The National tribune., 1901-12-19

%o<a5s-OI~-Ns hbI>l- De- Ne 1OCNG.
q queer bit of luck, to get command of
the brigade during what may be termed
''the last 4S hours of the war" On the
7th of April Gregg's Brigade crossed the
Appomattox River near Farmville, by
wading-Or swimming-their horses, aud
were followed by the rest of the division.
When they reached the Plank Road they
were attacked in front by Fitz Lee and
In flank by ROsser, who drove them back
toward the river in some confusion. In
this affair Col. Gregg and about 80 other
officers and men of the brigade We're cap
tured, and nearly 200 officers and men
killed or wounded. The 4th Pa. suffered
severely in this encounter, losing about
60 killed or wounded, of whom four were
offieers-all killed: Maj. William B.
Mays and Lieuts. Clement Engelman,
Charles Z. Nugent and John A. Welton.
Thus it happened that the 4th Pa. suf-
fered the heaviest loss it had sustained
In any one battle in its four years serv
ice,eonly two days before the surrender,
and in the Very last conflict of the war
between organized forces. Pretty hard
luck.
However its an i'll wind" etc;
tFuism eXempliiied by the fact that the
capture of Irwin Gregg gave Sam Young
his last and only opportunity to command
the brigade. He deserved it, because the
saving of the rest OF the command from
utter rout was largely due To his efforts
at rallying the men and holding on until
the rest OF the division could come up. He
was brevetted Brigadier- General, to date
from this affair; and he commanded the
brigade from that time until the end Of
the war, when he returned home and was
mustered out of the volunteer service,
with his regiment, in July, 1860.
After few months in civil life, Young.
decided upon a military career, and in
.sgrt
Second Lieutenant in the 18th Regulars.
This, for a man who had commanded a
cavalry brigade was beginning life over
again" with yenSeIncei But the pros
pect did not appal Sam Young. Two
months later he was promoted TO be Cap
tain in the Sth Regular Cav, and thence
forward his rise in rank was but little out
of the usual routine in time of peace,
though his services on the frontier were
from time 10 time so meritoriOus as TO
attract attention in high quarters. He
reached the rank Of Colonel I'D CavD in
1897, and was made a Brigader-G General
In January, 1900 His services in the
Spanish War need not be recountcd here
Suffice to say, he was appointed Major
General of Volunteers in July, 1898, and
Major-General in the Regular Army, Feb
2, 1901.
MAJ.-GEN. ADNA II. CHAFFEE-
The fourth Major-General on the list
Adna X. Chaffee, enjoys the peculiar dis
tinetion of being the only man in the his
tory of the United States 10 rise TO that
grade from private soldier IN the Regular
ARMY. il has been stated that Gen. Win
field Scott started as an enlisted man.
So he did, but not in the Regular Army
After the British 50-gun ship Leonard
had attacked our Begun frigate the Ches-
apeake, in 1907, President jefferson is
sued proclamation closing our ports to
British vessels, and calling upon the coun-
try 10 prepare for defense. In response
to this many volunteer organizations were
raised in the various States. Among
them was troop of cavalry organized
at Petersburg, Va. Winfield Scott, who
had just graduated at William and Mary
College, and was studying law, enlisted
in this troop and was one of its Ser
geants. Congress at its next session
passed an act TO increase the Regular
Army, and under the provisions of this
act, Scott was appointed Il Captain of
Artillery in 1908; so that his brief sery-
ice in the ranks was as a volunteer and
not as a Regular.
The present 9TH Regular Cav was or
ganized' by direction of President Lincoln
in May, 1861, and the Executive authoriza-
ton was confirmed by Congress the fol-
lowing July. Chaffee, who was an Ohio
boy, then about 1S years old, enlisted as
private soldier in Co. X, 9th Cav,
at Cincinnati, the 4th of July, 1861. He
served in the ranks as private, Corporal,
Sergeant and OrdeIly-Sergeant until May,
1868, when he was promoted to Second
Lieutenant and Immediately afterward
First Lieutenant. In this grade he served
through the civil war, and did not reach
a Captaincy until October 1867. From
that time his promotion was in the usual
order Of the peace establishment He be-
came Major in July, 1885, and Colonel in
May, 1899. Though Regular regiment,