|
 |
|
4th Regiment Cavalry, NY Volunteers
Civil War Newspaper Clippings
FROM THE FOURTH CAVALRY.
The Regiment in Splendid Condition
ROLL OF HONOR OF THE NON-COMMISSIONED
OFICERS AND PRIVATES.
Correspondence of The Detroit Free Press.
NEAR MURFREESBORO, May 17.
We have just moved camp into a piece of
finely timbered land, where the dense foliage
protects us from the hot sun. The weather is
quite warm but very pleasant. The health of
the regiment is generally very good. There
are quite a number of convalescents coming
back from hospital, and occasionally a new recruit--
two the other day. The new silver instruments
for the band have just arrived, and
from our present camp the enemy's pickets can
hear it play. The boys think now they can
make music that will entice the rebels to desert
and join the Fourth.
We have been lying in camp nearly three
weeks, doing picket duty one day and other
guard duty the next. If the rebels do not give
us a lead soon, we shall have to call them out.
It won't do for the Fourth Michigan to lie in
camp; they don't know how to do it. I send
you Regimental Order No. 112, assigning certain
non-commissioned officers and privates to
the roll of honor. I have no doubt it would
gratify their friends at home to see the order
published. We cannot do too much for the
brave boys; they deserve all the encouragement
and credit they receive. The following is
the order:
HEADQUARTERS FOURTH MICH. CAVALRY,
CAMP MlNTY, NEAR MURFREESBORO,
April 17, 1863.
— REGIMENTAL ORDER, N0. 112.
General order, No. 19, Headquarters Department
of the Cumberland, dated February 14,
1863; having provided for a regimental roll of
honor, the following non-commissioned officers
and privates have been duly selected in
accordance with the provisions of said order,
and are hereby announced as entitled to that
distinction. They will compose the regimental
roll of honor for this regiment:
SERGEANTS.
Company A—Hiram D. Treat.
Company B—Guy C. McIntyre, Robert
Boyce.
Company D—Daniel Donahue.
Company E—Thomas H. Peabody.v
Company F—Smith Randolph.
Company I—Herman W. Grant.
Company K—Lauren H. Ripley.
Company L--Silas Stauber.v
Company M—James D. Dawson.
CORPORALS.
Company A—-Geo. H. Simons.
Company B—Theodore Sanford.
Company C—Edgar A. Crane.
Company D—Wm. Prindall.
Company E—Calhoun M. Burch.
Company I—Elias Pierce.
Company K—Alvin Fox.
Company L—Perry Davis.
Company M—Reuben A Ray.
Company K—Geo. R. VanEtten.
PRIVATES.
Company A—Joseph Corbet, Gilbert Cotay,
George Miles, Robert L Reynolds, Thomas
Kelly.
Company B—Albert Babcock, Chester Barber,
Patrick Hawley, David B. Skinner, Simon
Voght.
Company C—Wesley T. Barker, Gideon P.
Niles, Chas. E. Richard, Renselar Riggs, Abram
J. Sebring.
Company D—John Stewart, James Place,
Thos. Collason, Henry S. Baker, Caleb W.
Horton.
Company E—Charles Fuller, George Lane,
Martin Stancliff, Dewitt C. Carr, George M. Rose.
Company F—H. Wilcox, E. W. Nichols, John
Rapp, O. B. McLouth, Wm. True.
Company G—Aaron M. Chase, Jeremiah P.
Craig, Martin Cloonan, John A. Skinner, Geo.
W. Van Sickle.
Company H-Augustus Grawn, Charles Hall,
Johnson Saur, Samuel Van Etlen, Augustus Wegel.
Company I-Mason Brown, Charles Craig,
Jerome B. Heath, David Parker, Leonard
Wing.
Company K—William Wood, Alanson Barron,
E. K. Roberts, Jessie Davenport, Robert Day.
Company L--Chas. L. Knight, James Holdworth,
Samuel Martin, Lyman R. Warren, Benjamin
K. Colf.
Company M--Homer Atkins, Geo. Dunbar,
H. J. Gibney, P. Hammiston, Nelson Taylor.
The Lieutenant Colonel commanding desires
to impress upon the minds of the non-commissioned
officers and privates now comprising
the regimental roll of honor, that for misconduct
or falling below the proper standard, they
may at any time be stricken therefrom. He
sincerely hopes that this distinction which their
fellow soldiers and the officers of the regiment
have thought fit to confer upon them, may
urge them to exercise all their energies in the
performance of their duties, and thus enable
each to become truly proficient in all that constitutes
a good soldier.
By order of Lieutenant Colonel
J.B. PARK, Commanding.
Levi B. Griffin, Adjutant.
WAR CORRESPONDENCE.
CAMP, POTOMAC CREEK STATION, VA.,
May 30th, 1863.
Mr. Editor: Here we are again at Potomac
creek station; we are "buggered" about
considerable, if I am not confoundly mistaked,
and we generally go thirty miles before
we get anywhere. Yes, us "sogers"—militia
men--volunteers—all sorts—half a dozen of
one and six of 'tother. I saw Lt. A. Schutt
day before yesterday, and took dinner with
some of the old 20th; Lt. Schutt is a "perfect
brick!" A whole team and a hoss to
let, and wapper-jawed bull-dog under the
wagon! The 20th is spilin' for another fight;
But they look upon gouging and scalping as
irregular practices. It would do your heart
good to come out here and just see this rotten
country they brag so much about, where
everything seems to want repairing—people,
houses and all. However, they are trying
to straighten things out. You know we
must not throw away our lives; its against
scripture and the constitution;—fight when
you may and retreat when you must. After
marching here from Dumfries, a distance of
19 miles, I looked as smiling as a basket of
chips, at the thought of getting thirteen dollars
a month and found—dead. I'm not
much cut however; not a bit of it. I am
made of cast iron, gutta percha and horseshoe
nails. I feel like a Norwegian bear.—
I'd like to be hugging everybody. Why,
I'm a trump card—the king of hearts—the
ace of spades—though I look more like a
high-heeled Jack. I'll be dog-goned if I don't
deserve to have my statue made out of California
gold and set up in Kingston forever.
I am not afraid to take the responsibility.—
I "jest reconnyter" these secesh "varmints"
a bit, and then if all is right, drop a shot accidentally,
no harm in that--and then if it
don't astonish Johnny Reb. some, sink me in
an alligator swamp. I was born expressly
to make a noise in the world, and my humble
assistance in blowing up the Copperhead
Confederacy will probably fulfill my "manifest
destiny." Although the situation is
rather exposed. Thunderation sight worse
than the prairies; there aint no tall grass
to lie down and play possum in, and a fellow
would have right small chance for his
life if he happened to be with those chasseur-
de-southerners with their confounded
shot and mining guns. There "mought " be
a chance of a feller of my size "giving up
the ghost" in double quick time. But
what's a baker's dozen of Rebs. worth
among one Yankee, who was cradled in a
bee-gun, nursed by a prairie wolf, and weaned
on buffalo humps and streaks of lightning?
I can jump higher, squat lower, lie
flatter, dive deeper, stay down longer, and
come up farther, than any mortal man on the
four quarters of the globe.
The Rebs., the sanguinary miscreants!—
They're a darned sight worse than the copper-
colored Indians, who leave a man the
last bit of tobacco he has in the world; but
the Rebs.--their religious principles have
been deplorably neglected; and this is no
dream but real "flesh and blood," done up
in Regimentals, at a total disregard of cost.
I must shortly avast heaving; I'm built partly
on the stub and twist principle; yet I'm
neither of brass nor iron—not quite invulnerable.
Although 23 months in the service,
I will not desert. My honor is dearer
to me than life itself. I will remain here
till my term of service expires or fall in my
country's service! "That's what's the matter."
More anon.
H. DELAMTER.
Troop G, 4th N. Y. Cavalry.
WAR CORRESPONDENCE.
CAMP, POTOMAC CREEK STATION VA.,
June 8th, 1863.
Friend Bradbury: It is night, and no
sound meets the ear but a few plaintive
notes of the whip-poor-will. Moonlight and
there is no visible trace here of utilitarian civilization
to mar the primitive beauty of the
scene. I consider it a good time to write
you a few lines, and I don't intend to be
crusty about it. I have just eaten an upperten
supper, composed of venison steaks,
rashers of ham, crisp corn-cakes, fresh butter--
and delicious honey was also abundantly
provided, while my coffee was well tempered
with maple sugar and rich cream;—
it was apparently filled with milk; and one
of our boys declared, with emphasis, that
the cow which gave that milk must have
been fed on brandy cherries. The letter
finished, I shall retire to my couch. Sweet
sleep.--when every passion is controlled
and every pain quieted—when every unchained
soul soars at will on rapid wing.
I should be happy if our Regiment should
be detailed to do provost guard in Kingston,
and live there;—not bad quarters, eh? I
could then say in truth, safe! safe!
Yesterday the cars went by our camp
with a couple hundred of haggard, troubled-looking,
secesh prisoners. Deeply do they
regret not having espoused boldly the just
cause, in which case they would have had
the satisfaction, at least, of thinking that they
had acted like men. But now that hope is
quenched, and who but themselves are to
blame? Now their own duplicity has woven its spider-like web over their very
existence.
They were a woe-begone looking set
of men, and looked very "solemncholy." As
they are getting good grub in our lines, they
think they had better stay some length of
time, if not longer, and enjoy our hospitality,
instead of Rebel kicks and cuffs. What a
pity that my early education often makes
me err terribly; solely in consequence of
this honorable trait, I will have to "halt" the
column and give the command "Sit at ease."
Yours, as solemncholy as ever,
H. DELAMATER.
Troop G, 4th N.Y. Cavalry.
From Gideon.
FORT ETHAN ALLEN,Va.,
July 25th, 1863.
Friend BEACH:—The weather is so intensely
warm that I have little ambition to
write letters. There is but one word that
will express the disagreeable condition of
the atmosphere, viz., muggy. Yesterday
was the most sticky day that I ever have experienced.
There is only one sort of animated
life that seems to thrive, namely flies.
These are more plentiful than the locusts of
Egypt, and their impudence and persistency
are without parallel. I have invented a fly
trap. The plan is a simple one and the destructive
qualities of the machine are wonderful.
I sprinkle a couple of spoonfuls of
sugar on a board; surround the same with
the contents of several cartridges; then invite
the boys into my tent, cautioning them
to be very still. After awhile, the flies settle
upon the sugar. The next step is to light
a cigar, the coal on the end of which held
at arm's length explodes the powder. The
flies are blown up, of course. Their dead
carcasses cover the floor, while many of them
are seen crawling about with their wings
singed off. I believe that my trap will be
very successful.
I mentioned above, that yesterday was a
terribly hot day. For the benefit of the
drafted men, I will mention a little episode.
We had, at 10 o'clock, inspection of the
Regiment. The boys were reviewed
by two Colonels, both Regular Army officers,
and one Lt.-Col., Wm. H. Seward, Jr., son
of our distinguished Secretary of State. In
the morning, the weather was "muggy;"
towards noon, the sun came out, its rays being
fierce enough to "fry the brains in a
man's skull," as Sancho Panza would say.
The soldiers formed in line of battle
with knapsacks on; and stood there waiting
for the inspecting officers, for more than an
hour. When they came, they immediately
ordered the men to their quarters to throw
off their knapsacks. The line being again
formed, the battalion was brought to a right
face , and gallantly marched to Longley, a
distance of five miles. The heat was frightful
and the dust was suffocating; yet the
men moved with precision and regularity.—
Now and then one would fall out, being
overcome with heat. There were several of
them sun struck. Even the officers were
overcome, and some of them had to return
in an ambulance. The column arrived home
at the fort in the afternoon, exhausted and
dispirited; wearily dragging themselves
along; their clothes soiled; their brasses
tarnished, and their shoes filled with sacred soil.
Now let me recommend to conscripts that
they should join the Fourth Heavy. This
is the "best regiment in the service," like
every other regiment. We have delightful
times. We dig in the fort, and we stand
guard every other day. Besides this, we go
patroling in the night, thus getting, on an
average, three nights' sleep out of every seven.
The fact is, we are "gentlemen soldiers"
of the "band-box" description. The
Fourth Heavy is by all means a good regiment
to join. Sergeant Nate S. Wood will
tell how it is, if he ever reaches Orleans
County; and whatever statement he makes,
can be considered as perfectly reliable.
The truth is, it is better to serve in some
branches of the service than in others; but
soldiering is agreeable nowhere. Yet it is
quite as agreeable for the "first class young
men" who skedaddle to Canada, as for those
who joined the army long ago. It will not
surprise the northern people to know that
the draft is popular in the army. When our
stay-at-home friends come down, we will
welcome them with cordiality; and we are
all profoundly impressed with the justness
of the law which brings them, whether it is
"
constitutional" or not.
I trust that my venerable and patriotic
friends at home will have good luck in organizing
their "home guard." Should there
be a riot in the beautiful village of Albion,
(which God forbid,) they may be enabled to
render important assistance to their country.
I cannot see how they can do much more
than this; although the spirit they manifest
is quite commendable.
GIDEON.
FORT ETHEN ALLEN, VA.,
July 30th, 1863.
Friend Beach:—The unknown friend
from whom I received the bouquet, a few
weeks since, has sent me another Tribune.
It would please me to discover the perpetrator
of this excellent joke. I am sorry
that the newspaper did not enclose another
nosegay or something, indeed, to counteract
the horrible sulphurous fumes of that
diabolical journal. The beautiful posies that
I did receive are "faded and gone;" the
white ribbon which was tied around them
has been lost; and the only relic of the delicate
gift is the white cotton thread, which
I carry constantly about me. Being in an
extremity, (the French call it pis aller,) I
used it to sew a button on one of my under
garments. I regretted the necessity that
compelled this sacrifice; but the only alternative
was to use a black thread upon a
white garment, against which my taste and
my judgment revolted.
If the sending of the first Tribune was a
joke, the forwarding of the second one was
more so. Upon opening the delectable
sheet I saw written upon the margin, the
following motto: Magna est veritas et prevalibit.
Besides this, the following editorial
articles were marked: The Draft and
its foes; The Draft Constitutional; and
What the Rioters are Not.
All this would seem to imply in the first
place, that the Tribune is a truthful sheet;
secondly, that Gideon is supposed to be unfavorable
to the draft, and an advocate of its
unconstitutionality, and these articles were
sent to enlighten him. The articles, of
course, give Gov. Seymour a dig; and endeavor
to fasten upon "Northern Democrats" the prolongation of the war. These accusations
may be true, and I may know but little
of the real sentiments of the Democratic
masses at home. If Democrats, however,
are opposed to prosecuting the war to a successful
termination, I am no longer a Democrat.
But when I believe this, it will be
upon better authority than acrimonious editorial
in the Tribune.
I do not doubt that there are those calling
themselves Democrats who are traitors at
heart, men who are crying peace, peace,
when there is no peace; but even this class
of persons are better than the politicians of
the malignant, abolition school, who call the
American flag a "flaunting lie," and who, in
order to secure freedom to the negro, are
willing to witness the downfall of the Union
and the destruction of Constitutional liberty.
I thank God that both Copperheads and
Woolyheads form but inconsiderable parts.
The great middle class are right in their
ideas; they are conservators of the law, and
they will eventually save the nation, in spite
of the malignant bitterness of the enemies
of law and order.
Ne quid nimis is a very good motto.— This is evidenced by the history of the
times. Had this doctrine been more thoroughly
understood and appreciated by the
American people, the war would have been
avoided; and when once begun, it would
not have been prolonged to the present time.
Our treasure would not have been squandered;
the flower of our youth would not
have been sacrificed, and the country would
not have been desolated by the wailing of
the widow and the cry of the orphan.
Medio tutissimus ibis.
To some people Greeley is a god, and his
Tribune is the gospel; others seek consolation
in the pages of the dirty World. These
papers are types of the factions they represent;
neither reflects the sentiments of the
American people. The former is ethereal,
the latter groveling, and both are impracticable.
The one violates law, because of its
imperfection; the other opposes it because
it is tyrannical. The first despises the populace,
because they are ignorant; while its
antagonist panders to their debased appetites
and encourages their brutal instincts.— The Tribune inflames the mob by trampling
upon their prejudices, and the World stirs
their venom by reckless appeals to their depraved
natures.
The Tribune cries "On to Richmond," and our soldiers are sent forward to be
slaughtered; the World preaches peace and
talks of compromise, and the rebellion takes
new heart. Because of the clamor of the
one, the battles of Fredericksburg and Chancellorville
were fought and lost; by reason
of the craven heartedness of the other, the
rebels are induced to invade Maryland and
Pennsylvania. Thus these two papers, and
those of a like class, stir up bitterness and
contention, arraying the people against each
other; paralyzing the arm of the government;
discouraging enlistments and fomenting riots.
With these infernals, the administration,
and the people must contend, and they
will at last, triumph. If the Constitution
withstands the shock of these contending
factions, and at the same time, prevails over
the hosts of the rebellion, there will never
be another uprising against its authority.
Let me say a word concerning the riot in
New York city. It is well understood that
the rioters were of the scum of the metropolis.
They pretend to oppose the draft because
of its unconstitutionality; when, in
truth, they have no more idea of constitutional
law than Brigham Young has of virtue.
Their theories are as absurd as the
amalgamation doctrines of Wendell Phillips,
or the Fourierism of Horace Greeley. Their
ignorance is appalling; their morals are degraded;
they are thieves and robbers and
assassins. While they talk about the unconstitutionality
of a law, they disregard all
law , both human and divine. While they
claim that their rights are infringed, they
trample upon and destroy the rights of others.
Their punishment should be terrible;
but how much more frightfully accountable
are those who instigated their carnival of
crime.
More might be said upon this fruitful topic,
but the limits of a newspaper letter forbid
it. I again thank the sender of the
Tribune, and solicit continual similar.
favors. She furnished me with material for a letter.
If she is a lady, she undoubtedly wears blue hose, else she never
would have sent the Latin maxim. I presume
she is an excellent linguist, but if she
is not, I would refer her to Worcester's
Dictionary for the translation of the Latin
and French phrases that I have employed.
There is where I got them, and in the
course of my investigations, I also discovered
the motto that she has quoted. It is a very
excellent book. In conclusion, I would
really like to know, (as Paddy would say,)
whether she is a woman or a man!
GIDEON.
WAR CORRESPONDENCE.
HEAD-QUARTERS , NEAR ALEXANDRIA, VA.,
AUGUST 3D, 1863.
FRIEND BRADBURY - - Weeks have passed
away since I last wrote to you. I am still
alive and in the "sunny south," thriving by
chance, and like a seabird sporting on the
shores of the majestic Potomac, in Alexandria--
poor, a "Soger," but nevertheless happy
in the present and confiding in the future.
I am Orderly Bugler at Head-quarters, having
a fine time of it. At all times the Colonel
commanding seems so good to me and
obliging that I have become his inseparable
friend and companion—I know not very well
how, or why. Now my heart experiences
those contradictory and complicated emotions,
which agitate and discompose my existence.
I tell you, friend Dan, when this
cruel war is over, I will not be fit for much
more than a cook's-mate's minister to read
Psalms to rats. That is according to army
regulations. I begin to experience the want
of sweet companionship; although I enjoy
unrestrained liberty, I have no devoted attendant
to seek me and bring me back to the
bosom of my home—not even a dog to warn
me of danger, for it "lieth at my door." Yet
I never experienced harm. I have wandered
over the mountains and marshes without
a guide and without a watch, and sometimes
with no other couch than the moss-covered
rocks or some marshy swamp, with mosquitoes
formed in line of battle on my left and
center. Yes! grey-backs, too—so help me
Bob. I dine sumptuously. In short, I lead
a free and joyous life, without incurring more
risk or feeling more emotion than might be
experienced by an old man of my age. If
you want me to write, give me a clear surface,
and that too of a good quality. If it be
too hard, I can make no impression on it; if
too soft, I shall destroy it at the first stroke.
In short, although I acknowledge the extraordinary
talents of the young correspondent
of the Argus, in a letter I told the worthy
shemale, with some temper and ironical humility,
at the end of her first lesson, that her
method was not adapted to a pupil so far
advanced, and that a Master could only embarrass
and retard the natural progress and
invincible development of so superior an organization.
More anon.
H. DELAMATER.
Troop G, 4th N. Y. Cavalry.
FOURTH NEW-YORK CAVALRY.
Ferd. Rosenbergr, Co. F— wounded and prisoner.
Robt. Brown, Co. F—killed.
William Kennelly, Co. F— wounded.
Isaac Campbell, Co. F—head.
E. Reeve, Co. K—right elbow.
Pat. Smith, Co. K—head.
Wm. Finnigan, Co. E—head.
Sergt. Geo. Tindle, Co. C—abdomen.
Chas. Fetterlechner, Co. A. head and side.
Thos. Marshall. Co. F-neck.
Thos. Grady—right shoulder
Wm, Kenly, Co. F—sabre cut on head and hand.
Corp. Ryan, Co. F—neck.
Military Matters in New York.
PRESENTATION OF A CHARGER.
Colonel Canola, who has been in this city some short
time recruiting for the Fourth New York cavalry, was
yesterday presented with a fine and valuable charger,
prior to his resuming his duties at the head of his company in the field. Colonel
Cesnola has been exceedingly
successful in the recruiting service in that arm of it most
demanding reinforcements in the field, and on his departure
for his regiment, now stationed at Fairfax Court
House, Va. in a few days, will take with him one hundred
young, active men. The Colonel's friends remembering
past associations, and hoping for him a successful
soldier's career, subscribed among themselves $400, the
sum paid by them for the charger they yesterday presented to him.
Capt. Halleck Mann, of the 4th New York
Cavalry, positively asserts that his severe wound
through the breast was inflicted after he was dismounted by a saber blow in
the face, and after he
was on the ground. The proof is abundant that in
the recent cavalry fights the Rebels sabered and
shot many of our men after they were captured.
In no previous collision have they manifested such implacable hate.
A HERO'S WELCOME.
On Monday evening last, we were the
willing witness of an enthusiastic reception
of one of the brilliant heroes of the war,
Capt. Mann, of Milton, in this county. As
the steamer Mary Powell, on her way up,
neared the Milton dock we observed a large
crowd on it with flags waving, and hurraing
and ladies swinging their handkerchiefs.
As the gangplank was thrown out and before
the gallant Captain reached the dock,
he was taken and carried to the four-horse
carriage in waiting to convey him to the village
and his home, amid the heartfelt congratulations
of his friends and neighbors.
Capt. Mann enlisted in the 1st New York
Cavalry in 1861, and served in that regiment
until last fall. Last winter he was appointed
a captain in the 4th N.Y. Cavalry. A
correspondent of the New York Tribune,
giving an account of the Aldie cavalry fight,
says:
" An individual case of daring brought to
my notice was that of Capt. N.H. Mann, of
the 4th New York, who, finding his squadron
hesitate in a charge, plunged alone into
the enemy's ranks. The result was a sabre
gash in the cheek, a pistol shot in the
shoulder, and a killed horse; but the men
were inspired, and rushed to victory.
THE STORY OF A NEW YORK
REGIMENT.
Services of the Fourth New York Cavalry.
A correspondent, who has been a member of
this regiment from its formation, sends us the
following account of its services. The regiment
has been lately mustered out of service, its time
having expired.
" The Fourth New York State Volunteer Cavalry
was raised and mustered into service as a
regiment on the 29th of August, 1861. It entered
the field early in September of that year, under
command of Colonel C. Dickel, who remained in
command until June, 1862. He was succeeded
in September 1862, by Colonel Louis Palma Di
Cesnola, recently commanding Second Brigade
First Cavalry Division, to which his regiment was then attached.
"
The regiment has never been a day absent
from the scene of active operations: it served
with credit under Fremont, Rosecrans, Sigel, Pope,
Stoneman, &c., as many flattering encomiums
bestowed on it by these commanders can testify.
Starting with a numerical strength of seven
hundred men, and having added to it at various
times from nine hundred to one thousand recruits,
it numbered scarcely one hundred men for
active duty when discharged—the deficiency being
accounted for by loss in action, deaths from
wounds, &c. It performed much arduous and
hazardous service scouting and reconnoitering,
being invariably successful, and seldom suffering any loss.
"
At Strasburg, Va., on 1st June, 1862, a small
portion charged on the rear-guard of "Stonewall"
Jackson's retreating army, comprising the Fourth
Virginia (Black Horse") and other cavalry, and
caused a vigorous stampede, which horses and
men were too exhausted to follow up.
"
At Cross Keys, Va., the regiment opened the
battle in skirmishing order, and afterwards rendered
itself conspicuous by its determined resistance
to several charges made on Schermer's battery
by the rebel forces; a resistance which was
successful in saving the battery from capture,
besides inflicting severe chastisement on the
enemy, and killing the rebel General Ashby. Continuing
with the army during Pope's retreat, the
regiment performed meritorious service by bringing
up the rear, destroying bridges, &c., in the
face of the enemy's advance, and having several
severe skirmishes.
"
At Manassas (second Bull Bun), co-operating
with the First Michigan cavalry, it made the only
cavalry charge during the battle, under the direction
of the late General John Buford. This was
successful in checking the enemy's advance and
saving many thousands from being captured. At
Kelly's Ford, on 17th March, 1863, much credit
was awarded to the regiment for its conspicuous
gallantry. At Aldie, on 17th June, while a portion
of our cavalry was driven back and nearly
captured, the regiment opportunely arrived, and
by a spirited charge turned apparent defeat into
a glorious victory for our arms, and completely
r o u t e d the enemy, and cutting off nearly one
hundred men, with a battle-flag - all of whom
surrendered and fell into the hands of the First
Massachusetts cavalry….
[missing page]
Secretary of War, resulted in having the order rescinded
on 6th January, 1864, on the ground of " meritorious service."
" The order did not, discouraging and unjust
as it was, alter the true soldierly qualities of officers
or men, as both regimental and brigade
commanders can attest.
"
At Trevillian Station, on the 11th and 12th of
June, the regiment was engaged in the hottest
part of the fight, losing heavily in officers and
men, but taking upwards of one hundred prisoners,
arms, equipments, &c. On the 11th, after
driving the enemy for nearly three miles, a portion
of the regiment charged and recaptured
Trevillian after General Custer had been forced
to retire, holding the position until reinforced.
" On the 29th of July the regiment, detached
on a reconnoissance, reached White Tavern, four
miles from Richmond, and was several times cut
off from the brigade; but by careful manoeuvring
escaped without the loss of a man, and brought
in several prisoners.
" At White Post, near Newtown, on 11th of
August, the regiment again opened the fight, and
stubbornly contested the advance of the enemy
for five hours, until reinforcements arrived.
"
At Front Royal, on 16th August, the regiment
(numbering at this time one hundred and fifty
men) charged on a regiment of Wickham's brigade,
which was driving our skirmishers, capturing
in the charge the veteran battle-flag of the
Third Virginia cavalry, besides many prisoners.
In this charge Captain Mann, while gallantly leading
his squadron, was killed—having been shot
through the heart. A series of charges were
afterwards made in concert with the Sixth New
York cavalry, on Cobb's Legion of infantry, which
had crossed the river and deployed on our left,
resulting in the capture of their battle-flag (which
fell to the Sixth New York), and from two hundred
and fifty to three hundred prisoners. The
total number credited to the regiment in this
short but spirited-engagement were twelve officers
and one hundred and nineteen men, and the
entire affair was characterized by the division
general as 'superb.'
[page missing]
Back to 4th Cavalry during the Civil War
New York State Division of Military and Naval Affairs: Military
History
Last modified:
May 4, 2006
URL: http://www.dmna.state.ny.us/historic/reghist/civil/cavalry/4thCav/4thCavCWN.htm
|
|