' f.* **,* K ■ • 5 1 e i» »'i »'t ! » a i i'5 « t,i« J «.j 1 f I i, t ■11 * » t I i 1 E t i • . « . S-.'. 3 ,5 f « i'l' J- b" ^mmm^ ^^>m<^< mrn^ ' ' » I • ! .% I'M.'.'.' ;:;;::;:::;:;:;:;:;;:;:;:::;%:;:::;:::; f i S ft I I 1 ■ a o*-*,'-«.* « i iiiiliiiii* :!:y:v:v:' >:':>':.'.•.%■ >,!,.tH.|T,'if,%> •yMvI'ViMi: .'.'.'I*." « « »- aass_^^,ffe^ ,/^ Book_ i/r/C^i/66 WITH THE COMPLIMENTS OF THE NEW YORK MONUMENTS COMMISSION MAJOR-GENERAL JAMES S.WADSWORTH AT GETTYSBURG AND OTHER FIELDS D. of D. .'. I91« GEN. JAMES S. WADSWORTH, U. S. VOLS. ITn flibemoriam James Samuel XXHabswortb 1807*1864 IL ':^ 73 5-7 publlsbeO bg autboritg ot tbe State of Vizw Uocfs, IllnOcr tbe Superrtalon ot Tlew yorft. /ETonumentd Commlaaion p^ rtx Cr^^Mi^^^-'^-'^ •a- ^'tU'OOB- TO DICIMBER 19. H63. DETAILED JANUARY 9. 1864. ON COURT OF INQW" ORDERED MARCH IS. I8e4. TO REPORT TO GEN. MEADE." 'N CO'**'*^tW 'OUKDtD MAY S. 1864, IN THE BATTLE OF THE WILDERNESS. VIRGIHlft ntO MAY S 1864 -,„. /''«>l>ITtD BREVET MAJOR CEN ER AL U. S.V -TO \* ^ K F ROM K M ^ «^^ ^"K CAUANT CONDUCT AT THE BATTLES OF GETTYSBURG AND THE >"V3 INSCRIPTIONS ON BRONZE DRUM OF WADSWORTH MONUMENT Hn fIDemoviam James Samuel Mabsvvortb ■flntrobuctoi'i? UNDER date of IMarch 2, 1910, the New York INIonuments Commission made application to the Legislature for an appro- priation for the pm-jjose of erecting on the battlefield of Gettysburg, Pa., a bronze statue to Brevet Major-General James Sanmel Wadsworth, deceased, to commemorate his services and the services of the troops under his command in the engagement. General Wadsworth and the regiments that fought under him rendered memorable service to the Army of the Potomac in the battle of Gettysburg. The two brigades constituting the division which he commanded were the first infantry troops to encounter the Con- federate forces on that field. Upon the arrival on the scene of General Wadsworth's Division — the First Division of the First Corps — General Buford's Cavalry were engaged in a preliminary skirmish with the advance columns of the Army of Northern Virginia and desperately striving to hold them in check until such time as infantry troops came to their relief; and that relief was brought to them by Cutler's and IVIeredith's Brigades, which marched to Seminary Ridge on the morning of July 1, 1863, under the command of General Wads- worth. The conflict which thus began has earned, in a sense, for General Wadsworth the honor of opening the battle of Gettysburg. Reaching the field considerably in advance of the other two divisions of the First Corps, his brigades were obliged to sustain the brunt of the fighting at the outset. In this initial contest of the engagement, which forms a distinct episode in the struggles of the first day's fight at Gettysburg, the brigades opposed to him were repulsed, many hundreds being made prisoners. In the gallant resistance which they 11 3ames Samuel Mabswortb offered to vastly superior numbers, after the renewal of the battle on the afternoon of the first day, the regiments of the First Division dis- played almost unexampled feats of valor and determination; they inflicted heavy losses on the enemy, and their own casualties through- out the first day amounted to more than one-half the number that the division carried to the field in the morning. It was General AVads- worth, also, who was assigned to the important work of occupying Gulp's Hill on the evening of the first day, and on the second day and the third day of the battle he rendered timely aid to the Twelfth Corps in their famous defense of that place. From the commence- ment of the Civil War until mortally wounded in the battle of the Wilderness on the 6th of May, 1864, General Wadsworth was con- tinuously engaged in rendering valuable, varied and valorous service to the cause of safeguarding the Union. In the estimates for the supply bill of 1910 which this Commis- sion submitted to the Legislature an item was included for covering the cost of the proposed statue to General Wadsworth ; and by chapter 513 of the Laws of 1910, which became a law June 18, 1910, the New York ISIonuments Conmiission was " authorized and directed to pro- cure and erect on an ajipropriate site on the battlefield of Gettysburg, in the State of Pennsylvania, a bronze statue to Brevet Major-General James Samuel Wadsworth, deceased, at an expense not to exceed the sum of Ten thousand dollars." The monument erected by the State of New York, under the supervision of this Board of Commissioners, by the provisions of the above-mentioned act, commemorates the services of General Wads- worth and of the New York troops under his command, comprising the Seventy-sixth, Eighty-fourth (Fourteenth Brooklyn Militia), Ninety-fourth, Ninety-fifth, One hundred and second and One hun- dred and forty-seventh regiments of infantry, and Battery L, First New York Light Artillery. Sketches of the volunteer organizations given in a publication entitled " New York in the War of the Rebellion " show that these regiments were recruited in various counties in the State of New York. 3amcs Samuel iWIla&swortb Authority having been secured from the State to proceed with the work of erecting the monument, a careful study was made by the Commission of an apjiropriate site for it. It was obvious at the outset that this place should be on Seminary Ridge, as that was the scene of General Wadworth's best known exploit as a commander. In their deliberations for this purpose the Conmiissioners had recourse to Gen- eral Wadsworth's report of the battle, contained in Serial No. 43 of the Rebellion Records; also a publication called " Maine at Gettys- bui'g," which describes the movements of Hall's Battery that went into action on ground adjacent to the positions occupied l)y the regi- ments of Cutler's Brigade, General Wadsworth's Division, the morn- ing of the first day's battle. Remarks made by some of the officers of the One hundred and forty-seventh New York Volunteers at the dedication of the memorial to their regiment, which are printed in " New York at Gettysburg," were also found useful in this connec- tion. The facts gathered from these, as well as other sources, were laid before the Gettysburg National Park Commission for their con- sideration, and the site contemplated for the monument was formally approved by them. Accordingly, at a meeting of the New York Monuments Commission held December 8, 1911, a resolution was adopted, to the effect that the site for the proposed monument to General Wadsworth shall be on the east side of Reynolds Avenue, close to the Western Maryland Railroad cut, and north of and adjacent to, the memorial erected to the One hundred and forty- seventh New York Volunteer Infantry, Cutler's Brigade. The boundaries of the plot embracing this site were laid out in due course by A. J. Zabriskie, the engineer of this Commission; and a map of the site and its immediate environments was prepared and forwarded to the Gettysburg National Park Commission for their approval of the site and that of the Secretary of War, which was duh^ given, as shown by map signed by him, dated February 9, 191.5. This map is now on file at the office of the Secretary of State of New York. The New York Monuments Commission had in mind for the monument a standing figure in bronze, in military costume, placed 13 3ame0 Samuel TIUla&9Wortb upon a granite pedestal, upon which should appear suitable inscrip- tions, the State Coat of Arms and the P^irst Corps badge. Pursuant to a resolution of the Board, letters were written to R. Hinton Perry, sculptor, of New York, and Louis R. Gudebrod, sculptor, of IVIeriden, Conn., inviting them to submit preliminary sketch models, showing their designs for the statue. The designs were intended to serve as a basis for the full-size plaster model desired. The sketch model pre- pared by Mr. Perry was selected by the Commissioners. jNIr. Perry's work was also the choice of Major James W. Wadsworth, the son of General Wadsworth. Thereupon a contract, which is dated January 19, 1912, was executed between this Commission and Mr. Perry. By the terms of the contract the sculptor agreed to furnish a full-sized plaster model, nine feet high, for portrait statue, and plinth for same, and a full-size model for bronze inscription drum, four feet in diameter and three feet high, with decorations in relief. As work on the full- size model progressed, members of the Commission, accompanied by Major Wadsworth, conferred from time to time with the sculptor at his studio, in regard to the military effects which it was desired to secure, requirements as to uniform and accoutrements, and other like details. Acceptance by the Commission of the full-size plaster model took place on April 21, 1913, the date when it was finally inspected. Draft of the inscription to be placed on the pedestal of the monu- ment, which had been prepared by the Commission, favored with the advice of Major Wadsworth, was sent to the AVar Department at Washington, D. C, on April 17, 1913, for examination and approval, and for the approval of the Gettysburg National Park Commission. Some slight changes in the text of the inscription having been made by the authorities in the War Department, it was adopted by the Commission in its amended form. Proposals which had been invited for reproducing the plaster model in bronze were read by the chairman at a meeting of the Board held Aug. 21, 1913; and the contract therefor was awarded to the Gorham Company, of New York. This contract is dated September 16, 1913. The Chairman of the Commission and Colonel Beckwith 14 THE WADSWORTH STATUE FACING WEST Covering the Union line of battle July 1, 1863 3amc0 Samuel lKIla^0wo^tb inspected the completed bronze figure at the works of the manufac- turers, at Providence, R. I., on April 29, 1914, and formally accepted same on behalf of the Commission. Bids that various granite contractors were asked to submit for furnishing the pedestal required for the statue were considered by the Commissioners at their meeting held February 19, 1914. The pro- posal of the National Granite Co., of Montpelier, Vt., contained the lowest figures for constructing this pedestal and the contract for it was given to them. This contract is dated May 19, 1914. The work of finally completing the pedestal was done under the supervision of Commissioner Beckwith, and the acceptance of same by the Com- mission was made, through him, on July 3, 1914. The pedestal is twelve feet square at the base and ten feet two inches high above the foundation. It consists of six courses. The stone, which is highly polished, is dark Barre granite. The design for the pedestal was the woi'k of Edward P. Casey, architect of New York. Mr. Casey is the grandson of General Silas Casey, U. S. A., who served in the Army of the Potomac during the Civil War. Through Commissioner Beckwith, contract' bearing date of May 7, 1914, was made with Charles E. Lady, of Gettysburg, Pa., for the construction of the foundation, and with Charles Kappes, also of Gettysburg, for the setting of the pedestal. The work of setting the pedestal, superintended by Conmiissioner Beckwith, was completed on August 3, 1914, and the following day the bronze statue was put in place by the Gorham Company. The total cost of the monument was $7,788.28; amount appro- priated, $10,000. This left an unexpended balance of $2,211.72 in the hands of the State Treasurer. Nearly all the important parts of the work required for the monu- ment having been arranged for and the completion of same assured by the Autunm of 1914, the Chairman of the Commission at a meeting held November 7, 1918, submitted a statement showing the estimated cost for appropriately dedicating the statue; and thereupon he was 15 3ame6 Samuel Mabswortb authorized by his colleagues to make application to the Legislature for an aj^propriation deemed sufficient for this purpose. This item, amounting to $7,200, was included in the supjjly bill of 1914; it was approved by the Governor June 10, 1914, and is part of chapter 531, Laws of 1914. Provision was thus made for transportation to and from Gettysljurg, Pa.; of tv/o hundred and twenty of the surviving veterans of the Xew York commands represented in the battle of Gettysburg, on the first, second and third days of July, 1863, under tlie command of General Wadsworth, to be designated by the respec- tive veteran organizations, upon an ajiportionment fixed by the Com- mission, to attend the dedication of the statue, to be erected by the State on the battlefield; for the transportation of the Governor and Military Secretary, the Lieutenant-Governor, the Comjitroller, the family of General Wadswortli, the Speaker of the Assembly, the President pro tem of the Senate and the members of the two Pinance Committees of the Legislature and this Board of Commissioners and invited guests ; and other incidental expenses. The plan and scope of the ceremonies for this dedication and the requirements and work incident to it occupied the Board at a meeting held June 24, 1914. Tuesday, October 6, 1914, was designated as the date for the ceremonies. A resolution was adopted, that CaiJtain Albert M. Mills, Eighth New York Cavalry, a veteran of the battle, be communicated with and requested to deliver the oration for the occasion, and General Horatio C. King, also, to speak. General John A. Reynolds, Battery L, First New York Light Artillery, with whom correspondence on the subject was had, was appointed grand marshal for the ceremonies. At this meeting of the Conmiission, also, arrangements were outlined for providing division and brigade flags and streamers, as well as the veteran and guest badges which were to be worn for the occasion. In addition to the regiments already named, as serving under the command of General Wadsworth in the engagement, and therefore entitled by the provisions of the act to free transportation, this priv- ilege was likewise extended to members of the One hundred and fourth 16 3amc5 Samuel Mat)0wortb New York Vclunteer Infantry, inasmuch as that regiment, also called the Wadsworth Guards, was largely recruited at Geneseo, N. Y., under the auspices of General Wadsworth. Two circulars, the first dated July 17, 1914, and the second August 19, 1914, were mailed to the executive officers of the organizations entitled to particijjate in the dedication, notifying them of the passage of the act, the date set for the ceremonies, the transportation arrange- ments that had been made with the various railroads, and other par- ticulars relating to the dedication. With the first circular there were enclosed muster roll blanks, for the officers to enter thereon the names of the veterans whom they desired to designate for taking part in the ceremonies. A communication was addressed to the Trunk Line Association, under date of July 17, 1914, asking them to make arrangements with the railroad companies, whereby transportation orders issued by this Commission to veterans for the occasion of the dedication could be exchanged for tickets from points in the State of New York to Gettys- burg and return. This request was duly complied with. For sending invitations to the members of the official dedication party a specially printed form of letter was used, accompanied by papers containing the itinerary and the programme of exercises. Transportation for the official dedication party was furnished by the Pennsylvania Railroad Company, on a special train which left New York at 9.56 a. m., Monday, October 5th. At Gettysburg the party was accommodated at the Eagle Hotel. The muster rolls containing the names of the veterans who were to participate in the ceremonies at the dedication began to arrive by September first, and as they reached the office of the Commission the transportation certificates were made out from them. ^\niere there was doubt as to the most convenient routing the matter was taken up with the officers of the organizations, or else with the veterans them- selves direct. The transportation certificates were forwarded on Sep- tember 21st, and with them were sent the badges which were to be worn by the survivors at the ceremonies. Individual applications for 17 3amee Samuel Ma&swortb transportation continued to reach the Commission until the end of September, three weeks after some of the muster rolls had been received, and these were promptlj'^ passed upon by the Conmiission direct. The last order issued was dated October 1st. Only a few of the or«ranizations were able to complete their quota of representation. Age and the distance to be travelled were the apparent reasons for this. Also, declination in a good many cases was due to the fact that nearly all the veterans invited for this occasion had been at Gettysburg a short time previously, — during the fiftieth anniversary celebration, in July, 1913. Transportation over the battlefield, and to and from the statue, was furnished to the veterans and the official dedication party. There were 214 transportation orders issued to veterans, of which forty were returned unused. With their respective itemized accounts for transportation furnished, the several railroad companies forwarded to this office the orders which were exchanged for tickets, and these vouchers were compared with the corresponding stubs in the order books. A summary of the statements shows that seven railroads issued for these orders, from thirty-four stations, 174 tickets. One whole ticket and six portions of tickets were returned unused by their respective holders and the redemption values of same were deducted from the bills of the railroads issuing them. Pursuant to a request sent by the Chairman of the Commission to the War Department, under date of July 10, 1914, in behalf of the State, there were present and took part in the ceremonies, for escort duty, two troops and band from the Fifth Ignited States Cavalry, Captain W. W. Forsyth, commanding. The War Depart- ment not being able to send a battery of artillery with the cavahy, as desired, the Commission secured the services of a provisional bat- tery from York, Pa. (commanded by Captain W. C. Kraber), for the purpose of firing the salutes. Tuesday, October 6, 1914, was a real Indian summer day. At two o'clock the different veteran organizations (led by the grand marshal and his aides), the United States Cavalry and the official 18 3ames Samuel TKIla^9wo^tb dedication party, started from the locations in the town that had been assigned to them and proceeded along the Springs Road to the monu- ment. On the arrival of the procession at the monument salutes were fired by the Battery, and again at the unveiling of the statue. About 2,000 people - — fully 350 of them from the State of New York — witnessed the brilliant spectacle presented at the dedicatorj'^ exercises. The Cavalry Band and the Citizens Band of Gettysburg furnished the music. The chairman of the Commission, Col. Lewis R. Stegman presided at the exercises. Prayer having been offered by the Rev. William T. Pray, 102nd N. Y. Vol. Inf., the statue was unveiled, with acclamations, by Master Jeremiah Wadsworth and his sister Miss Evelin Wadsworth, great-grandchildren of (ieneral Wadsworth. The speakers for the occasion were Captain Albert M, Mills, 8th N. Y. Cav., General Horatio C. King, Sheridan's Cavalry, Senator John F. jMurtaugh, of Elmira, X. Y., President pro tem of the Senate; Hon. Thaddeus C. Sweet, of Phoenix, N. Y., Speaker of the Assembly, Major James W. Wadsworth, son of General \Vads- worth, Hon. James W. Wadsworth, Jr., Ignited States Senator- elect, the grandson of General Wadsworth. A poem, specially written for the occasion, entitled " The Battle Years," was read by J. I. C. Clarke. A noteworthy feature of this event was the fact that three genera- tions of General Wadsworth's family took part in it. The Star and Sentinel, a Gettysburg newspaper, in its issue of October 7, 1914, the day after the dedication, reported that " the services were among the most impressive and touching that ever marked an unveiling of the kind on this field." As already stated, the amount appropriated for dedicating the statue to General Wadsworth was $7,200; there was disbursed for it bj' the Commission the sum of $.5,939.21, leaving an unexpended balance in the State Treasury of $1,200.79. 19 k:2%^/^>^^^''2S> g^^^^^^^-^^^'''^ Co/. Cim^ S^CAiv/ r// ^ ^ ^"- ^'^^^ ^^^ CM/^^ NEW YORK MONUMENTS COMMISSION 1914 Commissioners ; Col. CLINTON BECKWITH Col. LEWIS R. STEGMAN Gen. HORATIO C. KING Brlg.-Gcn. HENRY D. HAMILTON. The Adjutant-General Col. LEWIS R. .STEGMAN, Chairman J. W. LYNCH. .Secretary New York Monuments Commission FOR THE Battlefields of Gettysburg, Chattanooga and Antietam ROOM 1015, 116 NA.SSAU STREET, NEW YORK July 17, 1914. Ma&swortb riDonument DeMcation Circular No. 1 This Board of Commissioners is authorized bj- chapter 531 of the Laws of 1914 to fm-nish free transportation to Gettysburg, Pa., and return, for thirty-four survivors from each of the six New York regiments, and Battery L, First N. Y. L. A., which served under Gen. James S. Wadsworth in the battle of Gettysburg, July 1, 2 and 3, 1863, to attend the dedication of the bronze statue erected there by the State to the memory of General Wadsworth. The dedicatory exercises will be held Tuesday, Octoljcr 6, 1914. Muster roll blanks will be furnished the officers of the veteran associations, for them to enter thereon the names of such of their members as they desire to designate for taking part in this dedication. Transportation orders, filled out by the undersigned from the muster rolls, will be forwarded to the oflicers of the associations, for distribution among the veterans in whose favor they are drawn. 31 3amc0 Samuel Mabewortb Those transportation orders will not be accepted for passage on trains, but must be exchanged for railroad tickets; neither are the orders transferable; if not used they should be returned to the New York Monuments Commission. The officers are requested to send in the muster rolls so that they will be received in this office not later than September 10, lOli, in order that there may be ample time to transmit the certificates, and also to notify the railroad companies of the stations for which trans- portation orders have been issued. Apijlication has been made to the railroad companies, through the Trunk Line Association, to honor tickets on this occasion any day from October 1 st to October 4th, inclusive. The dedication ceremonies will take place at the site of the monu- ment, which is on the easterly side of Reynolds Avenue, north of the Western Maryland Railroad cut. It is requested that veterans attending this dedication will, as far as practicable, appear in the uniform usuallj' worn on Memorial Day. Badges specially gotten up for this function will be forwarded for distribution to the officers in charge of the muster rolls, at the same time that the transportation certificates are sent out. Flags and streamers suitable for the occasion will be furnished the organizations at Gettysburg. On the day of the dedication carriages will be furnished by the Commission for convejnng the veterans from Gettyburg Square to the site of the monument, and they will also be given a free ride around the battlefield. It is expected that a good many Civil War veterans, other than those entitled to free transportation, will travel to Gettysburg for this event, and a cordial invitation is extended to them to be present at the exercises. Benches will be furnished in front of the platform to seat the veterans and those accompanying them during the dedicatory exer- cises. 33 3ame0 Samuel Mat)swortb The War Department will order a squadron of cavalry and a band to proceed to Gettysburg for duty at the ceremonies. The following are the principal hotels of Gettysburg: Eagle Hotel, $2.00 and upwards; Gettysburg Hotel, $2.00 and upwards; Wabash Hotel, $1.50; City Hotel, $1.50; Pitzer's Hotel, $1.50. Private houses, from $1.00 to $1.50. Fraternally, LEWIS R. STEGMAN, Chairman, HEADQUARTERS OF GRAND MARSHAL. Eagle Hotel, Gettysburg, Pa. October 5, 1914. Having been duly appointed Grand Marshal by the New York Monmnents Commission for the Battlefields of Gettysburg, Chat- tanooga and Antietam, on the occasion of the dedication of the monument to Brevet Maj or-General James Sanmel Wadsworth. on Seminary Ridge, October 6, 1914, I hereby assume command. The following staff appointments are announced : Col. W. H. M. Sistare, Adjutant General. Aides : James Wliitlock, Fourteenth Brooklyn. John J. Titus, Ninety-fifth New York Volunteers. Homer D. Call, Seventy-sixth New York Volunteers. Llewellyn J. Hall, One hundred and forty-seventh New York Volunteers. Sanmel C. De Marse, Ninety-fourth New York Volunteers. Henry M. Maguire, One hundred and second New York Volun- teers. H. D. Mack, One hundred and fourth New York Volunteers. Wm. H. Shelton, Battery L, First New York Light Artillery. They will be obeyed and respected accordingly. 23 3amc0 Samuel IaIla^9wortb Tlie hour for assembly for the parade will be One and a half p. m. The carriages and wagons carrying the official part\- and the veterans to the dedication ceremonies at the monument will forni as follows: 1. Grand Marshal and Staff. Orator of the Day. •2. Detail from the ,5th U. S. Cavalry. Capt. ^V. W. Forsyth. Commanding, and Band. 3. Official Party, New York Monuments Conunission. and in- vited Guests. 4. Citizens Band of Gettysburg. 5. Veteran Division, namely : Fourteenth Brooklyn (Eighty-fourth Xew York Volunteers), Wm. L. Drain. Commanding. Seventy-sixth New York ^"olunteers, George W. Steele, Com- manding. Ninety-fifth New York Volunteers, Wm. Benson, Conunanding. One hundred and forty-seventh New York Volunteers. Clark H. Norton, Commanding. Ninety-fourth New York Volunteers, Chas. W. Sloat. Command- ing. One hundred and second New York Volunteers, Reuben D. Quick, Conunanding. One hundred and fourth New York Volunteers, Harry Clark, Conunanding. Battery L. First New York Light xVrtillery, Geo. W. Breck, Conunanding. ^'eterans of Ci. A. K., Thomas J. McConekey, Commanding. New York Battery of Artillery. The officers named will take command of their respective regi- ments to facilitate such movements as are recjuired. The U. S. Cavalry will i'ovm on the south side of Washington Street, with the right resting on Chaml>ersburg Street. The official party will form on Chambersburg Street, with its right resting on Washington Street. 34 3ame0 Samuel Ma&0wortb The Veterans will form on York Street, with right resting on Gettysburg Square. As there will l)e no marching on foot, it is expected that every veteran, and particularly in the parade, will he prepared to start promptly on time. The line of movement will he westward by the Spring Road, to the position of the Monument. Regiments and batteries will follow each other from the places assigned them, as indicated in the preceding paragraph, commencing with the " Fourteenth Rrooklyn." Division, brigade flags and regi- mental and battery pennants for each organization will be furnished to distinguish the sections for embarkation. At the monument, during the ceremonies, the veterans are re- quested to keep the Hags well disijlaycd. A special guard from the IT. S. Cavalry will keep the speakers' stand entirely free until the arrival of the olHcial party. Seats in front of the stand will be provided for veterans and friends. At the conclusion of the exercises, the veterans and official party will be returned to Gettysburg in the same conveyances that carried them to the monument. JOHN A. REYNOLDS, Grand Marshal. Official: W. H. M. SiSTARE, Colonel and Adjutant-General. 8S Commissioners : Col. CLINTON BECKWITH Col. LEWIS R. STEGMAN Gen. HORATIO C. KING Brig.-Gcn. HENRY D. HAMILTON, The Adjutant-General Col. LEWI.S R. STEGMAN, Chairman J. W. LYNCH. Secretary New York Monuments Commission FOR THE Battlefields of Gettysburg, Chattanooga and Antietam ROOM 1015, 116 NASSAU STREET, NEW YORK ITINERARY OF OFFICIAL PARTY AT DEDICATION OF STATUE OF GENERAL JAMES S. WADSWORTH Gettysburg, Pa., October 5, 6 and 7, 1914. The invited guests of the State of New York, in charge of the New York IVIonuments Commission for the Battlefields of Gettys- burg, Chattanooga and Antietam, will embark on a special train from the Pennsylvania Railroad Depot, 32nd Street and 7th Avenue. Monday morning, October 5, 1914. The train will leave the station at 9 :56 a. m. promptly. Arrive Baltimore, 2 :10 p. m. Arrive Gettys- burg, 4:4.5 p. M. Guests are requested to arrive early so that they may be com- fortably seated in the parlor cars before the train starts. All grips and valises not desired to be held by the guests will be taken by porters to the baggage car. Tags of identification should be on each article. The number of the rooms at the Eagle Hotel, Gettysburg, will be found upon tags supplied by the Commission, thus enabling the hotel porters to make prompt delivery at the rooms. 27 3amc0 Samuel Ma^0wo^tb With so large a party to handle, it is requested that guests will be a little patient on arrival. The train will deliver the official part}^ one block from the hotel. Lunch will be served on the train from 1 1 a. m. to 2 p. m. Dinner will be served at the hotel from 6 p. m. to 8 p. m. ©ctobcr 6f 1914 Breakfast, 7 a. m. Wagons will be in front of the hotel at 8 a. m., to convey the official party over a portion of the battle ground. The party will start promptly at 8:30 a. m., proceeding to Gulp's Hill by East Confederate Avenue, line of Confederate attack upon Slocum's Twelfth Corps, right wing of the Union Army, where a brief halt will be made; thence past Cemetery Hill, where the "Louisiana Tigers " charged ; through the National Cemetery, on to Taneytown Road, by General JMeade's headquarters, to the Angle, the scene of Pickett's famous charge, and Hancock's line. Another brief halt for description. Along Hancock Avenue to the Little Round Top, the left of the L^nion Army Line. From this point every part of the battlefield can be seen. Brief halt and description. Through the Devil's Den, the Wheatfield, the Loop, to the Peach Orchard — the lines of the 3rd and parts of the 2nd, 'Ah and Oth Corps, Sickels' defensive position the second day. Then to the hotel for dinner. The wagons for conveyance of the official party to the dedication exercises will be prepared to join the column of march, following the U. S. Cavalry and Band, at 1:30 p. ji. sharj}. In moving over Seminary Ridge, the procession will pass the point where General Reynolds was killed in the first day's fight, and a part of the cavalry and infantry lines of the first day. At the conclusion of the dedicatory exercises, the official party will proceed north, covering the scene of the fierce engagement of the first day — the First and Eleventh Corps fronts. 38 3ame0 Samuel Mabswortb ©ctober 7, 1914 Those of the guests who desire to visit the scene of the great cavalry fight at Bonaughville will be furnished with wagons for this purpose. The convej^ances used on October 6th will be at their disposal. Only the time limit should be kept in mind. Dinner will be served at 11.30 a .m. The train for Xew York will start promptly at 1 P. M., arriving there about 9 o'clock. Throughout the railroad trip, General King will be in charge of Car A, Colonel Stegman, Car B, General Hamilton, Car C, and Colonel Beckwith, Car D. ©ffidal BeNcatlon parti? Major James W. Wadsworth and Mrs. Wadsworth; Hon. James W. Wadsworth, Jr., U. S. Senator, Master Jeremiah Wadsworth and Miss Evelin Wadsworth; Hon. John F. Murtaugh, President pro tern of the Senate; Senator Thomas H. CuUen; Hon. Thaddeus C. Sweet, Speaker of the Assembly, and Mrs. Sweet; Hon. Heber E. ^^Hieeler, member of the Assembly, and JMrs. Wheeler ; Hon. Harold J. Hinman, member of the Assembly, and Mrs. Hinman; Hon. Wm. J. Maier, member of the Assembly, and INIrs. Maier; Hon. Homer D. Call, Treasurer of the State of New York, and Mrs. Call ; Gen. John A. Reynolds; Col. Henry W. Knight; Col. Selden C. Clo- bridge; Col. Thos. McConekey; Col. Samuel S. C. Pierce; Col. W. H. M. Sistare; Major Wm. H. Barker; Capt. Chas. S. Barker; Major H. M. Maguire; Capt. Albert M. Mills; Capt. Cortlandt St. John and Mrs. St. John; Capt. Geo. H. Thomas; Rev. Wm. T. Pray and Mrs. Pray; Dr. Chas. J. Lundgren; Dr. J. V. Sweeney; Mr. John C. Birdseye, Secretary, State Civil Service Commission, and Mrs. Birdseye; IVIrs. G. L. Brown; INIr. J. I. C. Clarke and IVIrs. Clarke; Mrs. Percy R. Gray; Mrs. John Hanway; Mr. James A. Lavery, State Civil Service Commissioner, and Mrs. Lavery; "Sir. Fred N. Lewis and Mrs. Lewis; Mrs. C. K. Litchfield; jVIr. Joseph 39 3ames Samuel Mat)swortb F. Ludlum; Mr. Frank E. ISIunson; INIr. Jacob Neu, State Civil Service Commissioner, and INIrs. Neu; ISIrs. S. S. Norton; jNIr. Chas. W. Ridgway; INIr. Harold N. Saxton, Chief Examiner, State Civil Service Commission, and IMrs. Saxton; ISIr. James A. Wendell, Deputy Comptroller, and ]\Irs. Wendell; Dr. INIeyer Wolff, State Civil Service Conmiissioner, and Mrs. Wolff. Col. Lewis R. Stegman and Mrs. Stegman; Col. Clinton Beck- with; Gen. Horatio C. King and ]\Irs. King. Accompanying The Adjutant General, Brig. Gen. Henry D. Hamilton, were: Col. Adolph L. Kline; Col. John H. Foote; Major Alexander Barnie; Capt. Frank N. Harris; Capt. Chas. E. Fiske and Lt. W. A. Niver. 30 Qtbcv of Exercises at General TftIlat)0\vortb flDonumcnt, Seminars IRt&Ge, (Bettssburg, ©CtObet 6, 19H, 2:30 p. /IB. 1. Music, Citizens Band of Gettysburg. 2. Prayer, by Rev. Wm. T. Pray, 102nd New York Veteran Volunteers. 3. Introductory Remarks by Chairman of Board of Commis- sioners, Colonel Lewis R. Stegman. 4. Music, U. S. Cavalry Band. 5. Unveiling of the INIonument, bj' Master Jeremiah Wadsworth and INIiss Evelin Wadsworth, Great-grandchildren of General Wads- worth. 6. Major-General's Salute, York Battery of Artillery. 7. Oration, Captain Albert INI. JNIills, Eighth Xew York Cavalry, Gamble's Brigade, Buford's Cavalry. 8. Music, Citizens Band of Gettysburg. 9. Address, General Horatio C. King, Sheridan's Cavalry Corps. 10. Music, U. S. Cavalry Band. 11. Remarks by Major James W. Wadsworth, General Wads- worth's Son, and President National Soldiers' Home, and Hon. James W. Wadsworth, Jr., Grandson of General Wadsworth. 12. Music, Citizens Band of Gettysburg. 13. Poem, by J. I. C. Clarke. 14. Music, U. S. Cavalry Band, " Star Spangled Banner." 15. Remarks, by Hon. John F. Murtaugh and Hon. Thaddeus C. Sweet. 16. Benediction, Rev. Oscar L. Severson, One hundred and thirty- seventh New York Volunteers. 31 Unvocation L"»\: Cbc 1Rcvcrcn^ lUm. C. prat l02^ «. L'. Vols. OIvORD. we acknowledge Thee, the ahuighty and Everlasting CtihI. to whom we bring praise and adoration, as we appear in thy presence at this time ^Vc thank Thee, our Heavenly Father, that in the march of life we tinil it lifting to here call a halt — that we may in some reverent anil tangible way inilicate our memory and esteem for one whose valor for his native land knl him to tiffer himself as a sacritice on the field of battle, in defense of his country's Hag. Thou. O Loril. didst vouchsafe him the honor to fall as heroes fall. We are here to dedicate this monmnent to his memory; and with sad pleasure we recall his deeils of usefulness and high distinc- tion. We praise Thee for the spirit of conn-adeship that binds us to- gether, as we are engaged in the ceremonies of the occasion; and we pleatl that the sacred ties of true soldiership may abide with us forever. We thank Thee, that while the ranks ot' the veteran marchers are fast thinning out. that so many are enabletl \o rally to give testi- mony of their affection for their brave and illustrious commander, whose constant zeal and fearless courage characterized him as a faith- t'ul frientl as well as a chieftain whose name will never be forgotten. AVe impli>re thy blessing upon tlie kindred of the valiant leader, who are honored by his name anil the tender association of family ties, and the historic interests connected with the affairs of the Empire State and of the Nation. We pray Thee to continue thy blessing upon our fair Country. \Ve praise Thee for Thy goodness to om- commonwealth — for the fraternal spirit within our borders — for the peace and prosperity, for which we give unto Thee thanks and glory. 3amc9 Samuel Mabswortb Grant thy blessings upon tlie Chief Magistrate of our land. Re- member hinj in his manifold and trying exjieriences in his high posi- tion. Grant him wisdom, patience and courage. Hear us, O Lord, for the countries engaged in war. Grant, () God, a speedy adjustment. May peace and good will reign through- out the world. Fulfill, our Heavenly Father, the desires and petitions we bring to Thee, as may be most expedient for us; granting us, in this world, knowledge of thy truth, and in the world to come, life everlasting. All of which we ask in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost. Amen. 39 H^^l•cc15 t>V! ^loloncl lewis TR. Stcoman, Cbatrinaii, IHcw L'ork Monuments Cominisaion Ladies axd Gextlemex. Comrades of the Army of the Potomac, AND COMK^VDES OF AlL THE AkMIES P RESENT : I BID \ ou a most hearty welcome here to-day on this great and memorable occasion. It is, indeed, gratifying- to behold, and it is inspiring to contemplate such a splendid spectacle as this. ^^Iiatever eifort there was required for organizing this magnifi- cent demonstration of respect to the memory of a tlistinguished soldier and the troops that fought under him on this battlefield, aye. on the very spot where we are now assembled and arenas of battle contiguous to it. is amply rewarded by the results that have been attained. AVe have just seen unveiled a noble statue, erected tt) the memory of a noble soldier, in civil life a prominent personage in the Empire State of New York, and in the battle of Gettysburg, one of the most remarkable commanders who made that famous struggle a landmark in the history of this nation; and on the other hand we have here to witness and participate in the ceremonies for dedicating this statue a concourse of many hundred people from the State of Xew York, including many of its leading citizens, and including also three generations tif the family of James Samuel AVailsworth. And, Conu'ades of the Army of the Potomac, you who belong to the renowned regiments that served imder General Wadsworth mi this field — a great many of you close to the exact spot where you are now seated beneath his statue — it is yoiu* presence here to-day, coming as you have from so many different places in the State of Xew York, that lends special significance to this brilliant and dignified function. "\Muit visions of the past the unveiling and 34 SPEAKERS AT THE DEDICATION 3amc9 Samuel mnabswortb dedication of the statue of General Wadsworth must bring to your nimds! It is verily an inspiiing sight, and fully in consonance with memories of what was enacted on this historic ground, a little more than one and fifty years ago, to see you here as the representatives of the regiments that fought and endured and conquered, under the command of General Wadsworth, on this battlefield. By coming here in such numbers, in spite of the difficulties of distance and the weight of years that nmst now press on many of you, you have given proof, if proof were necessary, of the respect in which you hold the memory of your old and honored comniander. You were his comrades in arms in the battle of Gettysburg and to-day you are co-partners of the tribute that is being paid to his memory ; for this monument, as well as helping to emi)hasize and perpetuate tlie fame of General Wadswortli's valor and achievements at Gettysburg, commemorates no less the valor and achievements of the troops that served under him — your valor and what you did here. This statue, this noble statue as I can well call it, and which I am proud to say is one of the finest monuments of its kind standing anywhere within the boundaries of the battlefield, is a well-deserved tribute. There was no nobler — no better — example of the American soldier — of the volunteer soldier — than James Sanmel Wadsworth. From the commencement of the Civil War — from the time when the l)attle of Manassas was fought — until mortally wounded in the battle of the Wilderness the 6th day of May, 1864, General Wads- worth devoted his life as a volunteer soldier actively, fearlessly and zealously, to the end that the integrity of this nation might l)e pre- served, to the end that it should continue to remain one nation instead of two, as it was sought to make it. General Wadsworth distinguished himself in many a hard-fought battle in the Civil War, all through the great struggle until he lost his life in the campaign of the Wilderness; but it is by what he and the brave men who served with him accomplished and endured on this very place where we now have the privilege and the honor of dedicating his statue, that his claims to great service — far reaching 35 3amc0 Samuel TRIla^0wortb in its results — were pre-eminently established. It is here that his great qualities as a commander, suddenly called on as he was to execute a difficult and hazardous part, were principally proven. The battle of Gettysburg, as nmch as any battle ever fought can be called so, was a series of battles, fought in succession during three memorable days; and it is practicallj' here on Seminary Ridge that the first stand was made against the invasion of the Army of Northern Virginia. It is meet that General Wadsworth's statue should stand on the spot selected for it, for it is close by that the first infantry shot was fired by one of the regiments that belonged to the division of the First Corps that he connnanded. Let us revert for a moment to that momentous morning of July 1, 1863, and rehearse in brief what was taking place at that time on Seminary Ridge and all around here. A great conflict was then impending, which was destined to be included among the decisive battles recorded in history. A small portion of the mighty forces soon to encounter each other in deadly strife had already come upon the scene; and from every direction the units of which they were composed were headed for Gettysburg, marching along the several thoroughfares that converge there, in regiments, brigades and divisions. The brigades of Gamble and Devin, of the Union Army, consti- tuting General Buford's Cavalry Division, having discovered the night before the first of July the position of General A. P. Hill's Division of the Confederate Army, had formed into line close by Willoughby Rim. to the right and left of Chambersburg Pike and extending to the IMummasburg Road. As early as 5.30 the following morning scouts sent forward from Buford's Division to reconnoitre the move- ments of the enemy, reported that General A. P. Hill's Division was approaching Gettysburg from the direction of Cashtown, which is about seven miles to the northwest of Gettysburg. The Confederates continued to come nearer and nearer and General Buford's Cavalry marched forward to resist them and if possible hold them back. The cavalry fought with such valor and determination at this juncture in 36 3ames Samuel Ma^ewortb endeavorino- to keep the troops opposed to tlieni at bay that the Confederate coniiiiaiider. General Heth, was led to believe that his brigades were fighting infantry troops in addition to the cavalry. But there were no infantry regiments on the scene just then. They were not far off, however, for the division commanded by General Wadsworth, who was destined to lead the first infantry troops of the Union Army that reached the battlefield, was marching from Marsh Creek, where his brigades had bivouacked the preceding night. The fight became very serious on the part of Buford's Cavalry. A little more, and the Confederates would have driven them back to Gettysburg. Fortunately for them, after the fight had lasted for upwards of an hour, General Reynolds, who commanded the First Corps, reached Gettysburg, and after conferring with General Buford they both rode out to Seminary Ridge. Having made a brief survey of the ground that the cavalry was striving to hold and observing the plight that Gamble's Brigade was in — hard pressed and anxiously waiting for infantry assistance — General Reynolds rode back in haste to his corps to hurry them forward. Meeting General Wadsworth in a short time (his brigades were then marching along the Emmitsburg Road) the two Generals held a brief consultation, and forthwith General Wadsworth was ordered to lead his men to Seminary Ridge and relieve the cavalry which was then on the point of being routed from there. Leaving the Emmits- burg Road, at the Codori House, which is about three-quarters of a mile southwest of the town, General Wadsworth marched his troops across the fields to the sound of cannon, for the preliminary skirmish in which the cavalry was engaged was now developing into a real battle. Undoubtedly at this critical time General Buford's Cavalry, and especially Gamble's Brigade, for they had to bear the brunt of the attack, had done heroic work. INIore intent on keeping the enemy in check than otherwise until such time as infantry aid reached them they fought bravely against overpowering numbers. But the infantry 37 James Samuel UOabswortb troops they were eagerly expecting came to their relief none too soon. Gettysburg and the vantage points of battle in its vicinity were seriously threatened. " Give praise to others early come or late " for valor and achieve- ment on the battlefield of Gettysburg, but it will always be remem- bered of General Wadsworth that it was he who commanded the infantry regiments that were first to arrive on the field; it was he who brought the hard-pressed cavalry the relief that they had been so badly in need of. Moveover, inasmuch as the engagement that took place prior to General Wadsworth marching his brigades to the battle was mostly in the nature of a skirmish. General Buford's main object being to keep the enemy in check until such time as infantry relief came to him, it might be said that it was General Wadsworth who practically began the battle on the Union side. "Wlien General Wadsworth's men formed into line, and thej- had hardly time to do so before they were attacked, the Blue and the Gray began in earnest a famous battle. Quoting Napoleon, it was then, and afterwards, " some fighting." There are veterans now listening to me who can well corroborate this for they were there from the beginning. Of the regiments constituting the division of General Wadsworth (Cutler's and Meredith's Brigades) that first went into action, the Seventy-sixth New York was in the vanguard; then came the Fifty- sixth Pennsylvania, followed by the One Hundred and Forty-seventh New York. Those three regiments were posted on the north side of the railroad at places which are now in our vicinit}'. The One Hun- dred and Forty-seventh New York practically deployed on ground where General Wadsworth's statue stands. The Eighty-fourth New York (the Fourteenth Brooklyn Militia) and the, Ninety-fifth New York were posted a little south of the railroad. The Fifty-sixth Pennsylvania is credited with having the honor of firing the first infantry volley that was aimed at Confederate troops in the battle. The other brigade of the First Division, Meredith's, which came up almost at the same time as Cutler's Brigade, was posted south of ss 3ame0 Samuel THIla&0wortb the railroad not far from where we are now, and it went into action at McPherson's ^Voods, near the Chanibershurg Pilo^tb whom we commemorate, being only twenty-two years-o^ge, moved from Connecticut into the western part of the territory of the State of New York. By what seems now to have been ahiiost a fortuitous foresight, he acquired and settled upon many thousands of acres in the fertile Genesee Valley. At that early day there was not nmch of civilization, or of the works of civilized man, west of what is now Oneida County, and on what was essentially a frontier, he settled, lived his life and became the foremost man of Western New York. James "Wadsworth, though a pioneer, was a cultured, educated man. Only three years before coming to his new home he had graduated from Yale College. He had broad views with regard to public matters, views which were in advance of those of most men of his time. He lived until the year 1844. His life was rich in public service and philanthropic deeds. He was known and is recorded in history as a wise and generous philanthropist, constantly doing deeds of kindness and service to men. He was a foremost character in the rapid development and formative life of his State. He was active in the causes of education and religion. He printed and circulated, at his own expense, publications on the subject of education, and offered a premiuiu to the towns which should first establish school libraries. As early as 1811 he proposed that this State should estab- lish normal schools. More than a century ago, this broad-minded, public-spirited citizen, before all others, suggested and proposed that method of public education, which during the century came to be a State system of schools where teachers are taught to intelligently teach. In 1838 he procured the enactment by the State of the school library law, which has grown to be a substantive branch of our State government. He founded a public library and institution for scientific lectures and endowed it liberally ; and in his numerous sales of lands stipulated that one hundred and twenty-five acres of each township should be free for a school, and another portion of the same size for a church. It is said that his donations for the cause of education reached and exceeded the sum of one hundred thousand 49 3amcs Samuel TI^Ha^0wortb dollars, besides the numberless other public and private acts of philanthropy, which graced the life of this remarkable man. For a half century he was engaged in devising, promulgating and estab- lishing measures for the advancement of his fellowmen. From that useful life, there came to the human race more blessings and more good than have come from most of the battles and most of the wars in which mankind has been engaged. AVith James Wadsworth there came and lived a brother, "Wil- liam Wadsworth, who did his full measure of patriotic duty. He, too, was public-spirited and aided in all measures of advantage to his neighbors and the State. In the war of 1812, when the United States was in a struggle to maintain its orderly march to the first rank among the nations of the earth, William Wadsworth promptly volunteered to fight, and as a brigadier-general in the army in com- mand of New York troops rendered valuable service to his country. Of such ancestry was the man whom we now celebrate. James Sanmel Wadsworth was born in the year 1807 at Geneseo, N. Y. He was liberally educated in the public schools and at Harvard College. As a young man he came into the possession of much valuable land, many of the ancestral acres in the State of New York. According to the standards of that time, he Avould be regarded as a man of wealth, but wealth was never committed to a more worthy trustee. Eminently and lavishly he devoted the talent which fortune had entrusted to him to the welfare of others, until, like his father, he was widely known as a philanthropist. In politics Wads- worth was originally a democrat of the strictest sect, but his sense of justice, his spirit of sj'mijathy, would not tolerate a system which kept human beings in bondage, and when the enormity of that national sin was made to appear he promptly, in 1848, joined the anti-slavery movement. In the decade which succeeded that year the revolution in the thought and action of our people was most rapid, and when the formation of the Republican Party, in 1856, seemed to him to crystalize the purposes of freedom in which he 50 3amc0 Samuel IKIlaDdwortb believed he was found in its foremost ranks. He was a presidential elector in Fremont's campaign, and again in 1860, when Abraham Lincoln became the nominee of his party. From that time on events moved rapidly in the United States. The trend of affairs was observed and intelligently understood by Wadsworth. He had heard the threats of Secession from South Carolina in 1832 and the declara- tion of Jackson that the Union of States must be preserved. He had heard the great debate on the floor of the Senate in 18.50, when tion of Jackson that the Union of States must be preserved. He abundant power to preserve its integrity and enforce its laws, and now, in 1860, he saw the fire which for many years had smouldered in the political edifice, bursting forth a consuming conflagration, threatening to destroy the State. At first there were suggestions of peace. Wadsworth was a man of peace, and as a delegate he attended the peace convention in Washington in 1861. But peace soon vanished and war was declared. He saw what was then a strange situation, that in this country men were needed to engage in battle. There was nothing but love of country to induce this eminent citizen to enter the war. He was in the prime of life. He was fortunate in his worldly establishment; he was wealthy; he was surrounded by those whom he loved and who loved him. Every condition of life was congenial, and all things concurred to induce him to remain at home and live his life in dignity and peace, but the Union was in danger and he hesitated not a moment. He quickly saw that there was need of public aid. The lines of communication with Washington had been paralyzed by traitors, and the new ad- ministration there was in distress for needed material with which to carry on the government. Out of his own private fortune, he bought and loaded two ships with supplies, which he personally conducted to Washington, and unloaded to nourish the government in its poverty. Then armed rebels appeared at the gates of Washing- ton. He promptly volunteered for the army, and as an aide to General INIcDowell rendered valuable service in the battle of Bull 51 3ame0 Samuel TICla^0VPortb Run. On the field he bravely faced the first fierce fire that swept up from the Southern furnace of rebellion, and from that day to his death he was an able, valiant, self-sacrificing soldier of his country. At Bull Run he stayed in the fiercest of the fight and lost his horse, which was shot under him. After tliat he was placed in conmiand of the District of Columbia and the City of Alexandria, charged with the duty of receiving and forming the new regiments of volunteers and enforcing military regulation at the capital. At this time there occurred an incident, which illustrates the kindness of heart of one man and the loyalty and gratitude for a friendly act of another. It is so gracious a story that I cannot refrain from telling it here. I have never seen it in print, but the truth of it is vouched for from an authentic source. The City of Washington was infested with spies, who in various forms of disguise came to gain information for the enemy. An humble farmer who had come in from his farm in Virginia was taken by the provost guards as a spy and held in con- finement for days. Finally his case came to General Wadsworth for disjjosition. After a brief examination he discovered that the man was not a spj' l)ut a simple farmer, as he claimed to be. It also appeared that during his enforced stay the man had spent his money and was without means. The General from his private purse gave the man an abundant store of money and sent him rejoicing to his A^irginia farmer's liome. Two years later, on the sixth of ISIay. 1804. in the fierce battle of the Wilderness, General Wadsworth received a mortal wound. He fell within the lines of the enemy, where he died tAvo days later, on the 8th of iSIay, 1864. That happened on a farm which adjoined the land of the man whom Wadsworth had befriended at the provost guardhouse in AVashington. The farmer sought out his wounded friend, nursed him as best he could, and after death tenderly buried the body in the door yard of his home. When the battle had passed, the man communicated with the bereaved family at the Xortli. and now this patriotic soldier sleeps with his fathers in God's choice acre, in the beautiful Valley of the Genesee. 53 HON. JAMES W. WADSWORTH, JR., U. S. SENATOR Grandson of General Wadaworth 3ames Samuel Mabswortb Wadsworth was not a liolidaj' soldier. From the first clash of arms to the day he died he rendered constant, active and arduous service in the field. He marched, suffered and fought with the soldiers whom he led, and with signal military skill he directed the division in the Army of the Potomac that was entrusted to his com- mand. In camp he was kind and considerate; in hattle he was alert, exacting and brave. No matter how thick or fierce the conflict was he took no heed of personal danger. He saw only the danger that threatened his beloved country. One of the most serviceable days of Wadsworth's life, was here, where we are today. On the first day of July, 1863, at the opening of the battle of Gettysburg, he rendered a most important service to the Union forces in that crucial conflict. As my memory returns to that eventful day I feel in some sort justified and privileged to speak to some of the men whom I see before me. Well do I remember it. As an humble member of Gamble's Brigade of General Buford's Division of Cavalry, on the 30th of June, I came for the first time to Gettysburg. On that day we moved out here and that night camped on this ridge. Early the next morning the enemy appeared and before nine o'clock the fighting was fast and furious. We had only two light brigades of cavalry. Gamble's and Devin's, which were only about three thousand cavalrymen armed with carbines. These two small brigades and Calef's Light Battery of four guns were the only Union troops then at Gettysburg, while Heth's Division of Hill's Corps of Infantry was marching down the Chambersburg Pike. I remember with what feelings of anxiety and dismay we contemplated the situation. Up to that time, in the war, victory had gone to the rebels on almost every field. They had resisted us in their territory, and now they were boldly invading the North. Success for them on this field would be fraught with most dire consequences to the Re- public. For more than an hour we fought, momentarily expecting to hear the rebels yell and see the swift charge of superior numbers which should sweep us from our position. We held our line down S3 3amc0 Samuel TRIla^swortb there along Willoughbv Run as best we could, hoping that rein- forcements would come, fearing that they would not, until finally, at about ten o'clock in the forenoon we beheld the form of General Wadsworth, leading forward at a rapid pace, two brigades — Cutler's and Meredith's — of the First Division of the First Corps of In- fantry. They moved rapidly into position and took up the line of battle. How grateful and glad we battered troopers were then. I see before me now some of the men who were in that rescue. There were four regiments from New York, the Seventy-sixth, Eighty- fourth (Fourteenth Brooklyn Militia), the Ninety-fifth and One hundred and forty-seventh, which with the Fifty-sixth Pennsylvania were those of Cutler's Brigade. A desperate fight followed the arrival of these forces, which lasted with varying fortune, until nearly noon, when Wadsworth and his division had driven Heth and his division back across the Willoughby Run. But that was not all, nor the most important thing, accomplished by that fight. Precious time was gained in which to bring up other Corps of Meade's Army to join the battle, which it was apparent the enemy had decided to force on this field. In the afternoon of that day another attack came from the enemy and fighting followed all day, and at night our troops had been forced back to Cemetery Hill and Culp's Hill. That night Wadsworth and his men fortified Culj)"s Hill, and in the l)attles of the next two critical days rendered notable service. Not onlv was James S. Wadsworth on this field and through this battle, but he had two sons who were also here. His eldest son Charles Wadsworth, was on his father's staff helping in the battle. Another son, Craig Wadsworth, was on the staff of General Reynolds when he was killed. Both of these sons remained in the war and attained prominence in the service, being constantly active at the front and in the actual fighting. Besides that. General Wadsworth had another son, of whom, inasmuch as he is now present, I beg pardon if I briefly speak. James W. Wadsworth, the third son of 54 3amc0 Samuel Ma^s\vortb the General, was a mere boy when his father (hed. In November of the same year, 1804, he entered the service in the Army of the Poto- mac and was useful as a brave and intelligent soldier, especially at the battle of Five Forks, on the staff of the Commander of the Fifth Corps, his service was conspicuous, so much so that he was brevetted a major for meritorious service in the field. So greatly was General Wadsworth and his family devoted to the country's cause. The battle of Gettysburg was as crucial and important in its effects as any conflict recorded in history. It stands with Marathon, Arbella, Hastings, Tours, Cressy and Waterloo among the decisive battles of the world. Indeed, its consequences to mankind are prob- ably more important than any of those others. When the sun had set on this field on the third of July, 1863, it was proclaimed to the world for the first time that here in America men were and always would be all and altogether free. It was proclaimed to the nations of the earth that the American Union would not be dissolved, but would be preserved. There were campaigns and marches and battles after that, but it was on this chance field of Gettysburg where the solenm vow of the people to unshackle the slave and j)crpctuate the American Union, at whatever cost, was redeemed. Of all this glory and sacrifice Wadsworth was a great part. After the lapse of fifty years the few survivors of that day, with the luq^py generations which have come on since, with story and with song, commend and extol the part he played in the vivid drama of his time, but we can add nothing to his fame. Our acts of to-day will pass from memory, our words will be forgotten; even this granite monument which is now so firmly placed may totter and fall, but while the blessed institu- tions upon which our liberties rest and endure his name will live. His life was pure and unselfish; his faith was the most exalted and abiding. He achieved the highest fortune that can come to a patriot, the privilege to die for his country in the right. He was actuated by no sordid purpose. Nor vanity, nor military glory, nor desire for 55 3ame0 Samuel TRaat>0wortb personal distinction, moved him. He saw that the destiny of the nation, the failm-e or success of the greatest experiment in hmnan hberty, was at stake, and he gave every effort and resource he could command, and finally his precious life, in the tremendous battle for the everlasting truth. His useful life places him in the rank of the few noblest citizens of the Republic. His glorious death crowns him an immortal hero, whose valor and service and sacrifice will be gratefully remembered and reverently recounted so long as the deeds of men are told. Colonel Lewis R. Stegman: It happens that a large part of the honors incident to this dedication has fallen to the cavalry. General Horatio C. King, who comes next on the programme, enjoys the dis- tinction of having been a member of the far-famed Cavalry Corps which was conunanded b}- General Sheridan. It is not necessary for me to say much in introducing General King to you; he is well known in veteran circles all over the country. For several decades General King has been the Secretarv of the Societv of the Army of the Potomac. The interesting addresses to his credit at functions such as this are numerous and they have often been printed. And as well as speeches, he is, also, the author of a long list of spirited poems. A great many of you here to-day will recall with what signal success General King presided at the ceremonies of " Xew York Day at Gettysbm-g " a year ago last July, on the occasion of the fiftieth anniversary celebration. General King's health, in consequence of his having been stricken ill last spring, is not as good as when you heard him last on this field; but we are all delighted that he has so far recovered his strength as to be able to come here to-dav. 56 ED^rcss of General Horatio C. Iktng, ia. S. D., Sbert£>an'0 Cavalrg JNIr. Chairman, Ladies and Gentlemen and Comrades: ABOUT six months ago I was very seriously sick, and though here to-day I have not yet fully recovered my strength. When my beloved associates on the New York Monuments Commission asked me a few weeks ago if I would make a short address on this occasion my courage began to fail me. I was afraid that I would not be able to do it. For more than fifty years I did not know what it was to feel ill. Now my ambition has always been to be the last survivor of the Civil War. Well, I have just passed through an attack that would kill a less vigorous man. Now, I hope to be here for at least another decade and round out forty-seven years as Secretary of the Society of the great Army of the Potomac. Said Henry Ward Beecher, " Above all earthly things is my country dear to me." The lips that taught me to say ' Our Father ' taught me to say ' Fatherland ' ". On this ground, consecrated by the great sacrifice, this feeling of patriotism comes to us with over- whelming force. Our native land, our country by birth or l)y adop- tion, is the light which should attract us to the highest forms of life. It should inspire us with sacred ambition and make our greatest aim to do only such things as shall increase her honor, promote her pros- perity and hold her up to the rest of the world as the embodiment of wise morality, and the exponent of all that is best in social govern- ment and practical conduct of civil affairs. The greatest nation is the best nation. It is the popular idea. It is the nearest approach to the perfect management that may be attained by hmiianity. In the providence of God ninety millions of our people are in peace and comparative comfort, ^^^len Europe is struggling in the throes of war, whose influence extends to our land, we are neverthe- 57 3ame6 Samuel TKHa^swortb less pursuing our own way without serious local concern. Our sufferings are trivial: our outlook is hopeful, and when ultimate peace shall be restored, the land will spring into an unexampled prosperity. A great war is usually based upon some great difference of opinion and clash between the contending nations. In too few cases the cause is really of no great importance. In our civil contest the question of whether this nation should be made free was of infinite importance. The contest could not be settled or compromised. Three million slaves called for liberty and the civilized nations in all parts of the world demanded the removal of this blot from our escutcheon. To- day I know of no rational being who asks for a restoration of slavery. The object justified the war and its results made us the great nation that we are. The change that has taken place in the past fifty years marks an era not favorable to perpetual comfort. The struggle for wealth and the power which money gives have gradually displaced high moral and intellectual culture until now a new political revolution is working to kill the desperate encroachments of the money greed. The war in Europe is a struggle simply for commercial sujiremacy. It is a test as to the right of Germany to dominate all other nations in con- trolling the destiny of Europe. The enormous growth of militarism has at last broken out in a declaration of war, made without pre- liminary complaint or notice, and the effort bj' a surprise and quick movement to capture Paris before the opposing nations could prepare and mobilize their forces. This is not the time for criticism or pro- phecy. We now may not clearly understand the sublime movements of Providence. The result will show. But whosoever should win, I pray that the peace when concluded will mark the end of the last great war. The great destroyer that razes cities, demolishes cathe- drals, libraries and irreplaceable relics of art nmst himself be laid low and that universal peace, prosperity and happiness prevail through- out the world, with God over all. 58 3amcs Samuel Taila&6wortb The echoes of the reverbei-ating thunders of the grim and ghastly civil war have melted away and only its memories, softened by the lapse of time, remain. The bitterness engendered by fratricidal strife has been forgotten by the men who met each other in deadly combat, and wily, brave and seemingly implacable foes now greet each other with fraternal embrace and recount with lively interest and without acrimony, achievements of the herculean and protracted struggle. A little over a year ago, more than fifty thousand of the surviving veterans, wearing both the blue and the gray, gathered here to sing praises and to pledge themselves to civil peace. Let it not be supposed that in their reconciliations there is any concession that the North did not fight in a righteous cause. The South, too, fought with equal and desperate zeal in what they believed to be a just cause. "\Mien I am asked if secession was right, the answer is that the question was settled by the arbitrament of war and is bej'ond discussion. In extending the right hand of fellowship, we yield nothing to principle. We but maintain that fraternal sj^irit which characterized the immortal Lincoln, who " with malice toward none and charity for all pressed toward the right as God gave him to see the right." The Grand Army of which he was the Commander- in-Chief and Idol marched forward cutting a broad swath through the confederacy with the flaming sword in one hand, while they presented the olive branch of peace in the other. Happily there was no peace and no compromise until freedom became the irrepressible watchword. And who were the men who did this great work ? Who that lived at the outbreak can ever forget the wild whirl of {patriotic excitement which animated every loyal heart. Nor was the South less loyal to its cause. Men moved with rapid tread looking into each other's eyes with strange inquiry, nerving themselves for the duty before them, resolved to do or die for their country. Husbands are separated from wives, sons from parents and kin, lovers from their sweethearts and if all the tears at parting could be gathered in one stream, it 59 3amc9 Samuel MaDswortb should wash from the face of the earth hideous war forever. It em- braced men in high authority and the workman in the field. The rich, the poor, the high, the low, one vast assemblage bent on the same pvu-pose, the salvation of the Union. ISIost conspicuous of those not a graduate of West Point, who tendered his services, was the citizen and soldier to whom we do honor to-day. Born in 1807, General Wadsworth was ten years beyond the age for military duty when he received his appointment as brigadier general of volunteers. Rich in wordly possessions he laid the care aside, in his efforts for the Union. At Fredericksburg and Gettysburg he manifested the highest military skill and in the uncertain contest in the Wilderness he met death while rallving his men. Horace Greelev in his "American Conflict" says: "The country's salvation claimed no nobler sacri- fice than that of James Wadsworth of New York. No one sm-- rendered more for his country's sake or gave his life more joyfully for her deliverance." Conspicuous in civil life, he won a crovrn of glory in his soldier devotion to his beloved land. But I need not dwell upon what has been eloquently portrayed by Col. Stegman and the orator of the day. Captain ^Mills. I note it simply as an exponent of that mighty enthusiasm wliich swept the Xorth. The idle boast of superior endowments of either party over the other had no foundation in fact. In the Revolution, in the war of 1812. in the contest with Mexico and in the Cuban War, Xorthern and Southern troops fought side by side in friendly rivah-y. not as to each other's powers, but as to who should best serve his country; and the names of Xorthern and Southern heroes stand equally high on the rolls of fame. We soldiers of the Civil War are no longer veterans of the greatest war of modern times. The fighting armies of millions or more men now engaged in Europe stagger our engagements of two hundred thousand men in any single battle, but the great civil war still holds its place as the greatest war for the greatest purpose in modern history. Of the magnificence of the armies which effected the final 60 3amc0 Samuel Mabevportb result of permanent peace, unparalleled in importance in the history of the world, who can speak in adequate terms of praise? There is no tongue so eloquent, no voice so melodious that can pronounce their eulogy or adequately sing of their heroic deeds. To you, my com- rades, who served for the most part with the Army of the Potomac, will recur the thought of the four years of masterly warfare from Bull Run to Appomattox. To the western armies all praise for the great work accomplished by them, but the heart of the nation and the eyes of the people were centered on the Army of the Potomac as its encircling embrace slowly engirdled the Capital of the Confederacy, the capture of which all men knew to mean the close of the great conflict, "What pen can fitly describe or what voice fully express the details of the heroic struggle. No finer body of soldiers ever walked the earth, and though frequently repulsed it was never defeated. It was at all times ready even after disheartening discomfiture to respond to the command, " forward," and would dare to follow where its commanders dared to lead. The aggregate casualties in the war will reach the appalling number of at least a half a million and of all those who gave up their lives or who bore the honorable badge of severe wounds, nearly two-thirds belonged to the Army of the Potomac. In the gathering at Washington, our first commander responded to the toast to the immortal army and this sentiment will remain in your hearts and mine while life lasts; he said: " I, as its earliest and only living commander, am proud to believe that the Grand Army of the Potomac stands the equal of any of the historic armies of the world, in efficiency, in valor and achievements. I was right when in the beginning of our campaign I said to you that man's measure of honor and glory would be filled to overflowing who could say that he belonged to the Army of the Potomac." The old Norsemen had many beautiful ideas in connection with death. Thus in the Lay of Atle, it is said of him who dies, that he goes to the other light. That the dead in the mounds were in a state 61 3amc9 Samuel 'CCla^9\vortb of consciousness is illustrated by the following passage from the Frithiof's Saga: " Now children lay us in two lofty graves. Down by the seashore, near the deep blue waves. Their sounds shall be to our souls music sweet. Singing our dirge as on the strand they beat When round the hills the pale moonlight is thrown And midnight dews fall on the Banta Stone We'll sit, O ! Thorston in our rounded graves And speak together o'er the gentle waves." Odin was pre-eminently the God of war. He who fell in battle came after death to Odin in Valhal and glorious was the life in Valhal. Regner Lodbrok thus ends his famous song the Krakurnal: " Cease my strain ; I hear a voice From realms whose martial souls rejoice; I hear the maids of slaughter call. High seated in their blest abodes, I soon shall quaff the drink of Gods. Tiie hours of life have glided by. I fall, but smiling shall I die." Comrades, we are all fast approaching the day when we shall stand in the presence of that vast army which has gone before. We see the faces of those who were dear and whose greeting will fill us -vN-ith cheer. We can say with the Apostle. " I have fought a good fight. I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of rigliteousness. which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day; and not to me only but unto all them also that love his appearing." Heroes of the war of our second independence, Hail and Fare- well I Saviors oi' our country, generations yet unborn shall rise up and call you blessed. Your comrades are fast gathering to their ranks and in a few short years or less, the last who wore the blue in the grandest war for the noblest purpose in the history of mankind will answer to the final roll call. There shall be reunited that glori- fied army which from "01 to "0,5 marched shoulder to shoulder, con- scious of right, indomitable of pm-pose. ready to die if only the nation 63 3ame0 Samuel MaDswortb might live, and in ages to come your great deeds will be remembered and lisping tongues shall speak the praises of those who riveted with bands of steel the irrefragible fabric of our noble Republic. Colonel Lewis R. Stegman: When I tell you that the name of INIajor James W. Wadsworth occupies the next number on our pro- granmie of exercises, I must admit that I am at a loss for words to adequately express my thoughts in introducing him to you; for Major Wadsworth is none other than the son of the General whose statue we are now dedicating. I congratulate Major Wadsworth heartilj' on his being the happy witness to the honors that are being paid to the memory of his father to-day. Major Wadsworth is the worthy son of a worthy father; and, Comrades, when I also say that he is a veteran of the Civil ^Var it will help to draw him all the nearer to you. He is one of three sons that followed the exami^le of their father by doing their part in the great work of saving the Union. This day, it seems to me, must be one of the most important days for jNIajor Wadsworth that he lias ever known. I will not attemj)t to interpret his feelings on this memorable occasion; but who, situated as he is now, could resist emotion; because as well as gazing on his father's statue, just unveiled, behold, seated on his left beside him, his son, the Hon. James W. Wadsworth, Jr. (whom it will be my pleasure to also present to you in a very short time) ; and, to make the third generation, behold, also, with them IVIaster Jeremiah Wadsworth and his sister Miss Evelin Wadsworth who, for the years to come, will always remember with pride that it was they who unveiled the statue to their great- grandfather on the battlefield of Gettysburg. Thrice honored I say is the memory of General Wadsworth by the presence here to-day of three generations of his family. ■Rcmarha b^ nDajor 3ame0 W. TWla^swortb Mr. Chairman, Ladies and Gentlemen and Veterans of the Army of the Potomac : IT is not for me to say much to you on this occasion. My part is to listen, and I have listened with great pride and with great pleasure to the many kind words said of my father. The citizens of the great State of New York have deemed it fit to honor his memory by erecting on this field, where he served so faithfully, this memorial ; and I wish to express on my own behalf and on behalf of my family our greatest gratitude and our greatest appreciation of this tribute to his memory. Every memorial and every statue should teach us a lesson. This memorial teaches me that the unassuming, patriotic citizen, devoted to his duty, and not afraid to perform it, in peace as well as in war, will be remembered and honored by his countrymen long after the dema- gogue and the charlatan are forgotten and despised. To you, veterans of the Army of the Potomac, who have come so many miles to pay this tribute to the memory of my father, I can only say, thank you, thank you from the bottom of my heart, and God bless you. Colonel Lewis R. Stegman : The speakers to whom you have lis- tened so far are all veterans of the Civil War. The comparatively young gentleman whom I am next to present to you was not born until some years after peace was declared between the North and the South. It is not his fault, therefore, that he is not able to address you as a comrade ; but he can do the next best thing to it — he can address you as the son of a comrade and as the grandson of General Wads- worth. In introducing to you the Hon. James W. Wadsworth, Jr., the son of oNIajor Wadsworth, whom you have just heard, I will not detain you long. As you will presently learn, Mr. Wadsworth can speak for himself. He is, as you know, one of the candidates for 64 cc UJ CD o I- o o < o o ui Q I- Z UJ S z o X I- CE o CO a < I- < > I- < a. _i < o u. li. O 3ame0 Samuel Wla^swortb United States Senator nominated to succeed Elihu Root. Like him- self, his opponent in the coming election, the Hon. James W. Gerard, is one of the most estimable citizens of the Empire State of New York, and is at present occupying the position of Ambassador to Germany. We cannot, however, identify ourselves with political affiliations on an occasion such as this. All the same, I venture to say that should the people of the State of New York decide to elect a Republican senator next month to represent them at Washington, it can be depended on that Mr. Wadsworth will give a good account of his stewardship at the National Capital, just as he did at Albany when he was speaker of the Assembly there during a succession of terms. IRemarf^s t>v^ Ibon. 3nmcB m. "COa^swortb, 3r. 3Ir. Chairman, L.\diks axd Gextlemex axd Veterans of the First Division of the First Corps; THE few remarks I shall make upon this occasion I shall ask your permission to make in the capacity of a member of the younger generation. From my youth, I will confess and with pride, I have been taught to read and inform myself of your deeds. ^Iv honored father, as soon as I was old enough to read a book, placed in my hands a work by Charles Charle- ton Coffin, the first book I ever read, entitled, " The Boys of "61." There is something fascinating and appealing to me when I come in personal contact with the heroes of that book. We of the younger generation who, as your successors, must carry the burden of the day, have read of the sublime courage which you showed on a hundred battlefields. We appreciate, I am sure, the spirit that inspired you and which Grant translated into living words when he declared, in 1864, " We will fight it out on this line, if it takes all smiimer." I hope that our generation also appreciates another phase of your devotion. You not only displayed in battle, sublime physical courage, but you dis- played unexampled civic courage in your capacity as citizens. For you knew well — and perhaps my generation does not know it so well — that on many an occasion and in more than one section of the Xorth and East, while you were risking your lives at the front, whole districts back at home turned against you and declared by this vote that the war was a failure. But you citizen soldiers never wavered; you declined to be diverted from your great purpose; you raised a political issue up to a lofty plane and made it one of pure patriotism. Let us hope that the public men of to-day and citizens generally may appreciate and adhere to your conception of politics and civic duty. 66 3ames Samuel TKHa^swortb To-day our dearest possession is the examjile set bj^ the men who saved the nation. The manner of their Hves, the things they stood for and the sacrifices they made nmst never l)e forgotten. Industry, thrift, sturdy self-reHance, riglit thinking, high courage and a pro- found recognition of a just and Ahnighty God — these are the tradi- tions they estabHshed for our guidance and inspiration. If this beloved Kepubhc is to survive and fulfill its destiny, the youth of to-day and to-morrow must forever cherish the memory of " The Boys of '61." Colonel Lewis II. Stegman: Ever since Abraham Lincoln de- livered his brief oration on this field which has become a world-wide classic, Gettysburg has continued to be a theme and a source of in- spiration for the jjoet no less than the orator. A poem has been specially written for this dedication, which the author, ]Mr. J. I. C. Clarke, will now read to you. INIr. Clarke is well known in literary circles in New York and he is well able to rise to the height of this occasion. For a great many years past his verses have been heard at important meetings in Xew York. Heroes and events of the Civil War are enshrined in his songs of America and ballads of battle; and one of his poems, " Kelly and Burke and Shea," is such a master- piece that no one would thing of compiling an anthology of American poetry without including it in his selections. It has in fact become a battle hymn. "Cbe Battle l^ears J6b J. IF. C. Clarhc Fair the processions of the Years of Peace: — The smiling wives, the laugh of girl and boy. School, field and factory and flocks increase, The artist dreaming in a dusk of joy. The flowering years that glide in long defile, Wliy should their high pavilions ever fall. Where gold is coined, where splendid sports beguile? Sudden a drumbeat and a trumpet's call! Peace like a futile phantom disappears Before tlie magic of the Battle Years. 67 3amc0 Samuel TOla^6vportb The gaping wounds, the heaping piles of dead, Reek of red slaughter where young life had bloomed, Fire-hlasted harvests and the nights of dread With great shells crashing o'er a city doomed — No more their horrors can the heart affright; Some deep life-thrill, some wondrous gift of soul Has flung War's image into golden light: A people turns to win a fearful goal. The warrior rides his sacrifice to greet — The last, the highest man for man can frame — He flings his glowing life at Freedom's feet. And fourfold generations bless his name. Ah, God so made us, lest at last we'd fail To stand at bay for Right, and, scorning fears, The fortressed might of flaunting Wrong assail. And take the challenge of the Battle Years. Loud-sounding down the vale of Time they come. The grim processions of the Battle Years, Their steps of thunder and the roll of drum, The glare of burning towns upon their spears, Their ragged flags aflap, tlieir broken lines Swaying in passion to be on and slay. From ev'ry eye a baleful glory shines Tho death in harness rides with their array. Day wavers over them to clouded night, and hark! Their bugles blaring forth a Nation's hymn. Their cannon flashing fire-tongues thro' the dark, \ ictors and conquered in a cluster dim. Thro' winds of women's cries, 'neath rain of tears Sweep the processions of the Battle Years. The battling men of Gettysburg! They pass In bristling columns with a flaming front. Face after face lifts haggard from the mass — White faces hardened in the battle brunt Where courage blindly into carnage ran On tides of hot devotion, till we see Meade. Hancock, Reynolds. WadsM-orth in the van. While stern and stark ride Longstreet, Hill and I.ee. Yea, even they who struck with Pickett's braves. Fought for a cause they counted high and dear; But God had ruled there should no more be slaves. And down these lines of battle made it clear. 68 3amc0 Samuel Wla^9wortb And high o'er all, behold, cloud-wrapped, arise A rugged martyr-face, careworn and kind, The pity of a wide world in his eyes. The sunniest hopes for mankind in his mind, As new worlds rose from clashing of the spheres. They gave us LINCOLN, our dread Battle Years. Colonel Lewis R. Stegman : "Wlienever we see prominent citizens of the State of Xew York in attendance at public functions of this character there is evidence of the interest that the State takes in them; and of this we have ample and encouraging testimony here to-day. We have among us a member of the Legislature of the Empire State (whom I am next to introduce to you), who is un- doubtedly a genuine friend of the old soldier. ^Many a time and oft has he given proof of this ; and not only are his sympathies with the veterans of the Civil War, but he is as well an authority on their deeds of valor and the movements of the armies to which they be- longed. The battlefields of the great war are an open book to him. It is, therefore, with great pleasure that I present to you the Hon. John F. :Murtaugh, Senator of the State of Xew York, and to whom, as I confess with gratitude, we are in a great measure indebted for this splendid outpouring of the citizens of our State who have come here to dedicate the statue of General Wadsworth. 69 IRemarl^s b\> Mon. 3obn jf. riDurtauab Mr. Chairman, Ladies and Gentlemen and Veterans of the Army of the Potomac : IT is an honor to address you on this important occasion and upon this historic field. No battlefield in all the pages of history stirs the heart or ajJiieals to the imagination of an American like that of Gettysburg. It was the greatest battle of the most important war in all history. Gettysburg will always form the centerpiece of that war and around it all other battles assume a subordinate position. Fifty years ago, Gettysburg was the high tide of the Rebellion; it was the field upon which were performed feats of valor and acts of bravery of which Americans will forever be proud. Fifty years ago the smoke of the great battle had barely passed away ; the wreck- age of war was strewn everywhere ; the trees were scarred and marred by shot and shell and the fields were dotted with new-made graves. To-day it is a scene of peace. Tranquillity hovers over the scene once rent by the ravages of war. The legions of Meade and Lee have disappeared. They seem like spectral armies that move in the dim shadowy past. The horse and the plumed rider, the cannon and the cannoneer have passed away, and the chieftain and the warrior have fallen asleep. The trees have draAvn their coverings of bark over the wounds of battle. The history of the battle and the story of its valor are written in monuments of stone and tablets of bronze. Gettysburg has become the mecca of the patriotic American pil- grim, the high altar of American jjatriotism, and the shrine upon which American valor and braverj' are enthroned. Away ofl' in the distant future the American youth will praise you as the forefathers of the Revolution are now praised, and his proudest boast will be that his ancestors fought at Gettysburg. We come here as the representatives of New York to pay the honor which the State declares should be conferred on one of her 3amcs Samuel Taaa&swortb illustrious sons. We assemble to dedicate this monument to one of the heroes of Gettysburg, to the memory of a man who rose to the rank of general without military education or military experience, whose valor and ability were tested in many a battle, who led the advance of the Federal infantry upon this historic field, whose men felt the first shock of the battle, and whose great fight won renown for the name of Wadsworth and a lasting glory to the American people. It is fitting that the State should remember its brave defenders; that it should erect this stone as an emblem — a lasting tribute to the noble sacrifice and jjatriotic devotion this man made for his State and Country. It is wise for the American people to honor the mem- ories of the men who fought and died, that American institutions should live. No nation can long survive that fails to honor its soldiers and defenders. One way to prejiare the nation for the wars of the future, is to honor the heroes of the past. That is why New York to-day, with military pomp and civic splendor, dedicates this monument to the memory of a great man — one of her first citizens in the time of peace, and one of her best soldiers in the time of war, one whose military achievements are worthy of the best tradi- tions of the American soldier, whose bravery here and whose death on another field will always i*emain a shining example of what a true American should be in the time of his country's need. Let this monument stand during the coming years overlooking the field where Wadsworth and his men fought so bravely. Let it remind future generations of the memory of the man who sacrificed his all that the nation might live. Let it stand in memory to the dead, in honor to the living, for an inspiration to our children and a reminder for future generations that the patriotic and the brave will ever be remembered as long as this great Republic exists. Colonel Lewis R. Stegman: For the second time, it is my privilege to call on a member of the Legislature of New York to address you; and in doing so I wish to assure you, for I know it n 3ame5 Samuel Wla^swortb well, that you are going to listen to a gentleman whose zeal for the welfare of the veteran and whose appreciation of the hardships he endured and the services he rendered the nation are established facts. To this esteemed friend of ours, also applies what I have said of Senator Murtaugh. Both of them have shown that they are fully mindful of the public gratitude that the veteran has earned and in your behalf and in my o'n-n behalf I thank them sincerely for the kindly interest that they take in us. Consequently it is with joy that I now present to you the Hon. Thaddeus C. Sweet, Speaker of the Assembly of the State of Xew York, whose home is in Phoenix, in the County of Oswego, the county where one of the regiments participating in this dedication was originally organized. 79 IRemarfts bp Ibon. ^babbeus C. Sweet Colonel Stegman, Veterans and Friends: WE have listened to-day to a rehearsal, by competent author- ities, of the conflict which took place on this field a little more than fifty-one years ago ; and on taking into considera- tion the results wrought by that great event, it is obvious that the destiny of this Republic was guided by the hand of Providence. God gave to this world his Son, not to condemn the world, but, through him, that the world might be saved; and likewise God gave to this nation this son of the North, that the integrity of this nation might be preserved. You have heard a review of General Wads- worth's career — of the great service he rendered his county. When time shall have crumbled to decay this statue that we are now dedicating and when time shall have effaced the name from the pedestal the fame of James Samuel Wadsworth will still be pre- served in the hearts of the American people. Though dead, yet shall he live. ^\Tien General Wadsworth led his troops on this very ground where we are now assembled I was not born; but I am able to judge some of the sterling qualities that characterized him by the sterling qualities of his grandson, with whom it has been my honor to serve in the State Assembly of New York. I know from my own ex- perience that all that has been said of General James S. Wadsworth is true. My home is in Oswego Count\% and I was never more proud of that fact than I am to-day, on seeing here so many of the survivors of the 147th regiment, one of the regiments that fought so gallantly on this battlefield. We have this morning listened to the interesting description of the battle of Gettysburg by Colonel Stegman. We have also 73 3ames Samuel Ma^swortb listened this afternoon to an account of the valorous service rendered by the boys of '61 under General Wadsworth. Still there are other companies and other regiments that won renown no less on this battle ground, and not the least among those by whose bravery I was impressed is the First INIinnesota. ^Miile the Union Army was tlu'owing its men into proper position the First INIinnesota was drawn into action against three-fold the number of men in their own ranks and they held their ground valiantly until arrangements were made for bringing reinforcements to their aid. These men faced certain sacrifice and in the course of fifteen minutes eighty-five per cent of their number had fallen. Likewise we heard, this morning, a description of the struggle and strife that followed Pickett's memorable charge; and while these horrors of the war are fresh in om' minds we can still take comfort in what we saw demonstrated on this battlefield a little more than a year ago — that the North and the South are no longer divided, but that thev stand closelv united to-dav as one great nation. There is much that could be said of this celebrated battle, did time permit. To the family of this noble ancestor and the veterans of the Army of the Potomac, the least we can say is, rest and peace abide with }ou and may heaven's greatest blessing be yours. 74 o UJ (/) UJ z u C3 t- < I I- q: O CO Q < < tr LiJ z UJ C3 u. O UJ O I Benediction bp tbe TRev. ©scar X. Severson, 137 m. U. Uo[a. ALMIGHTY GOD, we thank Thee for the history of patriotism written by individuals and patriots on this famous field. May the heroic duel fought here be a stimulus to loyalty for generations to come. May a kindly Providence deal gently with the veterans of the Civil War; and the blessing of God, the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost rest upon and abide with us as a nation forever. Amen. Xife of General Mabswortb 3Bp Iboratio C. Iking, %.%. 2)., a6v»t.=Col. ■a. S. W., aSrig.=©cn. m. 0. 1R. ; Brevet nDalor*(5eneral 3ame0 S. THflabswortb TOlrltten anO tlompilcO bg ©en. toratto C. tcing. l.X. D. THE name of Wadsworth has been prominent in the State of New York, before and since the organization of the United States. Prior to and during the Revolution, there were in Connecticut three brothers of that name. In the Colonial and Revo- lutionary days were Captain Joseph W. Wadsworth, General James Wadsworth and Colonel Jeremiah Wadsworth. The first of these, in the noted story of the Charter Oak, received the credit of placing that famous and invaluable document in the hollow tree immortalised by that name. James, the son of James Noyes Wadsworth, carried the name from New England to New York. He graduated at Yale in 1787. James took charge of lands purchased by Col. Jeremiah Wadsworth in the township known as Big Tree. James associated his brother William with him and in 1790 undertook the develop- ment of a great tract and carried it to success. (This section was afterwards known as Geneseo.) William was made a Major-General of Militia and was one of those who was captured and paroled at the fight and surrender of General Scott to the British forces at Queenstown Heights. Hard times were followed by a brighter state of things in the nineteenth century. Increase of fortune meant increase of land. James was broad in character, generous in his conduct and altogether a typical American citizen. He was the wealthiest land proprietor in the State. General James Samuel Wadsworth was the eldest son of five children of James and Naomi Wolcott, the latter of East Windsor, Connecticut. He was born on October 30, 1807. His early life was happy and without eventful circumstance. He was a member of the junior and senior classes at Harvard in the Class of 1828, but his aversion to hard study prevented his securing a degree. But his 79 3amc0 Samuel ^ICla^0wortb friends were numerous and important. He read law with Daniel Webster and studied for a year at the Yale Law School, and fol- lowing this by study in an Albany law office. In 1833 he was ad- mitted to the bar but never practiced. His inclination was to home and agrarian duties. In 1834 an additional attraction drew him by his marriage on May 11, 1834, to Mary Craig ^Vharton, the daughter of a Philadelphia Quaker, as Motley wrote, " the most beautiful woman in the country, and as agreeable and accomplished as beautiful." Wadsworth's generosity was very marked. In the famine in Ireland in 1847, he donated and sent a shipload of grain and his generous gifts of three to five thousand dollars were frequent. In the fifteen years following his father's death, he was held in the highest pride and affection. In the family and out he was ad- mired and beloved, and to quote Motley at the time of his decease, " It always seemed to me that he was the truest and the most thoroughly loyal American I ever knew and this to me is the highest eulogy. I often thought of him and spoke of him as the true original tyjie of the American gentleman — not the pale, washed out copy of the European aristocrat. The manner in which his character expanded in those trying times, from the agreeable and genial man of the world, the generous and useful landed proprietor, the frank, unaffected, delightful companion into the hero and the patriot has always impressed me deeply." POLITICS Although General Wadsworth's father was a whig, Wadsworth himself became a democrat, a supporter of Van Buren and one of the group of radicals who opposed the Conservatives or Hunkers. His intimate relationship with Van Buren is shown in a vigorous letter, which he wrote to the ex-President denouncing the nomination of Polk instead of Van Buren. In this occurs a sentence predicative of future trouble. He said, " I do not perceive that the dictation 80 3ame0 Samuel ^abswortb and selfishness of the South were properly rebuked. They have filled the Executive Chair forty-four years, the North twelve, and yet because we are not prepared to embark in a most unjust and iniquitous war to extend their Institutions — meaning thereby slavery — our rights are again to be deferred." The anti-slavery spirit manifested in this letter from this time steadily increased. The concessions demanded from the North, the admission of Texas, the Kansas-Nebraska conflict and the Dred Scott decision aroused in him and the free-soil democrats active opposition. The Wilmot proviso provided a new bond of union. In the Demo- cratic State Convention in 1847, the contest became more pronounced. Passions rose with the settlement of a strife for contested seats. In the heat of it some one spoke of doing justice to Silas Wright, then lately deceased. An angry voice responded, " It is too late, he is dead." Wadsworth defiantly replied. " Though it may be too late to do justice to Silas Wright it is not too late to do justice to his assassins." The great national question of slavery caused the break and after a failure to have a proviso endorsed, Mr. Wadsworth and his associates seceded. The climax was reached a little later at Buffalo with other independents and a party was formed taking as its motto " Free soil, free speech, free labor and free men." The Democratic party was divided and Cass was defeated by losing the State of New York. In the Kansas-Nebraska agitation, the refusal that the territories should be allowed themselves to settle the question of slavery in their borders was a violation of the Missouri Compro- mise, and the North was more fully aroused. At Syracuse, in July 1856, Wadsworth presided at the Convention. Exuressins- regard for the party which he was about to leave, he was warmly applauded for expressing his allegiance to the principle " one of the corner- stones of the Democracy of New York, a stone of Jefferson granite — opposition to the extension of slavery." This body then stood ready to receive an application to unite with the Republicans and appointed a Committee to that end. Then followed the critical con- test between James Buchanan and John C. Fremont, the latter being 81 3ames Samuel TRUabswortb defeated by the loss of the State of Pennsylvania. Space will not permit us to dwell upon the pressing incidents which immensely increased the force of the Republicans and led to the nomination of Lincoln in 1860. The country was surprised at the failure of Seward, which was brought about by the division of leading factors in his own State. At the State Convention Wadsworth refused to have his name presented as a candidate for Governor and for the third time he was nominated for Presidental elector. The threats of secession, should a Sectional President be elected, grew in number and force, and Congress was a hot-bed of political disorder. The choice of Lincoln cemented this feeling in the South and was succeeded by the official retirement of South Carolina, fol- lowed by the other cotton states, which, after Lincoln's election, organized the Confederate States of America. One of the means to prevent the sundering of the nation was a voluntary Peace Conference in AVashington, to provide measures of compromise which would satisfy the South and prevent the impend- ing War. The effort to provide a constitutional amendment failed. The unwillingness of the Southern representatives to make any re- bates from their political claims made it apparent that war was the only conclusion and they adjourned to prepare for the great emerg- ency. The condition of the North and the West particularly was quite unsettled, vast nvmibers being against war, while a very great part openly expressed their sympathy with the South. Congress was unwilling to exert its power, and the greatest doubts filled the press and the people until the firing upon Fort Sumter united those North of the Mason and Dixon line. These promptly sent its uniformed troops to Washington to protect the Nation. At this time Wads- worth was fifty-three years old and beyond the required age for military duty. BULL RUN New York was among the very first to take active measures. Wadsworth was at once made one of the Executive Committee of 83 > § a -1 3 •^ T3 Z « 3 JS a. O _i is _i •o D CO m & H "rt co 01 fr a 9 u. a ^ CJ UJ CO -S 3 f O o I :3 CO > ^ cc £ z ^ 3amcs Samuel '(aIla^swortb Thirteen. In tliis capacity he secured the Steamer Kill Van Kull and sent a cargo of provisions, clothing, horses and laliorers to Annapolis to keep open the railroad to Washington. To this pur- pose he gave $17,000. The war ship " Monticello," in anticipation of Confederate privateers, acted as escort. He went hy road him- self. As soon as he had supervised the distribution, he returned to New York. His excellent judgment in all those and similar matters led to his appointment bj' Governor Morgan as Major- General in the New York troops. This selection was, however, super- seded by the requirement of the Secretary of War Cameron that all Generals should be designated l)y the President. Wadsworth promptly sent in his resignation. Determined to be represented in some capacity in a battle soon to take place, he applied to General McDowell for appointment as aide on his staff. He was ten years older than McDowell, but the latter, recognizing his zeal and remarkable activity, quickly accepted him. His efficiency was speedily proved by the performance of every duty which his office demanded. The false idea then prev- alent, that a new man with a new uniform and a new gun, if he could get one, was at once a competent soldier, was the popular belief. There were no officers, regular or volunteer, who had ever commanded more than a thousand men, and indeed, so far as big fighting was concerned, every man had to learn his lesson by practical experience. Organization of green men is a slow process and the Government learned later that six months drill and discipline were none too long to make effective soldiers. The inane and insane cry of " On to Richmond " forced an un- educated Government to direct the advance which precipitated the defeat at Bull Run. In this struggle Wadsworth was everywhere active. In a charge of the 8th New York against the Henry House Hill, the regiment made a wrong turn to the left and subjected itself to a flank fire. Major Wadsworth dashed after it, rectified its course, accompanied it up the hill and ordered a charge. He exposed him- self freely. " Well do I remember," writes an officer of the 13th 83 3ame9 Samuel Mabswortb New York, " how he came flying down the steep hill by the Old Stone House at Bull Run and led the 13th, under a heavy fire from the enemy's battery that commanded the hill, into action." The battle which favored us in the forenoon was reversed in the afternoon by the arrival of Confederate reinforcements, and our Army returned to Washington with a most useful and valuable lesson in warfare. The Capital was much demoralized and panicky. The troops under Colonel (later General) Sherman, acted as a steady rear guard and the Confederates made no successful following. The North, too, had an interesting lesson and began to think. In his official report, General McDowell highlj' complimented Major Wadsworth and recommended him for appointment as brigader general. UPTON'S HILL His lack of knowledge and experience in war led Wadsworth to decline the New York appointment, but he was urged by his friends on JNIcDowell's staff who had admired his skill and courage, and by others to take the responsible honor. His commission was dated August 9, 1861, and his brigade was composed of the 12th, 21st, 23rd and 35th New York Regiments, with headquarters at Arlington. Drill and work on the defenses of Washington were the daily duties. The presence of an enemy in sight of the National Capital was a great annoyance, until General Johnston in September ordered the Confederate troops to abandon their advanced position. General Wadsworth moved his brigade to Upton's Hill, which he proceeded to fortify. The brigade was here strengthened by the arrival of the Ulster Guard, with the nmnerical title of the Eightieth New York. The highest praise was extended to the General for his great effici- ciency in the location, preparation and hygienic properties of his brigade, and his thoughtfulness and ready personal generosity were everywhere manifest. The delay of ^NlcClellan in bringing his army into contact with the enemy did not meet with General Wadsworth's approval. It is 84 3amcs Samuel Ma^ewortb not necessary to dwell upon this here, save to say that the new Com- mander was preparing the green Army to make it worthy of Grant's encomium in his exjieriences. On the relief of General McCIellan from the command of the whole army, leaving him the Army of the Potomac only, and the withdrawal of McDowell's command, came the appointment of Gen- eral Wadsworth to the command of the troops protecting the City of Washington. As military governor of that city he was in a posi- tion of great delicacy and responsibility. His military inexperience was strengthened by the assignment of high military officers. The retirement of the Confederate forces came almost simultaneously with the appointment. Having followed the enemy to Bull Run, General Wadsworth prepared to leave for Washington. The news of this loss was reported to the brigade, which manifested its regret in un- mistakable terms. For nine months he had been with his troops and it would be another nine months before he resumed again its command. Foregoing his desire to go with his old brigade in the Burnside attack on Fredericksburg, he continued, at the earnest request of the Government, in charge of the Civil-military duties of his difficult and exacting office. Having no constituency but the nation, he was free to carry out the ideas which his own intellectual weight and ex- perience suggested. In the midst of this he was called upon to make another sacrifice in permitting himself to be named for Governor of New York. In a private letter he said, " I do not find any sufficient reason for absolutely refusing to accept the nomination for Gov- ernor, but I unaffectedly dread it. I have tried to be ordered to the field, in which case I should peremptorily decline the nomination, but I have not been successful partly because I think the Secretary of War wishes me to accept the nomination." At the Convention, General Wadsworth received the honor of the first ballot. His democratic opponent was Horatio Seymour. Re- publican success seemed to be assured. Unfortunately, General Wadsworth could not relinquish his office duties to keep up an active personal campaign. He was, however, induced to attend a mass 85 3amc9 Samuel IHIlaDswortb meeting at Cooper Institute a few days before election day. There he expressed in most positive terms his abhorrence of slavery and alarmed his leaders as to his success. It was in the spirit of his letter to an intimate friend and colleague. " We have paid for peace and freedom in the blood of our sons; let us have it." His warm and unstinted commendation of the Commander-in-Chief Lincoln, evinced a thorough understanding of the great leader and justified his state- ment, '* I stand by Abraham Lincoln, It is just, it is holy so to do." His frank exposition as well as his absence undoubtedly caused.his defeat. After the election, the Secretary of War was willing to grant Wadsworth's desire to return to the field. After a month's leave of absence, he was ordered on December 13th to report to General Burnside. In his defeat at Fredericksburg he had lost many general officers. On December '2'2nd his assignment was made as Commander of the First Division of the First Corps. General John F. Reynolds conmianded the Corps and he showed in an unusual degree his con- fidence and esteem. His first brigade was transferred to the Provost IVIarshal and its place was taken by four New Jersey regiments and one Pennsylvania, nine-months men whose term of ser\'ice were onl\- a few months away. The two other brigades were veteran men. enlisted for three years. One included the 19th Indiana. 24th ^Michigan, and the 2nd. 6th and 7th Wisconsin, kno^^ii as the Iron Brigade. The third brigade comprised the 7th Indiana, the 76th and 9oth Xew York and the j6th Pennsylvania, to which were later added the 84th Xew York (14th Brooklyn) and the 147th Xew York, and Battery B. 4th United States Artillery. The position of this force for the winter was at Belle Plain, Potomac Creek, near where it empties into the Potomac River. CHANCELLOR S VILLE In April, 1863. the weather and condition of the ground afforded the opportunity for a grand movement on the part of the Army. On April 27 four army corps began the march. On the 28th the 86 < - q: n O »i CO 5 > CO IT o U o z < I o 3ames Samuel MaDswortb First Corps made ready to go, but was delayed by a mutinous refusal of a few companies in a New York regiment, on the ground that their term of two years' enhstment had expired. His division, save the Iron Brigade, was ordered to march. With this. General Wadsworth took place in front of the offenders and directed it to load and come to a " ready." He then rode close to them and said " Men of New York, of good deeds, I give you the alternative. New York is ashamed of your conduct, I am astonished. Take two steps to the front as your willingness to obey the command to march; unless you do, by the Almighty, I'll bury you here." The men promptly stepped two paces forward, the Iron Brigade recovered arms, the band played " Johnny comes marching home " and the affair was over. Hooker's, the commander's, expectation that Lee would be driven from Fredericksburg and forced to retreat to Richmond was wisely planned and ineffectively carried out. Wadsworth's Division was a part of the strategy and with three corps under Sedgwick crossed the river three miles below the City. For three days this large force refrained from an attack upon what proved to be only ten thousand men. The arrangements to get orders from General Hooker were unsatisfactory. On May 2nd came the instructions to march to Chancellorsville. The Confederate forces delayed, with considerable loss, the recrossing of the river. The long march of twenty-two miles on this hot Saturday had only reached as far as United States Ford. The battle of May 3 was on. Wadsworth's Division was to form a second line behind Hunting Creek. There they heard Hooker's guns but were practically of no avail. Exhausted, they slept. " We are humiliated at our defeat," writes Wadsworth, " Hooker has lost the confidence of the Army by his conduct of this movement." The activity of Lee's army, inflated by this victory, indicated a most important movement and in June began the advance to Pennsyl- vania. The division had been reduced by the muster out of the New Jersey Brigade of nine-months men and the eight thousand had been cut down to four thousand, the Iron Brigade and Cutler's Brigade, than which none better could be found in the Army. On June 12th 87 James Samuel XCla^swortb the corps broke camp. Together with the 3rd and 11th Corps it formed the right wing of the Army. On June 25th, it was directed to push with speed and lay hold of the passes in South Mountain. The relief of Hooker was a disappointment, but still greater that Reynolds was not made his successor. It is related that Reynolds was at one time actually offered the honor which he would accept only on condition that he should have absolute control of the Army and its operations. But the Armj' battle was still to be fought by the inefficient in the War Department. On June 28th the Corps fell back to Frederick and on the next day marched twenty-three miles to Emmitsburg. On June 30th, they made a march of five miles to Marsh Creek and there awaited orders. GETTYSBURG On July 1st, the Division moved towards Gettysburg at the head of the Corps. The indication of a concentration of the Confederate forces was expected and Buford's Cavalry, which was in the advance, would need support. Ai'rived within a mile of the town, an aide from General Buford encountered them with the information that the enemy was approaching rapidly. General Reynolds and Wads- worth consulted and concluded to meet the attack about a mile from Gettysburg, on elevated ground. To the First Corps was given the honor and prestige of the first crushing conflict in what should have been the last battle of the war. Defeat here meant, probablj', foreign recognition of the Confederate Government and what at best would have been a peace and postponement for a few years of a similar and final struggle. It is not purposed here to give a detailed account of the three days' contest which ended on the -Ith of July by the retreat of the Confederate troops. One of the features of the opening battle was a deep railroad excavation or cut on an unfinished railway, where brilliant work was done by our men. Wadsworth took his division to relieve Buford, who had been compelled to withdraw to the McPherson Woods. The superior force of the enemy secured Wadsworth's repulse and they 88 I- < u I I- o CO o z o o < o a: o IT CQ CO ce LLl CO < I O 2 > O < CD C 31 P CO I o z o ■D o en O z > o en o H I cn □ < CO o c r 3ame0 Samuel TRUabsvportb retreated. Wadsworth's position then was at tlie edge of the woods on Seminary Ridge. The order to retreat had not reached the One hundred and forty-seventh New York and an aide was despatched to notify it. Al)out the same time came the stunning news that Reynolds had heen killed. Wadsworth was under the impression that he, as Senior Officer, was in command and gave some orders. But General Doubleday, who was at the other end of the field, had arrived and seized the situation. Fighting his men against a very much larger force called for the greatest skill and courage, ^^liat threatened to be a defeat was converted into a temporary success by the capture of part of Davis's and Archer's Confederate Brigades and a lull in the attack. Encouraged by this, Doubleday decided to continue the con- test. Dawes, of the Sixth Wisconsin, speaking of Wadsworth, wrote, " The activity, efficiency and, if I may so express it, the ubiquity of General James S. Wadsworth in the battle was remarkable. He was of remarkable and commanding appearance, and was absolutely fearless in exposing himself to danger." Soon General Howard came up with the 11th Corps and the command of the entire force fell upon him. He directed Wadsworth to hold the ridge as long as possible. An attack from the north was handsomely repulsed. Some of the most desperate fighting of the war was made between infantry and artillery without a particle of cover on either side. By four o'clock, it was evident that our forces were greatly inadequate. Wadsworth received an order from Double- day to retreat to Cemetery Hill. He was engaged in sighting one of Davidson's twelve pounders and replied, " Tell General Doubleday that I don't know an}i;hing about strategj-, but we are giving the Rebels hell with these guns and I want to give them a few more shots before we leave." The converging Confederates compelled a with- drawal to a new position and the whole force fell back to Cemetery Hill, the final line of battle for that engagement. The sacrifice of the First Corps cannot be over appreciated. It conveyed the impres- sion to Lee that he was attacking all of the Army of the Potomac and doubtless prevented him from following the retreat that nio-ht 89 3ame0 Samuel Wlabswortb to Cemetery Hill. This State still owes monuments to Generals Doubleday and Robinson of New York, for their heroic service here and throughout the war. The arrival of Hancock made him chief for a time and he assumed command. Wadsworth's Division was sent to Gulp's Hill in support of Steven's Battery, anticipating an attack in that quarter. This occurred on the following day and was repulsed. General AVads- worth's request to have his division put in at the time of Pickett's charge was declined, as Pickett had been driven back at the time of its receipt. The discussion as to the failure of Meade to attack on the fourth day need not be revived here. McClellan pursued the same course at Antietam. After such desperate battles and slaughter, the soldier's inclination is to let well enough alone. But whatever might have been accomplished by an advance, it is certain that the capture of the whole Confederate Army then would not have accomplished the in- evitable result of the war, the destruction of slavery. On July 6, Wadsworth's Division started south and an early resumption of the struggle was looked for. At a council of war, near Falling Waters, Maryland, a majority opposed an attack. Wads- worth, who represented Newton, in his absence, urged a renewal of the struggle, but not being a corps commander, had no vote. Meade, however, concluded to force the fighting, but on July 14, when our troops moved forward, they found the Confederate pickets withdrawn and Lee's Army, by aid of a pontoon bridge and a falling river, had crossed the Potomac into Virginia, to return no more to Northern soil. Wadsworth, greatly disappointed, and " Out of conceit with war " and with a division reduced to the size of a brigade, asked to be re- lieved. His request was granted and he started at once for Wash- ington. TEMPORARY DUTY His retvu-n did not mean a period of rest. It was during the time of the enlistment of negroes as soldiers. He was assigned to 90 3ame6 Samuel Mabswortb the Mississippi Valley to examine and report upon the condition of the colored troops and of the non-military part of the colored people. He inspected troops at Cairo and then proceeded to Natchez, Port Hudson, Baton Rouge and New Orleans. On December 3 he was back again in Washington. In January he was ordered on a Court of Inquiry to investigate the conduct of Generals McCook, Crittenden and Negley at Chicka- mauga. This took him to Nashville and Louisville. The Court com- pletely exonerated the three officers. During the long sessions of the Court, Congress revived the rank of Lieutenant-General and on March 10th Grant was appointed and assigned to the command of the entire Army. Stanton and Hal- leck were retired to civil work and Grant was permitted by President Lincoln to try his hand. The relief of Halleck from command of the army was effected and the Constitutional Commander-in-Chief wisely left it to the generals in the field to do the planning and the fighting. It was a resumption of the Anaconda plan to keep all the armies fighting at the same time and the crushing of the Confederates towards Richmond and ultimate surrender. Grant chose the Army of the Potomac as his headquarters and with Meade as his immediate assistant, began the preparations for the final struggle. This new plan revived all of Wadsworth's ardor for battle in the field. The splendid record he had made was his sufficient endorsement. Grant said of him later, " One fighter such as he was worth a whole brigade." On March 1.5, he was directed to report to General Meade who, ten days thereafter, assigned him to the Fifth Corps commanded by General G. K. Warren. It was in the memorable march by the left fiank to Richmond that the generous, devoted and efficient Wadsworth was to give his life for his country. In the first great engagement in the Wilder- ness, he was mortally wounded while leading his troops. The details of this movement, of the conflict and of his death have been graphically and eloquently described in the recently published Life of Wadsworth, by Henry Greenleaf Pearson, Charles Scribner's Sons, Publishers. 91 3ames Samuel TRIlabswortb To this work we are mainly indebted in the comijilation of this sketch. It seems best that in continuation and closing of tliis recital that account should be generously used. It is with the author's permission that I present here the last chapter of his fine work, with such elimina- tions only as do not mar the force or interest of the story. It is a tribute to the remarkable character of one who in civil and military hfe manifested at all times the qualities of a public spirited, high minded, generous, patriotic Christian gentleman. The name of General James S. Wadsworth will never be forgotten by the people he served. THE WILDERNESS The region of the Wilderness, into and through which Grant was moving his army and which was destined presently to be the scene of a contest the like of which had not occurred since Hermann destroyed the Roman legions in the forest of Teutoberg, lies immedi- ately south of the Rapidan, between Chancellorsville and Mine Run. an area some twelve miles across from east to west and ten or twelve from north to south. It was covered, then as now, by a dense second growth of scrubby trees, the primeval forests having been cut down to feed the furnaces connected with the mines that Alexander Spotts- wood. Governor of Virginia in the early years of the eighteenth century, had opened throughout the region. " Thickets of stunted pine, sweet-gum, scrub oak, and cedar, a jungle of switch * * * ten or twenty feet high," are some of the phrases which have been used to characterize this gro\vi;h ; and Milton's " brush with frizzled hair implicit " describes the tangle of vmderbrush with which the floor of the forest was encmiibered. Through the midst of the forest run the Orange Turnpike and the Orange Plank Road, forming the main lines of travel between Fredericksburg on the east and Orange Court House on the west. Wliere these are connected by the Brock Road, a north and south cross-road, they are a mile and a half apart; a little farther west o if) J > i H -3 I- », UJ o J. > -s cr o < -5 z ^ LLl c: CO 5 Z - < i (T ~ LU J 1 S 3amc9 Samuel Mabewortb the distance between them is nearly twice as great. Another cross- road, the Gernianna Plank Road, forms the other leg of a letter X between the two east and west roads, and, extending to the north- west for five miles, crosses the Rapidan at Germanna Ford. Besides these main roads there is in the forest a maze of cart tracks and cow-paths, threading its ravines and winding around its swamps, in which seep the waters of nmnerous streams. Here and there are clearings, the most considerable of them, that at Wilderness Tavern in the heart of the forest, being a mile across in either direc- tion. Through this clearing runs the straight and narrow pike, and where it dips down over rolling slopes to cross Wilderness Run the Germanna Ford Road comes in from the northwest. Other clearings are the Widow Tapp's field and that at Parker's Store on the Orange Plank Road, and, lying between them and the pike in the direction of the tavern, the high ground of Chewning's Farm. Over this high ground and then down the little valley through which flows Wilder- ness Run lies a wood road connecting Parker's Store and Wilderness Tavern. South of the Rapidan and west of the Wilderness beyond Mine Run lay Lee's army. His headquarters were at Orange Court House some twenty miles from the Wilderness Tavern, and Longstreet's Corps was still farther away to the southwest at Gordonsville and JNIechanicsburg. The movement around Lee's right flank upon which Grant had determined as the first step in the campaign of 1864, though more promising than a movement round the left flank, had nevertheless this disadvantage, that the army nmst first traverse the region of the Wilderness. Since the long train of four thousand wagons was bound in the exigencies of its progress to make the Fed- eral advance slow, there was danger lest Lee, catching wind of his opponent's course, should choose to throw his army across Grant's j)ath by the two roads from the Orange Court House. The Army of the Potomac, therefore, at the same time that it was pushing south toward the open country beyond Parker's Store, must be so disposed 3amc0 Samuel THIla&0wortb that it could in short notice face to the west to meet Lee. The cal- culation of time, based on the Mine Run campaign over the same ground in the preceding November, justified belief that, in the words of Major-General Humphreys, who prepared the details of the move- ment, the Army of the Potomac " might move so far beyond the Rajjidan the first day that it would be able to pass out of the Wilder- ness and turn, or partly turn, the right flank of Lee before a general engagement took place." In other words. Grant might hope on the second day of his march to get to Parker's Store and beyond before Lee advanced within striking distance on the Pike and the Plank Road. " I do not perceive," says General Humphreys, who from his position as chief of staff of the Army of the Potomac speaks with an authority that cannot be gainsaid, " that there is anything to induce the belief that General Grant intended or wished to fiffht a battle in the Wilderness." But Lee, acting on that jjrecept in Napoleon's Maxims of War, " never to do what the enemy wishes you to do, for this reason alone, that he desires it," here, as at other times during the war, disappointed the calculations of his antagonists through the failure of the Federal cavalrv to remain on the Pike accordinsr to Meade's orders, Ewell's swift approach along that road was unknown to Grant, who was thus left too long in fancied security. So the battle was brought on in the middle of the forest, wliere Lee's men were much more at home than were Grant's, where the disjjarity between his 61,000 and Grant's 115,000 effectives was minimized, and where the superiority of the Federal artillery counted for nothing. A battle fought on these terms is one of " brigades and regiments rather than of corps and divisions," if, indeed, it is not even better characterized in the words of Colonel Theodore Lyman, volunteer aide-de-camp on Meade's staff, as a " scientific bushwhack of 200,000 men." Obviously, in such a contest skill in the art of war counts for less than individual resourcefulness and courage. That courage, too, must be of the kind which can put down sudden fear springing 94 3ame9 Samuel IaIla^9wortb from unknown causes. One of the officers of the Twentieth Massa- chusetts told Lyman that, tliough his regiment lost one-fourth of its men, he never saw an enemy. There is nothing strange, then, in the statement of Colonel Swan that " in all this wood fighting our troops seemed to have been greatly alarmed whenever the noise of a contest to the right or the left told them that there was fighting in the rear of a prolongation of their own lines. Such noises seem to have caused more disturbance than a foe directly in front." Officers, too, as well as men, felt the spell of the Wilderness and were not at their best. " These generals," says Colonel Thomas L. Livermore, in speaking of the beginning of the battle, " who hesitated to attack were brave and skilful soldiers, but some strange lethargy seems to have possessed them." But these mysteries of the woodland, Avhatever their effect on others, proved to have no terrors for Wads- worth. The necessity of attacking an unseen antagonist with troops which for the most part he could not see in nowise daunted him, and his valor was as stubborn here as on the open fields of Gettys- burg. In the march which began at midnight of the night of IVIay 3-4, Warren's Corps was ordered to proceed from Culpeper to Germanna Ford, and, having crossed the Rapidan, to go on to the Wilderness Tavern, in the open ground about which it was to encamp for the night. Of Warren's four divisions, Wadsworth's, the next to the largest, marched third. Through the darkness of the early dawn, along the roads leading to the chosen fords of the river, " could be heard the hum of moving troops and the peculiar rattle of cup and canteen which is heard only in war." When the sun rose with the promise of a warm day every height of land over which the troops took their way gave them glimpses of the vast movement of which they were a part. All the roads were marked by columns of infantry, by wagon trains and artillery ; flags dipped and the sunlight sparkled on the flanks of the brass Napoleons. 'Now and again was heard the sound of distant cheering. Thrilled by the hope of victory which the beginning of the 95 3ame0 Samuel TKHa^swortb campaign held out to the army, officers and men were responsive to the signs of spring everywhere about them, and Theodore Lyman was not the only soldier who noted that " beyond Stevensburg the roadside was full of violets, and the little leaves of the wood trees were just beginning to unfold, the size of a mouse's ear, perhaps." By the middle of the morning Wadsworth's Division had reached Germanna Ford on the Rapidan and had begun crossing on the pon- toon bridges. On the high ground above the south bank were the headquarters colors of Grant, of Meade, and of Warren, and the young officers of their staffs exchanged friendly greetings with their comrades in the marching columns. Leaving this brilliant group behind them, the sign of the unity of that huge organization to which it was their pride to belong, Wadsworth's men struck into the Wilder- ness after the two leading divisions of the Fifth Corps. Though the distance from the ford to the tavern was less than five miles, the monotonj' of the forest was broken only once or twice by a clearing and a couple of old houses, and the distance seemed interminable. Tokens of the heat and fatigue of the day appeared in the discarded overcoats with which the roadsides were strewn. Arrived at last at the tavern, Wadsworth was ordered to encamp his division east of Wilderness Run, the divisions ahead of him being one (Griffin's) to the west on the Pike and the other (Crawford's) to the southwest about the Lacy House, ready to take up the march to Parker's Store the next morning. And here, ringed about by the Wilderness, one of Wadsworth's regiments was brought face to face with reminders of last year's battle, of " Stonewall " Jackson's over- whelming attack upon the unguarded Federal flank, and of his mortal wound received in the moment of victory. The Second Wisconsin had been sent on picket duty in the direction of Chancellorsville, and its adjutant, G. M. Woodward, of La Crosse, Wisconsin, says that where he established the line of pickets the ground here and there blazed with wild azaleas, and at first presented no evidence that it had ever been the scene of battle; dismounting, he soon found scattered in every direction the debris of war — knapsacks, belts, 96 3amc0 Samuel Ma^avportb bayonets, scabbards, etc. Farther on he saw what appeared to be a long trench about eight feet wide, filled up and mounded, its edges sunken and covered with grass, weeds and wild flowers. This picket line ran undoubtedly through " Stonewall " Jackson's field hospital of just a year before, to which he was carried when wounded " Meade's orders for the next day, May 5, required Warren, start- ing at five o'clock, to take his corps by the wood road to Parker's Store, and having reached it, to extend his right to Sedgwick, who was to move up to take the position that Warren had held on the Pike. Hancock, making a long sweep from Chancellorsville was to take position on Warren's left and to extend his right to connect with Warren. This having been done, the armv was to be " held ready to move forward." Flankers and pickets were to be thrown well out and all the troops " held ready to meet the enemy at any moment." ^ The belief on which these orders were based, that Lee's army was far enough away to the west for this " preliminary position " to be taken on the morning of May 5, was destined not to survive many hours of daylight. On the night of May 4 the head of EweU's Corps had encamped on the Pike only five miles from Wilderness Tavern while the head of Hill's Corps on the Plank Road was within three or four miles of Parker's Store. The two columns which Lee was sending to strike athwart the Federal line of march were thus close at hand. The proximity of Ewell on the Pike was discovered early on the morning of May 5 by the outposts of Griffin's Division. Warren though sceptical as to the gravity of the situation, told Griffin to get ready to attack at once. Meade, hurrying up, ordered Warren to suspend his march and to attack straightway with his whole force saymg, " If there is to be any fighting this side of Mine Run, let us do It right ofi-." Finally, Grant, when communicated with, ordered an immediate attack; taken by surprise though he was, he proposed to lose not an hour in striking at Lee, whether he had to encounter a whole corps or only a rear-guard. 97 3ames Samuel Mabswortb At five o'clock Crawford's Division of Warren's Corps had started from about the Lacy house, followed by Wadsworth's; they were making good progress toward Parker's Store when they suddenly heard the sound of skirmishing in the direction of IMine Run. Soon an aide hurried up to Wadsworth with orders from Warren dispatched at 7.30: "The movement towards Parker's Store is suspended for the moment. You will halt, face towards Mine Run, and make your connection with General Griffin on your right." Presently Warren himself, accompanied by Lieutenant Schaff, rode up. " Find out what is in there," he said, pointing to the woods toward the west. Taking the two batteries (Breck's First New York and Stewart's Fourth United States) that were with the division, and the leading brigade, Rice's, and sending orders to Stone and Cutler, AVadsworth started in the direction indicated by Warren. The batteries followed up a road which had evidently been used for bringing out charcoal and which was now grown up with small brush and full of stumps and rotten logs. A journey through the woods of perhaps a quarter of a mile brought them out on a narraw clearing less than a half mile long, where were situated the buildings of INIiss Hagerson's farm. Wadsworth halted the batteries at the eastern edge of the clearing and directed Stewart, who will be remembered for the execution he did on Scale's Brigade at Gettysburg, to command them both. Xo task could please the daring Scotchman better than to manage guns in such a remote and hazardous position. The brigade Wadsworth formed in the clearing. At 8.30, less than an hour after receiving Warren's order, he explained to Griffin, commanding the division on his right, the disposition of his own 6,500 effectives as follows: " I find an opening and tolerable position for artillery about one and one-half miles from Lacey's house. I am at that point Avith two batteries and one brigade (Rice). Have a brigade (Stone) stretched thinly through a piece of very thick woods and one brigade (Cutler's) near you." The left of his line was supported by the Maryland Brigade of Robinson's Division. 98 3ames Samuel Mat)swortb In this position, although by his connection with Griffin, Wads- worth was well i:)rotected on the right, he was not so fortunate in respect to his other flank. Crawford, by reason of exigencies pres- entlj' to be noted, told of only part of a brigade (McCandless's) to join hands with Wadsworth, and then only after so much delay that it was of no use. Moreover, Rice's Brigade, formed along the length of the Hagerson farm and facing northwest, had its unprotected left flank even advanced toward the enemy. No advantage, however, was to be gained from Wadsworth's prompt preparations, though a brisk attack was precisely the thing desired by Grant and jNIeade. In his message sent at 8 :24 in response to the notification of Ewell's advance, Grant had said: " If any opportunitj' presents itself for pitching into a part of Lee's army, do so without giving time for disposition." The faithful execution of this, the new conmiander's first fighting order to the Army of the Potomac, was the primary essential to the success of the Union Arms, yet the battle did not begin till well beyond the hour of noon. Meanwhile, Wadsworth's troops, having thrown up slight in- trenchments, were lying at their ease in the woods, full of the cheer of the warm spring morning. The officers of the Sixth Wisconsin, in the second line of the Iron Brigade, lounged under a gi-eat oak tree, chaffing one another as if it were the noon hour of a day's hunting- expedition. At a little before one o'clock the attack began. The orders were to advance due west by the compass, a command impossible of execu- tion even if there had been a compass for every man of them. Schaff"s account gives a vivid picture of the kind of thing that happened. " The troops tried at first to advance in line of battle from the temporary works which had been thrown up while the reconnoissances and preparations were going on; but owing to the character of the woods they soon found that was out of the question, and had to break by battalions and wings into columns of fours. So by the time they neared the enemy all semblance of line of battle was gone and 99 3ame0 Samuel IRfla^sworlb there were gaps everywhere between regiments and brigades. Regi- ments that had started in the second Kne facing west found themselves facing north, deploying ahead of the first line. As an example of the confusion, the Sixth Wisconsin had been formed behind the Seventh Indiana, with orders to follow it at a distance of one hundred yards. By running ahead of his regiment the colonel of the Sixth managed to keep the Seventh in sight till they were close to the front ; but when the firing began the Seventh set out at double-quick for the enemy and disappeared in a moment, and the next thing was an out- burst of musketry and the enemy were coming in front and march- ing by both flanks." Under these difficult circumstances, it was the Iron Brigade with its western woodsmen that made the best progress. At the moment of contact with the enemy they were in advance of the rest of the division on their left and of the nearest brigade (Bartlett's) of Griffin's Division on their right. They pushed forward with cheers, and the force opposed to them (Jones's Brigade of Johnson's Divi- sion) gave way. So great was their impetus that with the hel^) of Bart- lett's Brigade they broke the brigades (Battle's and Doles's of Rodes's Division) in the Confederate second line. Three flags and two hun- dred and eighty-nine prisoners Cutler reported as their prize. But this advance was an isolated one. Griffin's men on the other side of the Pike found that the line opposite them overlajiped theirs consider- ablj' on the right, and soon the flank fire from its extreme regiments drove them back in confusion. Bartlett and Cutler were presently assailed by troops from Earl's Division, which forming hurriedly and coming on with a wild yell, broke them up and forced them back. Cutler's people did not stop till they reached the oj^en ground of the Lacy plantation; but for all that they were not too demoralized to bring their prisoners with them. In Wadsworth's centre, meanwhile, some of Stone's regiments had encountered a swamp. Impeded and bewildered in the attempt to accomplish its passage, they were completely unnerved l)y the dis- charges of musketry about them. Indeed, it is altogether probable 100 UJ CD Q > < z CO CO M O - O -"■ 5 5 z o CO q: LU I Q. Q Z < H O Q < O < 3amc0 Samuel Ma^swortb that they and Rice's men fired into each other. At all events, the men nearest to Rice, occupied in extricating themselves each from his own mud-hole or briery tangle, made no resistance worth mention- ing. As for Rice's Brigade, its misfortunes had begun earlier in the morning, when four whole companies and parts of two others sent out as skirmishers had been captured. Now, as it advanced through a piece of woods particularly dense, its left s^vung round toward the Pike. W]\en presently it was checked by the fire of an unseen foe, the discovery that the enemy's line overlapped that flank for a con- siderable distance threw it into complete confusion. As the reo-i- ments, disorganized by the flank attack, poured back into the Hager- son clearing, their assailants, Daniel's Brigade of Rodes's Division, coming close behind them, Stewart recognized the opportunity for which he had been waiting. Realizing that he might be called upon to get out of a tight place in a hurry, he had already sent back toward the Lacy plantation the other battery and the caissons of both, and now with his guns " at fixed prolonge," ready to move without a second's delay, he was in a position to prevent the Confederates from crossing the field. ^\Tien the canister which he gave them in good measure had driven them back to the shelter of the woods, he withdrew his battery as rapidly as the holes and stumps in the wood road permitted. This encounter between Warren and Ewell, which, beginning at 12.50, lasted for about an hour and a half, resulted in the repulse of all the Federal troops engaged. Not only was Grant's plan of a sudden sharp blow at Lee while he was unprepared frustrated, but the Federal troops had shown themselves less able than the Con- federates to cope with the difliculties of forest fighting and more subject to its terrors. The prestige of victory in the first meeting of the two great antagonists was with Lee. In truth, if Warren's men had been pursued, their punishment would unquestionablv have been severer. For this immunity Grant had to thank the restraining 101 3ames Samuel llClat)9wortb orders of Lee, who was unwilling to risk more until Longstreet had joined him. The part taken by Wadsworth himself in the engagement is hard to define. His brigades, stretched out through the woods, were as completely beyond his control as they were beyond his sight, and the stunted pines with their spreading branches practically prohibited communication by mounted aides. Wadsworth's presence, therefore, was of avail only with the troops of Rice's Brigade in the Hagerson clearing. Shut off from knowledge of Cutler's success at first, he was cognizant only of the feeble resistance of Stone's regiments to the advance of the Confederates on the right flank of Rice's Brigade and then of the disaster on the other flank. With affairs going in this fashion there was nothing for Wadsworth to do but to order a re- treat before he was entirely cut off. This was disconcerting enough, but he became still more wrought up when, on getting back to the fields about the Lacy house, he found men of all his brigades emerging in more or less confusion from the woods to the west. Once in the open, to be sure, they halted; they had got their bearings and, more than that, could realize that they were not being pursued. Though the reforming of the regiments was now an easy matter, his vexation at their unaccountable behavior increased, if anything, as he dashed hither and thither. That the men who had endured so steadily all the long day at Gettysburg should now give way on such short pro- vocation was a possibility for which he was totallj' unprepared. At the moment his philosophy could not compass it, and the chagrin of the failure overcame him completelj\ Wadsworth was not the only officer whose temper, severely strained during the long anxious morning, first by the baffling contest with nature and then by the contest with men whom nature seemed to be aiding, now gave way. At the Lacy house, where Warren was, and at Grant's and Meade's headquarters on the other side of the Pike, many hard words were exchanged. Griffin came storming in, so angry that he had been ordered to attack before the Sixth Corps had got into position on his right that his language seemed to Rawlins, 103 3ames Samuel Mat)6wortb Grant's chief of staff, sufficient cause for his arrest. The loss of two guns, which had been advanced along the Pike, was the occasion of much recriminating language. Crawford reported nearly a whole regiment captured. Warren was conscious that the burden of his defeat would not be eased for him by his superiors. The blame that was in the heart of every one flowed from the tongue unchecked. Though the work along Warren's line was now done for the day another battle on the Plank Road to the south was about to begin; and as Wadsworth's fighting spirit was soon to take him thither it is necessary to explain the situation there. Hill's column, led here as at Gettysburg by Heth's Division, though delayed somewhat by the Federal Cavalry on the Plank Road, had during the forenoon been advancing steadily towards its all-important goal, the point where that road was crossed by the Brock Road. The division behind Heth, Wilcox's, was to protect Hill's left flank by connecting with Ewell's right at the Hagerson farm. ]Meade, meanwhile, realizing that if Hill seized the Brock Road, Hancock's Corps to the south at Todd's Tavern would be cut off, had hurried to the crossing from the Wilderness clearing Getty's Division (three brigades) of Sedgwick's Corps, and had ordered Hancock back to the same spot. Getty reached the place in the nick of time, at about noon, and Hancock's men began to arrive at two o'clock. It was in defense of the line of the Brock Road that the severe fighting of the remaining thirty hours of the battle of the Wilderness took place. Severe, indeed, it was beyond almost any- thing that either armj' had hitherto known. " There are but one or two square miles upon this continent," remarks Colonel Swan, " that have been more saturated with blood than was the square mile which lay in front of the Brock Road and had the Orange Plank Road as a central avenue, in the two days of the battle of the Wilderness. * * * Nearly every square yard had its fill of blood, and on nearly every square yard was Northern and Southern blood intermingled." This crossroads is perhaps the most desolate spot in all the desola- tion of the forest. The brick-red roads are narrow and run at right 103 3amc0 Samuel Mat)Swortb angles to each other. The jungle comes up close on either side and the traveller can see into it for a distance of barely twenty feet. In the sjjace north of the Plank Road and west of the Brock Road, the presence of swamps and runs adds to the difficulty of the ground. There is no clearing for a mile in any direction. Wadsworth, as has been said, soon reformed his men and stationed them on the high ground in front of the Lacy house, facing toward the Plank Road. Here Grant and JNIeade found him when during the afternoon they came over to inspect Warren's position. Grant was anxious to know whether it would not be possible to send a force straight through the woods to strike Hill in the left flank and rear at the same time that Getty and Hancock assailed him in front, and Wadsworth's reply was the instant request that the task be given to him. The bad conduct of part of his command was still rankling within him and he felt as if his own honor were stained; moreover, his men were at hand and well rested and no less eager than he to retrieve before nightfall the disasters of the morning. As the commanding general listened to this energetic plea and got a glimpse of the white-haired soldier's instinct for taking a hand wherever there was a chance to do anj"- fighting, he had an opportunity to revise his opinion concerning the slowness of Warren's generals. Robinson, too, commanding the Second Division of the Fifth Corps, asked to have a part in the movement, and when his second brig- ade, Baxter's, was added by Grant to Wadsworth's command, accom- panied it. And yet from this undertaking, as from the morning's attack, the advantage of prompt movement was to be withheld. ^Miere the blame lies cannot be now ascertained, but for an hour after the troops were ready they waited for marching orders. At a quarter past four the sound of Getty's and Hancock's attack, late in beginning from causes similar to those that had delayed the morning attack on the Pike, was borne from the direction of the cross-roads, and as the sun sank lower the chances of getting through a mile and a half of dense woods in time to strike Hill's flank grew less and less. At five 104 3ame9 Samuel MaDewortb o'clock report was made to Warren of a movement of Confederate troops from Chewning's toward Heth, and the order to Wadsworth to go in was either consequent ujjon this or else coincident with it. The task which Wadsworth had undertaken was one to test to the uttermost the nerve of a leader. The difficulties of advancing in line through forest swamps and ravines, the spell of forehoding that woods at dusk always weave about every heart, told upon the firmness of the men, and all the while, in the expressive phrase of one regi- mental historian, " the whole Wilderness roared like fire in a cane- brake." It is not strange that when the enemy's skirmish line — Wilcox's men of Hill's Corj^s placed across their path barely ten minutes before — fired upon them, one brigade, terror-stricken, became utterly demoralized. The men " broke in a disgraceful manner," so says one report in the official records, " on seeing the fire of Baxter's skirmishers in front of them. They were stopped, however, by the exertions of their own officei's and Cutler's bayonets behind them." The firing thus begun spread from one regiment to another, and soon in Wadsworth's command there was a veritable riot of musketry. Volley after volley was discharged, sometimes at the retreating- skirmish line, sometimes at stray commands wandering about hope- lessly lost, some at no enemy at all. So tremendous and so prolonged was the roar that Grant at headquarters imagined Wadsworth to be in a contest with a forest full of Confederates, handsomely cleaning them out and making connection with Hancock on tlie Plank Road. At the bivouac fire he and Rawlins were full of rejoicing at Wads- worth's success and left unsaid no word of praise for his promptness, courage and patriotism. E. B. Washburne, member of Congress from Illinois, who was Grant's friend, and accompanying the army, could add much concerning what he had known of Wadsworth in Washington. The reality of this " success ", however, was ironically different and was for Wadsworth the final stroke in the day's disasters. The 105 3ame6 Samuel *WIla&0wortb commander of the brigade already mentioned, with hilariousness well stimulated, continued to make the forest ring with his discharges, and when AVadsworth sent an aide to bid him cease firing and keep quiet, ordered cheers for his native State. A second order to report at once to Wadsworth he refused to obey. The next morning he had disappeared altogether; his service to the Union cause was at an end. As long as there was a glinmier of light Wadsworth's line ad- vanced, pushing Wilcox's skirmishers back toward the Plank Road. AAHien the division finally came to a halt the line was about half or three-quarters of a mile from the road and nearly parallel to it. It had, however, moved more to the left than was at first intended, the magnet of Hill's and Hancock's contest proving an irresistible at- traction. The right of the line was thus not far from the northeast corner of the Widow Tapp's clearing, on the western edge of which were Lee's and Hill's headquarters; the left was in the thick woods towards Hancock's line, but not connecting with it. Though as yet Wadsworth had brought no aid to Hancock, and though, bj' reason of his boisterous advance, a surprise was now out of the question, yet he was in position to take part at once in the hard fighting which was sure to begin early the next day. Late at night, when the regi- ments had all reported, he sent an aide. Captain Monteith, back to Warren to get the next day's orders and also to bring up a supply of amnmnition, much needed after the recent expenditure. The many records that have been made of the hours passed in this nightmare of a place show how completely the mystery of the forest had penetrated the living beings who had invaded its depths, working upon them in darkness even more compellingly than in daylight. That portion of Wadsworth's command near the Tapp field was so close to the enemy that men venturing out from either side in search of water found themselves caught within the lines of their opponents. Now and then a soldier, as merciful as he was daring, crept out to give a drink from his canteen to a wounded enemy whose cries mingled with the calls of the whippoorwills. Near where the men of the Sixth Wisconsin lay on their arms a dying 106 3ames Samuel TSUa^swortb Confederate soldier moaned repeatedly: " My God! why hast thou forsaken me { " The fortunes of the battle about to be renewed were dependent for both sides on the arrival of reinforcements. Burnside's Corps, of approximately 17,000 men, which was due to be on hand early hi the morning, was to attack Hill on the left flank and rear in the Chewning fields, the high open ground from which Crawford had been withdrawn the morning before. This attack, if successful, would cut off Ewell from Hill. But Burnside had, as Lyman said of him, a "genms of slowness;" while on the Confederate side, where the need was far more exigent, the hope of help lay in Longstreet, Lee's strength and reliance. In the conflict of the afternoon of May 5 — " a butchery pure and simple . . . unrelieved by any of the arts of war in which the exercise of military skill and tact robs the hour of some of its horrors " — Hill's two Divisions, amounting to 15,000 men, had been terribly weakened, and when night brought the contest to an end he allowed his battered brigades to stay where darkness found them, their intrenchments not continuous and their lines un- rectified. Thus insecure and anxious, he and Lee at their head- quarters in the Tapp field prayed that da^vn might not come before they should be reinforced. Longstreet, in truth, with his 10,000 men, was not failing them. Having rested his troops after a march of twenty-three miles, he had started half an hour after midnight to complete the remaining ten or eleven miles to the battlefield; Ander- son's Division of Hill's Corps, 7,000 by count, had about the same distance left to accomplish on the Plank Road. At three o'clock Captain Monteith returned to Wadsworth, bring- ing the supply of ammunition and the orders from Warren, which were to attack at five o'clock simultaneously with Hancock: " Set your line of battle on a line northeast and southwest, and march directly southeast on the flank of the enemy in front of General Hancock." Before the ammunition could be distributed, dawn had already come. It was Friday, May 6, the most critical day in the 107 3ame0 Samuel Tttllabswortb history of the Republic, and for Wadsworth the last day of conscious life. At the earliest gleam of light the men were roused, and then having snatched a cold bite and formed in silence, they waited the sound of the signal gun from Hancock's headquarters at the cross- roads. When its boom broke the stillness they pushed resolutely through the thickets and swamps. As they drew near the Plank Road the left naturally swung round so as to advance in line with Getty's and Birney's divisions which were coming from the Brock Road. The two bodies thus meeting became somewhat crowded together, but lost none of their energy. They quickly brushed the Confeder- ates out of their irregular breastworks and drove them down the road and through the forest toward and into the Tapp field, capturing many prisoners. Hancock, at the cross-roads, as he received one mes- sage after another of success, was radiant. " Tell General Meade," he cried to Lyman, " we are driving them most beautifully. Birney has gone in and is cleaning them out beautifully." Well might he seize this chance to rejoice; it proved the one instant of triumph in all that fatal day. For the Confederates the situation was desperate. If they could not maintain themselves in the clearing, their chance of dividing Grant's army was gone once for all. In the life of Lee it was one of those supreme moments when the soldier's being, with a degree of power rarely attained, must seek to infuse its will into thousands of men whose wills have gone nerveless at the bidding of mob terror and despair. That force of his must flow everywhere, imparting the cheer and certainty of present help — for Longstreet's two divisions, commanded by Field and Kershaw, were advancing in parallel columns along the Plank Road at as near a double-quick as the weary men could attain. And so the gray-haired general, mounted on Traveller, a figure hardly less historic than Lee himself, radiating ardor of battle in the moment of defeat, seems, in the picture that one forms of that forlorn field with its small huddle of shanties and its 108 Sames Samuel ^at)6\x)ortb withered fruit trees, to be indeed omnipresent. But in this crisis the suiimions of Lee, at otlier times all-compelling in its inspiration, proved of little avail. On the southern edge of the field Uirney's left had advanced so far that its fire came in the rear of the Con- federate batteries, the guns of which now brought no sense of strength to the dispirited masses of men in gray who, as one brigade after another had been rolled up, refused to rally and did not stop even when they reached the shelter of the woods. " ]My God! General INIcGowan," exclaimed Lee, " is this sjilendid brigade of yours running like a flock of geese? " By six o'clock the head of Longstreet's colmiin had just reached the field. His first brigade got into position just in time to arrest the career of Birney's troops, and when Gregg's Texas Brigade, the fourth to arrive, came up and formed behind the guns, its duty was to assail the woods north of the Plank Road, where Wadsworth's men had been momentarily checked by the artillery. Lee, the need of success his one thought, rode along-side the Texans as they were about to start, and declared that he himself would lead them. To their cries of " Go back, General Lee, go back," and " We won't go on unless j'ou go back," he paid no heed, till a man stepped from the ranks and, seizing Traveller's bridle turned the horse about. " The fine eye of Lee," says one of the many Confederate accounts of this stirring incident, " must often have glistened with something better than a conqueror's pride whenever he recalled the cry with which that veteran rank and file sent him to the rear and themselves to the front." It was a brigade thus sped to the charge that Wadsworth and his men, themselves in far from good order, were destined to meet. The wide wheel that they had made to advance westward, the intermingling with the troops of Hancock's Corps, and finally the struggle through the morass which lay across their path had cut up their formation into small separate masses; but their ardor was undiminished. For all their disorder they had caught a vision of victory such as the Army of the Potomac had not known for many a long month. The 109 3ame0 Samuel TIlaa^swo^tb shock when their first line met the Texans was appaUing. " The Federals," writes the Confederate general, E. ]M. Law, " were advanc- ing through the pines with ajiparently resistless force, when Gregg's eight hundred Texans, regardless of numbers, flanks, or supports dashed directly ujjon them. There was a terrific crash, mingled with wild yells, which settled down into a steady roar of musketry. In less than ten minutes one-half of that devoted eight hundred were lying ujjon the field, dead or wounded; but they had delivered a staggering blow and broken the force of the Federal advance." Wadsworth, who was on the Plank Road, had his horse shot under him; the division, sheltered in the woods, stood firm. The charge of another brigade, Benning's Georgians, no less furious than that of the Texans, it repulsed, also, inflicting hardly less damage; but the third assault, made by Law's brigade, it could not withstand. The fierceness of this contest is vividly portrayed in the narrative of Sergeant Frey, of the One Hundred and Fiftieth Pennsylvania of Stone's Brigade. Though it has the conventional characteristics of " battle pieces " in regimental histories, the note of admiration for Wadsworth's courage and kindliness gives it individuality and point. " Now is our turn. As the men composing om- first and second lines take refuge in our rear, we move to the front, and General Wads- worth riding up to our regiment says : ' Give it to them, Bucktails ! ' We pour in one close, deadly volley, and they stagger under the terrible fire. The general shouts: 'Boys, you are driving them; charge! ' Our brigade, now the front, charges fiercely, driving them back some distance; but a fresh line comes to their support, fires a volley in our very faces and sends us back over the ground we had just gained, charging us in return. A new line comes to our aid, pours its fire upon the opposing ranks, compelling them to give way : and again we charge over the same gromid, only to be driven back in turn on our reserves, as reinforcements come to the help of the enemy. The battle now l^ecomes close and bloody. Charges and counter- charges are made in quick succession. Five times we traverse the same ground, led by General Wadsworth who sits on his horse with no 3ames Samuel iWIlat»0wortb hat in hand, bringing it down on the pommel of his saddle with every bound as he rides at the head of the column. Then as the Ijullets strike among his men like hail and they l^egin to recoil, he rides slowly back in their midst, speaking kindly to them, with ever a smile on his pleasant countenance which shows no concern for the storm of lead and iron raging around him." " Wadsworth has been slowly pushed back," reported Captain Cope of Warren's staff at 7.40, " but is contesting every inch of ground." At length, however, the Confederate advance against Birney south of the Plank Road prospered; the force opposed to Wadsworth succeeded in jjushing his regiments farther and farther into the deep woods and across the swamjiy ground over which they had so recently won their way. Retreating under these circumstances, the division lost all coherence and for a time was scattered in frag- ments through the forest. Fortunately, however, the Confederates could not inmiediately follow up their advantage, and Wadsworth, with the aid of General Rice and of Rogers and Montieth of his own staff, succeeded in bringing his force into some sort of order. The position of the Union troops after Longstreet's attack, though difficult to ascertain with exactness, is perhaj)s best set forth by Atkinson. " Getty had been crowded, during the first advance, to the south side of the road, and all troops that had been engaged were being rallied and reformed in close order, so that a gap had ojiened immediately on the right of the Plank Road l)etween the troops that had been fighting under Birney against Kershaw and those that had engaged Field's Division near Tajip's along with the Fifth Corps under AVadsworth." Into this gap at about seven o'clock advanced the brigade of Brigadier-General Alexander S. Webb, the l)ody that at Gettysburg had borne the brunt of Pickett's charge. Ordered by Birney to deploy on the Plank Road and to go forward to replace Getty, Webb suddenly met the enemy. An ai^palling crash marked the beginning of the encounter, and the jirolonged and heavy firing indicated the severity of the struggle. Ill 3ame0 Samuel ^at)swortb Following up this attack, the enemy assailed Wadsworth's right, where Cutler was. So violent was the onset that Cutler was driven back in the direction of the Wilderness clearing, from which he had come the night before, and completely separated from the rest of the division. The irruption of some twelve hundred of his men from the woods into the open space, together with his report of the death of Wadsworth, heavy losses, and the close aijproach of the Confederate skirmishers, spread alarm at the army headquarters; Grant rode off in haste to consult with Hancock while the batteries on the high ground of the clearing stood ready to open on the enemy supposed to be pursuing Cutler. During the course of the attack in which Webb and Cutler re- ceived such severe handling, an aide brought to Wadsworth a message summoning him to Hancock's headquarters; arrived there, he was informed of Meade's despatch placing him under Hancock's orders and of the movement of Burnside by way of Chewning's toward Parker's Store. Hancock now gave Wadsworth Ward's and Webb's brigades of his own corps and a brigade (Carruth's) belonging to one of Burnside's divisions which was coming to Hancock's assistance along the Brock Road; with these and the remnants of his own brigades, Wadsworth was to push forward on the right of the Plank Road, driving off the enemj' in front of Webb and, if possible, reaching out a hand to Burnside's Division at Chewning's." Thus authorized and inspired by Hancock — " bully Hancock," as Meade delighted to call him — Wadsworth returned to his com- mand, pressing through the crowd of wounded men whose blood was staining the red soil of the roadway. At the front, in spite of the firing, matters were at a standstill. IVIost of the regiments of Webb's Brigade were screened by a dense thicket of saplings; at the road he had stationed the Twentieth Massachusetts, a small but gallant regi- ment with a gallant commander. Major Henrj' L. Abbott, ordering him to hold it at all costs. Opposite them, across a slight depression in the road which was continued on the right by the space of swampy ground already mentioned, lay the enemy, protected in their turn n2 GULP'S HILL, GETTYSBURG Entrenchments of Wadsworth's Division, July 2-3, 1863 3ame6 Samuel Wlat)swortb by thickets and, at the road, by a row of logs. The distance between the two lines was not more than twenty or thirty yards. Farther to the right, Webb's line was considerably bent back. On such ground, as Wadsworth had already learned from the events of the early morning, no movement of a considerable body of troops could be successfully conducted against a force so resolute and elated as was now there to meet them; the only hope was to charge down the road, where the open space enabled a command to see and to follow its leader, in the hope, after repeated trials, of breaking the enemy's line. The hope was a forlorn one, but, in view of the peril of further Confederate success, what the occasion required was not skill but naked courage ; Wadsworth, in following his instinct to lead in person, did the thing that was right and necessary. " In the two days of desperate fighting that followed our crossing the Rapidan," ^VTote Humphreys of him, " he was conspicuous beyond all others for his gallantry, prompter than all others in leading his troops again and again into action. In all these combats he literally led his men, who, inspired by his heroic bearing, continually renewed the contest, which but for him they would have yielded." Thus it was that, riding forward and coming upon the Twentieth Massachusetts, Wadsworth called out to Abbott, " Cannot you do something here? " ^Vhen Abbott showed hesitation in leaving the post to which Webb had assigned him, Wadsworth leaped his horse over the slight barrier of logs behind which the men were lying and of course Abbott and his men followed. The terrific fire which instantly assailed them it was impossible to stand against, and the attempt had to be abandoned. Abbott ordered the men to lie down, while he walked back and forth before the line. It was not long before he fell, mortally wounded. As for Wadsworth, though his horse was killed — the second he lost that morning — he himself was unhurt. Presently, when Carruth's Brigade came up to his support, a brand-new regiment commanded by that brilliant young soldier, Frank Bartlett, made another attempt to break the Confederate line. 113 3amcs Samuel XRIlabswortb The image of Wadsworth stamped upon these men of the Fifty- seventh, now coming under fire for the first time, shows how that power of leadership which he had been a whole lifetime in building up, was, at this supreme moment of his life, the very elemental force of his being. It prevailed, " even to drawing men around him who had never seen or scarcely heard of him before, holding them almost in the jaws of death and impressing them with his own loftj' spirit of loyalty which rose above all fear of danger." With such inspiration the men pressed forward to the attack and lost two hundred and fifty-two men in killed and wounded, but the Confederate line proved unyielding and the assailants were forced to fall back. Not long afterward an order came from Hancock to desist from further at- tacks. Word had reached him that Longstreet was not in his front but was threatening his extreme left, and on account of this report, mistaken as it was soon disastrously proved to be, troops were with- drawn from the Plank Road and hurried thither. For Wadsworth and his hard-fought men the resjDite was wel- come. Of the five thousand with whom he had set out on the preceding afternoon, less than two thousand remained, and he himself was ex- hausted. For the last three nights he had had little or no sleep, and for two days his sustenance had been coffee, hard bread, and pork. Since his snatch of breakfast at daylight he had been through five hours of the most frightfully severe work that man is ever called upon to do. To Monteith, who was alone with him for a time, he confessed that he was so utterly worn out as to be unfit to conmiand. Indeed, he " felt that he ought in justice to himself and his men to turn the command over to General Cutler." But Cutler and his brigade were far beyond reach. Before long Wadsworth's orderly appeared and furnished him something to eat, which he shared with his aides. Dur- ing the lull, too, his heart was gladdened by the sight of Craig, who had obtained permission to come over from Chancellorsville, where Tobert's Cavalry was guarding the trains, to staj' with his father for an hour or so. Seeing the General's fatigue and shocked to learn of 3ames Samuel Tailab6\x)ortb the way in which he had been exposing his life, Craig pleaded with him to be less reckless. Wadsworth's only answer, saj's Rogers, was to use his soldier's authority and to order Craig back to Torbert's command. Ill at ease, the son departed, and the father turned to his duty and his fate. The morning was hot and still, the woods were thick with low- hanging smoke, here and there fires smouldered in the underbrush. The continued quiet of the enemy was ominous. It must mean that the storm was about to break. But where? Wadsworth despatched Monteith to caution his right, still unprotected, for Burnside was no- where near connecting with it, and sent orders to the commanders along the line to fight hard and hold their ground. The master-stroke of the great battle — the counterpart of " Stonewall " Jackson's sur- prise flank attack through the woods at Chancellorsville — was about to be dealt. AH that Wadsworth ever knew of the catastrophe is soon told. Suddenly, at a little distance at his left and extending well to his rear, the last quarter from which attack might be expected, came the sound of the Rebel " yai-yai-yai-yai," followed by sharp volleys in rapid succession. He sprang to his horse; every one about him was alert to meet the crisis. Near at hand he found General Webb and sent him across the road to look out for the regiments there. Then he seized upon the Thirty-seventh JNIassachusetts, of Eustis's Brigade, which was coming from the direction of the cross-roads, and ordered it forward along the road to stay the advance of the enemy from that quarter. Thus he hoped to check the Confederate approach sufficiently for him to wheel his own line around so that it should be parallel to the road and in position to stop the flank attack. Making a sweep with his arm from right to left to indicate to his regiments a left half-wheel, he himself went on to charge with the Thirty-seventh, which under its resolute commander. Colonel Oliver Edwards, broke the enemy's first line and struck its second. Wads- worth, seeing the deadly fire with which the regiment was encompassed on tliree sides, ordered Edwards to face his men by the rear rank 115 3amcs Samuel IKHabgwortb and fight his way back, saying, " You have done all I expected a brigade to do." Then he dashed back to his own line to get into position while there was yet time, for the broken squads of men emerg- ing from the woods on the south side of the road and streaming to the rear and the renewing tumult of musketry showed that the storm of war from that direction was driving swiftly toward him. Indeed, the two clouds, meeting, were to burst directly upon Wadsworth and his command. Nearer and nearer they came, as inexorable in their steady approach as if they were a force of nature. In the face of disaster thus closing in, every second was an agony, a struggle like that of a man trying to stay single-handed the doom of flood or fire. Suddenly, as Wadsworth was helping to wheel his fragmentary line round to the road, a crash came right athwart its path. Perrin's Alabama Brigade, which had been lying on the ground, seeing the opportunity of assailing his flank, had risen and discharged a volley at close quarters. The Pennsylvania troops which on Seminary Ridge at Gettysburg had resisted the enemy so long and valiantly before yielding now broke at the first fire and fled in confusion. Wadsworth's horse, however, kept on, and it was not till he was within twenty or thirty feet of his opponents that he could control it. Then, as he turned to follow his men, he was struck by a shot in the back of the head. Rogers, riding by his side was spattered with his blood. Wads- worth fell, and the enemy pressed on in triumph over his unconscious body. To Wadsworth, left dying in the hands of the enemy — a fate the thought of which rarely failed to touch a soldier with dread — was granted one more opportunity of serving his country, for the im- pression made upon those who came into the silent presence of this Northern gentleman, found mortally wounded where the battle had raged fiercest, was profound and lasting. The Confederates remained in possession of the ground where he fell, and soon, after the fashion of war when the battle line has swept onward, his sword, watch, field-glasses, and map were taken from him, the two latter coming into the possession of Lieutenant Colonel Sorrel, 116 00 > < a UJ a z o 5 o CO < 5 O $ (O < < cc u z UJ o u cc liJ I h- z o Q. cr < en CO u z IT UJ a z UJ Z > < CC Sames Samuel ^at)swortb Longstreet's brilliant young staff-officer, who had conducted the flank movement through the woods. Presently, Colonel Charles ^Marshall, a Baltimorean on Lee's staff, being sent into the woods on the right of the road with an order concerning the advance that Lee was preparing to make, heard that a Federal general officer was lying mortally wounded not far away. " I proceeded to the spot," he wrote later, " and found General Wadsworth, whom I knew by a piece of paper which was pinned to his coat with his name on it . . .1 found him lying on his back, his head supported by something which I do not now remember, and over him was extended a shelter tent, about three feet from the ground, the two corners at his head being attached to boughs of trees, I think, the other two and the sides being sujjjjorted by muskets. His appearance was perfectly natural, and his left hand grasped the stock of one of the supporting muskets near the guard. His fingers played with the trigger, and occasionally he would push the piece from him as far as he could reach, still grasping it in his hand. Supposing that he might wish to send some message to his family, I addressed him and tendered my services. I found, however, that he paid no attention to me, and upon further effort to communicate with him discovered that he was unconscious of what was passing around him. I should not have supposed that such was the case from the expression of his face, which was perfectly calm and natural, the eye indicating consciousness and intelligence." Dui'ing the afternoon Wadsworth was taken to one of the Con- federate field hospitals on the Plank Road, a few miles in the rear of the lines. Here, after the surgeons had examined the wound and found it to be fatal, it was his fortune to be watched over by a wounded LTnion officer, Captain Z. Boylston Adams, of the Fifty-sixth 3Ias- sachusetts of Carruth's Brigade. Captured in the woods not far from where Wadsworth fell, Adams had been taken to the same Confed- erate hospital, and on the next morning had been chloroformed and operated on for a broken leg. Adams, himself a young surgeon, in the story he told of his watch over the dying soldier, reveals how 117 3ames Samuel Mabewortb strangely mingled are tenderness and brutality in that scourge of civilization which we call war. " AVlien I recovered consciousness I found myself lying on the ground beneath a tent fly, and at my side a stretcher on which lay the form of a Union general officer, as shown by his shoulder star. His face was familiar. Raising myself upon my elbow I spoke to him, but he made no reply. I looked closely at him and recognized the man who rode up to us on the Plank Road the day before, when my brigade was put in to the battle as already described. He was rather tall, an eminently handsome man of conmianding presence, but showing gentle breeding. I lifted his eyelids, but there was no speculation in those eyes. I felt his pulse, which was going regu- larly. His breathing was a little labored. There was no expression of pain, but occasionally a deep sigh. His noble features were calm and natm-al, except that his mouth was drawn down at the left side. His right arm was evidently paralyzed, which indicated that the injury was to the left brain. Examining further, I found that a musket ball had entered the top of his head a little to the left of the median line. In his left hand, which lay quietly upon the breast of his buttoned coat, he held a scrap of paper on which was written, ' General James S. Wadsworth.' " Meanwhile the rebel officers thronged the little fly and crowded around, curious to see the dying man whose name and fame had reached their ears. Numberless questions were put to me. " ' Do you mean to say that this is James S. Wadsworth, of New York, the proprietor of vast estates in the Genesee Valley, the candi- date for governor in 1862? ' etc. " I remarked one very singular fact. He lay apparently totally unconscious, but whenever, as was not infrequent, some of the curious ones took the paper to read the name upon it, he would frown and show restlessness, and his hand moved to and fro as if in search of something, until the paper was put into the flngers, when he would grasp it and lay his hand quietly upon his breast. I frequently heard the rebels say, ' I'd never believe that they had such men as that in 118 3ame0 Samuel lKIla^0wortb their army.' Late in the afternoon a party came in with one vain young fellow much bedizened with stars and buttons and gold lace, and clearly under the influence of liquor. Unmindful of the impress of dignity and nobility of character upon the features of the dying man, he swore at me and called me a liar for saying that this was James S. Wadsworth, declaring that he knew that our officers were crazy abolitionists, mercenaries, low politicians, hirelings from foreign armies, etc." . . . " The surgeons came Saturday night and examined General Wadsworth's wound, removing a piece of the skull and then probing for the ball (the latter struck me as bad surgery). One remarkable thing about the case was that the ball had entered near the top of the head, had gone forward, and was lodged in the anterior lobe of the left side of the brain. Occasionally he heaved a deep sigh, but otherwise lay in calm slumber. " Still another man was near Wadsworth in these last hours giv- ing his care not merely from the instinct to serve the dj'ing which humanizes all of us, but also from a deep sense of personal gratitude. "After dark (continues Adams) on the evening of the 7th of May (the day after the battle) a Virginian, not a soldier, came up to the back of the fly and asked me about the dying general. ' Was it really General Wadsworth? ' etc. He said ' My name is Patrick McCracken and I have a little farm a few miles out. I have heard that General Wadsworth is here wounded, and I want to do something for him.' He then related how the general had saved him from long imprisonment at the time Wadsworth was in command of the city of Washington. He, McCracken, was arrested and confined in the Old Capitol Prison as a rebel spy and had been released by the gen- eral's order on the representation that his family in the Wilderness neighborhood were suffering from his absence, and on the promise that if allowed to go home, he would not assist in any way the cause of the Confederacy. This promise he assured me he had kept, but added that he was now under suspicion and was obliged so to act 119 3ames Samuel Ma^swortb as not to lead the rebel soldiers to suspect that he was bringing com- forts to the Federal wounded. That he came, therefore, only to bring things for the rebel wounded, but if I would take some milk or any- thing he could supply, and give it to the general, he would be happy. During the night Lee's troops were in motion, and on Sunday morning. May 8, the distant sound of cannon from the direction of Spotsylvania Court House signified the renewal of the struggle be- tween him and Grant. Among the hospital tents the surgeons were still busy, and Adams lying by Wadsworth's side, awaited the arrival of the faithful Virginian. "When McCracken came with fresh milk, he and one of the surgeons made a vain effort to give nourishment to the dying man. By noon the end was plainly near, and the young northern physician, familiar with death as he was, watched, deeply moved, until the last breath was drawn. McCracken, returning in the afternoon, asked permission to take the body and place it in his family burying ground. He was allowed his way, and, having accomplished the task with all the care permitted by the means at his disposal, made it his next duty to write to Mrs. Wadsworth a simple account of his offices for the dead. INIontgomery Ritchie went at once to Fredericksburg, whither, through the co-opera- tion of Union and Confederate authorities under a flag of truce, the body was brought on May 17. From there it was taken to Geneseo, with due honors from the National and the State governments, and finally it was laid to rest in the burying-ground on the hill. The shock of loss woke the nation to the wealth of service that had been devoted to it by one man. Single deeds of AVadsworth's which it had accepted with matter-of-course praise were now seen to make up a consecrated whole. Grant, Meade, Humjihreys, and Hancock testified in no equivocal terms to the example and inspiration of his leadership; friends made in Washington and New York through participation in public aff'airs were no whit behind the army; the farmers of Geneseo, with whose lives he had been knit for more than half a century, knew that they had lost a friend whose career had 120 3ame0 Samuel TKHa^swortb been their welfare. But his distinctive service was what the Confed- erate officers who came to gaze in wonder at the dying man had grudgingly admitted, and what John Lothrop Motley proclaimed in his own ringing fashion: " "\Mien foreign calumniators and domestic traitors spoke of Southern chivalrj' and of Northern mercenaries, the single name of Wadsworth was answer enough to all their vulgar babble." Lying dormant within the soul of a man whose life showed to the world as that of an earnest and friendly countrj' gentleman, and whose years, if nothing else, might be deemed sufficient to exempt him from service in the field, dwelt forces that at the call of national danger were to make of him a soldier and a hero. To this end had been passed those many years of hapjjy and wholesome activity in Geneseo; it was in truth their consummation when, amid the smoke- filled thickets of the Wilderness, his spirit fired by the desperateness of the need, he led his men in charge after charge. All this Wadsworth, by his heroic death, brought home to every heart. And, recognizing how rare and precious was the sacrifice thus laid upon the altar, the nation mingled gratitude with its grief and renewed its vow that such a life should not have been given in vain. 121 •js »>.».*.'.'■ •«•.'.'.%'.■.•*■'«' '.'.-;•.%• •:«>'•.«.•,'.%', LIBRARY OF CONGRESS ! inn Mil nil' mil i»r '■■'•■.: ..,. 1,1 „...„, ,»,S',-»-.;l%^ %',v,:.-.:i «.«. ;;::S«:s::; ^^iv^^^^i,.,.,., , . .., , <