The Princeton union. [volume] (Princeton, Minn.) 1876-1976, 1894-10-18

hOnOrS or the day must be divided with
Hancock, whose greatness overshadows
all, and besides Stannard could not keep
on breaking pivotal charges in pivotal bat
ties Of the war Had he fallen there he
would have been immortalized with Rey-
nolds. AS it was he lived to serve his
country by deeds not less Important, but
less picturesque, than the one which placed
him high in tAe firmament-a star out
shone by a more brilliant sun.
After Gettysburg the brigade of Yer
mont militia with which Stannard routed
Pickett's right flank went back home, and
Stannard resumed the command Of his old
brigade. In the campaign of 1864 he led a
division in the Eighteenth corps under
another celebrated Vermont warrior, Gen
eral Badly" Smith. Plenty of fighting,
with not much glory, fell to that command
during the summer, and at the close of
September the corps, with portion Of the
Tenth, received orders to make direct at
tack on the Notifications of Richmond
There was war crisis at hand, and des-
perate work must needs be done. Sheri-
dan in the Shenandoah valley found his ar
mics confronted by Confederates sent out
from Lees lines at Richmond and Peters
burg, and in order to make it dangerous
for Lee thus to detach the defenders of the
James river line Grant ordered his generals
to force the fighting on those lines. The
Confederate occupation of Petersburg fur
nished ample defense for their capital on
the south and west sides of the James. On
the east and north, however, the safety of
Richmond depended on mud and muscle;
on the earthworks extending from Drew
rvs bluff, seven miles below the city,
across to the swamps, and the ChickahOm-
my bottoms, where Mcclellan had besieg-
ed it two years before, and the men behind
Them. In the hope that these latter would
be few in number, and that the works
could be carried by storm and the river
crossings seized before help could be
sent from Petersburg, the movement was
planned to begin during the night of Sept
49, Two large Confederate batteries, or
forts, commanded the river roads leading
to Richmond. The most powerful, named
Fort Harrison, crowned a hill and mount
ed is guns. On the Union right Of Fort
Harrison stood Fort Gilmer, connected
with the former by infantry parapets and
intrenched field artillery and on the left
q similar system Of defenses extended from
Fort Harrison to the river and commanded
the bridges. Fort Harrison formed the
key of the line, and the announcement
was made at army headquarters that the
divisions of Stannard and Hickman Of
the Eighteenth corps had been selected by
the general in chief to storm it at all haz
ards. Stannard was to lead in person
and had been named for the post by Grant
So much for his Gettysburg renown, for
although he had many daring deeds tohis
credit in the matter of forlorn hopes moth
ing counts but success or death. It was
Stannard who had begged to be allowed to
march his regiment, the Ninth Vermont,
out of Harper's Ferry and charge the bat
teries which Stonewan jackson planted ca
London Heights to shell the garrison. Hat!
he been in command there instead of Miles
the most important and most discredit-
able Union surrender of the war would
never have taken place.
When Stannard learned of Grants selec-
ton of him for the Fort Harrison column,
he went to the general and said: II am
told that I must lead this attack, and I
have como to protest in behalf of the poor
men of my division, who have led every
assault of the Eighteenth corps from Cold
Harbor until now and are fought down to
the skeleton of a division. have not a
word to say for myself. will go freely
wherever you send me, but it is inhuman
to give my men more than their share of
UueSe AOr1Orn hopes. GENERAL SGannard
we must carry Fort Harrison Grant re-
piled firmly, land know you will do it, y
1t called for higher courage to enter that
protest than to charge the guns, but there
was no gainsaying Grants reason for the
choice, and Stannard set to work to make
the enterprise a success The division
crossed from Bermuda Hundred to the
north bank Of the James in the nighttime,
and before daylight was marching along
the river road toward Richmond. The
brigade of General Hiram Burnham, the