The National tribune., 1908-11-12
LIEUT.. HENRY MARTIN FIELD.
Tribute to Scion of One of Our Most
Distinguished American Families.

Editor National Tribune: There was
a notice in your paper OF the death at
Brownsville, Tex, of Lieut.. Henry Mar
| tin Field, nephew of the distinguished
Fields. Lieut.. Field was my last tent
mate of the civil war, during the fifth
year of my service, and this announce
ment touches me with feeling Of deep
sorrow After two and one-half years
with the U. S. Engineer Battalion, at
tached to headquarters, Army OF the
| Potomac, / accepted a Lieutcnancy in
the one company of engineers in De-
partment of the Gulf. In the Fan of
| 1865 we accompanied Gen. Sheridans
central column, commanded by Gen.
/ George a. Custer, in penetrating Texas.
Arriving at Austin, the Capital Gen.
Sheridan ordered our company with its
pontoon bridge train to report to Gen.
| Godfrey Weitzel at Brownsville, Tex.
on the Rio Grande, overlooking Mexi-
CO. II was here I met Lieut.. Field. He
was then on detached duty as Assistant
| TO Gen. WeitZel's Chief Quartermaster,
and as / was Immediately detached as
Assistant to Cen. Weitzefs Chief Engi-
neer, Col. Sedgwick, we were thus
| thrown together. My duty was as engi-
neer in charge for the reconstruction
of Fort Brown-Gen. Zachary Taylors
old 6ve-bastion earthwork, in which
| part of his force had fought a most
desperate defensive battle successfully
win tFe MeXlcdHS-tne same TORT from
which President Roosevelt discharged
three companies of colered troops that
has recently stirred up such an agita-
| ton thruout the country. [ had drawn
new wall tent and pitched ii in
bower of luxuriant wild flowers outside
| the fort, and had set up buuX, nicely
matted with hay, for one of my size
and we'll do / remember the tirs- night
Lieut.. Field put in his appearance un-
| expectedly to share my bunk temporari-
| ly. He stood six feet four in his stock
| ings, and we had to improvfse fixtures
| for the accommodation of the surplus
ends of his legs overnight. Later for
| the Winter we fitted ourselves ont "Ir
STYLE" in soldier parlance. Lieut.. Field
| also drew wall tent which we pitched
ia little distance from mine, the end
entrances of both tents facing each
other, the space between rooted with an
extra tent fly. All the covered ground
we fioored over, and TO one of our tents
put brick chimney having an open
| fireplace. The middle space. with it's
open sides. was our dining room tone
| of my most treasured souvenirs of The
war is photograph of these tents)
Here ii was with these fittings and sur
roundings, near the river that Lieut.
| Field and ] were terminates during the
last months of my service, Winter of
| 1865-66. Here 1t was that we deliber-
ately planned-under the impression
that all volunteer troops in that De-
partment were to be mustered out to-
gether. that he and / would ride our
horses from the Rio Grande back to
our Massachusetts, homes. We allowed
about three months for the trip: to pro-
ceed west of the Mississippi to St Louis
and thence straight thru the interven-
ing States. We well knew that lower
Texas was then infested with mounted
desperadoes and the first $50 miles to
San Antonio dangerous, but we were
soldiers, and by starting from Browns
Vile secretly at midnight, well armed,
we would take the chances. AS had
already ridden my horse from Mobile,
after the latter's capture, across Ala
bama, Mississippi, Louisiana and Texas,
except by steamer from Galveston to
the Rio Grande, the prospective trip
had no terrors for me- But our plan
proved dream, as my company was
ordered TO New Orleans in the Spring
of 1866. and thus I parted from my
friend Field. Lieut.. Field was n quiet,
even-tempered, congenial and compan-
ionable man and an entertaining tent
mate. AS a descendant of the famous
Field family (Cyrus w. 1t was who laid
the first ocean cable) he possessed great
mental breadth. tho a sadness insep-
arabic hovered over him thru the mis-
carriage of his intended marriage,
which accounted for his anlisting and
perhaps for his never returning North.
IS. G. Hopkins, Lieutenant, 1st COM
pany Pontoniers (Engineers), u. S..
Vols, p. o. Box 1865, Boston, Mass.