CHAPTER I. In accordance with the Proclamation of President Lincoln, calling out troops for three years, or during the war—which in future history will be better known as the great Southern Rebellion—a Regiment of Light Artillery was at once organized in this State, and the command given to Col. James Barnett, of Cleveland, than whom no person was more qualified for the position. For many years... more...

SERMON. "He made him to teach his senators wisdom."—Psalms cv, 21, 22. The common theory of the pulpit is of a place devoted to expound some old situation, abstract scheme of salvation, or article in a creed. It has a higher end,—to give the meaning of the scenes of real life, in which we observe the actors and play ourselves a part. If history be philosophy teaching by example, and of all... more...

PREFACE. If any one, taking up this book casually, should wonder why it was written, it may suffice to observe that "Gettysburg" is probably destined to mark an Epoch of the Republic;—as being one of the very few decisive battles of the Great Rebellion. Accordingly, whosoever took any part in it may hope to share its immortality of glory. But, says one, the militia were not engaged in the... more...

CHAPTER I. CALL TO ARMS. Early in the month of April, 1861, several of the Southern States having withdrawn from the Union, forts, arsenals and navy yards within the limits of those States were taken possession of by the Confederate forces. On the 12th of April, Fort Sumter, at Charleston, S. C., was fired upon, and after two days' bombardment by the rebels, commanded by General Beauregard, the... more...

PREFATORY For those who dwell within its borders, or whose ancestral roots are bedded among its hills, the claims of Litchfield County to distinction are many and of many kinds. In these latter days it has become notable as the home of certain organizations of unique character and high purpose, which flourish under circumstances highly exceptional, and certainly no less highly appreciated. It is as... more...

The history of the Nineteenth Army Corps, like that of by far the greater number of the organizations of like character, in which were arrayed the great armies of volunteers that took up arms to maintain the Union, is properly the history of all the troops that at any time belonged to the corps or served within its geographical limits. To be complete, then, the narrative my comrades have asked me to... more...

ORIGIN AND ORGANIZATION—1862. In the spring of 1862 a sixth regiment of infantry had been called for from Minnesota by the Governor of the State, but, from various causes, the enlistments proceeded very languidly till the disasters of the Virginian armies in the summer and the consequent proclamations of the President of the United States for volunteers gave an immense impulse to recruiting. Under... more...

The first battle of Bull Run had been fought. The government had become satisfied that the slaveholder's rebellion was not to be put down with seventy-five thousand men. The Union people of the United States now fully realized that the rebels were to use every effort on their part towards the establishment of the Confederacy, and the men of the north, on their part, were ready to "mutually... more...

CHAPTER I. A VOICE FROM THE RANKS.—INTRODUCTORY. We are familiar with the names and deeds of the "generals," from the commander-in-chief down to the almost innumerable brigadiers, and we are all more or less ignorant of the habits and characteristics of the individuals who composed the rank and file of the "grand armies" of 1861-65. As time rolls on, the historian, condensing matters,... more...

CHAPTER I"Lay down the axe; fling by the spade;Leave in its track the toiling plow;The rifle and the bayonet-bladeFor arms like yours were fitter now;And let the hands that ply the penQuit the light task, and learn to wieldThe horseman's crooked brand, and reinThe charger on the battle field."—Bryant.In the fall of the year 1860, when I was in my nineteenth year, I boarded the steamboat... more...