up and took possession of the ridge to the eastrunning from the old Mission House to the Little Combination River,called Middleton's Ridge, and also a spur branching off from the regularchain of mountains down to the river west of Chatteraugus, known asLooking-Glass Mountain. The line thus formed was in the shape of ahorseshoe, and, with the river washing the north side of the town,Rosenfelt was completely encircled; the object of Biggs being to forcea surrender by starving him out, Biggs now fully commanding allRosenfelt's communications both by rail and river. This was the positionof the two armies at this time.
"Gen. Silent was ordered to leave Victor's Hill and proceed toChatteraugus, sending as many troops as could be spared from the Army ofthe West. Gen. Meador was directed to send 20,000 men from the Armyof the East, in order to protect the communications of the Army of theCenter. In the meantime Broomfield had been ordered to move with hisforce, then in Kentucky, on Knoxburg. Gen. Hord had come on transportsup the Combination River to Nashua with his corps from the Army ofthe East, and had sent them in advance to protect the railroad betweenNashua and Bridgeton.
"Gen. Silent learning the situation, sent the troops forward fromVictor's Hill and hastened to the scene himself. The first order heissued in connection with the Army of the Center was that of relievingRosenfelt of his command and placing Gen. Papson in his place. Thecondition of the Army of the Center by this time was really frightfuland perilous, and to relieve this situation was the thing to be done,if possible. To this end all the energy of the Chief was directed. Todo this before an unprovisioned army would be forced by starvation tosurrender was the problem. Gen. Silent telegraphed to Papson to holdout, and the answer came, 'We will hold out until we starve.'"
"What a noble old Roman," said Dr. Adams.
"Yes," said Col. Bush; "the old man had no superior in the army, eitheras a patriot or fighter; he was like a rock when he once took hisposition and got his lines formed."
/> "I knew him well," said Inglesby; "he was a noble man. He would havestarved to death in Chatteraugus before he would have surrendered."
"Uncle Daniel, what has become of Gen. Rosenfelt?" inquired Maj.Clymer. "He was a kind man, and I liked him very much, barring somefaults."
"Yes. Well, he became soreheaded and got mad at the Administration, andwas exceedingly bitter on Gen. Silent for relieving him, and soon tookshelter under the wing of the anti-war party; but I have not heard ofhim for many years. I think he went to some foreign country, then cameback and went to mining. I have no knowledge of his whereabouts now,however."