George Wood Wingate

“ At last the march was finished, and we were at Carlisle, but so were the rebels. For awhile there was mounting in hot haste, riders galloping back to hurry up stragglers; and the brigade rapidly formed into line, amid hurried consultations of field officers, muttered curses from captains who, like Rachel, mourned for their companies “because they were not,” and the other unmistakable signs which indicate nervous anxiety at headquarters. After an hour or so spent on tenter-hooks, somebody told somebody something which resulted in our marching ahead, expecting to have to fight at any moment. ”

“ And every man simultaneously drops his traps where he stands, and makes a bee-line for the tall worm fences, which are vanishing in every direction, as if by magic. One of these rails must be contributed to the company fire, and happy is he who in addition to procuring his quota, can secure a couple more for himself! Serenely reposing on their sharp edges, covered by his rubber blanket, he defies at once the rain above and the mud below ”

“ When we got on the bank, overlooking the railroad track, not a car was to be seen, and there we stood in the midst of a drenching rain, on a slippery clay slope where it was impossible to sit down, tired and sleepy as men could well be, for nearly two hours before the cars, after a little eternity of backing and switching, were pronounced ready for us. ”

“ At the first streak of daylight all are awake; a hurried breakfast is made, or not (generally not) , ablutions are likewise dispensed with; the “assembly” sounds; rubbers and overcoats are hastily rolled and slung by those who are lucky enough to have them; a few hurried orders are passed along the line; the troops fall in and march off; and in half-an-hour the trampled ground, the ashes of numerous fires, and the ruined fences, alone tell that ten thousand men have camped there for the night. ”

“ A few hours’ marching brought us past the scene of yesterday’s “scrimmage,” and enlivened by the prospect of another fight, as the fatigue and stiffness of the previous night wore off, the echoes of song and laughter floated down the column, taken up and re-echoed from company to company till they died away in the distance, “and all went merry as a marriage bell”—for a time.
The roads were good, the air pure, the halts frequent—there was nothing to find fault with. The people, hitherto the only objectionable feature of the country, were as kind and hospitable as we could desire ”

“ A regiment of Reserves, who had started fresh and well-fed from Harrisburg that morning, and had gained on us while we were retarded by the slow progress of the skirmishers through the tall grain and tangled wheat, hurried up when the rumor began to spread that Carlisle was evacuated, and in a manner displaying equal ignorance of the rules of war and politeness, undertook to push their way through the brigade, “to get in ahead of the Yorkers,” and win the honors of the victory from those who had borne the burden and heat of the day. ”

“ From three to eleven o’clock A. M. that rain continued with unabated vigor. A fire was started under the shelter of a rubber blanket, and coffee made, which put new life into our limbs, and we became quite jolly. It is a noticeable fact, that where things become perfectly awful—when the mud is deepest and the rain the heaviest—there the spirits of the men appear to rise with the difficulties of the situation (except when they have nothing to eat) , and they apparently enjoy themselves much more than if they were merely suffering from a temporary annoyance ”

“ These wagons contained our rations (and precious little of them too) ; that we could not live without eating, at least once a day, was made evident, even to the great mind that controlled us; and so, as the mountain would not come to Mahomet, Mahomet had to go to the mountain, and the next morning we marched down the other side, in imitation of the king of France, of pious memory, to a camp where, by hard foraging, at about one o’clock, P. M., we secured our breakfast of bread, apple butter and meat—real meat, and never did breakfast taste so good in all this world. ”

“ Colonel Roome, of the Thirty-seventh, gave out early, exhausted by illness and the fatigues of the previous day, but followed his regiment in a wagon; and many other officers were compelled to imitate his example. But as there were neither ambulances nor wagons, nothing in truth for the transportation of the sick but what could be picked up on the road, the great majority of the disabled not only here but throughout our subsequent march, had to be left where they gave out. ”

“ Every eye was strained through the darkness to discern the patrols of the enemy in the wavering shadows of the woods and fields, and every ear was stretched to its utmost tension to catch the expected challenge. But the silence was unbroken, and after a few moments’ halt the column proceeded, feeling their way with the utmost caution, and expecting at every instant to hear the volley which would announce that the advanced pickets had been encountered ”

“ If we could get meat once in three days we accounted ourselves fortunate, and then the animal was driven into camp, shot, cut up, cooked and eaten in less time than it takes to write about it; and such meat, generally eaten without salt, was not very nourishing. Money was offered freely enough, but partly from the poorness of the country and partly from the ravages of the rebels, food could not be obtained. In this misery all the militia, whether New-Yorkers or Pennsylvanians, were common sufferers. ”

“ It is presumed that those in authority had been informed by telegraph respecting the riots in New York; but the first that the subordinates knew about the matter was, on obtaining, on the march, that memorable Herald, describing how the “military fired on the people.” If any of the editors of that veracious journal had happened to be in our vicinity about that period, it is more than probable that they would have been furnished with a practical illustration of their text, for a more angry set of men than the first division N. Y. S. M., never was seen. ”

“ About three thousand paroled prisoners (principally of the first corps of the Army of the Potomac, captured in the first day’s fight at Gettysburg, and released on the Carlisle road, because the rebels had too much on hand to look after prisoners) , passed us during the day, in a steady stream; and from them we learned that we were but one day’s march from the battlefield, and would probably be able to turn the scale of victory if we arrived in time. ”

“ It is evident to every [Pg 33] one that it would have made an immense difference in the result of the contest, if our division of fresh troops, eight or ten thousand strong, could have been precipitated upon the flank of the rebel army, exhausted as they were by three days’ fighting. But it was not to be; and therefore, turning away from Gettysburg, we bent our energies to prevent the rebels from securing the mountain passes. Marching hastily to one gap we would hold it, until the information that the rebels were going to another would cause a forced march for that. ”

“ The mere distance marched was not so great, as necessarily to have produced such a result, the same troops subsequently marched much farther without a tithe of the suffering, but it was a great mistake to compel militia, exhausted by previous labor and privation, to undergo such an ordeal without food or rest, and its effect on the morale and discipline of the troops can readily be conceived by any one. ”

“ The skirmishers had been called in before this, and the march had been rapid; it now became “forced.” That meant, in this instance, a march pursued without regard to the health, comfort or fatigue of the troops, against the expostulations of the surgeons; where speed is such an object that everything must be disregarded, and well or ill, suffering or not, the men must push on.
And we did push on, and from our halt, more than ten miles from Carlisle, till we prepared to meet the enemy in the city, no rest was allowed. ”

“ It has been a favorite argument against the militia organizations, to decry them as Broadway troops, good for playing soldier, but who would be found wanting if subjected to the stern realities of a soldier’s life. This test has now been made, and the New York militia can proudly point to their record. ”

“ Why our friends, the enemy, did not attack and capture the whole party of us remains a mystery to this day—but it is conjectured that some skirmishers of the Thirty-seventh, who were captured at the commencement of the fight, being no way daunted thereat, coolly told such huge stories about the First Division N. Y. S. M., as to “bluff” their captors. It was very evident, at least, that the rebels were wholly in the dark (figuratively as well as literally) respecting the position of our forces ”

“ Yet, notwithstanding these appearances of demoralization, it was evident, from the accounts of the country people, that, though much dispirited by their late defeat, the rebel army was far from being the mere mob that it was believed by some to be. ”

“ A general cannot see everything done with his own eyes, but still the unusual manner in which things were managed—the rushing at a thing for half a day, then leaving that unfinished, and going at something else; the subordinates at a loss for orders, and almost every one doing what seemed right in his own eyes—was the subject of frequent comment, especially among the “thinking bayonets” of the rank and file. ”

“ For the purpose of protecting our flanks, it was found requisite that out-lying pickets or scouts should be sent as far out to the front as they could go, to give all the notice possible of any advance of the enemy. The service was one of such danger, and the assurances of being “gobbled” by the rebels so great, that the cavalry detailed for that duty [Pg 21] refused to perform it. Colonel Aspinwall, hearing of this, offered to supply their places. The offer was accepted, and a detail was made from Company D, who were stationed in the vicinity, guarding the barricade across the road. ”

“ Scarcely anywhere can the eye rest on finer scenery, more beautiful fields, more comfortable houses, or more magnificent barns (for magnificent is the only adjective applicable to those structures) than those of southern Pennsylvania. ”

“ It was as dark as Erebus, but the numerous lights, and the sounds that were heard as we approached, convinced all that [Pg 34] the movement had been successful, perhaps a little too successful, for it was evident that there were more infantry than wagons in our front. The surgeons took possession of a house and hung out their flag, a few hurried preparations were made, and the regiments moved cautiously up, when the return of one of our scouts disclosed that the supposed enemy was only some of the Brooklyn regiments, who had taken a shorter road, and come in ahead of our brigade. ”

“ It is an elementary maxim that soldiers will not serve with any credit under a man they do not respect; and when they find their leaders ignorant of the first rules of military life, obliged to ask information from subordinates, and constantly sneered at as ignoramuses by those who do know what they are about, they speedily become discontented and suspicious, and in that condition are worse than useless.
Our Colonel and other officers had learned their duty in previous campaigns ”

“ While one half of the remaining portion of the regiment was ordered to hold the rifle-pits, the remainder marched to Bridgeport Station opposite Harrisburg, and proceeded to barricade several houses commanding the approaches to the beautiful railroad bridge erected at this point, with as much industry as though they had not done a thing for a week. ”

“ After marching and counter-marching all over the country for some fourteen miles, the brigade, in the afternoon, encountered the enemy near Sporting Hill or Hampden, and quite a smart engagement ensued, the Twenty-second, supported by some Pennsylvania cavalry (who skedaddled at the first shell) , advancing through woods and wheat-fields on the left—Co. A (Capt. Otis) , being detached as a reconnoitring party to cover that flank in the advance—while the Thirty-seventh advanced on the right, as skirmishers, the Philadelphia battery having the centre. ”

“ We were now in the midst of the Army of the Potomac, and it is difficult for those inexperienced in such matters to form the least conception of the vast bulk of men and material which contribute to form that organization ”

“ A few miles from the line, we camped by division. Many, in reading of a camp by division, imagine a most picturesque scene, of long lines of snowy tents being pitched, while trees [Pg 37] are felled for firewood, and all sorts of poetic things take place. Nothing of the kind occurs. On arriving at the selected spot (generally a large field) , the regiments file in one after another, taking their places in the order in which they marched, and break to the rear so as to form column by companies. The orders are given: “Halt! ”

“ W. F. Smith, composed of that portion of the New York militia formerly stationed in the vicinity of Harrisburg, and who had joined us at Carlisle, consisting, I believe, of the Eighth, Eleventh, and Seventy-first regiments of New York, the Tenth, Thirteenth, Twenty-third, Twenty-eighth, Forty-seventh, Fifty-second, and Fifty-sixth of Brooklyn, the Seventy-fourth and Seventy-fifth of Buffalo, and one or two others from the interior of the state, besides two Philadelphia [Pg 26] batteries, a few Pennsylvania troops, and the regular cavalry from the Carlisle barracks ”