by John McElroy
CHAPTER X.
BATTLE OF MURPHY'S HILL.-THE MOST SANGUINARY FIGHTING OF THE WAR.---MURDER OF STEPHEN LYON.--UNCLE HAM GETS A STRONG DISLIKE TO WAR.
Generals 'gainst Generals grapple gracious God, How honors Heaven heroic hardihood! Infuriate, indiscriminate in ill, Kindred kill kinsmen, kinsmen kindred kill, Labor laid levels, longest, loftiest lines; Men march 'mid mounds, 'mid molts, 'mid murderous mines, --FINLEY
"After the lapse of considerable time Gen. Anderson whether or not he hadrecovered sufficiently to again take the field. His staff officers andhis wife were protesting that his strength was not sufficient.
"I said: 'Well, we will consider this matter at another time.'
"Aunt Martha called us; we all walked in and sat down to tea, Capt. Daywith us, having been with Gen. Anderson almost daily since his return.While at the table my wife spoke of the absence of Stephen and Peter,wishing them with us, and again alluded to her dream, saying that shehad dreamed it all over again last night, and that she thought theremust be some kind of a warning to her in it.
"Just at this moment I discovered old Ham standing in the corner verymuch absorbed in counting his fingers. He seemed to be considerablybothered, however, in making up the proper count. Aunt Sarah discoveredhim, and said:
"'Ham, what are you doing?
"'Ham saw that his manner caused my wife (Aunt Sarah) to be disturbed,and the old fox (for he was very sly) said: "'es, missus, I's--I's jes'seein'w many is here, and how many dey is wid de oder boys what goedaway, so dat I know how many you is when you'uns is all togedder. I tellyou, dis am a big family--dat's all.'
"Old Martha, who was attending the table, spoke to Ham in her usual way,saying:
"Ham, you jes' git out, you ole fool; go to de kitchen, whar youbelongs.'
"When Ham left we finished our tea, but Aunt Sarah showed plainly thatshe was very much troubled. She soon retired for the night, and the restof us conversed about the situation and Gen. Anderson's condition;he claiming that he was strong, the rest of us to the contrary. Weconcluded to settle it for the present by visiting the farm the nextmorning, which e did, taking Ham with us as driver of our wagon. Whenwe arrived Joseph Dent invited us all into his house, and while makinginquiries of him as to his health, the condition of his stock, etc., aman came to the gate and called for him. When he returned he said thatthis man was notifying him that he must come to a meeting that night ofthe Golden Circle; that the Circle had some very important business onhand. We encouraged him to go, and to report to us at Allentown the nextmorning. Bent consented, saying that the Circle had been exceedinglyactive; that an agent had been there from Canada and had required themto make a selection of agents of their Circle to be ready to do someparticular work, which would be explained at the proper time. He alsogave us the names of two men, one of whom resided in Allentown. Thiscaused us to think seriously about the danger that we might be in, asmen coming from Canada might discover us in some way and afterwardsrecognize any of us who should be in that country prying into theirdesigns. We left for home, and on the way noticed that Ham was unusuallyquiet, but watchful. Finally, he concluded that it was his time tospeak, and turn ing to Gen. Anderson, said:
"'Mssa Gen'l, did you see dat man out at de barn, sir?'
"'No,' said the General.
"'Well, sah! dat was the wussest lookin' Sesh I eber did see. He warlyin' in de hay, and when he look at me I lef; yes, sah, I lef. Somefinwrong dar, sah. You better ax Massa Joseph, when he be down to de house,'bout dat.'
"We satisfied Ham by agreeing to find out on the next day; so we camehome, and were sitting on my portico talking about what was best to do,when the General received a dispatch from Washington, stating thatGen. Rosenfelt, commanding the Army of the Center, had asked for Gen.Anderson to be assigned to him, which would be done whenever he was wellenough to take the field. The General was somewhat disappointed, ashe wished to return to the Army of the East, for reasons that you canunderstand from what occurred in his hearing while at Gen. McGregor'sheadquarters. He was a true soldier, however, and said not a word, butpromptly telegraphed, thanking them for the assignment, and saying hewould report very soon. He felt that he would be able to attend to dutywithout very great danger to himself; so he directed Capt. Jackson, aswe now called him, to get ready, also Capt. Day, who had come in afew moments after the receipt of the telegram. The young men seemedparticularly well pleased. Capt. Jackson felt that he would bewith Peter and Stephen. Stephen had been promoted and was now aBrigadier-General. So all seemed pleased, though I knew how Gen.Anderson felt.
"The General sent a telegram to Gen. Rosenfelt, who was then encampedbetween Nashua and Stone Run, Tenn., informing him that he would startfor his headquarters in about two days. He did not get away, however, assoon as he stated.
"The next day Joseph Dent came, and was greatly delighted at something.So we gave him a seat and cleared the decks, as you must know thatthese secret matters about how information was obtained of which we werecoming in possession, other than in the ordinary course of things, wasnot told to the whole household. Before proceeding, however, we askedhim to tell us who was in the barn at the farm the day before, that hadso alarmed Ham. He laughed and said it was his partner; so we droppedfurther inquiry, but did not tell Ham.
"Joseph Dent said he attended the Circle the night before, as he hadpromised, and that they were in great trouble. They had been advisedthat the agents would not be needed for the present; that some schemethat was on foot had been postponed, and that a consultation was to beheld in order to come to an understanding as to what course was to bepursued. He said a man who was a stranger to him stated that two oftheir principal men who were to carry out the scheme (whatever it mightbe) had been sent to Europe, and that this left them in a condition sothat they could not proceed until they could work up their plan; thattheir plan or scheme was being matured by the men, who were to obtaintheir material in England; that it could not be done here withoutsuspicion being aroused. This, he said, was all that was said or done.So you see, this meeting evidently had reference to some desperateundertaking, of which their leaders in Indiana seemed to be posted asto the fact that something was to be done, without knowing the details.This proved to us that they had communication one lodge with anotherall over the country, and also with the heads of the conspiracy,and therefore we would have to take every precaution in all of ourmovements; but as we acted only through persons that we could trust withour lives, we considered the matter comparatively safe, and were verysure that we would be able to post the President at all times as to whatmight be danger in the way of our success.
"The next day, when the family were informed that the General, Capt.Jackson and Capt. Day must leave us, our house again became a scene ofdistress. My wife cried all day long. Mary Anderson was nearer breakingdown than I had ever seen her since we heard that the General (then aColonel) was killed at Dolensburg. Jennie also nearly gave way. The twochildren begged them most piteously not to go away to fight (as theytermed it) any more.
"Ham seemed rather serious, and did not relish the renewal of hisacquaintance with the Sesh, The next morning, all matters beingarranged, the General and his two aides, with old Ham, after takingleave of all the family, left. The scene that followed in my household Iwill not attempt to describe. Ham lingered a little behind, but finallyhe embraced Aunt Martha, and said:
"'Good-by, Marfa; I guess I'se a gone darky dis time. I tell you I donot like de dream what I had.'
"'Go long, you ole fool; dreams 'mount to nuffin. You eats too muchcabbage las' night. Dats all what ails you. Dar's no danger you gitkill. You jes' go long wid Massa Tom. Dat's what you do.' "'All right,Marfa, I do it. Good-by.'
"They arrived at Gen. Rosenfelt's headquarters (which were with hisarmy) and reported. Gen. Rosenfelt was very glad to see the General, andtold him that he would assign him to the command of a first-classdivision under Gen. Papson, his army then being divided into three fullcorps, co
mmanded respectively by Papson, Gen. Critsinger and Gen.McCabe. His army numbered, embracing all arms of the service, some56,000 effective men, and was well supplied with all necessary materialfor any kind of movement.
"On the next morning Gen. Anderson was assigned to the command of such adivision as mentioned. He was well pleased with his corps commander, whowas a fine-looking man of middle age, very quiet and unostentatious. Thewhole army seemed to be in splendid condition for a campaign. On lookingthrough his division that day he found Stephen Lyon in command of hisThird brigade, and Peter in command of one of Stephen's regiments. Thisdelighted the General, and he quickly said to Capt. Jackson:
"'Gen. Rosenfelt and Gen. Papson both being old friends of Uncle Daniel,I suspect one of his letters might be found amongst the papers of bothRosenfelt and Papson.' "'Capt. Jackson laughed and said:
"'Well, father has nothing else to do except to keep the Presidentposted and look after his children, which he faithfully does.'
"'Yes,' said Gen. Anderson; 'he does his duty in all respects.'
"That afternoon Gen. Stephen Lyon and Col. Peter Lyon (being theirrespective rank at that time) visited Gen. Anderson's headquarters, andof course enjoyed themselves, each thanking the good fortune that hadbrought them together. They discussed the situation, and Stephen wasdecidedly of the opinion that unless we advanced at once and gave battlethat the enemy would do so, and the position we occupied not being afavorable one for defense, he thought we could force a battle where ourposition would be better.
"The enemy at this time were also in good condition, and were commandedby Gen. Biggs, with three full corps, commanded respectively by Gen.Polkhorn, Gen. Chatham and Gen. Harding. Biggs's command was disposedas follows: Polkhorn's corps and three brigades of Harding's were atMurphy's Hill; the remainder of Harding's corps to the southwest sometwenty miles, forming the left flank; the remainder of Biggs's armylay some twenty miles to the south and east; on and in advance of hisextreme left was one division on the Nashua and Franktown road. In thisposition lay the rebel army, in easy supporting distance to the centerand main line, it having been selected by Biggs as a good position onwhich to make his stand against.our forces, his outposts being orderedto fall back should our forces advance. The position was a good one, asit forced our army to cross Stone Run in his front in any direction thatour troops might approach him.
"During the evening a lady came to our picket line and asked to be takento Gen. Rosenfelt's headquarters. This was done. When she appeared, Gen.Rosenfelt recognized her as Mrs. Lotty Houghton, who had been employed,it seems, by Jardine, Marshall & Co., northern manufacturers of cottongoods, to purchase cotton and get it through our lines. They had apermit to do so from the Treasury Department of the United States, andit seems she was quite successful as one of the agents. The enemy wereeager to sell their cotton and our people anxious to get it. She wentto and fro with passes from both sides, neither believing she couldgive any information that would be of importance to either side.She, however, was an exceedingly bright woman, who noted in her mindeverything she saw or heard. She was as true and as loyal to the Unionas any commander we had. She asked the General for a private interview,and gave him the position of the enemy, as I have before stated. Thiswas the only certain information he had up to this time as to theirexact position. She also told him that the reason she came to himnow was that all the enemy's main force of cavalry were gone. That ofMorganson and Forester were far away on raids, and would not be ableto return in time to aid in a battle, should Gen. Rosenfelt feel likeassuming the offensive. She proposed to him that she would go to Nashuaand from thence down the Franktown road, pass through the lines ofthe enemy, and come in their rear to Murphy's Hill, where she was wellknown; remain there quietly with a lady friend, and when she discoveredanything that she considered absolutely important, she would getthrough the lines some way and come to him with the information. He wasdelighted at this proposition and said to her:
"'You shall be well rewarded for this.'
"She said, in reply:
"'No, sir; you mistake me. I am no spy! I give this informationbecause it comes to my knowledge without my seeking it, and not in anyconfidence. I do this for the good of my country, and not for reward.'
"The General bowed and applauded her devotion to her government. Shethen bade him good-by and left for Nashua, refusing an escort.
"Gen. Rosenfelt sent for his corps commanders that evening, andexplained the situation as he understood it. After examining the map andshowing his officers the manner he desired an assault to be made, shouldhe determine to attack, all agreed that there was no cause for delay.
"The troops were in fine condition and 'eager for the fray.' The Generalcommanding told them to be ready to move at 'o'clock in the morning. Hewould send them written instructions in the meantime. So he prepared hisorders and sent them out. First, his headquarters would be with those ofGen. Papson's corps; that the army would march by three different roads,leading from Nashua in a southerly direction. Gen. McCabe, with hiscommand, would march on the Franktown road; Gen. Papson, with hiscommand, being the center, on the Nolton and Shell-town Road; Critsingeron the Murphy's Hill road. McCabe was to assail Harding's forces on hisroad; but if Harding should fall back on the main rebel line, in thatevent McCabe and Papson were both to bear to the left, so as to presentan unbroken front or line at or near Stone Run, opposite Murphy's Hill.The movement commenced the next morning, but not so early as directed.During the march McCabe ran against Harding's pickets, when a skirmishbegan. The rebel forces fell back on their main line. Gen. McCabe wasdelayed for some reason and did not reach Harding's main position thatday, but on the next. And when he did arrive, Harding had left and wasfar away on his road to join Bigg's main force. The rain was now fallingin torrents, and Papson and Critsinger were troubled to get their trainsthrough the mud over very poor roads. When Gen. Rosenfelt's forces werefinally concentrated he was compelled to rest one day, he thought, inorder not to engage the enemy with his army in a tired and worn-outcondition.
"The enemy had to march about the same distance, however, in order tomake their concentration of forces. The ground over which the battlemust be fought lies between Stone Run and Overman's Creek; it isslightly rolling ground, with sticky, clayish soil, in which the roadsare tortuous and easily worked up by teams so as to become almostimpassable. There were clearings on this ground, but they alternatedwith a chaparral that was almost impenetrable. There are three roadsthrough this valley, between the two streams, which converge on Murphy'sHill.
"Rosenfelt, after resting, formed his line with McCabe on the right,Papson in the center, and Critsinger on the left, leaving Stone Runbetween the enemy and himself. One or the other must cross this streamsometime and somewhere during the engagement, in order to attack hisopponent. There is much in the first assault if made with decision. Inthe evening, just before dark, one of McCabe's brigades struck one ofWittington's (rebel) brigades. The contest was a severe one, in whichour forces were damaged very much. This ought to have proven that theenemy were intending to cross the run and strike our right flank. But itdid not seem to disturb our commander in the least. That night Rosenfeltlaid before his corps commanders his plan of attack, which was to throwhis left across the run and attack and drive the rebel forces fromMurphy's Hill, and get between the hill and the enemy, and use the highground for artillery on the line and flank of the enemy; at the sametime strike him in the center with Papson, leaving McCabe to merely holdhis line to resist and not to attack.
"This being understood, all were to be ready the next morning to carryout the plan of the battle laid down by the General commanding. Duringthe day Mrs. Lotty Houghton heard directly from one of the rebelofficers that they were to move that night all their available forces toour right and attack us on our flank in the morning. So she concluded toleave that day, in order to be out of the way of the battle, and startedsouth. After traveling several miles outside of the enemy's lines,she cut across to the west and took th
e road leading from Nashua toPulaston. Traveling on that for some distance she struck across to theroad from Nashua to Murphy's Hill, following that until she came to ourpickets, and there asked to be shown to Army headquarters. She got invery late, and the Sergeant made a mistake and took her to Gen. Papson.He did not know her and was rather suspicious. She told him of themovement of the enemy. He took her into his headquarters and sent outto find Gen. Rosenfelt. But he could not be found. He was out somewherelooking after his lines. This caused delay. He was not found untilmorning, and then not until after the movement had commenced on hisleft. Critsinger was crossing the run in front of Murphy's Hill. WhenGen. Rosenfelt was informed that Mrs. Houghton was in our lines, and ofher statement made about the enemy, he said:
"'It cannot be so. Biggs cannot suspect our movement. But even so, Iwill crush his right, which he has left exposed, and carry out my planbefore he can do anything.' Gen. Rosenfelt superintended the crossingof the run in person. He saw the moment approaching when he could throwhimself with a vastly superior force upon the isolated division thatGen. Biggs had left at the hill--the rest of Biggs's command havingcrossed the run to his left. At this juncture skirmish firing was heard,and in a very short time sharp musketry burst forth on our extremeright.
"At once Rosenfelt questioned in his mind, could Biggs have guessed themovement by which he was menaced? Was he endeavoring to forestall it, orwas this one of those encounters between pickets? Or had Mrs. Houghtonbrought to him the correct information? He at once sent to have herbrought to him. But she had left for Nashua on the turnpike road, so asto be out of the way, as well as out of danger. Very soon the facts wererevealed to him, when too late, however, to retrace his steps. Therewas nothing left but to attack the isolated force at once, as McCabehad stated that he could hold his position against any force that mightattack him. The battle had commenced on his right, and the rebels werepressing forward and gaining very great advantage. Our forces were takencompletely by surprise on our right--the soldiers were in their tents,the officers scattered; the Chief of Artillery was at the headquartersof Gen. McCabe; the artillery horses had been taken to water, and inthe great haste to get under arms each regiment formed in front of theirtents. On came the rebel division, pouring a terrific fire into ourranks, advancing at every discharge, and loading as they came. Ourartillery was mixed up and the portion of it that could be got intoposition was operated in vain. The two forces came together and foughthand to hand amid a musketry fire that struck friend and foe alike. Gen.John's brigade held their ground manfully, but could not long withstandthe impetuosity of the attack and the superiority of numbers. Their linebroke in several places, and the batteries, deprived of horses, fellinto the hands of the enemy. Gen. Willis's brigade was totally routedand he made a prisoner. Kirkham's brigade was broken to pieces androuted. The first assault did not last long, but was extremely damagingto our forces. Thus attacked, our lines were falling back in thedirection of Overman's Creek, when Lawting's rebel cavalry fell upontheir flank, capturing many prisoners, guns, and much camp equipage.Polkhorn now assaulted Gen. Davies' division with two fresh divisions.Davies repulsed the first assault, but was struck in flank by Clayber,which forced him back. Potter's brigade was by Clayber entirelydispersed. By this time our right flank had been broken and driven backon Hospital Hill, and finally from there.
"The rebel cavalry then came charging down, capturing many prisoners.Our wagon trains, ammunition and rations were only saved by the actionof one regiment of our cavalry charging the rebel flank and forcing themback. News reached Rosenfelt that his right was completely routed. He atonce countermanded his order to attack with his left, and moved to theright in order to save a great disaster and perhaps his army.
"In the meantime Biggs was preparing to attack the center, and on cameone of his divisions in double column and struck the troops of a generalwho was in waiting to receive them (Gen. Sherlin). The attack was quickand terrible, but they were rolled back, attacked in turn, and the rebelloss in one brigade was one-third of its force. Gen. Sull, one of ourbrave officers, here lost his life while leading a charge. Rosenfelt andGen. Papson now commenced forming a new line, which had to be done undera heavy fire, as the battle had extended down to and on the center.Sherlin had fallen back to form on the new line. Rosen felt had becomeexcited, and was riding over the field with his hat off, orderingeverything he came to--batteries, regiments and companies. Papson, whowas always cool and calm in battle as on dress parade, had his corpswell in hand, and ordered Gen. Anderson, who was on his right andadjoining Sherlin, to receive the enemy and give him the bayonet. Therehad been a cessation of fighting for an hour, and the broken troopshad commenced to re-organize and get into line. Biggs, seeing thatpostponement would not do, ordered up the division from Murphy's Hill,and again the battle commenced with renewed vigor. Sherlin was assailedfirst by Polkhorn. Gen. Anderson now seeing his chance, moved quickly toSherlin's support, and with a dash struck one of Polkhorn's divisionsin flank, and almost annihilated it. One of his brigades, Stephen Lyoncommanding, was ordered to charge against another division. This washandsomely done, and the rebels fell back rapidly. At this time Biggscame into the fray, and led back his broken brigades in person, but theyfared the same as before. In this assault Sherlin lost his other twobrigade commanders, and had his troops somewhat demoralized for a time;but they soon recovered and the attacking commenced on our side. Ourlines were moved forward and the battle was furious; first an advantagewas gained on the one side and then on the other. At last our men becameencouraged and were fighting with a firm conviction that we were gainingground and driving the enemy back. During an hour of hard stand-uphand-to-hand fighting, officers and men fell like the leaves of Autumnafter a bitter frost. Night then closed in, leaving the two armiesfacing each other.
"A profound silence prevailed during the night, interrupted only bythe groans and the shrieks of the wounded and dying, after a constantstrife, which had lasted for ten hours. No more sanguinary struggle forthe length of time was ever witnessed. During this day there was not asingle regiment of our troops that had not been more or less engaged.The enemy's cavalry had crossed the run below our army and capturedand destroyed a great quantity of our provisions, ammunition, etc. Thatnight no rations were distributed. The poor boys gathered around thecampfires and anxiously inquired about missing comrades, and what of theday to-morrow. Many of the soldiers thought our army surrounded. Threeof our Generals had fallen during the day, and many thousand poorsoldiers were killed, wounded and captured.
"That night Gens. Anderson and Sherlin met for the first time, and intalking over the morrow both agreed that they would die on that groundor win the battle, and they infused this same determination into allthey met.
"Biggs thought that Rosenfelt would retreat during the night. He couldnot believe that he would undertake to maintain himself in the positionin which he bad been forced. He thought that he had only to wait untilmorning to gather the fruits of a great victory. He was mistaken. Thenext morning he found the Union forces in a compact line skirting thetimber, with hastily thrown-up earthworks. If Rosenfelt had made hismovement, on the information given by Mrs. Houghton, earlier in the day,instead of the afternoon, he would, perhaps, have met with no disaster.But the next day, when he found that Biggs did not attack, he determinedto do so. He made the same movement that he began the day before, andwas driven back in his first attempt to take the hill. He then began ageneral assault, and retook all the positions lost the day before. Theloss of the enemy was very heavy, and the victory of the second daywas complete. Gen. Anderson moved out with his division by the side ofSherlin, and the two seemed to vie with each other as to which couldface the greatest danger. The rebels lost two Generals, killed that day.In the two days' fighting the losses on both sides were most serious.In the evening, after the battle was concluded, as General Anderson wasriding over the field near Hospital Hill, he discovered a rebel officerleaning against the root of a tree. There were two rebel soldiers withhim
. He was very pale, and not able to speak in louder tones thana whisper. The General dismounted, giving his reins to his orderly.Approaching the group, the two soldiers arose and said:
"'General, we surrender.'
"The General replied:
"'That is not my purpose. I do not come to make prisoners, but to knowif I can be of any service to this wounded officer.'
"As the General spoke, the wounded officer said, in a whisper:
"'Tom, is that you?"
"'Yes,' said the General, reaching out his hand to Capt. Whitthorne, inwhom he recognized his wife's cousin.
"Capt. Whitthorne took his hand and said:
"'I am dying. I want you to tell cousin Mary that I have never forgottenher; I love her, and wish I could see her now. We will not speak of ourdifferences now; the approach of death softens our hearts. You are abrave man, Tom. I am proud of you, even as an enemy. When I die, as Iwill in a few minutes--I can only last a little while--will you bury mejust where I fell? There is the spot,' looking over his left shoulderand asking one of the men to mark it.
"This exertion caused the blood to flow profusely, as he had been shotthrough the lungs.
"In a few minutes he breathed his last. Gen. Anderson had him properlyinterred at the place where he requested, and marked it with a headstonewith his name upon it. He wrote to his wife the facts as I have giventhem to you. Gen. Anderson never alluded to him afterwards except in themost respectful terms. When Mary, the General's wife, received a lettergiving an account of her cousin's death, she wept, but said nothing.
"But to return to the results of the battle: Biggs retreated and leftthe field to Rosenfelt, who concluded to go into winter quartersinstead of making pursuit. He said it was necessary that his army shouldrecuperate. Wishing, however, to cover Nashua, he sent a command outto the west from Murphy's Hill, on the road to Frank-town. It fell uponStephen Lyon's brigade to go. He was quite unwell, but would by thisstation have an independent command--his brigade and two regiments ofcavalry and two batteries of artillery--consequently he was gratifiedby the order. In marching the command moved slowly, there not being anurgent necessity for their presence at Franktown. On the second day'smarch they halted and had a luncheon at a spring by the roadside.
"Gen. Stephen Lyon was lying on a mattress in an ambulance. Whenthe command had rested he sent them forward, remaining at the springhimself, saying to his officers that he would come on after resting, ashe could soon overtake them. H e kept with him only one officer (Lieut.Curtis), two orderlies and the driver, not dreaming of an enemy being inthat part of the country, as Biggs's army was many miles south of StoneRun, or rather to the southeast at Tullahoming.
"Col. Joseph Whitthorne (then Brigadier-General), with a detachmentof cavalry, came dashing up. He captured Lieut. Curtis and the twoorderlies and driver, and then asked who the officer was that waslying in the ambulance. On being told that it was Gen. Stephen Lyon, hereplied:
"'I have sworn to kill him if I ever met him, for sending a spy into mycamp.'
"Stephen was unarmed, and protested that he knew nothing about thecharges alleged against him. But it did no good. Whitthorne orderedhis men to shoot him, and it was done and my poor boy was in thiscold-blooded way murdered by this gang of bushwhackers. My other sonshad his body taken back to Murphy's Hill and buried. I never knew whomurdered him until the war was over."
The Murder of Steven Lyon 182]
"The old man again broke down and for a time was unable to proceed, butat last said:
"You can see how the fates were against my family. When the newswas received at home my poor wife could not rally under thesesuccessive blows, and she lay sick for months. I thought she would soonfollow the poor boys. When she did recover it was only partially. Shewas never well afterwards.
"After the battle, Gen. Anderson thought he would look up his militaryfamily, as his headquarters had been sent to the rear during theconflict. Capt. Day and Capt. Jackson were near him all the time, andwere no better posted than the General as to where the headquarterswere. Finally they were found some three miles to the rear. Theorderlies, driver, cook, etc., were found established at theheadquarters; but old Ham, poor old man, was nowhere to be found. Ageneral search was at once instituted, and finally he jumped up likea rabbit from some thick underbrush. When he came out he looked allaround, and at last realizing who the parties were that had discoveredhim he threw up his hands and exclaimed:
"'Bress the good Laud, and you'uns are not all killed. Afo' de Laud Inever 'spected to see any you good people agin. And heah is Massa Gen'lTom, and Massa Jackson and Massa Capt. Day. Well! well! if dis isn't asprize to ole Ham.'
"The General said:
"'Ham, how did you get here? What made you run away? I thought you weregoing to stay with us.'
"'Yes, sah, I thought so, too; but, sah, de shell, de guns and de bumsdey all come rite down over whar I was, and I not know how to fight. Oneob de mans git me a gun and fix it up, and I git behind a tree and pokeit out and pull de trigger, and bress de Laud it shoot de wrong way andI fine myself knocked ober away off from de tree. Den I said dis is noplace for dis darkey, and I gits; dats what I does, and I corned alongpretty fas' and I got wid de wagons, and pretty soon de hossmen ob deSesh--I b'leves dey calls 'em cabalry--dey come on de run and burned upde wagons and slashed 'bout and cussed about de Yanks and swared aboutde niggers and skeered me out ob my breff. Den I gits in de woods andcreeps under de brush and dar I stay, and sho' you born I thought eberyone was killed, I wouldn't never come out if you hadn't found me, sho'.I done thought I neber see Marfa no more. O, bress de Laud, I's hungrydoe.'
"'Well, come along, Ham; I guess I will have to send you home; you seemnot to take to war.'
"'Well, sah! Massa Gen'l, 'spect it be de bes'; for afore de Laud Ifeels curous when you is fitin'. Somehow I doesn't jes' feel rite allde time dey is shootin'. It seems dey would kill a darky jes'as quick asdey do a white man.'
"'Yes,' said the General; 'why not?'
"'Well, sah, I doesn't know why; it 'pears like dey wouldn't kill thedarkies when we work for dem so long. But de Sesh dey is quar folks deyis; dey fight doe, don' dey, Massa Tom?'
"'Yes; they fight like other people.'
"By this time they were at headquarters, and Ham got hold of hisnamesake and devoured it as a wild beast would have done. Ham was veryserious and finally said:
"'Massa Tom, I guess dey not fight any mo' berry soon, does dey?'
"The General replied that he did not know.
"'Well,' said Ham, 'I guess I stay wid you a while longer. You won'twrite home 'bout me gittin' in de bush, will you'uns?'
"'No; if you wish us not to do so.'
"'O, for de Laud's sake! Marfa she d neber lib wid dis darky no mo' ifshe know what I do. You won't tell her, Massa Tom, will you?'
"'No, Ham; I will keep it a secret from her.'
"'Well, den, I will try him once mo'. I 'spects I stay here nex' time. Iknows I do. O, I knows de nex' time, sho.'
"All right, Ham; you get around now and get our things together, andlook after my "traps."'
"'Yes, massa, yes.'
"Ham's conduct and explanations afforded great amusement for the boysaround headquarters for some time.
"Capt. Zeke Inglesby said:
"Uncle Daniel, I did not know before that Gen. Stephen Lyon, who wasmurdered at Bethesda Springs, was your son. I know all about his murder.I belonged to his brigade. That dastardly murder was considered by allsoldiers as one of the most outrageous acts and cold-blooded murdersever known in civilized warfare."
"Oh, yes. I grieved over his death very greatly, he being the secondone of our dear boys murdered outright--the fourth dead since the warbegan. It chilled the blood of our whole family. The strangest thing tome was how Gen. Anderson, Capt. Jackson and Col. Peter could restrainthemselves so as not to mention the name of his murderer, in all theirconversations about his death; but, as I said, I never knew who did ituntil after the war. I could easily under
stand the reason for their nottelling the name. Mary Anderson, being his sister, was never told thefacts; nor my wife nor any of us at the time, the boys fearing thatit might cause an unpleasant feeling even to know the fact that a nearrelative of one of our family could be such a barbarian.
"I was kept quite close at home for some months with our family, beingtheir only protection within call. During this time no man ever sufferedmore in spirit. I can see it all before me now: my poor wife's agony,the sorrowing of David's widow, Mary Anderson's trouble, the two poorlittle children--their questions about their Uncle Stephen, who killedhim, and why? These questions I could not answer."
At this point Dr. Adams inquired if Gen. Rosenfelt ever expressedany regret at not listening to the information imparted to him on themorning of the battle.
"No, sir; I did not so understand."
"Uncle Daniel, did you know anything of Mrs. Houghton after this?"
"Yes; she continued to do good service for our cause, as you will learnhereafter."
Uncle Daniel here called in Mrs. Wilson. She was a bright and beautifulwoman. He took her in his arms and said to us:
"This dear child and one boy, the son of another of my boys, are all ofwhom I can now boast."
His speech at this point was so pathetic and saddening, that the wholeparty were unconsciously moved to tears. His voice trembled, and heslowly walked out of the room, overwhelmed by the sad memories he hadawakened.