The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1900-08-28
GEN. CHAFFEE'S BEGINNING.
The First steps of His Rise from the
Ranks of the Sixth Cavalry.
lFrom the CHICAGO Record. }

| lfeCKleu anu DfOIlA0u Dy 1dDOE1uS III OhO
harvest field, walked into the recruiting
office of Capt G. r, Lowell in Warren,
Ohio, and indicated his desire to enlist.
This young man name was Adna r..
Chaffee.
Capt Lowell was recruiting for Com
pany K, Sixth United States Cavalry,
one OF the new cavalry regiments that
Congress had authorized to be raised for
the regular army, and Chaffee, along
with several other young men OF that
community, myself included, was at
tracted by the enticing handbills which
the enterpris1ng captain had caused to be
scattered broadcast over the surrounding
country. Accordingly, he climbed
rickety pair of deal stairs in two-story
building to the recruiting office, being
conducted thither by a little drygoods
clerk with bald spot the size of a teapot
lid little back of the crown of his head.
This little clerk was always conveniently
at hand to offer himself as an escort ITO
the wouId-be recruit as there was a fee
of So head for as many as he could thus
conduct to the recruiting officer occupy
ing rooms over the store in which the
little clerk was employed. The Sixth
Regular Cavalry, which was recruited In
the summer and fall OF 1861, consisted of
great variety of callings sailors and
miners perhaps predominating, with
young men from the farms coming in as
close third. There were recruits from
as many as half dozen states, although
the greater number were from Pennsyl-
vania and eastern Ohio. A few were
picked up here and few there, so it
often happened that a young fellow
would find after he had enlisted that
there was not man in his company or
perhaps his regiment whom he had ever
seen or heard of before.
AS I remember, young Chaffea's home
was in Orwell, township in Ashtabula
county next to the Trumbull county
line. His parents were poor, but owned
small farm, think, upon which the
young man labored, or he may have been
employed by some farmer other than his
father just prior to his enlistment in
Capt. Lowell's company.
The squad of twenty-five or thirty
young men that the captain had gath
cred up at the Warren recruiting office
started for Pittsburg, Pa, Aug. 5, 1861,
beng hauled in heavy farm wagons from
the former place to Salem, Ohio, a dis
tance of about twelve miles, whence we
were to 90 by rail to Pittsburg. While
en- route for Salem a heavy rain
drenched us to the skin. Had some
prophet foretoId that in one of the three
heavy WAGONS that were rumbIing along
the road to Salem on that sultry day
| there was a future maiOr-general and
hero none would have guessed that the
quiet and unassuming Chaffee would win
such hOnOrs.
The Sixth Regular Cavalry was organ
lied in August, 1861, at Camp Scott,
Of Plttsburg, the organization being
effected under Lieut-COl. w. b. Emery,
afterward a Major-GeneraI of Volunteers,
commanding. Our regularly assigned
colonel was David Hunter, but during
my term of enlistment l never saw him
once, and L doubt If he ever saw the regi-
ment during the Civil War. Chaffee re-
manned private for several weeks, when
the company commander appointed him
lance corporal. In some of the other
companies of the regiment the company
com nderS appointed to that office the
most Inefficient and worthless chaps in
their companies as a sort of grotesque
SANDER upon its insignihcance. But this
was not true in Corporal Chaffee case,
for by this time his military pin feathers
had begun to grow. Shortly after he had
been made lance corporal the regiment
al commander confirmed the appoint
ment whereby the '1lance'' was Topped
off, which prefix means temporary. Then
it was found that Chaffee was no longer
corporal but full-hedged sergeant.
About the middle of September the
regiment lett Camp Scott and went by
rail- to BladensDurg, Md, and established
camp near that lutte hamlet, which is
I situated seven or eight miles east of the
national capital. At this place we re
| ce1ved our horses, arms and accOutre-
ments. When we began to have mount
ed drills the young farmers had the ad-
vantage of the sailors and miners a good
many of whom had never been astride
| horse before. For time these verdant
| cavalrymen cut a sorry figure. Every
man in the ranks was supposed to wear
! spurs on mounted drill and when an I'M
| sophisticated rider would touch the TANKS
of his horse with his spurs there would
be trouble Tor that poor fellow at once.
| Sergt. Chaffee, having lived all his life
on farm until he enlisted was an ex-
pert horseman, and to teach these green
cavalrymen how to ride as troopers
should was one of the first duties as
signed him after he was appointed SER
geant L remember him on frequent
! occasions drilling the awkward mounted
squad OF Company K. In Justice to these
inexperienced horsemen OF the awkward
squad / Will say that when they did f.
nally learn the art of horseback riding
they become the very best riders in the
regiments, having been taught only the
best methods and having no defects to
unlearn.
The regiment left its BIadensburo
camp about Nov. I and went into win
ter quarters east Of the Capitol. Prepa-
rations were being made by the com
handing general for an early onward
march of the Army OF the Potomac, to
which our regiment had been assigned.
1t was, think, in the early days OF
April, 1862, that the army commanded
by Gen. George b. Mcclellan began
another move, with the Confederate capi-
tai as its objective point. Not many
weeks elapsed before our regiment had
its first brush with the enemy. This was
| at williamsburg. Va. Nav 4 1869 1rhan