Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1888-11-19
Personal RecoIections of the War


General Mcclellan collected the
forces that had accumulated around
Washington and started on cam
paign against Lee. who had made his
way north of the Potomac. This cam
paion resulted in the battle of Antie
tam and repulsed the enemy. At
ter the second Bull Run battle, and
before the Maryland victory, the gar
rison at Harper's Ferry, numbering
about ten thousand men, under Gen.
Miles, surrendered to the entreaties
of Stonewall Jackson. 1t was now
we'll into September, 1862, and since
June of that year the measure of our
military success in the east had not
been kept very full. Banks, Fremont,
Shields, Mcclellan, Pope, Milroy and
Miles, each having commands more
or less independent in position and
purpose, had severally met the enc
my without apparent advantage to
the union arms. The Generals were
not satisfied with what had been
done. The army was not satisfied
with its work. The authorities at
Washington were no better pleased
than the Generals and the army.
Fourteen months had passed since
the first battle of Bull Run, and the
army of the Potomac, which had been
relied upon to capture Richmond, had
made no appreciate Roadway in its
work. Two summers and one winter
more than full year-with two
seasons for military operations, had
rolled by and the rebellion was not
suppressed.
Thus matters stood in the early fall
of 1862, and while the federal army
had not had its own way, it felt fully
its ability, and a deep-seated deter
mination, in due time, to enjoy such
a one-sided course.
The Vermont cavalry did not go
with Mcclellan, and was not at the
battle of Antietam. 1t remained in
camp near Fort Scott, one of the for
tifcations south of the Potomac, for
the defense of Washington, land made
occasional movements to the south in
the interest of protecting the capital
from that direction, until after Burn
side had moved against Fredericks-
burg.
1t was while here that a detach-
ment reconnoitered to the front as
far as Aldie, where, in a charge upon
the enemy, the brave Captain Per-
kins of Co. f. lost his life. Fear
lessly he dashed upon the foe, realiz-
ing, however, not the victory but the
cold shock of death. A portion of
the regiment was used in the fall of
1862, under Col. Wyndham, for re-
connoitering purposes as far toward
the rebel capital as Warrenton. 1t was
on this service that a somewhat ri
diculous affair happened. The Col
onel had a command O fseveral hundred
cavalry, composed of details from
different regiments, assisted by a
couple of pieces of artillery. 1t was
his custom to serve a ration of whls-
KEY to the men when expecting to
meet the enemy. On the day in ques-
ton the whiskey was dealt out, and
we were put in motion. We soon
came in sight of Warrenton and quite
a body of the enemy's cavalry. We
stopped on hill few hundred rods
outside of the village, disposing our
selves in battle array. Between our
front and the village there was
small piece of woods in which we
posted pickets and threw out Skin
mishers. We were kept in this posi-
ton several hours in full sight of the
enemy, but what for, no one knew
save the Colonel. Capt. Flint had
charge of this advance, and in all, we
probably numbered about one hun
dred and fifty men at this exposed
point; the rest of our force being
about one mile to the rear, under COW
er of the artillery.
After the enemy had endured our
observations as long as thought best,
they formed about four or five hum
dred in a column of platOons and
charged us. As they approached, we
fired and ran. Some would say we
fell back, but that was not tive ran.
After running about one-half the
distance to our reservoirs, we rallied
a few men in line and fired into
the charging host. The few that stop
ped to do this had close race the
rest of the way. We knew not where
the reserve was, but we expected to
find it at every jump our jaded horses
made. So we kept on in flying sus-
pense, until the foremost boys in
gray were mingling with those in
blue, when at last we emerged from
a small piece of woods, pitched over
the crest of short hill, dropping
upon level piece of cleared ground
on which our reserves were drawn
up. and the artillery was posted. AS
the blue coats cleared the brow of
the hill our artillery opened, and just