John McElroy

“ At four o'clock like a mighty tempest in all its most terrible fury did the musketry and artillery of the enemy burst forth upon Papson's devoted columns, the entire rebel forces moving down upon him in solid phalanx. Our forces replied with all their artillery. The roar of the artillery, with its blazing fire, the rattle of the musketry on both sides, equaled any ever heard or witnessed. Solid masses boldly marched up in front of Papson's lines, where they were literally mowed down by our musketry and discharges of shrapnel and canister from our batteries. ”

“ Anderson rode to the line and along its full length, sword in hand, with a large white plume in his hat, that his men might recognize him. Artillery roared and musketry rattled as if they were the hail and thunder from a hundred clouds. Groans and shrieks were heard. The ground was strewn with the dead and dying. As the lines finally gave way, the spot could be designated by rows of the dead. Our line was now distended and no reserves. The rebels were again re-enforced, Their dash and desperation broke our center, and Farlin fell back. ”

“ The moonlight was so bright that the firing seemed to light up the whole heavens, as if meteors were in every possible space. The yells of the rebels, the running away of teams, the heavy sound of artillery, were enough to 'frighten the souls of fearful adversaries.' Mules broke away from their wagons and hitching places, some with halters, some with harness and singletrees dangling at their heels. Horses neighing and mules braying, all dashed in the direction of the enemy, who mistook the fleeing animals for a cavalry charge, and fled in disorder and confusion. ”

“ You can inflict ruin, distress and misery upon an old man and woman, and upon my queenly sister, who is now going through more perils, if I am correctly informed, than any of us. I came to the army not for gain. I was getting much more pay without risking my life, but I felt it my duty to aid in sustaining our Government. I did not dream, however, that in the event that I should escape death from the hands of the enemies of our country that, for an unhappy result entirely unavoidable, my comrades-in-arms would hasten to make a sacrifice of me. ”

“ This war now commenced will go on; the North will succeed; slavery will go down forever; the Union will be preserved, and for a time the Union sentiment will control the Government; but when reverses come in business matters to the North, the business men there, in order to get the trade of the South, under the delusion that they can gain pecuniarily by the change, will, through some 'siren song,' turn the Government over again to the same blustering and domineering people who have ever controlled it. ”

“ The batteries from our side were playing from a hill on the east side of Antler's Run, pouring a galling enfilading fire into the rebel Une. Thus these lines stood amid death and desolation in their ranks until the men themselves on both sides, in order to stop the cruel slaughter of comrades, with one accord ceased firing, and the officers sat on their horses looking at each other as their forces slowly retired each to his rear. ”

“ All the rebels of the South, and all the sympathizers and Golden Circles of the North cannot destroy it so long as there is one patriot left qualified to lead an army. They will have to burn every city and assassinate every leading man who is able to be a leader before our flag will go down in gloom and disgrace. ”

“ Many of those who wanted the rebellion to succeed did so not because they were really rebels, but because they had said that we could not conquer them, and were willing to see our Government destroyed, merely to get a chance in the future to say to every one, 'I told you so.' These people now want the Government placed in the hands of its enemies for the same reason, so as to say, 'You cannot keep the control out of the hands of such able and brave men as these.' Thus, you see, it is in many merely a selfish pride of former expressed opinions. ”

“ Blackman, has been made Governor of one of the States since the war, and at the same time his record was known by his constituents. But it did not seem to lose him any friends with his party, but, on the contrary, seemed to help him. Yes, yes, my friends, this is the sad phase of the whole matter. It matters not what a man did if he was a rebel; but if a Union man, and he did the slightest wrong, he was disgraced forever. None of the great and inhuman wrongs are remembered against the individual rebels who violated every instinct of humanity. ”

“ Lincoln's death, as it trembled along the wires on the morning of the 15th to every portion of this Republic, coming as it did in the midst of universal rejoicing, firing of cannon and unfurling of banners, struck dumb those who a moment before were shouting with joy. Language nor pen can adequately express the horror and grief with which the people were stricken. A Nation's shouts of joy and triumph at one moment, were the next turned into grief and sorrow. ”

“ Peter said the jealousies between officers in the Army of the East were strange; that there was nothing of this kind among the Western troops; that all seemed to have the same common purpose, and that was success; but, said he, it may be partly accounted for in this, that we are all alike unskilled in the arts of war, and do not know enough to get up these conspiracies and jealousies. We are all volunteers, save two or three, and all obey orders, and go into a battle to win, each one believing he is doing the best fighting. ”

“ CHAPTER XIII. GEN. SILENT GUIDED BY A SPECTER.—ARMY OF THE CENTER.— BELEAGUERED AND HALF STARVED IN CHATTERAUGUS.—MIDDLETON'S RIDGE.—GEN. SILENT'S FORCES SWEEP THE REBELS FROM THE CREST. “O thou whose captain I account myself, Look on my forces with a gracious eye. Put in their hands thy bruising irons of wrath That they may crush down with a heavy fall, The usurping helmets of our adversaries. Make us thy ministers of chastisement, That we may praise thee in thy victory. ”

“ You see, this great battle of Pittskill Landing, following so soon after the battle of Dolinsburg, had marked influence on the country. The people began to see that the question of courage did not depend so much upon where a man was born as it did on the amount of it he had when he was born, and the principle for which he was contending, as well as drill and discipline in his duty. The people in the North were beginning to learn that every hill in the South was not mined and ready to be exploded, blowing up everything that approached. ”

“ We are so far away from the war now in space of time, that we are not only forgotten, but regarded as pests in society. Are the people not grumbling about what has been done for the soldiers? Do they not complain about our pensions? A few years more, however, and all of us cripples, one-armed and one-legged and those who are wholly armless and legless, will have passed away out of sight. ”

“ People will suffer just so long and no longer. The idea that I gave my right arm away for a Government that allows its citizens to be bulldozed and murdered merely for desiring to participate in the affairs of the Republic. No, sir! I fight no more until I know what I am fighting for and also that we will sustain the principles for which we contended. ”

“ If men like those who first commanded our army in the East, and who formed the coterie, had lived during the Revolutionary War, Washington and the best of his generals would not have been permitted to have commanded a brigade, if these men could have controlled as they did at the outbreak of the rebellion. The same feeling has grown among our people since the war, until the brains of a man cuts but little figure in matters connected with governmental affairs. ”

“ Anderson and Peter left for their command. Mary was brave; she gave encouragement to her husband and all others who left for the Union army. She was very loyal, and seemed to be full of a desire to see the Union forces succeed in every contest. In fact, the letter of her brother to her husband seemed to arouse her almost to desperation; she went about quietly, but showed determination in every movement. She taught her little daughter patriotism and devotion to the cause of our country, and religiously believed that her husband would yet make his mark as a gallant and brave man. ”

“ At this time our left made a successful assault upon the works of the enemy, capturing their outer line and forcing them into their more contracted lines but more strongly fortified. The centre had made several ineffectual assaults and had lost in killed and wounded very heavily. Re-enforcements came to the right, and a renewal of the assault all along the line was ordered. To the work of blood and death the men again came forward with a heroic will, and for about an hour the battle was like the long roll on a thousand drums. ”

“ The enemy well knew the condition of our troops, being in possession of the route to our depot of supplies, and the one by which re-enforcements would reach our army. They apparently held our forces at their mercy. For these reasons the enemy deemed it unnecessary to assault and lose lives in an attempt to take what seemed secure. All that Biggs had to do, as he thought, was to wait, and Chatteraugus would fall into his hands without a struggle. Starvation would soon force terms, as retreat or re-enforcements were considered alike impossible. ”

“ We are all American citizens. Why not put all on the same footing? Let us be brothers.' I tell you, my friends, the people of this country are hard to understand. I heard the President of the Southern Confederacy applauded this year. I was saddened by this, and was glad that my time here could not be regarded as of great duration. Can such things be? Am I dreaming? Where am I? Is it possible that I am in Indiana and not in South Carolina? Am I under the Union flag, and not the Confederate? ”

“ They all trace their ancestry back to some nobleman in some mysterious way, and think their blood better than that which courses in the veins of any Northern man, and honestly believe that one of them in war will be the equal of five men of the North. They think because Northern men will not fight duels, they must necessarily be cowards. In the first contest my judgment is that they will be successful. They are trained with the rifle and shotgun; have taken more pains in military drill than the people of the North, and will be in condition for war earlier than the Union forces. ”

“ Money and power are now the watchwords—throw patriotism to the dogs. It is not needed now to save their property and their rights. You must remember that a man like Hibbard, the deputy at Pine Forest Prison, who allowed men to be shot down like dogs and starved like wild beasts, is now looked upon with more consideration and favor than Uncle Daniel, who gave his whole family as a sacrifice for his country. ”

“ CHAPTER VII. TRAITOR KNIGHTS—ORGANIZATION OF REBEL SYMPATHIZERS IN INDIANA AND ILLINOIS—SIGNS AND SECRETS—GEN. ANDERSON'S TOUR OF INVESTIGATION —THE GOLDEN CIRCLE. “O, Conspiracy, shame'st Thou to show thy dangerous brow by night, When folks are most free? O then, by day, Where will thou find a cavern dark enough To mask thy monstrous visage? Seek none, conspiracy.” ”

“ Following this the whole surroundings were darkened, and up far in the air were sent guns, gun-carriages, caissons, picks, shovels, timbers and human beings. They went up in a confused mass and came down as though falling from the clouds in fragments. Many poor fellows were blown to atoms. Our artillery opened, and the cannonading that followed perhaps was never equaled during the war. A column of infantry charged into the crater and there hesitated and halted after capturing those who were left alive. This hesitation gave the enemy time to recover from their astonishment and alarm. ”

“ Has the great Father forsaken this family? Four have already lost their lives, and one now suffering in some loathsome prison if alive; my husband and Peter nearly at death's door on more than one occasion; Seraine Whitcomb, a lovely girl, with her only brother in the army (he a mere boy) , she leaves her old father and mother to take the chances of her life through the lines searching for one of our family, and now her only brother under sentence of death for what he could not help doing. ”

“ Eagle, of Illinois, made quite a speech on the same line. He was from Kentucky originally, and was for the South getting their rights at any cost. He said: 'Let blood flow like rivers, sir. Yes, sir; let fire rain upon Northern cities, and let the destruction of property become general, if necessary to produce the desired result. You must make the Northern people feel poverty, sir, if you wish to succeed. They care more for their property than for their lives. You must touch their pockets and then you touch their hearts. They are a fast-going people. ”

“ We first went to the place where the Colonel fell, but there was nothing but long trenches, where the dead had been buried. We passed over the battle-field, which was mowed down smoothly by bullets. Limbs of trees had fallen in confusion, furrows were plowed in the ground by shell, horses' skeletons, broken muskets, pieces of wagons, parts of caissons, spokes, ammunition boxes, pieces of blankets, coats, pantaloons, parts of tents—everything in pieces, the evidences of a great contest were marked at every step. ”

“ Redingson said to Jackson:
“'Did you see how loath Thomlinson was to put money in any other hands than his own?'
“'I saw some hesitancy,' said Jackson.
“'Well, sir, he proposes to spend only what is absolutely necessary. None of it will ever find its way into the Confederate Treasury. He loves money equal to any Yankee. But now, Mr. Jackson, what do you propose? Will you return to New York, or will you remain here for a time? ”

“ And this was generally done in the North, where the facilities were good; and by sending them from home it kept down the envy and ambition of the poorer classes, where, if they could have seen the opportunity of acquiring knowledge it might have stimulated them to greater exertion for the purpose of storing their minds with something useful in extricating themselves from an obedience to the mere will of the dominating class. Those people, one and all, no matter how ignorant, are taught to consider themselves better than any other people save the English, whose sentiments they inculcate. ”

“ During this time no man ever suffered more in spirit. I can see it all before me now: my poor wife's agony, the sorrowing of David's widow, Mary Anderson's trouble, the two poor little children—their questions about their Uncle Stephen, who killed him, and why? These questions I could not answer.”
At this point Dr. Adams inquired if Gen. Rosenfelt ever expressed any regret at not listening to the information imparted to him on the morning of the battle.
“No, sir; I did not so understand.”
“Uncle Daniel, did you know anything of Mrs. Houghton after this?” ”

“ The people of this country love this republic too well to see it go down marred and destroyed merely for the purpose of upholding the crime and infamy of slavery. No, gentlemen, this Union will be restored. ”