Sunday, November 20, 2011

(Late July to Late November, 1861)

Two days after the regiment returned to the yard it was ordered home by rail, going by way of South Amboy, and landed at pier 1, North River; from thence it marched up Broadway to the armory on Centre Street. Depositing our arms and accoutrements, we were dismissed till the 30th of July, when the regiment was mustered out of service and paid off, and so ended our first campaign.

AS soon as I was mustered out of service with the Seventy-first regiment I lost no time in seeking for a commission, fully determined to return to the field, but not as a private soldier. I soon found that commissions were to be obtained only by securing a certain number of men to enlist, and so after applying to various organizations in every state of formation, all with the same results, in connection with an ex-Danish officer, Julius Ericcson, living in Brooklyn, I set to work to raise the requisite number of men to secure the prize. New York and Brooklyn were transformed into immense recruiting camps. In all the public squares and parks hundreds of tents were erected, covered with flags and immense colored bills, on which the advantage of the various branches of the service were fully stated. There were bands of music and scores of public speakers, all engaged by patriotic citizens, to stimulate the military ardor of the other fellow, and get him to enlist for three years. We soon found a great change had come over the spirit of the people since the departure of the militia regiments, in April. Then, everybody wanted to go; now, apparently, most people wanted to stay at home. We put up a wall tent in the New York City Hall Park, and another at the junction of Atlantic and Flatbush Avenues, Brooklyn, in an open lot. The captain and I took turns in attendance in New York, while John Ericcson, the captain’s eldest son, who was to go out as orderly sergeant, was put in charge of the Brooklyn tent. We got some immense posters printed, and among other inducements offered by our company was the experience of the future officers, one gained in a foreign service, the other on the field of Bull Run. Notwithstanding these seeming advantages, our best efforts, and the prodigious enthusiasm of the times, recruiting proved very slow. I coaxed one man into enlisting, through my knowledge of the Crimean War, one Stuart, a fine six-foot Englishman who had served in the Crimean War and had been a soldier in the British army almost all his life. He took hold with a will, and we put him in charge of the tent as second sergeant. As the recruiting proved so slow at home, it was decided to send me, at the expense of the State, to Oswego, N. Y., and there I promptly repaired; advertised in both the daily papers, setting forth the advantages of a metropolitan regiment. While there I enjoyed the brief distinction of being the only man in town who had been at Bull Run, and in consequence, was feted and honored as an exceptional personage.

With the assistance of a young man named Hamilton, native there, I actually obtained some twenty-nine or thirty men, and was just upon the point of starting with them to New York, when they deserted in a body, and went over to one of the local organizations. Disgusted, I returned immediately, and in a few days afterwards went to Poughkeepsie, and remained there for two weeks, but succeeded in getting only about half a dozen men, mostly from Wappingers Falls. I was taken, while in that place, with a severe attack of fever and ague and was almost shaken to pieces. Considering the ground no longer profitable I returned home, and found we had already got more than the number required by the State, to muster us into its service, with a captain and first lieutenant; and so, on the 23d of September, 1861, we marched our company of recruits to the state arsenal on Elm Street, where they were stripped naked, examined by a surgeon, and all of them passed as able bodied men. Then the mustering officer called the roll, and every man in succession stepped one pace to the front, took the oath of allegiance to the State, and swore to serve as a soldier for three years, or during the war. Immediately afterwards, in compliance with the State law a very perfunctory election of officers took place, in presence of the mustering officer; and Julius Ericcson was declared duly elected captain and I the first lieutenant of the new company. The muster roll was made out, signed by the mustering officer, and we were at last in the service of the State; legally held for duty, and under pay. Before leaving the arsenal, the company was furnished with uniforms, underclothing, haversacks, canteens, and blankets, and at once divested themselves of their citizen garb, and emerged from the arsenal, looking something like real soldiers.

The company was ordered to Staten Island, and so we marched directly to the ferry, landing at the lower station, Fort Wadsworth, and went into camp at Chestnut Grove, a private park surrounding a fine deserted mansion, a short distance in rear of the forts. The first night the men were quartered in the lower part of the house, while we occupied the upper part, but the day following, “A” tents were sent over, and under my direction, assisted by Sergeant Stuart, they were put up facing each other on a wide fine street, at the head of which was pitched a tent for the orderly sergeant. The captain desired to remain with his family in town, and so elected to take charge of the recruiting service, leaving the command of the company to me, which exactly suited my taste.

I went to work immediately to drill and discipline the company, and devoted every moment to the work. We drilled in squads, platoons, and company, pitched and struck tents, and the men soon began to look and act like real soldiers. After dark I devoured the army regulations, and the book of tactics, and was proud and happy indeed.

On the 27th of September I appeared before a board of examiners and received the following certificate, after which I donned by new uniform and gilt-hilted sword, and returned to Chestnut Grove, satisfied with all the world.

“State Of New York, Department Of Volunteers,
Division Armory, Corner White And Elm Street.
New York, September 27, 1861.

We the undersigned, examiners for the State of New York, Department of Volunteers, do hereby certify that we have examined Josiah M. Favill, in the School of the Soldier, and Company; and found him duly qualified to serve as a Company officer.

Col. W. N. Tompkins,
Henry P. Martin,

Examiners.”

The second day after our arrival, another company joined us, commanded by James W. Britt, with a Mr. Hale as first lieutenant. Britt remained mostly in the city, so Hale and I found ourselves as a rule, in charge, and worked together very satisfactorily. The men were fed by contract and fared well. The contractor also furnished the officers’ mess quite generously without cost to us, which I could not then, nor have since been able to understand. We dined off an improvised table of boards, and generally had several guests, to which the good-natured contractor made not the least objection; we slept on sofas, found in the house, and were altogether very comfortable. As soon as we were able to look about us we found Staten Island had been converted into an immense camp, and in every direction the ground was dotted over with white tents. Near to us was a regiment of Frenchmen, “Les Enfants perdu,” most excellently well named. They swarmed over the country at night, kicked up all kinds of rows, and were a terror to their officers, as well as the neighborhood. They had a fine band, which played a good deal of the time, and was greatly appreciated, giving an air of martial reality to the camps about us.

Our principal difficulty was to keep the men in camp. Sentinels patroled the camp throughout the night, but the men would slip away, generally returning much the worse for a carousal. Stuart proved a vertitable treasure. He taught the men all the tricks of an old soldier; how to make themselves comfortable with almost nothing; how to make comfortable beds; how to police the camp, strike and pitch their tents, and a thousand little things only learned by experience. Many people from the city and adjacent country visited the camps; the women especially were greatly interested in the primitive life of the new soldiers.

On October 18th, we received orders to march the following day to New Dorp, about four miles in the interior, there to be assigned to the Fifty-seventh New York Infantry, National Guard Rifles, commanded by Colonel Samuel K. Zook. On the morning of the 19th we broke camp, marched to the railroad, and thence by rail to New Dorp reporting at Camp Lafayette about noon. We found over seven hundred men there, some quartered in rude board barracks, others under canvas. They were dressed in various styles of uniform, being parts of several organizations, which for various reasons had been unable to complete their quotas, and thus could not be mustered into the United States service as regiments. The State accepted the companies, and mustered them and allowed a reasonable time for the completion of the proposed regiments, but if it appeared the full number could not be obtained, then the State arbitrarily formed them into regiments itself, and appointed the field officers, thus hastening the sending forward of men to the front, and transferring the cost to the broader shoulders of Uncle Sam. We marched into the enclosed camp ground and then, with nine other companies, were mustered as a regiment for the first time. As soon as the mustering officer had completed the inspection of the rolls, we took the oath of allegiance to the Government, and were henceforth known as the Fifty-Seventh New York Infantry Volunteers. There being only about eight hundred and fifty men, several of the state officers were rendered supernumerary and discharged.

I was obliged to accept a second lieutenancy, but felt thankful for being retained at all. Companies A, D, E, F, and G were recruited in New York City, B in Utica, C in Kings County, and H, I, and K in Duchess County. The three latter companies contained a number of men from the old regular Fourth infantry, who had been captured, and paroled by the rebel authorities in Texas. They were a well drilled lot of soldiers, and gave the regiment the appearance of regulars from the start, and were invaluable as instructors for the new men. Company F, Captain McKay, had the right; Company I, Captain Saunders, the left, and Company K, Captain La Valley, the colors; my company became E, Britt’s D, Kirk’s S, Horner’s H, Gott’s C, Chapman’s A, and Troop’s B. We were now in the service of the United States for three years, or the war, and settled down to regular military life.

The following morning regimental guard mounting commenced, and the camp was placed under martial law. My company was assigned to tents already pitched, the captain and I having a wall tent together, at the head of the street. Between drill hours, the men ornamented the company streets with pretty borders of oyster shells, etc., and took great pleasure in their new life. Many of the officers, however, showed more anxiety to get to town, than in the practice and study of their new profession; a fact which the colonel was not slow to recognize, and took pains to correct, as far as he could. The men were fed as at Chestnut Grove by, a contractor, but the officers were obliged to look out for themselves, and joined a mess at the hotel near by, where most of our evenings were spent when not on duty. The landlord’s daughters were extremely popular, and no officer of the Fifty-seventh, I think, will easily forget them. Individually, I found camp life altogether fascinating, and never left it except in case of necessity. I drilled the company, and studied night and day, both tactics and army regulations, looked after every detail, and, as a rule, was in command, the captain generally being in the city.

Several days after the organization of the regiment, I was officer of the guard, and received the first notice from the colonel. At the guard house there were only fifteen old smooth bore muskets, the regiment not being armed; in consequence, about half the guard were without arms. Soon after guard mounting, I received word that the colonel was at the hotel, and would shortly arrive in camp. This threw us all into a flutter of excitement, as the guard must be turned out on the approach of the commanding officer. As we wanted to make a good impression, we fell in for a preliminary effort, giving all the arms we had to the men in the front rank; after going through the regular form we stacked arms and awaited developments. In a few minutes the colonel put in an appearance. The guard fell in, took arms, opened ranks, and as he came up, presented arms and stood steady. The colonel acknowledged the salute, and walked entirely around the guard, examining their dress accoutrements and set up; and upon his inspection being completed, complimented me on its appearance, saying the men looked well, and he was pleased with our performance. Then he added, “Who told you to put all the arms in the front rank?” I said I had no orders for doing so, but thought we made a better appearance than if they were scattered through the ranks. “Yes, you showed good sense,” he said, and walked off. We were all much tickled with our success.

In the course of a week, an orderly came to my tent in the afternoon, and said the colonel wished to see me. Very much concerned, I reported to him at once, when to my relief, he demanded to know whether I could form the regiment for dress parade? I said yes; he then explained that Fiske, the adjutant, would not be there that evening, and that he had asked me to take his place from my success as an officer of the guard. I was delighted, and felt like a major-general. To be selected out of so great a number of officers, for such a duty, was very wonderful, and I went back and read the regulations over and over again. At the time appointed I formed the regiment easily enough, the drum corps beat oft, and without any error I went through the regular formula, and turned the command over to the colonel. After a few manœuvers, the officers were called up, some instructions given, and the regiment dismissed in regular form. On the way from the parade ground the colonel congratulated me on my success, and said he was glad to find I had studied the regulations. He seems to be a most unaffected, amiable, and matter-of-fact man, with an eye that glitters and looks you through and through. On the 5th of November we received arms, Enfield muskets; and sent out invitations to our friends, and those of the regiment, to join us in a celebration on the 7th inst., in honor of the presentation of colors to the regiment, by the City of New York. We made great preparations for this event, including a special railway train from the ferry to camp, and it proved to be a great success. Many distinguished people were present, among them Quartermaster-General Arthur, the personal friend of the colonel. There was a capital lunch, with all the champagne they could drink. I was disappointed in not seeing some of my dear friends present, but finding in the captain’s daughter a very beautiful and charming girl about seventeen, a kindred spirit, was soon lost in a desperate flirtation. Late in the afternoon, the whole body of officers, accompanied their guests to the railway station, and sent them off with vociferous cheers. The colors were very handsome: from the city, a large blue silk, gold fringed, and embroidered flag, with the arms of the city, two blue silk guidons also embroidered and fringed, and a plain United States flag, from the Government.

The day after the reception, orders were issued to prepare to start for the seat of war on the 12th, and immediately all became bustle and confusion. This time we were not going on a picnic excursion for three months, but for years, if necessary, and it seemed a very serious affair. I went home for a last visit in the afternoon, and remained all night, dressed very finely in full uniform, and enjoyed an informal reception, when I met almost every one I knew.

Early on the morning of the 12th, the regiment paraded for inspection, when everything not allowed by the regulations was thrown out, much to the chagrin of the men. After dinner the regiment marched out of camp, with prolonged and hearty cheers for Camp Lafayette, the landlord and his family, and for every one else who happened to be about, headed for the Staten Island Ferry, whence it was transferred by the steamer Kill von Kull direct to Amboy, New Jersey, where soon after our arrival, a train of baggage and emigrant cars backed down the track of the Camden and Amboy Railroad, and the regiment entrained promptly, and was soon en route for the capitol. We received some attention from the crowd, but now war is getting to be a regular business, and new regiments are leaving for the front every day, so we received the applause of only those who chanced to be in the neighborhood at the time. I felt very different to what I did in April. The regiment looked well, was fully armed, clothed and equipped, and officered, for the most part, by as fine a body of gentlemen as ever exchanged a civil for a military life. We were especially fortunate in having many officers thoroughly well up in tactics, and having in the ranks over a hundred old soldiers, who had served in the regular army of either the United States or Great Britain. All who know anything of the service will appreciate the advantage of having these old soldiers to instruct the recruits in the many details that can never be learned theoretically.

At eight A. M. November 13th we reached Philadelphia, the entire regiment leaving the train to partake of coffee and sandwiches in the immense sheds adjacent to the depot, contributed by the noble generosity of the ladies of that city. The coffee was good, and the sandwiches too, served by volunteers in the nicest manner. We learned that not to us alone was their bounty extended, but to every regiment passing through the city on the way to the front. How great an undertaking this was may be imagined, as night and day, one continuous and uninterrupted stream of troops flowed through the city for weeks and months.

As we marched out of the sheds back to the train, we gave a hearty cheer for our benefactors, and continued our journey, much improved in condition. After sundry mishaps and delay, we arrived late in Washington, on Thursday morning, the 14th, when we marched to Camp Wilder on the Bladensburg turnpike, a couple of miles out of town. Here we were assigned to a provisional brigade commanded by Brigadier-General Casey, of tactics fame, for the purpose of discipline and instruction, and settled down to solid, hard work, drilling by squads, company, battalion, and brigade, every fine day, while study and instruction in tactics, army regulations, military usages and administration took up most of the evenings; few leaves to visit town were granted, and so we made much progress in our new career.

While thus at work we found time to become au fait once again with the general situation of the war, which had been completely lost sight of, while organizing the regiment at home. The most conspicuous object that confronted us was the immense number of camps within sight, everywhere were regiments of infantry, cavalry, and artillery, all doing just what we were doing. The difference between the first collection of militia, and these troops was remarkable. The first army had that unmistakable summer militia encampment appearance, with its great variety of fancy uniforms, made for show and not for service. Familiarity of officers and men, and an utter lack of military bearing. The streets and hotels of Washington, in the early spring days, were filled with men in uniform, officers and enlisted men promiscuously together, all bent upon having a jolly time.

Everything is now changed to a sober, steady reality; few men or officers are granted leave; all wear the same uniform, and begin to look as though they had never worn anything else. Officers are not permitted, if they desire, to associate with enlisted men in public; not but what many of the enlisted men are the equals of many of the commissioned officers, but that discipline cannot be preserved, if the officer does not hold himself aloof.

Since the expiration of the three months’ regiment service, new troops have been pouring into this place daily, until they number now over one hundred and eighty thousand men, with two hundred and forty-eight guns. General McClellan succeeded General McDowell, and is in supreme command of the troops and the defences of Washington; and has already reduced this chaotic mass of men into something like an organization. Prior to his assumption of control, the troops occupying the defences of Washington had little or no relation to each other. Commanders of forts refused to obey any orders but those of the commander-in-chief. Colonels were independent, and of the troops holding the line of works surrounding the capitol, there was none to assume general charge. This dangerous state of things exists no longer; regiments are brigaded, and brigades formed into divisions, the tactical unit at present, and so are easily controlled and directed from the general headquarters.

The system of organization now requires all troops freshly arriving, to go into camps of instruction on this side of the river. Here they are inspected, and any deficiency in appointments and equipment made good, their instruction and discipline attended to, and as soon as they are thought to be efficient, they are sent across the Potomac and permanently assigned to brigades in the new army of the Potomac, where instruction in permanent camps, continues night and day, and where they have a chance to become acquainted with the commander, and the other regiments of the brigade.

It is not proposed to move until this army has become thoroughly drilled and disciplined, so whenever it does move, great things may be expected of it. It is a magnificent military school, where we can’t help but learn everything worth knowing in the art of war.

Amongst other things, the men of the regiments have to do all their own cooking, which is an entirely new experience for them. Every company details two or more men permanently for this duty, and it is expected they will soon be able to serve the men with palatable and well cooked food. The rations are liberal, and of sufficient variety to secure more than good health; abundance of good food tends to good morals and discipline, and so, from this point of view we are very lucky.

Occasionally some of the officers from the Virginia side come over to see us. They speak with enthusiasm of their canvas quarters and log huts, and say they are fast becoming a splendid army, everybody in the best of spirits, studying and working night and day, to make themselves as useful as possible.

The artillery service is receiving especial attention. At Bull Run I understand we had only nine batteries; to-day we have ninety-two batteries ready for service, thanks to the energy of General W. F. Barry, who is chief of artillery. The few engineers of the old army have been supplemented by two New York regiments, the Fifteenth and Twentieth, which as engineer troops are probably equal to any, as there is not a man in the ranks who is not a trained mechanic, and all the officers are engineers. A pontoon train and bridges are under construction, so that we shall be prepared for every emergency. General Stoneman is in command of the cavalry and that branch of the service is quite as active as the others. Most of these regiments come from the West, I notice, but there are a few from New York and Pennsylvania.

I got some idea while on this side of the river of the magnitude of the works, built and building, to protect the capital: the line is thirty-three miles in extent, completely enclosing the city. Many immense forts and enclosed redoubts are on the line, some of them beautifully finished; they are so formidable as a whole, there is little danger that they can ever be taken; the troops have built most of them, and are still at work, so the men are learning the art of fortification, as well as tactics. General Barnard is the chief engineer in charge of fortifications.

The prediction is made here that the army of the Potomac will be ready to take the field by January, but on account of the poor roads in Virginia, it is not likely that a movement will be made until early spring. If this is the case, and the army has the whole winter for instructions we shall be the equal of any regular army known. What a splendid opportunity it will be for McClellan, who is only thirty-four years old, with immortality almost within his grasp: we are led to believe he is a great man, but most of us discount the ridiculous panegyrics that the daily papers are loaded up with every day. Outside of the fact that the general is an excellent organizer, nothing else is known of his abilities in the field, as he has never had any experience on such a scale, and cannot know himself what he will do. That he will have a formidable, well drilled, disciplined, and willing army, is certain. All else, the future alone can determine. The general is a graduate of the military academy, was a lieutenant of engineers, and served as such in the Mexican War, 1846-47. He was in the Crimea in 1855, observing the operation of the Siege of Sebastopol, on the part of the United States. More recently, he has been engaged in civil life as a railroad man, until the opening of the rebellion. He is rather small, but solid, and seems to have plenty of good sense. He has the good will of the whole country, and a glorius opportunity for writing his name indelibly on the pages of his country’s history.