Thomas Edward Merchant

“ Is there nothing of substance, nothing real, to come out of the thought, that as our Country lives, so we as a Regiment go on, living in the freedom of a land and the stability of a Government, neither of which would now be, without sentiment, the spring of human life? ”

“ Thousands of Union Soldiers might lie in unknown graves, and tens of thousands might be sent home cripples for life, but not an ear on the stalk, or a grain in the crib, an animal on the hoof, or his parts in the smoke-house, must be taken by the Union Soldier, lest treason might not have abundance. ”

“ No Government is strong enough to glorify treason against itself, nor to encourage it anywhere.
The individual I would take most heartily by the hand, the organization I discard.
[107]
There can be no true call for a union of the blue and the gray. Let all don the blue. In place of waiting for the chasm to be closed, flank it and locate upon our side. The chasm itself can do no harm. It will be a thing well to look upon at times, and take warning from as the divider of great depth and impassable width. ”

“ So far did some of the most prominently active, and, I may add, patriotic men of our Country, go in their determination to avoid a resort to arms, that the very amendment to the Constitution of these United States that forever forbids the institution of slavery, would have been, in number, the amendment that would have fastened slavery upon the Country forever, had it not been that just then treason grasped for too much and thereby lost all. ”

“ The example of the gallant Colonel Murray, of the 84th, who fell at the head of his Regiment in the conflict at Winchester, with that of the noble men of his command, who there gave their lives a willing sacrifice to their Country, must stimulate all who have enlisted in the service to increased devotion, while their memory will be cherished by every patriot and add honor to the arms of Pennsylvania and the Union. ”

“ Lee went upon that side of the mountain, Hooker upon this. Across the Potomac went Lee, and across the Potomac came Hooker—at different points.
The Army of the Potomac had marched before, but never before, nor after, as it did through the night after crossing into Maryland. Along the tow-path, dark, wet and slippery; strength all gone, and the muscles expanding simply to get rid of the contraction. ”

“ The once soldiers of the confederacy are entitled, as individuals, to every manly consideration at our hands; as individuals they are as we are, men walking the journey of life, reaching out to one common goal. But their organized bodies have no claim upon us for recognition. The Government should have taken the life from every "camp" at the birth, and its strong arm should have swept from its soil the first monument to rebellion, with the warning that the placing of the second would be known as treason. ”

“ It was man against man in the fight. Soldier pitted against soldier. Each individual fighting the issue which so nearly concerned himself. It was the greatest of rebellions against the grandest of governments. If successful, to the world it would have been the greatest and grandest of revolutions.
It was not a conflict forced merely for the perpetuation of slavery. It was the institution of the crown, and not preservation of the chattel, that most moved the men who moved the South from '89 to '61. ”

“ During the night all of Lee's army withdrew within their intrenchments.
Grant said "that more desperate fighting had not been witnessed on this Continent, than that of the 5th and 6th of May."
The 84th was in the very thick of the fight. 9 men killed, 2 officers and 39 men wounded.
The character of this fighting ground is a thing of history. Heavy timber, close, thick underbrush, impossibility of knowing where the enemy was until close at hand, the burning breast-works, all present factors in the fight, gave Grant to know that he had an Army on whom he could rely for the very best of service. ”

“ And so it was, when along in the after years came the overt acts of treason that were to force States into rebellion, against the will of their people, every effort, reasonable and unreasonable, was made to conciliate the men whose only desire was not Union, but disintegration. ”

“ Just as when we look upon the completed work of the sculptor, or the finished touch of the painter, it is not of the marble, or the canvas and the material laid upon it that we think, but of the figure before us, as we note perfection in every line, and see life in the seeming light of the eye, and apparent movement of muscle. ”

“ Nine o'clock of the 2d marked the Regiment again on the way, and on the mountain top at Fairview was had the first sight of secession land, the Dixie of the song, and then on to Hancock, by the bank of the Potomac, the terminal of the order that initiated the war service that started active, and on that line developed, continuously, to a fulness sufficient to meet the hardiest speculations of the most radical expectant. ”

“ In the assertion of the binding powers of this Constitution, the 84th had a part, and you were a part of the 84th.
Your Regiment was to you the command which centred your soldier life. And well content may you be in the fact that its character secured for it a reputation [12] which, to every one of us, has been a thing of just and affectionate pride. ”

“ Down the hill, over the meadow ground and through the woods to the opening, all the time exposed to the rebel artillery fire.
Unsupported on either flank, the Regiment pressed forward in line, up the slope, two-thirds of the distance across the open space, and halted just before reaching the top.
Colonel Murray knew that the Regiment could not stay where it was. To his Adjutant he said: "We cannot hold this place; we must either advance or retreat, and we will not retreat." ”

“ As in Heaven, so in Earth, to dwell together as brothers, all must be of one mind, patriots upholding the one Flag, standing fast by the Red, White and Blue.
When true history of our day comes to be written, all things will be made plain. ”

“ Between their task and his, and it detracts not one whit from them to think it or to say it, there was this difference; he made it the easier for them to carry out well, as they faithfully did, what he had so well provided. He was the most loved by those whose acquaintance with him was the most intimate. A gentleman, a Christian, a man.
How we would all welcome him, could we greet him now. And by none would he have been welcomed among us with more of good, earnest feeling, than by him who so well succeeded to the Command which was left by Milton Opp on the 6th of May, 1864. ”

“ The Battle of the Wilderness had been fought. When [80] the soldiers of the Army of the Potomac learned that a drawn battle could be made in its results a great victory, when they learned that Grant not only commanded the masses of the troops, but had firm control of the official elements, and 48 hours was sufficient for the lesson, is it any wonder that "the greatest enthusiasm was manifested by Hancock's troops," when, on the 7th of May, Grant rode behind the 2d Corps, lying on the Brock Road, "inspired," says Grant, "no doubt by the fact that the movement was South." ”

“ Milton Opp was then the Second Officer of the Regiment. He was possessed of an ambition worthy of all the praise that grateful men could well bestow; ambitious, not for himself, but for his Regiment. In command from January, 1863, to the time of his death, the very example of his manner, his bearing, whether with belt on or off, was such, as to bring up the tone of every soldier of the 84th. The lowest in the Regiment was higher, the highest was higher, because of the presence of Milton Opp. ”

“ At this period of the War it was looked upon at the North as the worst of generalship to permit any rebel troops to get between our forces and the Seat of Government, and it was well known on the other side that any movement that threatened such a condition would cause the quick packing of tents and the immediate tramp of whatever Union force was charged with the protection of the Capital. Later on came a change in this regard.
Jackson threatened Washington by starting a movement to Pope's rear, passing around his right flank. ”

“ The recruiting camp for the Infantry was located three miles out of the town of Huntingdon, on the Warm Springs Road.
In accordance with the purpose that the recruiting and organization of the Brigade should be under the [13] direction of a Regular Army officer, Captain Crossman, of the Quartermaster's Department, United States Army, was detailed by the War Department for that duty, hence the name given to the camp to which the early recruits of the 84th ever looked back as their original soldier home, and the birth-place of the Regiment. ”

“ Twenty-four years and upward in the circle of time measures the distance of our close, very close, comradeship. Years more than many of us had numbered prior to the beginning, four years before, of the long campaign. The time that preceded and that which has followed, make up the life ordinary. ”

“ Sufficient show of strength was kept up to deter Jackson from moving faster.
About one o'clock in the afternoon, word was had that the Artillery had exhausted their ammunition, and Murray concluded to fall back. The Regiment could not return by the way it had come. A guide was sought, found and pressed into the service. His inclination was much toward the other side, and he soon showed himself more desirous of coming up with Ashby than of pointing out a safe approach to the river. ”

“ It seems incredible that less than a thousand men were thus successful in holding so many thousand in check for an entire day, and without death, wound or capture of a man. However, the good service was in fact done, and history is no more remiss as to this event [24] than it is as to the deprivation, toil and fighting of all the campaign in the Valley to July of '62.
On the night of the 4th, General Lander arrived at Hancock and assumed command of all the troops. ”

“ Till we grow gray-headed and pass away, let us sustain the reputation of this noble Regiment.
"Fortune threw together two organizations, the 84th and 57th, to make the present command. Both Regiments [103] have been in the service since the beginning of the strife, and the records of both will command respect in all coming time. Very many of those who were enrolled with us have fallen, and their graves are scattered here and there throughout the South. We shall not forget them, and the people of this Nation must and will honor their memory. ”

“ Treason's eagerness for the capture of all saved one generation from the commission of a wrong that the good deeds of all the coming generations could not have atoned for.
It is well to be on guard always. ”

“ Many of the dead had been left on the field where they fell, and many of the wounded left to rebel care. Death had come to some of the wounded from the fire in the woods, caused by the shelling on the 3d. The great loss to the rebel side came a few days after, in the death of Jackson, who had been mortally wounded on the night of the 2d.
Following on Chancellorsville, owing to the death of Whipple and the numerous casualties, the Division was broken up and the regiments assigned to other commands. ”

“ Then, again, the serenity of manner, and mildness of word, with which a soldier is wont to put a criticism, makes it desirable to avoid placing such a necessity before him, if a simple omission will save his feeling upon the particular point, and the service be in no way injured thereby. ”

“ The duty performed by the 84th Regiment during the three days' fighting was as essential and important as that of any other Regiment of my command; it was a duty they were ordered to perform over which they had no control, but as good soldiers obeyed the command. When Colonel Opp received the order he sent his Adjutant, Lieutenant Mather, to me with a request to have the order rescinded, which of course was not granted.
The 84th Regiment was one of my best and most reliable commands. The officers and men were always ready and willing to do their duty. ”

“ At one point he came so near the accomplishment of his purpose, that Murray gave him a gentle caution in about these words: If one of my men loses his life by your movement, your own life will be the forfeit. Thus kindly admonished, the guide changed the course of the march and conducted the Regiment to Sir John's Run, six miles up the river, from which point the way was [23] along the railroad, under the high bluffs, to the old mill opposite Hancock. ”

“ No man this side the Atlantic forced the Revolution. It was the outcome of oppression that ill fitted a people who had crossed from the other shore, not to bear greater burden, but that they might be full free from the crush of wrong. ”

“ Victories may be great, but not always just. Conquerors have vanquished peoples and thereby encompassed [104] countries within their toils, and then regretted there was not more to do on the same line. ”

“ Here were met Captain Russell's company of First Maryland Cavalry, two companies of the 39th Illinois Infantry, and a section of Artillery, two guns, with which force the 84th was to co-operate, with Colonel Murray, the ranking officer, in command.
On the morning of the 4th, from out of Bath, up on [22] the mountain top, and there formed in line. From this point the rebel army could be plainly seen advancing along the three roads; Jackson's force of 10,000, consisting of Ewell's, Longstreet's and Early's brigades, supplemented by Ashby's Cavalry. ”