Diary of Corporal Lawrence Van Alstyne: Tuesday, October 7, 1862

On duty at a place called "Monitor Mills." Have three men with me. It is only a little way out of camp, and all we have to do is to stay here for twenty-four hours, and change the guard every two hours. I have no idea why it is, but it is fun compared to drilling, and I am glad to be here.

A soldier has just gone from here who was in the battle of Antietam. He filled us full of tall stories, some of them so tall they would hardly go down. But if the half he said is true, we know little of real soldiering. Life in camp, he says, is a picnic compared with field duty. If he was as good at fighting as he is at talking about it, the Rebellion should have been squelched long ago. He made me think of some men I know, who can hardly wait to get at the Rebs, and yet who have managed to shirk everything they can in the way of duty or danger.

SOURCE:  Lawrence Van Alstyne, Diary of an Enlisted Man, p. 45-6

Diary of Corporal Lawrence Van Alstyne: Friday, October 10, 1862

The air is full of rumors to-day that we are to go somewhere, and that very soon, yet no one seems to be able to trace them. Experience has taught us that we won't know for certain when we go until we start, nor where we go until we get there. Train-loads of soldiers keep going past, and have been going past nearly every day since we came here. Seems to me I never saw such a dry place. Everything is so coated with dust it is impossible to tell its original color. From appearances, the country all about us is dried up and dead. A wounded soldier has been here from the hospital. He was at Antietam—was shot through the arm, which is still in a sling. But the most wonderful thing was that as he was going off the field another ball hit him, or rather hit a pocket Testament in his breast pocket, and was stopped against the back cover, after going through the front cover and the rest of the book. He had both the ball and the Testament to show. What a sermon could be preached with that book and bullet for a text!

SOURCE:  Lawrence Van Alstyne, Diary of an Enlisted Man, p. 47

Diary of Corporal Lawrence Van Alstyne, September 19, 1862

Reports are that a great battle has been fought at Antietam, and a great victory won. Do they tell us this to keep up our courage, or has the beginning of the end really come? To-morrow we have the promise of going on picket duty. Good! anything for a change. It will give me something to write about in my diary, if nothing more. Things are getting rather monotonous, and any change will be good for us, provided it is not for the worse. Prayer meeting every night now. Chaplain Parker seems in dead earnest. He wants us all to be ready to die. Then, he says, if death don't come, we will be in better shape to live. Very few of the officers attend prayer meeting, though they encourage the men to do so.

SOURCE:  Lawrence Van Alstyne, Diary of an Enlisted Man, p. 31

Diary of Corporal Lawrence Van Alstyne, September 30, 1862

Battalion-drill to-day. It was just as hot as yesterday, and some say hotter. The lieutenant colonel, James Smith, came last night, and has taken charge of our military education. He has been in the service, and was in the battle of Antietam. Some say he is a West Pointer. At any rate we have a drillmaster who understands his business. One thing that has already made him dear to us is that he makes the officers come to time just as well as the men. He told them, in so many words, that they had as much to learn as we. If he holds out as he has started off, he will stand well with the rank and file, however he may stand with the officers. Hurrah for Colonel Smith!

SOURCE:  Lawrence Van Alstyne, Diary of an Enlisted Man, p. 41

Diary of Corporal John W. Dennett, September 16, 1862

Started at six A.M., and marched through Boonsborough and Petersborough to Antietam. Saw a squad of rebel prisoners on the road. Ten miles.

SOURCE: John Lord Parker, Henry Wilson's Regiment: History of the Twenty-second Massachusetts Infantry, the Second Company Sharpshooters and the Third Light Battery, in the War of the Rebellion, p. 267

Diary of Musician David Lane, September 21, 1862

Maryland Heights, Va., September 21st, 1862.

Toward evening of the 13th we left Frederic City and marched out on the National Turnpike toward South Mountain, and halted for supper and a few hours rest near Middleton. It was nearly midnight. We had made a rapid march of several miles, and were tired, and hungry as wolves. Hardly had we stacked arms when Lieutenant Rath inquired: "Where's John Conley?" John could not be found; he was already off on an expedition of his own. "Well, then," said Rath, "send me the next best thief; I want a chicken for my supper."

Our foragers soon returned; the Lieutenant got his chicken, and we privates were fairly well supplied with the products of the country. It strikes me as a little strange, the facility with which a soldier learns to steal his grub. It must be the effect of heredity. Perhaps, in the dim past, when our ancestors went on "all fours," and roamed the forests in search of food; possibly at a more recent date, but before a name was given to the deed; they formed the habit of taking what they wanted wherever it could be found, provided they had the physical power, or mental cunning, to accomplish it, and this habit, thus formed, became instinct, and was transmitted to their descendants. At daylight we were on the move, headed for South Mountain. We had an inkling—how obtained I do not know; mental telepathy, perhaps, that occult, mysterious power that enables us to divine the most secret thoughts of men-that a mass meeting was to be held on that eminence to discuss the pros and cons of secession, and that we, the Seventeenth, had received a pressing invitation to be present. The Pike was in fine condition. Our men stepped off briskly, with long, swinging strides that carried them rapidly over the ground. We marched in four ranks, by companies, and were led by our gallant Colonel Withington. Company G was seventh from the front, which gave me a view of over half the regiment. And it was good to look upon. Only two weeks from home, our uniforms were untarnished. Dress coats buttoned to the chin; upon our heads a high-crowned hat with a feather stuck jauntily on one side. White gloves in our pockets; a wonder we did not put them on, so little know we of the etiquette of war.

As we neared the mountain, about nine o'clock in the morning, I scanned its rugged sides for indications of the presence of our friends, the enemy, and, as I looked, I saw a puff of smoke, and on the instant a shell sped howling above our heads, bursting some half a mile beyond.

Every man of us "bowed his acknowledgments;" then, as by one impulse, every spine became rigid; every head was tossed in air; as if we would say: "My Southern friend, we did the polite thing that time. No more concessions will you get from us and—may God have mercy on your souls." Of our exploits on South Mountain I will not write. They will be woven into history and will be within the reach of all. About thirty of our brave boys were killed, and over one hundred wounded. Captain Goldsmith was wounded in the shoulder and Lieutenant Somers in the side. A number of Company G boys were wounded, but none were killed in this battle.

Eli Sears, the best, the most universally beloved of the regiment, is dead. He died the second day after the battle. A rifle ball, early in the engagement, struck him in the left breast and passed entirely through him. When I saw him he was so low he could only speak in whispers. He gave me his hand, with a pleasant smile, and told me he had but a few more hours to live. Bitterly do I mourn his loss. So kind, so thoughtful, always preferring another to himself. He died as heroes die, as calm and peaceful as an infant on its mother's breast. Albert Allen, Carmi Boice and Charlie Goodall were in the thickest of the fight and escaped unhurt.

The Seventeenth has been baptised in blood and christened "Stonewall." The battle of Antietam was fought on Wednesday, September 17th, three days after South Mountain. The Seventeenth did not lose so many in killed—eighteen or twenty, I think, although the list is not yet made out—and eighty or ninety wounded. Company G lost three killed, among whom was Anson Darling. We crossed the Antietam River about 1 p. m., and about three o'clock charged up the heights, which we carried, and advanced to near Sharpsburg. Here, our ammunition giving out, we fell back behind the hill and quietly sat down ’mid bursting shells and hurtling balls until relieved. As we sat waiting, a spent ball—a six-pounder—struck a tree in front of us. Not having sufficient momentum to penetrate, it dropped back upon the toe of my comrade on my left. With a fierce oath he sprang to his feet and shouted, "Who the h--l? Oh!"

That night, while on picket, when all my comrades were wrapped in slumber, and silence reigned where, a few hours before, the tumult of battle raged, my willing thought turned to my Northern home. The most vivid pictures arose before me—so real—could they be imagination? And as I gazed upon these fancied visions and pressed them to my soul as a living reality, I asked myself the question, "Can this be homesickness?" The answer came, quick and decisive: No; I have never seen the time—even for one short moment—that I could say to myself, “If I had not enlisted, I would not." On the contrary, if, after the little experience I have had, and the little knowledge I have gained, I had not enlisted, I would do so within the hour.

SOURCE: David Lane, A Soldier's Diary: The Story of a Volunteer, 1862-1865, p. 10-13

Diary of Musician David Lane, September 27, 1862

Antietam, September 27th, 1862.

We have had one week of rest; are encamped three miles from our last battlefields, with a prospect of staying here several weeks. There is much sickness, but nothing of a serious nature. As for myself, I have not seen an hour's sickness since I left Michigan. Our camp is pleasantly situated on a high hill, and the surrounding hills and valleys are white with tents. In the evening, when every tent is lighted up, they present a brilliant and beautiful appearance. Several regiments are supplied with brass bands, which delight us every evening with a "concord of sweet sounds." Last evening the Fiftieth Pennsylvania serenaded the "Bloody Seventeenth," as they call us.

SOURCE: David Lane, A Soldier's Diary: The Story of a Volunteer, 1862-1865, p. 14

Brigadier-General Rutherford B. Hayes to Sardis Birchard, February 19, 1865

CUMBERLAND, MARYLAND, February 19, 1865.

Dear Uncle:— Yours of [the] 17th received today. I will send you five hundred dollars by express tomorrow.

It is in interest-bearing notes. Are they worth any more to you than other funds? We are paid a good deal of it.

A cripple of my regiment from Fremont goes home in [a] day or two. I think he is a first-rate man — Lejune. [He] captured twenty-five Rebels at South Mountain. He was badly wounded at Antietam, and got well just in time to get awfully hurt at Cloyd's Mountain.

Sincerely,

R. B. HAYES.

S. BIRCHARD.

SOURCE: Charles Richard Williams, editor, Diary and Letters of Rutherford Birchard Hayes, Volume 2, p. 559

WASHINGTON, Sept. 25 [1862].

Hon. Eli Thayer’s scheme for colonization by armed men of Southern States meets with much favor by the President, Secretary of war and others.  It has been discussed several times in Cabinet meetings, and will probably soon receive formal official sanction.

The project contemplates an expedition of 10,000 colonists enlisted for 6 months and supplies with transportation, subsistence, arms and a guard by the government, whose business it shall be to hold, occupy and possess the public lands of Florida and other lands belonging to rebels, and seized under the law of the last session of Congress for non-payment of direct tax.

Mr. Thayer promises, if allowed to carry out his plan entire, to bring Florida into the Union as a free State by the first February next.  Texas and Virginia are already talked of as States to be subjected to the same process.

This, like the proclamation of this morning, will be another step in the path of a more vigorous policy which the Administration, in its proclamation of freedom, advertised that it should henceforth pursue.

Surgeon General Hammond has returned from the battle-field of Antietam, where he has been stopping at McClellan’s headquarters.  He thinks the whole number of Union killed will come within 1,200, and from a careful inspection of hospitals and lists of those brought off, judges that the wounded will not exceed 6,000.  Maj. Davis, Assistant Inspector General, informed him that he himself had caused to be buried 3,000 of the rebel dead left on the field from which he estimates their wounded to be at least 10,000.

S[u]rgeon General Hammond saw, as a part of the fruits of our victory, twenty-seven standards, which we captured from the rebel regiments, and also reports among our spoils twenty or thirty thousand small arms, mostly those left by the enemy along the line of their retreat.

A man signing himself R. P. Noble communicated to this evening’s Star a statement, which he professes to make on direct information, that Col. Ford did not evacuate Maryland Heights until he had received the fourth and peremptory order from Col. Miles to do so—and besides, his long range ammunition has been exhausted.  He asks a suspension of opinion.

SOURCES:  The Union Sentinel, Osceola, Iowa, Saturday, October 18, 1862, p. 2, the right side of the article was caught be the seam of the bound newspaper volume and torn on the right side of the column leaving only an average of about 3 to 4 words per line. I was able to do a search on Newspapers.com and found the same article in the Muscatine Weekly Journal, Muscatine Iowa, Friday, October 3, 1862 p. 1. It is this article that I have here transcribed.

In The Review Queue: The Cornfield

The Cornfield:

Antietam's Bloody Turning Point

by David A. Welker

Antietam. For generations of Americans this word—the name of a bucolic stream in western Maryland—held the same sense of horror and carnage that the simple date 9/11 does for modern America. But Antietam eclipses even this modern tragedy as America's single bloodiest day, on which 22,000 men became casualties in a war to determine our nation’s future.

Antietam is forever burned into the American psyche, a battle bathed in blood that served no military purpose, brought no decisive victory. This much Americans know. What they didn't know is why this is so—until now. The Cornfield: Antietam's Bloody Turning Point tells for the first time the full story of the exciting struggle to control “the Cornfield,” the action on which the costly battle of Antietam turned, in a thorough yet readable narrative. It explains what happened in Antietam’s Cornfield and why. Because Federal and Confederate forces repeatedly traded control of the spot, the fight for the Cornfield is a story of human struggle against fearful odds, of men seeking to do their duty, of simply trying to survive. Many of the included firsthand accounts have never been revealed to modern readers and never have they been assembled in such a comprehensive, readable form.

At the same time, The Cornfield offers fresh views of the battle as a whole, arguing that it turned on events in the Cornfield because of two central facts — Union General George McClellan’s linear thinking demanded that the Cornfield must be taken and, because of this, the repeated failure by the generals McClellan charged with fulfilling this task created a self-reinforcing cycle of disaster that doomed the Union's prospects for success—at the cost of thousands of lives.

The Cornfield offers new perspectives that may be controversial—particularly to those who accept unchallenged the views of the battle's first historians and its generals, who too often sought to shape our understanding for their own purposes—but which are certain to change modern understanding of how the battle of Antietam was fought and its role in American history.

About the Author

David Welker is a professional historian and military analyst for the Federal Government. He holds a master's degree in International Affairs from American University and a bachelor's in History and Political Science from Westminster College.

ISBN 978-1612008325, Casemate, © 2020, Hardcover, 384 pages, Photographs & Illustrations, Maps, Appendices: Order of Battle, Union & Confederate Casualties at Antietam, Endnotes, Bibliography & Index. $34.95. To purchase this book click HERE.

Diary of 2nd Lieutenant Luman Harris Tenney: August 27, 1864

Rained last night. Thunder heavy. Moved through Sharpsburg and over the Antietam battle ground. Turned towards Williamsport and camped three miles from Sharpsburg.

SOURCE: Frances Andrews Tenney, War Diary Of Luman Harris Tenney, p. 129

Captain William Thompson Lusk to Elizabeth Adams Lusk, January 20, 1863

79th Regiment,                 

Camp Near Falmouth, Va.,  

Jan. 20th, 1863.

My dear Mother:

Yesterday I wrote Walter and was not a little despondent; to-day we are told that the auspicious moment has arrived. To-morrow we are once more to meet the enemy. All gloomy forebodings engendered by the idleness of camp-life, have vanished before the prospect of impending action. My heart is as light as a feather. Hope is dominant, and I can think only of the glorious result if we are victorious. The gloom that now rests on our country will be lifted, and I already hear citizens repeating with joyous lips: “We are victorious. Not in vain have been our sacrifices. We are proud of the army we have created.” Let then all tongues be hushed that cannot join in the glad paeans of victory. I will not think of defeat. If God is gracious, and granteth success to our arms, let the voice of selfishness be hushed, let there be no house of mourning. Let even mothers say we have given gladly the dearest thing we possessed to win the Nation's rest. I have borne, dear mother, a charmed life, heretofore. Even when conversing with comrades on the battlefield, death has singled them out, and left me unscathed, left me to witness the peril of the nation. What then if now the charm be broken, and my last moments be cheered with the thought of the Nation saved. Then let my mother and those that love me rejoice as I would in the full tide of victory. But should we triumph, and I live to see the end, think of the rapture we all would feel, to think that to a poor worm like me had been vouchsafed the terrors of death, and at this cheap price, been spared to view the glories of salvation to our country. Then think how sweet would be mother's or sister's kiss, or the glad welcome of trusted friends. But living, or fallen among the chosen, I trust if the tidings of victory be heard, all who love me will wear their gayest colors and cheeriest smiles, in the joy at the success of the cause in which the loved one rejoiced to risk his all. With such parting words I can go without a tremor into battle, and fear nothing where God ruleth Supreme.

You remember a year ago I wrote you I had had my likeness taken. Yesterday the impression reached me. I enclose you one now, and will send you by a convenient opportunity quite a number more. I have grown a good deal older since then, but you must take that for granted until I can find an opportunity to show you how the latest edition of your son looks. I will send likewise some views of the battlefield of Antietam, concerning which I will have strange stories to tell when the war is closed, and peace fairly, honorably won.

Affec'y.,

Will.

SOURCE: William Chittenden Lusk, Editor, War Letters of William Thompson Lusk, p. 271-3

Captain William Thompson Lusk to Elizabeth Adams Lusk, December 7, 1862

Camp Near Falmouth, Va.

December 7th, 1862.

My dear Mother:

We are still lying quietly in camp — no signs of a move yet, but general suffering for want of clothes, shoes in especial. The miserable article furnished by the Government to protect the feet of our soldiers seldom lasts more than three or four weeks, so it is easy to understand the constant cry of “no shoes” which is so often pleaded for the dilatoriness of the Army. I am, happily, well provided now, and can assure those of my friends that contributed to the box Capt. brought me, that the box contained a world of comfort for which I heartily thank them. I think I have acknowledged the safe receipt of the box and its contents already, but a letter from Lilly says not. I will write Uncle Phelps that it came all right. I have had a rare treat to-day. Indeed I feel as though I had devoured a Thanksgiving Turkey. At least I have the satisfied feeling of one that has dined well. I did not dine on Peacock's brains either, but — I write it gratefully — I dined on a dish of potatoes. They were cut thin, fried crisp, and tasted royally. You will understand my innocent enthusiasm, when I say that for nearly six weeks previous, I had not tasted a vegetable of any kind. There was nothing but fresh beef and hard crackers to be had all that time, varied sometimes by beef without any crackers, and then again by crackers without any beef. And here were fried potatoes! No stingy heap, but a splendid pile! There was more than a “right smart” of potatoes as the people would say about here. Excuse me, if warming with my theme I grow diffuse. The Chaplain and I mess together. The Chaplain said grace, and then we both commenced the attack. There were no words spoken. We both silently applied ourselves to the pleasant task of destruction. By-and-by there was only one piece left. We divided it. Then sighing, we turned to the fire, and lighted our pipes, smoking thoughtfully. At length I broke the silence. “Chaplain,” said I. “What?” says Chaplain. “Chaplain, they needed SALT!” I said energetically. Chap puffed out a stream of smoke approvingly, and then we both relapsed again into silence.

I see a good deal of Capt. Stevens now, who says were his father only living I would have little difficulty in getting pushed ahead. He, poor fellow, feels himself very much neglected after the very splendid service he has rendered. It is exceedingly consoling, in reading the late lists of promotions made by the War Department, to see how very large a proportion has fallen to the share of young officers whose time has been spent at Fortress Monroe, Baltimore, or anywhere where there has been no fighting done. Perhaps our time may come one of these days, but I trust I may have better luck in the medical profession than at soldiering. However I suppose when I get old, it will be a proud memory to have fought honorably at Antietam and South Mountain, in any capacity. I feel the matter more now, for I have been in the service so long, and so long in the same place, that I am fairly ashamed to visit old friends, all of whom hold comparatively high rank. I do not see why before the first of January though, I should not be the Lt.-Col. of the 79th Regiment. In trying to be Major, I attempted to be frank and honorable, and lost. Now I shall try to act honorably, but mean to try and win.

I feel sad enough about Hannah. You know what inseparable playmates we were when children. God help her safely, whatsoever his will may be.

Love and kisses for all but gentlemen friends.

Affec'y.,

William.

SOURCE: William Chittenden Lusk, Editor, War Letters of William Thompson Lusk, p. 240-2

Official Reports of the Maryland Campaign, September 3-20, 1862: No. 138. – Report of Brig. Gen. Jacob D. Cox, U. S. Army, commanding Ninth Corps, of the Battle of Antietam.

HEADQUARTERS NINTH ARMY CORPS,

Mouth of Antietam, September 23, 1862.

SIR: I have the honor to submit the following report of the movements of the Ninth Army Corps on the 16th instant, and their part in the battle of Sharpsburg on the 17th:

On the evening of the 15th instant the Ninth Army Corps, having been ordered away from the remainder of the right wing, was encamped in the rear of the extreme left of the whole line of the Army of the Potomac, close to the hills on the southeast side of the valley of the Antietam, and on the left of the road from Rohrersville to Sharpsburg.

On the afternoon of the 16th the whole corps, except Willcox's division, was moved forward and to the left and front, by command of Major-General Burnside, in three columns, and took up a new position upon the rear slope of the ridges on the left bank of the Antietam, the center of the corps being nearly opposite the stone bridge over the stream on the above-mentioned road.

The positions assigned the divisions of the command were as follows: The right front to be occupied by Crook's brigade, of the Kanawha Division, supported in rear by Sturgis' division; a commanding knoll in the center to be occupied by Battery E, Second U.S. Artillery, First Lieut. Samuel N. Benjamin commanding, consisting of 20-pounder Parrott guns: the left front to be occupied by Rodman's division, supported in rear by Ewing's brigade, of the Kanawha Division, the whole of the latter division being under the command of Col E. P. Scammon. The columns were conducted to their positions by staff officers of the personal staff of General Burnside. The artillery of the command, except Benjamin's battery, was held in reserve.

Shortly after daybreak on the 17th the enemy's batteries opened upon the batteries of our line, and a brisk artillery fight began, in which Benjamin's battery and Durell's battery (the latter sent forward a little to the right of our position, under charge of Captain Rawolle, by General Sturgis) took an active part, co-operating with batteries of other corps on our right. Two of the enemy's caissons were exploded, and many of their guns silenced. The shot and shell fell thickly in our bivouac, but little damage was done us.

About 7 o'clock orders were received from General Burnside to move forward the corps to the ridge nearest the Antietam, and hold it, in readiness to cross the stream, carrying the bridge and the heights above it by assault. The command was moved forward in column as it had been formed the previous night, and promptly took position as directed, and the light artillery was ordered to cover the movement; McMullin's, Durell's, Clark's, Muhlenberg's, and Cook's batteries being placed on the heights to right and left and somewhat to the front of Benjamin's battery, to which a section of 20 pounders from Simmonds' battery was also temporarily attached. Willcox's division was also brought up and held as a reserve.

About 9 o'clock the order was received to cross the stream. Immediately the Eleventh Connecticut Infantry, Colonel Kingsbury commanding, was detailed from Rodman's division to deploy as skirmishers and drive the enemy from the head of the bridge. The column on the right Crook's brigade, of the Kanawha Division, supported by Sturgis' division) was ordered to march under cover of the Eleventh Connecticut, and attempt to carry the bridge by assault, deploying to right and left as soon as the bridge should be carried, and taking the heights above it. The column on the left (Rodman's division, supported by Ewing's brigade, of the Kanawha Division) was ordered to cross, if possible, by a ford about one-third of a mile below the bridge, take the heights above it, and join the column crossing the bridge.

The bridge itself is a stone structure of three arches, with stone parapet above, this parapet to some extent flanking the approach to the bridge at either end. The valley in which the stream runs is quite narrow, the steep slope on the right bank approaching quite to the water's edge. On this slope the roadway is scarped, running both ways from the bridge end, and passing to the higher land above by ascending through ravines above and below; the other ravine being some 600 yards above the bridge, the turn about half that distance below. On the hillside immediately above the bridge was a strong stone fence running parallel to the stream. The turns of the roadway were covered by rifle-pits and breastworks, made of rails and stone, all of which defenses, as well as the woods which covered the slope, were filled with the enemy's infantry and sharpshooters. Besides the infantry defenses, batteries were placed to enfilade the bridge and all its approaches. The crest of the first hill above the bridge is curved toward the stream at the extremes, forming a sort of natural tete-de-pont. The next ridge beyond rises somewhat higher, though with less regularity, the depression between the two being but slight, and the distance varying in places from 300 to 700 yards.

In accordance with the order mentioned above, the Eleventh Connecticut advanced to the stream and warmly engaged the enemy across it. Crook's brigade in moving forward was brought under so lively an infantry fire, as well as that of artillery, that it was forced to halt and open fire in return, and Sturgis' division, passing by the rear, came first to the bridge, and was ordered to cross under protection of the artillery fire. General Sturgis ordered forward the Second Maryland and Sixth New Hampshire, which charged at double-quick with fixed bayonets, but the concentrated fire upon the bridge forced them to fall back. After repeated brave efforts these regiments were withdrawn, and the Fifty-first New York and Fifty-first Pennsylvania, from the same division, were ordered up.

About the same time Colonel Crook, of the Second Brigade, Kanawha Division, succeeded in getting a section of Simmonds' battery, supported by the Twenty-eighth Ohio Infantry, in position to bear directly upon the enemy's positions at the farther end of the bridge, and, aided by these guns, the fresh troops charged with great enthusiasm, bearing down all opposition, and, at I o'clock, planted their banner on the opposite bank. In this desperate fight in the valley, Colonel Kingsbury, of the Eleventh Connecticut, fell, cheering his men on to duty.

General Sturgis' division immediately marched over, deploying one brigade to the right and the other to the left of the bridge, and advanced up the slope, driving the enemy before them. This division was followed by Colonel Crook's brigade of the Kanawha Division, which took position on the right.

Meanwhile General Rodman's division and the First Brigade of the Kanawha Division, under Colonel Scammon, had succeeded in crossing at the ford below, after a sharp engagement and under a heavy musketry and artillery fire, and successfully took the position assigned at the left of the line of the crest above the bridge. The three divisions of the corps at this time on the right bank of the Antietam occupied the exact positions assigned them before the commencement, except that on the right the division of Sturgis was in front, and Crook's brigade in support of it, the order being reversed by the causes before stated.

The stubbornly contested fight at the bridge having almost exhausted the ammunition and greatly fatigued the troops engaged, I sent a request to General Burnside that Willcox's division, which had been held in reserve on the left bank, might be sent over and take its place on the right front, putting Sturgis' division in reserve at the head of the bridge. This was immediately ordered by General Burnside, and General Willcox came promptly forward with his command. During the interval the enemy kept up an incessant cannonade, and, having the exact range of the valley and the ravines, his shells came in very fast, annoying us a good deal and causing numerous casualties, notwithstanding the men were kept lying on the ground near the crests of the hill while the changes in the line and the partially new formation after the arrival of Willcox's division were being made.

At about 3 o'clock, the necessary changes in the line having been completed, the order to advance was received from General Burnside, and the whole force, except Sturgis' division, was put in motion. General Willcox on the right, his whole division in line and supported by Colonel Crook, was ordered to move on Sharpsburg, which lay about a mile distant to the right of our front. General Rodman, supported by Colonel Scammon, was ordered to move in the same direction, first dislodging the enemy from his front, and then changing direction to the right, bringing his command en echelon on the left of General Willcox. The advance was partly covered by Simmonds', Muhlenberg's, Clark's, and Cook's batteries, the other batteries of the corps being in part out of ammunition, and part being necessarily kept in position on the commanding ground on the left bank of the stream. The troops moved forward in perfect order and with great enthusiasm. On the right, General Willcox and Colonel Crook quickly repulsed the enemy and drove back their artillery, pushing victoriously forward nearly to the village. On the left, General Rodman and Colonel Scammon likewise advanced rapidly, driving the rebels before them. The enemy, however, were manifestly in much greater force than ours, and massed their troops heavily on the extreme left. This necessarily made the line of march of our left wing diverge from the course intended, and opened a gap between it and the right, which it was necessary to fill up by the troops of the second line. Batteries were accumulated against us upon the semicircular ridge in advance, and the advancing line was subject to a most trying and destructive cross-fire of artillery. The enemy now brought up still more fresh troops upon the left, and while General Rodman was making disposition to meet them by a change of front of a part of his command, he fell, desperately wounded by a ball through his breast. The loss of their commander at a critical period caused confusion in a portion of the division on the extreme left.

The Second Brigade of his division, Colonel Harland commanding, was forced to retire after an obstinate contest, in which they suffered terribly.

Colonel Scammon, of the Kanawha Division, being ordered to make dispositions of the brigade with him to oppose the rebel force on the left, caused the Twelfth and Twenty-third Ohio Regiments to execute a perpendicular change of front, which was done with precision and success, the other regiment of the brigade (Thirtieth Ohio) maintaining its proper front. The whole line was now engaged, the supports being brought to the front, except the reserve division of General Sturgis at the bridge. This was now ordered up, and came promptly, though much exhausted and weakened by its previous exertions during the day.

The mass of the enemy on the left still continued to increase; new batteries were constantly being opened upon us, and it was manifest the corps would, without re-enforcements, be unable to reach the village of Sharpsburg, since the movement could not be made to the right whilst the enemy exhibited such force in front of the extreme left, and the attack both to the right and left at once would necessarily separate the wings to such an extent as to imperil the whole movement unwarrantably.

The attack having already had the effect of a most powerful diversion in favor of the center and right of the army, which by this means had been able to make decided and successful advances, and no supports being at the time available for our exhausted corps, I ordered the troops withdrawn from the exposed ground in front to the cover of the curved hill above the bridge, which had been taken from the enemy earlier in the afternoon. This movement was effected shortly before dark, in perfect order and with admirable coolness and precision on the part of both officers and men.

The line as then constituted was formed by Sturgis' division in front on the left, supported by Fairchild's brigade, of Rodman's division; the Kanawha Division, under Colonel Scammon, in the center, and Willcox's division on the right. The enemy did not venture an attack upon the position, but kept up a brisk artillery fire until night-fall.

The bravery and soldierly conduct of the men was most striking, and becomes still more noticeable when it is considered that for several days they had been marching and fighting, with scarcely any rest, by night or day, and the rapidity of the movement had prevented their having any regular supplies of food, the supply train being delayed at the rear by the advance of other troops.

The batteries on the left bank of the Antietam were used not only to assist in the movement of the corps, but also were most efficiently turned upon the enemy in his attacks on the center and right of the army. They were all very well served, and the 20-pounder battery, under Lieutenant Benjamin, was especially efficient.

In their reports (which are transmitted herewith) the commandants of divisions and separate brigades speak in the highest terms of their troops, and make special mention of numbers of officers and men who distinguished themselves. These are too numerous to be named in this report, but the whole list will very shortly be published in a special order from these headquarters. I must confine myself to the expression of my great satisfaction with the manner in which all the subordinate commands of the corps were handled. The movements were accurate as those of a parade, and the systematic order with which they were executed made the spectacle in the heat of the battle a grand and imposing one. Permit me also to express my obligations to the gentlemen on General Burnside's staff for the intelligence, courage, and unwearied industry they exhibited in the constant communication between him and the headquarters of this corps.

The casualties in the corps during the day were 2,222; of which 357 were killed, 1,742 wounded, and 123 missing.* Among numerous officers killed and wounded we have to mourn the loss of Col. Henry W. Kingsbury, Eleventh Connecticut; Lieut. Col. A. H. Coleman, commanding Eleventh Regiment Ohio Volunteers; Lieut. Col. M. Clarke, commanding Thirty sixth Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry, and Lieutenant-Colonel Bell, commanding Fifty-first Pennsylvania. All these gallant officers were killed in the action whilst heroically leading their men, under a terrible fire of shell, canister, and musketry.

Very respectfully, your obedient servant,

J. D. COX,

Brigadier-General, Commanding.

Lieut. Col. LEWIS RICHMOND,

Asst. Adjt. Gen., Hdqrs. Right Wing, Maj. Gen. Burnside Comdg.

_______________

* But see revised statement, p. 198.

SOURCE: The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Series I, Volume 19, Part 1 (Serial No. 27), p. 423-7

Brigadier-General Jacob D. Cox’s Special Orders No. 8, September 28, 1862

SPECIAL ORDERS No. 8.

HEADQUARTERS NINTH ARMY CORPS,        

Mouth of Antietam Creek, Md., September 28, 1862.

The following officers and enlisted men of this command have been honorably mentioned in the official reports of the engagement on the 17th instant, and their names are hereby published as a testimony to their gallant and meritorious conduct in the field and for efficiency in their departments: First Division — Capt. Robert A. Hutchins, assistant adjutant-general; Lieutenants Brackett, James W. Romeyn, and Dearborn, aides-de-camp on General Willcox's personal staff; Cols. B.C. Christ and Thomas Welsh, for the able manner in which they handled their brigades; Capt. William T. Lusk, acting assistant adjutant-general, of Colonel Christ's brigade; Lieut. Samuel N. Benjamin, commanding Battery E, Second U. S. Artillery; Lieut. John N. Coffin and Sergts. William Davis and Newall B. Allen, of the Eighth Massachusetts Battery. Second Division — Capt. H. R. Mighels, assistant adjutant-general; Capt. C. H. Hale, aide, and Capt. W. C. Rawolle, aide-decamp and ordnance officer, all of General Sturgis' staff, for personal gallantry. Also Capt. N. Plato, assistant quartermaster; Capt. F. E. Berier, commissary of subsistence, and Brigade Surg. A. T. Watson, of General Sturgis' staff, for efficiency in their departments; Captain Clark, Battery E, Fourth Artillery; Lieutenant Hinkle, aide-de-camp to General Nagle, for activity and gallantry; Surgeon Reber, for devotion to his duty; Orderly Sergt. C. F. Merkle, Company E, Fourth Artillery, for gallant conduct and able handling of the battery after all the commissioned officers were disabled. Third Division — Lieutenant-Colonel Kimball, commanding Ninth New York Volunteers; Major Jardine, commanding Eighty-ninth New York Volunteers, and Major Ringold, One hundred and third New York Volunteers, for gallant conduct and able management of their commands. Kanawha Division-Lieuts. R. P. Kennedy, acting assistant adjutant-general, and J. L. Botsford, acting aide-de-camp, of Colonel Scammon's staff, for coolness and efficiency; Cols. George Crook, commanding Second Brigade, and Hugh Ewing, commanding First Brigade, for energy and skillful bravery; Lieutenants Furbay and Duffield, Thirtieth Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry, acting as aides to Colonel Ewing, and who were both killed; Lieut. Col. A. H. Coleman, commanding Eleventh Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry, killed while gallantly leading his men; Lieut. Col. J. D. Hines, Twelfth Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry; Color Sergeants White and Carter, [Thirtieth Ohio Volunteers,] who were both killed, and Corporals Howerth, Company D, and Buchanan, of Company C, of the same regiment, for rescuing their regimental colors when the color-sergeants were shot. The general commanding takes this opportunity to mention the gallant and meritorious conduct of Capt. G. M. Bascom, assistant adjutant-general; Lieuts. S. L. Christie, J. W. Conine, and Theodore Cox, aides-de-camp on his personal staff; Brigade Surg. W. W. Holmes, for his thorough attention to the duties of the medical department, in the prompt organization of hospitals and systematic provision for the wounded; Surgeon Cutter, late medical director on General Reno's staff, for energetic attention during the action to the disposal of the wounded in the field; also to thank Capt. E. P. Fitch, assistant quartermaster and acting commissary of subsistence, for unwearied labor, by night as well as by day, in bringing forward supplies to the command under circumstances of great difficulty; also to thank Mr. F. Cuthbert, a civilian and employé in the quartermaster's department, for gallantry displayed in carrying dispatches and orders upon the field. The ability and gallantry displayed by the division commanders has already been noticed in the official report of the engagement.*

J. D. COX,

Brigadier-General, Commanding.

_______________

* See Vol. XIX, Part I, p. 423

SOURCE: The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Series I, Volume 51, Part 1 (Serial No. 107), p. 870-1

Captain William Thompson Lusk to Horace Barnard, September 28, 1862

79th Regiment,

Near Antietam Creek,

Sept. 28th, 1862.

My dear Horace:

Here we are, still resting at the mouth of this muddy little stream now famous and historical. Ten days have gone since the battle and yet there are no signs of bustle and busy preparation aiming at the destruction of our dirty foes on the other side of the river. I say, “Forward!” To think of hesitating before such a pitiful crew as those we have so lately beaten! You perceive our recent successes are making us forget Manassas. But McClellan is cautious, and, without intending any disparagement, does not possess that lightning rapidity which characterized the “old Napoleon.” Yet we of the Army are jealous of McClellan's reputation and fear the possibility of losing him. Not indeed because we believe him equal to the command of 600,000 men — we believe him simply the best general we have got, and do not trust the judgment of old Abe in the selection of a new one. Pope, Sigel, Fremont, and the whole batch of our political Generals are objects of honest terror to every soldier in the Union Army. Stevens was a better man than McClellan. His judgment was unerring, his foresight marvellous, his prophecies sure of fulfilment. He had a power to electrify troops, and lift them at the critical moment to a degree of enthusiasm that was inspiration. He could be cautious and crafty, as well as daring. He felt himself born to hold the reins of authority, and grasped them so that the steady hand was felt by the commonest soldier of his command. Soldiers all loved him, and recognized his strength as it were by instinct. He knew how to deal a hard blow, and deal it with rapidity. He never underestimated a difficulty, but his estimates were forestallments of history. What he possessed in an eminent degree was Power — and Power composed of rude strength and natural vigor. What he lacked was comeliness. This, culture could not give him. He needed a grand sphere in which to move. Then he would have been grand. Confined, one could detect what was gnarled and ungainly. The oak is the monarch in the midst of the forest, not in the garden. Among flowers, neat trimmed box shows to the best advantage. There was something about Stevens that offended little souls, and there were many little souls who hated him. He had such a galling way of expressing his detestation at what deserves contempt, that many felt themselves offended thereby. He had many enemies and many friends, but those who knew him best mourn his loss most deeply. The neglect and injustice shown him in his life time broke his heart. He is dead now and at peace.

To-day I received nine letters, the first I have seen in many a day. Some of them are very old, but they afforded a rare treat for all that. In one of them my mother writes she had received a letter from you, in which you wrote that I had glory enough at twenty-four to last me for a life time. Ah, my dear Horace, there was rare irony in that! I acknowledge it. I have had “glory” enough to last me for a life time. I am satisfied with what I've had of the article and am willing in future to dispense with any further accessions. See what a valuable thing it is! A few days ago I enjoyed high favor, I went into fresh battles, and the records show fresh praises from my Commanding Officers. Christ, who commanded a Brigade of five Regiments in the recent battles writes in his report: “While the officers of my command in general conducted themselves well, my special thanks are due to Capt. Lusk for the valuable services he rendered me.” Now for the rewards of service. I have to-day the command of 14 men, six of them old soldiers that grumble, and eight raw recruits who are learning the mysteries of the goose-step. Sic itur ad astra. There's glory for you. I acknowledge I have had enough to satisfy me for the rest of my life. I have not been persecuted in any way. The whole thing is the result of natural causes which could not be avoided. Fortune simply played me a sorry trick. Friends say, “Resign.” But I am not willing to be petulant. If disgusted with “glory,” I believe in a better word, and that is — duty. So I have turned to, tried to stop the grumbling of the old soldiers, and get the recruits to do the goose-step creditably. I want the fighting to go on though. I can't stand it, lying still. I want to fight the thing through, and get out of a mortifying position. After sixteen months of service I trudge around with a corporal's guard, while old friends who have been waiting favorable opportunities at home until now, prancing by me in new regimentals at the heads of Regiments, nod to me familiarly perhaps, or probably pass me unnoticed. There are no vacancies at present in the Field of the 79th Regiment, and yet any day there may be. I am the next eligible candidate at present in the Regiment for promotion, and might get the next vacancy if friends at home were only alive to the necessity of vouching for me in some way, to those who have the power to dispense Commissions. Here I see miners, tailors, carpenters and all sorts of petty tradesmen, who find no difficulty in getting friends to mention their names, and because successful, boast much of their political influence, and yet I, a gentleman with plenty of friends, cannot boast of enough to secure me my just dues in the regular order of seniority. I do not want to be querulous. I do want Uncle Phelps though, if he knows Gov. Morgan, to remind him occasionally that he has a nephew whom Gov. Morgan might remember, &c. Well, my dear Horace, I will say no more. Verhum sat sapienti. I hope one of these days to get home with my duty done, and then I can laugh at my present comical situation. Do write me a long letter. I have heard nothing from you for some months, though this is my third letter. I suppose either yours or mine have been lost. Love to Cousin Lou, Hattie, your mother and the good people on the Hill.

Affec'y. but sadly,

Will.

79th Regt. 1st Brig. 1st Div. gth Army Corps, Washington.

(To be forwarded)

SOURCE: William Chittenden Lusk, Editor, War Letters of William Thompson Lusk, p. 214-7

Captain William Thompson Lusk to Elizabeth Adams Lusk, September 18, 1862

Address:

Capt. W. T. Lusk, A. A. A. Gen.

1st. Brig. 1st. Div. 9th. A. C.

Washington, D. C.

(To be forwarded)

Sept. 18th, 1862.

My dearest Mother:

After the battle of South Mountain, as we were being pushed on to this point (near Sharpsburg), unable to write myself, the Chaplain of the 79th kindly promised to inform you of my safety. Yesterday there was another fierce battle in which I took an active part, but he who lends a pitying ear to the prayers of the widow and the fatherless, vouchsafed to spare me in the time of danger. To-morrow I suppose there will be another battle, so to-night, though it is late, I write you hurriedly. Our successes in Maryland have been signal. We have been cheered for the bloodshed of the past few days by the sight of a retreating foe. God grant us such victories as may speedily end the war. All wish for peace, and so are willing to fight with desperation. Our division has done splendidly so far.

I long to hear from home. Your letter of the 25th of August, telling me that I was an unsuccessful candidate for position in the 18th Conn., is the last news I have received from home. Well, my fate is the fate of thousands. Those of us who have borne all the dangers and privations of the past, have no pretensions in comparison with such as can control a few votes in a country parish. I have taken part now in seven grand battles, and over a half dozen smaller engagements, have been constantly in service for fifteen months, have received the most gratifying expression of the esteem of my superior officers, but promotion is not the result of service according to our present system. In my old position as Acting Asst. Adjt.-General to the Division, with a change of Generals, I was superseded by a private of the 7th Regiment of New-York, who received a Commission from the President. This is perfectly right, as each General must choose his own Adjutant and form his own staff. Of the fifteen months I have held a Commission, fourteen months I have held acting appointments, that is, have had the labor and responsibility of various positions without the emolument. I am now Acting A. A. General to the first Brigade of this division, the regular pay of which position is between $160 and $170 per month. Holding only an acting appointment I receive $120.00. There is not much encouragement in this, but still I am content to be of any assistance, or to do my duty in any position which may be allotted me. I fear my old friends who hoped for much, feel more distressed than I do. I saw Charley Farnsworth in Washington. He feels that he has done much, and has received only neglect in return. His wound troubles him still, and I think he is not sorry to make it a pretext for quitting a service where there is no glory, no recognition of service to promote and foster a soldier's pride. Charley is a fine fellow, and his parents may feel proud of him.

I have had those two bad teeth of mine extracted. Tried a Regimental Surgeon first. Surgeon breaks one of them off, and I decline to have the experiment repeated — suffer all sorts of agony for about a month. At Frederick find a regular dentist who feels confident that he can draw any tooth. I let him try first the one not already partially operated upon. Dentist puts on the forceps and crushes in one side, then cuts the gum, tries again — pleasantly assures me he can do it, and crunch goes the old tooth again. Dentist grows radiant and tells how he extracted twelve from one lady the day before, and is more confident than ever that he can do it; puts on his forceps and by a succession of wrenches breaks the crown of the tooth, lays it complacently on a sheet of paper, and says that is just what he most ardently desired; makes another effort, smashes the root, and with the face of an angel, tells me it's all right — that now he can do it. Here human endurance failed. I objected to any further torture, took chloroform, sank into a state of insensibility, recovered minus two teeth, and all right.

Good-bye, dear, darling mother, keep up good heart. God is merciful as well as just. Love to all the dear ones.

Affec'y.,

Will.

SOURCE: William Chittenden Lusk, Editor, War Letters of William Thompson Lusk, p. 199-202

Address of Colonel Rutherford B. Hayes to to the 23rd Ohio Infantry, January 4, 1863

Comrades: — We have just closed an eventful year in our soldier life. During the year 1862 the Twenty-third Regiment has borne well its part in the great struggle for the Union. The splendid fight of Company C at Clark's Hollow, the daring, endurance, and spirit of enterprise exhibited in the capture of Princeton and Giles Court-house, the steadiness, discipline, and pluck which enabled you, in the face of an overwhelming force of the enemy, to retreat from your advanced position without panic or confusion and almost unharmed, the conspicuous and acknowledged achievements of the regiment at the battles of South Mountain and Antietam, amply justify the satisfaction and pride which I am confident we all feel in the regiment to which we belong.

We recall these events and scenes with joy and exultation. But as we glance our eyes along the shortened line, we are filled with sadness that we look in vain for many forms and faces once so familiar! We shall not forget them. We shall not forget what they gave to purchase the good name which we so highly prize. The pouring out of their lives has made the tattered old flag sacred.

Let us begin the new year — this season to us of quiet and of preparation — with a determination so to act that the future of our regiment shall cast no shadow on its past, and that those of us who shall survive to behold the opening of another new year shall regard with increased gratification the character, history, and name of the gallant old Twenty-third!

SOURCE: Charles Richard Williams, editor, Diary and Letters of Rutherford Birchard Hayes, Volume 2, p. 384-5

Rutherford B. Hayes: The Dead of South Mountain and Antietam

Sergeant-Major Eugene L. Reynolds, of Bellefontaine. A bright, handsome, ambitious, soldierly youngster; brave as a lion; so game in appearance and conduct; cheerful, happy, and full of promise! Killed at the close of the day on the mountain top. Taken prisoner, says Captain Williams of the Twelfth, and attempting to escape, shot in the bowels and afterwards bayonetted through the forearm.

Corporal Bull, Company A. A fine-looking, amiable boy, always smiling. Killed at Antietam.

Wilson B. Harper, Franklin County. A Mark Tapley for jollity, large, healthy, industrious, and so anxious to please, he always agreed with you. Wounded badly in thigh at South Mountain and died after amputation a few days after. Cheerful to the last.

[List not completed.]

SOURCE: Charles Richard Williams, editor, Diary and Letters of Rutherford Birchard Hayes, Volume 2, p. 380

Colonel Rutherford B. Hayes to Sardis Birchard, December 20, 1862

Camp Maskell, Near Gauley Bridge, December 20, 1862.

Dear Uncle:— Dr. Webb went home on a thirty-day furlough a few days ago. Our good health here makes a surgeon almost unnecessary. We now have only one man in hospital — a chance case of erysipelas. Our camp is improving. We are almost out of the mud and the greater part of our cabins finished.

Another serious reverse. Burnside's repulse at Fredericksburg is bad enough as it looks from my point of view. It would seem as if neither party in eastern Virginia was strong enough to make a successful invasion of the territory of the other — which is equivalent to saying that the Rebellion can there sustain itself as long as, it stands on the defensive. I don't like two things in this campaign of General Burnside. (1) It looks as if his first delay opposite Fredericksburg was an error. (2) To attack an enemy of equal (or nearly equal strength) behind entrenchments is always an error. This battle is a set-off for Antietam. That forced the Rebels back across the Potomac. This forces us back across the Rappahannock. We suffer, I fear, a larger proportionate loss. I suspect the enemy lost but little, comparatively. Now remains our last card, the emancipation of the slaves. That may do it. Some signs of wavering are pointed out by the correspondents, but I trust the President will now stand firm. I was not in a hurry to wish such a policy adopted, but I don't now wish to see it abandoned. Our army is not seriously weakened by the affair at Fredericksburg and very slight events will change the scale in our favor. Push on the emancipation policy, and all will yet go well.

Our partisanship about generals is now rebuked. General McClellan has serious faults or defects, but his friends can truly claim that if he had retained command, this disaster would not have occurred. The people and press would perhaps do well to cultivate patience. It is a virtue much needed in so equal a struggle as this. If the people can hold out, we shall find the right man after [a] while.

But I bore you with reflections that must occur to every one.

Sincerely,

R. B. Hayes.

S. BlRCHARD.

SOURCE: Charles Richard Williams, editor, Diary and Letters of Rutherford Birchard Hayes, Volume 2, p. 377-8