Friday, June 5, 2015

Colonel Charles Russell Lowell to John M. Forbes, February 24, 1864

Giesboro' Point, Feb. 24, '64.

 I left Vienna, not from choice, but because I had to. I am sent over here to straighten out the Cavalry Depot, — the Depot which supplies all the Eastern Departments. There has been no head here, and there was a sad want of system. They say at the War Department, at the Cavalry Bureau, and at General Augur's Headquarters, that I should only be here two or three months, — in that case I shall not object. There is a great deal of work to be done, and I am getting interested in it, — but shall leave when I get the machine fairly running. The command of 16,000 to 25,000 indifferent (or worse) horses is not much for glory.1

About going into active service I cannot tell: I wrote to General Gregg and got answer that he would apply to Pleasanton for the Regiment and could probably get it, — I have heard nothing more.2
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1 The official documents show the activity of the brigade during the later months of 1863, scouting parties and counter raids and picket attacks, of which I mention a few specimens: —

October 13. Colonel Lowell reports a scouting expedition he had made through Thornton, Herndon Station, Frying Pan, to Gum Spring, — nothing found. Reports Captain Rumery's (Second Cavalry) encounter with White's men, capturing one man and three horses from them.

October 22. Colonel Baker (under Colonel Lowell's orders) reports that a detachment of his command, and one from the Californians in the Second Massachusetts, met some of Mosby's men near Fairfax; killed one, and captured “the three celebrated guerrillas, Jack Barns, Edwin Stratton, and Bill Hanover,” whom he forwarded to the Old Capitol Prison.

October 19. Mosby reports to Stuart a very successful raid on an army-train near Annandale; that he captured over one hundred horses and mules, wagons with stores, seventy-five to one hundred prisoners, arms, etc., with no loss. Then comes a rumour of another great invasion by Lee and Longstreet about to occur, and General Pleasanton sends General Gregg to operate with Colonel Lowell at Fairfax. General Corcoran reports to Washington that Lowell is scouring the country. It proves that there is no invasion.

October 27. Mosby reports that, the night before, he attacked the centre of a long wagon-train hauling supplies for the army to Warrenton. His men unhitched the teams from more than forty wagons, and ran off one hundred and forty-five horses and mules and “thirty negroes and Yankees.” “I had forty men.”

November 5. Mosby reports that he has killed Kilpatrick's division commissary, and captured an adjutant, five men, six horses, etc.

November 17. Colonel Lowell reports one sergeant and three men of the Thirteenth New York Cavalry captured by rebels — twenty or thirty, in Union overcoats, advancing to the sentries with a pretended pass, — wounded one man.

November 22. Mosby reports that, since November 5, he has captured seventy-five cavalrymen, over one hundred horses and mules, six wagons, etc.

Each of these raids, at a new place, in a wide region, was followed by a pursuit; but the freebooters had scattered in every direction, having no camp, only to muster again when ordered.

November 26. Colonel Lowell reports a reconnoissance by one of his captains, with twenty-five mounted and seventy-five dismounted men (the latter concealed as far as possible, and marching chiefly by night), towards the Blue Ridge; Yankee Davis and Binns (a rebel deserter) as guides. Colonel Lowell, later, with one hundred mounted men, joins these at Middleburg.

December 13. Colonel Lowell reports: This morning, at about three o'clock, the picket at Germantown were surprised by a party of guerrillas, dismounted, some twenty strong. They crawled up and shot (without any warning), mortally wounding two men and capturing five horses and their equipments.”

December 20. Colonel Lowell reports a reconnoissance led by him, on the 18th, on the trail of Rosser's and White's large force, which had cut telegraph lines and burned bridges, and gone farther. On his way back he chased some of Mosby's men, and brought in two prisoners and sixteen horses.

December 21. Colonel Lowell reports twenty to thirty guerrillas near his camp the night before, who attacked one of his picket stations, got four horses and wounded two men. The same night they attacked an officer and his escort on Fairfax Road, and wounded two. “One of the wounded men, near Hunter's Mill, was shot a second time through the body by a guerrilla, after he had surrendered and given up his pistol. Party sent in pursuit, but to no purpose.”

December 27. Colonel Lowell reports a scout to Leesburg by fifty men of the Thirteenth New York Cavalry, guided by Binns, who had deserted the Confederates. They searched houses, and brought in eight prisoners, “among them Pettingall (a notorious scout), Joe White, Bridges (one of Mosby's men), and Beavers, with other suspicious citizens pointed out by Binns.” Had a few shots at distant parties.

December 31. Colonel Lowell reports the return of his parties sent on extensive scouting expeditions to Hopewell's Gap, White Plains, Middleburg, Upperville, Philomont, Dranesville, etc. It was supposed that clothing was to be issued to the rebels, but they did not appear at the place specified. A party fell in with some of Mosby's men and some Virginia cavalry; captured one captain, one lieutenant, seventeen privates, forage contractor, and ten suspicious citizens, most of whom were thought to be recruits or conscripts.

The above reports, taken from the Rebellion Record, show how constant and exacting was the service of holding the guerrilla bands in check.

The views of the General-in-Chief on the “Partisans,” as tried by the standard of military ethics, is shown in the following extracts from an official letter of Major-General Halleck: —


washington, Oct. 28, 1863.

Most of the difficulties are caused by the conduct of the pretended non-combatant inhabitants of the country. They pretend to act the part of neutrals, but do not. They give aid, shelter, and concealment to guerrilla and other bands, like that of Mosby, who are continually destroying our roads, burning our bridges, and capturing wagon-trains. If these men carried on a legitimate warfare, no complaint would be made. On the contrary, they fight in citizen's dress, and are aided in all their rascalities by the people of the country. As soon as they are likely to be caught they go home, put out their horses, hide their arms, and pretend to be quiet and non-combatant farmers.  . . . It is not surprising that our people get exasperated at such men and shoot them down when they can. Moreover, men who act in this manner in disguise and within our lines have, under the laws of civilized warfare, forfeited their lives. (Rebellion Record, xxix, ii, 347.)


General Stoneman, in a letter from the Cavalry Bureau to Colonel Kelton, A. A. G., written Oct. 30, 1863, tells of the enormous numbers of sick, disabled, and unserviceable horses there, and of the wilful or necessary neglect of them, and their misuse or overuse in the field and camp.

The average issue per month to the Army of the Potomac was 6000. In the details of the number of horses he lately issued to different commands, were only one hundred to Colonel Lowell, against much larger numbers to others. [Yet the guerrilla-hunting service was very destructive to horses.] General Stoneman writes : —

“There are 223 regiments of cavalry in the service. Of these, 36 are in the Army of the Potomac. At the rate horses are used up in that army, it would require 435,000 a year to keep the cavalry of that army up.”


2 Colonel Lowell's letters during the winter and spring are very few, because his wife was now with him in camp, and his military duties were many. He still commanded the brigade, with headquarters at Vienna. Of his own regiment, the battalions commanded by Major Forbes and Captain Read were there; Major Thompson with his battalion being stationed on the Maryland side of the Potomac, guarding that approach to Washington. From Vienna, picketing and scouting parties went out against the ever-active foe.

On Feb. 4, 1864, a painful incident — desertion to the enemy by a private of the Second Massachusetts Cavalry — occurred. I tell the story as told to me by Mrs. Lowell and some of the officers. There was in the regiment, as has been said, besides the Californians and the better class of the Massachusetts contingent, unfortunately a bad element of would-be bounty-jumpers and roughs still present, and desertions had been frequent. An example of severe punishment was needed for the good of the service, yet deserters had been pardoned by the President. One night a picket-guard deserted off post,” taking his horse, arms, and accoutrements with him. Very soon after, a scouting party of the regiment returning from Aldie were attacked in rear by Mosby's men. Making a counter-charge, the soldiers recognized the renegade among the enemy. A rush was made for him, and he was run down and taken. Colonel Lowell at once summoned a “drumhead court-martial,” which sat all night, and condemned the man to be shot at ten o'clock the next morning. It was done with all the attendant circumstances usual at military executions, to make the incident an impressive one to the brigade. The regiments were drawn up, forming three sides of a hollow square on the drill-ground, and the prisoner, guarded, and accompanied by the chaplain, and preceded by his coffin and the firing-party, was marched slowly, to solemn military music, around the inside of the square, so that each man could see his face, and then shot.

It not being warranted by the Army Regulations for a subordinate officer to call a “Drumhead Court-martial” and execute its sentence, except in case of emergency, when too far away to communicate with his superiors, and Colonel Lowell being in daily communication with headquarters at Washington, he expected, on reporting the matter that afternoon, to receive at least a severe reprimand. On the contrary, no mention was made of it at all. The fact probably was that General Augur, and Mr. Stanton, who would naturally be consulted in such a case, were both pleased at Colonel Lowell's action, for if the case had been referred to Washington, the President would probably have pardoned the man, who was young and infatuated of a Southern girl; but they could not commend Colonel Lowell for going beyond the authority of the regulations, therefore deemed silence the best means of expressing their approval.

Feb. 20. A severe disaster befell the regiment. A large party, under Captain Read of California, a much valued officer, on their return from a two-days scout, were ambuscaded and routed by Mosby, the captain and nine men were killed, many were wounded, and two officers and fifty-five men were taken, — more than half the command.

March 8. The First Battalion ordered to relieve the Second Battalion in Maryland, the latter rejoined the regiment. Several officers of the Second Massachusetts were commissioned in the Fourth and Fifth Massachusetts Cavalry — a serious loss to the regiment.

April 8. Colonel Lowell returned and resumed command of the Brigade, and, soon after, three expeditions were made into the neighbouring counties, resulting in the capture of thirty-five officers and men of Mosby's command, and of twenty-five thousand dollars' worth of cotton, wool, blockade-run goods, and Mosby's papers were found in one of his hiding places.

April 18. Major Forbes brought in six prisoners, taken when on the point of burning some bridges.

April 19. Colonel Lowell reports to Washington on the enemy's forces and the amount of corn in Loudoun County, and brings in eleven prisoners.

April 23. Colonel Lowell reports an attack on his pickets. His truthfulness in giving evidence, even against his command, and his absence of all brag, make all his reports remarkable, in contrast to many others of officers on both sides.

April 26. General Tyler writes to General Augur, now commanding the Department, about some expedition about to start from Washington: “With Colonel Lowell in command of the cavalry, I have no fear of trouble.”

Early in May, the regiment furnished a patrol for the Orange and Alexandria R. R.

May 18. Major Forbes conducted a successful night expedition to Rectortown with two hundred men, and returned with ten guerrillas and thirty horses.

June. Early in the month, a large part of the regiment went with ambulances, to help bring in the wounded left in the Wilderness after the battle.

July 6. The regiment suffered another severe disaster, largely due, like that of Captain Read, to the party's being ordered to remain out for a considerable time, visiting certain towns, which allowed time for the hostile inhabitants to send word to Mosby of the exact number of men in the command, and to direct him where to find them. Colonel Lowell reported that he had sent Major Forbes, with one hundred and fifty men, on a three-days scout towards the gaps in the Blue Ridge, with orders to visit Leesburg on two days. Major Forbes found all quiet, and on the second day learned that Mosby was absent on a raid north of the Potomac; next day he returned to Leesburg, found all quiet, and, in accordance with his orders, began his return march towards Vienna. Meanwhile Mosby, returning from his raid, had been notified of the strength and probable whereabouts of the command, and with a force of two hundred men or more, and a gun, came suddenly upon them at Zion's Church, near Aldie, and opened fire with his gun. The result was a victory for the Partisan force, who killed forty men of the Second Massachusetts and Thirteenth New York Cavalry, wounded many, and took about one hundred horses. From the accounts of officers there engaged, I add the following. While Major Forbes was feeding and resting his command in a field on the edge of some woods, his vedettes brought in word of Mosby's force being close at hand. He had hastily mounted and formed his squadrons, when the large guerrilla force appeared before them and sent a shell among them. This was an absolutely novel experience to men and horses, who till then had never faced artillery, and made them very unsteady, especially the new squadrons. The obvious and necessary move was an instant charge with the sabre, but a stiff fence before them rendered this impracticable without moving the command. The first squadron behaved well as long as they faced the enemy, but the moment Major Forbes gave the order “Fours right,” to shift to a possible charging ground, the spell was broken, and the men began to break away from the rear. Mosby's men, who had taken down a panel or two of the fence meantime, under cover of the gun, “got the yell” on their opponents, rushed in on their flank with the revolver, and, in spite of efforts of their officers to rally them, the greater part of the command fled. Many were shot in close pursuit. Major Forbes, with a few of the best soldiers, charged and fought gallantly, but these were overpowered or killed. The major ran his sabre into the shoulder of a Captain Richards, and it flew from his hands. At that moment Colonel Mosby shot at him at close range, but the ball fortunately was stopped by the head of his horse thrown up at that minute. The horse fell dead, pinioning Major Forbes to the ground, and helpless, with half a dozen pistols at his temples, he had to surrender. Lieutenant Amory was taken with him. They were at once robbed of part of their clothing and their boots, but when their captors undertook to search Major Forbes's pockets, he is reported to have said they might have his brains, but he meant to keep what money he had, and ordered them to carry him to their officers. Some one of these prevented any further outrage, but the officers had to walk “stocking foot” on the first day's march towards a Southern prison.

Years after, Colonel Mosby, in a newspaper article, said: “One of the regiments I most frequently encountered was from about Boston, the Second Massachusetts Cavalry, Colonel Lowell. I once met a detachment of it under command of a Major Forbes of Boston, and although our encounter resulted in his overthrow, he bore himself with conspicuous gallantry, and I saw him wound one of my best men with his sabre.”

The day after the fight, Rev. Charles A. Humphreys, the chaplain of the Second Cavalry, who was with the expedition and had bravely stayed by a mortally wounded private until his death, was, while burying the body, in spite of his cloth, captured and robbed by a young guerrilla, and sent to join Forbes and Amory in prison.

SOURCE: Edward Waldo Emerson, Life and Letters of Charles Russell Lowell, p. 315-6, 445-55

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