Charles H. Clarke

“ To many who stood at parade rest, that evening, listening, with heads uncovered, to those words of comfort and encouragement from our chaplain, it was to be the last attended on earth, for ere the setting of another sun, they would be lying dead on the fields of Manassas. At tattoo roll-call we were informed by our officers that our regiment would probably march at daylight. The boys rolled their blankets around them, and lying down, secured what little sleep they could, with thoughts busy with the dear ones at home and the probable events of the morrow. ”

“ Notwithstanding the circumstance that we were United States soldiers, and as such bound to obey the army regulations, there were in nearly every squad men who would at times commit acts that had they realized the consequences if found out, they would not have suffered themselves to do. To take men from civil life, with no previous military training, and subject them to army discipline, is a difficult task to accomplish, and is a work of time; nor is it a matter for wonder that men forget their being soldiers and liable to severe punishment for misdemeanors. ”

“ Company F, 1st Rhode Island Regiment, is a thing of the past. Thirty years have come and gone since the enactment of the stirring scenes in which we participated; [Pg 76] but those scenes and incidents still exist in the minds and memories of the men composing that company. A large portion of its members have left the city, and many have been carried to that silent camp where they "sleep their last sleep, have fought their last battle; no sound can awake them to glory again." ”

“ At about sunset, while many of the regiment were seated on fences watching the passing troops, a Pennsylvania regiment came along the road, halting a few moments for rest in front of our camp. Directly some of our regiment discovered a man in one of the Pennsylvania companies who had been arrested by our regiment as a spy, while we were quartered at the Patent office in Washington. A rush was made for him, he was dragged from his company, and but for the intervention of some of our officers he would have been strung up on the spot. ”

“ Never soldiers did their duty—their whole duty—more promptly or gallantly. Take these beautiful flags, Company F, take them and keep them; you have the well earned right to keep them. Twice was your own flag stricken down in the field of battle and then a third man from your ranks seized it and it was borne aloft in safety from the field though pierced with many bullets.
Then turning to the Mayor, he added:
"And in conclusion allow me to thank you, sir, and all concerned in this presentation, for this beautiful gift to Rhode Island's first and gallant regiment. ”

“ We returned to camp at 5 P. M., and at evening parade Colonel Burnside complimented the troops highly for their soldierly bearing and general behaviour while in the city that day.
Soon after the arrival of the 2d Regiment, a change was made in the detail for camp guard. Previous to this there were ten men and a non-commissioned officer detailed every day from each company, for guard duty. But owing to the increased size of the camp, it was necessary that more men should be detailed, consequently an order was issued that a full company from each regiment be detailed every day for that duty. ”

“ One man of our company who had looted a large linen table covering was so afraid that some one would steal it from him, that he made a square package of it and secreted it inside his blouse, which act of his, whether meritorious or otherwise, doubtless was the means of saving a life at Bull Run the next Sunday, when Allen Caswell was wounded in the stomach, the force of the shot being broken by the aforesaid table covering. ”

“ On the morning of July 9th, the battery of the 2d Regiment were marching out for drill, and when a short distance from camp one of the ammunition chests exploded, killing one man, and mortally wounding the corporal of the gun, the latter dying in a few hours; the caisson was blown to pieces, and the wheel horses fatally injured. That afternoon funeral services were held in the camp of the 2d Regiment, and the remains of the deceased comrades were that evening put on board the cars for transportation to Providence. ”

“ The matter being referred to Colonel Burnside, that officer promptly ruled that the sergeant was right, and ever after the 1st sergeants of companies were relieved from service in that direction while in camp. It was a notable circumstance, which I wish to record here, that while Colonel Burnside always exacted of us a strict compliance with all orders, he was at the same time ready and willing to listen and act upon any complaint from officers or men, and invariably his decisions were just. He treated all alike, and was ever on the look out for the welfare and comfort of the men. ”

“ The 2d Regiment went into camp in tents in a shady grove adjoining us, and as long as we remained in Washington, both regiments mounted guard and had dress parade together every day. Many officers of the Second had seen service in our regiment previous to the formation of theirs, and we were intimately acquainted with many of its men, particularly those from Newport; and the men of our company will always look back with a great deal of pleasure to those days in the summer of '61, when the men of the two regiments passed so [Pg 35] many pleasant hours in each others' society. ”

“ Soon after entering Frederick, our company was marched to a restaurant and provided with an excellent breakfast, after which we returned to the old barracks. We were given permission by our officers to look about the city, with orders to report in camp at noon. Many of the citizens were found to be true Union men, by whom we were courteously received and kindly treated, and I don't believe that during our brief stay in town any member of the regiment, either by word or deed, left any unfavorable impression among the inhabitants. ”

“ In front of us was a rising ground, of which the enemy apparently had gained possession. Shot and shell were falling among us on every side. The Second Rhode Island, with their battery, were at once ordered to advance toward this rising ground, or hill, and in doing so the enemy opened on them, and for about twenty minutes we stood watching them, with no orders to advance to the assistance of our sister regiment. At this time the division commander, General Hunter, had been wounded, and Colonel Burnside being the senior Brigadier, took command of the entire division. ”

“ Colonel Tew, upon the receipt of the order, sent word by return courier that he would be in Providence with his company at 2 P. M.
At 8 A. M., one of the company's brass guns was [Pg 6] dragged by hand to the Mall and fired three times by the gun squad that had remained in the armory all night so as to be on hand when orders came.
Never before in the known history of the city was there so much excitement as was caused by the firing of those guns. Business of all kinds was suspended for the time being, and the people began to realize that the time had come for action. ”

“ The sight of this negro, thus attired, appeared to kindle the wrath of Frederick City's chivalry to such an extent that they attempted to seize and make way with the boy, and for a short time the excitement ran high. ”

“ This position, from which we had forced the enemy to retire, and which we then held, is known as Buck's Hill, and was regarded as a position of much importance for our forces.
The Third Division had now arrived, and were coming up to our support, and a battalion each of Regular [Pg 60] infantry and United States Marines now came up and occupied our position, while our brigade was marched back into the woods for a brief rest and for a fresh supply of ammunition. Having stacked our muskets, the roll was called by the 1st sergeant, and men detailed to look after the dead and wounded. ”

“ The flag was then given in charge of Company F, the color company of the regiment, Charles Becherer, of Company G, being detailed as color sergeant.
A short regimental parade was made through the streets of Providence to the wharf where steamer Empire State was lying with steam up, in readiness to take the regiment to New York. At about 2.30 P. M. the boat cast off her lines and steamed down the bay and through the harbor of Newport out to sea. When the steamer was passing Long Wharf, a salute was fired by a gun squad of the past members of the Newport Artillery. ”

“ On Saturday, April 19th, the first detachment, made up of details from all the companies, to the number of nearly six hundred men, including the regimental band, of twenty-four men, were in readiness to start for Washington. The regiment formed on Exchange Place at noon, where they received a costly and beautiful regimental flag, of silk, presented by the ladies of Providence. Colonel Burnside, on receiving the precious gift, remarked as follows:—
"I know that the gallant men I carry away will prove themselves worthy of the beautiful banner presented to them by you. ”

“ Saturday, July 20th, we loafed around camp, wrote letters home, and visited other camps. At sunset we had dress parade, when orders were read to be in readiness to march at a moment's notice, and for no man to leave his company during the night. Our dress parade was witnessed by General McDowell, his staff and officers, besides officers and men from other regiments; both the Rhode Island regiments were in line. ”

“ We were told by inhabitants we met that we never would reach Washington, as the road was in the possession of Confederate troops and their friends; but we tramped along, and overtook the 71st New York Regiment at noon, halting an hour or two in their company, and after having had a good rest, about 4 o'clock resumed our march for the Junction, discovering no signs of the enemy as we proceeded, and at about 8 P. M. halted for the night. We encamped in a field beside the railroad, posting sentinels on all sides, as we expected an [Pg 15] attack at this place. ”

“ We soon reached and boarded the cars, arriving at Chambersburg at noon, 11th, and starting again by rail for Greencastle, Pennsylvania, which place we reached at sunset the same day. After leaving the train we marched about three miles beyond the town, where we bivouacked for the night in a grove beside the road. We had no tents nor rations, the wagons not having come up. The regiment formed in a hollow square, stacked their muskets, and lay down on the ground, without covering, other than their blankets ”

“ Colonel Tew then requested those of the company that would volunteer to go to Washington, to step to the front, when thirty-three of the thirty-nine active members of the company responded. A call was then made for volunteers to fill up the company to the required number of one hundred men, and in a very short time there were more men applied than could be taken. ”

“ The color sergeant, seeing that an attack upon us was threatened, drew his revolver and stood on the defensive. The right wing of the regiment, not being aware of the disturbance, continued on its march. Lieutenant Colonel Pitman, who was in command of the left wing, noticing the aspect of things, took prompt action, halting the companies, most of the [Pg 33] men of F company loading their muskets, as they expected that the mob, which by this time had largely increased in numbers, would make an attack. ”

“ While some hunted for relics, others were in pursuit of something to eat, and others, still, would appropriate to themselves anything they could lift, or that "was not nailed down," whether it would be of any use to them or not, and I actually saw one man with more plunder than could be loaded into an ordinary express wagon. ”

“ May 23d, Governor Sprague left camp for home, to be inaugurated as Governor for another year. A detail of thirty men from the regiment was made to-day, and placed under command of Lieutenant Tower, of Company E, to operate a ferry for transporting troops across the river to Alexandria. They worked only nights, returning to camp at daylight in the morning. ”

“ The associations formed at that time, and later on in the war, between soldiers, were fraternal in their character, and to this day the same feeling exists among members of the Grand Army of the Republic, and will continue as long as the men that were associated with us shall live. ”

“ Directly after reveille came the sick-call, when those who required medical attention went to the hospital; breakfast at 7, guard-mount at 8 A. M., company drills and target practise from 9 to 11 A. M., dinner at noon. In the afternoon, battalion drill of the entire regiment, and at sunset dress parade, which on pleasant days was witnessed by a large number of the citizens and notables of Washington, including President Lincoln and members of the Cabinet. After the parade, the regiment formed in double column, closed en masse, when our chaplain, Rev. ”