In their letters "To the Editor" of the Rutland Herald, young Vermont soldiers tell of their service in the Civil War, fighting for the Union, galloping around Lee's army in Virginia, garrisoning the beleaguered defenses of Washington, D.C., and blunting Pickett's desperate charge at Gettysburg. One writer is captured, another serves as a prison camp guard, others are wounded - and one dies fighting in the horrific conflict in the Wilderness of Virginia. The author provides biographical information for each writer (except one unidentified soldier who remains an enigma) and supporting commentary on military affairs. The book is illustrated with 30 engravings and prints, 15 maps, and 21 historical photographs, and includes an extensive index.
Letters to Vermont from Her Civil War Soldier Correspondents to the Home Press
By Donald WickmanPast
Copyright © 1998 Donald Wickman
All right reserved.ISBN: 9781884592119
Chapter One
First To Go with the First Vermont
"M.J.M."
Martin J. McManus, 1st Vermont Regiment
In April 1861, when the summons for military assistance camefrom Washington at the onset of the Civil War, Vermont wasthere. Within a month the 1st Vermont had been mustered intoFederal duty and sent to the front. Its men represented the firstof thousands of Vermonters who would serve during the courseof the war. The unit did its share of duty, and at the end of itsterm many 1st Vermont members returned home to re-enlist insubsequent regiments raised in the state.
The 1st Vermont Regiment saw service as an infantry regimentenlisted for three months and was the first from Vermont to answerLincoln's call to arms after the surrender of Fort Sumter. GovernorErastus Fairbanks authorized the raising of the regiment from thevarious militia units in the state. The militia companies vied for thehonor to serve, and the "Rutland Light Guards" was one of ten unitsselected. Their captain was William Y. W. Ripley, son of a marblemanufacturer. Captain Ripley would make a name for himself beforebeing wounded at Malvern Hill on July 1, 1862.
The Rutland Company prided itself on its eager volunteers.Among them was Martin J. McManus, a twenty-two-year-old Irishimmigrant with a talent for music, who had been working as a clerkat E. Foster Cook's Bardwell House.
When the gray-uniformed regiment was mustered in on theRutland Fairgrounds on May 9, 1861, McManus was promoted. Hefound himself no longer attached to the Rutland Company, now officiallyCompany K, but a member of the non-commissioned staff ofthe regiment as fife-major. Holding this rank throughout the regiment'sthree-month term, McManus must have shown additionaltalent, for he also earned an assignment as assistant regimentalquartermaster.
Vermont native Colonel John W. Phelps, a West Point graduate andveteran of the Mexican War, commanded the 1st Vermont Regimentwhen it headed south on May 9, 1861, to Fortress Monroe, at thesouthern end of Virginia's Tidewater Peninsula. The regimentbecame part of the garrison guarding that strategic Federal post onthe edge of the Confederate state of Virginia.
Times were busy for the men of the 1st Vermont. McManus provedto be one of the few soldiers in the regiment to communicate withthe home state newspapers.
May 25, 1861
Letter from Fortress Monroe
The Sewall's Battery Engagement ? One Sailor fatally wounded
Number of men at the Fortress ? Senator Wade, with friends,
visits the Fort ? Popularity of Col. Phelps
The Funeral of Private Underwood ? The Weather, &c.
Fort Monroe
May 20.
This afternoon, about 3 o'clock, a brisk fire commenced at the mouthof James River, which lasted for three hours, between the steam-tugMonticello, together with two other crafts, and a secession battery onshore. The force now stationed at Fortress Monroe [?] a force much largerthan many are now aware of. I have been informed by Captains andLieutenants of the regulars now in the Fort, that there is at least 3500in the Fort, including regulars. The general supposition is, that the forcein the Fort is 2000.
In the action to-day, between the Monticello and the land battery,one of the sailors manning the guns was severely wounded and died at alate hour to-night. One of the Vt. Regiment, from the Bradford company,whose name is Benjamin Underwood, a very handsome soldier, andmuch respected member of the regiment, died about 12 o'clock thisnight, which throws a shade of gloom over the Vt. Regiment.
The scene of action to-day was indeed a view which brought to theminds of those who saw it, a recollection of the old and heroic engagementsof the Revolution as they have read it. As I saw the momentaryflash and heard the roar of cannon, it called to my memory the engagementsof ancient and modern times. Hundreds watched it from theshore, and every man wished to be ordered to the scene of action.
To-day Senator Wade, and friends, visited our post, and met withthe hospitality of Col. Phelps, who, by the way, is beyond all question,the most popular and gentlemanly Col. in the Fortress; so say the regulars,as they know him from old experience in this and other places. Ourregiment are highly pleased, and well they may be, at having an old andexperienced officer at their head. Col. Phelps is proud of his regiment,and every man in the regiment is proud of Col. Phelps.
The funeral of our comrade, Underwood, took place about four o'clockMay 20th, and the occasion was very impressive [?] as we followed hisremains to the place of burial along the coast of Old Virginia, the boisterouswaves dashed with majestic swell, and broke in mournful soundbeneath the wheels of the ambulance which conveyed his remains totheir last resting place. The usual salute was fired over the grave of theyoung hero, and the grave quickly filled by brother soldiers, whose eyeswere moistened with the soft tear of sorrow, and all was over. Thenagain the martial airs of music filled with animating liveliness the grovein which he rests [?] and drowned, to a great extent, the feeling of gloomand sadness.
This afternoon the Rutland company and Woodstock company wentinto the woods on a scouting expedition, all ready for action, andequipped in the best possible manner. They returned under a heavy rainin the evening and were as they termed it, comfortably soaked through.
To-day the war vessels, Minnesota and Cumberland, are preparingto move toward the places where land batteries are being erected, andwill, undoubtedly, pay them their respects ere returning. The weather isquite cold, more so than in Vermont. For the last two or three days themen have worn their overcoats, and are chilly at that. We are receivingdaily mails from Baltimore and other points. At present there is a grandopening for northern men in the way of speculating in flour and potatoes.The former is worth $16 per barrel, the latter $1.75 per bushel.
M. J. M.
* * *
The close proximity of Fortress Monroe to the Confederate lines ledto some anxious moments for the Union garrison. The men wereconstantly on edge, awaiting the moment the enemy might advanceon their works.
June 11, 1861
Letter from Camp Butler
Camp Butler, Newport News, Va.
June 6th, 1861.
Yesterday morning about 9 o'clock the steamer Harriet Lane firedupon a rebel battery directly opposite to this camp, to which the batterybriskly responded, by firing 30 guns, only one of which took effectaboard the steamer, by the way of slightly wounding two of the gunners.The action lasted thirty minutes, and was looked upon with much interestby the whole Brigade at Camp Butler. The firing from the vessel wasfar more accurate than that of the battery, the former firing 20 shots,ten of...
