Author f * z Title -*/ Imprint. ase No 7 Z-Vrd Through the Wilderness ■to Richmond. ; ; O'iM aiiof)! fprtoeisp fpB wiliBEi^^b; ^TE/v/;, A PAPER READ BEFORE THE Ol2io Commanslepy LOYAL LEGION OF THE UNITED STATES September 3, 1884. BY COMPANION ASA B. ISHAM, I ( Late First Lieutenant Company F, 7th Michigan Volunteer Cavalry. CINCINNATI : PETER G. THOMSON, Publisher. 1884. ^ Ks> ^^ IN EXCHANGE JAN 5 . 1915 THP^OUGH the WlLDEl^NESS TO UlCHMOHD. Tlie cavalr}- of the Army of the Potomac never set out upon a campaign in lighter marching" order than that of 1864, when it took up the march toward Richmond. One wagon to a regiment and two lead horses to each compan}' consti- tuted the transportation equipment. It was generally realized by the troops that a campaign of unusual severity was before them ; hence, every man put as little burden upon himself and horse as possible, carrying nothing that he could do without. If one had a preference for a blanket, he left behind his overcoat ; or, if the overcoat was thought indis- pensable, the blanket was thrown out. Cooking utensils were commonly reduced to a pint tincup and a half of a canteen, which latter, with a stick split at one end for a handle, served for a fr3'ing and stewing pan. Yet some, who were likely to mourn for " the flesh pots of Egypt " in the wilderness, clung fondl}' to a light skillet and a coffee-pot. On the 4th of May, 1864, the camps around Culpepper Court-house were broken, and the columns were set in motion for the Rapidan. Qiiietly the march was conducted ; conver- sation was hot indulged in to any great extent, every one being apparently occupied by his own reflections. The soil moved over had been the scene of many a conflict, to which recollection recurred, and a fresh encounter was momentarily looked for, where the foe had been so often met. Bivouacking for the night at Stony Mountain, the march was resumed at 3 o'clock upon the morning of the 5th, crossing the Rapidan at Elv's Ford. (3) — 4 — Upon reaching the high ground in the vicinity of Chan- cellorsville, a number of colored regiments were overtaken, the first ever seen by the Army of the Potomac. They had tents pitched, arms stacked, and were disporting themselves in their bare feet. Their pedal extremities and the army brogan did not seem to be exactly natural affinities. Their union produced a most uncomfortable chafing of protuber- ances, so that, while the colored brother cherished his shoe- leather, and suffered the pains of martyrdom with it upon show occasions, he much preferred to carry it upon his back during the steady plodding of a campaign. To judge from expres- sions, these fellows meant '' business." They were verj^ anxious to receive information concerning the whereabouts of the enemy. They had been earnestly seeking him without success. They had an impression that the enemy, apprised of their coming, was rapidly getting out of the way, and the}' were fearful that the}'^ might not be able to catch up with him. It was suggested that we, being mounted, could, perhaps, sur- round and head him off, in which case they would come up and make short work of him. This we promised to do, to their evident delight, and they w6re left in the rear. The poor fellows found the "Johnu}- Rebs " many times, often to their sorrow, before the campaign was over, and upon some occasions, too, they tbund that they turned up when they were not being hunted for. A halt was made, in the evening, near the slope of the high plateau overlooking the wilderness, not a great distance in advance of General Grant's headquarters. At 2 o'clock, on the evening of the 6th, we were again in the saddle, and pressing toward the front by the way of the Furnace Road. In the descent from the upper level, a scene long to be re- membered was presented to the vision. Fires had been lighted up by the sides of the roads, which revealed, by their glare, long lines of infantry, cavalry and artiller}-, filling up the tortuous ways in all directions, in wavy motion, like the un- dulations of some vast serpent. Then, a blast furnace, with its accumulated stores of fuel, broke out in grand conflagra- — 5 — tion, illuminating a vast extent of country by its lurid light. The black, impenetrable forest spread out in all directions, the central mass of flame, the winding streaks of lire diverg- ing therefrom, and here and there disclosing moving, writh- ing, sinuous,, slender, long extended forms, — all combined to impress upon the mind a preternatural idea of the spectacle, as though the demon of destruction was floundering and belching out tongues and volumes of flame in the murky depths below. Now and then our advance guard would press too hastily upon the retiring rear guard of the enemy, when the far-oft' rattle of musketry and subdued shouts would be borne to the ear, and the undulations in the columns would become more marked. But soon we were threading the mazes of the wilderness, circling about the hosts of rebellion, which the darkness and the woods shut out from sight. Lively fu- sillades of musketry, not far removed, halts in readiness far action, were of frequent occurrence ; but, with these excep- tions, this nights march was not dissimilar to other night marches through a forest growth. All such marches are attended with such mishaps as falling into "chug-holes," stumbling over obstructions, getting caught in the snares of log bridges and rough pieces of "corduroy," and running foul of overhanging branches, with results usually more an- noying than grave, though sometimes serious for horse, or rider, or both. The moral nature receives a terrible wrench, when, from a half-sleeping, dreaming state, one is suddenly precipitated into a mud-hole, hung upon a hmb, or made to practice a grand balancing feat b}^ a tumble over some obsta- cle m the way. While, doubtless, the cavalry contained many " souls made perfect," these accidents seemed only to befall the wholly unregenerate, if the expressions uttered upon such occasions may be taken in evidence. But such incidents banished sleepiness by the lively sallies interchanged between the one who had " fallen into the pit " and his com- rades, enlivened the spirits, and made refreshing breaks to all but the victim, in the monotony of the dull, plodding hours. Toward morning, 6th of May, a position was taken up at the intersection of the Brock Pike and the Furnace Road, upon the extreme left of the Union Hne of battle, joining onto the 2d (Hancock's) corps. Morning had not long dawned when the ball opened, by the driving in of the pickets estab- lished upon the pike. The thunder of artillery and the con- tinuous, vibrating roll of heavy musketry, heard upon the right, told that the infantry was already hard at work. Pass- ing out from the woods into an opening, we were brought up '' front into line," to arrest the progress of a regiment which was falling back, in great confusion, before an onslaught of the enem}^ ; the officer's efforts and shouts of '■'■Rally! Rally! halt!" and '•'■ Right abdiU, wiikei^V being of none effect. With a few expressions of good-natured railery, they were halted and reformed. And they went back right gallantl}', in splendid form, pushing the enemy before them. The battle-ground was a clearing, over a surface slightly rolling, including an area of, perhaps, forty acres, surrounded by woods upon all sides. On the Confederate side of the field were two batteries of light artillery, which were opposed by eight pieces of artillery upon our side. The action of that day, as far as it pertained to the ist Cavalry Division (Tor- bert's) and the enemy in its front, consisted of an artillery duel, charges and countercharges of mounted cavalry across the held, and lighting dismounted in the woods. Evening found us masters of the field, the enemy, under Fitz Hugh Lee, having been forced to retire with heavy loss, leaving his dead and wounded, and many prisoners, in our hands. An episode of the day was a panic in the lead-horse car- avan, which had been left upon the side of the road in our rear. When the cannon balls and shells began to crash through the woods in great abundance, the contrabands and skulkers, who were interested in the welfare of the lead horses, deemed it incumbent upon themselves to get these beasts of burden into safer quarters. They were led off by one named Malachi, but more familiarly known as "Bones," a sad-eyed contraband, whose bullet-head, not much larger than a pint — 7 — measure, was surmounted by a coon-skin covering of rare de- sign. He was mounted, without saddle or bridle, upon a lame animal which went upon three legs, and he steered him b}- means of a hickory club, carried in his good right hand. They were just getting started when a shell went screaming through the tree-tops, right over the cavalcade, and sending down up- on it a shower of small twigs. '' Bones" uttered a wild " /iV, J//," turned his eyes toward heaven, so that only the whites were visible, belabored his poor beast into a run, and, with the rest of the procession in close pursuit, struck out for the rear of Hancock's corps. This was but rushing from "the frying pan into the tire," and they soon turned back, more terror- stricken than before, in a mad gallop to their previous loca- tion, only to fly ofl' again at the sound of shrieking missiles. An officer sent back to look after them found them rushing, pell-mell, back and forth, at the top of their speed. So wild with aftVight were they that he could exercise no control over them, until, giving chase, he unhorsed "Bones" by the lib- eral application ot the flat ot a sabre about that , worthy's head and shoulders. The leader being thus dethroned, order was easily restored, and a refuge found for them beyond the line of Are. In obedience to orders, we moved back to the furnace to camp that night, reaching there sometime after dark. Here all the buglers in the command were sent out into the woods, to all points of the compass, and in sweet disconcert, they blew, and repeated over and over again, all the calls in the regulations, except the one for quinine. They bugled for at least an hour, and if their wind held out, they may have blown all night for all that the deponent knoweth to the con- trary. Tired soldiers do not lose any sleep on account oi a little serenade like that. This musical demonstration was for the sole benefit of the i-ebels, in order to deceive as to the force, location and movements of the cavalry ; but had it been made more exclusive by surrounding Lee's army with the buglers, the impression might have been more decided, and the results might, perhaps, have been as astonishing as a horn- blowing performance once upon a time at ancient Jericho. Daylight of the /th of May found us back again in the position of the day before. Early in the forenoon, in a short, but sev^ere engagement out on the Brock pike, the ist Michi- gan Cavalry drove back the enemy toward Todd's Tavern, which was soon after occupied by the 2d Division, under Gen- eral Gregg. The remainder of the day was vvhiled away in light skirmishing, and excursions to unknown points on the infantry lines, where we were formed in readiness for action at the edges of open spaces. The infantry, however, proved capable of holding its own ; no call was made upon us for as- sistance, and we went back to our own particular battle pos- session. Here we remained mounted, in line of battle, until after dark, before orders were given to dismount and bivouac. The stench from decomposing horses, thickly strewn over the field, was almost stifling. It seemed nearly strong enough to arrest the course of bullets, which were flying about promis- cuously in the darkness, since the enemy had again appeared on our front, and a lively interchange of leaden compliments was in progress between the picket lines, but a short distance removed. There was no hunting about for a choice spot upon which to rest, but each one nestled closely into the lap of motiier earth wherever he was, however much he might enter- tain views of more desirable positions. Neither were noses turned up at dead animals when they could be felt within arms reach. In fact, a snug berth under the lee of a dead horse, giving ofl' odors of putrefaction, is not to be despised when wild picket firing, at short range, is indulged in upon a dark night. Those who found, in the morning, that they had slept upon the entrails of disemboweled steeds derived satisfaction from the fact that they had enjo3'ed softer beds than their companions. Daylight of the morning of the 8th brought the revelation that the enem}^ had stolen away in the night. We then moved over to Todd's Tavern. On the way we were com- pelled to shoot some riderless horses, wounded in the legs, since they had no notion of being deserted, but persisted in crowding into places in the ranks and endeavoring to keep up with the column. The neighings of the poor beasts, as they were dropped by the wayside, were almost human in their })laintiveness. From Todd's Tavern we marched to Silver, on the Fredericksburg plank road, where the entire Cavalry- Corps was massed, and where we spent the night. Thus was our service in the wilderness concluded. Noth- ing could be seen be3'ond the little open stretch before us, and, for a knowledge of what had transpired about us, we had been dependent entirelv upon the sense ot hearing. We judged, by the sounds of conflict which we had heard, that a great battle had been fought, but we knew no more respecting the result than the man in the moon. As there was no enemy to molest us, we took it that he had been worsted. We had bv'". vague ideas concerning the topograph}' of the country about us, and our relative position to the rest of the forces. The Furnace was the. central point, to our minds. We knew that the road to our rear led back there, but that was about all we did know with certainty, since our marches were nearly all made at night. We had glimpses of bits of road filled up with infantry columns, or with ambulances for the wounded, of woods choked with underbrush and fallen timber, and of openings covered with a growth of* scrub bushes, and it was the predominating idf a, in the line, that the enemy was every- where in position at the farther side of such clearings. On the morning of the 9th ot May, the Cavalry Corps started on a raid to Richmond, around the right flank of Lee's armv,the ist brigade of the ist division leaving the advance. In moving oft' we passed through the Provisional 9th Corps, which was a motley aggregation, consisting of heavy artiller}^ regiments, taken from the forts around Washington, Balti- more and Fortress Monroe, and pressed into service as infan- tr}-, dismounted cavalry regiments, negro troops, and the odds and ends of the service. All, except the colored troops, were growling and grumbling, declaring that they had never enlisted for any such service, and that they would not fight. Whenever the}- caught sight of a general ofticer, they set up the crv of '^ Hard tack ! Hard tack! Rations'/' The soldiers lO — in the cavalry columns, riding by ''chaffed" them unmerciful- \y. It was said that they could not eat hard tack if it was given them. They ought to have soft bread, and butter, ter- rapin soup, oysters and custard. Fears were expressed that they would catch dreadful colds without their feather beds. It was not intended that they should tight ; they were onl}' for the "darkies" to pile up for breastworks, etc. There was a new regiment, which had never been mounted, called the ist New Jersey Hussars. The seams and edges of their jackets were trimmed with yellow lace, while the breast was orna- mented with parallel stripes of the same material, running crosswise, about one inch apart, with loops at the sides and centre, surrounding brass buttons. Hence they received the name of " Butterflies." " Hello, butterflies," was the saluta- tion, "you have got 'em bad." "There is nothing like good foot exercise lor the 'yallers.' " The prospects for the corn crop were inquired after, and it was suggested that it was not the design they should tight as infantry ; they were simply for the purpose of scaring the buzzards oiY from the lazy heavy artil- lery until the rebels had a chance to wake them up. It is but fair to record that the retorts were as numerous and pun- gent as the direct thrusts. . They inquired if the clearness of our voices was not due to sucking eggs. Our stealing, they asserted, did the Confederacy inrinitely more htipn than our liji^htini:^. We must have heard a rooster crow to be in such haste and spirits. They would bait the buzzards with us it we attempted to ride over them when the rebels chased us back, etc. This running Are of badinage was not of long duration, for we were passing along at the trot and soon part- ed company with the malcontents. There is nothing particularly exciting or delightful in thumping along at a trot in a cavalry column. The clouds of dust, sent up by the thousands of hoof-beats, till eyes, nose, and air passages, give external surfaces a uniform, dirty gray color, and tbrm such an impenetrable veil, that, tor many mmutes together, you can not see even your hand before you. Apparently, just at the point of impending suflbcation, a gentle sigh of wind makes a rift, and a free breath is inspired. Dust and horse hairs penetrate everywhere. Working under the clothing to the skin, and hxed by the sweat, the sensation is as though one was covered by a creeping mass of insects. Accumulations occur in the pockets ; the rations come in lor their full share, and with tlie bacon, particularly^, so thor- oughly do dirt and horse hairs become incorporated, that no process of cleansing can remove them. But there is no better appetizer than horseback jolting, and little squeamish- ness with genuine hunger. A hunk ot dirty, raw bacon, with " hard tack," on a campaign, are partaken of with keener relish and enjoyment than "a good, square meal," when engaged in less arduous duty. Shortly after crossing the North Anna River, a train of the enemy's ambulances was overhauled. In this capture was included a paymaster, with a large quantity of Confed- erate money. 'I'his commodity was tree to all troopers who wanted it, but was valued so little that most of it was burned with the wagon which contained it. Some had, afterward, cause to regret that they had not burdened themselves with a few thousands ol this rubbish. Flankers were thrown out on either side of the column, and, pushing along rapidly, we soon overtook and liberated about four hundred ot our in- fantry, who had been captured in the wilderness, and were on the way to Richmond as prisoners of war. The greater part of the Confederate escort was also secured. Among the captives thus rescued were many otiicers, trom the rank of colonel down. Their jo}' at their release was unbounded. They exalted the cavalry above any other arm of the service. But we paused not to receive their adulations. The column hurried tbrward to Beaver Dam Station, where, striking the Virginia Central Railroad, three trains ot cars, two locomo- tives, and some prisoners fell into our hands. Several hun- dred stand of arms, and supplies for Lee's army, to the value of several millions of dollars, were included in the spoils. Wliat the troops could dispose of was distributed among them, and the balance, together with the station and — 12 cars, burned. The railroad was torn up in both directions from the station, and we bivouacked for the niijcht in the imme- diate vicinity. Several times during the night attacks were made upon us, but they were met in such a manner as to discourage a long continuance. Earl}-, the morning of the loth, we were on the move again, with flankers out upon both sides. The country passed over was, for the most part, well cultivated, ditched and fenced. The fields and houses had apparently, thus far, escaped the ravages of war. The flankers had instructions to take from the places along the route such grain and pro- visions as they might chance upon, which were needed tbr subsistence, but to commit no depredations. How they "chanced" upon stores, which even the proprietors as- sumed to know nothing about, is a mystery which one may not understand, even though he had charge of the flankers on the right of one brigade. It is astonishing what a wide latitude the needs of human subsistence extend over. The camp fires that night, just beyond the South Anna River, revealed that they comprehended, at least, biscuit, corn bread, ham, mutton, various kinds of poultry, butter, hone}', preserves, and dried fruits. About daylight, upon the morning of the iith, in hot iiaste, we deployed, dismounted, as skirmishers, into the woods on our left, to repel an attack. The enemy, however, seemed to be satisfied upon finding where we were, and drew ofl' after tiring a few shots. Tlie onward march was then re- sumed in a leisurely manner, along the Virginia Cehtral Rail- road, which had been torn up by the 2d Division (Gregg's), which now had the advance. It was a lovely day ; the air was mild ; the country charming, and we thought it was a holiday-time we were having as we rode easily along, the most common topic of discourse being General Phil. Sheri- dan, who had been assigned to the cavalry corps but a short time previous to its starting out upon the campaign. It was the unanimous opinion that he had, at least, demonstrated one thin