Evening star., 1901-06-01
QUICK TO RESPOND
DR.. Charles F. Rand of This City is
Veteran No. l.
ENLISTED TEN MINUTES AFTER CALL
Won the First Medal Of Honor Or
dered by Congress.
AND FORTITUDE

Written for The Evening Star by E A. Brininstool.
In the national cemetery at Arlington
there is a burial plot presented by the
United States government to DR.. Chas. F.
Rand of Washington, D. c. The plot is not
occupied there is no reason to suppose it
will be for many years But when its owner
is laid there for his last rest the monument
that marks his grave will commemorate
the distinguished services of the first VOL
unteer to enlist for the civil war, in re-
sponse to Lincoln's call for $4,000 men. who
was also a bearer Of the rare and highly.
priced medal of honor. to be won only for
notable gallantry in action. DR.. Rand's
medal Of honor is the first that was ever
struck off, and the deed that won 1t was
performed before the decoration was in
existence.
The opening chapter In one Of the most
remarkable military careers on record in
this country was on April 15, 1861. when
young Rand. then an eighteen-year-
clerk, attended meeting in the old Eagle
Tavern at Batavia N. Y. There had been
heated discussion over the probabilities
of war, In the middle Of which a man came
rushing in waving a telegram above his
head.
1.-The President has called for $4,000 men
to go forward and fight" he shouted.
Henry l. Glowacki, who was presiding at
the meeting, took the telegram, read 1t, and
said
The war is already upon us. We have
to raise our quota of men to fill this call
We must have them immediat ely. Who
will be the first to enIst?'
Young Rand stepped forward on the spur
of the moment and said Il WILL. His
name was put down in his own handwriting
on the muster roll, and the 18th New York
Volunteers had their first soldier, while
New York state had the proud distinction
Of enlisting the first volunteer for the civil
war Batavia's quota of men was soon
raised and left for the front. Very soon
afterward Rand performed the daring act
which won him the first medal Of honor
ever presented by Congress for most dis
t1nguished gallantry on the battlefield.
Amid Terrific Fire.
At Blackburn's Ford, Va, July 49, less
than three months after he had enlisted,
his command was ordered to retreat The
order had been given on account of the
deadly fire Of the enemy's artillery, which
was masked the banks Of Bull Run.
Infantry also poured in a terrific fire. The
rest of his battalion of 800 men was swept
in disorder from the field, but Rand, ap-
parently not noticing the slaughter all
about him, held his ground with an old
Harpers Ferry musket that had been
changed from a flint lock. The ground was
plowed in all directions by shot and shell,
yet the only injury he received was from
flying dirt and stones. Across a deep
ravine he saw the command of Captain
Barnum Qater Gen. A H. Barnum).
who were on their faces, firing, not being
able to rise to their knees to load on
account Of the deadly fire of the confeder-
ates, but turning on their backs for that
purpose. He made his way to them on his
knees, Joined the line and fought with 1t
to the end of the engagement.
The congressional medal of honor was
No Src{i tod V,,J, Oon
later, and the first one struck off was pre-
sented to Charles F. Rand for his distin-
guished gallantry at Blackburns Ford
three days before the battle OF Bull Run.
Ih1s medal he prizes above all others. The
United States government Is very Jealous
of the medal of honor. and prot tects it with
all Its power. and In order that the medal
may be deserved service must have been
performed In action of such conspicuous
character as to distinguish clearly the man
for gallantry and intrepidity above his
comrades service that involves extreme
jeopardy of life or the performance Of ex-
trenely hazardous duty These medals
were awarded as follows: In 1851 IS; In
1862. 149: in 1863. 2s3; in 1884, 34S: in 1865,
2S2. Captain Rands decoration is a tri-
colored double bow-knot worn on the left
lapel Of the coat. The ribbon is an eighth
OF an inch wide by one inch in length, and
Is composed of a white stripe in the CEN
ter. hanked by two blue stripes. and these
by two red stripes.
The medal is engraved:
The Congress
to
First Lieut.. Charles F. Rand
Veteran Reserve Corps
For Most Distinguished Gallantry at
Blackburns Ford, Va.
July 49, 1861
On state occasions at the White House
Dr. Rand wears this medal upon his shirt
bosom, suspended by a broad band
Shot Right and Left.
Not llnffl ajphteap ynoptbc oftar a,lye+
ment, when Rand, then sergeant, was
home upon furlough from terrible wounds
received in the seven days battle before
Richmond, in which his whole right shoul-
der was shot away, was the fact of his
being the first man in the United States to
respond to Lincoln's call for volunteers
made known to him. The original paper
was shown him and the information given
that 1t had been impossible to find any rec
ord Of a soldier who claimed earlier en-
Tstment.
1t was at Gaines Mill that a musket ball
crushed through Sergt. Rand left shoulder,
mash1ng 1t to a jelly. He refused to ride
in an ambulance saying: THAT wagon is
needed for those who can't walk" He was
taken to Savage Station, where his right
shoulder joint and six inches of the shaft
of the arm We're removed. Portions of
shattered shoulder bone and fragments of
his clothing were taken out through his
back, the bullet having passed through one
Of his lungs.
The night after the operation he was
placed in tent near the railroad track
Nine men had been placed there at sun
down. At sunrise seven were removed
to the trenches. One of the survivors
was confederate major named La
mar, from Alabama. Rand and the major
became friends. Two days after Rand's
arrival there the battle Of Savage Station
was fought. He and his rebel friend were
discussing the pros and cons of the coming
battle, preparations for which they could
plainly hear from the tent. At the sound
of the bugle calls the southerner crawled
outside the tent. He would have helped
his friend, but his strength was not sufi-
cient, SO he sent men to aid him, and soon
they were both side by side near the rail-
road track.
Eager Spectators.
The two soldiers between them had Sc
cured a hard tack box and had bolstered
themselves up SO they could overlook the
scene. They had not long to wait In a
few minutes everything was engaged, and
for awhile it seemed II the whole world
had gone to destruction. These two SOL
diers, as the tide Of battle ebbed and
flowed, now to one SIDE now to the other,
cheered with all the voice they had left,
each for his own party. At the crisis of
xr,hT oh oJo