Chapter 36 - On The March

CHAPTER XXXVI

ON THE MARCH

The men would occasionally flounder around in the water, puffing and blowing something after the manner of P. T. Barnum’s Sea Lion.  It afforded those who watched Howard’s men crossing, considerable amusement, although had we been compelled to ford the river, it certainly would not have been so amusing.

Three men of the 1^st Division of the Corps were drowned in fording the stream.  They were fished out by their comrades, and laid out upon the bank, covered over with blankets.  They were buried the same night by the pioneer corps attached to the 1^st Division or our Corps.

After the bridge was repaired sufficiently to admit the artillery to be taken across, we fell in and resumed our march.

Well do we remember that march, the sun had disappeared and the moon and stars thickly studded heaven’s azure arch, breaking forth the beauties and charms of nature, in all its grandeur and greatness.

The boys fully entered into the spirit of the scene, and they made the air resound with patriotic songs, prominent among which were:

“Rally around the Flag, boys” and “We are coming Father Abraham, three hundred thousand more.”

We did not get into camp until after 10 o’clock at night.

Those of us who were not compelled to be on duty, unslung knapsacks, made our bed upon old mother earth and were soon sound asleep, forgetting the cares and fatigues of the day.

Next morning at half-past four o’c1ock reveille was beat and by five o’clock the whole Division and Corps was in motion.

The writer awoke with a swelled face and a stiff neck, having developed a first-class case of mumps, which caused moving to be very painful, and had it not been for the kindness of Capt. Davis and Lieut. Schroyer who carried our gun and knapsack, we would not have been able to keep up with the command.  The Colonel ordered the Doctor to give us a pass to ride in an ambulance, but by the means of the officers help we were able to keep us.

At about 10 o’clock we heard an artillery ­shot fired to our left and soon orders were given for the regiment to deploy as skirmishers.

Capt. Tourison of Company E, got behind a tree, we all thought that he had got down to pray, and we felt a little frightened, supposing that we would get into a battle right off.  We soon discovered that the Captain had one of his spells, an event which always took place before a battle.

The regiment was deployed on the left of the road, while the remainder of the Brigade deployed to our right, and thus on the 30^th of April, 1863 our company did the first skirmishing.  The underbrush and woods were very dense and our progress through it was very slow.

On our right the occasional discharge of artillery and small arms indicated that the rebels were in their front, and that we might come upon them at any moment.

Never will we forget the scene that took place in those woods on that eventful day.  The regiment was drawn up in line, and the order was given to “Load at will.”

Instantly the jingle of six hundred rammers attested the readiness of the men to meet any emergency.  The quick sharp click of the locks gave notice that the loading had been com­pleted.

The regiment continued to move cautiously forward until about three o’clock when we came upon part of the 5^th Corps, when we were moved out in the road and moved up in the front of the Chancellorsville House, at a place called Shady grove.

Here great caution was exercised on the part of the officers in forming out our line and considerable time was spent in making all the necessary arrangements.

After the regiment stacked arms, we were ordered to put up our tents in the rear of the company stacks and the men were very particularly charged not to straggle or stray away.

After everything was satisfactorily arranged some of our boys walked over to the “little” brick house, known as the Chancellorsville House, then occupied by the family of the rebel Col. Sidney White.

The large plain to the south-east of the house was liter­ally covered with troops moving into position, and consisted in part of the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 5th, 11th and 12th Corps, which had formed a juncture and were now being, as rapidly as possible, formed in position to await further developments.

The sight witnessed that afternoon from the gentle eminence was one never to be forgotten.  Hundreds of battle flags streamed gracefully in the evening breeze, gaily caparisoned chargers, danced and pranced, held in curb by men who knew the mettle of the steeds, Corps commanders followed by their staff and escort moved hither and yon, while the declining sun shed its luster over the tens of thousands of glittering arms and the necessary accouterments.

As we cast our eyes over the wide expanse, so thickly thronged with men and the munitions of war, we came to the con­clusion that if we could not defeat the Rebel Army and force the South to return their allegiance to the Government of their fathers, that we might about as well go home and give it up for a bad job.

A number of the members of the company were in the hospital at the present time, among which we remember Serg’t Stuck, who had the small-pox, D. W. Gross and John Matter both of whom were sick with typhoid fever, of which John Matter had died in the Division hospital at Aquia Landing, on the 29^th inst. making the third death in the company since we had left Harrisburg.

John Matter was raised in the upper part of Snyder county, and at the time of his death was in the 19th year of his age.  Quiet and unassuming, always ready and willing to perform the task allotted to him.

His death occurred under painful circumstances and as re­lated to us afterwards by an eye witness, or rather one who came into the hospital soon after his death occurred, and was as follows:

Matter had been delirious for several days and imagined, owing to the terrible fever in his head, that he had a fire in his throat.

He had called several times for water and the nurse had gone to get him some, and remained out some little time, and when he returned, he found him dead, with his right hand tightly clutched around his throat, plainly indicating the manner he came to his death.

He was the first one of our company that was buried in Dixie, in a strange land and among strangers, far away from his kith and kin, where no fond mother could bedew with the tears of affection, the sod which covered the last resting place of her loved one.  He was buried in the hospital burying ground at Aquia Landing.

In the evening at roll call, M. L. Parks was detailed to take charge of Capt. Tourison’s old gray horse, which was trans­formed into a packhorse for the company officers in the regi­ment.

After taps sounded the lights were soon put out and boys quietly sought their beds.  The excitement during the day had the effect to drive all sleep from us, and there under those grand old trees we lay meditating upon and talking with our messmates and comrades of the probabilities of the approaching battle, which all felt would in all probability take place within a few days at the farthest.