New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1874-09-20
The Typical American Soldier.

A writer in an English magazine pub.
lshed the following description Of the
vermont Brigade shor. time after the
close Of the war:
They we're honest farmers turned vaga.
bonds. They we're simple country1ne turned
into heroes. They were quiet tOwnsmen
that had become rovers. They stole ancient
horses and bony COWS on the march. They
pillaged moderately in other things. They
swept the diaries and they stripped the Or
chards for miles where they travelled. They
chased rabbits when they went into camp
after long marches. and they yelled like
Indians when nelghboring camps were ST.
lent through fatigue. They were ill-,lisci-
plined and familiar with their officers. They
swaggered in q cool. impudent way. and
looked down with . patronizing Yankee
GOODNESS upon all regiments that were bet.
ter drilled, and upon that part Of the army
generally that did not belong to the Yer.
mont Brigade. They were strangely proud,
not of themselves individually, but Of the
brigade collectively; for they knew perfect
| ~ well they were the best fighters in the
| known world. They were long OF limb and
could outmarch the army. They were indi.
vidually self.yeliant and skillful in the use
| Of arms, and they honestly believed that
| the Vermont Brigade could not be beaten
by all the combined armies OF the rebellion.
They were veterans in fighting qualities
| almost from their first skirmish. This was
at Lees Mills. They crossed . narrow dam
under a fire, made the attack they were in
| s.ructed to make. and came back wading
| deep in the water with steadiness that sur
! prised the army. They were an incOrrigi'
| BILE, irregular. noisy set OF rascals. They
| were much sworn at during their four years
Of service; yet they were at all times pet
brigade. There were but two things they
! would do-march and fight; and these they
| did in manner peculiarly their own. They
had a long, slow. swinging stride on the
march which distanced everything that fol-
| lowed them. They had quiet. attentive.
| earnest, individual way OF fighting that
MADE them terrible in battle. Each man
knew that his neighbor in the ranks was
no: going to run away. and he knew, also.
that he himself intended to remain where
he was. Accordingly none Q; The atten ton
duty Of loadin. and firing, rapidly and
carefully.
When moving into action and while
| holly engaged they made queer. quaint
Jokes, and enjoyed them greatly. They
crowed like cocks. they ba-a-ed like sheep,
they neighed like horsee. they beloved
like bulls. they barked like dogs, and they
counterfeited with excellent effect the in
deseribable music OF the mule. When,
perchance, they held picket line in a
forest it seemed as if Noah's ark had gone
! to pieces there.
| ade took part it was compllmented 1of
gallant conduct. One OF the most remark
able Of its performances, however. has
never appeared in print. nor has it been
| noticed in the reports. After the battle OF
Gettysburg, when Lees army was in the
vicinity of Hagerstown and the Antietam,
the Vermont Brigade was deplOyed as q
diminishing line. anticipating . general en-
gagement. The enemy had evidently de-
| termined 60 attack.
| Az last his line of battle came forward.
The batteries opened at once, and the Skin
mishers delivered their fire. Our troops
were on the alert and stood watching for
| the ekirmishere TO come in and. waiting to
receive the coming assault. But the Skin
mishers would not come in, and when the
firing died away it appeared that the Yer
| monters thus deplOyed had actually re
pulsed . full line-of- battle attack. Twice
afterwari the enemy advanced to carry the
l position. and we're each time again driven
| back by this perverse skirmish line. The
| VermOnters, it is true, were strongly posted
| in q wood, and each man fired from behind
| tree. But then everybody knows tina,
the etiquette in such matters is for q Skin
mish line to come in SO soon as they are sat
isEed that the enemy means business
/
Green Mountains. however. adopted rule
of their own ON this occasion. and the
enemy. disguised with such stupidity, very
properly retired across Beaver creek.
When the VermOnters led the column on
march their quick movements had to be
regulated from corps or division headluar
| tiers to avoid gaps in the column as 1t fol
lowed them. If rapid or forced marcel
were required, it was a common thing fol
, Sedgwick to say. with quiet smile:
"Put the VermOnters at the head OF the
column to day. and keep everything vel
closed up
After the riots in New York, when i. was
found necessary to send troops to the city
TO prevent a recurrence of the outbreak
the Vermont Brigade was specially named
by the War Department for this duty
Within two hours after the receipt OF THU
dispatch the command was en- route for thu
! city. They occupied the public square!
here for some time, enjoyed themselves no
wisely, nor yet virtuOusly. and returned to
I the army of the Potomac sadly demoralizet
in all but the two great essential qualities
tunate thing for the New York mob that i
| avoided q conflict with the New England
troops at that time.
Upon the return Of the brigade to the
field, they quietly held on to their old rou
tine of life and maintained to the close O
the war the splendid reputation they hao
4 won at the very outset.
There were many regiments equal to the
/ Vermont regiments in actual battle. and
! some that like the Fifth New York VOlun
teers, not only equaled them in fighting
| qualities. but greatly surpassed them In
drill. discipline and appearance on parade
As q brigade, however, they were undoubt
edly the best brigade in the army OF the
Potomac, for they not only fought as wei!
as it was possible to fight, but they could
| out march, with the utmost ease, any other
l organization in the army.
1t was the intention OF the writer only to
refer 70 this brigade as furnishing the best
type of the American soldier, but this arti
| Gle has grown beyond its intended limit
and we have therefore not space to examine
the causes of this superiority.
Two. however. may be briefly stated
First, that the regiments from Vernon.
were brigaded together. This rule, strange
| to say. seemed to work well only in regard
to the smaller States. like Vermont and
New Jersey. Second, the fact that Yer
mont during the first year of the war re
| cruted for her regiments and kept them
full. Regimental and company officers
knowing that their ranks would be filled up
I discharged men freely, and thus managed
to get rid Of their weak and worthless
soldiers.
For these reasons the Vermonters were
! good men. They were fortunate, moreover
| in having such commanders as General w
=, smith and General w. 7. II. Brooks. II
naturally resulted from this combination O
circumstances that they became grea
| power in battle, and earned . reputation
| which every man and woman in Vernon
! NAV we'll he proud.